
War and peace, why restaurants are going halal & the great brown furniture transfer
This week: war and peace
Despite initial concerns, the 'Complete and Total CEASEFIRE' – according to Donald Trump – appears to be holding. Tom Gross writes this week's cover piece and argues that a weakened Iran offers hope for the whole Middle East. But how? He joined the podcast to discuss further, alongside Gregg Carlstrom, the Economist's Middle East correspondent based in Dubai. (01:51)
Next: why are so many restaurants offering halal meat?
Angus Colwell writes about the growing popularity of halal meat in British restaurants. This isn't confined to certain food groups or particular areas – halal is now being offered across restaurants serving all sorts of cuisine, from Chinese to Mexican. But why is it so popular? And is it just a trend, or part of a wider shift for British restaurants? Angus joined the podcast to discuss further, alongside restaurateur James Chiavarini, owner of Il Portico and La Palombe, both in Kensington. (23:46)
And finally: millennials, the brown furniture is on its way
The 'great wealth transfer' – the transfer of trillions in wealth from boomers to millennials – is oft-discussed, but Arabella Byrne argues this goes far beyond just money. Brown furniture, from desks to cabinets to mirrors, will be passed on as inheritance by boomers who downsize – and Arabella says this is 'the abject symbol of generational misalignment'. Arabella joined the podcast to discuss further, alongside The Spectator's economics editor Michael Simmons. (33:07)
Hosted by Lara Prendergast and William Moore.
Produced by Oscar Edmondson and Patrick Gibbons.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Daily Mirror
31 minutes ago
- Daily Mirror
Angela Rayner pays tribute to veterans as Newsnight airs Nuked Blood special
A Newsnight report on the Nuked Blood Scandal led to questions in Parliament as Angela Rayner paid tribute to veterans Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner has paid tribute to survivors of Britain's nuclear weapons experiments after Newsnight featured their story for the first time. Veterans Brian Unthank, 87, and John Morris, also 87, appeared on a special edition of the BBC's flagship political programme alongside veteran's son Steve Purse, 51, and Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham. Mr Burnham told presenter Victoria Derbyshire that serving politicians "should be embarrassed" and "risk being complicit" if they do not act to end the injustice of a seven-decade cover-up off biological monitoring of troops who were deliberately exposed to radiation. Brian and John, who have more than 100 cancers between them, told how the results of the monitoring had subsequently been removed from their medical files, denying them war pensions and answers about the illnesses which have blighted their families. "It's heartbreaking to listen to. Why, after all these years, should they have to sit here and plead for the basic truth about what happened to them?" asked Mr Burnham. "It goes to the hart of the British state. They can blame the police for for Hillsborough, the NHS for infected blood, the Post Office for the Horizon scandal. here, what has happened is that at the heart of Whitehall, British policy was basically a preordained, systematic, brutal policy to put tens of thousands of British servicemen in the line of radiation without their knowledge, without their consent, without personal protective equipment, and then they conducted secret tests on them and denied it for decades." The programme was followed yesterday by questions in Parliament, with Labour and Liberal Democrat MPs demanding ministers take action to deliver compensation and apologies. * You can watch the programme HERE Salford MP Rebecca Long-Bailey told Prime Minister's Questions: "Last night, Newsnight covered the Daily Mirror's 3-year investigation into the Nuked Blood Scandal, in which thousands of troops had their blood and urine monitored, even chest x-rays, during nuclear weapons tests but the results were with from their medical records, and their suffering denied for decades. As a fierce supporter of these men and their families, who she's met with me, will the Right Honourable lady agree... that time is of the essence, and these elderly veterans deserve answers, justice, and an apology?" Angela Rayner, who was deputising for Keir Starmer, replied: "I commend her on the campaigning she's done on this issue, and I have met with some of those affected and I know the strength of feeling on this and I've heard their deeply personal testimony and experiences. "I pay tribute to all of the nuclear test veterans and their enduring contribution to our nation's security, especially during Armed Forces Week, and we're looking into unresolved questions regarding their medical records... as a priority." Tewkesbury MP Cameron Thomas told the Commons: "In 1957, my constituent Ronald Clark was among 22,000 UK personnel exposed to nuclear testing on Christmas Island. These veterans and their descendants have suffered various cancers, crippling illnesses, and deformities, but the MoD has never accepted liability. Noting the Deputy Prime Minister's response to her honourable