The last game
Tennis, friendship and suicide.
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The return of al-Qaeda
The case against the Murdoch empire
Why the billionaire’s bid for Sky should be opposed.
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“Overnight, my school emptied“: the story of a European border checkpoint
At a busy checkpoint between Turkey and Bulgaria near the Greek frontier, a long history of displacement and exile…
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Between twin barbarisms
After six years of war, Syria’s moderate rebels are broken and marginalised. And now, as Bashar al-Assad has wished…
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Lincoln in the Bardo is a stunning portrait of a violently divided America
Abraham Lincoln carries an urgent message in this remarkable novel of ghosts and war.
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What do Trump’s books tell us about his mind?
The President has published 17 books. Big win! Giles Smith ploughed through 5,000 pages of anecdotes, grievances, business “wisdom” and “truthful…
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I’m back in the studio – and once again the songs are taking on a life of their own
At midday on Monday I want to tweet, “God, making records is fun!” and at 6pm I want to…
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The special relationship
Michelangelo disdained most artists, but his partnership with Sebastiano produced some of the boldest works of the Renaissance.
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The drive to rid India of black money
Will the state’s gamble with the economy pay off?
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Smile for the Auschwitz selfie: why Holocaust memorials have failed
You don’t have to look far to read complaints about the “service” at Auschwitz-Birkenau, which should trouble me, but…
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How a school visit prompted me to re-assess John Ruskin
My week, from rediscovering John Ruskin and imagining H G Wells to chasing down a hero.
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How can children learn to cope with the murder of a parent?
The murder-as-dubiously-titillating-entertainment brigade should be required by law to watch Channel 4's A Killing in the Family. Plus: Killing for Love…
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Can rape and comedy ever go together? Elle’s subversive portrayal blurs humour and horror
The film, which explores the unorthodox forms that power can take, shows Michèle continuing briskly with her life after…
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Theresa May is selling her new grammar schools program under false pretences
The week in the media, from false promises on grammars and the French flirtation with fascism to a posh…
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On the other side of the wall: how Donald Trump has divided Mexico
“Walls are an expression of fear,” Father Alberto insists. “We need to build bridges, not walls.”
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It’s time for drastic action, because I have a Date – Capital D
To clean my squalid bedroom would be tempting fate, I knew that – and then I went ahead and…
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The pheasant is an exotic cliché we should cherish
This morning, I woke to a sound I didn’t recognise at first.
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“Motormouth“: A new poem by Greg Spiro
"He’d developed circular breathing / Like a sax player"
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With Michelle O’Neill, the age of the IRA old boys at the top of Sinn Fein is over
The party surged in the recent Northern Irish Assembly elections. But what does its new leader tell us about…
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A powerful new book shares dissident stories smuggled out of North Korea
Knowing that the anonymous author of The Accusation is still living in North Korea adds another layer of discomfort;…
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How two girls from a pansexual heavy metal band taught me that karma is a Rockbitch
“Let’s get this straight: are you a mad rapist or an axe murderer?”
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Leader: Against the Brexit libertarians
As the government prepares for a post-Brexit world, it must not neglect what voters most value about living in…
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Brexit has reawakened the nationalists’ desire for a united Ireland – but Dublin is unmoved
The flatlining Sinn Fein vote has been jolted into life unexpectedly.
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How English football came to reflect the diversity of the country
I could never have imagined, when I was growing up, this huge change in the make-up of England and in football.
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How Emmanuel Macron can hold the centre to beat Marine Le Pen
A victory for Macron would affect more than France – it would bolster the European project.
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“There is so much fear at the moment“: meet the midwife who wants to change how we give birth
Pregnancy and childbirth are unpredictable, so call the midwife – preferably one you’ve met before.
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What’s the difference between a sportsman and an athlete?
Sports that rely overwhelmingly on physical virtuosity are in crisis, as the trouble at Team Sky shows.
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Joining Generation Rent isn’t a quirky choice – it’s our unavoidable state of economic insecurity
When we couldn't even afford the flat with the demonstrably wonky floor, I had to come to terms with…
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Commons Confidential: Posh Labour’s retreat
What's Tristram Hunt been up to? And who took a bottle of wine to the whips – and signed the…
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Is The Dollmaker the latest “rediscovered“ masterpiece?
This 1950s novel, beloved by Marilynne Robinson, has power and poignancy – but little that surprises us.
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What is the “New Weird“ – and what makes weird fiction so relevant to our times?
The surrealist fancies of the “New Weird” find elegant expression in The Erstwhile by Brian Catling and The Last…
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Aliens in Aldershot: why you should catch up on Radio 4’s War of the Worlds
The BBC have done wonderfully accurate adaptation of H G Wells’s novel.
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New novel A Natural explores football’s disturbing off-pitch world
Ross Raisin’s book tells the story of a footballer of two halves.
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