英格兰足球协会（The FA）确认，它与欧洲同行们“肩并肩”共同面对。文化大臣丽莎·南迪（Lisa Nandy）则代表政府支持此次抵制行动。她表示：“这是一个原则性决定，我们强烈支持。足球属于球迷，而不是亿万富翁投资者。适可而止。现在是时候采取立场来保护我们的运动了。”
在会议后发布的一份声明中，欧洲足联（Uefa）表示，其成员“一致且明确地拒绝国际足联（Fifa）关于将世界杯及其他国际足联赛事的所有权权益转让给私人投资者的提案”。声明补充道：“世界杯不可买卖。这不是一个‘民主决定’，而是通过恐吓进行的治理——这种胁迫行为不配出现在一个被委任管理全球足球运动的机构身上。”
欧洲足球的 55 个成员协会昨日投票决定抵制世界杯，针对国际足联将其赛事股份出售给私人投资者的计划，向詹尼·因凡蒂诺（Gianni Infantino）和国际足联发出了一个强有力的信号。
成员们明确表示，他们认为国际足球的未来正处于危急关头。
因凡蒂诺的计划将导致一组投资者控制国际足联最高级别男子和女子赛事的商业利益。此次抵制将损害他的野心，因为私募股权基金将面临买入一个失去了世界顶尖球队和球员参与的赛事的窘境。
亚足联（AFC）主席谢赫·萨尔曼·本·易卜拉欣·阿尔哈利法（Sheikh Salman Bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa）写信给其 47 个成员国，称：“亚足联深感担忧，国际足联的单方面行动似乎在破坏洲际足球的基础，而这些基础是建立在团结、合作和透明度之上的。”
欧洲足联召开了一次虚拟紧急会议，以应对这项备受争议的出售提案——该提案由《泰晤士报》于周二独家披露——并引发了整个体育界的激烈抵制。包括英格兰在内的成员协会一致决定抵制每一项国际足联赛事，涵盖男子、女子和青年世界杯。这是第一次
来自 40 多个协会（包括英格兰足球协会）的代表在会议期间发言。一名内部人士报道称，对于国际足联对待他们的态度，人们感到“完全一致”的愤怒，同时也对为什么
此次抵制也给即将到来的国际赛事带来了不确定性。女子 Under-20 世界杯定于 9 月 5 日在波兰开幕，
对于因凡蒂诺来说，另一个打击来自中北美及加勒比海足球联盟（Concacaf），该组织代表包括在内的北美、中美洲及加勒比地区的 41 个国家
艾玛·罗伯茨（Emma Roberts），又名曼迪·伯纳姆（Mandy Burnham）；理查德·帕克（Richard Parker），西米德兰兹郡工党市长；乔安娜·麦格雷戈（Joanna MacGregor），右侧，联合国气候变化机构战略及联合国事务负责人；詹姆斯·马丁（James Martin），从牛津开车前往乌克兰的 YouTuber；经济学家特雷弗·威廉姆斯（Trevor Williams）教授论述百万富翁为何离开英国
由于投资者担忧更高的通货膨胀，[价格]剧烈波动。银行认为目前不需要收紧政策，因为这些较高的债券收益率将自动冷却经济。
杰克·巴内特（Jack Barnett）经济记者 决策将几乎完全取决于战争持续的时间。同样，如果美国和伊朗很快达成持久和平，从而降低全球能源价格，那么可能会迎来降息。
英格兰银行（Bank of England）昨日连续第五次会议维持利率不变，但警告称，中东地区持久的冲突导致油气价格在更长时间内处于高位，可能会触发加息。
公告发布后，英国政府短期借贷成本大幅下降，表明市场认为银行将在今年暂不加息。2 年期英国国债收益率下降 0.11 个百分点至 4.34%，基准 10 年期国债收益率下降 0.04 个百分点，至 5% 以下。
英国国家统计局的最新数据显示，6月份的通货膨胀率从5月份的 2.8% 下降至 2.6%，低于中央银行的预期。
货币政策委员会（MPC）的九名成员每 6 周会面一次以设定基准利率，他们以 6–3 的投票结果支持将利率维持在 3.75% 不变，这一利率自12月以来一直维持在该水平。
投票支持维持利率不变的英格兰银行行长安德鲁·贝利（Andrew Bailey）表示：“中东冲突意味着能源价格将继续保持高位且波动剧烈。这将导致今年晚些时候通货膨胀再次上升。我们的任务是确保任何通胀的增加都是暂时的，并回归到我们 2% 的目标。”
英镑兑美元上涨 0.56%，至 $1.34。伦敦富时 100 指数上涨 0.25%。
中央银行预测，由于与中东冲突相关的能源价格上涨，今年剩余时间的通货膨胀率将维持在 3% 以上。
MPC 的三名成员——中央银行首席经济学家休·皮尔（Huw Pill）以及外部专家凯瑟琳·曼（Catherine Mann）和梅根·格林（Megan Greene）——希望将利率提高到 4%。皮尔表示，现在提高利率将能“穿透大宗商品和资产价格发展的噪声，就我们解决海湾事件引发的通胀上行风险的意愿和能力，发出一个清晰且明确的信号”。
今日刊刊
英格兰银行表示，安迪·伯纳姆（Andy Burnham）宣布的旨在应对生活成本的早期政策攻势——包括从10月起取消电费中的增值税，以及将大多数单程巴士票价上限设定为 £2——将使通货膨胀率降低 0.1 个百分点。
预计到9月止的三个月内经济增长将陷入停滞，整个 2026 年的总增长率为 1.1%。失业率预计将从 4.9% 的水平上升至 5.1%。
体育时报 2
尽管中央银行表示，与 4 月份的预测相比，经济承受海湾冲突冲击的情况好于预期，但它承认其即将到来的利率
自冲突开始以来（目前已进入第六个月），全球政府借贷成本有所上升
三度审问：应对牛剑大学“好色”男性的教务长
弗莱明之邦：迈克·阿瑟顿（Mike Atherton）谈英格兰队新任测试赛教练
着装得体：《塔特勒》（Tatler）揭晓最佳着装英国人名单
由于养老金领取者被卷入更高税率的缴税范围，冻结的税收免税额也导致了巨额税单。
海伦娜·凯利（Helena Kelly） 金融新闻与调查编辑
第 2-3 页
第 58 页
第 11 页
安迪·伯纳姆在确认他告知特朗普总统“我们不能忽视”当地资源时，为未来在北海钻探留下了空间。
富有的婴儿潮一代导致 2024-25, 年度养老金提取的所得税收入创纪录，达到 £30.1 亿，比 2021-22 22 年收取的 £20.5 亿增长了 47%。
体育 56 填字游戏 64 电视与广播时报 2
评论 23 读者来信 26 社论 27
世界 28 商业 33 登记簿 51
来自投资公司 Evelyn Partners 的大卫·利特尔（David Little）表示，随着人口老龄化和“婴儿潮”一代退休，这些数字正在“快速增长”。他补充道：“增长反映了退休人口的增加、在经历数年通胀后更高的养老金支付和提取额，以及冻结的税收免税额。”
两位领导人在伯纳姆就职的第一天进行了电话通话，期间美国总统表示，新任首相告诉他他将“开放北海石油”。
因凡蒂诺出售世界杯的计划注定失败吗？
专家表示，这一增长是由婴儿潮一代（即 1946 年至 1964 年之间出生的人）开始退休，并通过年金、分期领取、甚至一次性领取的方式获取养老金收入驱动的。
“许多零售商似乎不愿将价格提高到心理关键阈值每升 160 便士以上，”他说道。“近期无铅汽油批发成本的大部分上涨已经体现在加油站的售价中，但零售利润率仍略低于其”
英格兰和威尔士地区温暖且大部分时间干燥。苏格兰和爱尔兰地区有阵雨。
Williams 表示：“现在需要的是油价在数周内持续下降，除非这种情况发生，否则加油站的高油价看来将长期存在。”
James Hitchman，运营
the times | Friday July 31 2026 S1 3
ZOE NORFOLK 为《泰晤士报》供稿
Emily Maton 以及 Lionesses A 队的其他成员，根据四国国际象棋联赛 (Four Nations Chess League) Division 1 的规则，其中一人必须退出。
官员告知国际象棋女将：需一名男性加入顶尖组别
英国国际象棋：四国国际象棋联赛 (4NCL) Division 1，这是一项享有盛誉的国家队赛事。
否则，她们的一名球员必须由一名男性替换。
球队。在比赛之前，我们会互相帮助。我们会分享资源，讨论战术。
通过鼓励更多年轻女孩尝试这项运动来解决国际象棋中的性别不平衡问题。到目前为止，该计划已帮助了 1,800 名选手。
Seren Hughes 写道，一支全女性队伍被通知必须引入一名男性球员以符合规则。
4NCL 的财务总监 Mike Truran 表示，已对 2025-26 赛季的所有队长进行了关于是否应修改该规则的调查，结果显示“没有明显的意愿”，但 4NCL 表示“如果队长的意见发生变化，仍对修改规则持开放态度”。
这支球队对于在男性主导的运动中取得成功感到欣喜，许多女性认为，这种环境为她们创造了难以适应的氛围。
“过去我在其他队伍比赛时，只有我和那些我完全无法产生共鸣的男人。而且经常感觉你在这个队里只是为了让他们填满多样性配额。”
Maton 将于下周参加 U20 欧洲锦标赛，她从九岁起就开始参加国际象棋竞技比赛，但回忆起在赛事中总是感觉到被男性“压倒性地包围”。“我基本上在中学时期就停止参加学校的国际象棋俱乐部了，因为你会感到如此孤立且格格不入，”她说道。
尽管取得了成就，但 Lionesses A 队——其中包括八名年龄在 11 到 19 岁之间的球员——遇到了一个巨大的障碍：她们被告知必须引入一名男性球员以遵守联赛规则。Maton 和整个团队坚决反对这一点，因为这将“破坏”她们所建立的社区。
“所以这支队伍，是摆脱那种状态的惊人一步，因为自己的成就而成为团队的一员。我们依然在人数上处于劣势，但我们确实看到了进步，尤其是在较低级别的联赛中。”
他补充道：“没有证据表明目前的规则会阻碍女性参与国际象棋。事实上，我们认为通过要求顶尖组别的所有队伍必须至少有一名女性球员，我们是在积极鼓励女性参与国际象棋。如果可能的话，我们尽量避免采取积极歧视/平权行动。” 2010-11 赛季，一支拥有七名女性球员和一名男性球员的队伍赢得了顶尖组别的冠军。
自九岁起，Emily Maton 就在下长线棋。她更倾向于在六小时的比赛中通过磨战慢慢“击垮”对手，这种方法为她在该项运动中赢得了诸多赞誉。
随着她们在 4NCL 的组别晋升，在牛津大学学习哲学、政治和经济学的 Maton 表示，有人告诉她们“不配待在那里，不属于那里，将会举步维艰”。
“能晋升到那个顶尖水平并证明他们是错的——证明全女性队伍也可以做到，这对我们来说是一项巨大的成就。”
在联赛中，每支队伍有八名球员参加比赛，获胜次数最多的队伍将夺冠。规则规定，第一组的每支队伍必须至少包含一名男性球员和一名女性球员。讽刺的是，该规则的创建初衷是为了提高女性的参与度。自联赛 1994 年成立以来，这一规则一直维持不变，而 4NCL 拒绝将其更改。它是英国唯一要求混合组队的联赛。
然而，为了登顶，她所依靠的不仅仅是比赛策略。来自圣奥尔本斯的 18 岁球员马顿（Maton）告诉《泰晤士报》，她不止一次目击男性球员“砸碎棋盘上的所有棋子，并说他们不敢相信自己输给了一个女孩”。她补充道：“那时只有我和我一个朋友，而房间里全是 50 岁的男人。”
她说，在实现目标之后被告知“实际上，你们不能再单纯地组建一支女性队伍了”，这损害了“团队动态和这个社区”。
她补充道：“你会看到很多女孩在 13 岁左右就放弃了，仅仅是因为他们厌倦了人们地不断质疑他们。”
德科斯塔（D’Costa）表示：“在年幼时下棋的女孩不够多，而这很重要，因为国际象棋教授了应对生活的独特战略技巧。”
马顿表示，关于修改规则的讨论已经进行了一段时间，但现在她的队伍已经升级，4NCL 的态度“变得有些愤怒”。联赛将于 10 月重新开始，队伍希望在此之前能将规则修改；
“她志在必得”（She Plays to Win）通过创建了一个由女性和女孩组成的“强大社区”来应对，并举办每周晚餐会。
“学习这些技巧可以帮助更多女孩在未来的战略性岗位上茁壮成长，而这些岗位将定义明天的世界——长期以来，这些岗位一直由男性主导。”
面对如此巨大的逆境，她加入了一支全女性国际象棋队，该队在今年 5 月成为首支进入最高级别的队伍。
“雌狮 A 队”（The Lionesses A Team）隶属于“她志在必得”，这是一个由洛林·德科斯塔（Lorin D’Costa）在 2020 年创建的非营利组织，旨在帮助改变现状。
马顿说：“我们参赛是因为我们希望这支队伍取得成功，而且我们真的很在意队友们。”
1955 年，这引发了由马丁·路德·金领导的抵制运动。玩家被邀请寻找公交车站，并帮助人们前往取消种族隔离后的座位。
并选择了一名“真相与和解委员会”小组的成员，该小组旨在允许
被酷刑处决，而他的共谋者则被追捕并杀死。游戏配套的事实材料解释了篝火之夜作为庆祝阴谋失败的意义，并鼓励玩家构建自己的数字化篝火。
在企图弑君期间的福克斯，帮助他避开议会地下室的皇家卫队，并在伦敦塔被囚禁期间杀死老鼠。
艾米莉亚·斯陶特（Amelia Stout）
英国广播公司（BBC）被迫下架一款儿童教育游戏，该游戏将盖伊·福克斯（Guy Fawkes）与纳尔逊·曼德拉、罗莎·帕克斯和埃米琳·潘克赫斯特并列为“惊人的活动家”。
人权侵害受害者在种族隔离制度结束后分享他们的故事。
另一款类似的 BBC Bitesize 游戏允许儿童扮演宇航员尼尔·阿姆斯特朗、先驱飞行员艾米莉亚·埃尔哈特和中世纪穆斯林旅行者伊本·巴图塔。
福克斯于 1605 年 11 月 5 日被发现正守在上议院下方的火药桶旁。共谋者计划在议会开幕期间引爆炸药，杀死詹姆斯一世以及潜在的数百名朝臣和政治家。由于詹姆斯未能减轻对天主教徒的迫害，他们愤怒地希望这次袭击能引发起义，并促成一位同情者的掌权。福克斯被捕，
扮演潘克赫斯特的儿童可以创建
该在线资源邀请小学生了解那些“与种族主义作斗争、为女性权利而奔波……并永远改变了世界”的人们——其中竟然包括试图炸毁议会并刺杀国王的火药阴谋参与者。
横幅，招募妇女参政论者的支持者并收集
在曼德拉章节中，学生们帮助这位未来的南非总统张贴海报，见证他在狱中度过的岁月
英国广播公司表示：“我们承认这一描述对于目标年龄组来说过于细微，因此决定删除该游戏。Bitesize 包含数千项教育资源，我们定期对其进行审核，以确保其对受众而言保持相关且恰当。”
在投票箱中投票。
帕克斯章节讲述了这位民权
活动家在阿拉巴马州一辆隔离的巴士上拒绝给一名白人乘客让座的故事
名为《回到过去……惊人的活动家》(Back in Time With . . . Astonishing Activists) 的英国广播公司 Bitesize 游戏邀请孩子们扮演
盖伊·福克斯与纳尔逊·曼德拉和罗莎·帕克斯一同出现在游戏中
这一周内，山火摧毁了许多房屋。“你可以在房子里看到火，然后手机上的所有警报都响了起来，”阿克尔说道，“我们隔壁的村庄当时正在撤离，情况几乎与现在一模一样。那是我们计划退房的前一晚。”
Lara Wildenberg 报道，警方疏散了一个萨福克郡的度假公园，并建议当地人离开该区域
随后这家人来到了邓威治。“昨天感觉有点超现实，因为海滩上挤满了人，然后我们听到了警笛声并看到了烟雾，我说，‘是山火。’孩子们说，‘不，妈妈，别傻了。’”
在英国皇家鸟类保护协会明斯米尔自然保护区数千英亩的荒原中生活着数百种鸟类，但据一名观鸟者称，昨天早晨，黎明之曲（dawn chorus）十分寂静。
“这确实压力很大。你很快就会意识到自己对此无能为力。烟雾就在这整个区域升起。”
该自然保护区靠近萨福克郡的一片林地，那里两天前发生了一场森林火灾。
其中一名未透露姓名的青少年表示：“睡觉时很害怕。你不知道一夜之间情况是否会恶化。”
截至昨天傍晚，受影响区域已扩大到 370 英亩，该郡已宣布进入重大事件状态。由于创纪录的高温，全国其他地区也对火灾保持高度警戒。
这家人表示，法国方面提供的信息要好得多，包括手机上的警报。
萨福克郡消防救援服务队在周三下午 5.30 分后接到报告，称莱斯顿附近的邓威治荒原发生火灾。截至昨天傍晚，已有 120 名消防员和一架直升机在扑救火灾。预计他们将彻夜工作。
阿克尔说：“这里没有信号，没有 wifi，所以我们决定离开。没有电的话，除非有人敲门，否则我们怎么知道[要撤离]？”
一家来自荷兰的游客原计划入住 Ship Inn 旅馆，但被安置到了 Westleton Crown。他们乘轮渡从鹿特丹抵达哈里奇，并在早餐时得知了火灾的消息。来自乌特勒支地区的 51 岁卡琳娜·德·罗斯 (Karina De Roos) 表示，他们没想到英格兰会出现山火。
赛兹韦尔B核电站位于火场以南三英里处，一名熟悉运行情况的消息人士表示，由于通风和空调系统的原因，存在“担忧”。
萨福克郡联合应急规划部门的弗雷迪·古利弗 (Freddie Gulliver) 昨晚表示，赛兹韦尔“在目前阶段没有风险，也不令人担忧”。
她说：“我的荷兰朋友说，‘怎么会这样？’”
她的丈夫，54 岁的马尼克斯 (Marnix) 说：“我们想，不要去西班牙或法国，最好来这里。”
在Cliff House度假公园的200辆房车中度假的游客，以及住在Coastguard Cottages和Mount Pleasant Farm公寓的人员已全部撤离。Gulliver表示，目前没有财产被毁，且他并不知晓其他区域是否有撤离计划。
Karina表示：“我们原以为这里会很不错，不会太热。现在到了这里，我们不确定这是什么地方，也不清楚能做些什么，但至少他们为我们重新安置了房间。”
一名在邓威奇（Dunwich）居住了17年且不愿透露姓名的居民表示，与她同住的女儿尽管当天才抵达，但已经收拾好了行李。她的孙女今年12岁，由于气候紧急状态而哭泣。
Southwold
A12 Dunwich
来自东伦敦的艺术家、63岁的Sally Taylor在邓威奇经营一家度假出租屋，她正考虑与丈夫迁居至此。“现在我们面临着今年任何时候都可能发生野火的情况，而且可能从现在起将永远如此，”她说道。“这是我们的生意，但我们也计划住在这里，这里非常珍贵。伦敦非常热，我们当时想‘我们无法忍受那种天气’，但来到这里，周围却被干燥的森林包围。”
邓威奇希斯（Dunwich Heath）野火
萨福克郡（SUFFOLK）
赛兹韦尔B核电站（Sizewell B power station）
3英里
一场野火在萨福克郡赛兹韦尔B核电站附近的邓威奇希斯燃烧。消防员一直在与
撤离。邓威奇村庄显得十分安静，居民们在等待撤离指令或决定自行离开。
他们的客人们取消了预订，但他们没有选择自己住在小屋里，而是因为风向的变化，在权衡是否要住在朋友家。
有人表示，海滩是自新冠疫情以来最安静的一次。其他人则担心原定于周末举行的花卉节的命运。当地的酒吧The Ship Inn已关闭。
被撤离者在Westleton村礼堂寻求庇护，当地一名厨师为他们准备了早餐，超市捐赠了包括40个充气床垫在内的物资。预计有少数人将在礼堂过夜。
普里列普（Prilep）附近有超过1,000英亩的土地被烧毁。
在葡萄牙，两起火灾正被控制，但火势之猛，使得当地消防员发现无法将其扑灭。一名消防 chief 表示，他的团队从飞机上投下的水在到达受灾区域之前就已蒸发。
Peter Chappell
在保加利亚，紧急救援服务在24小时内扑灭了120场火灾，两人受伤。在匈牙利，总理Peter Magyar由于多瑙河水位低，历史上首次关闭了一座核电站。
在“鞭梢效应”气候条件的引发下，整个欧洲陷入火海，大陆各地发生了打破纪录的野火。
一名警察昨天下午四处走访， “强烈建议”人们离开（尽管尚未下达强制撤离令），并对老年居民进行健康状况检查。
来自西萨塞克斯郡的Jan Tucker从她与丈夫七年前花费£300,000购买的度假别墅中撤离。
在法国和西班牙，已有超过300,000人逃离家园，当地消防员正开始控制火势。冬季与夏季之间先湿后干的极端天气严重性被认为是火势如此剧烈的原因。
法国波尔多地区经历了欧洲大陆最严重的火灾，其中波尔多郊外被烧毁的面积是巴黎的四倍。
一个来自诺福克郡（Norfolk）的六口之家
“我们一直在等待这件事发生，因为自从我们第一次
他们正将行李箱放入车内，提前一天结束在邓威奇的假期。
去那里之后，周围就一直如此干燥，”她说道。
德国的基姆高阿尔卑斯（Chiemgau Alps）山脉起火，200名消防员和应急人员已在现场。在土耳其，消防员周三在南部旅游海滩附近与野火搏斗，数百人被撤离。
吉伦特省和朗得省已遭到严重破坏，但火势在昨夜并未扩大，且昨天的天气预计会有所帮助。
冬季的降雨导致树木和植被的生长量高于平均水平，随后高温将其烤焦。随后，西欧经历了有记录以来最热的六月，气温比 1990-2020 年的平均水平高出 3.06C。
在可再生能源领域工作的 42 岁 Jo Arkle 表示：“是时候离开了。这是我们第二次不得不撤离。在来到这里之前，我们不得不离开法国。我们原以为可以再坚持一段时间，看看会发生什么。”
昨晚，萨福克郡消防救援服务局表示，情况似乎正在“趋于稳定”。在晚上 10 点
在意大利，拉奎拉附近的亚平宁山脉林区以及卡拉布里亚地区和西西里岛北海岸均发生了火灾。
随着消防员取得进展，法国和西班牙的许多居民开始返回家中。马德里地区的市镇已取消了最后剩余的撤离令。
其发布的公告称：“尽管这仍然是一个动态事件……
在西班牙，该国历史上规模最大的山火在马德里西部的西埃拉-奥埃斯特（Sierra Oeste）燃烧。救援人员表示，火势已停止扩张，且在周三夜间未进一步蔓延。当局还在密切关注瓦伦西亚附近的一场较小规模火灾。
我们认为目前的状况比早些时候
在附近的科西嘉岛，消防员正在与科尔特山城附近的一场大火作斗争。因自然美景而深受徒步旅行者欢迎的雷斯托尼卡山谷（Restonica Valley）几乎被完全摧毁。
今天下午 5 点。”
三名消防员在希腊克里特岛和伯罗奔尼撒地区试图控制火势时不幸殉职。在北马其顿，
该家庭上次在科蒂尼亚克附近
JOE GIDDENS/PA; JOSHUA BRATT 为《泰晤士报》供稿; JACQUELINE LAWRIE/LNP
Charlotte Bend 以及健康不平等问题，健康食品与不健康食品之间的价格差距达到了十多年来的最大值。与此同时，农民们在艰难地维持生计。”
英国最大超市的老板们在致安迪·伯纳姆（Andy Burnham）的一封信中警告称，山火和极端天气对国家的食品供应构成了风险。
由于国际冲突导致化肥成本自去年以来上涨了 40% 以上，且到 11 月，英国食品价格预计将比生活成本危机开始时高出 50%，该信函提出了对《良好食品法案》（Good Food Bill）的要求。
这项旨在保护粮食安全并减少对进口依赖的行动呼吁获得了 100 多名签署者的支持，包括乐购（Tesco）、韦特罗斯（Waitrose）、圣安班利（Sainsbury’s）、奥乐齐（Aldi）和合作社（Co-op）的首席执行官，这些企业占据了 60% 以上的杂货市场份额。
这些要求包括：设定具有法律约束力的目标以减少儿童肥胖；减轻家庭粮食不安全情况；要求政府发布一份参考饮食标准，供所有部门执行，以便各部门的政策能朝着相同目标努力；并规定部长在做出涉及健康、教育、农业、规划、环境和贸易的决定时，有义务考虑食品因素。
这封由慈善组织“食品基金会”（The Food Foundation）起草的信函敦促首相支持一个具有法律约束力的框架，以提高国家食品和营养安全。
此次干预正值人们日益担忧全球变暖对食品生产产生的影响之际。横跨欧洲的山火是农民面临的日益极端的环境的一部分，干旱、洪水和热浪使收成更加脆弱，并干扰了国际供应链。
该信件还主张制定为期五年的“良好食品行动计划”（Good Food Action plans），规定如何实现目标，赋予地方领导者权力，并建立独立监管机制以公开报告年度进展。
气温升高和日益不稳定的天气正给国内农业带来压力，同时也威胁到许多英国依赖其供应水果和蔬菜的国家。
Tesco UK首席执行官Ashwin Prasad表示：“《良好食品法案》（Good Food Bill）有潜力提供驱动实质性变革所需的问责机制和长期承诺。”
签署方包括食品供应商（如达能和三明治制造商Greencore），以及包括巴纳多之家中（Barnardo’s）、国际特赦组织英国分部（Amnesty International UK）和世界自然基金会英国分部（WWFUK）在内的慈善机构。投资公司（如Rathbones）、农业组织（如土壤协会）以及健康组织（如世界癌症研究基金会）也在名单之列。
在降雨量创历史新低且高温导致英格兰半数地区宣布干旱之际，Sainsbury’s首席执行官Simon Roberts指出，最近几周“充分显示了我们的食品系统承受了多么巨大的压力”。
Roberts补充道：“我们需要一个更具韧性的食品系统，以吸引投资，支持英国农民，并帮助全国各地的餐桌上维持可负担且营养的食物。”
食品基金会（The Food Foundation）执行董事Anna Taylor将食品系统描述为“危险地暴露在远超我们边境的冲击之中”，因此需要一个“长期框架”来建立韧性。
“食品和农业应成为政府政策的核心，助力构建一个更强大、更具韧性的未来。这就是为什么我签署了《良好食品法案》。”
她补充说：“在过去的几年里，我们看到这种情况通过食品价格上涨和饮食……表现出来。”
[[IMG_XXXX]] 大火迫使荷兰游客Karina和Marnix De Roos及其女儿Valerie（左）寻找替代酒店。
“强烈的热量以及下午南风/西南风的回归，”该地区副省长Anne-Cécile Vialle告诉法国电视台。
Joshua Thurston
由于野火继续在欧洲肆虐，乔治和阿迈尔·库洛尼（George and Amal Clooney）已撤离他们在法国南部的庄园。
原本每 50 到 100 年发生一次的事情，现在几乎每隔一年就可能发生。
Rhys Blakely 科学编辑
当局告知昨天被野火迫使撤离的 84,000 名人员可返回家中。
“五年前，像我们在萨福克郡看到的那样火灾会令人惊讶，”他说道，“在某种意义上，它们已变得不可避免，因为情况正在恶化。”
一位资深科学家在英国野火肆虐之际表示，部长们必须考虑新法律和更严厉的处罚，以阻止人们在干旱期间点燃篝火或使用一次性烧烤炉。
这对夫妇在普罗旺斯-阿尔卑斯-蓝色海岸大区布里尼奥勒（Brignoles）镇的 18 世纪住宅，处于法国、西班牙、意大利和希腊野火蔓延威胁的众多地区之一。
65 岁的库洛尼及其 48 岁的律师妻子，以及他们的九岁双胞胎子女Alexander和Ella，于去年成为了法国公民。他们的庄园Domaine du Canadel拥有 425 英亩土地、一个 25 英亩的葡萄园、一个 22 米长的泳池、一个橄榄林、一个湖泊和网球场。
根据国家消防酋长委员会（National Fire Chiefs Council）的数据，7 月 16 日至 28 日期间，英格兰和威尔士共记录了 200 场以上的野火。
雷丁大学气象系的Nigel Arnell教授表示，萨福克郡邓威奇希思（Dunwich Heath）的大火在过去曾被认为是极不寻常的。
这对夫妇在给布里尼奥勒市长Didier Brémond的信中宣布了他们的撤离。
Domaine du Canadel位于法国南部图隆北部的布里尼奥勒
大多数火灾是由人为原因引起的，包括丢弃的香烟、烧烤、机械、失控的受控焚烧或蓄意破坏。
离庄园不远就是布拉德·皮特拥有的酒庄——米拉瓦尔城堡（Château Miraval），在安吉丽娜·朱莉于 2016. 年申请离婚后，该酒庄成为了争议的对象。该酒庄很可能也受到了火灾的威胁。
然而，他表示，随着气候变化带来更炎热、更干燥的夏季，该国可能会更频繁地出现类似的场景。
“亲爱的迪迪埃，此时此刻，我们不知道我们美丽的家是否能熬过这个糟糕的时刻，”信中写道。“在我们撤离布里尼奥勒（Brignoles）时，我们想强调两点：第一，我们希望你和我们城市的居民平安；第二，阿玛尔和我致力于确保无论我们的村庄发生什么，我们都是这个社区的一部分，并将参与使其恢复完整。我们热爱布里尼奥勒以及住在那里的朋友们。”
目前，英国没有一项单一法律规定，在宣布干旱后就自动禁止篝火或一次性烧烤。
法国当局昨日表示，瓦尔省（Var department）布里尼奥勒的火势在夜间得到了控制并被扑灭。这场始于周三的火灾烧毁了 130 公顷土地， 4 名消防员在试图控制火势时受伤。“今天早上，工作在……之前继续。”
阿诺尔（Arnell）的研究表明，在英格兰南部和东部，每年“极高”火灾危险日的平均天数到 2080, 年可能会增加到四倍以上，从每年约 20 天增加到 100 天以上。所谓的“异常危险”日，曾经……
卡纳德庄园（Domaine du Canadel）是克鲁尼夫妇在世界各地拥有的几处房产之一。其他房产还包括 2002, 年购买的意大利科莫湖地区的一处庄园，以及伯克希尔的一座历史悠久的庄园。
“此外，还有必要加强公众教育，”阿诺尔补充道。“我看到人们在过去几天里点燃篝火……他们没有正确思考。”
JANE BARLOW/PA
Quintagram® No 2634
A A A A C D E F F G G G I I I L L L N N N O O P P P R R S T W Y
解答见 T2 MindGames 第 15 页；隐喻线索见 T2 MindGames 第 14 页
巴勒斯坦行动可以挑战内政部将该组织定为恐怖组织的决定，理由是当时的内政大臣伊薇特·库珀（Yvette Cooper）错误地执行了其政策。该组织不能以干涉言论自由或结社自由为由提出挑战。最高法院将于今年审理此案。
形态转变 “满月”超级月亮（因雄鹿在 7 月重新长出鹿角而得名）在格拉斯哥的埃默·图米尔蒂（Emer Tumilty）英联邦运动会艺术作品后升起。
来自大曼彻斯特郡、患有晚期卵巢癌的 58, 岁特雷西·汤姆林森（Tracy Tomlinson）成为了首位接受使用捐赠者免疫细胞新疗法的人。ZI-MA4-1 利用自然杀伤细胞来破坏异常细胞，且细胞上的 T 细胞受体经过工程化设计，以靶向产生 Mage-A4 蛋白的肿瘤。
在截至 3 月的 12 个月内，51,419 名囚犯因违反假释条件被重新关押，比前 12 个月的 40,259 人增加了 28%，为 2015 年以来的最高人数。
支持囚犯的监狱咨询慈善机构首席执行官安迪·基恩-唐斯（Andy Keen-Downs）表示：“如果被送回监狱的人数与离开的人数一样多，那么监狱人口危机将无法解决。
仅在上一季度就有近 10,000 人。”
马特·达森（Matt Dathan）内政编辑
据数据显示，再次犯罪的罪犯比例已达到历史最高点，数据同时显示，已有超过 70,000 名囚犯在工党的提前释放计划下获释。
“我们通过与刑事司法系统中的人员接触了解到，许多此类召回（重新入狱）与出狱后的无家可归、药物和酒精成瘾以及心理健康问题有关。”
戴安娜·艾伯特（Diane Abbott）表示，她已重新被接纳进入工党。在为此前已道歉的言论进行辩护后，她在去年 7 月被暂停党籍。这位黑克尼北区与斯托克纽灵顿（Hackney North & Stoke Newington）的国会议员在 2023 年曾被处以首次暂停党籍，原因是她暗示犹太人、爱尔兰人和旅行者（Traveller people）经历的是偏见而非种族主义。
司法部（MoJ）承认，提前释放计划“可能”导致了召回人数的增加。然而，该部门还表示，这可能是受相关变动的影响，即大多数罪犯被重新拘留 56 天，而不是一直关押到刑期结束。这是旨在解决监狱过度拥挤的另一项措施，尽管最严重的罪犯仍适用标准召回程序。
“召回是保护公众的重要工具，当某人构成真实伤害风险时，必须始终迅速做出反应。然而，每月有数百人被召回，并非因为他们犯了新罪，而是因为他们违反了假释条件。在政府竭尽全力减轻监狱系统压力之时，这样做几乎没有意义。”
根据司法部的数据，自 2024, 年 7 月以来，近 25,000 名成年罪犯犯下了超过 127,000 起新罪行。这意味着所有成年罪犯（包括此前未被监禁者）的再犯率为 31.9 %，高于前一年的 29.2 %，也是自 2013 年开始记录数据以来的最高值。
自 2024 年 9 月工党采取紧急措施应对监狱过度拥挤以来，共有 70,066 名囚犯被提前释放。在英格兰和威尔士，部分囚犯必须服刑的比例从 50 % 降低至 40 %。
影子司法大臣尼克·蒂莫西（Nick Timothy）表示，工党采用了“尽可能最简单的工具”。
在加里波利（Gallipoli）率军冲锋时牺牲的威廉·斯科特-蒙克里夫（William Scott-Moncrieff）准将的勋章以 £10,000 售出。蒙克里夫在 56 岁时结束退休，参加第一次世界大战，并在古利峡谷战役（Battle of Gully Ravine）中担任第 156（苏格兰步枪兵）旅的指挥官。他的勋章包括 1914-15 年之星勋章。
司法部的数据还显示，今年前三个月被召回监狱的人数多于被释放的人数。1 月至 3 月期间，共有 12,977 名囚犯出狱，但有 13,193 人被召回。
仅有 22 % 的监狱召回涉及新指控。大多数召回是由违反假释条件引起的，例如未能与缓刑服务部门保持联系。
社会司法慈善机构 Nacro 的首席执行官恩维尔·所罗门（Enver Solomon）表示：“每年有数千人因为违反假释条件而非新犯罪被送回监禁，且……”
司法部表示，政府已采取“果断行动”以防止“监狱系统的全面崩溃”，并补充道：“保护公众将始终是我们的首要任务。”
……在被“推入”房间后出现自残行为并坐在自己的呕吐物中。这段视频出现在英国广播公司（BBC）的一项为期三年的调查中。该广播公司当时表示，还发现了“英国其他学校隔离室中存在虐待的证据”。据称，一名自闭症儿童被“关在笼子里”。
Day 表示，由沃尔瑟姆森林保护伙伴关系（Waltham Forest Safeguarding Partners）发布的审查报告发现，“儿童的尊严、安全和福祉受到了损害，且隔离措施并非出于治疗或支持目的，而是具有惩罚性”。他们补充说，家长将这些做法描述为“不人道”是理所应当的。
Jonathan Ames 法律编辑
在闭路电视（CCTV）图像据称显示自闭症学生在“不人道”的隔离室中受到虐待后，十名家长将起诉一家伦敦学校。
律师昨天表示，他们计划对运营伦敦东北部 Whitefield 学校的 Flourish Learning Trust 提起诉讼。
我们的免费广播电台每天早晨为您提供最新的头条新闻、采访和辩论
Flourish Learning Trust 表示：“我们意识到事件的严重性……我们对受影响的孩子及其家庭深表关切。该信托机构不再运营任何学校，且所有领导层均已离职。相关安排已就绪，以确保在信托机构……关闭前处于监管之下。”
儿童专员 Rachel de Souza 夫人表示，视频片段描绘了“绝对可怕的经历”，她呼吁对该学院之前的做法进行正式审查。
每周七天收听
2024 年出现了一段泄露的视频，据称显示孩子们在被关在带有软垫且无窗的“冷静室”内时，被扔到地板上或被掐住脖子制服。学生们据称正处于
在 DAB、应用程序、网站和智能设备上
泄露的闭路电视画面显示一名学生被推入“冷静室”
昨天，Leigh 律师事务所的律师
Rhys Blakely 科学编辑
自然界理应是一个残酷且不容情的地方，充满了血腥的竞争。
然而，牛津大学的研究人员发现了数百个不同物种动物表现友好的例子，而这些物种在通常情况下可能会相互忽视、回避或捕食。
其中较为惊人的案例包括：在泰国，短尾猕猴为宠物狗理毛；在斯里兰卡，灰顶长尾猴抚摸巨松鼠；在中国，幼年金丝猴与农场猪一起玩耍。
Handling 表示：“我不知道孩子们在这样做的时候在想什么，但你知道吗？我不理解那些允许孩子在公共场所那样行为的家长。”
Herbie Russell
一名米其林星级厨师批评了那些“自私的小捣蛋鬼”的家长，这些孩子闯入了他旗下的一家酒吧鸡舍并砸碎了受精蛋。
在巴西，一群卷尾猴收养了一只幼年狨猴并照顾了它十个月。在马达加斯加的丛林里，狐猴像对待亲属一样为其他种类的狐猴理毛。
“因为这些自私的小捣蛋鬼，大约有 30 或 40 个受精蛋被完全砸碎了。这完全不可接受。这更多地反映了家长的教育问题，而非孩子本身。”
前《MasterChef》决赛入围者 Adam Handling 抨击了那些让孩子肆意妄为的“邪恶”顾客，而其他用餐者则让他们的狗在他位于康沃尔郡纽基附近的 Tartan Fox 酒吧袭击鸡群。
这项发表在《灵长类动物》（Primates）期刊上的研究被描述为首次对非人类灵长类动物与其他物种之间友好社交行为的全面审查。通常情况下，它们似乎在没有任何明显回报的情况下表现出友善。
尽管没有人目击该事件，但厨师表示，只有孩子或“体型极小的成年人”才能进入鸡舍。他补充道：“我们正在全方位安装运动探测摄像头
这位 37 岁的厨师现在计划安装额外的闭路电视和运动传感器，以便使这处三英亩的场所变得“防呆”。
Handling 表示，用餐者已经——
（在）鸡舍区域，这样人们可以在我们的网站上观看鸡舍摄像头，同时也能让我们在出现问题时及时发现。
在涉及餐厅儿童管教问题时，（他）认为人们变得“轻率”，并指出孩子们经常被允许在餐桌上使用手机。
研究人员汇编了涉及 88 种灵长类动物和 127 种“伙伴物种”的 427 个案例。最常见的行为类型是嬉戏和梳理毛发，不过也记录到了抱着、携带、挤在一起以及分享食物的行为。
Handling 解释称，酒吧的 48 只鸡被安置在一个由两层围栏保护的鸡舍中，但只要有可能，就允许它们在场地周围自由走动。
幼年灵长类动物尤其倾向于嬉戏，有些被看到骑在鹿背上，而成年雌性则是最热情的梳理者。
他描述了一组客人如何无视要求牵狗的指示牌，导致他们的宠物袭击了鸡群。尽管 Handling 在视频中表示有“几只”鸡死亡
研究负责人 Cyril Grueter 博士表示：“长期以来，人们一直认为人类在与其他物种建立亲密社会关系方面是独一无二的。我们的研究表明，许多灵长类动物对非同类动物也表现出惊人的好奇心、宽容甚至照顾行为。”
米其林星级厨师 Adam Handling 指责食客让他们的狗残害他的鸡。左图为他在康沃尔郡纽基附近 Tartan Fox 酒吧的母鸡。
“令人厌恶的行为”。Tom Kerridge 此前在 Red Talks 播客中表示，当客人饮酒过量时，他收到的投诉更多。他说他倾向于忽略 TripAdvisor 的评论者，并解释道：“总会有个别没心没肺的人来投诉。曾有人投诉说羊肉的味道‘太像羊肉’了。”
他们做自己的事情。不像我们小时候那样。
“对我来说，这是教育缺失和家长管教缺失。孩子们本该在一段时间内离开餐桌。坦率地说，家长不留意孩子在何处是很不寻常的。”
他说：“它们几乎完全是人工抚养的。所以当它们看到人类时，这些可爱的小家伙会向你跑来，
他补充道：“这些行为并不等同于我们所认知的宠物饲养，但它们可能代表了一些进化基石，人类与动物的伙伴关系最终由此产生。”
Tartan Fox 是 Handling 经营的六家场所之一，其中包括位于伦敦市中心的米其林星级餐厅 Frog。他说一个“害群之马”并不意味着所有客人都缺乏礼貌。然而，他并不是第一个抱怨礼仪衰落的人。2022 年，餐饮业者 Keith McNally 在指责演员兼喜剧演员 James Corden 行为
今年，一位母亲在乡村酒店因孩子“搞砸”了一位前英国广播公司新闻主播的午餐后，坚持认为她的孩子表现良好，并将相关评论贴标签为“不公平且坦率地说具有冒犯性”。35, 岁的 Alex Edwards 表示，她的家人被 Jan Leeming 不公平地针对了，后者在网上抱怨一名尖叫的孩子如何毁了一顿乡村酒店的餐食。
那天，当食客们在享用三道菜价格为 £49 的周日午餐时，Handling 说孩子们爬进了鸡舍的入口。
它们会啄你的鞋子。”他将这些鸟描述为“我的宝贝”。
并非所有的接触都是亲密的。沙特阿拉伯的一只雄性狒狒似乎绑架了一只宠物小狗。研究人员记录了 13 起伙伴动物死亡的案例。
这位在 2013, 年进入《名厨专业赛》（MasterChef: The Professionals）决赛的厨师表示：“我的感受是，面对年轻一代时，人们在管教方面变得有点轻率。”
工作人员随后发现了碎片，包括蛋壳以及 30 到 40 个鸡蛋的蛋黄，被粘在距离就餐区半英亩的一棵树上。
Grueter 表示，这些发现可以帮助改善动物园和保护区中混种群体的管理。
他补充道：“孩子们在玩手机；
在一段发布到 Instagram 的视频中，
旨在帮助受威胁蝴蝶的白垩草地计划
黄蜂是害虫控制者。如果将 它们移除，苍蝇、食作物害虫及其他不受欢迎的昆虫数量可能会增加，从而可能促使人们更多地使用化学杀虫剂。
今年她并未受到媒体的干扰。
Rhys Blakely
Sumner 邀请公众通过一个名为“火腿还是果酱”（Ham or Jam）的调查项目来协助记录黄蜂种群。任何在户外用餐时被黄蜂访问的人，都被要求观察黄蜂选择的是蛋白质还是糖分。一只选择火腿或鸡肉三明治的黄蜂是在为幼虫采集蛋白质；而寻求果酱的黄蜂则是在喂养自己。
在发现一只饥饿的黄蜂后，您可以通过一个简单的在线问卷报告它在寻找什么食物。
Sumner 建议野餐者 切下一小块食物并将其留在盘子边缘交给黄蜂。“给黄蜂一份‘供品’，”她说，“这可能会帮助黄蜂，而且绝对能帮助科学家。”
她怀疑，天气恶劣带来的“三重打击”可能是黄蜂数量不足的原因。春天虽有良好的开端，但随后被突然的寒冷和潮湿天气中断，包括 5 月份近乎霜冻的夜晚。这可能导致蜂后死亡或幼巢被毁。
如果最近啤酒花园显得更舒适，野餐时的压力也减轻了，科学家们或许能给出答案：英国似乎正面临全国性的黄蜂短缺。
一个面积接近 70 个足球场大小的“珍贵”白垩草地区域将被修复，这是一项耗资 £160,000 项目的一部分，旨在为受威胁的勃艮第公爵蝶 (Duke of Burgundy butterfly) 提供新栖息地。
恢复白垩景观并重新引入天然水源……以便让动物在这些区域放牧——这是一种更自然、低强度的脆弱栖息地管理方法”。
伦敦大学学院的行为生态学家 Seirian Sumner 教授认为，有几项指标都指向同一个方向。
该计划由汉普郡郡议会和南唐斯国家公园主导，还将帮助彼得斯菲尔德附近的巴特瑟山国家自然保护区内的兰花、春黄花、兔耳草以及白垩丘蓝蝶。
勃艮第公爵蝶在英国 (GB) 红色名录中被分类为易危，在欧洲处于受威胁状态。该项目的资金由国家电网 (National Grid) 的景观提升倡议 (Landscape Enhancement Initiative)、大白垩伙伴关系 (Big Chalk Partnership) 的自然恢复基金以及南唐斯国家公园管理局的社区基础设施征费提供。
勃艮第公爵蝶是将从中受益的受威胁物种之一。
然后是接连而至的热浪。干涸的地面、凋谢的花朵和匮乏的花蜜，使得成年黄蜂的食物减少，同时也降低了它们为幼虫捕捉的昆虫的种类和营养质量。现有的黄蜂往往显得异常之小。
第一个指标是害虫防治行业。当阁楼、棚屋和花园中出现蜂巢时，工人会被召来。“他们说今年非常、非常安静，”Sumner 说道。
另一个指标是媒体。当黄蜂数量激增时，报纸往往会报道。去年，同时也是科普书籍《无尽的形式：为什么我们应该热爱黄蜂》(Endless Forms: Why We Should Love Wasps) 作者的 Sumner 接受了记者的数十次采访，因为当时人们对——
对于野餐者来说，黄蜂减少听起来像是值得庆祝的事。但 Sumner 怀疑会有意想不到的后果。“我的厨房里到处是苍蝇，”她说，“其中一个原因可能是因为周围没有顶级捕食者。”
议会表示，这些工程将“帮助复原”。
8 2026年7月31日 星期五 | 《泰晤士报》
与下一届议会相关的陈述仅提及 3.5 ％ 的北约 (Nato) 目标。
Larisa Brown 国防编辑 阐述了这些资金将如何支付。恐怕在过去的保守党前任领导下，我们已经见过，当你看起来在随意处理公共财政，在没有说明如何筹资的情况下制定鲁莽的支出计划，或者在没有说明如何筹资的情况下实施鲁莽的减税时，英国所付出的沉重代价。
安迪·伯纳姆（Andy Burnham）被战略国防审查报告的一位作者指责，利用潜艇项目的宣布作为“烟幕”，以“逃避”国防支出问题。
No 10 宣布将投资 £8.4 billion 用于建造四艘新型核武装“无畏级”（Dreadnought）潜艇项目的下一阶段，这些潜艇最终将取代老旧的“前卫级”（Vanguard）舰队，后者构成了英国持续的海上三叉戟（Trident）威慑力量。
前联合部队司令部负责人、英国武装部队审查报告共同作者理查德·巴伦斯（Richard Barrons）将军警告称，英国若要在 2030 之前“可靠地威慑”俄罗斯，需要比目前计划更快地获得更多资金。
巴伦斯指出，潜艇的资金“并非新资金”，尽管伯纳姆强调利用英国的国防计划来实现部分地区的再工业化是新的。
“因此，对财政纪律的承诺至关重要，因为如果你不这样做，最终会因为失去信誉而付出沉重得多的代价，而我们不会犯这些错误。”
他质疑，如果现在不采取措施大幅增加国防支出，那么到 2035 年达到北约将 GDP 的 3.5 per cent 用于国防的支出目标是否可行，并表示伯纳姆需要“认真补课”国家安全知识。
他表示：“该项目在多年前就已获批，斯塔默（Starmer）领导下的近期国防投资计划概述了 £63.6 billion 资金用于支持该项目。这 £8.4 billion 的数字就在该预算范围内，仅代表该项目的最新合同。伯纳姆没有将国家安全作为首要谈论点，而是转向了国内关注点。”
在基尔·斯塔默（Sir Keir Starmer）领导下辞去国防大臣职务并现任财政大臣的约翰·希利（John Healey）在辞职时表示，他“确信”英国应在 2030 之前达到 3 per cent。希利随后告诉英国广播公司，下一次支出审查应为 3 per cent 设定一个“必要的截止日期”，并处于一条“令人信服且可靠的路径上，以实现我们作为一个国家所承诺的 3.5 per cent 目标”。
巴伦斯告诉《泰晤士报》：“谈论当前已获资助的核计划，不能成为逃避国防支出问题的烟幕，英国在北约中需要在 2030. 而非 2035. 之前地可靠地威慑俄罗斯。这是一个无法通过忽视而消失的问题，时钟的滴答声正变得越来越响。”
他表示，首相建立了一个“巧妙的联系，很好地符合了他解决地区不平等优先级的目标”，但伯纳姆将“需要认真补课国家安全和国防知识，以应对英国在 2020 年代面临的真实威胁”。
他指出，“如果我们落后，英国就无法领导”，到 2030 年，超过一半的北约成员国将达到或超过 3 per cent。目前国防投资计划可用的资金意味着英国的支出——
一名高级军方消息人士补充道：“对于服役人员的士气而言，我们作为一个国家被视为在进行能使我们在军事联盟中保持信誉的投资，这一点非常重要。”
国防部的军官们对希利被任命到财政部表示欢迎，认为这预示着在下次大选前国防支出将大幅增加。然而，巴伦斯表示“现在看来这存疑”。
到 2030 年支出比例为 2.68 per cent。
希利警告说，俄罗斯最快可能在该日期发动对北约的袭击，且“欧洲安全岌岌可危”。
国防大臣韦斯·斯特雷廷（Wes Streeting）昨日在访问坎布里亚郡巴罗-因-弗内斯（Barrow-in-Furness）时表示，他“并未排除”承诺在下一届议会前将支出提高至 3%，但这将是未来预算和支出审查需要解决的问题。
伯纳姆（Burnham）周三面临关于 2030 年前达到 3% 的质询，并给出了他迄今为止最明确的暗示，即他不会在未来四年内增加国防预算以达到该数值。他表示
曾任莫斯科和基辅国防武官的约翰·福尔曼（John Foreman）表示，现有的国防计划“过度亢奋且缺乏资金”。
他说：“他们需要做的是设定一条通往 3.5% 的路径。而在下次大选之前，他们不会这样做。即便在那之后也未必。伯纳姆不会通过增加国防支出而赢得连任。”
由 Sand In Your Eye 创作的一幅面积 4,000 平方米的安迪·伯纳姆（Andy Burnham）土地艺术肖像画
可怜的安迪，一路走到了唐宁街 10, 号
根据预算责任办公室（Office for Budget Responsibility）的数据，在下一届议会前达到 3% 将使英国在 2029-30 年度增加 £17.3 billion 的支出。
他在《泰晤士报》电台（Times Radio）接受采访时表示：“当我们做出支出承诺时，设定……是非常重要的。”
理查德·巴伦斯（Richard Barrons）将军曾任联合部队司令部负责人
麦克劳林（McLoughlin）似乎更想谈论过去而非未来，特别是伯纳姆的过去，以及这段经历如何引领他走到了现在这个最高、最显赫的职位。一个来自曼彻斯特的谦卑工人阶级少年，在仅凭清晰的雄心和剑桥大学学位的指引下，是如何一路走到唐宁街 10, 号的？
汤姆·佩克（Tom Peck）政治速写
昨日，在敦刻尔克附近海滩的一次尝试穿越英吉利海峡失败后，救援行动展开
I
某些情况采取行动，而另一些情况则不。“宪兵队非常谨慎。去年，当他们划破船只时，导致了相当困难的局面，”他们说。“陆基警员不能进入水中，因为如果有人死亡，他们将承担刑事责任……但他们会根据具体情况决定是否进入。这相当令人沮丧，因为缺乏一致性。”
对于英国新任首相来说，开局非常忙碌，但还没忙到没时间与播客主进行一次如今已成为例行的长谈——但这不应被误认为是一次正式采访。对于安迪·伯纳姆来说，这次对话是在名为《吉米：未来的工作》（Jimmy’s Jobs of the Future）的节目中进行的，主持人是一位面貌似曾见过的年轻人，名叫吉米·麦克劳林（Jimmy McLoughlin），关于他的似曾相识，我们稍后会再详述。
伯纳姆喜欢假装自己对成功感到像任何人一样震惊。他再次回忆起在剑桥的岁月，并提到自己饱受“冒充者综合征”之苦；这在如今是一种常见的病症，被用来将任何在入职首日感到紧张的人病理化，尤其是那些不幸没有出生在上流社会的群体。
法国政府在 4 月份同意从两个专业单位抽调总共 125 名警员巡逻海滩。共和国安全公司（CRS）提供 50 名经过暴动和人群控制战术培训的警员，而行军连（Compagnie de Marche）则是一个致力于打击小船跨境的新单位。
两人坐在唐宁街众多前厅之一。按照传统，此时那个“渺小”的播客主通常会惊叹地凝视四周的墙壁，并戏剧化地被这里的宏伟所震撼。这一次，我们免于看到这种陈词滥调的场景，主要是因为麦克劳林曾在那里工作，担任过特蕾莎·梅（Theresa May）和鲍里斯·约翰逊（Boris Johnson）的特别顾问。
周三，在加来以南 30, 英里的哈德洛特（Hardelot）海滩，由于移民试图登船导致一艘小艇翻覆，一名 30 多岁的男子不幸身亡。
今年通过小船抵达英国的移民人数为 14,128, 人，与去年同期相比下降了 44%。
离开剑桥后的生活对伯纳姆（Burnham）来说是一场挣扎。“那些在大学里与我一起学习的人，他们的父母人脉广，可以直接进入《泰晤士报》实习、在英国广播公司安置工作，或者进入高盛以及各种机构，”他解释道。年轻的安迪回到了曼彻斯特，之后
内政部表示，这是一个“严峻的提醒，警示人们犯罪团伙利用弱势群体谋利的危险”，并补充道：“我们将继续与法国及海外合作伙伴不懈努力，以阻止这些危险的旅程。”
昨天上午 6.30，一艘法国救援船在响应一艘所谓“出租船”的紧急求救后，发现了三名昏迷的女性。该出租船此前从法国海岸的其他地方出发，前往敦刻尔克的沙滩接更多移民。深夜
然而，周三沙滩上没有任何这两个部门的警员。一名内政部人士表示，在这样一个穿越人数如此之多的日子里缺乏警员，令人“沮丧”且“远非理想”。
周三的穿越行动使总数
在这一特定集数中，
the times | Friday July 31 2026 S1 9
TEMILADE ADELAJA/REUTERS
本·克拉特沃西（Ben Clatworthy）白厅编辑将于明年再次报道。首相还表示，他正肩负“使命”以遏制 Neets（非就业、非教育、非培训青年）人数的上升。目前，在 16 至 24 岁的年轻人中，每 8 人中就有 1 人被归类为 Neets，预计到 2031 年这一数字将达到每 6 人中就有 1 人。
在过去十年中，年轻成年护理者的人数增加了 100,000 人，且有“惊人”的比例最终处于失业或未受教育状态。
至少有 300,000 名 16 至 24 岁的人被归类为非正式护理者，尽管专家表示，鉴于极高的低报率，真实数字明显更高。
慈善机构护理者信托基金（Carers Trust）的政策与公共事务总监多米尼克·金-卡特（Dominic King-Carter）表示：“在关于 Neets 的讨论中，年轻护理者长期以来是被忽视的受害者，许多人并非由于自身过错而被拒之于教育和就业机会门外。如果政府认真确保每个年轻人都能赚钱或学习，就必须优先提供综合支持……在学校和学院建立更好的识别机制，并在每个教育机构设立专门的‘年轻护理者负责人’以帮助他们处理其职责。”
统计数据显示，23.1% 的年轻护理者被归类为非就业、非教育或非培训状态（Neets），而没有额外责任的人群这一比例为 5.3%。
专家表示，在讨论青年失业危机的讨论中，护理者是被遗忘的群体。目前英国有超过一百万名年轻人被归类为 Neets。
据估计，17 岁或以下的年轻护理者有 100 万名，相当于每 30 人的班级中就有 3 人。
领导政府审查 Neets 危机的艾伦·米尔本（Alan Milburn）表示：“在 6 年内出现了一个规模相当于中型城市的群体，而那些本应提供支持的机构在很大程度上对他们视而不见。”
作为一个群体，他们长期缺课率高达 35%，约为全国平均水平的两倍。
自由民主党党魁埃德·戴维爵士（Sir Ed Davey）表示：“勇敢的年轻人正在牺牲他们的教育、职业和未来来照顾他们爱的人。他们在社会护理系统不足的地方挺身而出，然而却不得不为此付出代价。”
51% 的人未能获得 5 门或更多 9-4 级（A* 至 C）的 GCSE 成绩，而对比非护理者这一比例为 36%。
曼彻斯特大都会大学儿童未来研究所创始主任索尔·贝克教授（Professor Saul Becker）表示，许多年轻成年护理者陷入了“令人担忧的恶性循环”，导致他们被边缘化。
他表示，部长们“必须认识到他们所扮演的角色，并给予更好的支持”，并补充道：“这种支持应包括一项‘青年护理者学生专项资金’，用于资助因缺课而补习的额外学费，并且每所学校都应设立一名专门的青年护理者负责人。”
他表示：“如果我们想打破那个恶性循环——即很大一部分承担护理职责的年轻人变成了‘尼特族’（Neet，指不就业也不受教育且不参加培训的青年）——我们需要在这些孩子的生活中更早地介入，以减轻他们的护理职责，使他们能够在学校取得好成绩，能够进入学院、大学或培养技术技能。”
政府方面表示：“我们决心确保每个年轻人都有机会赚钱或学习，包括面临特殊挑战的青年护理者。我们的 £2.5 billion 青年就业支持方案将在未来几年内支持50万名年轻人……进入工作岗位、接受培训或获得工作经验。”
贝克尔（Becker）补充说，社会护理改革的“真正挑战”在于创建一个将成人社会护理、儿童社会护理、医疗保健、教育和青年服务相结合的“关联系统”。
作为一项恢复人道主义援助活动的 part，位于西约克郡赫布登桥（Hebden Bridge）附近的 Concern Worldwide 慈善机构
“在学校和学院里，我们正在加速部署心理健康支持团队，投资于出勤导师，并推广免费早餐俱乐部以帮助学生定期出勤，我们已经看到了十年以来出勤率最大的同比提升。”
过于工人阶级。“我父亲说，哦，剑桥大学——是他说服我去那里的——它会为你打开许多大门，”他说。“但事实并非如此，它是为有关系背景的家长服务的，而我作为一名政治家，一直奋斗着要改变这一点。”
“在曼彻斯特工作，”伯纳姆（Burnham）说道，而麦克劳格林（McLoughlin）则在点头认同。他打算在曼彻斯特做什么，他没有说清楚，但考虑到在剑桥认识他的几乎所有人都说过好几次，他经常谈到自己成为国会议员的强烈渴望，那么在离开三年之久后，抵达曼彻斯特皮卡迪利车站，然后发现下议院并不在那里，这对他来说一定是个打击。“这件事伴随了我一生，即为了在生活中出人头地，我必须离开我成长的地方，而这种不公正……令人耿耿于怀。”
毕业后最高也不过是在《米德尔顿卫报》（Middleton Guardian）找一份无薪工作。是因为他缺乏有关系的家长吗？谁知道呢，我在伯纳姆之后没多久进入剑桥，根据我的观察，那些去迷人地方实习的并不是那些有关系的人。
周三，安迪·伯纳姆（Andy Burnham）誓言在担任首相期间将社会护理改革放在议程之首。他计划启动一项国家护理服务。负责该领域审查的布莱克斯托克凯西女男爵（Baroness Casey of Blackstock）
这话说的真绝。在世界上最著名的大门在字面意义上为他开启一周后，他竟然否认大门曾为他开启。他错了。承认这一点会损害他的个人品牌，但当你进入牛剑（Oxbridge）的那一刻，无论你是否愿意，你就是权势阶层的一员。
那些是组织能力强的人，古怪的人，以及从 18. 岁起就有明确目标的人。而不是像伯纳姆那样接地气、有魅力、讨人喜欢的人，后者可能在英语系翻阅企鹅经典丛书中浪费光阴。在大部分访谈时间里，麦克劳格林一直在点头表示同意，但在谈到有关系背景的家长时，他的头不动了。也许他是在核对笔记。或者，当你担任首相特助的时间恰好与你的父亲——保守党主席帕特里克·麦克劳格林爵士（Sir Patrick McLoughlin MP）在任期间重合时，这种情绪很难认同。“我回到曼彻斯特，完全打算在那里生活并
居住在没有区域市长的地区。康博恩与雷德鲁斯的工党议员佩兰·穆恩（Perran Moon）表示，康沃尔郡将被该计划“排除在外”。他说：“这是歧视性的，它将增加对威斯敏斯特（Westminster）的不满。”
康斯坦斯·坎普夫纳（Constance Kampfner），本·克拉特沃西（Ben Clatworthy）
尽管没什么分量，但我父母曾是公立学校教师。但我之所以能获得第一份新闻业工作，是因为我在学生报纸认识的一个人给我提供了一些在《独立报》（The Independent）日程页面的自由撰稿班次。在上述这两个故事中，都没有私立教育或有关系的父母。关系是在你身处其中时建立的，而你对此毫无察觉。有一天你回头看，你的伙伴们要么成了大使，要么成了巨型银行的合伙人，或者，如果你在 80 年代末就读于菲茨威廉学院（Fitzwilliam），他们可能成了首相。
这话实在太令人震惊，以至于我不得不将其回放
没有市长的地区将被“排除”在财政权力下放的权力之外，这将“增加”对白厅（Whitehall）的“不满”，部长们已被告知。
好几次。寻找新机会而奔波，难道不正是
康沃尔郡是五个已经从营业税下放中获益的地区之一，该计划将于明年春天扩大到所有 14 个市长管辖区，但它将无法从所得税下放中获益，后者将于 2028 年生效。
安迪·伯纳姆（Andy Burnham）将宣布一项被誉为“一代人以来从威斯敏斯特转移的最大规模权力”的计划，赋予区域市长分享在其社区内征收的所得税和营业税收入的权利。
人类生存状态的定义性特征吗？难道我们国家整个现代国家的故事不就是
一些市长表示，他们打算利用新的财政权力向选民提供税收返还。
该政策旨在通过让各地区摆脱对白厅拨款的依赖，转向一种鼓励增加当地企业数量和纳税人数量的资金模式，从而起到激励增长的作用。
举一个例子，是由那些有勇气登上船只或
部长们还将宣布赋予非市长战略当局额外权力，以改善公共交通、建设房屋并创造就业机会。
这是裙带关系吗？很可能，但这与有关系的父母无关，而是与有关系的雄心有关。如果伯纳姆认为这一切都不适用于他，认为他从未从中受益，那么他生活在自己的幻想世界里。
乘坐飞机为自己打造更好生活的移民所定义的吗？难道这不正是人类在最基础层面上的全部意义吗？
伯纳姆将于今日访问约克郡宣布该政策，他表示：“在社区内征收的更多税款将留在该社区。”
工作与养老金大臣帕特·麦克法登（Pat McFadden）表示，此次调整将把权力交给那些“彻头彻尾了解自己社区”的领导者。
但伯纳姆立场坚定。他似乎认为就读剑桥大学并没有给他带来好处，因为他
安迪·伯纳姆在《吉米的未来工作》（Jimmy’s Jobs of the Future）节目中谈到了“冒充者综合征”
然而，英格兰有一半的人
今年 5 月和 6 月，热浪导致英格兰和威尔士约 2,700 人死亡。其中 40% 以上是可避免的、可归因于全球变暖的死亡。
兑现你们在气候问题上的承诺，对 Jackdaw 和 Rosebank 项目说“不”。
来源：伦敦帝国学院，《2026 年 5 月和 6 月英国气候热健康风险》（2026 年 7 月 13 日）
《泰晤士报》 | 2026 年 7 月 31 日 星期五 11
威尔士王妃、拉杰·阿罗拉（Dr Raj Arora）博士、影响者特米·奥乔拉（Temi Ojora）、运动员
爱德华·布卢梅尔（Edward Bluemel）、演员
吉恩·利帕（Gjin Lipa）、影响者巴蒂亚·奥弗（Batia Ofer）、艺术收藏家
杰米玛·汗（Jemima Khan）、社交名媛
瓦伦蒂娜·皮诺（Valentina Pinault）、
有志于成为电影制作人的特里斯特拉姆·亨特爵士（Sir Tristram Hunt）、历史学家、汉娜·多德（Hannah Dodd）、演员
皇家艺术学院信托基金会主席巴蒂亚·奥弗也获得了认可。Tatler 杂志称，奥弗“让慈善事业显得像她带给机构的资金一样闪亮。自然地，她是香奈儿的客户，偏好那些可以挂在卢浮宫里的高级珠宝和礼服”。
Edward Bluemel 是饰演阿加莎·克里斯蒂笔下赫库勒·波洛的最年轻演员，他在名单中排名第四，位列最高：“[他的]打扮没什么神秘之处：90年代的背心和酸洗直筒牛仔裤……而在社交场合则穿着利落的迪奥（Dior）。那种伦敦酷男孩风格？就是他搞定的（He-dunnit）。”
她在访问意大利期间穿着的现代米白色褶皱裙和亚麻条纹西装外套，以及在彼得·菲利普斯（Peter Phillips）和哈里特·斯佩林（Harriet Sperling）婚礼上穿着的 Roland Mouret 礼服也受到了称赞。
威尔士王妃在接受癌症治疗并回归公众生活后，被《Tatler》杂志评为英国最佳着装人物之一（Peter Chappell 撰文）。
其他进入前十名名单的人员包括：医生兼影响力人物 Raj Arora；歌手 Dua Lipa 的弟弟 Gjin Lipa；名媛 Jemima Khan（板球运动员兼巴基斯坦前总理伊姆兰·汗的前妻）；以及 V&A 博物馆馆长、前工党政治家 Sir Tristram Hunt。
凯特在访问意大利、出席皇家赛马会（Royal Ascot）以及上个月参加“三峰挑战赛”（Three Peaks Challenge）期间的装扮受到了称赞。
《Tatler》称，曾任影子教育部长的 Hunt 像他的“博物馆大厅一样时髦”，并称赞了他的 Schiaparelli 鸽子胸针，这是在向 V&A 的一个展览致敬。
排名第三的是英国运动员 Temi Ojora，《Tatler》评价她“将冠军心态应用于她的衣橱”。
她在赛马会穿着的一件亮金黄色 Roksanda “Brigitte” 礼服让她在年度名单中夺冠。她将其与 Jane Taylor 的黄色帽子以及两件曾属于已故女王和戴安娜王妃的珠宝搭配在一起。
“刷手服也显得时尚”，以及她在观看军队阅兵仪式（Trooping the Colour）时穿着的深蓝色套装和香奈儿（Chanel）手袋。
Hannah Dodd 与威尔士王妃以及 Valentina Pinault（其母亲是 Salma Hayek）一同入选《Tatler》名单。右侧的 Edward Bluemel 和左上方的 Gjin Lipa 同样入选。
在《布里杰顿》（Bridgerton）中饰演 Francesca Stirling 的 Hannah Dodd 因其香奈儿剪裁服装以及对 Giambattista Valli 的喜爱而入选。
杂志称 Khan 为“原初的贵族 It Girl”，并将其描述为“永恒魅力的缩影”。
排名第二的 Arora 因让“甚至连医疗刷手服都显得时尚”而受到称赞。
麦卡特尼入围水星音乐奖
David Brown 首席新闻记者
VICTOR BLACKMAN/GETTY IMAGES
Peter Chappell
一名曾与哈里王子和埃尔顿·约翰爵士共同参与一起失败的隐私案件的前司法部长，现已与他们的反媒体活动撇清关系。
在摇滚乐最古老的竞争中，一名披头士成员再次赢得了对比滚石乐队的吹嘘权。
The Boy Who Played the Harp Dave Blizzard Dove Ellis Everybody Scream Florence + the Machine That’s Showbiz Baby! Jade A Great Day in Newcastle Knats Don’t Look Down Kojey Radical Emotional Junglist Nia Archives The Art of Loving Olivia Dean The Boys of Dungeon Lane Paul McCartney This Music May Contain Hope Raye Antidepressants Suede Help(2) War Child
Sir Simon Hughes 请求高等法院告知，他并未参与针对《每日邮报》出版商 Associated Newspapers 的阴谋。
Sir Paul McCartney 的最新专辑《The Boys of Dungeon Lane》入围水星音乐奖（Mercury prize）短名单，这是自该备受瞩目的音乐奖于 1992 年设立以来，他首次获得提名。
在输掉关于自己是黑客攻击、窃听和欺诈等非法信息收集受害者的案件后，这些名人们面临出版商要求支付 £34.4 million 法律费用的索赔。他们的保险覆盖最高 £16.2 million。
与他共同入围名单的还有广受欢迎且广受好评的艺术家，包括 Florence + the Machine、Raye、Olivia Dean 和 Suede。
然而，滚石乐队的最新专辑《Foreign Tongues》则没有位置。尽管该专辑获得了评论界的称赞和排行榜的成功，但并未赢得评委的青睐，而评委们从未将 Sir Mick Jagger 的乐队列入该奖项的短名单。
审判法官尼克林先生（Mr Justice Nicklin）表示，很明显，这些名人主张背后的活动人士试图利用此案要求对新闻界实施更严格的控制。
保罗·麦卡特尼（Paul McCartney）与米克·贾格尔（Mick Jagger）自 1960 年代起就一直维持着一种友好的竞争关系。
暗示麦卡特尼最新的录音回顾了在寒冷的默西河早晨时的青少年暗恋，以及与乔治·哈里森（George Harrison）带着辉煌的梦想从利物浦搭车离去的情景。
在那之后。我们去了美国并获得了巨大的成功。然后滚石乐队（the Stones）去了美国。我们创作了《胡椒中士》（Sgt Pepper）；滚石乐队则创作了一张迷幻专辑。有很多这样的事情，”他说道。
他们很快就签约了。当披头士（the Beatles）将其中一首曲子《我想成为你的男人》（I Wanna Be Your Man）借给贾格尔和基思·理查兹（Keith Richards）时，后者获得了他们的第一首热门单曲，两支乐队很快被视为争夺流行粉丝关注的对手。
代表出版商的安东尼·怀特（Antony White KC）大律师愤怒地驳回了休斯（Hughes）的主张，告诉法庭：“他指控关联报业（Associated Newspapers）存在最令人发指的广泛犯罪行为，且没有撤回过任何一项指控，一项也没有。”
这次冷落只是麦卡特尼与滚石乐队之间长期关系中的最新一幕，他曾将后者称为一个“蓝调翻唱乐队”。
在名单的其他部分，两名相对无名之辈获得了法官的认可。多夫·艾利斯（Dove Ellis）是一位来自高威的创作歌手，Knats 则是两名儿时好友领导的一个爵士五重奏。
“我们曾是好朋友，现在某种程度上依然是。我们彼此欣赏，”他说道。
麦卡特尼在 1963 年首次接触滚石乐队，当时披头士受一位音乐推广人的劝说，去里士满的一家酒吧听他们演出。随后他们前往切尔西的一栋公寓参加派对直到凌晨 4 点。乔治·哈里森向 Decca 唱片公司推荐了他们，并且
麦卡特尼在 2020 年告诉一位采访者，披头士总是关注着来自达特福德的那些文法学校男孩。
在 84 岁时，麦卡特尼与马丁·卡西（Martin Carthy）并列为获得水星音乐奖（Mercury prize）提名的最高龄艺术家。获奖者将于 10 月 22 日在纽卡斯尔的一场仪式上揭晓。正如其标题
尼克林将在下个月宣布法院将如何计算这些名人必须支付给出版商的法律费用金额。
“我们开始注意到，无论我们做什么，滚石乐队很快也会做类似的事情”
该系统正在“将人们拒之门外，使其无法获得护理”，因此许多人在“达到危机点之前完全得不到任何帮助”。
埃莉诺·海沃德（Eleanor Hayward）健康编辑
数据显示，去年有超过 30,000 人在等待当地议会安排社会护理方案时死亡。
她的审查发现，在过去的 20 年里，接受长期公共支持的老年人数减半，她表示这“并非因为老年人减少了，而是因为老年人得到的帮助减少了”。
已经用完了杰夫（Geoff） £400,000 的毕生积蓄来支付。去年他们的资金耗尽了。艾特金森（Atkinson）最初被拒绝了当地议会的资金支持，也被拒绝了 NHS 的护理方案。
地方当局不得不对患者的援助进行配额管理，其中许多人患有痴呆症，而英格兰获得帮助的虚弱和年长成年人的比例在过去 20 年中减半。
“杰夫卧床不起，失禁，不能移动，不能行走，无法沟通。但因为他的病症是痴呆症，在他的大脑中，他没有资格获得支持，因为它不被视为身体疾病，”艾特金森说。
自 2020 年以来，护理申请的拒绝率总计达到 55%，涉及 500 万多人。其中，2.6 million 人被给予了“信息”并被告知联系全科医生（GP）、慈善机构和社区 NHS 服务。
活动人士表示，这意味着许多人在最后的几周和几个月里在穿衣、洗澡和进食等日常任务中挣扎，使其病情和痛苦进一步恶化。
申请地方当局的社会护理资金就像是“陷入了表格和电子表格的迷雾”，而今年她再次经历了这一切。这一次，议会同意资助 Geoff 的护理院费用，但她仍需每周支付 £600。“我不确定接下来的几个月该如何支付这笔钱。”
周三，安迪·伯纳姆（Andy Burnham）承诺将建立一项国家护理服务。自由民主党党魁埃德·戴维爵士（Sir Ed Davey）已承诺将与其共同推进改革。该党护理与护理人员发言人艾莉森·贝内特（Alison Bennett）表示：“成千上万的人，包括 17,000 名残疾成年人，在等待从未到来的支持中去世，这绝对是一场悲剧。这是一次国家紧急状态，我们不能再有任何延迟。”
自由民主党对 NHS 数据的分析显示，自 2020 年以来，约 167,900 人在等待当地议会安排社会护理方案（如护理院床位，这可能需要数月时间）期间死亡。超过一半的求助请求被拒绝。
来自多塞特郡斯旺奇（Swanage, Dorset）的简和格奥夫·阿特金森（Jane and Geoff Atkinson）在格奥夫的阿尔茨海默症恶化时，耗尽了他的 £400,000 终身积蓄。现在他们得到了护理院费用的资助，right day funds on social care
日社会护理资金，但一直无法满足需求，导致申请资格的标准变得更加严格。
2018 年标志着一场官僚主义和财务噩梦的开始，这加剧了面对疾病时的心碎。即便格奥夫出现了失禁、跌倒以及开始从他们位于多塞特郡斯旺奇的家中走失的情况，他们仍然没有获得国家资助支持的资格。
在 2024-25 年，等待护理的人员中有 30,845 人死亡，其中包括 9,000 名曾住院于 NHS 医院的人员。去年，约 3,080 名劳动年龄的残疾成年人在等待护理方案期间死亡。
阿尔茨海默症协会（Alzheimer’s Society）首席执行官米歇尔·戴森（Michelle Dyson）表示：“这些令人震惊的数据清晰地表明，我们多么迫切需要改善为患有痴呆症等疾病的人提供可获得的护理和支持。”
他们之所以能保住家庭住宅，是因为她一直住在里面。
对于伯纳姆在社会护理方面的承诺，她表示：“我希望将来能建立某种制度，不是为了我，而是为了其他几代人。”
只有资产少于 £23,250 的人才有资格获得议会资助的社会护理。地方当局将约 80% 的 day-to-
In 2023 年，74 岁的阿特金森被建议让 75 岁的丈夫搬进护理院，每周费用为 £2,000。她
负责领导社会护理审查的布莱克斯托克·凯西男爵夫人（Baroness Casey of Blackstock）表示
当简·阿特金森的丈夫格奥夫在 2018 年被诊断出患有阿尔茨海默症时，
新闻
在冲浪界享有盛名。阿兰（Arran）从小就展现出卓越的天赋，他和母亲会从加那利群岛前往英国参加比赛，随后他代表英格兰队和英国队在世界舞台上亮相。
“冲浪板在约 100 米外漂浮，”他在 Instagram 上写道。“我尽可能快地划过去，反复潜水寻找你，但那里水深且能见度极低。”
斯特朗（Strong）是 2024 年和 2025 年国际冲浪游戏（ISA World Surf Games）中排名最高的英国男性冲浪者。
Amelia Stout 他的朋友兼教练何塞·玛丽亚·皮赖特（José Maria Pyrrait）表示，他回头看到斯特朗的冲浪板在 100 米后漂浮，尽管反复潜水，但仍无法找到他。皮赖特随后被一艘渔船救起。
一名英国顶尖冲浪者被认为在葡萄牙海岸附近遇难，他在周一早晨进行单膝立桨冲浪（stand-up paddleboarding）时陷入困境。
海事当局表示，斯特朗在尝试从蒙特克莱里戈海滩（Monte Clerigo Beach）前往卡拉帕泰拉村（Carrapateira）时遇到困难。
他补充道：“阿兰对我来说就像儿子一样。从十岁起，他就跟着我训练，周末和假期都和我在一起。”
“除了他在水上取得的成就，人们还将记得阿兰（Arran）的善良、慷慨以及他带给周围人的正能量。他在整个冲浪社区都深受尊敬和倾慕。”
葡萄牙国家海事局确认，其搜索工作已暂停，“但尚未找到遇难者”。
皮雷特（Pyrrait）表示，他们在再次出发前停下来喝水并拍照，起初由斯特朗（Strong）领路，随后皮雷特超过了他。
人们纷纷向阿兰·斯特朗（Arran Strong）表达哀悼，他在阿尔加维（Algarve）的一个渔村阿里法纳（Arrifana）离岸约一英里处失踪。
英国冲浪协会（Surfing England）表示：“阿兰给每个他遇到的人都带来了温暖和正能量，他的离去将被深切地感受到。”
英国冲浪队（GB Surfing）表示，对阿兰的悲剧性去世感到“深切悲痛”。
“当我停下来等待时，我看到你的”
斯特朗，28，当时有……同行
JESSE ROSS/AP
大卫·奇法尔迪（David Cifaldi）的躯干被一根登山杖刺穿，在下方他前往安全地带徒步经过熊牙山脉（Beartooth Mountains）时休息。最左侧：他抵达医院时的伤情。
“我当时觉得，‘我们必须离开这座山。’ 而他们两个都说，‘我对此不确定’，”奇法尔迪回忆起朋友们的反应时说道。“我很自信这根杆子是在胸壁之外的。这不过是个皮外伤。”
“我们有什么资格说三道四？他是医疗专业人士。在那一刻，我们的工作就是提供支持，”奇法尔迪的朋友杰西·罗斯（Jesse Ross）说道。
“我想 99 次中有 100 次，我仍会做出同样的决定，”奇法尔迪说。“搜救队的救援是免费的，但飞行费用不是。”
大卫·奇法尔迪，32，与他的两名朋友当时正在穿越“冰冻之死”高原（Froze-to-Death Plateau）——这是前往花岗岩峰（Granite Peak）途中一段以结冰著称的路段——此时一根 44 英寸的登山杖从他的左臂下方刺穿了背部。
这就是我
来自比林格斯（Billings）的奇法尔迪告诉美联社，他没有感到太剧烈的疼痛，也没有流太多血，因此该小组最终决定在没有协助的情况下勇于徒步下山。
决定自我救援的一个因素。但事实上我有两名经验丰富且出色的朋友陪同，而且我们有能力
一名护士在被登山杖刺穿躯干后，独自进行了 10 英里的自救，随后在蒙大拿州熊牙山脉徒步（Kelly Rissman 报道）。
他们徒步后的第一站是最近的医院，在那里奇法尔迪被告知他需要在更大的医疗中心接受治疗。他最终来到了自己在比林格斯工作的那家医院，医生在那里为他地取出了登山杖并包扎了伤口。
无需派遣昂贵的搜救队乘坐直升机，便能下山。
“当时没有任何人处于危险之中。他不需要我们的帮助，所以我们不会通过强行提供帮助而本质上侵犯他的权利或违背他的意愿，”跟踪该小组下山进度的搜救队队长泰·威廉姆斯（Ty Williams）说道。
这次旅程沿着一条未标记的小径，穿过雪原，最后进入山路，共耗时六小时。在下降 5, 英尺后，该小组终于到达了他们的卡车。
人们通常认为此类伤情需要医疗救援。然而，奇法尔迪认为他能够自行下山，且如果出现问题，可以联系搜救队，这使得决定变得容易得多。
拍摄现场的 CCTV 监控视频。“我们甚至不允许查看片段，但希望它能拍到那个把尸体扔在那里的家伙，”他们说。“那里总有一些吸毒者和无家可归的人，因为那里只剩下几栋建筑的空壳。”
通过预订记录和飞行日志来追踪罗斯（Ross）最后的行踪，并试图找到使用她手机的人。一名警方消息人士表示，警员正在“搜查该地区，询问许多人，主要是无家可归者和吸毒者”。
受害者并非希腊人，因为她穿着一件印有法国大学名称的短裤。警方寻求了国际刑警组织的帮助。她的身份于周一晚上得到确认，并于周三由希腊媒体公布。
Anthee Carassava, George Odling
一名苏格兰女性被杀并被塞进行李箱，其犯罪嫌疑人被认为在案发后的几天内利用死者的手机发送短信，以营造她仍然在世的假象。
他补充说，由于发现尸体的地点，目前的怀疑重点在“边缘群体”上。
“发现尸体的无家可归者就住在附近。他在街头生活了一段时间，在这里很出名，但即便如此，他也被所见之景震惊了。”
外交和联邦事务办公室表示：“在这段艰难的时间里，我们的心与伊丽莎白（Elisabeth）的家人在一起。我们正提供领事支持，并与当地当局保持联系。”
希腊当局于昨日正式确认受害者身份为来自爱丁堡的 Elisabeth-Jane Ross，38 岁。
“这不仅仅是一栋普通的建筑，”他说，“这里被无家可归者和吸毒者使用。”
对 Ross 尸体的初步检查显示，没有可见的伤口或搏斗迹象，当局正在等待毒理学和尸检结果。消息人士表示，预计在几天内公布的结果将显示 Ross 是否死于药物过量。他们补充说，调查人员正在检查她在社交媒体上的联系网络，以及她是否前往希腊是为了与某人见面。
她的遗体于 7 月 18 日在雅典市中心基普塞利（Kypseli）区的一栋废弃建筑内被发现。一名当地男子告诉当局，他当时在试图寻找一种恶臭的来源时，发现了一个有人体肢体突出而外的行李箱。
希腊法医局负责人表示，“特别调查员正在检查证据，希望找到凶手的 DNA 痕迹”。
Ross 于 6 月 26 日从爱丁堡抵达希腊。一名高级警务调查员向《泰晤士报》确认，她直接从苏格兰飞往雅典，纠正了此前关于她从美国经塞浦路斯前往的报道。
警方移走在废弃建筑中发现的 Elisabeth-Jane Ross 的尸体
由于受害者被发现时没有携带身份证件，希腊警方被迫通过国际刑警组织传阅她的 DNA 和指纹。最终由美国当局提供了匹配记录。
法医专家估计，Ross 死亡至少三天。
她最后一次被目击在世是在 7 月 15 日，当时她与一对住在雅典的朋友（一对夫妇）在一起。警方表示，在“广泛审讯”后，该夫妇已被排除在嫌疑范围之外。一名警方消息人士补充道：“我们已经询问了她的希腊朋友，没有证据表明他们有罪。事实上，他们提供了非常重要的信息。”Ross 告诉这对夫妇她
据当地媒体报道，7 月 15 日（她最后一次被目击在世之日）从 Ross 的手机发送给其家人的短信称，她“需要一些个人时间”，并且“想一个人静一段时间”。手机目前仍然失踪，但据称直到本周尸体被公开发现之前，该手机在雅典地区一直处于活跃状态。
首席部长约翰·斯威尼（John Swinney）表示，苏格兰政府和外交和联邦事务办公室将为 Ross 的家人提供支持。
将要住在基普塞利的美国朋友那里，但警方不愿透露是否已能够追踪到这些人。
悼念者在尸体发现地旁布满涂鸦的铁墙边放置了一束花、一支蜡烛和一张 Ross 的照片，并写道“天使曾在此停留”。废弃现场对面泛埃里尼奥斯（Panellinios）体育馆的一名员工说，警方来到
发现尸体的废弃房屋曾被无家可归者用作避难所。侦探们封锁了该房产，并正在搜寻监控摄像机视频、酒店
“这是一个绝对令人震惊的案例，昨晚才接到报告，”他说道。“显然，我对发生这样的悲剧深感忧虑。”
调查人员怀疑
净零目标被指导致机场接送费高企
（tively）。上周，上议院投票通过一项对“失控”的接送费进行审查的议案，但该修正案不具约束力，允许政府将其否决。
反对党表示，政府的目标和措辞正迫使机场在努力达成目标的过程中，不断提高收费。
在他们的申请发展同意书（development consent order）中，卢顿机场被告知，乘车抵达的乘客人数必须“不得高于”45%。
每年为机场带来的 £300 million 收入——在某些机场因政府的交通和环保政策而进一步增加。
劳伦斯·斯莱特（Laurence Sleator），交通记者
活动人士警告称，政府的净零目标正导致机场接送费持续上涨，因为管理部门试图通过此觉打击乘客乘车出行。
RAC 的研究发现，英国 20 个最繁忙的机场中有 16 个提高了司机的缴费标准。与去年同期相比，价格平均上涨了 £1.70 至 £7,。
两家机场近期均大幅提高了费用。盖特威克机场的费用上涨了 £3,，使 10 分钟的费用总计达到 £10；而卢顿机场则将 10 分钟的费用提高了 £2，至 £7。希思罗机场向乘客收取 10 分钟 £7 的费用，比 2025 年上涨了 £1。
在“地面接驳策略”下，机场会设定目标，规定必须有多少比例的乘客通过公共交通抵达航站楼。
AirportsUK 表示，这些费用是“机场商业模式的一部分，有助于支持机场提供最广泛的航班选择”。
政府允许盖特威克机场建设第二条跑道的前提条件是，至少 54% 的乘客往返机场需使用公共交通。
英国作为机场接送费的全球领先者，在航站楼附近放下乘客的收费最高可达每分钟 £1。英国所有大型机场在航站楼门口进行所谓的“亲吻即飞”（kiss and fly）接送时，至少向司机收取 £5。活动人士现在声称，这项政策——它每年为机场增加
英国交通部表示：“我们理解为度假者保持出行便利的重要性，因此政府希望英国机场的停车场能够得到妥善管理，消费者得到公平对待。”
伦敦盖特威克机场和伦敦斯坦斯特德机场的收费最高（分别为 10 分钟 £10 和 15 分钟 £10），其次是爱丁堡和布里斯托（10 分钟 £8.50），以及利兹、伦敦城市和本茅斯（分别为 10, 5 和 30 分钟，每项 £8）。
航空大臣基尔·马瑟（Keir Mather）鼓励所有机场“利用其地面接驳策略，为可持续出行设定明确目标”，以实现一个“绿色、更可持续的未来”。反对党——
卢顿机场希望将其年客运能力几乎翻倍至 32 million 人次，在该机场的de-
安德鲁·马修斯（ANDREW MATTHEWS）/PA
第二副起仅需 £10
盛大入场：在萨塞克斯郡奇切斯特附近的古德伍德节（Goodwood Festival）的“女士之日”，一名赛马观众身着华服抵达，这是体育与社交日程中的亮点。
“在地面，”一名消息人士告诉《太阳报》。“机长在驾驶舱内进行身体干预的情况是前所未闻的。”
劳伦斯·斯莱特（Laurence Sleator）
航空事故调查员正在调查一起涉及英国航空（British Airways）客机在伦敦上空飞行时的严重事件。
该事件被报告为“飞行中失去控制”，并被描述为“飞行员诱发”。
飞机失速是因为气流从机翼表面分离导致升力迅速下降。这通常会导致飞机快速下降；为了恢复状态，飞行员必须立即降低机头角度并增加全功率以提高飞行速度。
据报道，7月 6 日，从德国杜塞尔多夫出发的BA919航班在接近希思罗机场、靠近金丝雀码头（Canary Wharf）的空中发生了失速。
飞行数据显示，这架可容纳最多 186 名乘客的空客A320-232飞机，在 4 分钟内从 6, 000英尺（1,800米）下降到略低于 4,000英尺（1,200米）。
高级人士告诉本报，当时几乎发生了“机毁”（hull loss）——这是航空领域用于描述飞机被摧毁或被判定为损坏到无法修复状态的术语。
其地速降至 148 节（或170英里/小时），仅比飞机在跑道上着陆时的速度快一点。
请在店内咨询详情或访问 specsavers.co.uk
《太阳报》报道称，该飞机的一个大气数据系统发生故障，导致喷气机失速，随后机长介入并覆盖了副驾驶最初的输入以解决问题。干预之后，飞机恢复到 8, 000英尺（2,440米）的高度，速度约为 250 节，相当于约287英里/小时。
航空事故调查局（AAIB）表示：“AAIB正在调查 6th July 涉及英国航空飞机的一起事件，并将适时更新进展。”
英国航空表示：“我们正在协助AAIB进行调查，在现阶段法律上无法进一步评论。”
从我们的 £65 儿童/青少年系列或 £70 成人系列及以下产品中免费获赠 1 副。第一副价格在 £65 及以上，获取第二副从相同系列或更低系列起售价为 £10。使用 16 岁以下NHS光学凭证选择的第一副眼镜必须在 £65 价格范围及以上，方可享受第二副 £10 起的优惠。不包括近视管理镜片。适用相关条款。详情请咨询店内。优惠仅在英国境内有效。
“要从这种状态中恢复是非常困难的，尤其是在如此低的高度”
《晚报》（EVENING GAZETTE）
在以往的关系中受到过虐待，尽管已经怀疑到要去核查辛普森（Simpson）是否在性犯罪者登记册上，但仍未与辛普森分手。
伊莎贝尔·威尔士（Isabelle Welsh）在去年9月遭受致命头部创伤前，全身有 21 处骨折并遭到性虐待。左图：蒂赛赛德（Teesside）家中外的鲜花。
沃克（Walker）家中的监控摄像头显示，她频繁饮酒，而辛普森是习惯性大麻吸食者。
在死亡前的 11 天，伊莎贝尔因腿部骨折被送往她的全科医生处，随后被送往北蒂斯大学医院（University Hospital of North Tees）。沃克在伊莎贝尔行走困难的情况下等待了 2 周才寻求医疗帮助，并称她的腿在被卡在婴儿床中时受伤。
法官表示，医疗人员中原本可能挽救伊莎贝尔生命的担忧，在其他医生接受了沃克的虚假陈述后被否决。工作人员执行了儿童保护政策，但儿科和骨科团队之间的“意见分歧”意味着这名幼儿被出院交还给了她的母亲。
沃克曾对护士采取激进态度，随后还查询了如何从NHS获得赔偿。
诺顿（Norton）在对辛普森宣判时表示，在辛普森进入伊莎贝尔的生活之前，她一直是一个“快乐、健康且茁壮成长的孩子”，而“在短短几周内”，她就遭受了肢体和性虐待。
去年 6 月（该夫妇相识前）的视频显示，伊莎贝尔正在玩耍。她当时快乐、健康且面带微笑。
公诉方大律师 Richard Wright KC 告诉审理法院，那次致命伤“仅仅是她所遭受的那场暴力活动的终点”。他在结案陈词中表示：“导致一个快乐、健康的孩子陷入性虐待、粗暴且重复的暴力以及被谋杀这种灾难性恶化的转折点，是 Alexandra Walker 将 Harrison Simpson 引入了她的生活以及她孩子的生命中。”
9月13日，由于头部撞击硬表面导致颅骨骨折和“无法生存”的脑损伤。无法确定是谁造成了致命伤，但 Walker 表示，她在熬夜喝酒和吸食大麻后一直在补觉。
Jessica Sharkey 犯罪报道记者
一名母亲及其伴侣因“虐杀”其两岁女儿而被判处终身监禁，该女童在遭受致命头部创伤前曾被性虐待。
他告诉陪审团，这段关系“创造了环境，使得那个小女孩遭受如此可怕的虐待”，并在一次“最后残酷且野蛮的袭击”中被谋杀。
Isabelle Welsh 在去年9月于蒂赛德 (Teesside) 索纳比 (Thornaby) 的家中遭受致命伤之前的几周内，身上有包括 21 处骨折和 89 处瘀伤在内的伤势。
法官表示，Simpson 从未对所发生的事情做出任何交代，而 Walker 是一个“幻想家和寻求关注者”，她“从头到尾都在撒谎”，包括假装自己患有乳腺癌，以及告诉人们她不吸毒而实际上她在贩毒。
定罪后在法庭外，Isabelle 的父亲 Josh Welsh 表示：“我的小女儿……我的一生被摧毁了，我的整个家庭也是。我的姐妹和兄弟们失去了他们的侄女。我们为 Isabelle 赢得了正义，这对我也意味着整个世界。”
Alexandra Walker（26岁）和 Harrison Simpson（22岁）在本周于蒂赛德刑事法院经过审理后，被判定谋杀罪和虐待儿童罪名成立。Simpson 还被判定性侵 Isabelle 罪名成立。Walker 被判定该项指控不成立。
“我毫不怀疑，你对孩子的缺乏紧迫感或关怀，是因为你错误地认为 Isabelle 已经死了，而你正在思考如何保住自己的皮囊。”
“我的幼儿为什么在流血？”。在这段时间里，她抽了两根烟，并清理了吸食大麻的证据。
Walker 在谷歌搜索“为什么我的幼儿在流血？”之后，至少等待了一个小时才寻求帮助。
法庭获悉，当急救人员抵达时，在不到一分钟的时间内，Isabelle 位于楼梯底部且已停止呼吸。他们在她全身发现了瘀伤，尿布里有血，脸上带有呕吐物。她于次日在医院去世。
克利夫兰警方侦查总监 Steve Chatterton 表示，此案是其团队处理过的“最恶劣”案件之一。
Norton 法官判处 Simpson 和 Walker 终身监禁，最低刑期分别为 28 年零 6 个月和 22 年。
这对情侣在夏季通过 Facebook Dating 相识，Simpson 经常访问 Walker 的家。审理过程中获悉，Walker 曾表达过担心 Simpson 可能是个恋童癖，并认为他更喜欢同时见到她和 Isabelle，而不是单独与 Walker 在一起，这很“奇怪”。
他说，Isabelle 是一个“生命被残酷夺走的毫无还手之力的孩子”，并补充道：“她理应拥有一个充满爱、安全和幸福的未来，但她被剥夺了那个机会，她永远不应被遗忘。”
法官表示，两人对 Isabelle 的死亡“共同负责”，并补充道：“很难将对 Isabelle 的行为定义为除虐待之外的任何其他性质。”
尸检显示，她的颅骨骨折，大脑受损，且曾遭受性侵害。
法庭获悉，Isabelle 是在 13 日早晨遭受致命伤的。
Alexandra Walker 和 Harrison Simpson 被判定谋杀罪名成立
Walker 曾遭受家庭……
诺顿对沃克说：“我
违反了专业行为标准，达到了严重失职的程度。如果他没有辞职，本应被解雇。”
斯塔福德郡的警察与犯罪专员本·亚当斯（Ben Adams）表示：“公众对警务工作的信心至关重要，因此所有关于失职的指控必须经过全面且独立的调查。这一程序必须适用于每个人，无论其职级或地位如何。”
刑事编辑 大卫·伍德（David Woode）
斯塔福德郡前警务总监在辞职两天后被判定严重失职。
报告称，全球半数人口每周成为诈骗者的目标。国际刑警组织（Interpol）发布的与诈骗相关的通知在 2024 和 2025 之间增加了 54 百分比。报告指出，金融诈骗现已成为“多重犯罪”有组织犯罪网络的重要收入来源，这些网络还涉及腐败甚至恐怖主义。
金融记者 杰克·辛普森（Jack Simpson）
报道限制禁止媒体透露该小组的调查结果以及诺布尔的行为。听证会的结果
一家领先的安全智库指出，支付诈骗已变得与全球毒品贸易一样利润丰厚。
贝基·里格斯（Becky Riggs）将继续担任代理警务总监。
克里斯·诺布尔（Chris Noble）自 2021 起领导该警队，在去年 8 月因其行为引起“严重关切”而被暂停职务。他收到了一份严重失职通知，并面临纪律听证会。
根据皇家联合服务研究所（RUSI）的数据，去年全球因授权支付诈骗（即犯罪分子诱骗您发送资金）而损失了超过 £329 billion，其利润“与非法毒品贸易相匹敌”。该智库表示，英国正成为海外诈骗者的目标，估计有三分之二的支付诈骗源自海外。
诺布尔的职业生涯始于 1996 年，当时他加入了皇家阿尔斯特警察局（后更名为北爱尔兰警察局），他在那里工作了 21 年。在 2017 和 2021 之间，他担任汉伯赛德郡（Humberside）的助理警务总监。他还曾担任抗议活动警务工作的国家负责人，并协调当地执法部门对以色列-加沙冲突的反应。
克里斯·诺布尔本周辞去了年薪 £181,000 的职务
RUSI 表示：“授权支付诈骗不应再被视为一个边缘性的消费者保护问题。”
他在周二辞去了年薪 £181,000 的职务，距离小组开会审议指控的时间不到 24 小时。现年 52, 岁的诺布尔没有出席在斯塔福德郡亚恩菲尔德公园（Yarnfield Park）培训与会议中心举行的为期两天的听证会。
听证结果将与警务学院（College of Policing）共享，该学院负责制定执法标准。诺布尔将被列入禁入名单，这将使其无法从事警务及其他执法角色。
根据银行行业机构 UK Finance 的数据，2025 年英国发生了超过 4 million 起诈骗案件，被盗金额达 £1.28 billion。为了保护客户，2024 年出台了相关法规，要求银行向诈骗受害者最高赔付 £85,000。
授权支付诈骗的形式多种多样，从冒充诈骗（例如犯罪分子假装成您的银行）到浪漫诈骗（在网上建立虚假关系）。
诺布尔毕业于贝尔法斯特女王大学，获得法学学位，并在剑桥大学获得了犯罪学与高级警务领导力硕士学位。
三人小组主席凯瑟琳·斯通（Kathryn Stone）昨天表示，针对诺布尔的指控已成立。斯通告诉记者：“诺布尔先生
本·亚当斯，斯塔福德郡的警察
其历史。在 1957, 年，洛弗尔望远镜（Lovell Telescope）追踪了将首颗人造卫星“史普尼克”（Sputnik）送入轨道的火箭。在冷战期间，它与英国皇家空军（RAF）、国防部和政府通信总部（GCHQ）合作，监测苏联的航天器、导弹发射和雷达信号。
延迟仅约两秒。Martorella 表示，在英国而非美国使用雷达发射机将相对容易，从而使该系统不依赖于外国支持。
Rhys Blakely 科学编辑 每年价值约 £2.8 million。科学家们认为，这一决定未能考虑到该望远镜的国防价值，包括最近演示的在距离地球 22,000 英里高的地球静止轨道上，检测和跟踪小至足球大小目标的能力。
资深国际科学家警告称，如果政府允许乔德尔班克（Jodrell Bank）的洛弗尔望远镜（Lovell Telescope）停止运行，英国将面临失去以极高精度跟踪敌对卫星这一前沿能力的风险。
美国国家射电天文台台长 Tony Beasley 将该研究描述为“最前沿”。他表示：“如果英国希望拥有独立主权能力来了解太空中发生的情况，这就是它已经拥有的基础设施。就英国科学和军事机构可以使用的望远镜而言，这是你们自己的，而且是一个卓越的设施。”他补充道：“这些设施具有双用途应用，对于国内其他机构和组织非常有吸引力。确保充分了解关闭该设施在多个不同方面产生的影响至关重要。”
Garrington 表示，尽管其钢结构可追溯至 20 世纪 50 年代，但其接收机、数据链路和信号处理设备已多次更换。他说：“该望远镜的能力比以往任何时候都要强大得多。我们绝不存在‘技术过时’的情况。”他指出，中国对大型射电望远镜的巨额投资（包括目前在建的 110 米齐台望远镜）证明了该技术在战略和科学上均具有重要意义。
比萨大学的雷达专家 Marco Martorella 教授表示，该技术可以帮助英国监控军事卫星，识别敌对国家的可疑机动动作，并弥补传统光学望远镜因云层和黑暗而受阻所留下的空白。
研究人员表示，随着太空成为一个更为重要的军事战场，这座已服役近 70 年的巨型射电望远镜应被视为一项国家安全资产。
巨型射电望远镜使英国能够跟踪敌对卫星
乔德尔班克天文台副主任 Simon Garrington 教授表示，当英国国家射电天文网络 e-MERLIN 的政府资助于 2028. 年 3 月结束时，76 米长的洛弗尔望远镜将不再投入使用。主要基于科学理由发放公共资金的科学技术设施委员会本周表示，将不再续签资-
“即使是美国最先进的设备也无法独立完成这一点，”他说。
通过将美国的雷达发射机与乔德尔班克的高灵敏度接收机相结合，一个国际团队跟踪到了远小于仅凭雷达可探测到之目标的物体。
Martorella 及其同事将因这项工作获得北约（Nato）科学与技术卓越奖，这是该联盟最高级别的科学奖项。该研究采用了一种名为“长基线多静止雷达”的技术。他们于今年演示了该系统，处理信号并显示跟踪结果。
Martorella 表示，组合系统能够探测直径仅为数十厘米的目标。“世界上没有任何一台单一雷达能做到这一点，”他说。
乔德尔班克始终承担着科学与安全双重角色
PAUL FRENCH/BNPS
女性在静修期间每天鞠躬 650 次导致剧痛
海马 A 位骑手在多塞特郡的高克利夫海滩（Highcliffe Beach）海水中为其坐骑降温，这里以可欣赏怀特岛景色以及位于悬崖之上的19世纪I级上市建筑高克利夫城堡（Highcliffe Castle）而闻名。如果骑手想要充分利用海滩，就不能磨蹭：从复活节到9月底，每天上午10点至晚上9点期间，海滩禁止马匹进入。
Will Humphries 西南地区特派记者
一名在为期数月的佛教静修期间因每天进行 650 次顶礼而导致背部受伤的健康教练，在承受剧烈疼痛后自杀身亡，一项死因研讯显示。
克莱尔·罗德韦（Claire Rodway），52 岁，在前往苏格兰西海岸的偏远寺庙居住之前身体健康且活跃。这项为期一年的强化静修要求她每天进行 650 次顶礼——这是一种身体在地面上完全伸展的鞠躬动作。
由于许多教导是在尼泊尔时间凌晨2点远程进行的，她的睡眠模式也受到了干扰。
五个月后，这位前护士离开了位于阿兰岛（Isle of Arran）附近圣岛（Holy Isle）上的噶举萨耶林寺（Kagyu Samye Ling Monastery），当时她正遭受剧烈疼痛之苦。
来自多塞特郡克赖斯特彻奇（Christchurch）的罗德韦后来被诊断出患有纤维肌痛，这是一种导致全身疼痛和疲劳的慢性疾病。
多塞特郡验尸官法院的一场研讯获悉，她于去年10月2日在埃文河（River Avon）中被发现溺亡。她留下了便条，描述这种病况如何“毁掉了我的生活”。
她的家人声称，由于没有对参与者的健康进行风险评估，这次静修使脆弱人群的生命处于危险之中。
然而，被称为喇嘛·赞戈（Lama Zangmo）的高级佛教尼师埃莉斯·雅各布森（Elise Jacobsen）表示，罗德韦得到了顶礼可以进行调整的建议，例如改为跪姿或坐姿，但她表示罗德韦更倾向于进行全长幅度的动作。她还说，罗德韦在五个月内就完成了要求的 100,000 次前行（ngondro）顶礼，而其他人则花费了数年时间。
伴随 30 天的康复治疗和 200 小时的无偿工作。
“注射师”，随后在一家私人眼科部门工作。
全世界。她避免了入狱之刑，但护理监管机构表示将敦促将其除名。
Jonathan Ames 法律编辑
沃利（Whalley）告诉法庭，由于个人因素，她没有考虑自己的行为后果，并在当时做出了“一个非常不理智的决定”。沃利说，在带着手提箱离开纽约之前不久，她感到恐慌并不想继续进行，但收到了威胁她家及家人的信息。
沃利于 2023 年12 月被捕，并在布莱克本治安法庭被裁定贩毒罪成。
一名社交媒体影响力人士在试图通过伯明翰机场走私价值 £160,000 的大麻后，免于被开除护理专业资格。
然而，护理与助产委员会（Nursing and Midwifery Council）的法庭裁定，她应被暂停执业 12 个月。法庭表示，剥夺沃利的执照将是“过度惩罚”，并指出她在尝试走私药物时正经历一个“非常困难”的时期。
Levi Whalley 在 Instagram 上发布来自世界各地的内容，拥有近 45,000 名粉丝。
Levi Whalley 在 Instagram 上推广自己的同时，从事肉毒杆菌和填充剂注射工作，她被截获携带了超过 35 公斤的 B 类药物。
助理验尸官理查德·米德尔顿（Richard Middleton）将结论定为自杀，并表示他不认为她的死亡是可以避免的。他说，他认可寺庙在问题出现时采取了适当的措施。不过他补充道，根据“常识”，“创伤的挖掘”、每天 650 次的顶礼以及紊乱的睡眠模式，有可能“导致了”纤维肌痛的发作。
沃利表示，她觉得自己失去了一切，并因为“这个非常愚蠢的决定”抛弃了自己的事业。
在听证会上，法庭获悉 Whalley “从很小的时候起就一直想成为一名护士”，并且她从 18 岁起就在医疗保健领域工作。她在七年前获得了护士资格，随后在一家眼科诊所工作，并被提升至管理岗位。后来她以“护士
她和她的朋友 Sophie Bannister 正在从纽约返回时，英国边境部队官员在她们的行李中发现了毒品。据称，仅 Whalley 的行李箱中就含有 38 包大麻。
纪律小组裁定，鉴于 Whalley 犯罪 surrounding 的“具体且不寻常的情况”，她的刑事定罪“从根本上来说与保留在注册名单上并不冲突”。
去年二月。两个月后，普雷斯顿刑事法院的一名法官判处她 16 个月的监禁，缓刑 18 个月。Bannister 被同一法院判处 20 个月监禁，缓刑 18 个月。
来自布莱克本的 Whalley，32 岁，在 Instagram 上拥有近 45,000 名粉丝，她在上面发布来自各地的照片
TMS
diary@thetimes.co.uk | @timesdiary
他在撰写关于亚瑟王电影的硕士论文时，联系了数十位中世纪研究专家，询问他们最喜欢哪些受该时期启发的电影。你可能会认为《亨利五世》或《第七封印》会是那些循规蹈矩者的选择，但你就错了。教授们更有可能说是《巨蟒与圣杯》。
Burnham 是其中的异类
毫米宽，立即引起了他们的注意。尽管其化学成分看起来很熟悉，但其内部结构与任何记录在案的物质都不匹配。
科学家们发现，广岛原子弹爆炸创造了一种此前未知的材料。
研究人员在 1945 年爆炸产生的微小放射性尘埃颗粒中发现了这种此前未知的金属合金。
在将其与数千种材料进行比较后，该团队得出结论，他们发现了一种在火球内部锻造的合金。
在又一名男性成为工党领袖后，工党的女性议员们提出了批评，尽管值得注意的是，她们中的大多数人在提名 Andy Burnham 之后立即批评了这一决定。然而，尽管 Burnham 与之前的每一任工党领袖几乎一样，只是口音不同，但他实际上可能是工党 DEI（多样性、公平性和包容性）的一次胜利。广告人 Rory Sutherland 在“与《旁观者》共度一晚”的现场活动中表示，与近期的首相相比，Burnham 简直是个奇迹。“Andy Burnham 没有上过牛津大学，不是律师，没有学习 PPE（哲学、政治学和经济学），也不是在萨里郡出生的，”Sutherland 说，“这一切使他成为了一个多样性雇员。”
他们认为它形成于核火球内部，那里的温度超过 7,000C，瞬间使建筑物、钢材、玻璃和土壤汽化，随后在片刻之间全部冷却。
他们在《科学进展》杂志上写道：“我们报道了一种此前未知的……合金的发现，该合金从广岛湾的沙滩中回收，形成于 [1945] 年的原子弹空中爆炸期间。”
与此同时，作家兼记者 Andrew Hunter Murray 建议，奥德修斯实际上是 Andy Burnham 时代起始阶段的完美英雄。“实际上仔细想想，”Murray 在 Private Eye 的播客中说，“奥德修斯也有一个十年计划。”
这个微小的碎片是在一个被称为
失败的奖励
回到一月份，Nigel Farage 宣布改革党列车正离开保守党车站。他表示，在地方选举后，他将不再接受保守党议员的叛逃。“我们没有兴趣救助政治失败者，”他说。但在 Julian Brazier 加入“青绿浪潮”的消息传出后，这项政策似乎并不适用于前议员。Brazier 上次出现在坎特伯雷的舞台上是在 2017 年，成为了 107 年来首位失去该席位的保守党议员。
科学家表示，该合金由铁、铬、镍、锰、钼、硅和铝的混合物组成，这些成分常见于不锈钢中。
然而，这些原子并没有按照这些金属通常的方式结合，而是在火球快速冷却时锁定成一种新的晶体结构。
该团队表示，这一发现提升了在微观碎片中可能隐藏着其他未发现材料的可能性。
研究这些材料是如何形成的，可以帮助科学家更好地理解物质在最极端的温度和压力下如何运行。
一位文人
针对前几天我们关于名为 Stephen 和 Steven 的婴儿人数现在少于名为 Maverick 的新男孩的报道，我的同事 Andrew Billen 在《泰晤士报》电台（Times Radio）中表示，他认为现在是时候复兴一些较为古老的名字了。“我的姑姑叫 Ethel，我的奶奶叫 Vera，”他说。不过，他承认后者有一个小问题。显然，她在信件末尾签的是首字母缩写，而她的姓氏是 Douglas。
投向广岛的原子弹代号为“小男孩”（Little Boy），是首次在战争中使用的核武器。它于 8.15am on August 6, 1945, 被投下，并在城市上空约 1,900 英尺处爆炸。
Burnham 并不是唯一一个提出冒险新政策的人。前保守党大法官 Sir Brandon Lewis 在他的 Instagram 上发布了一个想法，建议狩猎可能是结束食物贫困的一种方式。然而，他选择的口号“射击能结束食物贫困吗？”不幸地产生了歧义。正如一位游说资深人士所评论的：“保守党人的想法比我想象的要大胆得多。”
核爆炸可以创造出在正常条件下无法形成 Materials。
历史爱好者的圣杯
围绕古典学者 Emily Wilson 对克里斯托弗·诺兰的《奥德赛》（The Odyssey）所写的严厉评论（见上文）而引发的骚动持续了一整周，但并非所有学者在好莱坞触及他们的心爱课题时都如此严肃。历史学家 Greg Jenner 在 Threads 上写道，
爆炸释放了相当于约 15,000 吨 TNT 的能量，估计有 60,000 到 80,000 人当场死亡。
为了这项研究，来自佛罗伦萨大学的科学家分析了来自广岛湾的 34 个微小玻璃颗粒。
利用强大的显微镜和 X 射线分析，他们在碎片中寻找异常材料。一颗金属颗粒，尺寸仅为几千分之一的 1
到 1945, 年底，死亡人数上升至约 140,000 人，因为又有数千人死于烧伤、创伤和放射病。
jack blackburn
邪典电影《唐尼·达科》（Donnie Darko），估价为 $100,000 到 $200,000。该物品首次公开拍卖，恰逢电影上映 25 周年。
待售道具包括约翰·特拉沃尔塔在《周六夜狂热》中穿的西装和来自《闪灵》的一把斧头。
一个来自《侏罗纪公园》的琥珀保存蚊子道具预计也将吸引浓厚兴趣，估价为 $100,000 到 $200,000。它出现在电影的开场序列中，其中科学家从一只史前蚊子中提取恐龙 DNA。
约翰·特拉沃尔塔在《周六夜狂热》中穿着的著名白色西装
T
预计将在拍卖会上以高达 $400,000 (£303,000) 的价格成交。
该西装将领衔一批娱乐物品的拍卖，包括来自《唐尼·达科》的兔子装和来自《侏罗纪公园》的一块琥珀道具，这些物品将于下个月在洛杉矶拍卖。Propstore 表示，其现场拍卖将于 August 26
其他值得关注的拍品还包括《剪刀手爱德华》中的手，
竞赛序列，并带有特拉沃尔塔的手写签名。
to 29, 举行，其预售总估价为
《周末狂热》（Saturday Night Fever）。该服装的估价为 $200,000 至 $400,000，曾穿在电影的舞蹈场景中。
迈克尔·基顿在《蝙蝠侠归来》中穿的蝙蝠套装，一部来自《闪光》（The Shining）的特技斧头，以及迈克尔·杰克逊在《Thriller》音乐视频中佩戴的义齿。
预计将引领此次拍卖的是托尼·马内罗的白色三件套西装，由特拉沃尔塔在 1977 年的迪斯科经典电影中穿着。
约 $10m (£7.6m)。
另一个头条拍品是来自 2001 年电影中兔子弗兰克（Frank the Rabbit）的主要服装。
此外，您可以随时离开 70GB。 £9 限时优惠 搜索 “SMARTY Mobile” 仅限时间 仅限时限。仅 SIM 卡 1 个月计划。70GB 售价 £9，请在 24/08/26 前注册。条款详见 smarty.co.uk
一名资深警探被判定行为不端并受到警告，此前他与一名同事发生私情，并在一辆不标记的警车中亲吻对方。
警方表示，毒理学报告显示该男子饮用了 1 或 2 杯酒精饮料。如果被定罪，他将面临最高四年的监禁。
年。据《每日邮报》报道，一名女性在 2024 年游泳时也不幸身亡。
Peter Chappell
一名两岁男童从塞浦路斯一家酒店的窗户坠亡，他是四年内在该度假村死亡的第三位英国游客。
当一名记者本周访问该酒店时，该幼儿在 7 月 12 日坠落的四楼大窗户仍然敞开。
警探中士安德鲁·赫德利（Andrew Hedley）， 52 岁，承认在监视行动后亲吻了他的已婚伴侣。在汉普郡警方的一场行为不端听证会上，他表示由于担心这对两人个人生活产生“不利影响”，因此没有披露这段私情。
Petros Stavrou 是该家庭的律师，在他被监禁的 8 天期间，他多次请求释放其父亲，以便其父亲在告知女儿弟弟去世时能陪伴在妻子身边。然而，由于延迟，据报道，该父亲被迫通过 FaceTime 将这一消息告知女儿。
随着该男童的父亲（一名来自埃塞克斯郡、 37 岁的城市从业者）预计于今日出庭，King Evelthon Beach Hotel and Resort 因这些死亡事件而受到批评。
该儿童的父亲在被保释金 €20,000 (£17,000) 释放前，被逮捕并羁押在监狱中 8 天。周二他坐在被告席上时显得十分激动，陪伴在他身边的是他的父母（他们已飞往塞浦路斯支持他）、他的妻子以及他们 5 岁的女儿。在下周开始且可能持续数月的审判之前，他被禁止离境。
一名接近该家庭的人士告诉《泰晤士报》，在父亲被塞浦路斯警方指控因鲁莽、轻率或危险行为导致死亡后，他们正“经历一场无法想象的噩梦”。
代表警方的查尔斯·阿普索普（Charles Apthorp）表示：“对于一个人在明知重要的情况下刻意避免披露某事，这是一个非常严重的违规行为。”
自 2022 年起，King Evelthon 酒店已发生多起悲剧。
英国健康与安全指南规定，大型酒店窗户的开启幅度应限制在 10 厘米或以下。在塞浦路斯，窗户必须位于至少 1.1 米高的窗台上，该酒店符合此项规定。
在男童坠落 10 米到阳台上时，该家庭正处于假期的第一天。帕福斯地区法院获悉，当时该父亲在房间旁的走廊里左右摇晃孩子，孩子随后从打开的窗户掉落。
赫德利在提供证词时表示，他曾与该警官（因法律原因不能透露姓名）共同住在酒店，但在值班期间从未与其发生过任何性关系。
这家位于帕福斯附近的酒店近年来发生了多起悲剧，包括另外两名英国度假者的死亡。来自大曼彻斯特郡莱伊（Leigh）的 21 岁青年本·伍兹（Ben Woods）于 2022 年 7 月在酒店泳池中溺水身亡。
“这对他们来说是一场活生生的噩梦，而且在不断恶化，”该消息人士补充道。“他们可能会面临一种家庭成员必须返回英国，而父亲却留在塞浦路斯的局面，这简直不可想象。对他产生的心理影响已经超出了认知范围。”
酒店总经理安东尼斯·西维塔尼迪斯（Antonis Sivitanidis）表示：“警方对所有这些死亡事件进行了全面调查，结果发现酒店方面没有责任。我们对所有遇难者家属深表遗憾，并向他们致以诚挚的吊唁和同情。”
经查实，海德利（Hedley）存在违规行为，但评审小组认为这尚未构成严重违规。他被给予为期 18 个月的书面警告。
据了解，该父亲否认了那个版本的事件经过，并坚称自己没有摇晃儿子。
另一名孩子，来自因弗内斯（Inverness）的六岁男孩鲁阿里·奈恩（Ruaridh Nairne），在次日溺亡
皇家歌剧院
珠宝窃贼因用大锤袭击店铺被判入狱
调查究竟是谁干的。我们是一家当地的独立家族珠宝商，在里奇蒙德（Richmond）经营了 45 年多。公众对此次事件的反应非常热烈，我们对收到的支持和善意心存感激。
杰西卡·沙基（Jessica Sharkey），犯罪报道记者
三名男子在西伦敦一家珠宝店实施抢劫并窃走价值 £225,000 的商品后被判入狱。
来自埃塞克斯郡（Essex）的罗伯特·克拉克（Robert Clarke，50 岁）、李·拉姆齐（Lee Ramsey， 46 岁）和德尼兹·梅赫梅特（Deniz Mehmet， 28 岁）在 31 日被拍到在购物者面前袭击位于里奇蒙德的 Gregory & Co 珠宝店。
“我们感到欣慰的是，总体而言，正能量多于负能量，我们期待尽快重新开业并恢复正常。”
这段在网上广泛传播的视频显示，在员工试图挡住他们时，这些男子用大锤砸碎店窗，随后从展柜中抢走珠宝并将其装入一个蓝色宜家购物袋中。随后他们向里奇蒙德格林（Richmond Green）方向逃跑，旁观者随即报警。
伦敦警察厅飞虎队（Flying Squad）的侦查警监丹·米切尔（Dan Mitchell）表示：“这类抢劫案令受影响社区的居民和企业深感担忧。他们是直接感受到冲击的人。”
阿根廷舞者、皇家芭蕾舞团首席舞者玛丽亚内拉·努涅斯（Marianela Núñez）与饰演玛格丽特和阿尔曼的威廉·布雷斯威尔（William Bracewell）
“这些判决标志着一项详尽且坚决的调查取得了重大进展。我希望这能表明我们致力于打击伦敦抢劫案的决心，无论涉案人员身在何处，我们都会追究其责任。”
这些男子在警员完成调查后被捕
罗伯特·克拉克（Robert Clarke）， 50 岁，被拍到在西南伦敦一家珠宝店行窃
奏鸣曲并未得到独奏者罗伯特·克拉克（Robert Clark）的良好演绎。
在接连不断的对比双人舞中展现了爱的各种色调。金子美波（Fumi Kaneko）和瓦迪姆·蒙塔吉罗夫（Vadim Muntagirov）在第一段甜美、宁静的追求中轻盈起舞；玛雅拉·马格里（Mayara Magri）和卢卡斯·B·布兰德斯罗德（Lukas B Braendsrod）在更具大地气息、更成熟的第二段舞中增加了激情；而在第三段双人舞中，努涅斯（Núñez）和马修·鲍尔（Matthew Ball）在他们充满激情的紧张关系所带来的温柔戏剧感中产生了最强烈的共鸣。音乐由肖邦的《夜曲》提供（尽管它本应得到比钢琴家凯特·希普威（Kate Shipway）低于水准的演奏更好的对待）。最后以弗雷德里克·阿什顿（Frederick Ashton）的《玛格丽特与阿尔曼》（1963）收尾，这与《茶花女》是同一个故事，尽管阿什顿将这个关于不幸的交际花及其年轻情人的故事浓缩至精华，并以闪回方式讲述。首次饰演阿尔曼的威廉·布雷斯威尔（William Bracewell）带来了优雅的炽热感和迷人的阿拉贝斯克舞姿；而努涅斯饰演的玛格丽特身着一件接一件惊艳的塞西尔·比顿（Cecil Beaton）礼服，优雅地坠入爱河并体面地死去。保罗·墨菲（Paul Murphy）指挥皇家芭蕾管弦乐团，尽管李斯特的 B 小调钢琴曲……
舞蹈评论员 黛博拉·克雷恩（Debra Craine）
今年 3 月，七名男子因参与在一系列针对首都各处奢侈品店的“砸窗抢劫”行动而被判刑。去年在四个月的时间里，他们使用砖块、大锤并驾驶一辆福特 Fiesta 冲撞店门，盗窃了价值超过 £100,000 的商品。
在充满趣味的中段，是一系列美味的二重奏。努涅兹（Núñez）和蒙塔吉罗夫（Muntagirov）在马里乌斯·佩蒂帕（Marius Petipa）的《海盗》（Le Corsaire）那大胆的编舞中全力以赴，她大气且光彩照人，他则展现了绝佳古典技巧的纯净与气概。高田茜（Akane Takada）和卡尔文·理查森（Calvin Richardson）享受着韦恩·麦格雷戈（Wayne McGregor）的《Infra》中长腿舞者的结合；马格里（Magri）和鲍尔（Ball）沉浸在肯尼斯·麦克米伦（Kenneth MacMillan）的《罗密欧与朱丽叶》中阳台双人舞的欢快与放纵；而金子（Kaneko）和布兰兹罗德（Braendsrod）则充分挖掘了克里斯托弗·威顿（Christopher Wheeldon）的《雨后》（After the Rain）中缓慢而诱人的力量。
《玛丽亚内拉——永恒》（Marianela — Timeless） 伦敦皇家歌剧院
(170 分钟) HHHHI
查看了闭路电视（CCTV）片段，进行了法医分析，并追回了一辆被认为与抢劫案有关的车辆。
伦敦警察厅发布的影像显示，警员在 31. 3 月凌晨冲进克拉克（Clarke）和拉姆齐（Ramsey）的卧室将其逮捕。执法记录仪画面显示，拉姆齐在床上被拘留并戴上手铐。梅赫梅特（Mehmet）于 4 月 8 日在街道上被拘留。
他们抢走了手表、珠宝、艺术品以及装有现金的保险柜，并使用被盗车辆作为逃逸车。
她称之为她写给皇家芭蕾舞团的情书，但这也是一封写给观众的情书。玛丽亚内拉·努涅兹（Marianela Núñez）在皇家歌剧院的演出计划由一系列穿插在两部单幕芭蕾舞剧之间的轻快舞曲（divertissements）组成，这为粉丝们提供了一个绝佳机会，可以看到这位在科文特花园（Covent Garden）带来 28 年快乐的芭蕾舞女星以多种形象亮相。作为额外惊喜，另外 8 位皇家芭蕾舞团的首席舞者在《玛丽亚内拉——永恒》的首演之夜与她一同登场。
金斯顿刑事法院此前获悉，该团伙在 2025, 5 月至 7 月期间，对伦敦商店实施了 5 起成功的盗窃案，且每次都采用了类似的手段。
这些男子在之前的听证会上承认犯罪，于昨天在金斯顿刑事法院被判刑。
伦敦警察厅表示，将继续致力于打击冲撞抢劫等犯罪行为。
最后，但同样重要地，是那些“甜点”中的最后一件：乔治·巴兰钦（George Balanchine）闪耀的《柴可夫斯基双人舞》。在这一曲目中，努涅兹与皇家芭蕾舞团最新任的首席帕特里西奥·雷韦（Patricio Revé）搭档，后者展现了强而有力且利落的技巧。但这一时刻属于努涅兹，她的灵动与丰沛的音乐性无与伦比。展出至 8 月 2 日，rbo.org.uk
来自贝西尔登（Basildon）的梅赫梅特被判处 5 年监禁；来自罗奇福德（Rochford）的克拉克和来自哈洛（Harlow）的拉姆齐分别被判处 5 年 3 个月监禁。
该警队本月公布的数据显示，在截至 6 月的 12 个月里，社区犯罪案件下降了 14%，与前一年相比——相当于伦敦全境报告的犯罪案件减少了 35,000 起以上。
演出以《在夜晚》（In the Night）开场，这是杰罗姆·罗宾斯（Jerome Robbins） 1970 年创作的浪漫甜点之作，讲述三对情侣在星空下分别相遇。编舞地描绘了
抢劫事件发生后，Gregory & Co 的一名发言人表示：“这对我们所有人来说都令人深感不安，我们正在全力配合警察工作，他们
具有紧身裤的便利性”的售价为 £12.
