Archive for the ‘World current affairs’ Category
It’s time for another revolution in Iran
January 10th, 2026 by Roger Darlington
No regime lasts forever. Totalitarian regimes frequently look immovable but often collapse surprisingly quickly. Think of apartheid in South Africa or Communism in Central & Eastern Europe. What is happening in Iran right now may be the death throes of the current regime. We must hope so. I visited the country in 2009, a year […]
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A review of the new documentary “Prime Minister”
December 15th, 2025 by Roger Darlington
Whatever omniscient cab drivers think, I can tell you, as someone who has worked for a national government, that governing a country is hard. It is even harder if you’re young and a woman – and pregnant. It’s harder still if you’re prime minister of a country when the entire world is suffering a pandemic […]
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Which countries have more than one capital?
September 26th, 2025 by Roger Darlington
Eswatini (formally known as Swaziland) has its administrative capital in Mbabane and its legislative and royal capital in Lobamba. Bolivia has its constitutional capital and seat of judiciary in Sucre and seat of government, executive and legislature in La Paz. South Africa has Pretoria as its government capital, Cape Town as it legislative capital and […]
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Which countries have no capital?
September 25th, 2025 by Roger Darlington
Switzerland has no official capital in its constitution. Instead Bern is the federal city and the site of the government. Nauru has no official capital. The government offices are located in the district of Yaren which functions as the seat of government.
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Populism is gaining traction even in Japan
September 12th, 2025 by Roger Darlington
A disturbing new phenomenon in Japan is the rising popularity of a populist party called Sanseito which loosely translates as “Do It Yourself Party”. In the 2025 upper house election, Sanseito made a significant breakthrough, winning 14 new seats to bring their total in that chamber to 15. They also hold a few seats in […]
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The dramatic poverty reductions in Mexico
August 18th, 2025 by Roger Darlington
So much of the news could lead one to think that we live in the worst of times, so we sometimes need to be reminded of good news. We’re told that all politicians are the same and that governments never achieve anything. Well, the last president of Mexico, Andrés Manuel López Obrador (known as Amlo), […]
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The sadness and the beauty of Ha Long Bay
July 19th, 2025 by Roger Darlington
I was saddened to hear the news of the loss of life in Ha Long Bay in northern Vietnam. The location is a spectacular one and I have fond memories of my time there in 2006.
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The people of Iran do not deserve this bombing or this regime
June 23rd, 2025 by Roger Darlington
I don’t know if Iran was on the point of producing a nuclear weapon. I don’t know if the American and Israeli bombing raids have completely destroyed Iran’s nuclear programme. I don’t know if regime change is likely or what the alternative would look like. What I do know is that, in the 6,000-year history […]
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The explosive growth in tourist numbers in Japan
April 22nd, 2025 by Roger Darlington
If you’re a regular reader of this blog, you’ll know that, following a professional visit to Japan in 1998, I’ve just made a return visit as a tourist for a more extensive trip. In 1998, there were 4.1M foreign visitors to Japan. By 2014, there were 13.4M. By 2024, the figure was 36.9M. This is […]
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A review of the ambitious work “Why Empires Fall”
October 27th, 2024 by Roger Darlington
John Rapley is a political economist at the University of Cambridge and Peter Heather is Chair of Medieval History at King’s College, London. Together they have written a work which essentially argues that currently the Western Empire faces the kind of challenges that led to the collapse of the Roman Empire around 500 AD. The […]
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