The Summer Solstice arrives on Jun 20, 2025, at 10:42 p.m. An astrologer sheds light on the areas of our lives primed to flourish under the zenith of our favorite death star.
Liverpool: While Florian Wirtz prepares to touch his toes and go “ahhhhhh” while a doctor holds a wooden lolly stick on his tongue, here’s some more positive Liverpool news: Mo Salah and Alexis Mac Allister have been shortlisted for the PFA Players’ Player of the Year award.
Manchester United’s Bruno Fernandes, Newcastle’s Alexander Isak, Chelsea’s Cole Palmer and Arsenal’s Declan Rice are the other four contenders for the award voted for by their peers.
Peter Pan has a pop fantasy, Faustus is in Africa, Brian Cox leads a banking satire and Billy Connolly meets the late Alasdair Gray. Elsewhere, the joy of pickling, a landmark jazz album and Elton John’s libel case take centre stage
Whenever you see a performance in Canada, it will begin with a land acknowledgment; a way of crediting those who were there before the Europeans arrived. Indigenous playwright Cliff Cardinal questions the motives of such declarations in a broadside that uses Shakespeare’s pastoral comedy to comment on our attitude to the natural world. Church Hill theatre, 20-23 August
One person was reported killed and 14 injured when Russian drones attacked the Ukrainian city of Odesa overnight
Speaking at the press conference, Jonas Gahr Støre declared Norway’s support for the 5% target proposed by Nato’s secretary general Mark Rutte.
In his opening statement, Støre explained the target is divided into 3.5% on “classic defence” spending including staff, investments, preparedness, and support for Ukraine, with the remaining 1.5% on “defence-related expenses” including on operational and industrial measures.
Brendan Paul, a key witness in Sean "Diddy" Combs' sex trafficking trial, took the stand after receiving immunity for testimony about allegedly supplying drugs to the disgraced mogul.
(Duo Ruut Music) The pair play with the traditions of Baltic Finnic runo song to explore the connections between the weather and emotion, giving ancient forms crossover potential
Duo Ruut (Square Duo) are Ann-Lisett Rebane and Katariina Kivi, two Estonian musicians who write, sing and play facing each other, their instrument being a single kannel (an Estonian zither). Playing with the texts and repetitive motifs of runo song, a form of traditional oral poetry specific to the Baltic Finnic languages, their music holds a glistening minimalism in its rhythms and a crossover sheen in its sound. Rebane and Kivi’s voices help – often sweet, but also sharp when required.
Their ambitious second album Ilmateade (Weather Report) explores the powerful yet under-sung connections between the weather and emotion. It begins with the minute-long Intro, a track that builds gorgeously on the scratchy, dying notes of their 2021 EP, Kulla Kerguseks (From the Lightness of Gold), implying both continuity and metamorphosis.
Then we’re in Udu (Fog), lulled along on thick, beautiful clouds of shifting time signatures, before Vastlalaul (The Sledding Song) slows and speeds, glossily, through the snow. These songs are rhythmically complex and have solid, ancient roots, but fans of ambient, Balearic dreaminess and the softer sides of indie pop and psych-folk will find woozy comforts here.
Former Democratic advisor Dan Turrentine criticizes the party for lacking an agenda, focusing on Trump instead of addressing real issues like Iran, the economy and immigration
Minnesota shooting suspect Vance Boelter was arrested after the "largest manhunt in state's history" with evidence he targeted multiple lawmakers in a coordinated attack.
Simon argued the current outrage surrounding Carpenter's album is relatively mild, compared to past examples of bold artistic expression in the music industry.
(Third Man Records) Will Anderson opens up on the NYC group’s third album, revealing an expansive articulacy to his take on 90s indie-rock
The third album by these New York-based indie-rockers rings some crucial changes. First, bandleader Will Anderson is in love, which alleviates some of the gloom that pervaded earlier records. And while the lyrics don’t amount to much on the page, when sung in unaffected deadpan and robed in artfully embellished shoegazey noise, Anderson’s elliptical poetics carry a compelling weight.
