Concern that supply chain disruption could hit health essentials – and prices – from painkillers to cancer treatment Britain is “a few weeks away” from medicine shortages ranging from painkillers to cancer treatment if the Iran war continues, according to experts, while drug prices could also rise. The conflict has disrupted the supply of a myriad of crucial raw materials, including oil, gas, crop...
Concern that supply chain disruption could hit health essentials – and prices – from painkillers to cancer treatment Britain is “a few weeks away” from medicine shortages ranging from painkillers to cancer treatment if the Iran war continues, according to experts, while drug prices could also rise. The conflict has disrupted the supply of a myriad of crucial raw materials, including oil, gas, crop fertiliser and helium – and health essentials could be next. Continue reading...
As I sat in a park during the pandemic, listening to the Evermore album on my headphones, one song finally released the grief that I’d pent up for five years When the pandemic hit in 2020, it had been five years since my sister, Emily, had died. She had lived with cystic fibrosis her whole life, yet we were a close, tactile family. We laughed, hugged and sang often. When Emily died, relatively sud...
As I sat in a park during the pandemic, listening to the Evermore album on my headphones, one song finally released the grief that I’d pent up for five years When the pandemic hit in 2020, it had been five years since my sister, Emily, had died. She had lived with cystic fibrosis her whole life, yet we were a close, tactile family. We laughed, hugged and sang often. When Emily died, relatively suddenly, aged 30 (I was 27), I coped with it as well as anyone could. In fact, I prided myself on how outwardly resilient I seemed: I spoke to a therapist, started a new job. I poured myself into a packed diary and a big city. It wasn’t until time stopped, in a way, in 2020, that I really sat with my grief. I was forced to – made redundant like so many others that summer, my days had no shape. Like many people living in city flatshares, my one little freedom was a daily walk. Continue reading...
In this week’s newsletter: From singers to YouTube stars and TV hosts, more famous faces are treading the boards. Some insiders think it’s killing the industry, but for others it opens up theatre to a wider audience • Don’t get The Guide delivered to your inbox? Sign up here Timothée Chalamet might have smirked his way out of an Oscar . Sabrina Carpenter might have been roundly snubbed at the Gram...
In this week’s newsletter: From singers to YouTube stars and TV hosts, more famous faces are treading the boards. Some insiders think it’s killing the industry, but for others it opens up theatre to a wider audience • Don’t get The Guide delivered to your inbox? Sign up here Timothée Chalamet might have smirked his way out of an Oscar . Sabrina Carpenter might have been roundly snubbed at the Grammys. But there’s one place both would be welcomed with open arms: the UK theatre scene. It seems we can’t get enough of celebs on stage (acting chops preferable but not mandatory). This week alone, London’s West End features Stranger Things star Sadie Sink , singer Self Esteem and Strictly cutie pie Johannes Radebe. Meanwhile, Mischa Barton, best known for playing Marissa Cooper in the 00s TV series The OC, is touring the UK and Ireland in a new adaptation of James M. Cain’s crime novel Double Indemnity . Continue reading...
This HBO series about Italy’s top TV host (and his feathered friend) getting embroiled with the mob sounds genius … and yet it’s troublingly tedious Had a little wager with myself this week, regarding whether HBO Max’s new series is about the west London vintage market, a mushroom, or a coastal suburb of Edinburgh. Even spread-betting, I got cleaned out. Portobello is actually the true story of En...
This HBO series about Italy’s top TV host (and his feathered friend) getting embroiled with the mob sounds genius … and yet it’s troublingly tedious Had a little wager with myself this week, regarding whether HBO Max’s new series is about the west London vintage market, a mushroom, or a coastal suburb of Edinburgh. Even spread-betting, I got cleaned out. Portobello is actually the true story of Enzo Tortora, former host of Italy’s top TV show, who was falsely accused of being a member of the Camorra. How was I supposed to guess that? At its height, Portobello the variety show had a staggering audience of 28 million, a national cross section from nuns to prison inmates. Among the latter, Giovanni Pandico: a froggy-looking Camorrist and clinical paranoid who becomes fixated, Stan-like, on Tortora. He believes he communicates with the presenter via telepathy, as well as mind control of a parrot which guest-stars on the show. Bizarrely, the mob criminal posts Tortora 20 lace doilies to sell on his show (in a segment actually called Portobello Market, which really spun me out). Continue reading...
