A 14-year-old boy killed during a sword rampage in east London on Tuesday is understood to be a science teacher’s son who attended the same school as Grace O’Malley-Kumar, the Nottingham knife attack victim. The victim’s mother was a teacher at Holy Family Catholic School in Waltham Forest. A...A 14-year-old boy killed during a sword rampage in east London on Tuesday is understood to be a science teacher’s son who attended the same school as Grace O’Malley-Kumar, the Nottingham knife attack victim. The victim’s mother was a teacher at Holy Family Catholic School in Waltham Forest. A...A 14-year-old boy killed during a sword rampage in east London on Tuesday is understood to be a science teacher’s son who...
A 17-year-old boy has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder after three people were injured with a “sharp object” at a secondary school in Sheffield. Emergency services were called to Birley Academy just before 9am. Two adults have been taken to hospital with minor injuries and a child is being checked over in hospital after being...A 17-year-old boy has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder after three people were injured with a “sharp object” at a secondary school in Sheffield. Emergency services were called to Birley Academy just before 9am. Two adults have been taken to hospital with minor injuries and a child is being checked over in hospital after being...A 17-year-old boy has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder after three people were injured with a “sharp object” at a...
video
Violence broke out between pro-Palestinian protesters and a group of counterprotesters at the University of California, Los Angeles, hours after dozens of activists were arrested at Columbia University in New York. Police reportedly used tear gas in an attempt to restore order at UCLA after about 100 pro-Israel...Violence broke out between pro-Palestinian protesters and a group of counterprotesters at the...Violence broke out between pro-Palestinian protesters and a group of counterprotesters at the...
political sketch
carol midgley
Praise be, for Russell Brand has been baptised. I’m sure your joy is unconfined, but I do have to stroke my chin(s)...Praise be, for Russell Brand has been baptised. I’m sure your joy is unconfined, but I do have to...Praise be, for Russell Brand has been baptised. I’m sure your joy is unconfined, but I do have to...
A LIFE IN THE DAY
Mangan was born in Enfield, north London, and won a scholarship to Haileybury school in Hertfordshire before reading...Mangan was born in Enfield, north London, and won a scholarship to Haileybury school in...Mangan was born in Enfield, north London, and won a scholarship to Haileybury school in...
Visas issued to skilled workers are down by a quarter
video
It was the start of the morning rush hour when the residents of Thurlow Gardens in Hainault, east London, first heard a commotion and saw a squad of police officers closing in on their neighbourhood. Shortly before 7am, police received reports of a car driving into a property in the quiet residential street. Within minutes, three members of the public had been wounded.It was the start of the morning rush hour when the residents of Thurlow Gardens in Hainault, east...It was the start of the morning rush hour when the residents of Thurlow Gardens in Hainault, east...
Two thirds of London is free of knife crime, the head of the Metropolitan Police has said, as a man remains in...Two thirds of London is free of knife crime, the head of the Metropolitan Police has said, as a man remains in custody following the Hainault sword rampage that left a 14-year-old boy dead. Sir Mark Rowley claimed the capital is safer than Birmingham, Manchester and West Yorkshire when it comes to serious violence.Two thirds of London is free of knife crime, the head of the Metropolitan Police has said, as a man remains in custody...
There is no greater vindication of a designer’s vision than it ending up, over time, hiding in plain sight. That has happened to Ralph Lauren. Lauren’s latest line-up, unveiled this week in New York before an audience that included the actresses...There is no greater vindication of a designer’s vision than it ending up, over time, hiding in...There is no greater vindication of a designer’s vision than it ending up, over time, hiding in...
Russell Brand joked that he would choose a Christian church to join at random by pulling petals off a flower weeks...Russell Brand joked that he would choose a Christian church to join at random by pulling petals...Russell Brand joked that he would choose a Christian church to join at random by pulling petals...
When scientists work with laboratory mice it is usually assumed that the humans are the ones doing the research. A...When scientists work with laboratory mice it is usually assumed that the humans are the ones...When scientists work with laboratory mice it is usually assumed that the humans are the ones...
