Spacecraft to collect samples from rarely explored area before attempting unprecedented liftoff from ‘dark side’ for trip home
China’s Chang’e-6 lunar probe has successfully landed on the far side of the moon to collect samples, state media reported on Sunday.
The lander set down in the immense South Pole-Aitken Basin, one of the largest known impact craters in the solar system, Xinhua news agency said, citing the China National Space Administration.
Australian actor tells BBC Radio 4’s Desert Island Discs performers should be able to play any role they want
Australian actor Rebel Wilson has said the idea that “only straight actors can play straight roles and gay actors can play gay roles” is “total nonsense”.
The Pitch Perfect star, 44, spoke to radio presenter Lauren Laverne on BBC Radio 4’s Desert Island Discs and was asked if women can get away with different jokes compared with men. “I’ve definitely said a lot of edgy jokes, and said them sometimes in very public places like the Baftas,” she said.
Group behind New Labour’s 1997 anthem say they don’t want song used again – and they are not alone
The pop group behind Labour’s 1997 victory anthem Things Can Only Get Better has joined many other artists in requesting political parties refrain from using their songs.
Major League Baseball has incorporated the statistics of former Negro Leagues players into its historical records on its website, meaning legendary leaders in some categories like Babe Ruth and Ty Cobb have now been replaced in the record books by players who were not allowed to play on the same fields as them during segregation. Josh Gibson, one of the greatest sluggers in the history of the Negro Leagues, is now listed as MLB's new all-time career leader in batting average at .372, moving ahead of Ty Cobb at .367. The MLB website shows Gibson also overtaking Babe Ruth in career slugging percentage.
Culturally and linguistically diverse communities account for just 15% of organ donations made in 2023, but advocates say the more diversity among donors the better
When doctors told Mili Udani there was nothing more they could do to treat her seven-year-old son Deyaan’s brain haemorrhage, her “world came crashing down”. Only a week earlier they had been enjoying a holiday to see family in Mumbai when he began complaining about headaches.
After three doctors declared Deyaan brain dead, Udani’s cousin asked her if she had thought about organ donation. The question suddenly brought back a memory from a few weeks earlier.
Priya* hoped a short getaway to south-east Asia would repair her marriage.
It was planned after months of abuse and coercion at the hands of her husband – which began almost immediately after arriving in Australia – that became so bad she feared leaving their Melbourne home, she says.
Actor, who played campaigner Alan Bates in TV drama, calls Horizon scandal a ‘Hitchcockian nightmare’ at Hay festival
The post office operators prosecuted in the Post Office Horizon scandal have “extraordinary dignity” after living 20 years in a “Hitchcockian nightmare”, according to actor Toby Jones.
Jones played Alan Bates, a former post office operator and leading campaigner for justice for staff wrongly blamed for accounting shortfalls caused by faulty software, in the ITV drama that put the scandal back in the spotlight.
Russell T Davies channels Black Mirror in a story of AI, shallow social media, and posh white supremacy. But, naturally, with added slug monsters
“Oh my hopscotch!”, as Lindy Pepper-Bean might say. The on-screen lead for much of this episode, Callie Cooke, is surely one of the most dislikeable human characters Doctor Who has ever produced. She is vain, shallow, self-absorbed and manipulative, and not afraid to cause her idol, Ricky September (Tom Rhys Harries), to die, and then lie about it. Regardless of the presence of the slug monsters, she is undoubtedly the villain of the piece.
It was strikingly stylised, and unusual to see an episode of Doctor Who mostly colour-graded to be pastel pinks and blues until the final subterranean act. The obvious target was the vacuousness of much of social media, but writer Russell T Davies struck out at wider themes, including the idea that AI might come to hate humans, and the arrogant privilege that comes with being, as Ruby Sunday put it, the “rich kids”. The inhabitants of Finetime had been sent off to a posh offworld boarding school and apprentice scheme for the wealthy and conventionally attractive, where they mostly partied. “Some of us get eaten” was both factually true for the story, and a bleakly observant pun for the viewer. Some people do get Eton.
