‘Earthquake at Volkswagen” ran the stark headline in the Wolfsburger Nachrichten, the newspaper serving the north German city that is synonymous with the carmaker. The news that the crisis-stricken company was weighing up the closure of factories in Germany for the first time in its history, and prematurely dissolving its 30-year-old employment protection agreement as … Read more
Ticketmaster has a dream. A dream that one day, it will be “pleased to have partnered with” your child’s school, making it “easier for you to buy tickets” to the nativity play. Which will henceforth be known as the nativity experience. But listen – Ticketmaster wants to make the whole process run more smoothly, freeing … Read more
Solar panels stand at the Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating System in the Mojave Desert near Nevada. Photograph: Getty/Guardian Design Team Here is the biggest thing happening on our planet as we head into the autumn of 2024: the Earth is continuing to heat dramatically. Scientists have said that there’s a better than 90% chance that … Read more
Those two stark monosyllables in the title are a callback to Leigh’s debut from 1971, Bleak Moments: they lay down an uncompromising and yet also enigmatic challenge. This movie isn’t going to be an easy ride; of course not. But if it promises to reveal hard truths in their simplest and most irreducible sense, then … Read more
In August, Fred Gibson became the first dance artist to headline the Reading and Leeds festivals. Early on, he addressed the crowd, talking about how nervous he was. It’s the kind of thing festival headliners are wont to say, flattering the magnitude of the event, but in Gibson’s case, it didn’t seem pat: he looked … Read more
Joe Natuman watches for falling leaves and new shoots on trees as a sign it’s time to garden. Then, when a southern wind begins to blow in his small village in Vanuatu’s Tafea province, he is the first to plant yams. Soon, others will follow his lead. Like his forefathers, Natuman is a tupunus, meaning … Read more
Brazil’s president has sacked one of his most popular cabinet members after claims Silvio Almeida sexually harassed at least two women – one of whom is another prominent figure, the racial equality minister Anielle Franco. Almeida, the human rights minister, has denied the allegations, while Franco thanked President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva for his … Read more
Knock Off Nessa Kaz Barrett, who goes by Knock Off Ness, said her life has been “absolutely mental” since the final Gavin and Stacey episode was announced A carer has said her life has been turned upside after embracing a striking resemblance to one of the UK’s best-loved TV characters. Kaz Barrett, from Barry, Vale … Read more
BBC Looking up at the glimmering Landmark Pinnacle on London’s Isle of Dogs, it’s hard to crane your neck back far enough to see right to the top. Completed in 2020, it is the tallest mainly residential building in Europe, soaring 784ft (239m) and 75 floors into the sky. It has a gym, roof terrace … Read more
Nicki Hale Nicki Hale said she was “astonished” when staff told her to breastfeed her baby in the public reception area “Traumatic, super-hot and overcrowded” are just some of the words mums used to describe their experience at “inadequate” maternity hospitals. Many women have spoken out about their distressing births at Musgrove Park in Taunton … Read more