SwayBlog

Country diaryAnimals4 July 1919 These dark-coloured animals are not the descendants of domesticated stock, but are a distinct phase of wild rabbit Very determined efforts were made last year to reduce the over-abundant rabbits, but, as far as one can see, without marked success. At the present time the corpses of infantile bunnies which have blundered through inexperience are very common in the woods. These youngsters will come out in the daytime and often get into stoat traps, spending many painful hours until mercifully destroyed by the keeper on his rounds.

World newsGems, al-Qaida and murder. Mystery over killing of Osama Bin Laden's friend· Saudi man's death was political, say his family · US secret service was monitoring his activitiesWhen Muhammad Jamal Khalifa was found dead at a remote gemstone mine in south-eastern Madagascar at the end of January, local police quickly put the murder down to a business deal gone wrong. The Saudi businessman, 49, had had to call in local police to evict a gang who had taken over the mine during the owner's six-year absence.

Ofsted This article is more than 5 years oldHijab ban attempt is 'racism dressed up as liberalism', teachers' conference toldThis article is more than 5 years oldUnion votes to challenge Ofsted chief’s linking of hijab to sexualisation of young girls Efforts to bar girls from wearing the hijab at primary schools were “naked racism dressed up as liberalism”, a teachers’ union conference heard as it unanimously backed a motion attacking official support for the ban.

SportblogMLBKansas City drafted two hall of famers in the 1979 MLB draft. They just happened to excel in a different sport The 1979 Major League Baseball Draft was not particularly prosperous for the Kansas City Royals. They did not find their next great shortstop or big first baseman. Their top choice was a pitcher named Atlee Hammaker whose best years were as a San Francisco Giant. Most of their other picks were young men who would never breathe the air of a big league clubhouse.

Michael SheenInterviewMichael Sheen on art, fear and Amadeus: ‘David Suchet was in really good shape. I … am not!’Elissa BlakeHis breakthrough role was as a young Mozart in Peter Hall’s Amadeus, opposite Suchet’s Salieri. Twenty-three years later, Sheen returns to the play for Sydney Opera House – this time as Mozart’s rival Get our weekend culture and lifestyle email Those who have followed the career of the Welsh actor Michael Sheen might expect to encounter a chatty charmer, the “bare-footed buffoon” of his Twitter bio, a full-throated stage animal.

FictionReviewAll bets are off: human meat isn’t murder, it’s on the menu in this blood-spattered narrative“There are words that cover up the world,” thinks the protagonist of this prizewinning Argentinian dystopia. In our world of industrialised farming, we talk about “gestation crates” and “insemination phases”. In the world of the novel, where cannibalism has become normalised after animals were wiped out by a global epidemic, euphemism is even more essential. Marcos runs a factory that raises and slaughters humans, and is intimately involved with every stage of production.

The ObserverGame of Thrones This article is more than 10 years oldThe real reason men should keep their legs togetherThis article is more than 10 years oldBarbara EllenRichard Madden of Game of Thrones has been castigated for taking up too much room. It's not just the space thing, thoughLet me begin by hoping that all men out there are sitting comfortably. I have to say that because I never realised until last week that so many of you have such major difficulties doing something as simple as sitting.

US military This article is more than 10 years oldUS army sergeant jailed for life over Iraq killingsThis article is more than 10 years oldJohn Russell found guilty of murder in case that raises questions about mental health problems of Iraq war veteransA US army sergeant has been sentenced to life in prison without parole for the 2009 killings of five fellow service members at a combat stress clinic in Iraq.

The ObserverMoviesJamie Foxx has always been a contender. But this year sees him stepping up to the premier league. He stole the show from Tom Cruise in Collateral, and now with his extraordinary portrayal of Ray Charles he's favourite to lift the Best Actor Oscar. Here, he talks to Gavin Edwards about probation, prosthetics and playing piano with the masterJamie Foxx knows he's made a lot of bad movies: Breakin' All the Rules?