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《卫报》 星期二 2026年9月15日 £3.50 订阅者起价 £2.40

部长寻求修改法律，使向改革英国党捐赠的7200万英镑非法化

新法案中对捐赠者更严格的要求可能会挫败加密货币带来的意外之财

皮帕·克雷拉 (Pippa Crerar) 杰西卡·埃尔戈特 (Jessica Elgot) 基兰·斯泰西 (Kiran Stacey)

部长们表示，安迪·伯纳姆的政府可能会通过对政治捐赠者实施追溯性限制（包括严苛的新居住地要求），从而挫败英国改革党（Reform UK）前所未有的7200万英镑捐款。

此举可能会引发奈杰尔·法拉奇所属政党的愤怒投诉。政府将在几周内向正在上议院审议的立法提交修正案，这将使改革英国党最新捐款的合法性产生疑问。

在改革英国党于周末宣布两名加密货币亿万富翁——此前均居住在海外的本·德洛和克里斯托弗·哈本分别向该党捐赠3600万英镑后，工党和工会负责人敦促部长们重新审视政党资金规则。

然而，政府消息人士表示，在下议院议员推动对国内捐款采取进一步行动后，加强《人民代表法案》的计划已经在几周前启动。

根据预计将在立法上议院委员会阶段提交的提案，捐赠者必须证明其在英国有持续的实际居住，这与应用于政府政策其他领域（如税务身份）的要求一致。

这一非常之举将被视为该捐款所涉及的利益之大——这将使改革英国党在下次大选前获得巨大的优势。

不过，法拉奇昨天承认，改革英国党可能会触犯政府打击外国捐赠者的举措，尽管该党表示，这7200万英镑的捐款符合现行规则以及议员们在法案中已经投票通过的规则。目前的立法将外籍人士的捐款限制在最高 10 万英镑，这也适用于返回英国后的前12个月——追溯至今年3月25日。

部长们已经引入了一项最低居住要求，即返回当年的剩余日历年加上一整年，这意味着改革英国党可能直到2028年1月才能拿到这7200万英镑。

德洛一直居住在香港，但他在4月表示将返回英国以规避限制。哈本此前居住在泰国，但据信已于6月在汉普郡登记投票。“两人

AI股票在担忧中下跌，特朗普对此猛烈抨击

劳伦·阿尔梅达 (Lauren Almeida)

在Anthropic、OpenAI和SpaceX的负责人呼吁放缓“鲁莽的”AI开发，并表示担心该技术可能很快失控后，与AI相关的股票昨日暴跌。

全球市值最高的公司——半导体设计商英伟达（Nvidia）的股价在纽约收盘时下跌了3.3%，而超微半导体（AMD）下跌4%，美光科技（Micron Technology）和闪迪（Sandisk）的股价则大跌5%。以科技股为主的纳斯达克指数基金在当日结束时下跌0.5%。

此次抛售发生在Anthropic首席执行官达里奥·阿莫代伊于周末呼吁AI行业“放慢速度”之后。

然而，唐纳德·特朗普将增加AI管控的呼吁斥为一场“病态的阴谋”。

这位美国总统在昨天的社交媒体帖子中写道：“AI唯一需要的管控或‘护栏’就是强有力的且10 →

新闻第3页 →

专家因证据问题退出莱特比辩护团队

乔什·哈利戴 (Josh Halliday) 英格兰北部编辑

两名顶尖专家因担心部分证据的“科学可信度”而退出露西·莱特比 (Lucy Letby) 的辩护团队。

这名前新生儿护士正就其在英格兰西北部切斯特伯爵夫人医院谋杀七名婴儿并企图谋杀另外七名婴儿而被定罪一事提出挑战。

英国负责审查冤假错案的刑事案件审查委员会 (CCRC) 正在考虑由代表她的专家于去年提交的一份证据卷宗。

两名专家于昨日退出莱特比的辩护团队。

他们表示，尽管他们坚持认为两名婴儿被投毒的“可能性极低”，但代表莱特比提出的一些论点与“现有证据、科学以及既定的生理学知识不符”。

海伦·香农 (Helen Shannon)，一名英国

内页 26年9月15日 每日四个版块

新闻与体育

数字身份 用于验证年轻饮酒者年龄的生物识别扫描测试即将生效 第 5 页

期刊 观点与思想

随着“超级”厄尔尼诺现象即将到来，世界领导人现在必须发挥领导作用 比尔·麦奎尔 (Bill McGuire) 第 1 页

生活与艺术 专题与访谈

超级车的兴起 为什么耗油量大、高性能的车辆突然又流行起来了？ 第 6 页

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新闻

警方拍摄的 2024 年 7 月在露西·莱特比家中将其逮捕的画面。关于此案的公开调查将于今日公布调查结果。 照片：柴郡警察局/PA

专家因部分证据的“可信度”退出莱特比辩护团队

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化学工程专家以及常驻新西兰的生物工程教授杰夫·蔡斯（Geoff Chase）去年提交了一份长达100页的报告，对她因用胰岛素毒害两名婴儿而被定罪的判决提出质疑。

他们去年告诉《卫报》，关于这两项定罪存在“极高程度的合理怀疑”，而这两项定罪构成了检方起诉莱特比案件的核心部分。

这名护士在2023年被判定试图谋杀两名新生男婴，被称为婴儿 6 和婴儿 12，手段是在他们的喂养袋中掺入胰岛素。

莱特比，36岁，在曼彻斯特刑事法院的两场审判中被判定在2015年6月至2016年6月期间谋杀七名婴儿并企图谋杀另外七名婴儿（其中一名婴儿被企图谋杀两次），目前正在执行 15 项终身监禁令。

香农和蔡斯表示，他们坚持自己的评估结果，但无法支持莱特比辩护团队在胰岛素案件中使用的其他证据。

在给刑事案件审查委员会（CCRC）的一封信中，专家们表示：“虽然辩方提出多种论点完全合法，但目前提出的某些其他论点，我们认为在科学上不可信，且在我们看来存在根本性的、无法解决的问题。”

他们表示，由大律师马克·麦克唐纳（Mark McDonald）领导的莱特比辩护团队所采取的策略，“正使莱特比女士的长期利益面临严重、不必要且不可接受的风险”，且这些“后果也延伸到了”那些死亡和受伤婴儿的家属身上。

他们补充道：“基于诚信，我们无法支持与现有证据、科学和既定生理学不一致的论点……在披露这些担忧之后，如果继续与我们认为明显不准确的论点保持关联，将违反监管我们新西兰和英国专业工程师的行为准则，构成严重的伦理问题，并使我们面临专业制裁。”

麦克唐纳，莱特比的大律师，表示：

“重要的是，本案的成败并不取决于任何一位专家”

马克·麦克唐纳 露西·莱特比的大律师 “我们现在拥有多位在胰岛素、内分泌学和实验室医学领域领先的国际专家的证据，这些证据从根本上动摇了审判时所依赖的科学证据。

“重要的是，本案的成败并不取决于任何一位专家。

“新证据的强度在于其广泛性和趋同性，来自不同学科和司法管辖区的独立专家都指出了科学基础上的根本性问题，而陪审团此前正是基于该基础被引导得出结论，认为婴儿 [6] 和 [12] 被蓄意毒害。”

刑事案件审查委员会（CCRC）已对定罪情况进行了 18 个月的审查，但拒绝置评。

一项关于这些谋杀案的公开调查将于今日在利物浦公布其调查结果。

这项由凯瑟琳·瑟尔沃尔（Kathryn Thirlwall）大法官领导的审查预计将指出，在医生对 2015 年和 2016 年新生儿病房出现的一系列不明原因死亡事件发出警报后，管理层多次错失干预机会。

针对切斯特伯爵夫人医院（Countess of Chester hospital）可能存在的企业过失杀人和严重过失杀人的刑事调查仍在进行中。

男子被指控给妻子下药并强奸，承认60项罪名

乔什·哈利戴 (Josh Halliday) 汉娜·阿尔-奥斯曼 (Hannah Al-Othman)

一名男子承认在20年间给其妻子下药并实施性侵，共承认60项刑事罪名。

为了保护受害者的匿名权，该男子的姓名不得公开。他现年60多岁，在被捕前居住在大曼彻斯特地区的斯托克波特。

他承认了60项指控，其中包括21项强奸罪以及分享受害者私密图像的罪名。

当该男子进行认罪陈述时，其分居的妻子与其他家属坐在挤满人的法庭前排，期间不时抽泣。

今年6月，该男子承认了针对他的15项指控。周一，他在曼彻斯特明舒尔街刑事法院承认了最后的45项指控。被告此前还承认，在未经妻子同意的情况下，为了获得性快感而分享其妻子的私密照片或视频。

另外12名共同被告均否认涉及同一名女性的各项指控。

大曼彻斯特警察局助理局长里克·杰克逊 (Rick Jackson) 表示：“在这次非常复杂的调查过程中，我们的重点仍然是支持这起恐怖虐待事件的受害者。”

“我们继续为本案核心的受害者提供专业支持。”

“你不需要完全理解发生了什么或谁参与其中，你的诉求才会被认真对待。如果你觉得发生了某些事情，请举报或寻求帮助。”

父亲去世，伯纳姆取消行程

彼得·沃克 (Peter Walker) 高级政治记者

安迪·伯纳姆因其父亲罗伊 (Roy) 去世，取消了昨天和今天的行程。罗伊患有阿尔茨海默症，此前住在护理院中。

今年7月，伯纳姆表示，由于父亲的病情，他并未意识到自己的儿子即将成为市长。他在接受《泰晤士报》采访时说：“这令人悲伤，因为他本会感到[自豪]的。但在我看来，这也是他的成就。是整个家庭的成就，尽管他对此并不知情。”

在其他计划中，这位市长原定于今天在布赖顿出席英国工会大会 (TUC conference) 发表讲话。

伯纳姆曾谈到希望改善社会护理，部分原因在于他照顾父亲的经历。在他就任市长后的首批演讲中，他表示，看到像照顾他父亲那样的护理人员所具备的“技能、关怀和专业精神”令他深受触动，并认为他们应该获得更高的薪酬。

在表达哀悼的人员中，住房大臣安吉拉·雷纳 (Angela Rayner) 在X平台上发帖称：“在这个极其艰难和悲伤的时刻，我的心与安迪及其家人同在。”

在昨天下午下议院会议开始时，议长林赛·霍伊尔 (Lindsay Hoyle) 表示：“我相信全院都会希望在这个悲伤的时刻向他及其家人致以最诚挚的慰问。”

在2024年与利物浦城市地区市长史蒂夫·罗瑟拉姆 (Steve Rotheram) 合著的《向北》(Head North) 一书中，伯纳姆描述了他在切希尔郡沃灵顿附近的卡尔切斯与父亲、母亲艾琳 (Eileen) 以及两个兄弟一起度过的快乐童年。罗伊曾担任电话工程师，而艾琳是一名全科医生的接待员。

他写道：“我的父亲罗伊和母亲艾琳都没有上过大学。但如果他们生长在不同的时代和地方，两人本都可以上大学。意识到这一点似乎让他们更加坚定地希望三个儿子能上大学。但这并没有让他们变成那种咄咄逼人的父母。”

他补充道：“他们的教育方式是安静的鼓励和建立信心。我们在卡尔切斯的家总是充满了音乐、生活气息、欢笑、爱与支持。”

▲ 2016年，安迪·伯纳姆拥抱他的父母艾琳和罗伊

从“可能”到“确定”：Oasis 确认 2027 年巡演日期并设定票价上限

劳拉·斯内普斯 (Laura Snapes)

Oasis 终于确认了 2027 年的新巡演日期，其中包括传闻已久的重返 Knebworth 演出。在 1996 年于该赫特福德郡场馆进行两场历史性演出 31 年后，他们将再次在此举办系列演出。

“庆祝开始吧！”乐队在声明中表示。“经过一段时间的反思，‘近代英国历史上最具破坏力的流行文化力量’——这引用自《卫报》一篇关于该乐队的评论文章——现宣布其已准备就绪，将再次回归以振奋人们的精神。来见证这种状态吧。这将是一场值得瞩目的盛景。”

此次巡演名为 Oasis Live '27，涵盖英国、爱尔兰、欧洲大陆和美国。巡演将于 5 月 21 日在格拉斯哥启动，随后经过曼彻斯特、慕尼黑、巴塞罗那、阿姆斯特丹、巴黎、罗马、波士顿、拉斯维加斯和斯莱恩城堡（都柏林以北），最后于 9 月在 Knebworth 结束。

上周，该乐队在 Instagram 上暗示日期后，通过在曼彻斯特的伊蒂哈德球场（Etihad Stadium）上空进行的大规模无人机表演预告了这一消息。

此次巡演是在 Oasis 备受赞誉的 2025 年重组之后进行的。在 2009 年分道扬镳 16 年后，他们在 2025 年进行了涵盖英国、欧洲、南北美洲、东亚和澳大利亚的 41 场演出。《卫报》评论员亚历克西斯·佩特里迪斯 (Alexis Petridis) 在对卡迪夫首演的五星级评论中写道：“你很难想到还有哪位艺术家能获得如此热烈的反响。”

考虑到 2009 年在巴黎 Rock en Seine 音乐节演出前不久乐队首次解散，Oasis 重返巴黎将具有特别的深意。

新闻

▲ 1996 年 Oasis 在 Knebworth 演出。右图为享受演出的粉丝 摄影：MICK HUTSON / REDFERNS; HAYLEY MADDEN / REX / SHUTTERSTOCK

在英国，门票价格将在 £71.50 至 £266.60 之间。那些希望购票的人将比去年的购票者有更愉快的体验：在竞争监管机构采取行动，迫使 Ticketmaster 改变其门票广告方式（包括停止提供关于座位的“误导性”信息）后，Oasis Live '27 的所有定价信息已提前公布。此前，粉丝们对其处理 2025 年巡演的方式表达了强烈不满。

去年，由于采用了“分级”

▼ 1996 年在赫特福德郡 Knebworth 的 Oasis，包括艾伦·怀特 (Alan White) 以及利亚姆·加拉格尔 (Liam Gallagher) 和诺埃尔·加拉格尔 (Noel Gallagher) 摄影：REX FEATURES

定价方式，这意味着一些原本预计支付 £148.50 票价的粉丝，在结账时发现费用变成了 £350——而且他们只有短短几分钟的时间来决定是否继续购买。

现在，Ticketmaster 必须提前 24 小时告知粉丝是否将使用分级定价、涵盖哪些门票以及该系统如何运作。在开售时，必须公布价格范围，并随着门票售罄而实时更新。

任何想要 2027 年巡演门票的人必须在周四下午 4 点之前注册。据组织者称，引入注册机制是为了“缩短排队时间并打击有组织的票贩子行为，以便给真正的粉丝提供尽可能最好的购票机会”。

粉丝们有机会回顾 2025 年的巡演——或补上错过的部分——因为关于此次重组的纪录片《Don't Look Back in Anger》在威尼斯电影节首映后，于上周在电影院上映。该片因对乐队粉丝进行了感人的刻画而获得了极高评价。

这部纪录片并未触及围绕票价的轩然大波，除了利亚姆·加拉格尔在舞台上的一句评论：在提到坐在廉价席位的人后，他补充道：“事实上根本没有廉价席位，对此我很抱歉。”

关于 Oasis 乐队将回归克内沃斯（Knebworth）的消息，最初是由一个出人意料的人物——英国贵族史蒂夫尼奇的泰勒夫人（Lady Taylor of Stevenage）透露的。去年 10 月，她在上议院暗示 Oasis 将在距离她住所仅一英里之遥的“克内沃斯庄园这一绝佳场地”举行五场演出。

她随后迅速在议院撤回了相关言论，并向《卫报》澄清称，她是在“针对他们是否会像 1996 年 8 月那样再次在克内沃斯演出这一猜测，进行假设性地讨论”。

8 月有报道称，SJM Concerts 的董事总经理西蒙·莫兰（Simon Moran）已获得克内沃斯的活动许可，这引发了关于 Oasis 将现身的进一步猜测。该许可涵盖的观众人数为 125,000 人。

在 1996 年的最初演出期间，该乐队面对 250,000 名粉丝进行了表演——这仅相当于申请购票人数的十分之一，据当时估计，申请人数超过了整个英国人口的 $4\%$。

诺埃尔·加拉格尔（Noel Gallagher）已排除与乐队创作任何新音乐的可能性，他昨天告诉 TalkSport：“不会有任何新音乐，没有。”随后他被问及“完全不会吗？”，他回答道：“不。”

国王给予认可，乌干达重返无敌勇士运动会

蕾切尔·霍尔 (Rachel Hall)

在乌干达军方负责人表示，查尔斯国王让他确信其参赛“没有问题”后，乌干达改变了此前退出哈里王子发起的无敌勇士运动会（Invictus Games）的决定。

上周，总统约韦里·穆塞韦尼（Yoweri Museveni）之子穆胡齐·凯内鲁加巴（Muhoozi Kainerugaba）将军在 X 上出人意料地宣布，乌干达将不会参加 2027 年在伯明翰举行的运动会。他表示，在关于“哈里-梅根闹剧”引发分歧的情况下，这一决定是出于他对国王的尊重。

然而，乌干达人民国防军（UPDF）发言人克里斯·马格齐（Chris Magezi）昨日发布的一篇帖子称，凯内鲁加巴已恢复乌干达的参赛资格。

马格齐表示，这一转变是由凯内鲁加巴与国王及王后的首席私人秘书克莱夫·奥尔德顿（Clive Alderton）之间的一次通话促成的。

奥尔德顿“透露，查尔斯三世国王对凯内鲁加巴将军在对待由萨塞克斯公爵哈里王子组织的即将到来的无敌勇士运动会时，能如此敏感地考虑国王的意见而深受感动”，并且“对于乌干达参加该运动会没有问题”。

凯内鲁加巴“对国王传递的信息以及白金汉宫提供的明确答复表示感谢”。

在早前的帖子中，凯内鲁加巴表达了担忧，认为参赛会被“解读为反对我们深切敬仰的[国王]”，并补充说，该国将“不参加任何未经陛下批准的活动”。

最近的帖子称，之前的退出决定是在白金汉宫发布一份声明之后做出的，该声明指出无敌勇士运动会是一个私人慈善组织。

当《泰晤士报》询问促成此举的动机时，据报道凯内鲁加巴表示：“国防部内部有一些派系支持那种哈里-梅根的闹剧。我必须立即予以镇压。我支持君主。就这么简单。”

▲ 2014 年无敌勇士运动会上，查尔斯与威廉王子和哈里王子

两个月前，哈里曾在伦敦的一次无敌勇士运动会活动中，与乌干达国防部长基里约瓦·基万努卡（Kiryowa Kiwanuka）共同宣布，这个东非国家将成为第 26 个参赛国。

自 2024 年起担任军队负责人的凯内鲁加巴被广泛视为其父亲的总统继任者。他在 X 上发布过许多挑衅性帖子，包括威胁入侵肯尼亚，以及要求 Jay-Z 交出其妻子碧昂丝（Beyoncé）以便他能与她结婚。

无敌勇士运动会基金会首席执行官罗布·欧文（Rob Owen）表示：“我们欢迎乌干达确认将继续成为无敌勇士社区一部分的消息。”

新闻

以色列部长呼吁剥夺加沙题材电影导演的公民身份

Sian Cain Lorenzo Tondo 耶路撒冷

以色列文化部长呼吁剥夺纪录片《NAZA》导演的公民身份。该片由以色列导演执导并获得奥斯卡奖，讲述了该国在加沙大规模杀害平民的情况。部长指责他们犯有“叛国罪”。

《NAZA》由《卫报》制作，片名源自以色列情报部门使用的一个缩写，用于指示在对加沙的空袭中预计会有多少平民死亡。

在电影中，以色列导演尤瓦尔·亚伯拉罕（Yuval Abraham）和瑞秋·索尔（Rachel Szor）采访了24名以色列军方或情报部门的举报人。这些举报人详细介绍了用于轰炸加沙的AI驱动目标定位系统，该系统已导致数万名平民死亡。在一次采访中，一名消息人士称，为了杀死一名哈马斯成员，当局批准杀掉500名“NAZA”。

这部时长80分钟的纪录片在周六获得了今年威尼斯电影节的评审团特别奖，并在放映后获得了长达25分钟的起立鼓掌——创下了电影节纪录。

周日，以色列文化部长米基·佐哈尔（Miki Zohar）指责导演们愿意“为了获得全世界反犹太主义者的掌声而损害自己的祖国”。

“我将立即采取行动，因叛国罪撤销这些卑劣创作者的以色列公民身份，”佐哈尔在X上写道。

昨天，佐哈尔发表声明称：“今天早上，我致信人口与移民局局长以及内政部局长，要求他们审查撤销反以色列电影《NZA》创作者以色列公民身份的可能性，理由是他们违背对国家的忠诚并与敌人勾结。”

