EU urged to tell authorities to stand down EES controls if needed to avert delays at airports and border crossings
Travel industry leaders have called on the European Commission to tell all border authorities to stand down the new entry-exit system (EES) if needed, as fears increase of summer disruption.
European airports have warned of a potentially “disastrous” experience for passengers and huge queues unless the new biometric controls for foreign visitors are relaxed.
South Crofty site could reopen aided by potential $225m investment as US seeks to secure supply of critical metal
Donald Trump has aggressively pursued investment into hi-tech industries recent months, but the US administration has now set its sights on a more traditional sector: tin mining in Cornwall.
The South Crofty mine, near the village of Pool, could start up again after nearly three decades aided by a potential $225m (£166m) investment from across the Atlantic, in a move that would create 300 jobs.
Some backbenchers blame Pm’s chief of staff for Peter Mandelson’s appointment as ambassador
After the release of a vast tranche of documents and emails that shed further light on the close relationship between Peter Mandelson and Jeffrey Epstein, the government has come under intense pressure to release details about its vetting process before Mandelson’s appointment as US ambassador in December 2024.
Below, we look at how much Keir Starmer knew about Mandelson’s relationship with Epstein, and what vetting process the former peer went through for the top diplomatic job in Washington.
As Emerald Fennell’s provocative adaptation hits screens, this narration from the White Lotus actor reminds us of the brilliance of Brontë’s tempestuous novel
Rare is the Wuthering Heights adaptation that fails to ruffle the feathers of the Brontë faithful. Andrea Arnold’s 2011 film was criticised for its grit and gloom while Emerald Fennell’s new version, which arrives in cinemas on Valentine’s Day, was described as “aggressively provocative” after test screenings. Perhaps now is the time to return to the source material. In the audioverse, there have already been readings by Michael Kitchener, Daniel Massey, Juliet Stevenson, Patricia Routledge and Joanne Froggatt, though I favour this 2020 edition narrated by Aimee Lou Wood, of Sex Education and The White Lotus fame.
Set in Yorkshire, Emily Brontë’s tempestuous novel opens with Mr Lockwood, the new tenant at Thrushcross Grange, visiting his sullen landlord, Heathcliff, at his remote farmhouse where he gets snowed in. Bedding down for the night, he stumbles upon the diaries of the late Catherine Earnshaw, who writes of her love for Heathcliff, an orphan brought by her father to live with the family. Later Mr Lockwood has a nightmare in which the ghost of Catherine begs to be let in through the window (a scene immortalised in song by Kate Bush). The following day he returns to Thrushcross Grange where he asks the housekeeper, Nellie, to tell him about the Earnshaws. Nellie shares a dark tale of abuse, revenge and doomed love.
Yunchan Lim (Decca) The 21-year-old pianist gives a fine, muscular account of the Goldbergs, with touches of playfulness, in this live recording from Carnegie Hall
Yunchan Lim recorded the Goldberg Variations live at Carnegie Hall last year, riding the momentum of a run of performances, including two in London. Those who enjoyed his interpretation at Wigmore Hall will find plenty of the same rewarding elements here, not least the seeming ease with which the 21-year-old pianist untangles the music’s complex web of threads. Yet it’s good to find his interpretation wasn’t set in stone. Perhaps the New York performance had a more muscular bent, or perhaps the hints of romanticism in the later variations in London don’t register as strongly on a recording as in the hall.
What is more striking on the recording is a strength in the faster variations that sometimes verges on the mechanical: impressive, and a little overdone. There are touches of playfulness too – when in a couple of the variations he switches to a higher octave, the music sounds like it’s on helium, lighter than air. The slow variation halfway through is deeply felt, the long 25th variation touchingly done without quite staring into the abyss in the way that some performances do. It will be interesting to hear how Lim’s interpretation of the Goldbergs develops over the years, but this is a fine account to start with.
A leaked pitch to reshape Ethereum’s leadership exposed deep divisions over politics, power and ether’s static price
US crypto developer Danny Ryan submitted a proposal in November 2024 to Vitalik Buterin, the founder and symbolic leader of Ethereum, a prominent blockchain powering the world’s second-largest cryptocurrency. Ryan, who had worked for seven years at the Ethereum Foundation (EF), Ethereum’s de facto governing body, suggested that Ethereum could be on the cusp of an era-defining shift.