After massive TV success in the US, the creator of Gavin & Stacey is about to appear on the London stage. But why do British audiences find him so hard to love?
James Corden is back in the UK and characteristically busy. Last year, the 45-year-old left his job as Los Angeles-based chat show host of The Late Late Show on CBS. A Christmas special is planned for Gavin & Stacey, the acclaimed BBC sitcom he created with co-star Ruth Jones. There’s talk of reviving One Man, Two Guvnors, the National Theatre’s critically lauded hit comedy that transferred to Broadway, winning Corden a Tony award in 2012.
And later this month, Corden will appear at London’s Old Vic in a short run of Joe Penhall’s new play, The Constituent, helmed by the theatre’s artistic director, Matthew Warchus. Corden’s first stage role since One Man, Two Guvnors, it’s seen as something of a departure (a gamble) for Corden – a serious work about the escalating risks of public service in politics.
The bestselling author on how to avoid reader indifference, the advantage of writing historical stories and why she returns to Blonde by Joyce Carol Oates again and again
Rose Tremain, 80, published her first novel in 1976 and has gone on to become one of her generation’s most admired talents, garnering numerous literary accolades along with a damehood in 2020. Her 17th novel, Absolutely and Forever, is a slender yet profound coming-of-age story whose heroine, Marianne, is raised in the home counties in the 1950s. When she meets floppy haired, artistic Simon, fateful consequences are set to accompany a potent sexual awakening. Tremain lives in Norfolk with her husband, the biographer Richard Holmes.
How did Absolutely and Forever begin for you? I have for years been haunted by the life and destiny of a close, very beautiful school friend, who fell in love aged 15 and thought she saw the map of her future before she was hardly older than Shakespeare’s Juliet. And then that future was snatched away. The idea that a whole life can be determined by a catastrophe that happens in early youth is both fascinating and tragic. The story of Absolutely and Forever changes the shape of the original and Marianne is more like me than my beautiful friend, but it has its roots in her story.
Absolutely and Forever by Rose Tremain is published in paperback by Vintage (£9.99). To support the Guardian and Observer order your copy at guardianbookshop.com. Delivery charges may apply
Bath are into the Premiership final for the first time in nine years but they are not a team who give their supporters an easy ride. At times it was Sale who looked the side most likely to meet Northampton at Twickenham next Saturday, only for a 74th-minute try from Niall Annett and 16 points from the boot of Finn Russell to keep Bath on track for the promised land.
Maybe it was the nerves associated with such a big occasion but not until the closing couple of minutes could home fans remotely relax. It is 28 years since their favourites were last crowned champions of England and the huge outpouring of joy at the final whistle showed exactly what this result meant to everyone connected with the club.
As the number of abuse victims in England and Wales taking their own lives rises, pressure is mounting on coroners to acknowledge the role violence, control and coercion can play
Roisin, the only child of Dr Tony Bennett and Margaret Hunter, went to her bedroom in Darlington on 7 March 2022 and attempted to take her own life. She died in hospital nine days later, at the age of 19.
Roisin, known as “Roi”, excelled at sports; she was popular and had received high marks as one of the youngest students to study for dispensing optician exams. She had no record of self-harming, mental illness or attempted suicide. Her ambition was to go to university and qualify as an optician. Roisin had a warm, supportive family. So what prompted her to take her own life?
There is still an expensive war to fight, and if EU and UK politicians insist on using taxpayer funds for it, there will be little left to spend on public services
There were hopes that 2024 would be a good year. Economists talked of a soft landing, by which they meant a solid rebound from last year’s high-inflation, high-interest shock. A drop in inflation would spark cuts to the cost of borrowing while trade expanded, unemployment stayed low, and household disposable incomes increased.
This cheerful scenario was going to be played out across Europe and allow the EU and UK to pursue many of the goals, not least tackling climate change, that were delayed as ministers sought to protect business and household finances from the fallout from the pandemic and the Ukraine war.