普鲁·怀特（Prue White） 风格编辑
2021, 3 月，当时服装与家居部门的总经理理查德·普莱斯（Richard Price）宣布 M&S 将扩大经营范围以销售其他品牌时，没有人能预见到这种扩张意味着开裆裤将与香肠卷摆在同一个销售区域。该零售商的一位发言人表示：“我们的‘M&S 品牌入驻’策略旨在通过精心挑选的、能与 M&S 现有产品相辅相成且互补的第三方品牌，为顾客提供更多选择。”
这不仅仅是内裤，这是红色的蕾丝开裆内裤。它们来自 Ann Summers 品牌，而且竟然由每个人最喜爱的琐碎商品零售商 Marks & Spencer（玛莎百货）来销售。
一名女性厨师因在船上性骚扰两名男性及两名女性同事，被英国皇家海军开除并被判处 18 个月监禁。
其中一名受害者将 Sian Dowsett 描述为“极具威慑力”。
博尔福德（Bulford）军事法庭获悉，25 岁的厨师、二等水兵 Sian Dowsett 将目标锁定在驱逐舰“无畏号”（HMS Dauntless）的新船员身上。助理军事法官 John Atwill 表示：“你在一名同事处理文件时拍了他的臀部，并在另一次机会中再次用力拍他。当一名同事上身赤裸在更换衣服时，你摸了她的乳房，推搡她并捏她的乳头。”
长期以来，M&S 一直是国民购买可靠内衣的首选。该店以销售布里吉特·琼斯（Bridget Jones）风格的肤色棉质内裤（五条装 £12）以及每两秒钟就卖出一件胸罩而闻名，因此如果你认为该店的产品更倾向于保守而非怪癖，也是情有可原的。
……她是一个极具威慑力的人物。她会对人们大吼大叫。她在船上时，我经历了无数个失眠之夜。”
Ann Summers 品牌在 M&S 销售的内裤价格为三条 £20
Mumsnet 上的一个讨论帖引发了激烈争论，该帖由一名被 Facebook 上开裆丁字裤广告激怒的用户发起。一名用户问道：“在这个上帝眷顾的地球上，谁会去 M&S 买性感情趣用品？”
这家零售商还专门经营成人玩具。在最新推出的“Brands at M&S”系列中，包含一组三条装的“俏皮”蕾丝开裆丁字裤，售价为 £20. 如果你对什么是开裆丁字裤有所疑惑，请放心，它几乎没什么遮挡。此外还有一件精美的蕾丝连体衣，同样开裆，售价 £36, 甚至还有开裆透明长袜，旨在“融合传统长袜和吊袜带的性感风格”。
事实上，该连锁店在四月份推出了 Body by M&S：一个旨在满足各种着装需求的内衣胶囊系列。该系列的核心在于实用性，包括连体衣、塑身衣、T恤胸罩，以及没错，奶奶裤。
Dowsett 的一名男性受害者表示，他在船上的医务室遭到袭击，并补充道：“我觉得很内疚，因为我任由这种情况发生，但我也没叫她离开。”
据称具有“双性恋倾向”的 Dowsett 在三月份被判定六项性骚扰罪名成立。
不过，你在结账处购买套餐餐点时暂时不会被噎到。开裆丁字裤仅限在线购买。可以选择使用纸袋配送。
在减轻处罚的辩护中，Michael Green 表示 Dowsett 最近被诊断出患有自闭症，这可能导致“社交剥削 [及] 人际误解”。
然而，一个令许多人惊讶、甚至可能令更多人惊恐的举动是，M&S 开始销售 Ann Summers 的内衣——这家英国零售商
昨天，一名女性受害者告诉法庭：“我遭到了 Sian Dowsett 的袭击。”
ZACHARY CULPIN/BNPS
在通知供应商的同时，她补充说，这位百万富翁本可以在位于伦敦市中心玛丽波恩（Marylebone）价值 £8 million 的公寓更换冷却设备期间，将葡萄酒移至仓库中。
Jonathan Ames 法律编辑
一名法官裁定，一名高级裁缝兼葡萄酒鉴赏家毁坏了自己的价值 £1 million 的年份收藏，从而驳回了其针对高科技冷藏设备供应商的索赔要求。
拓展业务：在多塞特郡多切斯特（Dorchester, Dorset）的 Matt 和 Katie Priestley 提供婚礼树木租赁服务，以取代传统的鲜花。
听证会上透露，Reimer 积累了 20,000 瓶年份法国葡萄酒，存放在其伦敦和汉堡的房产中。但他声称，由于 2021 年安装的三台定制冷藏设备出现故障，导致他在伦敦的收藏价值损失。
曾为歌剧巨星卢恰诺·帕瓦罗蒂（Luciano Pavarotti）设计服装的汤姆·赖默（Tom Reimer）起诉了国际餐饮设备公司（International Food Services Equipment），要求赔偿 £550,000。他声称一次泄漏导致冷凝水产生，破坏了数千瓶藏酒的标签，并可能损坏了软木塞。
但法官在判定这位高级裁缝由于将部分冰箱单元密封起来，或者在邻居投诉噪音和震动后反复将其关闭，从而导致了“葡萄酒墙”产生冷凝水后，现要求赖默支付 £110,000 的法律费用。
该冷却系统采用了玻璃滑动门和远程冷凝器。赖默在法庭上主张，设备门之间不足半英寸的缝隙导致冷气外泄且暖气进入，从而在标签上引起冷凝和霉菌生长。他还坚持认为部分
赖默来自一个德国富裕家庭，在汉堡作为顶尖裁缝建立起了一番盈利丰厚的事业。在 20 世纪 90 年代，他的公司为帕瓦罗蒂设计了一件白色丝绸燕尾服，以与他惯常穿着的黑色燕尾服和白色领结形成对比。
汤姆·赖默在法庭外。他声称其高科技冷藏设备的泄漏破坏了他的葡萄酒收藏。
这家总部位于伦敦南部的公司律师在法庭上辩称，冷藏设备没有缺陷，唯一的问题是它们引起了赖默邻居的投诉。
这些年份酒“可能”遭受了严重的软木塞损坏，极大地降低了他位于伦敦的 1,500 瓶藏酒的价值。
代表该公司出庭的律师马修·温-史密斯（Matthew Winn-Smith）告诉法庭，葡萄酒受到的任何损坏可能都是由于赖默“因为酒柜太吵而将其关闭”造成的。
许多酒款是来自波尔多和罗讷河谷地区的顶级红酒，包括 1982 年的木桐酒庄（Château Mouton Rothschild），其售价可超过 £1,000，以及 2012 年的柏图斯（Petrus），售价约为 £2,000。
据称，赖默这样做是因为他面临房东和邻居就这套价值 £23,000 的设备及其冷凝单元噪音产生的“巨大压力”。
如果标签损坏，稀有葡萄酒的价值会大打折扣，因为买家担心葡萄酒本身已被损坏而不敢冒险。
这位裁缝承认设备曾被关闭过两次，但法官认定关闭次数“明显超过两次”。
在驳回赖默的诉求时，法官表示，酒瓶受到的任何损坏可能是由于赖默下令将葡萄酒冷却墙的冷凝器密封，导致缺乏充分通风，或者由于裁缝因噪音关闭冰箱而造成的。
在伦敦中心郡法院审理此案时，莎拉·艾灵顿（Sarah Ellington）法官表示，赖默在未先……之前就关闭设备，其行为是“不合理的”。
金属探测者发现了三只纯金的青铜时代手镯，其价值可能超过 £300,000。
……收获或因担心定居点遭到袭击而将其藏匿。
这些项圈（torcs）目前交由大英博物馆保管，将由验尸官（coroner）裁定其是否属于宝藏。如果被认定为宝藏，博物馆或机构将有机会为国家购买它们，探测二人组将获得一份分成。如果没有人想要，它们将归还给发现者。
艾伦·丹尼尔斯（Alan Daniels）和安迪·克拉蒙德（Andy Crammond）在一名农民的田地里发现了这些手镯（或称项圈）。克拉蒙德开玩笑说，当他在土壤下方几英寸处挖出第一只时，他几乎心脏病发作。丹尼尔斯很快发现了第二只，随后 20 分钟后在 20 英尺外发现了第三只。
这些项圈的年代可追溯到约公元前 1100 年，材质至少为 22k 金，总重量为
尽管在泥土中埋藏了 3,000 多年，但这些项圈在卡莱尔附近的布莱克福德（Blackford）被挖掘出来时，依然处于原始的、闪闪发光的状态。
由詹姆斯·麦克尼尔·惠斯勒展览支持者圈、泰特赞助人、泰特会员及泰特美洲基金会支持
518 克。来自艾尔郡基尔温宁的 34, 岁 燃气工程师克拉蒙德（Crammond）
媒体合作伙伴
表示：“金属探测者
它们应该属于一个高地位、富有的个体和地主，他或许将它们埋在这里，作为向神灵祈求好运的祭品
梦见这些东西，现在感觉依然如此……这是几辈子才能遇到一次的发现。”
詹姆斯·麦克尼尔·惠斯勒《夜曲：蓝色与金色——旧巴特西桥》 约1872-5年 泰特 1905年由艺术基金会捐赠（细节）
三只纯金手镯被埋在一个农民的田地里
为什么修复社会护理对首相而言至关重要
原因部分在于个人，但对伯纳姆（Burnham）而言，当前的体制也概括了英国治理方式的问题所在
KIRSTY WIGGLESWORTH/PA
如果首相想要兑现他在社会护理方面的承诺，可能也必须这样做。不过，他首先是以儿子的身份，讲述了他的父亲、他的病情，以及为了让他们状况好转还能做些什么。
他们不得不为了履行提供成人社会护理的法定责任，而牺牲掉他们过去所做的一切其他事情。而这就是目标所在。伯纳姆想要并坚信的，是一种在地方和国家层面均具有示范性和实干精神的政治，以及更强的公众控制力和持久的改革。
你免除了国家本不该承担的债务和义务。最终解决这个问题，那么其他一切似乎也不再是不可能的。
从政治开始。伯纳姆现在所说和所做的大部分事情，最好被理解为他在内阁最后几年的未竟之业或深刻教训。当时发生了两件重要的事情。2009年 4月 15日，在希尔斯堡惨剧 20周年纪念日，他以文化大臣的身份在安菲尔德球场发表讲话。人们对他起哄，要求正义，形成了一股对政治和政治家不信任的合唱。到 2010 年春季，他担任卫生大臣，任务是引入一项国家护理服务。他尝试过了。当时进行了跨党派讨论，并提出了强制性遗产征收方案。随后保守党将其击得粉碎，因此他失败了。
当然，成千上万的英国儿子和女儿也可以这样做。随着伯纳姆担任首相的月份增加，还会有更多的人，他们所有人都在经历着与他相似的人生。他知道这一点，一名 10 号街助手表示，他“感受到了自己在这些问题上所说之话的分量”。
@patrickkmaguire
周三早上在乘车前往上班时，首相给他的母亲打了电话。他们聊到了他的父亲——她的
将此观点告知他内阁改组后的受害者，他们显然对此嗤之以鼻。首相所做的仅仅是
他已经掌握了斯塔默（Starmer）永远无法掌握的细节
丈夫——与此同时，车辆和护卫员驶向了戈尔德斯格林（Golders Green）。这是安迪·伯纳姆在向全英发表关于社会护理的演讲之前做的最后一件事。这是一个关于政策的演讲，是的——关于布莱克斯托克的凯西男爵夫人、一场全国性的对话以及一项加速审查。但它也是关于罗伊·伯纳姆（Roy Burnham）以及照顾他的人的。
说某个话题对政治家来说是“个人的”，这太陈词滥调了，它可以被客观地应用于任何主题的任何处理方式。尽管如此，汽车、护理院以及伯纳姆私生活中的每一个小片段，部分解释了为什么他突然转向那些处于他这个位置的人认为是一堵砖墙的方向，并决定不顾一切地全力冲刺。
已完成。据内阁大臣们争论，这样做是将基尔·斯塔默爵士（Sir Keir Starmer）的计划以及凯西（Casey）的审查提前一年实施。尽管他们承认伯纳姆（Burnham）精通那些斯塔默永远无法掌握的琐碎细节，但工党这些失势的明星们坚持认为，重大问题依然没有改变。而且保守党不会在社会护理方面协作。他们为什么要协作？现在，如果没有提前举行大选，凯米·巴德诺克（Kemi Badenoch）将有 18 个月的时间来攻击工党试图通过提高税收来支付这一切的费用。
伯纳姆曾希望达成一个持久的、两党共同的解决方案。他当时警告说，另一种选择将是“随机的痴呆症税，人们会看到护理费用夺走数万或数十万英镑，导致他们失去房屋、积蓄以及每一分财务安全感”。他始终没能达成共识。2017. 年的特蕾莎·梅（Theresa May）也没能达成。她最终被伯纳姆创造的那个词所困扰：痴呆症税。
安迪·伯纳姆在戈尔德斯格林（Golders Green）的一家护理院宣布了他的社会护理计划
罗伊（Roy）住在一家养老院里。他患有阿尔茨海默病。他不知道自己是首相的父亲。上周一，当安迪离开白金汉宫时，护理员将他安置在电视机前。他们告诉他看着屏幕，看着他的次子走在唐宁街上——他接受了国王组建另一个工党政府的邀请——而艾琳·伯纳姆（Eileen Burnham）流下了眼泪。“这是一个家庭的成就，”那个儿子在进入 10 号首相府的前一天告诉我，“尽管他并不知情，但这仍然让我觉得我们像是共同完成了一些事情。”
在首相看来，这像是一捆扭曲的原罪
提前行动是为了强迫改变。
此外，还有伯纳姆的其他指路明灯：加强公众对他所谓的“无法问责的国家”的控制，以及消除地方政府的权力匮乏。首相想要一个与国民医疗服务体系（NHS）完全整合的国家护理服务（National Care Service）。我们现在拥有的是一个由参差不齐且过度扩张的地方当局服务、慈善机构和私人供应商组成的混乱局面——在许多情况下，这些供应商由美国风投公司和私募股权基金持有。
但仅在部分程度上。如果他以及罗伊和艾琳的故事是特例，他就不需要发表那次演讲。
他们最终可能会被证明是正确的。批评者的这些警告听起来有点像特蕾莎·梅在为她那注定失败的社会护理计划辩护：没有任何改变！除了，首相对政治争论及其所有相关风险的胃口。而对于伯纳姆来说，这恰恰是关键所在。
首相现在表示，党派政治是进步的阻碍。本周，他的幕僚长詹姆斯·普内尔（James Purnell）给 10 号首相府的顾问和官员写信。他提到伯纳姆“以不同方式进行政治活动的决心”，并赞颂了“开放与协作”的美德。经验使首相确信，一种“计较得失而非解决问题”的文化会为政治破坏和国家失效创造反向激励。承诺修复那些看似无法修复的事情，因此
政策专家喜欢谈论“住房万能理论”。只要指出英国经济的一个问题——增长停滞、生产率低、财富不平等、GDP 被高估——其解释就在于我们功能失调的住房市场。如果伯纳姆主义（Burnhamism）有一个等价物，那一定是社会护理。在首相看来，这像是一捆扭曲的原罪：琐碎的党派之争、私有化以及英格兰市政体制的消亡。论点认为，只要将其解开，那么
因此在周三早上，安迪·伯纳姆决定在没有讲稿的情况下发言——以证明他的话语不仅仅是简单的处方。拉姆齐·麦克唐纳（Ramsay MacDonald）曾寻求一项“医生的授权”来治疗英国的财政疾病，而随着时间的推移，这个工党
现在说伯纳姆模式具体会是什么样子还为时过早：凯西将在明年告诉我们。但如果伯纳姆对英格兰的愿景有一个对立面，那一定是贝莱德（BlackRock）从你的奶奶身上赚大钱。议会也不会被逼至破产
政治时事通讯
为您提供来自威斯敏斯特的最佳分析与评论
演讲嘉宾包括
技术峰会
请访问 thetimes.com/events 或使用二维码立即预订
首席赞助商
Limbic 联合创始人兼首席执行官
Langdock 联合首席执行官及 Visionaries 高级合伙人
Cohere 联合创始人兼首席执行官
2026年11月10日，星期二
AI 缩窄了你的视野。如果你让它为你提供信息，你就不太可能亲自去探索。那种至关重要的探索过程会带你进入意想不到的领域，并引导你做出有趣的发现。快捷方式可能更轻松，但它更枯燥，且永远不会产生任何原创内容。AI 让人们变得更蠢的倾向，对于大脑发育阶段的人来说尤为危险。教师们对在年轻人身上看到的现象感到担忧。Bloom 教授表示，在斯坦福大学数学系，家庭作业的分数在飙升，而考试分数却在暴跌，因为使用 AI 完成作业的学生并没有从中学习。在经济学研讨会上，学生们讨论预先指定的论文，他们似乎都在阐述相同的观点，而当被追问时，他们却无法详细展开。“我突然意识到，学生们根本没有阅读论文，而只是将其输入到 AI 中。”
现有企业的就业人数平均自然下降。增长来自于尚未创建的公司。
在更长期的基础上感到困扰。
各地区需要为其创造性努力获得回报 Theo Bamber
当然，马斯克（Musk）先生和阿莫代（Amodei）先生并非客观的观察者。前者刚刚让 SpaceX 上市（一家附带火箭的 AI 公司），而后者预计也将很快让其公司上市。投资者们对他们的夸大之词产生了怀疑。SpaceX 的股票价值约为上市后峰值的一半；同样大举投资 AI 的 Meta 股价在 SpaceX 上市以来下跌了五分之一；整个韩国股市（权重向 AI 倾斜）自 6 月峰值以来已下跌约五分之二。
但无论 AI 是否会抹杀工作岗位，它都在改变我们的工作方式。许多人在家里和办公室使用它；危险不在于大规模失业的前景，而在于我们作为个体使用它的方式。
如果你是一个西装革履的顾问，而你的卖点是你所谓更聪明的大脑，那么你的部分产出被揭穿为 AI
东兰开夏路（East Lancashire Road）是英国第一条专门修建的城际公路。它于 1934 年开通，连接曼彻斯特和
我将 AI 作为研究助手，但我意识到其中存在两个严重风险。较为轻微的一个（正如那些顾问所陷入的麻烦那样）是它会胡编乱造。通过使用可靠来源核实其所述内容，可以避免普华永道（PwC）掉入的陷阱，但当人们使用它时，他们往往会停止独立思考。
劣质内容。这就是普华永道中东分公司似乎发生的情况。根据销售 AI 检测软件的 GPTZero 的说法，普华永道发布的“思想领导力”报告中包含的脚注引用了不存在的研究，且链接到的出版物无法支持其主张——这是典型的 AI 故障。
利物浦，这两座充满活力的城市在过去 150 年里一直处于英国创意、文化和工业发展的最前沿。他们凭借民众创造的音乐、艺术、新闻和文化建立了全球声誉。他们还塑造了我们的新任首相。这种创造力产生了巨大的价值。安迪·伯纳姆（Andy Burnham）必须回答的问题很简单：谁应该从中受益？
这些疑虑部分源于……之间持续存在的差距
走捷径或许更容易，但永远无法产生原创之作
科学家们在要求一组员工使用人工智能（AI）来帮助他们回答难题后，将这种现象命名为“认知投降”（cognitive surrender）。对照组则未使用AI。当AI给出正确答案时，使用者的表现优于未使用者；但由于他们不再用大脑进行现实核查，因此在AI出错时，其表现反而更差。
即便如此，这并没有让普华永道（PwC）在竞争中脱颖而出。今年早些时候，GPTZero 揭穿了安永（EY）的一份关于忠诚度积分的报告，以及一份标题十分讨巧的毕马威（KPMG）报告，名为《在代理AI时代重新定义卓越》。
创意经济产生的价值中有太多部分流向了少数几家全球科技公司，而留在创作者手中或留在英国税收系统内的部分则严重不足。政府有机会重塑这种关系。
夸张与现实。AI公司的估值要求它们必须能够改变经济，但事实并非如此。斯坦福大学的尼克·布鲁姆（Nick Bloom）教授及其同事调查了美国、英国、德国和澳大利亚的 6,000 名企业主，所有国家的调查结果都十分相似。英国的企业主认为，在过去的三年中，AI对他们公司的生产力影响微乎其微，并预计在接下来的三年中，每年将提高约 0.5% 的生产力。到目前为止，AI并未导致就业人数减少，他们预计在未来三年内，就业人数每年将下降 0.5%。这是一个正常的结果。
在那些声称我们所熟知的经济体系很快将被AI焚毁的言论中，这样的故事反而令人宽慰。埃隆·马斯克（Elon Musk）表示，AI将在 10 年内生产出每个人想要的一切，因此“金钱将不再重要”。（他还认为 AI 有 10-20% 的概率会抹除人类，但认为这是一个可以接受的小代价。）Anthropic 的掌门人、为人较为谦逊的达里奥·阿莫代（Dario Amodei）则认为，AI 能带来每年 5-10% 的 GDP 增长。这类预测取决于 AI 抢走人们的工作，这在某个炎热的下午或许令人欣慰，但……
当然，他们无法从中获益；这指向了一个有趣的趋势。大学奖励的是大脑而非品格，但在未来，奖项将不授予最聪明的人，而授予最自律的人。那些能够智能且适度地使用 AI，让 AI 处理繁琐工作而非替代思考，且愿意在思维上刻苦钻研的人，无论在教育还是生活中，都将获得最大的成功。赫拉克利特在 2,500 年前就说对了，而在 AI 时代，他的见解更具现实意义：品格决定命运。
更根本的问题在于，AI 会让你变得懒惰。你的大脑就像肌肉一样，需要通过锻炼才能变得强壮。停止努力，你的能力就会退化。一项针对使用 AI 进行结肠镜检查的医生的研究证明了这一点。在使用了 AI 之后，他们执行该项工作的能力反而不如之前。任何曾经使用纸质地图导航而现在使用谷歌地图的人，都熟悉那种失去一项技能的感觉。
竞争与市场管理局（CMA）有权强制平台与依赖于它们的出版商、音乐家和创作者之间达成公平条款。但 CMA 尚未获得充分行使这些权力所需的政治支持。如果你要与世界上规模最大的公司对抗，你需要知道有人在背后支持你。新政府必须明确且立即给予 CMA 这种支持。
AI 以更激烈的形式呈现了相同的选择。一个繁荣的 AI 产业依赖于获取高质量内容。创作者和出版商需要确信，当他们的作品被使用时会获得回报。政府必须确保英国的版权框架不会被削弱。
奈杰尔·法恩代尔（Nigel Farndale）笔记本
这个家伙吃掉了一整盒 Quality Street 巧克力，还吃掉了我们药柜里大部分的药丸和药粉。我地想象着他在上面像个疯子一样四处飞奔，可能杀死了任何挡路之狐，直到
冰箱里，我可以告诉你，那款提拉米苏既不属于我母亲也不属于我，而是一个年轻的新加坡客人的。”她继续说道，维德库姆（Widdecombe）的弱点是雪利甜点（sherry trifle），而不是提拉米苏。她甚至不会给她的猫喂提拉米苏。“你意识到你做了什么吗，你这个无赖？”她俏皮地总结道，“我每周参加六场政治/慈善/文学午宴或晚宴，现在我将会发现每一场宴会都自豪地把那糟糕的提拉米苏作为甜点端上来，而我将不得不微笑并说：‘噢，真是个可爱的惊喜，’尽管我极其讨厌那玩意儿。”
与安的一次会面，打破了平静（put a cat among the puddings）
语法与歌曲
总是对那些受过良好教育的流行巨星感到遗憾，因为他们必须在歌词中加入一些糟糕的语法，才能显得
I
这在地方层面上最为重要。随着更多权力移交给地方和区域机构，监督其决策的新闻报道变得更加重要。曼彻斯特、利物浦以及全国各地的媒体机构正在提供可靠的报道，以追究新权力结构的责任。这些企业已经准备好且愿意进行创新。他们需要的是对其内容的公平支付，这将保障他们的未来，并保护权力下放（devolution）所依赖的新闻业。
酷且前卫。米克·贾格尔（Mick Jagger，伦敦政经学院 LSE）无法“获得满足”（get no satisfaction），克里斯·马丁（Chris Martin，伦敦大学学院 UCL）唱道星星“全都是黄色的”（was all yellow），前英语教师史汀（Sting）觉得必须写出“她所做的一切都让我心动”（everything she do just turns me on）。但下一代摇滚之神不必如此，这要感谢教育大臣露西·鲍威尔（Lucy Powell），她表示 6 年级的语法和拼写测试“过于晦涩”。拼写词包括“knight”（骑士）、“through”（穿过）和“plaque”（纪念匾额）。不过，后者是有用的，正如盖尔斯·布兰德雷斯（Gyles Brandreth）在 1995 年为他选区的一家医院揭幕时发现的那样。那块匾额上写着：“这场瘟疫（plague）由盖尔斯·布兰德雷斯揭幕。”
——寒战和出汗的戒断症状开始了。这将被称为“寒冷鼠类”（Cold mousy）。
棋后
犹蒂·波尔加（Judit Polgar），匈牙利国际象棋特级大师，也是史上最强的女性棋手，
J
T
太快分享一个关于安·维德库姆的轻率故事吗？我认为不会，并且怀疑她也会这么认为，但
被匈牙利新任总理彼得·马加亚尔（Peter Magyar）询问是否愿意担任国家的下一任总统。她
由您来评判。
拒绝了，我很庆幸，因为这可能
几年前，为了给一家杂志做人物简介，我去她南伦敦的家中采访。由于我们的摄影师还没有拍完，她告诉我先去厨房给自己泡杯咖啡等待。我打开冰箱门寻找牛奶，以我那恶毒的记者本能，很高兴地看到好几个家庭装的提拉米苏。我想，这绝对要写进文章里。我偶然发现了安·维德库姆的秘密爱好。
老鼠客人
冰不仅卫生而且高度
这意味着她将撤回她在 chess.com 上作为虚拟教练的服务。
这些不是抽象的问题。它们关乎英国是奖励创造力和企业精神，还是允许价值不受限制地流向少数全球把关人。它们关乎人们是否能获得民主所需的可靠信息。
M
聪明且可爱，这就是为什么我使用人道主义陷阱。最近我释放了一只半截尾巴的老鼠在花园尽头，结果第二天早上发现它又回到了陷阱里，眨着眼睛看着我。我把它带到了附近的国防部（MoD）训练场朗姆尔（Longmoor）。朗姆尔也是我释放“超级鼠”的地方。
关于虚拟犹蒂（Virtual Judit）的一些事情
也许，为了准备明年社交媒体的禁令，6 年级的学生们应该人手一份《泰晤士报》的风格指南。我觉得其中的条目和在 Instagram 上刷屏一样令人上瘾。比如这条：“shambles”（混乱），严格来说，是指屠宰场。而 octopus（章鱼）的复数形式是 octopuses 而非 octopi。此外，你在船上服役应该是 serve in a ship 而非 on it。翻页，翻页，翻页。但关于除了提到皇家海军舰船外绝不能使用“Union Jack”（米字旗）的规定纯属迷信，就像认为大胆拆分不定式永远是错误的观点一样。
带着匈牙利口音的英语，时而坚定，时而低沉，且经常带着一种模糊的嘲讽，听得我晕头转向。前几天，她
东兰开夏路连接了两座创造出全球认可价值之工作的城市。伯纳姆有机会确保这些工作得到合理的报酬。而这一切始于支持值得信赖的新闻业及其所属的创意经济。
在我的文章发表几天后，一封信寄到了，我看向签名处：“您愤怒的，安·威德科姆 (Ann Widdecombe)”。我深吸一口气，从头开始阅读。“如果你没有偷偷窥视，而是向我询问关于我……的内容”
在我的 AirPods 中低语道：“你的骑士被牵制住了，我可以攻击它。你绝不想这样。”
请访问我们的印刷画廊 timescartoons.com 购买《泰晤士报》漫画的印刷版或签名版，或致电 0800 912 7136
让市场来选择资金的去向。在资本主义进入的几乎每一个领域，它都有着卓越的记录，不仅能最大限度地增加桌面上的资金，还能有效地部署这些资金，并从中产生巨大的额外乘数效应。
这反映了英国文化生活中广泛共识的一种倾向：反市场、反资本主义，以及最终的反成功。
这根植于某种更为令人沮丧的英欧特质：那种萎缩的、致残的、阻塞的对赚钱的厌恶，以及那种自以为正义的、为了纯洁而牺牲利润的欲望。
本周关于足球“美国化”的讨论。但美国体育由旨在分享财富和促进公平的规则所监管。
杰拉德·贝克 (Gerard Baker)
所以，请免去那些愤怒、谴责以及关于亵渎“美丽游戏”的道德高地式修辞。尤其是请免去那种陈旧的英国妄想——认为“利润”不知为何是一种玷污所有触及之物的肮脏之物；这种观点与历史证据如此背道而驰，且如此破坏机遇，它应该被送进一个“糟糕想法博物馆”。
我想，归根结底这是一个选择。你可以选择寻求更多私人资金，见证这项运动的增长和改善，即便有些人因此变得极其富有。或者你可以保护你珍视的文化，将其与市场纪律和财务机遇隔离开来，使其保持纯洁，成为过去之物。欧洲对后者的坚持可能会让詹尼的计划失败，但这并不意味着这个想法是错误的。
我足够年长，记得在邪恶的利润动机主导这项运动之前，去看足球赛是什么样子。我记得当时是站着的（没有座位），双脚浸在那些不愿排队去使用脏污不堪、溢出的厕所的球迷留下的尿液中。我记得在人群前仆后拥时的恐惧。我记得当我想要在安全的家中关注比赛时，必须在周六下午三点听一个声音单薄的收音机，或者在七小时后的《比赛日》(Match of the Day) 节目中捕捉几分钟的比赛片段。
@gerardtbaker
当然，在这个过程中有些人确实变得富可敌国。但在扩大资金总量的同时，他们也为所有人创造了更多。抱歉，社会主义者们，但事实就是这样。贪婪本身并非好事。但是
L
仔细听。那些沉闷的撞击声，是那些持有“正确”观点的人在面对国际足联及其老板最新的激进举措时，气得晕倒在沙发上的声音。詹尼·因凡蒂诺提出的将世界杯业务的一部分出售给私人投资者的建议——更常被称作一个“方案”，甚至是一个“骗局”——所引发的文化、媒体和政治领袖的反应，就好像唐纳德·特朗普宣布要收购英国王室的股份一样。
对此的反对意见具有典型的英国特色，令人沮丧：一种对金钱的厌恶。
世界杯是全球顶级的体育盛事。国际足联今年通过这一盛会获得了或许 $13 billion 的毛收入，主要来自电视版权的销售。但这仍然意味着有数十亿美元的潜在利润未被挖掘。该赛事可以规模更大，触达更多观众。电视公司在争取版权时，面临着来自能支付更高价格的大型科技公司日益激烈的竞争。潜力巨大。而且，这并不意味着我们必须接受所谓的“补水休息时间”或 27 分钟的中场秀。
事实上，当你观察美国和欧洲的经济时，可以看到更大规模的后果。在美国，对“丑陋利润”的追求带来了快速增长、动态技术以及领先世界的繁荣——同时也带来了数以亿计的人观看的体育赛事。而在欧洲，为了保护自己免受“邪恶资本主义”的影响，出现了停滞，一种向被遗忘之境的昏暗缓慢爬行。这种做法在欧洲的科技产业、金融机构、能源供应、工业生产力以及人均收入方面都取得了“如此成功”。我相信它在足球领域也会同样有效。
在没有让那些品德高尚且贪婪程度较低的人获利的情况下，这种情况发生的次数少之可怜。
但那是纯粹的！球场可能像牛 pastures，看台像牲口棚，许多球员像挽运马——但至少我们拥有纯粹性！
当然，我并不完全信任詹尼及其伙伴。但我有信心，即使他们在捞足好处，资金也会被产生并引导至富有成效的事业中；较小的国家可能会从中极大获益，从而使足球运动和公众受益。在过去的 20 年里，非洲足球的崛起扩大了这项运动的视野，给数以亿计的人带来了快乐，并为有天赋的年轻人创造了新机会。
詹尼身上没什么值得喜欢的地方，我不会浪费一字去为其人品或动机辩护。国际足联作为一个组织，以及许多在美国权力中心（无论是体育、政治还是金融）徘徊的掠夺者，更没有什么可喜欢的。但人们很容易让对这些人物的天然厌恶影响对他们任何提议的判断。对这一想法近乎普遍的谴责是
许多人不喜欢那些帮助英超联赛成为世界上最成功且最赚钱的联赛的富豪老板。但有人认为这项运动没有变得更好吗？而且难道不能变得更好吗？当然，可以通过监管商业行为来防止过度，并确保产生的部分额外收入能被广泛分享。关于这一点一直有许多抱怨
当大量资金被白白浪费时，你可以做三件事之一：为了某种精神纯洁而将其留在那里；将其交给非营利性的金融门外汉，让他们通过个人和政治心血来丰富自己并分配资金；或者
其现状 美国
我担心对此的反对是
读者来信请发送至 letters@thetimes.co.uk 或邮寄至 1 London Bridge Street, London SE1 9GF
读者来信
先生，关于将采购作为工业政策手段的论点，比奥利弗·卡姆（Oliver Kamm）所暗示的要复杂得多（见“希利的‘购买英国货’计划是经济衰退的快车道”，7月28日）。美国一直利用采购资金来支持新技术的开发和试用，特别是在早期应用领域为国防的软件、人工智能、通信和电子产品等方面，且不损害随后的运营采购决策。一种类似的方法——基于 2017 年特蕾莎·梅委托我开展的审查报告《利用公共采购增长创新经济》中的建议——将使公共部门和更广泛的经济共同获益。大卫·康奈尔，剑桥大学法官商学院
名为“活得更久、更好”（Live Longer Better）的项目。每个个体和社区都需要采取紧急行动。穆尔·格雷爵士教授，牛津长寿项目。先生，我同意托尼·巴滕（Tony Batten）（信件，7月29日）的观点，即青少年因焦虑和多动症（ADHD）等情况申请个人独立付款（PIP）是非常令人惊讶的。残疾已成为一个庞大的产业，在 16-24 岁的年轻人中，有 18% 被正式认定为残疾人，而剑桥大学的学生中这一比例为 20 到 25%。其中约一半是心理健康问题。
先生，您关于社会护理需求增加所带来挑战的文章（7月30日）没有提到一个基于证据的机会，即可以将社会护理的需求至少降低 10%。
不可收拾的程度。我们将年轻人贴上残疾标签并向其提供福利，而不是帮助他们就业，这是在损害年轻人的利益。费奥娜·康尼什博士，剑桥全科医生。先生，我在网上注册参加布莱克斯托克的凯西女男爵关于社会护理的“大讨论”，结果发现我只能写大约 20 个单词，且必须以“我们应该……”开头。这很难被定义为一场“对话”，更不能被描述为人民的民主参与。帕梅拉·格兰特博士，伯克希尔郡戈林-翁-泰晤士。先生，许多家庭成员将生命中的大部分时间用于支持他们所爱的人。为了照顾亲属，他们会放弃工作和社交生活。还有一个未被发掘的群体，即那些专注于自己生活、很少关注这些护理者牺牲的兄弟姐妹和朋友。一点点体贴就能极大地鼓励护理者。感谢的话语、小礼物甚至暂休护理，都将给护理者带来巨大的帮助。安德鲁·莱登，萨里郡东霍斯利
正常的生物衰老过程并不是导致残疾和依赖并从而产生护理需求的主要原因。牛津长寿项目确定了另外三个过程，所有这些过程都可以通过干预来减少对社会护理的需求。首先是体能下降，这主要是由 45 年在工作和车内久坐引起的。其次是疾病：主要疾病并非源于父母的基因，而是源于我们自出生以来所生活的物理和社会环境。第三个因素是来自年龄歧视的社会压力，尤其是匮乏。
先生，针对杰里米·谢尔斯教授的信件（7月29日），有必要澄清乔德雷尔银行天文台正在发生的情况。科学与技术设施委员会（STFC）做出了一个艰难的决定，即从 2028 年起，将不再支持部分基于乔德雷尔银行的一个项目——e-Merlin。这一决定并未取消对乔德雷尔银行天文台的所有资金支持，该天文台由曼彻斯特大学拥有并运营。该大学已确认，乔德雷尔银行参与中心不受影响，并继续向游客开放。
帮助有需要之人的原则是光荣的，但正如移民问题一样，当人数过多时，提供帮助的门槛和标准必须进行调整。目前，16 到 24 岁人群中超过 20% 的人自我认定为神经多样性群体，例如患有自闭症、ADHD（注意力缺陷多动障碍）或阅读障碍。我不认为将这些终身特性纳入残疾类别是正确的。在这些状况中，总会有处于极其严重状态的人，他们确实需要帮助。但在严重受影响者与“神经典型”者之间的灰色地带正在扩大至
幸运的是，有强有力的证据表明，提高身体素质、降低疾病风险（包括将痴呆症风险降低近一半）以及减轻年龄歧视和社会匮乏等社会决定因素的影响，永远不之太晚。健康与社会关怀委员会在其关于健康老龄化的报告中奠定了政策基础，且 NHS 已启动了一项
尽管 e-Merlin 对科学做出了重大贡献，但 STFC 在通货膨胀和其他成本上涨的压力下，决定采取这一措施以保护对下一代科学能力的投资，例如在国际上具有重要意义的平方公里阵列 (Square Kilometre Array)，其总部位于约德尔班克 (Jodrell Bank) 且支撑约 200 个就业岗位。
先生，安德鲁·比伦 (Andrew Billen) 暗示娜迦·蒙切蒂 (Naga Munchetty) 及其早间节目主持人同事的境遇并不总是那么快乐（《泰晤士报》2，7月 29 日）。他说他们凌晨 4.30 就起床，为谁能获得最重要的采访而争吵，然后必须在“感到永久性精疲力竭”的同时与共同主持人进行闲谈。我可以向他保证，为了让这些节目播出而彻夜工作的制作团队，比主持人感到疲惫得多。他们也没有每年领取 £360,000 薪水且拥有“丰厚的自由职业副业”这种慰藉。这一定会让蒙切蒂等人精神为之振作一些。尼尔·贝内特 (Neil Bennett)，英国广播公司记者 1971-2006 年；伦敦 SW12
学徒制应当扩大。我们必须像那些时间紧迫的贸易从业者一样思考，并给予他们支持。
这些决定将使 STFC 处于可持续的长期基础之上，保护关键的国家能力，并确保投资继续集中在能够为研究人员、企业和英国公众带来最大长期影响的领域。格雷厄姆·布莱尔 (Grahame Blair) 教授，STFC 计划执行董事
“硬帽”职业
先生，我全心同意爱德华·卢卡斯 (Edward Lucas) 的观点，即“既然英国人被列为最糟糕的旅行者之列，我们每个人都有责任尊重当地文化并减少我们的影响”（《旅游不仅仅是交易：轻装前行》，评论，7月 30 日）。他特别指出了“我们作为国家大使的角色”。我清楚地记得 1968 年 7 月，当时我 14 岁，我和父亲像那时的人们一样，从伦敦的克伦威尔路 (Cromwell Road) 乘公交车前往希思罗机场。在刚参加完德语 O-level 考试后，我正前往不来梅，与我的新朋友汉斯-阿尔布雷希特 (Hans-Albrecht) 进行为期 28 天（两周）的交流访问。坐在公交车上层的第一排，父亲严肃地告诉我，我将成为国家的使者，而这一点应该是指导我行为的首要准则。马修·赫顿 (Matthew Hutton) 牧师，诺福克郡切德格雷夫 (Chedgrave)
先生，听到首相谈论“硬帽”职业以及我们应如何鼓励更多年轻人从事贸易学徒工作，令人耳目一新（新闻，7月 28 日；读者来信，7月 29 日和 30 日）。我们现在需要的是对那些将雇佣这些年轻人的雇主提供支持。
John Mewett Screwfix 首席执行官
先生，针对迈克尔·戈夫（Michael Gove）关于“工党的教育政策是‘让愚蠢回归’”（7月30日）的评论，我认为采取一种更具包容性的方法，在学术科目之外涵盖技术、机械和创意科目，将防止年轻人在学校里感到被排斥。作为一名创意艺术专业的毕业教师实习生，我被教导要考虑年轻人学习的不同方式——听觉、视觉、动手操作——并激励他们。我发现这种方法非常成功，因为它允许孩子们找到一个能够脱颖而出的领域。 Jo Humphreys 汉普郡，莱明顿
先生，我热爱英语教学，我所在地区的许多小企业雇员——他们全是我以前的学生——记得斯坦贝克和莎士比亚是提升生命质量的良药。具体的技能是另一项职责。两者都应该存在。 Pat Rudkins 埃塞克斯郡，厄尔斯科尔恩
该部门的绝大多数是由中小企业组成的，其中许多是个体经营者。Screwfix 的研究显示，他们希望招收学徒，但流程的每个阶段都过于复杂，从文书工作、招聘到管理学徒的工作量。这经常让他们望而却步。计划中的财政补贴虽然受欢迎，但正是这样一个典型的例子。
先生，关于“有机走地鸡蛋‘对环境最不利’”（7月29日）的调查结果凸显了工业规模化养殖在碳排放与动物福利之间涉及的权衡。对于小规模养殖来说并非如此，法国城镇科尔马（Colmar）可以证明这一点。当地政府自 2015 年起一直向居民免费分发鸡：由于减少了食物浪费，碳排放更低，母鸡更快乐，人们也同样快乐。 Eugene Malthouse 诺丁汉大学研究员（以及极小规模的养鸡户）
先生，丹尼尔·芬克尔斯坦（Daniel Finkelstein）的文章（《为什么强制投票如此糟糕》, 7月29日；信件, 7月30日）中的关键句子是：“首先，强迫人们投票绝不可能增加他们对政治家的信任。”信任可能源于让投票变得更加便捷。自从 1993 年工党的普兰特选举制度委员会成立以来，我一直认为，在尝试引入周末投票且失败之前，不应考虑强制投票。 Rooker 勋爵 上议院
先生，丹尼尔·芬克尔斯坦认为强制投票是一个“糟糕的想法”是对的。在投票制度强制执行的澳大利亚，一直存在少量但显著的“驴票”（donkey vote）。研究表明，这有利于那些名字在字母表排在前面的候选人，因为“驴子”们只需在选票最顶端的名字上打勾。英国的低投票率是一个严重问题，尤其是在年轻人中。但最好的应对方式是通过说服而非强迫。 Sir Vernon Bogdanor KCL 政府学教授
高达 £8,000 的雇主支持资金被分散在不同的计划中，每个计划都有自己的标准。结果是：去年招收了学徒的贸易从业者中，有 48% 的人声称由于系统过于复杂而没有获得资助。资金支持应该是无缝的，并激励人们招收年轻人，而不是设置障碍。应通过学院或提供者向他们提供直接的人力资源支持资金，并采用灵活的——
致《泰晤士报》的信件必须具有独家性，并可能经过编辑。请提供详细地址和白天的联系电话。
最引人注目的特征是颅骨，其呈现出一种极罕见的对称性严重变薄状态，这在欧洲极为少见，但在古埃及第四至第19王朝的贵族中非常普遍。在 1907 年，他讨论了这一特殊现象，并得出结论：颅骨变薄可能是由于长期佩戴沉重的假发所致。“我们并不了解青铜时代佩戴的头饰种类，”他补充道，“但如果这一理论成立，邓斯特布尔（Dunstable）女士的颅骨状态表明，她习惯于佩戴假发或其他某种沉重的头饰。”
以及骨制工具。去年，另一个小丘被发掘，但除了此前挖掘出的东西外，几乎没有其他发现。
先生，我已故的父母在 20 世纪 50 年代听过芬兰沼泽地（the Fens）农民们祈祷的这段简单祷告词。也许我们现在也该祈求这段话：“主啊，我们祈求降雨，不是那种撕裂般、将自然之心犁得遍体鳞伤的暴雨，而是一种轻柔的、滋滋作响的细雨，在白天和大部分夜晚持续不断。阿门。” 艾德里安·迪克逊（Adrian Dixon），剑桥
本月，对 5 号小丘（最北端的一个）的挖掘工作重新启动，发现该处基本完好。在近地表处发现了不少于十个侵入性墓葬，显然属于青铜时代中期，其中一些是火葬，另一些则不是。但它们似乎是同一时期的，因为一个青铜时代骨灰瓮与其中一具遗体紧密关联——该遗体是一名典型的强壮、宽头男性，身高 5 英尺 8 英寸。最终，在白垩岩中切出的椭圆形坑内发现了约公元前 1200 年的一次原葬——这是一名地中海类型、身材纤细的中年女性骨骸，身高 5 英尺 2 英寸，身体向右侧剧烈蜷曲。在她去世很多年前，她的左前臂靠近手腕处曾骨折过。
摘自《泰晤士报》 july 31, 1926
大学学院与医院人类学会（University College and Hospital Anthropological Society）在邓斯特布尔的一个圆坟丘挖掘过程中，有了一项非同寻常的发现。五年前，一群来自该学院的医学专业学生接手了邓斯特布尔地区的考古工作，此前该工作因当地知名古物研究者沃丁顿·史密斯（Mr Worthington Smith）先生的去世而中断。他们发掘了五个小丘中的一个，发现该处此前已被开启多次，除了几片燧石碎片外，所有物品已被清理干净。
先生，那位计算休止符、吹完自己的音符随后就去酒吧的图巴演奏者的来信（Jul 30）让我想起了在曼彻斯特音乐厅对面“不列颠保护者”（Britons Protection）酒吧喝酒的情景。铜管乐手们会在演出期间冲进酒吧，一边计算休止符一边喝一大杯啤酒，然后飞奔回去吹奏自己的部分。令人印象深刻的时间掌控力。简·西利尔斯（Jan Cilliers），伦敦 N13
《泰晤士报》严肃对待关于编辑内容的投诉。我们致力于遵守独立新闻标准组织（“IPSO”）的规则条例以及 IPSO 强制执行的《编辑实践准则》。修正或澄清请求请发送至 feedback@thetimes.co.uk
埃利奥特·史密斯（Elliot Smith）教授表示，
thetimes.com/archive
每日通用登记册
英国：大曼彻斯特市长选举结果公布；英国国家统计局发布的按婚姻状况和居住安排划分的人口估计值。
自然笔记
热浪演变为干旱；英国大部分地区变得枯黄。体育场草坪和过度修剪的草坪被晒成了白色。
凯西女男爵（Baroness Casey）指出，近四分之一的英国人自我报告为官方认定残疾。她质疑该定义的覆盖范围是否过宽，这一点是正确的。
遗骸目前正在大学学院进行研究，最终将存放于邓斯特布尔博物馆。
1910 年，霍利·克里彭医生（Dr Hawley Crippen）及其情妇埃塞尔·勒内夫（Ethel Le Neve）因谋杀其妻而被逮捕。这是在逮捕犯罪分子时首次使用无线电报。
埃米莉亚·福克斯（Emilia Fox，见图），演员，《沉默的证人》（Silent Witness，2004-26），52岁；维多利亚·阿扎伦卡（Victoria Azarenka），网球运动员，前世界第一，37岁；迈克尔·比恩（Michael Biehn），演员，《终结者》（The Terminator，1984），70岁；（安格拉）比林汉姆男爵夫人（Baroness (Angela) Billingham），文化、媒体和体育影子发言人（2010-13），87岁；
肯尼·伯雷尔（Kenny Burrell），爵士吉他手，95岁；威尔·钱皮恩（Will Champion），酷玩乐队（Coldplay）鼓手兼词曲作者，48岁；杰拉尔丁·查普林（Geraldine Chaplin），演员，《齐瓦戈医生》（Doctor Zhivago，1965），82岁；安东尼奥·孔蒂（Antonio Conte），足球运动员，意大利队（1994-2000）及主教练，切尔西足球俱乐部（2016-18），托特纳姆热刺（2021-23），57岁；诺曼·库克（Norman Cook，Fatboy Slim），DJ及唱片制作人，63岁；乔纳森·迪姆比（Jonathan Dimbleby），广播员及历史学家，82岁；（约翰）戴森勋爵（Lord (John) Dyson），大法官（Master of the Rolls）及民事司法主管（2012-16），83岁；丹尼尔·埃文斯（Daniel Evans），皇家莎士比亚公司联合艺术总监，53岁；爱德华·吉莱斯皮（Edward Gillespie），格洛斯特郡副主礼官， - 74岁；约翰·古德巴迪（John Goodbody），《泰晤士报》体育新闻记者（1986-2007），83岁；埃冯·古拉贡-考利（Evonne Goolagong Cawley），网球运动员，温网单打冠军（1971, 1980）， - 75岁；卡尔·格林（Karl Green），音乐家，赫曼兄弟乐队（Herman’s Hermits），《I’m Into Something Good》（1964），79岁；费格斯·亨德森（Fergus Henderson），厨师、作家，《The Whole Beast》（1999），63岁；罗伯特·巴尔钦（Robert Balchin），林菲尔德勋爵（Lord Lingfield），高等教育机构主席，84岁；安德鲁·马尔（Andrew Marr），记者，《新政治家》（New Statesman）特约编辑，节目主持人，《安德鲁·马尔秀》，英国广播公司 1（2005-21），67岁；J.K. 罗琳（JK Rowling），《哈利·波特》系列图书作者，61岁；卫斯理·史奈普斯（Wesley Snipes），演员，《刀锋》电影三部曲，64岁；马克·汤普森爵士（Sir Mark Thompson），CNN Worldwide（媒体公司）董事长兼首席执行官，Ancestry（族谱公司）董事长，英国广播公司总干事（2004-12），69岁；（尼古拉斯）特鲁勋爵（Lord (Nicholas) True），上议院影子领袖，75岁；罗伊·沃克（Roy Walker），喜剧演员及广播员，《Catchphrase》（1986-98），86岁。
当政府在寻求应对棘手的制度性失败或看似无法解决的社会问题时，往往倾向于召集布莱克斯托克的凯西男爵夫人（Baroness Casey of Blackstock）。这位在社会政策领域拥有数十年经验的跨党派贵族，长期以来展现出一种能够审视证据并剖开层层含糊其辞与借口的能力。她随后的分析通常涉及将困难的问题置于光照之下，揭露那些社会虽有感知但此前未曾正式承认的、半掩埋的真相。
残疾津贴：个人独立支付（Pip）及其相关福利有一套独立的正式申请流程。然而，根据一个定义模糊的指标，它确实代表了那些现在认为自己属于残疾人士的群体。遗憾的是，这一点体现在被授予Pip的劳动年龄申请人数增加，且大多数情况下无需面对面访谈。增长最快的是患有焦虑和抑郁等精神健康状况的年轻人。
她表示，她将要求公众“参与做出几十年来一直被回避的艰难选择”，通过审视谁应该获得支持，以及国家整体如何更公平地为成年人社会护理提供资金。然而，凯西（Casey）自己已经通过一个惊人且坦率的观察开启了这场对话，她指出残疾福利网已被广泛拉伸，以至于可能变得不可持续。
在一次广播采访中，她反思了由就业与养老金部（DWP）开展的《家庭资源调查》所提出的数据。这是一项自我报告调查，受访者会被问及是否患有持续一年或预计将持续一年以上的精神或身体疾病。他们还会被问及这是否降低了他们执行日常活动的能力。如果这两个问题的答案都是“是”，他们将被视为残疾。凯西观察到，在这项自愿调查中，大约有 16.8 million 人符合 DWP 对残疾的定义。“我不买账，”她说，“我也符合条件，而我现在就坐在这里。我并没有残疾，但如果我根据我的医疗记录来回答这些问题，我就符合条件。”
例如，她 2016 年关于融合的审查发现，由于历史上高水平的移民以及政府在推广共同英国价值观方面的放任态度，社会凝聚力受到了损害。她在萨拉·埃弗拉德（Sarah Everard）被杀后，对伦敦警察厅开展的 2023 年审查揭露了该厅内部存在的厌女症、种族主义以及审核失败问题。而她 2025 年针对群体性儿童性剥削和虐待的国家审计，则凸显了一种令人震惊的体制文化——年幼的强奸和虐待受害者不仅没有得到当局的保护，而且往往被积极地定罪为“儿童妓女”。
尽管个人独立支付（Pip）目前正处于蒂姆斯（Timms）审查之中，但其用途及潜在的误用也涉及凯西提出的更广泛的问题：“我们应该照顾谁，以及如何照顾？”到 2030. 年，Pip 的年度开支将超过 £40 billion。正如她所强调的，有些面临“极其严重残疾”的人正难以满足其需求，且所需的帮助多于目前所获得的。但 Pip 准入门槛的放宽，以及重病患者与那些处于心理健康问题较轻端的劳动年龄申领人之间类别的模糊，可能会从前者那里夺走急需的资源，并为后者制造依赖陷阱。一场全国性的对话以及更清晰的界定早已刻不容缓。
今日生日
现在她正领导一项关于社会护理的审查，该审查的结论时间已提前一年至 2027. 年。其名为“关于护理的大对话”。
DWP 迅速指出，这样一个数字——近四分之一的人口——并不意味着所有此类受访者都有资格获得
反犹主义的新激增令英国蒙羞，必须予以严肃对待
英国获得了一项不光彩的“成就”。去年，在以色列以外拥有显著犹太人口的七个国家中，英国的反犹事件激增幅度最大。根据 J7（反反犹太主义大社区工作组）的一份报告，自 2022 年以来，澳大利亚、阿根廷、加拿大、法国、德国、英国和美国的反犹事件增加了 136 per cent。部分国家报告去年此类事件有所下降，但在英国，该增长率上升了 5 per cent。
在担任首相期间，基尔·斯塔默爵士（Sir Keir Starmer）在宣布拨款 £250 million 用于增加犹太社区的警察巡逻和安保工作后获得了赞誉。作为首相，他还委任退休高级公务员大卫·贝尔爵士（Sir David Bell）调查教育领域中的反犹主义，该调查将于今年秋季结束。警方在根除抗议活动中的仇恨方面更为积极。安迪·伯纳姆（Andy Burnham）必须延续这一做法，同时寻找追究社交平台责任的方法。
英国被单独点名并不令人意外。自从10月7日以色列遭受恐怖袭击以及随后的加沙战争以来，反犹主义已渗透到日常事件中。在伦敦市中心频繁举行的游行中，潜藏着反犹太人和反以色列的情绪。由于大型科技公司拒绝采取行动阻止仇恨传播，社交媒体已变成一个仇恨的 cesspit。该报告的作者之一玛丽娜·罗森堡（Marina Rosenberg）正确地指出，反犹太袭击“始于社交媒体上的言论”。
报告发现，去年是海外犹太人遭遇反犹袭击最严重的一年，规模达三十多年之最。暴力事件比2022年增加了 97 %。在过去的一年里，全球范围内发生了一系列致命袭击，包括在光明节活动期间的邦代海滩（Bondi beach）枪击案，以及在赎罪日期间的希顿公园（Heaton Park）犹太会堂袭击案。今年3月，戈尔德斯格林（Golders Green）的犹太救护车遭到汽油弹袭击。这些事件仅仅是深层仇恨的冰山一角，这种仇恨一直在滋生，并于近期加剧。工作组得出结论，反犹主义已达到了第二次世界大战以来未见的高度。
然而，仍然存在一个更深层次的问题，即如何应对这样一个令人沮丧的现实：这个国家中仍有太多人在对待犹太人的问题上持有不可接受的观点。阻止仇恨蔓延是第一步，但更好的教育必须成为其中一部分。这需要地方议会、学校、大学和雇主以及政府做出更专注的努力。最古老的仇恨竟然在持续地获得新生，这令人深感沮丧。犹太礼拜场所常规化的安保措施已成为常见景象，这应当让英国感到羞愧并采取行动。
本周发生的一起事件捕捉到了这种阴暗氛围的常态化：伦敦哈克尼区（Hackney）决定结束其与以色列海法市维持数十年的结好城市关系。这个由绿党领导的议会采取的表演性行为已经足够糟糕，而且它为海法市设定的回复截止日期竟是10月7日——这一天是大屠杀以来单次犹太人遇害最严重事件的周年纪念日。这反映出哈克尼区区长佐伊·加贝特（Zoë Garbett）完全缺乏理解力和共情心。她已对选择该日期表示道歉，但仍将推进解除结好关系。
今日之思
通过关闭一家世界著名的研究机构来每年节省区区 £2.8 百万英镑，这正是国家认可的短视行为。乔德雷尔班克（Jodrell Bank）著名的洛弗尔望远镜（Lovell Telescope）是英国最大的望远镜，能够深入宇宙之底，并帮助绘制跨越数十亿光年的暗物质图谱，然而科学技术设施委员会（Science and Technology Facilities Council）的账房先生们却看不见自家门口一个繁荣且历史悠久的品牌的价值。通过撤回对 e-Merlin（总部设在乔德雷尔班克的英国国家射电天文网络）的资金支持，他们是在从望远镜的错误一端向下窥视。
邻近的曼彻斯特大学的布赖安·考克斯（Brian Cox）称其为“毁灭性且不可逆转的削减”。
在伯纳德·洛弗尔（Bernard Lovell）将切希尔郡的一块原野变成全球射电天文学中心近 80 年后，这座地标依然处于英国卓越科学的核心，吸引着人才，激励着年轻人，并提出最深奥的问题。作为联合国教科文组织世界遗产地，它向世界传递着雄心，而其发现同样在国防和国家安全方面具有用途。
英国每年的福利开支约为 £350 billion。因此，停止约德尔银行（Jodrell Bank）运行所节省的资金仅相当于大约五分钟的福利支出。或者相当于每 15 分钟偿还国债的金额。除非英国打算作为一个在严肃科学领域有所建树的国家而关门大吉，否则政府难道不能拿出300万英镑来资助该国最重要的天文台吗？上一次约德尔银行面临威胁是在 2008, 年，《泰晤士报》当时发起了一场活动来维护它。现在不得不再次这样做，实在令人遗憾。
最后一言
削减其资金将是一个严重的错误。难怪近 80% 的早年职业物理学家在考虑离开英国去海外从事研究。难怪皇家天文学会感到“震惊和沮丧”，而教授
“一致性是缺乏想象力者的最后避难所。”——奥斯卡·王尔德，爱尔兰作家，发表于《帕尔马尔公报》， 1885 年。
“当它崩溃时，将在一天之内崩溃，”他在《新共和》网站上表示。
马克·本内茨（Marc Bennetts）写道，总统有充分的理由恐惧这个传统上被视为动荡的时节。
苹果党（Yabloko）领袖尼古拉·雷巴科夫（Nikolai Rybakov）表示，虽然乌克兰的袭击正让全国神经紧张并给经济带来压力，但它们不太可能在改变公众看法方面起到巨大作用。苹果党是俄罗斯唯一一个尚未被克里姆林宫宣布为非法且反对战争的政党。“每个人都说这很糟糕，但他们得出的结论各不相同。有些人倾向于和平，而另一些人则倾向于加强普京的地位。他们变得更加激进，”他说。
根据 T.S. 艾略特的说法，四月是最残酷的一个月，但许多俄罗斯人恐惧的是八月的到来。
被称为“黑色”或“被诅咒的”八月，一年中的第八个月传统上给俄罗斯带来了动荡，从 1991 年苏联强硬派试图发动政变，到 2000, 年（普京执政第一年）库尔斯克核潜艇沉没。
然而，对普京的不满显然在上升。根据政府关联的民调机构 FOM 的数据，即便是在官方支持率中，本月在单周内也下降了 5 个百分点，至 66%，这是自战争开始以来的最低水平。
随后的八月带来了更多苦难，包括致命的洪水和山火、恐怖袭击、飞机失事，以及 2009 年萨亚诺-舒申斯卡亚水电站的一次爆炸，导致 75 人死亡。 2024 年 8 月，乌克兰军队跨境进入西部的库尔斯克地区，将克里姆林宫发起的战争带回了俄罗斯本土。
曾任俄罗斯政府演讲撰稿人的政治分析师阿巴斯·加利亚莫夫（Abbas Gallyamov）声称，这次民调是克里姆林宫计划的一部分，旨在掩盖对俄罗斯领导人支持率更剧烈的下滑。
普京总统在克里姆林宫大殿接见国家杜马代表
“ 66% 这个数字大约是真实数据的两倍，”他声称。“由于每个人都在报道这次民调，全世界都被说服俄罗斯大多数人都支持普京。而当时机成熟时，FOM 会宣布支持率开始上升，”被克里姆林宫指定为“外国代理人”的加利亚莫夫说。
普京有理由恐惧这个八月。多年来，克里姆林宫的宣传将其塑造为唯一能确保国家安全的政治家，但他在 2022 年决定入侵乌克兰，导致俄罗斯腹地几乎每天都遭到袭击。石油设施化为烟尘，而该国最大的在线零售商 Wildberries 的大型仓库也成为目标，企图以此瘫痪银行系统。
系统在面对日益严重的问题时的无能，”她说道。
尽管斯塔诺瓦亚（Stanovaya）表示，经济和社会冲突迫使普京取消入侵乌克兰的希望微乎其微（如果说有的话），但她认为他的政权面临瓦解的风险。
在约翰·科宁（John Cornyn）和汤姆·蒂利斯（Thom Tillis）这两位分别代表德克萨斯州和北卡罗来纳州的参议员表示尚未准备好支持布兰奇（Blanche）后，确认其职位的投票在最后一刻被推迟。共和党在参议院拥有 53-47 的多数席位，因此即使是小规模的反叛也可能给特朗普带来麻烦。
2014 年，已故的克里姆林宫政治操盘手格列布·帕夫洛夫斯基（Gleb Pavlovsky）曾表示，预测该政权能维持多久是“不可能”的，但其终结将会以令人眩晕的速度到来。帕夫洛夫斯基在帮助普京获得权力后，在意识到普京想要终身统治时转而反对他。
自 2023, 年去世的帕夫洛夫斯基在十多年前被问及普京统治突然崩溃后将由什么样的政权继承权力以来，在这方面几乎没有什么变化。
“托德·布兰奇（Todd Blanche）是一颗巨星，每个人都知道！”特朗普写道，“他有潜力成为有史以来最伟大的司法部长之一。然而，德克萨斯的约翰·科宁，”
他的回答是？ “就用这一份。”
教皇利奥：我热爱美国，但我不认为自己是美国人 第 31 页
大规模杀手启发新一代极端分子 第 32 页
MAHMUT SERDAR ALAKUS/ANADOLU/GETTY IMAGES
美国社会主义者旨在关闭监狱并摒弃总统制
……并且全部获胜。当市长宣布这是其当选标志着一场政治运动开始的证据时，纽约各地响起了“DSA”的口号。
凯蒂·鲍尔斯（Katy Balls）报道称，该运动的思想虽然激进，但正在赢得支持并已掌握权力。
DSA 的候选人在其他初选contest中也获胜了，主要集中在民主党的安全席位上。在科罗拉多州，梅拉特·基罗斯（Melat Kiros）击败了执政 30 年的戴安娜·德盖特（Diana DeGette）。在华盛顿，获得 DSA 支持的简妮斯·刘易斯·乔治（Janeese Lewis George）赢得了她的竞争。下周，与 DSA 有联系的阿卜杜勒·埃尔-赛义德（Abdul El-Sayed）将在密歇根州与现任民主党人海莉·斯蒂文斯（Haley Stevens）对决。该组织与自认为是民主社会主义者的伯尼·桑德斯（Bernie Sanders）有联系。
这次采访迅速引起轰动。美国民主社会主义者（Democratic Socialists of America, DSA）共同主席梅根·罗默（Megan Romer）在面对一群持怀疑态度的观众（福克斯新闻的观众）时，谈到了她组织的愿景。这份清单相当之长。
最近的一项民意调查显示，十个美国人中就有四个会考虑投票给 DSA 的总统候选人。
“废除参议院？”主持人问。 “没错，”罗默回答道。
“取代我们现在所认知的总统制和最高法院？” “是的。”
成员们的政策目标极其雄心勃勃。在他们的宣言中，他们将“资本主义经济体制”定义为“暴力、失业以及对地球生命构成生存威胁的气候危机的根源”。
“废除移民海关执法局（ICE）？” “绝对要。” “废除边境，并给予目前非法在美国的所有人大赦？” “作为长期计划，是的。”
为了补救，他们呼吁实行 32 小时工作周，且薪资和福利不减；停止通过经济制裁惩罚独立于美国行事的政府（如古巴、委内瑞拉和伊朗）；以及赋予有刑事犯罪记录的人和非公民完整的投票权。
“削减五角大楼资金？” “绝对要。”
“至少在很大程度上废除监狱？” “作为长期计划的一部分，是的。”
“大多数大公司由政府或公共所有？” “是的，绝对要。”
然而，他们最激进的提议可能是废除参议院，并用“由国会选择并隶属于国会的一个执行机构和司法机构”来取代“总统和最高法院”。这将颠覆宪法中的权力制衡，并彻底改变美国的政治体制。
认识一下 DSA，这是美国最大的社会主义组织，它正积聚势头，令中间派民主党人陷入混乱。
这个成立于 40 多年前、旨在推广左翼经济政策的组织，正被民主党指责劫持了他们的政党，并危及他们在 11 月中期选举中夺回众议院和参议院的希望。
即便是在民主社会主义者协会（DSA）的成员中，也会有人承认他们最激进的想法不太可能在短期内实现。现实来看，预计只有少数几位 DSA 候选人能进入国会。然而，该组织可能会在未来几年影响该政党的走向。
本周，参议院少数党领袖查克·舒默（Chuck Schumer）回避了一个关于该组织在民主党中是否占有一席之的问题。其他人则更为直率。新泽西州国会议员乔什·戈特海默（Josh Gottheimer）声称 DSA 成员“不是民主党人”，并写道他的政党没有空间容纳“反对我们的理念、价值观和领导人的反美炸弹投掷者”。宾夕法尼亚州资深参议员约翰·费特曼（John Fetterman）表示，DSA 代表了“无政府状态”，民主党人应该公开谴责他们。
民主党人将其比作 2018. 年的“小分队”（the squad）。在那年的中期选举之后，亚历山德里娅·奥卡西奥-科尔特斯（Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez）发布了一张与三位志同道合的国会同事——伊尔汗·奥马尔（Ilhan Omar）、阿亚娜·普雷斯利（Ayanna Pressley）和拉希达·特莱布（Rashida Tlaib）的合影，并配上标签“squadgoals”（小分队目标）。她们作为一个进步派派系（后来其他人也加入其中），在从环保主义到医疗保险（Medicare）的各项议题上向该党施压。
它是土耳其最受欢迎的潜水目的地之一，潜水员可以在此探索丰富的海洋生物、水下洞穴和沉船
司法委员会原定于周三晚上对布兰奇（Blanche）的提名进行投票。爱荷华州的共和党参议员兼委员会主席查尔斯·格拉斯利（Charles Grassley）在经过一天的谈判后取消了投票。
以及北卡罗来纳州的汤姆·蒂利斯（Thom Tillis），我均拒绝支持这两位，且他们的政治生涯已因我的行动而终结，而他们现在却拒绝为这位伟大的被提名人投票，无论如何，他将继续担任代理职。
特朗普暗示，科宁（Cornyn）之所以拒绝支持布兰奇，是因为总统支持其对手肯·帕克斯顿（Ken Paxton）在 11 月参加德克萨斯州的参议院选举。“我不知道，也许约翰·科宁对我不满意，因为我没有支持他，”他说。“我不知道具体原因，但我没听说有什么问题。”
“记住，科宁和蒂利斯都曾投票支持梅里克·加兰德（Merrick Garland），以及其他太多无法一一列举的人。如果他们不采取正确行动，我不反对暂时撤回托德的名字，等科宁和蒂利斯离职后再将其恢复。”
如果民主党在 11 月以微弱多数夺回众议院，DSA 可能会推动一个更激进的议程。早期的重点可能是
随着他们对该党的掌控力增强，这样做正变得困难。去年，DSA 成员佐兰·马姆达尼（Zohran Mamdani）赢得了纽约市长选举。他在 2017 年被该组织支持巴勒斯坦的立场所吸引而加入。
医疗保健和以色列。在 DSA 的
最高优先级中，结束对伊朗的战争、废除移民海关执法局（ICE）、向富人征税和全民医疗保健被提及最多。
布兰奇是特朗普的前私人律师，被提名接替帕姆·邦迪（Pam Bondi）担任司法部长，这传统上是一个非党派角色。
虽然有些人认为这可能是一个特例，是由于该市独特的选民构成和马姆达尼的沟通技巧，但其他人也随之跟进。在上个月纽约为了选出 11 月选举候选人的初选中，马姆达尼支持了三名候选人，且均为 DSA 成员。
科宁坚持认为自己是忠诚的。“我有 99.3 ％ 的时间在投票时与他 [特朗普] 保持一致，”他昨天告诉 MS Now。“这与此无关。这关乎于确保即使你是总统，也不能从政府获得优惠条款，比如免于审计的保护。”
总统的前律师托德·布兰奇（Todd Blanche）目前担任代理司法部长
由于达里利莎·阿维拉·切瓦利埃（Darializa Avila Chevalier）这位民主社会主义者是其中一名获胜者，
然而，科宁和蒂利斯拒绝支持布兰奇，直到他正式放弃由司法部（DoJ）今年宣布的 $1.776 billion “反武器化基金”（AntiWeaponisation Fund），该基金旨在向拜登政府的“受害者”提供资金，例如 1 月 6 日的暴动者。
DoJ，此前他因税务申报表泄露而起诉了美国国税局。
在纽约初选中，梅拉特·基罗斯（Melat Kiros）写道：“我参选是为了将我们的税款投资在国内的孩子身上，而不是投资于杀死国外儿童的炸弹。”
然而，这一消息引发了剧烈的反弹，布兰奇（Blanche）随后宣布 DoJ 将放弃该基金。但参议员们希望他能正式撤回该基金，并限制协议中似乎为特朗普及其长子提供未来法律起诉和税务审计豁免的部分。
为了让特朗普能在明年重新提名布兰奇，共和党需要在 11 月的中期选举中守住其参议院多数席位。民调显示，这一点远非确定。
对于老派人士而言，问题在于，现在社会主义者已经找到了切入点，将很难把他们赶出去。
该基金是特朗普与 DoJ 达成的一项和解协议的一部分。
梅拉特·基罗斯是民主社会主义者的一颗新星。
詹姆斯·布鲁克斯/美联社（JAMES BROOKS/AP）
【美国】美国国务院在巴西的一次会议上使用的一幅非洲地图将所有国家的位置都标错了，令与会代表感到震惊。
路透社看到了一段在里约热内卢举行的 2026 年艾滋病大会（Aids 2026 conference）上的演示视频，视频显示在关于国务院新卫生协议的演示文稿中出现了该地图。该地图包含一个人工智能水印，表明它是使用 OpenAI 工具制作的。
【南非】
简·弗拉纳根（Jane Flanagan），开普敦
奥普拉·温弗瑞（Oprah Winfrey）将关闭她在南非创办的寄宿学校。该校由她在近二十年前向纳尔逊·曼德拉承诺将帮助教育弱势女孩后而创立。
温弗瑞，72，表示她将转而资助奖学金，让这些女孩能够进入该国一些顶尖的学术学校就读。
国务院表示，对由此造成的混乱承担全部责任，并称该地图是由一名在活动前修改幻灯片组的团队成员制作的。
位于约翰内斯堡南部的奥普拉·温弗瑞女子领导学院（The Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls）耗资约 $40 million 建成。设施包括科学和计算机实验室、一个 600 席的剧院、一个健康中心和一个美容院。
地图上显示，美国部署有数百名部队的尼日利亚竟然被标注在撒哈拉沙漠的内陆地区。位于非洲东南部的莫桑比克被移到了非洲之角，而位于西非的科特迪瓦则被标注在大陆的另一端。
在设施移交给当地教育部门之前，还将有两个年级的学生毕业。
该校于 2007 年开放，是在南非首位民主选举产生的领导人曼德拉请求温弗瑞帮助那些机会受限的女孩七年后。
该地图的截图首次出现在艾滋病专家艾米莉·巴斯（Emily Bass）的一篇 Substack 文章中，随后被分享到 LinkedIn，其中一篇帖子的浏览量达到了 40,000 次。
温弗瑞称该学院是她“最伟大的遗产”。这位脱口秀主持人表示，新的奖学金计划将使她的使命在单一校园之外得以延续。
国务院表示，尽管出现了地图问题，但会议上的讨论是“实质性且具有建设性的”，并表示将继续致力于通过切实成果打击艾滋病。
自学校开放以来，已有 1,000 多名女孩毕业。许多人将自己的学术成就归功于家庭地位的改变。然而，学院的早期岁月被丑闻笼罩。在开学一年内，一名宿舍舍监蒂妮·马科波（Tiny Makopo）被指控虐待学生。
她在 2010 年被判定无罪，温弗瑞称这一裁决“令人心碎”。
【今日汤品】一种缀有花瓣的浆果冷汤，是哥本哈根 Noma 餐厅实验厨房中正在研发的奇异料理之一。Noma 被认为是全球最佳餐厅之一，在那里的用餐者在不含葡萄酒的情况下，人均花费约 £500。
由 Z 世代引发的革命已被克里姆林宫劫持
美国国务院在一场艾滋病会议上展示了该地图
波兰 在对邻国乌克兰战争日益担忧的背景下，波兰中北部将建设四座地下医院，以应对潜在危机。该项目由库亚维-波美拉尼亚地区的区长皮奥特·卡尔贝茨基（Piotr Calbecki）宣布，预计将于 2029 年完工，耗资约 €63 百万。
莫斯科还提议在该岛上建设燃料储存设施，并对一个俯瞰非洲与印太地区之间航线的废弃海军基地表示出兴趣。
挫败了一场据称旨在刺杀兰德里亚尼里纳（Randrianirina）的阴谋。维库隆（Vircoulon）估计，约有 100 名俄罗斯非洲军团（Wagner集团的继任者）的雇佣兵身在马达加斯加，负责保护总统并训练其部队。
简·弗拉纳根（Jane Flanagan）非洲特派员
这是非洲各地屡见不鲜的剧本：青年主导的抗议活动谴责腐败领导人；总统下台；军队介入并承诺恢复平民统治——随后俄罗斯人抵达。
对于俄罗斯来说，这在某种程度上像是回归故里：在 1970 年代至 1980 年代，马达加斯加的马克思主义政府与苏联结盟，后者为该岛提供武器并供应石油。然而，对于许多马达加斯加人来说，外界对其岛屿重新产生的地缘政治兴趣并非慰藉。
法国对此感到警觉，因为法国在马里、布基纳法索和尼日尔这些前殖民地失去了影响力，当地军政府驱逐了法军，随后转向莫斯科。
马达加斯加是最新走这条道路的国家。去年 10 月，在经历了数周因缺水缺电而引发的动荡后，总统拉乔埃利纳（Rajoelina）逃离了这个岛国。一名上校接管了权力，并承诺将举行选举。几周之内，来自莫斯科的雇佣兵便抵达此处，以巩固新军政府的地位。
马达加斯加最近驱逐了一名法国外交官，原因是涉嫌参与一项企图破坏稳定的阴谋；与此同时，有传言称法国雇佣兵在岛上活动，但巴黎方面对此予以否认。
自 1960. 年脱离法国独立以来，该岛在政治危机与脆弱的平民政府之间摇摆。52, 岁的被罢免总统拉乔埃利纳在 2009. 年的抗议活动后，首次在军队支持下夺取政权。他在随后两次选举中获胜，最终被抗议活动推翻。他目前流亡迪拜。
匈牙利 由于热浪袭击，电池和汽车制造商等电力大户被要求在下午 5 点至晚上 10 点之间减少用电。总理彼得·马扎尔（Peter Magyar）表示，帕克斯（Paks）核电站的关闭以及晚间高峰时段需求量 20 百分比的激增，可能会在周一前导致“危急”局面。
在拉乔埃利纳被推翻后的亢奋时分，欣喜若狂的年轻抗议者认为他们改变了国家的未来。但九个月后，在没有明确恢复平民统治时间表的情况下，他们担心一个腐朽的政权被另一个所取代，且他们的革命可能对克里姆林宫利益的推动作用大于对自身利益的提升。
对于莫斯科而言，随着乌克兰战争、与伊朗的冲突以及全球航运中断重塑国际贸易，该岛的战略位置和矿产资源变得日益珍贵。该岛横跨莫桑比克海峡，全球近三分之一的原油由此通过，且拥有大量的石墨、钴、镍和稀土矿产，这些资源对于电池、电子产品和军事技术的制造至关重要。
俄罗斯非洲军团的雇佣兵正在训练马达加斯加军队
俄罗斯在非洲各地反复利用这种不稳定性，通过填补政治真空，向陷入困境的统治者提供保护，以换取影响力和准入权。
迈克尔·兰德里亚尼里纳（Michael Randrianirina）上校反而接待了俄罗斯代表团，并于2月飞往莫斯科会见普京总统，打破了马达加斯加领导人首先寻求其前殖民宗主国巴黎支持的数十年政策。此后，俄罗斯派遣了顾问和武器，并支持了一个新的亲莫斯科政党。
参加了去年示威活动的22岁医学生法尼洛（Fanilo）感到很沮丧。“再也没有人听我们的了，”他在首都安塔那那利佛告诉《泰晤士报》，“我并不真正信任这个新政权，我觉得我的国家在进一步沉沦。停电现象又回来了，政府在做出更加荒谬的决定。”
这也不是抗议者第一次被自称是盟友的军队所欺骗。在2013年的埃及和2019年的苏丹，民众起义都被声称支持他们的将军们所吞噬。
德国 一位巴伐利亚百万富翁正向父母提供€500的礼金，用于让他们的孩子接受洗礼，以扭转天主教会的衰落。拥有8个孩子的彼得·勒夫（Peter Löw）表示，他的计划将为40个家庭的孩子提供一位“守护天使”。在某些州，天主教徒需缴纳最高可达其收入9%的“教会税”。
在另一个明显的转变中，本月安塔那那利佛的议会将燃料进口的控制权交给了一家新的国有公司，结束了由西方公司运营的25年体系。分析人士表示，这将为进口受制裁的俄罗斯石油铺平道路，使马达加斯加企业面临西方的处罚。
“人们对安全有需求，而俄罗斯响应了这一需求，”法国国际关系学院的蒂埃里·维库隆（Thierry Vircoulon）表示。他形容该政权对反政变感到“偏执”，这种恐惧在4月份得到了体现，当时检察官宣布他们已经
去年参与示威活动的42岁萨里亚卡（Sariaka）表示：“我不信任（军政府的）承诺……黑手党体系在国家各级都根深蒂固。”
军政府领导人并没有制定选举时间表，而是
被解读为对特朗普的含蓄批评。7月3日，他在费城国家宪法中心的一场户外仪式上通过视频信息接受奖项时表示，他希望美国国父们所秉持的“团结、正义与和平”的理想能够继续指引美国。
拒绝了特朗普邀请其参加7月4日独立日活动的请求。相反，他访问了意大利的兰佩杜萨岛（Lampedusa），这是移民进入欧洲的关键入境点，他在那里敦促欧洲领导人们迎接处理移民问题这一“重大挑战”。
将自己定位为一名“普世教会的牧羊人”。
詹姆斯·伊曼（James Imam）
“我认为自己更像是一个恰好是美国人的教皇。这并不是在贬低身为美国人的意义，”他在罗马附近的教皇夏季住所卡斯泰尔甘多尔福（Castel Gandolfo）的花园采访中说道。
首位美国籍教皇利奥十四世（Leo XIV）在拒绝总统特朗普邀请其参加美国250周年庆祝活动后表示，他虽然对美国有“深爱”，但并不认同自己的美国人身份。
这一决定被广泛解读为是对特朗普政府的冷落，教皇与该政府的关系已变得日益紧张。
在iPad上。教皇在西斯廷礼拜堂主持就职弥撒的部分内容使用了英语。
他接受NBC的采访是在庆祝圣方济各（St Francis of Assisi）逝世800周年活动的间隙进行的。活动包括意大利男高音安德烈·波切利（Andrea Bocelli）的表演，以及来自世界各地的年轻歌手的伴唱。
教皇，70岁，原名罗伯特·普雷沃斯特（Robert Prevost），似乎经常能自在地面对自己的美国身份。据称他在加班工作时会吃花生酱三明治，最近还戴了一顶印有芝加哥白袜队（Chicago White Sox）标志的棒球帽，那是的一对访问梵蒂冈的美国新婚夫妇送给他的。
出生于芝加哥的教皇告诉美国全国广播公司（NBC），美国有“很多东西”令他欣赏，并赞扬了“那种自由感、机会感，以及几代以来邀请世界各地的人们成为美国一部分的感觉”。
在采访中，拥有意大利、法国和西班牙血统的教皇还强调了他的多民族根源。在描述他的祖父母是移民时，他说：“在我的母系一方，我们既有过奴隶，也有过奴隶主。”
今年4月，副总统且为天主教皈依者的JD·万斯（JD Vance）警告利奥（Leo）在讨论神学问题时要“小心”。次月，国务卿马可·鲁比奥（Marco Rubio）被派往罗马，显然是为了缓解紧张局势。官员们将此次会谈描述为“诚挚”且“坦率”的。
当被问及美国人是否很快能在本国见到他时，教皇回答说“他们会在那里见到我”，并补充道：“虽然还没有最终定论，但我确实希望很快能去那里。”
然而，尽管他表示“成为首位美国教皇具有重大意义”，但他坚持认为国籍并不能定义他，描述-
在14个月前当选之前，他住在芝加哥郊区的哥哥约翰·普雷沃斯特（John Prevost）表示，他们每天都沟通，经常玩文字游戏
利奥今年在拒绝了一项邀请后，引起了美国人的关注
教皇最近的一些言论
ANTONIO SEMPERE/AP
休塔（西班牙）
本祖（Benzu）
在边境安保崩溃后，数千名年轻男子进入了飞地休塔
贝利尤内什（Belyounech）
摩洛哥
休塔自治区政府主席胡安·维瓦斯（Juan Vivas）呼吁西班牙首相佩德罗·桑切斯（Pedro Sánchez）以国家安全为由宣布国家紧急状态。
塔拉哈尔（Tarajal）
夫尼德克（Fnideq）
1英里
数千名移民从摩洛哥越境而入
作为回应，马德里动员了已在休塔的陆军部队上街，以确保当地居民的安全与秩序。
昨日，在安全部队被击溃后，移民涌入西班牙领土休塔（David Sharrock 报道）。
未确认的报告表明，马德里和摩洛哥政府正在合作开展一项联合行动，以驱逐本周抵达的移民。西班牙内政部坚称，其与摩洛哥保持着“典范般的合作”，特别是在移民问题上。西班牙警察工会Jupol直接指责摩洛哥利用“其混合战争战略中的一个机会窗口，再次将休塔的移民压力作为政治敲诈的工具”。
西班牙国民警卫队（Civil Guard）的警员们无奈地看着成群的年轻男子及部分整个家庭沿着塔拉哈尔边境防波堤向西班牙领土前进。视频画面显示，他们通过步行、游泳或攀爬海岸上的障碍物过境，并未遭到摩洛哥边境安保人员的任何阻拦。
这是对分离主义波利萨里阵线（Polisario Front）领导人布拉希姆·加利（Brahim Ghali）在西班牙政府批准下被转移至洛格罗尼奥（Logroño）一家医院的回应。
最新画面显示，这是自2021年春季以来最大规模的涌入。当时摩洛哥派遣了超过8,000名移民跨越边境进入西班牙。
是仅有的与非洲接壤的欧盟领土。因此，它们经常成为该大陆非法移民危机的冲突点。
据EFE通讯社报道，他们从休塔的海滩上[被驱逐/离开]。
在西班牙领土上。
估计本周共有20,000名移民越境，其中大多数于昨日抵达。目前已寻获7具尸体。
成群结队的人员（绝大多数为年轻男性）面带微笑并欢呼，有些人高喊“Viva Espana!”（西班牙万岁！），或在抵达时跪在地上亲吻土地。
塞乌塔及其姐妹城市梅利利亚，位于地中海沿岸更东端的位置。
$2,000 新加坡元。
马克西米利安（Maximilien）就读于新加坡的埃塞克商学院（Essec Business School）。检察官表示，他是否能保留学生通行证将由该城邦的移民局决定。
Jan Camenzind Broomby
他们收集到的 €20、€50 和 €100 面额的钞票整齐地叠放着。
一名法国少年在承认舔过一根吸管并将其放回自动贩卖机后，被处以 $600 新加坡元（£348）的罚款。
James Imam 米兰
然而，在这些现金被带回家之前，警方抵达并将其全部没收。警员正试图查明这笔钱的来源，以及它是否与走私或毒品交易有关。
在西西里岛的一个海滩上，由于一艘快艇在距离海岸仅几码处耗尽燃料，随后有人从船上抛出数袋钞票，引发了一场疯狂的抢钱混乱。
这种舔舐行为引起了社交媒体上许多人的愤怒。新加坡演员兼电台 DJ 韦内塔·洛佩兹（Vernetta Lopez）在一段视频中表示：“这让很多人气得不行。你为什么要这么做？”
Didier Gaspard Owen 马克西米利安，19 岁，在 3 月拍摄了自己舔吸管的视频，并将其上传至社交媒体，配文为“这座城市不安全”。
日光浴者冲入卡苏齐（Casuzze）的浅水区，该地位于岛屿南部度假胜地拉古萨码头（Marina di Ragusa）附近。当地媒体将这一混乱场景描述为“像电影一样”。
曾撰写过关于西西里黑手党文章的朱塞佩·巴希埃托（Giuseppe Bascietto）表示，该地区作为登陆点以及海上毒品交易地，在“新的国际可卡因运输路线中扮演着日益重要的战略角色”。
“让他把每一个 IJOOZ 机器里的所有吸管都清理一遍，”另一位居民说道，IJOOZ 是运营这些自动贩卖机的公司。
4 月，在视频广泛传播并引起新加坡人愤怒后，他被警方指控以扰乱公共治安罪。他的律师卡利达斯·穆鲁盖扬（Kalidass Murugaiyan）表示：“他对造成这么多麻烦深表歉意，并意识到当时在他看来或许只是好玩的事情，结果却产生了非常严重的后果。”
新闻网站 Balarm 报道称：“原本平静的海边的一天，变成了场不同寻常且超现实的寻宝活动。”
新加坡因其严苛的法律和体罚而闻名于世。该岛对包括谋杀或严重毒品走私在内的犯罪保留死刑。对于 50 岁以下的男性罪犯，最高可处以 24 下鞭刑。
该少年拍摄了自己将吸管放回自动贩卖机的视频。
当快艇在距离海岸约 30 英尺处停下时，船上有四个人。在两人去寻找燃料后，海岸警卫队走近，促使其他人开始将钱扔到船外。三人被捕。
损害了公众对卫生的信任。
据估计，总金额约为 €700,000。一段在网上流传的视频显示，海滩游客打开了一个蓝色的 Lidl 保温袋，里面整齐地
在新加坡，被指控扰乱公共治安的个人最高可面临三个月的监禁。检察官曾要求处以最高 $2,000 新加坡元的罚款。
检察官辩称，尽管马克西米利安在任何人使用前就取走了吸管，但其行为
布雷维克激发新一波极端分子
BEATE OMA DAHLE/NTB/AFP
2010 年至 2023 年间，德国右翼极端主义暴力事件的数量。
大屠杀十五年后，挪威担心出现效仿者，Alex Maxia 在奥斯陆写道。
在过去的五年里，至少有半打被定罪的英国右翼极端分子提到布雷维克（Breivik）的行为和著作对其产生了影响。来自布赖顿的青少年梅森·雷诺兹（Mason Reynolds）于 2024 年因计划在犹太会堂进行自杀式爆炸而被判入狱，他曾下载过乌托亚（Utoya）屠杀的视频。
在 15 年前今天那个凉爽、细雨蒙蒙的 7 月周五下午，延斯·斯托尔滕贝格（Jens Stoltenberg）正在其总理官邸起草一份演讲稿，此时他的思绪被一声巨响打断。
布雷维克也是布伦顿·塔兰特（Brenton Tarrant）的灵感来源，后者在 2019 年于新西兰基督城两座清真寺杀害了 51 人；此外，他还影响了其故乡挪威的几名暴力极端分子。
一英里外，一辆汽车炸弹在他办公室所在的政府大楼旁爆炸，造成 8 人死亡，10 人受伤。
挪威情报局高级顾问卡罗琳·伊瓦森（Caroline Iwarsson）表示，在日益国际化和网络化的环境下，由于布雷维克及其他人物留下的影响而变得激进的此类“独狼”分子，往往很难被识别和追踪。
“我们立即得到了情况通知，因为我的一个顾问当时正与一名在楼内工作的人通话。他从我位于 16 层的办公室走下楼梯时，描述了破坏的严重程度，并说他在一楼看到了尸体，”斯托尔滕贝格告诉《泰晤士报》。
“数字化维度是一个[因素]，因为它使得极端内容变得触手可及，”她说道。“意识形态格局日益复杂是另一个因素。而右翼网络的跨国特性增加了预防的难度。”
两小时后，他开始收到关于另一场大规模
显贵们在安德斯·贝林·布雷维克（Anders Behring Breivik，见下文，其于 2022 年申请假释）制造屠杀十周年纪念日时献花
杀戮的通知，地点位于西北方向 20 英里的乌托亚湖心岛，当时他所属的工党青年工党联盟（AUF）正地在那里举行夏令营。
过去十年里的国家。
本周末他将回到乌托亚，与下一代政治家进行辩论。他认为这项任务对于化解导致两极分化并为极端主义提供温床的紧张局势至关重要。“我们看到，即便在挪威，仍有太多人相信极端分子的仇恨，以及我们在 7 月 22 日看到的那些暴力信息，”他说道。
乌托亚大屠杀的幸存者被悲痛和焦虑困扰。一项研究表明，其中一半的人患有失眠症。
距离五天
那一天，一名叫作安德斯·贝林·布雷维克的诈骗者和失败的金融投机分子杀害了 77 人，这是 1980 年以来欧洲最严重的右翼极端分子屠杀事件。
在一家挪威合作社从事沟通工作的丽莎·玛丽·胡斯比（Lisa Marie Husby）在岛上死里逃生。当时她 19 岁。“我们能看到子弹击中周围的树木，于是决定跑向急救员所在的木屋，”她说道。
每人
当时，即便是在白人至上主义圈子里，大多数与布雷维克志同道合的人也将其视为怪物，他们对他杀害如此多白人儿童感到震惊。
奥斯陆大学极端主义研究中心（C-Rex）绘制了将该国强硬极右翼阵营与英国及其他国家相关阵营联系起来的关系网。
到达木屋后，胡斯比和她的同伴将自己反锁在屋内，封死了门窗。“[布雷维克]向门射击了几次，但最终他决定继续走开，没能进入木屋，”她说道。
然而现在，挪威警察安全局（PST）情报部门表示，他已成为年轻男性的榜样，这些人愿意对他们眼中西方社会渐进的“伊斯兰化”以及他们认为应对此负责的自由派精英采取暴力行动。
布雷维克（Breivik）曾参与英格兰防卫联盟（English Defence League），这是一个让汤米·罗宾逊（Tommy Robinson）成名的白人民族主义和反伊斯兰运动。C-Rex主任安德斯·拉维克·尤普斯卡斯（Anders Ravik Jupskas）表示：“自从英格兰防卫联盟在大约 15 年前出现以来，这种联系就一直存在。当时有人试图在挪威建立一个类似的组织——挪威防卫联盟，而 7月22日 的恐怖分子在某个阶段也是该组织的成员。”
以及拜厄挂毯
4月25日和6月20, 2027日
现领导 AUF 的高特·斯克耶沃（Gaute Skjervo）在事件发生时 16 岁。他通过游泳横跨湖泊逃脱，但布雷维克杀死了他的最好的朋友。“在那一天幸存下来非常困难，但在此之后的生命中幸存下来也同样非常困难，”他说。“我们一直处于创伤之中，在过去的 15 年里，我们经常收到死亡威胁。” 斯托尔滕贝格（Stoltenberg）不会掉以轻心。“我们必须每天与极端分子作斗争，”他说。“这不是我们能一劳永逸地获胜的事：我们需要一次又一次，一遍又一遍地重复这个过程。”
在一份于杀戮事件 15 周年发表的报告中，该机构指出，自 2021 年以来，西方国家实施右翼极端主义袭击的青少年和年轻成年人数量大幅增加。
价格包含
在这场令人兴奋的旅程中，我们将追溯到 1066 年，您将获得一生一次的机会，在英国土地上看到拜厄挂毯（Bayeux Tapestry），因为它在近千年后首次离开诺曼底。作为备受期待的英国博物馆展览的借展品，这一非凡的文物让人们能够真实地窥见诺曼征服英格兰的历史，场景细节精妙地栩栩如生。我们还将探索挂毯中所记载的地点，包括黑斯廷斯战役的古战场和战役修道院，威廉征服者在那里赢得了胜利，并从此改变了英国历史的进程。在这次对肯特郡和东萨塞克斯郡的迷人探索中，对博迪亚姆城堡、海弗城堡和彭舍斯特庄园的访问将继续描绘中世纪英格兰的图景。
“许多如今被激进化的未成年人将布雷维克视为重要的灵感来源，”报告称。“他们如此年轻，以至于对 7月22日 [乌托亚岛大屠杀] 没有个人记忆。时间的距离意味着最年轻的一辈不太可能理解暴力行为的现实。”
在多宁顿庄园（Donnington Manor, Sevenoaks）入住四晚，含晚餐和早餐
他补充道：“布雷维克当时被嵌入一个更大的网络中，在当时被称为‘反圣战网络’，这是一个在许多国家（尤其是美国和北欧）都存在的一个非常强烈的反穆斯林网络。”
酒店的餐后茶与咖啡，外加一杯欢迎饮料
直到 2024 年担任北约秘书长的斯托尔滕贝格，现任挪威财政部长，表示尽管民主主流在很大程度上得到了巩固，但这些进展仍让他感到不安。
往返于各项游览活动的巴士接送
该中心的分析显示，英国在……之后排名第二
行程单中所列的所有游览活动和导览参观的门票
《柏林早报》（Berliner Morgenpost）引用柏林执法部门内部消息和青少年福利文件的研究现在表明，袭击骄傲节庆祝活动具有个人动机。
从 6 岁起就表现出暴力行为。报告补充说，巴卢特（Ballout）的父母拒绝了多次干预尝试，从他小学一年级开始，直到他在十几岁离校且没有获得任何资历证明为止。
伊丽莎白·拉什顿（Elizabeth Rushton） 柏林
据报告，柏林骄傲节袭击案的嫌疑人从 6 岁起就表现出暴力特质，但其父母拒绝了干预尝试。
旅行经理服务
搬运服务 免费现场停车
*价格在发布时准确，并受 Just Go Holidays Ltd 运营商条款和条件约束；该公司独立于 News UK。您的预订由 Bonded Coach Holidays & the Association of Bonded Travel Organisers Trust Ltd 保护。自驾前往酒店，游览均乘坐教练车。最近的火车站为 Dunton Green（距离1英里）或 Sevenoaks（距离2.5英里）。价格为每人价格，基于两人共用一间房，且在发布后七天内有效。单人房补价 £320 或 £340。欲了解完整详情，请访问 Just Go Holidays 网站。
该报声称，Ballout 的父亲 Tawfik 在几年前与母亲分居，且是同性恋并与一名男子同居。他的母亲是一名虔诚的穆斯林，据称 Ballout 为了逃避家庭紧张局势而寻求激进清真寺的庇护。
多年来，Ballout 一直被警方视为伊斯兰极端分子。他在 5 月被一家少年法庭判定计划实施暴力行为，但被判处缓刑。随后他被置于 24 小时警方监视之下，但在两周后被认为不构成高威胁后，监视被放宽。
据信，21 岁的 Abdul Ballout 在周六驾驶一辆租赁货车冲入勃兰登堡门附近的人群中，随后展开砍杀，造成一名女性死亡，29 人受伤。在一次搜捕行动后，他在一个花园棚屋中被击毙。随后警方在他的手机中发现了一段视频，他在视频中宣誓效忠伊斯兰国（Isis）。
立即致电
thetimes.com/ jg-battleo hastings
引用 TIMU
我们值得信赖的合作伙伴
该报还称 Ballout 表现出了暴力和侵略性
（当日变动）
英镑/欧元 €1.1678 (+0.0005) ¤
富时100指数 10,897.27 (-11.14)
黄金 $4,112.67 (+90.76)
布伦特原油（下午6点） $87.17 (-0.68) $
道琼斯指数 52,208.06 (+613.92)
英镑/美元 $1.3462 (+0.0176)
$
11,000 10,800 10,600 10,400 10,200 10,000 9,800
54,000 53,000 52,000 51,000 50,000 49,000
110 100 90 80 70 60
5,000 4,500 4,000 3,500
1.180 1.160 1.140 1.120
1.360 1.340 1.320 1.300
7月 2 9 16 23 30 7月 2 9 16 23 30 7月 2 9 16 23 30 7月 2 9 16 23 30 7月 2 9 16 23 30
7月 1 9 16 23 30
因素（如去年美国征收关税后廉价的中国出口商品）有助于降低价格。
如果油价导致更广泛的通货膨胀，使得工人要求抵消通胀的加薪，且企业将能源成本转嫁给客户。英格兰银行行长 Andrew Bailey 表示，关于能源价格冲击的二阶效应“缺乏证据”，但目前“尚不能排除”。
对利率下行路径的预期意味着国债是昨天表现最好的主要债券。作为政府债务成本指标的 10 年期国债收益率下降 0.06 个百分点至 4.99%。上周油价飙升至每桶 100 美元以上时，10 年期国债收益率达到了 5.11% 的峰值。
经济主编 Mehreen Khan 自 2 月下旬美伊冲突爆发以来一直关注利率，并于 2025 年 12 月最后一次降低借贷成本。
在英格兰银行表示没有迹象表明油价上涨正波及经济其他领域后，英国政府借贷成本下降，交易员削减了今年加息的押注。
年度消费者价格通胀率目前为 2.6%，低于该行 4 月预测的 3%。预计今年消费者价格将达到 3.2% 的峰值，而此前的预测接近 4%。
短期国债对货币政策前景较为敏感，这表明交易员们正在降低对英格兰银行在未来几个月加息的预期。当债券价格上涨时，收益率会下降。在决定公布前，交易员认为今年首次加息发生在9月的概率为 50 百分比。到昨天下午，这一概率降至 40 百分比以下。
在央行今年第五次将基准利率维持在 3.75 per cent 之后，被称为 gilts 的两年期政府债券收益率下降了 0.13 个百分点，至 4.33 per cent。英格兰银行未对
Pantheon 的分析师表示，利率可能会保持不变直到 2027, 年底，届时英格兰银行预计将实现其 2 per cent 的通胀目标。
贝利（Bailey）表示，油价将在今年为通胀增加 0.4 个百分点，但经济和就业市场的广泛疲软意味着“去通胀进程已经启动”。英格兰银行提到
英镑兑美元上涨 0.1 per cent 至 $1.34，兑欧元稳定在 €1.17.
政策制定者表示，他们准备将利率提高到 4 per cent
JACK PIERSON 为 CANADA GOOSE 拍摄
苹果公司 iPhone 销量超出预期
Screwfix 总裁称学徒招聘过于复杂
Isabella Fish 零售编辑
Screwfix 总裁警告称，官僚主义和不断上升的用工成本正令企业不愿通过学徒制招聘年轻工人。
这家贸易零售商的首席执行官约翰·梅韦特（John Mewett）在今天给《泰晤士报》的一封信中表示，包括个体经营者在内的许多雇主希望培训下一代，但他们正放弃学徒计划，因为流程已变得“过于复杂”。
通常在此时，随着客户期待秋季的新款机型，手机销售会开始放缓。
Louisa Clarence-Smith 美国商业编辑
然而，今年苹果客户正竞相抢购 iPhone，此前全球存储芯片供应危机促使公司提高了 Mac 和 iPad 的价格。一些华尔街分析师预计，苹果将在 9 月年度发布会前后提高 iPhone 的价格。
在蒂姆·库克（Tim Cook）担任首席执行官的最后一份财报中，由于 iPhone 需求强劲，苹果公司的季度销售额和利润均超出预期。
“他们想招学徒，但他们告诉我们，从文书工作、招聘到管理学徒工作量，流程的每个阶段都太复杂了，”梅韦特写道。“这经常让他们望而却步。”
这家全球市值最高的上市公司表示，截至 6 月 27 日的季度销售额增长 16.4 per cent 至 $109.4 billion，而分析师的预期为 $108.65 billion。
在英国，贸易类雇主可以通过多种学徒计划获得高达 £8,000 的支持，但梅韦特表示，由于复杂度太高，许多人根本没有申请。
库克预计将于 9 月卸任，接任者将是自 2013 年起就在苹果硬件部门工作的约翰·特纳斯（John Ternus）。
6 亚马逊（Amazon）季度云收入增长超出市场预期，这得益于企业 AI 支出的激增，标志着该公司的投资已见成效。其云计算部门 Amazon Web Services 在截至 6 月底的第二季度收入增长 37 per cent 至 $42.2 billion，而预期增长率为 31.2 per cent。集团总营收为 $200.61 billion，高于预期的 $196.47 billion。该股在盘后交易中上涨 8.7 per cent，至 $256.83。
苹果在构建 AI 功能方面采取了与竞争对手不同的方法，专注于集成到其产品中的实用功能，而竞争对手则专注于完全自主的“智能体（agents）”。
贸易类学徒制通常由雇主和培训提供者共同创建，而资金和法律框架则由政府提供。
安迪·伯纳姆本周承诺将加强职业教育，表示英国必须“像重视毕业帽一样重视安全帽”。
在6月的年度开发者大会上，苹果公司推出了“Siri AI”，这是一个对话能力更强、拥有独立应用程序，且能够分析用户屏幕内容并从网络提取信息的助手。
这一警告正值英国面临熟练技工短缺日益严重之际。根据 Screwfix 的数据，在技术贸易从业人员中，年龄在 44 岁或以下的人员仅占 24%，雇主表示招募新入职者已变得十分困难。
苹果公司昨晚表示，Mac 的销售额增长 28.7% 至 $10.4 billion，超过了分析师 $8.7 billion 的预期。iPad 的销售额下降 5.9% 至 $6.2 billion，低于分析师 $6.92 billion 的预期。
“资金支持应当是无缝的，并激励人们雇佣年轻人，而不是设置障碍，”Mewett 说道。
利润同比增长 27% 至 $29.8 billion，超过了华尔街 $27.8 billion 的预测。然而，该公司股价在盘后交易中下跌 $12.54，即 3.8%，至 $320.71。
库克将 iPad 的下降归因于与一年前同期的“困难对比”，当时苹果推出了主打预算的 A16 iPad。
根据 Screwfix 对 700 名贸易专业人士的调查，去年雇佣了学徒的雇主中，有 48% 的人没有获得任何资助，因为申请系统的操作过于困难。
iPhone 营收增长 21.7% 至 $54.3 billion，高于分析师 $53.9 billion 的预期，从而推高了整体销售额。这些 iPhone 销售额是苹果公司历史上第三季度表现最好的。
苹果的服务业务（包括 App Store 和 iCloud）营收增长 12.1% 至 $30.7 billion，低于 $31.2 billion 的预期。
政府已被联系以寻求评论。
高端品牌 Canada Goose 的第一季度营收超出预测，这得益于对其轻便夹克和 T 恤的需求，但该公司警告称，美国新宣布的针对加拿大进口商品的关税可能会影响未来的盈利。
英国政府借贷成本下降，交易员削减了对利率上升的押注。
今年，在英格兰银行表示没有迹象显示油价上涨正波及经济其他领域后，两年期国债收益率在银行维持基准利率不变后下降 0.13 个百分点至 4.33%。
其支付给储蓄者的资金——增长了 9% 至 £7.3 billion，助力总净收入增长 9% 至 £9.7 billion。该公司将利润提升归功于整体营收增加和成本削减，并将预期贷款损失拨备轻微下调至 £3.3 billion。
海伦·卡希尔 (Helen Cahill) 金融记者
由查理·南恩 (Charlie Nunn) 领导的该贷款机构（见下左图）计划在未来四年投资 £13 billion——包括扩大其在海得拉巴的业务（见下右图）。
劳埃德银行集团 (Lloyds Banking Group) 因计划扩大其在印度的技术中心而遭到工会的批评，此前该公司公布了在未来四年内向新战略投资 £13 billion 以上的计划。
基于其业绩表现，作为英国最大的消费贷款机构，劳埃德银行表示将把中期股息提高 30% 至每股 1.58 便士，并启动一项 £1 billion 股票回购计划。
这家富时100指数成分银行表示，其计划将使其 28 million 名客户的“资金变得更简单、更安全、更互联”，并将涉及开发一个“智能钱包”，该钱包将使用其通过收购 Curve（一个为多种借记卡和信用卡提供数字钱包的移动应用）获得的技术。
在给《泰晤士报》的一封信中，零售商 Screwfix 的首席执行官约翰·默威特 (John Mewett) 表示，许多
雇主希望培训下一代，但由于流程变得“过于复杂”，他们正选择放弃学徒计划。
首席执行官查理·纳恩（Charlie Nunn）表示：“在 2026 年上半年，我们在财务业绩方面展现了持续的强劲势头，收入持续增长，运营杠杆提高，信用表现强劲，资本创收增长，且股东回报增加。”
然而，劳埃德银行（Lloyds）遭到了 Affinity 工会的批评，该工会表示，该银行在技术方面的投资包括在印度设立新的高技能岗位，而这些岗位本可以在英国设立。劳埃德银行在海得拉巴购买了第二个场地，目前在该地已雇佣 5,000 名员工。
劳埃德银行集团因计划扩大其
在印度的技术中心（在海得拉巴设立第二个场地，该地已雇佣超过 5,000 名员工）而受到工会的批评。与此同时，该银行公布了计划在未来四年内通过一项新战略投资超过 £13 billion。
他表示，该银行看到了代理 AI（agentic AI）带来的“明显益处”，并将利用该技术为客户就产品提供建议和指导。
Affinity 秘书长马克·布朗（Mark Brown）表示，这一决定意味着“英国经济损失了大量高薪工作”。他补充道：“如果劳埃德银行——其 96% 的利润来自英国——被允许将关键的知识型岗位外包到海外，那么新任首相就不能指望经济能实现增长。”
该银行表示，通过部署技术实现流程自动化并提高员工生产力，将实现约 £2 billion 的总成本节省。
英格兰银行在新政府成立之初保持谨慎，选择维持利率不变
劳埃德银行在去年 11 月以 £120 million 的价格收购了 Curve，该银行表示此举将为客户提供“扩展的支付灵活性”。该应用程序允许客户在购物后将付款转移到不同的卡上，以节省意外产生的任何信用费用，并具有规则设置功能，有助于确保某些类型的交易仅通过特定渠道发出。
该银行最新的展望下调了通胀预期，并表示年率将在明年年底前接近其 2% 的目标。
劳埃德银行正在招聘 100 多个海得拉巴的岗位，主要集中在软件工程领域。该银行尚未确认其投资计划的地理分布。不过，一名接近劳埃德银行的消息人士表示，目前的空缺岗位此前是外包给当地供应商的角色，并没有将现有的英国岗位转移到印度。
壳牌（Shell）负责人瓦埃尔·萨万（Wael Sawan）表示，席卷欧洲的山火“令人非常担忧”，而这家石油和天然气巨头则利用价格上涨获得了近 $10 billion 的利润。
该银行表示，还将开发
据了解，该银行在英国的技术和数据领域还有 1,000 个空缺岗位，并计划在未来几年增加这部分员工。据信，劳埃德银行目前在印度雇佣的技术和 IT 人员少于部分英国竞争对手。
一个应用内交通平台，以创建车辆金融、租赁、保险、能源、出行和维修产品的市场。
高盛（Goldman Sachs）高级主管乔纳森·里夫斯（Jonathan Reeves）在被解雇后获得了近
与此同时，它承诺将其为小企业安排贷款的关系团队规模翻倍，并承诺
£1.5 million，原因是他在休陪产假期间未能快速回复一封工作邮件。
劳埃德银行在公布半年业绩的同时披露了其新战略。业绩显示，法定税前利润增长 23%，达到 £4.3 billion，高于预期。
提供超过 £45 billion 的新贷款。
阿迪达斯（Adidas）股价下跌，因第二季度利润低于预期，并受到
该银行计划将其租赁房屋投资组合的规模翻倍至 20,000 套，并表示将缩短客户办理
该银行的净利息收入——即银行向借款人收取的费用与
在世界杯的营销上投入资金。阿迪达斯（Adidas）在本次赛事中赞助了 14 支国家队，包括决赛球队阿根廷队和西班牙队。4月至6月季度的营业利润增长 5%，达到 €574 百万。阿迪达斯股价下跌 11.5%。
客户完成住房购买的时间将“从 几周缩短至几天”。
人工智能股票崩盘后对冲基金抛售持仓
“支持英格兰东南部的经济增长”。
到 2029 年在英格兰交付 1.5 million 套新房的目标。
James Hurley 商业副主编
无论新旧，电视广播公司都需要重新找回加利福尼亚州 Fox Dome 剧院的魔力
政府拒绝了在肯特郡建设 3,500 套住房、办公空间、零售空间及一座足球场的争议性计划，结论认为该提案的负面影响“显著且明显地”超过了其收益。
政府还考虑到了约 650 个就业岗位的流失。该提案的可行性也受到了质疑。此决定由住房大臣 Matthew Pennycook 代表雷纳（Rayner）做出。
Northfleet Harbourside 计划位于泰晤士河南岸，自 2024 年 5 月计划最初获得批准以来，一直引起当地企业和居民的激烈争论。
新任住房秘书安吉拉·雷纳（Angela Rayner）已拒绝批准 Northfleet Harbourside 的规划许可，该计划还包括一家 300 床位的酒店，并承诺对一片棕地（brownfield area）进行改造。
在这场风波的背后，该项目一直有一个神秘所有者，开发商拒绝透露其主要股东的细节。
在政府于 2025, 2 月“介入”（called in）Northfleet Harbourside 项目后，去年举行了公开质询。所谓“介入”是指部长而非当地规划部门决定申请结果的相对罕见做法。
Harry Wallop，第 37 页
Louisa Clarence-Smith 美国商业编辑
据报道，由一名被誉为人工智能神童的 25 岁青年经营的对冲基金在遭受重大损失后，被迫卖出所有公开股票持仓。
该计划与一名科威特商人 Abdulla Al-Humaidi 有争议的联系，后者在其被称为“达特福迪士尼乐园”的附近主题公园 £3.5 billion 计划失败后的余波中破产。
提案被否决的原因包括靠近 Britannia Refined Metals（欧洲最大的铅精炼厂之一），因为“居住在住宅区内的未来居民可能会接触到不利水平的铅”。
伦敦港务局（Port of London Authority）、当地小企业和 Britannia Refined Metals 牵头反对该计划，担忧因素包括中小型公司失去至关重要的工业空间。
欲获取专业商业分析，请订阅商业时事通讯 thetimes.com/newsletters
据《华尔街日报》报道，Leopold Aschenbrenner 的 Situational Awareness 基金将向 Ken Griffin 的 Citadel 卖出大部分股票投资。
该计划的支持者包括 Ebbsfleet United 足球俱乐部的球迷，该俱乐部曾由 Al-Humaidi 所有。如果项目获批，该俱乐部将获得一座新体育场。
政府认为这将导致“严重的健康风险——尤其是对儿童、孕妇和老年人”。尽管英国对新住房的需求紧迫，且政府的 tar-
据称，这家专注于人工智能的基金在投资组合遭受剧烈损失后一直在寻求融资以增加资本。它在软件股及包括韩国半导体公司 SK Hynix 在内的人工智能相关持仓上遭遇了损失。
其他拒绝原因还包括对 Robins Wharf 产生的“毁灭性”影响，该码头处理建筑供应链中使用的骨材。政府表示，该码头“在地方和区域上具有重要意义，以便于”
提交该计划的 Northfleet Central 1, 已被请求就此发表评论。
壳牌（Shell）到底在搞什么鬼？
ALAMY
银行下注：从智能钱包到房屋销售
商业评论 Alistair Osborne
N
转向“更昂贵”的绿色“解决方案”。然而，目前壳牌的投资案例中几乎没有体现这一点。
对于很多人将如何看待此事，无需猜测答案：壳牌的首席执行官表示，欧洲各地肆虐的山火令人“非常担忧”。
劳埃德银行（Lloyds）公布了一系列新措施，这是一项广泛战略的一部分，在未来四年中将主要集中于改进其数字化服务并削减成本（Helen Cahill 撰文）。
此外，劳埃德银行披露了提供“智能钱包”的计划，该钱包将允许客户进行灵活支付、申请销售点贷款（point-of-sale loans）并存储关键文件。这些功能将全部采用该集团通过收购英国金融科技公司 Curve 而获得的技术。
当然，仅凭 Sawan 一个人无法加速能源转型。但既然他处于前沿阵地，难道他没有责任采取更多行动，让他的客户以及壳牌公司摆脱对化石燃料的依赖吗？对山火受害者的同情是不够的。
正如 Wael Sawan 所言：“这太毁灭性了。每当我看到电视上的画面，我都对许多遭受苦难的人深感同情。”他的语气听起来也很真诚。但一个简单的反驳不过是小儿科——你难道不是在经营全球最大的化石燃料集团之一，从科学家认为气候变化的主要原因中获利吗？而且利润极其丰厚：受伊朗战争驱动的收益达 $9.84 billion，是其历史上第二高的季度收益（见报告，第 38-39 页）。
该行表示，这将由 £13 billion 的新投资支撑，涵盖包括新智能钱包、更广泛的财富产品和汽车金融平台在内的各项举措，新资金将于 2030 年前部署完毕。
汽车金融
劳埃德银行表示，它正在通过创建汽车金融产品市场来打造英国首个“综合交通生态系统”，将为客户提供融资、租赁和保险产品。该集团在车辆融资和租赁领域已拥有 17 per cent 的市场份额，但表示在年支出额达 £35 billion 的市场中发现了更多机会。劳埃德银行已在其应用程序中推出了车辆管理功能，并将增加更多针对消费者、企业和经纪人的产品。
劳斯莱斯悖论
财务目标
劳埃德银行在更新中刷新了其财务目标，向股东承诺到 2030, 其有形权益回报率（银行板块的收益衡量标准）将从目前的 16 per cent 提升至 20 per cent。同时，该贷款机构将寻求将其成本收入比（运营效率的衡量标准）降低至 45 per cent 以下。
事实上，环境活动组织 Uplift 对该公司的数字发出了这样一封短函：“在英国和欧洲燃烧之际，石油巨头壳牌发布了增长的战争利润。”这虽然带有情绪，但在事实层面上并无错误——当波尔多和马德里周围的森林在燃烧、萨福克郡的一场大火让赛兹韦尔B核电站进入高度戒备状态、英格兰今夏的热相关死亡人数有望超过 2022 年的 2,985 人并创纪录，以及超市负责人警告极端天气给粮食供应带来风险时，壳牌正从高油价和高气价中大肆敛财。壳牌的老板太聪明了，不可能没注意到这种尴尬的并列。
听他的话，你可能会面临某种风险，因为这会损害罗尔斯（Rolls）相对于“金融市场竞争对手”的地位。这就是为什么他现在陷入了这种荒谬的境地：一方面主张罗尔斯需要约 £1 billion 的纳税人补贴，以帮助开发一种用于短途飞机的发动机；而与此同时，仅通过股份回购就向投资者返还了该金额九倍的资金——这还不包括额外的股息（见报道，第 39 页）。
该集团还将通过在投诉处理和欺诈检测等流程中使用人工智能，推进 £2 billion 的成本削减计划。劳埃德银行（Lloyds）在过去四年中已通过数字化流程和关闭银行分行实现了 £2 billion 的成本削减。
企业贷款
与此同时，该行承诺将其服务于小型企业的客户关系团队规模增加一倍，并承诺提供超过 £45 billion 的新贷款。客户关系经理还将获得新的人工智能工具，以帮助他们批准客户的贷款，且银行还将大幅增加自动做出贷款决策的数量。更广泛的企业和投资银行将在美国和欧洲扩展，以“扩大并深化客户关系”。
推进保险业务
而这一切都发生在一间持有 £2.1 billion 净现金的公司内部。在发布了超越市场的半年报后，该公司将全年利润和自由现金流指引提高至高达 £4.9 billion 和 £4 billion。此外，由于股价上涨 6 per cent 至 £14.63.，该公司目前的市值高达 £122 billion。谁知道呢，也许有更适合获得纳税人免费资助的候选者。是的，正如埃尔金比尔吉奇（Erginbilgic）所指出，世界其他地方也是如此：像美国的通用电气（GE）和普惠（Pratt & Whitney），以及法国的赛峰（Safran），获得的补贴是其“三到四倍”。如果他的新发动机获得成功，将创造 “40,000” 个就业机会，而罗尔斯在一年半内为此支付的税款将比“我所要求的一切”多得多。
纳恩（Nunn）表示，他不想为每个客户想要销售的产品数量设定精确目标，但该集团将利用其客户数据尝试销售更多保险单，这种在业内被称为“银行保险”（bancassurance）的业务模式。该公司去年还收购了施罗德财富（Schroders Wealth），并设定了到 2030 年吸引一百万名财富管理客户的目标。
因此，向萨万（Sawan）提出一个问题：壳牌（Shell）还需要多久才能以一种在战略上更为公开的方式意识到这里发生的事情？是的，这是一个棘手领域。在前任本·范·博登（Ben van Beurden）的领导下，壳牌在 2021 年进行了一次代价高昂的向绿色能源的转向，而 2023, 年 1 月接任的萨万已经花了三年时间来修正这一点。
房产计划
根据 2021. 年启动的 “Lloyds Living” 计划，该行准备将其租赁住宅投资组合的规模翻倍至 20,000 套。劳埃德银行还将通过向客户交叉销售保险和共有产权抵押贷款，试图从该投资组合中产生更多收入。
他表示：“我们在英国通常看到的是，在我们的银行开立主活期账户的客户平均持有约 2.5 个产品。”
而且取得了成功——即便他很幸运，壳牌的绿色转型不像英国石油公司（BP）那样无能。萨万毫不掩饰地将公司重新聚焦于石油和天然气，削减了 $5.8 billion 的结构性成本，并实现了真正的运营和财务韧性：足以在连续 19 个季度中保持至少 $3 billion 的股份回购流出，无论地缘政治或油气价格如何变幻。
“我们预计次级账户和特定产品账户的增长将持续下去。当我们提供真正无缝的体验，配合极具竞争力的定价，并增加奖励机制时，我们确实看到人们选择将更多资金交给我们，这绝对是战略的一部分。”
与此同时，对于购房者，劳埃德银行承诺使用人工智能将完成房产交易的时间“从数周缩短至数日”，此前该行已将处理重新抵押贷款申请的平均时间缩短了 70 per cent。
这还将为劳斯莱斯（Rolls）在航空市场中迄今为止最大的部分提供一条增长路径。不过，埃尔金比尔吉奇（Erginbilgic）并不认为他在劳斯莱斯任职期间需要这款新发动机：“我不需要更多的历史包袱。”
此外，很少有像能源转型这样细致且复杂的争论：但 Uplift 显然没意识到这一点，它愚蠢地呼吁安迪·伯纳姆（Andy Burnham）“停止 Rosebank 油田”：该油田与 Jackdaw 天然气田（壳牌公司持有权益）一样，是北海中等待批准的两个项目之一。萨万（Sawan）是对的，当英国的能源系统仍然“大约 75 per cent 依赖于化石能源”时，使用我们拥有的“本土”资源比从世界各地进口要环保得多，尤其是当这还能增加就业、税收收入和能源安全时。
该公司在过去一个月中下跌了 12 per cent。其他持仓包括 Adobe、Nebius、美光科技（Micron Technology）、SanDisk 和 CoreWeave，在过去一个月中均下跌了 20 per cent 以上。
他的论点很明确。但同样明确的是另一件事：劳斯莱斯不需要这笔钱。这是疯狂的企业福利主义。
据《金融时报》报道，总部位于旧金山的 Situational Awareness 在杠杆风险放大 AI 相关股票上涨的情况下，从年初到 6 月 30 日实现了 439 per cent 的净回报。据报道，该公司近期管理资产规模约为 $20 billion。
随着由 20 多岁企业家创立的 Polymarket 和 Kalshi 等初创平台吸引了数百万用户和数十亿美元的交易量，该行业最热门的领域正在崛起。
迎接替补
杰西卡·纽曼（Jessica Newman）
金融市场博彩公司 IG Group 已首次涉足预测市场行业，同意以 $1.3 billion 的交易价格收购 Underdog。
首先，由 欧洲足联 55 个欧洲成员国全部抵制 世界杯 。接下来可能是？
虽然在英国通过博彩公司对政治选举等事件的结果进行投注长期以来是被允许的，但自美国法院允许 Kalshi 列出 2024 presidential election 的投注项后，预测市场在过去两年中在美国极受欢迎。
总部位于纽约的 Underdog 成立于 2020, 运营预测市场和一个幻想体育平台，用户可以在其中选择一支虚拟球队，并根据结果和统计数据赢取现金。
据称该基金已聘请美国银行、高盛和摩根大通以减持头寸并满足保证金要求。据了解，Situational 仍持有其私有公司投资，其中包括对 AI 巨头 Anthropic 的押注。
对摩根大通进行足球抵制，这家银行一直支持 国际足联 的 詹尼·因凡蒂诺 及其来自唐纳德·特朗普家族的朋友，试图将足球界最伟大的赛事变成一场商业丑闻盛宴。
他还坚持认为壳牌“不仅仅是一家化石燃料公司”。正如他所指出的，它正在“投资欧洲最大的绿氢设施”，即位于鹿特丹的一座 200 兆瓦工厂；它是“继特斯拉之后第二大电动汽车充电运营商”；而且总共投入了 “$20 billion” 用于可再生能源项目，并且“现在正努力实现回报”。
IG 表示，此次收购包括基于约 $1.1 billion 企业价值的预付款，以及为 Underdog 股东提供的约 $200 million 的盈利支付（earn-out）。
尽管有欧洲超级联赛的闹剧，但摩根大通曾拥有利润丰厚的足球业务：为埃弗顿的新球场和皇家马德里的伯纳乌改造提供融资，并就曼联交易为吉姆·拉特克利夫爵士（Sir Jim Ratcliffe）提供咨询。在 国际足联 的风波之后，足球俱乐部难道不会更倾向于在球场上选择另一家银行吗？
对于作为英国最古老的差价合约博彩公司的 IG 来说，收购 Underdog 标志着该公司“构建全球消费者参与平台”长期战略中的一个“决定性步骤”。
Aschenbrenner 是一名德国原住民，于 2023 年加入 OpenAI，在“超级对齐”（superalignment）团队工作，该团队致力于寻找解决方案，以确保未来比人类更智能的 AI 系统能够遵循人类意图。他于 2024 年 4 月因涉嫌泄密而被解雇。
该公司补充称，将暂停股票回购，并希望在明年恢复。
该公司估计，通过此次收购，其美国营收将翻倍，美国月活跃客户数将增长 10 倍，同时将自己打造成为预测市场行业的领导者。
Underdog 表示其幻想体育业务拥有超过 11 million 个注册账户，该公司于 2020 年推出，并于去年 9 月进入预测市场。这已成为其中之一
壳牌公司（Shell）长期以来一直呼吁全球政府对碳排放实施明确的税收，从而向客户发送“价格信号”
他在那一年创立了 Situational Awareness，其假设是 AI 模型到 2027 年将能够具备从事 AI 研究员工作的能力。
alistair.osborne@thetimes.co.uk
TOLGA AKMEN/EPA
贝利给新政府带来了一些慰藉
欧洲中央银行行长克里斯蒂娜·拉加德（Christine Lagarde）在这样一个认为自己能预知未来是极其愚蠢的时代，也降低了对其预测和“前瞻性指引”的权重。
Mehreen Khan 经济编辑
英格兰银行在新政府成立之初选择保持观望，将利率维持不变。
但沃什（Warsh）试图变革过去 20 年中央银行惯例的尝试却让他陷入了麻烦。债券持有人将他在货币政策上故作深奥的尝试，视为掩盖他不愿意提高利率并惹恼总统的事实。
首相安迪·伯纳姆（Andy Burnham）及其财政大臣约翰·希利（John Healey）可以从英格兰银行最新的展望中获得慰藉，该展望下调了通胀预期，并表示年率将在明年年底前接近 2 per cent 的目标。
年化消费者价格通胀率预计将在秋季达到 3.2 per cent 的峰值，略高于 3 月份达到的 3.1 per cent。目前的通胀率为 2.6 per cent，明显低于中央银行在春季预期的 3 per cent。
在他的新闻发布会后，30-year 美国国债收益率飙升至金融危机以来的最高水平。正是这一资产类别在莉兹·特拉斯（Liz Truss）的迷你预算案中被点燃。这是债券市场中能够推翻政府——以及中央银行家的部分。
英格兰银行还同意工党的评估，即能源账单的增值税（VAT）削减将使家庭账单从 10 月起减少约 £45，导致年通胀率下降 0.1 per cent。
行长安德鲁·贝利（Andrew Bailey）表示，债券收益率的上升使英格兰银行能够将基准利率维持在 3.75 per cent 不变。
新任美联储主席希望少说话，让交易员根据经济状况来定价他们认为利率应在的水平。债券市场可能能够接受一个中央银行演讲和新闻发布会更少的局面。但当沃什发声时，他却在打哑谜。他在新闻发布会开始时否认默许了更高的通胀，但随后拒绝承认当前通胀的上升将需要提高利率。
在能源价格冲击之后，英格兰银行尚未看到油价通胀转化为更高薪资结算或消费者及企业收费价格的“二轮效应”证据。
溢出到更高的薪资中。对人工智能的大规模投入在美国造成的通胀压力也比世界其他地区更大。
全球利率
尽管近期油价大涨，但由九人组成的货币政策委员会（MPC）所处的局面比其美国同行更为从容。英格兰银行行长安德鲁·贝利（Andrew Bailey）表示，自3月以来政府债券收益率的攀升推高了抵押贷款利率并收紧了金融条件，这使得英格兰银行能够在今年将基准利率维持在 3.75% 。
英国 美国 欧元区
与美联储类似，英格兰银行委员会中有三名成员在本月投票支持提高利率，高于6月的两名。在美伊停火协议本月破裂——导致上周油价暂时被推高至每桶 $100 ——之后，最新的鹰派成员凯瑟琳·曼（Catherine Mann）加入了反对阵营。曼表示，现在提高利率将有助于“增强政策可信度”。
与沃什（Warsh）在美联储那个动荡的新体制相比，贝利的可信度尚未受到严密审查。但英国尚未脱离困境。全球油价大约每上涨 $10，就会给利率预测增加约 0.2 个百分点。
来源：英格兰银行；美联储；欧洲央行
−1
2023 24 25 26
当被问及美联储正在考虑什么样的替代性通胀衡量标准时，沃什拒绝回答。波士顿美联储前任主席埃里克·罗森格伦（Eric Rosengren）警告称，沃什“长期以来的不回应不仅增加了不必要的不确定性，还可能被误读为美联储独立性的丧失”。
英国是主要的能源和食品进口国，在这个冬季可能会成为天然气价格冲击的目标。欧洲天然气期货价格在本月触及三年高点，反映出在冬季到来前天然气库存的减少。
美联储主席凯文·沃什（Kevin Warsh）在周三表达了同样的观点——但债券投资者并不认为这位特朗普任命的美联储主席有足够的勇气应对另一波通胀上涨。
英国通胀率
英格兰银行尚未面临来自“债券义警”（bond vigilantes）的同样审查。交易员们仍在押注今年将有大约两次加息——这是他们自美伊战争爆发以来一直持有的立场。英格兰银行尚未实施货币紧缩，但它可以将通胀减弱和劳动力市场疲软作为观望的充分理由。与 2022 年相比
CPI 服务业 核心
12%
10
在就任后的第二次新闻发布会上，沃什告诉市场，考虑到油价的波动，他不会在利率如何应对新通胀数据的问题上向他们提供“喂食式”的实时解说。
8
油价导致今年通胀增加了 0.4 个百分点。在 Ofgem 的价格上限下，天然气短缺可能会推高通胀和账单。贝利表示：“能源价格的风险偏向于上行。”
6
4
沃什的处境比贝利更棘手，因为全球最大的经济体在油价持续上涨引发的通胀冲击面前更为脆弱。
2
0
来源：英国国家统计局
−2
这很好。贝利和
2016 18 20 22 24 26
以及爱尔兰投资者损失了数百万英镑。
回报率较高但风险极大，且在某些情况下涉嫌欺诈。
詹姆斯·赫利（James Hurley） 商业副主编
亨特·琼斯（Hunter Jones）推广的另一个贷款票据计划 Magna Group 也是一个因素。Magna 因其“误导性”投资于 2021 年被关闭。政府破产管理服务局（Insolvency Service）发现，即便在公司资不抵债之后，Magna 的董事们仍继续收取投资者的资金。
Equity for Growth 公司于3月被强制清算，因为它无法承担金融监察员服务局（Financial Ombudsman Service）针对其在所谓“指定代表”制度下批准推广的公司而下令支付的赔偿金额。Equity for Growth 有责任确保其“指定代表”具备“适当能力且品行端正”，并遵守金融城规则。
一家与推广者合作且在销售“贷款票据”时未披露从投资者资金中提取的“极高”佣金水平的企业，受到了城市监管机构的谴责。
由于中东冲突导致成本增加，但今年的消费者得到了更高额度退税的支持。
Louisa Clarence-Smith 美国业务编辑
尽管消费支出增加且投资强劲，美国第二季度的经济增长有所放缓。
高收入家庭也受益于资产价格（包括美国股票）的强劲增长。分析人士表示，国际足联 Fifa 世界杯赛事有助于刺激消费。
监管机构表示，Equity for Growth (Securities) 批准了为第三方公司提供的“不公平、不清晰且具有误导性”的财务推广。
根据商务部经济分析局发布的一项初步预估，4月至6月季度的国内生产总值年化增长率为 1.5 %。第一季度的经济增长率为 2.1 %。
判决称，Hunter Jones “经常违反监管义务”。Hunter Jones 目前仍在运营，但未受监管。该公司拒绝置评。此前该公司表示已“吸取教训”。
在人工智能投资热潮中，企业投资大幅增长。然而，经济学家警告称，美国领导的与伊朗的战争（目前已进入第六个月）给下半年的需求和经济增长带来了下行风险。汽油平均价格回升至每加仑 $4 以上。
金融行为监管局（FCA）表示，如果不是因为 Equity for Growth 已经关闭，该局本会对其误导销售行为处以罚款。
其任命的代表包括 Hunter Jones，该公司推广了包括 Dolphin 在内的计划。Dolphin 是一个德国房产计划，于 2020 年崩盘，欠全球约 25,000 名投资者近 £1 billion。
消费支出占据美国经济活动的三分之二以上，在1月至3月季度突然放缓至 0.5 % 的增长后，现已增长 3.2 %。尽管成本增加，消费仍保持韧性。
该机构表示，Equity for Growth 批准了“未能披露极高佣金费用”的推广活动。
此次干预与该机构日益关注的一系列“微型债券”或贷款票据投资计划有关，这些计划在销售时承诺提供丰厚且“安全”的收益。
这些扣除项可能会导致基础投资难以达到维持生存的良好表现。
Dolphin 的创始人 Charles Smethurst 去年在德国被裁定犯有欺诈罪。数千名英国投资者……
联邦储备委员会将基准借款成本维持在 3.5 % 至 3.75 % 的区间内。
苏格兰的房屋过户证明速度快三倍
迪士尼的《米老鼠俱乐部》希望将我们的孩子从 AI 垃圾内容中拯救出来
David Byers 副房产编辑
‘‘
本月，流媒体平台 Disney+ 宣布将重启《米老鼠俱乐部》，
这部少儿电视节目在 20 世纪 80 年代和 90 年代启动了众多演员和歌手的职业生涯，包括瑞安·高斯林、贾斯汀·汀比伯、克里斯蒂娜·阿奎莱拉和布兰妮·斯皮尔斯。
迪士尼售出了 10 million 顶带有浣熊尾巴的戴维·克罗克特帽。总计迪士尼随之售出了 $300 million 的周边商品——这远高于其通过电影赚取的收入。
在英格兰的部分地区，房屋销售的完成时间比苏格兰长三倍，部长们面临加速边境以南购房改革的压力日益增大。
这种通过衍生品而非内容本身（使用现代术语）获利的模式可以追溯到 1929. 年的最初俱乐部。首先，电影院本身支付 $25 （约等于今天的 $500 ）成为特许经营商。然后，家长们支付一笔金额小得多的费用，以获得为孩子购买帽子、纽扣、横幅等产品的权利。
根据 Rightmove 的数据，在英国办事效率最慢的地方当局斯劳（Slough），房地产交易的法律流程从达成销售协议到完成平均需要 7.5 个月——即 229 天。而在克拉克曼南郡（Clackmannanshire），这一时间仅为 76 天。
我已经太老了，没能见证这个版本的大部分内容，而我瞥见的部分与我成长过程中接触到的那些更具无政府主义色彩的英国儿童节目（如《Tiswas》、《Swap Shop》或《Why Don’t You?》）相比，显得过于甜腻了。
研究表明，交易速度最快的十个地区全部位于苏格兰，这反映了当地运行的不同制度。
这是一个天才的商业模式，之所以成功是因为迪士尼围绕着“会说话的卡通片”这一令人兴奋的技术建立了一个社区。它要求孩子们背诵一段信条：
上个月，政府承诺将改变英格兰和威尔士的买卖流程，使其与苏格兰相似。在苏格兰，法律约束协议在流程的早期阶段就会达成，且如果买家或卖家退出，则需支付财务罚金。
但只要有人愿意投资原创儿童电视节目，我总是感到欣慰。本周发布的 Ofcom 年度报告凸显了儿童观看习惯的糟糕现状。
—— “我要做一个好美国人！”秘密握手以及选出的官员。
包括迪士尼在内的流媒体平台现在采用的一种模式是：向观众收取少量的内容费用，然后试图说服我们升级到高级版本。但升级后我们得到了什么？没有广告。仅此而已。而且，观察 Ofcom 的数据可以明显看出，我们已经过了流媒体的巅峰期。2021 年，约 60% 的英国住户订阅了网飞 / Netflix。此后该比例小幅上升至 61%。Amazon Prime 从 47% 下降到 46%；Disney+ 在两年前达到 26%，之后再未攀升。
政府希望这将结束“截胡”（gazumping）现象，即卖家接受了一份报价，但在接受另一位买家更高的报价后违约。然而，关于此项内容的新立法——或强制要求卖家向买家提供强制性信息包的独立规则——直到 2029 年才会出台。
4 到 15 岁的儿童平均每天观看 178 分钟的视频，无论是直播电视、回看电视还是视频流媒体。这略低于三小时，听起来很多，但事实上远低于他们的祖辈——65 岁及以上的人群每天观看 6.5 小时。但与将 BBC One 作为首选的老年人不同，16 岁以下的人绝大多数倾向于使用 YouTube。
Rightmove 首席执行官 Johan Svanstrom 表示，这些数字表明有必要加快改革。他说：“健康的住房市场取决于人们能够便捷且确定地搬迁住房。”
当然，YouTube 上有很多优秀的内容，但它也包含——我通过大量调查得知——许多专门针对儿童、令人不安且低质量的 AI 生成垃圾内容。
缓慢的购买流程、昂贵的抵押贷款、更高的印花税以及通货膨胀给买家带来的压力，这些因素共同导致伦敦的交易时间目前处于 Rightmove 记录以来的最长水平：从达成销售协议到完成需要 174 天，接近六个月。
流媒体平台表现得越来越像传统的线性广播公司，播出体育赛事直播，每周发布剧集，并播送看起来非常像 20 世纪 70 年代访谈节目的播客视频。
《米老鼠俱乐部》能否将孩子们从 YouTube 上那些腐蚀大脑的内容中吸引回来？我持怀疑态度。但这次重启由于一个更有趣的原因而显得重要：该俱乐部是迪士尼历史的核心部分，可以说它是迪士尼成为一个 $171 billion 娱乐巨头的关键原因。它或许能给线性频道和订阅频道提供教训，以从 YouTube 和 TikTok 赢回观众。
说有 1,000 名孩子在每个周末都出现，仅仅是为了看米老鼠卡通片——为什么不成立一个俱乐部呢？他甚至建议收取少量费用，因为父母们为了让孩子走出家门愿意支付这笔钱。沃尔特同意了，并且关键的是，他建议如果取得成功，就应该将这个俱乐部特许经营化。在短短两年内，它就拥有了超过一百万名会员，数量超过了加入美国童子军和女童军的总和。
包含大量专业术语。但正如在讲述劳力士、可口可乐和微软的剧集中一样，迪士尼的历史充满了引人入胜的细节，尤其是沃尔特 21 岁时用一张假名片骗进环球影业，花了一整天时间秘密观察他们如何拍摄电影。
新旧电视广播机构都需要重新寻找加利福尼亚州福克斯穹顶剧院（Fox Dome Theatre）的魔力。不是通过背诵信条或秘密握手，而是通过培养社区感——这是电视在最佳状态下能够通过地标性纪录片、重大体育时刻或像《名人叛徒》（Celebrity Traitors）这样的节目所能实现的。如果你想与 YouTube 那种由算法驱动、永不停歇的短视频竞争，观众需要感觉到自己是某个比单纯坐在屏幕前更宏大之物的一部分。
英格兰东部为 171 天，东南部为 170 天，受影响程度相似。相比之下，苏格兰的交易平均耗时 98 天，快于东北部（耗时 141 天）。威尔士的交易平均耗时 155 天。在全国范围内，23% 的交易最终告吹。
我还没有意识到，最初的迪士尼乐园是通过与 ABC 电视台达成的一项巧妙协议获得资金的：该广播公司投资了 $500,000，并保证了 $4.5 百万的银行贷款。
国民西敏寺集团（NatWest Group）抵押贷款分发主管布拉德·福特汉姆（Brad Fordham）表示，将房屋买卖流程数字化将有所帮助。“产权转让过程中的延迟给我们的客户带来了情感痛苦和实际的经济成本，”他说道。
让我解释一下。米老鼠俱乐部最初在 1929 年就作为一个真正的俱乐部成立了，那时沃尔特·迪士尼甚至还没有拍过一部故事长片。他刚刚发布了《汽船威利》，这是第一部带同步声音的卡通片，孩子们开始为了看正片之前的卡通片而去电影院，而不是为了电影本身。
哈里·沃洛普（Harry Wallop）是一位消费者
我在听《Acquired》——这个极具吸引力的商业历史播客的迪士尼那一集时发现了这一点。该节目由两名前风险投资人主持，它打破了所有播客规则：每月仅发布一集（如果能发的话），每集长达四个小时，且经常
作为回报，沃尔特同意（起初有些勉强）制作一些电视节目。其中之一是《大卫·克罗克特》（Davy Crockett），该节目迅速成为美国第二受欢迎的节目，其主题音乐登顶排行榜。在 1955 年
房产中介公司 Jackson-Stops 的主席尼克·里明（Nick Leeming）补充道：“改革房屋买卖流程必须仍然是一项优先任务。”
加利福尼亚州福克斯穹顶剧院的经理联系了沃尔特以
记者兼广播员。在 X 上关注他 @hwallop
寻找由我们的漫画家（包括彼得·布鲁克斯、莫滕·莫兰德、彼得·施兰克等）创作的签名装裱版精品画作。
价格 £58. 起。请在 timescartoons.com 订购。
富时 100 集团报告第二季度经调整后收益为 $9.8 十亿，是 2025 年同期 $4.3 十亿的两倍多。
看到电视上的画面，我的心与许多遭受苦难的人在一起。”
能源编辑艾米莉·戈斯登（Emily Gosden），该公司已放弃了许多可再生能源投资，并呼吁政府实施碳税，以驱动客户对绿色能源的需求。
Sawan 在发表上述言论时，欧洲最大的石油和天然气公司报告了其史上第二高的季度利润。由于美国与伊朗战争导致的价格高企且波动剧烈，这在很大程度上抵消了其在中东地区运营受到的干扰。
壳牌（Shell）首席执行官表示，席卷欧洲的山火“非常令人担忧”，与此同时，这家石油和天然气巨头利用高价获得了近 $10 的巨额利润。
霍尔木兹海峡（Strait of Hormuz）的关闭——这一关键水道通常承担全球五分之一的石油和液化天然气（LNG）运输——给全球能源市场带来了混乱，并使价格在第二季度持续高企。壳牌表示，其第二季度的石油平均售价为每桶 $89，高于去年同期的每桶 $64。
在谈到科学家称由人为气候变化导致其可能性增加的山火时，他补充道：“这太具有破坏性了。每一次我……
Wael Sawan 坚持认为壳牌不仅仅是“一家化石燃料公司”，尽管……
Sawan 表示，“大宗商品价格高企是业绩的重要组成部分”，同时壳牌具备“通过贸易创造价值”的能力。他补充道：“我们天生就适应波动时期。”
该利润仅次于 2022 年第二季度在俄罗斯入侵乌克兰后壳牌报告的 $11.5。
由于卡塔尔液化天然气（LNG）生产关闭以及该国 Pearl 气转液（gas-to-liquids）工厂受损，壳牌综合天然气部门（包括液化天然气和气转液）的产量下降了 31%。
壳牌还宣布，将在下一季度进一步回购 $3 的公司股票。
在收益显著高于分析师预期（$8.9）之后，该公司股价上涨了 1.5%。然而，该股最终收盘下跌 4½便士，即 0.1%，报 £33.19。
壳牌在 70 个国家拥有 85,000 名员工，业务范围涵盖从油气勘探到燃料零售。该公司在季度内每天开采相当于近 2.5 million 桶石油，并且是全球最大的液化天然气独立贸易商。
来自布伦特油田（Brent Field）的最后一座钻井平台在……
将自身油气生产运营的碳排放量减半，并坚持称其也在“投资绿色技术”。
自 2023, 年起领导该公司的 Sawan 放弃了前任 Ben van Beurden 实施的许多绿色投资，并寻求扩大其天然气业务。
他表示：“我们正在投资全欧洲最大的绿氢设施，预计将于明年年初启动。我们是全球碳捕捉与封存领域最大的投资者之一。我们是仅次于特斯拉（Tesla）的第二大电动汽车（EV）充电运营商，我们在该领域总共投入了 $20 的资金。”
环保活动组织 Uplift 的副主任 Robert Palmer 表示：“就在欧洲与毁灭性山火搏斗时，壳牌却在利用特朗普的战争敛财，并加倍押注石油和天然气。世界正处于火海之中，而壳牌却想再添一把火。”
“我们总有更多能够且应当去做的事情，但这需要每个人的共同参与。”
Sawan 表示，壳牌正致力于……
时间，而且有不止一个项目在流程中。”他表示，尽管出售已“基本处于最后阶段”，但“这可能也是销售过程中最具挑战性的时期，因为我们需要让所有相关方达成一致”。
Emily Gosden
英美资源（Anglo American）表示，其正在出售戴比尔斯（De Beers）的“最后阶段”，但否认就这家陷入困境的钻石矿业公司与任何单一竞买者进行独家谈判。
今年夏天，在《泰晤士报》书店享受 2 paperbacks for £15 的优惠。涵盖获奖小说、广受好评的非虚构作品，以及由《泰晤士报》和《星期日泰晤士报》文学编辑评选的精彩书籍。
据报道，富时 100 指数（FTSE 100）成员公司（目前正处于与加拿大 Teck 公司合并的过程中）已接近达成一项协议，以仅 $1 billion 的价格出售其在戴比尔斯（De Beers）公司 85 per cent 的股份。这仅为几年前该公司价值的一小部分，凸显了钻石市场面临的挑战。
他补充道：“我们希望在今年下半年能达成最终结论。”
在实验室培育钻石兴起的背景下，戴比尔斯一直深受需求疲软之苦。2月份，Anglo 公司在三年内第三次调低其在戴比尔斯的持股价值。戴比尔斯整体的账面价值已从 2022 年的 $9.4 billion 骤降至截至2月份的仅 $2.3 billion。
持有戴比尔斯 15 per cent 股份的博茨瓦纳政府本月表示，Anglo American 已选择由前戴比尔斯首席执行官加雷斯·佩尼（Gareth Penny）领导的财团作为其“首选竞标者”。
在铜价上涨的推动下，Anglo 报告的扣除利息、税项及其他费用前的潜在收益增长了 35 per cent，达到 $4 billion。
然而，Anglo American 的首席执行官邓肯·万布拉德（Duncan Wanblad）表示：“在目前这个时间点，我们并没有与任何特定财团签署排他性协议。”
在线订单满 £25. 免英国境内邮费。Times+ 折扣不适用于此项促销。促销价格仅在限定时间内适用于部分选定书籍（至 2026 年 8 月 17 日午夜结束）。所有通过电话下单的订单将收取最低 £2.99 的配送费。
Anglo American 的股价收盘上涨 124p，即 3.4 per cent，报 £37.26.
IAN FORSYTH/GETTY IMAGES
罗尔斯-罗伊斯再次恳请纳税人资金支持短途市场
埃尔金比尔吉奇（Erginbilgic）表示，该市场比宽体机市场大“八到九倍”。
Emma Powell
随着这家航空航天集团提高了年度业绩预期，罗尔斯-罗伊斯（Rolls-Royce）的掌舵人再次呼吁纳税人提供高达 £1 billion 的资金，以支持其进入短途飞机市场。
这家总部位于德比（Derby）的公司正向政府争取据信高达数亿英镑的资金。埃尔金比尔吉奇表示，整个项目的总投资额可能达到 £40 billion 至 £50 billion。
这家富时 100 指数（FTSE 100）航空工程师公司为波音和空客的大型飞机制造发动机，尽管中东地区存在冲突，但预计调整后营业利润将在 £4.7 billion 至 £4.9 billion 之间，自由现金流为 £3.8 billion 至 £4 billion。
在为请求政府支持进行辩护时，埃尔金比尔吉奇坚持认为，罗尔斯-罗伊斯正在与美国公司竞争，而美国公司获得的资金是“我们的三到四倍”，并补充说该投资计划对“纳税人也将有利”。
首席执行官图凡·埃尔金比尔吉奇（Tufan Erginbilgic）表示，民航业务中发动机维护合同盈利能力的提高提升了业绩。该公司旨在将其宽体发动机的平均“在翼时间”增加一倍。
“实际上，该计划将改变英国的先进制造业，创造高达 40,000 个工作岗位[以及]供应链发展，”他说道。
当被问及在首相安迪·伯纳姆（Andy Burnham）和财政大臣约翰·希利（John Healey）就任新职后，是否曾与他们会面讨论资金请求时，埃尔金比尔吉奇不愿正面回答，但他表示他“从未停止与政府沟通”，包括在这个议题上。他补充说，政府对此是“支持的”。
£4.9bn
自埃尔金比尔吉奇在 2023 年初接管以来，罗尔斯-罗伊斯的股价上涨了 1,360 per cent 以上，收盘上涨 79p，即 5.7 per cent，报 £14.59.