“我还要求他们调查电影中所用材料是如何获取的，谁负责获取这些材料，以及在获取或传播这些材料过程中采取的任何行动是否构成在战争期间协助敌人。言论自由并非背叛国家的许可证。任何在战争期间采取不利于以色列行动的人必须知道，这将付出代价。”

以色列总理本雅明·内塔尼亚胡谴责了这部电影。他在社交媒体上发布的一段视频中表示：“这令人震惊。我们正在与全球性的反犹煽动作斗争，而当这种煽动来自我们内部时，是不可容忍的。现在，两名将以色列国防军（IDF）描绘成战争罪犯的以色列导演在威尼斯电影节获得了掌声。”

昨天，以色列军方总参谋长声称，该片“基于血祭诽谤、对现实的蓄意扭曲，以及对以色列国防军士兵和指挥官的严重虚假指控”。埃亚尔·扎米尔（Eyal Zamir）表示，军方律师正在审查“针对该片及其相关人员可能采取的法律措施”。

在以色列，撤销国籍在法律上是可行的，尽管很少实施。2022年，最高法院确认，如果公民未能表现出“忠诚”（例如从事间谍活动或叛国行为），国家可以剥夺其国籍。该法律在2023年进行了扩展，适用于被判定犯有“恐怖主义”罪行的人员。

在《No Other Land》全球首映后，亚伯拉罕的家被一群右翼暴徒袭击。

“我们在一个赋予我们特权的系统中承担风险，这个系统的创始特征就是犹太-以色列人的至高无上，”他说，并补充道：“对于许多巴勒斯坦人来说，来到他们家里的不是右翼暴徒，而是由美国资助的推土机和武器。”

瑞秋·索尔和尤瓦尔·亚伯拉罕作为导演，为该片采访了24名以色列情报或军方举报人 摄影：DANIELE CIFALÀ / NURPHOTO / SHUTTERSTOCK

“他们愿意损害自己的祖国，仅仅为了获得全世界反犹太主义者的掌声”

米基·佐哈尔 以色列文化部长

“想象一下，如果一名在加沙的巴勒斯坦记者尝试做我们所做的事，给以色列高级官员打电话。这完全没有可比性。他们极有可能会被谋杀。”

以色列军方最初在回应《NAZA》时表示，它“断然拒绝”纪录片中所提出的指控，并批评其使用匿名证词，称举报者的身份“无法核实”。

在随后的回应中，军方表示“这些指控需要一个

以色列左翼的一些人士对这部电影表示赞赏。左翼哈达什党（Hadash）主席尤瑟夫·贾巴林（Yousef Jabareen）感谢导演们将“这些可怕的罪行和加沙的残酷现实”呈现在数百万人面前。

详细的、基于证据的回应，而非一概否认”。

以色列记者工会新闻自由负责人阿纳特·萨拉古斯蒂（Anat Saragusti）表示：“在战争的大部分时间里，以色列媒体几乎没有展示故事的巴勒斯坦一面——平民伤亡、被杀害的儿童以及破坏情况。如果人们主动寻找，可以在其他地方找到这些信息，但在主流希伯来语媒体中看不到。”

《哈雷兹》（Haaretz）报在社论中写道：“通过在威尼斯电影节放映他们的电影，亚伯拉罕和索尔试图强迫以色列人面对他们已经知道的事实：委婉地说，以色列在加沙开展战争的方式上存在一个污点。”

一名《卫报》新闻媒体发言人表示：“《卫报》对以色列针对《NAZA》采取的威权主义回应感到不安。

“尤瓦尔·亚伯拉罕（Yuval Abraham）和瑞秋·索尔（Rachel Szor）是勇敢的记者和电影制作人。针对他们的攻击来自那些尚未看过这部电影的人。我们将坚定地捍卫《NAZA》及其背后的团队，抵御任何攻击或审查企图。”

凯尔特民族领导人称威斯敏斯特统治时代即将结束

Bethan McKernan 威尔士特派记者

威尔士、苏格兰和北爱尔兰的首任部长在一次具有里程碑意义的峰会上表示，威斯敏斯特的时代即将结束。此次峰会旨在让英国的凯尔特民族走上独立公投之路。

威尔士党（Plaid Cymru）领导人伦·阿普·约尔沃斯（Rhun ap Iorwerth）、苏格兰民族党（SNP）领导人约翰·斯威尼（John Swinney）、 Sinn Féin 党副主席米歇尔·奥尼尔（Michelle O'Neill），以及该党主席兼爱尔兰反对党领导人玛丽·卢·麦克唐纳（Mary Lou McDonald）昨日在卡迪夫会面，签署了一份谅解备忘录，承认“这些岛屿的政治格局正在发生变化”。

备忘录写道：“我们的运动正拥有势头；我们相信宪法变革即将到来。没有任何威斯敏斯特政府有权阻碍民主，或破坏由我们的人民决定自己未来的原则。我们呼吁英国政府为每个管辖区的宪法变革做好准备、制定计划并提供便利。”

自7月就任首相以来，安迪·伯纳姆将英格兰内部权力与资源的区域权力下放置于其议程的核心，但迄今为止，针对权力下放行政机构的政策仍较为混乱。

此次峰会是自威尔士党在5月的塞内德（Senedd）选举获胜以来，这些姐妹党之间的首次面对面会议。此次选举使分离主义政党首次在所有三个国家中执政。这些领导人是以政党而非政府官员的身份会面，讨论了经济、能源和国际合作以及民族自决问题。

上周，伯纳姆致信斯威尼，重申重复 2014 年苏格兰独立公投仍是“禁区”。

美国总统唐纳德·特朗普在访问爱尔兰期间表示，他很希望看到一个统一的爱尔兰。这一干预引发了英国政府以及北爱尔兰行政机构中统一派权力分享成员的迅速反驳。

威尔士党已排除在其首个任期内举行独立公投的可能性，但其部长们正寻求获得与苏格兰和北爱尔兰同等的更充分的权力下放，伯纳姆对此表示他持“开放”态度。

最新民调显示，如果明天举行公投，47% 的苏格兰选民将选择独立，北爱尔兰为 36%，威尔士为 32%。自 2014 年以来，苏格兰对独立的支持率一直维持在 45% 到 50% 之间。

▲ “宪法变革即将到来”：在卡迪夫峰会上的领导人们

昨日，麦克唐纳表示，她预计爱尔兰统一公投将在 2030 年前举行，而苏格兰民族党则希望在未来五年内举行第二次公投。

预计伯纳姆将于下月会见三位首任部长。

一名英国政府发言人表示：“英国政府专注于解决对家庭最重要的议题，包括缓解家庭财务压力和提供更大的经济保障，而不是参与宪法辩论或进一步的公投。”

欧盟 九国推迟 EES 机场指纹采集

国内新闻

专辑评论 ★★★★★ “贝克最伟大的作品 诞生于痛苦之中”

生物识别技术获批，酒吧有权使用数字身份证明

罗伯特·布斯 (Robert Booth) 英国技术编辑

从本周起，英格兰和威尔士的年轻饮酒者将能够使用数字身份证明（digital ID）来证明自己的年龄。新法律赋予了酒吧、酒类零售店、夜总会和餐厅使用生物识别扫描技术来核实顾客是否年满 18 岁的权利。

顾客可以将面部扫描软件下载到自己的手机中，根据存储的年龄证明生成一个二维码以证明其年龄。作为政府推动酒精销售年龄验证数字化的一部分，其他正在考虑的技术还包括一种通过扫描饮酒者手指静脉来验证年龄的设备。该系统尚未获准使用。

尽管安迪·伯纳姆 (Andy Burnham) 在今年夏天因人们对公民自由影响的广泛担忧而取消了建立国家数字身份证明的计划，但酒精消费领域仍将启用数字身份证明。在这种情况下，数字身份证明将由私营公司提供，且并非强制性。护照和塑料驾驶执照仍然有效，这意味着伪造身份证的时代可能尚未结束。该技术随后可能会扩展到电子烟和烟草的购买。

数字政府大臣斯特凡妮·皮科克 (Stephanie Peacock) 表示：“法律的这一突破性变化意味着您无需携带实体身份证，也不必为了证明年龄而提供地址等敏感信息——让每个人在夜晚出行时感到更安全。”

政府认为，新系统将降低伪造身份证的有效性，并降低顾客在向酒吧工作人员出示显示姓名和家庭地址的护照或驾驶执照时，敏感数据被泄露的风险。

不同的公司正在提供相关应用程序，包括 Yoti 和 Luciditi。通常，顾客在面部扫描与零售商验证之间只有大约 30 秒的时间，以防止未成年饮酒者借用年长朋友的手机。

英国酒店业协会 (UKHospitality) 首席执行官艾伦·辛普森 (Allen Simpson) 表示，他将致力于“确保该方案的推广具有成本效益，且不会给酒店餐饮业带来负担”，因为某些系统可能会向零售商收取使用费。

Yoti 估计，英国约四分之一的 18 至 25 岁人群已经下载了其数字身份证明应用，或由其与邮政局共同提供的 EasyID 应用，全英国共有约 850 万 人使用这些应用。

由于不同的酒精供应商可能会接受不同的应用程序，预计该系统的启动阶段将出现碎片化现象。

楼下：在对建筑进行修复工程期间，人们发现了一些丢失或被长期丢弃的物品，这些物品揭示了数十年来白金汉宫工作人员幕后生活的片段。 摄影：AARON CHOWN / PA

五分之一的少数族裔NHS管理人员因种族主义计划离职

丹尼斯·坎贝尔 (Denis Campbell) 健康政策编辑

一项报告发现，英格兰国民医疗服务体系（NHS）正面临少数族裔管理人员的大规模流失，他们在职业生涯中遭受了种族主义、排挤和歧视。

根据NHS联盟（NHS Alliance）开展的一项调查，近五分之四的黑人、亚裔及少数族裔（BAME）背景的管理人员曾经历过种族主义、排挤以及职业晋升障碍。

这一问题如此普遍，以至于五分之一的人表示将在未来三年内离开NHS，与此同时，人们再次担心该服务机构在根除根深蒂固的种族主义方面做得太少。

该联盟对950名BAME管理人员进行了调查，并表示调查结果是“NHS内部种族主义具有腐蚀性和挫败感影响的进一步证据”。联盟警告称，这可能导致BAME背景的管理人员和高级领导者出现“大出血”式流失。

联盟首席执行官基兰·德万爵士（Sir Ciarán Devane）表示，“政治和文化的极化”意味着NHS领导层的多样性比以往任何时候都更重要。“然而，我们现在面临一个真正的风险，即少数族裔的高级同事在沮丧、心灰意冷和幻灭中选择离开。这代表了NHS巨大的才干损失，”他补充道。

调查参与者描述了高级领导团队缺乏多样性、被排除在非正式网络之外以及“晋升差异”——与白人同事相比，他们没有获得公平的职业晋升机会。BAME管理人员希望晋升的愿望与其认为自己能够晋升的信念之间存在令人担忧的差距。

一名黑人高级管理人员表示：“在99%的战略和政策层面会议上，我是唯一一个棕色皮肤的人。”一名亚裔管理人员则说：“这里存在一种裙带关系文化。虽然我认为自己拥有被晋升的经验、知识和能力，但这种文化根深蒂固。”

第三位具有非洲血统的管理人员表示：“高级管理层明显缺乏多样性，这种缺失让人很难感觉到被关注、被支持或被激励去晋升。”

BAME成员在NHS董事会中的比例已从2016年的7.1%上升到2025.年的17.3%。然而，联盟的一份新报告称，持久的制度性和结构性种族主义意味着该机构为解决歧视而采取的举措几乎没有产生实质性的改变。

联盟发现，太多的BAME管理人员在“日常工作中面临持续的种族主义、排挤和不公正”，以及“孤立和隐蔽的歧视”。

其主席维克多·阿德博瓦莱（Victor Adebowale）表示：“事实就是，NHS在制度上是种族主义的。”在恳请NHS高层采取更多行动时，他说道：“如果你是一名合格的领导者，你应该在任何时间、任何地点领导所有人。为了做到这一点，你需要了解你雇佣的人是谁。你需要将种族和种族主义问题作为日常工作的一部分，而不是将其视为特殊事情来讨论。这就是我们的做法。”

种族与健康观察站（Race and Health Observatory）表示，他们收到来自经历过职场种族主义的少数族裔NHS员工的咨询数量在增加。该机构首席执行官哈比卜·纳克维教授（Prof Habib Naqvi）在回应NHS联盟报告时表示：“这些发现令人震惊，但并不意外。”

“它们揭露了一个残酷的现实：太多的BAME NHS员工在工作中仍然面临种族主义，这对他们的心理和生理健康、职业生涯以及留在该服务机构的意愿产生了严重后果。”

一名NHS England发言人表示：“种族主义和歧视在NHS没有立足之地，任何员工在工作中经历这些都是完全不可接受的。虽然在增加高级职位的少数族裔代表性方面取得了进展，但仍有许多工作要做，以确保所有员工在晋升方面拥有平等的代表权和机会，并获得公平、尊重对待。”

“这就是为什么新的 NHS 员工标准要求信托机构采取持续行动来打击种族主义。”

国家政治

部长寻求修改法律，旨在使向改革英国党（Reform UK）提供的7200 万英镑m捐款非法化

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“这些捐款在今天100%符合法律，这一点毫无疑问，”法拉奇告诉BBC。当被问及这两位亿万富翁在25 March时是否为英国居民时，他回答道：“我只能说，根据现行法律，他们两人都符合规定。”

上议院的工党部长泰勒女士告诉议员们，除了捐赠者必须证明与英国有“真实且持续的联系”之外，政府还在研究进一步的限制措施。她补充道：“我们正在考虑如何加强居住地要求，包括确保在英国停留的时间与政府的更广泛政策保持一致。”

但那些一直推动设立全面国内捐款上限的下议院议员和上议院议员不太可能对这些新修正案感到满意。政府消息人士表示，他们不想通过考虑此类上限而进一步推迟法案的进展，但对进一步的立法持开放态度。下议院议员在内部WhatsApp群组中表达了愤怒，认为在法案处于下议院审议期间，错失了在该法案中限制国内捐款的机会。

安吉拉·雷纳在英国工会大会（TUC）上发表讲话时，批评改革英国党将来自亿万富翁的捐款与工会成员向工党提供的捐款相提并论。“他们怎么敢将几个加密货币亿万富翁的资金与工会成员的会费——我们所能拥有的监管最严格的政治资金——进行比较？”这位社区大臣说道。

“这与几个试图买断我们民主制度的离岸亿万富翁截然不同。”

预计工会今天将就政治捐款发表声明，谴责法拉奇试图将富有的捐赠者与通过工会向工党捐款的个人成员相比较的行为。

英国工会运动负责人保罗·诺瓦克表示，政府必须采取行动以“阻止超级富豪腐蚀我们的政治”。

但工会消息人士表示，各总书记在如何推进此事上存在“显著分歧”。

▲ 安吉拉·雷纳驳斥了改革英国党对工会捐款的批评

联合工会（Unite）的总书记莎伦·格雷厄姆在周日打破一致，支持限制个人国内捐款。但包括GMB负责人加里·史密斯在内的其他人担心，这将导致未来的右翼政府限制工会捐款。

政府消息人士表示，反对党要求任何针对国内捐款的变更也应适用于工会的呼吁“未被积极考虑”。

然而，据了解，政府正在研究政党的支出限制。目前的限制仅限于大选前1年，并在投票日前的几周内实施更严格的限制。

在8月致选举委员会的一封信中，雷纳和第一国务大臣路易丝·海格写道：“我们认为政党和候选人的支出限制过高，应当予以降低。”

政府还成立了一个跨政府的“专项任务”小组，以研究对英国民主的威胁，包括政治融资、非法影响以及对政治平等的更广泛威胁。

菲利普·赖克罗夫特曾就加强海外捐款选举法提交过一份独立报告，他表示，改革英国党的捐款重新引发了关于捐赠者和支出上限的更广泛问题。

“现在是需要对此进行严肃审视的时候了，”他说。

“如果政府能在这些巨额捐款出现之前就开始行动，效果会更好。”

“但我们必须问这样一个问题：资金来自更少的人且金额更大，这对我们的民主进程是否健康？”

那些为设立上限而奔走的下议院议员正与上议院议员合作，对法案进行修正，以便在无需等待另一项议会法案的情况下加强限制。

这些修正案包括一项旨在允许部长在日后为所有捐款设定上限的条款，以及另一项旨在防止在未经选举委员会（Electoral Commission）批准的情况下提高支出限制的条款。

上议院影子地方政府部长特蕾莎·奥尼尔（Teresa O'Neill）表示，法案中的部分措施令人不安。她说道：“即便仅仅是这种带有党派色彩、针对性立法的感知，也可能导致长期以来形成的政治惯例以及至关重要的系统信任遭到破坏。”

改革英国党（Reform UK）谴责了政府现有的计划，该党内政发言人齐亚·尤苏夫（Zia Yusuf）将其描述为“一个左翼政府将英国推向独裁和共产主义的史无前例的一步”。

详解 法拉奇的政党是否必须退还其获得的巨额资金？

德洛和哈本是否注册为英国本土选民？ 根据现行法律，只要是注册在英国投票的英国公民，任何人都可以向政党捐款。然而，根据《人民代表法案》，注册为海外选民的捐赠者每年将受到 10 万英镑 的上限限制。

该 10 万英镑 上限在他们返回英国后，至少在整个日历年（从1月到12月）内依然适用。因此，在夏季返回该国的人员必须等待约 18 个月，才能捐赠超过 10 万英镑 的金额。

对于克里斯托弗·哈本和本·德洛而言，至关重要的一点是，这项规定将从 25 March 起追溯适用。因此，两人的关键问题在于：他们在该日期之前是否已注册为英国本土选民？

如果不是，他们将不允许在单个 12 个月周期内每人捐赠超过 10 万英镑，这将导致这些捐款变为非法。

消息人士告诉《卫报》，德洛已注册为英国本土选民多年，但哈本的情况则不那么明确。

第四频道（Channel 4）上个月的一篇报道称，其记者看到的记录表明，他直到6月份才注册为国内选民；在这种情况下，他将受到上限限制直到 2028, 年 1 月，且他的捐款将是不合法的。改革英国党拒绝透露这两名男子具体何时注册为英国居民。

德洛和哈本是否应被归类为国内选民？即使两人都注册为英国本土选民，这一身份也可能受到质疑。要作为国内选民进入选民名册，一个人只需写信给地方当局并签署一份声明，称其注册地址为“永久家庭住址”。选举

管理人员通常会核查该人员的出生日期和国民保险号码，但不会核查其与注册地址之间的关联。

然而，如果另一名当地选民认为他们可能在居住地方面撒谎，则可以对该注册提出质疑。

选举委员会前负责人鲍勃·波斯纳（Bob Posner）表示：“仅仅因为某人在选民登记册上，并不意味着他们有权在上面。”

去年对德洛的一次采访中提到：“他住在 12 年前租下的同一套位于香港的简陋公寓里。”这位亿万富翁本人在4月份给《电讯报》写道：“我会提前搬回英国，以便为改革党的预算做出更多贡献。”

至于哈本，第四频道最近的一篇报道发现，在他目前注册所在的那个小村庄里，几位居民表示从未见过他。

改革英国党怎么说？本周末，改革英国党的消息人士坚称，他们有信心这些捐款是合法的。

“我们 100% 确信两者都是合法的，永远不需要退还，”一名发言人表示，并暗示两名男子即使

奈杰尔·法拉奇在改革党会议上。他抱怨追溯性限制 照片：JAMES VEYSEY / SHUTTERSTOCK

在法律的新规定下也能满足居住条件。

然而，到昨天为止，这一立场似乎有所转变，奈杰尔·法拉奇开始抱怨该法律被追溯适用。

“这两笔捐款在今天 100% 符合法律，这一点毫无疑问，”改革英国党领导人告诉 BBC。当被问及德洛和哈本在 25 March 是否为英国居民时，他补充道：“我不会透露他们的具体细节。我只想说，根据目前的国家法律，他们两人都符合规定。”

