One of Labour’s rising stars has said the party will have failed in government if it does not reduce inequality, even as the prime minister faces a bitter internal battle over a key poverty-reduction measure. Torsten Bell, the former head of the Resolution Foundation turned Labour MP, said Britain’s longstanding economic problems could not be … Read more
So it’s goodbye to the unloved Bibby Stockholm barge, which has been referred to by its critics as a “floating prison” and has accommodated hundreds of asylum seekers in Portland, Dorset since last summer. The gigantic structure, which has about 220 cabins, is unlikely to be missed by anyone – apart from perhaps a handful … Read more
Sport, in particular athletics, gives artists great opportunities, as well as huge challenges. Running, jumping, throwing, fighting, swimming – these ways of using the human body offer much to sculpt, paint, photograph or film. And that has been true since ancient times. The Olympic Games were not just about bringing the different Greek states together … Read more
The conductor Sir John Eliot Gardiner has announced he will step down as leader and artistic director of the Monteverdi Choir and Orchestras after an allegation he hit a singer. The conductor withdrew from engagements including a BBC Prom after the incident last August and said he was seeking specialist help. The board of the … Read more
While Paris prepares for the official Olympic kickoff on Friday, an immovable object will collide with an unstoppable force. The venue is Nice, the coastal city that hosted the final stage of the Tour de France a few days ago and is one of the hosts for the Olympic soccer tournament. On Thursday, that’s where … Read more
The European Commission has raised the alarm about the independence of Italy’s public service media and Rome’s failure to reform the country’s strict defamation law, which is widely seen as silencing government critics. In a report issued on Wednesday EU officials identified “persisting challenges related to the effectiveness of [the] governance and funding” of Italy’s … Read more
The “incredibly alarming” discovery of the poliovirus in Gaza only adds to the besieged territory’s status as one of “the most dangerous places to be a child right now”, the head of the UN children’s agency has warned. The executive director of Unicef, Catherine Russell, said during a visit to Australia that Gaza was increasingly … Read more
To witness how the United States has become the world’s unchallenged oil and gas behemoth is to contemplate the scene from John Allaire’s home, situated on a small spit of coastal land on the fraying, pancake-flat western flank of Louisiana. Allaire’s looming neighbor, barely a mile east across a ship channel that has been pushed … Read more
With hundreds of millions of records sold, careers that are still thriving in their fourth decade, and admiration from the likes of Taylor Swift, the boy bands the Backstreet Boys and ‘NSync are absolute pop royalty. They were also the creations of one of America’s biggest criminals. It’s this bizarre duality that Netflix’s new docuseries … Read more
The triumphalism of the Premier League is unlikely to disperse any time soon, even during a chastening 2024. Performances in last season’s Uefa club competitions were disappointing. Though Rodri was named player of the tournament, Euro 2024 struggled for Premier League stardust. In its final, a Spanish team backboned by Real Sociedad and Athletic Bilbao … Read more