A sneak preview of a new exhibition about him sends shivers down my spine
Tomorrow, it will be 100 years since the writer Franz Kafka died in a sanatorium near Vienna from tuberculosis – and the good news is that as major literary anniversaries go, this one is easy to mark. You could, for instance, simply read him: a short story, perhaps, or a few pages of Ross Benjamin’s new, uncensored translation of his diaries. If you’re in Oxford, where his papers are in the Bodleian Library, you can see a new exhibition about him, and gawp at his sputum jar and a syringe of the type with which those treating him used to inject cocaine directly into his larynx; you might also wander in the city’s University Parks, where a giant inflatable “Jitterbug” – like Gregor Samsa in The Metamorphosis, it is half man and half insect – has appeared, as if from outer space.
Or you could just go about your regular life, and wait for the K-word – Kafkaesque – to float, unbidden, into your mind. The newspapers or the BBC will probably deliver at breakfast time, but if for some reason they don’t, there must be a bill you need to query, some kind of rebate you’re owed. Personally, I find that battling with the council over its stupid exercises in confirmation bias – questionnaires about low-traffic zones that permit only one “correct” answer – is good for reaffirming my sense that faceless, slightly sinister bureaucracy is indeed all around. But there are also a growing number of friends I can text, the better to find out how their David-and-Goliath office struggles are going. Oh, the glorious word soup that spouts endlessly from the mouths of HR departments!
Today’s cyber landscape is threatened by a multitude of malicious actors who have the tools to conduct large-scale fraud schemes, hold our money and data for ransom, and endanger our national security. Profit-driven cybercriminals and nation-state adversaries alike have the capability to paralyze entire school systems, police departments, healthcare facilities, and individual private sector entities. […]
This week the Washington Post reported that Americans "are more hesitant to buy EVs now than they were a year ago, according to a March Gallup poll, which found that just 44 percent of American adults say they'd consider buying an EV in the future, down from 55 percent last year. High prices and charging worries consistently rank as the biggest roadblocks for electric vehicles," they write, noting the concerns coincide with a slowdown in electric car and truck sales, while hybrids are increasing their market share.
But something else happened this week. The chair of California's Air Resource Board and the chair of the state's Energy Commission teamed up for an op-ed piece arguing that "despite negative hype," electric cars are their state's future:
When California's electric vehicle sales dipped at the end of last year, critics predicted the start of a new downward trend that would doom the industry and the state's broader effort to clean up the transportation sector, the single largest source of greenhouse gases and air pollution. But the latest numbers show that's not the case. Californians purchased 108,372 new zero-emission vehicles in the first three months of 2024 — nearly 7,000 more than the same time last year and the highest-ever first-quarter sales.
Today, one in four new cars sold in the Golden State is electric, up from just 8% in 2020...
California is now home to 56 manufacturers of zero-emission vehicles and related products, making our state a hub for cutting-edge automotive technology. Soon even raw materials will be sourced in-state, paving the way for domestic battery production...
Challenges persist, and chief among them is the need for more widely available charging options. Many more charging stations need to be built as fast as possible to keep up with EV adoption. To address this, California is investing $4 billion over six years to rapidly build out the EV refueling network, on top of billions in investment by utilities. Equally essential is improved reliability of the EV charging network. Too many drivers today encounter faulty charging stations, which is why the California Energy Commission is developing the strongest charging reliability standards in the country and will require companies to be transparent with the public about their performance.
They also point out that California "now boasts more EV chargers in the state than gasoline nozzles."
And that it's become the first U.S. state whose best-selling car is electric.
The banking industry is one of the main pillars of any nation and they have been an integral part of the critical infrastructure. The government and private banks in the Middle East, Turkey, and Africa (META) region have also gone through several transformations, and with the advancement of AI, these financial institutions have adopted artificial intelligence to streamline the banking experience for the common citizens while also ensuring robust cybersecurity measures. These banks offer a wide range of services beyond traditional banking, including investment banking, insurance, and asset management. As the financial landscape becomes increasingly complex, meta-banks are turning to artificial intelligence (AI) to streamline operations, enhance customer experiences, and mitigate risks. The Cyber Express explores the AI revolution taking place in META banks across the region and its benefits, challenges, and prospects of this transformative technology.