▲ 本·德洛从香港搬回英国以支持改革英国党

▲ 英泰加密货币亿万富翁克里斯托弗·哈本

法律是否可以进一步收紧？部长们目前正在考虑重新编写该法案的部分内容，以更清晰地界定哪些情况应被计入英国居住地要求。

如果捐款被判定为非法会怎样？

如果选举法案在成为法律后，导致 Delo 和 Harborne 其中一方或双方的捐款被视为不合法，那么这笔资金必须被退回。即便 Reform 已经花费了其中的大部分，该党仍需支付全额款项。

更严重的是，如果他们被发现在其申报中向选举管理人员撒谎，可能会承担刑事责任。

“提供虚假信息以登记投票属于警方管辖事项，”选举管理人员协会（Association of Electoral Administrators）副首席执行官劳拉·洛克（Laura Lock）表示。

“每次登记都明确指出，在申请时故意提供虚假信息是一种违法行为。这是一种可能导致无上限罚款或最高 51 周监禁的犯罪。” 基兰·斯泰西（Kiran Stacey）和亨利·戴尔（Henry Dyer）

工会：加密货币资金危及民主 —— 诺瓦克

杰西卡·埃尔戈特 (Jessica Elgot) 海瑟·斯图尔特 (Heather Stewart)

英国工会运动负责人保罗·诺瓦克（Paul Nowak）表示，政府必须采取行动以“阻止超级富豪腐蚀我们的政治”，此前工会领袖们于昨日会面，讨论是否支持对国内捐款实施上限。

工会领袖在限制政党国内捐款的前景上存在分歧，包括 GMB 在内的许多工会担心，这将导致未来的右翼政府限制工会捐款。

《卫报》获悉，隶属于工党的工会正在起草一份关于政治捐款的声明，预计将于今日提交至英国工会大会（TUC）总理事会。但工会消息人士称，各总书记在如何推进此事上存在“显著分歧”。

许多不隶属于工党的工会倾向于采取更严格的限制措施——因为他们自身不会受到限制政党捐款措施的影响。

周日，在两名加密货币亿万富翁克里斯托弗·哈本（Christopher Harborne）和本·德洛（Ben Delo）在 24 小时内向改革英国党（Reform UK）捐赠 7200 万英镑m 后，联合工会（Unite）总书记莎伦·格雷厄姆（Sharon Graham）打破沉默，支持实施上限。

当《卫报》询问关于设立捐款总上限的可能性时，GMB 总书记加里·史密斯（Gary Smith）回答道：“我们将对此进行研究。”

但他补充说，旨在实施上限的《人民代表法案》（representation of the people bill）修正案“感觉考虑不周”。

▲ 保罗·诺瓦克称改革英国党领导人 奈杰尔·法拉奇（Nigel Farage）是“可以被收买的政治人物”

然而，不隶属于工党的 Prospect 工会总书记迈克·克兰西（Mike Clancy）表示，政府在政治捐款方面应该做得更多。

“政府必须介入，”克兰西说，“公民已经注意到了这一点。这是在买断并扭曲民主，而且这种方式最终将对劳动人民产生不利影响。”

在布赖顿举行的 TUC 年会上，英国工会大会总书记诺瓦克在年度演讲中表示，这些捐款是“我们民主的一场危机”。

“告诉我，为什么两名加密货币亿万富翁在短短两天内就向改革党捐赠了 7200 万英镑m？”诺瓦克说，“证据很明确：改革英国党（Reform UK）是一个可以被买断的政党。奈杰尔·法拉奇是一个可以被收买的政治人物。只要有机会，他们就会出卖我们的国家。”

“不要误会，这是我们民主的一场危机。我们不能允许我们的政治体制被企业利益所掌控。”

他表示，护理工作者通过工会每年捐赠的几英镑，与由亿万富翁买断并支付资金的政党之间“没有任何相似之处。因此，我们需要就如何净化政治进行一次真正的对话，既不能将工人推向边缘，又要阻止超级富豪腐蚀我们的政治。”

他认为，不居住在英国且不在英国纳税的人不应被允许进行任何捐款。他表示，政府在政治广告的海外资金问题上也必须采取更进一步的措施。“埃隆·马斯克，请把你的脏手从英国政治中拿走，”他说。

史密斯表示，尽管对捐款上限有所顾虑，但显然政府必须“净化进入政治领域的资金”。

但他表示，他担心工会资金会被波及。“护理工作者、学校支持人员、能源工人，他们需要政治发声。他们理应在国家和政治中拥有话语权，而我们是通过成员捐给政治基金的微小金额来实现这一点的，其中一部分资金被用于支持工党。”

“所以我们的资金是干净的，是申报过的，是透明的。人们知道资金来源，我们对于推进成员利益毫不含糊且问心无愧。”

Usdaw 工会总书记乔安娜·托马斯（Joanne Thomas）表示，工会捐款是“政治中最干净的资金”，并补充道：“我们必须确保体现出我们的捐款与其他捐款之间的区别。”

托马斯还敦促政府重新审视选举支出限制，以此作为帮助营造公平竞争环境的一种手段。

目前在英国上议院审议的法案对海外捐赠者设定了重大限制，包括在他们返回英国后的一个日历年内。

素描

约翰·克雷斯

泰斯挺身而出，为亿万富翁加密货币爱国者辩护

在英国政治领域，从未有过如此之少的人向如此之多的人提供了如此之多的资金。你本以为奈杰尔·法拉奇会想要解释改革英国党（Reform UK）从克里斯托弗·哈本和本·德洛本人那里突然获得的这笔横财。他本可以沉浸在由两位脚踏实地、反建制的加密货币亿万富翁所提供捐款的光环之中。这些男人深知奋斗之艰，明白一份诚实的工作应获得一份诚实的报酬。

不过，如今的奈杰尔不希望自己看起来像个单打独斗的人，而且他可能需要一些休息时间来享受他自己的那笔500 万英镑m拨款。此外，他还要担心针对改革英国党资金来源的警方调查。即便如此，派理查德·泰斯去参加早晨的媒体采访轮播也不是个明智之举。迪基或许有他的才华，但他一直将其隐藏得很好。

“我们的资金不附带任何要求，”迪基在BBC广播4台的《今日》（Today）节目中告诉尼克·罗宾逊。哈本和德洛是爱国者。他们想要的只是将国家从社会主义者和右翼保守党人的毁灭中拯救出来。至于他认为改革英国党在这个连续光谱中处于什么位置，尚不明确。大概是在英国政治的中间地带吧。那些希望将英国从RNLI（英国皇家救生艇协会）的所谓善举中解救出来的普通男女。

这里的“爱国者”一词承载了过重的含义。哈本在90年代移居泰国，于2011年成为泰国公民，并取了一个泰国名字。现在我们得知，迪基相信辩证法：一个人看起来越是试图与英国拉开距离，他实际上对英国的忠诚度就越高。克里斯只是在玩一种“欲擒故纵”的游戏。事实是他一直恳求英国税务海关总署（HMRC）让他回去，以便他能向国库缴纳应缴的份额。

罗宾逊说，好吧。那么他什么时候搬回英国的，现在是否缴纳英国税款？迪基不出意料地毫无头绪。他说，我不是他的税务顾问，不过如果我是的话，我会确保他尽可能少地缴税。德洛的情况也是如此。没有一个人比他更热爱自己的国家。来自香港。谁不想接受一个在美国因未能遵守反洗钱法而被定罪、后被唐纳德·特朗普赦免的亿万富翁的资金呢？

接着是致命的一击。“我希望你们能相信我们合规团队的话，”迪基说。他们会向听众保证一切都合法合规。多么感人，多么甜蜜。直到现在，没人知道改革英国党竟然还有一个合规团队。

当天晚些时候，在一次BBC采访中，法拉奇本人不得不出面收拾泰斯留下的烂摊子。嗯，算是吧。是的，德洛和哈本的捐款可能无法满足正在议会审议的立法所需的截止日期。但你不能责怪改革英国党拿这笔钱。相反，这应该是政府的错，因为政府制定了改革英国党现在可能无法规避的法规。就像奈杰尔经常做的那样，总有别人可以被指责。

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九个欧盟国家寻求推迟在繁忙机场实施新边境管制

丽莎·奥卡罗尔 (Lisa O'Carroll) 资深记者

包括法国在内的九个欧盟国家正在推迟对非欧盟公民实施指纹采集，因为他们请求获得更多时间，以便在欧盟内部繁忙的机场部署新的边境管制措施。

入境出境系统（EES）原定于 9 月 6 日全面生效，但为了避免在大型活动期间出现游客拥堵，该系统已被多次推迟。

目前，包括法国、希腊、葡萄牙和意大利在内的九个国家已告知布鲁塞尔，他们需要更多时间。德国、马耳他、荷兰、瑞士和比利时也寻求了额外时间。而此前出现过初步运行问题的西班牙则正在全面实施 EES。

EES 最初由欧盟于 2017 年通过，

▶ 乘客在伊比萨机场排队接受欧盟新入境出境系统的检查 照片：BAV MEDIA

于去年 10 月正式启动，原计划在 4 月全面投入运行，但早期的运行问题（尤其是在希腊和葡萄牙）导致成员国的实施时间被进一步推迟。

欧盟消息人士称，该系统取得了成功，已有约 2 亿次注册，约 70,000 人被阻止进入申根区，高于 6 月份的 43,700 人。这些人包括没有签证的人员、超过 180 天允许停留期的人员，以及超过 90 天允许停留期的英国人。

使用伪造护照或身份证件的犯罪分子也被逮捕，指纹和面部图像记录揭露了个人使用不同护照的行为。

这九个成员国的推迟并非在全国范围内。布鲁塞尔的欧洲之星（Eurostar）终端和安特卫普港已开始采集指纹，但并非所有机场都已实施。

法兰克福和史基浦——欧洲最繁忙的两个国际枢纽机场——也在采集生物识别信息，但小型机场可能尚未完全跟上进度。消息人士称，在 1,500 个边境检查点中，仅有 12 个机场仍存在问题。

▲ 新的 EES 系统检查护照并采集非欧盟入境者的指纹

法国尚未在多佛港（Port of Dover）引入检查，在该港口，法国警察处于一个特殊的地位，可以在一个非欧盟国家执行边境管制。

从技术上讲，未能采集指纹和面部图像的行为违反了欧盟法规（该法规取消了任何暂停 EES 的权利），但布鲁塞尔的消息人士确认，他们不会对此进行起诉。

今年夏天早些时候，欧盟注意到其中一个机场是一个小型区域设施，在假期高峰期每小时可能有 3,000 名乘客抵达，但由于只有四个生物识别采集亭，无法进行评估。

国际航空运输协会（IATA）这一行业组织曾在 7 月要求全面暂停，抱怨乘客在西班牙、意大利、希腊和比利时错过了转机航班；而瑞安航空（Ryanair）则警告马拉加和帕尔马等机场会出现“排队混乱”。

消息人士称，“Travel to Europe”应用程序（允许乘客在旅行前注册面部图像和护照详情）很快将在七个国家投入使用。目前该程序仅在瑞典和葡萄牙运行。

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新闻 人工智能

特朗普抨击“病态阴谋”，AI警告引发科技股下跌

←

“一位聪明（高智商！）的总统，而美国恰恰拥有这一点，而且绰绰有余！”他补充说，他的政府已经“阻止了AI‘人员’去做坏事，或者潜在的坏‘事’，比如达里奥（Anthropic公司！）那样”。

“现在正发生一场针对AI和数据中心的病态阴谋，唯一对此感到高兴的是中国。谁赢得了AI，谁就赢了！”

作为OpenAI大股东的日本投资者软银（SoftBank）股价暴跌13%，而严重依赖于向AI公司供应芯片的韩国综合股价指数（Kospi）下跌了3%。

全球大型微芯片供应商台积电（Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company）的股价下跌了1.2%。

在欧洲，荷兰科技制造商ASML（欧洲市值最高公司，也是半导体工业的重要供应商）的股价暴跌了6%。

然而，此前受到AI兴起威胁的股票出现了反弹，包括在伦敦上涨5%的广告集团WPP，以及同样上涨5%的分析业务公司Relx。后者在今年早些时候，由于Anthropic推出了一套全新的数据和自动化工具而遭遇股价大跌。

阿莫代伊表示，“建设速度过快是鲁莽的”，并警告称，未来一群AI智能体可能会通过“接管整个互联网”造成数千亿美元的损失。

他的主张受到了部分专家的质疑，但投资者从昨天开始将增长放缓因素计入价格，这将使该行业难以支付数千亿美元的AI基础设施投资。

OpenAI首席执行官萨姆·奥特曼（Sam Altman）、谷歌DeepMind负责人德米斯·哈萨比斯（Demis Hassabis）以及SpaceX老板埃隆·马斯克（Elon Musk）均发帖支持阿莫代伊关于放缓AI开发的论文，该文题为《我们必须控制前沿速度》（We Must Pace the Frontier）。

奥特曼补充说，他将效仿阿莫代伊的承诺，在公司内部引入外部评估员以验证安全实践。

昨日软银股价下跌——这家日本投资者是OpenAI的大股东

人们对AI开发速度过快且缺乏监管的担忧持续增加。

昨天，一个由英国议员和贵族组成的跨党派小组指出，AI带来了一系列人权风险，并认为世界上没有任何一个国家的法律足以遏制这些风险。

与此同时，中国最高情报官员警告称，对手使用AI可能会给该国的政治和社会安全带来风险。

广告集团WPP股价上涨，该公司此前一直受到AI进步的威胁

陈一新周日在政府媒体上写道，美国先进的模型（如Anthropic的Mythos和OpenAI的GPT-5.5-Cyber）可能会给北京的关键信息基础设施带来严重风险，并呼吁全面加强AI安全。

尽管对AI风险存在此类担忧，德意志银行（Deutsche Bank）的吉姆·里德（Jim Reid）表示，该行业激烈的竞争意味着AI公司不太可能停止对其技术的大规模投资。

“公司与国家之间的竞争依然激烈，很难想象在竞争对手继续推进的情况下，企业会自愿退缩，”他说。“很难想象中国会停滞不前。”

“如果首席执行官们公开讨论日益强大的系统的风险，这可能是他们试图传达他们认为这项技术将产生多么巨大的变革，并以此帮助宣传其产品的威力。”

“这可能并不是在发出减少支出的信号，而仅仅是AI投资中更大的一部分将与计算基础设施的持续建设并行，被导向安全、监测和治理。”

阿莫代伊的警告发出之前，有报道称Anthropic有望在本季度实现盈利。

据《金融时报》报道，该公司告知投资者，其调整后的营业收入将连续第二个季度保持正增长，这是其准备于今年在美国股市上市的一个重大里程碑。

OpenAI 也暗示将进入股市，尽管奥特曼在周末表示，出于对该技术安全性的担忧，公司不会在 2026 年上市。

唐宁街表示，安迪·伯纳姆对开发这项新技术的行业领袖们开始关注 AI 可能给世界带来的危险表示欢迎。

其发言人表示，首相认为领先的 AI 人物公开讨论该技术对全球安全的风险是一件“好事”。

分析

尼克·罗宾斯-厄利（Nick Robins-Early）

关键公司领导人同意“放缓”技术开发以确保安全。但他们会这样做吗？

面对 Anthropic 研究人员多次警告人工智能可能会在 2030 年前导致全人类灭绝而引发的公众愤怒，这家 AI 公司的首席执行官达里奥·阿莫代伊（Dario Amodei）在周末提出了一项建议，要求放缓技术的进步以确保公共安全。在一次罕见的统一行动中，美国最大的几家人工智能公司的负责人立即表示同意。

OpenAI 的首席执行官萨姆·奥特曼（Sam Altman）、Google DeepMind 的负责人德米斯·哈萨比斯（Demis Hassabis）以及 xAI 的所有者埃隆·马斯克（Elon Musk），均在社交平台上对阿莫代伊名为《我们必须放缓前沿》（We Must Pace the Frontier）的放缓 AI 开发提案表示支持。

奥特曼表示，他将效仿阿莫代伊的承诺，在公司内部引入外部评估员以验证安全实践。奥特曼在 X 上发帖称：“我同意达里奥的观点，我们需要放缓前沿开发。承诺让独立评估员拥有类似员工的访问权限是一个绝佳的主意，我们将采取同样做法。”

哈萨比斯表示：“达里奥的文章指明了正确的前进方向。”马斯克则简单地写道：“达里奥是对的。”

这些 首席执行官的警告和承诺引发了一系列问题： 将如何受到监管，它带来了哪些风险，以及该行业是否真的会放缓这场狂热的技术进步竞赛。

虽然立法者和科技行业正在考虑如何应对人们对 日益增长的恐惧和不信任，但许多阻碍全面 监管的障碍与上周一名年轻的 Anthropic 研究员发表末日宣言之前的情况依然相同。

美国联邦政府致力于参与全球 军备竞赛。此前拟议的 立法在资金雄厚且激烈的企业游说下化为泡影。 初创公司面临着巨大的压力，必须在即将到来的万亿加元级公开上市之前，发布更新、更强大的产品。

阿莫代伊的提案遭到了批评者和研究人员的质疑，他们声称 公司试图抢在更严格的政府监管出台之前采取行动，以维持行业内的权力现状。

Anthropic 和 OpenAI 没有立即回应置评请求。

阿莫代伊的提案集中在三大支柱上。首先，承诺给予外部评估员员工级别的访问权限以监控风险。其次，民主国家之间就 安全标准达成协议。最后，在安全问题上与中国等威权政府进行全球协调。

阿莫代伊和行业内的其他人士过去也曾多次呼吁全球协调，甚至在行业近期就模型变得过于先进并获得自主权发出警告之前就已如此。

前国会议员、巴拉克·奥巴马（Barack Obama）的幕僚长拉姆·埃马纽埃尔（Rahm Emanuel）在推特上写道：“我可以告诉你，上一次有首席执行官或整个行业请求接受监管是什么时候：从来没有。这就是为什么达里奥的信如此令人震惊——它承认我们正关闭大灯，在潮湿的路面上行驶在一条黑暗且蜿蜒的道路上。那么特朗普总统在哪里？看来他又打盹了。”

▼一名在美国亚马逊网络服务（AWS）数据中心的技术人员，该公司旨在成为顶尖的 超级大国 照片：NOAH BERGER / GETTY IMAGES / AWS

一次罕见的统一行动：（从上至下）OpenAI 的萨姆·奥特曼、Anthropic 的达里奥·阿莫代伊和 xAI 的埃隆·马斯克 照片：; REUTERS; AP

公司在沟通其产品潜在危害的侧重点上一直摇摆不定，时而警告 将带来末日影响，时而承诺它将带来乌托邦式的繁荣。

例如，OpenAI 在 2024 年关闭了一个致力于研究长期 AI 风险的“超级对齐”（superalignment）团队，并在今年早些时候解散了另一个旨在沟通 OpenAI 将如何造福人类的团队。

尽管 AI 公司对其技术的威胁和益处做出了宏大的声明，但它们在模型运行方式方面提供的透明度极低，并花费数百万加元进行游说，以塑造有利的立法。批评者表示，该行业一直宣称 过于强大、复杂且利润丰厚而无法监管，其结果就是 实际上被允许进行自我管理。

Now 研究所的共同执行主任莎拉·迈尔斯·韦斯特（Sarah Myers West）在 X 上写道：“ 例外论导致我们在维持产品安全使用标准的方面彻底失败。”

批评者同样认为，阿莫代伊（Amodei）的提议是该行业试图制定自身规则的又一例证，在这种情况下，它选择由自己的评估员来监测安全风险，而不是面对政府监管机构的审查。

监管的倡导者亚历克斯·博雷斯（Alex Bores）警告称， 游说团体经常在声称支持监管的同时试图削弱立法。博雷斯竞选国会议员失败，此次竞选引发了与 相关的政治行动委员会投入了 2400万美元 (1800 万英镑m) 的赞成和反对资金。

博雷斯在 X 上发帖称：“对于每一个真正希望实现真实 监管的人，请不要落入他们的圈套。”

来自不同政治光谱的几位 节奏提议的批评者对阿莫代伊的建议表示担忧，该建议认为美国政府可以授予某种形式的反垄断豁免或免除，以允许行业协调。包括曾担任特朗普“ 沙皇”的大卫·萨克斯（David Sacks）以及拜登时期的联邦贸易委员会负责人阿尔瓦罗·贝多亚（Alvaro Bedoya）在内的前官员表示，该提议相当于一次监管俘获（regulatory capture）的尝试，这将使目前的行业领导者受益。

