4 h. ago Steven Wilson review – an interstellar sound voyage with Floydian grandeur

Bristol BeaconOn his first solo tour in seven years, Wilson transports a rapt audience through three hours of prog, bubbling electronica and time-bending post-rock blissA few feet above Steven Wilson’s head, the universe expands and contracts. His attention, though, is on a bank of equipment, from which he’s attempting to pull sounds that match the interstellar scope of the visuals spread across the gargantuan screen that hangs over him. Across the course of almost three hours, he does so with remarkable regularity.Appearing initially in profile, all in black and ensconced in a keyboard array that makes it look like he’s fallen to Earth in a pod, Wilson’s opening move during his first solo tour in seven years is to play his recent concept record, The Overview, in full. Its two vast songs (one 23 minutes, the other 18) are musings on our cosmic insignificance greeted with rapt attention by an audience relishing his return to prog after a run of works that tested his mettle in art-roc...

Politics

10 h. ago Christine Lagarde under fire from unions over ECB workers’ rights

Central bank wants elected staff representatives to spend more time in their day jobs

Events

3 d. ago Pope Leo XIV to hold his first mass as pontiff as Catholics around the world celebrate – live

Pope will hold private mass in the Sistine Chapel at 0900 GMT, during which he will give his first papal homilyRobert Francis Prevost: the moderate, good humoured first US popePope Leo’s in-tray: pontiff has many urgent issues to addressShare your views on Pope Leo XIVWhat’s in a name? When it comes to a pope – everything. The white smoke from the Sistine Chapel earlier this evening told the world that a new pope to succeed Francis had been elected – and for the first time the pontiff is from the US.But if Donald Trump and his Catholic convert Veep, JD Vance, are ready to cheer, then they should think again. Cardinal Robert Prevost has chosen the name Leo XIV – and if you’re a papal Leo, you tend to be a reformer at the progressive end of Catholicism.Vatican spokesperson Matteo Bruni said the choice of the name Leo was a “clear and deliberate” reference to the last pope named Leo. Leo XIII was elected in 1878 and was best known for his 1891 encyclical, Rerum Novarum, which outlined ...

Culture

3 d. ago What will the new Pope be like? He’s chosen to be called Leo: that’s no accident | Catherine Pepinster

Popes who take that name tend to be progressive reformers. If Trump and JD Vance think they have an ally in the Vatican, I think not Catherine Pepinster is a former editor of The TabletWhat’s in a name? When it comes to a pope – everything. The white smoke from the Sistine Chapel earlier this evening told the world that a new pope to succeed Francis had been elected – and for the first time the pontiff is an American.But if Donald Trump and his Catholic convert Veep, JD Vance, are ready to cheer, then they should think again. Cardinal Robert Prevost has chosen the name Leo XIV – and if you’re a papal Leo, you tend to be a reformer at the progressive end of Catholicism. That Prevost has decided to become Leo XIV will make Catholics think immediately of the last Leo – Leo XIII – and his 1891 encyclical or teaching document, Rerum Novarum, which outlined workers’ rights to a fair wage, safe working conditions and the rights of workers to belong to trade unions. If Pope Francis was the ...

Politics

4 d. ago Conclave live: Cardinals begin secret vote to choose new Pope as crowds watch for smoke from Vatican

In the pre-conclave Mass, senior cardinal Giovanni Battista Re prayed for the cardinal electors to be enlightened to choose “the Pope our time needs”

Politics

4 d. ago Conclave live: Cardinals begin secret election to choose next Pope in Sistine Chapel

In the pre-conclave Mass, senior cardinal Giovanni Battista Re prayed for the cardinal electors to be enlightened to choose “the Pope our time needs”

Politics

5 d. ago Conclave live: Vatican cuts phone signal ahead of secret Sistine Chapel vote to elect new pope

In the pre-conclave Mass, senior cardinal Giovanni Battista Re prayed for the cardinal electors to be enlightened to choose “the Pope our time needs”

Politics

5 d. ago PMQs live: Keir Starmer faces anger after local elections as 45 Labour MPs tell him to 'act now'

Prime Minister Keir Starmer will today face Kemi Badenoch at Prime Minister's Questions for the first time since both parties suffered at the local elections last week

Politics

5 d. ago Watch in full: Mark Carney reacts to Donald Trump meeting after repeated 51st state threats

Watch as Mark Carney spoke to the media after meeting Donald Trump at the White House on Tuesday, 6 May, for the first time since the newly elected Canadian prime minister won the federal election.

