The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir presumptive to the Austro-Hungarian throne on 28th June 1914 set off a chain reaction leading to the start of the first world war. Killed by a Bosnian student group that was supported by Serbs who feared the Habsburg Empire’s further encroach on their territory, Ferdinand’s death would ultimately lead to a rejigging of the European territories....

The term ‘perversion’ has always attracted considerable controversy. Perhaps a somewhat unfortunate choice, perversion easily implies a norm, for example a deviation from an accepted sexual norm, and a judgement about how wrong or right that deviation is, but the term has remained relevant and is used to assist particularly with people whose sexual life, experiences and fantasies makes them suffer....

What’s behind Xi Jinping’s seemingly permanent Buddha smile? A diplomat’s answer might run along the lines of the secret strategic calculations that tell Xi the geopolitical balance of power is tilting his way. A sense of impending victory, hubris even....