预期利润上限
今年前六个月的收入增长 20 per cent 至 £11.4 billion，高于伦敦金融城分析师预测的 £10.2 billion 共识预期。潜在营业利润增长 46 per cent 至
朝着全年潜在营业利润在 £4 billion 至 £4.2 billion 之间，且自由现金流在 £3.6 billion 至 £3.8 billion 之间迈进。该公司已返还 £1.4 billion。
北海设施被拖至蒂斯河（River Tees）以便在 2024. 年拆除。壳牌（Shell）正等待新北海项目的批准。
前政府将能源部门列为将承担部分削减额度的部门，以一个释放资金用于国防开支，这引发了关于碳捕集与封存（CCS）支持可能被削减的猜测。
计划今年进行 £2.5 billion 的股票回购，此前在 2 月份提出在 2028 年底前返还 £7 billion 至 £9 billion。
“对于能源部门而言，最重要的是稳定性，”他说。“一个更持久的财政框架无疑会吸引更多资本进入英国北海。”
“批准北海投资”
在本月早些时候的范堡罗（Farnborough）航展上，他再次发出威胁，称将前往“其他地方”制造发动机。人们担心如果没有纳税人的支持，罗尔斯（Rolls）可能会将业务转移到德国或美国，这意味着英国可能会失去数万个未来的工作岗位。
在提升全年财务指引的同时，Erginbilgic 重申了计划让罗尔斯重新进入价值 $1 trillion 的短途飞机市场。目前该市场由美国的普惠（Pratt & Whitney）及其美国同行巨头通用电气（GE）与法国赛峰（Safran）的合资公司所主导。
Adura 是壳牌与 Equinor 在北海的合资企业，正在开发 Jackdaw 气田和 Rosebank 油田，但在法院裁定原许可是非法后，正等待政府的批准。
Sawan 认为 CCS “发挥了英国的优势”，因为该国拥有可用作存储二氧化碳的枯竭储层，以及能够捕获该气体的工业集群。
壳牌已呼吁安迪·伯纳姆（Andy Burnham）批准其在北海计划开发的油气田，并维持对碳捕集与封存（CCS）项目的支持（Emily Gosden 撰文）。
Erginbilgic 表示，随着航空公司升级其机队，接下来的三年将是打破两家美国现有企业垄断并向航空公司提供“示范”发动机的关键时期。
Sawan 呼吁政府“加快 Jackdaw 和 Rosebank 的审批”，认为使用国内资源而非进口将带来更高的税收收益、更多就业机会和更高的能源安全。
“我意识到政府在决定其边际美元的去向时面临一些艰难的选择，”他说。“但无论他们怎么做，最大的诉求就是稳定性。”
壳牌首席执行官 Wael Sawan 还警告称，北海未来财政制度的不确定性导致资金被投资到其他地方。“最重要的事情
罗尔斯自 2011 年以来一直专注于长途市场，为空中客车 A350 和波音 787. 等机型制造发动机。然而，短途
他补充道：“在接下来的三年里，你要么进入，要么被淘汰。”
台风战斗机，使总订单积压额达到 £84 billion。今年，它获得了一项为期七年的合同，用于升级美国的终端高空区域防御（Terminal High Altitude Area Defense）拦截导弹，该导弹旨在摧毁弹道导弹。
Emma Powell
这家英国的国防冠军企业利用全球政府增加军费开支的机会，提高了其年度财务指引。
宣布削减 4,700 个岗位以及 3,000 个承包商职位。
Emily Gosden
BP 已告知员工，作为其简化计划的一部分，将削减 700 个“非一线”岗位。
O’Neill 在 4 月初就职，其职责是简化 BP 并增强其资产负债表。她的任期已经起伏不定，该公司在 5 月份因欺凌指控（他对此否认）而撤换了其主席 Albert Manifold。
今年前六个月，营收增长 8 per cent 至 £14.6 billion，而税前利润也以相同幅度增长至 £1.3 billion。
BAE Systems 生产战斗机、火炮、导弹以及核潜艇，预计今年销售额增长将在 8 到 10 %之间，基础利润增长在 10 到 12 %之间，高于之前的 7 到 9 %和 9 到 11 %的区间。
这些岗位将来自原有的“生产与运营”部门，作为新任负责人 Meg O’Neill 领导的改革的一部分，该部门已被一个更常规的“上游”部门所取代。
BAE 雇佣了超过 110,000 名员工，其中在英国的人数近 47,000 人。BAE 接近一半的业务在美国，超过四分之一在英国。约十分之一来自沙特阿拉伯，其空军运行着 BAE 生产的台风战斗机。
此次裁员相当于原生产与运营业务中非前线岗位的约 8 %。该部门包含了目前大部分的“上游”业务——勘探与生产——但也包含部分“下游”炼油和营销业务的职责。
BP 将在周二公布第二季度业绩，分析师预测由于油气价格上涨，利润将激增至 51 亿美元 ($5.1 billion)，高于去年同期的略高于 20 亿美元 ($2 billion)。尽管如此，据《金融时报》(FT) 报道，上游部门主管 Gordon Birrell 告诉员工，全球市场信号指向“潜在的供应过剩以及更低的油气价格”。
自俄罗斯入侵乌克兰及中东冲突以来，这家英国国防承包商受益于各国政府订单的急剧增加。
BAE 已签署一份合同，旨在支持土耳其的欧洲战斗机台风机队。
政府持有该公司的“黄金股”，使其有权基于国家安全理由否决对 BAE 的收购。
现代战争的现实已经“发生了相当深刻的变化”，而英国的国防开支必须随之改变。“到目前为止，这是我见过的威胁最严重的时期，”他说道。
BAE Systems 首席执行官 Charles Woodburn 表示：“全球威胁形势依然高度动荡，各国政府正通过持续增加国防预算来做出应对。”
BP 表示：“我们正在打造一个更简单、更强大、更有价值的 BP。作为这一过程的一部分，我们建议进行调整，这将导致岗位减少，旨在降低复杂性，提高问责制并支持长期业绩。”
该公司股价今年上涨了近 20 %，上涨 30 便士，即 1.5 %，至 £20.50。
上半年共获得了价值 £16.4 billion 的订单，其中包括一项价值 £2.5 billion 的合同，旨在为土耳其最近订购的设备提供培训、支持设备和服务。
截至 2025. 年底，BP 全球雇佣员工 93,700 人。自 2020. 年一次失败的向绿色能源转型以来，该集团一直陷入困境。去年它
在英国，国防开支预计到 2035. 年将从 GDP 的 2.3 %上升至 3.5 %。但 Woodburn 上周在接受英国广播公司 (BBC) 采访时警告称
该公司上半年向股东返还了 £933 million，其中包括 £251 million 的股票回购。
发现其职业影响，而本案证明，在有清晰且令人信服的证据支持时，法庭将予以认可，”Keddie 说道。
赔偿金中包括了针对情感伤害以及过去和未来经济损失的赔偿。法庭指出，此次法律诉讼妨碍了他寻找另一份工作的努力。
负责该银行的全球控制室，简单地说道：“需要谈谈，你有空吗。”法庭注意到，Reeves “在开车时并未经常检查电子邮件”。
Jonathan Ames 法律编辑。该员在银行的伦敦办公室任职，于 2007. 年在盐湖城加入高盛。在悉尼分行工作一段时间后，他于六年以后被调往英国。
一名高盛（Goldman Sachs）高管在因陪产假期间未能快速回复工作邮件而被解雇后，获赔近 £1.5 百万英镑。
Birketts 律师事务所的就业法专家金·赖特（Kim Wright）表示，该裁决传递了一个信号，即“企业不能将慷慨的育儿假政策作为光鲜的招聘和留才战略的一部分进行推广，随后却因员工享受这些福利而对其不利”。
里夫斯（Reeves）拒绝就该裁决发表评论，但他在 Forsters 律师事务所的律师乔·凯迪（Jo Keddie）表示，判决强调了名誉损失赔偿并非理论之谈。
比尔（Beer）在第二天给里夫斯发了邮件，另一名同事也给他打了电话。法庭随后记录显示，里夫斯“随后在假期期间工作，以协助解决该问题”。
原就业法庭在审理中获悉，2022 年里夫斯在第二个孩子出生前，申请了六个月的陪产假——该期限在该银行的政策允许范围内。
两年前，一家就业法庭裁定，乔纳森·里夫斯（Jonathan Reeves）在孩子出生后休假六个月期间遭受性别歧视，随后被其伦敦工作的岗位不公正解雇。
乔纳森·里夫斯在六个月的假期期间收到了高级管理人员的联系
比尔也承认，他最初并未打电话给里夫斯以提醒他注意这一紧急问题。
在假期期间，他和妻子在八月银行假日期间前往康沃尔郡旅行。原法庭获悉，在开车途中，他收到了一封邮件，邮件中强调了一个“非常紧急的控制室问题”，且该银行的合规主管迈克尔·里奇曼（Michael Richman）“要求紧急解决”。
高盛在一份声明中表示，它是带薪育儿假方面的市场领导者，并鼓励所有职场父母（无论性别）使用提供的 26 周带薪假期。
他起诉这家美国投资银行，要求 3.8 百万英镑的损害赔偿金，但在原法庭认为该银行有 50% 的可能性会公正地将其裁员后，一名专业法官现将其赔偿金定为 £1.45 百万英镑。
然而，法庭听证会上出现证据表明，在随后导致解雇里夫斯决定的内部申诉程序中，比尔将他描述为“有点懒”。
在本周伦敦中央就业法庭下达的裁决中，里夫斯获赔 £1.45 百万英镑。
其他高级管理人员也收到了联系，里夫斯还收到了一封来自奥马尔·比尔（Omar Beer）的邮件，后者当时在
“对于监管行业的高级专业人士来说，诉讼可能会产生负面影响——
里夫斯曾是一名高级合规
J MORRIS/SHUTTERSTOCK
安妮公主于 1979. 年为曼彻斯特的阿恩代尔（Arndale）中心揭幕。该中心建设成本为 £100 百万英镑。
试图退出复杂的合伙关系。
今年接任的威尔金森（Wilkinson）为其违背该策略的决定辩护。“虽然我们总是希望 100% 持有（购物中心），但我们本身并不反对合资企业（JVs），”他说道。“我们买断了一些决定不再投资购物中心的合作伙伴的股份，因为他们与我们志向不一。”
Hammerson 正通过收购曼彻斯特阿恩代尔购物中心 50% 的股份（价格为 £218 百万英镑），投身于安迪·伯纳姆（Andy Burnham）所倡导的“曼彻斯特主义”（Manchesterism）（汤姆·霍华德/Tom Howard 撰文）。
这家已拥有伯明翰 Bullring 和布里斯托 Cabot Circus 的房东公司，从继承了 Intu Properties 2020 年崩溃后遗留的曼彻斯特阿恩代尔中心的债权人手中收购了该半数股份。
“M&G 是像我们一样的长期投资者。他们的（阿恩代尔）商业计划与我们的高度一致。[合资企业] 实际上更多取决于合作伙伴。这也是我们获取机会的一种方式。”
为了给这笔交易筹资，Hammerson 正在向股东募集额外的 £190 百万英镑。
Intu 自 2005 年起共同持有曼彻斯特阿恩代尔中心（Manchester Arndale），当时它以约 £400 million 的价格从保险公司普鲁登申（Prudential）手中购买了 50 per cent 的股份。购物中心价值的下跌如此之快，以至于 Hammerson 支付的价格仅略高于 Intu 在 21 年前支付的一半。
“我们关注这个购物中心已经很久了，”Hammerson 首席执行官 Rob Wilkinson 表示。“我们非常喜欢曼彻斯特，而我们之前在曼彻斯特没有任何资产。我们认为可以通过优化零售组合、出租空置空间以及改善公共区域，为 [该中心] 增加进一步的价值。”资产管理公司 M&G (MNG) 持有另外 50 per cent 的股份。
休闲场所，包括 M&S、Selfridges 和 Urban Playground——后者是一个“竞争性社交”概念，融合了游戏、迷你高尔夫和休闲餐饮。
价值 £3.6 billion 的购物中心投资组合，包括南安普顿的 Westquay、都柏林的 Ilac 和雷丁的 The Oracle。
在自由落体式下跌，看起来似乎会重蹈 Intu 的覆辙。当时由其首席执行官 Rita-Rose Gagné 实现了扭转，她通过出售“非核心”中心，将投资组合削减至在英格兰、爱尔兰和法国的十几个左右的“目的地”购物中心，从而强化了资产负债表。
曼彻斯特阿恩代尔中心建于 70 年代，成本为 £100 million。每年约有 45 million 人访问该商场。它拥有 200 多个商店、餐厅和
在过去一年里，该业务已回到增长模式，随着 Gagné 在 Bullring、The Oracle 和 Westquay 方面买断其合资（JV）伙伴的股份。
在疫情期间，Hammerson 背负着数十亿英镑的债务，而当时其购物中心的估值
购物中心受到了网上购物的压力，导致一些大租户破产。
Hammerson 是该国最大的零售房东之一，拥有一个
Segro 近期有 650MW 的数据中心项目储备。理论上，这意味着根据 Ofgem 的计划，将这些项目连接到电网将面临高达 £463 million 的账单。
Tom Howard 房地产记者 那些拥有可能适合开发数据中心的土地的人员，但这些土地可能没有规划许可，而且也许永远无法获得规划许可，”他说道。“我想，如果一些这类更具投机性的开发项目能被剔除，我们的项目就能快得多地提前推进。”
已经造成了漫长的等待名单。根据 Ofgem 的数据，目前有 315 个数据中心项目在排队等待连接。
连接到电网。然而，他认为该提案如果实施，最终将使 Segro 受益，因为它可能会缩短获得电网连接的等待时间。
英国最大的数据中心开发商之一的负责人认为，能源监管机构拟对新项目连接至电网征收数千万英镑费用的提案，实际上可能对其宏图具有“相当积极”的影响。
该监管机构表示，它“担心排队中的大量项目可能最终无法推进”，从而阻碍了那些准备就绪的新数据中心的开发。
Sleath 表示，这将是“一个时间问题，而非真正的现金成本，因为在数据中心通电时你会拿回这笔钱”。
“我不认为这些提案是为了惩罚像我们这样认真的人，”Sleath 说。“如果它能剔除那些更具投机性的 [项目]，就能让像我们这样的人在队列中提前，更快地获得电力供应，这对我们来说将是非常积极的。”
欧洲最大的仓库和数据中心所有者 Segro 的长期首席执行官 David Sleath 承认，Ofgem 计划对想要加入排队的项目引入“承诺费”，这将产生“现金流影响”。
Ofgem 建议对希望接入电网的项目收取每兆瓦 (MW) £237,500 至 £712,500 的费用。一旦数据中心投入运营，该费用将予以退还，但如果项目未完工，则该费用将不予退回。
Ofgem 正就其提案进行咨询，咨询期将持续至 9 月 16 日。
65 岁的 Sleath 同意，队列中的许多项目都是投机性开发，且“没有任何现实的交付前景”。
Segro 的股价在周三 Ofgem 首次公布提案时下跌，昨晚收盘下跌 3¼p，即 0.4 百分比，报 966½p。
目前，开发商为其项目申请电网连接的成本较低，这
“这里有各种各样的 [开发商] 在
世界杯营销攻势影响阿迪达斯底线
炎热天气推动 Magnum 业绩增长
Simon Freeman
随着欧洲全境的热浪促使消费者寻找冰冷甜点，Magnum 在今年上半年销售了近 €5 亿的冰淇淋。
VUK VALCIC/ALAMY
Martin Strydom
由于世界杯营销支出增加，阿迪达斯第二季度利润未能达到预期，导致其股价大幅下跌。
核心收益高于市场预期，营收增长 4.2 百分比，至 €4.7 billion，这主要得益于销量和定价的双重增长。
这家德国运动品牌在 4 月至 6 月期间的营业利润增长 5 百分比，至 €574 million，远低于分析师预期的 €623 million，原因是与赛事相关的营销费用增长 30 百分比至 €212 million，侵蚀了底线利润。
这家从联合利华拆分出来的公司在每个地区的销售额和市场份额均实现增长。Ben & Jerry’s 的销售额在第二季度增长 9.2 百分比，这得益于新产品的推出以及冰淇淋曲奇三明治的上市。而 Yasso 这种高蛋白、低卡路里的冷冻酸奶，通过推出一品脱冰箱包装，维持了两位数的增长。
阿迪达斯股价下跌 11.5 百分比，掩盖了该公司首席执行官 Bjorn Gulden 所描述的“童话般”的成功活动。阿迪达斯在国际足联 World Cup 中共赞助了 14 支国家队，其中包括决赛双方阿根廷队和西班牙队。
“我们的夏季关键销售季开局强劲，”Magnum 首席执行官 Peter ter Kulve 表示，“我们在所有地区都实现了增长并获得了份额。”
一项旨在中期实现 €500 million 目标成本削减计划在上半年实现了 €90 million 的节省，主要通过减少浪费、优化供应链和降低管理费用实现。
Gulden 表示：“与世界杯相关的增长……得益于我们的战略，即为了消费者和零售合作伙伴的利益而增加产品供应，而非仅仅优化库存。”
该部门净利润下降 €349 million，去年同期为 €464 million，这主要是由于从联合利华拆分后更高的融资和重组成本，以及土耳其的通货膨胀导致里拉贬值。
他补充道：“我们的‘后院传奇’ (Backyard Legends) 营销活动唤回了我们曾经在街头踢球时对这项运动的热爱。”
ING 分析师表示：“此次销售额超出预期是由更高的销量以及优于预期的定价和产品组合共同驱动的。”
该季度净销售额增长 13 百分比至 €6.74 billion，超过了市场预期的 €6.63 billion。
根据收集客流量数据的公司 Placer.ai 的数据，在 6 月 15 日这一周（世界杯小组赛第一周），美国阿迪达斯零售店的到店人数同比增长 44.7 百分比。
Magnum 股票自 12 月在阿姆斯特丹以 €12.80 挂牌上市以来上涨了近 25 百分比，收盘上涨 0.1 百分比，至 €16.16。
阿迪达斯表示，目前预计经过货币调整后的营收将增长 9 百分比至 10 百分比，而之前的指引为高个位数增长。该公司仍预计今年营业利润将增加至约 €2.3 billion。
新医院签署协议
该公司表示，第二季度利润的增长是由除欧洲以外所有地区的两位数增长所驱动的，而许多零售商在欧洲采取的大幅折扣给生活方式类鞋类带来了压力。
阿迪达斯（Adidas）享受了一个“童话般”的世界杯，包括赞助了冠军西班牙队，但市场并未被说服。
Robert Miller
不断增长的挑战性品牌，如 On Running 以及
自4月以来一直走强势的阿迪达斯股价，今年以来目前下跌了约 4 ％。
执行官来领导其扭转局面工作。
政府昨天签署了 11 份在英格兰各地（包括曼彻斯特、康沃尔和格雷特雅茅斯）建设新医院的长期合同。
花旗（Citi）分析师表示，阿迪达斯的销售额仍“远低于”对快速增长的期望。他们说：“结合更显著的世界杯顶线收益，这可能会再次引发关于赛后增长可持续性的争论。”
Deckers 是 Hoka 的母公司，后者在关键的技术跑步和生活方式类别中夺取了市场份额。
在另一份声明中，阿迪达斯表示，由于 Harm Ohlmeyer 决定不延长其现任期限，Birgit Kretschmer 将于年底接任首席财务官。
投资者曾希望世界杯带来的知名度能帮助阿迪达斯在复古款 Samba 和 Gazelle 运动鞋的成功消退后，继续保持其销售势头。
这些协议将 NHS 信托机构与领先的建筑公司结合起来，通过政府的“新医院计划”交付 11 个医院方案，旨在更高效地建设这些设施。
它还需要保持在耐克（Nike）之前，后者在 2020 年离开但于 2024 年重新加入并担任首席执行官的 Elliott Hill 回归后，正重新定位以专注于运动员。
总部位于法兰克福的 Metzler 分析师 Felix Jonathan Dennl 表示：“我们认为股价的负面反应是 Harm Ohlmeyer 不续约以及 EBITDA 低于预期 8 ％的综合结果。”
德意志银行（Deutsche Bank）的分析师在给投资者的报告中指出利润未达预期：“从绝对值来看，[第二季度] 是一个不错的季度，但在世界杯预期的上升浪潮面前，这将会让投资者失望。”
Elliott Hill
卫生大臣 Karin Smyth 表示：“长期以来，即使在获得全面批准和资金到位后，新医院的建设仍被官僚化的采购流程所拖累，我们决心改变这一点。”
该公司面临来自快速增长品牌的竞争。
“宣布的变革是在精简采购流程方面迈出的重大一步。患者可以期待新医院更快地交付，业界可以确定地进行规划，而纳税人可以确保我们实现了资金价值的最大化。”
说道：“本可以更好，但已经非常好。”
Simon Freeman 称，营业利润高于分析师预期的 4.6 ％ 的增长。收入也超过了预测，而在经历多年下降后，销量已连续第二个季度增长。
然而，在美国，向批发商和零售商的销售额下降了。在中国，销量下降了 9.7 ％，在整个行业的低迷时期，AB InBev 在中国的表现逊于竞争对手。
酿造巨头 AB Inbev 的世界杯赞助帮助其“超级品牌”科罗娜（Corona）、Stella Artois 和 Michelob Ultra 实现了两位数的销售增长，但中国的增速放缓掩盖了强劲的表现。
AB InBev 表示，在世界杯（该公司是其主要赞助商）的助力下，科罗娜、Stella Artois 和 Michelob Ultra 在其本土市场以外的营收增长分别为 17, 19 和 21 ％。
该计划的首席项目官 Natalie Forrest 表示：“‘医院 2.0 联盟’标志着新医院计划的一个重要里程碑，以及交付重大公共基础设施的一种新方式。”
Doukeris 指出，由于伊朗战争推高了天然气和石油价格，第一季度与第二季度之间的消费者信心略有下降。同时他表示，欧洲的极端高温对人们以及啤酒销量都没有好处。
尽管该公司公布的六月份季度营收、利润和销量均超出预期，但这家全球最大啤酒制造商在布鲁塞尔的股价仍下跌 0.2 %，至 €73.76。在经历了一个艰难的 2025 年后，随着投资者对该行业的乐观情绪回升，该股今年以来已上涨超过三分之一。
尽管来自其最重要市场（如巴西和墨西哥）的球队在相对较早阶段就被淘汰。AB InBev 在西班牙等欧洲国家的足迹较小，而西班牙赢得了该赛事冠军。
“通过将 NHS 机构与行业作为真正的合作伙伴聚集在一起，我们正在创建一种将国家一致性与地方领导力相结合的模型。”
RBC Capital Markets 分析师 James Edwardes Jones 表示：“虽然有一些得失，但总体而言，这是一次稳健的业绩表现。”
这家百威啤酒制造商报告第二季度增长了 5.8 %。
大卫·贝克汉姆为 AB InBev 的 Stella Artois 拍摄的世界杯广告中担任主角。
首席执行官 Michel Doukeris，
简讯
John Ficenec Tempus 买入、卖出或持有：今日最佳股票建议
总部位于伦敦的数据中心公司 Nscale 拟以据报 $1.65 billion 收购位于旧金山的人工智能初创公司 Anyscale。
软饮料制造商 Vimto 活力十足
这家英国公司的董事会成员包括 Meta 前首席运营官 Sheryl Sandberg 和 Meta 全球事务总裁 Sir Nick Clegg。Anyscale 提供用于组织和管理复杂 AI 任务的软件，使其能够在多台计算机上同时流畅运行。
关于 ICEE 冰冻饮料，Nichols 持有其英国授权。
nichols
英国艰难的销售环境以及对新会计软件的投资导致前几年出现了一些大额一次性成本，但庆幸的是上半年没有出现这种情况。管理层目前的重点是将预计到年底将达到 £70 million 的现金储备，用于在认为合适时收购新品牌，或者在无法实现时将现金返还给股东。经纪商 Investec 的分析师估计，这可能相当于在接下来的五年中每年派发 30 便士的特别股息，将预测的全年 47 便士普通股息提升至 77 便士，即 7.4 % 的收益率。
市值 £377 million
非洲销量 70 million 升
财务表现
£16 15 14 13 12 11 10 9 8
营收 税前利润
Vimto 的制造商 Nichols 在非洲拥有强劲的销售额，并在上半年创造了创纪录的现金。
Nscale 因其 $14.6 billion 的估值及其相对适中的规模而受到关注，该公司表示，预计通过提供 Anyscale 的软件将获得更多客户。两家公司表示，Anyscale 将继续以其品牌运营并服务现有客户。其分布在美国、欧洲和印度的约 200 人团队将作为收购的一部分加入 Nscale。
£13.8m
£165m
结合一项将更多现金返还给股东的新股息政策，目前接近多年低点的股价开始具有吸引力。
£24.3m
£171m
£24m
£173m
这家在 Aim 上市的软饮料制造商报告了稳健的上半年贸易情况。营收增长 4.7 % 至 £89.5 million，税前利润增长 32 % 至 £15 million，这使得管理层有信心将中期股息提高 34.7 % 至 20. 2p，于 9 月 11 日支付，8 月 6. 日除权。他们还通过将股息的收益覆盖率从两倍改为一点五倍地放宽了支出限制，这将增加未来的派息额。
£29.2m
£175m
来源：FactSet
Nscale 未披露该交易的财务条款，但首先报道此次收购的彭博社（Bloomberg）表示，价格约为 $1.65 billion。Nscale 的支持者包括英伟达（Nvidia），英国政府已将这家成立于 2024 年的初创公司置于其将“人工智能主线化”引入英国经济计划的核心地位。该公司表示，它为“全球一些最重要的技术公司设计、建设、拥有并运营数据中心、GPU（图形处理单元）基础设施和人工智能服务”。
该股票自 2017 年达到 £19. 的峰值以来已大幅下跌。该公司在 2019. 年底受到了中东地区含糖饮料进口税急剧上涨的影响。工资上涨和成本通胀也使税前利润率从十年前 24 per cent 的峰值压缩至六月份的 16.8 per cent。
£36m
£184m
2026 营收与税前利润为 Investec 的预估值 来源：Nichols
2022 23 24 25 26
该地区的销售额占集团总额的 7 per cent，且重心严重向下半年倾斜。
建议：买入 原因：创纪录的现金水平可用于资助增长或返还给股东，这一点似乎被忽视了。
英国仍然是该业务最大的部分，该品牌在英国仅次于 Robinson’s，贡献了总销售额的 75 per cent。这里的进展较为平淡，仅增长了 2.3 per cent，但希望将 Vimto口味与 Myprotein 粉末以及 Applied Nutrition 的能量凝胶和电解质片等新市场相结合将能提升销售额。
全年度税前利润预测为 £36 million，这意味着每股收益为 72.p，那么目前以 14 倍市盈率交易且接近十年低点的股票，与 20 倍的十年平均市盈率相比，目前有显著的折扣。
该业务采用轻资产模式。它在英国按照秘密配方生产浓缩 Vimto 糖浆，而将装瓶、碳酸化和分销交给全球各地的当地合作伙伴。目前的业绩是由将装瓶工厂从西班牙迁至塞内加尔的新装瓶合作伙伴而推动的，另一家位于科特迪瓦的新设施将于年底前启用。
在集团中，销售额较去年同期增长 17.2 per cent；其全年贡献了集团总额的 13 per cent。
一家由 Ashcroft 勋爵支持的伦敦上市营销公司对其英国竞争对手提出了修订后的报价，并增加了一倍的现金部分。在 Aim 交易的 Brave Bison 已对 System1 发出 £43.1 million 的正式报价，这意味着投资者将收到 2.04 股 Brave Bison 新股以及每股 135p 的现金。在之前被 System1 拒绝的方案中，投资者每持有的一股将获得 2.7553 股 Brave Bison 新股和 68p 现金。Brave Bison 由前保守党副主席 Ashcroft 以及《泰晤士报》的母公司新闻集团（News Corp）支持。System1 尚未做出回应。
诚然，Nichols 是一次冒险的投注，因为它在 Aim 上市且暴露于新兴市场——但美元走弱正提供助力，本周联合利华（Unilever）的业绩便证明了这一点。英国炎热的夏天也应有所帮助，建议持有该股票两年。此外，通过商业财产减免（business property relief）可使遗产税减半，同时还能领取丰厚的股息收入。
一个多世纪以来，这种高糖果汁在沙特阿拉伯和阿拉伯联合酋长国一直是打破斋月禁食（称为 iftar）的非官方饮品。幸好，通过苏伊士运河分销以及从吉达陆路运输，Vimto 的分销未受到伊朗冲突的影响。
Nichols 还直接供应给电影院和餐厅。在疫情之后以及生活成本危机期间，户外销售被证明是一个具有挑战性的市场。通过 2015 年收购 Noisy Drinks 获得的 Starslush 冰饮品牌于去年被砍掉；现在的重点是
这种新结构意味着当地的非洲合作伙伴可以支付较低的进口税，从而能够购买更多浓缩液，并释放资金为消费者提供促销活动。非洲地区是增长最快的
会计监管机构正在调查KPMG对工程咨询公司John Wood Group的审计情况。财务报告委员会（Financial Reporting Council）将审查该公司在2023财年的工作。两名个体会计师也参与到此次调查中，涉及Wood项目业务部门财务报表的编制以及与审计师的沟通。金融行为监管局（Financial Conduct Authority）此前已因Wood在2022年和2023年年度业绩以及2024年中期业绩中提供信息不准确而对其处以£13 million的罚款。Wood在3月被竞争对手Sidara收购。
市场报告
白蚁在美国造成的破坏给在伦敦上市的Rentokil Initial的财务带来了沉重打击，更不用说其股价了（Charlotte Bend撰文）。
在微软强劲的业绩表明其在人工智能领域的巨额支出正转化为利润后，各大指数从周中的下跌中反弹。近期大跌的AI相关股领涨，Sandisk上涨26 per cent，美光科技（Micron Technology）上涨18.3 per cent。微软股票上涨15.5 per cent。纳斯达克指数上涨679.24点，即2.8 per cent，至25,122.18；标准普尔500指数上涨121.48点，即1.7 per cent，至7,437.63。道琼斯工业平均指数上涨613.92点，即1.2 per cent，至52,208.06。
这家富时100指数成分股公司曾因持有皇家委任状而被戏称为“女王的捉鼠人”，该公司昨日表示，已额外拨备$47 million用于解决与Terminix相关的历史赔偿请求，Terminix是其在2021年以$6.7 billion收购的美国竞争对手，赔偿涉及受其保护的物业所遭受的损坏。这使得该公司为涵盖这些索赔而拨备的总额达到$392 million。
伦敦证券交易所集团（LSEG）通过让数百名客户加入其数据平台，试图解答关于人工智能如何影响其收益的担忧。LSEG一直通过其模型上下文协议（Model Context Protocol）服务器做出响应，该服务器连接了如Anthropic的Claude和微软Copilot等技术。该服务器允许AI代理访问LSEG的金融数据，目前已与超过200名客户达成合作。该集团的扣除前收益超过预期，增长16.7 per cent至£2.5 billion，而税前利润增长29 per cent至£1.3 billion。
美国收购公司Terminix的损失拨备导致Rentokil下跌20 per cent
539p，而力拓（Rio Tinto）股价上涨159p，即2.3 per cent，至£71.36。
下午富时指数一度高达10,979.60，而2月27日的历史收盘纪录为10,910.55。交易结束时，该指数当日下跌11.14点，即0.1 per cent，报10,897.27。
尽管遭受了白蚁问题的额外打击，Rentokil报告了一份尚可的半年业绩，营收增长6.7 per cent至$3.6 billion（去年同期为$3.4 billion），税前利润增长18.4 per cent至$263 million。然而，投资者并不买账，纷纷离场，导致股价下跌91¼p，即20.6 per cent，至352p，使其成为主指数中跌幅最大的个股。
当日波动最大的个股
富时250指数（FTSE 250）最令人惊讶的可能是，尽管招聘公司又经历了一个糟糕的日子，但该指数最终上涨82.33点，即0.3 per cent，至24,079.14。
正如在商品密集型的富时100指数中经常发生的那样，矿业股在正面因素中发挥了作用，此次是基于对中国经济进一步刺激的预期以及对供应限制的担忧。
随着暑假进入高峰期，加文·佩克（Gavin Peck）正致力于为孩子们提供远离屏幕的时光。作为 The Works 的首席执行官，他倡导创意并对公司进行了转型，减少对在线购物的依赖，重新聚焦于蓬勃发展的实体店。以下是他给您的职业建议。
特许管理学会（Chartered Management Institute）的研究显示，十个经理中就有九个认为英国将从学习其他高性能经济体的职场文化中获益，而 85% 的人支持采用国外管理实践。
CMI 政策总监佩特拉·威尔顿（Petra Wilton）表示：“英国的管理者们看向海外，并不是因为他们认为别人拥有所有答案，而是因为最优秀的领导者总是在寻找新想法。这就是创新传播的方式。”
自我关怀不仅仅是一个流行词：以身作则意味着展示平衡。在企业中，没有任何事情值得以牺牲您的健康、家庭或错过任何里程碑时刻为代价。
以下是英国可以从国际管理风格中学习的经验。
模范并坚信你的目标：你的工作需要个人投入，而不仅仅是口头承诺——你无法支持一个你自己都不践行的东西。
北欧：芬兰阿尔托大学（Aalto University）领导力副教授尼娜·努尔米（Niina Nurmi）表示：“北欧组织倾向于高度依赖员工的自主权、低组织层级，并期望人们在无需密切监督的情况下承担责任。北欧领导者倾向于致力于为他人的成功创造条件，而不是指导工作的每个方面。”
你并不拥有所有答案：领导者通过在前路不明时的行为来建立信任。
诚实、谦逊和协作将为你赢得所需的答案。
韩国：企业家李珺（June Lee）表示：“韩国的职场共享相似的语言和文化，因此在一种无需详细说明的‘常识’下运行。这降低了协调成本。韩国在灵活性和实验方面确实很强。此外还遵循这样一个原则，即效率应来自于消除摩擦，而非增加压力。”
试图成为所有人的所有一切是行不通的：专注于你的擅长之处。为你的优势感到自豪，并投入资源将其规模化。
“我们可以将他们全部连接到一个目标上”
思考如何让工作方式迥异的人围绕一个单一目标达成一致。这最终归结为将他们连接到一个共同的目标。
人们对同一个信号的解读完全不同。会议中的沉默可能意味着同意、反对，或者仅仅是不确定。
案例研究
进步高于完美：没有什么事情能一夜之间修复，因此不要对自己或团队抱有此类期待。
李珺（June Lee）是全球团队协作平台 Morningmate 的创始人。
在一段持续的时间里，微小的胜利会对结果和文化产生影响。
美国：戈登·M·赛尔（Gordon M Sayre）是法国 Emlyon 商学院的管理学副教授。他表示：“美国的经理和公司通常优先考虑即时性、短期结果和创新，并始终在寻找下一个大创意。这导致了一种‘永远在线’的文化。员工能够快速应对危机或迅速变化的技术，这是保持竞争力的关键。”
“将不同的文化和工作方式、优先级不同的人融合在一起，意味着我们最终都能相互学习。”
“在伦敦工作期间，我注意到来自众多国家的人在同一个团队中工作，这让我思考如何将工作方式如此不同的人围绕一个单一目标达成一致。这最终归结为将他们连接到一个共同的目标。”
掌控你的旅程：
坦诚地面对是什么成就了你的领导地位，这对你的团队而言，比假装一切始终顺风顺水更有价值。
他表示：“在国际管理风格中，最难弥合的是人们对同一个信号的解读完全不同。”
能源到粮食安全，因为它从未享有过假设稳定的奢侈。英国在一个它认为将保持可预测的世界中优化了效率，并为此反复付出代价。”
本周任命
中国：《突破性大脑》（The Breakthrough Brain）的作者科瑞尔·麦康农（Coral McConnon）曾在中国工作多年。她表示：“中国的敏捷度惊人，且在企业环境中有一种紧迫感、目的感以及实验意愿，这可能是由于中国的机遇规模和变化速度，在英国则可能缺失。中国在拥有好奇心和雄心的同时，还拥有一种学习的渴望。”
董事协会（Institute of Directors）专业发展服务总监克斯蒂·麦克马纳斯（Kirsty McManus）表示，董事会应将不同的管理方法视为“宝贵的洞察来源”。以下是如何学习全球管理的方法。
同时能够将它们整合到一种连贯且有效的领导方法中。拥抱国际学习：结合不同管理文化的优势。投资于你的经理，而非管理技巧：特许管理学会（Chartered Management Institute）的数据显示，82% 的英国经理从未接受过正式的管理培训。表现最出色的
组织会投资于其经理，赋予他们领导所需的专业技术和人员技能。走出你的舒适区：跨国公司和出口公司往往管理得更好，因为它们在不断地向新市场、客户和竞争对手学习。每周进步 1%：最强大的文化建立在持续改进之上。
德国：安斯加·里希特（Ansgar Richter）是法兰克福金融管理学院公司战略、组织与治理教授。他表示：“德国组织非常强调周密的准备、技术专长和定义明确的流程。决策时间可能较长，但一旦做出，执行可能会更加严谨且一致。德国组织经常耐心地投资于那些可能无法立即产生回报，但随着时间推移能创造可持续竞争优势的能力、流程和技能。”
律师监管局（Solicitors Regulation Authority）正在寻求一名负责市场风险、数据与洞察的执行董事。
作为英格兰和威尔士律师及律师事务所的监管机构，SRA 监管着超过 200,000 名律师和 9,000 家事务所。
中东：阿兰·贝贾尼（Alain Bejjani）曾领导零售巨头马吉德·法塔伊姆（Majid Al Futtaim），管理着 110 个国籍的人员。他现在是《接续：在新现实中领导》（Next: Leading Through the New Realities）的作者。他表示：“英国可以学习到最大的东西是‘设计上的韧性’。海湾地区在所有环节中都建立了冗余，从供应链到
直接向首席执行官汇报并作为执行团队成员，被任命者将为市场风险、数据管理、分析、洞察和研究职能提供战略领导。该职位将确保 SRA 能够以情报为引导、以证据为基础，并在识别和应对新兴风险方面采取主动。
培养连接不同管理文化的能力：成功不仅取决于理解这些差异，而且
工作周
岗位持有者将监督先进分析和研究能力的开发，提供高质量的洞察以指导优先级和绩效。
一项新的专业发展计划旨在弥合当今领导者与下一代之间的“准备差距”。由执行搜寻公司 Holmes Noble 和 MRA Executive Coaching 设计的“攀升计划”（The Ascent）汇集了来自 FTSE 和私营企业的首席执行官作为创始导师，使参与者能够通过首席执行官午餐会、小组讨论、董事会模拟和播客进行学习。
随着更多员工通过携带便当来应对生活成本危机，办公室冰箱失窃现象日益增加。一项调查发现，五分之一的员工表示曾在工作中遭遇食物或饮料被盗，而十分之一的人承认拿过不属于自己的共享办公室冰箱物品。牛奶和乳制品是最容易失踪的物品，其次是薯片、糖果和巧克力等零食。
人工智能本应提高工作效率，然而 88% 的英国 IT 决策者表示，管理 AI 的复杂性增加了他们团队的工作量。软件公司 Freshworks 发现，IT 团队目前在 AI 相关工作时间中约有四分之一用于排除故障。该公司将其称为“复杂性税”，三分之一的英国决策者表示 AI 复杂性是一个“非常严重的问题”。
中型市场企业可以缓解青年失业危机。咨询公司 BDO 的研究显示，83% 的企业将在未来六个月内招聘入门级职位，其中 36% 招聘不需要学位的永久入门级职位，而 32% 计划招收入门级毕业生。BDO 合伙人 Richard Austin 表示：“中型市场在英国劳动力市场中已经发挥了举足轻重的作用。”
成功的候选人需具备在监管机构、受监管部门或类似复杂环境中获得的领导经验，以及在领导市场风险、数据、洞察、研究或情报职能方面拥有良好记录，从而为组织决策提供信息。
请于 8 月 25 日前通过 appointments.thetimes.com 提交申请
卫生与护理国家数据守护者 (The National Data Guardian for Health and Care)
人体组织管理局 (HTA) 主席
卫生创新与安全部长正在寻求一位杰出人士，出任下一任卫生与护理国家数据守护者 (NDG)。
卫生与社会关怀大臣正寻求任命一名新的人体组织管理局 (HTA) 主席。
在 NHS、社会关怀及更广泛的卫生系统的关键时刻，这是一个影响英格兰全境卫生与护理数据使用方式的独特机会。随着技术、数据科学和人工智能的进步不断改变医疗保健，NDG 在确保创新以公众信任、透明度以及最高标准的机密性和安全性为基础方面发挥着关键作用。
HTA 是一个法定机构，监管那些为了研究、医疗、尸检、教育、培训以及公开展示而移除、存储和使用人体组织的组织。它还负责监督活体器官捐赠的审批。其总体目标是保护公众和专业人员对安全且合乎伦理地使用人体组织的信心。
国家数据守护者是患者和公众在卫生及成人社会关怀信息的利用、保护和共享事务上的独立倡导者。NDG 为政府、NHS、社会关怀组织及更广泛的卫生与护理系统提供可靠的建议、指导和质疑，旨在确保在保护机密信息的同时，使其被负责任地用于改善服务、提高患者预后和推动研究。
作为 HTA 主席，您将负责提供战略领导和质疑，以确保 HTA 有效地履行其法定职能并与政府优先事项保持一致。通过与首席执行官及管理局成员密切合作，他们将增强利益相关者的信心，监督组织的绩效与转型，支持成员发展，并就管理局的效能和绩效向卫生与社会关怀部 (DHSC) 提供建议。
该职位创建于 2014 年，并由 2018 年的《健康与社会护理（国家数据监护人）法案》在法律上确立，在整个健康与护理领域具有重大影响力。国家数据监护人（NDG）拥有法定权力，可就英格兰境内健康及成人社会护理数据的处理发布官方指南，公共机构以及提供国民医疗服务体系（NHS）和公共资助成人社会护理服务的组织必须遵守该指南。
成功地候选人将在当今健康与护理领域面临的一些最复杂且最重要的议题上提供可见的国家级领导力。他们将与政府、NHS、社会护理、学术界、工业界及志愿者部门的高级领导者接触，在数据带来的机遇前所未有地巨大的时刻，帮助塑造政策与实践。
申请人需在私营、公共或志愿者部门的高级管理层中拥有显著的执行力及领导力的良好职业记录。您应具备领导国家公共机构董事会的能力，能够实现稳健的治理与问责，并提升执行层与董事会的绩效。您应具备良好的判断力，能够批判性地分析广泛的信息并做出基于证据的战略决策。您应具备出色的沟通与人际交往能力，能够领导组织进行变革与改进。
我们正在寻找一位受人尊敬且具有影响力的领导者，其在私营、公共或志愿者部门的高级管理层面运作并能在复杂环境中产生影响力的记录良好。您应在敏感健康数据的安全和伦理使用方面拥有丰富经验，并对支撑现代健康与护理服务的演进技术有深入理解。
您应具备卓越的判断力、独立性和公信力，能够影响、挑战并并在多样化的利益相关者之间建立共识。出色的沟通与人际交往能力至关重要，同样重要的是在与政府及健康护理系统领导者有效接触的同时，能够与患者及公众建立联系。
主席不得在人类组织管理局（Human Tissue Authority）职责范围内的任何活动中拥有或曾经拥有专业利益。
报酬为每年 £42,000，时间投入为每周两到三天。健康与社会护理大臣将决定任期长度，最长可达 3 年。
最重要的是，您将致力于确保数据的负责任使用能够改善患者和公民的成效，同时维护公众对个人信息如何被使用和保护的信心。
这是一个帮助塑造英格兰健康与护理数据未来，并为公民福祉做出持久贡献的绝佳机会。
欲了解更多信息，请访问公共任命网站：http://publicappointments.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/8833 如果您需要其他格式，请致电 Ralph Cabrega (0113 254 5481) 或 Rachael Gingell (0207 484 9424)，并引用参考编号 VAC-8833.. 申请截止日期为 2026 年 9 月 16 日星期三正午。
报酬为每年 £63,000，时间投入为每周 3.5 天。健康与社会护理大臣决定任期长度，最长可达 3 年。
欲了解更多信息，请访问公共任命网站：https://apply-for-public-appointment.service.gov.uk/roles/9039
如果您需要其他格式，请致电 Karen Dinsdale (0113 254 5625) 或 Ben Jones (0113 254 6557)，并引用参考编号 VAC-9039。
卫生与社会关怀部重视并促进多样性。我们鼓励来自全英国各背景的优秀人才申请。公共机构的董事会在反映其所服务社会的观点多样性时最为高效。
申请截止日期为 2026 年 09 月 01 日星期二正午。
带领 TrustMark 走过关键的下一篇章：战略领导力 | 商业韧性 | 转型 | 利益相关者信心 | 企业家精神与商业敏锐度
您是否准备好带领一个使命驱动的国家级组织进入其下一个增长、转型和行业影响力阶段？
以高效和清晰的节奏，在增强内部信心的同时，强化 TrustMark 在整个行业的影力。
领导风格：我们正在寻找一位具备以下特质的领导者：
您的职责：战略领导力与方向
您是否将商业敏锐度与对消费者保护、质量标准及长期社会影响的真诚承诺相结合？
您将领导 TrustMark 的战略演进，与董事会紧密合作，塑造一个清晰、雄心勃勃且在商业上可持续的未来。
您能否激励并赋能高级领导者和同事，影响最高层级的利益相关者，展现企业家精神，并在公共利益目标与商业可持续性之间取得平衡？
卫生与社会关怀部大臣拟任命首任成年社会关怀谈判机构 (ASCNB) 主席。这是一个由卫生与社会关怀部设立的新独立公共机构。该机构将为成年社会关怀劳动力协商达成首个公平薪酬协议，并在此后每年达成相关协议。
商业增长与财务可持续性
您将推动商业议程，在保护其使命和信誉的同时，加强 TrustMark 的财务状况。
TrustMark 正在寻找一位卓越的首席执行官，带领组织度过一段变革、挑战和重新聚焦的时期。
执行领导力与文化
您将为组织带来可见且充满活力的领导力，在变革中创造动力和信心。
主席将为 ASCNB 提供整体领导，在成员之间建立共识，并监督其年度计划在约定时间表内的交付。他们将担任公众及政府代表，向国务大臣汇报，并向卫生与社会关怀部（DHSC）及更广泛的行业传达关键决定。主席将监督职权范围（Terms of Reference）的制定与实施，确保有效的治理与问责。他们将促成 ASCNB 内部工会与雇主代表之间包容性的谈判，以达成一项可负担、可持续且能改善薪酬与条件的协议，并主持会议以确保所有视角（包括地方政府、自费者和 NHS）均得到考量。
这一高知名度职位需要一位商业敏锐、可靠且具有韧性的领导者，能够平衡公共利益责任与商业可持续性，增强组织信心，并与同事、合作伙伴、行业及政府利益相关者进行有效沟通。
治理、董事会参与及风险
您将与一个具有影响力的董事会高效合作，将强大的执行领导力与健全的治理和判断力相结合。
外部领导力与利益相关者影响
关于 TrustMark
TrustMark 是英国政府唯一认可的房屋改良质量计划，涵盖从厨房和浴室安装到能效和低碳措施以及绝大多数中间环节。
您将担任 TrustMark 的首席大使，加强其在整个行业的发声、影响力和声誉。
关于您：
为什么加入 TrustMark？这是一个在组织演进的关键时刻领导一个国家级认可机构的难得机会。
作为一个非营利组织，TrustMark 旨在推动整个行业的质量、信心和消费者保护，同时支持建立一个更安全、更可持续的建筑环境的长期发展。
您将是一位商业敏锐、使命驱动且具有变革能力的执行领导者，拥有足以带领 TrustMark 度过重大变革时期的信心、信誉和判断力。
作为主席，您将在私立、公共或志愿部门的高层拥有显著的交付与领导职业记录。您将具备领导国家公共机构董事会的能力，实现稳健的治理与问责，并提升执行层与董事会的绩效。您将拥有健全的判断力，能够批判性地分析广泛的信息并做出基于证据的战略决策。您将具备出色的沟通和人际交往能力，并理解薪酬与奖赏在员工激励、招聘和留用中的作用，以及可能影响薪酬奖金的限制因素。具备对成人社会护理系统的知识与理解，及/或拥有就业谈判与劳资关系方面的经验者优先。
您可能来自建筑、改造、能源效率、家居改良、更广泛的建筑环境或另一个受监管的、以消费者为中心的领域。来自金融服务或其他高度监管环境的经验也可能相关，特别是涉及消费者保护、风险、合规、数字平台或公众信任的经验。
TrustMark 运作于政府、行业和消费者的交汇点，旨在加强标准、提高信任，并在家居改良、建筑、能源效率和改造领域创造积极成果。
随着英国继续关注住房质量、能源效率、消费者保护和改造交付，TrustMark 拥有一个重大机遇，可以加强其作为值得信赖的国家计划和行业合作伙伴的地位。
您需要具备创业精神，务实且专注于解决方案，能够在灵活的政策和商业环境中运作。您应能适应模糊性，能够快速做出决定，并能够在把握机遇与适当的治理及风险管理之间取得平衡。
我们目前正在寻找一位具有远见、商业头脑且以人为本的首席执行官 (CEO) 来领导 TrustMark 前行，确保该组织在继续履行其公共利益使命的同时，构建一个具有韧性且财务可持续的未来。
报酬为每天 £550，每年时间投入约为 20 个工作日。卫生与社会关怀事务大臣将决定任期长度，最高可达 3 年。
对于一位寻求目标与绩效并行的远见卓识且具备商业头脑的领导者来说，这是一个绝佳的机会。
同样重要的是，您将是一位可见且以人为本的领导者，能够激发活力、建立信心并带领团队前行。
欲了解更多信息，请访问公共任命网站：http://publicappointments.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/9406 如果您需要其他格式，请致电 Karen Dinsdale (0113 254 5625) 或 Rachael Gingell (0207 4849424)，并引用参考号 VAC-9406.. 申请截止日期为 2026 年 8 月 24 日星期一中午。
机遇
CEO 将向董事会汇报，领导 TrustMark 经历接下来的挑战性转型，并允许该个体为 TrustMark 构建并发展一个令人兴奋的未来。
当然，虽然我们非常希望与来自建筑、改造、能源、家居改良或更广泛建筑环境领域的候选人交谈，但我们也期待听到来自所有领域领导者的声音。
如果您具备领导风范、商业敏锐度和塑造 TrustMark 下一章节的雄心，我们期待您的联系。
这是一个高知名度的领导角色，需要一位具有商业头脑和目标驱动的高管，能够应对复杂的利益相关者环境，推动组织变革并建立长期可持续性。
申请电子邮件：20237.RR@applybe.com
您将带来的能力（基本要求）：
申请通知... 我们严肃对待您的隐私。正如您所预期的，我们可能会通过电子邮件、短信或电话与您联系。您的数据由我们的天才合作伙伴 RR (Recruitment Revolution) 基于其履行招聘流程的合法利益进行处理。详情请参阅其网站上的数据隐私政策与通知。
作为 TrustMark 的首席大使，您将在政府、行业、监管机构和商业合作伙伴之间建立信任关系，确保组织保持影响力、相关性并为未来的增长做好准备。
卫生与社会关怀部重视并推广多样性。我们鼓励来自全英国各地区、各种背景的优秀人才申请。当公共机构的董事会能够反映其所服务社会的多元观点时，其效能最高。
这是一个能够带来愿景的领导者的机会，
限时优惠！
现仅需
立减 £50
原价
£349.99
36VMAX POWER 40cm 割草机 & 33cm 杂草修剪器
入门套装包括：
无需汽油
(RLM36X41H60GLT33A)
草袋
赠送价值
最高切割面积
2
5
另可享受英国本土免费配送 †适用进一步限制
切割高度
切割宽度
切割宽度
THERYOBI® V MAXPOWER 无绳系统采用了最先进的电机技术、电子设备和电池性能，以应对所有花园任务。
节省时间、金钱并保护环境
立即订购
仅需 £349.99，含英国本土免费配送
访问 www.ryobitools.co.uk/press 或扫描立即购物
电话服务时间：上午8点 – 晚上8点（周一至周日）
视供应情况而定。*保修期从 2 年延长至 3 年需注册。请在收到货物后 30 天内在 RyobiTools.co.uk 注册。†仅限英国本土 3-5 日免费配送。北爱尔兰及苏格兰高地收取 £5.99。配送限制邮编：IM, JE, GY, TR2。您的取消权在收到货物后 14 天内有效。在此期间如果您改变主意，只要货物未使用且保留原包装，即可通知我们取消。产品由 Techtronic Industries (UK) Limited 出售，公司注册号：GB 551396338。版权所有。完整销售条款与条件请访问 RyobiTools.co.uk。RYOBI 是 Ryobi Limited 的商标，经许可使用。Trustpilot 评分准确至 2026 年 5 月。
《儿童法案》背后的社会服务督查官 劳明勋爵 (Lord Laming) 第 52 页
讣告
阿卜杜勒·阿哈德·莫曼德 (Abdul Ahad Momand)
1988 年被送入太空的第一位且唯一一位阿富汗人，当时是苏联在其国家战争最后几年的宣传噱头
俄罗斯联邦航天局 (ROSCOSMOS)
在未来的许多年里，尽管莫曼德曾短暂担任民航部副部长，但当苏联支持的政府最终在 1992 年崩溃——且伊斯兰圣战者团体开始涌入时——他在德国寻求政治庇护并定居于此。作为共产主义时代最著名的面孔之一，莫曼德本会成为目标。
当苏联宇航员尤里·加加林前往阿富汗发表演讲时，阿卜杜勒·阿哈德·莫曼德还是一个住在喀布尔南部村庄的小男孩。那是 1961 年，加加林在当年完成历史性的东方 1 号 (Vostok 1) 太空飞行后，正在进行国际友好访问。 “他在演讲中说：‘不久后将有一天，一名阿富汗人将前往太空’，”莫曼德回忆道。“如果当时有人告诉我，‘你将成为第一个进入太空的阿富汗人’，我不会相信，因为在那个时候是不可能的。”
莫曼德 1959 年出生在一个农民家庭，住在加兹尼省的萨尔代班德镇，位于喀布尔以南 100 英里处（据《每日电报》报道，他从未知道自己的生日，也没有官方记录）。少年时代，他梦想成为一名飞行员。“有时飞机会在头顶出现，”他说，“我会想，如果我能飞起来该多好。”
而莫曼德（Momand）在近三十年后的 1988 年进入太空——成为首位且唯一一位进入太空的阿富汗人，时间早于英国首位宇航员海伦·沙曼（Helen Sharman）三年——这其实是冷战政治的一个奇 quirks。让莫曼德与苏联指挥官弗拉基米尔·利亚霍夫（Vladimir Lyakhov）和医生瓦莱里·波利亚科夫（Valery Polyakov）一同乘坐联盟号 TM-6 航天器，在场地极其艰苦且深不受欢迎的
阿富汗当时处于一个相对稳定和进步的时期，由立宪君主穆罕默德·扎希尔·沙阿（King Mohammad Zahir Shah）国王统治，他开启了人们常说的该国“黄金时代”。当莫曼德 16 岁搬到喀布尔时，那里是一座自由、国际化的城市；高中毕业后，他就读于首都的综合理工大学。
莫曼德当时是阿富汗空军的一名飞行员。 1987 年，苏联与阿富汗民主共和国在“星际宇宙”（Interkosmos）计划下达成协议。该计划是苏联的一项倡议，旨在选拔来自东欧社会主义国家以及古巴、越南和叙利亚等盟国的飞行员。到了 20 世纪 80 年代，美国与苏联之间的太空竞赛已演变为一场软实力博弈和联盟构建的剧场。
莫曼德立即申请了。选拔委员会在寻找接受过苏联式培训、且在战斗中被证明忠诚的高技能飞行员；莫曼德曾顽强地与圣战者作战，并在莫斯科和基辅附近的专业航空学院接受培训。他在约 400 名申请者中脱颖而出，击败了最强竞争对手穆罕默德·道兰（Mohammad Dauran），后者军衔更高且政治关系更深，部分原因是道兰突然患上了阑尾炎。“我在政府或政治局没有任何熟人，”莫曼德说，“我
在亲苏联的人民民主党于 1978 年夺权后，莫曼德被征召入伍。他在苏联接受航空培训，随后在 1981 年苏联入侵阿富汗以支撑摇摇欲坠的共产主义政权后，加入空军成为一名战斗机飞行员。他在 20 世纪 80 年代的绝大多数任务都是对圣战者反叛分子进行空袭。
phere。波利亚科夫在空间站上又停留了 240 天。他们在太空中悬浮了令人心惊胆战的 25 小时，被困在一个狭小的舱室里，没有食物和水，氧气供应逐渐耗尽，且无法如厕。这几个人通过给彼此讲笑话来消磨时间。
1988 年莫曼德在和平号（Mir）空间站内部，以及（左图）与他的宇航员同事弗拉基米尔·利亚霍夫在一起，两人基于共同的幽默感建立了深厚的友谊。
后来他被晋升为巴格拉姆空军基地的上尉和首席导航员。就在那里，他结识了他的妻子祖法拉（Zulfara），她是其中一名高级军官的女儿。他们育有两个女儿和一个儿子。所有后辈都比他长寿。
当莫曼德和家人首次搬到德国时，他在斯图加特大学的宇宙研究所在找到了工作。后来他从事印刷工作并担任会计。“这位前宇航员和飞行员再也没能重操旧业；他现在从事一份令他毫无兴奋感、甚至拒绝提及的工作，”丹尼尔·谢费尔（Daniel Schäfer）在 2011 年的《金融时报》中写道。“在他整洁的房子里，只有一幅描绘宇宙的画作，一张 20 世纪 90 年代初在挪威举行的外层空间会议海报，以及一个联盟号 TM 铝制舱的小型金属模型，在提醒着人们那段早已逝去的岁月。”
莫曼德回忆道，他们当时距离被永久困在太空仅有“恰好两秒钟”：第二次计算机故障导致触发了60秒的倒计时，将要抛弃将他们送回地球所需的燃料和电池。他受训在飞行中不得干扰利亚霍夫，但当莫曼德注意到倒计时时，他向利亚霍夫指出了这一点，后者迅速将其停止。
这个高度，而且用肉眼我看不见坦克。”》
莫曼德在成长过程中没有一张准确的阿富汗地图，后来他谈到这次太空飞行如何帮助他绘制了一张。
当两人最终于1988年9月7日返回地球时，他们心态乐观。“没什么特别的，就是一次正常的下降，”温文尔雅、留着胡须的莫曼德坐在舱外，被记者簇拥着说道，“我们处于自动驾驶状态，承受了一些重力。我们不得不等待24小时，但这很正常。”他对他的指挥官微笑着说：“不要第四次飞行了。真主不会原谅你的。”
应阿富汗政府的要求，莫曼德还诵读了一段来自《古兰经》的祷告词，成为第一个在太空中这样做的人。此举在一定程度上是为了表明政府并非无神论者且不反伊斯兰教，因为穆贾希丁战士经常试图这样主张。“阿哈德戴上了一顶小圆帽来完成这件事，”他的队友弗拉基米尔·利亚霍夫在2014年接受英国广播公司的采访时回忆道，“他从下方被拍摄，而我就在镜头之外，抓着他的腿以防止他漂走。”
在太空中，他感到肩上承受着巨大的压力，他说这是一种“代表阿富汗和阿富汗人民”的责任。“作为一名阿富汗人，我前往太空是为了代表他们，我感受到了这一点。”作为一名战斗机飞行员，他一直忠于阿富汗政府，并间接忠于苏联，但一旦进入轨道，他决定将这次历史性任务转化为一份和平诉求，这在一定程度上是由从和平号空间站的小窗户中看到的地球之美与和谐所触发的。
阿富汗似乎也已远去，尽管莫曼德在故乡依然是一位受人尊敬的人物。他仅在2013年返回过一次，当时正值这次太空任务25周年，卡尔扎伊总统迎接了他的到来，他大声朗读了数十年前发出的同一条和平信息。
次年安置，但将莫曼德送入太空与战争微妙的时机密切相关，他们希望在完全撤出苏联军队之前让他离地。这次任务的准备时间仅持续了六个月——远低于通常所需的时间——但在1988年8月29日，宇航员们在哈萨克斯坦乘坐火箭前往和平号，这是世界上首个持续有人居住的太空站，位于地球上方230英里处。
回到阿富汗后，莫曼德受到了英雄般的欢迎。纳吉布拉政府将他的任务视为军队撤离期间国家统一的典范（撤军于1989年2月结束），他被授予“苏联英雄”称号和列宁勋章，这是苏联宇航员的最高荣誉。
他去世后，遗体被送回喀布尔，在那里，事实上的塔利班政府官员为他举行了公开葬礼，并将他1988年的历史性任务视为国家成就的持久象征。
两人建立了深厚的友谊，基础是共同的幽默感；利亚霍夫回忆起他们如何在健身车上度过90分钟，同时向窗外张望：“有人说，‘看，我们刚好飞过加拿大，所以如果你一直骑到加拿大再次出现，你就完成了一圈。’”
在与纳吉布拉总统的一通电话中（该电话在苏联国家电视台以莫曼德的母语普什图语播出），他敦促同胞停止内斗。“牵起你邻居的手，放下武器，”他说。“让我们通过对话来解决问题。”他后来回忆道，从他的视角来看，肢解阿富汗的暴力行为是不可见的：“我对所有人民、国家和阿富汗人的信息是，‘我看到一个和平的阿富汗来自……”
“俯瞰地球，我觉得能生活在那里是如此荣幸，”莫曼德在2020年的一部英国广播公司世界服务报道中说道。“那里太美了。”
在为期九天的任务中，莫曼德拍摄了其国家偏远地区的照片，以确定哪些地区富含石油和天然气等自然资源——苏联官员表示，此举旨在提振阿富汗经济，并应对地震多发地区。
阿富汗政府授予了他同等荣誉，但就在莫曼德返回喀布尔当天，一波火箭弹袭击了这座城市。苏联军队的撤离未能有效减轻笼罩该国的暴力。
在返回途中，强烈的阳光导致计算机出现故障，两名宇航员不得不放弃第一次尝试重新进入大气层，此时他们之间友好的关系派上了用场。
宇航员阿卜杜勒·阿哈德·莫曼德出生于1959年。他于2026年6月21日因癌症去世，享年66或67岁。
52 星期五 2026年7月31日 | 《泰晤士报》
前社会服务监察员，他对维多利亚·克林比 (Victoria Climbié) 之死的调查最终促成了《2004年儿童法案》的出台。
SHUTTERSTOCK EDITORIAL
他在1998年退休。同年他被授予终身贵族爵位，此前他于1985年被授予CBE勋章，并于1996年被封为爵士。他在2011年至2015年期间担任跨党派贵族召集人。1962年，他与艾琳·波拉德 (Aileen Pollard) 结婚，后者于2010年去世。
调查认定，至少有12次拯救维多利亚的关键机会被错失。在评估中，拉明敦促责备不应指向那些“经常无奈”的一线工作人员，而应指向那些让他们在资金不足、培训不足且人员匮乏的情况下工作的人。凭借自己在缓刑工作中的背景，他深知社会关怀一线的情况：“这是一项要求极高、非常艰苦的工作，因此工作人员需要经过专门培训才能胜任。”
拉明勋爵在维多利亚·克林比调查报告的开头引用了安托万·德·圣-埃克苏佩里的《小王子》中的一段话：“在写下这些令人心碎的回忆时，我承受了太多的悲伤。如果我试图描述他，是为了确保我不会忘记他。”
在维多利亚·克林比调查及其2008年审查之后的几年里，拉明沮丧地看到他的一些建议和改革被政府的紧缩计划拆除，包括“每个孩子都重要”(Every Child Matters) 框架。越来越多的机构放弃了预防措施，变成了危机驱动型服务。“坦率地说，有时，
他希望这份经过精心编写的400页报告能防止世界忘记维多利亚以及她所遭受的对待。当然，他永远不会忘记。“维多利亚所遭遇之事的痛苦一直存在，”他说。“错失的机会以及未能保护她的失败，一直让我感到沉重。”
拉明的最终报告提出了108项建议，其中许多随后通过《2004年儿童法案》写入法律。这促成了英格兰儿童专员的设立，以及在英格兰和威尔士各地建立地方儿童保护委员会，同时推出了工党的儿童保护和福利计划“每个孩子都重要”。“面对……所遭受的可怕折磨，我们能希望得到的最好结果是……”
“那时就已经太晚了，”他说。在2025年，他坦言自己很难阅读那些与维多利亚案例相似的新案件。
维多利亚来自科特迪瓦，在遭受其姑婆及其男友数月的折磨和虐待后去世，当时她年仅八岁。该案件的细节令人触目惊心：维多利亚被她所谓的看护者剥夺食物、殴打，并被捆绑在装满排泄物的袋子中。她于 2000 年死于体温过低和多器官衰竭。
以及彼得。“近年来，我试图克制自己不去阅读这些记录，因为我觉得它们令人沮丧，”拉明（Laming）说道。
Baby P 的纪念活动。鉴于其死亡，拉明（右图）被要求对他 2003 年的维多利亚·克林比（Victoria Climbié）报告进行回顾。
在沉默中参加了多次假释会议，突然展现出卓越的算术天赋。拉明为他在一家超市仓库找到了工作，他在那里令经理们大为惊叹。“他永远不会知道他教会了我多少，”拉明承认道，“我们绝不能满足于仅凭表面现象地看待事物，绝不能满足于将人们简单地否定掉。”
威廉·赫伯特·拉明于 1936 年出生在纽卡斯尔，父母是威廉和莉莉安·拉明（原姓罗布森）。他在 15 岁离开学校且没有取得任何资格证书后，从事过各种临时工作，并在皇家海军履行国民服役义务。有一天下午，拉明在休假结束后返回军舰时，火车发生了故障，他开始与坐在身边的男子聊天，对方是一位正前往假释委员会会议的高级治安法官。几周后，拉明收到一封信，邀请他去见一位被推荐给他的首席假释官（CPO）。
拉明的调查揭示，至少有 12 次拯救维多利亚的机会被错失。
令拉明特别感到不安的是——他此前曾担任社会服务监察局（Social Services Inspectorate）的首席监察员——在维多利亚去世前的几个月里，国家本有充分的机会地拯救她。“维多利亚并非被隐藏起来，”他说。三个住房管理局、四个社会服务部门、两个警方儿童保护小组、一个 NSPCC 中心和两家医院都知道她的存在。“可怕的现实是，这些服务部门在流程结束时，对维多利亚的了解程度与最初接到转介时几乎没有区别，”拉明写道。哈林盖（Haringey）社会服务部门在维多利亚去世的那一天正式结案。
“这看起来可能相当懦弱。”
尽管如此，拉明继续推进。
“维多利亚被带到这个国家是为了过更好的生活，而这份报告是此类报告中的最后一份，”拉明说。
为了儿童拥有更安全的未来并提供指导
关于如何实现这些目标。他在 2020 年告诉一名采访者：“一个人拥有的最大能力就是倾听、观察和审视。我认为这是我们未来必须采取的模式：打破孤岛，打破组织边界，并表明我们关注的是这个人类个体，这个家庭，这些孩子。”尽管困难重重且在情感上付出了沉重的代价，但他从未后悔自己的职业选择。“我绝对会再次这么做，”他说，“我的职业生涯给予我的，远比我能给予它的多。”
遗憾的是，这个愿望并未实现。2008 年，鉴于 17 个月大的彼得·康内利（Peter Connelly）之死，拉明被要求对他之前的报告进行审查。彼得被媒体称为“Baby P”，在被发现死在婴儿床中之前，他至少 60 次接受过社会工作者、医生和警方的接见。
在他的首席假释官的推动下，拉明在假释办公室的层级中迅速晋升。起初，他试图拒绝这些晋升。“我会告诉他我不适合做那项工作，而他会问我是否在怀疑他的专业判断，”拉明回忆道，“‘天哪，当然不’，我会这样回答，然后被告知赶紧去做。”
在这种首席假释官以及其他“致力于社会流动性”的人的指导下，拉明参加了一系列函授课程和夜校，并最终被达勒姆大学录取，于 1960 年获得应用社会研究文凭。次年，他在诺丁汉郡担任假释官。
Laming在评论中指出，由他2003年报告所促成的许多立法变革未能渗透到社会关怀的前线。Laming说：“我们非常擅长制定立法，大量的立法。但我认为，我们并不擅长确保这些立法在地方层面得到推进和执行。如果它不能给普雷斯顿（Preston）的一个住房区带来改变，那它的意义何在？”
Laming于2001年被任命领导针对维多利亚（Victoria）之死的政府调查。随后开展的是英国历史上对该国儿童保护系统最广泛的调查，也是首次同时调查社会服务部门、国民医疗服务体系（NHS）以及警察角色的一次调查。
1971年，他迁至赫特福德郡（Hertfordshire），四年后被晋升为该郡的社会服务总监。1991年，他加入卫生部担任社会服务监察局（Social Services Inspectorate）的首席监察官，这一职责来自
Laming深情地回忆起他最早的案例之一：一名不善表达的17岁少年，在听完多次——
Laming勋爵，社会工作者，出生于1936年7月19日。他于2026年7月15日去世，享年89岁。
这位爱尔兰歌手凭借《曾经》（Once）一夜之间在银幕上成名并赢得奥斯卡奖，但却在名声的束缚中苦苦挣扎。
《Falling Slowly》以及其他几首出现在《曾经》中的歌曲。Irglova搬进了Hansard位于都柏林的公寓，尽管到2009年，他称他们仅仅是“好朋友”。
在获得奥斯卡奖后，他对名声产生了抵触。他说：“你可能会想象我在获奖后内心充满光明，但其实我变得很阴郁，饮酒过度。”
在他对《承诺》（The Commitments）心存顾虑之后，需要一些说服，他才同意在2007年的剧作《曾经》中回归银幕，与捷克青少年歌手Marketa Irglova共同饰演一对在都柏林奋斗的音乐人。
在一部光辉的导演作品集中，它是观众的最爱，其他作品还包括《密西西比在燃烧》（Mississippi Burning）、《午夜快车》（Midnight Express）和《艾薇塔》（Evita）。
当艾伦·帕克（Alan Parker）于1990年抵达都柏林，为他根据罗迪·多伊尔（Roddy Doyle）的小说《承诺》（关于一个同名的年轻爱尔兰灵魂乐组合）改编的电影选角时，他在利菲河码头的Waterfront夜总会里，每隔十分钟试镜一次，共试镜了64支乐队。
但Hansard的态度则较为模棱两可。虽然这部电影让他成名，但他觉得这是一把双刃剑。作为一名曾经的街头艺人，在被选为Outspan时，他已经组建了自己的乐队——Frames，该乐队在都柏林的酒吧和俱乐部中积累了追随者，并已与Island Records签约。
布鲁斯·斯普林斯汀（Bruce Springsteen）在某个夜晚陪他喝威士忌时对他直言不讳。Hansard回忆道：“他说，我生命中一直以来所代表的一切——那个与世界抗争的家伙——在我们赢得奥斯卡奖的那晚就死掉了。我进入了人生的不同阶段，穿上了一套不同的西装，他说我应该学会接受并享受它。”
2022年，他与芬兰诗人Maire Saaritsa结婚，她与他们三岁的儿子Christy在世。
但曾是Frames成员的导演约翰·卡尼（John Carney）通过一个承诺赢得了他的认可：允许Hansard与Irglova共同提供音乐，包括他们共同创作的歌曲《Falling Slowly》，该曲被收录在Frames 2006年的专辑《The Cost》中。
他当时有些鲁莽地宣布，他将“考虑任何唱歌或演奏乐器的人”——结果证明这涵盖了都柏林的一半人口。为了信守承诺，他举行了一场公开试镜，1,500多名都柏林年轻人到场，他们“演唱并演奏从吉他到锡口哨，从班卓琴到风笛的所有乐器”。
格伦·詹姆斯·汉萨德（Glen James Hansard）1970年出生于都柏林，是天主教父母凯瑟琳（原姓卡希尔）和詹姆斯·汉萨德的六个孩子中的第二个。在青少年时期之前，他“因为喝酒、吸胶水等这类常有的事情而陷入麻烦”，随后辍学成为一名街头艺人，而他的校长似乎对此表示认可。“他向我保证，虽然我可能成不了摇滚明星，但如果我坚持下去，很可能能以此为生，”汉萨德回忆道，“他说，他的职责就是帮我找到谋生之计。”
他担心自己的银幕角色以及在电影中翻唱的灵魂乐会掩盖他在现实生活中创作的音乐，并对此感到不满。在回顾该电影上映25周年之际，他说道：“当我第一次去英国巡演时，人们会说：‘你是《承诺》（The Commitments）里的Outspan。’而我的反应是：‘去他妈的Outspan和《承诺》——我是来表演我的音乐的。’”
在拍摄《曾经》（Once）期间，卡尼（Carney）称汉萨德和伊格洛娃（Irglova）为他们的“博加特与巴卡尔”（Bogart and Bacall），并预测他们将会——
这部电影是一次低预算的胜利，在圣丹斯电影节赢得了世界电影观众奖，而《Falling Slowly》则赢得了奥斯卡
成为一对情侣，
到最后，帕克（Parker）计算出他面试了超过 3,000 名希望者，从这支庞大的天才军队中脱颖而出的是一个由四名歌手和六名器乐演奏者组成的十人乐队，其中就包括饰演《承诺》主吉他手Outspan Foster的格伦·汉萨德。
最佳原创歌曲奖。《曾经》还被改编为百老汇音乐剧，赢得了八项托尼奖，尽管汉萨德和伊格洛娃都没有回归饰演原角色。不过，汉萨德再次
而他们确实如此。“我很长一段时间以来一直爱上她，但我一直告诉自己，她还只是个孩子，”汉萨德说道，他认识她时她才 13 岁。“在拍摄过程中，绝对有一种感觉，即我们正在记录一些珍贵且私密的东西。”
他曾是一名祭坛童子，在街头表演期间与哈瑞克里希纳庙（Hare Krishna temple）的信徒成为了朋友，并考虑加入他们。他对音乐的热爱最终占据了上风，但他继续支持他们的信仰。
“我们都觉得在太年轻时经历了太多，这种感觉有些令人心碎，”他说，“我见证了不仅是我自己，而且我亲爱的朋友们在某种程度上都变得有些失控。”
演员阵容确定后，汉萨德和他的乐队成员经历了五周的强化训练，早晨进行戏剧排演，下午进行音乐排演。当帕克将他们训练到满意程度后，电影在都柏林的 44 个地点花费了 53 天完成拍摄。
他始终坚守自己的根基，每年都会在都柏林的欢乐剧院（Gaiety Theatre）外领头进行圣诞前夜慈善街头表演，为无家可归者筹集资金。
他最终找回了平衡，并与Frames乐队一起录制了七张专辑，随乐队担任鲍勃·迪伦（Bob Dylan）的开场表演嘉宾。2022年，他在都柏林面对 10,000 名粉丝举行了一场 30 周年纪念演唱会（该演唱会因疫情而有所推迟）。他还发行了几张个人专辑。
1991, 年上映的《承诺》随后赢得了四项英国电影学院奖（Bafta）和一项最佳原声带英国音乐奖（Brit award）。帕克将这部电影视为他的个人——
格伦·汉萨德，爱尔兰 singer-songwriter 兼吉他手，出生于 4 月 21,
[[IMG_XXXX]] 汉萨德 2002 年在都柏林城堡表演
他们共同录制了一张专辑《The Swell Season》，其中包含了一个版本的
捐赠了数千万资金用于教育、艺术、国民医疗服务体系（NHS）和阿伯丁市，并且是重要的艺术收藏家。除此之外，他曾在 1969. 代表苏格兰北部参加对阵跳羚队的橄榄球赛。他真正是一个在任何环境下都能应对自如的人。
指出由伊恩·肯尼迪·马丁（Ian Kennedy Martin，讣告见 7 月 30 日）创作的《斯威尼》（The Sweeney）是对严肃犯罪调查组的准确刻画。
贾格吉特·考尔（JAGJIT KAUR）（认可令）
埃德温·乔维特爵士（Sir Edwin Jowitt）
比尔·奥迪（Bill Oddie）
要在登记册上刊登出生、结婚或死亡公告，请访问：newsukadvertising.co.uk。如需帮助，请致电 020 7782 7553 或发送电子邮件至 BMDs@thetimes.co.uk
特此通知，根据 2025 年 10 月 15 日提交的申请，法院已下令对根据美国破产法第 7 章发起的非自愿破产程序予以认可；该程序于 2025 年 11 月 19 日获得救济令，并任命 Alfred T. Giuliano 为债务人 Jagjit Kaur 的遗产受托人。根据《2006 年跨境破产条例》附表 1 所列的《联合国贸易法委员会跨境破产示范法》，该程序被承认为外国主程序。该命令于 2026 年 7 月 20 日做出，居住在伦敦 W C 2 R 0 E X, 7 Savoy Court 的 Giuliano 先生为外国代表（参考号 337362/01）。
David Hacking 写道：很久以前，我是 Edwin Jowitt 在律师事务所的徒弟（讣告，7 月 26 日）。我清楚地记得第一次在
Adrian Mallen 写道：我感谢 Robert Thompson（往事回顾，7 月 30 日）让读者关注 Bill Oddie（讣告，7 月 27 日）对《On Ilkla Moor Baht ’at》的精彩录音。
Sir Ian Wood
若你们与基督一同复活，就追求在上面的事，那里有基督坐在神的右边。歌罗西书 3.1 (ESV)
Peter Mackay 写道：你们关于 Sir Ian Wood 的讣告（7 月 28 日）低估了他在商业、公共生活
圣经经文由圣经学会（Bible Society）提供
Sir Garfield Sobers
法庭上的表现。那是 1963 年 1 月在艾尔斯伯里（Aylesbury）巡回法庭上。他当时在进行减轻处罚的辩护。他的发言如此自信，如此精彩。
Mark Pyper 写道：关于 Garry Sobers（讣告，7 月 17 日）签名意愿的经历是
宣布 James（牛津郡 Cumnor 的 John 和 Allyson Foord 教授之子）与 Flora（伦敦 Barnsbury 的 John Leadley 先生与 Amanda Leadley 夫人之女）订婚。
我想补充一点，这张由 John Peel 的 Dandelion 厂牌发行的唱片，实际上是对 Joe Cocker 著名的《With A Little Help From My Friends》版本的恶搞，而且大部分是由 Cocker 的伴奏乐队和歌手录制的。
案件编号 CR-2026-005577 英格兰和威尔士高等法院 商业与财产法院 公司法院 (ChD) 涉及
以及慈善事业。我在苏格兰办公室工作期间，在公共生活领域结识了他。他是一位不知疲倦的使者，有时也是我们的眼中钉，致力于推广阿伯丁和北海石油工业，并成功说服白厅在 1980 年代末将离岸供应办公室的部分职能迁至阿伯丁。
因此，后来从他那里得知，他在出庭前必须克服紧张情绪，这令我感到惊讶。事实上，他向我这个年轻的律师描述道，在前往法庭时他曾感到身体不适。
（公司编号 10266990）以及涉及《2006 年公司法》的事宜
LAING Joan，OBE，于 2026 年 7 月 9 日安详离世，享年 94 岁。已故 Peter 之妻；Sally、Daphne、Caroline 和 Richard 深爱的母亲；尽职的祖母及即将成为的曾祖母。2001 年因对英国红十字会的贡献被授予 OBE，她为该组织服务了 64 年。葬礼将于 8 月 28 日星期五上午 11 点在白金汉郡 Brill 的 All Saints’ 教堂举行。如愿，捐款请赠予英国红十字会。
受托人已采取一切合理措施，联系其记录在案的计划成员及受益人。相关通知已发送至这些成员和受益人，且他们在计划项下的权益已得到确认。
律师执业资格授予
MUNRO Serena（原姓 Ludovici）于 2026年7月23日 在 Southmead 医院去世，享年 63 岁。她是 Bruce 深爱的妻子，也是 Millie、Florrie、Tink 和 Tom 最敬爱的母亲。这位像小阳光一样的女孩将被所有认识她的人深深怀念。将举行私人家庭葬礼。纪念 Serena 生命的仪式将于日后举行。请勿献花；如愿捐款，请捐至 Dorothy House Firefly 募捐项目。
如果您尚未收到受托人的通知，且认为您可能有权获得该计划的权益，请将您的索赔书面详情（注明您的全名、地址、索赔具体细节以及任何支持您索赔的证明文件副本）提供给：
Chard, Navjothi Raju, Ruby Mae Wallis, Mahin Rahman Monami, Acacia Adela Williams-Hewitt, Christopher William Wiskin, Joshua Connor Hurst, Charlotte Grace Warren, Rebecca Ebner-Landy, Christine Miculyn Thomas Logijin, William Robert Danson Poole, Kate Louise Grimsdale, Farida Elsheikh, Anton Konshin, Boris Momchilov Krastev, Stephen Hare, Jovana Koprivica, Kirsty Anne Pumfrey Cooper, Thomas Stephen Crutchley, Clara Jacques, Iqra Hussain, Luke Marsden, Hadi Rachrach, Sheikh Fazle Nashwan, Charlotte Thelma-Rose Rodney, Sheikh Fazle Nawar, Emily Georgia Evans, Mohd Haziq Bin Mohd Shahril, Daniel Jacob, Frankie Shepley, Amelia-Jo Sharp-Saxby, Madeleine West-Nelson, Albert Cammack, Jaymie Elizabeth Burns, Hannah Pryor, Debbie Ru Shan Tan,
Xin Ying Ang, Lara Canivari Gouveia Gaspar Gomes, Jawad Razzaq Khan, Agnes Chan Yeh Loke, Amelia Constance Bradley, Freya Holly Walker, William Parr, John Whitcomb, Man Ya Koh, Megan Bradley, Clara Olivia Nine Brown, Mia Katja Hodge, Nisha Abraham, Joseph Oliver Stone, Nathan Newnham, Muhil Logandran, Tegan Amy Bennett, Courtney McCarthy, Shakaya Tafari, Eleanor Rebecca Griffin, Leah Khalid Rahman, Upama Nandy, Rabi Haruna, James Christopher Ashton, Eryn Niamh Cowell, Lauren Holtham-Morgan, Edward Michael Bray, Sheikh Mosfeq Kabir, Maia Anna Oleksy, Suranga Bandara Wijeyasiri Weeraparakrama Mahapa Jayalath, Siddharth S. Aatreya, Stephen Cox, Bakshi Mohit, Noel Joseph Travers, Duane Andrew Roy Allen, Nosib Kayser, Jessine Piong, Kaylene Leong Jia Yin, Yash Jangid.
以下人员在本次三一学期由内殿律师学院（Inner Temple）授予律师执业资格：Kateryna Cutler, Esther Ojo, Beenish Fawad, Nathan Thompson, Clishae Lauren Sands, Matthew Johnson, Nasteha Jama, Nisha Kumari Joshi, Sharon Chisom Ozioma Uche, Oravara Ratanakorn, Stella Louise Higham, Richard William Frederick Dobbs, Grace Emily Mitchell, Robert Arjun Nayagam, Meysam Rajaee, Johnson Adedoja Akombi Nanasegu Adewopo, Osarieme Sharon Ebikueluye, Louis O’Connor, Charles Alexander James Lapinskas, Chaudhry Muhammad Fahad, Mary Emamezi Adekanye, Patrick Alastair Kenny, Reisha Nerissa Davids, Owen Samuel McCrea, Ahadur Rahman Souad, Emma Brookley Hilder-South, Benedict Adam Springbett, Chloe Alysia Brookes, Ellie Blackburn, Anaya Nailah Price, Simran
Tyrolit 养老金计划受托人, c/o XPS Group, PO Box 562, Middlesbrough, TS1 9JA。电子邮件地址：admin.edinburgh@xpsgroup.com
所有索赔必须在 2026年9月30日 之前送达。在此日期之后，受托人将仅根据其收到预先通知的索赔和权益，着手进行计划的清算及其资产的分发；对于未如此通知受托人的任何索赔、权益或利益，受托人不承担任何责任。
白金汉宫 2026年7月30日 遵国王之命，亚利斯特·哈里森先生（外交使团团长）于今日下午前往伦敦 SW1 切斯特广场 76 号，拜访阁下劳拉·卡米拉·萨拉比亚·托雷斯女士，在阁下卸任哥伦比亚共和国驻圣詹姆斯宫大使职务之际，向其表达告别之意。
纪念 约翰·弗农·切尔索姆，1933年3月 - 2025年7月。依然深爱，依然想念。
代表 Tirolit 养老金计划受托人发布。2026年7月31日
CR-2026-004801 正义高等法院 英格兰和威尔士商业及财产法院 公司法院 (ChD) 关于 JPMORGAN CHINA GROWTH & INCOME PLC 以及关于 2006 年公司法之相关事宜
法律、公共、公司及议会公告
圣詹姆斯宫 2026年7月30日 埃丁堡公爵（英联邦体育副赞助人）与埃丁堡公爵夫人今日出席了第 XXIII 届英联邦运动会，并由国王驻格拉斯哥市领事（议员杰奎琳·麦克拉伦，尊贵的市长）接待。
如需在本板块刊登公告，请致电 020 7782 7553
公告需经确认，且应在刊登前三天的上午 11.30 前送达
特此通知，上述公司（公司编号 02853893，注册地址为伦敦 EC4Y 0JP 维多利亚堤岸 60 号）（以下简称“公司”）已于 2026年7月17日 向正义高等法院大法官分庭提交了一份第 8 部分申请表，寻求一项确认取消公司股份溢价账户和资本赎回准备金全部余额（即“取消”）的命令，该取消行为已由公司于 2026年2月3日 通过的特别决议批准。进一步通知，该申请表所述之最终听证会定于 2026年8月11日 上午 10:30 在伦敦 EC4A 1NL 费特巷 7 Rolls Buildings, The Rolls Building 的破产与公司法院法官面前进行。任何希望反对做出确认“取消”命令的公司债权人或股东，应在听证会时间亲自出席或由法律顾问出席。申请表的副本可在支付规定费用后，从公司律师处获取：Walker Morris LLP, 33 Wellington Street, Leeds, LS1 4DL (参考号: TAB/KIW/JPM06646.1)。日期：7月31日，星期五
圣詹姆斯宫 2026年7月30日 英国皇家公主在蒂姆·劳伦斯副海军上将的陪同下，今日出席了第 XXIII 届英联邦运动会，并由国王驻格拉斯哥市领事（议员杰奎琳·麦克拉伦，尊贵的市长）接待。
性！羞耻！丑闻！《泰晤士报》带你走进好莱坞传奇人物的一生
肯辛顿宫 2026年7月30日 肯特公爵（伦敦爱乐乐团赞助人）今日下午在东萨塞克斯郡刘易斯 Glyndebourne 的 Glyndebourne 艺术节观看了本杰明·布里顿的作品《比利·巴德》。
现可在书店以及 amazon.co.uk 和 thetimes.co.uk/bookshop 购买
天气之眼 保罗·西蒙斯
今日 英格兰和威尔士温暖且大部分地区干燥。苏格兰和爱尔兰有阵雨。最高 27C (81F)，最低 7C (45F)
奥克尼
本周末温暖且大部分干燥，下周起天气将变得更清爽且多变
图例：b=晴朗，c=多云，d=毛毛雨，pc=局部多云，du=阴，f=晴，fg=雾，h=冰雹，m=薄雾，r=雨，sh=阵雨，sl=雨夹雪，sn=雪，s=太阳，t=雷暴
平静 轻微 中等 汹涌
34
19
(英里/小时)
15
15
=前一日 *=数据不可得
28 (摄氏度)
温度 C 降雨 mm 阳光时数*
14 13
14
昨日正午 截至昨日下午 5 点的 24 小时
Aberdeen Aberporth Anglesey Aviemore Barnstaple Bedford Belfast Birmingham Bournemouth Bridlington Bristol Camborne Cardiff Edinburgh Eskdalemuir Glasgow Hereford Herstmonceux Ipswich Isle of Man Isle of Wight Jersey Keswick Kinloss Leeds Lerwick Leuchars Lincoln Liverpool London Lyneham Manchester Margate Milford Haven Newcastle Nottingham Orkney Oxford Plymouth Portland Scilly, St Mary’s Shoreham Shrewsbury Snowdonia Southend South Uist Stornoway Tiree Whitehaven Wick Yeovilton
19 R 4.2 0.0
17 S 3.0 2.6
18 PC 2.4 5.3
15 R 0.2 0.5
19 C 0.2 **
16 C 1.0 3.2 17 R 0.8 **
24 C 0.0 14.3
22 C 0.0 **
23 PC 0.4 12.9
15 R 3.0 5.5
21 C 0.0 12.7
17 PC 3.4 0.9
16 PC 3.6 0.0 17 R 5.0 1.5 21 C 0.0 ** 26 PC 0.0 12.1 27 C 0.0 13.9 18 PC 0.0 0.8 25 S 0.0 ** 21 C 0.0 13.2
19 PC 0.2 **
20 C 2.4 0.0 21 C 0.0 12.6
26 C 0.0 13.9
23 PC 0.0 14.0
21 C 2.0 4.6
24 PC 0.0 14.5 20 S 0.0 ** 20 PC 0.0 ** 20 C 0.0 13.3
25 C 0.0 ** 22 PC 1.2 ** 21 PC 0.0 ** 18 D 0.8 ** 28 PC 0.0 13.4 19 C 0.2 8.5 18 C 0.8 ** 25 PC 0.0 14.5
13 R 4.8 **
13 R 4.8 2.9 15 PC 2.8 6.5 16 C 1.0 1.3
21 R 2.0 11.0
威尔士和英格兰南部将是温暖、干燥且阳光明媚的一天。英格兰北部和苏格兰有分散阵雨。爱尔兰天气干燥，伴有阳光。
19 14
周四17:00，英格兰、威尔士或苏格兰没有洪水警报或警告。欲了解英格兰的进一步信息和更新，请访问 check-forflooding.service.gov.uk；威尔士请访问 naturalresources.wales/flooding；苏格兰请访问 SEPA.org.uk。
S
13
英格兰南部本月的降水量仅为平时的 1 per cent，英格兰一半以上的地区已宣布干旱，且
C 35 30 25 20 15 10
F 95 86 77 68 59 50 41 32 23 14
Aberdeen（亚伯丁）
英格兰、威尔士、苏格兰南部和爱尔兰北部天气温暖且大多干燥。爱尔兰南部有雨。苏格兰北部有阳光间有分散阵雨。
北海
18
17
威尔士部分地区，20 million 人被禁止使用花园软管，预计后续还将有更多禁令。
Edinburgh（爱丁堡）
Edinburgh（爱丁堡）
20
Glasgow（格拉斯哥）
5 0
19
26
9
16
所有目光都集中在天气预报上，寻找最干旱地区出现降雨的任何迹象，但只有微弱的湿润天气暗示，因为下周可能有一个低压系统近距离经过，但这远不确定。而且即使下雨，对于遭受干旱袭击的地区来说，可能也太少且太迟了。需要大量降雨，但即便在最乐观的长期预报中，这看起来也不太可能。英国南部的高压带来了进一步的干燥条件，而低压和雨带可能会席卷北部，尤其是苏格兰西北部。
26
Londonderry（伦敦德里）
5
大西洋
Newcastle（纽卡斯尔）
Newcastle（纽卡斯尔）
Carlisle（卡莱尔）
Belfast（贝尔法斯特）
20 16
18
17
rk
Yo
17
Manchester（曼彻斯特） Liverpool（利物浦）
Hull（赫尔）
Hull（赫尔）
22
Liverpoo（利物浦）
爱尔兰海
Galway（戈尔韦）
9
海
20
Sheffield（谢菲尔德）
21
Dublin（都柏林）
Llandudno（兰迪德诺）
Nottingham（诺丁汉）
19
21
Shrewsbury（什鲁斯伯里）
27
Norwich（诺里奇）
Norwich（诺里奇）
13
17
Birmingham（伯明翰）
Cambridge（剑桥） Oxford（牛津）
28
Cork（科克）
18
Swansea（斯旺西）
25
今年夏天，欧洲大部分地区的酷暑和干旱情况要严重得多，但英国或许可以从中吸取教训。随着气候变化导致降水量减少，塞浦路斯南部成为欧盟最干旱的国家之一。该国还面临着人口增长、农业和旅游业带来的日益增长的用水需求。来自脱盐厂、水库、大坝和废水回收的供水已不再充足。而一件可能让许多英国人感到震惊的事是，塞浦路斯全年强制执行永久性的软管禁令。
Cardiff（卡迪夫）
凯尔特海
海峡群岛
27
London（伦敦）
Bristol（布里斯托尔）
爱尔兰和苏格兰天气不稳定，有阵雨。英格兰和威尔士有阳光，下午可能有强降雨。
23 19
Southampton（南安普顿） Brighton（布赖顿）
19
eter
Exeter（埃克塞特）
最高 30C，最低 6C
Plymouth（普利茅斯）
22
21
16
英吉利海峡 (CHANNEL)
7
** C 3.8 **
14
18
英格兰东北部、湖区、英格兰中部北部、曼岛 (IoM)： 总体情况：早晨温暖且阳光充足。下午将转为多云，下午有小概率出现孤立阵雨。微弱西风。最高 22C (72F)，最低 7C (45F)。英格兰东部、西米德兰兹、东米德兰兹、英格兰西南部、海峡群岛：早晨有阳光时段，并伴有孤立阵雨的可能性。下午将转为干燥晴朗。微弱西北风。最高 24C (75F)，最低 7C (45F)。
26
英格兰西北部：早晨部分多云，有孤立阵雨的可能性，今天下午将转为晴朗。微弱西风。最高 21C (70F)，最低 7C (45F)。东英吉利、伦敦、英格兰南部中部、英格兰东南部：温暖，大部分时间干燥且阳光充足。东部地区傍晚有阵雨可能。微弱西风或西北风。最高 27C (81F)，最低 7C (45F)。南威尔士、北威尔士：干燥且阳光充足。
英格兰和威尔士大部分地区天气干燥。苏格兰和爱尔兰地区有分散阵雨，期间伴有阳光时段。
所有读数均为昨日当地正午时间
25 PC 34 S
28 S
32 S
31 PC 11 C 23 **
33 ** 34 S 29 PC 26 B
19 B
28 **
35 S 23 B
32 PC 27 B 31 S
35 S 23 PC
23 PC
20 S 34 S 14 B
33 S 19 PC
28 S 30 PC 29 PC 30 B 23 S
15 S 34 S
21 PC ** ** 35 S 29 S
27 B
32 S 25 S 31 S
** ** 41 S 31 PC
** ** ** ** 33 S 35 S
30 PC 23 R 28 S
26 PC 25 PC
35 S
33 ** 45 S
19 PC
25 S
36 PC 37 S 35 S
20 B
28 PC
21 S
34 S 17 S
38 S
27 PC 25 PC
31 SH
阿利坎特、阿姆斯特丹、雅典、奥克兰、巴林、曼谷、巴巴多斯、巴塞罗那、北京、贝鲁特、贝尔格莱德、柏林、百慕大、波尔多、布鲁塞尔、布加勒斯特、布达佩斯、布宜诺斯艾利斯、开罗、加尔各答、堪培拉、开普敦、芝加哥、哥本哈根、科夫、德里、迪拜、都柏林、法鲁、佛罗伦萨、法兰克福、日内瓦、直布罗陀、赫尔辛基、香港、檀香山、伊斯坦布尔、耶路撒冷、约翰内斯堡、吉隆坡、基辅、兰萨罗特、拉斯帕尔马斯、利马、里斯本、洛杉矶、卢克索
马德拉、马德里、马拉加、马略卡岛、马耳他、墨尔本、墨西哥城、迈阿密、米兰、蒙巴萨、蒙特利尔、莫斯科、孟买、慕尼黑、内罗毕、那不勒斯、新奥尔良、纽约、尼斯、尼科西亚、奥斯陆、巴黎、珀斯、布拉格、雷克雅未克、里加、里约热内卢、利雅得、罗马、旧金山、圣地亚哥
29
爱尔兰共和国、北爱尔兰、边境地区、苏格兰西南部、格拉斯哥、中高地、阿伯丁、莫雷湾、苏格兰东北部、爱丁堡和邓迪、苏格兰西北部、阿盖尔、北群岛：分散阵雨，期间有阳光时段。微弱西南风，随后转为西风。最高 20C (68F)，最低 4C (39F)。
苏格兰、英格兰北部和爱尔兰北部将有阵雨。其他地区阳光时段与分散阵雨交替，部分地区伴有强降雨及雷暴。
今年，一项全国性运动启动，旨在通过敦促每个人在淋浴、刷牙及其他用途上减少用水，将用水量降低 10%。智能用水系统也已引入，例如一款免费应用程序，可计算每人用水量与全国人均平均水平的对比，并提出切实可行且可衡量的节水方案。此外，尼科西亚市当局正在家庭中安装 72,000 个智能水表，这些水表能即时检测泄漏并提醒消费者，以防止浪费用水及收到过高的水费账单。
最高 26C，最低 7C
潮汐
15
今日正午
潮汐预测。高度以米为单位。所有时间均为当地时间
高潮 (HIGH)
1008 1008
1008
16
今日 高度 高度 阿伯丁、艾文茅斯、贝尔法斯特、卡迪夫、德文波特、多佛、都柏林、法尔茅斯、格林诺克、哈里奇、霍利黑德、赫尔、利斯、利物浦、伦敦桥、洛伊斯特夫特、米尔福德港、莫康比、纽黑文、纽基、奥班、彭赞斯、朴次茅斯、肖勒姆、南安普敦、斯旺西、蒂斯、威茅斯
1016
21
--:-- -- 13:09 3.1 09:02 11.4 21:18 11.7
--:-- -- 13:08 6.4
00:30 3.9 13:02 3.7
07:20 4.7 19:28 5.0
02:13 3.4 14:30 3.0
01:43 3.7 13:51 3.8
08:09 7.2 20:43 6.9 04:28 5.3 16:55 5.3
--:-- -- 13:13 8.8
03:52 6.8 16:08 6.8 11:22 2.6 --:-- --
08:13 6.5 20:30 6.8 01:01 9.2 13:23 8.8
1024
低
高
1000 1000
26
1024 1016
1016
高
冷锋 温锋 闭塞锋 槽线 辐合带
英格兰北部、爱尔兰以及苏格兰南部和西部地区天气不稳定，伴有阵雨。英格兰南部、威尔士和苏格兰东部地区有阳光照射，并伴有零星阵雨。
1016
1008
低
低
最高 25C，最低 8C
15
天气形势分析
亚伯丁 贝尔法斯特 伯明翰 加的夫 埃克塞特 格拉斯哥 利物浦 伦敦 曼彻斯特 纽卡斯尔 诺里奇 彭赞斯 谢菲尔德
昨日至下午5点的24小时内 最高温：肯特郡弗里滕登，29.0C 最低温：布雷玛，2.6C 最湿润：罗斯和克罗马蒂郡奥特比，20.0mm 最晴朗：曼斯顿，14.5小时*
21:54-04:36 21:57-05:04
一个位于苏格兰西部的槽线将给北部和西部地区带来不稳定且多阵雨的天气。一个向东移向欧洲大陆的冷锋将给英格兰南部带来较为凉爽的条件。一个从西南方向建立的轻微高压脊将给南部和东部地区带来大部分干燥且晴朗的天气。
21:32-05:06 21:31-05:11 21:56-04:52
21:40-04:58 21:20-04:54
21:37-04:55
21:41-04:45 21:19-04:44
21:37-05:21
21:33-04:52
16
--:-- -- 13:15 6.4 07:03 6.4 19:20 6.7
22
07:51 3.7 20:10 3.9 06:38 5.1 18:55 5.4
01:12 4.4 13:44 4.5
--:-- -- 13:19 5.9
02:33 3.9 12:14 4.3
08:18 8.7 20:34 9.0
05:28 5.3 18:04 5.2
每日上午8点至下午5点（通话费用为 £1.55 另加网络附加费）
25
** ** 30 S 28 PC
格林威治标准时间 日出： 日落： 月出： 月落：
05.22 20.50
《泰晤士报》天气页面由
21.36 08.30 周六
下弦月：8月6日
weatherquest.co.uk
在这次令人兴奋的网球与酒店度假之旅中，体验伦敦市中心的景点，并享受温布尔登的所有精彩赛事。
您将前往锦标赛现场，在1号球场就座。沉浸在标志性的氛围中，在亨曼山享用草莓奶油，并在体育界最受喜爱的场景之一中观看世界级网球赛事。想要在伦敦停留更久？我们的三日和四日套餐可为您在这座充满活力的城市中提供额外的住宿夜晚。
两日行程现价
每人
1号球场配备可伸缩屋顶，无论天气如何，都能保证精彩的网球比赛。也许可以在市中心入住包含早餐的酒店之前，先在城市中度过愉快的一天。
请在8月31日前预订
立即致电
以及伦敦度假 *最高10%的折扣适用于在2026年8月31日前预订的指定2027年温布尔登套餐，且不能追溯应用于已确认的预订。优惠仅适用于指定行程，且不能与其他优惠同时使用。适用相关排除条款。所示价格已包含折扣。适用单人入住附加费。价格在印刷时正确。取决于供应情况，并可能随时撤销。ALTEC 严禁转售温布尔登门票，否则将导致您的门票及进入锦标赛赛场的资格失效。所有图像 © AELTC。此类假期由 Newmarket Holidays Ltd 组织并运营，该公司完全独立于 News UK。ABTOT 5509. ATOL 受保护 2325. ABTA V7812. 适用标准电话费用。
thetimes.com/ nh-wimbledon2027
引用代码 TIM
2027年7月
温布尔登，伦敦 © AELTC 我们的可靠合作伙伴
ZUMA PRESS WIRE/SHUTTERSTOCK
坎贝尔夺金——现在目标是《名厨》(MasterChef)
女子公开赛
Cathy Harris
查莉·赫尔（Charley Hull）通常深受球迷喜爱，但面对社交媒体上因她捉弄球童而引发的激烈抵制，这位英国女性回应批评者称应“放轻松”。
正在皇家利瑟姆与圣安内球场（Royal Lytham & St Annes）参加AIG女子公开赛的赫尔在昨天的发布会上透露，她使用了一张假刮刮乐彩票，诱骗她的球童亚当·伍德沃德（Adam Woodward）相信自己赢得了 £100,000。
力量与光彩的结合。她坚持了下来，并于不久后以 155kg 打破了运动会纪录。
播报员不断提及请求的重量，每一次都引发巨大的欢呼。她最后以 163kg 结束，总重量达到 278kg，比 20 岁的马来西亚选手西蒂·阿基拉·法哈娜·德拉曼（Siti Aqilah Farhana Draman）高出 25kg；而 18 岁的加拿大选手埃塔·梅·洛夫（Etta Mae Love）则获得铜牌。另外两名奖牌得主都谈到了坎贝尔（Campbell）的职业生涯如何激励了她们。这位来自英格兰中部的运动员凭借其机智和随和的态度，让一切听起来很简单，但她的脖子上贴着胶带，因为杠铃杆会造成擦伤。“当杠铃上沾了血，会拖慢比赛进度之类的情况，”她说，“这更多是对其他人的礼貌。没什么大碍。别都哭成那样，伙计们，我没事。”
这位 30 岁的运动员回忆道：“他简直是在球员休息室里跑来跑去，说着：‘我赢了 £100,000。我今天请假。’他的表情看起来那么开心。他不敢相信自己的运气，当我们告诉他那是假的，他差点要辞职了。”
格拉斯哥
头发中编入狮子图案，画着红色眼线，且拥有一种将非凡力量与热情个性完美结合的罕见能力，艾米莉·坎贝尔（Emily Campbell）为英联邦运动会带来了所需的活力。
赫尔在网上分享了这位澳大利亚人的欣喜反应。伍德沃德表示并没有产生过节。
一些球星对格拉斯哥不屑一顾且缺席，但 32 岁的坎贝尔比他们许多人加起来更有魅力。她随口而出俏皮话，在礼堂和媒体采访中散发出自然的亲和力。在谈到她为英格兰赢得的第二枚英联邦金牌（以及一枚奥运银牌、一枚铜牌和六项欧洲冠军）仅几分钟后，她便顺势谈到了即将参加的《名人主厨》（Celebrity MasterChef）节目。“我仍然希望向世界展示，你可以享受举重——而且你在做这件事的同时也可以绝对光彩照人。”
“我完全上当了，我希望我说过我在演戏，但我没有，”他说，“我觉得这很有趣，但报复将会很精彩。我准备在前面放一个建议箱，收集任何我可以用来反击查莉的恶作剧。说实话我并不在意。这相当好笑。”
不过，这些东西很疼。哪里疼？“你想让我跟你说实话吗？到处都疼。膝盖、肩膀、背部。我们要举起沉重的重量，这很难。你必须非常理智。这不是一项简单的运动。”
坎贝尔举起了 278kg 的英联邦运动会纪录总重量。
在 X 平台上的反应绝大多数是负面的，其中一名高尔夫作家的推文获得了超过 2.6 million 次浏览和 600 条评论，球迷们表达了失望和厌恶。
“这是你们的错，”她告诉记者，“你们（在奥运会上）把它搞成了这么大的一件事，所以现在它成了一件大事。”
随着时间的推移而产生的影响，她说：“我们必须审视这一点，以及如何让身体支撑过去。如果我去洛杉矶，我想具备争夺奖牌的竞争力，所以我们要确保那是可行的。希望你们能在那里见到我。”
她的自信对于那些可能感到受限于传统体育体型约束的人来说是好事。而且，她很快将通过参加《名人主厨》节目进入人们的客厅。 “训练没有中断，”她说，“训练已经全部完成了。只是能以一个非‘举重运动员艾米莉’的身份做点事情，感觉非常好。食物是我一直非常有热情的事。我的招牌菜是加勒比风味。我就告诉你这么多，因为我想让你们看节目，但这也是举重的另一个推广平台。”
埃丁堡公爵夫人索菲为她颁发了奖牌，从而延续了王室与举重运动之间的长期联系。在1978年奥运会上，当普雷셔斯·麦肯齐（Precious McKenzie）创造辉煌成就时，女王要求准备离开赛场的埃丁堡公爵重新坐下。在加拿大赢得第四个奥运冠军的第二天，女王举办了一场花园派对，但当她惊觉麦肯齐不在场时感到十分窘迫，于是命令警察找到他并将其带到她的宴会上。
赫尔（Hull）在回应中直言不讳地表示：“我认为这很有趣，亚当也觉得很有趣，如果人们不喜欢，那就随他们去吧。他们需要放轻松点。”
事实上，坎贝尔（Campbell）天生就属于洛杉矶（La La Land），但目前她很满足于在格拉斯哥地盘，称这里“非同凡响”，并表示她目前的野心是去一家顶楼酒吧，在结束语中为那些痴迷于目标和奖杯的人留下了一段得体的格言。
在克莱德河畔的Armadillo大楼内，这次胜利充满了表演色彩。在86kg+级别中，她在抓举项目中举起了115kg。休息一段时间后，在最后的挺举环节中，观众们在其他选手的起伏中等待。随后，伴随着如同顶尖主秀登场般的巨大欢呼声，坎贝尔终于重新出现，并迅速举起148kg夺得金牌。她向穿着配套T恤的人们飞吻并挥手。“那些T恤是我的人，”她解释道，“他们属于我。”
“我为亚当感到难过，但我必须先度过愉快的一周，然后我会给他买一百张真正的刮刮乐彩票。”
“你只需要专注于做你该做的事，并优雅地完成，”她说。令人振奋。6 田径赛场出现重大冷门，英格兰的扎内尔·休斯（Zharnel Hughes）在200米半决赛中出局（马克·帕尔默撰文）。这位2022年银牌得主以20.67秒的成绩排名第六——落后于获得第一名的牙买加选手克里斯托弗·泰勒（Christopher Taylor）0. 47秒。
在女子公开赛首日之后，世界排名第7的选手凭借首轮69杆（低于标准杆2杆）的表现，依然在竞争之列。年轻的泰国球星蒂蒂库尔（Jeeno Thitikul）以零bogey的64杆（低于标准标准杆7杆）独占领先。韩国的柳海兰（Haeran Ryu）以低于标准杆5杆落后蒂蒂库尔2杆，目前仍有望完成大满贯三连冠。
为了让你对坎贝尔的力量有个概念，她在挺举中举起的重量相当于三个普雷셔斯·麦肯齐。她的发型准备工作（包括辫子、红色点缀和跃起的狮子图案）在前一天就已经开始。
令人担忧的是，在谈到洛杉矶和下一届奥运会时，她确实播下了一颗怀疑的种子。资格赛系统涉及一系列表现——
小女孩们在过道上跳舞。她们并非唯一被吸引的人
3.10 Handicap (£5,234: 7f) (9)
Wolverhampton
Rob Wright
2.35 Handicap (£3,978: 7f) (12)
4.20 Handicap (£3,978: 1m 4f) (7)
2.00 Maiden Stakes (£5,400: 7f) (10)
5.25 Classified Stakes (£3,245: 5f) (6)
3.45 Handicap (3-Y-O: £3,978: 1m 1f) (11)
4.55 Handicap (£5,234: 6f) (10)
昨日赛果
fav); 2, U S S Charleston (50-1); 3, Miss Yechance (17-2). 18 ran. 17 l, nk. K Scott.
2-1); 2, Pyramid (11-8 fav); 3, Chimes Of Thunder (10-3). 8 ran. 2 l, l. R Varian. 6.22 (6f 20yd) 1, Angel Sense (S De Sousa,
2.35 (1m 75yd) 1, Great Blasket (C Fallon,
8-13 fav); 2, Theme Park (9-2); 3, Degale (11-2). 5 ran. 37 l, 2 l. James Owen.
3.10 (1m 2f 50yd) 1, Supplicate (J Mitchell, 15-8 fav); 2, Crown Office (2-1); 3, Sassicaia (9-4). 5 ran. l, 4 l. R Varian.
3.45 (1m 75yd) 1, Queen’s Hame (C Fallon, 6-4 fav); 2, Marquessofanglesey (15-8); 3, Matter Of Britain (10-1). 5 ran. 4l, 27 l. W J Haggas.
4.20 (1m 6f) 1, Sixty Plus (C Fallon, 2-5 fav); 2, Beggarman (8-1); 3, Simiyann (7-1). 4 ran. nk, 5 l. J Owen.
4.55 (6f 18yd) 1, Molly Mac (Grace McEntee, 1-1 fav); 2, Henriette Ronner (10-1); 3, Saeculamation (11-1). 7 ran. 4 l, 1l. M Fenton. 5.25 (1m 2f 50yd) 1, Poet’s Dawn (R Burley,
9-2); 2, Flightofthephoenix (7-2); 3, Galaxy
7.50 (7f 3yd) 1, Eyes Front (R Hornby, 11-4); 2, Sun Of Dolly (7-2); 3, Credit Forgedd It (2-1 fav). 7 匹参赛。1 l, 1 l. E Smyth-Osbourne.
Wonder (10-3). 6 匹参赛。2 l, 1 l. T D Easterby.
场地状况：好至坚实（部分地区为好）
9-2); 2, Supreme Star (9-4); 3, Location Location (13-8). 10 匹参赛。5l, 2 l. M Botti.
1.50 (1m 1f 197yd) 1, Ciarrai Abu (G Wood,
10-3 fav); 2, Bourbon Blues (25-1); 3, Evanesco (11-1). 14 匹参赛。1l, sh. Harry Eustace.
2.25 (6f) 1, Man’s Best Friend (R L Moore,
11-2); 2, Adaay Of Scarlett (8-1); 3, Night In Vegas (6-1). 10 匹参赛。1l, 1 l. A P O’Brien.
3.00 (1m 3f 218yd) 1, Enceladus (D B McMonagle, 6-4 fav); 2, Geryon (15-2); 3, Venetian Lace (25-1). 7 匹参赛。1 l, 4 l. J P O’Brien.
场地状况：好至坚实
8.07 (7f 36yd) 1, Iconic Times (S D Bowen, 2-1 fav); 2, Velvet Skies (22-1); 3, African Spirit (16-1). 12 匹参赛。1l, 27 l. J Candlish. 8.42 (7f 36yd) 1, Manton Road (J Peate, 14-1); 2, On Key (9-2); 3, Midnight’s Dream (13-2). 10 匹参赛。l, 17 l. R T Phillips.
5.30 (1m 2f 17yd) 1, Bobacious (L Wright, 4-1); 2, Magical Merlin (7-1); 3, Oj Lifestyle (9-2). 6 匹参赛。hd, 2 l. M R Hoad.
6.05 (7f 3yd) 1, Camarda Rc (S C Cronin, 13-2); 2, Out Of This World (9-4 fav); 3, Cool King (4-1). 9 匹参赛。3 l, 1 l. R Hannon.
4.35 (5f 21yd) 1, A Lott Of Kane (J Haynes, 11-4); 2, Runamara (9-2); 3, Havin A Flyer (5-2 fav). 8 匹参赛。2l, hd. C Banham.
5.10 (1m ½f) 1, Between Me And U (D Keenan, 5-1); 2, Volto Di Medusa (14-1); 3, R Mcmurphy (11-1). 11 匹参赛。4 l, sh. M Herrington. 5.47 (1m 1f 104yd) 1, Bintward (S D Bowen,
6.40 (1m 4f 6yd) 1, Dream Harder (R Hornby, 10-1); 2, Two Plus Two (11-2); 3, Twilight Moon (10-1). 5 匹参赛。nk, 3 l. D M Loughnane.
7.15 (1m 113yd) 1, Trio (C Hutchinson, 9-4); 2, Chantelle (2-1 fav); 3, Celestra (7-1). 4 匹参赛。1 l, 27 l. Eve Johnson Houghton.
3.35 (1m 1f 197yd) 1, Diamond Necklace (R L Moore, 4-6 fav); 2, Friendly Soul (5-2); 3, See The Fire (7-1). 5 匹参赛。27 l, 5l. A P O’Brien.
2.00 (5f 8yd) 1, Roots In Touche (M Sheehy, 10-11); 2, Funky Dory (5-6 fav). 8l. A Keatley.
古德伍
Rob Wright
v
v
v
Rob Wright 赛马编辑
Wathnan Racing 团队的目标是最大的赛马节，在皇家雅士谷赛马会获得四次冠军后，这家总部位于卡塔尔的马主可以通过 Night Raider 和 Sea Of Kings 在今天的盛大古德伍赛马会（Glorious Goodwood）赢得本周的第二次双冠。
Night Raider 将参加重点赛事 King George Qatar Stakes (3.35)，他有望改善去年在该项赛事中获得第六名的成绩。那天他处于赛道上不受青睐的看台侧，虽然击败了与其同组的赛马，但无法与赛道另一侧的选手抗衡。他此后接受了去势手术，并在本赛季前两场比赛中夺冠，展现出进步的形态，但在皇家雅士谷赛马会（Royal Ascot）再次因抽签不利而受挫。
v
他拥有极高的巡航速度，应能很好地适应这条急促的赛道，并有望恢复状态。
v
Sea Of Kings 可以争夺首场 Coral Goodwood Handicap (1.50)。这匹参赛经验较少的四岁马一直渴望一次彻底的耐力考验，在他首次尝试这里的两英里半距离时，能够充分利用较为宽松的评分。
(£43,809: 1m 2f) (7)
v
v
他在上赛季顶尖赛事的激烈让磅赛中展现了极强的能力，并在多克兰（Doncaster）的一场距离不足的比赛中获得亚军，实现了令人欣慰的回归。庞特弗拉克特（Pontefract）较软的地面不利于他，但这里的场地和更长的距离肯定会让他表现得更好。
v
5.05 Handicap (£4,711: 7f) (9)
6.25 Novice Stakes (£6,185: 1m 2f) (4)
7.00 Handicap (£5,154: 6f) (10)
7.32 Handicap (£6,442: 7f) (9)
8.02 Handicap (£5,154: 1m 4f) (5)
8.32 Handicap (£5,154: 1m) (7)
纽卡斯尔 (Newcastle)
巴斯 (Bath)
Rob Wright
Rob Wright
6.15 Maiden Stakes (2-Y-O: £5,940: 7f) (5)
6.50 Nursery (2-Y-O: £4,187: 7f) (7)
7.25 Handicap (£6,804: 5f) (5)
7.55 Handicap (£3,664: 7f) (7)
8.25 Handicap (£4,711: 2m) (7)
8.55 Handicap (£3,664: 5f) (6)
5.35 Handicap (£3,278: 1m 6f) (4)
6.08 Novice Stakes (2-Y-O: £5,400: 6f) (7)
6.43 Classified Stakes (£3,454: 6f) (9)
7.18 Novice Stakes (£4,320: 6f) (6)
7.48 Handicap (£3,454: 6f) (5)
8.18 Handicap (£3,454: 1m 2f) (6)
2.10 Classified Stakes
(£3,245: 1m 2f) (10)
2.45 Novice Stakes (2-Y-O: £5,400: 6f) (8)
3.20 Handicap
(£3,245: 2m) (9)
3.55 Handicap (3-Y-O: £3,978: 5f) (13)
5.40 Classified Stakes (£4,711: 6f) (14)
纽马基特 (Newmarket)
Rob Wright
马瑟尔堡 (Musselburgh)
Rob Wright
5.50 Novice Stakes (2-Y-O: £5,669: 6f) (7)
5.45 Handicap (£3,664: 1m 5f) (10)
曾在米德尔塞克斯（Middlesex）、约克郡（Yorkshire）和诺丁汉郡（Nottinghamshire）效力，在那里他曾担任 2005 年冠军之队的队长。
在 2022 年春季卸任之后。Root 在一次临时基础上率队参加了今年夏天对阵新西兰的第二场测试赛，当时 Stokes 因上月退役而被禁赛，英格兰方面认为让 Brook 担任全部三种形式的队长负担太重。
在与印度超级联赛（IPL）加盟队合作 18 年之后。
Elizabeth Ammon
英格兰及威尔士板球委员会（ECB）的一份声明确认，Trescothick 将负责夏季剩余的三场测试赛。声明称：“这将使 Fleming 在本月早些时候结束与 CSK 的长期合作后，能有时间陪伴在新西兰的家人。Fleming 将于今年夏天晚些时候飞往英国，开始为南非测试赛巡回赛做准备。”
Stephen Fleming 已被确认
“我非常激动能以测试赛教练的身份加入英格兰，”Fleming 表示，“这是世界板球界最负盛名的教练职位之一，我很荣幸被任命。”
Brook 与本月被解雇的测试赛队主教练 Brendon McCullum 关系非常密切，且 2027. 秋季将有一场 50-over 世界杯。因此，决定由 35, 岁的 Root 带领英格兰队参加明年的夏天。
第一场测试赛结束后的夜总会事件。
这位新西兰人签署了一份为期四年的合同，有效期至 2030, 年，但他将不会负责英格兰队的下一场测试赛系列赛，因为他直到夏季结束才会前往英国。英格兰队助理教练 Marcus Trescothick 将率队参加从 8 月 19 日开始的对阵巴基斯坦的三场系列赛。
Fleming，53, 岁，没有
“我特别期待与作为队长的 Joe Root 合作——他是一位世代才俊，已经取得了如此巨大的成就。他未来仍有很大的潜力。”
任何红球赛或国际执教经验，但他曾率领
CSK 获得了创纪录的五次
英格兰队选择永久任命 Root，而不仅仅是针对巴基斯坦系列赛。Root 和白球赛队长 Harry Brook 是在 Ben Stokes 因其令人震惊的
印度超级联赛冠军，并还率领 Southern Brave 挺进
Fleming 和 McCullum 曾是新西兰队的队友，并于 2010 年共同创办了一家向板球管理机构提供数据系统的公司。
Fleming，53, 岁，最近离开了钦奈超级国王队（Chennai Super Kings）主教练的职务。
CHRIS ARJOON/ICON SPORTSWIRE VIA GETTY IMAGES
沉稳与冷静使 Fleming 成为正确选择
从前景来看，他与 McCullum 不会有太大的不同，尽管他会管理得更严格。在 2024, 年 3 月接受《板球月刊》（Cricket Monthly）杂志采访时，有人问他为什么允许 CSK 球队的球员选择性地进行网练（ring a bell?）。他的回答是：“我们坚信，球员一旦醒来，他们就在规划自己的时间，决定是否去练习。”
首席板球记者
Stephen Fleming 感觉很合适。考虑到执教英格兰队的要求与冗长的招聘过程中所能获得的信息截然不同，有时直觉与面试中揭示的任何事情一样重要。你可以对着白板谈论到天荒地老，但在压力之下，当事情出错且所有人都在要求你下课时，你的表现如何？
“因为训练是可选的，所以球员会做一些让他们变得更好的事情，例如在比赛的心理方面下功夫；但如果他们选择参加训练，他们应该有自己的明确计划。”
“如果你只是不断地开出处方告诉你需要做什么，规定网练时间并说‘这就是你们要实现的目标’，那么球员就不会思考自己为了进步需要做些什么。板球实际上是一项包裹在团队组件之内的‘自私’运动。球员在对待板球的方式上是非常独特的……我们认为，通过赋予他们做他们认为最合适之事的自主权，可以让我们就该个体制定一个最终有助于球队的计划。”
虽然直觉能带来很多收获，但当然还有许多信息需要从其他渠道收集。包括候选人的过往记录和名声，以及与他共事过的更衣室球员的评价。Fleming 的简历和在圈内的声誉都很强，尽管显著缺乏红球板球的执教经验，因为他为了加盟赛（franchise circuit）而放弃了这一块。
Fleming 从未担任过国际队的主教练。他曾在新西兰测试赛队与插图中的 McCullum 共同效力
全能球员，斯托克斯（Stokes）是测试赛球队中最难找到继任者的球员，且没有完全对等的替代方案。针对英国的比赛条件，最显而易见的方法是用一名旋转球全能球员来接替斯托克斯——卡尔文·哈里森（Calvin Harrison）会是我的选择；而里汉·艾哈迈德（Rehan Ahmed）可能会是他们的选择——这将允许球队使用四名快速投球手，毕竟他们仍然是英格兰队在比赛中获胜的主要力量。
曾在三个郡队（主要是诺丁汉郡）执教，并且最近在“百球赛”（the Hundred）中执教南方勇士队（Southern Brave）。他并非在毫无准备的情况下接手，应该能够与国内板球赛的同行建立良好的关系。
麦卡勒姆（McCullum）最初的优势之一是他能让助手们完全信服其方法，但这后来也成了弱点。他需要受到更大程度的挑战，而弗莱明（Fleming）的任务之一将是建立一个更强大、更具韧性且更具挑战性的教练体系，并由他负责监管。
当然，这里依然有麦卡勒姆的深刻烙印。考虑到麦卡勒姆所取得的成就、他在更衣室文化中建立的影响，以及他仍然在任，任命一个处于麦卡勒姆光谱另一端的教练（比如贾斯汀·兰格（Justin Langer））将会是很愚蠢的。用相似的哲学，但更锐利的锋芒和更注重细节，也许是对弗莱明可能采取的方法的最佳描述。
他的第一个重大决定是测试赛队长的人选，他与罗伯·基（Rob Key）做出了一个明智的决定，即不任命哈里·布鲁克（Harry Brook），因为布鲁克还没有准备好承担这项工作，且在三种赛制中打球并担任白球赛队长的压力已经过大。显然，布鲁克与麦卡勒姆的合作非常成功，这使得只有乔·鲁特（Joe Root）或雅各布·贝塞尔（Jacob Bethell）——后者 22 岁，比弗莱明被任命为新西兰队队长时小一岁——成为现实的替代方案。
他在某些重要方面符合要求：首先，他目前有空档，因为他最近在钦奈超级国王队（CSK）长期任职后离职；其次，他很可能与同为新西兰人的布伦登·麦卡勒姆相处融洽，且两人已知关系良好（他们曾共同经营业务）；第三，他在板球界已经足够成熟，作为球员经历过所有阶段，并在印度超级联赛（IPL）担任过高调的主教练职务，那里的审查和压力非常大，尽管与执教国家队略有不同。
53 岁的弗莱明在担任新西兰队球员、队长以及 CSK 教练方面拥有强大的记录，他自该联赛 2008 年成立起就参与其中。他是一名身材高挑、纤细的左手击球手，在 111 场测试赛中完成了 9 次百分击球，但他真正脱颖而出是在担任队长期间。作为对方队长，他表现得冷静沉稳（他 1997 年在基督城担任队长的第一场比赛就是对阵我的英格兰队），领导风格机敏且平静。从一开始就很明显，他将成为一名出色的领导者。
他必须解决关于宵禁以及“能否饮酒”的混乱琐事，并与麦卡勒姆就乔弗拉·阿彻（Jofra Archer）、布鲁克和贝塞尔等多赛制球员的问题达成一致。在接下来的 12 个月里，这些球员的需求量将很高，明年夏天将迎来灰烬杯（Ashes），随后是 50 轮的世界杯。两位教练都希望在筹备阶段为这些赛制配备最佳阵容。距离灰烬杯仅剩 12 个月，时间并不充裕，即使对于拥有弗莱明这种毋庸置疑之特质的人来说也是如此。
他的任命意味着新西兰对英格兰板球的影响力非常强。除了弗莱明，麦卡勒姆将继续担任白球赛教练。此外还有快球专项教练蒂姆·索西（Tim Southee）和首席旋转球教练吉坦·帕特尔（Jeetan Patel）。他们的谦逊以及最大化利用资源的能力使新西兰人成为了出色的榜样，但缺乏严肃的英格兰候选人应当是一个令人担忧的问题。
Root 的正式回归反映了球队选择的匮乏以及资深领导层的缺失，这将是弗莱明（Fleming）未来的重点工作。在上个月于椭圆球场（the Oval）对阵新西兰的测试赛中，Root 的局限性暴露无遗，他往常的沉稳很快就消失了，但事出无奈，且 Root 很不可能拒绝这个提供帮助的机会。虽然任命 Root 并非理想之选，但总比让 Brook 掌舵要好。
作为教练，他在结束球员生涯后迅速与 MS Dhoni 及 CSK 特许经营球队建立联系，并取得了相当大的成功，带领他们五次夺得 IPL 冠军。除非你既具备教练技巧又擅长人际交往，否则在那样一家特许经营球队中无法像他那样长久地生存。在残酷的环境中积累经验，且未失其本质的冷静和低调，这充分说明了他的性格特质。
在目前这个时间点，如果任命一个从未担任过重大职位的候选人，将会很困难。测试队及其周围的基础设施需要进行一些谨慎的重新梳理，而像弗莱明在 CSK 那样习惯于主教练生活的个体是最理想的。无论是在板球专业领域还是在他的一般举止上，他都是一名成熟的成年人，而这正是当前时刻所需要的。
弗莱明最近离开 CSK 对基（Key）来说正值时机。在安迪·弗劳尔（Andy Flower）拒绝了英格兰及威尔士板球管理局（ECB）的初步邀请后，剩下的优秀候选人寥寥无几。尽管这在巴基斯坦系列赛期间留下了一个短暂的权力真空期——届时马库斯·特雷斯科蒂克（Marcus Trescothick）将有机会走出麦卡勒姆（McCullum）的阴影——但基已经选择了最佳的替代方案。
有几个人曾入围候选名单。乔纳森·特罗特（Jonathan Trott）、加雷斯·巴蒂（Gareth Batty）和理查德·道森（Richard Dawson）都在讨论之列，他们未来可能会在弗莱明和麦卡勒姆领导下的一个加强且有所调整的教练组中担任候选人。
尽管弗莱明是个新西兰人，但他与英格兰板球有着深厚的渊源，这一点至关重要。他曾效力于
弗莱明必须找到取代本·斯托克斯（Ben Stokes）的方法。作为一名缝线投球全能选手——
埃利奥特对租借至维拉没有遗憾
伊恩·惠特尔（Ian Whittell）
RYAN BROWNE/SHUTTERSTOCK
马丁·齐格勒（Martyn Ziegler）年度体育新闻记者 基特·谢泼德（Kit Shepard）
哈维·埃利奥特（Harvey Elliott）承认他仍不确定自己的未来是否在利物浦，但他坚称对于加盟阿斯顿维拉的决定没有遗憾，尽管这次变动导致他上赛季在英超联赛的登场时间仅略多于 100 分钟。
阿曼达·斯塔夫利（Amanda Staveley）领导的财团接近购买西汉姆联（West Ham United）的股份，这可能预示着对该俱乐部的潜在收购。
这位 23 岁的小将声称，这次赛季并非虚度，因为在五月份作为乌奈·埃梅里（Unai Emery）球队的一员，他获得了一枚欧联杯冠军奖牌。
据信，由斯塔夫利、其丈夫梅赫达德·格多西（Mehrdad Ghodoussi）及其公司 PCP Capital Partners 领导的财团处于领先地位，准备从已故的戴维·戈尔德（David Gold）之女瓦妮莎（Vanessa）手中购买其 25% 的持股。
现在埃利奥特回到了利物浦，在球队赴美国的季前巡回赛中，他在安多尼·伊拉奥拉（Andoni Iraola）执教的两场比赛中均有出场，尽管他并不清楚自己是否在在任主教练的计划之中。
如果此次收购成功，下一步动作可能是向戴维·沙利文（David Sullivan）持有股份出价，以获得俱乐部的多数控制权。
在从阿斯顿维拉租借回归后首次公开表态时，埃利奥特表示：“我还不太确定 [我在伊拉奥拉计划中的位置]。这是我需要与他进行更详细讨论的话题。现在我只想确保自己在身体和精神上都达到 100% 的状态，并努力在球场上给人留下深刻印象。”
斯塔夫利此前领导了沙特阿拉伯公共投资基金对纽卡斯尔联（Newcastle United）的收购，据悉此次她得到了主要来自美国和远东投资者的支持。
他们曾考虑竞标托特纳姆热刺，但目前的目标是接管西汉姆联，将这家冠军联赛俱乐部带回英超联赛，甚至有可能买下伦敦体育场，旨在对球场进行大规模投资。
“我在做决定时需要更加谨慎。最终，从‘做对我正确的事’这个方面来看，我仍然希望保持一点自私；至于我是留在这里争取自己的位置，还是有可能去其他地方，在获得更多信息之前，我目前仍不确定。”
该财团的计划包括在球员身上投入巨资，以振兴俱乐部的命运。
据了解，该财团已经与伦敦市长办公室的相关官员就接管体育场一事进行了洽谈。
埃利奥特承认他租借至维拉的经历“并不顺利”，但他补充道：“那是上个赛季的事，现在我在这里。这是一个第二次机会，特别是随着主教练和新教练组的到来。这是另一个给人留下深刻印象的机会，希望能赢得他们的好感。”
由斯塔夫利（左）及其丈夫戈杜西（右）领导的财团希望振兴这家冠军联赛俱乐部的命运。
然而，任何向斯塔夫利财团的出售都须经过一个“优先购买权流程”，这意味着现有股东将拥有优先购买股份的选择权。这包括捷克大亨、另一大股东丹尼尔·克雷廷斯基。
西汉姆联留住了队长贾罗德·鲍文，并决定留任努诺·埃斯皮里托·桑托为总教练。鲍文在布拉格与克雷廷斯基及董事会成员伊里·斯瓦克交谈后被说服留队。
在相关指控出现后，苏利文持有的 38.8% 的西汉姆联股份正受到独立足球监管机构的审查。即便在针对苏利文的指控出现之前，西汉姆联就经历了一段动荡的一年。4月，布雷迪女男爵在任职 16 年后辞任副主席，俱乐部在次月降级。
20世纪80年代。苏利万在领导西汉姆联 16 年后宣布辞职，时间就在《泰晤士报》和英国广播公司的调查结果公布前两天。
“我不会说这是一次被浪费的一年，因为在赛季结束时我赢得了欧联杯，在简历上拥有这样的经历是非常不可思议的。”
苏利万断然否认这些指控，并将其贴标签为“事实错误且完全虚假”。自 2023 年起，他一直受到一项保护禁令的限制，禁止他与西汉姆联青训学院或女队的成员进行任何接触。这些限制是由俱乐部在英格兰足球协会收到至少一份向国家管理机构提交的投诉建议后实施的，苏利万为了“平静的生活”而接受了这些限制。
斯塔夫利是 2021 年 10 月公共投资基金（PIF）收购纽卡斯尔联的领军人物。她促成了沙特支持的 £305 million 投资，并为自己和戈杜西获取了 10% 的股份，两人均成为了俱乐部的董事。随后，这对夫妇减少了持股，并同意在 2024 年夏天出售剩余股份并离开俱乐部。
6月，在《泰晤士报》和英国广播公司《全景》（Panorama）的调查揭露其涉嫌性虐待后，苏利万辞去了西汉姆联联席主席的职务。这位 77 岁的英国商人被指控在从事成人产业赚取财富期间存在剥削和掠夺行为，相关指控可追溯至
与此同时，后卫乔·戈梅兹将因在与桑德兰的季前赛中腿部肌肉受伤而缺席赛季初的比赛。
克雷廷斯基（同时拥有皇家邮政及塞恩斯伯里超市的股份）在 2021 年初购入了西汉姆联 27% 的股份。在西汉姆联降级后，他承诺提供财务支持，以帮助俱乐部重返英超联赛。
“我认为他不可能在赛季初就回归，因为我们离那个时间点不远，但应该不会需要太多时间，”伊劳拉说道。
Bergvall 这名瑞典国脚曾是纽卡斯尔联队和诺丁汉森林队出价追求的对象。德泽尔比透露，他在 4 月份曾与多名球员就其未来问题进行过多次讨论。
计划 A，然后停止。因为球员们各不相同。没有两个球员是完全一样的。
当他选择转会目标时，他仍然热衷于增加进攻选项。他表示另一笔重大签约正在筹备中，据了解，这很可能是除 Savinho 之外的补充，后者目前正在洽谈从曼彻斯特城转会。
队长克里斯蒂安·罗梅罗（Cristian Romero）和门将古列尔莫·维卡里奥（Guglielmo Vicario），他补充说，虽然他希望球员留队，但如果他们希望离开，他不会阻碍。
Peter Rutzler 悉尼
罗伯托·德泽尔比（Roberto De Zerbi）认为，托特纳姆热刺在本次转会窗口期间仅完成了“60 per cent”的工作，并向支持者承诺还将有一笔“bomba”（重磅）签约——尽管他已经两次打破俱乐部的转会记录。
“在引进边锋之前，我们必须考虑全背，因为我们是从全背开始，从我们已经拥有的球员开始，不是吗？然后我们必须考虑进球数。当然，我们必须通过比赛、通过比赛质量来增加进球数，但我们必须引进能够得分的球员。我们必须考虑定位球，我们还必须增加身高，还有很多事情。”
热刺在本次转会窗口的支出超过了以往任何一个赛季，在六名夏季签约球员中，有三名的总成本达到了 £237 million：中后卫 Jan Paul van Hecke 为 £52 million，中场 Mateus Fernandes 为 £85 million，以及 Sandro Tonali 为 £100 million。然而，德泽尔比说他“像一只鲨鱼”
“在我上任之初，在 4 月，我进行了，我不知道，一百万次个人面谈，他们 [罗梅罗和维卡里奥] 告诉我他们的想法，”德泽尔比说。“我说，‘是的，帮我保级，然后我会帮你离开。如果你不帮我保级，你就跟我一起沉入水底。’ ”
“转会市场肯定还没有结束，但我们的项目已经完成了 60 per cent，现在我们有另一个 bomba，”德泽尔比说。“我希望 [它即将敲定]，但肯定还没有结束。”
热刺主教练还透露，在他被任命后，英格兰球员杰德·斯佩思（Djed Spence）与他讨论了今年夏天离开俱乐部的问题，以及中场球员卢卡斯·伯格瓦尔（Lucas Bergvall），这位
“[我们想要] 进攻球员，然后我们再寻找位置。我通常不喜欢用计划 A、计划 B、计划 C 来工作。这就是
比赛结果
One Day Cup (除非另有说明，否则为 11.0)：
伯明翰凤凰队 (balls) D S T Perrin 接球 Bouchier 击球 Glenn 52 (43) T T Beaumont 接球 Rodrigues 击球 Corteen-Coleman 22 (23) A R Capsey 接球 Molineux 击球 Bell 8 (9) *E A Perry 未出局 16 (11) A Dercksen 接球 Bouchier 击球 Molineux 5 (9) †J E M Spence 接球 Glenn 击球 Molineux 0 (1) F S Khan 未出局 5 (4) 额外分 (lb 4, w 4) 8 总计 (5 wicket, 100 balls) 116 A M King, E Gray, L C N Smith 和 L L Filer 未击球。出局顺序 1-73, 2-87, 3-92, 4-110, 5-110。投球 Bell 4-0-16-1; Molineux 4-0-24-2; Wong 4-0-26-0; Corteen-Coleman 4-0-19-1; Glenn 4-0-27-1.
7-116, 8-116.
4-5-35-1. 女子：南方勇士队 v 伯明翰凤凰队
投球 Dwarshuis 4-9-18-2; Mahmood 24-17-0; Currie 4-5-40-1; Owen 1-2-4-1; Tariq 4-8-17-0; Ahmed 4-5-25-3; Ferreira 1-2-7-0.
The Hundred 男子组：南方勇士队 v 伯明翰凤凰队
Utilita Bowl (伯明翰凤凰队赢得抛硬币并选择先投球)：南方勇士队 (4pts) 以 24 跑胜伯明翰凤凰队 (0)。
女子公开赛：利瑟姆圣安内斯：首轮领先成绩：64 A Thitikul (泰国).
