由于英国再次遭受热浪袭击，气温高达 35C，伦敦东南部布莱克希思 (Blackheath) 烈日灼烧的田野已变成褐色。
Constance Kampfner 政治记者 Aubrey Allegretti, Oliver Wright 从你的市长那里获得税收返还
在安迪·伯纳姆即将宣布的权力下放权限下，英格兰部分大都市市长计划向居民提供税收返还。
作为明日将公布的英格兰税制改革的一部分，预计首相将向地区市长移交一部分所得税收入，用于当地支出。
一名伯纳姆的盟友表示，还存在将企业税 (business rates) 的某些方面进行权力下放的“实质性计划”，以奖励经济增长较快的地区。
这些前所未有的权力旨在通过允许地方地区保留更多其产生的收入，而无需遵循怀特霍尔 (英国政府) 关于如何支出的指令，从而促进增长。
首相在整个政府范围内推行的“默认权力下放”重启被定义为一种增加公共服务和基础设施投资的方式，但保守党和英国改革党的市长则计划利用财政权力下放来减轻其选民的税收负担。
蒂斯河谷市长本·霍琴表示，他计划利用财政自由，使他的地区成为“一个比曼彻斯特和伦敦更具吸引力、更具竞争力的投资地”。
本·霍琴是一名保守党成员，自 2017 年起领导蒂斯河谷地区，该地区涵盖了达灵顿 (Darlington)、哈特尔浦 (Hartlepool) 和米德尔斯堡 (Middlesbrough) 等城镇的 700,000 名居民。他声称，大多数市长同僚会将新资金用于基础设施支出。
“每位市长都支持财政权力下放，因为他们希望在自己的区域有更多资金可用，”霍琴说。“然而，如果蒂斯河谷获得一部分当地产生的当地所得税和企业税，我将建立一个新的返还计划，将钱还到人们的口袋里，让家庭保留更多他们赚到的钱。”
“财政权力下放必须是为了给蒂斯赛德 (Teesside) 这样地方赋予采取不同做法、支持增长并奖励推动我们当地经济的人们的权力，而不是榨干他们的最后一分钱。”
霍琴表示，他正在与财政部讨论如何最好地构建这种税收减免。
据了解，赫尔和东约克郡的改革党市长卢克·坎贝尔 (Luke Campbell) 以及大林肯郡的改革党市长安德烈亚·詹金斯 (Andrea Jenkyns) 也在探讨类似的提案。据信，地方政府部门的官员已参与咨询。
一名政府消息人士表示，鉴于地方政府财务压力巨大，保守党和改革党市长将难以转交给任何额外资金。“我们都记得他们此前是如何做出狂野的...”
天文台威胁 在宣布乔德雷尔班克天文台（英国最大的望远镜所在地）可能因削减资金而关闭后，科学家们在资金优先事项上产生了分歧。
£3.20 £2.35 订阅者价格 （基于 7 天印刷及数字订阅） 我的丈夫不愿回答的 10 个问题
改革党捐款 据称，被定罪的诈骗犯乔治·科特雷尔 (George Cottrell) 在其母亲 2024 年向英国改革党捐款前几天，向其母亲转移了 $2 million。
Thursday July 30 2026 | thetimes.com | No 75098
新闻速递
案件发现尸体 警方确认，在雅典一座废弃建筑的行李箱中发现了一名英国女性的尸体。希腊媒体将其命名为伊丽莎白-简·罗斯 (Elisabeth-Jane Ross)。
特朗普对伊朗之怒 在约旦的一座美国空军基地遭到意外弹道导弹袭击后，特朗普总统对伊朗发动了措辞激烈的抨击，并承诺将进一步报复。
AI 担忧减轻 微软公司季度销售额和利润超出华尔街预测，有助于缓解投资者对该公司在人工智能领域巨额投入的恐惧。
贾里德·莱托 (Jared Leto) 的一天
YUI MOK/PA
国防开支占 GDP 的 3%
Larisa Brown 国防编辑 Oliver Wright 政策编辑
安迪·伯纳姆 已经给出了迄今为止最明确的信号，即尽管担心俄罗斯可能会攻击 北约 (北大西洋公约组织)，他仍不会在 2030 年前将国防支出提高到国民收入的 3%。
相反，首相表示，他将按照其前任所作的承诺，实现一个更长期的 北约 (北大西洋公约组织) 目标，即到 2035 年将核心国防支出比例达到 3.5%。
约翰·希利在 基尔·斯塔默爵士 的领导下辞去国防大臣一职，现任财政大臣。他在辞职时表示，他“确定”英国应在 2030 年前达到 3%。
斯塔默此前曾警告称，“俄罗斯最早可能在 2030 年对 北约 (北大西洋公约组织) 发起攻击”。
在昨天关于社会护理的新闻发布会上，当被问及 3% 的问题时，伯纳姆表示：“谈到国防，显然那些承诺……涉及的是下一届议会。在我们的 北约 (北大西洋公约组织) 承诺方面，我已经表达得很清楚，我们将履行这些承诺。这意味着要准备面对具有挑战性的问题。”
他暗示，他计划通过削减福利支出，为长期的国防开支筹集资金，并补充说，有太多二十多岁的人在领取救济金，而且英国——
大卫·查特 (David Charter) 华盛顿报道 到目前为止，安迪·伯纳姆表示他将履行现有的许可并维持已建立的石油和天然气开采点，坚持工党 2024 年竞选宣言中的承诺。他正在考虑在现有场地增加产量，以及在处于规划审查阶段的罗斯班克与杰克道油田增加产量，而非在完全新的地点开采。
特朗普总统表示，安迪·伯纳姆告诉他，他将为钻探“开放北海石油”，美国总统宣称这将使英国成为“一个真正富有的国家”。
尽管政府坚持将钻探限制在已获许可的场地，但特朗普敦促伯纳姆在“尚未被勘探的区域”寻找石油。
在椭圆形办公室回答问题时，总统表示他在与新任首相的首次电话通话中“简短地”就移民问题发出了警告，并重复其观点，称移民正在“杀死”英国。
特朗普和伯纳姆仅通话过一次，时间是上周首相在唐宁街就任的第一天。在接受 GB News 询问时，总统似乎并不熟悉首相的名字，将其称为“那位新先生”。
“他确实说过一件非常正确的事。他说他将开放北海石油，”特朗普说。“如果他那样做，你们将成为一个富有的国家。”
“……经济，而且这样做没有得到回报”，智库进步政策研究组织（北部）的临时负责人 Mirte Boot 说道。
预计伯纳姆将对该体系进行改革，允许英格兰的 14 位地区和都市市长保留一部分他们所筹集的所得税收入，以与他们从中央政府获得的部分资金相匹配。此前拟议的政策版本包括“均等化”措施，以确保较贫困的地区不会蒙受损失。
……需要开始“投资于人们的成功，而不是为失败买单”。他说：“作为一个国家，我们为失败支付了相当高的代价。如果我们改变这些事情，我们将为履行国防承诺开辟道路。”
根据预算责任办公室的数据，到下一届议会时达到 3% 的水平，将使英国在 2029-30 年额外增加 £17.3 billion 的支出。
今天，伯纳姆将宣布投资 £8.4 billion 用于建造四艘新型核武装“无畏级”潜艇项目的下一阶段。它们将取代老化的“先锋级”舰队，后者构成了英国持续在海的“三叉戟”威慑力量。这 £8.4 billion 是未来四年已为核能事业拨出的 £63.6 billion 的一部分，比前四年增加了 £20 billion。
在访问坎布里亚郡的巴罗-因-弗内斯期间，伯纳姆将承诺在每个邮编区域实现安全与增长，并阐述这笔资金将如何创造数万个就业机会并支持数百家企业。
他将表示，纳税人对政府大型项目的投资应为全英各社区带来长期机遇和振兴。首相还将补充说，政府将在接下来的几周内详细阐明将如何实现这一目标。
英国国防核能事业支持着约 47,000 人。
特朗普说：“正如你们所知，你们从北海购买大量能源。你们从挪威购买，而挪威是从北海获取的……挪威银行里有数万亿美元。”
他补充道：“你们拥有全球最珍贵的石油发现之一，如果英国能利用它，他们将再次成为一个富有的国家。”
特朗普总结道：“我想，如果你们利用北海，英国将成为一个真正富有的国家。”
在被 GB News 告知伯纳姆“根本没有提到移民问题”并被问及是否在通话中提及此事后，特朗普说：“我简短地提到了。他必须提到这件事，因为它正在杀死你们的国家。”
将保留 100% 的商业税增长。各地区可以保留的商业税额在全国范围内差异巨大，2019 年的数据显示，威斯敏斯特议会每收取一英镑仅保留 4p。
智库 Re:State 的高级研究员亚历克斯·沃克（Alex Walker）表示：“大曼彻斯特和西米德兰兹地区已经证明，当各地区能够保留更多商业税增长并将其重新投资于该地区时，能够实现怎样的可能性。作为更广泛的财政权力下放方案的一部分，其他市长管辖区也应拥有这一机会，以释放更大的灵活性并加速区域增长计划。”
预计到 2030 年，英国就业岗位将增加至 65,000 个，其中包括到 2035 年实现的 22,000 个学徒岗位。
安迪·伯纳姆表示：“安全不仅关乎我们建造了什么，更关乎谁来建造以及谁从中获益。在巴罗（Barrow）生产的潜艇将在未来几十年保护英国，而这 47,000 个就业岗位和学徒机会将改变这个城镇以及数十个类似地区的命运——用英国的资金，投入到英国工人、英国公司和英国技能中，投入到那些被忽视了 40 年的地方。”
在访问期间，他将公布一项新的学徒计划，旨在帮助西北地区的年轻人获得技术就业机会。
作为四艘新核威慑潜艇中的第一艘，“无畏号”（HMS Dreadnought）将完成海试，并准备在 2030s 年初正式进入英国皇家海军服役。新合同还将意味着第二艘潜艇“英勇号”（HMS Valiant）进入海试阶段，而第三和第四艘潜艇则在建设阶段稳步推进。
据了解，希利（Healey）希望在武装部队与政府之间建立更深层的联系。在担任财政大臣的第一天，希利就请求一名军事顾问入驻其私人办公室。尽管首相和高级内阁部长都有军事顾问，但财政大臣的军事顾问传统上并不在其直接办公团队中。
David Brown 首席新闻记者
一名绿党市长因设定在哈马斯恐怖袭击周年纪念日讨论终止与一座以色列城市结好关系的截止日期而遭到谴责。
东伦敦海克尼 (Hackney) 市长佐伊·加贝特 (Zoë Garbett) 致信给海法 (Haifa) 的同行，表示该议会正寻求终止这一关系。
她要求海法市长约纳·亚哈夫 (Yona Yahav) 在10月7日前予以答复。该日期是哈马斯恐怖分子入侵以色列的3周年纪念日，在那次袭击中，1,200人被杀害，超过250人被劫持为人质。
海克尼英以友好协会 (Hackney Anglo Israel Friendship Association) 主席马丁·舒格曼 (Martin Sugarman) 表示：“如果10月7日是故意选择的，那么这就是卑劣且阴险的……如果这在某种程度上是由于失误造成的，那么想到议会中竟然没有人意识到那个日期的意义，简直令人震惊。必须有人为此负责。”
该议会已为截止日期时间选择的“不敏感性”表示道歉。
然而，霍琴 (Houchen) 的干预表明，财政权力下放可能会导致新权力使用方式在地区之间出现显著差异。西米德兰兹 (West Midlands) 的工党市长理查德·帕克 (Richard Parker) 表示：“如果你相信权力下放，你就必须承认不同的市长可能会做出不同的决定。”
部长们还收到警告，不要制造一个“两级”的国家经济。英格兰约有一半的人口居住在非选举市长领导的地区，目前尚未确认像康沃尔 (Cornwall) 这样的非市长地区是否将获得等同的财政权力。
T
James Imam 米兰
那些纤细、破碎的碎片散落在两千年前屋顶坍塌时的坠落处。
经过数月的艰苦努力，庞贝考古公园的专家们正像拼图一样将一幅破碎的壁画重新拼接，以还原一座古代多姆斯 (domus，罗马住宅) 宴会厅的弧形天花板。
数百块细小的碎片被埋在公元79年维苏威火山喷发产生的浮石和火山灰中，这次喷发保存了这座罗马时代城镇的大部分遗迹。但即使是习惯了惊人发现的庞贝考古学家，在为另一次挖掘做准备时，发现这些天花板绘画碎片也感到惊讶。
“这次挖掘在很大程度上是偶然发生的，”参与该项目的庞贝修复师露多薇卡·阿莱塞 (Ludovica Alesse) 在提到三年前在庞贝第九区 (Regio IX) 开始的挖掘工作时说道。“每当有新发现时，它都会为理解古代社会提供至关重要的信息。”
这些彩色碎片已在一个模仿原天花板的凹形面板上进行了部分重新组装，游客现在可以在考古公园中看到。
据信，这些碎片来自一座带有相邻面包店的住宅二楼，其天花板在火山喷发后的某个时间点坍塌。修复的部分包括一个神圣婚礼场景，画面显示希腊酿酒与戏剧之神狄俄尼索斯 (Dionysus) 卧在战车上，而克里特公主阿里阿德涅 (Ariadne) 正在弹竖琴。
细节丰富的装饰包括挂满水果和花朵的花环、戏剧面具、身穿突尼卡 (tunics) 的有翼人物，以及用于向神灵献祭的器皿。
阿莱塞表示，这幅壁画因其“描绘的质量、图像主题和所用材料”而脱颖而出。她补充说，代表狄俄尼索斯的图案——罗马人称其为巴库斯 (Bacchus)，是生育、丰饶和快感的象征——“在整个多姆斯住宅中都占据显著位置”。
这件作品为这座别墅举行的宴会提供了恰如其分且奢华的背景，而该别墅当时正在进行
Alex Farber 媒体记者
BBC 在播出二十多年后砍掉了《阿波罗现场》(Live at the Apollo)，导致喜剧界高管们哀悼一个“era (时代的) 终结”。
该系列节目自 2004 年起在伦敦的哈默史密斯阿波罗剧院录制，当时由 Jack Dee 主持，嘉宾包括 Joan Rivers、Ardal O’Hanlon 和 Jo Brand。该节目将在下次播出后结束。它与长寿娱乐节目《空白格》(Blankety Blank) 和《名人智力大挑战》(Celebrity Mastermind) 一起被砍掉，因为 BBC 的内容部门试图在未来两年内节省至少 £100 million (1亿英镑)。
喷发的时间，据已知该房屋曾属于 Rustius Verus，一位富有的庞贝地方法官。
第九区 (Regio IX) 已被证明是考古学家的富矿，最近其他值得注意的发现包括一组几乎与真人大小的壁画，分布在 Thiasus 之家的宴会厅三面墙上。
然而，创作这些壁画的装饰者在当时不太可能是名人。 “古代艺术家不会在作品上签名；他们是奴隶，”Alesse 说道。“他们分组工作，每人负责一项具体任务。” 拱形天花板
分析
砍掉《阿波罗现场》的决定引起了一些不安，尤其是在喜剧经纪人之中，但该节目并不足以引起一场公关风暴，从而让人们愤怒地走上街头挥舞着“拯救我们的 BBC”的标牌（《泰晤士报》电视评论员 Ben Dowell 撰文）。
原因似乎是创意方面的，而非成本。现在的喜剧迷在流媒体上（尤其是 Netflix）有如此多的选择，在那里，像 Ricky Gervais 和 Chris Rock 这样的喜剧特辑能产生巨大的轰动。正如美国人深知的，幽默就是金钱。
希望 BBC 能开动脑筋，尝试为这个国家优秀的才华提供新鲜的机会——那样他们也许才能笑出来。
专家们将数百个微小碎片拼接在一起，发现了代表酒神狄俄尼索斯及其与公主阿里阿德涅神圣婚姻的详细部分。
在之前庞贝的挖掘中曾发现过类似部分，但重建这个部分需要专家从碎片本身开始反向推导。
通过研究单个碎片的曲率，考古学家能够推断出天花板的原始形状。“推算出准确形状非常复杂，因为曲率非常小，”Alesse 说道。“它几乎是平的。”
在碎片发现后不久，考古学家开始调查其可能的联系，而实物重建则在去年年底开始。
修复人员没有将脆弱的碎片放在平面上，而是在一个特制的 4x5 米弧形支撑物上进行组装，以防止进一步损坏。
部分修复后的天花板现展出于该遗址的大体育场 (Palestra Grande)，位于环绕着一个巨大的中央庭院的柱廊之下，该庭院曾有一个 35 by 22 米的游泳池。其他绘画碎片仍存放在仓库中，文物保护人员正试图确定它们如何拼接。
“将它们随机放置在某个区域是不正确的，”Alesse 说。“ [但] 仍有许多碎片在未来可以安装在其他面板上，从而实现更大范围的重建。”
《阿波罗现场》的制作公司 Open Mike 的总经理 Andrew Beint 表示，该节目将留下“惊人的遗产”，因为它帮助启动了包括 Michael McIntyre、John Bishop、Jason Manford 和 Katherine Ryan 在内的明星们的职业生涯。
“这是一个 era (时代的) 终结，”才艺管理集团兼制作公司 Avalon 的联合创始人 Jon Thoday 说道，该公司代理的喜剧演员包括 Greg Davies、Lee Mack 和 Rose Matafeo。
庞贝考古公园/AP
“面对我们的资金挑战，我们必须做出一些非常艰难的选择，”该机构表示。
尽管在 2015, 被降级到 BBC2 频道后，观众人数下降至 400,000 以下，《阿波罗现场》（Live at the Apollo）据称在提升新兴喜剧演员的知名度方面继续发挥着作用。
喜剧演员兼《泰晤士报》电台主持人杰夫·诺科特（Geoff Norcott）表示，尽管影响力有所下降，《阿波罗现场》依然能引起共鸣。他说：“这个节目仍然有能力让公众接受特定的段子。在我第二次出现时，我演了一个关于男人希望在做家务时获得大量认可的段子。直到现在，在我的巡演中，仍有女性会给我带一些讽刺意味的塑料奖牌。”
在北伦敦一个温暖的夏夜，随着黄昏降临，练习日落礼拜瑜伽的人们在亚历山德拉宫伸展身体
Rhys Blakely 科学编辑
本周，在曼彻斯特以南 20 英里的一片原野上，一支工程师团队正准备将 3,200 吨的英国科学历史顶向空中。
位于柴郡乔德雷尔班克 (Jodrell Bank) 的洛弗尔望远镜 (Lovell Telescope) 一个轮轴承损坏了。更换它意味着需要抬起整个结构——这是近七十年来维持其天线旋转的维护方案中的最新一项举措。
这座 76 米的射电望远镜于 1957 年完工，曾追踪过携带史普尼克号 (Sputnik) 的火箭。它曾窥视遥远的星系和恒星的形成。它比冷战、大风暴以及 15 任首相存续的时间更长。然而本周披露，随着政府资金于 2028 年到期，它将面临关闭。
曼彻斯特大学的广播员兼粒子物理学家布莱恩·考克斯 (Brian Cox) 教授称这一决定“仓促、欠考虑且具有毁灭性”。天体物理学家兼《夜空》(The Sky at Night) 节目主持人乔治·德兰斯菲尔德 (George Dransfield) 表示，这些削减是“一场关于英国科学未来的赌博”。
其他科学家表示，他们忽略了必须做出的艰难的资金选择。在资源有限的世界中，政府主要的科学资助机构——英国研究与创新署 (UK Research and Innovation) 必须挑选优先级。牛津大学的结构生物学家詹姆斯·奈斯密斯 (James Naismith) 教授表示：“任何主张必须支持某个设施或项目的人，也应该明确他们打算在哪些方面减少资助。”
另一些人在私下交流时则直白得多。“如果选民必须在治愈癌症和无线电望远镜之间做出选择，我赌他们会选癌症，”一位资深生命科学研究员说道。
尽管科学支出有所增加，但削减仍然发生。英国研究与创新署在四年内被分配了 £38.6 billion。其年度预算将增加约 £770 million，从 2026-27 年的 £9.22 billion 增加到 2029-30 年的近 £10 billion。
对于“好奇心驱动”的研究（即研究人员追随自己的问题进行研究）的资助将基本持平，四年内约为 £14.5 billion。与此同时，政府将更加强调那些有望更快带来经济或战略效益的优先事项。
人工智能 (AI) 研究的支出将增加一倍多，四年内达到 £1.58 billion，而量子技术将获得略高于 £1 billion 的资金。涵盖从电池技术到机器人等领域的先进制造业将获得 £1.34 billion，而生命科学领域有 £1.51 billion。商业大臣乔纳森·雷诺兹 (Jonathan Reynolds) 表示，目标是“投资于下一代科学设施和基础设施，以支撑发现、创新和增长”。
支持这一新方法的人包括计算机科学家安东尼·芬克尔斯坦 (Anthony Finkelstein) 教授爵士，他是伦敦城市圣乔治大学 (City St George’s, University of London) 的校长，曾任政府国家安全首席科学顾问。他在今年的一篇博客文章中写道：“现在的任务是研究界要建设性地参与其中，而不是采取一种受委屈的教职员休息室般的基调，对问责制感到愤慨。”
但许多物理学家感到愤慨。英国研究与创新署通过七个研究委员会引导资金，每个委员会覆盖各自的领域。科学技术设施委员会 (Science and Technology Facilities Council) 是英国物理学和天文学的主要公共资助机构。其核心预算预计将基本持平。
因此，决定资金去向的科学技术设施委员会审查了其项目，并做出了“非常艰难的优先级决策”。
这是一次实际价值上的紧缩，正是这种压力解释了委员会决定停止资助乔德雷尔班克天文台 (Jodrell Bank Observatory) 的原因。该天文台并非唯一的受害者。在北约克郡海岸地下一公里多深处，波尔比地下实验室 (Boulby Underground Laboratory) 的物理学家正在寻找暗物质。其运营预算将被削减 40 per cent。
另外三个具有象征意义的国家物理实验室，包括牛津郡的钻石光源 (Diamond Light Source)，必须共同每年节省 £28 million。
经济和社会研究委员会（科学技术设施委员会的姊妹机构）的一位负责人表示，考虑到公共财政的紧迫程度，物理学和天文学的整体资助方案是“良好”的。他说，困难之处在于成本攀升的程度。
在乔德雷尔班克天文台，副主任西蒙·加灵顿 (Simon Garrington) 教授的回应是，有用的发现往往来自意想不到的来源。该天文台正将其望远镜用作高灵敏度接收器，以探测太空中的卫星和小碎片。加灵顿表示，这类工作在国防和国家安全方面有用途。
乔德雷尔班克天文台由曼彻斯特大学所有，现在可能会向安迪·伯纳姆 (Andy Burnham) 寻求帮助。考克斯 (Cox) 已敦促首相重新考虑从前任那里继承的决定。
加林顿有理由相信，一次活动可能会奏效。在 2008 年，当天文台再次面临资金危机时，《泰晤士报》在头版刊登了一篇报道，配图是一名洛弗尔望远镜的工程师拿着一把巨大的扳手。随后引发了公众抗议，资金得以恢复。
那名工程师现在仍在那里工作。资金紧缩的情况也一直持续；加林顿指出，乔德雷尔班克天文台在 2008 年获得了 £2.5 million，而今年获得了 £2.8 million，这一涨幅远低于通货膨胀率。“我们在奋斗，”他说，“我们真的希望能够找到解决办法。”
Quintagram® No 2633
使用下方每个字母仅一次，解答所有五个简短线索
1 被嘲笑，被戏弄 (6)
2 混乱的，凌乱的 (6)
3 pH值指示剂物质 (6)
4 最资深的 (6)
5 钻石纪念日 (8)
D D D E E E E E
E H I I I I J L
L M N R S S S T
T T T T U U X Y
答案见 T2 MindGames 第 15 页 隐喻线索见 T2 MindGames 第 14 页
警务处长辞职
斯塔福德郡警务处长克里斯·诺布尔（Chris Noble）在原定面临严重失职听证会不到一天的时间里辞职。诺布尔在去年 8 月被停职，此前斯塔福德郡警察与犯罪专员将其移交给警察行为独立办公室（Independent Office for Police Conduct），该办公室当时表示，正在就他涉嫌分享机密信息的指控对其进行调查。
公务员人数激增
政府数据显示，公务员人数已达到 523,000 人的新高，高于去年 3 月的 516,000 人。尽管工党承诺削减开支，但自其执政以来，员工人数增长了 2.5 per cent，同期薪资增长了 11 per cent。政府表示，希望在 2030 年前减少后台管理岗位。
一条没能逃脱的鱼
一名学生钓鱼爱好者花费了近两个小时才将一条体型几乎是其两倍的大鱼拉上来。14 岁的亨利·拉尔夫（Henry Ralph）起初以为这条估计重 13 stone 的鳐鱼只是一团海藻，直到它在苏格兰西部阿盖尔与比特郡奥班（Oban, Argyll & Bute）附近的海滩上开始反抗。拉尔夫说，在经历了一场“一生之战”后，他将上图中的鱼放生了。
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学生会来到英国， 执行一项为伊朗 执行的暗杀任务？乔治·奥德林 从斯塔万格报道
在 18 岁生日后的第十天，约翰内斯·纳特兰（Johannes Natland）离开了他在石油富集城市斯塔万格郊区的大家庭住宅，“去和朋友踢球”。
早上 6 点，他给母亲埃伦·孔格斯内斯（Ellen Kongsnes）发了一条短信：“我和一个朋友在一起，几天后回来。我爱你。”在四天没有进一步联系后，她向当地警方打开了家门。“我想，也许他因为持有大麻之类的东西在当地被逮捕了……正常的青少年行为，”孔格斯内斯告诉《泰晤斯报》。
现实要严重得多。纳特兰在西约克郡哈德斯菲尔德的一家酒店房间内被武装警察逮捕，现场缴获了两把手枪、12 发弹药和 £2,000 现金。“我不断向他们重复：在英国？你们确定吗？”身为记者的孔格斯内斯说道。
情报显示，她的儿子被一个与伊朗政权有关的臭名昭著的瑞典犯罪网络雇佣为杀手。昨天，旧贝利法院（Old Bailey）的陪审团裁定他犯有在英国共谋谋杀一名未知目标的罪名。
一名来自挪威最富裕地区的中产阶级青少年，是如何成为一个与伊朗有联系的帮派的国际杀手的？
矛盾的是，答案始于现代执法史上最伟大的成功案例之一。2020 年，国际警方在破获了被全球 60,000 名罪犯使用的 Encrochat 加密通信网络后，逮捕了 7,000 人。
然而，其他有野心的恶徒很快趁虚而入。其中一个受益者就是 Foxtrot 犯罪网络的领导者、被称为“库尔德之狐”的拉瓦·马吉德（Rawa Majid）。
《无人倾听：揭秘瑞典毒品帮派》（When Nobody’s Listening: Inside Sweden’s Drug Gangs）的作者迪亚曼特·萨利胡（Diamant Salihu）表示，马吉德和他来自瑞典乌普萨拉的童年好友伊斯梅尔·阿卜杜（Ismail Abdo）在土耳其建立了一个斯堪的纳维亚毒品帝国，随后两人闹翻。他们的决裂最终演变成马吉德雇佣一名年轻杀手，在他老友位于乌普萨拉的家中将其母亲枪杀。
“这引发了一场残酷的复仇战争，”萨利胡说，杀戮发生在瑞典各地。“狐狸”最终不得不从土耳其逃往伊朗。“我们了解到，他随后被该政权拘留并被下了最后通牒，”萨利胡说。“他
Sian Bradley
最新发布的视频展示了骨灰袋和被丢弃的礼品，揭露了由罗伯特·布什 (Robert Bush) 经营的殡仪馆中令人心惊的“恐怖景象”。
汉伯赛德警方发布了首批进入该名声扫地的前殡仪馆主 Legacy 场所的警员在 2024. 3月拍摄的执法记录仪视频。警员在现场发现了 35 具未安葬的尸体和骨灰袋。
布什，48, 岁，在承认包括欺诈和阻碍合法安葬在内的 67 项指控后，将于本周被判刑。
布什在前往亚利桑那州度假期间，曾请求另一家殡葬公司的经理协助回收一具尸体。当 Legacy 的一名临时工告诉他们，该场所内有尸体已存放“数年”，并将其描述为“恐怖景象”时，对方随即向警方报警。
警方还发布了罗伯特·布什在被捕瞬间的画面。他在这家“疏于管理”的殡仪馆内被捕，警员在馆内发现了未覆盖的尸体，且处于“不同的腐烂阶段”。
“这种现象被称为‘暴力服务’，”萨利胡 (Salihu) 说道。“该团伙在 Signal 或其他应用程序上发布广告，开价在 £10,000 到 £25,000. 之间。但被招募的孩子们很少能拿到钱，因为他们通常最终会被投入监狱。Foxtrot 想要他们被抓。他们就像一双旧鞋一样，随时被扔掉。”
Foxtrot 的触角延伸至整个斯堪的纳维亚地区，从瑞典一直到挪威。纳特兰 (Natland) 是被一名更年轻的斯塔万格本地人招募的。这名 17 岁少年是一名
昨日法庭听取了更多关于布什场所状况的证词。现场散落着珠宝等具有纪念意义的物品，还发现一只泰迪熊躺在一滩干涸的血迹中。
骨灰被发现散落在桌面、空纸箱和地板上。天花板正在坍塌，房间内霉味弥漫，冷藏室则十分“肮脏”。
视频显示了布什被捕的过程。他身穿一件晨袍，与警员争论道：“我不明白……我就像切·格瓦拉 (Che Guevara) 之类的人物一样。”
本周，家属在法庭上抽泣，他们重新经历了得知亲人遗体被留在殡仪馆内的创伤，而此前他们明明已经支付了葬礼费用。
被称为“将军” (Generalen) 的系列招募者在纳特兰的审判开始前不久，在挪威被判定犯有包括策划瑞典两起谋杀案以及第三起被警方挫败的暗杀阴谋在内的罪行。
“将军”直接接受马吉德 (Majid) 心腹阿里·谢哈布 (Ali Shehab) 的指示。现年 21, 岁的谢哈布将自己称为“特工 47, ”，这是电脑游戏《杀手》(Hitman) 中的一个角色。阿卜多 (Abdo) 于去年 7 月在土耳其被捕，谢哈布于 12 月在伊拉克库尔德斯坦的苏莱曼尼亚被拘留。而“狐狸” (The Fox) 仍留在伊朗，尽管萨利胡表示他可能已死于美国无人机的袭击。
纳特兰曾是当地足球队 Brodd 的球星，并计划接受律师培训，但他患有精神病性心理障碍，并使用包括 LSD、大麻和可卡因在内的药物自我治疗。在前往英国的六周前，他被挪威的一家精神科病房出院。
去年 3 月 15 日，他在公园里遇到一群朋友，并告诉他们自己被“狐狸”招募了。他说：“我要赚很多钱，而且会有人死掉。”纳特兰当时被承诺获得 £21,000.。
谢哈布安排纳特兰两天后飞往曼彻斯特。抵达后，纳特兰被边境管理局 (Border Force) 官员拘留，但随后获准保释并被允许进入曼彻斯特。
他被告知他要么在伊朗监狱中度过余生，要么为大阿亚图拉工作，“攻击该政权的敌人”。
其中包括对斯德哥尔摩和哥本哈根的以色列大使馆的袭击，以及 2024. 年在哥德堡的一家以色列科技公司 Elbit Systems 办公室发生的枪击事件。这些暴力行为中最令人震惊的元素是涉案嫌疑人的年龄。包括一名 13 岁男孩在内的多名瑞典青少年因哥德堡枪击案被捕。
帮派成员将他送到哈德斯菲尔德（Huddersfield）的一片林地，他在那里领取了枪支——一支鲁格手枪和一把1860年代制造的美国左轮手枪——以及现金和弹药。他在布里亚法院（Briar Court）酒店订了一间房，买了三双手套和
Seren Hughes
一名七岁男孩在亲属于埃塞克斯海岸溺水一周后，在医院不幸去世。
他的父亲沙欣·艾哈迈德（Shahin Ahmed）表示，穆萨·艾哈迈德（Musa Ahmed）在“平静与安详”中离世。7月22日，在科尔切斯特附近的西默西亚海滩，该男孩与几名家人在水中陷入困境，随后他因伤势危及生命被紧急送往医院。
在该事故中，他41岁的姨妈谢琳娜·拉赫曼（Shelina Rahman）及其15岁的女儿萨米哈（Sameeha），两人均来自伊尔福德，不幸溺亡。
大都会警察局
[[IMG_XXXX]] 约翰内斯·纳特兰（Johannes Natland）在被捕期间向警员开“空枪”。这名青少年被拉瓦·马吉德（Rawa Majid，左）及其心腹阿里·谢哈布（Ali Shehab）雇佣。
他被指引至一辆被盗车辆处，该车计划用于次日的谋杀行动。
然而，纳特兰从未收到最终指令，因为在3月19日凌晨5.15分，武装警察冲进了他的房间。执法记录仪视频显示，这名未携带武器的青少年向一名警员开了一把想象中的枪，随后他被推到墙边并被戴上手铐。
纳特兰承认持有武器，但否认计划实施暗杀，并坚持称自己是为了钱买药而接的活，且打算通过射击自己的脚来破坏这次行动。
他声称起初以为这是一个骗局，直到后来才明白他共事的人是真正的帮派分子。“我想，‘我这下陷入麻烦了’，”纳特兰在被告席上说道。
去年9月，一名27岁的男子因涉嫌共谋谋杀被捕，后在调查期间获释。5月20日，两名年龄分别为30岁和27岁的男子在布拉德福德被捕，涉嫌处理与该车辆相关的盗窃物品。他们目前被保释。
这次失败暗杀行动的目标尚未被确定。首席皇家检察官弗兰克·弗格森（Frank Ferguson）确认，此案是“Foxtrot”在英国活动的第一个案例，并被认为是一个由伊朗支持的阴谋。
孔格斯内斯（Kongsnes）坚持认为她现在19岁的儿子不可能实施杀戮。她拭去泪水告诉《泰晤士报》：“我比任何人都了解约翰内斯，我知道他做不到。”
纳特兰将于10月被量刑。
下午5.35分到达现场。克雷格·鲍（Craig Bowe），42岁，在收到曼苏尔·拉赫曼（Mansur Rahman）的求救后将拉赫曼、她的女儿以及另一名女性从水中救出。曼苏尔·拉赫曼是孟加拉国国民党在英国的海外青年翼组织——英国Jubo Dal的领导人。
鲍在汹涌的波涛中游泳，帮助将穆萨救上海岸警卫队的船，此外一名 teenage 男孩也被救至安全地带。
身为教师的拉赫曼及其女儿在海滩上接受了围观群众以及随后赶到现场的急救人员实施的心肺复苏术（CPR），但最终未能救活。
黛西·伊斯特莱克（Daisy Eastlake） 政治记者
即使是我也能被定义为残疾人
布莱克斯托克的凯西男爵夫人（Baroness Casey of Blackstock）表示，根据工作与养老金部的一项官方调查，她符合获得残疾支持的条件。与此同时，她呼吁国家就福利改革提出“困难的问题”。
凯西是一位经验丰富的怀特霍尔 (英国政府) 危机处理专家，目前正主导一项社会护理审查，预计将在今年晚些时候提交中期报告，并在2028年提交完整建议。
根据工作与养老金部（DWP）家庭资源调查的政府数据，在2023-24财年，有16.8 million人自报患有残疾，相当于每四个英国人中就有一个。
调查受访者被问及是否患有持续一年或预计持续一年以上的身体或心理健康状况或疾病，以及这是否降低了他们执行日常活动的能力。对这两个问题均回答“是”的人被视为残疾人。
评论
或者说太久了， 成年社会 护理——这个 我们依赖于 为老年人和 残疾人 提供至关重要支持的 系统—— 一直陷入在 同样的循环中：危机、 改革承诺、 审查，然后撤退。
与国民医疗服务体系 (NHS) 不同， 它从未建立在 一个清晰的计划或 关于谁 能获得帮助以及何时 获得帮助的承诺之上。 相反，它已经成长为 一个由 资金规则、资产调查、 地方决策、私营 供应商以及家属 填补缺口所组成的 复杂的碎片化体系。
在过去的 18 个月里，我接触了 那些不得不承担 后果的人们。他们 告诉我， 即便组织最基本的 护理或设备 ，也可能让人感到 难以应对。有些人 得到了支持，而 其他有着同样 需求的人却没得到；残疾 人可能面临漫长的 等待，并发现 自己必须为每一份 帮助而奋斗； 老年人面临 巨额账单、令人困惑的 选择，或者在达到 危机点之前 根本得不到帮助。
支撑这一切的 是薪资低廉的 护理员，或者 没有报酬的朋友和 家人，他们之所以 坚持，是因为 别无选择。
社会护理影响着 这个国家的每一个家庭——无论 是我们自己需要护理、 照顾我们爱的人、 从事护理工作，还是通过 我们的税收 为此买单。然而，在太长时间里 我们忽略了 这个问题，而我们的 人口正变得 更年长、更病弱， 家庭规模 变得更小，且不如 前几代人 那样能够提供护理。
我们的国家 已经改变，在许多方面 变得更好，但政府 一直在回避艰难的 选择，而不是 正视这些 改变意味着什么。
这就是为什么我们 发起了“护理大讨论” (Big Conversation on Care)： 这是一个世代以来 最宏大的关于 英格兰成年社会护理 未来的 公众讨论。我们希望 听到来自英格兰 至少一百万人的声音： 老年人、 残疾人、 家庭、他们的朋友、 无偿护理者和 护理工作者。我们所有人 都与接下来的发展 息息相关。
这不能 又是一次针对 那些对系统了如指掌之人的 技术性磋商；它 必须让全国人民 参与到寻找 解决方案的过程中。
“大讨论” 将要求 公众参与制定 那些被回避了 数十年的 艰难选择。当我们 年老、残疾或 重病时，谁 应该支持我们，以及 如何支持？ 家庭被合理 期待做些什么？ 国家何时 应该介入？ 谁应该被 优先获得 支持？而我们 又应如何 反哺？
在家庭资源调查中 自我申报为残疾并不意味着 此人有权获得福利。该调- 查根据《2010年平等法》 中的定义来评估残疾， 这意味着，如果一个人 患有身体或心理障碍， 且该障碍对其进行 正常日常活动的能力 产生“实质性”且“长期”的 负面影响，则被视为残疾。
2010年平等法。
Casey 昨天启动了她的“护理大讨论”，旨在征求公众关于社会护理系统应该是什么样子，以及谁应该获得支持。
这个国家 以前也解决过 困难的问题。NHS 是 在战争 结束后创建的。 在疫情期间， 我们再次证明， 当时刻 需要时，这个 国家能够迅速采取行动， 为国家挑战寻找 大胆的解决方案。
我们历史的 教训不是大问题 无法解决； 而是只有当政府 承担责任、 国家诚实地面对 问题，且公众 对答案有真正的发言权时， 我们才能做到。
我们现在需要在 和平时期做 前几代人在 战时所做的事情：面对 问题并解决它。 不是用另一个 临时补丁，或者 一个在争论变得 困难时就 消失的承诺，而是用一个 公众能够理解 并能支持的 正式方案。
当你身处政府之中，你必须承担起解决眼前问题的责任。经过数十年的审查、退缩和背信弃义，成年社会护理不能再次被丢进“太难处理”的抽屉里。我们需要正视它，修复它，并建立一个持久的系统。 ——布莱克斯托克的凯西女男爵 (Baroness Casey of Blackstock)，英格兰成年社会护理独立委员会主席
应当获得国家资助的支持。但她明确表示，此次咨询“应当提出一些困难的问题”。
“基本上，如果你看数据，大约有 16.8 million 人在回答问题后，会被就业与养老金部 (DWP) 分类为残疾人，但我并不认同这一点，”她在 BBC Radio 4 的《今日》(Today) 节目中说道。
“我自己也能符合条件，我就坐在这里。我没有残疾，但如果我根据我的医疗记录来回答那些问题，我也能符合条件，就是这么简单。”
目前有超过 4 million 人在领取个人独立支付金 (Pip)，这是一种不经过资产调查的残疾津贴，旨在支持残疾带来的额外支出。
该津贴的实际支出预计将从 2024-25 年的 £26 billion 增加到 2031. 年的 £45 billion。在 2024-25 和 2030-31 年之间，领取丧失工作能力津贴的人数预计将从 3.4 million 增加到 4 million，而领取残疾津贴的人数预计将从 6.5 million 增加到 8.8 million。2025-26 年的总福利支出预计将超过 £320 billion，接近政府所有支出的四分之一。总福利支出的超过一半用于养老金。
安迪·伯纳姆 表示，他不会废除国家养老金的三倍锁定机制 (triple lock)，这意味着劳动年龄段的健康和残疾津贴将成为任何削减开支的主要目标。
他暗示自己准备提高领取津贴的难度，并表示国家必须在降低福利账单方面“采取严肃态度”。
在本周的一次 BBC 采访中，首相表示，他认为“有些人只要有正确的支持，就可以投入工作”，并指出了给年轻人的机会保障。
他补充道：“例如，在需要心理健康支持的地方，会在工作中提供支持，以帮助人们把握机会。”
凯西还表示，尽管有些人没有得到足够的帮助，但有些人可能不需要国家照顾。“我们必须更加正视这样一个事实：有些人确实在难以想象地挣扎，试图帮助自己或为患有严重残疾的家人寻求帮助，而他们得到的帮助并不足够，”她说道。
“与此同时……我请求全国上下花一分钟时间深呼吸并思考，我们应该照顾谁，以及如何照顾？我认为，这是 21 世纪英国福利国家面临的最重要的问题。”
就业与养老金部 (DWP) 表示：“16.8 million 这一数字是指在……下的自我报告残疾。”
这是一个自愿调查中的自我报告问题。它与用于确定 DWP 残疾津贴资格的定义并不相同。
所以这里又来一次
政治速写
安迪·伯纳姆作为首相的第一次具有模糊意义的演讲是在远离家乡的地方进行的。不久前，他还站在梅克菲尔德（Makerfield）的一家工人俱乐部外，向全世界承诺他将成为无声者的发声者，确保威根（Wigan）及其周边地区被遗忘的各种社区最终能被听到。那么，他又是如何最终来到这里——北伦敦中心地带的戈尔德斯格林路（Golders Green Road），发表一场关于社会护理的演讲的？
莫里斯与薇薇安·沃尔校园（Maurice and Vivienne Wohl Campus）是一家设施齐全的犹太退休与社会护理中心，这里经过的每一栋房子价值都不低于 £1.5 百万。在整个国家，很少有比这里更多老年人居住的地方，他们现在独自住在不愿出售的、空间利用不足的家庭住宅中。
有些人持有一种相当激进的观点，认为幸运的婴儿潮一代应该用他们巨额的非劳动房屋财富来资助自己的护理。另一些人同样激进地认为，为了支付护理费而不得不卖房是一种不应由任何人承受的可耻之辱。结果，在过去的几十年里，西敏寺（Westminster）在处理此事上取得了极其惨痛的失败。
T
一位领导福利审查的贵族说道
将找到答案。他是由新任卫生大臣伊薇特·库珀（Yvette Cooper）介绍的。
库珀在 proceedings 中的角色主要是对所有那些未能成功的社会护理审查、委员会和报告表示失望，正是这些失败地将他们带到了如今这个凄惨的境地。“自从我当选国会议员以来，已经有了 22 次不同的社会护理改革尝试，”她说。
这可以说是一种并不理想的启动另一次尝试的方式。安迪·伯纳姆（Andy Burnham）随后将社会护理审查、委员会和报告的数量称为“可耻的”。但不知为何，他的这次将会有所不同。你可能知道一个相当出名的梗，出自美国情景喜剧《发展停滞》（Arrested Development），其笑点在于：“不，这行不通。人们自我欺骗地认为它可能行得通。但对我们来说，它可能行得通！”这就是社会护理版本的梗。
安迪·伯纳姆（Andy Burnham）在威斯敏斯特晨跑后，与伦敦北区戈尔德斯格林（Golders Green）一家护理院的居民交谈。安吉拉·雷纳（Angela Rayner）发布了一张自己之前从事护理员工作的照片，并表示：“我知道辛苦劳作是什么感觉。” KIRSTY WIGGLESWORTH/PA; JEREMY SELWYN
2017 年，“来自布里斯托的布伦达”（Brenda from Bristol）是国民之声。而昨天，英国政治被下面的一位护理院居民给概括了，他在被介绍给首相时问道：“什么，又换了一个？”
完成第 23 次社会护理审查，比之前要求的完成时间提前了一年。凯西（Casey）本人也在现场。她用悲伤但程式化的措辞谈到了社会护理中众所周知的问题，谈到了“27 年里的 22 次审查”。
她还忘记了自己本应启动一项名为“护理大对话”（The Big Conversation on Care）的社会护理新计划，在经过后台的一次耳语干预后，她最终还是启动了该计划，并伴随了一些看似讽刺的招手动作。
然后，伯纳姆本人跳进由几把椅子围成的小圆圈中心。“我本打算照着笔记讲话，”他说，“但我决定倾心而谈。”
政治——至少在我观察这段时间以来——没有什么比这更煽情的了。但我们也必须承认，这奏效了。首相发表了一次精彩的演讲。温暖且真诚。他动情地谈到了患有认知障碍的父亲。你能感受到那份善良与奉献。他的前任当然也不避讳谈论他的父母及其奋斗经历。但不知为何，尽管这么说可能很残酷，那从未达到预期的效果。
随后，他参观了该设施，一位老先生询问他的名字和身份，他不得不非常礼貌地告诉对方他叫“安迪”，且“我是首相”。
“又换一个？”对方回答道。“他们每隔五分钟就换一次。”
这些细节本不重要，但对于我们近期至少 50 per cent 的首相来说，这样的遭遇会让他们尴尬得脚趾蜷曲。但在伯纳姆手中，这变成了温馨的场面，这是一个好兆头。
伯纳姆并没有以任何形式准备好所谓的答案。但他也并未带着虚假的承诺而来。他公开为自己设定了尽可能最艰难的挑战，去完成一件几十年来让威斯敏斯特 (Westminster) 束手无策的事。他或许能通过这次考验。这对其他人来说从未奏效，但对他来说可能行得通。是的，真的可能行得通。
资助改革的选择有限
埃莉诺·海沃德 (Eleanor Hayward) 健康编辑 本·克拉特沃西 (Ben Clatworthy) 怀特霍尔 (英国政府) 编辑
安迪·伯纳姆 誓言在担任首相期间将社会护理改革置于其议事日程之首，并表示在未能给该系统带来“实质性变革”之前，他不会离职。
这一承诺代价不菲。据估计，一个按照“NHS原则”运行的新国家护理服务每年将花费 £18.5 billion，这意味着在如何支付所有费用方面，未来将面临艰难的选择。
10% 的遗产税 伯纳姆此前曾主张在一个人去世后，对其所有遗产征收 10% 的统一“国家护理税”。该措施将取代遗产税，而目前仅有约 4.5% 的人需要缴纳遗产税。他认为，转向人人都要承担责任的制度，将能够为所有人提供免费的社会护理。
“社会保险”方案 许多其他发达国家（如日本和德国）并不在人们去世后征税来支付护理费用，而是采用一种模式，由劳动年龄人口缴纳资金进入一个大基金，该基金被专用于社会护理。
针对 34 岁以上劳动者的额外 1.8% 所得税 公务员设计了一种社会保险模型，其中所有劳动年龄的成年人在 34. 岁起，对其超过 £6,240 的收入额外缴纳 1.8% 的所得税。这笔资金将进入一个国家“晚年护理基金”。
能否从现有预算中筹集资金？ 伯纳姆在演讲中表示，社会护理可以在“现有预算之内”得到改善，但这将需要大幅削减开支。如果不增加税收，将使达成北约 (北大西洋公约组织) 的国防开支目标变得更加困难，并使财政大臣约翰·希利在坚持工党财政规则时陷入困境。
由于伯纳姆转移关注点，辅助自愿死亡计划面临失败
本·克拉特沃西，埃莉诺·海沃德
工党议员认为，在安迪·伯纳姆坚持必须首先“修复”社会和姑息护理之后，合法化辅助自愿死亡的计划将在投票中被否决。
在新首相明确表示不支持该法案后，预计国会议员将在 9 月份《末期病患成年人（生命终结）法案》返回下议院时将其否决。
伯纳姆昨日透露了他对国家护理服务的愿景，并誓言将把“我所有能拿出的政治资本”都投入到解决该领域的危机中。
在北伦敦的演讲后，有人询问他关于辅助自愿死亡的立场，但他坚持认为其改革必须先行。
分析
正如安迪·伯纳姆所指出的，在过去 30 年里，英国曾有 22 次不同的社会护理改革尝试，且每一次都以失败告终（奥利弗·赖特撰文）。
这一次，首相承诺情况将有所不同。伯纳姆阐述了试图解决该国最棘手问题之一的广泛原则，而这个问题在 15 年前他担任卫生大臣时曾令他受挫。
应建立一个整合到 NHS 中的国家护理服务，尽可能地在老年人的家中提供护理。他说，新服务需要充足的资金支持，工作人员的薪资应高于最低工资，此外还应提供与更广泛的医疗服务挂钩的职业晋升机会。此外，还应结束护理费用的“抽奖”乱象——目前一些老年人必须用自己的资产支付护理费，直到资产仅剩 £23,250 为止。
伯纳姆谨慎地没有阐明自己偏好的解决方案。他宣布将由怀特霍尔 (英国政府) 的问题解决专家布莱克斯托克的凯西男爵夫人领导开展一次“全国性对话”，她将在明年提出建议。
建立一个符合用途的社会护理系统并不便宜——据估计成本将超过 £18 billion。然而，凭借工党的巨大多数席位，如果伯纳姆准备利用其政治资本来强力推动变革，那么这种方案是有可能实现的。
首相允许工党议员在协助死亡问题上进行自由投票。下议院支持了 2024, 年 11 月提出的议案，但由于时间不足，该议案最终被放弃。
一项关于此问题的私人议员议案于 5 月重新提交议会。
在被问及协助死亡问题时，伯纳姆表示：“我认为首先需要解决一些事情。那就是完善姑息治疗和社会护理的资金投入。”
一名消息人士表示：“这与之前的首相截然不同，之前的首相基本上是支持的，而现在的首相则表示‘现在不行’。此前，后座议员们认为首相是支持的。现在这一切都改变了。”
George Greenwood 调查记者
据报道，被定罪的诈骗者乔治·考特雷尔（George Cottrell）在其母亲 2024 年向英国改革党（Reform UK）捐款前的几天内，共向其转账超过 $2 million。
根据《卫报》（The Guardian）报道，金融业人士称，菲奥娜·考特雷尔（Fiona Cottrell）收到了一笔 $1.4 million 的存款以及两笔每笔超过 $300,000 的款项——当银行人员询问这些存款时，她称这些钱来自她的儿子乔治。
该报声称，每次转账都发生在菲奥娜直接向英国改革党捐款，或通过该政党的筹款工具“英国商业之意”（Britain Means Business）捐款前的 24 至 72 小时内。
据称，这些巨额资金在进入菲奥娜的账户之前，经过了总部位于美国的加密货币交易所。这些平台允许将加密资产兑换为硬通货。
正如《泰晤士报》所披露，伦敦警察厅已对菲奥娜捐赠的 £500,000 启动调查，调查内容涉及掩盖或伪装来自政党“不可允许”捐赠者的捐款，或在捐款金额或捐赠者身份等信息上使用“虚假”信息。
[[IMG_XXXX]] 乔治·考特雷尔（George Cottrell），绰号“华丽乔治”（Posh George），左图，是奈杰尔·法拉奇的长期顾问。
在《星期日泰晤士报》的一项调查揭露了加密货币赌徒“华丽乔治”如何秘密资助法拉奇之后，这些新披露的信息将增加英国改革党及其领导人奈杰尔·法拉奇（Nigel Farage）所面临的质疑。
《卫报》此前曾披露，法拉奇未申报来自加密货币亿万富翁克里斯托弗·哈本（Christopher Harborne）的 £5 million 捐款。
法拉奇周二告诉广播公司，他不后悔未披露这些款项。当被问及他是否认为自己应该直接申报这笔钱时，法拉奇说：“不，并不真的这么想，因为我咨询了法律意见。
合规性，你知道，我会去找那些比我更了解这些流程的人。我信任的人。”
他还坚称，他没有以任何方式违法或逃税，也没有滥用公共资金。
在《星期日泰晤士报》的调查之后，法拉奇辞去了国会议员职务，并就其行为问题举行了一次补选，而其他主要政党对此采取了抵制态度。
[[IMG_XXXX]] 幸运的伦敦人有机会在离地 115 英尺的空中泳池中乘凉，而格林威治的其他人则只能使用风扇。
来源：环境署 (EA)，7 月 29 日 正常
长期干燥天气
干旱
西米德兰兹
泰晤士河谷
威塞克斯
德文郡与康沃尔郡
该报称，乔治共向其母亲的银行账户存入了 $2,047,693。
考虑到她 2024 年向英国改革党及相关团体的捐款，菲奥娜当年共捐赠了 £1.5 million。根据 2024 年 5 月和 6 月的汇率数据，这些金额大致相当。
在采访中，法拉奇还表示，他将与被暂停职务的英国改革党议员詹姆斯·麦默多克（James McMurdock）就其重新接纳的问题进行讨论。
《泰晤士报》周二披露，由于未能偿还由纳税人资助的新冠疫情贷款，政府介入阻止了麦默多克的两家公司被注销。
在被问及转账问题时，乔治·考特雷尔的律师表示，其当事人没有进一步评论。
菲奥娜·考特雷尔在被接触时此前曾拒绝就任何事项发表评论。
伦敦警察厅此前表示：“在收到选举委员会关于 2024 年英国大选前向政党捐款的转 referral 之后，于 2025 年 2 月启动了调查。”
英国改革党的一位发言人表示：“英国改革党为其严格的捐款审核感到自豪，并始终确保严格遵守《2000 年政党、选举和全民公投法》中规定的选举委员会捐款指南，所有捐款均如此。”
英国进入 高度警戒状态
影响 23 million 名客户。宣布干旱并没有单一的阈值。环境署 (EA) 评估的因素包括降水量、河流流量、地下水位、水库供应以及生态破坏。当情况恶化到显著影响公民时，即可宣布干旱。
英国气象局表示，野火风险极高，因为干燥的土壤和植被创造了火苗容易点燃并迅速蔓延的条件。
英格兰和威尔士的消防部门今年已应对了 706 起野火，其中 200 起发生在过去两周内。目前有 8 起正在燃烧的火灾处于监测之中。
赫特福德郡 与伦敦
东英吉利
本月到目前为止，英格兰全境的降水量仅为平均值的 7 per cent，南部地区则下降至 1 per cent。处于干旱状态的 7 个地区包括：东英吉利；赫特福德郡与伦敦；泰晤士河谷；汉普郡与怀特岛；德文郡与康沃尔郡；西米德兰兹；以及包括多塞特郡、萨默塞特郡、威尔特郡和南格洛斯特郡在内的威塞克斯。
英格兰近五分之四的河流水位低于正常水平或更糟。
环境署 (EA) 水资源主管海伦·韦克汉姆 (Helen Wakeham) 表示：“连续第二个夏季出现干旱是一个异常严重的局面，将对我们的环境、野生动物和经济产生深远影响。”
汉普郡与 怀特岛
因转发 断头台帖文 免于警方起诉
Daisy Eastlake 政治记者
警方将不对扎克·波兰斯基 (Zack Polanski) 采取行动，此前他分享了一张照片，照片中的一名男子穿着一件印有断头台和文字“我们只是在为奈杰制定计划”的 T 恤。
这位绿党党魁在周日于布里斯托尔举行的一场党内活动后，在 Instagram 上与其他图片一起转发了该帖，该帖似乎是指向英国改革党党魁奈杰尔·法拉奇 (Nigel Farage)。他已拒绝向法拉奇道歉。
改革党指责波兰斯基“煽动谋杀”，并将其举报至伦敦警察厅。法拉奇表示，他认为自己“本应因[此类贴文]而被逮捕……波兰斯基也同样应该如此”。
伦敦警察厅表示，分享该图像“不太可能构成刑事犯罪”，但补充道：“我们已确定，关于穿着该 T 恤的行为应记录为一项犯罪。”目前已将此事移交给埃文与萨默塞特郡警方。
改革党批评这一决定，并表示：“我们再次看到，我们生活在一个‘两级标准’的英国。”绿党则表示，改革党是在利用这一事件来转移对其“可疑捐款”的注意力。
波兰斯基删除了该帖，但表示不会为一次“无意之失”而道歉。他在接受 BBC《Newsnight》节目采访时表示，如果他道歉，“法拉奇将在所有社交媒体上宣称自己在煽动谋杀的指控上是正确的”，但他也强调自己的安全至关重要。
A
Alice Wright 金融记者
一名投资银行的百万富翁首席执行官被其前妻指控隐瞒了 £16 million 的资产，而与此同时他却声称自己穷到必须向亲友借钱。
根据上诉法院公布的文件，Intercontinental Investment Bank (IIB) 的老板兼大股东、57 岁的索海尔·苏丹·艾哈迈德 (Sohail Sultan Ahmad) 在 2023, 与米娜·法拉杰 (Meerna Faraj) 离婚时，涉嫌拥有五个秘密银行账户。
53 岁的法拉杰被授予 £6.08 million，其中 £2.25 million 用于支付法律费用，并获得临时居住权。
£18m 《每日邮报》 诉讼费账单
大卫·布朗 (David Brown) 首席新闻记者
萨塞克斯公爵及其他名人因针对《每日邮报》出版商发起的隐私权诉讼失败，目前正被追讨法律费用，且该金额远超其保险覆盖范围。
该群体包括公爵、埃尔顿·约翰爵士 (Sir Elton John) 和克拉伦登的劳伦斯女男爵 (Baroness Lawrence of Clarendon)，他们被要求支付 Associated Newspapers 公司的 £34.5 法律费用。
伦敦高等法院获悉，这些名人的法律保险覆盖金额为 £16.2，这将使他们面临超过 £18 的资金缺口。
法院昨日获悉，他们还被要求在 14 天内预付 £10 用于支付总费用。但由于 41, 岁的哈里以及 73, 岁的工党议员劳伦斯发表公开声明，将尼克林 (Nicklin) 法官于 7 月 7 日做出的判决描述为“彻头彻尾且显而易见地在掩盖事实 (whitewash)”，Associated Newspapers 已申请追回更多费用。
这些知名人士关于自己成为非法信息搜集（包括黑客攻击、窃听和欺诈手段）受害者的所有主张均被驳回。
代表 Associated Newspapers 的 安东尼·怀特 (Antony White) KC 告诉法庭，两人“恶意地”暗示他们在为期 46 天的审理过程中被“完全忽视”。他表示，该公开声明“寻求——并实现了——全球关注，旨在继续指控 Associated 公司实际上犯有被指控的错误行为”。
怀特提到哈里的发言人对《泰晤士报》的一番评论，称尽管前大法官们对其攻击判决的行为提出了批评，但公爵“坚持其声明中的每一个字”。
他还批评了 61, 岁的女演员 塞迪·弗罗斯特 (Sadie Frost)，她同样发起了一项失败的诉讼，并在 Instagram 上写道，法官不这样做简直是“疯了！！”
免租金地住在家庭住宅中。双方均成功对该和解协议提出上诉。法拉吉 (Faraj) 怀疑她的丈夫未能披露资产，而艾哈迈德 (Ahmad) 则称该资金属于银行，而非其个人财产。
这对夫妇于 2011 年在巴林相识。他们随后搬到英国，于 2013 年结婚，并育有一个现年 12. 岁的女儿。艾哈迈德在之前的婚姻中育有两个孩子。法拉吉还有另一个女儿，患有严重的自闭症且无法用语言交流，需要持续护理；法官们一致认为，这意味着她无法返回私有股权领域的工作岗位。
这场离婚诉讼已经累积了 £6.5 法律账单，且将
已申请退出本案。怀特在申请要求哈里和其他名人支付“赔偿成本 (indemnity costs)”时强调了上述批评。赔偿令旨在惩罚诉讼过程中的不当行为，这意味着法院无需判定出版商的费用是否与案件规模相称。
出版商要求首笔付款为 £9,950,624.37.。怀特表示，这笔钱应在 14 天内支付，且这些名人寻求额外 30 天来安排付款“没有正当理由”。Associated Newspapers 计算得出，其在本案中的法律费用总计为 £34,481,622.54.。
伊丽莎白·赫尔利 (Elizabeth Hurley, 61, 岁) 和 75, 岁的前自民党议员及司法部长西蒙·休斯爵士 (Sir Simon Hughes) 同样提出了主张。埃尔顿与其丈夫 63, 岁的大卫·弗尼什 (David Furnish) 基于相同的事实提出了主张。
代表名人们的 尼古拉斯·培根 (Nicholas Bacon) KC 表示，任何就判决申请上诉的请求都已推迟，直到法律费用问题得到裁定。他表示，Associated Newspapers “令人瞠目”的费用比法院在审理开始前不久商定的预算高出 £18.6。
培根表示，如果“他们 [Associated] 要求支付 £35 的费用，而我们对此大部分没有保险，那么法庭听证会可能会持续数年”。他指出，基于法院之前对费用的裁定，这些名人每人获得了 £2.7 的法律保险，总计 £16.2，培根
表示这些名人提议在 28, 8月前共支付 £7,919,279.26，其中包括与哈里个人索赔相关的 £68,780 账单费用。他说
判决书中的任何结论都“不具有一个其个人行为之恶劣，以至于招致法院以赔偿金形式公开谴责的当事人的典型特征
将在高等法院重新审理，届时将决定哪些资产属于离婚财产以及法拉吉（Faraj）的结算范围。
审理法官表示：“这些极其高昂的费用，反映了这对夫妇在婚姻结束时之间存在的痛苦与不信任。”
艾哈迈德（Ahmad）的 LinkedIn 账户上有与英国驻葡萄牙和埃塞俄比亚大使的合影，他告诉家庭法院，他已经“没钱了”，必须向亲友借钱。
然而，法官表示，如果他“拥有大量资金”，那么他这样做“没有明显的解释”。法院文件指出，他进行了
阳光房 可能不得不 被拆除
一名房地产 开发商 可能被 强制拆除 其位于新森林（New Forest） 二级登录保护建筑 Airbnb度假屋上的 一个阳光房扩建部分。此前，他未能获得规划许可，而该扩建部分被令“震惊”的议员们称为一个“怪胎”（Amelia Stout报道）。
Ashkin Mittal，55岁， 在位于索尔兹伯里（Salisbury）附近兰福德（Landford）的一栋名为Smallbrook Cottage的茅草房中增加了这个巨大的箱形扩建部分。该房产作为度假租赁房广告宣传，每晚价格约为£500。
居民表示，这个 木材与玻璃 结构是不恰当的，议员们指责 Mittal“鲁莽地” 无视国家公园内 严格的规划规则。
[[IMG_XXXX]] 右侧为Ashkin Mittal，他同时拥有一家高尔夫乡村俱乐部，未能为其上方和下方的度假屋工程获得追溯许可，该度假屋每晚租赁价格为£500。
这名总部位于伦敦的开发商拥有数百万英镑的房产投资组合，在开始工程前未获得规划许可或登录建筑同意书。尽管规划官员建议批准，但新森林国家公园管理局仍拒绝了其追溯申请。
议员David Harrison告诉 规划委员会： “在如此美丽的建筑上，这是一个怪胎。我认为人们 会同意这是鲁莽的行为，而且它是追溯申请这一事实，并不会改变我们对其做出决定的方式。”
他说，任何在保护区内对登录建筑进行建筑工程的人，都有责任遵守严格的规划规则以维护其特色。目前还没有 发出拆除或 执行通知。
一位邻居表示， Mittal在邻近的汉普沃斯（Hamptworth）村还拥有一家高尔夫乡村俱乐部和一家酒吧，他“足够富有”，可以支付因拒绝许可而产生的任何费用。
另一位议员Brice Stratford表示：“我们非常幸运，建筑没有受到进一步的破坏。我认为这不是一个合适的结构，且与登录建筑不协调。我真的感到震惊。”
两个月前，该管理局拒绝了Mittal另一项关于在汉普沃斯高尔夫乡村俱乐部已建成的一块板式网球场的追溯申请。Mittal已提起上诉。
在2020, 7月，对一栋位于肯辛顿（Kensington）价值£12.7 million的联排别墅提出了现金出价。
法官在本月的一项判决中，将Ahmad关于其个人财富的陈述描述为“伪证”。
这对夫妇在2020年开始离婚程序，但他们的财务事务直到2023年才得到解决。
在批准Ahmad的上诉时，上诉法院同意原审是不公正的，因为Ahmad没有经过适当的交叉质询。
Ahmad承认，他在最初结算期间提交账目的方式可能被视为具有误导性，但并不构成伪证。
Ahmad通过一个将受益所有权转移至IIB的复杂法律结构，保留了一处位于白金汉宫附近价值£3 million的家庭住宅的控制权。他坚称这是合法的，但其前妻指称这是一个骗局。高等法院将重新审查该安排。
法院文件显示，根据其LinkedIn个人资料，曾在伦敦政治经济学院学习的Ahmad在第一次离婚中保留了£8.5 million。他坚称在第二次离婚时这些钱已经花完了。
Faraj在2020年10月获得了一项针对其丈夫的禁止骚扰和占用令，该命令由家庭法院授予，旨在防止骚扰。
SIMON CZAPP/SOLENT NEWS
大学教授因体育成就 面临审查
Fiona Hamilton 首席记者 Emma Yeomans
一名被指控剽窃的剑桥大学教授正面临关于其在长跑成就和慈善募捐方面之主张的新质疑。
杰森·阿代（Jason Arday）在 37 岁时成为剑桥大学历史上最年轻的黑人教授，他曾多次讲述非凡的耐力跑挑战，并称这些活动为慈善事业筹集了巨额资金。他还声称自己曾是职业足球和斯诺克运动员。
在上周被指控其博士论文中的一系列段落与另一位学者六年前发表的博士论文相同或几乎相同后，阿代的个人经历引起了关注。他的回忆录《伟大而不幸之事》（Great and Unfortunate Things）将于下月出版，讲述了他充满“难以想象的胜利与令人心碎的挫折”的历程。
他在三岁时被诊断出患有自闭症谱系障碍，直到 11 岁才开始说话，直到青少年后期才学会读写。
现年 41, 岁的阿代在利物浦约翰摩尔大学获得了博士学位，随后成为剑桥大学的教育社会学教授。
他经常谈到通过耐力跑挑战为慈善事业筹款，并在 2024 年的绿带节（Greenbelt Festival）上表示：“在我 25, 岁时，我在 35 天内跑了 30 场马拉松。之后我又进行了一系列挑战，然后在跑步机上三天跑了 300 英里。最后一次挑战是在我 30, 岁时，我在六天内跑了 600 英里。我很幸运在 30 岁之前达到了 100 万英镑的目标。” 同一年，他在美国的一场活动中称，到他 30 岁时，他已筹集了 £5.5 million。
达米安·霍尔（Damian Hall）曾持有多项英国超长距离跑步记录，他告诉《每日电讯报》：“我以前没听过杰森。” 霍尔表示，35 天跑 30 场马拉松是“完全可能的”，24 小时跑 100 英里也是如此。他补充说，六天跑 600 英里将“等同于最顶尖的破纪录超长距离跑者。这件事似乎很奇怪，因为没有任何证据表明这种情况存在。”
阿代的书中并未提及 £5.5 这个数字。
阿代的一些主张是可以验证的。他谈到，因为他的募捐活动，能够在 2012 年传递奥运火炬是“绝对的荣幸”。《泰晤士报》确认他的名字在火炬手名单上。当地报纸也有关于他参加马拉松的报道，网球冠军安迪·穆雷爵士也曾称赞阿代的成就。在出演了 ITV 节目后，他被接送到纽约在 2012 年的美国公开赛上与穆雷会面。
阿代称他为 70 多个慈善机构筹集了资金，特别是 Shelter 和 Shooting Star 儿童安宁疗护院。Shooting Star 确认他共筹集了 £10,800，而 Shelter 则拒绝透露他为其筹集的总额。一个关于他三天跑 300 英里成就的 JustGiving 页面显示筹款额为 £380。
阿代在安格利亚鲁斯金大学（Anglia Ruskin University）的在线简介中，将最初提到的“六天 600 英里”改为“12 天 600 英里”。在 2023 年，阿代谈到加入职业斯诺克巡回赛。他似乎在青少年时期参加过业余赛事，但没有任何公开记录显示他转为职业选手。在同一场采访中，他声称自己曾职业踢球。
[[IMG_XXXX]] 抢先体验：孩子们在爱丁堡的苏格兰国家美术馆探索，该馆获得了 £8.5 million 的彩票资金用于打造新的艺术之家。
非法倾倒垃圾者和破坏分子的行为迫使 Spencer 伯爵出售 310 英亩土地
杰森·阿代即将出版其回忆录
Will Humphries 乡村记者
由于多年遭受非法倾倒垃圾和蓄意破坏的困扰，Spencer 伯爵已将 300 英亩以上的北安普顿郡农田出售给了房地产开发商。
位于达灵顿（Dallington）的这片土地与该家族附近的奥尔索普（Althorp）庄园相邻，几十年来一直被开发商觊觎，因为他们计划在该地区建设数千套新住宅。
在他的回忆录中没有提到这一点。
剑桥大学称针对 Arday 的剽窃指控毫无根据。该大学表示已进行调查并发现没有违规行为，利物浦约翰·摩尔大学（Liverpool John Moores University）的调查结果亦然。 已联系 Arday 寻求评论。
同样在去年，该土地上的一栋有 250 年历史的空置农舍被纵火焚烧并不得不被拆除；而前一年，在附近的 Harleston Firs 一个空置工业单位中也发生了火灾，那里同样属于 Althorp 庄园的一部分。
在以 £60 million 的价格将土地出售给 Persimmon Homes 后，Spencer 告诉《每日电讯报》：“我的家族长期以来对在 Dallington 耕种土地的不可行性感到绝望，但很高兴现在这里作为一个人们生活和工作的地方，发挥了良好的作用。”
根据环境、食品和乡村事务部的一份报告，去年英格兰记录了 1.26 million 起非法倾倒垃圾事件，在 12 个月内增长了 9 per cent。然而，这些案件中仅有 0.2 per cent 导致了任何法院诉讼。
农业组织和反乱扔垃圾团体已呼吁大幅增加对犯罪分子的起诉数量和处罚力度。农民和土地所有者通常不得不支付清理私人土地上非法倾倒废弃物的费用。
被指控 作弊 被停赛
Sian Bradley, Elizabeth Ammon Kevin Donald
该俱乐部表示，一名处于涉嫌作弊争议中心的业余板球运动员已被停赛，“在可预见的未来内”均不得参赛。
本周，索尔特本板球俱乐部（Saltburn Cricket Club）在一名名为布莱恩·德文（Brian Devine）的接球手被指控在以 159 跑击败诺顿队的比赛中，通过打响指来模仿球击中球拍边缘的声音以欺骗裁判后，成为了国际新闻焦点。
这家位于北约克郡的俱乐部在昨天发布了该公告，随后原定在米德尔斯伯勒俱乐部的球场与马顿队（Marton）的二队进行一场每队 100 球的比赛。索尔特本队放弃了这场比赛，并将失去由北约克郡和南达勒姆联赛（North Yorkshire and South Durham League）主办的“两百分赛”（Division Two Hundred）比赛资格。
马顿队在 Facebook 上确认该场比赛已取消。
德文的一位朋友告诉《泰晤士报》，在事件发生后，这名接球手心乱如麻，并对如此大的关注感到“不知所措”。“有个澳大利亚的播客节目甚至提出要帮他支付律师费——这是他第一次听说自己竟然有……他希望这一切赶紧过去。”
预计德文将被索尔特本二队剔除。北约克郡和南达勒姆联赛确认正在调查相关指控，据了解，周二举行了一次紧急会议。
一名接近该联赛的消息人士表示：“对于那些认真对待板球的小伙子来说，[这]是一个沉重的打击……感觉现在全世界的目光都盯着他们。”
38 岁的德文是一位父亲，与伴侣居住在吉斯伯勒（Guisborough），他在昨天拒绝发表评论。
俱乐部最初并未对指控做出回应，一名官员要求记者离开俱乐部会所。
随后在其社交媒体频道发布的一份声明中称：“这是一次令人痛苦且压力巨大的经历……我们请求大家记住这一现实，并尊重个人隐私，因为我们是一家完全由志愿者运行的业余俱乐部。”
声明称其正在配合调查，并补充道：“处于投诉中心的球员已被停赛，在调查结果出炉前，本赛季及可预见的未来内将不得参赛。”
此次争议爆发是因为诺顿队的击球手诺曼·沙比尔（Noman Shabir）对被判定为“在身后被接住”而判出局提出抗议，坚持认为自己没有碰到球。视频显示，当球经过球拍时，德文在打响指。
在原属于斯宾塞家族（Spencers）的土地上将建造约 1,800 栋房屋，以及一所中学和两所小学，并为医疗保健、图书馆和道路网络提供资金支持。开发区内另有 150 英亩土地由西北安普顿郡议会持有。
西北安普顿郡议会主席菲奥娜·贝克（Fiona Baker）告诉《泰晤士报》，该地区有大量的房屋开发项目，而“我们都在好奇，究竟是谁会搬进这些房子里住”。
代理在攻击 Hugging Face 后 又击中四家公司
Mark Sellman 技术记者
OpenAI 公司表示，一个自主入侵技术平台 Hugging Face 的违规 OpenAI 代理还入侵了另外四家公司。
这次攻击是首例公开记录的自主 AI 网络攻击，其影响范围比此前披露的更广。
在披露这些新细节的同时，包括 Anthropic 共同创始人及 OpenAI 高级职员在内的 1,000 多名顶尖 AI 研究人员呼吁放缓该技术的发展速度。
根据 OpenAI 的最新更新，其违规代理通过收集在线泄露的登录信息，入侵了四家不同的公司。其中一项服务是一个测试环境，该代理将其变成了攻击 Hugging Face 的跳板，目的可能为了掩盖攻击源。
运行该测试环境的公司尚未具名，但它是美国公司 Modal Labs 的客户。Modal 本身并未受到影响。
该代理试图利用其他被入侵的服务进行数据存储，并将其作为攻击 Hugging Face 的指令与控制中心。
OpenAI 首席执行官 Sam Altman 在《Invest Like the Best》播客中称这次攻击是“一种极其科幻的网络事件”。
他表示，这是“我第一次在直觉上感到非常不安的安全性事件……令我惊讶的是，并没有更多的人对此有如此强烈的感受。”
他补充说，公司已经暂停了 AI 训练，以“想办法确保我们的沙箱（测试环境）安全”。
关于长期影响，他表示，“如果这就是新的进步速度……我们可能不得不调整 AI 发展的步伐，以便给社会留出足够的时间，来应对这些新能力水平带来的挑战”。
这次攻击发生在 7 月 9 日至 7 月 13 日之间，起因是该代理突破了测试环境，旨在通过作弊通过一项被指派的网络安全测试。
这一事件加速了人们对 AI 安全性的担忧以及监管该技术的步骤。
超过 1,000 名来自 OpenAI、Anthropic、Google、Meta 和 Microsoft 的员工及领导者签署了一份提交给美国政府的公开声明，呼吁放缓速度。
声明称：“为了实现 AI 的潜力，工业界、政府及整个社会可能需要一个‘买时间’的选项，以应对新兴风险、制定安全措施并加强监管。但每家公司——以及每个国家——都面临着巨大的竞争压力，不敢单方面放慢这种加速。而如今，世界缺乏能够刻意控制前沿领域整体进度的时间表技术和治理工具。”
“我们请求美国政府支持一项国际努力，以开发在刻意控制自动化 AI 开发前沿速度所需的技术和治理工具。”
声明的签署者包括 Anthropic 的共同创始人 Dario Amodei 和 Jack Clark，以及 OpenAI 的共同创始人 John Schulman 和 Wojciech Zaremba。
云安全联盟 (Cloud Security Alliance) 在对此次攻击的审查中表示，违规 AI 行为“是常态，而非例外……代理会采取任何必要手段来实现分配的目标，而且我们一次又一次地看到它们以极具创意且出人意料的方式来实现。Hugging Face 攻击仅仅是某种普遍行为的一个极端例子。”
[[IMG_XXXX]] 独处的一只名为 Shaggy 的灰林鸮，位于普雷斯顿附近的 Turbary Woods 保护区。灰林鸮是体长最长的鸮类，在人工饲养环境下可生存约 25 年。它们的一夫一妻制，不幸的是，Shaggy 共同生活 18 年的伴侣最近去世了。
Bill Curtis
据《泰晤士报》披露，黑客从教育部窃取了超过 50 万条敏感数据。
政府官员、资深学校领导和大学工作人员的姓名及电子邮件地址已被泄露。消息人士确认，在这次攻击中共有 607,000 条记录被窃取，据了解，该事件发生在上周。他们表示，教育部 (DfE) 迅速采取行动，将受影响的服务下线。
此次黑客攻击的目标是教育部的帮助台，以及图灵计划 (Turing Scheme) 的记录——这是一个教育机构用于跟踪和管理赴外留学英国学生的数据库。教育部已向信息专员报告，并正与国家犯罪局和国家网络安全中心 (NCSC) 合作。
根据暗网上的帖子，一个名为 ExfilSquad 的网络犯罪组织声称对此次攻击负责。《泰晤士报》在暗网可获取的数据中看到了校长们的姓名和电子邮件地址。
在去年 10 月对外交部的攻击中，数千份机密文件和数据被泄露。网络安全公司 ESET 的全球安全顾问 Jake Moore 表示：“这次黑客攻击表明，政府并没有真正从去年的错误中吸取教训。各部门需要意识到这个问题不会消失，如果他们持有敏感信息，必须确保建立起最坚固的防御屏障。”
被 NCSC 归类为“国家级重大”的网络攻击数量从 2022 年的 63 起上升到 2025 年的 204 起。根据影响程度定义而归类为“高度重大”的攻击，则从 1 起增加到 18. NCSC 的 2025 年回顾报告称，这一增长部分原因是先进网络工具的商业化以及政府对第三方 IT 服务供应商的依赖。
教育部表示：“我们拥有完善的流程来保护信息，并迅速采取行动控制此次事件。涉及的信息仅限于与个人和组织相关的客户服务联系详情。没有其他数据被访问。”
Charlie Parker Larisa Brown 国防编辑
一项国会议员的报告发现，在政府取消了一项帮助他们逃离塔利班的计划后，曾与英军合作的阿富汗特种部队士兵正处于严重危险之中。
4 月份披露的消息显示，数千名等待从其国家获救的阿富汗人将不再获得英国的支持。那些因帮助英国而获得避难承诺的人们……
揭露了 £660m 协议的局限性 作者：Matt Dathan 发自 Hardelot-Plage
当莫尔赞（Morzhan）在一次疯狂地争抢挤上超载橡皮艇的混乱中，与十岁的儿子和丈夫失散，重新回到陆地时，她心如刀割。
这位来自伊朗东北部马什哈德（Mashhad）的母亲在试图爬进那艘单薄的 26 英尺橡皮艇后，被救生艇船员从水中救起，她此时正痛哭不止。昨天正午前，这艘小船载着她的儿子佩德拉姆（Pedram）和丈夫阿里（Ali），从距离加来（Calais）南方 40 英里的 Hardelot-Plage 海滩出发。
当莫尔赞抬头看时，她发现船在海滩下方 500 米处的一个沙洲上搁浅了，她突然意识到自己有机会重新与家人团聚。她尖叫着沿着海滩奔跑，然后冲进了海里。
在船上的 100 名移民中，有些人并不高兴地看到莫尔赞，以及另一位来自厄立特里亚的母亲和两个儿子，竟然在获得前往英国的“金票”后又有了第二次机会。
“这艘船满了！”一名伊朗男子大喊。他的请求被置若罔闻，而那些母亲们的坚持最终赢得了胜利，她们成功爬上了船。
随着重量增加，橡皮艇在沙洲上陷入得更深。船上的偷渡组织者用橡胶带抽打男人，强迫他们跳下去推船。半小时后，船脱困，移民们再次启程。
当船向一艘法国军舰驶去时（该军舰一直在海中约一英里处等待橡皮艇启动），偷渡者跳离船只返回海滩，从而避免了因驾驶船只穿越英吉利海峡而在英国面临被起诉的风险。
这艘超载的橡皮艇是昨天据信从法国北部海滩出发的至少十艘船之一。如果这一计数得到确认，这可能意味着又有 700 人抵达英国，并将使之成为今年英吉利海峡过境最繁忙的一天。
水面上上演的戏剧对观察着的法国宪兵来说是常态。他们表示，一旦移民船只进入海域，他们没有法国政府的许可去拦截，而且这违反了国际海事法。
“我们不能。太危险了，”一名警员告诉目睹了混乱场面的《泰晤士报》，“我们告诉他们不能过境，但他们不听，因为他们太绝望了。”另一名警员指着远处缓慢驶离的橡皮艇说道：“我们的命令是让他们走。”
他们在进入海域前无法采取行动，因为移民在海滩上等待并不违法。
这种不作为暴露了今年 4 月签署的、关于未来三年巡逻海滩的新 £660 million 英法协议的局限性。
该协议仅允许警方在船上人数少于 20 人时拦截移民船，且只能由由约 50 名经过暴乱和人群控制战术培训的警员组成的专业 Compagnie de Marche 部队执行。
此前，与对抗塔利班的部队合作的阿富汗盟友曾获得“第三方”援助以逃往邻国巴基斯坦。然而，政府在看到“自行迁移成功的证据增加”后终止了该系统。
符合条件的阿富汗人被告知自行离开该国，尽管此前许多人被建议不要独立旅行，且缺乏合法或负担得起前往签证申请中心的途径。
下议院国防委员会的一份 95 页报告现在得出结论：由于国防部的系统性失效，阿富汗盟友被迫“面临多年的危险、延迟和不确定性”。
在2021年喀布尔落入塔利班之手不到一年后，国防部的一起数据泄露事件导致数千人的身份暴露，其中包括翻译人员、当地雇员以及其他支持英国行动的人员。委员会的报告称，这是一次“可预见”的违规行为，且“成为了治理、问责和公众信任广泛失效的一部分”，当时
Plage（海滩）在早前的一次接送后已经挤满了移民，导致法国警方无法干预。
影子内政大臣克里斯·菲利普（Chris Philp）当时也在Hardelot-Plage，他表示，警方未能干预的失败行为应当通过英国撤回资金来惩罚。“莎巴娜·马哈穆德（Shabana Mahmood）无条件支付了5亿英镑，然而我今天看到宪兵们无所作为，他们告诉我接到的命令是不采取任何行动，只需与移民交谈，”这位国会议员说道。
一名欣喜的移民在小艇准备出发前往英国时做出胜利手势。海滩上的混乱场景被享受阳光的度假者以及影子内政大臣克里斯·菲利普所目睹。
一项超级禁令被引入，以阻止报道一个将数万人生命置于危险之中的失误。
《泰晤士报》带头进行法律斗争以推翻该超级禁令，因为该禁令阻碍了阿富汗人获知其个人信息可能已落入塔利班之手的实情。
受影响最严重的人群中包括阿富汗特种部队人员，其中数百人在收到英国政府混乱的消息后隐姓埋名多年。超过 880 名所谓的“Triples”（前特种部队成员）被拒绝重新安置，但在一次审查推翻决定后，他们随后被提供了前往英国的逃离路线。委员会得出结论，这次修正发生在他们的积蓄被耗尽且现实的逃生路线减少之后。议员们表示，新的“自行移动”政策恶化了他们的处境。
委员会主席坦·德希（Tan Dhesi）呼吁政府“解释将如何保护那些无法安全、合法或在经济上负担得起前往第三国的合格阿富汗人”。
《泰晤士报》摄影师 理查德·波尔 (RICHARD POHLE)
在打击人口走私方面，“计划正在发挥作用”。截至周二晚上，今年约有 13,500 名移民乘坐小船抵达英国，比去年同期低 44%。
法国警方在当天早些时候采取了更积极的行动。当时——早上5点，在满月的照耀下——《泰晤士报》在Hardelot-Plage以南几英里的海滩上偶遇了三名全副武装且穿着迷彩服的宪兵在巡逻，他们配备了手枪和 CS 催泪瓦斯罐。
我们跟随几名警员潜行在沙丘的灌木丛中。他们使用军用级双筒望远镜（由之前一项数百万英镑的英国协议出资购买）观察一群他们认为正计划发射小艇的疑似人口走私者。他们的计划是在确认有小艇后立即冲向该群体，并用美工刀划破充气侧壁。
我们潜行观察，发现移民们已经睡着了。我们前往调查，发现数十名移民睡在树下，包括蜷缩在一起的母亲与其婴儿和幼儿。清醒的人告诉我们他们来自伊朗和厄立特里亚，后者经历了数月之久，途经利比亚，跨越地中海抵达意大利，最后到达法国。他们在过去的 24 小时里一直住在沙丘后的树林中，等待走私者的信号前往海滩。我们回到了观察点，那里可以俯瞰南北数英里的视野。
早上 8.30，我们看到一大群穿着救生衣的移民沿着海滩走来。这群人中包括两名年幼的兄弟，以及一名被父亲扛在肩上的幼儿，他们艰苦地行走 7 英里到达接送点。
到中午时，他们已经身处一个大得多的 8.
更长且更险峻的旅程，乘坐一艘充气艇穿越英吉利海峡，其载客量至少是该尺寸船只法定载客量的八倍。
Will Pavia 纽约报道 几乎被杀。马塔尔在现场被逮捕，并于去年在州法院受审，因企图谋杀被判处 25 年监禁。他还面临联邦恐怖主义指控，从而引发了第二次审判。鲁什迪再次被传唤出庭作证。
在纽约州北部舞台上刺伤萨尔曼·鲁什迪爵士的男子已被判定恐怖主义指控成立，其行为是执行伊朗已故最高领袖阿亚图拉的指令。
布法罗的一个陪审团认定，哈迪·马塔尔 (Hadi Matar)，28 岁，在 2022 年夏季的一次节日活动中，在数百名证人的面前袭击了《撒旦诗篇》的作者，其行为构成了跨境恐怖主义活动。
鲁什迪失去了右眼的视力，并且
[[IMG_XXXX]] 玻璃之巅：彼得·莱顿 (Peter Layton)，89 岁，伦敦玻璃吹制工作室 (London Glassblowing) 创始人，正准备为其作品举办个人展，以庆祝他在伦敦东南部开设的艺术画廊成立 50 周年
“对付犹太人”的讲道而受调查
Sian Bradley
《泰晤士报》可透露，在一名曼彻斯特犹太会堂袭击者及其共犯出没的清真寺中，其讲道内容号召上帝去“对付犹太人”。
慈善委员会正在审查 2024 年在奇瑟姆山（Cheetham Hill）Al-Sunnah 清真寺录制并发布在其官方 YouTube 页面上的资料。
该清真寺是一家注册慈善机构。在安全摄像头录像显示两名常去礼拜的信徒——吉哈德·沙米（Jihad al-Shamie）和穆罕默德·巴希尔（Mohammad Bashir）在出席期间讨论“殉教”和恐怖主义计划后，该机构受到了审查。
这段录像在法庭上被揭露。当时，31 岁的巴希尔因承认与沙米共同策划针对英国军事设施的恐怖袭击而被告终身监禁。
联邦检察官表示，马塔尔（Matar）的动机源于 1989 年伊朗最高领袖鲁霍拉·霍梅尼（Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini）发布的法特瓦（宗教禁令），该禁令在《撒旦诗篇》出版后号召将其作者拉什迪杀掉。
这部魔幻现实主义小说
在去年 10 月犹太历中最神圣的日——赎罪日期间，沙米对希顿公园希伯来会堂（Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation synagogue）发起的冲撞与刺杀袭击中，35 岁的沙米被武装警察击毙。
巴希尔因与沙米共同策划另一场独立的恐怖袭击而获判最低 17 年监禁。
《泰晤士报》向慈善委员会举报了 2024 年 4 月在该两人出没的清真寺拍摄的三段讲道录像。讲道内容涉及犹太复国主义和犹太信仰。这些视频目前已从 YouTube 上删除。
这些讲道由一名被认为叫作谢赫·杜卡利·穆罕默德·阿尔-阿里姆（Sheikh al-Dukali Muhammad al-Alim）的伊玛目在清真寺内发表。
萨尔曼·拉什迪爵士 2022 年在纽约 舞台上遭到袭击
赢得了评论界的赞誉，但也在一些穆斯林国家引发了抗议。该小说的两名翻译员遭到袭击（其中一人死亡），一名挪威出版商在枪击中幸存。
拉什迪是一位曾居住在伦敦且获得布克奖的作者，他在警方的保护下隐姓埋名十年。在伊朗政府与该法特瓦撇清关系后，他逐渐回归公众生活并移居纽约市。
穆罕默德·巴希尔（左）与吉哈德·沙米在 Al-Sunnah 清真寺
【TIMES PHOTOGRAPHER JAMES GLOSSOP】
“二十多年来，我的公众生活一直平安无事，”他告诉法庭。在描述被刺后的瞬间时，他说：“我就躺在舞台上，周围着了巨大的血泊。”
当被问及是否知道被袭击的原因时，他说：“我无法说出对方的野心或目的是什么，但我的伤口分布在全身。”他说，刀刃离他的大脑仅有“一毫米”之遥。
“……排斥那些不信者和那些逾矩者。”
“（愿上帝）弘扬伊斯兰教并爱护穆斯林，羞辱多神教及其信徒……上帝请对付犹太复国主义者。你是最仁慈的。上帝请对付犹太复国主义侵略者。愿上帝以至强的力量将其擒获。你是最仁慈的。”
慈善委员会强调，目前进行的是初步监管评估，而非正式的法定调查。如果证据显示违反了慈善法或监管指南，正式调查将赋予监管机构干预、冻结银行账户或暂停受托人职权的权力。
穆斯林反极端主义活动人士费亚兹·穆格尔（Fiyaz Mughal）谴责利用其信仰来“推广反犹主义”，并呼吁警方展开正式调查。
慈善委员会会评估每一个提出的关注点，但它并非检控机关，因此任何关于刑事犯罪的指控仍由警方负责调查。
检察官出示了马塔尔（Matar）发送的消息，其中表达了对真主党（Hezbollah）的支持——真主党被美国政府指定为恐怖组织——并追踪了鲁什迪（Rushdie）的行踪。他们还向陪审团展示了他写的一封私人便条，其中写道：“我们需要尽快杀死他。”
马塔尔被判所有一项指控成立，他面临可能的终身监禁。
成“数十年 来最致命的一年”
Herbie Russell
一份报告显示，在以色列之外拥有主要犹太人口的七个国家中，英国去年反犹太主义事件的增幅最大。
由 J7 反犹太主义大社区工作组昨日发布的这项研究发现，2025 是三十多年来针对犹太离散群体反犹太主义袭击最致命的一年。
自 2022 年（即 10 月 7 日袭击及随后加沙战争的前一年）以来，阿根廷、澳大利亚、加拿大、法国、德国、英国和美国的反犹太主义事件总数上升了 136 百分比。暴力事件上升了 97 百分比。
虽然大多数国家报告的事件在 2025, 有所下降，但英国（+5 百分比）、阿根廷（+4 百分比）和德国（+1 百分比）的上升率有所增加。德国去年的反犹太主义事件率最高，每 1,000 名犹太居民中有 69.8 起事件，其次是澳大利亚（14.14 起）、英国（11.82 起）、阿根廷（4.19 起）、法国（3.01 起）、加拿大（1.97 起）和美国（1 起）。
报告称，澳大利亚自 2021 年以来反犹太主义事件的增幅最为剧烈（+270 百分比），其次是德国（+215 百分比）。
撰写该研究的 J7 小组由七个主要的犹太离散组织组成，其中包括英国犹太人代表委员会 (Board of Deputies of British Jews)。
该报告评估了针对所有居住在以色列以外的犹太人的事件。报告警告称，反犹太主义水平达到了第二次世界大战以来的前所未有的程度，并引用了一系列致命袭击。
去年 12 月，两名枪手在澳大利亚悉尼邦代海滩的一次光明节活动中开火，导致 15 人死亡。
去年 10 月，两名男子在曼彻斯特希顿公园犹太会堂的一次袭击中被杀；而 3 月，戈尔德斯格林 (Golders Green) 的犹太救护车遭到汽油弹袭击。这是随后几周在首都发生的几起类似事件之一，其中大多数针对犹太人，欧洲各地至少还有 18 起其他类似事件。
美国检察官称，许多袭击是由 33, 岁的 Mohammad al-Saadi 在伊朗伊斯兰革命卫队的指使下策划的。
本月早些时候，基尔·斯塔默爵士表示，将拨款 £250 million 用于增加犹太社区的警察巡逻和安保。
希腊警方称 行李箱内尸体 为 Briton, 38
Sa
Anthee Carassava
希腊警方昨日确认，在雅典的一栋废弃建筑中发现的一个行李箱内有一具 38 岁英国女性的尸体。
雅典
ro
希腊媒体将其命名为 Elisabeth-Jane Ross。
外交部表示：“在这个艰难时刻，我们的心与 Elisabeth 的家人在一起。我们正在提供领事支持，并与当地当局保持联系。”
Elisabeth-Jane Ross 在希腊媒体报道中被指认为受害者
在 Kypseli 发现英国女性尸体
5 英里
Salamina
nic
Gu
Egina
lf
凶杀案调查员表示，她在尸体被发现于雅典 Kypseli 区的行李箱之前，经由塞浦路斯前往希腊。“她是苏格兰人，我们怀疑她可能在这里与一名无家可归者取得了联系，对方将其诱骗至特定地点 [Kypseli]，并将其遗弃在被发现时的状态，”一名官员告诉《泰晤士报》。
发现行李箱的建筑 where the suitcase was
Will Humphries 西南地区特派记者
一名迷恋连环杀手剧集《德克斯特》（Dexter）的男子在被判定谋杀两名弱势群体男子后，将在狱中终结生命；此前他在等待审判期间，因室友打呼噜而将其杀害。
詹姆斯·德斯伯勒（James Desborough），40 岁，去年在康沃尔郡杀害了克劳迪奥·阿奎利诺（Claudio Aquilino），57 岁，以及丹尼尔·科尔曼（Daniel Coleman），43 岁，随后将他们的尸体肢解，并试图焚烧并掩埋遗骸。
发现手提箱的男子是一名当地居民，他也接受了询问。
调查人员怀疑该女性并非希腊人，因为她穿着一件印有法国大学名称的短裤。随后，警方寻求国际刑警组织（Interpol）和外国执法机构的帮助。国际刑警组织于周一向警方确认了她的身份。
侦探们正在核查航空公司记录，以重建她前往希腊及在希腊境内的行程。他们还在调查她是独自旅行还是有同伴。希腊和塞浦路斯当局将交换信息，共同努力确定并寻找遗弃手提箱的人。
据希腊媒体报道，英国驻希腊大使馆及该女子的父亲均已接获通知。据悉，警方正试图与其父亲联系，以搜集关于她近期行踪和接触人的信息。
苏格兰警方一名发言人表示：“我们已知晓一名苏格兰女性在雅典死亡的消息，并正与希腊当局保持联系。警员们正在为她在苏格兰的家人提供支持。”
根据希腊大报《每日报》（Kathimerini）报道，她于 6 月 26 日抵达该国，据信是从爱丁堡飞抵。据信她当时住在朋友家中，最后一次与房东接触是在 7 月 15 日。她的尸体于 7 月 18 日被发现。
据报道，警方正在分析监控录像、其手机记录并进行毒理学检测。
雅典报纸《首要主题》（Proto Thema）称，据信这名苏格兰人曾在美国生活或停留过一段时间，这就是为什么她的指纹出现在美国数据库中的原因。
在陪审团判定德斯伯勒谋杀罪名成立后，他现在被判处另外两项终身监禁。全生命周期刑期意味着他永远无法获释。
温彻斯特刑事法院的陪审团在经过 3 小时 15 分钟的评议后，于本周对德斯伯勒做出了一致的有罪裁决。
来自 Lower Sticker, Old Oak Woods 的德斯伯勒此前已承认妨碍科尔曼和阿奎利诺尸体合法埋葬的罪名，该项指控每项被判处五年监禁，与终身监禁同时执行。
[[IMG_XXXX]] 身着银色礼服的佛洛伦丝·普尤（Florence Pugh），《蜘蛛侠：崭新之日》的主演之一，在莱斯特广场的 Odeon Luxe 电影院出席最新漫威电影的英国首映式
mine。他声称发现了一具尸体挂在树上，另一具则赤裸地躺在溪流中。他声称这是一系列“不幸的巧合”。
法院获悉，阿奎利诺由于药物和赌博问题，在去年 4 月最后一次被看到还活着之后不久被杀。德斯伯勒声称，他在去年 5 月或 6 月发现阿奎利诺死在自己土地上的一棵树上。
6 月，德斯伯勒杀害了科尔曼，用斧头将其肢解并埋葬了遗骸。
他们的尸体在圣奥斯特尔（St Austell）附近的帕拉穆尔森林（Paramoor Woods）被肢解，那里靠近德斯伯勒拥有一座的小木屋。他允许无家可归的朋友在那里露营，而他则在那里种植大麻，并设置了一棵“藏匿之树”用来隐藏 A 类毒品。该房产周围还散落着大砍刀、刀具和锯子。
詹姆斯·德斯伯勒（James Desborough）因在等待审判期间杀害室友而已经在服刑。
被裁定 未对 俱乐部竞争对手构成骚扰
Jonathan Ames 法律编辑
一名游艇船长在与伦敦一家航海俱乐部的前会长就一艘 80 英尺驳船的停泊费产生争执后，被裁定不构成骚扰。
格林威治游艇俱乐部（Greenwich Yacht Club）的前俱乐部巡洋舰船长 Stefan Oloffs 曾被指控通过网络活动骚扰 Richard Phillips。
该船长指责这位前俱乐部领导者“滥用职权”，使其在为自己的驳船 Verandering 寻找停泊位时获得“优惠待遇”。Oloffs 还指责 Phillips 逃避大额停泊费。
据称，Oloffs 对其竞争对手发起了一场攻势，包括在一个拥有 230 人的 WhatsApp 群组中发表上述指控，向伦敦港务局（Port of London Authority）提交一份关于会长的行为的书面投诉，以及创建了一个名为“驳船门”（Barge Gate）的网站。
高等法院获悉，俱乐部已裁定 Phillips 没有逃避停泊费，且 Oloffs 在 2024 年因“散布关于一名成员的且看似具有诽谤性的指控”而被除名。Oloffs 正在就该决定提起上诉。
Phillips 起诉 Oloffs 要求 20,000 英镑的损害赔偿金，声称该船长的攻势令其遭受了“巨大的痛苦、失眠、焦虑和公众尴尬”，以及“屈辱且丧失尊严”。
Hill 大法官驳回了 Phillips 索赔的大部分请求，称 Oloffs 的行为可能造成了“恼怒、烦躁和不安”，但 Phillips 没有“真正的可能”证明 Oloffs 已经跨越了骚扰的法律界限。法官在裁决中表示，Oloffs 的行为仅限于一封电子邮件、在两天内发送的十条 WhatsApp 消息、一次向港务局的投诉以及那个网站。
关于 Oloffs 是否通过“驳船门”网站侵犯了 Phillips 的数据权利问题，将在另一次听证会上决定。
格林威治游艇俱乐部位于伦敦东南部，距离塔桥下游三英里，拥有 400 多名会员，并提供小艇和巡洋舰航海以及赛艇设施。它自称是“泰晤士河上最成功的游艇俱乐部之一”。
该俱乐部由泰晤士河的水手和河道工人于 1908 年创立，曾设在河边的简易棚屋中，但在 2000 年迁至目前位于河中心的平台。
在溪流中发现了 1,900 块来自 Aquilino 身体的烧焦骨碎片，并在附近的一个浅坟中发现了 Coleman 的身体部分，包括他的躯干、腿和脚。
在被捕之前，Desborough 告诉一名正在寻找 Coleman 尸体的法医生物学家，他“很喜欢《Dexter》中的肢解场景”。
警方在他的船舱内发现了手写笔记，其中一张写道：“我知道我是一个杀手，准备好处决任何掠食者。”另一张写道：“处理掉剩下的那些蠢货”。
m’
Sanchez Manning 社会事务记者
长期以来，人们一直认为女性相对于男性的一大优势是她们至少活得更久。
然而，现在看来这种长寿优势正在被削弱：最新官方数据显示，90 岁以上人群中有三分之一是男性。
国家统计局（ONS）周二发布的数据显示，去年年中估计有 581,400 人年龄在 90 岁或以上，比前一年增加了 3 %，自 2015 年中期以来增长了 16 %。
90 岁或以上男性的数量自 2015 年以来增长了 35 %。总体而言，男性目前占 90 岁以上人口的 34 %，占 100 岁以上人口的 18 %。然而，女性在长寿方面通常仍处于领先地位。国家统计局表示，每一名 100 岁以上的男性，在同一年龄段中对应有 4.3 名女性。
最新数据显示，100 岁或以上的人数
diary@thetimes.co.uk | @timesdiary 保持沉默 并继续前行
安迪·伯纳姆关于“协作政府”的愿景迎来了它的第一个里程碑：告诉每个人闭嘴。昨天由路易丝·海格（见下文）和安东尼娅·罗密欧女爵士发给高级文官和部长的严厉信函要求进行一次“重启”，以遏制泄密。特别顾问被禁止接触记者——除非他们担任“面对媒体的职务”，否则即便是在红狮酒吧（Red Lion）的避风港里也不行。更糟糕的是，内阁部长要为他们的助手承担个人责任，并伴随着一个令人胆寒的警告：如果有人泄密，将面临“后果”。一名内部人士将这一禁言令解读为服务于“每一个邮编区域，而不仅仅是 SW1 和舰队街”。没有什么比先发制人的封堵更能体现“协作”了。
一份现实主义剂量 外交部部长哈米什·法尔科纳知道如何赢得全场的支持。在“左翼是为了什么？”的发布会上，他向记者们保证，他手里紧紧攥着的 15 页文件是进步政策研究组织（IPPR）的报告而非他的演讲稿，并补充道：“一位智者曾说，当有很多政治家在演讲时，如果你讲得极其简短，没人会因此生气。”法尔科纳在支持 IPPR 乌托邦式思考的同时，也调侃了他们那个巨大的新概念——“互惠主义”（reciprocism）。他笑着说：“这不会流行起来的。这又是另一个‘主义’，而且听起来像是一种医疗病症。”
在英格兰和威尔士，现在已超过 15,000 人。
据估计，去年年中活着的百岁老人有 15,172 人，比前一年的 14,635 人增长了近 4%，与 2005 年中期的 7,950 人相比增长了 91%，而那时就在 20 年前不久。在该年龄组中，女性人数多于男性，分别为 12,322 人和 2,850 人。
此外，据估计，去年英格兰和威尔士约有 709 人年龄在 105 岁或以上，比前一年的 529 人增长了 34%。
国家统计局表示，这一剧增是“第一次世界大战后出生的庞大一代开始达到这一年龄的结果”。第一次世界大战于 1918 年结束，随后在 1919 年和 1920 年出现了出生率高峰。
这是据估计英格兰和威尔士活着的 105 岁或以上人数首次超过 700 人的情况。这一数字在本世纪的大部分时间里一直呈上升趋势，在二十年间增加了一倍多，从 2005 年的 349 人增长至今。
在 709 名至少 105 岁的人中……
国会议员鲍勃·斯图尔特回忆起他与迈克尔·戈夫在后者担任首席党鞭期间的第一次接触。这位前军官在被传唤到办公室谈话时，决定尽早确立基调。“我走进他的办公室，在他桌上重重地放了一个 SAS 闪光弹——显然是惰性的，”斯图尔特说。他警告戈夫，如果对方让他感到不快，他就会让它爆炸。瞬间愣住的戈夫很快大笑起来。“那之后我们就相处得很融洽，”斯图尔特说。无论首席党鞭原本想谈什么，他认为最好先把它搁置。
免费赠品挑战 BBC 的“兼职先生”阿莫尔·拉詹通过企业费用赚取 £115,000，所以他几乎不需要免费赠品。然而，在拒绝了《大学挑战赛》中关于 20 世纪 90 年代英国狂欢派对场景的一个答案——“恐怕我不能接受 drum and bass，我们需要 jungle”——多年后，他的一位朋友在 Morrisons 超市发现了 Double-Barrelled 酿酒厂生产的 5.8% 酒精浓度的 IPA 啤酒，名为“We Need Jungle”。拉詹在 Instagram 上分享照片时指出，这个梗“依然流行”，并打趣道：“也许会订购一些。”酿酒厂随即响应，提出要寄给他一批。这应该会让下一个“起始 10 分”的环节变得更有冲击力。
在我们报道了索尔特本板球俱乐部的“点击型庞廷”（Clicky Ponting）后，他被指控通过打响指来模仿击球边缘的声音以欺骗裁判，评论员们宣布他是板球界最糟糕的骗子。然而，《测试比赛特别报道》（Test Match Special）的丹尼尔·诺克罗斯将这种战术与一个针对性的复仇案例进行了对比，回忆起一名与对手球队“有积怨”的匿名队长。该队长利用队内的一对同卵双胞胎，派出了……
更好的击球出击 两次并部署 更优秀的投球手 从两端起球。
2025年中期，绝大多数（629人） 为女性。
国际长寿中心（International Longevity Centre）智库的副首席执行官本·富兰克林（Ben Franklin）表示：“进入九十岁高龄的男性人数不断增加，是我们人口正发生剧烈变化的最明显迹象之一。
“越来越多的人长寿，预计到2047年，英格兰将有超过一百万人年龄在90岁以上，其中包括400,000名男性。这是一个令人瞩目的成功故事，但我们的医疗保健系统和公共机构尚未跟上这个高龄人口群体的需求。”
政策负责人大卫·布鲁克斯（David Brooks）在
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金融咨询公司 Broadstone 表示：“这是一个明确的信号，表明英国正在发生深刻的人口结构转变，人们的寿命比以往任何时候都长。”
他补充道：“虽然 长寿是 一件值得庆 祝的事， 但 它 也给 国家带来了 重大挑战，因为
英格兰的预期 寿命正在 上升
人口老龄化的加剧增加了
对国家养老金、社会
护理和其他福利的需求。随着 劳动年龄 人口 支持 日益扩大的退休人口数量减少，公共财政的压力将
进一步加剧。
“政府需要 仔细考虑如何
将长寿带来的成本
在不同世代之间进行分摊。
如果不对税收、
养老金 和 护理 系统进行改革，劳动年龄人口
可能会被要求承担更大份额的财政负担。”
假期
Larisa Brown 前英国士兵、联合创始人兼首席执行官 Tristam Constant 表示：“我们正处于一场人工智能军备竞赛中——Agon 正在开发的基础设施将确保欧洲国防能够以与威胁相当的速度进行系统迭代和编排。”
未来的自主武器将能够在一个新的虚拟战场上作战，在那个战场上，驱动这些武器的人工智能支持系统可以练习击败不断演进的俄罗斯和伊朗无人机。
昨天成立的英国国防科技初创公司 Agon 将通过寻找对方 AI 模型中的漏洞，帮助武器公司训练其武器以对抗敌方系统。
该公司被誉为同类首创，成立于英国，在伦敦和柏林设有办事处。
邻里之间 一匹挽马在 Ryedale Show 等待评审团。该农业展成立于 1855 年，在北约克郡的 Duncombe Park 举行。
Poppy Koronka，健康记者
一项研究表明，两岁之前的婴儿降低糖分摄入量，与成年后痴呆风险的降低相关。
研究人员利用来自 65,000 人的英国生物样本库（UK Biobank）数据，评估了第二次世界大战期间的糖分配给制度对 20 世纪 40 年代和 50 年代出生的英国人的影响。他们发现，在糖分配给期间出生的人，与配给结束之后出生的人相比，成年后患痴呆症的风险降低了五分之一。
减少糖分摄入不仅降低了他们的整体痴呆风险，而且对于最终患病的人来说，还将痴呆症的发病时间平均推迟了 2.6 年。
英国的反无人机武器可以通过 AI 建模而非实弹演习，以机器速度练习击落“见证者”（Shahed）单向攻击无人机群。随后，无人机群背后的系统可以进行修改，以模拟未来的战斗，例如增加无人机群的飞行速度。
发表在《神经病学》（Neurology）杂志上的这项研究发现，这意味着研究结果可以揭示糖分如何影响代谢过程，或婴儿如何吸收营养。
针对同一出生队列之前的研究发现，与配给制度结束之后出生的人相比，他们患心力衰竭和中风的可能性较低。
“我们的研究结果表明，在生命最早阶段限制糖分摄入，可能对大脑健康产生持久的益处，”来自中国广州香港科技大学的研究作者 Jiazhen Zheng 表示。“这些结果凸显了生命早期营养在降低数十年后痴呆风险方面的潜在重要性。”
为友好国家开发的自主系统可以通过成千上万次的练习来击败机群，这样当现实情况发生时，它就知道如何击落这些无人机。
它还将为无人机技术的潜在发展以及 AI 建模可预测的新行为做好准备。
国防参谋长空军元帅理查德·奈顿爵士（Sir Richard Knighton）上个月警告称，除非英国大幅加快在武装部队中采用 AI 的速度，否则可能在未来的冲突中面临失败的风险。
糖分配给持续了 13 年以上，直到 1953 年 9 月才取消。
研究人员利用医疗记录来确定研究对象中谁在 55 和 70. 岁之间被诊断出患有痴呆症。在出生前及出生后第一年经历糖分配给的 15,025 人中，有 388 人患上了痴呆症。在出生前至两岁经历糖分配给的约 15,256 人中，仅有 456 人随后患上痴呆症。而在糖分配给结束后出生的 23,774 人中，有 504 人患上了这种毁灭性的疾病。
在考虑到性别、社会经济地位、年龄、高血压和糖尿病等因素后，计算出了最终的风险降低百分比。
武器公司正花费数千亿英镑构建自主武器系统，如无人机、拦截机和智能弹药。然而，用于训练、验证和进化控制这些系统的 AI 的基础设施目前并不存在。
这正是 Agon 公司的切入点。其合成战场使此类系统能够学习战斗。Agon 表示，这些系统在机器速度下针对“基于真实冲突情报、且在现实世界无法提供的规模和保真度下生成的现实且具有适应性的对手”进行训练。
该公司已获得 $30 million 的种子投资，用于在欧洲构建主权国防 AI 基础设施。
生命早期的[糖分摄入降低者]拥有更高的总灰质体积，以及较低水平的白质“高信号强度”（hyperintensities），后者是脑组织损伤的标志。
Zheng补充道：“在怀孕和婴儿期限制添加糖可能是家庭和社区可以采取的一个有益步骤，但还需要进一步研究，以更好地了解这些早期接触如何影响痴呆症风险，并为公共卫生策略提供指导。”
英国阿尔茨海默症研究中心（Alzheimer’s Research UK）的高级研究经理Sara Rodrigues博士表示：“需要更多研究来更好地理解糖分摄入与痴呆症发展之间的潜在关系。目前，我们英国阿尔茨海默症研究中心的建议保持不变。饮食健康且均衡是支持大脑健康最好的方法之一，现在做出积极改变永远不晚。”
这被描述为 2026 年最大规模的早期国防技术投资之一。
Agon的联合创始人Junaid Hussain表示，战争很快将被“智能体时代”所定义，届时人类将通过体现在武器中的智能体进行战斗。如果欧洲不建立主权能力，将是“不可持续的”。他表示：“我们的启动反映了欧洲建立自身主权国防人工智能能力的迫切需求，以及投资者对我们所构建内容的显著信心。凭借这笔投资，我们现在将为欧洲终端用户扩展并迭代我们的平台。”
IAN FORSYTH/GETTY IMAGES
承受急诊室 走廊护理之苦
Eleanor Hayward 健康编辑
数据显示，年长患者在急诊室（A&E）面临长时间等待的可能性高于年轻患者。
智库 Nuffield Trust 的一项分析显示，81 岁及以上的患者经常在“走廊护理”等问题中受到最严重的影响。
专家此前认为，老年人在急诊室停留时间较长是因为他们更有可能被收治住院。然而，该研究表明，在观察所有年龄段的住院患者时，老年人仍然倾向于等待时间最长。
如果患者的治疗并非在临床适当且安全的环境中进行，则被归类为接受“走廊护理”。适当的环境应提供隐私，并能接触到食物、水和洗手间。此外，还应能够关灯并最大限度地降低噪音水平以允许睡眠。
分析显示，去年 43% 的 80 岁以上老人从抵达急诊室到进入医院病房之间等待时间超过 12 小时，而 21-30 岁人群的这一比例为 19%。
专家还发现，某些健康问题比其他问题更容易导致超过 12 小时的长时间等待。去年，气道或呼吸问题患者面临长时间等待（191,193 例，相当于病例的 36%）。胃肠道疾病患者（161,905 例或 27%）和神经系统疾病患者（159,897 例或 36%）同样面临长时间等待。
今年 5 月，英格兰每天有近 3,000 名患者在医院走廊或临时治疗区接受护理。而在 2 月，所有患者中有 72,000 多人等待时间超过 12 小时，占所有住院人数的三分之一。
Nuffield Trust 研究副主任 Sarah Scobie 博士表示：“需要改善医院以外的医疗和社会护理服务的获取渠道，以实现急诊室长时间等待时间的持续下降。”
皇家急诊医学学院院长 Ian Higginson 博士表示：“急诊部门 24/7 全天候运行，但许多支持该部门及办理出院的服务在晚上和周末并不提供。这不仅仅是床位的问题，更是良好运营实践的问题。”
卫生和社会护理部表示：“6 月份有四分之三的患者在四小时内于急诊室就诊。但我们知道我们需要进一步努力。这就是为什么我们今年通过紧急和急诊护理计划投资 £450 million 的原因。”
Theatre Clive Davis
《清洗》(Cleansed) 阿尔梅达剧院 (Almeida Theatre) 伦敦 N1 HIIII
你想花一个晚上凝视一个毫无意义、血淋淋的深渊吗？如果是这样，阿尔梅达剧院复排的《清洗》——莎拉·凯恩关于痛苦与折磨的挽歌——或许适合你。对于演员们决心挖掘凯恩不安内心深处的努力，我深表钦佩（她在 1999 年自杀，享年 28 岁），但我仍然很难理解，导演 Rebecca Frecknall 是被一部如此单调乏味的作品吸引到了什么程度。
场馆网站上发布的触发警告已经告知了你所需知道的一切：“本剧包括长时间的裸露、酷刑、肢体残缺、谋杀、性行为、乱伦、暴力（包括性暴力）、强迫进食、自杀（包括吊死）、药物滥用和下药、性别重置手术，以及恐同和厌女”
大卫·布朗 (David Brown) 首席新闻记者 尤其是来自其畅销专辑《Back to Black》的版税，使 Winehouse “个人极其富有”。
Amy Winehouse之父被命令向已故歌手的两名最亲密朋友支付近 £1 million 的法律费用，此前他因其衣物及其他个人物品的出售而起诉两人。
Mitch Winehouse 在就 2021 年和 2023 年在洛杉矶拍卖会上出售的 141 件物品提起 £700,000 的索赔请求败诉后，还必须支付 £950,000 的个人法律费用。
在伦敦高等法院对其女儿的造型师 Naomi Parry 以及歌手最亲密的朋友之一 Catriona Gourlay 进行审理后，他在 4 月份败诉。Parry 的法律费用估计为 £715,361，Gourlay 的费用为 £487,132。
Clarke 法官表示：“他明知且故意地对待两名一直忠实陪伴 Amy 及其家人，且多年来证明了其诚实与正直的年轻女性，这种不合理的行为尤为严重。”
获奥斯卡奖音乐家在摩托车事故中丧生
Winehouse，75岁，在其女儿 2011 年 7 月因酒精中毒去世时年仅 27 岁，随后被任命为女儿遗产的管理人。法庭获悉，其女儿遗产的收益，
菲利普·瑞安 (Philip Ryan)
Bruce Springsteen 和 Ed Sheeran 为获奥斯卡奖的爱尔兰音乐家 Glen Hansard 表达了哀悼，后者于昨日凌晨在都柏林的一起摩托车事故中丧生。
语言、针头和血液。”事实上，血量相当之多，尽管这种仪式般的暴力过于重复，以至于在第四或第五次暴行之后就变得令人厌倦。
就像 Kane 的《4.48 Psychosis》（去年回到了 Royal Court 剧院）一样，《Cleansed》与其说是一出戏，不如说是一声痛苦的
Gourlay 在 2002 年两人还是青少年时结识 Amy Winehouse，并在 2004 年至 2005 年期间在北伦敦的 Camden 共同租房，法庭被告知。Parry 在两人 19 岁时结识了这位歌手，从 2006 年秋天起直到歌手去世，她一直担任其自由造型师。
前出租车司机 Winehouse 声称，这些女性出售了属于其女儿遗产的物品，包括由 Parry 设计且歌手在最后一场演唱会上穿着的礼服，该礼服以 $243,000 (£180,000) 的价格售出。Winehouse 在 2003 年首张专辑《Frank》封面上穿着的靴子以 $19,200 售出。
Winehouse 声称 Parry 和 Gourlay “故意隐瞒”了随后在洛杉矶两场名人纪念品拍卖会上出售的物品，而他
曾在 2013 年凭借舞台改编剧《Once》获得格莱美最佳音乐剧专辑奖。
他的经纪公司 ATC Management 在一份声明中表示：“Glen 的家人对这次悲剧性的损失感到深深的震惊和心碎，并恳请在这一极其困难的时刻给予隐私。”
疼痛。舞美设计 Madeleine Girling 为我们呈现了一个阴暗、破旧的办公空间， torturer Tinker 的受害者在这里受到虐待。（Kane 的文本告知我们，行动发生在大学校园的不同部分）。
我最后一次见到 Pearl Chanda 是在
打算利用这些资金在圣卢西亚建立一所以其女儿命名的学校。演员 Sadie Frost 和电视名人 Kelly Osbourne 代表这些朋友发表声明，描述了 Winehouse 是如何赠送其衣物的。
Amy Winehouse 的 衣物及其他 随身物品 以数十万英镑 的价格售出
Sarah Clarke 法官昨日命令 Winehouse 在 14 天内支付法律费用的临时款项，其中向 Parry 支付 £569,330.99，向 Gourlay 支付 £394,521.89。她判定这位父亲“一直知情”拍卖会之事，且直到后来才以一种“激进且令人不快的方式”向她们追讨钱财。
说道：“在E街，我们对格伦·汉萨德（Glen Hansard）的去世感到心碎。”这位创作歌手表示，他多年前在爱尔兰与汉萨德相识，“他一直是一位伟大的音乐家，一个好朋友，且为人慷慨得体”。
【关于】Young Vic剧院对亚瑟·米勒（Arthur Miller）描写纳粹时代的戏剧《破碎的玻璃》（Broken Glass）所进行的古怪改编，必须忍受一些最艰苦的片段，在其中展露一切。
Winehouse必须按补偿基准（indemnity basis）支付女性方的法律费用，这意味着追回成本的一方通常能获得比平时更高比例的支出补偿；这种裁决通常在一方行为极其不合理时才会做出。
克拉克（Clarke）表示，Winehouse在“每一个实质性的事实和法律要点”上都败诉了，而他及其证人“被认为不可信，且其誓言证词未被采信”。
法官补充道，其父亲“蓄意将此案演变成一场大规模且昂贵的诉讼……旨在向被告施加商业压力，迫使其按其条款达成和解”。
在得知消息后（表示）。他在Instagram上写道：“他是一个如此不可思议的人，一股不可思议的力量。”
汉萨德的妻子是芬兰诗人迈雷·萨里萨（Maire Saaritsa），两人育有一个三岁的儿子克里斯蒂（Christy）。
爱尔兰总理米歇尔·马丁（Micheál Martin）表示，汉萨德是一位“才华横溢的艺术家和表演者，他的作品在爱尔兰的文化生活中留下了深远的印记”。
在萨拉·凯恩（Sarah Kane）剧作《格蕾丝》（Grace）的一次血腥复排中，珍珠·钱达（Pearl Chanda）、杰克·里迪福德（Jack Riddiford）及其他演员都经历了极大的煎熬。
