69 h. ago ‘A dazzling concrete crown’: Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral gets long overdue appreciation

A genius response bridging of history and modernity with daring interior and exterior, it is shocking it wasn’t already Grade I-listedLiverpool’s Catholic cathedral has listing upgraded to Grade ILiverpool’s majestic cosmic wigwam has always faced a hard time from critics. Classicists lamented that it replaced an earlier swollen baroque design by Edwin Lutyens, which was cut short by the second world war and rising costs. Modernists found it too prissy, a brittle British version of more muscular concrete creations emerging from sunnier southern climes – a piece of Oscar Niemeyer’s Brasília lost in translation between the hemispheres.Time has proved them wrong. Frederick Gibberd’s striking upturned funnel is one of the finest postwar buildings in the land, standing as the most prominent Catholic cathedral of any British city, as well as the most original. It is shocking that it wasn’t already Grade-I listed – a fact that reflects a broader antipathy for buildings of the era, which is...

Politics

7 d. ago Uncontested: Dazn’s $1bn story reveals why the Club World Cup is really here

Saudi-backed streaming superpower’s TV deal for Fifa’s global project is next expansionist step towards a world super league“And what exactly are you doing here, sir?” To be fair, the border guard at Miami international airport made an excellent point. As ice-breakers go, frowning over the passports and visa tickers of the long-haul crowd on matchday minus four of the Fifa Club World Cup, the border guard was at least in tune with the zeitgeist. What is football doing here?What are Lionel Messi, Trent Alexander-Arnold and the massed engines of the football-industrial complex doing hovering like an alien landing party over this fun, sinking sandbank of a city, a strip of land where the ocean seems to be punching a mulchy green hole in the asphalt every few miles, a place that from the air seems to be made entirely from deep-fried crumb, tropical weed and traffic? Continue reading...

Politics

1 week ago Swansea City complete fourth summer signing as club fend off interest to land star

Swansea City have added to the signings of Melker Widell, Zeidane Inoussa and Bobby Wales with the free-agent capture of Ricardo Santos

Politics

2 w. ago UK's newest £3.9bn garden city with 15k homes changing unused land forever

Huge plans, costing almost £4billion, to totally revamp 2,500 acres of brownfield land into a vibrant green city first started in 2015 - and is set to be completely finished in the next 10 years

Economics

2 w. ago Tonight's Cardiff City news as club would be 'lucky' to land boss and manager rules himself out

The Cardiff City stories making headlines on Saturday, May 31

Society

3 w. ago Pesticides, antibiotics, animal medicines: the chemical cocktail seeping into our rivers

A study of Yorkshire’s rivers is helping scientists understand the impact everyday pollutants are having on waterways – and the results are soberingRivers carry more than just water through Britain’s landscapes. A hidden cocktail of chemicals seeps out of farmland, passes undetected through sewage treatment works, and drains off the roads into the country’s rivers. Normally these chemicals flow through unreported, silently restructuring ecosystems as they go, but now, UK scientists are building a map of what lies within – and the damage it may be causing.Trailing down the centre of Britain is one river whose chemical makeup scientists know better than any other. The Foss threads its way through North Yorkshire’s forestry plantations, patchworked arable land and small hamlets, before descending into the city of York, passing roads and car parks, gardens replacing farmland. Along the course of its 20-mile (32km) length, the chemical fingerprints of modern life accumulate. Continue rea...

Science

3 w. ago Napoli chief all but confirms Kevin De Bruyne transfer after emotional Man City exit

Kevin De Bruyne's time at Manchester City will come to an end and Napoli are looking to land the Belgian playmaker - who has reportedly bought a house in Italy

Politics

3 w. ago Man City land instant major windfall that could become £100m jackpot

City have secured qualification to next season's Champions League on the final day of the Premier League season

Economics

3 w. ago ‘Revelatory, magnetic, unknown’: how Frank Dillane became a star at Cannes

With a breakout performance in Urchin, the actor has emerged from cult TV fame to the cusp of major stardom – a new ‘post-alpha male’ lead to join the ranks of Paul Mescal and Josh O’ConnorFew actors make an instant impact on their first major film festival appearance, but Frank Dillane, star of fellow actor Harris Dickinson’s directing debut Urchin, is one of them. Critics are near-unanimous in their praise, with Variety calling his performance “revelatory”, and IndieWire describing it as “magnetic”. Influential film industry publication Deadline said that Dillane “arrived in Cannes a virtual unknown, but Harris Dickinson’s directorial debut has made him a star”.In Urchin, Dillane plays Mike, a man living on the streets who ends up in jail after committing an assault and then struggles to go straight after his release. Despite being given a place in a hostel and helped into employment, Mike is tempted to fall back into his old ways. With a script written by Dickinson, Dillane commi...

Politics

4 w. ago Ruben Amorim makes honest Man Utd finances and £100m windfall admission ahead of more job cuts

Ruben Amorim has admitted he knows Manchester United have more than just the Europa League trophy on the line when they face Tottenham in the final in Bilbao tonight

Economics