22 h. ago ‘It’s notoriously hard to write about sex’: David Szalay on Flesh, his astounding Booker prize

The novel’s protagonist is violent, libidinous and so inarticulate he says ‘OK’ some 500 times. So how did the author turn his story into a tragic masterpiece?When we meet the morning after the announcement of this year’s Booker prize, David Szalay, the winner, seems an extremely genial and gentle author to have created one of the most morally ambiguous characters in recent contemporary fiction. His sixth novel, Flesh, about the rise and fall of a Hungarian immigrant to the UK, is unlike anything you have read before.Szalay (pronounced “Sol-oy”) is often described as “Hungarian-British”, but that has offended Canadians this morning, he says. His mother was Canadian and he was born in that country, where his Hungarian father had moved a few years earlier. “I’m arguably more Canadian than Hungarian.” Now 51, he grew up in England, graduated from Oxford University, and lived in Hungary for 15 years. To make things more confusing, he is over from Vienna, where he now lives with his wife...

Politics

23 h. ago Tell us: have you moved to another country for your partner?

We’d like to hear about how the move affected your relationshipAfter Annalisa Barbieri’s recent advice column “I moved abroad to live with my wife, but I’ve come to hate her country”, we are looking to hear from people who relocated to another country for their partner but have found the move difficult, or would even prefer to be elsewhere.How has the move affected your relationship? What have you struggled with? Continue reading...

Politics

5 d. ago Love Island star to represent country at Eurovision in move that will deliver global fame

Former Love Island contestant Antigoni Buxton is set to enter the world's stage as she represents a country in next year's Eurovision Song Contest after years of trying

Politics

9 d. ago Family moved 'to the other end of the country' wins payout from London council

A woman fleeing domestic abuse with her children was given a £1,100 payout

Politics

1 week ago Hiking with the wildlife author who studies Yosemite’s high peaks: ‘These animals are equal to us’

Inspired by childhood encyclopedias and Jane Goodall, Beth Pratt writes about the more than 150 species in the national park – and transports readers to a rarefied worldA shrill call was followed by a flash of movement through a pile of boulders on a high country slope in Yosemite national park. “Hello, Sophie!” Beth Pratt responded to the round, feisty pika who had briefly emerged to pose defiantly in the sun.Pratt, a conservation leader and wildlife advocate, has spent more than a decade observing the tiny mammals and the other inhabitants of these serene granite domes and the alpine meadows they overlook, which gleamed gold on a crisp afternoon in mid-October. Continue reading...

Events

1 week ago Huge crowds gather on first anniversary of Serbian train station disaster

Student-led movement continues to demand political change as embattled president issues rare apologyTens of thousands of Serbians have gathered to commemorate victims of a fatal railway station collapse a year ago, a tragedy that galvanised anti-government sentiment that still threatens the embattled president, Aleksandar Vučić.A student-led movement organised the rallies in the country’s second largest city, Novi Sad, where on 1 November 2024, the canopy at the newly renovated railway station collapsed. Continue reading...

Events

1 week ago French parliament votes to add consent to rape law after Gisèle Pelicot case

A historic move to change French criminal law would bring its legislation in line with many other European countriesThe French parliament has voted to add consent to the country’s rape law in a historic move sparked by the mass rape of Gisèle Pelicot.The change, which will still need to be signed off by President Emmanuel Macron, will bring French legislation in line with many other European countries. Continue reading...

Politics

3 w. ago Cabinet secretary Wormald ‘continues to have PM’s support’ says No 10

Downing Street was responding to speculation the country’s top civil servant could be moved from his role within months.

Politics

3 w. ago Escape to the Country buyer details health diagnosis that halted move to Scotland

On Monday’s instalment of Escape to the Country, Jules Hudson was on hand to help one couple find their dream home in Cumbria.

Science

3 w. ago Escape To The Country buyer breaks down in tears as he reveals heartbreaking reason behind move

The couple, who had a whopping £650,000 budget, were looking to relocate from Berkshire to Herefordshire and had their hearts set on a modern new build.

Politics

3 w. ago Indigenous and environmental leaders in Ecuador say they are facing state intimidation

Critics say referendum on rewriting country’s eco-friendly constitution is president’s latest pro-extractivist moveIndigenous and environmental leaders in Ecuador say they are facing a wave of state intimidation ahead of a national referendum next month on whether to rewrite the world’s only constitution that recognises the rights of nature.The pressure is being applied by the rightwing president, Daniel Noboa, who has begun his second term with a Trumpian agenda of consolidating power and sweeping away legal and social barriers to extractivist businesses, such as mining. Continue reading...

Politics

4 w. ago BBC Escape to the Country turns emotional as buyer share heartbreaking reason for move

An Escape to the Country couple were left in tears as they shared the heartbreaking reason they wanted to move to the countryside

Politics

last month Escape to the Country buyer in tears as he shares heartbreaking reason behind move

BBC's Escape to the Country took an emotional turn as a couple shared their heartbreaking reason for wanting to relocate

Politics

last month Man Utd news: Prem's 'best winger' tipped to sign as transfer target's demands made clear

Manchester United are being linked with a move for "the best winger in the country right now" and a young midfielder who craves the chance to prove himself at the highest level

Events