Second, and more importantly, Anderson invited his bandmates into the studio to record Raspberry Moon. Where previous albums had been one-man affairs, with Anderson overdubbing layer upon layer of guitar and synth on his lonesome, the presence of other musicians in the room has shaken up the paradigm. Their trademark walls of fuzz remain, but Raspberry Moon also fields tracks such as Break Right, on which the happy/sad melodies flourish with space to breathe, and the lush Lawnmower, which is practically unplugged (save for a keening thread of feedback in the distance) and utterly lovely for it.
A Florida dad is accused of leaving his helpless toddler to die inside his hot car for hours while he got a haircut and stopped to grab a drink at a bar in blazing temperatures.
Early days in a Lions camp can be nervy and everyone wants to play in Friday’s first match but Argentina provide a tough test
Every single member of the British & Irish Lions squad is in the perfect sweet spot at the moment. Blair Kinghorn aside, they all arrived into camp with a spring in their step and a smile on their face because their dreams have been realised. Speaking from experience, it is amazing how quickly you can leave national allegiances at the door.
At this stage, there is no sense of what the Test team will be, no division, or feeling that you have to make do with being a midweek dirt-tracker – the thing you are probably most nervous about is who your roommate will be. You know it will be someone from a different country and my first roommate was Keith Earls. As the youngest member of the 2009 squad, he was responsible for looking after the Lions mascot and I felt like I needed to mind him. I soon realised there are few as competitive as Keith and he did not need minding at all.
Research warns poorer governments prioritising debt payments over essential development spending
Developing countries need a fresh round of debt relief, to prevent money urgently needed for health and education being diverted to creditors, according to a major new report commissioned by the late Pope Francis.
The Jubilee report, produced by a panel of experts chaired by Nobel prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz, argues for debt restructuring, along the lines of the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries initiative (HIPC).
Wednesday’s picaresque yarns have resulted in the alt-rock album of the year. At home in North Carolina, their leader explains why she likes things ‘a little bit scary’ – and what’s next after her split from bandmate MJ Lenderman
To step into Karly Hartzman’s home is to see the contents of her brain shaken out. There is a fireplace mantel covered in dolls and figurines; a wooden rack filled with cassette tapes; an old doll’s house filled to the brim with fabric scraps; a few overflowing bookshelves. As the 28-year-old leader of the indie-rock band Wednesday greets me at the door, she realises a few new additions have just landed through the letterbox, some books about the history of hardcore and punk: she has been listening to both a lot and is eager to educate herself.
Hartzman is a collector by nature, a habit that is also at the heart of her songwriting. Equally inspired by the southern rockers Drive-By Truckers and the shoegaze greats Swirlies, Wednesday’s sound combines heartfelt twang with walls of pummelling sound. Hartzman’s lyrics are highly narrative, inflected with striking, gnarly details. Listen to the band’s breakthrough album, 2023’s Rat Saw God, and you will hear about urine-coloured soda, roadside sex shops, accidental arson and teens getting high on Benadryl.
LA was once a conservative stronghold; now the military is occupying it. Liberal cities have become targets for politicians looking to stir up their voters elsewhere
From Los Angeles to London, Istanbul to Warsaw, cities are making rightwing populists angry. Their liberal elites, immigrants, net zero policies, leftwing activists, globalised businesses, expensive transport infrastructure and outspoken municipal leaders – all are provocations to populist politicians whose support often comes from more conservative, less privileged places.
Three years ago the founders of national conservatism, the transatlantic ideology on which much of modern rightwing populism is based, published a statement of principles. One of these, surprisingly little noticed at the time, declared with some menace: “In those [places] in which law and justice have been manifestly corrupted, or in which lawlessness, immorality, and dissolution reign, national government must intervene energetically to restore order.”
Modest 23-year-old still does not understand the fuss around him as he prepares to face Flamengo in the Club World Cup
Cole Palmer sees himself as a normal kid. Strangers watch him with something close to fascination, though. What’s going on beneath the chilled exterior? The shrugging demeanour adds to the mystique. Kids copy the Chelsea attacker’s “cold” celebration. Interviewers walk away amused but bemused after spending time with him. What’s the story with those answers? Why are they all so short and sweet?