friend, it doesn't quite go far enough. Time is running out. Will she meet with me, my constituent and these veterans to determine appropriate compensation?" Ms Rayner replied that "the Minister for Veterans will be happy to meet with him and the veterans to discuss this issue". A records review was ordered in November after a million people saw a devastating BBC documentary on the scandal. But despite two meetings with Veterans Minister Al Carns, and more than 19,000 documents examined already, the review has no budget, no deadline, and no results. The Mirror's investigation has uncovered thousands of pages of evidence about blood and urine tests, testing data, and the names of servicemen ordered to take part in the experiments, on a secret database at the Atomic Weapons Establishment. They were classified as state secrets, with officials refusing access to veterans, relatives, and even lawyers. That database, along with misleading statements given to courts and Parliament, is now the subject of a police complaint. A £5bn civil lawsuit is also underway. An anti-scandal law promised by Keir Starmer is expected to include "a huge carve-out" for matters of military and national security, which would enable public officials in those areas to lie without any criminal sanction.


BreakingNews.ie
33 minutes ago
- BreakingNews.ie
Taoiseach says ‘nobody wins' if EU-US tariff dispute ensues
'Nobody wins' if the US-EU tariff dispute continues, the Taoiseach has said, as he said the bloc is focused on arriving at a 'negotiated settlement' with Donald Trump's administration. Micheál Martin said it is 'extremely important' to be able to provide certainty to the market and investors. Advertisement The EU is seeking a trade deal with the US before July 9th. Speaking to reporters in Brussels, Mr Martin said: 'Every effort has to be made to get a landing zone that we can live with. 'It's not ideal. It's not optimal. Europe doesn't want tariffs, but we have to deal with the situation that is before us.' He added: 'If a tariff dispute ensues, nobody wins. There is no painless tariff war.' Advertisement US President Donald Trump placed tariffs on the EU (Suzanne Plunkett/PA) Mr Martin, who stressed that the EU had to be united in its negotiations, said he detects an 'atmosphere' that is focused on getting a deal. The Taoiseach's comments come against the backdrop of the latest report from the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI), which said the strength of the economy will be tested by domestic challenges and a period of global uncertainty. While the Irish domestic economy appears to be in a relatively robust state, the ESRI said 'notable international and domestic risks are clouding the outlook'. It said global uncertainty has risen to 'very elevated levels' given the fallout from changing US trade policy and other geopolitical developments. Advertisement It added: 'This increase in uncertainty is likely to weigh on investment and consumer spending.' The body noted that Ireland has been somewhat insulated from tariffs so far because of the exclusion of pharmaceutical goods. It added that the relative importance of services in total Irish exports provides 'short-term protection from tariff impacts but raises concerns about non-tariff barriers to services trade being imposed in future US-EU negotiations'. The ESRI said it expects GDP to grow by 4.6 per cent in 2025 and 2.9 per cent in 2026, with exports growing by 5.4 per cent and 3.3 per cent respectively. Advertisement However, this would be revised downwards if trade wars with the US intensify. It said it expects the domestic economy to grow at a relatively slower pace than in previous reports. The baseline forecast is for Modified Domestic Demand growth of 2.3 per cent in 2025 and 2.8 per cent in 2026. Inflation is projected to average 2.0 per cent in 2025 and 2.1 per cent in 2026. The ESRI said there are two main challenges to the public finances – that they are heavily dependent on windfall corporation tax receipts and residential construction is not accelerating sufficiently quickly to meet housing need. Advertisement Mr Martin said the economic growth projects reflect the challenges of the trade and tariff dispute. 'That has caused ripples all over the world – and that's why we favour an agreement by July 9th.' He said that could change the trajectory of the economic forecasts. The ESRI has lowered its forecast for housing completions (PA) The ESRI also lowered its forecast for housing completions to 33,000 in 2025 and 37,000 in 2026, citing ongoing structural challenges, including production costs, supporting infrastructure, financing, and labour shortages, as contributing factors in its decision. These are significantly below the Government's own targets to deliver 303,000 homes by the end of 2030, scaling up from 41,000 this year to 43,000 in 2026, reaching 60,000 in 2030. Asked about the ESRI forecast, Mr Martin said Government is putting 'fundamental changes and measures' in train to deliver a sustained increase in housing over the 'next number of years'. 'That is the objective on housing. It is the number one issue facing us, and it is the big social and economic priority of government and of the country.'


