RomaAnalysisRoma run out of patience after riding the José Mourinho hurricaneNicky BandiniSerie A club have turned to a beloved figure in Daniele De Rossi to pick up the pieces left by the Special One’s era of wild highs and lows Perhaps the story should have ended in Budapest. There had been speculation leading up to the Europa League final last May that it could be José Mourinho’s final week in charge of Roma.
Belarus’s president, Alexander Lukashenko, also outlawed discrediting the armed forces in legislation similar to that brought in by Vladimir Putin. Photograph: Sputnik/ReutersBelarus’s president, Alexander Lukashenko, also outlawed discrediting the armed forces in legislation similar to that brought in by Vladimir Putin. Photograph: Sputnik/ReutersBelarus This article is more than 10 months oldRussia ally Belarus brings in death penalty for high treasonThis article is more than 10 months oldAlexander Lukashenko signs bill allowing execution of officials and military personnel for harming national security
Book of the dayFictionReviewThis is a bravura reimagining of the real-life relationship between Bram Stoker and two stars of the Victorian theatreThe Irish writer Joseph O’Connor is still best known for his 2002 novel, Star of the Sea, but in 2016 he wrote a radio play, Vampyre Man, about the real-life relationship between Bram Stoker and the two greatest stars of Victorian theatre, Henry Irving and Ellen Terry. It is easy to imagine these three magnificent characters refusing to be abandoned on the airwaves, and O’Connor has given them an appropriately grand stage in the breathtaking Shadowplay.
‘They were part of the fabric of every family Christmas’: Elizabeth Quinn and her mother with a pot of ‘Gran's beans’‘They were part of the fabric of every family Christmas’: Elizabeth Quinn and her mother with a pot of ‘Gran's beans’ChristmasLast year at Elizabeth Quinn’s Christmas, the green beans were served whole, al dente and bright green. They were nothing like ‘Gran’s beans’ This festive season, a combination of coronavirus, distance and the rising costs of air travel will mean an incomplete family gathering for many.
How to believeTS Eliot This article is more than 9 years oldTS Eliot's Ash Wednesday – a call to spiritual awareness that falls shortThis article is more than 9 years oldRoz KaveneyAs with Dante, this is a poem in which the visions of hell are stronger than the visions of heavenAmong the first fruits of TS Eliot's conversion were the first three parts of the poem that he ended up calling Ash Wednesday and that, accordingly, we think of, not wholly inaccurately, as an essentially liturgical piece.