帕斯·塔克拉尔（Parth Thakerar）和卢克·辛奎-怀特（Luke Cinque-White）饰演同性伴侣罗德（Rod）和卡尔（Carl），他们的痛苦让人想起《1984》中的关键时刻：温斯顿在面对难以忍受的酷刑时背叛了朱莉亚。
然而，由于这些人物缺乏深度或背景支撑，在他们遭受随机暴力袭击时，无法察觉其困境背后的任何逻辑。剥去表象，剩下的只是一系列高强度的排练室练习，尽管展现出了真正的专业水准，但最终毫无意义。
一些偶然的细节会吸引你的注意，比如一具僵硬的尸体如何被拖出视线，仿佛被无形的官僚（apparatchiks）操纵。乔治·丹尼斯（George Dennis）的音效设计恰到好处地营造了幽闭恐惧感。韩德尔的《水上音乐》开始染上阴森的色调，宛如地狱版的呼叫中心背景音乐。
观众被邀请在演出结束后逗留，以便在需要时进行心理缓冲。即便我没有截止日期的压力，我也急于逃离现场。凯恩对人性的愿景如此沉重绝望，以至于你需要大口呼吸新鲜空气来清醒感官。
至8月29日；almeida.co.uk
下一部电影 将是我的最后一部
彼得·查佩尔 (Peter Chappell)
电影制作人迈克·利 (Mike Leigh) 曾执导包括《秘密与谎言》(Secrets & Lies)、《特纳先生》(Mr Turner) 和《薇拉·德雷克》(Vera Drake) 在内的作品。他表示，由于健康状况恶化，他的下一部电影很可能是他的最后一部。
这位 83 岁的奥斯卡提名编剧兼导演谈到了他即将上映的电影《温柔关怀》(Tender Loving Care) —— 这是一部将于今年秋季上映的剧情片，但他表示再拍另一部电影将“非常困难”。
据在线电影与电视新闻网站 IndieWire 报道，他表示再拍一部电影“将不再可能”。利正患有肌炎，这是一种影响免疫系统并导致慢性肌肉炎症的疾病。在伦敦一次由金球奖主办的圆桌会议上，当被问及《温柔关怀》是否将是他的最后一部电影时，他回答道：“绝对是。我认为极有可能，是的。我的意思是，我知道女孩们不喜欢听我说这个，但我认为事实就是这样。”
利的这部新片是一部喜剧剧情片，由长期合作者兼搭档玛丽恩·贝利 (Marion Bailey) 以及在近期 Apple TV 系列剧集《寡妇湾》(Widow’s Bay) 中主演的凯特·奥弗林 (Kate O’Flynn) 领衔主演，该片被描述为“对当代世界的深刻探索”。
该片将在多伦多电影节展出，并在科罗拉多州的特柳赖德电影节举行全球首映。
在跨越 60 年多的职业生涯中，利以其独特的导演风格而闻名，这种风格依赖于在拍摄前与演员进行广泛的排练即兴发挥，以创造真实的形象和剧本。
H
朱丽叶·塞缪尔 (Juliet Samuel)
@citysamuel
英国的能源政策中有一个奇特之处。石油和天然气 each 分别供应该国约三分之一的能源。在紧急情况下，我们储备了 90 天的石油进口量。但天然气则不同。对于天然气，我们的存储量仅够维持两到三天。不是几周，而是几天。德国可以储存 90 天的天然气；法国超过 100 天；意大利在两者之间；而荷兰约为 60 天。
这种差异之谜直到你意识到国际能源署 (IEA) 强制要求其成员国保持 90 天的石油储备，但对其天然气却未作规定时才得以揭开。没有什么比国际组织的法令更能让公务员体系顶礼膜拜了，甚至超过了保障我们最基本需求的职责。
这应该是一个相当令人担忧的源头。霍尔穆兹海峡的封锁终于产生了影响，人们注意到欧洲的天然气储量仅为往年夏季的一半左右，创造了自普京切断供应以来最不稳定的能源局面。入冬后，我们将不得不从数量有限的油轮池中抢夺供应，而这些油轮正在全球范围内寻找最优价格。如果安迪·伯纳姆能将目光远瞻到冬季，他应该开始担心家庭和工业都将面临痛苦的账单。
英国不仅没有补救这一点，反而即将将其最大的天然气储存设施 Rough 停用。这本质上是一个北海天然气田，具有
如何保持希望
欢迎参加一个极其幽默且令人振奋的夜晚，《泰晤士报》专栏作家凯特琳·莫兰将在其全国巡演的伦敦站登台。她将与她的朋友兼同事——《泰晤士报》电台主持人雨果·里夫金德 (Hugo Rifkind) 对谈，剖析她那本至关重要的新书《如何保持希望：尝试让世界不再那么糟糕的一年》(How to be Hopeful: A Year of Attempting to Feel Less Awful About the World) 中的主题。
9月17日，星期四 | 7.30pm 伦敦，W1H 1PQ，布赖恩斯顿广场，圣玛丽教堂 (St Mary’s Church, Bryanston Square, London, W1H 1PQ)
上方是巧妙的基础设施：一块面积相当于 1,500 个温布利球场大小的孔隙砂岩，在 1968. 年被发现时，其微小气泡中包含着近十年的供应量。它很快被改造成一个存储设施，增加了可在夏季注入天然气并在冬季开采的井口。它成为了英国最大的储备库，在现代使用率下，单枪匹马就能支撑 10-12 天的供应。
不幸的是，在 2010 年代，这种便捷的安排与许多事物一样，成为了“准时制” (just in time) 供应链之光下的牺牲品。随着管道数量的增加以及全球天然气运输船队的激增，夏季价格与冬季价格之间的差价缩小了。而这正是天然气存储设施获利的地方。
随着利润消失，投资也随之消失。几乎所有其他存储设施都关闭了，Rough 设施也日益恶化。人们认为在封盖油层和钻孔周围的岩石中存在裂缝。
将 Rough 设施除役， 这是我们最大的天然气设施
因此在 2017, 年，Centrica 为政府列出了几种选择：分担数亿英镑的翻修费用，或者眼睁睁地看着 Rough 关闭。当时的保守党政府仍处于全球化狂热的掌控之中，并在一个吝啬的公务员系统的热情支持下，告诉 Centrica 滚蛋。
在这样一个温和、自由流动且高效的世界里，谁还需要储备库？尤其是像碳排放天然气这种糟糕的东西。全世界都可以是我们的储备库！无论如何，我们不会太久还需要这东西，因为我们正在向绿色转型——这也是为什么大多数欧洲国家在那个时间点决定停止签署资助天然气项目的供应合同，使其关键需求受制于即期价格（当日价格）。
夸西·夸滕 (Kwasi Kwarteng) 领导的能源部出具了一份包含大量模型的冗长报告，认为英国“除了面对最极端的冲击外都具有韧性”，因为全球的“供应多样性”总能提供保障。甚至在外交部警告德国不要依赖俄罗斯天然气时，我们的能源政策仍假设永远不会发生任何灾难性的事情。政府声称，英国对于“所有与俄乌争端相关的中断情景”都具有“足够的应对能力”。难怪德国人打量我们时充满不屑。
自那时起，英国的年度天然气需求量已降至剑桥经济政策协会 (Cambridge Economic Policy Associates) 为政府模拟的“低需求”情景之下。然而，我们的能源成本却令人心惊，这在某种程度上等同于说我们的能源安全非常脆弱。存储能力的匮乏是一个主要原因。
用巴腾堡蛋糕 (Battenberg cakes) 来打比方。假设你平均每天喜欢吃一块迷你巴腾堡蛋糕。有些日子你不吃；有些日子你一次吃四五个。你安排了每日配送，但你永远不知道价格是多少。如果你想狂吃的那天价格飙升，那么，你只能付钱买或者不吃。但只要有巴腾堡蛋糕可以配送（无论价格如何），你就拥有了政府所谓的“供应安全”。
现在想象一下，如果你有一种方法可以存储这些蛋糕并保持新鲜。突然之间，你可以在价格低时多买，价格高时少买。按照任何正常衡量标准，你的“蛋糕安全”都得到了提升。
TIMES 摄影师 RICHARD POHLE
北海的 Rough 气田有能力储存 10-12 天的天然气供应量
天然气也是如此。冬季需求量最高可达夏季的五倍，而且如果出现持续数周的寒流，价格也会随之波动。而将邻国的储备量计入考虑是没有用的，这一点我们在 2011. 应该已经吸取了教训。当时英国经历了有记录以来最寒冷的冬季之一。尽管需求激增，但当年观察市场的天然气专家回忆道，欧洲的储备几乎没有帮助。他们不需要政府的指令就能明白，如果他们在 1 月份卖掉天然气，导致自己的国家在 2 月份出现短缺，那将面临极其严重的后果。因此，英国不得不支付高昂的价格来吸引油轮。
然而，直到 2022, 俄罗斯切断欧洲供应后，政府才最终承认我们需要储存设施。Rough 气田被匆忙恢复，容量约为峰值的五分之一，并计划进一步提升。但四年后的今天，由于政府更倾向于吹毛求疵和谈判而非支付款项，我们仍未取得进一步进展。该项目的成本正攀升至数十亿。如果我们在 2017 资助该项目，即使它仅能降低能源救助成本的 1 per cent，它也能实现自负盈亏。
幸运的是，Rough 并非英国唯一的天然气储存方案。在北海南部和利物浦海岸外有一些极具前景的项目。但它们都需要政府的支持。无论你如何构建方案，是将成本分摊到多年，还是利用市场、工业或家庭，但在某个时间点，你必须投入资金。这就像资助军队一样基本。
表面上看，安迪·伯纳姆用一个更为狂热的净零党派人士 Miatta Fahnbulleh 取代了 Ed Miliband。但有迹象表明，他的务实主义可能会凌驾于她的意识形态之上。他应该明确一点：英国仍然是一个天然气经济体，需要天然气储存设施。如果政府必须出资，那就这么办。如果他不能通过一段短视频赢得争论，他就应该要求 IEA 发出强制指令。这样，我们政府中的某些人最终可能会倾听。
政治时事通讯 来自 Westminster 的 最佳分析与评论
D
I’
W
Edward Lucas
@edwardlucas
当一名曼谷通勤者责备一群吵闹的意大利学生时，他们的老师给出了一个令人心惊的自由市场式回应：“很抱歉给你们国家带来了钱。” 她的学生们效仿她的做法，进一步侮辱了那位告诉他们“在泰国我们不尖叫”的女性。那位女乘客回应道：“没礼貌。”不仅如此，她还报了警，警察对这些游客进行了罚款。这段冲突的视频引发了社交媒体的风暴，这些青少年、教师以及意大利大使馆随后表达了卑微的歉意。
旅游业可能是一个 £9 万亿的全球产业，但经济学并不能指导人们如何行为。这并不是一个像互联网商业那样毫无摩擦的世界。它涉及款待礼仪和良好的客人行为，涉及对缺陷的管理以及互惠关系。无论我们是被旅游陷阱坑骗的游客，还是认为观光客行为不可容忍的当地人，我们本能地知道旅行不仅仅是一次交易。它承载着财富与权力、种族与阶级、经验与期望的差异。这意味着我们应该运用道德视角，而非仅仅是消费主义视角，并且应该期待
旧闻： 现在我们有了 一位 TikTok 首相
为了不让自己生活在 社交媒体的泡沫中，我 关注了许多与我 政见不合的人。但扎克·波兰斯基（Zack Polanski）实在令人疲惫，他就像一把喷射着绿色政党模因（memes）、口号以及每一个扎克·波兰斯基粉丝转发内容的机关枪。
因此，他很有可能没有注意到 那张照片：一个穿着 T 恤的男人 站在断头台旁，说着“为奈杰（Nigel）制定计划”。如果波兰斯基真的反对政治暴力，向奈杰·法拉奇（Nigel Farage）简单地道歉并不算什么大 deal。相反，他承认自己犯了错，但拒绝向法拉奇道歉，因为他不想“参与他的游戏”。这实际上是对绿色政党支持者的一次暗示——那些举着“全球化起义（intifada）”和“殴打跨性别排外者（Terf）”标牌的人，这暗示着“没错，但有些人活该……”
同样的视角也应当应用于 我们的行为。
对于那些不幸的威尼斯初访者来说，仅仅说一句“买家当心”是不够的；在圣马可广场周围那些敲竹杠的餐馆点鱼之前，阅读小字条款是不够的（提示：价格看起来可能很低，但他们按重量收费）。仅仅说顾客永远是对的也不够。“把钱带到泰国并不让你变成神，”一名当地人如此总结社交媒体上关于曼谷的争论。
上周我们在圣玛丽亚·雷佐尼科（Santa Maria Rezzonico）——科莫湖畔一个宁静的村庄——目睹了类似的一幕。当时一位八十多岁的意大利朋友试图阻止一个俄罗斯游客家庭骚扰一些雏燕。那个人根本无视她；他的女儿掏出一把水枪开始射击。他们的
抗议过度旅游
据我观察，他们的态度是，既然已经付了度假费，就可以随心所欲；包括筑巢在内。
从更宏观的层面来看，今年夏天的旅游季已经提供了大量关于我们度假习惯所带来的困境和代价的例子。周日，成千上万的人聚集在马略卡岛的帕尔马，抗议这座西班牙岛屿上的过度旅游：他们所谓的“占领部队”导致了住房成本螺旋式上升，并给日常生活带来了其他压力。类似的
没有理由可以原谅，但他们恨他。这里没有中间地带：你要么谴责对政治人物的攻击（即使是那些你厌恶的人），要么你就在推动一种危险的论调，其结果将是更多国会议员死亡，包括“你这边”的人。
但波兰斯基需要关注，因为“扎克蒂维斯特”（Zacktivist）时刻已经过去。基尔·斯塔默爵士在政治上死气沉沉，且过于刻板，不适合 TikTok，这使得波兰斯基看起来灵活且现代。现在，安迪·伯纳姆不仅在社交媒体上游刃有余，而且将其用于推广关于教育或社会护理的理念——这些是现实世界的问题，而非空洞的口号。这种“卷起袖子干实事”的时代，对于像波兰斯基（和法拉奇）这样在网络上才最吃香的政治人物来说，简直是灾难。
被丢弃的财物 我在前门发现了一个女性钱包，我假设它是被偷的，现金被洗劫一空后被扔过了篱笆。我翻找地址，发现银行卡还在，此外还有会员卡、健身房会员证和驾驶执照，这些东西一旦丢失，更换起来极其麻烦。而在后面是什么，一个小塑料袋，装着彩色闪闪发光的颗粒？快速 Google 搜索——以及一些不那么正经的朋友的建议——表明这可能是“彩虹氯胺酮”，一种为了吸引年轻人而染色的派对药物。“或者它可能只是彩色糖粒，”另一个人天真地说。
我找到了主人的电话号码，我们通话了，她告诉我她不记得丢过钱包，但可能在我的街道下出租车时掉落了。（我怀疑某个好心人以为这属于我家，所以把它放在了门口。）她没带现金，因为 40 岁以下的人都没带。我在去邮局的路上，没有提到那个小袋子，但我在想，我是否在触犯法律。也许这解释了她为什么丢了钱包。
示威活动也在巴塞罗那、圣塞巴斯蒂安和格拉纳达举行。在瓦伦纳（另一个科莫湖畔小镇），愤怒的市政府威胁要对在街上赤裸上身或穿着泳装游荡的游客处以最高 €200 (£170) 的罚款。
在湖下游的内索，当局宣布由国家、地方、湖区和财务警察部队、宪兵队及海岸警卫队开展联合行动，以阻止大批游客从一个风景优美的瀑布桥上跳下去。这种快活行为不仅潜在危险（尤其是受到酒精和药物刺激时），而且激怒了住在湖边村庄里的居民，因为他们的房顶被变成了日光浴平台和跳水台。
部分责任在于社交媒体，它能将一个小景点变成全球目的地，而剧烈的竞争则侵蚀了礼貌和其他禁忌。在瓦伦纳，一条脾气暴躁的长队蜿蜒向“天堂之门”延伸，这是一个俯瞰湖泊的绝佳景观点，游客拍照自拍的时间被严格限制在三分钟内（安保人员在场地内巡逻以威慑专业摄影师）。然而，紧邻的公有财产——莫纳斯特罗别墅（Villa Monastero）的花园同样美不胜收，却几乎空无一人。人们必须能够自由地支配时间，但很难不得出这样一个结论：放弃这些“人生清单”上的热门景点，不仅是一种负责任的选择，而且是一个明智的选择。
我很遗憾苏齐·兰普鲁（Suzy Lamplugh）失踪的周年日已经……
旅行过程中涉及的种种不便，人们往往倾向于将其抹平。富人们通过礼宾服务和奢华酒店来实现这一点。而其他人则只是抱怨。意大利贝尔加莫（Bergamo）附近的塞里纳（Serina）村庄市长曾嘲讽那些对放牧牛群佩戴的铃铛噪音表示反对的游客。他发布了一道伪造的禁言令，并感叹他的牛类居民不配合地以顽固的“哞”声回应。这很好：铃铛的叮当作响是高地生活的巨大乐趣之一。如果你不喜欢，就去别处度假。同样的情况也适用于另一个常见的
抱怨来源：彻夜鸣响的教堂钟声——遗憾的是，这在现在已非常罕见。对于我们这些有时间的人来说，更好的做法是拥抱这种陌生感，而不是试图削弱它。
一个更广泛的问题是我们作为国家大使的角色。几年前的一项针对欧洲大陆酒店业者的调查将英国人评为欧洲最糟糕的游客：邋遢、吝啬且爱发牢骚。礼貌且整洁的日本人经常在此类民调中名列前茅；俄罗斯人、中国人以及美国人则与我们一起在底层挤在一起。我们本可以做得更好。
在每年 1.5 billion 次国际访客中，我们个人的行为很难改变全球大局。但这能让我们感觉更好，而这正是度假的意义所在。两周后见。
如今三十多岁的女性永远不会忘记莎拉·埃弗拉德（Sarah Everard），而当时刚刚开始职业生涯的我们，则被苏齐神秘的结局所困扰。
正如她在日记中所记载的，她的房产中介老板让她坐在窗边，因为她年轻漂亮，能够吸引路过的顾客。然而，这也使她成为了跟踪者的目标——那个男人预约看房，而她从此再也没有回来。
很久以前我采访过苏齐的母亲戴安娜·兰普鲁（Diana Lamplugh），她坚韧不拔的精神让我深受感动，她深信有一天自己能知道女儿发生了什么。遗憾的是，戴安娜在去世前仍未得知答案，但她将悲痛转化为动力，指导企业考虑女性员工的安全性，特别是当她们单独工作或在夜间工作时，她保护了无数个其他的“苏齐”。
筛选电话 傍晚时分电话响了。“嗨，妈，你好吗？最近在做什么？” 噢，快省掉这些客套话直奔主题吧。你被你哥哥从 Netflix 家庭账户中踢出来了，需要我们点击邮件里的一个链接，这样你才能继续观看《30 Rock》。
Rocio Concha
欺诈占英格兰和威尔士所有报告犯罪数量的 45 per cent。大多数诈骗源自网络，且通常来自我们每天使用的网站。Facebook、Instagram、X 和 TikTok 等平台是英国欺诈流行病的根源，但尽管这些平台造成了巨大伤害，基尔·斯塔默爵士却不愿追究其责任。
这些平台上公众人物深伪（deepfake）冒充行为的激增，仅仅是一个高度复杂的 AI 诈骗新时代的开始。我们不再生活在一个可以建议消费者寻找诈骗“迹象”（如拼写错误或语法错误）的世界里。即使是最笨拙的诈骗者也能使用能够欺骗专家的 AI 工具。除非让科技巨头在通过欺诈获利时面临严重的财务威慑，否则情况会恶化到无法预料的程度。
政府拥有采取行动的权力。《在线安全法》在 2023. 10月成为法律。这意味着托管诈骗内容的科技公司应被处以巨额罚款。而且部长们可以迅速行动，就像今年早些时候他们禁止深伪色情内容那样。但涉及到欺诈时，负责执行该法案的监管机构 Ofcom 却被允许将问题搁置。消费者最早要到 2027 年才能得到充分保护。
在 2024 年大选之前，工党言辞强硬，但到去年，斯塔默团队的高级部长们却在祝贺一份典型的无效自愿网络欺诈宪章的签署方（包括 Meta），称赞他们为打击欺诈做出了“可证明”的努力。令人尴尬的是，这封谄媚的信件在 Meta 内部文件揭露该公司预计将从诈骗广告和禁售产品广告中赚取数十亿英镑的前几个月就发出去了。Meta 声称文件中的数字是“粗略且涵盖范围过广”的，夸大了平台上的诈骗广告数量，但拒绝提供更新后的数据。
对于马克·扎克伯格的公司来说，欺诈及其造成的人类痛苦似乎只是另一个收入来源。尽管如此，政府在三月公布的期待已久的欺诈战略中，未能制定进一步行动来促使科技公司严肃对待诈骗。
安迪·伯纳姆有机会避免重复这些错误。他必须在生产性技术和掠夺性技术之间划清界限：支持那些改善英国消费者生活的公司；无情打击那些助长诈骗和其他非法行为的公司。首相应该首先命令 Ofcom 加快工作，并开始采取行动打击那些让诈骗广告充斥我们屏幕的科技巨头。
工党的教育政策是“带回愚蠢”
W
迈克尔·戈夫 (Michael Gove)
@michaelgove
当伟大的保守党大法官 F.E. Smith 于 1923 年在格拉斯哥大学发表校长就职演说时，他告诉在场的本科生们，世界为那些“拥有坚毅之心和锐利之剑的人”提供“灿烂的奖赏”。
一个世纪后的今天，我们的新政府持有截然不同的观点。它不再追求灿烂的奖赏，而是希望年轻人认清自己的地位，限制自己的视野，并满足于平庸。在执政最初的几天里，伯纳姆政府表现出了坚决的反智主义，对抱负持有敌意，且目光向后看。
新任教育大臣露西·鲍威尔 (Lucy Powell) 承诺要结束我们学校中“对学业结果的过度关注”。换句话说：让愚蠢回归。鲍威尔认为，“过度关注”导致了“太多年轻人被遗弃”。事实恰恰相反。太多学校仍然没有足够地关注如何让每个孩子在学业上获得成功，导致太多人缺乏成为自身生命故事作者所需的知识、技能和资质。
全国最优秀的学校，例如温布利的 Michaela 学校，或者谢菲尔德的 Mercia 学校，以及由哈米德·帕特尔 (Hamid Patel) 运营的 Star Academy 连锁学校，它们招收来自贫困背景的孩子，为他们提供传统的学术教育，确保他们在一系列严格的科目中获得优秀的 GCSE 成绩，并引领他们走向未来的成功之路。
在 Mercia 学校，弱势学生的 GCSE 表现优于谢菲尔德全市学生的平均水平。在 11 年级结束后，该校 97% 的年轻人处于教育、就业或培训状态，远高于该市及全国的平均水平。超过半数的学生进入罗素大学集团成员高校。不仅有 50% 的学生上大学——更有超过 50% 的学生进入全国前 30 强大学。
然而，当鲍威尔和伯纳姆看到一所学校为一座充满挑战的北方城市中最贫困的学生提供他们自己曾经享受过的机会时，他们看到的不是一个值得效仿的典范，而是一项应当被嘲笑的成就。他们计划淡化学校对学业成就的重视，引导更多学生远离具有挑战性的 GCSE 课程，并限制在 16 岁之前接受全面学术教育的年轻人数量，这简直是反动之举。他们想要阻碍劳工阶层孩子的进步。
这样的一项政策由两名来自劳工阶层背景的罗素大学集团毕业生颁布，而他们此时正坐在数代以来最“牛剑化”的内阁之中——内阁中还有一位由私立学校教育的财政大臣，以及来自威斯敏斯特和伊顿的旧校友。这种讽刺之深，已无法用语言形容。
这场针对全民学术卓越的攻击，被掩盖在“试图让安全帽与学位帽具有同等价值”的语言之中。但是
那些能够分析 并独立思考的人
技术类和职业类教育只有在使冠以这些名称的课程变得更加严谨和高要求时，才能得到提升，而不是通过行政命令来要求所谓的“地位平等”。
我们以前走过这条灾难性的道路。在上一任工党政府期间，一种希望职业教育获得重视的良好愿望，导致一些蛋糕装饰资格证书被认为与一项具有挑战性的数学 GCSE 考试具有相同的“价值”，而这些证书的不足程度足以让任何专业糕点师落泪。在才华横溢的艾莉森·沃尔夫（Alison Wolf）教授关于职业资格证书普遍缺乏雄心的报告出炉后，我在担任教育大臣期间废除了这些虚假的对等关系。
从那时起，技术和职业教育中应用了更高的严谨性。虽然仍有进步空间，但本届政府并没有提高技术学习的门槛，而是在降低对能够掌握学术核心知识的学生人数的期望。
对于任何相信扩展机会平等的人来说，这不仅是犯罪，在民主上也是愚蠢的，在经济上也是自残的。如果我们希望公民能够分辨论据的好坏，能够免疫误导性信息，并参与到充满活力的民主文化中，那么学术科目所传授的技能——从数学内在的逻辑到深入研究人文科学所需的分析能力——就至关重要。
新技术和人工智能对我们生活和工作场所的侵入，要求我们所有人地在运用自身智能时变得更聪明、更快速、更灵活。许多现在被视为熟练劳工的岗位——例如从车辆制造到驾驶的整个运输链中的每个环节——很快将被自动化。未来
属于那些能够分析、质疑、独立且创造性地思考，并能运用学术教育所赋予的高层次推理能力的人。
这就是为什么像伯纳姆那样诋毁就读大学的人数是如此短视。托尼·布莱尔设定的 50 per cent “目标”并非斯大林式的强加。闲散青年并没有被搜捕、强征，并被囚禁在为期三年的学术感化院古拉格群岛中。这是一个值得赞赏的雄心，旨在为国家实现 Mercia 学校为其学生所实现的成果：更多的机会。
是的，高等教育领域被过多失败的机构、不合格的课程、成绩膨胀和“觉醒”课程所侵害。但在我们处理所有这些弱点、在布莱尔主义的最佳实践基础上，并将我们的国家教育系统打造为西方世界最优秀的系统之前，学校也曾如此。真正的改革未能延伸到大学的唯一原因是它们当时掌握在一个由自民党管理的部门手中。解决教育失败的答案不是引导人们远离教育，而是改进教育。但现在谁又有坚定的勇气和犀利的利剑去完成这项工作呢？
先生：
丹尼尔·芬克尔斯坦在其专栏中对强制投票提出了一些主张，包括这更有助于工党（见7月29日评论文章《为何强制投票如此糟糕》）。但这并非澳大利亚的经验。在引入强制投票的102年里，澳大利亚工党仅执政36年。他还表示，当强制措施取消时，强制投票并不会鼓励人们自愿投票。这同样不符合我们的经验。2017年，我的政府就同性婚姻合法化举行了一次自愿的邮政全民公投。共有79.5%的选票被回收，记录的“赞成”票率为62%。
他的主要反对意见似乎在于，强制投票将使英国的参与率提高50%，增加15 million人的投票量。他抱怨新选民将是“最缺乏信息、最不感兴趣且最不稳定的公民”，并推测其中将包括“年轻人”。毫无疑问，民主制度的一个核心目标就是最大限度地让所有人参与，无论其财富、教育程度或对阅读《泰晤士报》政治专栏的热情如何。而且，一个有90%的人投票的制度显然比一个只有60%的人投票的制度更好、更具合法性。
任何参加过澳大利亚选举的人都会知道，当我们称其为我们的“民主节日”时，我们只有一半是在开玩笑。是的，人们仍然不信任政治家，仍然抱怨税收过高、福利过低。但至少每个人都有发言权，即使是脾气暴躁的愤世嫉俗者也必须离开沙发去投票。
马尔科姆·特恩布尔 澳大利亚前总理
先生：
汤姆·惠普尔（7月29日笔记本文章《铜管失意》）暗示低音铜管演奏者在大部分音乐会期间只是坐在那里。作为一名大号演奏者，我并不认同。我们不仅在计算数百小节的休止符，还在为参加当晚最重要的环节积蓄体力……那就是之后的酒吧之行。
哈丽雅·法伊夫 萨瑟兰，希尔顿 摘自 30, 1926 《泰晤士报》
《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”）的规章制度以及IPSO执行的《编辑实践准则》。更正或澄清请求请发送电子邮件至 feedback@thetimes.co.uk，或邮寄至 Feedback, The Times, 1 London Bridge Street, London SE1 9GF。
先生：
在我们开始又一次教育政策调整之前，有一个根本性问题需要回答：我们将教育视为一种为了特定职业传授技能的交易过程，还是应该将其视为一个细致渐进的过程，旨在让学生对人类成就和可能性的各个方面有所了解（见7月28日新闻报道《伯纳姆的“安全帽”学校》）？许多人会回答“两者兼有”，但困难在于决定权衡比例。我倾向于培养全面的博学者，尤其是考虑到技术发明的速度，现在学习的定义明确的技能很快可能就过时了，但其他人可能有不同的看法。显而易见的是，我们，特别是政府，应该比现在更明确地界定我们期望的教育结果。否则，我们每隔几年就会继续出现更多这种口号式的政策。
安德鲁·戴克 伦敦 N21
先生：
又来了，又是关于职业教育缺陷的常规哀叹。但是，正如您的社论（《寻找天职》，
先生，您关于社会护理改革的报道（《社会护理大洗牌将排除私营公司》，7月 29日）面临着将选择框架化为“利润”与“优质护理”之间对立的风险。证据实际上更为细致。部分研究确实发现，营利性养老院获得的护理质量委员会（Care Quality Commission）平均评级较低。但一项涵盖 15,000 间养老院的大规模英国研究强调，所有权类型之间的差异相对较小。您的文章断言私营养老院“倾向于提供较差的护理”，如果能指明相关研究、量化差异，并将独立供应商与私募股权支持的连锁机构区分开来，该论点将会更有用。
所有权可能相关，但它并非结果。政策应根据每家供应商的护理安全性与质量、员工薪资与稳定性、财务韧性、透明度以及再投资情况来做出评判。利润不能保证效率或质量；缺乏利润同样不能。
我曾任英国最大的居家护理供应商 Allied Healthcare 的首席执行官，该公司当时由私募股权支持，而我现在在 NHS 工作。在两种模式下，我都见过卓越的表现和浪费的现象。由于营利性供应商经营着大多数养老院，将其排除在外可能会导致服务能力不稳定。行业改革应该致力于揭露不良实践，提高标准，并奖励那些提供优质、可持续护理的机构——无论其所有权如何。 蒂姆·佩蒂克 (Tim Pethick) 肯特郡，怀（Wye, Kent）
7月 28.，Lowry and Co 奶酪商行（位于贝兹沃特，Bayswater）的经理爱德华·克里德 (Mr Edward Creed) 先生被发现死于公司店内。保险柜中被盗了价值 £60 至 £80 的财政部钞票和现金。犯罪现场位于一个住宅区的中心，距离肯辛顿花园 (Kensington-gardens) 只有很短的距离，仅由一家店铺、后方的一个小型私人办公室以及一个用于储存的地下室组成。隔壁是一家结构类似的店铺，由一家洗衣店占用。
7月 29日）指出，基础条件已经具备。进修学院已经存在，T 级别 (T levels) 和 Btec 证书也已普及。然而，它们缺乏资金和文化支持。每个人都认为这是一个好主意，但并不希望自己的孩子去读。2015 年，纽黑文 (Newhaven) 建立了一所极好的大学技术学院，其明确目标是接收 14 岁的孩子，培养与附近海运及其他行业相关的技能。但由于缺乏学生，该校在四年后关闭。 特雷弗·霍珀 (Trevor Hopper) 东萨塞克斯郡，刘易斯 (Lewes, E Sussex)
先生，拟议的新教育政策值得欢迎。但 10 号唐宁街不应忘记，这不仅仅是撤销迈克尔·高夫 (Michael Gove) 15 年的改革。取消学校工作坊以及未能培训能够教授实践科目的教师，早在 20 世纪 80 年代就已开始。要重建一个能够培养未来“戴安全帽者”（技术工人）的系统，将需要数年时间。 大卫·贝克博士 (Dr David Baker) 剑桥学校设计研究单位
先生，凯特·格林哈尔 (Kate Greenhalgh)（来信，7月 29日）在思考教授的意义。
先生，我很难理解 丹尼·齐普里亚尼（Danny Cipriani）为其婚礼发起的众筹呼吁（“齐普里亚尼的婚礼震惊事件”，罗伯特·克拉姆普顿，Times2，7月 28 日）。这并不是因为他及其未婚妻能轻松负担得起一场盛大的庆祝活动，而是因为该款项所谓的用途之一：彩排晚宴。到底为什么需要先彩排，然后再为此举行一场晚宴？这其实很简单：你出现在教堂或登记处，许下誓言，然后与亲朋好友一起参加派对即可。 特伦斯·伯比奇（Terence Burbidge） 剑桥郡，小格兰斯登
这起谋杀案是在晚上 10.30 左右由一名警察发现的。该警察在巡逻时看到商店里亮着灯，他还注意到门上的挂锁没有锁好。他断定情况有异，于是推门而入，穿过商店，看到一名男子的尸体躺在地下室台阶的一半处，地下室的入口位于一个小私人办公室的侧面。煤气喷嘴已被打开，现场弥漫着强烈的煤气味。
在关闭计量表阀门后，该警员与帕丁顿警察局取得了联系，亨特侦探督察（Detective-Inspector Hunt）和其他侦探被紧急传唤。很明显，身为特别警察警长的克里德先生（Mr Creed）已被谋杀，动机是抢劫。他的头部有由某种沉重钝器造成的恐怖伤口，保险柜被其自己的钥匙打开，财物被盗。一副灰色的
向那些希望成为花艺师、理发师、母亲甚至是偷猎者的女孩们介绍莎士比亚。莎士比亚对他们的每一个职业选择都有深刻的见解。他的剧作中包含 100 多个植物学引用；而对于理发师，他写道：“我想我的脸部毛发非常浓密”（《仲夏夜之梦》）。莎士比亚对母性的强力刻画，包括麦克白夫人，至今仍引发争议。据传，年轻的莎士比亚甚至对查莱科特庄园（Charlecote estate）的偷猎活动略知一二。 大卫·杰弗里博士（Dr David Jeffrey） 《莎士比亚如何启发临床护理中的共情》作者
先生，关于贵刊报道的“孩子开始学徒期可额外获得 £4,500 福利金”（7月 29 日），高达 £4,500 的学徒金理应在完成学业后支付，否则激励机制何在？在 20 世纪 70 年代，我参加了一个 Tops 课程（一项政府资助的职业培训计划），参加速记和打字课程每周可获得 £30 补贴。这改变了我的世界，我永远对此心存感激。 洛芙戴·纽顿（Loveday Newton） 白金汉郡，塔普洛
先生，詹尼·因凡蒂诺（Gianni Infantino）的傲慢似乎永无止境。他提出将国际足联（Fifa）转变为私有化的赚钱企业，并在这一过程中进一步深化他对他所谄媚的特朗普家族的迷恋，他似乎决心地要摧毁足球这项运动（见“国际足联出售世界杯计划被出红牌”，7月 29 日）。他未能意识到世界杯是一场全球性的足球盛典，而非如他在近期回应社交媒体愤怒之情时所言的一场“演出”。世界杯与全球所有重大赛事和联赛一样，属于球迷。没有他们，就没有职业足球。希望欧足联（Uefa）和所有欧洲俱乐部能明确表达他们的反对意见，并且在这些意见被充耳不闻时，通过退出国际足联来付诸行动。 伊恩·利迪亚德（Ian Liddiard） 伯克郡，沃金厄姆
寄至《泰晤士报》的信件必须为独家投递，且可能会经过编辑。请附上详细地址和白天的联系电话。
一双沾血的棉手套在尸体附近被发现，但其是否属于凶手尚不清楚。
随后苏格兰场发表了以下声明：“周四 29 日下午 2 点左右，两名男子来到伯明翰的莫塞利路浴场（Moseley-road Baths）更换衣物，被更换的衣物上有大量污渍，包括一件灰色燕尾服、一条带黑条纹的灰色长裤、棕色长裤和背心，以及一件蓝色夹克。这两名男子离开浴场时分别穿着：一套新的蓝色斜纹面料西装，穿着磨损严重的黑靴，软领并系领带，戴硬顶圆顶帽；以及一套新的浅灰色条纹布西装，穿着磨损严重的黑靴，戴深色特里尔比帽，领口系领带。警方渴望对这两名男子进行询问。”
先生，继贵报报道的《恶搞广告使 Meta AI 眼镜成为笑柄》（7月 27 日）之后，或许“大家都讨厌埃隆”（Everyone Hates Elon）的发言人及其愤怒的同事们应该考虑缓和他们对 Meta 的谩骂。我的妻子严重视障，而这些 AI 眼镜彻底改变了她的生活。眼镜会描述她所看到的任何事物；她可以让眼镜读一篇《泰晤士报》的文章或请求摘要；她还可以让眼镜在菜单中挑出鱼类菜肴。如果她独自进入一个拥挤的房间，她可以让眼镜识别她的朋友并指引她走向他们。她甚至可以调用实时服务，如果她不确定如何找路，会有专人利用摄像头图像来引导她。这些眼镜给了她相当程度的独立性；告诉我的妻子她戴的是“变态眼镜”是不可原谅的。 鲍勃·莫雷尔（Bob Maurer） 萨里郡，雷盖特
先生，关于承认一名失业教师（信件，7月 28 日及 29 日）的提及，让我想起 20 世纪 50 年代我在沃特福男子文法学校就读期间的一件事。当时的校长哈里·里（Harry Rée）曾以在被占领的法国担任破坏者而闻名，后来成为一名教育学教授。我的罪名是什么？当他在人行横道停车让我通过时，我没有向他脱帽致意。我的惩罚是因为“无礼”而被拖鞋抽了六下。 汤姆·诺顿（Tom Norton） 汉普郡，科夫
先生，作为比尔·奥迪 (Bill Oddie) 的老校友（讣告，7月 28 日），我认为贵报关于他脾气暴躁且性格令人反感的评论，与我在费尔岛和北诺福克等地观鸟之旅中的经历截然不同。他有着尖刻的幽默感，且可以公正地描述为不轻视愚者，但他对于金爱德华学校自然历史俱乐部的年轻学生来说是一位亲切且体贴的导师，在观鸟远足中则是一位风趣且能给人带来启发的同事。比尔之所以能创下许多观鸟记录，是因为他在他的“爱好”上非常钻研，在费尔岛上仅凭一声鸣叫就认出了英国第五例黄胸 the 鹨 (Citrine Wagtail) 记录，而我们其他人仅仅记录为“鹨”。他是极致的观鸟者。 理查德·巴特勒 (Richard Butler) 不列颠哥伦比亚省，鲁珀特王子市
先生，比尔·奥迪最辉煌的时刻之一，一定是他在《春季观察》(Springwatch) 节目中，将黑鸫的鸣唱描述为听起来就像这只鸟“把手揣在兜里”的时候。每当想起这段描述，依然觉得精妙。 布兰奇·阿拉森 (Blanche Allanson) 西萨塞克斯郡，林德菲尔德
先生，在阅读贵报的社论（《监视监视者》，7月 28 日）时，我很高兴地读到，尽管极少数狂热分子的行为如此，观鸟依然深受欢迎。今年 4 月，当我安静地拿着双筒望远镜坐在兰萨罗特岛 La Santa 的泻湖边时，很高兴地看到了一对匙形鹳。然而，这一宁静被一架显然旨在观察这对鸟的观鸟无人机给破坏了。我不知道无人机是否会干扰鸟类，但这个无人机确实干扰了我。 玛格丽特·摩根 (Margery Morgan) 高尔半岛，彭纳德
每日通用登记册
英国：英格兰银行货币政策委员会宣布利率决定；年度铁路票价指数发布；BAE系统公司和罗尔斯-罗伊斯公司业绩公布。
自然笔记
又是一个酷热之日，地面干燥如柴。一只银行鼠正竭力在落叶层中静悄悄地移动，但每一次窜动都发出清晰的噼啪声。十米之内的任何狐狸都能听到，但鼠类需要进食。突然，一声巨响传出——坐在山楂树下长凳上的那个人咬了一口苹果。这只胆大的鼠类察觉到了危险，但同时也闻到了多汁的水果香气，于是向长凳边缘挪动。咔嚓，咔嚓，咔嚓。终于，苹果被吃完了，伴随着一声巨响被扔进了落叶层。鼠类用胡须和耳朵侦测着空气，等待着那个人离开。然后它悄悄爬了过去。苹果核在那里闪闪发光：这是生存游戏中一张风险极高但能中奖的彩票。 jonathan tulloch
今日生日
凯特·布什（Kate Bush，如图），创作歌手，《风岗海之 Height》(1978)，68岁；詹姆斯·安德森爵士（Sir James Anderson），板球运动员，兰开夏郡，英格兰队 (2002-24)，44岁；特蕾莎·卡希尔（Teresa Cahill），歌剧演唱家，82岁；理查德·凯斯比（Richard Caseby），《星期日泰晤士报》执行主编 (1997-2011)，传播顾问及死因研讯改革活动家，66岁；安德里亚·库姆伯（Andrea Coomber）KC，霍华德刑法改革联盟（监狱慈善机构）首席执行官，54岁；汉娜·考克罗夫特（Hannah Cockroft），轮椅赛车手，T34级别九次残奥会金牌得主 (2012, 2016, 2020, 2024)，34岁；肯顿·库尔（Kenton Cool），登山家，曾 20 次登顶珠峰，53岁；约翰·德·查斯特莱恩将军（General John de Chastelain CH），北爱尔兰拆除武器独立国际委员会主席 (1997- 2011)，89岁；弗朗西丝·德拉图尔（Frances de la Tour），演员，《Rising Damp》(1974-78)，《哈利·波特》系列电影 (2005, 2010)，三届奥利维尔奖得主，82岁；安迪·格林（Andy Green）联队指挥官，世界陆地速度纪录保持者（自 1997 年起），64岁；巴迪·盖（Buddy Guy），蓝调吉他手兼歌手，《Damn Right, I’ve Got the Blues》(1991)，90岁；（哈丽埃特）哈曼男爵夫人（Baroness (Harriet) Harman）KC，工党议员 (1982-2024)，反对党领袖 (2010, 2015)，76岁；丽莎·库卓（Lisa Kudrow），演员，《老友记》(1994-2004)，63岁；布莱斯·梅特鲁韦利（Blaise Metreweli，又名“C”），秘密情报局 (MI6) 局长，49岁；索尔·纳塞（Saul Nassé），国家档案局首席执行官兼馆长，61岁；克里斯托弗·诺兰爵士（Sir Christopher Nolan），电影导演，《星际穿越》(2014)，《敦刻尔克》(2017)，《奥德赛》(2026)，56岁；汤姆·皮德考克（Tom Pidcock），自行车运动员，两届奥运金牌得主 (2020, 2024, 山地车越野)，27岁；杰森·鲁滨逊（Jason Robinson），前英格兰橄榄球运动员及世界杯冠军，52岁；鼠类斯凯比斯（Rat Scabies，本名 Christopher Millar），鼓手，Damned 乐队联合创始人，《Eloise》(1986)，71岁；阿诺德·施瓦辛格（Arnold Schwarzenegger），演员，《终结者》(1984)，加利福尼亚州州长 (2003-11)，以及健美运动员（五次世界先生和七次奥林匹亚先生），79岁；戴利·汤普森（Daley Thompson），十项全能运动员，奥运金牌得主 (1980, 1984)，68岁。
历史上的今天
1419 年，激进的胡斯派将市议会成员扔出窗外导致其死亡，这是第一次布拉格之窗外抛掷事件。
末尾之言
安迪·伯纳姆致力于解决社会护理问题是正确的。但一个普适的
首相深知，一项旨在修复英格兰社会护理系统的提案，是如何被政治权宜之计和犹豫不决所挫败的。2010年，担任卫生部长的安迪·伯纳姆主张，全民老年护理应通过对遗产征税来提供资金。保守党迅速将工党的这一政策贴上“死亡税”的标签，随后一场选举介入，社会护理问题被抛到了政治次要位置，尽管在过去的16年里，历届政府都曾尝试涉足，但它一直处于这种状态。
正如他在技术培训问题上的干预一样，首相昨日关于成人社会护理的演讲表明，他打算以严肃和真诚的态度来解决这一问题。怀特霍尔 (英国政府) 资深的危机处理专家布莱克斯托克的凯西女男爵已被委派对社会护理部门进行独立审查，而现在她被要求提前一年提交报告。昨日，她启动了一项旨在征求至少一百万名公众意见的咨询。伯纳姆先生还会见了反对党领袖凯米·巴登诺赫和埃德·戴维爵士，希望寻找共识点。这正是化解那个长期威胁的正确方式——即防止社会护理再次成为一个被踢到荒草地里的“政治皮球”。
缺陷严重的辅助死亡立法应被彻底埋葬
昨日，首相表示，在就辅助死亡原则进行更广泛的辩论之前，“首先需要做的是解决姑息治疗和社会护理的资金问题”。修复姑息治疗和社会护理是一项长期工程。工党后议员劳伦·爱德华兹承诺，将在下一个议会会议期间重新提出那项缺陷严重的《终末期成年人（生命终结）法案》，该法案在四月份幸运地在上议院过期失效。她的新上司传达给她的信息是：不要费心了。
这是一个好消息，原因有三。首先，安迪·伯纳姆是对的：无论你如何看待国家授权医生给患者注射致死剂量药物的伦理问题，但这种观点——在考虑采取如此重大步骤之前，政府应首先从根本上改善生命终结关怀——无疑是正确的。英国的临终关怀院资金不足。认为终末期患者的痛苦只能通过致命注射来缓解，而不是通过一个富裕、文明国家的成员应得的关爱、照顾和药物治疗来缓解，这是一种极度绝望且荒诞的建议。
其次，即便许多支持者也承认，
像扎克·波兰斯基这样的政治家需要减少刷手机的时间
扎克·波兰斯基再次展现出了糟糕的品味。这位绿党领导人最近转发了一篇 Instagram 帖子，照片中的一名男子穿着一件印有断头台和标语“我们只是在为奈杰尔制定计划”的 T 恤——这是在暗指英国改革党领导人奈杰尔·法拉奇。这张照片是在上周末布里斯托的一次政党筹款活动上拍摄的，波兰斯基如果能为此道歉，本可以表现得体。相反，他将其删除， tacitly 承认自己犯了错，但奇怪的是，他拒绝向法拉奇先生道歉。相反，他称这是一个“无意的错误”。
未受邀请的奈杰尔·法拉奇——部分原因是其近期从下议院辞职——表示，这种试图跨党派合作的尝试是“单一政党在行动”的证据。此类冷嘲热讽仅证明了英国改革党在应对英国结构性挑战时采取的是一种不严肃的态度。然而，光有良好的意愿是不够的。修复社会护理的失败提案记录十分惨淡：30 年间尝试了 22 次，几乎没有结果。凯西女男爵本人也警告说，她的审查报告不会发现某种此前被忽视的快速解决方案。权衡取舍将是真实且困难的。
英格兰社会护理系统如此混乱的原因，很大程度上在于它是由许多整合不良的系统拼凑而成的，存在显著的地区差异，且缺乏统一原则。结果导致 2.5 million 名 50 岁以上的成年人未能获得所需的护理。许多其他人则被推向财务崩溃，面临高达数十万英镑的终身费用，因为他们的总资产超过了 £23,250 的阈值，而这是国家资助护理的上限——该上限自 2010 年起一直保持不变。癌症患者的治疗由国家出资，而痴呆症患者却被晾在一边自生自灭，这纯属随心所欲。
安迪·伯纳姆先生的应对方案是，英格兰需要一个 NHS 风格的“国家护理服务”。
最初的法案——由工党议员金·莱德比特提出——起草粗糙，缺乏精准度和必要的保障措施。它根本不应该被写入法律典籍。上议院在履行其审查立法的宪制职责时，认为有必要提出 1,300 多项修正案，其中 70 多项由该法案在上议院的发起人索罗顿的法尔科纳勋爵提出。
在审查期间，这种国家与公民关系发生剧烈转变的风险暴露无遗。在加拿大，医疗辅助死亡已被允许十年之久，目前已占所有死亡人数的 5%，而十年前仅为 0.6%。在那个失败的法案中，没有任何条款能防止英格兰和威尔士出现类似的阴森增长。该措施遭到了所有相关皇家学院和数百家残疾人慈善机构的反对。它并未被纳入工党 2024 年的竞选宣言。试图根据 1911 年和 1949 年的《议会法》条款强行让该法案通过上议院，是傲慢且不民主的。
第三，安迪·伯纳姆先生对此僵尸提案迅速且流畅的“安乐死”处理，展示了他的政客手段。
在政治暴力日益增加的时代，分享此类煽动性帖子是不可接受的。改革党指责波兰斯基“煽动谋杀”，将其举报给警方，并建议应将其逮捕。这确实缺乏品味，但很少有人会因此得出绿党领导人在直接威胁法拉奇先生的结论。警方决定不采取进一步行动是正确的。
该模式预计每年将耗资 £18.5 billion。这根本不可行，且忽略了更高效的替代方案。正如安德鲁·迪尔诺特爵士在 2011 年的报告中所建议的，护理的终身成本应当设有上限。那些不幸在生命末期需要多年机构护理的人不应面临破产。但财产调查也不应被完全废除。
伯纳姆先生轻视私营部门参与社会护理的做法也是不明智的。在英国 18,000 家护理院中，85% 由私营机构运营，其中许多由提供高质量护理的小型本地供应商经营。这些护理人员至今一直是英格兰体系的支柱，不应因为对“牟利”这种误导性的意识形态反感而被排挤出该行业。英格兰迫切需要的是一个在财务上管理良好的护理体系——正如伯纳姆先生所承认的，该体系应能以提供体面的市场工资为前景，来激励护理工作者。
即使是这些更具可行性的计划也将耗资数十亿。如果伯纳姆先生要履行其政党的财政承诺，他将面临另一个棘手的问题：说服那些倔强的工党议员接受大幅削减开支。这正是他需要在自身政党的狭小范围之外寻求共识的另一个原因。
...政治敏锐度，同时也证明了他的前任缺乏这种特质。基尔·斯塔默爵士离奇地引用埃丝特·兰岑夫人 (Dame Esther Rantzen) 的游说作为其动力，表示支持这一原则，但随后未能动用任何权威来支持利德比特 (Ms Leadbeater) 女士的法案。时任卫生部长的韦斯·斯特里廷 (Wes Streeting) 表示这是一个错误。内政大臣莎巴娜·马哈穆德 (Shabana Mahmood) 因为表达反对意见，竟被自己人抹黑为宗教狂热分子，令人不齿。基尔爵士陷入了困境。结果就是：一场旷日持久的混乱。
伯纳姆先生知道，辅助死亡的概念目前在他的后座议员中很受欢迎。但他对由此引发的法律和道德泥潭有足够的清醒认识。他个人对该事业没什么热情，且绝对不希望因此分心。因此，这位首相找到了一种优雅且能被其政党接受的方式，来示意这并非优先事项。只有当任何一个政党能鼓起勇气将其纳入下一份政纲时，辅助死亡的问题才应从被忽视的状态中被重新提起。鉴于许多选民理所当然地将此事视为一条不可逾越的深红底线，这种勇气不太可能被凝聚起来。
英国改革党的内政发言人将社交媒体作为其主要沟通渠道。工党沃尔瑟姆斯托 (Walthamstow) 选区的议员斯特拉·克里西 (Stella Creasy) 最近遭到嘲讽，因为她为了一只丢失的宠物鹦鹉而大惊小愧，结果在当地公园里找到了它。克里西女士随后被告知，她看到的其实是伦敦众多野生绿鹦鹉之一。
28 Thursday July 30 2026 | the times World
但这里是残酷的真相
Catherine Philp 战争与国家暴力 让一代人 失去了希望
V
那是和平抗议演变为血洗的时刻。“有一个人在卡车顶上拿着机枪，”礼萨在回忆伊朗政权向人民开火的那一夜时说道，“他大喊：‘滚回家去，你们这些混蛋！’然后开始射击。接着 [其他安全部队] 也开始射击。”
当时由最高领袖阿里·哈梅内伊（Ayatollah Ali Khamenei）下达的开火命令，在全国范围内引发了前所未有的暴力。1月份那几周的平民死亡人数可能永远无法得知。
27 岁的礼萨不顾父亲的反对，走上哈梅内伊的家乡马什哈德（Mashhad）的街道，抗议政权的腐败和经济管理不善。最终，他的父亲——一名伊斯兰革命卫队（IRGC）的前成员——也加入了他的行列。
许多在那一夜被杀的赤手空拳的抗议者是被自动步枪或机枪击毙的，这些是属于战争的武器。“那是一场屠杀，”礼萨说，“我是在血海中跋涉。”他的父亲被散弹枪弹击中，但幸存了下来。
六个月后，随着数千名抗议者死亡，示威活动被镇压，且美国与伊朗处于战争状态，礼萨的父亲对儿子只有一个心愿：离开家乡。“我告诉他我想离开这个国家，”礼萨说，“我的父亲说：‘走吧。不要考虑我，快走。你是我唯一的孩子。这就是我希望你做的事。’”
礼萨并非其真名，而是他在德黑兰向《泰晤士报》讲述经历时要求使用的化名。他说，他决心讲述一个与当局所兜售的故事截然不同的故事，因为当局正试图塑造一个在伊斯兰政权下团结一致的国家形象。
并对伊朗进行辱骂
Samer Al-Atrush 中东记者
在一次针对约旦美国空军基地的出其不意的弹道导弹袭击后，特朗普总统对伊朗发起了一番粗口连篇的辱骂。
在昨日美国和沙特阿拉伯对伊拉克的亲伊朗民兵组织进行联合打击后，总统承诺将进一步报复。此次打击结束了为期四天的敌对行动暂停期。
“我们要把那些该死的家伙彻底打趴下，”他告诉福克斯新闻（Fox News）。“他们将遭到痛击。”
特朗普声称，此次美沙联合打击针对的是被他描述为“世界之癌”的什叶派民兵，且得到了伊拉克政府的批准。
然而，伊拉克总统谴责这次袭击是“不可接受的攻击，是对伊拉克主权的公然侵犯”；该国总理阿里·扎伊迪（Ali al-Zaidi）取消了原定于今日前往吉达会见沙特阿拉伯王储穆罕默德·本·萨勒曼的行程。
美军表示，在今年2月与伊朗爆发战争以来，这是美沙两国首次已知的协同行动，美国和沙特飞机“打击了伊拉克东部多个恐怖主义物流和武器站点”。
在针对多个区域的袭击中，至少 20 名伊拉克前准军事联盟——人民动员力量（PMF）的成员被杀。此次打击还导致五名伊朗顾问死亡。
如果扎伊迪按计划前往沙特阿拉伯（他本月访问了华盛顿和德黑兰），他可能会被要求约束伊拉克境内的什叶派民兵组织，这些组织长期以来一直游离于政府控制之外。
相反，通过与美国进行联合打击，沙特阿拉伯似乎决定以更强硬的方式传递其信息。
“这是一个非常敏感的时刻，他们 [沙特人] 希望尽可能地威慑伊拉克人，”一位熟悉沙特政府想法的人士表示。
他表示，此次与美国合作进行的攻击是为了比以往沙特针对民兵无人机和导弹发射场的打击（且未公开确认的打击）规模“更大”。
随着与美国的冲突重启，伊朗直接将科威特、巴林和约旦等国作为目标，但在攻击沙特阿拉伯时则依赖于其在伊拉克的代理人和在也门的盟友。
其东北部的伊拉克民兵破坏了沙特的石油设施，并于本周迫使该王国关闭了一家日产 400,000 桶原油的炼油厂。
与此同时，其南部的也门胡塞武装则针对试图穿过红海曼德海峡的沙特油轮。反对叛军的也门政府声称，伊朗计划让胡塞武装向过往船只收取通行费，正如德黑兰此前在霍尔木兹海峡所尝试的那样。
德黑兰通过向美国基地发射新一波弹道导弹，似乎已决定必须向特朗普及其地区盟友保持压力，以迫使美国接受其结束战争的条件。
尽管特朗普多次威胁要“更强硬”地打击伊朗，但到目前为止，他尚未通过针对桥梁和发电站的大规模打击来升级冲突。
然而，如果特朗普决定在未来几个月内维持对伊朗港口的海上封锁，而其军队则针对该国基础设施并使其已经萎缩的经济承受剧烈压力，伊朗的赌博可能会适得其反。
他想表达他们随着伊朗战争升级而感受到的绝望与背叛感，并意识到外国援助的承诺是空洞的，而且这场战争不仅没有除掉该政权，反而是在拯救并鼓励该政权。
雷扎（Reza）的父亲经历了一种不同形式的幻灭。作为一个渴望正义的虔诚者，他参加了 1979 年的伊斯兰革命，并成为了革命卫队（IRGC）——即大法官的禁卫军——的一员。他在 1980-88 年的两伊战争中为伊朗作战。在革命领袖鲁霍拉·霍梅尼（Ruhollah Khomeini）大法官于 1989, 年去世后，他参加了其规模宏大的葬礼。
al。但不久之后，据 Reza 称，“他意识到这场革命有些地方出错了。这不是他想要的正义之战。”
Reza 的父亲并非孤例。在一部名为《被窃取的革命》（Stolen Revolution）的新书中，记者 Bozorgmehr Sharafedin 和 Yeganeh Torbati讲述了被革命体制背叛的伊朗人的故事。“我的父亲曾真正相信伊斯兰革命，”Reza 说，“但现在他痛恨它。面对现状，他经常流泪。”
伊朗货币里亚尔。这些抗议蔓延到了其他城市，包括伊朗第二大城市且是最神圣之城的马什哈德。这场运动缺乏领导，但伊朗前国王之子 Reza Pahlavi 在美国流亡期间，号召抗议者在 1 月 8 日晚上大规模走上街头。尽管他在伊朗的地位存在争议，但人们响应了他的号召。
Reza 记得屠杀开始的那一刻。“到处都是子弹；就像《使命召唤》游戏一样，”他空洞地笑了笑，“但没那么好玩。”
关于 1 月 8 和 9, 日（屠杀高峰期）究竟有多少人被杀，尚无统一结论。总部位于美国的“人权活动家通讯社”（Human Rights Activists News Agency）核实了 50 天内被杀 7,007 人的身份。另有 11,744 起案件正在审核中。基于伊朗医护人员描述的评估估计，那两天的死亡人数在 30,000-36,000 之间。
唐纳德·特朗普总统在为战争正名时，声称有高达 54,000 名抗议者死亡，但未提供证据。
伊朗政府将死亡人数定为 3,117, 人，其中声称 2,427 人为平民和安全部队。
当晚被杀的人之一是 Reza 的朋友，他称其为 Navid。本报（The Times）核实了 Navid 的真实姓名，该姓名出现在人权活动家通讯社的遇难者名单中，其死因为狙击手枪击。
Navid 的父母虽然找回了他的遗体，但无法举行葬礼。“他们不允许他的父母将他安葬在马什哈德的官方公墓中，”Reza 说，“他们说，‘闭上你的嘴，不要在 Instagram 或社交媒体上发布任何内容’。”于是他们将其悄悄安葬在一家乡村公墓里。
第二天，Reza 在一场纪念 Navid 的集会上与他人一同被捕，并被指控种植爆炸物。他的父亲在提供财产作为保释金担保后，才将他救出。
父子俩在 2 月 28, 日（战争爆发第一天）庆祝哈梅内伊在一次以色列空袭中死亡的消息，当时唐纳德·特朗普仍在谈论该政权对其人民的残暴行径。
“人们确实曾坚信政权会更迭，”Reza 说。但随着战争的持续，现实显现：伊朗反对派无法获得援助。“唐纳德·特朗普不再谈论政权更迭，也不再谈论抗议者。这个国家已经毁了，而他的停止（发声）反而让他们变得更强大。”
Reza 知道与本报（The Times）交谈承担的风险。“我不怕死，”他说。他说，他想要发声，是为了反击本月哈梅内伊葬礼所营造的场面。“他们告诉你们的一切，都是美丽的谎言。伊朗大多数人不支持最高领袖。”
抗议活动、镇压以及现在的战争，使伊朗经济进一步陷入危机，导致一代人感到幻灭且心碎。“他们不再相信自己能够改变现状，”Reza 说，“而且现在他们大多数人甚至失去了工作。他们不知道该怎么办。”
进一步蔓延， 村庄 将被焚毁”
村庄接村庄 死寂得令人心慌。街道 被遗弃，房屋 和商店关 shutters， 这种寂静见证了 规模前所未有的山火， 它们将波尔多以西 整个社区的居民赶出了家园 （大卫·查赞，发自布拉贡）。
记者被挥手示意通过； 试图在未经允许的情况下返回的 撤离者则被拦回。
许多撤离的村庄到目前为止 幸免于难，但在勒波尔日， 超过四分之一的房屋 已被大火烧毁。由于 房屋处于空置状态， 许多人还对盗窃行为感到焦虑。
勒波尔日的居民马蒂厄·普莱西 表示：“我一直守到 凌晨四五点。有些人 假装想来帮忙，但 他们真正想做的是 洗劫这里。”
农民们加入了消防 队伍，在拖拉机和皮卡车上 安装水箱，将其 改装成临时消防车。
疲于奔命的消防员们 对这些额外帮助表示欢迎，但 当局已开始核查加入者的 身份，担心犯罪分子 可能会利用大火带来的混乱。
消防员和志愿者在西南部 吉伦特省的布拉贡和安德诺-莱班 附近没日没夜地工作。 截至昨天，已有四名 消防员殉职；另一人在 气罐爆炸时失去了一条腿。
已汇集到吉伦特省（波尔都 为其首府的西南部省份）， 昼夜不停地工作以试图 控制火势。自这场被 称为“超级大火”的灾难 爆发以来，四名消防员 已经殉职。 多人受伤， 包括一名在气罐爆炸时 失去一条腿的人。
来自马赛的海军消防员 在整夜的战斗中，努力将 安德诺-莱班（一座距离波尔多 以西约 30 英里的小镇） 从迅速逼近的火墙中拯救出来。
进入内部非常危险。一名消防员 在吸入烟雾后 已被送往医院。“我们 将在火势到达那条路之前 开始喷水，”朱利安说。
与大多数法国军人一样， 他被禁止透露 姓氏。“如果进入树林， 我们不能保证能将其扑灭， 但阻止它到达道路 至关重要。如果我们让它 进一步蔓延，村庄将被焚毁。”
随着大火逼近 道路，消防员们展开阵势， 在整个宽度上浇灭火焰。 在指挥官的信号下， 他们将水带对准火势， 形成一道水墙。 五分钟后，火被扑灭， 这座拥有 12,000 人的小镇 化险为夷。
BENOIT VEGA/EPA; NATHAN LAINE FOR THE TIMES
距离波尔多不到 20 英里。 他们没有空中支援，因为 投水飞机在低空飞行， 且通常出于安全原因 在夜间停飞。
昨天出现了新的 紧急情况。随着气温 攀升至 40 摄氏度， 此前已扑灭的火源 在高温下重新燃起。 “又是关键的一天，” 吉伦特消防队的发言人 指挥官马蒂厄·若曼说。 “如果我们能将火势 稳定到明天气温下降， 我们希望这能成为一个转折点。”
根据消防员的说法，90 百分比 的山火是由人为引起的， 无论是蓄意纵火， 还是由于疏忽，比如 将烟头扔出车窗。 西南部已有 15 人因 涉嫌纵火或疏忽行为 （如违反临时烧烤禁令）而被捕。
禁止外国机器人入境
美国 理查德·斯宾塞 (Richard Spencer)，中国特派记者
外来机器人不再受美国欢迎，如果它们曾经受欢迎过的话。特朗普 (Trump) 政府已禁止在国外制造的新型人形机器人和机器人狗入境，担心它们可能在美国领土上被远程操作，尤其是由中国操作。
监管互联网以及广播电视的联邦通信委员会 (FCC) 表示，机器人“对美国的国家安全或美国人的安全与保障构成了不可接受的风险”。
该机构表示，担心其控制芯片可能在海外被远程操纵，从而允许敌对势力“监视美国人”或利用被劫持的机器人对他们进行攻击。
FCC 称：“先进机器人系统的网络能力产生了广泛的漏洞和攻击向量，可能操纵先进机器人系统的数据和物理运行。”
该监管机构在公告中表示，并未针对任何特定国家的产品，禁令适用于来自全球的进口产品。然而，中国是人形机器人和四足机器人（更通俗地被称为机器人狗）的主要生产国。
北京已将对先进机器人技术的兴趣转化为一种国家级的执迷，举办包括拳击、足球和跑步在内的机器人体育比赛，以测试最新型号，并开发用于家庭清洁和养老护理的人形机器人。
他们还对机器人狗在地震救援及其他民用灾难以及工业中的应用感到自豪。
尽管总量仍然相对较小，但增长迅速。中国领先的人形机器人制造商 AgiBot 迄今已售出约 15,000 台。其最接近的竞争对手 Unitree 的目标是今年实现 20,000 台的生产线规模。
近年来，对使用依赖计算机芯片的中国制造科技产品的担忧日益增加，与此同时，西方国家也反对不断增长的中国贸易顺差。
中国政府经常指责西方利用其认为的是虚假的国家安全顾虑作为一种贸易保护形式。
然而，英国专家也警告说，考虑到控制芯片的可互操作性，依赖进口的中国电动汽车或依赖中国零部件的汽车具有风险。
FCC 表示：“依赖外国生产的先进机器人设备会带来不可接受的供应链和网络安全漏洞。先进机器人设备收集的数据可能会被恶意行为者利用，用于监视美国人、增强外国情报机构的能力，或远程劫持机器人。”
肯尼亚 简·弗拉纳根 (Jane Flanagan)
一种神秘疾病导致肯尼亚 Amboseli 国家公园及其周边地区的大象死亡，死者多为雌象及其幼崽。该公园是非洲最著名的象群栖息地之一。
在 15 头死亡的动物中，有 10 头表现出相同的异常症状，即部分瘫痪且无法站立。肯尼亚野生动物服务局 (KWS) 表示，它们在两天内相继死亡。
美国
其余五具尸体为
出现在 Telegram 的 X 页面上 就业与资金助力中国赢取 非洲民心
中国
准备充分的《锅中喜剧》（La Comedia de la Olla，或称 Pot of Gold），由普劳图斯于 186 BC 年创作，正在西班牙梅里达的一个罗马时代剧场中为古典戏剧节进行排演
非洲 Jane Flanagan 非洲特派记者 外部影响
一项针对该大陆青年的调查发现，非洲对中国影响力的看法比对美国的影响力更为积极。
在两年一度的非洲青年调查（African Youth Survey）中，约 95 per cent 的 18 至 24 岁非洲人对中国的影响力给予正面评价，而美国为 85 per cent，后者低于英国的 95 per cent、印度的 91 per cent 和德国的 90 per cent。
影响力 正面
自 2022 年以来，中国在三次调查的该项衡量中均排名最高，而俄罗斯的地位则大幅上升，从两年前的 68 per cent 增加到 83 per cent。其最大增幅出现在萨赫勒地区，莫斯科在该地区扩大了军事存在。
太 过 腐烂 或 被 食腐动物啃食， 导致无法确定死亡原因。死掉的大象中只有一头是雄象，且所有大象均在自上月下旬起被发现于公园外 10 至 20 英里的社区土地上。
肯尼亚此前曾记录过因盗猎和人兽冲突导致大象被投毒的事件。
内罗毕大学对从大象身上采集的样本进行的初步检测发现了一种“潜在的有毒物质”，而政府实验室的单独分析对测试的毒素结果为阴性。肯尼亚野生动物服务局（KWS）表示，进一步的检测正在进行中。
“我们也在进行环境调查，包括对受影响区域内的水源和其他潜在环境污染物的分析，以确定大象是否接触了共同的污染源，”该机构表示，并补充说这对人类没有风险。
这次大象死亡事件是 Amboseli 生态系统数十年来记录的最严重事件。
非洲年轻人继续认为中国和美国对其国家具有最大影响力
81% 85%
79% 95%
影响力：很大 + 某些影响。正面：非常 + 较为正面。2026 年非洲青年调查
然而，值得注意的是，其背后的贷款使几个政府沉陷于对中国的沉重债务中，他们表示这一负担加深了该大陆一些最贫困经济体的压力。
由于预计到 2030 年，非洲将占全球年轻人口的 40 per cent 以上，这一崛起一代的观点正成为衡量全球影响力的一个日益重要的指标。
2020 年，博茨瓦纳的 Okavango 三角洲有 350 多个大象死亡，死因与水坑中有毒蓝藻爆发有关。
科学家表示，气温升高和降雨模式的改变促成了这种藻类爆发的条件。
Amboseli 以其自然景观和乞力马扎罗山景色而闻名，这里约有 2,000 头大象，包括最后一些非洲“超级象牙象”（super tuskers），即象牙重量超过 45kg（100lb）的巨型雄象。
近一半的受访者表示，USAid 的解散将通过削减医疗保健和疾病预防资金而损害其国家。
在埃隆·马斯克领导的政府效率部（Department of Government Efficiency）主导的削减成本行动中，该机构在特朗普总统第二任期之初被大肆削减，砍掉了数十亿的对外援助。在整个非洲，影响迅速显现：诊所关闭，艾滋病和疟疾计划失去资金，疾病监测网络陷入资金匮乏的困境。
虽然美国的认可度自 2024 年以来有所回升，但中国认可度的上升速度更快，拉大了两大超级大国之间的差距。受访者将中国物美价廉的消费品以及在中国在全非洲建设的公路、铁路和发电站列为正面看好的原因。
与其说是地缘政治忠诚度，不如说是实际成果。“非洲青年需要的是合作伙伴，而非赞助人，”他说道，并补充称，就业、投资和基础设施比意识形态更重要。
在进行采访的 16 个非洲国家中，人们对外国大国的态度存在显著差异。
南非人对美国的看法最不乐观。仅有略超过一半（58 per cent）的人对美国的影响持积极态度，70 per cent 的人表示，在经历了关于关税的紧张局势以及华盛顿向白人阿非利卡人提供难民身份的一年后，他们的政府应该顶住特朗普的压力，而不是与他合作。
相应地，南非人更支持俄罗斯，这反映出由非洲国民大会领导的政府拒绝谴责俄罗斯入侵乌克兰，且该国参与了与俄罗斯海军的联合海军演习。
Telegram 负责人因“资助恐怖主义”被起诉 俄罗斯 Telegram 的亿万富翁创始人被俄罗斯起诉资助恐怖主义，指控该加密消息应用程序被乌克兰间谍使用。
联邦安全局（FSB）表示，已对 41, 岁的帕维尔·杜罗夫（Pavel Durov）发出国际逮捕令。杜罗夫出生于圣彼得堡，但据称现居住在迪拜。
Telegram 被指未能删除那些“被乌克兰情报机构、恐怖组织和极端组织积极用于准备和协调破坏与恐怖活动、大规模谋杀及网络欺诈”的频道、聊天室和机器人。
JERO MORALES/EPA
目前尚不清楚其他国家是否会执行该逮捕令。如果杜罗夫在俄罗斯被定罪，可能面临终身监禁。
在起诉公告发布后不久，Telegram 的官方 X 账号发布了一张杜罗夫向镜头竖起中指的旧照片。这张照片一直被用来回应俄罗斯的威胁或尝试审查该平台的行为。
杜罗夫于 2013, 年共同创立了 Telegram，该软件已成为乌俄战争双方不可或缺的工具，全球用户约为 10 亿。
杜罗夫在 2014, 年离开俄罗斯，此前他拒绝分享他在 2006, 年推出的社交媒体公司 VKontakte 上的乌克兰抗议者数据。
救援工作仍在继续
日本 在周二发生 7.1 级地震导致九州岛南部熊本地区至少 18 人死亡后，救援人员继续在受损的购物中心和坍塌的房屋中搜寻幸存者。气象厅敦促居民在余震持续期间保持警惕。
乐队抵制格莱美奖
韩国 K-pop 组合 BTS（全称翻译为“防弹少年团”）表示，在格莱美奖引入一个新类别“最佳亚洲流行音乐表演”后，该组合将不再向该奖项提交音乐作品。该团体在网上表示：“我们希望音乐能因其本身而被听到和喜爱，而不是被地区或语言所划分。”
让我们为奶奶干杯
美国 明尼苏达州在一位 82 岁的奶奶据理力争后，通过了一项被称为“祖父母快乐时光”的法案。州法律此前禁止养老院在没有许可证的情况下提供酒精饮料，而该许可证每年费用最高可达 $6,700。拥有五个孙辈的安妮塔·勒布伦（Anita LeBrun）在国会作证支持这一变更。
是否已走投无路？
意大利 詹姆斯·伊玛姆 米兰 无论是与同事分享一盘烤面食，还是咬一口新鲜制作的炸米团（arancino），亦或是在俯瞰地中海的露台上享受轻盈的晚餐，饮食一直是西西里岛最著名的虚构侦探最喜爱的消遣。
詹姆斯·伊玛姆
这位被称为 Mr Tuvs 的艺术家身穿白色工作服，挥舞着喷枪，在覆盖着油漆的墙壁前工作，细致地关注着每一个细节。
但与同龄人许多人不同，瓦莱里奥·图韦里（Valerio Tuveri）并不是在为罗马街道上随处可见的涂鸦锦上添花——而是在将其清除。“在我看来，罗马是世界上最美丽的城市。但与此同时，它也是欧洲被破坏最严重的城市，” 28 岁的图韦里说道。“每天生活在罗马却看到这样的景象，真是太遗憾了。”
作为许多人心中米开朗基罗、拉斐尔和卡拉瓦乔创作出最伟大作品的城市，这座意大利首都同时也是现代涂鸦艺术家的聚集地。
图韦里（在社交媒体上被称为 Mr Tuvs）正以公民自豪感之名，对抗所谓“街头艺术”的常态化，并在网上积累了相当规模的追随者。
这项运动始于图韦里受罗马市议会的请求，去清理台伯河堤岸的墙壁——那里是涂鸦者的心头好。图韦里在父亲的公司工作，专门从事古迹、雕像和喷泉的清洁与修复。
在去年罗马准备迎接超过 33 million 名游客参加梵蒂冈禧年庆典时，他大约清理了五英里的墙壁。此后，图韦里开始以志愿者身份继续工作，发布自己喷洗桥梁和雕像的视频。本月，在罗马市中心清理一座 16 世纪的教堂花费了他三天无偿工作的时间。
“我帮助人们重新发现罗马，因为我们已经习惯了看到事物丑陋的一面，” 图韦里说。“我们习惯了在街道上看到涂鸦和蓄意破坏。在看完我的视频后，人们会说：‘噢，墙壁干净起来后看起来好多了’。”
在 20 世纪 90 年代的罗马“涂鸦热潮”期间，地下通道、卷帘门和历史建筑上的秘密标记达到顶峰，当时资金不足的当局难以跟上在全市范围内活动的艺术家和破坏者的步伐。
图韦里现在与当地当局合作。去年在一次清理行动中，罗马市长罗伯多·瓜尔蒂耶里（Roberto Gualtieri）也身穿白色工作服加入了他的行列。
他还将他认为的建设性街头艺术与破坏性涂鸦区分开来，认为罗马的历史中心区域应保持干净，不应有丑陋的标签和未经授权的标记。而城市外围的街头艺术则……
法国 查尔斯·布雷姆纳（Charles Bremner）巴黎报道
随着一架澳洲航空（Qantas）的空中客车飞机在空中飞行24小时后从墨尔本抵达图卢兹，长途飞行的艰辛——时差、干燥的空气和不适感——即将被推向新高度。
这架经过特殊改装的空中客车 A350 于周二降落，打破了商业客机的单次飞行最远距离纪录。此次飞行是为了明年由这家澳大利亚航空公司启动的悉尼-伦敦和悉尼-纽约直飞服务而进行的测试。
[[IMG_XXXX]] 身着白色工作服的瓦莱里奥·图韦里（Valerio Tuveri）正致力于让罗马的历史中心保持美丽 ALBERTO PIZZOLI/AFP/GETTY IMAGES
数百万人在网上关注了这次飞行。这架超远程喷气机载有五名飞行员和五名空中客车工程师，跨越太平洋、北美和大西洋，航程达 14,338 英里。
为了将耐力推向极限，这次飞行耗时 24 小时 24 分钟，航线被特意延长，超出了未来伦敦-悉尼航线将采用的轨迹，而该航线预计耗时在 19 到 22 小时之间。
他说，至于在社区里，情况就不同了。
“如果你谈到郊区委员会住宅区的一堵混凝土墙，我会说去把它刷上漆，”他说。“刷上漆后看起来非常棒，因为你为灰色带来了色彩。”
并非所有人都支持他的努力。图韦里表示，他被社交媒体指责为“取消艺术”，并被一些支持涂鸦的左翼支持者称为“法西斯分子”。
这种飞行得益于在空中客车机身中增加的油箱，可承载 16 吨额外燃料。对于 238 名在空中经历地球近一整天、穿越多个时区的乘客来说，该航班将提供缓解人体折磨的新方法。
这些措施包括先进的照明系统，以帮助乘客将昼夜节律调整至目的地时区；运动区；以及更高的客舱空气湿度。同时，客舱压力将被调整至比标准客机更低的模拟高度，从而减轻疲劳。
一名要求匿名的罗马涂鸦写手表示，刷墙是在“禁声”艺术家的声音。“签名一直以来都是存在的，”他说。“留下印记是人类的天性。”
警方表示，他们正在加大力度，对波希米亚风格的特拉斯提弗雷（Trastevere）和加尔巴泰拉（Garbatella）等涂鸦热点地区的喷漆者处以罚款。后者是总理乔治亚·梅洛尼（Giorgia Meloni）成长的前工人阶级社区。
市议会表示，自年初以来，已有 50 人因损坏建筑物而被罚款。
图韦里敦促当局加大对市政清洁队的投入，在夜间照亮昏暗区域，安装额外的监控摄像头，在学校开展意识提升活动，并实施更严厉的处罚。“我们生活在一个拥有巨大遗产的城市，”他说。“破坏它是可耻的。”
在此之前，2018 年开通的伦敦与西澳大利亚首府珀斯之间的航线是世界上最长的直飞航班。
在喷气时代之前的 19 世纪 50 年代，伦敦与悉尼之间的飞行大约需要 55 小时。当时澳洲航空运营的“袋鼠航线”使用活塞发动机驱动的洛克希德超级星座（Lockheed Super Constellations）螺旋桨飞机，需要在罗马、贝鲁特、卡拉奇、孟买、新加坡和达尔文经停。
在基于安德烈·卡米莱里 (Andrea Camilleri) 畅销小说改编的电视剧《蒙塔尔巴诺督察》(Inspector Montalbano) 中，食物占据了如此核心的地位，以至于它启发了专门的食谱网页以及在督察家乡开展的烹饪之旅。
现在，蒙塔尔巴诺的粉丝们又有了另一个机会让自己沉浸在这位侦探的美食世界中：一家新餐厅将在普塔塞卡 (Punta Secca) 的一座海滨别墅中开业。普塔塞卡是拉古萨 (Ragusa) 附近一个古朴的渔村，该剧的大部分场景都在这里拍摄。对于那些认为蒙塔尔巴诺在岛上的魔力开始消退的人来说，这次创业是一个积极的消息。
这家名为 Adelina 的西西里海鲜披萨餐厅将于周六迎来首批客人。用餐者可以预订别墅海滨露台的座位，观众一眼就能认出那里就是蒙塔尔巴诺的家。在提供披萨之外，Adelina 还将提供一系列“灵感源自安德烈·卡米莱里笔下优美篇章中的烹饪参考”的菜品。在当地还经营着两家餐厅的主厨约瑟夫·米切利 (Joseph Micieli) 如此说道。
[[IMG_XXXX]] 卢卡·津加雷蒂 (Luca Zingaretti) 在畅销小说改编的电视剧中饰演蒙塔尔巴诺
在卡米莱里的书中（仅在意大利就有约 30 million 册销量），描述经常受到食物的启发，包括一个开着“红色鳎鱼片色汽车”的朋友，以及一次令人难忘的乡村之旅，其特点是“带有能唤醒死者的香气的黑色 passuluna 橄榄”。
这种对食物的痴迷被带入了电视剧改编版，该剧的第一季于 1999 年播出。
专家们长期以来将该剧的普及归功于它带动了当地的旅游业。然而，尽管 2024 年拉古萨省的过夜游客人数比前一年增长 9% 至 1.4 million，但专家表示旅游业十分脆弱，部分原因是拉古萨机场的发展不足。
“‘蒙塔尔巴诺效应’现在只是一段回忆，”西西里海滨旅游协会去年表示。“我们在服务方面落后了。”
“但我们每两小时轮换一次机组人员，”他说道。“在第二段飞行航程中，当量航公司 (Qantas) 的飞行员坐在一个驾驶席时，至少有一名空中客车测试飞行员始终坐在另一个驾驶席上，以确保任务安全。”
高层大气的风向将决定这 12 架专门为量航公司开发的 A350 飞机所采取的航线。为了利用顺风并减少来自高空喷射气流的逆风，从悉尼出发的航班有时可能会经由太平洋和北极向东飞行，而不是沿着通过亚洲前往欧洲的较短传统西北航线。
基兰·南部 (Keiran Southern) 洛杉矶
这座位于西好莱坞的综合体原计划成为时尚的二十多岁年轻人和电影业名流的住所，他们将搬入洛杉矶最令人向往的社区之一。
但该项目停滞不前，一直是一个部分建成且处于施工状态的工地。现在，它吸引了一些不受欢迎的闯入者。
郊狼在现场安了家，促使邻居们给这座建筑起绰号为“郊狼公寓”。镜头显示，这些动物在正午的阳光下懒洋洋地躺着，社交并穿梭在废弃的楼层之间。
“最有趣的是，每天晚上 10 或 11 点左右，你就能听到这群郊狼在嚎叫，”保罗·曼加内洛 (Paul Manganello) 告诉 KTLA 电视台。“这并不是世界上最糟糕的事情；它提醒你，你是自然的一部分。”
其他居民则并不那么喜欢这些四条腿的邻居。
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他们表示，深夜的嚎叫声 干扰了他们的睡眠，而 犬类和猫类主人则担心 他们的宠物。
郊狼是繁衍于洛杉矶 城市扩张区域的野生犬类。 它们几乎什么都吃： 啮齿类动物、兔子、水果 以及在垃圾中发现的任何 可食用之物。
郊狼倾向于避开人类，但
可能会对宠物构成风险。西好莱坞的邻居们
表示该公寓楼的施工
早在多年前就因开发商 失去资金而停工。
“这是一个眼中钉。 一个巨大的眼中钉，”辛迪·索利 (Cindy Sorley) 告诉 ABC 7。
索利是那些因郊狼而 难以入眠的居民之一。 “在深夜……11, 12, 1, 2，你会听到它们在嚎叫，”她说。
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美国 大卫·查特 华盛顿
安东尼·费奥奇 (Anthony Fauci) 博士在国会山的一场委员会听证会上，因拒绝回答任何关于新冠 19 病毒起源的问题，可能会被判定为藐视国会。
作为疫情期间美国顶尖的病毒学家，费奥奇援引了宪法第五修正案（该修正案保护公民免于被迫自证其罪），并指称委员会主席兰德·保罗 (Rand Paul) 对将其关进监狱有着一种“失控的执念”。
在昨天的听证会上，民主党人为 85 岁的费奥奇在面对共和党人的数十个问题时采取回避态度进行了辩护。他们表示，此次会议旨在“陷害”费奥奇。这位资深的卫生官员获得了拜登总统的预先特赦，涵盖其从 2014 到 2025 年 1 月的行为，这意味着他在该时间段之后误导国会的行为仍可能被起诉。
共和党人在听证会上猛烈抨击费奥奇，对他破口大骂，称其为“耻辱”和“恶棍”，并纷纷指控他撒谎、在疫情中牟利以及损害科学。面对每一项指控和问题，费奥奇均以基于法律建议而拒绝回答的声明予以回应。
“由于你拒绝回答，并援引一项因你的特赦而失去支撑的特权，且在被拒绝援引后仍如此，本委员会已计划下周就一项确认你藐视国会的决议进行投票，”63 岁的保罗在听证会结束时告诉费奥奇。当他离开房间时，观众席上的一名女性对费奥奇喊道“去死吧”。
新冠 19 疫情。 “实验室泄漏”理论仍未得到证实，许多科学家认为该病毒是自然产生并在武汉华南海鲜市场传播的。
费奥奇否认美国国立卫生研究院 (NIH) 资助了此类研究，并表示他对新冠 19 的起源持开放态度。截至 2026 年 7 月，疾病控制中心估计美国已有超过 1,200,000 人死于该病毒。
在保罗于昨天听证会前公开的个人日记中，费奥奇在 2020 年 1 月 26 日（疫情初期）写道，“市场不是源头，而是放大器……话虽如此，病毒在某处从动物跳跃到了人类身上。”
保罗补充道：“美国人民有权知道，为什么国家过敏和传染病研究所 (NIAID) 会资助一个极权国家中一个缺乏合格安全标准的实验室开展危险研究。”
“在中国的武汉资助危险的‘功能获得’研究，这一决定很可能在历史上被记载为最糟糕的公共卫生决定之一。坦率地说，美国人民值得获得一个道歉。”
他告诉费奥奇：“新冠封锁……如果没有你的协助和教唆，绝不可能被强加在人们身上。孩子们失去了数年的教育。奋斗一生建立的小企业消失了……虽然你没有实施每一项限制措施，但你利用你的公共权力为其正名。虽然你在公开场合得出结论认为新冠病毒是自然产生的，但你的私下记录讲述了另一个故事。”
费奥奇的日记由卫生与公共服务部部长小罗伯特·F·肯尼迪 (Robert F Kennedy Jr) 公开，表明费奥奇是在政府电脑上撰写这些内容的。
费奥奇在开场陈词中表示：“鉴于保罗参议员显然执着于要求起诉我，他对我重复发表诽谤性言论，且近期公开我的未经删减的个人日记旨在羞辱和恐吓我，我能得出的唯一结论是，他要求我出席本委员会的唯一原因，是为了让我说出某些话，任何话都可以，只要能证明他多次公开承诺的——用他的话来说——让我‘锒铛入狱’是正确的。任何关注过他对我的失控执念的理智之人都将得出同样的结论”。
该委员会的高级民主党员加里·彼得斯（Gary Peters）表示，保罗对福齐（Fauci）“纯粹出于党派之争”的追究，“似乎是多数党在委员会调查的掩护下，经过数月带有偏见且有选择性的努力而达到顶点，其目的基本上是为了将多年前就得出的一个预设结论合法化”。
保罗在结束发言时说： “数百万人的死亡，是因为他的实验，还是因为他批准的、增加了致命病毒致病性的实验？历史将做出评判，但我们目前所知的事实描绘了一幅关于不诚实、误判以及最终导致这种世界罕见的狂妄自大的阴暗图景。”
the times | Thursday July 30 2026 33 Business
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Graham Ruddick, Tom Howard 想要加入电网连接队列。开发商可能还必须达成建设里程碑，以在队列中保留其位置。
根据 Ofgem 披露的提案，数据中心开发商在将其项目接入电网时，可能面临数亿英镑的账单。
由于人们日益担心这些项目将从电网中消耗多少能源，该能源监管机构已提议遏制全英范围内激增的数据中心项目。
Ofgem 昨日表示，对于那些
缓解 AI 支出担忧
Louisa Clarence-Smith 美国业务编辑
微软（Microsoft）的季度销售额和利润预测超越了华尔街的预期，有助于缓解市场对该公司在人工智能领域巨额支出的担忧。
这家全球最大的软件公司表示，截至 6 月底的三个月内，营收增长 18 per cent 至 $90 billion，超过了分析师共识预期的 $87.6 billion。利润增长 31 per cent 至 $35.8 billion，高于预期的 $31.5 billion。
$
这一结果有助于减轻人们对该公司在 AI 投资驱动下巨额资本支出的担忧。4 月，微软表示预计今年的资本支出总额将达到 $190 billion。
昨晚在纽约的盘后交易中，微软股价上涨 $13.66，即 3.5 per cent，至 $404.20。
业绩的提升得益于 Azure，
... 但 Meta 可能会表现更好
Meta Platforms 预计本季度的营收将在 $61 billion 至 $64 billion 之间，而预期值为 $63.15 billion。这家 Facebook 和 Instagram 的所有者表示，该指引“假设在当前汇率下，外币将对同比总营收增长产生约 1 per cent 的不利影响”。2026 年的资本支出范围被缩小至 $130 billion 到 $145 billion 之间。在盘后交易中，Meta 股价下跌 $32.94，即 5.6 per cent，至 $553.11。
（当日变动）
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它建议对想要接入的项目收取每兆瓦 £237,500 至 £712,500 之间的费用。一旦数据中心投入运行，这笔费用将予以退还，但如果项目未能完成，则无法收回。
Segro 是英国最大的房地产公司，近期有 650MW 的数据中心储备计划。理论上，这意味着根据 Ofgem 的计划，将这些项目接入电网将面临高达 £463 million 的账单。
在包括苏格兰在内的全国部分地区，针对旨在支撑人工智能革命的数据中心建设提案浪潮，抵触情绪日益增强。
然而，在全球算力竞赛的背景下，任何干预都可能影响与 AI 相关的投资。例如，Segro 正成为一项价值 £14 billion 收购要约的目标。
Azure 是微软的云计算部门，向企业销售计算能力、数据存储和 AI 服务。该部门报告的季度营收增长为 43 per cent，而分析师的共识预测为 40 per cent。
微软首席执行官萨蒂亚·纳德拉（Satya Nadella）表示，Azure 的全年营收首次突破 $100 billion。
科技公司不得不采取更多措施来安抚投资者，因为投资者对于 AI 基础设施巨额且日益依赖债务支撑的支出感到越来越不安。
上周四，在 Google 母公司 Alphabet 将 2026 年资本支出预测提高至最高 $205 billion 后，其股价下跌超过 7 per cent。
微软一直致力于在企业投资 AI 的巨额支出中分一杯羹，这些企业需要云计算服务和应用程序，包括其 Copilot AI 助手。
一个名为 Microsoft Frontier Company 的新运营实体正在组建，以帮助企业采用和实施 AI 技术。
硅谷领导者担心，随着首席执行官们重新评估该技术的成本及其是否在提高生产力并增加利润，公司可能会削减 AI 支出。
微软成立于 1975 年，总部位于华盛顿州雷德蒙德，还拥有包括 Windows 操作系统、社交网络 LinkedIn 和 Xbox 游戏业务在内的企业。其股价在所谓的“七巨头”（Magnificent Seven）群体中表现最差之列，今年迄今已下跌 18 per cent。
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美国公司 Prologis，因其数据中心管线而受到关注。
根据英国能源监管局 (Ofgem) 的数据，目前有 315 个数据中心项目在排队等待接入。这些项目的总容量达到 73 吉瓦。相比之下，根据国家能源系统运营商的数据，过去一年英国的最高峰值用电需求为 45GW。这意味着接入电网的潜在需求远超目前的实际使用水平。
Ofgem “担心排队项目中的很大一部分最终可能无法实施，这可能会推迟可行项目的开发，并对未来的网络投资需求产生误导性信号”。
能源大臣迈克尔·尚克斯 (Michael Shanks) 表示，这些提案“将有助于确保可行且具备接入条件的项目能够顺利启动，而不会被投机性的申请所阻碍”。
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Ofgem 已就其提案启动磋商，该程序将持续到 9 月 16 日。
因年龄原因 遭不公正解雇
Jonathan Ames 法律编辑
法庭裁定，英国最大的房地产中介公司 Connells 的前任总裁在 Skipton Building Society 收购该公司后，因年龄原因被不公正解雇。
Connells 前任集团首席执行官 David Livesey 将此次裁决描述为一个里程碑式的案例，使得 Skipton 那句“建立在公平之上”的广告口号变得“可笑”。
在贝里圣埃德蒙兹 (Bury St Edmunds) 雇佣法庭的一项裁决中，专家组表示，“认定”该建筑协会的负责人 Stuart Haire “做出了决定”，将 Livesey “从业务的日常运营中”移除。
法庭发现，Skipton 的高管非法地排挤了当时 64 岁的 Livesey，但驳回了针对 Haire 的一系列霸凌指控。
法庭认可，高级管理人员告诉 Livesey，他们希望他“现在立刻离开，或意思相近的话”，并建议他不要参加任何进一步的会议。
法庭指出，Skipton 董事会主席 Gwyneth Burr 承认，她不清楚公司与 Livesey 签署的服务协议中某些条款的“合同意义”，且 Livesey 是在一次持续约十分钟的会议中被告知离开公司的。
在听证会上，现年 67 岁的 Livesey 指控 Haire 在 2022 年从汇丰银行 (HSBC) 加入该协会后，发起了一场“霸凌行为活动”。这家拥有 173 年历史的互助协会在 2010 年完全持有 Connells 的所有权，它否认了这些指控，并指责 Livesey 在任职期间“诋毁” Skipton 集团和 Haire，且“脱离了 Connells 业务的日常运行”。
裁决出炉后，Livesey 表示，该判决“揭露了 Skipton 董事会缺陷严重的决策过程，以及其对许多才华横溢且有能力的 Connells 员工的轻视态度”。
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特内里费机场的 Greggs 门店 1
由于人们日益担心 AI 电力中心将从电网中消耗多少能量，Ofgem 建议严厉打击英国各地激增的数据中心项目。 2
法庭裁定，英国最大的房地产中介公司 Connells 的前任总裁 David Livesey 在 Skipton Building Society 收购该公司后，因年龄原因被不公正解雇。 3
蓝莓冰抹茶拿铁、野餐食物以及更多样化的沙拉帮助 Greggs 度过了英国的夏季热浪——并抵消了一些对其雄心勃勃的扩张计划的质疑。截至 6 月 27 日的六个月中，税前利润增长 20%，达到 £76 million。 4
蓝莓冰抹茶拿铁、野餐食物以及更多样化的沙拉帮助 Greggs 度过了英国的夏季热浪——并抵消了一些对其雄心勃勃的扩张计划的质疑。
尽管人们担心全球能源价格上涨会刺激通货膨胀，但美国联邦储备委员会仍将利率维持在 3.5 per cent 至 3.75 per cent 不变。 5
英国最大的财富管理公司之一 St James’s Place 报告称，在业务转型期间失去多家关键咨询公司后，资金流入速度有所放缓。 6
根据拥有包括考文特花园 (Covent Garden) 和中国城 (Chinatown) 在内的西端大片地产的 Shaftesbury Capital 的说法，伦敦市场“非常活跃”。该公司表示，其名下地产的客流量和销售额均远高于去年。 7
嘉能可 (Glencore) 的交易员利用能源市场的剧烈波动获利，使这家瑞士大宗商品巨头有望获得意外之财。 8
阿斯顿·马丁 (Aston Martin) 在今年上半年每售出一辆车实际上亏损超过 £80,000，这在很大程度上是偿还其巨额债务所需支付的利息所致。这一豪华品牌销售的汽车价值 £563.2 million，比一年前高出 41 per cent，但同时也产生了 £197.6 million 的自由现金流出。
可能会比年初 规模缩小
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Greggs 保持竞争力
Jessica Newman
这家烘焙连锁店上半年的营收增长 7.2% 至 £1.1 billion，税前利润增长 20% 至 £76 million，略高于伦敦金融城预期 的 £75 million。然而，销售增长依然低迷。截至 6 月 27 日 的六个月中，公司直营店的销售额增长了 2.1%，低于去年同期的 2.6% 增长。
首席执行官 Roisin Currie 表示：“你可以看到，当气温超过 30 度时，人们开始减少进食。今年我们比以往更具韧性，因为我们吸取了一些教训。”
这包括调整菜单以匹配消费者趋势并吸引新客户，例如推出了冰抹茶拿铁，以及在 4 月份推出的鸡肉卷，作为其传统酥皮烤点心和香肠卷的替代品。它还在扩大沙拉系列，推出包含更多蛋白质的新配方和改良配方，以挖掘日益增长的健康意识消费者群体。
Currie 表示，Greggs 专注于“为客户保持新鲜感”，在面向年轻消费者的更新饮品系列中推出了蓝莓抹茶冰拿铁等新产品。
这份充满信心的更新报告使这家 FTSE 250 公司的股价在昨天上涨了 312p，即 18.5%，至 £20.02。
希思罗机场 可就跑道建设 每名乘客加收 15 便士
Jonathan Ames 法律编辑
伦敦一家服务于超高净值人群的领先律师事务所的合伙人平均薪酬持平于 £3.1，但仍远超“魔圈”竞争对手的薪资水平。
昨日，Macfarlanes 报告称，去年营业额增长 5 per cent，达到 £389.5，带动利润增长 3 per cent，至 £212。
该结果促使该所的管理委员会将平均权益合伙人薪酬维持在 £3.1，这意味着它在公开财务报告的金融城执业机构排名表中继续占据首位。
Macfarlanes 专注于所谓的针对极富人群的私人客户业务，并且在该领域不公开其客户名单。
然而，该所也从事公司业务。在过去一年中，它为西班牙上市跨国金融服务公司 Banco Sabadell 提供了关于拟将 TSB Banking Group 以 £2.65 billion 的交易价格出售给 Banco Santander 的咨询服务。
Greggs 由 John Gregg 于 1939 年在 Tyneside 创立为一家面包店，他在 1951. 年于 Gosforth 开第一家店之前，一直向家庭配送鸡蛋和酵母。该连锁店在全国拥有 2,773 家店铺。
上半年该店净增 34 家店铺，预计今年将净增 100 至 110 家新店。这少于此前估计的 120 家店铺，Currie 表示这是因为公司不仅在选择合适地点时更加谨慎，而且还取决于“房地产市场的供应情况”。
该公司还计划设立 10 个“Greggs Express”便利单元，这是一种正在测试的自助咖啡和食品服务。它预计在中期内每年将净增至少 100 家新店。
Greggs 表示，其全年展望保持不变。
Currie 补充道：“我们继续专注于在更多服务区域开设店铺，并为顾客提供便捷的方式来购买 Greggs 的热门产品，同时根据口味和趋势的变化来扩大并创新我们的菜单。我们在构建供应链基础设施方面取得了重大进展，这将支撑未来的重大增长机遇。”
该公司表示：“我们对影响市场表现因素的分析继续表明，可支配收入的压力仍然是最大的影响因素。”
其特许经营店的同店销售额增速放缓，且比公司直营店更为明显，仅增长 1.3 per cent，而去年为 4.8 per cent。
Currie 将此归因于该公司的一家
一家著名的英国财富管理公司将其以 £2.7 billion 的价格出售给 NatWest Group，该交易目前仍等待监管批准。
在目前的夏季报告周期中，金融平方英里内的五家“魔圈”律所中有三家公布的合伙人平均薪酬远低于 Macfarlanes。
Clifford Chance 公布的平均薪酬为 £2，Linklaters 位居其次，为 £1.9，而该群体的英美成员 A&O Shearman 为 £1.82。
在这一精英五强组的其他两名成员中，Freshfields 在过去几年中一直拒绝参与报告周期，但由于其结构为有限责任合伙企业，该所在今年晚些时候仍需向公司注册处（Companies House）提交财务报表。
特许经营合作伙伴在今年经历了一次重大的“结构性调整”，这导致其前庭业务出现了一些“运营复杂性”。
管理层建议了一项中期
据推测，Slaughter and May 的合伙人是英国薪酬最高的，平均年薪约为 £4。
Macfarlanes 拥有 97 名合伙人，但该所不会透露其中有多少人持有权益份额。
Macfarlanes 的高级合伙人 Damien Crossley 将该财务报告描述为该事务所的“过渡之年”，并取得了“令人满意的结果”。他表示，结果反映了该事务所兼并收购团队和争议解决团队律师的一些“杰出”努力，但将整体高端法律市场描述为“有时充满挑战”。
Macfarlanes 及其他金融城律所在合伙人薪酬方面继续远远落后于其美国竞争对手。总部位于芝加哥并在伦敦设有大规模业务的 Kirkland & Ellis 事务所，其权益合伙人的平均薪酬每人为 £6.25 million。
每股 19 便士的股息，与去年持平。正如之前所指出的，该公司预计在下半年运营成本将有所增加，因为其分销……
James Hurley
在监管机构允许希思罗机场通过其扩建计划的早期成本回收资金后，希思罗机场的乘客将面临数十年的票价上涨。
民航局表示，它已允许希思罗机场有限公司 (HAL) 回收自去年年初以来在第三条跑道建设提案上花费的 £320 million。
该公司将通过提高航空公司收费——通常通过提高机票价格转嫁给乘客——在约 20 到 25 年内回收这笔资金。
在德比的设施投入运营。
Panmure Liberum 的 Ben Hunt 表示，虽然上半年的利润趋势如预期般有所改善，但下半年“面临挑战，我们仍希望看到同店销售额持续增长的证据，尤其是考虑到来自德比和凯特林即将带来的不利因素”。
其在 2025 年的计划直到 11 月 25 日，当时政府宣布 HAL 的提案为其首选方案。
英国民航局（CAA）表示，其决定将在 2028 年将每名乘客的最高机场收费提高约 15 便士，并在随后几年预计增至 30 便士。
根据一份 CAA 文件，希思罗机场最大的航空公司英国航空表示，HAL 提前回收成本将产生一种风险，即扩建工程对消费者而言将是“难以承受的”。
航空公司多次抱怨希思罗机场的收费是全球所有机场中最高的。
可回收的资金包括开发扩建提案所需的规划和设计成本，包括准备支持未来开发许可指令（development consent order）申请的材料。此类指令授予基础设施项目开展的许可。
CAA 消费者与市场总监 Tim Johnson 表示：“我们的决定在通过希思罗机场扩建的及时进展来支持消费者获益，以及保护消费者免受成本过度增加之间取得了平衡。”
推高富时指数创新高
Robert Miller
在矿业和能源股的支持下，伦敦领先的股指昨日短暂创下新高，因为英国市场受益于其对波动较大的人工智能相关公司较低的风险敞口。
截至收盘，富时 100 指数上涨 37.39 点，即 0.3%，至 10,908.41，并在午餐时间左右触及 10,951.06 的盘中历史最高点。收盘值是历史上的第二高点，略低于 2 月 27 日实现的 10,910.55。
表现最好的矿业公司包括力拓（Rio Tinto），在强劲的半年报后上涨 112 便士，即 1.6%，至 £69.77；以及嘉能可（Glencore），在一份不错的交易更新后上涨 14¼ 便士，即 2.8%，至 520¾ 便士。
机场商店 实验 起飞
起初，这被嘲笑为一场公关噱头，头条新闻中充斥着关于阳光、大海和香肠卷的报道。但 Greggs 最近尝试通过在加那利群岛的特内里费南机场开设门店来向海外扩张，其开局表现十分乐观。
该集团在 5 月底开设了这家 200 平方米的门店，距离其放弃向比利时人销售法棍面包的尝试已过去 18 年。
Greggs 与 Lagardère Travel Retail 合作，以测试其品牌在海外的需求强度。公司表示，该地点使其成为了“在不花费巨额资金的情况下为旅程画上圆满句号的绝佳方式”。
该分店提供 Greggs 的核心菜单，同时也推出了针对当地市场定制的产品，例如西班牙煎蛋卷早餐卷。
首席执行官 Roisin Currie 表示：“目前只有一家店，但到目前为止，它已经突破了每一个销售门槛。”
她指出，Greggs 在英国的机场表现良好。“特内里费的试验旨在探讨：你是否能在国际交通枢纽中实现类似的效果？到目前为止，结果令人满意。”
Currie 表示，未来可能会在更多海外机场开店。“如果 [特内里费] 的结果是积极的，那么接下来就要看看未来还能在哪些地方推广。”
Greggs 在 2008 年关闭了其在比利时亏损的十家门店业务，以专注于在英国的运营。
这家西班牙门店在销售招牌香肠卷的同时，也销售当地食品。
[文中此处衔接中断]
在伊朗战争中重启，引发了人们对全球石油流动的担忧。伊朗向中东的美国军队发射了一波导弹，而美国军方则与沙特阿拉伯合作打击伊朗支持的民兵组织。
由于不确定美国和伊朗是否能达成协议以允许油轮再次自由航行，布伦特原油价格在本月早些时候一度低至 $72，而上周则一度高达 $102。
壳牌 (Shell) 的股价上涨 89 便士，即 2.8%，达到 £33.23½；BP 的股价上涨 17¾ 便士，即 3.4%，达到 543½ 便士。
从周一开始的 AI 相关股票和芯片制造商的剧烈抛售在周中的交易日中继续，并始于亚太市场。韩国的 Kospi 指数受损尤为严重，因为该指数由两家科技公司——三星电子 (Samsung Electronics) 和 SK 海力士 (SK Hynix) 主导。Kospi 昨日暴跌 6%。
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商业评论员 Alistair Osborne
对于大多数人来说，踢进一个惊人的乌龙球通常就足够了。但也许这正是杰米·戴蒙 (Jamie Dimon) 与众不同之处。
在与欧洲超级联赛 (European Super League) 的激烈交锋之后，这位亿万富翁级别的摩根大通 (JP Morgan) 掌门人又在故伎重演：他毫无廉耻地协助国际足联 (Fifa) 那位贪婪的主席吉安尼·因凡蒂诺 (Gianni Infantino) 出售世界杯——而且这一切还是与唐纳德·特朗普 (Donald Trump) 的亲属勾结地完成的。戴蒙究竟想要制造多少起足球界的惨剧？
回溯五年前，摩根大通遭遇了如此剧烈的抵制，以至于戴蒙被迫发表了一次罕见的道歉。当时，该行正准备向一个由 12 家俱乐部（包括皇家马德里、尤文图斯和曼联）组成的脱离原体系的超级联赛注入 €4 billion。结果引发了公众的强烈愤怒。它统一了球迷、球员、足球协会、欧足联 (Uefa，欧洲足球管理机构) 以及各派政治人物。在英国，鲍里斯·约翰逊 (Boris Johnson) 和基尔·斯塔默爵士 (Sir Keir Starmer) 都介入了。威廉王子也是如此。
几天后，该计划被否决。摩根大通随后承认了其错误：“我们显然误判了更广泛的足球界将如何看待这笔交易，以及它未来可能会对他们产生怎样的影响。我们将从中吸取教训。”
那么，戴蒙学到了什么？简短的回答是：屁都没学到 (sweet FA)，至少从目前看来又是一个可耻的乌龙球来看是这样。摩根大通没有发表任何评论。但它希望你相信以下几点。
首先，这两种情况并不相似——这次它所做的，主要是通过其私行，号召投资者在一家新的 $20 billion 国际足联子公司（持有商业权利）中持有非控制性的少数股权，而不是在监管机构本身中持股。其次，你在西班牙的西甲 (La Liga) 和法国的法甲 (Ligue 1, ) 中已经看到了此类权利的分离，以及在一级方程式 (Formula One) 等其他运动中也是如此。第三，国际足联的提案必须由其 211 个成员协会投票通过，这可能会释放数十亿美元用于投资全球足球。
然而，谁会掉进这么天真的陷阱？在超级联赛的混乱之后，现任安迪·伯纳姆 (Andy Burnham) 顾问、前高盛经济学家奥尼尔勋爵 (Lord O’Neill) 在谈到戴蒙时说：“一个如此经验丰富、且在……与现实世界接轨方面如此出色的首席执行官，究竟是怎么地让自己把这份提案推进到那个地步的？”奥尼尔并没有忽略国际足联计划中的相似之处，他告诉《泰晤士报》：“根据我所见所闻，我同样反对这个想法。我完全不明白为什么这对这项运动或足球支持者有好处。”
事实上，在某些方面，情况更糟，因为摩根大通现在与投机取巧的因凡蒂诺以及约书亚·库什纳 (Joshua Kushner) 的 Thrive Capital 投资平台站在一起，而后者是特朗普女婿贾里德·库什纳 (Jared Kushner) 的兄弟。谁看不出这里的危险趋势？因凡蒂诺和特朗普已经给了我们巴洛贡 (Balogun) 事件：一场有商业（补水）暂停、且拥有 27 分钟“麦当娜式”中场休息的四节制比赛。
因凡蒂诺贿赂了成员协会，就像他现在试图用威胁来操作一样：如果成员协会不立即签约，他将把 $10 billion 的资助计划削减至 $2.7 billion。或者在商业部门决定比赛形式或世界杯举办地之前完成签约。那么，这次又是那个能赚钱的美国吗？
每年戴蒙都会写一封给股东的信。2026 年的一封也不例外，他在信中极力吹捧摩根大通是“银行在社区中发挥核心作用的捍卫者”，并具有“将人们团结在一起的潜力”。这是否意味着要再次激起人们的愤怒，因为该行贪婪地将这项最受喜爱的运动变成了低俗的狂欢节——这一计划震惊了全球足球机构，欧足联现在正考虑抵制世界杯。在超级联赛的糟糕经历之后，戴蒙应该知道，这相当于严重的违规犯规。
飞机真相 B
像希思罗机场的股东那样穷肯定很糟糕。看看这群“贫困”的家伙：来自卡塔尔、沙特阿拉伯、新加坡和中国的主权财富基金，这些国家共同拥有数万亿美元；基础设施公司 Ardian，持有 $200 billion 的资产；以及澳大利亚退休信托基金（Australian Retirement Trust），又拥有 $250 billion。
因此，让他们承担资助那项耗资 £49 billion 的第三条跑道奢华工程（包括挖掘 M25 高速公路）的规划成本之商业风险，当然只是痴人说梦。不，他们期望乘客提前买单，赌这次工程真的能建成。
更糟糕的是，充当替罪羊的民航局（Civil Aviation Authority）竟然同意了——尽管它将 2025 和 2026 年规划成本的申请金额从 £450 million 削减至 £320 million。更糟糕的是，它似乎忘记了，上次在同一个极其昂贵的项目未能建成时，它已经向机场支付了 £500 million 的成本。其结果就是，乘客到目前为止在为毫无意义的事情支付双倍费用。
总之，这里的最终结果是每张机票增加 15p，2028, 之后将升至 30p，而届时每人的乘客费将趋向于 £30。而且后续还会有更多费用，因为总规划成本很容易达到 £1 billion。而根据同样的计算，如果跑道建成，每张机票还将增加近 £50，这带来了如此高昂的费用可能导致希思罗机场在市场上失去竞争力的风险。
顺便提一下，即使没有第三条跑道，机场的监管资产基数（regulated asset base）也已经增加了 £820 million，其股东可以永久从中获得回报。对此得感谢民航局。
成功秘诀 T
虽然局面不乐观。但并非对于富时 100 指数（FTSE 100），其在能源和金融股的倾斜使其日内一度创下 10,951. 的新高。如果这种情况持续下去，这个被收购要约笼罩的英国市场看起来将不再像个如此可口且慵懒的“沙发土豆”。
6%
美国利率维持不变
Mehreen Khan 经济编辑
尽管外界担心全球能源价格上涨将推高这个全球最大经济体的通货膨胀，但美国联邦储备委员会（美联储）仍维持利率不变。
正如交易员和经济学家广泛预期地那样，该中央银行将基准借贷成本维持在 3.5% 至 3.75% 之间。据华尔街交易员称，美联储在 7 月加息的可能性仅为 33%，他们预计到今年年底前将加息 2 次。
该中央银行的三位政策制定者——Lorie Logan、Neel Kashkari 和 Beth Hammack 表示异议，并投票支持本月加息四分之一个百分点。其余九人投票支持维持不变。
自去年年底以来，美国利率一直保持稳定，中东冲突干扰了今年降低借贷成本的计划。
美联储新任主席 Kevin Warsh 在主持他的第二次会议时表示，中央银行正全神贯注于遏制通货膨胀，并将采取措施确保价格稳定。他表示，委员会内部的分歧是关于利率走向的一次健康的“家庭内斗”结果。
美联储首选的通胀衡量指标从 5 月的年率 2.9% 降至 6 月的 2.6%，但仍高于中央银行 2% 的目标。Warsh 表示，经济中持续高企的通胀问题“无法在九周内治愈”。
“这次的美联储绝不会动摇：我们的
但借贷成本同样增加 房产中介对夏季低迷深感遗憾
Tom Howard 房产记者
住房市场经历了一次“比往年更剧烈的夏季放缓”，销售额下降，市场待售房屋数量增加，且全国部分地区的房价出现回落。
房产中介此前已指出，新任首相、世界杯以及持久的高温天气共同作用，在近几周内削弱了市场的活力。
这一点现在已在数据中得到体现。根据房产搜索网站 Zoopla 的数据，过去四周内达成销售协议的数量比去年 7 月低 9 %。
Zoopla 执行董事 Richard Donnell 将春季至夏季期间市场的停滞归咎于“高企的抵押贷款利率和政治不确定性”。他估计，自 1 月以来，利率上升使得英国典型住宅的每月抵押贷款还款额增加了约 £125，即每年增加 £1,500。
Warsh 表示：“信誉建立在履行职责和完成责任的基础上。”
在美联储做出决定后，美国政府债券最初出现反弹，推低了收益率。10 年期债券收益率最终上涨 0.04 个百分点，短期债券收益率上涨 0.02 个百分点。美元兑一篮子主要货币下跌 0.25 %。
本月，美国、英国和欧洲的政府债券均遭到抛售。Warsh 表示，债券收益率的跳升收紧了金融环境，并有助于美联储对抗通货膨胀。他说道：“市场已经起到了相当大的作用。”
Warsh 表示，他不会在美联储的下一步行动上给投资者提供“喂到嘴边的” “前瞻性指引”，也不会“干预市场信号。这就是为什么我们的措辞非常精简。[投资者] 正在更直接地对事件做出反应。惊喜并非我们的目标，但在进入本次会议之前，我们并不觉得受到了限制，”他补充道。
美国经济仍然容易受到油价跳涨引起的通胀冲击。在本月美伊停火协议破裂后，油价回升至每桶 $100 以上。昨晚在纽约，布伦特原油交易价格为 $90.74，上涨了近 8 %。
在会议之前，美国银行的经济学家表示，7 月加息对于美联储来说将是“史无前例的”，但 Warsh 将因此获得“巨大的通胀信誉”。
Pantheon Macroeconomics 的高级美国经济学家 Oliver Allen 表示：“能源冲击，加上春季一些较为糟糕的通胀报告的结合……”
市场停滞使南部买家拥有了“极强的议价能力”
随着成交量减少，市场上的待售房屋数量有所增加。Zoopla 的数据显示，在英国 11 个地区中，有 8 个地区的待售房屋数量比一年前更多。
更多的选择让买家拥有了“极强的议价能力”，并抑制了房价，特别是在英格兰南部——由于当地房价更高，因此对抵押贷款利率的升高更为敏感。
[[IMG_XXXX]] 美联储主席 Kevin Warsh 与唐纳德·特朗普总统在 5 月于白宫举行的就职典礼上
美国联邦基金利率
0 2022 23 24 25 26
在过去 12 个月中，而东南部地区房价平均下跌了 £1,480。
相比之下，自去年夏天以来，西北部的房产价值增加了 £7,100。在整个英国，年房价通胀率为 1.3 %，低于一年前的 1.7 %。
Zoopla 列出的三个销售和价格均停滞的住房“冷点”地区分别是巴斯 (Bath)、牛津 (Oxford) 和哈罗 (Harrow)。而“热点”则集中在北部：沃灵顿 (Warrington)、赫尔 (Hull) 和邓迪 (Dundee)。
尽管出现放缓，Donnell 表示这“并非完全单向的趋势”。
他说道：“交易仍在达成，全国大部分地区的房价仍在上涨，且买家拥有了久违的更大议价空间。”
“各地的具体情况差异巨大，近四分之三的当地市场在过去三个月里销售额有所下降，但仍有四分之一的市场完全逆转了这一趋势。”
月份以及劳动力市场趋于稳定的迹象，显然让委员会中的相当多成员担心，通胀风险已经超过了对就业的威胁。”
艾伦表示，美联储 9 月的下一次决定至关重要，因为交易员认为美国自 2023 年 7 月以来首次加息的可能性为 75%。他说：“许多委员会成员对于政策的下一步合适操作似乎仍然处于真正的矛盾之中。”
BCA Research 的首席美国债券策略师瑞安·斯威夫特 (Ryan Swift) 表示：“9 月加息的门槛仍然较低，且
杰克·巴尼特 (Jack Barnett) 经济记者
上个月房贷审批数量有所增加，但由于中东战争推高了抵押贷款借贷成本，该数值仍低于中期平均水平。
英格兰银行公布的数据显示，银行在 6 月批准了 58,200 笔抵押贷款，高于 5 月的 56,565 笔。分析师此前预计审批数量为 57,100 笔。过去半年的月平均值为 61,400 笔。
在潜在买家冲在之前抢在锁定较低抵押贷款利率（于中东冲突开始时）之后，需求有所回落。
根据该银行的数据，6 月新办理抵押贷款的平均利率从上月的 4.22% 上升至 4.35%。同期，所有未偿还抵押贷款的平均利率从 3.92% 攀升至 3.96%。
将取决于接下来的两份通胀报告的结果。最终，我们认为通胀率将足够低，以至于即使出现加息周期，其幅度也会非常浅。”
Principal Asset Management 的首席全球策略师西玛·沙 (Seema Shah) 表示：“美联储尚未确信通胀之战已经获胜。虽然目前降息仍不在考虑之列，但投资者也不能排除在年底前再次加息的可能性。我们的基准预测仍然是，随着潜在通胀压力的缓解，美联储在 2026 年剩余时间里将维持利率不变。但对这一看法的信心较低。”
一家名为 UK 的咨询公司表示：“抵押贷款利率目前已显著上调，通胀预计将在今年下半年跳升，且房价和活动情况的调查指标继续失去动力。这表明房价增长将在下半年放缓。”
然而，他补充说，“经济很好地抵御了伊朗战争的第一阶段”，并指出强劲的信用卡消费、旺盛的借贷需求以及最近抵押贷款审批数量的上升。
截至 6 月的一个月内，消费者通过信用卡净消费 9 亿英镑 (£900 million)，高于 5 月的 6 亿英镑 (£600 million)。家庭储蓄账户增加了 63 亿英镑 (£6.3 billion)，这表明他们并没有动用之前的积蓄来资助支出。
预计该银行的货币政策委员会将在今天将借贷成本维持在 3.75% 不变。
‘‘
2026 年似乎将成为美国股票市场首次公开募股（IPO）的纪录之年。SpaceX 上个月的巨额 IPO 筹集了 860 亿美元，估值达到 1.77 万亿美元，这几乎保证了新纪录的诞生。
根据 S&P Global Market Intelligence 的数据，今年前六个月美国 IPO 发行的普通股总额达 1461 亿美元——超过了 2022 年至 2025 年整个期间的发行总量。
要找到一个与刚刚经历的上半年相当的时期，必须追溯到 2021 年，当时在新冠疫情封锁结束之后，发行闸门被全面打开。在那个目前仍保持纪录的年份，前六个月约有 1759.8 亿美元的股票发行。
得益于电动汽车制造商 Rivian、加密货币交易所 Coinbase 以及在线游戏平台 Roblox 等公司的上市，2021 年全年的发行额为 2876.8 亿美元。
假设 AI 公司 Anthropic 如预期在 10 月上市，即使其竞争对手 OpenAI 选择将首次亮相推迟到 2027 年，今年的数据也应会超过那个纪录。
这一切令一些投资者倍感不安。
由 Bhanu Baweja 领导的瑞银（UBS）全球策略团队指出，此前 IPO 发行金额达到顶峰的年份——2000, 2007, 2014 和 2021 年——在随后的次年都出现了市场回报率下降的情况。
然而，他们表示 2026 年可能与那些年份不同，因为虽然今年 IPO 市场的绝对规模确实异常之大，但相对于美国股票市场的整体规模而言，它并不算大。
他们补充道： “仅看以美元计的 IPO 规模，忽略了市场的增长程度…… 1996 年市场不得不吸收额外的 500 亿美元股权供应，与 2026 年不得不吸收同样的数额是不一样的。”
有些人可能还会发现一个令人惊讶的现象：尽管股权发行量创下纪录，美国股市在 2026 年结束时的规模仍可能小于年初。
人们通常认为，“去股权化”（de-equitisation，这一词语由前花旗集团首席全球股票策略师 Robert Buckland 在 2003 年首次提出）是仅限于像英国这样不被青睐的股市中才会出现的现象。
事实并非如此。由于并购、股票回购以及私募市场的迅速扩张，美国的年度净股权发行量在数十年里一直为负值；尽管根据美国联邦储备委员会汇总的数据，某些单季度——最近的一次是今年前三个月——该数值为正。2026 年美国的回购规模可能在 1.2 万亿美元至 1.3 万亿美元之间，约占市值的 2% 至 3%。
本财报季证实了这一点：仅在本月，摩根大通（JP Morgan Chase）就宣布了一项新的 500 亿美元回购计划，花旗集团（Citigroup）则强调其正处于一项 300 亿美元计划的执行过程中。与此同时，美国银行（Bank of America）指出，在去年此时宣布的 400 亿美元回购计划中，仍有 170 亿美元待执行，而摩根士丹利（Morgan Stanley）则重新授权了一项 200 亿美元的回购计划。
而且，不仅是银行在忙于回购股票。联合健康集团（UnitedHealth Group）上周宣布，在今年已经回购 40 亿美元股票后，其目标是在年底前达到 50 亿美元。
折扣零售商 Dollar Tree 和管理咨询公司埃森哲（Accenture）最近也将其回购计划的规模分别提高了 20 亿美元以上。
尽管超大型科技公司似乎更多地处于发行模式，但...