The AI Revolution in META Banks
The advent of AI has pushed conventional banking into a new era of endless possibilities. With its ability to process vast amounts of data and perform complex tasks with speed and accuracy, AI has become a game-changer in the financial industry. META banks are leveraging AI algorithms and machine learning techniques to automate routine processes, analyze customer behavior, and make data-driven decisions. By harnessing the power of AI, these banks can gain a competitive edge by offering personalized products and services, reducing operational costs, and improving overall efficiency.AI is revolutionizing various aspects of metabanking, from customer service to risk management. Chatbots, powered by AI, have become the face of customer interactions, providing round-the-clock assistance and resolving queries in real time. These virtual assistants not only enhance customer satisfaction but also free up human resources to focus on more complex tasks. Additionally, AI-powered predictive analytics enable banks in the META region to identify patterns and trends in customer behavior, helping them tailor their offerings to meet individual needs. Moreover, AI algorithms are proving invaluable in detecting fraudulent activities, enhancing compliance, and minimizing financial risks.
Benefits of Artificial Intelligence-led Banking in the META Region
The benefits of AI in banking are manifold. Firstly, AI enables these banks to improve operational efficiency by automating repetitive tasks and reducing human error. This not only saves time but also lowers costs, allowing banks to allocate resources more effectively.By leveraging AI-powered analytics, META banks can gain valuable insights into customer preferences, enabling them to offer personalized products and services. This not only enhances customer satisfaction but also fosters loyalty and drives revenue growth.Furthermore, AI enhances risk management capabilities in META banks. With AI algorithms constantly monitoring transactions and analyzing patterns, potential fraudulent activities can be detected and flagged in real time. This not only protects the interests of customers but also safeguards the reputation of META banks. AI-powered cybersecurity is a key component of this risk management strategy. By utilizing AI to identify and counter cyber threats, banks in the Middle East, Turkey, and Africa can ensure the security of their systems and protect sensitive customer data from unauthorized access.
Implementing Artificial Intelligence in META Banks
Implementing AI in the banking sector requires careful planning and strategic execution. The first step is to identify the areas where AI can bring the most value. This could include customer service, risk management, compliance, or data analytics. Once the areas are identified, META banks need to invest in the right AI technologies and infrastructure. This includes acquiring AI software, hardware, and the necessary IT resources to support AI implementation.Data plays a crucial role in the success of AI implementation. Banks in the META region need to ensure that they have access to high-quality, structured data that can be used to train AI algorithms. This may require data integration and consolidation efforts across different systems and departments within the bank. Additionally, both private and government banks need to establish governance frameworks and protocols to ensure the ethical and responsible use of AI. This includes addressing issues such as bias, transparency, and accountability.Cybersecurity is a top concern for financial institutions, given the sensitive nature of the data they handle. AI is proving to be a powerful tool in combating cyber threats and protecting customer information. AI-powered cybersecurity systems can analyze vast amounts of data in real time, detecting anomalies and identifying potential threats. These systems can learn from past attacks and adapt their defenses accordingly, making them more effective against cybercrime actors. AI algorithms can detect patterns and behaviors that may indicate a cyber attack, such as unusual login attempts or unauthorized access to customer accounts. By continuously monitoring network traffic and user behavior, AI-powered cybersecurity systems can swiftly respond to potential threats, mitigating the risk of data breaches. Furthermore, AI can assist in fraud detection by identifying suspicious transactions or activities that deviate from normal customer behavior.
