Nick Croydon, the CEO of QBD Books, has faced criticism for his thriller The Turing Protocol
A novel written by a prominent book industry figure in which persecuted gay man Alan Turing has sex with a woman and fathers a child has been criticised online for its portrayal of the codebreaker.
The Turing Protocol was released in July and was written by Nick Croydon, the CEO of QBD Books, the largest Australian-owned bookshop chain, where the book is being heavily promoted.
Continue reading...Noel says his long-estranged brother is ‘smashing it’ during the band’s stadium shows and that he’s ‘proud’ of him
Noel Gallagher has opened up about his feelings towards his long-estranged brother Liam during Oasis’ sold-out global reunion tour for the first time, saying: “He’s been amazing … it’s great being back in the band with Liam.”
Oasis announced they would be reuniting in August 2024, 15 years after their split in 2009 when Noel quit the band after a backstage brawl at the Rock en Seine festival in Paris, saying he “simply could not go on working with Liam a day longer”.
Continue reading...Kiruna Kyrka’s slow journey is part of effort to stop town being swallowed by Europe’s biggest underground mine
After eight years of planning, a cost of more than 500m kronor (£39m) and an early morning blessing, a church in northern Sweden began a slow-motion 5km journey on Tuesday to make way for the expansion of Europe’s biggest underground mine.
The 672-tonne Kiruna Kyrka, a Swedish Lutheran church inaugurated in 1912, is to be slowly rolled to its new home over two days, at a pace of half-a-kilometre an hour.
Continue reading...Stamp had charisma and star power like no other. Fierce and beautiful in his youth, his screen presence evolved into something more elegant and enduring as the swinging 60s faded from view
“A stranger arrives, makes love to everyone and then leaves,” said Pier Paolo Pasolini to Terence Stamp, outlining the plot of his 1968 classic Theorem. “That’s your part.” Stamp exclaimed: “I can play that.” It was the role that the man was born to play and would play, with subtle variations, throughout his career.
From his first appearance as the eerily beautiful sailor in 1962’s Billy Budd through to his last manifestation as “the silver-haired gentleman” in Edgar Wright’s Last Night in Soho, Stamp remained a brilliantly, mesmerisingly unknowable presence. He was the seductive dark prince of British cinema, an actor who carried an air of elegant mystery. “As a boy I always believed I could make myself invisible,” he once said. He showed up and made magic, but he never stuck around for as long as we wanted.
Continue reading...Lady Mary Crawley’s wedding dress and the Granthams’ family car, a 1925 Sunbeam Saloon, are among the lots
Downton Abbey fans will be able to secure a souvenir from the period drama as costumes worn by the characters, furniture used to adorn the stately home, and even the family car used in the popular ITV series and subsequent films are to be sold at auction for charity.
A dress worn by the late Dame Maggie Smith, who starred as Violet Crawley, Dowager Countess of Grantham, is one of the star lots.
Continue reading...Move comes after claims earlier this month that two stars of the TV dance show used cocaine
The BBC has asked the police to investigate Strictly Come Dancing amid fresh allegations, according to reports, after claims two of its stars used cocaine.
The Sun on Sunday reported that the corporation has alerted the Metropolitan police to new allegations about the dance competition show, the details of which it does not specify.
Continue reading...Multi-part series on ex-NFL player who protested racial injustice will not continue over ‘creative differences’
Director Spike Lee’s multi-part documentary series for ESPN Films about former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick, who sparked a national debate when he protested racial injustice nearly a decade ago, will not be released, the filmmaker and ESPN said.
“ESPN, Colin Kaepernick and Spike Lee have collectively decided to no longer proceed with this project as a result of certain creative differences,” ESPN said in a statement to Reuters on Saturday. “Despite not reaching finality, we appreciate all the hard work and collaboration that went into this film.”
Continue reading...Liam and Noel used to be taken for summer holidays with relatives in Mayo and kept returning after finding fame
Emigration ripped the heart out of Charlestown: generations of young people took the boat to England and left behind derelict homes and shuttered shops, a hollowing chronicled in a landmark 1968 book, The Death of an Irish Town.
Some returned to this corner of County Mayo for summer holidays – with children who were growing up with English accents and city ways – before vanishing back across the Irish Sea and leaving Charlestown to its decay.
Continue reading...Gender-critical novelist urges writers to re-enter prize they boycotted and may ask judges not to shortlist his novella
The gender-critical Irish novelist John Boyne has said he has been brought “very close to the edge” by the backlash to his inclusion on the longlist for a literary prize for LGBTQ+ authors.
Ten authors and two judges withdrew from the Polari prize and more than 800 writers and publishing industry workers signed a petition calling on Polari to remove Boyne’s novella Earth from its longlist.
Continue reading...Ruling upheld that there was insufficient evidence of copyright infringement on song that is YouTube’s most viewed video
South Korea’s supreme court has rejected a US composer’s allegation that the producers of the catchy children’s song Baby Shark plagiarised his work, ending a six-year-long legal battle.
The court upheld two lower court verdicts in favour of Pinkfong, the South Korean company behind the tune with the famous “doo doo doo doo doo doo” refrain.
