'Alex Batty used timeless teenage courage to chart his own path'
Opinion, comment and editorials of the day

Alex Batty's dark fairytale has a very practical ending
Libby Purves in The Times
The decision of British teenager Alex Batty to escape a "hippyish community" in France is "something to applaud", writes Libby Purves in The Times. While the "idea of being 'off-grid' has many charms", children "are not chattels and we may not cram them into a mould". As such Alex's "nerve to step away from parental eccentricities and determinations" should be embraced. He has used "timeless teenage courage" to chart his own path.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
How far is Keir Starmer willing to go to reform the NHS?
The Telegraph editorial board
As Keir Starmer ponders the "NHS permacrisis", he is "taking aim at the inefficient use of the organisation's resources", says The Telegraph's editorial board. He is "quite right", but has he "correctly diagnosed the disease"? An "injection of funding" may help, but "it will be disappointing if this is the extent of his ambition". Only by admitting "many issues are the result of its state-dominated structure" will the NHS achieve "meaningful reform".
UK Government must share what help it's giving to Israel
Kenny MacAskill in The National
As we prepare to "celebrate the birth of a child in a manger in Bethlehem", a mere "40 miles down the road, children are dying in hospitals" due to war, says Kenny MacAskill MP in The National. Britain "cannot have any complicity in the atrocity being perpetuated in Gaza" and Rishi Sunak must cease "being supine to both Israel and President Biden, who can stop this".
Boasting season is upon us – and it can't end soon enough
Emma Beddington in The Guardian
"Be careful out there", warns Emma Beddington in The Guardian, as "it's boasting season". The end of the year often brings a "desire to scream success from the rooftops". But it is important "not to feel threatened by other people's expression of pride". Instead, "find a coping strategy" such as "That's wonderful!" because "anything that adds a drop to the leaky pot of human happiness is worth embracing".
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Gaza Humanitarian Foundation: the group behind controversial new aid programme
The Explainer Deadly shootings and chaotic scenes have been reported at aid sites after US group replaced UN humanitarian organisations
-
The France-Indonesia push for an Israeli-Palestinian two-state solution
Talking Points Both countries have said a two-state solution is the way to end the Middle East conflict
-
Starving Gazans overrun US-backed food aid hub
speed read Israeli troops fired warning shots at the Palestinians
-
Israel's Western allies pull back amid Gaza escalation
speed read Britain and the EU are reconsidering allegiance with Israel as the Gaza siege continues
-
Israel-US 'rift': is Trump losing patience with Netanyahu?
Today's Big Question US president called for an end to Gaza war and negotiated directly with Hamas to return American hostage, amid rumours of strained relations
-
Israel's plan to occupy Gaza
In Depth Operation Gideon's Chariots will see Israel sending thousands of troops into Gaza later this month to seize control of the strip
-
Can the world stop Israel from starving Gaza?
Today's Big Question Total blockade on food and aid enters its third month, and Israel is accused of 'weaponising starvation'
-
Israel approves plan to take over Gaza indefinitely
speed read Benjamin Netanyahu says the country is 'on the eve of a forceful entry'