Turkish authorities believe Saudi critic was murdered in Istanbul consulate October 7, 2018 Turkish police believe that a Jamal Khashoggi, a Saudi journalist who had been critical of his country’s ruling regime, was killed by a ‘murder squad’ during a visit to the Saudi Arabian consulate in Istanbul last week. Multiple reports say that Khashoggi, who has been missing for six days, was targeted in a deliberate killing [...]
Kensington and Chelsea councillor calls for new powers to take over ‘ghost homes’ October 6, 2018 Kensington and Chelsea council have reportedly signed off on a request for ministers to give them the mandate to take over so-called ghost homes, left empty by overseas buyers waiting for their value to increase. Deputy council leader Kim Taylor-Smith has written to housing minister Kit Malthouse to call for a change in legislation, according [...]
Elastic, the open-source tech startup behind Uber and Tinder, scores $252m IPO October 6, 2018 Shares in Dutch open-source search startup Elastic skyrocketed as much as 106 per cent in its first day of official trading on the New York Stock Exchange yesterday, bucking the trend for tech stocks on Wall Street. The search and data analytics software firm, whose main product Elasticsearch powers technology behind big names such as Uber [...]
RMT weekend train strikes cause major disruption across the UK October 6, 2018 A 48-hour rail strike on South Western Railway (SWR) by the RMT Union has continued today, alongside a 24-hour walkout by workers on Northern rails. The SWR strike, which began yesterday morning and affects routes out of London Waterloo and Clapham Junction, has led the operator to run only around half of its normal services [...]
Citi to set up a new UK bank post-Brexit October 6, 2018 Citigroup is to transfer its UK consumer operations into a new UK bank, headquartered in London, in time for the country's exit from the European Union. A note sent out to customers revealed the move yesterday, in which the bank said its UK business, previously managed via Citibank Europe in Ireland, will be moved by March [...]
The Great Gig in the Sky: We hiked for two days to hear the world’s highest music festival October 5, 2018 The hills are alive with the sound of… my heavy breathing. I nervously inch my way along a slippery glacier while clinging onto a steel cable, the only lifeline preventing me from plunging hundreds of feet into the rocky abyss below. I am high up in the craggy and unyielding Dolomite Mountains in the Trentino [...]
Venom review: A talented cast struggles its way through this jumbled anti-hero affair October 5, 2018 Spider-Man recently made a critically acclaimed Homecoming to Disney/Marvel after years tied to Sony, leaving the alien entity known as Venom in a strange hinterland. The character’s first stand alone film is produced by Sony “in association with Marvel” as part of their new sharing agreement, but the resulting conflagration of themes and tones bears [...]
Interiors: The story of a Chinese twenty-something who created a best of British flat in Shanghai October 5, 2018 Anyone casting an eye around this spacious contemporary apartment would find its elegance reassuringly familiar. English joinery, heritage brands, bespoke handcrafted furniture – you could be visiting One Hyde Park. But look outside the 18th-floor panoramic windows and it’s not the sweeping green of central London you see, but the majestic Huangpu river, snaking through [...]
Pinter at the Pinter: Stagings of the great playwright’s short plays and poems offers a rare chance to see these unmissable works October 5, 2018 Harold Pinter was prolific, with more than 30 stage plays, almost as many screenplays and dozens of works of prose and poetry to his name. But while revered masterpieces such as The Birthday Party, No Man’s Land and Betrayal are regularly staged, there are fewer opportunities to see his equally brilliant shorter works. Director Jamie [...]
Tania Bruguera in the Tate Modern Turbine Hall continues a downward trend for the once great exhibition space October 5, 2018 The Turbine Hall is the toughest gig in contemporary art. While it must feel like a dream commission, it often proves to be a poisoned chalice. Filling the largest public exhibition space in the world requires massive art and super-massive ideas. It needs to be engaging, without descending into a crowd-pleasing fairground attraction. And while [...]