Utilita Bowl（伯明翰凤凰队赢得抛币并选择先 fielding）：南勇士队（4pts）以 12 跑之差击败伯明翰凤凰队（0）。
伯明翰凤凰队（balls）†J M Clarke c Stubbs b Stoinis 7 (10) W C F Smeed c Miller b Wood 35 (28)
南勇士队（balls）M E Bouchier b Filer 45 (31) †L Lee c Smith b Capsey 43 (28) L Wolvaardt st Spence b King 11 (15) J J Rodrigues 未出局 28 (18) *S G Molineux 未出局 8 (9) 额外分 (w 4, nb 1) 5 总计 (3 wicket, 100 balls) 140 J L Grewcock, N D Dattani, S Glenn, I E C M Wong, L K Bell 和 M R Corteen-Coleman 未击球。
*D Ferreira b Archer 1 (3) M J Owen b Rashid 7 (10)
南勇士队（balls）†J L Smith c Owen b Dwarshuis 6 (5) B S McKinney c Ferreira b Owen 18 (9) T B Abell st †Clarke b Ahmed 22 (19) J J Rodrigues c Ferreira b Ahmed 34 (26) D A Miller c Mahmood b Dwarshuis 24 (21) T Stubbs c Currie b Ahmed 5 (6) *C J Jordan c Evans b Currie 3 (4)
超级联赛 哈德斯菲尔德巨人队 22 赫尔市足球俱乐部 16。
苏格兰超级联赛 邓迪联 v 游骑兵 (8.0)
单日杯：A组：普雷斯顿兰开夏队 220 (A Shetty 53) 诺丁汉流浪者队 189 (K Verreynne 61)。兰开夏队（4pts）以 31 跑之差击败诺丁汉流浪者队（0）。
丢球顺序 1-68, 2-97, 3-112。投球 Smith 4-0-23-0; Khan 3-0-33-0; Filer 3-0-22-1; King 4-0-23-1; Gray 2-0-16-0; Capsey 4-0-23-1。
超级联赛（除非另有说明，否则 8.0 开球）：赫尔金斯顿流浪者队 v 布拉福德公牛队，利兹犀牛队 v 图卢兹队，利夫豹队 v 威根勇士队。
The Hundred：老特拉福德 曼彻斯特超级巨人队 v 特伦特火箭队（女子 3.0, 男子 6.30）。
因凡蒂诺是一个被幻觉笼罩的官僚，必须将其踢出
世界杯被出售给私人投资者的说法是一致的。因凡蒂诺一定在希望出现分歧，希望既得利益、财务需求或获利能产生足够的影响力，从而将投票结果导向他的方向；希望有足够的足球协会在咬牙忍耐后说，待在因凡蒂诺镀金的帐篷里总比在外面好。
各联合会的立场
欧洲足联（欧洲，55 个国际足联成员）主席：Aleksander Ceferin 所有 55 个欧洲国家均同意抵制国际足联的赛事，直到因凡蒂诺的提案被撤回。
高级体育记者
中北美及加勒比海足球联盟（北美、中美及加勒比地区，35）主席：Victor Montagliani 他们在昨天的会议上一致否决了国际足联的提案。
但没有任何重要人物在为他发声。他也许认为，只有像挪威这样的小国才会胆敢在掩体上方探头——就像挪威在世界杯期间就唐纳德·特朗普干预禁用 Folarin Balogun 一事提出伦理质疑那样——而其他人都没有勇气质疑他的道德品质。然而，欧洲足联里的每个人都变成了“挪威”。每个人都感到震惊。
亚足联 (AFC, 46) 主席：谢赫·萨尔曼·本·易卜拉欣·阿尔哈利法 (Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa Al Khalifa) 表示，这些计划破坏了“洲际足球的基石”。鉴于仅凭欧洲足联 (Uefa) 和中北美及加勒比海足球联盟 (Concacaf) 无法在投票中阻止这些计划，他们的立场至关重要。
在策划出售世界杯 (World Cup) 时，他使用了同样的伎俩。投票支持他那自私的方案，你就能得到 $40 million；投票反对，你得到的将减少 75%。因此，同意该方案很有诱惑力，尤其是对于那些需要加强基层建设和聘请新教练的协会来说。但他们甚至可能没有这个机会，因为针对詹尼·因凡蒂诺 (Infantino) 的反击如此激烈，使得他那卑劣的计划无路可走。这无疑意味着他的时间到了。如果这个妄想的官僚不自愿辞职，那么必须采取紧急措施，以损害足球运动名誉为由将其撤职。
任何普通人都能意识到自己的时间到了，意识到自己做得太过分，从而体面地辞职，承认自己误判了情绪。但因凡蒂诺无法察觉周围的氛围。
南美足联 (Conmebol, 10) 主席：亚历山德罗·多明格斯 (Alejandro Domínguez)。他们历史上一直支持因凡蒂诺，但尚未发表评论。
非洲足联 (Caf, 54) 主席：帕特里斯·莫特塞佩 (Patrice Motsepe)。非洲国家是因凡蒂诺权力基础的关键部分，将于下周开会讨论相关计划。
就是这个男人，认为将虚假的国际足联 (Fifa) 和平奖授予特朗普将是他实现自身全球统治的起点；认为只要争取到特朗普的支持，在特朗普就职典礼上与其同行，在纽约见证西班牙队举起奖杯，就能让他免受任何反对；认为质疑因凡蒂诺就等同于质疑美国总统。
大洋洲足联 (OFC, 11) 主席：兰伯特·马尔托克 (Lambert Maltock)。将于 8 月讨论这些计划，目前尚未表明是否支持。
他的计划在很大程度上被《泰晤士报》 (The Times) 提前揭露而受挫（比他希望的更早），该计划受到一小群与唐纳德·特朗普关系密切的美国投资者的欢迎，但被其他所有人视为耻辱。球迷讨厌这个想法，球员也一样，许多因凡蒂诺认为会被承诺的资金注入所诱惑的协会也一样。同行官僚们纷纷将该提案贴上“不负责任且无法辩护”的标签，认为这引起了“极大的担忧和失望”。
正如他希望你认为的那样，而在全球范围内，他被广泛认为是不稳定的、危险的，或者仅仅是不适合这份需要巧妙外交技巧的工作。没有任何欧洲足联的发言人意识到，天哪，如果我们不支持出售世界杯，可能会惹恼“唐纳德”。
但最致命的，也是迅速将他推向绝境的是，欧洲足联投票决定，如果……则抵制国际足联的赛事。
不过，特朗普并没有那么受欢迎。
关于……有很多令人厌恶的地方。
在以 7-2 输给巴塞罗那，并在本赛季遭遇第 2 场败仗（输给桑德兰）之后。在那场重大失败之后，随之而来的是更多的嘘声。
没有任何“如果”。完全没有他被逼走的迹象。
豪 (Howe) 的三个孩子在诺森伯兰郡的学校就读，并在当地的少年足球俱乐部踢球。对他来说，这并不是一个容易的决定。
这是一个 58 场比赛的赛季，是纽卡斯尔联历史上第二长的赛季。到赛季结束时，豪看起来精疲力竭，他那疲惫不堪的球队在积分榜上排名第 12 位，这个位置对于俱乐部内部的任何人来说都是不可接受的。
上周凯文·基根 (Kevin Keegan) 去世。本周豪离职。或许有一种独特的压力，即单俱乐部城市的无情压迫，让这两个在此时执教的人都感到精疲力竭。
很可能是一次协议离职，但不一定是补偿金。
据内部人士透露，这是为了签下马蒂亚斯·贾斯莱 (Matthias Jaissle)，他们已经追踪了这位阿赫利 (Al-Ahli) 主教练数月之久。
马丁·哈迪 (Martin Hardy)，保罗·乔伊斯 (Paul Joyce)
然而，高层希望他能留下来。但他们的备选方案是另一家由沙特阿拉伯公共投资基金（PIF）持有的俱乐部，人选正是贾斯勒（Jaissle）。消息人士坚称这绝非巧合。他们还坚称，在获得关于背景的保证以及得知高层希望留任他的意愿之前，豪（Howe）在那天并未与亲近的朋友讨论他的立场。到那时，纽卡斯尔已经告诉他去休假，充电，并希望在领导层看来，他能改变主意。
据说现在是合适的时机，离开是豪的决定，双方并无积怨，只是他的精力已经枯竭。目前还没有其他工作机会在接洽。
当纽卡斯尔首席执行官大卫·霍普金森（David Hopkinson）在三月份提到对他（豪）的未来“没有立场”时，豪担心自己的任期即将结束。
足球圈变动很快。现年 38 岁的贾斯勒自 2023 年起效力于沙特职业联赛的国民队（Al-Ahli），他将成为纽卡斯尔的下一任主教练，并将在拉曼加（La Manga）加入俱乐部的一线队阵容。
对他而言，去年夏天感到疲惫，而今年则对球队被拆解感到沮丧。但这并不一定意味着愤怒。纽卡斯尔为了达到目前的高度，在财务上已经逼近极限。现在简单来说，就是信用卡账单到期的时刻。
目前尚不确定豪昨天是否在俱乐部的训练基地与球员们道别。
48 岁的他在那时被视为解决方案，而非问题，尤其是在一家即将经历巨大重启、改变未来模式和路径的足球俱乐部中。就在两周多前，当被问及想法是否改变时，豪——第一个在 70 年间带领纽卡斯尔获得国内杯赛冠军的人——表达了同样的想法：他已经完成了任务。正是那时，纽卡斯尔的高层领导团队强化了他们的雄心，而 PIF 今年正撤回对 LIV Golf 的资金支持，这种雄心在纽卡斯尔并未改变。但现实改变了。
据认为，尽管失去亚历山大·伊萨克（Alexander Isak）、安东尼·戈登（Anthony Gordon）和桑德罗·托纳利（Sandro Tonali）造成了打击，但豪接受了组建一支全新的、更年轻的阵容的必要性。但
五年前，数千名球迷在 PIF [接管后] 在圣詹姆斯公园球场外庆祝。
许多消息人士在私下里强调地将豪的离职描述为友好。这将绝大多数地被视为友好。
豪在 2025 年在温布利球场结束了纽卡斯尔对重大奖杯 70 年的等待。
纽卡斯尔尚未宣布豪已经离职或贾斯勒将接任，因为在贾斯勒引起关注的消息传出时，他们感到措手不及。相关公告随后将会发布。
JONATHAN ERNST /REUTERS
在一些消息人士看来，“国际足联前行企业”（Fifa Forward Enterprise）——由因凡蒂诺提出的一项新方案，旨在建立一个 $20 billion 的商业子公司，由私人投资者在后台支持，负责处理国际足联的赛事——正是实现该雄心的工具。
首席体育记者
但现在 2031 年看起来充满不确定性。如果这是大商业公司，因凡蒂诺现在已经写好了辞职信。但这是足球，他可能仍会尝试强撑下去。
詹尼·因凡蒂诺正面临将其世界杯赛事出售计划的彻底崩溃，现在他担任国际足联主席的地位也受到了严重威胁。
然而可以肯定的是，不仅是欧洲，来自全球的顶尖足球管理人员已经对因凡蒂诺感到厌倦。任何罢免他的努力可能会在未来几天内展开。他也深知，欧洲足联（Uefa）拥有一个全球国家联赛的自有蓝图，涉及世界各地的顶尖国家，该蓝图在 2017 年开发但从未启动。
因凡蒂诺打开了潘多拉之盒，飞得离太阳太近（过于自大），失去了往日光彩（jumped the shark），几乎用尽了书上所有的负面比喻。
将世界杯的股份出售给私人投资者的计划已彻底破产，因为欧洲足联（Uefa）的 55 个成员国一致宣布将抵制所有国际足联（Fifa）的赛事。无论投资者与因凡蒂诺的关系多么亲近，都不会愿意花巨资购买一个欧洲顶级强国不参加的赛事的份额。
一条可能的途径是欧洲足联召集一次国际足联紧急代表大会，并发起不信任投票。根据国际足联章程第 25(4) 条，仅需 20% 的成员（43 个国家）即可实现这一点。
唯一的问题是，因凡蒂诺能否（或如何）从这个由他亲手制造的烂摊子中脱身。
另一种可能是，当他在 2027 年 3 月竞选最后一任期时，会出现一名对手，成为反对因凡蒂诺的统一力量。
这位瑞士人显然完全低估了他的计划所会引发的反应；该计划是利用与唐纳德·特朗普网络密切相关的美国关系秘密制定的。也许他原本希望自行选择公布投资方案的时间，结果《泰晤士报》在周二就揭露了相关计划。
巴黎圣日耳曼主席、欧洲足球俱乐部协会主席兼 beIN Sports 负责人纳赛尔·阿尔-赫莱菲，如果能被说服参选，将是能让因凡蒂诺在白色运动鞋中瑟瑟发抖的人物。他的代表表示，他没有竞选国际足联主席的野心，且这不会发生，且有些人可能认为他身兼多职存在过多利益冲突。
从表面上看，很难理解因凡蒂诺的动机。国际足联刚刚报告了 2026 年世界杯的创纪录收入，拥有 $4 十亿美元（约 £2.97 十亿英镑）的储备金，没有任何压力。事实上，足球界资深人士认为，如果国际足联想在承诺支持出售方案的 211 个协会中，每家协会在四年内分得 $40 百万美元（而不是 $10 百万美元），它完全可以做到，且依然能维持健康的储备金。
其他潜在候选人包括中北美及加勒比海足球联盟主席、加拿大人维克多·蒙塔格利亚尼，以及亚足联主席谢赫·萨尔曼·本·易卜拉欣·阿尔哈利法，后者在 2016 年国际足联选举中以微弱差距败给了因凡蒂诺。
[[IMG_XXXX]] 2023 年在摩洛哥的一场传奇之战中对阵济科。去年，他在 2026 年世界杯抽签仪式期间（左图）向特朗普颁发了国际足联和平奖。
因凡蒂诺在 2016 年被选为国际足联主席（插图），并与弗拉基米尔·普京共同出席了 2018 年世界杯决赛（上图）。他仍然抽出时间去踢球（顶图）。
但如果因凡蒂诺依然固执己见，强行投票并试图在没有欧洲球队的情况下举办国际足联赛事会怎样？那将是一条更快速通往灾难的道路。回顾因凡蒂诺在卡塔尔世界杯前一次新闻发布会上那句臭名昭著的评论：“今天，我觉得自己就像历史。”
是的，因凡蒂诺先生，如果没有一个巨大的既得利益集团支持你，那么除了那些无法拒绝意外之财的国家外，究竟谁还能忍受你继续留任？
此次出售可能意味着：世界杯每两年甚至每年举办一次、将水分补给时间标准化、延长中场休息、美国定期主办并取消抽签概念。但我们不需要推演，也不需要再次翻阅乔治·奥威尔的《1984》，我们只需要知道，西班牙和葡萄牙投票抵制世界杯，而西班牙和葡萄牙正是下一届赛事的共同主办国（与摩洛哥共同主办）。
对于过去几个月与因凡蒂诺打交道的人来说，其动机更为明显。他谈到要在 2031 年之后“赚大钱”，届时他预计自己的国际足联主席最后一任期将结束。
在主管罗斯·威尔逊之后，现在的贾斯莱（Jaissle），纽卡斯尔将呈现一种不同的模式：购买年轻球员，培养他们，然后将其转卖。
接管。当时俱乐部官员谈论的是在五年内赢得英超冠军。去年 12 月，则谈论到 2030 年前“在关于谁是世界顶尖俱乐部的讨论中占有一席之地”。
to £100 million this month. 这些名将的出售以及对纽卡斯尔转会方式的挫败感，部分导致了主教练埃迪·豪的离职，其离职消息于昨日公布。纽卡斯尔将在 8 月 23 日在主场对阵利物浦，开启他们的英超赛季。
球员，且他此前关注过吉马良斯。
在世界杯中代表巴西队出战。
阿森纳已接近就纽卡斯尔联的布鲁诺·吉马良斯达成一项价值约 £80 million（含附加条款）的交易（加里·雅各布撰文）。
球迷们的情绪很复杂；有些人热爱豪并支持他。而对另一些人来说，信心在上一赛季就已消失。面对这个出人意料的结局，人们感到悲哀，并对方向的改变以及感知到的野心下降感到沮丧。
纽卡斯尔最终排名第 12，即便拥有戈登、托纳利以及另一位可能的离队球员布鲁诺·吉马良斯。
上赛季，尽管因伤缺席了两个月的比赛，吉马良斯仍以 9 个进球成为纽卡斯尔在联赛中的最高得分者。他在英超联赛中还贡献了 5 次助攻。纽卡斯尔在 2022 年 1 月支付给里昂 £40 million 将其签下。
纽卡斯尔上周私下表示，他们将拒绝 £70 million 的吉马良斯报价，但一直在洽谈签下博塔弗戈中场丹尼洛。他在加盟这家巴西俱乐部之前在诺丁汉森林度过了两个赛季，该俱乐部预计会收到来自欧洲球队约 £25 million 的报价。
他们违反了欧洲足联的财务规则并被罚款。出售戈登是为了帮助处理该问题。出售托纳利是为了购买年轻球员。
引用基根在 1992 年因缺乏签约球员而威胁离职时的话：“这与宣传册上写的不一样。”
这位 28 岁的中场球员预计将于今天向纽卡斯尔报到，随后全队将飞往西班牙拉曼加进行季前训练营。他在结束 3 周假期后报到。
那是纽卡斯尔通过巨额支出向球迷推销的梦想。而现在这种局面已经停止。俱乐部 £335 million 的营业额还不到赢得那些承诺的联赛冠军所需金额的一半。
其他问题依然存在。没有人解决英格兰东北部是否能为备受讨论的新球场的企业部分提供资金，而该球场目前尚未获得完整的建设资金。据称，新训练场的公告即将发布。但在这一切之前，俱乐部必须尽快组建一支新球队。
与此同时，埃森·努瓦内里引起了多特蒙德和 AC 米兰的兴趣。阿森纳希望就这位从其青训营成长起来的 19 岁中场球员获得高达 £50 million 的转会费。
阿森纳今夏完成了两笔签约：身价 £34 million、接替莱安德罗·特罗萨德的希腊边锋克里斯托斯·措利斯，以及一名替补门将伊兰·梅斯利埃。
阿森纳一直愿意在顶尖球员身上投入巨资，以支持米克尔·阿尔特塔在赢得英超冠军后追求进入“另一个维度”的愿望。他希望通过更多技术型中场来增强中场实力。
这是一个难以逾越的鸿沟。今夏由于各种原因错失了目标，最显著的是缺乏欧战资格。在体育总监的领导下。
赛季第一场比赛对阵利物浦和伊萨克，日期是 8 月 23. 第二场比赛是对阵托特纳姆热刺和托纳利。
努瓦内里上赛季在英超联赛中仅出场 165 分钟，随后于 1 月租借加盟马赛。
纽卡斯尔在 5 月以 £69.3 million 将安东尼·戈登卖给巴塞罗那，并以高达 £100 million 的价格将桑德罗·托纳利卖给托特纳姆热刺。
吉马良斯被阿森纳觊觎
贾斯莱有三周时间来迅速进入状态并提升这座城市的氛围。
62 Friday July 31 2026 | 《泰晤士报》
没有任何中场表演能弥补欧洲球星的缺席
J·贝林厄姆（英格兰） 7
E·哈兰德（挪威） 7
詹姆斯
对足球界最大新闻的反应
瓜分月球吧，而我们将打包带走星辰。这就是欧洲各足球协会一致发出的信息。在我的同事马丁·齐格勒（Martyn Ziegler）揭露詹尼·因凡蒂诺（Gianni Infantino）胆大妄为地企图出售世界杯的计划 49 小时后，这个创立了该赛项、发明了这项运动、在过去 12 届决赛中贡献了 9 支球队且依然拥有绝大多数顶尖球员的大陆，终于决定采取行动，展现其力量。这一警告如今正处于历史的转折点上。它将被铭记为制约一个狂想者的威胁，或是将一项运动撕裂的承诺。目前这件事有两种可能的结局：一是因凡蒂诺在受挫后从崩溃边缘退缩；二是陷入分裂与脱离，使这项运动最辉煌的盛会沦为一个空壳。
现已在所有播客平台上线
这不是足球的丧钟，但它是分歧的警钟。由因凡蒂诺的死对头亚历山大·切费林（Aleksander Ceferin）领导的欧洲足联（Uefa），以及表示其成员一致反对该提案的中北美及加勒比海足球联盟（Concacaf），已表明立场。这里涉及多项关键问题：不仅是私人投资潜入神圣殿堂的趋势，还有足球被悄然“美国化”的风险、富权阶层进一步干预的前景，以及——鉴于大多数人怀疑因凡蒂诺的最终目的是将世界杯变为两年一度甚至一年一度——球员福利问题。美国足协作为中北美及加勒比海足球联盟 41 个成员之一，因不仅敢于反对因凡蒂诺，而且敢于反对其自身政府而值得称赞。挑战已经抛出。现在我们等待，并希望那个想要出卖世界、榨干体育界一项无价资产且试图进一步压榨的人，在思考欧洲脱离的后果时，自己也能感受到压力。
K 姆巴佩 (法国) 10 球
L 梅西 (阿根廷) 8
如果欧洲足联的成员被迫执行其最后通牒，世界杯将进入一个没有西班牙、没有法国、没有英格兰、没有德国、没有葡萄牙、没有荷兰、没有挪威的新时代。想象一下一个没有基利安·姆巴佩、拉明·亚马尔、埃尔林·哈兰德、朱德·贝林厄姆、罗德里、迈克尔·奥利塞、保·库巴尔西的世界杯。想象一下一个没有艾塔娜·邦马蒂、马里奥娜·卡尔登特伊、阿莱西亚·鲁索、埃娃·帕约尔、卡罗琳·格雷厄姆·汉森、克拉拉·比尔的女足世界杯。你最后还剩下什么？一个被幽灵笼罩的赛事，仅能勉强维持冠以“世界之最”的虚名。一场由中场秀、商业煽情和网红滥作填充的、充满缺失与空白的奇观。
这些国家将每两年举行一次欧洲锦标赛，而不是每四年一次。也许我们最终会习惯。乐观的解读是，它最终会像世界系列赛板球那样，在达成妥协后让全球赛事重新统一；或者像飞镖运动中 PDC 与 BDO 的分裂那样，一方的人才优势过于沉重，导致人才流失变得不可阻挡。但并没有保证一定会这样。也许国际足球会变得更像拳击：组织机构分散，奖杯各异，最强者鲜少能与最强者相遇。
因为所有梦想着击败世界并捧起奖杯的欧洲球员和球迷。夺走这个梦想将是毁灭性的。而对于欧洲女足球员来说，国际赛事在她们收入流中所占的部分比男足更为关键，失去明年夏天的世界杯可能会造成更严重的损害。她们将心悬在嗓子眼地关注局势的发展。
让我们分析一下目前摆在桌面上的两种情景。欧洲足联（Uefa）各成员国所希望的是，他们的威胁能产生回响，国际足联（Fifa）的计划被搁置，世界杯依然保持为一个全球性赛事。毕竟，这是一个与美国资金、美国政治、美国价值观紧密相连的方案。美国人看待体育的角度比我们欧洲人更加个体化。对他们来说，这在很大程度上关乎超级巨星。而就在他们眼前，姆巴佩、哈兰德、贝林厄姆、罗德里、亚马尔、里奥·梅西和哈里·凯恩刚刚明确地证明了，他们才是地球上最顶尖的足球运动员。
不过，这种情况并非所有方面都好。如果欧洲足联在这场博弈中获胜，国际足联的计划被搁置，因凡蒂诺（Infantino）将收到一次警告，但不会面临清算。这里存在一种风险，即国际足联可能会像一些欧洲大俱乐部在欧超联赛失败后那样，听到的不是“不”，而是“现在不行”。问题将被再次推后。国际足联已经赢得的阵地——比如饮水休息时间，以及为了向沙特阿拉伯倾斜而对世界杯申办流程进行的荒谬操纵——将不会被放弃。我们依然会身处这个帐篷之内，忍受随之而来的所有恶臭，继续捏住鼻子。
足球及其最著名的赛事，现在正面临其辉煌历史上的一个定义性时刻。巧合的是，欧洲足联发表声明的那一天，恰好是英格兰在1966年世界杯决赛中对阵西德的60周年纪念日。在那场比赛中，杰夫·赫斯特、维利·舒尔茨、沃尔夫冈·韦伯、沃尔夫冈·奥弗拉特和西吉·赫尔德目前依然在世。
“抵制”一词让人想起20世纪70年代和80年代的奥运会。1980年在莫斯科，包括美国、西德和日本在内的65个国家拒绝参加——这些国家在1976年上一届奥运会赢得奖牌总数的占比达到了71%。
我不禁想起那些伟人们，思考他们在看到自己的国家如英格兰足球协会（The FA）所言，“肩并肩”站在一起时在想什么。欧洲准备挺身对抗国际足联，这印证了那天由那些身穿泥泞球衣、精疲力竭的英雄们刻在我们集体意识中的同一个真理：世界杯是如此特别，值得为此而战。
一场没有西班牙名将邦马蒂参加的女子世界杯是不可想象的。
如果欧洲退出世界杯，效果将是相似的。演出或许还会继续，奖杯和奖牌可能会被颁发，冠军可能会在记录册上留下名字。但每个人都会知道，且每个人都会记得，比赛之外的人才储备远高于比赛之内，冠军头衔不再真正代表全球至高无上的地位。
梅西即将走到职业生涯末期，而其他人全部来自欧洲。投资者懂得权力与名望的价值。他们明白，一旦这些东西撤出，产品就会贬值。也许这种逻辑将占据上风。
那么另一种可能的现实呢？如果因凡蒂诺不从边缘退缩会怎样？也许他认为即使没有一个大洲，即便那个大洲在历史上一直是这项运动的基石，他也能应付。他的总统任期一直侧重于其他大洲，特别是非洲和亚足联（AFC）。即便是一个没有欧洲的世界杯，全世界依然会观看，依然会产生财富。也许他干脆直接推进。如果他这么做了会怎样？如果世界足球巨大的极地冰架崩裂，在未知的海域中刻出一座孤独的冰山会怎样？
当然，有很多理由希望这种情况发生。最明显的是
据推测，欧洲足联成员
32强赛
16强赛
德国 巴拉圭 巴拉圭 法国 法国
四分之一决赛
3 0
瑞典 南非 加拿大 荷兰 摩洛哥
法国
O 登贝莱 (法国) 6
0
0
3
0
1
2
摩洛哥
1
1 (2)
2
3
2
0
2
1
3
2
1
2 2
0
2
1
3
2
1 (2)
加拿大 摩洛哥
半决赛
0 2
法国
西班牙
葡萄牙
克罗地亚 西班牙 奥地利
葡萄牙
西班牙
西班牙
（接后页）
比利时
美国
将被用于发展。欧洲足联 (Uefa) 在一份声明中表示：“我们一致且明确地拒绝国际足联 (Fifa) 将世界杯及其他国际足联赛事的所有权权益转让给私人投资者的建议。”
波黑
美国 比利时 比利时
决赛
塞内加尔
1 0
西班牙
阿根廷
巴西
《泰晤士报》 (The Times) 周二披露了因凡蒂诺 (Infantino) 的计划，引发了强烈的抵制。
日本 科特迪瓦 挪威
巴西 挪威
它补充道：“世界杯并非商品。这不是一个‘民主决定’，而是通过恐吓进行的治理——这种胁迫行为不配由一个被委托管理全球足球运动的机构来实施。”
有消息称，在因凡蒂诺的最后一个总统任期于 2031. 年届满后，他将被安排担任名为“国际足联前进企业”(Fifa Forward Enterprise) 公司的专员。该职位的薪资尚未确认，但了解该计划的人士表示，其薪资将与 NFL 首席专员持平，后者年薪约 $64 million，是因凡蒂诺的十倍。
挪威 墨西哥
英格兰
厄瓜多尔
墨西哥 英格兰 英格兰
下一场涉及欧洲国家的世界杯赛事最早定于 10 月 9 日，届时欧洲足联 (Uefa) 2027 年女足世界杯预选赛附加赛将开始。英格兰定于当日与希腊进行首回合比赛，而苏格兰、威尔士、北爱尔兰和爱尔兰也参加附加赛。2027 年女足世界杯将由巴西主办。此外，女足 Under-20 世界杯将于 9 月 5, 开始，由欧洲足联成员国波兰主办。英格兰是 6 个欧洲参赛国之一。
刚果（金） 阿根廷 佛得角
英格兰
阿根廷
3 2
阿根廷
埃及
澳大利亚
欧洲足联 (Uefa) 周三表示：“国际足联不能继续利用我们的运动来让自己及其朋友获利。我们可以正确地推广这项运动。现在是时候将各协会、俱乐部、联赛、球员和球迷放在首位了。”
埃及
阿根廷
3 1
瑞士
瑞士 阿尔及利亚
瑞士
0 (4) 0 (3)
哥伦比亚 哥伦比亚
因凡蒂诺致各协会的信函（《泰晤士报》已查阅）写道：“是否推进该建议的决定完全由你们做出。如果您希望推进，这笔 $10 billion 的方案将于 1, 2027, 起生效，开启我们共同旅程的下一个阶段。”
加纳
2030 年男子世界杯预计将由卫冕冠军西班牙、葡萄牙和摩洛哥共同主办。如果因凡蒂诺推行其计划，西班牙和葡萄牙将抵制自己的赛事。
10 8
Vozinha (佛得角)
“如果您希望维持现状并拒绝此建议，我们仍有此前提交的 $2.7 billion 的‘前进计划’ [发展资金] 扩充方案。在自 1, 2027 起开始的下一个周期中，根据此建议，每个成员协会将有可能获得最高 $40 million 的资金。”
英格兰足球协会 (The FA) 的声明称：“我们与欧洲同行肩并肩，全力支持集体观点。我们反对国际足联的计划。国际足联世界杯属于足球，且永远属于足球。”
D Upamecano (法)
M Cucurella (西)
P Porro (西)
Li Martínez (阿)
7 7
Rodri (西)
M Olise (法)
J Bellingham (英)
6 6
欧洲足联（Uefa）的立场也得到了英国政府的支持。文化部长丽莎·南迪（Lisa Nandy）表示：“足球属于球迷，而非亿万富翁投资者。够了，是时候采取立场保护我们的比赛了。”
L 梅西（阿根廷）
E 哈兰德（挪威）
K 姆巴佩（法国）
此外，有人指出，国际足联（Fifa）拥有 $4 billion 的财务储备，这意味着这笔额外资金无论如何都可以——而且应该——交给各国家协会，而不是使用私人投资者的资金。
当亚足联（AFC）主席谢赫·萨尔曼（Sheikh Salman）向其 47 个成员国致信，对国际足联缺乏磋商表示“极大的关注和失望”时，因凡蒂诺（Infantino）的雄心再次遭受重大打击。
世代。由于今天的讨论，只要这些提案仍然存在，所有欧洲足联国家队将不会参加任何国际足联（Fifa）的赛事，除非该提案被完全放弃，并获得具有约束力的保证，确保国际足联绝不再将治理或赛事向私人所有权开放。任何人不应对此产生怀疑：欧洲足联及其国家协会将以绝对的决心反对这些计划。在某些时刻，衡量机构的标准不在于它们准备接受什么，而在于它们拒绝在什么方面妥协。现在就是这样一个时刻。有些东西根本太重要了，不能被出售。国际足联世界杯属于足球。永远如此。只要欧洲还拥有发言权，它就绝不会被出售。
每日压力。从那一刻起，国际赛程的每一项决定、赛事形式的每一项决定以及塑造足球未来的每一项决定，将不再由如何能最好地服务于比赛来驱动，而是由如何能最好地服务于股东来驱动。这种模式在世界足球中没有立足之地。足球的未来不能由那些首要职责是实现财务回报最大化的人的预期所决定。国家协会、联赛、俱乐部、球员和支持者的利益也不能从属于投资者的回报。足球不能为了财务收益而抵押未来。欧洲的立场很明确。我们绝不会赋予这种模式合法性。没有人拥有道德权威去出售他们仅仅为下一代代管的东西。
与那些受托管理比赛的人进行有意义的磋商。这不仅是领导层的严重失职，更是国际足联作为世界足球守护者职责的放弃。全世界的国家协会现在面临一个最后通牒：要么接受足球顶级赛事被不可逆转地掌控，要么承担后果。这并非“民主决定”，而是通过恐吓进行治理——这种胁迫行为不配出现在一个受托管理全球赛事的机构身上。但我们的反对远不止于程序。一旦外部投资者获得国际足联赛事的所有权权益，足球将永远改变。商业回报变成了永久性义务。投资者的预期变成了
欧洲足联及其国家协会将不参加国际足联（Fifa）的比赛。欧洲足联及其 55 个成员协会立场一致。我们一致且明确地拒绝国际足联将世界杯及其他国际足联赛事的所有权权益转移给私人投资者的提案。世界杯不能被当作一种投资产品。它是足球最伟大的体育遗产之一。它是由各个大洲的球员、国家队和支持者历经数代建立起来的。它的任何部分都不应交给私人投资者。世界杯不容出售。这样一个对足球意义重大的提案是在秘密中构思，并在没有任何情况下被推向批准边缘，这既是不负责任且无法辩护的。
根据该计划（由詹尼·因凡蒂诺与一小撮国际足联高管共同策划），该机构将保留对国际足球的控制权，其中最重要的是 2030 年后的国际比赛赛程，但其决定将对这家新公司的命运产生巨大影响。如果国际足联将世界杯的参赛球队从 48 支扩大到 64 支，或者将比赛频率提高到每四年一次以上，这将提升该公司的财务价值，因为这意味着收入增加——尽管一些人士认为规模扩大并不一定会增加利润。这也将增加在
他写道：“此外，亚足联深感担忧，国际足联的单方面行动似乎破坏了大陆足球的基石，而这些基石是建立在团结、合作和透明度之上的。此外，如果没有所有联合会的支持，此类计划将无法成功，而目前的情况并非如此。”
欧洲足球领导者们明确表示，在许多人看来无异于詹尼·因凡蒂诺行贿的行为之后，他们认为国际足球的未来正处于危急之中。
最赚钱的市场，例如美国（本夏季赛事的三个共同主办国之一）。
在给各协会的信中，詹尼·因凡蒂诺表示，关于允许私人投资者购买世界杯股份的决定必须在 9 月前做出。
詹尼·因凡蒂诺昨日出席了摩洛哥的王座日活动。
Friday July 31 2026 | 《泰晤士报》
体育
世界杯抵制
因凡蒂诺的出售计划导致所有欧洲国家退出国际足联赛事
首席体育记者
如果詹尼·因凡蒂诺继续执行将世界杯股份出售给私人投资者的计划，英格兰及欧洲足联的其他欧洲成员国将抵制国际足联的赛事。
这一一致决定是在欧洲足联 55 个成员国召开的一次虚拟危机会议上做出的，会议旨在讨论这一极具争议的出售计划。
此事恰逢英格兰 1966 年世界杯夺冠 60 周年，并可能触发詹尼·因凡蒂诺计划的崩盘——他此前告诉国际足联的 211 个协会，他们只有在 9 月 19 日之前签署协议，否则将面临财务后果。
当代表北美、中美洲和加勒比地区的 中北美及加勒比海足球联盟 随后表示其 41 个国家将拒绝该提案时，詹尼·因凡蒂诺的计划遭受了进一步打击，该联盟补充道：“足球的未来——及其最伟大的资产［世界杯］——必须留在我们的足球家庭手中”。
然而，该联合会并未走到抵制赛事的程度。
这一决定被视为可能是国际足联坎坷历史上的重大时刻之一。
包括英格兰足球协会在内的 40 多个协会的代表在虚拟会议上发言。一位消息人士表示，对于他们所受到的对待以及国际足联储备金为何不能
基本上会扼杀该项目，因为投资者将面临购买一个不包含大多数顶尖球队的赛事的股份。
Alyson Rudd 迷惘：詹尼·因凡蒂诺必须离职，第 60 页；James Gheerbrant：欧洲之星掌握所有王牌，第 62 页
男足和女足世界杯以及其他赛事在没有欧洲国家参与的情况下举行的前景将
欧洲足联的会议由其主席亚历山大·切费林主持。
据了解，有 40 多个代表出席了会议。
1 沉默的合伙人可能处于这种密切关系中 (7) 5 我很惊讶，在没离开的情况下，那个女人竟然作弊了 (7)
8 国际上限额逐渐回归，付出极大努力 (10)
9 关于平等的文章使人们对具有争议的政权的支持产生分歧 (9)
13 危险标志诱使保守党更换领导人 (3,5) 15 见习大律师的结论在很大程度上决定了案件 (6) 17 一个被作家的敌意所震撼的美国人 (6)
请在午夜前拨打 0905 757 0141 查询今日答案。通话费用为每分钟 £1，另加您的电话公司网络接入费。SP：请拨打 0333 202 3390。
19 将邪恶角色塑造为她？ (3-5) 22 最终形成的一个数字 3
12 假期期间早早地且奢侈地进食 (10) 14 第一个交往的姐妹可能会陷入深水区 (9) 16 补习老师可能会做的事——帮助进入牛津？ (8) 18 在交付期间和之前，路线发生了变化 (2,5)
参与新组织？ (7,6)
2024 年英国报纸的再生纸含量为 34.7%
28 四个不同点被另外三个点分开的创新 (7)
20 冗长的书籍，其中一半是乏味的诗歌 (7)
y(7HB7E2*OTSRPM( | +@!='
7月 31 | 2026
网飞 / Netflix 对阵 英国广播公司
究竟谁才是最好的？
电视评论员 Ben Dowell 评述新时代的屏幕之战
2 V2 星期五 7月 31 2026 | 《泰晤士报》
艺术专栏
Richard Morrison
牛剑大学面临“好色”男性的问题
信不信由你，这个巧妙的《彼得潘》计划可能会拯救艺术
MANUEL HARLAN/RSC
你会对一个能为我们的艺术组织筹集数百万英镑，然后将其捐赠给值得的文化事业的方案怎么说？如果你面对这样一个方案：它能为我们陷入困境的艺术组织筹集数百万英镑，且无需纳税人承担任何费用，也不依赖于私人捐赠者或企业赞助者的心血来潮，你会怎么说？是不是好得令人难以置信？那么，我已经思考了 Jamie Njoku-Goodwin 这个巧妙的想法好几天了，看不出它为什么行不通，除非它要求政府进行一些跳出框架的思考——而这通常是个巨大的要求。
缺点？我可以想到几个。其一是，该计划可能涉及建立一种替代性艺术委员会的 dubious 乐趣，用以决定哪些创意巨匠的版权应当延长，以及谁将从随后的版税中获益。另一个原因是，无论出发点多么良好，这样的计划都将违反一个基本原则：即一旦创意艺术家的继承人从其作品中获益了合理的时间（70年规则），所有内容都应进入公共领域，供全人类免费享受。
少数群体。“而且各方都有非常强烈的承诺，致力于尝试创造一个更好的环境。”由于学院正在进行调查，她无法谈论 Goldhill。于是我询问她是否已向 Huppert 案的申诉人道歉。
三年前，当《金融时报》专栏作家 Gillian Tett 离开该报的高管职位，出任金街学院（King’s College）院长时（你
T
去年在巴比肯中心（Barbican）演出的温蒂和彼得潘
如果在 2029 年和 2047 年分别结束其慈善运作，以他们名义设立的信托基金可以继续利用版税来支持他们的工作。
Njoku-Goodwin 是一位充满活力的 35 岁青年，他的时间在音乐产业工作和保守党政治之间分配（在里希·苏纳克在 10 号唐宁街度过的最后几个月里，他是苏纳克的战略总监）。他一直在思考版权问题，尤其是关于《彼得潘》的问题。在 1929 年的一次独特的慈善行为中，J.M. 巴里将其最著名的剧作版权赠给了格雷特奥蒙德街医院（Great Ormond Street Hospital）。当该版权于 1987 年到期时，政府迅速采取行动，授予该医院在英国境内任何公开演出、商业出版或改编《彼得潘》的永久版税权。多亏了这一远见——
“显然，我已经与参与那段往事的各方面人士进行了沟通。我已经表达了对我所经历之事的深切痛心，无论是在学院内部、在内部活动中，还是在个人层面。我感谢他们勇敢地站出来。”
正如人们所熟知的（例如金街学院的圣诞颂歌），这位剑桥大学最具知名度学院的新任院长有着自己的议程。作为一名曾在书中声称 2008 年金融危机在很大程度上是由团队之间缺乏沟通而非仅仅因为贪婪引起的记者，她希望解决学者们在社会学家所称的“孤岛”中工作的文化问题。
但他的建议走得更远。如果 Vaughan Williams 和 Britten 的音乐可以永久产生版税以支持我们的艺术界，为什么不将同样的处理方式应用于其他版权将在未来几十年内到期的英国文化巨匠？他举例提到的人物包括 C.S. 刘易斯（版权于 2034 年到期）、伊安·弗莱明（2035 年）、诺埃尔·考沃德
对她来说，道歉在法律上是否有难度？“首先，在某种意义上我无法道歉，因为许多这类事件发生时我还不在场。但这与法律层面无关。坦率地说，这关乎于做一个人的基本良知。我强烈地希望在此表现出人性，并说：听着，过去发生的一些事情是不可接受且令人遗憾的，我知道这造成了真正的痛苦和伤害。这很悲剧，全方位的悲剧。”
但这种绅士般的版权观念早已被蔑视。想想迪士尼在米老鼠诞生近一个世纪后，为了维持对其控制权而进行了长达数十年的激烈法律斗争。或者美国科技公司每天厚颜无耻地侵犯数百万次版权来训练其人工智能程序。Njoku-Goodwin 方案的一个显著特点是，版权将被用于公共利益，而非填满企业或私人的口袋。
由于对政府削减开支感到“厌恶”，她誓要为大学整体的人文科学而战。毕竟，金球学院（King's）是一所进步的学院，曾是天才同性恋计算机科学家艾伦·图灵（Alan Turing）的家，也是早期招收女学生的机构，且即将在其著名的中世纪礼拜堂屋顶上增加 438 块太阳能电池板。
(2044), JRR 托尔金 (2044) 和 阿加莎·克里斯蒂 (2047)。
当然，当你进入像这类作者那样的高崇领域时，他们的故事不断被改编为电影和电视，其募捐潜力
在这种有远见的举措下，已有数千万英镑被筹集用于照顾患病儿童。
随后在今年 4 月，她翻开了《泰晤士报》。她在那里发现，外部调查人员的一项调查认定，金球学院 69 岁的希腊文化与文学教授西蒙·戈德希尔（Simon Goldhill）曾对一名二十多岁的学生进行性骚扰，并承认以一种“过于热情”且“毫无疑问是黏糊糊的”方式亲吻了她。他于上月辞职；学院仍在调查中。
全方位？她的意思主要是指受害者，但同时也指无数无辜学者的集体名誉。对加害者来说也是一种悲剧：“那些在一个对此类行为视为正常、被常态化且实际上被纵容多年的世界中长大的人们，他们简直无法理解态度和期望是如何突然发生改变的。”
Njoku-Goodwin 的论点是，这建立了一个先例。如果议会可以延长巴里（Barrie）杰作的版税流以资助一项正义事业，那么是否可以将同样的机制应用于其他作品，尤其是如果这些版税被用于资助艺术项目时？
一个更棘手的问题是，这一提案在法律上如何与《伯尔尼公约》相协调。这是一项长期的国际条约，成员国（目前为 181 个）同意尊重彼此的版权法。Njoku-Goodwin 表示，彼得潘（Peter Pan）的永久版权从未在国际上受到挑战。但我好奇，如果仅仅因为英国政府说应该这样做，好莱坞在阿加莎·克里斯蒂的版权到期后，若要拍摄一部她的新改编电影仍需支付版税，会作何感想？
版税可被用于资助艺术项目
她在《金融时报》（FT）的一位前同事告诉我，特特（Tett）最重要的一点在于，她不仅是一位擅长挖掘故事的记者，还是一位人类学家，她在八十年代于剑桥大学攻读的博士专业正是社会人类学。
戈德希尔并非学院近期唯一的“烂苹果”。去年，现年 82 岁且已成为名誉教授的地球物理学教授赫伯特·胡佩特（Herbert Huppert）在遭到一系列关于骚扰、不当触摸和性暗示语言的投诉后，被剥夺了学院院士资格。大学曾在 2018 年对他采取了限制措施；看来大学已通知了金球学院的某人，但该消息未能传达下去。
——尤其是在如此多其他资金渠道正在消失的时刻？
特别是他举了两个可能适用此项处理的候选人：伟大的英国作曲家拉尔夫·沃恩·威廉姆斯（Ralph Vaughan Williams）和本杰明·布里顿（Benjamin Britten），他们的版权将于 2028 年和 2046 年分别届满（即去世后法定的 70 年）。他们之所以成为合适的人选，是因为其音乐演出的版税全部捐给了两家对英国音乐生活至关重要的慈善机构：支持音乐教育和英国音乐演出的沃恩·威廉姆斯基金会（Vaughan Williams Foundation），以及将萨福克郡（Suffolk）的斯内普麦尔廷斯（Snape Maltings）转变为动态音乐中心的布里顿皮尔斯艺术中心（Britten Pears Arts）。
突然增加了好几个显著的零。尽管布里顿的歌剧和协奏作品仍被广泛演出，但它们为布里顿皮尔斯艺术中心带来的年收入不足 £2 million。相比之下，亚马逊（Amazon）与网飞 / Netflix 之间关于《指环王》电视版权的竞价战，最终导致亚马逊据称向托尔金遗产委员会支付了 $250 million。
她曾写道，几乎在她目光所及的每一个地方都存在“碎片化、部落主义和隧道视野”。我认为，这听起来是对牛剑（Oxbridge）系统的极佳描述：独立学院以一种无定形的方式组成了一所大学，且拥有独立的治理体系。
尽管如此，Njoku-Goodwin 方案的大方向似乎值得赞赏。这不仅是因为它每年能筹集数百万资金而无需增加公共财政负担，还因为其象征意义。像布里顿和沃恩·威廉姆斯这样的巨匠都坚信，创作艺术家应该扎根于其社区并丰富普通人的生活。如果他们被告知，在去世一个世纪或更久之后，他们的作品仍在维持国家文化生活方面发挥着至关重要的作用，他们一定会感到欣喜（同时也会感到困惑）。
特特（Tett）教务长目前在纽约，她拥有美国双重国籍，夏天在那里度过，并早起以配合 BST（英国夏令时）的办公时间。“我抵达时，一毫秒都没有想象过我会处理这些不堪的行为，”她在 Zoom 上告诉我，“真的没有。我在纽约经历过 MeToo 运动。那次经历令人心碎且残酷，我真的没意识到在这里还需要谈论这些事情。”
“是的。无论是金融危机还是公司丑闻，根据经验，十次里有九次并不是因为有一群人试图故意表现得愚蠢、疯狂甚至贪婪。而是因为他们陷入了一个系统中，人们的操作和思考方式存在如此严重的孤岛问题（silo problem），以至于‘右手不知道左手在做什么’。”
如果 Njoku-Goodwin 的方案扩展到涵盖一些高收入作家在版权过期后的情况，他设想将赚得的版税存入一个由独立治理的“文化捐赠基金”，并由现有的某家权利征收机构管理。该基金将
在 Njoku-Goodwin 的计划下，议会将延长布里顿和沃恩·威廉姆斯的版权。因此，与其
她急忙补充道，这种糟糕行为仅限于一个“极其微小”的
出乎意料的是，她说一篇《泰晤士报》的
the times | Friday July 31 2026 S1 3
STEPHEN BOND
BACKGRID
他试图抱起我。于是我对他说：“查理，录音机正转着呢。你在干什么？”这就是男性特权的一部分。他只是付之一笑，继续这样做。但因为我拥有权力和特权，我基本上能够把他打发走。我有多年说“滚蛋（F*** off）”的经验。于是他停止了。”
詹妮弗·安妮斯顿（Jennifer Aniston）在马略卡岛附近的游艇上
事实上，她后来邀请他参加了一些相对安全的盛大晚餐派对。他当时“只是查理”。但当 MeToo 运动发生时（他是其中的受害者之一），她意识到自己存在认知盲区。
“我身边的年轻女性无法直接说‘滚蛋！’她们没有那么强硬。这对她们来说很艰难，而我本应该表现出更多的共情心。我想我试图表达的关键点之一是，这并不是为了指责或怪罪他人。而是关于我们正在经历的这种文化变革。我们都是自身环境的产物，且倾向于将自己成长过程中所接触的世界视为常态。我们都有盲点和局限性，有时就是看不见其他人们正在经历什么。
...还是在夏天成了一个懒汉？这里有谢恩·沃森（Shane Watson）的指南帮你寻找答案
这里有一张詹妮弗·安妮斯顿（Jennifer Aniston），57岁，在马略卡岛附近的一艘游艇上穿着比基尼做平板支撑的照片，就像你那样。或者你并不这样做。你如何对待一个
懒汉并非庸俗之辈，只要计划中包含某种烹饪或酒精方面的奖励，他们会非常热切地想要参观圆形剧场等景点。他们不介意为了晚餐而努力——例如游泳去餐厅，或徒步去餐厅——但他们无法接受终点没有任何乐趣。那应该是爱丁堡公爵奖的项目，当然，而不是一次假期？
H
“我坚定地认为取消文化是错误的。我的想法非常、非常强烈。让那个没有罪的人投第一块石头，诸如此类。我们都生活在灰色地带且不完美，我们必须找到一种共同学习并前进的方法，而不是互相指责和怪罪，因为更大的目标不是惩罚、报复、云云，或者任何类似的东西。更大的目标是整体上改变社会态度。”
在阳光下度过一两周很快地成为了新的夏季分水岭。
你看到这样的照片时会想：天哪，那些拥有精彩生活的人真幸运，正在恢复活力并治愈身心？还是你只是匆匆扫过，模糊地好奇 Jen 最近是否玩得开心，然后回到纠结是否要点一杯加了打发奶油的冰咖啡？简而言之，你是一个像安妮斯顿那样的‘硬核度假者’，还是一个‘夏季懒汉’？如果你真的不知道，这里有分辨方法。
我们讨论的是皮划艇、水上滑雪、桨板等。硬核者自然非常感兴趣，并热爱从身材健硕的教练那里学习增强体能的技巧。懒汉则不感兴趣。说句公道话，他们这些年来尝试过所有上述活动，并发现这些都相当无聊。桨板可能是你一生中做过最乏味的事情。此外我们
在几年前我制作的关于一所牛津大学学院试图解雇其院长的行为的播客系列《世仇》（The Feud）中，我“真正地唤醒了人们对治理问题的关注”。
吉莉安·特特（Gillian Tett）
在等待转型期间，她任命了一位资深大律师监督对金氏学院（King’s）实践与文化的独立审查。其学生们正在举行自己的调查，这让她感到欣慰。尽管存在一些反对意见，学术人员很快将与服务人员一起在学院人力资源部门的指导下工作。
然而，虽然牛津大学基督教会学院（Christ Church, Oxford）在与我交谈时表现得极其犹豫（他们的律师则没那么害羞），但特特却在向这本向读者揭露其学院中不法之徒的报纸发表谈话。她说她理解学院不愿在公众视野中出现，但她来自不同的传统。“无论如何，我坚定地相信问责制、责任制和透明度。”二月份，她在《金融时报》（FT）上写了一篇关于 1986 年挑战者号航天飞机失事报告的文章。文中谈到了“偏差的社会正常化”。这就是金氏学院目前的情况吗？
“硬核派”会带上步行鞋和运动装备。还有游泳镜。事实上，游泳镜可能是揭穿一个人是“硬核派”的最快方式，因为除非有人在所有人醒来之前——当然是在早餐之前——就开始折返泳，否则没人需要这东西。“懒散派”则带了太多东西，除了运动相关器材外，最后他们穿着破旧的人字拖或新买的角斗士凉鞋走向当地的小酒馆。
——抱歉，懒散派们——我不喜欢坐在滚烫的码头上，等着穿着 Polo 衫、戴着反光太阳镜的人来教我们一项“运动”的窍门，而这项运动基本上就是站在一块板子上，而我们本可以在风扇下吃无花果。
作为一个局外人来到剑桥具有明显的优势，因为正如一句她最喜欢的中国谚语所提醒她的，鱼看不见自己游泳的水。她今年 59 岁，在新闻业和书籍写作方面拥有辉煌的职业生涯。“如果这一切都崩盘并出了大错，我生活中还有其他部分。”
“硬核派”基本坚持规律的就寝时间（根据时区调整），并早起以充分利用每一天。“懒散派”则顺其自然，通常意味着在找不到开瓶器或停电时才上床睡觉，并且他们绝对坚持每天要睡午觉。起床时间则各不相同。
“硬核派”更倾向于每天在固定时间做一点工作，以便掌控进度，这样 Cherry 就不至于措手不及，而且因为他们有与办公室相关的“错失恐惧症 (fomo)”。“懒散派”没有携带笔记本电脑（呃，他们在度假），可能会查看手机，但仅是为了看看孩子们是否在给植物浇水，以及浏览打折的泳装。如果工作竟敢联系一个“懒散派”，他们会气得发疯；而“硬核派”则在内心深处对此感到热爱，他们会打开手机免提，像《继承之战》(Succession) 里的角色一样在房间里踱步。
将她定义为一名乐观主义者，但我惊讶地读到她曾预期自己会以“老处女”的身份死去。
“我的意思是，在牛津和剑桥使用的一种措辞是，当一名学生对某人说：‘我不喜欢他的行为方式’时，得到的回答是：‘噢，他只是有点喜欢动手动脚 (handsy) 罢了。’”
“实际上，我说我是个乐观主义者，是因为我当时非常快乐地单身。”然而令她惊喜的是，在 2021 年，她遇到了 Buckhill Capital 的创始人 Henrik Jones。
“学生们告诉其他学生如何应对一个喜欢动手动脚的教授，并制定应对策略。这就是很多牛津和剑桥的女性一直在做的事情。她们已经制定应对策略很长时间了。在某种程度上，其中许多人确实应对过来了，但情况不应该是这样，因为并非所有人都能应对，而且这使那些需要改变的行为常态化了。”
也许应该早点讨论这一点，因为这才是问题的核心。“硬核派”寻求的是身体和精神上的“重启”——他们甚至会毫不讽刺地使用这些词汇——因此，在日出前游 100 个往返，徒步走到午餐地点然后不吃午餐，利用碎片时间进行一次快速的垫上锻炼，这就是他们认为的乐趣。“懒散派”追求的是另一种乐趣。他们想要休息和重启，但他们的 R&R（休息与恢复）更多是：躺平，躺平，游泳，闲逛，看一座教堂，购物，购物，打盹，游泳，回床上睡一会儿，然后是闪亮的小酌派对时间。两大阵营的主要区别在于，“懒散派”希望回家时因为大笑和熬夜而感到快乐且嗓子嘶哑，并且觉得自己需要一个假期。显然，他们不希望以其他方式度过。
三年后，他们在安装了太阳能电池板的小教堂里结婚了。他们共同育有三个孩子。其中两个是她与前任伴侣的孩子：一个刚毕业在纽约的一家银行工作，另一个在伦敦学习医学。她作为院长（以及我祈祷作为一名母亲）的经验表明，大学生活实际上正变得更加安全。
我们都有盲点，有时我们就是看不见发生在其他人身上的事情。
我并不是说安妮斯顿现在偶尔不会偷偷喝杯凯皮里尼亚，但她绝不会在午餐时间悠闲地畅饮桃红葡萄酒。在一次“懒人假期”（Slob holiday）中，除了逼近的野火、有人在泳池里呕吐、厕所堵塞（尤其是在船上）之外，最糟糕的事情会是什么？那就是酒喝光了。咖啡用的牛奶没了也会很糟糕。而那些“硬核派”并不在意，因为他们不加奶。
“通常只需要一或2个勇敢的人站出来发声，突然之间就像滚雪球一样引发了雪崩，”她说。
当特特（Tett）在 1993 年加入《金融时报》（FT）时，那里几乎没有资深女性记者（如今其主编是一位女性）；当时的文化是“强悍”且酗酒的。正是在 MeToo 运动期间为该报在纽约工作时，她开始回顾自己的经历。
但她必须补充一点。“也有年轻男性被骚扰的情况。”是被女性学者骚扰吗？“通常不是。”
我说，我原以为我们会以乐观的基调结束。 “确实如此，”特特回答道，“乐观的地方在于我们正在讨论这件事。”
“有一位名叫查理·罗斯（Charlie Rose）的电视节目主持人。我第一次和他一起吃午餐——当时我正在做《与金融时报共进午餐》的采访——”
硬核派会对每一天都有计划，并准备好合适的鞋子。
英国广播公司 v 网飞 / Netflix —
大卫·爱登堡 (David Attenborough) 《舞动荧屏》(Strictly Come Dancing)
英国广播公司
占据了所有观看时间的 18 %，而网飞 / Netflix 仅为 9 %。该公司表示，这意味着“观众花在观看英国广播公司节目上的时间仍大约是后者的两倍”。
一份新报告称，观众现在选择网飞 / Netflix 的可能性与选择英国广播公司相当，但谁拥有最好的剧集、纪录片和喜剧？作者：本·多威尔 (Ben Dowell)
《职责之线》(Line of Duty) 与本名单中大多数英国广播公司的节目一样，该剧在英国拍摄并由英国人才出演（而网飞 / Netflix 的许多剧集并非如此）。如今很少有剧集能提供真正的“饮水机话题”时刻，但杰德·默库里奥 (Jed Mercurio) 这部高能的反腐惊悚片将警察办案程序变成了全国性的痴迷。备受喜爱的 AC-12 三人组——泰德·海斯廷斯 (Ted Hastings)、史蒂夫·阿诺特 (Steve Arnott) 和凯特·弗莱明 (Kate Fleming) 使得晦涩的警察缩写词和 Regulation 15 通知听起来像生死攸关的戏剧。新剧集即将到来。
那么，就像哈里·希尔 (Harry Hill) 在他无与伦比的喜剧节目《电视嗝》(TV Burp) 中喜欢问的那样，哪一个更好？只有一个办法可以找出答案：开打！或者在我们的案例中，是对他们最佳节目进行一次冷静的、分门别类的面对面分析。
模式，无论是从公用事业账单或议会税中直接征税，甚至是来自数字流媒体税的资金——似乎都是可行的。
1982 年，当电影《烈火战车》(Chariots of Fire) 赢得四项奥斯卡奖时，编剧科林·韦兰 (Colin Welland) 面对好莱坞的权贵们宣布：“英国人来了！” 在 2026 年
与此同时，网飞 / Netflix 的资金由其 325 million 以上的全球订阅用户以及每年约 £15 billion 的总内容支出提供保障；自 2020 年起，该公司在《布里杰顿》(Bridgerton) 和《心地破裂》(Heartstopper) 等剧集等英国制作中投资了约 £4.5 billion，并在过去十年中在该国支持了估计 50,000 个工作岗位。
这种乐观情绪早已消逝，至少在
电视娱乐领域是这样。美国人不仅在路上——他们已经到了，流媒体巨头占据主导地位，美国资金为 Channel 5 和 Sky 等广播公司提供了强力驱动。而在流媒体市场中，没有比网飞 / Netflix 更庞大的巨头了。
《青春期》(Adolescence) 杰克·索恩 (Jack Thorne) 和斯蒂芬·格雷厄姆 (Stephen Graham) 拍摄的关于一名 13 岁男孩因谋杀被捕的剧集，采用了沉浸式的实时单镜头拍摄，效果震撼、令人不安且扣人心弦。但其影响力超出了电视版面，引发了一场关于男性气质和网络“男性圈”（manosphere）的全社会讨论——由担任首相的基尔·斯塔默 (Keir Starmer) 引导。
《之狼》（Wolf Hall）导演 Peter Kosminsky 和编剧 Peter Straughan 将希拉里·曼特尔（Hilary Mantel）数千页无与伦比的散文浓缩成一部关于都铎王朝权力、生存和政治机制的迷人且大师级的探索，使其成为最伟大的剧集之一。尽管 Damian Lewis 饰演的亨利八世展现了一种将开朗热情与恐怖威胁结合的波动状态，但 Mark Rylance 饰演的托马斯·克伦威尔掌控了每一个场景：这是一场关于情商的大师课。
根据 2025-26 年度的年度报告，英国广播公司（BBC）在上一财年共支出 £1.889 十亿英镑用于“观看型”内容。“浏览型”（即主要是在线内容）则占 £168 百万英镑。
根据媒体监管机构 Ofcom 本周公布的数据，电视观众现在转向网飞 / Netflix 的可能性与转向英国广播公司（BBC）一样大。《2026年媒体国家》（Media Nations 2026）报告显示，26 百分比的观众表示，去年在寻找观看内容时，他们通常首先打开该流媒体平台，紧随其后的是英国广播公司（BBC）的电视频道和 iPlayer，占比为 25 百分比。
网飞 / Netflix 的全球订阅费用平均为每月 £8.17，英国订阅费用从含广告的 £5.99 起，最高至高级会员的 £18.99，年成本达 £227.88 —— 高于 £180 的英国广播公司（BBC）电视执照费。英国广播公司（BBC）的资金主要来自该费用，以及其商业发行部门和 BBC Studios 的活动收益。
《王冠》（The Crown）Peter Morgan 拍摄的这部大胆且画面精美的多代皇室肖像剧，将高端历史剧与光鲜的高预算肥皂剧无缝结合。它在多次演员更换中生存下来，展现了时间的流逝：伊丽莎白二世女王从 Claire Foy 的内敛，转变为 Olivia Colman 的疲惫务实，最后变为 Imelda Staunton 坚毅的族长形象。
《蓝色灯光》（Blue Lights）在充斥着乏味警察程序剧的领域中，Declan Lawn 和 Adam Patterson 创作的这部贝尔法斯特剧集摒弃了流畅的公式，而采用了原始且接地气的人文关怀。通过讲述见习警员在复杂的“动乱”后地区工作的经历，该剧在呈现令人屏息的紧张感的同时，融入了北爱尔兰式的冷幽默，成功地将人物塑造置于奇观之上。
尽管根据观众偏好，竞争服务几乎持平，但下降趋势显而易见。2024 年，28 百分比的观众将英国广播公司（BBC）作为首选，而 23 百分比的人选择了网飞 / Netflix。前一年，网飞 / Netflix 落后于英国广播公司（BBC）的 30 百分比共 6 个百分点。
年长观众转向流媒体内容的趋势比任何其他年龄组都更明显
现代电视机和遥控器使得查找和操作网飞 / Netflix 变得更容易，这起到了一定的帮助作用。根据 Ofcom 的报告，16 到 24 岁的人更倾向于首选网飞 / Netflix，而 55 岁及以上的人更倾向于选择英国广播公司（BBC）。然而，老年人越来越多地转向流媒体内容。55 到 74 岁的观众平均观看了 85 小时的剧集，例如网飞 / Netflix 的《黑...》
《绝路同行》（Better Call Saul）Vince Gilligan 和 Peter Gould 的《绝路同行》完成了几乎不可能的任务：将一个前传概念打造成为一部被某些人认为超越了母剧《绝命之徒》（Breaking Bad）的杰作。这部讲述 Bob Odenkirk 饰演的卑劣购物中心律师的起源故事，将道德沦丧表现为一种缓慢且令人心碎的侵蚀，而非突然的爆发。这是网飞 / Netflix 从有线电视公司 AMC 收购的作品，但由于其质量极高，我们无法将其排除在外。
这又是另一个令人不快的头条新闻，将给资金匮乏且与政府就资金问题陷入生存之战的英国广播公司（BBC）带来焦虑（其总干事 Matt Brittin 本月告诉议会选委会，电视执照费已是“破产之局”）。据估计，成年人口中可能有 94 百分比的人使用英国广播公司（BBC）的服务，但我们中只有 80 百分比的人支付执照费，且目前摆在桌面上的方案 —— 广告、订阅...
谁赢了？网飞 / Netflix 变得越来越好，这一次它险胜。
Doves, Dept Q 和 House of Guinness。这一项同比增长了 19 小时，是所有年龄组中增长最快的。
《鱿鱼游戏：挑战赛》（Squid Game: The Challenge）这部作品感觉像是原剧一个愤世嫉俗的衍生剧，但却具有极强的、强迫性的吸引力。它之所以如此荒诞地有效，是因为它忠实地
英国广播公司认为其节目的触达率仍然远超网飞 / Netflix。根据 Ofcom 的报告，英国广播公司的内容
封面及下方：网飞 / Netflix；英国广播公司
谁做得最好？
《蓝色之光》（Blue Lights）、《青春期》（Adolescence）
《王冠》（The Crown）
它地还原了原剧那诡异的美学，直到那个阴森的玩偶和高耸的双层床，同时将致命的赌注替换为纯粹的心理战，让 456 名真实的人为了改变生活的奖金而反目成仇。
在即将推出的关于一群游荡街头之猫的动画喜剧中再次尝试。其中一只猫看起来（以及行为举止）有点像 Gervais，他与网飞 / Netflix 的合作（喜剧剧集《死后之生》以及他的单口喜剧专场）继续大获成功。下周播出。
韧性与关系动态，当配对者试图在预算有限的情况下抵达目的地时，让观众能以一种满足且超然的心态观察真实的旅行压力。这部剧在甜美之余也温婉地揭示了真相，证明了真人秀不需要人为制造冲突也能引人入胜。
《很久以前...》（Once Upon a Time…）继其广受好评的《很久以前在伊拉克》（2020）之后——以及在精湛的
《很久以前在太空》（2025）和《很久以前在中东》（即将推出）之前——导演 James Bluemel 为英国广播公司拍摄的这部关于北爱尔兰的五集里程碑式剧集，是口述历史的卓越成就，以令人心碎的亲近感捕捉了这场 30 年冲突中的日常恐怖、道德妥协和持久的悲痛。
《恋爱盲选》（Love Is Blind）从文字上看极其糟糕，这个概念荒诞至极的约会实验——让 30 位绝望的单身人士隔墙交谈，在未见面的情况下订婚，然后在残酷的现实光芒下考验他们脆弱的浪漫关系——是一段不可抗拒的垃圾电视快餐，有时它也提供了一次对人类脆弱性有趣的探讨。
《马男波杰克》（BoJack Horseman）又一部动画讽刺剧，讲述了一名过气的九十年代情景喜剧演员（在这里恰好是一匹人形马）应对成瘾、抑郁和好莱坞虚荣心的故事。Raphael Bob-Waksberg 的这部喜剧依然是电视史上情感最敢于突破的成就之一。
谁赢了？英国广播公司，险胜一筹。
路易·塞鲁：进入男性圈（Louis Theroux: Inside the Manosphere）塞鲁对男性圈中充满睾酮的共鸣室进行了窥探，是对那些由愤怒驱动的超男性化内容究竟是服务于观众还是服务于创作者口袋的法医学式检查。这也给英国广播公司带来了一次打击，因为他成为了最新一个被流媒体资金诱惑而离开的面孔。矛盾的是，塞鲁最近出现在英国广播公司的电视许可费宣传片中，与 Romesh Ranganathan 站在一起，告诉我们如果我们不需要这家机构，它就会消失。
《地球脉动 II》（Planet Earth II）在原版彻底改变自然历史广播十年后，大卫·爱登堡的这部六集里程碑之作回归，带来了一场电影视觉盛宴的大师课。凭借超高清摄像机、无人机技术和汉斯·季默（Hans Zimmer）宏大的配乐，该系列弥合了传统野生动物纪录片与好莱坞大片之间的鸿沟。幼年鬣蜥逃离赛跑蛇的场景同样令人难忘。
《酷盖之眼》（Queer Eye）这部温馨的生活方式改造节目拥有所有光鲜的美国式感伤，但网飞 / Netflix 对这部 2000 年代经典之作的更新版本具有一种不可否认的、流畅的魅力。原版根植于俏皮的、交易式的改造技巧，而这个更新版则侧重于社会疗愈，探讨身份、阶级和政治分歧等重大议题。
《我是否太不合理？》（Am I Being Unreasonable?）表面上是一部关于母亲孤独感的、带有尖锐讽刺的郊区喜剧，但随后演变成了一部极具快感、情节精妙的黑暗惊悚片。黛西·梅·库珀（Daisy May Cooper）将尼克（Nic）这一角色演绎得淋漓尽致，一个在沉默的悲伤与秘密中窒息的母亲。凭借伦尼·鲁什（Lenny Rush）堪称成名作的演出，该剧在尖锐且混乱的幽默与真实的心理恐惧之间取得了平衡。
路易·塞鲁（Louis Theroux）是最新一位向流媒体之财低头的面孔
《噩梦的力量》（The Power of Nightmares）：在亚当·库尔蒂斯（Adam Curtis）这部由英国广播公司制作的三部分杰作中，他大胆地论证了美国新保守主义者和激进伊斯兰主义者拥有相似的思维模式：双方都利用虚构的威胁，通过恐惧来恢复政治权威。这是一部令人惊叹且具有预见性的剧集。
《制造杀人犯》（Making a Murderer）：劳拉·里奇亚迪（Laura Ricciardi）和莫伊拉·德莫斯（Moira Demos）的这部剧集有效地开启了现代流媒体真实犯罪热潮。这部网飞 / Netflix 纪录片历时十年，拍摄细节极其考究，讲述了威斯康星州男子史蒂文·艾弗里（Steven Avery）的故事——他在入狱 18 年后被 DNA 证据证明无罪释放，但在起诉当地执法部门后不久又被指控谋杀。该剧像一部慢节奏的法律惊悚片般展开，让观众变成了痴迷的“沙发侦探”。
《舞动set》（Strictly Come Dancing）：英国广播公司这部亮片飞舞的巨作在经历多年岁月和诸多丑闻后，依然是该机构的皇冠上的明珠。它成功地将老派的轻娱乐与高风险的竞争叙事相结合，将人类的脆弱性包装在闪耀的周六之夜盛宴之中。
《如此勇敢的女孩》（Such Brave Girls）：凯特·萨德勒（Kat Sadler）的这部喜剧聚焦于一个由自我中心、深受创伤的女性组成的功能失调家庭。萨德勒将精神疾病的恐怖面直接呈现在我们面前，并允许我们对其付之一笑。这是英国电视界一个无畏且至关重要的新声音。
谁赢了？平局——英国广播公司胜在多样性；网飞 / Netflix 胜在令人屏息的瞬间。
《探测者》（Detectorists）：这部关于男性情谊的动人画像，讲述了金属探测爱好者安迪（Andy，麦肯齐·克鲁克 饰）和兰斯（Lance，托比·琼斯 饰）在田野中搜寻黄金的故事。该剧浸透在罕见的温暖与友善之中，他们对埋藏宝藏的搜寻成为了人生更深层追求的深刻隐喻：对联系、目标和爱的追求。制作精良且幽默。
《叛徒》（The Traitors）：这部心理实境节目巨无霸已成为现代“饮水机谈资”广播节目的王者。该节目设在一座氛围浓郁的苏格兰城堡中，由披风掩面的克劳迪娅·温克尔曼（Claudia Winkleman）主持，将经典的谋杀之谜客厅游戏提升为一场高风险的戏剧。名人版的效果甚至更好。
《老虎王》（Tiger King）：这部在封锁期间通过口碑走红的剧集，是对古怪的大猫养殖、雇凶杀人以及美国哥特次文化的一次节奏快且令人瞠目的记录。而在乔·埃克索蒂克（Joe Exotic）——一个持枪、留着鲻鱼头发型的路边动物园老板身上——它塑造了电视史上最令人难忘的角色之一。
《四季酒店》（The Four Seasons）：蒂娜·费伊（Tina Fey）对艾伦·奥尔达（Alan Alda）1981 年经典喜剧的重新演绎，是一次成熟的中产阶级观察类电视节目的胜利，并得到了由费伊和史蒂夫·卡瑞尔（Steve Carell）领衔的卓越群演的支持。
《环球竞速》（Race Across the World）：这次关于人类的健康实践
《小巷猫》（Alley Cats）：瑞基·热维斯（Ricky Gervais）即将
谁赢了？英国广播公司的幽默胜出。
来自卢顿（Luton）—— 21世纪版的《凯斯》（Kes）
18, 158min
{{{{(
《使者：圣女贞德的故事》。对于这部吕克·贝松（Luc Besson）执导的史诗片来说，这个“故事”一词承载了过多，因为影片大肆背离历史记录，主要体现在它将贞德（米拉·乔沃维奇 Milla Jovovich 饰）重新塑造成一个被对英国人极度仇恨所驱动的复仇者。“我只想让英国人永远地在地狱中燃烧！”八岁时的贞德（珍·瓦伦丁 Jane Valentine 饰）在一段惨烈的开场戏后尖叫道。该片段描绘了她的家人被屠杀（并非事实），以及她心爱的姐姐凯瑟琳（乔安娜·格林伍德 Joanne Greenwood 饰）遭到袭击、谋杀和强奸（按此顺序发生，且同样并非事实），而这一切都是由亨利六世的军队所为。
这部挑衅且深沉的剧作讲述了一个男孩与轻微犯罪以及阴险警察打交道的经历，凯文·马赫（Kevin Maher）评
t 已经成为一种公认的艺术电影惯例：严肃的当代电影采用近乎正方形的画幅拍摄——即“学院比例”（1.37:1）——且理想状态下采用墨黑白调。想想《冷战》、《Passing》、《Ida》、《麦克白之悲剧》以及
然而，随后这部经过亮丽4K修复的电影，在时间洗礼下依然出色。视觉效果令人惊叹，服装华丽，视觉参考具有绘画感。与此同时，贝松对贞德看似脆弱的内心状态的痴迷，在当今这个强调“心理健康旅程”的时代，获得了一种崭新的、具有当代意义的酸楚感。
新浪潮（Nouvelle Vague）。这是一种对当今日益混乱的屏幕文化优雅的反抗，向坐在前排的内行者传达出：这是一部充满深刻思想、挑衅内容和精心考量美学的电影。
然而，随着剧情推进，贞德在与良知的具象化化身（由达斯汀·霍夫曼 Dustin Hoffman 幽默地饰演）的对话片段中，开始质疑她的信仰。这个“良心”也可能是上帝、耶稣或撒旦。剧本刻意保持模糊，从未对此给出明确答复。这部电影最大的力量在于，它让观众处于一种舒适的焦虑状态，不知贞德究竟是个骗子还是圣徒，是一个幻象者还是个疯女人。Mon起，推出4K UHD版本；现已在流媒体平台（非4K）上线
这部感人且演绎细腻的成长剧正是如此，背景设定在当代的卢顿，但借鉴了《四百击》、《凯斯》和《这不是英格兰》等经典类型片元素。主角是一个眼神清澈的郊区前青春期少年，名叫伊什（Ish），或伊斯梅尔（Ishmail，法汉·哈斯纳特 Farhan Hasnat 饰）。他正因母亲死于癌症而悲痛不已，与此同时，他在附近的森林里与好友马兰（Maram，雅希亚·基塔纳 Yahya Kitana 饰）度过了一个纯真的夏天，两人练习假拳并幻想骑车特技。在伦敦艺术家出身的处女作导演伊姆兰·佩雷塔（Imran Perretta）众多精妙处理的第一笔中，男孩们通过一个被钉死木板的围栏上的小孔进入森林。这简直是在致敬C.S.路易斯。
这部感人且演绎细腻的成长剧讲述了郊区前青春期少年伊什（Farhan Hasnat，右图）的故事
住宅区中像《大白鲨》里的鲨鱼一样。诡异的是，我们从未看到车内的警员，只看到他们的面部识别屏幕，框住了毫无察觉的居民，并预告了一场成为电影决定性时刻的“闪击抓捕”。
广播和新闻片段，将观念引向：加沙地带的战争就像一种病毒，感染了那些远离轰炸区的人们的生活和思想。愤怒且迷失的马兰警告伊什，“以色列国防军的人要来镇上了”（是的——来到卢顿！），因此，理所当然地，“战争正降临这座小镇”。
15, 87min
{{{{(
剧本由佩雷塔与编剧兼剧作家恩达·沃尔什（Enda Walsh，作品包括《Die My Love》、《Small Things Like These》）共同创作，将关于现代英国种族身份塑造的一系列思考层叠在戏剧冲突之中。然而，通过不停播放的广播
但伊什很快被拉向两个黑暗的方向。一方面，他受到了马兰那些年长的小混混伙伴们关于轻微犯罪的诱惑；另一方面，他被一辆在卢顿住宅区巡游的无标志警车所困扰
归根结底，这是一部关于家庭滋养力量、传统养育价值以及暴力毒性的敏感电影。作为处女作，表现相当出色。现正上映。
米拉·乔沃维奇饰演圣女贞德
本月免费图书
Times+ 会员可免费阅读最多三本书。本月，请深入阅读《End Game》，讲述威廉·沃里克与苏格兰场竞相阻止针对 2012 年伦敦奥运会的袭击。而《How to Win》探讨了运动心理学与持久的成功，《Fun and Games》则是一部以爱尔兰小岛为背景的喜剧成长小说。请访问 thetimes.com/timesplus
适用相关条款与条件。
ALAMY
得给汤姆·赫兰德放个假吧。他不仅在克里斯托弗·诺兰执导的硬汉夏季巨制《奥德赛》中，以特勒马库斯的形象为影片注入了男性脆弱的真挚情感，而且这位 30 岁的伦敦人现在又被委以拯救病危的超级英雄电影类型的重任。
随着漫威电影宇宙这一最新且（令人惊叹地）第 38 部作品开篇，曾经点缀着你最喜欢的《复仇者联盟》系列紧身衣猛男们的漫威剪辑片段，已被赫兰德饰演蜘蛛侠时极受欢迎的形象片段和肖像所取代。在经历了一系列代价高昂的漫威失误（《雷霆特工队》、《美国队长：勇敢新世界》、《惊奇队长》）以及一部成本高得离谱的《复仇者联盟》双片集在途（传闻预算：$1 billion）之后，信号已经很明确了：漫威现在成了汤姆搭建的帝国。而在这部最新壮观作品的大部分时间里，赫兰德继续证明了这种炒作是合理的。他的彼得·帕克敏感、迷茫且心碎，仍深受 2021 年《蜘蛛侠：英雄无归》高潮情节的影响——在那部电影中，他的好哥们内德（雅各布·巴塔伦 饰）和高中恋人 MJ（赞达亚 饰）被残酷地从他的记忆中抹除。
汤姆·赫兰德前来救场
这部电影核心部分紧凑且出人意料地令人动容的情节剧，探讨了彼得与 MJ 之间的紧张关系。她感觉到他们隐藏的过去的蛛丝马迹，而他则渴望找回被遗忘的亲密感，且两人在某种程度上都意识到，曾经完美的爱情已永远无法触及。
大电影
凯文·马赫表示，得益于赫兰德与其妻子赞达亚之间的化学反应，最新的蜘蛛侠电影证明了其炒作的价值。
导演德斯汀·丹尼尔·克雷顿巧妙地引导了现实生活中新婚夫妇赫兰德与赞达亚（又名赞达亚·玛丽·斯特默·科尔曼）之间的化学反应。他们在充满张力的对话场景中注入了极高分量的痛苦与渴望，将电影推向了如《邂逅》和《Past Lives》这类“不可能之爱”经典电影的境界。一个精心设计的场景——包含一段带有 ulterior motive 的令人心碎的表白——是全片的高光时刻，也是漫威电影中出现的最成熟的人际关系瞬间。
在纽约午夜一场惊人的暴雨中，身着便装、浑身湿透的蛛网侠忧郁地在被雨拍打的天际线间荡跃，在含泪的特写镜头中，他松开了蛛网，陷入了一场看似恐怖的自杀式坠落。
汤姆·赫兰德饰演彼得·帕克，上方为饰演蜘蛛侠，赞达亚饰演 MJ
12A 级，145 分钟
{{{((
片中有一段稍显吸引力的坦克追逐戏，一些与无名打手的肉搏战，以及一个揭示电影主旨的甜腻结尾：“爱你的人爱你是因为你就是你。” 还有人说超级英雄电影是给傻瓜看的。现正上映。
一名新的念力反派，以及帕克遭受的一种模糊的基因突变，使他出现黑眼圈、头痛并喷发出过量的蜘蛛粘液。那些伪装得很差的格拉斯哥取景地没能骗过任何人——无论多少 CGI 摩天大楼都无法将 Trongate 变成曼哈顿。
电影的其余部分呢？遗憾的是，这就是套路化的 MCU。城里出现了一种新的致命末日武器，名为 V-Max。人人觊觎。帕克先后与乔·伯恩塔尔饰演的惩罚者和马克·鲁法洛饰演的绿巨人联手将其夺回。挡他路的是谁？一名
克雷顿在他之前的超级英雄作品《尚气和》中证明了自己
《十环传奇》(Legend of the Ten Rings) 是一位精明的风格塑造者，并找到了视觉化呈现彼得心碎之情的表现方式。在其中一首歌曲中，其主题是“关于改变的可能性，不仅是针对外部那个不完美的世界，也包括我自己。我也需要改变。”
——这是一个已经准备好迎接其应得的大银幕特写项目。
但这其实从未关乎外观，就此我们必须听从拜恩 (Byrne) 的引导，他指出该剧稀疏的舞美设计理念是“从舞台上剔除除我们最在意的东西——我们和你——之外的一切，而这正是这部剧的精髓”。
这是一次现场录制，于 2019 年在百老汇的哈德逊剧院 (Hudson Theatre) 拍摄，由这位出生于苏格兰的创作歌手和 11 位音乐家共同演绎，他们令人愉悦地踏拍着其作品集中的 20 首曲目以及一首 Janelle Monáe 的翻唱曲 (Hell You Talmbout)。在歌曲间隙，拜恩为我们带来了关于从达达主义到电视，以及美国民主仍承诺的可能性等一切事物的轻快沉思。拜恩消除了任何关于他可能在滋养名人自大感，甚至是对其应得成就感之认知。在一段动人的 Monáe 抗议歌曲演绎之后的演说中，他承认自己最喜欢的是
12A, 106min
{{{((
李 (Lee) 为素材注入了充满活力、快节奏的步调，凸显了众多选曲的乐观特质。得益于编舞师 Anne-B Parson，舞蹈编排在这里也占据重要地位；而李内心不折不扣的电影发烧友则将 11 个俯冲、旋转的摄像机交给了顶尖摄影师 Declan Quinn 和 Ellen Kuras。
除非你是 Talking Heads 的忠实粉丝，否则少量的大卫·拜恩 (David Byrne) 就足够了。即便是在他的全盛时期，他的艺术学院派做派总是让人感到略显疲惫。然而，这部由斯派克·李 (Spike Lee) 执导的演唱会电影却令人惊喜。它最初于 2020 年分批在流媒体平台发布，当时全球民众正深受新冠疫情之苦，难以对一位身着灰色西装、婉转歌唱的 68 岁绅士产生特别的兴奋感。但李为其提供了一次令人惊叹的 4K 分辨率重制，并将其在电影院上映
而缺点呢？在接近结尾时，电影节奏明显下滑，当时拜恩坚持要强行演绎三首来自他 2018 年专辑《American Utopia》的平庸曲目。但他也足够聪明，用一首瑰丽且肯定生命的《Road to Nowhere》作为收尾，这首歌在一家非常幸运且嘈杂的剧院里，在过道和摆动的观众席间展开了一场疯狂的康加舞线。周三起在电影院上映
4K 翻新版好多少？我看过两个版本，可以说，其实没好多少，除了偶尔打断无处不在的灰色的红色舞台灯光现在变成了鲜艳、几乎是暴烈的深红色。
大卫·拜恩 (David Byrne)
一张充满格兰德 (Grande) 情感的专辑
麦卡 (Macca) 在 84 岁时首次获得水星音乐奖提名
MARY KOUW/CBS VIA GETTY IMAGES
这位巨星在她飘渺的第八张专辑中探讨了最近的一次分手，Will Hodgkinson 评
什么，没有滚石乐队 (Rolling Stones)？奇怪的是，这个夏天属于披头士 (Beatles) 和滚石乐队，保罗·麦卡特尼 (Paul McCartney) 代表前者，带来了他数十年来的最佳专辑；而贾格尔 (Jagger)、理查兹 (Richards) 及其伙伴在《Foreign Tongues》中经历了一次职业生涯后期的复兴。然而，只有一个人入围了年度最佳专辑的水星奖短名单。这表明定义了 1960 年代的两支乐队之间激烈的竞争尚未结束。
Ariana Grande 回归的专辑中有一种明显的“水感”。合成器在其中冒泡，迪士尼电影般的弦乐以一种令人想起的方式滑行
我是水星音乐奖（Mercury prize）的评委，但我无法预测今年的获胜者，因为结果总是让我感到意外。我很高兴看到佛罗伦萨·韦尔奇（Florence Welch）在名单中：《Everybody Scream》是对濒死体验的一次发自肺腑的捕捉，充满了情感和民俗隐喻，令人好奇的是，这张专辑似乎此前并未引起足够关注。在商业层面，影响力最大的专辑是奥莉维亚·迪恩（Olivia Dean）的《The Art of Loving》，这是一部轻快、深情且带有波萨诺瓦（bossa nova）风格的热门作品，事实证明，这正是这个国家紧绷的神经所需要的。此外还有来自布拉福德的尼娅·档案（Nia Archives），她的经历非常有水星奖的故事感。她的第一张专辑——2024年的《Silence Is Loud》，是一个关于发展中恋情的欢乐且由鼓打贝斯（drum’n’bass）驱动的故事。现在，在第二张专辑《Emotional Junglist》中，听起来这段恋情陷入了糟糕的境地。为了契合这种情绪，专辑中加入了一些工业摇滚元素。
一个水下王国的氛围，而格兰德（Grande）脱离形体的女高音以空灵的优雅在其中飘荡。在带有80年代风格的流行摇滚出彩曲目《Freak》中，她唱道：“总有一天，所有的海洋将承载所有被剥夺的爱。”你不得不问：格兰德是否在含蓄地讽刺她的前男友？
直到最近，她还与伊森·斯莱特（Ethan Slater）交往，这位音乐剧明星在2017年主演了《海绵宝宝：百老汇音乐剧》（SpongeBob SquarePants: The Broadway Musical），并在电影版《魔法坏女巫》（Wicked）中饰演波克·伐木工（Boq Woodsman）与她相对戏。正如每个千禧年出生的孩子或其父母所知，海绵宝宝是一个住在水下比基尼海滩城（Bikini Bottom）的尖嗓子海绵。虽然专辑中并没有实际提到构成海绵宝宝世界的友好海星或脾气古怪的螃蟹，但这张本质上是失恋专辑中的海洋元素，确实看起来不仅仅是巧合。
在《魔法坏女巫》中说服她的女巫同伴埃尔法巴（Elphaba）不要作恶。“这一次我不会成为你的幻想，”她在《Freak》跳跃的吉他伴奏中宣布。
在热带氛围方面，专辑《Petal》最像格兰德2019年发行的《Thank U, Next》。
部分原因在于她的嗓音。她拥有令人极其印象深刻的四个八度音域及哨音寄存器，从而产生了那些标志性的绝妙高音。她还重新聘请了伊利亚·萨尔曼扎德（Ilya Salmanzadeh，曾合作埃德·希然）和马克斯·马丁（Max Martin，曾合作泰勒·斯威夫特）担任制作人，打造了一部超凡脱俗、和谐统一的作品，将其作为处理爱情与心碎的一种温柔方式。“吻我，就像你知道这是在告别，”格兰德在《Kiss Me》中深情地唱道，这是一段悠闲、轻快且具有异域风情的流行音乐。到了《Petal》，在格兰德轻盈的音符下伴随着沉重失真的低音，她将自己的痛苦戏剧化了。“我所有最喜欢的故事都以灾难告终，”这位饰演“好女巫”格琳达（Glinda the Good）的女性唱道，她在扮演该角色时曾经历艰难。
整部作品显得相当轻盈且不具体，在保持纯真精神的同时，聚焦于成人的情感。它也非常精湛，透露出一种自信，表明她在制作这张专辑时并没有过多担心当代观众的接受度。“我不在乎一个完美的结局。但没关系，”作为美国演艺圈专业主义的缩影，格兰德在温柔的最终慢歌《Nowhere, Nobody》中这样唱道。她在专辑中强化了自己的风格，使其既像梦境又具复古感——对于一个身处陆地的超级巨星来说，这确实是一次胜利。
Babydoll/Republic
{{{{(
在其他方面，两位相对不出名的人获得了应得的更广泛关注。多夫·埃利斯（Dove Ellis）是一位来自高威（Galway）的创作歌手，其嗓音让人想起杰夫·巴克利（Jeff Buckley）及其父亲蒂姆（Tim）。他是一位早熟的诗才：将过去描述为“一个你以为你经历过的迹象，但它只是带有一点粉笔痕迹的石头”，在22岁时能有这样的表达相当卓越。此外还有Knats，这是一个由贝斯手斯坦·伍德沃德（Stan Woodward）和鼓手金·大卫-艾克·埃莱奇（King David-Ike Elechi）领导的年轻爵士五重奏，他们将来自纽卡斯尔社区的故事融入到令人想起查尔斯·明格斯（Charles Mingus）和约翰·科特伦（John Coltrane）的音乐之中。
无论是否有水生隐喻，Petal 都成功地将 Grande 刻画为当代流行乐坛中一个罕见的形象：一位完全沉浸在自己宇宙中的巨星。流行音乐是以趋势为基础的，因此其最顶尖的名字往往不像他们想象中那么独特——参考 Charli XCX 捕捉摇滚复兴浪潮的情况——但凭借其咕嘟作响的合成器线条、合唱人声以及
如此辉煌的贝多芬所带来的震撼与敬畏
在这一切青春气息之中，不要忘记 Macca——在 84 岁时，他与 Martin Carthy 并列为获得该奖项提名的最年长艺术家。《The Boys of Dungeon Lane》回首了在默西河寒冷早晨里的少年情愫，以及与 George Harrison 一起离开利物浦、怀揣荣耀之梦的搭车旅程。可以说，那些梦想已经实现了好几次。麦卡特尼（见下图）在 60 多年后能获得最佳专辑提名，真是令人惊叹的转折。Will Hodgkinson
以及一位作曲家在测试 1820 年代初期钢琴奏鸣曲可能性界限时所呈现的其他结构特性。
在专辑发行的当天，历史学家 Simon Schama 写道：“现在已经连续听了三遍第 30 号奏鸣曲。它——以及她的演绎——是如此深邃且富有人性。”到目前为止，他可能已经演奏过这部奏鸣曲很多次了，除此之外，还有另外两部作品，共同构成了由 Mitsuko Uchida 精彩演绎的贝多芬晚期三部钢琴奏鸣曲。
Decca
进入那些情绪和力度上的剧烈反差。与此同时，
{{{{{
从迪士尼乐园（Hough 根据《欢乐》改编的曲目）开始，他漫游至西班牙、拉赫玛尼诺夫之境以及法国，并造访了 Edward MacDowell 的《野玫瑰》和 Sinding 的《春之飒飒》，凭借其优雅、机智以及对当下任务和音乐的热爱，将某些有时显得陈旧的返场曲目转化为闪闪发光的新乐趣。
三坂都子（见左图）所做的一切都没有削弱那些建立在
从清澈流动到颗粒感力量的转换（以及反之亦然）处理得如此巧妙，以至于这种演进显得
Hyperion
{{{{(
完全恰当，且正是贝多芬所希望的。至于“深邃且富有人性”，Schama 的评判在第 32 号奏鸣曲中更为贴切。这部两乐章的史诗之作，其扭曲的开篇最终消融在一段基于谦逊主题的变奏终曲中，其姿态之从容、沉静，仿佛让我们抵达了音乐上的
在东京录制，这些演奏展现了一位敏感且优雅的音乐家所应有的美德，她从未一次炫技，而仅仅是将她的艺术奉献给贝多芬。第 30-32 号奏鸣曲的要求极高，包括剧烈的情绪波动
相当于“神之平安，出人性所有之聪”。
O
古典
钢琴文献不仅由大师的杰作组成，还有一些小而美的瑰宝和轻快之作。例如 Stephen Hough 的《钢琴明信片》(Piano Postcards) 便是此类主题——共 26 首。
特别的乐趣？我想重点提到 Cécile Chaminade 的三首作品，这些作品只需要一点热爱和灵活的手指，其魔力便能再次复活。而在这里，它确实做到了。Geoff Brown
爵士专辑
Miles Davis 的一次激进重启位列 thetimes.com/culture 本月最佳专辑之首
CHARLES FEARN
如果你想知道演员 John Hannah 目前多么快乐和放松，那么当他告诉我他最新的角色是在即将上映的电影《The Incomer》中扮演一个名为“鳍人”(Fin Man) 的类似海豹的生物时，他发出的咯咯笑声就是最好的证明
他们在多样性方面处理种族问题无疑是一件好事——阿曼多·伊亚努奇（Armando Iannucci）版的《大卫·科波菲尔》非常精彩。但偶尔会有一些东西简直违背逻辑。我去西区看了《玻璃动物园》……我热爱这部剧，但由于采用了“色盲选角”（colour-blind casting），我发现很难在视觉感受与听觉感受之间达成统一。
I
不过，这位在电影《滑动之门》和《四个婚礼一个葬礼》中获得大银幕成功的 64 岁演员，并没有完全走离经叛道路线。接下来的四个月，他将与好友布兰登·弗雷泽（Brendan Fraser）一起拍摄第四部《木乃伊》电影，饰演蕾切尔·薇兹（Rachel Weisz）那个爱开玩笑的哥哥。“我还能走动，老膝盖还在发挥作用，”他说——考虑到“布兰登把我甩来甩去地程度”，这确实是一件好事。
这是一个戏路很宽的演员，从 Starz 剧集《斯巴达克斯》中冷酷的角斗士之主昆图斯·巴蒂亚图斯（Quintus Batiatus），到 ITV 改编自伊恩·兰金（Ian Rankin）系列小说的疲惫侦探约翰·里巴斯（John Rebus），后者他只演了一季就离开了。我一直想知道原因。“我从来没有哪部剧演超过两季，”他说。“部分原因是，一旦你意识到了套路是什么，它就变得有点乏味。即使是《里巴斯》系列书……我热爱那些书，现在依然热爱，但一旦你把整部小说缩减成两三小时的电视节目，就只有那些必须放进去的关键点。当你这样做两三次之后……故事就大体一样了。就像任何惊悚片一样，一旦你拥有那种充满魅力的解决问题者，并且找到了一套行之有效的方法，根据其本质，它往往会变得雷同。”
汉娜（Hannah）最近过得很悠闲，今年前六个月没有工作，期间抽空为英国广播公司（BBC）的娱乐系列节目《竞速世界》（Race Across the World）配音，这份工作“在某种程度上维持着我的生活，并给我提供一些零花钱”。他有一对 22 岁的双胞胎：儿子加布里埃尔（Gabriel）刚从曼彻斯特大学毕业，女儿阿斯特丽德（Astrid）今年夏天从本茅斯大学摄影专业毕业——所以他说他仍然需要钱（“我真不知道钱都他妈花到哪去了”）。
在他最新的剧集中，一部名为《贝尼多姆是谋杀案》（Benidorm Is Murder）的轻松的第五频道（Channel 5）犯罪剧里，他饰演丹尼斯·克劳恩（Dennis Crown），一个在西班牙度假城市经营酒吧的前落魄侦探，被卷入了谋杀案。该剧由《天堂岛谋杀案》的编剧伊恩·贾维斯（Ian Jarvis）编写，但具有一种汉娜非常喜欢的“落魄感”——切入镜头通常不是异域风情的金色海滩，而是普通人喝着啤酒的样子。
“在比例代表制方面，如果用一个更准确的词，感觉也许走得太远了。所以也许它会再次平衡，或者这只是一个时尚趋势。但为了许多许多优秀的黑人演员、棕色人演员、黄种人演员，我希望这不是昙花一现，因为他们在历史上没有机会看到自己的身影……也许人们认为少数民族本质上就是工人阶级，这就是一个问题。”
汉娜的成名作是在《四个婚礼一个葬礼》中扮演悲痛的马修（Matthew），深情地朗诵了 W.H. 奥登的诗作《停掉所有的钟》（Stop All the Clocks）。在那之后，他在心理上经历了一段艰难时期，并寻求治疗“仅仅是为了应对生活的改变”。
“当时我已经遇到了我的妻子，并在一起三四年了，我很庆幸这一点……听着，出名很棒，人们知道你是谁，你可以在餐厅订到桌子。但这让你变得……容易接近。突然之间，我变得非常受欢迎。”
约翰·汉娜在《贝尼多姆是谋杀案》中
“即便是在工作和选角的情况下，我也感到非常愤怒。我记得之前国家剧院绝不会为了我而更改试镜时间——而我当时有个该死的牙医预约。然后在《四个婚礼》之后，有人邀请我出演一部音乐剧的领衔主演，但我根本不擅长音乐剧。我只是对事情地变化如此之快感到非常愤怒，你突然之间就被人们以不同的方式看待了。这让我气恼了好一阵子，我想，‘这太糟糕了，我明明过得很愉快，却还是如此地他妈愤怒。’
色盲选角（Colour-blind casting）也许走得太远了
“我想我也在愤怒于人们是多么浅薄……在那个阶段，我还没有足够的自在或自信，能以某种优雅的态度去接受那些机会，并认为‘好吧，这就是世界的运行方式’。我想，我当时只是在对此有些抵触。”
约翰·汉娜向本·多威尔讲述他的新犯罪喜剧以及电视上工人阶级故事的匮乏
“这扰乱了我的心境，以及我对自己在世界中所处位置的认知，以及我对世界的看法，甚至可能影响了我对自己身为纯正工人阶级的认同感。也许那是我的某种自卑感（a chip on my shoulder）。因为我是苏格兰人，人们说我们很‘平衡’，因为我们的双肩都扛着自卑感。”
在早年渴望成为足球运动员期间，他在 1986 年“上帝之手”进球后穿了一件马拉多纳的球衣，但在苏格兰队出局后，他在今年的 世界杯 中支持英格兰队。
“我在伦敦住了 40 多年……我是阿森纳球迷，”他说。但他依然为自己的根源感到自豪，并称《贝尼多姆是谋杀案》（Benidorm Is Murder）具有一种“蓝领”特质。一个来自东基尔布莱德的工人阶级少年在今天还有机会进入演艺圈吗？
他说，他经历了一段“旅程”，现在对他“曾经拥有且现在依然拥有的、能让我继续工作的名气水平”感到非常满意。在他 60 岁时，他告诉家人他在考虑退休。“这有点像个玩笑，但我表达的意思是，我不再追求任何东西了。我没有雄心去攀登下一个台阶，或者为了让这份工作能引荐另一份工作而去努力。”
他绝不容许任何人诋毁《贝尼多姆》，他知道他的父母一定会喜欢这部剧。他的父亲约翰是一名工具制造师，母亲苏珊在马莎百货（Marks & Spencer）工作。他说他们一定会喜欢那里的阳光，以及“用两欧元买两品脱啤酒[和]一份丰盛的苏格兰早餐”。
“不，绝无可能。绝无可能。在经历了长达许多个月的失业期间，我是靠住房补贴和失业救济金维持生活的。现在这种情况不会发生了。而且，我在 80 年代大学毕业时，正处于关于工人阶级伟大剧作的巅峰期，比如《黑物质男孩》（Boys from the Blackstuff）之类的事情。”
去做一个剧本大纲然后交给他们。当然，他们会喜欢那个大纲，因为那是他们正在寻找且想要的东西，然后它就会进入开发阶段。这让我觉得一切都一样。所有的想法都来自同一群人，他们上过相同的大学，想看到他们自己看到的那些烂东西。我绝对认为现在缺乏工人阶级的故事。”
汉娜（右）与詹姆斯·弗利特、罗宾·麦卡弗雷、克里斯汀·斯科特-托马斯、大卫·鲍尔和夏洛特·科尔曼在《四个婚礼一部葬礼》中
“过去两年在西班牙工作，再之前的一年在罗马工作，在我看来，他们拥有更好的生活与工作的质量平衡。他们会工作，但同时也想要做一些轻松愉快的事，吃美食，见朋友，旅行。我也想那样做……我总是说，如果有一个有趣且好玩的工作，在某个有趣且好玩的地方拍摄，或者薪水丰厚，我就接。但这三个条件中至少得满足两个。”
他与妻子、演员乔安娜·罗斯（Joanna Roth）住在伦敦西南部的里士满，他们目前正在出售在德文郡的度假屋。显然，他早已远离了在东基尔布赖德（East Kilbride）的早年时光。他在20世纪80年代初进入皇家苏格兰音乐与戏剧学院学习之前，最初是一名电工学徒。
1998年，他成立了克勒肯威尔电影公司（Clerkenwell Films），但随后似乎陷入了幻灭，从此退出了独立制作。 “制作公司让我恼火的事情之一是，我们会与英国广播公司开会，他们告诉我们他们需要什么，然后我们去找编剧……”
他们是否为了支持其他形式的多样性而被边缘化了？ “我想是的。”
《贝尼多姆是谋杀案》（Benidorm Is Murder）将于周四在 5 频道继续播出
CRAIG FULLER
音乐会（proms）
英国广播公司苏格兰交响乐团 (BBC SSO) / 威格尔斯沃思 (Wigglesworth)
伦敦，皇家阿尔伯特礼堂
伦敦，皇家阿尔伯特礼堂
{{{((
{{{{(
A
W
我们人类是自然的一部分，还是独立于自然之外？尽管这场由伦敦爱乐乐团及其首席指挥爱德华·加德纳（Edward Gardner）带来的音乐会呈现了三部截然不同的作品，但这个问题贯穿其中，而答案最终是一致的：在万物的浩瀚面前，承认人类的脆弱。
是满月下温暖夏夜的承诺让人们远离了这场音乐会，还是因为上半场完全是当代作品的前景？无论如何，我们并没有错过夜空。朱迪思·韦尔（Judith Weir）在《月亮与星星》（Moon and Star）中地演绎了我们自己的夜空，这部作品为艾米莉·狄金森（Emily Dickinson）充满警觉的诗篇提供了恰如其分且空灵的基调。它听起来很像解构后的霍尔斯特《海王星》。在英国广播公司苏格兰交响乐团与英国广播公司合唱团的乐段之间，各种丰富且神秘的和弦在一次疯狂而令人愉悦的宇宙之舞中错位。
我从未听过一部“以一只松鼠在进食”开场的管弦乐作品，这是克里斯汀·乔格森（Kristine Tjogersen）对《树之间》（Between Trees）那刺耳开场白颇为贴切的描述（作品中并无松鼠，全部由古怪的乐器效果实现）。当我们陷入这位挪威作曲家的“真菌之丝”（同样是她的原话）时，作品开始抽动并焕发生机，虽异质但令人沉浸。抒情且具有可辨识的人类情感的爆发——由伊恩·哈德威克（Ian Hardwick）精湛演奏的双簧管独奏——简直令人心碎。
布雷特·迪恩（Brett Dean）的首演作品《世界的妻子》（The World’s Wife）也有一种令人愉悦的失控感。迪恩辛辣的音乐语言与这五首带有些许复仇意味的卡罗尔·安·达菲（Carol Ann Duffy）诗歌非常契合。这些诗歌地想象了一位嘲讽的达尔文夫人、一位尴尬的伊卡洛斯夫人以及一个过气的美杜莎，并由独特的女高音缪斯克莱尔·布斯（Claire Booth）演绎。关于送给爱人一颗洋葱的执念之作《情人》（Valentine），带着一种忙碌且偏执的能量在冲撞和抽搐。但这段黑色幽默的曲目，乃至整个歌曲循环，奇怪的是缺乏幽默感。最成功的时刻反而是最不张扬的，需要布斯在偶尔跑调但极其投入的状态下，采取更微妙的演唱风格。
埃琳·普里查德（Elin Pritchard）饰演的阿米莉亚（Amelia）让威尔第的剧作看起来轻而易举，而马特奥·德索莱（Matteo Desole）则为古斯塔沃（Gustavo）带来了轻快的魅力。
与威尔第共舞
——尼尔·费舍尔（Neil Fisher）表示，这部经过 40 年代更新的威尔第中期剧作拥有震撼的女高音。
像维多利亚女王、克丽奥帕特拉和其他幽灵君主一样——精准地击中了要害。
两部带有关键舞会场景的歌剧为今夏的荷兰公园（Holland Park）季收尾。约翰·施特劳斯的轻歌剧《蝙蝠》（Die Fledermaus），
——在坎特卢布（Canteloube）的《奥弗涅之歌》（Songs of the Auvergne）中，这是一个奥克语地区的“深层法国”（France profonde）。在这部选集中，路易丝·奥尔德（Louise Alder）表现得极其出色的
Matteo Desole 饰演的 Gustavo 以流畅的唱腔和轻盈的魅力而唱，他忽略了政治动荡和阴谋的迹象，专注于他与 Elin Pritchard 饰演的 Amelia 之间如同《邂逅》（Brief Encounter）风格的浪漫爱情。他们在第二幕的纠缠并不完全具有戏剧爆炸力——Pritchard 迅速解开 Desole 的背心纽扣，仿佛在斯坦福桥球场进行搜身一样。
在香槟过量导致一切陷入混乱的地方，这场戏排名最后；而脱颖而出的是威尔第的《假面舞会》（A Masked Ball），该剧在瑞典好国王古斯塔夫三世被他认为是最亲密的朋友暗杀而血染终场。
歌剧
在埃尔加《第一交响曲》色彩鲜明且充满波折的第一乐章中，有许多冲突，尽管魔力稍显不足。但慢板乐章散发出一种触手可及的魔力；虽然铜管乐需要进一步驯服，但 Ryan Wigglesworth 掌控有方的指挥证明了，在埃尔加较为浓密且行动密集的部分，我从未怀疑过应该聆听什么。 uplifting 终曲中那自信的、布拉姆斯式的活力，诉说着这些 英国广播公司 音乐家及其首席指挥在共同度过最后一个赛季前强大的合作伙伴关系。Daniel Lewis 见 BBC Sounds；埃尔加《第一交响曲》自今日晚上 7 点起在 BBC4/iPlayer 播出。
——但当两人都心怀愧疚地从情事的圆房中退缩时，这一刻显得真实，尤其是当指挥 Michael Papadopoulos 将威尔第当晚最激烈的音乐推向沸点时。
然而，威尔第中期剧作的显著特点在于它在笑声与黑暗之间摇摆。“这是一个玩笑还是疯狂？”当神秘先知 Madame Arvidson 准确预言了 Gustavo 的死亡时，他如此问道——Arvidson 本人相当难以被严肃对待，而在 Rodula Gaitanou 的制作中（首次上演于 2019 年），这个角色被赋予了诺埃尔·考沃德笔下那个古怪骗子 Madame Arcati 的实用神韵。
伦敦 Opera Holland Park (180分钟)
极具感染力的独唱者，在高潮部分的 Baïlèro 中，她的声音几乎消融在管弦乐团描绘的绝美纹理中。
{{{{(
他无疑精准掌握了威尔第的精髓，引导伦敦城市交响乐团（City of London Sinfonia）发挥出强大的演奏力，而且演员阵容异常强大。Rhian Lois 饰演的 Oscar 是一个让几乎所有人反感的侍童，但由于唱得太好，反而没让我反感；资深演员 Rosalind Plowright 依然热情地攻克 Arvidson 那些阴森的低音。Dario Solari 饰演的被戴绿帽的 Anckarstrom 似乎身体不适，但在某些方面，这反而增强了人物的焦虑感。最出色的是 Pritchard 震撼的演唱：她让威尔第的长线条和漂浮的高音显得轻而易举。更大的剧院无疑在向她招手。至 8 月 7 日。
斯特劳斯在《阿尔卑斯交响曲》中要求我们征服一座山，但即便在成功之后，他那漫长而忧郁的后奏曲也明显缺乏胜利感。这部作品在阿尔伯特音乐厅通常会产生震撼效果，尤其是当一整个额外的铜管乐队从看台席爆发而出时——尽管此次演出带来了许多直观的兴奋感（Gardner 倾向于快速攀登），但引起共鸣的是内在的声部。最出色的一次又是由 Hardwick 的双簧管独奏——那是一种既有敬畏感又带痛楚的山顶之景。Neil Fisher 见 BBC Sounds
大多数制作都犯了将这位快乐的国王变成花花公子王子的错误，这使得人们很难认为他的死亡是对任何人的巨大损失。Gaitanou 选择 1940 年代的背景，发现了足够的模糊性来保持悬念。2019 年的舞美早于后疫情时期 Holland Park “伸出式”舞台的安装，导致前台发生的动作太少，但那个诡异的结局——一个挤满了穿着戏服人物的假面舞会
Claire Booth
L
《爱的劳苦》（Love’s Labour’s Lost）是莎士比亚关于理智的浪漫喜剧。四个自命不凡的年轻人，在一名书呆子国王的率领下，将自己锁起来
对于那些最不挑剔的游客群体来说，这种廉价的笑话和懒散的刻板印象所带来的补偿微乎其微。
设定在法西边境的纳瓦拉王国，女性代表团中出现一位能跳弗拉门戈舞的西班牙公主，而非莎士比亚笔下的法国公主，这并不令人意外。然而，其结果却是难以听懂的西班牙口音所交织而成的粗糙嘈杂之声，其间穿插着下三路动作和笨拙的滑稽跌倒，而关于爱、学习或失去，则毫无可言。
剧场
Lown-Collins 将莎士比亚的拉丁语双关语改写为西英混杂语（Spanglish）的沟通误区；如果这些台词能高于一个九岁男孩的语言水平，这种改编或许还算合理的妥协。其中，男性情人们用金色莱卡面料遮盖其臃肿的假阴茎那一幕，堪称全剧低谷。
三年的研究，誓要摒弃干扰心志的女性陪伴。
伦敦莎士比亚环球剧场 (155分钟)
{((((
谁会出现在宫门前？正是四位聪明伶俐的少女，她们虽书本知识稍欠，但更有灵气，由一位恰好符合择偶条件的公主率领。随后是舞池中的伪装、投递错误的信件，以及一段著名的都铎时期拉丁语课程模仿秀。
舞蹈在出现时偶尔令人惊艳。一场狩猎戏被替换成了斗牛序列，让英西混血女演员 Norah Lopez Holden 得以展示其弗拉门戈经验。饰演乡村少女 Jacquenetta 的 Jimena Larraguivel 仅通过完美的手腕姿态便表达出几分渴望。但这仅限于此。
这真是太浪费了。Lopez Holden 提升了她所参与的任何片段，Philip Arditti 饰演的 Berowne（国王最风趣的同伴）亦然。但莎士比亚这部词藻最繁复的剧作，如今却变成了一场庸俗的哑剧。Kate Maltby 至 9月 13日
这是一个具有挑战性的素材，这就是为什么环球剧场将其替换为一场安达卢西亚庆典，情节退居次要，取而代之的是男女之间的一系列舞蹈比拼。
当导演 Indiana Lown-Collins 提出这个方案时，它可能看起来像是个绝妙的点子。《爱的劳苦》 Pablo Egea 与 Anita La Maltesa
哈丽特·沃尔特（Harriet Walter）的母亲：隐藏的英雄
McKellen 发明了周末，使其登上了新闻版面。而其他时候观看此节目，感觉就像被困在姻亲家的沙发上，翻阅着一本家庭相册（米沙尔·胡赛因 [Mishal Husain]，我是在对你说）。
她是一个本分的女性，守护着秘密，哈丽特从未知道她具体做了什么。令人惊讶的是，这位被轻视的女性竟然知晓诺曼底登陆的绝密细节，并在该行动的执行中发挥了不小的作用。
但随着该节目执拗地一次次踏入名流家谱那极其熟悉的旅程，显然每一集都面临着创意挑战。我们是想要更多重复的内容，还是想要稍微有些不同的重复？毕竟，电视是一种渴求创新与转折的媒介。
而凝视我们的那张脸，看起来与她的演员女儿极其相似——后者此时身着昂贵的亚麻服装，戴着一副夺目的红色眼镜。这位母亲被赋予了绝妙的生命力。演员们就很擅长做这类事情。
在母系血统的更上游，沃尔特听说了她的意大利家族——卡兰迪尼（Carandinis）家族，以及一个叫 Girolamo 的家伙。他在 19 世纪初就读于一所贵族学校，但为人颇为不羁。
我怀疑风趣的演员哈丽特·沃尔特出于个人原因采取了略微不同的切入点。她姓氏中的 Walter 与创立了世界上最伟大报纸（也就是你正在读的这一份）的氏族有关。但她对他们并不感兴趣，在她笔下，那部分家族分支相当刻板且古板。她着迷的是女性。这完全正确。
英国广播公司 BBC1
{{{((
以一种她显然无法延伸至父亲及其他 Walter 家族男性的方式，她对他经历的多次困境表现出了极大的宽容，这些困境包括陷入债务、被军队开除，随后前往塔斯马尼亚（即当时所称的万代门地 [Van Diemen’s Land]）——在那里的男性，面孔不过是修剪华丽胡须的画布。
那些亲切的名人面孔，那些转向摄像机的瞬间，那熟悉的钢琴曲，那些在镜头前走过的身影，
那些遥远的、沐浴在阳光下的凝视。难怪戴安·摩根（Diane Morgan）在情景喜剧中扮演的邋遢角色曼迪（Mandy）会无情地模仿《你想知道你是谁？》（Who Do You Think You Are?）的陈词滥调，该节目现已播出 23 季。摩根将她的模仿版称为“你认为你是谁？”
她的母亲赞德拉（Xandra）是一位容貌迷人且生活精彩的女性。我们得知，她曾受到丈夫（哈丽叶的父亲）的轻视。沃尔特被告知：“你母亲不够理智，”而更令人心碎的细节是，她对此竟然配合。赞德拉常说：“我并不重要，亲爱的。”但她的女儿知道，赞德拉在战争期间曾在海军部情报局工作，尽管由于赞德拉
他与妻子玛丽亚（Maria）一起在澳大利亚旅行，他们将歌剧带给了大众，尽管吉罗拉莫（Girolamo）依然无法摆脱麻烦，而他的妻子支持他直到最后。我们被告知：“男孩终究是男孩，女孩终究会成为女人。”在沃尔特·卡兰迪尼（Walter Carandini）一家中，真正令人惊艳的绝对是女性。
尽管如此，这是一个极为稳固的节目格式，能够容忍玩笑，尽管效果时好时坏。多年来一些关于家族血缘的揭秘——例如我们发现伊恩的一位亲戚
这位女演员的一位祖先创办了《泰晤士报》
10.30 现代艺术：格莱姆福音 (Art of Now: The Gospel of Grime) 11.00 铁路 (Rales) 11.30 查尔斯·巴黎：致命习惯 (Charles Paris: A Deadly Habit) 12.00 没落的小不列颠 (Little Blighty on the Down) 12.30pm 超出我们的认知 (Beyond Our Ken) 1.00 忏悔室 (The Confessional) 1.30 伦敦之声：首都黑人音乐百年 (Sounds Like London: 100 Years of Black Music in the Capital) 1.45 小岛 (Small Island) 2.00 好奇心博物馆 (The Museum of Curiosity) 2.30 米尔波特 (Millport) 3.00 第一名女侦探事务所 (The No.1 Ladies’ Detective Agency) 3.45 凤凰与地毯 (The Phoenix and the Carpet) 4.00 灵魂音乐 (Soul Music) 4.30 现代艺术：格莱姆福音 (Art of Now: The Gospel of Grime) 5.00 铁路 (Rales) 5.30 查尔斯·巴黎：致命习惯 (Charles Paris: A Deadly Habit) 6.00 没落的小不列颠 (Little Blighty on the Down) 6.30 超出我们的认知 (Beyond Our Ken) 7.00 忏悔室 (The Confessional) 7.30 伦敦之声：首都黑人音乐百年 (Sounds Like London: 100 Years of Black Music in the Capital) 7.45 小岛 (Small Island) 8.00 好奇心博物馆 (The Museum of Curiosity) 8.30 米尔波特 (Millport) 9.00 第一名女侦探事务所 (The No.1 Ladies’ Detective Agency) 9.45 凤凰与地毯 (The Phoenix and the Carpet) 10.00 教区事务 (Parish Matters) 10.30 恩詹比·麦格拉斯：成为恩詹比 (Njambi McGrath: Becoming Njambi)
4.00 talkSPORT 驾驶 (Drive) 7.00 感谢足球，周五快乐 (Thank Football It’s Friday) 10.00 体育酒吧周末版 (The Sports Bar Weekender) 1.00am 额外时间，由本·弗莱彻主持 (Extra Time with Ben Fletcher)
12.04pm 反社会 (AntiSocial) (5/6)
电台选择
1.00 一点钟的世界 (The World at One)
1.45 死兔子 (Dead Rabbit) 宣判结果 (10/10)
2.00 拱手耕耘者 (The Archers) (重播)
2.15 剧集：中央情报局 (Central Intelligence) 多米尼加共和国爆发政变。主演金·卡特拉尔 (4/10)
2.45 走在边缘 (Living on the Edge) (5/10) (重播)
3.45 短篇作品 (Short Works) 4.00 最后一言 (Last Word)
6.00 六点新闻 (Six O’Clock News)
6.30 近况 (Current-ish) 露西·波特（Lucy Porter）与芬利·克里斯蒂（Finlay Christie）、艾米·安妮特（Amy Annette）和克里斯托弗·麦克亚瑟-博伊德（Christopher Macarthur-Boyd）共同探讨 (2/3)
7.15 截屏 (Screenshot) 探讨电影和电视对 UFO 及地外生命的持久痴迷 (5/6) 8.00 有任何问题吗？(Any Questions?) 由亚历克斯·福赛斯（Alex Forsyth）主持
10.00 今夜世界 (The World Tonight)
10.45 荒野暗岸 (Wild Dark Shore) (10/10)
11.30 悦读 (6) (r) 12.00 新闻与天气
数字、网络、智能扬声器、App
5.00am Tom Nunan 主持早间早餐 6.00 Rosie Wright 和 Calum Macdonald 主持《泰晤士报》广播早餐 10.00 Ryan Tubridy 1.00pm Ayesha Hazarika 4.00 Sebastian Payne 主持《泰晤士报》广播驾车时段 7.00 Geoff Norcott
10.00 Henry Bonsu 1.00am 《泰晤士报》广播精选
Radio 2
FM: 88-90.2 MHz 6.30am The Sara Cox 早餐秀 9.30 Vernon Kay 12.00 Jeremy Vine 2.00pm DJ Spoony 4.00 Angela Scanlon 7.00 Michelle Visage 8.30 Michelle Visage 的手袋热门金曲 9.00 Sophie Ellis-Bextor 的厨房迪斯科
仅限数字 6.00am Mark Dolan 10.00 Alex Phillips 1.00pm Ian Collins
6 Music
仅限数字
Virgin Radio
仅限数字
由于我们一直在经历热浪，现在是收听 The Rest Is Politics 推出的名为《当自然成为安全威胁》的新调查系列节目的绝佳时机。该系列由前绿党党魁及国会议员 Caroline Lucas（见上文）主持，基于联合情报委员会的一份政府报告，该报告得出结论：生态系统崩溃必须被视为核心国家安全威胁，这将导致超市货架空空如也、水资源短缺并增加冲突风险。该系列还将探讨 AI 数据中心对我们供水的影响。Clair Woodward
12.30am 穿行彻夜 (r)
10.45 Rhys James 极具魅力
11.00 发声 11.30 Laura Solon：交谈与沉默
Radio 2 音乐会：The Killers (r)
FM: 90.2-92.4 MHz 6.30am 早餐 9.30 核心经典 1.00pm 经典直播，包括英国广播公司 (BBC) 逍鸣音乐节 (Proms) 和奥尔德伯勒艺术节 (Aldeburgh Festival) 的精彩片段。埃尔加（A大调第一交响曲）；德沃夏克（E小调第四钢琴三重奏，Op. 90 — Dumky）；Judith Bingham（月亮与星星）；考沃德（《苦甜》中的 If Love Were All）；莱勒（受虐狂探戈）；桑德海姆（《在前往论坛的路上发生了趣事》中的 The Girls of Summer 和 Love Is in the Air）；舒伯特（献给音乐 D547）；以及沃尔顿（大提琴协奏曲）
MW: 693, 909 5. Wake Up to Money 6.00 5 Live 早餐 9.00 Nicky Campbell 11.00 周五 Chiles 1.00pm Elis James 和 John Robins 2.00 Matt Chorley 4.00 5 Live 驾车时段 7.00 格拉斯哥 2026. 格拉斯哥英联邦运动会第八天 10.00 Stephen Nolan 1.00am Laura McGhie
FM: 92.4-94.6 MHz 5.00am 新闻摘要 5.04 简报室 (5) (r) 5.34 航运预报 5.43 今日祷告
FM: 100-102 MHz 6.30am Dan Walker 主持的 Classic FM 早餐 9.00 名人之堂小时 10.00 Aled Jones 1.00pm Anne-Marie Minhall 4.00 Margherita Taylor 6.00 Jonathan Ross 主持的 Classic FM 电影之声 8.00 Alexander Armstrong 主持的经典聚焦 10.00 宁静经典 2.00am Katie Breathwick
仅限数字
9.30 我的人生时刻 (The Time of My Life) 9.45 每日礼拜 (Daily Service) 10.00 灵魂音乐 (Soul Music)
9.00 荒岛唱片 (Desert Island Discs) (重播)
MW: 1053, 1089 kHz
如果没有这段与过去的至关重要的联系，它将无法生存。年轻一代应当注意到：优秀的低音长号手目前短缺。Victoria Segal
这场音乐会的基调从宇宙宏大转向亲密诗意，最后抵达英国管弦乐传统的一大支柱。Judith Weir的《月亮与星星》(Moon and Star) 为节目揭幕，灵感源自艾米莉·狄金森同名诗作。上半场的核心是布雷特·迪恩 (Brett Dean) 的《世界之妻》(The World’s Wife) 的全球首演，这是一部时长 20 分钟的管弦乐作品，改编自前桂冠诗人卡罗尔·安·达菲 (Carol Ann Duffy) 的诗作。在间奏之后，是埃尔加 (Elgar) 第一交响曲 (Symphony No 1) 的高贵风采，这部作品自 1908 首演以来一直引起轰动。Helen Stewart
英国广播公司苏格兰交响乐团重返普罗姆斯音乐节 (the Proms)，节目将爱德华·埃尔加 (Edward Elgar) 的第一交响曲与两部以截然不同方式反映当代创造力的作品并列。在 Ryan Wigglesworth 的指挥下，当晚将由女高音 Claire Booth 与英国广播公司合唱团 (BBC Singers) 强强联手
本期节目属于“我们的生活”(Our Lives) 系列，聚焦于伊辛顿煤矿乐队 (Easington Colliery Band)，这是一个至关重要的达勒姆社区资产：在该地区最严重的矿难导致 83 人死亡时，该乐队在每一位遇难者的葬礼上演奏。然而，目前唯一仍在演奏的矿工 Peter Lawson 准备退休，并且
与其日间母节目相比，这不过是个小辈。第4频道在 2012 苦苦寻找一个有趣混合形式的时候，恐怕很难想象这次尝试会产生这样一个成功的衍生节目。随着
普罗姆斯音乐节之埃尔加 (BBC4, 7pm) 这部影片询问该乐队是否能够
6.00am 早餐节目
9.30 动物公园 (Animal Park) (重播) (音频描述)
10.15 追踪、寻找，夺回我的车 (Trace, Track, Get My Car Back) (重播)
10.45 专家证人 (Expert Witness) (重播)
12.15pm 淘货猎人 (Bargain Hunt)
1.00 BBC 1点钟新闻；天气预报
1.35 BBC 地区新闻；天气预报
1.45 BBC 1点钟新闻；天气预报
2.00 理发师之谜 (The Hairdresser Mysteries)。一名表演者的突然死亡震惊了剧院庆祝音乐会的筹备工作 (音频描述)
2.45 逃离到乡村 (Escape to the Country)。在安格尔西岛寻找一座石屋 (重播)
6.00 BBC 6点钟新闻；天气预报
6.30 BBC 地区新闻；天气预报
6.30am 不劳而获 (Money for Nothing) (重播)
9.00 BBC 新闻 12.50pm 生命线 (Lifeline) (重播) (音频描述)
1.00 Richard Osman 的游戏之屋 (Richard Osman’s House of Games)。参赛者包括 Dennis Taylor (重播)
1.30 终点线 (The Finish Line)。问答节目 (重播)
2.15 闪电 (Lightning)。由 Zoe Lyons 主持的问答节目 (重播)
2.45 毛绒骑手烘焙之旅 (The Hairy Bikers’ Bakeation)。两人组合在奥地利通过烘焙之旅探索 (重播) (音频描述)
6.00 Richard Osman 的游戏之屋 (Richard Osman’s House of Games)。Karen Hauer, Storm Huntley, Joe Marler 和 Tom Read Wilson 参加问答 (重播)
6.30 仅此一项 (Just One Thing)。Clive Myrie 赞扬做俯卧撑的好处 (r) (AD)
6.00am 英国早安 (Good Morning Britain) 10.00 This Morning 1.00pm ITV 新闻；天气 1.30 ITV 赛马。Ed Chamberlin 和 Francesca Cumani 为您带来古德伍德盛会 (Glorious Goodwood) 第四日的现场报道，包括主赛卡塔尔国王乔治锦标赛 (Qatar King George Stakes) 以及另外四场支持赛事。分析由 Jason Weaver 和 Hayley Turner 提供，Rishi Persad、Sally Ann Grassick 和 Luke Harvey 负责报道，Mark Johnson 提供赛事解说
6.00 地区新闻；天气 6.30 ITV 新闻；天气
6.25am 欢笑 (Cheers) (r)
7.45 每个人都爱雷蒙 (Everybody Loves Raymond) (r) (AD) 9.10 弗雷泽 (Frasier) (r) (AD)
11.10 拉姆齐厨房噩梦美国版 (Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares USA)。为一家南方美食餐厅提供帮助 (r)
12.05pm 第四频道新闻摘要 12.10 寻找、修复、出售 (Find It, Fix It, Flog It)。一个旧电视柜被改装成了狗床 (r) (AD)
1.10 大宅赠送 (The Great House Giveaway)。利物浦的一栋 II 级登录建筑被翻修 (r)
6.00am Milkshake! 9.15 Jeremy Vine
4.00 城堡 (Castle)。一名急诊室医生在街头被杀，Castle 和 Beckett 很快发现受害者是一名为作者一位老友经营的 Maia 家族服务的黑帮医生 (r)
6.00 马耳他：地中海之珠 (Malta: The Jewel of the Med)。镜头聚焦于马耳他最熟练的船长在大港 (Grand Harbour) 航行的场景，并参观了演员 Oliver Reed 点最后一次酒的英国酒吧。本系列最后一集 (r) 6.55 5 News Update
7.00 Iolo 的安格尔西 (Iolo’s Anglesey) Iolo Williams 观察威尔士最大岛屿安格尔西 (Anglesey) 的动植物群 (1/4) (r)
7.30 山毛榉林花园 (Beechgrove Garden) 团队规划冬季事宜，Ruth Vichos 展示如何栽培雪滴花，Calum Clunie 收集鲁冰花种子
9.00 贝尔加拉克 (Bergerac) 一封威胁信证实了 Jim 的直觉，即他们在 Cate 谋杀案中拘留的人并非真凶 (3/6) (AD)
9.45 QI XL Sandi Toksvig 主持扩展版，Maisie Adam、Susan Calman、Josh Widdicombe 和 Alan Davies 围绕“测试”主题回答问题 (r)
12.40am 高尔夫：女子公开赛集锦 兰开夏郡大满贯赛第二天赛况 1.40 Sign Zone：《阿米蒂维尔：起源故事》(r) (AD, SL) 2.30 Andy Burnham：Laura Kuenssberg 访谈 (r) (SL) 3.00-3.30 Natalie Cassidy：共同护理 (r) (AD, SL)
7.30 Abbey Clancy：名流之家 Abbey 参观 Sheree Murphy 和 Caprice 的住宅 (4/6)
8.00 Emmerdale Claudette 承认了一件事，而 Nicola 担心她与 Jimmy 的感情生活变得枯燥 (AD)
8.30 Coronation Street Cassie 在 Steve 和 Tyrone 面前失去了第二次机会，Betsy 在回家后面对巨大的变化 (AD)
11.05 ITV 十点新闻；天气预报；随后是地区新闻
11.55 走进朗廷酒店：英国首家豪华酒店 一名婚礼策划师全力以赴，打造一场令人惊叹的婚礼 (2/6) (r) (AD)
12.30am 电视购物 3.00 自然之力 (r) (AD, SL) 3.50 失散多年的家人 (r) (AD, SL) 4.45-6.00 与 ITV 一起放松
7.00 第四频道新闻
7.00 度假骗局：不要被坑 Alexis Conran 及其团队打击那些在人们旅行时（无论是在英国还是在世界另一端）觊觎钱包、证件和计划的骗子 (r)
1.00am Cruise TV with LoveitBookit (r) 2.00 Shoplifters: Catch Me If You Can。名店中的涉嫌盗窃者 (r) 2.50 马耳他：地中海之珠 (r) 3.45 朋友 (r) (AD) 4.35 高地兽医 (r) (SL) 5.25 5频道娱乐新闻 5 5.35 Milo (r) (SL) 5.45-6.00 帕丁顿的冒险 (r) (SL)
7.00 The One Show 由 Vernon Kay 和 JB Gill 主持的平日杂志节目
7.30 Our Lives: The Last Miner in the Band 达勒姆郡的 Easington 矿区管乐团在为一场重要音乐会做准备。详见当日推荐
9.00 Would I Lie to You? 嘉宾包括 Kadeena Cox, Ivo Graham, Harriet Kemsley 和 Eddie Marsan (3/9) (r)
9.30 Ann Droid Linda 拖着 Sue 前往海边撒骨灰，这引发了一次游乐园之旅，而一次过山车骑行最终出了差错 (3/6) (AD)
10.00 英国广播公司十点新闻
10.30 英国广播公司地区新闻和天气预报
10.40 Austin Austin 遵循一本浪漫喜剧手册来追求 Haley (7/8) (AD)
11.05 Austin Ingrid 离开了 Big Bear，Austin 放弃了名声，Mel 冲去阻止一场辞职，而 Haley 可能是那个正确的人。该系列最后一集 (AD)
11.35 电影：《闻到女人的香味》(15, 1992) 一位酗酒的盲眼前士兵雇佣一名胆小的大学生陪他度过一个疯狂的周末，之后他计划自杀。由 Al Pacino 和 Chris O’Donnell 主演的喜剧剧情片 (AD)
2.10am-6.00 英国广播公司新闻
Jimmy Carr 饰演校长兼欺负者，该节目冲向了一波超现实幽默、数学、仪式化羞辱、拼写和谜题的浪潮。2009, 年加入《Countdown》本身的 Rachel Riley 提供了算术权威，而与资深词典编纂者 Susie Dent (1992) 一起带来了长期忍受的呻吟。队长 Jon Richardson 和 Rob Beckett 迎来了 Harriet Kemsley 和 Richard Ayoade 的加入。特邀嘉宾是 Nick Mohammed 和 Joe Wilkinson。HS
关于地域重要性的惆怅回忆，其中 Snoopy 和 Woodstock 意识到友谊的重要性。一如既往，对我们成年人来说，亮点是与老好人 Charlie Brown 那些忧郁的间奏。Andrew Male
Hamilton 及其在 Barnsdale 恒久的花园。VS
常规的 Mr Normal 渴望正常的生活，但必须首先消灭十亿个坏蛋。这个项目是由 Odenkirk 在拍摄 2021 年的《Nobody》（Odenkirk 的另一个动作系列）期间构思的，它就像是对那个残酷系列的刻意解药。Odenkirk 饰演的 Ulysses 警长被妻子抛弃，正死守着一份摇摇欲坠的职业。这为一群日本雅库扎暴徒的进入以及大量的枪战、折颈和尸体爆炸铺平了道路。(88min) Kevin Maher
如果这个节目能教会你什么，那就是潜心钻研园艺的人很少有机会活在当下：当夏天达到顶峰时，Monty Don 已经在提前计划，思考未来的蔬菜收获。他还用晚季多年生植物更新了他的花坛，并驯服了一株蔓生玫瑰。不过，这里也有回顾的机会，即 Adam Frost 对《Gardeners’ World》中坚力量 Geoff 的致敬。
Snoopy Presents: There’s No Place Like Home, Snoopy Apple TV
当 Charlie Brown 的妹妹 Sally 组织一次庭院拍卖时，她设法处理掉了所有东西，包括一座玩偶屋。嗯，她不小心卖掉的是 Snoopy 的狗屋。由此引发了一系列
Ben Wheatley 执导了这部精彩的 Bob Odenkirk 动作片，讲述了一个
Film4
Talking Pictures
8.55am Heir Hunters 10.00 Four in a Bed 12.40pm Come Dine with Me (AD) 3.20 Four in a Bed 5.50 George Clarke’s Old House, New Home (AD)
6.55 地段，地段，还是地段。西约克郡和大曼彻斯特地区的房屋搜索 (AD)
7.55 宏伟设计。一座灵感来自巨型农舍的家庭住宅的进度 (3/12) (AD)
9.00 索默达尔谋杀案。丹深受一起谋杀案的影响，在进行 Joseine Sundby 调查的同时深入挖掘该罪案，但当他受到怀疑时感到沮丧。丹麦语
6.00am Classic FM Live Summer Concert 2026 8.00 绘画之乐 9.00 意外故事 (AD) 10.00 希区柯克呈献 11.00 发现：查尔斯·布朗森 (AD) 12.00 电影：《阿加莎·克里斯蒂的闪烁氰化物》(12, TVM, 2003) 1.55pm 希区柯克小时 (黑白) 3.00 七十年代 (AD) 4.00 发现：彼得·奥图尔 (AD)
女子高尔夫球现场 Sky Sports Main Event, Sky Sports Golf, 9am-7pm 报道在兰开夏郡皇家利瑟姆和圣安妮高尔夫俱乐部举行的女子公开赛第二天赛事
— Greatest Hits: Live in Copenhagen
11.20 Gary Numan Resurrection 1.00am Greatest Albums Live 2.00 Boy George & Culture Club 4.00 花园艺术 5.00am6.00 朱莉·安德鲁斯 永远 (AD)
1.05am 999: On the Front Line (AD)
2020) 詹姆斯·巴奇·戴尔和马林·爱尔兰主演的神秘恐怖片
网球现场 Sky Sports +, 5pm-7.30, Sky Sports Tennis, 5pm-2am 美国威廉·H.G. 菲茨杰拉德网球中心华盛顿特区公开赛第五日赛事
ITV4
ITV2
6.00am 电视购物 7.20 警队 (The Bill) 8.15 医生 9.30 经典霍比城市 10.50 急救 (AD) 11.50 警队 (The Bill) 12.50pm 经典东区东区 (EastEnders)
6.00am 马格南，私家侦探 7.00 邓普西和梅克皮斯 (AD) 9.10 Boon
7.00pm 追踪报道 7.05 平静生活。喜剧短片 7.15 致命 60. 不列颠哥伦比亚省海域的海洋生物 7.45 电影：《博物馆奇妙夜》(PG, 2006) 奇幻喜剧，本·斯蒂勒和迪克·范·戴克主演 (AD)
6.00am 乔治和米尔德里德 7.05 经典艾默代尔 (AD) 8.10 经典街道冠冕 (AD) 9.10 霜之触 (AD) 11.20 心跳 (AD) 1.30pm 米德萨默谋杀案 (AD) 3.35 经典艾默代尔 (AD) 4.10 经典街道冠冕 (AD) 5.50 心跳。乡村剧情系列剧 (AD)
6.00am 后院建造 (SL) 6.30 交易或不交易 (AD) 7.30 盛装出席 (AD, SL) 8.25 Sam and Billie: Sister Act 9.25 埃塞克斯唯一方式 10.25 盐湖城真实主妇 11.20 橙县真实主妇 12.10pm 晚餐之约 (AD) 1.10 超市大抢购 2.10 The Floor USA (AD) 3.10 埃塞克斯唯一方式 4.10 盐湖城真实主妇 5.00 橙县真实主妇
10.15 专业人士 (AD) 11.25 舍伍德的罗宾 12.30pm 马格南，私家侦探 2.35 邓普西和梅克皮斯 (AD) 3.45 Boon 4.50 专业人士 (AD) 6.00 河中怪兽。追踪一条涉嫌杀害一名女性的鱼 6.30 英国房车锦标赛亮点。来自汉普郡的 Thruxton 赛道
8.00 Beat the Chasers — 名人特辑。参赛者包括乔纳森·罗斯（Jonathan Ross）和埃德温娜·库里（Edwina Currie）
10.00 全精英摔角：Dynamite 12.00 擂台暗面。克里斯·贝诺伊特 1.00am 保姆 (AD, SL)
1.55-2.45 两个半男人 3.30am-4.00 赛车世界
6.00am 电影：《就在现场》(U, 1954) 7.30 1969 7.35 电影：《沙漠之鼠》(U, 1959) (黑白) 9.15 电影：《这是一个美好的世界》(U, 1956) 11.00 露西秀 11.30 电影：《拉克斯代尔大厅》(U, 1953) (黑白) 1.05pm 埃德加·华莱士推理剧场 (黑白) 2.15 罗宾汉历险记 (黑白)
2.45 电影：《也许我会在春天回家》(12, TVM, 1971) 4.20 歌曲节 4.30 骗子 (黑白) 5.00 战争中的家庭
6.00 汉内 (Hannay)
11.00pm 超自然 (5/8) 12.05am 电影：《曼斯特》(18, 1960) 科幻恐怖片 (黑白) 1.40am-
现场直播 The Hundred：曼彻斯特超级巨人队男子组 v 特伦特火箭队男子组 Sky Sports Cricket, 6pm-9.30 (开始时间 6.30)。地点：老特拉福德板球场
2.00 邻居 3.00 天空中的派 4.05 拉夫乔伊 5.20 岁月静好 6.00 夏日之终
11.20 沉默的证人。尼基前往墨西哥参加葬礼 (AD) 1.55am 拉夫乔伊 2.40 岁月静好 3.10 达比和琼 (SL) 4.00am-6.00 电视购物
9.30 路德维希。约翰试图证明露西的清白，而她此时卷入了一场谋杀阴谋 (AD)
10.55 幽灵 澳大利亚版。凯特承认幽灵是真的 11.15 幽灵 澳大利亚版。凯特的计划被一场寻宝活动打乱
12.10am 伦敦生活 (Fleabag)。该喜剧的五集内容 (AD) 2.25am-3.50 理想国 (Ideal)
8.00 马丁医生。莫温娜的父母来访，而露易莎的在线课程进展不顺 (4/8) (AD)
现场直播 SPFL：邓迪联 v 游骑兵队 Sky Sports Main Event, Sky Sports Football, 7pm-10.30 (开球 8.00)。地点：塔纳代斯球场
现场直播 超级联赛：莱格豹队 v 威根勇士队 Sky Sports +, Sky Sports Action, 7.30pm-10.15 (开球 8.00)。莱格体育村赛事报道
— 令乔迪担心 (2/6) (AD) 11.50 审判与惩罚 (2/10) 1.25am-2.25 威克利夫
U&Yesterday
Sky Atlantic
BBC1 Scotland
6.00am 2000年代 (r) 7.00 发现：伊恩·麦克莱恩 (r) (AD) 8.00 导演们 (r) (AD) 9.00 城市秘密 (r) 10.00 俄亥俄州立大学生存记 (r) 12.00 在线：理查德·威廉姆斯故事 (r) (AD)
6.00am 理查德·E·格兰特的酒店秘密 (r) (AD) 8.00 亿万 (r) (AD) 10.10 任务 (r) (AD) 12.30pm 谋杀：街道生活 (r) 2.20 亿万 (r) (AD) 4.30 任务 (r) (AD)
10.40 权力地图 11.50 肃清空气：反烟雾战争 1.00pm 富饶的美国
1.35 征服者：兴衰录 2.35 海盗：传奇背后 3.35 权力地图 4.45 净化空气：反烟雾之战
5.55 富饶的美国
11.00 海盗：传奇背后 12.00 权力地图 1.15am-
6.10am 被遗忘的工程
(AD) 8.00 破车与现金 (AD) 10.00 纳粹秘密基地 11.00
奥斯威辛：纳粹与最终解决方案 12.00 古董路演
(1992) 2.40am-6.00 英国广播公司新闻
7.55 真探：夜之国。纳瓦罗和丹弗斯获得关于一名 Tsalal 前员工的线索 (3/6) (r) (AD)
2.00pm 破车与现金：修复经典 (AD) 4.00 纳粹秘密基地 5.00 奥斯威辛：纳粹与最终解决方案
6.00 古董路演
8.00 《有些母亲确实有他们》。由迈克尔·克劳福德主演的喜剧 10.00 《坟墓边的一只脚》
10.40 破车与现金：修复经典。一辆低里程的 MGC (AD)
12.40am 破车与现金 (AD) 1.40 寻找、修复、转卖 (AD) 2.35 伟大的英国铁路之旅
3.00am-6.10 电视购物
1.50pm 我的偶像：卡丁·科宾 (r) (AD) 2.00 电影：《博比·罗宾逊：不仅仅是一个教练》(12, 2018) (AD) 4.00 导演们 (r) (AD)
5.00 探索：伊恩·麦克莱恩。这位演员的生平与职业生涯 (r) (AD)
6.00 电影：《走钢丝的人》(12, 2008) 1974 8.00 年在世界贸易中心双塔之间走钢丝 8.00 里克·梅亚尔：绝妙的混蛋。向这位喜剧演员致敬 (r)
10.00 Fatboy Slim：就在这里，就在此刻。关于 2002 年一次活动的真实故事 (r)
11.50 电影：《Val》(12, 2021) (AD)
2.00am 文艺复兴集市。该系列的全部三季 (r) (AD) 5.05am-6.00 探索：伊恩·麦克莱恩 (r) (AD)
7.30pm-8.00 气象预报员漫步精选。山间漫步
7.00pm-7.30 海岸与乡村
7.00pm STV 广播足球接管 7.30-8.00 苏格兰动态 12.30am-3.00 电视购物 4.45am-6.00 与 STV 一起放松
英国广播公司苏格兰频道 (BBC Scotland)
7.00pm 报道苏格兰：七点新闻 7.30 苏格兰最伟大的逃脱 (r) 8.00 现场急救员 (r) 9.00 Rikki (r) 10.00 依然在赛 (r) 10.30 两门之隔 (r) 11.00pm-12.00 尽情狂欢 (r)
S4C 6.00am Cyw 12.00 新闻 12.05pm Pysgod i Bawb (r) 12.30 Heno (r) 1.00 Y Ci Perffaith (r) 1.30 Dan Do (r) 2.00 新闻 2.05 Prynhawn Da
3.00 新闻 3.05 Ty Fit (r) 4.00 Awr Fawr: Octonots (r) 4.10 Og y Draenog Hapus (r) 4.20 Misho (r)
4.30 Joni Jet (r) 4.45 Parc Glan Gwil (r) 5.00 Stwnsh: Byd Rwtsh Dai Potsh (r) 5.15 Y Doniolis (r) 5.25 Taclo’r Tywydd (r) 5.45 Y Smyrffs (r) 6.00 Gerddi Cymru (r) 6.30 全国艺术节 7.30 新闻
8.00 共同体的宝石 2026 10.30pm-11.35 Gwesty Aduniad (r)
BBC4
BBC3 艺术与戏剧 (U&Drama)
More4
ITV3
Variations PBS 美国频道
8.55 TOTP: 2000。演出嘉宾包括 Tom Jones & Stereophonics 以及 Kelis 9.25 TOTP: 1977。包含 Showaddywaddy 和 Thin Lizzy 的音乐
西洋双陆棋 Chris Bray
密码字 No 5907
© PUZZLER MEDIA
（那个时代的时钟），他接受了再翻倍。观众们简直不敢相信。博彩商的赔率表已经爆表。在黑方用双 2 移出三个棋子后，当 Royset 掷出双 6（boxes）时，人们的认知达到了崩溃的边缘 —— 现场一片混乱！四轮之后，他掷出了双 5，并在此后不久抢占了四个点位。
蒙特卡洛的压力
当你读到这篇文章并享用早晨的燕麦片时，今年世界锦标赛的决赛阶段将在蒙特卡洛拉开帷幕。大多数决赛都会产生纯粹的戏剧性时刻，今天我们将时间拨回到 2003 年。那年的决赛是由以色列的 Moshe Tissona 和挪威的 Jon Royset 争夺。
Tissona 显然崩溃了，比赛的其余部分虽然并非没有亮点，但多少有些虎头蛇尾，最终 Royset 以 25-20 获胜。
在这场 25 分制的比赛中，两人战平在 17-17。下一局至关重要。起初，Royset（白方）占据优势并要求对方翻倍，但 Tissona 逐渐扭转了局势。当他掷出三组双 5 并在赛跑中取得领先时，出现了下方的局面，轮到 Tissona（黑方）掷骰。他要求再翻倍，Royset 陷入沉思。
现在的关键问题是：应该接受吗？这场争论一直持续到深夜，直到计算机介入才最终定论。结论是 Royset 应该弃赛，但差距微乎其微。仅凭 Pip 计数来看，这显然应该弃赛，但白方更好的棋子分布使得这次决策极其接近“接受”。Royset 因为在极端压力下有勇气接受再翻倍而赢得了掌声。
在锦标赛开始前，一名接受了 400-1 赔率、投注额为 €400（当时约为 £280）押注 Tissona 的博彩商脸色开始变得非常苍白。大约 300 名通过闭路电视观看的观众（包括本专栏作者）都在呼吁 Royset 放弃。时间似乎凝固了。经过十分钟的深度研究（当时还没有
铺设轨道，使火车能从 A 村行驶到 B 村。数字表示每行和每列中有多少段轨道。仅有直线段和曲线段。轨道不能自交。
最后一次见到那位博彩商时，他正在饮用一杯香槟。
Quintagram®
No 2634
chrisbraybg@gmail.com
使用下方的每个字母仅一次，解决所有五个隐晦线索
这个十字谜题风格网格中的每个字母都由 1 到 26 的数字表示。字母表中的每个字母在网格中至少出现一次。利用已提供的字母推导出进一步字母的身份。在主网格和较小的参考网格中填入字母，直到所有 26 个字母都被核实。专有名词除外。昨天的答案，正确
Cluelines 卡在密码词上了？如需接收 4 个随机提示，请致电 0901 293 6262 或发送 TIMECODE 至 64343。通话费用为 £1 另加您的电话公司网络接通费。短信费用为 £1 另加您的标准网络费。如需完整答案，请致电 0905 757 0142。如果您持有旧报纸并需要过去 7 天的提示，请致电 0905 624 0024。致电 0905 的费用为每分钟 £1 另加您的电话公司网络接通费。SP：Spoke, 0333 202 3390（周一至周五，上午 9 点至下午 5.30 点）。
M
S
Y
A
U
Y
E
A
A
R
E
制胜之手 (Winning Move)
T A
T F
白方走子。此局面是 Sargsyan-Nazari 在 chess.com 2026 年 Titled Tuesday 比赛中的一个变例。
A A C C D D D E H I I M M N N N N O O O O O O P R S S S T T U U
E U
O N
S A
N R
在这里白方多出一个兵，但需要解决一些严重的问题。首先，黑方有一个强大的威胁，即走 ... Bxb3，这将导致局面崩溃。其次，e4象受到了尴尬的牵制，因此自然的防守 1 Bc2 会导致 1 ... Qxf4。你能发现白方巧妙的战术解决方案吗？
N
L U
timesbookshop.co.uk
I
S A
在 thetimes.com/puzzles 和 Live 应用程序上解决周三和周五的 Ponder 填字游戏
K O
K D
C
R
H
L
F
M
P
B
C
I
K
将字母水平或垂直地滑回网格中以完成填字游戏。字母允许滑过其他字母。
Futoshiki No 5447
仅使用数字 1 到 9 填充网格。每组水平或垂直白色方格中的数字之和等于其左侧或上方的三角形中的总数。同一数字在行或列中可以出现多次，但在同一组白色方格中不能重复。
. WWW.KENKEN.COM
© 2010 KENKEN PUZZLE & TM NEXTOY. DIST. BY UFS, INC
© PUZZLER MEDIA
填充空白方格，使每行和每列仅包含 1 到 5 的每个数字一次。方格之间的符号表示一个数字比相邻数字大 (>) 还是小 (<)。
每行和每列必须出现所有 1 到 6 的数字。在每个粗线“区块”中，左上角的数字是根据区块内所有单元格的数字，使用符号所示的运算计算得出的。
只需从左到右按照指令操作，从给定的数字开始，以得出最后的答案。
将网格划分为正方形或长方形区块，每个区块仅包含一个数字。每个区块必须包含该数字所示的单元格数量。
© PUZZLER MEDIA
答案 (ANSWER)
1 2 3 4 5 6
将其减半 (HALVE IT)
+
– 37
1/4
部分 (OF IT)
答案 (ANSWER)
+
翻倍 (DOUBLE IT)
翻倍 (DOUBLE IT)
1/4
三倍 (TRIPLE IT)
– 117 ÷ 6
中等 MEDIUM 45 + 56 ÷ 5
10
部分 (OF IT)
11 12
答案 (ANSWER)
– 427 + 63 x 6
减半 (HALVE IT)
÷ 4
– 123
更难 HARDER 789 翻倍 DOUBLEIT
翻倍 (DOUBLE IT)
÷ 4
13 14 15 16
17
18 19
在网格中填入 1 到 9 的每个数字，使六组求和正确。我们已经放置了两个数字让你开始。每组求和应从左到右或从上到下计算。
利用这些字母组成四个或更多字母的单词，且必须包含中心字母。答案必须出自《牛津简明词典》，排除大写单词、复数、动词变体（过去时等）、以 LY 结尾的副词、比较级和最高级。评分标准：9 个单词为一般；13 个为良好；18 个为很好；24 个为极佳。
20 21
22 23
© PUZZLER MEDIA
昨天的答案：eyot, gene, genet, genotype, gent, gone, neep, nope, note, ogee, open, peen, pent, peon, peony, peyote, poet, pogey, pone, pongee, poteen, teen, teeny, tenge, toey, tone, tope, topee, type
15 乳制涂抹酱 (6)
18 花园传粉者 (9)
23 停止 (6) 向下
1 无趣的，陈词滥调的 (5)
3 乡村风情的 (6)
5 协助 (4,3)
10 敏锐 (10) 14 无原则的 (7)
横向 1 教堂房间 (6) 4 家伙 (4)
请注意，BODMAS（运算优先级）不适用
Kakuro 4405
Quick Cryptic 3367
Codeword 5906
Train Tracks 2931
Sudoku 16,986
Killer 10,850
Sudoku 16,987
Killer 10,851
Sudoku 16,988
Tetonor 696
66
17
22
25
33 x 2 10 + 7 1 + 24 11 x 2
需要今天的谜题帮助吗？请拨打 0905 757 0143 查询答案。通话费用为每分钟 £1 另加您的电话公司网络接入费。SP：分机 0333 202 3390（周一至周五 上午9点至下午5.30点）。
19
70 13
32 35
4 + 15 4 x 8 2 + 33 7 x 10
24 20
36
桥牌 Andrew Robson
11 + 2 18 x 2 1 x 24 18 + 2
23
60 12
42
2 + 21 15 x 4 8 + 4 21 x 2
(b) 强迫对方两个花色出牌的强迫叫法（take-out），确保在未叫的花色中至少有四个。例如 ♠AJ62, ♥J4, ♦AQ753, ♣42。
(c) 同样是强迫叫法，但在第一轮被阻碍，例如 ♠2,♥K62,♦AJ74, ♣AJ432（并非 2♣ 强迫叫法）。
(d) 强迫叫法，但不必太严肃，因为你上次没能叫牌。现在你处于保护性（“欺骗”）位置，必须大胆地将他们推高一个等级。例如 ♠J742, ♥862, ♦A8, ♣AJ72。
(e) 罚叫。针对 1NT 开叫的加倍是唯一的非强迫叫法（如果你没有无将牌，怎么可能叫强迫叫法？），显示任何 16 分或以上的牌型。如果你有良好的首攻牌，可以稍微体现出来，例如 ♠K2,♥A2,♦AKJ1062,♣1083。
(f) 红心强迫叫法，同 (a)。
我们开始下一个“前二十”系列：前二十大叫牌约定（不分重要性顺序）。1. 强迫加倍 (Take-out double)。强迫加倍在术语中如此根深蒂固，以至于人们不再将其视为一种约定。然而，严格来说，在桥牌中，加倍是对合同不能完成的赌注——旨在增加罚分：这就是现今所知的“罚叫加倍 (penalty double)”。
Cell Blocks 5789 Set Square 4408 Lexica 9023
1 2 2 2 2 4 4 7 8 10 11 15 18 21 24 33
T H R I C E
A R
K H A K I
I S
N I
G I G S
Lexica 9024
Futoshiki 5446
KenKen 6898
人们很快意识到，对开局花色叫法的加倍并不最适合作为罚叫——毕竟，加倍者的搭档还没有叫牌，可能持有任何牌。于是语言演变，在搭档叫牌之前，加倍最好被用作一种人工手段，要求搭档强迫对方叫出其花色，即“强迫加倍”。
M B
F L U X A
U R N
R E M O T E
L U I
D R I P
事实上，语言仍在继续演变，以至于即使搭档已经叫牌，某些加倍仍是强迫叫法（或具有上下文中的“强迫性”含义）。稍后详细讨论。
今日解答
♦♠♥♣A4AQ65942K632
庄家 W
Cryptic Quintagram
Sakuro 4808
Concise Quintagram
Brain Trainer
5 钻石
1 猪
简单 65 中等 124 较难 243
♠♥♦♣J96532109785J4
♥♦♣♠108J843AKQJ7Q8
N W E S
同时，考虑以下加倍（括号内为对方叫法）。
♠♥♦♣KQ7K21063A10975
词汇观察
问答
1 尼斯湖 2 纽约市 3 威廉·莎士比亚 4 二 5 蒂莫西·道尔顿 6 弗洛伊德 7 警察乐队 8 峰区 9 西尔维娅·普拉斯 10 硫磺 11 奈比奥洛 12 戴安娜·阿西尔 13 康斯坦丁·科罗温 14 英里世界纪录。指在 222 秒内跑完一英里 15 雪莉·汤普森
内页
五十种绿色：最符合趋势的沙发 第 7 页
Plus
北极光 为什么伦敦人正迁往曼彻斯特 第 8 页
买房、卖房、搬迁、改善。您的每周房产指南
更多教堂如何被出售并转化为住宅
封面：创意概念由 CHARLIE ACORS 提供，图像由 GEMINI 实现 第 2-3 页：ARTHUR SIMPSON - 房地产与租赁代理
22-39 岁的伦敦单身专业人士无法负担每月 £1,500 的新建租赁工作室
来源：JLL
待售房屋总量
达成销售 6%
4%
东北部T Scotland 约克郡与亨伯地区 西南部 伦敦 西北部 英格兰东部 东南部 西米德兰兹东米德兰兹 威尔士 英国
-3%
3%
5% 8%
-3%
6% 5%
4%
5%
-4%
-6% 3%
North Roe Kirk 建于 1870 年苏格兰长老会鼎盛时期，是设在设得兰群岛的一座简朴的白色抹灰石砌教堂，其小钟楼俯瞰着
截至 2026 年 7 月 19 日的 4 周 vs 一年前同期
来源：Zoopla
布拉沃（Burra Voe）美丽且避风的海湾。在近 150 年的时间里，它忠实地服务于英国最北端的信众之一，直到出席人数最终下降，说服了其所有者苏格兰教会，认为它已超出需求。2019 年，这座教堂被挂牌出售。
通过仅限女性的 TaskHer 应用程序与女性贸易从业者建立联系的客户
来源：TaskHer
信众减少和维修成本上升意味着更多的前礼拜场所进入市场——但改造并非总那么容易。作者：Malcolm Jack
苏格兰建筑师 Craig Miller 曾居住在新加坡，但一直在寻找一个回到故土的改造项目。“它位于山顶，拥有绝佳的海景，”他在谈到 North Roe Kirk 时说，“我通过照片就爱上了它。”这里没有被列为受保护建筑，没有墓地导致情况复杂，且要价极具吸引力。尽管从未访问过设得兰群岛，Miller 仍提交了报价，并最终以仅 £38,000 的价格买下了这座前教堂。
£500 万以上市场的销售额正受到美国和海湾地区买家涌入的推动
£5m-£10m £10m+
仅建筑本身的费用据称就已达到 10 亿英镑，而近期英国政府削减教堂维修的增值税（VAT）减免，进一步加剧了这种情况，压力日益增加，人们必须尽快为这些珍贵的建筑寻找可持续的新用途——以免某些建筑为时已晚。
200 150 100 50 0
在 1950 年代，大约有 130 万人在周日参加苏格兰教会的礼拜。如今，人数仅为 60,000 人。苏格兰教会总信托主席 Scott Rennie 牧师表示，通过对一个为截然不同的苏格兰而建立的教会地产进行规模缩减，他们“解决了前几代人本应处理但缺乏勇气去面对的棘手问题”。
2020 Q1 2022 2024 2026
在与当地建筑事务所 Née Gibson 的合作下，他着手将这座教堂改造成一栋拥有两间卧室的、兼顾居家感与度假租赁功能的住宅。结构调查显示，需要进行大规模的墙体加固并完全更换屋顶。
来源：Savills
英国税务海关总署（HMRC）必须支付给开发商 Christian Candy 的印花税多付退款及利息，该款项追溯至 2012 年
新冠疫情导致材料价格飙升，而岛上的劳动力短缺拉长了工期。然而，大多数典型的教堂改造陷阱——如复杂的规划问题、隐藏的墓穴——并未出现，预算也控制在合理的超支范围内。North Roe Kirk 于 2024 年完工，此后获得了一项建筑奖，它以简单而优雅的方式证明了一座闲置的礼拜场所如何获得新生。
处置计划于 2023 年开始，预计在其五年期限内将释放约 400 至 450 栋建筑。到目前为止，苏格兰教会直接列出待售的教堂有 24 座，价格从内恩附近的一座小型乡村教堂（起拍价 £35,000 以上）到每座约 25 万英镑的大型郊区教堂及教堂综合体不等。2025 年，出售给私人住宅买家的总数占 35%，其次是社区团体（30%）、开发商（16%）和其他信仰团体（9%）。
这类住宅改造？绝对发生在边境以北，因为苏格兰教会正处于一项激进计划之中，旨在 2028 年前处置其 30% 至 40% 的建筑。
来源：上级税务法庭 (Upper Tier Tax Tribunal)
超过一半向年轻一代提供资金的人是在帮助他们购买房产
许多房产的成交价甚至低于伦敦一个停车位的价格
私人住宅改造正成为这些被出售建筑最常见的结果，其中许多房产的成交价低于伦敦一个停车位的价格。然而，改造费用总是很高，有时会让没有准备好——或运气不佳的——买家陷入装修地狱。
房产购置 | 一般生活支持 | 教育费用 | 婚礼费用 | 债务支持 | 学生贷款偿还
51% | 20%
“它们是坚固的建筑，”米勒在谈到教堂时说。“它们已经屹立了几百年。那么，为什么不投资让它们再延续几个世纪呢？”
8% | 5% | 4%
英格兰和威尔士的教会管理机构面临着与苏格兰相同的压力，并且也在处置教堂，尽管由于复杂的法律和遗产原因，速度较慢。由于英格兰教会的维修账单积压，没有资源来维护所有这些建筑。
雷尼承认，对于当地社区来说，处置教堂总是具有“情感色彩”的，且“并非最佳结果”。“但我们确实达到了一个地步，诚实地说，我们没有
随着全英国教堂会众的减少，以及越来越多的礼拜场所被宣布为冗余，英国是否正处于新一波教堂转住宅改造的边缘？
2%
*对 2,100 名 45 岁及以上英国成人的调查 来源：私人办公室 (The Private Office)
the times | Friday July 31 2026 3
什么能买到 . . .
