The Comment Channel
Leading article: A vacuum as perilous for the region as for Israel

There is rarely an opportune time for the departure of a national leader, but the massive stroke that felled Ariel Sharon this week could scarcely have come at a more difficult moment, either for Israel or for the region
Leading article: Mr Kennedy confronts his demons

Normally we would welcome the decision of a prominent figure in public life to talk frankly about coping with a destructive illness like alcoholism. But it would be wrong to describe what Charles Kennedy did yesterday as noble
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Terence Blacker: A touch of Sicilian wouldn't come amiss in football
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Miles Kington: Mozart: the music's OK, but who needs the talk?
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Tracey Emin: My Life in a Column
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Johann Hari: Cameron's conversion to environmentalism is little more than hot air
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Adrian Hamilton: Power belongs only to old-fashioned tyrants now