Category Archives: Culture

Notting Hill carnival came ‘very close’ to not happening, says chair in funding appeal

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Ian Comfort calls for government to recognise cultural importance of event and guarantee its sustainable future

About 2 million people are expected to take to the streets this weekend at the annual Notting Hill carnival for its mix of music, food and Caribbean culture, but for the man who runs it, there is a sense of relief to see it taking place at all.

The chair of Notting Hill Carnival Ltd, Ian Comfort, told the Guardian that the event needed to secure a sustainable future after a year of funding rows, public disagreements with the Met police, and negative press after violence last year.

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Noel Clarke loses libel case against Guardian over sexual misconduct investigation

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High court rejects actor’s claim that accusations against him by more than 20 women were false and part of a conspiracy

The Guardian has successfully defended a libel action brought by the actor Noel Clarke over an investigation by the newspaper in which he was accused of sexual misconduct by more than 20 women.

In a high court judgment handed down on Friday, Mrs Justice Steyn rejected Clarke’s claim. He had said the allegations set out in the Guardian’s investigation were false and that he had been the victim of an unlawful conspiracy.

There were strong grounds to believe that over 15 years, he used his power to prey on and harass female colleagues.

He sometimes bullied female colleagues.

He engaged in unwanted sexual contact, kissing, touching or groping.

He engaged in sexually inappropriate behaviour and comments.

He was involved in professional misconduct.

He took and shared explicit pictures and videos without consent, including secretly filming a young actor’s naked audition.

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Lil Nas X arrested and hospitalized after altercation with police – reports

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The 26-year-old rapper and singer was seen walking down the street in his underwear Thursday morning in LA

Lil Nas X has been arrested after an altercation with police, according to reports.

Officials confirmed to NBC that the 26-year-old rapper and singer was booked on suspicion of misdemeanour battery after he was confronted while walking down the street in his underwear.

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Stranger Things actor Millie Bobby Brown adopts ‘sweet baby girl’

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Netflix star and model husband Jake Bongiovi, 21 and 23, say they are ‘beyond excited’ to become parents

The Stranger Things actor Millie Bobby Brown and her husband, Jake Bongiovi, have announced they have become parents after adopting a “sweet baby girl”.

Brown, 21, and Bongiovi, 23, said in a statement on social media that they were “beyond excited” to enter the next chapter of their lives.

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Denmark to abolish VAT on books in effort to get more people reading

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Culture minister says government will propose ending the 25% rate, the highest in the world, in its budget bill

Denmark is to stop charging VAT on books in an attempt to get more people reading.

At 25%, the country’s tax rate on books is the highest in the world, a policy the government believes is contributing to a growing “reading crisis”.

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Australian novel attracts controversy over fictionalised depiction of gay codebreaker Alan Turing

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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.

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Noel Gallagher opens up about his brother Liam on Oasis reunion tour: ‘He’s been amazing’

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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”.

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The ‘big church move’: Swedish town begins to roll historic building 5km

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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.

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Terence Stamp: the mesmerisingly seductive dark prince of British cinema

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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.

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Downton Abbey costumes and memorabilia for sale in charity auction

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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.

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BBC asks police to investigate new Strictly allegations, reports say

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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.

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ESPN drops Spike Lee’s docuseries on Colin Kaepernick, network and filmmaker say

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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.”

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‘It’s nearly come full circle’: Charlestown proud of Gallagher connection as Oasis come to Ireland

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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.

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John Boyne says LGBTQ+ fiction prize backlash brought him ‘close to the edge’

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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.

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Baby Shark: South Korean court rejects US composer’s claim song was plagiarised

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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.

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London museum tells forgotten story of African and Indian troops in second world war

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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.

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Brad Pitt break-in linked to gang targeting celebrities, Los Angeles police say

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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”.

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Harry and Meghan sign new multi-year film and TV deal with Netflix

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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.

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Pioneering Blue Peter editor Biddy Baxter dies at 92

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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”.

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National Indigenous Music awards 2025: Emily Wurramara wins artist of the year

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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.”

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