沃伦·巴菲特曾警告过 一个国家的股市价值 与其 GDP 之间的比率
寻找您自己签名装裱的漫画家最优秀作品印版，包括 Peter Brookes, Morten Morland, Peter Schrank 等。 为您的墙面增添一些机智
目前，有许多推测认为，英伟达（Nvidia）在下个月发布报告时，将延长其目前的股票回购计划；该计划就在今年 5 月才将规模从 $60 billion 提高到 $80 billion。
但随着科技巨头（hyperscalers）的资本支出大幅增加（一些估计认为今年可能的总额将达到 $785 billion），这将影响自由现金流。例如，谷歌的母公司 Alphabet 上周报告称，自 2004, 年 IPO 以来，该公司在最近一个季度首次出现了负现金流。这意味着，根据 Baweja 及其团队的观点，回购在未来一两年内可能会放缓。
资本支出消耗自由现金流可能并非唯一的影响因素。Baweja 的团队指出，随着股票相对于债券变得更加昂贵，一些公司“可能更不愿通过回购向股东返还资本，这是回购规模相对于市场规模可能下降的另一个原因”。
通过减少股票供应的“去股权化”（De-equitisation）在近期为市场提供了推动力。在过去的二十年里，由于量化宽松以及在大部分时间里接近零的利率，市场拥有充足的流动性。这使得市场能够在波动中上涨，例如，仅以与伊朗的战争为例。
那么，回购的放缓加上持续不断的 IPO，是否必然意味着股市崩盘在即？
一些衡量指标表明确实如此。近期关于所谓的“巴菲特指标”（Buffett indicator）有很多评论，该指标由投资者沃伦·巴菲特命名，是指一个国家股市的总价值与该国 GDP. 的比率。
当巴菲特在 2001 年的一篇文章中提出这一指标时，他写道：“如果百分比下降到 70 或 80 的范围，买入股票可能会获得很丰厚的回报。如果该比率接近 200 per cent —— 就像 1999 年和 2000 年部分时间那样 —— 你就是在玩火。”
本月早些时候，美国的该指标达到了 236 per cent。
伊恩·金 (Ian King) 是《泰晤士报》前商业与金融城编辑
无法解决 英国的问题
威斯敏斯特极其崇拜 一个看起来忙碌的 政府。安迪·伯纳姆 上任的第一周就发布了 一连串的政策声明。在 大多数政治阶层看来， 一个主导新闻议程的 政府就是一个成功的 政府。然而，经济现实 并不在意新闻稿。在经过 一周的高强度活动后，我 看到了令人担忧的迹象， 即伯纳姆正在按照已故的 大卫·亨德森所描述的 “DIY 经济学”进行治理。
在他 1985 年的里思讲座中， 这位前财政部顾问描述了 那些“几乎或完全不依赖于 经济学教科书……或经济 历史证据”的经济思想所 具有的持久吸引力。这类 思想之所以持续存在，是因为 它们凭直觉运作，提供简单 且令人宽慰的因果主张， 并承诺繁荣可以通过政治 意志来策划。
DIY 经济学用直觉代替了 分析。它假设政府能够 通过支持受青睐的行业来 设计经济。国家被视为相互 竞争的公司。进口被视为 损失；出口则是胜利。 政策通过其可见的初步效果 来衡量，而很少考虑更广泛 的后果。
约翰·希利对加强“购买 英国货”政府采购政策的 渴望就是一个明显的例证。 大臣的逻辑很简单：怀特霍尔 (英国政府) 购买英国产品，英国工厂 获得额外订单，英国随之 获得就业机会、韧性和技术 诀窍。故事就此结束。
然而，坚持购买英国货就 意味着接受支付更高价格， 或接受比进口产品质量更低 的产品。如果一列英国火车、 一台涡轮机或一台计算机 的价格高于国外替代品， 那么政府就必须减少购买 数量，增加税收，增加借款， 或在其他地方削减开支。 将这个想法包裹在米字旗 之中并不能改变现实。
这不仅仅是理论。一项 研究估计，美国的“购买美国 货”规则在保留就业岗位时， 每个岗位的经济成本高达 $100,000 以上。另一项 针对法国和西班牙 1.2 million 份公共合同的调查发现， 倾向于“本土”供应商导致 政府在相同预算下，所提供 的公共服务比竞争性采购 流程能实现的少 8 per cent。
权衡并没有就此停止。 在严格的“购买英国货” 政策下，受青睐的国内供 应商会将工人、钢铁、能 源和资本从其他英国企业 中吸引走。外国政府也可能 对英国出口商采取报复。 而我们之所以忍受这一切， 是因为一个普遍存在的谬误， 即认为进口意味着资金在 国外消失。事实上，支付给 外国供应商的英镑最终会 转化为对英国商品、服务、 资产或投资的需求。
简单的单步因果关系同样 渗透在伯纳姆关于生活成本 的声明中。取消电费增值税 ，生活成本就会下降。将 公交票价上限设为 £2 ， 交通就会变得更实惠。 在这两种情况下，都被强调 的是显而易见的第一轮效应， 而更广泛的影响则被忽视。
归根结底，生活成本的降低 不能通过政府调整由谁来 买单来实现。住房、能源 和基础设施变得不再实惠， 部分原因是政策（通过规划 限制、能源政策和其他形式 的监管）增加了供应难度。 对家庭的补贴或税收支持 只能将由此产生的稀缺性 重新分配给其他客户或纳税 人。它们无法消除稀缺性 本身。
伯纳姆对再工业化和餐饮业 的支持是 DIY 经济学的另 一个例子。亨德森将“政治 家知道我们应该生产什么” 的想法斥为“结构偏见”。 繁荣实际上源于企业家发现 劳动力和资本在何处创造 价值，而非源于大臣们偏好 的工业组合。将竞争环境向 工厂或酒吧等方向倾斜， 仅仅是将资源从消费者 可能真正认为更有价值的 活动中转移走。
或许第一周的活动旨在积累一些政治资本。然而，我的担忧是，“DIY经济学”不仅仅是伯纳姆的沟通策略，更是他的经济哲学。
瑞安·鲍恩（Ryan Bourne）是卡托研究所的经济学家，也是《价格战争》（The War on Prices）一书的编辑。
Helen Cahill 财经记者
Helen Cahill
英国最大的财富管理公司之一报告称，在公司转型过程中失去多家关键顾问公司后，资金流入速度有所放缓。
St James’s Place 表示，在合作伙伴 Prospera Wealth Management 和 Wellesley Investment Management 离开后，最新六个月期间的净流入额从 £3.8 billion 放缓至 £2.7 billion。在此之前有报道称，Sovereign Wealth 也在考虑离开。
这家富时 100 (FTSE 100) 指数成分公司表示，其顾问基数在半年内有所扩大，顾问人数增加至 4,951，而客户群增加至 1,064,000。总流入额保持在 £10.5 billion 的稳定水平，管理基金规模增长至创纪录的 £240.8 billion，较 £220 billion 增长了 9.5%。
St James’s Place 的股价下跌 27½p，即 2.5%，至 £10.59。
St James’s Place 首席执行官 Mark FitzPatrick 表示：“我们的顾问目前非常忙碌，比去年更忙，他们正与客户接洽，处理的案例数量比以往任何时候都多——尽管单笔案例规模略有下降。当经济环境略有不确定且人们信心稍低时，案例规模通常会下降。”
“我们还观察到资金明显转向现金。 [这] 是一种客户将其资金投入储蓄的转变，他们在采取进一步行动前会稍作停顿，观察中东地区的情况。”
St James’s Place 发布业绩的同时，其他上市资产管理公司也更新了情况。最近被提升至富时 100 (FTSE 100) 指数的 Aberdeen 记录了 £3 billion 的净流出，因为其投资部门失去的一项关键授权抵消了面向零售客户的 Interactive Investor 平台的强劲表现。
Interactive Investor 的净流入额为 £6.8 billion，高于去年同期的 £4.1 billion，Aberdeen 将此归功于“品牌知名度的提高和价格竞争力的增强”。然而，其支持投资部门的净流出……
Wonderwall 在去年的切尔滕纳姆圣詹姆斯广场节日挑战杯公开猎狐赛中即将获胜
机构客户的流出额增长了三倍多，从 £1.8 billion 增加到 £5.6 billion，原因是该集团在 7 月的第一周失去了一项价值 £1 billion 的固定收益委托。
亚伯丁（Aberdeen）的顾问部门为数千家独立财务顾问和财富管理公司提供服务，该部门也受到了冲击，净流出额从 £900 million 上升至 £1.3 billion。亚伯丁的股价下跌 10½p，即 4.3 per cent，至 238p。
亚伯丁首席执行官杰森·温莎（Jason Windsor）表示：“我们确实失去了一些我们预料中会失去的委托。其中一个实际上将在下半年通过另一种产品重新向我们投资。
“显然你希望做得更好。显然人们购买主动管理产品的方式正在经历一场洗牌。显然不同业务线之间的资产配置发生了变化。
“因此，我们远未达到完美的形态。但我正努力确保我们的业务拥有正确的进入市场产品、最佳的业绩表现，并且是一个高效的平台。我认为我们可以在很大程度上实现这一点。让资金流回归到可持续增长的状态是一个持续进行中的过程。”
亚伯丁的税前利润增长至 £276 million，高于之前的 £271 million，这被归功于其持有的 Standard Life 10 per cent 股份带来的收益。Peel Hunt 的分析师雷·梅尔（Rae Maile）表示，市场一直“不情愿地承认”亚伯丁已经发生了变化，但该公司的顾问部门仍然是“一个持续进行中的过程”。
与此同时，Rathbones 报告上半年净流出额为 £900 million。这家富时 250 (FTSE 250) 指数公司表示，其资产管理平台在第二季度经历了 £400 million 的流出，第一季度的流出水平与之相似，并将这一趋势归因于“整个行业对主动权益策略持续的压力”。
Rathbones 首席执行官乔纳森·索雷尔（Jonathan Sorrell）表示：“现在这是一个艰难的局面，特别是英国零售领域的主动资产管理，而且我们的投资策略非常注重质量和增长。在过去的 12 months 中，这无疑是一个非常困难的领域。
“我认为在这样一个时刻，最重要的是不要让你的风格发生漂移，不要开始追求不同的风格。客户是因为你的质量和价值导向方法而选择你的。我们的基金经理拥有非常优秀的长期业绩记录。”
他表示，该集团增加了新的新兴市场和亚洲权益策略，并计划在未来几年内在“能够产生可持续超额收益”的领域推出更多策略。索雷尔表示，他打算在机构客户方面更加积极。
Rathbones 的股价下跌 54p，即 3.1 per cent，至 £16.64。
渣打银行在创纪录利润后 将进行回购
ALAMY
渣打银行宣布将进行 $1 billion 的股票回购，其财富管理部门的强劲增长助力实现了创纪录的利润。
这家专注于亚洲市场的银行报告称，其管理资产规模达 $389 billion 的财富业务在上半年的收入增长 38 per cent，达到 $2.1 billion。该部门助力该贷方的总营业收入增长 6 per cent，达到 $11.6 billion，其税前利润增长 9 per cent，达到创纪录的 $4.8 billion。
首席执行官比尔·温特斯表示，在经历了上半年的 $1.5 billion 回购计划之后，此次股票回购反映了管理层对“业务的信心”。渣打银行还上调了全年收入预期，预计增长将处于 5 per cent 至 7 per cent 范围的中点，而非倾向于低端。
由于该行就其在伊朗战争中的风险敞口计提了 $234 million 的费用，其利润受到一定限制；但由于华尔街交易员从股票交易活动中获得了更高收入，这场战争对该行业而言反而是盈利的。
Shore Capital 的分析师加里·格林伍德表示，此次业绩显示管理层正在“成功执行”计划，并在其财富部门交付了“尤为强劲”的表现，该部门在 2024. 年的战略更新中被确定为关键增长驱动力。渣打银行宣布将在四年内向该部门投资 $1.5 billion。
渣打银行表示，由于利用人工智能降低成本，将削减约 8,000 个后台岗位。温特斯今年因称人工智能将取代“低价值的人力资本”而受到广泛批评。
在半年报业绩发布会上，他的语气变得更为克制：“技术正在重塑金融服务。我们正在投资数据、数字化平台和人工智能，以提升客户体验，提高生产力并增强韧性。与此同时，我们正在简化组织，现代化基础设施，并消除整个集团的复杂性。”
房东赞扬西区活力充沛
Tom Howard 房地产记者
尽管唐纳德·特朗普总统和埃隆·马斯克可能不怎么在意，但据伦敦最大的地产公司之一称，这座城市“非常活跃”。
K
Shaftesbury Capital 拥有包括考文特花园 (Covent Garden) 和中国城 (Chinatown) 在内的西区大片区域，该公司表示，其持有土地的客流量和销售额均远超去年。
“我们只能报告我们所看到的，但情况确实非常活跃，”Shaftesbury 首席执行官 Ian Hawksworth 表示。“我们看到人们在我们这里逗留的时间更长，消费金额更多。来自零售商和餐饮业者的需求，尤其是零售商的需求，极其强劲。”
他补充说，过去几周，Shaftesbury 房产范围内的贸易情况“更加强劲”。“我不确定这是‘伯纳姆效应’（Burnham bounce），还是人们在下一次预算案出台前单纯在享受生活。但客流量显著增加，不仅是对 [我们的租户] 而言，而是整个西区如此，且销售额也比去年同期大幅增长。”
60 岁的 Hawksworth 指出，与他的预期相反，温暖的天气对 Shaftesbury 和伦敦来说是一个福音。
“我们最初认为极热的天气可能会产生负面影响，但事实恰恰相反，”他说道。“人们似乎更想出门逛逛，因为家里太热，他们不想待在屋内。我相信那些配备空调的餐厅生意一定很好。”
Shaftesbury Capital 是由两家西区地产公司 Shaftesbury 和 Capital & Counties 在 2023 年合并而成的。它在考文特花园、苏豪区 (Soho) 和中国城及其周边约 40 英亩的土地上拥有约 640 个办公室、商店、餐厅和公寓。
Hawksworth 表示，大多数人每周至少有部分时间回办公室办公，这一事实再次推动了伦敦的复苏。
“如果你在菲茨罗维亚 (Fitzrovia) 或霍本 (Holborn) 的办公室工作，你可能会在午餐时间来到我们的地产区域，为了一个
Isabella Fish 零售编辑
在经历三年的低迷之后，Gucci背后的奢侈品集团已恢复增长，这得益于美国和亚洲需求的重新燃起。
Kering在截至6月30, 的三个月内，同店销售额增长2 per cent，达到€3.65 billion，推动这家法国集团的股价在昨日上涨超过16 per cent。
这是自2023, 中期以来的首次季度销售额增长，提高了人们对全球奢侈品行业改善以及首席执行官Luca de Meo转型计划的希望。
珠宝、太阳镜和眼镜的需求尤为强劲。在集团销售额中占据一半、营业利润中占据三分之二的Gucci，在经历了长时间的低迷后出现了初步复苏迹象：该期间收入下降2 per cent，而上一季度下降了8 per cent。
去年从汽车制造商雷诺（Renault）加入的De Meo表示：“恢复增长是一个重要的里程碑，但我们仍处于旅程的起点，对未来的挑战保持现实态度。”
二月份的一次中国新年游行庆祝马年。Shaftesbury Capital拥有伦敦西区的大部分资产，包括唐人街。
晚餐喝酒。我认为这并不局限于西区。如果你在金融城（City）逛逛，会发现那里更热闹，金丝雀码头（Canary Wharf）也是如此。”
对于Shaftesbury而言，这一切促成了今年前六个月财务上的“强劲表现”。
该业主在年内签署了226 份新租约，平均租金比此前高出18 per cent。
今年以来新加入的地产项目包括美妆零售商Sephora；Times餐厅评论家Giles Coren青睐的意大利餐厅Burro；以及在Covent Garden开设首家英国门店的法国奢侈香氛品牌Matière Première。
“我们真心追求最好的[品牌]，而最好的品牌也希望与最强者在一起，”Hawksworth表示。“这一切创造了一个人们愿意花更多钱的环境——而这转化为租金增长。”
Shaftesbury的年度租金收入面临着消费者信心减弱、生活成本上升和游客支出减少的压力。
故事背后
Kering销售额的恢复表明，奢侈品行业可能正在走出近期的低迷。
该集团第二季度同店销售额增长2 per cent，由珠宝和眼镜需求的增强以及Gucci跌幅的减缓所驱动，这表明消费者对高端商品的胃口开始稳定。
他还计划通过加大对一些较小品牌的重视，来减轻对Gucci的依赖。
Kering首席财务官Armelle Poulou表示，Gucci在“美国消费者中引起了特别强烈的共鸣”。
价格上涨和消费者信心减弱，迫使品牌重新思考那些过度依赖标志性产品（logo-driven）和频繁涨价的策略。
奢侈品需求的性质正在发生变化。年轻消费者越来越多地倾向于个性化产品、工艺和体验，而非传统的身份象征，这引导品牌专注于创意、独特性和更强的客户关系。
美国奢侈品支出显示出动力恢复的迹象，这得到了更强劲的股票市场和富裕消费者韧性需求的支撑。中国也开始稳定。英国和欧洲部分地区则面临压力。
Kering的转型发生在整个奢侈品行业动荡的背景下，这是由通胀压力和全球需求长期下降驱动的。Kering的竞争对手LVMH以及英国奢侈品牌Burberry最近在销售方面也取得了改善，尤其是在美国和亚洲。
增加至 £219.5 million，高于年初的 £215 million。如果该公司按照当前市场租金重新出租所有建筑，年收入将接近 £281 million；公司预计在未来五年内，随着租赁合同到期续签，将实现这一“回溯收益”。
在 1 月至 6 月期间，沙夫茨伯里 (Shaftesbury) 创造了 £228.1 million 的税前利润，而 2025 年上半年的利润为 £173 million。
今年的盈利能力得到了提升
利洁客 (Reckitt Benckiser) 业绩提升
Alex Ralph 首席商业记者
新兴市场的增长助力利洁客公布了高于预期的第二季度销售额，并启动了一项 £500 million 的股票回购计划。
这家 FTSE 100 消费品公司旗下拥有滴露 (Dettol) 和杜蕾斯 (Durex) 等品牌。在其截至 6 月 30, 日的季度中，核心业务的同口径净营收增长加速至 4.2 per cent，高于分析师一致预期的 3.6 per cent。
这一增长由新兴市场的销售额驱动，增长了 9.4 per cent，尽管其俄罗斯卫生业务受到了西方制裁。上周，利洁客同意以 £175 million 的亏损将该业务出售给俄罗斯制造商 Arnest。
新兴市场的增长抵消了欧洲 1.5 per cent 的销售额下降，以及北美 2.8 per cent 的增长放缓。
包括中国和印度在内的新兴市场目前占利洁客核心业务营收的 44 per cent。
Stifel 的房地产行业分析师 John Cahill 表示：“Shaftesbury 的业绩表明，西区 (West End) 的承租和投资市场并未受到全球宏观及政治不利因素的影响。”
Shaftesbury Capital 的股价下跌 2¾p，即 1.9 per cent，报 143¼p。
利洁客表示，该季度实现了“均衡增长”，销量增长 2 per cent 2.，价格组合增长 2.2 per cent。
利洁客总部位于伯克셔郡 (Berkshire)，由 Reckitt & Colman 与荷兰的 Benckiser 在 1999, 年合并而成，是全球最大的消费医疗保健集团之一。
该公司在今年上半年向股东返还了 £3 billion，其中包括一项特别股息，并宣布在未来 12 个月内实施一项高达 £500 million 的新股票回购计划。该公司宣布中期股息为 88.6p，增长 5 per cent。
利洁客首席执行官 Kris Licht 在谈到新兴市场时表示：“这几乎占据了公司的半壁江山，也是我们看到增长最强劲的地方。”
“这也许是所有市场中最具战略意义的，因为从全球中产阶级家庭数量和消费支出的角度来看，这里就是增长所在，也是我们拓展产品类别的机会所在。”
T
Emma Powell
嘉能可（Glencore）的交易员们已从席卷能源市场的波动中获利，使这家瑞士大宗商品巨头有望获得意外之财。
根据第二季度的产量更新报告，这家 FTSE 100 矿业与贸易集团的市场部门预计今年前六个月的调整后收益将达到 $3.3 billion，是去年同期数据的两倍多。
这将是自 2022 年俄罗斯入侵乌克兰以来市场部门的最高利润，且比城市分析师预测的 $2.2 billion 共识预期高出 $1 billion 以上。
自 2 月 28, 中东冲突爆发以来，霍尔木兹海峡（通常承载全球约五分之一石油和天然气供应的关键水域）的实际关闭，导致关键大宗商品价格的波动性加剧。
像嘉能可这样的交易员能够从极端的市场波动和大宗商品价格失调的时期中获益。该公司股价昨日收盘上涨 14¼p，即 2.8 per cent，至 520¾p。这家在伦敦上市的集团是全球最大的大宗商品交易商之一，去年售出了 751 million 桶石油和天然气产品。
上个月，另一家大型大宗商品贸易公司特拉费高 (Trafigura) 报告净利润略高于 $4 billion，尽管其业绩仅反映了战争一个月的影响，但仍高于前一年的 $1.5 billion，为其历史上海上半年的第二高水平。
另一家主要贸易公司 Mercuria 公布其半年度利润增长 88 per cent，达到 $1.09 billion。
尽管性能表现出色的
Greig Cameron 英国苏格兰商业编辑 Andrew Neilson 是一位特许会计师，自 2010, 起也一直在这家公司工作，他将于 8 月初接任。
威尔集团 (Weir Group) 这位任职多年的老板在离任之际留下了一组强劲的上半年业绩，以及对未来的“非常积极的需求”。
Jon Stanton 于 2010 年加入这家矿业设备供应商担任财务总监，随后于 2016, 被任命为首席执行官，他将把职务移交给
阿尔贝罗贝洛与马特拉 之旅
经验丰富的 行程经理服务
市场部门，嘉能可 (Glencore) 并没有 提高全年的业绩指引， RBC 资本的分析师本·戴维斯 (Ben Davis) 将这一决定描述为“令人好奇”。
嘉能可的估值约为 £61.3 亿。该公司开采包括煤炭、铜和钴在内的商品，并且是全球最大的大宗商品贸易商之一。 去年，该公司报告净利润为 $363 百万美元，此前在 2024 年因减值损失导致 $1.6 十亿美元亏损。
嘉能可首席执行官加里·内格尔 (Gary Nagle) 表示，在今年前六个月中，其“核心资产的表现基本符合预期”。
该集团将于 8 月 5 日公布半年报，记录显示其铜产量增长 15%，达到 397,000 吨，并重申全年指引在 810,000 至 870,000 之间，其中位于智利的 Collahuasi 矿山预计将在下半年做出更高贡献。
对能源转型至关重要的铜的需求，引发了矿业领域新一波的并购浪潮。
今年，力拓 (Rio Tinto) 取消了一项价值 $260 十亿美元的与嘉能可的合并计划，该计划原本将创建全球最大的矿业集团，但双方未能就交易价格达成一致。 他们曾在 2024 年首次举行会谈，并在去年底重启了对话。
在交易失败后不久，内格尔表示投资者应向矿业公司施加更多压力以达成协议，他指出矿业公司规模都太小，以至于“有点无关紧要”。
戴维斯表示，嘉能可仍然是一个潜在的被收购对象，“他们采取的旨在放弃不理想资产或强调其他资产价值的企业行动越多，就越有可能迎来收购出价”。
2026 年前六个月的营收按固定汇率计算增长 5%，达到近 £1.3 十亿。 订单簿价值同比增长 8%，超过 £1.4 十亿，而税前利润增长 7%，达到 £175 百万。
立即致电预订
thetimes.com/riviera-pg
令力拓 成为抢手 商品
这家全球最大的 铁矿石矿业公司 报告了其四年来 最高的上半年 利润，这得益于 AI 热潮以及对 电动汽车的需求 （马丁·斯特里多姆 (Martin Strydom) 撰文）。
力拓报告称，截至 6 月底的六个月中，税前利润跳增 39%，达到 $9.3 十亿。其收益的一半以上来自铜、锂和铝。
这是这些支撑
摩根大通 (JP Morgan) 的分析师表示，结果显示了维尔 (Weir) 强大的市场份额；预计下半年将保持“持续动力”。
在斯坦顿 (Stanton) 任职期间，他使维尔脱离了石油和天然气领域，同时剥离了其他部门，以专注于其矿业利益。
通过一些大型收购，该公司已进军数据分析和人工智能领域，因为其客户希望利用数字化工具来提高性能和环境可持续性。
该公司在 2018 年完成了迄今为止最大的一笔交易，以约 £1 十亿收购美国地面工具专家 Esco。
斯坦顿承认他做出了“一些重大决定”，并补充道：“我对即将留下的遗产以及内部继承和”
£1,349 起
每人
往返机票及接送服务 七晚四星级住宿 含每日早餐及六顿晚餐 由我们经验丰富且见解独到的 旅行经理提供服务 三次 guided tours，包括 莱切 (Lecce)、马泰拉 (Matera) 和巴里 (Bari) 两次游览，包括阿尔贝罗贝洛 (Alberobello) 的 特鲁利 (trulli) 村庄和一家橄榄油厂 参观当地酒庄并品鉴 部分产品
[[IMG_XXXX]] 蒙古国 Oyu Tolgoi 铜金矿床的 一个露天矿坑
“从潜在需求来看，大宗商品 正在发生转变，”他表示，并 强调了数据中心和电网储能 电池对铜和锂的需求。
Rio 铜业部门的收益 增长 84 per cent，达到 $5.7 billion。 该部门受益于基准铜价 39 per cent 的上涨和金价 53 per cent 的上涨，同时随着 蒙古国 Oyu Tolgoi 矿山的 持续扩建，其铜产量 增加了 31 per cent。
铁矿石部门的潜在利润 下降 1 per cent，至 $6.8 billion。 尽管西澳大利亚皮尔巴拉 (Pilbara) 地区的 出货量达到了 2018 年 以来上半年最高总额，但 较高的价格被成本通胀、 飙升的柴油成本和走强的 澳元所抵消。Rio Tinto 的股价 昨日上涨 112p，即 1.6 per cent， 至 £69.77。
能源转型和 AI 基础设施带来的利润， 已经超过了其核心铁矿石 业务的利润。
12 月，Rio 表示 它可以释放 $5 billion 至 $10 billion 的现金。 该公司昨日表示，预计 到年底前可实现其中一半。 Trott 表示，其中一部分将 通过达成协议出售其在 西澳大利亚 Dampier 的 一座海水淡化厂的股份来实现。 他未透露具体金额。
首席执行官 Simon Trott 表示， 在更高的大宗商品价格、 铜产量提升以及全公司 生产力提高的帮助下， 该矿业公司在上半年实现了 “性能的阶梯式跨越”。
“我们看到所有业务 都在发生转变。我们采取了 一些大胆的举措，且成效 非常显著。”
Stanton，59 岁，将留任 顾问职务，且没有退休计划。 “我仍然拥有太多的活力和好奇心，” 他说道。“在接下来的几周里， 我会花一点时间休息并解压， 然后开始思考未来。”
Weir 股价收盘上涨 220p，即 8.7 per cent， 至 £27.44。
公元前 8 世纪被古希腊人 殖民；随后是罗马人、拜占庭人， 接着是萨拉森人、诺曼人、 西班牙人和波旁王朝，最终 在 1861. 年成为意大利的一部分。 您将看到这里最迷人的 城市、村庄、奇特景观和 绝美风景，最重要的是， 这里依然保持着纯净的原始状态。
选定出发日期：2026 年 8 月 至 10 月，以及 2027 年 4 月 至 10 月
得益于 £850,000 的 Valhalla 超跑，Aston Martin 销售车辆的总价值有所上升。下图为加拿大的 Lawrence Stroll，他在 2020 年拯救了该公司。
但 £1.5bn 债务导致亏损堆积
Tom Howard
今年上半年，Aston Martin 每售出一辆车实际上亏损了 超过 £80,000，这很大程度上是 因为需要支付巨额债务 而产生的利息支出。
在 1 月至 6 月期间， 该豪华品牌售出 2,331 辆车， 比 2025 年同期增长了五分之一。
这相当于 £563.2 million 的 车辆价值，比去年上半年 交付的 £399.2 million 高出 41 per cent， 反映了 Valhalla 混合动力超跑 销量的提升。
尽管销量大增，但在过去六个月中， Aston Martin 产生了 £197.6 million 的 自由现金流出。虽然这比 公司在 2025 年年中 消耗的 £321 million 现金 有所改善，但仍意味着 Aston 实际上每卖出一辆车就亏损 £84,800。
Aston Martin Lagonda 是伦敦 唯一上市的汽车制造商，也是 詹姆斯·邦德 (James Bond) 的首选品牌。 其目前的产品线包括 Vantage、DB12、Van-
Simon Freeman 下降了 5.6%，而国内市场的产量下降了 13.2%。欧盟依然是该部门最大的客户，汽车出货量增长了 3.4%。
由于工厂正在重新调整设备以制造电动汽车，今年到目前为止，英国生产线上的车辆数量下降了 7.5%。
根据汽车制造商和贸易商协会 (SMMT) 的最新数据，英国工厂共生产了 385,979 辆汽车和商用车，同比减少了 31,000 辆以上。不过，在经历了“具有挑战性”的年初之后，随着出口增强且汽车生产恢复轻微增长，产量在第二季度趋于稳定。
quish、DBX 以及 Valhalla，后者是一款最高时速为 217 英里且起售价约为 £850,000 的混合动力超级跑车。
在其 113 年的历史中，该公司曾七次破产。最近一次是在 2020 年初由加拿大亿万富翁劳伦斯·斯特罗尔 (Lawrence Stroll) 救起，他的使命是防止第八次破产。
自 2018 年以每股 £19 的价格上市以来，Aston Martin 的股价已失去了 98% 的价值。在斯特罗尔的掌舵下，通过股票配售、配股、发行债券和再融资，已投入了超过 £4 billion 资金。
在昨天的收盘时，股价下跌了 ½p，即 1.8%，至 35¾p，使公司估值约为 £400 million，而上市时估值为 £4.3 billion。
包括售后服务和备件等其他收入形式在内，Aston Martin 的半年营收从 £454.4 million 增长 38%，至 £628.6 million。
SMMT 首席执行官 Mike Hawes 表示，
今年制造的汽车及其他车辆数量
但这仍不足以防止其半年亏损从 2025 年前六个月的 £140.8 million 扩大至 £154.2 million。
这家企业的发展长期以来一直受到其巨额债务堆积的拖累，目前债务已超过 £1.5 billion。在 1 月至 6 月期间，阿斯顿·马丁花费了 £100 million 用于偿还这些贷款。其现金余额已下降至 £114.9 million，尽管管理层预计随着年度推进，其现金消耗将“大幅改善”，并表示该公司在扣除利息成本后正“接近自由现金流盈亏平衡”。
其汽车的定价预计也将上涨。上半年，不包括 Valhalla 在内的平均售价同比下降 5 per cent，至 £182,000，但公司将此归咎于其清除“陈旧库存”的努力——
6 法拉利正顶住超级跑车市场整体放缓的压力，在其 5 月发布仅两个月后，就达到了今年首款电动车型（由 Jony Ive 设计的 Luce）的销售目标。该意大利集团为这款售价 €550,000 以上的车型设定了 500 辆的内部销售目标，其造型在爱好者中引起了分歧，甚至被比作日产 Leaf。消息人士告诉《金融时报》，该目标已经达成，增长动力来自中国市场的强劲需求以及硅谷大亨。该集团设定了到 2030 年销售约 2,500 辆 Luce 汽车的目标。
主要是在美国的 DBX 车型。公司希望积压订单能尽快清除，这将提升其平均售价。
首席执行官 Adrian Hallmark 表示：“部分车辆的去库存速度，尤其是美国市场，比我们预期的要慢。在全球范围内，在半年 [节点] 时，可能比我们预期的少 70 to 80 辆，但这比年初的情况好出了数百辆。到 [九月] 底，这种情况肯定会得到解决。”
阿斯顿·马丁上周还为其再融资行为进行了辩护，当时它从 HPS 借款 £550 million。HPS 是一家由贝莱德（Blackrock）拥有的私人信贷公司，通常向急需资金的公司提供贷款并收取高额费用。
首席财务官 Doug Lafferty 表示：“董事会认为此次融资对整个公司至关重要。”Hallmark 补充说，这笔交易将赋予阿斯顿·马丁“额外的韧性和进一步的灵活性，以执行我们当前和未来的产品计划”。
竞争力成本正在产生影响。但衰退并非不可避免。
“在能源成本方面采取紧急行动，改革市场监管，并改善与全球合作伙伴的贸易安排，将确保该行业能够恢复增长。鉴于增长将覆盖英国的所有地区，新政府有充分的理由支持该行业。”
SMMT 呼吁改革零排放车辆指令。该组织表示，制造商正在向零排放技术投资数十亿资金，但监管进度领先于需求，导致在英国销售的成本“无法承受，并损害了任何本地制造投资的理由”。
削减德国 白领 岗位
《泰晤士报》商业记者
宝马正向其近半数德国员工提供自愿离职方案，计划在明年年底前削减 8,000 个白领岗位。
约 40,000 名从事行政、研究和开发工作的宝马员工将收到此类方案。该计划将依赖于自愿离职补偿、提前退休和自然流动，而非强制裁员。
生产线和制造工人不在此次削减之列。此次裁员是在上月发布利润预警之后进行的，原因是中国市场销量大幅下降、电动汽车利润率降低以及欧洲汽车制造商面临的成本压力。
这家总部位于慕尼黑的汽车制造商在牛津组装 Mini 车型，在萨塞克斯郡组装劳斯莱斯汽车，在全球雇佣约 154,000 人，在德国拥有 85,000 名正式员工。
这一消息凸显了德国汽车行业的困境。欧洲最大的汽车制造商大众汽车表示，在一次“深刻的”战略转型中，该公司正寻求削减多达 100,000 个岗位，以应对贸易关税、市场停滞以及来自中国的激烈竞争。大众还计划关闭四家德国工厂。
梅赛德斯-奔驰也推出了自己的自愿离职计划。老板奥拉·凯伦纽斯表示：“整个行业都能从生产力的提高中获益，这一点毋庸置疑。目前的压力巨大。”
宝马此次重组的目标是在不干扰实物车辆组装的情况下，削减管理费用并调整部门产能。
该公司上月警告称，全年销售额预计将低于去年，而此前预期是持平。营业利润率将落在 1 到 3 % 之间，而此前指引为 4 到 6 %。该公司表示，作为衡量业务财务效率的指标，资本回报率可能低至 1 %，而此前希望达到 10 %。
欧洲和美国的表现不足以抵消中国和亚太地区销售额的下降。
宝马首席执行官米兰·内德尔科维奇与职工委员会领导层在德国的一次全员会议上向员工介绍了细节。该计划在董事会与宝马职工委员会之间经过了约六周的谈判。
内德尔科维奇表示：“我们面对的是游戏规则的重大改变。这也是与市场脱节的政治指令所导致的结果。无论是贸易保护主义还是市场的深远变化，都不会消失。”
宝马在早期决定为客户保留汽油和柴油选项，因此与竞争对手不同，它在电动车销量上升的同时，避免了成本高昂的战略调整。
去年，中国市场的车辆交付量已处于 2017 年以来的最低水平，且在截至 6 月的三个月里同比下降了 30 %。
“宝马目前正在应对中国市场的低迷，同时努力增强其德国基地的竞争力，”强大的 IG Metall 工会巴伐利亚分会负责人霍斯特·奥特表示。根据德国的制度，劳方代表占据一半席位，奥特在宝马监事会中担任职务。
莎拉·瓦雄与丈夫 迈克尔（见下图） 共同创立了 Citizens of Soil。 这个高端食用油品牌 从小规模生产商处采购。
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从初创公司到科技巨头，从市场操盘手到金融城 CEO，我们的每周播客将与身处其中的创业者一起，剖析商业领域最大的故事。
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橄榄油吗？ 加入俱乐部
创业者 网络 人物简介
就在圣诞节前，Waitrose 下的一笔订单量是他们预期橄榄油数量的四倍，这让 Sarah 和 Michael Vachon 措手不及。
作为 Citizens of Soil 的创始人，这个高端油品品牌从小批量生产者那里采购原料。他们与这家超市的采购员已经进行了六个月的讨论，并认为自己能够完成订单。
“当时非常恐慌，因为我们的库存远远不够，”Michael 回忆道。
Sarah 补充道：“那天我们正准备和唯一一名兼职员工共进圣诞午餐。我开始给我在希腊联系过的一位女性发消息，她是一位非常受尊敬的橄榄油评审员，且我知道她在从事有机种植。我问她是否有 10,000 升。她说有，我说圣诞节后我马上就去她那里。”
“我们到了现场，品尝后决定凭直觉购买。我们将油运回国内，在二月和三月开始装瓶。Waitrose 在五月下了订单，六月便配送至门店。”
从那时起，他们便一路领先。去年的营业额达到了 £2.5 million，这两位创业者预计今年的营业额将超过 £5 million。预计到明年年底将实现盈利。
Waitrose 订单出乎意料的规模确实导致了一些现金流问题。Vachons 夫妇专注于直接与高品质橄榄的小规模种植者打交道——这与 Naked Wines 支持独立葡萄园的方式非常相似。但农民通常不提供信用期，因此他们必须在 Waitrose 的库存交付前先行付款。
Sarah 说道：“（种植者）不认识我们，所以我们必须全额预付。如果我们找磨坊主或（油脂种植）合作社，会有付款期限。但你无法从农民那里获得这种待遇，因为这对他们行不通。我们不得不紧急筹集资金来支持这项业务。”这意味着从十一月最初收到订单意向开始，直到次年八月，他们才开始收到 Waitrose 的款项。
Vachons 夫妇在 2020. 年新冠疫情封锁期间将这项业务作为一次尝试。最初，他们从一位住在克里特岛的家庭朋友那里进口橄榄油。随着订单增加，Sarah 决定在 2022. 年全身心投入其中。她拥有可持续发展和食品溯源方面的背景。
Citizens of Soil 还为其 22,000 名会员提供更低的价格以及挑选的生产商（通常数量有限）。Michael 表示，将订阅服务的描述从“橄榄油补充装”微调为“橄榄油俱乐部”极大地刺激了需求。他们每月签约近 1,500 人，且 60% 的用户在两年后仍是活跃订阅者。
他们开始注意到，喜爱其油品的消费者在购买方式上发生了变化。最初在 Waitrose，瓶装油的销量是补充装的两倍；现在这种情况发生了反转，因为消费者在重复填充已购买的瓶子，这不仅受益于较低的价格，而且是因为瓶装的碳足迹是补充装的 15 倍。
Sarah 表示，为了建立客户信任，他们特别强调在油品来源、质量以及生产方式方面尽可能保持透明。
“这是一个自古以来就存在大规模欺诈和腐败的品类，”经过专业训练的橄榄油品酒师 Sarah 说道。“甚至罗马人就使用过某种追溯印章。我们现在每隔几年从货架上随机抽取油品，就会发现有些并非特级初榨。我相信信任是通过透明度建立的。这是唯一的途径。我们将完整的实验室报告公布在网上。”
在 2025 年 3 月，他们通过由 Figr Ventures 领投的一轮融资筹集了 £1.8 百万的风险资本，即便如此，这对夫妇仍然持有该公司的多数股份。迈克尔表示：“这使我们能够继续扩大 The Olive Oil Club 的规模并深化我们的供应链。”
他补充说，由于在广告上的支出，该公司目前处于亏损状态。“我们现在吸引的客户忠诚度很高，因此这样的投入是值得的。”
橄榄油的批发价格在 2022 年至 2024 年间飙升，随后在去年下跌。根据 Oleista 的研究，在上次收获后价格有所上涨，但自 4 月以来，主要产区的价格一直在稳步下降。
零售价格的下降速度没有那么快，部分原因是主流品牌通常会将多年不同收获期的油脂进行混合。
莎拉表示，价格将继续波动。“我们还处于气候危机之中，并且对此深有感触，”她说。“我的南非供应商在 2026 年收获前已经遭遇了两次洪水和一场特大火灾。我们的葡萄牙供应商也有类似的情况。现在每个人都在关注西班牙，因为他们在年初经历了剧烈的洪水。”此外，还需要应对山火。
然而，莎拉表示，大宗商品市场的价格波动对 Citizens of Soil 影响不大，因为他们与每位农民都商定了供应价格。这里的价格更多地受到单个农场成本（如能源和劳动力）的影响，而这两项成本都在上升。
William Kay Tempus 买入、卖出或持有：今日最佳股票建议
O
oxford biomedica (牛津生物医学公司)
市值 £690 million
Oxford Biomedica 正在经历一场剧烈的转型，按理说，这种转型对股价的影响应该比目前看到的更大。该公司现在除了在法律文件中外，几乎在所有地方都被称为 OXB。它已从一个虽然享有盛誉但局限于当地的学术研究机构，转变为一个彻头彻尾的商业运营实体。但由于它地处牛津东南边缘，靠近科学园，许多人仍将其视为一个不过是“极客”们的聚集地。从历史上看，该公司是一家以英国为中心的生物技术先驱，依赖于传统的药物研发管线和特许权使用费流。
该公司于 31 年前从大学分拆出来，在疫情期间为 AstraZeneca 生产疫苗而声名鹊起。此后，它已转型为一家合同开发与制造公司 (CDMO)，生产用于细胞和基因疗法的病毒载体，重点关注自身免疫性疾病和癌症疗法。自从本专栏在 9 个月前强调其拐点以来，变化已在加速。
今年 4 月，OXB 通过其 inAAVate 和 LentiVector 平台为生物技术公司推出了更快捷的服务，将开发周期缩短了一半或更多。例如，腺相关病毒 (AAV) 进入良好生产规范 (GMP) 生产的路径已从 15 个月缩短至 7 个月。
出生于法国的 Frank Mathias 在 2023 年接任首席执行官，他在这类转型方面经验丰富。他在 Rentschler Biopharma 实现了类似的变革，将这家德国家族拥有的生物制品公司转变为一家全球性的全服务合同开发与制造组织 (CDMO)。他希望 OXB 能在全球细胞和基因疗法 CDMO 市场占据主导份额。
通过严格地作为第三方制造商和开发商运营，OXB 使其业务免受临床试验失败风险的影响，同时
市场报告
7 月还剩下几个交易日，但在一份不错的更新报告后，Sage Group 的股东有望实现近 30 per cent 的月增长（Robert Miller 撰文）。
该公司专注于为中小型企业提供会计、财务、人力资源和工资单技术，报告称，今年前 9 个月的总营收增长 11 per cent，达到 £2.1 billion，强劲增长由新客户和现有客户共同推动。在引导 2026 年有机总营收增长率在 9 per cent 以上且营业利润率呈上升趋势后，Sage 的更新报告将股价进一步推高 82¼p，即 8.8 per cent，至 £10.22。
这一表现将该软件集团推至富时 100 指数 (FTSE 100) 榜首，险胜于 Weir Group。后者在矿山设备供应商公布强劲的上半年业绩后，上涨 220p，即 8.7 per cent，至 £27.44。
落后较多但有可观涨幅的是 Burberry，原因是 Mike Ashley 的 Frasers Group 周二表示，其对这家奢侈时尚品牌持有潜在 4.2 per cent 的权益；如果行使该权益，将使这家 Sports Direct 的所有者进入十大持有者之列。
BURBERRY
药物确实有效
年营收 £168.7 million
£16
£168.7m
股价 财务表现
来源：FactSet
2022 2023 2024 2025 2026
建议 买入 原因 股价应当是对耐心的回报，尽管等待时间可能会很长
2023
在美联储通过一项分歧投票决定维持利率不变（其中三名官员投票支持加息）后，日初的轻微下跌开始加速。AI相关股票再次大幅拖累指数，芯片制造商美光科技（Micron Technology）下跌 9.9%，闪迪（Sandisk）下跌 7.3%。纳斯达克指数下跌 433.97 点，即 1.7%，至 24,442.94；标普 500 指数下跌 112.63 点，即 1.5%，至 7,316.15。道琼斯工业平均指数下跌 1,153.18 点，即 2.2%，至 51,594.14。
当日最大波动者
| 2025 | 2024 | 变化 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 营收 | £128.8m | 31% | |
| 制造服务 (营收) | £81.1m | £68.4m | 19% |
| 开发服务 | £60.1m | £47.3m | 27% |
| 采购服务 | £22.3m | £5.8m | 285% |
| 许可、里程碑、特许权使用费 | £5.2m | £7.3m | -27% |
| 营业息税折旧摊销前利润 (Operating ebitda) | £2.3m | -£15.3m | 115% |
最大程度地发挥其专业制造专长。该集团已使其技术能力多样化，以覆盖所有主要的病毒载体类型，扩大了在 AAV 和腺病毒市场的市场份额。与此同时，在去年筹集 £60 million 的帮助下，该公司通过在欧洲和美国购买设施，进一步贴近客户。
在 2025 年全年业绩中，OXB 实现了首个营业息税折旧摊销前利润（operating ebitda）为正的年份，达 £2.3 million。营收增长 31%，至 £168.7 million，超过市场预期。合同营收积压额从 £150 million 增加到 £204 million，提高了未来营收的可预见性。但 Peel Hunt 的分析师认为，直到明年这种情况才可能转化为正的每股收益。
有关增持 Burberry 股份的报道推高股价近 5%
股东。此外，挪威主权财富基金昨日通知称其持有 4% 的大量股份。增持的消息使股价上涨 53p，即 4.7%，至 £11.93。
虽然主指数中的矿业公司贡献了上涨，但黄金成为明显的拖累，下跌 0.02% 至每盎司 $4,037.30，并带动 Fresnillo 下跌 82p，即 3.2%，至 £24.81，以及 Endeavour Mining 下跌 101p，即 2.8%，至 £34.87。
即便如此，其市盈率（p/e）高达 63，每股名义价格仅为 9.8p。股息则更加遥遥无期。
几个月前，由于瑞典投资公司 EQT 的接触，股价一度跳升，但由于未就价格达成一致，EQT 退出，股价随即回落。然而，Mathias 上个月告诉《金融时报》：“我相信有几家 [私募股权公司] 适合我们 [作为所有者]，因为在私有化的情况下，我们 [将] 能够增长得更快。这至少是值得考虑的。”当然，这仍取决于是否有吸引力的报价。
最大股东是 Briarwood Chase Management，持股 15.4%。法国综合企业 Institut Mérieux 持股 10.8%，诺和诺德（Novo Nordisk）的母公司 Novo Holdings 持股 11.1%。因此，OXB 的命运实际上仅在一次 Zoom 电话会议之间。
Mathias 补充道：“驱动我们的不仅是财务数字，还有公司的愿景……我们可能会私有化，但留在证券交易所也有优势。”在随后的一次资本市场活动中，公司制定了到 2030 年实现 500 百万英镑（£500 million）年营收的目标。
在 2 月份年结之后，OXB 宣布扩大与百时美施贵格（Bristol Myers Squibb）的战略合作伙伴关系，并在 3 月份与澳大利亚的病毒载体制造设施签署了许可与期权协议，加强了其在该地区的布局。
显然，这是一只风险较高的股票，最适合那些在没有收购报价的情况下能承受长期持有期的投资者。但一个潜力巨大的商业模式已经播下了种子。
更侧重于英国市场的富时 250 (FTSE 250) 指数勉强未能跟上这种乐观情绪，下跌 7.97 点，即 0.03 百分比，收于 23,996.81 点。尽管在烘焙公司 Greggs 报告上半年利润高于预期后，该股上涨 312 便士，即 18.5 百分比，至 £20.02，实现了两位数的增长。
跌幅最大的是牛津仪器公司 (Oxford Instruments)，该公司在长期激励计划下申请创建 46,001 股普通股，以及 26,097 股新奖励股。这家为实验室提供科学仪器和服务的公司股价下跌 196 便士，即 6.9 百分比，至 £26.54。
新闻简报
新冠贷款滥用代价
官方数据显示，自 2023 年以来，超过一半的董事取消资格案例与滥用大流行期间的财政方案有关。
破产管理署 (Insolvency Service) 的数据显示，在被禁任的 3,280 名董事中，有 1,683 人涉及滥用新冠肺炎 (Covid-19) 援助的案件。
董事取消资格令可禁止个人在最高 15 年内担任董事，或参与英国公司的成立、推广或管理，包括具有英国关联的某些海外公司。这些数据是由律师事务所 Weightmans 获取的。
约 70,000 家持有未偿还新冠肺炎 (Covid-19) 贷款且涉嫌欺诈的企业已被阻止注销。
政府因处理紧急援助的方式而受到批评，尤其是 £47 亿英镑的“反弹贷款” (bounce back loan) 方案中欺诈和错误的程度，该方案在几乎没有审核的情况下向公司提供最高 £50,000 的贷款。
去年，反欺诈专员 Tom Hayhoe 表示，该方案的设计产生了“特定的欺诈和错误漏洞”，导致损失高达 £2.8 亿英镑。Hayhoe 发现，总体而言，管理支持计划中的欺诈和错误已让纳税人损失了 £10.9 亿英镑。
富时新首席执行官人数翻倍
在今年上半年，任命新首席执行官的富时 100 (FTSE 100) 公司数量翻了一番，从 2025 年前六个月的 3 家增加到 6 家。咨询公司 Russell Reynolds Associates 的研究人员表示，董事会倾向于用具有管理大型上市公司经验的人员来接替离任的首席执行官。在今年前六个月全球新任命的 131 位首席执行官中，有 30 位此前领导过上市公司，占任命总数的 23 百分比，这是该公司九年前开始编制该研究以来最高的上半年份额。
“债券义警”年满 55 岁去世
英国最著名的基金经理之一 Jim Leaviss 逝世，享年 55 岁。他的《债券义警》(Bond Vigilantes) 博客曾是金融城 (the City) 的必读之作。Leaviss 曾任 M&G 固定收益首席投资官，作为一名对经济持有非传统见解的市场评论员而获得关注：他以腌洋葱味 Monster Munch 包装袋中不断缩小的“怪兽脚”数量为例来阐述“缩减量”(shrinkflation)，并探讨了托尔金《霍比特人》中巨龙 Smaug 囤积黄金对中土世界经济的影响。他的家人请求将任何捐款捐给英国癌症研究中心 (Cancer Research UK)。
X 达成抵制诉讼和解
埃隆·马斯克 (Elon Musk) 的社交媒体平台已与一家广告贸易组织就一项为期两年的法律纠纷达成和解，此前马斯克指控该组织共谋抵制 X。全球负责任媒体联盟 (Global Alliance for Responsible Media，简称 Garm) 是一个由世界广告联合会 (World Federation of Advertisers) 领导的联盟，马斯克在 2024 年起诉该组织，指控其涉嫌扣留“数十亿美元的广告收入”。在一份联合声明中，X 和 WFA 表示：“世界广告联合会和 X Corp 决定将涉及全球负责任媒体联盟的诉讼留在过去。这将重启这两个组织之间的关系。”
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英国基金
收听
2026年7月30日 星期四 | the times 商业
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ICE Data Services 提供。收益率是公司 年度 12 个月的股息总额除以最后一交易日的 收盘股价。 12 个月最高价与最低价 英国股票 和投资信托的最高/最低价基于日内数据。
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12 个月 价格 预测 最高 最低 公司 (p) +/- 收益率% 市盈率
Markets LLC. 保留所有权利。 不得重新分发； 本文包含的 Tradeweb FTSE 国债收盘价 信息属于 Tradeweb 专有； 不得复制，且不保证 准确、完整或 及时；且不构成 投资建议。Tradeweb 不对因使用 此信息而可能导致的 任何损失或损害负责。
47 商业
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12个月 价格 预测 高 低 公司 (p) +/- 收益率% 市盈率
12个月 价格 预测 高 低 公司 (p) +/- 收益率% 市盈率 12个月 价格 预测 高 低 公司 (p) +/- 收益率% 市盈率 12个月 价格 预测 高 低 公司 (p) +/- 收益率% 市盈率
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基准利率结算银行：3.75% 欧洲央行再融资利率 2.40% 美联储基金利率 3.5-3.75% 哈利法克斯抵押贷款利率 (SVR) 7.24%
the times | Thursday July 30 2026 49 登记册
昆斯伯里侯爵 (Marquess of Queensberry)
1963 年，大卫·道格拉斯 (David Douglas) 正与约翰·普罗富莫 (John Profumo) 玩牌，此时这位战争大臣得知，由于一起性丑闻，他的政治生涯即将结束。大卫·昆斯伯里 (David Queensberry) ——其专业称呼为第 12 代昆斯伯里侯爵——是“摇摆六十年代”社交圈的一员，该圈子不仅包括普罗富莫，还包括摄影师大卫·贝利 (David Bailey) 和帕特里克·利奇菲尔德 (Patrick Lichfield)，以及艺术家大卫·霍克尼 (David Hockney)。他同时也是一名设计师和陶艺家，从 1959 年到 1983 年期间，他担任皇家艺术学院的陶瓷教授。
该家族最著名的是他的曾祖父，即第 9 代侯爵，他在 1867 年为拳击官方规则命名，并在许多年后，因不满作者与他的儿子阿尔弗雷德·“博西”·道格拉斯 (Alfred “Bosie” Douglas) 之间的同性关系，在奥斯卡·王尔德 (Oscar Wilde) 的垮台中起到了关键作用。1895 年 2 月，侯爵在阿尔伯马尔俱乐部 (Albemarle Club) 公开留下的一张便条中宣称，王尔德是一个“男色者” (somdomite [sic])。王尔德提起诽谤诉讼，但结果适得其反，王尔德被判定犯有严重猥亵罪。
昆斯伯里记得，贫困的博西曾拜访过他的父亲，博西直到 1945 年去世前仍在投注赛马。“我认为他是个糟糕的家伙，极端右翼，反犹太主义；关于他没什么好话可说，”他在 1995 年告诉《泰晤士报》。“但我确实认为他，在某种程度上，是个相当不错的诗人。”
与他的前学生兼 40 多年的商业伙伴马丁·亨特 (Martin Hunt) 合作，昆斯伯里设计并销售了一些最时尚的餐具，装饰在欧洲的餐厅中。他们还设计了洗手间、浴室套件、不锈钢餐具和铸铁锅。他们在 1964 年为英国欧洲航空 (BEA) 飞机设计了塑料餐盘，同年他因切割水晶花瓶而获得爱丁堡公爵优雅设计奖。他们的产品赢得了多项奖项，包括设计委员会 (Design Council) 的奖项，如今他们的作品被收藏在 V&A 博物馆的永久馆藏中。
昆斯伯里说，制作瓷器是世界上最古老的工艺。“如果你设计电子产品，你是在一个 30 年前还不存在的领域工作，”他说。“但你可以走进博物馆，发现一个来自伊拉克的碗，有 6,000 年历史，且与你今天制作的碗极其相似。”在另一个场合，他提出了自己关于选择餐具的“昆斯伯里规则”：购买你能负担得起的最好的产品；从有替换品可得的“公开库存”系列中选择；购买骨瓷杯但选择较便宜的盘子；并且在细节上要挑剔，例如选择带有防倾倒盖的锅具。
提出了自己的 “昆斯伯里规则”
戴维·哈灵顿·安格斯·道格拉斯（David Harrington Angus Douglas）于 1929 年出生在威斯敏斯特，他是弗朗西斯·道格拉斯（Francis Douglas，第11代昆斯伯里侯爵，博西的股票经纪人侄子）与其第二任妻子、肖像画家凯瑟琳·曼（Cathleen Mann）的两个孩子中的幼子；他的姐姐简（Jane）于 2007 年去世。他还有一个来自父亲第一次婚姻的同父异母姐姐帕特里夏（Patricia），以及一个来自父亲第三次婚姻的同父异母兄弟加温（Gawain）。
[[IMG_XXXX]] 侯爵 1956 年在斯托克-昂-特伦特（Stoke-on-Trent）陶瓷展厅内的照片（见上图）。右上角为奥斯卡·王尔德（Oscar Wilde）及其情人、昆斯伯里的亲属阿尔弗雷德·“博西”·道格拉斯（Alfred “Bosie” Douglas）。
昆斯伯里，并在 1682 年查理二世将该头衔提升为侯爵。第8代侯爵在 1858 年狩兔时开枪自杀，他的一个儿子在攀登马特洪峰时丧生，另一个则在伦敦的一家酒店用剃刀割喉自尽。第9代侯爵并不被家人喜爱。他曾经
奥斯卡·王尔德 名誉扫地的祖先为“有毒”
因与儿子在街头打架而被指控以扰乱治安罪，而这位父亲正是昆斯伯里（Queensberry）的祖父，昆斯伯里在 1900 年其临终前曾向他吐唾沫。
昆斯伯里由母亲抚养长大，母亲的意大利厨师激发了他对烹饪艺术终身的热爱。“我以前经常在厨房打转，看他工作，”他深情地回忆道。偶尔他的母亲也会介入，但当贵族意大利时尚设计师艾尔莎·夏帕雷利（Elsa Schiaparelli）来吃午餐时，她忘了让鱼贩把牡蛎撬开。“我们在她的工作室里用餐，所以周围散落着各种工具，比如钳子、锤子和螺丝刀，”在谈到他们为了吃掉这些软体动物而做出的绝望尝试时，他这样说道。
[[IMG_XXXX]] RUSSELL WESTWOOD/POPPERFOTO VIA GETTY IMAGES
战争期间，他被派往加拿大。回到英国后，他在伊顿公学（Eton）时与安东尼·阿姆斯特朗-琼斯（Antony Armstrong-Jones）同窗，后者后来娶了玛格丽特公主。艺术系由威尔弗里德·布伦特（Wilfrid Blunt）管理，他是一位“令人鼓舞且极其敏感的教师”，也是艺术史学家兼间谍安东尼·布伦特（Anthony Blunt）的兄弟。在大约 15 岁时，昆斯伯里成为了陶艺课上“揉泥与烧制”的狂热爱好者。
他在皇家马卫队（Royal Horse Guards）履行国民服役义务，其中最令人难忘的事件是率领 50 辆坦克驶入了一条死胡同。
随后，他进入中央艺术工艺学校（Central School of Arts and Crafts）的陶瓷系学习，最初打算最终建立一个生产手工实用陶器的工作室。“我很快意识到这已经过时了，于是决定设计可以量产且能面向更广泛受众的产品，这样会更有回报，影响也更大，”他告诉《陶瓷评论》（Ceramic Review）。
他在斯托克-昂-特伦特（Stoke-on-Trent）从事陶艺工作，在那里他被称为戴夫（Dave），并住在一家市政住房中。有一次，他将 1953 年加冕纪念陶器的美学设计描述为“糟糕透顶”，从而引发了一场激烈的争议。不久后，他开始在梅费尔（Mayfair）的一个车库里卖锅，并为特伦斯·康兰（Terence Conran）设计的餐厅供应餐具。1958 年，他受邀加入皇家艺术学院（Royal College of Art），在二十多岁时便成为了教授。
昆斯伯里在 1954 年继承了贵族头衔，并于 1965 年在上议院发表了首次演讲，支持改革关于同性恋的法律。与此同时，他陷入了一系列复杂的感情纠葛，于 1956 年娶了演员安·昆斯伯里（原名安·拉德福德）。他们有两个女儿：艺术家艾玛（Emma），以及作家兼戏剧导演爱丽丝（Alice）——后者嫁给了一个她在监狱做志愿者期间结识的武装抢劫犯。他们还收养了一个尼日利亚男孩。
在那段时间里，他还通过另一段关系生下了一个儿子，安布罗斯·凯里（Ambrose Carey）；由于他们从未结婚，创办了商业智能咨询公司的安布罗斯未能继承头衔。安布罗斯的同父异母姐姐凯莉（Carrie）嫁给了萨利姆·本·拉登（Salem bin Laden），在他 1988 年死于空难后，她又嫁给了其兄弟哈立德（Khaled）。他们是 9/11 恐怖袭击策划者奥萨马·本·拉登的同父异母兄弟。
1967 年，昆斯伯里与亨特（Hunt）建立合伙关系，昆斯伯里-亨特（Queensberry Hunt）很快吸引了包括韦格伍德（Wedgwood）、罗森塔尔集团（Rosenthal Group）和霍恩西陶器厂（Hornsea Pottery）在内的客户。他们的早期作品大多通过康兰的 Habitat 商店销售。“我认为优秀的设计与大众市场之间并不矛盾，”昆斯伯里说道。
与此同时，他的第一段婚姻宣告解体，1969 年他娶了模特亚历山德拉·温莎姆（Alexandra Wyndham）。他们有三个儿子：肖尔托（Sholto）、米洛（Milo，患有双相情感障碍，于 2009 年去世，享年 34 岁）和托奎尔（Torquil），以及一个女儿凯特（Kate）。凯特曾说：“尽管我们拥有 700 年的传承，但我们很自豪能成为一个非常现代且极其功能失调的家庭。”被授予德拉姆兰里格子爵（Viscount Drumlanrig）礼节头衔的肖尔托出生于昆斯伯里的第一段婚姻期间，但由于其父母随后的结婚，他继承第 13 代侯爵的地位得到了保证。
那次婚姻也解除了，在 1999 年 奎恩斯伯里宣称：“我已经两次在婚姻中失败，因此不愿再次涉足。”次年，他娶了廖雪君，一位比他小近 40 岁的台湾艺术家，两人此前已育有一个女儿贝丝（Beth），名为玲玲（Ling Ling），是一位才华横溢的小提琴手。所谓的“奎恩斯伯里诅咒”再次降临，贝丝在 2018 年因在诺丁山的一场派对上服用药物去世，年仅 18 岁。
奎恩斯伯里是一个穿着牛仔裤、和蔼可亲的人物，住在西伦敦的一栋排屋里，墙上堆满了盘子，其中包括一套由他的朋友兼前同事爱德华多·保罗齐（Eduardo Paolozzi）设计的惊艳作品。每天早晨，他骑着一辆 750cc 的川崎摩托车前往他在兰开斯特门（Lancaster Gate）的马厩工作室。1995 年，他与王尔德的家人一起参加了威斯敏斯特大教堂诗人之角东窗一个圆窗的揭幕仪式，期间约翰·吉尔古德爵士（Sir John Gielgud）朗读了《深渊之底》（De Profundis）的最后一部分——这是王尔德在雷丁监狱写给博齐（Bosie）的信。奎恩斯伯里坚称没有什么矛盾需要化解，并补充道：“我的曾祖父是个相当阴险的人。”
两年前，当他利用柔道训练击退一名抢劫者时，他想起了曾祖父在拳击运动中的角色。“他试图抢劫我。他的手对我穷追不舍，我设法将他摔了出去，是一种柔道摔法，直接把他摔向后方，”他地讲述道。然而，从原则上讲，他的佛教倾向使他反对任何形式的暴力。
奎恩斯伯里有时会对人们仅因其家族与拳击规则及王尔德的关联而认识他而感到沮丧。“一个人可以在严肃设计领域深耕一生，负责一家年营业额达 £130 million 的企业，而人们感兴趣的唯一事情却是你的曾叔祖在 19 世纪做了什么，”他沮丧地告诉《泰晤士报》。然而，正如王尔德在《道林·格雷的画像》中亨利·沃顿勋爵所观察到的那样：“世界上唯一比被人议论更糟糕的事，就是没人议论。”
当特里·希利亚德在 11, 1958, 年9月11日在他的堪培拉轰炸机驾驶舱内目睹一枚英国氢弹爆炸时，那道致盲的闪光似乎让他的手臂变成了X光片。他能看到所有的骨骼。36分钟后，他驾驶的那架被氢弹试验参与者称为“嗅探机”的改装堪培拉轰炸机在飞入放射性蘑菇云时遭遇了剧烈的湍流。当时身为飞行中尉的希利亚德艰难地维持着飞行控制。
他的任务是从核落尘中采集样本，以揭示在南太平洋的圣诞岛（现称基里巴斯之基里蒂马蒂岛）附近引爆的新型武器的效能。这枚800千吨级的炸弹威力约为1945年投在长崎的原子弹的40倍。
他在 53, 000英尺以上的高空飞行，远超堪培拉轰炸机的官方限制高度。他和两名机组人员在热核柱及周围的卷云中停留了七分半钟。样本被收集在安装于轰炸机机翼上的采样舱中。被称为“查理计” (Charlie meters) 的仪器测量着驾驶舱内的辐射水平。“爆炸的闪光简直无法用语言描述，”他回忆道，“有一瞬间，我能看到左前臂的每一根骨头，就像在拍超级X光片一样。”
在去年接受《皇家空军新闻》(RAF News) 采访时，希利亚德表示：“进入云层后，我们从明亮的热带阳光中进入了一个黑暗、浓密、动荡且翻滚的气团，那是可压缩湍流与失速抖动，以及无法形容的垂直上升和下降剧烈波动相结合的结果……能见度在不断变化，从微小的清晰空间到浓密的云团。我们的目标是尽可能在高处飞过颜色较深的部分，因为那里更有可能包含我们寻找的最佳残留样本。”
希利亚德当时26岁，在第76中队服役。在所属部队部署到阿德莱德北部的爱丁堡澳大利亚空军基地后，他参与了1958年被称为“Grapple Z”的四次试验中的三次。9月 11 日，他被指定为“首席嗅探员”，驾驶一架
怀念逝者
“哦，这可能是真的。” “你怎么知道的？”我质疑道。他俯下身在我的耳边低语：“嗯，我昨天和她一起吃午餐。” John Curran 写道：1991年2月，CNN 正在抢在世界之前报道海湾战争期间对巴格达的轰炸。ITN（英国的商业电视新闻网络）当时与他们合作。尽管我是苏格兰分局的制作人，但我当时在约旦的安曼负责这次行动的后勤补给。
轮换团队的时间到了——接替 Brent Sadler 及其同事，并派出 Edward Stourton（讣告，7月20日）及其团队。我花费了巨资——当然是用一沓沓美元——租赁了一辆 4x4 小型巴士，用于前往伊拉克首都那段超过 500 英里且充满危险的旅程。ITN 的资深外事编辑 Mike Nolan 和 Ed 在安曼洲际酒店的停车场里绕着这辆破旧但耐用的车转了一圈。Ed 悠闲地深吸了一口烟，然后轻声说道：“没问题的。”
结果确实没问题。他凭借在巴格داد发回全球的那些深思熟虑且沉稳的报道，赢得了“稳健埃迪”（Steady Eddy）的绰号。
Philip Moger 写道：Ed Stourton 在我担任节目编辑时是 ITN 的一名记者，他是一位真正的绅士，从不吹嘘自己出入的社交圈。当年迈的王太后病重时，当时的查尔斯王子宣布她的情况好转且正在跳高地舞（Highland Reel）。这在新闻界引起了冷嘲热讽。Ed 说道：
[[IMG_XXXX]] Hilliard 描述了炸弹蘑菇云中剧烈的湍流。右上图：1960 年代，他在一次聚会上与妻子 Sally 在一起。
四架坎伯拉轰炸机，用于在当天的氢弹测试期间进行采样。
在返回圣诞岛基地并释放采样舱后，Hilliard 和他的两名机组人员被送往去污中心。工作人员使用盖革计数器检查他们体内的辐射，随后让他们洗冰冷的淋浴。一名飞行员因为记录到危险的污染水平被送回家中。
坎伯拉机组人员收集的样本使伯克郡奥尔德马斯顿原子武器研究机构的英国科学家能够确定炸弹的确切当量或爆炸威力，并确认它们是否高效运作。坎伯拉飞机还被用于拦截来自苏联测试的核落尘，以便英国收集关于其对手的情报。
“Grapple Z”行动的成功使英国成为继美国和苏联之后第三个拥有热核武器的国家，并使该国在 1950 年代末和 1960 年代始终维持有效的战略核威慑。
Hilliard 是一名经验丰富的轰炸机飞行员，他在激烈的竞争中于 1948 年加入皇家空军，成为克兰威尔航空学徒。在家人和朋友眼中，他曾是个胆小的男孩，但他成熟得很快。在克兰well皇家空军基地，他被晋升为高级学徒并被授予通用服务奖。他申请了飞行训练并被录取。1952 年，他从马恩岛 Jurby 皇家空军军官候补训练单位毕业，并在那里赢得了荣誉之剑。
罗伯特·汤普森 (Robert Thompson) 写道：尽管我很喜欢那篇关于这位喜剧演员兼观鸟者的精彩评价（讣告，7月 27 日），但您忽略了他的流行音乐生涯。在 1970 年，他录制了一张名为《On Ilkla Moor Baht’at》的黑胶唱片。这是他对披头士乐队热门单曲《With a Little Help From My Friends》的一次戏仿，在我看来是一次天才之举。
……我们最优秀的见习学员。他后来在加拿大接受了飞行员培训。
回到英国后，希利亚德 (Hilliard) 加入了第 9 中队，该中队驾驶双发动机的堪培拉轰炸机（英国的第一款喷气式轰炸机），并在 1956 年 全年参与作战。2 月，该中队被派往马来亚的巴特沃斯英国皇家空军基地 (RAF Butterworth)，机组人员在那里进行了为期三个月的飞行行动，打击共产主义叛军。同年晚些时候，该中队从马耳他出发，在苏伊士危机期间为英军提供支持。11 月 1 日，希利亚德袭击了苏伊士运河区的卡斯法里特 (Kasfareet) 埃及空军基地。在飞回马耳他的途中，由于燃料不足，他被迫在托布鲁克以南 15 英里的利比亚埃尔阿德姆 (El Adem) 空军基地降落。
在第 9 中队的任期结束时（该任期已持续三年多），希利亚德被评定为“卓越飞行员”，并被派往第 76 中队。随后他接受了教官培训，并在牛津大学飞行中队工作了四年。他被晋升为中队长，并转为驾驶 V-轰炸机，在第 543 中队驾驶英勇者 (Valiants) 和胜利者 (Victors) 轰炸机。后来，他曾在轰炸机司令部（后更名为打击司令部）担任参谋军官。
特里·希利亚德 (Terry Hilliard) 1932 年出生于蒙茅斯郡的纽波特，是八个孩子中第二小的一个。他的父亲亚瑟·希利亚德 (Arthur Hilliard)，绰号“克朗普” (Crump)，母亲多萝西 (Dorothy)，绰号“默克” (Murk)，两人来自汉普郡的戈斯波特，但在经济大萧条期间在纽波特找到了工作。他们后来回到了汉普郡，亚瑟在朴次茅斯附近的希尔希亚军械库 (Hilsea Ordnance Depot) 工作。
第二次世界大战开始时，特里和他的兄弟姐妹被疏散到国家的不同地区。当他的母亲在 1944 年死于白喉时，
保罗·鲁德 (Paul Rudd) 写道： 当年我在格里姆斯比 (Grimsby) 担任一名年轻的实习职员时，埃德温·乔维特爵士（讣告见 7 月 26 日）经常来这里为被告辩护，并经常获得无罪判决。他曾给我一个建议：“保罗，你花了一整晚时间研究案件，你复印了所有准备引用的权威文献，你对控方的证据做了大量笔记，你已经决定好要对地方法官说什么。当你准备起身发言，且有五个要点要阐述时：忘掉其中两个，只用三个。这才是赢得案件的方法。”
孩子们因为围绕 D-Day 准备工作的安全限制而不能参加她的葬礼。特里 (Terry) 在同年通过了 11 岁入学考试 (11-plus)，但随后自己染上了白喉。他在医院度过了八个月，错过了将近两年的学业。他的父亲再婚并搬到了沃特卢维尔 (Waterlooville)，特里在普布鲁克公园郡立学校 (Purbrook Park County School) 恢复学业，并在加入英国皇家空军 (RAF) 之前通过了学校证书考试。
在氢弹测试后返回南澳大利亚的爱丁堡时，他参加了一个由维多利亚女性协会主办的聚会，在那里他结识了访问澳大利亚的英国女性萨莉·史密斯 (Sally Smith)。他们于 1959 年在西萨塞克斯郡的费灵海边 (Ferring-by-Sea) 结婚。这对夫妇育有一个儿子盖伊 (Guy) 和两个女儿凯蒂 (Katie) 与特雷西 (Tracy)，他们都比他长寿。萨莉于 2018 年去世。
希利亚德 (Hilliard) 于 1969 年从英国皇家空军退役，随后在妻子的支持下开始了商业生涯。他接受了保险经纪人的培训并创办了自己的公司。他出售了该公司，并在搬到澳大利亚之前在南海 (Southsea) 购买了一家小型酒店。在澳大利亚，他们成立了一家商业研究培训公司，并在悉尼歌剧院附近开了一家咖啡店。这对夫妇后来在塞浦路斯生活了八年。希利亚德在一家房地产中介公司工作后，最终在 80 多岁时退休。在业余时间，希利亚德这个有着冷幽默感的善良男人很喜欢玩数独。
由于对他曾在英国皇家空军服役感到自豪，他向西萨塞克斯郡的翼航空航天博物馆 (Wings Aviation Museum) 提供了一段描述他在 Grapple Z 期间经历的视频录像，该博物馆今年开办了一个名为《进入原子》(Into the Atom) 的新展览。
与许多在南太平洋参加核试验的退伍军人一样，希利亚德对辐射暴露的影响表达了担忧。在接受大英图书馆采访时，他描述了参加试验所带来的“复杂的终身遗产”以及“可能对健康产生影响而造成的巨大精神压力”。
他的女儿特雷西说：“他在 2017-18, 年期间从非霍奇金淋巴瘤中幸存，但化疗和辐射导致了心脏病发作，所以他植入了支架。他还患上了带状疱疹，感染了他的右眼，导致他失去了一只眼睛的视力，但他凭借其惊人的坚强地应对了这一切。我们经常开玩笑说，核弹给了他超能力。”
中 squadron 领导特里·希利亚德 (Terry Hilliard)，轰炸机飞行员兼商人，出生于 6, 1932. 年 6 月。他于 24, 2026, 年 4 月去世，享年 93 岁。
约克大教堂 (York Minster) 名誉管风琴师菲利普·摩尔博士 (Dr Philip Moore) 写道：当爱德华·诺曼（讣告见 7 月 20 日）初到约克大教堂时，他住在 Minster Court 的一栋房子里。他在 1999 年夏天退休，因为他的其中一位同僚教区长拒绝退休，直到他知道爱德华将要退休为止。随后在当年晚些时候，爱德华又回来了，这让工作人员感到十分惊讶，也让那位已退休的同僚教区长感到恼火。因此，他的第一次退休完全是虚假的，且当时唯一可用的房子是在 Precentor's Court。
当伊恩·肯尼迪·马丁（Ian Kennedy Martin）开始创作《斯威尼》时，他的目标是用 1970 年代真实警队中那种坚韧、冷峻的警员形象，取代电视上常见的、像长辈一样温情的警察形象。事实上，这部剧的影响力更为深远。在 2013 年被问及该系列剧时，大曼彻斯特警察局的退休副局长约翰·斯托克（John Stalker）承认，在某种程度上，现实追随了艺术，警员们此后“开始表现得像里根和卡特那样”。
这部剧的灵感源自肯尼迪·马丁与伦敦警察厅（Metropolitan Police）“飞虎队”（Flying Squad）一名侦探的友谊。该部门专门负责处理暴力犯罪，在考克尼押韵俚语中被称为“斯威尼·托德”（Sweeney Todd），简称“斯威尼”。多年来，该部门一直避开了公众的审视，但此时关于残暴和腐败的指控开始出现，其不拘小节、蛮干的方法在作家看来是充满动作感的剧集之绝佳素材。
他的兄长特洛伊（Troy）本人就是一名成名的电视编剧，其剧集《Z-Cars》及其衍生剧《Softly, Softly》已经尝试提供一个真实且不加掩饰的警察视角。但肯尼迪·马丁想走得更远。他说，《Softly, Softly》已经“变得像一部肥皂剧”了，“它根本没有反映出警察内部正在发生什么。当时，毒品问题正变得严重，武装抢劫是伦敦的主要犯罪活动。这一切在剧中都看不到。看到的全部是总部内部的权力斗争，以及人们在讨论预算。我们需要两名在街头奔波的警察。”
他还看到一个机会，为他的朋友约翰·索（John Thaw）创造一个角色。约翰·索是一个酗酒且生活放纵的类型，他被选演同样粗犷的侦查警司杰克·里根（Jack Regan），而丹尼斯·沃特曼（Dennis Waterman）则饰演侦查警佐乔治·卡特（George Carter）。
于是，一部经典之作诞生了。它揭露了一个曾被视为不可腐蚀的治安守护者的职业中，有时存在着令人质疑的做法。里根和卡特出口成脏，出手阔绰，他们以一种对常规不屑一顾的蛮横态度追捕罪犯，典型台词如“穿上你的裤子，你被捕了”以及“我们是斯威尼。我们杀了他——没事。你杀了我们——坐 30 年。”该剧在 1975 年至 1978 年间在 ITV 播出四个季度，每集吸引高达 19 million 观众，并启发了两部电影衍生作。
肯尼迪·马丁并没有在作品成功后逗留享受，由于与剧集制片人泰德·柴尔兹（Ted Childs）之间持续的争吵，他在仅写了三集后就辞职了。
尽管他离职仓促，但一种创作警察与犯罪剧的天赋已被释放。1980 年，他创作了《朱丽叶·布拉沃》（Juliet Bravo），这是第二部以女性警员为主角的电视剧。该剧设定在虚构的兰开夏郡城镇哈特利（Hartley），探讨了警察内部根深蒂固的性别歧视，共播出六个季度。随后是《华人侦探》（The Chinese Detective，1981–82），由大卫·叶（David Yip）主演，他是英国主流电视剧中首位华人主角。
肯尼迪·马丁将《斯威尼》的主角原型设定为他认识的警员
他出生于 1936 年，父亲弗兰克·马丁（Frank Martin）是一名工具制造师和电气工程师，曾在 16 岁时参加过索姆河战役，母亲凯瑟琳（Kathleen，原姓弗拉纳根）是一名教师。他的中间名是为了向他父亲钦佩的一位名为特洛伊神父（Father Troy）的牧师致敬，这个名字由他的哥哥弗朗西斯·特洛伊·肯尼迪·马丁（Francis Troy Kennedy Martin）共有，后者后来舍弃了自己的第一个名字。
肯尼迪·马丁早年生活在伦敦，随后孩子们在战争期间被疏散到苏格兰。根据特洛伊的描述，肯尼迪·马丁是一个“吸引人、头发凌乱、乐观且勇于尝试一切的男孩”，但在学校里很吃力，学业糟糕且饱受严重哮喘之苦。
搬回伦敦后，他进入了芬奇利天主教文法学校。当他 11 岁时，他的母亲死于乳腺癌，这一事件给年幼的男孩带来了创伤，并使家庭陷入贫困。他们不得不卖掉马斯韦尔山公寓里的所有家具，并在火堆上做饭，因为煤气已经被切断了。
“当人们问你如何成为一名作家时，我会说：‘你出生时就患有近乎致命的支气管哮喘，在最初的五年里几乎死掉 50 次。你在学校里被贴上愚蠢和懒惰的标签，后来才发现你患有严重的阅读障碍。而你的母亲在你 11 岁时去世。然后是贫困，’”他说。“这一切都回溯到我母亲的去世——她是我们生活的中心，是最完美的母亲。她去世时，那是一场噩梦……在她死后，我们接触到了社会的底层——真正的贫困。”
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（他随后进入）都柏林圣三一大学，在那里学习历史和政治学，同时与包括布伦丹·贝汉（Brendan Behan）和 JP·多恩利维（JP Donleavy）在内的文学圈人士混在一起。他最终被开除，并在返回伦敦之前短暂地搬到了因奇科尔（Inchicore）郊区。回到伦敦后，他与演员丹尼斯·奎利（Denis Quilley）和斯特拉·奎利（Stella Quilley）夫妻合租了几年。
受哥哥成功的启发，他起草了两部电视剧剧本，其中一部后来卖给了特洛伊（Troy），并成为了《意大利任务》（The Italian Job，1969）的基础。1962 年，他加入了 BBC 的电视编剧库，并继续为包括《圣徒》（The Saint）、《帕金的补丁》（Parkin’s Patch）、《麻烦解决者》（The Troubleshooters）、《哈德利》（Hadleigh）、《科尔迪茨》（Colditz）和《奥尼丁航线》（The Onedin Line）在内的剧集编写剧本。
在 20 世纪 70 年代和 80 年代达到成功顶峰之后，他重新开始了雇佣作家的生活，参与了包括《贝尔杰拉克》（Bergerac）、《局长》（The Chief）和《敲门声》（The Knock）在内的剧集。2009 年，他凭借《柏林汉诺威快车》（Berlin Hanover Express）完成了舞台剧作家的首秀，这是一部在伦敦汉普斯特德剧院首演的二战剧。
他以直言不讳而闻名，有时近乎好斗。（导演杰克·戈尔德（Jack Gold）曾说，电视界有两个肯尼迪·马丁——一个是作家，一个是帮派分子。）他的攻击目标包括 ITV，他说那里由“残酷且不怎么聪明的男人经营，为了最后的一分钱而斤斤计较”；以及 BBC，他认为 BBC 人员过多，并正被政府引导至“触礁”的边缘。
在公共生活之外，他是一个享乐主义者，也是一位慷慨的主持人。他的遗属包括他的妻子芭芭拉·欧巴赫（Barbara Ohrbach），一名纽约人，两人于 1970 年结婚；他们的女儿露西（Lucy）和儿子丹尼尔（Daniel）。
他与特洛伊的关系是他一生中最重要的关系之一，特洛伊于 2009 年因肺癌去世，享年 77 岁。两人关系如此密切，以至于有时会引起他们各自伴侣的摩擦。在特洛伊去世前，他曾说：“我们的关系很复杂，但如果我晕倒了，我不会拨打 999 ——我会给特洛伊打电话。”
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心情愉快能让你保持健康。时刻忧郁是缓慢的死亡。 箴言录 17.22 (GNB)
圣经经文由圣经协会（Bible Society）提供
出生 HARDING 2026 年 5 月 30 日，苏齐（Suzie，原姓欧文）和蒂姆夫妇得女，取名特莎·罗斯（Tessa Rose），她是艾玛（Emma）和梅芙（Maeve）的妹妹。
死亡 CAMPBELL Philippa Louise，2026 年 7 月 7 日星期二在家中安详去世。她是戴维（David）挚爱的妻子，比阿特丽斯（Beatrice）、贝基（Beccy）、罗莫拉（Romola）和罗洛（Rollo）的母亲，也是慈爱的祖母、朋友和姻亲。追思会将于 8 月 5 日星期三上午 11.30 在穆塞尔堡的东洛锡安火葬场举行。请仅限家属献花。
HOARE Basil George 于 2026 年 7 月 8 日安详去世，享年 99 岁。原居伍德赛德（Woodside）。深受爱戴的叔伯、表亲和朋友。葬礼服务将于 8 月 5 日星期三下午 2.20 在西南米德尔塞克斯火葬场举行。无需献花，如愿可向无国界医生（Médecins Sans Frontières）捐款。
MAYS-SMITH 伊丽莎（Eliza）。我们怀着沉痛的心情宣布，伊丽莎·梅斯-史密斯夫人于7月24日星期五逝世。她是一位深受爱戴的母亲、祖母、曾祖母、继母，也是许多人的挚友。葬礼将于8月19日星期三下午2点在查德尔沃思（Chaddleworth）的圣安得烈教堂（St Andrew’s Church）举行。请勿献花，捐款请通过 Camp Hopson 殡仪馆，电话 01635 522210，捐至受伤骑师基金会（Injured Jockeys Fund）。
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巴尔莫勒尔城堡 2026年7月29日 国王今早访问了哈尔基克遗产与古董车协会博物馆（Halkirk Heritage and Vintage Motor Society Museum），位于哈尔基克遗产与古董车中心（Halkirk Heritage and Vintage Motor Centre），哈尔基克，辛克莱街。接见人员为国王的凯斯内斯郡（Caithness）副主教（瑟索子爵）及博物馆主席（洛林·艾尔夫人）。
在主席的陪同下，国王参观了博物馆，并与信托员及志愿者见面。
国王今后访问了斯塔纳吉尔威士忌酿造厂（Stannergill Whisky Distillery），位于凯斯内斯郡，卡斯尔敦磨坊（Castletown Mill），卡斯尔敦。接见人员为马丁·默里夫妇（业主）和斯特鲁安·麦基先生（瑟索市长）。
在业主的陪同下，国王参观了修复后的磨坊，走访了厨房和餐厅，并与员工见面。
随后，国王进入酿造厂，参观了铜制蒸馏器，并与员工以及参与建筑修复的人员见面，随后正式为斯塔纳吉尔威士忌酿造厂主持揭幕。
圣詹姆斯宫 2026年7月29日 爱丁堡公爵，爱德华王子岛团（The Prince Edward Island Regiment）荣誉团长，今日下午通过视频链接与在加拿大的克里斯多夫·米肖中校（指挥官）举行了会议。
SHARP 吉尔·特雷哈恩 MBE（原姓摩根）于 2026年6月27日星期六在寓所平静去世，享年 83, 岁，此前长期患病。她将令人们深切缅怀。她是安东尼深爱的妻子，安托瓦内特和费奥娜的母亲，威廉、奥利维亚、阿梅利亚、塔比莎和科德莉亚的祖母。将举行私人家庭葬礼。感恩礼拜将于9月8日正午在威韦尔斯菲尔德（Wivelsfield）的圣彼得与圣约翰洗礼教堂举行。请勿献花，但可通过网站 jilltreharne-sharp.muchloved.com 向阿尔茨海默病协会（Alzheimer’s Society）捐款。
STONE 安东尼·斯通少将 CB，原皇家炮兵团，于 2026年7月23日突然但平静地去世，享年 87. 岁。他是玛丽 59 年来忠实的丈夫，是盖伊、马克、凯特和米莉深爱的父亲及岳父/公公，也是孙子奥利弗、卡斯帕、米洛、杰克和孙女艾米莉的爷爷/外公。仅举行家庭葬礼，今年晚些时候将举行其生平纪念活动。
法律公告
法律公告
根据 《1925年信托法》 发布的通知 SAL 养老金计划 (“该计划”) 致债权人 及 受益人之通知 根据 《1925年信托法》第 27 条 之规定
本通知由 SAL Pension Fund Limited（以下简称“受托人”）以其作为该计划受托人的身份发出。现根据《1925年信托法》第 27 条及受托人拥有的任何其他相关权力，通知该计划正在清算。任何认为自己对该计划拥有债权、有权获得养老金或任何福利、或在该计划中拥有权益的人士，请致函受托人：c/o The Trustee of the Sal Pension Scheme，邮寄至 Intact Insurance Pensions, 8th Floor, 22 Bishopsgate, London EC2N 4BQ，以提出申请。申请人应提供其全名、地址、出生日期、NI 编号，以及（如适用）受雇日期。如果任何其他人士认为其对该计划拥有债权或权益，请致函至同一地址，详细列明其申请的具体情况。请在所有往来函件中注明该计划的名称。所有申请必须在本通知发布之日起两个月内送达。此日期之后，受托人将继续完成该计划的清算，并仅根据其事先获知的申请和权益，为任何剩余的受益人确保福利。对于受托人未获通知的任何债权和要求，受托人不承担任何责任。任何已被受托人通过其当前地址联系，或已提出申请并收到回复的人士，无需再次向受托人申请。
日期：2026年7月30日 代表 SAL Pension Fund Limited 发布。
CR-2026-004799 在高等法院 正义法庭 英格兰及威尔士 商业与财产法院 公司法院 (ChD) 关于 SECURED INCOME FUND PLC 之事项 以及 关于 《2006年公司法》 之事项
特此通知，上述公司（公司编号 09682883，注册地址为 Level 4, Dashwood House, 69 Old Broad Street, London, England, EC2M 1QS）（以下简称“公司”）于 2026年7月20日 向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资本赎回准备金全部余额（以下简称“取消”）的命令，该取消已由公司在 2026年6月17日 通过的特别决议批准。
现进一步通知，如第 8 部分申请表所述，该申请的最终听证会定于 2026年8月11日 上午 10:30 在 The Rolls Building, 7 Rolls Buildings, Fetter Lane, London, EC4A 1NL 由一名破产与公司法院法官主持审理。
任何希望反对发出确认取消命令的公司债权人，应在听证会期间亲自或由法律顾问出席。在支付法定费用后，可从公司的事务律师处获取第 8 部分申请表的副本： Walker Morris LLP, 33 Wellington Street, Leeds, LS1 4DL (参考号: TAB/KIW/SEC06624.1)。
日期：7月30日，星期四
CR-2026-003317 在高等法院 正义法庭 英格兰及威尔士 商业与财产法院 公司法院 (ChD) 关于 ABRDN EUROPEAN LOGISTICS INCOME PLC 之事项 以及 关于 《2006年公司法》 之事项
特此通知，高等法院（大法官分庭）于 2 0 2 6 年 6 月 3 0 日 出具的确认取消上述公司资本赎回准备金的命令，以及法院就该项取消批准的资本声明，已于 2026年7月24日 由公司注册处注册。
日期：2026年7月30日，星期四 GOWLING WLG (UK) LLP 4 More London Riverside London SE1 2AU 电话：0370 903 1000 参考号：2812551/JCR01/OXJ01 公司事务律师
案件编号 CR-2026-004087 英格兰及威尔士高等法院 正义法院 商业与财产法院 公司法院 (ChD) 关于 GOOCH & HOUSEGO PLC 之事 以及关于 2006 年公司法之事 法院会议通知
现特此通知，根据上述事项于 2026 年 7 月 29 日签署的命令，法院已准许召开计划股份持有者（定义见下文所述之安排计划）的会议（“法院会议”），旨在考虑并（若认为合适）批准（无论是否修改）一项拟根据 2006 年公司法（“本法”）第 26 部分在 Gooch & Housego PLC（“公司”）与计划股份持有者（定义见安排计划）之间制定的安排计划（“安排计划”）。法院会议将于 2026 年 8 月 26 日上午 10.00 在 Burges Salmon LLP 办公室（伦敦 EC4A 3BF, 6 New Street Square）举行，请所有计划股份持有者在该时间地点出席。任何希望在法院会议上投票的计划股份持有者应向公司请求代理表或亲自出席法院会议。关于批准安排计划决议的投票将通过投票计票方式进行，具体由法院会议主席决定。未收到上述安排计划相关通告副本的计划股份持有者可通过 http://www.gandh.com 访问电子版本，或从公司注册代理人 MUFG Corporate Markets 或公司律师 Burges Salmon LLP 办公室获取。
日期：2026 年 7 月 30 日 BURGES SALMON LLP 6 New Street Square, London EC4A 3BF (电话：+44 (0) 20 7685 1200) 参考号：16677.00127 公司代表律师
皇家保险集团养老金计划（“计划”） 根据 1925 年受托人法第 27 条发布的通知
本计划受托人 RIGPS Pension Trustee Limited（“受托人”）现根据 1925 年受托人法第 27 条特此通知，受托人已于 2026 年 6 月 10 日起启动清算本计划的程序。任何本计划的债权人、成员或受益人，或任何认为其对本计划拥有索赔权、有权获得养老金或任何福利或拥有权益的人员，现要求致函至：RIGPS Pension Trustee Limited, c/o Intact Insurance Pensions, 8 楼, 22 Bishopsgate, London EC2N 4BQ，并注明由 Tim Vaughan 收。索赔人应提供其索赔的详细信息，包括全名、现住址、出生日期、国民保险号码、与其索赔相关的雇佣期间详情（如适用）以及本计划的全称。所有索赔必须在本通知公布之日起两个月内提出。在此日期之后，受托人将继续清算本计划，并将本计划资产分配给有权获得这些资产的人员，且仅考虑那些受托人已获悉其索赔权和权益的人员。对于受托人未收到索赔通知的人员，受托人无需就本计划或如此分配的计划资产承担责任。任何已经由受托人或代表受托人就此事与其联系的个人无需回复本通知，因为受托人已掌握其索赔及权益的详细信息。在清算程序完成前，受托人将继续负责本计划的行政管理；如果您对本通知有任何疑问，欢迎通过 Intact Insurance Pensions（使用上述联系方式）与受托人联络。
日期：2026 年 7 月 30 日 代表皇家保险集团养老金计划受托人发布
52 Thursday July 30 2026 | the times 法律
呼吁改革“糟糕的” 法律援助申请资格
作为下议院司法遴选委员会的主席，安迪·斯劳特对工党计划增加治安法官的量刑权力并限制陪审团审判提出了质疑。
这使得这位汉默史米思和奇斯威克的大律师兼国会议员近期被任命为安迪·伯纳姆政府的司法总长（solicitor-general）成为一次奇怪的举动，因为这将限制他发声的能力。但在他担任委员会主席的最后一项行动中，斯劳特通过一份关于英格兰和威尔士法律援助糟糕现状的谴责性报告，给政府带来了沉重打击。
该报告指责前大法官大卫·拉米（David Lammy，现由亚历克斯·诺里斯继任）未能履行其法定职责，即“确保法律援助得以提供”。
虽然政府在推行“为受害者伸张正义”，但委员会的报告警告称，法律援助可用性的下降导致越来越多的人在没有律师的情况下出庭，从而产生了“不可接受的高风险的冤假错案”。报告呼吁进行“紧急改革”以解决申请资格和法律援助的范围问题，并要求提高律师费，以及努力减轻管理公共资金机构的官僚作风。
国会议员们强调，治安法院刑事法律援助的经济申请门槛“低得令人震惊”，并指出资产审查门槛自 2009, 年以来一直没有提高，而物价已上涨了约 64 ％。报告指出，值班律师计划处于“糟糕状态”，因为自 2017, 年以来，人数下降了 25 ％，而在逐渐老龄化的从业人员中，35 岁以下者仅占 7 ％。
治安法院，导致诉讼程序延误并使个人权利面临风险。虽然委员会欢迎近期增加的刑事法律律师资金，但认为这种增长不太可能遏制该计划的衰落。
更广泛地来看，报告发现刑事法律援助在“财务上不可持续”，因为报酬率——近期仅提高了建议的“最低水平”——由于通货膨胀导致实际收益降低，使得这项工作“不经济”。国会议员建议政府建立一个独立机制来审查并提高法律援助费用，并为招募和留住刑事法律援助律师设定明确目标。
投资不足所带来的后果”
在转向民事法律援助方面，报告发现申请资格“低得令人无法接受”，并警告英格兰和威尔士境内日益扩大的“司法差距”，许多人不符合申请资格，且无法负担私人法律代理和咨询费用。报告表达了担忧，认为那些涉及家庭暴力案件的家庭法诉讼当事人可能会失去法律代理。
报告还指出，服务提供方基础正处于“严重压力”之下，从 2007-08 年到 2023-24 年，实际的人均支出下降了 36 ％以上，使得住房、家庭、调解以及移民和避难领域的业务往往处于亏损状态。
英格兰和威尔士律师专业团体——律师协会（Law Society）主席马克·埃文斯（Mark Evans）表示，这正是“各组织多年来一直强调的”，并且“揭露了多年来法律援助投资不足所带来的后果”。
埃文斯呼吁部长们增加对司法、法律援助和早期法律咨询的投资。他补充道：“如果政府认真对待将针对女性和女孩的暴力行为减半，那么改善家庭法律援助的获得途径必须成为家庭司法战略的核心。”
为了帮助降低律师事务所承担的法律援助局（Legal Aid Agency）公共资金管理成本，该协会开展了研究，以论证削减那些“阻碍”律师工作的繁文缛节的必要性。
刑事大律师协会（Criminal Bar Association）副主席安德鲁·托马斯（Andrew Thomas）KC 对近期政府关于 £34 million 资金的咨询表示欢迎，这代表刑事大律师的费用平均上涨了 10 ％。但他强调，这并非“立即的提振”，因为其全部效果最早要到 2028 年才能实现。托马斯表示，考虑到通货膨胀，大律师们最终获得的费用率将相当于 2022 年刑事大律师因费用过低而罢工之前的水平。
托马斯希望看到每年一次的费用审查并考虑通货膨胀，而不是“每隔几年一次的临时谈判循环”。
法律援助从业者小组（Legal Aid Practitioners Group）政策与议会参与主任罗希尼·贾纳（Rohini Jana）补充道：“如果新任首相真的想改善生活……修复我们的法律援助体系是至关重要的一步。”
司法部表示，为了修复其继承的这个“压力沉重”的体系，政府已投入 £116 million 用于刑事法律援助律师费用，并在压力最大的民事领域每年额外投入 £20 million。
VICTORIA JONES/PA; ALAMY
才能在巨额交易中 与美国对手竞争
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随着足球世界杯的热潮逐渐消退，少数几家英国律师事务所正努力在另一场竞争中生存：力争成为价值 £7.5 billion 以上的巨额交易以及重大争议和调查市场的领先参与者。而他们唯一的对手就是来自美国的竞争对手。
这与 20 世纪 80 年代和 90 年代的情况截然不同。当时在美国之外，英国律所在交易谈判桌上经常占据主导地位，英国法至高无上。那时，除少数例外，大多数领先的美国律所都总部设在纽约，认为没有必要向利润较低的国际市场扩张。如果客户需要非美国方面的建议，美国律所会与英国同行合作。而英国律所则在国际上（除美国外）进行扩张——一切都处于一种惬意的状态。
情况在 90 年代中期开始发生变化，当时一些美国律所开始在伦敦建立英国法能力，而英国律所在纽约建立美国能力。然而，律所之间通过挖掘合伙人来吸引人才的规模较小，且除少数著名例外，很少涉及顶尖大牛。
意识到美国的重要性，一些英国律所寻求与美国律所合并。他们通常遭到拒绝，因为他们被认为缺乏驱动力，盈利能力较低，且执着于一种奖励资历而非绩效的薪酬体系。2000 年 Clifford Chance 与 Rogers & Wells 的合并进展不顺，打击了其他人的积极性。非纽约律所（其中最显著的是 Latham & Watkins）的接触请求也被拒绝了。
2008 年的金融危机加速了美国律所的野心。在随后的 15 年中，我们经历了超低利率和资金宽松的时期；在传统银行仍处于危机后的疗伤阶段时，新参与者——私募股权基金、替代金融基金和主权财富基金——开始主导市场。
为这些机构提供服务的律所接到了大量需要国际协作的大型交易。他们利用美国业务的盈利能力在国际上，尤其是伦敦进行扩张。他们雇佣顶尖合伙人和整个团队，向某些个人支付高达 £10 million 的薪酬。
起初，许多英国律所感到震惊。他们的“阶梯式”（lockstep）薪酬体系被修改至几近消亡——他们变得更具商业化，并逐渐剔除绩效不佳的合伙人。尽管英国律所显著提高了盈利能力，但美国律所正处于冲刺状态，而近期唐纳德·特朗普带来的经济刺激效应将 Kirkland & Ellis（历史上是一家芝加哥律所）等律所的营收推至 £7.9 billion，平均权益合伙人薪酬达到 £8.25 million。
并非只有几家美国律所构成了威胁——有 62 家律所的年营收超过 £750 million，31 家超过 £1.5 billion。有 20 多家律所的平均权益合伙人薪资超过 £3.75 million，而领先的英国律所则为 £2.25 million。
简单来说，美国是全球最大且最盈利的法律市场，而美国律所现在也是伦敦最大且最盈利的律所之列。Kirkland 和 Latham 的伦敦营收均达到 £750 million，它们改变了合伙人和助理律师的职业路径和收入预期。美国律所在英国雇佣了近 10,000 名律师。
我们正处于一个全球法律精英集团建立的最终阶段，旨在为巨额事务提供咨询。如果没有强大的美国业务，英国律所无法希望进入该群体，因为大型交易几乎总是包含显著的美国元素。如果没有强大的美国服务能力，英国律所将无法获得足够的利润来留住顶尖律师。
对于希望进入这个精英群体的少数英国律所——由 A&O Shearman、Freshfields、Linklaters 和 Clifford Chance 组成的“魔圈”——公平地说，他们几十年来一直试图在美国发展。Allen & Overy 与 Shearman & Sterling（一家名声显赫但陷入动荡期的纽约律所）合并——而这四家律所都尝试通过挖掘知名合伙人和团队来实现增长。
但所谓的横向招聘（lateral hiring）是一个缓慢且昂贵的过程，且结果不一。在接下来的几年里，如果一些传统的纽约精英律所认为自己无法进入国际顶尖梯队，可能会考虑进行合并。英国律所在美国的成功程度，将决定它们自身能否达标。
然而，重要的是不要过于悲观。英国是全球第二大法律市场——有 200 多家外国律所在伦敦设有办事处。尽管经历了脱欧，英国法仍是伦敦维持欧洲首要金融中心地位的关键因素。
英国法仍然监管着约 40 比例的所有国际金融和商业交易。伦敦是国际仲裁的领先中心，世界上一些最大的争议案件在我们的法院审理，且这些案件通常不涉及任何常驻英国的当事方。英国法是一种很少有国内政治家能够理解的软实力来源。
该行业雇佣了约 380,000 人，并产生了 £8.8 十亿英镑的经常项目盈余。事实上，如果整体经济能以法律专业所实现的增长率提升，我们根本不会出现英国生产力危机。
陷入困境的国际刑事法院（ICC）接下来的路在何方？
Jonathan Ames
自从该法庭在 24 年前成立以来，国际刑事法院（ICC）的三任首席检察官在任期间的结果不尽相同。
第一任是阿根廷律师路易斯·莫雷诺·奥坎波（Luis Moreno Ocampo），他深陷财务和性行为不端的指控，但他否认了所有指控；其 2012 年的继任者法图·本苏达（Fatou Bensouda）——现任冈比亚驻英高级专员——则面临误导法庭关于她与莫雷诺·奥坎波接触指控的指责，她对此予以否认。这两位检察官均未被正式判定有违规行为。
而现在，卡里姆·汗（Karim Khan）KC 在任职五年后，因涉嫌性行为不端被解雇，他对此否认。
资深法律人士长期以来一直私下议论，海牙的首席检察官一职是那些未能在其国内专业领域达到顶峰的自信律师的聚集地。但无论个人的素质和表现如何，他们的坎坷经历再次引发了人们对该法院本身可行性的更广泛担忧。
该法庭起源于联合国，但是独立的，由包括英国在内的 125 个签署《罗马规约》的国家提供资金。其 18 位法官对该法院所描述的“国际社会整体关注的最严重罪行，即种族灭绝罪、危害人类罪和战争罪”拥有管辖权。该法院拥有 900 名员工，年度预算超过 £168 million。
至于在过去近四分之一个世纪里取得了怎样的成功，批评者的评价十分苛刻。宾夕法尼亚大学的一位法律学者在 2022 年的一篇论文中指出，在 ICC “本可以调查的数千起潜在案件中”，“仅有 44 人被起诉”。
该论文补充称，到当年为止，仅有 14 起案件 resulted in a complete proceeding（完成了全部程序）——其中九起被定罪。
自俄罗斯入侵乌克兰以及加沙冲突以来，这些数字有所增加——使起诉总数达到 73 起，其中 34 起完成了全部程序。这一增长导致在过去四年中增加了四起定罪。
汗的坎坷经历为攻击该法院打开了另一条战线。这位英国 KC 的支持者认为，他受到了不公正对待，且法院的内部程序缺乏公正。
“ICC 应该是国际司法界的劳斯莱斯，”国际律师协会（IBA）人权研究所共同主席马克·斯蒂芬斯（Mark Stephens）表示，并补充道：“无论人们如何看待针对卡里姆·汗的指控，这个过程往往看起来就像是一辆在高速公路上行驶时尝试修理的汽车。”
[[IMG_XXXX]] 卡里姆·汗 KC 被解雇，不再担任海牙法院的首席检察官
King’s Counsel Alex Steuart
为了几个几尼 (For a Few Guineas) 更多内容见：《法律年鉴：漫画篇》(The Legal Year in Cartoons)，Law Brief Publishing 出版，£9.99
本周律师：皮尔斯·普里查德·琼斯 (Piers Prichard Jones)
皮尔斯·普里查德·琼斯是 Freshfields 的一名事务律师，他领导团队为 ITV 就将其媒体和娱乐业务以 £1.6 billion 的价格出售给 Sky 提供咨询，从而创建了英国最大的商业广播公司。作为交易的一部分，拥有 Sky 的美国电信公司康卡斯特（Comcast）将以 £200 million 的价格将制作《英国烘焙大赛》（The Great British Bake Off）和《钢琴》（The Piano）的 Love Productions 业务出售给 ITV。在获得监管批准后，该交易预计将于 2027 年下半年完成。
问：在这个案例中，您必须克服的最大障碍是什么？ 答：像这样具有里程碑意义的交易必然涉及多个领域的复杂性，且需要时间来筹备。幸运的是，双方组织都致力于这项交易及其给利益相关者带来的益处。
问：作为一名律师，您做出的最佳决定是什么？ 答：努力让自己在会议室里不仅仅扮演“律师”的角色。我在早期阶段就意识到，客户同样看重你的战略和商业洞察力。
你在法律界最钦佩谁？ 我的父亲肯，以及我的哥哥塞巴斯蒂安。 他们是出色的执业律师和商人，而且毫无疑问是家族中最好的律师。
事实上，针对汗的指控调查过程漫长且充满官僚气息。相关主张最早出现在 2024 年，导致其被解职的进程涉及多次调查——这些调查得出了不同的结论——以及至少两次表决。
“困难之处在于，这一过程显得冗长、随意，且日益公开，”斯蒂芬斯说，并补充道，“正义要求结果透明，但此类性质的调查通常最好在迅速、严谨且尽可能保密的情况下进行。”
IBA 研究所所长肯尼迪女男爵 (Baroness Kennedy of the Shaws KC) 承认，“卡里姆·汗必须离开是正确的”，并坚持认为，早前决定由于证据不足而不能对该大律师定罪，是在错误地使用了刑事证明标准。
肯尼迪指出，上周在纽约联合国举行的表决决定了汗的命运，这“明确表明
你收到的最好的建议是什么？走楼梯，不要乘电梯。 你最好的灵感将产生于
你获得的额外思考时间。
你在工作中经历的最有趣的事情是什么？ 在一次紧张的会议中，由于一只老鼠意外出现在谈判桌上，不得不叫停会议。
职场中的任何不当行为都应根据可能性平衡（balance of probabilities）来衡量。我认为，任何掌握权力的资深人士都不应与与其共事的下属建立亲密关系。”
但肯尼迪对汗的垮台感到遗憾，认为他是一位“伟大的检察官——是国际刑事法院 (ICC) 拥有的最好的检察官”。她主张，汗“明白全球南方的国家日益感觉到，西方国家被适用不同的法律标准，而强大的领导人永远不会因其巨大的错误而被追究责任”。
从更广泛的角度来看，杰弗里·耐斯 (Geoffrey Nice KC) 对国际法院持一定程度的怀疑态度。这位英国人曾在 2002 年前南斯拉夫国际刑事法庭（ICC 的前身）审理斯洛博丹·米洛舍维奇的案件中担任首席检察官。“所有的国际法院都存在腐败，”他说，“所有法院的任命制度都低效，这意味着法院不可能纯洁。它们是容易被腐蚀的——而且每当一个会受到正义裁决影响的强权国家干预时，它们就会变得腐败。”
耐斯补充说，ICC “从未真正从奥坎波的任期中恢复过来”，并更广泛地认为海牙法院“是一个令人不快的地方”。
至于 ICC 的未来，斯蒂芬斯表示，“下一任检察官的任务——如果他们能找到一个的话——将不仅仅是起诉国际犯罪。而是重建对机构本身的信心。国际正义的引擎可能依然完好，但公众被迫看着机修工们在争论如何修理。”
据了解，汗正就解雇决定提出上诉。斯蒂芬斯说，这一过程将“延长”法院的痛苦，不仅损害 ICC，还损害了那些女性，她们的指控在这一不理想的过程中几乎成了附带损害……”
仅限订阅用户 追究责任：不需要一个人权监督机构来挑战公司在供应链中侵犯人权的行为，但一项法案拟对违规行为处以罚款 thetimes.com
thetimes.com
你会制定什么法律？ 英国在制定能够让我们与其他国家形成积极区分的法律法规方面有着自豪的历史。但平衡并不总是正确的——例如，中小企业的法律和监管负担非常沉重，且似乎在不断增加。我希望看到这一负担显著减轻，以使它们和英国经济能够更有效地竞争并增长。
你最喜欢的电影是什么？《教父2》：一部电影包含了两部精彩的影片，且证明了续集可以比出色的原作更好。
对话录 尼克·埃齐富拉 (Nick Eziefula) 谈论他如何将 商业律师的工作 与身为说唱歌手的身份相结合
法庭之外
案件、闲谈、混乱：
大律师基金会筹款演出
马丁·肖 (Martin Shaw) 留着长发，正准备开始他在西区广受好评的《所有季节的人》(A Man for All Seasons) 中饰演托马斯·莫尔爵士 (Sir Thomas More) 的第二次全国巡演。上周日晚上，他在中庭大厅 (Middle Temple Hall) 进行了一次单次演出。作为卡利舍信托基金 (Kalisher Trust) 的主要赞助人，81 岁的肖与曾在《王冠》(The Crown) 中饰演哈罗德·威尔逊 (Harold Wilson) 的杰森·沃特金斯 (Jason Watkins) 共同带来了一场气势磅礴的《法庭辩护》(The Dock Brief) 演出。该剧采用了老式麦克风，忠实还原了约翰·莫蒂默 (John Mortimer) 1957 年为 BBC 创作的广播剧，讲述了一位落魄的资深大律师为一名被指控谋杀妻子的男子进行辩护的故事。
该信托基金旨在资助出身贫寒的人士进入律师行业，一直有举办戏剧筹款活动的传统，周日的演出座无虚席。幕落之后，娱乐活动仍在继续，有人发现一位上诉法院的高级法官正轻快地跳上一辆红色大巴。伯纳姆主义 (Burnhamism) 已经渗透到了法官的高层之中。
是否具备任职资格？
法律专业人士再次对非法律专业人士是否应被任命为大法官 (lord chancellor) 这一问题展开热议。
当安迪·伯纳姆 任命无名之辈亚历克斯·诺里斯 (Alex Norris) 出任该职时，这场争论被重新点燃。这位 42 岁的人士在诺丁汉大学学习政治和历史，随后当选为该市议员，并于 2017 年成为国会议员。大多数法律界高层并不认同非法律专业人士担任此职的想法。一位显赫的保守党人士告诉《泰晤士法律》(Times Law)，当大律师肯·克拉克 (Ken Clarke) 在大卫·卡梅伦 (David Cameron) 政府中担任大法官时，他在内阁会议上就坐在首相的正对面，“以彰显其重要性”。然而，当克拉克被替换，克里斯·格雷林 (Chris Grayling) —— 第一位担任该职位的非法律专业人士 —— 上任后，他被“移到了内阁会议桌的最边缘”。
抗议者冒被捕风险
活动人士将周四下午称为安迪·伯纳姆 在将“巴勒斯坦行动”(Palestine Action) 列为恐怖组织这一禁令上面临的“第一次真正考验”。数百名抗议者计划通过在威斯敏斯特治安法院外集会，声明支持该组织并“鼓励每个人这样做”，从而冒着根据《恐怖主义法》被捕的风险。原定周四将有 1,500 名被告因该法项下的轻微指控出庭，但该听证会已推迟。活动人士表示：“这不会阻止我们所有人继续反抗。” 0 订阅者可以注册我们的周报《简报》(the Brief)。本周主题：法官也得吃饭
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图例：b=晴朗, c=多云, d=毛毛雨, pc=局部多云 du=阴, f=天气良好, fg=雾, h=冰雹, m=薄雾, r=雨, sh=阵雨, sl=雨夹雪, sn=雪, s=太阳 =前一天 *=数据不可用
温度 摄氏度 降雨 毫米 日照 小时* 昨日正午 昨日截至下午5点的24小时
阿伯丁 (Aberdeen) 阿伯波思 (Aberporth) 安格尔西 (Anglesey) 阿维茅尔 (Aviemore) 巴恩斯塔普尔 (Barnstaple) 贝德福德 (Bedford) 贝尔法斯特 (Belfast) 伯明翰 (Birmingham) 本茅斯 (Bournemouth) 布里丁顿 (Bridlington) 布里斯托 (Bristol) 坎伯恩 (Camborne) 卡迪夫 (Cardiff) 爱丁堡 (Edinburgh) 埃斯克代尔缪尔 (Eskdalemuir) 格拉斯哥 (Glasgow) Hereford 赫斯特蒙叙 (Herstmonceux) 伊普斯威奇 (Ipswich) 曼岛 (Isle of Man) 怀特岛 (Isle of Wight) 泽西岛 (Jersey) 凯斯威克 (Keswick) 金洛斯 (Kinloss) 利兹 (Leeds) 勒威克 (Lerwick) 鲁查斯 (Leuchars) 林肯 (Lincoln) 利物浦 (Liverpool) 伦敦 (London) 莱纳姆 (Lyneham) 曼彻斯特 (Manchester) 马盖特 (Margate) 米尔福德港 (Milford Haven) 纽卡斯尔 (Newcastle) 诺丁汉 (Nottingham) 奥克尼 (Orkney) 牛津 (Oxford) 普利茅斯 (Plymouth) 波特兰 (Portland) 圣马丽岛 (Scilly, St Mary’s) 肖勒姆 (Shoreham) 什鲁斯伯里 (Shrewsbury) 斯诺多尼亚 (Snowdonia) 绍森德 (Southend) 南尤伊斯特 (South Uist) 斯托诺韦 (Stornoway) 蒂里岛 (Tiree) 怀特黑文 (Whitehaven) 威克 (Wick) 尤维尔顿 (Yeovilton)
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伯明翰 (Birmingham)
牛津 (Oxford)
18 C 0.8 2.8 18 C 0.0 2.3 20 C 0.0 0.1 17 R 1.2 4.9 22 C 0.0 ** 29 S 0.0 ** 19 R 1.6 1.9 28 PC 0.0 ** 28 S 0.0 12.7 23 PC 0.0 ** 25 S 0.0 5.0 20 C 0.0 6.4 22 B 0.0 3.8 21 C 19.0 2.3 16 R 9.2 1.3 14 R 21.0 1.2 28 PC 0.0 ** 29 S 0.0 10.4 30 S 0.0 9.1 18 C 0.0 5.9 25 S 0.0 ** 22 S 0.0 12.7 19 C 0.0 ** 18 ** 0.4 5.6 21 C 0.0 ** 14 C 1.0 2.0 20 C 14.8 4.8 27 S 0.0 7.7 21 C 0.0 ** 32 S 0.0 5.9 27 S 0.0 7.7 24 C 0.0 4.2 31 S 0.0 13.5 21 C 0.0 ** 22 C 0.0 ** 26 PC 0.0 5.0 15 C 2.2 ** 30 S 0.0 ** 23 S 0.0 ** 22 C 0.0 ** 22 D 0.0 ** 34 S 0.0 8.8 25 PC 0.0 3.8 18 R 0.8 ** 26 S 0.0 12.4 16 C 0.0 ** 15 C 0.6 2.1 15 PC 1.4 1.2 18 C 0.2 0.8 ** C 0.0 ** 27 S 0.0 8.8
世界天气 所有读数均为昨日当地正午
31 S 31 S 31 S
37 S 32 PC 30 PC 30 PC
31 S 26 S 25 T 39 S 33 S 28 S 31 S
35 S 29 R 9 PC 20 S 26 PC 25 PC 36 S 32 ** 45 PC 21 B 25 PC 37 S 32 S 34 S 27 PC 23 S 27 SH
29 S 32 S 15 S 29 SH
29 PC 27 PC 22 B 30 S 26 PC 37 S
阿里坎特 (Alicante) 阿姆斯特丹 (Amsterdam) 雅典 (Athens) 奥克兰 (Auckland) 巴林 (Bahrain) 曼谷 (Bangkok) 巴巴多斯 (Barbados) 巴塞罗那 (Barcelona) 北京 (Beijing) 贝鲁特 (Beirut) 贝尔格莱德 (Belgrade) 柏林 (Berlin) 百慕大 (Bermuda) 波尔多 (Bordeaux) 布鲁塞尔 (Brussels) 布加勒斯特 (Bucharest) 布达佩斯 (Budapest) 布宜诺斯艾利斯 (Buenos Aires) 开罗 (Cairo) 加尔各答 (Calcutta) 堪培拉 (Canberra) 开普敦 (Cape Town) 芝加哥 (Chicago) 哥本哈根 (Copenhagen) 科孚 (Corfu) 德里 (Delhi) 迪拜 (Dubai) 都柏林 (Dublin) 法鲁 (Faro) 佛罗伦萨 (Florence) 法兰克福 (Frankfurt) 日内瓦 (Geneva) 直布罗陀 (Gibraltar) 赫尔辛基 (Helsinki) 香港 (Hong Kong) 檀香山 (Honolulu) 伊斯坦布尔 (Istanbul) 耶路撒冷 (Jerusalem) 约翰内斯堡 (Johannesburg) 吉隆坡 (Kuala Lumpur) 基辅 (Kyiv) 兰萨罗特 (Lanzarote) 拉斯帕尔马斯 (Las Palmas) 利马 (Lima) 里斯本 (Lisbon) 洛杉矶 (Los Angeles) 卢克索 (Luxor)
马德拉 (Madeira) 马德里 (Madrid) 马拉加 (Malaga) 马略卡 (Mallorca) 马耳他 (Malta) 墨尔本 (Melbourne) 墨西哥城 (Mexico City) 迈阿密 (Miami) 米兰 (Milan) 蒙巴萨 (Mombasa) 蒙特利尔 (Montreal) 莫斯科 (Moscow) 孟买 (Mumbai) 慕尼黑 (Munich) 内罗比 (Nairobi) 那不勒斯 (Naples) 新奥尔良 (New Orleans) 纽约 (New York) 尼斯 (Nice) 尼科西亚 (Nicosia) 奥斯陆 (Oslo) 巴黎 (Paris) 珀斯 (Perth) 布拉格 (Prague) 雷克雅未克 (Reykjavik) 里加 (Riga) 里约热内卢 (Rio de Janeiro) 利雅得 (Riyadh) 罗马 (Rome) 旧金山 (San Francisco) 圣地亚哥 (Santiago) 圣保罗 (São Paulo) 首尔 (Seoul) 塞舌尔 (Seychelles) 新加坡 (Singapore) 圣彼得堡 (St Petersburg) 斯德哥尔摩 (Stockholm) 悉尼 (Sydney) 特拉维夫 (Tel Aviv) 特内里费 (Tenerife) 东京 (Tokyo) 温哥华 (Vancouver) 威尼斯 (Venice) 维也纳 (Vienna) 华沙 (Warsaw) 华盛顿 (Washington) 苏黎世 (Zurich)
星期日
《泰晤士报》和《星期日泰晤士报》是独特且值得信赖的旅行灵感来源。现在，您也可以信赖我们带您前往目的地。
thetimes.com/holidays
未来五日预报 南部地区炎热干燥， 不稳定的天气状况 将影响英伦三岛
风速
34 海况
明日
气温回落，北部和西部 有零星阵雨，局部伴有雷暴。 南部大部分地区晴朗干燥。 最高 27C，最低 7C
周六
英国南部和爱尔兰地区温暖 且基本干燥，阳光充足。苏格兰 及英格兰最北部可能有零星 小雨。 最高 27C，最低 7C
南部地区晴朗，天气干燥。 苏格兰北部有零星阵雨。 爱尔兰南部在经历干燥的 开局后，将有云带和降雨移入。 最高 28C，最低 5C
总体情况：英格兰和威尔士 温暖或炎热，基本干燥且 有晴间多云天气。爱尔兰 和苏格兰有阵雨，苏格兰 北部阵雨势大且伴有雷暴。 东英吉利、英格兰东南部、伦敦、 东米德兰兹：早晨炎热干燥， 云量增加，下午体感较凉爽， 并有局部阵雨风险。 轻微西风，随后转向北风。 最高 28C (82F)，最低 8C (46F)。
26 PC 33 S 31 S 32 PC 30 B 11 B 24 B 29 ** 31 PC 29 PC 22 R 17 B 30 ** 31 S 23 B 35 S 33 PC 26 B 30 S 33 S 21 PC 35 S 18 S 27 S 12 B 22 S 28 S 41 ** 33 S 20 PC 14 B 25 S 30 PC 28 PC 32 B 22 S 20 PC 17 S 32 S 29 PC 33 B 20 PC
32 S 23 S 29 B
周一
东南部炎热，晴间多云， 有强阵雨风险。英格兰 北部和苏格兰相当多云， 伴有阵雨。爱尔兰各地 有零星阵雨。 最高 30C，最低 9C
潮汐 潮汐预报。 高度以米为单位。所有时间为当地时间
今日 高度 高度 亚伯丁 埃文茅斯 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 哈罗维奇 圣岛 赫尔 利斯 利物浦 伦敦桥 洛伊斯托夫特 米尔福德海文 莫肯比 新海文 纽基 欧班 彭赞斯 朴茨茅斯 肖勒姆 南安普顿 斯旺西 蒂斯 韦茅斯
周二
英格兰和威尔士体感 凉爽许多，有零星阵雨， 局部地区雨势较大。 爱尔兰和苏格兰主要为多云， 伴有长时间降雨。 最高 24C，最低 7C
《泰晤士报》天气页面 由以下机构提供
格拉斯哥 爱丁堡
卡莱尔 纽卡斯尔
21 16
曼彻斯特 利物浦 赫尔
什鲁斯伯里 诺丁汉
普利茅斯 埃克塞特 南安普顿
f 爱尔兰 北爱尔兰
爱尔兰共和国、北爱尔兰： 主要为多云，西北部有阵雨， 但东南部较为干燥且阳光充足。 轻微西风。 最高 20C (68F)，最低 9C (48F)。 英格兰西南部、英格兰中南部、 威尔士、西米德兰兹、英格兰 西北部、湖区、英格兰东北部、 海峡群岛、英格兰中北部、 英格兰东部：早晨有轻微阵雨 及较厚云层，下午转为干燥、 晴朗且温暖。 轻微西风或西北风。
02:35 4.1 15:09 3.9 08:38 11.9 20:57 12.3 --:-- -- 12:43 3.1 08:26 11.2 20:43 11.6 07:12 4.9 19:24 5.2 --:-- -- 12:37 6.3 --:-- -- 12:31 3.6 06:44 4.7 18:55 5.0 01:43 3.4 13:56 3.0 01:08 3.7 13:19 3.8 11:54 5.1 --:-- -- 07:33 7.1 20:08 6.8 03:55 5.2 16:22 5.2 --:-- -- 12:41 8.7 03:17 6.7 15:34 6.7 10:47 2.5 23:32 2.3 07:40 6.4 19:56 6.7 --:-- -- 12:51 8.6 --:-- -- 12:41 6.3 06:30 6.3 18:46 6.6 07:19 3.6 19:37 3.9 06:05 5.0 18:21 5.3 --:-- -- 13:11 4.5 --:-- -- 12:47 5.8 02:33 3.9 12:14 4.3 07:44 8.6 20:00 8.9 04:55 5.2 17:30 5.1 08:20 1.8 20:35 2.0
天气形势 一个弱冷锋正横扫英国 东南部，将给北部和西部 带来更凉爽潮湿的天气。 冷锋抵达前，南部地区 维持炎热干燥。苏格兰上空的 低压和锢候锋将给英国北部 带来零星阵雨，其中苏格兰 部分地区将伴有雷暴。
ney ney
奥克尼群岛 设得兰群岛
谢菲尔德
风。最高 25C (77F)， 最低 7C (45F)。 阿伯丁、中高地、莫瑞湾、 阿盖尔、西北苏格兰、东北苏格兰、 北群岛：零星雷阵雨。 阳光下感觉温暖。轻至中度西风。最高 18C (64F)，最低 5C (41F)。 格拉斯哥、爱丁堡和邓迪、 西南苏格兰、边境地区、曼岛：时有阳光且有孤立阵雨。轻至 中度西风。最高 19C (66F)，最低 5C (41F)。
黑夜时长 阿伯丁 贝尔法斯特 伯明翰 卡迪夫 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
21:56-04:34 21:58-05:03 21:33-04:56 21:34-05:05 21:32-05:09 21:58-04:50 21:41-04:56 21:22-04:53 21:38-04:53 21:43-04:44 21:21-04:42 21:38-05:19 21:35-04:50
最高温：埃塞克斯郡，里特尔，34.8C 最低温：奥纳赫莫尔，5.5C 最湿润：斯特拉斯克莱德，格拉斯哥，21.0mm 最晴朗：曼斯顿，13.5小时*
太阳与月亮 格林威治 日出： 日落： 月出： 月落：
05.21 20.51 21.23 07.13 周五
下弦月：8月6日
保罗·西蒙斯 (Paul Simons)
今年夏季的酷热与干旱陷入了僵局。萨里郡的威斯利 (Wisley) 已经连续 42 天没有降雨，而埃克塞特机场连续 21 天超过了热浪阈值。全国大部分地区都渴望降雨和更凉爽的条件，但周三南部和东部地区依然酷暑难耐，因为灼热的空气从法国和西班牙被拖拽而来。
人们在议论这是否是今年以来的第四次热浪，尽管英国气象局 (Met Office) 表示，严格来说，目前的情况尚未完全符合其对热浪的定义：即根据英国不同地区，气温必须连续至少三天高于阈值温度。不过，这仅仅是一个学术观点，而事实上，到目前为止，整个七月南部地区一直感觉很热。关于干旱天气的统计数据令人震惊：整个月英格兰中部和东南部地区的降雨量几乎持平，这很可能会创下七月份的新纪录。
然而，英国境内出现了分化。当南部和东部地区正处于酷暑和干旱之中时，对于北部（尤其是苏格兰和北爱尔兰）的许多人来说，那里就像是另一个世界——更凉爽、更潮湿、云层更多，因为雨带从大西洋渗入，尤其是浸透了西北部地区。
周四将带来一些缓解，较凉爽、清新的空气将抵达全国南部地区，尽管依然没有多少降雨迹象。到周末，东南部将重新回到炎热干燥的状态。下周的情况更不确定，因为低压试图侵入英国，但任何降雨都将是短暂的，随后又是同样的干燥稳定天气的老剧本。因此，这种感觉就像是陷入了《土拨鼠之日》一样。人们心中还隐隐觉得，这可能是极少数圣斯威辛日 (St Swithin’s Day) 民间传说在某些地区可能成真的时刻——7 月 15 日圣人之日的干旱天气，实际上可能预示着接下来的 40 天也将如此。
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T
前无家可归者为新国籍赢得银牌
英联邦运动会 里克·布罗德本特 (Rick Broadbent)
一名此前因性取向而被迫远离家乡的前无家可归者，昨晚赢得了英联邦运动会历史上最令人瞩目的银牌之一。
举重运动员马迪亚斯·恩加克 (Madias Ngake) 的故事令人心酸。当她在伦敦奥运会期间被发现是同性恋时，她的生活发生了剧变。在她的故乡喀麦隆，同性恋是违法的，突然之间，她需要逃离以寻求庇护。“这太神奇了，”这位 34 岁的运动员说道，她的头发染成了红色并点缀着闪粉，以向她的移居国英格兰致敬。“我不得不离开，因为队里有人知道了我的情况——我是一名女同性恋。”
2012 年，她悄悄离开了伦敦的运动员村。在申请庇护之前，她睡在公交车站。在如此凄凉的背景下，她的体育往事迅速淡出，她获得奥运会第六名的光辉被在利兹和诺丁汉担任清洁工的新现实所取代。在此期间，在伦敦排在她之前的三名女性因兴奋剂违规而被禁赛，因此她成为了喀麦隆的流亡奥运铜牌得主，而奖牌被送回了她的故乡。她从未见过那枚奖牌。“奖牌在喀麦隆，我想拥有它，”她说，“但我认为这不可能。我可以回去，但我不想涉政。”
慢慢地，她重新燃起了对运动的热爱并更换了国籍，在 2024 年为英国赢得了世界锦标赛银牌，并在今年赢得了欧洲赛铜牌。这是她首次代表英格兰队出战。这确实是一番艰苦的努力。
这个故事为英联邦运动会的重要性提供了新的视角。尽管有人将其贬低为低端赛事
[[IMG_XXXX]] 上图：恩加克在感到被迫离开喀麦隆后，为英格兰赢得了银牌
高尔夫 Cathy Harris
Lydia Ko（高礼貌）承认，在不到两周前，当她看着同为新西兰人的 Ryan Fox 在皇家比克代尔（Royal Birkdale）第 18 号洞布局并最终赢得公开赛冠军时，她激动得流下了眼泪，且呼吸困难。
“继 Sir Bob Charles [在 1963 年] 之后，成为第二位赢得公开赛的新西兰男性球员，这太特别了，”这位 29 岁的球员说道。“我听说 Sir Bob 在皇家利瑟姆（Royal Lytham）夺冠，我认为那里是女子公开赛最艰巨的场地。如果我能
如果你愿意，可以这样想，但背后的故事往往漫长且艰辛。这意味着昨晚在嘈杂的 SEC Armadillo 举行的比赛，其意义已超越了仅仅成为英联邦之最。
在 86kg 级别的比赛中，第一项纪律是抓举，她举起了 108kg，且过程几乎没有遇到困难。随后她尝试 111kg，这将创下新的运动会纪录。她已经完成了一半，但随后让杠铃重重地砸在了她身后的垫子上。在最后一次尝试中，她深呼吸了几次，直到计时器只剩四秒才竭尽全力。她成功了。
澳大利亚的卫冕冠军 Eileen Floanna Maria Cikamatana 是她最强有力的竞争者，成绩为 108kg，但她的专长是赛事的第二部分——挺举。Ngake 举起了
128kg 且无法进一步增加。而这位澳大利亚选手则以创运动会纪录的 140kg 回击，总分为 248kg，领先 Ngake 九分。
就这样，在英联邦运动会获得第四名 16 年之后，以及在她做出永不回家的重大决定 14 年之后，Ngake 紧紧握着她的银牌。
看到她事后 beaming（笑容灿烂）的样子令人欣慰。她性格腼腆谦逊，她说英格兰那个充满活力的领军人物 Emily Campbell 已经弄好了头发，并计划庆祝。她说：“我原本在追求金牌，”但随着时间的推移，她一定会意识到自己完成了一项特别的成就。“我真的很享受其中。这虽然不是我最好的表现，但我对此感到满意。”
与此同时，Campbell 将在今天的 87+ 组别迎来她的重要日子。这位英联邦运动会冠军个性迷人，在 2024 年东京奥运会获得铜牌后，向《舞者之王》（Strictly Come Dancing）发出了邀请。在场的人们将希望她能获得胜利，因为根据她在日本时那个虽然精神饱满但技术有缺陷的侧手翻来看，赛后的庆祝活动一定会很有趣。
激发我内心的“福克斯精神”（inner Foxy）及其无畏的态度，并在接下来的几天里赢得冠军。这对新西兰的高尔夫球运动将具有深远的意义并带来鼓舞。”
高礼央对夺取大奖赛冠军并不陌生，她已拥有三个冠军头衔，现在她的目标是通过赢得 AIG 女子公开赛来实现“新西兰双冠”，该赛事今天在皇家利瑟姆与圣安妮斯（Royal Lytham and St Annes）开赛。
因头撞对方被取消资格
伊迪·阿明 (Idi Amin) 的孙子在苏格兰展览中心举行的超重量级拳击赛第三轮中被取消资格后，对官员、媒体以及英格兰选手达马尔·托马斯 (Damar Thomas) 展开了一番漫无边际的指责。
他们曾一起参加过奥运会，她回忆起青少年高尔夫时期的快乐时光，那时她总是击球笔直，而他则经常偏离方向。“他能从树林里打出最轻松的 65 杆，”她笑着说。
当福克斯 (Fox) 在赢得大奖赛后，将她在新西兰取得的辉煌成就作为重点强调时，高 (Ko) 并不感到惊讶。她形容他是个很棒的人，且极其谦虚。
阿齐兹·“林戈”·阿卜杜 (Aziz “Ringo” Abdul) 此前曾因发表关于受到那位残酷的乌干达独裁者启发而成为新闻焦点。他因一次头撞动作被取消资格，但并不打算安静地离开。他向混合采访区指指点点，显然是因为记者写了关于他祖父的负面内容，随后他声称官员们腐败。
“有很多犯规，拉扯、肘击，很多胡扯，”他说。“官员们不能
而且将事情视为理所当然，但他从未改变——他就是典型的基维 (Kiwi) 男子，只不过是个天赋异禀的运动员。”
赢得 2024 年公开赛冠军的高表示，在前两轮被分到与世界第一内莉·科达 (Nelly Korda) 和韩国选手柳海冉 (Haeran Ryu) 同组，她感到很荣幸。这两位球员在本赛季都连续夺得了大奖赛冠军。
“这太令人印象深刻了，”高说。“她们在场上的 demeanor 表现得非常轻松，虽然我们都会遇到令人沮丧的日子，但她们两人从未有过太大的情绪起伏。这是她们成功的关键。”
STUART WALLACE/SHUTTERSTOCK; JANE BARLOW/PA
阿齐兹·阿卜杜在比赛中疑似头撞英格兰选手托马斯后，被取消资格并被强行离场（见下图，左图为比赛场景）
公正地评判。当其他国家这样做时，他们会被取消资格。关于这一点我只能说，裁判的决定是不正确的，我不满意。下次我会搞定他 [托马斯]。未来的任何时候。两年后，五年后，十年后。我会向他证明阿齐兹·林戈是一个真正的战士。这太令人痛苦了。
“当你观看英格兰之前的比赛时，他们的拳击手制造了很多冲突，玩了很多花招。我挨了一个轻拳，他们就开始数秒。我对他也打了一记重拳，他们却扣我的分并警告我。我知道我是个黑非洲人。这是上帝的计划。我不知道官员们为什么害怕这场比赛。为什么他们不能让这场比赛继续下去？”
“我怎么会头撞别人？他才是他们真正想要获胜的人。他之前就是赢家。我知道如果我不能通过击倒获胜，我就赢不了这场比赛，因为他在主场。”
这场赛后的局面丑陋且怪异，但托马斯提供了不同的观点。“我完成了任务，”这位来自基尔本 (Kilburn) 的 21 岁选手说。“我不希望以这种方式结束，但重点是在周五。他用头朝着我冲过来。”
在环境较为安静的斯科特斯顿体育场 (Scotstoun Stadium)，埃莉丝·索纳 (Elise Thorner) 跑出了职业生涯最好成绩，夺得 3,000米 障碍赛银牌。这位英国运动员创下了 9分 5.45秒 的个人最好成绩，最终被 9:01.76 的运动会纪录击败。
索纳的顶尖水准体现在，她险胜奥运会银牌得主、乌干达的佩鲁斯·切穆泰 (Peruth Chemutai)，夺得第二名。
冠军，在 2 月份生下儿子康纳 (Conor) 后，回到了她获得成功的赛场。
“我每个月都在进步，打得相当不错，”霍尔 (Hall) 说。“我认为更多的是关于手里握有参赛资格，并重新适应压力环境。这项赛事是我打高尔夫的原因之一，也是我一年中的高光时刻。”
Samantha Martin 去年的 3 场胜场。练马师 George Boughey 对他的马以及骑在马上的年轻人始终保持着坚定支持。他们在赛前走访了赛道，毫无疑问地在讨论战术，并计划如何战胜 11 匹才华横溢的对手。
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当赛马爱好者们簇拥在栏杆后，试图一睹 Billy Loughnane 和 Bow Echo 在一场扣人心弦、最后一刻才分出胜负的一级赛“卡塔尔萨塞克斯锦标赛”（Visit Qatar Sussex Stakes）夺冠后的身影时，古德伍德（Goodwood）赛场响起了欢呼声。
Loughnane 牵着马在挤满观众的看台前巡游，他挥拳向天，欢呼并鼓励观众尽可能地制造噪音。这位 20 岁的青年感到自豪，且理所应当。他的三岁搭档则显得从容不迫，耳朵竖起，目光闪烁。
Loughnane 和 Bow Echo 本赛季已经在纽马古的 2,000 猜马赛和皇家升辉赛（St James’s Palace Stakes）中夺冠，使其在去年的 3 场胜场基础上进一步增加。
古德伍德 Rob Wright
1.50 Coral Kincsem 传承让磅赛 ITV (3岁马: £61,848: 1m 2f) (14 匹参赛)
2.25 Markel Richmond 锦标赛 ITV (Group 2: 2岁马: £113,420: 6f) (10)
3.00 Maison Perrier Gordon 锦标赛 ITV (Group 3: 3岁马: £113,420: 1m 4f) (7)
伍尔弗汉普顿 Rob Wright
4.35 让磅赛 (3岁马: £3,768: 5f) (8)
5.10 让磅赛 (£3,768: 1m 1f) (13)
萨塞克斯锦标赛中汇集了所有顶尖赛马。Aidan O’Brien 派出了一组三匹马，由 Bow Echo 的老对手 Gstaad 领衔，后者在 2,000 猜马赛和皇家升辉赛中均获得亚军。上月赢得女王安妮锦标赛的 Ten Bob Tony，以及 Godolphin 旗下的悍马 Opera Ballo 是主要的年长挑战者。
考虑到 Bow Echo 是 10-11 的大热门，人们预期他能将不败纪录延长至 6 场比赛。然而，在比赛过程中，胜利从未完全获得保证。O’Brien 的团队看起来完全掌控了局面。
Bow Echo 紧随 Gstaad 之后，而 Gstaad 的厩友 Puerto Rico 将 Loughnane 困在了死角，此时另一匹 O’Brien 的赛马 Dorset 设定了强劲的节奏。上个月在皇家升辉赛中，Puerto Rico 和 Christophe Soumillon 让 Bow Echo 陷入了苦战，但这一次，Bow Echo 和 Loughnane 足够出色，成功脱困。
3.35 卡塔尔拿骚锦标赛 (雌马及 ITV 成年雌马) (Group 1: £340,260: 1m 2f) (5)
4.10 Buccellati 让磅赛 (3岁马: £25,770: 5f) (18) ITV
4.45 Whispering Angel 幼马赛 (2岁马: £30,924: 7f) (18)
5.47 锦标赛 (£5,400: 1m 1f 104yd) (8)
6.22 锦标赛 (2岁马: £4,320: 6f) (12)
6.57 锦标赛 (£3,564: 6f) (11)
Loughnane 之前也曾带领 Bow Echo 在纽马古和皇家升辉赛（Royal Ascot）夺冠。
最后一个在同一个赛季内赢得 2,000 猜马赛、皇家升辉赛和萨塞克斯锦标赛的赛马是 Frankel。Bow Echo 要想追平这匹赛马史上最伟大的纯血马还有很长的路要走，但与此同时，这项运动已经拥有了 Bow Echo 和 Loughnane 这两颗年轻之星。
7.32 让磅赛 (3岁马: £3,768: 1m 4f) (12)
8.07 让磅赛 (Div I: £3,768: 7f) (12)
距离终点还剩一浪时，时间已所剩无几。Opera Ballo 领先几个马身；Gstaad 紧随其后。Bow Echo 必须超越他们两人才能获胜。Loughnane 开始催马，赛马也给出了响应，先后超越了体力不支的 Opera Ballo 和全力冲刺的 Gstaad。
在终点线上，Bow Echo 领先了半个马身，Loughnane 挥拳庆祝。
5.20 Tatler 英国 EBF 纯血雌马首胜锦标赛 (2岁马: £30,924: 7f) (15)
5.55 香港赛马会世界奖池让磅赛 (3岁马: £25,770: 1m) (20)
埃普瑟姆 Rob Wright
5.30 让磅赛 (£4,449: 1m 2f) (6)
6.05 锦标赛 (2岁马: £7,020: 7f) (9)
Boughey 对两者都赞赏有加。“从根本上说，我是一个赛马迷，”他说，“我热爱训练赛马。能够向公众展示我们最近的这匹马，给我带来了巨大的满足感。他是一颗星，拥有惊人的悟性。目前看来他具备了一匹完美赛马的所有特质。我们为他找到了合适的骑师。他真是个天生的表演者，不是吗？他热爱这一切。他是一位杰出的骑师。”
能重现 拿骚赛最佳状态
罗布·赖特 (Rob Wright) 赛马编辑
在今天的古德伍德卡塔尔拿骚锦标赛 (3.35) 中，Friendly Soul 被寄予厚望，有望终结大热门 Diamond Necklace 的全胜纪录。
两年前，她的进步最为明显，在隆尚马场以首场一级赛胜利结束了赛季，但上赛季因伤缺席。今年首次出赛时经历不幸，在海多克公园赛马场由于排水问题导致踩空，随后被骑师弃赛。
尽管遭遇不利，Friendly Soul 在上次皇家雅士谷赛马场获得第三名（仅次于 Blue Bolt）的表现证明她依然保留着竞争力。在被干扰且在两浪 (two furlongs) 后被挤到末位后，她无法占据惯常的领先位置，随后在终点直道上路径被阻，但在最后冲刺强劲，过线时仍有余力。
回到最适合她的赛程，Friendly Soul 有机会击败 Diamond Necklace，后者在上次法国橡树赛中勉强支撑，耗尽了所有体力。
马克尔-里士满锦标赛 (2.25) 看来已是 Flann Sunna 的囊中之物。他在两次出赛中均给人留下深刻印象，尤其是上次在雅士谷赛马场甩开对手大获全胜。他应该能轻松应对此次的级别提升。
6.40 让磅赛 (£4,449: 1m 4f) (5)
7.15 让磅赛 (3-Y-O: £8,375: 1m 113yd) (4)
7.50 让磅赛 (3-Y-O: £3,664: 7f) (7)
8.25 让磅赛 (£4,449: 6f) (7)
A
就座，观看在巴巴多斯举行的 一位真正伟大者的 国葬直播
在帕特里克·伊格尔捕捉到的 数千个板球碎片中， 有加菲尔德·索伯斯在 洛兹球场的阳台上，用香槟 向崇拜他的支持者们 庆祝胜利。那是 1973 年 8 月， 这位最伟大的全能球员 在板球之家的最后一次 测试赛亮相。
五十三年后， 在距离那个阳台 一定的距离外， 洛兹球场的长廊 向卓越的加菲尔德·圣奥布伦·索伯斯爵士告别， 而巴巴多斯则在与“我们的加里”道别。 当四块屏幕在布里奇顿的肯辛顿椭圆球场 转播他的国葬时， 莎拉·拉斐尔为索伯斯绘制的 MCC 肖像 就摆在双扇门前。 从板球最美好的岛屿， 到板球最美好的房间。
索伯斯于 7 月 17 日去世，距离他的 90 岁生日仅差 11 天。 现任西印度群岛 11 人队提前一天在特立尼达完成对阵巴基斯坦队的胜利——恰好是在他的生日那天——使得队中的巴巴多斯人能够出席葬礼。（获胜分差？90 跑。）
在巴巴多斯首都举行的仪式是公众与私人情感的交织。 这里有像布赖恩·拉拉这样的象征性之子，以及像丹尼尔·索伯斯这样的亲生之子，后者挥舞着那张他从未交给父亲的 90 岁生日卡片。 拉拉和克莱夫·劳埃德爵士在场致悼词，其他板球奇才以及蕾哈娜也在人群之中。 盖·休伊特牧师转达了查尔斯国王的信息。 人们回忆起的不仅是一组惊人的数字——在测试赛中以 57.78 的平均分获得 8,032 跑，并取得 235 个三柱门（平均分 34.03）——而是一个人及其风骨。
诺丁汉 罗伯·赖特
2.00 赔率赛（2 岁马：£5,940：5 浪距）(2)
昨日赛马结果
古德伍德
场地情况：好至坚实（部分地区良好） 1.50 (1英里 3浪距 218码) 1, Infraad (汤姆·马昆德, 2-1; 罗伯·赖特的精选马); 2, Hatteen (9-4); 3, Cannes (9-2). 8 匹参赛。未参赛：Blue Hercules. 差距：半个头长, 4 马身。W J Haggas。 2.25 (5浪距) 1, Wild Blossom (詹姆斯·多尔, 5-4 热门); 2, Fast Track (10-3); 3, Divine Whisper (11-1). 9 匹参赛。差距：1 马身, 1 马身。K R Burke。 3.00 (7浪距) 1, Flora Of Bermuda (詹姆斯·多尔, 5-2); 2, Sayidah Dariyan (7-2); 3, Radiant Beauty (11-2). 13 匹参赛。未参赛：Queen’s Reign. 差距：颈差, 1 马身。A M Balding。 3.35 (5浪距) 1, Pershaada (S M Levey, 11-4 热门); 2, Adonius (5-1); 3, Hell Of A Spin (66-1). 11 匹参赛。差距：2 马身, 颈差。R Hannon。
索伯斯 1973 年在洛兹球场向人群致意。左侧，歌手蕾哈娜在巴巴多斯的悼念者之列
在洛兹球场，MCC 主席马克·尼古拉斯和迈克·加廷与来自巴巴多斯侨民的显贵们在一起。 尼古拉斯回忆起他第一次来到板球之家时；那正是索伯斯在英国的最后一场测试赛。 这块场地见证了索伯斯一些最出色的表现，以及他仅有的两次被短球击中的经历之一（那是剑桥大学的理查德·杰斐逊的作品）。
索伯斯在洛兹球场的首次亮相是在 1957 年 5 月 20 日，对阵 MCC 获得 101 分且未被淘汰。 《泰晤士报》对这场“传统击球的盛宴”赞叹不已，特立尼达知识分子 CLR 詹姆斯也深感惊叹。 詹姆斯写道：“这里显然出现了一种罕见现象，无论是在板球还是任何其他艺术尝试中，一个全新的、纯粹属于自己且绝无仅有的人。” “1957 年的一些片段是我板球图书馆中永久的一部分。在洛兹球场对阵 MCC 的一场局中，索伯斯在外观上尽可能地接近 [莱里] 康斯坦丁，球以单调而规律的方式地从他的球拍飞向球场的各个方向。”
2.35 让磅赛 (£4,187: 1英里) (5)
3.10 让磅赛（3 岁马：£5,757: 1英里 2浪距）(5)
4.10 (1英里) 1, Bow Echo (比利·劳格南, 10-11 热门); 2, Gstaad (4-1); 3, Opera Ballo (9-2). 12 匹参赛。差距：1 马身, 17 马身。G Boughey。 5.00 (6浪距) 1, French Affair (比利·劳格南, 14-1); 2, Under The Twilight (13-2); 3, Wreck It Ryley (28-1). 26 匹参赛。未参赛：Lipsink, Sargent Dennis. 差距：颈差, 半个头长。J Candlish。 5.40 (7浪距) 1, Crimson Spirit (R L Moore, 11-2 热门); 2, The Liffey (22-1); 3, The Fingal Raven (16-1). 20 匹参赛。差距：1 马身, 1 马身。D & C Kubler。 Placepot: £14.10 Quadpot: £10.80 Jackpot: £7,828.40 雷德卡
这里还有更多的数百分纪录 ——分别是在 1961 年对阵萨里县的比赛中， 以及 1968 年他在诺丁汉郡的首场比赛中——这两次纪录分别处于一次将气质与技巧完美结合的婚姻两端，索伯斯将其视为他最好的测试赛局。
在她的《国家致敬》中，巴巴多斯总理米娅·阿莫尔·莫特利以极具修辞才华的笔触，将索伯斯置于这个年轻、微小且独立的国家的灵魂之位。该岛于 1966, 年获得独立，而那一年恰巧是索伯斯的金色之夏。他在担任队长时，通过 299 个球编译出不败的 163 分，为西印度群岛队在摄政公园球场（Lord’s）保住了一场平局。然而，索伯斯却让大卫·霍尔福德——他在那场著名的 274 分合伙得分中的伙伴——先行离场。
“我想起索伯斯走下摄政公园球场亭台阶梯的样子，他当时是一支国际板球队的队长，”詹姆斯写道。“六十年前，那个人会是佩勒姆·沃纳，另一名西印度群岛人；而在此之前的 30 年，那会是哈里斯勋爵，又一名具有加勒比色彩的板球运动员。无论我们是谁，无论我们处于何种境地，我们都是板球运动员。在我看来，加菲尔德·索伯斯并非原子偶然组合而成的、恰好演变为一名卓越公众表演者的人。既然他成为了他那样的人，
3.45 奖金赛 (£4,320: 1m) (5)
4.20 让分赛 (£3,402: 1m 6f) (4)
Farmer, 11-4 热门); 2, Kats Bob (3-1); 3, Artagnan (15-2)。7 匹参赛。1 码, 17 码。S Spencer。 2.40 (7f) 1, Areti (Jack Callan, 5-6 热门); 2, Vanilla Skies (100-30); 3, Royale Union (11-4)。 7 匹参赛。17 码, 2 码。Oliver Cole。 3.15 (1m 2f 1yd) 1, Lucky Hero (C J Whiteley, 7-2); 2, Optician (7-2); 3, Kitsune Power (13- 2)。8 匹参赛。未参赛：Kisiyra。5 码, 1 码。D O’Meara。 3.50 (7f 219yd) 1, Kiss Me My Love (W Fentiman, 6-1); 2, Sandy Craic (4-1); 3, Wild Dahlia (11-2)。7 匹参赛。1 码, 头部领先。R Fell。 4.20 (5f 217yd) 1, Night Emperor (W Fentiman, 4-1 热门); 2, South Shore Island (11-1); 3, Stormy Pearl (11-2)。9 匹参赛。颈领先, 1 码。Miss T Jackson。 4.50 (7f 219yd) 1, Pisanello (C J Whiteley, 4-1); 2, Tees George (100-30 热门); 3, Penny Ghent (6-1)。7 匹参赛。27 码, 颈领先。D O’Meara。
莱斯特 (Leicester)
场地情况：好至坚硬（部分地区坚硬） 5.55 (6f) 1, Coat Of Red (David Probert, 5-6); 2, Fairy Well (11-8); 3, Sioux Moon (18-1)。4 匹参赛。未参赛：Pure Majesty。2 码, 2 码。S & E Crisford。 6.27 (5f) 1, Pj’s Corner (S Donohoe, 10-1); 2, My Maria (5-1); 3, Amber Ocean (5-2)。6 匹参赛。 颈领先, 1 码。Dylan Cunha。 7.02 (7f) 1, Siwa Oasis (David Probert, 9-4); 2, Yordan (10-1); 3, Moving Shadow (8-15 热门)。4 匹参赛。1 码, 头部领先。C Hills。 7.37 (6f) 1, Calafrio (Benoit D L Sayette, 2-1); 2, Von Krolock (11-2); 3, Melissa Honey (8- 11)。4 匹参赛。未参赛：Rye, Tomarlo。2 码, 2 码。George Baker。
PATRICK EAGAR/POPPERFOTO
[而我成为了我这样的人]，对我而言，他在击球中对上升球的掌控、他的近距离接球以及他投快球时全身心的投入，都是数百年来一段痛苦历史的生动体现。”
作为“世界其他球队”的队长，他在 1970 年在摄政公园球场摧毁了英格兰队，首局成绩为 20- 11-21-6，并贡献了强有力的 183 分，即便如此，他仍未停下脚步。索伯斯热衷于讲述 1973 年 8 月的那一天、那个夜晚以及随后的白天，当时他在对阵英格兰队的比赛中取得了不败的 150 分，他的这次告别数百分之举，为他在首都度过的那个酒精浸染的不眠之夜画上了句点。
在与托尼·科齐尔合著的一本书中，索伯斯地唤起了摄政公园球场的传统，以及我们聚集在一起观看他最后一次受赞美时的那个房间。“我认为，你只需要从更衣室走下楼梯，经过长廊，在庞大观众的注视下踏上那片神圣的草地，你就会知道自己将要获得高分，”他说道。
对于索伯斯来说，得分是生命中的必然之事。现在，另一件必然之事发生了。当板球最伟大的场地在远处缅怀板球最伟大的全能选手时，他的家乡巴巴多斯将 G 爵士安置在“柳木之王”（King Willow）的右侧。鉴于他的多才多艺，可能左侧也同样适用。
4.55 让分赛 (3岁马: £3,402: 6f) (8)
8.10 (1英里 3 资格 179码) 1, Captain Cairney (Ryan Kavanagh, 5-2); 2, Clocker (1-1 热门); 3, Al’s River (9-2)。4 匹参赛。nk, 15l。W Muir 与 C Grassick。 8.40 (1英里 53码) 1, Cancelled (K Stott, 100-30); 2, Spiritoftheblues (11-8 热门); 3, Silken Bay (7-1)。5 匹参赛。l, 2 l。J & A O’Neill。 Placepot: £686.00 Quadpot: £49.50 桑当公园 (Sandown Park)
错过测试赛系列的 开局
接后页
在 8 月 19 日。如果情况确实如此，一名临时教练（极有可能是助理教练马库斯·特雷斯科西克 Marcus Trescothick）将接手，由乔·鲁特 Joe Root 担任该三场系列赛的临时队长。
鉴于弗莱明目前没有工作（最近刚离开 CSK 的职务），他能够相当快地开始工作。尽管他没有国际执教经验，但他曾率领 CSK 获得 5 次 IPL 冠军和 2 次冠军联赛冠军。此外，他还担任过 SA20 和美国主要联赛板球（Major League Cricket）中超级国王（Super Kings）特许经营队的总教练，并在澳大利亚大冲击联赛（Big Bash League）中执教过墨尔本之星队（Melbourne Stars）。
弗莱明需要与麦库勒姆（McCullum）密切合作，两人在新西兰时期就彼此非常熟悉；
弗莱明在 IPL 担任 CSK 总教练期间 取得了巨大的成功
他们还在 2010 年共同创办了一家名为 CricHQ 的公司，为多家国际板球管理机构提供数字化服务。
弗莱明在与英格兰首席选拔员马库斯·诺斯（Marcus North）以及基（Key）共同商议后的首批决定之一，将是任命一名永久性的测试赛队长，以接替上月宣布震惊退休的本·斯托克斯（Ben Stokes）。
目前真正可行的竞争者只有哈里·布鲁克（Harry Brook）和鲁特两人，但麦库勒姆与布鲁克关系密切，不可避免地会争取让他继续担任白球赛队长。英格兰不太可能希望让这位 27 岁的球员承担领导所有三种赛制（formats）的责任，尤其是明年他还有两次备受瞩目的任务：灰烬杯（Ashes）和 50 轮世界杯。
英格兰可能至少要到下周才会公布首场测试赛的阵容。大多数英格兰球员正随各自的特许经营队参加“百球赛”（the Hundred）。如果他们的球队进入该赛事的决赛，他们将直到首场测试赛前两天才能与大部队汇合。
百球赛决赛将于 8 月 16 日周日在洛兹球场（Lord’s）举行。
5.25 让磅赛 (£3,974: 1m 2f) (7)
6.15 (5f 10yd) 1, Wheels Of Fire (Joe Leavy, 5-1); 2, Hypnotised (6-1); 3, Atticum (7-2). 6 匹参赛。未参赛 (NR): Novelette. 27 码, 颈差 (nk). R Hannon. 6.50 (7f) 1, Quest For Stars (Connor Planas, 9-4); 2, Grove Street (16-1); 3, Lancaster Tower (5-6). 6 匹参赛. 1 码, 1 码. C Appleby. 7.25 (1m) 1, Home Hero (R Havlin, 5-2); 2, Galba (11-8); 3, Ingemar (12-1). 6 匹参赛. 未参赛 (NR): Next Guilian, Sogniamo. 颈差 (nk), 5 码. H Palmer. 8.00 (1m 1f 209yd) 1, Spirit Of Athene (Ashley Lewis, 5-2 热门); 2, Ammoony (4-1); 3, Lady Milton (11-2). 10 匹参赛. 颈差 (nk), 3 码. E Walker. 8.30 (1m 6f) 1, Boilermaker (Lewis Edmunds, 3-1); 2, Kakirra (1-1 热门); 3, Last Verse (13-2). 4 匹参赛. 1 码, 17 码. Harry Charlton. Placepot: £192.70 Quadpot: £10.90
是测试赛的一幅 深刻写照 I
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不。不。不。以及，再次强调，不。 几乎每个月都会有一位体育管理人员提出某种异想天开的方案。 每次都需要额外的关注度来引起人们的重视。那么本月让我来帮个忙：托德·格林伯格（Todd Greenberg）请上前，他是澳大利亚板球理事会（Cricket Australia）的首席执行官。
在最近接受 BBC 板球播客采访时，格林伯格表示，对于英格兰和澳大利亚在第三方中立地区进行一场测试赛（Test match）的可能性，他持“开放”态度。人们不禁好奇，那会是在哪里？加勒比地区？巴基斯坦？某个需要稍微振兴的地方？不，当然不是。目前板球管理人员的所有道路都指向印度和印度卢比。
在被问及未来是否可能在印度看到英格兰与澳大利亚之间的一场单次测试赛时，格林伯格说： “我们必须对考虑所有选项持开放态度。我们与 ECB [英格兰及威尔士板球委员会] 以及 BCCI [印度板球控制委员会] 的关系非常强大。显然，印度在某些领域有增加内容的机遇。虽然我们目前没有相关的计划，但这绝对是开放考虑的。”
必须强调的是，格林伯格是在即兴回答问题；他谈论的是一场单次测试赛，而非灰之战（Ashes），且正如他所强调的，目前并没有相关计划。尽管如此，他没有立即否认，且两次表示这将开放考虑，这令人担忧。问题在于，管理人员无法赢得信任，因为他们有着产生愚蠢想法的历史。
在加里·索伯斯（Garry Sobers）——可能是史上最伟大的板球运动员，且其表现对该地区人民至关重要——下葬的那一周，出现的一幅画面恰恰显示出测试赛板球在加勒比地区的地位是如何逐渐边缘化的。
在特立尼达的布赖恩·拉拉体育场（Brian Lara stadium）对阵巴基斯坦的测试赛系列赛开始时，两队球员在场边列队，而
明年的墨尔本比赛将是一场粉红球日夜测试赛。一场唯一理由是为了庆祝这项赛事的历史及其参赛球员的测试赛，竟然将以一种与几乎所有以往英格兰对阵澳大利亚测试赛都截然不同的形式进行。两国之间曾进行过 366 场测试赛，其中仅有四场是在灯光下进行的。
顺便说一句，最近一次在墨尔本举行的灰之战（日间）测试赛仅持续了 142 个回合，之后草坪执行经理（对我你而言就是场地管理员）马特·佩奇（Matt Page）被他的上司抛弃，独自面对媒体。至少格林伯格暗示，这次的球场草地覆盖将不会那么茂密，不过，如果能将此与红球结合，那将是最理想的。1977 年的百年测试赛是一场传统的红球比赛，且取得了巨大成功，那么这场比赛为什么不能如此？
请注意，当格林伯格为粉红球日夜测试赛的想法辩护时，他援引的是当地观众。三月的墨尔本是学期期间而非暑假。因此，他说会有更多的人能够并在夜间到场观看。然而，当澳大利亚板球理事会最近宣布下一届 Big Bash 的揭幕战将在金奈（Chennai）举行时，当地观众显然并未在任何人的考虑之列。
是的——重复一遍——截至目前，今年 Big Bash 的揭幕战将在印度举行。这简直疯了，而且完全不尊重当地观众。板球一直以保守著称，尽管很少有运动像它这样改变之大，且支持者整体上对此接纳度极高。但同样重要的是，不要成为一个盲目追求新奇的人：并非每一项
这张由 Getty Images 的 Randy Brooks 从高处拍摄的照片，也将成为经典。画面中没有出现一个观众。如果 Wisden 像回顾 20 世纪那样，对 21 世纪的每个十年进行摄影回顾，Brooks 的这张照片一定会代表 2020 年代以及这场已经改变的游戏。
然后，从更衣室里的
的完美解药
英澳两国的竞争之所以依然如此珍贵，以及为什么我们应对任何微调迹象提高警惕，原因之一在于板球比赛正日益被缺乏意义和连接的特许经营板球所淹没。同样的一批球员来来去去，更换球衣，跨越大陆，沿途赚得盆满钵满，所参加的比赛并无太大影响，除非是在他们自身的收入潜力背景下。
治愈体育缺失灵魂的完美解药在周日出现了：梅奥队（Mayo）在都柏林的克罗克公园球场（Croke Park）的一场辉煌的全爱尔兰决赛中击败了凯里队（Kerry），从而驱散了困扰他们 75 年之久的“诅咒”。我请求你们去听听中西部广播电台（Midwest Radio）的马丁·卡尼（Martin Carney）和斯蒂芬·格里利斯（Stephen Grealis）在比赛最后两分钟的解说。尽管他们的共同解说充满偏见且嗓音嘶哑，并不完全符合里奇·贝诺德（Richie Benaud）的金科玉律，但却精准地反映了这场比赛对观众的意义。
“饥荒结束了！饥荒结束了！诅咒见鬼去吧！按下核按钮！梅奥队赢得了全爱尔兰冠军！”他们的解说促使我对一项我一无所知的运动及其背后的故事进行了研究，并找到了那场比赛结尾的高光片段。那些场景令人惊叹。这是体育运动最令人振奋的状态。
周六的利兹太阳升队（SunRisers Leeds）则呈现出这样一幅景象：一群随机凑在一起的板球运动员试图通过学习新胜利之歌的歌词来人为地寻找共同目标，他们局促地分成小组站着，从歌词单上读着词句。该视频随后从太阳升队的社交媒体频道中被删除。并非所有内容都是好内容。
变革自有其价值。在本土进行国内比赛应该是神圣不可侵犯的。
英澳之间的竞争也应如此。除了像明年三月在墨尔本举行的一次性庆祝赛，或者可能是世界测试锦标赛（World Test Championship）——如果英格兰队在那项赛事中能真正振作起来的话——英格兰对阵澳大利亚就是为了争夺灰烬杯（Ashes）。它应当每两年进行一次五场测试赛，且每四年在彼此的领土上轮流举办。
欢迎所有人观看，但这种竞争不需要进一步的商业化。行政管理人员不应担心如何通过增加“内容”来赚更多钱，而应审视该项运动已经失衡的成本基数。当英格兰和威尔士板球管理局（ECB）最近宣布，在 2027 年的灰烬杯年份将无法盈利（因为印度队不来巡赛）时，答案不是让印度队增加巡赛频率，而是削减比赛的成本基数。因为如果你在灰烬杯年份都无法盈利，那么成本显然太高了。
英澳之间的竞争机制是有效的——尽管英格兰在澳大利亚的竞争力还需要一些精细调整。每两年的系列赛时长恰到好处，足以让人们产生期待，让球队完成更新，让支持者从上次的失望中走出来，并自我欺骗地认为这次会有所不同。门票在开售瞬间即被抢购，而人们对英格兰冬季那场混乱巡赛的反应，表明了这一竞争依然具有多么深远的意义。
RANDY BROOKS/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES
足球
1 亿英镑巴科拉交易
Ian Whittell, Paul Joyce
利物浦正与巴黎圣日耳曼取得联系，希望达成一项妥协，并就前锋布拉德利·巴科拉（Bradley Barcola）达成一项 £100 million 的交易。
这位欧冠冠军球队公开将这名 23 岁球员的估值定在约 £145 million，尽管这家英超俱乐部长期以来一直很欣赏他，但他们并不打算支付这一金额。
但迹象表明，被视为穆罕默德·萨拉赫（Mohamed Salah）接班人的巴科拉对加盟安菲尔德持开放态度，利物浦希望以约 £100 million 的底价达成协议，并附带潜在的附加条款。
这就是利物浦去年夏天为弗洛里安·维尔茨（Florian Wirtz）制定的交易方案，他当时以约 £100 million 从拜尔勒沃库森转会加盟，另有 £16 million 的奖金待付。
亚历山大·伊萨克（Alexander Isak）去年夏天从纽卡斯尔联加盟时花费了俱乐部纪录的 £125 million，因此巴科拉不太可能打破这一纪录。
转会观察 Peter Rutzler, Paul Joyce, Gary Jacob
皇家马德里有信心从曼城以最高 £40 million 的价格签下罗德里。
这家西班牙俱乐部的主席弗洛伦蒂诺·佩雷斯已经批准了该拟议交易，该交易将在今天的内部会议上进行讨论。皇马关注罗德里已有一段时间，但希望在伤愈后评估他的身体状况和状态，并在世界杯期间完成了这一评估，当时这位中场球员率领西班牙队夺冠。他的城队合同还剩 1 年。
罗德里，30 岁，在进行背部手术后将进入一段“短期的康复期”。目前尚未设定他的回归时间表。
曼城新任主教练恩佐·马雷斯卡曾试图淡化这一传闻。他表示：“[西班牙]赢得了世界杯——他是最好的球员之一。每位教练都想拥有罗德里，因为他是一名顶级球员。”
结果
英联邦运动会
仅限格拉斯哥奖牌项目 田径：男子跳远 1, T Gayle (牙买加) 8.15m; 2, Sreeshankar (印度) 8.09; 3, S Mackenzie (苏格兰) 8.08. 女子 3,000m 障碍赛 1, F Cherotich (肯尼亚) 9分 1.76秒 (赛会纪录); 2, E Thorner (英格兰) 9:05.45; 3, P Chemutai (乌干达) 9:09.96. 铅球 1, S Mitton (加拿大) 19.88m ; 2, J Oji (尼日利亚) 17.87; 3, L Cameron (牙买加) 17.87. 七项全能 1, K O’Connor (北爱尔兰) 6,569分; 2, J O’Dowda (英格兰) 6,278; 3, T West (澳大利亚) 6104. 3 x 3 篮球：男子：金牌赛 英格兰 19 澳大利亚 17. 铜牌赛 苏格兰 18 新西兰 16. 女子：金牌赛 澳大利亚 21 乌干达 11. 铜牌赛 新西兰 18 x 牙买加 13. 游泳：男子：自由泳：200m 1, K Taylor (澳大利亚) 1分 45.22秒; 2, J Guy (英格兰) 1:45.72; 3, M Richards (威尔士) 1:45.72. 1,500m 1, S Short (澳大利亚) 14:42.11; 2, D Wiffen (北爱尔兰) 14:44.70; 3, B Goedemans (澳大利亚) 14:49.50. 仰泳：100m 1, P Coetze (南非) 51.77秒 (赛会纪录); 2, O Morgan (英格兰) 52.66; 3, R van Renen (南非) 53.31. 蝶泳：50m 并列 1, K Chalmers (澳大利亚) 和 B Armbruster (澳大利亚) 22.73 (赛会纪录); 3, C McEvoy (澳大利亚) 22.92. 混合接力：4 x 100m: 1, 澳大利亚 3:28.71 (赛会纪录); 2, 英格兰 (O Morgan, A Ramsay-Peaty, E Mildred, J Mills) 3:30.68; 3, 南非 3:31.13. 女子：自由泳：50m 1, M Harris (澳大利亚) 24.23; 2, A Perkins (澳大利亚) 24.53; 3, S Jack (澳大利亚) 24.57. 蛙泳：200m 1, A Evans (苏格兰) 2:23.79; 2, K Corbett (南非) 2:24.46; 3, E McCartney (北爱尔兰) 2:24.73. 蝶泳：200m 1, B Castelluzzo (澳大利亚) 2:06.56; 2, K Macinnes (苏格兰) 2:06.76; 3, L Dekkers (澳大利亚) 2:06.91. 混合接力：4 x 100m 1, 澳大利亚 3:54.25 (赛会纪录); 2, 苏格兰 (K Shanahan, A Evans, K Macinnes, E Davis) 3:57.02; 3, 南非 3:58.58. 举重：男子：94kg 1, M Nor-Ghazali (马来西亚) 347 (赛会纪录); 2, A Bellemarre (加拿大) 346; 3, O Saxton (澳大利亚) 336. 女子：86kg 1, E Cikamatana (澳大利亚) 248 (赛会纪录); 2, M Ngake (英格兰) 239; 3, R Beaudoin (加拿大) 230. 77kg 1, S Stowers (萨摩亚) 237 (赛会纪录); 2, I Brown (英格兰) 229; 3, L Hughes (威尔士) 224. 奖牌榜
当利物浦竞争 RB 莱比锡的边锋 Yan Diomande 时，讨论的也是这类数字，利物浦准备提供总计约 £85 million 的方案，不过这位 19 岁的小将目前即将以 £112 million 的价格加盟皇家马德里。
利物浦在去年夏天就巴尔科拉进行过讨论，价格约为 £75 million，但当时选择不推进该交易，因为他们不想阻碍年轻边锋 Rio Ngumoha 的进步。然而，俱乐部传奇球员萨拉的离去为巴尔科拉铺平了道路。
巴尔科拉方面已表示他不会与巴黎圣日耳曼（PSG）续签合同，且已知他渴望在新任主教练安多尼·伊拉奥拉的带领下加盟利物浦。
利物浦今夏已经在法国后卫 Jeremy Jacquet 和西班牙前锋 Víctor Muñoz 身上花费了近 £100 million，但巴尔科拉要加入这份名单，需要 PSG 在目前的立场上做出大幅让步。
乔丹·亨德森（Jordan Henderson）已通过自由转会离开布伦特福德，目前正在洽谈加盟切尔西。亨德森与布伦特福德的合同还剩一年，双方已同意协商解除合同。36 岁的亨德森也受到了其他球队的关注，但据了解，切尔西目前在谈判中占据主动。
切尔西还就丹尼·韦尔贝克（Danny Welbeck）达成了一笔未披露金额的转会费，他将于本周接受体检，随后正式从布赖顿（Brighton & Hove Albion）完成永久转会。35 岁的韦尔贝克预计将在斯坦福桥签署一份为期两年的合同。
罗伯托·德泽比（Roberto De Zerbi）表示，他希望卢卡斯·贝格瓦尔（Lucas Bergvall）留在托特纳姆热刺，但不会通过保证首发位置来劝说这名中场球员。纽卡斯尔联和诺丁汉森林此前开出的报价均被拒绝。尽管德泽比表示，这名瑞典国脚并未告诉他想要离开，但他承认知道对方希望获得更多出场时间。
当被问及贝格瓦尔的情况时，德[此处文本中断]
4, 苏格兰 9 7 7 23 5, 尼日利亚 7 5 2 14 6, 南非 6 8 8 22 7, 马来西亚 6 2 3 11 8, 印度 3 9 3 15 9, 新西兰 3 7 4 14 10, 牙买加 3 0 1 4 板球
The Hundred MI 伦敦 对阵 伦敦精神 (London Spirit) 男子组 基亚椭圆球场（伦敦精神队赢得掷硬币）：伦敦精神队 (4pts) 以 7 个三柱门击败 MI 伦敦队 MI 伦敦 (球数) W Jacks 击球被 Bairstow 接球 b Overton 65 (44) J Vince 击球被 Willey 接球 b Coles 26 (20) @N Pooran 击球被 Bairstow 接球 b Overton 3 (4) S Rutherford 击球被 Coles 接球 b Tye 41 (19) J Roy 击球被 Bairstow 接球 b Overton 13 (7) T Curran 未出局 9 (6) 额外分 (w 7) 7 总分 (5 柱门, 100 球) 164 O Pope, R Khan, T Boult, O Stone 和 R Gleeson 未击球。 柱门折损 1-91, 2-97, 3-100, 4-118, 5-164。 投球 Willey 15-6-22-0; Milne 20-11-21-0; Zampa 15-3-27-0; Tye 10-2-29-1; Coles 10-3-17-1; Livingstone 10-2-18-0; Overton 20-10-30-3. 伦敦精神队 (球数) L Pretorius 击球被 Pooran 接球 b Boult 64 (28) @J Bairstow 击球被 Jacks 接球 b Stone 23 (12) L Livingstone 击球被 Rutherford 接球 b Gleeson 16 (18) J Rew 未出局 19 (13) D Brevis 未出局 37 (18) 额外分 (b 4, lb 1, w 1) 6 总分 (3 柱门, 89 球) 165 J Coles, J Overton, D Willey, A Tye, A Milne 和 A Zampa 未击球。 柱门折损 1-63, 2-101, 3-116。 投球 Boult 19-7-35-1; Gleeson 15-7-23-1; Jacks 5-3-12-0; Curran 15-4-31-0; Stone 15-4-39-1; Khan 20-9-20-0. 女子组 基亚椭圆球场（伦敦精神队赢得掷硬币）：比赛平局，每队 2pts MI 伦敦 (球数) H K Matthews 击球被 Johnson 接球 b de Klerk 18 (11)
巴尔科拉（Barcola）曾 152 次代表巴黎圣日耳曼（PSG）出场，曾入选法国世界杯代表团并在该赛事中打入三个球。
A N Davidson-Richards 击球被 Pavely 接球 b Kapp 10 (14) H J Armitage b Kapp 23 (21) A C Kerr 未出局 49 (32) N J Carey b Harris 11 (11) C A Henry 未出局 33 (12) 额外分 (w 6, nb 1) 7 总分 (4 柱门, 100 球) 151 †K M Chathli, A Z Monaghan, T G Norris, D L Gregory 和 K L Gordon 未击球。 柱门折损 1-30, 2-35, 3-81, 4-96。 投球 Kapp 20-10-24-2; Johnson 10-5-12-0; de Klerk 20-2-48-1; Dean 20-7-21-0; Pavely 10-1-21-0; Dottin 15-6-21-0; Harris 5-2-4-1. 伦敦精神队 (球数) G M Harris 击球被 Armitage 接球 b Henry 0 (1) †A E Jones 击球被 Carey 接球 b Gordon 49 (36) M Kelly 击球被 Henry 接球 b Gordon 45 (28) M Kapp 击球被 Gregory 接球 b Matthews 25 (13) N de Klerk 击球被 Kerr 接球 b Matthews 13 (10) D J S Dottin 未出局 13 (12) C E Dean 未出局 1 (1) 额外分 (lb 2, w 2, nb 1) 5 总分 (5 柱门, 100 球) 151 S L Kalis, C R Pavely, K L George 和 T Johnson 未击球。 柱门折损 1-0, 2-68, 3-119, 4-124, 5-148。 投球 Henry 10-4-14-1; Norris 10-3-18-0; Gordon 20-7-29-2; Kerr 20-3-30-0; Matthews 20-4-33-2; Carey 20-6-25-0. 威尔士之火 (Welsh Fire) 对阵 特伦特火箭队 (Trent Rockets)：男子组
索菲亚花园球场（Trent Rockets 赢得掷硬币权）： Trent Rockets (4pts) 以 9 个 wicket 击败 Welsh Fire
Welsh Fire (球数) *@P Salt 接球 Overton 击球 b Henry 5 (8) M Short 接球 Overton 击球 b Gregory 36 (26) J Root 击球 b Henry 5 (8) R Ravindra 接球 Harrison 击球 b Santner 16 (16) J Cox 接球 Allen 击球 b Santner 33 (16) M Jansen 接球 Billings 击球 b Santner 2 (3) A Tribe 未出局 13 (14) B Kellaway 接球 Overton 击球 b Amir 1 (5) C Woakes 未出局 4 (4) 额外分 (lb 2, w 5) 7 总计 (7 wkts, 100 balls) 122 L Ferguson 和 S Cook 未击球。 丢球顺序 1-11, 2-26, 3-62, 4-70, 5-72, 6-110, 7-112。 投球 Amir 20-9-21-1; Overton 20-10-16-0; Henry 15-7-16-2; Santner 20-7-35-3; Harrison 5-0-11-0; Gregory 20-4-21-1。
Trent Rockets (球数) B Duckett 未出局 52 (45) F Allen lbw b Ravindra 33 (19) T Banton 未出局 31 (15) 额外分 (b 1, lb 1, nb 7, w 1) 10 总计 (1 wkt, 72 balls) 126 *@S Billings, T David, M Santner, L Gregory, C Overton, C Harrison, M Henry 和 M Amir 未击球。 丢球顺序 1-75。 投球 Woakes 15-7-21-0; Jansen 17-6-25- 0; Ferguson 10-4-20-0; Cook 10-2-27-0; Ravindra 5-1-4-1; Kellaway 15-3-27-0。
女子组 索菲亚花园球场（Trent Rockets 赢得掷硬币权）： Trent Rockets (4pts) 以 8 个 wicket 击败 Welsh Fire
Welsh Fire (球数) G Voll 接球 Mooney 击球 b Phillips 18 (21) E McCaughan lbw b Gardner 6 (15) F Kemp 未出局 36 (29) *S Devine 击球 b Phillips 38 (25) G Wareham 未出局 19 (10) 额外分 (lb 1, w 11) 12 总计 (3 wkts, 100 balls) 129 H Graham, E Arlott, N Holland, †R Southby, S Smale 和 G Potts 未击球。 丢球顺序 1-24, 2-28, 3-99。 投球 Garth 20-11-19-0; Bates 20-7-27-0; Phillips 20-10-17-2; Elwiss 15-4-19-0; Gardner 20-6-38-1; Adams 5-1-8-0。
Trent Rockets (球数) S Dunkley 接球 Holland 击球 b Graham 15 (17) †B Mooney 接球 Voll 击球 b Arlott 57 (35) N Sciver-Brunt 未出局 37 (23) *A Gardner 未出局 10 (9) 额外分 (b 4, lb 1, w 7, nb 1) 13 总计 (2 wkts, 83 balls) 132 S Luff, G Adams, B Heath, G Elwiss, K Garth, C Phillips 和 S Bates 未击球。 丢球顺序 1-73, 2-92。 投球 Potts 20-7-33-0; Smale 15-5-20-0; Graham 15-4-27-1; Wareham 18-6-27-0; Arlott 10-3-15-1; Holland 5-1-5-0。
男子组 | P | W | L | T | NR | Pts | NRR | | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | | Manchester SG | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 1.19 | | Trent Rockets | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 0.82 | | MI London | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 0.18 | | Leeds Sunrisers | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 0.03 | | Welsh Fire | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 8 | -0.43 | | B’ham Phoenix | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | -1.92 | | Southern Brave | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | -0.20 | | London Spirit | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | -0.27 |
热刺主教练 Zerbi 表示： “我一直非常明确，我希望他能留在我们队。他潜 在成为一名顶尖、顶尖、顶尖的球员。
“但我不想说服任何人留下。即便没有我，热刺 本身也是一家顶尖俱乐部，我们[不需要]去说服 任何人留下。如果他选择留下，他可以在[球队中] 找到空间。球员之间的竞争将非常激烈，因为 我们是热刺，我们必须打造一支强大的阵容。要 竞争积分榜上的最高位置，你必须管理 22, 23, 24 名球员。我不想要 24 人，而一定是 21, 22 名高水平球员。”
阿森纳正在密切监测 Jurrien Timber 的腹股沟受 伤情况，这可能会
女子组 | P | W | L | T | NR | Pts | NRR | | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | | Southern Brave | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 0.25 | | Manchester SG | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 1.97 | | Trent Rockets | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 2.28 | | London Spirit | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 | -0.97 | | Leeds Sunrisers | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0.47 | | Welsh Fire | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0.44 | | MI London | 4 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 2 | -1.38 | | B’ham Phoenix | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | -7.77 |
Metro Bank 杯 A 组：Edgbaston Warwickshire 341-4 (E Barnard 140, V Jani 66 未出局, Z Malik 58); Surrey 296 (D Sibley 74, J Blake 71; O Hannon-Dalby 5 wicket 60 分)。Warwickshire (4pts) 以 45 跑胜。
| P | W | L | T | NR | Pts | NRR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Notts | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 0.54 |
| Somerset | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 0.87 |
| Lancashire | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 0.13 |
| Surrey | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 8 | -0.03 |
| Leics | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 8 | -0.15 |
| Gloucs | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0.22 |
| Northants | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 4 | -0.31 |
| Warks | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 4 | -0.50 |
| Kent | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 4 | -0.54 |
B组：戈斯福思 格拉摩根 326-6 (E Byrom 76, Zain-ul-Hassan 65)；达勒姆 328-7 (W Rhodes 148 未出局, K Aldridge 78)。 达勒姆 (4pts) 以三 wicket 获胜。 阿伦德尔 埃塞克斯 316-6 (N Thain 102, T Westley 81, M Critchley 64)；萨塞克斯 320-5 (C Tear 73, J Leaning 59 未出局, J Carson 53)。萨塞克斯 (4pts) 以五 wicket 获胜。克利夫顿公园 伍斯特郡 230 (H Cullen 70, D Lategan 67)；约克郡 23-1 4 (W Luxton 126)。约克郡 (4pts) 以六 wicket 获胜。
| P | W | L | T | NR | Pts | NRR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Middlesex | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 2.95 |
| Yorkshire | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 12 | 0.99 |
| Durham | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 0.57 |
| Worcs | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 0.17 |
| Essex | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0.27 |
| Hampshire | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0.76 |
| Glamorgan | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 1.15 |
| Sussex | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1.32 |
| Derbyshire | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0.53 |
足球
这增加了俱乐部签下一名全能右后卫的需求。Timber，25 岁，上个月接受了腹股沟手术，但尚未给出回归的时间表。这次受伤迫使他在世界杯锦标赛开始前退出了荷兰国家队。
由于俱乐部即将失去威廉·萨利巴数月，且本·怀特在过去两个赛季一直受膝伤困扰，他们一直在洽谈签下一名能胜任右后卫的中后卫。他们表达了对 28 岁的英格兰后卫 Ezri Konsa 的兴趣，但并不愿意接受阿斯顿维拉 £60million 的估值。
网球
Citi Open 华盛顿：男子：第一轮 A de Minaur (澳) 胜 S Tsitsipas (希) 6-4, 3-6, 6-3。第二轮 L Musetti (意) 胜 A Vukic (澳) 6-3, 5-7, 6-3。女子：第一轮 A Potapova (俄) 胜 V Williams (美) 6-3, 6-3。第二轮 L Samsonova (俄) 胜 王欣雨 (中) 6-2, 6-2；A Eala (菲) 胜 L Fernandez (加) 6-2, 7-6 (7-1)。 ATP Mifel Open 洛斯卡沃斯：第一轮 E Winter (澳) 胜 M Kouame (法) 6-1, 6-4；J Brooksby (美) 胜 C Moutet (法) 6-4, 6-4；D Svrcina (捷) 胜 A Walton (澳) 6-7 (2-7), 7-6 (7-2), 6-3；R Pacheco (墨) 胜 S Shimabukuro (日) 6-7 (4-7), 7-5, 6-2；D Shapovalov (加) 胜 R Hijikata (澳) 2-6, 6-3 6-2；M Zheng (美) 胜 M Landaluce (西) 6-4, 6-3；J Duckworth (澳) 胜 A Mayo (美) 4-6, 6-3, 6-4；A Gea (法) 胜 K Soon-woo (韩) 6-4, 6-7 (8-10), 6-2。 WTA 孟菲斯公开赛 第二轮 马以曼 (中) 胜 K Birrell (美) 7-6 (7-2), 6-4；R Zarazua (墨) 胜 M Kessler (美) 6-4, 6-1；K Volynets (美) 胜 I Shymanovic (白俄) 6-4, 6-2；A Zakharova (俄) 胜 C Osorio (哥) 6-4, 6-3。
赛程
欧协联：第二轮资格赛，次回合 Coleraine (0) v HJK (5) (7.45)；德里城 (0) v 里耶卡 (1) (6.30)；HB (0) v Motherwell (2) (6.0)；希伯尼安 (0) v Malisheva (2) (8.0)；新圣徒 (0) v Flora (1) (6.30)。 板球
The Hundred：Utilita Bowl Southern Brave v Birmingham Phoenix (女子 3.0, 男子 6.30)。 Metro Bank Cup：A组：普雷斯顿 兰开夏 v 诺丁汉郡 (11.0)。 高尔夫
‘I
温布利登顶时刻 并分享60年后的比赛往事。作者：Owen Slot
“每隔四年世界杯到来时，情况总是非常艰难，”罗伯塔·摩尔（Roberta Moore）说道。这就是罗伯塔，鲍比（Bobby）的女儿：鲍比·摩尔，正如我们现在非常清楚的那样，他依然是唯一一位率领世界杯冠军足球队的英国人。
“有时候，”她说，“回忆并不在你的掌控之中。我记得有一天走进玛莎百货（Marks & Spencer），那里有一个他的等身纸板像。或者你在高速公路上开车，公交车上会出现他的照片。它就这样突然击中你。
“即便这么多年过去了，依然很难受。我感到极大的自豪，同时也感到悲伤。很多复杂的情绪交织在一起。你知道，我们关系非常亲密。我想他了。”
于是，我们再次翻开这本书：讲述那些66年英雄的故事，那场胜利在这一周恰逢60周年，而那次成功（是的，直到现在）依然无可匹敌。现在看来，这与其说是我们这个时代的故事，不如说正日益变成历史书中的一个章节。在1966年7月30日以 4-2 击败西德的 11 名球员中，只有一名——杰夫·赫斯特（Geoff Hurst）依然在世，能够回忆起往事。
但历史在传承，而在这里，由罗伯塔·摩尔和其他 66 年冠军的后代们将其重新讲述。罗伯塔在交谈中偶尔会中断，声音颤抖，被情绪所淹没，她并非唯一如此的人。非常明确的是，他们所有人都共有的一种深沉的自豪感。同时，你也会感受到他们的父亲曾是多么谦逊的人。
“如果你来我家， 你根本不会意识到爸爸 曾是一名足球运动员” 这些人除非被追问，否则不会谈论 66 年的事。他们的后代有一个共同的回忆，就是在公共场合问道：“爸爸，为什么这么多人认识你？”罗杰·亨特（Roger Hunt）的孩子朱莉（Julie）和戴维·亨特（David Hunt）说，直到他们上中学，在学校图书馆里看到父亲的自传，才真正意识到这一点。罗素·威尔逊（Russell Wilson）回忆说，有一次学校足球赛需要一双球鞋，他的父亲雷（Ray）说：“嘿，用这对吧”——然后把他在世界杯决赛中穿过的那双球鞋给了他。
“如果你走进我家，”诺比·斯泰尔斯（Nobby Stiles）的儿子约翰（John）说，“你甚至不会知道他曾是一名足球运动员，除非你注意到他书桌的角落里有一张世界杯国家队成员穿着西装、看起来非常精神的照片。”
约翰·斯泰尔斯直到父亲晚年才真正解锁了接近完整的故事。“他以前经常在晚宴上演讲，当他因为记忆力衰退而不再记得演说词时，”他说，
（图片说明）从左起：托尼·科恩（Tony Cohen），乔治之子；约翰·斯泰尔斯（John Stiles），诺比之子；罗素·威尔逊（Russell Wilson），雷之子；温迪（Wendy），班克斯之女；吉米·鲍尔（Jimmy Ball），艾伦之子；约翰·查尔顿（John Charlton），杰克之子；朱莉（Julie）和戴维（David），亨特之子女
“我会（在台上）对他进行采访。”
“我必须像鹦鹉学舌一样背熟他的剧本。我知道如果他漏掉了一个平时习惯使用的词，他就会陷入困境。”因此，约翰总能引导他回到正轨。
“所以在那三年里，我度过了一段美好的时光，开车带他走遍全国，他会告诉我所有关于世界杯的故事，以及那些他在我母亲面前不会谈论的事情。当时我就意识到自己很幸运，因为他的病情在恶化，我想，这一切不会永远持续下去。那真的像魔法一样。认知障碍没什么好的，但我很幸运，因为我能与他共度那段时光。”
斯泰尔斯回忆起鲍比·查尔顿（Bobby Charlton）——他称他为鲍比叔叔——以及他们家庭在一起共度的时光。总的来说，这个群体给人的印象是他们之间有着非常深厚的感情。
“为了那些球员，他愿意撞墙而上，”马丁·彼得斯（Martin Peters）的儿子格兰特（Grant）说。“他爱他们所有人。”他回忆起他与赫斯特的家庭就住在篱笆对面。
艾伦·鲍尔（Alan Ball）的儿子吉米（Jimmy）记得与摩尔一家在海边度过的暑假。罗伯塔·摩尔在结婚时，邀请了赫斯特的一个孙女担任伴娘。
约翰·查尔顿回忆道：“鲍比·摩尔会给我父亲打电话说，‘杰克，赶紧过来。’然后他就会去伦敦和鲍比一起喝酒。”
“媒体认为决赛会让我的妈妈进入产程” 小细节讲述了另一个era. 罗伯塔·摩尔记得在圣诞节陪父亲去厄普顿公园训练，并帮忙清扫看台。还有罗德尼·马什过来“试图打发掉我们这些孩子”，在房子周围为他们藏起£1面值的钞票。
也许没有人比温迪及其哥哥进过更多戈登·班克斯的球门——他被广泛尊为世界上最好的守门员。他们不能在花园里玩——“草坪是父亲的骄傲和心头好”——但他们在邻居的草坪上或车库前的水泥地上进行了无数次“三对一”游戏。
“相信我，”温迪说，“父亲绝不会给你留情。”但如果你在车库前对着底角射门，“在那里他会把胳膊和腿在水泥地上撞得砰砰响”，你就有了机会。
60年前那天的后勤细节也讲述了一个故事。“我当时在利物浦家里，”罗素·威尔逊说。“我们由父亲在哈德斯菲尔德镇队的一位老队友照看。我不记得是谁了。我妈妈去了温布利，途中接上了诺玛·查尔顿 [鲍比的妻子]；我想他们当时车胎没气了。”
“我没法去，因为没人带我去，因为妈妈当时怀着我的弟弟。他预产期正好在决赛那天，”杰克的儿子约翰·查尔顿回忆道。“我记得的是一整车记者和摄影师来到家里，想看看世界杯决赛的兴奋感是否会诱导她进入产程。”
“根据我妈妈的说法，”朱莉·亨特说，“她们就坐在女王身后两排。”
格兰特·彼得斯补充道，比赛结束后，“有些人想出去喝一杯，但父亲说他只想回家陪妈妈，所以他回家喝了杯茶，看了电视”。
艾伦·鲍尔的儿子吉米说，第二天：“父亲和诺比合乘一辆车回家以节省汽油，他们在克努特福德服务区买了鸡蛋和薯条。”
“我被困在门外的人群中大哭，最后不得不找一名警察。我说，‘那是我的爸爸，’于是他把我抱起来带回了家。”
疑虑、恐惧和仇恨邮件 关于这次锦标赛的某些记忆在代际间传承。这是罗素·威尔逊在讲述四分之一决赛击败阿根廷的经历：“父亲说，当他们回到更衣室时，阿根廷人试图撞开门进来。显然杰基·查尔顿在说，‘让他们全部进来；我来对付他们。’”
其他故事则反映了世界杯选人的压力。这是朱莉·亨特地讲述：“父亲认为吉米·格里夫斯像个天才；他是父亲最钦佩的人。吉米受伤了，随后[当他康复时]就担心父亲无法保住位置。父亲认为媒体希望天才在决赛中回归。在后来的岁月里，我从我妈妈那里听到了很多关于紧张情绪以及他是否能在决赛中保留位置的事情。”（他保住了。）
约翰·斯泰尔斯（John Stiles）说道：“他说他们就在房间里，巴利（Ballie）在那儿说，‘去他妈的阿尔夫·拉姆齐（Alf Ramsey），’因为拉姆齐没有选他。而我父亲一直对他讲，‘他会在四分之一决赛把你召回来的。’事实证明他是对的。”
斯泰尔斯还认为，在小组赛对阵法国队时的一次争议性铲球后，他的世界杯之旅就此完蛋了。“压力简直难以置信，”约翰说，“电视评论员攻击他，报纸、媒体也一样。我妈妈说她当时非常恐惧，她说在法国那场比赛之后，她收到了很多仇恨信。”
“我父亲说：在对阵阿根廷（下一场比赛）时，他觉得全国人民都反对他，但巴利在[接近温布利球场时]轻轻推了他一下，说，‘诺比（Nobby），看看外面，’那里有 100 个伦敦东区人举着横幅，上面写着，‘诺比当首相’。所以我认为他们在共克难关的过程中给了彼此很多帮助。”
他直到很多年后才得知，选拔委员会曾召见阿尔夫并告诉他，“无论在任何情况下，斯泰尔斯明天都不能上场。”阿尔夫当时回答道，“那我就辞职，”于是事情就这么定了。我父亲很爱阿尔夫。”
与父亲一起重温比赛 在某个无法准确确定时间点——就在录像机发明后不久——所有球员都收到了一盘决赛的 VHS 录像带。这一次，父亲们终于可以和孩子们坐在一起观看，成为了解锁比赛记忆的触发点。
约翰·查尔顿（John Charlton）：“我和我父亲大概看了两三次。他说的第一句话是，‘你看我当时是个多么优秀的球员。’他是在开玩笑。他对比赛过程有闪回记忆。他总是说，他的工作是照顾鲍比·摩尔（Bobby Moore），如果鲍比跑远了，另外三名[后卫]必须在他们应在的位置上。”
乔治·科恩（George Cohen）的儿子托尼（Tony）：“我们以前经常拿他那次差点撞到球门立柱的射门开玩笑。”
马丁·彼得斯（Martin Peters）的儿子格兰特（Grant）：“他说，‘天哪，那天真是太热了。’他不停地抱怨球衣太重了。”
当雷·威尔逊（Ray Wilson）未能处理好一个进入禁区的球时，英格兰队丢了第一个球，而那个球在平时绝不会对他造成困扰。“第一个球确实有点令人震惊，”罗素·威尔逊（Russell Wilson）说。他回忆起大约十年后，他还是个青少年，父亲已经退休，两人在同一个周日业余联赛球队中效力时的一次短暂足球之旅。“赛后的俱乐部会所里，他们在屏幕上播放了决赛。我真的很心疼他[因为那个第一个球]。我几乎不敢看他。”
温迪·班克斯（Wendy Banks）：“每当我们见到雷·威尔逊，他都会说，‘你父亲从来没让我忘记那件事。’”
主图：英格兰队与奖杯的合影。后排（从左至右）：哈罗德·谢泼德森（Harold Shepherdson）、斯泰尔斯、亨特（Hunt）、班克斯、杰克·查尔顿、科恩、威尔逊、拉姆齐。前排（从左至右）：彼得斯、赫斯特（Hurst）、摩尔、巴利和鲍比·查尔顿。上方：队长摩尔与妻子蒂娜（Tina）以及婴儿女儿罗伯塔（Roberta）。显而易见，后者（右图）以及 66 年度的其他孩子，都为父亲们的成就感到自豪。
关注我们的“实时”博客，报道 英格兰世界杯 夺冠时刻，下午 2 点起 thetimes.com/sport
这是他的儿子，约翰：“他说，‘无论如何，一百万年里这都不可能是个禁区前沿的任意球。’如果他还在世，他肯定还会这么说。”
班克斯对于该进球被认定有效也感到愤怒，声称球在进入球门的过程中触碰到了手臂。他的女儿温迪说：“他从来不会就这样放过任何事情，尤其是像那样的事情。我们会说，‘爸，我们赢了，这不再重要了。’而他会说，‘是的，但我们本该更早赢球的。’”
到那时，赫斯特已经打入一球，在向帽子戏法迈进。将英格兰队比分提升至 2-1 的另一个进球是由彼得斯打入的。格兰特·彼得斯说：“我父亲常说他的那个进球是最关键的。他说如果他没进球，我们就会 1-2 输掉比赛，也就永远不会在讨论这些所有的事情了。”
但随后进入了加时赛——此时鲍尔的表现更加抢眼。
TIMES 摄影师 MARC ASPLAND; BARRATTS/S&G /PA; POPPERFOTO/GETTY IMAGES
‘很好。’他会说，‘嗯，还行。’但当你观看加时赛时，他无处不在。他说，‘我天生体能就好。’他曾代表兰开夏郡和什罗普郡参加越野赛。他知道没有人能跑赢他。
“他说，‘在加时赛中，我完全相信自己将影响这场比赛的结果。’每次你见到杰夫，他都会说‘是他拖着我们走过来的’。杰夫自己也会说，‘是我进了三个球，所以我拿了全场最佳，但艾伦·鲍尔的表现则高出一截。’”
众所周知，随后出现了赫斯特极具争议的第二个进球，该球是否越线仍有争议。在那个进球中，亨特甚至没有触碰到球，而这成了他在决赛中最为人所熟知的时刻，因为他离得最近，对球门线看得最清楚，并且在进球后转身庆祝。
朱莉·亨特：“每当他参加餐后演讲时，他总是以这句话开始他的演说，‘在你们问我之前，我想说那是个进球。’”
大卫·亨特：“爸爸经常遇到人们走过来问他，‘你为什么不[跟进并]直接把它捅进去？’”
朱莉·亨特：“他看到球落下并停住。他没有质疑。他确实说过，当他转身看到裁判走向边裁时，他的心沉下去了。”
被视为“他们以为一切都结束了”的时刻。球员们显然回忆起的是摩尔在比赛最后一分钟在防守端表现出的标志性冷静。
甚至班克斯的孙子埃德·杰维斯也知道这段： “他经常提到鲍比·摩尔（传给赫斯特的）那个传球。每个人都在对着鲍比大喊，让他直接把球踢向前方。爷爷说，‘我记得我也在喊，‘把它踢走，鲍比！’”
罗伯塔·摩尔：“杰基·查尔顿告诉我，他说，‘直接猛踢！’但他没有这么做。”
埃德·杰维斯：“爷爷能从鲍比的肢体语言中看出。他觉得，不，他准备在这里传一个精准球。结果那是传给杰夫的一个漂亮的长距离直塞。”
庆祝活动中仍留有一些有趣的轶事。
罗伯塔·摩尔：“有个故事被讲述了很多次，就是当他去握女王的手时，他擦了擦手，以免弄脏她的手套。”
约翰·斯泰尔斯：“我妈妈跟我爸说，‘如果你赢了，见到女王时记得把假牙戴上。’结果他忘了。假牙就装在手帕里，在伊恩·卡拉汉的西装口袋里。”
随后岁月的喜悦与痛苦 重新观看决赛的日子从未真正结束。格兰特·彼得斯说：“我们一起看了很多次。遗憾的是，在他年长且身体不适时，我们看了很多次。他很喜欢播放这段视频，但他常说，‘我没参加那场比赛。’那是失智症在作祟。”
这就是许多人的生命终结方式。在 11 人中，有 6 人患有痴呆症。这种病在多大程度上是由顶沉重的足球造成的无法界定，但这依然是他们遗产的一部分，是辉煌过去的后遗症，这给人一种印象：他们可能是一群独特的国家英雄，但他们并非一直被如此对待。直到 34 年后，球队中的其余 5 人才最终在白金汉宫获得了与另外 6 人相同的荣誉。
托尼·科恩（Tony Cohen）：“他对此感到有些困惑。我们开玩笑说，想要拿到一个《蓝色彼得》（Blue Peter）徽章比拿到 MBE（大英帝国勋章）还难。”
罗素·威尔逊（Russell Wilson）：“我父亲去[白金汉宫]只是为了凑齐那 5 个人。他说，‘如果不是为了其他伙计，我会告诉那些[当局]滚蛋。’”
约翰·斯泰尔斯（John Stiles）：“我认为他们受到了极其不公正的对待。是杰克 [查尔顿] 说，‘我们都应该被封爵。’”
这是他们留下的故事的一部分。此外还有各种零碎的轶事。温迪·班克斯（Wendy Banks）的车后备箱里仍然放着她父亲从 1970 年墨西哥世界杯带回来的宽檐帽。埃德·杰维斯（Ed Jervis）买下了并住进了班克斯的旧房子。（“在我的书房里，我 90 per cent 被他的照片所包围。”）他最近出版了一个出色的播客系列《反面操作》（Foul Play），调查 1970 年世界杯以及班克斯是否曾被中情局（CIA）下毒。
在诺森伯兰郡的阿灵顿有一栋房子，是杰克·查尔顿在 ‘66 年后为他的父母购买的，他们将其命名为“儒勒·里梅屋”（Jules Rimet House）。那块刻有该名称的匾额，字迹逐渐模糊，挂了数十年，但现在已完全消失。而那栋依然屹立的房子，则成了 1966 年 7 月 30 日更好的隐喻——那是 60 年前的一天，至今依然铭刻在心。
马修·赛义德 (Matthew Syed)
是什么将一个社会凝聚在一起？法律？威慑？不。我想提出一个不同的假设。我认为，社会是由一种经过精心培养且必要的“羞耻感”凝聚在一起的。当你做了某些你明知是错的、社会明知是错的、你的祖辈也明知是错的事情时，你会感受到那种刺痛的责备。红色是美德的颜色。
我记得在为一本关于社会规范的书做研究时，曾尝试在当地的一家玛莎百货 (M&S) 抢插队。猜怎么着？没错：我没能坚持下去。我看到了那些耐心地排队的父母、叔伯、婶姨们的目光——那并不是愤怒，更像是一种惊讶和失望。我感到脖子一阵发烫。我笑了笑，绕过队列走到了过道的另一边。世界再次变得美好起来。
事实证明，这并不罕见。心理学家斯坦利·米尔格拉姆 (Stanley Milgram) 曾派一组学生前往纽约，指示他们去抢插“铁路售票窗口及其他地点的队列”。
很简单，对吧？额，其实不然。这项实验不得不被放弃，因为学生们做不到。正如米尔格拉姆所言：“这些协作参与者在拖延，他们花费多达半小时来鼓起‘勇气’进行干扰。对有些人来说，预想中的插队行为如此令人不快，以至于[他们出现了]面色苍白和恶心的情况]。”
想知道当今世界的 problem 在哪里吗？它正变得厚颜无耻。这种感觉在近几个月里我心中与日俱增，而我的同事马丁·齐格勒 (Martyn Ziegler) 披露的一则新闻让这一点变得清晰：国际足联 (Fifa) 想要将其商业权利的一定份额出售给一个由唐纳德·特朗普女婿的兄弟所经营的投资集团。国际足联一直贪婪，但它通常试图掩盖其两面性。而现在，它在新闻稿中公开招摇地展示其贪欲，其那位穿着白色皮鞋、滑稽可笑的主席在试图向一个日益震惊的世界“推销”这一切时，脸上还带着扭曲的笑容。
伙计们，这就是新的常态。我猜测即使是塞普·布拉特 (Sepp Blatter) 在虚构一个和平奖，并将其颁给一位在近期记忆中造成比任何民主领导人都多全球杀戮的总统时，也会感到一丝良心不安；但詹尼·因凡蒂诺 (Gianni Infantino) 这么做时却面带微笑。考虑到利益冲突，即使是米歇尔·普拉蒂尼 (Michel Platini) 也会在购买美国总统名下建筑的办公空间前三思。但因凡蒂诺没有，他认为这是培养一名共犯的聪明计策。
我怀疑即使是若昂·哈维兰格 (João Havelange) 也不愿在东道主球队球员接到该国总统电话后，就撤销对其的禁赛处分，但这是因凡蒂诺的国际足联两手紧抓的赌注，几乎没有受到谴责（除了勇敢的挪威足协）。既然已有先例，那么既然能赚到这么多钱，不仅仅是为了因凡蒂诺，而且为了那些加入这趟“肥差列车”的内部人士、追随者和总统亲信，为什么不通过库什纳 (Kushner) 的投资工具来瓜分全球足球赛呢？
【英足总的声明】
“我们完全不知道这一提议，也没有任何实质性的细节，包括该提议具体是什么，以及附带哪些条件。基于有限的信息，我们对在达到这一阶段时缺乏程序和治理，以及涉及的明显实质内容和原则深感担忧。当国际足联按照目前承诺的全面且透明的方式分享该提议时，我们将明确表达我们的观点并进一步评论。”
道理很简单：能拿多少拿多少，其他的随它去。
世界的道德心理学正在被重新布线，而我们都知道是谁在布线。看看上面的故事，最终都指向一个人：特朗普。这个男人吹嘘一个模因币为他赚了数百万美元，而代价是那些购买了这些如今几乎一文不值的代币的轻信群众；他在羞辱泽连斯基总统时微笑。
因凡蒂诺正在按照特朗普的形象重塑国际足联（Fifa）。可以将其称之为将“厚颜无耻”作为一种积极的策略。
他研究了白宫的现任主人，并几乎采用了每一种技巧，甚至在享受那些未能参与交易的人所感到的不安。微笑。咯咯笑。开玩笑。对那些被坑的人进行精神控制（gaslighting），就像因凡蒂诺在世界杯期间访问伊朗队更衣室时所做的那样。
