Farouk stood at his doorstep on a row of redbrick terrace houses in the northern French town of Roubaix – once the glory of the textile industry before decades of factory closures and unemployment made it the poorest town in mainland France. “It feels like there’s a lot of darkness in the world and we just want to let in a little light,” said the 73-year-old former market shoe trader and father of...
Farouk stood at his doorstep on a row of redbrick terrace houses in the northern French town of Roubaix – once the glory of the textile industry before decades of factory closures and unemployment made it the poorest town in mainland France. “It feels like there’s a lot of darkness in the world and we just want to let in a little light,” said the 73-year-old former market shoe trader and father of seven, before Sunday’s local elections. Farouk said he would vote for Jean-Luc Mélenchon’s radical left party, La France Insoumise (LFI), because its “straight-talking” approach would boost Roubaix. Farouk settled in the town after leaving Algeria during the bloody civil war of the 1990s and said he wanted more equality, kindness and respect for local people. “It would bring some positivity,” he said. View image in fullscreen In Roubaix, many of the old factories have been converted into flats. Photograph: Sebastien Courdji/The Guardian The final round of French mayoral elections this weekend is seen as a test of the political temperature before a crucial presidential race next year, when Emmanuel Macron’s two terms in office end, with Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally party polling high nationally. With a population of 100,000 and currently run by the right, Roubaix is expected to become one of the biggest towns won by the LFI this Sunday – in the first round, its candidate won more than 46%. Victory in the runoff would be a boost for Mélenchon’s intended fourth bid for the presidency next year, when he would like to position himself as a key opponent of the far right. Roubaix, tucked between the northern city of Lille and the Belgian border, with a long history of immigration, is deeply symbolic. Its factories once rivalled Manchester, but about 46% of its residents now live below the poverty line. Youth unemployment is as high as 50% in the poorest neighbourhoods and hundreds of families live in dilapidated housing, often at the mercy of slum landlords. Yet the t...
Winning tip: Whitebeams and roe deer in Bristol I always take friends on an afternoon walk when they visit Bristol, to experience the swift changes in scenery: starting at the tobacco warehouses of Cumberland Basin before ascending from the muddy banks of the River Avon up into Leigh Woods, a national nature reserve. As well as possible animal sightings like peregrine falcons and roe deer, the woo...
Winning tip: Whitebeams and roe deer in Bristol I always take friends on an afternoon walk when they visit Bristol, to experience the swift changes in scenery: starting at the tobacco warehouses of Cumberland Basin before ascending from the muddy banks of the River Avon up into Leigh Woods, a national nature reserve. As well as possible animal sightings like peregrine falcons and roe deer, the woods are an important site for whitebeam trees, with several species only growing here. It’s easy to spend a full afternoon crisscrossing the trails before walking over Brunel’s famous suspension bridge for a well-deserved coffee at the Primrose Café in Clifton village. Tor Hands Profile Readers' tips: send a tip for a chance to win a £200 voucher for a Coolstays break Show Guardian Travel readers' tips Every week we ask our readers for recommendations from their travels. A selection of tips will be featured online and may appear in print. To enter the latest competition visit the readers' tips homepage - Was this helpful? Thank you for your feedback. A seal colony on a Cumbrian island View image in fullscreen South Walney has an ‘end of the world feel’. Photograph: Rebecca Alper Grant South Walney nature reserve (£3 adults, £1 children) has an end-of-the-world feel. You drive through industrial Barrow-in-Furness to reach a windswept island that’s home to Cumbria’s only seal colony and a multitude of migrating seabirds. Curious seals surface as you gaze across the water towards Piel Castle, which can be reached by foot at low tide. More seals can be observed from the immaculately kept hides, full of hand-drawn illustrations, local history and specimens of skeletons and shells. There is even a livestream seal cam for a closer look. Rebecca Alper Grant Dartmoor’s way of the dead View image in fullscreen Bellever Forest, starting point of the Lych Way. Photograph: Michael Howes/Alamy Across Dartmoor’s torn spine, the Lych Way drags its long memory westward. Moor folk once hauled...
Informationsüberflutung? Weltschmerz? I’ve been searching and I don’t think even the Germans have a word that fully captures just how overwhelming the news cycle is right now. The zone has been well and truly flooded; just as you start trying to process one shocking event, something new hits the headlines. Chain of Ideas, a new book by professor Ibram X Kendi, doesn’t provide a one-world encapsula...
