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Irish Booker prize winner Paul Lynch has said he was “astonished” by violent disturbances on the streets of Dublin this week, but this kind of behaviour is “always under the surface”. The author, who lives in Dublin, spoke at a Sunday press conference after he received the award during a ceremony at Old Billingsgate, London His dystopian novel Prophet Song explores what happens when his home country slides into authoritarianism. When asked what he thought about the riots in Ireland, which involved right-wing elements, Lynch said: “Like everybody else, I was astonished by it. “And at the same time, I recognise the truth that this kind of energy is always there under the surface and, I didn’t write this book to specifically say, ‘here’s a warning’, I wrote the book to articulate the message that the things that are in this book are occurring timelessly throughout the ages. “And maybe we need to deepen our own responses to that kind of idea. But at the same time, what was happening in Dublin? Well, you know, we can see it as a warning, I think we should see it was a warning.” Lynch also said he was “distinctly not a political novelist” and his book is really about “grief”, as it tells the story of a woman who has her husband taken away by the newly formed Irish secret police. He also said that “Ireland is an extraordinary country to live in” and a welcoming country. Lynch added: “It’s a great place for writers, any country that supports writers in the way that the Arts Council has supported me and many other really truly worthy Irish writers can only be a great place to live. “So I could not be more proud to be an Irish writer right now, it’s really something. “Well, you know, I think that if any of us were to look at the state of affairs from the point of view of 20 years ago, we couldn’t quite believe the modern world that we find ourselves in. “And I do think that you looked at things objectively, there is a sense of unravelling of a kind. “The question is, is what are we going to do about it and can anything be done about it? “I mean, Prophet Song is a counterfactual novel, it’s not a prophetic statement but there are resonances in it that are there for the taking for readers who want to think about these things.” He also said that “there’s layers and layers at work in my writing” and novels are complex. Lynch added: “To reduce the book down to one single message is actually pointless to a certain extent and goes against, the reason why I wrote the book, the book is actually its own answer.” He also said he was most likely to spend half of the prize, worth £50,000, on his mortgage. Lynch also said that before writing full time he had reached a point in his life where he had “exhausted all the possibilities”. He added: “There was a moment writing this book during lockdown, it was hugely challenging. I had long Covid for periods, and I’d wake up many days and I would have had just like, brain fog, and I had just, like, just fatigue, and I couldn’t work.” Read More Rishi Sunak slams Elon Musk’s ‘wrong’ remarks as antisemitism row deepens Former England footballer Ian Wright among those to collect honours What the papers say – November 27 Covid inquiry kicks off key week with Khan and Burnham giving evidence AI image generators ‘being used by children to create indecent images’ Bill to ban creation of new leasehold houses to be introduced to Parliament

Russia has likely been forced to move several air defence systems from its Kaliningrad enclave on the Baltic Sea coast to the frontline in Ukraine amid the losses it has suffered there, according to the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD). Vladimir Putin appears to have been left with no choice but to weaken the defences of Kaliningrad, an outpost bordered by Nato members on three sides and considered one of Moscow’s most strategically sensitive regions. “Exceptional Russian air transport movements through November 2023 suggest that Russia has likely moved strategic air defence systems from its Baltic coast enclave of Kaliningrad, to backfill recent losses on the Ukraine front,” the MoD said in its latest intelligence update on Sunday. Putin’s forces suffered particularly high losses to its SA-21 air defence systems in Russian-occupied Ukraine in late October 2023, it said. Ukrainian attacks most likely destroyed at least four Russian surface-to-air missile systems that were located in occupied territories in a span of a single week, the MoD said in an earlier update on 2 November. “The fact that the Russian MoD appears willing to accept additional risk here highlights the overstretch the war has caused for some of Russia’s key, modern capabilities,” the MoD said. Sandwiched between Poland and Lithuania on Nato’s eastern flank, Kaliningrad is geographically completely separated from the country’s main territory. The isolated oblast is only accessible to Russia through a contentious strip of land, the Suwalki gap, that links Russian ally Belarus to Kaliningrad. Moscow places significant strategic importance on Kaliningrad because it houses the Russian Baltic Fleet in the port of Baltiysk, and it stands out as one of Russia’s few ice-free European ports. In May, Poland said it was reverting the name of Kaliningrad to its historical name Krolewiec on maps, prompting a furious reaction from the Kremlin. The region was formerly called Koenigsberg when it was ceded from Germany to the Soviet Union after the Second World War. In 1946 the Soviets renamed it Kaliningrad, after Mikhail Kalinin, one of the leaders of the Bolshevik revolution. Read More Booker Prize winner Paul Lynch on Dublin riots: This is always under the surface Iceland’s new #1 selfie spot may have emerged out of ground despite volcano threat Russia places Meta spokesperson on wanted list Booker Prize winner Paul Lynch on Dublin riots: This is always under the surface Iceland’s new #1 selfie spot may have emerged out of ground despite volcano threat Russia places Meta spokesperson on wanted list

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Rookie Zay Flowers had a touchdown catch and ran for a game-sealing score late in the fourth quarter, Baltimore’s defense forced four turnovers, and the AFC-best Ravens beat the Los Angeles Chargers 20-10