PM says trip to China has put relationship in stronger place, but possible return visit angers British criticsUK politics live – latest updatesKeir Starmer has taken a major step towards rapprochement with China, opening the door to a UK...

This tender satire of a dysfunctional American family’s search for moral guidance is precisely what our times needMaking the comic novel succeed is a rich, tricky project in our age of desperate, sometimes weirdly eager apocalypticism. Madeline Cash has...

Light scattering creates the shade we see when we look skyward, and studies show the process varies around the worldOn holiday the sky may look a deeper shade of blue than even the clearest summer day at home. Some...

In a new weekly column about the world of classical music, Tom Service bemoans Hollywood turning pieces into slop through overuse. Plus: Philip Glass withdraws his symphony from the Kennedy CenterBack in 2008, Transport for London came up with...

An exhilarating account of Bowie’s spirituality and the quasi-religious nature of his work, from Space Oddity to BlackstarIt has become a tired cliche among fans to say that everything went wrong in the world after Bowie died in 2016....

Decision expected on Monday or Tuesday, potentially smoothing relations before Keir Starmer’s visit to ChinaWhy Chinese ‘mega embassy’ is not such a worry for British spiesA decision on China’s proposed mega embassy in London is expected on Monday or...

The 2026 World Cup is set to be a polarising event but, even if it will not be the first to be politically contentious, it will expose a growing uneaseFive months out from the World Cup the politics are...

The Lincoln in the Bardo author is back with another metaphysical tale. He discusses Buddhism, partisan politics and the terrifying flight that changed his lifeLike his first novel, Lincoln in the Bardo, which won the Booker prize in 2017,...

Approval shortly before Keir Starmer’s trip to Beijing would come despite widespread concern among Labour MPsA vast new Chinese embassy complex in east London is almost certain to be formally approved next week despite renewed worries among Labour MPs...

Tibetan directors, who all live outside Tibet, deliver a quartet of films that explore the pain of separation and migrationThe wrench of exile is the theme of this quartet of short films from Tibetan directors, who themselves all live...