Latest news with #WaroftheRoses
France 24
4 days ago
- Business
- France 24
Will David Beckham finally become a 'Sir' in king's birthday honours list?
Donald Trump and Elon Musk 's spectacular, messy and public fallout is on all the papers this Friday. The former BFFs-turned-enemies started feuding this week over Musk's criticism of Trump's "big beautiful bill" – a domestic policy bill that will add trillions to the public deficit. Vindictive, petty, childish, messy and public are just some adjectives used by The New York Times to describe Musk and Trump's spat. The Wall Street Journal recalls that the spat escalated gradually, starting with Musk criticising Trump's bill, to which Trump said Musk was aware of what had been coming. This was followed by Musk's calls to "kill the bill", to which Trump responded by saying that Musk suffered from Trump derangement syndrome. Then, the ultimate insult: Musk said Trump wouldn't have won without him. The editors of the Wall Street Journal liken the breakup to the War of the Roses. However, their spat may be as shortlived as their bromance. An exclusive from Politico's US website notes that Trump told the media outlet that all is OK between Musk and him. Privately, White House officials are working to de-escalate the feud. We turn our attention to an interesting article in The Economist, which looks at the rising preference of girl babies and the stunning decline of boys. In the 1980s, with the rise of ultrasound machines that could determine sex during pregnancy, millions of girls were aborted. Having a girl at the time was perceived as undesirable. But today, in some regions, preferences for girls are growing. The magazine notes this is the case among Japanese couples who only want one child. American and Scandinavian couples are more likely to have more children if their first one is a boy. In adoption, parents pay more for a girl and prospective mothers opt for XX chromosomes when sex selection is possible in IVF. The reasons for these changing attitudes are myriad and quite stereotypical – that girls are easier to raise and more academically astute, unlike boys who are perceived as more likely to get into trouble – 93 percent of prisoners in the world are male. There is also the perception that a surplus of men, as we saw with gender selection in the 1980s, has created a sexually frustrated generation, leading to violence against women. The feeling is that a surplus of females in the world will have a counter-effect: more peace. The sports pages are awash with jubilation, joy and heartbreak after France 's loss to Spain in the Nations League. The Spanish daily Marca calls it a dance that ended with a scare for Spain who were leading 4-0 and then 5-1 in the second half before Les Bleus scored three goals in the last fourteen minutes. But it wasn't enough for France to win what Le Figaro calls a crazy game. Spain play Portugal in the final on Sunday. L'Equipe shares the same sentiment, calling the match "totally mad" . Also sharing front page space today is French tennis player Loïs Boisson, who lost to Coco Gauff in the semi-finals of the French Open, despite a dream run at the tournament. There's good news, however, for Jordan 's national team. Jordan Times reports that the team has qualified for the first time ever for the 2026 World Cup after beating Oman 3-0. The paper calls it "a monumental moment for Jordanian football and a culmination of years of effort, heartbreak and relief." Finally, British daily The Sun reports that David Beckham could be set to become Sir David Beckham in next week's king's birthday honours. It's been a years-long campaign – Beckham was first put forward for knighthood in 2011 after helping secure the 2012 London Olympics. But the footballer was blocked after being embroiled in a tax avoidance scheme. The long wait may be almost over for the man known as Golden Balls - or possibly, Sir Golden Balls!
