11 h. ago Glyph by Ali Smith review – bearing witness to the war in Gaza

This second novel in a sharp duology offers a powerful interrogation of language in the age of mechanical mass destructionNever knowingly unknowing, Ali Smith pre-empts the most likely criticism of her latest novel, Glyph, when a character says: “I’m just not sure that books that are novels and fiction and so on should be so close to real life or so politically blatant.”Glyph, which follows sisters Petra and Patch as they reflect on childhood attempts to grapple with the finality of death following the loss of their mother, goes further than any of Smith’s recent work in robustly answering this charge. While the Seasonal Quartet playfully anatomised the social fracture of post-Brexit Britain, and immediate predecessor Gliff dealt with the violence of the securitised state, Glyph, in its explicit engagement with the Israeli government’s apartheid and genocide in Palestine, raises the ethical stakes decisively. To engage in a Smithian pun – this is Art in the Age of Mechanical Ma...

Events

3 d. ago ‘I wish I had the power to ease his suffering’: Gaza’s cancer patients trapped by war and blockade

Thousands of Palestinian cancer patients are living without treatment as they await medical evacuationWhen the Gaza war began, Ismail Abu Naji was just 18 months old, his small body covered in swollen, bleeding lesions. Months earlier, doctors had diagnosed him with a rare blood cancer, one that, if untreated, is often a death sentence.In the weeks before the war, Ismail’s family had arranged for him to be transferred to Al-Makassed hospital in Jerusalem, a charitable institution for Palestinians, for specialised care. But the blockade Israel imposed on Gaza after Hamas’s 7 October 2023 attack that triggered the conflict meant Ismail could not leave the territory. Continue reading...

Science

3 d. ago United Arab Emirates plans to bankroll first ‘planned community’ in south Gaza

Exclusive: Blueprints describe a ‘case study’ community where residents submit biometric data to gain entryThe United Arab Emirates plans to fund “Gaza’s first planned community” on the ruined outskirts of Rafah, Gaza’s southernmost city. Palestinian residents there will have access to basic services like education, healthcare and running water, as long as they submit to biometric data collection and security vetting, according to planning documents and people familiar with the latest round of talks at the US-led Civil Military Coordination Center in Israel.The planned city would mark the UAE’s first investment in a post-war reconstruction project located in the part of Gaza currently held by Israel. The wealthy Gulf state has contributed more than $1.8bn of humanitarian assistance to Gaza since 7 October 2023, according to UAE state media, making it Gaza’s largest humanitarian donor. Continue reading...

Politics

5 d. ago Gifted student living in tent in Gaza begs for help after offer to study at top Scots uni

Qusay Al-Reqeb, 20, has had an offer to study computer science at the University of Glasgow but is facing a daily struggle to survive in war torn Gaza.

Politics

6 d. ago Netanyahu agrees to join Trump’s ‘Board of Peace’ for Gaza despite war crimes arrest warrant

Israel has previously objected to the membership of the board

Events

6 d. ago Glyph by Ali Smith review: 'full of chameleons and tricksters'

Rather than offering narrative resolution, in Glyph Ali Smith takes the harder path of saying there are some things we can just never know, writes Stuart Kelly

Politics

1 week ago The best literary fiction out now: GLYPH by Ali Smith, THE OLD FIRE by Elisa Shua Dusapin, TELEVISION by Lauren Rothery

Anthony Cummins reviews the best literary fiction out now

Events

1 week ago Eurovision song contest to go on tour to celebrate 70th anniversary

‘Iconic performers’ will visit 10 European cities, as event reels from boycott over Israel’s 2026 participation The Eurovision song contest will go on its first ever tour to celebrate its 70th anniversary, its organiser has said, as it reels from a boycott due to Israel’s participation.Five countries have pulled out of the contest over Israel’s war in Gaza, leaving 35 to participate in the world’s biggest live televised music event – the fewest since entry was expanded in 2004. Continue reading...

Culture

1 week ago Appeals court reverses ruling that freed Columbia University activist Mahmoud Khalil from ICE detention

A prominent figure in pro-Palestinian protests against Israel's war in Gaza, Khalil was arrested in March by ICE agents in the lobby of his university residence in New York

Events

1 week ago Gaza war leads to 41% fall in births prompting allegations of reproductive violence

Israel’s war in Gaza has caused high numbers of maternal and neonatal deaths, say two reportsIsrael’s war in Gaza has led to a 41% fall in births in the territory, and high numbers of maternal deaths, miscarriages, newborn mortality and premature births, two reports into the impact of the conflict on pregnant women, babies and maternity care reveal.Two reports by Physicians for Human Rights, in collaboration with the Global Human Rights Clinic at the University of Chicago Law School, and Physicians for Human Rights–Israel document how the war has led to high figures for maternal and neonatal mortality and forced births in dangerous conditions and systematically dismantled health services – consequences of “a deliberate intention of preventing births among Palestinians, meeting the legal criteria of the Genocide Convention,” researchers said. Continue reading...