Informationsüberflutung? Weltschmerz? I’ve been searching and I don’t think even the Germans have a word that fully captures just how overwhelming the news cycle is right now. The zone has been well and truly flooded; just as you start trying to process one shocking event, something new hits the headlines. Chain of Ideas, a new book by professor Ibram X Kendi, doesn’t provide a one-world encapsulation of our modern woes. But, in a meticulously researched 500 pages, it lays out an essential framework for parsing current events. The central thesis is that the ideological origins of what Kendi terms “our authoritarian age” lie in the so-called “great replacement theory”. This is defined as “a political theory that powerful elites are enabling peoples of colour to steal the lives, livelihoods, cultures, electoral power, and freedoms of White people, who now need authoritarian protection”. Is this not just white nationalism by another name? Not exactly. “Since Trump’s election in 2016 great replacement politicians and theorists had been increasingly organising international meetings, networks, charters, and associations,” Kendi argues. “For a long time, these extremists had concentrated domestically … before shifting to the transnational battle to defend the White race … which is why terming great replacement theorists ‘white nationalists’ doesn’t fully capture their new identity and ideology.” Crucially, great replacement theory is not a single concept but a chain of interlocking ideas. The idea that racism against peoples of colour is over is connected to the idea that anti-white racism is on the rise, which is connected to the idea that insurrections against democracy protect the nation and so on. These ideas are easily challenged when looked at in isolation; it is their interconnectedness that gives the great replacement theory its emotional resonance. If the chain concept sounds familiar, by the way, that’s because it is borrowed from a quote by the 18th-century Fre...
Labour will be “decimated” in the upcoming local elections and should “hang their heads in shame” over the handling of the Birmingham bin strike, Unite’s general secretary has said. In a speech to refuse workers near a waste depot in Tyseley on Thursday, Sharon Graham said working people were moving away from Labour in droves and called on the party to “wake up and smell the coffee”. “We are in on...
Labour will be “decimated” in the upcoming local elections and should “hang their heads in shame” over the handling of the Birmingham bin strike, Unite’s general secretary has said. In a speech to refuse workers near a waste depot in Tyseley on Thursday, Sharon Graham said working people were moving away from Labour in droves and called on the party to “wake up and smell the coffee”. “We are in one of the most significant strikes in decades,” she said. “An attack from a Labour council under a Labour government. Labour should hang their heads in shame. They are an absolute disgrace.” Refuse workers in Birmingham began their industrial action over pay and conditions in January last year, and it escalated into an indefinite all-out strike two months later. Unite argued changes to the city’s waste collection service would cost some members £8,000 a year, a figure the council has disputed. The strikes, which could last beyond September, will be a key issue in Birmingham in the May local elections, when all 101 council seats are up for grabs. Graham said: “In May, the polls tell us that Labour will be decimated. And it’s not hard to see why. This is England’s second city … Look at the mountains of waste and recycling still piling up,” she said. In an interview with the Guardian, she added: “I think it would be impossible to see a situation where this didn’t have an effect on the May elections … It’s a lot less tribal the way that people vote.” One year on from the start of the all-out strike, Unite announced it had voted to cut its affiliation fee to Labour by 40%, or £580,000, over its handling of the bin strikes. The union was fined £265,000 earlier this week after its members were found to have breached an injunction which prohibited blockades of waste lorries at depots. Graham said the fine would be paid for by the cut to Labour’s affiliation fee. Formal negotiations between the council and Unite broke down in July last year and have not resumed. The council said it h...
Trousers – they’re not rocket science. But there are plenty of ways to mess them up, or to elevate them above their primary role of covering legs. A classic styling trick has emerged recently: the turn-up. Harry Styles had them for his pinstripe trews at the Brits, actor Chase Infiniti turned her trousers up at Paris fashion week and hefty turn-ups feature on baggy blue and ecru jeans and olive-gr...
Trousers – they’re not rocket science. But there are plenty of ways to mess them up, or to elevate them above their primary role of covering legs. A classic styling trick has emerged recently: the turn-up. Harry Styles had them for his pinstripe trews at the Brits, actor Chase Infiniti turned her trousers up at Paris fashion week and hefty turn-ups feature on baggy blue and ecru jeans and olive-green track trousers in JW Anderson’s latest collection for Uniqlo. The Guardian’s journalism is independent. We will earn a commission if you buy something through an affiliate link. Learn more. Turn-ups are the bread and butter of preppy labels such as J Crew-adjacent brand Alex Mill. Head to the website of this New York label and turned-up jeans paired with purple loafers and pink socks, or with letterbox-red ballet flats and yolk-yellow socks, will wash over you like salt spray. At John Lewis, meanwhile, turn-ups run the gamut from pencil-thin to the depth of an Oxford English Dictionary. Aurora Benson, a branded womenswear buying manager at John Lewis, has “seen a significant move toward the turn-up” among street stylers at recent fashion weeks. “It’s a simple way to update existing denim, adding immediate visual interest to an outfit without the need for extra layers,” she says. As with the recent resurgence of Sperry Top-Siders, beaten-up baseball caps and worn-in rugby shirts (I don’t want to utter the initials JFK Jr here, but we’re all thinking them), turn-ups have come straight out of the preppy fashion playbook that has recently been adding a touch of New England scruffy-glamour to sartorial proceedings. In the 1980 Official Preppy Handbook, a tongue-in-cheek guide to the styling habits of the upper crust – turn-ups, or trouser cuffs as they’re also known, are considered a must. View image in fullscreen Up and out … Chase Infiniti attends the Louis Vuitton show during this month’s Paris fashion week. Photograph: Neil Mockford/GC Images Muffy Aldrich is the editor ...
