Five Great Reads: a KGB ‘illegal' tells all, a cold case half-solved, and ‘the Citizen Kane of rock movies'
Top of the (long) weekend to you all. I trust Australian readers marked Good Friday in the traditional fashion: by complaining that nothing was open. Before you head to the shops to restock, here are some amazing tales to pore over.
A young woman's body was found hanging from a pine tree in Portbou one morning in 1990. The position she was found in suggested she could not have got there alone but her death was ruled a suicide and the mystery girl's body was buried in a mass grave at the local cemetery.
A 2022 true crime program revived interest in the case. An Austrian TV network broadcast a short follow-up segment. An Italian holidaying there with relatives emailed in a tip. The next day the Austrian show's director made a call to someone who had given up looking for answers.
Art imitates life: The police officer turned author Rafael Jiménez in 2017 wrote a novel, imagining the girl's story, called The Hanging Bride in the Land of Wind.
How long will it take to read: Twelve minutes.
From smoked salmon to award-winning cheddar, luxury foodstuffs have become hot property for UK criminals. And the thieves – sophisticated and clearly 'specialists' in artisan produce, according to the victims – are using all the methods in the online scammers' toolbox to pull off their heists.
Main character energy: In the most meta moment in Five Great Reads history, the aggrieved fishmonger in this story is Chris Swales (no relation, I think).
How long will it take to read: Six minutes.
Making the decision to send your children to school wouldn't be an inflection point in most films but it marks the moment the hero of A New Kind of Wilderness admits he can no longer cope. The documentary follows Nik Payne, who with his wife, Maria, was raising and home schooling their children in remote Norway – until cancer claimed Maria's life.
Now the remaining Payne family are touring the world's film festivals, holding Q&As after screenings. They made the mistake the first time of sitting through A New Kind of Wilderness in full. As Patrick Barkham, who caught up with Nik Payne and his three children, writes: 'Watching him grieve on film is agonising.'
'It's part of you for ever but it's not the defining part.' – Nik Payne on grief.
How long will it take to read: Four minutes.
Sign up to Five Great Reads
Each week our editors select five of the most interesting, entertaining and thoughtful reads published by Guardian Australia and our international colleagues. Sign up to receive it in your inbox every Saturday morning
after newsletter promotion
If your father sat you down for a chat and that was his opening line, where would you mind race to? Were your parents breaking up? Were you really adopted?
Peter Herrmann, 16, was finally about to learn the reason his father detested US pop music. Turns out dad was a deep-cover KGB spy, and that conversation was the catalyst for Herrmann's recruitment by Moscow as a second-generation 'illegal'.
The man codenamed 'the Inheritor' shares the story of his brief career in espionage.
How long will it take to read: Fourteen minutes.
Further viewing: The Americans is somehow still one of the more slept-on shows of the prestige TV era.
When you read the phrase 'the Citizen Kane of rock movies', what springs to mind – The Wall? Purple Rain? The film critic Mark Kermode was in fact referring to Slade in Flame, released in 1975 as a vehicle for the band behind such misspelled glam anthems as Cum On Feel the Noize.
Featuring canal-side conversations about the meaningless of life amid pintloads of grimness, it tanked upon release. On the eve of its 50th anniversary re-release, the band and film-makers reflect on its favourable reassessment.
How long will it take to read: Four minutes.
Sneak preview: The film's trailer suggests it may have more in common with Ken Russell's Tommy than Orson Welles.
Enjoying the Five Great Reads email? Then you'll love our weekly culture and lifestyle newsletter, Saved for Later. Sign up here to catch up on the fun stuff with our rundown of must-reads, pop culture, trends and tips for the weekend.
