30 h. ago ‘My legal work sows the seeds of my stories’: International Booker prize winner Banu Mushtaq

The author and activist, who was subject to a fatwa in 2000, has won the prestigious prize for translated fiction for her short stories about the lives of Muslim women. She and her translator Deepa Bhasthi explain how Heart Lamp’s themes ‘are universal’• ‘Radical translation’ of Heart Lamp by Banu Mushtaq wins International Booker prize‘Human beings and their basic nature are the same everywhere,” Banu Mushtaq says. “That is the intention of my writing. The theme is woman, the theme is marginalised people, the theme is to be a voice to the voiceless community.”Mushtaq, from the Karnataka region of southern India, has been “awake all night”, she says, as we speak on the morning after she won the International Booker prize in London for her book Heart Lamp. The prize is shared between Mushtaq and her translator Deepa Bhasthi, who is also present – and also had no sleep. Continue reading...

Politics

3 d. ago International Booker Prize 2025: Banu Mushtaq wins for book ‘challenging Western stereotypes about Muslim life’

The 12 short stories, translated by Deepa Bhasthi, follow the lives of ordinary women living in southern India

Politics

3 d. ago Indian author Banu Mushtaq wins International Booker Prize with short story collection

Indian author Banu Mushtaq and translator Deepa Bhasthi have won the International Booker Prize for fiction for “Heart Lamp,” a collection of 12 short stories written over a period of more than 30 years, chronicling the everyday lives and struggles of women in southern India

Culture

3 d. ago ‘Radical translation’ of Heart Lamp by Banu Mushtaq wins International Booker prize

Translator Deepa Bhasthi’s pick of 12 of Mushtaq’s ‘life-affirming’ tales about women’s lives in southern India becomes the first short story collection to win the £50,000 awardHeart Lamp by Banu Mushtaq, translated by Deepa Bhasthi, has won this year’s International Booker prize for translated fiction, becoming the first short story collection to take the award. The stories were originally written in Kannada, the official language of the state of Karnataka in southern India.Described by the author and chair of judges Max Porter as “something genuinely new for English readers: a radical translation” of “beautiful, busy, life-affirming stories”, Heart Lamp’s 12 tales chronicle the lives of women in patriarchal communities in southern India. They were selected as well as translated by Bhasthi, the first Indian translator to win the award. She chose them from around 50 stories in six collections written by Mushtaq over a 30-year-period. Continue reading...

Politics

4 d. ago Newly single Nicola Adams, 42, puts her Leeds 'family home' up for sale for £950k after splitting from OnlyFans model girlfriend Ella Baig, 27

Last month, Nicola confirmed that she and Ella had parted ways after Ella's career as an OnlyFans model put a strain on their relationship.

Economics

6 d. ago At least 17 from a single family killed in massive fire in southern India

Eight children, including the youngest who was just 1.5 years old, were among those killed from single family in massive blaze

Events

8 d. ago Bicester fire latest: Multiple explosions heard at former RAF base as massive blaze kills three

Two firefighters died while tackling the inferno at Bicester Motion on Thursday

Events

1 week ago The cardamom conundrum: what’s the difference between green and black pods? | Kitchen aide

Did you even know there is a black cardamom? And white and red ones, too? And that some are good for sweet recipes and others for curries? Our top cooks have all the spicy smartsWhat’s the difference between green and black cardamom, and when should I use pods or ground? “Cardamom is my favourite spice,” says Cynthia Shanmugalingam, chef/proprietor of Rambutan in London. “It smells like childhood puddings and sweets.” That’s not to say the papery pods filled with black seeds aren’t versatile, mind. Yes, cardamom can bring a “piney, eucalyptus-like fragrance and warmth” to desserts, Shanmugalingam adds, but it also “adds depth” to savoury dishes, meaning you can take it in multiple directions.With its origins in southern India and a relative of ginger, cardamom pods commonly come in green and black (also known as brown) form, as well as red (used mainly in Chinese and Asian cuisines) and white, which are bleached green pods. While Roopa Gulati, author of Indian Kitchens: Treasured Fa...

Politics

1 week ago Zara Tindall reveals 'struggles' within Royal Family and singles out one member as 'inspirational'

Princess Anne's daughter has opened up about her royal relatives

Politics

3 w. ago Prince Harry loses legal challenge over police protection in UK

Duke of Sussex’s team had argued he was ‘singled out’ for ‘inferior treatment’ when security was downgraded in 2020The Duke of Sussex has lost a legal challenge over the level of taxpayer-funded security he is entitled to while in the UK, allowing the government to proceed with a “bespoke”, and cheaper, level of protection to his family.Barristers for Prince Harry argued that he had been “singled out” for “inferior treatment” and that his safety and life were “at stake” after a change in security arrangements after he stepped down as a working royal and moved abroad. Continue reading...