£1 million
极有可能永久确保该建筑的未来，同时也有助于提供额外的住房”。
然而，这一过程总是非常缓慢。与苏格兰教会由中央主导的管理模式不同，英格兰教会基于教区的结构使得关闭决定根植于当地会众。每座教堂的处置都必须通过“使命与牧业措施” (mission and pastoral measure) —— 这是一个繁琐的法定程序，涉及
德文郡 (Devon)
£1 million
Kerswell Springs 是德文郡的一座长屋，拥有粉刷成白色的石墙、茅草屋顶和眉形老虎窗。在其两英亩的土地内，有一个由泉水自然充盈的游泳池、一座夏日小屋、一个苹果园和正式花园。该房屋设有三个接待室、四个卧室、两个浴室以及一个健身房和一个舒适小室 (snug)。该房产靠近查德利 (Chudleigh) 小镇，距离达特穆尔国家公园 (Dartmoor National Park) 约四英里。埃克塞特 (Exeter) 距离九英里。EPC 评级为 E（潜在为 C）—— 评级范围从 A（最佳）到 G（最差）。优点：双车库。缺点：燃油加热。联系方式：jackson-stops.co.uk
咨询、正式异议、替代用途搜索、
规划许可、限制性契约，以及通常涉及教堂墓地和安葬问题的微妙
谈判。大约四分之三的英格兰教会教堂是法定保护建筑，这进一步增加了难度。
“但我们确实达到了一个地步，诚实地说，我们没有资源来维护所有这些建筑，”他说。
每次销售的利润都留在当地教区。Rennie表示，这笔资金使得“我们保留的建筑群迎来了有史以来规模最大的投资计划”。从艺术场馆到攀岩中心和书店，社区用途是销售后的首选结果，但如果能“得体且审慎地”进行，教会并不反对将其转换为住宅。Rennie说：“无论是在当地地区还是在城市中，都有许多非常成功的教堂改造案例。”
复杂性。教会委员会议闭教堂团队的Adrian Browning表示：“总体而言，该系统运行良好，但由于申请改造的建筑大多是法定保护建筑，且需要获得各方的同意，这意味着过程可能会耗时较长。”
上方及左侧：设在设得兰群岛的North Roe Kirk。下方左侧：位于伦敦西北部Maida Vale的一处教堂改造房，目前由Marsh & Parsons挂牌出售，售价为£550,000。
诺福克郡 (Norfolk)
£1 million (£1)
这可能会让一些人感到沮丧。Sam Pratley是Hereford教区的教区秘书兼首席执行官，该地区大部分为农村，总共有406座教堂。
这座位于斯沃夫汉姆 (Swaffham) 集镇附近比奇姆韦尔 (Beachamwell) 村的2.5英亩庄园，拥有超过5,000平方英尺的居住空间，共十间卧室。主建筑是一座四居室的谷仓改造房，拥有带花园景观的拱形梁顶房间。周围的土地包括四栋独立小屋。此外还有一个地中海风格的朝南围墙花园，以及包含储藏室、工作坊和两个车库的私人附属建筑。EPC能效等级为E（潜力为D）。优势：非常适合多代同堂居住或经营度假出租业务。劣势：庄园的部分区域必须保持开放，以便于电力服务的维护。联系方式：sowerbys.com
并非所有教堂都一样，将其改造的复杂程度和成本差异巨大：从小农村礼拜堂改造为单户住宅仅需几十万英镑，到将大型城市教堂现代化并分割成公寓则需花费数百万英镑。
——大致每800名居民拥有一座教堂。在过去十年中，该地区有15座教堂被宣布闲置，直到去年为止，没有一座成功找到新用途。Pratley表示，问题不在于缺乏愿意购买的买家，而在于该系统往往让买家望而却步。
在Wolferlow小村庄的一座12世纪教堂已经空置了近20年，因为连续的住宅改造方案在规划障碍、遗产限制和当地反对意见中折戟，其中包括一名邻居农民的反对，其年幼儿子的坟墓就位于该地块内。Pratley说：“开发商是有的。我们非常愿意将这些建筑交给人们，并给他们将其改为新用途的机会。”
糟糕的案例层出不穷。2025年，《泰晤士报》报道了一名苏格兰买家的经历，由于他将一座18世纪教堂改造为住宅的项目在历史钟楼的规划争议中陷入多年僵局，他不得不住在露营车里。今年早些时候，一对威尔士夫妇透露，他们在翻修一座礼拜堂时意外地在地板下发现了83具尸体，不得不停止装修。
威尔特郡 (Wiltshire)
£1 million (£1)
在威尔士，大约四分之一的历史教堂和礼拜堂在过去十年中关闭。Morgan & Davies的特许测量师Andrew Morgan为威尔士教会及其他几个教派提供资产处置建议，他表示，“资产规模确实在缩减”，尽管速度比在苏格兰要“慢一些”。由于改造费用极其昂贵，价格通常必须定得很低。在过去两年中，由Morgan & Davies处理的五个西威尔士前礼拜堂的平均售价为每座£95,000。Morgan指出，规划依然是资产处置能够更快、更频繁地完成的“障碍”，由于获取同意书的过程漫长，住宅改造通常需要三到五年才能完成。
但他说，面对如此高的要求，潜在买家往往会得出相同的结论：“成本太高，难度太大。我们不想要。”
这座位于比肖普斯通（Bishopstone）、距离斯温登（Swindon）七英里的四卧住宅，以前是村里的法院。该房产位于北威塞克斯丘陵（North Wessex Downs）的一处高地，面积为 2,246 平方英尺，分布在三层楼中，拥有一个光线充足的开放式厨房、一个双面采光的餐厅以及位于低层地下的客房套房。室外，层叠的成熟花园蜿蜒而下，通向一条白垩溪流，背景是村庄屋顶的景色。此外还设有实用的储藏室和一个温室。比肖普斯通是一个迷人的村庄，拥有的一座教堂、一家酒吧和一所小学。EPC E（潜力 C） 优点：田园诗般的村庄环境。缺点：需要化粪池排水。联系方式 carterjonas.co.uk
西蒙·林福德（Simon Linford）是牧师之子，也是一名终身教会钟鸣人，后来成为一名建筑承包商。他现在正成立一家专门从事教堂改造的业务，因为他认为目前我们所看到的仅仅是“冰山一角”。他认为，英格兰教堂的处置和重新利用速度在未来“将会大幅加快”，并且“这将变成一个相当难以解决的问题”。
林福德主张，如果英格兰真的想将教堂作为其建筑环境的标志而予以保留，那么关闭流程需要精简，且在适应性改造方面的保护态度需要更加务实，这样更多的建筑可以在腐朽到无法挽救之前被转换为住宅用途。林福德说：“很多人会非常希望能把教堂变成自己的家。他们在《宏伟设计》（Grand Designs）节目中看过。这些建筑充满个性。但实际操作起来相当困难。”
英格兰教会拥有约 16,000 座教堂，是欧洲最大的历史房产组合所有者之一。维护这些房产的负担日益沉重：目前有 976 座教堂、小教堂、集会所和主教座堂被列入英格兰历史古迹（Historic England）的“受威胁遗产”名录，近年来每年增加 50 到 60 座。然而，与苏格兰和威尔士相比，教堂处置的计划量仍然较低。
或者……拥有你自己的红松鸡原野
£1 million
适合浪漫的房产投资者。在约克郡山地国家公园（Yorkshire Dales National Park）中，这片 678 英亩的原野拥有白丘和石南花、沼泽和泥炭，以及丰富的猎物：红松鸡、红腿鹧鸪和野雉。它是与邻近庄园合作开展的驱赶狩猎区的一部分，业主每年拥有若干天的徒步狩猎日。这里距离基普顿（Skipton）十英里。EPC N/A 优点：适合我们内心深处的忧郁诗人。缺点：你最好享受被风雨洗礼的感觉。联系方式 gscgrays.co.uk
他认为，需要更多专业的帮助来引导买家应对教堂改造中大量的挑战，从琐碎的到令人毛骨悚然的都有。林福德说：“我处理过迁移坟墓的情况。我处理过更换一两扇彩色玻璃窗的事，我也处理过在墓地里埋设废物处理厂的事。我处理的所有这些事情，普通人根本没有可能完成。”
自 1969 年以来，英格兰教会已将约 2,000 座教堂指定为冗余，其中拆除了 503 座。在重新利用的建筑中，住宅改造是最常见的结果，涉及 354 座建筑。委员们认为这是“一个很好的用途”，因为“它往往更具可持续性且
塞浦路斯的一切都进展缓慢——但这对于建成后的健康静修中心来说并不是一个坏环境。我们不得不调整时间表，尼克（Nick）接了一些国防部的兼职咨询工作，所以我们的收入没有压力，而我则在进行在线课程。
我们的计划是提供为期五天的健康静修营和 B&B（床位与早餐）住宿。在与亲友进行试运行后，我刚刚接待了第一位参加两周计划的健身客户，我们每天一起锻炼。自三月 [作为伊朗战争的一部分] 一架无人机击中阿克罗蒂里基地的机库以来，经营旅游业的人们日子一直很艰难。
Donna Curley 正在地中海岛屿的橄榄树之间实现她的健康之梦
[她说] 我的丈夫 Nick 一直在异地工作，但当他半退休时，我们决定在塞浦路斯共同开启新生活。
疫情袭来时，我不得不将教学转到线上，情况就这样维持了下来——尽管我从未梦想到通过教授 Zoom 课程能获得报酬。
这里的生活成本比英国低，尽管食物很贵。我们过着脱离电网的生活，使用太阳能和自己的水井，所以没有公用事业账单。但冬天很冷，所以虽然木柴燃烧炉使用频繁，但在那些罕见的阴天，我们还需要一台备用发电机。
M
我们的房子是一栋两居室的小平房，坐落在约 3,000 平方米的土地上，配有游泳池和 20 棵橄榄树。我们立即开始建造从立陶宛进口的套件木屋——用于安置客人。这些木屋可供两到三人居住，并配有独立卫浴。
在遇到 Nick 之前我从未去过塞浦路斯，但在 2013 年，我们在岛屿东南端的卡帕里斯（Kapparis）买了一套一居室的度假屋。通过每年两三次的访问，我爱上了这座岛屿缓慢的节奏、它的宁静和美丽的沙滩。
这里的许多外籍人士都有非常稳固的朋友圈，所以结交新朋友比我想象的要难，尽管现在有很多英国人为了税收优惠和生活方式搬到这里。
Donna Curley，49岁。
我们一直住在德比郡，那是我长大的地方。我 18 岁离开家，一年后遇到了我的第一任丈夫。在分开后，我花了几个月时间在澳大利亚旅行，然后我准备好重新开始。
随着年岁增长，我们谈到了搬到那里，但一直等到 Nick 第一段婚姻的两个孩子都进入 20 岁以后。我们的梦想是开设一个健康静修营，将我所学的一切付诸实践，并利用 Nick 的项目管理技能。
去年我还被诊断出患有脊柱侧弯，虽然这可能导致身体虚弱，但瑜伽确实很有帮助。塞浦路斯的国家医疗保健系统很不错。
我成为了一名健身教练，并遇到了 56 岁的 Nick，他当时作为陆军预备役被部署在阿富汗。他出生在阿克罗蒂里的英国皇家空军（RAF）基地，父母是英国人。
我们卖掉了在德比郡霍尔布鲁克（Holbrook）的家，于一年前搬走。因为我们在脱欧前就在岛上拥有房产，所以我们能够获得为期五年的居留许可，这使我能够在岛上生活和工作。塞浦路斯的文书工作可能缓慢且繁琐，所以我花钱请了一位专家帮我处理。这钱花得很值。
Donna Curley 与丈夫 Nick 及其在塞浦路斯的小平房
在德比的 David Lloyd 健身俱乐部工作，以及担任 16 年的 Weight Watchers 教练期间，我减掉了 7½ 担（stone）。我还曾在当地的休闲中心开设过多个课程，教授瑜伽、动感单车、普拉提和循环训练。
我们最终在卖掉度假公寓后，于 2024 年在乡村找到了一处极具潜力的房产及土地。它位于 Avgorou，这是一个距离阿依纳帕（Ayia Napa）25 分钟路程的大型农业“红土”村庄。
价格从 £165,000 起 至 £5 00,000+
当海岸遇见文化
您有机会逃离喧嚣，探索北诺福克（North Norfolk）的永恒魅力或萨福克郡（Suffolk）遗产海岸的绝美风光。
我们搬到塞浦路斯是为了能共度更多时光，这确实实现了，但还没有达到我们希望的高度——至少目前如此。我认为任何重大的搬迁都需要适应，并接受可能会遇到一些障碍，以及希腊式的 “siga siga” [慢慢来]。我很庆幸我们采取了这次冒险。采访由 Liz Rowlinson 完成
享受无尽的假期，尽在这一处绝美之境。您的小屋。您的避风港。您家庭的永恒回忆。现在就让它属于您。探索在 Marsh View (Aldeburgh) 与 The Poplars (Burnham Market) 的豪华度假小屋所有权。
独家生活方式房产 | 全套家具，即刻入住 | 显著的租赁机会 | 无印花税 | 无市政税
LUXURYLODGEESCAPES.CO
逃离，探索，享受，休憩
本地专业知识，全国范围覆盖，国际受众
坐落在真正独特的临水地块上的古宅，拥有河流草地岛，可便捷前往剑桥和伦敦。
EPC 免除 | 市政税：H | 产权：永久产权 联系电话：0330 333 1060 £2,000,000
重要的时刻 (moments that matter)
对于那些最重要的时刻，请信赖 Fine & Country 以专业的知识和细致的关怀处理您的搬迁。请联系我们的团队，获取深思熟虑且无需承担义务的建议。
一栋装修标准卓越的豪华家庭住宅，配备水疗风格的休闲套房和宏伟的娱乐空间。
EPC：C | 市政税：F | 产权：永久产权 报价高于 联系电话：01704 205021 £1,600,000
Malt Cottage 是一处宽敞的四卧室、两浴室、三个接待室的二级上市(Grade II Listed) 18 世纪物业，具有浓厚的特色。
一栋出色的七卧室独立住宅，坐落在 3.5 英亩的正式花园和林地中，设有室内休闲设施，包括游泳池、娱乐室和酒吧。
Yeardsley Hall 是位于 High Peak 的二级上市杰作，提供 1.09 英亩土地，三间卧室，四间浴室，两个接待室，且无后续交易链。
乡村环境中的卓越乔治亚风格乡村住宅，提供 3 英亩土地，四间卧室，附属住宿设施，马厩，三车位车库和芬兰景观。
EPC：E | 市政税：G | 产权：永久产权 OIEO 联系电话：01635 30303 £1,100,000
CHICHESTER WEST SUSSEX
奇切斯特最显赫的地址之一 —— 一栋屡获殊荣的二级上市 15 世纪联排别墅，已全面翻新并重新设计。
EPC：C | 市政税：H | 产权：永久产权 联系电话：01243 908077 £1,850,000
GREAT HORMEAD HERTFORDSHIRE
一栋惊艳的四卧室独立住宅，坐落在约 1.5 英亩的地块内，带有一座独立谷仓和美丽的景观花园。
EPC：D | 市政税：G | 产权：永久产权 联系电话：01920 443898 £1,500,000
STAINFORTH NORTH YORKSHIRE
独特的二级上市 17 世纪农舍，拥有四间卧室、一间单室附属房、一座谷仓和宽敞的花园，具有时代魅力和卓越潜力。
EPC：D | 市政税：G | 产权：永久产权 联系电话：01298 808082 £995,000
EPC：B | 市政税：F | 产权：永久产权 报价高于 联系电话：01780 750200 £900,000
宽敞的村庄住宅，拥有四间双人卧室、定制农舍厨房、多功能生活空间、成熟花园、环保特性以及便捷的交通连接。
独特的二级上市住宅，占据 West Drayton 历史绿地旁显眼的地理位置。
一栋规模宏大的二级上市家庭住宅，将时代特色与现代优雅生活相结合，坐落在俯瞰考尔德山谷(Calder Valley)的专属鹅卵石庭院内。
EPC：C | 市政税：G | 产权：永久产权 联系电话：01453 751661 £740,000
EPC：D | 市政税：D | 产权：永久产权 联系电话：0203 912 3425 £725,000
EPC 免除 | 市政税：F | 产权：永久产权 联系电话：01422 410723 £695,000
总公司 119–121 Park Lane, London W1 | +44 (0)20 7079 1515 parklane@fineandcountry.com | fineandcountry.com
全球 300 个网点
扫描二维码预约估价
马克·布雷齐尔-琼斯 (Mark Brazier-Jones) 和他的妻子朱莉亚 (Julia) 位于赫特福德郡罗伊斯顿 (Royston, Hertfordshire) 附近的家中，该房产售价为 £950,000
古怪的设计师马克·布雷齐尔-琼斯正在出售他的住宅及其所有屋内物品，不过布莱姆·斯托克 (Bram Stoker) 的书桌不在此列。作者：萨莎·努加拉 (Sasha Nugara)
走进马克·布雷齐尔-琼斯和他的妻子朱莉亚的家，就意味着要摒弃现代那种枯燥乏味的室内设计准则。马克在 20 世纪 80 年代与汤姆·迪克森 (Tom Dixon) 和罗恩·阿拉德 (Ron Arad) 一起共同开创了创意回收运动，主张使用废料来制造美丽且具有无政府主义风格的家具——他的房子及其装饰正体现了这一点。
这里随处可见由马克创作的家具。朱莉亚笑着说：“我很幸运，因为我可以要求，‘噢，我们需要一张餐桌，但我找不到合适的，你能给我做一个吗？我需要一张新床，一个梳妆台，我还需要这个。’”
“我们偷偷地对视了一眼。我们很清楚要做什么，”马克说。“于是我们将其改造成了这座巴洛克风格的餐厅。它非常完美。”
[[IMG_XXXX]] 买家需要出多少钱？“相当多。那边那个吊灯售价为 £90,000”
他们计划在 12 月 9 日搬家，并筹划了一场新年派对，因此朱莉亚告诉马克他们需要一张桌子。他找到了一块由黎巴嫩雪松切下的单块木材。“这是一块惊人的木头。我们很幸运能在一家回收场偶然发现它。”
这块木材成为了他们 4 米长餐桌的基础，可容纳 19 位用餐者，周围摆放着各种布雷齐尔-琼斯设计的椅子。对于这对夫妇来说，派对一直是重头戏，因此必须有派对空间，且桌子需要具备一定的承重能力。
在同一栋房子里住了 17 年后，他们决定搬走——但只要价格合适，这对夫妇愿意出售屋内存的所有布雷齐尔-琼斯作品。朱莉亚说：“只有一件东西我们可能不会卖，因为没有人会出足够的价格。那就是布莱姆·斯托克在创作《德古拉》时使用的那张书桌，马克将其改造得气势磅礴。”
任何非马克·布雷齐尔-琼斯设计的物品，可能都是吸引了他们目光的古董，或是从汽车后备箱集市上买来的小玩意儿。“我们不是极简主义者，”马克说。“我喜欢细节丰富的叙事感和质感。”
他主要以其雕塑感的设计而闻名，例如由青铜制成的翼背椅，以及在装饰性和实验性形式中使用其他金属。由于从焊接工业废料开始，他的作品不断演进，吸引了麦当娜 (Madonna)、米克·贾格尔 (Mick Jagger) 和卡尔·拉格斐 (Karl Lagerfeld) 的关注，他们都收藏了布雷齐尔-琼斯的部分作品。
“我喜欢衰败与荒废，”马克说，“我也喜欢那些磨损、显出年代感和使用痕迹的古董，我倾向于将这些元素融入我的作品中。人们太过于追求完美，坦白说，我觉得那很烦人。”
除掉斯托克的书桌，买家需要为剩下的东西出多少钱？“相当多。我们刚刚向您展示的那个吊灯售价为 $120,000，”朱莉亚说。“马克的一些作品在拍卖会上卖出了惊人的价格。我的意思是，有一个吊灯拍到了 £92,500。那还不是一件孤品，而是我们定制的吊灯，我们平时只卖 £48,000。”
“你甚至可以爬到[桌子]顶上进行剑斗，”他说。
2009 年他们搬进来时，这座位于赫特福德郡罗伊斯顿附近的 16 世纪住宅被装饰成了 70 年代风格，采用了桃色波纹绸、油毡地板和短小的箱型窗帘。布雷齐尔-琼斯夫妇希望回归到更合适的时代风格。“这是一栋 450 年历史的房子，所以如果把它弄成 70 或 80 年代的风格会显得格格不入。因此我们将它还原到[那个时代]，使其看起来更协调，”朱莉亚说。“我们安装了护墙板，铺设了木地板。”
“没有出过事故，”朱莉亚补充道以作宽慰。“我以前让脱衣舞女郎在上面做过一些可疑的事情。”
Mark并不在意客户的身份。他说，名人并非艺术评论家，不过他回想起了在洛杉矶一位较为令他兴奋的顾客：“一辆贴着深色车窗的豪华轿车停在店门口，车窗降下了一小截。
房间里还挂着几盏BrazierJones吊灯，灯光已成为他工作的重点。Mark说：“灯光方面有太多工作要做，所以我就钻研进去了。”
“司机走下车进入店内，说：‘窗边那把椅子——我能把它搬到人行道上给我的老板看看吗？’他把椅子搬出去，转了一圈，然后豪华轿车就开走了。半小时后，有人拿着一张支票出现了。那是来自Prince的。”
他们将整个家的设计重点放在夜晚，即天黑之后。
Mark说：“这是一栋旧房子，但它看起来不够旧，所以我们通过场景布置，让它呈现出我们所喜欢的那种美而古旧的感觉。但它并没有在崩塌，这就是技巧所在。”
“这一切都关乎氛围，”他说。“我看现代灯具时会想，有人在绘图板上设计了它，但你怎么在生活中与它共处？它会不会在你的眼角产生刺眼的亮光？你能看到光源吗？它是否能衬托肤色？”“我认为很多人把灯光布置留到最后一刻，而这始终是一个
在报价被接受后，Mark立即开始为这栋房子设计。该物业的主要吸引力之一是房子侧面一个 9m by 4.5m 的大房间，当时被用作
Mark和Julia相识于她经营的一家展出他作品的画廊。两人对艺术的共同热爱在他们的家中显而易见，这里有 90 per
布拉姆·斯托克（Bram Stoker）的写字台将不会随房屋一同移交 存放花园设备。
CHRIS RADBURN 为《星期日泰晤士报》撰文
1
灰色不再是客厅的王者。Katrina Burroughs 在这些流行色调中挑选她最心仪的座椅。
那些灰色沙发都去哪了？本月在逛秋季/冬季展会时，我几乎
没看到过一套曾经作为默认色调的沙发。绿色已接管成为首选的沙发颜色——而这是一个极大的进步。
2
3
John Lewis的家居总监Jason Wilary-Attew表示：“我们看到了沙发颜色偏好的明显转变。曾经由灰色主导，现在绿色已相当令人信服地占据主导地位。”在过去一年中，John Lewis的灰色沙发销售额下降至 9 per cent，而绿色沙发上升至 17 per cent。“我们预测今年还将进一步上升，”Wilary-Attew说。
不再是那样了。它几乎像一种现代的
中性色，”Swyft的设计总监John O’Leary说道，他的葡萄藤色系深受买家欢迎。“它能给人稳重感，
在Barker and Stonehouse，绿色沙发的销量超出灰色的幅度比在John Lewis更大。今年1月至6月间，该零售商销售的绿色沙发数量是灰色沙发的五倍，且绿色沙发的销售额同比增长了 80 per cent。这一趋势仍在增强：在过去一个月中，绿色沙发的在线搜索量比灰色沙发高出 60 per cent。
多变，并能为房间带来温暖和个性，而不会
压倒空间。”他说得对。这就是绿色的天才之处。它是一种跨界颜色，无论是经典还是现代的室内设计都能完美契合，与自然色彩和材质相得益彰，在不主导房间的情况下带来个性。它简单来说就是令人心旷神怡。且永恒。这绝非一季的昙花一现。
4
错误，”Julia说。“人们总是使用非常刺眼的白色灯泡，这对肤色、面部、[眼下] 泪囊和皱纹极其不利。它们还会带来一种抑郁感，因为这一切都太刺眼、太白了。”
让房屋在日落后看起来最完美的另一个关键是什么？任何地方都不要刷白色油漆。他们选择阴郁的色调，甚至在天花板上也是如此，因为房屋的骨架（低天花板、低窗户、厚墙）无法引入大量光线。
5
绿色是 Furniture Village 某些最受欢迎沙发款式的畅销色。在 2025 年 11 月至 2026 年 6 月期间，Bronwyns（一款畅销型号，价格从 £1,795 降至 £1,595）的 56% 以及 Eclipses 的 56% 均为绿色。
家居改良投票
“如果你想（在旧房子里）创造光感，把它刷成白色其实没什么用，只会让它看起来毫无灵魂，所以我们选择能让你的视线集中在窗外风景的颜色。而且它也不显脏，这很棒。”
用他们的现金推动了即将登陆门店和线上的绿色沙发热潮。绿色沙发的兴起正是民主设计的实践。
6
今年 3 月 2 日至 7 月 26 日期间，habitat.co.uk 上“绿色沙发”的搜索量比去年同期增长了 10%。苔藓绿和橄榄绿这两个色调在该品牌中的表现尤为出色。苔藓绿面料的 Myra 三座沙发（£595）在春季上市后几周内便售罄。
“由于销售额的上升以及我们在家居装饰中看到的趋势，我们去年扩大了绿色系列，”Willow & Hall 的商业总监 Hannah Rosman 说道。在过去的一年里，她销售的绿色面料设计数量是灰色面料的两倍。“我们看到浅绿色调的需求在增加，尤其是对于我们的年长客户群体，而深色调在家庭住户中一直很受欢迎，因为它们更耐用。”如果你向往绿色沙发但尚未购买，这个月实际上可能是入手的时机。在热浪袭来时花钱买沙发感觉不合适，正因为如此，你现在可能能淘到便宜货。
他们在半英亩土地上种植的 60 棵树林，也为他们惬意、隐逸的生活方式增色不少。搬进来时，他们拆除了修剪整齐的顶饰、黄杨树篱和草坪，开始种植，渴望一种荒野的感觉。
简单来说，整个行业对绿色——从鼠尾草绿到常春藤绿——都感到兴奋，但最受欢迎的色调是苔藓绿和橄榄绿：这是一种带有极微量黄色调的温暖、土质绿色。John Lewis 最畅销的装饰面料是苔藓绿雪尼尔面料。Heal’s 报告称，绿色沙发的销量超过了灰色，且人们对苔藓色系有着特别的热情。为了直接响应对绿色色系日益增长的需求，该公司为其智能棉麻面料引入了没药色（myrtle），并为其羊毛天鹅绒面料引入了橄榄色。
“这非常像一个森林花园，”Julia 说道，“你可以四处走走，除了毛地黄以外，几乎所有的东西都可以食用。”这里有杏子、无花果和樅苹果。
“花园可以自行生长。这是一个天然森林，”Mark 说道。
正是这个花园让他们意识到，是时候离开他们的农舍了。该农舍目前通过 Cheffins 挂牌出售，价格为 £950,000。他们打造完美家园的任务已经完成。“对我们来说是完美的，但对其他人来说不一定，”Julia 说道。
7
“有趣的是，人们并不一定地将绿色视为一种大胆的选择”
Bricks&Mortar 住房市场
2 26
No 10 北方搬迁者在曼彻斯特将有丰富的选择——而且这里的购房和租赁费用将比伦敦更低，杰恩·道尔（Jayne Dowle）表示。
安迪·伯纳姆（Andy Burnham）选择在海伦大厦（Heron House）设立 No 10 北方的临时总部，这确实具有开拓意义，但他的团队不过是最新一批移居到这座强大的北方大都市曼彻斯特的伦敦移民。
“来自伦敦的买家已经是我们最主要的咨询群体，”市中心地产中介 Julie Twist Properties 的销售顾问路易斯·特威斯特-格林（Louis Twist-Green）表示。“五到十年前他们几乎不存在，但现在他们正向北迁移，以提高生活质量。至于生活成本因素？那简直是天壤之别。”
特威斯特-格林还观察到一种趋势：许多家庭为前往曼彻斯特就读曼彻斯特大学、曼彻斯特大都会大学、索尔福德大学或该市其他高等教育机构的孩子购买公寓。这些机构包括由曼联“Class of ’92”成员——加里·内维尔、瑞安·吉格斯、保罗·斯科尔斯、菲尔·内维尔和尼基·巴特共同创办的以足球为中心的 University Academy 92，以及皇家北方音乐学院。
[[IMG_XXXX]] 从左至右：位于海伦大厦的 No 10 北方总部；包含海伦大厦的曼彻斯特市中心；安迪·伯纳姆及其在 No 10 北方的内阁。
特威斯特-格林表示，此类买家如果想要一套两室两卫的公寓（可能带有一个停车位——尽管周围到处是蜂巢网络（Bee Network）的巴士），预算大约需要 £210,000 到 £230,000；而对于更高端的市中心房产，预算则在 £320,000 到 £350,000 之间。
李·巴特利，46, 去年从伦敦西北部的肯萨尔赖斯（Kensal Rise）搬到了曼彻斯特，入住拉蒂默伊斯灵顿码头（Latimer’s Islington Wharf）开发项目中一套价值 £370,000 的 15 层共享所有权两居室公寓，购买了 45 per cent 的份额。他每年可以增加 1 per cent 的增量，并希望最终达到 50 per cent 的所有权。
由于其面积约为两平方英里，非常紧凑。特威斯特-格林补充道：“人们不像在伦敦那样如此执着于具体地段。热门地区始终是迪恩斯盖特（Deansgate）、纺织田（Spinningfields）、城堡区（Castlefield）和安科茨（Ancoats），以及因靠近[火车站]而受欢迎的皮卡迪利（Piccadilly）。赫姆（Hulme）也非常受欢迎——那里有很多学生。”
根据英国国家统计局（ONS）的数据，2026, 6 月曼彻斯特的每月私人租金为 £1,358，比 2025, 6 月的 £1,312 增长了 3.5 per cent，而西北部的平均租金为 £961,。这比伦敦每月 £2,302. 的租金便宜约一千英镑。
曼彻斯特居民的年薪目前为 £36,278（ONS），与伦敦相差不大，后者的薪资中位数为 £39,778, 根据 Sage Accounting 统计。
来自伦敦的买家已经是我们最主要的咨询群体。五到十年前他们几乎不存在。
曼彻斯特每月平均私人租金
从棉纺织大亨的时代起，曼彻斯特就一直与金钱紧密相连。出生于博尔顿（Bolton）的杰伊·哈格里夫斯，47, 全球招聘机构 dahling 和 i-h-a-r 的董事，在伦敦南部布里克斯顿（Brixton）生活了二十年后，于去年回到了曼彻斯特。
一名出生于南约克郡唐卡斯特（Doncaster）、在多塞特郡韦茅斯（Weymouth）长大的英国广播公司（BBC）媒体规划师在 22 岁时移居伦敦。他说：“我之前因为工作在曼彻斯特短暂停留过几次，渐渐产生了兴趣。我在这里交到了朋友，其他朋友也搬到了这里。我真的很喜欢这里，认为这是我未来居住的地方。这个位置太棒了，正对着市中心，健身房、理发店、楼下的 Sainsbury’s 超市——所有的一切都在五分钟路程之内。”
No 10 North 的员工若想在距离 Heron House 步行或骑行距离内寻找住所，Twist-Green 建议可以看看历史悠久且分布着酒馆的波特兰街 (Portland Street)，或者在萨尔福德 (Salford) 跨过伊维尔河 (River Irwell) 一英里半外的 The Edge——这是一个由时尚设计师 Ben de Lisi 操刀室内设计的公寓项目。此外，还有 Spinningfields 的 Leftbank 以及 Century Buildings，后者建于 1905 年至 1909 年间，曾是国家锅炉与发电机保险公司 (National Boiler & Generator Insurance Company) 的所在地。
“最大的惊喜之一就是你的钱在曼彻斯特能花得多么耐用，”29 岁的凯蒂·惠兰 (Katie Whelan) 说道，她是总部位于曼彻斯特、专注于城市更新的房地产开发商 Capital & Centric 的内容创作者。她于 1 月搬到这里。“在北伦敦的一个合租房里，我与三名室友合住一间双人房，每月支付超过 £900，此外还需支付账单。令我惊讶的是，在曼彻斯特，用类似的月租金就可以租到一个一居室工作室，通常还带有阳台等额外设施。这让我真正意识到了这里北方地区在可负担性上的差异。”
他在自己的行业中看到了“过去三年里的剧烈变革”。
“在伦敦，我会花大量时间在贝克鲁线 (Bakerloo Line) 上奔波。那是一种障碍，你必须提前规划好行踪。现在，朋友们会打电话或发信息说：‘我刚好经过你公寓附近，要进来喝杯酒吗？’这里比伦敦自由且便捷得多。”曼彻斯特市中心经常给新来者带来惊喜。
就在附近，St Michael’s 的 217 套品牌住宅正在建设中，这是一个由加里·内维尔 (Gary Neville) 的 Relentless Developments 领导的价值 £400 million 的综合用途开发项目。据报道，其价格标签从 £800,000 起，具有典型的英超球员风格。
安迪·伯纳姆 (Andy Burnham)
与此同时，随着曼彻斯特薪资的增长，负担能力在提高。全职年薪中位数为
租赁或购买成本在全市范围内差异巨大。然而，平均...
CHRISTOPHER FURLONG/AFP/GETYY IMAGES;XINHUA /ALAMY LIVE NEWS
萨莎·努加拉 (Sasha Nugara)，房产记者
我室友不停的脏话正在毁掉我们的友谊
从不靠谱的房东到室友间的戏剧冲突，我们的专栏作家为你解答疑惑
让室友少说脏话。
我的居住情况很完美——但有一件事在破坏它。我热爱我的空间，与志趣相投的人住在我喜欢的地段。但我无法忍受其中一名室友一直说着脏话。
“你不需要说服你的室友意识到说脏话是错误的，才能让他们少说脏话，”他解释道。
Button Up! 展览；以及 Campfield，一个位于前 Campfield 市场大厅的科技、媒体和创意园区。
“大多数人处理这个问题的方法是反向的。 They try to change someone’s mind first and hope that, once the person is convinced of their point of view, their behaviour will follow.
曼彻斯特居民全职年薪中位数
他们是一名游戏玩家，大部分时间待在卧室里，大声咒骂，说着非常糟糕的话。我甚至不在意噪音或喊叫，是那些粗鄙的语言让我心烦。
前几周我带着全家来了这里，我在 Soho House [于 2025 年 11 月开业] 租了一套公寓。我诚实地说，我以为自己在哥本哈根或阿姆斯特丹之类的地方，”英加尔斯 (Ingalls) 说道。“整个城市似乎有一种欧陆风情。我的周末在做一些你可能没想到会在曼彻斯特做的事情。我们去 Aviva Studios 看了一场演出——非常现代，非常有文化气息。然后是我们选择就餐的餐厅：20 Stories, Fenix, the Ivy，以及在 Soho House 本身吃早午餐。我就在那座城市里，我真的感觉像在欧洲。”
“你的室友认为几乎每次开口说话都带脏话是很正常的。而你在成长过程中很少听到这类词汇。考虑到你们的差异如此之大，很快你们就会陷入关于‘骂脏话是否正确’的争论，双方互不相让，且在各自的观点中越陷越深。
即使在玩游戏之外，感觉他们说的每两个词里就有一个是脏话。我成长过程中没有接触过脏话，这让我意识到这种行为让我多么不舒服。我不希望这毁掉我们已经建立的友谊，但这确实让我很心烦。我该怎么办？
“相反，请专注于争取一个微小的改变，使你向期望的结果靠近。可以考虑请求你的室友在那些对你影响最大的区域（如客厅）少说脏话。他们应该会注意到，与你的对话变得轻松了一些，你们的友谊也感觉不再那么紧张。
就像任何城市一样，曼彻斯特也有其充满挑战的区域。根据特许贸易标准协会（CTSI）最近的一项调查，切瑟姆山（Cheetham Hill）、伯纳奇（Burnage）和利文舒尔姆（Levenshulme）都被列为‘可疑店铺’的热点地区，这些店铺销售非法电子烟和美国糖果等商品，并充当有组织犯罪的掩护。
现在我必须承认，我偶尔也喜欢用个脏词，但根据周围的人来调整你的语言是非常重要的。例如，我尽量不在祖父母面前、在专业场合或在孩子面前说脏话。不过，在我的母亲和朋友面前，我确实会说脏话（偶尔还会直接对着我弟弟骂）。
“这也许不是你想要的彻底改变，但它并非无足轻之。一旦有人开始以不同的方式行事，他们就更有可能采取与该改变一致的行为。一个同意在公共空间少说脏话的室友，在你有朋友来访时也更有可能少说脏话。
然而，在市中心外的许多郊区，从伦敦或其他地方搬迁而来的家庭可以找到安全且舒适的居所。长盛不衰的热门选择包括迪兹伯里（Didsbury，《周日时报》2026年最佳居住地）、曼彻斯特南部的乔尔顿-坎-哈迪（Chorlton-cum-Hardy），以及市中心北部的普雷斯特威奇（Prestwich，《周日时报》2024年最佳居住地）。通过直达的Metrolink有轨电车连接到最近的圣彼得广场站（St Peter’s Square），前往赫伦大厦（Heron House）最多只需40分钟。
尽管如此，我注意到脏话具有很强的分化性，这取决于你接触它的频率。我的第一份工作是在一家披萨外卖店，那是一个充斥着叫喊和咒骂的环境。
他表示，这正从‘以伦敦为中心’转向北方城市，包括曼彻斯特、韦克菲尔德和利兹。这一进程由包括英国广播公司（BBC）和
“微小的、递增的改变可能会产生惊人的巨大效果，但这确实需要时间，所以请保持耐心。尽管许多人可能认为这是一个合理的请求，但你是在要求对方改变自身的一种基本特质：他们与周围人沟通的方式。
然而，偶尔为了夸张而蹦出一个‘f-bomb’（脏话），与对着电脑不停地愤怒咆哮截然不同。我最亲密的朋友之一曾有一个前男友，他经常把Xbox控制器扔向屏幕并将其击碎，这绝不会营造出一个幸福的家庭。
第四频道（Channel 4），将其运营的创意部分
‘迪兹伯里是曼彻斯特皇冠上的明珠，十多年前英国广播公司（BBC）搬迁至索尔福德时，这里是首选地点，’当地房产中介Philip James Kennedy的总经理罗布·肯尼迪（Rob Kennedy）说道。
将其运营迁至英格兰北部。居住在波尔顿并在原铁路货物终端——曼彻斯特保税仓库（Bonded Warehouse Manchester）设有办公室的哈格里夫斯（Hargreaves）提到，团队成员中有人来自剑桥和斯特拉特福-upon-Avon。‘我
这个郊区深受市中心租客以及想要搬出去组建家庭并享受更悠闲生活方式的买家欢迎。“我们这里有早期的维多利亚时期小屋、晚期维多利亚/爱德华时期的排屋和半独立式住宅，一直到工艺美术风格的独立家庭住宅，以及充满未来感的公寓和联排别墅开发项目，”肯尼迪补充道。“但人们仍然存在相当严重的偏见，认为重心在北边，许多南方人依然认为曼彻斯特人住在像《加冕街》里那样没有走廊的两居室排屋中。”
“我们倾向于认为，要改变一个人的行为，首先需要改变他们的想法。而通常情况恰恰相反。行为先改变，想法随后跟上。”
住在最北端的人
与价值观相投的人共同生活至关重要。如果你的室友不尊重你对脏话的看法，这可能意味着你们不兼容。
建筑，”他说。开发商 Allied London 的首席执行官迈克·英格尔（Mike Ingall）表示，在过去十年左右的时间里，曼彻斯特已经演变成一座像哥本哈根或阿姆斯特丹那样的大都市，一座热爱文化的城市。
“不要专注于说服你的室友脏话是错误的，而要专注于让他们随着时间的推移减少脏话的使用。当你采取这种方法时，你不需要告诉他们不说脏话的好处，因为他们会自己发现。”
我咨询了 Influence at Work 的首席行为科学家亚历克斯·拉斯比（Alex Rusby），请他就如何让你的
由加里·内维尔（Gary Neville）的 Relentless 公司主导的 St Michael’s 开发项目的价格
他住在西南伦敦的里士满，但在该市工作了 30 年。他公司的开发项目
回到 Heron House，在迪恩斯盖特（Deansgate）闪耀的摩天大楼映衬下，那些由磨坊和仓库改造而成的建筑中聚集着年轻的创意工作者，以及更多循迹北上的移民，那种偏见即将被彻底打破。
包括办公/零售/休闲综合方案 No1 Spinningfields；St John’s；Aviva Studios（Factory International 的所在地，目前正举办艾未未的展览）。
有问题？请发送电子邮件至 sasha.nugara@the-times.co.uk
漫步在 Rendcomb College 是一次凄美而忧郁的体验。这座二级*上市的维多利亚式庄园雄伟地矗立在科茨沃尔德（Cotswolds）风景如画的钱恩谷（Churn Valley）的一座山上，在过去一个世纪里一直是一所独立的日校和寄宿学校，但在 7 月初关闭了。
它近期过去的痕迹清晰可见。教室白板上还留着 H.G. 威尔斯的《世界大战》教学计划。嘎吱作响的走廊布告栏上依然贴着下午的活动时间表，走廊里装饰着奖杯和学校运动队的照片。校长在优雅的镶板接待大厅的标牌上留下的座右铭依然是“深思熟虑，充满雄心，敢于冒险”。
每平方英尺 £500，他说这样做是值得的。“这也取决于规划部门有多务实。我们曾接手一个项目，花了四年时间才获得规划许可。如果有人花 £20 买下那个场地，而获得规划许可需要四年时间，那么这 £20 的利息支出将非常巨大。但如果销售价值很高，那么我相信它是能算得过来的。”
这座建筑感觉像是时间冻结了。但对于 Rendcomb College 来说，这是一个时代的终结，对于其 380 名学生来说是一个令人悲伤的转折，因为生活成本危机冲击了私立学校。2025 年 1 月开始对学费征收增值税（VAT），以及 2025 年 4 月取消 80% 的慈善企业税率减免，加上能源成本的上涨，给学校带来了沉重打击。
位于科茨沃尔德的 Rendcomb College 正在出售，售价为 £20-£30，它是学费征收增值税的牺牲品。但谁会买它？作者：休·格雷厄姆（Hugh Graham）
Darren Price 为 Adam Architecture 工作，该公司目前正致力于一项耗资 £175 million 的修复工程，对象是位于威尔特郡（Wiltshire）的一座一级上市建筑（grade I listed mansion）——前私立学校 Tottenham House。Price 表示：“你通常必须对这些建筑进行拆解，以便安装新设施。你得掀起地板，寻找在不破坏氛围的情况下将管道、电线和绿色能源引入建筑的方法。这极其复杂。”
这座被重新命名为 Rendcomb Park 的物业即将通过 Knight Frank 推出，定价将在 £20 million 到 £30 million 之间。
根据 Rendcomb Foundation 的受托人、慈善家 Frederick Noel Hamilton Wills 的曾孙 Richard Wills 的说法，该校在 2024 年 9 月至 2025 年 9 月期间失去了 40 名学生，这对学校的财务造成了毁灭性打击。Frederick Noel Hamilton Wills 于 1918 年创办了这所寄宿学校，旨在让来自各种背景的优秀男孩都能获得卓越教育（该校随后逐渐接纳走读生，并于 1992 年全面改为男女共校）。
谁会购买这样一座巨大的豪宅及其广阔的校园？Knight Frank 合伙人 Emma Cleugh 表示，在科茨沃尔登（Cotswolds）地区，如此规模和地位的地产上市实属罕见。她认为，考虑到其优越的地理位置（距离赛伦塞斯特 Cirencester 约六英里），潜在买家可能是奢侈精品酒店、健康水疗中心或财力雄厚的私人买家。将乡村住宅分割成私人公寓或养老院的开发商也很常见，但她指出，私立学校正越来越多地被出售给其他教育机构，例如继续教育学院。
“诀窍在于隐藏所有现代设施，这样才不会失去那种原真性。我希望地板依然会发出吱吱声——我会询问客户他们希望达到什么样的‘吱吱声’程度。我会问，当你走进大厅时，是否希望闻到 150 年前壁炉留下的气息，是否希望闻到图书馆书籍的味道？”
墙上排列着校友的名字。其中包括冠军骑师 Richard Dunwoody、Kojo Annan（商人，前联合国秘书长科菲·安南之子）、前 Sainsbury’s 主席 David Tyler 以及残奥会射击选手 Issy Bailey。六月的一次活动中，七百名 Rendcomb 旧校友前来与学校告别。
“在上市建筑中，你能感受到的灵魂、工艺感和个性，远比在新建筑中能获得的要多。”
上图：位于格洛斯特郡（Gloucestershire）的 Rendcomb College 正在上市。下图：前校友、前骑师 Richard Dunwoody。
他认为，这些旧私立学校建筑的一个具有前景的用途是将其打造为“长寿中心”——投资者对此领域的兴趣日益增加。“它们就像酒店，但配备了升级的医疗设施。你可以在这里按摩，同时进行血液检查、静脉注射和干细胞注射，甚至可能同时进行牙科治疗。”
如何处理旧私立学校是一个将变得日益普遍的难题。根据房产中介 Hamptons 的数据，2025 年英国有 71 所私立学校关闭，而 2024 年这一数字为 58 所；今年至今已有 15 所关闭。
但他表示，改造这类建筑并非易事。“现在能对它们做的事情比 30 或 40 年前要有限得多。它们不再适合作为养老院，因为养老院需要无障碍通道以及各种现代设施。”
随着神圣大厅变得空旷，这座拥有五层塔楼、精美彩色玻璃窗、华丽饰带、复杂檐口和科林斯柱的 32,000 平方英尺意大利风格豪宅将何去何从？其 190,000 平方英尺的附属建筑包括约十余处时期风格的住宅物业（包括一座旧牧师住宅和许多员工小屋），此外还包括马厩区、现代宿舍、体育馆、壁球场、一座旧邮局、一家咖啡馆和一座
这将让 City & Country 的设计与规划总监 Simon Vernon-Harcourt 感到很有趣，该公司是一家将历史建筑转化为公寓的开发商。“我已经从事这项工作 20 年了，人们总是问我是否会耗尽可转化的旧建筑，但现在有许多非常有趣的登录建筑（listed buildings）出现，”他说道。
他表示，将它们转化为一座宏伟乡村住宅内的公寓将是最佳方案。对于那些需要缩减居住规模的人来说，这些公寓拥有高挑的天花板、大窗户和宏伟感，且辅以美丽的
旧 Rendcomb 学生们想到这一点可能会感到不适，但他们可以欣慰的是，销售所得的资金将用于正义事业。该物业由 Rendcomb 基金会所有，这是一个由 Wills 家族创建的慈善机构。销售收益将交给 Farmington 研究所，这是一个资助教师进行研究以及改善小学图书馆的教育慈善机构。学校虽然不在了，但 Rendcomb 的遗产将延续。
花园（这些花园是共用的，因此比拥有自己的乡村住宅更省心）。
除了私立学校关闭外，许多地方当局也在缩减其登录建筑的规模。“作为一名开发商，这非常令人兴奋，”Vernon-Harcourt 说道。“你拥有如此多——
转换这些登录建筑的成本极其昂贵，因此必须位于黄金地段才能使数据可行。如果随后的公寓售价能达到 £400 至
位于利兹市公园（Leeds City Park）的 Aire Gardens 是一个在城市中获取独特且宁静公寓的稀有机会，这里被林荫花园和自然溪流环绕，但距离利兹火车站和市中心仅 500 米步行距离。
该项目地处南岸再生区 adjacent，受益于利兹最具变革性的增长地段之一，将绿地吸引力与进出城市的卓越连通性相结合。
0800 316 7344 您应当寻求独立的财务建议。*来源：Savills 住宅预测。
投资价值可能会上涨或下跌，BuyAssociation 始终建议
daily newspaper of the year
Friday July 31 2026 | thetimes.com | No 75099
(based on a 7 Day Print and Digital Subscription)
BBC versus Netflix Battle of the screens
Holy homes The great church sell-off
the same beach later that day when they entered the water to intervene.
intervene even after it later became grounded on the sand, insisting that they do not have permission to enter the water. Only officers from an elite unit trained in riot and crowd-control tactics have the authority to intercept boats in the water.
source said. “They’re used to facilitate the smugglers’ activities — controlling patches, making sure they keep the spaces where they launch the dinghies and for enforcing protection.”
Matt Dathan Home Affairs Editor journey overnight, in the latest sign of how the crossings are becoming increasingly dangerous.
Senior Border Force officers have expressed frustration at the inconsistent approach taken by the French police to combat migrant crossings after the busiest day in the Channel this year.
There were also several occasions last year when the gendarmes entered the water to slash the inflatable tubes of the boats to prevent crossings.
The criminal gangs organising the crossings are also growing more violent, Border Force insiders warned, after an automatic firearm was found in one of the migrant camps last week.
One of the four deaths occurred on the same beach where The Times had earlier witnessed gendarmes watching as migrants rushed to board an overloaded dinghy. The police did not
A senior Border Force source said gendarmes appeared to be willing to break their orders to enter the water in
A total of 752 migrants crossed in nine boats on Wednesday and four migrants later died trying to make the
However, the gendarmes took a different approach after a dinghy ran aground in similar circumstances on
“There is a regular drumbeat of firearms being found,” a Border Force
TOBY SHEPHEARD/REUTERS
Wildfire in Suffolk near nuclear plant
Lara Wildenberg, Ed Halford Seren Hughes
A wildfire in Suffolk has spread to 150 hectares, prompting “concerns” at the nearby Sizewell B nuclear power station, and firefighters are expected to continue battling the blaze into tomorrow.
The fire started at Dunwich Heath near Leiston and has reached part of the nature reserve RSPB Minsmere. About 50 people staying at a holiday park and cottages were evacuated on Wednesday night.
A source who is familiar with operations at Sizewell B said there were “concerns” at the plant that ventilation and air-conditioning systems could be affected. EDF, which runs the power station, said the wildfire was “not affecting operations”.
Suffolk Fire and Rescue Service said yesterday that “changing wind conditions continue to affect the direction and behaviour of the fire, making it difficult to predict how it may spread”.
A firefighting helicopter tackles the wildfire near Sizewell on the Suffolk coast yesterday. A source raised concerns about air-conditioning systems at the plant
6 European sides won’t play if investment plan goes ahead 6 International football is not for sale, Gianni Infantino told
featuring six European teams, and European qualifying play-offs for the 2027 Women’s World Cup are scheduled for October 9. England are set to play their first leg against Greece on that date. Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland are also scheduled to feature.
Zurich-based organisation’s existing financial reserves were not being used for global development instead.
the US, said after a meeting that it unanimously rejected Fifa’s proposal.
entire confederation has voted to boycott big Fifa tournaments.
Martyn Ziegler Chief Sports Reporter
The FA confirmed that it stood “shoulder to shoulder” with its European peers. Lisa Nandy, the culture secretary, threw the government’s weight behind the boycott. “This is a principled decision that we strongly support,” she said. “Football belongs to the fans, not billionaire investors. Enough is enough. It’s time to take a stand to protect our game.”
In a statement released after the meeting, Uefa said that its members “unanimously and unequivocally reject Fifa’s proposal to transfer ownership interests in the World Cup and other Fifa competitions to private investors”. It added: “The World Cup is not for sale. This is not a ‘democratic decision’ but governance by intimidation — an act of coercion unworthy of an institution entrusted with the stewardship of the global game.”
European football’s 55 member associations voted to boycott World Cups yesterday, sending a powerful message to Gianni Infantino and Fifa over plans to sell stakes in its competitions to private investors.
Members made clear that they believed the future of international football was on the line.
Infantino’s plan would result in a group of investors controlling the commercial interests of Fifa’s top men’s and women’s competitions. The boycott would damage his ambitions as private equity funds would face buying into a tournament deprived of the world’s leading teams and players.
Sheikh Salman Bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa, head of the Asian Football Confederation, wrote to his 47 member nations, saying: “The AFC is deeply concerned that Fifa’s unilateral actions appear to undermine the very foundations of continental football, which are based on solidarity, co-operation and transparency.”
Uefa convened a virtual emergency meeting to address the controversial sell-off proposal — revealed exclusively by The Times on Tuesday — which has provoked a furious backlash across the sport. Member associations including England unanimously resolved to boycott every Fifa competition, spanning the men’s, women’s and youth World Cups. It is the first time that an
Representatives from more than 40 federations, including the FA, spoke during the session. An insider reported “total unanimity” and widespread anger over their treatment by Fifa, as well as questions about why the
The boycott also casts uncertainty over upcoming international fixtures. The Women’s Under-20 World Cup is due to start on September 5 in Poland,
In another blow to Infantino, the Concacaf organisation, representing 41 countries across North and Central America and the Caribbean, including
Emma Roberts, aka Mandy Burnham Richard Parker, Labour mayor for the West Midlands Joanna MacGregor, right, chief of strategy and UN affairs at the United Nations climate change body James Martin, YouTuber who drove from Oxford to Ukraine The economist Professor Trevor Williams on why millionaires are leaving the UK
10.40am 2.05pm 2.50pm
sharply as investors fret over higher inflation. The Bank argues it does not need to tighten policy right now because these higher bond yields will automatically cool the economy.
Jack Barnett Economics Correspondent decisions would depend almost entirely on how long fighting lasted. Similarly, rate cuts could be forthcoming if the US and Iran reached a lasting peace soon, pushing down global energy prices.
The Bank of England kept interest rates unchanged for the fifth meeting in a row yesterday but warned a prolonged conflict in the Middle East that keeps oil and gas prices higher for longer could trigger rate rises.
5.50pm 7.35pm
Short-term UK government borrowing costs fell sharply after the announcement, indicating markets believe the Bank will hold off from raising rates this year. The yield on the 2-year UK bond dropped by 0.11 percentage points to 4.34 per cent and on the benchmark ten-year bond it fell by 0.04 percentage points to below 5 per cent.
Latest data from the Office for National Statistics showed inflation dipped to 2.6 per cent in June from 2.8 per cent in May, lower than the central bank anticipated.
The nine members of the monetary policy committee (MPC), who meet every six weeks to set the base rate, voted 6–3 in favour of keeping rates unchanged at 3.75 per cent, where they have stood since December.
Andrew Bailey, the Bank’s governor, who voted to leave rates unchanged, said: “The conflict in the Middle East continues to mean high and volatile energy prices. That will cause inflation to rise again later this year. Our job is to make sure any increase in inflation is temporary and comes back to our 2 per cent target.”
The pound rose by 0.56 per cent against the dollar to $1.34. London’s FTSE 100 rose by 0.25 per cent.
Inflation is on course to stay above 3 per cent for the rest of the year, the central bank predicted, owing to higher energy prices associated with the conflict in the Middle East.
Three members of the MPC — Huw Pill, the central bank’s chief economist, and the external panellists Catherine Mann and Megan Greene — wanted to increase rates to 4 per cent. Pill said a rate rise now would cut “through noise in commodity and asset price developments to offer a clear and unambiguous signal of our willingness and ability to address upside risks to inflation stemming from events in the Gulf”.
T O DAY ’ S E D I T I O N
An early policy blitz announced by Andy Burnham to tackle the cost of living, including the removal of VAT from electricity bills from October and capping most single bus fares at £2, would reduce inflation by 0.1 percentage points, the Bank said.
Economic growth is expected to flatline in the three months to September and total 1.1 per cent across the whole of 2026. Unemployment is on track to rise to 5.1 per cent from its 4.9 per cent level.
SPORT TIMES2
Although the central bank said the economy had withstood the impact of the Gulf conflict better than it expected compared with its forecast in April, it conceded its forthcoming interest rate
Since the start of the conflict, which is now in its sixth month, government borrowing costs globally have risen
THIRD DEGREE The provost tackling Oxbridge’s ‘handsy’ men
FLEMING’S BOND Mike Atherton on England’s new Test coach
WEARING WELL Tatler reveals its list of the best-dressed Brits
Frozen tax allowances have also contributed to the hefty tax bill, as pensioners have been dragged into paying higher rates of tax.
Helena Kelly Money News and Investigations Editor
PAGES 2-3
PAGE 58
PAGE 11
Andy Burnham has left the door open for future North Sea drilling as he confirmed that he told President Trump “we can’t ignore” the resources there.
Wealthy baby boomers are behind a record income tax haul of £30.1 billion on pension withdrawals in 2024-25, up 47 per cent on the £20.5 billion collected in 2021-22.
SPORT 56 CROSSWORD 64 TV & RADIO TIMES2
COMMENT 23 LETTERS 26 LEADING ARTICLES 27
WORLD 28 BUSINESS 33 REGISTER 51
David Little from the investment firm Evelyn Partners said the figures were “growing rapidly as the population ages and the ‘boomer’ generation retires”. He added: “The increase reflects a growing retired population, larger pension payments and withdrawals after several years of inflation, and frozen tax allowances.
The two leaders held a phone call on Burnham’s first day in office, during which the US president said the new prime minister told him he would “open up North Sea oil”.
Are Infantino’s plans to sell the World Cup doomed?
Experts said the increase had been driven by the number of baby boomers, those born between 1946 and 1964, beginning to retire and take income from their pensions via annuities, drawdown — or even in one lump sum.
Burnham was asked during a visit to Barrow-in-Furness yesterday whether Trump was correct. “I indicated ... that I would take a pragmatic approach when it comes to the North Sea, and that is my intention,” he said. “There is a resource there. When people are struggling, we can’t ignore that.”
Gianni Infantino, the Fifa president, wants to monetise and Americanise football by selling off the World Cup. In response, Uefa has threatened to boycott the tournament. So what is Infantino thinking? And what does Donald Trump have to do with it?
“Poorly timed full encashments will also contribute, and there is some evidence that an increasing number of small pots are being withdrawn in full, despite the tax consequences.”
The figures released by HM Revenue & Customs also include retiring public sector workers starting to take an income from defined benefit schemes.
From next year the state pension is due to collide with the tax-free personal allowance, meaning that pensioners who have even a small additional income will face an income tax bill.
This generation has benefited from a big rise in property wealth and is more likely to be on valuable defined benefit pension schemes, which pay a guaranteed income in retirement. Most companies now offer only defined contribution schemes, where your income in retirement depends on how much you have paid in and how those investments have performed.
Labour’s 2024 manifesto said the party would not issue new North Sea licences, but Burnham appeared to leave the door open to a change.
Available on the Times Radio app or wherever you get your podcasts
The tax-free personal allowance has been £12,570 since 2021 and will be frozen at that level until at least 2031. The full new state pension is £12,547 this year and will rise next April.
Miatta Fahnbulleh, who succeeded Ed Miliband as energy secretary, said the manifesto was clear that there was scope to exploit existing licences and that oil and gas were “part of the mix”.
Save up to 30% with a subscription to The Times and The Sunday Times
THETIMES.COM/SUBSCRIBE
six-month average.” If diesel rises to 185p per litre, it will still fall short of the peak of 192p in April, according to RAC figures. The peak price for petrol during the Iran war was 159.53p per litre, on May 28.
Herbie Russell
17
latest price data from RAC
The price of petrol at the pump may rise today to its highest since the start of US-Iran war, analysts have said.
190p
15
8
16
170
Forecourts were selling petrol at 159.55p per litre yesterday and prices are expected to pass 160p if escalation in the Gulf region persists. The United States launched new strikes against Iran on Wednesday evening after Tehran targeted ships in the Strait of Hormuz and US bases in Jordan.
It costs £87.75 to fill up a 55-litre family car with petrol and £98.07 for the diesel equivalent, the RAC said. If petrol reaches 160p per litre, filling up will cost £88. If diesel rises to 180p per litre, it will cost £99.
150
17
Source: GOVUK, RAC
130
21
19
Feb 23 Apr 6 May 18 Jun 29 Jul 29
26
director at PetrolPrices, said yesterday that 159.9p per litre was the most common petrol price on forecourts and that the mean average was lower, at 157.1p.
23
Crude oil, which dictates the price of petrol and diesel, was trading at above $90 per barrel yesterday, a $3 increase from Wednesday and about $19 above its price a year earlier.
4
Simon Williams, head of policy at the RAC, said: “The outlook for fuel prices is pretty grim. It looks highly likely that a litre of petrol will surpass 160p on average ... a new record since the United States-Iran conflict began. Diesel will reach 180p very soon and will continue to rise towards 185p.”
“Many retailers appear reluctant to move above the psychologically important 160p-per-litre threshold,” he said. “Much of the recent rise in wholesale unleaded costs has already been reflected at the pumps, but retail margins remain slightly below their
Warm and mostly dry in England and Wales. Showers in Scotland and Ireland.
Williams said: “What’s needed is a sustained drop in the oil price over several weeks and, unless that happens, elevated prices at the pump look like they’re here to stay.”
James Hitchman, the operations
the times | Friday July 31 2026 S1 3
ZOE NORFOLK FOR THE TIMES
Emily Maton and the other members of the Lionesses A team, one of whom will have to drop out under the rules for Division 1 of the Four Nations Chess League
Man up to join top set, officials tell chess queens
British chess: Division 1 of the Four Nations Chess League (4NCL), a prestigious national team event.
otherwise, one of their players will have to be replaced by a male.
team. Before the matches we’ll help each other. We’ll share resources, we’ll discuss tactics.
the gender imbalance in chess by encouraging more young girls to try the sport. It has helped 1,800 players so far.
An all-female team have been informed they must bring in a male player to meet rules, writes Seren Hughes
Mike Truran, finance director for 4NCL, said all the team captains from the 2025-26 season had been surveyed about whether the rule should be changed and there had been “no significant appetite”, but that 4NCL remained “open to changing the rule should captains’ opinions change”.
The team are delighted by their success in a male-dominated sport which, many women argue, creates an inhospitable environment for them.
“When I was playing for other teams in the past, it would just be me and these men that I could just not relate to. And quite often it felt like you were only on the team so that they could fill the diversity quota.
Maton, who will compete at the U20 European championships next week, has played chess competitively since she was nine but recalls “always feeling hugely outnumbered” by men at tournaments. “I basically stopped attending my school chess club in secondary school just because you felt so isolated and out of place,” she said.
Despite their achievements, the Lionesses A team — which includes eight players between the ages of 11 and 19 — has hit a big snag: they have been told they must bring in a male player to comply with league rules. This is something Maton and the team are steadfastly against, as it would “undermine the community” they have built.
“So this team, it’s been an amazing step away from that, to be part of a team because of your own achievements. We’re still outnumbered, but we’re definitely seeing some progress, especially at the lower levels.
He added: “There is no evidence that the rule as it stands discourages female participation in chess. Indeed, we believe that by requiring all teams in the top division to have at least one female player we actively encourage female participation in chess. We try to avoid positive discrimination/affirmative action if we can.” A team with seven female players and one male player won the top division in 2010-11.
Since she was nine, Emily Maton has played the long game. She prefers to grind a chess match out over six hours to slowly “break down” her opponents, a method that has won her many accolades in the sport.
As her team moved up the divisions at 4NCL, Maton, who is studying philosophy, politics and economics at the University of Oxford, said people had told them that “we don’t deserve to be there, that we don’t belong, we’re going to struggle”.
“It is a huge achievement for us to get promoted to that top level and prove them wrong that an all-female team can do it.”
In the league, eight players from each team play matches and the team with the most wins take the title. The rules say that each team in Division 1 have at least one male and one female player. Ironically, the rule was created to boost female participation. It has stood since the league’s inception in 1994, and 4NCL has refused to change it. It is the only league in the UK to require mixed teams.
However, it is not only the strategy of the game she had to use to reach the top. On more than one occasion she witnessed a male player “smash all the pieces of the board and talk about how they can’t believe they lost to a girl”, Maton, 18, from St Albans, told The Times. “It would be me and my one friend and then a room of 50-year-old men,” she added.
To achieve that and then to be told, “actually, you can’t just be a female team anymore” undermined the “team dynamic and this community” she said.
She added: “You see so many girls quit at around 13 years old just because they’re sick of having people constantly doubting them.”
D’Costa said: “Not enough girls are playing chess at a young age, and this matters because chess teaches unique strategic skills for life.
Maton said that discussions about changing the rule had been happening for a while but that, now her team had been promoted, 4NCL had “become a bit more irate”. The league begins again in October, and the team hope they can get the rule changed before then;
She Plays to Win has countered that by creating a “strong community” of women and girls that hosts weekly dinners.
“Learning these skills can help more girls go on to thrive in the type of strategic roles that end up defining the world of tomorrow — roles that for too long have been dominated by men.”
Faced with this overwhelming adversity, she joined an all-female chess team who, in May this year, became the first to reach the top tier of
The Lionesses A Team is part of She Plays to Win, a non-profit created by Lorin D’Costa in 2020 to help change
Maton said: “We’re playing because we want this team to succeed and we really care about the others on the
1955, which prompted a boycott led by Martin Luther King. Players were invited to look for bus stops and help people to their de-segregated seats.
and chose members of a “truth and reconciliation commission” panel, set up to allow
tortured and executed, while his coconspirators were hunted down and killed. Factual material alongside the game explained the relevance of Bonfire Night as a celebration of the plot’s failure, and players were encouraged to build their own digital bonfires.
Fawkes during the attempted regicide, helping him evade the royal guard in the basement of parliament and kill rats while imprisoned in the Tower of London.
Amelia Stout
The BBC has been forced to pull a children’s educational game that placed Guy Fawkes alongside Nelson Mandela, Rosa Parks and Emmeline Pankhurst as “astonishing activists”.
victims of human rights abuses to share their stories after the end of apartheid.
A similar BBC Bitesize game allows children to play as Neil Armstrong, the astronaut, Amelia Earhart, the pioneering aviator, and Ibn Battuta, the medieval Muslim traveller.
Fawkes was discovered guarding barrels of gunpowder beneath the House of Lords on November 5, 1605. The conspirators planned to detonate the explosives during the opening of parliament, killing James I and potentially hundreds of courtiers and politicians. Angered by James’s failure to ease the persecution of Catholics, they hoped the attack would trigger an uprising and lead to the installation of a sympathetic ruler. Fawkes was caught,
Children playing as Pankhurst could create a
The online resource invited primary school children to learn about people who “fought racism, campaigned for women’s rights... and changed the world for ever” — including the Gunpowder Plot conspirator who tried to blow up parliament and kill the King.
banner, recruit supporters for women’s suffrage and collect
In the Mandela section, pupils helped the future South African president put up posters, watched the years pass during his imprisonment
The BBC said: “We acknowledge this description was too nuanced for the intended age group and have taken the decision to remove the game. Bitesize contains thousands of educational resources that we regularly review to ensure they remain relevant and appropriate for the audience.”
votes in a ballot box.
The Parks section recounted the civil rights
activist’s refusal to give up her seat to a white passenger on a segre-
Entitled Back in Time With . . . Astonishing Activists, the BBC Bitesize game invited children to take on the role of
Guy Fawkes was included in the game alongside Nelson Mandela and Rosa Parks
gated bus in Alabama in
week where wildfires have destroyed homes. “You could see it from the house and then all the alerts started going off on your phones,” Arkle said. “The village next to us was leaving, almost identical [to now]. It was the night before we were meant to check out.”
Police evacuated a Suffolk holiday park and advised locals to clear the area, writes Lara Wildenberg
The family then came to Dunwich. “It was a bit surreal yesterday because it was heaving on the beach, then we could hear sirens and see smoke and I said, ‘It’s a wildfire.’ The kids said, ‘No mum, don’t be silly.’
There are hundreds of species of birds in the thousands of acres of heath at RSPB Minsmere, but yesterday morning, according to one bird watcher, the dawn chorus was quiet.
“It’s quite stressful, definitely. You realise quite quickly there’s nothing you can do about it. The smoke was coming up right across here.”
The nature reserve is near the Suffolk woodland burning in a forest fire that started two days ago.
One of the teenagers, who did not give his name, said: “It’s scary when you go to bed. You don’t know if it’s going to get worse overnight.”
By yesterday evening the affected area had grown to 370 acres and a major incident had been declared in the county. The rest of the country is on high alert for blazes caused by recordbreaking temperatures.
The family said the information in France had been much better, including alerts on their phones.
Suffolk Fire and Rescue Service was called to reports of a blaze at Dunwich Heath near Leiston shortly after 5.30pm on Wednesday. By yesterday evening there were 120 firefighters and a helicopter tackling the fire. They were expected to work throughout the night.
Arkle said: “There’s no reception here, no wifi, so that’s why we decided to go. Without power, how do we know [to evacuate] unless we [get a] knock on the door?”
A family from the Netherlands were due to stay at the Ship Inn but were relocated to the Westleton Crown. They came over by ferry from Rotterdam to Harwich and learnt of the fire at breakfast. Karina De Roos, 51, from the Utrecht area, said they had not expected wildfires in England.
Sizewell B is three miles south of the fire, and a source familiar with operations said that there were “concerns” because of the ventilation and airconditioning systems.
Freddie Gulliver, from the Suffolk joint emergency planning unit, said last night that Sizewell was “not a risk, not a concern at this current stage”.
She said: “My Dutch friends said, ‘How can that be?’ ”
Her husband, Marnix, 54, said: “We thought we won’t go to Spain or France, we better go here.”
Holidaymakers staying in 200 caravans at Cliff House Holiday Park and in apartments at Coastguard Cottages and Mount Pleasant Farm were evacuated. Gulliver said that no properties had been destroyed and he had no knowledge of plans for other areas to be
Karina said: “We thought it would be nice, not too hot. Now we’re here, we’re not sure where this is or what we can do here but at least they relocated us so we have a room.”
One person who has lived in Dunwich of 17 years, who did not wish to be named, said that her daughter, who was staying with her, had packed her bags despite arriving that day. Her granddaughter, who is 12, had cried about the climate emergency.
Southwold
A12 Dunwich
Sally Taylor, 63, an artist from east London, runs a holiday let in Dunwich where she is considering moving with her husband. “Now we’ve got wildfires that could happen any time this year and probably now on, for ever,” she said. “This is our business but we were planning to live here and it’s very precious. It’s really hot in London. We thought ‘we can’t cope with this’ but we come here and it’s surrounded by dry woods.”
Dunwich Heath wildfire
SUFFOLK
Sizewell B power station
3 miles
A wildfire burns at Dunwich Heath, near the Sizewell B nuclear power station in Suffolk. Firefighters have been battling the
evacuated. The village of Dunwich was quiet as residents awaited instructions to evacuate or decided to leave.
Their guest had cancelled but instead of staying in the cottage themselves, they were weighing up whether to stay with a friend due to the changing winds.
One person said that the beach was the quietest it had been since Covid. Others worried about the fate of the flower festival due to be held at the weekend. The pub, The Ship Inn, was closed.
Evacuees took refuge in Westleton village hall, where a local chef cooked them breakfast and supermarkets donated supplies including 40 airbeds. A few were expected to stay in the hall overnight.
more than 1,000 acres have been burnt near Prilep.
In Portugal, two outbreaks are being contained but are so hot that local firefighters are finding them impossible to extinguish. One fire chief said that the water his team were dropping from planes was evaporating before it reached the area.
Peter Chappell
In Bulgaria, the emergency services extinguished 120 fires in 24 hours and two people were injured. In Hungary, the prime minister, Peter Magyar, has closed a nuclear power station for the first time in its history in response to low water levels in the Danube.
Europe is ablaze after “whiplash” climate conditions have caused recordbreaking wildfires across the continent.
A police officer made rounds yesterday afternoon “strongly advising” people to leave, although not ordering an evacuation, and carrying out welfare checks on elderly residents.
Jan Tucker, from West Sussex, was evacuated from the £300,000 holiday lodge she and her husband bought seven years ago.
More than 300,000 people have fled their homes in France and Spain, where firefighters are beginning to get the blazes under control. The extreme severity of wet-then-dry weather between winter and summer has been blamed for the intensity of the fires.
The Bordeaux region of France has experienced the worst of the continent’s fires, including an area four times the size of Paris that has burnt outside Bordeaux.
A family of six from Norfolk
“We’d been waiting for it to happen because it’s all so dry all around here since we first
The Chiemgau Alps mountain range inGermany is on fire and 200 firefighters and emergency personnel are on the scene. In Turkey, firefighters battled wildfires on Wednesday near the southern tourist beaches and hundreds of people were evacuated.
were putting suitcases in their car, ending their holiday in Dunwich a day early.
went there,” she said.
The Gironde and Landes have been ravaged, but the area has not increased overnight and yesterday’s weather was expected to help.
Winter rain caused more than average growth of trees and vegetation, before high temperatures dried them to a crisp. Then western Europe experienced its hottest June on record, bringing temperatures 3.06C higher than the 1990-2020 average.
Jo Arkle, 42, who works in renewable energy, said: “It’s time to go. This is the second time we had to evacuate. We had to leave France before we came here. We thought we’d stick it out a little longer and see what happens.”
Last night Suffolk Fire and Rescue Service said the situation seemed to be “stabilising”. At 10pm
In Italy, forested areas in the Apennines near L’Aquila are on fire, as is also the case in the regions of Calabria and the north coast of Sicily.
Many residents in France and Spain are beginning to return home after firefighters made progress. The last remaining evacuation orders have been lifted for municipalities in the region of Madrid.
it posted: “Although this remains a dynamic incident ...
In Spain, the country’s largest ever wildfire has been burning in Sierra Oeste, west of Madrid. Responders say the fire has stopped growing and did not spread overnight on Wednesday. The authorities are also keeping an eye on a smaller fire near Valencia.
we believe we are in a better position than early
In nearby Corsica, firefighters are battling a blaze near the mountain town of Corte. The Restonica Valley, an area popular with hikers for its natural beauty, has been almost completely destroyed.
this evening at 5pm.”
Three firefighters have died in Greece after trying to get fires under control in Crete and the Peloponnese region. In North Macedonia,
The family were near Cotignac last
JOE GIDDENS/PA; JOSHUA BRATT FOR THE TIMES; JACQUELINE LAWRIE/LNP
Charlotte Bend and health inequalities, with the price gap between healthy and less healthy food at the widest it’s been for over a decade. At the same time farmers are struggling to make ends meet.”
Wildfires and extreme weather pose a risk to the nation’s food supplies, bosses of Britain’s biggest supermarkets have warned in a letter to Andy Burnham.
With international conflict pushing fertiliser costs up by more than 40 per cent since last year and UK food prices on track to be 50 per cent higher by November than at the start of the costof-living crisis, the letter sets out requirements for a Good Food Bill.
The call to action to protect food security and reduce dependence on imports had more than 100 signatories, including the chief executives of Tesco, Waitrose, Sainsbury’s, Aldi and the Co-op, making up over 60 per cent of the grocery market share.
These include setting legally binding targets to reduce childhood obesity, reducing household food insecurity, requiring the government to publish a reference diet for all departments to work from so that policy across departments can work towards the same goals and to place a duty on ministers to consider food in decisions across health, education, farming, planning, environment and trade.
The letter, which was drafted by the charity organisation The Food Foundation, urges the prime minister to back a legally binding framework that would improve national food and nutrition security.
The intervention comes amid growing concern about the effects of global warming on food production. The wildfires across Europe are part of increasingly extreme conditions facing farmers, with droughts, floods and heatwaves making harvests more vulnerable and disrupting international supply chains.
The letter also argues for five-year Good Food Action plans setting out how targets will be met, the empowerment of local leaders and the establishment of independent oversight to report annual progress publicly.
Rising temperatures and increasingly volatile weather are placing pressure on domestic agriculture while threatening many of the countries on which Britain relies for fruit and vegetables.
Ashwin Prasad, Tesco UK chief executive officer, said: “The Good Food Bill has the potential to provide the accountability and long-term commitment needed to drive meaningful change.”
Signatories include food suppliers such as Danone and Greencore, the sandwich manufacturer, as well as charities including Barnardo’s, Amnesty International UK and WWFUK. Investment companies including Rathbones, farming organisations such as Soil Association and health organisations including the World Cancer Research Fund were also on the list.
At a time when drought has been declared across half of England after record low rainfall and high temperatures, Simon Roberts, chief executive of Sainsbury’s, noted how recent weeks had “shown just how much pressure our food system is under”.
Roberts added: “We need a more resilient food system that attracts investment, backs British farmers and helps keep affordable, nutritious food on tables across the nation.
Anna Taylor, executive director at The Food Foundation, described the food system as “dangerously exposed to shocks far beyond our borders” resulting in a need for a “long-term framework” to build resilience.
“Food and farming should be at the heart of government policy, helping to build a stronger and more resilient future. That’s why I’ve signed the Good
She added: “Over the last few years, we have seen this play out through rising food prices and increasing diet
blaze which forced Dutch tourists Karina and Marnix De Roos and their daughter Valerie, left, to find an alternative hotel Food Bill.”
intense heat and the return of the south/southwest wind in the afternoon,” Anne-Cécile Vialle, the sub-prefect of the area, told French television.
Joshua Thurston
George and Amal Clooney have evacuated their estate in southern France as wildfires continue to rage across Europe.
occurred every 50 to 100 years, could happen almost every other year.
Rhys Blakely Science Editor
The authorities told 84,000 evacuees forced out by wildfires yesterday to return to their homes.
“Five years ago, fires like those we’ve seen in Suffolk would have been a surprise,” he said. “They’ve become inevitable, in a sense, because conditions are getting worse.”
Ministers must consider new laws and tougher penalties to stop people lighting bonfires or using disposable barbecues during droughts, a senior scientist said, as wildfires blazed across Britain.
The couple’s 18th-century home in the town of Brignoles, in the ProvenceAlpes-Côte d’Azur region, is in one of the many areas threatened by wildfires spreading across France, Spain, Italy and Greece.
Clooney, 65, and his lawyer wife, 48, became French citizens last year, along with their nine-year-old twins, Alexander and Ella. Their estate, Domaine du Canadel, features 425 acres of land, a 25-acre vineyard, a 22-metre pool, an olive grove, lake and tennis courts.
More than 200 wildfires were recorded in England and Wales between July 16 and 28, according to the National Fire Chiefs Council.
Professor Nigel Arnell, of the University of Reading’s department of meteorology, said the large fire at Dunwich Heath in Suffolk would once have been regarded as extraordinary.
The couple announced their evacuation in a letter to Didier Brémond, the mayor of Brignoles.
Domaine du Canadel is in Brignoles, north of Toulon in southern France
Most are caused by people, through discarded cigarettes, barbecues, machinery, controlled burns that escape control, or deliberate acts.
A short drive from the estate is the winery owned by Brad Pitt, Château Miraval, which became the subject of a dispute after Angelina Jolie filed for divorce in 2016. It is also likely to be under threat from the fire.
However, as climate change brings hotter and drier summers, the country is likely to see similar scenes far more often, he said.
“Dear Didier, at this point we have no idea whether our beautiful home makes it through this terrible moment,” the letter read. “As we evacuate Brignoles we want to emphasise two things, first we hope you and the people of our city are safe, and second that Amal and I are committed to making sure that whatever happens to our village, we are part of this community and we’ll be part of making it whole. We
love Brignoles and our friends who live there.”
At present there is no single UK law that automatically bans bonfires or disposable barbecues because a drought has been declared.
The French authorities said yesterday that the fire in Brignoles, in the Var department, was contained and brought under control overnight. The blaze, which started on Wednesday, burnt 130 hectares and four firefighters were injured trying to contain it. “This morning, the work continues before the
Arnell’s research suggests that in the south and east of England, the average number of “very high” fire danger days each year could more than quadruple by 2080, increasing from about 20 days a year to more than 100 days. So-called “exceptional danger” days, which once
Domaine du Canadel is one of several properties the Clooneys own across the world. Others include an estate in Italy’s Lake Como region, bought in 2002, and a historic manor in Berkshire.
“There’s also a case for more public education,” Arnell added. “I’ve seen people lighting bonfires in the past few days ... they’re not thinking properly.”
JANE BARLOW/PA
Quintagram® No 2634
A A A A C D E F F G G G I I I L L L N N N O O P P P R R S T W Y
Solutions see T2 MindGames p15 Cryptic clues T2 MindGames p14
Palestine Action can challenge the Home Office’s decision to ban the group as a terrorist organisation on the ground that Yvette Cooper, who was home secretary at the time, incorrectly applied her policy. It cannot challenge on interference with freedom of speech or freedom of association. The Supreme Court will hear the case this year.
Shape shift The “full buck” supermoon, named because male deer regrow their antlers in July, rises behind Emer Tumilty’s Commonwealth Games artwork in Glasgow
Tracy Tomlinson, 58, from Greater Manchester, who has advanced ovarian cancer, has become the first person to receive a new therapy that uses immune cells from donors. ZI-MA4-1 harnesses natural killer cells, which destroy abnormal ones, and T-cell receptors on the cells are engineered to target tumours producing Mage-A4, a protein.
In the 12 months to March, 51,419 prisoners were put back behind bars after breaching their licences, an increase of 28 per cent from 40,259 in the previous 12 months and the highest number since 2015.
Andy Keen-Downs, chief executive of the Prison Advice charity, which supports prisoners, said: “The prison population crisis will not be solved if as many people are being sent back to prison as are leaving it.
there being nearly 10,000 people in the last quarter alone.
Matt Dathan Home Affairs Editor
The proportion of criminals who reoffend has hit a record high, according to data also showing that more than 70,000 prisoners have been freed under Labour’s early release scheme.
“We know from our work with people in the criminal justice system that many of these recalls are linked to homelessness after leaving prison, addiction to drugs and alcohol and mental health issues.”
Diane Abbott says she has been readmitted to Labour. She was suspended in July last year after defending remarks for which she had apologised. The MP for Hackney North & Stoke Newington served an initial suspension in 2023 after suggesting that Jewish, Irish and Traveller people experienced prejudice but not racism.
The MoJ admitted that the early release scheme was “likely” to have contributed to the rise in recalls. However, it also said that it was likely to have been influenced by changes under which most offenders are taken back into custody for 56 days, instead of being held until the end of their sentence. This was another measure designed to tackle overcrowding, although the most serious offenders are still subject to the standard recall.
“Recall is an important tool for protecting the public, and where someone presents a genuine risk of harm there must always be a swift response. However, hundreds of people are recalled every month not because they have committed new offences but because they have fallen foul of licence conditions. This makes little sense at a time when the government is doing everything it can to reduce pressure on the prison system.”
Nearly 25,000 adult criminals have committed more than 127,000 new offences since July 2024, according to Ministry of Justice figures. This means that the reoffending rate for all adult criminals — including those not previously imprisoned — was 31.9 per cent, up from 29.2 per cent the previous year and the highest since the data started to be recorded, in 2013.
A total of 70,066 prisoners have been freed early since September 2024, when Labour brought in emergency measures to tackle prison overcrowding. The proportion of sentences some prisoners must serve in England and Wales was reduced from 50 per cent to 40 per cent.
Nick Timothy, the shadow justice secretary, said Labour had “reached for the easiest tools possible”.
The medals of Brigadier General William Scott-Moncrieff, who was killed leading a charge at Gallipoli, have been sold for £10,000. Moncrieff came out of retirement at the age of 56 to serve in the First World War and was commanding officer of 156th (Scottish Rifles) Brigade at the Battle of Gully Ravine. His medals included the 1914-15 Star.
MoJ figures also showed that more people were recalled to prison than were released in the first three months of this year. A total of 12,977 prisoners were released from jail between January and March but 13,193 were recalled.
Only 22 per cent of prison recalls involved a new charge. Most were prompted by breaches of licence conditions, such as failing to keep in touch with probation services.
Enver Solomon, chief executive of the social justice charity Nacro, said: “Thousands of people are being sent back to custody each year for licence breaches rather than new crimes, with
The MoJ said that the government had taken “decisive action” to prevent the “total collapse of our prison system”, adding: “Protecting the public will always be our top priority.”
self-harming and sitting in their own vomit after being “shoved” into the rooms. The footage emerged in a three-year investigation by the BBC. The broadcaster said at the time that it had also found “evidence of mistreatment in seclusion rooms at other schools across the UK”. One autistic child was alleged to have been “kept inside a cage”.
Day said that the review, published by Waltham Forest Safeguarding Partners, had found that “children’s dignity, safety and wellbeing were compromised and that the use of seclusion was not therapeutic or supportive, but punitive”. They added that the parents had been justified in describing the practices as “inhumane”.
Jonathan Ames Legal Editor
Ten parents are to sue a London school after CCTV images allegedly showed pupils with autism being mistreated in “inhumane” isolation rooms.
Lawyers said yesterday that they were planning to issue proceedings against the Flourish Learning Trust, which ran the Whitefield School in northeast London.
Our free radio station has all the latest headlines, interviews and debates every morning
Flourish Learning Trust said: “We recognise the seriousness of the events ... and our thoughts remain with the children and families affected. The trust no longer operates any schools, and none of the leadership are in post. Arrangements are in place to ensure oversight until the trust is ... closed.”
Dame Rachel de Souza, the children’s commissioner, said that the footage depicted “absolutely appalling experiences” as she called for formal review of previous practices at the academy.
Listen seven days a week
A leaked video emerged in 2024 that purported to show children being thrown to the floor or restrained by their necks while shut inside padded and windowless “calming rooms”. Pupils were shown to be allegedly
On DAB, app, website and smart
Leaked CCTV footage showed a pupil speaker being pushed into a “calming room”
Yesterday, lawyers at the firm Leigh
Rhys Blakely Science Editor
The natural world is supposed to be a cruel and unforgiving place, red in tooth and claw.
Yet researchers at the University of Oxford have found hundreds of examples of animals of different species that might normally ignore, avoid or eat each other behaving in a friendly way.
Among the more striking cases were stump-tailed macaques grooming domestic dogs in Thailand, tufted grey langurs stroking giant squirrels in Sri Lanka and young snub-nosed monkeys playing with farmyard pigs in China.
Handling said: “I have no idea what goes through kids’ heads when they’re doing it, but you know the thing? I don’t understand the parents who allow their children to act that way in public places.
Herbie Russell
A Michelin-starred chef has criticised the parents of “selfish little brats” who broke into a chicken coop at one of his pubs and smashed fertilised eggs.
In Brazil, a troop of capuchin monkeys adopted an infant marmoset and cared for it for ten months. In the jungles of Madagascar, lemurs groomed other lemur species as if they were kin.
“There were about 30 or 40 fertilised eggs that were completely smashed because of these selfish little brats. It’s totally unacceptable. It says more about the parents than the child.”
Adam Handling, a formerMasterChef finalist, attacked “evil” guests who let their children run riot while other diners let their dog savage chickens at his Tartan Fox pub near Newquay, Cornwall.
The study, published in the journal Primates, is described as the first comprehensive review of friendly social behaviour between non-human primates and other species. Often it seemed as if they were being nice with no obvious reward.
Although nobody witnessed the incident, the chef said only a child or an “extremely small adult” could have got inside the coop. He added: “We’re installing motion detector cameras all around
The chef, 37, now plans to install extra CCTV and motion sensors to “idiotproof” the three-acre establishment.
Handling said that diners had be-
the chicken area so people can watch the chicken cams on our website, but also for us to see when anything goes wrong.
come “frivolous” when it came to child discipline in restaurants, noting that children were often allowed to use their phones at the table.
Researchers compiled 427 cases involving 88 primate species and 127 “partner species”. The most common types of behaviour were play and grooming, though holding, carrying, huddling with and sharing food were also recorded.
Handling explained that the pub’s 48 chickens were housed in a coop protected by two layers of fencing, but were allowed to roam freely around the grounds whenever possible.
Young primates were especially likely to play, with some seen riding deer, while adult females were the most enthusiastic groomers.
He described how one set of guests ignored signs asking them to keep dogs on leads, allowing their pet to attack the chickens. Although Handling said in the video that “a few” of the chickens had died
Dr Cyril Grueter, who led the study, said: “Humans have long been considered unique in forming close social relationships with other species. Our study shows that many primates also display remarkable curiosity, tolerance and even caregiving towards animals that are not their own species.”
Adam Handling, a Michelin-starred chef, accused diners of letting their dog savage his chickens. Left, hens at his Tartan Fox pub near Newquay, Cornwall
“obnoxious behaviour”. Tom Kerridge previously told the Red Talks podcast that he received more complaints from guests when there had been heavy drinking. He said he tended to ignore TripAdvisor reviewers, explaining: “You do get the odd thoughtless person who complains. We had someone complain that the lamb tasted too lamby.”
they do their own thing. It’s not like when we were children.
“For me, it’s lack of education and lack of parenting. The kids would have had to have been away from the table for some time. It’s unusual for parents not to keep an eye out for where their kids are, quite frankly.”
He said: “They are pretty much completely handreared. So when they see humans, these wonderful little things come running at you,
He added: “These behaviours don’t amount to pet-keeping as we know it, but they may represent some of the evolutionary building blocks from which human-animal companionship eventually emerged.”
The Tartan Fox is one of six venues run by Handling, including the Michelin-starred Frog restaurant in central London. He said one “bad apple” did not mean all guests were incapable of good manners. However, he is not the first person to complain of a decline in decorum. In 2022 the restaurateur Keith McNally banned James Corden from his restaurant, Balthazar, after accusing the actor and comedian of
This year a mother whose child “spoilt” a former BBC newsreader’s lunch at a country hotel insisted that her children were well behaved, and labelled the comments “unfair and frankly offensive”. Alex Edwards, 35, said her family had been unfairly targeted by Jan Leeming, who complained online about how a meal at a country hotel was ruined by a screaming child.
That day, while diners were enjoying Sunday lunches priced at £49 for three courses, Handling said children crawled through the coop’s entrance.
they’ll peck your shoes.” He described the birds as “my babies”.
Not all encounters were affectionate. A male baboon in Saudi Arabia appeared to have kidnapped a domestic puppy. Researchers recorded 13 instances in which the partner animal died.
The chef, who was a finalist on MasterChef: The Professionals in 2013, said: “What I do feel is, when it comes to the younger generations, people are a little bit more frivolous with discipline.”
Staff later found the debris, including eggshells and the yolks of between 30 and 40 eggs left stuck to a tree half an acre from the dining area.
Grueter said the findings could help improve the management of mixedspecies groups in zoos and sanctuaries.
He added: “Kids are on their phones;
In a video posted to Instagram,
Chalk grassland scheme to help threatened butterflies
Wasps are pest controllers. Remove
sects multiplied. This year she has not been bothered by the media.
Rhys Blakely
Sumner is asking the public to help record the wasp population through a project known as the Ham or Jam survey. Anyone visited by a wasp while eating outside is asked to look at whether the wasp chooses protein or sugar. A wasp going for a ham or chicken sandwich is gathering protein for its larvae. One seeking jam is feeding itself.
After you see a hungry wasp you can report what food it was seeking using a simple online questionnaire.
Sumner recommends that picnickers
She suspects that a “triple whammy” of difficult weather could explain the wasp shortfall. The spring’s promising start was interrupted by sudden cold and wet weather, including almost frosty nights in May. That may have killed queens or destroyed young nests.
If beer gardens have seemed more comfortable recently and picnics rather less fraught, scientists may have an answer: Britain appears to be suffering from a national shortage of wasps.
An area of “precious” chalk grassland the size of nearly 70 football pitches is to be restored as part of a £160,000 project to provide new habitat for the threatened Duke of Burgundy butterfly.
instate the chalk landscape and reintroduce a natural water supply ... to enable areas to be grazed by animals — a more natural, less intensive approach to managing this fragile habitat”.
Professor Seirian Sumner, a behavioural ecologist at University College London, believes several indicators are pointing in the same direction.
The scheme, led by Hampshire county council and the South Downs National Park, will also help orchids, cowslip, harebell and the chalk hill blue butterfly at Butser Hill National Nature Reserve near Petersfield.
The Duke of Burgundy butterfly is categorised as vulnerable on the GB
Then came repeated heatwaves. Parched ground, dying flowers and depleted nectar supplies left adult wasps with less food, while also reducing the range and nutritional quality of the insects they catch for their larvae. The wasps that have appeared have often seemed unusually small.
red list and has threatened status in Europe. Funding for
The first is the pest-control industry. Its workers are called when nests appear in attics, sheds and gardens. “They say it’s a very, very quiet year,” Sumner said.
the project has been provided by National Grid’s
Landscape Enhance-
ment Initiative, the Big Chalk Partnership’s Nature Recovery Fund
Another is the media. When wasps become numerous, newspapers tend to write about it. Last year Sumner, who is also the author of the popular science book Endless Forms: Why We Should Love Wasps, gave dozens of interviews to reporters as complaints about the in-
For picnickers, fewer wasps may sound like cause for celebration. But Sumner suspects unwanted consequences. “My kitchen is full of flies,” she said. “And one reason might be because there are no top predators around.”
The council said the works would “help re-
and the South Downs National Park
Authority’s community infrastructure levy.
The Duke of Burgundy is one species at risk that will benefit
8 Friday July 31 2026 | the times
ments related to the next parliament a reference to the 3.5 per cent Nato target only.
Larisa Brown Defence Editor out how they will be paid for. We’ve seen in the past, I’m afraid, under our Conservative predecessors, the heavy price Britain pays when you look like you’re playing fast and loose with the public finances and setting out reckless spending without saying how it would be funded or setting out reckless tax cuts without saying how they would be funded.
Andy Burnham has been accused by one of the authors of the strategic defence review of using a submarine announcement as a “smokescreen” for “dodging” defence spending problems.
No 10 announced £8.4 billion would be invested in the next stage of the project to build four new nuclear-armed Dreadnought submarines that will eventually replace the ageing Vanguard fleet that makes up Britain’s continuous at-sea Trident deterrent.
General Sir Richard Barrons, a former head of joint forces command and co-author of the review of Britain’s armed forces, warned that for the UK to “credibly deter” Russia by 2030 it needed more money faster than currently planned.
Barrons pointed out the funding for the submarines was “not new money”, although Burnham’s emphasis on using Britain’s defence programmes to reindustrialise parts of the country was.
“So that commitment to fiscal discipline is important, because if you don’t do that, you end up paying a far heavier price for losing that credibility and we will not make those mistakes.”
He questioned whether hitting the Nato target of spending 3.5 per cent of GDP on defence by 2035 would be feasible if steps were not taken now to dramatically increase defence spending and said Burnham needed to “seriously brush up” on national security.
He said: “The project was approved years ago and the recent defence investment plan under Starmer outlined £63.6 billion to fund it. This £8.4 billion figure is within that envelope and just signifies the latest contracts for the project. Instead of making this about the security of the nation as a first-order talking point, Burnham has pivoted to a domestic focus.”
John Healey, who resigned as defence secretary under Sir Keir Starmer’s leadership and is now chancellor, said upon his resignation that he was “certain” Britain should reach 3 per cent by 2030. Healey later told the BBC that the next spending review should set a “necessary target date” for 3 per cent on a “convincing, credible path to meeting that 3.5 per cent target that we have signed up to as a nation”.
Barrons told The Times: “Talking about current, funded nuclear programmes cannot be a smokescreen for dodging the issue of the defence spending needed in time for the UK, in Nato, to credibly deter Russia by 2030 not 2035. This is a problem that will not go away just by ignoring it and the clock is ticking ever louder.”
He said the prime minister had made a “clever link that fits well into his priority of fixing regional inequality” but that Burnham will “need to seriously brush up on national security and defence to confront the very real threats Britain faces in the 2020s”.
He said “Britain can’t lead if we are lagging behind” and by 2030 more than half the Nato nations will have reached or exceeded 3 per cent. The funding currently available for the defence investment plan will mean the UK spend-
A senior military source added: “It is really important for the morale of service personnel that we as a country are seen to be making the investments that will make us credible in military alliances.”
Military officers in the Ministry of Defence welcomed the appointment of Healey to the Treasury, believing it signalled a dramatic increase for defence before the next election. However, Barrons said “this now looks in doubt”.
ing 2.68 per cent by 2030.
Healey warned there could be an attack by Russia on Nato as soon as that date and “European security is
at stake”.
On a visit to Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, yesterday, Wes Streeting, the defence secretary, said he was “not ruling out” committing to 3 per cent spending by the next parliament, but that it was a question for future budgets and spending reviews.
Burnham faced questions about the 3 per cent by 2030 on Wednesday and gave his
John Foreman, a former defence attaché to Moscow and Kyiv, said the existing defence programme was “overheated and unfunded”.
strongest indication yet that he would not increase
He said: “What they need is to set out a path to 3.5 per cent. And they won’t do that until after the next general election. If then. Burnham won’t get reelected by spending more on defence.”
the defence budget to meet the figure in the next four years. He said
A 4,000 sq m land art portrait of Andy Burnham created by Sand In Your Eye and
Poor Andy, held back all the way to No 10
that defence commit-
Reaching 3 per cent by the next parliament would cost the UK an additional £17.3 billion in 2029-30, according to the Office for Budget Responsibility.
He told Times Radio: “When we make spending commitments, it’s really important we set
General Sir Richard Barrons is a former head of joint forces command
McLoughlin seemed to want to talk more about the past than the future, specifically Burnham’s past, and how it had led him here, to the highest, most exalted job of the present. How had a humble, working-class lad from Manchester somehow made it all the way to No 10, with only his clear-eyed ambition and his degree from Cambridge to guide him?
Tom Peck Political Sketch
A rescue yesterday after a failed attempt to cross the Channel from a beach near Dunkirk
I
some situations but not others. “The gendarmes are very cautious. Last year, when they slashed the boats, it led to quite a difficult situation,” they said. “Land-based officers can’t go into the water because they will be criminally responsible if someone dies ... but they will go in and do it depending on the right circumstances. It’s quite frustrating because it’s not consistent.”
t’s been a busy start for Britain’s brand new prime minister but not so busy that he didn’t have time for the now-obligatory long-form chat, which is not to
Burnham likes to pretend to be as shocked as anyone by his success. He reminisced, not for the first time, about his Cambridge years, and struggles with “impostor syndrome”; a common affliction these days, used to pathologise anyone who may get nervous on their first day in a new job, especially if they have the outrageous misfortune to have not been born posh.
be confused with an actual interview, with a podcaster. For Andy Burnham, it was Jimmy’s Jobs of the Future, hosted by a faintly familiar young man called Jimmy McLoughlin, whose faint familiarity we shall return to in due course.
The French government agreed in April to dedicate a total of 125 officers from two specialist units to patrol the beaches. The Compagnies Républicaines de Sécurité (CRS) is providing 50 officers trained in the use of riot and crowd-control tactics and the Compagnie de Marche is a new unit dedicated to combating small boat crossings.
The pair sat in one of Downing Street’s many anterooms. Traditionally, at this point, the littleold-me podcaster likes to gaze in wonderment at the walls around them and become theatrically overwhelmed by the grandeur of it all. On this occasion, we were spared that well-worn vignette, mainly because McLoughlin used to work there, as a special adviser to Theresa May and Boris Johnson.
on Wednesday a man in his thirties died after a dinghy capsized when migrants attempted to board a boat on Hardelot beach, 30 miles south of Calais.
number of migrants to have reached the UK in small boats this year to 14,128, which is down 44 per cent compared with this time last year.
Life after Cambridge had been a struggle for Burnham. “The people I’d been at university with, who had very connected parents, were just walking straight into internships at The Times, placements at the BBC, into Goldman Sachs and all sorts of things,” he explained. Young Andy returned to Manchester after
The Home Office said it was “a stark reminder of the dangers posed by criminal gangs exploiting vulnerable people for profit”, adding: “We will continue working relentlessly with the French and our partners overseas to prevent these perilous journeys.”
Three women were found unconscious by a French rescue vessel that responded to an emergency call from a so-called “taxi boat” at 6.30am yesterday. It had travelled from elsewhere on the French coast to pick up more migrants from the beach at Dunkirk. Late
However, there were no officers from either unit on the beach on Wednesday. A Home Office source said the lack of officers on such a busy day of crossings was “frustrating” and “far from ideal”.
Wednesday’s crossings took the total
In this particular episode,
the times | Friday July 31 2026 S1 9
TEMILADE ADELAJA/REUTERS
Ben Clatworthy Whitehall Editor will report back next year. The prime minister also said he was “on a mission” to halt the rise in the number of Neets. At present, one in eight young people aged 16 to 24 are classed as Neets, and the figure is predicted to reach one in six by 2031.
The number of young adult carers has surged by 100,000 in the past decade and an “alarming” proportion have ended up out of work or education.
At least 300,000 people aged 16 to 24 are classed as informal carers, although experts said the true figure was significantly higher given the high level of under-reporting.
Dominic King-Carter, the director of policy and public affairs at the Carers Trust, a charity, said: “Young carers have long been the overlooked casualties in the Neet conversation with many locked out of education and employment opportunities through no fault of their own. If the government is serious about ensuring every young person is earning or learning, it must prioritise comprehensive support ... better identification in schools and colleges, and a dedicated ‘young carer lead’ in every education setting to help them navigate their responsibilities.”
Statistics show that 23.1 per cent of young carers are classed as being not in education, employment or training (Neets), compared with 5.3 per cent of those who have no additional responsibility.
Experts said carers were the forgotten cohort in discussions about the youth unemployment crisis. More than a million young people are now classed as Neets in the UK.
It is estimated that there are a million young carers aged 17 or under, equivalent to three people in every class of 30.
Alan Milburn, who is leading a government review of the Neets crisis, said: “A cohort the size of a mid-sized city has emerged in six years, largely invisible to the institutions that should be supporting it.”
As a cohort, their persistent absence rate from school is 35 per cent, about double the national average.
Sir Ed Davey, the leader of the Liberal Democrats, said: “Brave young people are sacrificing their education, careers and futures to look after the people they love. They step up where the social care system falls short, and yet are left to pay the price.”
Fifty-one per cent did not achieve five or more GCSEs at grade 9-4 (A* to C), compared with 36 per cent of non-carers.
Professor Saul Becker, the founding director of the Institute for Children’s Futures at Manchester Metropolitan University, said that many young adult carers got “stuck in a vicious cycle that’s alarming”, leaving them sidelined.
He said ministers “must recognise the role they play and support them far better”, adding: “This support should include a ‘young carers pupil premium’, to fund extra tuition for missed classes, and a dedicated young carers lead in every school.”
He said: “If we want to break that vicious cycle, where a large proportion of young people who have a caring role become Neet, we need to intervene earlier in these children’s lives, to reduce their care-giving role, so that they can get a good grade at school, can go on to college, university or to develop technical skills.”
The government said: “We are determined to ensure every young person has the chance to earn or learn, including young carers who face particular challenges. Our £2.5 billion youth employment support package will support half a million young people ... into jobs, training or work experience in the coming years.
Becker added that the “true challenge” for reforms to social care was to create an “interrelated system” that joined up adult social care, children’s social care, healthcare, education and youth services.
the charity Concern Worldwide near Hebden Bridge in West Yorkshire as part of a campaign to reinstate humanitarian aid
“In schools and colleges, where we are accelerating our rollout of mental health support teams, investing in attendance mentors and rolling out free breakfast clubs to help pupils attend regularly, we’ve already seen the biggest year-on-year improvement in attendance in a decade.”
was too working class. “My dad said, oh Cambridge University — it was him who had to persuade me to go — it will throw doors open for you,” he said. “But it’s not, it’s connected parents, and I as a politician have fought to change that.”
working in Manchester,” said Burnham, while McLoughlin nodded along. What he intended to do in Manchester he didn’t make clear, but given that almost everyone who knew him at Cambridge has said, several times, he would talk regularly about his burning desire to be an MP, it must have been a shock to pull into Manchester Piccadilly station after three long years away and then discover that the House of Commons wasn’t there. “It stuck with me, all my life, that to get on in life I had to leave where I grew up, and the injustice of that ... rankled.”
graduation for no more than an unpaid job at the Middleton Guardian. Was it his lack of connected parents that did it? Who knows, but I was at Cambridge not that long after Burnham, and in my observation, it wasn’t the wellconnected ones who went on work placements in glamorous locations.
On Wednesday Andy Burnham vowed to put social care reform at the top of his agenda as prime minister. He plans to launch a National Care Service. Baroness Casey of Blackstock, who is leading a review of the sector,
It’s a remarkable thing to say. To deny that doors have been thrown open for you, a week after the most famous door in the world was literally thrown open for him. He’s also wrong. It would be damaging to his brand to admit it but the second you walk into Oxbridge you’re part of the establishment, like it or not.
It was the well-organised ones, the odd ones, the ones with clear goals from age 18. Which is not the downto-earth, charming, likeable ones, like Burnham, possibly wasting their days leafing through Penguin classics in the English faculty. For most of the interview, McLoughlin nodded along in agreement, but on the subject of connected parents his head went still. Perhaps he was checking his notes. Or maybe it was a tricky sentiment to agree with when your time as a special adviser to the prime minister happened to coincide with the period in which your dad, Sir Patrick McLoughlin MP, was chairman of the Conservative Party. “I went back to Manchester with the full intention of living and
live in areas without regional mayors. Perran Moon, the Labour MP for Camborne & Redruth, said Cornwall would be “locked out” of the scheme. He said: “It’s discriminatory and it will increase resentment towards Westminster.”
Constance Kampfner, Ben Clatworthy
For the little it’s worth, my parents were state school teachers. But I got my first job in journalism because someone I knew from the student newspaper gave me some freelance shifts on the diary pages at The Independent. Neither in that story has a private education or a connected parent. The connections get made when you’re there, without you noticing. One day you look and your pals are ambassadors or partners at enormous banks, or, if you were at Fitzwilliam in the late Eighties, the prime minister.
This was such a startling thing to say that I had to rewind it
Areas without mayors will be “locked out” of fiscal devolution powers, which will “increase resentment” towards Whitehall, ministers have been told.
several times. Isn’t upping sticks in search of new
opportunities the
Cornwall is one of five areas that already benefit from business rates devolution, to be expanded to all 14 mayoral regions from next spring, but will not benefit from income tax devolution, which is to come into force in 2028.
Andy Burnham is to announce what has been billed as “the biggest transfer of power from Westminster in a generation”, giving regional mayors a share of the income tax and business rates revenues raised in their communities.
defining characteristic of the human condition? Isn’t our country’s entire modern national story
Some mayors have said they intend to use their new fiscal powers to offer tax rebates to voters.
The policy is intended to act as an incentive towards growth by weaning areas off Whitehall grants and towards a funding model that encourages them to increase the number of local businesses and taxpayers.
defined by, to take one example, the
immigrants who had the courage to get on a boat or
Ministers will also announce extra powers for non-mayoral strategic authorities to improve public transport, build homes and create jobs.
Is that nepotism? Probably, but it’s got nothing to do with connected parents, it’s connected ambition. And if Burnham believes that none of that applies to him, that he’s never benefited from any of it, he’s living in his own world of make-believe.
a plane and build a better life for themselves? Isn’t that what humanity, at its most base level, is all about?
Burnham, who will visit Yorkshire today to announce the policy, said: “More of the taxes raised in a community will stay in that community.”
Pat McFadden, the work and pensions secretary, said the shake-up would hand power to leaders “who know their communities inside out”.
But Burnham held firm. He seems to believe that going to Cambridge has done him no favours because he
Andy Burnham told Jimmy’s Jobs of the Future about “impostor syndrome”
However, half the people in England
Heatwaves killed around 2,700 people in England and Wales this May and June. Over 40% of these were avoidable deaths attributable to global heating.
Keep your word on climate and say NO to Jackdaw and Rosebank.
Source: Imperial College London, ‘UK climate heat health risks May and June 2026’ (13 July 2026)
the times | Friday July 31 2026 11
Princess of Wales Dr Raj Arora, influencer Temi Ojora, athlete
Edward Bluemel, actor
Gjin Lipa, influencer Batia Ofer, art collector
Jemima Khan, socialite
Valentina Pinault,
aspiring film-maker Sir Tristram Hunt, historian Hannah Dodd, actress
Batia Ofer, the Royal Academy Trust chair, was also recognised. Ofer “makes philanthropy feel as bling as the cash she brings to the institution. Naturally, she’s a client of Chanel, favouring high jewellery and gowns you could hang in the Louvre,” Tatler said.
Edward Bluemel, the youngest actor to play Agatha Christie’s Hercule Poirot, was the highest man on the list, in fourth place: “There’s no mystery to [his] getup: 1990s tank tops and acid-wash straight-leg jeans ... sharp Dior on the social scene. That London cool-boy look? He-dunnit.”
T
Also praised were her modern ecru pleated skirt and linen striped blazer on her tour to Italy, as well as her Roland Mouret dress at Peter Phillips and Harriet Sperling’s wedding.
he Princess of Wales has been named one of Britain’s bestdressed people
by Tatler magazine after returning to public life having undergone cancer treatment (Peter Chappell writes).
Others who made the top-ten list include Raj Arora, a doctor and influencer; Gjin Lipa, the brother of the singer Dua Lipa; Jemima Khan, a socialite who is the former wife of Imran Khan, the cricketer and ex-prime minister of Pakistan; and Sir Tristram Hunt, the V&A director and former Labour politician.
Kate was praised for her outfits on visits to Italy, at Royal Ascot and during the Three Peaks Challenge last month.
Hunt, a former shadow education minister, was as “dapper as his museum halls”, Tatler said, praising his Schiaparelli dove brooch, a homage to a V&A exhibition.
In third place was the British athlete Temi Ojora, who Tatler said “applies a champion’s mindset to her wardrobe”.
Her vibrant canaryyellow Roksanda “Brigitte” dress at Ascot won her the top spot on the annual list. She paired it with a yellow hat by Jane Taylor and two pieces of jewellery that had belonged to the late Queen and Diana, Princess of Wales.
scrubs look chic”, and for her navy ensemble and Chanel handbag as she watched Trooping the Colour.
Hannah Dodd is on Tatler’s list with the Princess of Wales and Valentina Pinault, whose mother is Salma Hayek. Edward Bluemel, right, and Gjin Lipa, top left, also made the list
Hannah Dodd, who plays Francesca Stirling in Bridgerton, was named for her Chanel tailoring and love of Giambattista Valli.
Khan, whom the magazine called the
“original aristo It girl”, was described as the “epitome of
Arora, who came second, was praised for making “even medical
eternal glamour”.
McCartney up for Mercury prize
David Brown Chief News Correspondent
VICTOR BLACKMAN/GETTY IMAGES
Peter Chappell
A former justice minister who joined Prince Harry and Sir Elton John in a failed privacy case has distanced himself from their anti-press campaign.
In rock’s oldest rivalry, a Beatle has secured bragging rights over the Rolling Stones — again.
The Boy Who Played the Harp Dave Blizzard Dove Ellis Everybody Scream Florence + the Machine That’s Showbiz Baby! Jade A Great Day in Newcastle Knats Don’t Look Down Kojey Radical Emotional Junglist Nia Archives The Art of Loving Olivia Dean The Boys of Dungeon Lane Paul McCartney This Music May Contain Hope Raye Antidepressants Suede Help(2) War Child
Sir Simon Hughes asked for the High Court to be told that he was not part of a plot to target Associated Newspapers, the publisher of the Daily Mail.
Sir Paul McCartney’s latest album, The Boys of Dungeon Lane, has been shortlisted for the Mercury prize, the first time he has been nominated for the coveted music award since it was launched in 1992.
The celebrities face a demand from the publisher to pay its £34.4 million legal costs after losing their case that they were victims of unlawful information gathering including hacking, bugging and blagging. Their insurance covers up to £16.2 million.
He is joined on the list by popular and critically acclaimed artists including Florence + the Machine, Raye, Olivia Dean and Suede.
There is no room, however, for the Stones’ latest album, Foreign Tongues, which despite critical praise and chart success did not win favour with judges who have never shortlisted Sir Mick Jagger’s band for the award.
Mr Justice Nicklin, the trial judge, said that it was clear that campaigners behind the celebrities’ claims had attempted to use the case to demand stricter controls on the press.
Paul McCartney and Mick Jagger have pursued a friendly rivalry since the 1960s
suggests, McCartney’s latest recording looks back to teenage crushes in the cold Mersey mornings and hitchhiking out of Liverpool with George Harrison with dreams of glory.
thereafter. We went to America and we had huge success. Then the Stones went to America. We didSgt Pepper; the Stones did a psychedelic album. There’s a lot of that,” he said.
they were quickly signed. Jagger and Keith Richards had their first hit when the Beatles lent them one of their tunes, I Wanna Be Your Man, and the two bands soon became seen as rivals for pop fan’s attention.
Antony White KC, representing the publisher, furiously dismissed Hughes’s claim, telling the court: “He accused Associated Newspapers of widespread criminality of the most heinous forms and has not withdrawn any of those allegations, not one.”
The snub is just the lasted instalment in the long relationship between McCartney and the Stones, whom he once dubbed a “blues cover band”.
Elsewhere on the list, two relative unknowns have been credited by the judges. Dove Ellis is a Galway singersongwriter and Knats are a jazz quintet led by two childhood friends.
“We were great friends, still are kind of. We admire each other,” he said.
McCartney first met the Stones when the Beatles were persuaded by a music promoter to hear them play at a pub in Richmond in 1963. They then went to an apartment building in Chelsea to a party until 4am. George Harrison recommended them to Decca records, and
McCartney told an interviewer in 2020 that the Beatles were always looking over their shoulder at the grammar school boys from Dartford.
At 84, McCartney ties with Martin Carthy as the oldest artist to be nominated for the Mercury prize. The winner will be announced on October 22 at a ceremony in Newcastle. As its title
Nicklin will announce next month how the court will calculate the amount the celebrities must pay towards the publisher’s legal bills.
“We started to notice that whatever we did, the Stones sort of did it shortly
the system was “gatekeeping people away from receiving care” so many get “no help at all until they hit crisis point”.
Eleanor Hayward Health Editor
More than 30,000 people died last year while waiting for a social care package to be arranged by their local council, data has revealed.
Her review found that the number of older people receiving long-term public support halved in the last 20 years, which she said was “not because there are fewer older people, it is because older people are getting less help”.
has used up Geoff’s life savings of £400,000 to pay. Last year their money ran out. Atkinson was initially denied local council funding and was also rejected for an NHS care package.
Local authorities are having to ration support for patients, many of whom have dementia, and the proportion of frail and elderly adults in England getting help has halved in the last 20 years.
“Geoff was bedbound, incontinent, couldn’t move, couldn’t walk, couldn’t communicate. But because his illness was dementia, and in his brain, he didn’t qualify for support as it was not deemed a physical illness,” said Atkinson.
In total, 55 per cent of requests for care have been denied since 2020, relating to more than five million people. Of these, 2.6 million were given “information” and told to contact GP, charity and community NHS services.
Campaigners say this means many spend their final weeks and months struggling with daily tasks including dressing, washing and eating, worsening their condition and their distress.
Applying for local authority funding for social care was “a fog of forms and spreadsheets”, and this year she went through it again. This time the council agreed to help with Geoff’s care home fees, but she still has to contribute £600 a week. “I’m not sure how I’m going to pay that over the next few months.”
On Wednesday Andy Burnham promised to create a national care service. Sir Ed Davey, leader of the Liberal Democrats, has pledged to work with him on reform. Alison Bennett, the party spokesperson for care and carers, said: “It is an absolute tragedy that hundreds of thousands of people, including 17,000 disabled adults, have died waiting for support that never arrives. This is a national emergency and we cannot afford any more delay.”
Analysis of NHS data by the Liberal Democrats shows that, since 2020, some 167,900 people have died waiting for their local council to arrange a social care package such as a care home place, which can take months. More than half of requests for help are rejected.
Jane and Geoff Atkinson of Swanage, Dorset, used up his £400,000 life savings as his Alzheimer’s worsened. They now get help with his care home fees, right
day funds on social care, but have been unable to keep up with demand, leading to stricter criteria for qualification.
2018 it marked the beginning of a bureaucratic and financial nightmare which has compounded the heartbreak of his illness. They did not qualify for state-funded support even as Geoff became incontinent, suffered falls and started escaping from their home in Swanage, Dorset.
There were 30,845 deaths among people waiting for care in 2024-25, including 9,000 people who had been in NHS hospitals. Some 3,080 workingage disabled adults also died last year waiting for care packages.
Michelle Dyson, chief executive of the Alzheimer’s Society, said: “These shocking figures make crystal clear just how urgently we need to improve the care and support available to people living with conditions like dementia.”
They have been able to keep their family home because she lives in it.
On Burnham’s commitment to social care, she said: “I’m hopeful that there will be some kind of system in place, not for me but for other generations.”
People only qualify for council-funded social care if they have less than £23,250 in assets. Local authorities spend about 80 per cent of their day-to-
In 2023, Atkinson, 74, was advised that her husband, 75, should move into a care home, costing £2,000 a week. She
Baroness Casey of Blackstock, who is leading a review into social care, said
When Jane Atkinson’s husband Geoff was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s in
News
across the surfing community. A serious talent from an early age, Arran and his mum would travel from the Canary Islands to compete in the UK, and he went on to represent Team England and Great Britain on the world stage.
board drifting about 100m away,” he wrote on Instagram. “I paddled as fast as I could to get there, diving repeatedly looking for you, but we were in a deep area and visibility was very short.”
Strong”, who was the highest-placed British male surfer at the 2024 and 2025 ISA World Surf Games.
Amelia Stout his friend and coach, José Maria Pyrrait, who said he had turned round to see Strong’s board floating 100m behind and was unable to find him despite diving repeatedly. Pyrrait was later rescued by a fishing vessel.
One of Britain’s top-ranked surfers is believed to have died off the coast of Portugal after he got into difficulty while stand-up paddleboarding on Monday morning.
The maritime authority said that Strong had run into difficulties while trying to cross from Monte Clerigo Beach to the village of Carrapateira.
He added: “Arran was like a son to me. From the age of ten, he trained with me and spent weekends and holidays with me.”
“Beyond his achievements in the water, Arran will be remembered for his kindness, generosity and the positivity he brought to those around him. He was respected and admired throughout the surfing community.”
The Portuguese national maritime authority confirmed that its searches had been suspended “without the victim being located”.
Pyrrait said they had stopped to drink water and take photographs before setting off again, Strong initially leading before Pyrrait overtook him.
Tributes have been paid to Arran Strong, who disappeared about a mile offshore from Arrifana, a fishing village in the Algarve.
Surfing England said: “Arran brought warmth and positivity to everyone he met and his loss will be felt deeply
GB Surfing said that it was “deeply saddened by the tragic passing of Arran
“When I stopped to wait, I saw your
Strong, 28, had been accompanied by
JESSE ROSS/AP
David Cifaldi, his torso pierced with a walking pole, takes a break during his trek to safety in the Beartooth Mountains, below. Far left: his injuries on arrival at hospital
was possible at all was his confidence,” said Cifaldi’s friend Jesse Ross. “Who are we to say anything? He’s the medical person. Our job is just to support at that point.”
Hiker impaled by pole treks 10 miles
Their first post-hike stop was the nearest hospital, where Cifaldi was told he needed treatment at a larger medical centre. He ended up at the hospital where he works in Billings, where doctors removed the pole and bandaged his wounds.
A
nurse conducted his own ten-mile rescue after being pierced
back down the mountain without the need for an expensive helicopter flight with a search and rescue team.
through the torso by his trekking pole while hiking in Montana’s Beartooth Mountains (Kelly Rissman writes).
“I was like, ‘We’ve got to get off this mountain.’ And they’re both like, ‘I don’t know about that,’” Cifaldi recalled of his friends’ reaction. “I’m pretty confident this is outside my chest wall. ’Tis but a flesh wound.”
“I think 99 times out of 100 I would make the same decision,” Cifaldi said. “Search and rescue coming to help you is free. The flight’s not.
David Cifaldi, 32, and his two friends were crossing the Froze-toDeath Plateau, a notoriously icy stretch on the way to Granite Peak, when the 44in pole punctured him under his left arm through his back.
That was a factor in me
Cifaldi, from Billings, told the Associated Press that he did not experience much pain or blood, so the group ultimately decided to brave the trek down the mountain unassisted.
deciding to self-rescue. But the fact that I had two experienced, great friends with me and we had the ability to
so we’re not going to essentially violate his rights or go against his wishes by forcing our help on him,” said Ty Williams, a rescue-team
leader who tracked the group’s progress down the mountain.
snowfields and finally on to a trail. After descending 5,000ft, the group finally reached their truck.
One would expect that such an injury would require medical rescue. Cifaldi, however, decided he could get
contact search and
rescue if something went wrong made that a lot more of an easy decision.”
“There was no danger to anybody else. He didn’t want our help and
The journey took six hours down an unmarked path, through
“The only reason it
take CCTV video of the scene. “We weren’t even allowed to see the footage, but hopefully it captured whoever it was who dumped the body in there,” they said. “The place always has drug users and homeless people in there as it’s just a shell of a few buildings.
bookings and flight logs to trace Ross’s final movements and try to find the individual who used her phone. A police source said officers were “sweeping the area, questioning many people, largely homeless and drug users”.
victim was not Greek because she was wearing shorts bearing the name of a French university. Police turned to Interpol for help. Her identity was confirmed on Monday evening and she was named by the Greek media on Wednesday.
Anthee Carassava, George Odling
The suspected killer of a Scottish women who stuffed her body into a suitcase is thought to have used her mobile phone to send text messages for several days afterwards to give the impression she was still alive.
He added that suspicion was focusing on “fringe elements” because of where the body was found.
“The homeless man who discovered the body lives nearby. He has lived on the streets for a while and is well known around here but even he was shaken by what he saw.”
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office said: “Our thoughts are with Elisabeth’s family during this difficult time. We are providing consular support and are in contact with the local authorities.”
The Greek authorities formally identified the victim yesterday as ElisabethJane Ross, 38, from Edinburgh.
“This isn’t just any building,” he said. “It is used by homeless and drug users.”
Preliminary examinations on Ross’s body showed no visible wounds or signs of a struggle and the authorities were awaiting toxicology and post-mortem examination results. The source said the results, expected within days, could show whether Ross died of a drug overdose. They added that investigators were examining her network of contacts on social media and whether she had travelled to Greece to meet someone.
Her remains were discovered inside a derelict building in the Kypseli district of central Athens on July 18. A local man told the authorities he had been trying to locate the source of a foul smell when he found the suitcase with a human limb protruding from it.
The head of Greece’s forensics bureau said that “special investigators were examining evidence in hope of finding DNA traces of the murderer”.
Ross arrived in Greece from Edinburgh on June 26. A senior police investigator confirmed to The Times that she flew direct from Scotland to Athens, correcting previous reports that she had travelled from the United States via Cyprus.
Police remove the body of Elisabeth-Jane Ross, which was found in a derelict building
Because the victim was found with no identification, Greek police were forced to circulate her DNA and fingerprints through Interpol. The American authorities ultimately provided the matching records.
Forensic experts estimated that Ross had been dead for at least three days.
She was last seen alive by two friends — a couple — she had been staying with in Athens on July 15. Police said that the couple had been ruled out as suspects after “extensive questioning.” A police source added: “We have interviewed her Greek friends and there is nothing to incriminate them. In fact, they have provided very important information.” Ross told the couple she
According to local media, texts sent from Ross’s phone to her family on July 15, the last day she was seen alive, said that she “needed some time to herself” and that she “wanted to be alone for a while”. The phone remains missing but was said to have been active in the Athens area until this week, when the discovery of the body was made public.
John Swinney, the first minister, said Ross’s family would be supported by the Scottish government and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.
was going to stay with American friends in Kypseli but police would not say if they had been able to trace them.
Mourners placed a bouquet of flowers, a candle and a photo of Ross with the message “an angel was here” by the graffiti-sprayed iron wall next to where her body was discovered. A member of staff at the Panellinios sports hall opposite the derelict site said police came to
The abandoned house where the body was found had been used by the homeless as a shelter. Detectives cordoned off the property and were scouring security camera videos, hotel
“This is an absolutely appalling case that has been reported overnight,” he said. “Obviously I’m deeply concerned that such a tragedy has taken place.”
Investigators suspected that the
Net zero blamed for high airport drop-off fees
tively). Last week, the House of Lords voted for a review of the “out of control” drop-off fees but the amendment was not binding allowing the government to block it.
position parties said the government targets and rhetoric were forcing airports into continually raising charges as they try to meet their targets.
velopment consent order for their application that the number of passengers arriving by car must be “no higher” than 45 per cent.
£300 million a year for airports — is exacerbated at some airports by the government’s transport and environmental policies.
Laurence Sleator Transport Correspondent
The government’s net-zero targets are causing the continued rises in airport drop-off and pick-up fees as authorities attempt to discourage passengers travelling by car, campaigners have warned.
Research from the RAC found that 16 of the UK’s 20 busiest airports have increased the charges drivers face. Prices have risen by an average of £1.70 to £7, compared with this time last year.
Both airports recently increased their fees substantially. Gatwick’s fee rose by £3, taking the total fee to £10 for ten minutes, while Luton increased its fee by £2 to £7 for ten minutes. Heathrow charges passengers £7 for ten minutes, up £1 from 2025.
Under “surface access strategies”, airports set targets of how many of its passengers must arrive at the terminal by public transport.
AirportsUK said the fees were “part of the airport business model and help support the provision of the widest variety of flights from the airport”.
The government’s permission for Gatwick Airport to build a second runway was conditional on at least 54 per cent of passengers getting to and from the airport by public transport.
Britain, a world leader in airport drop-off fees, charged drivers up to £1 a minute to leave passengers close to the terminal. All big airports in the UK charge drivers at least £5 to stop at the terminal doors for a so-called “kiss and fly” drop-off, and campaigners have now claimed the policy — which raises
The Department for Transport said: “We understand the importance of keeping travel accessible for holidaymakers, which is why the government expects car parking at UK airports to be managed appropriately, and consumers treated fairly.”
London Gatwick and London Stansted charge the highest fees (£10 for 10 minutes and 15 minutes respectively), followed by Edinburgh and Bristol (£8.50 for 10 minutes), and Leeds, London City and Bournemouth (each £8 for 10, five and 30 minutes respec-
Keir Mather, the aviation minister, has encouraged all airports to “use their surface access strategies to set clear targets for sustainable travel” to deliver a “green, more sustainable future”. Op-
Luton Airport, which is hoping to almost double its capacity to 32 million passengers per year, was told in the de-
ANDREW MATTHEWS/PA
plus a second pair from £10
Grand entrance A racegoer arrives in her finest on Ladies’ Day at the Goodwood Festival near Chichester, Sussex, a highlight of the sporting and social calendar
ground,” a source told The Sun. “It is unheard of for a captain to physically intervene in the cockpit.”
Laurence Sleator
Air accident investigators are examining a serious incident involving a British Airways passenger jet as it was flying over London.
The incident has been reported as “loss of control in-flight” and described as “pilot induced”.
An aircraft stalls because of a rapid decrease in lift caused by the separation of airflow from the wing’s surface. It will normally cause the plane to descend rapidly, and to recover, a pilot must immediately reduce the angle of the nose and add full power to increase airspeed.
Flight BA919 from Dusseldorf, Germany, reportedly stalled in the air near Canary Wharf on its approach to Heathrow on July 6.
Data from the flight showed the Airbus A320-232, which can accommodate up to 186 passengers, dropped from 6,000ft (1,800m) to just under 4,000ft (1,200m) in four minutes.
Senior figures told the newspaper that there was almost a “hull loss” — a term used in aviation to describe the status of an aircraft which has been destroyed or has been determined to be damaged beyond repair.
Its groundspeed fell to 148 knots, or 170mph, only a little faster than a plane travels as it comes into land on the runway.
Ask in store for details or go to specsavers.co.uk
The Sun reported that one of the aircraft’s air data systems had failed, the jet stalled and the captain stepped in to override the first officer’s initial input to remedy the problem. After the intervention, the plane recovered to 8,000ft (2,440m) altitude and a speed of about 250 knots, equivalent to about 287mph.
The Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) said: “The AAIB is investigating an incident involving a British Airways aircraft on 6th July and will update in due course”
British Airways said: “We’re assisting the AAIB with its investigation and are legally unable to comment further at this stage.”
One free pair from our £65 kids/teens or £70 adult ranges or below. First pair £65 and above, get a second pair from the same range or below from £10. First pair of glasses chosen with an under-16’s NHS optical voucher must be from our £65 price range and above to qualify for the second pair from £10 ofer. Excludes myopia management lenses. Conditions apply. Ask in store for details. Ofer available in UK only.
“To recover from this position is difficult, especially so low to the
EVENING GAZETTE
abused in past relationships, did not break up with Simpson despite being suspicious enough to check whether he was on the sex offenders’ register.
Isabelle Welsh had 21 broken bones and was sexually abused before suffering a fatal head injury in September last year. Left: flowers outside the home in Teesside
Cameras in Walker’s home showed that she frequently drank and Simpson was a habitual cannabis smoker.
Eleven days before her death, Isabelle was taken to her GP and then to the University Hospital of North Tees with a broken leg. Walker had waited two weeks to seek medical help as Isabelle struggled to walk, and said she had hurt her leg when it was caught in her cot.
The judge said concern among medical staff that might have saved Isabelle’s life had been overruled when other doctors accepted Walker’s false account. The staff followed a child protection policy but “differences of opinion” between the paediatric and orthopaedic teams meant that the toddler was discharged back to her mother.
Walker had acted aggressively towards nurses and later looked up how to win compensation from the NHS.
Sentencing Simpson, Norton said that Isabelle had been a “happy, healthy and thriving child” before he came into her life and that “within a matter of weeks” she was being physically and sexually abused.
Videos from June last year, before the couple met, showed Isabelle playing. She was happy, healthy and smiling.
Richard Wright KC, for the prosecution, told the trial the fatal injury had been “simply the end point in that campaign of violence to which she had been subjected”. In his closing speech, he said: “The thing that changed, that set in train this calamitous decline from a happy, healthy child to sexual abuse, gross and repetitive violence and murder was the introduction by Alexandra Walker into her life, and that of her child, of Harrison Simpson.”
September 13, suffering a fractured skull and an “unsurvivable” brain injury caused by being hit against a hard surface. It could not be said who had inflicted the fatal injury, but Walker said she had been sleeping in after staying up late drinking and smoking cannabis.
Jessica Sharkey Crime Correspondent
A mother and her partner have been jailed for life for the “sadistic” murder of her two-year-old daughter, who was sexually abused before suffering a catastrophic head injury.
He told the jury that the relationship had “created the conditions in which that little girl could be abused so terribly” and, in a “final cruel and savage attack”, be murdered.
Isabelle Welsh had injuries including 21 broken bones and 89 bruises in the weeks before she suffered a fatal injury at her home in Thornaby, Teesside, in September last year.
The judge said Simpson never gave any account for what happened and that Walker was a “fantasist and attention-seeker” who had told “lies from start to finish”, including pretending she had breast cancer and telling people she did not take drugs when in fact she sold them.
Outside court after the conviction, Isabelle’s father, Josh Welsh said: “My little girl … my whole life has been shattered, my whole family. My sisters and brothers have lost their niece. It means the world to me that we have justice for Isabelle.”
Alexandra Walker, 26, and Harrison Simpson, 22, were convicted of murder and child cruelty this week after a trial at Teesside crown court. Simpson was also convicted of sexually assaulting Isabelle. Walker was cleared of that charge.
have no doubt whatsoever that your lack of urgency or concern for your child was because you wrongly believed that Isabelle was already dead and you were working out what to do to save your own skin.”
would my toddler be bleeding?”. In that time, she smoked two cigarettes and cleared away evidence of cannabis use.
Walker waited at least an hour before calling for help after googling “why
When paramedics arrived, within a minute, Isabelle was at the foot of the stairs and was not breathing. They found bruises all over her body, blood in her nappy and vomit on her face, the court was told. She died the next day in hospital.
Detective Chief Inspector Steve Chatterton of Cleveland police said the case had been “one of the worst” his team had dealt with.
Ms Justice Norton sentenced Simpson and Walker to life with minimum terms of 28 years and six months and 22 years respectively.
The couple had met on Facebook Dating during the summer and Simpson often visited Walker’s house. The trial was told that Walker had voiced concerns that Simpson might be a paedophile and thought it was “weird” that he preferred to see her and Isabelle at the same time, rather than to be alone with Walker.
He said that Isabelle had been a “defenceless child whose life was cruelly taken from her”, adding: “She deserved a future filled with love, safety and happiness, she was denied that opportunity and she must never be forgotten.”
She said that both had been “jointly responsible” for Isabelle’s death, adding: “It is difficult to characterise the course of conduct towards Isabelle as anything other than sadistic.”
A post-mortem examination showed that her skull was fractured, her brain was damaged and that she had been sexually assaulted.
The court was told that Isabelle had been fatally injured on the morning of
Alexandra Walker and Harrison Simpson were convicted of murder
Walker, who had been domestically
Addressing Walker, Norton said: “I
breached the standards of professional behaviour to the level of gross misconduct. He would have been dismissed had he not resigned.”
and crime commissioner, said: “Public confidence in policing is vital, so all allegations of misconduct must be fully and independently investigated. That process must apply to everyone, regardless of rank or status.”
David Woode Crime Editor
The former chief constable of Staffordshire has been found guilty of gross misconduct two days after he quit his role.
The report said half the world’s population was targeted by scammers each week. Fraud-related notices issued by Interpol had increased 54 per cent between 2024 and 2025. It said that financial scams were now an important income source for “polycriminal” organised crime networks, which also engage in corruption and even terrorism.
Jack Simpson Money Reporter
Reporting restrictions prevent the media from revealing the panel’s findings and what Noble did. The outcome
Payment fraud has become as lucrative as the global drugs trade, a leading security think tank has suggested.
Becky Riggs will remain as acting chief constable.
Chris Noble, who had led the force since 2021, was suspended in August last year after “serious concerns” were raised about his behaviour. He was served with a gross misconduct notice and faced a disciplinary hearing.
Last year more than £329 billion was lost globally to authorised payment fraud — when a criminal tricks you into sending money — with profits “rivalling the illicit drugs trade”, according to the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI). The think tank said the UK was being targeted by overseas scammers, with an estimated two thirds of payment fraud originating overseas.
Noble’s career began in 1996 when he joined the Royal Ulster Constabulary, which became the Police Service of Northern Ireland, where he spent 21 years. Between 2017 and 2021 he served as the assistant chief constable of Humberside. He was also the national lead for policing protests and co-ordinated local law enforcement responses to the Israel-Gaza conflict.
Chris Noble resigned from his £181,000-a-year post this week
RUSI said: “Authorised payment fraud should no longer be treated as a peripheral consumer protection matter.”
He resigned from his £181,000-ayear post on Tuesday, less than 24 hours before the panel met to consider the allegations. Noble, 52, did not attend the two-day hearing at Yarnfield Park training and conference centre in Staffordshire.
of the hearing will be shared with the College of Policing, which sets the standards for law enforcement. Noble will be placed on the barred list, which will prevent him from working in policing and other law enforcement roles.
There were more than 4 million cases of fraud in 2025 in the UK with £1.28 billion stolen, according to UK Finance, a banking industry body. To protect customers, regulations that require banks to reimburse fraud victims up to £85,000 were introduced in 2024.
Authorised payment fraud can vary from impersonation scams — when, for example, criminals pretend to be your bank — to romance scams, where they start a fake relationship online.
Noble graduated from Queen’s University Belfast with a law degree and earned a master’s degree in criminology and executive police leadership from Cambridge University.
Kathryn Stone, the chair of the three-person panel, said yesterday that the allegations against Noble had been proved. Stone told reporters: “Mr Noble
Ben Adams, Staffordshire’s police
its history. In 1957, the Lovell Telescope tracked the rocket that carried Sputnik, the first artificial satellite, into orbit. During the Cold War it worked with the RAF, the Ministry of Defence and GCHQ to monitor Soviet spacecraft, missile launches and radar signals.
with a delay of only about two seconds. It would be relatively easy to use radar transmitters in the UK, rather than the US, making the system independent of foreign support, Martorella said.
Rhys Blakely Science Editor ing worth about £2.8 million a year. Scientists argued that the decision failed to account for the telescope’s defence value, including a newly demonstrated ability to detect and track objects as small as a football in geostationary orbit, 22,000 miles above the Earth.
Britain risks losing its cutting-edge ability to track hostile satellites with extraordinary precision if the government allows the Lovell Telescope at Jodrell Bank to cease operating, senior international scientists have warned.
Tony Beasley, director of the US National Radio Astronomy Observatory, described the research as “at the bleeding edge”. He said: “If Britain wants a sovereign capability to understand what is happening in space, this is infrastructure it already has. In terms of telescopes that British scientific and military organisations have access to, this is yours, and it is a remarkable facility. He added: “There are dual-use applications for these facilities that are very attractive to other agencies and organisations in the country. Making sure you fully understand the impacts of closure across multiple different avenues is important.”
Garrington said that, although its steel structure dated from the 1950s, its receivers, data links and signal-processing equipment had been repeatedly replaced. “The telescope is hugely more capable than it ever was,” he said. “There is no sense in which we are oldfashioned technology.” He pointed to China’s heavy investment in large radio telescopes, including the 110-metre Qitai telescope now under construction, as evidence that the technology retained strategic as well as scientific importance.
Professor Marco Martorella, a radar expert at the University of Pisa, said the technology could help Britain to monitor military satellites, identify suspicious manoeuvres by hostile states and close gaps left by conventional optical telescopes, which are obstructed by clouds and darkness.
The giant radio telescope, which has been in service for nearly 70 years, should be treated as a national security asset as space becomes a more important military theatre, researchers said.
The giant radio telescope enables Britain to track hostile satellites
Professor Simon Garrington, associate director of Jodrell Bank Observatory, has said that the 76-metre Lovell Telescope will fall out of use when government funding for e-MERLIN, Britain’s national radio astronomy network, ends in March 2028. The Science and Technology Facilities Council, which awards public money principally on scientific grounds, said this week that it would not renew fund-
that,” he said. “Not even the best equipment the US has can do that by itself.”
By pairing American radar transmitters with Jodrell Bank’s highly sensitive receivers, an international team tracked objects far smaller than those detectable by the radar alone.
Martorella and his colleagues are to receive Nato’s Science and Technology Excellence Award, the alliance’s most prestigious scientific prize, for the work, which used a technique known as long baseline multistatic radar. They demonstrated the system this year, processing signals and displaying tracking results
Martorella said the combined system could detect targets measuring only tens of centimetres across. “There is no single radar in the world that can do
Jodrell Bank has performed dual scientific and security roles throughout
PAUL FRENCH/BNPS
Woman’s 650 bows a day on retreat caused crippling pain
Sea horse A rider cools off her mount in the water off Highcliffe Beach in Dorset, known for its views of the Isle of Wight and the 19th century, grade I listed Highcliffe Castle, which sits on the cliffs above. Riders mustn’t dawdle if they want to make the most of the beach: it is closed to horses from 10am to 9pm every day between Easter and the end of September
Will Humphries Southwest Correspondent
A wellness coach who injured her back performing 650 prostrations a day during a months-long Buddhist retreat took her own life after enduring debilitating pain, an inquest heard.
Claire Rodway, 52, had been fit and active before she went to stay at the remote monastery off Scotland’s west coast. The intensive year-long retreat involved her performing 650 prostrations — a bowing motion that involves fully extending the body on the floor every day.
She also endured a disrupted sleep pattern as many teachings took place remotely from Nepal at 2am.
After five months the former nurse left the Kagyu Samye Ling Monastery on Holy Isle, off the Isle of Arran, suffering from severe pain.
Rodway, from Christchurch, Dorset, was later diagnosed with fibromyalgia, a chronic condition causing widespread body pain and fatigue.
An inquest at Dorset coroner’s court heard she was found drowned in the River Avon on October 2 last year. She had left notes describing how the condition had “destroyed my life”.
Her family claimed the retreat put vulnerable people’s lives in danger as no risk assessments on participants’ health were carried out.
However, Elise Jacobsen, a senior Buddhist nun known as Lama Zangmo, said Rodway was given advice that the prostrations could be modified, such as to a kneeling or sitting position, but said she preferred to do the full length movement. She said Rodway had completed the required 100,000 ngondro prostrations in five months, whereas others had taken years to do them.
with 30 days of rehabilitation and 200 hours of unpaid work.
injector” before moving to work at a private ophthalmology department.
the world. She avoided a prison sentence but the nursing regulator said it would press for her to be struck off.
Jonathan Ames Legal Editor
Whalley told the tribunal that owing to personal factors she had not thought about the consequences of her actions and had made “a very irrational decision in the moment”. Shortly before leaving New York with the suitcase, Whalley said, she panicked and did not want to go ahead, but received messages threatening her home and family.
Whalley was arrested in December 2023 and convicted of drug smuggling at Blackburn magistrates’ court in
A social media influencer has avoided being thrown out of the nursing profession after trying to smuggle £160,000 of cannabis through Birmingham airport.
However, a Nursing and Midwifery Council tribunal ruled that she should instead be suspended from practice for 12 months. The tribunal said that stripping Whalley of her licence would be “unduly punitive”, noting that she had been experiencing a “very difficult” time when she tried to smuggle drugs.
Levi Whalley posts from around the world on Instagram and has almost 45,000 followers
Levi Whalley, who worked as a Botox and filler injector while also promoting herself on Instagram, was caught with more than 35kg of the class B drug.
Richard Middleton, assistant coroner, gave a conclusion of suicide and said he did not believe her death was preventable. He said he was satisfied the monastery had taken appropriate action to address issues when they arose. However, he added that it was “common sense” that it was possible that the “unearthing of trauma”, completing 650 prostrations a day and a disrupted sleep pattern “could have caused the onset” of the fibromyalgia.
Whalley said that she felt she had lost everything and had thrown her career away over “this very stupid decision”.
During the hearing, the tribunal was told that Whalley had “always wanted to be a nurse from a very young age” and that she had worked in healthcare since she was 18. She qualified as a nurse seven years ago and went on to work at an eye clinic, where she was promoted to a management role. She later ran her own clinics as a “nurse
She and her friend, Sophie Bannister, were returning from New York when Border Force officials found the drugs in their luggage. Whalley’s suitcase alone was said to have contained 38 packages of cannabis.
The disciplinary panel ruled that given the “specific and unusual circumstances” surrounding Whalley’s offending, her criminal conviction “was not fundamentally incompatible with remaining on the register”.
February last year. Two months later she was given a 16-month prison sentence, suspended for 18 months, by a judge at Preston crown court. Bannister was sentenced by the same court to 20 months suspended for 18 months,
Whalley, 32, from Blackburn, has almost 45,000 followers on Instagram, on which she posts photos from around
TMS
diary@thetimes.co.uk | @timesdiary
when writing his MA thesis on movies about King Arthur, he contacted dozens of medievalists and asked them for their favourite films inspired by the period. You might have expected Henry V or The Seventh Seal to be the bienpensant choice but you’d be wrong. The profs were much more likely to say Monty Python and the Holy Grail.
Burnham’s the odd man in
millimetre across, immediately caught their attention. Although its chemical ingredients looked familiar, its internal structure matched nothing that had been recorded.
The atomic bombing of Hiroshima created a previously unknown material, scientists have discovered.
Researchers found the formerly unknown metal alloy hidden inside tiny grains of fallout from the 1945 blast.
After comparing it with thousands of materials, the team concluded that they had discovered an alloy that was forged inside the fireball.
There was criticism from Labour’s female MPs after yet another man became their leader, though it was noticeable that most of them criticised this decision immediately after nominating Andy Burnham. However, despite being like every previous Labour leader except with a different accent, Burnham could actually be a victory for Labour’s DEI. The ad man Rory Sutherland said at the An Evening with The Spectator live event that Burnham is a miracle when compared to recent PMs. “Andy Burnham didn’t go to Oxford, isn’t a lawyer, didn’t read PPE and wasn’t born in Surrey,” Sutherland said. “That all makes him a diversity hire.”
They believe it formed inside the nuclear fireball, where temperatures of more than 7,000C instantly vaporised buildings, steel, glass and soil before everything cooled in moments.
Writing in the journal Science Advances, they said: “We report the discovery of a previously unknown ... alloy recovered from beach sands of Hiroshima Bay, formed during the [1945] atomic airburst.”
Meanwhile, the author and journalist Andrew Hunter Murray has suggested that Odysseus is in fact the perfect hero for the start of the Andy Burnham era. “Actually thinking about it,” Murray said on the Private Eye podcast, “Odysseus had a ten-year-plan as well.
The microscopic fragment was discovered inside a glassy particle known
reward for failure
Back in January, Nigel Farage announced that the Reform train was leaving the Tory station. He said he would accept no more defections by Conservative MPs after the local elections. “We have no interest in rescuing political failures,” he said. That policy doesn’t seem to extend to former MPs after the news that Julian Brazier has now joined the turquoise wave. Brazier was last seen on a stage in Canterbury in 2017, becoming the first Tory to lose the seat in 107 years.
Scientists say the alloy is made from a mixture of iron, chromium, nickel, manganese, molybdenum, silicon and aluminium, ingredients commonly found in stainless steel.
However, instead of forming the way those metals normally would, the atoms became locked into a new crystal structure as the fireball cooled
The team says the finding raises the possibility that other undiscovered materials are hidden among the microscopic debris.
Studying how these materials formed could help scientists better understand how matter behaves under the most extreme temperatures and pressures.
a woman of letters
Commenting on our story the other day about how babies called Stephen and Steven are now outnumbered by new boys called Maverick, my colleague Andrew Billen told Times Radio that he thought it was time to revive some of our more old-fashioned names. “My auntie was Ethel and my grandmother was Vera,” he said. However, he admitted that the latter had a small problem. Apparently she signed her letters with her initials, and her surname was Douglas.
The atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima, codenamed “Little Boy”, was the first nuclear weapon used in war. It was released at 8.15am on August 6, 1945, and detonated about 1,900ft above the city.
Burnham is not alone in coming up with risky new policies. The former Tory lord chancellor Sir Brandon Lewis has posted an idea on his Instagram where he suggested that hunting might be a way of ending food poverty. However, his chosen slogan of “Could shooting end food poverty?” was unfortunately open to misinterpretation. As one lobby veteran remarked: “The Tories have got bolder ideas than I thought.”
nuclear explosions can create materials that cannot form under normal conditions.
holy grail for history buffs
The furore surrounding the classicist Emily Wilson’s scathing review of Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey, above, has continued all week, but not all academics are serious when Hollywood touches on their pet subject. The historian Greg Jenner wrote on Threads that,
The blast unleashed the equivalent of about 15,000 tonnes of TNT and an estimated 60,000 to 80,000 people died instantly.
For the study, scientists from the University of Florence analysed 34 tiny glassy particles from Hiroshima Bay.
Using powerful microscopes and x-ray analysis, they searched the debris for unusual materials. One metallic grain, measuring a few thousandths of a
By the end of 1945, the death toll had risen to about 140,000 as thousands more succumbed to burns, injuries and radiation sickness.
jack blackburn
cult film Donnie Darko, estimated at $100,000 to $200,000. It is being offered at public auction for the first time, coinciding with the film’s 25th anniversary.
Props on sale include John Travolta’s suit from Saturday Night Fever and an axe from The Shining
A prop of a mosquito preserved in amber from Jurassic Park is also expected to attract strong interest and has an estimate of $100,000 to $200,000. It featured in the film’s opening sequence, in which scientists extract dinosaur DNA from a prehistoric mosquito.
he famous white suit worn by John Travolta in Saturday Night
T
Fever is set to sell for as much as $400,000 (£303,000) at auction.
It leads a sale of entertainment items including the rabbit suit from Donnie Darko and a prop piece of amber from Jurassic Park that will be auctioned in Los Angeles next month. Propstore said its live auction, taking place from August 26
Other notable lots include the hands from Edward Scissorhands,
competition sequence and bears a handwritten inscription from Travolta.
to 29, has a combined pre-sale estimate of
Saturday Night Fever. The costume, which has an estimate of $200,000 to $400,000, was worn during the film’s dance
Michael Keaton’s batsuit from Batman Returns, a stunt axe from The
about $10m (£7.6m).
Expected to lead the sale is Tony Manero’s white three-piece suit, worn by Travolta in the 1977 disco classic
Shining, and prosthetic werecat teeth worn by Michael Jackson in the Thriller music video.
Another of the
headline lots is Frank the Rabbit’s principal costume from the 2001
Plus, you’re free to leave
70GB anytime. £9 LIMITED
Search ‘SMARTY Mobile’
TIME ONLY
Limited time only. SIM only 1 month plan. 70GB for £9, sign up by 24/08/26. Terms at smarty.co.uk
A senior detective has been found guilty of misconduct and given a warning after he had an affair with a colleague and kissed her in an unmarked police car.
Police said a toxicology report showed the man had consumed one or two alcoholic drinks. If convicted, he faces up to four years in prison.
year. A woman also died while swimming in 2024, the Daily Mail reported.
Peter Chappell
A two-year-old who fell to his death from the window of a hotel in Cyprus is the third British tourist to die at the resort in four years.
When a journalist visited the hotel this week, the large fourth-floor window through which the toddler fell on July 12 was still open.
Detective Sergeant Andrew Hedley, 52, admitted kissing his married partner after surveillance operations. At a Hampshire police misconduct hearing, he said he didn’t disclose the affair because he was worried about the “detrimental repercussions” to both their personal lives.
Petros Stavrou, the family’s lawyer, made several requests during the eight days of his imprisonment for the father to be released to be with his wife when they had to inform their daughter that her brother had died. Instead, the delay meant that the father, according to reports, was forced to tell his daughter the news over FaceTime.
King Evelthon Beach Hotel and Resort has come under criticism over the fatalities as the boy’s father, a 37-year-old City worker from Essex, is due to appear in court today.
The child’s father was arrested and held in prison for eight days before being released on €20,000 (£17,000) bail. He appeared emotional as he sat in the dock on Tuesday accompanied by his parents, who have flown to Cyprus to support him, his wife and their daughter, five. He is banned from leaving the country before his trial, which is due to start next week and could last several months.
A source close to the family told The Times they were “living through an unimaginable nightmare” after the father was charged by Cypriot police with causing death by a rash, reckless or dangerous act.
Representing the force, Charles Apthorp said: “It is a very serious breach for a person to avoid disclosing something when you know it is important.”
The King Evelthon hotel has been the scene of several tragedies since 2022
UK health and safety guidelines state large hotel windows should be restricted to an opening of 10cm or less. In Cyprus the window must be above a ledge at least 1.1 metres tall, a regulation with which the hotel complied.
The family were on the first day of their holiday when the boy fell 10 metres on to a veranda. Paphos district court was told the child fell through an open window when his father was swinging him from side to side in the corridor next to the family’s room.
Giving evidence, Hedley said he had stayed in a hotel with the officer, who cannot be named for legal reasons, but never conducted any sexual relations with her when on duty.
The hotel near Paphos has been the scene of several tragedies in recent years, including the deaths of two other British holidaymakers. Ben Woods, 21, from Leigh in Greater Manchester, drowned in the hotel pool in July 2022.
“It’s a living nightmare for them, which keeps getting worse,” the source added. “The idea that they could face a situation where the family has to return to the UK while the father remains in Cyprus is unfathomable. The psychological impact on him already is beyond comprehension.”
Antonis Sivitanidis, general manager of hotel, said: “All of those deaths the police fully investigated and found no fault on the hotel’s side. We are sorry for all the families and we offer them our sincere condolences and sympathy.”
Hedley was found to have committed misconduct, but the panel did not find it amounted to gross misconduct. He was given a written warning for 18 months.
The father is understood to have denied that version of events and insisted that he was not swinging his son.
Another child, Ruaridh Nairne, six, from Inverness, drowned the following
ROYAL OPERA HOUSE
Jewel thieves jailed over sledgehammer raid on store
investigate who did this. We’re a local, independent family jewellers, and have been in Richmond for more than 45 years. The public response to this incident has been overwhelming, and we are grateful for the support and kindness we’ve received.
Jessica Sharkey Crime Correspondent
Three men have been jailed after stealing £225,000 worth of stock in a smash-and-grab robbery at a jewellery shop in west London.
