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US newsAnalysisWhy US double standards on Israel and Russia play into a dangerous gamePatrick Wintour Diplomatic editorThe west’s equivocation on Gaza exposes a global order facing mutiny over its domination of the international discourse Richard Haass, the distinguished global analyst, once wrote: “Consistency in foreign policy is a luxury policymakers cannot always afford.” But, equally, glaring national hypocrisy can come with a high price tag, in terms of lost credibility, damaged global prestige and diminished self-respect. [Read More]

China This article is more than 14 years old'Godmother of the underworld' jailed in ChinaThis article is more than 14 years oldXie Caiping, gang boss with a string of gambling dens, jailed for 18 years in crackdown on crime in Chongqing 阅读中文 | Read this in ChineseA string of gambling dens; a young lover lavished with gifts; brutal tactics that included the beating of an undercover cop investigating the powerful crime syndicate. [Read More]

MarseilleObituaryBernard Tapie obituary Controversial French businessman whose career was beset by scandal, including tax fraud and football match-fixing As a businessman and would-be actor, Bernard Tapie played many roles during a rollercoaster career that embraced success and scandal in almost equal measure. The flamboyant Frenchman, who has died aged 78 of cancer, was a shrewd entrepreneur, a star of screen and stage, politician, government minister, president of Olympique de Marseille football club, television presenter, owner of a successful cycling club and a press baron. [Read More]

The ObserverMadeline MillerReviewAn exiled witch takes centre stage in the Orange prize-winner’s powerful retelling of Homer’s the OdysseyMadeline Miller’s 2011 retelling of the Iliad, The Song of Achilles, recast the epic as a love story between Achilles and Patroclus, taking us into the emotional heart of some of the most moving and memorable passages in the poem. The book was a surprise hit, winning Miller – then a Latin and Greek teacher – the Orange prizecorrect and a place on the bestseller lists. [Read More]

ArtObituaryDorothy Iannone obituaryArtist whose prevailing subject was intense love in all its forms, from romantic to erotic and spiritual The best-thumbed book in the studio of Dorothy Iannone, who has died aged 89, was a paperback edition of Antony and Cleopatra. As in Shakespeare’s tragedy, the prevailing subject of the American artist’s paintings, sculpture and video installation was intense love, ranging from the romantic to the erotic and spiritual. Moving on from abstract paintings that incorporated lines from the play and other classics, in the 1970s Iannone created a series titled Eros – pictorial paintings formally influenced by Egyptian frescoes, Byzantine mosaics and ancient fertility statues that revelled in their joyful vulgarity. [Read More]

Fashion Statement newsletterFashionIn this week’s newsletter: Be it homemade or designer, how the ‘bro-celet’ became a must-have accessory Don’t get Fashion Statement delivered to your inbox? Sign up here Ahead of his coronation next month, this week saw the release of the first portrait of King Charles to be released since the start of his reign. In the painting, the king is wearing his signature blue pinstripe suit, mauve pocket square neatly placed as he smizes into the distance. [Read More]

NotebookThe far right This article is more than 6 years oldI put Milo Yiannopoulos through the Christopher Hitchens test. He failedThis article is more than 6 years oldPeter BradshawBill Maher likened the far-right agitator to one of the finest writers of recent times. He isn’t even close – Yiannopoulos is a boring narcissistThe sheepish pratfall of far-right narcissist and man-boy love enthusiast Milo Yiannopoulos was the more embarrassing for having been preceded by a cowbell clang of hubris. [Read More]

Jane Russell's career in pictures Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share via Email The Hollywood siren of the 1940s and 50s Jane Russell has died aged 89. Here are some glimpses of her career highlights, which included Gentlemen Prefer Blondes and The Outlaw Tue 1 Mar 2011 07.14 EST First published on Tue 1 Mar 2011 07.14 EST Jane Russell in a bathing suit as she stands on rocks near the ocean in 1942 Photograph: Eliot Elisofon/Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images [Read More]

Lin-Manuel Miranda has a storied and surprising family history. Photograph: Kris Connor/Getty ImagesLin-Manuel Miranda has a storied and surprising family history. Photograph: Kris Connor/Getty ImagesHamilton This article is more than 7 years oldLin-Manuel Miranda's ancestry is as multifaceted as HamiltonThis article is more than 7 years oldA leading genealogist has traced the family tree of the creator and star of Hamilton, discovering a forbidden interracial relationship and flight to Mexico [Read More]

BooksReviewThe lavish illustrations in Umberto Eco's The Mysterious Flame of Queen Loana outshine his pale characters, says Ian SansomThe Mysterious Flame of Queen Loana: An Illustrated Novel by Umberto Eco, translated by Geoffrey Brock 464pp, Secker & Warburg, £17.99 Another parade, another outing, another great exhilaration from Umberto Eco, another pouring forth into story of his legendary wit and erudition, as if Peter Ustinov and Stephen Fry had been rolled up into the body of Dorothy L Sayers, berobed and begowned, and paraded around the ancient university towns of mainland Europe in a hand-cart: The Mysterious Flame of Queen Loana is a stately, imperial piece of work more grand than good, but utterly, eye-poppingly fascinating none the less. [Read More]