Politics

5 d. ago Watch live: Mark Carney reacts to Donald Trump meeting after repeated 51st state threats

Watch live as Mark Carney speaks to the media after meeting Donald Trump at the White House on Tuesday, 6 May, for the first time since the newly elected Canadian prime minister won the federal election.

Politics

5 d. ago Watch in full: Donald Trump and Canadian prime minister Mark Carney meet for crunch trade talks

Watch as Donald Trump welcomes Mark Carney to the White House on Tuesday, 6 May, for the first time since the newly elected Canadian prime minister won the federal election.

Politics

5 d. ago Watch live: Donald Trump and Canadian prime minister Mark Carney meet for crunch trade talks

Watch live as Donald Trump welcomes Mark Carney to the White House on Tuesday, 6 May, for the first time since the newly elected Canadian prime minister won the federal election.

Politics

6 d. ago Top Tories plead for Kemi Badenoch to be given more time as 'deluded' MPs 'plot to oust her' after local elections meltdown saw party lose 600 seats

Backbenchers are reportedly to meet this week to discuss Mrs Badenoch's future after the Conservatives lost more than 600 seats in last week's local elections .

Politics

8 d. ago I worked in the Vatican for 18 years – this will be the most unpredictable conclave yet | Ariel Beramendi

Will the cardinals follow Francis’s path or return to a more conservative doctrine? The white smoke will tell us which faction has won Ariel Beramendi worked at the Vatican for 18 years as an official in the Dicastery for CommunicationAs the cardinals ready themselves to select the next pope, one thing is certain: this will be the most unpredictable conclave in the recent history of the Catholic church. I worked in the Vatican for 18 years, and on my return to Rome for the funeral of Pope Francis last month, the tension and drama were already palpable.Some observers and former colleagues I spoke to believe this will be a particularly difficult conclave, given its size – 133 electors, as opposed to 117 last time – and the fact that many of the cardinals don’t know one another. This is down to Francis diversifying the college, appointing cardinals from all over the world: a full 108 of the current crop were his selections. Others suggest the electors will try to reach a decision in le...

Economics

8 d. ago A roofless palace in Italy's Viterbo hosted the first and longest conclave

It was the mounting rage of citizens in Viterbo, a small town north of Rome, that ended the longest papal election in the Catholic Church’s history, forging for the first time the word “conclave.”

Politics

1 week ago Scottish ministers drop plans to outlaw misogyny and conversion practices

Government says the measures are too legally complex to deliver before the next Holyrood electionThe Scottish government has dropped plans to outlaw misogyny and conversion practices before the next Holyrood election, arguing they are too legally complex to deliver in time.Ministers had long promised a bill to criminalise misogyny after Nicola Sturgeon, the then first minister, accepted recommendations from a working group led by the lawyer and human rights expert Helena Kennedy in 2022. Continue reading...

Politics

1 week ago Local elections 2025: What time polling stations open and close tomorrow

Campaigning in the 2025 local elections enters its final day as millions of voters in England will head to the polls tomorrow - the first major vote since last year's General Election

Politics

1 week ago Why PSG’s electric trick caught Arsenal at the worst possible time

Arsenal 0-1 Paris Saint-Germain: Luis Enrique’s side confused Mikel Arteta’s team at kick-off and exposed the absence of Thomas Partey

Events

2 w. ago So you saw 'Conclave' the movie. Here's what it got right – and wrong – about real

Speculation surrounding a conclave to elect a pope is a time-honored tradition

Politics

3 w. ago ‘Sell America’: investors are increasingly avoiding the US – here’s what it means for Australian markets

After decades as a safe haven, Donald Trump’s economic upheaval has some traders looking to put their money elsewhere – and countries looking to decouple their economiesElection 2025 live updates: Australia federal election campaignGet our afternoon election email, free app or daily news podcastAt the same time as Australians are cutting back on plans to visit the US under Donald Trump, a new type of investment strategy designed to avoid America is fast gaining popularity.The “sell America trade”, an expression that barely existed before Trump spooked markets by unveiling his new tariff regime late on 2 April, is now a common expression among traders and appears regularly in investment notes to explain the day’s price movements. Continue reading...

Economics