to 2347: Capital letters
The unclued lights are LETTERS in alphabetical order which, when rearranged, give the names of eight CAPITAL cities. First prize Lucy…
Vladimir Putin is innocent until proven guilty in the Russian spy case
The apparent chemical attack on a former Russian double-agent and his daughter in an English cathedral city could be straight…
Portrait of the week: was the poisoning of a Russian spy a hit?
Home Sergei Skripal, aged 66, and his daughter Yulia were found in a state of collapse on a bench outside…
to 2346: the name of the game
The unclued entries are all names for pontoon; extra words in 27, 31, 33, 34 and 36 needed the letters…
Back off, Barnier – you don’t need to invent obstacles to Brexit
There’s an unwritten law governing Boris Johnson in Westminster: every-thing he says or does is a gaffe, or can be…
Crisis looms over the Brexit negotiations
Home Crisis loomed over Brexit negotiations as Theresa May, the Prime Minister, travelled to the north-east to explain ‘this Government’s…
Triumph of the spirit
From ‘A moral test’, 2 March 1918: The nation, in spite of all the silly talk about our war aims…
The ageing rock stars who go on and on
Ageing rockers The Rolling Stones announced their first live shows for five years. Mick Jagger, Keith Richards (both 74), Charlie…
to 2345: Counterclaim
The puzzle’s NUMERICAL DESIGNATION (3 41) is preceded by 7A and followed by 7D 12 33 37 to form the…
As the Tories rail against Corbyn’s past, they’re losing the fight for the future
The news that Jeremy Corbyn met a Czechoslovakian agent three times during the 1980s, when the Cold War was still…
Portrait of the week: Jeremy Corbyn attacks the press over spy claims
Home Someone called Jan Sarkocy said that, as a Czech Security Service agent in London under the name Jan Dymic,…
How to get the Winter Olympics experience at home
The great indoors How to get the Winter Olympics experience without leaving England: — The Snow Centre, Hemel Hempstead: ‘London’s…
to 2344: I’m away
The unclued lights can be preceded by or followed by the unclued word DOCTOR, which explains why I (Doc) am…
Portrait of the Week: Oxfam faces losing funding as crisis grows over abuse claims
Home The Charity Commission said it would hold a statutory inquiry into a scandal in which Oxfam staff paid for…
Trotsky’s audacity
From ‘News of the week’, 16 February 1918: Last Sunday M. Trotsky announced at Brest-Litovsk that Russia would fight no…
Are these the coldest Winter Olympics ever?
Museums of curiosity The former culture secretary Ed Vaizey suggested that there are quite enough museums in Britain, and that…
Letters: the militant suffragettes set back their own cause
Suffragette setbacks Sir: Jane Ridley (‘Women on the warpath’, Books, 10 February) claims that Millicent Fawcett and her suffragists had ‘got nowhere’…
to 2343: Rats!
The perimeter quote is by Nietzsche (taking the 1 in the top left corner as the first word). Other unclued lights…
Why we shouldn’t try the jihadi ‘Beatles’ in Britain
The success of the military campaign against Isis in Syria and Iraq has left behind a diplomatic and legal problem:…
This crash is just a return to normality
It is easy to mock the most strident critics of capitalism, like Bernie Sanders and Jeremy Corbyn. It’s harder to…
Civil partnerships for all and the Queen’s swans dying of bird flu
Home Stagecoach and Virgin could only manage to run the East Coast rail franchise for a few more weeks, Chris…
Dire warnings of a Brexit university brain drain? They’re a myth
How to sell snake oil Ex-cabinet secretary Lord O’Donnell accused Brexiteers of ‘selling snake oil’. How do you sell snake…
Letters: Leave Theresa May alone – she’s doing her best
Stop knocking May Sir: I find this knocking of Theresa May increasingly depressing (‘Theresa’s choice’, 3 February). She has a terrible job…
to 2342: Decorative
The key terms are ART NOUVEAU (12) and JUGENDSTIL (19). One indicates 24 and 28D, and the other can be…
Donald Trump has a genius for damaging his own reputation
It’s easy to see why Donald Trump gets angry. He is presiding over a robust economy, growing at the fastest…