Challenges and Risks of AI in META Banks
While the benefits of AI in META banks are undeniable, some challenges and risks need to be addressed. One of the major challenges is the availability of quality data. AI algorithms rely on large volumes of accurate and relevant data to make accurate predictions and decisions. META banks need to ensure that their data is clean, well-structured, and easily accessible to maximize the effectiveness of AI. This may require investments in data management and data governance processes.Another challenge is the ethical use of AI. As AI becomes more integrated into banking operations, concerns arise regarding bias, transparency, and privacy. AI algorithms can inadvertently perpetuate biases present in the data they are trained on, leading to unfair or discriminatory outcomes. META banks must establish ethical frameworks and guidelines to ensure that AI is used responsibly and in a manner that respects individual privacy and rights.The future of AI in META banks is promising. As AI technologies continue to advance, banks in the META region will be able to further enhance their operations and customer experiences. One area with immense potential is predictive analytics. By leveraging AI algorithms, META banks can predict customer behavior, market trends, and economic indicators, enabling them to make informed business decisions and stay ahead of the competition.Additionally, the rise of big data and the Internet of Things (IoT) will create new opportunities for AI in the META region. The ability to collect and analyze vast amounts of data from diverse sources will enable banks in the META region to gain deeper insights into customer preferences, market dynamics, and risk factors. AI-powered chatbots will become even more sophisticated, providing personalized recommendations and engaging in natural language conversations with customers.
Conclusion
The AI revolution is reshaping the banking sector in the Middle East, Turkey, and Africa. By embracing AI technologies, banks in the META region can unlock a multitude of benefits, including improved operational efficiency, enhanced risk management, and personalized customer experiences. However, the successful implementation of AI requires careful planning, investment in infrastructure, and the ethical use of data. Despite the challenges and risks, the future of AI in META banks is bright, with the potential to revolutionize the way financial services are delivered and experienced.
Forces outside the capital drawn on for Borussia Dortmund v Real Madrid match and a Tommy Robinson march and counter-protest
More than 2,000 officers have been deployed across London, including more than 400 from outside the capital, to police the Champions League final, a protest by the far-right activist Tommy Robinson and a counter-demonstration.
The final between Borussia Dortmund and Real Madrid takes place at Wembley on Saturday evening. And, earlier, a protest organised by Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, more commonly known as Tommy Robinson, set off from the Victoria area on Saturday, ending up in Parliament Square where speeches took place.
Author of novel Prophet Song about an imagined fascist Ireland tells Hay audience he is not a political writer
“I miss my solitude,” last year’s Booker prize winner Paul Lynch told an audience at Hay festival on Saturday.
“In many ways I didn’t sign up for this. I’m an introvert who’s learned how to be social, a social introvert,” he said. “I signed up to sit in a room on my own for three or four years and write a book,” he said.
Senior adviser who worked for Tony Blair and Gordon Brown says there is an ‘urgent imperative’ for a new government to address wealth inequality in Britain
A key New Labour adviser who worked for Tony Blair and Gordon Brown in Downing Street says there is an “overwhelming economic and ethical case” for Keir Starmer’s party to impose higher taxes on wealth if it wins the general election.
Writing in the Observer Patrick Diamond, professor of public policy at Queen Mary University of London, and his colleague Colm Murphy, a lecturer in British politics, say a Labour government will need to look at radical ways to raise money, not least because the plans for higher economic growth that the party is relying on may never materialise.
Cybercrime group ShinyHunters reportedly demanding £400,000 ransom to prevent data being sold
Ticketmaster has been targeted in a cyber-attack, with hackers allegedly offering to sell customer data on the dark web, its parent company, Live Nation, has confirmed.
The ShinyHunters hacking group is reportedly demanding about £400,000 in a ransom payment to prevent the data being sold.
The writer and broadcaster, 57, on tracking down stories, holding grudges, feeling happiest when he’s at work – and looking for the connections that bring us together
I found childhood quite uncomfortable. The itchy fabric of the school uniform, the bright overhead lights of the classroom, the being in a room with 30 boisterous young Welsh people – all of these things that were intolerable.
There was solace in going home to watch The Tube or to the arts centre that showed Scorsese films – portals into a different world. They gave me glimmers of hope that life could be good.
The comedian’s remarks on a podcast join his cheerleading of genocidal violence and jokes about suffering children in Gaza
There are few things certain in life except death, taxes and the knowledge that every single goddamn day you can look at the news and find a rich man complaining about how feminism and wokeness have ruined the world.
