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Little-known abroad, Andy Burnham has a chance to define a new era of US-UK relations. Should he seek to charm or bargain with the bully in the White House – or treat him ‘like a poorly informed constituent’?
If, as expected, Andy Burnham becomes the British prime minister later this month, one of his first telephone calls is likely to be with Donald Trump.
Trump’s mother was Scottish and he has a nostalgic fascination with Britain. But managing a relationship with the erratic, transactional and demanding US president has been a diplomatic minefield for Burnham’s predecessors.
Continue reading...Mon, 06 Jul 2026 05:00:04 GMT
The actor spent almost a decade fighting monsters – and making friends – on the hit Netflix show. Then, last year, it all came to an end. How’s he adjusting?
Finn Wolfhard is remembering his first experience of celebrity. It was 2016 and he was 13. The first season of Stranger Things had aired that summer, and he returned to his high school in Vancouver as if nothing had changed. But things had changed. “People didn’t know how to treat me, especially the teachers. Kids that didn’t even look at me before were paying attention to me or wanting to hang out.” He remembers a girl in the year above who really wanted a photo with him. “And I was like: ‘Oh, I can’t really take photos at school.’ And she wasn’t listening to me and pulled me into, like, a side hug. I remember thinking: ‘Shit, man. I have no control over this. This seems crazy.’ So, it was definitely weird at first, and something I still haven’t totally grasped.”
How strange it must be to have spent such a large part of your life playing a character that half the world knows, and has watched grow up on screen, turning from a wide-eyed, gawky, nerdy kid to a sharp-cheekboned (but still quite gawky) action hero. Nobody could have predicted how huge Stranger Things would become or how long it would last, fuelled by popular demand, then stalled by the pandemic. It concluded a decade later, at the end of last year, having reached the point where it was no longer sustainable for twentysomethings like Wolfhard to pass as high schoolers.
Continue reading...Mon, 06 Jul 2026 04:00:02 GMT
Andy Burnham’s rise has stoked talk of the terms for a future British return – but this is the wrong question
The question of the UK’s relationship with the EU has resurfaced with Keir Starmer’s premiership drawing to a close and Andy Burnham, his likely successor, preparing to enter No 10. Wes Streeting, until recently one of the contenders for the top job and now a possible future chancellor of the exchequer, went as far as to say recently that Britain should be back in the EU.
The “rejoin” debate in the UK has focused squarely and, parochially, on two things. The first is the cost imposed by Brexit on the UK economy, the second is the price of rejoining – in other words, whether the UK would be able to win back its previous opt-outs from the Euro and Schengen areas.
Mujtaba Rahman is the managing director for Europe at Eurasia Group, a political risk research and consulting firm
Continue reading...Mon, 06 Jul 2026 04:00:01 GMT
What’s it like to catch a gig so great it goes down in history? Our writers relive incredible performances by everyone from Amy Winehouse at the North Sea jazz festival to Kanye West at Glastonbury
Talking Heads, the Rock Garden, London, 13 May 1977
Continue reading...Mon, 06 Jul 2026 04:00:03 GMT
From the World Cup fan park in Manchester, supporters cheer through the night as England beat Mexico to advance to the quarter-finals
Manchester is up there with the greatest footballing cities in the world. But even here, the fans had hardly seen a game like it.
In the early hours of Monday morning, at Europe’s biggest World Cup fan park, as the final whistle blew after an agonising 11 minutes of injury time, the crowd cheered with a roar loud enough to wake anyone in Manchester still asleep.
Continue reading...Mon, 06 Jul 2026 04:41:19 GMT
This new panel show from Romesh Ranganathan’s production company features comics airing their worst opinions – and it feels completely unnecessary
‘You know who we don’t see enough of on British TV? Romesh Ranganathan,” said no one ever. That’s not meant as a slight to the man – who this year has hosted programmes for the BBC, Amazon and Sky, recorded another run of Parents’ Evening for ITV and is to appear on The Celebrity Traitors – but he truly is inescapable. There is an obvious reason for his cameo on this new comedy panel show, which is that it is made for TLC by his production company Ranga Bee. And what an appearance it is. If you have ever wanted to see Ranganathan go full misanthrope and refuse to give an exhausted NHS midwife £500 because the royal family needs it more, then roll up: you’re in the right place.
Unacceptable is – for reasons that aren’t totally clear – a panel show in which comedians defend their worst opinions in front of a studio audience, who are unlikely to agree with their horrible (and horribly confected) views. Ed Gamble hosts, putting in a typically professional stint, but then again Gamble is as unflappable as Ranganathan is ubiquitous, a whirlwind of sarcastic ad libs and hairspray.
Continue reading...Sun, 05 Jul 2026 21:00:37 GMT
File it as England’s finest World Cup knockout phase victory since 1966. There have not been a huge number of them; only nine previously, each a gripping drama in its own right. Yet it was the context of this one that set it apart.
England stepped into the mayhem of the Estadio Azteca, a venue that contains a very particular ghost for them, to face the full force of the Mexican nation. Plus a team that almost never lose here. Javier Aguirre’s men brought flawless form to the showpiece; four wins out of four so far at the tournament; their tournament. It was the cohosts’ grand send-off from their own turf, arguably the biggest game in their history. An unofficial final for them.
Continue reading...Mon, 06 Jul 2026 03:06:05 GMT
Reform UK’s Robert Jenrick says Farage accepted staff, security and accommodation from George Cottrell before becoming an MP
Nigel Farage did not declare gifts and benefits provided by a crypto entrepreneur who has previously been convicted of fraud, Reform’s economic spokesperson has admitted.
Robert Jenrick said on Sunday that the Reform leader had accepted staff, security and accommodation from George Cottrell, but claimed they were personal gifts provided before he became an MP and so did not need to be declared.
Continue reading...Sun, 05 Jul 2026 09:40:48 GMT
Exclusive: Prof Simon Baron-Cohen says his language was misunderstood and it is a myth that autistic people lack empathy
The scientist who pioneered the “extreme male brain” theory of autism has said he regrets characterising the condition in this way because the phrase lends itself to misunderstandings.
Prof Simon Baron-Cohen’s theory that autistic people tend strongly towards systemising over empathising has been hugely influential in shaping the popular perception of autism over the past two decades. The underlying science had stood the test of time, he said, but he now views the “extreme male brain” label as unhelpful.
Continue reading...Sun, 05 Jul 2026 14:02:46 GMT
Body of woman, 22, found in field in proximity of Langar airfield, where popular civilian skydiving centre operates
A 22-year-old skydiver has died after a parachuting incident near a Nottinghamshire airfield, police have confirmed.
Emergency services were called to Langar airfield, a former RAF base, at 12.13pm on Sunday and the woman was found in a nearby field, where she was pronounced dead at the scene, a police spokesperson said.
Continue reading...Sun, 05 Jul 2026 21:31:54 GMT