Notebooks

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Geopolitics of the tempest

Who is to blame for natural disasters is an age-old question. Human beings are now deliberately changing the weather, a development likely to have profound implications.

Suzanne Raine October 16, 2024

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On the frontline in Lebanon

Those who go to war will forever carry the harrowing experience with them.

Ahron Bregman October 16, 2024

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Arnold Schönberg and the artist’s right to be awkward

Uncompromising, single-minded and difficult, the great composer, who was born 150 years ago this year, remains an inspiration to those who believe that art demands absolute commitm..

Richard Bratby October 15, 2024

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Alex Salmond, the nearly man who almost broke up Britain

For all his flaws, the former leader of the SNP was a giant figure in Scottish and British politics.

Allan Massie October 14, 2024

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Learning the lessons of the 1982 Lebanon War

As a new ground war begins in Lebanon, it would be good for Israel if history did not repeat itself.

Emily Whalen October 11, 2024

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The wages of Putin’s war

Calling the Russia-Ukraine war ‘existential' may rally the public to think harder about a more dangerous world.

Sergey Radchenko October 11, 2024

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The deep historical roots of Russia’s militarisation of the Arctic

Even as it wages war in Ukraine, Russia expands its arsenal in the Northern Fleet, and deploys nuclear submarines, radar stations, airfields, and missile facilities. It prepares fo..

Paul Josephson October 9, 2024

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The life and deaths of Joseph Conrad

A century on from Conrad’s death, his stories – the character-driven yarns set on high seas, the politically-charged dramas – still have the power to captivate, thrill, illuminate ..

Malcolm Forbes October 7, 2024

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Tehran’s endgame

A year on from 7 October and Iran is displacing Palestine as the focus of regional war. The regime in Tehran may set the conditions for its own endgame.

John Raine October 7, 2024