Robert Clarke, 50, Lee Ramsey, 46, and Deniz Mehmet, 28, all from Essex, were caught on video raiding Gregory & Co in Richmond in front of shoppers on January 31.
“We are reassured that, overall, the good outweighs the bad as we look forward to reopening and getting back to normal soon.”
The video, which was widely shared online, showed the men smashing the shop window with a sledgehammer before grabbing jewels from the display and putting them in a blue Ikea bag as staff tried to fend them off. They then ran towards Richmond Green, and bystanders called the police.
Detective Superintendent Dan Mitchell, from the Met’s Flying Squad, said: “Robberies of this kind cause real concern for residents and businesses in the communities that are targeted. It’s they who feel the immediate impact.
The Argentinian dancer and Royal Ballet principal Marianela Núñez with William Bracewell as Marguerite and Armand
“These sentences mark a significant step in what has been a detailed and determined investigation. I hope they demonstrate our commitment to tackling smash and grab robberies in London by going after those involved, wherever they are.”
The men were caught after officers
Robert Clarke, 50, was caught on video raiding a jewellery shop in southwest London
Sonata was not well served by the soloist Robert Clark.
various shades of love in a succession of contrasting pas de deux. Fumi Kaneko and Vadim Muntagirov floated through the sweet, serene courtship of the first, Mayara Magri and Lukas B Braendsrod spiced it up in the earthier, more mature second and in the third duet Núñez and Matthew Ball resonated the most in the tender drama of their passionately fraught relationship. Chopin Nocturnes provide the music (though it deserved better than the below-par playing of the pianist Kate Shipway). We end with Frederick Ashton’s Marguerite and Armand (1963), the same story as La traviata, although Ashton distils the tale of the doomed courtesan and her young lover to its essence and tells it in flashback. William Bracewell, making his debut as Armand, brought elegant ardency and ravishing arabesques to the table, while Núñez’s Marguerite, wearing a succession of stunning Cecil Beaton gowns, fell in love graciously and expired gracefully. Paul Murphy conducted the Royal Ballet Sinfonia, although Liszt’s B minor Piano
Dance Debra Craine
In March seven men were jailed for being part of a group that carried out a series of smash-and-grab raids at luxury stores across the capital. They stole more than £100,000 worth of goods over four months last year using bricks, sledgehammers and a Ford Fiesta to ram into doors.
In the fun-filled middle section, a delicious bonbon of duets. Núñez and Muntagirov went for broke in the bravura choreography of Marius Petipa’s Le Corsaire, she grand and radiant, he displaying the purity and panache of a wondrous classical technique. Akane Takada and Calvin Richardson enjoyed the leggy coupling of Wayne McGregor’s Infra, Magri and Ball embraced the joyous abandon of the balcony pas de deux from Kenneth MacMillan’s Romeo and Juliet, while Kaneko and Braendsrod milked the slow seductive power of Christopher Wheeldon’s After the Rain.
Marianela — Timeless Royal Opera House, London
(170 min) HHHHI
looked at CCTV footage, carried out forensic analysis and recovered a vehicle believed to be linked to the robbery.
Footage released by the Metropolitan Police showed officers bursting into the bedrooms of Clarke and Ramsey to arrest them in the early hours of March 31. Bodycam footage showed Ramsey being detained and handcuffed on his bed. Mehmet was detained on a street on April 8.
They took watches, jewellery, fine art and safes containing cash, and used stolen vehicles as getaway cars.
She calls it her love letter to the Royal Ballet but it’s also a love letter to her audience. Marianela Núñez’s programme at the Royal Opera House, comprising a series of divertissements sandwiched between two one-act ballets, is a golden opportunity for fans to see the ballerina who has delighted Covent Garden for 28 years showcased in a variety of guises. As an added bonus eight other Royal Ballet principal dancers joined her for the first night of Marianela — Timeless.
Across the group, five successful burglaries of London shops were committed between May and July 2025, with a similar technique being used each time, Kingston crown court previously heard.
The men were sentenced at Kingston crown court yesterday after admitting the offence at a previous hearing.
The Met said that it remained committed to tackling crimes such as ram raids.
And last, but not least, of the bonbons, George Balanchine’s glittering Tchaikovsky Pas de Deux. For this Núñez teamed up with the Royal’s newest principal, Patricio Revé, who revealed a strong, neat technique. But the moment belonged to Núñez, whose effervescence and rich musicality were beyond compare. Until Aug 2, rbo.org.uk
Mehmet, from Basildon, was jailed for five years Clarke, from Rochford, and Ramsey, from Harlow, were each given five years and three months.
Figures released by the force this month showed a 14 per cent drop in neighbourhood offences in the 12 months to June compared with the previous year — the equivalent of more than 35,000 fewer offences reported across London.
It kicks off with In the Night, Jerome Robbins’s 1970 romantic confection in which three couples meet separately under a starry night sky. The choreography illustrates
After the raid, a spokesman for Gregory & Co said: “This has been deeply upsetting for us all, and we are supporting the police as they
with the convenience of tights” for £12.
Prue White Style Editor
In March 2021, when Richard Price, the then managing director of clothing and Home, announced that the M&S was expanding to stock other brands, no one could have foreseen the expansion would mean crotchless pants sold alongside sausage rolls. A spokesperson for the retailer said “Our Brands at M&S strategy is all about giving customers greater choice through carefully selected third-party brands that complement our existing M&S offer.”
These are not just knickers, these are red, lace, crotchless knickers. They are by Ann Summers and now stocked by everyone’s favourite picky-bits retailer, Marks & Spencer, no less.
A female chef has been dismissed from the Royal Navy and jailed for 18 months for sexually assaulting two male and two female colleagues on a ship.
Sian Dowsett was described as “extremely intimidating” by one of her victims
Bulford military court was told that Able Seaman Sian Dowsett, 25, a chef, targeted new crew members on HMS Dauntless, a destroyer. Assistant Judge Advocate John Atwill said: “You slapped a fellow chef on the buttocks as he was working on a document and slapped him again with some force on another occasion. While a colleague was topless and getting changed, you groped their breasts, pushing them and gripping her nipples.”
M&S has long been the nation’s go-to for reliable underwear. Known for selling nude cotton-rich pants in the style of Bridget Jones (£12 for a pack of five), and a bra every two seconds, you’d be forgiven for assuming the outlet’s offering was more vanilla than kink.
... She was an extremely intimidating character. She would scream and shout at people. I had so many sleepless nights when she was aboard.”
The “Brands at M&S” knickers by Ann Summers are priced at £20 for three
A thread on Mumsnet, originated by a user who was offended by an advert for the crotchless thongs on Facebook, generated much debate. One user asked: “Who on God’s green earth goes to M&S for sexy fun?”
that also specialises in sex toys. Included in the latest drop of “Brands at M&S” is a three-pack of “flirty” lace crotchless thongs for £20. If you are in any doubt as to what constitutes a crotchless thong, rest assured, it’s not much. There is an intricate lace bodysuit, also crotchless at £36, and even crotchless sheer tights to “blend the sultry styling of traditional stockings and suspenders
Indeed in April, the chain launched Body by M&S: a capsule range of lingerie to meet every sartorial need. Including bodies, shapewear, T-shirt bras, and yes, granny pants, the range had practicality at its core.
One of Dowsett’s male victims said that he was assauled in the ship’s sick bay, adding: “I felt guilty that I let it happen but I didn’t tell her to get off.”
Dowsett, who was said to have “bisexual tendencies”, was convicted of six charges of sexual assault in March.
You won’t be choking on your meal deal at the checkout anytime soon, though. Crotchless thongs will only be available for purchase online. Delivery in a paper bag optional.
In mitigation, Michael Green said that Dowsett had recently been diagnosed with autism, which could cause “social exploitation [and] interpersonal misunderstanding”.
However, in a move that will surprise many and perhaps horrify even more, M&S has started stocking lingerie by Ann Summers — the British retailer
Yesterday one female victim told the court: “I was assaulted by Sian Dowsett.
ZACHARY CULPIN/BNPS
notifying his suppliers. She added that the multimillionaire could have moved the wine into storage while the cooler units at his £8 million flat in Marylebone, central London, were replaced.
Jonathan Ames Legal Editor
A master tailor and wine connoisseur ruined his own £1 million vintage collection, a judge has ruled, dismissing a claim against the supplier of high-tech chillers.
Branching out Matt and Katie Priestley in Dorchester, Dorset, hire out trees for weddings instead of the traditional flowers
It emerged during the hearing that Reimer had amassed 20,000 bottles of vintage French wines that were kept at his properties in London and Hamburg. But he claimed the value of his collection in London was lost because of faults with three custom-made chillers that were installed in 2021.
Tom Reimer, who once dressed the opera star Luciano Pavarotti, had sued International Food Services Equipment for £550,000 over claims that a leak caused condensation that ruined the labels and potentially the corks on a collection of thousands of bottles.
But a judge has now handed Reimer a £110,000 bill for legal costs after finding that the master tailor caused the condensation in the “wine wall” himself, either by boxing in part of the fridge unit or by repeatedly switching it off after his neighbours complained about noise and vibrations.
The cooling system featured glass sliding doors and remote condensers. Reimer argued in court that a gap of less than half an inch between the doors of the units allowed cool air to escape and warmer air to enter, leading to condensation and mould growth on the labels. He also maintained that some of
Reimer, a scion of a wealthy German family, built a lucrative career as a top tailor in Hamburg, where in the 1990s his company dressed Pavarotti in a white silk tailcoat as a contrast to his customary black tails and white tie.
Tom Reimer outside court. He claimed that a leak in his high-tech chillers ruined his wine collection
Lawyers for the company, which is based in south London, had argued in court that the chillers were not faulty and that the only problem was that they had caused Reimer’s neighbours to complain.
the vintages “probably” suffered significant cork damage, massively reducing the value of his 1,500-bottle London collection.
Matthew Winn-Smith, a barrister representing the company, had told the court that any damage to the wine probably resulted from Reimer “turning off the wine fridges because they were too noisy”.
Many of the wines were elite reds from the Bordeaux and Rhône Valley regions, including bottles of 1982 Château Mouton Rothschild, which can sell for more than £1,000, and 2012 Petrus, which can fetch about £2,000.
Reimer was said to have done so because he faced “considerable pressure” from his landlord and neighbours over noise from the £23,000 devices and their condenser units.
Rare wines are much less valuable if the labels are damaged because buyers are wary of taking a risk on the wine itself being ruined.
The tailor had accepted that the units had been turned off twice, but the judge found that it had been done “significantly more than twice”.
Dismissing Reimer’s claim, the judge said that any damage to the wine bottles was probably caused by lack of adequate ventilation as a result of the condensers of the wine cooling wall being boxed in on Reimer’s orders or by the tailor turning off the fridges due to the noise.
Sitting at Central London county court, Judge Sarah Ellington said that Reimer had acted “unreasonably” in turning off the units without first
Three solid gold Bronze Age bracelets that may be worth more than £300,000 have been found by metal detectorists.
harvest or hid them in fear of a raid on their settlement.
The torcs are now with the British Museum where a coroner will rule if they are treasure or not. If they are treasure a museum or institution will be given the opportunity to buy them for the nation, with the detecting duo getting a share. If nobody wants them they will be returned to the finders.
Alan Daniels and Andy Crammond found the bracelets, or torcs, in a farmer’s field. Crammond joked that he almost had a heart attack when he unearthed the first one a few inches under the soil. Daniels quickly discovered the second, then the third 20ft away 20 minutes later.
The torcs have been dated to about 1100BC and are at least 22-carat gold with a combined weight of
Despite being buried in mud for more than 3,000 years, the torcs were in pristine, gleaming condition when they were dug up at Blackford, near Carlisle.
Supported by the James McNeill Whistler Exhibition Supporters Circle, Tate Patrons, Tate Members and Tate Americas Foundation
518 grams. Crammond, 34, a
Media partner
gas engineer from Kilwinning, Ayrshire,
said: “Detectorists
They would have belonged to a high-status, wealthy individual and landowner who perhaps buried them as an offering to the gods for a good
dream of these things and that is how it still feels ... It is the find of multiple lifetimes.”
James McNeill Whistler Nocturne:
Blue and Gold - Old Battersea Bridge c.1872-5 Tate Presented by the Art Fund 1905 (detail)
The three solid gold bracelets were buried in a farmer’s field
Why fixing social care is everything to PM
The cause is partly personal but for Burnham the current system also sums up what’s wrong with the way Britain is run
KIRSTY WIGGLESWORTH/PA
leader might have to do the same if he is to fulfil his promises on social care. He began, though, by speaking as a son, about his father and his illness and what more could be done to make them better.
themselves to fulfil their statutory obligation to provide adult social care at the expense of everything else they used to do. And there is the prize. What Burnham wants, and believes in, is a demonstrative and can-do politics, both locally and nationally, greater public control and lasting reform.
you absolve the state of debts and obligations it ought never to have incurred in the first place. Fix this, finally, and all else no longer seems impossible.
Start with the politics. Much of what Burnham says and does now is best understood as the unfinished business or hard lessons of his final years in cabinet. Two important things happened then. On April 15, 2009, the 20th anniversary of the Hillsborough disaster, he spoke at Anfield as culture secretary. They heckled him, crying for justice, a chorus of disbelief in politics and politicians. By the spring of 2010 he was health secretary, with a brief to introduce a national care service. He tried. There were cross-party talks and proposals for a compulsory inheritance levy. Then the Tories kicked it to bits, so he failed.
Hundreds of thousands of English sons and daughters could do the same, of course. With every passing month of Burnham’s premiership there will be thousands more, all of them living a version of his life. He knows this and, says one of the No 10 aides, “feels the weight of his words on these issues”.
@patrickkmaguire
A
s he was driven to work on Wednesday morning, the prime minister rang his mother. They spoke about his father — her
Put this to the casualties of his reshuffle and they are decidedly sniffy. All the prime minister has
He has mastered the little things as Starmer never could
husband — while the cars and the outriders went up to Golders Green. That was the last thing Andy Burnham did before he spoke to England about social care. It was a speech about policy, yes — about Baroness Casey of Blackstock, a national conversation and an expedited review. But it was about Roy Burnham, too, and the people who look after him.
To say this or that topic is “personal” for a politician is such a cliché it can be applied to any approach to any subject, entirely impersonally. Still, the car and the care home and every other little vignette from Burnham’s private life partly explain why he has turned abruptly towards what others in his position would see as a brick wall and decided to sprint on regardless.
done, recovering cabinet ministers argue, is bring forward Sir Keir Starmer’s plans and Casey’s review by a year. Even as they concede Burnham has mastered the little things as Starmer never could, Labour’s fallen stars insist the big problems are unchanging. And the Tories won’t collaborate on social care. Why would they? Now, if there’s no early election, Kemi Badenoch will have 18 months to attack Labour for wanting to raise the taxes needed to pay for it all.
Burnham had wanted a lasting, bipartisan solution. The alternative, he warned then, was “a random dementia tax, where people can see tens or hundreds of thousands of pounds wiped out by the costs of care, the loss of their homes, their savings and every ounce of their financial security”. He never got his consensus. Nor did Theresa May in 2017. She ended up haunted by that coinage of Burnham’s: the dementia tax.
Andy Burnham announced his social care plan in a Golders Green care home
Roy lives in a nursing home. He has Alzheimer’s disease. He does not know he is the prime minister’s dad. Last Monday, as Andy left Buckingham Palace, the carers sat him in front of the television. They told him to look at the screen as his second son walked up Downing Street, having accepted the King’s invitation to form another Labour government, and Eileen Burnham wept. “It’s a family achievement,” that son had told me, the day before he went into No 10. “Although he doesn’t know it, it still makes me feel that we’ve kind of done something together.”
To the prime minister, it looks like a twisted bundle of original sins
early is a bid to force change.
Then there are those other Burnham lodestars: greater public control of what he calls the “unaccountable state”, and the disempowerment of local government. The prime minister wants a National Care Service, fully integrated with the National Health Service. What we have now is a mess of patchy and overstretched local authority services, charities and private providers — owned, in many cases, by American venture capital and private equity funds.
But only in part. If his and Roy and Eileen’s story were unusual, he would not have had to give that speech.
They may yet be proven right. These warnings from the critics sound a bit like Theresa May, defending her own doomed social care plans: nothing has changed! Except, that is, the prime minister’s appetite for political argument and all the risks involved. And that, for Burnham, is precisely the point.
The prime minister now says partisan politics was the block on progress. This week his chief of staff, James Purnell, wrote to advisers and officials in No 10. He mentioned Burnham’s “determination to do politics differently” and hymned the virtues of “openness and collaboration”. Experience has convinced the prime minister that a culture of “point scoring, not problem solving” creates perverse incentives for political sabotage and state failure. Promising to fix the apparently unfixable so
Policy wonks like to talk about the “housing theory of everything”. Point at a problem with the British economy — stagnant growth, low productivity, wealth inequality, overstated GDP — and the explanation lies in our dysfunctional housing market. If Burnhamism has an equivalent it is surely social care. To the prime minister, it looks like a twisted bundle of original sins: petty partisanship, privatisation and the death of municipal England. Untangle it, the argument goes, and
And so on Wednesday morning Andy Burnham was determined to speak without notes — to show his words were something more than mere prescription. Ramsay MacDonald once sought a “doctor’s mandate” to cure Britain’s fiscal sickness, and in time this Labour
It is much too early to say what, exactly, the Burnham model would look like: Casey will tell us next year. But if Burnham’s vision of England has an opposite, it is surely BlackRock making a handsome profit off your nan. Nor would councils be forced to bankrupt
politics newsletter
For the best analysis and commentary from Westminster
Speakers include
Tech Summit
Go to thetimes.com/events or use the QR code to book now
Headline Sponsor
Co-Founder & CEO at Limbic
Co-CEO, Langdock and Senior Partner at Visionaries
Co-founder & CEO at Cohere
Tuesday, November 10, 2026
AI narrows your horizons. If you let it feed you information, you’re less likely to go and find stuff out for yourself. That crucial process of exploration takes you into unexpected areas and leads to interesting discoveries. The short cut may be easier but it’s duller and will never produce anything original. The tendency of AI to make people stupider is particularly dangerous to people whose brains are developing. Teachers are alarmed by what they see in the young. Professor Bloom says that in the Stanford maths department, homework scores are shooting up and exam scores are plummeting because students who use AI to do their homework don’t learn from it. In economics seminars in which students discuss a paper they’ve been assigned to study in advance, they all seem to be making the same points, and when they’re questioned they can’t elaborate on them. “The light bulb came on for me, that instead of reading the paper the students are just feeding it into AI.”
Employment on average falls naturally among existing companies. Growth comes from companies yet to be created.
troubled by on a longer-term basis.
The regions need rewards for their creative endeavour Theo Bamber
Messrs Musk and Amodei, of course, are not objective observers. The first has just floated SpaceX, an AI company with rockets attached, and the second is expected to float his firm shortly. Investors are having doubts about their hyperbole. The value of SpaceX’s stock is around half its post-flotation peak; the share price of Meta, which has also gone big on AI, has fallen by a fifth since the SpaceX float; the value of the entire Korean stock market, which is heavily weighted towards AI, has dropped by about two fifths since its peak in June.
But whether or not AI wipes out jobs, it is changing the way we work. Lots of people use it, at home and in the office; and it’s in the way we use it as individuals rather than in the prospect of mass unemployment that the danger lies.
I
f you’re a besuited consultant whose selling point is your supposedly superior brain, it’s embarrassing to have some of your output rumbled as AI
T
he East Lancashire Road was the UK’s first purposebuilt inter-city road. Opened in 1934, it runs between Manchester and
I use AI as a research assistant but I’ve come to realise there are two serious risks involved. The more trivial one, as revealed by the trouble that the consultants have got into, is that it makes stuff up. The PwC pitfall can be avoided by checking anything it says with a reliable source, but when people use it they tend to stop thinking for themselves.
slop. That’s what seems to have happened to PwC Middle East. According to GPTZero, which sells AI detection software, PwC put out “thought leadership” reports featuring footnotes that referred to non-existent research and links to publications that failed to support the claims made — classic AI glitches.
Liverpool, two vibrant cities at the forefront of Britain’s creative, cultural and industrial development for the last 150 years. They built global reputations on what their people created: music, art, journalism, culture. They also shaped our new prime minister. That creativity generates enormous value. The question Andy Burnham must answer is simple: who should benefit from it?
Those doubts spring in part from the persistence of the gap between
Short cut may be easier but will never produce anything original
Scientists coined the term “cognitive surrender” for this phenomenon after asking a group of workers to use AI to help them answer difficult questions. A control group did not use AI. Those using it performed better than those who didn’t when AI got things right, but they stopped using their brains as a reality check, so performed worse when it got things wrong.
Still, that doesn’t set PwC apart from the competition. Earlier this year GPTZero outed a report from EY on loyalty points, as well as one from KPMG pleasingly titled “Redefining Excellence in the Age of Agentic AI”.
Too much of the value the creative economy generates is flowing to a small number of global technology companies, and not enough is staying with the people who make the work or, indeed, within the UK tax system. The government has the chance to reset that relationship.
hyperbole and reality. The valuations of AI companies require them to transform the economy, but it’s not happening. Professor Nick Bloom and colleagues at Stanford University surveyed 6,000 bosses in America, the UK, Germany and Australia, with similar results from all countries. Those in the UK reckoned AI had had a negligible impact on their firm’s productivity over the past three years, and expected it to increase productivity by around half a per cent a year over the next three years. It had led to no reduction in employment so far, and they expected it would lead to a fall of half a per cent a year in the next three years. That is a normal result.
Such tales are rather a relief amid the claims that the economy as we know it will shortly be incinerated by AI. Elon Musk says AI will produce everything that everybody wants within ten years so “money won’t matter”. (He also thinks there’s a 10-20 per cent chance it will wipe out humanity, but that’s a small price to pay.) Dario Amodei, boss of Anthropic and a more modest fellow, thinks AI could bring about GDP growth of 5-10 per cent a year. Such predictions depend on AI taking people’s jobs, which I would welcome on a hot afternoon but would be
They will, of course, get no benefit from this; which points to an interesting development. University rewards brain over character, but in future the prizes will go not to the cleverest but to the most selfdisciplined. Those who use AI intelligently and not excessively, who let it do their grunt work but not their thinking, who are prepared to strain their brains — they will do best, in education and life. Heraclitus got it right 2,500 years ago, and his perception is even more relevant in the age of AI: character is destiny.
The more fundamental problem is that AI makes you lazy. Your brain, like your muscles, needs to work to get stronger. Stop making the effort, and your capacities diminish. A study of doctors who used AI to do colonoscopies demonstrated that. They were less good at the job after using AI than they had been beforehand. Anybody who once navigated using paper maps and now uses Google Maps is familiar with the feeling of losing a skill.
The Competition and Markets Authority has powers to compel fair terms between platforms and the publishers, musicians and creators who depend on them. But the CMA has not had the political support required to use those powers fully. If you are going to face down the largest companies in the world, you need to know someone has your back. The new government must give the CMA that backing unambiguously and immediately.
AI presents the same choice in sharper form. A thriving AI sector depends on access to high-quality content. Creators and publishers need confidence they will be rewarded when their work is used. The government must provide certainty that the UK’s copyright framework will not be weakened.
Nigel Farndale Notebook
This one had polished off a whole box of Quality Street and also most of the pills and powders in our medicine drawer. I imagined him racing around like a nutter up there, possibly killing any fox that crossed his path, before
fridge, I could have told you that the tiramisu belonged neither to my mother nor me but to a young Singaporean guest.” The Widdecombe weakness, she continued, was for sherry trifle, not tiramisu. She would not even feed tiramisu to her cats. “Do you realise what you have done, you bounder?” she concluded playfully. “I go to half a dozen political/charity/literary lunches or dinners a week and now I shall find a wretched tiramisu proudly presented as the dessert at every one and I shall have to smile and say: ‘Oh, what a lovely surprise,’ when I LOATHE the beastly stuff.”
Meeting with Ann that put a cat among the puddings
Grammar and songs
always feel sorry for well-educated pop stars having to insert some bad grammar into their lyrics to seem
I
This matters most at local level. As more powers move to local and regional institutions, the journalism that scrutinises their decisions becomes more important. News organisations in Manchester, Liverpool and across the country are providing trusted reporting that holds new power structures to account. These businesses are ready and willing to innovate. What they need is fair payment for their content, which would secure their futures and protect the journalism that devolution depends on.
cool and edgy. Mick Jagger (LSE) couldn’t “get no satisfaction”, Chris Martin (UCL) sang about how the stars “was all yellow”, Sting, a former English teacher, felt obliged to write “everything she do just turns me on”. But the next generation of rock gods won’t have to, thanks to the education secretary Lucy Powell who has said that year 6 grammar and spelling tests are “too obscure”. The spellings include the words “knight”, “through” and “plaque”. That latter can, though, be useful, as Gyles Brandreth found when opening a hospital in his constituency in 1995. The plaque read: “This plague was unveiled by Gyles Brandreth.”
— shivering and sweating withdrawal symptoms kicked in. Cold mousy, it would be called.
Chess queen
udit Polgar, the Hungarian chess grandmaster and the strongest female player of all time, was
J
T
oo soon to share a frivolous story about Ann Widdecombe? I think not, and suspect she would have thought not too, but
asked by Peter Magyar, the new prime minister of Hungary, if she would like to be her
country’s next president. She
you be the judge.
declined, and I am glad because it might have
A few years ago, I went to interview her in her south London home for a magazine profile. As our photographer hadn’t finished, she told me to head through to the kitchen and make myself a cup of coffee while I waited. I opened the fridge door looking for milk and was, in my evil journalistic way, delighted to see several family sized pots of tiramisu. This is definitely going in the piece, I thought. I have stumbled upon Ann Widdecombe’s secret passion.
Mouse guests
ice are both hygienic and highly
meant her withdrawing her services as a virtual coach on chess.com.
These are not abstract questions. They are about whether Britain rewards creativity and enterprise or allows value to flow unchecked to a handful of global gatekeepers. They are about whether people have access to the trusted information that democracy requires.
M
intelligent creatures, and cute, which is why I use a humane trap. There was one with half a tail I released at the end of our garden recently only to find him back in the trap the next morning, blinking up at me. I took him to Longmoor, the nearby MoD range. Longmoor was where I also released Super Mouse.
There is something about Virtual Judit’s
Perhaps, in readiness for the social media ban next year, year 6-ers should get copies of the Times style guide. I find the entries as addictive as scrolling on Insta. Here’s one: “shambles”, strictly speaking, means a butcher’s slaughterhouse. And the plural of octopus is octopuses not octopi. And you serve in a ship not on it. Flick, flick, flick. But the rule about never using “Union Jack” other than in reference to a Royal Navy ship is mere superstition, along with the belief that it is always wrong to boldly split an infinitive.
Hungarian-accented English, at times firm, at times purring, often vaguely mocking, that makes my head spin. The other day she
The East Lancashire Road connects two cities that create work the world values. Burnham has the chance to make sure that work is properly rewarded. That starts with backing trusted journalism and the creative economy it’s part of.
A few days after my article appeared, a letter arrived and I turned to the signature: “Yours furiously, Ann Widdecombe.” I took a deep breath and read it from the beginning. “If, instead of sneaking a look, you had asked me about the contents of my
whispered into my
AirPods: “Your knight is pinned and I can attack it. You do not want this.”
Buy prints or signed copies of Times cartoons from our Print Gallery at timescartoons.com or call 0800 912 7136
let the market in to choose where the money goes. In just about every field it has entered, capitalism has a track record of being extraordinarily good not only at maximising the money on the table but at deploying it effectively and generating vast additional multiples from it.
reflective of a strain in the vast consensus of British cultural life that is anti-market, anti-capitalist and in the end, anti-success.
rooted in something much more dismayingly English, European: the crimped, crippling, constipating aversion to making money, the sanctimonious desire to sacrifice profit for purity.
week about the “Americanisation” of football. But American sports are regulated by rules designed to share wealth and promote parity.
Gerard Baker
So spare me the anger, the denunciations, the rhetorical mounting of the high moral horse about the desecration of the “beautiful game”. Spare me above all the antiquated English delusion that somehow “profit” is a filthy thing that soils everything it touches, a sentiment so at odds with the historical evidence and so undermining of opportunity it belongs in a museum of terrible ideas.
In the end it’s a choice, I suppose. You can choose to seek more private money and watch the game grow and improve, even as some people get very rich off it. Or you can protect your cherished culture, wall it off from market discipline and financial opportunity and keep it pure, something from the past. Europe’s insistence on the latter may doom Gianni’s plan, but that doesn’t mean the idea was wrong.
I’m old enough to remember what going to football matches was like before the evil profit motive dominated the game. I can remember standing (there weren’t seats) with my feet drenched in urine from fans who didn’t bother to queue for befouled, overflowing loos. I can remember the terror of the crush as we surged back and forward. I can remember, when I wanted to follow games from the safety of my home, having to listen to a tinny radio at three o’clock on a Saturday afternoon or catch a couple of minutes of a game on Match of the Day seven hours later.
@gerardtbaker
It’s true of course that in the process some people get filthy rich. But in expanding the total amount of money available they also create more for everyone. Sorry, socialists, but that’s just how it’s been. Greed isn’t intrinsically good. But the
L
isten carefully. Those thuds you hear are the sounds of people with all the right opinions falling to their fainting couches at the latest
outrage from Fifa and its boss. The proposal — it’s more commonly called a “scheme” or even a “scam” — by Gianni Infantino to sell off a chunk of the World Cup business to private investors has been greeted with the sort of reaction from cultural, media and political leaders you’d expect if Donald Trump announced he was offering to buy a stake in the royal family.
The opposition to this is dismayingly English: an aversion to money
The World Cup is the world’s premier sporting event. Fifa grossed perhaps $13 billion from the spectacle this year, mainly from selling TV rights. But that still leaves billions on the table. The event can get much bigger and reach larger audiences. The television companies face intensified competition for the rights from big tech companies who can pay much more. The potential is vast. And no, it doesn’t mean we have to have the hydration breaks or the 27-minute half-time show.
In fact, you can see the consequences on a larger scale when you look at the economies of America and Europe. In the US, the pursuit of ugly profit has produced rapid growth, dynamic technology, prosperity that is outstripping the world — as well as sports watched by hundreds of millions of people. In Europe, protecting itself from evil capitalism, there is stagnation, a crepuscular creep towards oblivion. It’s worked so well for Europe’s tech industries, its financial institutions, its energy supply, its industrial productivity, its income per head. I’m sure it will work for football too.
number of occasions when it hasn’t also enriched the virtuous and less avaricious are vanishingly small.
But it was pure! The fields might have been like cow pastures, the stands like cattle sheds and many of the players like dray horses — but at least we had purity!
Of course I don’t fully trust Gianni and his pals. But I’d be confident that, even as they fill their boots, money will be generated and channelled to fruitful causes; smaller nations could benefit richly, to football’s and the public’s benefit. The rise of African football in the past 20 years has expanded the game’s horizons, brought joy to hundreds of millions and created new opportunities for talented young people.
There’s little to like about Gianni and I’m not going to waste a word defending his character or motivations. There’s even less to like about Fifa as an organisation, or many of the predatory types who hang around the halls of American power — sporting, political or financial. But it’s easy to let a natural revulsion to these characters colour your judgment on anything they come up with. The near-universal condemnation of the idea is
Many people don’t like the rich owners who have helped make the Premier League the most successful, and lucrative, in the world. But does anyone think the game isn’t much better? And couldn’t be even better still? And of course the business can be regulated to protect against excess and ensure some of the additional revenue generated is shared widely. There’s been much moaning this
When large amounts of money are left on the table, you can do one of three things: leave it there in the interest of some sort of spiritual purity; entrust it to not-for-profit financial ingenues to enrich themselves and allocate it according to personal and political whims; or
the state of it usa
I fear the opposition to this is
Letters to the Editor should be sent to letters@thetimes.co.uk or by post to 1 London Bridge Street, London SE1 9GF
Letters to the Editor
Sir, The arguments for using procurement as an instrument of industrial policy are much more nuanced than Oliver Kamm suggests (“Healey’s ‘Buy British’ plan is a fast track to economic decline”, Jul 28). The US has consistently used procurement funding to support the development and trialling of new technologies, particularly where early applications are in defence, such as software, AI, communications and electronics, but without prejudice to the operational procurement decisions that come later. A similar approach, along the lines of the recommendations in the report of my review commissioned by Theresa May in 2017, “Leveraging Public Procurement to Grow the Innovation Economy”, would benefit both the public sector and the wider economy. David Connell Cambridge Judge Business School
programme called Live Longer Better. Every individual and community needs to take urgent action. Professor Sir Muir Gray Oxford Longevity Project Sir, I agree with Tony Batten (letter, Jul 29) that it is extraordinary that teenagers are claiming personal independence payments for conditions such as anxiety and ADHD. Disability has become a huge industry, with 18 per cent of young people aged 16-24, and 20 to 25 per cent of Cambridge students, officially recognised as disabled. About half of these are mental health conditions.
Sir, Your articles (Jul 30) on the challenge posed by the increasing demand for social care did not mention the evidence-based opportunity for reducing the need for social care by at least 10 per cent.
unmanageable levels. We are doing young people a disservice by labelling them disabled and offering them benefits, rather than helping them into work. Dr Fiona Cornish GP, Cambridge Sir, I registered online to participate in Baroness Casey of Blackstock’s “big conversation” about social care, only to find that I was only allowed about 20 words, starting “We should ...” This can hardly be defined as a “conversation” or be described as the democratic involvement of the people. Dr Pamela Grant Goring-on-Thames Berks Sir, Many family members dedicate much of their lives to supporting their loved ones. They will give up jobs and social life to be able to care for their relatives. There is an untapped reservoir of siblings and friends who are focused on their own lives and pay little attention to the sacrifices of these carers. A little thought would go a long way to encouraging carers. Words of thanks, small gifts or even respite care would help carers immensely. Andrew Lydon East Horsley, Surrey
The normal biological process of ageing is not the main reason for the disability and dependence that creates the need. The Oxford Longevity Project has identified three other processes, all of which can be influenced to reduce the need for social care. First there is loss of fitness, caused primarily by 45 years of sitting at work and in the car. Second there is disease: the major diseases are not the result of our parental genes but of the physical and social environment in which we have lived since birth. The third factor is social pressure from ageism and, especially, deprivation.
Sir, In response to Professor Jeremy Shears’s letter (Jul 29) it is important to clarify what is happening at Jodrell Bank Observatory. The Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) has taken the difficult decision that from 2028 it will no longer support one project partly based at Jodrell Bank, e-Merlin. This decision does not remove all funding for Jodrell Bank Observatory, which is owned and operated by the University of Manchester. The university has confirmed that Jodrell Bank Centre for Engagement is not affected and remains open to visitors.
The principle of helping those in need is honourable, but as with immigration, when the numbers are overwhelming the threshold and criteria for help have to be modified. More than 20 per cent of those aged 16 to 24 now self-identify as neurodivergent, such as having autism, ADHD or dyslexia. I am not convinced it is right to include these lifetime characteristics as a disability. There will always be those at the very severe end of these conditions, who do need help. But the grey area between the severely affected and the “neurotypical” is growing to
Fortunately the evidence is strong that it is never too late to increase fitness, reduce the risk of disease, including that of dementia by almost half, and mitigating the effects of the social determinants of ageism and deprivation. The health and social care committee has laid the policy foundations with its report on healthy ageing, and the NHS has launched a
Although e-Merlin has made a significant contribution to science, STFC, under pressure from inflation and other cost increases, took this decision to protect investments in next-generation scientific capability, such as the internationally important Square Kilometre Array, which has its headquarters at Jodrell Bank and supports about 200 jobs.
Sir, Andrew Billen suggests that the lot of Naga Munchetty and her fellow breakfast presenters is not always a happy one (Times2, Jul 29). He says that they get up at 4.30am, squabble over who gets the biggest interviews and then have to banter with co-presenters “while feeling permanently knackered”. I can assure him that the production teams, who work through the night to get these programmes on air, feel a lot more knackered than the presenters. Nor do they have the consolation of being paid £360,000 a year “with a healthy sideline in freelance gigs”. That must make Munchetty and co perk up a bit. Neil Bennett BBC reporter 1971-2006; London SW12
apprenticeships should be expanded. We must think like the time-pressed tradesperson and support them.
These decisions will place STFC on a sustainable long-term footing, protect critical national capability and ensure investment remains focused where it can deliver the greatest long-term impact for researchers, businesses and the British public. Professor Grahame Blair Executive director of programmes, STFC
‘Hard hat’ careers
Sir, I agree wholeheartedly with Edward Lucas that “with Brits named among the worst travellers, it’s up to us all to respect cultures and lessen our impact” (“Tourism isn’t simply transaction: tread lightly”, comment, Jul 30). He points in particular to “our role as ambassadors for our countries”. I can well remember how, in July 1968 when I was aged 14, I took the bus with my father from Cromwell Road in London to Heathrow, as one then did. Having just taken my German O-level, I was on my way to Bremen for a two-week exchange visit with my new chum Hans-Albrecht. Seated in the front row of the top deck of the bus, Dad solemnly told me that I would be an ambassador for my country, and that that above all should steer my conduct. The Rev Matthew Hutton Chedgrave, Norfolk
Sir, It was refreshing to hear the PM talk about “hard hat” careers and how we should encourage more young people into trade apprenticeships (news, Jul 28; letters, Jul 29 & 30). What we need now is support for the people who will be hiring them.
John Mewett Chief executive, Screwfix Sir, Contrary to Michael Gove’s comment “Labour’s education policy is ‘bring back stupid’ ” (Jul 30), I believe a more inclusive approach to cover the technical, mechanical and creative subjects alongside the academic would prevent young people becoming disenfranchised at school. As a trainee teacher who graduated in creative arts, I was taught to consider the different ways young people learn — aurally, visually, manually — and to inspire them. I found that approach remarkably successful as it allows children to find a niche in which to excel. Jo Humphreys Lymington, Hants Sir, I loved teaching English, and many small business employees in my area — all of them my ex-pupils remember Steinbeck and Shakespeare as life-enhancers. Specific skills are another remit. Both should exist. Pat Rudkins Earls Colne, Essex
The vast majority of this sector consists of small and medium-sized enterprises, many of them sole traders. Research from Screwfix shows that they want to take on apprentices but each stage of the process is too complicated, from the paperwork, to hiring, to managing apprentice workload. Too often, this puts them off. Planned financial grants, welcome as they are, are a case in point.
Sir, The finding that “Organic free-range eggs ‘are worst for the environment’ ” (Jul 29) highlights how industrial-scale farming involves trade-offs between carbon emissions and animal welfare. This is not the case for small-scale farming, as the French town of Colmar can attest. Its local government has been handing out free chickens to residents since 2015: carbon emissions are lower through reduced food waste, the hens are happier, and so are the people. Eugene Malthouse Research fellow, University of Nottingham (and very small-scale chicken farmer)
Sir, The key sentence in Daniel Finkelstein’s article (“Why compulsory voting’s such a rotten idea”, Jul 29; letter, Jul 30) is: “To begin with, there isn’t the slightest chance that forcing people to vote will increase their trust in politicians.” Trust might come from making voting easier. Ever since Labour’s Plant Commission on electoral systems in 1993, I have taken the view that compulsion should not even be contemplated until after the introduction of weekend voting has been tried and failed. Lord Rooker House of Lords Sir, Daniel Finkelstein is right that compulsory voting is a “rotten idea”. Australia, where voting is compulsory, has always had a small but significant “donkey vote”. Studies have shown that this benefits those who come early in the alphabet as the donkeys simply mark the name at the top of the ballot paper. Low turnout in Britain is a serious problem, especially among the young. But it is best confronted through persuasion, not compulsion. Sir Vernon Bogdanor Professor of government, KCL
Employer support up to £8,000 is split across different schemes, each with its own criteria. The result: 48 per cent of tradespeople who took on an apprentice last year claimed no funding because the system was too complex. Funding should be seamless and incentivise taking on young people, not throwing up barriers. Direct HR support to them via colleges or providers should be funded and approaches such as flexi-
Letters to The Times must be exclusive and may be edited. Please include a full address and daytime telephone number.
feature of most interest was the skull, which presented a condition of advanced symmetrical thinning that is extremely rare in Europe, but was very common in the aristocracy of ancient Egypt from the fourth to the 19th dynasties. In 1907 he discussed this peculiar incidence, and arrived at the conclusion that the thinning of the skull was probably the result of wearing heavy wigs for long periods of time. “We know nothing of the kinds of headdress worn in the Bronze Age,” he added, “but if this theory is valid the condition of the Dunstable lady’s skull indicates that she was accustomed to wear either a wig or some other heavy type of headgear.”
and bone implements. Last year another of the knolls was excavated, but it yielded little more than the one previously dug.
Sir, My late parents heard this simple prayer from farmers in the Fens during the 1950s. Perhaps we should invoke it now: “O Lord we pray for rain, not a tearing driving rain that harrows out the heart of nature but a gentle sizzling sozzling rain that goes on all day and most of night. Amen.” Adrian Dixon Cambridge
This month the work was resumed on knoll No 5, the most northerly, and it was found to be quite intact. No less than ten intrusive burials were found near the surface, apparently of middle Bronze Age, some of them cremated and others not. But they appear to be contemporaneous, because there was a close association between a Bronze Age cinerary urn and one of the bodies — a typical robust, broad-headed man, 5ft 8in in height. Eventually the primary burial of about 1200BC was found in an elliptical hole cut in the chalk — the bones of a slenderly built woman of Mediterranean type, 5ft 2in in height, of middle age, lying on her right side sharply flexed. Many years before her death her left forearm had been broken near the wrist.
from the times july 31, 1926
A discovery of unusual interest has been made during excavations in one of the round barrows at Dunstable by the University College and Hospital Anthropological Society. Five years ago a group of medical students from the College took up the archæological work in the Dunstable area that had been interrupted by the death of Mr Worthington Smith, a well-known local antiquarian. They excavated one of the five knolls and discovered that it had been opened several times previously and cleared of everything except a few flint chips
Sir, The letter from the tuba player (Jul 30) who counted rests, played her notes and went to the pub afterwards reminds me of drinking in the Britons Protection pub across the road from the Manchester Concert Hall. The brass players would come rushing in during the performance, counting rests while also drinking a pint, and then dash back to play their notes. Impressive timekeeping. Jan Cilliers London N13
The Times takes complaints about editorial
The remains are now being studied at University College, but will eventually be housed in the Dunstable Museum.
content seriously. We are committed to abiding by the Independent Press Standards Organisation (“IPSO”) rules and regulations and the Editors’ Code of Practice that IPSO enforces. Requests for corrections or clarifications should be sent to feedback@thetimes.co.uk
Professor Elliot Smith said that the
thetimes.com/archive
Daily Universal Register
UK: Greater Manchester mayoral election result declared; population estimates by marital status and living arrangements from Office for National Statistics.
Nature notes
The heatwave tipped into drought; much of Britain turned tawny. Sports pitches and over-mown lawns were bleached white
Baroness Casey has drawn attention to the fact that nearly one in four Britons are self-reported as officially disabled. She is right to query if the net is cast too wide
In 1910 Dr Hawley Crippen and his mistress, Ethel Le Neve, were arrested for the murder of his wife. It was the first use of wireless telegraphy in the arrest of criminals.
Emilia Fox, pictured, actress, Silent Witness (2004-26), 52; Victoria Azarenka, tennis player,
former world No 1, 37; Michael Biehn, actor,
The Terminator (1984), 70; Baroness (Angela)
Billingham, shadow spokeswoman on culture, media and sport (2010-13), 87;
Kenny Burrell, jazz guitarist, 95; Will Champion, drummer and songwriter, Coldplay, 48; Geraldine Chaplin, actress,
Doctor Zhivago (1965), 82; Antonio Conte, footballer, Italy (1994-2000) and manager, Chelsea FC (2016-18), Tottenham Hotspur (2021-23), 57; Norman Cook (Fatboy Slim), DJ and record producer, 63; Jonathan Dimbleby, broadcaster and historian, 82; Lord (John) Dyson, Master of the Rolls and head of civil justice (2012-16), 83; Daniel Evans, co-artistic director, Royal Shakespeare Company, 53; Edward Gillespie, lord-lieutenant of Gloucestershire,
(1999), 63; Robert Balchin, Lord Lingfield, chairman, Institution for Further Education, 84; Andrew Marr, journalist, editor-at-large
When the government seeks answers on knotty institutional failures or seemingly unfixable social problems, it has a tendency to call for Baroness Casey of Blackstock. The crossbench peer, who has decades of experience in social policy, has long displayed an ability to examine the evidence and cut through layers of equivocation and excuses. Her ensuing analysis very often involves dragging difficult questions into the light, half-buried truths that society has experienced but not previously formally acknowledged.
disability payments: there is a separate, formal claims process for the personal independence payment (Pip) and its associated benefits. Yet it does indeed represent those who can now consider themselves disabled, according to a vaguely defined metric. And that, unfortunately, is reflected in the rising numbers of working-age claimants granted Pip, most frequently without a face-to-face interview. The fastest growth is being seen in young people with mental health conditions such as anxiety and depression.
will, she says, ask the public “to get involved in making the tough choices that have been dodged for decades” by examining who deserves support and how the country as a whole can fund adult social care more fairly. Yet Casey has launched the conversation herself with a striking and frank observation on how the disability welfare net has been widely stretched to the point where it could become unsustainable.
In a radio interview, she reflected on figures raised by the Family Resources Survey, run by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP). This is a self-reported survey in which respondents are asked if they have a mental or physical illness that has lasted, or is expected to last, more than a year. They are also asked if this reduces their ability to carry out daily activities. If the answer is “yes” to both questions they are deemed disabled. Casey observed that, in this voluntary survey, roughly 16.8 million people met this DWP definition of disabled. “I don’t buy it,” she said. “I would qualify, and I’m sitting here right now. I’m not disabled, but I could qualify if I answered those questions based on my medical records.”
Her 2016 review of integration, for example, found that social cohesion had suffered as a result of historically high immigration and a laissez-faire approach in government to promoting shared British values. Her 2023 review of the Metropolitan Police Service, after the murder of Sarah Everard, exposed misogyny, racism and vetting failures in the Met. And her 2025 national audit of group-based child sexual exploitation and abuse highlighted a shocking institutional culture in which young victims of rape and abuse were not only left unprotected by the authorities but often actively criminalised as “child prostitutes”.
Although Pip is being examined under the Timms review, its uses and potential misuses also touch on Casey’s broader question of “who should we be looking after, and how?” The Pip bill is heading for more than £40 billion a year by 2030. As she emphasises, there are people dealing with “very significant disabilities” who are struggling to have their needs met, and require more help than they are getting. But the broadening of Pip access, and the blurring of categories between the grievously afflicted and those working-age claimants at the milder end of mental health problems, risk taking much-needed resources from the former group and creating a trap of dependency for the latter. A national conversation, and far sharper clarification, are long overdue.
Birthdays today
Now she is leading a review of social care, the conclusion of which has been brought forward by one year, to 2027. Its “Big Conversation on Care”
The DWP is quick to point out that such a figure — nearly one in four of the population — does not mean that all such respondents are eligible for
A new surge in antisemitism shames the UK and must be taken seriously
The UK has been crowned with an ignoble achievement. Last year it experienced the largest surge in antisemitic incidents out of seven countries with significant Jewish populations outside Israel. According to a report by the J7, the Large Communities’ Task Force Against Antisemitism, there has been a 136 per cent rise in incidents since 2022 across Australia, Argentina, Canada, France, Germany, the UK and the United States. Some countries reported a fall in such events last year but in Britain the rate rose by 5 per cent.
During his premiership, Sir Keir Starmer took credit for the announcement of £250 million to increase police patrols and security in Jewish communities. As prime minister, he also commissioned Sir David Bell, a retired senior civil servant, to investigate antisemitism in education that will conclude this autumn. The police have been more proactive in rooting out hatred in protests. Andy Burnham must continue in this vein, while finding ways to hold the social platforms to account.
That the UK has been singled out should not be a surprise. Ever since the October 7 terrorist attack on Israel, and the ensuing war in Gaza, antisemitism has been spilling into everyday events. The frequent marches through central London have featured an undercurrent of anti-Jewish and antiIsrael sentiments. Social media has become a cesspit of hatred, thanks to the refusal of the big technology companies to act to stop it spreading. Marina Rosenberg, one of the authors of the report, has rightly said that antisemitic attacks “start with words on social media”.
The report found that last year was the deadliest for anti-Jewish attacks in the diaspora in more than three decades. Violent incidents were up by 97 per cent compared with 2022. In the past year there has been a series of fatal attacks globally including the Bondi beach shooting at a Chanukkah event and the Heaton Park synagogue attack during Yom Kippur. In March, Jewish ambulances in Golders Green were firebombed. These incidents are only the surface of a much deeper hatred that has been festering, and has recently intensified. The task force concluded that antisemitism had reached levels not seen since the Second World War.
There remains a deeper problem, however, which is what to do about the depressing reality that too many people in this country hold unacceptable views when it comes to Jews. Stopping the hatred spreading is the first step, but better education must be a part of this too. That requires a more focused effort from councils, schools, universities and employers as well as the government. It is deeply depressing that the oldest hatred is continuing to find new life. Routine security at Jewish places of worship is a common sight that should shame Britain into action.
The normalisation of this dark atmosphere was captured by one incident this week, when the London borough of Hackney decided to end its decades-long twinning with the Israeli city of Haifa. This performative act by the Green-led council was bad enough, but it set a deadline for Haifa to respond of October 7 — the anniversary of the single worst killing of Jews since the Holocaust. It speaks to a total incomprehension and lack of empathy on the part of Zoë Garbett, the mayor of Hackney. She has duly apologised for picking that date, but will press ahead with the de-twinning.
On this day
Saving a measly £2.8 million a year by shutting down a world-famous research institution is the very definition of state-sanctioned shortsightedness. Jodrell Bank’s renowned Lovell Telescope, the UK’s largest, can reach into the depths of the universe and help map dark matter across billions of light years, yet the bean counters at the Science and Technology Facilities Council cannot see the value of a thriving, historic brand on their own doorstep. By withdrawing funding for e-Merlin, the UK’s national radio astronomy network that is headquartered at Jodrell Bank, they’re looking down the wrong end of the telescope.
Brian Cox, of the nearby University of Manchester, spoke of “devastating and irreversible cuts”.
Almost 80 years after Bernard Lovell turned a field in Cheshire into the global centre of radio astronomy, the landmark remains at the heart of British scientific excellence, attracting talent, inspiring youngsters and asking the most profound questions. A Unesco world heritage site, it signals ambition to the world, but its discoveries also have uses for defence and national security.
The UK’s annual welfare bill is about £350 billion. Thus the saving from ceasing operations at Jodrell Bank equates to about five minutes of welfare spending. Or the amount spent every 15 minutes servicing national debt. Surely, unless the UK is shutting up shop as a country that does serious science, the government can find three million quid to fund the nation’s foremost observatory? The last time Jodrell Bank came under threat, in 2008, The Times ran a campaign to defend it. It’s a shame to have to do so once again.
The last word
Axing its funding would be a grave error. No wonder nearly 80 per cent of early-career physicists are considering leaving the UK to pursue research abroad. No wonder the Royal Astronomical Society is “shocked and dismayed” and Professor
“Consistency is the last refuge of the unimaginative.” Oscar Wilde, Irish writer, in the Pall Mall Gazette, 1885.
“When it falls, it will fall in one day,” he told The New Republic website.
The president has good reason to fear what is traditionally seen as a time of turmoil, writes Marc Bennetts
While Ukrainian attacks are jangling nerves across the country and putting strain on the economy, they are unlikely to be playing a huge role in shifting opinions, said Nikolai Rybakov, the leader of Yabloko, the only antiwar party in Russia that has not been outlawed by the Kremlin. “Everyone says this is bad, but they all draw different conclusions. Some lean towards peace, while others lean towards a strengthening of Putin’s position. They become more aggressive,” he said.
April is the cruellest month, according to TS Eliot, but it is the onset of August that many Russians fear.
Known as “black” or “cursed” August, the eighth month of the year has traditionally brought turmoil to Russia, from an attempted coup by Soviet hardliners in 1991 to the sinking of the Kursk nuclear submarine in 2000, President Putin’s first year in power.
Yet dissatisfaction with Putin is clearly rising. Even his official approval ratings slumped 5 percentage points, to 66 per cent, in a single week this month, the lowest since the start of the war, according to FOM, a governmentaffiliated pollster.
Subsequent Augusts brought more misery, including deadly floods and wildfires, terrorist attacks, plane crashes and an explosion at the Sayano-Shushenskaya hydroelectric power station in 2009 that killed 75 people. In August 2024 Ukrainian troops swept across the border into the western Kursk region, bringing the Kremlin’s war home to Russia.
Abbas Gallyamov, a political analyst who was once a speechwriter for the Russian government, claimed the poll was part of the Kremlin’s plan to cover up an even steeper decline in backing for the Russian leader.
President Putin meets State Duma deputies at the Grand Kremlin Palace
“This figure of 66 per cent is around twice as high as the true number,” he claimed. “And thanks to this poll, which everyone is writing about, the whole world is convinced that the majority of Russians support Putin. And when the right time comes, FOM will announce that the rating has started to rise,” Gallyamov, who has been designated a “foreign agent” by the Kremlin, said.
Putin has good reasons to dread this August. Portrayed for years by Kremlin propaganda as the only politician able to ensure national security, his decision to invade Ukraine in 2022 has resulted in almost daily strikes on the Russian heartland. Oil facilities have gone up in smoke, while vast warehouses belonging to Wildberries, the country’s biggest online retailer, have also been targeted in an attempt to cripple the banking system.
system’s impotence in the face of mounting problems,” she said.
Although Stanovaya said there was little, if any, hope that economic and social strife would force Putin to call off the invasion of Ukraine, she said his regime was at risk of disintegrating.
“The situation is like a seized bolt [that is rusted into place]: no matter how much force is applied, it remains immovable, while the rest of the structure bears the strain. Pressure does not alter Putin’s stance; rather, it increases the risk of deformation and cracks in the surrounding system,” she wrote in an article that was published by the USbased Carnegie think tank.
Amid the relentless Ukrainian strikes, some hardliners appear to be taking refuge in worship of Joseph Stalin, the Soviet dictator whose reputation has soared under Putin. At least 24 new Stalin monuments or busts have been unveiled in Russia and occupied Ukraine since the start of the war and more than half of them went up last year, according to the Communist Party.
As Russia burns, Putin’s regime is under the most serious combination of military, economic and political pressures since he came to power more than a quarter of a century ago.
Deep impact The clear waters of the Aegean coastal district of Cesme have made
Disastrous foreign wars played an important role in the collapse of the tsarist and the Soviet regimes and comparisons with the situation in today’s Russia are unavoidable. Widespread doubts about Putin’s mental state have added to Russians’ concerns. “He was always reasonably sound of mind, not detached from reality. Now, I don’t know,” a source in Moscow who is close to the Kremlin told The Times.
Yet, if Russia is suffering, the same holds true for Ukraine and there are no grounds to suspect that Putin’s army is on the verge of total defeat. Russian troops still control about one fifth of Ukraine, while Russian missiles pound its towns and cities every day. Shortly before he was dismissed by Zelensky as the Ukrainian commander-in-chief, General Oleksandr Syrskyi warned that a turning point in the war was still “a long way off”.
A new monument to Stalin that appeared in the city of Cherepovets last week was the fourth to be built in the Vologda region in the past two years. Georgy Filimonov, the regional governor and a member of the ruling United Russia party, has said that Stalin’s purges were “a necessary tool for consolidating power”, a nod to Putin’s campaign of political terror.
President Zelensky claimed last week that members of Putin’s inner circle had told Kyiv and its western allies that the Russian leader bore sole responsibility for the war. He gave no other details.
In truth, no one knows what, if anything, will prove the final straw for Putin’s regime. The regime’s collapse, if it comes, may be brought about by a “black swan”-style event such as the mutiny in 2023 by Yevgeny Prigozhin, the Wagner mercenary chief.
Cornyn and Tillis are standing down after November’s midterms having failed to secure Trump’s endorsement for their primaries.
If this August turns out to be the blackest yet for Putin, his fall from power would be unlikely to usher in a new era of democracy and human rights in Russia. With the leaders of the liberal opposition dead or in exile, he would almost certainly be succeeded by a member of the existing security or political elite.
United States
George Grylls Washington
President Trump has said he may have to postpone his nomination of Todd Blanche as attorney-general after a rebellion by two Republican Senators.
In a post on Truth Social yesterday, Trump said the political careers of Cornyn and Tillis had been “ended” by his refusal to endorse them. He could re-nominate Blanche once they step down next year, he said.
Tatiana Stanovaya, an exiled Russian political analyst who is an expert on the Kremlin, said the Russian elite was losing faith in the regime’s abilities to tackle the challenges facing the country. “While Russia was previously confident that the country could at least avoid losing the war and coast along on inertia for quite some time, the elites are now gripped by horror at the
A vote to confirm Blanche was delayed at the eleventh hour after John Cornyn and Thom Tillis, the senators for Texas and North Carolina, indicated they were not ready to back him. The Republicans have a 53-47 majority in the Senate, so even a small rebellion can cause problems for Trump.
In 2014 Gleb Pavlovsky, the late Kremlin spin doctor who helped Putin secure power before turning against him when he realised he wanted to rule for life, said it was “impossible” to predict how long the regime would be able to maintain power, but that its end would come with dizzying speed.
Little has changed in that respect since Pavlovsky, who died in 2023, was asked more than a decade ago what kind of regime would inherit power after the sudden collapse of Putin’s rule.
“Todd Blanche is a STAR, and everyone knows it!” Trump wrote. “He has the potential to go down as one of the Greatest Attorney Generals of All Time. However, John Cornyn, of Texas,
His reply? “A copy of this one.”
Pope Leo: I love the US but don’t identify as American Page 31
Mass killer inspires a new generation of extremists Page 32
MAHMUT SERDAR ALAKUS/ANADOLU/GETTY IMAGES
US socialists aim to shut jails and ditch presidents
and all won. Chants of “DSA” were heard across New York as the mayor declared it evidence his election was the beginning of a political movement.
Its ideas may be radical but the movement is gathering support and already wields power, reports Katy Balls
DSA candidates have won other primary contests, largely in safe Democratic seats. In Colorado Melat Kiros beat the 30-year incumbent, Diana DeGette. In Washington Janeese Lewis George, endorsed by the DSA, won her contest. Next week Abdul El-Sayed, who has links to the DSA, will go up against the incumbent Democrat, Haley Stevens, in Michigan. The group has ties to Bernie Sanders, who identifies as a democratic socialist.
The interview quickly caught fire. Megan Romer, co-chair of the Democratic Socialists of America, stepped before a sceptical audience, Fox News viewers, to talk about her organisation’s vision. It’s quite a list.
A recent poll suggested that four in ten Americans would consider voting for a DSA candidate for president.
“Abolish the Senate?” the host asked. “True,” Romer replied.
“Replace the presidency and Supreme Court as we now know them?” “Yep.”
Members’ policy aims are nothing if not ambitious. In their manifesto they name the “capitalist economic system” as “the cause of violence, unemployment and a climate crisis that poses an existential threat to life on Earth”.
“Abolish ICE?” “Absolutely.” “Abolish borders and give amnesty to
anyone currently in the US illegally?” “As a long-term plan, yep.”
To remedy it, they call for a 32-hour working week with no reduction in pay or benefits; the end of economic sanctions to punish governments that act independently of the US, such as Cuba, Venezuela and Iran; and extending full voting rights to people with criminal convictions and to non-citizens.
“Defund the Pentagon?” “Absolutely.”
“Abolish prisons at least in large part?” “As part of a long-term programme, yep.”
“Government or public ownership of most large corporations?” “Yeah, absolutely.”
Perhaps their most radical proposal, however, is to abolish the Senate and replace “the president and Supreme Court with an executive and judiciary chosen by and subordinate to Congress”. This would upend the constitution’s separation of powers and transform the American political system.
Meet the DSA, the largest socialist organisation in America and one that is gathering momentum and sending centrist Democrats into a tailspin.
A group founded more than four decades ago with a mission to promote left-wing economic policies is being accused by Democrats of hijacking their party and risking their hopes to take back the House of Representatives and the Senate in the midterm elections in November.
Even DSA members will admit their boldest ideas are unlikely to happen soon. Realistically, a handful of DSA candidates are expected to make it to Congress. Yet the group could shape the party’s direction in coming years.
This week the Senate minority leader, Chuck Schumer, dodged a question on whether the group had a place in the Democratic Party. Others have been more forthcoming. Josh Gottheimer, a New Jersey congressman, claims DSA members “are not Democrats” and wrote that his party had no room for “anti-American bomb throwers who oppose our ideas, values and leaders”. John Fetterman, the senior senator from Pennsylvania, said the DSA represented “anarchy” and Democrats should call them out.
Democrats compare it to “the squad” of 2018. After that year’s midterm elections, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez posted a photo alongside three like-minded congressional colleagues, Ilhan Omar, Ayanna Pressley and Rashida Tlaib, with the hashtag “squadgoals”. They served as a progressive faction, which others later joined, holding their party’s feet to the fire on issues from environmentalism to Medicare.
it one of Turkey’s most popular destinations for divers, who can explore rich marine life, underwater caves and shipwrecks
The judiciary committee was due to vote on Blanche’s nomination on Wednesday night. Charles Grassley, the Republican senator for Iowa and chair of the committee, pulled the vote after a day of negotiations.
and Thom Tillis, of North Carolina, both of whom I refused to Endorse, and whose political careers have been ended by my action, are refusing to vote for this Great Nominee, who will remain, in any event, as Acting.
Trump suggested Cornyn was refusing to back Blanche because the president endorsed Ken Paxton, his rival, to run for the Senate in Texas in November. “I don’t know, maybe John Cornyn is upset with me because I didn’t endorse him,” he said. “I don’t know what it is, but I haven’t heard that there’s a problem.”
“Remember, both Cornyn and Tillis voted for Merrick Garland, and others, too numerous to mention. I have no objection to temporarily withdrawing Todd’s name, if they do not do the right thing, and putting him back after Cornyn and Tillis are out of office.”
If the Democrats retake the House in November with a narrow majority, the DSA could push for a more radical agenda. The early focus is likely to be
This is getting difficult to do as their grip on the party grows. Last year the DSA member Zohran Mamdani won the New York mayoral election. He joined the group in 2017 after being drawn in by its pro-Palestinian stance.
healthcare and Israel. Of the DSA’s
top priorities, ending the war on Iran, abolishing ICE, taxing the rich and universal healthcare are most regularly cited.
Blanche, Trump’s former personal lawyer, has been nominated to succeed Pam Bondi as attorney-general, traditionally a non-partisan role.
While some thought it could be a one-off, a mix of the city’s unique electorate and Mamdani’s communication skills, others have followed. Mamdani backed three candidates, all DSA members, in last month’s New York primaries to pick candidates for the November election,
Cornyn insisted he was loyal. “I’ve voted with him [Trump] 99.3 per cent of the time,” he told MS Now yesterday. “That has nothing to do with it. This is about making sure that even if you’re the president, you don’t get favourable terms from the government, like protections from audits.”
Todd Blanche, the president’s former lawyer, is acting attorney-general
As Darializa Avila Chevalier, the democratic socialist who was one of the winners in the
However, Cornyn and Tillis are refusing to support Blanche until he officially drops the $1.776 billion AntiWeaponisation Fund which was announced by the Department of Justice (DoJ) this year as a way of funnelling money to “victims” of the Biden administration such as the insurrectionists of January 6.
DoJ after he sued the Internal Revenue Service over the leak of his tax returns.
New York primaries, put it: “I’m running to invest our taxes in our babies here at home, not in bombs to kill kids abroad.”
The news prompted a massive backlash, however, and Blanche announced that the DoJ would drop the fund. But the senators want him to formally rescind it and to restrict part of the agreement that would appear to offer Trump and his eldest sons immunity from future legal prosecution and tax audits.
In order for Trump to re-nominate Blanche next year, the Republicans will need to defend their Senate majority in November’s midterms. Polling suggests this is far from certain.
The problem for the old guard is that now the socialists have found a way in, it will be
The fund was announced as part of a settlement reached by Trump with the
Melat Kiros, a rising star of the democratic socialists
hard to get them out.
JAMES BROOKS/AP
United States A map of Africa used by the US State Department at a conference in Brazil put every country in the wrong place, to the dismay of delegates.
Reuters saw a video of the presentation given at the Aids 2026 conference in Rio de Janeiro, which shows the map in a presentation about the State Department’s new health agreements. The map contained an artificial intelligence watermark that indicated it was made with OpenAI tools.
South Africa
Jane Flanagan Cape Town
Oprah Winfrey is to close her boarding school in South Africa, which she founded nearly two decades ago after promising Nelson Mandela she would help educate disadvantaged girls.
In its place, Winfrey, 72, said she would fund scholarships for the girls to attend some of the country’s top academic schools.
The State Department said it took full responsibility for the confusion caused and that the map had been produced by a team member who changed the slide deck before the event.
The Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls, south of Johannesburg, was built at a cost of about $40 million. Facilities include science and computer laboratories, a 600-seat theatre, a wellness centre and a beauty salon.
The map showed Nigeria, where the US has several hundred troops, landlocked in the Sahara Desert. Mozambique, which is in southeastern Africa, was relocated to the Horn of Africa and Ivory Coast in west Africa was on the other side of the continent.
Two more year groups will graduate before the facility is passed to the local education authority.
The site opened in 2007, seven years after Mandela, South Africa’s first democratically elected leader, asked Winfrey for her help in uplifting girls whose opportunities had been limited.
Screenshots of the map first appeared in a Substack post by Emily Bass, an Aids expert, and were shared on LinkedIn, where one post had 40,000 views.
Winfrey claimed the academy was her “greatest legacy”. The chat show host said the new scholarship programme would continue her mission beyond a single campus.
The State Department said the discussions at the conference were “substantive and constructive” despite the map and that it remained committed to fighting Aids with real results.
More than 1,000 girls have graduated from the school since it opened. Many have credited their academic achievements with transforming their own families. However, the academy’s early years were overshadowed by scandal. Within a year of opening, a dormitory matron, Tiny Makopo, was charged with abusing pupils.
She was acquitted in 2010, a verdict Winfrey described as “devastating”.
Soup of the day A berry gazpacho topped with petals is among the bizarre concoctions being developed in the test kitchen in Noma, the Copenhagen restaurant regarded as one of the world’s best, where diners pay about £500 a head without wine
Revolution triggered by Gen Z has been hijacked by Kremlin
The State Department presented the map at an Aids conference
Poland Four underground hospitals will be built in northcentral Poland to prepare for potential crises amid growing concerns over the war in neighbouring Ukraine. The project, announced by Piotr Calbecki, marshal of the Kuyavian-Pomeranian region, is expected to be completed in 2029 at a cost of about €63 million.
Moscow has also proposed building fuel-storage facilities on the island and has expressed interest in a disused naval site overlooking the shipping lanes between Africa and the Indo-Pacific.
foiled an alleged plot to kill Randrianirina. Vircoulon estimates that about 100 mercenaries of the Russian Africa Corps, the successors to the Wagner group, are in Madagascar, guarding the president and training his troops.
Jane Flanagan Africa Correspondent
It’s a familiar script across Africa. Youth-led protests rail against corrupt leaders; the president falls; the army steps in, promising a return to civilian rule — and then the Russians arrive.
For Russia, it is something of a homecoming: in the 1970s to 1980s Madagascar’s Marxist government aligned with the Soviet Union, which armed the island and supplied its oil. Yet for many Malagasy, the renewed geopolitical interest in their island is no comfort.
There has been alarm in France, given its loss of influence in its former colonies of Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger, where military juntas expelled its troops and then turned to Moscow.
Madagascar is the latest country to follow that path. Last October, after weeks of unrest over shortages of water and power, President Rajoelina fled the island state. A colonel took over, promising elections would come. Within weeks, mercenaries had arrived from Moscow to shore up the new junta.
Madagascar recently expelled a French diplomat over an alleged destabilisation plot, amid rumours, denied by Paris, that French mercenaries were operating on the island.
The island has lurched between political crises and fragile civilian governments since independence from France in 1960. Rajoelina, 52, the ousted president, first seized power with the backing of the military after protests in 2009. He went on to win two elections before being toppled by protests himself. He now lives in exile in Dubai.
Hungary Big electricity consumers such as battery and car manufacturers are being asked to use less power between 5pm and 10pm because of the heatwave. Peter Magyar, the prime minister, said a shutdown of the Paks nuclear plant and a 20 per cent jump in demand in evening peak hours could cause a “critical” situation by Monday.
In the heady hours after Rajoelina’s ousting, jubilant young protesters believed they had changed their country’s future. But nine months later, with no firm timetable for a return to civilian rule, they fear one rotten regime has been replaced by another, and that their revolution may do more to advance the Kremlin’s interests than their own.
For Moscow, the strategic location and mineral wealth of the island have become increasingly valuable as the war in Ukraine, the conflict with Iran, and disruption to global shipping have reshaped international trade. The island sits astride the Mozambique Channel, through which almost a third of the world’s crude oil passes, and it holds large deposits of graphite, cobalt, nickel and rare earth minerals critical to the manufacture of batteries, electronics and military technology.
Mercenaries of the Russian Africa Corps are training Malagasy troops
Such volatility has repeatedly been exploited by Russia across Africa, as it steps into political vacuums and offers embattled rulers protection in return for influence and access.
Colonel Michael Randrianirina, has instead hosted Russian delegations and flew to Moscow in February to meet President Putin, breaking with decades of policy in which Malagasy leaders looked first to Paris, their former colonial power. Russia has since sent advisers and weapons, and backed a new pro-Moscow party.
Fanilo, a 22-year-old medical student who joined last year’s demonstrations, feels bleak. “No one listens to us any more,” he told The Times from Antananarivo, the capital. “I don’t really trust this new regime, and I feel my country is sinking even further. The power cuts have come back, and the government is making even more absurd decisions.”
It is also not the first time protesters have been duped by an army casting itself as an ally. In Egypt in 2013 and Sudan in 2019, popular uprisings were absorbed by the generals who claimed to back them.
Germany A Bavarian millionaire is offering parents a gift of €500 to have their children baptised to reverse the decline of the Catholic Church. Peter Löw, who has eight children, said his plan would give children from 40 families “a guardian angel”. In some states Catholics are subject to a “church tax” of up to 9 per cent of their income.
In another clear shift, this month the parliament in Antananarivo handed control of fuel imports to a new state company, ending a 25-year system run by western firms. Analysts said this would pave the way for imports of sanctioned Russian oil, exposing Malagasy businesses to western penalties.
“There was a demand for security, and Russia answered it,” Thierry Vircoulon, of the French Institute of International Relations, said. He described the regime as “paranoid” about a counter-coup, a fear exemplified in April when prosecutors announced they had
Sariaka, 42, who was among the demonstrators last year, said: “I don’t trust [the junta’s] promises ... the mafia system is deeply entrenched at all levels of the state.”
Rather than work on a timetable towards an election, the junta’s leader,
have been interpreted as subtle criticisms of Trump. On July 3, accepting a prize with a video message at an outdoor ceremony at the National Constitution Centre in Philadelphia, he said he hoped that ideals of “unity, justice and peace” held by America’s founding fathers would continue to guide the US.
from Trump to attend Independence Day events on July 4. Instead, he visited the Italian island of Lampedusa, a key entry point into Europe for migrants, where he urged the Continent’s leaders to rise to the “momentous challenge” of handling migration.
ing himself as a “pastor of a universal Church”.
James Imam
“I think of myself more as the Pope who happens to be American. Not to belittle what it means to be an American,” he said in the interview in the gardens of Castel Gandolfo, the papal summer residence near Rome.
Leo XIV, the first American Pope, has said he has “great love” for the United States but does not identify as American, after declining President Trump’s invitation to attend the US’s 250th anniversary celebrations.
The decision was widely interpreted as a snub to the Trump administration, with whom the Pope’s relationship has become increasingly strained.
on iPads. The Pope delivered part of his inaugural mass at the Sistine Chapel in English.
His interview with NBC was given on the sidelines of celebrations for the 800th anniversary of the death of St Francis of Assisi. The event included a performance from the Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli, accompanied by young singers from around the world.
The Pope, 70, who was born Robert Prevost, has often seemed at ease with his American identity. He is known to eat peanut butter sandwiches when working late, and recently wore a baseball cap bearing the logo of the Chicago White Sox, given to him by a newlywed American couple visiting the Vatican.
The Pope, who was born in Chicago, told NBC there were “so many things” he appreciated about the US, praising “the sense of freedom, the sense of opportunity, the sense of having invited, for generations, people from around the world to be part of America”.
During the interview, the Pope, who has Italian, French and Spanish ancestry, also highlighted his multi-ethnic roots. Describing his grandparents as immigrants, he said: “On my mother’s side, we have people who were both slaves and slave owners.”
In April, JD Vance, the vice-president and a Catholic convert, warned Leo to “be careful” when discussing matters of theology. Marco Rubio, the secretary of state, was dispatched to Rome the next month in an apparent effort to ease tensions. Officials described the talks as “cordial” and “frank”.
Asked whether Americans would soon see him in their country, the Pope replied that “they will see me there”, adding: “Nothing is set in stone, but I certainly hope to be there soon.”
However, although he said there was “great significance in being the first American Pope”, he insisted that his nationality did not define him, describ-
Before his election 14 months ago, his older brother, John Prevost, who lives in a Chicago suburb, said they communicated daily, often playing word games
Leo raised eyebrows in the US this year when he declined an invitation
Some of the Pope’s recent comments
ANTONIO SEMPERE/AP
CEUTA (SPAIN)
Benzu
Thousands of young men crossed into the exclave of Ceuta after border security broke down
Belyounech
MOROCCO
Juan Vivas, president of the autonomous government on Ceuta, called on Spain’s prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, to declare a national emergency on grounds of national security.
Tarajal
Fnideq
1 mile
T
housands of migrants poured across the border from Morocco
In response, Madrid mobilised army units already in Ceuta to take to the streets and ensure security and order for local residents.
into the Spanish territory of Ceuta yesterday after security forces were overwhelmed (David Sharrock writes).
Unconfirmed reports suggested that Madrid and the Moroccan government were working on a joint operation to expel the migrants who have arrived this week. Spain’s interior ministry insisted that it maintained “exemplary co-operation” with Morocco, particularly on migration issues. Jupol, a Spanish police trade union, directly blamed Morocco for seizing “a window of opportunity as part of its hybrid warfare strategy, once again using migratory pressure on Ceuta as a tool for political blackmail”.
Spanish Civil Guard officers looked on helplessly as crowds of young men and some entire families made their way along the Tarajal border breakwater to reach Spanish territory. Video images showed them crossing on foot, swimming or climbing around barriers on the coast, facing no opposition from Moroccan border security.
response to the transfer of Brahim Ghali, the leader of the separatist Polisario Front, to a hospital in Logroño with the Spanish government’s approval.
The latest images appeared to show the biggest influx since the spring of 2021, when Morocco sent more than 8,000 migrants to cross the border into Spain in
are the only European Union territories that share a land border with Africa. As such, they are frequent flashpoints in the Continent’s illegal immigration crisis.
from the beaches of Ceuta, the news agency EFE reported.
on Spanish soil.
An estimated 20,000 migrants have crossed the border this week, most of them arriving yesterday. Seven bodies have been recovered
The throngs of mostly young men smiled and cheered, some shouting “Viva Espana!” or kneeling to kiss the ground as they arrived
Ceuta and its sister city of Melilla, further east along the Mediterranean coast,
$2,000 Singaporean dollars.
Maximilien is enrolled in the Essec Business School in Singapore. Prosecutors say it will be up to the city-state’s immigration department to decide whether he can keep his student pass.
Jan Camenzind Broomby
arranged stacks of €20, €50 and €100 notes they had gathered.
A French teenager has been fined $600 Singaporean dollars (£348) after he admitted licking a straw and returning it to a vending machine.
James Imam Milan
Before the cash could be taken home, however, police arrived and confiscated it all. Officers are trying to work out where the money came from and whether its is linked to smuggling or the drugs trade.
A scramble for cash broke out on a Sicilian beach after bags of banknotes were thrown from a speedboat that ran out of fuel yards from the coast.
The lick was met with anger by many on social media. “It made a lot of people’s blood boil,” Vernetta Lopez, a Singaporean actress and radio DJ, said in a video. “Why did you do this?”
Didier Gaspard Owen Maximilien, 19, filmed himself licking the straw and uploaded the video to social media with the caption “city is not safe” in March.
Sunbathers rushed into the shallow waters of Casuzze, near the resort of Marina di Ragusa on the south of the island, in chaotic scenes described by local media as “like a film”.
Giuseppe Bascietto, who has written about the Sicilian mafia, said the area was taking on an “increasingly strategic role in the new international cocaine routes” as both a landing point and where drugs could be exchanged at sea.
“Make him clean all the straws from every IJOOZ machine,” another resident said, referring to the company that operates the vending machines.
In April, he was charged with public nuisance by police after the video went viral and outraged Singaporeans. “He is truly sorry for having caused all this trouble, and he realises that what appeared to him at that time as something perhaps playful has turned out to be something very consequential,” his lawyer, Kalidass Murugaiyan, said.
Balarm, a news website, said: “What was supposed to be a quiet day at the seaside turned into an unusual, surreal treasure hunt.”
Singapore is known internationally for its strict laws and corporal punishment. The island retains the death penalty for offences including murder or severe drug trafficking. Up to 24 strokes of the cane can also be imposed as a punishment for male offenders under 50 years of age.
The teenager filmed himself putting the straw back in a vending machine
Four people were in the speedboat when it stopped about 30ft from the coast. After two went to look for fuel, the coastguard approached, prompting the others to start throwing the money overboard. Three people were arrested.
undermined public trust in hygiene.
The total haul was thought to be about €700,000. A video circulated online showed beachgoers opening a blue Lidl cool bag that contained neatly
In Singapore individuals charged with public nuisance can face up to three months in prison. Prosecutors had pushed for a maximum fine of
Prosecutors argued that, although Maximilien removed the straw before anyone else could use it, his actions
Breivik inspires new wave of extremists
BEATE OMA DAHLE/NTB/AFP
Germany in the number of incidents of right-wing extremist violence from 2010 to 2023.
Fifteen years after the massacre, Norway fears the rise of copycats, writes Alex Maxia in Oslo
In the past five years at least half a dozen convicted British right-wing extremists have cited Breivik’s actions and writings as an influence. Mason Reynolds, a teenager from Brighton who was jailed in 2024 for planning a suicide bombing at a synagogue, had downloaded videos of the Utoya killings.
On a cool, drizzly Friday afternoon in July, almost 15 years ago to the day, Jens Stoltenberg was working on a speech in his prime ministerial residence when his thoughts were interrupted by a thunderous bang.
Breivik was also a source of inspiration for Brenton Tarrant, who killed 51 people at two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, in 2019 and for several violent extremists in his native Norway.
A mile away a car bomb had gone off next to the government block that housed his office, killing eight people and injuring ten.
Caroline Iwarsson, a senior adviser at the Norwegian intelligence service, said it was often difficult to identify and track such “lone wolves” who had become radicalised by the legacy of Breivik and other figures in an increasingly international and online setting.
“We were informed immediately of what happened as one of my advisers was on the phone to someone working inside the building. He described the magnitude of the damage as he walked down the stairs from my office on the 16th floor and said he had seen dead bodies on the ground floor,” Stoltenberg told The Times.
“The digital dimension is one [factor] as this has made extremist content readily available,” she said. “The increased complexity in the ideological landscape is another. And the transnational aspect of the rightwing networks adds to the challenge of prevention.”
Two hours later he began receiving notifications about another mass
Dignitaries lay flowers on the tenth anniversary of the massacre by Anders Behring Breivik, below, requesting parole in 2022
killing, on the lake island of Utoya, 20 miles to the northwest, where the Workers’ Youth League (AUF) of his Labour Party was holding its summer camp.
country over the past decade.
This weekend he will return to Utoya for debates with the next generation of politicians, a task he sees as vital to defusing the tensions that lead to polarisation and give succour to the extremes. “We see that there are far too many, also in Norway, who still believe in the extremists’ hatred and those violent messages we saw on July 22,” he said.
Survivors of the Utoya massacre are haunted by grief and anxiety. One study suggested that half suffered from insomnia.
FIVE DAYS FROM
That day a fraudster and failed financial speculator named Anders Behring Breivik murdered 77 people in the deadliest right-wing extremist massacre in Europe since 1980.
Lisa Marie Husby, who works in communications for a Norwegian co-operative, narrowly escaped death on the island. She was 19 at the time. “We could see the bullets hitting the trees around us and decided to run towards the cabin where the first aiders were based,” she said.
per person
At the time, Breivik was shunned as a monster even by most of his fellow travellers in white supremacist circles, who were aghast that he had killed so many white children.
Oslo University’s centre for research on extremism (C-Rex) has mapped the connections that link the country’s hardline far-right scene to those in the UK and other countries.
Once at the cabin, Husby and her companions barricaded themselves in, sealing the door and the windows. “[Breivik] shot the door several times but in the end he decided to keep walking and did not manage to enter the cabin,” she said.
Now, however, the Norwegian PST intelligence service has said that he serves as an inspiration to young men willing to use violence against what they see as the creeping “Islamisation” of western societies and the liberal elites they hold responsible.
Breivik was involved with the English Defence League, the white nationalist and anti-Islam movement that brought Tommy Robinson to prominence. “The links have existed ever since the English Defence League emerged, around 15 years ago,” Anders Ravik Jupskas, the director of C-Rex, said. “There was an attempt to establish a similar organisation in Norway — the Norwegian Defence League and the July 22 terrorist was also a member at some point.”
AND THE BAYEUX TAPESTRY
April 25 and June 20, 2027
Gaute Skjervo, who now leads the AUF, was 16 when it happened. He escaped by swimming across the lake, but Breivik killed his best friend. “It
In a report published on the 15th anniversary of the killings, the agency noted a big increase in the number of teenagers and young adults in the West who had committed right-wing extremist attacks since 2021.
Price includes
ravel back to 1066 on this exciting tour, featuring the once-in-a-lifetime chance to see the Bayeux Tapestry on British
T
was very hard to survive that day, but it has been very hard also to survive the life after,” he said. “We have been trau-
Four nights at the Donnington Manor, Sevenoaks, with dinner and breakfast
soil as it leaves Normandy for the irst time in nearly a thousand years. On loan for the highly anticipated exhibition at the British Museum, this remarkable artefact o ers a true glimpse into the Norman conquest of England, with scenes brought to life in intricate detail. We also discover the very spots chronicled in the tapestry, including the ancient battle ield of the Battle of Hastings and Battle Abbey, where William the Conqueror secured his victory and altered the course of English history thereafter. Visits to Bodiam Castle, Hever Castle and Penshurst Place continue to paint the picture of medieval England on this captivating exploration of Kent and East Sussex.
“Many of the minors who are being radicalised today cite Breivik as an important source of inspiration,” it said. “They are so young that they have no personal memories of July 22 [the Utoya massacre]. The distance in time means that the youngest are less likely to grasp the reality of the acts of violence.”
matised and over the past 15 years we have been regularly receiving
After-dinner tea and co ee at the hotel, plus a welcome drink
death threats.” Stoltenberg will
He added: “Breivik was embedded in a larger network in what at the time was called ‘counter jihad network’, a very strongly anti-Muslim network that existed in many countries, particularly in the US and northern Europe.”
Coach transfers to and from your excursions
not let down his guard. “We have to fight against extremists every
Entrances to all excursions and guided tours as listed in the itinerary
Stoltenberg, who was Nato secretary-general until 2024, and is now Norway’s finance minister, said the developments made him uneasy, despite a broader consolidation of the democratic mainstream in his
day,” he said. “It’s not something we can win once and for all: we need to repeat it again and again and again.”
The centre’s analysis shows that the UK was second only to
Services of a tour manager
Porterage Complimentary on-site parking
Research by the newspaper Berliner Morgenpost, citing sources within Berlin law enforcement and youth welfare documentation, has now suggested a personal motive for targeting the Pride celebrations.
behaviour since the age of six. It added that Ballout’s parents refused numerous attempts to intervene, from his first year in primary school until he left school in his mid-teens with no qualifications.
Elizabeth Rushton Berlin
The suspect in the Berlin Pride attack displayed violent traits from the age of six but his parents rejected attempts to intervene, reports say.
*Prices correct on publication and subject to operator Just Go Holidays Ltd terms and conditions; a company wholly independent of News UK. Your booking is protected by Bonded Coach Holidays & the Association of Bonded Travel Organisers Trust Ltd. Self drive to hotel, excursions are all by coach. Closest train stations Dunton Green (1 mile away) or Sevenoaks (2.5 miles away). Prices are per person, based on two people sharing a room and honoured up to seven days after publication. Single supplement £320 or £340. For full details please visit Just Go Holidays website.
The paper claimed that Ballout’s father, Tawfik, who separated from his mother several years ago, was gay and living with a man. His mother was a devout Muslim and Ballout was said to have sought refuge from tensions at home in radical mosques.
Ballout had been known to police as an Islamist extremist for years. He had been found guilty of planning violent acts by a juvenile court in May but was given a suspended sentence. He was subsequently placed under round-the-clock police surveillance, but the observation was relaxed two weeks later after he was deemed not to pose a high threat.
Abdul Ballout, 21, is believed to have driven a hired van into crowds near Brandenburg Gate on Saturday and then went on a stabbing spree, killing one woman and injuring 29 others. He was shot dead in a garden shed after a manhunt. Later the police found a video on his phone in which he swore allegiance to Isis.
CALL TODAY ON
thetimes.com/ jg-battleo hastings
QUOTE TIMU
Our trusted partner
The paper also said Ballout had displayed violent and aggressive
(Change on the day)
£/€ €1.1678 (+0.0005) ¤
FTSE 100 10,897.27 (-11.14)
Gold $4,112.67 (+90.76)
Brent crude (6pm) $87.17 (-0.68) $
Dow Jones 52,208.06 (+613.92)
£/$ $1.3462 (+0.0176)
$
11,000 10,800 10,600 10,400 10,200 10,000 9,800
54,000 53,000 52,000 51,000 50,000 49,000
110 100 90 80 70 60
5,000 4,500 4,000 3,500
1.180 1.160 1.140 1.120
1.360 1.340 1.320 1.300
Jul 2 9 16 23 30 Jul 2 9 16 23 30 Jul 2 9 16 23 30 Jul 2 9 16 23 30 Jul 2 9 16 23 30
Jul 1 9 16 23 30
factors such as cheap Chinese exports after the imposition of US tariffs last year as helping to bring down prices.
if oil prices lead to a more generalised inflation where workers ask for inflation-busting pay increases and firms pass on their energy costs to customers. Andrew Bailey, governor of the Bank of England, said there was a “lack of evidence” over the second-round effects from the energy price shock but that it could “not yet be ruled out”.
Expectations of a lower path for interest rates meant gilts were the best performing major bonds yesterday. Yields on 10-year gilts, a proxy for the government’s debt costs, fell 0.06 percentage points to 4.99 per cent. The 10year gilt yield hit a peak of 5.11 per cent last week when oil prices surged to more than $100 a barrel.
Mehreen Khan Economics Editor interest rates since the outbreak of the US-Iran conflict in late February and last cut borrowing costs in December 2025.
UK government borrowing costs fell and traders cut back bets on interest rate rises this year after the Bank of England said there were no signs that rising oil prices were spilling into other parts of the economy.
Annual consumer price inflation is running at 2.6 per cent, below the 3 per cent forecast by the Bank in April. Consumer prices are expected to peak at 3.2 per cent this year, compared with an earlier forecast of close to 4 per cent.
Short-dated gilts are sensitive to the monetary policy outlook, suggesting that traders are cutting back expectations that the Bank will raise rates over the coming months. Yields fall when bond prices rally. Before the decision, traders had put a 50 per cent probability on the first interest rate rise of the year coming in September. This fell to below 40 per cent yesterday afternoon.
Yields on two-year government bonds, known as gilts, fell by 0.13 percentage points to 4.33 per cent after the central bank kept the base rate on hold for the fifth time this year at 3.75 per cent. The Bank has made no change to
Pantheon analysts said interest rates were likely to stay unchanged until the end of 2027, when the Bank expects to hit its 2 per cent inflation target.
Oil prices will add 0.4 percentage points to inflation this year but broader weakness in the economy and jobs market meant “the disinflation process is in place”, Bailey said. The Bank cited
The pound strengthened by 0.1 per cent against the dollar to $1.34 and was stable against the euro at €1.17.
Policymakers have said they are ready to raise interest rates to 4 per cent
JACK PIERSON FOR CANADA GOOSE
Apple beats estimates on iPhone sales
Apprentices too complex to hire, says Screwfix boss
Isabella Fish Retail Editor
Bureaucracy and rising employment costs are discouraging businesses from hiring young workers through apprenticeships, the boss of Screwfix warned.
In a letter to The Times today John Mewett, chief executive of the trade retailer, said many employers, including sole traders, wanted to train the next generation but were walking away from apprenticeship schemes because the process had become “too complex”.
when phone sales typically begin to slow as customers anticipate new models in the autumn.
Louisa Clarence-Smith US Business Editor
However, this year Apple customers are racing to snap up iPhones after a global crunch in memory chip supplies prompted the company to raise prices of Macs and iPads. Some Wall Street analysts expect that Apple will increase iPhone prices around the time of its annual launch event in September.
Apple beat quarterly sales and profit estimates after reporting strong demand for the iPhone in Tim Cook’s last earnings report as chief executive.
“They want to take on apprentices, but they tell us that each stage of the process is too complicated, from the paperwork, to hiring, to managing apprentice workload,” Mewett wrote. “Too often, this puts them off.”
The world’s most valuable publicly traded company said sales for the quarter ended June 27 were up 16.4 per cent to $109.4 billion, compared with analyst estimates of $108.65 billion.
In the UK, trade employers can access up to £8,000 in support through multiple apprenticeship schemes, but Mewett said the complexity meant that many simply did not claim it.
Cook is due to stand down in September and will be replaced by John Ternus, who has worked in Apple’s hardware division since 2013.
6 Amazon beat market forecasts for quarterly cloud revenue growth on the back of surging enterprise AI spending, signalling the company’s investments are paying off. Revenue at its cloud computing unit, Amazon Web Services, rose 37 per cent to $42.2 billion in the second quarter to the end of June, compared with estimates of a 31.2 per cent increase. Group revenue was $200.61 billion against forecasts of $196.47 billion. The shares were up 8.7 per cent at $256.83 in after-hours trading.
Apple has taken a different approach from rivals in how it builds AI features, focusing on practical uses integrated into its products, while competitors focus on fully autonomous “agents”.
Trade apprenticeships are typically created by the employer and training provider, while funding and the legal frameworks are from the government.
Andy Burnham this week pledged to boost vocational education, saying the UK must “value the hard hat as much as the graduation cap”.
At Apple’s annual developers conference in June, Apple introduced “Siri AI”, a more conversational assistant with a standalone app and the ability to analyse what is on a user’s screen and pull in information from the web.
The warning comes as Britain faces a growing shortage of tradespeople. With just 24 per cent of workers in the trades aged 44 or less, according to Screwfix, employers say bringing in new entrants has become difficult.
Apple said last night that sales of Macs were up 28.7 per cent to $10.4 billion, beating analyst estimates of $8.7 billion. Sales of iPads were down 5.9 per cent to $6.2 billion, below analyst expectations of $6.92 billion.
“Funding should be seamless and incentivise taking on young people, not throwing up barriers,” Mewett said.
Profit rose 27 per cent year-on-year to $29.8 billion, beating Wall Street’s forecast of $27.8 billion. The shares, however, fell $12.54, or 3.8 per cent, to $320.71 in after-hours trading.
Cook attributed the iPad decline to a “tough compare” with the same quarter a year ago when Apple introduced the budget-minded A16 iPad.
According to Screwfix’s survey of 700 trade professionals, 48 per cent of employers who hired an apprentice last year received no funding because navigating the system was too difficult.
Sales were boosted by a 21.7 per cent increase in iPhone revenues to $54.3 billion, above analyst estimates of $53.9 billion. Those iPhone sales were Apple’s best ever for a third quarter,
Revenue at Apple’s services business, which includes the App Store and iCloud, was up 12.1 per cent to $30.7 billion, missing estimates of $31.2 billion.
The government was contacted for comment.
High-flyer Canada Goose beat its first-quarter revenue forecasts, helped by demand for its lightweight jackets and T-shirts, but warned that the newly announced US tariffs on Canadian imports could affect earnings in the future
UK government borrowing costs fell and traders cut back bets on interest rate rises this
year after the Bank of England said there were no signs that rising oil prices were spilling into other parts of the economy. Yields on two-year gilts fell by 0.13 percentage points to 4.33 per cent after the Bank kept the base rate on hold.
it paid savers — rose by 9 per cent to £7.3 billion, helping lift total net income by 9 per cent to £9.7 billion. It attributed its improved profits to higher overall revenues and cost-cutting, and pared back its allowance for expected loan losses slightly to £3.3 billion.
Helen Cahill Financial Correspondent
The lender, run by Charlie Nunn, below left, plans to invest £13 billion in the next four years — including expanding its presence in Hyderabad, below right
Lloyds Banking Group has been criticised by trade unions for planning to scale up its technology centre in India after it unveiled plans to invest more than £13 billion into a new strategy over the next four years.
On the back of its performance Lloyds, which is the biggest lender to consumers in the UK, said it would increase its interim dividend by 30 per cent to 1.58p per share and start a £1 billion share buyback programme.
The FTSE 100 bank said its plans would make “money simpler, safer and more connected” for its 28 million customers and would involve the development of a “smart wallet” using the technology it acquired through the takeover of Curve, a mobile app that provides a digital wallet for multiple debit and credit cards.
In a letter to The Times, John Mewett, chief executive of the retailer Screwfix, said many
employers wanted to train the next generation but were walking away from apprenticeship schemes because the process had become “too complex”.
Charlie Nunn, chief executive, said: “In the first half of 2026, we delivered sustained strength in financial performance, with continued income growth, improving operating leverage, strong credit performance, growing capital generation and increasing shareholder returns.”
However, Lloyds drew criticism from the Affinity union, which said the bank’s investment in tech included new highly-skilled jobs in India that could be in the UK. Lloyds has purchased a second site in Hyderabad, where it already employs 5,000 workers.
Lloyds Banking Group has been criticised by unions for planning to scale up its
technology centre in India with a second site in Hyderabad, where it already employs more than 5,000 workers. It came as the bank unveiled plans to invest more than £13 billion in a new strategy over the next four years.
He said the bank saw “clear benefits” from agentic AI and would use the technology to provide advice and guidance for customers on products.
Mark Brown, general secretary of Affinity, said the decision amounted to a “massive loss of well-paid jobs to the UK economy”. He added: “The new prime minister can’t hope to grow the economy if Lloyds, which makes 96 per cent of its profits in the UK, is allowed to offshore key knowledge-based jobs.”
The bank said it would deliver gross cost savings of about £2 billion by deploying technology to automate processes and improve the productivity of its workforce.
The Bank of England has kept its powder dry, choosing to keep interest rates unchanged
Lloyds bought Curve in November last year for £120 million in a deal the bank said would give customers “expanded payment flexibility”. The app allows customers to switch payments to different cards after making a purchase to save on any credit fees incurred accidentally, and has rule-setting capabilities helping ensure certain types of transactions are only issued through certain channels.
at the start of a new government. The Bank’s latest outlook cut its inflation projections and said the annual rate would come close to its 2 per cent target by the end of next year.
Lloyds is advertising for more than 100 jobs in Hyderabad, primarily in software engineering. The bank has not confirmed the geographical split for its investment plan. However, a source close to Lloyds said the current vacancies were roles previously contracted out to local suppliers and that no existing UK jobs were being moved to India.
Wildfires sweeping Europe are “very worrying”, Wael Sawan, the boss of Shell, has
The bank said it would also develop
The bank is also understood to have 1,000 vacancies in tech and data in the UK and plans to grow this workforce over the next few years. Lloyds is thought to currently employ fewer people in tech and IT in India than some UK rivals.
said, as the oil and gas major cashed in on prices to make profits of almost $10 billion.
an in-app transport platform to create a market for vehicle finance, leasing, insurance, energy, mobility and servicing
Jonathan Reeves, a senior Goldman Sachs executive, has been awarded nearly
products.
Meanwhile, it pledged to double the size of its relationship team arranging loans for small businesses and promised to
£1.5 million after being sacked for failing to respond quickly to a work email while on paternity leave from his job.
Lloyds revealed its new strategy alongside its half-year results, which showed statutory profit before tax up 23 per cent to £4.3 billion, ahead of expectations.
deliver new loans of more than £45 billion.
Adidas shares fell after second-quarter profits missed expectations, dragged down by
The bank was set to double the size of its portfolio of rental homes to 20,000 and said it would cut the time it took for cus-
The bank’s net interest income the difference between what the bank charged borrowers and what
spending on marketing for the World Cup. Adidas sponsored 14 national teams in the tournament, including the finalists Argentina and Spain. Operating profit in the April to June quarter rose by 5 per cent to €574 million. Adidas shares fell by 11.5 per cent.
tomers to complete a home purchase “from
weeks to days”.
Hedge fund sells holdings after AI stocks crash
support the economic growth of the southeast of England”.
get of delivering 1.5 million new homes in England by 2029.
James Hurley Assistant Business Editor
TV broadcasters old and new need to re-find the magic of the Fox Dome Theatre in California
The government rejected contentious plans for 3,500 homes, office and retail space and a football stadium in Kent after concluding that the downsides to the proposals “significantly and demonstrably” outweighed the benefits.
The government also took into the account the loss of about 650 jobs. The viability of the proposals were also questioned. The decision was made by Matthew Pennycook, housing minister, on behalf of Rayner.
Northfleet Harbourside, which was to be located on the south side of the Thames, has been the subject of fierce debate among local businesses and residents since the plans were initially approved in May 2024.
Angela Rayner, the new housing secretary, has refused planning permission for the Northfleet Harbourside plans, which also included a 300-bed hotel and promised regeneration of a brownfield area.
In the background to the saga there has been a mystery owner behind the project, with its developers refusing to reveal the details of their main shareholder.
A public inquiry took place last year after Northfleet Harbourside was “called in” by the government in February 2025, the term for the relatively rare practice of ministers deciding the outcome of an application rather than the local planning authority.
Harry Wallop, page 37
Louisa Clarence-Smith US Business Editor
A hedge fund run by a 25-year-old hailed as an artificial intelligence wunderkind has reportedly been forced to sell all of its public stock holdings after suffering big losses.
The plans had disputed links to a Kuwaiti businessman, Abdulla Al-Humaidi, who was bankrupted in the fallout from the failure of his £3.5 billion plans for a nearby theme park, nicknamed the Dartford Disneyland.
The reasons the proposals were rejected included proximity to Britannia Refined Metals, one of Europe’s largest lead refineries, as “future residents located within the residential blocks would likely be exposed to adverse levels of lead”.
The Port of London Authority, local small businesses and Britannia Refined Metals led objections to the plans, with concerns including the loss of vital industrial space for small and mediumsized companies.
For expert business analysis subscribe to the business newsletter thetimes.com/ newsletters
Leopold Aschenbrenner’s Situational Awareness is to sell most of its stock investments to Ken Griffin’s Citadel, The Wall Street Journal reported.
Supporters of the plans included fans of Ebbsfleet United Football Club, which Al-Humaidi used to own. It was in line for a new stadium if the project had been approved.
The government concluded that this would lead to “significant health risks — especially for children, pregnant women and the elderly”. The decision comes despite the UK’s severe need for new housing and the government’s tar-
The AI-focused fund is said to have been seeking funding to raise capital after steep losses on its portfolio. It has faced losses on software stocks and AIrelated holdings including SK Hynix, the South Korean semiconductor com-
Other reasons for the refusal included the “devastating” impact on Robins Wharf, which handles aggregates used in the construction supply chain. The government said the wharf “is of local and regional importance in order to
Northfleet Central 1, which lodged the plans, has been approached for comment.
What the blazes is Shell up to?
ALAMY
Bank places its bets, from smart wallets to house sales
business commentary Alistair Osborne
N
to shift to “more expensive” green “solutions”. Yet little of this just now is in the investment case for Shell.
o prizes for guessing what a lot of people will think of this: the boss of Shell saying how “very worrying” it is that
Lloyds has revealed a range of new measures in a wide-ranging strategy that largely focuses on improving its digital services and cutting costs over the next four years (Helen Cahill writes).
Separately, Lloyds unveiled plans to offer a “smart wallet” that will let customers make flexible payments, take out point-of-sale loans and store key documents, which will all be provided using technology the group acquired with its purchase of Curve, a British fintech.
Of course, Sawan alone cannot speed up the energy transition. But given he’s on the front line of it, doesn’t he have a responsibility to do more to wean his customers, and Shell, off fossil fuels? Sympathy for wildfire victims isn’t enough.
wildfires are ripping across Europe.
As Wael Sawan put it: “It’s devastating. Every time I see the images on TV, my heart goes out to the many who are suffering from it.” He sounded sincere, too. But a facile riposte is child’s play — aren’t you running one of the planet’s biggest fossil fuel groups, making profits out of the stuff that scientists think is the main cause of climate change? Vast profits, too: $9.84 billion of Iran war-fuelled earnings, its secondhighest quarterly haul ever (report, pages 38-39).
The bank said it would be underpinned by new investment of £13 billion spread across initiatives including a new smart wallet, a wider range of wealth products, and a car finance platform, with the new funding to be deployed by 2030.
car finance
Lloyds has said it is creating the UK’s first “integrated transport ecosystem” by creating a marketplace for car finance products, which will include finance, leasing and insurance products for customers. The group already has a 17 per cent market share in vehicle financing and leasing, but says it has spotted more opportunities in a market with an annual spend of £35 billion. Lloyds has already launched its vehicle management capabilities in its app and will be adding more products targeting consumers, businesses and brokers.
The Rolls paradox
ere’s a puzzler from RollsRoyce boss Tufan Erginbilgic: would you sell
financial targets
Lloyds has refreshed its financial targets as part of the update, promising shareholders it will deliver a return on tangible equity, the banking sector’s measure of returns, of 20 per cent by 2030, up from 16 per cent currently. Meanwhile, the lender will seek to bring its cost-to-income ratio, a measure of operational efficiency, to less than 45 per cent.
your shares in the soaraway enginemaker he’s transformed so brilliantly if you got a mere £8 billion share buyback over three years instead of the promised £9 billion?
Indeed, the company’s figures were greeted with this little missive from environmental campaigners Uplift: “Oil giant Shell posts rising war profits as the UK and Europe burns.” It’s emotive but not factually wrong — Shell is coining it from high oil and gas prices, while forests burn around Bordeaux and Madrid; a Suffolk blaze puts the Sizewell B nuclear plant on high alert; England is on track for record heat-related deaths this summer, topping 2022’s 2,985; and supermarket chiefs warn that extreme weather poses a risk to food supply. The Shell boss is far too smart not to notice this awkward juxtaposition.
Listen to him and there’s a risk you would, what with it hurting Rolls’s position against “competitors in financial markets”. Which is why he now finds himself in this ludicrous position: arguing that Rolls needs a taxpayer handout of around £1 billion to help develop a new engine for short-haul aircraft, while simultaneously handing nine times that back to investors in buybacks alone — excluding the dividends on top (report, page 39).
The group will also press ahead with cost savings of £2 billion by using AI for processes such as complaints handling and fraud detection. Lloyds has already delivered cost cuts of £2 billion over the past four years through digitising processes and closing bank branches.
corporate loans
Meanwhile, it has pledged to double the size of its relationship team servicing small businesses and has promised to deliver new loans of more than £45 billion. Relationship managers will also be given new AI tools to help them sign off lending for customers and the bank will also significantly increase the number of lending decisions that are made automatically. The wider corporate and investment bank will be expanded across the US and Europe to “broaden and deepen client relationships”.
push for insurance
And all at a company sitting on £2.1 billion net cash that, after market-beating half year results, has raised full-year profits and free cashflow guidance to as much as £4.9 billion and £4 billion. To boot, one that’s now valued at £122 billion on shares up 6 per cent to £14.63. Who knows, maybe there are better candidates for taxpayer freebies. Yes, as Erginbilgic points out, the rest of the world is at it: the likes of America’s GE and Pratt & Whitney, and France’s Safran, get “three or four times” as much in subsidies. If he succeeds with his new engine, it will create “40,000 jobs”, with Rolls paying “a lot more tax” in one and a half years from it than “everything I am asking for”.
Nunn said he did not want to put a precise target on how many products he would want to sell to each customer, but the group will use its customer data to try to sell more insurance policies, known in the industry as a “bancassurance” business model. The company also bought Schroders Wealth last year and has set a target of signing up one million wealth customers by 2030.
Hence a question for Sawan: how long before Shell needs to recognise what’s going on here in a far more strategically overt way? Yes, this is tricky territory. Under predecessor Ben van Beurden, Shell made a costly lurch greenwards in 2021 that Sawan, who took charge in January 2023, has spent three years fixing.
property plans
The bank is set to double the size of its portfolio of rental homes to 20,000 under its Lloyds Living initiative, which was launched in 2021. Lloyds will also seek to generate more income from the portfolio by cross-selling insurance and shared ownership mortgages to customers.
He said: “What we typically see in the UK is about 2.5 products per customer that has a main bank current account with us.
Successfully, too — even if he was lucky Shell’s green pivot wasn’t as inept as BP’s. Sawan has refocused the company unashamedly on oil and gas, cut $5.8 billion of structural costs and delivered real operational and financial resilience: enough to keep at least $3 billion of share buybacks flowing for 19 quarters on the trot, whatever the vicissitudes of geopolitics or oil and gas prices.
“That growth in secondary and product-specific accounts we expect will continue. When we deliver really joined-up experiences, with really good pricing, and increasingly with rewards, we do see people choosing to bring more of their wallet to us and that’s absolutely part of the strategy.”
Meanwhile, for homebuyers, Lloyds is promising to use AI to reduce the time it takes to complete a property transaction “from weeks to days”, having already cut the average time it takes to process a remortgaging application by 70 per cent.
It would also provide a growth path for Rolls in by far the biggest part of the aviation market. Not that Erginbilgic believes he needs the new engine for his time at Rolls: “I don’t need more legacy.”
Few debates are as nuanced, either, as the energy transition: a point rather lost on Uplift, which is idiotically calling for Andy Burnham to “stop the Rosebank oil field”: one of two in the North Sea awaiting the go-ahead, alongside the Jackdaw gas field, in which Shell has interests. Sawan is right that, when the UK’s energy system is still “roughly 75 per cent dependent on fossil-based energy”, it is far more environmentally friendly to use the “indigenous” stuff we’ve got than import it from around the world not least when it also boosts jobs, tax receipts and energy security.
pany, down 12 per cent in the past month. Other holdings including Adobe, Nebius, Micron Technology, SanDisk and CoreWeave have all fallen more than 20 per cent in the past month.
His arguments are clear. But so, too, is something else: Rolls doesn’t need the money. It’s corporate welfarism gone mad.
Situational Awareness, based in San Francisco, reported a 439 per cent net return from the start of the year to June 30 after leveraged exposure amplified the rally across AI-linked equities, according to the Financial Times. It recently reported about $20 billion in assets under management.
industry’s hottest sectors as start-up platforms such as Polymarket and Kalshi, founded by entrepreneurs in their twenties, attract millions of users and billions of dollars in trading volume.
Bring on the sub
Jessica Newman
IG Group, the financial markets betting company, has made its first foray into the prediction markets industry, agreeing a $1.3 billion deal to buy Underdog.
irst, a boycott of the World Cup by all 55 European member countries of Uefa. Next maybe?
While betting on the outcome of events such as a political election has long been permissible in the UK via bookmakers, prediction markets in the US have gained hugely in popularity in the past two years after a US court allowed Kalshi to list bets on the 2024 presidential election.
The New York-based Underdog, launched in 2020, operates prediction markets and a fantasy sports platform, where users can pick a virtual team and win cash based on results and statistics.
The fund has is said to have hired Bank of America, Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan Chase to reduce positions and meet margin requirements. Situational is understood to still hold its private company investments, which include bets on the AI giant Anthropic.
A football boycott of JP Morgan, the bank that’s backed Fifa’s Gianni Infantino and his mates from Donald Trump’s family in trying to turn football’s greatest competition into a commercial sleaze-fest.
He also insists Shell is “not just a fossil fuel company”. As he points out, it’s “investing in the largest green hydrogen facility in Europe”, a 200-megawatt plant in Rotterdam; it’s the “second-largest EV charging player after Tesla”; and, in total, it’s put “$20 billion” into renewable projects that it’s “now trying to deliver a return on”.
IG said the acquisition included an upfront consideration based on an enterprise value of about $1.1 billion and an earn-out of about $200 million for Underdog shareholders.
Despite its European Super League antics, JP Morgan had a lucrative football practice: financing Everton’s new stadium and the Bernabeu overhaul for Real Madrid, as well as advising Sir Jim Ratcliffe on his Man Utd deal. After the Fifa uproar, won’t football clubs prefer to have a different bank on the pitch?
For IG, Britain’s oldest spreadbetting company, buying Underdog marks a “decisive step” in the company’s long-term strategy “to build a global consumer engagement platform”.
Aschenbrenner, a German native, joined OpenAI in 2023 to work on the “superalignment” team, which involved coming up with solutions to ensure future AI systems smarter than humans follow human intent. He was fired in April 2024 over an alleged leak.
The company added that it would pause share buybacks, which it hopes to resume next year.
The company estimates it will double its American revenues and increase US monthly active customers tenfold through the acquisition, as well as establishing itself as a leader in the prediction markets industry.
Underdog, which said its fantasy sports business had 11 million-plus registered accounts, was launched in 2020 and moved into prediction markets last September. This has become one of the
Shell has also long called for governments globally to implement a clear tax on carbon emissions, so sending “price signals” to customers
He founded Situational Awareness that year with a hypothesis that AI models could become capable of doing the work of AI researchers by 2027.
alistair.osborne@thetimes.co.uk
TOLGA AKMEN/EPA
Bailey gives some comfort to the new government
Christine Lagarde, head of the European Central Bank, have also put less weight on their forecasts and “forward guidance” in an era where it is even more foolish to think you know what the future holds.
Mehreen Khan Economics Editor
The Bank of England has kept its powder dry, choosing to keep interest rates unchanged at the start of a new government.
But Warsh’s attempt to revolutionise the last 20 years of central banking convention has got him into trouble. Bondholders took his attempts at being gnomic about monetary policy as a cover for the fact that he is not willing to raise interest rates and upset the president.
Andy Burnham, the prime minister, and his chancellor John Healey can take comfort from the Bank’s latest outlook, which cut its inflation projections and said the annual rate would come close to its 2 per cent target by the end of next year.
Annual consumer price inflation is due to peak at 3.2 per cent in the autumn, just above the 3.1 per cent reached in March. Current inflation is running at 2.6 per cent, significantly below the 3 per cent the central bank expected in the spring.
Yields on 30-year US government bonds spiked to their highest level since the financial crisis after his press conference. This was the asset class that Liz Truss’s mini-budget set on fire. It is the part of the bond market that can bring down governments — and central bankers.
The Bank also agrees with Labour’s assessment that the VAT cut on energy bills will reduce household bills by about £45 from October, resulting in annual inflation falling by 0.1 per cent.
The rise in bond yields allowed the Bank to keep the base rate unchanged at 3.75 per cent, Andrew Bailey, the governor, said
The new Fed chair wants to talk less and let traders do the job of pricing where they think interest rates should be given the state of the economy. The bond market can probably accept a world with fewer central bank speeches and press conferences. But when Warsh does speak, he does so in riddles. He started his press conference denying that there was a tacit acceptance of higher inflation, but then refused to say that the rise in current inflation will require an interest rate rise.
energy price shock, the Bank is yet to see evidence of “second-round effects” from oil price inflation moving into higher wage settlements or the prices charged to consumers and businesses.
spill over into higher wages. Massive spending on artificial intelligence is also a bigger inflationary pressure in the US than in the rest of the world.
Global interest rates
Despite the recent jump in oil prices, the nine-strong monetary policy committee (MPC) is in a more comfortable position than its peers in the US. Andrew Bailey, governor of the Bank, has said the climb in government bond yields since March has raised mortgage rates and tightened financial conditions, allowing the Bank to leave the base rate at 3.75 per cent this year.
UK US Eurozone
Like the Fed, three members of the Bank’s committee voted for an interest rate rise this month, up from two in June. The newest hawk, Catherine Mann, added her voice to the dissenting camp after the breakdown of the USIran ceasefire this month, which temporarily pushed oil prices up to $100 a barrel last week. An interest rate rise now would help “reinforce policy credibility,” Mann said.
Bailey’s credibility is not yet under the microscope, compared to Warsh’s rocky new regime at the Fed. But the UK is not out of the woods yet. A roughly $10 rise in global oil prices adds around 0.2 percentage points to interest rate forecasts.
Sources: BoE; Fed; ECB
−1
2023 24 25 26
When asked what kind of alternative inflation measures the Fed was looking at, Warsh refused to answer. Eric Rosengren, a former president of the Boston Fed, warned that Warsh’s “unresponsiveness over time not only increases undesirable uncertainty, but also could be misinterpreted as a loss of Fed independence”.
The UK is a major energy and food importer and could be in the crosshairs of a gas price shock this winter. European gas futures prices have hit threeyear highs this month, reflecting dwindling gas stocks ahead of the winter months.
Kevin Warsh, chairman of the Federal Reserve, said the same on Wednesday — but bond investors do not believe Trump’s Fed chairman is brave enough to respond to another step-up in inflation.
UK inflation
The Bank is not yet facing the same scrutiny from the bond vigilantes. Traders are still betting on about two interest rate rises to come this year — a position they have held since the outbreak of the US-Iran war. The Bank has yet to deliver on a monetary tightening, but it can point to weaker inflation and a soft labour market as good reasons to wait and see. In contrast to the 2022
CPI Services Core
12%
10
In his second press conference in the job, Warsh told markets he will not “spoon feed” them with running commentary about how interest rates will react to new data on inflation, given the gyrations in the oil prices.
8
Oil prices are responsible for adding 0.4 percentage points to inflation this year. A natural gas squeeze could force inflation and bills higher under the Ofgem price cap. “The risks to energy prices lie to the upside,” Bailey said.
6
4
Warsh is in a trickier position than Bailey because the world’s largest economy is more vulnerable to a sustained inflationary shock where oil prices do
2
0
Source: ONS
−2
That is all well and good. Bailey and
2016 18 20 22 24 26
and Irish investors lost millions of pounds.
returns but are high risk and in some cases allegedly fraudulent.
James Hurley Assistant Business Editor
Hunter Jones’s promotion of another loan note scheme, Magna Group, was also a factor. Magna was shut down in 2021 over its “misleading” investments. Directors of Magna continued to take investors’ money “even after the companies were insolvent”, the government’s Insolvency Service found.
Equity for Growth was placed into liquidation in March because it cannot afford to pay the level of compensation ordered by the Financial Ombudsman Service in relation to firms whose promotions it approved under the socalled “appointed representative” regime. Equity for Growth was responsible for ensuring its “appointed representatives” were “fit and proper” and complied with City rules.
A business that worked with promoters who mis-sold “loan notes” by not disclosing “very high” levels of commission taken from investors’ money has been censured by the City regulator.
higher costs stemming from the Middle East conflict, with consumers supported by bigger tax refunds this year.
Louisa Clarence-Smith US Business Editor
US economic growth slowed in the second quarter despite higher consumer spending and strong investment.
Higher-income households are also benefiting from strong growth in asset prices, including US stocks. Analysts said that the Fifa World Cup tournament helped to spur spending.
Equity for Growth (Securities) approved financial promotions for third-party firms that were “unfair, unclear and misleading”, the regulator said.
Gross domestic product increased at an annualised rate of 1.5 per cent in the April-June quarter, according to an advance estimate published by the commerce department’s Bureau of Economic Analysis. The economy grew by 2.1 per cent in the first quarter.
Hunter Jones “frequently breached regulatory obligations’’, according to the judgment. Hunter Jones remains active though unregulated. It declined to comment. It has previously said it has “learnt lessons”.
Business investment boomed amid a race to invest in artificial intelligence. However, economists have warned that the US-led war with Iran, now in its sixth month, poses a downside risk to demand and economic growth in the second half of the year. Average petrol prices are back above $4 a gallon.
The Financial Conduct Authority said it would have fined Equity for Growth over the mis-selling if it were not for the fact it had already shut it down.
Its appointed representatives included Hunter Jones, which promoted schemes including Dolphin, a German property scheme that collapsed in 2020 owing about 25,000 investors around the world close to £1 billion.
Consumer spending, which accounts for more than two thirds of US economic activity, rose by 3.2 per cent after abruptly slowing to 0.5 per cent growth in the January-March quarter. Spending has remained resilient despite
The authority said Equity for Growth approved promotions “which failed to disclose very high commission fees”.
The intervention relates to the authority’s growing concern about a spate of “mini-bond” or loan note investment schemes which are sold on the promise of generous and “secure’’
The deductions can make it difficult for the underlying investment to perform well enough to be viable.
Dolphin’s founder, Charles Smethurst, was convicted of fraud in Germany last year. Thousands of British
The Federal Reserve maintained its benchmark borrowing costs in a range of 3.5 per cent to 3.75 per cent.
Conveyancing proves three times quicker in Scotland
Disney’s Mickey Mouse Club hopes to save our children from AI slop
David Byers Deputy Property Editor
‘‘
This month the streaming platform Disney+ announced it was rebooting The Mickey Mouse Club,
Disney sold 10 million Davy Crockett caps with racoon tails. In total Disney would go on to sell $300 million worth of merchandise — much more than it was making from its films.
House sales take three times longer to complete in some areas of England than in Scotland, and pressure is growing on ministers to speed up homebuying reforms south of the border.
the children’s television show that in the 1980s and 1990s launched the career of an astonishing number of actors and singers including Ryan Gosling, Justin Timberlake, Christina Aguilera and Britney Spears.
This model of profiting from spinoffs rather than the content itself (to use the modern term) dates back to the original club of 1929. First, the cinemas themselves paid $25 (about $500 in today’s money) to be a franchisee. Then the parents paid a far smaller amount for the right to buy hats, buttons, banners and the like for their children.
The legal process for property deals in Slough, Britain’s slowest local authority, takes an average of seven and a half months — or 229 days — to go from a sale being agreed to completion, according to Rightmove. In Clackmannanshire it is only 76 days.
I am too old to have witnessed much of this incarnation and the bits I did glimpse were saccharine compared with the more anarchic British kids’ shows I had grown up with, such as Tiswas, Swap Shop or Why Don’t You?.
The research shows that the ten fastest areas for deals to go through are all in Scotland, reflecting the different system that operates there.
It was a genius business model that worked because Disney built a community around this exciting technology of talking cartoons. It involved the children reciting a credo
Last month the government promised to transform the buying and selling process in England and Wales to become similar to that in Scotland, where legally binding agreements are made earlier in the process and a financial penalty is payable if a buyer or seller pulls out.
But I am always cheered that anyone is prepared to invest money in original children’s television programming. This week’s publication of Ofcom’s annual report highlights the dire state of kids’ viewing habits.
— “I will be a good American!” secret handshakes and elected officials.
The streamers, including Disney, now have a model of charging viewers a modest amount for content and then trying to persuade us to upgrade to a premium version. But what do we get with that? No ads. That’s it. And, looking at the Ofcom data, it’s clear that we have passed peak steaming. In 2021 some 60 per cent of British households had a Netflix subscription. It has since edged up to 61 per cent. Amazon Prime has fallen from 47 per cent to 46 per cent; Disney+ hit 26 per cent a couple of years ago and has not climbed any further.
It hopes this will end the practice of gazumping, which is when a seller accepts one offer but then backs out after accepting a higher one from a different buyer. However, new legislation is not due on this — or separate rules forcing sellers to provide buyers with mandatory packs — until 2029.
Children aged 4 to 15 watch every day on average 178 minutes of video, be it live television, catch-up TV or video streaming. That’s a fraction under three hours, which sounds a lot but it is, in fact, far, far less than their grandparents — those aged 65 and over watch six and half hours every day. But unlike older adults, who turn to BBC One as their first option, under 16s turn to YouTube, by far.
Johan Svanstrom, Rightmove’s chief executive, said the figures showed the need to speed up reforms. “A healthy housing market depends on people being able to move home easily and with certainty,” he said.
Of course, there is plenty of decent stuff on YouTube, but it also hold — I know from having investigated this a lot of disturbing and low-quality artificial intelligence-made slop specifically aimed at children.
The combination of a slow buying process, expensive mortgages, pricier stamp duty and inflation placing a strain on buyers, has meant that deals in London are now taking the longest since Rightmove’s records began, with 174 days from a sale being agreed to completion, nearly six months.
The streamers are increasingly behaving like traditional, linear broadcasters, showing live sport, releasing shows on a weekly basis and broadcasting vodcasts that look remarkably like 1970s chat shows.
Will The Mickey Mouse Club be able to lure kids away from brain-rotting content on YouTube? I am doubtful. But the reboot is important for a more interesting reason: the club is a central part of Disney’s history, arguably a key reason that Disney has become a $171 billion entertainment behemoth. And it might offer a lesson for television channels, linear and subscription, to win back viewers from YouTube and TikTok.
say that 1,000 children turned up every weekend just to watch Mickey Mouse cartoons — why not start a club? He even suggested charging a small fee, which parents would pay because it got their offspring out of the house. Walt agreed and, crucially, suggested that if it were a success they should franchise the club. Within just two years it had more than a million members, outnumbering those who had joined the Boy and Girl Scouts of America combined.
containing lots of jargon. But, as with its episodes on Rolex, Coca-Cola and Microsoft, the history of Disney is full of engrossing details, not least that Walt blagged his way into Universal Studios with a fake business card, aged 21, to spend a day secretly watching how they made films.
TV broadcasters old and new need to re-find the magic of the Fox Dome Theatre in California. Not with the reciting of a credo or with secret handshakes, but with fostering the sense of community that TV, at its very best, can do with landmark documentaries, big sporting moments or shows such as Celebrity Traitors. If you want to compete with YouTube’s relentless, algorithm-driven shortform videos, viewers need to feel part of something bigger than just sitting in front of a screen.
The east of England, at 171 days, and southeast, at 170, are similarly affected. By contrast, deals in Scotland take an average of 98 days, ahead of the northeast, where they take 141 days. Deals in Wales take 155 days on average. Nationally, 23 per cent of deals fall through.
I also had not realised that the original Disneyland was funded by an ingenious deal struck with ABC Television: the broadcaster invested $500,000 as well as guaranteeing $4.5 million in bank loans.
Brad Fordham, head of mortgage distribution at NatWest Group, said that digitising the homebuying and selling process would help. “Delays within the conveyancing journey cause emotional distress and real financial costs for our customers,” he said.
Let me explain. The Mickey Mouse Club started as an actual club way back in 1929, before Walt Disney had even made a feature film. He had just released Steamboat Willie, the first cartoon with synchronised sound, and children had started going to the cinema for the cartoons before films, rather than the movie itself.
Harry Wallop is a consumer’’
I discovered this while listening to the Disney episode of Acquired, the fascinating business history podcast. Hosted by two former venture capitalists, it breaks all the podcasting rules, releasing an episode once a month, if that, each a self-indulgent four hours long and frequently
In return, Walt agreed, reluctantly at first, to produce some TV shows. One of these was Davy Crockett, which would rapidly become the second most popular programme in America, with its theme music reaching the top of the charts. In 1955
Nick Leeming, chairman of the estate agency Jackson-Stops, added: “Reforming the homebuying and selling process must remain a priority.”
The manager of Fox Dome Theatre, California, contacted Walt to
journalist and broadcaster. Follow him on X @hwallop
Find your own signed and framed print of our cartoonists’ finest work, featuring Peter Brookes, Morten Morland, Peter Schrank and more.
Prices start at £58. Order from timescartoons.com
The FTSE 100 group reported adjusted earnings of $9.8 billion in the second quarter, more than double the $4.3 billion it made in the same period of 2025.
see the images on TV, my heart goes out to the many who are suffering from it.”
Emily Gosden Energy Editor having ditched many of its renewables investments, and called on governments to implement carbon taxes that would drive customer demand for green energy.
Sawan was speaking as Europe’s biggest oil and gas company reported its second-biggest quarterly profit on record, with high and volatile prices caused by the US war with Iran more than offsetting the disruption to its operations in the Middle East.
Wildfires sweeping Europe are “very worrying”, the boss of Shell has said, as the oil and gas major cashed in on high prices to make bumper profits of almost $10 billion.
The shutdown of the Strait of Hormuz, the crucial waterway through which a fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG) normally passes, has caused havoc in global energy markets and kept prices high through the second quarter. Shell said it sold oil for an average of $89 per barrel in the second quarter, up from $64 a barrel in the same period last year.
Addressing the wildfires, which scientists say have been made more likely by man-made climate change, he added: “It’s devastating. Every time I
Wael Sawan insisted that Shell was not “just a fossil fuel company”, despite
Sawan said that “the high commodity prices were a big part of the results”, along with Shell’s ability to “create value out of trading”. He added: “We are built for times of volatility.”
The profit was second only to the $11.5 billion Shell reported in the second quarter of 2022 in the aftermath of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Shell’s production in its integrated gas division, which comprises LNG and gas-to-liquids, slumped by 31 per cent due to the shutdown of Qatari LNG production and damage to the Pearl gas-to-liquids plant in the country.
Shell also announced that it would buy back a further $3 billion of its own shares in the coming quarter.
Its shares rose 1.5 per cent after the earnings came in significantly higher than the $8.9 billion analysts had been expecting. However, the stock closed down 4½p, or 0.1 per cent, at £33.19.
Shell employs 85,000 people in 70 countries with operations ranging from oil and gas exploration to fuel retailing. It pumped the equivalent of almost 2.5 million barrels of oil per day in the quarter and is the world’s biggest independent trader of LNG.
The last rig from the Brent Field in the
halve the carbon emissions from its own oil and gas production operations and insisted it was also “investing in green technology”.
Sawan, who has led the company since 2023, has abandoned many of the green investments made under his predecessor Ben van Beurden and is seeking to grow its gas business.
He said: “We are investing in the largest green hydrogen facility in all of Europe, which should start up early next year. We’re one of the largest investors in the world in carbon capture and sequestration. We’re the secondlargest EV charging player after Tesla, and we put overall $20 billion of capital into this space.
Robert Palmer, deputy director at Uplift, the environmental campaign group, said: “As Europe battles devastating wildfires, Shell is cashing in on Trump’s war and doubling down on oil and gas. The world is literally on fire and Shell wants to add more fuel.”
“There is always more that we can and should be doing, but this is going to require everyone leaning in.”
Sawan said that Shell was working to
time, and there are more than one in the process.” He said that although it was “pretty much in the final stages” of the sale, “this is also probably one of the most challenging times of the sale process, just given the number of parties that we need to all get aligned”.
Emily Gosden
Anglo American says it is in “the final stages” of selling De Beers but denied it was in exclusive talks with any one bidder for the ailing diamond miner.
This summer, enjoy 2 paperbacks for £15 at the Times Bookshop. Featuring award-winning fi ction, acclaimed non-fi ction and brilliant books reviewed by The Times and Sunday Times literary editors.
The FTSE 100 group, which is in the process of merging with Canada’s Teck, has been reported to be nearing a deal to offload its 85 per cent stake in De Beers for only $1 billion. That would be a fraction of its value just a few years ago, underscoring the challenges in the diamond market.
He added: “We are hopeful that we’ll be getting to conclusion here during the second half of this year.”
De Beers has struggled with weak demand amid the rise of lab-grown diamonds. In February, Anglo wrote down the value of its stake in De Beers for the third time in as many years. The carrying value for De Beers as a whole has been slashed from $9.4 billion in 2022 to just $2.3 billion as of February.
The government of Botswana, which holds 15 per cent of De Beers, said this month that Anglo American had picked a consortium led by the former De Beers chief executive Gareth Penny as its “preferred bidder”.
Anglo reported a 35 per cent rise in underlying earnings before interest, taxation and other charges to $4 billion, driven by higher copper prices.
However, Duncan Wanblad, Anglo American’s chief executive, said: “We are not exclusive with any particular consortium at this particular point in
Free UK P&P on online orders over £25. Times+ discount not applicable on this promotion. Promotional prices valid online on select titles for a limited time only (ends midnight, 17 August 2026). All orders placed by phone will incur a minimum £2.99 delivery charge.
Shares in Anglo American closed up 124p, or 3.4 per cent, at £37.26.
IAN FORSYTH/GETTY IMAGES
Rolls renews plea on taxpayer cash for short-haul
market is “eight to nine times” bigger than the wide-body market, Erginbilgic said.
Emma Powell
The boss of Rolls-Royce has renewed his call for up to £1 billion from the taxpayer to fund its move into the shorthaul aircraft market, as the aerospace group raised its performance outlook for the year.
The company, which is based in Derby, is pressing the government for funding thought to amount to up to several hundred million pounds. The total programme could be worth a total of £40 billion to £50 billion in investment, Erginbilgic said.
The FTSE 100 aerospace engineer, which makes engines for larger Boeing and Airbus planes, expects adjusted operating profit of between £4.7 billion and £4.9 billion and free cashflow of £3.8 billion to £4 billion, despite the conflict in the Middle East.
Defending the request for government support, Erginbilgic insisted that Rolls-Royce was competing with American companies that were getting “three, four times more funding than we do”, adding that the investment programme would also be “good for taxpayers”.
Performance was boosted by improving the profitability of engine maintenance contracts in its civil aviation business, chief executive Tufan Erginbilgic said. The business is aiming to double the average “time on wing” of its wide-body engines.
“Effectively, this programme will transform advanced manufacturing in
£4.9bn
Rolls-Royce shares, which have risen more than 1,360 per cent since Erginbilgic took charge at the start of 2023, closed up 79p, or 5.7 per cent, at £14.59.
Upper range of anticipated profit
Revenue rose 20 per cent to £11.4 billion during the first six months of the year, above the £10.2 billion consensus forecast from City analysts. Underlying operating profit was up 46 per cent to
the UK, create up to 40,000 jobs [and] supply chain development,” he said.
Erginbilgic would not be drawn on whether he had met the prime minister, Andy Burnham, and John Healey, the chancellor, to discuss his funding request since they took up their new positions, but said that he “never stops talking to the government”, including on this topic. He added that the government was “supportive”.
towards full-year underlying operating profit of between £4 billion and £4.2 billion, and free cashflow of £3.6 billion to
North Sea is towed into the River Tees to be dismantled in 2024. Shell is awaiting approval for new North Sea projects
The previous government earmarked the energy department as one that would shoulder some cuts to free up cash for defence spending, fuelling speculation that support for CCS may be cut.
£2.5 billion in share buybacks planned for this year, after proposing in February to return between £7 billion and £9 billion by the end of 2028.
for the energy sector is stability,” he said. “A more durable fiscal framework would undoubtedly attract more capital into the UK North Sea.”
‘Approve North Sea investment’
At the Farnborough airshow earlier this month he renewed a threat to go “elsewhere” to manufacture the engines, amid fears that without taxpayer support Rolls could move the business to Germany or the US, meaning that Britain could lose tens of thousands of future jobs.
The lift to full-year financial guidance came as Erginbilgic reiterated plans to take Rolls back into the $1 trillion short-haul aircraft market, which is currently dominated by Pratt & Whitney of the US and its fellow American giant GE in a joint venture with Safran of France.
Adura, Shell’s North Sea joint venture with Equinor, is developing the Jackdaw gasfield and the Rosebank oilfield, but is awaiting approval from the government after a court ruled the original consents unlawful.
Sawan argued that CCS “plays to the UK’s advantage” as the country has depleted reservoirs that can be used to store carbon dioxide and industrial clusters able to capture the gas.
Shell has appealed to Andy Burnham to approve its planned fields in the North Sea and maintain support for carbon capture and storage (CCS) projects (Emily Gosden writes).
The next three years would be crucial to disrupting the two American incumbents and presenting airlines with a “demonstrator” engine, Erginbilgic said, as airlines upgrade their fleets.
Sawan called for the government to “expedite the approvals for Jackdaw and Rosebank”, arguing that using domestic resources rather than imports would result in higher tax proceeds, more jobs and greater energy security.
“I recognise the government has some tough choices as it’s deciding where its marginal dollar goes,” he said. “But whatever they do, the biggest plea is stability.”
Wael Sawan, Shell’s chief executive, also warned that uncertainty over the future fiscal regime for the North Sea was resulting in money being invested elsewhere. “The most important thing
Rolls has since 2011 concentrated on the long-haul market, making engines for the likes of the Airbus A350 and the Boeing 787. However, the short-haul
He added: “You are either in or out [in the] next three years.”
Typhoon aircraft, taking the total order backlog to £84 billion. This year it secured a seven-year contract to upgrade the US Terminal High Altitude Area Defense interceptor missile, designed to destroy ballistic missiles.
Emma Powell
Britain’s defence champion has cashed in on higher military spending from governments globally, raising its financial guidance for the year.
announced 4,700 job cuts as well as the loss of 3,000 contractor roles.
Emily Gosden
BP has told staff it is cutting 700 “nonfrontline” jobs as part of its simplification drive.
O’Neill joined at the start of April with a remit to simplify BP and shore up its balance sheet. Her tenure has already been eventful, with the company removing its chairman Albert Manifold in May over allegations of bullying, which he denies.
Revenue rose 8 per cent to £14.6 billion over the first six months of the year, while pre-tax profit was up by the same level to £1.3 billion.
BAE Systems, which makes fighter jets, artillery and missiles as well as nuclear submarines, expects sales growth of between 8 and 10 per cent this year and underlying profit growth of 10 to 12 per cent, up from ranges of 7 to 9 per cent and 9 to 11 per cent respectively.
The roles will go from what was the “production and operations” division, which has been replaced by a more conventional “upstream” division as part of an overhaul by new boss Meg O’Neill.
BAE employs more than 110,000 staff, including almost 47,000 in the UK. Nearly half of BAE’s business is in the US, while in excess of a quarter is in the UK. About a tenth comes from Saudi Arabia, whose air force operates BAE Typhoon fighters.
The job cuts equate to about 8 percent of the non-frontline roles in the old production and operations business The division included most of what is now “upstream” — exploration and production — but also included some responsibilities for “downstream” refining and marketing operations.
BP will report second-quarter results on Tuesday, when analysts are forecasting a surge in profits to $5.1 billion, up from just over $2 billion in the same period of last year, on the back of higher oil and gas prices. Despite this, Gordon Birrell, head of upstream, told staff that global market signals pointed to “potential oversupply and lower oil and gas prices”, the FT reported.
The UK defence contractor has benefited from a sharp rise in orders from governments since the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the conflict in the Middle East.
BAE has signed a contract to support Turkey’s Eurofighter Typhoon fleet
The government holds a “golden share” in the company, which gives it the right to veto a takeover of BAE on national security grounds.
that the reality of modern warfare had “changed quite profoundly” and that UK defence spending had to change with it. “This is by far the most threatening time I’ve seen,” he said.
Charles Woodburn, BAE Systems’ chief executive, said: “The global threat picture remains highly volatile and governments are responding with sustained increases in defence budgets.”
BP said: “We are building a simpler, stronger, more valuable BP. As part of this process, we are proposing changes that would result in a reduction in roles, intended to reduce complexity, improve accountability and support longterm performance.”
The shares, which have risen almost 20 per cent this year, were up 30p, or 1.5 per cent, at £20.50.
Orders worth £16.4 billion were secured during the first half of the year, including a £2.5 billion contract to provide training, support equipment and services to Turkey’s recently ordered
BP employed 93,700 people globally as of the end of 2025. The group has been struggling since an ill-fated pivot to green energy in 2020. Last year it
In the UK, defence spending is set to rise from 2.3 per cent to 3.5 per cent of GDP by 2035. But Woodburn warned in an interview with the BBC last week
The company returned £933 million to shareholders in the first half, including £251 million in share buybacks.
found career implications, and this case demonstrates that the tribunal will recognise this where supported by clear and compelling evidence,” Keddie said.
in compensation, which included damages for injury to feelings and past and future economic losses. The tribunal noted that the legal action had hampered his efforts to find another role.
charge of the bank’s global control room, saying simply: “Need to talk are you available.” The tribunal noted that Reeves “was not regularly checking his emails when he was driving”.
Jonathan Ames Legal Editor officer at the bank’s London office, having joined Goldman in Salt Lake City in 2007. He was transferred to the UK six years later, after also doing a stint at the bank’s outpost in Sydney.
A senior Goldman Sachs executive has been awarded nearly £1.5 million after being sacked for failing to respond quickly to a work email while on paternity leave.
Kim Wright, an employment law specialist at Birketts, said the ruling sent the message that “businesses cannot promote generous parental leave policies as part of a glossy recruitment and retention strategy and then disadvantage employees for taking advantage of those benefits”.
Reeves declined to comment on the
Beer emailed Reeves the next day and another colleague telephoned him. The tribunal went on to record that Reeves “then worked over his holiday to assist in resolving the issue”.
The original employment tribunal heard that in 2022 Reeves requested six months’ paternal leave — a period that was allowed under the bank’s policy before the birth of his second child.
An employment tribunal ruled two years ago that Jonathan Reeves was unfairly dismissed from his job in London after suffering sex discrimination while on a six-month break after the birth of his child.
Jonathan Reeves was contacted by senior executives while on his sixmonth break
Beer also accepted that he had not telephoned Reeves to alert him initially to the urgent issue.
During that leave, he and his wife travelled to Cornwall for the August bank holiday. The original tribunal heard that on that drive he received an email highlighting a “very urgent control room issue” and that Michael Richman, the bank’s compliance chief, “required it to be resolved urgently”.
Goldman Sachs said in a statement that it was a market leader in paid parental leave and encouraged all working parents, regardless of gender, to take the 26 weeks paid leave offered.
He sued the US investment bank for £3.8 million in damages, but a specialist judge has now awarded him £1.45 million after the original tribunal found there had been a 50 per cent chance that the bank would have fairly made him redundant.
However, evidence emerged at the tribunal hearing that during a subsequent internal grievance procedure that led to the decision to sack Reeves, Beer described him as “kind of lazy”.
ruling but his solicitor, Jo Keddie, at the law firm Forsters, said the judgment emphasised that stigma damages were not theoretical.
“We strongly disagree with this [tribunal] decision,” a spokesman said. There was no comment on whether the bank would apply to appeal.
In a ruling handed down this week at the London Central employment tribunal, Reeves was awarded £1.45 million
Other senior executives were also contacted and Reeves also received an email from Omar Beer, who was in
“For senior professionals in regulated industries, litigation can have pro-
Reeves was a senior compliance
J MORRIS/SHUTTERSTOCK
Princess Anne opened the Arndale centre in Manchester in 1979. It cost £100 million to build
sought to exit complex partnerships.
Wilkinson, who took over this year, defended his decision to go against that strategy. “While we would always prefer to own 100 per cent [of a centre], we’re not against JVs per se,” he said. “We’ve bought out partners who’d made the decision that they no longer wished to be invested in shopping centres, so they were not like-minded.
ammerson is buying into Andy Burnham’s gospel of
“Manchesterism” with the acquisition of a 50 per cent stake in the city’s Arndale shopping centre for £218 million (Tom Howard writes).
The landlord, which already owns the Bullring in Birmingham and Cabot Circus in Bristol, acquired the half-share from lenders who inherited Manchester Arndale when Intu Properties collapsed in 2020.
“M&G is a long-term investor, like us. Their business plan [for the Arndale] is very much aligned with ours. [JVs] are really more about the partner. They are also a way for us to access opportunity.”
To fund the deal, Hammerson is tapping shareholders for an extra £190 million.
Intu had co-owned Manchester Arndale since 2005, when it bought the 50 per cent stake that was previously owned by Prudential, the insurer, for about £400 million. Such has been the decline in shopping centre values that Hammerson is paying little more than half what Intu paid 21 years ago.
“We’ve been tracking this shopping centre for a long time,” Rob Wilkinson, Hammerson’s chief executive, said. “We like Manchester a lot and we didn’t have anything in Manchester. We think we can add further value to [the centre] by improving the retail mix, leasing up the vacant space and improving the public realm.” The asset
manager M&G (MNG) owns the other 50 per cent.
leisure venues, including M&S, Selfridges and Urban Playground — a “competitive socialising” concept, blending gaming, mini-golf and casual dining.
£3.6 billion portfolio of malls that includes Westquay in Southampton, Ilac in Dublin, and The Oracle in Reading.
were in freefall, looked as if it might go the same way as Intu. It was turned around by its chief executive at the time, Rita-Rose Gagné, who strengthened the balance sheet by selling off “non-core” centres and whittling the portfolio down to a
dozen or so “destination” malls in England, Ireland and France.
The Manchester Arndale was built in the Seventies at a cost of £100 million. About 45 million people visit the mall each year. It has more than 200 shops, restaurants and
The business has been back in growth mode over the past year, buying out its joint venture (JV) partners at the Bullring, The Oracle and Westquay as Gagné
During the pandemic Hammerson, loaded with billions of pounds of debts at a time when valuations of its malls
Malls have come under pressure from online shopping, which caused some big tenants to go bust.
Hammerson is one of the country’s largest retail landlords, with a
Segro has a near-term data centre pipeline of 650MW. In theory this means that it would face a bill of up to £463 million to connect these projects to the grid under Ofgem’s plans.
Tom Howard Property Correspondent the queue that have got a piece of land that might be suitable for a data centre development, but it probably doesn’t have planning and maybe never will get planning,” he said. “If some of that more speculative development can get thrown out, we can bring forward ours a lot quicker, I suspect.”
has created a long waiting list. There are 315 data centre projects in the queue waiting to be connected, according to Ofgem.
connect to the grid. However, he thinks the proposal, if brought in, would ultimately benefit Segro, because it would be likely to shorten the wait times to get a grid connection.
The head of one of Britain’s biggest data centre developers believes the energy regulator’s proposal to charge tens of millions of pounds to connect new projects to the electricity grid could actually be “quite positive” for its ambitions.
The watchdog said it was “concerned that a significant number of projects in the queue may not ultimately proceed” and were holding back development of new data centres that are ready to go.
This would be “a timing issue rather than a real cash cost, because you’ll get it back when you energise the data centre”, Sleath said.
“I don’t think the proposals are there to penalise the serious people like us,” Sleath said. “If it does weed out the more speculative [projects], it could enable people like us to get further up the queue and get faster access to power, which would be quite positive for us.”
David Sleath, the long-time chief executive of Segro, Europe’s largest owner of warehouses and data centres, acknowledged that there would be a “cashflow impact” from Ofgem’s plan to introduce a “commitment fee” for projects that wanted to join the queue to
Ofgem has proposed charging between £237,500 and £712,500 per megawatt (MW) for projects that want to connect to the grid. This would be refunded once the data centre was in operation but would be lost if the project was not completed.
Ofgem has a consultation on its proposals, which runs until September 16.
Sleath, 65, agreed that many of those in the queue were speculative developments “without any realistic prospect of delivery”.
Segro shares, which fell on Wednesday when Ofgem first announced its proposal, closed down 3¼p, or 0.4 per cent, at 966½p last night.
Currently it is inexpensive for developers to put in an application to get a grid connection for their project, which
“There are all kinds of [developers] in
World Cup marketing blitz hits bottom line at Adidas
Hot weather drives rise at Magnum
Simon Freeman
Magnum sold almost €5 billion of ice cream in the first half of the year as the heatwave across Europe sent consumers in search of cold treats.
VUK VALCIC/ALAMY
Martin Strydom
Adidas shares fell sharply after secondquarter profits missed expectations, dragged down by increased spending on marketing for the World Cup.
Core earnings were ahead of market expectations, with revenue up 4.2 per cent to €4.7 billion, driven by growth in both volume and pricing.
The German sportswear maker’s operating profit in the April to June period rose by 5 per cent to €574 million, well below analysts’ expectations for €623 million, as a 30 per cent rise to €212 million in marketing expenses tied to the tournament ate into the bottom line.
The Unilever spin-off saw growth in both sales and market share in every region. Sales of Ben & Jerry’s grew 9.2 per cent in the second quarter, driven by the launch of new stock and ice-cream cookie sandwiches. And Yasso, a highprotein, low-calorie frozen yoghurt, sustained double-digit growth with the launch of one-pint fridge packs.