Reform’s lead waning, Labour struggling and Badenoch doing well at PMQs all boost mood but is disaster inevitable? “The Conservative party is coming back,” Kemi Badenoch declared at her party’s local election launch last week, surrounded by cheering supporters. And it’s fair to say that many of her MPs are, relative to their mood in recent years, quite cheery. To others in the Conservative family,...
Reform’s lead waning, Labour struggling and Badenoch doing well at PMQs all boost mood but is disaster inevitable? “The Conservative party is coming back,” Kemi Badenoch declared at her party’s local election launch last week, surrounded by cheering supporters. And it’s fair to say that many of her MPs are, relative to their mood in recent years, quite cheery. To others in the Conservative family, though, this optimism appears disconnected from the reality of the situation facing the party. Even the MPs backing Badenoch agree that the Tories face heavy losses on 7 May, not just across English councils, but particularly in votes for the Scottish and Welsh parliaments, where in both they are expected to be reduced to a handful of seats. Continue reading...
A project on Dartmoor to reprofile the landscape aims to return the springy bog – and carbon store – to its natural condition At one of the most remote spots in southern England, Al West skilfully tilts and rotates the bucket of a small digger, like a giant mechanical hand. He lifts turf, and pats it down gently on to the rich, dark brown peat beneath. Above him, the granite stack of Fur Tor looms...
A project on Dartmoor to reprofile the landscape aims to return the springy bog – and carbon store – to its natural condition At one of the most remote spots in southern England, Al West skilfully tilts and rotates the bucket of a small digger, like a giant mechanical hand. He lifts turf, and pats it down gently on to the rich, dark brown peat beneath. Above him, the granite stack of Fur Tor looms above the vast, boggy, wild expanse of northern Dartmoor. It is repetitive, delicate work, which West carries out with dexterity and care. Within a boundary of white flags, he takes from a borrow pit and fashions a peat embankment across each ditch and depression covering the land, to restore it to its natural smoothness and to stop the rainwater running off down the valley. Continue reading...
Five multiple-choice questions – set by children – to test your knowledge, and a chance to submit your own junior brainteasers for future quizzes Submit a question Molly Oldfield hosts Everything Under the Sun , a podcast answering children’s questions. Do check out her books, Everything Under the Sun and Everything Under the Sun: Quiz Book , as well as her new title, Everything Under the Sun: Al...
Five multiple-choice questions – set by children – to test your knowledge, and a chance to submit your own junior brainteasers for future quizzes Submit a question Molly Oldfield hosts Everything Under the Sun , a podcast answering children’s questions. Do check out her books, Everything Under the Sun and Everything Under the Sun: Quiz Book , as well as her new title, Everything Under the Sun: All Around the World . Continue reading...
From 6 April, low-income families can claim universal credit payments for all children living in the household The two-child benefit policy has been described as a “cap on childhood” and as it comes to an end, Claire* hopes to throw a birthday party for her son. It is a celebration most children may take for granted, but Claire and her partner run out of money at the end of every month, skipping m...
From 6 April, low-income families can claim universal credit payments for all children living in the household The two-child benefit policy has been described as a “cap on childhood” and as it comes to an end, Claire* hopes to throw a birthday party for her son. It is a celebration most children may take for granted, but Claire and her partner run out of money at the end of every month, skipping meals so that their three children can eat. Her son, now in his final year at primary school, has never had a party. Continue reading...
From blackjack and knobkerrie to a ‘shivering’ footballer, test your knowledge with the Saturday quiz 1 Which 1970s TV hit was based on the writings of Suetonius and Tacitus? 2 Which footballer trademarked his “shivering” goal celebration? 3 Which planet is lashed by winds exceeding 1,200mph? 4 Used to measure chilli peppers, what are SHU? 5 Which poetic couple married on Bloomsday in 1956? 6 Bees...
