83 m. ago Eight hours, 250 singers and as many bananas as it takes: Tavener’s Veil of the Temple

Who’d be brave enough to programme John Tavener’s choral epic? We talk to the team behind the staging that’s opening this year’s Edinburgh international festival, and veterans of its 2003 premiere remember the challenges and rewardsWhat’s the longest concert you’ve ever been to? Ever found yourself sitting through more encores than you’d bargained for, worrying about your last train? Or mid-symphony becoming desperate to stand up and stretch?What about the longest single piece of music? Opera-goers may or may not sympathise with Rossini’s quip about Wagner’s “good moments but awful quarters of an hour”, but there is no denying the monumental scale of Die Meistersinger, for instance, which runs to about four and a half hours, not including intervals. And then there’s the same composer’s Ring cycle – about 15 hours in total, albeit split across four instalments; as close to a marathon as classical music usually gets. Continue reading...

Politics

3 h. ago Why is it so hard for the authorities to win public trust? Maybe because they keep lying to us | Gaby Hinsliff

If it’s not superinjunctions, it’s Epstein files or deepfakes. It’s hard not to be a conspiracy theorist when sometimes they really are out to get youIf you were to invent a scandal expressly to convince conspiracy theorists they were right all along, the story of the Afghan superinjunction would be hard to beat.A secret back door into Britain through which thousands of immigrants were brought, under cover of a draconian legal gagging order that helpfully also concealed an act of gross incompetence by the British state? It’s a rightwing agitator’s dream. “The real disinformation,” wrote Dominic Cummings on X, a platform notably awash with real disinformation, “is the regime media.” Yes, that Dominic Cummings.Gaby Hinsliff is a Guardian columnist Continue reading...

Culture

7 h. ago The couple earning 6 figures from being trolled: Obese actor who dared  to marry a 'beautiful' size 6 influencer  says people hate seeing a 'fat man have what they can't'

The Australia native, 30, said: 'Back when I was living in Australia, I was watching People Just Do Nothing and I was like "That is my ideal man, he's so hot!" I ended up Googling him.'

Politics

9 h. ago Ten more years of injustice: Figures lay bare scale of IPP scandal

Government ‘must go further and faster’ to help prisoners trapped on abolished indefinite jail terms as first releases hit all-time low, experts warn

Politics

10 h. ago Andrew Castle's commentary 'dampens' BBC Wimbledon record as fans demand he's removed

The BBC has released viewing figures for the 2025 Wimbledon Championships, which saw Jannik Sinner and Iga Świątek claim the men's and women's singles titles respectively

Politics

13 h. ago Olivia Jade shares major life update with college admissions scandal in rearview

The influencer’s parents were sentenced to prison in October 2020

Events

14 h. ago Settlement reached in investors’ lawsuit against Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and other company leaders

A settlement has been reached in a class action investors’ lawsuit against Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and company leaders over claims stemming from the privacy scandal involving the Cambridge Analytica political consulting firm

Economics

15 h. ago Afghanistan 'kill list' scandal lawyers vow to sue but bungling MoD will 'fight hard'

Personal details of almost 19,000 Afghans and 6,000 of their family members who helped British forces during the war were accidentally leaked

Events

15 h. ago UK special forces, MI6 spies and British MPs were on Afghan database that was lost by Government that obtained super

So that's why ministers wanted to hush it up: secret database the Government lost contained details of more than 100 British operatives as well as the 18,800 Afghans, defence sources revealed

Politics

15 h. ago Sir Keir Starmer’s chief of staff Morgan McSweeney is Government's highest paid special adviser, figures show

Morgan McSweeney is paid between £155,000 and £159,999, according to data released by the Cabinet Office

Politics

15 h. ago Pay of top No10 advisers soars by almost £1million under Labour as Morgan McSweeney leads parade of Starmer aides with six

The Prime Minister's top special advisers - known in Westminster as spads - are costing the taxpayer almost £4.2million a year, according to official figures released today.

Economics

15 h. ago Photos of US State Department workers getting hugs and applause as they're fired

Carrying boxes past signs of thanks for their service, fired State Department workers were hugged and applauded as they left their headquarters for the last time. More than 1,300 State Department employees fired in July, some focusing on intelligence activities, U.S. energy interests abroad, strategic competition with China and visa fraud. The lay offs are in line with a dramatic reorganization plan from the Trump administration.

