The lead character in this Thai courtroom drama may have more than a whiff of pantomime villain about her, but this a fun, very watchable show – albeit one that is faintly ridiculous at times If the title of this Thai crime-thriller-cum-courtroom-drama feels a little splashy, wait until you meet the scoundrel in question. Her name is Jittri and she is, at least at the show’s outset, a pantomime vi...
The lead character in this Thai courtroom drama may have more than a whiff of pantomime villain about her, but this a fun, very watchable show – albeit one that is faintly ridiculous at times If the title of this Thai crime-thriller-cum-courtroom-drama feels a little splashy, wait until you meet the scoundrel in question. Her name is Jittri and she is, at least at the show’s outset, a pantomime villain in a power suit, her hair even bigger than her ego. Known for getting murky clients off the hook by any dirty trick necessary, she stiletto-struts in slow motion, flashes a trademark crooked smirk after each victory, and (like all bona fide wrong ’uns) wears sunglasses inside. If she had a moustache, she would absolutely be twirling it. But don’t be fooled; one boo-hiss baddie does not a pantomime make. Directed by Nottapon Boonprakob, whose 2025 drama Mad Unicorn won a clutch of awards, this eight-episode series may be tonally erratic and at times faintly ridiculous, but it also has confronting questions about power, corruption and systemic injustice plus a gripping, twisty plot. Continue reading...
It is not enough to revile them both. Understanding the personal and ideological divergence is essential to taking back the ground they now occupy For all their claims to be mould-breaking politicians, the feuding Nigel Farage and Rupert Lowe are in many ways predictable and traditional rightwingers. Two wealthy white men in their 60s from southern England, with private educations and previous car...
It is not enough to revile them both. Understanding the personal and ideological divergence is essential to taking back the ground they now occupy For all their claims to be mould-breaking politicians, the feuding Nigel Farage and Rupert Lowe are in many ways predictable and traditional rightwingers. Two wealthy white men in their 60s from southern England, with private educations and previous careers in the City, they were once members of the Conservative party – before, like many in their demographic, they decided it was not anti-EU enough. Out of this mix of dissatisfaction and privilege emerged the nationalistic, socially conservative politics that has dominated much of the past decade, shaping British discourse and influencing Labour and the Tories, despite the ever clearer failure of its flagship policy, Brexit. Some of the intensity of the civil war on the right, which has erupted since Lowe left Reform UK in disputed circumstances last year and then set up his own populist party, Restore Britain, in February, is down to the smallness of the differences between the two leaders and their parties. Farage and Lowe are both aggressive, digitally enabled communicators who sometimes dress like old-fashioned country squires – signalling that they want to both disrupt and preserve – and draw from the same pool of activists, strategists and policy ideas. Continue reading...
It may just be time to forget the sullied buildup and enjoy the tournament although co-hosts are not optimistic It has been difficult to go anywhere in Mexico City this week without seeing Hugo Sánchez, the great former Real Madrid striker, trying to sell you something. Raúl Jiménez is on a few billboards and Toluca’s Alexis Vega on a couple of others, but Sánchez remains the king. Football advert...
It may just be time to forget the sullied buildup and enjoy the tournament although co-hosts are not optimistic It has been difficult to go anywhere in Mexico City this week without seeing Hugo Sánchez, the great former Real Madrid striker, trying to sell you something. Raúl Jiménez is on a few billboards and Toluca’s Alexis Vega on a couple of others, but Sánchez remains the king. Football adverts predominate. At the airport a Fifa sign obstructs the view of the arrivals lane for those with foreign passports, which might seem an apt metaphor if immigration procedures, here at least, weren’t absurdly straightforward. Amid the endless traffic, worsened by a teachers’ strike and associated street protests, women wander selling knock-off Mexico shirts. Does that constitute a pre‑tournament mania? Perhaps not. There’s a newly added football element to many of the murals around Coyoacán, at which many of the Frida Kahlo murals appear to be looking askance – but then stern disapproval was her default look. There are flags hanging from walls and from ceilings in bars and cafes in some areas, but the excitement of waiters and taxi drivers at meeting somebody actually going to the World Cup suggests there hasn’t been any great influx yet. If traffic jams are a sign of excitement, then Mexicans are bang up for it but, anecdotally, few seem to expect much from their side and most seem feel a little frustrated at being a sideshow to Donald Trump’s main event. Continue reading...
