Catherine Debrunner (para athletics) The winner of five gold medals in Paris – plus a just-pipped silver in the 100m T53 – the irrepressible Debrunner was the most successful para athletics athlete of the Games. Her marathon medal on Sunday morning, up and down the cobbles of the Champs-Élysée, over the beautiful Pont Alexandre II … Read more
The cooling towers of the giant Drax power station loom over rural North Yorkshire as a reminder of Britain’s grimy past – and as a beacon of its efforts to create a net zero economy by 2050. The power plant was once one of the largest coal-burners in Europe, and a lightning rod for campaigners … Read more
Once again the gap between politics and media, on one hand, and the general public, on the other, continues to be revealed in its scale. Survey after survey bring us the news that things are changing. That the British public is becoming more progressive in attitude towards refugees and asylum seekers, immigration, unions and industrial … Read more
Yet another day in the land of shadows. Where politics goes largely unseen. If not totally unheard. Providing you can read the puffs of smoke. This is the new world order. All the big decisions taken away from the public gaze. All we are left with is a puppet show embedded in interpretative dance. Even … Read more
The Rugby Football Union is to make more than 40 members of staff redundant, just weeks after selling the Twickenham naming rights to Allianz in a lucrative deal worth about £100m. Staff were informed on Monday afternoon that as a result of a major restructure 64 roles are at risk, with 22 new jobs to … Read more
More abuse allegations have been made against Abbé Pierre, the late French Roman Catholic priest and campaigner who was long venerated as a modern-day saint. In July, the Emmaus anti-poverty charity which Abbé Pierre founded said it had heard allegations of sexual assault and harassment from seven women and it believed them. Emmaus has now … Read more
Within a week of being inaugurated in April as Senegal’s youngest president, Bassirou Diomaye Faye named his political mentor, Ousmane Sonko, as prime minister and announced his 25 cabinet appointments. Faye had swept to power on a leftist, anti-establishment and pan-African agenda promising radical reform, and said in his victory speech that his administration would … Read more
For years, as Kiran Nazish worked as a journalist in conflict zones around the world, she watched the female reporters around her struggling against the odds to build their careers, get support and stay safe. In Mexico, female journalists told Nazish that they had been blackmailed by their bosses to cooperate sexually or face demotion. … Read more
For England this was a weary, slightly seasick way end to the Test match summer. Not weary in the literal sense, although Chris Woakes looked tired and an injured Gus Atkinson was pointlessly over-bowled as Sri Lanka completed a beautifully clinical eight-wicket victory at the Oval. But weary of spirit, weary of spectacle, filled with … Read more
It is often said there is never anything new in politics. And for old hands in Whitehall, there is nothing new about the Treasury’s sights being set on the winter fuel allowance. The difference this time is that the arguments about the merits of means-testing the winter fuel allowance are playing out in the front … Read more