Latest editorial
Talks over disputed Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam end without agreement
THE future of HS2, the high-speed railway planned to link London with the Midlands and the north of England, is now in doubt.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Chancellor Jeremy Hunt are reported ready to at least delay the construction of key parts of the already-reduced route, above all the link north of Birmingham to Manchester, the project’s Phase Two.
The case for HS2 was seldom properly explained. It is far less about shaving a few minutes off journey times from Birmingham to London than about expanding railway capacity.
The HS2 debacle exposes what happens when public infrastructure is handed to private contractors – especially when set against China’s state-led high-speed rail success, says CARLOS MARTINEZ
The Tory conference was a pseudo-sacred affair, with devotees paying homage in front of Thatcher’s old shrouds — and your reporter, initially barred, only need mention he’d once met her to gain access. But would she consider what was on offer a worthy legacy, asks ANDREW MURRAY
One of the major criticisms of China’s breakneck development in recent decades has been the impact on nature — returning after 15 years away, BEN CHACKO assessed whether the government’s recent turn to environmentalism has yielded results
