2545: With a twist - solution
Suggested by 41, the other unclued lights were worms entered backwards in the grid. To comply with the preamble, 6…
Letters: We’re all still paying for the financial crash
Don’t blame the banks? Sir: Kate Andrews struggles to disentangle the causes of the developing cost-of-living crisis (‘Cold truth’, 19…
Portrait of the week: Spring statement, weapons for Ukraine and no more free-range eggs
Home Britain had provided Ukraine with more than 4,000 Next Generation Light Anti-tank Weapons, the Ministry of Defence said. Shell…
Which countries have ditched daylight savings time?
Time for a change A bill before the US Senate would abolish daylight saving time. Some countries which have previously…
The return of fiscal conservatism
Next month, Rishi Sunak will break a Tory manifesto pledge by increasing National Insurance as the tax burden heads to…
The soft censorship of the Online Harms Bill
The arrest of a reporter who held up a poster during a Russian news broadcast criticising the war in Ukraine…
Who coined the name ‘Londongrad’?
Thamesky Prospekt Who first coined the place name ‘Londongrad’? The name was used in a BBC sitcom called Comrade Dad,…
Letters: Ukraine’s perpetual struggle against Russia
Two Russias? Sir: I have been turning Owen Matthews’s article (‘Putin’s rage’, 5 March) over in my mind since I…
2544: Fives - solution
First prize Leigh Hughes, Bootle, Merseyside Runners-up Francis Wheen, Pleshey, Essex; Robin Jolly, Selsey, Chichester, West Sussex Got something to…
Portrait of the week: Russian forces move in on Kiev
Home More than 100,000 people registered interest in giving a place in their homes for Ukrainian refugees under a government…
2543: Parts of Speech - solution
Unclued lights are the many parts each man plays, from the ‘Seven ages’ speech by Jaques (29D) in As You…
Which European countries are most reliant on Russian gas?
High commodity Nickel trading was suspended this week after prices rose to over $100,000 per tonne – double its previous…
Letters: Britain must offer immediate sanctuary to Ukrainians
Unintended consequences Sir: The West has got it wrong when it comes to putting a stranglehold on Vladimir Putin (‘Putin’s…
Portrait of the week: Zelensky channels Churchill, Russia blocks BBC and Bercow banned from parliament
Home President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine addressed a packed House of Commons by video, echoing Winston Churchill by declaring that…
It’s time to drop the net zero agenda
For years British energy policy has been an exercise in wishful thinking. We’ve been living in a fantasy world in…
2542: Wider II - solution
The unclued lights and COMPOSERS (35A) are RIBBONS/Gibbons (1A), MAILER/Mahler (7), RAMEAN/Rameau (25), WANTON/Walton (26A), DELICES/Delibes (46), RAVENER/Tavener (1D), BELLING/Bellini…
What does it mean to go ‘full tonto’?
The wild one Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said that Vladimir Putin had gone ‘full tonto’. The word tonto is used…
Britain must give Ukrainians an unconditional right to asylum
During the Cold War, any citizen of a Soviet bloc country who made it to Britain and claimed asylum was…
Letters: How the UK should respond to Russia
Soft options Sir: In relation to strengthening the impact of the Russian sanctions package (‘Tsar Vladimir’, 26 February), please may…
Portrait of the week: Russia bombs Ukraine, MPs get a pay rise and Tube staff strike
Home Boris Johnson, the Prime Minister, said of the invasion of Ukraine by Russia: ‘Never in all my study or…
Portrait of the week: Storms rage, Covid curbs end and Russia’s ‘renewed invasion’
Home Boris Johnson, the Prime Minister, announced, in the House of Commons, sanctions against Russia after its ‘renewed invasion’ of…
Letters: It’s time for the common cup to return to communion
The Bull of Oman Sir: There was one significant omission in the cast of characters mentioned by Charles Moore in…
2541: Beastly - solution
The unclued lights form a quartet of three-word terms, each of which has the letter count of (6,6,6) which is…
Did Storm Eunice really break records?
Blow by blow Did Storm Eunice really set a new record for wind speed in England? A 122 mph gust…
Abolishing Covid restrictions now is bold, brave – and necessary
Shortly after Covid emerged, our civil liberties were suspended. The government took control of when and for how long we…