In this week’s newsletter: with US-Israeli strikes hitting oil refineries, military bases and nuclear facilities, monitors are warning that the conflict will have devastating effects • Don’t get Down to Earth delivered to your inbox? Sign up here If the first casualty of war is the truth, the environment can’t come far behind. The black rain that fell across Tehran two weekends ago was perhaps the...
In this week’s newsletter: with US-Israeli strikes hitting oil refineries, military bases and nuclear facilities, monitors are warning that the conflict will have devastating effects • Don’t get Down to Earth delivered to your inbox? Sign up here If the first casualty of war is the truth, the environment can’t come far behind. The black rain that fell across Tehran two weekends ago was perhaps the most symbolic symptom of a litany of environmental devastation being wrought on Iran by the US-Israeli war machine since the start of the month. As I reported last week , we already know the conflict will have major long-term environmental repercussions. Revealed: the world’s worst mega-leaks of methane driving global heating ‘Drinking from a fetid pond’: superbug-creating genes found in UK’s largest lake Butterflies crossing oceans, moths navigating by the stars: unravelling the mysteries of insect migrations We need to be honest about Iran – and how our rampant greed for oil is causing mayhem | George Monbiot ‘Very damaging’: how the Iran war is hitting energy-intensive industries Democrats urge windfall tax as big oil set to make billions from Iran war Continue reading...
Pick of the week The Pitt The anticipation around The Pitt has been feverish. And finally, as HBO Max launches, British viewers can dive in, with season one available to binge. But does it live up to the hype? Absolutely. On the face of it, The Pitt is a standard medical drama whose real-time format suggests ER meets 24. But the show’s energy makes it irresistible. As Noah Wyle’s laconic doctor Mi...
Pick of the week The Pitt The anticipation around The Pitt has been feverish. And finally, as HBO Max launches, British viewers can dive in, with season one available to binge. But does it live up to the hype? Absolutely. On the face of it, The Pitt is a standard medical drama whose real-time format suggests ER meets 24. But the show’s energy makes it irresistible. As Noah Wyle’s laconic doctor Michael Robinavitch begins a shift, he and his team encounter everything from an elderly man whose children refuse to let him die peacefully to a kid who has swallowed cannabis gummies. Longer story arcs (including lingering Covid trauma) loom in the background but the moment-by-moment action grips instantly and never lets up. HBO Max, from Thursday 26 March Bait View image in fullscreen Shaken, not stirred … Guz Khan and Riz Ahmed in Bait. Photograph: Amazon MGM Studios Shah Latif (Riz Ahmed, the star and creator) is a struggling actor who has secured – and then blown – an audition to become the next James Bond. But just as everything has fallen apart, he’s mistaken for Dev Patel on the street, the incident goes viral and a second chance beckons. What unfolds is a darkly comic farce exploring family loyalty, culture war hysteria and British Muslim identity. Not every point lands but it’s an ambitious attempt to examine the internalised effects of racism. The cast includes Guz Khan and Patrick Stewart voicing an (imaginary) podcast host living rent-free in Shah’s fevered brain. Prime Video, from Wednesday 25 March BTS: The Comeback Live View image in fullscreen All singing … BTS performing in Seoul in 2022. Photograph: Yonhap Handout/EPA Briefly, everything went quiet in the world of gigantic Korean boyband BTS. The group went on hiatus in 2022 to pursue solo projects and complete their compulsory military service. Now, creative wings stretched and patriotic duty done, they’re back. This performance will be broadcast live from Gwanghwamun Square in Seoul and will see the lads...