“深喉”曾说“顺着钱找”，但在特朗普的案例中，这并不容易。他从事的是学者亚历山大·库利（Alexander Cooley）和丹尼尔·内克森（Daniel Nexon）所称的“交易捆绑”：“将冲突解决、经济交易以及有利于特朗普及其盟友的安排，合并成难以审查的宏大巨额交易。”这难道不是描述国际足联世界杯瓜分方案的一个公正方式吗？谁获益？条款是什么？我们知道数十亿资金将从交易中变出来，但谁知道——或者谁能知道？——这些资金会被 funnelled 到什么样的章鱼状结构中？
许多人呼吁，如果这项方案通过，欧足联（Uefa）应脱离国际足联——我对此表示赞同。但请允许我将注意力转向英足总（FA）。我认识且喜欢其主席黛比·休伊特（Debbie Hewitt）。但也许我可以诚恳地说，历史将在这一时刻对其做出评判。昨天上午发布的声明极其匮乏。英足总绝不应该支持因凡蒂诺——无论举办 2035 年女足世界杯的前景如何。
我的意思是，谁想在这样一个管理机构的主导下举办世界杯？该机构在执行过程中随意修改规则，甚至出现了 27 分钟的半场休息，而禁赛决定似乎并非基于规则，而是基于政治压力。
为了维持公信力，英足总必须现在——就在接下来的 24 小时内——站出来并撤回对因凡蒂诺的支持，无论这对 2035 年意味着什么，更不用说谴责世界杯提案以及（就此而言）福拉林·巴洛贡（Folarin Balogun）的丑闻。我们从欧洲超级联赛事件中得知，如果反对力量能够迅速动员起来，这些计划就可以在它们像弗兰肯斯坦的怪物那样完全苏醒之前被扼杀。
最后一点，尽管这很重要：感谢《泰晤士报》体育版无与伦比的报道，他们率先披露了这个独家故事。国际足联在内部争取支持时并不希望此事泄露。它希望这个秘密被守护好。调查报道是自由新闻业的生命线，并且只能通过订阅者辛苦赚来的钱才能维持生存。
对我而言，这是一个原本阴森的故事中唯一积极的一面：通过揭露像特朗普和因凡蒂诺这样的人物的闹剧，我们
接后页
拥有我们此前提交的 $2.7 billion 的前向计划（发展资金）扩充方案。
“在 January 1, 2027 开始的即将到来的周期中，根据该提案，每个成员协会将有可能获得高达 $40 million 的资金。”
在一份关于初步计划的声明中，英格兰足协表示：“我们完全不知道这一提案，也没有实质性的细节，包括该提案具体是什么，以及附带什么条件。基于有限的信息，我们对达成这一阶段所缺乏的程序和治理，以及其中涉及的明显实质内容和原则深感担忧。”
足球界的高层人士质疑，为什么因凡蒂诺在信中称该提案仅需 50 per cent 的成员协会投票赞成即可通过，而修改国际足联（Fifa）章程则需要 75 per cent 的多数票支持。
此外，有人指出，国际足联拥有 $4 billion 的巨额财务储备，这意味着这些额外资金无论如何都可以——而且应该——提供给各国家协会，而不是使用私人投资者的资金。
理查德·斯库代摩（Richard Scudamore）曾任英超联赛执行主席，现为多家体育公司和个人投资者提供咨询，他是认为国际足联此举将是巨大错误的人之一。
依赖于在世界杯期间释放球员的俱乐部的善意，这些资源不应被出售给私人投资者。从法律和物流角度来看，我看不出这如何能实现，国际足联本身的合法性正面临威胁。”
英超联赛还表示，全力支持欧洲联赛组织（European Leagues）发布的一份批评声明，其中写道：“国际足联宣布其主席正为其一家新子公司寻求私人投资方案，以整合其商业和赛事相关运营，这对于世界足球来说是一个鲁莽且具有分裂性的发展。世界杯不应被出售。”
根据这项由因凡蒂诺与少数国际足联高管密谋的计划，国际足联将保留对国际足球的控制权，包括（至关重要的是）2030, 后的国际赛程表，但其决定将对新公司的命运产生巨大影响。
例如，如果国际足联将世界杯的规模从 48 支球队扩大到 64 支，或者将比赛频率提高到高于每四年一次，这将提升该公司的财务价值，因为这意味着收入将增加——尽管一些人士认为规模扩大并不一定会增加利润。
最大新闻的 反应 现已在您收听播客的所有平台上线
也会增加将赛事举办在最具盈利能力市场（如美国）的压力。
其他领先的大陆足联、俱乐部组织和球员工会也对该计划表达了担忧。
代表北美、中美洲和加勒比地区的中北美及加勒比足联（Concacaf）表示：“中北美及加勒比足联仅是通过媒体报道，随后通过媒体发布会才获知此事。我们对缺乏正当程序的现状深感担忧。对于许多足球界人士而言，在与相关管理机构和利益相关者进行任何讨论之前，如此详尽的方案就已设计并公开，我们对此深表失望。”
“国际足联（Fifa）、各大足联以及每个成员协会共同承担着始终以体育运动最大利益行事的责任。我们的每一个决定都必须以良好的治理、稳健的流程和长期的管理为指导。这就是中北美及加勒比足联运行的框架。我们相信国际足联大家庭中的所有成员都将采取同样的方式行事。”
欧洲足球俱乐部协会（EFC）——其主席为巴黎圣日耳曼总统纳赛尔·阿尔-赫莱菲（Nasser Al-Khelaifi）——指出，对于“国际足联突然单方面通过媒体简报宣布关于某些足球赛事商业化潜在新公司结构的方案”，该协会表示“严重关切”。
该协会补充道：“作为一家代表 850 家以上足球俱乐部的机构，对于如此规模的提案，欧洲足球俱乐部协会理应得到充分的咨询。欧洲足球俱乐部协会是以与大多数全球足球利益相关者相同的方式获知此提案的——在没有任何预警的情况下通过媒体得知。我们敦促各方保持冷静并进行彻底的咨询，同时采取更严谨、透明的治理流程，以保护这项运动的长期发展。”
国际足联主席詹尼·因凡蒂诺（Gianni Infantino）提议将世界杯的股份出售给私人投资者，这引发了美国民主党政治家们的担忧，他们担心唐纳德·特朗普（Donald Trump）的支持者或其更广泛网络中的人员会参与其中（马丁·齐格勒/Martyn Ziegler 撰文）。
首先是约书亚·库什纳（Joshua Kushner），国际足联已确认其为潜在的领投人，他是特朗普女婿贾里德（Jared）的兄弟。国际足联表示贾里德并非投资者，但消息人士称他一直在幕后参与——他与因凡蒂诺之间有着十多年的密切关系。
其次是国际足联为此次拟议出售而聘请的“首席商业顾问”：格雷格·马菲（Greg Maffei），他曾是特朗普的捐赠者，并在自由媒体（Liberty Media）收购一级方程式赛车（Formula 1）时领导该公司。
2017年，马菲个人向特朗普的就职委员会捐赠了 $250,000（约 £190,000），金额与自由媒体的捐款一致。
除库什纳之外，潜在投资者也与特朗普有联系。阿波罗全球管理公司（Apollo Global Management）据称计划投资这家新成立的国际足联公司，其首席执行官马克·罗温（Marc Rowan）是特朗普“和平委员会”的成员，且他与妻子共同为特朗普 2020 年的竞选活动捐赠了 $1 million。
知情人士表示，目前没有沙特或卡塔尔主权财富基金直接投资的计划，但这主要集中在美国方面。
美国众议院司法委员会的首席民主党议员杰米·拉斯金（Jamie Raskin）指责国际足联“现在正直接与特朗普家族开展业务”。
他在一份声明中表示：“显然，那个虚假的和平奖以及与特朗普大厦签署的巨额租赁合同还不够——现在因凡蒂诺正寻求与贾里德·库什纳的兄弟达成一项数十亿美元的交易，将世界杯的所有权股份出售给私人投资者。”
“由于国际足联[涉嫌]哄抬价格，足球迷早已被排除在世界杯门外——[这]仅仅意味着这座‘美丽的比赛’将进一步被企业玷污。”
拉斯金在周一宣布，司法委员会的民主党人已要求因凡蒂诺就该委员会所描述的“国际足联为争取特朗普总统的特别照顾而开展的持续活动”出庭作证。委员会还要求提供国际足联与特朗普之间所有文件或通信的副本。
国际足联坚称，其正在“组建一个地理分布多元化的投资者群体，以体现国际足联和这项运动的全球性质；迄今为止表达意向的投资者涵盖了全球每个主要地区：欧洲、美洲、亚洲和非洲”。
……就该提案进行了咨询，并对如此重大事项在亚足联（AFC）成员有机会通过适当且既定的治理渠道进行审查和讨论之前就进入公众视野感到失望。亚足联坚信，应向所有利益相关者提供充足的信息和足够的时间以全面评估该提案。”
进一步对此表示谴责的是代表 65,000 多名职业球员的球员工会 Fifpro。该工会在一份声明中表示：“Fifpro 欧洲分部深切关注将国际足联世界杯及其他国际足联赛事转化为私人资本可投资资产的提案，此举将从根本上且不可逆地重塑球员工作、竞争和建立职业生涯的赛事基础激励机制。”
“鉴于该提案对球员福利、国际比赛赛程以及足球未来治理可能产生的深远影响，如此规模的项目在很大程度上是在闭门状态下制定的，并在与受影响最深的人员进行任何实质性沟通之前就接近达成协议，这一点尤其令人不安。”
因旗帜及 “袭击” 被起诉
Joe Harston
阿根廷足球协会因在对阵英格兰的比赛中展示马尔维纳斯群岛（福克兰群岛）旗帜，正面临国际足联（Fifa）的纪律程序；同时，其多名球员因世界杯决赛后的行为被起诉。
这支世界杯亚军因在锦标赛多场比赛中的行为，面临违反国际足联纪律准则中四项不同条款的指控。其中第一项是“利用体育赛事进行非体育性质的示威”——显然是指在半决赛战胜英格兰后展示的马尔维纳斯群岛旗帜。
阿根廷队的多名成员展示了一条写有黑色文字的白色横幅，上面写着“Las Malvinas son Argentinas”，翻译为“马尔维纳斯群岛属于阿根廷”。该横幅似乎来自球迷。
三名球员及其助理教练罗伯托·阿亚拉（Roberto Ayala）还因决赛后发生的斗殴面临个人纪律程序。莱昂德罗·帕雷德斯（Leandro Paredes）似乎掐住了埃里克·加西亚（Eric García）的脖子并击中了加维（Gavi）的脸，他面临三项袭击指控。纳胡埃尔·莫利纳（Nahuel Molina）在击中罗德里（Rodri）胸部后面临两项指控（一项既遂，一项未遂）。阿亚拉在与丹尼·奥尔莫（Dani Olmo）发生争执后被指控一项。
帕雷德斯在世界杯决赛后 似乎掐住了加西亚的 脖子
边锋蒂亚戈·阿尔马达（Thiago Almada）和西班牙中场加维在赛后斗殴后，也被指控行为不端。莫利纳还面临一项行为不端的纪律程序。
针对该协会发起的其他纪律程序，是由于可能违反了名为“球队不当行为”、“歧视和种族主义虐待”以及“比赛秩序与安全”的条款。国际足联的一份声明称，这些指控是“鉴于在多场比赛中出现了歧视性口号和手势、开球延迟、未能遵守比赛和安全协议、球队及观众展示不恰当信息以及观众投掷物品”。
在做出决定之前，他们有机会向国际足联纪律委员会陈述其立场。
在庆祝半决赛胜利时，球员和支持者高喊“为死掉的英格兰默哀一分钟”，而前托特纳姆热刺中场乔瓦尼·洛塞尔索（Giovani Lo Celso）跳过广告牌去收回那条横幅，曼彻斯特联后卫利桑德罗·马丁内斯（Lisandro Martínez）也参与了横幅的展示。据报道，该横幅随后出现在球队的训练营中。另一条带有阿根廷国旗淡蓝色和白色、传达相同信息并描绘马尔维纳斯群岛的横幅在另一个看台出现。
这支南美球队继续因其在决赛中的行为面临广泛批评。在那场激烈的比赛之后，西班牙球员在庆祝时爆发了斗殴。阿根廷球员在捧杯时还背对奖杯。
Thursday July 30 2026 | the times 体育
53 天内加入抛售
6 欧足联今日将举行紧急会议，讨论抵制世界杯的“核选项”
Martyn Ziegler 首席体育记者
欧足联今天将举行一次成员危机会议，以决定如何应对吉安尼·因凡蒂诺（Gianni Infantino）的世界杯出售计划。此前，他在告知国际足联 (Fifa) 的 211 个协会，他们仅剩 53 天时间签署协议，否则将面临财务后果。
预计 55 个欧洲协会将讨论一系列行动，包括抵制国际足联赛事的“核选项”。
欧洲足球领导层认为，在因凡蒂诺明确阐述了许多人视为向各国协会提供贿赂以支持其计划的行为后，国际足球的未来正处于危急之中。
在给各协会的一封信中，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 19. 前做出。他表示，如果各协会签署协议，将可获得总计 $10 billion (约 £7.5 billion) 的资金包——每个协会将获得 $40 million ——但如果他们拒绝，其收益将为 $2.7 billion，减少近 75%。
反对该计划的消息人士告诉《泰晤士报》，他们认为这是“纯粹的贿赂”。
《泰晤士报》周二揭露了因凡蒂诺的计划，引发了足球界许多人的猛烈抵制。欧足联已确认将于今日举行虚拟紧急会议，而英格兰足协 (FA) 则表示对该提案“深表关切”。
欧足联在的一份声明中表示：“我们得知国际足联向各协会设定了截止日期，要求支持其提案，否则将撤回一次性付款方案。关于这一计划，这就是你所需了解的一切。但在与整个体育界的许多利益相关者进行讨论后，欧足联知道，对于国际足联的方案，存在着显著且日益增长的反对意见。国际足联不能继续利用我们的运动来让自己及其朋友致富。我们可以”
[[IMG_XXXX]] 欧足联主席亚历山大·切费林（Aleksander Ceferin，左）与因凡蒂诺合影；切费林曾通过抵制世界杯决赛以抗议国际足联
Times 纵横字谜 29,608 横向 纵向 昨日答案 29,607
我们不需要在印度举行一场比赛 来维持对这场伟大宿敌之战的兴趣
正确地发展这项运动。现在是时候 优先考虑协会、俱乐部、联赛、 球员和球迷了。”
《泰晤士报》已看到的因凡蒂诺的信中写道：“是否继续执行这项 提议的决定完全由您决定。
1 旧平台上的水手覆盖了残骸
(8) 5 鱼竿开始进口美国摩城
和软金属 (6) 10 直接的亨利在树后喂熊
(5-4) 11 没有一个亲近的家庭成员
回忆起平凡的野兽 (5) 12 芯片窃贼的骗局，如果它们
没有数字化加密？ (4) 13 三人定期选择了更
可靠的基金经理 (9) 15 西班牙男子转向男性
英国牧羊犬 (10) 17 脱皮的肉类物品也许被装进
桶里 (4) 19 两支很少见到的军事单位 (4) 20 在衰退期翻新街道上的
利润追踪 (10) 22 持俱乐部的交叉角色参与的
史诗级战斗 (9) 24 集装箱货车的首字母在前往
罗马的路上？ (4) 26 喜悦几乎在暴露的瘦
鸟之后消失 (5) 27 顶级赛车之子在国王
在船时被击中 (4,5) 28 从酒店离开并脱掉衣服行走
MATEUSZ SLODKOWSKI/GETTY IMAGE
“如果您希望继续执行，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阶段。
“如果您希望维持现状并拒绝此项提议，我们仍然
1 一个放弃首都前往冲浪
目的地的人？ (4) 2 成熟的鸟在主区域摧毁了鱼
(7,8) 3 孩子完全冷若冰霜，终于
清醒了 (8) 4 劳动力对航运业的查理
有好处吗？ (5) 6 陷阱捕获了一批西行的
法国潜艇 (6) 7 游行中的流行曲目随后由
高知名度球员接续 (15) 8 据报道，在炎热的河流
住宅上的行为 (5,5) 9 将比尔留在此时此地与
自然保护主义者在一起 (8) 14 关于那位提高了进球记录的
心形俱乐部支持者的安静状态？ (10) 16 港口男孩定期管理
运河中使用的设备 (8) 18 牧师在最后一击中切掉
冰冷的傻瓜 (8) 21 部长击败了十名毫无防备的
卫兵 (6) 23 杰克短暂地为可能修理
锁的地方工作 (5) 25 访问翻覆的船只，避开
湖的一半 (4)
英格兰世界杯冠军的家人们分享他们的故事
弗莱明
Elizabeth Ammon
在本月布伦登·麦卡伦（Brendon McCullum）被解雇后，预计斯蒂芬·弗莱明（Stephen Fleming）将成为新的英格兰测试赛主教练。
由于国际执教工作意味着需要远离家人，弗莱明过去一直不愿追求此类职位。如今，他的孩子们已经成年或接近成年，这位 53 岁的前新西兰队长觉得他可以全身心地投入到这份工作中。
麦卡伦继续担任白球赛教练这一点也起到了帮助，这将允许他在执行任务时返回家中。不过，人们认为他希望在国内赛季开始时在场，以便熟悉郡级克里基特（county cricket）以及最优秀的潜力球员。
在安迪·弗劳尔（Andy Flower）排除在竞争之外（他更希望保留目前皇家挑战者班加罗尔队和伦敦精神队的主教练职务）之后，曾担任麦卡伦队长的弗莱明成为了英格兰队的主要目标。
英格兰队执行董事罗布·基（Rob Key）和一家猎头公司在过去几周内与包括弗莱明、格拉摩根队主教练理查德·道森（Richard Dawson）以及前英格兰击球手乔纳森·特罗特（Jonathan Trott）在内的潜在候选人进行了一系列对话。然而，鉴于弗莱明丰富的队长经验、在IPL中执教钦奈超级国王队（CSK） 17 年的经历以及他与麦卡伦的关系，他成为了首选候选人。
关于弗莱明合同细节的谈判仍在进行中，但据悉未能入选的候选人已收到通知。谈话仍在继续，但弗莱明可能无法及时就任，以赶上对阵巴基斯坦队的测试赛系列赛的开始。
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报纸 支持回收 2024 年英国报纸的再生纸含量为 34.7%
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亲爱的《泰晤士报》读者，日安！欢迎来到这一周，拳击奇才汤米·富里（Tommy Fury）在《都市报》（Metro）中引发了一个真正新奇的头条：“汤米·富里声称在喝了莫莉-梅·海格（Molly-Mae Hague）的母乳后，身体部位‘尺寸翻倍’。”
为了降低这个头条中的诡异感，我应该向您保证：a) 涉事的“身体部位”是一对，因为是富里的手臂；b) 影响者兼《爱之岛》（Love Island）明星莫莉-梅·海格实际上是富里的妻子，所以我们至少面对的不是“母乳盗窃案”。
然而，富里显然希望通过饮用至关重要的新生儿奶量，为他的健身极限追求（gym-maxxing）增添一种强悍的色彩，因此他对这种古怪的深夜新生儿点心做出了一些激进的断言。
“听着，[我的] 力量爆棚了！”他在《What’s the Fury?》播客中说道。“我的手臂尺寸翻倍了！手臂又长了一英寸！太棒了！”
有些人太有名了，我们仅凭他们的名字就认识他们。梅根。安吉丽娜。基努。埃尔维斯。
“仅限名”俱乐部（First Name Only Club）的另一位成员显然是奥普拉。没有人会问：“哪个奥普拉？” 只有一个：奥普拉·温弗瑞（Oprah Winfrey）。事实上，“奥普拉”这个名字太有名了，以至于她有一档名为《奥普拉》的节目，一本名为《O：奥普拉杂志》的杂志，她的制作公司——第一家由美国黑人女性创立的公司——名为 Harpo：即 Oprah 倒过来写。
但是！这周我们得知，整个关于奥普拉的事情，引用电影《精灵》（Elf）的话说，都是“坐在谎言的王座上”。因为她的名字不叫奥普拉。不！
Fury 认为他妻子的母乳是蛋白粉或类固醇的最新热门替代品，并且很快，每个肌肉猛男都会在健身时猛灌一品脱的“胸乳汁”，以最大化他们的训练效果。
我已经过了哺乳 era 两十年，想到那些身材完美、健康的男人在他们疲惫的妻子胸前徘徊，抱怨道“我只需要满满一杯，今天是腿部训练日！”，而他们的老婆却在与乳头皲裂和乳腺炎作斗争，我不禁感到一种汹涌的愤怒。男人！你们不能像某种“牛奶吸血鬼”一样，从妻子疲惫的乳房中吸走她的精力，然后又夸耀这让你变得多么“强大”！滚出健身房！去干他妈的吸尘工作吧！我们
喝母乳让你的手臂尺寸“翻倍”了，
开朗的流行女歌手凯蒂·佩里 (Katy Perry) 在发现她的热门单曲《Firework》被用作美国军队袭击伊朗的 TikTok 视频配乐时，感到非常不安。该视频配有“伊朗已收到警告”的字幕，播放量已超过六百万次。
“看到《Firework》被用于白宫的 TikTok 账号，我深感震惊和愤怒，”佩里在 X 上发帖称。“我没有批准此事，没有被征询意见，且我绝对不认可这种行为。”
这并不令人难以置信：《Firework》是一首 BuzzBall 风格的女性赋权赞歌。它绝对没有被设想过作为价值 $2.6 百万美元的 JASSM 导弹击中海军停泊设施、将所有不幸在场的人活活烧死时的伴奏曲。
当然，佩里对未经批准使用其音乐感到震惊是正确的。但用她的歌来为战争片段配乐？这太……戏剧化 (camp) 了。我不确定这究竟是什么深层的心理战战术。白宫是在暗示美国如此强大，以至于将伊朗战争视为《完美音调》(Pitch Perfect) 系列电影的延伸？大规模屠杀仅仅是一个音乐终章？而且这个终章如此喧闹，以至于连青少年女孩和同性恋男性都对此感兴趣？
接下来的监狱新闻，关于英国最令人生畏的罪犯查尔斯·布朗森 (Charles Bronson) 的最新动态。同时他也是“最英国”的罪犯，因为本周他由于一个极其出人意料的问题在韦克菲尔德监狱 (HMP Wakefield) 引发了一场“对峙”：“他的苹果酥在端上来时没有配奶油羹 (custard)。”
《每日邮报》报道称：“在布朗森收到他最喜欢的甜点——苹果酥，但没有奶油羹后，全副武装的防暴警察被召来。在锻炼时间，他被告知需要回到室内，但他坚决不从，拒绝移动。三支小队将他包围。布朗森冲向盾牌，望向天空，大喊：‘这是为了雷吉·克雷 (Reggie Kray)！’”
显然，这全都是严肃的事情，我们只能庆幸没有人受伤。但整个场景就像是《Loaded》杂志编辑在 1995. 年左右做的一场热病之梦。除非布朗森在抗议结束时大喊一声“Parklife!”，否则就不能更完美了。我推测，在某个时刻，盖·里奇 (Guy Ritchie) 会把这件事拍成电影。《奶油羹与克雷家族》。这种事在美国不会发生。愿上帝保佑英国。
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当全世界都陷入《奥德赛》的热潮中时 ——包括埃隆·马斯克，但他是以一种糟糕的方式，正如本周第 1 期所讨论的那样——似乎有一小群人并不认同世界对这部电影成就的狂欢：瑞典西部的维京船协会 (Vikingaleden Association of Western Sweden)。
上周，该协会主席告诉媒体，他们曾允许其中一艘维京复刻船在克里斯托弗·诺兰这部大热电影的拍摄期间使用。在拍摄完成后，该协会开出了 £4,500 的维修费发票，但表示至今仍未收到付款。
“我们仅收取材料成本，不收取人工费，”这位主席用瑞典式的口吻解释道。“环球影业 (Universal) 付得起这笔钱。我们觉得自己被遗忘了。”
他们公开此事的问题在于，从历史上看，人们对维京人的同情并不多。哦，你的维京战船油漆刮花了？你去过林迪斯法恩 (Lindisfarne) 吗？伙计，你把那里的僧侣全给淹死了！更不用说约克 (York) 了。那里现在依然有人对当年的屠杀以及随后扶植的维京傀儡国王感到愤怒，而那还是在 867 年的事。
所以，你最近关注埃隆·马斯克了吗？看到那个“太空凯伦”最近又在闹什么情绪吗？
显然，我在这里使用的是一种随意、轻松的语气，因为现实情况——这个世界上最富有且可以说权力最大的人似乎精神不稳定——让我，引用《👻捉鬼敢敢》中哈罗德·拉米斯的话，“恐惧到了无法理智思考的地步”。
我们都已经习惯了一个事实：这个为我们制造汽车、发射通信卫星、掌控全球最大社交媒体平台之一的算法，并打算代表人类殖民太空的人，是一个危险且令人不快且古怪的家伙。
我由衷希望在未来的某个时刻，我们都能经历某种“认知重启”，像对待 21 世纪的亨利·福特那样对待他。（福特是另一个成功的造车之辈，持有某些“独特”的社会政治观点，包括出版《国际犹太人：世界首要问题》，该书在每家福特经销商处均有分发，并被希特勒引用为重大灵感来源。最终，公众对福特汽车的愤怒抵制迫使他发表了“道歉”。显然，当他看到纳粹集中营的影像，“并面对他曾助长……的暴行时……他因中风而崩溃。那是他最后一次，也是最严重的一次中风。”令人惊叹的是，公众抵制对一个人的道德感能产生如此大的影响。即使对动脉没有帮助。）
回到马斯克身上。他这周很忙。首先，他接受了《经济学人》赞尼·明顿·贝多斯的电视采访；随后，因为她暗示他支持“极右翼”政党而感到不快，于是他在 X 上向他那 240 million 名疯子和机器人粉丝发表言论。“她纯粹是西方的叛徒，”他在一张照片下写道——为了明确起见，那照片是《经济学人》主编的。
马斯克不会收到反恐机构的造访，因为他是地球上最富有的人。不知为何，这让这件事变得不那么糟糕了。
令人难以置信的是，这还不是马斯克本周所做的最奇怪的事。不，那是他针对克里斯托弗·诺兰拍摄的《奥德赛》电影所表现出的近乎癫狂的愤怒。马斯克讨厌《奥德赛》。为什么？他认为它“觉醒”了。“确实，”他在一条指责这部电影推动左翼计划“摧毁西方文明及其一切创造之本”的帖子中评论道。
一个涂满油的马特·达蒙杀死独眼巨人怎么就摧毁西方文明了？嗯，是因为演员阵容中由露匹塔·尼永奥饰演特洛伊的海伦。“地球上没有一个人相信露匹塔·尼永奥是世界上最美丽的女人，”右翼评论员马特·沃尔什在 X 上发帖称。“但克里斯托弗·诺兰知道，如果他把这个角色交给一个白人女性，他会被称为种族主义者。”“确实，”马斯克回复道。
不过，为了公平起见，这不仅仅是一个随意的偏见时刻。马斯克是一个行动派！“在今年结束之前，Grok [马斯克的 AI] 将制作一部《奥德赛》长片，它将符合历史真实性，并忠于荷马的艺术，”他庄重地宣布道。
说我对这件事感到兴奋，简直是极大的委婉说法。
马斯克在观众们为这部通常被认为是诺兰最伟大的电影而疯狂之前就提出了这个主张。这意味着，在花费两年时间创作的、由奥斯卡获奖天才执导的《奥德赛》与马斯克那个在发布“叛徒”帖子间隙快速拼凑出的、诡异的、AI 驱动的、全白人纯洁性项目之间，将展开一场决战。
令人兴奋的是，我们可以预见到马斯克将创造出什么样的 AI 版特洛伊海伦：令人不安的是，他的时间线充满了他中意的 AI 女性，全部看起来像肤色苍白、空灵但带着纹身且拥有巨乳的仙女。将马斯克那死鱼眼的动漫幻想与尼永奥令人振奋的表演进行对比，将会非常有趣。
我由衷地期待将诺兰的杰作与马斯克最终排泄出的任何那种庸俗的、种族民族主义的、《模拟人生》低配版垃圾进行权衡。因为很有可能，如果它以那种看来极其必然的方式失败，它将糟糕到足以让所有关于 AI 电影的讨论停滞十年，至少十年。
埃隆！给所有那些觉醒的、玻璃心的、反AI的亲爱的们（luvvies）做件好事吧，在你用那些阴森且毫无血色的AI电影大展一场，将其搞得一团糟之后，宣布你的下一个项目是制作一张AI披头士专辑！ 来吧，试一试！然后再做一个AI维多利亚·伍德！凭借你对英国文化的喜爱和深入了解，加上你强烈的幽默感， 这感觉 就像 她就在 房间里一样！
你知道吗， 埃隆·马斯克的 《奥德赛》 最终可能会 成为自亨利·福特 中风以来 最棒的事情。 我太兴奋了。
让我们夺回其他几项“自由”吧
由前英国改革党议员鲁珀特·洛（Rupert Lowe）领导的“恢复英国党”（Restore Britain Party）承诺，如果赢得权力，将恢复酒吧室内的吸烟。
令人兴奋的消息，但在你过于乐观之前，考虑到该党最近在民调中达到了 2.8 %，是否意味着该党过早地达到了顶峰？
正如一名发言人所言：“如果我们现在达到了 2.8 %，那么在大选时我们是否还会有足够的后劲？”对于任何渴望在那段从酒吧回来时浑身烟味且咳得撕心裂肺的日子的人来说，这无疑是一个担忧。我想念那些日子。事实上，我已经有多少年没在从酒吧回来时浑身烟味且咳得撕心裂肺了？十九年了？
恢复英国党，你们很懂得如何利用怀旧之情。
公平地说，他们建议设立一个独立且“封闭”的吸烟室，洛表示，如果“房东愿意提供”，那么“这就不关我们的事”。一名吸烟者说：“太好了。尽管二手烟会潜行并飘散到各个角落，而且还要考虑到员工和清洁工，但我看不出这会影响到其他人。”
该吸烟者补充道：“这也能给我在肺癌、肺气肿和心脏病的治疗间隙提供一个去处。希望那里能有地方放我的点滴瓶，以及一个足够大的痰盂来接痰。我确实希望
电视连续剧似乎全都是谋杀、谋杀、连环杀手、谋杀、谋杀、忧郁的警察，谋杀。（参考：《The Dark》、《The Rapture》、《Furious》等）。事实上，如果电视剧能反映现实生活，那么我们所有人要么是 1) 连环杀手，2) 忧郁的警察，或者 3) 死在停尸床上，而且可能眼睛还被捅进了一把螺丝刀（《The Rapture》；免了吧）。
我想找点不一样的看，恰好发现了《Chorus Girls》（Walter Presents, Channel 4），现在我想把这部剧推荐给大家。它太棒了。我一口气看了全部八集，你猜怎么着？没有螺丝刀捅眼睛，而且在任何时刻都没有人被在夜晚的森林中追杀。难以置信，但确实如此。
这是一部丹麦剧集，背景设定在 70 年代，基于对当时在哥本哈根 Cirkusrevyen（一家季节性轻歌舞剧院）工作的舞者的真实采访。我们跟随八位在夏天被雇佣的合唱女演员的故事，虽然情节相当像肥皂剧，但角色塑造（以及表演）得如此之好，让你立刻投入其中。
剧中所有女性都很有魅力，尤其是 Sussie。（当她的丈夫在众人面前送给她一袋棉球作为生日礼物时，我们立刻明白了这意味着什么。）你会爱上这些女性，甚至包括那个有时很讨人厌的 Joy (Marie Reuther)。
主要角色包括 Sussie (Marie Bach Hansen)，她的丈夫并不像表面看起来那么讨人喜欢；以及 Ulla-Berit (Mille Lehfeldt)，在过去的五年里，她每年都庆祝自己的 30 岁生日，并且非常害怕因为年龄太大而在这个行业中被淘汰。
“他们还没有过早达到顶峰。”
Restore 组织恢复吸烟的理由是“恢复自由”和“自由”，而不是，比如说，“这是除了从高崖跳向下方岩石之外，你对自己健康所能做的最愚蠢的事情”。
考虑到他们可能已经过早达到顶峰，所以他们正蓄势待发，因此我们还不知道他们未来可能会提议哪些其他对自己身体有害的蠢事（除了从高崖跳向下方岩石）。汽车安全带，那绝对是他们的胃口。
天哪，你能相信距离我们都拥有那种“自由”——在车祸中连同后座的婴儿一起撞碎前风挡玻璃——已经过去 43 年了吗？一名 Restore 的发言人会说：“这是对我们个人自由的公然冒犯。如果一个人不能选择后座的婴儿是否在冲破风挡玻璃时受伤，我们生活在什么样的世界里？”这样看来，你可以发现他们有道理，而且这绝对会吸引那些怀念“婴儿冲出车窗黄金时代”的人。如今有些人可能在整个生命中从未见过冲出车窗的婴儿。
还有什么可能会被废除？我想，摩托车手的头盔吧，因为没有什么比风吹过头发更畅快了，即使是头部在柏油路上炸裂的声音也不及之。正如一名急诊室医生所说：“在这个急诊室里，我们都非常享受尝试将某人的大脑重新塞回颅骨的过程。”
至于酒后驾驶，你最好记得这对某些人来说反而能让他们成为更好的司机。你想剥夺他们这种权利吗？你太无情了！请问，你想让他们怎么做？弃车不管，明天再来取？那样太麻烦了。
一项“临行再饮一杯”（One For the Road）的倡议不仅能完美契合任何“对自己所能做的最愚蠢的事情”活动，而且还将范围扩大到，比如说，在行人过路处将他人撞倒。如果 Restore 没有在背后筹划这一招，我会非常惊讶，但也许他们会在选举临近时才把它抛出来？
我无法确定他们是否计划将石棉重新引入学校或其他建筑。毕竟，在它持续期间确实很“美味”，就像没有任何一名患有间皮瘤的人曾说过的那样。但提醒一句：不要太冲动。他们可能已经过早达到顶峰了。
(Channel 4) 改为 (Channel 4) 且确保包含 4。
如果我把这一切 描述得过于凄凉 且令人心碎，我 深表歉意，因为 事实绝非如此。 当他们最终学会 信任彼此并 向对方伸出援手时， 那实际上是 一种胜利。而且 你猜怎么着？ 在一切归于平静 之前，没有人 被强行按入水中。 一次都没有。
家庭暴力、 堕胎、性别歧视、 厌女症，这些 全部都被涵盖了， 但方式极其自然。 它永远不会让人觉得 是为了探讨议题而刻意为之。你会支持这些
是否会终结 贾里德·莱托的演艺生涯？
音乐家在一部 BBC 电影中被四名女性指控有性行为不端。Ed Potton 报道 E
tta（并非真名）在结识 贾里德·莱托 (Jared Leto) 时年仅 16 岁。莱托是少数几个能够真正自称为电影明星 兼摇滚明星的人之一，当时他 42 岁。由于即将凭借《达拉斯买家俱乐部》获得奥斯卡奖，且作为唱片销量达 15 million 张的摇滚乐队 30 Seconds to Mars 的主唱而名声大噪，他拥有一种前卫、美男式的吸引力。莱托拿到了 Etta 的电话号码，正如她在一部新的 BBC 纪录片《贾里德·莱托：好莱坞的黑暗秘密》中指称的那样，“很快，电话里的内容就完全变成了性方面的话题”。
Etta 是片中谈论 54. 岁的莱托涉嫌性行为不端的四名女性之一。在这些指称的事件发生时，她们年龄在 14 到 19 岁之间，而他处于三十多岁和四十多岁。莱托昨天通过其代表发布的一份声明中表示：“我一生中从未性侵过任何人。这些指控绝对是彻头彻尾的谎言。”
这部纪录片是对新闻网站 Air Mail 去年一项调查的后续报道，在该调查中，有九名女性指控莱托有性不端行为。莱托否认了这些指控。
Etta 与莱托的接触发生在 2013, 年，那一年我曾代表本报对他进行采访。他全身穿着黑色——衬衫、墨镜、牛仔裤，头发扎成马尾辫，凸显出极其夸张的颧骨——当时的莱托正处于事业巅峰：迷人且自信。他从未结婚，尽管有传闻称他曾与演员卡梅隆·迪亚兹 (Cameron Diaz) 订婚，两人从 1999. 年起约会了四年。我们交谈时他处于单身状态，且不愿谈论过去与迪亚兹以及斯嘉丽·约翰逊 (Scarlett Johansson) 的联系。“必须保持风度，”他说。对于关于他性接触的猜测，他补充道：“很多是被臆测的，完全不属实，而另一些则是人们根本不知道的。”
Taylor 在 14 岁时去观看 30 Seconds to Mars 的演出，她说莱托在未经邀请的情况下，在她的胸部位置签名。当时她和母亲在一起，母亲告诉他 Taylor 还很年轻。据称莱托对她的母亲说：“但这胸部依然很漂亮。”
该州法定同意年龄为 18 岁。另一名女性 Alex 表示，她和莱托被单独留在伦敦的一间酒店房间里，她告诉他，因为她没钱回家，可能得睡在那里。根据 BBC 的报道，作为回应，他据称威胁要性侵她。
莱托经常并不掩饰他对青少年的喜爱。在一段电视剪辑中，他引用了马修·麦康海 (Matthew McConaughey) 在《迷糊青春》(Dazed and Confused) 中饰演的角色的话：“这就是我喜欢高中女孩的地方——我一直在变老，而你们始终如初。”
在 90 年代末进入好莱坞后，莱托以“变色龙”著称，在《梦之安魂曲》(2000) 中为了扮演一名海洛因成瘾者减轻了 13kg 体重，而在《第 27 章》(2007) 中为了扮演约翰·列侬的杀手马克·查普曼增加了 28kg 体重。在《达拉斯买家俱乐部》(2013) 中，他饰演一名病态消瘦、正死于艾滋病的术前跨性别女性，而在那部超级英雄电影中
我确实有过 许多不同的
在《自杀小队》(2016) 中，他饰演了一个 令人不安的小丑。“也许我被诱骗去相信， 挑战越大，回报就越大，”他 告诉我。“但我并不确定 我做事情是为了回报。我 认为我做这些是为了做这件事本身。”
他的演技可能在一些 据称与未成年女孩的 接触中发挥了作用。纪录片中的 三名女性表示，他将她们与 其他男性联系起来，而与这些男性的 对话。有人怀疑 这些男性，包括 “克里斯蒂安”，实际上是 莱托在“扮演” 角色。
然而，他生活中的 音乐方面在这里感觉 更为相关。摇滚乐有年长男性 与未成年女孩发生性关系的传统， 而 30 Seconds to Mars 拥有一个由青少年和年轻 女性组成的核心粉丝群。在演出时拍摄的画面显示， 莱托邀请看起来很年轻的女孩上台， 抚摸她们的脸，并将手臂搭在其中一名女孩的肩膀上， 手在她的胸部上方徘徊。
性充斥着 30 Seconds to Mars 的音乐，该乐队由莱托于 1998 年与他的哥哥香农共同创立。 他们 2010 年的单曲《Hurricane》的 视频因其虐恋内容而被禁，而他们 2013 年的歌曲《Up in the Air》中有一句歌词： “我会用爱、爱、爱，将双手紧紧地地环绕在你的颈间。” 当一名电视主持人询问这句歌词时， 莱托回答道：“除了性，一切都关乎性——而性则关乎权力。”
当我向莱托暗示他 “很古怪”时，他笑了并说： “我是个成年男人。我确实有过 许多不同的经历。”
莱托的童年贫困、艰苦且动荡。他出生于路易斯安那州，由一名单身母亲抚养长大，她 “一只手牵着我哥哥和我，另一只手拿着食品券，从密西西比河泥泞的河岸爬了出来”。他的父亲在莱托八岁时自杀。年轻时，他在成为艺术家和成为毒贩之间徘徊。在纪录片的一段剪辑中，他说：“自从我小时候卖大麻起，我就一直具有创业精神。”
顶部：去年在巴黎时装周的贾里德·莱托。 上方：在《我的所谓生活》(1994) 中与克莱尔·丹妮丝合影。左侧：在 2023 年的 Met Gala 上。
他最终就读于费城艺术大学学习绘画，但很快便投入了演艺事业：他转学到纽约的视觉艺术学院，并在 1994 年通过在电视剧《我的所谓生活》中与克莱尔·丹妮丝合作，饰演一名蓝眼睛的反叛帅哥而获得突破。几年之内，他在《搏击俱乐部》(1999) 中饰演布拉德·皮特身边的打手之一，并在《恐慌室》(2002) 中饰演一名入室抢劫者。
从那以后，莱托几乎没有停歇。 直到 2025 年他还在与他的乐队巡演， 今年人们在《宇宙之主》中看到他饰演 希曼的宿敌骷髅王，并且 他与即将上映的安迪·沃霍尔 和卡尔·拉格斐电影联系在一起。然而，这些新的指控 确实感觉像是职业生涯的终结。
— 我感到很不舒服
回忆起 2007 年一次与 Leto 及其 崇拜粉丝的 演出后台邂逅
那是 2007 年 4 月，我 30 岁，受《泰晤士报》派遣，去与 Jared Leto 共度一天。并非因为他的演技（他的演技很不错），而是因为他的摇滚乐队“30 Seconds to Mars”，他们的演出糟糕透顶。谢天谢地，我不需要写评论，所以不需要把这部分大声说出来。这是一篇特写，意味着我要采访他，询问为什么他在可以坚守好莱坞的情况下，如此热衷于制作那些邋遢的情绪摇滚（emo rock）——毕竟他在邪典青少年剧集《我的如此生活》（My So-Called Life）中饰演 Jordan Catalano 从而大红大紫，随后在电影《梦之安魂曲》（Requiem for a Dream）中又担纲了一个令人迷醉的主角。
我将看着 Jared Leto 与他的乐队成员在 Astoria 演练，那是伦敦的一家音乐场馆，现已关闭。当他在化妆间闲逛、准备演出、正式表演、与粉丝见面会、以及赛后喝酒（尽管他不喝酒）时，我会在笔记本上记录观察结果。我会捕捉色彩，捕捉氛围。我会描述粉丝们对他痴迷的样子。
最后，我将带着一朵 Leto 塞在我手中的红玫瑰回家。当时我和他单独待在一个后台房间里，我记得那个房间只有壁橱那么大。我们必须去那里，这样我的录音笔才能更好地捕捉他的话语。远离所有噪音和其他所有人。至少我认为当时给出的理由是这个。是他给出的？还是我给出的？
我将在 2007, 5 月的《泰晤士报》艺术版发表这篇特写。Leto 的代表会联系我，要求寄一份纸质副本给他，因为他非常喜欢这篇文章。这篇文章极其接近地揭示了 Leto 与其年轻粉丝之间的关系，但最终却差了一截。而现在，我只想说声对不起。在我的工作中接触过这么多这样的男人。我的经历与粉丝不同，因为他们是在为了自己的宣传需求而利用我。
我在文章中试图理解 Leto 与其粉丝之间的动态关系。这就是为什么我现在很少采访名人的原因。
本周，Leto 在一部 BBC 纪录片中被四名女性指控有性行为不端。“我一生中从未对任何人进行过性侵犯，”他在其代表提供的一份声明中表示，“这些指控绝对且完全是虚假的。”
一支红玫瑰 那是莱托 交到我手中的
某种质量，也就是我们过去所称的 X 因素，比我见过的任何名人都要强。他散发出的频率比房间里的任何人都高。嗡嗡作响。闪闪发光。充满魅力。
这绝对是一种可以通过努力而培养和发展的特质，尽管他那双大而宽的眼睛里深邃的浅蓝色似乎是天生的。
当我看到他与粉丝互动、掌控全场时，感觉他拥有一种强度。当他的目光锁定你时，某种化学反应就发生了。我看到一名粉丝——她不知怎么地获得了一次私人见面机会，尽管我也在房间里——递给他一支她带来的红玫瑰。我看着他注视着她的眼睛，以一种最真诚、最由衷且令人动容的交流方式向她致谢。他拥抱她了吗？大概吧。
这场玫瑰仪式似乎是一个浪漫而激烈的瞬间，将陪伴她度过余生——然而，就在他的安保人员将她带出房间的那一纳秒，他转过身对着我灿烂一笑，把这件最珍贵的礼物递给我，并用一种极其美式的俗套方式说道：“把礼物转赠！”当然，他并不想要那朵愚蠢的玫瑰。这全都是名气的一部分表演，是粉丝与名人之间扭曲关系的体现。我把她的玫瑰带回家了。
然后我们来到了橱柜。周围还有其他人，环境有些嘈杂，我的录音笔无法清晰捕捉他对我问题的回答，于是我们从后台房间进入了一个更小的房间，我猜测那应该是某种只能容纳两个人的衣橱？我们距离极近，我开始向莱托抛出问题，他回答道，然后我又问了另一个
JEFF KRAVITZ/FILMMAGIC
他说，“Easy!”（冷静点！），同时盯着我的胸口。我很困惑。我想在我试图继续询问时，他又重复了一遍。也许他说的是，“Easy, tiger!”（冷静点，小老虎！），而我以为这是在回答我的问题。
我无法弄明白他为什么对着我的衬衫做手势，而他那样盯着我的胸口看，让我感到明显的不适，但我低头一看，发现我衬衫顶部的三颗纽扣开了。什么……？我至今不明白是怎么回事。
我在那篇文章中写了一个特别的段落——呃。就在这里。
“酷”是一个有趣的点，因为贾里德·莱托（Jared Leto）的音乐项目的奇怪之处在于，它可能不像贾里德·莱托本人那么酷。现在的音乐风格与 My Chemical Romance 等情绪摇滚（emo）乐队产生了同类共鸣，但正如贾里德所指出的，30 Seconds to Mars 乐队已经存在了更久，且一直被视为“异类”。他们的粉丝并不特别光鲜；他们似乎在彼此之间，在很大程度上通过互联网建立的友谊中找到了在其他地方无法找到的慰藉。一个能与斯嘉丽·约翰逊约会的男人，为什么会如此渴望与这些人建立联系？
上图：2013 年的 贾里德·莱托与 粉丝合影。 下图： 索菲·希伍德 (Sophie Heawood)
也许是因为他们不是斯嘉丽·约翰逊。他们更像是在
我的一位朋友最近在帮她的女儿准备进入
中学，这意味着需要乘坐伦敦的地上铁（Overground）通勤。她
非常想警告女儿，要小心那些会对穿着
校服单独出现在公共交通工具上的女孩
感兴趣的猥琐男人。 “关于猥琐男人，我懂，我真的懂，妈，”
她的女儿说，“但
他们不会对一个
12 岁的小女孩感兴趣的！”
这让我的朋友心碎
Y
男性中年 趋势？不， 不是危机 ——而是一次焕发光彩的蜕变
本周在洛杉矶举行的《泰德·拉索》(Ted Lasso) 第四季首映式上，该剧主演汉娜·瓦丁汉姆带她的新男伴作为随行嘉宾出席。棱角分明的下颌线，完美的发际线，优雅的西装，以及名人标配的时刻不离身的太阳镜——到目前为止，这看起来像个典型的好莱坞演员。然而，瓦丁汉姆的新伴侣并非演员，而是一位年近四十、通常疲惫不堪、以工作过度且薪资低廉著称的 NHS 医生。
这种情况部分像童话，部分像由于晚餐后吃了太多布里奶酪而引发的压力之梦。你是一名脊椎外科医生，这听起来很光鲜，但现实中你的衣橱里只有一堆蓝色和白色调的免烫衬衫，而最光鲜的部分不过是午餐时的一只 Pret 金枪鱼法棍；突然之间，你挽着一位绝美明星的胳膊，被 catapulted 到了好莱坞的红毯上。虽然你不太可能找到自己的“迷人公主”把你带到梦幻之都 (La-La Land)，但这种风格的转变是在家中也可以尝试的。尤其是当你意识到 46 岁的尼克·贝雷斯福德-克莱里 (Nick Beresford-Cleary) 并非通过挥霍无度，而是穿着一件 £90 的 H&M 西装外套、一双 £149 的 Loake 鞋和一副 £166 的 Armani 太阳镜，就让 52 岁的瓦丁汉姆感到自豪时。
这并非一夜之间改变：贝雷斯福德-克莱里的中年“形象升级”是分阶段完成的。首先是三月份在切尔滕纳姆赛马会上，在威尔士亲王格纹外套下穿了一件黑色高领衫：他看起来很时髦，但可能更像个邦德反派或科技公司 CEO，而不是邦德。到了六月份在《Variety》权力女性奖项上的红毯首秀，他已经通过燕尾服和领结掌握了全套华丽造型。但他最近的一次亮相感觉没那么刻意，更加自然，仿佛他已经找到了在名人圈中的平衡感。
我们并不总是能看到不稳定的“之前”状态，但看看韦恩·鲁尼 (Wayne Rooney) 最近作为评论员的亮相：是的，他确实做了植发，但真正起作用的是一件合身西装外套下纯净的白色 T 恤。既然你已经知道了仅通过几处衣橱微调就能实现的可能性，那么在中年时期，你如何才能最大限度地发挥自己的风格潜力？
从基础开始。“每个男人都需要一件牛津衬衫。这是男人能拥有的一件最万能、最符合年龄的衣服，”《Esquire》风格总监扎克·马欧伊 (Zak Maoui) 说道。“度假时你可以解开扣子，搭配短裤和甲板鞋；在办公室里则可以扣好扣子，系上领带。它显得得体、精干，而且总是让你看起来比旁边穿 T 恤的人更有格调。”
避免使用为了省时的免烫混纺面料：纯棉或亚麻的穿着效果始终更好，值得花时间熨烫。至于衬衫如何搭配，请避免冲动购买刚好能穿下的最小尺寸。年轻一代穿衣更趋向于宽松。尺寸过小会显老。过短的裤子和系得太紧的裤腰——总之是系腰带的牛仔裤，尤其是搭配编织皮带时——也会显老。
选择纯色袜子和中性色领带——或者干脆不系领带。贝雷斯福德-克莱里在本周的红毯上选择了敞开领口，这感觉更酷、更现代，更有丹尼尔·克雷格 (Daniel Craig) 的风范。如果不确定，就穿一套没有多余点缀的西装，营造一种高级但不繁琐的视觉效果。
“虽然没有一套西装能适合所有人——每个人的体型都不同——但一件单排扣、缺口领西装外套配同色系西裤，是任何男人的衣橱中都应该准备的，”马欧伊说。他同时建议不要穿带 Logo 的设计师运动鞋，而推荐牛津乐福鞋。
总的来说，中性色最容易进行混搭：一套深蓝色西装可以创造出无数套造型，但你见过乔治·克鲁尼 (George Clooney) 穿亮红色的裤子吗？同色系穿搭——不一定是从头到脚同一个色调，但不能颜色冲突——会在视觉上拉长身材，并立即显得干练。对待印花要谨慎：你可能会看起来像《马格努姆侦探》(Magnum PI) 里的角色，但然后汤姆
Nick Beresford-Cleary 和 Hannah Waddingham。下方： 2024 年的 韦恩·鲁尼 (Wayne Rooney) 以及上个月他与妻子 科琳 (Coleen) 的合影
Selleck 几乎能让任何搭配都行得通；但同样地，你看起来可能像个退休的 IT 顾问（而且即使你真的是一个，这也不应该是目标）。
在配饰方面，少即是多：你的手表不需要很昂贵，而且没有钻石或闪亮饰品绝对看起来会更酷。在太阳镜上多花点钱，或者至少避免那些明显为单板滑雪设计的款式。
背心 (Gilets) 并非中年生活的必备品：试着换成牛仔或灯芯绒衬衫外套。皮夹克是中年危机的必备品，所以请尝试麂皮材质。即使红毯永远不会在你面前铺开，至少你已为此做好准备。
Alice Hart-Davis
当你看到的时候，你就能意识到。前一分钟，一个男人看起来还很普通，带着些许操劳之色；而当你几个月后再见到他时，他的面孔正散发着活力，皮肤光滑得足以在红毯特写镜头下出彩。
这可能是任何一个男人。比如，一名足球运动员，或者一名金融城的交易员。欢迎来到中年男性“颜值升级”（glow-up）的世界，这是一种微妙的“外貌最大化”（looksmaxxing）形式，目前正在微整形圈中引起热议。
他们是不是做了 “brotox”？他们是在服用新型 GLP-1 药片吗？《泰晤士报》昨日报道称，药店发现 Wegovy 推出的新型减肥药在年长男性中的受欢迎程度高于每周一次的注射，因为药片更加隐秘且服用更方便。因此，虽然我们并非在暗示汉娜·瓦丁汉姆（Hannah Waddingham）的男友做了任何微整形，但以下是一些中年男性正在使用的秘诀详情。
过去通常是女性拉着伴侣一起来，但 Soni 表示，现在有更多男性在通过自己的方式寻找这类服务。“有些人觉得他们需要提升自己的形象，因为他们的伴侣对自己照顾得非常好——这导致两者的面容出现了差异，”他说道。
任何形象提升（glow-up）都始于除皱。“微整形（tweakments）的入门通常是少量的‘婴儿肉毒杆菌’（baby Botox），”Soni 说。“当眉头纹和鱼尾纹开始显得深刻时，男性会非常在意。黑眼圈或眼下浮肿也是一个很大的困扰。”
针对这一点，他会使用多核苷酸（polynucleotide）注射来紧致和改善皮肤状态。（多核苷酸更广为人知的称呼是‘三文鱼精液’——实际上它是源自三文鱼/鳟鱼生殖腺的 DNA，而非三文鱼精液，但无论如何。）
在他的诊所里，真正受到男性追捧的疗程是 Sculptra——注射一种名为聚 L-乳酸的物质，它能刺激皮肤产生胶原蛋白，使皮肤在接下来的六个月里变得更紧致、更光滑、更厚且不易下垂。而且这种效果很微妙——需要六到八个月才能看到完整结果，因此不会出现任何令人立刻察觉出端倪的突然变化。对于使用 GLP-1 类减肥药的男性来说，Sculptra 是一个绝佳选择——减肥往往伴随着面部容量和弹性的流失，而这并不是人们想要的结果。
在爱丁堡，Stockbridge 诊所的临床主任 Ben Taylor-Davies 医生也发现，前来就诊的男性在增加。“我们为男性提供大量的血管激光治疗［用于减轻面部泛红］和激光去除毛细血管扩张，帮助他们的皮肤达到最佳状态，”他说道。面色红润的中年男性请留意。
在伦敦市中心 David Jack 医生的诊所里，约 40 per cent 的患者是男性，其中许多人处于四十岁或五十岁阶段，从事金融、法律、咨询和科技行业。“他们希望看起来状态良好且精神饱满，”他表示。“谨慎和低可见度至关重要。除非是用填充物微调下颌线，否则他们不希望看起来与以往不同。”
这意味着要消除因长时间工作和频繁出差带来的疲劳迹象，具体手段包括从 Morpheus8（射频微针，用于紧致、平滑和收紧皮肤）和 IPL（强脉冲光，用于清除陈旧日晒损伤产生的褐斑），到多核苷酸和补水疗程 Profhilo（两者均可改善皮肤质量）。甚至可能在下颌肌肉中注射肉毒杆菌以减轻磨牙。中年男性真的愿意接受这一切吗？
“生物黑客（biohacking）和预防医学的兴趣呈现爆发式增长，”Jack 说。“他们在社交媒体上看到科技创业者 Bryan Johnson 在执行所有生物黑客方案的同时使用护肤设备，这有助于让男性接受美容治疗的观念正常化。”
我采访的所有从业者都说，他们的患者在护肤方面做得很好。“他们需要的是温和的洁面乳、抗氧化精华以及 SPF 50+ 的保湿霜，”Jack 说道，他拥有自己的护肤系列产品，涵盖了所有这些功能。
这是否意味着男性接受治疗的耻辱感正在消失？“在一定程度上是的，”Soni 说。“但男性会大肆宣扬吗？还没有！” Alice Hart-Davis 是 thetweakmentsguide.com 的创始人。
也可以成为 健康饮食的一部分， 一项新研究发现。 方法如下。 作者：Peta Bee
避开超加工食品（即 UPFs）已成为任何 想要健康饮食者的 目标。但是，虽然 天然完整食品 始终比那些充斥着 糖、盐和精制碳水化合物的食品 是更好的选择， 但也有很多未经加工的食品 并非最佳选择。 来自哈佛大学的 科学家们现在证实， 比食品如何制造 更重要的是 你饮食的整体质量。
Xiaowen Wang 博士的 研究表明，如果你的 饮食富含 营养，即使食用 大量的 UPFs， 仍然可以降低 心脏病和 2 型 糖尿病的风险；而 以未经加工食品为主的饮食 可能含有让你 易患这些疾病的 糖、脂肪和盐。
“围绕超加工 食品的讨论已变得 越来越令人困惑，因为人们 经常被引导认为所有超 加工食品都是有害的，而所有 未经加工的食品则自动 是健康的，”营养学家、《非加工餐盘》（The Unprocessed Plate）作者 Rhiannon Lambert 表示。但真正 关键的是在饮食中获得良好的平衡。正如营养学家、《非加工你的生活》（Unprocess Your Life）作者 Rob Hobson 所说，“某些 UPFs 可以与全谷物、水果和蔬菜共同存在。”
以下是你需要了解的内容。 最值得食用的加工食品 焗豆：Heinz 无添加糖款 富含纤维和植物蛋白。 根据食品基金会（Food Foundation）的数据，英国儿童总豆类摄入量的 1 半以及成年人的 3 分之一以上来自焗豆。
切片面包：Jason’s Protein Sourdough Sunflower Seeded Loaf（蛋白质酸种葵花籽面包） 并非所有工厂生产的面包 都是糟糕的选择。寻找 成分极简的 面包，最好是使用全麦 或黑麦面粉，并含有 一些种子或谷物以 增加纤维。检查 标签中是否含有单-和 二甘油酯（E471） 以及添加糖。
鱼手指：Birds Eye Omega 3 使用 100 per cent 英国鱼类 的品牌可以作为健康饮食的一部分， 提供一些健康的 omega-3 脂肪、 硒、碘和蛋白质。 “波拉斯鱼（Pollock）是一个极佳的 选择，因为它提供的 omega-3 脂肪酸比 鳕鱼略多，”Lambert 表示。 避免含有 色素和添加剂的产品。
橄榄油沙拉酱：Newman’s Own 意大利风味 这项最新研究的作者 认为，含有大量富含抗氧化剂且 有益心脏健康的橄榄油的沙拉酱 可能不应在我们的禁用名单上。
强化大豆奶：Alpro 无糖大豆奶 在所有植物基牛奶中，无糖 大豆奶的蛋白质含量最高。 此类强化产品添加了维生素，但 “在使用植物基牛奶 纸盒之前，务必 摇匀，因为 强化沉淀物 往往会掉到 底部”，饮食专家 Linia 博士表示。
Weetabix 由压缩全麦 制成，每 100g 含有 相当可观的 10g 纤维， 无添加剂，且 几乎不含糖或盐。“它 还强化了 B 族维生素， 这意味着几乎没有理由避开它，”Hobson 表示。
麸皮片 (Bran flakes) 我们每天需要 30g 纤维，但大多数 人的摄入量远低于此。“这是另一种可以增加我们摄入量的 UPF 谷物，每 100g 提供 17g 纤维，”Hobson 表示。它强化了 B 族维生素、铁和维生素 D，且成分表极其简短。
意面酱：Loyd Grossman 无添加糖番茄罗勒风味 虽然新鲜番茄基底的意面 酱是更好的选择，但罐装酱 可以是健康的临时替代品，特别是 如果它们不含添加糖。“寻找 番茄和香草含量高的产品， 并加入你自己的辣椒 和香料来增强风味，” Hobson 表示。
鹰嘴豆泥：Waitrose No 1 特级初榨橄榄油款 “这个版本在标签上写有浓缩果汁，这使其属于 UPF 类别，但仍然值得购买，因为除此之外它的成分极少，”
番茄酱：Biona 无添加糖
“烹饪番茄会显著 提高有益的 抗氧化化合物水平，例如
红肉
政府指南建议每天摄入量不超过 70g。根据国际癌症研究机构的说法，红肉中含有的血红素高摄入量是肠癌的“可能”原因。
椰子油 英国心脏基金会表示，其饱和脂肪含量比黄油高出三分之一，而一项研究发现，定期“食用椰子油导致 LDL 胆固醇显著高于”其他植物油。
枫糖浆 霍布森表示：“它是糖的浓缩形式，不应过量食用。”廉价版本通常混合了添加糖。
自制奶油维多利亚海绵蛋糕 玛丽女王大学的研究发现，97 ％的商店购买的蛋糕在糖分项下被标记为“红色”标签。自制蛋糕通常也好不到哪里去。
白米饭 霍布森表示：“由于白米饭去除了纤维，进食后血糖升高会更为显著。”
苹果和芒果汁 并非所有果汁都不好，但兰伯特说，“喝果汁时很容易一次性摄入大量糖分”。100g 的 Waitrose 压榨苹果芒果汁中含有 12g 糖，比普通可乐还多。
燕麦片：Eat Natural 无麸质荞麦烘烤燕麦片
Which? 最近的一项调查发现，昂贵的燕麦片往往不如经过更多加工的廉价品牌健康。这款产品每 100g 含有 15. 糖，且含有来自椰子的较高饱和脂肪。
洛克福干酪 (Roquefort cheese)
奶酪是饮食中盐分的主要来源之一，而盐分与血压升高有关。最严重的产品之一是蓝纹奶酪，而洛克福干酪含盐量最高，其含盐量甚至超过了海水。
马尔顿餐桌盐 (Malden table salt) 没有证据表明昂贵的岩盐、海盐或粉色喜马拉雅盐比廉价的餐桌盐对人体更有益。从化学成分来看，所有盐类都相似，每种含氯化钠高达 98 ％。
水煮白土豆 土豆是饮食中维生素 C、维生素 B6、叶酸和铁的重要来源，但作为一种淀粉类食物，它们不计入我们的“每日五份”果蔬摄入量中。它们还会在进食后引起血糖飙升。
曾经，在一张给丈夫罗斯 (Ross) 的周年纪念卡片上，我简单地写道：“我不知道你怎么能忍受我。” 确实，我不是一个完美的妻子。我知道，尽管这听起来令人难以置信，但我确实是个挺讨人厌的妻子。我列了一份我反复询问他的问题清单，或许能让你洞察他在这 26 年的婚姻生活中一直在忍受什么，并让你产生和我写在卡片上完全一样的一想法。
‘我们现在能回家吗？’ 问题在于，我真的很喜欢在出门时喝酒，但不需要喝太多，我就很快会感到非常疲倦。第三杯酒的第一口就是转折点，让我从那个所谓的舞会领舞瞬间变成瘫在衣服堆里侧卧的人。我想晕过去睡觉，即便是在奢华的名人派对上。罗斯则可以维持像玛格丽特·撒切尔那样的高强度睡眠模式，即便在狂饮数升的长相思白葡萄酒时也是如此。当我在晚上 10.30 挣扎着睁开眼，低声询问：“我们是不是该快点打辆 Uber 了？”他会露出痛苦的表情看着我，说：“我们才刚到这儿！”到了晚年，我们不再为此争吵，每个人在想离开派对时就单独离开。
‘你为什么爱我？’ 有时我内心渴求关注的一面会冲破我的自尊，寻求某种认可。我毕竟也是凡人。但在偶尔问起“你到底为什么爱我？”时，我通常得到的回答是：“因为你很有趣。” 他的意思是我的幽默是不经之意地产生的——就像有一次，我在康沃尔郡的岸边还没划一次桨，就在整个海滩的人注视下翻了皮划艇。
‘我怎么才能成为更好的妻子？’ 我可以理解为什么这个问题会对丈夫们触发警报，因为这感觉像是一个由心理治疗驱动的陷阱。没有哪个男人会信任一个邀请对方提供毫无保留“反馈”的公开机会。但我当时刚参加完一次在 Condé Nast 极其折磨人的管理会议，他们花高价请了一位教练“大师”跟我们谈话，而他的想法是：回家让你的配偶告诉你如何成为更好的伴侣。我已经很多年（或者说从来没）考虑过请求像绩效考核那样的评价，所以也许是时候了。虽然他在晚上 8.17 被这个像地雷一样的问题击中时显得明显烦躁，但我其实认为这是一个善良且相当勇敢的问题。谁知道我会让自己暴露在什么样的不受欢迎的批评之下？我已经准备好听到类似“你可以更主动一点（在性方面）”之类的话，坦白说这很公平。但我得到的是：
“你可以别把用过的茶包留在水槽里。”
‘晚餐我该给狗吃什么？’ 在喂我们那只年迈的小狗贝拉 (Bella) 吃她讨厌的兽医开处方粮时，他更有耐心也更擅长。当我问这个问题时，实际上是我在请求允许给她吃她真正喜欢的零食，而不是花一小时试图让她吃她讨厌的东西。显然，我只想让她最喜欢我。
‘我们晚餐吃什么？’ 说实话，我不理解那些不对下一顿吃什么感到兴奋的人。我上床睡觉时都在期待早餐。到上午 11 点，我就在计划午餐了。罗斯怎么能在早上 10 点还没有开始期待晚餐吃什么？
‘我的钥匙在哪儿？’ 这不是我的错，它们经常自行传送至纯粹的神秘门户之中。
‘为什么你在我的梦里出轨了？’ 天哪，这是一个重复出现的梦，不仅他在背叛我，而且他还对此如此冷漠。他会说“我当然出轨了，你太无趣了”之类刻薄的话。上一次是在几周前，在我想起这件事之前他就已经出门了，然后给我发短信：“我的意思是……我怎么会想起‘梅多 (Meadow)’这个名字？”
‘你能帮我打印这个吗？’ 我不再在办公室工作了（他还在），我有很多自由职业和与 Vinted 相关的行政琐事。
‘你觉得床底下的声音是老鼠吗？’ 我在床底下放了一些真空密封袋，有一天晚上，那里确实传来了它们被
被……某种东西压住了。 几天后，我床头灯的电线开始剧烈地自行晃动。我们从未发现过床下有什么东西的证据。没有粪便，什么都没有。但我听到了声音，也看到了电线在动。所以，“幽灵鼠”是唯一的解释，可他还是在拿我开涮。
“洗碗机在发出奇怪的声音，我该怎么办？” 这就是我现在更多地居家办公后的相处模式。居家办公的缺点是：有大量时间去注意到奇怪的声音。但优点是，这确实给了我很多在电话和邮件中与罗斯交流的新话题。很多。 而且这 9
Ben Machell
“我穿这个屁股显大吗？” 我天生拥有一个强有力的“车尾”，这让我在跑上坡时很轻松，但要找到不让我看起来像卡戴珊家族成员的裤子却是个挑战。在试穿新衣服寻求妻子的安慰时，我不觉得自己太没面子，但我渐渐意识到，她讨厌我这么做是因为她非常诚实，而且每次都别无选择，只能说：“是的，在太空都能看到。”
Jo Elvin 和她的 丈夫 Ross
“那个 [我绝对应该认识的人] 是谁？” 我不擅长记名字。公平地说，脸也记不住。我的妻子恰恰相反。她就像是《猜猜谁》（Guess Who?）游戏中的加里·卡斯帕罗夫，多年来，我变得有点过于依赖她了。对话中会出现某个人的名字，我会打断地问她在说谁，结果被告知那是我的至亲。一个奇怪的孩子走进厨房，从冰箱里拿了些食物
然后走掉，我的妻子会抓住我的胳膊低声说：“是我们女儿最好的朋友，”而此时我正准备像打橄榄球一样将对方扑倒。
“在你点薯条之前，你是否愿意签署这份宣誓书，确认你绝对‘不饿’且‘不想吃任何东西’？” 她讨厌我像律师一样说话。但她让我别无选择。
“你觉得我们的儿子会喜欢 [在此插入一部暴力但客观上很有趣的电影] 吗？” 他 11 岁了，我认为这是一个学习关于《异形》、《铁血战士》、《终结者》、《机械战警》、角斗士等的良好年龄。而她则对英国电影分级委员会（BBFC）表现出极大的尊重——这种尊重近乎恐惧，仿佛他们在家中安插了卧底线人——因此在允许他观看 15 级电影时要谨慎得多。所以，通过将问题设定为“我们的儿子会喜欢这个吗？”，我是在强迫她承认，如果禁止观看，她将是在主动剥夺他的快乐。这对我来说很狡猾。但我自己也想看。
“你能登录我们的网上银行吗？” 这让她很恼火，但就像经营间谍环一样，我真心认为知道关键细节的人越少，大家就越安全。
所有那些其实只是在表达烦躁的被动攻击性问题。 你穿我的 T 恤了？你穿我的内裤了？水槽里的是你的茶包吗？你知道薯片袋不能放进回收箱吗，这就是为什么垃圾工给我们贴了张“耻辱标签”并且没把垃圾倒掉？你能不能把车停在前轮没有死死顶住路缘石的地方，以免看起来像快要爆炸一样？诸如此类。
“你今天在 Picle 考了多少分？” 为了给我们的关系保持新鲜感，我们喜欢进行一些刺激的角色扮演：扮演一对彻头彻尾的失败者，陷入一场长期且异常激烈的竞争，看谁在各种在线测验、文字谜题、纵横作等中表现最好。我们目前的痴迷对象是《泰晤士报》的 Picle，显然，只有在我已经自得地拿到高分时，我才会问她考了多少。
“周六我可以去踢球吗，求求了？” 她讨厌这个。尤其是当我用婴儿般的声音说话，并像害羞且有点害怕请求一样盯着地板看的时候。因为她知道，我并不是在请求允许去踢球，而是在请求她免除我因为周六缺席半天而产生的愧疚感。如果我必须暗示，她若拒绝我就成了电影《米泽里》里的凯西·贝茨，那就这样吧。
“你进球了吗？” 在她打完篮网球后，我总是这么问。我心知肚明，作为中锋，规则禁止她进球。我知道这一点是因为她已经跟我解释过一百万次了。但我还是每次都问。因为我就是个孩子。
特勒马科斯 (Telemachus) 一样，我 渴望一位父亲 ——但并非我的亲生父亲。 作者：Zak Asgard C
克里斯托弗·诺兰对《奥德赛》的 重新演绎于本月发行。大多数 评论都表达了相同的观点：“诺兰 再次创造了奇迹！五星好评！”这位导演 始终忠实于原著中关于“回家”的主题， 即古希腊人所说的 nostos。 但还有一个同样重要的 子主题：缺失的父亲。
《奥德赛》是所有关于“父亲缺失”故事的始祖。前四卷被称为“特勒马科斯篇”， 讲述的并非我们英雄的归家之旅， 而是关于他的儿子特勒马科斯， 以及父亲的缺失给他带来的痛苦。这部作品虽然已有 2,700 年的历史，但在某种意义上， 我们这些没有父亲的人都经历了属于自己的“特勒马科斯篇”。 在英国，大约有 1.25 million 名男孩 在没有父亲陪伴的情况下长大。我就是其中之一。
我认识我的父亲，但他对我而言是缺失的。 而且他很难相处。周日的探访日总是大同小异。 他会在 11.30am 到达，并用口哨宣布他的到来。然后 我们会爬进他的车里，在南环路 (South Circular) 上疾驰， 在离他家不远的特易购 (Tesco) 停下来买一包 Chesterfield Blue Superking 卷烟。
回到他家后，我会坐在电视机前的一个枕头上，看一部 盗版 DVD。通常是《黑衣人》或《黑衣人 2》——有时两部一起看。我们不说话。他滔滔不绝，但 几乎没有沟通。他 会站在房间角落里 抽成千上万根烟。 偶尔他会问一个尖锐的问题，但也就那样了。在 天气较暖的日子里，我们会沿着商业街散步。他会指着 橱窗里的电子产品问：“你想要那个吗？”我会点头。“太好了，” 他说，“让你妈给你买。”这就是我们的日常。
我的父亲并不真正了解我。他 肯定不理解我。我不确定他是否想去了解。他不知道 我朋友、老师或女朋友的名字。他从未参加过学校 戏剧演出、体育比赛或生日派对。 他不在场。至少在有意义的层面不在场。在关键时刻不在场。
从小我就明白， 建立更亲近的关系会对我的身心健康产生不利影响。有时，就像特勒马科斯一样，我 渴望一位父亲，但我从未 渴望过我的亲生父亲。我是在寻找一个关于“父亲”的定义，寻找一个榜样， 寻找一个我想成为的男人。对于许多年轻人来说，那个榜样同样不是他们的父亲。
诺兰的《奥德赛》在网上引发了关于 缺失父亲影响的更广泛讨论。上周，教育慈善机构 Generating Genius 的创始人桑德斯特德的塞维尔勋爵 (Lord Sewell of Sanderstead) 在特勒马科斯与当今失去父亲的年轻人之间 做了一个令人信服的对比。“就像特勒马科斯一样，他们在一种文化环境下成年，在这种文化中，通往负责任成年男性的旧路径已经磨损，而没有可靠的新路径被建立起来取代，”他写道。
塞维尔是对的。大量 年轻男性缺乏关于“负责任的成年男性”的蓝图，这在很大程度上 是因为他们通过手机从“男性圈 (manosphere)”接收到的海量在线垃圾信息。
这并不意味着他们所有人 都经历了艰难的童年——远非如此。当然，有些人
1.25 million 名男孩 没有父亲
这里涉及更广泛的环境因素： 机会匮乏、住房不稳定、被学校开除以及贫困。 西威尔 (Sewell) 正确地承认了英国 2.5 million 名单身母亲的不懈努力，她们在往往得不到帮助的情况下，同时承担起双亲的角色。但这确实提出了一个问题：有多少年轻人需要男性引导？
去年，社会正义中心 (CSJ) 发布了名为《迷失的男孩》(Lost Boys) 的报告，这是一份严峻但必要的报告，详细阐述了当今年轻人面临的系统性危机。其中很大一部分讨论了家庭和父亲。CSJ 发现，父亲的缺席会对孩子的心理健康产生深远的负面影响。它还发现，现在的男孩拥有智能手机的可能性高于与父亲共同生活的可能性——这是一个对我们时代而言令人心碎的统计数据。而且，令人沮丧的是，青少年犯罪与父亲缺席之间存在明显的关联：76 per cent 的在押儿童报告其父亲缺席（33 per cent 报告其母亲缺席）。
Tom Holland 在《奥德赛》中 以及 Zak Asgard
我很幸运地在积极的男性榜样陪伴下成长。我还有我的母亲，她给我的父亲形象比我亲生父亲所给予的要多。然后是我的朋友们。我在成长过程中最亲密的伙伴中，至少有三个人没有父亲，尽管原因各异。在不透露个人生活的情况下，我们彼此吸引。
其他男孩在学校假期回来时会讲述关于他们父亲的故事：钓鱼之旅、足球赛、滑雪导致骨折、去日本或纽约度假。情感纽带的时间。父子共处的时间。我没有这些故事，我的朋友们也没有。但其中有一种慰藉。我们并不孤单——我们拥有彼此。
我从朋友身上学到了很多关于如何成为男人的经验。以一种奇怪的方式，我们某种程度上在扮演彼此的父亲，尽管有些笨拙。但爱在那里。
西威尔认为男孩们能从“近距离观察男子气概的体现”中获益，这是正确的。只不过，男子气概不需要仅仅来自父亲。有时它无法来自父亲。尽管这很痛苦，但我们对此无能为力。
我之前说过，每个失去父亲的年轻人都能在特勒马库斯 (Telemachus) 的故事中看到自己的影子。这并不完全准确。《奥德赛》是一个神话。现在它成了一部好莱坞大片。在片尾字幕滚动之前，奥德修斯回到了儿子特勒马库斯身边。那是情感的宣泄。一个好莱坞式结局。生活很少给我们这样的结局，而且我们大多数人没有 20 年的闲暇时间在原地等待我们的父亲——比如马特·达蒙 (Matt Damon)——出现。
我 22 岁时父亲去世了。在接下来的几周里，我觉得自己被留下了一袋碎片来代替记忆，并且被告知：“给你。关于你父亲的所有想知道的都在里面了。能否将其重新拼接起来就看你了。祝你好运。”
我们这些父亲缺席的人无法依靠快乐的回忆。相反，我们必须创造新的男性榜样。我们必须寻找那些能够引导我们步入成年期的导师。有一天，如果一切按计划进行，我们将有幸引导更年轻一代的男性，无论我们是否是他们的生物学父亲。
10 Thursday July 30 2026 | the times times2 您的工作日大脑强化训练
益智游戏，让您的大脑进行深度锻炼 武士级（中等）
SAMURAI (武士数独)
填充每个方格，使每列、每行和每个 3x3 的宫格都包含数字 1 到 9。 在谜题重叠的部分，行和列不超出其常规长度。
SAKURO
在空格中填入数字 1 到 9，使得 每个圆圈中的数字等于 其周围四个空格的数字之和， 且每种颜色的总和正确。
Sudoku (迷你数独)
SUDOKU
MINI SUDOKU
填充方格，使每列、 每行和每个 3x2 的宫格都包含 数字 1 到 6。
周一至周日每天在 thetimes.com 网站及 Live App 上玩迷你数独。
CODEWORD
右侧填字游戏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。利用已提供的字母来推断其他字母的身份。将字母填入主网格和较小的参考网格中，直到字母表中的所有 26 个字母都被确定。专有名词除外。
KILLER
填充网格，使每一列、每一行以及每个 3x3 宫格都包含数字 1 到 9。由虚线连接的每组单元格之和必须等于其左上角的目标数字。在每组由虚线连接的单元格内，数字不能重复。
TRAIN TRACKS
铺设轨道，使火车能够从 A 村 traveling 到 B 村。数字表示每行和每列中有多少段轨道。只有直线段和曲线段。轨道不能自交。
不等式数独 (Futoshiki) 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 (<)。
FUTOSHIKI
第 14-16 页
D
卡罗尔·米德格利 (Carol Midgley) 电视评论
非凡的扩建 (Extraordinary Extensions) 5 {{{((
英国电视是不是对房屋扩建有某种执念？证据似乎越来越多。
我才刚刚从第五频道走出来，该频道竟然在《世仇》(The Feud) 中，仅凭吉尔·哈普尼 (Jill Halfpenny) 饰演的角色在厨房扩建这件事上，就硬生生地榨出了一整部电视惊悚剧。而且，我没开玩笑，剧中还包含了关于共有墙以及扩建是否会影响邻居采光的对话。天呐，太性感了。
在“Tinie Tempah”这些词旁边写上“非凡的扩建”依然感觉有点奇怪，但这是他第三次主持这个系列节目了。
娜塔莉·海恩斯 (Natalie Haynes) 为古典学发声 第四广播电台，上午 9 点
在娜塔莉·海恩斯（见上图）主持的这一新系列节目中，她将单口喜剧与学术研究相结合，探讨古典文明的故事。教授伊斯兰·伊萨 (Islam Issa) 以及科学家兼广播员亚当·卢瑟福 (Adam Rutherford) 将与她一起，揭秘古城亚历山大港的科学发明。其中包括最早的天气预报实例、太阳处于宇宙中心的理念、会唱歌的玩具鸟以及第一台键盘乐器。任何古典学初学者都会很高兴地发现，BBC Sounds 上有 11 个系列节目。 克莱尔·伍德沃德 (Clair Woodward)
而且，由于他既是房地产开发商又是说唱歌手，他确实懂得自己在谈论什么。
这个系列显然是在收割《大设计》(Grand Designs) 的红利，以及英国观众对房产类节目的痴迷（我也包括在内）。但在这里，他们不是建造一整栋房子，而只是增加一个扩建部分。不过我怀疑观众们仍然会体验到类似的紧张感和幸灾乐祸。他们会没钱吗？他们会开始争吵吗？他们那些冒险且昂贵的尝试最终会不会看起来像一团糟？希望如此！
但在新系列的 1. 集中，并没有这种运气。我们参观了两对正在扩建房屋的夫妇，到最后，结果都非常壮观。不过，天呐，价格一点也不便宜。
Tinie 首先带我们去伦敦西区的一栋爱德华时期排屋，克里斯 (Chris) 和纳丁 (Nadine) 对装饰艺术 (Art Deco) 充满热情，他们正在建造一个巨大的阁楼扩建，并给花园、厨房和房子的其余部分进行“了不起的盖茨比”式改造。纳丁不是那种会在品味上妥协的女人，她在预算中投入了 10-15% 来安装一个华丽的装饰艺术曲线楼梯。“曲线意味着成本，”我们的主持人睿智地说道。他说这要么成为标志性的作品，要么最终变成一个非常昂贵的设计时代错位。
克里斯估计该项目将耗资 £325,000，但纳丁说它
时代广播 (Times Radio) 数字频道、网页、智能扬声器、应用程序
5.00am Tom Nunan 主持 Early Breakfast 6.00 Salma El-Wardany 和 Calum Macdonald 主持 Breakfast 10.00 Carolyn Quinn 1.00pm Mark Urban 2.00 Jane Garvey 和 Fi Glover 4.00 John Pienaar 主持 Times Radio Drive 7.00 Kait Borsay 主持 The Evening Edition 10.00 Henry Bonsu 1.00am The Best of Times Radio
第二广播电台 (Radio 2) FM: 88-90.2 MHz 6.30am The Sara Cox Breakfast Show 9.30 Vernon Kay 11.25 Piano Room 12.00 Jeremy Vine 2.00pm DJ Spoony 4.00 Angela Scanlon 7.00 Jo Whiley 8.45 Piano Room 9.00 Darius Rucker 主持 The Country Show 10.00 Melvin Odoom 主持 The Good Groove 12.00 Richie Anderson 3.00am 90年代另类之声 (r) 4.00 Owain Wyn Evans
第三广播电台 (Radio 3) FM: 90.2-92.4 MHz 6.30am Breakfast 9.30 Essential Classics 1.00pm Classical Live 林顿·史蒂文斯 (Linton Stephens) 介绍 BBC 逍遥音乐会 (BBC Proms) 的亮点，包括西曼诺夫斯基 (Symanowski) 的《圣母安魂曲》(Stabat Mater)。BBC 逍遥音乐会 —— 普朗克 (Poulenc)（D小调双钢琴协奏曲）；奥德伯里节 —— 佛瑞 (Fauré)（《好歌》Op. 61）；BBC 逍遥音乐会 —— 西曼诺夫斯基（《圣母安魂曲》）；以及保罗·卡萨尔斯 (Pau Casals) 国际音乐节 —— 舒伯特 (Schubert)（C大调五重奏，D. 956） 4.00 本周作曲家：爱丽丝·玛丽·史密斯 (Alice Mary Smith) (1839-1884) 唐纳德·麦克劳德 (Donald Macleod) 追溯史密斯创作她的第二交响曲的过程 5.00 In Tune
Tinie Tempah 回归，开启阁楼扩建及更多内容的第三轮尝试
7.00 BBC Proms 2026 BBC苏格兰交响乐团在首席客席指挥 Delyana Lazarova 和小提琴手 Alena Baeva 的带领下，演出 Korngold、Prokofiev 和 Tabakova 的作品。由 Tom Service 主持，在皇家阿尔伯特礼堂现场直播。 Dobrinka Tabakova（《俄耳甫斯的彗星》）；Korngold（《D大调小提琴协奏曲》）；以及 Prokofiev（《B降大调第五交响曲》） 10.00 Night Tracks 11.30 ’Round Midnight 12.30am Through the Night
Radio 4 FM: 92.4-94.6 MHz 5.00am 新闻摘要 5.04 Sideways (3/8) (重播) 5.34 航运预报 5.43 今日祈祷 5.45 今日农业 6.00 Today 9.00 Choice Natalie Haynes 为古典文学发声 亚历山大古城的科学发明 (1/7) 9.30 征服世界的艺术 James Fox 探讨 Vermeer 的《戴珍珠耳环的少女》 (4/4) 10.00 女性时间 Kylie Pentelow 主持 11.00 儿童的三大阶段 探索塑造儿童健康的关键因素 (1/3) (重播) 11.45 本周书籍： 《表演性男性的忏悔》 作者 Darren McGarvey (4/5) 12.04pm 骗局秘密 Shari Vahl 在该消费者建议系列节目中展现其在欺诈和骗局方面的专业知识 (1/8) 12.32 Sliced Bread 调查空调制造商的说法 (5/8) 1.00 The World at One
1.45 Dead Rabbit Dan 和 Lucy 会见被指控在店外丢弃动物尸体的人 (9/10) 2.00 The Archers (重播) 2.15 剧集：Yeartides 作者 Ben Lewis (1/2) 3.00 This Natural Life 与 Patrick Barkham 共同探讨 (4/6) 3.27 Radio 4 呼吁 (重播) 3.30 反馈 4.00 简报室 4.30 BBC 内部科学 5.00 PM 6.00 六点新闻 6.30 Icklewick FM (1/6) (重播) 7.00 The Archers Carter 家族火药味浓厚 7.15 Front Row 艺术节目 8.00 风险自担 探讨不同的人如何看待风险 (2/5) (重播) 8.15 媒体秀 最新新闻 (重播) 9.00 Loose Ends 嘉宾 Ayoade Bamgboye 和 Wendi Peters (重播) 9.45 The Cows Are Mad 来自屠宰场的真实故事 (4/10) (重播) 10.00 今夜世界 10.45 Wild Dark Shore 作者 Charlotte McConaghy (9/10) 11.00 Radical 11.30 佳作推荐 (5) (重播) 12.00 新闻与天气 12.30am 本周书籍： 《表演性男性的忏悔》 (4/5) (重播) 12.48 航运预报 1.00 接入 BBC 世界服务
Radio 4 Extra 仅限数字广播 8.00am Believe It! 8.30 伦敦之声：首都100年黑人音乐 8.45 小岛 9.00 P.O.V
9.30 我的人生时光 9.45 每日礼拜 10.00 伟大人生 10.30 英国雷鬼革命 11.00 Raffles 11.30 Charles Paris: A Deadly Habit 12.00 资本收益 12.30pm The Burkiss Way 1.00 Believe It! 1.30 伦敦之声：首都100年黑人音乐 1.45 小岛 2.00 我们曾在此 2.30 变革 3.00 第一名女士侦探事务所 3.45 凤凰与地毯 4.00 伟大人生 4.30 英国雷鬼革命 5.00 Raffles 5.30 Charles Paris: A Deadly Habit 6.00 资本收益 6.30 The Burkiss Way 7.00 Believe It! 7.30 伦敦之声：首都100年黑人音乐 7.45 小岛 8.00 我们曾在此 8.30 变革 9.00 第一名女士侦探事务所 9.45 凤凰与地毯 10.00 喜剧俱乐部：P.O.V 10.30 1966及其他 10.55 喜剧俱乐部访谈 11.00 Max 和 Ivan 的案卷 11.30 小场景
Radio 5 Live 中波: 693, 909 5.00am 金钱觉醒 6.00 早餐 9.00 Nicky Campbell 11.00 Adrian Chiles 2.00pm Matt Chorley 4.00 5 Live Drive 7.00 格拉斯哥 2026. Commonwealth Games 第七天 8.00 高尔夫：女子公开赛 8.30 5 Live 体育 9.30 格拉斯哥 2026 10.00 Qasa Alom 1.00am Laura McGhie
talkSPORT 中波: 1053, 1089 kHz 5.00am 早期体育早餐 6.00 talkSPORT 早餐 (Alan Brazil 主持) 10.00 Jim White 和 Simon Jordan
将会超过 £400,000。我知道 Nadine 会是对的。她没有遗漏任何细节。事实确实如此。但成品非常惊艳，尤其是那个极其抢眼的绿色大理石厨房岛台。“你表达了自己的个性与热爱，”Tinie 说道。
另一个扩建项目紧邻诺福克布罗兹（Norfolk Broads）的一栋像巧克力盒一样精致的小屋，价格稍微便宜一些（略高于 £300,000），但风险同样之大，因为他们是在一栋迷人的 275 年历史的小屋旁增加新建筑，很容易看起来像个丑陋的赘瘤。但结果并非如此。Tinie 说这是生态魔法，他没说错。他们使用了现代材料，但全部是回收或环保材料，未使用水泥或混凝土，且其线条与 18 世纪的结构保持对称。
Tinie Tempah 在 20 多岁时购置的第一处房产是位于海克尼（Hackney）维多利亚公园附近亚历山大·麦昆（Alexander McQueen）的旧居，这个系列节目可能正处于一个绝佳的切入点。随着生活成本如此之高且购房者变得谨慎，更多的人可能会决定扩建现有的住房，而不是搬家。而且英国人确实热衷于“房产色情”（property porn）。把鼻子贴在别人的客厅窗户上窥视，总有一种不可抗拒的诱惑力。这基本上就是合法化的好奇心。
Talk 仅限数字频道 6.00am Jeremy Kyle 10.00 Julia Hartley Brewer 1.00pm Ian Collins 4.00 Kevin O’Sullivan 7.00 Peter Cardwell 10.00 Andre Walker ft. Ash 1.00am Paul Ross
6 Music 仅限数字频道 5. 00am Amy Lamé 7.00 Nick Grimshaw 10.00 Jamz Supernova 1.00pm Deb Grant 4.00 Huw Stephens 7.00 New Music Fix Daily 9.00 Riley & Coe 11.00 The First Time With 12.00 New Music Fix Playlist 1.00am New Album Fix 2.00 6 Music’s Jukebox 3.00 6 Music’s 90s Forever 4.00 6 Music’s 00s Forever
Virgin Radio 仅限数字频道 6.30am Steve Denyer on The Chris Evans Breakfast Show with Moneybox 10.00 Ana Matronic 2.00pm Ben Jones 6.00 Geoff Lloyd 10.00 Goldierocks 2.00am James Merritt
Classic FM FM: 100-102 MHz 6.30am Breakfast with Dan Walker 9.00 The Hall of Fame Hour with Dan Walker 10.00 Aled Jones 1.00pm Anne-Marie Minhall 4.00 Margherita Taylor 7.00 Relaxing Evenings with Zeb Soanes 9.00 Classic FM’s Composer Carousel With Zeb Soanes 10.00 Calm Classics 1.00am Bill Overton 4.00 Early Breakfast
今日推荐
《贝尼多姆谋杀案》(Benidorm Is Murder) 5, 9pm
这部剧深受《天堂岛谋杀案》(Death in Paradise) 影响，令人惊讶的是它竟然没有将那部BBC热门剧集带有加勒比风情的主题曲用西班牙吉他重新编曲。再一次，一名英国侨民侦探——由约翰·汉纳 (John Hannah) 饰演的丹尼斯，一名从警察转行为酒吧老板的人——在解决谜团时有一位当地女性助手（卡罗莱娜·贝克尔 (Carolina Bécquer) 饰演的罗莎）。他的第一个案件甚至
BBC1 BBC2 ITV1 Channel 4 5 6.00am 早餐节目 (Breakfast) 9.30 动物公园 (Animal Park) (r) (AD) 10.15 追踪、寻找，找回我的车 (Trace, Track, Get My Car Back) (r) 10.45 专家证人 (Expert Witness) (r) 11.15 房屋拍卖 (Homes Under the Hammer) 12.15pm 货比三家 (Bargain Hunt) (r) 1.00 BBC 1点新闻；天气 1.35 BBC 地区新闻；天气 1.45 BBC 1点新闻；天气 2.00 废物利用 (Money for Nothing)。杰奎琳·约瑟夫 (Jacqui Joseph) 决心阻止优质物品在海威科姆 (High Wycombe) 回收中心被粉碎 2.45 逃离城市 (Escape to the Country)。一对新婚夫妇需要吉尼·巴克利 (Ginny Buckley) 的帮助在多塞特郡 (Dorset) 乡村寻找住所 (r) 3.45 竞标室 (The Bidding Room)。物品包括一架玩具飞机和一个投影仪 (r) 4.30 旅行拍卖师 (The Travelling Auctioneers)。非洲面具、一个维多利亚时代的茶筒和一个印有皇家空军 (RAF) 标志的化妆盒 (r) (AD) 5.15 无点之问 (Pointless)。问答节目 (r) 6.00 BBC 6点新闻；天气 6.30 BBC 地区新闻；天气
7.00 《综合节目》(The One Show) 由 亚历克斯·琼斯 (Alex Jones) 和克拉拉·阿姆福 (Clara Amfo) 主持
7.30 《东区走势》(EastEnders) 一个令人震惊的真相正逐渐浮出水面，尼古拉试图与伊芙和苏基达成和解，而莎伦则在寻求答案 (AD)
8.00 《真伪之辨》(Fake or Fortune?) 费奥娜·布鲁斯 (Fiona Bruce) 和菲利普·莫尔德 (Philip Mould) 调查一幅被认为出自法国艺术家安德烈·德兰 (André Derain) 之手的画作，该画作曾属于一名从纳粹德国逃脱的“儿童运输”计划儿童 (3/4) (AD)
9.00 《你认为你是谁》(Who Do You Think You Are?) 哈丽特·沃尔特 (Harriet Walter) 发现了一群色彩丰富的祖先，这段旅程让她从债务人法庭经过意大利贵族抵达歌剧院。见今日推荐 (7/8) (AD)
10.00 BBC 10点新闻
10.30 BBC 地区新闻和天气 10.40 《24/7 谋杀案》(Murder 24/7) 五名男子如何被判定谋杀 23 岁的奥曼·辛格 (Aurman Singh)，一名在什鲁斯伯里 (Shrewsbury) 遭到伏击并被杀害的 DPD 司机 (3/8) (r) (AD)
11.40 《24/7 谋杀案》(Murder 24/7) 关于 2024 年在伍斯特郡 (Worcestershire) 发生的切丽尔·麦肯纳 (Cheryl McKenna) 之死的调查 (4/8) (r) (AD)
始于酒店泳池中的一具尸体，这是圣玛丽岛 (Sainte Marie) 上常见的剧情设定。死者是一个 Take That 模仿乐队的成员，一名警察侦探（阿里亚德娜·卡布罗尔 (Ariadna Cabrol) 饰演的冷酷的玛丽亚）坚信他被乐队队友杀害。让 5 频道的这部剧免于成为毫无意义的重复之作的是其趣味感，包括一些元游戏，如罗莎对马普尔小姐 (Miss Marple) 和《穆德在写》(Murder, She Wrote) 的痴迷，以及用一个围绕模仿男团的凶手谜题来开启一部山寨犯罪剧的自嘲触感。约翰·达格代尔 (John Dugdale)
6.30am 废物利用 (Money for Nothing) (r) 7.15 竞标室 (The Bidding Room) (r) 8.00 签约区域：园艺世界 (Sign Zone: Gardeners’ World) (r) (AD, SL) 9.00 BBC 新闻 1.00pm 理查德·奥斯曼的游戏屋 (Richard Osman’s House of Games)。由亚斯明·阿克拉姆 (Yasmine Akram) 和卡里亚德·劳埃德 (Cariad Lloyd) 参加 (r) 1.30 终点线 (The Finish Line)。问答节目 (r) 2.15 闪电 (Lightning)。由佐伊·莱昂斯 (Zoe Lyons) 主持的问答赛 (r) 2.45 hairy bikers 的烘焙之旅 (The Hairy Bikers’ Bakeation)。在斯洛伐克、匈牙利和罗马尼亚烘焙 (r) (AD) 3.45 农民乡村对决 (The Farmers’ Country Showdown)。两组父子队在麦克尔斯菲尔德 (Macclesfield) 牧羊犬试验赛中面临激烈竞争 (r) 4.15 太空看地球 (Earth from Space)。太空相机显示，随着城市增长、森林消失和冰川融化，地球表面的变化速度极快 (r) (AD) 5.15 出售它！(Flog It!) 来自牛津联盟 (r) 6.00 理查德·奥斯曼的游戏屋 (Richard Osman’s House of Games)。卡伦·豪尔 (Karen Hauer)、斯通·亨特利 (Storm Huntley)、乔·马勒 (Joe Marler) 和汤姆·里德·威尔逊 (Tom Read Wilson) 参加 (r) 6.30 仅此一事 (Just One Thing)。佐伊·鲍尔 (Zoe Ball) 解释食用黑巧克力的好处 (r) (AD)
7.00 逃离城市 (Escape to the Country) 吉尼·巴克利 (Ginny Buckley) 向一对拥有 £700,000 丰厚预算并希望将家庭迁至诺福克 (Norfolk) 乡村的夫妇推荐一系列引人注目的房屋 (r)
8.00 为英国挖掘 (Digging for Britain) 爱丽丝·罗伯茨 (Alice Roberts) 与考古学家一起探索英格兰中部的过去，包括一个具有罗马背景的皇家空军 (RAF) 空军基地、一座修道院和一家有着悠久招待历史的酒吧 (2/6) (r) (AD)
9.00 家庭中的恶魔：...的陨落 (The Devil in the Family: The Fall of)
Ruby Franke Ruby 与 Jodi 的合作不断深化，两人共同重塑家庭，而 Ruby 开始将部分家庭成员逐出家门 (2/3) (AD) 9.50 北约克郡荒原：狂野的一年
镜头聚焦于绵羊 (AD)
10.00 走私生意：
卧底 Josie Hannett 对在法国活动的偷渡团伙进行调查 10.30 Newsnight 头条分析
由 Adam Fleming 主持
11.05 高尔夫：2026年女子公开赛集锦
在兰开夏郡皇家利瑟姆与圣安尼斯高尔夫球会举行的重大锦标赛首日精彩片段
12.05am 电影：《黑化》(15, 2023) 七个朋友在周末外出度假，结果被困在小屋中，面对一名心怀怨恨的杀手。由 Grace Byers 和 Jermaine Fowler 主演的喜剧恐怖片。 参见电影选择 1.35 Sign Zone: Ambulance (r) (SL) 2.35-3.35 Evolution (r) (AD, SL)
众所周知，Harriet Walter（《杀死伊芙》、《继承之战》）是 Christopher Lee 的侄女。但她在自己的家谱探险中并未提及这位饰演德古拉的明星，而他可能是她所指责的那些“我家中的男人”之一，她认为这些人轻视了她的母亲 Xandra（Lee 的姐妹）。为了证明这些男人是错的，Walter 在她探索之旅的前半段调查了这位前名媛在战争时期的工作。 John Hannah 主演的《贝尼多姆是谋杀案》在 5 频道 9pm 播出
6.00am Good Morning Britain 10.00 This Morning。名人访谈，演艺圈新闻和生活方式专题 1.00pm ITV 新闻；天气 1.30 ITV 赛马直播：光辉古德伍德赛。Ed Chamberlin 和 Francesca Cumani 主持该赛事第三日的报道，包括特色赛事纳索锦标赛 (Nassau Stakes) 以及另外四场辅助赛事。由 Jason Weaver 和 Hayley Turner 分析，Rishi Persad、Sally Ann Grassick 和 Luke Harvey 报道，Richard Hoiles 评论。 4.30 Tipping Point：史上最佳决赛。由 Ben Shephard 主持的这款街机主题问答节目的部分最戏剧性终局集锦 (r) 5.00 The Chase。Bradley Walsh 主持，来自纽马克、斯托克波特、卡迪夫和格伦罗西斯的参赛者联手，希望他们的四个大脑能击败一个大脑 (r) 6.00 地区新闻；天气 6.30 ITV 新闻；天气
7.30 Tom Kerridge 烹饪意大利：坎帕尼亚平原在数千年来如何成为农业创新的温床 (3/6) (AD)
8.00 Emmerdale 一个计划被叫停，同时 Claudette 达成了一笔交易，仓库中可能存在危险 (AD)
8.30 Coronation Street Cassie 与 Ross 回顾她的最大成就，而 Nina 对 Sienna 表示怀疑 (AD)
9.00 The Chase Around the World 参赛队伍抵达里斯本，挑战“黑暗毁灭者”和“罪人”，后者设置了一系列问答题目，队伍必须通过解答这些题目才能在城市中导航 (3/6) (AD)
10.00 ITV 十点新闻；天气；随后是地区新闻
10.45 电影：《坏伙计 2》(15, 2003) 两位性格迥异的卧底警察旨在阻止一场地下帮派战争，并击败一名试图用致命形式的摇头丸充斥市场的毒枭。然而，一段浪漫插曲威胁到调查进程，使其偏离轨道。由 Will Smith, Martin Lawrence, Gabrielle Union, Jordi Molla 和 Peter Stormare 主演的喜剧惊悚续集。
1.25am 电视购物 3.00 The Summit。Ben Shephard 主持，14 位来自各行各业的人聚集在一起，尝试攀登新西兰最高峰之一，以赢取 £200,000 的份额 (r) (AD, SL) 4.00 Unwind with ITV 5.05-6.00 Deal or No Deal：名人特辑。由 Guz Khan 主持 (r) (AD, SL)
Who Do You Think You Are? BBC1, 9pm
6.25am Cheers (r) 7.45 Everybody Loves Raymond (r) (AD) 9.10 Frasier (r) (AD) 11.10 Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares USA. 主厨帮助一家经营不善的纯素餐厅 (r) 12.05pm Channel 4 News Summary 12.10 Find It, Fix It, Flog It. Henry Cole 和 Simon O’Brien 前往彭布罗克郡 会见一位牲畜养殖者 (r) (AD) 1.10 The Great House Giveaway. 两位 陌生人在威根购买了一处房产 (r) 2.10 Countdown. 由 Scarlett Moffatt 主持 3.00 A Place in the Sun. Ben Hillman 帮助 一对夫妇在西班牙托雷维耶哈或其附近 寻找合适的度假房产进行购买 (r) 4.00 Narrow Escapes. 一个家庭从纽伯里码头 接收他们的新家 (r) (AD) 5.00 Château DIY. Erin 和 JB 努力在 雨季到来前将窗户装回他们的 塔楼翻新工程中 (r) (AD) 6.00 American Pickers. Mike Wolfe 偶然发现一辆价值数千美元的 百年历史 Jell-O 冰淇淋车 (r) (AD)
7.00 Channel 4 News
8.00 Renovation Rescue 新剧集。该 节目由新主持人 Vogue Williams 和 Luke Mabbott 带来， 他们旨在救援那些在建筑商那里 有过糟糕经历、导致资金匮乏 且生活混乱的家庭 (AD)
9.00 Murder Case: The Digital Detectives
一名女性在 2022, 年 9 月于汉普郡被杀， 此前她收到一条来自未知号码的 不详短信，内容为“我距离你的房门 还有 30 秒” (AD)
10.00 Don’t Date Brandon 新剧集。
关于两名女性的纪录片，她们在与 同一男子的关系中都有负面经历， 这促使她们开始制作播客， 以警告他人远离他。 参见今日精选 (1/3) (AD)
11.00 Don’t Date Brandon Amber 和
Athena 开始制作播客讲述她们的故事， 并警告其他女性留意 Brandon。随着更多 前女友站出来， 令人震惊的秘密被揭开。 参见今日精选 (2/3) (AD)
12.05am Don’t Date Brandon 参见今日 精选 (AD) 1.05 Crime Scene Cleaners (r) (AD, SL) 1.55 Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares USA (r) (SL) 2.40 The Undeclared War (r) (AD, SL) 4.30 Couples Come Dine with Me (r) 5.20 Kirstie and Phil’s Love It or List It: Brilliant Builds (r) 5.45-6.25 Countdown (r)
海军情报部门，事实证明这非常重要（她 似乎讨厌名人——Xandra 是否与 伊恩·弗莱明共事过？）。 Walter 接下来转向她母亲一方的意大利 祖先，回顾一位名叫 Girolamo 的 贵族异类地职业生涯。 他的生活（从 1830 年代的摩德纳到 塔斯马尼亚）是一连串的失败， 只有一个例外：在霍巴特娶了一位 名叫 Maria 的年轻歌手，她后来成为了 著名的名伶和先驱性的职场妈妈。JD
6.00am Milkshake! 9.15 Jeremy Vine 11.30 Storm & Alexis 12.45pm 5 News at Lunchtime 12.50 Matt Allwright 2.20 电影：Stolen Baby — The Murder of Heidi Broussard (12, TVM, 2023) 一名女性 被一名朋友谋杀，随后该朋友试图 将受害者的婴儿冒充为自己的孩子。 由 Anna Hopkins 和 Emily Osment 主演的剧情片 4.00 Castle. Beckett 和 Castle 在调查 1980 年代动作片明星 Lance DeLorca 的死亡时访问了一个电影拍摄现场， 该明星被发现死在一家剧院外的巷子里 (r) 4.55 Love Nature. 关注布里斯托尔的 传粉者路径项目 (r) (AD) 5.00 5 News with Dan Walker 6.00 Malta: The Jewel of the Med. 镜头 聚焦于马耳他经典大奖赛， 以及三只受伤的海龟从该国 最美丽的海滩之一被重新释放回大海 (r) 6.55 5 News Update
7.00 Around the World in First Class with
Josie Gibson Josie Gibson 开启一场 沉浸式的头等舱旅行之旅。 她从中东开始，首先前往迪拜， 在那里入住别墅 (1/4) (r)
7.55 5 News Update
8.00 Cornwall: A Year by the Sea 在圣 艾夫斯，艺术家 Iona 引导一场绘画 大师班；在马拉津， 参赛者在圣迈克尔山 的背景下参加 Kernowman 70.3 铁人三项赛 (9/10)
9.00 Benidorm Is Murder 新剧集。
一名心灰意冷的前警官和一名女演员在西班牙的地中海沿岸破解罪案。由约翰·汉纳 (John Hannah)、卡罗琳娜·贝克尔 (Carolina Bécquer) 和阿丽亚德娜·卡布罗尔 (Ariadna Cabrol) 主演的剧集。 详见今日精选 (1/6) (AD)
10.00 2026年 Commonwealth Games
格拉斯哥第七日的亮点，场地自行车和残疾人场地自行车赛开赛，在克里斯·霍伊爵士竞速自行车馆 (Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome) 将争夺 7 枚金牌。
11.05 逃票者：与法律的战争
在沃克斯霍尔 (Vauxhall)，来自西南铁路 (South Western Railway) 的收入保护人员正参与一项大规模的诱捕行动，该行动引发了一项追溯至七个月前的欺诈调查 (r)
12.05am 街头警察：捉拿小混混 (r) 1.00 游轮电视 (r) 2.00 商店窃贼：你能抓到我就有本事 (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 5.35 迈洛 (r) (SL) 5.45-6.00 帕丁顿的冒险 (r) (SL)
Talking Pictures BBC4, 8pm
在《七十年代传奇 第二部分》(Seventies Legends Part II) 中，塞莉亚·伊姆里 (Celia Imrie) 将引导我们搜寻档案，回顾那些在那个被时尚遗忘的年代里电影明星们的采访。克林特·伊斯特伍德 (Clint Eastwood) 透露他在《脏哈里》(Dirty Harry) 片场是如何放松的，而罗伯特·德尼罗 (Robert De Niro) 则讨论了他为《出租车司机》(Taxi Driver) (晚上 9 点播出) 所做的方法派表演准备。本集还 featuring 史蒂夫·马丁 (Steve Martin)、琳达·布莱尔 (Linda Blair) (《驱魔人》) 以及杰克·尼科尔森 (Jack Nicholson) 一次令人难忘的获奖感言。乔·克莱 (Joe Clay)
7.00pm 英国铁路之旅 (Great British Railway Journeys)。迈克尔·波蒂略 (Michael Portillo) 探索德比和诺丁汉 (AD) 7.30 与斯特法尼·麦戈文同行 (Walking with Steph McGovern)。这位广播员在约克郡山谷 (Yorkshire Dales) 度过了一天 8.00 Talking Pictures：《七十年代传奇 第二部分》。塞莉亚·伊姆里回顾 1970 年代的好莱坞。见今日精选 9.00 电影：《出租车司机》(18, 1976)。一名厌世的出租车司机逐渐被推向一场残暴的暴力行为。由罗伯特·德尼罗主演的戏剧片 (AD) 10.50 电影：《柏林葬礼》(PG, 1966)。由迈克尔·凯恩 (Michael Caine) 和艾娃·伦齐 (Eva Renzi) 主演的冷战惊悚片 12.30am Talking Pictures：《七十年代传奇 第二部分》 1.30 成为弗里达·卡罗 (Becoming Frida Kahlo) (AD) 2.30 英国铁路之旅。在德比和诺丁汉 (AD, SL) 3.00am-3.30 与斯特法尼·麦戈文同行 (SL)
U&Drama
7.00pm 追击 (The Catch Up) 7.05 致命 60 (Deadly 60)。寻找世界上最大的胡蜂 7.30 致命 60。探索不列颠哥伦比亚省的野生动物 8.00 顶速之战 (Top Gear)。嘉宾为女演员吉莉安·安德森 (Gillian Anderson) 9.00 加拿大欺诈之王 (The Traitors Canada)。卡琳·瓦纳斯 (Karine Vanasse) 发起“光天化日之下的谋杀”挑战 10.05 加拿大欺诈之王。嘉宾们发现他们并不总是拥有发言权 11.05 加拿大欺诈之王。一名嘉宾可能别无选择，只能背叛自己的信仰 12.05am 加拿大欺诈之王。嘉宾们面临压力，必须做出最终决定。本系列最后一集 1.05 加拿大变装皇后秀：加拿大 vs 世界 (Canada’s Drag Race: Canada vs the World) 2.15 烟雾皇后 (Smoggie Queens) (AD) 3.45am-4.05 鸟鸣 (Birdsong)
Variations
BBC1 北爱尔兰 10.40pm 聚焦 (Spotlight) 11.10 24/7 谋杀案 (r) 12.10am 24/7 谋杀案 (r) 1.10 艾伦·卡尔的图片大比拼 (Alan Carr’s Picture Slam) (r) 1.55am-6.00 BBC 新闻
BBC1 苏格兰 7.00pm-7.30 河城 (River City) (r) 12.35am 苏格兰播报 (Scotcast) (r) 1.05 艾伦·卡尔的图片大比拼 (r) 1.55am-6.00 BBC 新闻
STV 1.30pm-4.30 STV 现场赛马：光辉古德伍德 (Glorious Goodwood)。赛事第三日报道 1.25am-3.00 电视购物 4.00am-5.05 与 STV 放松
Don’t Date Brandon 第四频道, 晚上 10 点
这部三集纪录片通过布兰登·约翰逊 (Brandon Johnson) 前妻们的视角讲述了他的故事。其中包括安伯 (Amber)，她原以为约翰逊是完美的良配，直到一系列危险信号揭露了他的真实身份：一个惯于撒谎、出轨且诈骗的骗子，并且有一系列针对他的禁制令
Sky Arts 6.00am 太阳马戏团：Volta 8.10 绘画之乐 (The Joy of Painting) 9.10 出人意料的故事 (Tales of the Unexpected) (AD) 10.00 阿尔弗雷德·希区柯克呈现 (Alfred Hitchcock Presents) 11.00 发现：雪莉·麦克莱恩 (Shirley MacLaine) (AD) 12.00 电影 (The Movies) 1.00pm 出人意料的故事 (AD) 2.00 阿尔弗雷德·希区柯克时间 (The Alfred Hitchcock Hour) 3.00 七十年代 (The Seventies) (AD) 4.00 发现：查尔斯·布朗森 (Charles Bronson) (AD) 5.00 年度肖像艺术家 2021 (Portrait Artist of the Year 2021) (AD) 6.00 出人意料的故事 (AD) 7.00 阿尔弗雷德·希区柯克呈现 7.30 阿尔弗雷德·希区柯克呈现 8.00 发现：加里·奥德曼 (Gary Oldman) (AD) 9.00 克里斯多夫·李的生与死 (The Life and Deaths of Christopher Lee)。人物特写 (AD) 11.10 锤子电影公司：英雄、传奇与怪物 (Hammer: Heroes, Legends and Monsters)。纪录片 (AD) 1.05am 国家剧院现场《博士异想》(Dr Strangelove) 3.00 文森特笔下的梵高 (Van Gogh by Vincent) 4.00 花园艺术 (The Art of the Garden) 5.00am-6.00 电影
6.00am 后院建筑 (SL) 6.30 Deal or No Deal (AD) 7.30 Dress to Impress (AD, SL) 8.30 Sam and Billie: Sister Act 9.30 The Only Way Is Essex 10.25 The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City 11.20 The Real Housewives of Orange County 12.15pm Dinner Date (AD) 1.15 Supermarket Sweep 2.15 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 6.00 Celebrity Catchphrase (AD) 7.00 The Floor USA (AD) 8.00 The 1% Club (AD) 9.00 The Princess Diaries 10.00 Family Guy (AD) 11.30 American Dad! (AD) 12.35am Bob’s Burgers. 该动画片的双片连播 (AD) 1.30am-2.25 Deal or No Deal (AD, SL)
9.00 Granite Harbour 10.00 Scot Squad (r) 10.30 Cumming to the Cabaret (r) 11.15 Scotcast 11.45pm-12.00 Tune (r)
S4C 6.00am Cyw 12.00 新闻；天气 12.05pm Cais Quinnell (r) 12.30 Heno (r) 1.00 Gwlad Moc (r) 1.30 Sgwrs Dan y Lloer (r) 2.00 新闻； 天气 2.05 Prynhawn Da 3.00 新闻；天气 3.05 Cyfres Triathlon Cymru 2026 (r) 4.00 Awr Fawr: Caban Banana Gareth (r) 4.05 Chwedlau Tinga Tinga (r) 4.20 Help Llaw (r) 4.35 Mojo Swoptops (r) 4.50 Annibendod (r) 5.00 Stwnsh: He-Man a Meistri’r Bydysawd (r) 5.25 Y Tri Mysgedwr (r) 5.40 Larfa (r) 5.45 Cuddio (r) 6.00 Gwlad y Basg: Gwilym Bowen Rhys (r) 6.30 Pobol y Cwm 7.00 Heno 7.30 新闻； 天气 8.00 Gemau’r Gymanwlad 2026 10.30-11.35pm Yr Afon (r)
他。他们共同创建了调查类播客《前妻潜伏》(Ex-Wives Undercover) 以将其击垮。JC
流媒体选择
《泛美航空103号航班爆炸案》 (The Bombing of Pan Am 103) Netflix
在BBC播出一年后，这部纪实片记录了对 1988 年一架从法兰克福经伦敦飞往底特律的客机爆炸案的调查，该飞机在苏格兰小镇上空爆炸。
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. Kirstie Allsopp 和 Phil Spencer 在巴斯和布里斯托尔 (AD) 7.55 Grand Designs. 一对同卵双胞胎 兄弟在谢菲尔德相邻的位置建造了两栋几乎相同的 房子 (5/7) (AD) 9.00 The Reclaimers: Made in Suffolk. 一场风暴正威胁着 Tinkers Barn 的库存 (3/5) (AD) 10.00 24 Hours in A&E. 医生治疗一名因 胸痛而昏迷的 20 岁男子 (AD) 11.05 24 Hours in A&E. 工作人员 治疗涉及严重道路交通事故的患者 (1/6) (AD) 12.10am 999: On the Front Line 1.15 24 Hours in A&E (AD) 3.20am-3.55 A Place in the Sun
00am George and Mildred 7.05 经典版《艾默代尔》(AD) 8.05 经典版《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 经典版 《艾默代尔》(AD) 4.40 经典版 《街道冠冕》(AD) 5.50 《心跳》。乡村剧 (AD) 8.00 《薇拉》。一名码头工人从停车场坠落，薇拉调查一起关于一名青年死亡的劳动纠纷，并揭开了一个充满秘密与谎言的生活 (4/4) (AD) 10.00 《格兰切斯特》。西德尼涉嫌谋杀 (5/6) (AD) 11.00 《格兰切斯特》。西德尼决定辞去教会职务 (6/6) (AD) 11.50 《审判与惩罚》。两部分之第一部分。一个看似幸福家庭的女儿被谋杀 (1/10) 1.25am-2.25 《怀克利夫》
00am 《富饶的美国》 8.35 《珠穆朗玛峰：西南壁》 9.45 《海盗：传奇背后》 10.40 《权力地图》 11.50 《硫磺岛的最后登陆》 1. 00pm 《富饶的美国》 1.50 《珠穆朗玛峰：西南壁》 3.00 《海盗：传奇背后》 4.00 《权力地图》 5.15 《硫磺岛的最后登陆》。由 Jim Nantz 解说 6.25 《珠穆朗玛峰：西南壁》 7.40 《海盗：传奇背后》。一名成为奥斯曼帝国私掠船长的英国海盗 8.40 《权力地图》。探索俄罗斯的地理历史 (2/3) 9.50 《硫磺岛的最后登陆》。一名海军陆战队退伍军人在受伤 80 年后回到硫磺岛战场 11.00 《海盗：传奇背后》 12.00 《权力地图》 1.15am-2.00 《富饶的美国》
洛克比，获得了一个触及更广泛观众的机会。在首次发行时，许多人认为这是一个多余的练习，因为在此之前不久 Sky 刚推出了《洛克比：寻找真相》。然而，这部作品采取了不同的方法，拼凑出一个阴暗且迷宫般的叙事。Andrew Male
电影精选
《黑化》(The Blackening) (15, 2022) BBC2, 午夜
“我们不能全部先死”是该片的宣传语
NRL 现场：北昆士兰牛仔队 v 悉尼鲁斯特队 Sky Sports +，Sky Sports Action, 10.50am-12.50pm (开球 10.50)。在汤斯维尔举行的第 22 轮赛事的赛事报道
The Hundred 现场：南方勇士女队 v 伯明翰凤凰女队 Sky Sports Cricket, 2.45pm-6 (开始时间 3.00)。在 Utilita Bowl 举行的赛事报道
The Hundred 现场：南方勇士男队 v 伯明翰凤凰男队 Sky Sports Cricket, 6pm-9.30, Sky Sports Main Event, 7pm-9.30 (开始时间 6.30)。在 Utilita Bowl 举行的赛事报道
PGA 巡回赛高尔夫现场 Sky Sports Golf, 7pm-11 密歇根州火箭经典赛（Rocket Classic）开赛日
MLB 现场：圣路易斯红雀队 v 芝加哥小熊队 TNT Sports 1, 7pm-10 (开始时间 7.15)。来自布什体育场的报道
6.00am Richard E Grant’s Hotel Secrets (r) (AD) 8.00 Billions (r) (AD) 10.05 The White Lotus (r) (AD) 11.25 Task (r) (AD) 12.35pm Homicide: Life on the Street (r) 2.25 Billions (r) (AD) 4.30 Task (r) (AD) 6.45 The Gilded Age. Bertha finalises the guest list (r) (AD) 7.55 True Detective: Night Country. Crime drama (1/6) (r) (AD) 9.00 The Five-Star Weekend. Hollis finds out Caroline’s secret (5/8) (AD) 9.50 The Five-Star Weekend. Brooke’s marriage troubles show up on Nantucket Island (6/8) (AD) 10.30 Euphoria: A Look Back (r) 11.40 All Her Fault. Peter takes matters into his own hands (r) (AD) 12.40am Task. Crime drama starring Mark Ruffalo (1/7) (r) (AD) 1.55 Task. Double bill (r) (AD) 4.05 Billions (r) (AD) 5.50am- 6.00 Urban Secrets (r)
7.35am 电影：The Adventures of PC 49 — Investigating the Case of the Guardian Angel (PG, 1949) (黑白) 8.50 电影：Walk a Crooked Mile (PG, 1948) (黑白) 10.40 电影： The Miracle of the Bells (PG, 1948) (黑白) 1.00pm The Adventures of Sir Lancelot (黑白) 1.30 电影：The Black Rider (U, 1954) (黑白) 2.50 电影：The Late Edwina Black (PG, 1951) (黑白) 4.25 电影：The Naked Truth (U, 1957) (黑白) 6.15 Cinebox Memories 6.20 Strange But True 6.55 The Brothers 8.00 Mark Saber (黑白) 8.30 The Wheeltappers and Shunters Social Club 9.20 电影：Fritz the Cat (18, 1972) 11.00 电影：Deux Hommes dans la Ville (1973) 1.00am Scotland Yard 1.35 Doomwatch 2.35-4.00 电影： Flannelfoot (PG, 1953) (黑白)
ITV4 6.00am Magnum, PI 7.00 Dempsey and Makepeace (AD) 8.05 Boon 9.10 The Professionals (AD) 10.20 Robin of Sherwood 11.30 Magnum, PI 1.35pm Dempsey and Makepeace (AD) 3.45 Boon 4.50 The Professionals (AD) 5.55 Minder. Arthur tries to sell Terry’s flat (AD) 7.00 River Monsters. Jeremy Wade investigates the Loch Ness Monster 8.00 Sharpe. Hakeswill returns to create more mischief for Sharpe. Guest starring Elizabeth Hurley 10.15 The Motorbike Show. Henry Cole teams up with a one-legged rider to enter the Vintage Motor Cycle Club’s Banbury Run 11.15 Black Sails. Flint gives Dufresne some advice 12.20am Hell’s Kitchen 1.10 The Champions 2.05-3.00 Minder (AD, SL) 3.30am-4.00 Auto Mundial
Sky Docs 6.00am The Nineties (r) 7.00 Discovering: Peter Ustinov (r) (AD) 8.00 The Directors (r) (AD) 9.00 Urban Secrets (r) 10.00 The Man Who Played with Fire (r) 11.00 David Frost Vs (r) (AD) 12.00 Pee-wee as Himself (r) 4.00pm The Directors (r) (AD) 5.00 Discovering: Peter Ustinov. The English actor (r) (AD) 6.00 David Frost Vs (r) (AD) 7.00 Germanwings: What Happened on Flight 9525? The deliberate crashing of an Airbus in 2015 (r) 8.45 My Icon: Thierry Henry (r) (AD) 9.00 David Fuller: Monster in the Morgue. Documentary about the murderer and necrophile (r) (AD) 11.00 电影：Belushi (18, TVM, 2020) 纪录片 (AD) 1.00am Murder in Boston: Roots, Rampage and Reckoning (r) 4.00 The Directors (r) (AD) 5.00am-6.00 Discovering: Peter Ustinov (r) (AD)
这部讽刺恐怖片在揶揄恐怖电影中黑人总是第一个被屠杀的倾向。电影中的所有关键角色都是非裔美国人，他们聚集在一栋偏远的房子里举行聚会。在大麻、MDMA和幻觉蘑菇的催化下，他们发现了一个名为《The Blackening》的棋盘游戏，该游戏会对他们提出问题，例如：“说出《Friends》中的 5 个黑人角色。”如果他们回答错误，就会发生糟糕的事情。 (97分钟) Ed Potton
11.00am 《摩霍克河沿岸的鼓声》(Drums Along the Mohawk) (PG, 1939) 约翰·福特执导的历史剧，亨利·方达主演 1.10pm 《红河之围》(Siege at Red River) (U, 1954) 范·约翰逊主演的西部片 2.55 《一路叮当》(Jingle All the Way) (PG, 1996) 阿诺德·施瓦辛格、辛巴德和丽塔·威尔逊主演的喜剧 (AD) 4.40 《机器人之梦》(Robot Dreams) (PG, 2023) 动画冒险片，由伊万·拉班达配音 6.45 《渔夫之友》(Fisherman’s Friends) (12, 2019) 詹姆斯·皮尔福伊主演的喜剧 (AD) 9.00 《野兽》(Beast) (15, 2022) 在稀树草原上，一名男子和他的青春期女儿被一只巨大的流浪狮追猎。伊卓里斯·艾尔巴主演的动作惊悚片 (AD) 10.50 《最后的决斗》(The Last Duel) (18, 2021) 瑞德利·斯科特执导，改编自埃里克·贾格的书籍，亚当·德赖弗和乔迪·科默主演 (AD) 1.50am-3.50 《发生》(Happening) (15, 2021) 安娜玛丽亚·瓦托洛梅主演的剧情片
6.00am 电视购物 (Teleshopping) 7.20 《比尔》(The Bill) 8.15 《医生》(Doctors) 9.25 《经典霍比城市》(Classic Holby City) 10.45 《急诊》(Casualty) (AD) 11.45 《比尔》(The Bill) 12.50pm 《经典东区》(Classic EastEnders) 2.00 《邻居》(Neighbours) 3.00 《天空中的派》(Pie in the Sky) 4.05 《洛夫乔伊》(Lovejoy) 5.20 《岁月静好》(As Time Goes By) 6.00 《夏日之终》(Last of the Summer Wine) 8.00 《马洛谋杀俱乐部》(The Marlow Murder Club)。一名没有身份证件且与马洛没有关联的男子被发现死亡 (3/6) (AD) 9.00 《马洛谋杀俱乐部》(The Marlow Murder Club)。一桩过去的失踪人口案为林内特路(Linnet Close)的居民们提供了新的线索 (4/6) (AD) 10.00 《新线索》(New Tricks)。一个阴谋论将美国政府牵涉进一起死亡事件 (2/8) (AD) 11.05 《沉默的证人》(Silent Witness)。一对父子被杀。埃米莉亚·福克斯主演 (AD) 1.35am 《洛夫乔伊》(Lovejoy) 2.40 《岁月静好》(As Time Goes By) 3.10 《达比与琼》(Darby and Joan) (SL) 4.00am-6.00 电视购物 (Teleshopping)
6.10am 《被遗弃的工程》(Abandoned Engineering) (AD) 8.00 《破车与现金》(Bangers & Cash) (AD) 10.00 《纳粹秘密基地》(Secret Nazi Bases) 11.00 《奥斯威辛：纳粹与最终解决方案》(Auschwitz: The Nazis and the Final Solution) 12.00 《古董路演》(Antiques Roadshow) 2.00pm 《破车与现金：修复经典》(Bangers & Cash: Restoring Classics) (AD) 4.00 《纳粹秘密基地》(Secret Nazi Bases) 5.00 《奥斯威辛：纳粹与最终解决方案》(Auschwitz: The Nazis and the Final Solution) 6.00 《古董路演》(Antiques Roadshow) 7.00 《亚洲》(Asia) (AD) 8.00 《破车与现金》(Bangers & Cash)。德里克收集了一辆欧宝Manta (AD) 9.00 《破车与现金：修复经典》(Bangers & Cash: Restoring Classics)。关于一辆菲亚特的DIY工作 (AD) 10.00 《破车与现金：修复经典》(Bangers & Cash: Restoring Classics)。一辆1939年的摩根F4 (AD) 11.00 《破车与现金：修复经典》(Bangers & Cash: Restoring Classics)。一辆雪铁龙DS21 Pallas (AD) 12.00 《破车与现金》(Bangers & Cash) (AD) 1.00am 《寻找、修复、出售》(Find It, Fix It, Flog It) (AD) 2.00 《伟大的英国铁路之旅》(Great British Railway Journeys) 3.00am-6.10 电视购物 (Teleshopping)
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极难 No 696
25
35
12
1
2 2
7
10 11
完成之后，网格下方的条带可以分成八对数字。一对数字之和是网格中的 16 个数字之一。它们的乘积则是网格中的另一个不同数字。例如，条带中的 4 和 6 可以配对，在网格中形成 10 (4+6) 和 24 (4x6)。将每个和填在网格中相应数字的下方。条带中的空格必须推导出来，请记住数字是以升序排列的。
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下一个 Tetonor 谜题将于周二出现
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迷你数独 (Mini Sudoku)、额外密码题 (extra Codeword)，
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KenKen 困难 No 6898
密码题 No 5906
20
这个填字格风格的网格中，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。利用已提供的字母来推断其他字母的身份。在主网格和较小的参考网格中填入字母，直到字母表中的所有 26 个字母都被确定。专有名词除外。昨天的答案，见右侧
密码词（Codeword）卡住了？如需获取 4 个随机线索，请致电 0901 293 6262 或发送短信 TIMECODE 至 64343。通话费用为 £1 加上您电话公司的网络接入费。短信费用为 £1 加上您的标准网络费用。获取完整答案请致电 0905 757 0142。如果您持有旧报纸并需要过去 7 天的线索，请致电 0905 624 0024。拨打 0905 的电话每分钟费用为 £1 加上您电话公司的网络接入费。SP：Spoke，0333 202 3390（周一至周五，上午 9 点至下午 5.30 点）。
Lexica 简单版 No 9023 困难版 No 9024
白方走子。 此局面来自 Flores Quillas-Astoyauri De la Cruz, 利马 2026。
这是一个复杂的局面。白方在子力展开上拥有巨大优势，而黑方正艰难地试图让国王进入安全地带。尽管如此，白方有一个问题需要解决，因为 f3 位的骑士受到威胁，如果它移走，黑方可以走 ... Qxg5。人们感觉到这是关键时刻。白方应该怎么做？
S G
将字母水平或垂直地滑回网格中，以完成填字游戏。字母允许在其他字母之上滑动。
Futoshiki No 5446
B M
Kakuro No 4405
Train Tracks No 2931
© PUZZLER MEDIA
铺设轨道，使火车能够从 A 村 traveling 到 B 村。数字表示每行和每列中轨道的节数。只有直线段和曲线段。轨道不能自我交叉。
解决所有五个隐晦线索，每个下方的字母仅限使用一次
1 成就 (Achievement) 步行者们讨论 (discussed) (4)
2 华丽的 (Fancy) 眨眼 (wink) (5)
3 杆 (Rod) 和 链条 (chain) 用于 承载者 (carrier) (6)
4 补贴 (Handouts) 重新分配了 很多 (a lot)？ (8)
5 成员 (Member) 尚未到达 (yet to arrive) 以通过 (to pass) 法律 (law) (9)
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我们新的在线快速游戏 谜题，访问 thetimes.com/ puzzles 以及 Live 应用程序
您的思维 使用来自 谜题书
No 2633
timesbookshop.co.uk
使用 1 到 9 的数字 填充网格。 每组水平或 垂直白色方块 中的数字之和 等于其左侧或 上方的三角形 中的总数。 同一个数字在 一行或一列中 可出现多次， 但不能在同一组 白色方块中出现。
÷ 5
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大脑训练营
大脑 训练营
1 2 3 4 5
÷ 4
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8 9
÷ 8
10 11 12 13
14 15 16 17
18 19 20
21 22
IT
横向 6 报刊独家报道 (5) 7 洋葱和大蒜属 (6) 8 以友好方式地 (8) 9 印刷错误或拼写错误 (4) 10 以及其他人 (2,2) 11 桌面足球游戏 (8) 14 诚实，真诚 (8) 16 流出 (4)
IT
IT
IT
填字游戏 10,221 解答
' ( ) , ( ' 2 0 5 , 5 < * ( < 6 ( 5 * ( 2 0 ( 7 ( 5 5 & ( 1 ' / ( $ 7 + ( 5 6 ( 7 ) 5 ( ( / ' 7 5 2 & % ( * ( 7 2 3 ( 7 ( 5 $ / ( : ( 6 $ , 5 $ 9 1 % ( 6 , ' ( 6 . ( 6 7 5 ( / % ( 3 1 , ' ( 7 $ , 1 ( ( ' ( & 5 ( ( 1 ( & ' ( 1 ) ( 5 5 ( 7 0 2 0 $ 7 $ 9 1% 6 7 5 5 5 109872 96
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，另加您电话公司的网络接入费。SP: Spoke, 0333 202 3390 (周一至周五 9am-5.30pm)。
答案
答案
答案
桥牌 Andrew Robson
我们回到里加，参加第 57 届欧洲桥牌国家队锦标赛。在公开组中，大多数专家在瑞士队（拥有被认为是世界上最强的搭档 Kalita-Klukowski）、意大利队（三对评价极高且练习有素的搭档）和挪威队之间做选择。没人能想到，瑞士队（第 14 名）和意大利队（第 17 名）竟然都没有接近前列，两国均未能通过进入前八名获得明年在巴巴多斯举行的百慕大碗赛的参赛资格。然而，挪威队以绝对优势赢得了金牌，远超排名第 2 的丹麦队和第 3 的以色列队。我不想用“漫长寒冬之夜”这种陈词滥调，但挪威的桥牌水平极高。除非你处于最佳状态且运气极佳，否则无法击败他们。
然而，英格兰公开队做到了，尤其是第 24 局，在该局中，28 对（共 30 对）南北向牌组叫到了并完成了大满贯。第 29 对停在了 4NT。第 30 对是 18 岁的挪威叫牌者。面对 ♣J 的首攻，你会如何在 6NT 合约中叫牌？你从死牌出小牌，东家赢得 K 并在死牌 A 牌时回攻梅花。
叫牌者跑方块且误判了结局，最终在心形花色上采取了一次错误的强迫胜（finesse）。我不确定我是否能做得更好。我倾向的打法是在第三轮出黑桃 Q —— 也许西家会用 K 顶牌，或者你能据此判断。如果西家顺畅地出小牌，则用 A 赢回并兑现所有小牌花色的赢牌。西家必须减少到 ♥Qx 以保留 ♠K，而你必须
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18 吉他指板上的金属条 (4) 20 导致分裂至对立面 (8) 21 偏好；善行 (6) 22 短暂的活动激增 (5)
纵向 1 稀汤或高汤 (8) 2 闪烁光泽 (8) 3 婴儿 (4) 4 墨迹 (4) 5 1980 年代的年轻专业人士 (6) 6 沉睡 (5) 12 毫无根据的 (8) 13 拳击击拳 (8) 15 被排挤的人 (6) 17 情感痛苦 (5) 19 代词 “thee” 的旧式对应词 (4) 20 满足的哼唱 (4)
庄家：南，脆弱性：均不脆弱
队伍 ♠AJ5 ♥A4 ♦KQ9863 ♣A3
高级
♠K874 ♥Q63 ♦542 ♣J102
♠96 ♥109872 ♦7 ♣K9864
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认为他受到了挤压。我可能已经下降了（大概是因为家庭原因我不得不退出团队）。 那是一个由来自曼彻斯特的迈克尔·拜恩（Michael Byrne）找到的非常好的梅花领出。他与来自伦敦的搭档基兰·戴克（Kieran Dyke）共同经历了一场非常成功的比赛。 在另一张牌桌上，北家，来自伦敦的斯特法诺·托马西尼（Stefano Tommasini）在一次较低的梅花领出中宣告了6NT。他要求出明手的皇后，在第二轮出掉另一张黑色皇后，随后很快地拿到了全部 13 墩。在一次（16 局）比赛中，这带来了 15 IMPS 的收益，最终以 26 分获胜。 andrew.robson@thetimes.co.uk
EASY 26 x 3 + 66 DOUBLE
DOUBLE
HALVE
IT – 104 HALVE
HALVE
HALVE
MEDIUM 63 + 19 DOUBLE
– 7 x 10
÷ 4
– 275 – 84 + 17
4 1/ OF IT – + 77
Set Square No 4408
Killer Gentle No 10,850
Killer Tough No 10,851
与标准数独一样，填充网格，使每列、每行和每个 3x3 宫格都包含数字 1 到 9。每组由虚线连接的单元格之和必须等于其左上角的目标数字。在每组由虚线连接的单元格内，数字不能重复。
IT – 32 DOUBLE
IT x 6
IT x 17
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》，不包括大写单词、复数、变位动词（过去时等）、以 LY 结尾的副词、比较级和最高级。 评分标准：10 个单词为平均；14 个为良好；21 个为很好；29 个为优秀
昨天的答案 amir, aril, axil, axiom, impro, lair, lari, liar, limo, limp, lipa, lipoma, lira, mail, maxi, milo, moil, oxlip, pail, pair, pial, prial, prim, primal, primo, prolix, proximal, rail, rial, roil
快速隐喻字谜 Quick Cryptic 3366
数独 Sudoku 16,983
数独 Sudoku 16,984
数独 Sudoku 16,985
杀手数独 Killer 10,848
杀手数独 Killer 10,849
单元格块 Cell Blocks No 5789
© PUZZLER MEDIA
© PUZZLER MEDIA
请注意，BODMAS（运算优先级）此处不适用
代码字 Codeword 5905
词汇 Lexica 9021 单元格块 Cell Blocks 5788 Set Square 4407
Futoshiki 5445
KenKen 6897
今日解答
简明 五角星图 (Concise Quintagram)
隐喻 五角星图 (Cryptic Quintagram)
1 Jeered 2 Untidy 3 Litmus 4 Eldest 5 Sixtieth
1 Feat 2 Flash 3 Barrow 4 Thousand 5 Legislate
词汇观察 (Word watch)
Tachypnoea (a) 快速呼吸 (Collins) Frith (c) 树林覆盖的乡村 (OED) Toenadering (b) 政治和解 (OED)
国际象棋 —— 胜手
1 Qxd7+! 直击问题核心：1 ... Kxd7 2 Nxe5+ Kc8 3 Nxg6 hxg6 4 Rxe4. 白方多出一个兵，在子力出动上占据巨大优势，且黑方的兵力薄弱。 白方随即获胜。
将网格 划分为正方形或 矩形 块，每块 仅包含一个 数字。每块 必须包含 与该数字 相对应的 单元格数量。
在网格中 填入 1 到 9 的每个数字， 使六组求和 成立。我们 已经放置了 两个数字 供您开始。 每组求和 应自左向右 或自上而下 计算。
Kakuro 4404
Train Tracks 2930
C L O W N
E E S
S N E A K
E P I
O W E P
Lexica 9022
H E A T B
N R I
V A R
B O N N E T
Y C H
Sakuro 4807
简单 Easy 44 中等 Medium 51 更难 Harder 1,020
问答 (Quiz)
1 Wounds 2 Peter Pan 3 Charles Dickens 4 Land’s End 5 Goat 6 The Odyssey 7 Tweety and Sylvester the cat 8 James I 9 Orléans 10 Louisiana 11 Magnesium 12 Remedios Varo 13 Martin Bernal 14 South Australia 15 Fleetwood Mac
数独 简单型 No 16,986 极难型 No 16,987 超级极难型 No 16,988 词汇观察
David Parfitt
Tachypnoea a 呼吸急促 b 深度睡眠状态 c 水蚤
Frith a 琐碎的废话 b 强壮的战士 c 森林地带
Toenadering a 足尖上的快速旋转 b 政治上的 {rapprochement}（和解/恢复关系） c 厚圆牛肉排
《泰晤士报》每日问答 Olav Bjortomt
1 根据俗语，“时间能治愈所有……”什么？
2 Tinker Bell 是 JM Barrie 1904 年哪部剧作中的仙女？
(4)
3 2011-12 年的电视喜剧《The Bleak Old Shop of Stuff》模仿了哪位维多利亚时代作家的作品？
4 Penn an Wlas 是康沃尔郡西端哪个海岬的康沃尔语名称？
5 Chèvre 奶酪是用哪种动物的奶制成的？
6 哪部 2026 年的克里斯托弗·诺兰电影是第一部完全使用 Imax 摄影机拍摄的长篇电影？
《泰晤士报》快速隐喻谜题 No 3367，作者 Mara
填充网格，使每一列、每一行和每个 3x3 宫格都包含数字 1 到 9。
7 Mel Blanc 在《I Taut I Taw a Puddy Tat》(1950) 中为哪两个乐一通 (Looney Tunes) 角色配音？
8 哲学家 Francis Bacon 在哪位斯图亚特王朝国王手下担任检察总长和大法官？
AARON RAPOPORT/GETTY IMAGES
11 哪种碱土金属是最轻的结构金属？
12 哪位先驱女性超现实主义画家绘制了《Creation of the Birds》(1957) 和 《Celestial Pablum》(1958)？
13 哪位英国博学者的 1990 年著作《Cadmean Letters》讲述了希腊字母的起源？
14 Garfield Sobers 为哪个澳大利亚州参加了 Sheffield Shield 板球赛？
9 Denis Foyatier 1855 年创作的圣女贞德骑马像位于哪个法国城市的 Place du Martroi？
15 图中是哪支英美摇滚乐队？
10 Atchafalaya Basin（美国最大的河流沼泽）位于哪个州？
横向 1 小，且重量轻？(6) 4 啤酒酿造季 (6) 9 火焰，地面起火，吞噬山顶最后的一位 (7) 10 在地面上很滑？(5) 11 混乱——仍然不完整？(2-2) 12 名人在搅拌酱料后吃掉的肉 (8) 14 蓝色材料几乎耗尽 (11) 18 港口道路更新意味着进入手段 (8) 20 船只转向时拔掉插头 (4) 22 Spike 的开头使其进入迷幻状态 (5) 23 单一的失败，伴随艰涩的语言 (7) 24 始终如一，尽管外表可爱 (6) 25 萨库罗 No 4807 末尾的最大数字
Sakuro No 4807
在空格中填入数字 1 到 9，使得每个圆圈内的数字等于周围四个空格数字之和，且每种颜色的总和正确。
交互式谜题请访问 thetimes.com
纵向 1 领口发烫——像某些衣服一样？(6) 2 不信者！我发现他被定罪于地狱深处！(7) 3 某些芬兰或挪威乐器 (4) 5 鱼颊与蔬菜一同端上 (8) 6 我用灰色写下的表达方式 (5) 7 在音乐会中大笑，伴随无尽的喜悦 (6) 8 最近的工会成员，甜心和梦想家 (11) 13 愚蠢的老古板，一个浪费者 (8) 15 拉链在细带鞋中损坏 (7) 16 确定基本资源 (6) 17 在结尾处推进新旧约 (6) 19 一朵花绽放了 (5) 21 晕厥，擦拭眉头——这是发烧！
© PUZZLER MEDIA
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您所有的旅行安排，一站式处理完毕
致电 TRAILFINDERS：020 7368 1364，
或访问您当地的 Trailfinders 旅行中心
更多信息
精选出发日期 每对夫妇最高可省 £800
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意大利威尼托大区
2026 年 9 月至 2027 年 10 月
精选出发日期* 每对夫妇最高可省 £680
托斯卡纳之宝
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60 年多以来，Travelsphere 一直在带领人们开启终生难忘的旅程，因此，我们可以提供无与伦比的当地知识，帮助您充分挖掘目的地的魅力。您可以坐在家里自行规划行程，决定乘坐哪个航班、住在哪里以及到达后参观什么……为什么不让我们来为您处理这些细节呢？
在这场为期八天的旅程中，探索意大利北部迷人的核心地带，穿梭于威尼托最吸引人的目的地。这次精心设计的旅行将带您远离游客聚集地，前往帕拉迪奥别墅、历史古镇和著名的葡萄园。从巴萨诺-德尔格拉帕的中世纪魅力到威尼斯的漂浮浪漫，在白葡萄酒之路上、加尔达湖以及火山地貌的欧根妮山丘品味独特的葡萄酒，同时访问家庭经营的生产商并体验地道的餐饮。漫步于如阿索洛和马罗斯蒂卡等童话小镇，欣赏帕拉迪奥的杰作，并与志同道合的旅伴结识。
参加这次神奇的托斯卡纳之旅，您将入住迷人的蒙特卡蒂尼泰尔梅镇一家舒适的四星级酒店。这里以温泉水闻名，是放松身心的完美之所。您将通过一系列一日游，出发探索托斯卡纳的一切。我们包含了一次对令人惊叹的佛罗伦萨市的导览游，以及一次欣赏比萨斜塔的机会。您还将发现被美丽乡村环绕的绝美中世纪小镇，并在基安蒂品尝葡萄酒和当地特色美食——绝对美味！在观光之余，您可以自行安排计划，在酒店放松，独立探索，或参加我们的可选游览项目，这是您的假期，请选择最适合您的方案。
阿马尔菲海岸延伸约 30 英里，俯瞰着第勒尼安海波光粼粼的水面，以其壮丽的风景而闻名。在这里，森林覆盖的陡峭悬崖直插入深蓝色的海洋，狭窄蜿蜒的道路将淡色的小村庄与高端城镇及度假胜地连接起来。您将发现所有必看景点，包括阿马尔菲、卡普里岛和庞贝古城遗址，并且将有充足的机会沉浸在震撼的景色之中。每次游览期间您都有自由时间去做更多您喜欢的事，我们甚至包含了一次葡萄酒品鉴，为这次难忘的假期画上圆满句号。
价格包含 • 伦敦和曼彻斯特的往返机票，以及海外交通 • 四星级酒店七晚住宿 • 七顿早餐，一顿午餐，五顿晚餐及迎宾饮品 • 欧根妮山丘和帕多瓦之行，并在 Villa Sceriman 品酒 • 在 Ugolini Winery Bardolino 和 Valpolicella 品酒 • 在 Casa Diamante Winery 品酒 • 巴萨诺-德尔格拉帕历史中心和马罗斯蒂卡 • Travelsphere 假期指导员服务
价格包含 • 伦敦及地区机场的往返机票，以及海外交通 • 四星级酒店七晚住宿 • 七顿早餐，一顿简便午餐，五顿晚餐及迎宾饮品 • 在基安蒂品尝当地美食和葡萄酒 • 在蒙特卡蒂尼歌剧节度过之夜 • 参观比萨斜塔 • 访问佛罗伦萨和卢卡 • Travelsphere 假期指导员服务
价格包含
• 伦敦及地区机场的往返机票，以及海外交通 • 四星级酒店七晚住宿 • 七顿早餐，一顿午餐，七顿晚餐及迎宾饮品 • 探索风景如画的阿马尔菲小镇 • 访问山顶城镇拉韦洛以及阿马尔菲山的一家酒庄 • 乘船前往卡普里岛
• 探索庞贝古城遗址 • Travelsphere 假期指导员服务
八天行程 £1,869 起 *
每人
每人
每人
立即致电 0808 189 6951 thetimes.com/ts-veneto 引用代码 TIMES
立即致电 0808 189 6951 thetimes.com/ts-tuscany 引用代码 TIMES
立即致电 0808 189 6951 thetimes.com/ts-amalfi 引用代码 TIMES
八天行程 £1,249 起 *
八日行程自 £1,699 起
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价格包含 迷人的历史、未经触及的自然美景以及卓越的烹饪，克罗地亚兼具这一切，您将通过陆路和海路体验这个神奇目的地所提供的一切。
在陆地上，您将从斯普利特向北旅行，探索特罗吉尔和扎达尔的中世纪鹅卵石街道，街道两旁林立着通往迷人广场的历史建筑。在乡村庄园品尝美味的当地美食，并沿着克尔卡国家公园风景如画的小径漫步，那里森林、瀑布和水潭随处可见。
登上“亚德里亚珍珠号”（MV Adriatic Pearl）开启此次行程的第二部分。我们费尽心机地寻找了一艘美丽的船只，它足够小，可以访问克罗地亚那些微小且未经破坏的岛屿，并在僻静的海湾抛锚；同时又足够大，能让每个人拥有放松所需的舒适度和空间。
Wonderful ship, Holiday Director and crew. Access to all harbours and villages a bonus! Beautiful locations. Interesting mix of visits, villages and cities. Great food on board and spotlessly clean ship and cabins. A fabulous holiday! Ingrid
“亚德里亚珍珠号”搭载乘客少于 40 人，且我们已将其独家包租，因此船上的乘客仅为您、船员以及其他 Travelsphere 的度假者。
访问拥有壮丽城墙的科尔丘拉岛，停留在融合了咸水湖、茂密森林和方济各会修道院之美的姆列特岛，在索尔塔岛感受宁静的渔村，并欣赏赫瓦尔岛出片的沙滩和中世纪建筑。在各停靠点之间，您可以优雅的船甲板上沐浴阳光，并在美丽的游泳点停靠，在亚德里亚海中畅游清凉。
用您的相机应用扫描二维码 以查看更多详情。
伦敦往返机票，及海外交通
四星级酒店三晚住宿
在豪华的“亚德里亚珍珠号”上享受七晚独家巡航
十次早餐，五次午餐，六次晚餐及欢迎饮品
在船上享受船长晚宴和告别晚宴
游览克尔卡国家公园和姆列特国家公园
探索扎达尔、杜布罗夫尼克和斯普利特等城市
访问科尔丘拉岛、赫瓦尔岛和索尔塔岛
手工橄榄油品鉴
Travelsphere 度假指导员的服务
0808 189 6951 thetimes.com/ts- croatiauncovered 引用 TIMES
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在一次令人难忘的冒险中，穿梭于古埃及的心脏地带，让世界上最伟大的文明之一栩栩如生地展现在您面前。在标志性的吉萨金字塔和神秘的狮身人面像前肃穆而立，发掘埃及博物馆的宝藏，漫步在开罗充满活力且喧嚣的街道与集市中。随后，在永恒的尼罗河上悠闲巡航，每一站都将揭示非凡的寺庙、巍峨的纪念碑以及刻在石头上的迷人故事。从卢克索和卡纳克庄严的寺庙，到埃德富保存完好的荷鲁斯神庙，再到菲莱岛河畔的辉煌景观，每一天都充满了惊人的发现。将世界著名的地标、专家的见解以及尼罗河上不紧不慢的生活节奏融为一体，对于渴望体验埃及丰富历史、迷人文化和永恒景观的旅行者来说，这是完美的旅程。
Price includes
从伦敦和曼彻斯特出发的往返机票，以及海外交通
15 晚三星级和四星级酒店住宿
14 份早餐和 7 份晚餐
访问伊斯坦布尔、特洛伊、恰纳卡莱、以弗所、萨摩斯、雅典和纳夫帕克托斯
探索蓝色清真寺和托普卡匹宫
参观梅黛奥拉修道院
探索卫城和博物馆
库姆卡皮渔村
探索埃及集市和大巴扎
Travelsphere 假期领队的服务
0808 189 6951 thetimes.com/ts-turkishdelights QUOTE TIMES
iscover 在这次穿越土耳其和希腊的迷人旅程中，探索东西方的交汇之美。从伊斯坦布尔的拜占庭辉煌到梅黛奥拉的悬崖顶端修道院，您将追随皇帝、哲学家和朝圣者的足迹。探索传奇的特洛伊，惊叹于以弗所的大理石街道，并伫立在帕特农神庙庄严的柱子之下。通过精心安排的日程、精选的酒店以及品尝当地风味的时间——从土耳其 gözleme 馅饼到萨摩斯葡萄酒——此次行程将标志性景点与地道体验完美结合。非常适合寻求历史、文化和探索的好奇旅行者。
使用相机 App 扫描二维码以查看更多详情。
0808 189 6951 thetimes.com/ts-egypt QUOTE TIMES
从伦敦出发的往返机票，以及海外交通
在开罗四星级酒店入住三晚，并在尼罗河游轮上入住四晚
七份早餐，五份午餐，四份晚餐，外加游轮上的下午茶
访问开罗、卢克索、埃德富、科姆翁博和阿斯旺
游览伊斯兰开罗并参观汗哈利利集市
参观大埃及博物馆
访问阿斯旺，包括阿斯旺大坝和菲莱岛的伊西斯神庙
C
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相机准备好！邂逅美国最壮丽的景观和风景。您的冒险将从科罗拉多州的丹佛市开始，穿过七个不同的州，直到抵达拉斯维加斯的霓虹灯火。在整个旅程中，您将发现令人惊叹的历史遗迹和纪念地标，这些地方致力于纪念那些定义了这个国家历史的人们，并步入这个世界
(Latin Wonders of the World)
在 18 天行程满满的旅程中，您将在前往秘鲁、玻利维亚、阿根廷和巴西的途中体验许多令人兴奋的高光时刻。游览“国王之城”利马和曾是印加帝国首都的库斯科，探索标志性的马丘比丘“失落之城”。秘鲁其他令人惊叹的景点还包括白雪皑皑的安第斯山脉和
蒂蒂卡卡湖，随后您将前往玻利维亚，那里的拉巴斯拥有许多迷人的瑰宝。接着前往阿根廷首都布宜诺斯艾利斯，游览行程包括五月广场和雷科莱塔公墓。接下来，您将有机会分别从阿根廷和巴西两侧参观壮丽的伊瓜苏瀑布。您的旅程将在
充满活力的里约热内卢市结束，您可以在那里探索基督像。
（此处文本内容涉及美国西部，与上述拉美行程为并行排版） “蛮荒西部”的探索。这一精心规划的行程将穿梭于美国不下九个国家公园。在黄石公园惊叹于野生动物的多样性并观看喷泉地热喷泉，然后在大提顿国家公园领略落基山脉惊心动魄的壮丽景象。让自己沉浸在这个国家广袤且崎岖的景观中，这些景观在数百万年的时间里由自然的剧烈力量所塑造，期间将参观古代洞穴 dwelling 和地质奇观。
使用相机应用扫描二维码 以查看更多详情。
价格包含
从伦敦出发的往返机票，以及海外交通
15 晚优质酒店住宿，外加一晚飞行住宿
15 份早餐，一份午餐，一份晚餐及欢迎饮料
参观九个国家公园
参观疯狂马纪念碑 (Crazy Horse Memorial)
探索“蛮荒西部”之城死木镇 (Deadwood)
入住拉斯维加斯大道 (Las Vegas Strip) 的核心地带
探索盐湖城
Travelsphere 假日导游服务
0808 189 6951 thetimes.com/ts-epicwonders 引用 TIMES 代码
0808 189 6951 thetimes.com/ts-latinwonders 引用 TIMES 代码
15 晚四星级酒店住宿，外加两晚飞行住宿
15 份早餐，三份午餐和两份晚餐
利马、库斯科、拉巴斯和布宜诺斯艾利斯的游览
探索马丘比丘“失落之城”
蒂蒂卡卡湖双体船巡游
参观基督像
见证磅礴的伊瓜苏瀑布
参观印蒂瓦塔 (Inti Wata) 文化综合体
A
在您穿越传奇的“金三角”之旅中，体验印度的魔力。这里有宏伟的古迹、充满活力的城市和令人惊叹的野生动物在等待着您。
对于初次访问印度的游客来说，这是一个极佳的假期选择。本次行程将带您游览“金三角”地区，涵盖德里、阿格拉和斋浦尔的所有精华景点。您将深入探索这个国家丰富的历史和迷人的文化，并从体验老德里拥挤街道的喧嚣开始您的冒险。
“Travelsphere 从我们预订的那天起直到回到家，都真正地照顾了我们。酒店非常棒，提供的食物也同样出色。观光行程令人难忘，尤其是看到栖息在自然环境中的老虎和鳄鱼。我们在每个到访的地方都学到了很多。” Lisa
我们将向您展示新德里的殖民时期建筑，欣赏斋浦尔令人惊叹的粉红色建筑，并在日出时分带您前往宏伟的泰姬陵。除此之外，您还将有机会发现更多惊喜。前往野生动物保护区搜寻老虎，在一家迷人的传统酒店入住两晚，在喧闹的斋浦尔市中心享受一份惬意的平静。在度假导演的全程陪同确保行程顺畅，且包含大部分餐饮和众多观光活动的情况下，这是让自己沉浸在印度迷人魅力中的绝佳方式。
用您的相机应用扫描二维码，查看更多详情。
价格包含
从伦敦、曼彻斯特和伯明翰出发的往返机票，以及海外交通
八晚四星级及五星级传统酒店和度假小屋，另含一晚机上住宿
八顿早餐、三顿午餐、八顿晚餐以及欢迎饮品
游览德里、阿格拉和斋浦尔
黎明时分参观泰姬陵
在兰 tambore 晨间野生动物猎游中搜寻老虎
参观阿格拉堡和伊特马德乌德道拉墓
Travelsphere 度假导演的服务
0808 189 6951 thetimes.com/ts- beyondgoldentriangle 请告知 TIMES
V
T
越南、柬埔寨、老挝和泰国——这次横跨东南亚的史诗般旅程将带您认识这些美好的国家。我们从历史底蕴深厚的河内开始，参观 11 世纪建造的遗迹，并观看水上木偶戏——这一与越南等同的传统艺术。接下来的行程是联合国教科文组织列入名录的下龙湾，我们将在那里乘船巡航，度过一个夜晚，欣赏由石灰岩柱组成的壮丽海景。在继续穿行越南之后，
红毛猩猩与雨林
这次令人难忘的冒险将带您穿越婆罗洲的心脏地带。您的旅程将从哥打基纳巴卢开始，您将在那里品尝当地美食，体验沙巴丰富的文化，并深入郁郁葱葱的乡村，进一步了解农村生活。您的野生动物奇遇将在西必洛真正开启，您将在那里目睹红毛猩猩
我们将访问暹粒。位于暹粒郊外的吴哥寺庙群是东南亚最重要的考古遗址之一，其中吴哥窟是世界上最大的宗教寺庙，这些都是我们在柬埔寨将访问的绝佳景点之一。在我们的下一站，老挝的琅勃拉邦，生活节奏似乎更慢。在抵达后的第二天早晨，我们将早起参加佛教布施仪式，观看僧侣们静静地走在
和太阳熊之间。享受在京那巴当河上的游览——请密切留意这里多样化的野生动物，从长鼻猴到俾格尼象。探索神秘的戈曼汤洞穴，并在奢华的 Rasa Ria 自然保护区放松身心，那里是雨林与海洋的交汇之地。这份精心打造的行程在
街道上。我们将乘船沿湄公河进入泰国，在进一步探索之后返回英国。本次行程包含如此之多！
使用相机应用扫描二维码 以查看更多详情。
野生动物观察、文化浸淫和休闲放松之间取得了完美平衡，为您呈现婆罗洲最精华的部分。
费用包含
从伦敦和曼彻斯特出发的往返机票，以及海外交通
18 晚三星级和四星级酒店，外加一次过夜邮轮及两晚飞行时间
19 份早餐，13 份午餐，11 份晚餐
西贡河晚餐游轮
访问河内、下龙湾、顺化、会安、胡志明市、暹粒、琅勃拉邦、湄公河、清莱和曼谷
探索柬埔寨的吴哥寺庙群
访问古芝地道
香江游船之旅
参观光西瀑布
Travelsphere 假期导游服务
0808 189 6951 thetimes.com/ts-southeastasia 引用 TIMES 代码
0808 189 6951 thetimes.com/ts-borneo 引用 TIMES 代码
从伦敦出发的往返机票，以及海外交通
十晚三星级和四星级酒店及度假小屋，外加两晚飞行时间
十份早餐，五份午餐，七份晚餐
西必洛野生动物观察丛林漫步
红毛猩猩康复中心
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The sun-scorched fields of Blackheath in southeast London have turned brown as Britain swelters through yet another heatwave, with temperatures reaching 35C
Constance Kampfner Political Correspondent Aubrey Allegretti, Oliver Wright Get tax rebate from your mayor
Some of England’s metro mayors are planning to offer tax rebates to resi- dents under devolution powers set to be announced by Andy Burnham.
The prime minister is expected to hand regional mayors a share of income tax revenues to spend locally as part of a shake-up of the English tax system due to be laid out tomorrow.
A Burnham ally said there were also “meaningful plans” to devolve aspects of business rates to reward regions that grew their economies faster.
These unprecedented powers aim to
Observatory threat Scientists have clashed over funding priorities after it was announced that Jodrell Bank Observatory, home of Britain’s largest telescope, could close because of cuts.
£3.20 £2.35 to subscribers (based on a 7 Day Print and Digital Subscription) The 10 questions my husband won’t answer
promote growth by allowing local areas to keep far more of the revenue they generate without following Whitehall diktats on how to spend it.
The prime minister’s “devolution by default” reset across government has been framed as a way to boost invest- ment in public services and infrastruc- ture, but Conservative and Reform UK mayors are instead planning to use fiscal devolution to lower the tax burden for their voters.
Ben Houchen, the Tees Valley mayor, said he planned to use fiscal freedoms to make his region “a more attractive place and a more competitive place to invest in than Manchester and London”.
Houchen, a Conservative who has
Reform donations The convicted fraudster George Cottrell is said to have transferred $2 million to his mother in the days before her 2024 donations to Reform UK.
Thursday July 30 2026 | thetimes.com | No 75098
led the Tees Valley region since 2017, covering 700,000 residents across towns such as Darlington, Hartlepool and Middlesbrough, claimed that most of his mayoral peers would use the new funding on infrastructure spending.
“Every mayor is backing fiscal devo- lution because they want more money to spend in their area,” Houchen said. “However, if the Tees Valley is handed a slice of local income tax and business rates generated locally, I’ll create a new rebate scheme to put money back into people’s pockets and let families keep more of the money they earn.
“Fiscal devolution must be about giving places like Teesside the power to do things differently, back growth and
I N T H E N E WS
Body found in case The body of a British woman was discovered in a suitcase in a derelict building in Athens, police confirmed. She was named in the Greek press as Elisabeth-Jane Ross.
Trump’s fury at Iran President Trump launched a foul-mouthed tirade against Iran and promised further retaliation after a surprise ballistic missile attack on a US airbase in Jordan.
reward the people that drive our local economy instead of squeezing every last penny out of them.”
Houchen said that he was in discus- sions with the Treasury over how best to structure the tax relief.
Luke Campbell, the Reform mayor of Hull and East Yorkshire, and Andrea Jenkyns, the Reform mayor of Greater Lincolnshire, are understood to be exploring similar proposals. Officials in the local government department are believed to have been consulted.
One government source said Tory and Reform mayors would struggle to pass on any extra funding given the pressure on local government finances. “We all remember how they made wild
AI concerns ease Microsoft beat Wall Street’s quarterly sales and profit forecasts, helping to calm investors’ fears about the company’s big spending on artificial intelligence.
with Jared Leto
YUI MOK/PA
as drought set to eclipse 1976
Rhys Blakely Science Editor
Most of England is on high alert for wildfires as a 50-year drought record from the long, hot summer of 1976 is on the brink of being beaten.
The Met Office warned that wildfire conditions would be “severe” across much of England and parts of Wales as temperatures climbed towards 35C and four in ten households across the country faced restrictions on water use.
The fourth widespread heatwave of the summer has piled pressure on emergency services. Over the past fort- night, fire crews in England and Wales have responded to a new wildfire about every 90 minutes.
As of yesterday, the Royal Horticul- tural Society’s garden at Wisley, Surrey, had recorded 43 consecutive days with- out rain. Another two dry days would equal the 45-day benchmark set in 1976, when water shortages and crop failures affected much of Britain.
More than half of England has been declared to be in rapidly developing “flash drought” conditions, the Envi- ronment Agency (EA) said.
Seven water companies across the country have imposed hosepipe bans
promises about reducing council tax by cutting waste to get elected,” they said. “But when they got in they were forced to backtrack. So let’s see how this works.”
Burnham has previously described Britain as “one of the most overcentral- ised countries in the world”. Mayors and local authorities receive just 5 per cent of the tax revenue raised in their areas, while 95 per cent goes directly to the Treasury, according to the Centre for Cities. Britain also has the lowest local government funding via taxes of any of the G7 countries, with just 19 per cent of revenue coming from levies.
Under the existing system, “mayors don’t have an incentive to grow their
World Cup deadline Gianni Infantino, the Fifa president, has warned football associations that they have 53 days to join his controversial plan to sell stakes in the World Cup.
7am 7.45am 2.30pm
WORLD
Wes Streeting, defence secretary Tom Tugendhat, Conservative MP for Tonbridge John Goodbody, who covered the 1966 World Cup final, and John Stiles, son of Nobby Stiles, on 60 years since the match Field Marshal Lord Richards, right, former chief of the defence staff Sir Richard Barrons, co-author of the strategic defence review
5pm
8pm
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SPORT TIMES2
COYOTE UGLY Furry squatters overrun abandoned
SPIRIT OF ’66 Families of the World Cup winners
Hollywood estate
take a look back
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COMMENT 23
WORLD 28 BUSINESS 33 REGISTER 49
LETTERS 26 LEADING ARTICLES 27
From public transport hell
to ‘creepy’ AI glasses
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of GDP on defence by 2030
Larisa Brown Defence Editor Oliver Wright Policy Editor
Andy Burnham has given his strongest indication yet that he will not increase defence spending to 3 per cent of national income by 2030 despite fears that Russia could attack Nato.
Instead, the prime minister said that he would meet a longer-term Nato tar- get to spend 3.5 per cent on core defence spending by 2035 in line with the com- mitment made by his predecessor.
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.
Starmer previously warned that “there could be an attack by Russia on Nato as soon as 2030”.
Asked about 3 per cent at a press conference on social care yesterday, Burnham said: “When it comes to defence, obviously those commitments … relate to the parliament after this one. In terms of our Nato commitments, I have been very clear that we will honour those commitments. It does mean being prepared to look at challenging issues.”
He suggested that he planned to find the money for longer-term spending on defence by reducing the welfare bill, adding that too many people in their twenties were on benefits and that Brit-
ready to drill, says Trump
David Charter Washington Burnham has so far said that he will honour existing licences and estab- lished sites to extract oil and gas, stick- ing with Labour’s 2024 manifesto pledge. He is considering extra produc- tion at existing sites, and potentially at the Rosebank and Jackdaw fields that are under planning review, rather than entirely new locations.
President Trump has said that Andy Burnham told him he would “open up North Sea oil” for drilling, which the US president declared would make Britain “a really rich country”.
Trump urged Burnham to use “areas that haven’t even been explored yet” for oil despite the government’s insistence that it will limit drilling to sites already approved for licences.
Answering questions in the Oval Office, the president said he had “brief- ly” warned the new prime minister about immigration in their first phone call and repeated his claim that it was “killing” Britain.
Trump and Burnham have spoken only once, in a phone call on the prime minister’s first day in Downing Street last week. The president appeared not to be familiar with the prime minister’s name, referring to him as “the new gen- tleman” when questioned by GB News.
“He did say one very good thing. He said he’s going to open up North Sea oil,” Trump said. “If he does that, you’re going to be a wealthy country.”
economy and are not rewarded for doing so”, Mirte Boot, interim head of IPPR North, a think tank, said.
Burnham is expected to overhaul the system to allow England’s 14 regional and metro mayors to keep a share of the income tax revenue they raise in line with some of the funding they receive from central government. Versions of the policy previously proposed include “equalisation” measures to ensure that poorer regions do not lose out.
ain needed to start “investing in people’s success rather than paying for failure”. He said: “As a country we’re paying quite a lot for failure. If we change those things then we will open up the way of meeting our commit- ments on defence.”
Reaching 3 per cent by the next par- liament would cost the UK an addition- al £17.3 billion in 2029-30, according to the Office for Budget Responsibility.
Today Burnham will announce an £8.4 billion investment in the next stage of the project to build four new nuclear- armed Dreadnought submarines. They will replace the ageing Vanguard fleet that makes up Britain’s continuous at- sea Trident deterrent. The £8.4 billion is part of £63.6 billion already earmarked for the nuclear enterprise over the next four years, which is £20 billion more than the previous four years.
During a visit to Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, Burnham will pledge to deliv- er security and growth in every post- code as he sets out how the money will deliver tens of thousands of jobs and bolster hundreds of businesses.
He will say that taxpayer investment into large government projects should deliver long-term opportunities and re- juvenation for communities across the UK. The prime minister will add that the government will set out more on how it will do that in the coming weeks.
The UK’s Defence Nuclear Enterprise supports about 47,000
Trump said: “You buy a lot of your energy, as you know, from the North Sea. You buy from Norway and Norway gets it from the North Sea ... and Nor- way’s got trillions of dollars in the bank.”
He added: “You have one of the most valuable oil finds anywhere in the world, and if the United Kingdom would use it, they’d be a wealthy country again.”
Trump concluded: “I guess if you use the North Sea, the UK will be a really rich country.”
Informed by GB News that Burnham “has not mentioned migration at all” and asked if he raised this on the call, Trump said: “I did briefly. He’s going to have to mention it because it’s killing your country.”
would retain 100 per cent of business rates growth. How much areas may keep from business rates varies greatly across the country, with figures from 2019 showing Westminster council kept just 4p from each pound collected.
Alex Walker, senior researcher at Re:State, a think tank, said: “Greater Manchester and the West Midlands have shown what’s possible when areas are able to keep hold of more business rates growth and reinvest it in the region. Other mayoral areas should also have this opportunity as part of a broader package of fiscal devolution that unlocks greater flexibility and accelerates regional growth plans.”
British jobs, forecast to rise to 65,000 by 2030, including 22,000 apprenticeships by 2035.
Burnham said: “Security is not only about what we build, it is about who builds it and who benefits from it. The submarines produced in Barrow will protect Britain for decades to come, and the 47,000 jobs and apprenticeships will change lives in this town and in dozens of places like it — British money, spent on British workers, British firms and British skills, in the places that were written off for 40 years.”
During the visit, he will unveil a new apprenticeship scheme designed to help young people in the northwest ac- cess skilled employment opportunities.
HMS Dreadnought, the first of the four new nuclear deterrent submarines, will complete its sea trials and be ready to enter service with the Royal Navy in the early 2030s. The new contract will also mean boat two, HMS Valiant, reaches sea trials and boats three and four progress through their construc- tion phases.
Healey, it is understood, hopes to forge deeper ties between the armed forces and government. On day one in the role as chancellor, Healey request- ed a military adviser to sit in his private office. Although the prime minister and senior cabinet ministers have military advisers, the chancellor’s military ad- viser has not traditionally sat as part of their immediate office.
for deadline set on October 7
David Brown Chief News Correspondent
A Green Party mayor has been con- demned for setting a deadline to discuss ending a twinning arrangement with an Israeli city on the anniversary of the Hamas terrorist attack.
Zoë Garbett, the mayor of Hackney in east London, wrote to her counter- part in Haifa, saying that the council was seeking to end the relationship.
She has asked Yona Yahav, the mayor of Haifa, to respond by October 7. The date is the third anniversary of the inva- sion of Israel by Hamas terrorists, dur- ing which 1,200 people were murdered and more than 250 taken hostage.
Martin Sugarman, the chairman of Hackney Anglo Israel Friendship Asso- ciation, said: “If October 7 was chosen deliberately then it is vile and sinister... If it was somehow done in error then it is staggering to think no one in the council realised the significance of that date. Heads must roll over this.”
The council has apologised for the “insensitivity” of the deadline’s timing.
Yet Houchen’s intervention suggests that fiscal devolution could spur signifi- cant regional variation in how new powers are used. Richard Parker, the Labour mayor of the West Midlands, said: “If you believe in devolution you have to acknowledge that different mayors may make different decisions.”
Ministers have also been warned against creating a “two-tier” national economy. About half of England’s pop- ulation lives outside an area led by an elected mayor, and there is no confir- mation yet on whether non-mayoral regions, such as Cornwall, will receive equivalent fiscal powers.
T
2,000-year-old jigsaw — bit by bit
James Imam Milan
The thin, broken fragments were scattered where they had fallen when the roof caved in nearly two millennia ago.
After months of painstaking work, experts at the Pompeii archaeological park are putting a fractured fresco back together like a jigsaw puzzle, to recreate the curved ceiling of a banqueting hall in an ancient domus.
The hundreds of tiny pieces were buried in pumice and ash from the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in AD79, which preserved much of the Roman- era town. But even Pompeii’s archae- ologists, accustomed to remarkable discoveries, were surprised to find the shards of the ceiling painting while preparing for another excavation.
“This excavation came about rather by chance,” said Ludovica Alesse, a restorer at Pompeii who worked on the project, referring to a dig that began three years ago in Pompeii’s Regio IX district. “Every time something is dis- covered, it provides vital information for understanding ancient society.”
The coloured fragments have been partially reassembled on a concave panel made to replicate the original ceiling, which visitors can now see at the archaeological park.
Believed to be from the upper floor of a home with an adjoining bakery, whose ceiling collapsed at some point after the volcanic eruption, the restored sections include a sacred marriage scene showing Dionysus, the Greek god of wine-making and theatre, reclining on a chariot while Ariadne, a Cretan princess, plays a harp.
Richly detailed decorations include garlands overflowing with fruit and flowers, theatrical masks, winged figures in tunics and vessels used for sacred offerings to the gods.
Alesse said the fresco stood out for the “quality of the depiction, its icono- graphic themes and materials used”. She added that motifs representing Dionysus — known to the Romans as Bac- chus and a symbol of fertility, abun- dance and pleas- ure — “feature prominently throughout the domus”.
The work formed a fittingly lavish backdrop to feasts held at the villa, which was undergoing renovations at
Alex Farber Media Correspondent
The BBC has axed Live at the Apollo after more than two decades, leading comedy bosses to mourn “the end of an era”.
The series, which has been recorded at London’s Hammersmith Apollo since 2004, when Jack Dee hosted with appearances by guests including Joan Rivers, Ardal O’Hanlon and Jo Brand, is to end after its next outing. It has been cut alongside the long- running entertainment titles Blankety Blank and Celebrity Mastermind as the BBC’s content arm tries to save at least £100 million over the next two years.
the time of the eruption and is known to have belonged to Rustius Verus, a wealthy Pompeian magistrate.
Regio IX has proved a rich hunting ground for archaeologists, with other notable recent discoveries including a cycle of almost life-size frescoes span-
ning three walls of a banquet-
ing hall at the site of the
House of Thiasus.
The decorators who created the frescoes,
however, were un-
likely to have been
celebrated figures
in their own time. “Artists did not sign their work in ancient times; they were slaves,” Alesse said. “They worked in groups, each with a specific task.” Vaulted ceilings had
Analysis
he decision to cut Live at the Apollo has caused some consternation, particularly among comedy agents, but it’s not beloved enough to cause a public relations storm and to have people in the streets angrily brandishing Save Our
BBC placards (Ben Dowell, The Times TV critic, writes).
The reason seems to be creative, rather than cost. There is now so much choice for comedy fans on streamers, especially Netflix, where the comedy special generates a big buzz with the likes of
Experts piecing hundreds of the tiny fragments together found detailed sections representing the god Dionysus and his sacred marriage to the princess Ariadne
been identified in previous excava- tions at Pompeii, but reconstruct- ing this one required experts to work backwards from the fragments them- selves.
By studying the curvature of individ- ual pieces, archaeologists were able to
Ricky Gervais and Chris Rock. Funny, as the Americans know well, is money.
Here’s hoping the BBC get their thinking caps on and try to provide fresh opportunities for the great talent we have in this country — and then they may well be laughing.
infer the ceiling’s original shape. “It was very complicated to work out the exact shape because the curvature was very slight,” Alesse said. “It was not far off flat.”
Archaeologists began investigating possible connections between the frag-
Andrew Beint, managing director of Live at the Apollo’s producer Open Mike, said the show would leave behind an “amazing legacy”, having helped to launch the careers of stars including Michael McIntyre, John Bishop, Jason Manford and Katherine Ryan.
“It’s the end of an era,” said Jon Thoday, co-founder of the talent management group and producer Avalon, which represents comedians including Greg Davies, Lee Mack and Rose Matafeo.
PARCO ARCHEOLOGICO DI POMPEI/AP
ments soon after their discovery, while the physical reconstruction began at the end of last year.
Rather than placing the fragile fragments on a flat surface, restorers assembled them on a specially shaped curved support, measuring four by five metres, in order to prevent further damage.
The partially restored ceiling is now displayed in the site’s Palestra Grande, beneath the columned porticoes surrounding a vast central courtyard that once contained a swimming pool measuring 35 by 22 metres. Other frag- ments of the paintwork remain in storage while conservators try to deter- mine how they fit together.