THE TIMES DIARY
DISPATCH FROM Anthony Loyd
Azov Brigade has moved on from its far-right origins, its men say
The elite Ukrainian unit that spearheaded the defence of Mariupol against Russian forces has been excluded from the United States’ latest military aid package because of its historical links to right-wing extremists. Azov Regiment fighters held out against overwhelming odds for three months in 2022.The elite Ukrainian unit that spearheaded the defence of Mariupol against Russian forces has been excluded from the United States’ latest military aid package because of its historical links to right-wing extremists. Azov Regiment fighters held out against overwhelming odds for three months in 2022.The elite Ukrainian unit that spearheaded the defence of Mariupol against Russian forces has been excluded from the United...
Donald Trump has threatened to prosecute President Biden “for all his crimes” if he wins a second term and deploy the military to deport more than 11 million illegal migrants. The former president vowed to appoint a “real special prosecutor” to investigate Biden, linking legal action to how the Supreme Court rules on Trump’s liability for...Donald Trump has threatened to prosecute President Biden “for all his crimes” if he wins a second term and deploy the military to deport more than 11 million illegal migrants. The former president vowed to appoint a “real special prosecutor” to investigate Biden, linking legal action to how the Supreme Court rules on Trump’s liability for...Donald Trump has threatened to prosecute President Biden “for all his crimes” if he wins a second term and deploy the military...
video
Riot police in Georgia have allegedly beaten the leader of the country’s main opposition party and used tear gas, water cannon and stun grenades to break up a huge protest outside parliament against a “Kremlin-inspired” law. The violence on Tuesday night came after more than two weeks of demonstrations against the...Riot police in Georgia have allegedly beaten the leader of the country’s main opposition party...Riot police in Georgia have allegedly beaten the leader of the country’s main opposition party...
The French painting that came to symbolise universal revolution, Liberty Leading the People, has returned to view in its red, white and blue glory after the removal of decades of grime and varnish that had dimmed its colours. Eugène...The French painting that came to symbolise universal revolution, Liberty Leading the People...The French painting that came to symbolise universal revolution, Liberty Leading the People...
One of Europe’s most wanted cybercriminals has been jailed by a court in Finland for trying to blackmail 33,000...One of Europe’s most wanted cybercriminals has been jailed by a court in Finland for trying to...One of Europe’s most wanted cybercriminals has been jailed by a court in Finland for trying to...
The Green River Bar in Daniel, a community of fewer than 100 people in western Wyoming, was set abuzz one night last...The Green River Bar in Daniel, a community of fewer than 100 people in western Wyoming, was set...The Green River Bar in Daniel, a community of fewer than 100 people in western Wyoming, was set...
Donald Trump has threatened to prosecute President Biden “for all his crimes” if he wins a second term and deploy the...Donald Trump has threatened to prosecute President Biden “for all his crimes” if he wins a second...Donald Trump has threatened to prosecute President Biden “for all his crimes” if he wins a second...
The US federal government is set to recommend reclassifying marijuana as a less dangerous drug and permit its...The US federal government is set to recommend reclassifying marijuana as a less dangerous drug...The US federal government is set to recommend reclassifying marijuana as a less dangerous drug...
House prices in April fell at the sharpest rate since last summer as the recent rise in mortgage rates limited what prospective buyers could afford. Prices retreated by 0.4 per cent last month, according to Nationwide, the high street lender. That was the second monthly fall in a row and the...House prices in April fell at the sharpest rate since last summer as the recent rise in mortgage rates limited what prospective buyers could afford. Prices retreated by 0.4 per cent last month, according to Nationwide, the high street lender. That was the second monthly fall in a row and the...House prices in April fell at the sharpest rate since last summer as the recent rise in mortgage rates limited what prospective...
