10 h. ago Fires Which Burned Brightly by Sebastian Faulks review – a grief

In his account of postwar childhood and literary success, the novelist hints at pain he is unable to address directlyIn this not-quite-a-memoir, the novelist Sebastian Faulks gives a fine-grained account of growing up in post-second world war England. In the home counties cottage he shares with his parents and older brother, olive oil does duty not in the kitchen but as a bathroom remedy for bunged-up ears. If you are lucky enough to have a telephone (the Faulks are), it will probably be a “party” line shared with the people next door. Holidays consist of an icy week in Bexhill-on-Sea or, a step up, the Isle of Wight (just as cold but with a nicer class of ice-cream). Then there are all those tight-lipped middle-aged men busying themselves mowing the lawn and going to work in mysterious “offices”. Not so long ago they were shooting down Germans or trying to survive the north African desert.Faulks’s own father is one of these heroes in hiding – a provincial solicitor in a failing pra...

Events

38 h. ago Sánchez: Europe’s response to war in Gaza has been a ‘failure’

Spanish prime minister says double standards over Gaza and Ukraine threaten to undermine the west’s global standing‘You need solidarity and consistency’: Pedro Sánchez on the EU, Trump and fighting the far right Europe and the west’s double standards over the wars in Ukraine and Gaza threaten to undermine its global standing, the Spanish prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, has warned, describing the response to Israel’s assault on the Palestinian territory as one of the darkest episodes of international relations in the 21st century.In an interview with the Guardian before talks with UK prime minister, Keir Starmer, in London on Wednesday, the socialist leader also said the US under Donald Trump was trying to end the post-second world war, rules-based global order it had originally created. Continue reading...

Events

38 h. ago Pedro Sánchez: Europe’s response to war in Gaza has been a failure

Spanish prime minister says double standards over Gaza and Ukraine threaten to undermine west’s global standing‘You need solidarity and consistency’: Pedro Sánchez on the EU, Trump and fighting the far right Europe and the west’s double standards over the wars in Ukraine and Gaza threaten to undermine its global standing, the Spanish prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, has warned, describing the response to Israel’s assault on the Palestinian territory as one of the darkest episodes of international relations in the 21st century.In an interview with the Guardian before talks with UK prime minister, Keir Starmer, in London on Wednesday, the socialist leader also said the US under Donald Trump was trying to end the post-second world war, rules-based global order it had originally created. Continue reading...

Events

6 d. ago UK bars Israeli government from London arms fair over Gaza war

UK bars Israeli government from London arms fair over Gaza war  South China Morning Post

Politics

7 d. ago Tony Blair urged to explain secretive Donald Trump meeting at White House

The former PM met with Trump and his son-in-law Jared Kushner to discuss post-war plans for Gaza - which the US President has frequently mused about turning into a Las Vegas-style waterfront resort

Society

2 w. ago European leaders from ‘coalition of the willing’ to hold conference call over Trump

Leaders set to meet to try to protect peace deal after Putin demands Ukraine withdraws from Donetsk and LuhanskUkrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said Russia is complicating efforts to end the war.In a post on X, he wrote:We see that Russia rebuffs numerous calls for a ceasefire and has not yet determined when it will stop the killing. This complicates the situation. If they lack the will to carry out a simple order to stop the strikes, it may take a lot of effort to get Russia to have the will to implement far greater – peaceful coexistence with its neighbors for decades. Continue reading...

Politics

3 w. ago Cheer up, Ice Cube, your War of the Worlds movie may be really bad, but it's not worthless | Saranka Maheswaran

Awful clunkers occasionally emerge from both Hollywood and Bollywood, but I have found value in most cinematic calamitiesIf the latest adaptation of HG Wells’s 1898 novel The War of the Worlds, a movie starring Ice Cube and Eva Longoria, was designed to make us pause and ask questions, it has certainly succeeded. Unfortunately, what a lot of viewers have been asking is why it was inflicted on the public in the first place. Is War of the Worlds “one of the worst movies ever made?”, asked the BBC. “Shockingly bad War of the Worlds is one of the worst movies of the decade,” said the New York Post. “Amazon’s War of the Worlds update should never have been released,” declared the Telegraph.The 2005 adaptation, starring Tom Cruise, was a smash hit. Now people are flocking to the remake to see just how bad a film can be – it’s in the top 10 films watched in the UK and US on Amazon Prime. It seems that we have come to love “bad” films almost as much as those deemed good. The website Rotten ...

Events

3 w. ago Donald Trump issues Putin 'VERY severe consequences' warning if Ukraine war doesn't end

Donald Trump has issued a grave warning to Vladimir Putin after previously stating he would sting Russia with new sanctions if he failed to make a Ukraine deal

Events

3 w. ago Donald Trump warns Putin there will be 'VERY severe consequences' if Russia does not stop the war in Ukraine

The US President took a tougher tone against the dictator yesterday saying he was yet to be convinced he would be able to persuade Putin to stop killing civilians.

Events

3 w. ago Trump warns of 'severe consequences' if Putin doesn't halt war post

Trump has warned Putin their will be 'very serious consequences' if the Russia refuses to end the war after talks on Friday when asked what those consequences are Trump said: 'I don't have to say'

Events