South Wales Guardian
25-05-2025
- Sport
- South Wales Guardian
NSL Unwrapped: Lightning and Pulse secure top four
Lightning beat LexisNexis Cardiff Dragons while Pulse defeated Birmingham Panthers. London Mavericks took a huge step forward in the battle for fourth as they beat Nottingham Forest while Manchester Thunder took the northern bragging rights with victory over NIC Leeds Rhinos. Lightning secure top four Loughborough Lightning became the first team to book their places in the Netball Super League Play-Offs with a 71-54 victory. Samantha Wallace-Joseph led the scoring for the visitors at the Utilita Arena in the Welsh capital as she was rewarded with the Kissimmee Player of the Match. Down the other end of the court, Alice Harvey helped to restrict the Dragons shooters, who shot at 81% compared with Lightning's 93%. Pulse pounce on Panthers to make play-offs London Pulse secured their spot in the semi-finals with a 63-58 win over Birmingham Panthers. The hosts found themselves behind after the first quarter as Panthers were clinical from within the goal area, before Pulse responded to lead at the break. The team in pink slowly eked out a greater gap as changes to their seven proved fruitful. And despite Panthers piling on the pressure late on, Pulse did enough to come away with a narrow win. Mavericks make their mark London Mavericks staked their claim for a top four spot as they defeated Nottingham Forest 57-48. Emily Andrew was at her free scoring best with 42 goals, but it was Razia Quashie who stole the show as she restricted Forest's star shooter Rolene Streutker to just 21 goals. The result pushed Mavericks six points clear of Forest in fifth with three games of the regular season left to play. Thunder win War of the Roses Manchester Thunder triumphed in a 69-55 win over northern rivals NIC Leeds Rhinos. The away side made a lightning-fast start at the First Direct Arena in Leeds as quick scoring and a buzzer-beating goal from Elmeré van der Berg pushed Thunder out to an 11-point lead after the first 15 minutes. The northwest-based outfit further increased their advantage before Rhinos were able to get a foothold on proceedings, reducing the deficit to just six at half time. There was an immediate reaction in the third quarter as Manchester Thunder's defence began to turn the screw. The gap remained thanks to a professional performance in the final quarter from Thunder who saw out their eighth win of the season. History made at the Copper Box England Thorns made history as they took on the Australian Kelpies in the curtain-raiser to Pulse's match on Sunday. Their 63-34 defeat to the team from Down Under marked the first match in a maiden series between England and Australia on English soil. The final two matches of the three-game Aurora Series will take place next weekend, with the Thorns taking on the Kelpies before Loughborough Lightning and London Pulse's home matches in Round 12. To keep up with the latest news, make sure to follow the @NetballSL on X, Instagram and TikTok, Netball Super League on Facebook and LinkedIn, and subscribe to our newsletter.
The Herald Scotland
25-05-2025
- Sport
- The Herald Scotland
NSL Unwrapped: Lightning and Pulse secure top four
Lightning beat LexisNexis Cardiff Dragons while Pulse defeated Birmingham Panthers. London Mavericks took a huge step forward in the battle for fourth as they beat Nottingham Forest while Manchester Thunder took the northern bragging rights with victory over NIC Leeds Rhinos. Lightning secure top four Loughborough Lightning became the first team to book their places in the Netball Super League Play-Offs with a 71-54 victory. Samantha Wallace-Joseph led the scoring for the visitors at the Utilita Arena in the Welsh capital as she was rewarded with the Kissimmee Player of the Match. Down the other end of the court, Alice Harvey helped to restrict the Dragons shooters, who shot at 81% compared with Lightning's 93%. Pulse pounce on Panthers to make play-offs London Pulse secured their spot in the semi-finals with a 63-58 win over Birmingham Panthers. The hosts found themselves behind after the first quarter as Panthers were clinical from within the goal area, before Pulse responded to lead at the break. The team in pink slowly eked out a greater gap as changes to their seven proved fruitful. And despite Panthers piling on the pressure late on, Pulse did enough to come away with a narrow win. Mavericks make their mark London Mavericks staked their claim for a top four spot as they defeated Nottingham Forest 57-48. Emily Andrew was at her free scoring best with 42 goals, but it was Razia Quashie who stole the show as she restricted Forest's star shooter Rolene Streutker to just 21 goals. The result pushed Mavericks six points clear of Forest in fifth with three games of the regular season left to play. Thunder win War of the Roses Manchester Thunder triumphed in a 69-55 win over northern rivals NIC Leeds Rhinos. The away side made a lightning-fast start at the First Direct Arena in Leeds as quick scoring and a buzzer-beating goal from Elmeré van der Berg pushed Thunder out to an 11-point lead after the first 15 minutes. The northwest-based outfit further increased their advantage before Rhinos were able to get a foothold on proceedings, reducing the deficit to just six at half time. There was an immediate reaction in the third quarter as Manchester Thunder's defence began to turn the screw. The gap remained thanks to a professional performance in the final quarter from Thunder who saw out their eighth win of the season. History made at the Copper Box England Thorns made history as they took on the Australian Kelpies in the curtain-raiser to Pulse's match on Sunday. Their 63-34 defeat to the team from Down Under marked the first match in a maiden series between England and Australia on English soil. The final two matches of the three-game Aurora Series will take place next weekend, with the Thorns taking on the Kelpies before Loughborough Lightning and London Pulse's home matches in Round 12. To keep up with the latest news, make sure to follow the @NetballSL on X, Instagram and TikTok, Netball Super League on Facebook and LinkedIn, and subscribe to our newsletter.