Amazon reported a jump in profit for the first three months of the year, propelled by advertising and cloud computing. Net income increased to $10.4 billion, compared to $3.4 billion in the same period last year, while sales at the business rose by 13 per cent to $142.4 billion. Amazon Web Services (AWS),its cloud division and the largest...Amazon reported a jump in profit for the first three months of the year, propelled by advertising and cloud computing. Net income increased to $10.4 billion, compared to $3.4 billion in the same period last year, while sales at the business rose by 13 per cent to $142.4 billion. Amazon Web Services (AWS),its cloud division and the largest...Amazon reported a jump in profit for the first three months of the year, propelled by advertising and cloud computing. Net...
Strong sales of asthma medicine and a blockbuster shingles vaccine has helped GSK to raise its full-year profit forecasts. The FTSE 100 pharmaceuticals company posted sales of £7.4 billion in the first quarter, up 10 per cent, or 13 per cent excluding Covid medicines. Vaccines sales rose 16 per cent, with Shingrix...Strong sales of asthma medicine and a blockbuster shingles vaccine has helped GSK to raise its...Strong sales of asthma medicine and a blockbuster shingles vaccine has helped GSK to raise its...
BUSINESS COMMENTARY
Living up to the company’s “purpose” can flummox some chief executives. Not Noel Quinn at HSBC. He’s so keen to be...Living up to the company’s “purpose” can flummox some chief executives. Not Noel Quinn at HSBC.Living up to the company’s “purpose” can flummox some chief executives. Not Noel Quinn at HSBC.
tempus
When Hipgnosis Songs Fund was launched on the London stock market in 2018, investors hailed it as an innovative way...When Hipgnosis Songs Fund was launched on the London stock market in 2018, investors hailed it as...When Hipgnosis Songs Fund was launched on the London stock market in 2018, investors hailed it as...
Economic growth in the eurozone accelerated at the fastest pace in two years at the start of this year, helping the bloc to shrug off fears of “stagflation”. Output across the single currency area rose by 0.3 per cent in the first three months of...Economic growth in the eurozone accelerated at the fastest pace in two years at the start of this...Economic growth in the eurozone accelerated at the fastest pace in two years at the start of this...
comment
Mark Zuckerberg shocked investors last week with the eye-watering amount that Meta Platforms is spending on...Mark Zuckerberg shocked investors last week with the eye-watering amount that Meta Platforms is...Mark Zuckerberg shocked investors last week with the eye-watering amount that Meta Platforms is...
comment
According to Rachel Reeves, Sir Keir Starmer’s Labour will be “more pro-business than Tony Blair’s administration”.According to Rachel Reeves, Sir Keir Starmer’s Labour will be “more pro-business than Tony...According to Rachel Reeves, Sir Keir Starmer’s Labour will be “more pro-business than Tony...
recruitment
From Terence Conran’s interiors and Tom Dixon’s furniture to Vivienne Westwood’s fashion and Peter Saville’s album covers, Britain has a proud history of producing outstanding designers. Yet this legacy could be under threat. Entries to the design and technology GCSE have plummeted by 68 per cent over the past decade, a decline that has not been offset by increases in...From Terence Conran’s interiors and Tom Dixon’s furniture to Vivienne Westwood’s fashion and...From Terence Conran’s interiors and Tom Dixon’s furniture to Vivienne Westwood’s fashion and...
recruitment
As chief executive of Speakers for Schools, the social mobility charity, Nick Brook focuses on empowering...As chief executive of Speakers for Schools, the social mobility charity, Nick Brook focuses on empowering state-educated students to reach their potential, irrespective of background or circumstance. With a career spanning 30 years of education leadership, here he shares the lessons he has learnt from classroom to...As chief executive of Speakers for Schools, the social mobility charity, Nick Brook focuses on empowering state-educated...