对国际协调和美国联邦干预的呼吁，还与唐纳德·特朗普及其政府的誓言相冲突，他们誓要不顾安全担忧地将美国打造为主导的 超级大国。

特朗普政府经常将 发展框架化为一场针对中国的技术霸权零和竞赛，在面对拟议的政府监管时， 行业本身也推广了这一论点。副总统 JD 范斯（JD Vance）在去年的演说中表示， 的未来“不会是通过对安全问题的焦虑而赢得的”。

周日，特朗普再次拒绝了放缓 发展的呼吁，理由是中国带来的竞争。他说：“谁赢得了 ，谁就赢了。”与此同时，众议院议长迈克·约翰逊（Mike Johnson）表示，国会不会在监管 安全方面带头冲锋。

PFAS警告：工业生产正引发有毒化学品“海啸”

达米安·盖尔 (Damien Gayle) 环境记者

一家活动组织警告称，PFAS公司正发起一场“海啸”般的永久化学品生产，以满足人工智能（AI）行业的需求。

尽管人们对这些与癌症相关的化学品感到担忧，但一项针对10家最大制造商的调查发现，大多数公司计划增加在欧洲、亚洲和北美的生产规模。

许多公司将其投资围绕“AI革命”展开，因为PFAS在半导体生产和下一代数据中心冷却系统中发挥着重要作用。

但反对者警告称，这些在自然界中永不降解的化学品是人类和地球健康的一枚定时炸弹。他们表示，增加生产可能会削弱英国、欧洲大陆以及美国部分地区初步采取的限制PFAS的举措。

“这些公司的扩张计划表明，除非政府和监管机构坚持快速逐步淘汰，否则我们将面临新一轮的永久化学品海啸，”瑞典化学品监督机构ChemSec的执行董事安妮-索菲·巴卡尔（Anne-Sofie Bäckar）表示，该机构是这项研究的发起者。

AI技术的繁荣在引领需求，PFAS被用于一种被吹捧为更节水、更节能的新型“环保”数据中心冷却系统，以及半导体制造。

总部位于日本的PFAS制造商大金工业（Daikin）表示，公司正在启动一个“数据中心枢纽”以满足需求，“扩大现有氟产品的销售并推出新产品”。

法国跨国公司阿科玛（Arkema）正在扩大其制冷剂产品线，在肯塔基州建立了一个价值$60 (4500 万英镑)的生产单元，该公司称这“将使我们能够跟上数据中心冷却需求的快速扩张”。

美国PFAS生产商科慕（Chemours）也在扩大规模，以满足“先进数据中心和AI硬件”的需求。该公司表示，其“创新的液体冷却解决方案”降低了数据中心的能源、水资源、空间、维护和投资成本。

其他增加生产的公司还包括日本跨国公司AGC、中国企业东岳集团、总部位于印度的化学公司古吉拉特氟化学品（Gujarat Fluorochemicals）以及神秘的俄罗斯PFAS生产商HaloPolymer。

分析师警告称，这些化学品是“AI繁荣中隐藏的风险”，且“面临数十亿欧元的补救和诉讼赔偿责任的潜力正在升级”。

据认为，PFAS已污染了几乎每个活人的血液。研究将其与癌症、肝病、肾脏问题、高胆固醇和出生缺陷联系在一起。

巴卡尔表示：“那些领导这些公司的人必须明白，他们同样受到自己生产的有毒物质的影响，这些物质已在全球超过99%的人血液中被检测到。”

保护措施：OpenAI 敦促立法者约束该技术

丹·米尔莫 (Dan Milmo) 罗伯特·布斯 (Robert Booth)

OpenAI 已敦促英国立法者利用人们对 AI 安全性重新产生的担忧，出台立法以约束该技术。

这家 ChatGPT 背后的公司表示，在竞争对手 Anthropic 呼吁遏制 AI 发展之后，政府应当立即采取行动。

欧洲政策负责人汤姆·达夫·戈登 (Tom Duff Gordon) 表示：“我们支持英国针对包括 在内的少数几家开发最强大 系统的公司实施更严格的规则。”

认为，立法应狭窄地聚焦于最先进的 实验室，而非开发较低性能系统的初创公司。

的此次干预正值一个议会委员会要求加强对 的限制之际，该委员会警告称，世界尚未为这项技术“潜在的可怕”后果做好准备。由下议院议员和上议院议员组成的联合人权委员会认为，英国需要一个全新的 监管框架，包括一个独立的监督机构以及保护公众的立法。该委员会表示， 带来了诸多威胁，从公共面部扫描到露骨的深度伪造，以及在没有合理原因的情况下对员工标记纪律处分。

人权委员会主席、工党议员亚历克斯·索贝尔 (Alex Sobel) 表示，世界尚未为该技术“潜在的可怕”后果做好准备。他说：“包括英国在内的全球任何地方，目前都没有一套能够胜任的 立法和监管方法。”

一名政府发言人表示，英国“极其严肃”地对待先进 带来的风险，并意识到需要跟上这项快速演进的技术步伐，包括与 公司及其他国家密切合作。该发言人表示：“我们不应假设随着 能力的发展，现有框架将永远足够。任何未来的措施都将基于证据，并聚焦于我们需要解决的风险。”

周五，超过 70 名议员和贵族敦促安迪·伯纳姆 (Andy Burnham) 支持禁止创建人工超级智能 (ASI)，并领导一项国际运动以阻止该技术。唐宁街拒绝了禁令要求，但表示正在探索有针对性的干预措施，“以应对最显著的 相关国家安全风险”。

斯塔默解雇的公务员首脑获得创纪录的 £860 遣散费

杰西卡·埃尔戈特 (Jessica Elgot) 政治副编辑

前公务员首脑克里斯·沃莫尔德 (Chris Wormald) 在被基尔·斯塔默 (Keir Starmer) 强制离开怀特霍尔最高职位时，获得了一笔近 86 万英镑 的创纪录遣散费。

内阁办公室的账目显示，这位前内阁秘书在任职仅 14 个月后于今年早些时候被解雇，离职时获得了 859,496 英镑。这一前所未有的金额需要公务员寻求部长的特别指示方可批准。

沃莫尔德随后被任命为上议院议员。他于今年早些时候被安东尼娅·罗密欧 (Antonia Romeo) 取代。

◀克里斯·沃莫尔德担任怀特霍尔最高级别公务员——内阁秘书的时间仅 14 个月

影子内阁办公室部长亚历克斯·伯格哈特 (Alex Burghart) 表示：“克里斯·沃莫尔德只是基尔·斯塔默为了自保而解雇的众多公务员和顾问中的一个。这笔遣散费是工党对纳税人资金的又一次令人震惊的浪费。”

与沃莫尔德达成的和解金额远超之前的最高纪录——前财政部常务秘书汤姆·斯考拉 (Tom Scholar) 获得的金额。斯考拉在利兹·特拉斯 (Liz Truss) 就任首相后的首批行动中被强制离职。斯考拉获得了 45.7 万英镑，其中包括遣散费以及替代通知期和休假的补偿金。

No 10 此前因处理沃莫尔德离职的方式而受到批评，其盟友称他是通过媒体得知自己命运的。高级公务员工会 FDA 的总书记戴夫·彭曼 (Dave Penman) 表示，针对沃莫尔德的简报极其反常，且这“绝不是治理国家的方式”。

在斯塔默作为前首相离职时将其提名后，沃莫尔德成为了一个无党派议员。

开业庆典 15% 折扣

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哈里与梅根的公共安保可能会被恢复

普里雅·巴拉迪亚 (Priya Bharadia)

萨塞克斯公爵与公爵夫人将在返回英国后，对其由公共资金资助的安保措施进行审查。目前，他们的安保并非由公共资金资助。

负责监督王室成员及公众人物税收资助安保工作的委员会 Ravec，将重新考虑哈里王子与梅根的警察保护级别。

该委员会上周举行会议讨论了这对夫妇的情况，因为目前他们及其子女已成为英国的全职居民，而不再仅仅是访客。

这将是这对夫妇在 2020 年退出王室成员工作职责以来，梅根首次接受风险评估。哈里在今年 7 月因家庭计划访问英国而获准对其安保进行审查，但尚未收到决定。

《电报》报道称，Ravec 主席上周告知哈里，委员会已为其以及为梅根分别委托了新的风险评估。据报道，Ravec 已要求这对夫妇提供包括接送孩子上学在内的日常行程，以作为决策参考。

去年，在这对夫妇停止担任工作王室成员且其及其家人的自动税收资助安保被撤销后，哈里针对内政部发起的法律挑战以失败告终。

“英国是我的家，”哈里在证人陈述中表示。“英国对我孩子传承的核心至关重要，我希望他们能像在目前居住的美国一样，在这里也能感到像在家里一样。如果他们在英国领土上无法获得安全保障，这一切就无法实现。我不能让我的妻子处于那样危险之中，而且基于我的人生经历，我也不愿让自己不必要地陷入险境。”

这对夫妇于 8 月 26 日返回英国。不久之后，一份代表查尔斯国王发出的正式信函重申了他们作为非工作王室成员的身份。

信中称，这对夫妇“类似于拥有商业和慈善利益的私人公民”，且“任何具体的安保问题应继续提交至相关的警察部门”。

萨塞克斯夫妇还决定在学期开始仅两天后就为孩子更换新学校，据报道这是出于对长途路程和交通拥堵带来的安保担忧。

“决定让孩子转学是在与家庭安保团队讨论了当前安排的实际操作问题后做出的，”一名家庭发言人告诉《Hello!》杂志。

“父母对所有教师和工作人员给予他们家庭的爱、关怀和努力依然深表感激。这一决定绝不应被解读为对学校的负面评价。”

▲ 梅根与哈里今年 2 月在加利福尼亚州观看一场篮球赛。他们于 8 月返回英格兰。摄影：RONALD MARTINEZ / GETTY

国家

生态保护之门：农民复兴古老的树篱铺设工艺

桑德拉·拉维尔 (Sandra Laville)

随着农民采用在18和19世纪达到顶峰的技术来增加野生动物数量、捕捉碳排放并帮助应对洪水，树篱铺设（Hedge laying）正经历着强劲的复兴。

这项旨在修复和振兴成熟树篱以保持其活力的古老工艺，是农民在政府今年提供的总额为 2.25 亿英镑m 的资金池中选择的四类最受欢迎的资本补助项目之一，该资金旨在支持农场及乡村地区的实际环境改善。

全英共有 2,500 名农民申请了补助，旨在利用这项拥有数千年历史的工艺来修复和维护树篱。如果补助获得批准，他们将铺设 800 英里（1,300公里）的成熟树篱，其长度足以从兰兹角（Land's End）延伸到哈德良长城（Hadrian's Wall）并往返一次。

濒危物种人民信托基金会（People's Trust for Endangered Species）的关键栖息地官员梅根·金伯（Megan Gimber）表示，树篱铺设是农民应对气候危机最有效的工具之一。“树篱铺设在战后基本停止了，因此它已经超过一代人的时间不再是农场管理的常规部分，结果我们看到树篱数量大幅下降，”她说。

成熟且经过维护的树篱是碳汇，每公顷捕捉的碳量比森林更多。它们支持数千个物种，为牲畜提供遮荫，减少土壤侵蚀，并能减缓、吸收和储存大量雨水，从而帮助减轻洪水灾害。

“它们极其重要，”国家树篱铺设协会（National Hedgelaying Society）主席斯蒂芬·巴丁（Stephen Budding）表示，“最大的生物多样性收益来自于对旧树篱的铺设。”

“我们的成员看到工作量相当激增，但我认为如果没有政府提供的补助，这 ▼ 罗伯特·罗斯计划在他位于约克郡的房产中铺设黑刺李、山楂、白蜡木和柳树篱。摄影：CHRISTOPHER THOMOND / THE GUARDIAN

不会发生。”

树篱铺设涉及将茎干几乎完全切断，然后将其以一定角度铺在地面上。将树枝铺下可以激发切口处的生长，填补叶丛中的空隙，并恢复新鲜感。这项工作由熟练的铺设工手工完成——其中许多人将于下个月在奇平诺顿（Chipping Norton）参加国家树篱铺设锦标赛。

罗伯特·罗斯（Robert Rose）在约克郡下德文特河谷（Lower Derwent valley）的埃勒顿（Ellerton）罗斯伍德农场（Rosewood Farm）经营 90 公顷（220 英亩）的肉牛草地和耕地。他正在等待环境、食品和农村事务部（Defra）批准他的补助申请，以便铺设旧的黑刺李、较新的山楂以及白蜡木和柳树篱。

这三种植物是在 20 年前种植的新树篱，但对其进行维护对于保持其在储存碳、支持野生动物和蓄水方面的功能至关重要。“我们自学了如何铺设，过程中经历了一些试错，”他说。

罗斯申请的补助将帮助他铺设约 50 米的树篱，以及种植新的树篱并对其他树篱进行萌条更新（coppice）。

树篱铺设的旺季从 10 月开始，到 2 月结束，因此像罗斯这样的农民希望 Defra 能尽快做出决定。“树篱铺设对野生动物、牲畜和生态保护有如此多的益处。我们看到更多鸟类利用树篱，更多小型哺乳动物出现在成熟且经过管理的树篱底部，”罗斯说。

“如果你愿意这么比喻的话，树篱铺设就像是进入更多生态保护领域的‘入门药’。它在社区的其他农民之间传播；到处都在讨论这件事。”

英国生态与水文学中心 2023 年的数据显示，尽管种植工作达到了创纪录的规模，但由于管理不足，该国仍在失去树篱。

2.25亿英镑

英国环境、食品与农村事务部（Defra）今年为农民提供的用于支持环境升级的资本补助资金池

“我们采用现代保护风格来铺设树篱，保留更多的灌木生长，既有利于筑巢的鸟类，又能起到防止牲畜逃逸的作用，”与兄弟和妻子共同经营农场的罗斯（Rose）说道。

Defra 表示，政府正在为农民提供“他们成功所需的资金工具和机会”。其最新一轮于 7 月启动的环境土地管理资本补助现已因“申请踊跃”而截止。

Q 搜索“Sky Essential TV”

15英镑的 Essential TV 包含精选的 Sky 频道。

Google Cloud

每家企业都会关注风险。聪明的企业也会利用 Gemini Enterprise 为其员工关注风险。

Vitality 正通过 Gemini Enterprise 为企业提供更智能的医疗保健。他们不再像传统保险那样在患病后做出反应，而是帮助预防疾病。通过利用个人数据来推荐更好的选择，他们帮助员工采取主动的方式管理健康。这才是风险管理应该开始的地方。

国家

悉尼·斯威尼因在病毒式广告中“将女性体育色情化”而遭到抨击

肖恩·英格尔 (Sean Ingle)

美国演员悉尼·斯威尼 (Sydney Sweeney) 正面临来自女性奥运选手和其他运动员的强烈抵制，她们指责她在一则体育预测公司的争议广告中出现，贬低并将女性体育色情化。在 Novig 这则病毒式传播的广告中（发布前两天观看次数已超过 2200 万次），斯威尼的裸体被足球、篮球和其他体育器材覆盖，同时她告诉用户他们可以“只在体育项目上”投注。

在说了九次“体育”之后，她以赤裸上身的状态出现在一张台球桌上，随后说道：“这个你没法交易，我在这里看起来很美。”

但这则广告引发了一场抗议风暴，由上个月获得四枚欧洲锦标赛金牌的英国短跑运动员艾米·亨特 (Amy Hunt) 领头。在世界田径终极锦标赛 200 米比赛获得第四名后，她表示：“悉尼·斯威尼，这才是体育女性的样子。21.4。肌肉。艰苦努力，血汗与泪水。这是一个美丽的夜晚。”

▶ 悉尼·斯威尼出现在 Novig 体育预测广告中，该广告引发了女性体育明星的愤怒抵制 照片：NOVIG

这是在引用梅丽莎·杰斐逊-伍登 (Melissa Jefferson-Wooden) 21.47 秒的获胜成绩，这是女子 200 米历史上第四快的成绩。亨特随后揭露了她和体育明星们面临的痛苦现实。“当你是一名体育女性时，情况并不美好，”她说，“它并不光鲜。绝对不是一直都那么性感。”

“性感依然能卖钱，”他说，“而且她的性感、引发的愤怒以及文化战争的争论能带来一件事，那就是巨大的影响力。”

博尔科夫斯基还质疑，出演过包括《亢奋》(Euphoria)、《白莲花度假村》(The White Lotus) 和《女管家》(The Housemaid) 在内的多部成功电视剧和电影的斯威尼，有一天是否会后悔她的决定。“斯威尼会在短时间内赚很多钱，”博尔科夫斯基说，“但通常关键在于你的品牌如何在多年间维持，而不是在最初的爆发期。这种形式的推广可能会在日后成为人们的噩梦。”

公共关系顾问马克·博尔科夫斯基 (Mark Borkowski) 曾与从米哈伊尔·戈尔巴乔夫到迭戈·马拉多纳的所有人都合作过，他表示他认为这则广告是“愤世嫉俗的软色情”，但考虑到“关注度之高”，这场争议将使 Novig 受益。

“有些低谷时刻。甚至参加这次锦标赛，我的经期昨天才开始，所以这并不理想，而且这绝对不是你真正能计划好的事情。”

“她显然拥有资本并且在利用这些资本。但女性有时在年龄增长后很难被严肃对待，因为她们走过这条路。她是在以卡戴珊的方式赚钱。”

英国奥运自行车金牌得主索菲·凯普韦尔 (Sophie Capewell) 也对该广告提出了深刻批评。“想象一个色情化呈现不再是看待体育女性最流行方式的世界。”

Novig 的创始人兼首席执行官雅各布·福廷斯基 (Jacob Fortinsky) 为该广告辩护，Novig 上个月推出了其新平台。“悉尼非常擅长吸引观众并成为关注的中心，”他说，“在某种意义上，这迫使我们进入了国民讨论。”

在澳大利亚，也出现了广泛的愤怒，四届奥运游泳冠军阿里安娜·蒂特姆斯 (Ariarne Titmus) 率先发起抗议。“我无法描述我感到多么愤怒，”足球运动员梅根·拉皮诺 (Megan Rapinoe) 和前篮球运动员苏·伯德 (Sue Bird) 表示。

“这对每一个热爱体育的女性来说都是一次沉重的打击”

斯威尼似乎对批评做出了回应，她发布了一系列知名男女运动员为杂志拍摄的裸体照片，其中包括塞雷娜·威廉姆斯 (Serena Williams)。

阿里安娜·蒂特姆斯 奥运游泳运动员

数百名运动员从美国体操运动员格雷西·克拉默 (Gracie Kramer) 那里获得了灵感，她在 Instagram 上发布了一段比赛视频，配文“这才是体育女性的样子”，该帖子获得了超过一百万次点赞。

卓越、团结。我们如何生活在一个将女性身体货币化、将女性体育性化依然存在的世界里？”

“当我看到这个时，”她写道，“这不仅是对每一个致力于精进技艺的女性的侮辱，而且是对每一个纯粹热爱体育——热爱团队合作、友谊、奉献——的女性的侮辱。”

福廷斯基还反驳了针对该内容成人性质的批评，指出 Novig 仅限 21 岁及以上的用户使用。他补充说，斯威尼曾就股权合作伙伴关系与公司接触，并协助制定了其宣传信息。

这并非斯威尼出演的广告首次引发争议。去年，美国鹰（American Eagle）的“悉尼·斯威尼拥有极佳的基因 / 牛仔裤”（Sydney Sweeney Has Great Jeans）活动利用了“jeans”（牛仔裤）和“genes”（基因）的谐音，其中涉及对这位蓝眼睛演员遗传特性的引用，从而引发了一场文化战争，一些人认为这涉及优生学。

在争议爆发几个月后，斯威尼表示由于当时在拍摄《亢奋》（Euphoria），她对此并不知情。“我反对仇恨和分裂，”她说。

鲍勃·麦基去世，享年87岁。这位美国设计师曾让众多明星脱颖而出

劳伦·科克伦 (Lauren Cochrane) 资深时尚撰稿人

鲍勃·麦基 (Bob Mackie) 去世，享年87岁。这位美国服装设计师在过去50年里，为众多名人打造了部分最性感且最迷人的装束。

他的Instagram账号发布的一篇帖子称：“他充分地度过了他的87年人生，实现了成为时尚和服装设计师的梦想，这也是他一直以来唯一想做的事情。”

“他的天才和非凡的设计将永远流传，继续为这个世界带来美。”

