Five Paddington books to read with your child, and why the bear on the page is different and worth meeting
Peggy Fortnum and Harper Collins Children’s Publishing For many children, Paddington is now primarily the star of three movies and a hit west end musical. However, that is not where the bear in a red hat whose adventures involve high-speed chases and marmalade-based slapstick began. In writing our book on the bear, we have found […]
How to feed your garden birds without spreading disease
Erni/Shutterstock The outbreak of a mysterious and deadly disease in finches in British gardens in 2005 set alarms bells ringing for conservationists. A decade later, the extent of that disease in greenfinches and chaffinches was reported. And now, bird scientists are beginning to understand how feeding birds in our gardens might be linked to their […]
The UK wants a cleaner steel industry – but its plan rests on a supply chain that doesn’t exist yet
Norenko Andrey/Shutterstock Around the world, countries are seeking to build greener, more circular economies. Steel is central to that ambition. It is still one of the most widely used materials – but producing it is one of the largest industrial sources of carbon emissions worldwide. The UK domestic steel industry is the smallest it has […]
Queen Elizabeth II: Her Life in Style – an unwavering sense of self expressed through fashion
As Britain’s longest‑reigning monarch, and one rarely out of the public eye since childhood, Queen Elizabeth II left behind a wardrobe so extensive and meticulously archived that the curators at Historic Royal Palaces have had an embarrassment of riches to draw upon for a new exhibition at the King’s Gallery in Buckingham Palace. Queen Elizabeth […]
The National Gallery’s £750m new wing has reignited London’s art turf war
“When should painters become old masters?” Former National Gallery director Philip Hendy put that question to then Tate director John Rothenstein almost 70 years ago. Founded in 1897 as the National Gallery’s annexe for British Art, by the 1950s Tate had developed into a gallery of modern as well as British art. Rothenstein wanted it […]
Could Viktor Orbán be back in 2030? Why Péter Magyar has a fight on his hands after landslide win
The mood was jubilant among liberals and pro-Europeans in Hungary and beyond on April 13 as Péter Magyar led the Tisza party to a landslide election victory. His win ended the 16-year administration of Viktor Orbán’s pro-Russian Fidesz party. Given the high turnout and margin of victory, giving Tisza a two-thirds constitutional majority in parliament, […]
US naval blockade of Strait of Hormuz: what it involves and the risks attached
The US blockade of the Strait of Hormuz aims to cut off Iran’s oil exports and punish any ship that pays a toll for transiting the waterway. somkanae sawatdinak/Shutterstock A US-sanctioned tanker with links to China, the Rich Starry, has transited the Strait of Hormuz, despite the US blockade of the waterway. According to the […]
Would you save more lives or more years of life? A global study reveals how people really think
THICHA SATAPITANON/Shutterstock.com Imagine a stark choice. You can save one person who is likely to live another 30 years. Or you can save several people who may each live another ten years. Should we prioritise saving more lives – or more years of life? This kind of trade-off sits at the heart of how health […]
Will voters turn against Donald Trump in the US midterms? What we know so far
The US is bracing for another cycle of elections, with November’s midterms determining the scope of Donald Trump’s power in the final two years of his presidency. All seats in the House of Representatives will be contested, as will one-third of the Senate. Trump’s Republican party currently controls both branches of Congress. However, polls are […]
My Year in Paris with Gertrude Stein by Deborah Levy – a boundary pushing work of which the modernist would be proud
My Year in Paris with Gertrude Stein is Deborah Levy’s latest genre-defying novel. It is at once a compelling contemporary fiction and an extended meditation on the importance of Stein, who Levy describes as the godmother of modernism, a queer icon, a self-declared genius and a writer who has baffled readers and critics for a […]