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The Handmaid’s Tale author is joined by Emily Wilson, Ocean Vuong and Booker-shortlisted writer Rebecca Perry in celebrating the newly announced Nobel laureate
Anne Carson’s work has long been admired among poets of many countries. For new readers, I would recommend The Beauty of the Husband – direct and visceral, funny and angry and sad – or Men in the Off Hours. Delights await!
Continue reading...Thu, 08 Oct 2026 17:12:56 GMT
The combination of Iranian, Russian and Chinese aggression is deeply worrying: just how much more concerned about security should the country be?
The first time the window-rattling roar of a B-1 bomber woke me up this summer, I thought for one crazed second we were under attack. By the second time, I’d learned to recognise the sound of US planes taking off from their base at RAF Fairford for what it was: a reminder that although Britain wants no part in this war with Iran, we cannot quite escape the consequences.
We’ll feel them at the petrol pump, or in the supermarket this autumn, or in this winter’s heating bills. But living under the flight path adds an extra edge to it. The skies finally fell silent last week, but only because the bombers have been hastily summoned home after an alleged terrorist plot to attack Fairford, in which (according to the prime minister) there are “strong indications that Iran played a part”. If Fairford is now a target of war, did that threat disappear when the Americans did? Nobody knows.
Gaby Hinsliff is a Guardian columnist
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Continue reading...Thu, 08 Oct 2026 16:55:39 GMT
Oversized coats, relaxed-fit trousers and secondhand jumpers that will last for years to come … here’s how to build an effortlessly cool autumn wardrobe on a budget
• The best men’s shirts for every occasion
It’s time to pack away your weekly rotation of T-shirts and shorts and start thinking about layers.
As always, there’s no shortage of inspiration for your autumn look. The menswear shows displayed their usual styling tricks: at Prada, the exaggerated shirt cuff became this season’s unlikely focal point. Then, there are the It boys, old and new, who are always good for a sartorial steer: comedian and actor Jack Innanen is the latest addition to the roster, though Brad Pitt’s 90s looks are just as current. And that’s all before you get to the colour palette: this year, bright colours can be thrown in among the traditional rich, earthy shades.
Continue reading...Thu, 08 Oct 2026 17:00:25 GMT
The director talks about what she learnt from her mother, working with a rookie Tim Burton, and 20 years of her cult classic Marie Antoinette
Hello, I’m Cherry, I’m 14 and an aspiring film-maker. I love how your films capture what it feels like to be a young girl growing up. We hear so much about the famous men in your family, but how have the successful women in your family inspired and influenced you? Your films capture the experience of what it is to be a young girl in a way words often can’t. CherryEmma
That’s nice to hear, thank you. I feel like I got a lot from my mom about being true to yourself, following what you’re interested in and seeing the beauty in your surroundings. My mom always noticed odd details in life, so a lot of my films are made up of those kinds of things.
Your films beautifully capture the isolation of hotel rooms – spaces completely detached from a character’s past or future. If you were forced into that stillness and could choose to preserve only one cherished memory while erasing another for ever, what would they be? Malpractice1
It’s hard to pick a memory, but recently we had a party in Versailles for the anniversary of Marie Antoinette and New Order played. When they started playing Ceremony [from the soundtrack] and the lights went on, I just know that in the future when I have to remember a happy memory, that’s going to be it. Even painful memories are part of making you who you are, and you learn from them, so I can’t think of anything I would erase.
Thu, 08 Oct 2026 13:16:27 GMT
Talks between Sainsbury’s and Morrisons have set industry tongues wagging, with analysts saying the market is ripe for change
They may be two of the most recognisable brands in Britain, with a combined 188 years serving shoppers, but industry watchers agree that either Asda or Morrisons – or both – could disappear within a decade.
This week, it emerged that Sainsbury’s and Morrisons – the UK’s second- and sixth-largest supermarket chains – had held merger talks between last November and February, before the larger player decided to walk away.
Continue reading...Thu, 08 Oct 2026 10:26:10 GMT
Finance expert launches Small Ideas Initiative to gather ‘practical, low-cost’ ideas to put before cross-party panel
Every day, people run into what the finance expert Martin Lewis calls “the life-potholes of unintended consequences” – clunky systems and poorly conceived rules that make life harder than it should be. His latest project, the Small Ideas Initiative, will attempt to address that, with a cross-party panel of politicians and policymakers crowdsourcing ideas for everyday fixes to take to government.
The ideas could cover anything from health and schools to policing, tech and money. Lewis is encouraging people to submit ideas for “practical, low-cost, non-controversial ways to improve the UK” before 12 November.
Continue reading...Thu, 08 Oct 2026 17:29:25 GMT
England-focused mental health review returns stark warning and calls for shift to ‘needs-led’ system
Explainer | What has the Fonagy review found and what does it recommend?
Analysis | No ‘snowflakes’: mental health review says today’s youth have it harder and harms are real
The NHS in England is heading into a “world of system failures” as it struggles to cope with relentlessly rising demand for mental health, ADHD and autism care, leaving those affected desperate for support, a government-commissioned inquiry has found.
The stark warning was made in a review led by Prof Peter Fonagy into the sharp rise in demand over recent decades for help with mental health and neurodevelopmental conditions.
Continue reading...Thu, 08 Oct 2026 23:01:32 GMT
Results are expected from 2.30am BST in the north London poll to choose a replacement for former PM Keir Starmer
The Greens have conceded defeat in the Holborn and St Pancras byelection.
A party spokesperson is quoted as saying: “It is clear now we will come a close second.”
Continue reading...Fri, 09 Oct 2026 01:37:22 GMT
Inquest hears details of how three women spent their final days but why they ended their lives may never be known
Jane Adetoro and her younger sisters, Christina and Rebecca Walters, were “the closest sisters and the best friends”, according to their family. Devoted to their father, Joseph, whom they messaged every day, the adult siblings lived quiet lives in the flat they shared in west London and would do everything together.
When they died in May this year, it was no different. Early in the morning of 13 May, the sisters’ bodies were recovered from the sea in Brighton, hours after a taxi had dropped the three women at the beachfront.
Continue reading...Thu, 08 Oct 2026 17:19:48 GMT
‘Technical errors’ are embarrassing for Thames Valley police but unlikely to affect outcome of investigation
Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor has won his legal challenge against Thames Valley police over search warrants used to raid his home after they arrested him.
The former prince brought a judicial review of the legality of the force’s actions and those of the central criminal court, which granted the warrants.
Continue reading...Thu, 08 Oct 2026 16:23:23 GMT