Mikhail Bulgakov’s play, revived at the National next week, defied the party line on Russia’s civil war. Why did the dictator let it – and him – live?... more
Suicide bombers struck at the heart of Pakistan's anti-terror campaign, devastating the country's main spy agency in an attack that left at least nine people dead and 55 injured... more
Shaid “Lucky” Luqman, once one of Britain’s richest men, and Ernst & Young’s Young Entrepreneur of 2004, has walked free from prison after serving six months of a second sentence for contempt of court
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Once the election results in Afghanistan are finally in, Western governments need to draw up new and detailed initiatives on how to deal with failed states... more
Mikhail Gorbachev used a visit to the Evening Standard to call for a new era of international co-operation - and urged America to stop acting as the world's policeman... more
My friend's email said she had "some surprising news". She did indeed. The news was a four-week-old adopted baby. My friend has just turned 50. ... more
Following the failure yesterday of the US rescue plan, Wall Street plunged, dragging everyone else with it. When the dust settles, we may find life has changed for good... more
Many people might be held accountable for the transformation of domestic football into a bamboozling madhouse, but Matthew Norman blames Mikhail Gorbachev... more
Penny Gold has taken no less a theme than the beginning of the end of the Soviet Union and managed to craft an astoundingly lifeless two-hour play from it with The President's Holiday.... more
As you'd expect from a festival celebrating Roma and Gypsy music and culture, The 1000 Year Journey has kept progressing. First held in 2000, this event tapped into a burgeoning wave of interest in gipsy roots... more
A photographic record of Uzbekistan's 1930s transformation from feudal Islamic society to industrialised Soviet state is a must-see, says Sue Steward.... more
Uncertain States of America at the Serpentine showcases the work of more than 40 young American artists. At its best, however, the work here is enjoyable kitsch, says Nick Hackworth.... more
Looking like a slightly ravaged mess, Regina Spektor was a breath of fresh air at the Shepherds Bush Empire. Compelling, funny, powerful and compulsively watchable, it was pop at its very best.... more
Sofia Coppola's boyfriend is lead singer and they won the Grammy for Best Alternative Music Album this year. Now, Phoenix tell Nosheen Iqbal, they are set to conquer London
Move over, Mahiki. Nightclub entrepreneurs Charlie Gilkes and Duncan Stirling are soon to launch a new Eighties-inspired club in Chelsea, in honour of Lady Thatcher
Tonight:
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