Yahoo
29-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Thanks to culture-dodging Britons, our heritage could be sold to the highest bidder
At Hays Galleria in London Bridge, a group of tourists queues next to a rank of red telephone boxes. The Sheffield natives are not here to celebrate this classic of British civic design, but rather to snap a coveted shot of themselves for Instagram, giving the thumbs up beside the London icons. Hays Galleria, a Grade II-listed former Victorian warehouse, is now a firm fixture on the list of London's 'most Instagrammable' spots, a roster which includes favourites like Trafalgar Square and Westminster Abbey, but also more obscure locations such as the ruins of St Dunstan-in-the-East and Kynance Mews, a cobbled street in Kensington known for its wisteria. Are these social media-obsessed tourists a threat to Britain's age-old cultural institutions? That's the claim of some, as falling visitor numbers at British museums and galleries prompt a sell-off of Britain's historic jewels. The latest victim is Rydal Mount. Last month Chris Wordsworth and Simon Bennie, descendants of the poet William Wordsworth, announced that they had taken the decision to sell the Lake District property, Wordsworth's final home and a museum of his life, because costs had become 'prohibitive' amid a fall in visitor numbers. Chris Wordsworth told The Telegraph: 'William Wordsworth lived in the house for 37 years, but this generation of Wordsworths has been here for 55 years. The house contains not only the history of our famous forebear but also memories of family Christmases, games at New Year and long summer evenings in the garden.' It follows English Heritage's January 30 announcement of 200 redundancies across its 400-plus historic sites, as well as extended winter closures, due to the rising costs and reduced footfall. In another shock announcement this month, The Tate has said it is 'in discussions' with the Department for Culture, Media and Sport about its financial position, having lost 2.2 million visitors from its galleries in the past five years. Tate trustees acknowledged 'uncertainty' over its 'ability to remain a going concern'. Other prominent sell-offs include Appleby Castle and The Norman Centre in Yorkshire, which played a central role in the War of the Roses and boasts one of the few remaining intact Norman keeps – but was listed for private sale in March for £7.25m, and Ripley Castle, a fellow Dales cultural jewel, which was listed for £21 million in the same month despite being in the Ingilby family for 700 years. Up to March, Ripley offered tours of the castle and its gardens from £10.50 per adult. Three-hour visits to its gardens remain on the castle's website, pending a sale. For cultural hotspots that rely on visitors to keep the lights on, the numbers are stark. In the Government's figures, visits to national museums and galleries in the UK are significantly lower than pre-pandemic levels, with 35.1 million visits in 2022/23, 14 million fewer than in 2018/19, or a decrease of 27.4 per cent. The fall will be partly down to the rising cost of living. As of 2023, around 36 per cent of UK museums offered free admission, while the remaining 64 per cent charged in some form, either for entry, specific exhibitions, or both. There has also been significant year-on-year inflation in the ticket prices of institutions that charge. Kew Gardens costs £24 for an adult, compared to £13.90 in 2010, for example. One could be forgiven for presuming older Britons keep cultural attractions afloat, but it's adults aged 25-44 who traditionally keep museums in the black, with those aged 75 and older being less likely to visit. A 2019/20 study found that 54-55 per cent of adults aged 25-74 had visited a museum or gallery that year, compared to 45 per cent of those aged 16-24, and 36 per cent of those aged 75 or above. International tourists, meanwhile, are twice as likely as domestic tourists to visit UK museums and galleries during their trip. But as well as money worries, changing cultural habits are at play. Relationship coach Kate Mansfield, 50, and from London, is an avid traveller and gallery-goer and regularly heads off on trips with her Gen Z son Jake Summers, who is 22 and works in cruise industry planning. 'My attitude to galleries is very different to Jake's,' Mansfield said. 