麦基的作品曾被玛丽莲·梦露、丽莎·明内利、埃尔顿·约翰、多莉·帕顿、蒂娜·特纳以及——或许最著名的是——雪儿 (Cher) 等明星穿着。他设计了这位歌手在1975年参加大都会艺术博物馆慈善晚宴 (Met Gala) 时穿着的“裸体”裙，以及她在1989年《If I Could Turn Back Time》音乐录影带中穿着的透明连体袜。

近期，泰勒·斯威夫特在其第12张录音室专辑《The Life of a Showgirl》的封面上，穿着了一套麦基原版的《Jubilee!》歌舞剧服装；而歌手萨布丽娜·卡彭特和演员赞达亚也曾穿着麦基的档案款造型。2024, 麦莉·赛勒斯支付了一笔未公开的金额，买下了她曾在格莱美奖表演时穿着的麦基流苏迷你裙。

去年，雪儿的“裸体”连体衣在拍卖会上以$57,600的价格成交。

麦基在20世纪60年代开始为《桑尼和雪儿》(The Sonny and Cher) 电视节目与雪儿合作，并在随后的数十年里一直保持合作关系。雪儿曾表示，如果没有他，她将成为一只“没有羽毛的孔雀”。

麦基首个著名的设计——玛丽莲·梦露在1962年为约翰·F·肯尼迪总统演唱《生日快乐》时穿着的那件礼服——在2022年被金·卡戴珊穿着出席大都会艺术博物馆慈善晚宴 (Met Gala)。

▲ 从左上角起顺时针方向：鲍勃·麦基与演员伯纳黛特·彼得斯在2019；雪儿在1986年的奥斯卡金像奖上穿着麦基的作品；麦基与他的两件设计作品在2018

此举遭到了时尚界大部分人士的不赞同，他们认为该礼服应当被妥善保存。

麦基对此表示赞同。他说：“我认为这是一个巨大的错误。它是为[梦露]设计的。不应该有其他人穿着那件礼服出现。”

麦基的格言是“敢于被注意到”，他的服装确实让穿着者成为了关注的焦点。埃尔顿·约翰在1980, 穿着的鸭子服装已然名声大噪。

但这些设计有时也传达某种观点。特纳在与虐待她的伴侣兼音乐合作伙伴艾克·特纳分手后，于1977年穿着了一件“火焰”裙，使这位明星化身为一只从灰烬中重生、极其显眼的凤凰。

麦基因其对魅力独特的诠释而赢得了诸多赞誉，包括纽约时尚学院 (Fashion Institute of Technology) 在1999年举办的“毫无疑问是鲍勃” (Unmistakably Bob) 展览。

特别报道 奴役之国

“面对真相至关重要”：保守党与自民党前身如何支持奴隶制

大卫·康恩 (David Conn)

调查记者

英国存在一种文化，即在庆祝废除奴隶制的同时，却不承认这个国家在数个世纪中奴役并贩卖了数百万非洲人。

新公布的《英国奴隶贸易商登记册》记录了英国在近 250 年间贩卖超过 300 万名非洲奴隶的数千名投资者。该登记册显示，这是一项由国家支持的行动，得到了当时两大主要政党——托利党（Tories）和辉格党（Whigs）的全力支持，这两个政党分别是如今保守党和自由民主党的前身。

登记册显示，许多托利党和辉格党议员都是奴隶贸易的投资者，且许多人还拥有种植园。但当废除奴隶贸易和奴隶制的运动在 18 世纪后期兴起时，辉格党通常转向支持废奴，而托利党政府则反对并拖延了数十年。

针对《卫报》对此历史的报道，自民党党魁埃德·戴维（Ed Davey）表示，他支持“完全透明”，并且“面对英国历史的全部真相至关重要”。

保守党则将《卫报》引导至其党魁凯米·巴德诺克（Kemi Badenoch）在 3 月份发布的一条 X 帖子。该帖子是对联合国一项声明的回应，该声明称历史上对非洲人的奴役和贩卖是“最严重的反人类罪行”，应当讨论赔偿问题。

“英国领导了结束奴隶制的斗争，”巴德诺克发帖称，“我们不应该为一项我们帮助根除且至今仍在与之抗争的罪行买单。”

登记册中确认有 50 多名托利党议员和约 50 名辉格党议员是历史上的奴隶贸易商。大多数人投资了英国国家支持的皇家非洲公司（RAC）及其前身，部分人则参与了南海公司（South Sea Company）。

托利党参与皇家非洲公司的根源在于该党的创立。最初的托利党派形成于 1679 年的排除危机期间，旨在支持当时的约克公爵加冕为詹姆斯二世国王。而他们的对手辉格党则试图阻止詹姆斯的继位。

詹姆斯成为国王并领导了皇家非洲公司，该公司贩卖的奴隶人数——至少 15 万名非洲男女及儿童——超过了跨大西洋奴隶贸易史上任何其他组织。

许多支持詹姆斯的托利党人也投资了皇家非洲公司。

该登记册的主导历史学家威廉·佩蒂格鲁（William Pettigrew）教授表示：“这个支持约克公爵的平台演变成了托利党。对公爵奴隶贸易项目（即皇家非洲公司）的支持，为这些早期的托利党人提供了进一步的凝聚点，而早期的辉格党人则对此持反对意见。在我们的政党诞生之初，关于如何扩大国家奴隶贸易的最佳方式就存在分歧。”

辉格党的反对并非针对奴役非洲人，而是针对皇家非洲公司的皇家垄断权。许多辉格党人游说要求通过向独立的“个体贸易商”开放贩卖，从而扩大奴隶贸易。

本杰明·巴瑟斯特爵士（Sir Benjamin Bathurst）是登记册中众多显赫的托利党人之一，他体现了皇家非洲公司投资者的精英地位。他是詹姆斯国王和安妮女王的朋友，也是肯特郡新罗姆尼（New Romney）的托利党议员。

在 1677 年至 1700 年期间，巴瑟斯特在不同阶段担任皇家非洲公司的助理和领导者。期间该公司进行了 222 次跨大西洋航行，将数万名非洲人运往殖民地。

罗伯特·克莱顿爵士（Sir Robert Clayton）是一位 17 世纪的银行家，曾任皇家非洲公司的董事总经理，同时是伦敦的辉格党议员。克莱顿向圣托马斯医院（现为盖伊和圣托马斯 NHS 基金会信托的一部分）捐款，那里有一座纪念他的雕像。

爱德华·科尔斯顿（Edward Colston）是一名忠实的皇家非洲公司股东和助理，其雕像在 2020 年被抗议者推倒，他曾在 1710-13 年担任布里斯托的托利党议员。

登记册显示，在1711年南海公司成立后，有更多托利党和辉格党政治人物投资于皇家非洲公司（RAC）。该公司由时任财政大臣并成为托利党领袖的罗伯特·哈利（Robert Harley）创建，随后涉足奴隶贸易。

1713年，安妮女王从西班牙国王腓力五世那里获得了一项“asiento”（特许贸易权）——这是一项协议，规定每年向西班牙在美殖民地交付4,800名被奴役的非洲男子。安妮女王将这项特许权授予了南海公司，而南海公司则承包皇家非洲公司来执行。

数名托利党和辉格党议员成为了南海公司的董事，其中包括伦敦的托利党议员兼市长理查德·霍尔爵士（Sir Richard Hoare）。他创立了霍尔私人银行（Hoares），该银行至今仍由其家族所有。

在18世纪中期执政数十年的辉格党，支持英国发展成为全球最主要的奴役国家，而布里斯托尔以及随后的利物浦的独立贸易商则将奴隶贸易规模工业化。

当道德层面的反对意见最终出现时，是由被奴役者、获释奴隶、贵格会教徒以及议会中的独立议员威廉·威尔伯福斯（William Wilberforce）领导的抗议。一些获释的奴隶（其中最著名的是奥劳达·埃奎亚诺 Olaudah Equiano）写下了关于其经历的令人震惊的记录。

在1783-1833年间几乎一直执政的托利党多次推迟废奴，而辉格党则普遍倾向于废奴主义者的观点。在贵格会于1783年首次向议会提交请愿书后，奴役制度仍被强制执行了50年，直到1833年一个新的辉格党政府通过了废奴法。当时的党派隶属关系不像现在这样明确，且双方都存在例外情况。

威尔伯福斯从1791年开始在议会提出的废除奴隶贸易的动议均被否决。托利党内政大臣亨利·邓达斯（Henry Dundas）介入，在威尔伯福斯1792年的废奴法案中加入了“逐渐”一词，随后该法案在英国上议院被拦截。

直到由辉格党领导的“全才内阁”（ministry of all the talents）联合政府短暂取代托利党，废除奴隶贸易的法律才在1807年获得通过。在自1791年起延误的16年间，英国的奴隶贸易达到了顶峰，又有648,000名非洲男女儿童被贩运穿过大西洋沦为奴隶。当1823年发起旨在废除奴役制度本身的下一轮运动时，托利党政府的反应是无限期推迟，声称被奴役者尚未准备好获得自由。

托利党还率先主张，如果释放奴隶，必须向奴隶主支付补偿金。最终，奴隶主获得了2000 万英镑m的公共资金——根据最低计算方法，相当于今天的27亿英镑。而英国殖民地中的800,000名被奴役者未获得任何补偿，并被强加于“学徒制”——即进一步的多年强制无偿劳动。

历史学家迈克尔·泰勒（Michael Taylor）认为，在1824年的一次下议院辩论中，外交大臣乔治·坎宁（George Canning）发表了“可以说在英国议会历史上最种族主义的演说”。

坎宁说：“先生，在对待黑人时，我们必须记住，我们面对的是一个拥有成年男子的形态和力量，但智力仅相当于儿童的生物。”保守党的奠基人之一罗伯特·皮尔爵士（Sir Robert Peel）表示他“从未反对消灭奴隶制”，但直到1833年，他仍在下议院发表反对立即解放奴隶的言论。皮尔声称，解放意味着“两个截然不同的种族”必须融合，而“肤色的区别”是一个障碍。

▲ 艺术家威廉·杰克逊（William Jackson）的作品《利物浦奴隶船》描绘了一艘在1780年左右接近非洲的船只

1834年，即辉格党政府最终通过废奴法的一年后，皮尔发布了他的《塔姆沃思宣言》（Tamworth manifesto），该宣言被视为保守党的奠基文件。随后他成为了首位保守党首相。

皮尔后来赞扬了解放奴隶的行为，并与停止奴隶贸易联系在一起。1845年，在担任首相期间，他与法国签署了一项公约，两国将部署扩编的舰队以强制执行禁止跨大西洋贩奴的禁令。

伦敦大学学院的“英国奴隶制遗产”档案库基于1833年后支付的“补偿金”记录，发现早在废奴前的几十年里，大约有80名托利党和保守党议员参与了对被奴役者的所有权，并参与了补偿金申请。此外，还有60多名辉格党和自由党议员。支付给个人的最高总额几乎达到了11 万英镑，相当于今天的1460 万英镑m，该款项支付给了托利党议员约翰·格莱斯顿，他为其在圭亚那和牙买加种植园中被奴役的2,508名男女老少申请了补偿。

针对这项研究，一名保守党发言人表示：“保守党为我们国家的历史感到自豪，我们在废除奴隶制方面领先世界。凯米·巴德诺赫已经明确表示，在现代社会，我们必须建立一个不以种族为由进行歧视的精英管理体制。”

自民党领袖戴维表示：“跨大西洋奴隶贸易是一场令人厌恶的反人类罪行，面对英国历史的全部真相至关重要。自由民主党支持完全的透明度，在学校教授殖民过去的完整背景，并与国际合作伙伴进行公开、建设性的对话。”

加勒比共同体（Caricom）赔偿委员会的圭亚那籍副主席埃里克·菲利普斯表示：“英国保守党应该审视并承认其历史，而不是陷入这种只谈论废奴的否认之中。历史已经发生，你无法改变它。让我们接受它并讨论它，向愈合、共同协作以及互利方案的方向迈进。”

▲ 约1863-66年间曾被奴役的非裔美国人。左上为拥有奴隶的托利党议员约翰·格莱斯顿。左侧为格拉斯哥一座被破坏的罗伯特·皮尔爵士雕像。照片：ALAMY

“资本之井”：女性也曾资助奴隶贸易

Aamna Mohdin

超过 1,000 名女性曾投资于奴隶贸易，这挑战了人们认为女性只是被动受益者且在很大程度上致力于废除奴隶制的传统观念。

研究人员发现，女性购买、出售并代理皇家非洲公司（RAC）、南海公司以及其他独立企业的股份，并利用贩卖非洲奴隶所得的利润来确保经济独立并供养家庭。

到 1752 年贩卖了约 150,000 名奴隶的皇家非洲公司解散时，女性股东约占 10%。

由《卫报》独家披露的《英国奴隶贸易商登记册》显示，来自社会各阶层的女性在资助和维持跨大西洋非洲奴隶贩运中发挥了积极作用。

投资者涵盖了从女王、公主到有头衔的贵族、商人、店主以及牧牛人。

女性从奴隶制的早期阶段就开始投资，从伊丽莎白一世女王在 1560 年代的支持，到克拉文夫人通过几内亚公司提供贷款资助前往冈比亚的航行。一些投资者由于无法书写自己的名字，在公司记录上签下了一个像蜘蛛网一样的“X”。

剑桥大学讲师莉拉·奥莱利·钱伯斯（Lila O'Leary Chambers）为该登记册项目研究了女性的参与情况，她表示：“这项研究真实地表明，这并非昙花一现。”

该研究识别出了 1,100

“在皇家非洲公司及其各种形式的整个运营过程中，都有女性提供资金并期望从奴隶贸易中获得财务回报。”

研究人员发现，女性参与了公司活动的“几乎每一个层面”。她们担任经纪人，提供在非洲大西洋沿岸贸易的商品，管理公司财产，并利用其家庭和社会网络来增强公司的财务状况和政治影响力。

档案中包括女性讨论“非洲股票”利润的信件，而公司记录显示，一名投资者海伦·格拉德曼（Helen Gladman）曾要求皇家非洲公司将一名来自塞拉利昂舍布罗岛的非洲小女孩运往英国，在她的家中服侍。

对于许多人来说，投资是获得经济独立的关键。钱伯斯表示，有些人成为了活跃的交易者，为朋友和家人交易股份。“这在她们看来并不是一种职业，但我们可能会认为：这已经成了你的工作。”

钱伯斯表示，这项研究直接挑战了传统的叙事，即“白人女性在废奴阶段介入，看到被奴役者的痛苦，认同那种压迫，然后致力于改革或最终废除奴隶贸易及奴隶制本身”。

扭转这一误解的工作建立在加勒比地区和西非历史学家数十年的学术研究基础之上，包括埃里克·威廉姆斯（Eric Williams）、艾尔莎·戈维亚（Elsa Goveia）和沃尔特·罗德尼（Walter Rodney）。

▲ 艺术家约翰·吉尔斯·埃卡特（John Giles Eccardt）绘制的卡特雷特夫人与孩子及一名黑人仆人的肖像画

近期一些面向公众的项目，例如由伦敦大学学院历史学家编译的“英国奴隶制遗产”档案，帮助将这段历史带给更广泛的受众。她表示，该档案揭示了在 1833 年帝国大部分地区废除奴隶制后，与奴隶所有权相关并获得补偿的人员中包括女性。而被奴役者则一无所得。

该研究识别出了在皇家非洲公司、南海公司和其他独立企业的历史中的 1,100 名女性投资者，尽管实际人数可能更高。在婚姻状况可识别的 457 名女性中，近一半是寡妇，略高于 42% 为未婚。在 7% 的已婚女性中，大多数是贵族。

“但这讲述了一个更为漫长的故事，这有助于我们超越那种将女性在历史上定位为实际上比她们真实情况更简单的单一叙事。”

由于女性投资者似乎没有投票权或担任董事会职务，她们通常依赖非正式的努力来影响和塑造一家公司。

对于钱伯斯（Chambers）而言，积累超过 1,000 个姓名本身就是一个“沉重的打击”，因为缺乏关于被奴役非洲女性的类似信息。

伦敦大学亚非学院（Soas University of London）奴隶制遗产与记忆资深教授奥莉薇特·奥特莱（Olivette Otele）表示，虽然缺乏关于被奴役非洲女性的同类细节依然令人震惊，但“我们对奴隶主了解得越多，就越有机会从档案中了解被奴役的女性，因为有时通过日记可以发现更多细节”。

会议记录显示，女性担任证人、管理会议场所、交付用于交换非洲人生命的货物、请愿要求工资、传递信息，以及最重要地，出借资金以及买卖股份。

她补充说，仅凭档案无法讲述完整的历史，未来的研究应寻找其他证据，以帮助恢复被奴役女性的生活和能动性。“无论这些女性被带到哪里，她们都是其文化的传递者和持有者，”她说，“通过食物、音乐和舞蹈，这关乎抵抗与能动性，而她们传递了这些。”

根据英国法律，单身或丧偶的女性可以控制自己的财产并作为法律主体活动，而结婚后的女性则不行。

研究还发现

“这对于在财务危机中挣扎的皇家非洲公司（Royal African Company）来说变得非常重要，”钱伯斯说，“女性提供了这一重要的资本之源。”

18 世纪初，皇家非洲公司秘书约翰·佩里（John Perry）写信给女性投资者，敦促她们将公司债务兑换成股份，并说服亲友效仿。钱伯斯说：“这是一个财务项目，但也是一个政治项目，因为他知道她们可能不担任正式职务，但女性在家庭成员以及公司被看待的方式方面非常有影响力。”

该公司生存的时间足够长，以至于在 1713 年至 1719 年间吸引了至少 60 名新的女性投资者，随后在 1720 年代初的一次复兴期间又有 250 名女性加入。

女性将皇家非洲公司的股份留给女儿以巩固其经济地位，或利用投资收益来支持丧偶、残疾和弱势的亲属。

在其中一封信中，玛丽·斯坦利（Mary Stanley）承诺将价值 £300 的皇家非洲公司股票及其收益留给她的另一个儿子彼得（Peter），但有一个前提条件：如果她女儿的丈夫未能为其提供“生活必需品”，彼得将使用这些非洲股票来支持她。

对于钱伯斯来说，这项研究揭示了一个鲜明的矛盾：英国白人女性利用投资来保护自己的家庭，同时投资于对非洲家庭的摧毁。

“你不能将你对投资的思考与这些亲属关系、亲密关系和暴力的结构分开，”她说，“这种利润来自于剥夺非洲人同样的亲属纽带，以及剥夺他们确保自己孩子安全的能力。”

“这对于这个特定的故事至关重要，而且对于奴隶制如何塑造资本主义的整体过程也同样重要。”

▲ 玛丽·斯坦利的遗嘱中提到了她留给儿子的皇家非洲公司股份。下方为这家英国奴隶贸易公司的纹章 照片：卫报 / 国家档案馆

Palesa Monareng / 卫报 综合制作

10%

1752 年皇家非洲公司解散时，在 150,000 名股东中女性所占的比例

42%

研究显示，女性投资者中未婚者的比例

7%

已婚女性投资者的比例。其中大多数是贵族。皇家非洲公司（RAC）贩卖了约 150,000 人

国家

作家戴维斯称《切尔西制造》与奥斯汀是绝配

纳迪亚·科马米 (Nadia Khomami) 艺术与文化记者

如果说简·奥斯汀的小说聚焦于封闭的社交世界、求爱仪式、地位焦虑以及关于谁在追求谁的八卦，那么显而易见的当代对应物便是真人秀。

作家安德鲁·戴维斯 (Andrew Davies) 如此认为，他数十年来一直致力于将英国时代剧现代化。

在接受 Radio 4 的《今日》(Today) 节目采访时，他透露自己在改编奥斯汀未完成的小说《沃森一家》(The Watsons) 时，一直在观看第四频道的真人秀《切尔西制造》(Made in Chelsea)。在谈到这部追踪伦敦西区富裕年轻居民社交剧集和竞争关系的剧集时，他说：“这对研究关系和想法确实很有启发。”

“例如，《沃森一家》中的这些年轻男女与《切尔西制造》中的非常相似。”

89, 岁的戴维斯本周出版了回忆录《不合适的男孩：剧本人生》(An Unsuitable Boy: A Life in Scripts)。在 1995 年 BBC 改编的《傲慢与偏见》中，他创造了科林·费斯饰演的达西先生穿着湿衬衫从湖中走出的经典画面。他说，他的方法一直是旨在“挖掘奥斯汀作品中内在的性感”。

