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One of the most famous faces during the Iraq War was that of Mohammed Saeed al-Sahhaf, aka ‘Comical Ali’. He was the Information Minister for Saddam Hussein’s regime, and specialized in saying outlandishly confident things that weren’t just untrue but could actually be demonstrably disproven by viewers with their own eyes. His nadir came when … Read more
THE ARTS QUESTORS, JESTERS AND RENEGADES by Michael Coveney (Bloomsbury £25, 216pp) Michael Coveney says, in a statistic that stretches credulity, that there are 2,500 amateur dramatic societies in Britain, putting on 35,000 productions a year in disused cinemas, chapels, barns and converted Nissen huts. The most spectacular venue is the Minack in Cornwall, carved … Read more
Someone who is infected with the coronavirus can spread it with just a simple cough or a sneeze, scientists say. Over 2,600 people with the virus are now confirmed to have died and more than 79,000 have been infected. But experts predict the true number of people with the disease could be as high as … Read more
A second person has died from coronavirus in China amid fears the lethal outbreak may spread globally, officials have said. The 69-year-old man, named only as Xiong, died in the early hours of January 15 at Jinyintan Hospital in Wuhan city. He had been admitted to hospital on December 31 with symptoms of the virus, … Read more