Smash Hit

Graveyard of empires could claim more careers

It is Gordon Brown feeling the heat over Afghanistan now, but the Tories too must decide if this is a war worth fighting

• Rachel Sylvester

Would you live on the wrong side of the Berlin Wall?

It is becoming fashionable to prefer stability to democracy. The oppressed will never forgive us for such world-weariness

• David Aaronovitch

The laws that stain Britain’s good name

Libel tourism isn’t just a matter for the media elite. Freedom of speech for everyone is in danger

• John Kampfner

At last we’re getting our heads out of the sand

The crises in the City and Westminster have shaken up the ostrich-like British. Good. It’s a first step on the road to recovery

• George Walden

The European Precedent

Tony Blair would be a charismatic figurehead, but that is not what the presidency is supposed to be. His strengths are what make him unsuitable for this job

Atheist Hirst to display paintings in church

The controversial artist will emulate the old masters by painting two 20ft-high religious works for display in St Paul’s

Vitaly Ginzburg

Physicist and one of the fathers of the Russian H-bomb who was awarded the Nobel Prize for his work on superconductivity

Nigel Davison

Authority on Renaissance music who mixed scholarly erudition with practical experience as a performer

Race to build 10 nuclear stations in Britain

Government announces £50 billion programme to improve energy security but is accused of reacting too late to avoid crisis