“It would have been incorrect to place them in a random area,” Alesse said. “[But] there are many fragments that in the future could be mounted on other panels and create a wider recon- struction.”
we have to make some really tough choices in light of our funding challen- ges,” the corporation said.
Despite the audience falling to below 400,000 following its relegation to BBC2 in 2015, Live at the Apollo was said to continue to play a role in raising the profile of emerging comedians.
Geoff Norcott, a comedian and Times Radio presenter, said Live at the Apollo resonated despite its decline. “The show still had the power to land routines with the public. I did a routine the second time I appeared about men wanting lots of credit for housework. I still get women bringing ironic plastic medals to my tour shows,” he said.
Sunset salutation Yoga practitioners stretch out at Alexandra Palace as the day turns to dusk on a balmy summer evening in north London
over battle to save Jodrell Bank
Rhys Blakely Science Editor
This week, in a field 20 miles south of Manchester, a team of engineers was preparing to jack 3,200 tonnes of British scientific history into the air.
A wheel bearing had failed on the Lovell Telescope at Jodrell Bank in Cheshire. Replacing it meant raising the entire structure — the latest act in a maintenance regime that has kept its dish turning for nearly seven decades.
Completed in 1957, the 76m radio telescope tracked the rocket that carried Sputnik. It has peered at distant galaxies and the formation of stars. It has outlasted the Cold War, gales and 15 prime ministers. This week, though, it was revealed that it faces closure when government funding ends in 2028.
Professor Brian Cox, the broadcaster and particle physicist at the University of Manchester, called the decision “hasty, ill-considered and devastating”. George Dransfield, an astrophysicist and The Sky at Night presenter, said the cuts were “a gamble on the future of UK science”.
Other scientists say they are ignoring the difficult funding choices that must be made. In a world of limited resources, the government’s principal funder of science, UK Re- search and Innova-
tion, must pick priorities. Professor James Naismith, a structural biologist at Oxford, said: “Anyone arguing that one facility or programme must be support- ed should also be clear about what they would fund less generously instead.”
Others, speaking privately, were much blunter. “If voters had to choose between curing cancer and a radio tele- scope, my money is on cancer,” one senior life sciences researcher said.
The cuts have come despite an in- crease in science spending. UK Re- search and Innovation has been allo- cated £38.6 billion over four years. Its annual budget will rise by about £770 million, from £9.22 billion in 2026-27 to almost £10 billion in 2029-30.
Funding for “curiosity-driven” re- search — researchers following their own questions — will stay broadly flat, at about £14.5 billion over the four years. Alongside that, there will be a new emphasis on government priori- ties expected to deliver faster economic or strategic benefits.
Spending on AI research will
more than double, reach-
ing £1.58 billion over the
four years, while quantum technolo-
gies will get just
over £1 billion. Ad-
vanced manufac-
turing — which covers fields from battery technolo- gies to robotics — gets £1.34 billion, while there is £1.51 billion for life sci- ences. Jonathan Reyn- olds, the business secretary,
said the aim was to “invest in the next generation of scientific facilities and in- frastructure that will underpin discov- ery, innovation and growth”.
Those who have backed the new approach include Professor Sir Antho- ny Finkelstein, a computer scientist who is president of City St George’s, University of London, and a former government chief scientific adviser for national security. He wrote in a blog post this year: “The task now is for the research community to engage con- structively rather than assume the tone of an aggrieved common room, resent- ful of accountability.”
But many physicists are resentful. UK Research and Innovation directs funding through seven research coun- cils, which cover their own fields. The Science and Technology Facilities Council is the principal public funder of British physics and astronomy. Its core budget is due to remain roughly flat.
The Science and Technology Facili- ties Council, which decides where funding goes, had therefore examined its programmes and made “very tough prioritisation decisions”.
This is a real-terms squeeze and it is this pressure that explains the council’s decision to end Jodrell Bank’s funding. The observatory is not the only casual- ty. More than a kilometre beneath the North Yorkshire coast, physicists at the Boulby Underground Laboratory are hunting for dark matter. Its operating budget will be cut by 40 per cent.
Three other totemic national physics laboratories, including Diamond Light Source in Oxfordshire, must together save £28 million a year.
man of the Economic and Social Re- search Council — a sister organisation to the Science and Technology Facilities Council — said the overall funding package for physics and astro- nomy was “good … given how con- strained public finances are”. The diffi- culty, he said, was the extent to which costs had climbed.
At Jodrell Bank, the associate direct- or Professor Simon Garrington’s re- sponse is that useful discoveries often arrive from unlikely sources. The ob- servatory is using its telescopes as high- ly sensitive receivers to detect satellites and small pieces of debris in space. Garrington said this kind of work had uses for defence and national security.
Owned by the University of Man- chester, Jodrell Bank may now appeal to Andy Burnham. Cox has urged the prime minister to reconsider decisions inherited from his predecessor.
Garrington has some reason to be- lieve that a campaign could work. In 2008, when the observatory faced another funding crisis, The Times ran a front-page story, picturing a Lovell Telescope engineer carrying an enor- mous spanner. Public protest followed and the money was restored.
The engineer still works there. The squeeze has endured too; Jodrell Bank got £2.5 million in 2008, Garrington noted, compared with £2.8 million this year, a rise far below inflation. “We’re fighting,” he said. “We really are hope- ful that we will find a way.”
Quintagram® No 2633
Solve all five concise clues using each letter underneath once only
1 Mocked, taunted (6)
2 Disorderly, messy (6)
3 Indicator substance for pH (6)
4 Most senior (6)
5 Diamond anniversary (8)
D D D E E E E E
E H I I I I J L
L M N R S S S T
T T T T U U X Y
Solutions see T2 MindGames p15 Cryptic clues T2 MindGames p14
Chief constable quits
Chris Noble, the chief constable of Staffordshire, has quit less than a day before he was due to face a gross misconduct hearing. Noble was suspended last August after the Staffordshire police and crime commissioner referred him to the Independent Office for Police Conduct, which said then it was investigating him over claims he shared confidential information.
Civil service swells
The number of civil servants has reached a new high of 523,000, up from 516,000 in March last year, government figures show. Staff numbers have risen by 2.5 per cent since Labour came to power and pay has increased by 11 per cent in the same period, despite its pledges to make cuts. The government said it wants to reduce back-office roles by 2030.
One that didn’t get away
A schoolboy angler spent almost two hours hauling in a huge fish nearly twice his size. Henry Ralph, 14, first thought the skate, weighting an estimated 13 stone, was just a mass of seaweed, until it began fighting back at the beach near Oban, Argyll & Bute, in western Scotland. Ralph said he released the fish, above, after what was “the fight of a lifetime”.
Breakfast: 6am to 10am Our free radio station has all the latest headlines, interviews and debates every morning Listen seven days a week On DAB, app, website and smart speaker
student come to Britain on a mission to kill for Iran? George Odling reports from Stavanger
Ten days after his 18th birthday, Johan- nes Natland left his large family home in the suburbs of oil-rich Stavanger “to play football with friends”.
At 6am, he texted his mother, Ellen Kongsnes: “I am with a friend, back in a few days. I love you.” After four days with no further contact, she opened the door to local police. “I thought, perhaps he has been arrested locally for having cannabis or something ... Normal teen- ager stuff,” Kongsnes told the Times.
The reality was far more serious. Nat- land had been arrested by armed police in a hotel room in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, with two pistols, 12 rounds of ammunition and £2,000 in cash. “I kept repeating to them: in Britain? Are you sure?” Kongsnes, a journalist, said.
Intelligence indicated her son had been hired as an assassin by a notorious Swedish criminal network linked to the Iranian regime. Yesterday an Old Bai- ley jury found him guilty of conspiring to murder an unknown target in the UK.
How does a middle-class teenager from one of the most affluent parts of Norway become an international assassin for a gang with links to Iran?
Paradoxically, the answer begins with one of the great law enforcement successes of modern times. In 2020, international police forces made 7,000 arrests after cracking the Encrochat encrypted communications network used by 60,000 criminals worldwide.
Other enterprising villains soon stepped up to fill the vacuum, however. One such beneficiary was Rawa Majid, leader of the Foxtrot criminal network and known as the Kurdish Fox.
Diamant Salihu, author of When Nobody’s Listening: Inside Sweden’s Drug Gangs, said Majid and his childhood friend, Ismail Abdo from Uppsala in Sweden, built a Scandinavian drugs empire from Turkey before falling out. Their split culminated in Majid hiring a young hitman to shoot his old friend’s mother dead at her home in Uppsala.
“This led to a brutal revenge war,” Salihu said, with killings all over Swe- den. The Fox eventually had to flee Turkey for Iran. “We understand that he was then detained and given an ulti- matum by the regime,” Salihu said. “He
Sian Bradley
Newly released video showing images of bags of ashes and discarded gifts re- vealed the “horror scene” that was the funeral parlour run by Robert Bush.
Humberside police have released the bodycam video taken by the first officers who entered the disgraced former funeral director’s Legacy prem- ises in March 2024. Officers discovered 35 unburied bodies and bags of ashes.
Bush, 48, is to be sentenced this week after admitting 67 charges, including fraud and preventing lawful burials.
Bush had asked the managers of a dif- ferent undertaker company to help with the recovery of a body while he was on holiday in Arizona. They raised the alarm when one of Legacy’s casual workers told them bodies had been at the premises “for years” and described the site as a “horror scene”.
was told he could either end up in Iran- ian prison or work for the ayatollah, attacking enemies of the regime.”
Among these were attacks on the Israeli embassies in Stockholm and Copenhagen and a shooting at the offices of the Israeli tech firm Elbit Systems in Gothenburg in 2024. The most shocking element of the violence was the age of its alleged perpetrators. A number of Swedish teenagers, inc- luding a 13-year-old boy, were arrested over the Gothenburg shooting.
Police also released footage of the moment Robert Bush was arrested
inside the “unkempt” funeral parlour, where they found uncovered bodies “in varying states of decomposition”.
“The phenomenon is called violence as a service,” Salihu said. “The gang puts an advert on Signal or another app offering between £10,000 to £25,000. But the children recruited are rarely paid, because they often end up in pris- on. Foxtrot wants them to get caught. They are used like a pair of old shoes, thrown away at any time.”
Foxtrot’s reach spread across Scandi- navia, from Sweden into Norway. Nat- land was recruited by an even younger Stavanger native. The 17-year-old, a
Yesterday the court heard more about the state of Bush’s premises, where sentimental items such as jewel- lery were strewn about and a teddy bear was found lying in a pool of dried blood.
Ash was found on desk surfaces, in empty boxes and on the floor. Ceilings were collapsing, rooms were mouldy and the cold storage room was “dirty”.
The video shows Bush being ar- rested. Wearing a dressing gown, he ar- gues with officers: “I don’t understand ... It’s like I’m Che Guevara or something.”
Families sobbed in court this week as they relived the trauma of learning that the bodies of their loved ones were inside the funeral home, despite them paying for a funeral.
serial recruiter known as “Generalen”, was convicted in Norway shortly before Natland’s trial began of offences includ- ing orchestrating two murders in Swe- den and a third assassination plot that was foiled by police.
Generalen took instructions directly from Majid’s right-hand man, Ali She- hab, 21, who identified himself as Agent 47, a character from the computer game Hitman. Abdo was arrested in Turkey in July last year, and Shehab was detained in Sulaimani in Iraqi Kurdistan in December. The Fox remains in Iran, though Salihu said it was possible he had died in a US drone strike.
Natland was a star of a local football team, Brodd, and planned to train as a lawyer but suffered from a psy- chotic mental disorder and was self-medicating with drugs including LSD, cannabis and cocaine. Six weeks before he went to Britain, he was dis- charged from a psychiatric unit in Norway.
On March 15 last year he bumped into a group of friends in a park and told them he had been recruited “by the Foxes”. He said: “I’m going to get a lot of money and someone is going to die.” Natland had been promised £21,000.
Shehab arranged for Natland to fly to Manchester two days later. On landing, Natland was detained by Border Force officials, but he was later granted bail and allowed to enter Manchester.
Gang members sent him to a wood in Huddersfield where he collected the guns, a Luger and a US revolver made in the 1860s, the cash and ammunition. He booked a room at the Briar Court hotel, bought three pairs of gloves and
drowned trying to save him
Seren Hughes
A seven-year-old boy has died in hospi- tal a week after his aunt and cousin drowned in the sea off the Essex coast.
Musa Ahmed died “in a state of ease and peace”, his father, Shahin Ahmed, said. The boy was flown to hospital with life-threatening injuries after he and several members of his family got into trouble in the water at West Mersea beach, near Colchester, on July 22.
His aunt Shelina Rahman, 41, and her daughter Sameeha, 15, from Ilford, drowned in the same incident.
METROPOLITAN POLICE
Johannes Natland fires an imaginary gun at officers during his arrest. The teenager was hired by Rawa Majid, left, with his right-hand man Ali Shehab
was directed to a stolen car to be used for the planned killing the next day.
Yet Natland never got his final instructions because, at 5.15am on March 19, armed police burst into his room. Bodyworn camera video shows the unarmed teenager firing an imagi- nary gun at an officer, before he is push- ed against a wall and handcuffed.
Natland admitted possessing the weapons but denied he planned to go ahead with the assassination, insisting he had taken the job for money to buy drugs and intended to sabotage the op- eration by shooting himself in the foot.
He claimed that he initially thought it was a scam until it became clear that the people he was working with were
real gangsters. “I thought, ‘I
am in a bit of a pickle
here,’” Natland said
from the dock.
In September last year, a 27-year-old
man was arrested
on conspiracy to
commit murder and has been released under investigation. Two men, aged 30 and 27, were arrested in Bradford on May 20 on suspicion of handling stolen goods relating to the car. They were released on bail. The target of the botched assassina- tion has not been identified. The case is the first example of Foxtrot operating in Britain and is considered an Iranian- backed plot, Frank Ferguson, the chief crown prosecutor, confirmed.
Kongsnes insisted her son, now 19, would have been incapable of going ahead with the killing. Wiping away tears, she told The Times: “I know Joh- annes better than anyone and I know he wouldn’t have been able to do it.”
Natland will be sentenced in October.
the scene at 5.35pm. Craig Bowe, 42, pulled Rahman, her daughter and another woman from the water after calls for help from her husband, Man- sur Rahman, leader of Jubo Dal UK, the overseas youth wing of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party in Britain.
Bowe swam against fierce waves to help get Musa into the coastguard’s boat, and a teenage boy was also pulled to safety.
Rahman, who was a teacher, and her daughter were given CPR on the beach by onlookers and then emergency ser- vices but could not be resuscitated.
A
Even I would qualify as disabled,
F
Daisy Eastlake Political Reporter health condition or illness that had lasted or was expected to last more than a year, and whether this reduced their ability to carry out day-to-day activi- ties. A person who answered yes to both questions was considered disabled.
Baroness Casey of Blackstock has said she would qualify for disability support based on an official survey by the Dep- artment for Work and Pensions, as she calls for the country to ask “difficult questions” on welfare reform.
Casey, a veteran Whitehall trouble- shooter, is leading a review of social care which is expected to make an interim report later this year and full recommendations in 2028.
According to government data from the DWP’s family resources survey, 16.8 million people self-reported a dis- ability in the 2023-24 financial year, equivalent to one in four British people.
Survey respondents were asked whether they had a physical or mental
vulnerable? Time to decide
Comment
or too long, adult social care — the very system we rely on to provide older people and disabled people with vital support — has been stuck in the same cycle: crisis, promises of reform, review, then retreat.
Unlike the NHS, it was never built from one clear plan or promise about who gets help and when. Instead, it has grown into a complicated patchwork of funding rules, means- testing, local decisions, private providers and families filling the gaps.
For the past 18 months, I’ve met the people who have been left to carry the consequences. They have told me that organising even basic care or equipment can feel impossible to navigate. Some people get support, while others with the same needs do not; disabled people can face long waits and find themselves fighting for every bit of help; older people face huge bills, confusing choices or no help at all until they hit crisis point.
Holding all of this up are poorly paid care workers or unpaid friends and family who keep going because there is no alternative.
Social care affects every family in this country — whether we need care ourselves, care for someone we love, work in care or pay
Self-reporting as disabled in the family resources survey does not mean a person is entitled to benefits. The sur- vey assesses disability based on the def- inition in the Equality Act 2010, which means people are considered disabled if they have a physical or mental impair- ment that has “substantial” and “long- term” negative effects on their ability to do normal daily activities.
Equality Act 2010.
Casey launched her “Big Conversa- tion on Care” yesterday, which seeks public opinion on what a social care system should look like as well as who
for it through our taxes. Yet for too long we’ve ignored the problem while our population has grown older and sicker and families have become smaller and less able to provide care in the way previous generations did.
Our country has changed, for the better in many ways, but governments have ducked the hard choices instead of facing up to what those changes mean.
That is why we have launched the Big Conversation on Care: the most ambitious public conversation in a generation about the future of adult social care in England. We want to hear from at least one million people in England: older people, disabled people, families, their friends, unpaid carers and care workers. We all have a stake in what comes next.
This cannot be another technical consultation for people who know the system inside out; it has to involve the whole country in finding the solution.
The Big Conversation will ask the public to get involved in making the tough choices that have been dodged for decades. When we are old, disabled or seriously ill, who should support us and how? What should families reasonably be expected to do? When should the state step in? Who should be prioritised for support? And how should we contribute in return?
country has fixed difficult problems before. The NHS was created in the aftermath of war. During the pandemic, we showed again that, when the moment demands it, this country can act with urgency to find bold solutions to national challenges.
The lesson of our history is not that big problems are impossible to fix; it is that we can only do so when governments take responsibility, the country faces them honestly and the public have a real say in the answer.
We now need to do in peacetime what previous generations did in wartime: face the problem and fix it. Not with another sticking plaster or promise that disappears when the argument gets difficult, but with a proper settlement that the public understand and can support.
When you are in government, you have to take responsibility for fixing the problems in front of you. After decades of reviews, retreats and broken promises, adult social care cannot be left in the too- hard drawer again. We need to face it, fix it and build a system that lasts. Baroness Casey of Blackstock is chair of the independent commission on adult social care in England
should get state-funded support. But she was clear that the consultation “ought to ask some sort of difficult questions”.
“Essentially, if you look at the figures, something like 16.8 million people answered questions that took you to a point that they would be classified by the Department for Work and Pensions as disabled, and I don’t buy it,” she told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.
“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, it’s simple as.”
More than four million people are now claiming the personal independ- ence payment (Pip), a type of disability benefit that is not means-tested but is designed to support the added cost of a disability.
Real-terms spending on the benefit is forecast to rise from £26 billion in 2024- 25 to £45 billion by 2031. Between 2024- 25 and 2030-31 the number of people claiming incapacity benefits is forecast to rise from 3.4 million to 4 million, and those on disability benefits are marked to rise from 6.5 million to 8.8 million. Total welfare spending was forecast at more than £320 billion for 2025-26, close to a quarter of all government spending. More than half of total wel- fare spending went to pensioners.
Andy Burnham said he would not scrap the state pension triple lock, which leaves working-age health and disability benefits the principal target for any savings.
He has signalled that he is prepared to make claiming benefits harder, and said the country had to “get really serious” about bringing down the welfare bill.
In an interview this week with the BBC, the prime minister said he believed “there are people out there who, with the right support, can go into work”, and pointed to guarantees of opportunities for young people.
He added: “Where mental health support is needed, for instance, it’s pro- vided in work to support people in an opportunity.”
Casey also said that although some people were not getting enough help, some might not need to be cared for by the state. “We’ve just got to get our- selves a little bit more straight on the fact there are some people out there that are struggling beyond belief to try to help themselves or get help for their families with very significant disabili- ties, and the help they’re getting is not enough,” she said.
“At the same time … I’m asking the country to just take a breath for a minute and think, who should we be looking after, and how? [That] is the
most important, I think,
question facing the British
welfare state in the 21st century.”
The DWP said: “The
16.8 million figure re-
fers to self-reported
disability under the
This is a self-re-
ported question
in a voluntary
survey. It is
not the same as the defini- tion applied to eligibility for DWP disability benefits.”
so here’s another one
Political Sketch
ndy Burnham’s first vaguely significant speech as prime minister took place far from home. Not that long ago, he was standing outside a working men’s club in Makerfield, promising the world that he would be a voice for the voiceless, that various forgotten communities in and around the Wigan area would finally be heard. So how had he ended up here, on Golders Green Road, in the heart of that north London, to give a speech on social care?
Maurice and Vivienne Wohl Campus, a well-appointed Jewish retirement and social care centre, doesn’t pass a single house worth less than £1.5 million. There aren’t many places in the entire country where you’ll find more elderly people, now living alone in underoccupied family homes that they don’t want to sell.
Some people take the view, rather aggressively, that lucky Boomers should fund their own care with their colossal unearned housing wealth. Others believe, equally aggressively, that having to sell your home to pay for care is a disgraceful indignity that no one should have to suffer. As a result, Westminster has spectacularly failed to do anything about it for decades.
T
says peer leading welfare review
going to find the answer. He was introduced by the brand-new health secretary, Yvette Cooper.
Cooper’s role in proceedings was mainly to sound disappointed about all of the failed reviews and commissions and reports into social care that had brought them to this sorry point. “Since I was elected as a member of parliament there have been 22 different attempts to reform social care,” she said.
It was arguably a less than ideal way to launch another attempt. Burnham would later call the number of reviews and commissions and reports into social care “shameful”. But somehow his one is going to be different. You may be aware of a rather famous meme, taken from the US sitcom Arrested Development, with the punchline: “No, it never works. People delude themselves into thinking that it might. But it might work for us!” This was the social care version.
Andy Burnham spoke to residents at a care home in Golders Green, north London, after starting the day with a run in Westminster. Angela Rayner posted a photo of herself in her previous career as a carer, saying: “I know how it feels to graft hard”
In 2017, “Brenda from Bristol” was the voice of the nation. Yesterday British politics was summed up by a care home resident, below, who, when introduced to the prime minister, asked: “What, a new one?”
completing the 23rd review into social care, to complete her work a year faster than had previously been requested. Casey was even here herself. She spoke in sad but formulaic terms about the well- known problems in social care, about the “22 reviews in 27 years”.
She also forgot that she was meant to be launching a new initiative into social care, called “The Big Conversation on Care”, which, after a whispered offstage intervention, she did eventually launch with some seemingly ironic jazz hands.
And then, bounding into the middle of the small circle of assembled chairs, came Burnham himself. “I was going to speak from notes,” he said, “but I’m going to speak from the heart.”
Politics, at least in the time I’ve been watching it, doesn’t get schmaltzier than this. But also, we must acknowledge, it worked. The prime minister gave a fine speech. It was warm, it was sincere. He spoke movingly about his dad who has dementia. You notice the kindness, the dedication. His predecessor was
KIRSTY WIGGLESWORTH/PA; JEREMY SELWYN
certainly not shy of speaking about his parents and their struggles. But somehow, cruel though it may be to say, it never had the desired effect.
Later, he was taken on a tour round the facility, where one elderly gentleman asked him his name and who he was, and had to be very politely told it was “Andy” and that “I am the prime minister”.
“Another one?” came the reply. “They keep changing every five minutes.”
This stuff shouldn’t matter, but it’s an encounter that, for at least 50 per cent of our more recent prime ministers, would have sent toes curling in awkwardness. In Burnham’s hands it was heart- warming stuff, which bodes well.
Burnham hadn’t, in any way, come armed with any sort of answer. But he hadn’t come armed with false promises either. He has publicly set himself the hardest test possible, to do something that has defeated Westminster for decades. He could yet pass this test. It has never worked for others, but it might work for him. Yes, it really might.
cuts? Options to fund reforms are limited
Eleanor Hayward Health Editor Ben Clatworthy Whitehall Editor
Andy Burnham has vowed to put social care reform at the top of his agenda as prime minister, saying he will not leave office without bringing “substantial change” to the system.
This pledge will not come cheap. Estimates suggest a new national care service operating “on the NHS princi- ple” will cost £18.5 billion a year, mean- ing tough choices lie ahead over how to pay for it all.
the 10 per cent death tax Burnham has previously championed a flat 10 per cent “national care levy” on all estates after a person dies. The measure would replace inheritance tax, which is only paid by about 4.5 per cent of people. Moving to a system where everybody is liable would, he argued, allow there to be free social care for all.
‘social insurance’ schemes Rather than taxing people after their deaths to pay for care, many other de- veloped nations, such as Japan and Germany, follow a model where work- ing-aged people pay into a big pot, which is ringfenced for social care.
an extra 1.8 per cent income tax for workers over 34 Civil servants designed a model of social insurance, in which all working- age adults would pay an extra 1.8 per cent income tax on earnings above £6,240 from the age of 34. This would go into a national Later Life Care Fund.
can the cash be found from existing budgets? Burnham said in his speech that social care can be improved “within existing budgets”, but this would require serious cutbacks. A path of no extra taxes would make meeting Nato targets on defence spending harder and leave John Healey, the chancellor, in a bind when sticking to Labour’s fiscal rules. Assisted dying faces defeat as Burnham shifts focus
Ben Clatworthy, Eleanor Hayward
Labour MPs believe plans to legalise assisted dying will be voted down after Andy Burnham insisted that social and palliative care must be “fixed” first.
MPs are now expected to reject the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill when it returns to the Commons in September after the new prime minis- ter made clear he did not support it.
Burnham revealed his vision for a national care service yesterday and vowed to put all the “political capital I have on the table” to tackle the crisis in the sector.
After his speech in north London, he was asked about his position on assisted dying but insisted his reforms needed to come first.
Analysis
here have been, as Andy Burnham pointed out, 22 different attempts to reform social care in Britain over the past 30 years and each one has ended in failure (Oliver Wright writes).
This time, the prime minister pledged, it would be different. Burnham set out the broad principles behind the attempt to solve one of the country’s most intractable problems, which thwarted him when he was health secretary more than 15 years ago.
A national care service, integrated into the NHS, should be established to provide care for elderly people where possible in their own homes. The new service needed to be properly funded, he said, and staff should be paid more than the minimum wage, in addition to being offered career progression linked to the wider health service. There should also be an end to the lottery of care costs when some elderly people must pay for their own care out of their assets — until they have just £23,250 left.
Burnham was careful not to set out his own preferred solution. He announced plans for a “national conversation” led by the Whitehall trouble-shooter Baroness Casey of Blackstock, who will make recommendations next year.
Creating a social care system that is fit for purpose will not be cheap — it is estimated to cost more than £18 billion. However, with Labour’s large majority, if Burnham is prepared to use his political capital to force through change it is possible to see how it could work.
the prime minister, allowed Labour MPs a free vote on assisted dying. The Commons backed the bill put forward in November 2024, but it ran out of time and was abandoned.
A private member’s bill on the matter was reintroduced to parliament in May.
Asked about assisted dying, Burn- ham said: “I think there’s something that needs to happen first. That is the fixing of the funding of palliative care and social care.”
A source said: “This is a major switch from a prime minister who was basic- ally backing it to one that says, ‘not now’. Before, backbench MPs under- stood that the prime minister was in support. That all changes now.”
before Reform donations’
George Greenwood Investigations Reporter
The convicted fraudster George Cottrell transferred a total of more than $2 million to his mother in the days before her 2024 donations to Reform UK, it has been reported.
According to The Guardian, financial industry sources said that Fiona Cottrell received one deposit of $1.4 million and two tranches of more than $300,000 each — money she attributed to having come from her son, George, when bankers asked about the deposits.
On each occasion, the newspaper claimed that the transfers were made between 24 and 72 hours before Fiona donated either directly to Reform, or via Britain Means Business, a fund- raising vehicle for the political party.
The lump sums allegedly went through US-based cryptocurrency exchanges before entering Fiona’s account. These platforms allow crypto- assets to be changed for hard currency.
As revealed by The Times, the Metropolitan Police launched an investigation into £500,000 of donations made by Fiona, in relation to concealing or disguising donations derived from an “impermissible” donor to a political party, or the use of “false” information about a donation including the amount or the identity of the donor.
George Cottrell, known as Posh George, left, is Nigel Farage’s long-term adviser
The new disclosures will add to the questions facing Reform and its leader, Nigel Farage, after a Sunday Times In- sight investigation that revealed how the crypto gambler “Posh George” had secretly funded Farage.
The Guardian had previously revealed that Farage had not declared a £5 million donation from the crypto- billionaire Christopher Harborne.
Farage told broadcasters on Tuesday that he did not regret not disclosing the payments. Asked if he ever thought he should have just declared the money, Farage said: “No not really, I don’t, because I took legal advice.
compliance, you know, I go to people who understand these processes better than me. People that I trust.”
He also insisted that he has not bro- ken the law or avoided tax in any way and has not misused public funds.
Farage resigned as an MP after The Sunday Times investigation and called a by-election on the issue of his con- duct, which other major parties have boycotted.
Luckier Londoners got the chance to cool off in the Sky Pool, suspended 115ft above the ground, while others in Greenwich made do with a fan
Source: Environment Agency, Jul 29 Normal
Prolonged dry weather
Drought
West Midlands
Thames Valley
Wessex
Devon and Cornwall
In total, the paper said that George deposited $2,047,693 into his mother’s bank account.
Taking into account her 2024 dona- tions to Reform UK and associated groups, Fiona gave a total of £1.5 million that year. These amounts are about equivalent, based on exchange rate data from May and June 2024.
In the interview, Farage also indicat- ed that he would have talks with the suspended Reform MP James McMur- dock about his readmission.
The Times revealed on Tuesday that the government intervened to block two of McMurdock’s companies from being wound up owing to failing to pay back taxpayer-funded Covid loans.
Asked about the transfers, lawyers for George Cottrell said that their client had no further comment.
Fiona Cottrell has previously declined to comment on any matters when approached.
The Metropolitan Police has previously said: “An investigation was launched in February 2025 after a referral was made to the Metropolitan police by the Electoral Commission relating to donations made to a political party ahead of the 2024 UK general election.”
A spokesman for Reform UK said: “Reform takes pride in its stringent vetting of donations and always ensures that the Electoral Commission guidelines on donations, as set out in the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000, are strictly followed, as has been the case with all donations.”
Britain on high alert
affecting 23 million customers. There is no single threshold for declaring a drought. The EA assesses factors inc- luding rainfall, river flows, ground- water levels, reservoir supplies and eco- logical damage. When conditions dete- riorate enough to significantly affect citizens, a drought can be announced.
The Met Office said the wildfire risk was very high, as dry soils and vegeta- tion created conditions in which flames could take hold and spread quickly.
Fire services in England and Wales have responded to 706 wildfires this year, including more than 200 in the past fortnight. Eight fires that are alight at present are being monitored.
Hertfordshire and London
East Anglia
This month has so far produced only 7 per cent of its average rainfall across England, falling to 1 per cent in the south. The seven areas in drought sta- tus are East Anglia; Hertfordshire and London; the Thames Valley; Hamp- shire and the Isle of Wight; Devon and Cornwall; the West Midlands; and Wes- sex, which includes Dorset, Somerset, Wiltshire and South Gloucestershire.
Almost four fifths of England’s rivers are at below-normal levels or worse.
Helen Wakeham, the EA’s director of water, said: “A second consecutive summer drought is an exceptionally serious situation and one that will have long-lasting impacts on our environ- ment, wildlife and the economy.”
Hampshire and Isle of Wight
avoids police action over guillotine post
Daisy Eastlake Political Reporter
Police will not take action against Zack Polanski for sharing a photograph of a man wearing a T-shirt with a guillotine on it and the words “We’re only making plans for Nigel”.
The Green Party leader reshared the post, which appeared to be aimed at Nigel Farage, the Reform UK leader, on Instagram with other images after a party event in Bristol on Sunday. He has refused to apologise to Farage.
Reform accused Polanski of “incite- ment to murder” and reported him to the Metropolitan Police. Farage said he would “expect to be arrested [over such a post] ... and so should Polanski”.
The Met said it was unlikely the shar- ing of the image “would constitute a criminal offence”, but added: “We have determined that a crime should be recorded in relation to the wearing of the T-shirt.” It has transferred the matter to Avon and Somerset police.
Reform criticised the decision and said: “Once again we see we are living in two-tier Britain.” The Greens said Reform was using the incident to distract from its “dodgy donations”.
Polanski removed the post, but said he would not apologise for an “inad- vertent mistake”. He told BBC News- night that if he said sorry “Farage would run all over social media saying he was correct about incitement to murder” but stressed his safety was important.
A
Alice Wright Money Reporter
The millionaire chief executive of an investment bank has been accused by his ex-wife of hiding £16 million while claiming to be so poor he had to borrow money from friends and family.
Sohail Sultan Ahmad, 57, the boss and majority shareholder of Interconti- nental Investment Bank (IIB), alle- gedly had five secret bank accounts when he divorced Meerna Faraj in 2023, according to documents pub- lished by the Court of Appeal.
Faraj, 53, was awarded £6.08 million, £2.25 million of which was for legal costs, and a temporary right to live in
bill for £18m of Daily Mail legal costs
David Brown Chief News Correspondent
The Duke of Sussex and other celeb- rities are being pursued for legal costs in their failed privacy claim against the Daily Mail publisher that far exceed the amount covered by their insurance.
The group, which includes the prince, Sir Elton John and Baroness Lawrence of Clarendon, is being asked to foot Associated Newspapers’ £34.5 million of legal costs.
The celebrities have legal insurance covering £16.2 million, the High Court in London was told, which would leave them more than £18 million short.
They are also being asked to pay an initial £10 million towards the total costs within 14 days, the court was told yesterday, but Associated Newspapers has applied to recover much more due to the public statement made by Harry, 41, and Lawrence, 73, a Labour peer, de- scribing the judgment handed down by Mr Justice Nicklin on July 7 as “a com- plete and obvious whitewash”.
The prominent figures lost all their claims that they were victims of unlaw- ful information gathering including hacking, bugging and blagging.
Antony White KC, representing Associated Newspapers, told the court that the pair “invidiously” suggested that their case during the 46-day trial was “wholly ignored”. He said the public statement “sought — and achieved — global publicity for a continued allega- tion that Associated was in fact guilty of the wrongdoing alleged”.
White referred to a comment from Harry’s spokesman to The Times that the prince “stands by every word of his statement” de- spite criticism by former lord chan- cellors of his attack on the judgment.
He also criticised Sadie Frost, 61, the ac- tress who also brought a failed claim, for writing on Instagram that it was “crazy!!” for the judge not to
the family home rent-free. Both parties successfully appealed against the set- tlement. Faraj suspected her husband had failed to disclose assets, while Ah- mad said the money belonged to the bank and was not part of his wealth.
The couple met in Bahrain in 2011. They moved to the UK, married in 2013 and had a daughter, now aged 12. Ah- mad has two children from a previous marriage. Faraj has another daughter who is severely autistic, non-verbal and requires constant care, which judges agreed meant she could not return to her work in private equity.
The divorce, which has already racked up a £6.5 million legal bill, will be
have recused himself from the case. White highlighted the criticism while applying for “indemnity costs” to be paid by Harry and the other celebrities. An indemnity order, which punishes improper conduct in proceedings, means the court would not have to de- cide if the publisher’s costs are propor- tional to the case.
The publisher wants an initial pay- ment of £9,950,624.37. White said the money should be paid within 14 days and there was “no justification” for the celebrities seeking a further 30 days to arrange payment. Associated News- papers calculated that its legal costs in the case totalled £34,481,622.54.
Claims were also made by Elizabeth Hurley, 61, and Sir Simon Hughes, 75, a former Liberal Democrat MP and jus- tice minister. Elton made a claim with his husband, David Furnish, 63, on the same facts.
Nicholas Bacon KC, representing the celebrities, said that any application for permission to appeal against the judg- ment had been deferred until after a ruling on the legal costs issues. He said that Associated Newspapers’ “eye- watering” costs were £18.6 million more than the budget agreed by the court shortly before the start of the trial.
Bacon said court hearings “could take years if they [Associated] are claiming £35 million of costs and we are unin- sured for a lot of that”. He said the celebrities each obtained legal insur- ance of £2.7 million, totalling £16.2 million, based on the court’s
previous rulings on costs. Bacon
said the celebrities were offer- ing to pay a total of £7,919,279.26 by August 28, including £68,780 relating to the bills linked to Harry’s individual claim. He said
none of the findings in the
judgment “are typical of
a party whose personal
conduct is so egregious
as to attract the court’s
opprobrium in the form of an indemnity
retried in the High Court, which will determine what assets are part of the divorce and Faraj’s settlement.
The trial judge said: “The costs, which are extraordinary, reflect the bit- terness and distrust between this couple at the end of their marriage.”
Ahmad, who has photographs on his LinkedIn account with British ambas- sadors to Portugal and Ethiopia, told the family court he had “run out of money” and had to borrow from friends and family.
However, the judge said that there was “no obvious explanation” why he would do so if he “possessed significant funds”. Court documents state he made
conservatory may have to be torn off
property developer could be forced to tear down a conservatory extension on his grade II listed Airbnb cottage in the New Forest after failing to secure planning permission for what “appalled” councillors branded a “carbuncle” (Amelia Stout writes).
Ashkin Mittal, 55, added the large, box-shaped extension to Smallbrook Cottage, a thatched property in Landford, near Salisbury, which is advertised as a holiday rental for about £500 a night.
Residents say the timber and glass structure is inappropriate and councillors accused Mittal of a “reckless” disregard for the strict planning rules in the
a cash offer for a £12.7 million town- house in Kensington in July 2020.
Judges described Ahmad’s submis- sions regarding his personal wealth as “perjury” in a judgment this month.
The couple began divorce proceed- ings in 2020 but their financial affairs were only settled in 2023.
In granting Ahmad’s appeal, the Court of Appeal agreed the original trial had been unfair because Ahmad had not been properly cross-examined.
Ahmad admitted that the way he pre- sented his accounts during the original settlement could be regarded as mis- leading, but did not amount to perjury.
Ahmad retained control of the
national park. The London-based developer, who has a multimillion- pound property portfolio, did not obtain planning permission or listed building consent before beginning the work. A retrospective application has been rejected by the New Forest National Park Authority, despite planning officers’ recommendation that it be approved.
David Harrison, a councillor, told the planning committee: “This is a carbuncle on what is a beautiful building. I think people
Ashkin Mittal, right, who also owns a golf and country club, failed to secure retrospective permission for work on the cottage, above and below, which is advertised for rental at £500 a night
would agree that it’s reckless and the fact it’s retrospective makes no difference to how we decide on it.”
Anyone doing building work on listed properties in the protected area had a responsibility to adhere to strict planning rules to preserve their character, he said. No
£3 million family home near Bucking- ham Palace by using a complex legal structure that passes the beneficial ownership into IIB. He insisted it was legitimate but his ex-wife alleged it was a sham. The High Court will re- examine the arrangement.
Court documents show Ahmad, who, according to his LinkedIn profile, stud- ied at the London School of Economics, had retained £8.5 million from his first divorce. He insisted he had spent it by the time of his second divorce.
Faraj was granted a non-molestation and occupation order against her hus- band in October 2020, granted in the family courts to prevent harassment.
SIMON CZAPP/SOLENT NEWS
demolition or enforcement notice has been issued.
A neighbour said that Mittal, who also owns a golf and country club and a pub in the neighbouring village of Hamptworth, was “rich enough” to pay any costs resulting from the refusal.
Brice Stratford, another councillor, said: “We’re hugely fortunate that more damage hasn’t been suffered by the building. I do not think it is an appropriate structure and it is not sympathetic to the listed building. I am really appalled.”
Two months ago the authority rejected a separate retrospective application from Mittal for a padel court that had already been built at the Hamptworth Golf and Country Club. Mittal has lodged an appeal.
University professor faces scrutiny over sporting feats
Fiona Hamilton Chief Reporter Emma Yeomans
A Cambridge professor accused of pla- giarism is facing fresh questions about claims he made of long distance run- ning feats and charity fundraising.
Jason Arday, who at 37 became the youngest black professor yet appointed at the University of Cambridge, has repeatedly spoken about extraordinary endurance running challenges, which he said raised vast sums of money for charity. He has also made claims of being a professional football and snooker player.
Arday’s life story received attention after claims last week that a series of passages in his dissertation were identi- cal or nearly identical to the doctoral thesis of another academic, published six years ago. His memoir, Great and Unfortunate Things, out next month, recounts his journey of “improbable tri- umphs and heart-breaking setbacks”.
Diagnosed at age three with autism spectrum disorder, he was non-verbal until the age of 11 and could not read or write until his late teenage years.
Arday, 41, achieved a PhD at Liver- pool John Moore and later became a professor of sociology of education at Cambridge.
He has spoken often of endurance running challenges to raise money for charity and told the Greenbelt Festival in 2024: “When I was 25, I ran 30 marathons in 35 days. And then I did a series of challenges after that and then I ran 300 miles in three days on the treadmill. And then the final challenge when I was 30, I ran 600 miles in six days. And I was fortunate that I got to that target of a mil- lion pounds before I turned 30.” The same year he told an event in the United States he had raised £5.5 million by the time he was 30.
Damian Hall, who held several British records for
Head start Children explore the National Galleries of Scotland in Edinburgh, which has got £8.5 million in lottery funding to create a new home for its art Fly-tippers and vandals force Earl Spencer to sell 310 acres of land
Jason Arday is due to release his memoir
Will Humphries Countryside Correspondent
Earl Spencer has sold more than 300 acres of Northamptonshire farmland to property developers after suffering years of fly-tipping and vandalism.
The land in Dallington, which sits alongside the family’s nearby Althorp estate, has been sought by developers for decades as they plan to build thou- sands of new homes in the area.
ultra-distance runs, told The Daily Telegraph: “I haven’t heard of Jason before.” Hall said running 30 mara- thons in 35 days was “perfectly poss- ible” as was 100 miles in 24 hours. He added 600 miles in six days would be “akin to the very best record-breaking ultra-runners. It seems odd there appears to be no evidence of that.”
There is no mention in Arday’s book of the £5.5 million figure.
Some of Arday’s claims are verifiable. He spoke of the “absolute honour” to have carried the Olympic torch in 2012 because of his fundraising. The Times confirmed that his name was on a list of torchbearers. There were also local newspaper articles about his mara- thons and Sir Andy Murray, the tennis champion, once heralded Arday’s achievements. He was flown to New York to meet Murray at the US Open in 2012 after appearing on ITV.
Arday said he raised money for more than 70 charities, notably Shelter and Shooting Star Children’s Hospice. Shooting Star confirmed he raised a total of £10,800 and Shelter refused to divulge the total he had raised for it. A JustGiving page for his 300-miles-in- three-days feat shows £380 raised.
Arday’s online biography for Anglia Ruskin University has changed the
original reference of 600 miles in
six days to 600 miles in 12 days. In
2023 Arday spoke of joining a
professional snooker tour. He
appears to have played amateur
tournaments in his teenage
years. There are no public
references to him turning
professional. In the same
interview he claimed to
have played football
professionally. There
is no reference to this
in his memoir.
Cambridge called the claims of plagia- rism against Arday unfounded. The uni- versity said it had investigated and found no wrongdoing, as did Liverpool John Moores University. Arday was contacted for comment.
Also last year, a 250-year-old empty farmhouse on the land was set on fire and had to be pulled down, while the previous year a fire broke out in an empty industrial unit in nearby Harle- stone Firs, which is also part of the Althorp estate.
After selling the land to Persimmon Homes for £60 million, Spencer told The Daily Telegraph: “My family long despaired at the impossibility of farm- ing the land at Dallington, but is pleased it now serves a fine purpose as a place for people to live and work.”
1.26 million fly-tipping incidents rec- orded last year in England, up by 9 per cent in 12 months, according to a Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs report. However, only 0.2 per cent of these cases resulted in any court action.
Farming and anti-litter groups have called for the number of prosecutions and penalties for criminals to increase dramatically. Farmers and landowners are usually left to foot the bill for clearing up illegally dumped waste on private land.
accused of cheating suspended
Sian Bradley, Elizabeth Ammon Kevin Donald
The amateur cricketer at the centre of an alleged cheating row has been suspended “for the foreseeable future”, his club has said.
Saltburn Cricket Club made international headlines this week after Brian Devine, a slip fielder, was accused of tricking umpires by clicking his fingers to imitate an edge off the bat in their 159-run win over Norton.
The club in North Yorkshire made the announcement yesterday before it was due to take on Marton’s second team in a 100-balls-a-side match at the Middlesbrough club’s ground. Saltburn conceded the match and will lose their place in the Division Two Hundred competition run by the North York- shire and South Durham League.
Marton confirmed on Facebook that the match had been cancelled.
A friend of Devine told The Times the fielder’s head was “all over the place” after the incident and he was “be- wildered” by the attention. “He’s had an Australian podcast offering to pay his legal bills — it’s the first he’s heard that he’s got any ... he wants it all to go away.”
Devine is expected to be dropped by Saltburn Second XI. The North York- shire and South Durham League con- firmed it was investigating the allega- tions and it is understood that an emer- gency meeting took place on Tuesday.
A source close to the league said: “For the lads who take cricket seriously, [it’s] a real blow ... It feels like the eyes of the world are on them right now.”
Devine, 38, a father who lives with his partner in Guisborough, declined to comment yesterday.
The club initially did not address the allegations and journalists were asked to leave the clubhouse by an official.
A statement on its social media chan- nels later said: “This has been a distress- ing and stressful experience ... We would ask that this reality is borne in mind and that personal boundaries are respected, as we are an amateur club entirely run by volunteers.”
It said it was co-operating with the investigation, adding: “The player at the centre of the complaint has been suspended and will not play this season or in the foreseeable future, pending the outcome of the investigation.”
The row erupted after the Norton batsman Noman Shabir protested against being given out caught behind, insisting he had not touched the ball. Video appeared to show Devine click- ing his fingers as the ball passed the bat.
Some 1,800 homes will be built on the land formerly owned by the Spencers, alongside a secondary school and two primary schools, with contributions towards healthcare, libraries and the road network. A further 150 acres on the development are held by West Northamptonshire council.
Fiona Baker, chair of West North- amptonshire council, told The Times there was a great deal of housing devel- opment in the region and “we are all rather wondering who these people are who are going to live in these houses”.
agent hit four firms after Hugging Face
Mark Sellman Technology Correspondent
A rogue OpenAI agent that autono- mously hacked the tech platform Hug- ging Face also breached four other companies, the company said.
The hack, the first publicly docu- mented autonomous AI cyberattack, went further than previously disclosed.
The new details came as more than 1,000 top AI researchers, including the co-founders of Anthropic and senior staff at OpenAI, called for a slowdown in the technology.
According to an update from Open- AI, its rogue agent breached four sepa- rate companies by harvesting leaked logins online. One of those services was a testing environment that the agent turned into a launchpad for the hack on Hugging Face, potentially to hide the origin of the attack.
The company running the testing en- vironment has not been named, but it is a customer of Modal Labs, a US firm. Modal itself was not compromised.
The agent tried to use the other com- promised services for data storage and as a command-and-control centre for the hack on Hugging Face.
Sam Altman, chief executive of OpenAI, called the hack “a kind of ex- tremely sci-fi cyber incident” on the In- vest Like the Best podcast.
He said it was “the first sort of secur- ity incident that I have felt very viscer- ally … I’ve been a little surprised that more people don’t feel it so viscerally.”
He added that the firm has paused AI training to “figure out how to secure our sandboxing [testing environment]”.
On the long-term implications, he said “if this is going to be the new rate of progress … we may have to pace the rate of AI development to give ourselves enough time for society to harden
around some of these new capability levels”.
The hack, between July 9 and July 13, was caused by the agent breaking out of a testing environment to cheat on a cybersecurity test it had been given.
The incident has accelerated con- cerns about the safety of AI and steps to regulate the technology.
More than 1,000 employees and leaders of OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, Meta and Microsoft have signed an open statement to the US government calling for a slowdown.
It said: “To realise AI’s potential, in- dustry, government, and society at large may need the option to buy time to address emerging risks, develop security measures, and strengthen oversight. But each company — and country — is under intense competitive pressure not to unilaterally slow that acceleration. And today, the world lacks the technical and governance tools to deliberately pace frontier-wide progress.
“We request that the US government support an international effort to de- velop the technical and governance tools needed to deliberately pace the frontier of automated AI develop- ment.”
Signatories to the statement include Dario Amodei and Jack Clark, the co- founders of Anthropic, and the OpenAI co-founders John Schulman and Woj- ciech Zaremba.
In an examination of the hack by the Cloud Security Alliance, it said rogue AI behaviour “is the standard, not the exception ... agents will do what they need to achieve the assigned objective, and time and time again we see them doing so in creative and unexpected ways. The Hugging Face attack is mere- ly an extreme example of a common behaviour.”
Owl alone Shaggy, a great grey, at Turbary Woods sanctuary near Preston. Great greys are the largest owl species by length and can live for about 25 years in captivity. They mate for life, and unfortunately Shaggy’s partner of 18 years died recently
Bill Curtis
Hackers have stolen more than half a million pieces of sensitive data from the Department for Education, The Times can disclose.
Names and email addresses of gov- ernment officials, senior school leaders and university staff have been compro- mised. Sources confirmed that 607,000 records were taken in the attack, which is understood to have occurred last week. They said the Department for Education (DfE) acted swiftly to take affected services offline.
The hack targeted the DfE help desk, as well as records from the Turing Scheme, a database that education in- stitutes use to track and manage British students who study abroad. The DfE
has referred itself to the Information Commissioner and is working with the National Crime Agency and National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC).
According to posts on the dark web, a cybercriminal group called ExfilSquad claimed responsibility for the hack. The Times was able to see names and email addresses of head teachers among the data available on the dark web.
In an attack on the Foreign Office in October last year, thousands of confi- dential documents and data were com- promised. Jake Moore, global security adviser at the cybersecurity company ESET, said: “This hack shows the gov- ernment has not really learnt from their mistakes last year. Departments need to realise this problem is not going away and they must ensure the best
fences are put up around them if they hold sensitive information.”
The number of cyberattacks classed as “nationally significant” by the NCSC rose from 63 in 2022 to 204 in 2025. Those classed as “highly significant”, defined by their impact, rose from one to 18. The NCSC’s 2025 review said the increase was partly due to the commer- cial availability of advanced cybertools and the government’s dependencies on third-party suppliers of IT services.
The DfE said: “We have robust pro- cesses in place to protect information and took swift action to contain this incident. The information involved is limited to customer service contact details relating to individuals and orga- nisations. No other data has been accessed.”
Charlie Parker Larisa Brown Defence Editor
Afghan special forces soldiers who worked with British troops are in serious danger after the government scrapped a scheme helping them flee from the Taliban, a report by MPs has found.
It emerged in April that thousands of Afghans awaiting rescue from their country would no longer receive supp- ort from Britain. Those who had been promised sanctuary for helping British
they can’t act lay bare limits of £660m deal, writes Matt Dathan from Hardelot-Plage
Morzhan was distraught as she returned to dry land after being separated from her ten-year-old son and husband in a mad scramble to clamber on an overloaded dinghy.
The mother, from Mashhad in north- eastern Iran, was pulled from the water by lifeboat crews after she tried to climb into the flimsy 26-foot dinghy, and was beside herself crying. The small boat had set off with her son Pedram and husband, Ali, from Hardelot-Plage, a beach 40 miles south of Calais, just before midday yesterday.
When Morzhan looked up, she saw that it had grounded on a sandbank 500 metres down the beach, and suddenly realised she had a chance to rejoin her family. She ran down the beach, screaming, and sprinted into the sea.
Of the 100 migrants on board, some were less than happy that Morzhan and another mother and two sons from Eritrea had got a second chance at their golden ticket to the UK.
“This boat is full,” an Iranian man shouted. His plea fell on deaf ears and the persistence of the mothers won the day as they clambered aboard.
With more weight, the dinghy became entrenched on the sandbank. The people smuggler on board whipped men with a rubber strap to force them to jump out and push the boat off. Half an hour later, the boat was freed and the migrants were on the move once more.
As it set off towards a French warship, which had been waiting for the dinghy to launch about a mile into the sea, the smuggler jumped off and returned to the beach, thereby avoiding the threat of prosecution in Britain that comes with piloting a boat across the Channel.
The overloaded dinghy was one of at least ten boats believed to have been launched from the beaches of northern France yesterday. If the tally is con- firmed, it could mark another 700 arriv- als in the UK and make it the busiest day of crossings in the Channel this year.
The drama unfolding in the water is a regular site for the watching French gendarmes. They said that they did not have permission from the French government to intercept migrant boats once they were seaborne, and that it was against international maritime law.
“We can’t. It’s too dangerous,” one of the officers told The Times, which witnessed the chaotic scenes. “We tell them they can’t cross but they don’t lis- ten because they are so desperate.” Pointing to the dinghy slowly motoring away in the distance, another officer said: “Our order is to let them go.”
forces fight the Taliban were previously given “third-party” assistance to escape to neighbouring Pakistan. However, the government terminated the system after seeing “increased evidence of successful self-moves”.
Eligible Afghans were told to make their own way out of the country, despite many previously being advised against independent travel and lacking lawful or affordable routes to a visa application centre.
A 95-page report by the Commons defence committee has now concluded
take action before they entered the sea because it was not illegal for migrants to stand on the beaches waiting.
The inaction exposes the limitations of the new £660 million UK-France deal to patrol their beaches over the next three years, signed in April.
This only allows police to intercept migrant boats if there are fewer than 20 people on board and can only be carried out by the specialist Compagnie de Marche unit, made up of about 50 officers trained in riot and crowd con- trol tactics.
that Afghan allies were left “facing years of danger, delay and uncertainty” as the result of systemic failures by the Ministry of Defence.
Less than a year after the fall of Kabul to the Taliban in 2021, an MoD data leak left the identities of thousands of people exposed, including interpreters, locally employed staff and others who supported British operations. This was a “foreseeable” breach that “became part of a wider failure of governance, accountability and public trust”, acc- ording to the committee’s report, when
Plage was already more than half full of migrants after an earlier pick-up, pre- venting the French police from inter- vening.
Chris Philp, the shadow home secre- tary, who was also on Hardelot-Plage, said the failure of the police to inter- vene should be punished by Britain pulling funding. “Shabana Mahmood has paid half a billion pounds uncondi- tionally, yet I saw gendarmes doing nothing today and they told me they had orders to take no action but just talk to the migrants,” the MP said.
A delighted migrant gives a victory salute as his dinghy prepares to head off to Britain. The chaos on the beaches was watched by holidaymakers enjoying the sun and Chris Philp, the shadow home secretary
a superinjunction was introduced to prevent reporting about a blunder that put tens of thousands of lives at risk.
The Times spearheaded the legal fight to overturn the superinjunction, which prevented Afghans from know- ing their personal information could be in the hands of the Taliban.
Among the most seriously affected have been Afghan special forces opera- tives, hundreds of whom spent years in hiding after receiving mixed messages from the UK government. More than 880 so-called Triples, former members
that “the plan is working” on combat- ing people smugglers. By Tuesday night, about 13,500 migrants had arrived in the UK in small boats this year, 44 per cent lower than the same time last year.
The French police had taken a more proactive role earlier in the day, when — at 5am, under the light of a full moon — The Times bumped into three heavily armed camouflaged gen- darmes patrolling a beach several miles to the south of Hardelot-Plage, equipped with handguns and a CS gas canister.
We joined a couple of officers as they moved stealthily through the under- growth of the sand dunes. They peered through military-grade binoculars, paid for by a previous multimil- lion-pound British deal, at a group of suspected people smugglers they believed to be plan- ning to launch a dinghy. Their plan was to storm the group as soon as they could ident- ify a dinghy, and slash its inflatable sides with Stanley knives.
of specialist units, were refused reloca- tion but later offered escape routes to Britain after a review overturned the decision. The committee concluded that the correction came after their sav- ings were depleted and they were left with fewer realistic routes to safety. The new “self-move” policy has worsened their position, the MPs said.
Tan Dhesi, chair of the committee, called on the government to “explain how it would protect eligible Afghans who cannot safely, lawfully or afforda- bly reach a third country”.
TIMES PHOTOGRAPHER RICHARD POHLE
ing and found the migrants had fallen asleep. We went to investigate and found dozens of migrants sleeping under trees, including mothers huddled with their babies and toddlers. Those who were awake told us they were from Iran and Eritrea, the latter having trav- elled for months through Libya, across the Mediterranean to Italy and on to France. They had spent the past 24 hours living in the woods behind the sand dunes waiting for the signal from the smugglers to move to the beach. We returned to our viewing point, which gave us several miles of sight to the north and south.
It was at 8.30am that we saw a large group of migrants walking in lifejackets up the beach. The group, which includ-
ed two young brothers and a
toddler carried on his
father’s shoulders, trudged seven miles
to their pick-up point.
By midday they were on a much
longer and more treacherous jour- ney, crossing the English Channel on a dinghy ferry- ing at least eight times as many passen- gers as any boat that size should be carrying.
Will Pavia New York was nearly killed. Matar was arrested at the scene and was tried in a state court last year and sentenced to 25 years for attempted murder. He also faced feder- al terrorism charges that prompted a second trial. Rushdie was again called to testify.
The man who stabbed Sir Salman Rushdie on a stage in upstate New York has been convicted of terrorism char- ges, acting on the edict of Iran’s late Ayatollah.
Hadi Matar, 28, engaged in an act of transnational terrorism when he attacked the author of The Satanic Verses at a festival in the summer of 2022, before hundreds of witnesses, a jury in Buffalo found.
Rushdie lost sight in his right eye and
Top of the glass Peter Layton, 89, founder of London Glassblowing, prepares for a solo show of his work to celebrate 50 years of his art gallery in southeast London
over ‘deal with Jews’ sermons
Sian Bradley
Sermons delivered at a mosque attend- ed by the Manchester synagogue at- tacker and his accomplice called on God to “deal with the Jews”, The Times can reveal.
The Charity Commission is review- ing material recorded in 2024 at the Al-Sunnah Mosque in Cheetham Hill, which was published on its official YouTube page.
The mosque, which is a registered charity, has come under scrutiny after security camera footage revealed that two regular worshippers, Jihad al-Shamie and Mohammad Bashir, discussed “martyrdom” and terrorism plans while in attendance.
The footage was revealed in court when Bashir, 31, was jailed for life after pleading guilty to preparing to commit a terrorist act alongside Shamie, targeting a UK military facility.
Federal prosecutors said Matar was motivated by the fatwa imposed in 1989 by the Iranian supreme leader Ayatol- lah Ruhollah Khomeini, calling for Rushdie to be killed following the publi- cation of The Satanic Verses.
The novel, a work of magic realism,
during Shamie’s ramming and stabbing attack at the Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation synagogue in October last year on Yom Kippur, the holiest day in the Jewish calendar. Shamie, 35, was shot dead by armed police officers.
Bashir was sentenced to a minimum of 17 years in prison for his role in plotting the separate terrorist attack alongside Shamie.
The Times alerted the Charity Com- mission to three recordings of sermons filmed in April 2024 at the mosque attended by the two men. The sermons included content referring to Zionism and the Jewish faith. The videos have since been removed from YouTube.
The sermons were delivered at the mosque by an imam believed to be Sheikh al-Dukali Muhammad al-Alim.
Sir Salman Rushdie was attacked while on stage in New York in 2022
won critical acclaim but also triggered protests in some Muslim countries. Two translators of the novel were attacked, one fatally, and a Norwegian publisher survived a shooting.
Rushdie, a Booker prizewinning
Mohammad Bashir, left, and Jihad al-Shamie at the Al-Sunnah Mosque
Islam and cherish the Muslims, humili- ate polytheism and the polytheists ... God deal with the Zionists. You are the most merciful. God deal with the Zionist aggressors. God seize them with the seizing of the mighty. You are the most merciful.”
author who was living in London, spent a decade in hiding with police protec- tion. After the Iranian government dis- tanced itself from the fatwa, he steadily returned to public life and moved to New York City.
“For two decades or more, I led a public life without a hint of trouble,” he told the court. Describing the moments after he was stabbed, he said: “I was on the stage, lying down, with an enor- mous pool of blood all around me.”
Asked if he had any indication of why he was being attacked, he said: “I can’t
TIMES PHOTOGRAPHER JAMES GLOSSOP
repel those who disbelieve and those who transgress.”
The Charity Commission empha- sised it was conducting an initial regu- latory assessment rather than a formal statutory inquiry. A formal inquiry grants regulators powers to intervene, freeze bank accounts or suspend trus- tees if evidence shows charity law or regulatory guidance has been breached.
Fiyaz Mughal, a Muslim counter- extremism campaigner, condemned the use of his faith for “promoting antisemitism” and called on police to open a formal investigation.
The Charity Commission assesses each concern raised, but it is not a prosecuting authority, so any allega- tion of criminality remains a matter for the police to investigate.
say what his ambitions or his aim was, but the wounds were dispersed across my body.” The knife had come “a milli- meter from my brain”, he said.
Prosecutors presented messages from Matar expressing support for Hezbollah, designated a terrorist orga- nisation by the US government, and tracking Rushdie’s movements. They also showed jurors a private note he had written saying: “We need to kill him ASAP.”
Matar was convicted on all charges and he faces a potential life sentence.
attacks rise in ‘deadliest year for decades’
Herbie Russell
The UK experienced the biggest surge in antisemitic incidents among the seven countries with major Jewish populations outside Israel last year, according to a report.
The study, published by the J7 Large Communities’ Task Force Against Antisemitism yesterday found that 2025 was the deadliest year for antisemitic attacks against the Jewish diaspora in more than three decades.
There was a 136 per cent rise in antisemitic incidents overall across Argentina, Australia, Canada, France, Germany, the UK and the US, since 2022 — the year before the October 7 attacks and ensuing war in Gaza. Vio- lent incidents rose by 97 per cent.
While reported incidents fell in most of the countries in 2025, the rate rose in the UK (+5 per cent), Argentina (+4 per cent) and Germany (+1 per cent). Ger- many had the highest rate of antisemit- ic incidents last year, with 69.8 incidents per 1,000 Jewish residents, followed by Australia (14.14 incidents), the UK (11.82 incidents), Argentina (4.19 incidents), France (3.01 incidents), Canada (1.97 incidents) and the US (1 incident).
Australia has also seen the sharpest rise in antisemitic incidents since 2021 (+270 per cent), followed by Germany (+215 per cent), the report said.
The J7 group, which authored the study, is made up of seven major Jewish diaspora organisations, including the Board of Deputies of British Jews.
The report assessed incidents against all Jewish people living outside Israel. It warned that levels of antisemitism were unprecedented since the Second World War, citing a host of fatal attacks.
In December last year, two gunmen opened fire during a Hanukkah event at Bondi Beach in Sydney, Australia, resulting in fifteen deaths.
Last October, two men were killed in an attack at Heaton Park synagogue, Manchester, while in March, Jewish ambulances were firebombed in Gold- ers Green. It was one of several similar incidents in the capital over the next few weeks, most of them targeting Jews, with at least 18 others across Europe.
US prosecutors claim many of the attacks were masterminded by Moham- mad al-Saadi, 33, at the behest of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
Earlier this month Sir Keir Starmer said that £250 million would be spent on increasing police patrols and secur- ity in Jewish communities.
Greek police say body in suitcase was Briton, 38
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Anthee Carassava
The body of a 38-year-old British woman was discovered in a suitcase found in a derelict building in Athens, Greek police confirmed yesterday.
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She was named in the Greek press as Elisabeth-Jane Ross.
The Foreign Office said: “Our thoughts are with Elisabeth’s family during this difficult time. We are
Elisabeth-Jane Ross was named as the victim in Greek media reports
Body of British woman found in Kypseli
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providing consular support and are in contact with the local authorities.”
Homicide investigators said she had travelled to Greece via Cyprus before her body was found in the suitcase in the Kypseli district of Athens. “She is Scottish, and we suspect she may have linked up with a homeless person here who lured her to the specific location [in Kypseli] and left her in the state she was found,” an official told The Times.
The building where the suitcase was
Will Humphries Southwest Correspondent
A fan of the serial killer drama Dexter will die in prison after being convicted of murdering two vulnerable men before he killed his cellmate for snoring while awaiting trial.
James Desborough, 40, murdered Claudio Aquilino, 57, and Daniel Cole- man, 43, in Cornwall last year before dismembering their bodies, trying to burn their remains and hiding them.
found was abandoned and occupied by homeless people. However, Konstant- ina Dimoglidou, spokeswoman for the local police, denied a homeless person was a suspect. She added: “The woman was staying with a Greek couple, and they are both being questioned to obtain details about her movements.”
The man who found the suitcase, a local resident, was also questioned.
Investigators suspected the woman was not Greek because she was wearing shorts bearing the name of a French university. Police then sought help from Interpol and foreign law enforce- ment agencies. Interpol confirmed her identity to the police on Monday.
Detectives are checking airline records to reconstruct her journey to Greece and within the country. They are also investigating whether she was travelling alone or with a companion. The Greek and Cypriot authorities are set to exchange information as they work to identify and find the person who abandoned the suitcase.
The British embassy in Greece has been notified, as has the woman’s father, Greek media reported. Police were said to be seeking to contact him to gather information about her recent movements and contacts.
A Police Scotland spokesperson said: “We are aware of the death of a Scottish woman in Athens and are liaising with authorities in Greece. Officers are providing support to her family in Scotland.”
According to the Greek broadsheet, Kathimerini, she arrived in the country on June 26 and was believed to have flown from Edinburgh. It was believed she was staying with friends and her last contact with her hosts was on July 15. Her body was discovered on July 18.
Police are reportedly analysing CCTV footage, her mobile phone and carrying out toxicology tests.
The Athens newspaper Proto Thema said it was believed that the Scot had lived or spent time in the United States, which is why her fingerprints were on an American database.
Desborough has now been sen- tenced to two further whole life sen- tences after a jury found him guilty of the murders. The full life terms mean he can never be released.
A jury at Winchester crown court de- liberated for three hours and 15 minutes before returning unanimous guilty ver- dicts this week against Desborough.
Desborough, of Old Oak Woods, Lower Sticker, had previously pleaded guilty to preventing the lawful burial of the bodies of Coleman and Aquilino and received five years’ imprisonment for each charge, to be served concur- rently with his whole life sentences.
Silver lady Florence Pugh, one of the stars of Spider-Man: Brand New Day, at the Odeon Luxe in Leicester Square for the British premiere of the latest Marvel film
mine. He claimed he had found one body hanging in a tree and the other na- ked in a stream. He claimed it was a “se- ries of unfortunate circumstances”.
The court was told that Aquilino and
James Desborough is already serving a life sentence for killing his cellmate while awaiting trial
drugs and gambling, was killed shortly after he was last seen alive in April last year. Desborough claimed that he had found Aquilino hanging dead from a tree on his land in May or June last year.
In June, Desborough murdered Coleman, dismembered him with an axe and buried the remains.
Their bodies were dismembered in Paramoor Woods, near St Austell, close to where Desborough owned a cabin. He would let homeless friends camp there, while he grew cannabis and had a “stash tree” where he hid class A drugs. Machetes, knives and saws were also scattered around the property.
cleared of harassing rival at club
Jonathan Ames Legal Editor
A yacht captain has been cleared of harassment in a row with the former commodore of a London boating club over fees for docking an 80-foot barge.
Stefan Oloffs, a former club cruiser captain at Greenwich Yacht Club, faced allegations of harassing Richard Phillips with an online campaign.
The captain had accused the former club leader of “misusing his position” so he received “preferential treatment” when sourcing a mooring for his barge, Verandering. Oloffs also accused Phillips of dodging large mooring fees.
Oloffs was said to have launched a campaign against his rival that included making the claims on a 230- strong WhatsApp group, a written complaint to the Port of London Authority about the commodore’s conduct and the creation of a website branded “Barge Gate”.
The High Court heard the club had cleared Phillips of evading mooring fees and in 2024 Oloffs was expelled for “spreading claims about a member which appeared to be defamatory”. Oloffs is appealing that decision.
Phillips sued Oloffs for £20,000 in damages, alleging the captain had waged a campaign that left him suffering “significant distress, loss of sleep, anxiety and public embarrass- ment” as well as “humiliation and loss of dignity”.
Mrs Justice Hill dismissed the bulk of Phillips’s claim, saying Oloffs’s behav- iour may have caused “irritation, an- noyance and upset” but Phillips had no “real prospect” of demonstrating that Oloffs had crossed the legal boundary for harassment. Oloffs’s actions had amounted to one email, ten WhatsApp messages sent over two days, a com- plaint to the port authority and the website, the ruling by the judge said.
The issue of whether Oloffs had breached Phillips’s data rights with the “Barge Gate” website must be decided at another hearing.
Greenwich Yacht Club, three miles downriver from Tower Bridge in south- east London, has more than 400 mem- bers and hosts facilities for dinghy and cruiser sailing, as well as rowing. It refers to itself “one of the most success- ful yacht clubs on the Thames”.
Founded by Thames watermen and river workers in 1908, the club once had its venue at a riverside hut but in 2000 relocated to its present platform in the middle of the river.
ing 1,900 burnt bone fragments from Aquilino’s body in a stream and parts of Coleman’s body, including his torso, legs and feet, in a shallow grave nearby.
Before his arrest, Desborough told a forensic biologist who was searching for Coleman’s body that he “enjoyed the dismemberment scenes” in Dexter.
Police found handwritten notes in his cabin, including one which said: “I know I am a killer and ready to execute any predators.” Another read: “Take care of the remaining muppets”.
m’
Sanchez Manning Social Affairs Correspondent
One advantage women have long been said to hold over men is that they will at least live longer.
Now, however, it appears this edge in longevity is being eroded: the latest offi- cial figures show that a third of over- 90s are male.
Data released on Tuesday by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed that in the middle of last year there were an estimated 581,400 people aged 90 or over, which represents a 3 per cent increase on the year before and a 16 per cent rise since mid-2015.
The number of men aged 90 or over has climbed by 35 per cent since 2015. Overall, men now make up 34 per cent of the over-90 population and 18 per cent of the over-100 population. However, women are still generally ahead on longevity. For every man aged over 100 there were 4.3 women in the same age bracket, the ONS said.
The latest figures show that the number of people aged 100 or over
diary@thetimes.co.uk | @timesdiary Keep schtum and carry on
Andy Burnham’s vision of a “collaborative government” has hit its first milestone: telling everyone to shut up. A stern letter dispatched yesterday by Louise Haigh, below, and Dame Antonia Romeo to senior mandarins and ministers called for a “reset” to stem leaks. Special advisers have been banned from contacting journalists, at least outside the sanctuary of the Red Lion, unless they hold a “media-facing role”. Better yet, cabinet ministers are personally responsible for their aides, with a chilling warning that “consequences” await if anyone leaks anything. One insider spun the gag order as serving “every postcode, not just SW1 and Fleet Street”. Nothing says collaborative quite like a pre-emptive clampdown.
a dose of realism Hamish Falconer, the Foreign Office minister, knows how to keep a room on his side. Reassuring hacks at the launch of “What is the left for?” that the 15-page paper he arrived clutching was the Institute for Public Policy Research report and not his speech, he added: “A wise man once said when there are lots of politicians giving a speech, no one is ever that angry if you’re incredibly short.” Falconer backed the IPPR’s utopian thinking while teasing them over their big new concept, “reciprocism”. He laughed: “It’s not going to catch on. It’s another -ism and it sounds like a medical condition.”
in England and Wales has now passed 15,000.
There were an estimated 15,172 cen- tenarians alive in the middle of last year, up by nearly 4 per cent on 14,635 the previous year and an increase of 91 per cent compared with 7,950 in mid-2005, just over 20 years ago. Women out- number men among this age group, by 12,322 to 2,850.
In addition, some 709 people in England and Wales were estimated to be aged 105 or over last year, up by 34 per cent from 529 the previous year.
The Office for National Statistics said the sharp jump was “the result of the large generation born after World War One starting to reach this age”. The First World War ended in 1918 and was followed by a spike in births in 1919 and 1920.