Fashion United
35 minutes ago
- Fashion United
Gymshark opens first European store in Amsterdam
British sportswear brand Gymshark opened a new store at Kalverstraat 178 in Amsterdam on June 21, 2025. The three-storey store boasts a total area of over 1,000 square metres. This marks the UK brand's first permanent brick-and-mortar location in continental Europe. Head of communications at Gymshark, Sam Kane, enthusiastically reflected on the opening on LinkedIn: 'The store looked fantastic, from the large 'WE DO GYM' wall text on the brickwork to the special CBum mannequin (a mannequin based on Canadian bodybuilder Chris Bumstead) and the exclusive Amsterdam merchandise – everything was meticulously taken care of.' Founded in Birmingham, UK in 2012, Gymshark welcomed revenue growth for the 2024 financial year, with a year-on-year increase of 9 percent, reaching 607.3 million pounds. In April 2025, Gymshark entered the Dutch market via an outlet in Roermond. Now, the brand has a flagship store in the heart of Amsterdam. 'Fitness truly thrives here' According to the brand, the decision to choose Amsterdam was partly based on the growing fitness market in the Netherlands. An estimated 17 percent of the Dutch population are members of a gym, one of the highest percentages in Europe. 'We'd heard that the Dutch don't queue, but that rumour was quickly dispelled. Just before opening, I walked from the back of the queue to the front – it took 80 seconds.' The first visitor turned out to be a fan from Germany, who had arrived at 1am GMT. 'He was, of course, given the honour of cutting the ribbon. The community always comes first for us,' said Kane. Founder and chief executive officer, Ben Francis, shared his excitement about the location in an earlier press release: 'With over nine million visitors per year, Kalverstraat is a logical choice. Moreover, fitness truly thrives here.' In pictures: Gymshark store in Amsterdam The store stocks the popular Power and Vital collections, amongst others. Credits: Sam Kane Gymshark at Kalverstraat 178 in Amsterdam Credits: Sam Kane The mannequin based on Chris Bumstead, a true member of the Gymshark community. Credits: Sam Kane Gymshark at Kalverstraat 178 in Amsterdam Credits: Sam Kane Gymshark at Kalverstraat 178 in Amsterdam Credits: Sam Kane Gymshark at Kalverstraat 178 in Amsterdam Credits: Sam Kane Gymshark at Kalverstraat 178 in Amsterdam Credits: Sam Kane Gymshark at Kalverstraat 178 in Amsterdam Credits: Sam Kane Gymshark at Kalverstraat 178 in Amsterdam Credits: Sam Kane Gymshark at Kalverstraat 178 in Amsterdam Credits: Sam Kane This article was translated to English using an AI tool. FashionUnited uses AI language tools to speed up translating (news) articles and proofread the translations to improve the end result. This saves our human journalists time they can spend doing research and writing original articles. Articles translated with the help of AI are checked and edited by a human desk editor prior to going online. If you have questions or comments about this process email us at info@