'Donald Trump is right to describe 2024 election as a final battle'
Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
Trump’s Final Battle Has Begun
Frank Bruni in The New York Times
Donald Trump has repeatedly called the 2024 presidential race the "final battle", said Frank Bruni in The New York Times. And he "just may be right", at least in terms of how "profoundly meaningful the 2024 election could be" if he is the Republican presidential nominee. And if he wins the election, "the America that he moulds to his self-interested liking may bear little resemblance to the country we've known and loved until now".
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Sunak is ready to take lessons from Romney
Katy Balls in The Times
Rishi Sunak met the failed 2012 US presidential candidate Mitt Romney last year and "there are hints that Sunak is learning lessons from him", said Katy Balls in The Times. Sunak's priorities "appear to have a closer resemblance to Romney’s 2012 blueprint" such as a big tax cut over several years, a cut to spending, energy self-sufficiency and better schools. But the question for Tory MPs is "whether this adds up to a plan to stop [Keir] Starmer or a route to respectable defeat".
How progressive ideology hijacked the festive season
Gareth Roberts in The Spectator
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"Fireworks at New Year are the purest distillation of the spirit of frippery," said Gareth Roberts in The Spectator. So Sadiq Khan "appending a civic lecture to a firework display" was like "adding tripe to a trifle". And ITV "decided to ring in the New Year with a toe-curlingly sanctimonious montage of ludicrously wealthy actors, including Glenn Close and Idris Elba, lecturing its viewers about climate change", said Roberts. "For heavens' sake, bureaucrats and boondogglers – take a day off!"
Can technology’s 'zoomers' outrun the 'doomers’'?
John Thornhill in the Financial Times
The Oxford physicist David Deutsch's "principle of optimism" says that all knowledge that does not contradict the rules of physics can eventually be obtained through the application of science and reason, says John Thornhill in the Financial Times. AI is opening up new avenues for discovery, and many "zoomers" in Silicon Valley believe we should be "racing ahead with technological development at full speed", while "doomers" caution over the "collateral harms of new technology". But "the principle of optimism is a comforting theory, albeit a largely unprovable one, to carry into the new year".
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Why is pizza in decline?In the Spotlight The humble pie is getting humbler
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A modern ‘Lord of the Flies,’ a zombie sequel and Jodie Foster’s first French-speaking lead role in January moviesthe week recommends This month’s new releases include ‘The Plague,’ ‘28 Years Later: The Bone Temple’ and ‘A Private Life’
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Iran cuts internet as protests escalateSpeed Reada Government buildings across the country have been set on fire
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Iran cuts internet as protests escalateSpeed Reada Government buildings across the country have been set on fire
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What do the people of Greenland want for their future?As Europe prevaricates over US threats for annexation there is a unifying feeling of self-determination among Greenlanders
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US nabs ‘shadow’ tanker claimed by RussiaSpeed Read The ship was one of two vessels seized by the US military
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Venezuela ‘turning over’ oil to US, Trump saysSpeed Read This comes less than a week after Trump captured the country’s president
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Trump’s Greenland threats overshadow Ukraine talksSpeed Read The Danish prime minister said Trump’s threats should be taken seriously
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Delcy Rodríguez: Maduro’s second in command now running VenezuelaIn the Spotlight Rodríguez has held positions of power throughout the country
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What will happen in 2026? Predictions and eventsIn Depth The new year could bring peace in Ukraine or war in Venezuela, as Donald Trump prepares to host a highly politicised World Cup and Nasa returns to the Moon
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Shots fired in the US-EU war over digital censorshipIN THE SPOTLIGHT The Trump administration risks opening a dangerous new front in the battle of real-world consequences for online action