Far more than an exercise in oy-veying and kvetching, the Jewish joke is a vital strategy for survival in a bleak and hostile world

Far more than an exercise in oy-veying and kvetching, the Jewish joke is a vital strategy for survival in a bleak and hostile world

Ben Judah's rich and thoughtful account of the Putin years charts a Russian political system continually manipulated by a wounded leader

Ben Judah's rich and thoughtful account of the Putin years charts a Russian political system continually manipulated by a wounded leader

Two new histories of separate conflicts in Afghanistan show that both the Victorians and a young Churchill struggled at the North-Western Frontier

Two new histories of separate conflicts in Afghanistan show that both the Victorians and a young Churchill struggled at the North-Western Frontier

A Westminster lecture

A Westminster lecture

‘Hollande’s ministers are falling out among themselves and criticism from his left-wing allies is getting ever more strident’

‘Hollande’s ministers are falling out among themselves and criticism from his left-wing allies is getting ever more strident’

The dearth of women at the top of the party and a laid-back approach to sex has left the Lib Dems open to accusations of sleaze and sexism

The dearth of women at the top of the party and a laid-back approach to sex has left the Lib Dems open to accusations of sleaze and sexism