RFU considering taking action against No8
newBilly Vunipola will face no further disciplinary action from Saracens after he was arrested and subdued with a Taser in Mallorca, but the RFU is considering whether it should step in. Vunipola, 31, was on a club bonding trip when he was arrested by Spanish police and accused of assaulting a...Billy Vunipola will face no further disciplinary action from Saracens after he was arrested and subdued with a Taser in Mallorca, but the RFU is considering whether it should step in. Vunipola, 31, was on a club bonding trip when he was arrested by Spanish police and accused of assaulting a...Billy Vunipola will face no further disciplinary action from Saracens after he was arrested and subdued with a Taser in...
Adrian Newey, Red Bull’s legendary designer, will leave the team in 2025, ending an almost two-decade association with the world champions. As The Times reported last week, Newey, a crucial part of the engineering team behind Max Verstappen’s three world titles, has become disillusioned, and his relationship with Christian Horner, the team...Adrian Newey, Red Bull’s legendary designer, will leave the team in 2025, ending an almost two-decade association with the world champions. As The Times reported last week, Newey, a crucial part of the engineering team behind Max Verstappen’s three world titles, has become disillusioned, and his relationship with Christian Horner, the team...Adrian Newey, Red Bull’s legendary designer, will leave the team in 2025, ending an almost two-decade association with the...
mike atherton
As luck — a very apt word for today’s column — would have it, this is being written in the middle of the Lake District. On Alfred Wainwright’s classic coast-to-coast walk, from St Bees Head to Robin Hood Bay, not that my friends and I will manage the full glory of it in our five, short days. We will get about as far...As luck — a very apt word for today’s column — would have it, this is being written in the middle...As luck — a very apt word for today’s column — would have it, this is being written in the middle...
The Trend | Hamzah Khalique-Loonat
WILL KELLEHER
The rare successes that English rugby has enjoyed since the dawn of professionalism in 1995 have come in spite of the...The rare successes that English rugby has enjoyed since the dawn of professionalism in 1995 have...The rare successes that English rugby has enjoyed since the dawn of professionalism in 1995 have...
T20 WORLD CUP | Steve James
This feels like a critical moment, possibly even make or break, for the career of Jofra Archer after the...This feels like a critical moment, possibly even make or break, for the career of Jofra Archer...This feels like a critical moment, possibly even make or break, for the career of Jofra Archer...
champions league | Ian Hawkey
GIRO D’ITALIA
It’s unusual for a rider who has never ridden a certain race before to be such an overwhelming favourite on their debut appearance. But then Tadej Pogacar is an unusually talented rider. Already well established as a generational talent with two...It’s unusual for a rider who has never ridden a certain race before to be such an overwhelming...It’s unusual for a rider who has never ridden a certain race before to be such an overwhelming...
Sky Bet Championship
TIMES SPORT UNSEEN
Howard Webb has contacted Nottingham Forest to tell the club that they should have been awarded a penalty in their...Howard Webb has contacted Nottingham Forest to tell the club that they should have been awarded a...Howard Webb has contacted Nottingham Forest to tell the club that they should have been awarded a...
“Let’s see how I wake up tomorrow,” Rafael Nadal said on Monday after he needed more than three hours of play to stay...“Let’s see how I wake up tomorrow,” Rafael Nadal said on Monday after he needed more than three...“Let’s see how I wake up tomorrow,” Rafael Nadal said on Monday after he needed more than three...
in depth
The fashion resale site Vinted has made a record profit. Cast-offs are cool now thanks to these women, says Harriet Walker
interview
David Charter meets the independent presidential candidate dividing America
first person
It increasingly feels like a waste of time to report certain crimes, says Sophia Money-Coutts
From spotting the signs of a targeted teen to cutting contact with the abuser and reporting the crime to the police, experts offer advice
video
review
As Marie Curie didn’t say, though probably would have had she watched The Fall Guy: “Chemistry can only get you so far, even if you’re Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt.” And yes, the Barbie star Gosling and Oppenheimer’s Blunt demonstrate oodles of chemistry in this feather-light and ultimately tedious Eighties TV show reboot. They pour their chemistry all over the...As Marie Curie didn’t say, though probably would have had she watched The Fall Guy...As Marie Curie didn’t say, though probably would have had she watched The Fall Guy...
