SwayBlog

World newsHand of John the Baptist in RussiaIt was the only part of John the Baptist's body that Luke the Apostle could take away from the village where he was buried, and it has since been cited as the cause of miracles. It was given to the Russian royal family in St Petersburg to protect it from Napoleon's advancing armies and then whisked away to central Europe when the Bolshevik revolution broke out.

TelevisionThe creator of Insecure talks the dating ‘totem pole’, film’s obsession with slavery and the gender-race pay gap as season two begins Issa Rae: from Awkward Black Girl to HBO starRead more“I don’t want the stench of the current administration on this show,” says Issa Rae. “I don’t want people to look back and be like: ‘Oh, this was a Trump show.’ I want them to look back and say Insecure was an Obama show.

Lucy Letby This article is more than 7 months oldLucy Letby texted about doctor ‘crush’ hours before attempt on baby boy’s life, court toldThis article is more than 7 months oldNurse accused of murdering seven babies and attempted murder of 10 more at Chester hospital in 2015-16 Lucy Letby was texting about a doctor on whom she allegedly “had a crush” hours before she attempted to murder a vulnerable baby boy, a court has heard.

Mystery surrounded the death of Arthur Cravan, who disappeared in 1918. Photograph: Public DomainMystery surrounded the death of Arthur Cravan, who disappeared in 1918. Photograph: Public DomainThe forgotten story of...BoxingWhen the first black heavyweight world champion took on Arthur Cravan in the ring two very different – and compelling – figures collided On 23 April 1916, a boxing match took place in Barcelona, between Jack Johnson and Arthur Cravan.

OpinionGermany This article is more than 3 months oldThe Guardian view on Germany’s troubled ‘traffic-light’ coalition: dealing with the midterm bluesThis article is more than 3 months oldEditorialOlaf Scholz’s three-party coalition needs to treat recent state elections in Bavaria and Hesse as a wake-up call Midterm electoral verdicts on incumbent administrations can be unsparing. But elections this month in Germany’s Bavaria and Hesse states were notable for delivering a particularly savage one on the country’s governing “traffic-light” coalition.

A transgender journeyTransgenderAs part of her transition, Juliet Jacques had to discard her male name and pick a female one. How would this name change affect her family and friends - and herself?Having entered the NHS pathway, with its expected duration of three years, I wanted to do something immediate that would make my transition feel more concrete. I'd lived 'as a woman' for several months and the time felt right to secure my identity.

News blogUS midterm elections 2010Carl Paladino: gay pride marches and 'brainwashing' childrenRepublican candidate for New York governor criticises rival for marching in gay pride parade Carl Paladino, Republican candidate for New York governor, sometime forwarder of racist and pornographic emails, launched an attack on gay pride marches while addressing Orthodox Jewish leaders in Brooklyn yesterday. I didn't march in the gay parade this year - the gay pride parade this year.

MilanObituaryCesare Maldini obituaryItalian footballer who managed the national side at the 1998 World Cup finalsTo take over the managership of the Azzurri, the Italian national team, at a time of mid-season crisis, at the age of 66, to change its tactics, and to take it to London after a single friendly game, there to beat England at Wembley in a crucial World Cup qualification match in 1997, was a feat in itself.

FictionReviewUnusual lessons in love get Ian Sansom's attention"The sex organs engorge, the skin tingles . . . the eyes dilate, the heart beats faster, the rate of breathing rises, and it is possible that the excited body also puts out aphrodisiac chemical odours." Congratulations! You're in love. At least according to biological theory, as described in Sheila Sullivan's indispensable guide Falling in Love: A History of Torment and Enchantment. But there's more to it than that – isn't there?