29 h. ago ‘It allowed us to survive, to not go mad’: the CIA book smuggling operation that helped bring down communism

From George Orwell to Hannah Arendt and John le Carré, thousands of blacklisted books flooded into Poland during the cold war, as publishers and printers risked their lives for literatureThe volume’s glossy dust jacket shows a 1970s computer room, where high priests of the information age, dressed in kipper ties and flares, tap instructions into the terminals of some ancient mainframe. The only words on the front read “Master Operating Station”, “Subsidiary Operating Station” and “Free Standing Display”. Is any publication less appetising than an out-of-date technical manual?Turn inside, however, and the book reveals a secret. It isn’t a computer manual at all, but a Polish language edition of Nineteen Eighty-Four, George Orwell’s famous anti-totalitarian novel, which was banned for decades by communist censors in the eastern bloc. Continue reading...

Events

42 h. ago UK snow forecast as '10cm per hour' blizzard approaches and maps reveal exact date

Advanced weather modelling maps show Britain could be blasted by up to 10cm of snow per hour when a wintry front sweeps across several areas in a few days' time

Politics

3 d. ago Prince Harry's visa battle reaches crunch date as decision about application looms

The long-running issue of whether the Duke of Sussex’s application should be made public will reach a milestone today.

Politics

4 d. ago The terrifying truth I discovered about the hair loss 'black market'

It was worst under intense downlight. At restaurants and in over-lit shops, bright and mirrored changing rooms and airport bathrooms.

Economics

4 d. ago Nintendo Switch 2 price ‘revealed’ but there's bad news for original console owners

The Nintendo Switch 2 may be without a release date, but it appears the console is already available on the black market – although it'll cost you to get your hands on it earlier than anyone else

Politics

4 d. ago How I REVERSED my balding. My barber called my thick head of hair a 'miracle'... this is exactly how I did it: SIMON MILLS

It was worst under intense downlight. At restaurants and in over-lit shops, bright and mirrored changing rooms and airport bathrooms.

Politics

4 d. ago I had a £10,000 hair transplant because women on dating apps said balding men repulsed them. This is exactly what happened... now even my barber says 'it's a miracle': SIMON MILLS

It was worst under intense downlight. At restaurants and in over-lit shops, bright and mirrored changing rooms and airport bathrooms.

Economics

5 d. ago iPhone SE 4: Release date, price and more ahead of highly anticipated Apple announcement

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Economics

5 d. ago New 2025 Apple iPhone SE launch date confirmed as prices set to be revealed

The new budget iPhone SE is set to be revealed this week by Apple

Economics

5 d. ago Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey gets release date as Matt Damon appears in first teaser

Fans of Greek Mythology have a star studded film to look forward to with Christopher Nolan's version of The Odyssey - and now Matt Damon has been revealed as the lead star

Politics