Society

 ‘Oh please not more lies from the LibLabCon BLIAR propaganda machine!’ ‘If the author of this article had read the documents of the Council of Chalcedon in the original Greek, then he might not throw around the word “monophysite” with such casual abandon.’ ‘Only one way to stop the Caliphate capturing every village hall in this once green and pleasant land and no I don’t mean green as in Ms Caroline Lucas – Vote UKIP!’ I’ve just invented these comments, but if you’ve been anywhere near a newspaper website over the past decade they’ll sound familiar. These days, however, they’re a bit harder to find. That’s because ‘below-the-line’ comment threads

Yesterday afternoon the government released a new Green Paper which focussed on its initial proposals for expanding the number of high-quality school places throughout both the primary and secondary sectors. This task is particularly urgent given the existence of a demographic bulge currently passing through the primary year groups. The proposed reforms are united by an overarching theme, which is a desire to provide a higher-quality education for the children of those parents who are ‘just about managing’ (a phrase the document frequently returns to), and whose earnings are just above the free school meals cut-off (around £16,190). The paper tackles the problem of how best to meet the needs of this group

How much do you know about your spouse? Hair colour, date of birth, where they grew up, what they do for a living…how much they earn, perhaps? Not so much that last one, according to a number of respondents to a popular thread on Mumsnet last week. The proportion of respondents who do not know how much their husbands and partners earn was surprisingly high. ‘I have a rough idea,’ said one. ‘We keep our finances separate. As long as he pays his share of the bills, it doesn’t matter,’ said another. Really? Prudential, the insurer, found that 12 per cent of Brits do not tell their partners what they earn. Such

Hillary Clinton has made an early exit from a 9/11 ceremony today after suffering a ‘medical episode’. The 68-year-old Democrat presidential candidate is said to have left the event abruptly, with Fox News reporting that she appeared to faint just before 10am as family members of the 2,977 victims were reading through their names. According to a witness at the scene, Clinton’s ‘knees buckled’ and her security team rushed her to a nearby van. Clinton’s campaign have since released a statement putting her departure down to her feeling ‘overheated’. Leaving her daughter Chelsea’s apartment this afternoon, Clinton told reporters she was ‘feeling great’. However despite her words, this situation will play into Donald Trump’s

There’s a good reason and a bad reason why David Cameron hasn’t added his mite to the argument about the reintroduction of grammars, which his Education Secretary, Nicky Morgan, sounded off about yesterday. The good reason is that it would be the worst of form for the former Tory PM to diss his successor, even if he disagrees with her. The bad reason is that he’s got a dog in this fight; his son Elwen. You remember all the fuss about the rumour that little Elwen might be going to a feeder prep to St Paul’s, the private school? The Camerons invoked media privacy to see off discussion of that

The cost of renting a home in England and Wales was 5.2 per cent higher in July than the same month a year earlier, according to lettings agent Your Move. Its survey, based on analysis of about 20,000 properties, suggested that average monthly rent paid by private tenants rose to £846. The increase was sharpest in the South East of England. The annual rise in this region of 14.9 per cent was explained by a ripple effect from high rents in London. London had the highest average monthly rents, at £1,273, the survey suggested. Mastercard A £14 billion legal claim has been filed against Mastercard on behalf of UK consumers seeking damages

The 42nd Chess Olympiad is now underway in Baku, Azerbaijan, and English grandmasters are making their best efforts to recapture the glory days of world team chess when England regularly finished in silver medal position to the mighty Soviets. After the early rounds Russia leads, with Kramnik as top board. The incumbent Chinese gold medallists are of course in contention, while the USA, already with Nakamura but strengthened by Caruana and So, is definitely among the favourites. Here are some choice positions from the opening rounds, where weaker teams face the giants.   Carlsen (Norway)-Hossain (Bangladesh) Baku Olympiad 2016 (see diagram 1)   This arose from a Nimzo-Indian Defence where Black