From blackjack and knobkerrie to a ‘shivering’ footballer, test your knowledge with the Saturday quiz 1 Which 1970s TV hit was based on the writings of Suetonius and Tacitus? 2 Which footballer trademarked his “shivering” goal celebration? 3 Which planet is lashed by winds exceeding 1,200mph? 4 Used to measure chilli peppers, what are SHU? 5 Which poetic couple married on Bloomsday in 1956? 6 Bees and wasps have how many eyes? 7 What is the highest peak in the Pennines? 8 Which chemical element is named after a New Zealander? What links: 9 Iquitos, Peru; Juneau, Alaska; Norilsk, Russia? 10 1; 11; 21; 1211; 111221; 312211? 11 Embla; Eve; Lilith; Mashyana; Pandora; Shatarupa? 12 Blackjack; knobkerrie; persuader; shillelagh? 13 Billy Connolly; Alex Ferguson; Peter the Great; Lech Wałęsa? 14 Mamdani; Adams; de Blasio; Bloomberg? 15 Spotlight; 1815 battle; distress signal; Italian exclamation; Kathy Burke sitcom? Dedicated to Laurie Stott Continue reading...
A series of artworks featuring six coats with distinctive features created by an Iranian-American artist for the Art Central festival will allow Hongkongers to reflect on themes of memory and conflict amid the ongoing war in the Middle East. Elnaz Javani, who was born in Iran in 1985 and currently lives in the United States, told the South China Morning Post that the work could also serve as a med...
A series of artworks featuring six coats with distinctive features created by an Iranian-American artist for the Art Central festival will allow Hongkongers to reflect on themes of memory and conflict amid the ongoing war in the Middle East. Elnaz Javani, who was born in Iran in 1985 and currently lives in the United States, told the South China Morning Post that the work could also serve as a meditative space for Hongkongers amid rising global geopolitical tensions. She said her art also...
peshkov/iStock via Getty Images Geopolitics keeps markets on edge The conflict in the Middle East remained a key driver of market sentiment this week, with rapidly shifting headlines contributing to heightened volatility. Early in the week, reports of a partial ceasefire and constructive talks between the U.S. and Iran supported a rally in financial markets. However, that optimism faded as conflic...
peshkov/iStock via Getty Images Geopolitics keeps markets on edge The conflict in the Middle East remained a key driver of market sentiment this week, with rapidly shifting headlines contributing to heightened volatility. Early in the week, reports of a partial ceasefire and constructive talks between the U.S. and Iran supported a rally in financial markets. However, that optimism faded as conflicting reports emerged midweek, including denials of negotiations and signs of increased military activity. By Thursday, renewed indications of progress and a potential extension of the ceasefire once again lifted sentiment. Despite these swings, market moves were net flat; through Thursday’s close, both global equity markets and sovereign bond yields were little changed on the week. This pattern underscores how sensitive markets remain to geopolitical developments , particularly around the potential duration and impact of any disruption to energy supply. Growth remains modest but stable Away from geopolitics, incoming economic data pointed to continued, albeit modest, growth across advanced economies. Global purchasing managers’ indices (PMIs) for March remained above 50 across both manufacturing and services sectors, indicating ongoing expansion. In the U.S., additional detail from regional Federal Reserve manufacturing surveys suggests a potential pickup in business investment. Measures of capital expenditure intentions have shown signs of improvement, pointing not only to continued support from AI-related investment, but also to a possible broadening in spending. Policy may be playing a role. Business investment could be benefiting from expensing provisions introduced in last year’s fiscal legislation , which were designed to support capital spending. Consumer resilience holds, for now Another key focus this week has been the U.S. consumer, particularly in light of higher gasoline prices tied to recent energy market volatility. So far, the data points to continued resilie...
Those 12 panels generate over 500W and fold down very small. We don't review many solar panels at The Verge , but the tech inside Bluetti's incredibly portable Sora 500 panel makes it worth a deeper look. The new N-Type panels made by Bluetti and others give you more bang for the buck, pound, and square inch. That's a big deal for vanlifers like me who depend upon these beefy portable solar panels...
Those 12 panels generate over 500W and fold down very small. We don't review many solar panels at The Verge , but the tech inside Bluetti's incredibly portable Sora 500 panel makes it worth a deeper look. The new N-Type panels made by Bluetti and others give you more bang for the buck, pound, and square inch. That's a big deal for vanlifers like me who depend upon these beefy portable solar panels to extend off-grid stays. In real-world testing, I saw Bluetti's 500W panel deliver 509W to my van's power station , allowing me to generate over 800W when combined with the three sad 140W monocrystalline solar panels I have installed on top of my van. That kind of stationary output is fantastic. I typically … Read the full story at The Verge.