Opposition activist María Corina Machado of Venezuela has won the Nobel Peace Prize. The Norwegian Nobel committee praised her as a key figure in unifying Venezuela's political opposition.

Known for his outspoken politics, the author was acclaimed for work in theatre, opera, film and TV but wanted to be thought of as a poet above all Tony Harrison, the award-winning poet and dramatist whose writings fuelled national conversations about class, obscenity and politics, has died at the age of 88, his publisher has confirmed. Harrison, a major voice in British poetry since he published his first collection in 1964, wrote front-page dispatches for the Guardian from the Bosnian war, and scandalised the nation with his 1985 poem V. Written after football hooligans desecrated his parents’ gravestones, the expletive-laden work was described as a “torrent of filth” by the Daily Mail when it was broadcast on Channel 4, prompting an early-day motion in the Commons. It is now studied in schools. Continue reading...

Proposal for international body to oversee Gaza for up to five years counters UN-backed plan for faster transition to Palestinian rule The White House is backing a plan under which the former British prime minister Tony Blair would head a temporary administration of the Gaza Strip, initially without the direct involvement of the Palestinian Authority (PA), according to reports in the Israeli media. Under the proposal, Blair would head a body called the Gaza International Transitional Authority, Gita, which would have a mandate to be Gaza’s “supreme political and legal authority” for as long as five years. Continue reading...

* Four-time Tour winner stable in Toulon hospital * Scans showed five broken ribs and vertebrae fracture Four-time Tour de France champion Chris Froome is in a stable condition after he was airlifted to hospital in Toulon following a crash which left him with multiple injuries. The British rider was on a training ride when the accident occurred and needs to undergo a back operation. This story will be updated … Continue reading...