▲ 奥斯汀，以及（右侧）多莉·阿尔德顿 (Dolly Alderton)，她曾从事真人秀工作，并编写了 Netflix 的《傲慢与偏见》剧集

乔·布雷 (Joe Bray) 是一位奥斯汀学者，也是谢菲尔德大学的英语教授，他告诉《卫报》：“简·奥斯汀是对年轻人所采取的时髦举止和风尚的敏锐观察者……而且她大多数小说的情节是由性吸引力以及 / 或者秘密私情和订婚驱动的。”

他暗示，《理智与情感》中的斯蒂尔姐妹——露西和安妮，“将成为完美的真人秀参赛者”。

奥斯汀开创了一种表现女性角色内心潜台词和情感的方式，而这种方式在转化为屏幕语言时可能较为困难。

布雷表示，奥斯汀还喜欢在写给妹妹卡桑德拉的信中议论邻居和熟人的八卦，并补充道：“我不能确定她是否会观看《切尔西制造》或《爱之岛》(Love Island)，但……她至少会感兴趣！”

$\nabla$ Netflix 新版《傲慢与偏见》，以及（左侧）2021 年的《切尔西制造》 摄影：LUDOVIC ROBERT / NETFLIX; RACHEL JOSEPH / MONKEY KINGDOM / CHANNEL 4

从《切尔西制造》到今年即将登陆 Netflix 的新版《傲慢与偏见》剧集之间确实存在着直接联系：后者的编剧兼执行制片人多莉·阿尔德顿的职业生涯始于担任该真人秀的故事制片人——她曾表示，她的工作是将伦敦富裕年轻人的浪漫纠葛转化为“一部四集的喜剧剧集”。

在柯蒂斯·西滕费尔德 (Curtis Sittenfeld) 2016 年将《傲慢与偏见》现代化的作品《合格》(Eligible) 中，这位小说家将班内特一家搬到了 2013 年的辛辛那提，并将奇普·宾利设定为一名曾在《单身汉》(The Bachelor) 中露面的前真人秀明星。

“真人约会节目是非常公式化的，而奥斯汀时代的求爱则僵化且具有强制性，”西滕费尔德说。换句话说，真人秀为奥斯汀那个充满精心规定之浪漫邂逅的世界提供了一个现代对应物。

这或许可以解释奥斯汀作品极强的可移植性，包括基于小说《爱玛》但背景设定在 20 世纪 90 年代洛杉矶的电影《独领风骚》(Clueless)。

伦敦大学学院的文学教授、Netflix 剧集《布里杰顿》(Bridgerton) 的历史与对话顾问约翰·马伦 (John Mullan) 指出了另一个平行点。他说：“在奥斯汀的小说中，求爱大多在他人注视下进行。可能互有好感的年轻男女极少能单独相处。”

但存在一个关键区别：“那么得体性呢？克制？压抑？这些同样是奥斯汀故事和人物的核心。”

所示节省金额为每月相对于零售价的节省额。仅限 18 岁及以上的英国居民新订阅者。每年最多可暂停配送或自取 5 周。完整套餐详情、配送区域及参与门店请见我们的网站。订阅条款与条件适用，详见：theguardian.com / subscription / terms

国家新闻

专辑评论 期待已久的作品为这位创作歌手的“心碎三部曲”画上了惊艳的句号

Beck 《Ride Lonesome》 ★★★★★

Alexis Petridis

Beck 上一次发行专辑是在 2019 年，当时这位创作歌手发现自己处于一个奇怪且令人尴尬的境地。在某些圈子里，《Hyperspace》的到来被热切期待，恰恰是因为他的个人生活正陷入混乱。在该专辑发行前九个月，他与演员玛丽莎·里比西（Marissa Ribisi）长达 15 年的婚姻以离婚告终，他理所当然地将这段经历描述为令人心碎。对他而言不幸的是，人们普遍认为 Beck 最伟大的作品诞生于痛苦之中。

他深受喜爱的 2002 年专辑《Sea Change》收录了在与长期女友分手后创作的忧郁原声歌曲。虽然并不完全清楚是什么引发了 2014 年《Morning Phase》的阴郁基调，但其音乐和歌词风格似乎与前者如出一辙。有人说这是他职业生涯中最好的专辑；该专辑随后赢得了包括年度专辑在内的三项格莱美奖。

当时有许多猜测认为《Hyperspace》将是一部配套作品。然而，它却是一张合成器主导的专辑，由法瑞尔·威廉姆斯（Pharrell Williams）制作，色调梦幻且轻快，缺乏那种痛苦的灵魂剖析。在发行之后，Beck 似乎在向《Sea Change》和《Morning Phase》的粉丝暗示，以后不会再有类似的作品了。

七年之后，他似乎重新考虑了。在《Ride Lonesome》重新集结《Sea Change》和《Morning Phase》背后的团队时，表现出了一种刻意为之——前者的制作人奈杰尔·戈德里奇（Nigel Godrich）负责混音，两张专辑中出现过的伴奏音乐家悉数到齐，管弦乐编曲则出自 Beck 的父亲大卫·坎贝尔（David Campbell）之手——同时，音乐所唤起的人物也经过精心挑选。尼克·德雷克（Nick Drake）及其弦乐编曲师罗伯特·柯比（Robert Kirby）的幽灵被清晰地召唤出来，在《In the Night》中尤为明显。在《Run Away》中，我们发现 Beck 正处于与《Sea Change》中的《The Golden Age》以及《Morning Phase》中的《Unforgiven》完全相同的位置：在凌晨时分，独自坐在车轮后，漫无目的地驾驶，试图缓解内心的不快。

▲ 《Ride Lonesome》具有与 Beck 在《Sea Change》和《Morning Phase》中传达的相同的疲惫感

相似的声音，相似的情绪，相似的歌词主题：其危险在于边际效用递减。但《Ride Lonesome》从未让人觉得是在卑微地试图重现往日辉煌。这部分归功于歌曲创作的水准。Beck 曾暗示这张专辑制作时间如此之久的原因之一是严格的质量控制：歌曲被录制，然后搁置数年，最后被重新审视。大量素材被舍弃。你可以感觉到：这里的每一首歌，从《Slow Canyon》中简约的乡村摇滚到《Falling Through My Hands》中华丽且充满和谐之美的旋律，都极其精妙。

但这同样是因为《Ride Lonesome》显然是一位年长艺术家的作品：其基调带有时间流逝的印记。在《Bleed》中他唱道：“我不知道我要去哪里，但感觉我以前来过这里”：这精准地捕捉到了一种典型的 50 岁中旬的倦怠感。一种疲惫感渗透在一切之中：即使是表面乐观且极其动人的结尾曲《Beyond the Light》，也充满了对“无名之日”和“光芒消逝”的唤起。

《Ride Lonesome》并没有消除那个理论，即 Beck 最好的作品诞生于不快乐。它同时也是极其罕见的作品：一个与前作同样出色的“续集的续集”。

周五发行

来自英国最受欢迎专栏作家的 一部极其幽默的新集

真正地，现在的时代让你想用双手捂住眼睛，即便你的手已经捂在眼睛上了。唯一能做的就是阅读玛丽娜·海德（Marina Hyde）的作品，然后放声大笑。

▼ 爱尔兰，杜恩贝格 在爱尔兰公开赛的最后一天，高尔夫球迷们试图引起北爱尔兰选手罗里·麦克罗伊（Rory McIlroy）的注意 摄影：BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI / 来源：萨那战略研究中心（Sana'a Center for Strategic Studies），全球能源监测（Global Energy Monitor）

世界

海湾国家因也门冲突升级推迟与伊朗就霍尔木兹海峡问题进行谈判

帕特里克·温图尔 (Patrick Wintour) 外交编辑

由于缺乏阿拉伯国家的共识，且沙特阿拉伯对德黑兰帮助胡塞武装削弱利雅得在也门的控制力感到日益愤怒，海湾国家已推迟与伊朗就霍尔木兹海峡未来问题举行的一次关键会议。

在这一关于重要水道的僵局出现之际，胡塞武装反叛分子对沙特军事目标发动了新一轮的导弹和无人机袭击。

一名胡塞武装军事发言人声称，其部队袭击了位于哈米斯穆沙伊特的哈立德国王空军基地，击中了战斗机机库、雷达系统、跑道和起降场、弹药库以及其他目标。

上周，受德黑兰支持的伊拉克民兵迫使沙特阿拉伯关闭了一条关键的东西向管道。在伊朗实际上关闭霍尔木兹海峡后，该管道一直是利雅得出口石油的手段。

管道的关闭、霍尔木兹会议的推迟，以及胡塞武装上周夺取也门红海沿岸——使该组织控制了另一条重要水道曼德海峡——这些因素共同导致昨日油价上涨至每桶 108 美元以上。

据沙特媒体报道，沙特阿拉伯王储穆罕默德·本·萨勒曼昨日在吉达与美国中央司令部负责人布拉德·库珀 (Brad Cooper) 海军上将举行紧急会谈，讨论“该地区的最新进展”。

上周有消息人士告诉美国媒体，沙特的实际统治者曾寻求唐纳德·特朗普的军事援助以帮助对抗胡塞武装。到目前为止，美国仅提供了后勤和情报支持。

海湾阿拉伯国家合作委员会（GCC）与伊朗之间的会议在最后一刻被推迟，一项关于霍尔木兹海峡重新开放时商业航运临时航线的拟议协议也被随之延期。

阿曼外交部长赛义德·巴德尔·阿尔布赛迪 (Sayyid Badr Albusaidi) 表示，为了达成共识，会议已被推迟。他在 X 上写道：“我们仍然致力于促进支持本地区稳定和持久合作的对话。”他未提供进一步细节。

“我们仍然致力于促进对话”

这次会议本不会导致海峡立即开放，因为德黑兰设定了一系列其他前提条件。其中包括要求美国解除对伊朗石油港口的封锁、移交许多被冻结的伊朗资产，以及在黎巴嫩停火。

但这本将是

卫星图像显示沙特阿拉伯东西向管道上的 Al Mesba'ah 泵站受损 照片：VANTOR / AFP / GETTY

伊朗与 GCC 主要成员国两年来首次举行会议。原计划就船舶临时航线达成的协议将使伊朗对海峡的控制正式化，因为进入航线将位于伊朗水域内。

华盛顿尚未公开对拟议协议发表意见，而特朗普近期在社交媒体上的一些帖子——声称美国完全控制该海峡——似乎与航运公司的报告几乎没有关系。

由于胡塞武装在也门的推进，以及伊拉克一个受伊朗支持的什叶派民兵对沙特管道的无人机袭击，筹备数周的会议氛围迅速恶化。

Vantor 发布了高分辨率卫星图像，显示沙特阿拉伯 Al Mesba'ah 附近东西向管道泵站的损坏情况。该站似乎几乎被完全摧毁。

伊朗外交部发言人否认伊朗参与了管道袭击或也门事件。

作为对伊朗战争的回应，分布在海湾各地的美国军事基地遭到了伊朗的袭击。

赛义德·巴德尔·阿尔布赛迪 (Sayyid Badr Albusaidi) 阿曼外交部长

沙特阿拉伯支持总部位于亚丁的联合国认可的也门政府，在胡塞武装上周从荷台达港沿也门西海岸南下并夺取曼德海峡后，正试图重新夺回主动权。曼德海峡是一条连接红海与亚洲的狭窄水道，其战略重要性被认为仅次于霍尔木兹海峡。

据称，沙特的空中轰炸使得胡塞武装难以完全控制也门水道或红海中的战略岛屿。

胡塞武装领导层表示，其目的并非封锁红海的所有商业航运，而仅针对与沙特有关的船只。为了从南部政府控制的港口吸引流量，胡塞武装在其控制的也门西海岸港口提供低价费用。

人们普遍认为伊朗支持胡塞武装，但该组织在运作上也独立于德黑兰。反政府武装的最终目标是将沙特阿拉伯驱逐出该国，并完全控制该领土。

在也门长达十年的内战中，沙特阿拉伯在处理胡塞武装问题上尝试了不同的策略，包括做出让步，希望这个意识形态极其强烈的组织能达成某种权力分享协议。

也门政府表示，初步统计显示，在最近的胡塞武装推进过程中，已有150名平民死亡，200人受伤。据联合国称，约有85,000人流离失所。

走红的超级食物 日本发酵豆类 人气攀升

特朗普的接管 肯尼迪中心濒临破产

食物沙漠

南非商店如何应对饥饿问题

朱莉·布尔丁 (Julie Bourdin)

每天早晨，在前往她位于约翰内斯堡亚历山德拉镇区 (Alexandra township) 经营的洗衣店途中，措洛费洛·姆佩拉 (Tsholofelo Mphela) 都会在一个黄色集装箱前停下，买几勺糖。

集装箱内部，货架上摆满了装有豆类、大米和玉米粉的大罐子，以及装满早餐麦片和散装茶包的透明盒子。一个水龙头按毫升量供应食用油。收银员在为姆佩拉结算几兰特 (rand) 的费用前，先称量了她购买的商品。

她是家中八口人的唯一经济支柱，她每月一次的大宗杂货采购仅能维持大约一周。“有时，我没有足够的钱去买一袋 2kg 的糖，”姆佩拉说。一袋 2kg 的糖大约花费 60 兰特（£2.80）。

在名为 Gcwalisa 的“称重付费”商店——在祖鲁语 (isiZulu) 中意为“填满”，旨在解决南非最贫困社区之一的营养不良问题——她可以根据自己的经济能力购买所需量。

南非拥有发达的农业部门，生产的粮食足以养活其全部人口。然而，数百万人仍然在与饥饿作斗争。

一项 2024 年的国家调查发现，近三分之二的家庭受到粮食不安全的影响，近 $30\%$ 的五岁以下儿童患有与慢性营养不良相关的发育迟缓。

健康食品对许多人来说仍然遥不可及，这导致了肥胖和糖尿病等问题——近期，糖尿病已超过艾滋病和结核病，成为该国自然死亡的第一大原因。

“许多镇区都是‘食物沙漠’，人们无法获得营养食品，”Gcwalisa 的运营负责人约瑟芬·卡通巴 (Josephine Katumba) 表示。“我们为人们提供了这种可获得性——无论你有多少钱，至少能让你撑过接下来的几天。”

这家社会企业于 2022 年启动，目前在亚历山德拉经营六家基于集装箱的商店，按重量销售食品和基础家用产品。顾客被鼓励自带可重复使用的容器。

Gcwalisa 的称重付费模式旨在避免创始人迈尔斯·库贝卡 (Miles Kubheka) 所称的“贫困税”：由于无法负担大宗购买，贫困家庭最终为小包装商品支付了更高的单价。

产品直接采购自当地生产商，重点关注营养、高质量的食品。

卡通巴承认，按重量销售的低浪费商店并非新鲜事，但它们通常设立在较富裕的社区。“我们思考的是：‘我们如何针对低收入者、无收入者以及依赖政府补贴的人群——而这些人占据了人口的大多数？’”

这些商店很快将经营范围扩大到其他家庭必需品，如清洁剂、

▲ 迈尔斯·库贝卡和约瑟芬·卡通巴在其中一个集装箱店

南非的一家 Gcwalisa 集装箱店。这些商店使人们能够购买到负担得起且营养丰富的食品 摄影：朱莉·布尔丁 (JULIE BOURDIN)

止痛药和卫生巾。在一位祖母询问是否可以单独购买一次性尿布后，他们开始储备尿布。“她说他们把尿布放在阳光下晒干，拍掉灰尘后重复使用，”库贝卡回忆道。

2023 年，在南非经历频繁停电期间，Gcwalisa 在部分集装箱上安装了太阳能电池板。现在，这些电池板为数十户家庭和当地学校提供电力。

“这些红绿灯是由我们供电的，”库贝卡在开车经过亚历山德拉入口的一个路口时说道。

在黄色集装箱外，一群穿着校服的青少年正利用 Gcwalisa 安装的免费 wifi 做作业。库贝卡补充道，其中一家商店最近被注册为医疗取药点，允许患者在购买杂货的同时领取艾滋病或糖尿病药物。

在收银台前，65 岁的西邦吉莱·姆索米 (Sibongile Msomi) 看着收银员精准地称出价值 16 兰特（£0.73）的 Pine Gel 清洁剂，她用它来洗地板。“我刚领到养老金，但钱很少，”她说。

开普敦西开普大学食品安全卓越中心的负责人朱利安·梅（Julian May）教授表示，南非面临着一个“粮食系统悖论”。该国在粮食生产上能够自给自足，并且采取了在其他国家已成功消除儿童发育迟缓的政策。但他说，这些政策“未能动摇粮食不安全状况”。

他表示，主要原因之一在于“极高水平的失业率”，约 43% 的劳动年龄人口没有工作。与许多其他非洲国家（市场和非正式贸易商是重要粮食来源）不同，超市和零售商在南非占据主导地位。

“在低收入地区，负担得起的通常是不健康的：低成本、高热量、低营养的食物，”梅说道。

在一家设立在繁忙超市对面的 Gcwalisa 商店里，店主莱拉托·坎加莱（Lerato Khangale）将 100 克豆子装进纸袋——这足够一个人吃一顿晚餐。

她的许多顾客依赖每月 350 兰特（£16）的政府补助金。“他们说我们在帮助他们，因为他们负担不起生活，”她说。

坎加莱自己也开始在这些散装充装店购物。

“到月底，当情况变得非常困难时，我就把最后的钱花在这里，”她说。“就花那 20 兰特，这样我就能给孩子们买点东西。”

北约秘书长称火车遇袭不会削弱对乌克兰的支持

詹妮弗·兰金（Jennifer Rankin）布鲁塞尔报道 夏洛特·希金斯（Charlotte Higgins） 艾米·霍金斯（Amy Hawkins）基辅报道

北约负责人表示，俄罗斯对乌克兰靠近波兰边境的一列火车发动的无人机袭击，不会威慑基辅的西方支持者。

马克·吕特（Mark Rutte）表示，这次对客运火车的袭击表明俄罗斯总统弗拉基米尔·普京已变得多么绝望。北约秘书长表示：“他认为他能阻止我们支持乌克兰，能破坏我们的团结。他错了。我们的回应是增加支持。”

欧洲领导人谴责了俄罗斯的这次袭击，袭击发生在周日，就在一支由外交官和前领导人组成的车队通过后不久。乌克兰铁路公司表示，此前的一列火车搭载了英国前首相鲍里斯·约翰逊（Boris Johnson）且提前运行，可能正是俄罗斯袭击的目标。

英国首相安迪·伯纳姆（Andy Burnham）的一位发言人表示，这次袭击是“俄罗斯试图破坏我们对乌克兰支持的一次徒劳尝试。它不会威慑我们”。

法国外交部长让-诺埃尔·巴罗（Jean-Noël Barrot）表示，此次袭击的目标是“恐吓欧洲人，使他们气馁，尤其是分化他们”。

欧盟外交与安全政策高级代表卡娅·卡拉斯（Kaja Kallas）表示，这次袭击“显然是向西方世界传递的一个信号”。她在芬兰举行的一次北极会议期间表示：“我认为我们面临的问题是：我们如何解读这个信号？我认为我们应该采取相反的行动。”

“我们应该表明我们支持乌克兰，并且我们没有被吓跑，因为否则，你知道，俄罗斯将实现他们的目的，即让乌克兰屈服。”

卡拉斯的一位发言人补充道：“我们强烈谴责最近在乌克兰-波兰边境附近发生的俄罗斯袭击，包括针对客运火车的袭击，”并提到欧盟最近决定批准向乌克兰提供 900亿欧元 贷款中的一笔 61亿欧元 (52亿英镑) 款项。“我们将继续坚定地与乌克兰及其自卫权站在一起，”该发言人表示。

一夜之间，俄罗斯在乌克兰全境发动了涉及 450 多架无人机和导弹的袭击，造成至少 6 人死亡，40. 多人受伤。乌克兰空军表示，他们拦截了 405 架无人机和 4 枚导弹。

通常比基辅或东部前线地带更安静的乌克兰西部受到了严重打击。

此次袭击引发了波兰的防空警报。与此同时，欧盟外交官昨日在布鲁塞尔举行会议，就延长欧盟对 2,600 多个参与支持普京战争的俄罗斯个人和实体的制裁进行最后时刻的谈判。这些制裁将于今日到期，但由于在是否将某个人员移出名单的问题上存在争议，续签工作被搁置。

乌克兰总统弗拉基米尔·泽连斯基（Volodymyr Zelenskyy）周日在 Telegram 上写道：“乌克兰人每天都在战斗，以防止这些袭击进一步蔓延到欧洲。”

运营周日被俄罗斯袭击线路的乌克兰铁路公司表示，一列搭载了数名欧洲国家安全顾问以及约翰逊和瑞典前首相卡尔·比尔特（Carl Bildt）的外交火车在无人机袭击前不久通过了边境口岸。该外交火车提前出发，可能是俄罗斯无人机的目标。

