George Eliot’s masterpiece of provincial life still has much to teach us about sympathy and tolerance

Virgina Woolf declared Middlemarch “one of the few English novels written for grown-up people”. Henry James said that some of its scenes were the most intelligent in English fiction. Even Martin Amis, over 100 years later, called it “a novel without weaknesses”. Now this 900-page portrait of 19th-century provincial life has been voted the best novel of all time in a Guardian poll of writers, academics and critics.

George Eliot (the pen name of Mary Ann Evans) was already a highly successful novelist by the time Middlemarch was published in instalments in 1871 and 1872. Beginning with a marriage, and a deeply unhappy one, it upends “the marriage plot” established by Jane Austen. Nineteen-year-old Dorothea Brooke has “a passionate desire to know and to think”, and a longing “to lead a grand life here – now – in England”. Unfortunately, that England didn’t afford many opportunities for women, and she misguidedly hitches her idealism to the desiccated scholar Casaubon. This is not the novel’s only disastrous marriage. The ambitious young doctor Tertius Lydgate makes an ill-suited match to the vain and shallow Rosamond Vincy.

Mikel Arteta’s side will be deeply unpopular champions, but this probably says more about us than it does about them

There was a minor stir a few years back when some American scientists bred a strain of “gene-edited” hamsters with the chemical that causes anger removed, presumably so they could achieve one of humanity’s historic goals: the dream of a more docile hamster.

Unfortunately the opposite happened. What the scientists created was a race of hyper-angry hamsters. These were described a little glibly in the media as Mutant Rage Monsters. But science is always more nuanced than this. We shouldn’t put angry hamsters in a box, even when we are literally putting angry hamsters in a box. Longer studies have shown more varied results. Sarcastic hamsters. Hamsters that hold grudges. Hamsters that retreat into silence on long car journeys. Even a subset of passive-aggressive hamsters who are, seriously, just fine with this. It’s pretty much what they expected from you, anyway.

Swedish firm Maurten’s high-carb drinks, bicarb sludges and hydrogels are giving super spikes a run for their money

Inside an unremarkable Gothenburg office building rented from the local university are a series of conference spaces named after the modern greats of distance running. There is the Eliud Kipchoge room, the Keely Hodgkinson room and, the latest addition, the Sabastian Sawe room, in homage to the man who recently redefined the limits of human endurance.

When Sawe last month in London became the first person to run an official marathon in under two hours, much of the coverage focused on the Kenyan’s carbon-plated shoes. But here, on the west coast of Sweden, a team of scientists, nutritionists and technicians believe another factor was just as significant, if not more so.

On Sunday the Red Roses chase an eighth straight Women’s Six Nations title, with hosts Les Bleues seeking a slam too

It all comes down to this, again. France have been runners-up to England in the Women’s Six Nations for the past six years, edging ever closer: last year’s decider was settled by a single point. But can François Ratier’s team not only end England’s dominance in this competition but also halt their 37-game winning run on Sunday? If they show up from minute one to 80, France can do it.

England will be favourites to lift their eighth straight Six Nations trophy but have been contending with a lot this tournament. Retirements, pregnancy and injury mean the team are without a wealth of talent including Zoe Stratford – the usual captain – Abbie Ward and Alex Matthews. They have continued to win with a depleted squad but their depth will be given its biggest test yet against an in-form France team.

Our photographer, Tom Jenkins, captures the discontent at both clubs after years of mismanagement as the trapdoor awaits one of them

Fury. Grief. Embarrassment. Horror. Resignation. The emotions run hot for supporters of West Ham and Tottenham right now as the two grand old clubs stare at potential relegation from the Premier League.

With their spiritual homes demolished at the altar of progress and profit, first Upton Park in 2016 and then White Hart Lane in 2017, both clubs had visions of glory days ahead. Instead they have been consumed by greed, mismanagement and false promises. Key perpetrators such as Karren Brady at West Ham and Daniel Levy at Spurs have exited the scene, but David Sullivan is still the Hammers chairman and the damage remains.

Pictured above: Home fans react to a missed chance during the Premier League match between West Ham and Everton at the London Stadium on 25 April 2026. Pictured below: The London Stadium, claret boots and caps, and signs from a protest against the club’s owners. All photographs by Tom Jenkins.

Residents of al-Bustan district told to make way for Kings Garden, with knocking down own houses cheaper option

At the bottom of a steep and densely populated valley just below Jerusalem’s old city walls, the earth has been shaken in recent weeks by jackhammers and bulldozers.