'When I travel, I tend to pop in and see an exhibition wherever I go but Jake needs his arm twisting: it needs to be something quite special for him [to join].' Jake's preference when travelling is for 'visual' and 'attention-grabbing' experiences, he said, such as pop-up restaurants and street-art events. 'My generation has a short attention span,' he explained. 'We're used to swiping past anything that doesn't grab our attention. We also consume things to then broadcast to our friends online, so they have to seem cool.' Jake rates contemporary art museum Moco, which has branches in Amsterdam, London and Barcelona and focuses on digital and immersive art, and has tie-ins with brands including Netflix, Budweiser and Uniqlo. This is a picture corroborated by Eloise Skinner, 33, a psychologist and content creator who has been commissioned by institutions including the Royal Academy of Arts, Bayswater 'immersive art experience' Frameless, and Moco, to attract youth via social media. 'Gen Zs feel they can experience art online and with so much competition for their attention, galleries need to provide a real reason to attend in person, with immersive and sensory experiences.' In short, she adds: 'Anything you can't experience on your phone'. Price, Skinner says, is also a barrier: 'Under-25s schemes can be good, with cut-price or free entrance for young people.' Whether it's rising costs, competition for eyeballs or cultural bankruptcy that spells trouble for museums and galleries, there are calls for emergency measures for the sector. Tristram Hunt, the director of the Victoria and Albert Museum, has argued for a hotel tax for overseas tourists that would be ring fenced to support cultural institutions, as pressure grows on the Government to allow mayor of London Sadiq Khan to road test such a levy in the capital. Paulomi Debnath, 45, is a culture-loving entrepreneur with a culture-dodging husband, Avik Biswas, also 45 and a hotel manager. The couple have an arrangement that Paulomi is allowed one gallery or museum during couples' getaways. 'He is not a fan,' she says with a laugh. Despite this, Paulomi believes there's plenty to be said for the social media travel culture that focusses on original and visual experiences too: 'Beautiful places, new food markets, natural wonders, long drives and sunsets can all be lovely,' she points out. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Telegraph
29-04-2025
- Business
- Telegraph
Thanks to culture-dodging Britons, our heritage could be sold to the highest bidder
At Hays Galleria in London Bridge, a group of tourists queues next to a rank of red telephone boxes. The Sheffield natives are not here to celebrate this classic of British civic design, but rather to snap a coveted shot of themselves for Instagram, giving the thumbs up beside the London icons. Hays Galleria, a Grade II-listed former Victorian warehouse, is now a firm fixture on the list of London's 'most Instagrammable' spots, a roster which includes favourites like Trafalgar Square and Westminster Abbey, but also more obscure locations such as the ruins of St Dunstan-in-the-East and Kynance Mews, a cobbled street in Kensington known for its wisteria. Are these social media-obsessed tourists a threat to Britain's age-old cultural institutions? That's the claim of some, as falling visitor numbers at British museums and galleries prompt a sell-off of Britain's historic jewels. The latest victim is Rydal Mount. Last month Chris Wordsworth and Simon Bennie, descendants of the poet William Wordsworth, announced that they had taken the decision to sell the Lake District property, Wordsworth's final home and a museum of his life, because costs had become 'prohibitive' amid a fall in visitor numbers. Chris Wordsworth told The Telegraph: 'William Wordsworth lived in the house for 37 years, but this generation of Wordsworths has been here for 55 years. The house contains not only the history of our famous forebear but also memories of family Christmases, games at New Year and long summer evenings in the garden.' It follows English Heritage's January 30 announcement of 200 redundancies across its 400-plus historic sites, as well as extended winter closures, due to the rising costs and reduced footfall. In another shock announcement this month, The Tate has said it is 'in discussions' with the Department for Culture, Media and Sport about its financial position, having lost 2.2 million visitors from its galleries in the past five years. Tate trustees acknowledged 'uncertainty' over its 'ability to remain a going concern'. Other prominent sell-offs include Appleby Castle