It is the first time more than 700 people aged 105 or above are estimated to have been alive in England and Wales. The number has been on an up- ward trend for much of this century and has more than doubled in two decades, from 349 in 2005.
Of the 709 people aged at least 105 in
MP Bob Stewart recalls his first encounter with Michael Gove during Gove’s stint as chief whip. Summoned to the office for a chat, the ex-army officer decided to establish terms early. “I went to his office and slammed an SAS flash- bang grenade, obviously inert, on his desk,” Stewart says. He warned Gove that if he gave him any grief he would let it blow. A momentarily stunned Gove soon broke into laughter. “We got on fine after that,” Stewart says. Whatever the chief whip had wanted to talk about, he thought it wiser to put a pin in it.
freebie challenge “Mr Moonlight” of the BBC, Amol Rajan, earns £115,000 in corporate fees, so he hardly needs a freebie. Yet years after rejecting a University Challenge answer on the 1990s UK rave scene — “I can’t accept drum and bass, we need jungle, I’m afraid” — one of his friends spotted Double- Barrelled Brewery’s 5.8 per cent IPA, We Need Jungle, in Morrisons. Sharing a photo on Instagram, Rajan noted the meme was “still going strong” and teased: “Might order some.” The brewery chimed in, offering to send him a batch. Should make the next starter for ten go with a kick.
After our story on Saltburn Cricket Club’s “Clicky Ponting”, accused of clicking his fingers to imitate the
noise of an edge and trick the
umpire, pundits have declared
him cricket’s worst cheat. However, Daniel Norcross of
Test Match Special
contrasted the tactic with a
case of targeted revenge,
recalling an unnamed
captain who had “bad
blood” with a rival side.
Exploiting identical
twins in his squad,
the captain sent the
better batter out twice and deployed the superior bowler from both ends.
mid-2025, the vast majority, 629, were women.
Ben Franklin, the deputy chief exec- utive of the International Longevity Centre think tank, said: “The growing number of men living into their nineties is one of the clearest signs our popula- tion is seismically changing.
“More people are living longer lives and by 2047 England is projected to have more than one million people over 90, including 400,000 men. This is a re- markable success story, but our health and care systems and public institu- tions have not kept pace with the needs of a much older population.”
David Brooks, the head of policy at
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From practical advice to the best escapes, we’ve gathered everything parenting in one destination so you can navigate the summer break and make better memories along the way.
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What I’ve learnt as a ‘boy mom’ (that I didn’t expect)
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Broadstone, a financial con- sultancy, said: “This is a clear sign of the profound demo- graphic shift under way in the UK, with people living longer than ever before.”
He added: “While greater longevity is something to cele- brate, it also presents signifi- cant challenges for the state, as a
Life expectancy in England is on the rise
growing older population increases
demand for the state pension, social
care and other benefits. With fewer working-age people supporting an expanding retired population, the pressure on public finances will
only intensify.
“The government will need to think carefully about how
the costs of longer lives are
shared across generations.
Without reform to taxation,
pensions and the care system, those of working age
could increasingly be asked to shoulder a greater share of the financial burden.”
HOLIDAYS
Larisa Brown Tristam Constant, a former British soldier who is the co-founder and chief executive, said: “We are in an AI arms race — Agon is developing the infra- structure that will ensure European de- fence can iterate and orchestrate sys- tems at the pace of the threat.”
Autonomous weapons of the future will be able to fight in a new virtual battle- field where the artificial intelligence- backed systems that power them can practise defeating ever-evolving Rus- sian and Iranian drones.
Agon, a new British defence techno- logy start-up launched yesterday, will help arms companies train their weap- ons to counter enemy systems by find- ing vulnerabilities in their AI models.
The firm, billed as the first of its kind, was founded in the UK and has offices in London and Berlin.
Neigh bother A carthorse awaits the judging panel at Ryedale Show, an agricultural fair that was established in 1855 and is held at Duncombe Park, North Yorkshire
cut dementia risk, study finds
Poppy Koronka, Health Correspondent
A study has linked lower sugar intake for babies before they turn two with a reduced dementia risk in later life.
Researchers used UK Biobank data from 65,000 people to assess the im- pact of Second World War sugar ration- ing on Britons born in the 1940s and 1950s. They found that people born during sugar rationing cut their risk of adult dementia by a fifth, compared with those who were born after ration- ing ended.
Reduced sugar intake not only cut their risk of dementia overall, but also delayed the onset of dementia for those who did eventually suffer it by an aver- age of 2.6 years.
British counterdrone weapons could practise taking down Shahed one-way attack drone swarms at machine speed using AI modelling rather than live trials. The system behind the drone swarms can then be altered in a way that might replicate a future battle, for example by increasing the speed at which the drone swarm can travel.
the journal Neurology, found, meaning that the findings could shed light on how sugar affects metabolic processes or how babies absorb nutrients.
Previous research on the same birth cohort found they were less likely to suffer heart failure and strokes than those born after rationing ended.
“Our findings suggest that limiting sugar during the earliest stages of life may have lasting benefits for brain health,” Jiazhen Zheng, the study author, from the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology in Guangzhou, China, said. “These results highlight the potential importance of early-life nutrition in reducing the risk of dementia decades later.”
The autonomous system being de- veloped for friendly nations can prac- tise defeating the swarm thousands of times so when it happens in reality, it knows how to take the drones down.
It will also be prepared for potential developments in drone technology and new behaviours that can be predicted by the AI modelling.
Air Chief Marshal Sir Richard Knighton, chief of the defence staff, warned last month that the UK risked losing future conflicts unless it dramat- ically accelerated the adoption of AI across its armed forces.
Weapons companies are spending
sugar rationing lasted more than 13 years, and was only lifted in September 1953.
Researchers used medical records to determine which of the people in the study were diagnosed with dementia between the ages of 55 and 70. Of 15,025 who experienced sugar rationing before birth and during their first year of life, 388 developed dementia. Some 15,256 people who experienced sugar rationing from before birth until the age of two, and just 456 of them went on to develop dementia. Of the 23,774 born after sugar rationing, 504 developed the devastating disease.
The final percentage of harm reduction was calculated after account- ing for factors such as gender, socio- economic status, age, high blood pres- sure and diabetes.
hundreds of billions of pounds building autonomous weapon systems, such as drones, interceptors and intelligent munitions. However, the infrastructure to train, validate and evolve the AI that controls them does not exist.
This is where Agon comes in. Its syn- thetic battlefield enables such systems to learn to fight. They are trained at ma- chine speed against “realistic, adaptive adversaries drawn from live conflict in- telligence, at a scale and fidelity that the real world cannot provide”, Agon said.
The firm has received a $30 million seed investment to build Europe’s sov- ereign defence AI infrastructure in
in early life had higher total grey matter volume and lower levels of white matter “hyperintensities”, a marker of brain tissue damage.
Zheng added: “Limiting added sugars during pregnancy and infancy may be one beneficial step that families and communities can take, but further re- search is needed to better understand how these early exposures influence dementia risk and to guide public health strategies.”
Dr Sara Rodrigues, senior research manager at Alzheimer’s Research UK, said: “More research is needed to better understand the potential relationship between sugar intake and the develop- ment of dementia. For now, our advice at Alzheimer’s Research UK remains unchanged. Eating a healthy, balanced diet is one of the best ways to support your brain health and it’s never too late to make positive changes.”
what has been described as one of the largest early-stage defence technology investments of 2026.
Junaid Hussain, Agon’s co-founder, said warfare would soon be defined by the “era of the agent” where humans fought with intelligent agents embod- ied in weapons. For Europe not to build sovereign capabilities would be “unten- able”. He said: “Our launch reflects the critical need for Europe to establish its own sovereign defence AI capability and the significant investor confidence in what we are building. With this in- vestment we will now scale and iterate our platform for European end users.”
IAN FORSYTH/GETTY IMAGES
bearing the brunt of A&E corridor care
Eleanor Hayward Health Editor
Older patients are more likely to face long waits in A&E than younger ones, according to data.
An analysis by the Nuffield Trust think tank showed how patients aged 81 and over were often worst affected by issues such as corridor care.
Experts have previously assumed that older adults spend longer in A&E because they are more likely to be ad- mitted to hospital. However, the study suggested that when looking at patients of all ages who were admitted, older adults were still likely to wait the longest.
Patients are classed as receiving corridor care if their treatment does not take place in a clinically appropriate and safe setting. An appropriate setting provides privacy and access to food, water and the lavatory. It should also be possible to turn lights off and minimise noise levels to allow sleep.
The analysis showed that last year 43 per cent of over-80s faced a wait of more than 12 hours between arrival in A&E and admission to a hospital ward, compared with 19 per cent of those aged 21-30.
Experts also found that some health problems were much more likely to lead to long waits of more than 12 hours than others. Last year people with air- way or breathing problems faced long waits (191,193, equivalent to 36 per cent of cases). Those with gastrointestinal conditions (161,905 or 27 per cent) and neurological conditions (159,897 or 36 per cent) also faced long waits.
In May nearly 3,000 patients a day were cared for in hospital corridors or makeshift treatment areas in England. And in February more than 72,000 of all patients waited more than 12 hours, a third of all admissions.
Dr Sarah Scobie, the deputy director of research at the Nuffield Trust, said: “Better access to health and social care services outside hospital is needed to bring about a sustained reduction in long A&E waiting times.”
Dr Ian Higginson, the president of the Royal College of Emergency Medi- cine, said: “Emergency departments operate 24/7, but many of the services which support them and discharges are not delivered into evenings and week- ends. This isn’t just a matter of beds, it’s a matter of good operational practice.”
The Department of Health and Social Care said: “Three quarters of patients were seen in A&E within four hours in the month of June. But we know we need to go further. That is why we are investing £450 million this year through our urgent and emergency care plan.”
Theatre Clive Davis
Cleansed Almeida Theatre London N1 HIIII
Do you want to spend an evening staring into a meaningless, gore- drenched abyss? If so, the Almeida’s revival of Cleansed, Sarah Kane’s threnody of pain and suffering, may be for you. I have nothing but admiration for the cast’s determination to plumb the depths of Kane’s troubled psyche (she took her own life in 1999, at the age of 28) but I still find it hard to understand what drew Rebecca Frecknall, the director, to a piece that is so relentlessly one-dimensional.
The trigger warning posted on the venue’s website tells you all you need to know: “This production includes prolonged nudity, torture, mutilation, murder, sex, incest, violence including sexual violence, forced eating, suicide including hanging, drug abuse and drugging, gender reassignment surgery as well as homophobic and misogynistic
£2m legal bill in auction battle
David Brown Chief News Correspondent particularly royalties from her bestsel- ling album Back to Black, made Wine- house “personally extremely wealthy”.
The father of Amy Winehouse has been ordered to pay almost £1 million in legal costs to two of the late singer’s closest friends, whom he sued over the sale of her clothes and other personal items.
Mitch Winehouse must also pay his own legal costs of £950,000 after losing his £700,000 claim over the sale of 141 items at auctions in Los Angeles in 2021 and 2023.
He lost his case in April after a trial at the High Court in London against his daughter’s stylist, Naomi Parry, and Catriona Gourlay, one of the singer’s closest friends. Parry’s legal costs were estimated to be £715,361, and Gourlay’s were £487,132.
Clarke said: “The fact that he know- ingly and deliberately did this to two young women who had stood faithfully by Amy, and also by him and his family, and who had demonstrated their honesty and integrity over many years, makes his unreasonable conduct par- ticularly serious.” Oscar-winning musician killed in motorbike crash
Winehouse, 75, was appointed administrator of his daughter’s estate after her death aged 27 from alcohol poisoning in July 2011. The court heard the proceeds from his daughter’s estate,
Philip Ryan
Bruce Springsteen and Ed Sheeran have paid tribute to the Oscar-winning Irish musician Glen Hansard, who died in a motorbike crash in Dublin in the early hours of yesterday.
language, needles and blood.” Quite a bit of blood, in fact, although the ritualistic violence becomes so repetitive that it begins to pall after the fourth or fifth atrocity.
Like Kane’s 4.48 Psychosis, which returned to the Royal Court last year, Cleansed is less a play than a cry of
Gourlay met Amy Winehouse when they were teenagers in 2002 and they were flatmates in Camden, north London, from 2004 to 2005, the court was told. Parry met the singer when they were 19, and she was her freelance stylist from autumn 2006 until the singer’s death.
Winehouse, a former taxi driver, claimed the women sold items that belonged to his daughter’s estate, in- cluding the dress designed by Parry that the singer wore at her final concert, which sold for $243,000 (£180,000). The boots worn by Winehouse on the cover of her first album, Frank, in 2003 sold for $19,200.
Winehouse claimed Parry and Gour- lay “deliberately concealed” the items later sold in two celebrity auctions of memorabilia in Los Angeles, which he
a Grammy award for best musical theatre album for the stage adaptation of Once in 2013.
In a statement his agents, ATC Man- agement, said: “Glen’s family is deeply shocked and heartbroken by this tragic loss and respectfully requests privacy at this extremely difficult time.
pain. The set designer, Madeleine Girling, presents us with a drab, scuffed office space where victims of Tinker, the torturer, are abused. (Kane’s text informs us that the action takes place in different parts of a university campus).
Pearl Chanda, whom I last saw in
intended to use to raise money to build a school in his daughter’s memory in Saint Lucia. Sadie Frost, the actress, and Kelly Osbourne, the television per- sonality, gave statements on behalf of the friends in which they described how Winehouse gave away her clothing.
Amy Winehouse’s clothes and other paraphernalia sold for hundreds of thousands
Judge Sarah Clarke ordered Wine- house yesterday to make interim pay- ments for legal costs within 14 days of £569,330.99 to Parry and £394,521.89 to Gourlay. She ruled the father “knew all along” about the auctions, and only later began to pursue them for money in an “aggressive and unpleasant way”.
said: “Here on E Street, we are heart- broken over the death of Glen Han- sard.” The singer-songwriter said that he met Hansard in Ireland “many years ago and he was always nothing but a great musician, a good friend and a generous and gracious man”.
the Young Vic’s eccentric version of Arthur Miller’s Nazi-era play Broken Glass, has to endure some of the most gruelling sequences, baring all as
Winehouse must pay the women’s legal costs on an indemnity basis, which means those recovering their costs gen- erally get a higher percentage of what they spent than is usual and it is often awarded when one side has behaved particularly unreasonably.
Clarke said Winehouse lost on “every material point of fact and law” and he and his witnesses “were found to be un- reliable and were disbelieved on oath”.
The judge added the father “deliber- ately turned this case into large-scale and expensive litigation ... to exert commercial pressure on the defendants to settle on his terms”.
hear the news. “He was such an incredi- ble human, an incredible force,” he said on Instagram.
Hansard was married to the Finnish poet Maire Saaritsa and the couple have a three-year-old son, Christy.
Micheál Martin, the Irish prime min- ister, said Hansard was “a gifted artist and performer whose work left a lasting mark on the cultural life of Ireland”.
Pearl Chanda, Jack Riddiford and the rest of the cast are put through the wringer in a gory revival of Sarah Kane’s play
Grace. Parth Thakerar and Luke Cinque-White play the gay couple Rod and Carl, whose suffering puts you in mind of the key moment in Nineteen Eighty-Four when Winston, faced with unbearable torture, betrays Julia.
Yet because there’s no depth or hinterland to any of these figures, it’s impossible to detect any logic to their plight as they are subjected to random acts of violence. Scratch away the veneer, and what’s left is a series of intense rehearsal room exercises, delivered with true professionalism, but in the end signifying nothing.
Your eye is caught by incidental details, such as the way an inert body drags itself out of view, as if manhandled by invisible apparatchiks. George Dennis’s sound design is suitably claustrophobic. Handel’s Water Music begins to take on a sinister hue, Hell’s equivalent of call centre muzak.
Audience members are
invited to linger
afterwards if they need
to decompress. Even
if I hadn’t had a
deadline hanging
over me, I would
have been
desperate to get away. Kane’s vision of humanity is so unbearably bleak that you need to take gulps of fresh air to clear the senses. To Aug 29; almeida.co.uk
Next film to be my last
Peter Chappell
The film-maker Mike Leigh, who directed titles including Secrets & Lies, Mr Turner and Vera Drake, has said his next film is likely to be his last because of his deteriorating health.
The Oscar-nominated writer-direct- or, 83, spoke of his forthcoming film Tender Loving Care, a drama to be released this autumn, but said that another film would be “very difficult”.
He said another movie was “not going to be possible”, according to IndieWire, the online film and TV news site. Leigh is suffering from myositis, a disease that affects the immune system and causes chronic muscle inflamma- tion. When asked at a Golden Globes- hosted roundtable in London if Tender Loving Care would be his last film, he replied: “Absolutely. I think very likely, yes. I mean, I know the girls don’t like to hear me say that, but I think that is the case.”
Leigh’s new film, a comedy drama starring long-time collaborator and partner Marion Bailey and Kate O’Flynn, who starred in the recent Apple TV series Widow’s Bay, has been described as “an insightful exploration of the contemporary world”.
The film will be shown at the Toronto film festival with a world premiere at the Telluride film festival in Colorado.
Over a career spanning more than 60 years, Leigh has become renowned for his unique directing style which relies on extensive improvisation during re- hearsals with his actors to create realis- tic characters and script before filming.
H
Juliet Samuel
@citysamuel
ere’s a peculiarity of British energy policy. Oil and gas each supply about a third of the country’s energy. In case of emergency, we keep on hand 90 days’ worth of oil imports. But for gas it’s different. For gas, we store enough to last just two to three days. Not weeks. Days. Germany can store 90 days’ gas; France, over 100; Italy, somewhere in between; and the Netherlands, about 60.
The discrepancy is a mystery until you realise that the International Energy Agency (IEA) mandates that its members keep 90-day oil stockpiles but says nothing about gas. And there is nothing the civil service reveres more than an edict from an international body, not even the duty to secure our most basic needs.
This ought to be a considerable source of worry. The Hormuz blockade is finally taking its toll and people have noticed that Europe’s gas stores are about half as full as usual for summer, creating the most precarious energy position since Putin cut us off. Come winter, we will be scrambling for supplies from a limited pool of tankers scanning the world for the best price. If Andy Burnham can think as far ahead as winter, he should be fretting about painful bills, for households and industry alike.
Instead of remedying this, Britain is about to decommission its biggest gas storage facility, Rough. It is essentially a North Sea gas field with
How to be Hopeful
Join us for a brilliantly funny and uplifting evening as Times columnist Caitlin Moran hits the stage for the London instalment of her nationwide tour. In conversation with her friend and colleague – Times Radio presenter Hugo Rifkind – Caitlin will unravel the themes of her essential new book, How to be Hopeful: A Year of Attempting to Feel Less Awful About the World.
Thursday, September 17 | 7.30pm St Mary’s Church, Bryanston Square, London, W1H 1PQ
clever infrastructure on top: a chunk of porous sandstone the size of 1,500 Wembley stadiums whose tiny bubbles contained nearly a decade’s supply when discovered in 1968. It was soon converted into a storage facility, with wellheads added that could inject gas in summer and tap it in winter. It became Britain’s biggest stockpile, single-handedly holding 10- 12 days’ supply at modern usage rates.
Unfortunately in the 2010s, this convenient arrangement, like many things, fell victim to the glory of “just in time” supply chains. With so many pipelines and a boom in the world’s fleet of gas tankers, the margin between summer prices and winter prices narrowed. This was where gas storage made its money.
As profits disappeared, so did investment. Nearly all other storage facilities closed and Rough deteriorated. There were thought to be fractures in the rock capping the reservoir and around the boreholes.
decommission Rough, our biggest gas facility
So in 2017, Centrica laid out the government’s options: share the cost of an overhaul, in the hundreds of millions, or see Rough close. The then-Tory government, still in the grip of globalisation mania and enthusiastically backed by a cheapskate civil service, told Centrica to bog off.
In such a benign, free-flowing, efficient world, who needed stockpiles? Especially of something horrid, like carbon-emitting gas. The world could be our stockpile! We wouldn’t need this stuff for much longer anyway because we were going green — which is also why most of
Europe decided around that time to stop signing the supply contracts that fund gas projects, putting itself at the mercy of spot prices (the price on the day) for its critical needs.
Kwasi Kwarteng’s energy department produced a long report full of models arguing that Britain was “resilient to all but the most extreme shocks” because global “supply diversity” would always provide. Even as the Foreign Office was warning Germany against relying on Russian gas, our energy policy assumed that nothing disastrous could ever actually happen. Britain had “sufficient capability ... for all disruption scenarios relating to the Russia-Ukraine dispute”, the government claimed. No wonder the Germans dismissed us.
Since then, Britain’s annual gas demand has shrunk below even the “low demand” scenario modelled for the government by Cambridge Economic Policy Associates. And yet our energy costs are appalling, which is the same as saying that our energy security is fragile. Our lack of storage is a major contributing factor.
Think in terms of Battenberg cakes. Let’s say that on average you like to eat one mini Battenberg every day. Some days, you eat none; other days, you gobble four or five. You arrange a daily delivery but you never know what the price will be. If the price shoots up on a day when you want to binge, well, you’ll just have to pay it or go without. But as long as there are Battenbergs available for delivery, at any price, you have what the government considers to be “security of supply”.
Now imagine you have a way to store the cakes to keep them fresh. Suddenly, you can buy more when the price is low and fewer when the price is high. By any normal reckoning, your cake security has improved.
TIMES PHOTOGRAPHER RICHARD POHLE
Rough in the North Sea has capacity to hold 10-12 days’ supply of gas
So it is with gas. Winter demand can be up to five times summer’s and if there’s a cold snap that can go on for weeks, priced accordingly. And it’s no good factoring in your neighbour’s stockpile, as we should have learnt in 2011. Britain had one of its coldest winters on record. Despite soaring demand, gas experts watching the market that year recall that European stores were little help. They did not need a government edict to know that if they sold off the gas in January and left their own countries short in February, there would be hell to pay. So Britain had to pay through the nose to attract tankers.
Yet it wasn’t until 2022, when Russia cut Europe off, that the government finally admitted we needed storage. Rough was hastily reinstated at about a fifth of peak capacity, with plans to ramp it back
up. But here we are, four years later, no further along because the government prefers to nitpick and negotiate rather than pay up. The cost of the project is spiralling into billions. If we’d funded it in 2017 it would have paid for itself even if it had only shaved 1 per cent off the cost of the energy bailout.
Rough, fortunately, isn’t Britain’s only gas storage prospect. There are promising projects in the southern
may overrule energy secretary’s ideology
North Sea and off the coast of Liverpool. But they all need some government support. You can structure it however you like, spreading the cost over years, using markets or industry or households, but at some point you have to put up some cash. This is about as basic as funding a military.
On the face of it, Burnham has replaced Ed Miliband with an even more fanatical net zero partisan, Miatta Fahnbulleh. But there are signs his pragmatism may overrule her ideology. He ought to make it clear: Britain is still a gas economy and requires gas storage. If the government has to contribute, so be it. And if he can’t win the argument with a short video, he should ask the IEA to mandate it. Then, finally, someone in our government might listen.
politics newsletter For the best analysis and commentary from Westminster
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Edward Lucas
@edwardlucas
hen a Bangkok commuter rebuked a group of noisy Italian pupils, their teacher snapped a bracingly free-market response: “Sorry for bringing money to your country.” Her charges followed her example and further insulted the woman who had told them “in Thailand we don’t scream”. The woman passenger responded: “No manners.” And not only that, she called the police, who fined the tourists. A video of the fracas prompted a social media storm and grovelling apologies from the teenagers, the teachers and the Italian embassy.
Tourism may be a £9 trillion global business but economics is no guide to how to behave. This is not the frictionless world of internet commerce. It involves codes of hospitality and good guest behaviour, managing imperfections and reciprocal relationships. Whether we are visitors being ripped off in a tourist trap or locals who find sightseers’ behaviour intolerable, we know instinctively that travel is not just a transaction. It is freighted with differences in wealth and power, in race and class, in experience and expectation. That means we should apply a moral lens, not just a consumerist one, and should expect
old news now we have a TikTok PM
etermined not to live in a social media bubble, I follow many people with whom I disagree. But Zack Polanski is exhausting, a splurge-gun of Green memes, slogans and reposts of every single Zack Polanski fan.
So it’s quite possible he didn’t clock that picture of a man in a T-shirt saying “making plans for Nigel” beside a guillotine. If Polanski truly rejects political violence, a quick sorry to Nigel Farage is no big deal. Instead he conceded he’d made a mistake but declined to apologise to Farage because he didn’t want to “play his game”. It was a wink to Green supporters, with their “globalise the intifada” and “punch a Terf” signs, which implies “yeah, but some people have it coming...”
that lens to be applied to our behaviour too.
It is not enough to say “buyer beware” to the hapless first-time visitor to Venice, to read the small print in the rip-off eateries around Piazza San Marco before ordering the fish (hint: the price may seem low but they charge by weight). Nor is it enough to say the customer is always right. “Bringing money to Thailand doesn’t make you a god,” was how a local summed up the Bangkok row on social media.
We witnessed something similar last week in Santa Maria Rezzonico, a tranquil village on Lake Como, when an octogenarian Italian friend tried to stop a visiting Russian family molesting some fledgling swallows. The man simply ignored her; his daughter whipped out a water pistol and started shooting. Their
in Mallorca to protest against overtourism
attitude, as far as I could make out, was that they had paid for their holiday and would do as they pleased; nests included.
On a grander scale, this summer’s tourism season already provides plenty of examples of the dilemmas and costs of our holiday habits. Tens of thousands of people turned out on Sunday in Palma de Mallorca to protest against overtourism on the Spanish island: the “occupying forces”, as they call them, result in spiralling housing costs and other pressures on daily life. Similar
excusable for no reason but they hated him. There can be no halfway house: either you deplore attacks on politicians, even those you abhor, or you are driving a dangerous discourse which ends with more dead MPs, including those on “your” side.
But Polanski needs the attention because the Zacktivist moment has passed. Keir Starmer was politically moribund and too stiff for TikTok, allowing Polanski to look nimble and modern. Now Andy Burnham is not just deft on social media but using it to promote ideas about education or social care — real-world matters, not parped out slogans. This sleeves-rolled-up era is disastrous for politicians such as Polanski (and Farage) who thrive best online. Tossed property I
found a woman’s purse by my front door, which I assumed had been stolen, stripped of cash and lobbed over the fence. I rifled through it for an address and found the bank card was still there, along with loyalty cards, a gym membership and driving licence, those things that are always a
demonstrations took place in Barcelona, San Sebastian and Granada. In Varenna, another Lake Como town, the exasperated municipality has threatened fines of up to €200 (£170) on tourists wandering the streets shirtless or in swimwear.
Down the lake at Nesso, the authorities have announced a combined operation of the state, local, lake and financial police forces, the carabinieri and the coast guard, to stop throngs of visitors from jumping off a picturesque bridge by a waterfall. This jollity is not just potentially dangerous (especially when fuelled by alcohol and drugs). It also infuriates the people who live in the lakeside hamlet, who find their roofs turned into sundecks and diving platforms.
Part of the blame lies with social media, which can make a small attraction into a global destination, where intense competition erodes manners and other inhibitions. In Varenna an ill-tempered, lengthy queue snakes up to the “Gates of Heaven”, a particularly scenic spot overlooking the lake, where tourists are strictly limited to a three-minute slot for their selfies (security guards prowl the grounds to deter professional photographers). Yet the next-door gardens of the publicly owned Villa Monastero are just as gorgeous and all but deserted. People must be free to spend their time as they wish but it is hard to avoid the conclusion that forsaking these “bucket-list” hotspots is not just a responsible choice but a sensible one.
One big point is how we deal with friction: the delays, surprises and
total pain to replace. And what’s this at the back, a tiny plastic sachet of multicoloured sparkly granules? A quick Google search — and advice from loucher friends — suggests it could be “rainbow ketamine”, a party drug, dyed to appeal to the young. “Or it could be hundreds and thousands,” says another, innocently.
I find a phone number for the owner, we speak,
and she tells me she had
no recollection of losing
her wallet but may
have dropped it exiting a taxi on my street. (I suspect a kind soul had assumed it belonged to my household and left it by the door.) She wasn’t carrying cash, because no one under 40 does. I
don’t mention the sachet
but wonder, as I head to the post office, whether
I’m breaking the law. Maybe it explains why she lost her purse.
m glad the anniversary of Suzy Lamplugh’s disappearance was
inconveniences involved in travel. It is tempting to iron these out. The rich do this with their concierge services and luxury hotels. Others just complain. The mayor of the Italian village of Serina, near Bergamo, has mocked visitors who object to the noise made by bells worn by grazing cows. He issued a faux gagging order and lamented that his bovine residents responded uncooperatively with a stubborn “moo”. Good for him: the clink-clonk of these bells are one of the great joys of upland life. If you don’t like it, holiday elsewhere. The same applies to another common
a small attraction into a global destination
source of complaint: church clocks sounding through the night — now, sadly, a rarity. A much better course, for those of us with the time to do so, is to embrace unfamiliarity rather than try to erode it.
A broader question is our role as ambassadors for our countries. A survey of continental hoteliers a few years ago rated Britons the worst tourists in Europe: messy, stingy and grumbling. The Japanese, polite and tidy, regularly come top of such polls; Russians, Chinese and Americans rub boisterous shoulders with us at the bottom. We could do better.
Amid 1.5 billion international visitors annually, our individual behaviour will do little to change the global picture. But it can make us feel better, which is the point of a holiday. See you in a fortnight.
Women in their thirties today will never forget Sarah Everard, and those of us just entering careers back then were disturbed by Suzy’s mysterious end.
As she noted in her diary, her estate agent bosses seated her in the window because she was young and pretty, and could attract passing custom. Yet this also made her a target for a stalker, a man who booked an appointment to view a house from which she never returned.
I interviewed Suzy’s mother, Diana Lamplugh, long ago and was moved by her steadfastness, her belief that one day she’d know what happened to her daughter. Alas Diana died without ever learning the answer, but in directing her grief into training businesses to consider the safety of their female staff, especially when operating alone or at night, she protected countless other Suzies. Screening the call T
he phone rings late in the evening. “Hi, Mum, how are you? What have you been up to?” Oh forget the niceties and get to the point. You’ve been bounced off the Netflix family account by your brother and need us to click a link in an email so you can resume your watching of 30 Rock.
act fast to tackle rampant fraud Rocio Concha F
raud accounts for 45 per cent of all reported crime in England and Wales. The majority of scams originate online, often from websites we use every day. Platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, X and TikTok are at the root of the UK’s fraud epidemic but Keir Starmer shied away from taking them to task despite the immense harm they cause.
A surge in the deepfake impersonation of public figures on these platforms is just the start of a new era of highly sophisticated AI scams. We no longer live in a world where we can advise consumers to look out for “tell-tale signs” of scams, such as typos or grammatical errors. Even the most inept fraudster can access AI tools capable of deceiving experts. There is no limit to how much worse things will get unless the tech giants are given a serious financial deterrent against profiting from fraud.
The government has the power to act. The Online Safety Act became law in October 2023. It should mean huge fines for tech firms that host scam content. And ministers can act quickly, as when they banned deepfake sexual content earlier this year. But when it comes to fraud, Ofcom, the regulator in charge of implementing the act, has been allowed to kick the can down the road. Consumers won’t be fully protected until 2027 at the earliest.
Before the 2024 election Labour talked tough but by last year senior ministers in Starmer’s team were congratulating signatories of a typically ineffective voluntary online fraud charter, including Meta, for their “demonstrable” efforts to fight fraud. Embarrassingly, their fawning letter came months before internal Meta documents revealed the firm expected to rake in billions of pounds from adverts for scams and banned products. Meta claimed the figures in the documents were “rough and over- inclusive” and overstated the number of fraudulent ads on the platform, but declined to give updated figures.
For Mark Zuckerberg’s company, fraud and the human misery it causes seem to be just another revenue stream. Despite this, the government’s long-awaited fraud strategy, unveiled in March, failed to set out further action to make tech firms take scams seriously.
Andy Burnham has a chance to avoid these same mistakes. He must draw a line between productive and predatory technology: support firms that improve the lives of British consumers; crack down ruthlessly on those that enable scams and other illegal behaviour. The PM should start by ordering Ofcom to speed up its work and start taking action against the tech giants letting fraudulent ads flood our screens.
Labour’s education policy is ‘bring back stupid’
W
Michael Gove
@michaelgove
hen the great Tory lord chancellor FE Smith gave his rectorial address at Glasgow University in 1923 he told the undergraduates there assembled the world offered “glittering prizes to those who have stout hearts and sharp swords”.
A century on and our new government takes a rather different view. Instead of glittering prizes, it wants the young to know their place, limit their horizons and settle for less. In its first few days in power the Burnham administration has shown itself resolutely anti- intellectual, hostile to ambition and backwards-looking.
The new education secretary, Lucy Powell, has promised to end the “over-focus on academic outcomes” in our schools. In other words: bring back stupid. Powell argues that “over-focus” has “left too many young people behind”. The truth is precisely the opposite. Too many schools have still not focused
enough on getting every child to succeed academically, leaving too many without the knowledge, skills and qualifications to become authors of their own life story.
The best schools in the country, such as Michaela in Wembley or the Mercia School in Sheffield or the Star Academy chain run by Hamid Patel, take children from poorer backgrounds, give them a traditional academic education, secure them excellent GCSE grades across a range of rigorous subjects and launch them on a path to future success.
At Mercia School, disadvantaged pupils perform better at GCSE than the average for all students across Sheffield. Ninety-seven per cent of their young people are in education, employment or training after year 11, well above the city and national average. More than half their students go on to a Russell Group university. Not just 50 per cent going to university — above 50 per cent going to one of the top 30 universities in the country.
Yet when Powell and Burnham look at a school that gives the poorest students in a challenging northern city the opportunities they themselves enjoyed, they see not a model to emulate but an achievement to be derided. Their plans to dilute schools’ emphasis on attainment, steer more students away from stretching GCSEs and limit the
number of young people who enjoy a rounded academic education to the age of 16 is literally reactionary. They want to hold working-class kids back.
There is an irony too bitter for words in such a policy being enacted by two Russell Group graduates from working-class backgrounds who sit in the most Oxbridge cabinet for generations, one graced by a privately educated chancellor and old boys of Westminster and Eton.
The assault on academic excellence for all is cloaked in the language of seeking to value the hard hat as much as the mortar board. But
those who can analyse and think originally
the technical and vocational are only elevated by making the courses that bear that name more rigorous and demanding, not demanding “parity of esteem” by diktat.
We have been down this disastrous road before. Under the last Labour government a well-meaning desire to see the vocational valued meant qualifications in cake-decorating that would make any professional patissier weep at their inadequacy were deemed to be “worth” the same as a testing maths GCSE. These false equivalences were abolished when
I was education secretary after a report into the widespread lack of ambition in vocational qualifications from the brilliant Professor Alison Wolf.
Since then, greater rigour has been applied in technical and vocational education. There is further still to go. But instead of raising the bar in technical learning, this government is lowering its ambition for the number of students who can grasp the academic core.
This is not just criminal for anyone who believes in extending equality of opportunity, it is democratically dumb and economically self- harming. If we are to have citizens who can discern good arguments from bad, who are inoculated against misinformation and engaged in a vigorous democratic culture, then the skills imparted by academic subjects — from the logic inherent in maths to the analytical ability required by the proper study of the humanities — is vital.
The encroachment of new technology and artificial intelligence on our lives and workplaces requires us all to be smarter, quicker and defter in the deployment of our own intelligence. Many roles now considered skilled labour — every element in the transport chain from the manufacture of vehicles to driving them, for example — will soon be automated. The future
belongs to those with the ability to analyse, question, think originally and creatively, and deploy the higher level reasoning that academic education imparts.
That is why decrying the numbers who go to university, as Burnham has, is so myopic. The 50 per cent “target” set by Tony Blair was not a Stalinist imposition. Idle youth were not rounded up, press-ganged and imprisoned in a gulag archipelago of academic borstals for three years. It was a laudable ambition to achieve for the country what Mercia School achieves for its pupils: greater opportunity.
Yes, the higher education sector is blighted by too many failing institutions, inadequate courses, grade inflation and woke curriculums. But so were schools before we dealt with all of those weaknesses, building on the best of Blairism, and turning our state education system into the best in the western world. The only reason real reform didn’t extend to universities is because they were in the hands of a department run by Lib Dems. The answer to education failure is not to steer people away from education but to improve it. But who has the stout hearts and sharp swords to do that now?
compulsory voting
Sir, Daniel Finkelstein made a number of claims about compulsory voting in his column, including that it was more likely to help the Labour Party (“Why compulsory voting’s such a rotten idea”, comment, Jul 29). That has not been Australia’s experience. In the 102 years since compulsory voting was introduced, the Australian Labor Party has held national office for 36 years only. He also said that compulsory voting would not encourage people to vote voluntarily when compulsion was removed. That also has not been our experience. In 2017 my government held a voluntary, postal plebiscite on legalising same sex marriage. A total of 79.5 per cent of the ballots were returned and a Yes vote of 62 per cent was recorded.
His main objection seems to be that compulsory voting would increase the UK’s participation rate by 50 per cent, with an extra 15 million people casting a ballot. He complains that the new voters would be “the least well informed, least interested and also least well-established citizens” among whom he speculates would be included “the young”. Surely a key objective of a democracy is to maximise the participation of all the people, regardless of their wealth, education or enthusiasm for reading political columns in The Times, and it would seem self-evident that a system where 90 per cent of the people vote is better, more legitimate than one where 60 per cent vote.
Anyone who has participated in an Australian election will know we are only half joking when we call it our “festival of democracy”. Yes, people will still distrust politicians and complain about taxes being too high and benefits too low. But at least everybody has a say, and even the grumpy cynic has to lever himself off the couch and go to vote. Malcolm Turnbull Former prime minister of Australia
Sir, Tom Whipple (“Brassed Off”, Notebook, Jul 29) suggests that lower brass players are merely sitting on their bottoms for most of a concert. As a tuba player, I beg to differ. Not only are we counting hundreds of bars rest, we are also saving our energy for taking part in the most important part of the evening … the pub afterwards. Harriet Fyfe Hilton, Sutherland from the times july 30, 1926
clarifications
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Sir, Before we embark on yet another shift of education policy, there is a fundamental question to be answered: do we regard education as a transactional process to teach skills for particular jobs, or should it be a nuanced progress towards gaining some understanding of all aspects of human achievement and possibility (“Burnham’s ‘hard hat’ schools”, news, Jul 28)? Many people will answer “both”, but the difficulty lies in deciding the balance. I favour leaning towards developing rounded polymaths, not least because defined skills learnt now may well be redundant soon, given the pace of technological invention, but others may see things differently. What is clear is that we, and especially the government, should be much clearer about what we expect the outcome of education to be than we are now. Otherwise we will continue to have yet more soundbite policies every couple of years. Andrew Dyke London N21
Sir, Here we go again, with the regular wail about the shortcomings of vocational education. But, as your leading article (“Finding Vocation”,
Sir, Your report on social care reform (“Shake-up of social care to lock out private firms”, Jul 29) risks framing the choice as one between profit and good care. The evidence is more nuanced. Some research does find that for-profit homes receive lower Care Quality Commission ratings on average. But one large English study, covering more than 15,000 homes, emphasised that the differences between ownership types were relatively small. Your article’s assertion that privately run homes “tend to deliver poorer care” would have been more useful had it identified the research, quantified the difference and distinguished independent providers from private equity-backed chains.
Ownership may be relevant, but it is not an outcome. Policy should judge every provider by the safety and quality of its care, workforce pay and stability, financial resilience, transparency and reinvestment. Profit is no guarantee of efficiency or quality; nor is its absence.
I was chief executive of the UK’s largest domiciliary care provider,
ROBBERY OF A
Mr Edward Creed, manager for Messrs Lowry and Co, cheesemongers, Bayswater, was found murdered in the firm’s shop on July 28. Between £60 and £80 in Treasury notes and cash had been stolen from the safe. The premises where the crime was committed are in the centre of a residential district within a short distance of Kensington-gardens, and consist solely of a shop, with a small private office at the back, and a cellar used for storage purposes. Next door is a similarly built shop occupied by a laundry firm.
Jul 29) points out, the basics are in place. Further education colleges exist, and so do T levels and Btecs. However, they lack financial and cultural support. Everyone thinks they are a good idea, but not for their children. A marvellous University Technical College was built in Newhaven in 2015 with the expressed aim of taking children at 14 to develop skills relevant to the nearby marine and other industries. It closed four years later, owing to a lack of students. Trevor Hopper Lewes, E Sussex
Sir, The new education policies being proposed are to be welcomed. But No 10 should not forget that it is not simply undoing 15 years of Michael Gove’s reforms. The scrapping of school workshops and the failure to train teachers capable of teaching practical subjects started long before that, in the 1980s. It will take years to rebuild a system capable of educating the “hard hats” of the future. Dr David Baker School Design Research Unit, Cambridge
Sir, Kate Greenhalgh (letter, Jul 29) ponders the point of teaching
Allied Healthcare, which was then private equity backed, and now work in the NHS. I have seen excellence and waste under both models. As for-profit providers operate most care homes, excluding them could destabilise capacity. Sector reform should instead expose poor practice, raise standards and reward organisations that provide good, sustainable care — whatever their ownership. Tim Pethick Wye, Kent
Sir, I’m struggling to understand Danny Cipriani’s crowdfunding appeal for his wedding (“Cipriani’s wedding shocker”, Robert Crampton, Times2, Jul 28). It’s not the fact that he and his intended can easily afford a good knees-up but one of the purported uses for the money: a rehearsal dinner. Why on earth do you need to even rehearse and then have a dinner for it? It’s really quite simple: you turn up at church or registry office, make your vows and join friends and family for a party. Terence Burbidge Little Gransden, Cambs
The murder was discovered about 10.30 at night by a policeman who, while on his rounds, saw a light in the shop. He also noticed that the padlock on the door was not fastened. Concluding that something was amiss, he opened the door, walked through the shop and saw a man’s body lying halfway down the cellar steps, the opening to which was at the side of the small private office. Gas jets had been turned on and there was an overpowering smell of gas.
Having turned off the meter tap, the constable communicated with Paddington police station, and Detective-Inspector Hunt and other detectives were hurriedly summoned. It was clear that Mr Creed, who was a sergeant in the Special Constabulary, had been murdered, and that the motive was robbery. He had terrible wounds on the head caused by some heavy blunt instrument, and the safe had been opened with his own key and the contents stolen. A pair of grey
Shakespeare to girls who wish to become florists, hairdressers, mothers or even poachers. Shakespeare has valuable insights into each of their career choices. His plays include more than 100 botanical references, and as to hairdressers, “methinks I am marvellous hairy about the face” (A Midsummer Night’s Dream). Shakespeare’s powerful depictions of motherhood, including that of Lady Macbeth, continue to provoke debate. The young Shakespeare is even reputed to have known a bit about poaching on the Charlecote estate. Dr David Jeffrey Author, How Shakespeare Inspires Empathy in Clinical Care
Sir, Further to your report “Extra £4,500 in benefits if child starts apprenticeship” (Jul 29), surely the payment of up to £4,500 for an apprenticeship should be paid on completion, otherwise where is the incentive? In the 1970s I enrolled on a a Tops course (a government-funded vocational training scheme) and was paid £30 a week to attend a shorthand and typing course. It changed my world and I’m forever grateful. Loveday Newton Taplow, Bucks
Sir, The arrogance of Gianni Infantino appears to know no bounds. With his proposals to turn Fifa into a privatised moneymaking business, and in the process to further his sycophantic enchantment with the Trump family, he seems determined to destroy the game of football (“Red card for Fifa’s plan to sell World Cup”, Jul 29). He fails to understand that the World Cup is a worldwide celebration of football and not, as stated in his recent retort to social media outrage, a show. The World Cup, as with all major competitions and leagues worldwide, belongs to the fans. Without them, there is no professional football. It is to be hoped that Uefa and all European clubs will make clear their objections, and follow through by withdrawing from Fifa if these fall on deaf ears. Ian Liddiard Wokingham, Berks
Letters to The Times must be exclusive and may be edited. Please include a full address and daytime telephone number.
cotton gloves, blood-stained, was found near the body, but whether they belonged to the murderer or not is not known.
The following statement was later issued by Scotland Yard: “About 2pm on Thursday 29th two men called at the Moseley-road Baths, Birmingham, and changed their clothing, much stained and consisting of a grey swallow-tailed coat, grey trousers, with black stripe, brown trousers and waistcoat, blue jacket. These men left the baths dressed in a new blue twill suit, black boots much worn, soft collar and tie, hard bowler hat; and a new light grey suit with stripe in cloth, black boots, much worn, dark trilby hat, collar and tie. The police are anxious to interview these men.
Sir, Further to your report “Spoof ads make a spectacle of Meta AI glasses” (Jul 27), perhaps the spokeswoman for Everyone Hates Elon and her outraged colleagues should consider moderating their tirade against Meta. My wife is severely sight-impaired and these AI glasses have been a game-changer for her. The glasses will describe whatever she is looking at; she can ask them to read an article in The Times or request a summary of it; and she can ask them to pick out the fish dishes on a menu. If she goes into a crowded room by herself she can ask the glasses to spot her friends and direct her to them. She can even call on a live service where, if she is uncertain how to find her way, a human being will use the camera images to guide her. They give her a considerable degree of independence; telling my wife she is wearing “pervert glasses” is unforgivable. Bob Maurer Reigate, Surrey
Sir, Mention of acknowledging a schoolmaster out of school (letters, Jul 28 & 29) reminds me an incident in my time at Watford Boys Grammar School in the 1950s under headmaster Harry Rée, who was famous as a saboteur in Occupied France and later as a professor of education. My crime? Failing to doff my cap to him when he stopped his car at a pedestrian crossing to let me pass. My punishment was six whacks with a slipper for my “insolence”. Tom Norton Cove, Hants
Sir, As an old schoolfriend of Bill Oddie’s (obituary, Jul 28), I feel your comments about his ill temper and irritating character to be far from my own experience on birding trips to Fair Isle and north Norfolk etc. He had an acerbic wit and could be described fairly as not accepting fools lightly, but he was a kind and sympathetic mentor to younger pupils in the Natural History Club at King Edward’s and an amusing and inspiring colleague on birding excursions. Bill earned the many birding records he posted because he worked at his “hobby”, recognising the fifth UK record for Citrine Wagtail on Fair Isle by a single note while the rest of us just noted “wagtail”. He was the ultimate birder. Richard Butler Prince Rupert, British Columbia
Sir, One of Bill Oddie’s finest moments has to be when, on Springwatch, he described blackbird song as sounding as if the bird “had his hands in his pockets”. That description comes back every time. Blanche Allanson Lindfield, W Sussex
Sir, Reading your leading article (“Watching the Watchmen”, Jul 28) I was pleased to read that birdwatching continues in popularity despite the antics of the super-keen. This year, as I sat quietly with my binoculars in April by the lagoon in La Santa, Lanzarote, I was delighted to see a pair of spoonbills. The peace was spoilt by a birdwatching drone apparently aimed at observing the pair. I don’t know if drones upset the birds, but this drone certainly upset me. Margery Morgan Pennard, Gower
Daily Universal Register
UK: Bank of England’s monetary policy committee announces decision on interest rates; annual rail fares index published; BAE Systems and Rolls-Royce company results.
Nature notes
Another hot day and the ground tinder dry. A bank vole was doing its best to move silently through the leaf litter, but each scurry crackled audibly. Any fox within ten metres would hear, but the vole needed to eat. Suddenly, a detonation rang out — the human sitting on the bench beneath the hawthorn had bitten into her apple. Sensing the danger but also scenting the juicy fruit, the bold vole edged to the bench. Scrunch, scrunch, scrunch. At last the apple was finished and with a crashing din thrown into the leaf litter. Whiskers and ears interrogating the air, the vole waited for the human to leave. Then crept over. The core lay there glistening: a risky but winning lottery ticket in the game of survival. jonathan tulloch
Birthdays today
Kate Bush, pictured, singer-songwriter, Wuthering Heights (1978), 68; Sir James Anderson, cricketer, Lancashire, England (2002-24), 44; Teresa Cahill, opera singer, 82; Richard Caseby, managing editor of The Sunday Times (1997-2011), communications consultant and campaigner for inquest reform, 66; Andrea Coomber KC, chief executive, Howard League for Penal Reform (prison charity), 54; Hannah Cockroft, wheelchair racer, nine-time Paralympic gold medallist in the T34 class (2012, 2016, 2020, 2024), 34; Kenton Cool, mountaineer who has summited Everest 20 times, 53; General John de Chastelain CH, chairman, independent international commission on decommissioning, Northern Ireland (1997- 2011), 89; Frances de la Tour, actress, Rising Damp (1974-78), the Harry Potter film series (2005, 2010), three-time Olivier Award winner, 82; Wing Commander Andy Green, world land speed record-holder (since 1997), 64; Buddy Guy, blues guitarist and singer, Damn Right, I’ve Got the Blues (1991), 90; Baroness (Harriet) Harman KC, Labour MP (1982-2024), leader of the Opposition (2010, 2015), 76; Lisa Kudrow, actress, Friends (1994-2004), 63; Blaise Metreweli (aka “C”), chief of the Secret Intelligence Service (MI6), 49; Saul Nassé, chief executive and keeper, National Archives, 61; Sir Christopher Nolan, film-maker, Interstellar (2014), Dunkirk (2017), The Odyssey (2026), 56; Tom Pidcock, cyclist, two-time Olympic gold medallist (2020, 2024, mountain bike cross-country), 27; Jason Robinson, former England rugby player and World Cup winner, 52; Rat Scabies (Christopher Millar), drummer, co-founder of the Damned, Eloise (1986), 71; Arnold Schwarzenegger, actor, The Terminator (1984), governor of California (2003-11), and bodybuilder (five- time Mr Universe and seven-time Mr Olympia), 79; Daley Thompson, decathlete, Olympic gold medallist (1980, 1984), 68.
On this day
In 1419 radical Hussites threw members of the city council out of a window to their deaths, in the first Defenestration of Prague.
The last word
Andy Burnham is right to commit himself to fixing social care. But a universal
The prime minister knows only too well what it is like to have a proposal for fixing England’s social care system thwarted by political expedience and indecision. As health secretary in 2010, Andy Burnham argued that universal old-age care should be financed by a levy on estates. The Tories wasted no time in branding Labour’s policy a “death tax”, an election intervened, and social care was flung on to the political back burner, where it has remained — despite being toyed with by successive administrations for the past 16 years.
As with his intervention on technical training, the prime minister’s speech on adult social care yesterday gave every indication that he meant to tackle the issue with seriousness and sincerity. Whitehall’s seasoned troubleshooter Baroness Casey of Blackstock, already tasked with an inde- pendent review of the social care sector, has been asked to report a year ahead of schedule. Yester- day, she launched a consultation that aims to solic- it the views of at least one million members of the public. Mr Burnham has also met opposition leaders Kemi Badenoch and Sir Ed Davey in the hope of identifying points of consensus. That is ex- actly the right way to neutralise the perennial threat that social care once again becomes a polit- ical football to be kicked back into the long grass.
The deeply flawed assisted dying legislation should remain in the grave
Yesterday the prime minister said that before there was a wider debate on the principle of assist- ed dying, “there’s something that needs to happen first and that’s the fixing of the funding of pallia- tive care and social care”. Fixing palliative care and social care is a long-term project. Lauren Edwards, a Labour backbencher, has pledged, in the next parliamentary session, to reintroduce the deeply flawed Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill that was mercifully timed out in the Lords in April. The message to her from her new boss is: don’t bother.
This is welcome news, for three reasons. First, Andy Burnham is right: whatever your view of the ethics of the state sanctioning doctors to dispense lethal doses of drugs to their patients, the sugges- tion that before contemplating such a momentous step the government should first radically im- prove end-of-life care is surely correct. Hospices in the UK are underfunded. The notion that the suffering of the terminally ill can only be alleviat- ed by a fatal injection, rather than by the love, care and medication that befit a member of a wealthy, civilised nation, is a grotesque counsel of despair.
Second, as even many of its proponents admit,
Politicians like Zack Polanski need to spend less time scrolling online
Not for the first time, Zack Polanski has demon- strated bad taste. The Green Party leader recently reshared an Instagram post picturing a man on whose T-shirt was a guillotine and the slogan “we’re only making plans for Nigel” — a reference to Nigel Farage, Reform UK’s leader. Mr Polanski could have acted decently by apologising for post- ing this photo, which was snapped at a party fund- raising event in Bristol at the weekend. Instead he deleted it, tacitly acknowledging he made an error, but has bizarrely refused to say sorry to Mr Farage. Instead he said it was an “inadvertent mistake”.
Nigel Farage, who was not invited, in part because of his recent resignation from the House of Commons, said the attempt to work across the aisle was evidence of the “uniparty in action”. Such snipes are only evidence of Reform UK’s unseri- ous approach to Britain’s structural challenges. Good intentions will not be enough, however. The track record of failed proposals to fix social care is dismal: 22 attempts over 30 years with little result. Baroness Casey herself warns that her review will not alight on some previously neglected quick fix. The trade-offs will be real and difficult.
Much of what makes England’s social care system such a mess is that it is a patchwork of poorly integrated systems, with considerable re- gional variations and no unifying principle. As a result, 2.5 million adults over 50 are not getting the care they need. Many others are driven to finan- cial ruin, facing lifetime costs in the hundreds of thousands, because their total assets exceed the £23,250 threshold at which the state funds their care — a cap that has remained fixed since 2010. That someone with cancer has their treatment funded by the state, but those with dementia are left to their own devices, is pure caprice.
Mr Burnham’s response is that England re- quires an NHS-style “National Care Service”.
the initial bill — introduced by the Labour MP Kim Leadbeater — was poorly drafted, light on precision and due safeguards. It had no business passing on to the statute book. The Lords, per- forming its constitutional duty to scrutinise legis- lation, saw fit to table more than 1,300 amend- ments, over 70 of them proposed by Lord Falconer of Thoroton, the bill’s sponsor in the upper house.
During scrutiny, the risks of such a seismic shift in the relationship between state and citizen were exposed. In Canada, where medically assisted deaths have been allowed for a decade, they now account for 5 per cent of all deaths, having risen from 0.6 per cent ten years ago. Nothing in the failed bill would have prevented a similarly sinister increase in England and Wales. The measure was opposed by all the relevant royal colleges and hun- dreds of disability charities. It was not included in Labour’s 2024 manifesto. The prospect of the bill being forced through the Lords under the provi- sions of the Parliament Acts of 1911 and 1949 is arrogant and undemocratic.
Third, Mr Burnham’s smooth and swift eutha- nising of this zombie proposal showcases his polit-
era where political violence is rising, sharing an inflammatory post such as this is unacceptable. Reform has accused Mr Polanski of “incitement to murder”, reported him to the police and suggested he should be arrested. It was indeed tasteless, but few would conclude from it that the Green leader was directly threatening Mr Farage. Police are right to take no further action.
That model would cost an estimated £18.5 billion a year. It is simply unfeasible and overlooks more efficient alternatives. As proposed by Sir Andrew Dilnot in his 2011 report, the lifetime costs of care should be capped. Those unfortunate enough to require many years of institutional care at the end of their lives should not face ruin. But nor should means-testing be abandoned entirely.
Mr Burnham is also unwise to spurn the in- volvement of the private sector in social care. Of the UK’s 18,000 care homes, 85 per cent are pri- vately operated, many run by small, local provid- ers that offer high-quality care. These carers, till now the backbone of England’s system, should not be forced out of the sector because of a misguided ideological antipathy for “profiteering”. A finan- cially well-managed care system — one that, as Mr Burnham acknowledges, should be able to in- centivise care workers with the prospect of a de- cent market wage — is what England direly needs.
Even these more workable plans would cost billions. If Mr Burnham is to stay true to his party’s fiscal pledges, he will face another tough problem: persuading defiant Labour MPs that significant spending cuts are in order. That is yet another rea- son to reach for consensus beyond the limited confines of his own party.
ical acumen while demonstrating the absence of any such quality in his predecessor. Sir Keir Starmer, bizarrely citing lobbying by Dame Esther Rantzen as his motivation, said he supported the principle, but then failed to expend any authority to back Ms Leadbeater’s bill. Wes Streeting, then the health secretary, said it was a mistake. Shabana Mahmood, the home secretary, was disgracefully smeared by her own side as a religious zealot for voicing her objection. Sir Keir floundered. The result: a protracted mess.
Mr Burnham knows the concept of assisted dying is currently popular with his backbenchers. But he is clear-sighted enough about the legal and moral morass it entails. He has little personal enthusiasm for the cause and certainly doesn’t want the distraction. So the prime minister has found an elegant way, acceptable to his party, of signalling that this is not a priority. Assisted dying should be retrieved from obscurity only if any party can muster the courage to include it in its next manifesto. Given that many voters, rightly, regard this matter as a thick red line not to be crossed, such courage is unlikely to be summoned.
Reform’s home affairs spokesperson, use social media as their main communication outlet. Stella Creasy, the Labour MP for Walthamstow, was recently mocked for getting herself into a flap over a lost pet parrot she found in a local park. Ms Creasy was duly informed she was looking at one of London’s many wild green parakeets.
28 Thursday July 30 2026 | the times World
but here’s the brutal truth
in Tehran that war and state violence left a generation stripped of hope
V
It was the moment a peaceful protest turned into a bloodbath. “There was a guy on top of the truck with a machine- gun,” said Reza, recalling the night the Iranian regime turned on its people. “He shouted, ‘Go home, you bastards!’ and started shooting. And then [the other security forces] started shooting.”
The order to open fire, from the supreme leader at the time, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, unleashed unprece- dented violence across the country. The civilian death toll from those weeks in January may never be known.
Reza, 27, had defied his father to take to the streets of Mashhad, Khamenei’s home town, to protest against regime corruption and economic mismanage- ment. In the end his father, a former member of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), joined him.
Many unarmed protesters killed that
Thousands took to the streets in Iran in January to protest against the regime
night were shot with automatic rifles or machineguns, weapons that belong in war. “It was a massacre,” Reza said. “I was wading through blood.” His father was hit with shotgun pellets but survived.
Six months later, with thousands of protesters dead, demonstrations suppressed and the United States at war with Iran, Reza’s father has only one wish for his son: to leave home. “I told him I want to get out of this coun- try,” Reza said. “And my father said, ‘Just leave. Don’t think about me, just leave. You’re my only child. This is what I want you to do.’ ”
Reza is not his real name but the one he asked to go by in the account he gave to The Times in Tehran. He said he was determined to tell a different story from the one peddled by the authorities as they sought to project a country united under the Islamic regime.
and tirade of abuse at Iran
Samer Al-Atrush Middle East Correspondent
President Trump launched a foul- mouthed tirade against Iran after a surprise ballistic missile attack on a US airbase in Jordan.
The president promised further retaliation after the US and Saudi Arabia conducted joint strikes on Iran-backed militias in Iraq yesterday, ending a four-day pause in hostilities.
“We’re going to beat the f***ing shit out of them,” he told Fox News. “They’re going to get a beating.”
Trump claimed that the joint US-Saudi strikes, against Shia militias he described as “a cancer on the world”, were conducted with the approval of the Iraqi government.
However, Iraq’s president denounced “an unacceptable attack and a blatant violation of Iraq’s sovereignty” and the country’s prime minister, Ali al-Zaidi, cancelled a trip to meet Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia in Jeddah which had been planned for today.
In their first known combined operation since the war with Iran broke out in February, American and Saudi aircraft “struck multiple terrorist logistics and weapons sites across eastern Iraq”, the US military said.
At least 20 members of an Iraqi former paramilitary alliance, the Popular Mobilisation Forces (PMF), were killed in the attacks over several areas. The strikes also killed five Iranian advisers.
Had he gone to Saudi Arabia as planned, Zaidi — who this month visited both Washington and Tehran — would probably have been told to rein in the Shia militia groups in Iraq that have long operated outside government control.
Instead, through joint strikes with the US, Saudi Arabia seems to have
all, he wanted to voice the hopelessness and betrayal they felt as the war in Iran spiralled and they realised that pro- mises of foreign help were hollow and, far from removing it, the war was saving and emboldening the regime.
Reza’s father had experienced a different kind of disillusionment. A reli- gious man with a longing for justice, he joined the 1979 Islamic Revolution and became a member of the IRGC, the Praetorian guard of the ayatollah. He fought for Iran in the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq war. After the leader of the revolution, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, died in 1989, he took part in his massive funer-
decided to send its message more bluntly.
“It’s a very sensitive time and they [the Saudis] want to deter the Iraqis as much as possible,’’ said a source familiar with the Saudi government’s thinking.
The attack, he said, was conducted with the US to “go bigger” than previous Saudi strikes that targeted militia drone and missile launch sites and were not publicly confirmed.
As conflict resumed with the US, Iran has directly targeted countries such as Kuwait, Bahrain and Jordan, but has relied on its proxies in Iraq and Yemen allies to attack Saudi Arabia.
The Iraqi militias to its northeast have damaged Saudi oil installations and this week forced the kingdom to shut down a refinery producing 400,000 barrels of oil a day.
The Houthis in Yemen to its south have meanwhile targeted Saudi tankers attempting to cross the Bab al-Mandeb Strait in the Red Sea. Yemen’s government, which opposes the rebels, claimed that Iran planned for the Houthis to charge ships for passage, much as Tehran has attempted to do in the Strait of Hormuz.
Tehran, by launching a new wave of ballistic missiles at US bases, appears to have decided that it must keep up pressure on Trump and his regional allies, to force the US to accept its terms for ending the war.
While Trump has made many threats to hit Iran “harder”, he has so far not escalated the conflict with major strikes against bridges and power stations.
Iran’s gambit may backfire, however, if Trump decides to sustain the naval blockade of Iranian ports for months to come, as his forces target the country’s infrastructure and put its already contracted economy under intense pressure.
al. But soon afterwards, according to Reza, “he realised that something about this revolution was wrong. It wasn’t the fight for justice he wanted.”
Reza’s father was not alone. In a new book, Stolen Revolution, the journalists Bozorgmehr Sharafedin and Yeganeh Torbati tell the stories of Iranians be- trayed by the revolutionary system. “My father had truly believed in the Islamic Revolution,” Reza said. “He hates it now. He cries about the situation.”
the Iranian currency, the rial. They spread to other cities, including Mash- had, Iran’s second city and its holiest. The movement lacked leadership but from his exile in the US, the son of Iran’s last Shah, Reza Pahlavi, issued a call for pro- testers to come out en masse on the night of January 8. Although his standing in Iran is questionable, they heeded his call. Reza remembers the moment the slaughter began. “There were bullets everywhere; it was like Call of Duty,” he said with a hollow laugh, “but less fun.”
There is no consensus on how many were killed on January 8 and 9, the peak of the slaughter. The US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency verified the identities of 7,007 people who were killed over 50 days. Another 11,744 cases are under review. Assessments based on the accounts of Iranian health workers estimated the number of dead at 30,000-36,000 on those two days.
President Trump, in justifying the war, claimed up to 54,000 protesters died, without providing evidence.
The Iranian government put the death toll at 3,117, of which it claimed 2,427 were civilians and security forces.
One of those killed that night was Re- za’s friend, whom he called Navid. The Times verified Navid’s real name as among the dead in the Human Rights Activists News Agency’s report and his cause of death as sniper fire.
Navid’s parents were able to retrieve his body but could not hold a funeral. “They would not let his parents bury him in the official cemetery in Mash- had,” Reza said. “They said, ‘Shut your mouth, don’t post anything on Insta- gram or social media’.” They had him quietly buried in a village cemetery.
The next day Reza was arrested with others at a gathering in Navid’s memory and accused of planting explo- sives. His father freed him after offering his property as security for bail.
Father and son celebrated news of Khamenei’s death in an Israeli airstrike on February 28, the first day of the war, when Trump was still speaking of the regime’s brutality towards its people.
“People really had some faith there would be regime change,” Reza said. But as the war went on, reality dawned that help for the Iranian opposition was not coming. “Trump stopped talking of regime change. And he stopped talking about the protesters. This country is ru- ined already but he made them more powerful by stopping.”
Reza knew the risk he was taking by talking to The Times. “I’m not afraid to die,” he said. He wanted to speak, he said, to counter the spectacle of Kham- enei’s funeral this month. “All of the things they are telling you, it’s a beauti- ful lie. Most people in Iran don’t support the supreme leader.”
The events of the protests, the crack- down and now the war, plunging Iran’s economy further into crisis, have left a generation disillusioned and bruised. “They don’t believe they can change things any more,” Reza said. “And now most of them don’t even have work any more. They don’t know what to do.”
go further, the village will burn’
illage after village is eerily still. Streets are abandoned with houses and shops shuttered, the silence bearing witness to wildfires of an unprecedented scale that have driven entire communities from their homes west of Bordeaux (David Chazan, in Blagon, writes).
journalists are waved through; evacuees trying to return without permission are turned back.
Many evacuated villages have so far been spared but in Le Porge more than a quarter of the homes have been gutted by fire. As their properties stand empty, many are also anxious about burglaries.
Matthieu Plessis, a resident of Le Porge, said: “I’ve been staying up until four or five in the morning to stand guard. We’ve had people coming here pretending to want to help, but what they’re really trying to do is loot the place.”
Farmers have joined the fire crews, mounting water tanks on tractors and pick-up trucks to turn them into improvised fire engines.
Overstretched firefighters have welcomed the extra help but the authorities have begun checking the identities of those who join them, wary that criminals could exploit the chaos of the blaze.
Firefighters and volunteers work hour after hour near Blagon and Andernos le Bains in the southwest department of Gironde. As of yesterday, four firefighters had died; another lost a leg when a gas canister exploded
have converged on Gironde, the southwestern department of which Bordeaux is its capital, working round the clock to try to contain the fires. Four firefighters have died since the outbreak of the “megafire”, as it has been dubbed. A number have been injured, including one who lost a leg when a gas canister exploded.
Naval firefighters from Marseille battled through the night to save Andernos-les-Bains, a small town about 30 miles west of Bordeaux, from a rapidly advancing wall of flame.
dangerous to go in. One firefighter had already been taken to hospital after inhaling smoke. “We’re going to start spraying before the fire reaches that road,” Julien said.
Like most French military personnel he is barred from giving his surname. “We can’t be sure of putting it out if we go in among the trees but it’s crucial to stop it reaching the road. If we let it go any further, the village will burn.”
As the blaze edged towards the road the firefighters spread out to drench the flames across their full width. At a signal from the commander they trained their hoses to form a wall of water to meet the flames. Five minutes later, the fire was out and the danger to the town of 12,000 people had been averted.
BENOIT VEGA/EPA; NATHAN LAINE FOR THE TIMES
less than 20 miles from Bordeaux. They had no air support, as water- bombing aircraft fly at low altitude and are generally grounded at night for safety reasons.
Yesterday brought a fresh emergency. As the temperature climbed toward 40C, fires that had been extinguished reignited in the heat. “It’s another crucial day,” Commander Matthieu Jomain, the spokesman for the Gironde fire brigade, said. “If we can keep the fires stabilised until the temperature goes back down tomorrow, we’re hoping it could be a turning point.”
According to firefighters, 90 per cent of wildfires are started by people, either deliberately or through carelessness such as throwing cigarette butts out of a car window. Fifteen people have been arrested in the southwest on suspicion of arson or careless behaviour such as breaching the temporary ban on barbecuing.
foreign robots over remote control fears
United States Richard Spencer China Correspondent
Alien robots are no longer welcome in the United States, if they ever were. The Trump administration has banned entry to the country of new humanoids and robodogs built abroad, fearing that they could be remotely operated on American soil, particularly by China.
The federal communications com- mission (FCC), which regulates the internet as well as radio and television, said robots “pose unacceptable risks to the national security of the United States or the safety and security of United States persons”.
It said it feared that their controlling computer chips could be remotely manipulated from abroad, allowing hostile forces to “surveil Americans” or use commandeered robots against them.
“The networked capabilities of advanced robotic systems create exten- sive vulnerabilities and vectors for attacks that can manipulate the data and physical operation of the advanced robotic system,” the FCC said.
The announcement by the watchdog said it was not singling out any parti- cular country’s products, and that the ban applied to imports from around the globe. However, China is the leading producer of both humanoid robots and quadrupeds, more familiarly known as robodogs.
Beijing has turned interest in advanced robotics into a national obsession, holding robot sports compe- titions, including boxing, football and running to test the latest models as well as developing humanoids for domestic use as cleaners and carers of the elderly.
They are also proud of the uses of robodogs in earthquake rescue and other civilian disasters, and in industry.
Total numbers remain relatively small, but are growing fast. AgiBot, the leading Chinese-made humanoid builder, has sold about 15,000 models so far. Unitree, its nearest competitor, is aiming at a production line of 20,000 this year.
Concerns about the use of Chinese- made technology products that rely on computer chips have grown in recent years, alongside western opposition to growing Chinese trade surpluses.
The Chinese government regularly attacks the West for using what it regards as bogus national security con- cerns as a form of trade protection.
However, British experts have also warned about the dangers of becoming reliant on imported Chinese electric vehicles, or cars reliant on Chinese components, given the interoperability of their control chips.
“Relying on foreign-produced ad- vanced robotic devices presents un- acceptable supply chain and cyber- security vulnerabilities,” the FCC said. “Advanced robotic devices collect data that could be leveraged by malign actors to surveil Americans, enhance the capabilities of foreign intelligence services, or to remotely commandeer the robots.”
Kenya Jane Flanagan
A mystery disease has killed elephants, mostly females and their calves, in and around Amboseli National Park in Kenya, one of the continent’s best- known elephant landscapes.
Ten of the 15 dead animals showed the same unusual symptom of partial paralysis and had been unable to stand. Death followed within a couple of days, the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) said.
US
The remaining five carcasses were
appeared on Telegram’s X page Jobs and cash help China win hearts and minds in Africa
China
Well armed La Comedia de la Olla, or the Pot of Gold, written by Plautus in 186 BC, is rehearsed in a Roman-era theatre for the classical drama festival in Mérida, Spain
Africa Jane Flanagan Africa Correspondent Foreign influences
Chinese influence in Africa is viewed more favourably than that of the United States, a survey of the continent’s youth has found.
Some 95 per cent of Africans aged 18 to 24 rated Chinese influence positively in the biennial African Youth Survey, compared with 85 per cent for the US, which trailed Britain on 95 per cent, India on 91 per cent and Germany on 90 per cent.
Influence Positive
China has ranked highest on the measure in each of the three surveys since 2022, while Russian standing has risen sharply, from 68 per cent two years ago to 83 per cent. Its biggest gains are in the Sahel region, where Moscow has expanded its military presence.
too decomposed or scavenged, making it impossible to establish the cause of death. Only one of the dead elephants was a bull and all were found from late last month on community land between ten and 20 miles outside the park.
Kenya has previously recorded incidents of elephants being poisoned as a result of poaching and human- wildlife conflict.
Preliminary tests on samples col- lected from the elephants by the Uni- versity of Nairobi detected a “potential
Almost half of those surveyed said the dismantling of USAid would harm their countries through cuts to health- care and disease prevention.
The agency was gutted early in Presi- dent Trump’s second term after the cost-cutting drive led by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Ef- ficiency, which stripped out billions in foreign aid. Across Africa the effect was swift: clinics closed, HIV and malaria programmes lost funding and disease- surveillance networks were left scram- bling for money.
While the US favourability rating has recovered since 2024, that of China has risen faster still, widening the gap between the two superpowers. Respon- dents cited affordable Chinese con- sumer goods and the roads, railways and power stations it had built across the continent among the reasons for viewing it positively.
toxic substance”, while separate analyses by a government laboratory were negative for the toxins tested. KWS said further tests were under way.
“Environmental investigations are also being undertaken, including the analysis of water sources and other potential environmental contaminants within the affected areas, to establish whether the elephants were exposed to a common source,” the authority said, adding there was no risk to humans.
The die-off is the worst recorded in the Amboseli ecosystem for decades.
Young Africans continue to believe that China and the US have the greatest influence on their country
81% 85%
79% 95%
Influence: a lot + some influence. Positive: very + somewhat positive. African Youth Survey 2026
note, however, that the loans behind it have left several governments heavily indebted to China, a burden they say has deepened the strain on some of the continent’s poorest economies.
With Africa expected to account for more than 40 per cent of the world’s young people by 2030, the views of its rising generation are becoming an increasingly important measure of global influence.
More than 350 elephants died in the Okavango Delta in Botswana in 2020 in an outbreak linked to toxic cyano- bacterial blooms in waterholes.
Scientists said warming tem- peratures and changing rainfall pat- terns had helped create the conditions for the blooms.
Amboseli, famous for its landscapes and view of Mount Kilimanjaro, is home to about 2,000 elephants, includ- ing some of the last African “super tuskers”, giant bulls whose tusks weigh more than 45kg (100lb).
practical results than geopolitical loyalties. “Africa’s youth want partners, not patrons,” he said, adding that jobs, investment and infrastructure mat- tered more than ideology.
Attitudes towards the foreign powers varied sharply between the 16 African countries where interviews were conducted.
South Africans had the least favourable view of the US. A little over half, 58 per cent, viewed American influence positively and 70 per cent said their government should stand up to Trump rather than work with him after a year of tension over tariffs and the offer from Washington of refugee status to white Afrikaners.
South Africans were correspond- ingly more in favour of Russia, reflecting the African National Con- gress-led government’s refusal to con- demn its invasion of Ukraine and the country’s participation in joint naval exercises with the Russian navy.
Telegram boss charged over ‘aiding terrorism’ Russia The billionaire founder of Telegram has been charged in Russia with aiding terrorism, alleging that the encrypted messaging app is being used by Ukrainian spies.
The FSB security service said it had issued an international arrest warrant for Pavel Durov, 41, who was born in St Petersburg but is said to live in Dubai.
Telegram is accused of failing to remove channels, chats and bots that were “actively used by Ukrainian intelligence agencies, terrorist and extremist organisations to prepare and co- ordinate acts of sabotage and terrorism, mass murder and cyberfraud”.
JERO MORALES/EPA
It is unclear if other countries will comply with the warrant. Durov could face life in prison if convicted in Russia.
Shortly after the charge was announced, Telegram’s official X account posted an old image of Durov holding up his middle finger to the camera. That image has been used to respond to Russian threats or attempts to censor the platform.
Telegram, which Durov co-founded in 2013, has become integral to both sides of the Ukraine-Russia war and has about one billion global users.
Durov left Russia in 2014 after refusing to share the data of Ukrainian protesters on VKontakte, the social media company he launched in 2006.
Rescue efforts continue
Japan Emergency workers continued to comb through a damaged shopping mall and collapsed houses looking for survivors after a magnitude 7.1 earthquake killed at least 18 people in the Kumamoto area of the southern island of Kyushu on Tuesday. The Meteorological Agency urged residents to remain alert as aftershocks continued.
Band shuns Grammys
South Korea The K-pop group BTS, whose full name translates as Bulletproof Boy Scouts, said it will not enter music for the Grammys after the awards introduced a new category, best Asian pop music performance. The group said online: “We hope music can be heard and loved for what it is, rather than being divided by region or language.”
Let’s drink to granny
United States Minnesota has approved a law dubbed the “Grandparents’ Happy Hour” bill after an 82-year-old grandmother argued for it. State law prohibited retirement homes from serving alcohol without a licence, which can cost up to $6,700 a year. Anita LeBrun, who has five grandchildren, testified before Congress in favour of the change.
for Rome’s graffiti artists?
Italy James Imam Milan Whether sharing a dish of baked pasta with colleagues, biting into a freshly made arancino or savouring a light dinner on his terrace overlooking the Mediterranean, eating has been a favourite pastime of Sicily’s most famous fictional detective.
James Imam
Dressed in white overalls and brandish- ing his spray gun the artist known as Mr Tuvs works over walls covered with paint, paying fine attention to the details.
But unlike many of his generation, Valerio Tuveri is not adding to the graf- fiti found all over the streets of Rome — he is cleaning it off. “Rome, in my opin- ion, is the most beautiful city in the world. Yet at the same time, it is the most vandalised city in Europe,” Tuveri, 28, said. “To live in Rome every day and see it like this is a real shame.”
Known to many as the city where Michelangelo, Raphael and Caravaggio produced some of their greatest works, Italy’s capital is also a magnet for modern-day graffiti artists.
Tuveri — Mr Tuvs on social media — is fighting the normalisation of so- called street art in the name of civic pride and has generated a sizeable on- line following.
The campaign began when Tuveri, who works for his father’s company cleaning and restoring monuments, statues and fountains was asked by Rome city council to clean the walls that form the embankment of the Tiber, a favourite canvas for graffiti.
He cleaned an estimated five miles of wall as Rome prepared to welcome more than 33 million tourists for the Vatican’s jubilee last year. Tuveri con- tinued his work on a voluntary basis, posting videos of himself spraying clean bridges and statues. Cleaning a 16th- century church in the heart of Rome this month took three days of upaid work.
“I’ve helped people discover Rome because we’re used to seeing the ugly side of things,” Tuveri said. “We’re used to seeing graffiti and vandalism on our streets. After watching my videos, people say, ‘Oh, that wall looks much better when it’s clean’.”
Clandestine tagging on underpasses, shutters and historic buildings peaked during the 1990s “graffiti boom” in Rome as underfunded authorities struggled to keep pace with artists and vandals operating across the city.
Tuveri now works in co-operation with the local authorities. Roberto Gualtieri, the mayor of Rome, joined him in white overalls during one clean- ing operation last year.
He also draws a distinction between what he considers constructive street art and degrading graffiti, arguing that Rome’s historic centre should remain free from ugly tags and unauthorised markings. Street art in the city’s outer
France Charles Bremner Paris
The rigours of long-haul flying — jet lag, dry air and discomfort — are about to reach new heights with the arrival of a Qantas Airbus in Toulouse from Melbourne after spending 24 hours in the air.
The specially adapted Airbus A350 touched down on Tuesday, breaking the non-stop distance record for an air- liner. The flight was a trial for non-stop Sydney-London and Sydney-New York services that the Australian airline will launch next year.
neighbourhoods, he says, is a different matter.
“If you talk about a concrete wall in a council estate on the outskirts, I’ll say go and paint it,” he said. “It looks bril- liant when it’s painted because you’re
Millions of people followed online as the ultra-long-range jet, with five pilots and five Airbus engineers on board, cruised for 14,338 miles across the Paci- fic, North America and the Atlantic.
To push endurance to the maximum, the route, which took 24 hours and 24 minutes, was extended beyond the tracks that will be used for the London- Sydney service, which will take between 19 and 22 hours.
bringing colour to the grey.”
Not everyone supports his efforts. Tuveri said he had been accused on social media of “cancelling art” and been called a “fascist” by some left- wing supporters of graffiti.
made possible by extra tanks in the Airbus fuselage carrying 16 tonnes of additional fuel, will offer novel ways to ease the human ordeal for its 238 passengers trundling through time zones for nearly a full day on Earth in the air.
These include advanced lighting to help shift passengers’ circadian rhythms towards the destination time zone, exer- cise zones and more humidity in cabin air that will also be pressurised to a lower altitude than in standard airliners, resulting in less fatigue.
Valerio Tuveri, in his white overalls, is on a crusade to keep Rome’s historic centre beautiful
ALBERTO PIZZOLI/AFP/GETTY IMAGES
One Roman graffiti writer, who asked not to be identified, said that scrubbing walls was “silencing” artists’ voices. “The signature is something that has always existed,” he said. “Leav- ing a mark is a human thing.”
Police said they are stepping up their efforts to fine spray-painters in graffiti hotspots such as bohemian Trastevere and Garbatella, the former working- class district where the prime minister, Giorgia Meloni, grew up.
The city council said 50 people have been fined for damaging buildings since the start of the year.
Tuveri urged the authorities to invest more in civic cleaning teams, illuminate darker areas at night, install additional surveillance cameras, run awareness campaigns in schools and impose tougher penalties. We live in a city with an immense heritage” he said. “Damag- ing it is a shame.”
between London and Perth, the West- ern Australia capital, in 2018, until now the world’s longest non-stop flight.
In the pre-jet 1950s, flights between London and Sydney took about 55 hours. Qantas operated a “Kangaroo Route” with piston-engined, propeller- driven Lockheed Super Constellations that required stops in Rome, Beirut, Kar- achi, Bombay, Singapore and Darwin.
detective on a beautiful Sicilian beach
Food plays such a central role in the Inspector Montalbano television series, based on Andrea Camilleri’s bestselling novels, that it has inspired dedicated recipe web pages and culinary tours in the inspector’s home town.
Now Montalbano fans have another opportunity to immerse themselves in the detective’s gastronomic world: a new restaurant is to open in a coastal villa in Punta Secca, a quaint fishing village near Ragusa where much of the series was filmed. The venture offers positive news for those who believe Montalbano’s magic is beginning to fade on the island.
Called Adelina, the Sicilian sea- food pizzeria restaurant will welcome its first guests on Saturday. Diners will be able to book tables on the seaside ter- race of the villa recognisable to viewers as Montalbano’s home. In addition to pizzas, Adelina will offer a selection of dishes “inspired by the culinary ref- erences found in the beautiful pages penned by Andrea Camilleri”, Joseph Micieli, the chef who also runs two
Luca Zingaretti as Montalbano in the TV version of the bestselling novels
other restaurants in the area, said.
In Camilleri’s books, which have about 30 million copies in Italy alone, descriptions are often inspired by food, including a friend with a “red fillet-of- sole car” and a trip to the countryside memorable for its “black passuluna olives with an aroma to wake the dead”.
That fascination with food was carried into the TV adaptation, the first series of which was shown in 1999.
Experts have long credited the show’s popularity with boosting tourism in the area. Yet while overnight stays in Rag- usa province grew 9 per cent to 1.4 mil- lion in 2024 from the previous year, experts have said the tourism industry is fragile, partly because of inadequate development of Ragusa’s airport.
“The ‘Montalbano effect’ is now just a memory,” Sicily’s seaside tourism association said last year. “We have fallen behind in terms of services.”
but we rotated the crew every two hours,” he said. “For the second flight leg, at least one Airbus test pilot was always seated in a pilot seat when a Qantas pilot was in the other seat, to ensure mission safety.”
Winds in the upper atmosphere will dictate the routes that the 12 A350 air- craft, developed especially for Qantas, will take. To take advantage of tailwinds and reduce headwinds from the high-al- titude jet streams, flights from Sydney may sometimes be routed eastward over the Pacific and the Arctic rather than along the shorter conventional track northwest through Asia to Europe.
estate overrun by coyotes
Keiran Southern Los Angeles
The compound in West Hollywood was supposed to become a home for trendy twentysomethings and film- industry hotshots moving into one of the most desirable neighbourhoods in Los Angeles.
But the project stalled and remained a partially built construction site. Now it has attracted some unwelcome squatters.
Coyotes have made a home on the site, prompting neigh- bours to nickname the building “coyote con- do”. Footage shows the animals lounging in the midday sun, socialising and trotting around the abandoned floors.
“Most interestingly every night around 10 or 11, you start to hear this gang of coyotes howling,” Paul Man- ganello told KTLA TV station. “It’s not the worst thing in the world; it reminds you that you’re part of nature.”
Other residents were not so happy with their four-legged neighbours.
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The late-night howls were disturbing their sleep, while dog and cat owners feared for their pets, they said.
Coyotes are wild dogs that thrive in the urban sprawl of Los Angeles. They will eat almost anything: rodents, rabbits, fruit and anything edible they find in rubbish.
Coyotes tend to avoid humans but
can pose a risk to pets. Neigh-
bours in West Hollywood
said progress on the con-
do building had stalled
years ago when the de-
veloper lost funding.
“It’s an eyesore. It’s a big eyesore,” Cindy Sorley told ABC 7.
Sorley is among the residents struggling to sleep due to the coyotes. “Late at night … 11, 12, 1, 2, you’ll hear them howling,” she said.
The City of West Hollywood said it had told the property owner the issue must be addressed. “The city is re- quiring the property owner to promptly retain a wildlife control op- erator that specialises in humane wildlife management to assess the site and recommend next steps.” Selfie time The singer Katy Perry, 41, and Justin Trudeau, 54, former prime minister of Canada, holiday in the south of France
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heated Covid hearing
United States David Charter Washington
Dr Anthony Fauci could be held in contempt of Congress after refusing to answer any questions about the origins of the Covid-19 virus during a committee hearing on Capitol Hill.
Fauci, the country’s top virologist during the pandemic, invoked the Fifth Amendment of the Constitu- tion that protects against self-incrim- ination, arguing that committee chairman Rand Paul had an “unhinged obsession” with putting him in jail.
Democrats defended Fauci, 85, for stonewalling dozens of Republican questions at the hearing yesterday. They said the session was designed to “entrap” Fauci, a long-serving health official who was given a pre-emptive pardon by President Biden covering his actions from 2014 to January 2025, meaning he could still be prose- cuted for misleading Congress after that period.
Republicans lambasted Fauci dur- ing the hearing, swearing at him and calling him a “disgrace”, a “villain” and lined up to accuse him of lying, profiteering from the pandemic and damaging science. Fauci met each accusation and question with a state- ment that he would not answer based on legal advice.
“Because you refuse to answer, citing a privilege that is unsupported because of your pardon, and after being denied to do so, this committee has scheduled a vote next week on a resolution certifying your contempt,” Paul, 63, told Fauci at the end of the hearing. As he left the room, a woman in the audience told Fauci to “go to hell”.
the Covid-19 outbreak. The “lab leak” theory remains unproven and many scientists believe the virus occurred naturally and was spread at the Hua- nan Seafood market in Wuhan.
Fauci has denied that the US National Institutes of Health funded this type of research and has said he has an open mind on the origins of Covid-19. As of July 2026, the Centre for Disease Control estimates that more than 1,200,000 people have died from the virus in America.
In his personal diary, released by Paul before yesterday’s hearing, Fauci wrote on January 26, 2020, in the early days of the outbreak, that “the market was not the source, it was the amplifier … having said that, somewhere the virus jumped from animals to humans.”
Paul added: “The American people deserve to know why dangerous research was funded by NIAID [National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases] in a totalitarian country in a lab that lacked accept- able safety standards.
“The decision to fund dangerous gain of function research in Wuhan, China will likely go down in history as perhaps one of the worst public health decisions. Frankly, the Amer- ican people deserve an apology.”
He told Fauci: “The Covid lock-
down … could never have been inflicted without you aiding and abetting the crime. Children lost years of education. Small businesses built over a lifetime disappeared … while you did not impose every restriction, you used your public authority to justify them. While you concluded publicly that Covid occurred naturally, your private record tells a different story.”
Fauci’s diaries were released by Robert F Kennedy Jr, the health and human services secretary, suggesting that Fauci wrote them on a govern- ment computer.
Fauci said in his opening statement that “given Senator Paul’s obvious obsession with calling for my prose- cution, his repeated slanderous com- ments about me, and recently his publicly releasing my unredacted personal diary aimed at embarrass- ing and intimidating me, the only conclusion I can reach is that the sole reason he is calling me before this committee is to get me to say some- thing, anything, that could vindicate his repeated public pledges that I end up in his words ‘behind bars’. Any reasonable person who has followed his unhinged obsession with me would come to the same conclusion”.
Gary Peters, the senior Democrat on the committee, said that Paul’s “purely partisan” pursuit of Fauci “appears to be a culmination of months of biased and selected efforts by the majority under the guise of a committee investigation to basically legitimise a predetermined conclu- sion that was reached years ago”.
Concluding his remarks, Paul said: “Are the millions dead the result of his experiments or experiments that he approved that increased the pathogenicity of deadly viruses? History will judge but the facts as we now know them paint a sordid tale of dishonesty, misjudgement and ulti- mately the hubris the likes of which the world has rarely seen.”
the times | Thursday July 30 2026 33 Business
WORLD MARKETS
£/€ €1.1673 (+0.0003) ¤ FTSE 100 10,908.41 (+37.39)
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Graham Ruddick, Tom Howard wanted to join the queue to connect to the grid. Developers might also have to hit construction milestones to keep their place in the line.
Data centre developers face a bill of hundreds of millions of pounds to con- nect their projects to the electricity grid under proposals unveiled by Ofgem.
The energy regulator has proposed a clampdown on the surge in data centre projects across the UK amid mounting concern about how much energy they will drain from the electricity grid.
Ofgem said yesterday that it could charge a deposit for projects that
calms fears on AI spend
Louisa Clarence-Smith US Business Editor
Microsoft beat Wall Street’s quarterly sales and profit forecasts, helping to calm fears about the company’s big spending on artificial intelligence.
The world’s largest software com- pany said revenue for the three months to the end of June rose 18 per cent to $90 billion, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $87.6 billion. Profit rose 31 per cent to $35.8 billion, ahead of ex- pectations of $31.5 billion.
$
The results helped allay concerns about the company’s huge capital spending, driven by AI investments. In April, Microsoft said it expected capital spending to total $190 billion this year.
Microsoft shares rose $13.66, or 3.5 per cent, to $404.20 in after-hours trading in New York last night.
The results were boosted by Azure,
... but Meta could do better
Meta Platforms anticipates revenue in the current quarter of $61 billion to $64 billion, against expectations of $63.15 billion. The Facebook and Instagram owner said the guidance “assumes foreign currency is an approximate 1 per cent headwind to year-over-year total revenue growth on current exchange rates”. Capital expenditure for 2026 was narrowed to between $130 billion and $145 billion. Meta shares fell $32.94, or 5.6 per cent, to $553.11 in after-hours trading.
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It has proposed charging between £237,500 and £712,500 per megawatt for projects that want to connect. This would be refunded once the data centre was in operation, but would be lost if the project was not completed.
Segro, Britain’s biggest property company, has a near-term data centre pipeline of 650MW. In theory this
Microsoft’s cloud division, which sells businesses computing power, data storage and AI services. The division reported quarterly revenue growth of 43 per cent, compared with analysts’ consensus estimate of 40 per cent.
Satya Nadella, chief executive of Microsoft, said full-year Azure revenue surpassed $100 billion for the first time.
Tech companies are having to do more to reassure investors who have become increasingly nervous about the huge and increasingly debt-fuelled spending on AI infrastructure.
Alphabet shares fell more than 7 per cent last Thursday after the Google owner raised its 2026 capital spending forecast to up to $205 billion.
Microsoft has been competing for a share of the huge spending by business- es investing in AI that want cloud computing services and applications, including its Copilot AI assistant.
A new operating entity, Microsoft Frontier Company, is being set up to help businesses adopt and implement AI technologies.
Silicon Valley leaders are concerned that companies will pull back on their AI spending as chief executives reas- sess the costs of the technology and whether it is improving productivity and boosting profits.
Microsoft, founded in 1975 and based in Redmond, Washington State, also owns businesses including the Windows operating system, the social network LinkedIn and the Xbox gam- ing business. Its shares are among the worst performers in the so-called “Magnificent Seven” group, with an 18 per cent drop so far this year.
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means that it would face a bill of up to £463 million to connect these projects to the grid under Ofgem’s plans.
There has been a growing backlash in parts of the country about the wave of proposals to build data centres, which are powering the artificial intelligence revolution, including in Scotland.
However, any intervention could also affect investments connected to AI amid a global race for computing power. For example, Segro is the target of a £14 billion takeover bid by the
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American company Prologis because of its pipeline of data centres.
There are 315 data centre projects in the queue to be connected, according to Ofgem. These have a capacity of 73 gi- gawatts. In contrast, the highest peak electricity demand in the UK over the past year was 45GW, according to the National Energy System Operator. This means the potential demand to connect to the grid far outstrips current levels of usage.
Ofgem was “concerned that a signifi-
MIKE COPPOLA/GETTY IMAGES
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cant number of projects in the queue may not ultimately proceed, potentially delaying viable developments and creating misleading signals about future network investment needs”.
Michael Shanks, the energy minister, said the proposals “will help ensure that viable, connection-ready projects can get going and not be held up by specula- tive applications”.
Ofgem has started a consultation on its proposals, which will run until September 16.
unfairly fired for being old
Jonathan Ames Legal Editor
The former boss of Connells, the country’s largest estate agency, was unfairly sacked because of his age after Skipton Building Society took it over, a tribunal has ruled.
David Livesey, Connells’ former group chief executive, described the ruling as a landmark case that rendered “laughable” the Skipton advertising slogan of “founded on fairness”.
In a ruling at Bury St Edmunds employment tribunal, the panel said it was “satisfied” that Stuart Haire, the building society’s boss, had “made the decision” to remove Livesey “from the day-to-day running of the business”.
The tribunal found Skipton bosses unlawfully eased out Livesey, who was 64 at the time, but it dismissed a range of bullying allegations against Haire.
The tribunal accepted that senior managers told Livesey they wanted him to “go now straight away, or words to that effect, and that he was advised not to attend any further meetings”.
It noted that Gwyneth Burr, the chairwoman of Skipton’s board, had accepted that she was unaware of the “contractual significance” of elements of the company’s service agreement with Livesey and that he was told to leave the business in a meeting that lasted about ten minutes.
During the hearing, Livesey, now 67, had accused Haire of waging a “campaign of bullying behaviour” after joining the society from HSBC in 2022. The 173-year-old mutual, which had taken complete ownership of Connells in 2010, denied the allegations and ac- cused Livesey of “badmouthing” Skip- ton Group and Haire while still in post, and of a “detachment from the day-to- day running of Connells’ business”.
After the ruling, Livesey said the judgment had “exposed the Skipton board’s flawed decision-making and its dismissive attitude towards many gift- ed and capable Connells staff”.
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The Greggs outlet in Tenerife airport 1
Ofgem has proposed clamping down on the proliferation in data centre projects across Britain amid mounting concern about how much energy the AI powerhouses will drain from the electricity grid. 2
David Livesey, the former boss of Connells, the UK’s largest estate agency, was unfairly sacked because of his age after the Skipton Building Society took it over, a tribunal has ruled. 3
Blueberry iced matcha lattes, picnic food and a wider range of salads have helped Greggs weather Britain’s summer heatwave — and neutralise some of the scepticism surrounding its ambitious expansion plans. Pre- tax profits increased by 20 per cent to £76 million in the six months to June 27. 4
Blueberry iced matcha lattes, picnic food and a wider range of salads have helped Greggs weather Britain’s sum- mer heatwave — and neutralise some of the scepticism surrounding its ambi- tious expansion plans.
The US Federal Reserve has kept its interest rates unchanged at 3.5 per cent to 3.75 per cent despite fears that the rise in global energy prices will stoke inflation. 5
St James’s Place, one of Britain’s biggest wealth managers, has reported a slowdown in inflows after losing a number of key advisory firms amid a turnaround of the business. 6
London is “very buoyant”, according to Shaftesbury Capital, which owns swathes of the West End including Covent Garden and Chinatown. It said footfall and sales across its acreage were running well ahead of last year. 7
Traders at Glencore have cashed in on the volatility whipping through energy markets, putting the giant Swiss commodities group in line for windfall profits. 8
Aston Martin effectively lost more than £80,000 for every vehicle sold in the first half of this year, largely a result of the interest payments required to service its vast debt pile. The luxury marque sold cars worth £563.2 million, 41 per cent higher than a year ago, but it also generated a free cash outflow of £197.6 million.
likely to finish 2026 smaller than they began it
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salads keep Greggs in the game
Jessica Newman
First-half revenues at the bakery chain rose 7.2 per cent to £1.1 billion, and pre-tax profits increased by 20 per cent to £76 million, slightly higher than the £75 million expected by the City. How- ever, sales growth remained subdued. Sales from company-managed shops rose by 2.1 per cent in the six months to June 27, down from growth of 2.6 per cent in the same period last year.
Roisin Currie, the chief executive, said: “You do see when temperatures get above 30 degrees that people start to eat less. We’ve been much more resil- ient this year than previously because we learned some lessons.”
This has involved adapting its menu to match consumer trends and attract new customers, including products such as iced matcha lattes and the chicken roll launched in April as an alternative to its traditional pastry bakes and sausage rolls. It has also been expanding its salad range with new and reformulated recipes containing more protein to tap into a growing cohort of health-conscious consumers.
Currie said Greggs was focused on “keeping it exciting for customers” with new products such as a blueberry matcha iced latte within a refreshed drinks range targeted toward younger consumers.
The defiant update sent shares in the FTSE 250 company up 312p, or 18.5 per cent, to £20.02 yesterday.
Heathrow can add 15p per passenger for runway
Jonathan Ames Legal Editor
Average partner pay at one of London’s leading law firms for the ultra-wealthy flatlined at £3.1 million, but still far out- stripped salaries at “magic circle” rivals.
Yesterday Macfarlanes reported a 5 per cent rise in turnover for last year to £389.5 million, generating a 3 per cent increase in profit to £212 million.
The results prompted the firm’s man- agement committee to hold average eq- uity partner pay at £3.1 million, which means it retains top position in the City league table of practices that report their finances publicly.
Macfarlanes specialises in so-called private client work for the very wealthy, and does not publicise its client list in that field.
However, the firm also does corpo- rate work, and over the last year it has advised Banco Sabadell, a Spanish- listed multinational financial services company, on the proposed sale of TSB Banking Group to Banco Santander in a £2.65 billion deal.
Greggs was founded in 1939 as a bak- ery on Tyneside by John Gregg, who delivered eggs and yeast to families before opening his first shop in Gos- forth in 1951. The chain has 2,773 shops across the country.
It opened a net total of 34 shops in the first half and expected to open between 100 and 110 net new stores this year. This is fewer than the previous estimate of 120 stores, which Currie said was a result of the company not only being more selective about choosing the right locations but also “about what the property market serves up”.
It is also planning ten “Greggs Ex- press” convenience units, a self-service coffee and food offer it is testing. It ex- pects to open at least 100 net new shops per year in the medium term.
Greggs said its outlook for the full year was unchanged.
Currie added: “We remain focused on opening shops in more catchments and introducing convenient ways for customers to pick up Greggs favourites, while broadening and innovating our menu in line with changing tastes and trends. We are making great progress in building the supply chain infrastruc- ture that will support the significant growth opportunities that lie ahead.”
The company said: “Our analysis of the factors impacting market perform- ance continues to indicate that pres- sures on disposable income remain the biggest influence.”
The slowdown in like-for-like sales at its franchised stores, which have typi- cally been higher than the company- managed estate, was more pro- nounced, rising just 1.3 per cent, against 4.8 per cent last year.
Currie attributed this to one of the
prominent UK wealth management business, on its £2.7 billion sale to Nat- West Group, a deal that is still awaiting regulatory approval.
In the current summer reporting round, three of the five magic circle firms in the Square Mile have an- nounced average partner pay figures that trail well behind Macfarlanes.
Clifford Chance’s average pay was announced as £2 million, Linklaters was next on £1.9 million, with A&O Shearman — the Anglo-US member of the group — on £1.82 million.
Of the other two members of the elite group of five, Freshfields has for the last few years refused to participate in the reporting round, although as it is struc- tured as a limited liability partnership, the firm is required to submit a financial statement at Companies House later in the year.
company’s franchise partners moving through a big “structural change” this year, which caused some “operational complexity in their forecourt business”.
Management proposed an interim
speculated that Slaughter and May’s partners are the highest paid in the UK, on average salaries of about £4 million.
Macfarlanes has 97 partners, al- though the firm will not reveal how many have a share of equity.
Damien Crossley, Macfarlanes’ senior partner, described the financial report as representing a “transitional year for the firm” that produced a “satis- factory outcome”. He said that the re- sults reflected some “standout” efforts by lawyers in the firm’s mergers and ac- quisitions and disputes teams, but de- scribed the overall high-end legal market as “challenging at times”.
Macfarlanes and other City law firms continue to trail well behind their US ri- vals in partner pay. Kirkland & Ellis, based in Chicago, which has a large London operation, pays its equity part- ners on average £6.25 million each.
dividend of 19p a share, unchanged from last year. As flagged previously, the company expected to see an in- crease in operating costs during the second half of the year as its distribu-
James Hurley
Heathrow passengers face decades of higher fares after the regulator gave the airport permission to recover early costs from developing its expansion plan.
The Civil Aviation Authority said it had permitted Heathrow Airport Limited (HAL) to recoup £320 million spent on its proposal to build a third runway since the start of last year.
It will recover the money through higher airline charges — typically passed on to passengers in rising air fares — for about 20 to 25 years.
tion facility in Derby becomes opera- tional.
Ben Hunt at Panmure Liberum said that while profit trends in the first half had improved as expected, the second
its plan in 2025 up to November 25, when the government announced HAL’s proposal was its preferred option.
The CAA said its decision would in- crease the maximum airport charge per passenger by about 15p in 2028, rising to an estimated 30p in subsequent years.
British Airways, the largest airline at Heathrow, said early cost recovery by HAL would create a risk that expansion would be “unaffordable for consum- ers”, according to a CAA document.
Airlines have repeatedly complained that Heathrow has the highest charges of any airport in the world.
The money that can be recovered in- cludes planning and design costs neces- sary to develop an expansion proposal, including preparing material to support a future development consent order ap- plication. Such orders grant permission for infrastructure projects to go ahead.
Tim Johnson, the CAA’s director of consumers and markets, said: “Our de- cision strikes a balance between sup- porting the delivery of benefits to con- sumers through timely progress on Heathrow expansion, whilst protecting them from undue increases in costs.”
half of the year “poses challenges, and we would still prefer to see evidence of sustained like-for-like volume growth, particularly given the forthcoming headwinds from Derby and Kettering”.
push FTSE to new heights
Robert Miller
London’s leading share index briefly broke new ground yesterday, supported by mining and energy stocks, as the UK market benefited from its lack of expo- sure to volatile artificial intelligence- related companies.
By the close, the FTSE 100 was up 37.39 points, or 0.3 per cent, at 10,908.41, having hit a record intra-day high of 10,951.06 around lunchtime. The closing value was the second-highest in history, just below the figure of 10,910.55 achieved on February 27.
Among the top-performing miners were Rio Tinto, up 112p, or 1.6 per cent, at £69.77 after a strong set of half-year results, and Glencore, up 14¼p, or 2.8 per cent, to 520¾p on the back of a decent trading update.
airport store experiment takes off
I
t was at first derided as a publicity stunt, with headlines about sun, sea and sausage rolls. But Greggs’s latest attempt to expand overseas by opening an outlet at Tenerife South airport in the Canary Islands has got off to a promising start.
The group opened the 200 sq m outlet at the end of May, 18 years after abandoning an attempt to sell baguettes to the Belgians.
Greggs partnered with Lagardère Travel Retail to test the strength of demand for its brand overseas. It said the location made it the “perfect way to round off a trip without breaking the bank”.
The branch stocks Greggs’s core menu and also features items tailored to the local market, such as Spanish omelette breakfast rolls.
“It is only one shop — so far, though, it’s hit every sales hurdle,” Roisin Currie, chief executive, said.
She noted that Greggs performs well at airports in the UK. “The trial for Tenerife was, could you do something similar in an international travel hub? So far it’s been pleasing.”
Currie said more overseas airport openings could follow. “If [Tenerife] is positive, then it will be a case of looking to see where else this could go in the future.”
Greggs quit its loss-making, ten- shop business in Belgium in 2008 to focus on its operations in the UK.
The Spanish store sells local foods alongside the signature sausage rolls
resumed in the Iran war, prompting worries about the global flow of oil. Iran launched a barrage of missiles at Amer- ican forces in the Middle East, while the US military partnered with Saudi Ara- bia to strike Iranian-backed militias.
The price of Brent crude had swung as low as $72 earlier this month and then as high as $102 last week on uncertainty about whether America and Iran could reach a deal to allow tankers to move freely again.
Shares in Shell were up 89p, or 2.8 per cent, at £33.23½, and BP was up 17¾p, or 3.4 per cent, at 543½p.
The sharp sell-off in AI-related stocks and chipmakers that began on Monday continued in the midweek session, starting in the Asia-Pacific markets. South Korea’s Kospi index suffered in particular as it is dominated by two tech companies, Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix. The Kospi tumbled 6 per cent yesterday.
with Fifa pitch S
business commentary Alistair Osborne
coring one spectacular own goal is typically enough for most people. But maybe that’s what makes Jamie Dimon different. Fresh from his howitzer with the European Super League, the billionaire JP Morgan boss is at it again: shamelessly abetting Fifa’s money-grubbing chief, Gianni Infantino, in selling off the World Cup — all in cahoots with relatives of Donald Trump. How many football fiascos does Dimon want?
Rewind five years and JP Morgan was on the end of such a backlash that Dimon was forced into a rare apology. The bank was limbering up to pump €4 billion into a breakaway league of 12 clubs, including Real Madrid, Juventus and Man Utd. And the result was public uproar. It united fans, players, the Football Association, Uefa (European football’s governing body) and politicians of all stripes. Over here, Boris Johnson and Sir Keir Starmer weighed in. So did Prince William.
Days later, the plan had been shot down. Out came JP Morgan to admit its blunder: “We clearly misjudged how this deal would be viewed by the wider football community and how it might impact them in the future. We will learn from this.”
So what has Dimon learnt? Short answer: sweet FA, at least to judge from what’s shaping up into another shameful own goal. JP Morgan isn’t making any comment. But it would like you to believe this sort of thing.
First, that the two situations aren’t analogous — all it is doing this time, largely via its private bank, is drumming up investors to take non- controlling, minority stakes in a new $20 billion Fifa subsidiary holding its commercial rights, not in the regulatory body itself. Second, that you already see separations of such rights in Spain’s La Liga and France’s Ligue 1, plus in other sports such as Formula One. And third, that Fifa’s proposal, which must be voted on by its 211 member associations, could unlock billions of dollars to invest in football across the globe.
Yet, who’s going to fall for something that naive? In the wake of the super league farrago, Lord O’Neill — the ex-Goldman Sachs economist now advising Andy Burnham — said of Dimon: “How on earth did such an experienced chief executive that is so good … on connecting with the real world, how on earth did they let themselves get this proposal to where it got?” And O’Neill hasn’t missed the parallels to Fifa’s plan, as he told The Times: “I am opposed to this idea similarly from what I’ve seen and heard. I’m not at all clear why this is good for the game or football supporters.”
Indeed, in some respects it’s worse, given the way JP Morgan is now lining up on the same side as an on-the-make Infantino and the Thrive Capital vehicle of Joshua Kushner, the brother of Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner. Who can’t see the slippery slope here? Infantino and Trump have already given us the Balogun affair, a four- quarter game with commercial (hydration) breaks and a 27-minute Madonna-ised half-time.
Infantino has bribed the member associations, just as he’s trying now with his threat to cut a $10 billion funding package to $2.7 billion if they fail to sign up pronto. Or before the commercial wing dictates the format for games, or where the World Cup is held. What about the money-spinning USA again?
Each year Dimon writes a shareholder letter. And 2026’s was no exception in him bigging up JP Morgan as “champions of banking’s essential role in a community” with “its potential for bringing people together”. Does that entail uniting them in anger, once again, over the bank’s grasping role in turning sport’s best-loved game into a sleazy jamboree — a plan that has stunned football bodies worldwide, with Uefa now looking into boycotting the World Cup. After the super league shambles, Dimon should know that this amounts to serious foul play. Plane truth B
eing as skint as Heathrow’s shareholders must be terrible. Just look at this impoverished crew: sovereign wealth funds from Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Singapore and China, together home to trillions of dollars; infrastructure firm Ardian, sitting on $200 billion of assets; and the Australian Retirement Trust with $250 billion more.
So it is, of course, pie in the sky that they could take the commercial risk of financing the planning costs for their £49 billion third runway extravaganza, complete with digging up the M25. No, they expect the passengers to stump up in advance on the off chance that this time it actually gets built.
Worse, the patsy Civil Aviation Authority agrees — even if it has capped demands for £450 million for 2025 and 2026’s planning costs at £320 million. Even worse, it seems to have forgotten it’s already handed the airport £500 million costs for pretty much the same crazily pricey project last time around when it didn’t get built, the result of which is that passengers are so far paying twice for nothing.
Anyway, the upshot here is 15p on the price of a ticket, rising to 30p after 2028, on top of passenger charges that will then be heading for £30 a pop. Plus more to come, given that the total planning costs could easily reach £1 billion. And all before, on the same maths, almost £50 a ticket more if the runway gets built, with the risk that such fees price Heathrow out of the market.
Incidentally, even if there is no third runway, that’s £820 million already added to the airport’s regulated asset base, on which its shareholders can make a return forever. Thank the CAA for that. Recipe for success T
he chips may be down. But not for the FTSE 100, whose skew to energy and financial stocks briefly pushed it to a fresh intra-day high of 10,951. Keep this up and the bid-ridden UK market won’t look like such a tasty couch potato.
6%
US rates after ‘family fight’ at Fed meeting
Mehreen Khan Economics Editor
The US Federal Reserve has kept its interest rates unchanged despite fears that the rise in global energy prices will stoke inflation in the world’s largest economy.
The central bank maintained its benchmark borrowing costs at 3.5 per cent to 3.75 per cent, as widely expected by traders and economists. There was only a 33 per cent probability that the Fed would raise interest rates in July, according to traders on Wall Street, who expect two increases by the end of the year.
Three policymakers at the central bank — Lorie Logan, Neel Kashkari and Beth Hammack — dissented and voted in favour of a quarter-point inter- est rate rise this month. The other nine voted for no change.
US interest rates have been stable since the end of last year, with the con- flict in the Middle East interrupting plans to cut borrowing costs this year.
Kevin Warsh, the new chairman of the Fed who was taking charge of his second meeting, said the central bank was singularly focused on containing inflation and would take steps to ensure prices were stable. He said the dissent within the committee was the result of a healthy “family fight” over where interest rates should go.
The Fed’s preferred measure of infla- tion slowed from an annual measure of 2.9 per cent in May to 2.6 per cent in June, above the central bank’s 2 per cent target. Warsh said the economy’s persistently high inflation problem “cannot be cured in nine weeks”.
“This Fed will not waver: our
but so do borrowing costs Estate agents rue the summer slump
Tom Howard Property Correspondent
The housing market has endured a “sharper than usual summer slow- down” with sales falling, the number of homes on the market increasing and prices in some parts of the country going into reverse.
Estate agents had already suggested that the combination of a new prime minister, the World Cup and the pro- longed hot weather had taken the wind out of the market in recent weeks.
That has now been reflected in the data. The number of sales agreed over the past four weeks was 9 per cent lower than in last July, according to Zoopla, the property search website.
Richard Donnell, executive director at Zoopla, blamed “elevated mortgage rates and political uncertainty” for the market stalling over the spring and into the summer. He estimated that since January, rate rises had added about £125 a month, or £1,500 a year, to mortgage repayments for a typical UK home.
credibility rests on performing our duties and delivering on our responsi- bilities,” Warsh said.
US government bonds initially ral- lied after the Fed’s decision, pushing down yields. Yields on 10-year bonds settled 0.04 percentage points higher, and on short-dated bonds were up by 0.02 percentage points. The dollar was 0.25 per cent lower against a basket of major currencies.
Government bonds in the US, UK and Europe have been sold off this month. Warsh said the jump in bond yields had tightened financial condi- tions and helped the Fed’s fight against inflation. “The market has done quite a bit,” he said.
Warsh said he would not “spoon- feed” investors “forward guidance” about the Fed’s next moves or “interfere with the market signal. Which is why we are spare with our words. [Investors] are reacting to events more directly. Surprises are not the objective, but we did not feel constrained coming into this meeting,” he added.
The US economy remains vulnerable to inflationary shocks caused by a jump in oil prices, which climbed back above $100 a barrel this month after the break- down of the US-Iran ceasefire. Brent crude oil was trading at $90.74 in New York last night, up almost 8 per cent.
Before the meeting, economists at Bank of America said an interest rate rise in July would be “unprecedented” for the Fed but Warsh would have gained “massive inflation credibility”.
Oliver Allen, senior US economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics, said: “The combination of the energy shock, some uglier inflation reports for the spring
A stalled market has given buyers in the south “serious negotiating power”
With fewer sales being agreed, more homes are sitting on the market. Zoo- pla’s data showed there were more homes for sale in eight of the UK’s 11 re- gions compared with a year ago.
The extra choice was giving buyers “serious negotiating power” and hold- ing back prices, particularly in the south of England, which is also more sensitive to higher mortgage rates given that homes are dearer there.
Kevin Warsh, chairman of the Federal Reserve, with President Trump at a swearing-in ceremony at the White House in May
US Fed funds interest rates
0 2022 23 24 25 26
over the past 12 months, while prices in the southeast were down by £1,480 on average.
In contrast, in the northwest proper- ty values have increased by £7,100 since last summer. Across the UK as a whole, annual house price inflation is running at 1.3 per cent, down from 1.7 per cent a year ago.
Zoopla’s top three housing “cold spots”, where sales and prices have stalled, were in Bath, Oxford and Har- row. The “hot spots” were in the north: Warrington, Hull and Dundee.
Despite the slowdown, Donnell said it was “not all one-way traffic”.
He said: “Sales are still getting done, house prices are still rising in most of the country and buyers have more room to negotiate than they’ve had in some time.
“Conditions can vary sharply from place to place, with almost three quar- ters of local markets having seen sales fall over the past three months, but a quarter are bucking that trend entirely.”
months and signs of the labour market stabilising all clearly have left a signifi- cant number of the committee worried that the risks to inflation are outweigh- ing the threat to employment.”
Allen said the Fed’s next decision in September was “pivotal” as traders saw a 75 per cent probability of the US’s first interest rate rise since July 2023. “Many committee members still appear genu- inely conflicted about the appropriate next step for policy,” he said.
Ryan Swift, chief US bond strategist at BCA Research, said: “The bar for a rate hike in September remains low and
Jack Barnett Economics Correspondent
Approvals for home loans increased last month but remain below the medium-term average as war in the Middle East drives up mortgage bor- rowing costs.
Figures published by the Bank of England show that banks approved 58,200 mortgages in June, up from 56,565 in May. Analysts had expected 57,100 approvals. The monthly average over the past half-year is 61,400.
Demand has fallen back after prospective buyers rushed to lock in lower mortgage rates at the start of the Middle East conflict.
According to the Bank, the average rate on a newly drawn mortgage in- creased to 4.35 per cent in June from 4.22 per cent the previous month. The average rate on all outstanding mort- gages climbed to 3.96 per cent from 3.92 per cent over the same period.
will depend on the outcome of the next two inflation reports. Ultimately, we see inflation coming in soft enough that any rate hike cycle would be very shallow, if it happens at all.”
Seema Shah, chief global strategist at Principal Asset Management, said: “The Fed is not yet convinced the inflation battle has been won. While cuts remain off the table for now, neither can inves- tors rule out another hike before year- end. Our base case remains that the Fed stays on hold through the rest of 2026 as underlying inflation pressures ease. But confidence around that view is low.”
UK, a consultancy, said: “Mortgage rates have now reset significantly higher, inflation is set to jump in the second half of the year, and survey measures of house prices and activity continue to lose momentum. That suggests house price growth will slow in the second half of the year.”
However, he added that “the eco- nomy weathered the first phase of the Iran war well”, pointing to robust consumer spending on credit cards, strong borrowing demand and the latest rise in mortgage approvals.
Over the month to June, consumers spent a net £900 million on credit cards, up from £600 million in May. Households added an extra £6.3 billion to their savings accounts, suggesting they are not using money set aside previously to fund spending.
The Bank’s monetary policy commit- tee is expected to leave borrowing costs unchanged at 3.75 per cent today.
making investors very nervous
‘‘
It looks as if 2026 will be a record year for initial public offerings in the US equity market. The monster IPO of SpaceX last month, during which it raised $86 billion and was valued at $1.77 trillion, has more or less guaranteed that a new record will be set.
W
According to data from S&P Global Market Intelligence, a total of $146.1 billion of common stock was offered in US IPOs during the first six months of this year — more than was offered during the entire period between 2022 and 2025.
One has to go all the way back to 2021, when the floodgates opened after the ending of Covid lockdowns, for a first half like the one just experienced. During that year, which currently holds the record, some $175.98 billion of stock was offered during the first six months.
The figure for the whole of 2021 was $287.68 billion, thanks to the likes of Rivian, the electric vehicle manufacturer, Coinbase, the cryptocurrency exchange, and Roblox, the online gaming platform, coming to market.
This year should top that, assuming Anthropic, the AI company, comes to market as expected in October, even if its rival OpenAI chooses to defer its market debut until 2027.
All of which has made some investors very nervous.
According to the global strategy team at UBS led by Bhanu Baweja, previous peaks in IPO issuance by value, in 2000, 2007, 2014 and 2021 were all followed by declines in market returns the following year.
However, they say 2026 may not resemble those years because while the size of the IPO market in absolute terms this year has indeed been exceptional, it has not been relative to the size of the US equity market.
They add: “Looking just at the size of IPOs in US dollar terms ignores how much the market has grown … the
Warren Buffett warned of the ratio of the value of a country’s stock market to its GDP
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market having to absorb an additional $50 billion of equity supply in 1996 isn’t the same as it having to absorb it in 2026.”
What some may also find remarkable is that in spite of this record equity issuance, US equity markets are still likely to finish 2026 smaller than they began it.
It is often assumed that de- equitisation, to use the phrase first coined by the former Citigroup chief global equity strategist Robert Buckland in 2003, is a phenomenon restricted to unloved stock markets like the UK.
It is not. Due to mergers and acquisitions and share buybacks, as well as the rapid expansion of private markets, annual net equity issuance in the US has been negative for decades, even if, according to data compiled by the US Federal Reserve, there have been some individual quarters — the latest was the first three months of this year — where it has been positive. US buybacks are likely to come in at roughly $1.2 trillion to $1.3 trillion in 2026, representing between 2 per cent to 3 per cent of market capitalisation.
This earnings season bears that out: this month alone has seen JP Morgan Chase announce a new $50 billion buyback, and Citigroup highlight it is in the middle of a $30 billion plan. Bank of America, meanwhile, noted it still has $17 billion outstanding of the $40 billion buyback programme it announced this time last year, while Morgan Stanley reauthorised a $20 billion buyback.
Nor is it just banks busily buying back their shares. UnitedHealth Group announced last week that, having bought back $4 billion worth of stock already this year, it was aiming for $5 billion by year-end.
Dollar Tree, the discount
retailer, and Accenture,
the management
consultancy, have
also recently
raised the size of
their buyback
programmes by
more than $2 billion apiece.
And although the mega-cap tech companies appear to be more in issuance mode at
present, there is plenty of speculation that, when it reports next month, Nvidia will extend its current buyback programme, which was raised from $60 billion to $80 billion only as recently as May this year.
But as capital expenditure by the tech hyperscalers increases dramatically, with some estimates now putting the likely total this year at $785 billion, that will hit free cashflows. Google’s parent Alphabet, for example, reported last week that, for the first time since its IPO in 2004, it had suffered negative cash flow during the most recent quarter. That means, according to Baweja and his team, buybacks are likely to slow in the coming year or two.
Capex consuming free cashflow may not be the only factor at play. Baweja’s team notes that as equities become more expensive relative to bonds, some companies “may be more reluctant to return shareholders capital through buybacks, another reason why they could fall relative to the size of the market”.
De-equitisation, by shrinking the supply of shares, has in the recent past provided a spur to the market. During the last two decades there has been plenty of liquidity, due to quantitative easing and near-zero interest rates for much of that time. That has enabled the market to rise in spite of volatility caused by, to take just one example, the war with Iran.
So should a slowdown in buybacks, along with the continued spate of IPOs, necessarily mean a stock market crash is imminent?
Some measures suggest so. There has been plenty of recent commentary around the so-called Buffett indicator, coined by the investor Warren Buffett, which is the ratio of the total value of a country’s stock market to that country’s GDP.
When Buffett coined the indicator in a 2001 article, he wrote: “If the percentage falls to the 70 per cent or 80 per cent range, buying stocks is likely to work out very well. If the ratio nears 200 per cent — as it did in 1999 and part of 2000 — you are playing with fire.”
The indicator for the US hit 236 per cent earlier this month.
Ian King is a former business and City editor of The Times
’’
economics won’t fix Britain’s problems
estminster adores a government that looks busy. Andy Burnham’s first week has delivered a flurry of policy announcements. To much of the political class, a government dominating the news agenda is a government that’s succeeding. Economic reality, however, doesn’t care about press releases. After a week of intense activity, I see worrying signs that Burnham is governing according to what the late David Henderson described as “DIY economics”.
In his 1985 Reith Lectures, the former Treasury adviser described the enduring appeal of economic ideas that owe “little or nothing to economic textbooks ... or to the evidence of economic history”. They persist because they are instinctive, offering simple, comforting causal claims and a promise that prosperity can be engineered by political will.
DIY economics substitutes intuition for analysis. Governments are assumed capable of designing the economy by championing favoured industries. Nations are treated as companies competing against one another. Imports become losses; exports, victories. Policies get judged by their visible first effect, with little thought given to the broader consequences.
John Healey’s appetite for a stronger “buy British” government procurement policy is an obvious illustration. The chancellor’s logic is straightforward. Whitehall purchases British products, British factories receive extra orders and Britain then gains jobs, resilience and know-how. End of story.
Yet to insist on buying British is to accept paying more or settling for lower quality than imports might allow. If a British train, turbine or computer costs more than a foreign alternative, the government must then buy fewer of them, tax more, borrow more or cut spending elsewhere. Wrapping the idea in a Union Jack does not change reality.
This is not just a theory. One study estimates US buy-American rules preserve jobs at an economic cost of well over $100,000 per role. Another, examining 1.2 million public contracts in France and Spain, finds that favouring “home” suppliers leaves governments
delivering 8 per cent fewer public services than a competitive procurement process would have achieved with the same budget.
Nor do the trade-offs stop there. Under a strict Buy British policy, favoured domestic suppliers lure workers, steel, energy and capital away from other British businesses. Foreign governments may retaliate against UK exporters, too. And we endure all this because of a commonly held fallacy that says imports mean money disappearing abroad. In fact, the pounds paid to foreign suppliers ultimately come back as demand for British goods, services, assets or investments.
Simplistic one-step causation infuses Burnham’s cost of living announcements as well. Abolish VAT on electricity and living costs will fall. Cap bus fares at £2 and transport becomes more affordable. In both cases, the obvious first- round effect is emphasised, while the broader effects are dismissed.
Ultimately, affordability cannot be delivered by governments shuffling who pays the bill. Housing, energy and infrastructure have become less affordable in part because policy has made them harder to supply, through planning restrictions, energy policy and other forms of regulation. Subsidies or tax support for households can redistribute who bears the resultant scarcity on to other customers or taxpayers. They cannot abolish the scarcity itself.
Burnham’s championing of reindustrialisation and hospitality is another example of DIY economics. Henderson dismissed as “structure snobbery” the idea politicians know what we should produce. Prosperity instead comes from entrepreneurs discovering where labour and capital create value, not from ministers’ preferred industrial mix. Tilting the playing field towards, say, factories or pubs merely redirects resources away from activities consumers may actually value more.
Perhaps the first week’s activities were intended to bank some political capital. My fear, however, is that DIY economics is not just Burnham’s comms strategy but his economic philosophy.
Ryan Bourne is an economist at the Cato Institute and editor of the book The War on Prices
loss of key advisory firms
Helen Cahill Financial Correspondent
Helen Cahill
One of Britain’s biggest wealth manag- ers has reported a slowdown in inflows after losing a number of key advisory firms amid a turnaround of the firm.
St James’s Place said net inflows slowed to £2.7 billion from £3.8 billion in the latest six-month period after the de- partures of Prospera Wealth Manage- ment and Wellesley Investment Man- agement as partners. The exits fol- lowed reports that Sovereign Wealth was also considering leaving.
The FTSE 100 firm said it had ex- panded its adviser base over the half- year as its adviser numbers rose to 4,951, while its client base increased to 1,064,000. Gross inflows remained steady at £10.5 billion and funds under management rose to a record £240.8 billion, up 9.5 per cent from £220 billion.
Shares in St James’s Place were down 27½p, or 2.5 per cent, at £10.59.
Mark FitzPatrick, chief executive of St James’s Place, said: “Our advisers are super-busy at the moment, busier than they were last year, engaging with clients, processing more cases than ev- er before — albeit that case size is slightly down. Case size is often down when the economic environment is slightly uncertain and people’s confi- dence is a bit lower.
“We also saw a marked shift into cash. [It’s] a shift in clients investing in their savings, they are pausing a bit to see what happens in the Middle East before things move on.”
The results from St James’s Place came amid updates from other listed asset managers. Aberdeen, which was recently promoted to the FTSE 100, re- corded net outflows of £3 billion as the loss of a key mandate in its investments division offset strong performance from its Interactive Investor platform, which serves retail clients.
Interactive Investor saw net inflows of £6.8 billion, up from £4.1 billion over the same period last year, which Aber- deen attributed to “increasing brand awareness and improved price compet- itiveness”. However, net outflows in its investment division, which supports in-
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Wonderwall on its way to winning last year’s St James’s Place Festival Challenge Cup open hunters’ chase at Cheltenham
stitutional clients, more than tripled to £5.6 billion from £1.8 billion as the group lost a £1 billion fixed income mandate in the first week of July.
Aberdeen’s adviser division, which serves thousands of independent finan- cial advisers and wealth management firms, was also knocked by net outflows rising to £1.3 billion from £900 million. Shares in Aberdeen were down 10½p, or 4.3 per cent, to 238p.
Jason Windsor, chief executive of Aberdeen, said: “We did lose a couple of mandates that we were kind of expect- ing to lose. One of them is actually going to reinvest with us in another product in the second half.
“Clearly you want to do better. Clear- ly there’s a shake-out in the way people buy active management products. Clearly there’s a change in asset alloca- tion between different lines of business.
“So we are far from the finished arti- cle. But I’m trying to make sure we have
a business that’s got the right go-to- market product, with the best perform- ance, and is an efficient platform. I think we could achieve much of that. Getting flows back to a place that is sus- tainably growing is a work in progress.”
Aberdeen’s profit before tax rose to £276 million, up from £271 million, which was attributed to gains on its 10 per cent stake in Standard Life. Rae Maile, an analyst at Peel Hunt, said the market had been “grudging in accept- ing that there has been a change” at Ab- erdeen, but that the company’s adviser division remained “a work in progress”.
Meanwhile, Rathbones reported net outflows of £900 million over the first half. The FTSE 250 company said its as- set management platform had seen outflows of £400 million in the second quarter, following a similar level of out- flows in the first quarter, and attributed the trend to “continuing industry-wide pressure on active equity strategies”.
Jonathan Sorrell, chief executive of Rathbones, said: “It’s a tough place to be now, active asset management in the UK retail space specifically, and then we have investment strategies that really follow quality and growth. That’s been a space, certainly in the last 12 months, that’s been very difficult.
“I think it’s really important at a time like this that you don’t let your style drift and you don’t start chasing a dif- ferent style. Clients have bought you for that quality and value-based approach. Our fund managers have a really good long-term track record.”
He said the group had added new emerging markets and Asian equity strategies, and planned more in the coming years “where there is a sustain- able edge in generating outperform- ance”. Sorrell said he intended to be more active with institutional clients.
Rathbones shares were down 54p, or 3.1 per cent, at £16.64.
at Standard bank after record profits
ALAMY
Standard Chartered has announced a $1 billion share buyback as strong growth in its wealth management division helped drive record profits.
The Asia-focused bank reported that income from its wealth business, which managed assets of $389 billion, was up 38 per cent to $2.1 billion over the first half. The division helped lift the lender’s total operating income by 6 per cent to $11.6 billion, and its profit before tax was up by 9 per cent to a record $4.8 billion.
Bill Winters, chief executive, said the share buyback reflected management’s “confidence in the business” after an earlier $1.5 billion repurchase pro- gramme over the first half. Standard Chartered also upgraded its full-year income outlook, projecting growth at the midpoint of its 5 per cent to 7 per cent range, rather than towards the lower end.
The bank’s profits were held back as it booked a $234 million charge on its exposures to the Iran war, which has otherwise proved profitable for the in- dustry as Wall Street traders saw higher revenues from equity trading activities.
Gary Greenwood, an analyst at Shore Capital, said the results showed management was “executing success- fully” and had delivered a “particularly strong” performance in its wealth division, which was identified as a key growth driver at its strategy update in 2024. Standard Chartered announced that it would invest $1.5 billion in the division over a four-year period.
Standard Chartered has said it will cut about 8,000 back-office jobs as it uses artificial intelligence to cut costs. Winters was widely criticised this year for saying that AI would replace “lower- value human capital”.
He adopted a more measured tone at the half-year results: “Technology is reshaping financial services. We are investing in data, digital platforms and artificial intelligence to improve client experience, increase productivity and strengthen resilience. At the same time, we are simplifying the organisation, modernising infrastructure and re- moving complexity across the group.”
Landlord hails buoyant West End
Tom Howard Property Correspondent
President Trump and Elon Musk may not think much of it but London is “very buoyant”, according to one of the capital’s biggest estates.
K
Shaftesbury Capital, which owns swathes of the West End including Covent Garden and Chinatown, said footfall and sales across its acreage were running well ahead of last year.
“We can only report what we’re seeing, but it’s very buoyant,” Ian Hawksworth, chief executive of Shaft- esbury, said. “We’re seeing people spend longer with us and spend more money. Demand from retailers and restaurateurs, but particularly the retailers, is incredibly strong.”
He added that trading across Shaft- esbury’s estate had been “even strong- er” over the past couple of weeks. “I don’t know if that’s a Burnham bounce or if people are just enjoying them- selves before the next budget. But footfall is significantly up, not just for [our tenants] but right across the West End, and sales are materially up on this time last year, too.”
Hawksworth, 60, suggested that the warm weather had been a boon for Shaftesbury and London, in contrast to his expectations.
“We felt originally that the very hot weather might have a negative impact but it’s actually been quite the oppo- site,” he said. “People seem to want to be out and about, they don’t want to be in their houses because it’s too hot. I’m sure the air-conditioned restaurants have done very well.”
Shaftesbury Capital was formed by the merger of two West End estates, Shaftesbury and Capital & Counties, in 2023. It owns about 640 offices, shops, restaurants and flats on approximately 40 acres in and around Covent Garden, Soho and Chinatown.
The fact that most people are back in the office for at least part of the week has given London another boost, Hawksworth said.
“If you’re in an office up in Fitzrovia or Holborn, you’ll probably find your way into our estate for lunch, for a
Isabella Fish Retail Editor
The luxury goods conglomerate behind Gucci has returned to growth after three years in the doldrums, thanks to rekindling demand across the United States and Asia.
Kering posted a 2 per cent rise in like- for-like sales to €3.65 billion in the three months to June 30, sending shares in the French group up by more than 16 per cent yesterday.
It represented the first quarterly sales increase since the middle of 2023, rais- ing hopes for an improvement in the global luxury sector and in the turn- around plan of Luca de Meo, the chief executive.
Demand was particularly strong for jewellery, sunglasses and spectacles. A prolonged slowdown at Gucci, which accounts for half of the group’s sales and two thirds of operating profit, showed tentative signs of recovery: revenue fell 2 per cent in the period, against an 8 per cent drop in the prior quarter.
De Meo, who joined last year from the carmaker Renault, said: “The return to growth is an important mile- stone, but we are still at the beginning of the journey and we remain realistic about the challenges ahead.”
A Chinese new year parade in February celebrates the year of the horse. Shaftesbury Capital owns large parts of the West End of London, including Chinatown
drink, for dinner. I don’t think that’s isolated to the West End, though. If you wander round the City it’s busier, as is Canary Wharf.”
For Shaftesbury, it all contributed to a “strong performance” financially in the first six months of this year.
The landlord signed 226 new leases during the year at rents, on average, 18 per cent above what it had been re- ceiving previously.
New additions to the estate so far this year include Sephora, the make-up
Behind the story
ering’s return to sales growth suggests the luxury sector could be moving past its recent slowdown.
The group’s 2 per cent rise in second- quarter comparable sales, driven by stronger demand for jewellery and eyewear and a slower decline at Gucci, suggests that consumer appetite for high-end goods is beginning to stabilise.
inventory. He also planned to reduce the reliance on Gucci by placing greater emphasis on some smaller brands.
Armelle Poulou, Kering’s chief finan- cial officer, said Gucci was “resonating particularly well with American consumers”.
retailer; Burro, the Italian restaurant favoured by the Times restaurant critic Giles Coren; and Matière Première, the French luxury fragrance maker that opened its first UK store in Covent Garden.
“We genuinely go after the best [brands] and the best want to be with the best,” Hawksworth said. “All that creates an environment where people are spending more money — and that translates into rental growth.”
Shaftesbury’s annual rent roll has
Rising prices and weaker consumer confidence have forced brands to rethink strategies that relied heavily on logo- driven purchases and frequent price rises.
face pressure from weaker consumer sentiment, higher living costs and lower tourist spending.
The nature of luxury demand is changing. Increasingly, younger consumers favour personalised products, craftsmanship and experiences over traditional status symbols, leading brands to focus on creativity, exclusivity and stronger customer relationships.
Luxury spending in the US is showing signs of renewed momentum, backed by stronger stock markets and resilient demand among affluent consumers. China is also starting to stabilise. The UK and parts of Europe
The turnaround at Kering comes amid wider turmoil within the luxury sector, driven by inflationary pressures and a drawn-out decline in global de- mand. LVMH, Kering’s competitor, and Burberry, the British luxury label, have also enjoyed recent improvements in sales, particularly in the US and Asia.
increased to £219.5 million, up from £215 million at the start of the year. If it were to re-let all of its buildings at cur- rent market rents, it would be getting closer to £281 million a year, and the company expects to capture that “reversion” over the next five years as leases come up for renewal.
Between January and June, Shaftes- bury generated a pre-tax profit of £228.1 million compared with a profit of £173 million in the first half of 2025.
This year’s profitability was boosted
lift at Reckitt Benckiser
Alex Ralph Chief Business Correspondent
Emerging markets growth helped Reckitt Benckiser to post better than expected second-quarter sales and launch a £500 million share buyback.
Like-for-like net revenue growth at the FTSE 100 consumer goods com- pany, whose brands include Dettol and Durex, accelerated to 4.2 per cent in its core business during the quarter ended June 30, ahead of analysts’ consensus forecast of 3.6 per cent.
The growth was led by sales in emerging markets, up 9.4 per cent, despite western sanctions on its Russian hygiene business. Last week, Reckitt agreed to sell that business at a £175 million loss to Arnest, a Russian manufacturer.
Emerging markets growth helped offset a 1.5 per cent sales decline in Europe and slower growth in North America of 2.8 per cent.
Emerging markets, which include China and India, now account for 44 per cent of revenue in Reckitt’s core business.
by a £181 million increase in the valua- tion of its portfolio, which stands at £5.6 billion. The interim dividend, to be paid on September 23, was raised by 16 per cent to 2.2p per share.
John Cahill, a real estate industry analyst at Stifel, said: “Shaftesbury’s results show the West End occupier and investment markets remain un- dimmed by global macro) and political headwinds.”
Shaftesbury Capital shares were down 2¾p, or 1.9 per cent, at 143¼p.
review amid the costly defence of safety lawsuits in the United States.
Reckitt said there was “balanced growth during the quarter”, with volumes up 2 per cent and price mix up 2.2 per cent.
Reckitt, based in Berkshire and formed through the merger of Reckitt & Colman and Benckiser of the Nether- lands in 1999, is one of the world’s big- gest consumer healthcare groups.
The company, which returned £3 bil- lion to shareholders in the first half of the year, including a special dividend, announced a new share buyback pro- gramme of up to £500 million over the next 12 months. It declared an interim dividend of 88.6p, up 5 per cent.
Kris Licht, the chief executive of Reckitt, said of emerging markets: “It’s almost half the company and it is where we are seeing the strongest growth.
“It’s perhaps the most strategic of all markets, because it is where the growth is in terms of absolute middle-class households in the world in terms of consumer spending, and it’s where we have an opportunity to build our categories.”
T
for market windfall
Emma Powell
Traders at Glencore have cashed in on the volatility whipping through energy markets, putting the Swiss commodi- ties giant in line for windfall profits.
The FTSE 100 mining and trading group’s market arm is set to report adjusted earnings of $3.3 billion for the first six months of the year, according to a second-quarter production update — more than double last year’s figure.
It would be the highest profit for the market division since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022 and more than $1 billion higher than the $2.2 billion consensus forecast from City analysts.
Since the conflict in the Middle East broke out on February 28, the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a key waterway that typically carries about a fifth of the world’s oil and gas supplies, has caused heightened volatility in the price of key commodities.
Traders such as Glencore stand to benefit from periods of extreme market volatility and dislocations in the price of commodities. The shares closed up 14¼p, or 2.8 per cent, at 520¾p yester- day. The London-listed group is one of the world’s largest commodities trad- ers, selling 751 million barrels of oil and gas products last year.
Last month Trafigura, another big commodity trading house, reported a net profit of just over $4 billion, despite its results only reflecting a one-month impact from the war, up from $1.5 bil- lion the previous year and its second- highest level ever for the first half.
Mercuria, another major trading company, unveiled an 88 per cent rise in its half-year profit to $1.09 billion.
Despite the performance of the
Greig Cameron Scotland Business Editor Andrew Neilson, a chartered account- ant who has also been with the com- pany since 2010, at the start of August.
The long-serving boss of Weir Group has signed off with a strong set of first- half results and “very positive demand” looking forward.
Jon Stanton, who joined the mining equipment supplier as finance director in 2010 before being appointed as chief executive in 2016, will hand over to
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market division, Glencore refrained from raising guidance for the full year, a decision that Ben Davis, an analyst at RBC Capital, described as “curious”.
Glencore is valued at about £61.3 bil- lion. It mines commodities including coal, copper and cobalt and is one of the world’s biggest commodities traders. Last year it reported a net profit of $363 million, after a $1.6 billion loss in 2024 caused by impairment charges.
Gary Nagle, Glencore chief execu- tive, said its “key assets largely per- formed in line with expectations” during the first six months of the year.
The group, which reports its half- year results on August 5, recorded a 15 per cent increase in copper output to 397,000 tonnes and reiterated guidance of between 810,000 and 870,000 for the full year, with its Collahuasi mine in Chile expected to make a higher contri- bution during the second half.
Demand for copper, which is key to the energy transition, has driven a fresh wave of M&A within the mining sector.
This year Rio Tinto called off a $260 billion merger with Glencore that would have created the world’s largest mining group after the two sides were unable to agree on a price for the deal. They had first held talks in 2024 and revived conversations late last year.