And check out the full list of our local and international newsletters.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Guardian
2 hours ago
- The Guardian
Crossbenchers call for federal intervention after ‘deeply shocking' revelations about prison deaths
Key crossbenchers have called for the federal government to intervene to drive reforms to state prison systems after revelations that 57 Australians died from hanging points that were known to authorities but not removed. A Guardian Australia investigation on Tuesday revealed that inaction to remove known hanging points from 19 prisons across the country had caused a shocking death toll, more than 30 years after state governments promised to make prisons safe in the wake of the Aboriginal deaths in custody royal commission. In one case, 10 inmates hanged themselves from the same type of ligature point at Brisbane's Arthur Gorrie prison over almost 20 years, despite early warnings that it be immediately addressed. Guardian Australia has spent five months investigating the deadly toll of Australia's inaction to remove hanging points from its jails, a key recommendation of the 1991 royal commission into Aboriginal deaths in custody. The main finding – that 57 inmates died using known ligature points that had not been removed – was made possible by an exhaustive examination of coronial records relating to 248 hanging deaths spanning more than 20 years. Reporters combed through large volumes of coronial records looking for instances where a hanging point had been used repeatedly in the same jail. They counted any death that occurred after prison authorities were made aware of that particular hanging point. Warnings were made via a prior suicide or suicide attempt, advice from their own staff or recommendations from coroners and other independent bodies. Guardian Australia also logged how many of the 57 inmates were deemed at risk of self-harm or had attempted suicide before they were sent into cells with known hanging points. In adherence with best practice in reporting on this topic, Guardian Australia has avoided detailed descriptions of suicide. In some instances, so that the full ramifications of coronial recommendations can be understood, we have made the decision to identify types and locations of ligature points. We have done this only in instances where we feel the public interest in this information being available to readers is high. In another, four inmates were able to hang themselves from the same hanging point at the Adelaide Remand Centre after the state government was explicitly warned to either remove it or minimise its risk. In many cases, prisoners who were known suicide risks – like Gavin Ellis, a beloved son whose mother still mourns his loss – were sent into cells with hanging points that had been used in prior deaths. The revelations prompted immediate calls from crossbenchers for the Albanese government to show national leadership on the issue and pressure state governments to engage in reform of their justice and prison systems. The independent senator David Pocock said the cases were 'deeply shocking' and highlight 'a widespread failure in our prison system'. 'I would support more federally coordinated action to better address these persistent failures, whether through a Senate inquiry or action by national cabinet,' he said. The Greens justice spokesperson, David Shoebridge, said the 57 deaths showed Australia's prison system was 'fundamentally broken and killing people, even though governments have been on notice for decades'. He said it was time for the federal government to intervene. 'Thirty-four years after the Royal Commission, First Nations people are still dying from government inaction and broken promises,' he said. 'It's impossible to imagine something more awful than families losing their loved ones because a hanging point, that the authorities knew had killed before, still hadn't been removed.' The deaths disproportionately affected Indigenous Australians, who remain vastly overrepresented in the system. Seven Indigenous Australians hanged themselves in 2023-24, a number not recorded since 2000-01. The independent senator Lidia Thorpe said Guardian Australia's findings revealed 'shocking negligence'. She said the federal government could not keep 'pretending this is just a state issue'. 'That's not only misleading – it's a shameful abdication of responsibility,' Thorpe said. Sign up to Breaking News Australia Get the most important news as it breaks after newsletter promotion 'The Prime Minister needs to show leadership. These are preventable deaths. This is life or death. And it's long past time for action.' Thorpe called for the coronial system to be overhauled, and 'real accountability mechanisms' to be put in place. She also wants to see someone tasked with the responsibility of overseeing and driving the implementation of the royal commission recommendations. 'Thirty years after the Royal Commission, people are still dying in exactly the same way. Governments are sitting on their hands while our people die in these brutal facilities,' Thorpe said. 'Implementing the Royal Commission recommendations won't just help First Nations people – it will save lives across the entire prison system.' The independent MP and former barrister Zali Steggall said the deaths represented a 'systemic human rights failure' that 'demands immediate action'. 'I call on the government for firm national leadership,' she said. 'There urgently needs to be commitment and a timeline for the implementation for reform and previous recommendation. 'It's been more than 30 years since the Royal Commission of Aboriginal Deaths in Custody and countless more inquiries, and little has changed. It's clear that a step change on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander policy is needed by the government who have done very little to push progress since the referendum.' In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. Indigenous Australians can call 13YARN on 13 92 76 for information and crisis support. Other international helplines can be found at
Daily Record
2 hours ago
- Daily Record
Widow 'killed and her body fed to pigs by new boyfriend in Mafia murder'