The use of the drugs in treating low mood has sparked debate, not least about the necessity of a hallucinogenic experience. But a new discovery may provide an answer
Robitussin has been a staple of American pharmacies since the late 1940s – but since the 1960s, people have swigged bottles of the cough medicine recreationally because, at a high enough dose, its active ingredient, dextromethorphan, can cause hallucinations (so-called “robotripping”). Now, that ingredient, common to many cough medications, has a potential new use – as an antidepressant.
In recent years, studies have found that conventional antidepressants are only marginally more effective than biologically inactive placebos. Meanwhile, big pharmaceutical companies conduct very little research into mental health drugs. So researchers and sufferers have instead placed their hopes in psychedelic drugs usually considered hallucinatory, such as psilocybin or LSD. Yet the evidence of their effectiveness as an antidepressant comes from small trials, one of the largest involving just 233 people – and no national government medicine regulator has formally approved them for this use. Against this backdrop, a legitimate drug company has quietly moved dextromethorphan beyond robotripping into a, legally approved depression treatment – but with an important twist.
Actor, daughter of Ethan Hawke and Uma Thurman, says she rejected path of ‘changing name and getting nose job’
The Stranger Things star Maya Hawke has said she is “comfortable with not deserving” the kind of life she has.
The American actor and singer, the daughter of Hollywood actors Ethan Hawke and Uma Thurman, said her relationship with them was “positive”, which “supersedes anything anyone can say about it”.
On Friday night the dearMoon project—a plan to launch a Japanese billionaire and 10 other 'crew members' on a circumlunar flight aboard SpaceX's Starship vehicle—was abruptly canceled.
"It is unfortunate to be announcing that 'dearMoon', the first private circumlunar flight project, will be cancelled," the mission's official account on the social media site X said. "We thank everyone who has supported us and apologize to those who have looked forward to this project."
Shortly afterward the financial backer of the project and its 'crew leader,' Yusaku Maezawa, explained this decision on X. When Maezawa agreed to the mission in 2018, he said, the assumption was that the dearMoon mission would launch by the end of 2023.
Final match for Saracens ended in defeat but his contribution was even more impressive after playing with a tear in his quad
Owen Farrell cut a lone figure as he walked round the perimeter of Franklin’s Gardens applauding fans, most of them backing Northampton. And, here’s the thing, they applauded him back.
A cacophony of boos had greeted his every contribution in the Premiershipsemi-final that had gone before, apart from the stunned silence for a couple of flashes of brilliance from the man that had conjured two tries for Saracens in the second half.
No life-threatening injuries reported, but news follows spate of drug-related deaths at privately-run HMP Parc
Three prisoners have been taken to hospital and an air ambulance was dispatched after disorder at a privately-run prison where 10 inmates have died in the past three months.
Security firm G4S, which runs HMP Parc in Bridgend, Wales, said there were two short-lived incidents at the prison on Friday, one of which involved 20 prisoners. The second incident, which was unrelated, involved an altercation between three prisoners, who required hospital treatment.
Party says policy is costly, unnecessary and part of a Tory war on the younger generation
The Liberal Democrats are to call for the abolition of voter ID at polling stations, describing the policy as part of a “Tory war on the younger generation”.
The Lib Dems will say in their election manifesto that they will “lead the charge” to ditch the policy in the next parliament because it is costly, unnecessary, is addressing a problem that does not exist, and makes it harder for young people to vote.
The Most Haunted presenter on how Biddy Baxter, the tough children’s show producer, made her look after Bonnie the dog – but in doing so gave her a backbone
Born in Stockport in 1968, Yvette Fielding is a TV presenter and actor. Her career began on children’s comedy drama Seaview, before she was headhunted for Blue Peter, becoming the show’s youngest ever presenter at 18. With husband Karl Beattie, she founded Antix Productions, and created Most Haunted, a paranormal investigations show sold to more than 90 territories globally. An author of YA books and novels, her memoir, Scream Queen, is out now.
