42 m. ago Europe at risk of becoming ‘technological supplicant’ to US and China, says McMafia writer Misha Glenny

Discussion took place during The Independent’s daily News Review event at the 2025 Hay Festival

Events

3 h. ago Thousands support Kneecap at first big gig since terrorism charge

Irish-language rap trio perform at London festival after member charged for allegedly displaying Hezbollah flag• Kneecap review – rap trio remain unbowed by terror chargeThousands of fans showed up to support Kneecap at a festival they headlined on Friday night, days after one of its members was charged with a terror offence.The Irish-language act performed at the Wide Awake festival in Brockwell Park, south London, two days after band member Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh, 27, who performs under the stage name Mo Chara, was charged for allegedly displaying a flag in support of Hezbollah at a gig in London in November. Continue reading...

Events

3 h. ago Inside the UK’s first Reform pub with beer, black pudding baps and Belinda Carlisle

Once a Conservative Party social club, The Talbot in Blackpool has defected to Reform. Barney Davis heads north to see what all the fuss is about

Politics

3 h. ago Inside Cinnamon Life at the City of Dreams — the Colombo hotel that was 10 years in the making

Does Sri Lanka’s latest city hotel live up to the hype? Lydia Swinscoe checks in to find out

Politics

4 h. ago Scott McTominay 'lost for words' after winning special award amid Napoli Serie A title success

Scott McTominay has completed a stunning first season in Italy by winning the Serie A title and being named the league’s MVP

Events

4 h. ago Kylie Minogue’s Tension Tour proves she’s one of the greatest pop stars of all time

Now comfortably settled into living legend status, Minogue blasts her way through condensed, clubbier takes on classic pop hits as her Tension Tour lands in the UK

Events

5 h. ago ‘You feel useful to society’: Italy’s busybody pensioners go professional

Once seen as a nuisance by construction workers, ‘umarell’ in Villasanta are now offically monitoring public worksAmong his circle of friends, Roberto Cremona says there are one or two umarell – a word coined to describe retired Italian men who spend their time peering through the mesh fencing of construction works, casting judgment and offering up unsolicited advice.“When we meet for coffee, they often say: ‘Did you see that construction site over there? They’re doing this or that wrong, we could do a better job’. These characters are everywhere,” Cremona adds. Continue reading...

Politics

7 h. ago Original Sin book review: How we were fools to be fooled by Joe Biden’s people

Since this book was written we have learned Joe Biden has prostate cancer. The sad news was greeted with sympathy from all sides of the political divide, including Donald Trump. That would have been the response if, as president, Biden had declared in 2023 that he wasn’t going to run again on the basis of his age; there would have been lots of love, as there was at the start of George Clooney’s celebrated open letter to Biden in The New York Times telling him he loved him, but it was time to go.

Politics

8 h. ago 'I wore these Simba slippers for two weeks and they eased my achy feet instantly'

Shopping writer Lauren Codling tried Simba Sleep's Rok Slippers - and they're her new WFH essential

Politics

9 h. ago This is not just any cyber meltdown: will shoppers forgive M&S?

Customer loyalty is the magic ingredient that should see Marks and Spencer bounce back from this crisis

Politics

17 h. ago Napoli crowned Serie A champions as McTominay and Gilmour cap year of lo Scosseze in Italy

Both Scots started and mMcTominay inevitably scored as Antonio Conte's men beat Cagliari 2-0 to secure the Scudetto

Politics

18 h. ago Mountainhead review – tech bros face off in Jesse Armstrong’s post

Weapons-grade zingers come thick and fast in this chamber piece about four plutocrats on a weekend in a lodge that goes awry when the planet descends into chaosJesse Armstrong has returned with what feels like a horribly addictive feature-length spin-off episode from the extended Succession Cinematic Universe – though without Succession cast members. It is set in a luxurious Utah megalodge which winds up resembling the Dr Strangelove war room, mixed with the apartment from Hitchcock’s Rope. Mountainhead is a super-satirical chamber piece about the deranged, cynical and facetious mindset of the uber-wealthy, the kind of people who think about ancient Rome every day, though not about Nero and his violin. It may not have the dramatic richness of Armstrong’s TV meisterwerk while the pure testosterone of this all-male main cast (minus any Shiv figure) is oppressive – though that is kind of the point. The pure density of weapons-grade zingers in the script is a marvel.Our heroes are four ...

Politics

18 h. ago Mountainhead is Succession creator Jesse Armstrong’s exquisite but merciless modern satire

Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman and Ramy Youssef exemplify the reprehensible super-rich in this pitch-black comedy that asks: how far you can extend gallows humour?

Politics

19 h. ago The Mastermind review – Josh O’Connor is world’s worst art thief in Kelly Reichardt’s unlikely heist movie

Cannes film festival Reichardt’s quietist, observational style is unexpectedly successful at creating a super-naturalistic depiction of an art gallery robberyIt needs hardly be said that the title is ironic. The abject non-hero of Kelly Reichardt’s engrossingly downbeat heist movie, set in 1970s Massachusetts, is weak, vain and utterly clueless. By the end, he’s a weirdly Updikean figure, though without the self-awareness: going on the run with no money and without a change of clothes, to escape from the grotesque mess he has made for himself and his family.This is James, played with hangdog near-charm by Josh O’Connor; he is an art school dropout and would-be architectural designer with two young sons, married to Terri (a minor complaint is that the excellent Alana Haim is not given enough to do). James depends on the social standing of his father Bill, a judge, formidably played by Bill Camp, and is borrowing large sums of money from his patrician mother Sarah (Hope Davis), ostens...

Politics

19 h. ago MOVIE REVIEW: We see if 'It Feeds' satisfies horror fans' taste buds

Little originality on show but still works. on its own merits - just.

Events

19 h. ago Inside Epic Universe: Photos unveil Universal’s $6 billion Florida park as it finally opens to the public

At the center of Epic Universe is Celestial Park. From here, guests access The Wizarding World of Harry Potter — Ministry of Magic, Super Nintendo World, How to Train Your Dragon — Isle of Berk, and Dark Universe

Economics

19 h. ago Is it safe to travel to Greece, Turkey, Italy and France after countries put on 'high alert'?

Recent seismic activity near Crete has set off a chain of emergency responses

Events

20 h. ago Netflix’s ‘divisive’ new comedy series has fans ‘in a chokehold’ while others can't stand it

Tyler Perry's new political sitcom She the People dropped its first eight episodes this week

Culture

20 h. ago Up to 43,000 criminals a year set to avoid jail under Labour's soft

A new sentencing review already been accepted 'in principle' by Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood could see tens of thousands of offenders avoid jail each year, official data shows.

Events

21 h. ago The Barber in London at The Courtauld Gallery: 'a selection box with no duds'

The Barber in Edgbaston is being refurbished, which is lucky for Londoners as some of its best works are holidaying at The Courtauld

Politics