A LIFE IN THE DAY
Mangan was born in Enfield, north London, and won a scholarship to Haileybury school in Hertfordshire before reading...Mangan was born in Enfield, north London, and won a scholarship to Haileybury school in Hertfordshire before reading law at Cambridge University. He graduated from Rada in 1994 and began his career in the theatre, which included a stint with the Royal Shakespeare Company. His breakthrough TV role came in 2001 as the...Mangan was born in Enfield, north London, and won a scholarship to Haileybury school in Hertfordshire before reading law at...
first night review
Olivia Rodrigo’s favourite pose is a sort of ironic snarl, where she widens her eyes and bares her teeth. In a different context it is the look someone may throw before starting a fight in a chip shop. But, as deployed by the 21-year-old Californian throughout the scintillating first night of her European tour, it was a signal to her young audience to buckle up for...Olivia Rodrigo’s favourite pose is a sort of ironic snarl, where she widens her eyes and bares...Olivia Rodrigo’s favourite pose is a sort of ironic snarl, where she widens her eyes and bares...
first night review
There’s no Tom Cruise striding purposefully towards the next crisis, but the playwright David Haig’s reworking of the...There’s no Tom Cruise striding purposefully towards the next crisis, but the playwright David Haig’s reworking of the dystopian short story by Philip K Dick still gives us a compelling central character. Jodie McNee’s harassed neuroscientist/CEO, ensnared by her own crime-busting technology, holds your attention...There’s no Tom Cruise striding purposefully towards the next crisis, but the playwright David Haig’s reworking of the dystopian...
FIRST NIGHT REVIEW
FIRST NIGHT review
REVIEW
On the hunt for something good to read? Our veteran crime critics Mark Sanderson and Joan Smith are keeping a list of their favourite crime novels of the year (so far), which they will be updating when they find excellent new titles. You can also...On the hunt for something good to read? Our veteran crime critics Mark Sanderson and Joan Smith...On the hunt for something good to read? Our veteran crime critics Mark Sanderson and Joan Smith...
REVIEW | literature
ask the experts
troubleshooter
In January last year my partner and I bought tickets from the website Lastminute.com to fly our family of four to...In January last year my partner and I bought tickets from the website Lastminute.com to fly our...In January last year my partner and I bought tickets from the website Lastminute.com to fly our...
Workers, savers, pensioners and investors have until midnight on Tuesday to file a late self-assessment tax return or...Workers, savers, pensioners and investors have until midnight on Tuesday to file a late...Workers, savers, pensioners and investors have until midnight on Tuesday to file a late...
On the subject of new homes, is your local council more likely to be yimby (“yes, in my back yard”) or nimby (“not in my back yard”)? The answer is a complete lottery, planning data shows. In fact, if you live in Britain’s most expensive regions, and no one political party is in control, chances are your area will be bananas (“build absolutely nothing anywhere near...On the subject of new homes, is your local council more likely to be yimby (“yes, in my back...On the subject of new homes, is your local council more likely to be yimby (“yes, in my back...
In Guy Ritchie’s latest hit series, The Gentlemen (on Netflix), the main character, Eddie Horniman, inherits his...In Guy Ritchie’s latest hit series, The Gentlemen (on Netflix), the main character, Eddie Horniman, inherits his father’s sizeable country estate only to find it is a part of a marijuana-growing empire. For this to be happening under the nose of an aristocratic landowner suggests the owner is either completely...In Guy Ritchie’s latest hit series, The Gentlemen (on Netflix), the main character, Eddie Horniman, inherits his father’s...