These have been the sounds of Jerusalem for decades as the Israeli state has relentlessly sought to stamp a uniformly Jewish identity on to the occupied east of the city, while erasing its Palestinian character.

If there’s no proof of aliens, the president can blame the deep state. If there’s proof, he’s a hero. Either way, it helps his popularity

The US Department of Defense released the first batch of its UFO files last week at the direction of the president, Donald Trump, who promised to make them public “based on the tremendous interest shown”.

Trump’s right, of course. Nearly half of Americans believe aliens have visited Earth, and many believe that the government is hoarding the evidence in some shadowy laboratory or military base. This conspiracy began in 1947 at Roswell, New Mexico, when the Roswell army airfield issued a news release about the crash of a “flying disc”, and has never truly gone away.

Week of leadership jostling has left Keir Starmer looking vulnerable and short of time – even though no challenger has officially come forward

It was a minute or so into his BBC interview on Friday morning, after being asked about “moves” to remove Keir Starmer, that Steve Reed ran out of patience. “There is no contest,” he interrupted. “‘Moves’ mean nothing. People need 81 nominations to stand against the prime minister.”

The housing secretary, a close ally of Starmer and a founding member of the Labour Together thinktank that catapulted him to power, was right, of course: no one has formally challenged the prime minister, let alone ousted him.

Trump en zijn mensen zijn weer terug van het schoolreisje naar China, terwijl de kleine excursie in Iran op de achtergrond voortduurt. De Straat van Hormuz is nog hoogst onrustig, gisteren werd een Indiaas vrachtschip naar de zeebodem geschoten voor de kust van Oman en een ander schip naar verluidt door Iran geënterd. Trump benadrukte in een interview bij Fox News (volledig interview hier) dat hij nog altijd overtuigd is dat Iran gaat capituleren, hoewel de vertegenwoordigers van het land wel "gestoord" zijn en er "iets mis met ze is". Klinkt allemaal niet alsof er echt schot in de zaak zit, maar we gaan het zien (ooit). Ondertussen hebben de Verenigde Staten wel een rake klap uitgedeeld in Nigeria. Op TruthSocial maakte Trump bekend dat ze in samenwerking met het Nigeriaanse leger Abu-Bilal al-Minuki hebben gedood. Al-Minuki, ook bekend als Abu Bakr ibn Muhammad ibn Ali al‑Mainuki, was de op een na hoogste pief van Islamitische Staat en de belangrijkste figuur bij alle IS-terreur in Afrika. Bij Fox deed Trump ook nog wat uitspraken waar ze in Taiwan niet heel gerust op zullen zijn, zoals dat het eiland eigenlijk de Amerikaanse chip-industrie gestolen heeft, dat ze beter geen onafhankelijkheid kunnen uitroepen, dat hij niet voor ze wil vechten en dat zowel China als Taiwan maar een beetje moeten afkoelen. Helder. Tenslotte is er ook NEDERLANDS nieuws: in de VS is ene Mohammad Baqer Saad Dawood al-Saadi opgepakt, een Irakees die ervan wordt verdacht de grote man te zijn achter meerdere aanslagen op Joodse instellingen in Nederland (Rotterdam, Buitenveldert, Zuidas en explosie bij Christenen voor Israël). De man wordt in de Verenigde Staten berecht. Mocht het vandaag weer losgaan in het Midden-Oosten, leest u dat uiteraard HIERRR.

Ondertussen in Gaza

Ondertussen ook

DEN HAAG (ANP) - De storing bij het Centraal Bureau voor de Statistiek (CBS) na de brand in een datacenter is verholpen, staat op de site. Sinds die brand, vorige week donderdag, kampte het CBS met problemen. Ook andere bedrijven die gebruikmaken van het datacenter in Almere merkten de gevolgen van de brand.

NorthC, eigenaar van het datacenter, wist woensdag een tijdelijke stroomvoorziening in te schakelen. Gedupeerde klanten konden hun ICT-systemen daarna gefaseerd weer opstarten. Het CBS was door de brand slecht bereikbaar en ook de database was niet beschikbaar. Het bureau moest daardoor de planning van publicaties aanpassen.

Bij de Universiteit Utrecht zijn de problemen die ontstonden met het netwerk, applicaties en websites nog niet voorbij. Ook daar is woensdag begonnen de servers weer op te starten en dat zou enkele dagen gaan duren.