Events

1 week ago Winter storms kill five in Gaza amid desperate conditions in makeshift camps

At least four displaced Palestinians killed when strong winds caused walls to collapse onto their tents and a one-year-old boy died of hypothermiaStrong winter winds collapsed walls onto flimsy tents for Palestinians displaced by war in Gaza, killing at least four people, as dangerous living conditions persist after more than two years of devastating Israeli bombardment and aid shortfalls.A ceasefire has been in effect since October, but aid groups say that Palestinians broadly lack the shelter necessary to withstand frequent winter storms. Continue reading...

Events

2 w. ago Voices: The world’s worst humanitarian crisis is unfolding in Sudan

As the conflict in Sudan passes the grim milestone of 1,000 days, Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper writes that the same diplomatic energy that helped end the war in Gaza is needed to end the crisis

Events

3 w. ago Europe’s failure to condemn Trump’s illegal aggression in Venezuela isn’t just wrong – it’s stupid | Nathalie Tocci

The more European countries act as colonies, unable and unwilling to stand up to Trump, the more they’ll be treated as suchThere is no two without a three, as we say in Italian. After their complicit silence on Israel’s war crimes in Gaza and their tacit acceptance of the US/Israel attack on Iran, Europeans now hesitate to condemn the US’s audacious military operation to bring about regime change in Venezuela. With few notable exceptions – such as Spain, the Netherlands and Norway – most European leaders have fudged their response. Spain, in fact, has acted without its EU partners, condemning the US attack alongside a group of Latin American countries. European governments seem unable to utter in the same breath that, although Nicolás Maduro was an illegitimate dictator, the US attack to topple him is a gross violation of international law.The French president, Emmanuel Macron, the UK prime minister, Keir Starmer, and the European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, at least...

Events

3 w. ago Stanford students face trial over felony charges stemming from pro

Trial is the most severe criminal case brought against US students who staged protests against Israel’s war in GazaFive Stanford University students are facing trial beginning on Monday over felony charges stemming from a pro-Palestinian protest on campus – the most severe criminal case brought against some of the thousands of students who staged nationwide protests and encampments against Israel’s war in Gaza.The northern California students are part of a group of 12 who were charged with felony conspiracy to trespass and felony vandalism in connection to an hour-long, June 2024 occupation during which the group barricaded themselves inside the university president’s office to demand Stanford consider a student resolution to divest from Israel, among other requests. Continue reading...

Politics

4 w. ago Trump says ‘there’ll be hell to pay’ if Hamas does not disarm as he meets Netanyahu at Mar

US president says group will have ‘very short period’ to disarm and that he and Israeli prime minister ‘don’t agree on the West Bank 100%’ as pair meetBenjamin Netanyahu is expected to tell Donald Trump on Monday that Hamas must return the remains of the last Israeli hostage left in Gaza before the next stages of the stalled ceasefire can be implemented, Israeli officials and analysts say.The trip comes amid a new push by officials in Washington to force concessions from Israel to allow progress towards a second stage of the ceasefire in Gaza, which began in October after two years of devastating war.He feels he has a number of cards to play yet and the remains of Gvili is the easiest one to play now but there are others.Netanyahu knows exactly what he wants for Christmas – more of the same. Israeli troops stay in 51% of Gaza, periodically striking Hamas without the shadow of withdrawal looming over him. None of this requires a denunciation of the [Trump] plan itself and Trump can v...

Politics

4 w. ago Trump says reconstruction of Gaza will begin ‘soon’ as he meets Netanyahu at Mar

US president says he and Israeli prime minister will discuss ‘five major subjects’ and Gaza will be among themBenjamin Netanyahu is expected to tell Donald Trump on Monday that Hamas must return the remains of the last Israeli hostage left in Gaza before the next stages of the stalled ceasefire can be implemented, Israeli officials and analysts say.The trip comes amid a new push by officials in Washington to force concessions from Israel to allow progress towards a second stage of the ceasefire in Gaza, which began in October after two years of devastating war.He feels he has a number of cards to play yet and the remains of Gvili is the easiest one to play now but there are others.Netanyahu knows exactly what he wants for Christmas – more of the same. Israeli troops stay in 51% of Gaza, periodically striking Hamas without the shadow of withdrawal looming over him. None of this requires a denunciation of the [Trump] plan itself and Trump can very easily justify Israel’s extended stay...

Politics

4 w. ago Hamas says its longtime spokesman was killed following an Israeli strike in August

Hamas has confirmed that its longtime spokesman was killed following an Israeli strike in August in war-torn Gaza

Events

last month Freezing rain floods Gaza camps as displaced Palestinians face even worse conditions

Rain has flooded makeshift camps in Gaza, worsening conditions for Palestinians displaced by the two-year war

Events

last month Freezing rain floods Gaza camps and leaves displaced Palestinians in dire conditions

Rain has flooded makeshift camps in Gaza, worsening conditions for Palestinians displaced by the two-year war

Events