Politics

3 w. ago Massive Attack defend Kneecap after row over ‘kill your MP’ footage

Video has emerged from a November 2023 gig appearing to show one member of the Irish group saying: ‘Kill your local MP.’

Events

3 w. ago Vanishing World by Sayaka Murata review – a future without sex

The Convenience Store Woman author imagines the creep of a new worldview, in a novel that highlights the weirdness of normal lifeIn Japanese writer Sayaka Murata’s fiction, characters do perverse things in order to “play the part of the fictitious creature called ‘an ordinary person’”. This description comes from Keiko, the 36-year-old narrator of Convenience Store Woman. Keiko’s conformist family and friends can’t believe she can be happy being single and working a dead-end job at a convenience store. Keiko finds an unexpected way to make it look as though she is normal: she keeps a man in her bathtub, hoping that everyone will simply assume they are a couple. A similar idea appears in Murata’s short story Poochie, from the collection Life Ceremony. A young girl takes a friend to a shed in the mountains to meet her pet; the friend is surprised to discover that the pet is a middle-aged man. Murata is interested in the lengths humans will go to in order to domesticate ...

Politics

4 w. ago Massive explosion rocks Iran as four are killed and more than 500 injured with blast blamed on shipment of ballistic missile fuel

The blast at the Shahid Rajaei port happened as Iran and the US met Saturday in Oman for the third round of negotiations over Tehran's rapidly advancing nuclear program.

Events

4 w. ago 'I hunt Birmingham's rats with a giant rifle – we've won the battle but war isn't over'

EXCLUSIVE: In a bid to help solve Brum's rodent crisis, the Daily Star has hung out with the Pied Piper of Birmingham who showed us the massive rifle that's so good at killing rats it rendered our services redundant

Events

last month ‘Vladimir, stop!’ Trump in rare rebuke to Putin as Kyiv attack toll rises to 12

Intervention comes as US president makes renewed push to end war, reportedly on terms favourable to MoscowEurope live: latest updatesDonald Trump has issued a rare rebuke to Moscow for an air attack that killed 12 people in Kyiv, telling the Russian president in a social media post: “Vladimir, STOP!”The US president’s remarks come as he makes a renewed push to end the Ukraine war, reportedly on terms favourable to Russia that include recognition of Moscow’s 2014 annexation of Crimea, something the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, has said he cannot accept. Continue reading...

Politics

last month ‘Vladimir, stop!’ Trump issues rare rebuke to Putin as Kyiv attack toll rises to 12

Ninety people also wounded after one of the most devastating air attacks against Ukraine for monthsEurope live: latest updatesAt least 12 people have been killed and more than 90 injured in Kyiv after Russia carried out one of the most devastating air attacks against Ukraine for months, with Kharkiv and other cities also targeted.The attack drew a rare rebuke of Russia from Donald Trump, who posted on social media: “Vladimir, STOP!” Continue reading...

Politics

last month ‘Massive’ Russian attack on Kyiv kills nine and wounds 70 as Trump criticises Zelenskyy over peace talks – Europe live

Attack on Kyiv comes hours after Donald Trump accused his Ukrainian counterpart of being ‘harder’ to deal with than PutinWe understand that while the visit will be cut short after Zelenskyy’s meeting with Ramaphosa, their media activities will still proceed, meaning we should hear from the Ukrainian president in the next few hours.Rachel and I will keep an eye on this development to see if Zelenskyy takes part in a scheduled press conference in Pretoria in case he wants to say more about the attacks overnight. Continue reading...

Events

last month Nine killed and dozens injured in ‘massive’ Russian missile attack on Kyiv

Several districts across city targeted in one of most devastating air attacks against Ukraine for monthsEurope live: latest updatesAt least nine people have been killed and more than 70 injured in Kyiv after Russia carried out one of the most devastating air attacks against Ukraine for months, with Kharkiv and other cities also targeted.Waves of drones as well as ballistic and guided missiles struck the Ukrainian capital early on Thursday. There were explosions for much of the night, beginning at about 1am local time, and the rattle of anti-aircraft fire as Ukrainian defences tried to shoot the missiles down. Continue reading...

Events

last month Nine people killed and dozens injured in ‘massive’ Russian missile attack on Kyiv

Five districts across Kyiv suffered damage in attack that is among the deadliest on the capital in the three-year warAt least nine people have been killed and more than 60 wounded in a “massive” missile attack on Kyiv, according to Ukraine’s state emergency service. It is among the deadliest attacks on the capital of the three-year war.Ukrainian authorities issued an alert for a missile attack, and AFP journalists heard explosions across the capital early on Thursday. Continue reading...

Events