Maria Chindamo, a Calabrian businesswoman, was killed in Limbadi in 2016 and her body was then chopped up into pieces by a tractor and fed to pigs according to police A widow was brutally murdered, butchered and fed to pigs leading to the arrest of eighty-one people in Italy after it was alleged that mafia gangsters were behind the mother's death. Maria Chindamo was killed in Limbadi in 2016, allegedly as a result of her trying to rebuild her life and business after her husband's death, which left her with valuable land that caught the attention of the mafia. On May 6, she was brutally attacked, slaughtered, and her body dismembered using a tractor before being fed to pigs. A massive operation by Italy's anti-mafia police force was carried out against the 'Ndrangheta in Vibo, Calabria, where prosecutors uncovered disturbing evidence of unsolved crimes, including the horrific murder of Maria, a local businesswoman reports the Mirror US. Chief Prosecutor Nicola Gratteri, who led the raid, told "Maria Chindamo was killed exactly one year after her husband's suicide, when she allowed herself to post photos with her new partner.", reports the Mirror. "Two days after the shot, she was killed in an inhuman, tragic way. She killed and fed to pigs, her remains ground up with a crawler tractor to make all traces disappear." Gratteri added: "She was killed because she wanted to be a woman and a free entrepreneur." The prosecutor, who has devoted his life to battling the ruthless Calabrian 'Ndrangheta, stated that she was targeted because she "thought of becoming an entrepreneur, looking after the interests of the land and her children and even enrolled in university". The investigation relied heavily on intercepted communications, but detectives also interviewed 18 informants who told officers about their fellow mob members. Regarding Maria's murder, these witnesses provided police with specific details about the case that hadn't been widely reported by the media, which solidified investigators' certainty of their involvement. Maria's brother expressed relief that justice had been served in his sister's case. Vincenzo Chindamo said: "There is a scent of justice in the area. We are waiting to carefully read the documents of this segment of the investigation but I would like to point out one thing immediately: having pursued the search for the truth about my sister's killing for all these years, I finally have my results. "I have never stopped believing in the work of the judiciary, even when there might have been some moments of discouragement. And what has emerged today is rewarding that perseverance." He added: "The 'ndrangheta and the 'ndrangheta subculture are retrograde and losers, while Maria's beauty and smile, even in the clouds, still shine". He recalled when Maria's car was found saying "I remember her Dacia Duster still running, the radio on and the locks of her hair smeared with blood." Gratteri said of the gang: "They did not forgive her freedom and the management of the land she inherited, on which the appetites of a 'Ndrangheta family rested. And also his new love. So Maria, three days after posting the photo with her new partner on social media, vanished into thin air. "You could not afford - added Gratteri - the luxury of starting a new life, of managing that land in an entrepreneurial way and of being able to take care of and raise your children in a free way and leaving the mafia mentality".
Daily Mirror
2 hours ago
- Daily Mirror
Widow 'killed and her body fed to pigs by new boyfriend in gruesome murder'
Maria Chindamo, a Calabrian businesswoman, was killed in Limbadi in 2016 and her body was then chopped up into pieces by a tractor and fed to pigs according to police A widow was brutally murdered, butchered and fed to pigs leading to the arrest of eighty-one people in Italy after it was alleged that mafia gangsters were behind the mother's death. Maria Chindamo was killed in Limbadi in 2016, allegedly as a result of her trying to rebuild her life and business after her husband's death, which left her with valuable land that caught the attention of the mafia. On May 6, she was brutally attacked, slaughtered, and her body dismembered using a tractor before being fed to pigs. A massive operation by Italy's anti-mafia police force was carried out against the 'Ndrangheta in Vibo, Calabria, where prosecutors uncovered disturbing evidence of unsolved crimes, including the horrific murder of Maria, a local businesswoman, reports the Mirror US. Chief Prosecutor Nicola Gratteri, who led the raid, told "Maria Chindamo was killed exactly one year after her husband's suicide, when she allowed herself to post photos with her new partner.", reports the Mirror. "Two days after the shot, she was killed in an inhuman, tragic way. She killed and fed to pigs, her remains ground up with a crawler tractor to make all traces disappear." Gratteri added: "She was killed because she wanted to be a woman and a free entrepreneur." The prosecutor, who has devoted his life to battling the ruthless Calabrian 'Ndrangheta, stated that she was targeted because she "thought of becoming an entrepreneur, looking after the interests of the land and her children and even enrolled in university". The investigation relied heavily on intercepted communications, but detectives also interviewed 18 informants who told officers about their fellow mob members. Regarding Maria's murder, these witnesses provided police with specific details about the case that hadn't been widely reported by the media, which solidified investigators' certainty of their involvement. Maria's brother expressed relief that justice had been served in his sister's case. Vincenzo Chindamo said: "There is a scent of justice in the area. We are waiting to carefully read the documents of this segment of the investigation but I would like to point out one thing immediately: having pursued the search for the truth about my sister's killing for all these years, I finally have my results. "I have never stopped believing in the work of the judiciary, even when there might have been some moments of discouragement. And what has emerged today is rewarding that perseverance." He added: "The 'ndrangheta and the 'ndrangheta subculture are retrograde and losers, while Maria's beauty and smile, even in the clouds, still shine". He recalled when Maria's car was found saying "I remember her Dacia Duster still running, the radio on and the locks of her hair smeared with blood." Gratteri said of the gang: "They did not forgive her freedom and the management of the land she inherited, on which the appetites of a 'Ndrangheta family rested. And also his new love. So Maria, three days after posting the photo with her new partner on social media, vanished into thin air. "You could not afford - added Gratteri - the luxury of starting a new life, of managing that land in an entrepreneurial way and of being able to take care of and raise your children in a free way and leaving the mafia mentality".
