FORGOTTEN HISTORY: 23 - Caught on Camera

Football, F1, golf, boxing: are the Saudis taking over?

Cristiano Ronaldo was first to go, lured to Riyadh club Al Nassr last December by an offer that doubled his salary, said Jack Johnson on TalkSport. Then in early June came news that current Ballon d’Or holder Karim Benzema will join him in the Saudi Pro League next season and…

The Week · Jun 30, 2023

Titan sub: how the doomed voyage gripped the nation

It’s over a century since the great ship went down, plummeting more than two miles to the depths of the North Atlantic at speeds of 50kmh or more. But our fascination with RMS Titanic shows no signs of abating, said Ed Cumming in The Daily Telegraph. 

The Week · Jun 30, 2023

National Portrait Gallery: the reopening review

In 2020, the National Portrait Gallery closed for renovations. And they were much needed, said Laura Freeman in The Times: its entrance hall was “poky”, and its collection “dusty and undervisited” – overshadowed by the museum’s “shiny, shouty” temporary exhibitions. It has since undergone “a £41m makeover” helmed by Jamie…

The Week · Jun 30, 2023

A tour of Alain Ducasse’s chocolate factory in Paris

Each time I try to write a word about Alain Ducasse chocolate, I look to the box beside me. In itself, a work of simple art: crisp-edged cardboard that folds out of itself with ASMR-levels of soft swish and glide that sigh laser-cut satisfaction.

The Week · Jun 29, 2023

Government to appeal ‘unlawful’ Rwanda deportation ruling

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has said he “fundamentally disagrees” with a Court of Appeal ruling that his government’s Rwanda deportation scheme is unlawful and will now take the case to the Supreme Court. 

The Week · Jun 29, 2023

Pickleball: obscure sport ‘will be bigger than golf in 5 years’

A cross between tennis, badminton and table tennis, pickleball has surged in popularity with the over 65s in the United States – and could soon be seen across the UK. 

The Week · Jun 29, 2023

Daniel Ellsberg: whistleblower who leaked the Pentagon Papers

The “most important whistleblower of our times”, Daniel Ellsberg was the military analyst who smuggled hundreds of pages of top secret material about US actions in Vietnam out of his office at the Rand Corporation, and shared them with a reporter from The New York Times, said The Guardian. 

The Week · Jun 29, 2023

Dear England review: James Graham ‘hits the back of the net’ once again

Since 1966, the England men’s football team has had an unerring ability to dash a nation’s dreams, said Andrzej Lukowski in Time Out. So a play about the squad’s supposed “resurrection” under manager Gareth Southgate feels “potentially hubristic” – and at risk of “dangerously overhyping a gifted man who still…

The Week · Jun 29, 2023

Why is Thames Water struggling to stay afloat?

The sudden resignation of its chief executive while the company is struggling to finance a £14 billion debt has left the government nervously preparing for the potential collapse of Thames Water.

The Week · Jun 29, 2023

Inflation crisis: is a recession the only answer?

Tory ministers have a long record of making rather callous statements about the economy, said Paul Waugh in The i Paper.

The Week · Jun 29, 2023