Since its founding in 2014, the foundation had prioritized technical upgrades and had avoided centralizing power while its user base was growing, but Ethereum had now grown up, and the cryptocurrency world around it had grown up, too. The EF could now “exercise a stronger voice” without compromising its ethos of decentralization, Ryan said – and he was open to leading that charge if appointed as the foundation’s new executive director.
Test captain has bruised eye and grazes to cheek and lip
34-year-old is back in England after dismal Ashes tour
Ben Stokes has sustained a significant facial injury after being struck by a cricket ball.
The England Test captain posted a picture on Instagram showing his right eye heavily swollen and bruised, a graze on his cheek and lip, and a bandage stuffed in his nose. He captioned the picture: “You should see the state of the cricket ball.”
President says army will ‘checkmate barbaric terrorists’ who attacked Woro and Nuku in Kwara state, killing 170 people
Nigeria will deploy an army battalion to a district in the west of the country where suspected jihadist fighters killed 170 people in attacks in two villages in the region on Tuesday night, the office of the president has said.
In the country’s deadliest armed assault this year, gunmen attacked Woro and Nuku villages in Kaiama district in Kwara state, shooting residents, razing homes and looting shops.
Prisoner exchange agreed at most significant contact between Kyiv and Moscow in months, but ‘work remains’
Ukraine and Russia concluded a second day of US-led talks in Abu Dhabi on Thursday without a breakthrough towards ending Europe’s most deadly conflict since the second world war.
The two sides agreed to a reciprocal exchange of 157 prisoners of war each, offering a rare concrete outcome from the discussions.
Owner of local cinema says Amazon is upset at way they marketed movie as some in US say healthy ticket sales are not reflected by empty seats
An independent cinema in Oregon has claimed Amazon pulled screenings of their documentary about Melania Trump in protest at the cinema’s marketing strategy.
As reported by local newspaper the Lake Oswego Review, the general manager of the Lake Theater & Cafe has claimed the corporation cancelled future screenings of Brett Ratner’s authorised study of the first lady after being alerted to promotional pushes such as: “To defeat your enemy. You must know them. Melania” and “Does Melania wear Prada? Find out on Friday!”
Aidan Doyle was an estate agent in Liverpool before he decamped to Dubai and turned a £30,000 annual income into £500,000 a year and climbing.
Acting as an agent for buyers and sellers, Doyle has seen his commission soar beyond anything he could hope to generate in the UK after just three years in the city, one of seven city-states in the United Arab Emirates.
Should I try to seek closure with a person I used to love but drifted apart from, or is it best to leave them be?
There’s a person I used to be really close to who doesn’t talk to me any more. We didn’t have a fight. We just drifted, but I still think about them all the time.
Bild claims acid injections used to alter jumpers’ suits
‘If anything was to come to the surface we’d look at it’
During its 26-year history, the World Anti-Doping Agency has faced thousands of questions about athletes using illicit substances. Thursday, however, surely marked the first time it was asked whether ski jumpers were injecting their penises with hyaluronic acid in order to fly further.
The Wada president Witold Banka’s reaction? “Ski jumping is very popular in Poland [Banka’s home country] so I promise you I’m going to look at it,” he said, with a wry smile.
A mangrove conservation project in Guanabara Bay has shown how a dying ecosystem can be transformed into a thriving sanctuary
With deep blue waters flanked by dramatic peaks, Guanabara Bay is the postcard view of Rio de Janeiro – but it is also one of Brazil’s most polluted coastal environments. Raw sewage and solid waste flow into the bay from surrounding cities, home to more than 8 million people. Cargo ships and oil platforms chug in and out of commercial ports, while dozens of abandoned vessels lie rotting in the water.
But at the head of the bay, between the cities of Itaboraí and Magé, the environment feels different. The air is purer, the waters are empty but for small fishing canoes, and flocks of birds soar overhead.
Relatives of at least 27 people who died in November 2021 describe their loved ones and their grief to Cranston inquiry
On 24 November 2021, at least 27 people died in the worst mass migrant Channel drowning on record. Two years later, the Cranston inquiry was set up to investigate the catastrophic event.
Many of those who lost their lives were young people. Four others missing since the mass drowning have never been found. Their bereaved parents and other immediate family members provided statements to the inquiry about their loved ones.
The actions of Fifa’s fawning president as well as the Olympics leader’s call for ‘neutral ground’ underscores the hollowness of the global bodies’ values
In an ever more complex world, it is always good to have figures who can simplify things for us. A single person, making it crystal clear where they stand and what for, can be the light in the darkness that helps you navigate today’s turbulent waters.