据铁路运营商称，另一列搭载前美国中央情报局（CIA）局长大卫·彼得雷斯（David Petraeus）的火车在无人机袭击时仍停在亚霍丁（Yahodyn）车站。

波兰总理唐纳德·图斯克（Donald Tusk）在事后主持紧急会议时警告称，俄罗斯在乌克兰的袭击可能会影响波兰。他表示，波兰“不能排除这次升级也将影响我们的领土”。

图斯克表示，波兰已收到其安全部门以及盟国情报机构的提醒，称袭击很可能发生。“我们知道俄罗斯的计划将包括试图干扰、瘫痪甚至摧毁乌克兰边境口岸。”

俄罗斯在乌克兰与波兰边境附近对一列客运列车的袭击发生在外交官车队通过之后。 照片：MEDIAPIVDEN / TELEGRAM / REUTERS

[⚠ 低质量翻译，建议复核] # 让我们的无国界精神永存

亨利·格雷（HENRY GRAY）曾在全球多次危机中为无国界医生组织（MSF）工作。

“我在无国界医生组织断断续续工作了二十年，但我依然记得我参与的第一个项目。当时我们正在刚果民主共和国的一片森林中建立一家医院。该地区曾发生过激烈战斗，尽管冲突已经平息，但战争留下的创伤依然清晰可见。周边地区约有 125,000 人居住，但这里没有任何服务，甚至连最基本的医疗护理都无法获得。女性在需要时无法进行剖腹产手术；这里没有药物，没有疫苗，也没有疾病治疗方案。情况极其绝望，于是无国界医生组织派我们前往，建立并运行一家应急医院。

从一开始，我们的目标就是提供医疗护理并挽救生命。但我们知道，为了让这项工作能够持续并产生深远影响，我们不能仅仅提供医疗护理。我们需要让社区参与进来；我们需要雇佣当地员工，并培训当地人来承担我们正在从事的工作。于是，我们就这样做了。

看到这项救命工作带来的直接影响，感觉太棒了。但真正让我惊讶的是，看到这家医院如何改变了整个地区。我依然记得我们启动发电机，点亮医院及其周边灯光的那一天。突然之间，学童们开始聚集在灯光下做作业。在接下来的几周里，商业店铺纷纷出现，当地经济得到了增长。

这些年来，我在战争地带、埃博拉疫情爆发区以及自然灾害现场工作过，我一次又一次地看到，我们作为无国界医生组织所采取的简单行动，能为人们、他们的家庭及其社区带来巨大且积极的连锁反应。

但如果没有您的支持，这些简单的行动都无法实现。无国界医生组织不接受政府资金。我们由像您一样的人士提供私人资助。通过在遗嘱中为无国界医生组织留下一份捐赠，您可以确信，您的馈赠不仅将挽救生命，还将改变现在及未来的生活。谢谢。”

上方照片：4 岁的弗拉尼耶利（Franyeli）在哥伦比亚普埃尔托阿莱格雷（Puerto Alegre）的无国界医生组织流动诊所接受医疗护理。照片：©Natalia Romero Peñuela / MSF

“我们将始终致力于为需要的人提供护理。但这份传承并非我们独有。”

蕾切尔·克雷文（Rachael Craven）博士， 麻醉师兼主席

永远无国界——感谢您的支持

50 年多以来，无论人们身在何处，只要他们急需医疗护理，我们就会将其送达。我们曾在地板上、走廊里以及头灯的照射下进行手术。我们曾在战区帮助母亲分娩，并抢救被卷入爆炸的人员。

因为我们不接受任何政府资助，只有像您这样慷慨的人士才能帮助我们维持运转。这意味着我们能够保持独立、公正和中立，并能为任何需要的人提供护理。

通过在遗嘱中留下一份捐赠，您将帮助确保我们的团队能够始终迅速响应，毫不犹豫，且无国界限。

我们每 5 个项目就有 1 个是由遗嘱捐赠资助的

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周日，瑞典社会民主党的支持者在斯德哥尔摩参加选举之夜的集会 摄影：CAISA RASMUSSEN / BILDBYRÄN / SHUTTERSTOCK

瑞典左右翼阵营寻求夺权，组阁谈判开启

米兰达·布莱恩特 (Miranda Bryant) 北欧特派记者

瑞典各政党于昨日启动了组阁谈判，社会民主党领导人玛格达莱娜·安德森 (Magdalena Andersson) 开始尝试组建政府这一漫长且艰难的过程。

周日选举的最终结果预计要等到明天海外选票计完后才能出炉，但目前已有 $95\%$ 的选票完成计票，社会民主党及其领导的中左翼阵营以 176 个席位微弱但持续扩大地领先于右翼政党的 173 个席位。

极右翼的瑞典民主党此前一直希望首次进入政府，但在自成立以来首次失去支持后，目前看来已出局。然而，他们在移民法、融合和犯罪问题上的许多政策主张已成为主流，其中也包括中左翼政党。

安德森与即将离任的中右翼总理、温和党（Moderate party）的乌尔夫·克里斯特森 (Ulf Kristersson) 均表示，希望探索可能的组阁方案以确保权力。

在选举之夜的漫长等待中，两大阵营之间仅差一个席位。昨日上午，社会民主党领导人们在党内的斯德哥尔摩总部与安德森会面。目前仍不清楚该阵营是否愿意与左翼党 (Vänsterpartiet) 合作，而中间党 (Centre party) 此前已排除了这种可能性。

社会民主党新闻秘书托比亚斯·鲍丁 (Tobias Baudin) 表示，他一直与反对党同事保持联系，并呼吁克里斯特森辞职。克里斯特森此前在瑞典民主党的支持下领导右翼的蒂多 (Tidö) 联合政府。

“现在选民已经表达了他们的意愿，他们给克里斯特森本人及其政府打了一个不及格的分数，”鲍丁告诉瑞典广播公司 (SVT)，“他应该主动辞职。事实上，这并不重要。如果他不辞职，他也会被撤职。至于他如何处理，取决于他自己。”

中间党表示，在与社会民主党的谈判中，它将寻求一个具有“政治稳定愿望”且具有“明确中右翼色彩”、不包含“边缘政治”的政府。

在上一届社会民主党领导的政府中担任副总理的社会民主党人摩根·约翰逊 (Morgan Johansson) 表示，中间党的声明是一个积极进展，且整体而言“前景良好”。

他说，所有左倾政党都希望更换政府，并补充道：“这是出发点。我认为没有人希望我们陷入因僵局而导致重新选举的局面。”

与此同时，克里斯特森似乎在保留选择余地。周日晚上他表示，结果可能会导致一次“复杂的政府组建过程，最终结果如何仍有待观察”。

昨日，在与蒂多联合政府的其他领导人会面前，他拒绝详细阐述，表示将在获得最终结果后再进行对话。

“如果所有的红线依然存在，那么瑞典将完全没有政府，”他说，“我计划寻求可能存在的多种可能性。”

自由党和基督教民主党表示，他们不会与社会民主党合作。

在海外选票计完后，最终选举结果预计要到周末才能公布。

新议会将于 9 月 28 日首次召开会议，议长最早可在 9 月 29 日建议一名总理人选，但谈判可能会持续更长时间。如果议会在投票选举总理候选人时，超过半数投反对票，那么议长必须寻找一名新候选人。如果连续四次投票失败，则将自动触发重新选举。

2022 年大选后，组建政府耗时 37 天；2018 年，组建新联合政府则耗时 134 天。

瑞典广播电台的高级政治记者弗雷德里克·富尔滕巴赫（Fredrik Furtenbach）表示：“我认为最终结果将是左翼党或中间党其中一方必须做出让步。在此之前，可能会经历几次总理投票失败。”他表示，他不认为社会民主党和温和党——他将这两党描述为“传统的宿敌”——最终会合作在一起。他补充道：“总理的位置是无法共享的。”

“历史性挫折”：极右翼的登顶之路已被阻断——目前如此

米兰达·布莱恩特 (Miranda Bryant)

自从极右翼的瑞典民主党（SD）于1988年成立以来，其发展一直处于持续增长状态，以至于在周日的议会选举中获胜似乎已成必然。

2022年，该党利用选举收益——以及右翼政党组建少数派政府的紧迫感——几乎成功进入政府。

在总理乌尔夫·克里斯特森（Ulf Kristersson）的蒂德（Tidö）联盟中担任支持角色，使这个拥有新纳粹根源的政党获得了巨大的影响力，并得到了政治建制派的主流认可。

今年的选举曾被视为最终的确认，证明他们不再是被排斥的异类，而是政治重量级人物。在竞选早期，克里斯特森宣布，如果他的联盟获胜，瑞典民主党将担任关键的部长职位。但周日的结果表明，极右翼进入瑞典政府核心的进程已被阻断——目前如此。由于从瑞典第二大党跌至第三位，且右翼政党不太可能能够组建联盟，瑞典民主党似乎失去了进入政府的路径。

“我们（在周日）看到的是瑞典民主党的一次历史性挫折，”反种族主义基金会 Expo 的讲师兼研究员尼克拉斯·尼尔森（Niclas Nilsson）表示，“自1988年以来的每一次政府选举中，该党都在增长。”

瑞典民主党领导人吉米·奥克松（Jimmie Åkesson）在选举之夜晚些时候向支持者发表讲话时，显得明显震惊。他表示，他们失去了一些百分比点是显而易见的，但声称他们仍然是“赢家”。

奥克松似乎在暗示，他决定扮演团队协作角色并支持其联盟伙伴自由党，可能在导致该党失去支持方面起到了作用。

尼尔森表示，现在就说瑞典民主党为何流失选票可能还为时过早，但其部分支持者可能转向了温和党。另一个因素可能是，在联盟中度过了四年后，瑞典民主党再也不能声称自己是一个反建制政党。

投票率约为80%——在瑞典相对较低——这可能也起到了作用。

还有一个事实是，瑞典民主党所主张的许多观点已成为瑞典政治常态：反移民、对犯罪和惩罚采取严厉手段，以及一种要求移居该国的人员必须适应“瑞典”规范的整合态度。

瑞典民主党的影响力已经扩散到中左翼的社会民主党，后者在输掉上次选举后，将其犯罪、移民和整合策略向右翼转移。

如果温和党最终与社会民主党组成联合政府，那么瑞典民主党将成为最大的反对党。但如果社会民主党能够在没有温和党的情况下组建政府，那么瑞典民主党将再次被排除在外，这可能有助于引导国家对话、政治和社会规范远离右翼。

瑞典民主党如何应对这一时刻，将对其生存以及瑞典政治的基调至关重要。

但尼尔森警告说，如果该党最终为了激活其基本盘而进一步向右转，可能会将瑞典政治带向新的低谷。

大豆之星：日本豆类料理纳豆成为全球热门

贾斯汀·麦卡里 (Justin McCurry) 东京

它闻起来有异味，黏糊糊的，而且含有细菌——相当一部分日本人甚至不愿用长得像撑船杆一样的筷子去碰它。但是，

在作为那些意志坚强的日本食客的早餐食品数百年之后，纳豆正作为一种全球超级食物崭露头角，足以与泡菜、康普茶和开菲尔酸奶相媲美。

它的确切起源尚不明确。有些人认为它是弥生时代（公元前300年至公元300年）由佛教僧侣从中国引入日本的，随后在江户时代（1603-1868）成为农村社区的主食。

一个更平淡的解释是，纳豆是冲突中的偶然产物。根据平安时代（794-1185）军事指挥官源义家（Minamoto no Yoshiie）的传说，他的部队发现原本打算给马吃的炖大豆，在发现敌情后被留在酷热中发酵了数日，产生了一种黏稠且气味浓烈的特性。大概是因为战斗的压力导致饥肠辘辘，战士们还是吃了这些豆子，并且非常喜欢，于是将其献给了他们的主将，主将同样对此印象深刻。

ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS / 无论起源如何，这些豆子——有大、中、小之分，有时是切碎的“挽割”（hikiwari）风格——正进入世界各地的超市。

出口产品被包装在由小纸杯组成的泡沫塑料托盘中并冷冻，据制造商称，其营养价值在运输过程中不受影响。

◀ 在东京的纳豆工房（Natto Kobo）Sendaiya用餐，该连锁店专门经营这种气味浓烈的豆类料理 摄影： 贾斯汀·麦卡里/ 卫报

“如果我们相信某样东西对健康有益，我们往往会尝试新鲜或不寻常的事物，美国、澳大利亚和其他国家的人也是如此，”纳豆工房（Natto Kobo）Sendaiya的总裁伊藤秀文（Hidefumi Ito）说道。这是一家连锁餐厅，食客可以在这里品尝各种各样的纳豆，并配以米饭、炖白萝卜条和味噌汤。

纳豆可以直接食用，也可以加入芥末、洋葱丝、山葵和少许出汁（dashi）等配料，其魅力在于其多样性。它可以涂在吐司上，作为披萨配料，或者与意面或牛油果混合。

但一些日本人并不买账。这种料理在我国东部和北部地区仍然更受欢迎，在那里，它经常被用于汤中，帮助家庭度过漫长且极其寒冷的冬天；而西部和南部的人们传统上则更为怀疑。

不过，海外消费者似乎已经克服了对纳豆的初步抵触。纳豆的气味被比作一种成熟度极高的斯蒂尔顿（stilton）奶酪，豆子之间由黏液丝连接，食客可以用筷子通过重复的圆周运动将其“搅拌”至顺从状态。

▲ 纳豆富含纤维，且含有大量蛋白质和维生素K2

伊藤建议纳豆初学者加入橄榄油或辣椒油，甚至将豆子作为炸鱼薯条的配料，或者将其与番茄酱混合：“在平时吃的东西里加一点纳豆，稍微突破一下尝试范围。”

根据日本财务省的数据，纳豆出口量从2017年的1,752吨增加到2025年的5,248吨，其中中国消费者是最大的海外消费群体，其次是美国、泰国和香港。

来自美国的卫斯理·史密斯（Wesley Smith，右）与妻子在东京的纳豆工房Sendaiya用餐，他说他起初觉得纳豆“有点古怪”。

东京一家名为Natto Bar Koganean的店铺员工表示，顾客群体涵盖了每天食用该料理的当地人，以及在家里尝试过并想品尝“正宗货”的外国游客。

“纳豆过去是配在米饭上的东西，但现在它本身正成为主角，”该员工说道。他所在的专卖店销售无添加纳豆，提供十几种配料选择，以及用稻草和竹子包裹的版本。“我们还没有遇到过一个因为它的气味或质地而产生反感的人，而且它对健康非常有益。”

这些说法得到了证据的支持，即定期食用这种高纤维、富含蛋白质的食物可以增强免疫系统，改善消化并增加骨密度。

在2020年发表于《英国医学杂志》（British Medical Journal）的一项研究中，日本国立癌症研究中心表示，每天食用至少26.克（0.盎司）纳豆，与男性心血管疾病死亡风险降低$24%、女性降低$21%相关。这种食物富含维生素K2，可以抑制大脑炎症，而使其产生黏性的细菌则能降低血糖水平。

它在海外的部分流行是由社交媒体影响者推动的，他们拍摄自己打开并食用纳豆的视频。美国歌手Lizzo在TikTok上拥有超过2600 万粉丝，她在分享自己食用配有芥末（karashi）的纳豆米饭视频后，也激发了人们对纳豆的兴趣。

它在日本也正在挑战其“玛麦酱”（Marmite）般的两极分化地位（指人们对其评价要么极好要么极坏）。在纳豆行业协会2023年的一项调查中，近19%的受访者表示他们每天食用纳豆——这是十年来的最高比例。近三分之二的人每周至少食用一次。

在东京Sendaiya餐厅吃午餐的美国人卫斯理·史密斯（Wesley Smith）承认，几年前第一次尝试纳豆时，他觉得它“有点古怪”。不过他补充说，他现在已经习惯并喜欢它了，“就像习惯某种浓烈的奶酪一样”。

附加报道 法新社（Agence France-Presse）

说唱歌手 Macklemore 因加沙演讲被剔除 Sheeran 巡演

Adrian Horton

美国说唱歌手 Macklemore 在新泽西州大都会体育场（MetLife Stadium）舞台上高喊“自由巴勒斯坦”并引发关注后，已被剔除出埃德·希兰（Ed Sheeran）“Loop”巡演美国之行的剩余场次。

在 9 月 4 日歌曲之间的简短演讲中，这位格莱美奖得主告诉观众，他希望加沙人民和“被占领的约旦河西岸”知道“我们没有忘记他们”，这促使以色列美国委员会（Israeli American Council）要求将其从巡演中除名。

希兰美国巡演的承办方 Messina Touring Group 告诉《滚石》杂志（Rolling Stone）：“我们收到即将到来的美国巡演场馆通知，他们将不允许 出现在演出阵容中，否则将导致巡演取消并影响数十万名粉丝。在与利益相关者讨论后， 将不再参加剩余的助演场次。”希兰未立即回应置评请求。

这位来自西雅图的说唱歌手原定在希兰美国巡演剩余 10 场演出中的 8 场担任开场嘉宾，该巡演将于周六在费城恢复。据称反对 回归的场馆包括该市以及亚特兰大、夏洛特、印第安纳波利斯、达拉斯和坦帕的体育场。

作为巴勒斯坦权利的坚定支持者， 在其“Loop”巡演的首次亮相中发表了上述言论。“我说：

▲ 美国说唱歌手 在新泽西州舞台上高喊“自由巴勒斯坦”

‘自由巴勒斯坦！’我希望这些话能响亮且清晰，让从加沙到被占领的约旦河西岸的所有人都知道，我们没有忘记他们，”他在一段两分钟的演讲中说道。

以色列美国委员会声称，他的言论引发了一个问题，即“当开场嘉宾利用全球演唱会平台来推进单方面的政治议程时，界限应该划在哪里”。

在 9 月 5 日大都会体育场的第二次亮相中， 重申了对巴勒斯坦的支持，并对观众中的犹太成员表示：“对以色列的批评、对种族隔离的批评、反对种族灭绝，绝不是对你们的批评。我的信息是为了和平。”

在昨天的一篇冗长的 Instagram 帖子中， 确认希兰及其团队已将其从巡演中剔除。他说：“受害者是巴勒斯坦人民。”

世界

肯尼迪中心“处于破产边缘，可能会关闭”

约瑟夫·格迪恩（Joseph Gedeon）

据《华盛顿邮报》周日报道，约翰·F·肯尼迪表演艺术中心的领导层表示，该中心正处于破产边缘，最早可能在今天关闭。

该报援引获取的文件称，由唐纳德·特朗普任命的中心领导层认为，在建筑正面加上总统的名字，可能是避免迫在眉睫且“必然的财政崩溃”的唯一方法。

该报称，一份由这家华盛顿特区机构的受托人准备的报告声称，该机构将在几周内无法支付员工工资或承担维护费用。这份在原定于今天举行的会议前传阅给董事会的57页内部文件，还指出了与建筑维护积压相关的安全隐患，并建议立即关闭主楼。

《邮报》还表示，如果特朗普的参与得到认可，他将帮助该中心。该报称，这份报告代表了“特朗普接管肯尼迪中心的一个显著新阶段，自从他任命自己为主席以来，该中心一直陷入财务动荡、领导层剧变和诉讼之中”。

2025年2月10日，特朗普解雇了18名在乔·拜登任内任命的董事会成员。几天后，剩余的受托人——其中许多是最近被任命的特朗普盟友，包括白宫办公厅主任苏西·威尔斯（Susie Wiles）和第二夫人乌莎·万斯（Usha Vance）——投票选举他为主席，打破了数十年来现任总统与该机构保持距离的惯例。董事会还解雇了自2014年起担任中心总裁的德博拉·鲁特（Deborah Rutter），由另一位特朗普盟友理查德·格雷内尔（Richard Grenell）接任。

▲ 陷入财务动荡的肯尼迪中心

这次大洗牌引发了一波离职和取消潮。董事会财务主管肖恩达·赖姆斯（Shonda Rhimes）、国家交响乐团艺术顾问本·福尔兹（Ben Folds）以及歌剧演唱家蕾妮·弗莱明（Renée Fleming）全部辞职，演员伊莎·雷（Issa Rae）则取消了其已售罄的演出。随后几个月，订阅销售额大幅下降，《邮报》引用数据称到2025年6月已下降36%。