The Philadelphia sun is beating down when Palmer mooches over for a quick chat at Subaru Park, where Chelsea are training before facing Flamengo in their second game at the Club World Cup on Friday. So, Cole, can you tell us why you walked out wearing a mask when the team plane landed in the US last week? Are you ill? Enzo Maresca, your manager, thinks you were playing a trick on everyone.
Marcus Rashford’s future is very much in the category of “up in the air”. The chances of him ever playing for Manchester United look slim-to-none as he will not be given a boarding pass for the club’s US tour, while a dream move to Barcelona is going up in smoke. A few Serie A clubs have had a sniff but his wages may be a stumbling block. What he really needs is a Champions League club with plenty of cash. Step in … Newcastle. The Magpies are back in the bigger time, will be eager to make a statement signing or two, and Rashford fits the bill. Liam Delap chose Chelsea over Newcastle and Eddie Howe likes to have the best English talent at his disposal, so Rashford would be an ideal candidate as an extra attacking option.
It takes a brave man to move from Liverpool to Everton (and vice versa). Nick Barmby, Abel Xavier and Gary Ablett did the Merseyside double in their time and the next potential candidate is Ben Doak. The Scottish teenager impressed on loan in the Championship last season at Middlesbrough and is ready to step up to the Premier League but there is no obvious role he can play under Arne Slot. It means Doak might need to find an alternative and at least this one would mean he didn’t have to move house.
Musician John Grant was blown away by Christopher Isherwood’s 1964 novel, finding deep resonances in its tale of gay love and loss. Now, he’s put songs to choreographer Jonathan Watkins’s new dance adaptation
“I can’t believe that somehow I was able to make it all the way to the age of 55 without having read that book!” says American singer-songwriter John Grant. “It’s a transformative book. I was just completely blown away by it; I’ve been trying to get everybody that I’ve ever met to read it.”
The book Grant is telling me about, enthusing from his sofa at home in Reykjavík, is Christopher Isherwood’s A Single Man, published in 1964, turned into 2009’s most stylish film by first-time director Tom Ford, starring Colin Firth, and now about to be a ballet, premiering at this year’s Manchester international festival. Grant, the former Czars frontman and now an acclaimed solo artist (with albums including Pale Green Ghosts and his latest, The Art of the Lie), is writing the new show’s songs.
California governor responds to court allowing Trump to control National Guard troops in Los Angeles, emphasizing the ruling rejects presidential immunity from review.
In its third season, the show leans into the cringe again – and rings true when it allows its white liberal characters to mess things up
Are any of the writers on And Just Like That (AJLT) reading this? Because I have several helpful suggestions to bring the current series of your Sex and the City reboot into 2025: Charlotte’s husband, the hitherto harmless Harry, could start pressuring her into an open marriage, involving whatever passes for wild sex parties on the Upper East Side. Miranda could soon enter her Chappell-Roan-power-ballad era by hooking up with a sexually captivating, but emotionally unavailable, decades-younger woman. And what about a big reveal involving Aidan, who has been draining Carrie’s bank accounts all along (because he’s secretly a Reddit-radicalised, misogynist crypto bro now). I’d also suggest we see and hear a lot less from the children. The existence of Brady, Brock, Tilly and Twerp should only ever be referenced occasionally and obliquely, for form’s sake. Y’know, like how people of colour were treated all the way through the original Sex and the City series?
Ironically, racial politics is the one area in which AJLT is doing just fine, even without my help. This is not the consensus view, I’m aware. Many fans entered a state of full-body cringe during the first season, when Miranda wondered aloud if she was having “a white saviour moment” when fighting off a mugger attacking her Black friend, and are yet to regain full use of their sphincter muscles. But the fact is, AJLT understands the specific whiteness of wealthy white women, in a way that not only vastly improves on the original show’s run, but which could also teach other contemporary TV shows a thing or two about “diversity” and “representation”.
Suga, a rapper and songwriter in the global K-pop sensation BTS, has been discharged from South Korea’s mandatory military service, marking the official return of all seven members from their enlistment duties
Israel and Iran have struck at one another again a week into their war as President Donald Trump weighs U.S. involvement and new diplomatic efforts appear to be taking place
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