Events

16 h. ago Trump’s effort to dismiss Epstein files as ‘hoax’ fails to quell Maga rebellion

Mike Pence was the latest prominent figure to call for release of files on sex offender once close to presidentHow the Jeffrey Epstein row plunged Maga world into turmoil – a timelineDonald Trump’s efforts to dismiss the criticism over his administration’s handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files as a “hoax” showed no sign of working on Thursday as more prominent figures from across the political spectrum emerged to attack the US president and some of his supporters recorded videos burning their signature Make America Great Again hats.Days after the Republican speaker of the House, the Trump loyalist Mike Johnson, called for the release of all documents relating to the late financier, a convicted sex offender and longtime former friend of Trump’s, rebellion continued to simmer within the president’s normally diehard base. Continue reading...

Politics

16 h. ago Trump supporters burn Maga hats after he dismisses Epstein files furor as ‘hoax’

Mike Pence is latest prominent figure to call for release of files on sex offender once close to presidentHow the Jeffrey Epstein row plunged Maga world into turmoil – a timelineDonald Trump’s efforts to dismiss the criticism over his administration’s handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files as a “hoax” showed no sign of working on Thursday as more prominent figures from across the political spectrum emerged to attack the US president and some of his supporters recorded videos burning their signature Make America Great Again hats.Days after the Republican speaker of the House, the Trump loyalist Mike Johnson, called for the release of all documents relating to the late financier, a convicted sex offender and longtime former friend of Trump’s, rebellion continued to simmer within the president’s normally diehard base. Continue reading...

Politics

16 h. ago Welsh wipeout in Lions squad for first time since 1896 reflects sorry decline

There will not be a single Welsh player in Saturday’s Lions squad for the first time since 1896, a huge downturn from eras pastWhen the British & Irish Lions last won a Test series in 2013, Leigh Halfpenny scored a record 49 points and fellow Wales international Sam Warburton captained the side to glory in Australia with Warren Gatland coaching. Twelve years on, for the first time since 1896, not a single Welsh player will be represented in the Lions’ matchday squad for Saturday’s first Test in Brisbane.Jac Morgan’s omission is a sign of rugby’s decline in Wales in recent years, a far cry from the glorious 1970s when household names like Gareth Edwards, Barry John and JPR Williams were indispensable figures. Continue reading...

Politics

16 h. ago Love Island hit with new 'fakery' claims as two contestants 'hooked up before show'

Love Island has been hit by 'fakery' claims after it was alleged that two Casa Amor bombshells 'hooked up' before the series began

Events

17 h. ago Olympic icon suffers wardrobe malfunction and accidentally bares all on red carpet

An American Olympic icon suffered a wardrobe malfunction as a gust of wind caught her dress, seeing her accidentally bare all on the red carpet

Events

17 h. ago Archimedes knew the golden power of boredom – so why can’t we stop bringing our phones into the bathroom? | Miski Omar

Being bored used to be a superpower, but now we have dopamine on loop to keep us endlessly occupiedArchimedes, the ancient Greek mathematician and inventor, was tasked with solving a tricky problem for King Hiero II of Syracuse. The story goes that the king suspected his new golden crown had been mixed with cheaper metals, but he didn’t want it damaged. Archimedes had to figure out whether the crown was pure gold without melting it down. Tough brief.Then, one day, while sinking into a public bath, he noticed something: the water level rose as he slid in. The volume of water displaced was equal to the volume of his body. That was it! The key. He could weigh the crown and measure its volume by how much water it displaced. Continue reading...

Politics

17 h. ago Met Police warn protesters supporting Palestine Action will be arrested ahead of mass demonstration

The Met Police has warned anyone expressing support for Palestine Action at a stand alone protest or as part of a large -scale Palestine Coalition march will likely be arrested

Events

18 h. ago Vogue Williams shows off her incredible figure in a skimpy pink bikini as she goes for a dip in the sea during family getaway to Spain

The Irish presenter and TV personality, 39, has been enjoying a holiday with her husband Spencer Matthews, 36, and their children Theodore, five, Gigi, four, and three-year-old Otto.

Politics