| Vladimir Putin will meet Kim Jong-un in Pyongyang today during his first visit to North Korea in 24 years. The pair are expected to sign a "comprehensive strategic partnership treaty" to counter the West, bringing the two countries "closer than at any time since the end of the Soviet Union", says The Times. The UK has the lowest level of business investment of all G7 nations for a third year in a row. The Institute for Public Policy Research says spending by private businesses on new factories, equipment, technology and the like is "significantly" behind the competition, making it far harder for the economy to grow. A new study has found that women find men 21.5% more attractive when they see them with children. Researchers put it down to the "parental investment" theory that women look out for a nurturing partner. | | |  | Marine Le Pen. Gabriel Kuchta/Getty |
| Can Europe ever solve its immigration problem? | Europe's recent swing to the right was largely driven by two issues, says Joseph Sternberg in the Wall Street Journal: mainstream parties' failure to get a grip on immigration and the eye-watering cost of the mad dash to net zero. By leveraging those grievances, parties like France's National Rally and Brothers of Italy managed to achieve a critical mass that will allow them to become "properly obstructive in Brussels". But having tacked towards the centre in recent years to appeal to a wider coalition of voters, they will soon learn a hard lesson: "one needs to govern skilfully to hold that coalition together". The trouble is, the ascendant right's signature policy promises are famously "difficult to enact". | At least in the short term, their chances are best on climate matters. Not only is scaling back net zero widely popular, but also the EU's "baroque governing system" means the newly muscular right can use its power in the European Parliament to push through the changes it wants. Immigration will be much tougher. It's easy enough to claim that "obvious solutions exist if only Europe's effete ruling class would act". But while the bloc's attempts to cut immigration are clearly ineffective, there's truly no ready, simple solution. Reducing the number of illegal arrivals is a logistical nightmare, and EU efforts inevitably run aground when member countries realise the remedy requires them to cede national sovereignty to Brussels or spend money solving a problem elsewhere. Is Marine Le Pen really willing to raise French taxes so Giorgia Meloni can spend more policing the coast of Southern Italy? Insurgent parties may soon be confronted with the "mismatch between what they want and what they're prepared to do to get it. | 🤷♂️ 🗳️ The problem is that voters want conflicting things, says Stephen Bush in the FT. They want lower immigration, and they also want lower taxes and better public services. But cutting off cheap imported labour means you have to either raise taxes to train domestic workers or offer a worse service. Or both. This is true not just in the NHS, but also in gig-economy services like Deliveroo. "Most voters like being able to get food delivered to them and they dislike tax rises." Any politician who thinks they will be "automatically rewarded at the polls for reducing immigration" should think again. | | | | An anonymous hacker has leaked thousands of photos of what life was like in Iran under the 19th-century Qajar dynasty, says PetaPixel. And they're oddly gripping. One shows the captured chief of a Kurdish tribe, chained at the neck and roped around the waist, posing quite happily with his captors. In another, a moustachioed man is buried up to his chin in sand, possibly as a therapy for aching joints. Others include "the Dwarves of Naser al-Din Shah's court", some sort of distiller surrounded by his kit, and the Shah himself at a dentist appointment. See more here. |
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| | | 🗳️ 16 days to go...
