69 m. ago We test a portable power station that might be one of the summer's best bargains

We put Bluetti’s new Elite 100 V2 through its paces – here’s what we think of the rugged portable power station now £499 in Amazon’s deal.

Politics

70 m. ago Nobody 2 review – Bob Odenkirk’s suburban tough guy beats action sequel into submission

The Better Call Saul star reprises his role as a kickass family man in a forgettable follow-up riddled with endless gonzo fight sequencesBob Odenkirk’s unlikely new career journey as a kickass tough guy continues in this pretty formulaic and forgettable sequel to the amusing original hit, which first showed us Hutch (Odenkirk), an apparent suburban nobody with wife-plus-kids who keeps forgetting to put the garbage out in time – then from nowhere busts out some serious fight moves.This sequel from Indonesian action director Timo Tjahjanto, co-written by the writer of the original, Derek Kolstad, really doesn’t have much of the humour and the storytelling chutzpah of the first film. But what it does have, inevitably, are endless gonzo fight sequences in which Hutch is unfairly matched against half a dozen or so humongous goons, and winds up reducing these bullies to cat litter. There was a big scene in the first film set on a bus, and it seems to have become the Nobody franchise’s USP...

Events

2 h. ago ‘Censorship’: over 115 scholars condemn cancellation of Harvard journal issue on Palestine

In an open letter, writers denounced abrupt scrapping of a Harvard Educational Review issue dedicated to PalestineMore than 115 education scholars have condemned the cancellation of an entire issue of an academic journal dedicated to Palestine by a Harvard University publisher as “censorship”.In an open letter published on Thursday, the scholars denounced the abrupt scrapping of a special issue of the Harvard Educational Review – which was first revealed by the Guardian in July – as an “attempt to silence the academic examination of the genocide, starvation and dehumanisation of Palestinian people by the state of Israel and its allies.” Continue reading...

Politics

2 h. ago Katabasis by RF Kuang review – a descent into the hellscape of academia

The bestselling author’s sixth novel is far from perfect, but this journey into the underworld is delivered with heretical gleeThe more academia has broken your heart, the more you’ll love RF Kuang’s new novel. Katabasis knows the slow grind of postgrad precarity: the endless grant grubbing and essay marking; the thesis chapters drafted, redrafted and quietly ignored by a supervisor who can’t be bothered to read – let alone reply to – an email. Living semester to semester, pay shrinking, workload metastasising, cannon fodder in a departmental forever war. Katabasis knows how it feels to spend your best thinking years doing grunt work to further someone else’s ideas, clinging to the bottom rung of a ladder you will never be allowed to climb: less an ivory tower than a pyramid scheme.Academia is a hellscape; Katabasis just makes it literal. The American author’s sixth novel is an infernal twist on the campus farce: David Lodge with demons. Kuang’s previous book, 2023’s Yello...

Politics

10 h. ago ‘I’m a huge Alien fan and the new TV series is the best it’s been in years

Alien: Earth has finally arrived on Disney+ and the first six episodes of the series are as brilliantly gory as ever, but there's just one problem

Culture

12 h. ago A male revenge app is currently #2 on the app charts — and the IDs of the men using it have been leaked

A widely downloaded new app invites men to review the women they’ve dated, and asks for photo ID to verify their identity. What could possibly go wrong?

Politics

14 h. ago Shokz Openmeet review – is this £200 bone conduction office headset worth it?

Shokz’s Openmeet uses bone conduction tech to keep your ears free while you work – but does it justify the £200 price tag?

Economics

14 h. ago Highly anticipated series based on iconic horror movie gets top rating on Rotten Tomatoes

Disney+'s latest drama is based on one of the most beloved sci-fi franchises of all time

Events

15 h. ago Vanessa Feltz shares the truth behind Naga Munchetty's 'diva

The highly-paid BBC Breakfast presenter has reportedly been placed ‘under review’ following a string of complaints

Politics

17 h. ago How one Greater Manchester nursery made it out of special measures and regained its good rating

The nursery received a critical review from Ofsted earlier this year

Politics

17 h. ago Chair of Sheku Bayoh inquiry to stay on after rejecting 'bias' claims

Decision could be subject to judicial review

Politics

19 h. ago Monstering the Rocketman review – Elton aims for the Sun in skewering of 80s tabloids

Pleasance Dome, EdinburghHeadlines punctuate Henry Naylor’s play about the newspaper’s campaign against Elton John and the multiple lawsuits launched by the singerHenry Naylor started out in comedy but the lines that get the biggest laughs in Monstering the Rocketman are not his. That credit goes to the subeditors on the Sun whose talent for writing headlines, as crass as they were inspired, was second to none. In their 1980s heyday, when the tabloid’s circulation soared close to 4m, they could sum up their readers’ belligerent mood with a “Gotcha” or just make them laugh.You might wince at a bottom-related soap-opera story headlined “Rear Enders” or, in the 1990s, George Michael being stung with “Zip Me Up Before You Go Go”, but you can only admire their panache. Continue reading...

Events

20 h. ago Entitled by Andrew Lownie review: From Prince Charming to the duke of disgrace

Two minor royals with major appetites, brought down by greed and flawed character

Politics

21 h. ago 'Everything here is great' The Times' glowing review of Wales 'world beating' restaurant scene

Times columnist and food writer Giles Coren has once again visited Wales to heap praise on our "world-beating restaurant scene."

Politics

21 h. ago Alien: Earth review: This surreal Disney+ reboot is a true genre

Panto season will never be the same again. Disney have invented a new kind of movie sequel crossover, updating Sigourney Weaver 's horror classic Alien by blending it with Peter Pan.

Politics

22 h. ago Frankly by Nicola Sturgeon: The secret to happiness? It’s not politics

Frankly is Nicola Sturgeon’s bid to “reveal the person behind the politician”. As she puts it, “The seemingly confident, combative woman who dominated Scottish politics for more than a decade, unnerved the Westminster establishment, helped lead Scotland to the verge of independence and steered it through a global pandemic, is painfully shy, an introvert.”

Politics

22 h. ago Materialists review – Dakota Johnson torn between Pedro Pascal and Chris Evans in charming romcom

Johnson plays a matchmaker who has to choose between wealthy new suitor Pascal and broke ex Evans, but the outcome feels a little undramaticSay you are a single woman in New York and you are, in the words of the song, torn between two lovers: two handsome, intelligent, nice guys – one very poor and one very rich. All things being equal, who do you go for? The answer in real life is very different, in fact diametrically opposed, to the answer in a film. Few movie heroines have the candour of Jane Austen’s Elizabeth Bennet in Pride and Prejudice, who admitted to falling in love with Mr Darcy on seeing his beautiful grounds at Pemberley.But this is the choice, which never quite ascends to the state of a dilemma, in this charming and watchable – yet for me somehow anticlimactic – romantic comedy-drama from South Korean-Canadian film-maker Celine Song: a love-triangle confection to follow the much realer, truer love triangle of Song’s much acclaimed debut Past Lives. When the decision is...

Politics

22 h. ago Members of Dumfries service for adults with assisted learning needs face uncertain future

One service user at Cloverglen has already lost three days of her weekly allowance following a review.

Politics

23 h. ago Love Is Blind: UK Season 2 on Netflix review: let the emotional manipulation begin

Can we find love, ‘sight unseen’? Um, no. But we already knew that

Politics

23 h. ago Love Is Blind UK Season 2 review: let the emotional manipulation begin

Can we find love, ‘sight unseen’? Um, no. But we already knew that

Politics