Book of the dayHistory booksReviewThe academic’s discursive, wonderfully enjoyable account of South Asia’s journey from a British colony to three independent nations is a classic
The sudden rise of India over the past few years has taken many western observers by surprise. The Indian economy has quadrupled in size in a generation. Its ancient reputation as a centre for mathematics and scientific skills remains intact, and Indian software engineers increasingly dominate Silicon Valley. Read More...
OpinionUS news This article is more than 9 months oldWhy are Americans being shot for knocking on the wrong door?This article is more than 9 months oldFrancine ProseIt’s hard to imagine someone being shot for knocking on a stranger’s door in Finland, Spain or Canada
In the past week, two people have been shot, in separate incidents, for making an innocent mistake. In Kansas City, Missouri, Ralph Yarl, 16, was shot in the head and critically wounded by 84-year-old Andrew Lester, whose door Yarl knocked on, in error. Read More...
Gardening blogGardensA swine of a vine: why you should plant Russian vine at your perilI have been wondering, in the style of Alien vs Predator, what would win in a showdown between Russian vine and leylandii.
In my last garden, it was a big leyland cypress that overhung my fence and overshadowed my garden that got on my wick. I had thought that my troubles were over when I moved to a garden with very little in the way neighbouring trees to block out the light. Read More...