This was taken by the wardrobe lady on Seaview. My character, Sandy Shelton, was involved in a demonstration to save the seals on Blackpool beach, which explains the badges and sash. It was a very sunny day and I was having a little breather, looking at the donkeys in the distance. I would have been 13 at the time. With a perm.
Migrants seek redress for ‘immense distress’ from deportations now thrown into chaos by election announcement
Asylum seekers detained by the Home Office and threatened with deportation to Rwanda are set to take legal action against the government after Rishi Sunak admitted that no flights will take place before the general election.
The Home Office started raiding accommodation and detaining people who arrived at routine immigration-reporting appointments on 29 April in a nationwide push codenamed Operation Vector.
When Charlie Higson published a new Bond novel last year, online critics accused him of turning the iconic spy into a ‘woke, libtard snowflake’ ... But he has always been a complicated character, argues the author
Which of these statements most closely represents your views about 007? A) James Bond has gone too woke; b) James Bond is a racist, sexist, imperialist dinosaur who has no place in the modern world; c) I’ve never given it much thought, really. I like the car chases, the nice locations and the stunts.
Most sensible people would pick option “c”. It’s just a bit of fun and best not to overthink it. But there are many people who are obsessed with James Bond and what he represents. Including me. And, as with fans of any cultural artefact – be it Star Wars, a football team, a music act – their biggest fans are their biggest critics. Everyone thinks they own Bond. They know what he is, who should play him in his next incarnation, how the films should be, how Bond should be. And they reserve their highest criticism for the two family firms that do actually own him – EON, which makes the films, and Ian Fleming Publications (IFP), which publishes the books. This sense of affronted ownership can perhaps best be summed up by Alan Partridge frustratedly snapping “Stop getting Bond wrong” in an oft-posted clip.
Despite Brexit, I still believe in the European project and as an Italian citizen I can play my part
I was a member of the European parliament for South West England from 1994 to 2014, including a seven-year stint as leader of an alliance of Liberal and Democrat parties. A decade later, I am standing once again, this time as an Italian citizen in the constituency of North East Italy.
I had not expected to be called out of a semi-retirement of teaching postgraduate students at the University of Toronto about the EU. In politics, however, when the call comes, one cannot say no. The offer to be the top candidate in this region for the new United States of Europe alliance is one I have taken up with gusto.
An version of this piece was published by EUReporter.
Graham Watson was a Liberal Democrat MEP from 1994 to 2014. He is running in the 2024 European parliament elections with the United States of Europe
Justices to address abortion, guns, social media – and whether Donald Trump can be prosecuted for role in January 6 insurrection
The US supreme court is poised to deliver a raft of politically sensitive decisions as it ends its judicial term, addressing tumultuous issues including whether Donald Trump can be prosecuted for his role in the January 6 insurrection in 2021, abortion access for millions of women and the basic functioning of the federal government.
With the court entering its traditional June climax, observers are bracing themselves for yet another potentially seismic four weeks that could radically reshape American public life. Matters before the court include a possible loosening of gun laws in a country with already exceptionally lax controls, and new guardrails on how social media platforms deal with misinformation.
A hundred years ago, George Mallory and Andrew Irvine set off to conquer the summit. Mallory’s body was later discovered, but now the remains of both are nowhere to be found. Who moved them?
“It will be a great adventure,” George Mallory wrote to his mother before leaving for the summit of Everest a century ago this week.
His disappearance, along with his climbing partner Andrew Irvine, has become one of the most alluring mysteries in the history of exploration. A final, tantalising glimpse of the pair through mist not far from the summit has inspired successive generations of historians, authors and film-makers with competing theories on a single question: did they reach the top?
With hundreds of highly prized species, bird tourism is thriving in the country – and farmers are increasingly turning their land into nature reserves
When it came to dividing up his late father’s farm between five brothers, Vinicio Bacuilima says he drew the short straw. Maraksacha, on the main road out of Ecuador’s capital Quito, is a tiny patch of land on the edge of a steep ravine, making it very difficult to make a living from farming.