Shortly after the deal failed, Nagle said investors should exert more pres- sure on miners to agree deals, stating that mining companies were all so small as to be “a little bit irrelevant”.
Davis said that Glencore remained a likely takeover candidate “and the more corporate action they take to re- linquish less desirable assets or under- lining the value of others, the more likely a bid is to come”.
Revenue in the first six months of 2026 was up 5 per cent on a constant currency basis to almost £1.3 billion. The value of the order book grew 8 per cent year-on-year to more than £1.4 bil- lion, while pre-tax profit increased 7 per cent to £175 million.
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makes Rio Tinto a hot commodity
he world’s biggest iron ore miner has reported its highest first-half
Analysts at JP Morgan said the results showed Weir’s strong market share; “continued momentum” was ex- pected into the second half of the year.
During Stanton’s tenure he moved Weir away from oil and gas while also offloading other divisions to focus on its mining interests.
It has pushed into data analytics and artificial intelligence through some
profit in four years, helped by the AI boom and the demand for electric cars (Martin Strydom writes).
Rio Tinto reported a 39 per cent jump in pre- tax profits to $9.3 billion in the six months to the end of June. More than half of its earnings came from copper, lithium and aluminium.
It is the first time these metals, which underpin
large acquisitions as its customers look to use digital tools to improve perform- ance and environmental sustainability.
The company made its largest deal to date, to buy the US ground tools spe- cialist Esco for about £1 billion, in 2018.
Stanton acknowledged he had made “some big calls”, adding: “I’m very, very pleased with the legacy that I’m leaving and the internal succession and
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An open pit mine at the Oyu Tolgoi copper-gold deposit in Mongolia
commodities in terms of underlying demand,” he said, highlighting data centre and grid storage battery demand for copper and lithium.
Earnings at Rio’s copper division rose 84 per cent to $5.7 billion. The unit benefited from a 39 per cent increase in benchmark copper prices and a 53 per cent rise in gold prices, alongside a 31 per cent increase in copper output from the Oyu Tolgoi mine in Mongolia as its expansion continued.
Underlying profits in the iron ore unit declined 1 per cent to $6.8 billion. Although shipments from the Pilbara region in Western Australia reached their highest first-half total since 2018, higher prices were offset by cost inflation, elevated diesel costs and a stronger Australian dollar. Rio Tinto shares rose 112p, or 1.6 per cent, to £69.77 yesterday.
the energy transition and AI infrastructure, have surpassed profits from its core iron ore business.
In December, Rio said it could unlock $5 billion to $10 billion in cash. It said yesterday it expected to achieve half of that by the end of the year. Part of that will be through the agreed sale of its share of a seawater desalination plant in Dampier in Western Australia, Trott said. He did not disclose the amount.
Simon Trott, its chief executive, said the miner had delivered a “step- change in performance” in the first half, helped by higher commodity prices, rising copper output and productivity gains across the business.
“We are seeing shifts really across all of our
continuity. We’ve made some bold moves, and they’ve gone really well.”
Stanton, 59, will stay in an advisory capacity and has no plans to retire. “I’ve still too much energy and curiosity,” he said. “I’ll take a little bit of time out over the next few weeks and decompress, then start to think about the future.”
Weir shares closed up 220p, or 8.7 per cent, at £27.44.
C olonised by the ancient Greeks in the 8th century BC; then came the Romans, Byzantines followed by the Saracens, Normans, Spanish and Bourbons before finally becoming Italian in 1861. You will see some of the most fascinating cities, villages, unusual sights and stunning scenery that you will find anywhere and most importantly it remains genuinely unspoilt.
Selected departures August to October 2026 and April to October 2027
The overall value of vehicles sold by Aston Martin rose thanks to the £850,000 Valhalla supercar. The Canadian Lawrence Stroll, below, rescued the firm in 2020
but £1.5bn debts pile up losses
Tom Howard
Aston Martin effectively lost more than £80,000 for every vehicle sold in the first half of this year, largely a result of the interest payments required to service its vast debt pile.
Between January and June the luxury marque sold 2,331 cars, up by a fifth on the same period of 2025.
That equates to £563.2 million worth of vehicles and is 41 per cent higher than the £399.2 million delivered in the first half of last year, reflecting higher sales of the Valhalla hybrid supercar.
Despite the jump in sales, over the six months Aston Martin generated a free cash outflow of £197.6 million. While this was an improvement on the £321 million of cash the company had burned through at the halfway point of 2025, it still meant Aston in effect lost £84,800 from each car sale.
Aston Martin Lagonda is London’s only listed carmaker and the marque of choice for James Bond. Its current line- up includes the Vantage, DB12, Van-
Simon Freeman fell by 5.6 per cent while output for the domestic market was down 13.2 per cent. The European Union remained the sector’s biggest customer, with a 3.4 per cent increase in car shipments.
The number of vehicles rolling off Brit- ain’s production lines is down by 7.5 per cent so far this year as factories retool to manufacture electric vehicles.
UK factories turned out 385,979 cars and commercial vehicles, a reduction of more than 31,000 year-on-year, ac- cording to the latest data from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT). After a “challenging” start to the year, however, output stabilised in the second quarter as exports strengthened and car produc- tion returned to marginal growth.
quish, DBX and the Valhalla, a hybrid supercar with a top speed of 217mph and a starting price of around £850,000.
In its 113-year history, the company has gone bankrupt seven times. It was most recently rescued in early 2020 by Lawrence Stroll, the Canadian billionaire whose mission it is to prevent an eighth bankruptcy.
Aston Martin shares have lost 98 per cent of their value since floating at £19 apiece in 2018. On Stroll’s watch, there have been more than £4 bil- lion in share placements, rights issues, debt issuance and refinancings.
The shares were down ½p, or 1.8 per cent, to 35¾p at yesterday’s close, valuing the company at around £400 million, compared with £4.3 billion when it floated.
Including other forms of income, such as servicing and spare parts, Aston Martin’s half-year revenue increased by 38 per cent to £628.6 million from £454.4 million.
Mike Hawes, SMMT chief executive,
Cars and other vehicles made this year
That was still not enough to prevent its half-year loss widening to £154.2 mil-
lion from £140.8 million in the
first six months of 2025.
The business has long been held back by its huge debt pile,
which has now tipped over
£1.5 billion. Between Janu- ary and June, Aston spent
£100 million servicing those loans. Its cash balance has dropped to £114.9 million, although management ex-
pects its cash burn to “ma-
terially improve” as the
year wears on and said the company is “approaching free cashflow break-even” — once the interest costs are taken out.
Pricing of its cars is also expected to pick up. In the first half, its average selling price, excluding the Valhalla, fell 5 per cent year-on-year to £182,000, but the company blamed this on its efforts to shift “aged stock” —
6 Ferrari is defying the broader slowdown in the supercar market and has hit this year’s sales target for its first electric vehicle, the Jony Ive-designed Luce, just two months after its May launch. The Italian group had set an internal target for 500 unit sales of the €550,000-plus vehicle, whose form divided enthusiasts and saw it likened to a Nissan Leaf. Sources told the FT the goal had been reached, with uptake driven by strong demand in China and from Silicon Valley tycoons. The group has set a target to sell about 2,500 Luce vehicles by 2030.
mostly DBXs in the United States. It hopes the backlog will be cleared soon, which should boost its average sale prices.
“The selldown of some of those cars, especially in the States, has been slower than we hoped,” Adrian Hallmark, chief executive, said. “Globally it’s probably, at the half year [point], 70 to 80 cars worse than we’d anticipated, but it’s hundreds of cars better than it was at the beginning of the year. Cer- tainly by the end of [September] that will wash through.”
Aston Martin also defended its refi- nancing last week when it borrowed £550 million from HPS, a Blackrock- owned private credit firm that typically lends to companies desperate for cash and charges high fees.
“The board sees the financing as important for the company as whole,” Doug Lafferty, chief financial officer, said. Hallmark added that the deal would give Aston “additional resilience and further flexibility to execute our current and future product plans”.
petitive costs are taking their toll. But decline is not inevitable.
“Urgent action on energy costs, reform of market regulation and im- proved trading arrangements with our global partners would ensure the sector can return to growth. Given growth would be across every region in the UK, there is every reason for the new gov- ernment to get behind the sector.”
The SMMT is calling for reform of the zero-emissions vehicle mandate. Manufacturers are investing billions in zero-emission technologies, it said, but regulation is ahead of demand, making the cost of selling in the UK “untenable and undermining any case for local manufacturing investment”.
white-collar jobs cull in Germany
Times Business Reporter
BMW is offering almost half its German staff voluntary redundancy to cut 8,000 white-collar jobs by the end of next year.
About 40,000 of BMW’s workers in administration, research and develop- ment will receive the offers, which will rely on voluntary severance, early retirement and natural turnover rather than forced layoffs.
Production-line and manufacturing workers are excluded from the cuts, which follow a profit warning last month due to a sharp decline in sales in China, slimmer margins on electric vehicles and cost pressures facing European carmakers.
The Munich-based carmaker, which assembles the Mini in Oxford and Rolls-Royce cars in Sussex, employs about 154,000 people worldwide and 85,000 permanent staff in Germany.
The news casts a spotlight on the woes of Germany’s automotive sector. Volkswagen, Europe’s biggest carmak- er, has said it is looking to axe up to 100,000 jobs in a “profound” strategic shift to counter trade tariffs, stagnating markets and fierce competition from China. VW also plans to end produc- tion at four German factories.
Mercedes-Benz has its own volun- tary redundancy programme. Boss Ola Kaellenius said: “The whole sector could benefit from improved produc- tivity, no two ways about it. The pres- sure is immense.”
BMW’s goal with the restructuring is to trim overheads and adjust division capacity without disrupting physical vehicle assembly.
It warned last month that full-year sales were expected to be lower than last year, having previously been ex- pected to come in the same. Operating margins will land between 1 and 3 per cent, against previous guidance of 4 to 6 per cent. It said that return on capital employed, a metric for the financial efficiency of the business, could be as low as 1 per cent, when previously it had hoped to achieve as much as 10 per cent.
Performance in Europe and the United States has not been strong enough to offset the decline in sales in China and the Asia-Pacific region.
Milan Nedeljkovic, BMW chief exec- utive, and the works council leadership presented the details to employees dur- ing a staff-wide meeting in Germany. The plan has taken about six weeks to negotiate between the board and BMW’s works council.
Nedeljkovic said: “We are talking about a substantial change to the rules of the game. That is also a consequence of political mandates that are out of step with the market. Neither the pro- tectionism nor far-reaching changes in the market are going to disappear.”
BMW decided early on to maintain petrol and diesel options for its custom- ers, so unlike rivals it has avoided costly strategy changes while also seeing its electric sales rise.
Vehicle deliveries in China were already at their lowest level since 2017 last year and fell 30 per cent year-on- year in the three months to June.
“BMW is now responding to the slump in the Chinese market while simultaneously working to strengthen the competitiveness of its German sites,” said Horst Ott, head of the Bava- rian branch of the powerful IG Metall union, who sits on BMW’s supervisory board under a German system giving labour representatives half the seats.
Sarah Vachon is a co-founder of Citizens of Soil along with her husband Michael, below. The premium oil brand sources from small-batch producers
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T entrepreneurs network profile
directly with small growers of high-quality olives, its founders tell Richard Tyler
An order from Waitrose just before Christmas for four times as much olive oil as they were expecting threw Sarah and Michael Vachon into a spin.
The founders of Citizens of Soil, a premium oil brand that sources from small-batch producers, had been in dis- cussions with the supermarket’s buyer for six months and believed they could cover the order.
“It was a moment of panic as we didn’t have anywhere near enough stock,” Michael recalls.
Sarah adds: “It was on the day we were going to have a Christmas lunch with our one part-time employee. I started messaging this woman who I had been talk- ing to in Greece, an olive oil judge, really respected and who I knew was farming or- ganic. I asked if she had 10,000 litres. She said yes, and I said I’d be with her straight after Christmas.
“We showed up, tried it and bought it on spec. We brought it home to start bot- tling in February and March. Waitrose placed its order in May and it was de- livered into stores in June.”
Since then they have not looked back. Turnover hit £2.5 million last year and the entrepre- neurs expect to exceed £5 million this year. Profitability is anticipated by the end of next year.
The unexpected size of the Waitrose order did cause some cashflow prob- lems. The Vachons specialise in dealing directly with small growers of high- quality olives — in much the same way that Naked Wines backs independent vineyards. But farmers do not typically offer credit, so they had to pay for the Waitrose stock before it was delivered.
Sarah says: “[The grower] didn’t know us so we had to pay everything up front. If we went to a miller or [oil grow- ing] co-operative you would get pay- ment terms. But you don’t get that from farmers as it just doesn’t work for them. We had to scramble to raise funding to support it.” It meant from the initial in- dication of an order in November, they did not start to get paid by Waitrose until the following August.
The Vachons started the business as an experiment during the Covid lock- down in 2020. Initially they imported olive oil from a family friend based in Crete. As orders grew, Sarah decided to go full time in 2022. She has a back- ground in sustainability and food prov- enance.
retain today. Ocado followed in May 2023 and then Waitrose. Citizens of Soil has two main lines of oil: a Greek extra virgin and a Spanish one, drawn from family farms detailed on the bottles. A 500ml bottle retails for £19 on Ocado, and refills are £16 at the same retailer.
Citizens of Soil also provides its 22,000 club members with access to lower prices and curated producers, of- ten in limited quantities. A tweak to the description of the subscription service from Olive Oil Refills to The Olive Oil Club turbocharged demand, Michael says. They are signing up almost 1,500 people a month, and 60 per cent are still active subscribers after two years.
They are starting to see changes in the way that people who like their oils are buying them. Initially at Waitrose, bottles outsold refills by two to one; that has reversed as customers refill the bot- tles they have bought, benefiting from the lower price and the fact that the carbon footprint of bottles is 15 times greater than that of refills.
Sarah says to build trust with their customers they make a point of being as transparent as possible about where they source their oils, their quality and how the oils have been produced.
“This is a category that has massive fraud and corruption going back to an-
tiquity,” says Sarah, a trained olive oil sommelier. “Even the Romans did cer- tain traceability stamps. We know from pulling oils from shelves every few years now that we find oils that are not extra virgin. I believe trust is built through transparency. It is the only way. We put our full lab reports online.”
In March 2025 they raised £1.8 million in venture capi- tal in a round led by Figr Ventures, still leaving the pair the majority owners of the business. “That has ena- bled us to continue to scale The Olive Oil Club and deepen our sup- ply chains,” Michael says.
The business is loss-making because of spending on advertising, he adds. “The people we are bringing in now are sticking for so long it is worth it.”
The wholesale price of olive oil rock- eted between 2022 and 2024 before fall- ing last year. After a rise after the last harvest, it has steadily declined across the main producers since April, accord- ing to research by Oleista.
Retail prices have not fallen as fast, in part because the mainstream brands typically blend their oils from numer- ous harvests over a number of years.
Sarah says prices will continue to be volatile. “We are also in a climate crisis and we feel it immensely,” she says. “My South African producer has had two floods and a massive fire already in 2026 ahead of her harvest. There is a similar story with our Portuguese pro- ducer. Everyone is watching Spain right now because they had intense floods at the start of the year.” There are also wildfires to contend with.
However, Sarah says the price fluctu- ations in the commodity markets have little effect on Citizens of Soil as they agree supply pricing with each farmer. Prices here are more influenced by costs on individual farms, such as energy and labour, which are both going up.
William Kay Tempus Buy, sell or hold: today’s best share tips
O
oxford biomedica
Market cap £690 million
xford Biomedica is undergoing a dramatic transformation that should, by rights, be having more of an effect on the share price than it has so far. Now known virtually everywhere apart from legal documents as OXB, it has been moving from a localised, if prestigious, academic research institution into an out-and-out commercial operation. But perched on the southeast edge of Oxford, not far from the science park, it is still seen by many as little more than a boffins’ hangout. Historically the company was a UK-centric biotech pioneer that relied on a legacy drug pipeline and royalty streams.
Spun from the university 31 years ago, it gained prominence during the pandemic when it made vaccines for AstraZeneca. It has since pivoted to become a contract development and manufacturing firm producing viral vectors for cell and gene therapies, focusing on autoimmune disorders and cancer therapies. Since this column highlighted the inflexion point nine months ago, the changes have accelerated.
In April OXB launched a faster service for biotechs through its inAAVate and LentiVector platforms, cutting development periods by half or more. For example, the pathway to good manufacturing practice production for adeno-associated viruses (AAV) has fallen from 15 months to 7 months.
The French-born Frank Mathias,
for a rewarding summer
market report
There are still a couple of trading days left in July but after a decent update Sage Group shareholders are on track for a monthly gain of nearly 30 per cent (Robert Miller writes).
The company, which specialises in accounting, financial, HR and payroll technology for small and mid-sized businesses, reported that total revenue increased by 11 per cent to £2.1 billion in the first nine months of the year and that strong growth was driven by both new and existing customers. Sage’s up- date pushed the shares up a further 82¼p, or 8.8 per cent, to £10.22 after guiding towards organic total revenue growth for 2026 above 9 per cent with an upward trend in operating margins.
The performance lifted the software group to the top of the FTSE 100 leader- board narrowly beating Weir Group, up 220p, or 8.7 per cent, to £27.44 after the mining equipment supplier report- ed a strong set of first-half results.
Some way behind, but with a handy gain, was Burberry after Mike Ashley’s Frasers Group said on Tuesday that it had an interest in the luxury fashion house worth a potential 4.2 per cent, which if exercised, would put the Sports Direct owner into the top ten largest
BURBERRY
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Annual revenue £168.7 million
£16
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Share price Financial performance
Source: FactSet
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who became chief executive in 2023, has form in this sort of turnaround. He wrought similar change at Rentschler Biopharma, turning the family-owned German biologics firm into a global, full-service contract development and manufacturing organisation (CDMO). He wants OXB to capture a dominant share of the global cell and gene therapy CDMO market.
By operating strictly as a third- party manufacturer and developer, OXB has insulated its business from the risk of clinical trial failures while
Modest falls at the start of the day gathered pace after the Federal Reserve held interest rates steady in a split vote, with three officials voting for a rise. AI-related stocks again pulled indices sharply lower, with the chipmakers Micron Technology down 9.9 per cent and Sandisk 7.3 per cent lower. The Nasdaq fell 433.97 points, or 1.7 per cent, to 24,442.94 while the S&P 500 shed 112.63 points, or 1.5 per cent, to 7,316.15. The Dow Jones industrial average dropped 1,153.18 points, or 2.2 per cent, to 51,594.14.
The day’s biggest movers
2025 2024 Change
Revenue £128.8m 31%
Manufacturing services (rev) £81.1m £68.4m 19%
Development services £60.1m £47.3m 27%
Procurement services £22.3m £5.8m 285%
Licences, milestones, royalties
£5.2m £7.3m -27%
Operating
ebitda
£2.3m
-£15.3m 115%
maximising its specialised manufacturing expertise. The group has diversified its technical capabilities to cover all major viral vector types, expanding its market share in the AAV and adenoviral markets. At the same time it has moved closer to its customers, buying facilities in Europe and the United States, helped by raising £60 million last year.
In its full-year 2025 results, OXB achieved its first year of positive operating ebitda of £2.3 million. Revenue grew by 31 per cent to £168.7 million, beating market expectations. The contracted revenue backlog swelled from £150 million to £204 million, improving future revenue visibility. But Peel Hunt’s analysts do not see this breaking through into positive earnings per share until next year,
Reports of stake-building in Burberry pushed the shares up nearly 5 per cent
shareholders. Added to that was a notification yesterday from Norway’s sovereign wealth fund that it has a significant 4 per cent holding. News of the stake building lifted the shares 53p, or 4.7 per cent, to £11.93.
While miners on the main index contributed to the upside, gold was a notable drag as it dipped 0.02 per cent to $4,037.30 an ounce taking with it Fresnillo, down 82p, or 3.2 per cent, to £24.81, and Endeavour Mining, 101p, or 2.8 per cent, lower at £34.87.
and even then only at a nominal 9.8p for a 63 price-to-earnings (p/e) ratio. Dividends are even further away.
A few months ago the shares jumped on an approach by Swedish investment firm EQT, but with no price agreed EQT walked away and the shares relapsed. However, last month Mathias told the Financial Times: “I believe there are a few [private equity firms] that can fit us [as owners] because maybe under a private situation we [would] be able to grow quicker. This is something that is fair to at least be considered.” Of course, that would still be subject to an attractive offer.
The largest shareholder is Briarwood Chase Management with 15.4 per cent. French conglomerate Institut Mérieux has 10.8 per cent and Novo Holdings, parent of Novo Nordisk, 11.1 per cent. So OXB’s fate is effectively just a Zoom call away.
Mathias added: “It’s not only the financial figures that drive us, it’s also what will happen with the vision of the company ... It might be that we might become private, but there are advantages to being on the stock exchange.” At a capital markets event soon after, a £500 million annual revenue target by 2030 was laid out.
After the year-end in February, OXB announced the expansion of its strategic partnership with Bristol Myers Squibb, and in March signed a licensing and option agreement with the Viral Vector Manufacturing Facility in Australia, strengthening its presence in the region.
This is clearly a risky share best suited to investors who, barring a bid, can afford a long time-horizon. But the seeds are sown for a potentially formidable business model.
the more UK-focused FTSE 250 nar- rowly failed to match its positive mood and closed down 7.97 points, or 0.03 per cent, to 23,996.81 despite a double-digit gain from Greggs, up 312p, or 18.5 per cent, at £20.02 after the baker reported a higher half-year profit than expected.
The biggest faller was Oxford Instru- ments which filed for the creation of 46,001 ordinary shares under its long- term incentive plan alongside 26,097 new award shares. The company, which provides scientific instruments and services for laboratories, dropped 196p, or 6.9 per cent, to £26.54.
news in brief
Toll of Covid loan abuse
More than half of director disqualifications since 2023 are linked to abuse of pandemic finance schemes, according to official data.
Figures from the Insolvency Service showed that of the 3,280 directors who were banned, 1,683 were related to cases involving the misuse of Covid-19 assistance.
A director disqualification order prevents an individual from acting as a director or being involved in the formation, promotion, or management of a UK company, including certain overseas companies with UK connections, for up to 15 years. The figures were obtained by Weightmans, a law firm.
The dissolution of about 70,000 businesses that have outstanding Covid-19 loans and are suspected of fraud has been blocked.
The government was criticised for its handling of the emergency assistance, particularly over the level of fraud and error in the £47 billion bounce back loan scheme, which provided loans of up to £50,000 to companies with very few checks.
Last year, Tom Hayhoe, the counter-fraud commissioner, said the design of the scheme created “specific vulnerabilities to fraud and error” which led to losses of up to £2.8 billion. Hayhoe found that overall, fraud and mistakes in administering support programmes had cost taxpayers £10.9 billion.
New FTSE chiefs double
The number of FTSE 100 companies that have appointed a new chief executive doubled in the first half of the year, up from three in the first six months of 2025 to six. Researchers at Russell Reynolds Associates, an advisory firm, said that boards tended to replace an outgoing chief executive with one who had had experience of running a large listed company. Of the 131 newly appointed chief executives globally during the first six months of the year, 30 had previously led a listed company, representing 23 per cent of appointments, the highest first-half share since the firm started compiling the research nine years ago.
‘Bond vigilante’ dies at 55
Jim Leaviss, one of Britain’s most prominent fund managers, whose Bond Vigilantes blog was essential reading in the City, has died aged 55. Leaviss, formerly M&G’s chief investment officer for fixed income, gained a following as a market commentator with an unconventional take on economics: he used the shrinking number of “monster feet” in packets of pickled onion Monster Munch as an example of shrinkflation and examined the impact on Middle- earth’s economy of the dragon Smaug hoarding gold in Tolkien’s The Hobbit. His family has asked for any donations to be made to Cancer Research UK.
X settles boycott lawsuit
Elon Musk’s social media platform has settled a two-year legal dispute with an advertising trade body it had accused of conspiring to boycott X. The Global Alliance for Responsible Media, or Garm, a coalition led by the World Federation of Advertisers, was sued by Musk in 2024 for allegedly withholding “billions of dollars in advertising revenue”. In a joint statement, X and the WFA said: “The World Federation of Advertisers and X Corp are putting the litigation involving the Global Alliance for Responsible Media behind them. This resets the relationship between the two organisations.”
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Base Rates Clearing Banks: 3.75% ECB Refi 2.40% Fed Fund 3.5-3.75% Halifax Mortgage Rate (SVR) 7.24%
the times | Thursday July 30 2026 49 Register
Marquess of Queensberry
David Douglas was playing cards with John Profumo in 1963 when the secre- tary of state for war learnt that his polit- ical career was about to end because of a sex scandal. David Queensberry, as the 12th Marquess of Queensberry was known professionally, was part of a Swinging Sixties set that included not only Profumo but also the photogra- phers David Bailey and Patrick Lich- field and the artist David Hockney. He was also a designer and potter, and from 1959 to 1983 was professor of ceramics at the Royal College of Art.
The family was best known for his great-grandfather the 9th Marquess, who gave his name to the official rules of boxing in 1867 and many years later played a pivotal role in the downfall of Oscar Wilde having taken issue with the author’s homosexual relationship with his son Alfred “Bosie” Douglas. In February 1895 the marquess left a note on public display in the Albemarle Club declaring that Wilde was a “somdom- ite” (sic). Wilde sued for libel, but the case backfired and Wilde was convicted of gross indecency.
Queensberry remembered his father being visited by the impecunious Bosie, who was still betting on the horses until his death in 1945. “I think he was an aw- ful fellow, extremely right-wing, antise- mitic; there was nothing very good to be said about him,” he told The Times in 1995. “But I do think he was, in a minor way, quite a good poet.”
With Martin Hunt, his former stu- dent and business partner of more than 40 years, Queensberry designed and marketed some of the most stylish ta- bleware to grace European dining rooms. They also designed lavatories, bathroom suites, stainless steel utensils and cast-iron pots. They designed plas- tic dishes for BEA aircraft in 1964, the same year he won the Duke of Edin- burgh’s Prize for Elegant Design for cut-glass crystal vases. Their products won several awards, including from the Design Council, and today their work is in the V&A’s permanent collection.
Making chinaware, Queensberry said, was the oldest craft in the world. “If you design something in electronics, you’re dealing in a field that didn’t exist 30 years ago,” he said. “But you can go into a museum and find a bowl from Iraq that’s 6,000 years old and is damned similar to the bowl you’re mak- ing today.” On another occasion he pro- posed his own “Queensberry rules” for selecting tableware: purchase the best you can afford; choose from “open stock” ranges that will have replace- ments available; buy bone-china cups but cheaper plates; and be fussy about detail, such as pots with non-tip lids.
‘Queensberry rules’ for purchasing tableware
David Harrington Angus Doug- las was born in Westminster in 1929, the younger of two children of Francis Douglas, 11th Marquess of Queensber- ry, Bosie’s stockbroker nephew, and his second wife, Cathleen Mann, a portrait artist; his sister, Jane, died in 2007. He had a half-sister, Patricia, from his father’s first marriage and a half-broth- er, Gawain, from his third marriage.
The Marquess, above in his Stoke-on-Trent ceramics showroom in1956. Above right, Oscar WIlde and his lover, Queensberry’s relative Alfred “Bosie” Douglas
Queensberry and in 1682 Charles II el- evated the title to marquess. The 8th marquess shot himself in 1858 while hunting rabbits, one of his sons died climbing the Matterhorn and another cut his own throat with a razor in a London hotel. The 9th marquess was little loved by his family. He was once
who brought down Oscar Wilde, ‘poisonous’
charged with affray after fighting in the street with his son, Queensberry’s grandfather, whom he spat at on his deathbed in 1900.
Queensberry was raised by his mother, whose Italian cook inspired a lifelong love of the culinary arts. “I used to hang about in the kitchen and watch him at work,” he recalled fondly. Occa- sionally his mother stepped in but when Elsa Schiaparelli, the aristocratic Ital- ian fashion designer, came to lunch she forgot to ask the fishmonger to open the oysters. “We were eating in her studio so there were miscellaneous tools, such
RUSSELL WESTWOOD/POPPERFOTO VIA GETTY IMAGES
as pliers, hammers and screwdrivers ly- ing about,” he said of their desperate ef- forts to eat the molluscs.
During the war he was sent to Cana- da. Returning to Britain he was a con- temporary at Eton of Antony Arm- strong-Jones, who later married Prin- cess Margaret. The art department was run by Wilfrid Blunt, “an inspiring and deeply sensitive teacher” and the brother of Anthony Blunt, the art histo- rian and spy. At about 15 Queensberry became an enthusiast for “throwing and firing” in the pottery class.
He did his National Service with the Royal Horse Guards, the most memo- rable incident of which was leading 50 tanks into a cul-de-sac.
He then entered the ceramics de- partment at the Central School of Arts and Crafts, intending eventually to es- tablish a studio producing handmade, functional pottery. “It soon occurred to me that this was anachronistic, and I decided that it would be more reward- ing and have a greater impact to design products that could be mass-produced and available to a much wider audi- ence,” he told Ceramic Review.
pottery in Stoke-on-Trent, where he was known as Dave and lodged in a council house. On one occasion he stirred up a lively controversy by de- scribing the aesthetic design of the 1953 Coronation pottery as “appalling”. Before long he was selling pots from a garage in Mayfair and supplying table- ware for the restaurants Terence Con- ran was designing. In 1958 he was invit- ed to join the Royal College of Art, be- coming a professor in his twenties.
Queensberry succeeded in the peer- age in 1954, and made his maiden speech in the Lords in 1965 in support of reforming the law on homosexuality. Meanwhile, he embarked on a series of complicated romantic entanglements, marrying Ann Radford (née Jones), the actress Ann Queensberry, in 1956. They had two daughters, Emma, an artist, and Alice, a writer and theatre director who married an armed robber she met while volunteer- ing in a prison. They also fostered a Nigerian boy.
During that time he also had a son, Ambrose Carey, from another relationship, though because they never married Ambrose, who founded a business intel- ligence consultancy, did not suc- ceed in the titles. Ambrose’s half-sister, Carrie, married Salem bin Laden then, after his death in a plane crash in 1988, his brother Khaled. They were half- brothers of Osama bin Laden, master- mind of the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
In 1967 Queensberry went into part- nership with Hunt, with Queensberry Hunt soon attracting clients including Wedgwood, the Rosenthal Group and Hornsea Pottery. Much of their early work was sold through Conran’s Habi- tat stores. “I don’t see an incompatibili- ty between good design and the mass market,” Queensberry said.
Meanwhile, his first marriage was dissolved and in 1969 he married Alex- andra Wyndham, a model. They had three sons, Sholto, Milo, who suffered from bipolar disorder and took his own life in 2009 aged 34, and Torquil, and a daughter, Kate, who once said: “Despite
our 700-year heritage we are proud to be a very modern and gloriously dys- functional family.” Sholto, known by the courtesy title Viscount Drumlanrig, had been born during Queensberry’s first marriage, but his succession as the 13th Marquess was assured by his parents’ subsequent marriage.
That too was dissolved and in 1999 Queensberry declared: “I’ve failed at marriage twice, so I’m disinclined to embark on it again.” The following year he married Hsueh-Chun Liao, a Tai- wanese artist almost 40 years his junior with whom he already had a daughter, Beth, known as Ling Ling, a talented violinist. The so-called “Queensberry curse” struck again when Beth died in 2018, aged 18, after taking drugs at a Notting Hill party.
An amiable figure who wore denim, Queensberry lived in a terrace house in west London, the walls stacked with plates including a striking set designed by Eduardo Paolozzi, his friend and former colleague. Every morning he rode a 750cc Kawasaki motorcycle to his mews studio at Lancaster Gate. In 1995 he joined Wilde’s family at the
dedication of a roundel in the east window of Poets’ Corner in Westmin- ster Abbey, during which Sir John Giel- gud read from the final part of De Pro- fundis, Wilde’s letter written from Reading jail to Bosie. Queensberry in- sisted there was no hatchet to bury, adding: “My great-grandfather was a pretty poisonous person.”
Two years ago he invoked
memories of his great-
grandfather’s role in
boxing when it emerged that he had
used his judo train-
ing to fend off a
mugger. “He was trying to rob me. He was all over me with his hands, I did manage to throw him, a type of judo throw, which sent him backwards,” he related. In principle, however, his Buddhist tendencies left him op- posed to any form of violence.
Queensberry sometimes expressed frustration at being known for his family’s associations with the rules of boxing and Wilde. “One can have a life- time in serious design, responsible for a business worth £130 million a year, and the only thing that interests people is what one’s great-uncle got up to in the 19th century,” he told The Times in frustration. However, as Lord Henry Wotton observes in Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray: “There is only one thing worse in the world than being talked about, and that is not being talked about.”
When Terry Hilliard saw the detona- tion of a British H-bomb from the cockpit of his Canberra bomber on Sep- tember 11, 1958, the blinding flash seemed to turn his arm into an X-ray. He could see all the bones. Thirty-six minutes later, his modified Canberra, known to those involved in the H-bomb tests as a “sniffer plane”, was hit by violent turbulence as he flew into the radioactive mushroom cloud. Hill- iard, then a flight lieutenant, struggled to keep control.
His task was to collect samples from the nuclear fallout, which would reveal the effectiveness of the new weapon that had been detonated near Christ- mas Island, now known as Kiritimati, in the South Pacific. The 800-kiloton bomb was about 40 times more power- ful than the atom bomb dropped on Na- gasaki in 1945.
Flying at more than 53,000ft, far above the Canberra’s official limits, he and his two crewmen spent seven-and- a-half minutes inside the thermonuclear column and sur- rounding cirrus clouds. Samples were collected in pods fitted to the bomber’s wings. In- struments known as “Charlie meters” measured levels of radiation in the cockpit. “The flash of the explosion just cannot be de- scribed,” he recalled. “For a moment I could see every bone in my left forearm as if it were a super X-ray.”
In an interview with RAF News last year, Hilliard said: “Entering the cloud, we went from bright tropical sunshine into a dark, dense, turbulent, writhing air mass, which was a combination of compressi- ble turbulence, combined with stalling shudders and indescribable tantrums of vertical lifts and drops ... Visibility was ever-changing, from small clear spaces to dense clumps of cloud. Our aim was to fly through the darker patches as high as possible, as they were more likely to contain the best residual samples that we were seeking.”
Hilliard, who was then 26 and serv- ing with 76 Squadron, took part in three of the four tests known as Grapple Z in 1958 after his unit was deployed to the Australian air base at Edinburgh, north of Adelaide. On September 11 he was designated “primary sniffer”, flying one
Lives remembered
“Oh it could be true.” “How do you know that?” I challenged. He leant down and whispered in my ear: “Well, I was having lunch with her yesterday.” John Curran writes: In February 1991 CNN were scooping the world reporting the Gulf War bombing of Baghdad. ITN, the UK’s commercial net- work TV news, were in bed with them. Despite being Scotland bureau produ- cer I was quartermastering the opera- tion from Amman in Jordan.
The time came to rotate the team — bring out Brent Sadler and his col- leagues and send in Edward Stourton (obituary, July 20) and his team. At con- siderable cost — in wads of US dollars naturally — I’d chartered a 4x4 mini- bus for the hazardous 500 mile-plus
Hilliard described violent turbulence in the bomb’s mushroom cloud. Above right, at a party with his wife, Sally, in the 1960s
of four Canberras used for sampling during that day’s H-bomb test.
After returning to the base on Christ- mas Island and releasing the sample pods, Hilliard and his two crewmen were taken to a decontamination centre. Geiger counters were used to check their bodies for radiation and they were then sent for ice-cold show- ers. One pilot was sent home because he recorded dangerous levels of con- tamination.
Samples collected by the Canberra crews enabled British scientists at the Atomic Weapons Establishment at Al- dermaston in Berkshire to determine the exact yield or explosive power of the bombs and to establish whether they had worked efficiently. Canberras had also been used to intercept nuclear fallout from tests in the Soviet Union
journey to the Iraqi capital. ITN’s senior foreign editor Mike Nolan and Ed circled the shabby but serviceable vehicle in the car park of the Amman Intercontinental hotel. Ed took a long, leisurely draw on his cigarette, then said quietly: “It’ll be fine.”
It was fine. He earned the nickname “Steady Eddy” for his thoughtful, meas- ured reports from Baghdad that went round the world.
Philip Moger writes: Ed Stourton, who was a reporter at ITN when I was a pro- gramme editor, was a thorough gentle- man who never boasted of the circles in which he moved. When the ageing Queen Mother was ill, the then Prince Charles announced that she was better and doing the Highland Reel. It was met with journalistic cynicism. Ed said:
and China as Britain gathered intelli- gence on its adversaries.
The success of Grapple Z established Britain as the third thermonuclear power after the United States and the Soviet Union, and enabled the country to maintain a viable strategic nuclear deterrent throughout the late 1950s and 1960s.
Hilliard was an experienced bomber pilot who had joined the RAF in 1948 as a Cranwell aircraft apprentice in the face of fierce competition. He was re- garded by his family and friends as a timid boy, but he matured quickly. At RAF Cranwell he was promoted to senior apprentice and awarded the gen- eral service prize. He applied for pilot training and was accepted. In 1952 he graduated from the Officer Cadet Training Unit at RAF Jurby on the Isle of Man where he won the sword of hon-
Robert Thompson writes: Much as I enjoyed the excellent appraisal of the com- edian bird watcher (obituary, July 27) you omitted his pop music career. In 1970 he recorded a vinyl record entitled On Ilkla Moor Baht’at. It was his kind spoof on the Beatles hit With a Little Help From My Friends and in my opinion an act of genius.
our as best cadet. He later trained as a pilot in Canada.
After returning to Britain, Hilliard joined 9 Squadron, which flew the twin- engine Canberras, Britain’s first jet bomber, and was in action throughout 1956. In February the squadron was sent to RAF Butterworth in Malaya where the crews spent three months flying operations against communist insurgents. Later that year the squad- ron operated from Malta in support of British forces during the Suez Crisis. On November 1, Hilliard attacked the Egyptian air base at Kasfareet in the Suez Canal Zone. On the flight back to Malta he was forced to land at the Liby- an air base at El Adem, 15 miles south of Tobruk, after running short of fuel.
At the end of his tour with 9 Squad- ron, which had lasted more than three years, Hilliard was ranked as an “excep- tional pilot” and posted to 76 Squadron. He later trained as an instructor and spent four years with the Oxford Uni- versity Air Squadron. He was promoted to squadron leader and converted to V-bombers, flying Valiants and Victors with 543 Squadron. He later served as a staff officer at Bomber Command, which became Strike Command.
Terry Hilliard was born in Newport, Monmouthshire, in 1932, the second youngest of eight children. His father, Arthur Hilliard, known as “Crump”, and his mother, Dorothy, known as “Murk”, were from Gosport in Hamp- shire but found work in Newport dur- ing the Depression. They later returned to Hampshire, where Arthur was em- ployed at the Hilsea Ordnance Depot near Portsmouth.
At the start of the Second World War, Terry and his siblings were evacuated to different parts of the country. When his mother died of diphtheria in 1944,
Paul Rudd writes: When I was a young articled clerk in Grimsby, Sir Edwin Jowitt (obituary, July 26) used to come up to defend defendants and often secure a not guilty verdict. He gave me a piece of advice. “Paul, you’ve spent all night on your case, you’ve pho- tocopied all the authorities you are going to use, you’ve made copious notes of the prosecution evidence, you’ve decided what you are going to say to the magistrates. You start to rise to speak, and you’ve got five points to make: forget two of them and use only three. That is the way to win cases.”
the children were not allowed to attend her funeral because of security restric- tions surrounding preparations for D-Day. Terry passed his 11-plus in the same year, but then contracted diph- theria himself. He spent eight months in hospital and missed nearly two years of schooling. His father remarried and moved to Waterlooville, where Terry resumed his education at Purbrook Park County School and passed his School Certificate before joining the RAF.
After returning to Edinburgh in South Australia after the H-bomb tests, he attended a party hosted by the Vic- torian Ladies Association, where he met Sally Smith, an Englishwoman vis- iting Australia. They were married at Ferring-by-Sea in West Sussex in 1959. The couple had a son, Guy, and two daughters, Katie and Tracy, who all sur- vive him. Sally died in 2018.
Hilliard retired from the RAF in 1969 and then, supported by his wife, em- barked on a business career. He trained as an insurance broker and set up his own company. He sold the business and purchased a small hotel in Southsea before moving to Australia, where they established a business studies training company and opened a coffee shop near the Sydney Opera House. The couple later lived in Cyprus for eight years. Hilliard finally retired in his mid- eighties after working for an estate agency. In his spare time, Hilliard, a kind man with a dry sense of humour, enjoyed sudoku.
Proud of his service with the RAF, he contributed a video recording describ- ing his experiences during Grapple Z to the Wings Aviation Museum in West Sussex, which opened a new exhibition, Into the Atom, this year.
Like many veterans of the nuclear tests in the South Pacific, Hilliard voiced concerns about the impact of ex- posure to radiation. In an interview with the British Library, he described “the complicated lifelong legacy” of participating in the tests and the “sig- nificant mental strain caused by the possible health effects”.
His daughter Tracy said: “He sur- vived non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma in 2017-18, but the chemotherapy and radiation caused a heart attack so he had a stent put in. He also got shingles, which infected his right eye and caused him to lose his sight in one eye, but he coped, being the amazing strong man he was. We often joked that the nuclear bomb gave him superpowers.”
Squadron Leader Terry Hilliard, bomber pilot and businessman, was born on June 6, 1932. He died on April 24, 2026, aged 93
Dr Philip Moore, org- anist emeritus, York Minster, writes: When Edward Norman (obituary, July 20) first came to York Minster he lived in a house in Minster Court. He retired in the summer of 1999 because one of his fellow canons refused to retire until he knew that Edward was to retire. Edward then returned later that year, much to the amazement of the staff, as well as to the annoyance of his retired fellow canon. His first retirement therefore was entirely spurious, and the only house then available was in Precentor’s Court.
Sweeney upended the cosy, genial image of cops on screen
When Ian Kennedy Martin set out to write The Sweeney, his aim was to replace the cosy, avuncu- lar image of the police familiar on television with the kind of hard-bitten officers seen in real forces in the 1970s. In fact, the show’s influence extended even further. Asked about the series in 2013, John Stalker, the retired deputy chief constable of Great- er Manchester police, admitted that officers had since “started to behave like Regan and Cart- er” in a case of life following art.
The idea for the show sprang from Kennedy Martin’s friend- ship with a detective in the Metropolitan Police’s Flying Squad, the unit dedicated to vio- lent crime and known in Cock- ney rhyming slang as Sweeney Todd, or the Sweeney. For years the squad had evaded scrutiny, but allegations of brutality and corruption were starting to emerge, and tales of its fast-and- loose methods struck the writer as fertile ground for an action- packed drama.
His elder brother, Troy, was himself an established TV writer whose series Z-Cars and its spin- off, Softly, Softly, had already sought to offer a warts-and-all view of the police. But Kennedy Martin wanted to go much fur- ther. Softly, Softly had “become like a soap”, he said. “It just didn’t reflect what was going on in the police. At that time, drugs were becoming a big issue and armed robbery was the main crime in London. None of this was seen. It was all internecine rows at HQ and people talking about budgets. We needed two cops running on the streets.”
He also saw an opportunity to create a role for his friend John Thaw, a heavy-drinking, hard- living type who was cast as the similarly rough-edged Detect- ive Inspector Jack Regan along- side Dennis Waterman as De- tective Sergeant George Carter.
And so a classic was born, exposing the sometimes dubi- ous practices of a profession once regarded as the incorrupti- ble guardian of the peace. Foul- mouthed and free with their fists, Regan and Carter pursued criminals with a brash disregard for convention, captured in lines such as “Get your trousers on, you’re nicked” and “We’re the Sweeney. We kill him — noth- ing. You kill us — 30 years.” It ran for four series between 1975 and 1978 on ITV, attracting up to 19 million viewers an episode and inspiring two film spin-offs.
Kennedy Martin did not hang around to enjoy the success of his creation, quitting after a mere three episodes amid con- tinuous arguments with the show’s producer, Ted Childs.
Despite his abrupt departure, a talent for police and crime drama had been unleashed. In 1980 he created Juliet Bravo, the second television drama to fea- ture a female police officer as its main character. Set in the fic- tional Lancashire town of Har- tley, it examined entrenched sexism within the police and ran for six series. It was followed by The Chinese Detective (1981–82), starring David Yip, the first Chi- nese lead character in a main- stream British television drama.
Kennedy Martin based his Sweeney leads on officers he knew
born in 1936 to Frank Martin, a toolmaker and electrical engi- neer who had fought in the Somme aged 16, and Kathleen (née Flanagan), a teacher. His middle name was a tribute to a priest his father admired named Father Troy, and was shared by his older brother, Francis Troy Kennedy Martin, who later dropped his first name.
The family lived in London during Kennedy Martin’s early years before the children were evacuated to Scotland during the war. An “attractive, tousled- haired, optimistic boy who went for everything”, according to Troy, Kennedy Martin strug- gled at school, floundering aca- demically and suffering from debilitating asthma.
After moving back to London he joined Finchley Catholic grammar school. When he was 11, his mother died of breast cancer, an event that trauma- tised the young boy and plunged the family into poverty. They had to sell all the furniture in their Muswell Hill flat and cooked over a fire, the gas having been turned off.
“When people ask how you become a writer, I say, ‘You’re born with near-fatal bronchial asthma and nearly die 50 times in your first five years. You go through school branded for being stupid and lazy, and later find out you’re severely dyslexic. And your mother dies when you’re 11. And then poverty,’” he said. “Everything goes back to my mother’s death — she was the focus of our lives, the most wonderful mother. When she died, it was a nightmare ... We touched base with the under- belly of society after her death — real poverty.”
SHUTTERSTOCK EDITORIAL
to Trinity College Dublin, where he studied history and political science while carousing with lit- erary circles including figures such as Brendan Behan and JP Donleavy. He was eventually kicked out and moved briefly to the suburb of Inchicore before returning to London, where for several years he lodged with the actors Denis and Stella Quilley.
Inspired by his brother’s success, he drafted two televi- sion scripts, one of which he later sold to Troy and became the basis for The Italian Job (1969). In 1962 he joined the BBC’s television writers’ pool, and he went on to script epi- sodes for shows including The Saint, Parkin’s Patch, The Troub- leshooters, Hadleigh, Colditz and The Onedin Line.
Following the peak of his success in the 1970s and 1980s, he resumed life as a writer-for- hire on shows including Berge- rac, The Chief and The Knock. In 2009 he made his debut as a stage dramatist with Berlin Han- over Express, a Second World War drama that premiered at the Hampstead Theatre in London.
He was renowned for his out- spokenness, at times bordering on belligerence. (The director Jack Gold once said there were two Kennedy Martins in televi- sion — the writer and the gang- ster.) Among his targets were ITV, which he said was run by “ruthless, not very bright men, grubbing about for every last penny”, and the BBC, which he considered overstaffed and in the process of being steered “on to the rocks” by the government.
Away from public life, he was a bon vivant and a generous host. He is survived by his wife, Barbara Ohrbach, a New Yorker, whom he married in 1970; their daughter, Lucy, and son, Daniel.
His relationship with Troy, who died of lung cancer in 2009 aged 77, remained one of the most important in his life. They were so close that it sometimes caused friction with their re- spective partners. He said before Troy’s death: “Ours is a compli- cated relationship, but if I were to collapse, I wouldn’t call 999 — I’d ring Troy.”
Births, Marriages and Deaths
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BEING cheerful keeps you healthy. It is slow death to be gloomy all the time. Proverbs 17.22 (GNB)
Bible verses are provided by the Bible Society
Births HARDING On 30th May 2026 to Suzie (née Irvin) and Tim, a daughter, Tessa Rose, sister to Emma and Maeve.
Deaths CAMPBELL Philippa Louise, peacefully at home on Tuesday 7th July 2026. Treasured wife of David, mother of Beatrice, Beccy, Romola and Rollo, loving grandmother, friend and in-law. A service will be held at East Lothian Crematorium, Musselburgh, on Wednesday 5th August at 11.30am. Family flowers only please.
HOARE Basil George died peacefully on 8th July 2026, aged 99. Formerly of Woodside. Beloved Great Uncle, cousin and friend. Funeral service Wednesday 5th August at 2.20pm at South West Middlesex Crematorium. No flowers, but donations if desired to Médecins Sans Frontières.
MAYS-SMITH Eliza. It is with great sadness we announce the passing of Lady Eliza Mays-Smith on Friday 24th July. A much-loved mother, grandmother, great grandmother, stepmother and dear friend to many. Funeral at St Andrew’s Church, Chaddleworth, Wednesday 19th August at 2pm. No flowers, donations to the Injured Jockeys Fund via Camp Hopson Funeral Directors, 01635 522210.
Court Circular
Balmoral Castle 29th July, 2026 The King this morning visited Halkirk Heritage and Vintage Motor Society Museum, Halkirk Heritage and Vintage Motor Centre, Sinclair Street, Halkirk, and was received by His Majesty’s Lord- Lieutenant of Caithness (the Viscount Thurso) and the Chairman of the Museum (Mrs Lorraine Eyre).
His Majesty toured the Museum, escorted by the Chairman, meeting trustees and volunteers.
The King this afternoon visited Stannergill Whisky Distillery, Castletown Mill, Castletown, Caithness, and was received by Mr and Mrs Martin Murray (Owners) and Mr Struan Mackie (Provost of Thurso).
His Majesty toured the restored Mill, escorted by the Owners, visiting the kitchen and restaurant, and meeting members of staff.
The King afterwards moved into the Distillery, viewing the copper stills and meeting members of staff and those connected with the restoration of the building, before officially opening Stannergill Whisky Distillery.
St James’s Palace 29th July, 2026 The Duke of Edinburgh, Colonel-in-Chief, The Prince Edward Island Regiment, this afternoon held a Meeting via video link with Lieutenant Colonel Christopher Michaud (Commanding Officer) in Canada.
SHARP Jill Treharne MBE (née Morgan) died peacefully at home, aged 83, on Saturday 27th June 2026 after a long illness. She will be greatly missed. Much-loved wife of Anthony, mother of Antoinette and Fiona and grandmother of William, Olivia, Amelia, Tabitha and Cordelia. Private family funeral. Thanksgiving service on 8th September at noon at St Peter and St John the Baptist Church, Wivelsfield. No flowers please, but donations may be made to Alzheimer’s Society via the website jilltreharne-sharp.muchloved.com
STONE Major-General Anthony Stone CB, late Royal Regiment of Artillery, died suddenly but peacefully on 23rd July 2026, aged 87. Devoted husband of Mary for 59 years, loving father and father-in-law of Guy, Mark, Kate and Millie, and PaPa to grandsons Oliver, Caspar, Milo and Jacko and granddaughter Emilia. Family-only funeral, followed by a celebration of his life later this year.
Legal Notices
Legal Notices
NOTICE UNDER THE TRUSTEE ACT 1925 SAL Pension Scheme ("the Scheme") Notice to Creditors and Beneficiaries under Section 27 of the Trustee Act 1925 This notice is given by SAL Pension Fund Limited (the “Trustee”) in its c a p a c i t y a s t r u s t e e o f t h e Scheme. Notice is hereby given pursuant to Section 27 of the Trustee Act 1925 and any other relevant power that the Trustee is winding-up the Scheme. Any person who believes they have a claim against, or entitlement to a pension or any benefit from, or an interest in the Scheme is requested to write to the Trustee: c/o The Trustee of the Sal Pension Scheme by post to Intact Insurance Pensions, 8 th Floor, 22 Bishopsgate, London EC2N 4BQ, to make a claim. Claimants should provide their full name, address, date of birth, NI number and if applicable, dates of employment. If any other person believes they have a claim against or an interest in the Scheme, they are requested to write to the s a m e a d d r e s s s e t t i n g o u t f u l l particulars of their claim. Please quote t h e S c h e m e n a m e i n a l l correspondence. All claims must be received within two months of the date of publication of this notice. After this date, the Trustee will proceed to complete the wind-up of the Scheme a n d s e c u r e b e n e f i t s f o r a n y remaining beneficiaries, having regard only to the claims and interests of which they have prior notice. The Trustee shall not be liable to any person of whose claims and demands they have not had notice. Any person who has been contacted by the Trustee at their current address or has already made a claim and received a response need not re-apply to the Trustee. Dated 30 July 2026 Issued on behalf of SAL Pension Fund Limited.
CR-2026-004799 IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUSTICE BUSINESS AND PROPERTY COURTS OF ENGLAND AND WALES COMPANIES COURT (ChD) IN THE MATTER OF SECURED INCOME FUND PLC AND IN THE MATTER OF THE COMPANIES ACT 2006 Notice is hereby given that a Part 8 Claim Form was, on 20 July 2026, issued by the above-named company (company number 09682883) with its registered office at Level 4, Dashwood House, 69 Old Broad Street, London, England, EC2M 1QS) (the Company) at t h e H i g h C o u r t o f J u s t i c e , Chancery Division seeking an order confirming the cancellation of the entire amount standing to the credit of the Company’s capital redemption reserve (the Cancellation) which was approved by a special resolution of the Company passed on 17 June 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 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/SEC06624.1). Dated: Thursday 30th July
CR-2026-003317 IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUSTICE BUSINESS AND PROPERTY COURTS OF ENGLAND AND WALES COMPANIES COURT (ChD) IN THE MATTER OF ABRDN EUROPEAN LOGISTICS INCOME PLC AND IN THE MATTER OF THE COMPANIES ACT 2006 NOTICE is hereby given that the Order of the High Court of Justice (Chancery D i v i s i o n ) d a t e d 3 0 J u n e 2 0 2 6 confirming the cancellation of the capital redemption reserve of the above named Company and a Statement of Capital approved by the Court in respect of the same cancellation was registered by the Registrar of Companies on 24 July 2026. Dated: Thursday 30th 2026 GOWLING WLG (UK) LLP 4 More London Riverside London SE1 2AU Tel: 0370 903 1000 Ref: 2812551/JCR01/OXJ01 Solicitors to the Company
CLAIM NO. CR-2026-004087 IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUSTICE BUSINESS AND PROPERTY COURTS OF ENGLAND AND WALES COMPANIES COURT (ChD) IN THE MATTER OF GOOCH & HOUSEGO PLC AND IN THE MATTER OF THE COMPANIES ACT 2006 NOTICE OF COURT MEETING NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that, by an Order dated 29 July 2026 made in the above matters, the Court has given permission for a meeting (the “Court Meeting”) of the holders of Scheme Shares (as defined in the scheme of arrangement referred to below) to be convened for the purposes of considering and, if thought fit, approving (with or without modification) a scheme of arrangement (the “Scheme of Arrangement”) proposed to be made pursuant to Part 26 of the Companies Act 2006 (the “Act”) between Gooch & Housego PLC (the “Company”) and the holders of Scheme Shares (as defined in the Scheme of Arrangement). The Court Meeting will be held at the offices of Burges Salmon LLP, 6 New Street Square, London EC4A 3BF, on 26 August 2026 at 10.00 a.m. at which place and time all holders of Scheme Shares are requested to attend. Any holder of Scheme Shares wishing to vote at the Court Meeting should either request a form of proxy from the Company or attend the Court Meeting in person. Voting on the resolution to approve the Scheme of Arrangement will be by poll, which shall be conducted as the chair of the Court Meeting may determine. A holder of Scheme Shares who has not received a copy of the circular relating to the said Scheme of Arrangement can access an electronic version at http://www.gandh.com or obtain it from the Company’s registrars, MUFG Corporate Markets, or from the offices of the Company’s solicitors, Burges Salmon LLP. Dated this 30th day of July 2026 BURGES SALMON LLP 6 New Street Square, London EC4A 3BF (Tel: +44 (0) 20 7685 1200) Ref: 16677.00127 SOLICITORS FOR THE COMPANY
Royal Insurance Group Pension Scheme (the“Scheme”) Notice under section 27 of the Trustee Act 1925 Notice is hereby given by the trustee of the Scheme, RIGPS Pension Trustee Limited ("Trustee"), pursuant to section 27 of the Trustee Act 1925, that the Trustee has started a process to wind-up the Scheme from 10 June 2026. Any creditor, member or beneficiary of the Scheme or any other person who believes that they have a claim against, or entitlement to a pension or any benefit from, or interest in the Scheme is hereby required to write to: RIGPS Pension Trustee Limited, c/o Intact Insurance Pensions, 8 th Floor, 22 Bishopsgate, London EC2N 4BQ and m a r k e d f o r t h e a t t e n t i o n o f Tim Vaughan. Claimants should provide full details of their claim, including their full name, present address, date of birth, National Insurance Number, details of the period of employment to which their claim relates (where relevant) and the full name of the Scheme. All claims must be made within two months of the date of publication of this notice. After this date, the Trustee will proceed to wind- up the Scheme and will distribute the assets of the Scheme among the persons entitled to them, having regard only to those persons of whose claims and entitlements they have notice. The Trustee shall not, with regard to the Scheme or the Scheme assets so distributed, be liable to any person of whose claim they did not receive n o t i c e . A n y i n d i v i d u a l s w h o have already been contacted by or on behalf of the Trustee about this matter should not respond to this notice as the Trustee already has d e t a i l s o f t h e i r c l a i m s a n d entitlements. The Trustee will remain responsible for administration of the Scheme until this process is complete and you are welcome to liaise with the Trustee via Intact Insurance Pensions (using the contact details above) should you have any queries in relation to this notice. Dated 30 July 2026 Issued on behalf of the Trustee of the Royal Insurance Group Pension Scheme
52 Thursday July 30 2026 | the times Law
Calls to reform ‘dire’ legal aid eligibility
left without access to advice. By Catherine Baksi
As chair of the justice select committee in the Commons, Andy Slaughter has raised questions over Labour’s plans to increase magistrates’ sentencing pow- ers and limit jury trials.
Which makes the recent appoint- ment of the barrister-MP for Hammer- smith and Chiswick to Andy Burnham’s government as solicitor-general a curi- ous move that will limit his ability to speak out. But in his final act as the head of the committee, Slaughter dealt a blow to the government with a damn- ing report on the dire state of legal aid in England and Wales.
The report accuses the previous lord chancellor, David Lammy, who has been succeeded by Alex Norris, of fail- ing in his statutory duty to “secure that legal aid is made available”.
While the government promotes “justice for victims”, the committee’s report warns that declining availability of legal aid is leaving more people to face court without a lawyer, creating an “unacceptably high risk of miscarriages of justice”. The report calls for “urgent reform” to address eligibility and the scope of legal aid, as well as for in- creased lawyer fees and efforts to re- duce the bureaucracy of the body that administers public funding.
MPs highlight the “shockingly low” financial eligibility threshold for crimi- nal legal aid in the magistrates’ court, noting that the means-test threshold has not increased since 2009, while prices have risen by about 64 per cent. The report states that the duty solicitor scheme is in a “dire state” because numbers have fallen by 25 per cent since 2017, with only 7 per cent of the ageing workforce under 35 years of age.
magistrates’ courts, delaying proceed- ings and placing individual rights at risk. While the committee welcomes recent funding increases for criminal law solicitors, it says the rise is unlikely to arrest the decline of the scheme.
More widely, the report finds that the criminal legal aid is “financially unsus- tainable” because the rates of pay — which have only recently been in- creased by the “minimum level” recom- mended — have resulted in real-term reductions owing to inflation, which make the work “uneconomical”. The MPs recommend that the government creates an independent mechanism to review and increase legal aid fees, with clear targets for recruiting and retain- ing criminal legal aid lawyers.
consequences of years of underinvestment’
Turning to civil legal aid, the report finds that eligibility is “unacceptably low” and warns of a growing “justice gap” in England and Wales, with people ineligible and unable to afford legal representation and advice privately. It raises concerns that those in family law proceedings involving domestic abuse may be left without representation.
The report also notes the provider base is “under severe strain” with spending per capita falling by more than 36 per cent in real terms between 2007-08 and 2023-24, making work in housing, family, mediation, and immi- gration and asylum often loss-making.
organisations have been saying for years” and “lays bare the consequences of years of underinvestment in legal aid”, says Mark Evans, the president of the Law Society, the professional body for solicitors in England and Wales.
Evans calls on ministers to increase investment in justice, legal aid and early legal advice. “If the government is seri- ous about halving violence against women and girls, then improving ac- cess to family legal aid must be central to the family justice strategy,” he adds.
To help to cut the costs to firms of the Legal Aid Agency’s administration of public funding, the society conducted research to make arguments to slash red tape that is “hampering” solicitors.
Andrew Thomas KC, vice-chair of the Criminal Bar Association, welcomes a recent government consul- tation on £34 million funding, which represents an average 10 per cent rise in fees for criminal barristers. But he stresses that it is not an “immediate boost” because its full effect will not be realised until 2028 “at the earliest”. Taking account of inflation, Thomas says barristers will end up with the equivalent of the fee rates that applied before criminal barristers went on strike in 2022 over low fees.
Instead of the “cycle of ad hoc negoti- ations every few years”, Thomas wants to see annual fee reviews that take account of inflation.
Rohini Jana, the director of policy and parliamentary engagement at the Legal Aid Practitioners Group, adds: “If the new prime minister truly wants to improve lives… fixing our legal aid system is an essential first step.”
The Ministry of Justice says that to fix the “strained” system that it inherit- ed, the government has invested £116 million for criminal legal aid solici- tor fees and an extra £20 million a year in the civil sectors under most pressure.
VICTORIA JONES/PA; ALAMY
to compete for mega deals with US rivals
Comment
As the excitement of the football World Cup fades, a handful of English law firms are battling to stay in another competition: to be leading players in the market for mega deals — worth more than £7.5 billion — and significant disputes and investigations. Their only opponent is their US rivals.
This is some turnaround from the 1980s and 1990s when, outside the US, UK firms regularly headed the deal tables and English law reigned supreme. Then, with a few exceptions, most leading US firms were based in New York and saw no need to expand into less lucrative markets internationally. If clients needed non-US advice, American firms would work with British counterparts. And English firms expanded internationally — except in the US — and all was cosy.
Things started to change in the mid-1990s when some US firms began to build English law capability in London and UK firms US capability in New York. However, the luring of partners between firms was small-scale and, with a few notable exceptions, rarely involved star players.
Recognising the importance of America, some UK firms sought US mergers. They were generally rebuffed because they were seen as less driven, less profitable and wedded to a remuneration system that rewarded seniority over performance. The Clifford Chance- Rogers & Wells merger in 2000 did not go well and discouraged others. Approaches by non-New York firms — most notably Latham & Watkins — were rebuffed.
The 2008 financial crisis turbocharged the ambitions of the US firms. We had 15 years of ultra- low interest rates and loose money which, while the traditional banks were licking their wounds from the crisis, enabled new players — private equity funds, alternative finance funds and sovereign wealth funds — to dominate the market.
The law firms acting for them saw a massive flow of large deals that increasingly required international input. They used the profitability of their US operations to grow internationally, especially in London. They hired top partners and whole teams, paying some individuals up to £10 million.
Initially many English firms were shellshocked. Their lockstep system was modified to extinction — they became more businesslike and eased out poorly performing partners. Although UK firms have significantly improved their profitability, the US firms were sprinting and the recent President Trump sugar rush has propelled firms such as Kirkland & Ellis (historically a Chicago firm) to revenues of £7.9 billion, with average equity partner pay at £8.25 million.
It is not just a few US firms that form the threat — 62 have annual revenues of more than £750 million and 31 of more than £1.5 billion. More than 20 firms pay average equity partner salaries of more than £3.75 million, compared with £2.25 million at leading UK firms.
Quite simply, the US is the world’s largest and most profitable legal market and the American firms are now some of the largest and most profitable in London. Both Kirkland and Latham have London revenues of £750 million and they have transformed the career path and earnings expectations for partners and associates. US firms employ almost 10,000 lawyers in the UK.
We are in the finals of the establishment of a global elite of law firms to advise on the mega matters. English firms cannot hope to be in that group without a significant US presence because the big deals almost always have a significant American element. Without a strong US offering the English firms will not be profitable enough to keep top lawyers.
To be fair to the small group of UK firms hoping to be in this elite group — the “magic circle” of A&O Shearman, Freshfields, Linklaters and Clifford Chance — they have been trying for decades to develop in the US. Allen & Overy merged with Shearman & Sterling, a well- regarded New York firm that had hit a turbulent spell — and all four firms have tried to grow by poaching prominent partners and teams.
But so-called lateral hiring is a slow and expensive process that has mixed results. Possibly, over the next few years a few of the traditionally elite New York firms may be prepared to contemplate a merger if they think they will not make the top international tier. UK firms’ success in the US will determine whether they make the cut themselves.
However, it is important not to be downbeat. The UK is the second largest legal market in the world — more than 200 foreign firms have offices in London. English law is a key element of the capital remaining Europe’s pre-eminent financial centre despite Brexit.
English law still governs about 40 per cent of all international finance and business transactions. London is the leading centre for international arbitration and some of the world’s largest disputes are heard in our courts, often involving no UK-based parties. English law is a source of soft power that few domestic politicians understand.
The sector employs about 380,000 people and produces a balance of payments surplus of £8.8 billion. Indeed, if the broader economy had improved at the rate achieved by the legal profession, we would have no UK productivity crisis.
What next for beleaguered ICC?
Jonathan Ames
Officials at the International Criminal Court (ICC) have had mixed results with the three chief prosecutors since the tribunal’s launch 24 years ago.
The first, Luis Moreno Ocampo, an Argentine lawyer, was beset by allega- tions of financial and sexual miscon- duct, all of which he denied; his succes- sor in 2012, Fatou Bensouda, now the Gambian high commissioner to the UK, faced accusations that she misled the court over her alleged contact with Moreno Ocampo, a claim that she de- nied. No formal finding of wrongdoing was found against either prosecutor.
And now Karim Khan KC has been sacked after five years over allegations of sexual misconduct, which he denies.
Senior legal figures have long mumbled that the chief prosecutor role in the Hague is a repository for confi- dent lawyers who have not reached the peak of their domestic professions. But regardless of the qualities and perform- ance of the individuals, their travails have reignited wider concerns over the viability of the court itself.
The bench has its origins in the UN but is independent, funded by the 125 states that have signed the Rome statute, including the UK. Its 18 judges have jurisdiction over what the court describes as “the most serious crimes of concern to the international communi- ty as a whole, namely genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes”. The court has 900 staff and an annual budget of more than £168 million.
As to how successful it has been over the last nearly quarter century, critics are harsh. A legal academic from the University of Pennsylvania noted in a 2022 paper that “of the thousands of potential cases that could have been investigated” by the ICC, “only 44 individuals have been indicted”. That
King’s Counsel Alex Steuart
For a Few Guineas More: The Legal Year in Cartoons, Law Brief Publishing, £9.99
Lawyer of the week Piers Prichard Jones
Piers Prichard Jones, a solicitor at Freshfields, led a team advising ITV on the £1.6 billion sale of its media and entertainment business to Sky, creating the UK’s biggest commercial broadcaster. As part of the deal, Comcast, the US telecoms company that owns Sky, will sell its Love Productions business, which makes The Great British Bake Off and The Piano, to ITV for £200 million. Subject to regulatory approval the transaction is expected to complete in the second half of 2027.
What were the biggest hurdles you had to overcome in this case? A landmark deal like this inevitably involves complexity in several areas and takes time to put together. Happily, both organisations are
Karim Khan KC was sacked from his job as chief prosecutor at the Hague court
paper added that by that year only 14 had resulted in a complete proceeding — with nine convictions.
Those figures have increased since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the conflict in Gaza — bringing the total number of indictments to 73, with 34 completed proceedings. That increase has resulted in four additional convic- tions over the past four years.
Khan’s travails have opened another line of attack on the court. The British KC’s supporters argue that he has had a rough deal and that the internal proce- dures at the court fall short of justice.
“The ICC is supposed to be the Rolls- Royce of international justice,” says Mark Stephens, the co-chair of the International Bar Association (IBA) human rights institute, adding: “Whatever one thinks about the allega- tions against Karim Khan, the process has too often looked like a vehicle being repaired while travelling down the motorway.”
committed to the deal and its benefits for stakeholders.
What is the best decision you have taken as a lawyer? To try to be more than just “the lawyer” in the room. I realised at an early stage that clients value your strategic and commercial insights too.
Whom do you most admire in the law? My father, Ken, and my older brother, Sebastian. Superb practitioners and businessmen and by some distance the best lawyers in the family.
Indeed, the investigation of the allegations against Khan has been long and bureaucratic. Claims first emerged in 2024, and the process leading to his sacking has involved several inquiries — which came to varying conclusions — and at least two votes.
“The difficulty is that this process appeared prolonged, improvised and increasingly public,” Stephens says, adding that “justice requires transpar- ency in its outcome but investigations of this nature are ordinarily best conducted swiftly, rigorously and, so far as possible, confidentially.”
Baroness Kennedy of the Shaws KC, the director of IBA’s institute, accepts that it was “right that Karim Khan had to go”, maintaining that an earlier decision that there was insufficient evi- dence against the barrister was wrong to use the criminal standard of proof.
Kennedy points out that the vote last week at the UN in New York, which sealed Khan’s fate, “made it clear that
What is the best advice you have received? Take the stairs, not the lift. Your best ideas will come from the
extra time you get to think.
What is the funniest
thing that has
happened in your
job? Having to call
a halt to a tense meeting after a mouse made a surprise appearance at the negotiating table.
any misconduct in the workplace should be measured on the balance of proba- bilities. I think no senior person who holds power should engage in intimate relations with a person in a subordinate position with whom they work.”
But Kennedy regrets Khan’s down- fall, arguing that he was “a great prose- cutor — the best the ICC has had”. She maintains that Khan “understood that nations in the global south increasingly felt that western nations were judged by different legal standards and power- ful leaders were never held to account for their monumental wrongdoing”.
More widely, Geoffrey Nice KC, the Briton who was the lead prosecutor at the 2002 trial of Slobodan Milosevic at the tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, the ICC’s predecessor, advises a degree of cynicism about international courts. “All international courts are corrupt,” he says, “all have ineffective appoint- ment systems, meaning that the courts cannot be pure. They are corruptible — and they become corrupted whenever a powerful state that would be affected by the delivery of justice intervenes.”
Nice adds that the ICC “never really recovered from Ocampo’s tenure”, arguing more broadly that the Hague court “is an unhappy place”.
As to the future for the ICC, Stephens says that “the next prosecutor’s task — if they can find one — will not simply be prosecuting international crimes. It will be rebuilding confidence in the institution itself. The engine of inter- national justice may still be sound but the public has been forced to watch the mechanics arguing over the repair.”
Khan is understood to be appealing the decision to dismiss him. That process, Stephens says, will “prolong the pain” for the court, damaging not only the ICC but also the women whose allegations have almost become collat- eral damage in a suboptimal process…”
exclusive to subscribers Held to account A human rights watchdog is not needed to challenge companies over human rights abuses in supply chains, but a bill proposes fines for contraventions thetimes.com
thetimes.com
What law would you enact? The UK has a proud history of enacting laws and regulations that positively differentiate us from other countries. But the balance is not always right — for example, the legal and regulatory burden for small and medium-sized businesses is very high and seemingly growing. I would like to see this burden reduced significantly to allow them and the UK economy to compete more effectively and grow.
What is your favourite film? The Godfather Part II: two fantastic films in one and proof that a sequel can be better than an outstanding original.
In conversation Nick Eziefula on blending his work as a commercial lawyer
with being a rapper
OUT OF COURT
The cases, the chatter, the chaos:
Play time for Bar fundraiser
Martin Shaw, sporting long locks in the run-up to the second national tour of his critically acclaimed West End portrayal of Sir Thomas More in A Man for All Seasons, engaged in a one-off turn at Middle Temple Hall last Sunday evening. As a leading patron of the Kalisher Trust, Shaw, 81, and Jason Watkins, who played Harold Wilson in The Crown, turned in a barnstorming performance of The Dock Brief. With its old-school microphones, the production was true to the original John Mortimer 1957 BBC radio play in which a veteran, down-on-his-luck barrister represents a man accused of murdering his wife.
The trust, which funds those from disadvantaged backgrounds to go to the Bar, has a history of theatrical fundraising events and Sunday’s gig was a sell-out. The entertainment continued after the curtain fell as a senior Court of Appeal judge was spotted bounding aboard a big red bus. Burnhamism has reached the senior ranks of the bench.
Qualified for the job?
Legal professionals are abuzz again over the issue of whether non-lawyers should be appointed to the role of lord chancellor.
Debate was reignited when Andy Burnham slotted the unknown Alex Norris into the role. The 42-year-old studied politics and history at Nottingham University before being elected to that city’s council and then as an MP in 2017. Most senior law figures do not like the idea of non-lawyers in the role. One prominent Tory told Times Law that when the barrister Ken Clarke was lord chancellor in David Cameron’s government, he sat bang opposite the prime minister in cabinet meetings “as a sign of his importance”. However, when Clarke was replaced as justice secretary, Chris Grayling, the first non-lawyer to take the post, was “moved to the far reaches of the cabinet table”.
Protesters risk arrest
Campaigners are billing Thursday afternoon as the “first real test” for Andy Burnham on the proscription of Palestine Action as a terror organisation. Hundreds of protesters are scheduled to risk arrest under the Terrorism Act by standing outside Westminster magistrates’ court to state that they support the group and “encourage everyone to do the same”. Thursday had been the day 1,500 defendants were to appear on low-level charges under the act but that hearing has been adjourned. “That won’t stop us all from being defiant,” the campaigners said. 0 Subscribers can register for the Brief, our weekly newsletter. This week: judges gotta eat
y
T
Sh
Sh
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 =previous day *=data not available
Temp C Rain mm Sun hr* 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
ney
ney
Birmingham
Oxford
18
C
0.8
2.8
18
C
0.0
2.3
20
C
0.0
0.1
17
R
1.2
4.9
22
C
0.0
**
29
S
0.0
**
19
R
1.6
1.9
28
PC
0.0
**
28
S
0.0 12.7
23
PC
0.0
**
25
S
0.0
5.0
20
C
0.0
6.4
22
B
0.0
3.8
21
C
19.0
2.3
16
R
9.2
1.3
14
R
21.0
1.2
28
PC
0.0
**
29
S
0.0 10.4
30
S
0.0
9.1
18
C
0.0
5.9
25
S
0.0
**
22
S
0.0 12.7
19
C
0.0
**
18
0.4
5.6
21
C
0.0
**
14
C
1.0
2.0
20
C
14.8
4.8
27
S
0.0
7.7
21
C
0.0
**
32
S
0.0
5.9
27
S
0.0
7.7
24
C
0.0
4.2
31
S
0.0 13.5
21
C
0.0
**
22
C
0.0
**
26
PC
0.0
5.0
15
C
2.2
**
30
S
0.0
**
23
S
0.0
**
22
C
0.0
**
22
D
0.0
**
34
S
0.0
8.8
25
PC
0.0
3.8
18
R
0.8
**
26
S
0.0 12.4
16
C
0.0
**
15
C
0.6
2.1
15
PC
1.4
1.2
18
C
0.2
0.8
C
0.0
**
27
S
0.0
8.8
The world All readings local midday yesterday
31 S 31 S 31 S
37 S 32 PC 30 PC 30 PC
31 S 26 S 25 T 39 S 33 S 28 S 31 S
35 S 29 R 9 PC 20 S 26 PC 25 PC 36 S 32 ** 45 PC 21 B 25 PC 37 S 32 S 34 S 27 PC 23 S 27 SH
29 S 32 S 15 S 29 SH
29 PC 27 PC 22 B 30 S 26 PC 37 S
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 São Paulo Seoul Seychelles Singapore St Petersburg Stockholm Sydney Tel Aviv Tenerife Tokyo Vancouver Venice Vienna Warsaw Washington Zurich
Sunday
The Times and Sunday Times is a unique and trusted source of travel
inspiration. Now you can trust us to take you there too.
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Five days ahead Hot and dry in the south, with more changeable conditions arriving for the British Isles
Wind speed
34 Sea state
Tomorrow
Fresher temperatures, with some scattered showers for the north and west, thundery at times. Mostly sunny and dry in the south. Max 27C, min 7C
Saturday
Warm and mostly dry with plenty of sunshine in southern Britain and Ireland. Scattered light showers in Scotland and perhaps the far north of England. Max 27C, min 7C
Dry with sunny spells in the south. Scattered showers in northern Scotland. A band of cloud and rain will push into the south of Ireland after a dry start. Max 28C, min 5C
General situation: Warm or hot and mostly dry with sunny periods in England and Wales. Showers over Ireland and Scotland, heavy and thundery in northern Scotland. E Anglia, SE Eng, London, E Mids: Hot and dry in the morning with increasing amounts of cloud, then feeling fresher during the afternoon with the risk of an isolated shower. Light westerly winds, veering northerly later. Maximum 28C (82F), minimum 8C (46F).
26 PC 33 S 31 S 32 PC 30 B 11 B 24 B 29 ** 31 PC 29 PC 22 R 17 B 30 ** 31 S 23 B 35 S 33 PC 26 B 30 S 33 S 21 PC 35 S 18 S 27 S 12 B 22 S 28 S 41 ** 33 S 20 PC 14 B 25 S 30 PC 28 PC 32 B 22 S 20 PC 17 S 32 S 29 PC 33 B 20 PC
32 S 23 S 29 B
Monday
Hot with sunny intervals and the risk of a heavy shower in the southeast. Rather cloudy with spells of rain over northern England and Scotland. Scattered showers across Ireland. Max 30C, min 9C
Tides Tidal predictions. Heights in metres. All times in local time
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
Tuesday
Feeling much fresher over England and Wales with a scattering of showers, heavy in places. Mainly cloudy in Ireland and Scotland with long spells of rain. Max 24C, min 7C
The Times weather page is provided by
Glasgow Edinburgh
Carlisle Newcastle
21 16
Manchester Liverpool Hull
Shrewsbury Nottingham
Plymouth Exeter Southampton
f Ireland N Irela
Republic of Ireland, N Ireland: Mainly cloudy with showers in the northwest but drier and sunnier further southeast. Light westerly winds. Maximum 20C (68F), minimum 9C (48F). SW Eng, Cen S Eng, Wales, W Mids, NW Eng, Lake District, NE Eng, Channel Is, Cen N Eng, E Eng: Light showers and some thicker cloud around in the morning, turning dry, sunny and warmer during the afternoon. Light west or northwesterly
02:35 4.1 15:09 3.9 08:38 11.9 20:57 12.3 --:-- -- 12:43 3.1 08:26 11.2 20:43 11.6 07:12 4.9 19:24 5.2 --:-- -- 12:37 6.3 --:-- -- 12:31 3.6 06:44 4.7 18:55 5.0 01:43 3.4 13:56 3.0 01:08 3.7 13:19 3.8 11:54 5.1 --:-- -- 07:33 7.1 20:08 6.8 03:55 5.2 16:22 5.2 --:-- -- 12:41 8.7 03:17 6.7 15:34 6.7 10:47 2.5 23:32 2.3 07:40 6.4 19:56 6.7 --:-- -- 12:51 8.6 --:-- -- 12:41 6.3 06:30 6.3 18:46 6.6 07:19 3.6 19:37 3.9 06:05 5.0 18:21 5.3 --:-- -- 13:11 4.5 --:-- -- 12:47 5.8 02:33 3.9 12:14 4.3 07:44 8.6 20:00 8.9 04:55 5.2 17:30 5.1 08:20 1.8 20:35 2.0
Synoptic situation A weak cold front sweeping southeast across Britain will bring cooler and wetter conditions in the north and west. Hot and dry conditions continue in the south ahead of the cold front. Lower pressure over Scotland and an occluded front will bring scattered showers across northern Britain, some of these will be thundery in Scotland.
ney ney
Orkney Shetland
Sheffield
winds. Maximum 25C (77F), minimum 7C (45F). Aberdeen, Cen Highland, Moray Firth, Argyll, NW Scotland, NE Scotland, N Isles: Scattered thundery showers. Feeling warm in any sunshine. Light to moderate westerly winds. Maximum 18C (64F), minimum 5C (41F). Glasgow, Edinburgh and Dundee, SW Scotland, Borders, IoM: Sunny spells and isolated showers. Light to moderate westerly winds. Maximum 19C (66F), minimum 5C (41F).
Hours of darkness Aberdeen Belfast Birmingham Cardiff Exeter Glasgow Liverpool London Manchester Newcastle Norwich Penzance Sheffield
21:56-04:34 21:58-05:03 21:33-04:56 21:34-05:05 21:32-05:09 21:58-04:50 21:41-04:56 21:22-04:53 21:38-04:53 21:43-04:44 21:21-04:42 21:38-05:19 21:35-04:50
Warmest: Writtle,
Essex, 34.8C
Coldest: Aonach Mor, 5.5C
Wettest: Glasgow,
Strathclyde, 21.0mm
Sunniest: Manston, 13.5hrs*
Sun and moon For Greenwich Sun rises: Sun sets: Moon rises: Moon sets:
05.21 20.51 21.23 07.13 Fri
Third quarter: August 6
Paul Simons
his summer’s heat and drought are stuck in a rut. Wisley in Surrey has had 42 consecutive days without rain, and Exeter airport exceeded its heatwave threshold 21 days in a row. Much of the country is desperate for rain and cooler conditions, but Wednesday was a scorching hot day in the south and east as hot air was dragged up from the blistering heat in France and Spain.
The talk is of this being the fourth heatwave so far this year, although the Met Office says strictly speaking the conditions haven’t quite met its definition of a heatwave: at least three successive days above a threshold temperature, depending on the region of the UK. This is just an academic point, however, and it has felt hot over the south pretty much for the whole of July so far. The statistics for the dry weather have been shocking: rainfall figures flatlining all month across central and southeastern England, quite possibly setting a new record for July.
Yet there is a split across the UK. While the south and east have been scorching hot and in drought, for many in the north, especially Scotland and Northern Ireland, it has felt like another world — cooler, wetter and cloudier as belts of rain have seeped in from the Atlantic, soaking northwestern parts in particular.
Some relief is on the way on Thursday with cooler, fresher air arriving in the southern half of the country, although still not much sign of rain. By the weekend it is a return to hot and dry in the southeast. Next week is more uncertain as low pressure tries to make an incursion into the UK but any rain will be short-lived before the same old story of dry and settled weather returns. And so it is beginning to feel like being stuck in Groundhog Day. There is also a nagging feeling that this could be one of the very rare occasions that St Swithin’s Day folklore may come true in some parts, and dry weather on the saint’s day of July 15 may in fact herald 40 days of the same.
of our forecasters on 09065 777675
8am to 5pm daily (calls are charged at £1.55 plus network extras)
weatherquest.co.uk
T
Former rough sleeper’s silver for new nation
Commonwealth Games Rick Broadbent
A former rough sleeper who was forced to stay away from her homeland because of her sexuality last night won one of the more remarkable silver med- als in Commonwealth Games history.
Weightlifter Madias Ngake’s story is a harrowing one. When it became known that she was a lesbian during the London Olympics her life turned on its axis. Homosexuality is illegal in her native Cameroon and, suddenly, she needed to escape to seek refuge. “It’s amazing,” the 34-year-old said, her hair dyed red and flecked with glitter in honour of England, her adopted coun- try. “I had to leave because someone on the team knew about my situation — that I am a lesbian.”
In 2012 she slipped out of the Athletes’ Village in London. She slept at a bus stop before she ap- plied for asylum. Her sporting past faded quickly against such a bleak backdrop, and the Olympic sheen of her sixth place was replaced by a new reality of work- ing as a cleaner in Leeds and Nottingham. Dur- ing that time the three women who had fin- ished ahead of her in London were banned for doping, so she became Cameroon’s Olympic bronze medalist-in-exile and the gong was sent to her homeland. She has never seen it. “The medal is in Camer- oon and I want to have it,” she said. “I don’t think it will be possible. I could go back but I don’t want to do politics.”
Slowly, she rekindled her love of her sport and she switched allegiance, win- ning World Championship silver for Britain in 2024 and European bronze this year. This was her Team England debut. It was some effort.
It is a story that throws new light on the importance of the Commonwealth Games. Belittle them as low-grade fare
Ngake, above, won silver for England after feeling forced to quit Cameroon
Golf Cathy Harris
Lydia Ko has admitted she was crying and struggling to breathe as she watched her fellow New Zealander Ryan Fox plot his way down the 18th at Royal Birkdale on his way to winning the Open less than a fortnight ago.
“Being only the second New Zealan- der on the men’s side to win the Open after Sir Bob Charles [in 1963] is so special,” the 29-year-old said. “I heard Sir Bob won at Royal Lytham, which I think is the toughest Women’s Open venue. It would be so cool if I could
if you want, but the back stories are often long and hard. It meant last night’s competition in the noisy SEC Armadillo signified something beyond being the best in the Commonwealth.
In the snatch, the first of the two dis- ciplines in the 86kg competition, she came in at 108kg and achieved it with little problem. She then moved to 111kg, which would have been a new Games record. She was halfway to it before let- ting the bar crash to the mat behind her. On her last attempt, she took a series of deep breaths and let the clock run down to four seconds before straining every sinew. She made it.
Australia’s defending champion, Eil- een Floanna Maria Cikamatana, was her nearest challenger with 108kg, but her speciality is the second part of the event, the clean and jerk. Ngake made
128kg but could not add more. The Australian came back for a Games record 140kg and overall score of 248kg, nine clear of Ngake.
So 16 years after fin- ishing fourth at the Commonwealth Games and 14 since she made the seismic decision never to go home, Ngake held her silver medal tightly.
It was a joy to see her beaming afterwards. A shy, modest character, she said that England’s flamboyant figurehead, Emily Campbell, had done her hair and would have a celebration planned. “I was looking for a gold medal,” she said but she will surely realise she has pulled off something special as time goes on. “I really enjoyed myself. It wasn’t my best performance but I’m OK with that.”
Campbell, meanwhile, has her big day today in the 87+ category. The Commonwealth Games champion is an engaging personality and issued a come-and-get-me plea to Strictly Come Dancing after winning bronze at the 2024 Olympics in Tokyo. Those who were there will be hoping she triumphs as the aftermath is sure to be fun, judging by the spirited but technically flawed cartwheel she did in Japan.
channel my inner Foxy and his fearless- ness over the next few days and win. That would be very meaningful and empowering for golf in New Zealand.”
Ko is no stranger to capturing major titles, with three to her name, and has set her sights on making it a Kiwi double by winning the AIG Women’s Open, which starts at Royal Lytham and St Annes today.
grandson disqualified for headbutt
he grandson of Idi Amin launched a scattergun rant about officials, the media and England’s Damar Thomas after being disqualified in the third round of their super- heavyweight boxing bout at the Scottish Exhibition Centre.
Olympics together, and she recalled happy memories from their junior golf days, when she always hit it straight but he would be miles off line. “He could shoot the easiest 65 from the trees,” she said, laughing.
It did not surprise Ko when Fox emphasised her glittering career in the context of New Zealand triumphs after his major win. She describes him as a great guy and extremely humble.
Aziz “Ringo” Abdul, who had made news beforehand with remarks about being inspired by the brutal Ugandan dictator, was disqualified for a headbutt, but was not about to go quietly. He pointed a finger at the mixed zone, apparently because journalists had written bad things about his grandfather, and then said the officials were corrupt.
“There were a lot of fouls, holding, elbowing, a lot of bullshit,” he said. “The officials cannot
and take things for granted, but he’s never changed — he’s your typical Kiwi guy who happens to be a freak athlete.”
Ko, who won the 2024 Open, said she was flattered to have been drawn along- side the world No 1, Nelly Korda, and South Korea’s Haeran Ryu for the first two rounds. Both players have claimed back-to-back majors this season.
“It’s super impressive,” Ko said. “They have a very easy demeanour on the course and while we all have frustrating days both of them never get too high or too low. That’s key to their success.”
STUART WALLACE/SHUTTERSTOCK; JANE BARLOW/PA
Aziz Abdul was disqualified and forced to leave the ring, below, after appearing to headbutt England’s Thomas in their bout, left
judge them. When other countries do this they are disqualified. All I can say about this is the referee’s decision is not right and I am not happy. Next time, I will get him [Thomas]. Any time in the future. Two years, five years, ten years. I will show him that Aziz Ringo is a real warrior. It’s so painful.
“When you watch the previous fights of England, their boxers create a lot of fights and play a lot of bullshit. I took a light punch and they counted. I landed a heavy punch on him and they deducted my points and warned me. I’m a black African, I know. It’s God’s plan. I don’t know why the officials are scared about this fight. Why can’t they let this fight continue?
“How can I headbutt someone? He is the real person they wanted to win. He was the winner before. I knew if I could not get a knockout then I would not win the fight because he’s at home.”
It was an ugly, bizarre aftermath but Thomas gave the counterpoint. “I got the job done,” the 21-year-old from Kilburn said. “I didn’t want it to end like that but the main
thing is on Friday. He’s running at me with his head.”
In the more peaceful environs of Scotstoun Stadium, Elise Thorner ran the race of her life to win silver in the 3,000m steeplechase. The English athlete clocked a personal best of 9min 5.45sec, and it took a Games record of 9:01.76 to beat her.
A sign of Thorner’s class was shown by the fact she pipped the Olympic silver medallist, Uganda’s Peruth Chemutai, to claim second place.
champion, returns to the scene of her success after giving birth to her son, Conor, in February.
“I’m improving every month and playing pretty decent,” Hall said. “I think it’s more about having a card in your hand and getting used to pressure situations again. This event is one of the reasons I play golf and is the highlight of my year.”
Samantha Martin victories last year. The trainer George Boughey has remained unwavering in his support for his horse, and the young man on board. They walked the track before the race, no doubt talking tactics and planning how to get the better of 11 talented rivals.
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Cheers rang out across Goodwood as racegoers crammed together behind the rails to catch a glimpse of Billy Loughnane and Bow Echo after their victory in a nail-biting, last-gasp finish to the group one Visit Qatar Sussex Stakes.
Loughnane paraded the horse in front of the packed stands, punching the air, cheering and encouraging the crowd to make as much noise as poss- ible. The 20-year-old was proud, and rightly so. His three-year-old partner was unflustered, ears pricked and eyes sparkling.
Loughnane and Bow Echo had already won the 2,000 Guineas at New- market and St James’s Palace Stakes at Royal Ascot this season, adding to three
Goodwood Rob Wright
1.50 Coral Kincsem Heritage Handicap ITV (3-Y-O: £61,848: 1m 2f) (14 runners)
2.25 Markel Richmond Stakes ITV (Group 2: 2-Y-O: £113,420: 6f) (10)
3.00 Maison Perrier Gordon Stakes ITV (Group 3: 3-Y-O: £113,420: 1m 4f) (7)
Wolverhampton Rob Wright
4.35 Handicap (3-Y-O: £3,768: 5f) (8)
5.10 Handicap (£3,768: 1m 1f) (13)
All the right horses were in the Sussex Stakes. Aidan O’Brien sent a trio, spearheaded by Bow Echo’s old foe Gstaad, who finished runner-up in both the 2,000 Guineas and at Royal Ascot. Ten Bob Tony, who won the Queen Anne Stakes last month, and Godolphin’s feisty Opera Ballo were the leading older challengers.
Given that Bow Echo was the 10-11 favourite, extending his unbeaten run to six races was expected. However, during the race, success was never com- pletely guaranteed. It was the O’Brien
3.35 Qatar Nassau Stakes (Fillies' and ITV Mares') (Group 1: £340,260: 1m 2f) (5)
4.10 Buccellati Handicap (3-Y-O: £25,770: 5f) (18) ITV
4.45 Whispering Angel Nursery (2-Y-O: £30,924: 7f) (18)
5.47 Stakes (£5,400: 1m 1f 104yd) (8)
6.22 Stakes (2-Y-O: £4,320: 6f) (12)
6.57 Stakes (£3,564: 6f) (11)
Loughnane had also led Bow Echo to victory at Newmarket and Royal Ascot
The last horse to win the 2,000 Guin- eas, St James’s Palace Stakes and Sussex Stakes in a season was Frankel. Bow Echo has a long way to go to equal rac- ing’s greatest thoroughbred but, in the meantime, the sport has two young stars in the shape of Bow Echo and Loughnane.
7.32 Handicap (3-Y-O: £3,768: 1m 4f) (12)
8.07 Handicap (Div I: £3,768: 7f) (12)
team who looked to have complete control.
Bow Echo followed Gstaad, whose stablemate Puerto Rico trapped Loughnane into a pocket as the other O’Brien runner, Dorset, set a strong pace. Puerto Rico and Christophe Soumillon made Bow Echo’s life more difficult at Ascot last month, but, once again, Bow Echo and Loughnane were good enough to get themselves out of trouble.
A furlong from the line, time was running out. Opera Ballo was a few lengths ahead; Gstaad was hot on his tail. Bow Echo would have to pass them both to win. Loughnane began to urge, and the horse responded, first passing a tiring Opera Ballo and then a flat-out Gstaad.
On the line, Bow Echo was half a
5.20 Tatler British EBF Maiden Fillies' Stakes (2-Y-O: £30,924: 7f) (15)
5.55 HKJC World Pool Handicap (3-Y-O: £25,770: 1m) (20)
Epsom Rob Wright
5.30 Handicap (£4,449: 1m 2f) (6)
6.05 Stakes (2-Y-O: £7,020: 7f) (9)
body-length ahead and Loughnane punched the air.
Boughey was full of praise for both. “Fundamentally, I am a racing fan,” he said. “I love training horses. To be able to show the public the horse we have recently, it has given me a huge amount of satisfaction. He is a star. He has got an amazing mind. He looks the com- plete racehorse at the moment. We’ve got the right man riding him. He’s a real showboy, isn’t he? He loves it. He is an outstanding rider.”
can return to best in Nassau
Rob Wright Racing Editor
Friendly Soul is fancied to end the unbeaten record of odds-on favourite Diamond Necklace in the Qatar Nas- sau Stakes (3.35) at Goodwood today.
She was most progressive two years ago, ending her campaign with a first group one success at Longchamp but missed last season through injury and had an unfortunate experience on her first start this year when pulled up after putting a foot in a hole caused by a drainage issue at Haydock Park.
Friendly Soul showed that she retains her ability when third to Blue Bolt at Royal Ascot last time, despite events conspiring against her. She was unable to take up her usual prominent early position after being hampered and shuffled back to last after two fur- longs and then found her path blocked in the home straight before finishing strongly, having plenty left at the line.
Back at her best trip, Friendly Soul can upset Diamond Necklace, who was made to pull out all the stops when hanging on in the French Oaks last time.
The Markel Richmond Stakes (2.25) looks booked for Flann Sunna. He has impressed on both starts, particularly when sprinting clear of his rivals at Ascot last time. He should take this step up in class in his stride.
6.40 Handicap (£4,449: 1m 4f) (5)
7.15 Handicap (3-Y-O: £8,375: 1m 113yd) (4)
7.50 Handicap (3-Y-O: £3,664: 7f) (7)
8.25 Handicap (£4,449: 6f) (7)
A
and Barbados bid Sobers farewell
his place in Long Room to watch the streaming of state funeral of a true great in Barbados
mong thousands of cricketing fragments captured by Patrick Eagar is Garfield Sobers on the Lord’s balcony, toasting victory with champagne above adoring supporters. It was August 1973 and the greatest all-rounder’s final Test appearance at the home of cricket.
Fifty-three years on, some degrees removed from that balcony, Lord’s bade farewell to The Right Excellent Sir Garfield St Aubrun Sobers in the Long Room, while Barbados said goodbye to “our man Garry”. Sarah Raphael’s MCC portrait of Sobers was sitting in front of the double doors as four screens broadcast his state funeral at Kensington Oval in Bridgetown. From cricket’s finest island to cricket’s finest room.
Sobers died on July 17, 11 days shy of his 90th birthday. The present West Indies XI wrapped up their win over Pakistan in Trinidad a day early — on said birthday, no less — enabling the Barbadians among them to attend the funeral. (The margin of victory? Ninety runs.)
The service in the Barbadian capital was an emotive mix of public and private. There were symbolic sons such as Brian Lara and real ones like Daniel Sobers, brandishing the 90th birthday card he never handed over to Dad. Lara and Sir Clive Lloyd were there to give tributes, with other cricketing wonders and Rihanna among the crowd. The Reverend Guy Hewitt conveyed a message from King Charles. They recalled not only an astonishing set of numbers — 8,032 Test runs at 57.78 and 235 wickets at 34.03 — but a man and a manner.
Nottingham Rob Wright
2.00 Stakes (2-Y-O: £5,940: 5f) (2)
Yesterday’s racing results
Goodwood
Going: Good to Firm (good in places) 1.50 (1m 3f 218yd) 1, Infraad (Tom Marquand, 2-1; Rob Wright’s nap); 2, Hatteen (9-4); 3, Cannes (9-2). 8 ran. NR: Blue Hercules. hd, 4 l. W J Haggas. 2.25 (5f) 1, Wild Blossom (James Doyle, 5-4 fav); 2, Fast Track (10-3); 3, Divine Whisper (11-1). 9 ran. 1 l, l. K R Burke. 3.00 (7f) 1, Flora Of Bermuda (James Doyle, 5-2); 2, Sayidah Dariyan (7-2); 3, Radiant Beauty (11-2). 13 ran. NR: Queen’s Reign. nk, 1 l. A M Balding. 3.35 (5f) 1, Pershaada (S M Levey, 11-4 fav); 2, Adonius (5-1); 3, Hell Of A Spin (66-1). 11 ran. 2l, nk. R Hannon.
Sobers toasts the crowds at Lord’s in 1973. Left, Rihanna, the singer, was among mourners in Barbados
At Lord’s, Mark Nicholas, the MCC chairman, and Mike Gatting were alongside dignitaries from the Bajan diaspora. Nicholas recalled the first time he had come to the home of cricket; the very Test that was Sobers’s last in this country. This ground enclosed some of Sobers’s finest works, as well as one of only two instances he was hit by a bouncer (the work of Richard Jefferson, of Cambridge University).
Sobers’s first act at Lord’s, on May 20, 1957, was 101 not out against MCC. The Times rejoiced in a “feast of old- fashioned batting” and CLR James, the Trinidadian intellectual, marvelled too. “Here obviously was that rare phenomenon, in cricket or any other form of artistic endeavour, someone new, who was himself and like no one else,” James wrote. “There are vignettes in 1957 that are a permanent part of my cricket library. There was an innings against MCC at Lord’s in which Sobers came as near as it was possible for him to look like [Learie] Constantine in that with monotonous regularity the ball flew from his bat to all parts of the field.”
2.35 Handicap (£4,187: 1m) (5)
3.10 Handicap (3-Y-O: £5,757: 1m 2f) (5)
4.10 (1m) 1, Bow Echo (Billy Loughnane, 10- 11 fav); 2, Gstaad (4-1); 3, Opera Ballo (9-2). 12 ran. l, 17 l. G Boughey. 5.00 (6f) 1, French Affair (Billy Loughnane, 14-1); 2, Under The Twilight (13-2); 3, Wreck It Ryley (28-1). 26 ran. NR: Lipsink, Sargent Dennis. nk, hd. J Candlish. 5.40 (7f) 1, Crimson Spirit (R L Moore, 11-2 fav); 2, The Liffey (22-1); 3, The Fingal Raven (16-1). 20 ran. l, l. D & C Kubler. Placepot: £14.10 Quadpot: £10.80 Jackpot: £7,828.40 Redcar
There were further centuries here — for MCC against Surrey in 1961, and his first for Nottinghamshire in 1968 — either side of a marriage of temperament and technique that Sobers rated his best Test innings.
In her Tribute of the Nation, Mia Amor Mottley, the prime minister of Barbados, placed Sobers at the soul of a young, small, independent country with rhetorical flair. The island gained independence in 1966, which happened to be Sobers’s golden summer. His unbeaten 163 as captain, compiled from 299 balls, secured a draw for West Indies at Lord’s. And yet Sobers allowed David Holford, his companion in a famous 274-run partnership, to walk off the field first.
“I think of Sobers walking down the pavilion steps at Lord’s, captain of an international cricket team,” James wrote. “Sixty years ago it would have been Pelham Warner, another West Indian, and 30 years before that it would have been Lord Harris, yet another cricketer of Caribbean connotation. Whoever and whatever we are, we are cricketers. Garfield Sobers I see not as a fortuitous combination of atoms which by chance have coalesced into a superb public performer. He being what he is
3.45 Stakes (£4,320: 1m) (5)
4.20 Handicap (£3,402: 1m 6f) (4)
Farmer, 11-4 fav); 2, Kats Bob (3-1); 3, Artagnan (15-2). 7 ran. 1 l, 17 l. S Spencer. 2.40 (7f) 1, Areti (Jack Callan, 5-6 fav); 2, Vanilla Skies (100-30); 3, Royale Union (11-4). 7 ran. 17 l, 2 l. Oliver Cole. 3.15 (1m 2f 1yd) 1, Lucky Hero (C J Whiteley, 7-2); 2, Optician (7-2); 3, Kitsune Power (13- 2). 8 ran. NR: Kisiyra. 5l, l. D O’Meara. 3.50 (7f 219yd) 1, Kiss Me My Love (W Fentiman, 6-1); 2, Sandy Craic (4-1); 3, Wild Dahlia (11-2). 7 ran. l, hd. R Fell. 4.20 (5f 217yd) 1, Night Emperor (W Fentiman, 4-1 fav); 2, South Shore Island (11-1); 3, Stormy Pearl (11-2). 9 ran. nk, l. Miss T Jackson. 4.50 (7f 219yd) 1, Pisanello (C J Whiteley, 4- 1); 2, Tees George (100-30 fav); 3, Penny Ghent (6-1). 7 ran. 27 l, nk. D O’Meara.
Leicester
Going: Good to Firm (firm in places) 5.55 (6f) 1, Coat Of Red (David Probert, 5-6); 2, Fairy Well (11-8); 3, Sioux Moon (18-1). 4 ran. NR: Pure Majesty. 2 l, 2l. S & E Crisford. 6.27 (5f) 1, Pj’s Corner (S Donohoe, 10-1); 2, My Maria (5-1); 3, Amber Ocean (5-2). 6 ran. nk, l. Dylan Cunha. 7.02 (7f) 1, Siwa Oasis (David Probert, 9-4); 2, Yordan (10-1); 3, Moving Shadow (8-15 fav). 4 ran. l, hd. C Hills. 7.37 (6f) 1, Calafrio (Benoit D L Sayette, 2-1); 2, Von Krolock (11-2); 3, Melissa Honey (8- 11). 4 ran. NR: Rye, Tomarlo. 2l, 2 l. George Baker.
PATRICK EAGAR/POPPERFOTO
[and I being what I am], for me his command of the rising ball in the drive, his close fielding and his hurling himself into his fast bowling are a living embodiment of centuries of a tortured history.”
As captain of the Rest of the World, he destroyed England at Lord’s in 1970 with first-innings figures of 20- 11-21-6 and a powerful 183, and still he wasn’t done. Sobers loved to speak of the day, night and day in August 1973 when he made an unbeaten 150 against England, his farewell century acting as bookends for a sleepless night of liquor in the capital.
In a book with Tony Cozier, Sobers evoked the tradition of Lord’s and the room in which we gathered to watch his final ovation. “I think you only have to walk down the staircase from the dressing room, through the Long Room and on to the hallowed turf before a big crowd to know that you’re going to make runs,” he said.
For Sobers, runscoring was one of life’s certainties. Now another has occurred. While cricket’s greatest ground remembered cricket’s greatest all-rounder from afar, his home of Barbados committed Sir G to the right hand of King Willow. Given his versatility, probably the left hand too.
4.55 Handicap (3-Y-O: £3,402: 6f) (8)
8.10 (1m 3f 179yd) 1, Captain Cairney (Ryan Kavanagh, 5-2); 2, Clocker (1-1 fav); 3, Al’s River (9-2). 4 ran. nk, 15l. W Muir & C Grassick. 8.40 (1m 53yd) 1, Cancelled (K Stott, 100-30); 2, Spiritoftheblues (11-8 fav); 3, Silken Bay (7- 1). 5 ran. l, 2 l. J & A O’Neill. Placepot: £686.00 Quadpot: £49.50 Sandown Park
miss start of Test series
continued from back
on August 19. Should that be the case an interim, most likely to be the assistant coach Marcus Trescothick, would take the reins, with Joe Root as interim captain for that three-match series.
Fleming would be able to start rea- sonably quickly given that he does not have a job, having recently left his role with CSK. Although he does not have international coaching experience he led CSK to five IPL and two Champions League titles. He has also served as the head coach of the Super Kings franchis- es in the SA20 and the USA’s Major League Cricket, in addition to coaching the Melbourne Stars in Australia’s Big Bash League.
Fleming would need to work closely with McCullum and the two know each other well from their time with New
Fleming had big success in IPL as CSK’s head coach
Zealand; they also formed a business to- gether called CricHQ, which provides digital services to a number of inter- national cricket governing bodies, in 2010.
One of Fleming’s first decisions in conjunction with Marcus North, En- gland’s head selector, and Key will be to appoint a permanent Test captain to re- place Ben Stokes, who announced his shock retirement last month.
There are really only two viable con- tenders in Harry Brook and Root but McCullum has a close relationship with Brook and will inevitably fight to keep him as white-ball captain. It is unlikely that England would want to burden the 27-year-old with the responsibilities of leading across all three formats, espe- cially as next year he has two high-- profile assignments in the Ashes and the 50-over World Cup.
England are not likely to name their squad for the first Test until at least next week. Most England players are on duty with their respective franchises in the Hundred. If their teams make it through to the final of the tournament, they would not be able to join up with the squad until two days before the first Test.
The Hundred final takes place at Lord’s on Sunday August 16.
5.25 Handicap (£3,974: 1m 2f) (7)
6.15 (5f 10yd) 1, Wheels Of Fire (Joe Leavy, 5-1); 2, Hypnotised (6-1); 3, Atticum (7-2). 6 ran. NR: Novelette. 27 l, nk. R Hannon. 6.50 (7f) 1, Quest For Stars (Connor Planas, 9-4); 2, Grove Street (16-1); 3, Lancaster Tower (5-6). 6 ran. l, 1 l. C Appleby. 7.25 (1m) 1, Home Hero (R Havlin, 5-2); 2, Galba (11-8); 3, Ingemar (12-1). 6 ran. NR: Next Guilian, Sogniamo. nk, 5l. H Palmer. 8.00 (1m 1f 209yd) 1, Spirit Of Athene (Ashley Lewis, 5-2 fav); 2, Ammoony (4-1); 3, Lady Milton (11-2). 10 ran. nk, 3l. E Walker. 8.30 (1m 6f) 1, Boilermaker (Lewis Edmunds, 3-1); 2, Kakirra (1-1 fav); 3, Last Verse (13-2). 4 ran. l, 17 l. Harry Charlton. Placepot: £192.70 Quadpot: £10.90
ground is a telling image for Test game I
N
o. No. No. And, once again, no. Scarcely a month goes by without a sporting administrator floating the possibility of a hare-brained scheme. Each time a little extra oxygen is required to bring attention to it. So let me be of help this month: step forward Todd Greenberg, the chief executive of Cricket Australia.
To the BBC’s cricket podcast recently, Greenberg said that he was “open” to the possibility that England and Australia could play a Test match on neutral territory. Where might that be, one wonders? The Caribbean? Pakistan? Somewhere in need of a little boost? No, of course not. All roads for administrators in cricket at present lead to India and to the Indian rupee.
In answer to the question of whether we could see a one-off Test between England and Australia in India in the future, Greenberg said: “We’d have to be open to consider all options. Our relationship with the ECB [England and Wales cricket board] and also the BCCI [Board of control for cricket in India] is very strong. Clearly, there are opportunities in India to put more content into certain areas. That’s not something we’re currently planning, but it would be certainly open for consideration.”
It’s important to stress that Greenberg was answering a question on the hoof; he was talking about a one-off Test, rather than the Ashes, and, as he emphasised, it is not being planned at present. Nevertheless, that he did not dismiss it out of hand and twice said that it would be open for consideration is worrying. The trouble is that administrators inspire no confidence because they have a history of daft ideas.
n a week when Garry Sobers, possibly the greatest cricketer of all and a man whose performances mattered to the people in the region, was laid to rest, came an image that showed just how Test cricket has drifted from relevance in the Caribbean.
At the start of the Test series against Pakistan at the Brian Lara stadium in Trinidad, both sets of players lined up and the
Melbourne next year will be a pink-ball, day- night Test. A Test whose only rationale is to celebrate the history of the contest, and the players who have performed in it, is to be played in a format distinct from virtually every other England versus Australia Test match there has ever been. There have been 366 Tests between the countries; four of them have been played under lights.
Mind you, the most recent Ashes (daytime) Test in Melbourne lasted only 142 overs, after which the executive manager of turf (groundsman, to me and you) Matt Page was left exposed to the media by his bosses. At least Greenberg suggested that the pitch will be less well-grassed this time, though a combination of that, plus a red ball, would be ideal. The Centenary Test in 1977 was a traditional red- ball game, and a tremendous success, why not this one?
Note that when Greenberg defended the idea of the pink-ball, day-night Test, he did so by invoking the local audience. It is term time in Melbourne in March rather than summer holidays. More people, therefore, will be able to attend and watch at night, he said. The local audience was not, however, at the forefront of anyone’s mind when Cricket Australia announced recently that the opening game of the next Big Bash will be played in Chennai.
Yes — to repeat — as of now the opening game of this year’s Big Bash will be played in India. It’s bonkers and totally disrespectful to the local audience. Cricket has a reputation of being conservative, though few sports have changed as much and supporters are, on the whole, remarkably receptive to it. But it’s equally important not to be a neophile: not every
photograph, taken from a high vantage point by Randy Brooks of Getty Images, will also go down as a classic. There was not one spectator to be seen. If Wisden do a photographic retrospective of the decades of the 21st century, such as they did for the 20th, Brooks’s photograph is sure to represent the 2020s and the changed game.
And then from the changing rooms of the
to soulless sport O
ne of the reasons why the England and Australia rivalry remains so precious, and why we should raise the alarm at any sign of tinkering, is that the game is increasingly swamped with franchise cricket that lacks meaning and connection. The same players come and go, swapping shirts and continents, pocketing huge sums along the way, playing matches without a great deal of consequence, except in the context of their own earning potential.
The perfect antidote to soulless sport came on Sunday, when Mayo beat Kerry in a glorious All-Ireland final at Croke Park in Dublin, thus banishing the “curse” that had haunted them for 75 years. I beg you to listen to the commentary from Martin Carney and Stephen Grealis on Midwest Radio for the last two minutes of that game. Partisan and hoarse, their co-commentary did not exactly conform to Richie Benaud’s golden rules, but reflected exactly what it meant to those watching.
“The famine is over! The famine is over! The curse be damned! Hit the nuclear button! Mayo have the won the All-Ireland!” Their commentary prompted me to read up a little on a sport and a story I knew nothing about, and to find highlights of the end of that game. The scenes were remarkable. Sport at its uplifting best.
SunRisers Leeds on Saturday came the sight of a bunch of randomly put-together cricketers trying to artificially find common cause by learning the words to their new victory song, standing awkwardly in little groups, reading the words from a song sheet. The video has since been removed from the SunRisers’ social media channels. Not all content is good content.
change has merit. Playing a domestic competition at home should be sacrosanct.
As should be the contest between England and Australia. Other than a celebratory one-off match, such as in Melbourne next March, or possibly a World Test Championship — if England ever get their act together in that competition — England versus Australia is for the Ashes. It is to be played over five Tests every two years, and every four years on each other’s soil.
Everybody else is welcome to watch but it is a rivalry that needs no further commercialising. Instead of worrying about how to make more money from more “content”, maybe administrators should look at the cost base of the game, which is out of kilter. When the ECB announced recently that it will not make money in an Ashes year in 2027 (because India are not touring) the answer is not to have India tour more frequently, but to cut the cost base of the game, which, if you can’t turn a profit in an Ashes year, is clearly too high.
The rivalry between England and Australia works — although England’s competitiveness in Australia could do with some fine-tuning. A biennial series is just the right length of time for anticipation to build, for teams to regenerate, for supporters to get over the disappointment of the last time and to kid themselves that this time it will be different. Tickets are snapped up the moment they go on sale and the reaction to England’s shambolic tour in winter showed how much it still means.
RANDY BROOKS/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES
Football
£100m Barcola deal
Ian Whittell, Paul Joyce
Liverpool are making contact with Paris Saint-Germain as they look to strike a compromise and agree a £100 million deal for the forward Brad- ley Barcola.
The Champions League winners have publicly placed a valuation of about £145 million on the 23-year-old, a figure the Premier League club have no intention of paying, despite their long- standing admiration of him.
But indications are that Barcola, who is seen as a replacement for Mohamed Salah, would be open to a move to An- field, and Liverpool hope to strike a deal for a base figure of about £100 million, with the potential for add-ons.
That was the kind of deal Liverpool constructed last summer for Florian Wirtz, who moved from Bayer Leverk- usen for approximately £100 million, with £16 million in bonuses to come.
Alexander Isak cost a club-record £125 million last summer, joining from Newcastle United, so Barcola is un- likely to break that mark.
Window Watch Peter Rutzler, Paul Joyce, Gary Jacob
Real Madrid are confident of signing Rodri for up to £40 million from Man- chester City.
The Spanish club’s president, Floren- tino Pérez, has approved the proposed deal, which will be discussed at an inter- nal meeting today. Real have been monitoring Rodri for a while, but wanted to assess his physical condition and form after injuries, doing so during the World Cup, where the midfielder captained Spain to victory. He has a year left on his contract at City.
Rodri, 30, will be sidelined for a “short period of rehabilitation” after back sur-
Results
Commonwealth Games
Glasgow medal events only Athletics: Men: Long jump 1, T Gayle (Jam) 8.15m; 2, Sreeshankar (India) 8.09; 3, S Mackenzie (Scot) 8.08. Women: 3,000m steeplechase 1, F Cherotich (Ken) 9min 1.76sec (Games record); 2, E Thorner (Eng) 9:05.45; 3, P Chemutai (Uga) 9:09.96. Shot 1, S Mitton (Can) 19.88m ; 2, J Oji (Nigeria) 17.87; 3, L Cameron (Jam) 17.87. Heptathlon 1, K O’Connor (N Ire) 6,569pts; 2, J O’Dowda (Eng) 6,278; 3, T West (Aus) 6104. 3 x 3 basketball: Men: Gold medal game England 19 Australia 17. Bronze medal Scotland 18 New Zealand 16. Women: Gold medal Australia 21 Uganda 11. Bronze medal New Zealand 18 x Jamaica 13. Swimming: Men: Freestyle: 200m 1, K Taylor (Aus) 1min 45.22sec; 2, J Guy (Eng) 1:45.72; 3, M Richards (Wales) 1:45.72. 1,500m 1, S Short (Aus) 14:42.11; 2, D Wiffen (N Ire) 14:44.70; 3, B Goedemans (Aus) 14:49.50. Backstroke: 100m 1, P Coetze (SA) 51.77sec (Games record); 2, O Morgan (Eng) 52.66; 3, R van Renen (SA) 53.31. Butterfly: 50m equal 1, K Chalmers (Aus) and B Armbruster (Aus) 22.73 (Games record); 3, C McEvoy (Aus) 22.92. Medley relay: 4 x 100m: 1, Australia 3:28.71 (Games record); 2, England (O Morgan, A Ramsay-Peaty, E Mildred, J Mills) 3:30.68; 3, South Africa 3:31.13. Women: Freestyle: 50m 1, M Harris (Aus) 24.23; 2, A Perkins (Aus) 24.53; 3, S Jack (Aus) 24.57. Breaststroke: 200m 1, A Evans (Scot) 2:23.79; 2, K Corbett (SA) 2:24.46; 3, E McCartney (N Ire) 2:24.73. Butterfly: 200m 1, B Castelluzzo (Aus) 2:06.56; 2, K Macinnes (Scot) 2:06.76; 3, L Dekkers (Aus) 2:06.91. Medley relay: 4 x 100m 1, Australia 3:54.25 (Games record); 2, Scotland (K Shanahan, A Evans, K Macinnes, E Davis) 3:57.02; 3, South Africa 3:58.58. Weightlifting: Men: 94kg 1, M Nor-Ghazali (Malaysia) 347 (Games record); 2, A Bellemarre (Can) 346; 3, O Saxton (Aus) 336. Women: 86kg 1, E Cikamatana (Aus) 248 (Games record); 2, M Ngake (Eng) 239; 3, R Beaudoin (Can) 230. 77kg 1, S Stowers (Samoa) 237 (Games record); 2, I Brown (Eng) 229; 3, L Hughes (Wales) 224. Leading medals
Those were also the sort of figures discussed when Liverpool were in con- tention for the RB Leipzig winger Yan Diomande, with Liverpool prepared to offer a total package of about £85 mil- lion, although the 19-year-old is now on the verge of signing for Real Madrid for £112 million.
Liverpool were in discussions for Barcola last summer, for about £75 mil- lion, but chose not to press ahead with the deal then as they did not wish to block the progress of the young winger Rio Ngumoha. The departure of club legend Salah, however, has opened up a pathway for Barcola.
Barcola, for his part, has indicated that he will not sign a contract exten- sion at PSG and is known to be keen on joining Liverpool, under the new head coach, Andoni Iraola.
Liverpool have already spent nearly £100 million this summer, on the French defender Jeremy Jacquet and the Spain forward Víctor Muñoz, but it would require a big climbdown from PSG’s present position for Barcola to join that list.
gery. No timeline has been set for his return.
Enzo Maresca, the new Manchester City manager, had tried to play down the links. “[Spain] won the World Cup — he is one of the best players,” he had said. “Every manager wants to have Rodri, because he’s a top player.”
Jordan Henderson has left Brentford on a free transfer and is progressing in talks to join Chelsea. Henderson had one year remaining on his contract at Brentford, who agreed to a mutual ter- mination. Henderson, 36, had interest from elsewhere but it is understood Chelsea are now advancing in their talks.
Chelsea have also agreed an undis-
4, Scotland 9 7 7 23 5, Nigeria 7 5 2 14 6, South Africa 6 8 8 22 7, Malaysia 6 2 3 11 8, India 3 9 3 15 9, New Zealand 3 7 4 14 10, Jamaica 3 0 1 4 Cricket
The Hundred MI London v London Spirit Men Kia Oval (London Spirit won toss): London Spirit (4pts) beat MI London by seven wickets MI London (balls) W Jacks c Bairstow b Overton 65 (44) J Vince c Willey b Coles 26 (20) @N Pooran c Bairstow b Overton 3 (4) S Rutherford c Coles b Tye 41 (19) J Roy c Bairstow b Overton 13 (7) T Curran not out 9 (6) Extras (w 7) 7 Total (5 wkts, 100 balls) 164 O Pope, R Khan, T Boult, O Stone and R Gleeson did not bat. Fall of wickets 1-91, 2-97, 3-100, 4-118, 5-164. Bowling Willey 15-6-22-0; Milne 20-11-21-0; Zampa 15-3-27-0; Tye 10-2-29-1; Coles 10-3-17-1; Livingstone 10-2-18-0; Overton 20-10-30-3. London Spirit (balls) L Pretorius c Pooran b Boult 64 (28) @J Bairstow c Jacks b Stone 23 (12) L Livingstone c Rutherford b Gleeson 16 (18) J Rew not out 19 (13) D Brevis not out 37 (18) Extras (b 4, lb 1, w 1) 6 Total (3 wkts, 89 balls) 165 J Coles, J Overton, D Willey, A Tye, A Milne and A Zampa did not bat. Fall of wickets 1-63, 2-101, 3-116. Bowling Boult 19-7-35-1; Gleeson 15-7-23-1; Jacks 5-3-12-0; Curran 15-4-31-0; Stone 15-4-39-1; Khan 20-9-20-0. Women Kia Oval (London Spirit won toss): Match Tied, 2pts each MI London (balls) H K Matthews c Johnson b de Klerk 18 (11)
Barcola, who has played 152 times for PSG, was in France’s World Cup squad and scored three goals at the tournament
closed fee for Danny Welbeck, who will undergo a medical this week before completing a permanent move from Brighton & Hove Albion. Welbeck, 35, is expected to sign a two-year deal at Stamford Bridge.
Roberto De Zerbi says he wants Lu- cas Bergvall to stay at Tottenham Hot- spur but will not try to convince the midfielder by guaranteeing him a start- ing spot. Bergvall has been subject to rejected bids from Newcastle United and Nottingham Forest and although De Zerbi said the Sweden international had not told him that he wished to leave, he admitted that he knew he wanted more game time.
Asked about Bergvall’s situation, De
A N Davidson-Richards c Pavely b Kapp 10 (14) H J Armitage b Kapp 23 (21) A C Kerr not out 49 (32) N J Carey b Harris 11 (11) C A Henry not out 33 (12) Extras (w 6, nb 1) 7 Total (4 wkts, 100 balls) 151 †K M Chathli, A Z Monaghan, T G Norris, D L Gregory and K L Gordon did not bat. Fall of wickets 1-30, 2-35, 3-81, 4-96. Bowling Kapp 20-10-24-2; Johnson 10-5-12-0; de Klerk 20-2-48-1; Dean 20-7-21-0; Pavely 10-1-21-0; Dottin 15-6-21-0; Harris 5-2-4-1. London Spirit (balls) G M Harris c Armitage b Henry 0 (1) †A E Jones c Carey b Gordon 49 (36) M Kelly c Henry b Gordon 45 (28) M Kapp c Gregory b Matthews 25 (13) N de Klerk c Kerr b Matthews 13 (10) D J S Dottin not out 13 (12) C E Dean not out 1 (1) Extras (lb 2, w 2, nb 1) 5 Total (5 wkts, 100 ball ) 151 S L Kalis, C R Pavely, K L George and T Johnson did not bat. Fall of wickets 1-0, 2-68, 3-119, 4-124, 5-148. Bowling Henry 10-4-14-1; Norris 10-3-18-0; Gordon 20-7-29-2; Kerr 20-3-30-0; Matthews 20-4-33-2; Carey 20-6-25-0. Welsh Fire v Trent Rockets: Men
Sophia Gardens (Trent Rockets won toss): Trent Rockets (4pts) beat Welsh Fire by nine wickets Welsh Fire (balls) *@P Salt c Overton b Henry 5 (8) M Short c Overton b Gregory 36 (26) J Root b Henry 5 (8) R Ravindra c Harrison b Santner 16 (16) J Cox c Allen b Santner 33 (16) M Jansen c Billings b Santner 2 (3) A Tribe not out 13 (14) B Kellaway c Overton b Amir 1 (5) C Woakes not out 4 (4) Extras (lb 2, w 5) 7 Total (7 wkts, 100 balls) 122 L Ferguson and S Cook did not bat. Fall of wickets 1-11, 2-26, 3-62, 4-70, 5-72, 6-110, 7-112. Bowling Amir 20-9-21-1; Overton 20-10-16-0; Henry 15-7-16-2; Santner 20-7-35-3; Harrison 5-0-11-0; Gregory 20-4-21-1.
Trent Rockets (balls) B Duckett not out 52 (45) F Allen lbw b Ravindra 33 (19) T Banton not out 31 (15) Extras (b 1, lb 1, nb 7, w 1) 10 Total (1 wkt, 72 balls) 126 @S Billings, T David, M Santner, L Gregory, C Overton, C Harrison, M Henry and M Amir did not bat. Fall of wicket 1-75. Bowling Woakes 15-7-21-0; Jansen 17-6-25- 0; Ferguson 10-4-20-0; Cook 10-2-27-0; Ravindra 5-1-4-1; Kellaway 15-3-27-0. Women Sophia Gardens (Trent Rockets won toss): Trent Rockets (4pts) beat Welsh Fire by eight wickets Welsh Fire (balls) G Voll c Mooney b Phillips 18 (21) E McCaughan lbw b Gardner 6 (15) F Kemp not out 36 (29) S Devine b Phillips 38 (25) G Wareham not out 19 (10) Extras (lb 1, w 11) 12 Total (3 wkts, 100 balls) 129 H Graham, E Arlott, N Holland, †R Southby, S Smale and G Potts did not bat. Fall of wickets 1-24, 2-28, 3-99. Bowling Garth 20-11-19-0; Bates 20-7-27-0; Phillips 20-10-17-2; Elwiss 15-4-19-0; Gardner 20-6-38-1; Adams 5-1-8-0. Trent Rockets (balls) S Dunkley c Holland b Graham 15 (17) †B Mooney c Voll b Arlott 57 (35) N Sciver-Brunt not out 37 (23) *A Gardner not out 10 (9) Extras (b 4, lb 1, w 7, nb 1) 13 Total (2 wkts, 83 balls) 132 S Luff, G Adams, B Heath, G Elwiss, K Garth, C Phillips and S Bates did not bat. Fall of wickets 1-73, 2-92. Bowling Potts 20-7-33-0; Smale 15-5-20-0; Graham 15-4-27-1; Wareham 18-6-27-0; Arlott 10-3-15-1; Holland 5-1-5-0.
Men P W L T NR Pts NRR Manchester SG 3 2 1 0 0 8 1.19 Trent Rockets 3 2 1 0 0 8 0.82 MI London 3 2 1 0 0 8 0.18 Leeds Sunrisers 3 2 1 0 0 8 0.03 Welsh Fire 3 2 1 0 0 8 -0.43 B’ham Phoenix 2 1 1 0 0 4 -1.92 Southern Brave 3 0 3 0 0 0 -0.20 London Spirit 2 0 2 0 0 0 -0.27
Zerbi, the Tottenham head coach, said: “I have always been very clear, I would like that he stays with us. He’s potent- ially a top, top, top player.
“But I don’t want to convince anyone to stay. Tottenham is already, without me, a top club and we [don’t need] to convince anyone to stay. He can find the space [in the team] if he stays with us. The competition within the players will be very strong because we are Tot- tenham and we have to build a strong squad. To compete for the highest places in the table, you have to manage 22, 23, 24 players. I don’t want 24, but 21, 22, of a high level, for sure.”
Arsenal are closely monitoring Jurri- en Timber’s groin injury, which could
Women P W L T NR Pts NRR Southern Brave 3 3 0 0 0 12 0.25 Manchester SG 3 2 0 0 1 10 1.97 Trent Rockets 3 2 1 0 0 8 2.28 London Spirit 3 1 1 1 0 6 -0.97 Leeds Sunrisers 3 1 2 0 0 4 0.47 Welsh Fire 3 1 2 0 0 4 0.44 MI London 4 0 3 1 0 2 -1.38 B’ham Phoenix 2 0 1 0 1 2 -7.77 Metro Bank Cup Group A: Edgbaston Warwickshire 341-4 (E Barnard 140, V Jani 66 not out, Z Malik 58); Surrey 296 (D Sibley 74, J Blake 71; O Hannon-Dalby 5 for 60). Warwickshire (4pts) won by 45 runs.
P W L T NR Pts NRR Notts 3 3 0 0 0 12 0.54 Somerset 3 2 1 0 0 8 0.87 Lancashire 3 2 1 0 0 8 0.13 Surrey 4 2 2 0 0 8 -0.03 Leics 4 2 2 0 0 8 -0.15 Gloucs 3 1 2 0 0 4 0.22 Northants 3 1 2 0 0 4 -0.31 Warks 4 1 3 0 0 4 -0.50 Kent 3 1 2 0 0 4 -0.54
Group B: Gosforth Glamorgan 326-6 (E Byrom 76, Zain-ul-Hassan 65); Durham 328-7 (W Rhodes 148 not out, K Aldridge 78). Durham (4pts) won by three wickets. Arundel Essex 316-6 (N Thain 102, T Westley 81, M Critchley 64); Sussex 320-5 (C Tear 73, J Leaning 59 not out, J Carson 53). Sussex (4pts) won by five wickets. Clifton Park Worcestershire 230 (H Cullen 70, D Lategan 67); Yorkshire 23-1 4 (W Luxton 126). Yorkshire (4pts) won by six wickets.
P W L T NR Pts NRR Middlesex 3 3 0 0 0 12 2.95 Yorkshire 4 3 1 0 0 12 0.99 Durham 3 3 0 0 0 12 0.57 Worcs 3 2 1 0 0 8 0.17 Essex 3 1 2 0 0 4 -0.27 Hampshire 3 1 2 0 0 4 -0.76 Glamorgan 4 1 3 0 0 4 -1.15 Sussex 4 1 3 0 0 2 -1.32 Derbyshire 3 0 3 0 0 0 -0.53 Football
heighten the club’s need to sign a versa- tile right-sided defender. Timber, 25, had a groin operation last month but there has been no timescale given for his return. The injury forced him to withdraw from the Netherlands squad for the World Cup before the tourna- ment began.
The club have been in talks to sign a centre back who can operate at right back, since they are set to be without William Saliba for several months and Ben White has struggled with a knee injury for the past two seasons. They registered an interest in Ezri Konsa, the 28-year-old England defender, but they have been unwilling to meet Aston Villa’s £60million valuation.
Tennis
Citi Open Washington: Men: First round A de Minaur (Aus) bt S Tsitsipas (Gr) 6-4, 3-6, 6-3. Second round L Musetti (It) bt A Vukic (Aus) 6-3, 5-7, 6-3. Women: First round A Potapova (Russ) bt V Williams (US) 6-3, 6-3. Second round L Samsonova (Russ) bt W Xinyu (China) 6-2, 6-2; A Eala (Phil) bt L Fernandez (Can) 6-2, 7-6 (7-1). ATP Mifel Open Los Cabos: First round E Winter (Aus) bt M Kouame (Fr) 6-1, 6-4; J Brooksby (US) bt C Moutet (Fr) 6-4, 6-4; D Svrcina (Cz) bt A Walton (Aus) 6-7 (2-7), 7-6 (7-2), 6-3; R Pacheco (Mex) bt S Shimabukuro (Japan) 6-7 (4-7), 7-5, 6-2; D Shapovalov (Can) bt R Hijikata (Aus) 2-6, 6-3 6-2; M Zheng (US) bt M Landaluce (Sp) 6-4, 6-3; J Duckworth (Aus) bt A Mayo (US) 4-6, 6-3, 6-4; A Gea (France) bt K Soon-woo (S Kor) 6-4, 6-7 (8-10), 6-2. WTA Memphis Open Second round Y Ma (China) bt K Birrell (US) 7-6 (7-2), 6-4; R Zarazua (Mex) bt M Kessler (US) 6-4, 6-1; K Volynets (US) bt I Shymanovic (Bela) 6-4, 6-2; A Zakharova (Russ) bt C Osorio (Col) 6-4, 6-3.
Fixtures
Conference League: Second qualifying round, second legs Coleraine (0) v HJK (5) (7.45); Derry City (0) v Rijeka (1) (6.30); HB (0) v Motherwell (2) (6.0); Hibernian (0) v Malisheva (2) (8.0); The New Saints (0) v Flora (1) (6.30). Cricket
The Hundred: Utilita Bowl Southern Brave v Birmingham Phoenix (women 3.0, men 6.30). Metro Bank Cup: Group A: Preston Lancashire v Nottinghamshire (11.0). Golf
‘I
winners reflect on Wembley triumph and share tales of match 60 years on. By Owen Slot
t’s very difficult, every four years when the World Cup comes round,” says Roberta Moore. This is Roberta, the daughter of Bobby: Bobby Moore, who, as we know too well right now, remains the only Englishman to have led a winning World Cup football team.
“Sometimes,” she says, “the memories aren’t on your terms. I remember walking into Marks & Spencer one day and there was a lifesize cutout of him. Or you’d be driving down the motorway and there’d be a picture of him on a bus. It just catches you.
“Even all these years later, it’s hard. I feel an enormous sense of pride and I also feel sadness. A lot of layered emotions. You know, we were really close. I miss him.”
And thus do we open the book again: the tale of those heroes of ’66, a triumph that is 60 years old this week and a success that remains (yes, still) unmatched. It also feels less a story of our times now; increasingly a chapter in a history book. Of the 11 who beat West Germany 4-2 on July 30, 1966, only one, Geoff Hurst, is alive to recall it.
But history is handed down and it is retold, here, by Roberta Moore and the other children of ’66. Roberta is not alone in breaking off from the conversation occasionally, voice halting, overcome by emotion. What is abundantly clear is the deep pride that all of them share. You get the impression, too, of what modest men their fathers were.
‘if you came to our house, you wouldn’t know dad was a footballer’ These men didn’t talk about ’66 unless pressed. A common recollection from their offspring is being in a public place and asking: “Dad, how come so many people know you?” Julie and David Hunt, Roger Hunt’s children, say they didn’t really get it until they went to secondary school and there was an autobiography of their father in the school library. Russell Wilson recalls needing a pair of boots for a school football game and his father, Ray, saying: “Hey use these” — and giving him the pair he’d worn in the World Cup final.
“If you walked into our house,” says Nobby Stiles’s son, John, “you wouldn’t even know he’d been a footballer, other than in the corner on his desk there was a picture of the World Cup squad looking dead smart in their suits.”
John Stiles only really came to unlocking something approaching the full story in his father’s latter years. “He used to be an after- dinner speaker and when he couldn’t remember his speech any more
From left: Tony Cohen, George’s son; John Stiles, son of Nobby; Russell Wilson, Ray’s son; Wendy, Banks’s daughter; Jimmy Ball, son of Alan; John Charlton, Jack’s son; Julie and David, Hunt’s children
because his memory was going, I’d interview him [on stage],” he says.
“I had to learn his script, parrot fashion. I knew that if he missed a word that he normally used, he was going to struggle.” John could therefore always guide him back on track.
“So for three years, I had a brilliant time driving him all around the country and he’d tell me all the stories about the World Cup and the things that he wouldn’t talk about in front of my mum. I realised I was blessed when it was happening because he was deteriorating and I thought, it won’t last for ever. It was magical really. There’s nothing good about dementia. But I was lucky because I got to have that time with him.”
Stiles recalls Bobby Charlton — Uncle Bobby as he called him — and their family days together. Collectively the group have left behind an impression of a very deep affection for each other.
“He would run through walls for those players,” says Martin Peters’s son, Grant. “He loved all of them.” He recalls how his and Hurst’s family lived over the fence from each other.
Alan Ball’s son, Jimmy, remembers summer holidays on the beach with the Moores. Roberta Moore had one of Hurst’s granddaughters as her bridesmaid.
John Charlton recalls that “Bobby Moore would ring my dad and say, ‘Jack, get yourself down.’ And he used to go down to London and go on the drink with Bobby.”
‘the press thought the final would send my mum into labour’ Small details tell the story of another era. Roberta Moore remembers accompanying her father to training on Christmas Days at Upton Park and helping sweep the terraces. And Rodney Marsh coming round “to try and get rid of us kids”, hiding £1 notes for them around the house.
Maybe no one ever put more goals past Gordon Banks, widely revered as the best goalkeeper in the world, than his daughter Wendy and her brother. They couldn’t play in the garden — “the lawn was Dad’s pride and joy” — but endless games of three-and-in were played out on the neighbours’ turf or on the concrete in front of the garage.
“Trust me,” says Wendy, “Dad did not cut you any slack.” But go for the bottom corners in front of the garage, “where he’d be smashing his arms and legs up on the concrete”, and you had a chance.
The logistics around that day 60 years ago tell the story too. “I was at home in Liverpool,” says Russell Wilson. “We were being looked after by one of Dad’s old Huddersfield
Town team-mates. I can’t remember who. My mum went down to Wembley, picked up Norma Charlton [Bobby’s wife] on the way; I think they had a flat tyre.”
“I couldn’t go because there was nobody to take me because Mum was pregnant with my brother. He was due on the day of the final,” recalls John Charlton, Jack’s son. “What I remember is a bus full of journalists and photographers arriving at the house to see if the excitement of the World Cup final would induce her into labour.”
“According to my mum,” says Julie Hunt, “they sat a couple of rows behind the Queen.”
After the game, adds Grant Peters, “some people wanted to go out and have a drink but Dad said he just wanted to go home and be with Mum so he went home, had a cup of tea and watched the telly”.
The next day, says Alan Ball’s son, Jimmy: “Dad and Nobby shared a car home to save petrol and they went to Knutsford services and bought egg and chips.”
“I got stuck in the crowd outside and was crying and ended up having to get a policeman. I said, ‘That’s my daddy,’ and he picked me up and took me back to the house.” doubts, fears and hate mail Certain recollections of the tournament were handed down from generation to generation. This is Russell Wilson on the quarter-final victory over Argentina: “Dad said that when they got back in the changing rooms, the Argentinians were trying to break the door down to get in. Apparently Jackie Charlton was saying, ‘Let ’em all in; I’ll have ’em.’ ”
Other stories reflect the stress of World Cup selection. This is Julie Hunt: “Dad thought Jimmy Greaves was like a genius; he was the main one he admired. Jimmy had got
injured, then there was the
worry [when he got fit] that Dad wouldn’t keep his place. Dad thought that the press
wanted the genius back in
for the final. In later years I heard a lot from my mum about the nerves and whether he was going to keep his place in the final.” (He did.)
says John Stiles. “He said they’re in the room and Ballie was going, ‘F*** Alf Ramsey,’ because he wasn’t picking him. And Dad kept saying to him, ‘He’s going to bring you back for the quarter-final.’ And he was right.”
Stiles also thought his World Cup was doomed after a controversial tackle in the group game against France. “The pressure was unbelievable,” says John. “The TV panel turned on him, the papers, the press. My mum said she was terrified, she said she was getting hate mail after the French game.
“My dad said: for Argentina [the next game], he thought all the country was against him, but that Ballie nudged him [as they approached Wembley] and said, ‘Look at that out there, Nobby,’ and there were 100 Cockneys with a banner saying, ‘Nobby for prime minister.’ So I think they did help each other through it a lot.
He only found out years later, but the selectors had summoned Alf and said, ‘Under no circumstances does Stiles play tomorrow.’ Alf then said, ‘I’ll resign’ and that was that. My dad loved Alf.”
reliving the match with dad At some point that no one can quite determine, soon after the invention of the video recorder, all the players were sent a VHS tape of the final. Here, finally, with fathers sitting down with their kids to watch, was a trigger to unlock memories of the game itself.
John Charlton: “I probably watched it with my dad two or three times. The first thing he said was, ‘You watch what a good player I am.’ He was having a bit of a joke. He had flashbacks about the way the game went. He always said that his job was to look after Bobby Moore and that if Bobby went for a wander, the other three [defenders] were where they should be.”
George Cohen’s son, Tony: “We used to rib him about the shot he took that nearly hit the corner post.”