and The Norman Centre in Yorkshire, which played a central role in the War of the Roses and boasts one of the few remaining intact Norman keeps – but was listed for private sale in March for £7.25m, and Ripley Castle, a fellow Dales cultural jewel, which was listed for £21 million in the same month despite being in the Ingilby family for 700 years. Up to March, Ripley offered tours of the castle and its gardens from £10.50 per adult. Three-hour visits to its gardens remain on the castle's website, pending a sale. For cultural hotspots that rely on visitors to keep the lights on, the numbers are stark. In the Government's figures, visits to national museums and galleries in the UK are significantly lower than pre-pandemic levels, with 35.1 million visits in 2022/23, 14 million fewer than in 2018/19, or a decrease of 27.4 per cent. The fall will be partly down to the rising cost of living. As of 2023, around 36 per cent of UK museums offered free admission, while the remaining 64 per cent charged in some form, either for entry, specific exhibitions, or both. There has also been significant year-on-year inflation in the ticket prices of institutions that charge. Kew Gardens costs £24 for an adult, compared to £13.90 in 2010, for example. One could be forgiven for presuming older Britons keep cultural attractions afloat, but it's adults aged 25-44 who traditionally keep museums in the black, with those aged 75 and older being less likely to visit. A 2019/20 study found that 54-55 per cent of adults aged 25-74 had visited a museum or gallery that year, compared to 45 per cent of those aged 16-24, and 36 per cent of those aged 75 or above. International tourists, meanwhile, are twice as likely as domestic tourists to visit UK museums and galleries during their trip. But as well as money worries, changing cultural habits are at play. Relationship coach Kate Mansfield, 50, and from London, is an avid traveller and gallery-goer and regularly heads off on trips with her Gen Z son Jake Summers, who is 22 and works in cruise industry planning. 'My attitude to galleries is very different to Jake's,' Mansfield said. 'When I travel, I tend to pop in and see an exhibition wherever I go but Jake needs his arm twisting: it needs to be something quite special for him [to join].' Jake's preference when travelling is for 'visual' and 'attention-grabbing' experiences, he said, such as pop-up restaurants and street-art events. 'My generation has a short attention span,' he explained. 'We're used to swiping past anything that doesn't grab our attention. We also consume things to then broadcast to our friends online, so they have to seem cool.' Jake rates contemporary art museum Moco, which has branches in Amsterdam, London and Barcelona and focuses on digital and immersive art, and has tie-ins with brands including Netflix, Budweiser and Uniqlo. This is a picture corroborated by Eloise Skinner, 33, a psychologist and content creator who has been commissioned by institutions including the Royal Academy of Arts, Bayswater 'immersive art experience' Frameless, and Moco, to attract youth via social media. 'Gen Zs feel they can experience art online and with so much competition for their attention, galleries need to provide a real reason to attend in person, with immersive and sensory experiences.' In short, she adds: 'Anything you can't experience on your phone'. Price, Skinner says, is also a barrier: 'Under-25s schemes can be good, with cut-price or free entrance for young people.' Whether it's rising costs, competition for eyeballs or cultural bankruptcy that spells trouble for museums and galleries, there are calls for emergency measures for the sector. Tristram Hunt, the director of the Victoria and Albert Museum, has argued for a hotel tax for overseas tourists that would be ring fenced to support cultural institutions, as pressure grows on the Government to allow mayor of London Sadiq Khan to road test such a levy in the capital. Paulomi Debnath, 45, is a culture-loving entrepreneur with a culture-dodging husband, Avik Biswas, also 45 and a hotel manager. The couple have an arrangement that Paulomi is allowed one gallery or museum during couples' getaways. 'He is not a fan,' she says with a laugh. Despite this, Paulomi believes there's plenty to be said for the social media travel culture that focusses on original and visual experiences too: 'Beautiful places, new food markets, natural wonders, long drives and sunsets can all be lovely,' she points out.