MINDGAMES
MindGames
video
Viewing GUide
tELEVISION | STREAMING GUIDE
Television
Television
Henry Bird visits the mothership on the shores of Lake Geneva, where he gets pampered and hydrated in equal measure
Intelligent blankets, sleek ear buds and a head band that will tingle you to sleep
conversations
Christa D’Souza tries Exion, the latest face tightening treatment
video
Whether it’s the sound of a Mason Pearson brush gliding through hair or a Hermès Kelly bag clipping shut
video
The French chef Cédric Grolet is the man behind what are considered to be some of London’s finest pastries. You can find them at the Berkeley hotel in Knightsbridge or, if you don’t fancy waiting in a queue that often snakes down the street, you...The French chef Cédric Grolet is the man behind what are considered to be some of London’s finest...The French chef Cédric Grolet is the man behind what are considered to be some of London’s finest...
uk
Not all of our top whisky spots are in Scotland… from Norfolk to Northern Ireland here are the producers to know about — plus where to stay nearby
video
Skip the Med for the cooler Belgium Riviera and base yourself in royal favourite Ostend which offers art, serious seafood and super sunsets
Make a weekend of it at one of these thrilling attractions that span some of the country’s most exciting destinations from Manchester to Dundee
Ships by night aren’t all cocktails and casinos — from camping in Antarctica to illuminated Venice, these incredible cruise experiences only happen once the sun sets
video
Would you go analogue on holiday, relying on paper maps, taking the advice of strangers and making dice-based decisions for a fortnight? Our writer did — here’s what happened
Travel advice
A series of Border Force strikes will disrupt operations at Heathrow airport this week. Border Force staff working at...A series of Border Force strikes will disrupt operations at Heathrow airport this week. Border...A series of Border Force strikes will disrupt operations at Heathrow airport this week. Border...
kathy lette | travel troubleshooter
Q. My in-laws are from a wealthy French family — salad-eating, Agnès B-wearing types who have villa holidays...Q. My in-laws are from a wealthy French family — salad-eating, Agnès B-wearing types who have...Q. My in-laws are from a wealthy French family — salad-eating, Agnès B-wearing types who have...
WHERE WAS I? COMPETITION
video
Paris is one of the most alluring cities to visit, whether you’re into food, art, culture or history. And there’s a hotel for every mood and budget. Our Paris expert Hannah Meltzer visits five of her favourites and explains why they’re perfect for...Paris is one of the most alluring cities to visit, whether you’re into food, art, culture or...Paris is one of the most alluring cities to visit, whether you’re into food, art, culture or...
Obituary
“Francis feels very frustrated,” Eleanor Coppola, his stoical wife, wrote in 1976. “He gathers up his Oscars and throws them out the window. The children pick up the pieces in the backyard. Four of the five are broken.” Filming for Apocalypse Now...“Francis feels very frustrated,” Eleanor Coppola, his stoical wife, wrote in 1976. “He gathers up...“Francis feels very frustrated,” Eleanor Coppola, his stoical wife, wrote in 1976. “He gathers up...
Weather eye
From the archive
THOU hast also given me the shield of thy salvation: and thy right hand hath holden me up, and thy gentleness hath...THOU hast also given me the shield of thy salvation: and thy right hand hath holden me up, and...THOU hast also given me the shield of thy salvation: and thy right hand hath holden me up, and...
Buckingham Palace
30th April, 2024 The King, Patron, Cancer Research UK, and Patron, Macmillan Cancer Support, and...Buckingham Palace
30th April, 2024 The King, Patron, Cancer Research UK, and Patron...Buckingham Palace
30th April, 2024 The King, Patron, Cancer Research UK, and Patron...
MindGames and Brain Boost puzzles to print and solve at your leisure
Kate Forbes has dropped her strongest hint yet that she will stand again to be Scotland’s first minister in a move that threatens to plunge the party into bitter infighting. Nominations have opened for candidates to replace Humza Yousaf as SNP leader with Forbes, the former finance secretary, and...Kate Forbes has dropped her strongest hint yet that she will stand again to be Scotland’s first minister in a move that threatens to plunge the party into bitter infighting. Nominations have opened for candidates to replace Humza Yousaf as SNP leader with Forbes, the former finance secretary, and...Kate Forbes has dropped her strongest hint yet that she will stand again to be Scotland’s first minister in a move that...
The Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said the people of Scotland should be allowed to have a say on a new leader for the SNP as he reiterated his call for a Holyrood election. Speaking at the retail trade union Usdaw’s annual conference in Blackpool, he said: “You’ve had chaos and unelected leaders in Westminster, and now you’ve got chaos and...The Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said the people of Scotland should be allowed to have a say on a new leader for the SNP as he reiterated his call for a Holyrood election. Speaking at the retail trade union Usdaw’s annual conference in Blackpool, he said: “You’ve had chaos and unelected leaders in Westminster, and now you’ve got chaos and...The Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said the people of Scotland should be allowed to have a say on a new leader for the SNP as...
Kenny Farquharson | comment
Kate Forbes is unfit to be first minister of a 21st-century Scotland. A 1920s Scotland, maybe. A 1950s Scotland, perhaps. But not Scotland in 2024. Amid the machinations over who replaces Humza Yousaf as leader of the SNP, we need to keep this thought uppermost in our minds. It can’t be Kate. The reason becomes...Kate Forbes is unfit to be first minister of a 21st-century Scotland. A 1920s Scotland, maybe. A...Kate Forbes is unfit to be first minister of a 21st-century Scotland. A 1920s Scotland, maybe. A...
A Royal Navy sailor raped a colleague on a Tinder date after inviting her back to his room at Britain’s nuclear...A Royal Navy sailor raped a colleague on a Tinder date after inviting her back to his room at...A Royal Navy sailor raped a colleague on a Tinder date after inviting her back to his room at...
A man knocked down and killed in Edinburgh has been identified as a celebrated US art historian who was once honoured...A man knocked down and killed in Edinburgh has been identified as a celebrated US art historian...A man knocked down and killed in Edinburgh has been identified as a celebrated US art historian...
scottish covid-19 inquiry
Scottish business digest
Hello and welcome to our daily digest of business, financial and economic news from around Scotland. 1. Abrdn has...Hello and welcome to our daily digest of business, financial and economic news from around Scotland.Hello and welcome to our daily digest of business, financial and economic news from around Scotland.
Further ignominy has been heaped on the death throes of the Super Series after Glasgow Warriors called off their A...Further ignominy has been heaped on the death throes of the Super Series after Glasgow Warriors...Further ignominy has been heaped on the death throes of the Super Series after Glasgow Warriors...
Comment
Contempt for the law shows contempt for us all
Daniel Finkelstein
The British Medical Association rallying behind the jailed GP Sarah Benn ignores the rules of freedom that bind us
ALICE THOMSON
Why I changed my mind over assisted dying
ROGER BOYES
Four-point plan to give Kyiv more than guns
MATTHEW PARRIS | NOTEBOOK
How easy it was to slip into life in Rome’s army
JAMIE BURROWS
Police must help farmers eradicate fly-tipping blight
TOMIWA OWOLADE | NOTEBOOK
Civil War shows how desensitised our phones have made us
Lee Smith can’t stop taking photos of dead bodies. It is her job and she is meeting the demand for the images. But the protagonist of Alex Garland’s new dystopian film Civil War is afflicted with anhedonia. She can’t take joy from any activity...Lee Smith can’t stop taking photos of dead bodies. It is her job and she is meeting the demand...Lee Smith can’t stop taking photos of dead bodies. It is her job and she is meeting the demand...
letters to the editor
Sturgeon sealed the fate of her successor
Sir, If the Scottish National Party elects John Swinney and, as hints indicate, again enters the “fantastical world view” of the Greens, as your leading article “Humza the Brief” (Apr 30) accurately describes it, there will be a total collapse of...Sir, If the Scottish National Party elects John Swinney and, as hints indicate, again enters the...Sir, If the Scottish National Party elects John Swinney and, as hints indicate, again enters the...
