Top stories: news and views from around the world

Gordon Brown warns that Britain could become a failed state as Scotland’s first minister likens Boris Johnson to a frightened mouse
January 25th , 2021 and the legend of the great Robert Burns lives on. Tonigh, millions of Scots will raise their glasses and remember their greatest poet, a true son… Read more >

Bye, bye American Guy . . . but the economic and social chaos that brought Donald Trump to power four years ago is as strong as ever
By Trevor Grundy As Joe Biden gets ready to be inaugurated as America’s 46th president, leading political and social commentators in Britain and America say that the… Read more >

Spies and lies and a blocked search for truth sixty years after the murder of Patrice Lumumba in the Congo
Patrice Lumumba on his way to a horrendous death in the Congo on January 17, 1961 “What do you think spies are: priests, saints and martyrs? They’re a… Read more >

England’s day of shame: A country captured by “gambling liars, frivolous clowns and their paid cheerleaders”
by Trevor Grundy Conservative MPs have praised it as a triumph, the day that marks the end of decades of inter-party squabbling about Britain’s role in Europe…. Read more >

Anglican and Roman Catholic archbishops are not what the Christian faithful deserve, says outspoken religious affairs correspondent
Canterbury Cathedral, the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion (Picture: Trevor Grundy) by Trevor Grundy It’s the 850th anniversary of the murder in Canterbury Cathedral of Thomas Becket… Read more >

Christmas in Britain 2020: Hungry children walk in the footsteps of Charles Dickens and Oliver Twist
Scrooge ( disguised as the multi-millionaire Jacob Rees-Mogg) gives Tiny Tim and his crutches made by Unicef a good kicking in Charles Dicken’s A Christmas Carol. (Cartoon in The Times… Read more >

John Lennon (1940-1980) – A world without countries and no religion, too
A wall painting of John Lennon in Prague where the British musician is idolised by the old and young – Picture: Trevor Grundy by Trevor Grundy For many… Read more >

Giuseppe Garibaldi – A hero of two worlds
Garibaldi is best known for his invasion and conquest of Sicily in 1860 and his life-long fight for Italian unity. Not so well- known is the way he spent… Read more >

Boris Johnson’s ‘loose language’ is putting millions of Scots on the road towards Independence
Prime Minister of an Independent Scotland in-waiting? – A cartoon of the Scottish National Party’s increasingly popular leader, Nicola Sturgeon By Trevor Grundy Boris Johnson has been told by… Read more >

Commonwealth Watch: Move to close vital studies unit infuriates academics around the world
Professor Philip Murphy, respected academic and Director of the Institute of Commonwealth Studies (Picture: Trevor Grundy) COMMONWEALTH WATCH By Trevor Grundy Academics from around the world are… Read more >