Le Journal

‘A series like this, does it need it? I don’t think so’Root’s head-to-head with Starc may be decisive battleIt rarely takes much for an Englishman to be accused of whinging in Australia but when Joe Root was asked a simple question on Sunday – whether a series such as the Ashes actually needs day-night Test cricket – he simply gave an honest answer.“I personally don’t think so,” replied Root, before England began netting at the Gabba before Thursday’s second Test. “It’s obviously very successful and popular here, and obviously Australia have got a very good record [played 14, won 13]. You can see why we’re playing one of those games. Continue reading...

The US hasn’t just left Ukraine vulnerable; it is also provoking Xi’s intensifying attitude towards what he considers a renegade provinceSheer ignorance, fed by malign intent, historical prejudice and mutual misunderstanding, is often the crucial spark that ignites simmering international conflicts. If Adolf Hitler, remarkably ignorant of the US, had grasped the true extent of American industrial might, would he still have fatefully declared war on Washington in 1941?When the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan in 1979, it evidently had no idea what it was getting into. Humiliating defeat contributed greatly to its subsequent disintegration. In 1990, Iraq’s Saddam Hussein attacked Kuwait, convinced he had a green light from the White House. In all these cases, stupidity produced disastrous misjudgments that proved fatal.Simon Tisdall is a Guardian foreign affairs commentator Continue reading...