Leading Articles
Less Woke, Still Broke
The government is right to insist on common-sense terminology in the NHS but the big problems with the health service, such as long waiting times, remain to be fixed
Spanish Practices
Spain’s politics, riven by competing claims of corruption, is a model of dysfunction
Of Mice and Men
Laboratory rodents may be conducting experiments of their own
Daily Universal Register
Briefing
UK: Holyrood debates a confidence vote in the Scottish government; results for GlaxoSmithKline.
US: Federal Reserve decision on interest rates; results for Pfizer.
On this day
In 1851 the Great Exhibition (of the Works of Industry of all Nations) opened in Hyde Park, London, attended by 25,000 paying spectators. The exhibition continued until October 15, 1851; in 1884 construction began on a ten-storey office building in Chicago. The Home Insurance Building was the first structure to be called a skyscraper; in 1926 the Trades Union Congress called for a general strike, in support of a coal miners’ dispute. The first full day of action took place on May 4, and the strike ended on May 12; in 1979 the Jubilee Line opened on the London Underground, with about 38 million people using the line in its first year. It now carries 186 million people a year; in 1997 the UK general election took place, resulting in a landslide victory of a 179-seat majority for the Labour Party, led by Tony Blair. It was the Conservative Party’s worst defeat since 1906, and ended 18 years of Conservative government, which had been led by John Major since 1990; in 2004 the largest single territorial expansion of the European Union took place, when ten countries joined: Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, the Slovak Republic and Slovenia.
Nature notes
April has provided a strange sight on the A168 between Thirsk and Northallerton. While most of the trees growing on this busy roadside were either white with blossom or gradually growing green, a dozen or so larger individuals were glowing red. These were black poplars. Male black poplars have crimson catkins, which can make the whole tree shine like an arboreal ruby, especially on cloudy days. These catkins were once known as devil’s fingers, and it was considered bad luck to touch them after they’d fallen. Black poplars are Britain’s rarest tree, but without genetic testing it would be impossible to determine whether the A168 poplars were genuinely wild specimens or hybrids. Far more common, hybrids are a cross between native black poplars and cottonwood trees. Jonathan Tulloch
Jonathan Tulloch
Birthdays today
Wes Anderson, film-maker, The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014), Isle of Dogs (2018), Asteroid City (2023), 55; Philip Banfield, consultant obstetrician and gynaecologist, chairman, British Medical Association, 63; Alan Belfield, chairman, Arup Group (2019-Mar 2024, engineering company), 68; Prof Sir Richard Blundell, economist, 72; Bernard Butler, musician, Suede, songwriter and record producer, 54; Sir Nigel Carrington, chairman, Henry Moore Foundation, 68; Lady Sarah Chatto, artist, vice-president, the Royal Ballet, 60; Fiona Gilbert, radiologist, professor of radiology, University of Cambridge, 68; Sir Gordon Greenidge, cricketer, West Indies (1974-91), 73; Willie Hartley Russell, chairman, the Almshouse Association, 63; Sir Nicholas Hilliard, High Court judge, recorder of London (2015-19), 65; Kim Leadbeater, Labour MP for Batley & Spen, opposition whip, 48; Keith Leslie, chairman, Samaritans, 66; Sir Kim Lewison, lord justice of appeal, 72; Dame Joanna Lumley, actress, Absolutely Fabulous (1992-2012, film 2016), and Gurkha campaigner, 78; Mary Lou McDonald, leader of Sinn Fein and TD for Dublin Central, 55; Julian Mitchell, writer, Another Country (1984), 89; Archie Norman, chairman, Marks & Spencer, ITV (2010-16), Asda (1996-99), Conservative MP (1997-2005), 70; René Olivieri, chairman, National Trust, Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (2019-23), 71; Peter Phillips, chief executive, Cambridge University Press & Assessment, 62; Sir Bob Reid, deputy governor, Bank of Scotland (1997-2004), chairman and chief executive, Shell UK (1985-90), 90; Paul Walsh, executive chairman, McLaren Group, 69; Antony Worrall Thompson, TV chef, 73.