In 1984, an unlikely coalition was formed between London LGBTQ+ campaigners and Welsh miners. Now their story, as told in the 2014 film Pride, is coming to the stage. The original demonstrators share what the new production means to them The National Theatre’s new summer musical is all about real people, but here’s a strange feeling – many of them are literally sitting around me tonight. In a buzz...
In 1984, an unlikely coalition was formed between London LGBTQ+ campaigners and Welsh miners. Now their story, as told in the 2014 film Pride, is coming to the stage. The original demonstrators share what the new production means to them The National Theatre’s new summer musical is all about real people, but here’s a strange feeling – many of them are literally sitting around me tonight. In a buzzy, early preview for Pride: The Musical at Cardiff’s Sherman theatre, there’s Reggie Blennerhassett and Ray Aller, a couple who have been together for 44 years, wearing T-shirts printed with the poster for a notorious 1984 fundraising gig they helped organise. Its name? Pits and Perverts. Siân James watches her younger self dance at an LGBTQ+ club in Soho, while retired tailor and actor Jonathan Blake is recast on stage in a glitzy robe and kaftan, performing a Broadway-style showstopper. “My words coming out of his mouth as he sang!” Blake shakes his head more than four decades later. “I was utterly floored!” Continue reading...
Jordan wants one catch-all digital resource for him and Charlene, so their social lives don’t clash, but she prefers to communicate in person. You decide whose time is up • Find out how to get a disagreement settled or become a juror I’m not trying to control her but having one shared calendar helps us plan our lives together Continue reading...
Jordan wants one catch-all digital resource for him and Charlene, so their social lives don’t clash, but she prefers to communicate in person. You decide whose time is up • Find out how to get a disagreement settled or become a juror I’m not trying to control her but having one shared calendar helps us plan our lives together Continue reading...
After impressive showings in recent major tournaments, Thomas Christiansen’s players are aiming to prove a point on the global stage This article is part of the Guardian’s 2026 World Cup Experts’ Network , a cooperation between some of the best media organisations from the 48 countries who qualified. theguardian.com is running previews from three countries each day in the run-up to the tournament ...
After impressive showings in recent major tournaments, Thomas Christiansen’s players are aiming to prove a point on the global stage This article is part of the Guardian’s 2026 World Cup Experts’ Network , a cooperation between some of the best media organisations from the 48 countries who qualified. theguardian.com is running previews from three countries each day in the run-up to the tournament kicking off on 11 June. Continue reading...
Presented by Capital One Enterprises aren’t struggling to experiment with AI; they’re struggling to make it work in the real world. Moving from promising prototypes to reliable, production-scale systems is where most efforts stall. In my role within Capital One’s AI Foundations organization, I’ve seen firsthand that successful AI implementation isn’t just about adopting the latest models or tools....
Presented by Capital One Enterprises aren’t struggling to experiment with AI; they’re struggling to make it work in the real world. Moving from promising prototypes to reliable, production-scale systems is where most efforts stall. In my role within Capital One’s AI Foundations organization, I’ve seen firsthand that successful AI implementation isn’t just about adopting the latest models or tools. It requires a disciplined R&D approach that connects foundational research to real-world systems, and holds ideas accountable as they move from concept to production. That’s harder than it sounds. AI capabilities are evolving quickly, but enterprise environments can be complex, fragmented, and risk-minded. The question isn’t just what’s possible, but what actually works — for a specific workflow, user, or decision — with today’s technology and constraints. What follows reflects how organizations can turn AI ambition into production reality through a more deliberate approach to research, evaluation, and deployment. Bridging foundational and applied research Delivering impactful AI requires closing the gap between cutting-edge research and practical, real-world use cases. When research exists in an academic vacuum, untethered from operational reality, models that may perform well in an offline environment often fall short when faced with real-world latency requirements and the complexity of live production data. Without a tight feedback loop, it’s easy to lose sight of what actually moves the needle for the end user. Our AI teams are intentionally designed to span the spectrum from foundational research to highly applied problem-solving, addressing these friction points before they stall a project. This integrated model brings research and application together under one umbrella, creating space to explore underlying technology while staying grounded in actual business and associate needs. When foundational research and applied development are connected by design, you can acc...