Continue reading...National Army Museum’s Beyond Burma exhibition examines stories of soldiers from Britain’s colonies
The forgotten story of African and Indian troops who fought in south Asia against Japanese forces during the second world war and who have largely been omitted from the official history is to be brought to life in a London exhibition.
The National Army Museum’s Beyond Burma: Forgotten Armies show includes rare items from Indian and African soldiers who toiled in some of the harshest conditions seen anywhere during the conflict.
Continue reading...Four teenagers have been arrested on suspicion of committing burglaries at the homes of several prominent residents, according to LA police
Los Angeles police have formally linked a break-in at Brad Pitt’s home in the city in June to a string of other burglaries at properties belonging to celebrities.
Los Angeles police chief Jim McDonnell announced the arrest of four suspects, saying they were a a crew that were committing burglaries at the homes of “various high-profile residents” throughout the city, adding that “some of the burglaries included homes of actors and professional athletes”.
Continue reading...Agreement defies media reports that contract for Duke and Duchess of Sussex would not be renewed
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have signed a fresh multi-year film and television deal with Netflix, contradicting reports this year that the streaming company would not renew its contract with them.
Harry and Meghan, who struck a five-year deal in 2020 reportedly worth $100m (£78m) after stepping back from their duties as senior royals, have collaborated with Netflix on a number of projects, most recently the duchess’s lifestyle series With Love, Meghan.
Continue reading...Leicester-born producer was editor of BBC children’s show for more than 20 years and introduced Blue Peter badge
Biddy Baxter, the pioneering television producer who transformed Blue Peter into a national institution, has died at 92, according to the BBC.
As editor of the children’s programme between 1965 and 1988, she introduced viewer engagement segments including the national appeals and the famous Blue Peter badge, encouraging children to send letters, pictures and programme ideas.
The show’s former presenter Peter Duncan remembered her as “a true force of nature”.
Warnindhilyagwa singer also wins film clip of the year, while Malyangapa Barkindji rapper Barkaa wins album of the year
Emily Wurramara expressed solidarity with the people of Palestine and “all Indigenous peoples around the world” experiencing oppression as she accepted the artist of the year award at the 21st National Indigenous Music awards at the Nimas in Garramilla/Darwin on Saturday night.
“There’s nothing like coming back home and being here and playing for mob and playing for the people,” the Garramilla-born Warnindhilyagwa singer said. “Because the music is about the people. The music is freedom. Free Palestine, free Congo and free all Indigenous peoples around the world from their oppressors. It always was, always will be Indigenous land.”
Continue reading...Portraits taken in early 60s reveal intimate moments before band’s fame became all-consuming
A collection of photographs taken by Paul McCartney when the Beatles were on the brink of global stardom are to be shown in an exhibition that sheds light on intimate moments as the group first experienced fame.
Rearview Mirror: Liverpool-London-Paris, which opens at Gagosian in London on 28 August, features 18 shots taken by the singer-songwriter during late 1963 after the release of the Beatles’ first album, and early 1964 as they travelled to the US.
Continue reading...Kúpula se Mueve, which celebrates African and Latin culture, has been held without problems since 2013
Madrid city council has banned a festival celebrating cultural diversity, claiming that it may lead to public disorder and complaints about noise from residents.
The Kúpula se Mueve (Kúpula Moves) festival has been held without incident since 2013. Josias Ndanga, president of the association, insists the claims are an excuse, saying: “We’re convinced we’re being discriminated against on ideological grounds.”
Continue reading...Waṉambi takes home Australia’s most prestigious First Nations art prize for her artwork Burwu, blossom, which saw her etch thousands of stringybark blossoms and bees
Gaypalani Waṉambi grew up surrounded by art, with her family home in north-eastern Arnhem Land doubling as a studio where her parents and siblings painted on bark and wooden poles. In her late teens, she started assisting her father, esteemed artist Mr W Waṉambi, who taught her how to paint the clan’s ancient designs, using traditional materials such as ochre. As he branched into more experimental forms such as animation and etching on metal, she too began to experiment with these new mediums.
On Friday night, the Yolŋu woman was awarded the $100,000 top prize at the 42nd National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art awards (Natsiaas), one of Australia’s richest and most prestigious art prizes, for an artwork that honoured his legacy while forging her own path.
Continue reading...Censorship order accuses books of promoting ‘false narrative and secessionism’ in disputed territory
The government in Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir has banned 25 books, including works by the Booker-prize winning author Arundhati Roy, accusing them of promoting a “false narrative and secessionism” in the disputed territory.
The censorship order was issued by Manoj Sinha, the lieutenant governor of Jammu and Kashmir, who was appointed by the ruling Bharatiya Janata party (BJP) under the prime minister, Narendra Modi. Sinha was previously a minister in Modi’s BJP government.
Continue reading...The actor will be sworn in ‘ASAP’ amid the federal agency’s recruitment drive and unprecedented immigration raids that have sparked protest across the US
Former Superman actor Dean Cain has announced he has signed up to join Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice), in order to support US president Donald Trump’s anti-immigration agenda.
The federal law enforcement agency has aggressively ramped up immigration raids since Trump’s return to the White House and was recently awarded $75bn in extra funding as part of his “big beautiful bill”, which includes billions for hiring an additional 10,000 Ice agents by 2029.
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