Myanmar’s thorny diplomatic game Written by Javier Maquieira, senior associate Edited by Kevin Pringle, partner1 March 2021 Good morning, After weeks of largely peaceful protests against the 1 February military coup in Myanmar, the situation on the ground has done nothing but escalate over the weekend. According to the United Nations Human Rights Office, at least 18 civilians …
A word on resilience Written by Javier Maquieira, senior associate Edited by Katie Stanton, associate partner23 February 2021 Good morning, Swiss-born British philosopher Alain de Botton wrote: “a good half of the art of living is resilience”. Under normal circumstances, I would agree with him. But resilience has taken up so much of our lives over …
Passport politics Written by Javier Maquieira, senior associate Edited by Katie Stanton, associate partner18 February 2021 Good morning, To travel again, what a lovely thought. If only it didn’t feel so far away. At the time of writing, neither Boris Johnson in England nor Nicola Sturgeon in Scotland is likely to give any firm date for …
High street commotion Written by Javier Maquieira, senior associate Edited by Adam Shaw, associate partner9 February 2021 Good morning, The demise of the high street was anticipated long before the Covid-19 pandemic struck. But with extended lockdowns having turned online shopping into a necessity rather than a preference, the judgement looks to be final. Over recent weeks, …
Solid gold binging Written by Javier Maquieira, senior associate Edited by Katie Stanton, associate partner4 February 2021 Good morning, I’m somewhat embarrassed to admit that what I’ll remember most vividly about this pandemic will probably be the hours I’ve spent binge watching TV series and films during lockdown. And I couldn’t be more thankful for that. The …
Against the clock Written by Javier Maquieira, senior associate Edited by Katie Stanton, associate partner25 January 2021 Good morning, The first European Council video conference of 2021 took place last Thursday and, what began as a catch-up on the European Union’s coordinated response to the Covid-19 pandemic, quickly unravelled into an emergency meeting complicated by frustrating …
Brave enough to see the light Written by Javier Maquieira, senior associate Edited by David Gaffney, partner21 January 2021 Good morning, Joseph R Biden Jr was sworn in yesterday as the 46th president of the United States in an inauguration day of many firsts: masked-up attendees; an outgoing president refusing to attend his successor’s swearing-in for the first …
Flexing the influence muscle Written by Javier Maquieira, senior associate Edited by Iain Gibson, associate partner12 January 2021 Good morning, The permanent suspension of President Donald Trump’s favourite megaphone, his Twitter account, was bound to cause quite a stir, especially after Facebook had decided to boot the US president from its platforms “indefinitely”. While many of Trump’s …
A violent end for Trump’s presidency Written by Javier Maquieira, senior associate Edited by Katie Stanton, associate partner8 January 2021 Good morning, One of the words I both started to use and vowed to stop using in 2020 was ‘unprecedented’. The reason being that the world has indeed seen other pandemics, assaults to democratic institutions, and …
Wrapping up Written by Javier Maquieira, senior associate Edited by Katie Stanton, associate partner23 December 2020 Good morning, This has been no year for optimists. In my first daily briefing of 2020, I referred to tensions between the United States and Iran, and the wildfires in Australia as a bad omen for the new year. I wish …