That’s why I’m so grateful for Gianni Infantino. The man is the ultimate guide to geopolitics, and a waypost for anyone confused by the moral labyrinth they find themselves living in. Whichever way he’s pointing, you can feel confident you should be headed in the opposite direction.
Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here.
Animal Equality says two surprise inspections in three years suggests ‘embarrassingly poor’ level of scrutiny
Scottish salmon farmers recorded more than 35m unexpected salmon deaths in just under three years but there were only two unannounced inspections of facilities over the same period.
In December, the Scottish government’s secretary for rural affairs, Mairi Gougeon, said that there was “a really robust regulatory regime when it comes to fin-fish aquaculture” but animal welfare campaigners say the figures call that claim into question.
Spain has accused Pavel Durov of “spreading lies” and seeking to undermine democratic institutions after the Telegram founder used the messaging app to attack government plans to introduce a social media ban for under-16s and to hold tech companies responsible for hateful and harmful content.
Durov’s extraordinary public intervention – which came a day after Elon Musk called Spain’s prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, a “true fascist totalitarian” over the proposed measures – reveals the rapidly escalating tensions between European governments and powerful global technology chiefs.
The Swedish band’s frontwoman answers your questions on ‘sweet and curious’ Tom Jones, being changed by cancer and whether the Cardigans will ever make new music
Are you a fan of actual cardigans? garythenotrashcougar I can see the genius of them as items of clothing, but I never looked good in a cardigan. Our [former] songwriter and guitar player [Peter Svensson] suggested the name. We were super anglophiles. We loved British music. Our first album is called Emmerdale because the series was shown on Swedish TV every day, titled Home to the Farm. We romanticised something sort of rainy and hazy and woolly … like the cardigan.
I like covers that have a new take on the original, so I really enjoyed your lounge-style version of Sabbath Bloody Sabbath. What made you choose that band [Black Sabbath] and song in particular? NotDrivingAMiniMetro We were big fans – for a heavy band there’s a real pop sentiment in the songwriting – and I think it’s interesting when a cover is a stretch away from your natural sound. As a woman, I thought singing a song done by very manly men gave it a wonderfully creepy aspect. Ozzy [Osbourne] came to see us in Los Angeles and said it was the creepiest thing he’d ever heard, which coming from him is the biggest compliment.
Tuchel ideally wants World Cup sides on 6 and 10 June
Most qualified teams not available on second date
The Football Association is experiencing difficulties in securing suitable opposition for England’s World Cup warm-up games owing to their late start to the expanded 48-team tournament.
England open against Croatia on the last day of the first round of games on 17 June, six days after the first match between Mexico and South Africa, and Thomas Tuchel wants final preparation games as close to his team’s tournament kick-off as possible.
As we don our oilskins for the release of Emerald Fennell’s rain-lashed romance, we count down the films pitting their stars against the elements
Pathetic fallacy is the literary device in which the environment reflects a character’s mood. It is central to Disney’s animated classic, which is about a woman who gets so annoyed that she literally turns her surroundings into a perpetual winter. As such, she is responsible for untold miseries, not least the fact that her stroppiness directly caused the invention of Josh Gad’s annoying snowman.
Vladimir Motin sentenced in UK for manslaughter by gross negligence after failing to take action to prevent his ship crashing into an oil tanker
A Russian container ship captain has been jailed for six years after an explosive collision in the North Sea off the coast of Yorkshire killed a crew member.
Vladimir Motin, 59, was told by an Old Bailey judge that he had been a “serious accident waiting to happen” as he was jailed for manslaughter by gross negligence.
FBI and Venezuela’s intelligence agency also reportedly arrest billionaire media mogul Raúl Gorrín at same address
A close and powerful associate of the deposed Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro has reportedly been detained during a joint operation by Venezuela’s intelligence agency and the FBI.
Alex Saab, a wealthy Colombian-Venezuelan businessman long considered Maduro’s frontman, was removed from his position in Venezuela’s government a fortnight after US forces captured his ally on 3 January. In the early hours of Wednesday, the 54-year-old was reportedly detained by members of the Bolivarian national intelligence service (Sebin) at a luxury home in Venezuela’s capital, Caracas.
Exclusive: John Doyle says theatre should be able to disturb and challenge audiences, and not sanitise difficult themes
The Tony award-winning theatre director John Doyle has warned that trigger warnings before plays risks “mollycoddling” audiences and sanitising theatre.
The Scottish director, who has led four British theatres, said: “Take care of the audience, but the theatre is supposed to make you uncomfortable. It’s supposed to make you fearful.
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