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Modi operandi

With the whole world lurching towards populism, nationalism, and, in some cases, outright authoritarianism, it can tempting to sit around drawing parallels between various deplorables. Marine Le Pen is to Matteo Salvini as Putin is to Erdoğan. Chan-o-cha is Thailand’s

The last laugh

To every television series—turn, turn, turn—there is a season. Indeed, occasionally, there are several. But all eventually come to an end. By strange coincidence, this year has already seen a number of comedies, including three of the greats, bow out

Modi’s India landslide should scare the shit out of us

Indian voters have just handed Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s party a landslide victory and Modi a second five-year term. How that happened is no mystery, and might be a cautionary example for other democracies around the world. Modi launched his

Far-right party gains in Spain as migrants flood its backdoor entrance to Europe

The Rock disappears in the mist as Africa slowly emerges before us. To our right, Jebel Musa looms, one of two contenders for the southern Pillar of Hercules. Jebel Musa is in Morocco, though it is not to Morocco that

Last flight of the octopus

Against the cerulean blue of the South Australian sky, an octopus soars, its limbs flailing wildly. The man who has thrown it stands beneath, frozen, looking like a baseball pitcher, his leg just so. The spectators behind him crane their

Whisky business at the Laphroaig distillery

It is a small but committed cross-section of drinkers that has found itself arranged along the tasting room bar. We are here because we have missed the tour: my wife and I accidentally, having thought it was scheduled to begin

When they want war, India and Pakistan will always have Kashmir

When this series was first published in The Daily Beast last December, I had no idea that Kashmir was about to explode—quite literally—into the headlines again. There had been numerous developments in the region between my visit and the series’

The hyperbole machine

If I never see the words “Sweet birthday baby!” again, at least on Twitter, it won’t be a moment too soon. Uttered at various times and in various ways by Maxine (Greta Lee, who nearly didn’t take the part because