Adidas shares fell by 11.5 per cent, overshadowing an event that the company’s chief executive, Bjorn Gulden, described as a “fairytale” success. Adidas sponsored a total of 14 national teams in the Fifa World Cup, including both finalists, Argentina and Spain.
“Our key summer selling season got off to a strong start,” Peter ter Kulve, Magnum chief executive, said. “We grew and gained share in all regions.”
A cost-cutting drive targeting €500 million in the medium term delivered €90 million of savings in the first half, mostly by cutting waste, smoothing supply chains and lowering overheads.
Gulden said: “The growth related to the World Cup was ... accelerated by our strategy of increasing product availability in the interest of our consumers and retail partners versus optimising inventories.”
Net profit fell €349 million, from €464 million for the division in the same period last year, driven by higher financing and restructuring costs after its separation from Unilever, and inflation in Turkey devaluing the lire.
He added: “Our marketing campaign ‘Backyard Legends’ brought back the love for the game the way we used to play it in the streets.”
“This sales beat was driven by both higher volumes as well as by betterthan-expected pricing and mix,” ING analysts said.
Net sales in the quarter rose 13 per cent to €6.74 billion, beating market expectations of sales of €6.63 billion.
Visits to Adidas retail stores in the United States rose 44.7 per cent yearon-year in the week of June 15, the first full week of World Cup group-stage action, according to Placer.ai, a company that gathers foot traffic data.
Magnum shares, which have gained nearly 25 per cent since being floated in Amsterdam at €12.80 in December, closed up 0.1 per cent at €16.16.
Adidas said it now expected revenue to grow by a currency-adjusted 9 per cent to 10 per cent, compared with previous guidance for high singledigit growth. It still expected operating profit to increase to about €2.3 billion this year.
Agreements signed for new hospitals
The rise in second-quarter profits was driven by double-digit growth in all regions except Europe, where heavy discounting at many retailers put lifestyle footwear under pressure, the company said.
Adidas enjoyed a “fairytale” World Cup, including sponsoring the winners Spain, but markets were unconvinced
Robert Miller
growing challenger brands such as On Running and
Adidas shares, which had been on a strong run since April, are now down about 4 per cent so far this year.
executive to lead its turnaround efforts.
The government signed 11 long-term contracts for new hospitals across England yesterday, including in Manchester, Cornwall and Great Yarmouth.
Citi analysts said that the Adidas sales were still “well below” hopes for faster growth. “Combined with the more pronounced World Cup top-line benefit, this is likely to reignite the debate around growth sustainability post-tournament,” they said.
Deckers, the parent com-
pany of Hoka, which have captured market share in key technical running and lifestyle categories.
In a separate statement, Adidas said Birgit Kretschmer would become chief financial officer at the end of the year after Harm Ohlmeyer’s decision not to extend his current term.
Investors had been hoping that the visibility from the World Cup would help Adidas to maintain its sales momentum as the success of its retro Samba and Gazelle sneakers fades.
The agreements bring together NHS trusts and leading construction companies to deliver 11 hospital schemes through the government’s New Hospital Programme, aiming to build the facilities more efficiently.
It also needs to stay
ahead of Nike, which has been repositioning itself to focus on athletes after the return of
Felix Jonathan Dennl, analyst at the Frankfurt-based Metzler, said: “We think the adverse share price reaction is a cocktail of Harm Ohlmeyer not extending his contract coupled with the 8 per cent ebitda miss.”
Analysts at Deutsche Bank wrote in a note to investors, pointing to the profit miss: “In absolute terms [the second quarter] was a good quarter but against a rising tide of World Cup expectations this is going to disappoint investors.”
Elliott Hill, a Nike veteran who left the company in 2020 but rejoined in 2024 as chief
Karin Smyth, a health minister, said: “For too long, the construction of new hospitals has been bogged down by bureaucratic procurement processes, even after full approval and funding was in place, and we’re determined to change that.
The company faces competition from fast-
“The changes announced are a major step forward in streamlining the procurement process. Patients can look forward to new hospitals being delivered quicker, industry can plan with certainty and taxpayers can be assured that we are getting maximum value for their money.”
said: “It could have been better, but it was very good.”
Simon Freeman operating profit, above the 4.6 per cent growth expected by analysts. Revenue also beat forecasts, while volumes rose for a second consecutive quarter after years of decline.
In the United States, however, sales to wholesalers and retailers fell. Volumes also declined 9.7 per cent in China, where AB InBev has performed worse than rivals in an industry-wide downturn.
The brewing giant AB Inbev’s World Cup sponsorship helped drive doubledigit sales growth in its “megabrands” Corona, Stella Artois and Michelob Ultra but a slowdown in China took the shine off the strong performance.
AB InBev said Corona, Stella Artois and Michelob Ultra posted revenue growth of 17, 19 and 21 per cent respectively outside their home markets, helped by the World Cup, for which the brewer was a major sponsor.
Natalie Forrest, chief programme officer for the scheme, said: “The Hospital 2.0 Alliance marks an important milestone for the New Hospital Programme and a new way of delivering major public infrastructure.
Doukeris flagged a slight decline in consumer confidence between the first and second quarter as the Iran war drove up gas and oil prices. Extreme heat in Europe, meanwhile, is not good for either people or beer sales, he said.
Shares in the world’s biggest beer maker were down 0.2 per cent in Brussels at €73.76 despite its posting forecast-beating revenue, profit and volumes for the June quarter. The stock has gained more than a third so far this year as investor optimism flows back to the sector following a difficult 2025.
That was despite teams from some of its most important markets, such as Brazil and Mexico, being knocked out relatively early. AB InBev has a smaller footprint in European countries such as Spain, which won the tournament.
“By bringing together NHS organisations and industry as genuine partners, we’re creating a model that combines national consistency with local leadership.”
James Edwardes Jones, RBC Capital Markets analyst, said: “There were a few puts and takes, but in aggregate this was a solid performance.”
The Budweiser maker reported a 5.8 per cent rise in second-quarter
David Beckham stars in a World Cup advert for AB Inbev’s Stella Artois
Michel Doukeris, chief executive,
news in brief
John Ficenec Tempus Buy, sell or hold: today’s best share tips
Nscale, a data centre company based in London, is buying Anyscale, an artificial intelligence start-up in San Francisco, for a reported $1.65 billion.
Plenty of vim in soft drinks maker
The British company’s board includes Sheryl Sandberg, former chief operating officer of Meta, and Sir Nick Clegg, who was Meta’s president of global affairs. Anyscale provides software to organise and manage complex AI tasks so they can run smoothly across many computers simultaneously.
on ICEE frozen drinks, for which Nichols holds the UK licence.
nichols
The tough sales environment in the UK and investment in new accounting software has seen some chunky one-off costs in previous years, but thankfully there were none in first half. Management are now focused on using the cash pile, forecast to hit £70 million by the year end, on acquiring new brands where they see fit, or failing that returning the cash to shareholders. Analysts from the broker Investec estimate that could equate to a special dividend of 30p every year for the next five years, boosting the forecast full-year 47p ordinary dividend to 77p, or a yield of 7.4 per cent.
Market cap £377 million
Sales in Africa 70 million litres
Financial performance
£16 15 14 13 12 11 10 9 8
Revenue Pre-tax profit
T
he maker of Vimto, Nichols, enjoyed strong sales in Africa and made a record amount of cash in the first half of the year.
Nscale, which has attracted attention for its $14.6 billion valuation and its relatively modest scale, said it expected to gain more customers by offering Anyscale’s software. Anyscale would continue to operate under its brand and serve its existing customers, the companies said. Its team of about 200 people across the United States, Europe and India will join Nscale as part of the acquisition.
£13.8m
£165m
When combined with a new dividend policy that returns more of that cash to shareholders then the shares, which are nearing multi-year lows, begin to look attractive.
£24.3m
£171m
£24m
£173m
The Aim-listed soft drinks maker reported solid first-half trading. Revenue was up 4.7 per cent to £89.5 million, and pre-tax profits were up 32 per cent to £15 million, leaving management confident to lift the interim dividend by 34.7 per cent to 20.2p, payable on September 11 and going ex-dividend on August 6. They also loosened the purse strings by changing the earnings cover on the dividend from two times to one and a half times, which will increase future payouts.
£29.2m
£175m
Source: FactSet
Nscale did not disclose the financial terms of the deal but Bloomberg, which first reported the acquisition, said the price was about $1.65 billion. Nscale’s backers include Nvidia, and the UK government has put the startup, founded in 2024, at the heart of its plans to “mainline AI” into Britain’s economy. It says it “designs, builds, owns and operates data centres, GPU [graphics processing unit] infrastructure and AI services for some of the most important technology companies globally”.
The shares have fallen a long way since their 2017 peak of £19. The company was hit by a sharp rise in import taxes in the Middle East on sugary drinks at the end of 2019. Rising wages and cost inflation have also compressed the pre-tax profit margin from a peak of 24 per cent a decade ago to 16.8 per cent in June.
£36m
£184m
2026 revenue and pre-tax profit is an Investec estimate Source: Nichols
2022 23 24 25 26
The sales in this region, which contribute 7 per cent of the group total, are heavily weighted to the second half.
ADVICE Buy WHY Record cash levels can fund growth or be returned to shareholders, which seems to have been overlooked
The UK is still the largest part of the business, where the brand is second only to Robinson’s, contributing 75 per cent of total sales. Here progress was more muted, up just 2.3 per cent, but it is hoped that tying in the Vimto flavour with new markets such as Myprotein powders, and energy gels and electrolyte tablets from Applied Nutrition, will boost sales.
With full-year pre-tax profit forecast at £36 million, giving 72.5p in earnings per share, then the shares trading on 14 times earnings and near decade lows are now at a significant discount to the ten-year average earnings ratio of 20 times.
The business has an asset-light model. It makes the concentrated Vimto syrup to a secret recipe in the UK and leaves the bottling, carbonation and distribution to local partners around the world. The results are being driven by shifting bottling from a plant in Spain to a new bottling partner in Senegal, with another new facility in Ivory Coast due by the end of the year.
in the group with a 17.2 per cent jump in sales when compared to the same period last year; it contributed 13 per cent of the group total for the full year.
A London-listed marketing company backed by Lord Ashcroft has made a revised offer for a British rival and doubled the cash element. Brave Bison, which trades on the Aim, has issued a formal bid of £43.1 million for System1, which would mean investors receiving 2.04 new Brave Bison shares and 135p a share in cash. Under the previous proposal, rejected by System1, investors were offered 2.7553 new Brave Bison shares and 68p in cash for each share held. Brave Bison is backed by Ashcroft, the former Conservative Party deputy chairman, as well as News Corp, parent company of The Times. System1 has yet to respond.
True, Nichols is a risky bet, being Aim-listed and exposed to emerging markets — but a weaker dollar is providing a tailwind, as shown this week by results at Unilever. The hot summer in the UK should also help and hold the shares for two years. There is also the benefit of halving inheritance tax through business property relief, while collecting that chunky dividend income.
The high-sugar juice has been the unofficial drink to break the Ramadan fast, known as iftar, in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates for more than a century. Thankfully, with distribution through the Suez Canal and overland from Jeddah, Vimto distribution has been unaffected by the conflict in Iran.
Nichols also supplies direct to cinemas and restaurants. Out-ofhome sales has proved a challenging market after the pandemic and in the cost of living crisis. The Starslush iced drink brand that came through the 2015 acquisition of Noisy Drinks was axed last year; the focus is now
This new structure means the local African partner can pay lower import taxes, allowing it to buy more concentrate and freeing up cash to offer promotions to consumers. The African region is the fastest growing
The accounting watchdog is investigating KPMG’s auditing of the engineering consultancy John Wood Group. The Financial Reporting Council will examine the firm’s work for the 2023 financial year. Two individual accountants are also part of the inquiry in relation to the preparation of financial statements in Wood’s projects business unit and the communication with auditors. The Financial Conduct Authority has already fined Wood £13 million for inaccurate information in its 2022 and 2023 annual results and the interim one from 2024. Wood was bought by Sidara, a rival, in March.
market report
The damage caused by termites in America has wrought havoc with the finances of the London-listed Rentokil Initial, not to mention its share price (Charlotte Bend writes).
Indices bounced back from their midweek falls after Microsoft’s strong results suggested its huge spending on AI is translating into profits. Recent big AI-related fallers led the way, with Sandisk up 26 per cent and Micron Technology up 18.3 per cent. Microsoft stock gained 15.5 per cent. The Nasdaq rose 679.24 points, or 2.8 per cent, to 25,122.18 while the S&P 500 was up 121.48 points, or 1.7 per cent, at 7,437.63. The Dow Jones industrial average was 613.92 points, or 1.2 per cent, higher at 52,208.06.
The FTSE 100 constituent, once dubbed “the Queen’s rat catcher” for the royal warrants that it held, said yesterday it had set aside an additional $47 million provision to settle historical compensation claims relating to damage suffered to properties protected by Terminix, the US rival it bought for $6.7 billion in 2021. It takes the total the business has set aside to cover the claims to $392 million.
London Stock Exchange Group has sought to answer concerns about how artificial intelligence may impact its earnings by signing up hundreds of clients to its data platform. LSEG has been responding with its Model Context Protocol server, which connects technologies such as Anthropic’s Claude and Microsoft Copilot. The server allows AI agents to access LSEG’s financial data, and it has now engaged with more than 200 customers. The group beat forecasts for earnings before deductions, which rose by 16.7 per cent to £2.5 billion, while profit before tax increased 29 per cent to £1.3 billion.
Damage provision at its US acquisition Terminix sent Rentokil down 20 per cent
539p, while shares in Rio Tinto rose 159p, or 2.3 per cent, to £71.36.
afternoon the Footsie had been as high as 10,979.60, compared with the record close of 10,910.55 on February 27. At the end of trading it was down 11.14 points on the day, or 0.1 per cent, at 10,897.27.
Despite the additional termite hit, Rentokil reported a decent set of halfyear results with revenue up 6.7 per cent to $3.6 billion, from $3.4 billion in the same period a year ago, and an 18.4 per cent rise in pre-tax profit to $263 million. Investors were not impressed, however, and headed for the exit, sending the shares down 91¼p, or 20.6 per cent, to 352p, making it by far the biggest faller on the main index.
The day’s biggest movers
The surprise perhaps on the FTSE 250 is that it ended 82.33 points, or 0.3 per cent, higher at 24,079.14 even though recruiters had another bad day.
As is so often the case with the commodity-heavy FTSE 100, miners played their part on the positive side, this time on hopes of further stimulus for China’s economy and fears of supply constraints.
There have been signs recently that the recruitment sector was beginning to recover from a years-long slowdown. On yesterday’s evidence, investors still need convincing. Shares in Hays, the second-biggest faller on the more UKfocused index, were down 4¼p, or 6.7 per cent, at 60¼p and PageGroup was 9p, or 4.5 per cent, lower at 187¾p.
Antofagasta, the Chilean-focused miner, closed up 155p, or 4.4 per cent, at £37.04.Glencore was not too far behind with a gain of 18¼p, or 3.5 per cent, to
It would be unfair to blame Rentokil’s double-digit fall for the FTSE 100 closing in the red and narrowly missing out on a new record. But until late
Yld Sell Buy +/- %
Yld % Sell Buy +/-
Yld
Yld Sell Buy +/- %
Yld Sell Buy +/- %
Sell Buy +/-
Listen for free now
This is a paid for information service. For further details on a particular fund, readers should contact their fund manager.
Data provided by ICE. Data as shown is for information purposes only. No offer is made by ICE or this publication
EQUITY PRICES
12 month Price Forecast High Low Company (p) +/- Yld% P/E
12 month Price Forecast High Low Company (p) +/- Yld% P/E
12 month Price Forecast High Low Company (p) +/- Yld% P/E
12 month Price Forecast High Low Company (p) +/- Yld% P/E
Dividend yields Please note dividend yields are supplied by ICE Data Services. The yield is the sum of a company’s annual 12-month dividend payments divided by the last day’s closing share price. 12-month high and low High/low prices for UK equities and investment trusts are based on intra-day figures.
v v
v
v
v
v
v v
v
v v
12 month Price Forecast High Low Company (p) +/- Yld% P/E
12 month Price Forecast High Low Company (p) +/- Yld% P/E
v
v v
v v
v
v
v
v v
v v
v
v
v
v
v v
v
v v
v v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v v
v v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v v
v
v v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v v
v
v
v
v v
v
v
v
v v
v
v
v
v
v v
v
v v
v
v
v
v
v
v v
v v
v
v v
v
v
v v
v v
v
v
v v
v
v
PRICES
© 2021 Tradeweb Markets LLC. All rights reserved.re-distributed; The Tradeweb FTSE Gilt Closing Prices information contained herein is proprietary to Tradeweb; may not be copied or is not warranted to be accurate, complete or timely; and does not constitute investment advice. Tradeweb is not responsible for any loss or damage that might result from the use of this information.
12 month Price Forecast High Low Company (p) +/- Yld% P/E
12 month Price Forecast High Low Company (p) +/- Yld% P/E
12 month Price Forecast High Low Company (p) +/- Yld% P/E
12 month Price Forecast High Low Company (p) +/- Yld% P/E
12 month Price Forecast High Low Company (p) +/- Yld% P/E
12 month Price Forecast High Low Company (p) +/- Yld% P/E
v v
v v
v
v
v
v v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v v
v v
v v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v v
v
v
v v
v v
v
v
v v
v
v
v v
v v
v v
v
v v
v
v
v
v
v v
v
v
v
v v
v
v
v
v v
v
v
v
v v
v
v v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v v
v
v v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v v
v
v v
v
v
v
u
v v
s t
v v
v v
v
v
v
v v
v v
Base Rates Clearing Banks: 3.75% ECB Refi 2.40% Fed Fund 3.5-3.75% Halifax Mortgage Rate (SVR) 7.24%
Data provided by ICE. Data as shown is for information purposes only. No offer is made by ICE or this publication
UK can learn from overseas culture
In a global economy, managers don’t need to look far to pick up innovative ideas, as Jane Hamilton writes
Six from the best
With the summer holidays in full swing, Gavin Peck is playing his part to give children screen-free time. As chief executive of The Works, he is championing creativity and has transformed the business, stepping away from online shopping to refocus on thriving highstreet stores. Here is his advice for your career.
Research by the Chartered Management Institute shows nine in ten managers think the UK would benefit from learning about workplace cultures in other high-performing economies, while 85 per cent support the adoption of foreign management practices.
Petra Wilton, CMI director of policy, says: “Britain’s managers aren’t looking overseas because they think someone else has all the answers, they’re looking because the best leaders are always searching for new ideas. That’s how innovation spreads.”
Self-care isn’t just a buzzword: Leading by example means showing balance. Nothing in a
business is worth your health, family or missing any milestone moment.
Here are lessons the UK can learn from international management styles.
Model and believe in your purpose: Your work needs personal commitment, so it’s not just lip service —
Nordics: Niina Nurmi, associate professor of leadership at Aalto University in Finland, says: “Nordic organisations tend to rely heavily on employee autonomy, low organisational hierarchy and the expectation that people take responsibility without close supervision. Nordic leaders tend to focus on creating the conditions for others to succeed rather than directing every aspect of their work.”
you can’t support something that you don’t live by yourself.
You don’t have all the answers: Leaders build trust by how they act when the way forward isn’t clear.
Honesty, humility and collaboration will get you the answer you need.
South Korea: June Lee, an entrepreneur, says: “Korean workplaces share a similar language and culture, so operate on a ‘common sense’ which doesn’t need to be spelled out. That keeps the cost of alignment low. Korea is genuinely strong at flexibility and experimentation. There’s also the principle that efficiency should come from removing friction rather than adding pressure.”
Trying to be everything to everyone doesn’t work: Focus on what you’re good at. Be proud of your
strengths and invest in scaling them.
‘We can connect them all to one goal’
think about how you align people who work so differently around a single goal. It really comes down to connecting them to one shared goal.
people reading the exact same signal completely differently. Silence in a meeting could mean agreement, disagreement, or just uncertainty.
Case study
Progress over perfection: Nothing gets fixed overnight, so don’t expect it from yourself or your team.
J
une Lee is the founder of the global team collaboration platform
Little wins make a difference to results and culture over a sustained time.
United States: Gordon M Sayre is associate professor of management at Emlyon business school in France. He says: “Managers and firms in the US often prioritise immediacy, short-term results and innovation, and are always looking for the next big idea. This lends itself to an ‘always-on’ culture. Employees can respond quickly to a crisis or rapidly changing technology, which is key to staying competitive.”
“Mixing cultures and people who work in different ways, with different priorities, means we all end up learning from each other.”
“While working in London, I noticed people from a huge range of nationalities working together on the same team, and it made me
Own your journey:
Morningmate.
Honesty about what made you a leader is worth more to your team than
He said: “The hardest thing to bridge in international management styles is
pretending everything has always been smooth sailing.
energy to food security, because it has never had the luxury of assuming stability. The UK optimised for efficiency in a world it assumed would stay predictable, and has paid for it repeatedly.”
Appointment of the week
China: Coral McConnon, author of The Breakthrough Brain, spent several years working in China. She says: “China is spectacularly agile, and there is a sense of urgency and purpose, and a willingness to experiment in the corporate environment that, possibly because of China’s scale of opportunity and the pace of change, can be missing in the UK. China has a hunger to learn alongside curiosity and ambition.”
Kirsty McManus, director of professional development services at the Institute of Directors, says boards should view different management approaches as “valuable sources of insight”. Here’s how to learn from global management.
also on being able to integrate them into a coherent and effective approach to leadership. Embrace international learning: Combine the strengths of different management cultures. Invest in your managers, not management hacks: Chartered Management Institute data shows 82 per cent of UK managers have never had formal management training. The highestperforming
organisations invest in their managers, giving them the technical and people skills to lead. Get out of your bubble: Multinational and exporting firms tend to be better managed because they’re constantly learning from new markets, customers and competitors. Get 1 per cent better every week: The strongest cultures are built on continuous improvement.
Germany: Ansgar Richter is professor of corporate strategy, organisation and governance at Frankfurt School of Finance & Management. He says: “German organisations place a strong emphasis on careful preparation, technical expertise and clearly defined processes. Decisions may take longer but, once made, implementation may be more disciplined and consistent. German organisations often invest patiently in capabilities, processes and skills that may not deliver immediate returns but create sustainable competitive advantage over time.”
The Solicitors Regulation Authority is seeking an executive director for market risk, data and insights.
As the regulator of solicitors and law firms in England and Wales, the SRA oversees more than 200,000 solicitors and 9,000 firms.
The Middle East: Alain Bejjani led the giant retailer Majid Al Futtaim, managing 110 nationalities. He is now the author ofNext: Leading Through the New Realities. He says: “The biggest thing the UK can learn is resilience by design. The Gulf builds redundancy into everything, from supply chains to
Reporting directly to the chief executive and as a member of the executive team, the appointee will provide strategic leadership across the market risk, data management, analytics, insight and research functions. The role will ensure that the SRA is intelligence-led, evidencebased and proactive in identifying and responding to emerging risks.
Develop the ability to bridge different management cultures: Success depends not only on understanding those differences but
Working week
The postholder will oversee the development of advanced analytical and research capabilities, providing high-quality insight to inform priorities and performance.
A new professional development programme bridges the “readiness gap” between today’s leaders and the next generation. Devised by the executive search firm Holmes Noble and MRA Executive Coaching, The Ascent brings together chief executives from FTSE and private businesses as founding mentors, enabling participants to learn through CEO lunches, panel discussions, boardroom simulations and podcasts.
With more staff bringing in packed lunches to beat the cost of living crisis, theft from the office fridge is growing. One in five employees say they have had food or drinks stolen at work, a survey found, while one in ten admit to taking items from a shared office fridge that did not belong to them. Milk and dairy products are the items most likely to disappear, followed by snacks such as crisps, confectionery and chocolate.
Artificial intelligence is supposed to speed up workplace efficiency, yet 88 per cent of British IT decisionmakers say managing AI complexity has increased their team’s workload. Freshworks, the software firm, found IT teams now spend about a quarter of their AI-related working time troubleshooting. The firm called it a “complexity tax”, with a third of UK decision-makers saying AI complexity is “a very significant issue”.
Mid-market businesses could ease the youth unemployment crisis. Research from BDO, the advisory firm, shows 83 per cent are hiring for entry-level roles within the next six months, with 36 per cent recruiting for permanent entry-level positions that do not require a degree, while 32 per cent plan to take on entry-level graduates. Richard Austin, a BDO partner, said: “The mid-market already plays an outsize role in the UK labour market.”
The successful candidate will bring leadership experience gained within a regulator, regulated sector or similar complex environment, alongside a strong track record of leading market risk, data, insight, research or intelligence functions that informed organisational decision-making.
Apply by August 25 at appointments.thetimes.com
The National Data Guardian for Health and Care
Chair – Human Tissue Authority (HTA)
The Minister for Health Innovation and Safety is seeking an exceptional individual to serve as the next National Data Guardian (NDG) for Health and Care.
The Secretary of State for Health and Social Care is looking to appoint a new Chair of the Human Tissue Authority (HTA).
This is a unique opportunity to infl uence how health and care data is used across England at a pivotal moment for the NHS, social care and the wider health system. As advances in technology, data science and artifi cial intelligence continue to transform healthcare, the NDG plays a critical role in ensuring that innovation is underpinned by public trust, transparency and the highest standards of confi dentiality and security.
HTA is a statutory body which regulates organisations that remove, store and use human tissue for research, medical treatment, post-mortem examination, education and training, and display in public. It also oversees approval for living organ donation. Its overarching aim is to protect public and professional confi dence in the safe and ethical use of human tissue.
The National Data Guardian is the independent champion for patients and the public on matters relating to the use, protection and sharing of health and adult social care information. The NDG provides trusted advice, guidance and challenge to government, the NHS, social care organisations and the wider health and care system, helping to ensure that confi dential information is safeguarded while enabling its responsible use to improve services, patient outcomes and research.
As Chair of HTA you will be responsible for providing strategic leadership and challenge to ensure the HTA delivers its statutory functions effectively and aligns with Government priorities. Working closely with the Chief Executive and Authority members, they foster stakeholder confi dence, oversee organisational performance and transformation, support member development, and advise DHSC on Authority effectiveness and performance.
Created in 2014 and established in law by the Health and Social Care (National Data Guardian) Act 2018, the role carries signifi cant infl uence across the health and care landscape. The NDG has statutory powers to issue offi cial guidance on the processing of health and adult social care data in England, to which public bodies and organisations delivering NHS and publicly funded adult social care services must have regard.
The successful candidate will provide visible national leadership on some of the most complex and important issues facing health and care today. They will engage with senior leaders across government, the NHS, social care, academia, industry and the voluntary sector, helping to shape policy and practice at a time when the opportunities presented by data have never been greater.
Applicants will have a strong career track record of signifi cant delivery and leadership at a senior level within the private, public or voluntary sectors. You will have the ability to lead the board of a national public body, delivering robust governance and accountability, and developing executive and board performance. You will have sound judgement, with an ability to critically analyse a wide range of information and make evidence-based, strategic decisions. You will have excellent communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to lead an organisation through change and improvement.
We are looking for a respected and infl uential leader with a strong track record of operating at a senior level and delivering impact in complex environments within the private, public or voluntary sectors. You will bring extensive experience of the secure and ethical use of sensitive health data, together with a deep understanding of the evolving technologies that underpin modern health and care services.
You will possess excellent judgement, independence and credibility, with the ability to infl uence, challenge and build consensus across a diverse range of stakeholders. Outstanding communication and interpersonal skills are essential, as is the ability to connect with patients and the public while engaging effectively with leaders across government and the health and care system.
The Chair cannot have or have had a professional interest in any of the kinds of activity within the remit of the Human Tissue Authority.
Remuneration will be £42,000 per annum for a time commitment of two to three days a week. The Secretary of State for Health and Social Care will determine the length of appointment, which may be for up to a maximum of 3 years.
Above all, you will be committed to ensuring that the responsible use of data improves outcomes for patients and citizens, while maintaining public confi dence in how personal information is used and protected.
This is an exceptional opportunity to help shape the future of health and care data in England and make a lasting contribution to the wellbeing of citizens.
For more information, please visit the Public Appointments website: http://publicappointments.cabinetoffi ce.gov.uk/8833 If you require an alternative format please call Ralph Cabrega on 0113 254 5481 or Rachael Gingell on 0207 484 9424 quoting the reference VAC-8833.. The closing date for applications is midday on Wednesday, 16 September 2026.
Remuneration will be £63,000 per annum for a time commitment of 3.5 days per week. The Secretary of State for Health and Social Care determine the length of appointment, which may be for up to a maximum of 3 years.
For more information, please visit the Public Appointments website: https://apply-for-public-appointment.service.gov.uk/roles/9039
If you require an alternative format, please call Karen Dinsdale on 0113 254 5625 or Ben Jones on 0113 254 6557 quoting the reference VAC-9039.
The Department of Health and Social Care values and promotes diversity. We encourage applications from talented individuals from all backgrounds and across the whole of the United Kingdom. Boards of public bodies are most effective when they refl ect the diversity of views of the society they serve.
The closing date for applications is midday on Tuesday, 01 September 2026.
The Department of Health and Social Care values and promotes diversity. We encourage applications from talented individuals from all backgrounds and across the whole of the United Kingdom. Boards of public bodies are most effective when they refl ect the diversity of views of the society they serve.
Lead TrustMark Through a Critical Next Chapter Strategic Leadership | Commercial Resilience | Transformation | Stakeholder Confi dence | Entrepreneurial & Commercially Astute
Are you ready to lead a purpose-driven national organisation through its next phase of growth, transformation and industry infl uence?
pace and clarity, inspiring confi dence internally while strengthening TrustMark’s impact across the sector.
Leadership Style We’re looking for a leader who is:
What You’ll Be Responsible For: Strategic Leadership and Direction
Do you combine commercial acumen with a genuine commitment to consumer protection, quality standards and long-term societal impact?
You will lead TrustMark’s strategic evolution, working closely with the Board to shape a clear, ambitious and commercially sustainable future.
Can you inspire and empower senior leaders and colleagues, infl uence stakeholders at the highest levels, demonstrate an entrepreneurial approach, and balance public-interest objectives with commercial sustainability?
The Secretary of State for Health and Social Care is looking to appoint the fi rst Chair of the Adult Social Care Negotiating Body (ASCNB). This is a new independent public body being set up by the Department of Health and Social Care. The Body will negotiate the fi rst ever Fair Pay Agreement for the adult social care workforce and agreements thereafter on an annual basis.
Commercial Growth and Financial Sustainability
You will drive the commercial agenda, strengthening TrustMark’s fi nancial position while protecting its purpose and credibility.
TrustMark is seeking an exceptional Chief Executive Offi cer to lead the organisation through a period of change, challenge and renewed focus.
Executive Leadership and Culture
You will bring visible, energising leadership to the organisation, creating momentum and confi dence through change.
The Chair will provide overall leadership of the ASCNB, building consensus among members and overseeing delivery of its annual programme to agreed timescales. They will act as the public and in-government representative, reporting to the Secretary of State and communicating key decisions to DHSC and the wider sector. The Chair will oversee the development and implementation of the Terms of Reference, ensuring effective governance and accountability. They will facilitate inclusive negotiations between trade unions and employer representatives on the ASCNB, to secure an affordable, sustainable agreement that improves pay and conditions, chairing meetings to ensure all perspectives, including local government, self-funders and the NHS, are considered.
This high-profi le role calls for a commercially astute, credible and resilient leader who can balance publicinterest responsibilities with commercial sustainability, strengthen organisational confi dence and engage effectively with colleagues, partners, industry and government stakeholders.
Governance, Board Engagement and Risk
You will work effectively with an infl uential Board, combining strong executive leadership with sound governance and judgement.
External Leadership and Stakeholder Infl uence
About TrustMark
TrustMark is the only UK Government-endorsed quality scheme for home improvements ranging from kitchen and bathroom installations through to energy effi ciency and low carbon measures and most things in-between.
You will act as TrustMark’s principal ambassador, strengthening its voice, infl uence and reputation across the sector.
About You:
Why Join TrustMark? This is a rare opportunity to lead a nationally recognised organisation at a pivotal moment in its evolution.
As a not-for-profi t organisation, TrustMark exists to drive quality, confi dence and consumer protection across the industry while supporting the long-term development of a safer, more sustainable built environment.
You will be a commercially astute, purpose-driven and transformational executive leader with the confi dence, credibility and judgement to lead TrustMark through a signifi cant period of change.
As Chair you will have a strong career track record of signifi cant delivery and leadership at a senior level within the private, public or voluntary sectors. You will have the ability to lead the board of a national public body, delivering robust governance and accountability, and developing executive and board performance. You will have sound judgement, with an ability to critically analyse a wide range of information and make evidence-based, strategic decisions. You will have excellent communication and interpersonal skills, and an understanding of the role of pay and reward in motivation, recruitment and retention amongst a workforce, and the constraints that can impact on pay awards. A knowledge and understanding of the adult social care system and/or experience of employment negotiations and industrial relations would be desirable.
You may come from construction, retrofi t, energy effi ciency, home improvement, the wider built environment or another regulated, consumer-focused sector. Experience from fi nancial services or another highly regulated environment may also be relevant, particularly where it has involved consumer protection, risk, compliance, digital platforms or public trust.
Operating at the intersection of government, industry and consumers, TrustMark helps strengthen standards, improve trust and create positive outcomes across the home improvement, construction, energy effi ciency and retrofi t sectors.
As the UK continues to focus on housing quality, energy effi ciency, consumer protection and retrofi t delivery, TrustMark has a signifi cant opportunity to strengthen its role as a trusted national scheme and industry partner.
You will be entrepreneurial, practical and solutionsfocused, with the ability to operate in a fl uid policy and commercial environment. You will be comfortable with ambiguity, able to make decisions at pace and capable of balancing opportunity with appropriate governance and risk management.
We are now seeking a visionary, commercially minded and people-focused CEO to lead TrustMark forward, ensuring the organisation continues to deliver on its public-interest mission while building a resilient and fi nancially sustainable future.
Remuneration will be £550 per day for a time commitment of approximately 20 working days per year. The Secretary of State for Health and Social Care will determine the length of appointment, which may be for up to a maximum of 3 years..
This is an exceptional opportunity for a visionary and commercially minded leader seeking a role where purpose and performance go hand in hand.
Just as importantly, you will be a visible and people-focused leader who can generate energy, build confi dence and bring people with you.
For more information, please visit the Public Appointments website: http://publicappointments.cabinetoffi ce.gov.uk/9406 If you require an alternative format, please call Karen Dinsdale on 0113 254 5625 or Rachael Gingell on 0207 4849424 quoting the reference VAC-9406.. The closing date for applications is midday on Monday, 24 August 2026.
The Opportunity
Reporting to the Board, the CEO will lead TrustMark through its next challenging transformation and allow the individual to build and develop an exciting future for TrustMark.
Naturally, whilst we’d be keen to speak to candidates from construction, retrofi t, energy, home improvement, or the wider built environment sector, we’re also excited to hear from leaders across all sectors
If you have the leadership presence, commercial acumen and ambition to shape TrustMark’s next chapter, we’d love to hear from you.
This is a high-profi le leadership role requiring a commercially minded and purpose-driven executive who can navigate complex stakeholder environments, drive organisational change and build long-term sustainability.
Application Email: 20237.RR@applybe.com
What You’ll Bring Essential:
Application notice... We take your privacy seriously. As you might expect you may be contacted by email, text or telephone. Your data is processed by our talent partner RR (Recruitment Revolution) on the basis of their legitimate interests in fulfi lling the recruitment process. Please refer to their Data Privacy Policy & Notice on their website for further details.
As TrustMark’s principal ambassador, you will build trusted relationships across government, industry, regulators and commercial partners, ensuring the organisation remains infl uential, relevant and positioned for future growth.
The Department of Health and Social Care values and promotes diversity. We encourage applications from talented individuals from all backgrounds and across the whole of the United Kingdom. Boards of public bodies are most effective when they refl ect the diversity of views of the society they serve.
This is an opportunity for a leader who can bring vision,
LIMITED TIME OFFER!
NOW ONLY
£50 OFF
normal price
£349.99
36VMAX POWER 40cm LAWNMOWER & 33cm GRASS TRIMMER
STARTER KIT INCLUDES:
WITHOUT PETROL
(RLM36X41H60GLT33A)
GRASS CATCHER
FREE GRASS TRIMMER WORTH
CUTS UP TO
2
5
PLUS FREE DELIVERY TO GB MAINLAND ONLY †further restrictions apply
CUTTING HEIGHTS
CUTTING WIDTH
CUTTING WIDTH
THERYOBI® V MAXPOWER CORDLESS SYSTEM INCORPORATES THE MOST ADVANCED MOTOR TECHNOLOGY, ELECTRONICS & BATTERY PERFORMANCE TO TACKLE ALL GARDEN TASKS.
SAVETIME,MONEY AND THE ENVIRONMENT
ORDER NOW
just£349.99including FREE GBmainland delivery
VISIT www.ryobitools.co.uk/press OR SCAN TO SHOP NOW
Phone lines open: 8am – 8pm (Mon-Sun)
Subject to availability. *Registration required for guarantee extension from 2 – 3 years. Register within 30 days of receipt of goods at RyobiTools.co.uk. †Free 3-5 day delivery to GB Mainland only. NI & Scottish Highlands charged at £5.99. Restricted delivery postcodes: IM,JE,GY,TR2. Your right to cancel will last for 14 days after receipt of goods. If you change your mind during this period, provided the goods remain unused & in original packaging, you can notify us of cancellation. Product sold by Techtronic Industries (UK) Limited, company registration: GB 551396338. All rights reserved. For full terms & conditions of sale please visit RyobiTools.co.uk. RYOBI is a Trade Mark of Ryobi Limited, and is used under license. Trustpilot score correct as of May 2026.
Social services inspector behind the Children Act Lord Laming Page 52
Obituaries
Abdul Ahad Momand
First and only Afghan sent into space in 1988 as a Soviet propaganda stunt in the last years of the USSR’s war in his country
ROSCOSMOS
for many years to come, and though Momand briefly served as the deputy minister of civil aviation, when the Soviet-backed government finally collapsed in 1992 — and Islamic mujahidin groups began crowding in — he sought political asylum in Germany, where he remained. As one of the most famous faces of the communist era, Momand would have been a target.
Abdul Ahad Momand was a young boy living in a village south of Kabul when Yuri Gagarin, the Soviet cosmonaut, travelled to Afghanistan to give a talk. It was 1961 and Gagarin was on an international goodwill tour after his historic Vostok 1 spaceflight that year. “In his speech, he said: ‘There will come a day, not far away, when an Afghan will travel to space’,” recalled Momand. “If someone had told me then, ‘You’ll be the first Afghan in space’, I wouldn’t believe them, because at that time it wasn’t possible.”
Momand was born in 1959 into a peasant family living in Sardeh Band, a town in the Ghazni Province, 100 miles south of Kabul (according to the Daily Telegraph, he never knew his birthday and there are no official records). As a boy he had dreams of becoming a pilot. “Sometimes planes would appear overhead,” he said, “and I would think how great it would be if I could fly.”
That Momand went to space almost three decades later, in 1988 — the first and only Afghan to do so, three years before Britain’s first astronaut, Helen Sharman — was a quirk of Cold War politics. Sending Momand on the Soyuz TM-6 spacecraft alongside the Soviet commander Vladimir Lyakhov and the doctor Valery Polyakov was something of a propaganda stunt in the closing acts of a gruelling, deeply unpopular
Afghanistan was then in a period of relative stability and progress, ruled by a constitutional monarch, King Mohammad Zahir Shah, who ushered in what is often called the country’s “golden age”. When Momand moved to Kabul aged 16 it was a liberal, cosmopolitan city; after high school he attended the capital’s polytechnic university.
Momand was a pilot with the Afghan air force when in 1987 the Soviet Union and the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan made a deal under the Interkosmos programme, a Soviet initiative that launched pilots from socialist states in the eastern bloc, as well as allies including Cuba, Vietnam and Syria. The space race between America and the USSR had, by the 1980s, morphed into a theatre for soft power and alliance-building.
Momand applied straight away. The selection committee were looking for highly skilled pilots with Soviet-style training who had proven themselves loyal in combat; Momand had doggedly fought the mujahidin and trained at specialised aviation academies near Moscow and in Kyiv. He was selected out of some 400 applicants, beating his closest rival, Mohammad Dauran, who held higher rank and had stronger political ties, partly because Dauran suddenly got appendicitis. “I did not have any acquaintances in the government or the politburo,” Momand said. “I
After the Soviet-aligned People’s Democratic party seized power in 1978, Momand was drafted into the army. He received aviation training in the Soviet Union before joining the air force as a fighter pilot in 1981 after the USSR had invaded Afghanistan to prop up the ailing communist regime. Most of his missions in the 1980s involved airstrikes against mujahidin insurgents.
phere. Polyakov remained on the station for another 240 days. They were suspended in space for a nailbiting 25 hours, confined to a cramped compartment with no food and water, depleting oxygen supplies and no way of going to the bathroom. The men passed the time telling each other jokes.
Momand inside the Mir space station in 1988 and, left, alongside his fellow cosmonaut Vladimir Lyakhov, with whom he formed a close friendship, founded on shared humour
In time he was promoted to the rank of captain and chief navigator at Bagram Air Base. It was there that he met his wife, Zulfara, the daughter of one of his senior officers. They had two daughters and a son. All survive him.
When Momand and his family first moved to Germany, he found work at the Institute for Cosmological Research at the University of Stuttgart. He later worked in printing and as an accountant. “The former cosmonaut and pilot never managed to get back into his old profession; he now does a job that does not excite him, one he even refuses to talk about,” wrote Daniel Schäfer in the Financial Times in 2011. “In his tidy house, only a painted picture depicting the cosmos, a poster about a conference in the early 1990s on outer space in Norway and a small metal model of a Soyuz TM aluminium capsule act as a reminder of a long-gone life.”
Momand recalled that they had been “exactly two seconds away” from being permanently marooned in space: a second computer malfunction resulted in a 60-second countdown to jettison the fuel and batteries needed to transport them back to Earth. He had been trained not to disturb Lyakhov in flight, but when Momand noticed the countdown he pointed it out to Lyakhov, who quickly stopped it.
this height, and with the naked eye I can’t see a tank.’”
Momand had grown up with no accurate map of Afghanistan and later spoke about how the spaceflight helped him to draw one.
When the pair finally returned to the Earth on September 7, 1988, they were sanguine. “It was nothing in particular, just a normal descent,” said the mildmannered, moustachioed Momand while sitting outside their capsule, swarmed by reporters. “We were in autopilot, there was some g-force. We had to wait for 24 hours, but it happens.” To his commander, Momand said with a smile, “Don’t fly for a fourth time. Allah won’t forgive you for it.”
At the request of the Afghan government, Momand also read a prayer from the Quran, the first person to do so from space. The move was partly to signal that the government was not atheist and anti-Islamic, as the mujahidin fighters often tried to claim. “Ahad put on a skullcap to do it,’’ recalled his crewmate Vladimir Lyakhov in an interview with the BBC in 2014. “He was being filmed from below, and I was just out of the shot, hanging on to his legs to stop him floating off.”
Up in space, he felt a considerable weight on his shoulders, a responsibility “on behalf of Afghanistan and the Afghan people”, he said. “As an Afghan I was going to space to represent them and I felt that.” As a fighter pilot he had been loyal to the Afghan government, and by proxy the Soviets, but once in orbit he decided to turn his historic mission into a plea for peace, triggered in part by the beauty and harmony of Earth as seen from the small porthole of the Mir.
Afghanistan also seemed long gone, though Momand remained a respected figure in his native country. He returned just once in 2013, on the 25th anniversary of the space mission, when he was met by President Karzai and read aloud the same message of peace he had decades earlier.
place the following year, but launching Momand into space was tied up in the delicate timing of the war and they wanted him off the ground before withdrawing Soviet troops completely. The preparation for the mission lasted just six months — a fraction of the amount of time usually required — but on August 29, 1988, the cosmonauts left Kazakhstan in a rocket headed for Mir, the world’s first continuously inhabited space station 230 miles above Earth.
Back in Afghanistan, Momand was treated to a hero’s welcome. Najibullah’s government highlighted his mission as an example of national unity during the troop withdrawal, which concluded in February 1989, and he was awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union and the Order of Lenin, the highest honours for Soviet cosmonauts.
After he died, his remains were repatriated to Kabul, where officials in the de facto Taliban government held a public funeral and celebrated his historic 1988 mission as an enduring symbol of national achievement.
The pair struck up a close friendship, founded on shared humour; Lyakhov recalled how they would spend their 90 minutes on the exercise bike looking out of the small window: “Someone said, ‘Look we’re just flying over Canada, so if you keep going until Canada comes round again, then you’ll have done a complete circuit.’”
In a phone call with President Najibullah, broadcast on state-run Soviet TV in Momand’s native Pashto, he urged his fellow countrymen to stop fighting one another. “Take your neighbour by the hand, lay down your arms,’’ he said. “Let’s solve our problems through dialogue.’’ From his vantage point, he later reflected, the violence carving up Afghanistan was invisible: “My message to all peoples, nations and Afghans was, ‘I see a peaceful Afghanistan from
“Looking down on the Earth, I felt so honoured to live there,” said Momand in a BBC World Service documentary in 2020. “It’s so beautiful.”
Over the nine-day mission, Momand took photographs of remote areas of his country to determine which regions were rich with natural resources of oil and gas — USSR officials said it was designed to boost the Afghan economy as well as areas prone to earthquakes.
Afghanistan’s government awarded him the equivalent honour, but the day Momand returned to Kabul a barrage of rockets hit the city. Withdrawing Soviet troops did little to assuage the violence that would besiege the country
The friendly rapport came in handy when, on their return home, intense sunlight caused a computer glitch and the two cosmonauts had to abort their first attempt to re-enter the atmos-
Abdul Ahad Momand, cosmonaut, was born in 1959. He died of cancer on June 21, 2026, aged 66 or 67
52 Friday July 31 2026 | the times
Former social services inspector whose inquiry into the death of Victoria Climbié ultimately led to the Children Act 2004
SHUTTERSTOCK EDITORIAL
which he retired in 1998. He took a life peerage the same year, having been appointed CBE in 1985 and knighted in 1996. He served as convener of the crossbench peers from 2011 to 2015. In 1962 he married Aileen Pollard, who died in 2010.
The inquiry determined that at least 12 crucial opportunities to save Victoria had been missed. In his assessment, Laming urged that blame be directed not towards the “often hapless” frontline workers but towards those who had left them underfunded, undertrained and understaffed. From his own background in probation, he knew what the front lines of social care were like: “It is very demanding work, it is tough work and therefore the staff need to be specially trained to do that work.”
Lord Laming opened his report on the Victoria Climbié inquiry with a quote from Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s The Little Prince: “I have suffered too much grief in setting down these heartrending memories. If I try to describe him, it is to make sure that I shall not forget him.”
In the years following the Victoria Climbié inquiry and its 2008 review, Laming was dismayed to see some of his recommendations and reforms dismantled by the government’s austerity programme, including the Every Child Matters framework. Increasingly, agencies were abandoning preventative measures and becoming crisisdriven services. “Sometimes, frankly,
It was Laming’s hope that the painstakingly assembled 400-page report would prevent the world from forgetting Victoria and what was done to her. Certainly, he never would. “The pain of what happened to Victoria is always present,” he said. “The missed opportunities and the failure to protect her was something that weighed incredibly with me.”
Laming’s final report made 108 recommendations, many of which were then introduced into law by the Children Act 2004. It led to the establishment of a children’s commissioner in England and local safeguarding children’s boards across England and Wales, as well as “Every Child Matters”, Labour’s child protection and welfare programme. “The best we can hope for from the terrible ordeal suffered by
it’s too late then,” he said. In 2025 he confessed he found it difficult to read about new cases that resembled those of Victoria
Originally from Ivory Coast, Victoria was eight when she died after months of torture and abuse by her great-aunt and her great-aunt’s boyfriend. The details of the case were appalling: Victoria had been starved, beaten and bound in bags full of excrement by her supposed caregivers. She died of hypothermia and multiple organ failure in 2000.
and Peter. “In recent years I’ve tried to resist reading them because I find them dispiriting,” Laming said.
A memorial to Baby P. In the light of his death, Laming, right, was asked to review his 2003 Victoria Climbié report
ous parole meetings in silence, suddenly revealed a remarkable talent for arithmetic. Laming found him a job at a supermarket warehouse, where he amazed the managers. “He will never know how much he taught me,” Laming admitted. “We must never be satisfied taking things at face value, never be satisfied with writing people off.”
William Herbert Laming was born in Newcastle in 1936 to William and Lillian (née Robson) Laming. After leaving school at 15 without qualifications, he worked odd jobs and undertook his National Service with the Royal Navy. One afternoon, while Laming was returning to his ship after a period of leave, his train broke down and he got talking to the man sitting next to him, a senior magistrate on his way to a probation committee meeting. A few weeks later, Laming received a letter inviting him to meet a chief probation officer (CPO) to whom he had been recommended.
Laming’s inquiry revealed that at least 12 chances to save Victoria were missed
What particularly disturbed Laming, who had previously served as chief inspector of the Social Services Inspectorate, was that in the months preceding Victoria’s death the state had been given every opportunity to save her. “Victoria was not hidden away,” he said. She was known to three housing authorities, four social services departments, two police child protection teams, an NSPCC centre and two hospitals. “The dreadful reality was that these services knew little or nothing more about Victoria at the end of the process than they did when she was first referred,” Laming wrote. Haringey social services had formally closed Victoria’s case on the very day she died.
“That might seem rather cowardly.”
Nonetheless, Laming continued pushing
Victoria, who was brought to this country for a better life, is that this report is the last of its kind,” Laming said.
for safer futures for children and offering guidance
on how they might be achieved. “The greatest thing one has is an ability to listen, to see, to observe,” he told an interviewer in 2020. “This is the model that I think we’ve got to have going forward: to break down the silos, break down the organisational boundaries and say we’re interested in this human being, this family, these children.” Despite its difficulties, and its exacting emotional toll, he never regretted the path his career had taken. “I would absolutely do it again,” he said. “My career has given me more than I have been able to give it.”
This wish, sadly, was not granted. In 2008 Laming was asked to produce a review of his report in light of the death of the 17-month-old Peter Connelly. Peter, referred to by the press as “Baby P”, had been seen at least 60 times by social workers, doctors and police before he was found dead in his cot.
Laming was hastened up the parole office’s hierarchy by his CPO. At first, he tried turning the promotions down. “I’d tell him I wasn’t suited to do that work, and he’d ask if I was doubting his professional judgment,” Laming recalled. “‘Good heavens, no,’ I’d reply, and I’d be told to get on with it.”
Under the guidance of this CPO, and others “committed to social mobility”, Laming enrolled in a series of correspondence courses and evening classes, and was eventually admitted into Durham University, where he earned a diploma in applied social studies in 1960. The following year he took a job as a probation officer in Nottinghamshire.
Laming’s review noted that many of the legislative changes spurred by his 2003 report had failed to trickle down to the front lines of social care. “We’re very good at producing legislation miles of legislation,” Laming said. “I think we are not good at ensuring that that legislation is taken forward and implemented at a local level. If it doesn’t make a difference on a housing estate in Preston, what’s the point of it?”
Laming was appointed to lead the government inquiry into Victoria’s death in 2001. What followed was the most extensive investigation of Britain’s child protection systems in the country’s history and the first to simultaneously investigate the roles of social services, the NHS and the police.
In 1971 he moved to Hertfordshire and four years later he was promoted to director of social services for the county. In 1991 he joined the Department of Health as chief inspector of the Social Services Inspectorate, a role from
Laming fondly recalled one of his earliest cases: an inarticulate 17-yearold who, after sitting through numer-
Lord Laming, social worker, was born on July 19, 1936. He died on July 15, 2026, aged 89
Irish singer who achieved overnight screen fame and won an Oscar for Once but wrestled with the trappings of stardom
Falling Slowly and several other songs that appeared in Once. Irglova moved in to Hansard’s Dublin flat, although by 2009 he reported they were merely “good friends”.
recoiled from fame after his Oscar. “You’d imagine I’d have been full of light after winning but I went quite dark, drinking far too much,” he said.
After his misgivings about The Commitments he needed some persuading to agree to return to the screen for the 2007 drama Once alongside a teenaged Czech singer, Marketa Irglova, as a pair of struggling musicians in Dublin.
al favourite in a glittering directorial filmography that included Mississippi Burning, Midnight Express and Evita.
When Alan Parker arrived in Dublin in 1990 to cast his film based on Roddy Doyle’s novelThe Commitmentsabout a young Irish soul group of the same name, he auditioned 64 bands at tenminute intervals in the Waterfront nightclub on the Liffey quays.
But Hansard was more equivocal. Although the film put him on the map, he felt it a two-edged sword. A former busker, by the time he was cast as Outspan, he had already formed his own band, the Frames, who were building a following in Dublin’s pubs and clubs and had been signed by Island Records.
Bruce Springsteen put him straight one night which they spent drinking whisky. “He said that everything I had ever been in my life — that guy struggling against the world — had died the night we won the Oscar,” Hansard remembered. “I was in a different part of my life, a different suit and he said I should learn to embrace it and enjoy it.”
In 2022 he married Maire Saaritsa, a Finnish poet who survives him along with their three-year-old son, Christy.
But the director John Carney, once of the Frames, won him round with the promise of allowing Hansard, along with Irglova, to provide the music, including the song Falling Slowly, which they had co-written and was recorded for the Frames’ 2006 album The Cost.
He had somewhat rashly announced that he would “consider anyone who sang or played a musical instrument” — which turned out to include half of Dublin. To keep his word he ran an open audition to which more than 1,500 young Dubliners turned up “singing and playing everything from guitars to tin whistles, banjos to bagpipes”.
Glen James Hansard was born in 1970 in Dublin, the second of six children to Catholic parents, Catherine (née Cahill) and James Hansard. Before his teens he was “getting into trouble drinking, glue, the usual stuff” and quit school to become a busker, seemingly with the approval of his headmaster. “He guaranteed me that, while I might not become a rock star, if I stuck at it, I’d likely make a living from it,” Hansard recalled. “That was his job, he said — to help me make a living.”
He feared his screen character and the soul music covers he played in the film were blotting out the music he was making in real life, and he resented it. “When I went to England on my first tours people were saying, ‘You’re Outspan in The Commitments,’ ” he said, looking back on the occasion of the film’s 25th anniversary. “I was like, ‘Well, f*** Outspan and The Commitments — I’m here to play my music.’”
While shooting Once, Carney called Hansard and Irglova his “Bogart and Bacall” and predicted they would be-
The film was a low-budget triumph, winning the World Cinema Audience Award at the Sundance Festival while Falling Slowly won the Academy
come an item,
By the end Parker calculated that he had seen more than 3,000 hopefuls and from this vast army of talent emerged a ten-strong band consisting of four singers and six instrumentalists, among them Glen Hansard as Outspan Foster, the Commitments’ lead guitarist.
Award for best original song.Oncewas also adapted into a Broadway musical, winning eight Tony awards, although neither Hansard nor Irglova reprised their roles. Once again, though, Hansard
which
they duly did. “I had been falling
A former altar boy, while busking he was befriended by devotees of the Hare Krishna temple and considered joining them. His devotion to music won out but he continued to support their faith.
in love with her for
a long time, but I kept telling myself she’s just a kid,” said Hansard, who had known her since she
“We all felt a little burnt by the experience of too much, too young,” he said. “I witnessed not only myself but my dear friends kind of go off their rocker a little bit.”
Once the cast was in place, Hansard and his bandmates spent five weeks being put through their paces, with dramatic rehearsals in the mornings and music rehearsals in the afternoons. When Parker had drilled them to his satisfaction, the film took 53 days to shoot at 44 locations around Dublin.
He also stayed close to his roots and every year he led the Christmas Eve charity busk outside Gaiety Theatre in Dublin to raise funds for the homeless.
was 13. “There was definitely the feeling mak-
He eventually rediscovered his equilibrium and went on to record seven albums with the Frames, touring with the band as Bob Dylan’s support act and in 2022 playing a 30th anniversary concert, somewhat delayed by Covid, in front of 10,000 fans in Dublin. He also released several solo albums.
ing the film that we were documenting something precious and private.”
Released in 1991, The Commitments went on to win four Bafta awards and a Brit award for best soundtrack. The film was nominated by Parker as his person-
Glen Hansard, Irish singer-songwriter and guitarist, was born on April 21,
Hansard performing at Dublin Castle in 2002
They had recorded an album together, The Swell Season, which included a version of
have given away tens of millions to education, the arts, the NHS and the city of Aberdeen and are significant art collectors. To add to all that, he played rugby for the north of Scotland against the Springboks in 1969. He truly was a man for all seasons.
stated thatThe Sweeney, created by Ian Kennedy Martin (obituary, July 30), was an accurate portrait of serious crime squads.
JAGJIT KAUR (Recognition order)
Sir Edwin Jowitt
Bill Oddie
To book a Birth, Marriage or Death announcement in the Register, visit: newsukadvertising.co.uk for help, please call 020 7782 7553 or email BMDs@thetimes.co.uk
Notice is hereby given that it is ordered that the involuntary bankruptcy proceeding under Chapter 7 of the US Bankruptcy Code pursuant to a petition filed on 15 October 2025 in which on 19 November 2025 an order for relief was granted and Alfred T. Giuliano was appointed as trustee of the estate of the debtor, Jagjit Kaur, be recognised as a foreign main proceeding in accordance with the Uncitral Model Law on cross-border insolvency as set out in Schedule 1 to the Cross-Border Insolvency Regulations 2006. The order was made on 20 July 2026 and Mr Giuliano of 7 Savoy Court, London W C 2 R 0 E X i s t h e f o r e i g n representative (reference 337362/01).
David Hacking writes: A long time ago I was Edwin Jowitt’s pupil at the Bar (obituary, July 26). I remember so well first hearing him in
Adrian Mallen writes: I am grateful to Robert Thompson (Lives Remembered, July 30) for drawing readers’ atten-
Sir Ian Wood
IF then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Colossians 3.1 (ESV)
Peter Mackay writes: Your obituary of Sir Ian Wood (July 28) understates his massive achievements in business, public life
Bible verses are provided by the Bible Society
Sir Garfield Sobers
court. It was in January 1963 at the Aylesbury assizes. He was making a plea in mitigation. He spoke so confidently and so well.
tion to the wonderful recording by Bill Oddie (obituary, July 27) of On Ilkla Moor Baht ’at.
Mark Pyper writes: My experience of the willingness of Garry Sobers (obituary, July 17) to sign autographs was
The engagement is announced between James, son of Professors John and Allyson Foord of Cumnor, Oxford and Flora, daughter of Mr John and Mrs Amanda Leadley of Barnsbury, London.
I might add that this record, issued on John Peel’s Dandelion label, is in fact a spoof of the famous Joe Cocker version of With A Little Help From My Friends, and was recorded using most of Cocker’s backing band and singers.
CLAIM NO. CR-2026-005577 IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUSTICE BUSINESS AND PROPERTY COURTS OF ENGLAND AND WALES, COMPANIES COURT (ChD) IN THE MATTER OF
and philanthropy. It was in his public life that I got to know him, when I was working in the Scottish Office. He was a tireless ambassador, and sometimes thorn in our flesh, for Aberdeen and the North Sea oil industry and was successful in persuading Whitehall to relocate part of the Offshore Supplies Office to Aberdeen in the late 1980s.
It was therefore surprising later to learn from him that he had to conquer his nerves before being in court. Indeed he described to me, as a young advocate, being physically ill when going to court.
(Company Number 10266990) AND IN THE MATTER OF THE COMPANIES ACT 2006
LAING Joan OBE, passed away peacefully on 9th July 2026, aged 94. Wife of the late Peter; much-loved mother of Sally, Daphne, Caroline and Richard; devoted grandmother and soon-to-be greatgrandmother. Appointed OBE in 2001 for services to the British Red Cross, with which she served for 64 years. Funeral at All Saints’ Church, Brill, Buckinghamshire, on Friday 28th August at 11am. Donations, if desired, to the British Red Cross.
very different from that of Simon Brewer (Lives remembered, July 22). The first match of the 1963 West Indies tour was a friendly encounter against LC Stevens’ XI at the Saffrons ground in Eastbourne. Not only could we schoolboys rub shoulders and gather autographs, we were allowed to bowl at our idols in the nets. When Sobers went out to bat, I rose from my kneeling position on the boundary and asked, more in distant hope than expectation, if I might take his photograph.
NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that on 22 July 2026 Built Environment Group Limited whose registered office at 18 Northgate, Sleaford, Lincolnshire, NG34 7BJ (the Company) has presented a claim to the High Court of Justice seeking confirmation of a reduction of the Company’s share capital by the cancellation of 10,000 C Ordinary shares of £0.01 each in the issued share capital of the Company.
The cost of the recording was so great that, as Peel later admitted, it almost bankrupted Dandelion right at the outset.
I learnt so much from him.
But it was worth it.
AND NOTICE IS FURTHER GIVEN that the Claim is directed to be heard before an Insolvency and Companies Court Judge at 10.30 a.m. or as soon thereafter as it can be heard on 11 August 2026 in the High Court of Justice, Business and Property Court, Companies Court, 7 Rolls Buildings, Fetter Lane, London EC4A 1NL.
He chaired the government’s main Scottish development agency, Scottish Enterprise, from 1997 to 2000, and led a UK government-sponsored review of the future of the oil reserves on the UK continental shelf in 2013 (the Wood Review). The Conservative government accepted all its recommendations and committed itself to full implementation of them.
LEWIN David Charles Pearman. Passed away peacefully on 18th July 2026, aged 79. Beloved husband of Melanie, devoted father of Anna and Helen, grandpa to Lottie, Joey, Jacob, Coco, Sam and Reuben and brother of Gilli and Hillary. A lifelong sailing enthusiast, classic car fanatic and rarely without a smile. He will be deeply missed by his family and friends. A service of thanksgiving will be held at All Saints’ Church, East Meon, later in the year.
W If you would like to add a personal view or recollection to a published obituary, you can send your contribution by email to tributes@thetimes.co.uk
Ian Kennedy Martin
Any creditor or shareholder of the Company or other person whose interests may be affected by the proposed reduction of capital and who wishes to oppose the claim should appear at the hearing either in person or by legal representative.
Dr Peter B Baker writes: During the 1970s, as a forensic scientist I worked alongside many officers of HM Cus-
A copy of the claim form and supporting documents may be obtained on request from the Company’s solicitors.
The simple way to place your Birth, Marriage or Death announcement in the Register. Available 24 hours a day. Go to: newsukadvertising.co.uk
Dated 27 July 2026 Roythornes LLP (ref PAS), East West, Tollhouse Hill, Nottingham, NG1 5FS
MCNALLY Patrick Sean died peacefully at home on Wednesday 22nd July 2026. Much-loved father and grandfather. Private funeral. No flowers please.
The world’s leading allrounder did not hesitate at this important moment, turning round to respond positively and generously to a 15-year-old boy.
Notice under section 27 of the Trustee Act 1925 THE TYROLIT PENSION SCHEME (the “Scheme”)
Through the Wood Charitable Foundation, he and his wife
toms and Excise, a fairly hardbitten lot. Many times they
MORRISS Hugo Henry died peacefully on 18th July 2026, aged 86. Now reunited with his beloved Maya. He will be greatly missed by his sisters, nephews, nieces and many friends. Private funeral and a celebration of his life in September. Details from Southgate of Newmarket, 01638 662480.
Notice is hereby given pursuant to section 27 of the Trustee Act 1925 (as amended) that the Scheme commenced winding-up on 31 May 2026.
The Trustees have taken all reasonable steps to contact the members and beneficiaries of the Sch eme for whom they have records. An announcement has been sent to those members and beneficiaries and their benefits under the Scheme have been identified.
Call to the Bar
MUNRO Serena (née Ludovici) on 23rd July 2026, aged 63, at Southmead Hospital. Beloved wife of Bruce, and much-loved mother of Millie, Florrie, Tink and Tom. Our little sunshine girl will be loved and greatly missed by all who knew her. A private family funeral will take place. A service celebrating Serena’s life will be held at a later date. No flowers please; donations, if desired, to the Dorothy House Firefly appeal.
If you have not already received the announcement from the Trustees and you believe you may be en titled to benefits from the Scheme, please provide written details of your claim (specifying your full name, address and any particulars of your claim and a copy of any documentation that support your claim) to:
Chard, Navjothi Raju, Ruby Mae Wallis, Mahin Rahman Monami, Acacia Adela Williams-Hewitt, Christopher William Wiskin, Joshua Connor Hurst, Charlotte Grace Warren, Rebecca Ebner-Landy, Christine Miculyn Thomas Logijin, William Robert Danson Poole, Kate Louise Grimsdale, Farida Elsheikh, Anton Konshin, Boris Momchilov Krastev, Stephen Hare, Jovana Koprivica, Kirsty Anne Pumfrey Cooper, Thomas Stephen Crutchley, Clara Jacques, Iqra Hussain, Luke Marsden, Hadi Rachrach, Sheikh Fazle Nashwan, Charlotte Thelma-Rose Rodney, Sheikh Fazle Nawar, Emily Georgia Evans, Mohd Haziq Bin Mohd Shahril, Daniel Jacob, Frankie Shepley, Amelia-Jo Sharp-Saxby, Madeleine West-Nelson, Albert Cammack, Jaymie Elizabeth Burns, Hannah Pryor, Debbie Ru Shan Tan,
Xin Ying Ang, Lara Canivari Gouveia Gaspar Gomes, Jawad Razzaq Khan, Agnes Chan Yeh Loke, Amelia Constance Bradley, Freya Holly Walker, William Parr, John Whitcomb, Man Ya Koh, Megan Bradley, Clara Olivia Nine Brown, Mia Katja Hodge, Nisha Abraham, Joseph Oliver Stone, Nathan Newnham, Muhil Logandran, Tegan Amy Bennett, Courtney McCarthy, Shakaya Tafari , Eleanor Rebecca Griffin, Leah Khalid Rahman, Upama Nandy, Rabi Haruna, James Christopher Ashton, Eryn Niamh Cowell, Lauren Holtham-Morgan, Edward Michael Bray, Sheikh Mosfeq Kabir, Maia Anna Oleksy, Suranga Bandara Wijeyasiri Weeraparakrama Mahapa Jayalath, Siddharth S. Aatreya, Stephen Cox, Bakshi Mohit, Noel Joseph Travers, Duane Andrew Roy Allen, Nosib Kayser, Jessine Piong, Kaylene Leong Jia Yin, Yash Jangid.
The following were called to the Bar this Trinity term by Inner Temple: Kateryna Cutler, Esther Ojo, Beenish Fawad, Nathan Thompson, Clishae Lauren Sands, Matthew Johnson, Nasteha Jama, Nisha Kumari Joshi, Sharon Chisom Ozioma Uche, Oravara Ratanakorn, Stella Louise Higham, Richard William Frederick Dobbs, Grace Emily Mitchell, Robert Arjun Nayagam, Meysam Rajaee, Johnson Adedoja Akombi Nanasegu Adewopo, Osarieme Sharon Ebikueluye, Louis O’Connor, Charles Alexander James Lapinskas, Chaudhry Muhammad Fahad, Mary Emamezi Adekanye, Patrick Alastair Kenny, Reisha Nerissa Davids, Owen Samuel McCrea, Ahadur Rahman Souad, Emma Brookley Hilder-South, Benedict Adam Springbett, Chloe Alysia Brookes, Ellie Blackburn, Anaya Nailah Price, Simran
The Trustees of the Tyrolit Pension Scheme, c/o XPS Group, PO Box 562, Middlesbrough, TS1 9JA. Email address: admin.edinburgh@xpsgroup.com
All claims must be received no later than 30 Sep tember 2026. After this time, the Trustees will proceed with the winding-up of the Scheme and the distribution of its assets having regard only to the claims and interests of which they have received prior notice and the Trustees shall not be liable in respect of any claims, entitlements or interests which have not been so notified to them.
Buckingham Palace 30th July, 2026 By command of The King, Mr Alistair Harrison (Marshal of the Diplomatic Corps) called upon Her Excellency Ms Laura Camila Sarabia Torres at 76 Chester Square, London SW1, this afternoon in order to bid farewell to Her Excellency upon relinquishing her appointment as Ambassador from the Republic of Colombia to the Court of St James’s.
IN MEMORIAM John Vernon Chelsom, March 1933 - July 2025. Still loved, still missed.
Issued for and on behalf of the Trustees of the Tyrolit Pension Scheme. 31 July 2026
CR-2026-004801 IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUSTICE BUSINESS AND PROPERTY COURTS OF ENGLAND AND WALES COMPANIES COURT (ChD) IN THE MATTER OF JPMORGAN CHINA GROWTH & INCOME PLC AND IN THE MATTER OF THE COMPANIES ACT 2006
LEGAL, PUBLIC, COMPANY & PARLIAMENTARY NOTICES
St James’s Palace 30th July, 2026 The Duke of Edinburgh, VicePatron, Commonwealth Sport, and The Duchess of Edinburgh today attended the XXIII Commonwealth Games and were received by His Majesty’s LordLieutenant of the City of Glasgow (Councillor Jacqueline McLaren, the Rt Hon the Lord Provost).
To place notices for these sections please call 020 7782 7553
Notices are subject to confirmation and should be received by 11.30am three days prior to insertion
Notice is hereby given that a Part 8 Claim Form was, on 17 July 2026, issued by the above-named company (company number 02853893 with its registered office at 60 Victoria Embankment, London, EC4Y 0JP) (the Company) at the High Court of Justice, C h a n c e r y D i v i s i o n s e e k i n g a n order confirming the cancellation of the entire amount standing to the credit of the Company’s share premium account and capital redemption reserve (the Cancellation) which was approved by a special resolution of the Company passed on 3 February 2026. Notice is further given that the final hearing of the claim as set out in the Part 8 Claim Form is directed to be heard before an Insolvency and Companies Court Judge at The Rolls Building, 7 Rolls Buildings, Fetter Lane, London, EC4A 1NL on 11 August 2026 at 10:30am. Any creditor or shareholder of the Company wishing to oppose the making of an order to confirm the Cancellation should appear at the time of the hearing in person or by counsel for that purpose. A copy of the Part 8 Claim Form may be obtained, on payment of the regulated charge, from the Company’s solicitors: Walker Morris LLP, 33 Wellington Street, Leeds, LS1 4DL (ref: TAB/KIW/JPM06646.1). Dated: Friday 31st July
St James’s Palace 30th July, 2026 The Princess Royal, accompanied by Vice-Admiral Sir Tim Laurence, today attended the XXIII Commonwealth Games and was received by His Majesty’s Lord-Lieutenant of the City of Glasgow (Councillor Jacqueline McLaren, the Rt Hon the Lord Provost).
Sex! Shame! Scandal! The lives of Hollywood legends in The Times
Kensington Palace 30th July, 2026 The Duke of Kent, Patron, London Philharmonic Orchestra, this afternoon attended a performance of ‘Billy Budd’ by Benjamin Britten at Glyndebourne Festival, Glyndebourne, Lewes, East Sussex.
Now available from bookshops as well as amazon.co.uk and thetimes.co.uk/bookshop
Weather Eye Paul Simons
Today Warm and mostly dry in England and Wales. Showers in Scotland and Ireland. Max 27C (81F), min 7C (45F)
Orkney
A warm and mostly dry weekend, becoming fresher and changeable into next week
Key: b=bright, c=cloud, d=drizzle, pc=partly cloudy du=dull, f=fair, fg=fog, h=hail, m=mist, r=rain, sh=showers, sl=sleet, sn=snow, s=sun, t=thunder
Calm Slight Moderate Rough
34
19
(mph)
15
15
=previous day *=data not available
28 (degrees C)
Temp C Rain mm Sun hr*
14 13
14
midday yesterday 24 hrs to 5pm yesterday
Aberdeen Aberporth Anglesey Aviemore Barnstaple Bedford Belfast Birmingham Bournemouth Bridlington Bristol Camborne Cardiff Edinburgh Eskdalemuir Glasgow Hereford Herstmonceux Ipswich Isle of Man Isle of Wight Jersey Keswick Kinloss Leeds Lerwick Leuchars Lincoln Liverpool London Lyneham Manchester Margate Milford Haven Newcastle Nottingham Orkney Oxford Plymouth Portland Scilly, St Mary’s Shoreham Shrewsbury Snowdonia Southend South Uist Stornoway Tiree Whitehaven Wick Yeovilton
19 R 4.2 0.0
17 S 3.0 2.6
18 PC 2.4 5.3
15 R 0.2 0.5
19 C 0.2 **
16 C 1.0 3.2 17 R 0.8 **
24 C 0.0 14.3
22 C 0.0 **
23 PC 0.4 12.9
15 R 3.0 5.5
21 C 0.0 12.7
17 PC 3.4 0.9
16 PC 3.6 0.0 17 R 5.0 1.5 21 C 0.0 ** 26 PC 0.0 12.1 27 C 0.0 13.9 18 PC 0.0 0.8 25 S 0.0 ** 21 C 0.0 13.2
19 PC 0.2 **
20 C 2.4 0.0 21 C 0.0 12.6
26 C 0.0 13.9
23 PC 0.0 14.0
21 C 2.0 4.6
24 PC 0.0 14.5 20 S 0.0 ** 20 PC 0.0 ** 20 C 0.0 13.3
25 C 0.0 ** 22 PC 1.2 ** 21 PC 0.0 ** 18 D 0.8 ** 28 PC 0.0 13.4 19 C 0.2 8.5 18 C 0.8 ** 25 PC 0.0 14.5
13 R 4.8 **
13 R 4.8 2.9 15 PC 2.8 6.5 16 C 1.0 1.3
21 R 2.0 11.0
A warm, dry and sunny day for Wales and southern England. Scattered showers in northern England and Scotland. Dry in Ireland with spells of sunshine.
19 14
At 17:00 on Thursday there were no flood alerts or warnings in England, Wales or Scotland. For further information and updates in England visit check-forflooding.service.gov.uk, for Wales naturalresources.wales/flooding and for Scotland SEPA.org.uk
S
13
outhern England has had 1 per cent of its usual rainfall this month, drought has been declared across more than half of England and
C 35 30 25 20 15 10
F 95 86 77 68 59 50 41 32 23 14
Aberdeen
Warm and mostly dry for England, Wales, southern Scotland and the north of Ireland. Rain in the south of Ireland. Scattered showers with sunny spells in northern Scotland.
NORTH SEA
18
17
parts of Wales, and 20 million people are under hosepipe bans, with more bans likely to follow.
Edinburgh
Edinburgh
20
Glasgow
5 0
19
26
9
16
All eyes are focused on forecasts for any sign of rain in the driest parts, but there is only a hint of wet weather as a possible depression may pass close by next week, but that is far from certain. And even if rain does fall it will likely be too little and too late for droughtstricken areas. Substantial rain is needed, and that looks unlikely even on the most optimistic longer-range forecasts. High pressure over southern Britain is bringing further dry conditions, whilst low pressure and bands of rain are likely to sweep through the north, especially northwest Scotland.
26
Londonderry
5
ATLANTIC OCEAN
Newcastle
Newcastle
Carlisle
Belfast
20 16
18
17
rk
Yo
17
Manchester Liverpool
Hull
Hull
22
Liverpoo
IRISH SEA
Galway
9
SEA
20
Sheffield
21
Dublin
Llandudno
Nottingham
19
21
Shrewsbury
27
Norwich
Norwich
13
17
Birmingham
Cambridge Oxford
28
Cork
18
Swansea
25
Much of Europe has suffered far worse heat and drought this summer, but there may be lessons for the UK to learn. Southern Cyprus is one of the European Union’s driest nations as rainfall has decreased as a result of climate change. And the country is also facing increasing water demands from a growing population, agriculture and tourism. Water supplies from desalination plants, reservoirs, dams and recycling waste water are no longer sufficient. And something that may horrify many in the UK is that Cyprus enforces a permanent hosepipe ban all year.
Cardiff
CELTIC SEA
Channel Islands
27
London
Bristol
Unsettled in Ireland and Scotland with outbreaks of rain. Sunny spells in England and Wales with the chance of a heavy afternoon shower.
23 19
Southampton Brighton
19
eter
Exeter
Max 30C, min 6C
Plymouth
22
21
16
CHANNEL
7
** C 3.8 **
14
18
NE Eng, Lake District, Cen N Eng, IoM,
General situation: A warm, sunny and
morning. It will turn cloudier into the afternoon with the small risk of an isolated shower developing in the afternoon. Light westerly winds. Maximum 22C (72F), minimum 7C (45F). E Eng, W Mids, E Mids, SW Eng, Channel Is: Sunny periods with the chance of an isolated shower in the morning. It will turn dry and sunny in the afternoon. Light northwesterly winds. Maximum 24C (75F), minimum 7C (45F).
26
NW Eng: Partly cloudy with the chance for an isolated shower in the morning, turning sunnier this afternoon. Light westerly winds. Maximum 21C (70F), minimum 7C (45F). E Anglia, London, Cen S Eng, SE Eng: A warm, mostly dry and sunny day. A chance for an evening shower in the east. Light west or northwesterly winds. Maximum 27C (81F), minimum 7C (45F). S Wales, N Wales: A dry and sunny
mostly dry day for England and Wales. Scattered showers with sunny periods over Scotland and Ireland.
All readings local midday yesterday
25 PC 34 S
28 S
32 S
31 PC 11 C 23 **
33 ** 34 S 29 PC 26 B
19 B
28 **
35 S 23 B
32 PC 27 B 31 S
35 S 23 PC
23 PC
20 S 34 S 14 B
33 S 19 PC
28 S 30 PC 29 PC 30 B 23 S
15 S 34 S
21 PC ** ** 35 S 29 S
27 B
32 S 25 S 31 S
** ** 41 S 31 PC
** ** ** ** 33 S 35 S
30 PC 23 R 28 S
26 PC 25 PC
35 S
33 ** 45 S
19 PC
25 S
36 PC 37 S 35 S
20 B
28 PC
21 S
34 S 17 S
38 S
27 PC 25 PC
31 SH
Alicante Amsterdam Athens Auckland Bahrain Bangkok Barbados Barcelona Beijing Beirut Belgrade Berlin Bermuda Bordeaux Brussels Bucharest Budapest Buenos Aires Cairo Calcutta Canberra Cape Town Chicago Copenhagen Corfu Delhi Dubai Dublin Faro Florence Frankfurt Geneva Gibraltar Helsinki Hong Kong Honolulu Istanbul Jerusalem Johannesburg Kuala Lumpur Kyiv Lanzarote Las Palmas Lima Lisbon Los Angeles Luxor
Madeira Madrid Malaga Mallorca Malta Melbourne Mexico City Miami Milan Mombasa Montreal Moscow Mumbai Munich Nairobi Naples New Orleans New York Nice Nicosia Oslo Paris Perth Prague Reykjavik Riga Rio de Janeiro Riyadh Rome San Francisco Santiago
29
Republic of Ireland, N Ireland, Borders, SW Scotland, Glasgow, Cen Highland, Aberdeen, Moray Firth, NE Scotland, Edinburgh and Dundee, NW Scotland, Argyll, N Isles: Scattered showers, with sunny spells in-between. Light southwesterly winds, veering westerly later. Maximum 20C (68F), minimum 4C (39F).
Spells of rain in Scotland, northern England and the north of Ireland. Sunny intervals and scattered showers elsewhere, some heavy and thundery.
This year, a national campaign was launched to cut water consumption by 10 per cent by urging everyone to use less water for showers, brushing teeth and other uses. Intelligent water-use systems have also been introduced, such as a free app that calculates how much water each person uses compared to the national average per person and then suggests practical and measurable ways to save water. And the Nicosia city authority is also installing 72,000 smart water meters in homes that instantly detect leaks and alert consumers to help prevent them wasting water and receiving inflated water bills.
Max 26C, min 7C
Tides
15
Noon today
Tidal predictions. Heights in metres. All times in local time
HIGH
1008 1008
1008
16
Today Ht Ht Aberdeen Avonmouth Belfast Cardiff Devonport Dover Dublin Falmouth Greenock Harwich Holyhead Hull Leith Liverpool London Bridge Lowestoft Milford Haven Morecambe Newhaven Newquay Oban Penzance Portsmouth Shoreham Southampton Swansea Tees Weymouth
1016
21
--:-- -- 13:09 3.1 09:02 11.4 21:18 11.7
--:-- -- 13:08 6.4
00:30 3.9 13:02 3.7
07:20 4.7 19:28 5.0
02:13 3.4 14:30 3.0
01:43 3.7 13:51 3.8
08:09 7.2 20:43 6.9 04:28 5.3 16:55 5.3
--:-- -- 13:13 8.8
03:52 6.8 16:08 6.8 11:22 2.6 --:-- --
08:13 6.5 20:30 6.8 01:01 9.2 13:23 8.8
1024
LOW
HIGH
1000 1000
26
1024 1016
1016
HIGH
Cold front Warm front Occluded front Trough Convergence Zone
Unsettled with outbreaks of rain over northern England, Ireland and southern and western Scotland. Sunny periods and scattered showers in southern England, Wales and eastern Scotland.
1016
1008
LOW
LOW
Max 25C, min 8C
15
Synoptic situation
Aberdeen Belfast Birmingham Cardiff Exeter Glasgow Liverpool London Manchester Newcastle Norwich Penzance Sheffield
24hrs to 5pm yesterday Warmest: Frittenden, Kent, 29.0C Coldest: Braemar, 2.6C Wettest: Aultbea, Ross and Cromarty, 20.0mm Sunniest: Manston, 14.5hrs*
21:54-04:36 21:57-05:04
A trough located over western Scotland will bring unsettled and showery weather across the north and west. A cold front clearing eastwards into continental Europe will bring fresher conditions to southern England. A slight ridge of high pressure building in from the southwest will bring largely dry and sunny conditions to the south and east.
21:32-05:06 21:31-05:11 21:56-04:52
21:40-04:58 21:20-04:54
21:37-04:55
21:41-04:45 21:19-04:44
21:37-05:21
21:33-04:52
16
--:-- -- 13:15 6.4 07:03 6.4 19:20 6.7
22
07:51 3.7 20:10 3.9 06:38 5.1 18:55 5.4
01:12 4.4 13:44 4.5
--:-- -- 13:19 5.9
02:33 3.9 12:14 4.3
08:18 8.7 20:34 9.0
05:28 5.3 18:04 5.2
8am to 5pm daily (calls are charged at £1.55 plus network extras)
25
** ** 30 S 28 PC
For Greenwich Sun rises: Sun sets: Moon rises: Moon sets:
05.22 20.50
The Times weather page is provided by
21.36 08.30 Sat
Third quarter: August 6
weatherquest.co.uk
n this exciting tennis and hotel break, experience the sights of central London and enjoy all the action on Wimbledon’s
You’ll make your way to The Championships and take your reserved seat on Number 1 Court. Soak up the iconic atmosphere, enjoy strawberries and cream on Henman Hill, and watch world-class tennis in one of sport’s most beloved settings. Want more time in London? Our three and four-day packages ofer extra nights in the city’s electric atmosphere.
TWO DAYS NOW FROM
per person
UP
No.1 Court, with its retractable roof promising a great day of tennis, whatever the weather. Perhaps enjoy a day out in the city before spending a night in your centrally located London hotel, with breakfast included.
BOOK BY AUGUST 31
CALL TODAY ON
and London Break *Save up to 10% discount applies to select Wimbledon 2027 packages booked by August 31, 2026 and cannot be applied retrospectively to bookings already confirmed. Offer applies to select tours only and cannot be combined with any other offer. Exclusions apply. Prices shown include discount. Single supplements apply. Prices correct at time of print. Subject to availability and may be withdrawn at any time. Resale of Wimbledon tickets is strictly prohibited by ALTEC and will invalidate your ticket and entrance to the Championships. All images © AELTC. These holidays are organised and operated by Newmarket Holidays Ltd, a company wholly independent of News UK. ABTOT 5509. ATOL protected 2325. ABTA V7812. Standard phone charges apply.
thetimes.com/ nh-wimbledon2027
QUOTE TIM
July 2027
Wimbledon, London © AELTC Our trusted partner
ZUMA PRESS WIRE/SHUTTERSTOCK
Campbell wins gold – now for MasterChef
Women’s Open
Cathy Harris
Charley Hull is usually a huge fan favourite but the Englishwoman has reacted to a fierce backlash on social media over a prank she played on her caddie by telling critics to “lighten up”.
Hull, who is competing at the AIG Women’s Open at Royal Lytham & St Annes, revealed at a press conference yesterday that she had used a fake scratchcard to trick her caddie, Adam Woodward, into believing he had won £100,000.
mix of strength and glitz. She kept going and came back shortly afterwards to break the Games record with 155kg.
The announcer kept mentioning the requested weights and each one drew a huge roar. And she finished off with 163kg, a combined weight of 278kg, a huge 25kg better than Malaysia’s Siti Aqilah Farhana Draman, 20, with Canada’s Etta Mae Love, 18, further back in bronze. Both the other medallists spoke of how they had been inspired by Campbell’s career. The Midlander can make it sound simple with her wit and easy manner, but she wore tape on her neck because she gets abrasions from the loaded bar. “When you get blood on the bar it slows down the competition and stuff,” she said. “It’s more a courtesy to everyone else. It’s nothing wild. Don’t all cry, guys. I’m fine.”
The 30-year-old recounted: “He’s literally running around the players’ lounge saying, ‘I’ve won £100,000. I’m taking today off.’ His face looks so happy. He couldn’t believe his luck, and we had to tell him it was fake and he nearly quit.”
Glasgow
With lions weaved into her hair, red eyeliner and a rare ability to marry feats of extraordinary strength with an ebullient personality, Emily Campbell provided the lift the Commonwealth Games needed.
Hull shared the Australian’s euphoric reaction online. Woodward said there were no hard feelings.
Some stars have sniffed and skipped Glasgow but Campbell, 32, has more charisma than many of them put together. She peddles one-liners, conducts auditoriums and media huddles with natural warmth, and was a few minutes into talking about her second Commonwealth gold for England, to go with the Olympic silver and bronze and six European titles, when she segued into her forthcoming appearance on Celebrity MasterChef. “I still want to show the world that you can enjoy lifting — and you can be absolutely fabulous while you’re doing it as well.”
“I totally fell for it and I wish I said I was acting but I wasn’t,” he said. “I think it’s funny but revenge is going to be great. I’m going to put a suggestion box out front here for any pranks I can get Charley back. I’m honestly not bothered. It was pretty funny.”
This stuff hurts, though. Where? “Do you want me to be dead-ass honest with you? Everywhere. Your knees, your shoulders, your back. We’re lifting serious weights and it’s hard. You have to be really sensible. It’s not an easy sport.”
Campbell lifted a Commonwealth Games-record combined weight of 278kg
The overwhelming reaction on X, where one golf writer’s tweet has received more than 2.6 million views and 600 comments, has been negative, with fans expressing disappointment and disgust.
“It’s your fault,” she told journalists. “You made it such a big thing [at the Olympics], so now it is a big thing.”
ces over time and she said: “We’ve got to look at that and how we can get the body through. If I go to LA I want to be in contention for a medal, so we want to make sure that’s feasible. Hopefully you’ll see me there.”
Her confidence is good for those who may feel pressured by conventional strictures about sporting shapes. And she will soon be enchanting living rooms via her appearance on Celebrity MasterChef. “Training was not interrupted,” she said. “Training had all been completed. It was just really nice to do something without being Emily the weightlifter. Food is something I’ve always been massively passionate about. My signature dish is Caribbean. That’s all I’m going to give you because I want you to watch, but it’s another platform for weightlifting.”
She was presented with her medal by Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh, and thus continued a long connection between the royal family and weightlifting. The Queen made the Duke of Edinburgh sit back down as he prepared to leave the arena during Precious McKenzie’s heroics at the 1978 Games. The day after that fourth Games title in Canada, the Queen held a garden party but was mortified to find McKenzie was not there, so she ordered the police to find him and bring him to her bash.
Hull was forthright in her response, saying: “I think it was funny, Adam thought it was funny, and if people don’t like it they can lump it. They need to lighten up.
In truth, Campbell is made for La La Land, but for now she was happy to settle for Glasgow, saying it had been “phenomenal” and that her immediate ambition was a rooftop bar before signing off with a decent mantra for those obsessed with goals and gongs.
There was a lot of that showmanship in this victory in the Armadillo building by the Clyde. In the 86kg+ class, she lifted 115kg in the snatch. After a break, the crowd waited as others came and went in the concluding clean and jerk section. Then, to a mighty roar as though the headline act had just arrived, Campbell finally reappeared and wasted little time in lifting 148kg to take the gold. She blew kisses and waved to people wearing matching T-shirts. “The T-shirts are my crew,” she explained. “They belong to me.”
“I felt bad for Adam but I’ve just got to have a good week and then I’ll buy him a hundred genuine scratchcards.”
“You just set out to do what you do and do it with grace,” she said. Uplifting. 6 There was a major shock at the athletics, where England’s Zharnel Hughes crashed out of the 200m at the semi-final stage (Mark Palmer writes). The 2022 silver medallist was sixth in a time of 20.67 – 0.47sec behind Christopher Taylor, of Jamaica, in first.
The world No 7 is in the mix after the first day of the Women’s Open, thanks to a two-under 69 in her opening round. The young Thai star Jeeno Thitikul fired a bogey-free seven-under 64 to take the solo lead. Korea’s Haeran Ryu is two behind Thitikul at five under and remains on course to complete a hat-trick of majors.
To give you an idea of Campbell’s strength, the weight she lifted with her clean and jerk was tantamount to three Precious McKenzies. Preparation on her hair, with braids, red flourishes and leaping lions, started the previous day.
Alarmingly, she did sow one seed of doubt when it came to Los Angeles and the next Olympics. The qualification system is about a series of performan-
Little girls danced in the aisles. They were not the only ones drawn in by the
3.10 Handicap (£5,234: 7f) (9)
Wolverhampton
Rob Wright
2.35 Handicap (£3,978: 7f) (12)
4.20 Handicap (£3,978: 1m 4f) (7)
2.00 Maiden Stakes (£5,400: 7f) (10)
5.25 Classified Stakes (£3,245: 5f) (6)
3.45 Handicap (3-Y-O: £3,978: 1m 1f) (11)
4.55 Handicap (£5,234: 6f) (10)
Yesterday’s results
fav); 2, U S S Charleston (50-1); 3, Miss Yechance (17-2). 18 ran. 17 l, nk. K Scott.
2-1); 2, Pyramid (11-8 fav); 3, Chimes Of Thunder (10-3). 8 ran. 2 l, l. R Varian. 6.22 (6f 20yd) 1, Angel Sense (S De Sousa,
2.35 (1m 75yd) 1, Great Blasket (C Fallon,
8-13 fav); 2, Theme Park (9-2); 3, Degale (11-2). 5 ran. 37 l, 2 l. James Owen.
3.10 (1m 2f 50yd) 1, Supplicate (J Mitchell, 15-8 fav); 2, Crown Office (2-1); 3, Sassicaia (9-4). 5 ran. l, 4 l. R Varian.
3.45 (1m 75yd) 1, Queen’s Hame (C Fallon, 6-4 fav); 2, Marquessofanglesey (15-8); 3, Matter Of Britain (10-1). 5 ran. 4l, 27 l. W J Haggas.
4.20 (1m 6f) 1, Sixty Plus (C Fallon, 2-5 fav); 2, Beggarman (8-1); 3, Simiyann (7-1). 4 ran. nk, 5 l. J Owen.
4.55 (6f 18yd) 1, Molly Mac (Grace McEntee, 1-1 fav); 2, Henriette Ronner (10-1); 3, Saeculamation (11-1). 7 ran. 4 l, 1l. M Fenton. 5.25 (1m 2f 50yd) 1, Poet’s Dawn (R Burley,
9-2); 2, Flightofthephoenix (7-2); 3, Galaxy
7.50 (7f 3yd) 1, Eyes Front (R Hornby, 11-4); 2, Sun Of Dolly (7-2); 3, Credit Forgedd It (2-1 fav). 7 ran. 1 l, 1 l. E Smyth-Osbourne.
Wonder (10-3). 6 ran. 2 l, 1 l. T D Easterby.
Going: Good to Firm (good in places)
9-2); 2, Supreme Star (9-4); 3, Location Location (13-8). 10 ran. 5l, 2 l. M Botti.
1.50 (1m 1f 197yd) 1, Ciarrai Abu (G Wood,
10-3 fav); 2, Bourbon Blues (25-1); 3, Evanesco (11-1). 14 ran. 1l, sh. Harry Eustace.
2.25 (6f) 1, Man’s Best Friend (R L Moore,
11-2); 2, Adaay Of Scarlett (8-1); 3, Night In Vegas (6-1). 10 ran. 1l, 1 l. A P O’Brien.
3.00 (1m 3f 218yd) 1, Enceladus (D B McMonagle, 6-4 fav); 2, Geryon (15-2); 3, Venetian Lace (25-1). 7 ran. 1 l, 4 l. J P O’Brien.
Going: Good to Firm
8.07 (7f 36yd) 1, Iconic Times (S D Bowen, 2-1 fav); 2, Velvet Skies (22-1); 3, African Spirit (16-1). 12 ran. 1l, 27 l. J Candlish. 8.42 (7f 36yd) 1, Manton Road (J Peate, 14-1); 2, On Key (9-2); 3, Midnight’s Dream (13-2). 10 ran. l, 17 l. R T Phillips.
5.30 (1m 2f 17yd) 1, Bobacious (L Wright, 4-1); 2, Magical Merlin (7-1); 3, Oj Lifestyle (9-2). 6 ran. hd, 2 l. M R Hoad.
6.05 (7f 3yd) 1, Camarda Rc (S C Cronin, 13-2); 2, Out Of This World (9-4 fav); 3, Cool King (4-1). 9 ran. 3 l, 1 l. R Hannon.
4.35 (5f 21yd) 1, A Lott Of Kane (J Haynes, 11-4); 2, Runamara (9-2); 3, Havin A Flyer (5-2 fav). 8 ran. 2l, hd. C Banham.
5.10 (1m ½f) 1, Between Me And U (D Keenan, 5-1); 2, Volto Di Medusa (14-1); 3, R Mcmurphy (11-1). 11 ran. 4 l, sh. M Herrington. 5.47 (1m 1f 104yd) 1, Bintward (S D Bowen,
6.40 (1m 4f 6yd) 1, Dream Harder (R Hornby, 10-1); 2, Two Plus Two (11-2); 3, Twilight Moon (10-1). 5 ran. nk, 3 l. D M Loughnane.
7.15 (1m 113yd) 1, Trio (C Hutchinson, 9-4); 2, Chantelle (2-1 fav); 3, Celestra (7-1). 4 ran. 1 l, 27 l. Eve Johnson Houghton.
3.35 (1m 1f 197yd) 1, Diamond Necklace (R L Moore, 4-6 fav); 2, Friendly Soul (5-2); 3, See The Fire (7-1). 5 ran. 27 l, 5l. A P O’Brien.
Going: Good to Firm (good in places)
2.00 (5f 8yd) 1, Roots In Touche (M Sheehy, 10-11); 2, Funky Dory (5-6 fav). 8l. A Keatley.
Goodwood
Rob Wright
v
v
v
Rob Wright Racing Editor
The Wathnan Racing team target the biggest festivals and, after four winners at Royal Ascot, the Qatar-based owners can land a second double of the week at Glorious Goodwood through Night Raider and Sea Of Kings today.
Night Raider tackles the featured King George Qatar Stakes (3.35) and he can improve on last year’s sixth in this contest. He stayed on the unfavoured stands side of the track that day, beating those that he raced with, but was no match for the runners on the other side of the course. He has been gelded since and looked an improved model in winning his first two starts this season before again being scuppered by a poor draw at Royal Ascot.
v
He has a high cruising speed that should be well suited to this sharp track and can bounce back to form.
v
Sea Of Kings can take the opening Coral Goodwood Handicap (1.50). This lightly raced four-year-old has been crying out for a thorough test of stamina and can make the most of a lenient mark on his first try at two-and-a-half miles here.
(£43,809: 1m 2f) (7)
v
v
He showed lots of ability in hot handicaps at the top meetings last season and made a pleasing return when second over an inadequate trip at Doncaster. Softer ground was against him at Pontefract, but this surface and longer trip will surely see him in a better light.
v
5.05 Handicap (£4,711: 7f) (9)
6.25 Novice Stakes (£6,185: 1m 2f) (4)
7.00 Handicap (£5,154: 6f) (10)
7.32 Handicap (£6,442: 7f) (9)
8.02 Handicap (£5,154: 1m 4f) (5)
8.32 Handicap (£5,154: 1m) (7)
Newcastle
Bath
Rob Wright
Rob Wright
6.15 Maiden Stakes (2-Y-O: £5,940: 7f) (5)
6.50 Nursery (2-Y-O: £4,187: 7f) (7)
7.25 Handicap (£6,804: 5f) (5)
7.55 Handicap (£3,664: 7f) (7)
8.25 Handicap (£4,711: 2m) (7)
8.55 Handicap (£3,664: 5f) (6)
5.35 Handicap (£3,278: 1m 6f) (4)
6.08 Novice Stakes (2-Y-O: £5,400: 6f) (7)
6.43 Classified Stakes (£3,454: 6f) (9)
7.18 Novice Stakes (£4,320: 6f) (6)
7.48 Handicap (£3,454: 6f) (5)
8.18 Handicap (£3,454: 1m 2f) (6)
2.10 Classified Stakes
(£3,245: 1m 2f) (10)
2.45 Novice Stakes (2-Y-O: £5,400: 6f) (8)
3.20 Handicap
(£3,245: 2m) (9)
3.55 Handicap (3-Y-O: £3,978: 5f) (13)
5.40 Classified Stakes (£4,711: 6f) (14)
Newmarket
Rob Wright
Musselburgh
Rob Wright
5.50 Novice Stakes (2-Y-O: £5,669: 6f) (7)
5.45 Handicap (£3,664: 1m 5f) (10)
played for Middlesex, Yorkshire and Nottinghamshire, where he was captain of the 2005 championshipwinning side.
Ashes, having stepped down from the job in the spring of 2022. Root led the team on an interim
retirement last month and England believe that it would be too onerous for Brook to captain across all three formats.
after an 18-year association with the Indian Premier League franchise.
Elizabeth Ammon
A statement by the ECB confirmed that Trescothick would be in charge for the remaining three Tests of the summer. It said: “This is to allow Fleming to spend time with his family in New Zealand after leaving his longterm association with CSK earlier this month. Fleming is set to fly to the UK later this summer to begin preparations for the South Africa Test tour.”
Stephen Fleming has been confirmed
basis for the second Test against New Zealand this summer when Stokes was suspended after the
“I’m incredibly excited to be joining England as Test coach,” Fleming said. “It’s one of the most prestigious coaching positions in world cricket and I am honoured to be appointed.
Brook has a very close relationship with Brendon McCullum, who was sacked as head coach of the Test team this month, and there is a 50-over World Cup in the autumn of 2027. Therefore it was decided that Root, 35, should be the man to the lead England into next summer’s
nightclub incident that followed the conclusion of the first Test.
The New Zealander has signed a four-year contract, which runs until 2030, but will not be in charge for England’s next Test series as he will not travel to the UK until the end of the summer. Marcus Trescothick, England’s assistant coach, will lead the squad for the three-match series against Pakistan, which begins on August 19.
Fleming, 53, does not have
“I’m particularly looking forward to working with Joe Root as captain — a generational talent who has achieved so much already. There is still plenty more to come from him”
any red-ball or international coaching experience but has led
CSK to a record five
England have opted to appoint Root on a permanent basis rather than just for the Pakistan series. Root and Harry Brook, the white-ball captain, were the only viable candidates to take over from Ben Stokes after his shock
Indian Premier League titles and has also led the Southern Brave to
Fleming and McCullum were New Zealand team-mates and set up a business together in 2010 providing data systems to cricket governing bodies.
the final of the men’s Hundred in 2023. He
Fleming, 53, recently left his job as head coach of the Chennai Super Kings
CHRIS ARJOON/ICON SPORTSWIRE VIA GETTY IMAGES
Edge and calm make Fleming correct choice
In outlook, he will not be dramatically different from McCullum, though he will run a tighter ship. In an interview with Cricket Monthly magazine in March 2024, he was asked about why he allowed players in the CSK franchise to have optional nets (ring a bell?). This was his reply: “We’re a big believer that as soon as the players wake up, they’re planning their day and can be going to practice or not.
Chief Cricket Correspondent
Stephen Fleming feels like a good fit. Sometimes intuition is as important as anything revealed under interview, given the demands of coaching England are so different to anything gleaned in a lengthy recruitment process. You can whiteboard and talk until the cows come home, but what are you like under pressure, when things are going wrong and everyone is calling for your head?
“Because training is optional there are things that the players will be doing that will make them better, working on the mental side of the game [for example], but if they choose to go to training, they should have a clear plan themselves.
“If you just keep prescribing what you need to do and putting out times in the nets and saying ‘this is what you want to achieve’, the player is not thinking about what they need to do to get better. Cricket’s actually a selfish game wrapped up around some team components. Players are so unique in the way they approach cricket . . . we feel that by giving them autonomy to do what they think is best for them, it allows us to shape a programme for that individual which will ultimately help the team.”
Although there is much to be gained from intuition, there is a lot of information to gather from elsewhere, of course. There is the candidate’s past record and his reputation, as well as what players who have been in the dressing room with him say. Fleming’s CV and reputation within the game are strong, though with a notable absence of coaching in red-ball cricket, which he has eschewed in favour of the franchise circuit.
Fleming has never had an international head coaching job. He played with McCullum, inset, in the New Zealand Test side
rounder, Stokes is the hardest cricketer in the Test team for whom to find a successor and there are no like-for-like alternatives. For English conditions, the obvious way to go is to replace Stokes with a spin-bowling all-rounder — Calvin Harrison would be my choice; Rehan Ahmed will probably be theirs — which would allow for four seamers, who are still, after all, the main match-winners in England.
for three counties, mainly Nottinghamshire, and he coached the Southern Brave in the Hundred most recently. He will not be coming in cold and should be able to negotiate good relationships with his counterparts in domestic cricket.
One of McCullum’s initial strengths was the way he made his assistants believe wholly in his methods, but this also became a weakness. He needed to be challenged to a greater degree, and one of Fleming’s jobs will be to build a stronger, more resilient, more challenging coaching set-up which he then oversees.
There is a lot of McCullum there, of course. And it would have been silly to appoint someone at the opposite end of the McCullum spectrum — a Justin Langer, say — given what McCullum has achieved and built into the dressing room culture and given that he is still around. Similar philosophy with a sharper edge and more attention to detail may be the best way to describe Fleming’s likely approach.
His first significant decision was the Test captaincy and he and Rob Key have taken the sensible decision not to appoint Harry Brook, who is not ready for the job and who has too much on his plate playing across three formats and captaining in white-ball cricket. Clearly Brook’s partnership with McCullum is flourishing and that left only Joe Root or Jacob Bethell — the latter a year younger, at 22, than Fleming was when made captain of New Zealand — as realistic alternatives.
He fits the bill in some important ways: first, he is available, having recently left his job after a very long stint with the Chennai Super Kings (CSK); second, he will likely rub along well alongside Brendon McCullum, who is a fellow Kiwi, and they are known to get on (they have been in business together); and third, he is a grown-up in cricketing terms, having done it all as a player and having held a high-profile head coach’s job in the Indian Premier League, where the scrutiny and pressure are significant, although subtly different from coaching a national side.
Fleming, 53, has a strong record as player and captain of New Zealand and coach of CSK, with whom he has been involved since the league’s inception in 2008. He was a tall, willowy left-hander who made nine centuries in 111 Tests, but he really made his mark as captain. He was a cool customer as an opposite number (his first game as captain in 1997 in Christchurch was against my England team) and led in a shrewd but calm way. It was clear from the outset that he would be an excellent leader.
He must sort out the rubbish around the curfew and the can-we-can’t-we drinking nonsense, and iron out any wrinkles with McCullum over the multi-format players like Jofra Archer, Brook and Bethell. These cricketers will be in high demand over the coming 12 months, with an Ashes next summer followed by a 50-over World Cup. Both coaches will want their best teams in those formats in the build-up to them. The Ashes are just 12 months’ hence not much time to get sorted, even for a man of Fleming’s undoubted attributes.
His appointment means that New Zealand’s influence on English cricket is strong. Alongside Fleming, McCullum will continue in his role as white-ball coach. There is Tim Southee, a specialist fast-bowling coach, and Jeetan Patel, the lead spin-bowling coach. Their humility and ability to maximise resources mean the Kiwis are excellent role models, but the lack of serious English candidates should be a cause for concern.
Root’s return in a permanent capacity is a reflection of the paucity of options and lack of senior leadership in the team, which must be a focus of Fleming’s in future. Root’s limitations were revealed in the Test against New Zealand at the Oval last month, when it didn’t take long for his usual equanimity to disappear, but needs must and Root was never likely to turn down the opportunity to help out. While Root’s appointment is not ideal, it is a better outcome than having Brook at the helm.
As coach, he latched on to MS Dhoni and the CSK franchise once he finished as a player, and had considerable success with them, leading them to five IPL titles. You don’t last as long as he did with a franchise like that unless you are both skilled as a coach and as a people person. Cutting his teeth in a cut-throat environment without losing his essential calm and understated demeanour says a lot for his temperament.
At this point in time it would have been difficult for a candidate to be appointed for whom this was a first, big job. The Test team and the infrastructure around it are in need of some careful reordering and having someone who is used to life as a head coach, as Fleming has been with CSK, is ideal. In cricketing terms, and in his general demeanour, he’s a grown-up, and a grown-up is what is required at this juncture.
Fleming’s recent departure from CSK came at a fortunate time for Key. After Andy Flower spurned the ECB’s initial interest, there were few outstanding candidates available. Although it leaves a small interregnum during the Pakistan series, when Marcus Trescothick will be given the opportunity to emerge from McCullum’s shadow, Key has alighted on the best alternative.
A few were in the running. Jonathan Trott, Gareth Batty and Richard Dawson were in the conversation, and they will be candidates possibly for a strengthened and changed coaching outfit under Fleming and McCullum.
Though a Kiwi, Fleming possesses a strong association with the English game, which is important. He played
Fleming must find a way to replace Ben Stokes. As a seam bowling all-
Elliott has no regrets about loan with Villa
Ian Whittell
RYAN BROWNE/SHUTTERSTOCK
Martyn Ziegler Sports News Reporter of the Year Kit Shepard
Harvey Elliott admits he still does not know if his future lies with Liverpool, but insists he has no regrets over a move to Aston Villa that left him playing only a little more than 100 Premier League minutes last season.
Amanda Staveley’s consortium is close to buying a stake in West Ham United, which could signal a possible takeover of the club.
The 23-year-old claims the campaign was not a lost year, having collected a Europa League winners’ medal as part of Unai Emery’s squad in May.
The consortium led by Staveley, her husband Mehrdad Ghodoussi, and their firm, PCP Capital Partners, is believed to be in pole position to buy the late David Gold’s 25 per cent shareholding from his daughter, Vanessa.
Now Elliott is back at Liverpool, where he has featured in both games under Andoni Iraola on their preseason tour to the United States, although he has no idea whether he will figure in the new manager’s plans.
If successful, the next move could be to make an offer for the shares owned by David Sullivan to take majority control of the club.
Speaking publicly for the first time since his Aston Villa loan, Elliott said: “I’m not too sure yet [about where he fits into Iraola’s plans]. That’s a conversation for me to have more in detail with him. Right now I’m just thinking about making sure I’m physically and mentally 100 per cent, and trying to impress on the pitch.
Staveley, who led the takeover of Newcastle United for Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, is understood to be backed by investors mainly from the United States and the Far East.
They had considered a bid for Tottenham Hotspur, but now aim to take over West Ham, restore the Championship club to the Premier League, and even potentially buy the London Stadium, with the idea of investing heavily in the ground.
“I need to be more cautious in my decisions. Ultimately, I’m still wanting to be selfish, from that aspect of doing what’s right for me, and whether I’m staying here and fighting for my place, or whether that’s potentially going elsewhere, I’m still unsure at this moment until I get some more intel.”
The consortium’s plan includes significant investment in players to revive the club’s fortunes.
It is understood that the consortium has already held talks with officials connected to the London mayor’s office about taking over the stadium.
Elliott admitted that his loan move to Villa “didn’t work out” but added: “That’s last season, now I’m here. It’s a second chance, especially with the gaffer and new coaching staff coming in. It’s another chance to impress, and hopefully get in their good books.
The consortium led by Staveley, left, and her husband Ghodoussi, right, wants to revive the Championship club’s fortunes
However, any sale to Staveley’s consortium is subject to a “pre-emption process”, which means the existing shareholders would have the first option to buy the shares instead. That includes Daniel Kretinsky, the Czech tycoon who is the other major shareholder.
West Ham have held on to their captain, Jarrod Bowen, and opted to keep Nuno Espírito Santo as head coach. Bowen was persuaded to stay after a conversation with Kretinsky and Jiri Svarc, a board member, in Prague.
Sullivan’s 38.8 per cent share in West Ham is under scrutiny from the Independent Football Regulator in the wake of the allegations. West Ham had a turbulent year even before the accusations aimed at Sullivan emerged. In April, Baroness Brady stepped down as vice-chair after 16 years, and the club was relegated the next month.
the 1980s. Sullivan’s resignation, after 16 years leading West Ham, was announced two days before the Times and BBC investigation was published.
“I wouldn’t say it was a lost year, because at the end of it I won the Europa League, and to have that on my CV is incredible.”
Sullivan categorically denies the allegations and has labelled them “factually incorrect and entirely false”. He has been subject to a safeguarding ban preventing him from having any contact with members of the West Ham academy or women’s team since 2023. These restrictions were imposed by the club on the recommendation of the FA after at least one complaint to the national governing body, and Sullivan accepted them for a “quiet life”.
Staveley was a figurehead of PIF’s takeover of Newcastle in October 2021. She facilitated the Saudi-backed £305 million investment, and acquired a 10 per cent stake for herself and Ghodoussi, who both became directors at the club. The couple subsequently decreased their stake, and agreed to sell their remaining shares and leave the club in the summer of 2024.
Sullivan resigned as West Ham co-chairman in June after allegations of sexual abuse were uncovered by a Times and BBC Panorama investigation. The 77-year-old British businessman was accused of exploitative and predatory behaviour when he was making his fortune in the adult industry, with the claims dating back to
Meanwhile, defender Joe Gomez will miss the start of the season with a leg muscle injury he picked up during the pre-season match against Sunderland.
Kretinsky, who also owns Royal Mail and a stake in Sainsbury’s, purchased an initial 27 per cent stake in West Ham in 2021. After West Ham’s relegation, he pledged to provide financial support for the club to return it to the Premier League.
“I think it will be impossible to have him for the start of the season because we are not so far but it shouldn’t be a lot more,” Iraola said.
Bergvall, the Sweden international, has been the subject of rejected bids from Newcastle United and Nottingham Forest. De Zerbi revealed that in April he had multiple discussions with his players about their futures.
plan A, then stop. Because the players are not the same. There are not two players the same.
when he picks a transfer target, is still keen to add to his attacking options. He said another big signing was in the pipeline, which, it is understood, is likely to be in addition to Savinho, who is in talks to sign from Manchester City.
captain Cristian Romero and the goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario, adding that while he would like players to stay he would not stand in their way if they wished to depart.
Peter Rutzler Sydney
Roberto De Zerbi believes Tottenham Hotspur have completed only “60 per cent” of their work during this transfer window and has promised supporters that there will be one more “bomba” signing — despite already breaking the club’s transfer record twice.
“Before bringing in the winger, we have to consider the full back, because we start from the full back, from the player we already have, no? And then we have to consider the number of goals. For sure we have to increase the number of goals with the play, with the quality of the play, but we have to bring players able to score goals. We have to consider set pieces, we have to increase also the height, a lot of things.”
Spurs have spent more in this transfer window than in any previous season, with three of their six summer signings costing a total of £237 million: the centre back Jan Paul van Hecke for £52 million and the midfielders Mateus Fernandes, for £85 million, and Sandro Tonali, for £100 million. However De Zerbi, who said that he is “like a shark”
“At the beginning of my time, in April, I had, I don’t know, one million individual meetings, and they [Romero and Vicario] told me their idea,” De Zerbi said. “I said, ‘Yes, help me to stay up, and then I’ll help you to leave. If you don’t help me to stay up, you stay underwater with me.’ ”
“The transfer market, it’s not finished for sure, but we completed 60 per cent of our project, now we have another bomba,” De Zerbi said. “I hope [it is close], but it’s not finished for sure.
The Spurs head coach also revealed that after his appointment, England’s Djed Spence spoke to him about leaving the club this summer, along with the midfielder Lucas Bergvall, the
“[We want] attackers, and then we find the position. I normally don’t love working with plan A, plan B, plan C. It’s
Results
One Day Cup (11.0 unless stated):
Birmingham Phoenix (balls) D S T Perrin c Bouchier b Glenn 52 (43) T T Beaumont c Rodrigues b Corteen-Coleman 22 (23) A R Capsey c Molineux b Bell 8 (9) *E A Perry not out 16 (11) A Dercksen c Bouchier b Molineux 5 (9) †J E M Spence c Glenn b Molineux 0 (1) F S Khan not out 5 (4) Extras (lb 4, w 4) 8 Total (5 wkts, 100 balls) 116 A M King, E Gray, L C N Smith and L L Filer did not bat. Fall of wickets 1-73, 2-87, 3-92, 4-110, 5-110. Bowling Bell 4-0-16-1; Molineux 4-0-24-2; Wong 4-0-26-0; Corteen-Coleman 4-0-19-1; Glenn 4-0-27-1.
7-116, 8-116.
4-5-35-1. Women: Southern Brave v Birmingham Phoenix
Bowling Dwarshuis 4-9-18-2; Mahmood 24-17-0; Currie 4-5-40-1; Owen 1-2-4-1; Tariq 4-8-17-0; Ahmed 4-5-25-3; Ferreira 1-2-7-0.
The Hundred Men: Southern Brave v Birmingham Phoenix
Women’s Open: Lytham St Annes: Leading first-round scores: 64 A Thitikul (Thai).
Utilita Bowl (Birmingham Phoenix won toss and elected to bowl): Southern Brave (4pts) beat Birmingham Phoenix (0) by 24 runs.
Utilita Bowl (Birmingham Phoenix won toss and elected to bowl): Southern Brave (4pts) beat Birmingham Phoenix (0) by 12 runs.
Birmingham Phoenix (balls) †J M Clarke c Stubbs b Stoinis 7 (10) W C F Smeed c Miller b Wood 35 (28)
Southern Brave (balls) M E Bouchier b Filer 45 (31) †L Lee c Smith b Capsey 43 (28) L Wolvaardt st Spence b King 11 (15) J J Rodrigues not out 28 (18) *S G Molineux not out 8 (9) Extras (w 4, nb 1) 5 Total (3 wkts, 100 balls) 140 J L Grewcock, N D Dattani, S Glenn, I E C M Wong, L K Bell and M R Corteen-Coleman did not bat.
*D Ferreira b Archer 1 (3) M J Owen b Rashid 7 (10)
Southern Brave (balls) †J L Smith c Owen b Dwarshuis 6 (5) B S McKinney c Ferreira b Owen 18 (9) T B Abell st †Clarke b Ahmed 22 (19) J J Rodrigues c Ferreira b Ahmed 34 (26) D A Miller c Mahmood b Dwarshuis 24 (21) T Stubbs c Currie b Ahmed 5 (6) *C J Jordan c Evans b Currie 3 (4)
Super League Huddersfield Giants 22 Hull FC 16.
Scottish Premiership Dundee United v Rangers (8.0)
One Day Cup: Group A: Preston Lancashire 220 (A Shetty 53) Notts Outlaws 189 (K Verreynne 61). Lancashire (4pts) beat Notts Outlaws (0) by 31 runs.
Fall of wickets 1-68, 2-97, 3-112. Bowling Smith 4-0-23-0; Khan 3-0-33-0; Filer 3-0-22-1; King 4-0-23-1; Gray 2-0-16-0; Capsey 4-0-23-1.
Super League (8.0 kick-off unless stated): Hull Kingston Rovers v Bradford Bulls, Leeds Rhinos v Toulouse, Leigh Leopards v Wigan Warriors.
The Hundred: Old Trafford Manchester Super Giants v Trent Rockets (women 3.0, men 6.30).
Infantino is deluded bureaucrat and he must be kicked out
Word Cup is sold to private investors was unanimous. Infantino must have been hoping for schisms, that vested interests, financial need or gain, would hold just enough sway to squeeze the vote his way, that enough football associations would inhale through gritted teeth and say it is better to be inside Infantino’s gold-plated tent than outside it.
Stance of each confederation
Uefa (Europe, 55 Fifa members) President: Aleksander Ceferin All 55 European nations agreed to boycott Fifa competitions until the Infantino proposal is withdrawn.
Senior Sports Writer
he words “everyone can be bought” must have been on the paper inside a fortune cookie that was opened by Gianni Infantino when he was an impressionable teenager. It was a message that held true when he was elected Fifa president in
Concacaf (North and Central America and Caribbean, 35) President: Victor Montagliani They unanimously rejected Fifa’s proposal in a meeting yesterday.
But no one who matters is speaking up for him. He thought, perhaps, it would only be plucky little Norway popping its head above the parapet — as it did to raise ethical concerns over Donald Trump’s intervention on the banning of Folarin Balogun during the World Cup — and that no one else would have the guts to question his moral fibre. Instead, everyone in Uefa was Norway. Everyone was appalled.
AFC (Asia, 46) President: Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa Al Khalifa said plans undermine “foundations of continental football”. Their position is crucial given Uefa and Concacaf alone cannot block plans in a vote.
He used the same ploy as he plotted to sell off the World Cup. Vote in favour of his self-serving scheme and you get $40 million. Vote against and you get 75 per cent less. Tempting, then, to accede, especially for those associations that need a grassroots boost and new coaches, but they may not even get the chance because the backlash against Infantino is so vehement that it leaves his dastardly scheme with nowhere to go. Which surely means his time is up. And if this deluded bureaucrat will not step down voluntarily, then emergency measures must be taken to remove him from office on the grounds of bringing the game into disrepute.
Any ordinary person would realise their time was up, that they had gone too far, and graciously step down, admitting they had misjudged the mood. But Infantino is incapable of reading the room.
Conmebol (South America, 10) President: Alejandro Domínguez They have historically backed Infantino but are yet to comment.
Caf (Africa, 54) President: Patrice Motsepe African nations are key part of Infantino’s power base and will meet next week to discuss plans.
This is the man who thought awarding the spurious Fifa peace prize to Trump would be the starting point for his own form of world domination, that having Trump onside, being seen with him at his inauguration, at Spain’s lifting of the trophy in New York, would grant him immunity against any opposition; that to doubt Infantino would by extension be to doubt the president of the United States.
OFC (Oceania, 11) President: Lambert Maltock Will discuss the plans in August and have given no indication as to whether they support them.
His plan, partially scuppered by being exposed sooner than he would have liked by The Times, was a hit with a small group of American investors that have close links to Donald Trump but greeted with opprobrium by everyone else. The fans hated the idea, as did the players, as did many of the associations that Infantino assumed would be wooed by the promised
cash injection. Fellow bureaucrats have lined up to label the proposal “irresponsible and indefensible”, something that prompts “great concern and disappointment”.
as he would like you to think and across the
or just plainly unsuited to a job that requires deft diplomacy. It did not occur to any Uefa spokesman that, oh dear, we might be annoying “the Donald” if we don’t back selling off the World Cup.
But most damning of all and what pulls the rug, swiftly, from under his feet is that the vote by Uefa to boycott Fifa tournaments if the
globe he is widely considered to be erratic, dangerous
Trump, though, is not as popular
There is much to hate about what
had lost 7-2 to Barcelona and suffered a second defeat of the season against Sunderland. More jeers followed that significant defeat.
are no “what ifs”. No sense at all that he was pushed.
Howe’s three boys are settled in schools in Northumberland and play football for local boys’ clubs. This has not been an easy call for him.
It was a 58-game season, the second longest in Newcastle’s history. By the end of it, Howe looked drained, and his exhausted side finished 12th in the table, a position that was not acceptable for anyone at the club.
Last week Kevin Keegan died. This week Howe has left. There is perhaps a unique pressure, the relentlessness of a one-club city, that exhausted both men when they managed here.
likely be a settlement but not necessarily a payoff.
move for Matthias Jaissle, the Al-Ahli head coach they had been tracking for months, according to insiders.
Martin Hardy, Paul Joyce
The desire from above, however, was for him to stay. But their back-up plan was at another Saudi Arabia Public
It is said that this is the right time, that it is Howe’s decision to go, with no animosity, that his energy bank is empty. There is no other job being lined up.
Howe feared his tenure was coming to an end when a comment came from the Newcastle chief executive David Hopkinson in March about not having “a stance on his (Howe’s) future”.
Football moves fast. The 38-year-old Jaissle, who has been at Al-Ahli in the Saudi Pro League since 2023, will be the next head coach of Newcastle and will join the club’s first-team squad in La Manga.
Investment Fund-owned club in the form of Jaissle. Sources insist that is a
He was told to go away, recharge his batteries and hopefully, in the eyes of the leadership, change his mind.
For him, there was exhaustion last summer and then exasperation this year that his team were being ripped up. But there was not necessarily fury. Newcastle pushed themselves financially to breaking point to get here. This is simply the time when the credit card bills have landed.
coincidence. They also insist the
Howe would not discuss his position with close friends that day before he was given assurances about the context and that the desire was to keep him on. By then Newcastle
It is uncertain whether Howe even said goodbye to the players at the club’s training ground yesterday.
ambition of PIF, which is withdrawing its financial backing of LIV Golf this year, has not
The 48-year-old was seen at that point as the solution, and not the problem, at a football club about to undergo a huge reboot, altering its future model and path. Just over two weeks ago, when asked if his opinion had changed, Howe — the first man to lead Newcastle to a domestic cup for 70 years offered the same thought: that he was done. It was then that Newcastle’s senior leadership team intensified their
Newcastle have yet to announce that Howe has gone or that Jaissle will succeed him, having been taken by surprise as news broke of their interest in Jaissle. That too will come.
changed at Newcastle. But reality has.
Howe is thought to have been accepting of the need for a new, younger squad to be built, despite the blows of losing Alexander Isak, Anthony Gordon and Sandro Tonali. But there
Five years ago, thousands of fans
The departure of Howe is emphatically described in private by many sources as amicable. There will most
Howe ended Newcastle’s 70-year wait for a major trophy at Wembley in 2025
celebrated outside St James’ Park following the PIF
JONATHAN ERNST /REUTERS
To some sources, the “Fifa Forward Enterprise” — a newly proposed $20 billion commercial subsidiary, introduced by Infantino, that would handle Fifa’s tournaments with private investors in the background — was the vehicle for that ambition.
Chief Sports Reporter
Except now 2031 looks deeply uncertain. If this were big business, Infantino would already be penning his resignation letter. But this is football, and he could still try to brazen it out.
Gianni Infantino is facing the total collapse of his plan to sell off the World Cup, and now his own position as Fifa president is under serious threat.
Yet it is fair to say leading football administrators from around the world, not just Europe, have had their fill of Infantino. Any efforts to unseat him would probably develop over the next few days. He will also know that Uefa has its own blueprint for a global Nations League, involving top countries from around the world, that was developed in 2017 but never activated.
Infantino opened Pandora’s box, flew too close to the sun, jumped the shark and just about every other idiom in the book.
The plan to sell off a stake in the World Cup to private investors is dead in the water after Uefa’s 55 nations unanimously declared that they would boycott all Fifa competitions. No investor, no matter how close they are to Infantino, will want to spend a fortune buying a slice of a competition in which Europe’s top nations are not playing.
One avenue may be for Uefa to convene an emergency Fifa Congress and launch a vote of no confidence. Under article 25(4) of Fifa’s statutes, it needs only 20 per cent of its membership (43 countries) for that to happen.
The only question is how, or if, Infantino can extricate himself from a mess of his own making.
It may also be that an opponent comes forward as an anti-Infantino unifying force when he runs for election for a final term in March 2027.
The Swiss clearly totally underestimated the reaction his plan, drawn up in secret using connections in the United States close to Donald Trump’s network, would provoke. Perhaps he had hoped to choose the time of the announcement of the investment scheme, only for The Times to reveal on Tuesday what was being planned.
Nasser Al-Khelaifi, the Paris SaintGermain president, chairman of European Football Clubs and head of beIN Sports, is someone who would have Infantino shaking in his white trainers, if he could be persuaded to run. His representatives say he has no ambition to be Fifa president, and it will not happen, and some may feel his multiple roles are too many conflicts of interest.
On the surface it is difficult to understand Infantino’s motives. Fifa has just reported record revenues from the 2026 World Cup, it has $4 billion (about £2.97 billion) in reserves and is under no pressure. Indeed, senior football figures believe if Fifa wanted to give the $40 million over four years to each of the 211 associations it promised for backing the sell-off, rather than $10 million, then it could do so and still maintain healthy reserves.
Other potential candidates include Victor Montagliani, the Canadian who is the president of Concacaf, and the Asian Football Confederation president Sheikh Salman, who lost narrowly to Infantino in the 2016 Fifa election.
taking on Zico in a legends game in Morocco in 2023. Last year he presented Trump with Fifa’s peace prize, left, during the draw for the 2026 World Cup
Infantino was elected as president of Fifa in 2016, inset, and was at the 2018 World Cup final with Vladimir Putin, above. He still found time to play, top,
But what if Infantino remains defiant, goes ahead with the vote and attempts to hold Fifa tournaments without the Europeans? That is an even quicker road to disaster. To hark back to Infantino’s infamous remark at a press conference before the Qatar World Cup: “Today, I feel like history.”
Yes, Mr Infantino, if a very big vested interest does not back you, then who, really, bar those nations for whom a windfall is too good to refuse, is going to stomach you staying in the job?
the sale could mean. World Cups every two years or even annually, hydration breaks as standard, longer half-times, America hosting regularly and banning the concept of the draw. But we don’t need to extrapolate, we don’t need to flick
through George Orwell’s 1984, yet again, we need to know only that Spain and Portugal voted to boycott the World Cup and Spain and Portugal are the co-hosts, alongside Morocco, of the very next tournament.
For those that have dealt with Infantino over the past few months, the motives have been more obvious. He has talked of “making some serious money after 2031”, when he expected his final Fifa presidential term to end.
director Ross Wilson, and now Jaissle, Newcastle will present a different model, of buying young players, developing them and selling them on.
takeover. Talk then from club officials was of winning the Premier League in five years. Last December it was about “being in the debate about being the top club in the world” by 2030.
to £100 million this month. The big-name sales and frustration over Newcastle’s transfer approach are partly what led to the departure of the head coach Eddie Howe, whose exit was announced yesterday. Newcastle begin their Premier League season at home to Liverpool on August 23.
players and he has looked at Guimarães in the past.
playing for Brazil at the World Cup.
Arsenal have moved closer to agreeing a deal for Newcastle United’s Bruno Guimarães worth in the region of £80 million including add-ons (Gary Jacob writes).
The mood among fans is confused; some loved Howe and stayed with him. For others, faith went last season. There is sadness at this unexpected end and frustration at the change of direction and the perceived drop in ambition.
Newcastle finished 12th, even with Gordon, Tonali and another likely departee in Bruno Guimarães.
Last season Guimarães was Newcastle’s top scorer in the league with nine goals, despite missing two months of the campaign through injury. He also claimed five assists in the Premier League. Newcastle paid Lyon £40 million for him in January 2022.
Newcastle privately expressed last week that they would reject a £70 million bid for Guimarães but have been in talks about signing the Botafogo midfielder Danilo. He spent two seasons at Nottingham Forest before moving to the Brazilian club, who are expecting offers from European sides of about £25 million.
They broke Uefa financial rules and were fined. Gordon was sold to help deal with that. Tonali was sold to buy young players.
To use a quote from Keegan when he threatened to leave in 1992 because of a lack of signings: “It’s not like it said in the brochure.”
The 28-year-old midfielder is scheduled to report to Newcastle
That was not the dream sold to those fans, one Newcastle have played to with huge spending. That has now stopped. The club’s £335 million turnover is less than half of what it needs to be to win those promised league titles.
today before the squad fly out for their pre-
Other issues persist. No one has addressed whether the northeast of England could finance the corporate element of a much talked of new stadium that does not have complete funding to be built. The announcement of a new training ground is said to be close. But before all that, the club must build a new team, and fast.
Meanwhile, Ethan Nwaneri has attracted interest from Borussia Dortmund and AC Milan. Arsenal want as much as £50 million for the 19-yearold midfielder, who came through their academy.
season camp in La Manga, Spain. He was given three
Arsenal have made two signings this summer Christos Tzolis, the £34 million Greece winger, who replaces Leandro Trossard, and Illan Meslier, a reserve goalkeeper.
weeks off after
Arsenal have been willing to spend big on elite players to support Mikel Arteta’s desire to go to “a different dimension” after winning the Premier League title. He wants to
It is a gap too great to bridge. Targets were missed this summer for various reasons, most notably a lack of European football. Under sporting
Game one of the season, against Liverpool and Isak, is on August 23. Game two is against Tottenham Hotspur and Tonali.
Nwaneri played only 165 minutes in the Premier League last season before joining Marseille on loan in January.
Newcastle sold Anthony Gordon to Barcelona for £69.3 million in May and Sandro Tonali to Tottenham Hotspur for up
Guimarães is wanted by Arsenal
strengthen in midfield with more technical
Jaissle has three weeks to hit the ground running and lift the city’s mood.
62 Friday July 31 2026 | the times
No half-time show could make up for Europe’s absent stars
J BELLINGHAM (ENGLAND) 7
E HAALAND (NORWAY) 7
James
Reaction to the biggest story in football
Carve up the moon and we’ll pack up the stars. That is the message that the football federations of Europe have spoken with one voice. Forty-nine hours after Gianni Infantino’s brazen plot to sell off the World Cup was revealed by my colleague Martyn Ziegler, the continent that founded the tournament, invented the game, has supplied nine of the past 12 finalists and still has the lion’s share of the best players, was moved, at long last, to step into its own power. Its warning now teeters on the fulcrum of history. It will be remembered either as the threat which held a megalomaniac in check, or the promise which pulled a sport apart. There are two ways this can end now: with Infantino, humbled, stepping back from the brink; or in schism, secession, the game’s great golden show reduced to a hollow shell.
Available now wherever you listen to your podcasts
This is not the death knell for football. But it is the division bell. Uefa, led by Infantino’s arch-enemy Aleksander Ceferin, and Concacaf, who said its members unanimously oppose the proposals, have made a stand. There are several things at stake: not only the creep of private investment into a sacred temple, but also the stealthy Americanisation of football, the prospect of more interference by the wealthy and the powerful, and, given that most suspect that Infantino’s endgame is a biennial or even annual World Cup, the issue of player welfare. US Soccer, one of the 41 Concacaf members, are to be applauded for taking a stand against not only Infantino but their own government. The challenge has been laid down. Now we wait, and hope that the man who would sell the world, the man who would sweat one of sport’s priceless assets and then sweat it some more for good measure, will, as he ponders the implications of a European breakaway, himself be made to sweat.
K MBAPPÉ (FRANCE) 10 GOALS
L MESSI (ARGENTINA) 8
If the members of Uefa are forced to follow through on their ultimatum, the World Cup will enter a new era with no Spain, no France, no England, no Germany, no Portugal, no Netherlands, no Norway. Imagine a World Cup without Kylian Mbappé, Lamine Yamal, Erling Haaland, Jude Bellingham, Rodri, Michael Olise, Pau Cubarsí. Imagine a women’s World Cup without Aitana Bonmatí, Mariona Caldentey, Alessia Russo, Ewa Pajor, Caroline Graham Hansen, Klara Bühl. What exactly would you be left with? An event shadowed by ghosts, with only the flimsiest pretence to crowning the world’s best. A spectacle of gaps and absences, plugged with half-time shows, commercial schmaltz, influencer slop.
nations would play a European championship every two years instead of every four. Maybe we’d get used to it eventually. The optimistic reading is that it would end up like World Series cricket, where a compromise was reached and the global game came back together, or the PDC/BDO split in darts, where the talent on one side weighs so heavy that the exodus becomes inexorable. But there are no guarantees that that would be the case. Maybe international football would become more like boxing: disparate bodies, different prizes, the best seldom meeting the best.
because of all the European players and fans who dream of beating the world and lifting the cup. Taking that dream away would be devastating. And for the female footballers of Europe, for whom international football is a much more crucial part of their income stream than it is for the men, taking away next summer’s World Cup would potentially be more damaging still. They will be watching this situation on tenterhooks.
Let us play out both the scenarios that are on the table. What the Uefa nations are hoping for is that their threat resounds, Fifa’s plan is shelved, the World Cup remains a global tournament. This is, after all, a scheme bound up in American money, American politics, American values. Americans see sport through a much more individualistic lens than we do in Europe. For them, it is very much about superstars. And in front of their noses, Mbappé, Haaland, Bellingham, Rodri, Yamal, Lionel Messi and Harry Kane have just made it very clear that they are the best football players on the planet.
Not everything about this scenario is good, though. If Uefa wins this one and Fifa’s plan is shelved, Infantino will have had a warning, but not a reckoning. There is a danger that Fifa will hear, just as some of Europe’s big clubs did after the failure of the Super League, “not now”, rather than “no”. The can will be kicked down the road. The ground that Fifa has already won — the hydration breaks, the absurd gerrymandering of the World Cup-hosting bid process to favour Saudi Arabia will not be ceded. We will still be inside the tent, with all the foul smells that that entails, still holding our nose.
Football, and its most famous competition, now faces a defining moment in its rich history. By coincidence, Uefa’s statement was issued 60 years to the day that England played West Germany in the World Cup final of 1966. From that match, Geoff Hurst, Willi Schulz, Wolfgang Weber, Wolfgang Overath and Siggi Held are still alive.
The word “boycott” brings back memories of the Olympic Games of the 1970s and 1980s. In Moscow, in 1980, 65 nations, including the United States, West Germany and Japan, declined to participate — between them, they had accounted for 71 per cent of the medals won at the previous Olympics in 1976.
I found myself thinking of those great men, wondering what they thought, seeing their nations stand, as the Football Association put it, “shoulder to shoulder”. Europe’s readiness to stand up to Fifa bespeaks the same truth imprinted on our collective consciousness that day by their muddy-shirted, empty-lunged heroics: the World Cup is something so special as to be worth fighting for.
A women’s World Cup held without Spain great Bonmatí is unthinkable
If Europe pulls out of the World Cup, the effect will be similar. The show may go on, the trophy and the medals may be handed out, the champions may take their place in the record books. But everyone will know, and everyone will remember, that a greater weight of talent lies outside the competition than within, that the title no longer truly confers global supremacy.
Messi is coming to the end and the others are all from Europe. Investors understand the value of power and fame. They understand that the withdrawal of those things leads to a devaluing of the product. Perhaps that logic will prevail.
What about the other possible reality? What if Infantino doesn’t step back from the brink? Perhaps he reasons that he can do without one continent, even the one that has historically been the bedrock of the sport. His presidency has been pitched at the other continents, the African and Asian confederations in particular. Even a
Europe-less World Cup would still be watched around the world, would still generate wealth. Maybe just goes ahead and does it anyway. What if he does? What if the great polar ice shelf of world football splinters, and carves a lonely iceberg into an uncharted sea?
There are, of course, a lot of reasons to hope that it does. Most obviously
Presumably, the Uefa member
Round of 32
Round of 16
Germany Paraguay Paraguay France France
Quarter-finals
3 0
Sweden S Africa Canada Netherlands Morocco
France
O DEMBÉLÉ (FRANCE) 6
0
0
3
0
1
2
Morocco
1
1 (2)
2
3
2
0
2
1
3
2
1
2 2
0
2
1
3
2
1 (2)
Canada Morocco
Semi-finals
0 2
France
Spain
Portugal
Croatia Spain Austria
Portugal
Spain
Spain
continued from back
Belgium
US
be used for development. In a statement, Uefa said: “We unanimously and unequivocally reject Fifa’s proposal to transfer ownership interests in the World Cup and other Fifa competitions to private investors.”
Bosnia-Herz
US Belgium Belgium
Final
Senegal
1 0
Spain
Argentina
Brazil
The Times revealed Infantino’s plan on Tuesday, sparking a furious backlash.
Japan Ivory Coast Norway
Brazil Norway
It added: “The World Cup is not for sale. This is not a ‘democratic decision’, but governance by intimidation — an act of coercion unworthy of an institution entrusted with the stewardship of the global game.”
Sources have claimed that Infantino would be lined up to run the company, called Fifa Forward Enterprise, as a commissioner once his final presidential term expires in 2031. The salary for that position has not been confirmed but figures with knowledge of the plan said it would be on a par with that of the NFL chief commissioner, who earns about $64 million a year, ten times as much as Infantino.
Norway Mexico
England
Ecuador
Mexico England England
The next World Cup matches involving European nations are scheduled for as soon as October 9, when Uefa’s 2027 Women’s World Cup qualifying play-offs begin. England are meant to play their first leg against Greece on this date, while Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and the Ireland are also in the play-offs. The 2027 Women’s World Cup will be hosted by Brazil. There is also a Women’s Under-20 World Cup beginning on September 5, with a Uefa nation, Poland, hosting the tournament. England are one of the six European participants.
DR Congo Argentina Cape Verde
England
Argentina
3 2
Argentina
Egypt
Australia
Uefa said on Wednesday: “Fifa cannot continue to use our sport to enrich themselves and their friends. We can grow the game correctly. It’s time to prioritise associations, clubs, leagues, players and fans.”
Egypt
Argentina
3 1
Switzerland
Switzerland Algeria
Switzerland
0 (4) 0 (3)
Colombia Colombia
Infantino’s letter to associations, which has been seen by The Times, says: “The decision on whether or not to proceed with this proposal belongs entirely to you. Should you wish to proceed this $10 billion package will become available as of January 1, 2027, ushering in the next phase of our journey together.
Ghana
The men’s World Cup in 2030 is due to be hosted by the holders Spain, Portugal and Morocco. Spain and Portugal would therefore be boycotting their own tournament if Infantino goes ahead with his plan.
10 8
Vozinha (Cape Verde)
“Should you wish to retain the status quo and reject this proposal we still have our planned expansion of the Forward programme [development money] of $2.7 billion as previously presented. In total for the upcoming cycle starting as of January 1, 2027 each member association will have the possibility of access up to $40 million per member association under this proposal.”
An FA statement read: “We stand shoulder to shoulder with our European colleagues and fully support the collective view. We oppose Fifa’s plans. The Fifa World Cup belongs to football and always will.”
D Upamecano (Fra)
M Cucurella (Spa)
P Porro (Spa)
Li Martínez (Arg)
7 7
Rodri (Spa)
M Olise (Fra)
J Bellingham (Eng)
6 6
Uefa’s stance was also supported by the UK government. Lisa Nandy, the culture secretary, said: “Football belongs to the fans, not billionaire investors. Enough is enough. It’s time to take a stand to protect our game.”
L Messi (Arg)
E Haaland (Nor)
K Mbappé (Fra)
It has also been pointed out that Fifa’s financial reserves of $4 billion mean that the extra cash could — and should — be given to national associations anyway, rather than using the private investors’ money.
There was another significant blow to Infantino’s ambitions when Sheikh Salman, the president of the Asian Football Confederation, wrote to his 47 members expressing “great concern and disappointment” at the lack of consultation from Fifa.
generation. As a result of today’s discussion, no Uefa national teams will participate in any Fifa competition for so long as these proposals remain alive, unless this proposal has been abandoned in its entirety and binding assurances have been given that Fifa will never again open its governance or competitions to private ownership. Nobody should be in any doubt: Uefa and its national associations will oppose these plans with absolute determination. There are moments when institutions are judged not by what they are prepared to accept, but by what they refuse to compromise. This is one of those moments. Some things are simply too important to sell. The Fifa World Cup belongs to football. It always will. And so long as Europe has a voice, it will never be for sale.
daily pressure. From that moment onwards, every decision on the international calendar, every decision on competition formats and every decision shaping the future of football is no longer driven by what best serves the game, but by what best serves shareholders. This model has no place in world football. Football’s future cannot be dictated by the expectations of those whose first duty is to maximise financial return. Nor can the interests of national associations, leagues, clubs, players and supporters become subordinate to investor returns. Football cannot mortgage its future for financial gain. Europe’s position is clear. We will never lend this model our legitimacy. No one has the moral authority to sell what they merely hold in trust for the next
meaningful consultation with those entrusted with stewarding the game. This is not merely a profound failure of leadership, but an abdication of Fifa’s duty as the custodian of world football. National associations around the world are now presented with an ultimatum: accept the irreversible capture of football’s greatest competitions or bear the consequences. This is not a “democratic decision”, but governance by intimidation — an act of coercion unworthy of an institution entrusted with the stewardship of the global game. But our opposition goes far beyond process. The moment external investors acquire ownership interests in Fifa competitions, football changes forever. Commercial return becomes a permanent obligation. Investor expectations become a
Uefa and its national associations will not participate in Fifa competitions. Uefa and its 55 member associations stand as one. We unanimously and unequivocally reject Fifa’s proposal to transfer ownership interests in the World Cup and other Fifa competitions to private investors. The World Cup cannot be treated as an investment product. It is one of football’s greatest sporting legacies. It has been built over generations by players, national teams and supporters across every continent. No part of it should ever be surrendered to private investors. The World Cup is not for sale. It is both irresponsible and indefensible that a proposal of such significance for football was conceived in secret and brought to the brink of approval without any
Under the plan, which was hatched by Infantino with a small clique of Fifa executives, it would retain power over international football including, significantly, the international match calendar after 2030, but its decisions would have huge influence on the fortunes of the new company. If Fifa expanded the World Cup from 48 to 64 teams, or held the competition more regularly than every four years, that would boost the financial value of the company as it should mean increased revenues — though some figures believe expansion does not necessarily increase profits. It would also add pressure for tournaments to be held in
He wrote: “Furthermore, the AFC is deeply concerned that Fifa’s unilateral actions appear to undermine the very foundations of continental football, which are based on solidarity, co-operation and transparency. Moreover, such an initiative will not succeed without the support of all the confederations, which is not the case now.”
European football’s leaders spelt out that they believed the future of international football was at stake after what many saw as little more than bribery by Infantino.
the most lucrative markets such as the United States, one of three co-hosts for this summer’s tournament.
In his letter to the associations, Infantino said a decision on allowing private investors to buy stakes in the World Cup must be taken by September
Infantino was at a Throne Day event in Morocco yesterday
Friday July 31 2026 | the times
Sport
World Cup boycott
All European nations to withdraw from Fifa competitions over Infantino’s sell-off plan
Chief Sports Reporter
England and the other European members of Uefa will boycott Fifa tournaments if Gianni Infantino goes ahead with his plan to sell stakes in the World Cup to private investors.
The unanimous decision was taken at a crisis meeting of Uefa’s 55 member nations, held virtually, to discuss the hugely controversial sell-off plans.
It came on the 60th anniversary of England’s World Cup win in 1966 and is likely to trigger the collapse of Infantino’s scheme — he had told Fifa’s 211 associations they only have until September 19 to sign up or face financial consequences.
Infantino’s plan was dealt a further blow when Concacaf, which represents North and Central America and the Caribbean, later said its 41 nations would reject the proposal, adding that “football’s future — and its greatest asset [the World Cup] — must remain in the hands of our football family”.
However, the confederation stopped short of boycotting the tournament.
and the decision is seen as potentially being one of the significant moments in Fifa’s chequered history.
federations, including the FA, spoke at the virtual meeting. One source said there was “total unanimity” and “lots of anger” at how they had been treated and why Fifa reserves cannot
essentially kill the project, as the investors would face buying stakes in a competition that would not involve most of the best teams.