With the cost-of-living crisis still the No 1 issue for most voters, Rishi Sunak "walked into a trap" last week when he bemoaned the hardship of his childhood spent without Sky TV, says Andrew Pierce in the Mail on Sunday. So it may not be the best idea for the Conservative Party to press ahead with its summer gala at London's exclusive Hurlingham Club this week. Tables at the event on the 42-acre Fulham estate will cost up to £12,000. As one ex-Tory chief puts it: "Ministers seen quaffing champagne next to fabulously rich donors. A gift for Labour." | | | | | | Advertisement | | Discover the Magic of the Maldives at Constance Moofushi – Save up to 50% | If you're looking for relaxed, barefoot luxury in the Maldives, Constance Moofushi is the island for you. The laid-back atmosphere makes for long sun-soaked days, snorkelling or diving on the house reef, enjoying the all-inclusive bars and restaurants and visiting the overwater spa for some well-deserved pampering. | Stay 7 nights in a Beach Villa, from £2,999 per person on an all-inclusive basis, including international flights and seaplane transfers. Price based on travel in July, including a 50% discount. | For personalised recommendations and bespoke itinerary suggestions, call Turquoise Holidays on 0207 147 7087 – or book an appointment at one of our beach house-inspired offices in London or Buckinghamshire. Click here to find out more. |
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| | |  | The Siesta (after Millet) by Vincent van Gogh. VCG Wilson/Corbis/Getty |
| An afternoon nap boosts cognition, creativity, memory and supports a healthy heart, says Time magazine. So here are a few tips to catch the perfect siesta. Firstly, make sure to "pre-game" your naps with deep breathing or meditation – this will help you to relax and get a more restorative rest. Another tip is to caffeinate before falling asleep. Metabolising caffeine takes about 30 minutes – the ideal length of a nap – so if you down an espresso before nodding off you will wake up as it takes full effect. Finally, try building a "poor man's nap pod" by using a sleep mask with earplugs or headphones. And if you can, turn your room into a "cool dark cave" – the perfect environment for daytime rejuvenation. | | | | | | Enjoying The Knowledge? Click below to share | | |
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| | |  | Kim Jong-un and Vladimir Putin in 2019. Alexander Zemlianichenko/Pool/AFP/Getty |
| We've been foolish to ignore North Korea | When it comes to North Korea, "Western interest tends to wax and wane", says Gearoid Reidy in Bloomberg, oscillating between the "tactical patience" of Barack Obama to the "bombast of summits, fire and fury" under Donald Trump. But with wars raging in Ukraine and the Middle East, Pyongyang barely registers. In an annual poll asking which states Americans regard as their country's greatest foe, just 4% now say North Korea – down from 51% in 2018 and lower than "the US itself", which came in at 5%. We've become so indifferent that even the missile launches that once caused global terror now "elicit snoozes". | But ignoring North Korea is a mistake. Vladimir Putin is in Pyongyang today, visiting his friend Kim Jong-un at home for the first time in two decades. Both leaders have "much to gain and little to lose" from closer ties, and are already so heavily sanctioned that "the US and its allies have little leverage to punish them further". According to Kim himself, the two strongmen have an "unbreakable relationship of comrades-in-arms" that is steadily developing into "higher-level state relations". South Korea and the US say Pyongyang has already sent "millions of artillery shells" to aid Putin's invasion of Ukraine. And North Korea can use Russia's seat on the UN Security Council to stymie sanctions and undermine efforts to keep tabs on its nuclear ambitions. US allies in the region, like South Korea and Japan, have long fretted about such a development, but they have a record of being "distracted while Pyongyang stays laser focused". With the world looking elsewhere, North Korea has a prime window to "maximise its meddling". | | |  | Blackadder tucking into some bilsenkraut |
| In the Middle Ages, "European beer was hallucinogenic", says Vinepair. Black henbane, a flower in the nightshade family, was widely used to flavour ale and enhance drunkenness by inducing "mild psychoactive effects". Such was demand for the poisonous plant, known as bilsenkraut in what is now Germany, that whole gardens were dedicated to growing it. These bilsenkraut gardens inspired the names of several nearby settlements, including the Czech town of Pilsen – "birthplace of the beloved Pilsner". Prost! |
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| | | Beauty boffins have developed "facial fitness" chewing gum to help build a stronger jawline, says The Cut. The gum is extra-tough to chew, which – if the marketing bumf of firms like Rockjaw and Jawz Gum is to be believed – gives a special workout to the muscles in the neck and face. The target market is primarily teen boys, particularly fans of "looksmaxxing" – an online movement that trains those not blessed with beauty to "maximise" their features and appeal to the opposite sex. | | | | | | | | It's the world's tallest dog, says People Magazine. Kevin, a three-year-old Great Dane from Iowa, was officially given title by Guinness World Records last week. Standing on four paws, he measures an impressive 3 feet and 2 inches from "his feet to his withers" – a technical term for the highest point of a dog's shoulder blades – which is the average height of a three-year-old child. "I don't think he's aware he is as big as he is," said owner Tracy. "He's continuously trying to squeeze into small beds and sit on top of us". The gentle giant is also scared of most things – particularly hoovers. | | | | | "Politics is the art and science of running the circus from the monkey cage."
HL Mencken |
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