48 m. ago ‘I was killed in virtually every film’: how trailblazing Chinese

A retrospective at the BFI celebrates how Wong – whether typecast in orientalist fantasies or breaking taboos with a kiss – could always steal the showAnna May Wong is everywhere these days. The chic Chinese-American actor who first made a splash in the silent era has been fictionalised in films and TV shows, including Ryan Murphy’s Hollywood and Damien Chazelle’s Babylon, and an excellent novel, Amanda Lee Koe’s Delayed Rays of a Star. She has her face on the quarter, the first Asian-American to be honoured in that way, and she is the subject of a page-turner of a biography, Not Your China Doll by Katie Gee Salisbury. But what about the films? This month, BFI Southbank in London hosts a retrospective of this remarkable star’s career, titled Anna May Wong: the Art of Reinvention.Wong was born in Los Angeles to second-generation Chinese parents in 1905. At the very beginning of her film career in 1921, she self-consciously told a movie magazine that she was “a considerable spot of ye...

Events

76 m. ago The massive plan for yet more change in Stockport town centre

It could make it easier to get around and access the train station.

Politics

87 m. ago Donald Trump's plan to deport Venezuelan gangs blocked after 18th century blunder

A U.S. federal appeals court has dealt yet another blow to President Donald Trump's mass deportation agenda, ruling on Tuesday night that he cannot an 18th century wartime law to deport people

Politics

1 hour ago I watched a musical about William Wallace over a pint in Scotland

Musical Ballad Lines has secured a London run.

Politics

1 hour ago Finance for transition mineral mining is driving destruction and abuse, says report

Hundreds of billions of dollars invested in extractive mining for green transition with few safeguards, research findsThe financing of transition mineral mining is driving widespread environmental destruction and human rights abuses, according to a report.Banks and investors have ploughed hundreds of billions of dollars into companies mining for minerals for the manufacture of solar panels, wind turbines, batteries, energy grids and electric vehicles in the past decade, according to the research. Continue reading...

Events

1 hour ago ‘A gilded temple to the new world order’: inside the former US embassy that is now a super

Even the cheap rooms cost £1,400 a night at London’s bling-heavy hangout for high net worth individuals. From mega-basement spa to gaudy rooftop bar, our writer takes a tourRumours have long swirled about what lies beneath the great 1960s fortress of the former US embassy on Grosvenor Square. There have been lurid fables of cold war bunkers, secret service shooting ranges, CIA interrogation chambers and even escape tunnels to Hyde Park. But none of these fictional fantasies quite compare to the underground lair that has now been excavated below the imposing block, in its new incarnation as one of the fanciest hotels in London.Owned by the royal family of Qatar, and operated by an offshore company registered in the British Virgin Islands, belonging to one of Hong Kong’s wealthiest dynasties, this former outpost of US imperialism has become a gilded temple to the new global order. Reborn as the Chancery Rosewood, it is a beacon of luxury designed to attract the cream of the world’s ul...

Politics

1 hour ago London Pride parade chief investigated over alleged misuse of funds

London Pride parade chief investigated over alleged misuse of funds  The Guardian

Economics

2 h. ago What to Watch: Phoebe Philo, Skims and Kith Bet on London Despite Tough Retail Climate

What to Watch: Phoebe Philo, Skims and Kith Bet on London Despite Tough Retail Climate  wwd.com

Politics

2 h. ago Sánchez: Europe’s response to war in Gaza has been a ‘failure’

Spanish prime minister says double standards over Gaza and Ukraine threaten to undermine the west’s global standing‘You need solidarity and consistency’: Pedro Sánchez on the EU, Trump and fighting the far right Europe and the west’s double standards over the wars in Ukraine and Gaza threaten to undermine its global standing, the Spanish prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, has warned, describing the response to Israel’s assault on the Palestinian territory as one of the darkest episodes of international relations in the 21st century.In an interview with the Guardian before talks with UK prime minister, Keir Starmer, in London on Wednesday, the socialist leader also said the US under Donald Trump was trying to end the post-second world war, rules-based global order it had originally created. Continue reading...

Events

4 h. ago It looks like Radiohead are teasing their first gigs in seven years in London, Copenhagen and other European cities

It looks like Radiohead are teasing their first gigs in seven years in London, Copenhagen and other European cities  NME

Politics

5 h. ago Moment suspect flees undercover cops during car stop arrest attempt in North London

Witnesses shared footage of a man escaping from his car as swooped on the High Road in North Finchley at about 12noon on Tuesday.

Events

6 h. ago Rouse quarterback London Morgon credits team for confidence on the field

Rouse quarterback London Morgon credits team for confidence on the field  KVUE

Politics

7 h. ago London council appoints new member before removal vote: ‘Blatantly stacked’

London council appoints new member before removal vote: ‘Blatantly stacked’  FOX 56 News

Politics

7 h. ago US House committee releases batch of Epstein records as White House fights release of all files – live

Republican-led oversight committee releases over 33,000 pages of files related to investigation of late sex offenderDonald Trump’s “exciting announcement” expected at 2pm ET will be “related to the Department of Defense”, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said.Representatives Thomas Massie and Ro Khanna plan to hold a news conference tomorrow with survivors of Jeffrey Epstein’s sexual abuse as the political fallout from the saga continues to engage Congress on several fronts. Continue reading...

Society

7 h. ago Thames Water creditors outline £20.5bn investment aims under rescue plans

The London & Valley Water consortium is pledging to ‘fix the foundations’ of Thames Water with the mammoth spending proposal put forward to Ofwat.

Economics

7 h. ago London records lowest homicide rate in summer months since 2018

There were no homicides among under-25s recorded in London during the school summer holiday period, according to provisional figures

Politics

7 h. ago Thames Water unveil £20.5 billion action plan to revive struggling water firm

Thames Water is on the brink of nationalisation as it struggles under a mountain of debts

Economics

7 h. ago London ‘records fewest homicides in summer months since 2018’

The mayor of London Sir Sadiq Khan has vowed to continue building on work to tackle violence across the capital.

Politics

7 h. ago Watch Gorillaz Play 'The Fall' Tracks Live For The First Time In London

Watch Gorillaz Play 'The Fall' Tracks Live For The First Time In London  Stereogum

Politics

9 h. ago Trump deploys military to immigration courts to speed up mass deportations

Pentagon plan could send up to 600 military lawyers to immigration courts to speed up president’s mass removal agenda

Events