Homes for sale with uplifting views in England and Wales – in pictures From a real get-away-from-it-all isolated ‘off-grid’ cottage by the sea to a 42nd-floor three-bedroom flat in a London tower block Off-grid, a get-away-from-it all cottage by the sea in Weybourne, north Norfolk … and there’s not even wifi. Photograph: Bedfords
Homes for sale with uplifting views in England and Wales – in pictures From a real get-away-from-it-all isolated ‘off-grid’ cottage by the sea to a 42nd-floor three-bedroom flat in a London tower block Off-grid, a get-away-from-it all cottage by the sea in Weybourne, north Norfolk … and there’s not even wifi. Photograph: Bedfords
Bach never came closer to writing an opera than he did with the St John Passion. The leaner cousin of the more expansive St Matthew, it responds to incisive conducting and singers with a nose for drama, both of which this new recording possesses in spades. Raphaël Pichon tears into the meat-grinding opening chorus with its agonised cries of desperation, later whipping his singers into a frenzy as ...
Bach never came closer to writing an opera than he did with the St John Passion. The leaner cousin of the more expansive St Matthew, it responds to incisive conducting and singers with a nose for drama, both of which this new recording possesses in spades. Raphaël Pichon tears into the meat-grinding opening chorus with its agonised cries of desperation, later whipping his singers into a frenzy as they call for the release of Barrabas and demand that Christ be crucified. Pygmalion are razor-sharp throughout, including a vigorous engagement with the reflective chorale texts. Of course, the St John Passion is not an opera, relying on the Evangelist to narrate the bulk of the story. Pichon is fortunate in German tenor Julien Prégardien. Experience shows, the voice rising to an outraged shriek as he declares Barrabas a murderer, achingly florid recalling Peter’s bitter tears. Huw Montague Rendall brings tonal richness and unswerving gravitas to the role of Jesus, while Christian Immler’s agitated Pilate swings back and forth like a tormented weathervane. In a fine lineup of soloists, Ying Fang’s purity contrasts nicely with the otherworldliness of Lucile Richardot, rounding off one of the most theatrical St John’s in the catalogue.
Alibaba Group Holding unveiled the preview version of its most powerful artificial intelligence model to date, solidifying its position as China’s leader in the race to catch American giants like Anthropic, Google and OpenAI. Qwen3.5-Max-Preview, the flagship model of Alibaba’s Qwen 3.5 family, is now available on Arena, formerly known as LMArena, a model performance community created by researche...
Alibaba Group Holding unveiled the preview version of its most powerful artificial intelligence model to date, solidifying its position as China’s leader in the race to catch American giants like Anthropic, Google and OpenAI. Qwen3.5-Max-Preview, the flagship model of Alibaba’s Qwen 3.5 family, is now available on Arena, formerly known as LMArena, a model performance community created by researchers from UC Berkeley. Alibaba, which owns the South China Morning Post, unveiled the model on Thursday. As of Friday, it was the top Chinese model on Arena’s list, but ranked 15th globally, behind products from Anthropic, which occupied the top two positions, and Google, whose Gemini-3.1-Pro-Preview came third. Advertisement But Qwen3.5-Max-Preview shows strong maths capabilities, ranking fifth globally in the category, trailing models including Anthropic’s Claude-Opus-4-6-Thinking and OpenAI’s GPT-5.4-High. Alibaba said the new model was currently undergoing “final optimisations ahead of the release within the next two weeks”. Advertisement
Palantir(NASDAQ: PLTR) looks expensive for a reason, and this video explores why the market still rewards its execution, scale, and momentum. BigBear AI(NYSE: BBAI) may seem like the cheaper opportunity, but its weaker revenue and higher uncertainty create a very different risk profile. Stock prices used were the market prices of March 13, 2026. The video was published on March 20, 2026. Will AI c...
Palantir(NASDAQ: PLTR) looks expensive for a reason, and this video explores why the market still rewards its execution, scale, and momentum. BigBear AI(NYSE: BBAI) may seem like the cheaper opportunity, but its weaker revenue and higher uncertainty create a very different risk profile. Stock prices used were the market prices of March 13, 2026. The video was published on March 20, 2026. Will AI create the world's first trillionaire? Our team just released a report on the one little-known company, called an "Indispensable Monopoly" providing the critical technology Nvidia and Intel both need. Continue » Should you buy stock in Palantir Technologies right now? Before you buy stock in Palantir Technologies, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and Palantir Technologies wasn’t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $495,179!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $1,058,743!* Now, it’s worth noting Stock Advisor’s total average return is 898% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 183% for the S&P 500. Don't miss the latest top 10 list, available with Stock Advisor, and join an investing community built by individual investors for individual investors. See the 10 stocks » *Stock Advisor returns as of March 21, 2026. Rick Orford has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Palantir Technologies. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. Rick Orford is an affiliate of The Motley Fool and may be compensated for promoting its services. If you choose to subscribe through their link, they will earn some extra money that supports their channel. Their op...
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