Thom Jones: the writer who explored madness, art and violence
The writer, who died this week aged 71, began his career late in his tumultuous life, exploding onto the literary scene with his Vietnam story The Pugilist at Rest. Thom Jones, the Illinois-born short-story writer who has died, aged 71, of complications from diabetes, rocketed onto the literary scene in 1991, when the New Yorker […]
Greek prime minister reshuffles cabinet to boost bailout reforms
Alexis Tsipras says time has come to speed up measures agreed with the country’s international creditors. The Greek prime minister, Alexis Tsipras, has reshuffled his government to boost bailout reforms in the hope of getting the EU to agree to critical debt relief by the end of the year. Heralding a new political era for […]
Natural disasters push 26m into poverty each year, says World Bank
Study finds floods, storms and droughts cost global economy $520bn a year and highlights need to tackle climate change. Floods, earthquakes, tsunamis and other extreme natural disasters push 26 million people into poverty each year and cost the global economy more than half a trillion dollars in lost consumption, the World Bank has said. A […]
Thomas Adams School criticised for blowing up chemicals – BBC News
A school that blew up old chemicals on its playing field has been criticised for not providing a public warning of the blast. Residents in Wem, Shropshire, were alarmed when The Thomas Adams School carried out the explosion on Monday while children were trick or treating. The 19:30 GMT blast was supervised by police and […]
Use your wits! Can you solve these fiendishly difficult puzzles?
Isn’t it time we learned to reconnect with the idea of problem-solving for fun? After all, argues Alex Bellos, the best puzzles are pieces of poetry. In an exclusive extract from his new book, he selects some of his favourites. For those of us whose school memories include struggling with long division and quadratic equations, […]