21 April 2008

From the Editor…

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Cover story

How the rich starved the world

World cereal stocks are at an all-time low, food-aid programmes have run out of money and millions face starvation. Yet wealthy countries persist with plans to use grain for petrol. Plus Iain Macwhirter on how food prices are rocketing

Features

The trading frenzy that sent prices soaring

Iain Macwhirter on why the price of basic foodstuffs rocketed, from London to Haiti

So, is it all right to be an English nationalist?

So, is it all right to be an English nationalist?

England is losing its pubs, its post offices and its basic culture. Those on the left should stop being so ashamed of their own nationality

President McCain? It could happen

President McCain? It could happen

The Republican candidate has been the "forgotten man" of the race. Yet there is a good chance he will emerge the winner.

Treat with extreme caution

Homoeopathic medicine is founded on a bogus philosophy. Its continued use is a drain on NHS resources and can endanger the health of patients

Regulars

A week to remember?

A week to remember?

Faced with an almost unprecedented drop in popularity, some in the Labour Party are starting to think the unthinkable: what would follow election defeat?

Under oaths No 4023

Set by Hank T Romein The medical profession has the Hippocratic Oath. We asked you to think up oaths for other professions - cab drivers, archbishops, editors, plumbers . . . the choice was yours

Culture

Painting by numbers

Painting by numbers

Howard Hodgkin's latest work is as vibrant as we have come to expect, yet there is a sense that he is reprising what he has done many times before

Keeping it real

Keeping it real

Modern theatre is all about stripped-back, empty spaces. But is naturalism, with its clutter of teacups and French windows, making a comeback?

Happy days

Happy days

Shedding the miserabilist tag, Mike Leigh has cheered up on film and in person.

Battle of the petty bourgeoisie

Battle of the petty bourgeoisie

A satire on middle-class niceties works well as both comedy and philosophy God of Carnage Gielgud Theatre, London W1

An incorrigible state of bliss

Mike Leigh's Poppy is on a happy pill that, unfortunately, doesn't wear off Happy-Go-Lucky (15) dir: Mike Leigh

Death by

Death by "dramedy"

US series aiming for kooky charm comes across as cloying instead Pushing Daisies ITV1

The perfect interruption

Evan Davis brings sunshine to Today, but The Now Show is still in the Dark Ages

Books

Written in the sand

Observations on Abu Dhabi

What Islam did for Europe

What Islam did for Europe

The conflict between Islam and the west can be traced back to a myth that inaccurately painted Muslims as the killers of a Christian hero. Now, scholars are beginning to reassess the fundamental role that Muslims played in shaping western civilisation. God's Crucible: Islam and the Making of Europe (570-1215) David Levering Lewis W W Norton, 384pp, £17.99

A mover and a shaker

A mover and a shaker

Bloomsbury Ballerina: Lydia Lopokova, Imperial Dancer and Mrs John Maynard Keynes Judith Mackrell Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 496pp, £25

Terror in the east

The Bloody White Baron James Palmer Faber & Faber, 272pp, £18.99

The lives of others

Playing Cards in Cairo: Mint Tea, Tarneeb and Tales of the City Hugh Miles Abacus, 288pp, £10.99

Portrait of the artist

Portrait of the artist

Feather Man Rhyll McMaster Marion Boyars, 312pp, £9.99

Rock 'n' roll dreams

I Play the Drums in a Band Called Okay Toby Litt Hamish Hamilton, 288 pp, £12.99

Observations

Out of control orders

Observations on deportations

Loving Obama

Loving Obama

Observations on British primaries

Shape of the future

Shape of the future

Observations on bodybuilding

Green heroes

The top ten

20 green heroes and villains: Heroes

Green villains

The top ten

20 green heroes and villains: Villains

Bjorn Lomborg

Cloud control

Cloud control

Interview

Omar Bin Laden

The NS Interview: Omar Bin Laden

James Macintyre

Brown at war

Like it or not, Brown’s a war leader

What if...

Hugh Gaitskell lived

What if... Hugh Gaitskell had lived

Will Self

On brands

We’re all with the brand

Film review

A Serious Man

A Serious Man (15)

Vote!

Will Baroness Ashton be an effective EU foreign minister?

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