Alyson Rudd Deluded Infantino must go, page 60 James Gheerbrant Europe’s stars hold all aces, page 62
The prospect of the men’s and women’s World Cups, and other tournaments, being played without the European nations would
The Uefa meeting was chaired by its president, Aleksander Ceferin,
It is understood that representatives from more than 40
1 Sleeping partner may be in this close relationship (7) 5 I’m surprised, not having left, that woman had cheated (7)
8 International cap making comeback gradually, with great effort (10)
9 Article on equality splitting support for divisive regime (9)
13 Danger sign induced Conservatives to switch leaders (3,5) 15 Trainee barrister’s conclusion pretty much determined cases (6) 17 An American transfixed by writer’s
Check today’s answers by ringing 0905 757 0141 by midnight. Calls cost £1 per minute plus your telephone company’s network access charge. SP: Spoke 0333 202 3390.
hostility (6) 19 Cast wicked character as her? (3-5) 22 One ultimately formed number
12 Eats early and extravagantly during holidays (10) 14 First person sister went out with could be in deep water (9) 16 What crammer may do — help to get into Oxford? (8) 18 Route changed after during and before delivery (2,5)
involved in new organisation? (7,6)
The recycled paper content of UK newspapers in 2024 was 34.7%
28 Innovation of four distinct points separated by three more (7)
20 Long-winded book, half of which is boring poetry (7)
y(7HB7E2*OTSRPM( | +@!='
July 31 | 2026
Netflix v BBC
Which is really best?
TV critic Ben Dowell on the new screen wars
2 V2 Friday July 31 2026 | the times
the arts column
Richard Morrison
Oxbridge has a problem with ‘handsy’ men
Believe it or not, this ingenious Peter Pan plan could save the arts
MANUEL HARLAN/RSC
hat would you say to a scheme that raised millions for our
then make grants to worthy cultural causes. There would be nothing compulsory about the scheme; the estates of distinguished authors would be invited to opt in when their respective copyrights ran out. But why would they refuse, if they were losing their royalty streams anyway?
W
Gillian Tett, provost of King’s College, Cambridge, tells Andrew Billen that she feels profound pain for students who were sexually harassed by professors
beleaguered arts organisations, cost taxpayers nothing and didn’t depend on the whims of private donors or corporate sponsors? Too good to be true? Well, I have pondered Jamie Njoku-Goodwin’s ingenious idea for several days now and can’t see why it wouldn’t work, except that it requires the government to do a bit of thinking outside the box always a big ask.
Drawbacks? I can think of a few. One is that the scheme would presumably involve the dubious pleasure of setting up a kind of alternative Arts Council to choose which creative giants should have their copyrights extended and who benefits from the subsequent royalties. Another is that such a scheme, however well meant, would breach a fundamental principle: that once a creative artist’s heirs have benefited from their work for a reasonable period (the 70-year rule), everything should go into the public domain for the free enjoyment of humanity.
minority. “And there’s a really strong commitment across the board to trying to create a better environment.” She cannot talk about Goldhill because of the college investigation. So I ask whether she has apologised to the complainants in the Huppert case.
hree years ago, when the Financial Times columnist Gillian Tett left her senior management job at the paper to become the head of King’s (you
T
Wendy and Peter Pan at the Barbican last year
winding up their charitable operations in 2029 and 2047 respectively, the trusts created in their names could carry on using royalties to support their work.
Njoku-Goodwin, a sparky 35year-old who has divided his time between music industry jobs and Tory party politics (he was Rishi Sunak’s director of strategy during his final months in No 10), has been thinking about copyright, and particularly about Peter Pan. In a unique act of philanthropy back in 1929 JM Barrie gifted the copyright in his most celebrated play to Great Ormond Street Hospital. When that copyright expired in 1987 the government moved swiftly to grant GOSH a perpetual right to royalties from any public performance, commercial publication or adaptation of Peter Pan in the UK. Thanks to that far-
“Obviously I’ve spoken to all aspects of people who were part of that saga. I have indicated my profound pain for what they went through, both inside the college, at internal events and personally as well. I’ve thanked them for their bravery in coming forward.”
know, as in Christmas carols from King’s), the new provost of Cambridge University’s most recognisable college had her own agenda. As the journalist whose book had claimed the 2008 financial crash was caused as much by teams not talking to one another as greed, she wanted to address the culture of academics working in what sociologists call “silos”.
But his proposal goes further. If the music of Vaughan Williams and Britten could continue generating royalties to support our arts scene in perpetuity, why not apply the same treatment to other British cultural giants whose copyrights expire in the next couple of decades? He cites as examples such figures as CS Lewis (out of copyright in 2034), Ian Fleming (2035), Noël Coward
Is it legally difficult for her to apologise? “Well, first of all, in a sense I can’t apologise because I wasn’t around when a lot of these incidents happened. But it’s not about the legal aspect. Frankly, it’s about being a human. I feel passionately about just trying to be human about this and saying, listen, some of the things that have happened in the past have been unacceptable and unfortunate and I know it’s caused real pain and damage. It’s tragic. It’s tragic all round.”
But such gentlemanly notions of copyright are already being flouted. Think of Disney’s ferocious legal battle over several decades to retain control of Mickey Mouse, almost a century after the figure was created. Or the American tech companies shamelessly breaching millions of copyrights every day to train their AI programs. A striking feature of Njoku-Goodwin’s scheme is that copyright would be deployed for the public good, rather than to line corporate or private pockets.
“Disgusted” by government cuts, she vowed to fight for the humanities in universities generally. King’s, after all, was a progressive college, home for Alan Turing, the brilliant homosexual computer scientist, an early recruiter of female students, and about to get 438 solar panels added to the roof of its famous medieval chapel.
(2044), JRR Tolkien (2044) and Agatha Christie (2047).
Of course when you move into the exalted realm of authors such as those, whose stories are constantly adapted for film and TV, the fundraising potential
sighted move tens of millions of pounds have been raised to care for sick children.
Then in April this year she opened The Times. There she discovered that an inquiry by external investigators had determined Simon Goldhill, 69, a professor of Greek culture and literature at King’s, had sexually harassed a student in her twenties and admitted to kissing her in an “overexuberant” and “no doubt slobbery” fashion. He resigned last month; the college is still investigating.
All round? She means primarily for the victims, but also for the collective reputation of countless blameless academics. Tragic for the perpetrators too: “Older people who grew up in a world where this was regarded as normal, normalised, and essentially enabled for years, and who just can’t see how suddenly attitudes and expectations have changed.”
Njoku-Goodwin’s argument is that this established a precedent. If parliament could extend the royalty stream of Barrie’s masterpiece to fund a good cause, could it not apply the same mechanism to other works, especially if those royalties were channelled into funding the arts
A knottier question is how this proposal would sit legally within the Berne Convention, the longstanding international treaty by which member countries (181 at present) agree to respect each other’s copyright laws. NjokuGoodwin says that the perpetual Peter Pan copyright has never been challenged internationally. But I wonder how Hollywood would feel about paying royalties to film, say, a new Agatha Christie adaptation after her copyright had expired, just because the UK government says it should?
Royalties could be channelled into funding the arts
The big thing about Tett, a former colleague of hers at the FT tells me, is she was not just a story-getting journalist, but an anthropologist, social anthropology being her doctorate subject at Cambridge in the Eighties.
Goldhill was not the college’s sole recent rotten apple. Last year Herbert Huppert, its now 82-year-old and very ex-emeritus professor of geophysics, was stripped of his college fellowship after a series of complaints of harassment, inappropriate touching and sexualised language. The university had placed restrictions on him in 2018; it seems it had informed someone at King’s but the message had not been passed on.
In particular he cites two potential candidates for this treatment: the great British composers Ralph Vaughan Williams and Benjamin Britten, whose copyrights are due to expire (the statutory 70 years after their deaths) in 2028 and 2046 respectively. What makes them apt choices is that royalties from performances of their music entirely go to two charities vital to the UK’s musical life: the Vaughan Williams Foundation, which supports music education and the performance of British music; and Britten Pears Arts, which has turned the Snape Maltings in Suffolk into a dynamic centre for music.
suddenly increases by several significant noughts. Although Britten’s operas and concert works are still widely performed, the income they generate for Britten Pears Arts is less than £2 million a year. Compare that with the bidding war between Amazon and Netflix for the TV rights to The Lord of the Rings, which ended with Amazon paying a reputed $250 million to the Tolkien estate.
She once wrote that almost everywhere she looked there was “fragmentation and tribalism and tunnel-vision”. It sounds like a good description of the Oxbridge system, I say: independent colleges that amorphously form a university with a separate governance.
Still, the broad thrust of NjokuGoodwin’s scheme seems admirable. It’s not just that it would raise millions each year without imposing another burden on the public purse. It’s also the symbolic aspect. Giants such as Britten and Vaughan Williams shared a belief that creative artists should be rooted in their communities and enrich ordinary lives. Both would have been delighted (as well as bemused) if they had been told that, a century or more after their deaths, their works would still be playing a vital part in keeping the nation’s cultural life going.
Provost Tett is in New York, where, with dual American citizenship, she spends her summers, rising early to keep BST business hours. “I did not imagine for a millisecond that I’d be dealing with unseemly behaviour when I arrived,” she tells me on Zoom. “I really didn’t. I had lived through MeToo in New York. It was bruising and brutal and it just didn’t really occur to me that one would have to start talking about this stuff here.”
“Yes. Whether it’s a financial crisis or whether it’s a corporate scandal, nine times out of ten, from experience, it’s not because you have a bunch of people trying to be deliberately stupid or mad or greedy even. It’s because they’re trapped in a system whereby there’s such a silo problem in terms of how people operate and think that the right hand doesn’t know what the left hand’s doing.”
If Njoku-Goodwin’s scheme were extended to include some of those big-earning authors after their copyrights expired, he envisages the earned royalties going into an independently governed “cultural endowment fund” administered by one of the existing rights-collecting organisations. The fund would
Under Njoku-Goodwin’s plan parliament would extend the Britten and Vaughan Williams copyrights. So rather than
The bad behaviour is, she hastens to add, confined to a “teeny-tiny”
Unexpectedly, she says that a Times
the times | Friday July 31 2026 S1 3
STEPHEN BOND
BACKGRID
he tried to pick me up. And I said to him, ‘Charlie, the tape recorder’s whirring. What are you doing?’ And it’s part of the male entitlement thing. He just laughed it off and kept going. But because I had power and privilege, I was able to basically send him off. I had years of experience basically saying, ‘F*** off.’ So he then stopped.”
Jennifer Aniston on a yacht near Mallorca
Indeed, she later invited him to some safely big dinner parties. He was “just Charlie”. But when MeToo happened (he was one of its casualties) she realised she had a blind spot.
“Younger women around me were not able to just say, ‘F*** off!’ They did not have sharp elbows. It was hard for them and I should have been much more empathetic. I guess one of the key things that I’m trying to say is that this isn’t about throwing stones or blaming people and fingerpointing. It’s about the fact that we have this cultural change happening. We’re all creatures of our own environment and we all tend to see the world that we grew up with as normal. We all have blind spots and blinkers and we just can’t see what’s happening to other people sometimes.
... or are you a slob in the summer? Here’s Shane Watson’s guide to help you find out
ere’s a picture of Jennifer Aniston, 57, doing a plank in a bikini on a yacht off Mallorca, as you do. Or don’t. How you approach a
Slobs are not philistines and will be keen as mustard to see the amphitheatre, etc, so long as there’s some kind of culinary or alcoholic reward factored in. They don’t mind working for their supper — eg swimming to the restaurant, hiking to the restaurant — but draw the line at no fun at the finishing line. That’s the Duke of Edinburgh awards, surely, not A Holiday?
H
“I’m a passionate believer that cancel culture is wrong. I think that very, very strongly. Let he who is without sin cast the first stone, and all that. We’re all living in grey zones and are flawed, and there has to be a way for us to learn collectively and move forward without finger-pointing and blame because the bigger goal is not retribution, revenge, blah, blah, blah, or anything like that. The bigger goal is to change social attitudes as a whole.”
week or two in the sun is fast becoming the new summer divide.
Do you look at a picture like this and think, heaven: those lucky people with their fabulous lives, re-energising and healing? Or do you skim over it, vaguely wondering if Jen’s having enough fun these days, and then get back to ruminating on whether to have the iced coffee with the whipped cream topping? Are you, in short, a Hardcore Holidaymaker, like Aniston, or a Summer Slob? Here’s how to tell the difference, if you really don’t know.
We’re talking kayaking, water-skiing, paddleboarding and so on. Hardcores are very interested, naturally, and love learning body-enhancing skills from ripped instructors. Slobs are not keen. They have, to give them their due, done all the above over the years and found them to be quite boring. Paddleboarding may be the dullest thing you’ve done in your life. Also we
podcast series, The Feud, I made a few years ago about the behaviour of an Oxford college trying to fire its head, “really woke people up to the question of governance”.
Gillian Tett
While we wait for a transformation, she has appointed a senior barrister to oversee an independent review of King’s practices and culture. Its students are holding their own inquiry, which pleases her. Despite some opposition, academics will soon join service staff in working under the aegis of the college’s human resources department.
Yet while Christ Church, Oxford, was extremely hesitant about talking to me (their lawyers were less shy), here is Tett speaking to the very paper that exposed to its readers the miscreants at her college. She says she understands colleges keeping out of the public eye, but is from a different tradition. “For what it’s worth, I’m a passionate believer in accountability and responsibility and transparency.” In February she wrote in the FT about the report into the 1986 Space Shuttle Challenger disaster. It talked of the “social normalisation of deviance”. Is that what we have at King’s?
Hardcores take walking shoes and exercise gear. And swimming goggles. In fact goggles may be the fastest route to outing a Hardcore because no one needs these unless they’re doing laps before everyone’s awake, certainly before breakfast. Slobs pack far too much, bar exercise-related kit, and end up walking to the local taverna in rubby flip-flops or new gladiator sandals.
— sorry, Slobs — don’t like sitting around on hot jetties waiting for men in polo shirts and reflective sunglasses to show us the ropes of a “sport” that’s basically standing up on a board when we could be under a fan eating figs.
Arriving in Cambridge as an outsider brings an obvious advantage because, as a favourite Chinese proverb reminds her, the fish do not see the water they swim in. She is also 59, and has a spectacular career in journalism and book writing. “If it all blows up and goes badly wrong, I have other bits of my life.”
Hardcores are sticking to more or less their regular bedtime, adjusted for the time zone, and getting up early to make the most of the day. Slobs are going with the flow, which generally means getting to bed when they can’t find the corkscrew or there’s a power cut, and they absolutely insist on a daily siesta. Getting-up times will vary.
Hardcores prefer to put in a little work, every day at an allocated time, so they stay on top of stuff, so Cherry doesn’t get her feet under the table, and because they have office-related fomo. Slobs have not brought laptops (er, they’re on holiday) and may check their phones but only to see if the kids are watering the plants and to peruse swimwear on sale. A Slob will go tonto if work dares to contact them, whereas Hardcores secretly love it and will put their phone on speaker and pace around like a character in Succession.
Marking her down as an optimist, I was surprised to read that she expected to die a “spinster”.
“I mean the kind of phrases that have been used in Oxford and Cambridge is that when a student has said to somebody, ‘I don’t like the way he’s behaving,’ the phrase that comes back is, ‘Oh, he’s just a bit handsy.’
“Actually, when I say I am an optimist, that’s because I was very happily single.” To her surprise, however, in 2021 she met Henrik Jones, founder of Buckhill Capital.
“Students tell other students how to cope with a handsy professor and create coping strategies. And that’s what a lot of women in Oxford and Cambridge have been doing. They’ve been creating coping strategies for a very long time. On one level, they have coped as a result, many of them, but it shouldn’t be that way because not everyone copes and it normalises behaviour that needs to change.”
Possibly should have got to this one sooner as it is really the crux of the matter. Hardcores are looking for a physical and mental reboot — they may even use those terms without irony — and therefore the opportunity to swim 100 lengths before sun-up, to hike to lunch and then not have lunch, to use that spare minute to do a quick mat workout is their idea of fun. Slobs are looking for a different sort of fun. They want a rest and reboot but their R&R is more: horizontal, horizontal, swimming, wandering, looking at a church, shopping, shopping, snoozing, swimming, back in bed for a bit, twinkly cocktail party time. The big difference between the camps is the Slobs expect to come home happy and hoarse from laughing and late nights, and in need of a holiday. Apparently they wouldn’t have it any other way.
They married in the solar-panelled chapel three years later. Together they have three children. Two are hers by a former partner: one newly graduated and working at a New York bank, the other studying medicine in London. Her experience as provost, and I pray as a mother, suggests university life is actually getting safer.
We all have blind spots and we just can’t see what’s happening to other people sometimes
Not saying Aniston isn’t having a cheeky caipirinha now and then, but she isn’t gently glugging rosé at lunchtime. What’s the worst thing that could happen on a Slob holiday, other than an encroaching wildfire, someone being sick in the pool, the loos blocking (especially on a boat)? It’s the drink running out. Milk for coffee would be bad too. Hardcores wouldn’t care. And they don’t take milk.
“It often just takes one or two brave people to stand up and speak and suddenly it’s like a snowball starting an avalanche,” she says.
When Tett joined the FT in 1993 it had almost no senior women journalists (today its editor is a woman); the culture was “hard-bitten” and hard-drinking. It was while working for the paper in New York during the MeToo moment that she began to review her experiences.
But there is something she must add. “There are cases of young men being harassed as well.” By female academics? “Not usually.”
And, I say, I thought we were ending on an optimistic note. “We are,” Tett replies. “The optimistic note is that we’re talking about it.”
“There was this television presenter called Charlie Rose. The very first time I ever went to lunch with him — I was doing a Lunch with the FT interview —
Hardcores will have a plan for every day, and the appropriate footwear.
BBC v Netflix —
David Attenborough Strictly Come Dancing
BBC
accounts for 18 per cent of all viewing, compared with 9 per cent for Netflix, which, the corporation says, “means audiences still spend around twice as much time watching the BBC”.
A new report says that viewers are now as likely to turn to Netflix as the BBC, but which has the best drama, documentaries and comedy? By Ben Dowell
Line of Duty Like most of the BBC shows in this list, this is filmed in the UK with British talent (unlike many of the Netflix ones). Few dramas today provide genuine water cooler moments, but Jed Mercurio’s highoctane anti-corruption thriller turned police procedure into a national obsession. The beloved AC-12 trio of Ted Hastings, Steve Arnott and Kate Fleming made dense police acronyms and Regulation 15 notices feel like lifeor-death drama. A new series looms.
So, as Harry Hill liked to ask on his peerless comedy TV Burp, which one is better? There is only one way to find out. Fiiiight! Or in our case, a sober head-to-head analysis of their best programmes genre by genre.
model, a direct tax from utility bills or council tax, or even money from a digital streamer tax — seems viable.
n 1982 the screenwriter Colin Welland stood before the great and good of Hollywood and declared, “The British are coming!” when the film Chariots of Fire won four Oscars. In 2026
Meanwhile Netflix’s funding is secured by its more than 325 million global subscribers and total content spend of about £15 billion a year, investing approximately £4.5 billion in UK production on shows such as Bridgerton and Heartstopper since 2020 and supporting an estimated 50,000 jobs in the country over the past ten years.
that optimism has long run its course, at least in the world of
Adolescence Jack Thorne and Stephen Graham’s drama about the arrest of a 13-year-old boy for murder was filmed in immersive real-time single takes that were powerful, unsettling and gripping. But its appeal extended beyond the TV pages and prompted a national conversation — led by Keir Starmer as prime minister about masculinity and the online manosphere.
TV entertainment. The Americans are not only coming — they are here, with the streamers dominating and US cash turbocharging broadcasters such as Channel 5 and Sky. And there is no bigger beast in the streaming market than Netflix.
Wolf Hall The director Peter Kosminsky and the screenwriter Peter Straughan’s distillation of thousands of pages of Hilary Mantel’s peerless prose into a spellbinding, masterly exploration of Tudor power, survival and political mechanics is one of the greatest dramas. While Damian Lewis’s Henry VIII offered a volatile mixture of jovial warmth and terrifying menace, Mark Rylance’s Thomas Cromwell commands every scene: a masterclass in emotional intelligence.
According to its annual report for 2025-26, the BBC spent £1.889 billion on “watched” content in the last financial year. “Browse” (ie mainly online content) accounted for £168 million.
According to figures from the media regulator Ofcom published this week, TV viewers are now as likely to turn to Netflix as the BBC. The Media Nations 2026 report shows that 26 per cent of viewers said they usually opened the streamer first when looking for something to watch last year, just ahead of the BBC’s TV channels and iPlayer at 25 per cent.
A worldwide Netflix subscription costs a global average of £8.17 per month, with a UK subscription starting at £5.99 with adverts, going up to £18.99 for premium, which amounts to a £227.88 yearly cost — more than the £180 BBC licence fee. The BBC is funded primarily from the fee as well as proceeds from the activities of its commercial distribution arms and BBC Studios.
The Crown Peter Morgan’s bold, beautifully shot, multigenerational royal portrait that seamlessly bridged prestige historical drama and glossy high-budget soap. It survived multiple recasts that showcased the march of time, with Queen Elizabeth II moving from Claire Foy’s reserve to Olivia Colman’s weary pragmatism and Imelda Staunton’s stoic matriarch.
Blue Lights In a crowded landscape of weary police procedurals, Declan Lawn and Adam Patterson’s Belfast drama eschews slick formulas for raw, grounded humanity. Following probationary officers navigating complex post-Troubles territory, the writing delivers breathtaking tension alongside dry Northern Irish humour in a show that triumphantly prioritises character above spectacle.
While the rival services are virtually equal according to viewer preference, the downward trend is clear. In 2024 the BBC was the first option for 28 per cent of viewers, while 23 per cent made for Netflix. The previous year, Netflix was six points adrift of the BBC’s 30 per cent.
Older viewers are turning to streaming content, more so than any other age group
It helps that modern TVs and remote controls make Netflix easier to find and navigate. According to the Ofcom report, those aged 16 to 24 were more likely to choose Netflix first, with those aged 55 and over more likely to choose the BBC. However, older people are increasingly turning to streaming content. Viewers aged 55 to 74 watched an average of 85 hours of dramas such as Netflix’s Black
Better Call Saul Vince Gilligan and Peter Gould’s Better Call Saul accomplished the near-impossible: taking a prequel concept and crafting a masterpiece that some say surpasses its mother show, Breaking Bad. The origin story for Bob Odenkirk’s sleazy strip-mall lawyer showed moral decay not as a sudden explosion but as a slow, heartbreaking erosion. This is a Netflix acquisition from the cable company AMC but is so good we couldn’t leave it off.
It’s yet another unwelcome headline that will cause anxiety for the BBC, which is cash-poor and locked in an existential battle with government over its funding (its director-general, Matt Brittin, told the parliamentary select committee this month that the licence fee is a “busted flush”). An estimated 94 per cent of the adult population may use BBC services but only 80 per cent of us pay the licence fee, and none of the options on the table — advertising, a subscription
Who wins? Netflix is getting better and better and wins this one — just.
Doves, Dept Q and House of Guinness. This was up by 19 hours year-on-year, the greatest growth of any age group.
Squid Game: The Challenge This felt like a cynical spin-off from the original drama, but was supremely, compulsively addictive. What makes it so absurdly effective is how faithfully
The BBC argues that its programme reach still dwarfs Netflix’s. According to the Ofcom report, BBC content
COVER AND BELOW: NETLIX; BBC
who does it best?
Blue Lights Adolescence
The Crown
it recreates the original’s uncanny aesthetic, right down to the eerie doll and towering bunk beds, while replacing deadly stakes with pure psychological warfare as 456 real people turn on each other for a lifechanging payout.
do it again in the forthcoming animated comedy about a group of street cats mooching around. One of them looks (and rather acts) a bit like Gervais, a man whose collaborations with Netflix (the comedy drama After Life, his stand-up specials) continue to go great guns. Airs next week.
resilience and relationship dynamics, as pairings strive to reach a destination on a budget, allows viewers to observe real travel stresses with a feeling of contented detachment. As gently revealing as it is sweet, it proves that reality TV doesn’t need manufactured conflict to be absorbing.
Once Upon a Time… Following his acclaimed Once Upon a Time in Iraq (2020) — and preceding his masterly
Once Upon a Time in Space (2025) and Once Upon a Time in the Middle East (forthcoming) — the director James Bluemel’s five-part landmark BBC series about Northern Ireland is a towering achievement in oral history that captures the everyday horror, moral compromise and enduring grief of a 30-year conflict with harrowing intimacy.
Love Is Blind Completely dreadful on paper, this absurdly high-concept dating experiment, where 30 desperate singles talk through walls, get engaged sight unseen and then test their fragile romances in the harsh light of reality, is an irresistible slice of trashy television that offers, at times, an intriguing study of human vulnerability.
BoJack Horseman Another animated satire following a washed-up Nineties sitcom actor (who here happens to be a humanoid horse) navigating addiction, depression and Hollywood vanity, Raphael Bob-Waksberg’s comedy remains one of TV’s most emotionally daring achievements.
Who wins? The BBC, by a sequin.
Louis Theroux: Inside the Manosphere Theroux’s peek into the testosterone-laden echo chambers of the manosphere was a forensic examination of whether outragedriven ultra-masculine content served audiences or the creators’ pockets. It was also a blow to the BBC because he became the latest face to fall for streamer money. Paradoxically Theroux recently popped up in the BBC’s licence fee promo alongside Romesh Ranganathan, telling us that the corporation will go if we don’t want it.
Planet Earth II Ten years after the original transformed natural history broadcasting, David Attenborough’s six-part landmark returned to deliver a masterclass in cinematic spectacle. Armed with ultra-highdefinition cameras, drone technology and Hans Zimmer’s sweeping score, the series bridged the gap between traditional wildlife documentary and Hollywood blockbuster. The young iguanas fleeing racer snakes scene was also unforgettable.
Queer Eye This heart-warming lifestyle makeover programme has all the glossy American sentimentality, but there is an undeniable, slick charm to Netflix’s update of the 2000s staple. Where the original version was rooted in cheeky, transactional makeover tricks, this update leant into social healing, tackling big-ticket issues of identity, class and political divides.
Am I Being Unreasonable? Ostensibly a spiky suburban comedy about maternal loneliness, this morphed into a deliciously dark, beautifully plotted thriller. Daisy May Cooper excels as Nic, a mother suffocating under quiet grief and secrets. Anchored by a star-making performance from Lenny Rush, the show balances sharp, chaotic humour with genuine psychological dread.
Louis Theroux is the latest face to fall for streamer money
The Power of Nightmares In Adam Curtis’s three-part BBC masterpiece he audaciously argues that American neoconservatives and radical Islamists shared a parallel mindset: both utilising phantom threats to restore political authority through fear. A dazzling, prescient series.
Making a Murderer Laura Ricciardi and Moira Demos’s series effectively launched the modern streaming true crime boom. Filmed with painstaking detail across a decade, the Netflix docuseries follows Steven Avery — a Wisconsin man exonerated by DNA evidence after 18 years in prison, only to be charged with murder shortly after suing local law enforcement. Unfolding like a slow-burn legal thriller, it turned viewers into obsessive armchair detectives.
Strictly Come Dancing The BBC’s sequin-strewn behemoth continues to defy the years and many scandals to remain a jewel in the corporation’s crown. It manages to combine oldschool light entertainment with a high-stakes competitive narrative, packaging human vulnerability within a glittering Saturday-night spectacle.
Such Brave Girls Kat Sadler’s comedy centres on a dysfunctional family of self-obsessed, deeply traumatised women, and Sadler puts the monstrousness of mental illness directly before us and allows us to laugh at it. A fearless, essential new voice in British TV.
Who wins? A draw — the BBC has the range; Netflix has the heartstopping moments.
Detectorists This touching portrait of male friendship follows the metal-detecting enthusiasts Andy (Mackenzie Crook) and Lance (Toby Jones) as they scan the fields for gold. Steeped in a rare warmth and kindness, their search for buried treasure serves as a poignant metaphor for life’s deeper quests: for connection, purpose and love. Beautifully crafted and funny.
The Traitors This psychological reality juggernaut has established itself as the king of modern water cooler broadcasting. Set in an atmospheric Scottish castle and overseen by a cloaked Claudia Winkleman, it elevates the classic parlour game of murdermystery to a high-stakes drama. The celebrity version was even better.
Tiger King The word-of-mouth lockdown hit was a fast-paced, jaw-dropping account of eccentric big cat breeding, murder-for-hire and American gothic subculture. And in Joe Exotic — a gun-toting, mullet-sporting roadside zoo owner
The Four Seasons Tina Fey’s reimagining of Alan Alda’s 1981 classic comedy is a triumph of grown-up, middle-class observational television, aided by a superb ensemble anchored by Fey and Steve Carell.
— it offered one of TV’s most unforgettable characters.
Race Across the World This wholesome exercise in human
Alley Cats Ricky Gervais is about to
Who wins? BBC humour wins out.
Straight outta Luton — a 21st-century answer to Kes
18, 158min
{{{{(
The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc. That “story” is doing a lot of heavy lifting for a Luc Besson epic that deviates wildly from historical record, mostly in how it recasts Joan (Milla Jovovich) as an avenger who is driven forward by an allconsuming hatred for the English. “I just want the English to burn in hell, for ever and ever!” screams the eight-year-old Joan (Jane Valentine) after a grisly opening sequence that features the slaughter of her family (not true) and the assault, murder and rape (in that order, and also not true) of her beloved sister Catherine (Joanne Greenwood), all at the hands of the forces of Henry VI.
A boy has brushes with petty crime and sinister cops in this provocative, thoughtful drama, says Kevin Maher
t’s become an established arthouse convention that serious contemporary cinema is shot in squarish frames — “academy ratio” (1.37:1) — and ideally in inky black and whites. Think Cold War, Passing, Ida, The Tragedy of Macbeth and
The subsequent film, however, newly restored in glistening 4K, has aged well. It looks astounding, the costumes are lush, the visual references painterly. Meanwhile Besson’s obsession with Joan’s seemingly fragile interior state has acquired a new and contemporary poignancy in the present era of the “mental health journey”.
Nouvelle Vague. It’s an elegant gesture of defiance against today’s increasingly chaotic screen culture, telegraphing to the front-row cognoscenti that this is a film of thoughtful ideas, provocative content and carefully considered aesthetics.
Yet as the film progresses Joan begins to question her faith in conversational set pieces with the literal embodiment of conscience, drolly played by Dustin Hoffman. The conscience could also be God or Jesus or Satan. The deliberately opaque script never makes this clear. The film’s greatest strength is that it leaves the viewer in a state of comfortable agitation, not knowing whether Joan was a charlatan or a saint, a visionary or a madwoman. In 4K UHD from Mon; on streaming (non 4K) now
So it is with this moving and sweetly
played coming-of-age drama, set in contemporary Luton but borrowing from classic genre staples such as The
400 Blows, Kes and This Is England. The protagonist is a doe-eyed suburban preteen called Ish, or Ishmail (Farhan Hasnat), who is grieving over the loss of his mother from cancer as he spends a summer of innocence in the nearby woods with best friend Maram (Yahya Kitana), practising fake punches and fantasising about bike stunts. In the first of many sublime touches from the London artist turned debut director Imran Perretta, the boys enter the woods via a modestsized hole in a boarded-up fence. It screams CS Lewis.
The moving, sweetly played coming-of-age drama follows suburban preteen Ish (Farhan Hasnat, right)
housing estates like the shark in Jaws. Eerily we never see the police officers inside, just their facial recognition screens, framing the oblivious residents and foreshadowing a “snatch-and-grab” that becomes the film’s defining moment.
broadcasts and news footage, to the notion that the war in Gaza is a virus that infects the lives and minds of those far from the bombing zones. An angry and deluded Maram warns Ish that “the IDF man is coming to town” (yes — to Luton!) and so, naturally, “war is coming to town”.
15, 87min
{{{{(
The script — by Peretta and the screenwriter and playwright Enda Walsh (Die My Love, Small Things Like These) — layers the drama with a range of ideas about the forging of racial identity in modern Britain. Yet they return, via incessant radio
Ish, however, is soon pulled in two dark directions. He is offered the giddy seduction of petty criminality with Maram’s older hooligan buddies and haunted by an unmarked police van that cruises through the Luton
In the end, though, this is a sensitive film about the nurturing power of family, the nourishing value of tradition and the toxicity of violence. It’s quite the debut. In cinemas
Milla Jovovich as Joan of Arc
Free books of the month
Times+ members can read up to three titles free. This month, dive into End Game which follows William Warwick and Scotland Yard as they race to stop an attack on the London 2012 Olympics. How to Win explores sports psychology and lasting success, while Fun and Games is a comic coming-of-age novel set on a small Irish island. Visit thetimes.com/timesplus
T&Cs apply.
ALAMY
omeone give Tom Holland a holiday. Not only did he provide Christopher Nolan’s macho summer behemoth The Odyssey with a beating heart of male fragility as Telemachus, but the
30-year-old Londoner has now been charged with rescuing the ailing superhero genre.
As this latest and, gasp, 38th instalment in the Marvel Cinematic Universe opens, the Marvel montage that was once adorned with your favourite spandex-clad bruisers from the Avengers cycle has been replaced with portraits and snippets from Holland’s hugely successful appearances as Spider-Man. After a series of costly Marvel misfires (Thunderbolts, Captain America: Brave New World, The Marvels) and an obscenely expensive Avengers double bill on the way (rumoured budget: $1 billion), the message is clear: Marvel is now the house that Tom built. And for most of this latest spectacular Holland continues to justify the hype. His Peter Parker is sensitive, lost and broken, still reeling from the climax of 2021’s Spider-Man: No Way Home, in which his best buddy Ned (Jacob Batalon) and high-school sweetheart MJ (Zendaya) were cruelly memory-wiped out of his life.
It’s Tom Holland to the rescue
The gripping and unexpectedly moving melodrama at this film’s core explores the tension between Peter and MJ. She senses hints of their hidden past, he craves a return of forgotten intimacy and both are somehow aware that a once-perfect love is for ever out of reach.
the big film
The latest Spider-Man movie justifies the hype thanks to Holland’s chemistry with his wife, Zendaya, says Kevin Maher
The director, Destin Daniel Cretton, deftly channels the chemistry of reallife newlyweds Holland and Zendaya (aka Zendaya Maree Stoermer Coleman). They inject extraordinary levels of ache and longing into charged conversational scenes that nudge the film into the realm of “impossible love” classics such as Brief Encounter and Past Lives. An especially devious scene, featuring a heartbreaking confession with an ulterior motive, is the highlight and the most sophisticated interpersonal moment to appear in a Marvel film.
startling moment during a midnight New York downpour, the sodden webslinger, dressed in civvies, swings sadly across the rain-lashed skyline and, in teary close-up, releases his webbing and goes into what seems to be a terrifying suicide plunge.
Tom Holland as Peter Parker and, top, as Spider-Man with Zendaya as MJ
12A, 145min
{{{((
There’s a mildly engaging chase with a tank, some punch-ups with faceless henchmen and a saccharine finale that reveals the film’s message: “The people who love you love you because you are you.” And they say superhero movies are for simpletons. In cinemas
new telekinetic baddie and Parker suffering from a vague mutation that gives him black eyes, headaches and eruptions of excess spider-goo. The badly disguised Glasgow locations aren’t fooling anyone — no amount of CGI skyscrapers can transform Trongate into Manhattan.
The rest of the movie? It is, sadly, MCU by rote. There’s a new deadly doomsday weapon in town. It’s called the V-Max. Everyone wants it. Parker teams up, variously, with Jon Bernthal’s Punisher and Mark Ruffalo’s Hulk to get it. Standing in his way? A
Cretton, as he proved in his previous superhero outing Shang-Chi and the
Legend of the Ten Rings, is a canny stylist and finds expressive ways of visualising Peter’s heartbreak. In one
— a project ready for its well-deserved big screen close-up.
song is that it is “about the possibility of change, not just in the imperfect world out there but in myself too. I also need to change.”
But this was never really about the look, and in that we have to take the lead from Byrne, who notes that the concept for the show’s sparse production design was to “eliminate everything from the stage except the stuff we care about the most — us and you — and that’s what the show is”.
It’s a live recording, filmed in Broadway’s Hudson Theatre in 2019, of the Scottish-born singersongwriter and 11 musicians stomping delightfully through 20 tracks from his oeuvre and a single Janelle Monáe cover (Hell You Talmbout). In between ditties Byrne treats us to sprightly ruminations on everything from dadaism to TV to the possibilities still promised by American democracy. Byrne dispels any creeping notions that he might be nurturing celebrity egotism or even a well-deserved sense of achievement. In the speech that follows a moving rendition of Monáe’s protest song he confesses that what he likes most about the
12A, 106min
{{{((
Lee injects the material with a vibrant, zippy pacing that accentuates the upbeat nature of so many chosen tunes. Dance routines are big here too, courtesy of the choreographer Anne-B Parson, while the inveterate cinephile in Lee hands over his 11 swooping, spinning cameras to the ace cinematographers Declan Quinn and Ellen Kuras.
A little dose of David Byrne, unless you’re a devoted Talking Heads fan, can go a long way. His art school mannerisms always, even in his heyday, felt a tad tired. This concert film directed by Spike Lee, however, is a revelation. It was when it was first dribbled out on to streaming in 2020 for a global populace then too traumatised by Covid to get especially excited by a 68-year-old gentleman in a grey suit warbling away. But Lee has given it a ravishing 4K resolution do-over and is presenting it in cinemas
And the downside? It flags horribly near the end, when Byrne insists on banging through three middling numbers from his 2018 album American Utopia. But he is also smart enough to end on a winner with a gorgeous, life-affirming rendition of Road to Nowhere that unfolds as a crazy conga line through the aisles and around the oscillating stalls of one very lucky and raucous theatre. In cinemas from Wed
How much better is the 4K spruceup? I’ve seen both versions and can say, well, not a lot, other than that the red stage lights that occasionally interrupt the omnipresent greys are now a vivid, almost violent, crimson.
David Byrne
An album full of Grande emotion
Macca gets his first Mercury nomination, aged 84
MARY KOUW/CBS VIA GETTY IMAGES
The star addresses a recent break-up on her ethereal eighth record, says Will Hodgkinson
W
hat, no Rolling Stones? This was, bizarrely, the summer of the Beatles and the Stones, with Paul
McCartney representing the former with his best album in decades, and Jagger, Richards and the gang having something of a late career revival on Foreign Tongues. Only one made it onto the Mercury shortlist for album of the year, however. It suggests the heated rivalry between the two bands that defined the 1960s is not over yet.
here is a distinctly aquatic quality to Ariana Grande’s returning album. Synthesizers bubble along, Disney movie strings glide in a manner reminiscent
I’m a judge on the Mercury prize but I can’t begin to predict who will win this year because the result always surprises me. I’m pleased to see Florence Welch on the list: Everybody Scream is a visceral capturing of a near-death experience, rich in emotion and folkloric metaphor, and curiously it seemed to go under the radar. The biggest album in commercial terms has been Olivia Dean’s The Art of Loving, a breezy, soulful, bossa novatinged hit that proved to be just what the frazzled nerves of the nation needed. Then there is Bradford’s Nia Archives, who feels like a real Mercury story. Her first album, 2024’s Silence Is Loud, was a joyful, drum’n’bass-driven tale of a developing romance. Now, on a second album, Emotional Junglist, it sounds like that romance has gone horribly wrong. Some industrial rock has been added to suit the mood.
of an underwater kingdom and Grande’s disembodied soprano floats on it all with ethereal grace. “Some day all the seas will harbour all the love that’s been denied us,” she sings on Freak, an Eighties-tinged pop-rock standout. And you have to ask: is Grande having a subtle dig at her former boyfriend?
Until recently she was involved with Ethan Slater, a musical theatre star who in 2017 played the starring role in SpongeBob SquarePants: The Broadway Musical and played Boq Woodsman opposite her in Wicked the film. As every child of the Noughties, or a parent of one, knows, SpongeBob is a squeaky-voiced sea sponge who lives in the underwater city of Bikini Bottom. While there are no actual mentions of the friendly starfish or bad-tempered crabs that make up SpongeBob’s world, the marine aspect of what is essentially a break-up album does seem a bit more than a coincidence.
convincing her fellow witch Elphaba not to be evil in Wicked. “I won’t be your fantasy this time,” she announces over a bouncing guitar line on Freak.
tropical moods, the album Petal most resembles is Grande’s 2019 release Thank U, Next.
Part of this is down to her voice. She has an extremely impressive fouroctave range with a whistle register, leading to those signature fantastic high notes. She has also rehired Ilya Salmanzadeh (Ed Sheeran) and Max Martin (Taylor Swift) as producers on an otherworldly, harmonious work that operates as a gentle way of dealing with love and heartbreak. “Kiss me like you know this is goodbye,” Grande gushes on Kiss Me, a laid-back slice of breezy, exotic pop. By Petal, with its heavily distorted bass tones under Grande’s gossamer notes, she’s dramatising her own misery. “All of my favourite stories end in catastrophe,” sings the woman who, as Glinda the Good, had a hard time
It is all rather weightless and nonspecific and, while maintaining a spirit of innocence, focuses on adult emotions. It is also extremely sophisticated, with a confidence that suggests she made the album without worrying too much about what may land well with a contemporary audience. “I don’t care about a perfect ending. But that’s all right,” sings Grande, the epitome of American showbusiness professionalism, on Nowhere, Nobody, the tender final ballad. She has doubled down on her style on an album that’s both dreamlike and old-fashioned — a triumph indeed for a land-dwelling superstar.
Babydoll/Republic
{{{{(
Elsewhere, two relative unknowns are getting deserved wider exposure. Dove Ellis is a Galway singersongwriter with a voice reminiscent of Jeff Buckley and his father, Tim. He is a precocious poetic talent: describing the past as “a sign you think you’ve lived but it’s just stone with a little chalk” is quite remarkable at 22. Then there is Knats, a young jazz quintet led by the bassist Stan Woodward and the drummer King David-Ike Elechi, who have taken stories from their Newcastle community and applied them to music that recalls Charles Mingus and John Coltrane.
Aquatic allusions or not, Petal serves to mark out Grande as a rare figure in contemporary pop: a big celebrity who thoroughly inhabits her own universe. Pop is trend-based and as such its biggest names are frequently less unique than they think — see Charli XCX catching the wave of a rock revival — but with its burbling synthesizer lines, chorused vocals and
The shock and awe of such brilliant Beethoven
Amid all this youthful freshness, let’s not forget Macca — at 84, he ties with Martin Carthy as the oldest artist to be nominated for the prize. The Boys of Dungeon Lane looks back to teenage crushes in the cold Mersey mornings, to hitchhiking out of Liverpool with George Harrison with dreams of glory. Arguably, those dreams were fulfilled several times over. What a remarkable turn of events that McCartney, below, can be honoured with a best album nomination more than 60 years later. Will Hodgkinson
and other structural peculiarities from a composer testing the boundaries of what a piano sonata in the early 1820s could do.
n the very day of the album’s release, the historian Simon Schama wrote: “Have listened to Sonata No 30 now three
equivalent of “the peace of God, which passes all understanding”.
O
classical
The piano literature doesn’t only consist of the grand masters’ masterpieces, there are also little jewels and frivolities. For example there are also the subjects of the Piano Postcards by Stephen Hough — 26 of them.
Nothing that Uchida, left, does diminishes the shock and awe built
times non-stop. It’s — and her performance — so profound and humane.” By now he’s probably played the sonata many more times, quite apart from its two companions, completing the trio of late Beethoven piano sonatas wonderfully performed by Mitsuko Uchida.
Decca
into those jagged contrasts in mood and dynamics. At the same time, the
{{{{{
Beginning in Disneyland (Hough’s own arrangements from Mary Poppins), he wanders into Spain, Rachmaninovland and France, and visits Edward MacDowell’s Wild Rose and Sinding’s Rustle of Spring, transforming what might sometimes appear faded encore pieces into glistening new delights by his elegance, wit, and love for the task and the music at hand.
transformations from limpid flow to granular force and vice versa are handled so deftly that the progressions feel
Hyperion
{{{{(
utterly appropriate and exactly what Beethoven
desired. As for being “profound and
Recorded in Tokyo, the performances display the virtues expected from such a sensitive and gracious musician who never once shows off but simply places her art at Beethoven’s service. The demands in sonatas 30-32 are considerable, including severe emotional changes
humane”, Schama’s judgment is even more true of No 32, the twomovement epic whose gnarled beginnings finally dissolve into a variation finale on an unassuming theme of such poise and calm that we seem to have reached the musical
Particular pleasures? I’d highlight the three pieces by Cécile Chaminade, works that only need affection and flexible fingers for their magic to live again. It does so here. Geoff Brown
Jazz albums
A radical reboot of Miles Davis heads the best albums of the month at thetimes.com/culture
CHARLES FEARN
f you want an indication of how happy and relaxed the actor John Hannah is at the moment, the cackle he gives when telling me that one of his latest roles is playing a seal-like creature called the Fin Man in the forthcoming film The Incomer is
It’s certainly a good thing that they’re addressing the race issues in terms of diversity — Armando Iannucci’s David Copperfield was brilliant. Occasionally there’s something that just sort of defies logic. I went to see The Glass Menagerie in the West End… I love the play, but with the colour-blind casting I just found it very difficult to get beyond what I was seeing by comparison to what I was hearing.
I
Not that the 64-year-old actor who achieved big-screen success in the films Sliding Doors and Four Weddings and a Funeral is going entirely leftfield. For the next four months he is filming his part as Rachel Weisz’s wisecracking older brother in the fourth Mummy film alongside his friend Brendan Fraser. “I can still get around, the old knees are still working,” he says — and good thing too given “how much Brendan throws me around”.
This is a man with range, from the ruthless gladiator owner Quintus Batiatus in the Starz drama Spartacus to the weary detective John Rebus in the ITV adaptation of the Ian Rankin books, a role he left after just one series. I have always wondered why. “I’ve never done more than two seasons of anything,” he says. “And partly that’s because once you realise what the formula is, it just becomes kind of dull. Even the Rebus books... which I loved, I love the books, I still do, but once you’re reducing the whole novel down to a two-hour, three-hour television thing, there are the salient points that you have to put in. And then once you’ve done that two or three times... it’s kind of the same story. As with any thriller, once you have that kind of charismatic problemsolver, and you’ve got something that works, by the very nature of it, it tends to become samey.”
Hannah has taken it easy recently and didn’t work for the first six months of this year, breaking off to voice the BBC entertainment series Race Across the World, a gig that “kind of keeps me going and keeps me in beer money”. He has twins, aged 22 son Gabriel, who has just graduated from Manchester, and daughter Astrid, who this summer graduated from Bournemouth in photography — so he says he still needs the cash (“I don’t know where it f***ing goes”).
In his latest drama, a cosy Channel 5 crime caper called Benidorm Is Murder, he plays Dennis Crown, a washed-up detective turned bar owner
“It does feel like maybe it’s gone a bit too far in terms of proportional representation, for want of a better expression. So perhaps it will even out again, or maybe it’s just a fashion. I hope not for the sake of many, many good black actors, brown actors, yellow actors that are out there that haven’t historically got a chance to see themselves... Maybe they think that an ethnic minority is by its nature working class anyway, which is a problem.”
Hannah’s big break came with his moving delivery of WH Auden’s poem Stop All the Clocks in Four Weddings and a Funeral as the grieving Matthew. In the aftermath he had a tough time mentally and sought therapy “just to deal with how life had changed”.
“I had met my wife and been with her for three or four years and I was glad of that… Listen, it’s great, people know who you are, you can get a table at a restaurant. But it does make you… accessible. Suddenly I was really popular.
John Hannah in Benidorm Is Murder
“Even in work situations and casting situations, I felt really angry that previously I remembered the National Theatre wouldn’t change an audition time for me — I had a fing dentist appointment. And then just after Four Weddings I was offered a lead part in a musical, and I’m not musical. I was just really angry at how things had changed, how you were suddenly perceived differently. It pissed me off for a while and I thought, ‘This is terrible, I’m having such a great time and yet I’m so fing angry.’
Colour-blind casting has maybe gone a bit too far
“I suppose I was also angry at just how shallow people are… At that point I wasn’t comfortable enough or confident enough to kind of take those opportunities with any kind of grace and think, ‘Well, that’s the way the world is.’ I was just kicking my heels up at it a little bit, I suppose.
John Hannah tells Ben Dowell about his new crime caper and the lack of working-class stories on TV
“It just disturbed my mind and my sense of my place in the world and how the world was, and maybe even my sense of myself as being very working class. Maybe it was a chip on my shoulder. Being Scottish, they say we’re very balanced, because we have a chip on each shoulder.”
aspiring footballer in his early years, he wore a Maradona shirt in 1986 after the “Hand of God” goal but supported England at this year’s World Cup after Scotland’s exit.
“I’ve lived in London for 40-odd years… I’m an Arsenal fan,” he says. But he remains proud of his roots and what he calls the “blue-collar” ethos of Benidorm Is Murder. Would a workingclass lad from East Kilbride stand a chance coming into acting today?
He has been on a “journey” and is now perfectly happy with “the level of fame that I have had and have now that still allows me to work”, he says. When he turned 60 he told his family he was thinking of retiring. “It was kind of a joke but what I meant by it was I’m not chasing anything any more. I’m not having any ambition to get to the next level or do this job so that it can lead to another job.
He won’t hear a word against Benidorm, which he knows his parents would have enjoyed. His father, John, was a toolmaker, and his mother, Susan, worked at Marks & Spencer. He says they’d have loved the sun and “to get their pints for two euros [and] full Scottish breakfasts”.
“No, not a chance. Not a chance. I was subsidised through many, many months of unemployment by housing benefit, unemployment benefit. That wouldn’t happen now. And also, when I came out of college in the Eighties, it was on the crest of some great writing about the working class, Boys from the Blackstuff, all of that kind of thing.”
to do a treatment and go back to them. Of course they’d like the treatment because it was what they were looking for and what they wanted, and then that would go into development. It made me feel like everything’s the same. It’s all coming from the same minds of the people who have been at the same universities and who want to see the same shit that they see. I definitely think there’s a dearth of working-class stories.”
Hannah, on right, with James Fleet, Robin McCaffrey, Kristin Scott Thomas, David Bower and Charlotte Coleman in Four Weddings and a Funeral
“The last two years working in Spain and then a year before working in Rome, it seemed to me that they had a much better kind of quality of lifework balance. They’d work, but they also wanted to do something nice and chilled and eat nice food, go see friends and travel. I’d like to do that… I always say if there’s an interesting fun job that’s filming in an interesting fun place or it’s well paid, I’ll do it. But it has to be at least two of those three things.”
He lives in Richmond, southwest London, with his wife, the actress Joanna Roth, and they are in the process of selling their Devon holiday home. He has clearly come a long way from his early days in East Kilbride. He first worked as an apprentice electrician before landing a place at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama in the early 1980s. An
In 1998 he formed the company Clerkenwell Films but, seemingly disillusioned, has since stepped away from independent production. “One of the things I got pissed off about with the production company was we would have meetings with the BBC and they would tell us what they were looking for, and then we’d find a writer
Have they been sidelined in favour of other forms of diversity? “I think so.
Benidorm Is Murder contines on 5 on Thu
CRAIG FULLER
proms
BBC SSO/Wigglesworth
Royal Albert Hall, London
Royal Albert Hall, London
{{{((
{{{{(
A
W
re we humans part of nature or separate from it? Though this Prom with the London Philharmonic Orchestra and its principal
as it the promise of a balmy summer night under a full moon that kept people away from this Prom or the
conductor Edward Gardner offered three wildly different works, the question was there in all of them, and the answer was ultimately the same: an admission of human frailty set against the vastness of everything else.
prospect of an entirely contemporary first half? We didn’t miss out on the night sky, anyway. Judith Weir conjured our very own in Moon and Star, a suitably spacious and spacey setting of Emily Dickinson’s watchful poetry. It sounds much like Holst’s Neptune deconstructed. Variously rich and mysterious harmonies misalign in a deranged, delightful cosmic dance between the sections of the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra and the BBC Singers.
I have not heard an orchestral work that “begins with a squirrel eating”, which is Kristine Tjogersen’s useful description of the scratchy introduction to Between Trees (no squirrels included, it’s all in the weird instrumental effects). As we become tangled in the Norwegian composer’s “fungal threads” (again, her words) the piece twitches into life, alien but absorbing. The outbreak of lyrical, recognisably humane emotion
There was also something enjoyably unhinged about the premiere of The World’s Wife by Brett Dean. Dean’s pungent musical language was a good match for these five gently vengeful Carol Ann Duffy poems, which imagine a mocking Mrs Darwin, an embarrassed Mrs Icarus and a hasbeen Medusa, and were inhabited by the singular soprano-muse Claire Booth. The obsessive Valentine, about gifting a lover an onion, chugs and convulses with busy, bunny-boiler energy. But this blackly comic number, and indeed the song cycle as a whole, is oddly low on humour. The most successful moments were the least demonstrative, calling for more subtle vocal stylings from an occasionally pitchy but committed Booth.
Elin Pritchard makes Verdi look easy as Amelia, while Matteo Desole brings breezy charm to Gustavo
Having a ball with Verdi
— an oboe solo beautifully played by Ian Hardwick — is almost a wrench.
Voice sits wistfully alongside a teeming depiction of a vanishing world
Given a Forties update, Verdi’s mid-period drama features a sensational soprano, says Neil Fisher
T
resembling Queen Victoria, Cleopatra and other ghostly monarchs — hits home perfectly.
wo operas with pivotal parties round off this summer’s Holland Park season. Johann Strauss’s operetta Die Fledermaus,
— an Occitan France profonde — in Canteloube’s Songs of the Auvergne. In this selection from the collection Louise Alder was a superbly
Singing with lyrical polish and breezy charm, Matteo Desole’s Gustavo ignores the signs of political turmoil and conspiracy, focusing on his Brief Encounter-style romance with Elin Pritchard’s Amelia. Their Act II fumble is not exactly theatrical dynamite — Pritchard briskly unbuttons Desole’s waistcoat as if she’s doing a pat-down at Stamford Bridge
where the quaffing of too much champagne sends everything topsyturvy, comes last; stealing in front is Verdi’s A Masked Ball, which finishes in bloodshed as good King Gustavus III of Sweden is assassinated by the man he thought was his best friend.
opera
There was much strife, although not quite enough magic in the colourful, troublesome first movement of Elgar’s First Symphony. But the slow movement cast a palpable spell, and while the brass needed some taming, it’s a testament to Ryan Wigglesworth’s controlled direction that I was never in doubt as to what to listen for in Elgar’s denser, more action-packed stretches. The assured, Brahmsian vigour of the uplifting finale spoke of the powerful partnership between these BBC musicians and their chief conductor before their final season together. Daniel Lewis On BBC Sounds; Elgar’s First Symphony is on BBC4/iPlayer from today at 7pm
— but when they both back away guiltily from consummating their affair, the moment feels authentic, especially when Verdi’s most intense music of the night is brought to the boil so well by the conductor Michael Papadopoulos.
Yet the notable quality of Verdi’s mid-period drama is how it teeters between laughter and darkness. “Is it a joke or is it madness?” asks Gustavo when his death is (accurately) prophesied by the mysterious seer Madame Arvidson — herself rather hard to take seriously, and in Rodula Gaitanou’s production (first mounted in 2019) given a useful whiff of Noël Coward’s Madame Arcati, the crackpot charlatan.
Opera Holland Park, London (180min)
evocative soloist and in the climactic Baïlèro her voice almost dissolved into textures beautifully painted by the orchestra.
{{{{(
He undoubtedly has the measure of Verdi, drawing powerful playing from the City of London Sinfonia, and the cast is notably strong. Rhian Lois’s Oscar, the page who annoys nearly everyone, sings too well to annoy me, and the veteran Rosalind Plowright still attacks the sepulchral low notes of Arvidson with gusto. Dario Solari’s cuckolded Anckarstrom seemed to be ailing, but in some respects that enhanced the character’s angst. Best of all is Pritchard’s sensational singing: she makes Verdi’s long lines and floated high notes look easy. Bigger houses surely beckon. To Aug 7
Strauss asks us to conquer a mountain in the Alpine Symphony but even after we manage it, his long, melancholic postlude is notably un-triumphant. The piece is usually a blinder in the Albert Hall particularly when a whole extra brass band bursts in from the gallery — yet while there was plenty of visceral excitement (Gardner favoured a fast ascent), it was the inner voices that resonated. Best of all was, once again, Hardwick’s oboe solo — a view from the summit that was half-awe, half-ache. Neil Fisher On BBC Sounds
Most productions make the mistake of turning this happy king into a playboy prince, which makes it hard to think that his death is a great loss to anyone. Opting for a 1940s setting, Gaitanou finds enough ambiguity to keep us guessing. The 2019 staging predates the post-Covid installation of Holland Park’s thrust “apron” stage and too little occurs front-stage, but the eerie denouement — a masked ball populated by costumed figures
Claire Booth
L
ove’s Labour’s Lost is Shakespeare’s rom-com about the intellect. Four pretentious young men, led by a dweeby king, lock themselves away for
scant compensation for an evening of cheap laughs and lazy stereotypes played for the least discerning of the tourist crowd.
is set in the Franco-Spanish border kingdom of Navarre, and it’s no stretch for the female delegation to feature a Princess of Spain who can do flamenco stomping, rather than Shakespeare’s Princess of France. The result, however, is a crude cacophony of impenetrable Spanish accents, punctuated by groin thrusts and clumsy pratfalls, with nothing to say about love, learning or loss.
theatre
Lown-Collins rewrites Shakespeare’s Latin puns as Spanglish miscommunications, which would be a reasonable accommodation if they rose above the linguistic register of a nine-year-old boy. The scene in which the male lovers cover their bulbous faux phalli with gold Lycra is a lowlight.
three years of study, forswearing the distracting company of women.
Shakespeare’s Globe, London (155min)
{((((
Who should arrive at the palace gates but four whip-smart maidens, with less book learning but more nous, led by a conveniently eligible princess? Cue disguises on the dancefloor, misdelivered letters and a famous pastiche of a Tudor Latin lesson.
The dances, in so far as they feature, occasionally impress. A hunting scene is swapped for a bull-fighting sequence, allowing the Anglo-Spanish actress Norah Lopez Holden to show off her flamenco experience. Jimena Larraguivel, as country wench Jacquenetta, expresses a few moments of yearning through no more than perfect wrist placement. But these are
It’s a terrible waste. Lopez Holden elevates anything she’s in, as does Philip Arditti’s Berowne, the king’s wittiest companion. But Shakespeare’s wordiest play has become a crass dumbshow. Kate Maltby To Sep 13
This is challenging material, which is why the Globe swaps in an Andalusian fiesta, the plot taking second place to a series of dance-offs between the sexes.
It may have seemed like a brainwave when the director Indiana LownCollins pitched it. Love’s Labour’s Lost Pablo Egea and Anita La Maltesa
Harriet Walter’s mother: the secret heroine
McKellen invented the weekend make the news pages. Other times watching it can feel as if you are trapped on your in-laws’ sofa wading through a family photo album (Mishal Husain, I am talking to you).
was a decent sort who kept secrets, Harriet never knew what she did. Astonishingly, this belittled woman was privy to top-secret details of the Normandy landings and played no small part in the operation’s execution.
But as it doggedly treads ever more familiar journeys into celeb family trees, it’s clear that each instalment presents a creative challenge. Do we want more of the same or the same done just a bit differently? Television is, after all, a medium hungry for innovations and twists.
And the face that stared at us looked very much like her actress daughter, now swishing around in expensivelooking linen and sporting a pair of striking red glasses. She felt fabulously brought to life. Actors are good at doing that sort of thing.
Further back in the maternal line, Walter heard about her Italian family, the Carandinis, and a chap called Girolamo, who attended a school for nobles in the early 19th century but was something of a rogue.
I suspect the jolly actress Harriet Walter went for a slightly different tack for personal reasons. The Walter of her surname relates to the clan that founded the greatest newspaper in the world (the one you are reading). But she wasn’t interested in them, a branch of the family tree that she painted as rather stiff and old-fashioned. It was the women she was fascinated by. And quite rightly.
BBC1
{{{((
In a manner she clearly couldn’t extend to her dad and the rest of the Walter males, she was intensely forgiving of his many scrapes, which included getting into debt, being fired from the army and then heading to Tasmania, or Van Diemen’s Land as it was known, a place where a face was a canvas for fabulous whiskers.
hose familiar faces of wholesome celebrities, those turns to the camera, that well-known piano music, those walks past the camera,
the faraway sunlit stares. It’s little wonder that Diane Morgan’s slovenly sitcom character Mandy ruthlessly parodied the tropes of Who Do You Think You Are?, now on series 23. Morgan called her take-off “Who are you, do you think?”
Her mother, Xandra, was an enchanting-looking woman with a fascinating life who had, we learnt, been patronised by her husband, Harriet’s father. “Your mother’s not very logical,” Walter was told and the even more heartbreaking detail was that she collaborated in it. “I don’t matter, darling,” Xandra would say. But her daughter knew Xandra worked in Admiralty intelligence during the war, although since Xandra
He travelled through Australia with his wife, Maria, and they brought opera to the masses, though Girolamo was still failing to avoid trouble, his wife supporting him to the end. “Boys will be boys and girls will be women,” we were told. In the case of the Walter Carandini family, it’s definitely the women who dazzle.
Still, it’s a rock solid format that can take a joke, though it can be hit and miss. Some of the dynastic revelations over the years — such as the time we found out that a relative of Ian
One of the actress’s ancestors founded The Times newspaper
10.30 Art of Now: The Gospel of Grime 11.00 Rales 11.30 Charles Paris: A Deadly Habit 12.00 Little Blighty on the Down 12.30pm Beyond Our Ken 1.00 The Confessional 1.30 Sounds Like London: 100 Years of Black Music in the Capital 1.45 Small Island 2.00 The Museum of Curiosity 2.30 Millport 3.00 The No.1 Ladies’ Detective Agency 3.45 The Phoenix and the Carpet 4.00 Soul Music 4.30 Art of Now: The Gospel of Grime 5.00 Rales 5.30 Charles Paris: A Deadly Habit 6.00 Little Blighty on the Down 6.30 Beyond Our Ken 7.00 The Confessional 7.30 Sounds Like London: 100 Years of Black Music in the Capital 7.45 Small Island 8.00 The Museum of Curiosity 8.30 Millport 9.00 The No.1 Ladies’ Detective Agency 9.45 The Phoenix and the Carpet 10.00 Parish Matters 10.30 Njambi McGrath: Becoming Njambi
4.00 talkSPORT Drive 7.00 Thank Football It’s Friday 10.00 The Sports Bar Weekender 1.00am Extra Time with Ben Fletcher
12.04pm AntiSocial (5/6)
Radio choice
1.00 The World at One
1.45 Dead Rabbit A verdict is announced (10/10)
2.00 The Archers (r)
2.15 Drama: Central Intelligence A coup erupts in the Dominican Republic. Stars Kim Cattrall (4/10)
2.45 Living on the Edge (5/10) (r)
3.45 Short Works 4.00 Last Word
6.00 Six O’Clock News
6.30 Current-ish Lucy Porter is joined by Finlay Christie, Amy Annette and Christopher Macarthur-Boyd (2/3)
7.15 Screenshot Examining ilm and television’s enduring fascination with UFOs and extraterrestrial life (5/6) 8.00 Any Questions? Chaired by Alex Forsyth
10.00 The World Tonight
10.45 Wild Dark Shore (10/10)
11.30 A Good Read (6) (r) 12.00 News and Weather
Digital, web, smart speaker, app
5.00am Tom Nunan with Early Breakfast 6.00 Rosie Wright and Calum Macdonald with Times Radio Breakfast 10.00 Ryan Tubridy 1.00pm Ayesha Hazarika 4.00 Sebastian Payne with Times Radio Drive 7.00 Geoff Norcott
10.00 Henry Bonsu 1.00am The Best of Times Radio
Radio 2
FM: 88-90.2 MHz 6.30am The Sara Cox Breakfast Show 9.30 Vernon Kay 12.00 Jeremy Vine 2.00pm DJ Spoony 4.00 Angela Scanlon 7.00 Michelle Visage 8.30 Michelle Visage’s Handbag Hits 9.00 Sophie Ellis-Bextor’s Kitchen Disco
Digital only 6.00am Mark Dolan 10.00 Alex Phillips 1.00pm Ian Collins
6 Music
Digital only
Virgin Radio
Digital only
As we have been experiencing a heatwave, now is an excellent time for this new investigative series from The Rest Is Politics, entitled When Nature Becomes a Security Threat. Presented by the former Green Party leader and MP Caroline Lucas, above, it is based on a government report from the Joint Intelligence Committee that concluded that ecosystem collapse must be treated as a core national security threat, leading to empty supermarket shelves, water scarcity and an increased risk of conflict. The series will also look at the impact of AI data centres on our water supplies. Clair Woodward
12.30am Through the Night (r)
10.45 Rhys James Is Irresistible
11.00 Vent 11.30 Laura Solon: Talking and Not Talking
Radio 2 in Concert: The Killers (r)
FM: 90.2-92.4 MHz 6.30am Breakfast 9.30 Essential Classics 1.00pm Classical Live Including highlights from the BBC Proms and the Aldeburgh Festival. Elgar (Symphony No. 1 in A lat); Dvorak (Piano Trio No. 4 in E minor, Op. 90 — Dumky); Judith Bingham (Moon and Stars); Coward (If Love Were All from Bittersweet); Lehrer (The Masochism Tango); Sondheim (The Girls of Summer and Love Is in the Air from A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum); Schubert (An die Musik D547); and Walton (Cello Concerto)
MW: 693, 909 5.00am Wake Up to Money 6.00 5 Live Breakfast 9.00 Nicky Campbell 11.00 Chiles on Friday 1.00pm Elis James and John Robins 2.00 Matt Chorley 4.00 5 Live Drive 7.00 Glasgow 2026. Eighth day of the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow 10.00 Stephen Nolan 1.00am Laura McGhie
FM: 92.4-94.6 MHz 5.00am News Summary 5.04 The Brieing Room (5) (r) 5.34 Shipping Forecast 5.43 Prayer for the Day
FM: 100-102 MHz 6.30am Classic FM Breakfast with Dan Walker 9.00 The Hall of Fame Hour 10.00 Aled Jones 1.00pm Anne-Marie Minhall 4.00 Margherita Taylor 6.00 Classic FM at the Movies with Jonathan Ross 8.00 Classical Spotlight with Alexander Armstrong 10.00 Calm Classics 2.00am Katie Breathwick
Digital only
9.30 The Time of My Life 9.45 Daily Service 10.00 Soul Music
9.00 Desert Island Discs (r)
MW: 1053, 1089 kHz
survive without this vital link to its past. Younger generations should note: there is a shortage of good bass trombonists. Victoria Segal
for a concert that moves from the cosmic to the intimately poetic before arriving at one of the great pillars of the English orchestral tradition. Judith Weir’s Moon and Star opens the programme, inspired by the Emily Dickinson poem of similar title. The centrepiece of the first half is the world premiere of Brett Dean’s The World’s Wife, a 20-minute orchestral setting for the poetry of the former poet laureate Carol Ann Duffy. After the interval, the nobility of Elgar’s Symphony No 1, a sensation
from its 1908 premiere onwards. Helen Stewart
The BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra returns to the Proms with a programme that places Edward Elgar’s First Symphony alongside two works that reflect contemporary creativity in very different ways. Under the direction of Ryan Wigglesworth, the evening features the soprano Claire Booth and the BBC Singers joining forces
This edition in the Our Lives strand focuses on Easington Colliery Band, a vital Durham community asset: when 83 men died in one of the region’s worst pit disasters, it played at every victim’s funeral. However, the only miner still playing, Peter Lawson, is preparing to retire and
A mere whippersnapper compared with its daytime parent show, Channel 4 could scarcely have thought as they scratched around for an amusing hybrid back in 2012 that the experiment would result in such a successful spin-off. With
Elgar at the Proms (BBC4, 7pm) this film asks whether the band can
6.00am Breakfast
9.30 Animal Park (r) (AD)
10.15 Trace, Track, Get My Car Back (r)
10.45 Expert Witness (r)
12.15pm Bargain Hunt
1.00 BBC News at One; Weather
1.35 BBC Regional News; Weather
1.45 BBC News at One; Weather
2.00 The Hairdresser Mysteries. The sudden death of a performer rocks preparations for a celebratory concert at the theatre (AD)
2.45 Escape to the Country. A search for a stone cottage on the island of Anglesey (r)
6.00 BBC News at Six; Weather
6.30 BBC Regional News; Weather
6.30am Money for Nothing (r)
9.00 BBC News 12.50pm Lifeline (r) (AD)
1.00 Richard Osman’s House of Games. Contestants include Dennis Taylor (r)
1.30 The Finish Line. Quiz show (r)
2.15 Lightning. Quiz hosted by Zoe Lyons (r)
2.45 The Hairy Bikers’ Bakeation. The duo bake their way through Austria (r) (AD)
6.00 Richard Osman’s House of Games. Karen Hauer, Storm Huntley, Joe Marler and Tom Read Wilson take part on the quiz (r)
6.30 Just One Thing. Clive Myrie extols the beneits of doing press-ups (r) (AD)
6.00am Good Morning Britain 10.00 This Morning 1.00pm ITV News; Weather 1.30 ITV Racing. Ed Chamberlin and Francesca Cumani present live coverage of day four of the Glorious Goodwood meeting, including feature race the Qatar King George Stakes, and four more supporting races. With analysis from Jason Weaver and Hayley Turner, reports by Rishi Persad, Sally Ann Grassick and Luke Harvey, and race commentary provided by Mark Johnson
6.00 Regional News; Weather 6.30 ITV News; Weather
6.25am Cheers (r)
7.45 Everybody Loves Raymond (r) (AD) 9.10 Frasier (r) (AD)
11.10 Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares USA. Help for a Southern cuisine restaurant (r)
12.05pm Channel 4 News Summary 12.10 Find It, Fix It, Flog It. An old television cabinet is turned into a dog bed (r) (AD)
1.10 The Great House Giveaway. A grade II listed building in Liverpool is renovated (r)
6.00am Milkshake! 9.15 Jeremy Vine
2024) A widowed irst-time mother
discovers a labyrinth of deceit that leads her back to the fertility clinic where her son was conceived. Thriller starring Holly Deveaux
4.00 Castle. An ER physician is killed in the street and Castle and Beckett soon discover that the victim was a Mob doctor to a Maia family run by an old friend of the author (r)
6.00 Malta: The Jewel of the Med. Cameras focus on Malta’s most skilful boat pilots as they navigate the Grand Harbour, and a look at the English pub where actor Oliver Reed ordered his last round. Last in the series (r) 6.55 5 News Update
7.00 Iolo’s Anglesey Iolo Williams looks at the lora and fauna of Anglesey, Wales’ largest island (1/4) (r)
7.30 Beechgrove Garden The team plans for winter, with Ruth Vichos showing how to cultivate snowdrops and Calum Clunie collecting lupin seeds
9.00 Bergerac A threatening letter corroborates Jim’s hunch that they have the wrong people in custody for Cate’s murder (3/6) (AD)
9.45 QI XL Sandi Toksvig hosts an extended edition with Maisie Adam, Susan Calman, Josh Widdicombe and Alan Davies answering questions on the theme of testing (r)
12.40am Golf: Women’s Open Highlights Action from day two of the Major Championship in Lancashire 1.40 Sign Zone: Amityville: An Origin Story (r) (AD, SL) 2.30 Andy Burnham: The Laura Kuenssberg Interview (r) (SL) 3.00-3.30 Natalie Cassidy: Caring Together (r) (AD, SL)
7.30 Abbey Clancy: Celebrity Homes Abbey visits homes belonging to Sheree Murphy and Caprice (4/6)
8.00 Emmerdale Claudette makes an admission, while Nicola fears her love life with Jimmy is growing stale (AD)
8.30 Coronation Street Cassie runs out of second chances with Steve and Tyrone, and Betsy navigates big changes upon her return home (AD)
11.05 ITV News at Ten; Weather; followed by Regional News
11.55 Inside the Langham: Britain’s First Grand Hotel A wedding planner pulls out all the stops to deliver a breathtaking ceremony (2/6) (r) (AD)
12.30am Shop on TV 3.00 Force of Nature (r) (AD, SL) 3.50 Long Lost Family (r) (AD, SL) 4.45-6.00 Unwind with ITV
7.00 Channel 4 News
2022) Comedy horror with Daisy EdgarJones 3.10 Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares USA (r) 3.55-6.05 Four in a Bed (r)
7.00 Holiday Scams: Don’t Get Caught Out Alexis Conran and his team take on the scammers who target people’s wallets, documents and plans when travelling, whether it is in the UK or on the far side of the world (r)
1.00am Cruise TV with LoveitBookit (r) 2.00 Shoplifters: Catch Me If You Can. Alleged thieves in exclusive stores (r) 2.50 Malta: The Jewel of the Med (r) 3.45 Friends (r) (AD) 4.35 The Highland Vet (r) (SL) 5.25 Entertainment News on 5 5.35 Milo (r) (SL) 5.45-6.00 Adventures of Paddington (r) (SL)
7.00 The One Show Weekday magazine hosted by Vernon Kay and JB Gill
7.30 Our Lives: The Last Miner in the Band Durham’s Easington Colliery Band prepare for an important concert. See picks of the day
9.00 Would I Lie to You? With panellists Kadeena Cox, Ivo Graham, Harriet Kemsley and Eddie Marsan (3/9) (r)
9.30 Ann Droid Linda drags Sue to scatter ashes by the sea, which sparks a trip to a funfair where a rollercoaster ride ends up going wrong (3/6) (AD)
10.00 BBC News at Ten
10.30 BBC Regional News and Weather
10.40 Austin Austin follows a romcom manual to woo Haley (7/8) (AD)
11.05 Austin Ingrid quits Big Bear, Austin cancels fame, Mel races to stop a resignation, and Haley might be the one. Last in the series (AD)
11.35 FILM: Scent of a Woman (15, 1992) A blind, hard-drinking former soldier pays a timid college student to accompany him on a wild weekend after which he plans to kill himself. Comedy drama starring Al Pacino and Chris O’Donnell (AD)
2.10am-6.00 BBC News
Jimmy Carr as headmaster and bully, the show surfs a wave of surreal humour, mathematics, ritual humiliation, spelling and conundrums. Rachel Riley, who joined Countdown itself in 2009, provides the arithmetical authority and, with the time-served lexicographer Susie Dent (1992), the long-suffering groans. Team captains Jon Richardson and Rob Beckett are joined by Harriet Kemsley and Richard Ayoade. The special guests are Nick Mohammed and Joe Wilkinson. HS
wistful reminiscences about the importance of place in which Snoopy and Woodstock realise the importance of friendship. As ever, the highlights for us adults are the melancholy interludes with good ol’ Charlie Brown. Andrew Male
Hamilton and his enduring garden at Barnsdale. VS
regular Mr Normal who craves a normal life, but must first obliterate a billion bad guys. This project was conceived by Odenkirk during the filming of 2021’s Nobody (Odenkirk’s other action franchise) and it plays like a deliberate antidote to that brutal series. Odenkirk’s Sheriff Ulysses has been abandoned by his wife and is clinging to a faltering career. The stage is set for the entrance of a gang of Japanese yakuza thugs and lots of gunfire, neck-snapping and exploding corpses. (88min) Kevin Maher
If this show teaches you anything, it’s that committed horticulturalists rarely get a chance to live in the moment: as summer hits its peak Monty Don is planning ahead, thinking about future vegetable harvests. He also refreshes his borders with late-season perennials and tames a rambling rose. There is also a chance to look back, though, with Adam Frost’s tribute to the Gardeners’ World stalwart Geoff
Snoopy Presents: There’s No Place Like Home, Snoopy Apple TV
When Charlie Brown’s little sister, Sally, organises a yard sale she manages to offload everything, including a doll’s house. Well, what she accidentally flogged was Snoopy’s doghouse. Cue a series of
Ben Wheatley directs this fabulous Bob Odenkirk action flick about a
Film4
Talking Pictures
8.55am Heir Hunters 10.00 Four in a Bed 12.40pm Come Dine with Me (AD) 3.20 Four in a Bed 5.50 George Clarke’s Old House, New Home (AD)
6.55 Location, Location, Location. Home searches in West Yorkshire and Greater Manchester (AD)
7.55 Grand Designs. The progress of a family home that is inspired by a giant farm shed (3/12) (AD)
9.00 The Sommerdahl Murders. Dan is deeply affected by a murder and delves into the crime on top of the Joseine Sundby investigation, but is frustrated when he comes under suspicion. In Danish
6.00am Classic FM Live Summer Concert 2026 8.00 The Joy of Painting 9.00 Tales of the Unexpected (AD) 10.00 Alfred Hitchcock Presents 11.00 Discovering: Charles Bronson (AD) 12.00 FILM: Agatha Christie’s Sparkling Cyanide (12, TVM, 2003) 1.55pm The Alfred Hitchcock Hour (b/w) 3.00 The Seventies (AD) 4.00 Discovering: Peter O’Toole (AD)
Live Women’s Golf Sky Sports Main Event, Sky Sports Golf, 9am-7pm Coverage of day two of the Women’s Open Championship at Royal Lytham & St Annes Golf Club in Lancashire
— Greatest Hits: Live in Copenhagen
11.20 Gary Numan Resurrection 1.00am Greatest Albums Live 2.00 Boy George & Culture Club 4.00 The Art of the Garden 5.00am6.00 Julie Andrews Forever (AD)
1.05am 999: On the Front Line (AD)
2020) Mystery horror with James Badge Dale and Marin Ireland
Live Tennis Sky Sports +, 5pm-7.30, Sky Sports Tennis, 5pm-2am Day ive of the Washington DC Open at William H.G. FitzGerald Tennis Center in the USA
ITV4
ITV2
6.00am Teleshopping 7.20 The Bill 8.15 Doctors 9.30 Classic Holby City 10.50 Casualty (AD) 11.50 The Bill 12.50pm Classic EastEnders
6.00am Magnum, PI 7.00 Dempsey and Makepeace (AD) 9.10 Boon
7.00pm The Catch Up 7.05 Quiet Life. Comedy short 7.15 Deadly 60. Marine life in the waters of British Columbia 7.45 FILM: Night at the Museum (PG, 2006) Fantasy comedy starring Ben Stiller and Dick Van Dyke (AD)
6.00am George and Mildred 7.05 Classic Emmerdale (AD) 8.10 Classic Coronation Street (AD) 9.10 A Touch of Frost (AD) 11.20 Heartbeat (AD) 1.30pm Midsomer Murders (AD) 3.35 Classic Emmerdale (AD) 4.10 Classic Coronation Street (AD) 5.50 Heartbeat. Rural drama series (AD)
6.00am Backyard Builds (SL) 6.30 Deal or No Deal (AD) 7.30 Dress to Impress (AD, SL) 8.25 Sam and Billie: Sister Act 9.25 The Only Way Is Essex 10.25 The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City 11.20 The Real Housewives of Orange County 12.10pm Dinner Date (AD) 1.10 Supermarket Sweep 2.10 The Floor USA (AD) 3.10 The Only Way Is Essex 4.10 The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City 5.00 The Real Housewives of Orange County
10.15 The Professionals (AD) 11.25 Robin of Sherwood 12.30pm Magnum, PI 2.35 Dempsey and Makepeace (AD) 3.45 Boon 4.50 The Professionals (AD) 6.00 River Monsters. Hunting a ish suspected of killing a woman 6.30 British Touring Car Championship Highlights. From Thruxton Circuit in Hampshire
8.00 Beat the Chasers — Celebrity Special. Contestants include Jonathan Ross and Edwina Currie
10.00 All Elite Wrestling: Dynamite 12.00 Dark Side of the Ring. Chris Benoit 1.00am Minder (AD, SL)
1.55-2.45 Two and a Half Men 3.30am-4.00 Motorsport Mundial
6.00am FILM: Johnny on the Spot (U, 1954) 7.30 Automatic Fare Collection and You in 1969 7.35 FILM: Desert Mice (U, 1959) (b/w) 9.15 FILM: It’s a Wonderful World (U, 1956) 11.00 The Lucy Show 11.30 FILM: Laxdale Hall (U, 1953) (b/w) 1.05pm The Edgar Wallace Mystery Theatre (b/w) 2.15 The Adventures of Robin Hood (b/w)
2.45 FILM: Maybe I’ll Come Home In The Spring (12, TVM, 1971) 4.20 Song Festival 4.30 The Cheaters (b/w) 5.00 A Family at War
6.00 Hannay
11.00pm Supernatural (5/8) 12.05am FILM: The Manster (18, 1960) Sci-i horror (b/w) 1.40am-
Live The Hundred: Manchester Super Giants Men v Trent Rockets Men Sky Sports Cricket, 6pm-9.30 (Start-time 6.30). From Old Trafford Cricket Ground
2.00 Neighbours 3.00 Pie in the Sky 4.05 Lovejoy 5.20 As Time Goes By 6.00 Last of the Summer Wine
11.20 Silent Witness. Nikki travels to Mexico to attend a funeral (AD) 1.55am Lovejoy 2.40 As Time Goes By 3.10 Darby and Joan (SL) 4.00am-6.00 Teleshopping
9.30 Ludwig. John tries to prove Lucy’s innocence as she becomes embroiled in a murder plot (AD)
10.55 Ghosts Australia. Kate accepts that the ghosts are real 11.15 Ghosts Australia. Kate’s plans are derailed by a treasure hunt
12.10am Fleabag. Five episodes of the comedy (AD) 2.25am-3.50 Ideal
8.00 Doc Martin. Morwenna’s parents visit, while Louisa’s online course does not go well (4/8) (AD)
Live SPFL: Dundee United v Rangers Sky Sports Main Event, Sky Sports Football, 7pm-10.30 (Kick-off 8.00). From Tannadice
Live Super League: Leigh Leopards v Wigan Warriors Sky Sports +, Sky Sports Action, 7.30pm-10.15 (Kick-off 8.00). Coverage of the match at Leigh Sports Village
— leaving Geordie worried (2/6) (AD) 11.50 Trial & Retribution (2/10) 1.25am-2.25 Wycliffe
U&Yesterday
Sky Atlantic
BBC1 Scotland
6.00am The 2000s (r) 7.00 Discovering: Ian McKellen (r) (AD) 8.00 The Directors (r) (AD) 9.00 Urban Secrets (r) 10.00 Surviving Ohio State (r) 12.00 On the Line: The Richard Williams Story (r) (AD)
6.00am Richard E Grant’s Hotel Secrets (r) (AD) 8.00 Billions (r) (AD) 10.10 Task (r) (AD) 12.30pm Homicide: Life on the Street (r) 2.20 Billions (r) (AD) 4.30 Task (r) (AD)
10.40 Maps of Power 11.50 Clearing the Air: The War on Smog 1.00pm America the Bountiful
1.35 Conquistadors: The Rise and Fall 2.35 Pirates: Behind the Legends 3.35 Maps of Power 4.45 Clearing the Air: The War on Smog
5.55 America the Bountiful
11.00 Pirates: Behind the Legends 12.00 Maps of Power 1.15am-
6.10am Abandoned Engineering
(AD) 8.00 Bangers & Cash (AD) 10.00 Secret Nazi Bases 11.00
Auschwitz: The Nazis and the Final Solution 12.00 Antiques Roadshow
(1992) 2.40am-6.00 BBC News
7.55 True Detective: Night Country. Navarro and Danvers get a tip about a former Tsalal worker (3/6) (r) (AD)
2.00pm Bangers & Cash: Restoring Classics (AD) 4.00 Secret Nazi Bases 5.00 Auschwitz: The Nazis and the Final Solution
6.00 Antiques Roadshow
8.00 Some Mothers Do ’Ave ’Em. Comedy starring Michael Crawford 10.00 One Foot in the Grave
10.40 Bangers & Cash: Restoring Classics. A low mileage MGC (AD)
12.40am Bangers & Cash (AD) 1.40 Find It, Fix It, Flog It (AD) 2.35 Great British Railway Journeys
3.00am-6.10 Teleshopping
1.50pm My Icon: Kadeen Corbin (r) (AD) 2.00 FILM: Bobby Robson: More Than a Manager (12, 2018) (AD) 4.00 The Directors (r) (AD)
5.00 Discovering: Ian McKellen. The life and career of the actor (r) (AD)
6.00 FILM: Man on Wire (12, 2008) A tightrope walk between the World Trade Center towers in 1974 8.00 Rik Mayall: Magniicent B’stard. Tribute to the comedy actor (r)
10.00 Fatboy Slim: Right Here, Right Now. The story of a 2002 event (r)
11.50 FILM: Val (12, 2021) (AD)
2.00am Ren Faire. All three editions of the series (r) (AD) 5.05am-6.00 Discovering: Ian McKellen (r) (AD)
7.30pm-8.00 Best of Weatherman Walking. Mountain walks
7.00pm-7.30 Coast & Country
7.00pm The STV Radio Football Takeover 7.30-8.00 What’s on Scotland 12.30am-3.00 Shop on TV 4.45am-6.00 Unwind with STV
BBC Scotland
7.00pm Reporting Scotland: News at Seven 7.30 Scotland’s Greatest Escape (r) 8.00 Paramedics on Scene (r) 9.00 Rikki (r) 10.00 Still Game (r) 10.30 Two Doors Down (r) 11.00pm-12.00 Rip It Up (r)
S4C 6.00am Cyw 12.00 News 12.05pm Pysgod i Bawb (r) 12.30 Heno (r) 1.00 Y Ci Perffaith (r) 1.30 Dan Do (r) 2.00 News 2.05 Prynhawn Da
3.00 News 3.05 Ty Fit (r) 4.00 Awr Fawr: Octonots (r) 4.10 Og y Draenog Hapus (r) 4.20 Misho (r)
4.30 Joni Jet (r) 4.45 Parc Glan Gwil (r) 5.00 Stwnsh: Byd Rwtsh Dai Potsh (r) 5.15 Y Doniolis (r) 5.25 Taclo’r Tywydd (r) 5.45 Y Smyrffs (r) 6.00 Gerddi Cymru (r) 6.30 Eisteddfod Genedlaethol 7.30 News
8.00 Gemau’r Gymanwlad 2026 10.30pm-11.35 Gwesty Aduniad (r)
BBC4
BBC3 U&Drama
More4
ITV3
Variations PBS America
8.55 TOTP: 2000. Acts include Tom Jones & Stereophonics, and Kelis 9.25 TOTP: 1977. Including music by Showaddywaddy and Thin Lizzy
Backgammon Chris Bray
Codeword No 5907
© PUZZLER MEDIA
clocks in those days), he accepted the redouble. The crowd couldn’t believe it. The bookmaker’s colour went off the scale. After Black bore off three checkers with double twos, credibility was stretched to breaking point when Royset threw boxes (double sixes) — pandemonium! Four rolls later, he rolled double fives and shortly thereafter claimed four points.
Pressure at Monte Carlo
As you read this article with your morning muesli, the final stages of this year’s world championship will be getting under way in Monte Carlo. Most finals produce moments of pure theatre, and today we are going to travel back in time to 2003. That year’s final was contested by Moshe Tissona of Israel and Jon Royset of Norway.
Tissona was visibly broken, and the rest of the match, though not without its moments, was something of an anticlimax, Royset winning 25-20.
In the match to 25 points, the two were tied at 17-17. The next game was pivotal. Early on, Royset (White) had the advantage and doubled his opponent, but gradually Tissona turned the game round. When he threw three sets of double fives to take the lead in the race, the position below was reached with Tissona (Black) on roll. He redoubled and Royset pondered.
Now the key question: was it a take? The debate continued long into the night, and it wasn’t finally settled until computers got involved. The verdict was that Royset should have dropped but only by the tiniest of margins. On the pip count alone, it would have been a clear drop, but White’s better checker distribution made it extremely close to a take. Royset was applauded for having the courage to take the redouble under the most extreme pressure.
The bookmaker who had taken a €400 (then about £280) bet on Tissona at 400-1 before the start of the tournament began to look very pale. The crowd of some 300 spectators (including your columnist) watching on closed-circuit TV were calling on Royset to pass. Time seemed to stand still. After ten minutes’ deep study (there were no
Lay tracks to enable the train to travel from village A to village B. The numbers indicate how many sections of track go in each row and column. There are only straight sections and curved sections. The track cannot cross itself.
The bookmaker was last seen imbibing a glass of champagne.
Quintagram®
No 2634
chrisbraybg@gmail.com
Solve all five cryptic clues using each letter underneath once only
Every letter in this crossword-style grid is represented by a number from 1 to 26. Each letter of the alphabet appears in the grid at least once. Use the letters already provided to work out the identity of further letters. Enter letters in the main grid and the smaller reference grid until all 26 letters of the alphabet have been accounted for. Proper nouns are excluded. Yesterday’s solution, right
Cluelines Stuck on Codeword? To receive 4 random clues call 0901 293 6262 or text TIMECODE to 64343. Calls cost £1 plus your telephone company’s network access charge. Texts cost £1 plus your standard network charge. For the full solution call 0905 757 0142. If you have an old newspaper and need clues from the past 7 days, call 0905 624 0024. Calls to 0905 cost £1 per minute plus your telephone company’s network access charge. SP: Spoke, 0333 202 3390 (Mon-Fri, 9am-5.30pm).
M
S
Y
A
U
Y
E
A
A
R
E
Winning Move
T A
T F
White to play. This position is a variation from Sargsyan-Nazari, Titled Tuesday, chess.com 2026.
A A C C D D D E H I I M M N N N N O O O O O O P R S S S T T U U
E U
O N
S A
N R
White is a pawn ahead here but needs to negotiate some serious problems. First, Black has a powerful threat to play ... Bxb3 which will lead to carnage. Second, there is an awkward pin against the e4-bishop so the natural defence 1 Bc2 allows 1 ... Qxf4. Can you spot White’s ingenious tactical solution?
N
L U
timesbookshop.co.uk
I
S A
Solve Ponder crossword on Wednesdays and Fridays at thetimes.com/puzzles and on the Live app
K O
K D
C
R
H
L
F
M
P
B
C
I
K
Slide the letters either horizontally or vertically back into the grid to produce a completed crossword. Letters are allowed to slide over other letters
Futoshiki No 5447
Fill the grid using the numbers 1 to 9 only. The numbers in each horizontal or vertical run of white squares add up to the total in the triangle to its left or above it. The same number may occur more than once in a row or column, but not within the same run of white squares.
. WWW.KENKEN.COM
© 2010 KENKEN PUZZLE & TM NEXTOY. DIST. BY UFS, INC
© PUZZLER MEDIA
Fill the blank squares so that every row and column contains each of the numbers 1 to 5 once only. The symbols between the squares indicate whether a number is larger (>) or smaller (<) than the number next to it.
All the digits 1 to 6 must appear in every row and column. In each thick-line “block”, the target number in the top left-hand corner is calculated from the digits in all the cells in the block, using the operation indicated by the symbol.
Just follow the instructions from left to right, starting with the number given to reach an answer at the end.
Divide the grid into square or rectangular blocks, each containing one digit only. Every block must contain the number of cells indicated by the digit inside it.
© PUZZLER MEDIA
ANSWER
1 2 3 4 5 6
HALVE IT
+
– 37
1/4
OF IT
ANSWER
+
DOUBLE IT
DOUBLE IT
1/4
TRIPLE IT
– 117 ÷ 6
MEDIUM 45 + 56 ÷ 5
10
OF IT
11 12
ANSWER
– 427 + 63 x 6
HALVE
IT ÷ 4
– 123
HARDER 789 DOUBLEIT
DOUBLE IT
÷ 4
13 14 15 16
17
18 19
Enter each of the numbers from 1 to 9 in the grid, so that the six sums work. We’ve placed two numbers to get you started. Each sum should be calculated left to right or top to bottom.
From these letters, make words of four or more letters, always including the central letter. Answers must be in the Concise Oxford Dictionary, excluding capitalised words, plurals, conjugated verbs (past tense etc), adverbs ending in LY, comparatives and superlatives. How you rate 9 words, average; 13, good; 18, very good; 24, excellent
20 21
22 23
© PUZZLER MEDIA
Yesterday’s answers eyot, gene, genet, genotype, gent, gone, neep, nope, note, ogee, open, peen, pent, peon, peony, peyote, poet, pogey, pone, pongee, poteen, teen, teeny, tenge, toey, tone, tope, topee, type
15 Dairy spread (6)
18 Garden pollinator (9)
23 Desisted (6) Down
1 Uninteresting, banal (5)
3 Bucolic (6)
5 Assist (4,3)
10 Acumen (10) 14 Unprincipled (7)
Across 1 Church room (6) 4 Bloke (4)
Please note, BODMAS does not apply
Kakuro 4405
Quick Cryptic 3367
Codeword 5906
Train Tracks 2931
Sudoku 16,986
Killer 10,850
Sudoku 16,987
Killer 10,851
Sudoku 16,988
Tetonor 696
66
17
22
25
33 x 2 10 + 7 1 + 24 11 x 2
Need help with today’s puzzle? Call 0905 757 0143 to check the answers. Calls cost £1 per minute plus your telephone company’s network access charge. SP: Spoke, 0333 202 3390 (Mon-Fri 9am-5.30pm).
19
70 13
32 35
4 + 15 4 x 8 2 + 33 7 x 10
24 20
36
Bridge Andrew Robson
11 + 2 18 x 2 1 x 24 18 + 2
23
60 12
42
2 + 21 15 x 4 8 + 4 21 x 2
suits, guaranteeing at least fourfour in the unbid suits. Eg ♠AJ62, ♥J4, ♦AQ753, ♣42.
the first round eg♠2,♥K62,♦AJ74,
♣AJ432 (NOT a 2♣ overcall).
seriously as you couldn’t call last time. Now you’re in the protective (“cheat”) seat, you must be bold to push them up a level. eg ♠J742, ♥862, ♦A8, ♣AJ72.
opener is, uniquely, not for take-out (how can you be short in notrumps?), showing any hand with 16 or more points. If you have a good opening lead, you can shade that eg ♠K2,♥A2,♦AKJ1062,♣1083.
We begin our next Top Twenty series Top Twenty Conventions In no particular order of importance 1. Take-out double The take-out double is so entrenched in the parlance that one doesn’t think of it as a convention. However, strictly speaking, in bridge a double is a bet that the contract won't make — in order to increase the size of the penalty: known these days as a “penalty double”.
Cell Blocks 5789 Set Square 4408 Lexica 9023
1 2 2 2 2 4 4 7 8 10 11 15 18 21 24 33
T H R I C E
A R
K H A K I
I S
N I
G I G S
Lexica 9024
Futoshiki 5446
KenKen 6898
It was soon realised that the double of an opening suit bid was not best used as penalty — after all, the doubler’s partner hasn’t bid and could have anything. The language evolved so that, until partner has bid, double is best used as an artificial device to ask her to take out the opposing bid, a “take-out double”.
M B
F L U X A
U R N
R E M O T E
L U I
D R I P
Indeed, the language is continuing to evolve so that some doubles are take-out (or have contextual “take-outy” meanings) even if partner has bid. More on that later.
Today’s solutions
♦♠♥♣A4AQ65942K632
Dealer W
Cryptic Quintagram
Sakuro 4808
Concise Quintagram
Brain Trainer
5 Diamonds
1 Pig
Easy 65 Medium 124 Harder 243
♠♥♦♣J96532109785J4
♥♦♣♠108J843AKQJ7Q8
N W E S
Meantime, consider these doubles (opposing calls in brackets).
♠♥♦♣KQ7K21063A10975
Word watch
Quiz
1 Loch Ness 2 New York City 3 William Shakespeare 4 Two 5 Timothy Dalton 6 Sigmund Freud 7 The Police 8 Peak District 9 Sylvia Plath 10 Sulphur 11 Nebbiolo 12 Diana Athill 13 Konstantin Korovin 14 Mile world record. It refers to running one mile in 222 seconds 15 Shirley Thompson
Angklung (c) An Indonesian musical instrument (Collins) Berm (b) A narrow path beside a road (Chambers) Marigenous (c) Produced by the sea (OED)
S W N E
1♥ Dbl(1) Pass 4♠(2) End
As with standard Sudoku, fill the grid so that every column, every row and every 3x3 box contains the digits 1 to 9. Each set of cells joined by dotted lines must add up to the target number in its top-left corner. Within each set of cells joined by dotted lines, a digit cannot be repeated.
(a) Classic take-out double, showing an “SOS” hand-type: Support (three or more cards) in the unbid suits — and ideally four spades (but bid 1♠ with five); Opening points or more; Shortage (fewer than three cards) in the opponent’s suit. Eg ♠KJ62, ♥74, ♦AQ3, ♣Q842 but don’t be too much of a purist (see deal).
Chess — Winning Move
West cashed ♥AKQ then led ♥7 (best). East ruffed with ♠J but declarer overruffed with ♠A, ran ♠10 then led to (♠Q and) ♠K. Ten tricks. andrew.robson@thetimes.co.uk
Cluelines Stuck on Sudoku, Killer or KenKen? Call 0901 293 6263 before midnight to receive four clues for any of today’s puzzles. Calls cost £1 plus your telephone company’s network access charge. SP: Spoke, 0333 202 3390 (Mon-Fri 9am-5.30pm).
Word watch Sudoku Mild No 16,989 Difficult No 16,990 Fiendish No 16,991
David Parfitt
Angklung
c An Indonesian musical instrument Berm
a Yeasty froth from fermentation
c A pivoted spar attached to a sail Marigenous
a Pertaining to a spouse
© PUZZLER MEDIA
Fill the grid so that every column, every row and every 3x3 box contains the digits 1 to 9.
DARREN BELL/GETTY IMAGES
(1987) was the first film to star which Welsh-born actor as James Bond?
6 Which Austrian psychoanalyst completed
which nonmetallic element?
15
(1979) and Don’t Stand So Close To Me (1980) were No 1 singles for which rock trio?
8 The Derbyshire spa town of Buxton is
located on the edge of which national park?
10 Known for their pungent smell, mercaptans contain carbon, hydrogen and
• Puzzles updated daily
Place the numbers 1 to 9 in the spaces so that the number in each circle is equal to the sum of the four surrounding spaces, and each colour total is correct
For interactive puzzles visit thetimes.com
To try a digital subscription, visit thetimes.com/subscribe
Answers on page 15
Across
Down
5 Ricochet reduced line darts players must stay behind (4)
6 Meeting Irishman before church (6)
7 Mark, 100, ultimately superlative — hard to get (6)
9 Escape group of ships? Not entirely (4)
13 Urgent order to abandon court
(4)
8 Old-fashioned aunt, idle, vain, unfortunately (12) 12 Envied on regular basis period before festival (3) 14 Store, maybe, source of verbal accounts? (8)
18 One opposing aim — nothing right! (8)
17 Trim wood (6) 19 Dance sphere (4)
20 Twisted evil mask (4)
Yesterday’s solution on page 15
TQC3368.indd 1 27/07/2026 11:55:48
FRIDAY JULY 31 2026
Inside
Fifty shades of green The best on-trend sofas Page 7
Plus
Northern lights Why Londoners are moving to Manchester Page 8
Buy. Sell. Move. Improve.Your weekly property guide
How more churches are being sold off and turned into homes
COVER: CREATIVE CONCEPT BY CHARLIE ACORS, IMAGE REALISED BY GEMINI PAGES 2-3: ARTHUR SIMPSON - ESTATE & LETTING AGENTS
Single London professionals aged 22-39 cannot afford a newbuild build-to-rent studio at £1,500 per month
Source: JLL
Total homes for sale
Sales agreed 6%
4%
Northeast Scotland Yorks & Humber Southwest London Northwest East of England Southeast West Midlands East Midlands Wales UK
-3%
3%
5% 8%
-3%
6% 5%
4%
5%
-4%
-6% 3%
C
onstructed in 1870 at the peak of Scottish Presbyterianism, North Roe Kirk is a modest white-harled stone chapel on Shetland with a tiny bellcote that gazes out across the
4 weeks to July 19, 2026 vs same period a year ago
Source: Zoopla
beautiful sheltered bay of Burra Voe. For almost 150 years it faithfully served one of Britain’s most northerly congregations, before dwindling attendance eventually persuaded the Church of Scotland, its owners, that it was surplus to requirements. In 2019 the kirk was listed for sale.
Customers connected with tradeswomen on the female-only TaskHer app
Source: TaskHer
Dwindling congregations and rising repair costs mean more former places of worship are going on the market — but conversion is not always easy. By Malcolm Jack
The Scottish architect Craig Miller was living in Singapore but in search of a conversion project back in his home country. “The way that it sits on the crest of the hill with incredible views out to sea,” he says of North Roe Kirk, “I just kind of fell in love with it from the photos.” It wasn’t listed, there was no graveyard to complicate matters and the asking price was irresistible. Despite never having visited Shetland, Miller placed a bid and eventually secured the former kirk for just £38,000.
Sales in the £5 million-plus market are being boosted by an influx of American and Gulf buyers
£5m-£10m £10m+
buildings alone said to have reached £1 billion, exacerbated by recent UK government cuts to VAT relief on church repairs, pressure is mounting to quickly find sustainable new futures for many of these cherished buildings — before it becomes too late for some.
200 150 100 50 0
In the 1950s about 1.3 million people attended Church of Scotland services on a Sunday. Today it’s as few as 60,000. The Rev Scott Rennie, chair of the Church of Scotland’s general trustees, says that by resizing a church estate built for a very different Scotland they have “grasped a nettle that really generations before us should have, but didn’t have the courage to”.
2020 Q1 2022 2024 2026
Working with Née Gibson, a local architecture practice, he set about converting the chapel into a twobedroom blended home-from-home and holiday let. A structural survey revealed extensive wall strengthening and a complete reroofing were required.
Source: Savills
Tax refund plus interest that HMRC will have to pay the developer Christian Candy for stamp duty he overpaid in 2012
The Covid pandemic sent material prices soaring, while labour shortages on the island stretched the schedule. Yet most of the classic church conversion pitfalls — complex planning issues, hidden burials — never materialised and the budget was kept within a reasonable overspill. Completed in 2024, North Roe Kirk has since won an architectural award and stands as a simple and elegant demonstration of how a redundant place of worship can be born again.
The disposals plan commenced in 2023 and is projected to release about 400 to 450 buildings within its five-year span. So far, 24 churches are listed for sale directly by the Church of Scotland, ranging from a compact rural kirk near Nairn at offers over £35,000 to substantial suburban churches and church complexes for about a quarter of a million pounds each. In 2025 the total number of sales to private residential buyers was 35 per cent, followed by community groups (30 per cent), developers (16 per cent) and other faith groups (9 per cent).
home conversions like this? Definitely north of the border, where the Church of Scotland is in the midst of a radical programme of disposing of 30 to 40 per cent of its buildings by 2028.
Source: Upper Tier Tax Tribunal
More than half of those who hand money down to younger generations are helping them buy property
Many are changing hands for less than the price of a London parking space
Private residential conversions are emerging as the single most common outcome for those sold, with many changing hands for less than the price of a London parking space. The cost of conversion, however, is always high and can sometimes plunge unprepared — or unlucky — buyers into renovation hell.
Property purchase General living support Education costs Wedding costs Debt support Student loan repayment
51% 20%
“They’re sturdy buildings,” Miller says of churches. “They’ve lasted hundreds of years. So why not invest to make them last a couple of centuries more?”
8% 5% 4%
Church governing bodies in England and Wales face the same pressures as in Scotland and are disposing of churches too, albeit more slowly, for complex legal and heritage reasons. With the repair bills backlog for Church of England
Rennie acknowledges that disposal of churches is always “emotional” for local communities and “not the optimum outcome”. “But we simply reached a point where truthfully we did not have
With church congregations dwindling across the UK, and an increasing number of places of worship being declared redundant, could Britain be on the cusp of a new wave of church-to-
2%
*Survey of 2,100 UK adults aged 45 and over Source: The Private Office
the times | Friday July 31 2026 3
What buys you in . . .
£1 million
secures the future of the building in all likelihood in perpetuity, whilst also contributing towards providing additional housing”.
Yet the process is always very slow. Unlike the Church of Scotland’s centrally directed model of governance, the Church of England’s parish-based structure leaves decisions about closure rooted in the local congregation. The disposal of every church must navigate the “mission and pastoral measure” — a dense statutory process involving
Devon
£1 million
Kerswell Springs is a Devon longhouse with whitewashed stone walls, a thatched roof and eyebrow dormers. Within its two acres of grounds are a swimming pond filled naturally from a spring, a summerhouse, an apple orchard and formal gardens. The house has three reception rooms, four bedrooms, two bathrooms and a gym and snug. The property is near the small town of Chudleigh and about four miles from Dartmoor National Park. Exeter is nine miles away. EPC E (potential C) — on a scale of A (best) to G (worst) Upside Double garage. Downside Oil-fired heating. Contact jackson-stops.co.uk
consultation, formal objections, a search for alternative uses,
planning permission, restrictive covenants and, often, delicate
negotiations over churchyards and burials. About three quarters of Church of England churches are listed buildings, adding further
the resources to maintain all these buildings,” he says.
Profits from each sale are kept in the local parish. This money has enabled, Rennie says, “the biggest investment programme in the buildings we’ve retained that there has ever been”. Community use from arts venues to climbing centres and bookshops — is a preferred outcome from sales but the Church has no umbrage with residential conversion “if tastefully and sympathetically done”. “There are many, many good examples of church conversions, either in local areas or even in cities,” Rennie says.
complexity. “Overall, the system does
work,” says Adrian Browning of the Church commissioners’
closed churches team, “but the
nature of the buildings that come forward being listed and the need for consents from various parties means it can take time.”
Above and left: North Roe Kirk on Shetland. Below left: a church conversion in Maida Vale, northwest London, is on sale for £550,000 with Marsh & Parsons
Norfolk
£1 million
It can cause frustration for some. Sam Pratley is the diocesan secretary and chief executive of the Diocese of Hereford, a largely rural area with 406 churches in all
This 2.5-acre estate in the village of Beachamwell, near the market town of Swaffham, spans more than 5,000 sq ft of living space, with ten bedrooms. The main four-bedroom barn conversion has vaulted, beam-filled rooms with garden views. The surrounding grounds include four independent cottages. There is a Mediterranean-inspired south-facing walled garden and private outbuildings with a store, workshop and two garages. EPC E (potential D) Upside Ideal for multigenerational living or a holiday let business. Downside Parts of the estate have to remain accessible for the maintenance of electrical services. Contact sowerbys.com
All churches are not created equal and converting them can range widely in complexity and cost, from a couple of hundred thousand pounds to transform a small rural chapel into a single dwelling, to many millions to modernise and subdivide a large urban church into flats.
— roughly one for every 800 residents. Of the 15 churches to become redundant there within the past decade, until last year none had successfully found a new use. The problem, Pratley says, is not a lack of willing buyers but a system that too often defeats them.
One 12th-century church in the hamlet of Wolferlow has stood empty for almost 20 years after successive residential conversion schemes foundered amid planning hurdles, heritage restrictions and local objections, including those of a neighbouring farmer whose young son’s grave lies in the grounds. “The developers are there,” Pratley says. “We’re quite happy to give people those buildings and the opportunity to change them into a new use.”
Horror stories are never hard to find. In 2025 The Times reported on a Scottish buyer forced to live in a campervan after his 18th-century church conversion spiralled into years of planning disputes over historic bells. Earlier this year a couple in Wales revealed that they had to halt their renovation of a chapel after unexpectedly discovering 83 bodies entombed beneath the floor.
Wiltshire
£1 million
In Wales about a quarter of the country’s historic churches and chapels have closed in the past decade. Andrew Morgan, a chartered surveyor at Morgan & Davies who advises the Church in Wales and several other denominations on disposals, says “the estate is certainly being slimmed”, albeit “at a lesser pace” than in Scotland. Because the cost of conversion is so steep, prices typically have to be set low. In west Wales in the past two years, five former chapels handled by Morgan & Davies sold for an average of £95,000 each. Planning remains “the hurdle” to disposals happening quicker and more often, Morgan notes, with residential conversions often taking three to five years to complete due to a long slog to obtain consents.
But with such high demands placed on them, would-be buyers tend to reach the same conclusion, he says: “Too costly, too difficult. We don’t want it.”
This four-bedroom home in Bishopstone, seven miles from Swindon, was formerly the village courthouse. In an elevated spot on the North Wessex Downs, the 2,246 sq ft property is spread over three floors and has a light-filled open-plan kitchen, dual-aspect dining room and a guest suite on the lower ground floor. Outside, tiered mature gardens meander down to a chalk stream, framed by views over the village rooftops. There is useful storage and a greenhouse. Bishopstone is a charming village with a church, a pub and a primary school. EPC E (potential C) Upside Idyllic village setting. Downside Septic tank drainage required. Contact carterjonas.co.uk
Simon Linford is a vicar’s son and lifelong church bellringer who became a building contractor. He is now establishing a business dedicated solely to church conversions, because he reckons what we have seen so far is just “the tip of the iceberg”. The pace of disposal and repurposing of churches in England he thinks “is going to accelerate really highly” in future, and “it’s going to become quite a difficult problem to solve.”
Linford argues that if England is serious about preserving churches as landmarks of its built environment, the closure process needs to be streamlined and conservation attitudes towards adaptation made more pragmatic, so that more buildings can be converted to residential use before they decay beyond rescue. “Lots and lots of people would love to turn a church into their home,” Linford says. “They’ve seen it on Grand Designs. These buildings are full of character. But it’s quite difficult.”
With about 16,000 churches, the Church of England owns one of Europe’s largest historic property portfolios. Maintaining it is increasingly burdensome: 976 churches, chapels, meeting houses and cathedrals are listed on Historic England’s Heritage at-risk register at present, with between 50 and 60 churches added annually in recent years. Yet, compared with Scotland and Wales, the pipeline of church disposals remains modest.
Or... your own grouse moor
£1 million
For the romantic property investor. In the Yorkshire Dales National Park, this 678-acre moor offers white hill and heather, bog and peat, and an abundance of game: red grouse, red-legged partridge and pheasant. It forms part of a driven shoot in collaboration with a neighbouring estate, and the owner has a number of days of walked-up shooting every year. It’s ten miles from Skipton. EPC N/A Upside For the bleak poet in all of us. Downside You’d better enjoy being battered by wind and rain. Contact gscgrays.co.uk
He believes more specialist help is needed to guide buyers through abundant church conversion challenges, from the mundane to the macabre. “I’ve dealt with moving graves,” Linford says. “I’m dealing with changing a stainedglass window or two, I’m dealing with burying a waste treatment plant in a cemetery. I’m dealing with all the stuff which your normal person wouldn’t have a prayer of doing.”
Since 1969 the Church of England has designated about 2,000 churches redundant, demolishing 503. Among those repurposed, residential conversion is the single most common outcome, accounting for 354 buildings. Commissioners see this as “a good use” as “it tends to be more sustainable and
Everything moves slowly in Cyprus not a bad environment for a wellness retreat once it is complete. We’ve had to adjust our time frame and Nick’s taken on part-time consultancy work for the Ministry of Defence so we don’t struggle for income, and I do my online classes.
Our plan is to offer five-day wellness retreats and B&B stays. After roadtesting it with friends and family, I just had my first fitness client staying for a two-week programme, and we worked out every day together. Since a drone hit a hangar at Akrotiri base in March [as part of the Iran war] it’s been tough for those running tourism businesses.
Donna Curley is living her wellness dream among olive trees on the Mediterranean island
y husband, Nick, has always worked away from home but when he semiretired we decided we wanted a new life together in Cyprus [says
When the pandemic hit, I had to take my teaching online and that is how things stayed — although I had never dreamt I could get paid for doing Zoom classes.
The cost of living is lower than the UK, though food is expensive. We live off-grid with solar power and our own well so we have no utility bills. But it gets cold in winter so while the wood-burner gets a lot of use, we need a back-up generator for those rare grey days.
M
bungalow on around 3,000 square metres of land with a swimming pool and 20 olive trees. We immediately began to build timber pods imported as kits from Lithuania — to house our guests. They sleep two to three people, and have en suite bathrooms.
I’d never been to Cyprus until meeting Nick but in 2013 we bought a onebedroom holiday home in Kapparis, on the southeastern tip of the island. Visiting two or three times a year, I fell in love with the slow pace of the island, its tranquillity and beautiful sandy beaches.
A lot of the expats here have wellestablished friendship groups so it’s harder to make new friends than I thought, though there are a lot of British people moving out here now for the tax benefits as well as the lifestyle.
Donna Curley, 49].
We had been living in Derbyshire, where I grew up. I left home at 18 and met my first husband a year later. After we separated I spent a few months travelling around Australia and then I was ready for a fresh start.
As the years went by, we talked about moving there but waited until Nick’s two children — from his first marriage were well into their twenties. Our dream was to open a wellness retreat, putting into practice all that I have learnt and using Nick’s project management skills.
I also got diagnosed with scoliosis last year and while it can be debilitating, yoga really helps. The Cypriot national healthcare system is good.
I became a fitness instructor and met Nick, 56, who was deployed in Afghanistan as an army reservist. He had been born on the RAF base at Akrotiri to British parents.
We sold our home in Holbrook in Derbyshire and moved out a year ago. Because we owned
Our move to Cyprus was designed so we could spend more time together, which has happened but not quite as much as we hoped — yet. I think with any big move you have to adapt and accept that there might be a few hurdles, along with the Greek “siga siga” [slowly slowly]. I am glad that we took the leap. Interview by Liz Rowlinson
We eventually found a property with bags of potential and land in the countryside in 2024, after selling our holiday apartment. It’s in Avgorou, a large farming “red soil” village 25 minutes from Ayia Napa.
a home on the island before Brexit, we were able to get a five-year residency permit, which allows me to live and work on the island. The paperwork in Cyprus can be slow and laborious, so I paid an expert to help me with it. It was money well spent.
Donna Curley with her husband, Nick, and their bungalow in Cyprus
After working at David Lloyd fitness club in Derby and while working as a Weight Watchers coach for 16 years, I lost 7½ stone. I also ran several classes at my local leisure centre teaching yoga, spinning, Pilates and circuit training.
Our house is a two-bedroom
FROM £165,000S
P RICE
TO£5
WHERE COAST MEETS CULTURE
00,000+
YOUR OPPORTUNITY TO ESCAPE & EXPLORE THE TIMELESS CHARM OF NORTH NORFOLK OR THE STUNNING SUFFOLK HERITAGE COAST
Enjoy endless holidays, all from one beautiful place. Your lodge. Your retreat. Your family’s forever memories. It’s time to make it yours. Discover luxury holiday lodge owenrship at Marsh View, Aldeburgh & The Poplars, Burnham Market.
Exclusive lifestyle properties | Fully furnished and available now Signiicant rental opportunity | No stamp duty | No council tax
LUXURYLODGEESCAPES.CO
ESCAPE, EXPLORE, ENJOY, RETREAT
Local expertise, national presence, international audience
Period home set in a truly unique waterside plot, featuring a river meadow island and offering convenient access to Cambridge and London.
EPC Exempt | Council Tax: H | Tenure: Freehold Contact: 0330 333 1060 £2,000,000
moments that matter
For those moments that matter most, trust Fine & Country to handle your move with expertise and care. Contact our team for considered, no-obligation advice.
A luxury family home finished to an exceptional standard, featuring a spa-inspired leisure suite and magnificent entertaining spaces.
EPC: C | Council Tax: F | Tenure: Freehold offers over Contact: 01704 205021 £1,600,000
Malt Cottage is a spacious four bedroom, two bathroom, three reception, Grade II Listed 18th century property with a wealth of character.
An outstanding detached seven bedroom home set in 3.5 acres of formal gardens and woodland, with indoor leisure facilities including a pool, entertainment room and bar.
Yeardsley Hall is a Grade II Listed masterpiece in High Peak, offering 1.09 acres, three bedrooms, four bathrooms, two reception rooms and no onward chain.
Exceptional Georgian-style country home in a rural setting offering 3 acres, four bedrooms, ancillary accommodation, stables, triple garage and fenland views.
EPC: E | Council Tax: G | Tenure: Freehold OIEO Contact: 01635 30303 £1,100,000
CHICHESTER WEST SUSSEX
One of Chichester’s most distinguished addresses — an award winning Grade II Listed 15th century townhouse, fully refurbished and reimagined.
EPC: C | Council Tax: H | Tenure: Freehold Contact: 01243 908077 £1,850,000
GREAT HORMEAD HERTFORDSHIRE
A stunning four bedroom detached home set within a plot of approximately 1.5 acres, with a detached barn and beautiful landscaped gardens.
EPC: D | Council Tax: G | Tenure: Freehold Contact: 01920 443898 £1,500,000
STAINFORTH NORTH YORKSHIRE
Unique Grade II Listed 17th century farmhouse with four bedrooms, a one bedroom annexe, a barn and a generous garden, offering period charm and remarkable potential.
EPC: D | Council Tax: G | Tenure: Freehold Contact: 01298 808082 £995,000
EPC: B | Council Tax: F | Tenure: Freehold offers over Contact: 01780 750200 £900,000
Spacious village home with four double bedrooms, a bespoke farmhouse kitchen, versatile living spaces, mature gardens, eco-friendly features and excellent transport links.
Distinctive Grade II Listed residence occupying a prominent position overlooking the historic green in West Drayton.
A substantial Grade II Listed family home combining period character with elegant modern living, set within an exclusive cobbled courtyard overlooking the Calder Valley.
EPC: C | Council Tax: G | Tenure: Freehold Contact: 01453 751661 £740,000
EPC: D | Council Tax: D | Tenure: Freehold Contact: 0203 912 3425 £725,000
EPC Exempt | Council Tax: F | Tenure: Freehold Contact: 01422 410723 £695,000
Head Office 119–121 Park Lane, London W1 | +44 (0)20 7079 1515 parklane@fineandcountry.com | fineandcountry.com
300 locations worldwide
Scan QR code to book a valuation
Mark Brazier-Jones and his wife, Julia, at their home near Royston, Hertfordshire, which is on sale for £950,000
The eccentric designer Mark Brazier-Jones is selling his home and all its contents though Bram Stoker’s desk is not up for grabs. By Sasha Nugara
o step into the home of Mark Brazier-Jones and his wife, Julia, is to abandon the modern rules of sterile interior design. Mark helped to birth the creative salvage movement in
cent furnished with Mark’s work. “I’m very lucky because I can say, ‘Oh, we need a dining table. I can’t find anything. Can you make me something? I need a new bed, I need a dressing table, I need this,’” Julia says, laughing.
“We sneakily looked at each other. We knew exactly what we were going to do,” Mark says. “And so we transformed it into this baroque dining hall. And it’s perfect.”
[£90,000],” Julia says. “Some of Mark’s work has sold at auction for ridiculous amounts of money. I mean, there was a chandelier that sold for £92,500. It wasn’t a one-of-a-kind piece, it was a chandelier that we make to order, and we only sell it for £48,000.”
How much would the buyer need to offer? ‘Quite a lot. That chandelier over there sells for £90,000’
They were moving on December 9, with a new year’s party planned, so Julia told Mark they needed a table. He found a single piece of wood sliced from a cedar of Lebanon. “It’s an amazing piece of wood. We were very lucky to chance upon it at a reclamation yard.”
After 17 years in the same house, they are moving on — but the couple are willing to sell every Brazier-Jones piece within the house if the price is right. “There’s only one piece that we probably wouldn’t sell because nobody would offer us enough money,” Julia says. “That is the desk that Bram Stoker wrote Dracula on that Mark has transformed into something magnificent.”
Anything that is not a Mark BrazierJones is probably an antique that caught their eye or bric-a-brac from a car boot sale. “We’re not minimalists,” Mark says. “I like detailed narrative, texture.”
the 1980s alongside Tom Dixon and Ron Arad, championing the use of scrap materials to produce beautiful, anarchic furniture — and his house and its decor reflect just that.
It became the foundation of their 4mlong table, capable of sitting 19 diners, with an assortment of Brazier-Jones chairs surrounding it. Parties were always a priority for the couple, so the party space was a must, and the table needed to take some weight.
He is mainly known for his sculptural designs, such as the wingback chair made of bronze, and for his use of other metals in ornamental, experimental forms. Having started welding industrial scraps, his work has since evolved, catching the eye of Madonna, Mick Jagger and Karl Lagerfeld, who all own bits of Brazier-Jones.
“I like decay and dereliction,” Mark says, “and I like antiques that are worn and show their age and show use, and I kind of like to bring that into my work as well. People are very preoccupied with perfection. And I find that annoying, to be honest.”
Stoker desk aside, how much would the buyer need to offer for the rest? “Quite a lot. That chandelier we just showed you sells for $120,000
“You can get up on top [of the table] and do sword fights as well,” he says.
When they moved in, in 2009, the 16th-century home near Royston, Hertfordshire, had been dressed in a Seventies style, with peach moiré silk, linoleum floors and short little box curtains. The Brazier-Joneses wanted to return to a more suitable period style. “It’s a 450-year-old house so it just seemed incongruous to have it slightly Seventies/Eighties style, so we took it back [to the period] to make it look more in keeping,” Julia says. “We put panelling up. We put wooden floors down.”
“There’s been no accidents,” Julia adds by way of reassurance. “I’ve had burlesque girls do dubious things on it before.”
Mark is not fazed by the clientele. Celebrities are not art critics, he says, but reflects on one of his more exciting customers in Los Angeles: “This limousine pulled up outside of the shop with darkened windows and the window came down a little bit.
The room also has several BrazierJones chandeliers, with lighting having become a focus for his work. “There’s so much work to be done in lighting,” Mark says, “so I just got into it.”
“The chauffeur came out and went into the shop, and says, ‘That chair in the window — can I take it out on the sidewalk and show my boss?’ He took the chair out, gave it a spin and the limousine drove off. Half an hour later somebody turned up with a cheque. It was from Prince.”
They have designed their entire home to be enjoyed most at night, after dark.
“It’s an old house but it didn’t look old enough and so we set-dressed it to look nice and old the way we like things,” Mark says. “But it’s not crumbling away, that’s the trick.”
“It’s all about ambience,” he says. “I look at modern lighting and I think, somebody’s done that on a drawing board but how do you live with it? Is it going to be a glaring thing in the corner of your eye? Can you see the light source? Is it going to flatter skin tones?” “I think a lot of people leave lighting to the last minute, which is always a
Mark started designing for the house as soon as the offer had been accepted. One of the main draws to the property was a large 9m by 4.5m room to the side of the house, which was being used to
Mark and Julia met when she was running a gallery that was exhibiting his work. Their mutual passion for art is apparent in their home, which is 90 per
Bram Stoker’s writing desk won’t be staying with the house store garden equipment.
CHRIS RADBURN FOR THE SUNDAY TIMES
1
Grey is no longer king of the living room. Katrina Burroughs chooses her favourite seats in the on-trend shade
here have all the grey sofas gone? Haring around the autumn/ winter shows this month, I have barely
W
seen a settee in what used to be the default hue. Green has taken over as the couch colour of choice — and what an improvement it is.
2
3
Jason Wilary-Attew, the director of home at John Lewis, says: “We have seen a clear shift in sofa colour preferences. Where grey once dominated, green has now taken over quite convincingly.” In the past year at John Lewis grey sofas dropped to 9 per cent of sales, while green ones rose to 17 per cent. “We predict this will rise even further this year,” WilaryAttew says.
any more. It acts almost like a modern
neutral,” says Swyft’s design director, John O’Leary, whose vine
colourway has been a hit with buyers. “It’s grounding,
At Barker and Stonehouse green sofas are outselling greys by a bigger margin than at John Lewis. The retailer sold five times as many green sofas as grey between January and June this year and sales of green sofas have been up by 80 per cent year-on-year. The trend continues to gain momentum: online searches for green sofas have been 60 per cent higher than searches for grey sofas over the past month.
versatile and brings warmth and personality to a room without
mistake,” Julia says. “People always use very harsh white-coloured lightbulbs, which is incredibly unflattering to skin tone, faces, [under-eye] bags and wrinkles. They can also bring about a feeling of depression because it’s all too harsh and too white.”
overwhelming the space.” He’s right. That is the
genius of green. It is a crossover colour that is equally at home in classic and contemporary interiors, works beautifully alongside natural colours and materials, and brings personality without dominating the room. It is quite simply restful. And timeless. This is not a oneseason wonder.
4
Another key to a home looking its best after sunset? No white paint anywhere. They choose gloomy colours, even on the ceilings, because the bones of the house (low ceilings, low windows, deep walls) do not let in masses of light.
5
Green is the bestselling colour for some of the most popular Furniture Village sofas. Fifty-six per cent of Bronwyns (a bestselling model that is reduced from £1,795 to £1,595) and 56 per cent of Eclipses were sold in green between November 2025 and June 2026.
Home improvers voting
“If you want to create light [in an old house], painting it white is not really going to do anything, it’s just going to make it look soulless, so we chose colours that make you focus your eye on looking through the window. It also doesn’t show the dirt, which is lovely.”
with their cash have driven the glut of green sofas that is
6
Searches for “green sofa” on habitat.co.uk increased by 10 per cent between March 2 and July 26 this year compared with the same period last year. Moss and olive green shades performed especially well for the brand. The Myra three-seater in moss green upholstery (£595) sold out within weeks of launching in spring.
about to land in store and online. The rise of the green sofa is democratic design in action.
“Due to the uptick in sales and what we were seeing trending in home decor, we expanded our range of greens last year,” says Hannah Rosman, the commercial director at Willow & Hall. She has sold twice as many designs in green fabrics than in grey in the past year. “We’ve seen a rise in the lighter
The forest of 60 trees they’ve planted on their half-acre plot has also added to their cosy, reclusive lifestyle. When they moved in, they removed the topiary, box hedges and lawn, and got planting, yearning for the feeling of wilderness.
To cut a (chaise) longue story short, there’s an industry-wide excitement about green — from sage to ivy — but the most sought-after shades are moss and olive: warm, earthy greens with a minuscule hint of yellow. John Lewis’s bestselling upholstery fabric is a moss green chenille. Heal’s reports that green sofas outsell grey and that there is a particular passion for mossy colours. In direct response to a growing demand for green colourways, the company has introduced a myrtle shade of its smart cotton linen fabric and an olive of its wool velvet.
greens, especially for our older demographic, while the darker
“It’s very much a forest garden,” Julia says. “You can walk around and eat pretty much everything apart from the digitalis.” There are apricots, figs and quince.
colours always do well for family households as
they’re more forgiving.” If you fancy a green sofa but haven’t yet invested, this month may actually be the time to buy. Spending on a couch in a heatwave feels wrong and for precisely that reason you may bag a bargain right now.
“The garden can run itself. It’s a natural forest,” Mark says.
And it was their garden that brought on the realisation that it was time to move on from their farmhouse, which is on sale with Cheffins for £950,000. Their mission to create the perfect home was done. “Perfect for us, not necessarily perfect for others,” Julia says.
7
“What’s interesting is that people don’t necessarily see green as a bold choice
Bricks&Mortar Housing market
No 10 North movers will be spoilt for choice in Manchester — and buying and renting will be cheaper than in London too, says Jayne Dowle
A
ndy Burnham’s choice of Heron House to set up an interim headquarters for No 10 North is certainly trailblazing but his team are only the latest London
émigrés to the mighty northern metropolis of Manchester.
“Buyers from London are already our biggest line of inquiry,” says Louis TwistGreen, sales consultant at the city centre estate agency Julie Twist Properties. “They were non-existent five to ten years ago but they’re moving up north to improve their quality of life. The cost of living factor? It’s like the difference between night and day.”
Twist-Green is also seeing a trend of families buying apartments for children coming to Manchester to study at the University of Manchester, Manchester Metropolitan University, the University of Salford or one of the city’s other higher education institutions. These include the football-focused University Academy 92, co-founded by members of Manchester United’s Class of ’92 — Gary Neville, Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes, Phil Neville and Nicky Butt — and the Royal Northern College of Music.
From left: the No 10 North headquarters at Heron House; Manchester city centre with Heron House; Andy Burnham and his cabinet at No 10 North
Such buyers will need a budget of about £210,000 to £230,000 for a twobedroom, two-bathroom apartment, perhaps with a parking space — despite all those Bee Network buses buzzing around — and £320,000 to £350,000 for a more premium city centre property, Twist-Green says.
Lee Butterley, 46, moved to Manchester from Kensal Rise in northwest London last year, to a £370,000 shared ownership 15th-floor two-bedroom apartment at Latimer’s Islington Wharf development, buying a 45 per cent share. He is able to increase his increment by 1 per cent each year and hopes to eventually reach 50 per cent ownership.
because, at about two square miles, it’s quite compact. “People aren’t quite as caught up in locations as they are in London,” Twist-Green adds. “Popular areas are always Deansgate, Spinningfields, Castlefield and Ancoats, and Piccadilly for the proximity to the [railway] station. Hulme is quite popular too — we have a lot of students there.”
monthly private rent in Manchester was £1,358 in June 2026, an increase of 3.5 per cent from £1,312 in June 2025, against a northwest average of £961, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS). This is about a thousand pounds cheaper a month than London, at £2,302.
Manchester residents is now £36,278 per year (ONS), not far behind
Average monthly private rent in Manchester
London, where the median salary is now £39,778, according
Buyers from London are already our biggest line of inquiry. They were nonexistent five to ten years ago
to Sage Accounting.
From the days of cotton barons, Manchester has always been about the money. The Bolton-born Jaye Hargreaves, 47, director at dahling and i-h-a-r, a global recruitment agency, returned to Manchester last year after two decades in Brixton, south London.
Born in Doncaster, South Yorkshire, and having grown up in Weymouth, Dorset, the BBC media planner moved to London when he was 22. “I had previously done short stints in Manchester with work and developed a bit of a taste for it,” he says. “I made friends, other friends moved up here. I came to really like it and thought it was the place for me to live in future. This location is great, slap-bang in the middle of town, the gym, the barbers, a Sainsbury’s downstairs — everything is a five-minute journey.
No 10 North employees seeking digs a short stroll or cycle from Heron House might look around the historic, pubdotted Portland Street, Twist-Green advises, or The Edge, a mile and a half across the River Irwell in Salford, an apartment development where the fashion designer Ben de Lisi did the interiors. There’s also Leftbank in Spinningfields and Century Buildings, built between 1905 and 1909 as the home of the National Boiler & Generator Insurance Company.
“One of the biggest surprises was just how much further your money goes in Manchester,” says Katie Whelan, 29, a content creator for the Manchesterbased regeneration-focused property developers Capital & Centric. She moved here in January. “I was paying over £900 a month for a double room in a shared house in north London with three housemates, plus bills, and I was amazed to see that for a similar monthly cost you could rent a one-bedroom studio in Manchester, often with extras like a balcony. It really opened my eyes to the difference in affordability up here in the north.”
He has seen “a seismic shift over the last three years” in his industry,
“In London I would spend so much time shlepping up and down on the Bakerloo Line. It was a barrier, you had to think in advance about what you were doing. Now friends will ring or message and say, ‘I’m just walking by your flat, shall I pop in for a wine?’ It’s a lot freer and easier than London.” Manchester city centre often surprises newcomers
And under construction just around the corner are the 217 branded residences at St Michael’s, a £400 million mixed-use development led by Gary Neville’s Relentless Developments. Price tags, reported to be from £800,000, are suitably Premier League footballerish.
Andy Burnham
Meanwhile, as salaries in Manchester rise, affordability becomes easier. The median full-time annual salary for
Renting or buying costs vary hugely across the city. However, the average
CHRISTOPHER FURLONG/AFP/GETYY IMAGES;XINHUA /ALAMY LIVE NEWS
Sasha Nugara, Property Reporter
My housemate’s constant swearing is ruining our friendship
From dodgy landlords to housemate dramas, our columnist answers your questions
housemate to swear less.
My living situation is perfect — but there’s one
“You don’t need to convince your housemate that swearing is wrong to get them to swear less,” he explains.
Button Up! exhibition; and Campfield, a tech, media and creative campus in the former
thing that’s ruining it. I love my space, and I’m living with likeminded people in a location I enjoy. But I can’t stand one of my housemates swearing.
“Most people approach this problem backwards. They try to change someone’s mind first and hope that, once the person is convinced of their point of view, their behaviour will follow.
Campfield market halls. “I have an apartment in the city centre but the
Median full-time annual salary for Manchester residents
They’re a gamer and spend a lot of their time in the bedroom, swearing at the top of their lungs, saying really horrible things. I don’t even mind the noise or shouting, it’s the bad language that upsets me.
other week I brought the whole family up and I took an
apartment at Soho House [which opened in November 2025]. I honestly thought I was somewhere like Copenhagen or Amsterdam,” Ingalls says. “The whole of the city seemed to have this continental feel about it. I was spending my weekend doing things that you perhaps wouldn’t expect to do in Manchester. We went to a production at Aviva Studios — it was very contemporary, very cultured. Then there was the choice of restaurants where we went for lunch and dinner: 20 Stories, Fenix, the Ivy, Soho House itself for brunch. I was in that city and I actually felt European.”
“Your housemate sees it as normal to swear almost every time they open their mouth. You grew up rarely hearing it. Considering how far apart you are, it won’t take long until you’re just arguing about whether swearing is right or wrong, the heels dig in and you both become more entrenched in your views.
Even outside of gaming, it feels like every other word they say is a swear word. Swearing is not something I was brought up with and this has made me realise how uncomfortable it makes me. I don’t want this to ruin the friendship we have formed but it’s really upsetting me. What can I do?
“Focus instead on securing one small change that moves you closer to the outcome you want. Consider asking your housemate to swear less in the places that affect you most, such as the living room. They should notice that conversations with you become a little easier and your friendship feels less strained.
Like any city, Manchester has its challenging areas. Cheetham Hill, Burnage and Levenshulme were all named as hotspots for “dodgy shops” selling the likes of illicit vapes and American sweets and acting as fronts for organised crimes, according to a recent Chartered Trading Standards Institute (CTSI) survey.
Now I must admit, I do enjoy an occasional
swear word, but it’s important to tailor your language according to those around you. For example, I try not to swear in front of my grandparents, in a professional setting or when around children. I do, however, swear in front of my mum and friends (and occasionally aim it directly at my brother).
“It might not be the complete change you want but it’s not trivial. Once someone starts behaving differently, they become more likely to act in ways that are consistent with that change. A flatmate who has agreed to swear less in a shared space is also more likely to swear less when you have friends over.
However, there are plenty of suburbs outside the city centre where families relocating from London or otherwise can find a safe berth. Perennial favourites include Didsbury (a Sunday Times Best Place to Live 2026), Chorlton-cum-Hardy in south Manchester, and Prestwich (a Sunday Times Best Place to Live 2024) to the north of the city centre, all handy for Heron House via direct Metrolink tram links to the nearest station, St Peter’s Square, taking no more than 40 minutes.
Still, I’ve noticed how divisive swearing can be and it comes down to how often you’ve been exposed to it. My first job was in a pizza takeaway, an environment full of yells and curses.
which he says is moving from being “very London-centric” to northern cities, including Manchester, Wakefield and Leeds. This has been spearheaded by broadcasters, including the BBC and
“Small, incremental changes can have a surprisingly large effect but it does take time, so be patient. Despite it being a change many people might consider reasonable, you are asking someone to alter something fundamental about themselves: how they communicate with the people around them.
However, dropping the odd f-bomb for hyperbole is very different from constantly raging at your computer. One of my closest friends had an ex-boyfriend who used to regularly hurl his Xbox controller at the screen and break it, which does not make for a happy home.
Channel 4, moving creative aspects
“Didsbury is the jewel in the Mancunian crown and was the ‘go-to’ location when the BBC relocated to Salford over ten years ago,” says Rob Kennedy, managing director at the local estate agents Philip James Kennedy.
of their operations to the north of England. Hargreaves, who lives in Bolton and has offices in Bonded
Warehouse Manchester, once a railway goods terminal, mentions team members from Cambridge and Stratford-upon-Avon. “I’m
The suburb is popular with city centre tenants and buyers wanting to move out to start families and enjoy a more relaxed lifestyle. “We have early Victorian cottages, late Victorian/ Edwardian terraces and semis through to Arts and Crafts detached family homes, futuristic apartment and townhouse developments,” Kennedy adds. “But there is still considerable bias towards the north, with many southerners still believing that Mancunians live in twobedroomed terraces with no hallway, like in Coronation Street.”
“We tend to assume that to change someone’s behaviour, we first need to change their mind. Often, it’s the other way around. Behaviour changes first and the mind catches up.
the most northern person in the
It’s important to live with likeminded people who share your values, and if your housemate doesn’t respect your views on swear words, it may mean you’re incompatible
building,” he says. In the last decade or so Manchester has evolved to become a cosmopolitan, culture-loving city akin to Copenhagen or Amsterdam, says Mike Ingall, chief executive of the developers Allied London,
“Focus not on convincing your housemate that swearing is wrong but on getting them to swear less over time. When you take this approach, you don’t need to tell them about the benefits of not swearing because they will discover it themselves.”
I asked Alex Rusby, a principal behavioural scientist
Price of St Michael’s, a development led by Gary Neville’s Relentless company
who lives in Richmond, southwest London, but has worked in the city for 30 years. His company’s developments
Back at Heron House, against the glittering skyscrapers of Deansgate, the mill and warehouse conversions bristling with young creatives and yet more émigrés following the trail north, that bias is about to blown out of the water.
include the office/retail/leisure scheme No1 Spinningfields; St John’s; Aviva Studios, home of Factory International and currently hosting Ai Weiwei’s
Got a query? Email sasha.nugara@the-times.co.uk
alking through Rendcomb College is a poignant and melancholy experience. Standing
W
majestically on a hill in the picturesque Churn Valley in the Cotswolds, the grade II* listed Victorian mansion was an independent day and boarding school for the past century but it closed its doors in early July.
A sense of its recent past is palpable. Lesson plans for HG Wells’s The War of the Worlds remain on the classroom whiteboard. Afternoon activity schedules still line the noticeboards in the creaky corridors, which are adorned with trophies and photographs of school sports teams. The head teacher’s motto, still displayed on signs in the elegant panelled reception hall, is “Thoughtful, Ambitious, Adventurous”.
£500 per sq ft, he says it’s worth doing. “It also depends on how pragmatic the planners are. We had one job and it took four years to get planning consent on. If someone’s paying £20 million for that site and it takes four years to get planning consent, the interest charges on that £20 million will be huge. But if the sales values are good, then I’m sure it will stack up.”
The building feels frozen in time. But it’s the end of an era for Rendcomb College, a sad turn of events for its 380 pupils, as the cost of living crisis hits private schools. The addition of VAT on school fees, which came in in January 2025, and the removal of the 80 per cent charitable business rates relief in April 2025 hit the school hard, along with the rise in energy costs.
Rendcomb College in the Cotswolds is for sale for £20m-£30m a victim of VAT on fees. But who would buy it? By Hugh Graham
Darren Price works for Adam Architecture, which is in the midst of a £175 million restoration of Tottenham House, a former private school in a grade I listed mansion in Wiltshire. “You often have to deconstruct these buildings to put new services through,” Price says. “You’ve got to lift floorboards, find ways of putting plumbing and electrics and green energy through the building without removing the atmosphere. It’s incredibly complicated.
property, rechristened Rendcomb Park, is about to launch to the market with Knight Frank and pricing will be in the range of £20 million to £30 million.
The school lost 40 pupils between September 2024 and September 2025, a devastating blow to its finances, according to Richard Wills, a trustee of the Rendcomb Foundation and great-grandson of the philanthropist Frederick Noel Hamilton Wills, who founded the boarding school in 1918 to give talented boys from all backgrounds access to an exceptional education (it gradually incorporated day pupils and became fully co-ed in 1992).
Who would buy such an enormous mansion and its sprawling campus? Emma Cleugh, a partner at Knight Frank, says it is rare that an estate of this size and stature comes on the market in the Cotswolds. She thinks given the desirable location, about six miles from Cirencester, the natural buyer could be a luxury boutique hotel, a wellness spa or a private buyer with deep pockets. Developers who divide country houses into private flats or retirement homes are also common, but she says that private schools are increasingly sold off to other educational institutions such as continuing education colleges.
“The trick is to hide everything so that you’re not losing that authenticity. I want the floorboards to still creak — I ask clients what level of creaking they want. I say, do you want to smell 150 years of fires as you walk into the hall, do you want to smell the books from the library?”
The walls are lined with names of alumni. These include the champion jockey Richard Dunwoody, Kojo Annan (a businessman and son of former UN secretary-general Kofi Annan), the former Sainsbury’s chairman David Tyler and the Paralympian shooter Issy Bailey. Seven hundred Old Rendcombians came to say goodbye to the school at an event in June.
much more soul, craftsmanship and character in a listed building than you’ll ever get in a new-build.”
Above: Rendcomb College in Gloucestershire is being put on the market. Below: ex-jockey Richard Dunwoody, a former pupil
He thinks a promising use for these old private school buildings is as “longevity centres” — there is rising interest from investors in this sector. “They’re like hotels but with upgraded medical facilities. You get your massages but also your blood tests and your IV and your stem cell injections, maybe dentistry at the same time.”
What to do with old private schools is a conundrum that will become increasingly common. Seventy-one private schools closed in 2025 in Britain, up from 58 in 2024; 15 have closed so far this year, according to the estate agency Hamptons.
But converting one of these is not easy, he says. “What you can do with them is a lot more limited than it was 30 or 40 years ago. They don’t really work as retirement homes any more because those need level access and all sorts of modern facilities.”
With its hallowed halls empty, what will happen to the 32,000 sq ft Italianate mansion, with its five-storey tower, exquisite stained glass windows, ornate friezes, intricate cornices and Corinthian columns? Its 190,000 sq ft of outbuildings include about a dozen period residential properties including an old rectory and numerous staff cottages, plus a stable block, modern dormitories, a sports hall, a squash court, an old post office, a café and a
That will make life interesting for Simon Vernon-Harcourt, design and planning director for City & Country, a developer that converts historic buildings into apartments. “I’ve been doing this for 20 years and people always ask if I’m going to run out of old buildings to convert but lots of really interesting listed buildings are coming up,” he says.
Converting them into flats within a grand country house would be the best solution, he says. They make for lovely apartments for downsizers with tall ceilings, big windows and a sense of grandeur, complemented by beautiful
Old Rendcombians might cringe at the thought but they can take comfort that the money from the sale will go to a good cause. The property is owned by the Rendcomb Foundation, a charity founded by the Wills family. The proceeds of the sale will go to the Farmington Institute, an educational charity that funds scholarships for teachers to undertake research as well as improvements to primary school libraries. The school may be gone but Rendcomb’s legacy will endure.
gardens that are communal and therefore less work than owning your own country house.
In addition to the closure of private schools, many local authorities are downsizing from their listed buildings. “As a developer it’s really exciting,” Vernon-Harcourt says. “You have so
It’s incredibly costly to convert these listed buildings so it has to
be in a prime location to make the numbers work. If the subsequent
apartment could sell for £400 to
Aire Gardens in Leeds City Park is a rare opportunity to acquire an apartment in a distinctive, tranquil pocket of the city, framed by tree-lined gardens and natural streams, yet only a 500m walk from Leeds Railway Station and the City Centre.
Positioned adjacent to the South Bank Regeneration area, the scheme benefi ts from one of Leeds’ most transformational growth locations, combining the appeal of green space with exceptional connectivity both into and out of the city.
0800 316 7344 that you should seek independent fi nancial advice. *Source: Savills Residential Forecast.
The value of investments can go up and down, and BuyAssociation always recommends
Hot, Admiral Sir Tim Laurence, Adrian Dixon Cambridge, Adult Social Care Negotiating Body, Adult Social Care Negotiating Body
Can - WARNING: source dates, money, or percentage tokens may be missing - WARNING: translated output contains large residual English-looking blocks
本次翻译存在严重的内容缺失（Omissions）和结构混乱问题。翻译结果并非对原文的完整映射，而是像一个随机抽取的片段集，丢失了大量核心新闻版块。
Business 单元信托信息、股票价格表（EQUITY PRICES）、投资公司数据表被完全略过，仅翻译了极少量文字。Listed buildings（法定登记建筑/保护建筑）被翻译为“登录建筑”，这是典型的词义误选（将 listed 理解为登录/注册）。adjacent 多次直接保留在中文句子中（如：“再生计划 adjacent”），未予翻译。BTR-style 等专业缩写未加解释或翻译。Blocking Issue Found (发现阻塞性问题)
该翻译件不可用。其主要问题不在于翻译质量，而在于极低的内容完整度。翻译结果丢失了原文中绝大部分的资讯内容，且在关键术语（如 Listed buildings）上出现低级错误。建议重新执行翻译任务并加强对 PDF 布局（尤其是表格和多栏新闻）的解析。