Calais: A war of words without sense and a tragedy without end
Boris Johnson’s posturing over France is making a terrible situation even worse.
2 December: The Mafia: Back from the dead
How the ’Ndrangheta stepped into Cosa Nostra’s shoes.
Start readingHighlights
21st Century Mafia: How the ’Ndrangheta became the scourge of Italy… and beyond
Italy’s Mafia is older than the country itself and, despite the cyclical efforts to stamp out its influence, the rise of the Calabrian ’Ndrangheta clan to displace the Sicilian Cosa Nostra underscores its intrinsic place in Italian society.
A flood of EU funding is filling the coffers of the European Mafia
Mafia scams involving farming, tobacco, VAT and alcohol are taking billions out of EU funds. The Covid pandemic has opened the floodgates.
Céline Sciamma: The world’s most important film-maker
When it comes to becoming an icon to a new generation of moviegoers, Céline Sciamma has been there, done that.. and inspired the t-shirt.
In this edition
Everyday Philosophy: How Doomsday changes the way we live
Philosopher NIGEL WARBUTON on how Covid isn't the only disaster we should be wary of.
Calais: A war of words without sense and a tragedy without end
Boris Johnson’s posturing over France is making a terrible situation even worse.
The government will never solve the migrant boat crisis by bowing to a baying press
In the wake of the tragedy in the Channel, media commentator LIZ GERARD’s searing essay exposes how newspapers demonised refugees - and encouraged ministers to follow them.
Alastair Campbell’s diary: Public school teaches Tories to have OUR cake and eat it
For generations, top private schools, including Eton, have taught students a sense of superiority, argues ALASTAIR CAMPBELL.
Your prime minister needs you… to make him richer
Boris Johnson continues to try and convince the public that he is acting in their interest, not just his own.
Mandrake: Keir Starmer’s name is a byword for caution
The Labour leader's early legal life was fuelled by risk-averse stories and redactions.
Brexit isn’t working…we will do our best to clean up the mess
The new Commission for UK-EU Relations will propose solutions to problems caused by Britain’s botched exit.
Now it’s the Brexit-voting farmers who have buyer’s remorse
As subsidies are cut and pigs are culled, it's unlikely farmers are part of the 18% who believe Brexit is going well.
The women who can still save Joe Biden’s presidency
Joe Biden’s possible successor is the real success story of this administration.
Christmas lights, missed hugs and illegal biscuits: My Vienna lockdown diary
As a new variant hits, Austrians are once again dealing with the strangeness of life behind closed doors.
Germansplaining: Germany’s anti-Boris takes charge
Our columnist (who worked for his
rival during the German elections)
says Angela Merkel’s successor is
a pragmatist, not an entertainer.
Thin-skinned Tories are hell-bent on zero dissent
One reader questions what Boris Johnson is scared of, after he purged his party of all those who dared to question him.
Has vaccine hoarding caused the Omicron variant?
21st Century Mafia: How the ’Ndrangheta became the scourge of Italy… and beyond
Italy’s Mafia is older than the country itself and, despite the cyclical efforts to stamp out its influence, the rise of the Calabrian ’Ndrangheta clan to displace the Sicilian Cosa Nostra underscores its intrinsic place in Italian society.
A flood of EU funding is filling the coffers of the European Mafia
Mafia scams involving farming, tobacco, VAT and alcohol are taking billions out of EU funds. The Covid pandemic has opened the floodgates.
Boris Johnson is heading for oblivion.. so should he open a theme park?
Comedian MITCH BENN ponders if the prime minister is making plans to open "Borisland" once his time at No.10 is done.
Céline Sciamma: The world’s most important film-maker
When it comes to becoming an icon to a new generation of moviegoers, Céline Sciamma has been there, done that.. and inspired the t-shirt.
Was a CIA operative the vital piece in the Kennedy puzzle?
He was a Russian nobleman. He was a secret agent. And his best friend was Lee Harvey Oswald. Meet George de Mohrenschildt.
Impeachment: American Crime Story shows how Monica Lewinsky was demonised
Aspects of the show depicting the Bill Clinton and Monica Lewinsky affair seem so odd, different and plainly wrong that it feels like science fiction.
Edmund de Waal: A man of letters
After the success of The Hare with Amber Eyes, potter and writer Edmund de Waal returns with an exhibition and book of fictional letters about a journey through grief.
Theatre Review: A Christmas Carol makes spirits soar this festive season
The Charles Dickens classic has been staged for the fifth time, and still speaks to modern audiences.
Theatre Review: Manor tries to achieve too much – and fails
One day, great plays will be written about far-right groups, climate change and racism, but Manor is not one of them.
Centuries later, Danish music is bringing Swedish witchcraft to life
Volbeat's Lasses Birgitta tells the story of a woman, who became one of many, executed for witchcraft in the Swedish island of Öland, over 450 years ago.
Book tokenism? No, women are finally getting the rewards they deserve
CHARLIE CONNELLY on the truth behind a ludicrous “woke” controversy over the Costa Book Awards.
Does football need a dictator?
The Football Association lost influence over the sport when it ceded power to the Premier League in 1992. Now, ROB HUGHES asks who owns football?
Taste of Europe: Edoardo Pellicano’s honey cake
Food writer JOSH BARRIE brings readers a recipe from a chef who captures London's endless multiculturalism perfectly.
For Australians and New Zealanders, the proof is in the Pavlova pudding
PETER TRUDGILL on the origins of a tasty dessert – and the disagreement it causes in parts of the Southern Hemisphere.
Amrita Sher-Gil: The painter whose greatest critic was herself
It was in her art that she truly lost herself, but this didn't stop Amrita Sher-Gil from finding fault with her work.
Multicultural Man: In hospital
WILL SELF on his recent stay St Thomas’ Hospital and how it made him realise that the NHS mirrors the strange state of the nation.