Then Bacuilima’s wife Anita Cajas had an idea: turn their paltry inheritance into a site to attract visiting birders. Creating the Maraksacha Reserve was a risky venture, but it paid off, with feeders attracting a host of colourful hummingbirds and tanagers.
A vivid debut of trans life in Spain after Franco observes a world of violence and petty cruelties with compassion
Alana S Portero’s debut novel became something of a sensation when it was published in Spain last year. It spent seven weeks on the bestseller list, won several awards and was acquired for translation into 13 languages.
The protagonist, Álex, is a child growing up in Madrid during the transition from dictatorship to democracy. Her Madrid is not, however, the hedonistic city of La Movida Madrileña, the countercultural movement that reshaped Spain after Franco’s death, rather Álex lives out in San Blas, in poverty. Her Madrid is closer to the Harlem of James Baldwin’s The Fire Next Time, a city of desperation, bloodied community and dope. Indeed, the first time Álex feels a desire to kiss someone, it is her neighbour, Efrén, dead from a heroin overdose. “If it’s possible for a five-year-old to fall in love,” she writes, “then my love poured completely on to that tragic wreck.”
This excruciatingly revealing reality show is so extreme it’s hard to believe that what you’re watching is the truth – and maybe you’re not
Hard to trust a standup comedian, isn’t it? Part of the job – the main part, really – is trying to convince people that you’re delivering your material spontaneously. Forget how meticulously scripted it is. Forget that it has been carefully crafted over a period of several months, and that it will be delivered word for word, night after night, for more months to come. An audience needs to think that you’re coming up with it in the moment or it’s over.
And very few standups are as skilled at this as Jerrod Carmichael. Always an eloquent and thoughtful performer, his 2022 special Rothaniel managed to change the way we talk about the entire form. In it, Carmichael came out as gay, and worried about how his mother would receive the news. Filmed in tight closeup, his routine appeared to dissolve completely as it went along. Vast, yawning pauses opened up between his words. A few members of the audience started offering encouragement to him, initiating a discussion that carried it along to its death.
George MacKay and Léa Seydoux star in a epoch-traversing sci-fi romance, while the latest Star Wars spin-off has a mystery-thriller twist
The Beast Out now
Léa Seydoux (Blue Is the Warmest Colour) and George MacKay (Femme) star as the couple at the heart of this arthouse sci-fi epic, loosely based on Henry James’s 1903 novella The Beast in the Jungle and spanning three time periods, from director Bertrand Bonello (House of Tolerance).
Rishi Sunak is so convinced he can’t win he’s promising any old mad thing, while the Lib Dems are deliberately falling off paddleboards – Marina Hyde on the election. The couple on a mission to make it easier for everyone to have multiple children – Elon Musk (father of 11) is a supporter. Few of us have the money to take a long pause from work – but, as Anita Chaudhuri discovers, even a day can make a difference
Credential phishing is a type of cyberattack where attackers attempt to deceive your employees into providing their sensitive information, such as their Microsoft usernames and passwords. What is not obvious is credential phishing is the root cause of many breaches, including the recent ransomware breach at UnitedHealth subsidiary Change Healthcare. According to UnitedHealth Group CEO […]
What is Business Email Compromise? Business Email Compromise (BEC) is a sophisticated form of cybercrime where attackers use email to deceive and defraud organizations. Unlike typical phishing attacks that cast a wide net, BEC is highly targeted and often involves impersonating a trusted individual or entity to trick employees into transferring funds or divulging sensitive […]
Mike Tyson’s fight with Jake Paul has been postponed after the 57-year-old Tyson fell ill on a flight last weekend. Tyson and Paul said Friday that they will announce a new fight date next week. They were scheduled to meet on 20 July in Arlington, Texas.
Tyson became nauseous and dizzy during the final hour of a flight from Miami to Los Angeles last Sunday, and his plane was met by first responders who attended to the former heavyweight champion. Tyson’s camp attributed the episode to an ulcer problem.