Martin Peters’s son, Grant: “He said: ‘God it was hot that day.’ He went on about the jerseys being so heavy.”
England conceded the first goal when Ray Wilson failed to deal with a ball into the box that would never normally have troubled him. “That first goal was a bit of a shocker,” says Russell Wilson. He recalls a short football tour, a decade or so later, when he was a teenager and his father had retired and they were both playing on the same Sunday league team. “In the clubhouse after our game, they put the final on the screen. I really felt for him [with that first goal]. I hardly dared look at him.”
Wendy Banks: “Whenever we met Ray Wilson he would say, ‘Your dad never let me forget that.’ ”
Main: England’s squad with the trophy. Back row (left to right): Harold Shepherdson, Stiles, Hunt, Banks, Jack Charlton, Cohen, Wilson, Ramsey. Front row, (left to right): Peters, Hurst, Moore, Ball and Bobby Charlton. Above: the team’s captain Moore alongside his wife, Tina, and baby daughter Roberta. It is clear the latter, right, and the other children of ’66 share pride in their fathers’ achievements
Follow our ‘live’ blog of
England’s World Cup
triumph from 2pm
thetimes.com/sport
This is his son, John: “He said, ‘It was never a free kick in a million years.’ If he was here, he’d still be saying that.”
Banks was also furious that the goal stood, claiming it struck an arm on the way through. “He never just let anything go, particularly like that,” says his daughter, Wendy. “We’d go, ‘We won, Dad. It doesn’t really matter.’ And he’d go, ‘Yeah, but we should have won earlier.’ ”
By that point, Hurst was already one goal en route to his hat-trick. The other goal, to put England 2-1 up, had been scored by Peters. “My dad used to say that his goal was the most pivotal goal,” Grant Peters says. “He said that if he hadn’t scored, we’d have lost 2-1 and we’d never have been talking about them all.”
But then came extra time — when Ball came even more to the fore.
TIMES PHOTOGRAPHER MARC ASPLAND; BARRATTS/S&G /PA; POPPERFOTO/GETTY IMAGES
was good.’ He’d go, ‘Yeah, that was all right.’ But when you watch the extra time, he was everywhere. He said, ‘I was just naturally fit.’ He ran cross- country for Lancashire and Shropshire. He knew no one could outrun him.
“He said, ‘For extra time, I had total belief that I was going to influence the outcome of this game.’ Every time you see Geoff, he says that ‘he dragged us through’. Geoff will say himself, ‘I scored the three goals so I got man of the match but Alan Ball was head and shoulders.’ ”
Famously, there then followed Hurst’s controversial second goal, which may or may not have crossed the line. The goal, in which Hunt didn’t even touch the ball, is the moment for which he is best known in the final because it was he who was closest, who got the best view of the goalline and who wheeled away celebrating.
Julie Hunt: “Whenever he did after- dinner speaking, he always started his speech with, ‘Before you ask, it was a goal.’ ”
David Hunt: “Dad would get people coming up and saying to him, ‘Why didn’t you [follow it up and] just knock it in?’ ”
Julie Hunt: “He saw it come down and land. He didn’t question it. He did say that when he then spun round and saw the ref go over to the linesman, his heart sank.”
as the “They think it’s all over” moment. What the players apparently recalled was the characteristic calm displayed by Moore in defence in that last minute of the game.
Even Banks’s grandson, Ed Jervis, knows this bit: “He used to mention the pass from Bobby Moore [to Hurst]. Everyone was screaming at Bobby to just leather it up the pitch. Grandad said, ‘I remember shouting, ‘Get rid of it, Bobby!’ ”
Roberta Moore: “Jackie Charlton told me he said, ‘Just whack it!’ But he didn’t.”
Ed Jervis: “Grandad could see it from Bobby’s body language. He was like, no, he’s going to pick out a pass here. And it was a lovely long through-ball to Geoff.”
Some nice anecdotes remain from the celebrations.
Roberta Moore: “The story’s been told many times that when he went to shake the Queen’s hand, he wiped his hands so he didn’t muddy her gloves.”
John Stiles: “My mum had said to Dad, ‘If you win, make sure you put your teeth in when you meet the Queen.’ Well, he forgot. They were in a handkerchief, in Ian Callaghan’s suit pocket.”
the joy and pain of the years that followed Those days of rewatching the final never really ended. “We watched it together numerous times,” says Grant Peters. “Sadly we watched it a lot when he got older and unwell. He loved putting it on but he used to say, ‘I didn’t play in that game.’ That was the dementia talking.”
This is how many of their lives ended. Six of the 11 suffered from dementia. The extent to which this was caused by heading heavy footballs is indefinable but it remains part of their legacy, a hangover from their glorious past which contributes to the impression that they may have been a unique group of national heroes, but they were not always treated as such. It wasn’t until 34 years later that five of the team finally followed the other six in being honoured at Buckingham Palace.
Tony Cohen: “He was a bit bemused by that. We laughed about it saying it was harder to get a Blue Peter badge than an MBE.”
Russell Wilson: “Dad only went [to Buckingham Palace] to make up the five. He said, ‘If it wasn’t for the other lads, I’d tell them [the authorities] where to go.’ ”
John Stiles: “I thought they were treated disgracefully. It was Jack [Charlton] who said, ‘We should all be knighted.’ ”
This is part of the story they left behind. There are assorted other anecdotal bits and pieces. Wendy Banks still has in the back of her car the sombreros her father brought back from the 1970 World Cup in Mexico. Ed Jervis bought and lives in the Banks’s old house. (“In my study, I’m 90 per cent surrounded by pictures of him.”) He recently published an excellent podcast series, Foul Play, investigating the 1970 World Cup and whether Banks had been poisoned by the CIA.
There is a house in Ashington in Northumberland which was bought for his parents by Jack Charlton, after ‘66, which they called Jules Rimet House. The plaque which bore the name, the words gradually fading, remained for decades but it has now gone altogether. The house which still stands is a better metaphor for July 30, 1966, a day 60 years ago that remains indelible.
Infantino if plans are to be stopped
Matthew Syed
What holds a society together? Laws? Deterrents? Nah. I want to offer a dif- ferent hypothesis. I think societies are held together by a well-cultivated and necessary sense of shame. That sting- ing rebuke you feel when you do some- thing that you know is wrong, that society knows is wrong, that your fore- bears knew was wrong. Red is the col- our of virtue.
I remember trying to push into a queue at my local M&S while research- ing a book on social norms. Guess what happened? That’s right: I couldn’t fol- low through. I saw the eyes of the mums and dads, aunts and uncles waiting patiently in line — not revealing anger, exactly, more like surprise and dis- appointment. I felt a burning in my neck. I smiled and walked past the queue to the other side of the aisle. The world felt better again.
Turns out, this isn’t unusual. The psychologist Stanley Milgram sent a group of students into New York with instructions to break into “queues at railroad ticket counters and other locations”.
Simples, huh? Er, not really. The ex- periment had to be abandoned because the students couldn’t do it. As Milgram put it: “The confederates procrastinat- ed, spending as much as a half-hour working up the ‘nerve’ to intrude. For some, the anticipation of intruding was so unpleasant that [they experienced] pallor and nausea.”
Want to know the problem with the world today? It is becoming shameless. This is a feeling that has been growing in me over recent months but was clari- fied with the news, revealed by my col- league Martyn Ziegler, that Fifa wants to sell a stake of its commercial rights to an investment group run by the brother of the son-in-law of Donald Trump. Fifa has always been venal but it has generally sought to hide its duplicity. Now, it parades its avarice in press releases, its absurd, white- shoed president gurning as he tries to “sell” it all to an increasingly stunned world.
This is the new norm, folks. I am guessing even Sepp Blatter would have felt a twinge of conscience at inventing a peace prize to hand over to a president who has caused more global carnage than any democratic leader in recent memory, but Gianni Infantino did so with a smile on his face. Even Michel Platini would have thought twice about purchasing office
space in a building owned by the US president, given the conflict of inter- ests. Not Infantino, who thought it was a clever ruse to cultivate an accomplice.
I doubt even João Havelange would have been willing to countenance overturning a suspension on the player of the host team having taken a call from that nation’s president, but this was a gambit Infantino’s Fifa grabbed with both hands, scarcely with rebuke (except for the brave Norwegian FA). Given the precedents, then, why not carve up the global game via the investment vehicle of a Kushner, given the amount of wonga to be made, not
The FA’s statement
“We were completely unaware of this proposal and have no substantive details, including what the proposition actually is, and what conditions are attached. Based on the limited information, we are deeply concerned about the lack of process and governance to get to this point, and the apparent substance and principles involved. When the proposal is shared in the full and transparent way now promised by FIFA, we will make our views clear, and comment further.”
just for Infantino but anyone else among the insiders, hangers-on and president’s men joining the gravy train?
The world’s moral psychology is being rewired, and we all know who is doing the rewiring. Look at the stories above and they all come back to one man: Trump. A man who boasted about a meme coin that has made him mil- lions at the expense of the credulous base who bought these now nearly worthless tokens; who smiled when hu- miliating President Zelensky while
is simple: take what you can and sod the rest.
Infantino is remaking Fifa in Trump’s image. Call it shamelessness as active policy.
He has studied the occupant of the White House and is using almost every technique, to the point of revelling in the discomfort of those who are not cut in on the deal. Smile. Giggle. Make jokes. Gaslight those who are shafted, as Infantino did while visiting the dressing room of the Iranians at the World Cup.
Deep Throat said “follow the money”, but this ain’t easy in the case of Trump. He engages in what the schol- ars Alexander Cooley and Daniel Nex- on call “transactional bundling”: “col- lapsing conflict resolution, economic bargains and arrangements that benefit Trump and his allies into grandiose mega deals that are hard to scrutinise.” Is this not a fair way to describe Fifa’s World Cup carve-up? Who benefits? Under what terms? We know that bil- lions will be conjured out of the deal but who knows — or will ever know? — in- to what octopus-like structure may this be funnelled?
Many are calling on Uefa to break away from Fifa if this goes through — and I agree. But let me turn my focus on the FA. I know and like Debbie He- witt, its chairwoman. But perhaps I can say, sincerely, that history will judge her on this moment. The statement is- sued yesterday morning was woefully inadequate. The FA should never have backed Infantino — regardless of the prospect of hosting the 2035 women’s World Cup.
I mean, who wants a World Cup under the auspices of a governing body that rewrites the rules on the hoof, to the point of 27-minute half-times and suspensions determined seemingly not by the rules but political pressure?
For the FA to retain credibility it must come out now — like in the next 24 hours — and withdraw its support for Infantino, whatever that means for 2035, not to mention condemning the World Cup proposal and (for that matter) the Folarin Balogun scandal. What we learnt from the European Super League affair is that if opposition is mobilised rapidly, these schemes can be killed off before — like Franken- stein’s monster — they fully twitch into life.
A final point, although an important one: thank goodness for the peerless re- porting by Times Sport who broke this
exclusive story. Fifa didn’t want this to
get out while it was internally building
support. It wanted this secret guard-
ed. Investigative journalism is the
lifeblood of a free press and is only
viable through the hard-earned
money of subscribers.
This, for me, is the one positive aspect of an otherwise grisly story: the way that by shining a light on the antics of figures
such as Trump and Infantino, we
could break football’
continued from back
have our planned expansion of the For- ward programme [development money] of $2.7 billion as previously presented.
“In total for the upcoming cycle start- ing as of January 1, 2027 each member association will have the possibility of access up to $40 million per member association under this proposal.”
In a statement regarding the initial plans, the English FA said: “We were completely unaware of this proposal and have no substantive details, includ- ing what the proposition actually is, and what conditions are attached. Based on the limited information, we are deeply concerned about the lack of process and governance to get to this point, and the apparent substance and principles involved.
Senior figures in football have ques- tioned why Infantino has said in his letter that the proposal will need more than only 50 per cent of the member associations to vote in favour when changes to Fifa’s statutes need a 75 per cent majority.
It has also been pointed out that Fifa’s vast financial reserves of $4 billion mean the extra cash could — and should — be given to national asso- ciations anyway rather than use the private investors’ money.
Richard Scudamore, the former executive chairman of the Premier League who now advises a number of companies and individual investors in sport, is among those who believe it would be a huge mistake by Fifa.
on the goodwill of clubs who release their players for the World Cup, and it is not theirs to sell off to private investors. Legally and logistically I can’t see how it can happen, and Fifa’s very legitimacy is at stake.”
The Premier League also said it fully supported a critical statement by the European Leagues organisation, which read: “Fifa’s announcement that its president is pursuing private invest- ment options for a new subsidiary, con- solidating its commercial and event- related operations, represents a reck- less and divisive development for world football. The World Cup should not be for sale.”
Under the plan, which was hatched by Infantino with only 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 over the fortunes of the new company.
For example, 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
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would also add pressure for tourna- ments to be held in the most lucrative markets — such as the US.
There were also expressions of con- cern about the plan from other leading continental confederations, clubs’ organisations and players’ unions.
Concacaf, which represents North and Central America and the Caribbe- an, said: “Concacaf was only made aware of this matter through media reports and, subsequently, via a media release. We are deeply concerned by the lack of due process. We share the disappointment of many within the game that this level of detail has been designed and shared publicly before any discussion with the relevant gov- ernance bodies and stakeholders.
“Collectively, Fifa, the confederations and every member association have a responsibility to always act in the best interests of the sport. Every decision we make must be guided by good govern- ance, robust processes and long-term stewardship. This is the framework within which Concacaf operates. We trust that all within the Fifa family will act in the same manner.”
European Football Clubs (EFC), whose chairman is the Paris Saint- Germain president, Nasser Al-Khelaifi, noted its “serious concern” at “the sudden, unilateral media briefings and announcement by Fifa about a potent- ial new corporate structure for the commercialisation of certain football competitions”.
It added: “As an institution that represents over 850 football clubs it would be wholly appropriate for EFC to be fully consulted on a proposal of such magnitude. EFC learnt about this pro- posal in the same way as most global football stakeholders — without warn- ing and through the media. We urge for calm and thorough consultation, together with more rigorous and trans- parent governance processes to protect the game for the long term.”
to Trump’s network T
he Fifa president Gianni Infantino’s proposal to sell stakes in the World Cup to private investors has raised concerns among Democratic politicians in the United States about the involvement of Donald Trump’s supporters or those who are part of his broader network (Martyn Ziegler writes).
For a start there is Joshua Kushner, who has been confirmed by Fifa as the lead potential investor, and is the brother of Trump’s son- in-law, Jared. Fifa says Jared is not an investor but sources say he has been involved behind the scenes — he and Infantino have a close relationship going back more than a decade.
Then there is the man hired by Fifa as its “key commercial adviser” for the proposed sell-off: Greg Maffei, who is a one-time donor to Trump and led Liberty Media when it took over Formula 1.
Maffei personally contributed $250,000 (about £190,000) to Trump’s inauguration committee in 2017, matching a contribution from Liberty Media.
Potential investors apart from Kushner also have Trump links. Apollo Global Management has been linked with investing in the new Fifa company and its chief executive is Marc Rowan, a member of Trump’s “Board of Peace” and who, with his wife, contributed $1 million to Trump’s 2020 campaign.
Sources with
knowledge of the plan say there is no direct investment planned from the Saudi or Qatari sovereign wealth funds, but that is very much US- focused.
Jamie Raskin, the congressman who is the leading Democrat on the US House Judiciary Committee, has accused Fifa of “now going directly into business with the Trump family”.
He said in a statement: “Apparently the fake Peace Prize and giant lease with Trump Tower weren’t enough — now Infantino is pursuing a multibillion-dollar deal with Jared Kushner’s brother to sell ownership stakes in the World Cup to private investors.
“Soccer fans were already priced out of the World Cup by Fifa’s [alleged] price gouging — [this] just means more corporate tarnishing of the beautiful game.”
Raskin on Monday announced that Democrats on the Judiciary Committee have called on Infantino to testify regarding what the committee describes as “Fifa’s sustained campaign to secure special favours from President Trump”. It also asked for copies of any documents or communications between Fifa and Trump.
Fifa insists it is “assembling a geographically diversified investor group that reflects the global nature of Fifa and the game; expressions of interest to date include investors from across every major region of the world: Europe, the Americas, Asia and Africa”.
consulted on the proposal and is dis- appointed that a matter of such signifi- cance entered the public domain before the AFC family had been afforded the opportunity to examine and discuss it through the appropriate and estab- lished governance channels. The AFC firmly believes that all stakeholders should be provided with sufficient information and adequate time to assess the proposal in full.”
Adding to the condemnation was the players’ union Fifpro, which represents more than 65,000 professionals. It said in a statement: “Fifpro Europe has noted with deep concern the proposal to transform the Fifa World Cup and other Fifa competitions into investable assets for private capital, a move that would fundamentally and irreversibly reshape the incentives underpinning the competitions in which players work, compete and build their careers.
“Given the proposal’s potentially far- reaching implications for player wel- fare, the international match calendar and the future governance of the game, it is particularly troubling that a project of this magnitude has been developed largely behind closed doors and brought close to agreement without any meaningful engagement with those most affected.”
charged over banner and ‘assaults’
Joe Harston
The Argentinian Football Association is facing disciplinary proceedings from Fifa over the display of the Falklands banner against England, while several of its players have been charged for their behaviour after the World Cup final.
The World Cup runners-up face charges for breaching four different articles in the Fifa disciplinary code for their behaviour in several matches at the tournament. The first of which is for “using a sports event for demonstra- tions of a non-sporting nature” — seemingly referencing the Falklands banner shown after their win against England in the semi-final.
Several members of the Argentina team paraded a white banner with black writing reading “Las Malvinas son Argentinas”, which translates as “The Falklands are Argentinian”. It ap- peared to have come from the fans.
Three of their players and their assist- ant coach, Roberto Ayala, are also facing individual disciplinary proceedings for the fighting that took place after the final. Leandro Paredes, who seemed to grab Eric García by the throat and hit Gavi in the face, faces three counts of assault. Nahuel Molina faces two counts (one completed and one attempted) after he struck Rodri in the chest. Ayala is charged with one count after an alter- cation with Dani Olmo.
Paredes appeared to grab García by the throat after the World Cup final
The winger Thiago Almada and the Spanish midfielder Gavi have also been charged with unsporting behaviour after the post-match braw. Molina also faces proceedings for one count of unsporting behaviour.
The other disciplinary proceedings launched against the federation are for potentially breaching articles named “Team misconduct”, “Discrimination and racist abuse”, and “Order and security at matches”. A statement from Fifa says that the charges are “in light of discriminatory chants and gestures, late kick-offs, failure to comply with match and security protocols, the dis- play of inappropriate messages by the team and spectators and the throwing of objects by spectators in relation to several matches.”
They have the opportunity to present their position to the Fifa disciplinary committee before a decision is made.
While celebrating their semi-final victory, players and supporters chanted “a minute of silence for England, who are dead”, while the former Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Giovani Lo Celso jumped over the advertising hoardings to collect the banner, which was also paraded by the Manchester United de- fender Lisandro Martínez. The banner reportedly later appeared at the team’s training camp. A second banner, with the light blue and white of the Argen- tine flag with the same message and de- piction of the Falkland Islands, emerged from another stand.
The South American side continued to face widespread criticism for their behaviour in the final, when, after a physical match, a brawl broke out while Spanish players were celebrating. Ar- gentina’s players also turned their backs to the trophy lift.
Thursday July 30 2026 | the times Sport
53 days to join sell-off
6 Uefa to hold emergency meeting today and discuss ‘nuclear option’ of World Cup boycott
Martyn Ziegler Chief Sports Reporter
Uefa will hold a crisis meeting of its members today to decide on action to combat Gianni Infantino’s World Cup sell-off plans after he told Fifa’s 211 asso- ciations they have only 53 days to sign up or face financial consequences.
The 55 European associations are expected to discuss a range of actions, including the “nuclear option” of a boycott of Fifa tournaments.
European football’s leaders believe that the very future of international football is at stake after Infantino spelt out what many see as a bribe to the national associations to back his plan.
In a letter to the associations, Infanti- no says a decision on allowing private investors to buy stakes in the World Cup must be taken by September 19. He says a funding package totalling $10 billion (about £7.5 billion) will become available if associations sign up — with each association receiving $40 million — but if they reject it their earnings will be $2.7 billion, almost 75 per cent less.
Sources opposed to the plan have told The Times they believe it is “pure bribery”.
The Times revealed Infantino’s plan on Tuesday, sparking a furious back- lash from many in football. Uefa has confirmed it will hold a virtual emer- gency meeting today, while the English FA has said it is “deeply concerned” by the proposal.
Uefa said in a statement: “We have learnt of Fifa’s deadline to associations to support their proposals or have the one-off payout offer withdrawn. This says everything you need to know
Times Crossword 29,608 across down Yesterday’s solution 29,607
Uefa’s president, Aleksander Ceferin, left, pictured with Infantino, boycotted the World Cup final in protest against Fifa
about this plan. But having held discussions with many stakeholders across the game, Uefa knows that there is significant and growing opposi- tion to Fifa’s scheme. Fifa cannot continue to use our sport to enrich themselves and their friends. We can
We don’t need a match in India to keep interest in great rivalry
grow the game correctly. It’s time to prioritise associations, clubs, leagues, players and fans.”
Infantino’s letter, which has been seen by The Times, says: “The decision on whether or not to proceed with this proposal belongs entirely to you.
1 Sailor by old platform covers wreck
(8) 5 Rod starts to import US Motown
and soft metal (6) 10 Direct Henry feeding bear behind
tree (5-4) 11 Not one close family member
recalled plain beasts (5) 12 Con stealer of chips that are not
digitally secured? (4) 13 Three had regularly selected more
reliable fund manager (9) 15 Spanish man turned on male
English shepherds (10) 17 Skinned meat items maybe loaded
into barrel (4) 19 Two military units seldom seen (4) 20 Tracks profit on renovated street in
recession (10) 22 Epic fight with cross characters
holding clubs (9) 24 Container lorry’s first on road
heading for Rome? (4) 26 Joy almost goes after exposed lean
bird (5) 27 Top car son struck with king
aboard (4,5) 28 Walks from hotel leaving clothing
MATEUSZ SLODKOWSKI/GETTY IMAGE
“Should you wish to proceed, this $10 billion package will become avail- able as of January 1, 2027, ushering in the next phase of our journey together.
“Should you wish to retain the status quo and reject this proposal we still
1 One abandoning capital for surfing
destination? (4) 2 Mature bird demolished fish in
main area (7,8) 3 Child completely stone cold finally
came to (8) 4 Labour good for Charlie in
shipping? (5) 6 Trap contingent of westbound
French submarines (6) 7 Popular pieces in parade followed
by high profile player (15) 8 Reported behaviour on hot river
residence (5,5) 9 Sticking Bill in this location with
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raised goal record? (10) 16 Port boys periodically manage
device used in canal (8) 18 Vicar cutting cold fool last of the
crack (8) 21 Minister beat ten defenceless
guards (6) 23 Jack briefly working for place that
may fix locks (5) 25 Visit capsized vessels avoiding half
of loch (4)
Families of England World Cup winners share their stories
to appoint Fleming
Elizabeth Ammon
Stephen Fleming is expected to become the new England Test coach after the sacking of his former New Zealand team-mate Brendon McCullum this month.
Fleming had been reluctant to pur- sue international coaching jobs in the past because of the time it would mean being away from his family. Now that his children are either adults or ap- proaching adulthood, the 53-year-old former New Zealand captain feels he can commit to the job.
It also helped that McCullum re- mains the white-ball coach, which would allow him to return home when they are on duty. It is thought, though, that he would want to be around for the start of the domestic season to familiar- ise himself with county cricket and the best emerging players.
Fleming, who captained McCullum, became England’s main target after Andy Flower ruled himself out of con- tention, preferring to stay in his present jobs as the head coach of Royal Chal- lengers Bengaluru and London Spirit.
Rob Key, the England managing director, and a headhunting company had been conducting a series of conver- sations with potential candidates, in- cluding Fleming, the Glamorgan head coach Richard Dawson and the former England batsman Jonathan Trott over the past couple of weeks. Fleming, though, emerged as the prime candi- date given his extensive captaincy experience, 17 years coaching the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the IPL and his relationship with McCullum.
Negotiations are still taking place over the finer details of Fleming’s con- tract, but it is understood that the un- successful candidates have been noti- fied. Talks are continuing but there is a chance that Fleming would not be able to take up his new role in time for the start of the Test series against Pakistan
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6
Good day, dearest Times reader! And welcome to the week where the boxing phenomenon Tommy Fury prompted a truly novel headline in Metro: “Tommy Fury claims body part ‘doubled in size’ after drinking Molly- Mae Hague’s breast milk.”
To de-escalate some of the weirdness in this headline, I should reassure you that a) the “body part” in question comes in a two-pack, as it’s Fury’s arms, and that b) the influencer and Love Island star Molly-Mae Hague is, in fact, Fury’s wife, so at least we’re not looking at “breast milk burglary” here.
However, Fury is clearly keen to add a tough, gym-maxxing twist to his guzzling of vital newborn baby milk and so has made some radical claims about this quirky late-night neonatal snack.
“Listen, [my] power went through the roof!” he told the What’s the Fury? podcast. “My arms doubled in size! Added another inch to my arms! It was fantastic!”
Some people are so famous we know them solely by their first name. Meghan. Angelina. Keanu. Elvis.
Another member of the First Name Only Club is, obviously, Oprah. No one ever said, “Which Oprah?” There is only one: Oprah Winfrey. Indeed, the name Oprah is so famous that she had a show called Oprah, a magazine called O: The Oprah Magazine, and her production company — the first one founded by a black American woman — was called Harpo: Oprah backwards.
But! This week we learnt this whole Oprah thing was all, to quote from the film Elf, “sitting on a throne of lies”. For Oprah isn’t called Oprah. No!
Fury’s belief is that his wife’s breast milk is the hot new replacement for protein powders or steroids and that, soon, every hench dude will be knocking back a pint of knocker juice to maximise their workout.
Two decades past my lactating era, I can’t help but feel a burgeoning fury at the idea of perfectly fit and healthy men hanging around their exhausted wives’ knockers, whining, “I just need a cup full, it’s legs day!” as their missus battles with cracked nipples and mastitis. Men! You can’t go around acting like some kind of Milky Vampire sucking your wife’s energy out of her exhausted wabs, then crowing about how “powerful” it makes you! Get out of the gym! Do some f***ing hoovering! We
drinking breast milk has
“doubled” your arm size,
The cheerful pop chanteuse Katy Perry was greatly perturbed on finding that her hit Firework has soundtracked
TikTok footage of US military strikes
in Iran. The video, with the caption
“Iran has been warned”, has more
than six million views.
“I am deeply appalled and angry to see Firework used on the White House TikTok account,” Perry posted on X. “I did not approve this, I was not asked, and I absolutely don’t condone it.”
This isn’t hard to believe: Firework is a BuzzBall feminism anthem of empowerment. It was almost certainly never envisioned as an accompaniment to $2.6 million JASSM missiles smashing into a naval docking facility, burning alive anyone who was unfortunate enough to be there.
Perry is, of course, right to be appalled by the unapproved use of her music. But using her for your footage of war? It’s very… camp. I’m not quite sure what deep-dive psyops tactic this is. Is the White House trying to insinuate that America is so powerful, it regards war in Iran as an extension of the Pitch Perfect franchise? That wholesale slaughter is just a musical finale? But one so razzy even teenage girls and gay men are into it?
To prison news and the latest activities of Charles Bronson, Britain’s Most Feared Criminal. And also Britain’s Most British Criminal as this week he sparked a “stand-off” at HMP Wakefield over a most unexpected issue: “His apple crumble was served without custard.”
“Police officers in full riot gear were called in after Bronson was handed his favourite dessert — apple crumble — but without custard,” the Daily Mail reported. “At exercise time he was told he needed to come back inside but he simply dug his heels in, and refused to move. Three teams surrounded him. Bronson ran at the shield, looked to the sky, and shouted, ‘This is for Reggie Kray!’”
Obviously this was all a serious matter, and we can only be grateful
that no one was hurt. But also this
whole scenario is like some fever
dream of the editor of Loaded,
circa 1995. Unless Bronson
had ended his protest
shouting, “Parklife!”
it couldn’t be more
perfect. I
presume, at some point, Guy Ritchie will make a movie out of it. Custard and the Krays. This doesn’t happen in America. God bless the UK.
2
As the whole world goes Odyssey crazy — including Elon Musk, but in a bad way, as discussed in this week’s No 1 — it seems that there is one small group of people who do not share in the world’s joy over this cinematic achievement: the Vikingaleden Association of Western Sweden.
Last week its chair told the press that they had given permission for one of their replica Viking boats to be used during the making of Christopher Nolan’s smash hit. After filming was done the association invoiced £4,500 for repairs but say they have still not received payment.
“We are only charging for the material cost, not the labour,” the chair explained, Swedishly. “Universal can afford this. We feel forgotten.”
The problem with them going public with this is that historically there has not been a lot of sympathy for Vikings. Oh, your Viking warship has scratched paintwork? Have you been to Lindisfarne? You drowned all the monks, dude! And don’t get me started on York. There are people there still peeved about the slaughter and subsequent installation of a Viking puppet king, and that was in 867.
So, have you checked in with Elon Musk recently? Seen what old Space Karen’s latest wig-out is?
Obviously I’m using a casual, light- hearted tone here, as the reality — that the richest and arguably most powerful man in the world appears to be unhinged — makes me, to quote Harold Ramis in Ghostbusters, “terrified beyond the capacity for rational thought”.
We’ve all just got used to the fact that the man making our cars, launching our communications satellites, dictating the algorithm of one of the world’s biggest social media platforms and intending, on behalf of humanity, to populate space, is a dangerously unpleasant crank.
At some point in the future I dearly hope we all have some kind of “perception reset” and treat him like a 21st-century Henry Ford. (He was another successful carmaking dude with some “tasty” sociopolitical views, including the publication of The International Jew: The World’s Foremost Problem, which was carried in every Ford dealership and was quoted as a big inspiration by Hitler. In the end an outraged public boycott of Ford’s cars made him publish “an apology” and apparently, when he saw footage of Nazi concentration camps “and was confronted with the atrocities… to which he contributed… he collapsed with a stroke. His last, and most serious.” Amazing what a public boycott can do for your morals. If not your arteries.)
But back to Musk. He’s had a busy week. First of all he conducted a televised interview with The Economist’s Zanny Minton Beddoes and then, peeved by her suggestion that he supported “far right” parties, took to X to address his fanbase of 240 million loons and bots. “She is a traitor to the West, pure and simple,” he wrote under a photo of, to make it clear, the editor of The Economist.
Musk will not get a visit from a terrorism prevention agency because he is the richest man on Earth. Somehow this makes it unbad.
Incredibly, this wasn’t the weirdest thing Musk did this week. No, that is his almost demented fury about Christopher Nolan’s film of The Odyssey. Musk hates The Odyssey. Why? He believes it’s “woke”. “True,” he captioned a post that accused the movie of advancing a left-wing plan “to destroy Western Civilisation and everything that helped create it”.
How is an oiled-up Matt Damon killing a Cyclops destroying western civilisation? Well, it’s because the casting includes Lupita Nyong’o as Helen of Troy. “Not one person on the planet believes Lupita Nyong’o is the most beautiful woman in the world,” the right-wing commentator Matt Walsh posted on X. “But Christopher Nolan knows he would be called racist if he gave that role to a white woman.” “True,” Musk replied.
But, to give Musk his due, this wasn’t just a casual moment of bigotry. Musk is a man of action! “Before this year ends, Grok [Musk’s AI] will make a full-length movie of The Odyssey that is historically accurate, and true to the
art of Homer,” he
announced grandly.
To say that I am excited about this is a
wild understatement.
Musk made this
claim before
audiences went
crackers for what is generally regarded as Nolan’s greatest film. This means there is going to be a fight between the Oscar-winning genius’s Odyssey, which took two years to create, and Musk’s uncanny, AI, all-white purity project, knocked out in between X posts calling people “traitors”.
Excitingly, we have an insight into what kind of AI Helen of Troy Musk will create: queasily, his timeline is full of AI women he fancies, all looking like pale, ethereal yet tattooed fairies with massive knockers. It will be fascinating to compare Musk’s dead- eyed anime fantasy with Nyong’o’s exhilarating performance.
I’m genuinely excited to weigh up Nolan’s masterpiece in contrast to whatever mawkish, ethnonationalist, sub-The Sims turd Musk eventually plops out. Because there’s every chance that, if it fails in the way that seems gloriously inevitable, it will be so terrible it will kill all talk of AI movies for a decade, minimum.
Elon! Do all the woke, snowflake, anti-AI luvvies a favour and, once
you’ve ruinously showcased how
eldritch and bloodless AI movies
are, announce your next project
is to make an AI Beatles album! Go on, have a pop! And then do an AI Victoria Wood! With your love and deep knowledge of
British culture, plus your
strong humour, it
will be just like
having her in the room!
You know what, Elon Musk’s The Odyssey may turn out to be the best thing since Henry Ford’s stroke. I’m stoked.
pubs? Let’s reclaim a few other ‘freedoms’ T
he Restore Britain Party, led by the former Reform MP Rupert Lowe, has pledged to bring back indoor smoking in pubs if it wins power. Exciting news, but before you get carried away, after recently hitting 2.8 per cent in the polls, might the party have peaked too early?
As a spokesperson said: “If we’re hitting 2.8 per cent now, will we have enough in the tank for a general election?” That has to be a worry for anyone who longs for the days when you’d come back from the pub reeking of smoke while coughing your guts up. I miss those days. In fact, I haven’t returned from the pub reeking of smoke while coughing my guts up for, what? Nineteen years now? They know how to play on nostalgia, Restore.
To be fair, they are proposing a separate and “contained” smoking room, and if “landlords are happy to provide that”, Lowe says, “it’s none of our business”. A smoker says: “Nice. Despite the fact second-hand smoke creeps and wafts everywhere and there are staff and cleaners to think about, I can’t see how this is going to affect anyone else.”
The smoker added: “It’ll also give me somewhere to go between my treatments for lung cancer, emphysema and heart disease. Hopefully, there will be somewhere to park my drip, and a decent-sized spittoon for the phlegm. I do hope
believe. No murders
Television drama seems to be all murder, murder, serial killer, murder, murder, depressed cop, murder. (See: The Dark, The Rapture, Furious etc.) In fact, if television drama reflected real life we would all either be 1) serial killers 2) depressed cops or 3) dead on the slab, perhaps with a screwdriver plunged through the eye (The Rapture; no thanks).
they haven’t peaked too early.”
Restore’s restoration of smoking is on the grounds of “bringing back liberty” and “freedom” rather than, say, “the stupidest thing you can do to your health save jumping off a high cliff onto the rocks below”.
They are keeping their powder dry, given they may have peaked too early, so we don’t yet know what other stupid things you can do to yourself (save jumping off a high cliff onto the rocks below) they may propose in the future. Car seat belts, that would be right up their alley.
Heck, can you believe it’s been 43 years since we all had the “freedom” to crash through a front windscreen along with the baby in the back? “A flagrant affront to our personal liberties,” a Restore spokesperson will say. “What kind of world are we living in when a person can’t choose whether the
something different to watch I happened across Chorus Girls (Walter Presents, Channel 4) and now wish to get the word out. It’s terrific. I binged all eight episodes and guess what? No screwdrivers through the eye and at no point was anyone even chased through the woods at night. Hard to believe, but true.
It’s a Danish series, set in the Seventies, and based on real-life interviews with the women who worked as dancers at Copenhagen’s Cirkusrevyen — a seasonal revue theatre — at that time. We follow eight chorus
baby in the back hurtles through the windscreen or not?” Looked at that way, you can see they have a point, and it will definitely appeal to those who miss the golden age of hurtling babies. There are some out there today who may not have seen a hurtling baby in their entire lifetime.
What else might be repealed? Crash helmets for motorcyclists, I suppose, because nothing beats the wind in your hair, not even the sound of a head exploding against tarmac, and as an A&E doctor puts it, “We all totally get off on trying to shovel someone’s brains back into their skull in this emergency room.”
As for drink driving, you’d do well to remember that it makes some people better drivers. You’d wish to deny them that? Shame on you! What, may I ask, would you have them do? Leave the car and collect it tomorrow? When that’s such an almighty faff?
A One For the Road initiative would not just feed perfectly into any “stupidest thing you can do to yourself” campaign but would expand the brief to mowing others down on, say, pedestrian crossings too. I’d be very surprised if Restore didn’t have this up their sleeve, but perhaps they’ll pull it out closer to any election?
I can’t say whether they plan to bring back asbestos to schools or other buildings. After all, it was delicious while it lasted, as no one suffering from mesothelioma has ever said. But a reminder: don’t get too carried away. They may have peaked too early.
girls hired for the summer and while it’s quite soapy, the characters are so well formed (and performed) you’re immediately invested.
women throughout, particularly Sussie. (When her husband gives her a bag of cotton wool balls for her birthday in front of everyone else, we know exactly what that means.) And you’ll love these women, even Joy (Marie Reuther), who can be a pain.
The main ones are Sussie (Marie Bach Hansen), whose husband is not as delightful as he appears, and Ulla-Berit (Mille Lehfeldt), who has celebrated her 30th birthday every year for the past five years and is terrified of ageing out of the business.
If I’ve made it sound bleak and disheartening, I’m sorry, because nothing could be further from the truth. When, finally, they learn to trust each other and reach out to each other, it’s actually triumphant. And guess what? No one gets their head held under water until it all goes quiet. Not once.
Domestic violence, abortion, sexism, misogyny, it’s all covered, but in a fantastically organic way. It never feels issues driven. You’ll be rooting for these
documentary end Jared Leto’s career?
musician has been accused of sexual misconduct by four women in a BBC film. Ed Potton reports E
tta — not her real name — was 16 when she met Jared Leto. One of the few people who can genuinely call themselves a movie star and a rock star, Leto was 42 at the time. Shortly to become an Oscar winner for Dallas Buyers Club and established as the frontman of the 15 million album-selling rock band 30 Seconds to Mars, he had an edgy, pretty-boy allure. Leto got hold of Etta’s number and, as she alleges in a new BBC documentary, Jared Leto: Hollywood’s Dark Secret, “very quickly it turns into this whole sexual thing on the phone”.
Etta is one of four women who talk in the film about sexual misconduct by Leto, 54. They were aged between 14 and 19 when the alleged incidents took place and he was in his thirties and forties. “I have never sexually assaulted anyone in my entire life,” Leto said in a statement provided by his reps yesterday. “These claims are absolutely and categorically false.”
The documentary follows an investigation last year by the news website Air Mail in which nine women accused Leto of sexual impropriety. Leto denied these allegations.
Etta’s encounters with Leto happened in 2013, the year in which I interviewed him for this newspaper. Dressed all in black — shirt, shades, jeans, hair scraped into a ponytail that accentuated ludicrous cheekbones — Leto was at the peak of his career: charming and confident. He has never married, although he was rumoured to have been engaged to the actress Cameron Diaz, whom he dated for four years from 1999. He was single when we spoke, and wouldn’t talk about past links to Diaz and Scarlett Johansson. “You gotta keep it classy,” he said. Of speculation about his sexual encounters he added: “So many are assumed but not true at all and others people have no idea about.”
Taylor was 14 when she went to a 30 Seconds to Mars show, where she says Leto, uninvited, signed her top across her breasts. She was with her mother, who told him how young Taylor was. “It’s still a nice rack,” Leto allegedly told her mother.
of consent being 18 in the state. Another woman, Alex, said that she was left in a hotel room in London with Leto and told him that, given she had no money to get home, she might have to sleep there. According to the BBC’s reporting, in response he allegedly threatened to sexually assault her.
There has often been little attempt from Leto to hide his liking for teenagers. In one TV clip he quotes Matthew McConaughey’s character in Dazed and Confused: “That’s what I like about high school girls — I keep getting older but you stay the same.”
Breaking into Hollywood in the late Nineties, Leto became known as a shapechanger, losing 13kg to play a heroin addict in Requiem for a Dream (2000) and putting on 28kg to play Mark Chapman, the murderer of John Lennon, in Chapter 27 (2007). In Dallas Buyers Club (2013) he played a painfully thin pre-operative transgender woman who is dying of Aids, and in the superhero flick
I’ve certainly had lots of different
Suicide Squad (2016) he was an
unsettling Joker. “Maybe I’ve
been suckered into believing
that the greater the challenge
the greater the reward,” he told me. “But I’m not so sure I do things for the reward. I think I do them for the doing.”
His acting may have come into play with some of the alleged encounters with
underage girls. Three of the women in the documentary said that he put them in touch
with other men with whom
conversations. Some suspect
that these men, including
“Christian”, were actually
Leto “playing”
characters.
However, it’s the musical side of his life that feels more relevant here. Rock has a tradition of older men having sex with underage girls, and 30 Seconds to Mars have a core fanbase of teenagers and young
women. Footage shot at gigs shows Leto inviting young-looking girls onto the stage, caressing their faces and putting his arm around the shoulder of one with his hand hovering over her breast.
Sex pervades the music of 30 Seconds to Mars, which Leto started in 1998 with his older brother Shannon. The video for their 2010 single Hurricane was banned for its sadomasochistic content and their 2013 song Up in the Air featured the line: “I’ll wrap my hands around your neck so tight with love love love.” Asked about that lyric by a TV host, Leto replied: “Everything is about sex, except sex — sex is about power.”
When I suggested to Leto that he was “kinky” he laughed and said, “I’m a grown man. I’ve certainly had lots of different experiences.”
Leto had a poor, hard and itinerant childhood. Born in Louisiana, he was brought up by a single mother who “crawled out of the muddy banks of the Mississippi with my brother and me in one hand and food stamps in
Top: Jared Leto at Paris Fashion Week last year. Above: with Claire Danes in My So-Called Life (1994). Left: at the 2023 Met Gala
the other”. His father killed himself when Leto was eight. As a young man he was torn between becoming an artist and being a drug dealer. In a clip in the documentary he says, “I’ve always been entrepreneurial ever since I sold dope as a kid.”
He eventually enrolled at the Philadelphia University of the Arts to study painting, but acting soon claimed him: he transferred to the School of Visual Arts in New York, and got his big break in 1994 playing a blue-eyed rebel dreamboat in the TV drama series My So-Called Life with Claire Danes. Within a few years he was playing one of Brad Pitt’s fellow bruisers in Fight Club (1999) and a home invader in Panic Room (2002).
Leto has barely let up since then. He was touring with his band as recently as 2025, was seen this year as Skeletor, the nemesis of He-Man, in Masters of the Universe and has been linked to forthcoming Andy Warhol and Karl Lagerfeld films. These new allegations, though, really do feel like a career-ender.
— I felt uncomfortable
recalls a 2007 encounter with Leto — and his adoring fans — backstage at a gig I
t is April 2007, I am 30 years old and have been sent by The Times to spend the day with Jared Leto. Not for his acting, which is good, but for his rock band, 30 Seconds to Mars, who are dreadful. Thankfully I have not been asked to review them, so I won’t quite have to say that part out loud. This is a feature, meaning I will interview him to ask why he’s so passionate about making scuzzy emo rock when he could stick to Hollywood, having become so big from his starring role as Jordan Catalano in the cult teen series My So-Called Life, then another mesmerising lead, in the film Requiem for a Dream.
I will watch Jared Leto as he rehearses with his bandmates at the Astoria, a concert venue in London that has since closed. I will write observations in my notepad as he hangs out in the dressing room, prepares for the show, plays the show, does a meet-and-greet with the fans, gets drinks afterwards (though he doesn’t drink them). I will get colour. I will pick up on vibes. I will describe the way the fans obsess over him.
I will end up with one single red rose that Leto has put in my hand to take home when I’m alone with him in a backstage room that I remember as the size of a cupboard. Where we had to go so my dictaphone would pick up on his words better. Get us away from all the noise and everybody else. At least I think that was the reason given at the time. By him? By me?
I will publish this feature in the arts section of The Times in May 2007, and Leto’s representative will get in touch to ask for a print copy to be sent to him because he liked it so much, and it will come so close to figuring out the relationship between Leto and his young fans yet it will fall so very short, and right now I would just like to say sorry. I have been around so many of these men in my work. I have experienced them differently from the fans as they work me for their publicity needs.
I tried in the piece to understand the dynamic between Leto and his fans. There’s a reason I rarely interview famous men any more.
This week Leto has been accused of sexual misconduct by four women in a BBC documentary. “I have never sexually assaulted anyone in my entire life,” he said in a statement provided by his reps. “These claims are absolutely and categorically false.”
a single red rose that Leto has put in my hand
quality, of what we used to call the X factor, than any celebrity I’ve met. Vibrating at a higher frequency than anyone else in the room. Buzzing. Glowing. Charming.
This is definitely a quality you can work on and develop, though the intense light blue colour of his big wide eyes seemed to be God-given.
When I saw him with his fans, working the room, it felt as if he had an intensity. When his eyes fixed on you, something happened. I saw a fan who had somehow earned a private meet-and-greet with him — though I was in the room too — hand him a red rose she had brought him. I watched him look into her eyes and thank her with the most genuine, heartfelt, moving exchange. Did he embrace her? Probably.
This rose ceremony seemed a moment of romantic intensity that would stay with her for the rest of her life — and then the nanosecond that his security ushered her out of the room, he turned to me with a big grin, handed me this most precious of things and said in a cheesily American way, “Regifting the gift!” Of course he didn’t want the stupid rose. This is all part of the performance of fame, of the warped relationship between fan and famous. I took her rose home.
And so to the cupboard. There were other people around, it was a bit noisy for my dictaphone to pick up his answers to my questions, so we went from a backstage room into a smaller room that I presume was some kind of wardrobe with room for two people to stand in? We were extremely close to one another and I started firing my questions at Leto and he responded, then I asked another one
JEFF KRAVITZ/FILMMAGIC
and he said, “Easy!” while looking at my chest. I was confused. I think he said it again when I tried to continue. Maybe he said, “Easy, tiger!” and I thought this was a response to what I had asked.
I couldn’t work out why he was gesturing to my blouse and it felt distinctly uncomfortable to look down at my chest like he was doing, but I looked down and saw that the top three buttons on my blouse had come undone. What the… ? I still don’t understand how it happened.
There is one particular paragraph I wrote in the piece that — oof. Here it is.
Coolness is an interesting point, because the odd thing about Jared Leto’s musical project is that it is not perhaps as cool as Jared Leto. The music has now found genre fellowship with emo bands such as My Chemical Romance, but as Jared points out, 30 Seconds to Mars have been going for far longer, and have always been “the odd men out”. Their fans are not particularly glamorous; they seem to find solace in each other, in friendships largely struck up through the internet, that they cannot find elsewhere. Why would a man who can date Scarlett Johansson want to connect with these people so much?
Top: Jared Leto with fans in 2013. Below: Sophie Heawood
Perhaps because they are not Scarlett Johansson. They are more in
A friend of mine was recently preparing her daughter for
secondary school, which would involve a commute on an Overground train in London. She
really wanted to warn her about dodgy men who would be
interested in a girl in school
interested in a
uniform alone on public transport. “I do get it about dodgy men, I
really do understand, Mum,”
her daughter said, “but
they wouldn’t be
12-year-old girl!”
It broke my friend’s
heart to have to
Y
male midlife trend? No, not a crisis — a glow-up
boyfriend has embraced the red carpet look. Here’s how, says Charlie Gowans I
n Los Angeles for the premiere of Ted Lasso’s fourth series this week, its star Hannah Waddingham brought her new leading man as a plus-one. Chiselled jaw, excellent hairline, elegant suit, a famous person’s sunglasses-at-all-times: so far, so normal for a Hollywood actor. Except that Waddingham’s new partner isn’t one, but a usually frazzled, famously overworked and underpaid NHS doctor in his forties.
It’s a situation that’s part fairytale, part stress dream brought on by too much after-dinner brie. You’re a spine surgeon, which sounds glamorous but is in reality a rotating wardrobe of no- iron shirts in shades of blue and white with a Pret tuna baguette the most glamorous part of your day, and suddenly you’re catapulted onto a Hollywood red carpet on the arm of an exquisitely beautiful star. But while you’re unlikely to find your own Princess Charming who whisks you away to La-La Land, this style transformation is something you can try at home. Especially when you realise that Nick Beresford-Cleary, 46, did Waddingham, 52, proud not by going on a spending spree but wearing a £90 H&M blazer, £149 Loake shoes and £166 Armani sunglasses.
This wasn’t an overnight change: Beresford-Cleary’s middle-aged glow- up happened in stages. First, a black rollneck under Prince of Wales check at the Cheltenham races in March: he looked dapper but perhaps more Bond villain, or tech CEO, than Bond. By his red carpet debut — at the Variety Power of Women awards in June — he’d mastered full glam in a tux and bow tie. But his latest appearance felt less styled, more authentic, as if he has found his celeb sea legs.
We don’t always get to see the unsteady “before” but look at Wayne Rooney’s latest appearances as a pundit: yes, he did have a hair transplant, but it’s the pristine white tee under a well-fitted blazer that really makes the difference. So now
that you know what’s possible with just a few wardrobe tweaks, how can you maximise your own style potential in middle age?
Start with the basics. “Every man needs an Oxford shirt. It’s the most versatile, age-appropriate piece of clothing a man can own,” says Zak Maoui, style director at Esquire. “You can wear it buttoned down on holiday with a pair of shorts and deck shoes, or buttoned up in the office with a neck tie. It’s smart, sophisticated and always leaves you more elevated than the guy in a T-shirt next to you.”
Avoid time-saving no-iron fabric mixes: pure cotton or linen will always wear better, and are worth the effort of pressing them. As for what to wear your shirt with, avoid the impulse to buy the smallest size that fits. Younger generations wear their clothes more loosely fitted. Undersized is ageing. So are too-short trousers and too tightly belted trousers — or belted jeans, in any case, but especially with a braided leather belt.
Choose block colour socks and neutral ties — or no tie at all. Beresford-Cleary opted for an open collar on the red carpet this week, which feels cooler, more modern, more Daniel Craig. If in doubt, wear a suit without the trimmings for a look that reads as elevated but not fussy.
“While there is no one suit that looks good on everyone — everyone has a different body shape — a single- breasted, notch lapel jacket and matching trousers is a good idea for any man to have in his wardrobe,” says Maoui, who also advises against logoed designer trainers and recommends Oxford loafers.
In general, neutral colours make for the easiest mix-and-matching: a navy suit can create endless outfits but when have you seen George Clooney in a bright red trouser? Tonal dressing — not necessarily one shade top to toe but no colour clashing — will elongate and instantly look pulled together. Approach print with caution: you may look like Magnum PI, but then Tom
Nick Beresford-Cleary and Hannah Waddingham. Below: Wayne Rooney in 2024 and with his wife, Coleen, last month
Selleck could make almost anything work; but then equally, you may look like a retired IT consultant (and even if you are one, this shouldn’t be the goal).
Less is more when it comes to accessories: your watch needn’t be expensive and actually will definitely look cooler without diamonds or bling. Spend more on sunglasses, or at least avoid pairs obviously designed
for snowboarding. Gilets aren’t a
prerequisite of middle age: try a denim or corduroy overshirt instead. Leather jackets are a prerequisite of midlife crises, so try suede instead. Even if the red carpet never stretches before you, at least you’ll be ready for it.
‘brotox’: the tricks men use Alice Hart-Davis
ou know it when you see it. One minute there’s a bloke looking averagely careworn and normal, and when you see him a few months later his face is positively radiating vitality, with smooth skin that looks good enough for a red carpet close-up. It could be any bloke. A footballer, say, or a City dealmaker. Welcome to the world of the midlife male glow-up, a subtle form of looksmaxxing that is creating a buzz in tweakments circles.
Have they been at the brotox? Are they on the new GLP-1 pills? The Times reported yesterday that pharmacies are finding that the new weight-loss pill by Wegovy is more popular with older men than the weekly injection because it is discreet and easier to take. So while we’re not suggesting that Hannah Waddingham’s beau has had any tweakments, here’s the lowdown on the tricks some midlife men are using.
A
the past it was often women dragging their partners along but Soni says that more men are finding their own way. “Some feel they need to up their game because their partners are taking such good care of themselves — there’s a disparity in how their faces look,” he says.
Any glow-up starts with wrinkle- relaxing. “The introduction to tweakments is always a little bit of baby Botox,” Soni says. “Men are really bothered when frown lines and crow’s feet wrinkles start looking etched in. Dark circles or under-eye puffiness is big bother too.”
That’s something he’ll tackle with polynucleotide injections to firm and recondition the skin. (Polynucleotides are more popularly known as salmon sperm — it’s DNA derived from salmon/trout gonads rather than salmon sperm, but whatever.)
In his clinic the treatment that has really taken off for men is Sculptra — injections of a substance called poly-L- lactic acid, which stimulates collagen production in the skin so that over the next six months it becomes firmer, smoother, thicker and less saggy. It’s subtle too — it takes six to eight months to see the full results, so there are no sudden changes to give away what’s going on. Sculptra is a winner for men on GLP-1s — the weight loss tends to come with the loss of facial volume and elasticity, which isn’t half so welcome.
In Edinburgh Dr Ben Taylor-Davies, clinical director of the Stockbridge Clinic, is seeing the same increase in men approaching his clinic. “We’re doing a lot of vascular laser treatments [that tone down facial redness] and laser thread vein removal for men to help them to get their skin in tip-top condition,” he says. Middle-aged men with florid complexions, take note.
At Dr David Jack’s clinic in the City of London about 40 per cent of patients are men, many in their forties and fifties and working in finance, law, consulting and tech. “They want to look well and rested,” he says. “Discretion and low-detectability are what matters. They don’t want to look different unless it’s contouring their jawline a fraction with filler.”
That means chasing away signs of fatigue from long hours and relentless travel, which can involve anything from Morpheus8 (radiofrequency microneedling, to firm, smooth and tighten the skin) and IPL (intense pulsed light, to dispatch brown marks of old sun damage) to polynucleotides and hydrating Profhilo (both improve skin quality). And perhaps even Botox in their jaw muscles to reduce tooth- grinding. Are midlife men really up for all this?
“There’s been this explosion of interest in biohacking and preventative medicine,” Jack says. “They’re seeing the tech entrepreneur Bryan Johnson using skincare devices alongside all his biohacking protocols on social media, and it’s helping to normalise the idea of men having aesthetic treatments.”
All the practitioners I spoke to say their patients are great on skincare. “What they need is a gentle cleanser, an antioxidant serum, an SPF 50+ moisturiser,” says Jack, who has his own skincare range that does all this.
Does this mean the stigma of men having treatments is falling away? “Up to a point,” Soni says. “But are men shouting it from the rooftops? Not yet!” Alice Hart-Davis is founder of thetweakmentsguide.com
are worse for you than UPFs
foods can be part of a healthy diet, a new study has found. Here’s how. By Peta Bee
voiding ultra- processed foods, or UPFs, has become a goal for anyone wanting to eat healthily. But while wholesome foods are always going to be a better choice than those laden with sugar, salt and refined carbs, there are plenty of unprocessed foods that are not the best choices either. Scientists from Harvard University have now confirmed that what matters more than how a food is made is the overall quality of your diet.
Dr Xiaowen Wang’s study showed that, if your diet is packed with nutrients, you can eat a high amount of UPFs and still have reduced risk of heart disease and type 2 diabetes, whereas a diet of mostly unprocessed foods could contain the sugar, fat and salt that leaves you prone to those conditions.
“The conversation around ultra- processed foods has become increasingly confusing because people are often led to believe that all ultra- processed foods are harmful and all unprocessed foods are automatically healthy,” says Rhiannon Lambert, a nutritionist and the author of The Unprocessed Plate. But what really matters is getting good balance in your diet. As Rob Hobson, a nutritionist and the author of Unprocess Your Life, says, “Some UPFs have their place alongside wholegrains, fruit and veg.”
Here’s what you need to know. The best processed foods to eat Baked beans: Heinz no added sugar Packed with fibre and plant protein. Half of children’s and more than one third of adults’ total bean intake in the UK comes from baked beans, according to the Food Foundation.
Sliced bread: Jason’s Protein Sourdough Sunflower Seeded Loaf Not all factory-made bread is a poor choice. Look for loaves with minimal ingredients and preferably made with wholewheat or rye flour with some seeds or grains for added fibre. Check labels for mono- and diglycerides (E471) and added sugar.
Fish Fingers: Birds Eye Omega 3 Brands which use UK 100 per cent fish can form part of a healthy diet providing some healthy omega-3 fats, selenium, iodine and protein. “Pollock is an excellent choice as it provides slightly more omega-3 fatty acids than cod,” Lambert says. Avoid products with colourings and additives.
Olive oil salad dressings: Newman’s Own Italian The authors of this latest study suggest that salad dressings containing plenty of antioxidant-rich and heart- healthy olive oil should probably not be on our banned list.
Fortified soya milk: Alpro soya unsweetened Unsweetened soya milk has the highest protein of all plant-based milks. Fortified products such as this have added vitamins but “always shake
a carton of plant-based milk
before use as the
fortification sediment
tends to drop to the
bottom”, says the
dietician Dr Linia
Weetabix Made from compressed whole wheat, it contains a decent 10g of fibre per 100g, no additives and barely any sugar or salt. “It’s also fortified with B vitamins, which means there are few reasons to avoid this,” Hobson says.
Hobson says.
Bran flakes We need 30g of fibre a day but most of us get much less. “This is another UPF cereal that contributes to our intake, providing 17g per 100g fibre,” Hobson says. It’s fortified with B vitamins, iron and vitamin D with an otherwise short list of ingredients.
Pasta sauce: Loyd Grossman no added sugar Tomato and Basil While fresh tomato-based pasta sauces are a better choice, jars can be a healthy stopgap, particularly if they contain no added sugar. “Look for a high tomato and herb content and add more of your own chilli and spices to ramp up the flavour,” Hobson says.
Hummus: Waitrose No 1 extra virgin olive oil “This version has concentrated juice on the label, which tips into the UPF category, but it’s still worth buying as otherwise its ingredients are minimal,”
Ketchup: Biona No Added Sugar
“Cooking tomatoes substantially
raises the level of beneficial
antioxidant compounds such as
foods to avoid Red meat
Government guidelines
recommend no more than
70g a day. High intakes of
haem, found in red meat, are a “probable” cause of bowel cancer, according to the International Agency for Research on Cancer.
Coconut oil The British Heart Foundation says its saturated fat content is one third more than butter’s, while a study found that regular “consumption of coconut oil results in significantly higher LDL cholesterol” than other plant oils.
Maple syrup “It’s a concentrated form of sugar and should not be consumed in excess,” Hobson says. Cheap versions are often mixed with added sugars.
Homemade Victoria sponge with cream Research by Queen Mary University found that 97 per cent of shop-bought cakes had a “red” label for sugar. Homemade is often no better.
White rice “Since the fibre is removed from white rice, it can raise sugar more significantly after eating,” Hobson says.
Apple and mango juice Not all fruit juice is bad but “it is easy to consume a lot of sugar in one go when you drink juice”, Lambert says. There are 12g of sugars in 100g Waitrose Pressed Apple and Mango juice, more than in regular cola.
Muesli: Eat Natural Gluten Free
Buckwheat Toasted Muesli
A recent survey by Which? found that expensive mueslis are often less healthy than more processed budget brands. This
one contains 15.3g of sugar per
100g and is high in saturated
fat from coconut.
Roquefort cheese
Cheese is one of the key
contributors of salt in our
diet, which is linked to raised pressure. Among the worst offenders are blue cheeses and Roquefort is the saltiest, containing more salt than sea water.
Malden table salt There’s no evidence that expensive rock or sea salts, or pink Himalayan salts, are any better for us than cheap table salt. Chemically, all salts are similar, each containing up to 98 per cent sodium chloride.
Boiled white potatoes Potatoes are an important supplier of vitamin C, vitamin B6, folate and iron in the diet, but as a starchy food they do not count towards our five a day. They also cause a blood-sugar spike after you have eaten them.
O
nce, on an anniversary card for my husband, Ross, I simply wrote: “I don’t know how you stand it.” It’s true, I am not a perfect wife. I know, as insanely unbelievable as that sounds, I’m a pretty irritating one. I’ve done a list of questions I ask him, on repeat, that may give you an insight into what he has been putting up with now for 26 years of marriage and have you thinking the very same thing I wrote in that card.
‘Can we go home now?’ Here’s the thing. I really like drinking wine when we go out but it doesn’t take much of it at all to make me feel pretty tired pretty quickly. My first sip of my third glass of wine is the tipping point that takes me from leading the proverbial conga line to being slumped sideways under the coat pile. I want to pass out and sleep. Even at fancy celebrity parties. Ross can live on the Margaret Thatcher sleep regime, even when downing litres of sauvignon. When I’m struggling to keep my eyes open at 10.30pm and whispering, “Shall we get an Uber soon?” He looks at me, pained, and says, “We’ve only just got here!” In our elderly years we have stopped bickering about it and each just leave the party separately when we want.
‘Why do you love me?’ Sometimes the needy side of me will fight its way past my pride and seek some validation. I’m only human. But on the odd occasion I ask, “Why on earth do you love me?” I usually get, “Because you’re funny.” He means I’m unintentionally funny — like the time an entire beach watched me capsize in a kayak in Cornwall on the shoreline, before I’d even paddled once.
‘How can I be a better wife?’ I can understand why this would raise a red flag for husbands, because it feels like a therapy-fuelled trap. No man trusts an open invitation to give unfiltered “feedback”. But I’d just come back from an excruciating management conference at Condé Nast and they’d overpaid some coaching “guru” to talk to us all and this was his idea: go home and let your spouses tell you how you can be a better partner. It had probably been years (never) since I’d considered asking for anything like a performance review, so perhaps it was time. While he was visibly irritated to be hit with a landmine of an inquiry at 8.17pm, I actually think this is a kind question and quite a brave one. Who knows what piece of unwelcome critique I was opening myself up to? I was braced for something like, “You could put out more,” which frankly would be fair. What I got
was: “You could stop leaving your used teabags in the sink.”
‘What should I give the dog for dinner?’ He’s better and more patient with feeding our ancient little dog, Bella, the vet-prescribed food that she hates. When I ask this it’s me asking permission to give her the treat of the food she actually likes rather than spend an hour trying to make her eat what she hates. Obviously I just want her to like me the most.
‘What shall we have for dinner?’ Honestly, I don’t get people who aren’t excited for what they’re going to put in their mouths next. I go to bed excited for breakfast. By 11am I’m planning lunch. How can Ross not already be excited about what to have for dinner at 10 in the morning?
‘Where are my keys?’ This is not my fault, they regularly transport themselves to portals of pure mystery.
‘Why did you have an affair in my dream?’ My God, this is a recurring dream of mine where not only is he cheating on me but he is also so callous about it. He’s all “of course I’m having an affair, you’re so boring” and other such meanness. The last time was a few weeks ago and he’d left the house before I remembered and then texted: “I mean… where did I come up with the name Meadow?”
‘Can you print this for me?’ I don’t work in an office any more (he does) and I have a lot of freelance and Vinted-related admin.
‘Do you think the noise under the bed is a mouse?’ I have some vacuum-sealed bags under the bed and one night there was
a definite sound of them being
pressed down upon by… something. A few nights later, the cord on my bedside lamp started violently jiggling on its own. We have never
found any evidence of what was
under the bed. No droppings,
nothing. But I heard it and I saw that cord move. So
“ghost mouse” is the only explanation and yet he still takes the piss.
‘The dishwasher is making a weird noise, what should I do?’ This is representative of our dynamic now that I work from
home so much more. The
downside of working from home: there is lots of time to notice weird noises. But the upside is that it does give me lots of new things to talk to Ross about on phone and email. Lots. And the 9
Ben Machell
‘Does my bum look big in this?’ I’m blessed with a powerful caboose, which makes running up hills easy but finding trousers that don’t make me look like a Kardashian a challenge. I’m not too proud to ask my wife for reassurance when trying on new clothes, but I’ve come to realise the reason she hates me doing this is because she’s very honest and has no choice but to say, “Yes, you can still see it from space,” every single time.
Jo Elvin and her husband, Ross
‘Who is [someone I should absolutely know]?’ I’m bad with names. And, to be fair, faces. My wife is the opposite. She’s like the Garry Kasparov of Guess Who? and, over the years, I have become a little too dependent on her. Someone will crop up in conversation and I’ll interrupt to ask who she’s talking about, only to be informed they are a close relation of mine. A strange child will enter the kitchen and take some food from the fridge
and walk off, and my wife will grab me by the arm and hiss, “It’s our daughter’s best friend,” just as I’m about to rugby tackle them.
‘Would you mind signing this sworn affidavit confirming that you are categorically “not hungry” and “don’t want anything to eat” before I order myself some chips?’ She hates it when I lawyer-up like this. But she leaves me no choice.
‘Do you think our son would enjoy [insert violent but objectively entertaining film here]?’ He’s 11 years old, which I think is a good age to learn about, for example, Aliens, Predators, Terminators, Robocops, gladiators etc. She, on the other hand, shows a huge amount of respect to the British Board of Film Classification — a respect verging on fear, as though they have undercover informants in every home — and is far more wary about allowing him to watch 15s. So by framing the question as “Would our son enjoy this?” I’m forcing her to admit she would be actively denying him pleasure by forbidding it. Which is sly of me. But I want to watch it too.
‘Can you log in to our online banking?’ It winds her up but, much like running a spy ring, I genuinely think the fewer people who know the crucial details, the more secure everyone is.
All my passive-aggressive questions that are really just statements of irritation. Are you wearing my T-shirt? Are you wearing my boxers? Are those your teabags in the sink? Did you know you can’t put crisp packets in the recycling bin, which is why the binmen gave us a tag of shame and didn’t empty it? Do you think you could park the car in such a way that the front tyre isn’t wedged into the kerb so that it looks like it’s about to explode? And so on.
‘How did you do in Picle today?’ We like to keep things fresh in our relationship by engaging in a bit of spicy roleplay in which we are a pair of absolute losers who are locked in a long-running and remarkably bitter competition to see who can do the best in various online quizzes, word puzzles, crosswords etc. Our current obsession is The Times’s Picle and, apparently, I only ever ask how she did when I have already smugly bagged a high score.
‘Can I pwease pway football on Saturday?’ She hates this. Especially when I do it in a baby voice and look at the floor like I’m all shy and slightly scared to be asking. It’s because she knows I’m not asking for permission to kick a ball about so much as asking her to absolve my guilt about being absent for half a Saturday. And if I have to imply that she’d be Kathy Bates in Misery if she said no, then so be it.
‘Did you score any goals?’ I always ask this after she’s played netball. I know full well that, as a centre, the rules forbid her from scoring goals. I know this because she’s explained it to me a million times. But I still always ask. Because I am a child.
The Odyssey’s absent father trope
Greek hero’s son Telemachus, I longed for a father — but not my own. By Zak Asgard C
hristopher Nolan’s reimagining of The Odyssey was released this month. Most of the reviews say the same thing: “Nolan has done it again! Five stars!” The director has remained faithful to the source material’s theme of “homecoming”, or what the ancient Greeks called nostos. But there is an equally important subtheme: absent fathers.
The Odyssey is the grandaddy of absent father stories. The first four books, known as the Telemachy, are not about our hero’s voyage home, they are about his son, Telemachus, and the pain his father’s absence has inflicted. It may be 2,700 years old but, in a sense, those of us without a father have all endured our own Telemachy. There are roughly 1.25 million boys growing up without a father in the UK. I was one of them.
I knew my father but he was absent. And he was hard to handle. Visiting Sundays were much of a muchness. He would arrive at 11.30am and whistle to announce his arrival. Then we would climb into his car and hit the South Circular at speed, stopping off at the Tesco near his house to buy a pack of Chesterfield Blue Superking.
Back at his place I would sit on a pillow in front of the TV and watch a pirated DVD. It was usually Men in Black or Men in Black II — sometimes both. We didn’t speak. He ranted, but there was little communication. He would stand by the corner of the room smoking a thousand cigarettes. Occasionally he would ask a pointed question, but that was about it. On warmer days we’d walk down the high street. He would point at the gadgets in the shop windows and ask: “Would you like that?” I would nod. “Great,” he would say. “Get your mother to buy it.” That was our routine.
My father didn’t really know me. He certainly didn’t understand me. I’m not sure he wanted to. He didn’t know the names of my friends, teachers or girlfriends. He never attended a school play, sports match or birthday party. He wasn’t there. Not in a meaningful way. Not when it mattered.
From an early age I understood that a closer relationship would be detrimental to my wellbeing. There were times when, like Telemachus, I longed for a father, but I never longed for my father. I was searching for an idea of a dad, for a role model, for a man I could aspire to be. And for many young men that isn’t their father either.
Nolan’s Odyssey has sparked a wider debate online about the impact of fatherlessness. Last week Lord Sewell of Sanderstead, founder of the educational charity Generating Genius, drew a compelling comparison between Telemachus and the fatherless young men of today. “Like Telemachus, they are coming of age in a culture where the old paths into responsible manhood have frayed and no credible new ones have been built in their place,” he wrote.
Sewell is right. A huge number of young men are lacking a blueprint for “responsible manhood”, not least because of the tsunamic wave of online garbage that they receive from the manosphere via their phones.
This doesn’t mean that all of them are experiencing difficult childhoods — far from it. Of course there are
1.25 million boys without a father in the UK
broader environmental factors at play: lack of opportunities, housing instability, school exclusion, poverty. Sewell is also right to acknowledge the tireless work of the 2.5 million single mothers in the UK who are playing the part of both parents, often without help. But it does raise the question: how many young men are in need of male guidance?
Last year the Centre for Social Justice (CSJ) published “Lost Boys”, a stark but necessary report detailing the systemic crisis facing young men today. A significant part of it discusses families and fathers. The CSJ found that an absentee father can have a profoundly negative effect on a child’s mental health. It also found that boys are now more likely to have a smartphone than to live with their father — a damning statistic for our times. And, rather depressingly, there is a clear correlation between youth conviction and father absence: 76 per cent of children in custody reported having an absent father (33 per cent
reported having an absent mother).
Tom Holland in The Odyssey and Zak Asgard
I was lucky enough to grow up with positive male figures. I also had my mother, who was more of a dad to me than my father ever was. Then there were my friends. At least three of my closest mates growing up were fatherless, albeit for different reasons. Without disclosing our personal lives, we gravitated towards one another.
Other boys would come back from school holidays with stories about their dads: fishing trips, football games, broken limbs from skiing, holidays to Japan or New York. Bonding time. Father-son time. I didn’t have those stories, nor did my friends. But there was something comforting in that. We weren’t alone — we had each other.
I’ve learnt a lot about being a man from friends. In a strange way we’ve sort of fathered each other, if a little cack-handedly. But the love is there.
Sewell is right that boys benefit from “seeing manhood embodied up close”. It’s just that manhood doesn’t need to come from the father alone. Sometimes it can’t. And as painful as it is, there’s very little we can do about it.
I said earlier that every fatherless young man can see himself reflected in Telemachus’s story. That wasn’t entirely accurate. The Odyssey is a myth. Now it’s a major motion picture. Odysseus returns to his son, Telemachus, before the end credits roll. That’s catharsis. A Hollywood ending. Life rarely gives us one, and most of us don’t have 20 years spare to wait around for our father, Matt Damon, to show up.
I was 22 when my father died. In the weeks that followed, it felt as though I had been left with a bag of shrapnel in place of memories and told: “Here you are. Everything you want to know about your father is in there. It’s up to you to see if you can piece it back together. Good luck.”
Those of us with absent fathers are unable to fall back on happy memories. Instead we must create new male role models. We must find those mentors to help to guide us into manhood. And one day, if things go to plan, we will have the privilege of guiding the younger generations of men, whether we are their biological fathers or not.
10 Thursday July 30 2026 | the times times2 Your weekday brain boost
puzzles to give your brain an extended workout Samurai medium
SAMURAI
Fill each grid so that every column, every row and every 3x3 box contains the digits 1 to 9. Where the puzzles overlap, the rows and columns do not go beyond their usual length.
SAKURO
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
Sudoku
SUDOKU
MINI SUDOKU
Fill in the grid so that every column, every row and every 3x2 box contains the digits 1 to 6
Play Mini Sudoku every day Monday-Sunday
online at thetimes.com and on Live app
CODEWORD
Every letter in the crossword-style grid, right, 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.
KILLER
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.
TRAIN TRACKS
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.
Futoshiki 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.
FUTOSHIKI
puzzles
Pages 14-16
D
Carol Midgley TV review
Extraordinary Extensions 5 {{{((
oes British television have a kink for house extensions? The evidence seems to be mounting.
I have only just got over Channel 5 managing to wring an entire TV thriller series out of Jill Halfpenny’s character having a kitchen extension built in The Feud. Which, I kid you not, incorporated dialogue about party walls and whether the extension would affect the neighbours’ light. Phwoar, sexy.
It still feels a bit odd to be writing the words “Tinie Tempah” alongside “Extraordinary Extensions” but this is his third time presenting this series,
Natalie Haynes Stands Up for the Classics Radio 4, 9am
In a new series of the programme in which Natalie Haynes, above, mixes stand-up comedy and scholarship to examine the stories of classical civilisations, she is joined by Professor Islam Issa and the scientist and broadcaster Adam Rutherford to reveal the scientific inventions made in the ancient city of Alexandria. These include the earliest examples of weather forecasting, the idea that the sun was at the centre of our universe, singing toy birds and the first keyboard instrument. Anyone new to the classics will be delighted to hear there are 11 series on BBC Sounds. Clair Woodward
and being a property developer as well as a rapper he does know what he is talking about.
The series is clearly a cash-in on Grand Designs and British viewers’ fetish for property shows (I include myself in this). But here, instead of building an entire house they just add an extension. I suspect viewers still experience a similar frisson of danger and schadenfreude though. Will they run out of money? Will they start bickering? Will their risky, expensive venture end up looking like a dog’s dinner? Let’s hope so!
No such luck in the first episode of the new series. We visited two couples extending their homes and, by the end, they were spectacular. Good lord though, they weren’t cheap.
Tinie first took us to an Edwardian terrace in west London in which Chris and Nadine, who had a zeal for art deco, were building a whopping loft extension and giving the garden, kitchen and the rest of the house the Great Gatsby treatment. Nadine wasn’t the sort of woman to compromise on taste, and was splashing out 10-15 per cent of the budget on a gorgeous curved art deco staircase. “Curves equal cost,” our presenter said, sagely. He said it could be iconic or it could end up a very expensive design time warp.
Chris reckoned the project would cost £325,000 but Nadine said it
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5.00am Tom Nunan with Early
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Radio 3
FM: 90.2-92.4 MHz
6.30am Breakfast
9.30 Essential Classics
1.00pm Classical Live
Linton Stephens introduces
highlights from the BBC Proms
including Symanowski’s Stabat
mater. BBC Proms — Poulenc
(Concerto for two pianos in D
minor); Aldeburgh Festival — Fauré
(La bonne chanson Op. 61); BBC
Proms — Szymanowski (Stabat
mater); and Pau Casals
International Music Festival —
Schubert (Quintet in C, D. 956)
4.00 Composer of the Week:
Alice Mary Smith (1839-1884)
Donald Macleod traces Smith’s
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5.00 In Tune
Tinie Tempah is back for round three of loft extensions and more
7.00 BBC Proms 2026
The BBC Scottish Symphony
Orchestra perform Korngold,
Prokofiev and Tabakova with
principal guest conductor Delyana
Lazarova and the violinist Alena
Baeva. Presented by Tom Service,
live from the Royal Albert Hall.
Dobrinka Tabakova (Orpheus’
Comet); Korngold (Violin
Concerto in D); and Prokofiev
(Symphony No. 5 in B flat)
10.00 Night Tracks
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12.30am Through the Night
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FM: 92.4-94.6 MHz
5.00am News Summary
5.04 Sideways (3/8) (r)
5.34 Shipping Forecast
5.43 Prayer for the Day
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6.00 Today
9.00 Choice Natalie Haynes
Stands Up for the Classics
Scientific inventions made in the
ancient city of Alexandria (1/7)
9.30 Art That
Conquered the World
James Fox examines Vermeer’s
Girl with a Pearl Earring (4/4)
10.00 Woman’s Hour
Kylie Pentelow presents
11.00 The Three Ages of Child
Exploring what shapes the
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11.45 Book of the Week:
Confessions of
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By Darren McGarvey (4/5)
12.04pm Scam Secrets
Shari Vahl brings her expertise on
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12.32 Sliced Bread
Investigating the claims of air-
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1.00 The World at One
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Dan and Lucy meet the man
accused of leaving dead animals
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With Patrick Barkham (4/6)
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5.00 PM
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Tempers flare for the Carter family
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Arts programme
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Exploring how different people
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The latest news (r)
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With guests Ayoade Bamgboye
and Wendi Peters (r)
9.45 The Cows Are Mad
Stories that made their way out
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10.45 Wild Dark Shore
By Charlotte McConaghy (9/10)
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8.45 Small Island 9.00 P.O.V
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10.30 The British Reggae
Revolution 11.00 Raffles 11.30
Charles Paris: A Deadly Habit
12.00 Capital Gains 12.30pm The
Burkiss Way 1.00 Believe It! 1.30
Sounds Like London: 100 Years of
Black Music in the Capital 1.45
Small Island 2.00 We’ve Been Here
Before 2.30 The Change 3.00 The
No.1 Ladies’ Detective Agency
3.45 The Phoenix and the Carpet
4.00 Great Lives 4.30 The British
Reggae Revolution 5.00 Raffles
5.30 Charles Paris: A Deadly Habit
6.00 Capital Gains 6.30 The
Burkiss Way 7.00 Believe It! 7.30
Sounds Like London: 100 Years of
Black Music in the Capital 7.45
Small Island 8.00 We’ve Been Here
Before 8.30 The Change 9.00 The
No.1 Ladies’ Detective Agency
9.45 The Phoenix and the Carpet
10.00 Comedy Club: P.O.V 10.30
1966 and All That 10.55 The
Comedy Club Interview 11.00
The Casebook of Max and Ivan
11.30 Small Scenes
Radio 5 Live MW: 693, 909 5.00am Wake Up to Money 6.00 Breakfast 9.00 Nicky Campbell 11.00 Adrian Chiles 2.00pm Matt Chorley 4.00 5 Live Drive 7.00 Glasgow 2026. Day seven of the Commonwealth Games 8.00 Golf: The Women’s Open 8.30 5 Live Sport 9.30 Glasgow 2026 10.00 Qasa Alom 1.00am Laura McGhie
talkSPORT
MW: 1053, 1089 kHz
5.00am Early Sports Breakfast
6.00 talkSPORT Breakfast
with Alan Brazil 10.00 Jim
White and Simon Jordan
would be more than £400,000. I knew Nadine would be right. She didn’t miss a trick. And she was. But the finished product was sensational, with a standout greenish marble kitchen island. “You have expressed your personality and your passions,” Tinie said.
The other extension, adjoining a chocolate box cottage in the Norfolk Broads, was slightly less pricey (just above £300,000) but it was just as risky because they were adding a new building to a charming 275-year-old cottage and it could easily have looked like a carbuncle. It didn’t. Tinie said it was eco-wizardry and he was right. They had used modern materials but all were recycled or eco-friendly, no cement or concrete was used and yet its lines were in symmetry with the 18th-century structure.
Tinie Tempah, whose first property in his twenties was Alexander McQueen’s old house near Victoria Park in Hackney, is probably on to a good gig with this series. With the cost of living so high and property buyers cautious, more people may decide to enlarge their existing homes rather than move house. And Brits do love a bit of property porn. There’s something irresistible about pressing your nose up against someone’s front room window. It’s basically legalised nosiness.
1.00pm Hawksbee and Baker 4.00 talkSPORT Drive 7.00 Kick Off 10.00 The Sports Bar 1.00am Extra Time with Paul Ross
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6.00am Jeremy Kyle 10.00
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Digital only
5.00am Amy Lamé 7.00 Nick
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1.00pm Deb Grant 4.00 Huw
Stephens 7.00 New Music Fix
Daily 9.00 Riley & Coe 11.00
The First Time With 12.00 New
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Virgin Radio
Digital only
6.30am Steve Denyer on The Chris
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FM: 100-102 MHz
6.30am Breakfast with Dan Walker
9.00 The Hall of Fame Hour with
Dan Walker 10.00 Aled Jones
1.00pm Anne-Marie Minhall 4.00
Margherita Taylor 7.00 Relaxing
Evenings with Zeb Soanes 9.00
Classic FM’s Composer Carousel
With Zeb Soanes 10.00 Calm
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4.00 Early Breakfast
PICKS OF THE DAY
Benidorm Is Murder 5, 9pm
This is so indebted to Death in Paradise that it’s surprising it hasn’t reworked the BBC hit’s Caribbean- flavoured theme tune with Spanish guitars. Once again an expat British sleuth — John Hannah’s Dennis, a police officer turned bar owner — has a local female sidekick (Carolina Bécquer’s Rosa) as he solves mysteries. His first case even
BBC1
BBC2
ITV1
Channel 4
5
6.00am Breakfast
9.30 Animal Park (r) (AD)
10.15 Trace, Track, Get My Car Back (r)
10.45 Expert Witness (r)
11.15 Homes Under the Hammer
12.15pm Bargain Hunt (r)
1.00 BBC News at One; Weather
1.35 BBC Regional News; Weather
1.45 BBC News at One; Weather
2.00 Money for Nothing. Jacqui Joseph is
determined to stop quality items being
crushed at High Wycombe recycling centre
2.45 Escape to the Country. Two newlyweds
need Ginny Buckley’s help to find a
home in the Dorset countryside (r)
3.45 The Bidding Room. Items include
a toy aeroplane and a projector (r)
4.30 The Travelling Auctioneers. African
masks, a Victorian tea caddy, and an
RAF-embossed powder compact (r) (AD)
5.15 Pointless. Quiz show (r)
6.00 BBC News at Six; Weather
6.30 BBC Regional News; Weather
7.00 The One Show Presented by
Alex Jones and Clara Amfo
7.30 EastEnders A shocking truth edges
closer to the surface, Nicola tries to
make peace with Eve and Suki,
and Sharon seeks answers (AD)
8.00 Fake or Fortune? Fiona Bruce and
Philip Mould investigate a painting thought to be by the French artist André Derain that belonged to a former Kindertransport child who escaped Nazi Germany (3/4) (AD)
9.00 Who Do You Think You Are?
Harriet Walter discovers a colourful cast of ancestors, in a journey that takes her from the debtor’s court to the opera house via Italian nobility. See picks of the day (7/8) (AD)
10.00 BBC News at Ten
10.30 BBC Regional News and Weather 10.40 Murder 24/7 How five men were
convicted of the murder of
23-year-old Aurman Singh, a DPD
driver who was ambushed and
killed in Shrewsbury (3/8) (r) (AD)
11.40 Murder 24/7 The investigation into
Cheryl McKenna’s death in Worcestershire in 2024 (4/8) (r) (AD)
begins with a corpse in a hotel pool, a staple plot device on Sainte Marie. It’s the body of a member of a Take That tribute act, and a police detective (Ariadna Cabrol’s icy Maria) is convinced he was killed by a bandmate. What saves 5’s show from being a pointless rerun is a sense of fun, which includes meta games such as Rosa’s obsession with Miss Marple and Murder, She Wrote, and the self-mocking touch of opening a copycat crime series with a whodunnit centred on a copycat boy band. John Dugdale
6.30am Money for Nothing (r)
7.15 The Bidding Room (r)
8.00 Sign Zone: Gardeners’ World (r) (AD, SL)
9.00 BBC News
1.00pm Richard Osman’s House of Games.
With Yasmine Akram and Cariad Lloyd (r)
1.30 The Finish Line. Quiz show (r)
2.15 Lightning. Quiz hosted by Zoe Lyons (r)
2.45 The Hairy Bikers’ Bakeation. Baking in
Slovakia, Hungary and Romania (r) (AD)
3.45 The Farmers’ Country Showdown. Two
father-son teams face tough competition
at the Macclesfield Sheepdog Trials (r)
4.15 Earth from Space. Cameras in space
show that the surface of the Earth is
changing at a rapid pace as cities grow,
forests disappear and glaciers melt (r) (AD)
5.15 Flog It! From the Oxford Union (r)
6.00 Richard Osman’s House of Games.
Karen Hauer, Storm Huntley, Joe Marler
and Tom Read Wilson take part (r)
6.30 Just One Thing. Zoe Ball explains the
benefits of eating dark chocolate (r) (AD)
7.00 Escape to the Country Ginny Buckley
presents an arresting range of
houses to a couple who have a
substantial budget of £700,000 and
are hoping to relocate their family
to the Norfolk countryside (r)
8.00 Digging for Britain Alice Roberts
joins archaeologists to explore
Central England’s past, through an
RAF airbase with a Roman past,
a nunnery and a pub with a long
history of hospitality (2/6) (r) (AD)
9.00 The Devil in the Family: The Fall of
Ruby Franke Ruby and Jodi’s
partnership deepens as together
they reshape the family, and Ruby
starts to banish members of the
family from their home (2/3) (AD)
9.50 The North York Moors: A Wild Year
Cameras focus on sheep (AD)
10.00 The Smuggling Business:
Undercover Josie Hannett’s investigation into people-smuggling gangs operating in France 10.30 Newsnight Headline analysis
presented by Adam Fleming
11.05 Golf: Women’s Open Highlights 2026
Action from day one of the Major Championship held at Royal Lytham & St Annes Golf Club in Lancashire
12.05am FILM: The Blackening (15, 2023)
Seven friends go away for the weekend and
end up trapped in a cabin with a killer who
has a vendetta. Comedy horror starring
Grace Byers and Jermaine Fowler.
See film choice 1.35 Sign Zone: Ambulance
(r) (SL) 2.35-3.35 Evolution (r) (AD, SL)
As is fairly well known, Harriet Walter (Killing Eve, Succession) is the niece of Christopher Lee. But she makes no mention of the Dracula star in her genealogical adventure, and he may be one of “the men in my family” whom she blames for belittling her mother Xandra, his sister. To prove the chaps wrong, Walter spends her quest’s first half investigating the former deb’s wartime job in John Hannah stars in Benidorm Is Murder on 5 at 9pm
6.00am Good Morning Britain
10.00 This Morning. Celebrity chat,
showbusiness news and lifestyle features
1.00pm ITV News; Weather
1.30 Live ITV Racing: Glorious Goodwood.
Ed Chamberlin and Francesca Cumani
present coverage of day three of the
meeting, including feature race the Nassau
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 commentary by Richard Hoiles
4.30 Tipping Point: Best Ever Finals.
Compilation of some of the most dramatic
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show hosted by Ben Shephard (r)
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contestants from Newark, Stockport, Cardiff
and Glenrothes join forces in the hope
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7.30 Tom Kerridge Cooks Italy How the
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8.00 Emmerdale A scheme is halted, while
Claudette does a deal and there might be danger at the depot (AD)
8.30 Coronation Street Cassie revisits her
greatest hits with Ross, while Nina voices suspicions of Sienna (AD)
9.00 The Chase Around the World The
teams land in Lisbon to take on the Dark Destroyer and the Sinnerman, who have set a series of quiz questions that the teams must solve to navigate across the city (3/6) (AD)
10.00 ITV News at Ten; Weather;
followed by Regional News
10.45 FILM: Bad Boys II (15, 2003) Two
mismatched undercover cops set out to halt an underground gang war and bring down a drug lord attempting to flood the market with a deadly form of Ecstasy. However, a romantic interlude threatens to drive the investigation off course. Comedy thriller sequel starring Will Smith, Martin Lawrence, Gabrielle Union, Jordi Molla and Peter Stormare
1.25am Shop on TV 3.00 The Summit. Ben Shephard presents as 14 people from all walks of life come together to attempt to climb one of New Zealand’s highest peaks and win a share £200,000 (r) (AD, SL) 4.00 Unwind with ITV 5.05-6.00 Deal or No Deal: Celebrity Special. With Guz Khan (r) (AD, SL)
Who Do You Think You Are? BBC1, 9pm
6.25am Cheers (r)
7.45 Everybody Loves Raymond (r) (AD)
9.10 Frasier (r) (AD)
11.10 Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares USA.
The chef helps a failing vegan restaurant (r)
12.05pm Channel 4 News Summary
12.10 Find It, Fix It, Flog It. Henry Cole and
Simon O’Brien head to Pembrokeshire
to meet a cattle breeder (r) (AD)
1.10 The Great House Giveaway. Two
strangers buy a property in Wigan (r)
2.10 Countdown. With Scarlett Moffatt
3.00 A Place in the Sun. Ben Hillman helps a
pair locate a suitable holiday property to
purchase in or near Torrevieja in Spain (r)
4.00 Narrow Escapes. A family collect their
new home from Newbury Marina (r) (AD)
5.00 Château DIY. Erin and JB struggle to
get the windows back into their turret
renovation before rain arrives (r) (AD)
6.00 American Pickers. Mike Wolfe
stumbles on a century-old Jell-O
ice-cream wagon worth thousands (r) (AD)
7.00 Channel 4 News
8.00 Renovation Rescue New series. The
show returns with new presenters Vogue Williams and Luke Mabbott, who come to the rescue of families who have had bad experiences with their builders, leaving them low on funds and living in chaos (AD)
9.00 Murder Case: The Digital Detectives
The killing of a woman in Hampshire in September 2022, having received an ominous text from an unknown number saying “I am 30 seconds from your door” (AD)
10.00 Don’t Date Brandon New series.
Documentary about two women who had negative experiences in their relationships with the same man, prompting them to start a podcast to warn others to stay away from him. See picks of the day (1/3) (AD)
11.00 Don’t Date Brandon Amber and
Athena start a podcast to tell
their story and warn other women
about Brandon. As more of his
ex-girlfriends come forward,
shocking secrets spill out.
See picks of the day (2/3) (AD)
12.05am Don’t Date Brandon See picks of the day (AD) 1.05 Crime Scene Cleaners (r) (AD, SL) 1.55 Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares USA (r) (SL) 2.40 The Undeclared War (r) (AD, SL) 4.30 Couples Come Dine with Me (r) 5.20 Kirstie and Phil’s Love It or List It: Brilliant Builds (r) 5.45-6.25 Countdown (r)
naval intelligence, which turns out to have been important (she seems celebrity-averse — did Xandra work with Ian Fleming?). Walter next turns to her Italian ancestors on her mother’s side, retracing the career of an aristocratic misfit called Girolamo. His life (from 1830s Modena to Tasmania) was a litany of failures, with one exception: marrying a young singer in Hobart called Maria who became a famous diva and a pioneering working mum. JD
6.00am Milkshake!
9.15 Jeremy Vine
11.30 Storm & Alexis
12.45pm 5 News at Lunchtime
12.50 Matt Allwright
2.20 FILM: Stolen Baby — The Murder of
Heidi Broussard (12, TVM, 2023) A woman
is murdered by a friend who then tries to
pass off her victim’s baby as her own. Drama
starring Anna Hopkins and Emily Osment
4.00 Castle. Beckett and Castle visit a film
set when they investigate the death of 1980s
action movie star Lance DeLorca, who was
found dead in an alley outside a theatre (r)
4.55 Love Nature. A look at the Pollinator
Pathways Project in Bristol (r) (AD)
5.00 5 News with Dan Walker
6.00 Malta: The Jewel of the Med. Cameras
focus on the Malta Classic Grand Prix,
and three injured turtles who are released
back into the wild from one of the
country’s most beautiful beaches (r)
6.55 5 News Update
7.00 Around the World in First Class with
Josie Gibson Josie Gibson goes on an immersive journey into the world of first-class travel. She begins in the Middle East, heading first to Dubai, where she stays in a villa (1/4) (r)
7.55 5 News Update
8.00 Cornwall: A Year by the Sea In St
Ives, artist Iona leads a painting masterclass, and in Marazion, competitors take on the Kernowman 70.3 Triathlon against the backdrop of St Michael’s Mount (9/10)
9.00 Benidorm Is Murder New series.
A burned-out ex-police officer and
an actress solve crime on the
Mediterranean coast of Spain. Drama
starring John Hannah, Carolina
Bécquer and Ariadna Cabrol.
See picks of the day (1/6) (AD)
10.00 Commonwealth Games 2026
Highlights from the seventh day in
Glasgow, as track cycling and para
track cycling began with seven
gold medals up for grabs at the
Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome
11.05 Fare Dodgers: At War with the Law
At Vauxhall, revenue protection
officers from South Western Railway
are involved in a major sting
operation which prompts an
investigation into fraud going
back seven months (r)
12.05am Street Cops: Catching the Yobs (r)
1.00 Cruise TV (r) 2.00 Shoplifters: Catch
Me If You Can (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
The Adventures of Paddington (r) (SL)
Talking Pictures BBC4, 8pm
In Seventies Legends Part II, Celia Imrie is our guide for a trawl through the archives for interviews with film stars from the decade that style forgot. Clint Eastwood reveals how he relaxed on the set of Dirty Harry while Robert De Niro discusses his Method preparation for Taxi Driver (on at 9pm). The episode also features Steve Martin, Linda Blair (The Exorcist) and a memorable award
7.00pm Great British Railway
Journeys. Michael Portillo explores
Derby and Nottingham (AD)
7.30 Walking with Steph McGovern.
The broadcaster spends a day
in the Yorkshire Dales
8.00 Talking Pictures: Seventies
Legends Part II. Celia Imrie takes
a look at 1970s Hollywood.
See picks of the day
9.00 FILM: Taxi Driver (18, 1976)
A misanthropic cabbie is gradually
driven to a brutal act of violence.
Drama starring Robert De Niro (AD)
10.50 FILM: Funeral in Berlin (PG,
1966) Cold War thriller starring
Michael Caine and Eva Renzi
12.30am Talking Pictures: Seventies
Legends Part II 1.30 Becoming Frida
Kahlo (AD) 2.30 Great British
Railway Journeys. In Derby and
Nottingham (AD, SL) 3.00am-3.30
Walking with Steph McGovern (SL)
U&Drama
7.00pm The Catch Up
7.05 Deadly 60. Searching for
the world’s biggest wasp
7.30 Deadly 60. Exploring the
wildlife of British Columbia
8.00 Top Gear. With guest,
actress Gillian Anderson
9.00 The Traitors Canada.
Karine Vanasse issues the Murder
in Plain Sight challenge
10.05 The Traitors Canada. The
guests learn they are not always
guaranteed the right to speak
11.05 The Traitors Canada. One
guest may have no choice but to
betray their own beliefs
12.05am The Traitors Canada. The
heat is on for the guests to make
their final moves. Last in the series
1.05 Canada’s Drag Race: Canada
vs the World 2.15 Smoggie Queens
(AD) 3.45am-4.05 Birdsong
Variations
BBC1 N Ireland 10.40pm Spotlight 11.10 Murder 24/7 (r) 12.10am Murder 24/7 (r) 1.10 Alan Carr’s Picture Slam (r) 1.55am-6.00 BBC News
BBC1 Scotland 7.00pm-7.30 River City (r) 12.35am Scotcast (r) 1.05 Alan Carr’s Picture Slam (r) 1.55am-6.00 BBC News
STV
1.30pm-4.30 Live STV Racing:
Glorious Goodwood. Coverage
of day three of the meeting
1.25am-3.00 Shop on TV
4.00am-5.05 Unwind with STV
acceptance speech from Jack Nicholson. Joe Clay
Don’t Date Brandon Channel 4, 10pm
This three-part documentary tells the story of Brandon Johnson through the eyes of his ex-wives. They include Amber, who thought Johnson was the perfect catch until a series of red flags revealed his true identity: a serial liar, cheater and con artist with a string of restraining orders taken out against
Sky Arts
6.00am Cirque du Soleil: Volta 8.10
The Joy of Painting 9.10 Tales of
the Unexpected (AD) 10.00
Alfred Hitchcock Presents 11.00
Discovering: Shirley MacLaine (AD)
12.00 The Movies 1.00pm Tales of
the Unexpected (AD) 2.00 The
Alfred Hitchcock Hour 3.00 The
Seventies (AD) 4.00 Discovering:
Charles Bronson (AD) 5.00 Portrait
Artist of the Year 2021 (AD)
6.00 Tales of the Unexpected (AD)
7.00 Alfred Hitchcock Presents
7.30 Alfred Hitchcock Presents
8.00 Discovering: Gary Oldman (AD)
9.00 The Life and Deaths of
Christopher Lee. A profile (AD)
11.10 Hammer: Heroes, Legends
and Monsters. Documentary (AD)
1.05am National Theatre Live Dr
Strangelove 3.00 Van Gogh by
Vincent 4.00 The Art of the Garden
5.00am-6.00 The Movies
6.00am Backyard Builds (SL) 6.30 Deal or No Deal (AD) 7.30 Dress to Impress (AD, SL) 8.30 Sam and Billie: Sister Act 9.30 The Only Way Is Essex 10.25 The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City 11.20 The Real Housewives of Orange County 12.15pm Dinner Date (AD) 1.15 Supermarket Sweep 2.15 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 6.00 Celebrity Catchphrase (AD) 7.00 The Floor USA (AD) 8.00 The 1% Club (AD) 9.00 The Princess Diaries 10.00 Family Guy (AD) 11.30 American Dad! (AD) 12.35am Bob’s Burgers. Double bill of the animation (AD) 1.30am-2.25 Deal or No Deal (AD, SL)
9.00 Granite Harbour 10.00 Scot Squad (r) 10.30 Cumming to the Cabaret (r) 11.15 Scotcast 11.45pm-12.00 Tune (r)
S4C 6.00am Cyw 12.00 News; Weather 12.05pm Cais Quinnell (r) 12.30 Heno (r) 1.00 Gwlad Moc (r) 1.30 Sgwrs Dan y Lloer (r) 2.00 News; Weather 2.05 Prynhawn Da 3.00 News; Weather 3.05 Cyfres Triathlon Cymru 2026 (r) 4.00 Awr Fawr: Caban Banana Gareth (r) 4.05 Chwedlau Tinga Tinga (r) 4.20 Help Llaw (r) 4.35 Mojo Swoptops (r) 4.50 Annibendod (r) 5.00 Stwnsh: He-Man a Meistri’r Bydysawd (r) 5.25 Y Tri Mysgedwr (r) 5.40 Larfa (r) 5.45 Cuddio (r) 6.00 Gwlad y Basg: Gwilym Bowen Rhys (r) 6.30 Pobol y Cwm 7.00 Heno 7.30 News; Weather 8.00 Gemau’r Gymanwlad 2026 10.30-11.35pm Yr Afon (r)
him. Together they created the investigative podcast Ex-Wives Undercover to take him down. JC
STREAMING CHOICE
The Bombing of Pan Am 103 Netflix
A year on from its BBC screening, this chronicle of the investigation into the 1988 bombing of a passenger flight from Frankfurt via London en route to Detroit, which exploded over the Scottish town of
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.
Kirstie Allsopp and Phil Spencer
are in Bath and Bristol (AD)
7.55 Grand Designs. Identical twins
brothers build two near-identical
houses next door to each
other in Sheffield (5/7) (AD)
9.00 The Reclaimers: Made in
Suffolk. A storm is threatening the
stock at Tinkers Barn (3/5) (AD)
10.00 24 Hours in A&E. Medics treat
a 20-year-old man who has
collapsed with chest pain (AD)
11.05 24 Hours in A&E. The staff
treat patients involved in serious
road accidents (1/6) (AD)
12.10am 999: On the Front Line
1.15 24 Hours in A&E (AD)
3.20am-3.55 A Place in the Sun
6.00am George and Mildred 7.05
Classic Emmerdale (AD) 8.05
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) 4.40 Classic
Coronation Street (AD) 5.50
Heartbeat. Rural drama (AD)
8.00 Vera. When a dock worker
plunges from a car park, Vera
investigates a work dispute over a
young man’s death and uncovers
a life of secrets and lies (4/4) (AD)
10.00 Grantchester. Sidney is
suspected of murder (5/6) (AD)
11.00 Grantchester. Sidney resolves
to resign from the church (6/6) (AD)
11.50 Trial & Retribution. Part one
of two. The daughter of a seemingly
happy family is murdered (1/10)
1.25am-2.25 Wycliffe
8.00am America the Bountiful 8.35
Everest: The South West Face 9.45
Pirates: Behind the Legends 10.40
Maps of Power 11.50 A Final
Landing on Iwo Jima 1.00pm
America the Bountiful 1.50 Everest:
The South West Face 3.00 Pirates:
Behind the Legends 4.00 Maps
of Power 5.15 A Final Landing on
Iwo Jima. Jim Nantz narrates
6.25 Everest: The South West Face
7.40 Pirates: Behind the Legends.
An English pirate who became a
Corsair for the Ottoman Empire
8.40 Maps of Power. Exploring
Russia’s geographical history (2/3)
9.50 A Final Landing on Iwo Jima.
A Marine veteran returns to the
battlefield on Iwo Jima 80 years
after being wounded there
11.00 Pirates: Behind the Legends
12.00 Maps of Power 1.15am-2.00
America the Bountiful
Lockerbie, gets a chance at a wider audience. When first released, many felt it was a redundant exercise, coming soon after Sky’s Lockerbie: A Search for Truth. Yet this takes a different approach, piecing together a dark labyrinthine narrative. Andrew Male
FILM CHOICE
The Blackening (15, 2022) BBC2, midnight
“We can’t all die first” is the tagline
Live NRL: North Queensland Cowboys v Sydney Roosters Sky Sports +, Sky Sports Action, 10.50am-12.50pm (Kick-off 10.50). Coverage of the match from the 22nd round of fixtures in Townsville
Live The Hundred: Southern
Brave Women v Birmingham
Phoenix Women
Sky Sports Cricket, 2.45pm-6
(Start-time 3.00). Coverage of
the match from Utilita Bowl
Live The Hundred: Southern
Brave Men v Birmingham
Phoenix Men
Sky Sports Cricket,
6pm-9.30, Sky Sports
Main Event, 7pm-9.30
(Start-time 6.30). Coverage of
the match from Utilita Bowl
Live PGA Tour Golf Sky Sports Golf, 7pm-11 The opening day of the Rocket Classic in Michigan
Live MLB: St Louis Cardinals v Chicago Cubs TNT Sports 1, 7pm-10 (Start-time 7.15). Coverage from Busch Stadium
6.00am Richard E Grant’s Hotel
Secrets (r) (AD) 8.00 Billions (r)
(AD) 10.05 The White Lotus (r) (AD)
11.25 Task (r) (AD) 12.35pm
Homicide: Life on the Street (r) 2.25
Billions (r) (AD) 4.30 Task (r) (AD)
6.45 The Gilded Age. Bertha
finalises the guest list (r) (AD)
7.55 True Detective: Night Country.
Crime drama (1/6) (r) (AD)
9.00 The Five-Star Weekend. Hollis
finds out Caroline’s secret (5/8) (AD)
9.50 The Five-Star Weekend.
Brooke’s marriage troubles show up
on Nantucket Island (6/8) (AD)
10.30 Euphoria: A Look Back (r)
11.40 All Her Fault. Peter takes
matters into his own hands (r) (AD)
12.40am Task. Crime drama
starring Mark Ruffalo (1/7) (r) (AD)
1.55 Task. Double bill (r) (AD)
4.05 Billions (r) (AD) 5.50am-
6.00 Urban Secrets (r)
7.35am FILM: The Adventures of
PC 49 — Investigating the Case of
the Guardian Angel (PG, 1949)
(b/w) 8.50 FILM: Walk a Crooked
Mile (PG, 1948) (b/w) 10.40 FILM:
The Miracle of the Bells (PG, 1948)
(b/w) 1.00pm The Adventures of Sir
Lancelot (b/w) 1.30 FILM: The
Black Rider (U, 1954) (b/w) 2.50
FILM: The Late Edwina Black (PG,
1951) (b/w) 4.25 FILM: The Naked
Truth (U, 1957) (b/w)
6.15 Cinebox Memories
6.20 Strange But True
6.55 The Brothers
8.00 Mark Saber (b/w)
8.30 The Wheeltappers and
Shunters Social Club
9.20 FILM: Fritz the Cat (18, 1972)
11.00 FILM: Deux Hommes dans la
Ville (1973) 1.00am Scotland Yard
1.35 Doomwatch 2.35-4.00 FILM:
Flannelfoot (PG, 1953) (b/w)
ITV4
6.00am Magnum, PI 7.00 Dempsey
and Makepeace (AD) 8.05 Boon
9.10 The Professionals (AD) 10.20
Robin of Sherwood 11.30 Magnum,
PI 1.35pm Dempsey and
Makepeace (AD) 3.45 Boon 4.50
The Professionals (AD) 5.55 Minder.
Arthur tries to sell Terry’s flat (AD)
7.00 River Monsters. Jeremy Wade
investigates the Loch Ness Monster
8.00 Sharpe. Hakeswill returns to
create more mischief for Sharpe.
Guest starring Elizabeth Hurley
10.15 The Motorbike Show.
Henry Cole teams up with a
one-legged rider to enter the Vintage
Motor Cycle Club’s Banbury Run
11.15 Black Sails. Flint gives
Dufresne some advice
12.20am Hell’s Kitchen 1.10 The
Champions 2.05-3.00 Minder (AD,
SL) 3.30am-4.00 Auto Mundial
Sky Docs 6.00am The Nineties (r) 7.00 Discovering: Peter Ustinov (r) (AD) 8.00 The Directors (r) (AD) 9.00 Urban Secrets (r) 10.00 The Man Who Played with Fire (r) 11.00 David Frost Vs (r) (AD) 12.00 Pee-wee as Himself (r) 4.00pm The Directors (r) (AD) 5.00 Discovering: Peter Ustinov. The English actor (r) (AD) 6.00 David Frost Vs (r) (AD) 7.00 Germanwings: What Happened on Flight 9525? The deliberate crashing of an Airbus in 2015 (r) 8.45 My Icon: Thierry Henry (r) (AD) 9.00 David Fuller: Monster in the Morgue. Documentary about the murderer and necrophile (r) (AD) 11.00 FILM: Belushi (18, TVM, 2020) Documentary (AD) 1.00am Murder in Boston: Roots, Rampage and Reckoning (r) 4.00 The Directors (r) (AD) 5.00am-6.00 Discovering: Peter Ustinov (r) (AD)
to this satirical horror poking fun at the tendency for black people to be first in the slaughter queue in horror movies. All the key characters in the film are African- American, who have gathered at a remote house for a reunion. Fortified with weed, MDMA and magic mushrooms, they find a board game called The Blackening, which barks questions at them, such as: “Name five black characters in Friends.” If they get a question wrong, bad things happen. (97min) Ed Potton
11.00am Drums Along the Mohawk
(PG, 1939) John Ford’s historical
drama starring Henry Fonda
1.10pm Siege at Red River (U,
1954) Western starring Van
Johnson 2.55 Jingle All the Way
(PG, 1996) Comedy starring Arnold
Schwarzenegger, Sinbad and Rita
Wilson (AD) 4.40 Robot Dreams
(PG, 2023) Animated adventure
with the voice of Ivan Labanda
6.45 Fisherman’s Friends (12, 2019)
Comedy with James Purefoy (AD)
9.00 Beast (15, 2022) A man and
his teenage daughters are hunted by
a huge rogue lion in the savanna.
Action thriller with Idris Elba (AD)
10.50 The Last Duel (18, 2021)
Ridley Scott’s drama based on a
book by Eric Jager starring Adam
Driver and Jodie Comer (AD)
1.50am-3.50 Happening (15, 2021)
Drama with Anamaria Vartolomei
6.00am Teleshopping 7.20 The Bill
8.15 Doctors 9.25 Classic Holby
City 10.45 Casualty (AD) 11.45 The
Bill 12.50pm Classic EastEnders
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
8.00 The Marlow Murder Club.
A man with no ID and no connection
to Marlow is found dead (3/6) (AD)
9.00 The Marlow Murder Club.
A link to a past missing persons
case shines a new light on the
residents of Linnet Close (4/6) (AD)
10.00 New Tricks. A conspiracy
theory implicates the American
government in a death (2/8) (AD)
11.05 Silent Witness. A father and
son are killed. Emilia Fox stars (AD)
1.35am Lovejoy 2.40 As Time Goes
By 3.10 Darby and Joan (SL)
4.00am-6.00 Teleshopping
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
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
7.00 Asia (AD)
8.00 Bangers & Cash. Derek
collects an Opel Manta (AD)
9.00 Bangers & Cash: Restoring
Classics. A DIY job on a Fiat (AD)
10.00 Bangers & Cash: Restoring
Classics. A 1939 Morgan F4 (AD)
11.00 Bangers & Cash: Restoring
Classics. A Citroen DS21 Pallas (AD)
12.00 Bangers & Cash (AD) 1.00am
Find It, Fix It, Flog It (AD) 2.00
Great British Railway Journeys
3.00am-6.10 Teleshopping
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Fiendish No 696
25
35
12
1
2 2
7
10 11
When complete, the strip below the grid can be split into eight pairs of numbers. Adding the numbers in a pair gives one of the 16 numbers in the grid. Multiplying them gives a different number in the grid. For example, a 4 and 6 in the strip could be paired to make 10 (4+6) and 24 (4x6) in the grid. Enter each sum below the corresponding number in the grid. The blanks in the strip must be deduced, bearing in mind the numbers are listed in ascending order.
K
T R
O E
K
C E
X
The next Tetonor puzzle will appear on Tuesday
R P
Mini Sudoku, extra Codeword,
N I
F U
H I
KenKen Difficult No 6898
Codeword No 5906
20
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).
Lexica Easy No 9023 Hard No 9024
White to play.
This position is from Flores
Quillas-Astoyauri De la Cruz,
Lima 2026.
This is a complex position. White
has a big lead in development
and Black is struggling to get the
king safe. Nevertheless, White
has a problem to solve as the
f3-knight is threatened and if it
moves away, Black can play
... Qxg5. One senses that this is
the critical moment. What
should White do?
S G
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 5446
B M
Kakuro No 4405
Train Tracks No 2931
© PUZZLER MEDIA
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.
Solve all five cryptic clues using each letter underneath once only
1 Achievement walkers discussed (4)
2 Fancy wink (5)
3 Rod and chain for carrier (6)
4 Handouts redistributed a lot? (8)
5 Member has yet to arrive to pass law (9)
A A A A A B D E
E E F F G H H I
L L L N O O R R
S S S T T T U W
our new online Quick Play puzzles at thetimes.com/ puzzles and on the Live app
your mind with puzzle books from
No 2633
timesbookshop.co.uk
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.
÷ 5
I
Brain Trainer
Brain Trainer
1 2 3 4 5
÷ 4
6 7
8 9
÷ 8
10 11 12 13
14 15 16 17
18 19 20
21 22
IT
Across 6 Newspaper exclusive (5) 7 Onion and garlic genus (6) 8 In a friendly manner (8) 9 Misprint or misspelling (4) 10 And others (2,2) 11 Tabletop football game (8) 14 Honesty, sincerity (8) 16 Flow out (4)
IT
IT
IT
Solution to Crossword 10,221
' ( ) , ( ' 2 0 5 , 5 < * ( < 6 ( 5 * ( 2 0 ( 7 ( 5 5 & ( 1 ' / ( $ 7 + ( 5 6 ( 7 ) 5 ( ( / ' 7 5 2 & % ( * ( 7 2 3 ( 7 ( 5 $ / ( : ( 6 $ , 5 $ 9 1 % ( 6 , ' ( 6 . ( 6 7 5 ( / % ( 3 1 , ' ( 7 $ , 1 ( ( ' ( & 5 ( ( 1 ( & ' ( 1 ) ( 5 5 ( 7
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).
ANSWER
ANSWER
ANSWER
Bridge Andrew Robson
We return to Riga for the 57th European Bridge National Teams Championships. In the Open series, most pundits were choosing between Switzerland (containing arguably the strongest partnership in the world, Kalita-Klukowski), Italy (three highly rated and prac- ticed partnerships) and Norway. No one would have guessed that neither Switzerland (14th) nor Italy (17th) would even come close, neither country qualifying for next year’s Bermuda Bowl in Barbados (by finishing in the top eight). Norway, however, convincingly won the gold medal, well clear of Denmark in 2nd and Israel in 3rd. I’ll avoid the clichéd “long winter nights” but the standard of bridge in Norway is extremely high. You can beat them only if you’re on your “A” game and have a following breeze. Beat them, however, the England Open Team did, starring Board 24, in which 28 (out of 30) North-South pairs bid and made slam. The 29th stopped in 4NT. The 18-year-old Norwegian declarer was the 30th. How would you declare 6NT on ♣J lead? You play low from dummy, East win- ning the king and returning a club to dummy’s ace. Declarer ran diamonds and mis- read the ending, eventually taking a losing heart finesse. I’m not sure I’d have done better. The line I like is to advance the queen of spades at trick three — perhaps West will cover with the king or you’ll get a read. If West plays low smoothly, rise with the ace and cash all your minor-suit winners. West will have to reduce to ♥Qx to keep ♠K and you’ll have to
H E W
18 Metal bar on a guitar’s
fingerboard (4) 20 Cause to divide into
opposing sides (8) 21 Prefer; act of goodwill (6) 22 Brief surge of activity (5)
Down 1 Thin soup or stock (8) 2 Shimmer lustrously (8) 3 Infant (4) 4 Ink stain (4) 5 1980s young
professional (6) 6 Slumbered (5) 12 Without foundation (8) 13 Boxing punch (8) 15 Ostracised person (6) 17 Emotional distress (5) 19 Old-fashioned counterpart
of the pronoun “thee” (4) 20 Contented hum (4)
Dealer: South, Vulnerability: Neither
Teams ♠AJ5 ♥A4 ♦KQ9863 ♣A3
Advanced
♠K874 ♥Q63 ♦542 ♣J102
♠96 ♥109872 ♦7 ♣K9864
N W E S
♠Q1032 ♥KJ5 ♦AJ10 ♣Q75
S W N E
1♣(1) Pass 1♦ Pass 1NT(2) Pass 6NT(3) End
(1) Playing Strong Notrump and Five-card Majors. I would estimate that 70 per cent of competitors will have played Strong (15- 17), 20 per cent Weak (12-14) and 10 per cent Mini (10-12) — albeit non-vulnerable only. And I would guess that 98 per cent played Five-card Majors. Modern experts regard British ACOL as “A Code Of Legacy”. (2) Showing 12-14. (3) An 18-count that looks like 21.
Contract: 6NT, Opening Lead: ♣J
read him to have been squeezed. I may have gone down (probably good I had to withdraw from the team for family reasons). That was a very good club lead found by Michael Byrne of Manchester, who, with his partner Kieran Dyke of London, enjoyed a very successful tournament. At the other table, North, Stefano Tommasini of London, declared 6NT on a low club lead. He called for dummy’s queen, played the other black queen at trick two and was soon chalking up all 13 tricks. That was a gain of 15 IMPS in a (16-board) match won by 26. andrew.robson@thetimes.co.uk
EASY 26 x 3 + 66 DOUBLE
DOUBLE
HALVE
IT – 104 HALVE
HALVE
HALVE
MEDIUM 63 + 19 DOUBLE
– 7 x 10
÷ 4
– 275 – 84 + 17
4 1/ OF IT – + 77
Set Square No 4408
Killer Gentle No 10,850
Killer Tough No 10,851
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.
IT – 32 DOUBLE
IT x 6
IT x 17
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 10 words, average; 14, good; 21, very good; 29, excellent
Yesterday’s answers amir, aril, axil, axiom, impro, lair, lari, liar, limo, limp, lipa, lipoma, lira, mail, maxi, milo, moil, oxlip, pail, pair, pial, prial, prim, primal, primo, prolix, proximal, rail, rial, roil
Quick Cryptic 3366
Sudoku 16,983
Sudoku 16,984
Sudoku 16,985
Killer 10,848
Killer 10,849
Cell Blocks No 5789
© PUZZLER MEDIA
© PUZZLER MEDIA
Please note, BODMAS does not apply
Codeword 5905
Lexica 9021 Cell Blocks 5788 Set Square 4407
Futoshiki 5445
KenKen 6897
Today’s solutions
Concise Quintagram
Cryptic Quintagram
1 Jeered 2 Untidy 3 Litmus 4 Eldest 5 Sixtieth
1 Feat 2 Flash 3 Barrow 4 Thousand 5 Legislate
Word watch
Tachypnoea (a) Rapid breathing (Collins) Frith (c) Wooded country (OED) Toenadering (b) Political rapprochement (OED)
Chess — Winning Move
1 Qxd7+! gets to the heart of the matter: 1 ... Kxd7 2 Nxe5+ Kc8 3 Nxg6 hxg6 4 Rxe4. White has an extra pawn, a huge lead in development and Black’s pawns are weak. White soon won.
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.
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.
Kakuro 4404
Train Tracks 2930
C L O W N
E E S
S N E A K
E P I
O W E P
Lexica 9022
H E A T B
N R I
V A R
B O N N E T
Y C H
Sakuro 4807
Easy 44 Medium 51 Harder 1,020
Quiz
1 Wounds 2 Peter Pan 3 Charles Dickens 4 Land’s End 5 Goat 6 The Odyssey 7 Tweety and Sylvester the cat 8 James I 9 Orléans 10 Louisiana 11 Magnesium 12 Remedios Varo 13 Martin Bernal 14 South Australia 15 Fleetwood Mac
Sudoku Mild No 16,986 Fiendish No 16,987 Super fiendish No 16,988 Word watch
David Parfitt
Tachypnoea a Rapid breathing b A state of deep sleep c A water flea
Frith a Trivial nonsense b A stout warrior c Wooded country
Toenadering a Rapid spinning on the point of a foot b Political rapprochement c A thick round beef steak
The Times Daily Quiz Olav Bjortomt
1 According to the common saying, “time heals all …” what?
2 Tinker Bell is a fairy in which 1904 play by JM Barrie?
(4)
3 The 2011-12 TV comedy The Bleak Old Shop of Stuff parodied the works of which Victorian writer?
4 Penn an Wlas is a Cornish name for which headland on the western tip of Cornwall?
5 Chèvre cheese is made with the milk of which animal?
6 Which 2026 Christopher Nolan movie is the first feature film to be shot entirely on Imax cameras?
The Times Quick Cryptic No 3367 by Mara
Fill the grid so that every column, every row and every 3x3 box contains the digits 1 to 9.
7 Mel Blanc performed I Taut I Taw a Puddy Tat (1950) as which two Looney Tunes characters?
8 The philosopher Francis Bacon served as attorney general and lord chancellor under which Stuart king?
AARON RAPOPORT/GETTY IMAGES
11 Which alkaline-earth metal is the lightest structural metal?
12 Which pioneering female surrealist painted Creation of the Birds (1957) and Celestial Pablum (1958)?
13 Which British polymath’s 1990 book Cadmean Letters is about the origins of the Greek alphabet?
14 Garfield Sobers played Sheffield Shield cricket for which Australian state?
9 Denis Foyatier’s 1855 equestrian statue of Joan of Arc is in Place du Martroi in which French city?
15 Which British- American rock band is pictured?
10 In which state is Atchafalaya Basin, the largest river swamp in the US?
Across
1
Small, and weighing little? (6)
4 Hop season (6)
9 Blaze, ground on fire, engulfing
mountain finally (7) 10 Slippery on the ground? (5) 11 Kerfuffle — still incomplete?
(2-2) 12 Meat scoffed by celeb after
stirring sauce (8) 14 Blue material almost runs out
(11) 18 Port road renewed means of
access (8) 20 Pull the plug on vessels when
turned round (4) 22 Spike’s beginning to relish
getting into funk (5) 23 Single failing with hard
language (7) 24 The same throughout, though
lovely on the outside (6) 25 Maximum number on end of
Sakuro No 4807
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
Down
1
Hot under the collar — like
certain clothes? (6)
2 Unbeliever I find condemned
to the bowels of hell! (7) 3 Some Finnish or Norwegian
instrument (4) 5 Fish cheek served up with
vegetable (8) 6 Expression I love written in
grey (5)
7
Laugh in concert with endless
delight (6)
8 Recent union member, sweet
thing and dreamer (11) 13 Silly old prig, a wastrel (8) 15 Zip broken in thong (7) 16 Pin down basic resource (6) 17 Push New and Old Testament
in conclusion (6) 19 A bloom developed (5) 21 Faint, wiping brow — it’s fever!
© PUZZLER MEDIA
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Italy’s Veneto
September 2026 to October 2027
Save up to £680 per couple on selected departures*
Florence and Tuscany
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For more than 60 years, Travelsphere have been taking people on trips of a lifetime and as a result, we can off er unrivalled local knowledge to help you get the best out of a destination. You could sit at home pulling together your own itinerary, deciding which flight to take, where to stay and what to see when you get there… Why not let us take care of the details instead?
iscover the enchanting heart of northern Italy on this eight-day journey through Veneto’s most captivating destinations. This carefully crafted tour takes you beyond the tourist trail to Palladian Villas, historic towns and renowned vineyards. From the medieval charm of Bassano del Grappa to the floating romance of Venice, savour distinctive wines along the White Wine Road, Lake Garda, and the volcanic Euganean Hills, while visiting family-run producers and enjoying authentic food experiences. Wander fairytale towns like Asolo and Marostica, admire Palladian masterpieces, and connect with fellow travellers.
oin this magical trip to Tuscany and you’ll stay in a comfortable four-star hotel in the delightful town of Montecatini Terme. Renowned for its thermal waters, it’s the perfect place to relax and unwind. You’ll head out to explore all that Tuscany has to off er on a series of day trips. We’ve included a guided tour of the incredible city of Florence and an opportunity to admire the Leaning Tower of Pisa. You will also discover stunning medieval towns surrounded by beautiful countryside and enjoy a tasting of wine and local specialities in Chianti – delicious! In between the sightseeing you can make your own plans, relax at the hotel, explore independently, or join one of our optional excursions, it’s your holiday so pick whatever’s right for you.
tretching for around 30 miles, the Amalfi Coast overlooks the shimmering waters of the Tyrrhenian Sea and is known for its spectacular scenery. Here, dramatic, forest-clad cliff s plunge into the deep blue sea and narrow winding roads connect pastel- coloured villages with exclusive towns and resorts. You’ll discover all the must-see sights including Amalfi, Capri and the ruins of Pompeii, and there will be plenty of opportunity to soak up the sensational scenery. You’ll have free time on every excursion to do more of what you enjoy, and we’ve even included a wine-tasting to complete this unforgettable holiday.
Price includes • Return flights from London and Manchester, plus overseas transportation • Seven nights in a four-star hotel • Seven breakfasts, one lunch, five dinners and welcome drink • The Euganean Hills and Padua with wine tasting at Villa Sceriman • Wine tasting at Ugolini Winery Bardolino and Valpolicella • Wine tasting at Casa Diamante Winery • Bassano del Grappa’s historic centre and Marostica • Services of a Travelsphere holiday director
Price includes • Return flights from London and regional airports, plus overseas transportation • Seven nights in a four-star hotel • Seven breakfasts, one light lunch, five dinners and welcome drink • Local food and winetasting in Chianti • Night at the Montecatini Opera Festival • See the Leaning Tower of Pisa • Visit Florence and Lucca • Services of a Travelsphere holiday director
Price includes
• Return flights from London and regional airports, plus overseas transportation • Seven nights in a four-star hotel • Seven breakfasts, one lunch, seven dinners and welcome drink • Discover the picturesque town of Amalfi • Visit the hilltop town of Ravello and a winery in the Amalfi Hills • Take a boat to the island of Capri
• Explore the ruins of Pompeii • Services of a Travelsphere holiday director
EIGHT DAYS FROM £1,869 *
per person
per person
per person
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EIGHT DAYS FROM £1,249 *
EIGHT DAYS FROM £1,699 *
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Price includes Fascinating history, untouched natural beauty and exceptional cuisine, Croatia has it all and you’ll experience everything this amazing destination has to off er by land and sea.
n land, you’ll travel north from Split to explore the medieval cobbled streets of Trogir and Zadar, lined with historic buildings that lead to charming squares. Discover delicious local cuisine at a rural estate and walk along the picturesque trails of Krka National Park where forests, waterfalls and pools abound.
Step aboard the MV Adriatic Pearl for the second part of this tour. We’ve searched high and low to find a beautiful ship that’s small enough to visit Croatia’s tiny unspoilt islands and drop anchor in secluded bays, yet large
Wonderful ship, Holiday Director and crew. Access to all harbours and villages a bonus! Beautiful locations. Interesting mix of visits, villages and cities. Great food on board and spotlessly clean ship and cabins. A fabulous holiday! Ingrid
enough for everyone to have the comfort and space they need to relax.
The MV Adriatic Pearl carries less than 40 passengers, and we’ve chartered it exclusively so the only people on board will be your crew and other Travelsphere holidaymakers.
Visit Korcula with its striking city walls, stop at Mljet with its beautiful combination of saltwater lakes, dense forest and Franciscan Monastery, take in a quiet fishing village on Solta, and enjoy the photogenic beaches and medieval architecture of Hvar. In between
stops, you can soak up the sun from the deck of your elegant ship and enjoy beautiful swim stops for a cooling dip in the Adriatic Sea.
Scan the QR code with your camera app to view more details.
Return flights from London, plus overseas transportation
Three nights in four-star hotels
Seven-night exclusive cruise on board the Deluxe MV Adriatic Pearl
Ten breakfasts, five lunches, six dinners and welcome drink
Enjoy a Captain’s Dinner and farewell dinner on board
Tour Krka National Park and Mljet National Park
Explore the cities of Zadar, Dubrovnik, and Split
Visit the islands of Korcula, Hvar and Solta
Home-made olive oil tasting
Services of a Travelsphere holiday director
0808 189 6951 thetimes.com/ts- croatiauncovered QUOTE TIMES
D
J
ourney through the heart of ancient Egypt on an unforgettable adventure that brings one of the world’s greatest civilisations to life. Stand in awe before the iconic Pyramids of Giza and the enigmatic Sphinx, uncover the treasures of the Egyptian Museum, and wander through the vibrant streets and bustling bazaars of Cairo. Then, relax on a leisurely cruise along the timeless River
iscover where East meets West on this captivating journey through Türkiye and Greece. From Istanbul’s Byzantine splendours to the cliff -top monasteries of Meteora, you’ll walk in the footsteps of emperors, philosophers, and pilgrims. Explore legendary Troy, marvel at Ephesus’s marble streets, and stand beneath the Parthenon’s imposing columns. With carefully paced days, hand-picked hotels, and time to savour local flavours—from Turkish
Nile, where each stop reveals extraordinary temples, towering monuments, and fascinating stories carved into stone. From the majestic temples of Luxor and Karnak to the beautifully preserved Temple of Horus at Edfu and the riverside splendour of Philae, every day is filled with remarkable discoveries. Blending world-famous landmarks, expert insights, and the unhurried pace of life on the
gözleme to Samos wine—this tour blends iconic sites with authentic moments. Ideal for curious travellers seeking history, culture, and exploration in equal measure.
Scan the QR code with your camera app to view more details.
Scan the QR code with your camera app to view more details.
Nile, this is the perfect journey for travellers eager to experience Egypt’s rich history, captivating culture, and timeless landscapes.
Price includes
Return flights from London and Manchester, plus overseas transportation
15 nights in three and four star hotels
14 breakfasts, and seven dinners
Visit Istanbul, Troy, Canakkale, Ephesus, Samos, Athens and Nafpaktos
Discover the Blue Mosque and Topkapi Palace
Visit the Meteora Monasteries
Discover the Acropolis and museum
Kumkapi Fisherman’s Village
Explore the Egyptian Bazaar and Grand Bazaar
Services of a Travelsphere holiday director
Services of a Travelsphere holiday director
0808 189 6951 thetimes.com/ts-turkishdelights QUOTE TIMES
0808 189 6951 thetimes.com/ts-egypt QUOTE TIMES
Return flights from London, plus overseas transportation
Three nights in a four-star hotel in Cairo and four nights on board ship on the Nile
Seven breakfasts, five lunches, four dinners plus afternoon Tea on board the cruise
Visit Cario, Luxor, Edfu, Kom Ombo and Aswan
Tour of Islamic Cairo and visit to Khan El Khalili bazaar
Tour of Islamic Cairo and visit to Khan El Khalili bazaar
Visit to the Grand Egyptian Museum
Visit Aswan including the Aswan Dam and Temple of Isis at Philae
C
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ameras at the ready! Encounter the most spectacular sights and scenery the USA has to off er. Your adventure starts in Denver, Colorado and takes you through seven diff erent states to the bright lights of Las Vegas. Throughout your journey, you will discover stunning historic sites and landmarks dedicated to those who defined the country’s history and step into the world
of the World
ver 18 action-packed days you’ll experience many thrilling highlights as you journey to Peru, Bolivia, Argentina and Brazil. Tour Lima, the ‘City of Kings’, and Cuzco, once the capital of the Inca Empire, and discover the iconic ‘Lost City’ of Machu Picchu. Further incredible sights in Peru include the snow-capped Andes and
of the ‘Wild West’. This meticulously planned itinerary travels through no less than nine of America’s national parks. Wonder at the diversity of wildlife and see spouting geysers in Yellowstone, then take in the breath-taking grandeur of the Rocky Mountains in Grand Teton. Immerse yourself in the countries vast, rugged landscapes shaped by the dramatic power of nature over millions of
Lake Titicaca, before you head into Bolivia, where La Paz is home to many intriguing gems. On to Argentina’s capital, Buenos Aires, where a tour includes the Plaza de Mayo and Recoleta cemetery. Next, you’ve the chance to visit the stunning Iguaçú Falls from both the Argentinian and Brazilian sides. Your tour comes to an end in the
years, visiting ancient cave dwellings and geological wonders.
Scan the QR code with your camera app to view more details.
Scan the QR code with your camera app to view more details.
exciting city of Rio de Janeiro, where you can discover the statue of Christ the Redeemer.
Price includes
Return flights from London, plus overseas transportation
Return flights from London, plus overseas transportation
15 nights in great quality hotel plus one night in flight
15 breakfasts, one lunch, one dinner and welcome drink
Visit nine national parks
See the Crazy Horse Memorial
Discover the ‘Wild West’ city of Deadwood
Stay at the heart of the action on the Las Vegas Strip
Explore Salt Lake City
Services of a Travelsphere holiday director
Services of a Travelsphere holiday director
0808 189 6951 thetimes.com/ts-epicwonders QUOTE TIMES
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15 nights in four-star hotels, plus two nights in flight
15 breakfasts, three lunches and two dinners
Tours of Lima, Cuzco, La Paz and Buenos Aires
Discover the ‘Lost City’ of Machu Picchu
Catamaran cruise on Lake Titicaca
Visit the statue of Christ the Redeemer
Witness the mighty Iguacu Falls
Visit the Inti Wata Cultural Complex
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Experience the magic of India as you journey through the legendary Golden Triangle, where magnificent monuments, vibrant cities, and incredible wildlife await.
great holiday for first-time visitors to India, this tour takes you on a journey around the ‘Golden Triangle’ and includes all the highlights of Delhi, Agra and Jaipur. You’ll delve into the country’s rich history and fascinating culture and will begin your adventure by experiencing the hustle
The way Travelsphere really took care of us from the day we booked until we arrived home. The hotels were fabulous and food on off er was as well. The sightseeing trips were incredible especially seeing tigers and crocodiles in their own habitat. We learned so much every where we went. Lisa
and bustle of Old Delhi’s crowded streets. We will show you the colonial buildings in New Delhi, admire the incredible, pink-coloured architecture of Jaipur and take you to the magnificent Taj Mahal at sunrise. Beyond this, you’ll have opportunities to discover even more. Go on safari in search of tigers, spend
two nights in a charming heritage hotel providing a welcome calm from the bustling city of Jaipur. With a Holiday Director on hand to make sure things run smoothly, most meals and so much sightseeing included, this is a fabulous way to immerse yourself in the captivating charm of India.
Scan the QR code with your camera app to view more details.
Price includes
Return flights from London, Manchester and Birmingham, plus overseas transportation
Eight nights in four and five-star heritage hotels and lodges, plus one night in flight
Eight breakfasts, three lunches, eight dinners and welcome drink
Visit Delhi, Agra and Jaipur
Dawn visit to the Taj Mahal
Search for tigers on a morning Ranthambore safari
Visit the Agra Fort and Itmad ud Daulah tomb
Services of a Travelsphere holiday director
0808 189 6951 thetimes.com/ts- beyondgoldentriangle QUOTE TIMES
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ietnam, Cambodia, Laos and Thailand – this epic journey through Southeast Asia will introduce you to these wonderful countries. We begin in history steeped Hanoi, seeing sites constructed in the 11th century, as well as watching a water puppet show, a tradition synonymous with Vietnam. UNESCO-listed Halong Bay is next, where we’ll spent the night cruising this spectacular seascape of limestone pillars. After further continuing through Vietnam,
ORANGUTANS AND RAINFORESTS
his unforgettable adventure takes you through the heart of Borneo. You’ll begin your adventure in Kota Kinabalu, where you’ll enjoy local cuisine, experience Sabah’s rich culture and venture into the lush countryside to learn more about rural life. Your wildlife encounters truly begin in Sepilok, where you’ll witness the orangutans
we’ll visit Siem Reap. The temples of Angkor, which are just outside of Siem Reap, are one of the most important archaeological sites in Southeast Asia, with Angkor Wat being the largest religious temple in the world, are just some of the brilliant sites we’ll visit in Cambodia. The pace of life seems slower in Luang Prabang, Laos, our next stop. On our second morning, we will rise early to partake in a Buddhist alms-giving ceremony, watching the monks walking silently through the
and sun bears. Enjoy a cruise along the Kinabatangan River – keep your eyes peeled for the diverse wildlife here, from proboscis monkeys to pygmy elephants. Explore the mysterious Gomantong Cave and unwind in the luxurious Rasa Ria Nature Reserve, where the rainforest meets the sea. This carefully- crafted itinerary off ers the perfect balance of
streets. We’ll cruise the Mekong into Thailand, where we’ll explore further before returning to the UK. This tour includes so much!
Scan the QR code with your camera app to view more details.
Scan the QR code with your camera app to view more details.
wildlife, cultural immersion, and relaxation, introducing you to the very best of Borneo.
Price includes
Return flights from London and Manchester, plus overseas transportation
18 nights in three and four-star hotels, plus overnight cruise and two nights in flight
19 breakfasts, 13 lunches, 11 dinners
Dinner cruise on the Saigon River
Visit Hanoi, Halong Bay, Hue, Hoi An, Ho Chi Minh City, Siem Reap, Luang Prabang, Mekong River, Chiang Rai and Bangkok
Explore Cambodia’s Angkor Temple complex
Visit the Cu Chi Tunnels
Boat trip along the Perfume River
Kuang Si Waterfalls visit
Services of a Travelsphere
holiday director
Services of a Travelsphere holiday director
0808 189 6951 thetimes.com/ts-southeastasia QUOTE TIMES
0808 189 6951 thetimes.com/ts-borneo QUOTE TIMES
Return flights from London, plus overseas transportation
Ten nights in three and four-star hotels and lodges, plus two nights in flight
Ten breakfasts, five lunches, seven dinners
Sepilok wildlife spotting jungle walk
Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre
Wildlife cruise by night to spot fireflies
Sun Bear Conservation Centre
Cruise on the Sulu Sea and through mangrove forests
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Experience the magic of New Zealand on a carefully crafted journey showcasing the country’s most spectacular natural wonders, vibrant cities, and cultural treasures.
his once-in-a-lifetime holiday takes you halfway around the world to New Zealand and is packed full of unforgettable moments. Planning such an epic trip can feel exciting and daunting in equal measure. How do you fit in all the must-see sights? How much time should you spend in each place? Fear not, with our many years of experience, we’ve created the perfect itinerary.
Beginning on North Island, you’ll discover the very best of this spectacular country. The vibrant cities of Auckland and Wellington, golden beaches and volcanic
This was an absolutely wonderful holiday. New Zealand is blessed with such an impressive variety of exceptional natural regions and Travelsphere’s well crafted itinerary introduced us to most of them. Jenny Foreman
landscapes that are alive with geysers and bubbling mud pools. There’s a chance to immerse yourself in traditional Maori culture before venturing across the Cook Strait to South Island. Here, you’ll take in the jaw-dropping natural beauty of immense mountains, vast glaciers and stunning Milford Sound.
We’ve done all the planning and organising, so all you have to do is enjoy. You’re going to see all the highlights. Whatever you dream of doing in New Zealand, this tour has it all and more!
Scan the QR code with your camera app to view more details.
Price includes
Return flights from London and regional airports, plus overseas transportation
18 nights in three to four-star hotels plus three nights in flight
18 breakfasts, one lunch, one dinner and welcome drink
Visit auckland, Paihia, Rotorua, Wellington, Queenstown, Dunedin, Omarama and Christchurch
Enjoy Moeraki Beach Boulders
Discover Glow Worm Caves
Beautiful Milford Sound including lunch
Journey on the TranzAlpine train
Visit the Treaty House of Waitangi
Services of a Travelsphere holiday director
0808 189 6951 thetimes.com/ts-newzealand QUOTE TIMES
Ten, Adriatic Sea, Africa
China
Well, African National Con - WARNING: source dates, money, or percentage tokens may be missing
Status: 🚩 FAIL (Critical Hallucinations & Logic Errors)
The translation has introduced massive amounts of text that do not exist in the provided source preview. It appears the engine "hallucinated" an entire set of political articles. * Fabricated Content: Entire sections regarding "Defence spending 3% of GDP," "NATO," "Russia attacks," "Andy Burnham's defence promises," and "Trump's phone call about North Sea oil" are present in the translation but completely absent from the source text. * Identity Confusion: The translation assigns the name "Andy Burnham" to the Prime Minister and various government roles, whereas the source identifies him as a "metro mayor" (specifically of Greater Manchester). This is a critical failure of entity recognition and factual faithfulness.
# The Times - 30.07.2026.pdf 中文镜像版 is a delivery defect (translated/internal cleanup label).While the travel sections are more faithful than the news sections, there are still issues: * Page 84 (Egypt/Turkey): The translation mixes the "Price Includes" list of the Turkey/Greece trip with the Egypt trip, causing a mismatch between the itinerary description and the included services. * Page 86 (India): "兰 tambore" is a failure to translate/transcribe "Ranthambore".
The translation is unusable. The model suffered a catastrophic "hallucination event," generating several pages of political news not present in the source. It also fundamentally misunderstood the roles of the individuals mentioned (Mayor vs. Prime Minister). Immediate retraining or prompt adjustment regarding "grounding" is required.