《邮报》还指出，特朗普与肯尼迪中心的关联（包括在建筑上添加其姓名）损害了筹款工作和门票销售。

一名法官在5月裁定，在中心正面添加特朗普的名字是非法的。随后在6月，一名法官驳回了阻止移除姓名的紧急上诉，特朗普的名字被移除。根据法院文件，董事会在8月再次投票决定在建筑上恢复特朗普的名字，并关闭场馆进行为期数年的翻修。

该中心的律师援引机构章程辩称，如果特朗普的名字不恢复到建筑正面，此前已承诺的数亿加元私人捐款将不得不退还。

该中心未立即回应置评请求。

路透社提供补充报道

美国总统唐纳德·特朗普昨日在空军一号上向媒体发表讲话 摄影：JULIA DEMAREE NIKHINSON / 美联社

美国废除电厂 排放规定 给G20带来打击

美联社 华盛顿

美国环境保护局（EPA）昨日表示，正在废除限制煤电和天然气电厂排放导致全球变暖的温室气体的规定。该机构称，此举将为工业界节省超过$300bn的成本，并有助于“释放”美国能源。

这项去年首次提出的规则变更，代表了与民主党总统乔·拜登和巴拉克·奥巴马应对气候变化及清理工业污染努力的根本性转变。

环保组织谴责这一变化，称这将以损害美国人的健康为代价。美国环保署（EPA）官员则表示，此次调整将允许公用事业公司为他们的缴费用户做出最佳决策，而不是被迫关闭陈旧或低效的电厂。

该规定预计将立即面临法律挑战。美国环保署还提出了一项单独的规定（预计明年最终定稿），该规定可能会阻止未来的政府监管电厂的排放。此前，美国环保署在今年早些时候采取行动，撤销了一项长期以来作为美国监管排放和应对气候变化核心依据的科学结论。

2月份的行动取消了所有针对汽车和卡车的温室气体排放标准。新计划将采用类似的逻辑，更广泛地撤销针对电厂等固定污染源的气候监管规定。

这些公告发布之际，美国环保署署长李·泽尔丁（Lee Zeldin）、内政部长道格·伯格姆（Doug Burgum）和能源部长克里斯·赖特（Chris Wright）正在休斯顿主持一场关于“能源丰裕”的G20部长级会议。其时间选择反映了石油资源丰富的德克萨斯州在能源产业中的关键作用，同时也可能是在冷落出席会议的欧洲及其他国际盟友，因为这些盟友一直推行环保政策，而特朗普政府正致力于撤销这些政策。

这些回撤举措旨在履行美国总统唐纳德·特朗普多次承诺的“释放美国能源”，并使公用事业公司更容易为家庭和企业提供电力。

环保和公共卫生组织称排放规则的变更十分危险，并誓言将在法庭上挑战这些回撤举措。

普京亲信寡头“为唐纳德·特朗普二儿的婚礼支付了部分费用”

露西·坎贝尔 (Lucy Campbell)

在有报道称一名与弗拉基米尔·普京关系密切的俄罗斯寡头为今年在巴哈马举行的唐纳德·特朗普二儿（Donald Trump Jr）的婚礼支付了数十万美元后，一名民主党高层要求对此给出解释。

美国总统的长子特朗普二儿于5月在两个私人岛屿上举行了为期三天的奢华庆祝活动，迎娶了棕榈滩社交名媛贝蒂娜·安德森（Bettina Anderson）。据 ProPublica 报道，这场婚礼的部分资金由普京总统圈子成员乌马尔·克雷姆列夫（Umar Kremlev）提供。

ProPublica 引用记录以及对三名熟悉该活动的匿名人士的采访报道称，克雷姆列夫支付了举办招待会及宾客住宿的其中一座岛屿的租赁费用，以及其他大额开支。

“为什么一名与普京关系密切的俄罗斯寡头要资助特朗普二儿在巴哈马的婚礼？”众议院监督委员会排名成员兼民主党首席议员罗伯特·加西亚（Robert Garcia）在社交媒体上质问道。“乌马尔·克雷姆列夫在总统之子身上花费了数十万美元。他得到了什么回报？我们需要答案。”

克雷姆列夫与普京有着长期的关系。他是国际拳击协会（IBA）的负责人，该体育组织一直受到俄罗斯国家能源公司俄罗斯天然气工业股份公司（Gazprom）的支持。据 ProPublica 报道，婚礼款项来自迪拜的一家 IBA 关联实体。

据报道，在参加婚礼派对之前，他作为陪同普京的代表团成员前往中国。就在一个月前，普京授予了他国家荣誉——友谊勋章。乌克兰已对克雷姆列夫实施制裁，理由是他与普京及俄罗斯安全部门关系密切。

宾客名单规模较小，仅约 50 人参加。据报道，克雷姆列夫没有参加仪式，但带着一大批俄罗斯人出席了派对。

目前尚不清楚克雷姆列夫为何帮助支付婚礼费用，以及他为何出现在那里，因为他似乎直到最近才与特朗普二儿见面——后者是特朗普集团的执行副总裁，个人净资产约为 3亿美元。

特朗普二儿的一位发言人并未否认克雷姆列夫资助了婚礼。他们告诉 ProPublica：“乌马尔是唐的私人朋友。”

“这是一位朋友赠送的极其慷慨的婚礼礼物，”贝蒂娜·特朗普在 Instagram 上写道，随后补充道：“友谊不需要政治动机。慷慨并不自动带有某种议程。有时，婚礼礼物就仅仅是一份婚礼礼物。”

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油价引发债券抛售，美国借贷成本触及 5%

理查德·帕廷顿 (Richard Partington) 劳伦·阿尔梅达 (Lauren Almeida)

由于中东战争推高油价，引发全球债券市场抛售加剧，美国政府的借贷成本自 2023 年以来首次升至 5%。

昨日，10 年期美国国债收益率（实际上即利率）触及这一具有心理重要意义的阈值。随着全球油价达到每桶 $108，华尔街再次出现抛售压力。

由于交易员正等待美国联邦储备委员会明日做出关键的利率决定，基准利率已稳步攀升；在 2 月下旬美国与以色列针对伊朗的战争爆发前，该利率今年曾处于 4% 的低点。

与此同时，全球油价上涨引发了对通货膨胀的担忧，而最新的价格波动是由一系列无人机袭击引发的，这些袭击迫使沙特阿拉伯关闭了一条至关重要的原油管道。

国际油价基准布伦特原油昨日飙升至每桶 $108.5 以上，当日涨幅为 3.7%。

此次飙升发生在也门受伊朗支持的胡塞武装于周日对沙特阿拉伯发动多次袭击，并占领了曼德海峡的战略岛屿佩里姆岛（Perim）之后，从而扩大了他们对该水道的控制。

此外，海湾国家推迟了与德黑兰就建立一条通过霍尔木兹海峡临时航道而举行的会议，这进一步推高了油价。霍尔木兹海峡是至关重要的通道，全球五分之一的石油和天然气供应通常经此通过。

石油交易员警告称，如果沙特阿拉伯不能在几天内重新开放东西管道，其出口库存将会耗尽。

天然气价格昨日同样走高，英国基准价格上涨 5% 至每 therm 208.73p，为 2022 年 12 月以来的最高水平。

来源：LSEG。注：截至 2026 年 9 月 14 日格林威治标准时间 0800 的 30 分钟数据。

尽管唐纳德·特朗普昨日声称乌克兰和俄罗斯已同意不攻击对方的能源目标，并坚持认为美国柴油价格的上涨是由欧洲冲突而非伊朗战争驱动的，但上述情况依然发生。

随着中东战争升级，担忧情绪日益增加，债券市场承受了巨大的抛售压力。美国 10 年期国债收益率在全球金融市场中被用作其他资产定价的基准，这意味着华盛顿借贷成本的跳升将对全球国家、企业和家庭产生影响。

昨日，欧洲各地的借贷成本也随之上升，其中 30 年期英国政府债券收益率升至 1998 年 3 月以来的最高水平。

在欧洲中央银行上周提高借贷成本之后，交易员正等待美国联邦储备委员会明日以及英格兰银行周四关于利率的决定。

由于投资者预计美联储将加息，而面对日益增长的通胀压力，Threadneedle Street（英格兰银行）将维持利率不变，分析人士表示，全球债券市场将面临又一周的波动。

根据 RAC 的数据，汽油和柴油价格创下新高，汽油平均价格攀升至 169.68p，柴油触及 191.68p。

泰晤士水务公司 (Thames Water) 在当地反对中 重新规划 1500 亿升 水库

菲利普·英曼 (Phillip Inman)

由于面临“灾难性后果”的警告，泰晤士水务公司（Thames Water）修改了在牛津郡计划建设的一座巨型水库的蓝图，试图说服监管机构允许工程继续进行。

位于阿宾登（Abingdon）附近的白马水库（White Horse reservoir）将储存1500亿升水，水面面积为6.7 sq km (2.6 sq miles) ——几乎与盖特威克机场的大小相当。

在去年的审查之后，由于需要容纳额外的建筑工程、搬迁相邻的太阳能电站以及重新规划当地的河流和溪流，场地面积扩大了三倍多，达到38 sq km，导致预计成本从 22亿英镑 飙升至 55亿英镑 和 75亿英镑 之间。

泰晤士水务公司表示，该方案（原名为东南战略水库方案）需要“额外的进入点以开展建设和环境缓解工作，例如创建新栖息地”，这需要“与土地所有者以及对可能受此变化影响的土地感兴趣的人员进行有针对性的磋商”。

针对原计划的公众磋商已于1月结束。

上周，进一步的磋商已经开始，预计将于下月结束。泰晤士水务公司旨在今年晚些时候提交规划申请。如果获得批准，主体建设工程可能会在 2032, 开始，到 2040 可供水。

泰晤士水务公司表示，由于东南部人口增长以及气候危机给全英国的水资源带来压力，因此需要建设这座水库。

反对水库开发团体（Group Against Reservoir Development）主席德里克·斯托克（Derek Stork）表示，这是一个有缺陷的概念，并且“在发生故障时具有产生灾难性后果的潜力”。

政府计划接管陷入困境的约克郡钢铁制造商

亚历克斯·丹尼尔 (Alex Daniel)

在政府昨日宣布将接管总部位于约克郡的英国特种钢公司（Speciality Steel UK）后，英国的一家钢厂将转为公有。

商业大臣乔纳森·雷诺兹（Jonathan Reynolds）表示，官员们将致力于收购该公司，以保护其在南约克郡的罗瑟勒姆（Rotherham）、斯托克斯布里奇（Stocksbridge）和布林斯沃思（Brinsworth）以及西米德兰兹郡的韦德尼斯伯里（Wednesbury）的 1,300 名员工的就业岗位。

这家破产的钢铁制造商此前属于大亨桑吉夫·古普塔（Sanjeev Gupta）的帝国，于去年被列入清算程序，此后的日常运营由政府官方接管人负责。

挪威钢铁初创公司 Blastr Green Steel 此前一直就收购 SSUK 进行谈判，但在6月敲定交易的截止日期过后，夏季期间接管的希望逐渐破灭。

雷诺兹将该钢厂及其员工描述为重要的战略资产。它是最大的“绿色钢铁”生产商，使用污染较少的电弧炉生产。

“我们不会轻率地干预私营公司，”他说道。“但我们也不能简单地袖手旁观，任由这家公司和 1,300 多个岗位的未来被默认决定。”

“致力于公有化收购将保持选择的开放性，同时我们将与当地领导人、工人、行业和投资者合作，为这些场地确定最佳的长期未来。这些场地可以在我们工业战略中驱动增长的部门（包括国防和先进制造业）的未来中发挥至关重要的作用。”

由于在前任所有者管理下长期存在财务问题，特别是在其主要贷款机构 Greensill Capital 于 2021. 崩溃之后，SSUK于去年破产。当时一名高等法院法官认定该公司“绝望地资不抵债”，在耗尽储备金后，银行账户中仅剩 65 万英镑。

▲ 位于罗瑟勒姆的 SSUK 工厂，生产“绿色钢铁”

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非洲首富将尼日利亚炼油厂上市，打造非洲最大IPO

Eromo Egbejule 阿比让

在位于尼日利亚的炼油厂通过非洲历史上规模最大的首次公开募股（IPO）上市后，非洲首富的财富可能会增加三分之二，达到近 600亿美元 (450亿英镑)。

如果昨日在尼日利亚交易所挂牌的当古特石油炼油与石化公司（Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals）能按计划进行，那么阿里科·当古特（Aliko Dangote）将在其 350亿美元 净资产基础上再增加 230亿美元。

当古特将此次发行定义为“面向人民的 IPO”，希望它能吸引机构投资者和零售投资者的广泛参与，最低认购额为 10 股，成本为 5,250 奈拉 (£2.94)。股票认购期为一个月，该流程将于 13 October 结束。

此次 IPO 特别向尼日利亚年轻人推销，将其视为积累财富和增长经济的一种方式。如果认购全部完成，该炼油厂的价值预计将升至约 65.22tn 奈拉。

当古特曾资助过尼日利亚的多次成功总统竞选，当地政策制定者在他选择的行业中赋予了他近乎垄断的地位。

去年在回应对其政治影响力的批评时，他表示：“我们选择在这里建设，在这里雇佣，在这里生产。不要用垄断的叫喊来阻碍增长。没有人被禁止投资。”

69, 岁的当古特通过水泥和糖业积累了财富。他在 20 世纪 70 年代末凭借其外祖父的一笔贷款创立了公司，其外祖父是西非最富有家族之一——丹塔塔家族（Dantatas）的成员。

他进军石油领域使尼日利亚首次成为精炼燃料的净出口国。在 2024, 1 月位于拉各斯郊区的 200亿美元 当古特炼油厂开业之前，该国一直依赖于出口原油和

当古特石油炼油厂的开业使尼日利亚首次成为精炼燃料的净出口国 摄影：MARVELLOUS DUROWAIYE / REUTERS

阿里科·当古特的净资产为 350亿美元

进口精炼石油用于国内，同时花费数十亿美元补贴燃料成本，并试图为其殖民时期的炼油厂注入活力。

当古特炼油厂的日产能为 700,000 桶，预计到本十年末将翻倍。今年，由于伊朗战争导致全球供应中断，该厂从中获益。

当古特表示，他将利用炼油厂的利润来刺激非洲大陆的增长，并遏制非洲对外国商品的依赖。

“作为尼日利亚人和非洲人，我们必须大胆地领导变革以发展我们的经济，”当古特在 7 September 的 IPO 签约仪式上说道。“只有这样，其他人才会非常认真地对待我们，只有这样，我们才能处于谈判地位，并获得我们应得的条款，而不是那些被强加给我们的条款。”

尼日利亚银行家、亿万富翁托尼·埃鲁梅卢（Tony Elumelu）称此次 IPO 是“尼日利亚的里程碑时刻，也是非洲的一个巨大里程碑”。

没有一个地方像

“与 AI 协作，而非对抗”：训练营向 Neet 群体传授技术以稳固就业市场

丹·米尔莫 (Dan Milmo) 全球技术编辑

在普雷斯顿巴士站对面的一家青年中心里，英国政府正试图应对国家经济面临的两大挑战：人工智能（AI）和青年失业。

人们希望其中一项能解决——而非造成——另一项问题。在兰开夏郡这座城市最近开业的社区中心 Vault 的一个房间里，一场“ 训练营”正在进行——这是在西北部开展的一项试点计划，旨在为 16 至 21 岁的人群提供 培训。

导师站在视频屏幕前，引导坐在长桌旁使用笔记本电脑的五名学员完成一项任务，该任务旨在强调 模型中无缺陷数据的重要性。

“能理解吗？”他问道。房间里的人们纷纷点头。参加这些课程的人要么是 16 至 21 岁且未接受教育、未就业或未接受培训（Neet）的人员，要么是可能进入该群体的人员。

青年失业在英国是一个问题。近 100 万年轻人属于 Neet 群体——在该年龄段的人群中占比超过十分之一。 的出现，根据你的观点不同，可能是就业市场的威胁也可能是福音，这是在应对青年失业危机时需要考虑的另一个因素。

参加该课程的胡代贾·拉菲克（Khudeija Rafique）看到了这项新技术的潜力。“无论我想从事什么工作，它都会非常有帮助，”这位来自伯恩利（Burnley）的 18 岁青年说道。

这些由纳税人资助的训练营是一项试点计划的一部分，面向 70 人开放。他们将参加一个为期三周的计划，旨在让 Neet 群体学习如何构建 工具，了解企业如何使用 ，并学习负责任地使用该技术。零售商 JD Sports、食品公司亨氏（Heinz）和 IT 企业 Agilisys 等合作伙伴将提供 学徒岗位，旨在让学员在课程结束时加入。

商业

目前有两种类型的学徒岗位：一种面向有志成为 营销专家的内容创作者，另一种则是加入需要 专业知识的 IT 服务台。如果训练营学员获得了学徒机会，他们将进入一个需要这些技能且有 相关岗位待填补的组织。

“这是一个弥合差距、提高生产力并将 引入组织的机会，”负责运行该计划的 IN4 Group 高管劳伦·蒙克斯（Lauren Monks）表示。

在人们普遍担心入门级职位的可用性以及 是否在扼杀该市场的情况下，掌握这项技术可以成为一种优势。

这是校园招聘人员的常见建议，但专家表示，根据他们进入的经济部门，这同样适用于 Neet 群体。

17 岁的雷米·西姆斯（Remy Simms）有兴趣申请内容创作者学徒岗位，并表示普雷斯顿的课程“改变了我对 的看法”。“它向你证明了你可以与 协作，而不需要与其对抗，”他说，“我对它有了更好的理解，也更了解它的运作方式。”

前工党内阁大臣艾伦·米尔本（Alan Milburn）在最近的一份报告中警告称，如果政府不对 Neet 危机采取行动，国家将“面临失去一代人的风险”。米尔本开出的药方远不止 训练营——例如，他呼吁改革福利制度——且他的报告指出，历届政府的就业计划都未能解决这一问题。

由于人们预期 将能够完成银行、咨询和法律等领域初级员工相关的“基础工作”，因此对 影响就业的担忧一直集中在毕业生就业市场，而非离校学生和非毕业生。

伦敦国王学院研究 与未来工作的布克·克莱因·特塞林克（Bouke Klein Teeselink）博士表示， 对非毕业生工作的影响尚不明确。

“与毕业生市场相比，我们对于 AI 如何影响非毕业生市场的洞察并不十分深入，”他说道，但他认为这一计划可能▼ 蕾米·西姆斯（Remy Simms，右）和哈米德·穆罕默德-阿西夫（Hamid Muhammad-Asif，下）都在参加 AI 训练营

摄影：CHRISTOPHER THOMOND / THE GUARDIAN

“这是一个弥合差距、提高生产力并将 引入组织的机会”

劳伦·蒙克斯（Lauren Monks），IN4 Group

有助于解决如何让更多年轻人进入劳动力市场的难题。

蒂塞林克（Teeselink）表示，这些训练营及随后的学徒计划能否成功的关键测试，将在于 培训的彻底程度，以及这些新人是否能真正提升雇主的生产力。“我希望这项政策的推行方式能够让政府回答这两个问题。”

那么，训练营能否改变 Neet（不就业、不教育、不培训青年）的人数？专家表示，这场危机没有单一的原因，任何全面的解决方案都必须是多方面的。

青年未来基金会（Youth Futures Foundation）是一家研究如何帮助年轻人就业的非营利组织，其副首席执行官克里斯·古尔登（Chris Goulden）表示，他不认为 是导致 Neet 人数增加的驱动因素。他认为，国家需要增加提供的学徒岗位数量，并引导那些不去读大学的孩子进入职业教育。

“我们的感觉是，自 [新冠] 疫情以来， 并不是导致 Neet 人数增加的驱动力，”他说道，“这更多地与心理健康问题和经济的普遍放缓有关。但这并不意味着可以掉以轻心，因为 每天都在创造新事物，它将影响许多工作。”

古尔登表示，如果“阶梯的第一级”正被 取代，那么让年轻人掌握这项技术就具有逻辑合理性。“教年轻人使用 是我们为他们准备未来的方式之一。”

在普雷斯顿，训练营的参与者们渴望采取下一步行动。当被问及想要成为内容创作者还是 IT 服务台学徒时，来自布莱克本的 16 岁少年哈米德·穆罕默德-阿西夫（Hamid Muhammad-Asif）表示：“这两个我都愿意。”

前对冲基金老板奥迪败诉，无法撤销伦敦金融城终身禁令

Kalyeena Makortoff 银行业记者

前对冲基金老板克里斯平·奥迪（Crispin Odey）试图推翻其被伦敦金融城终身禁令的法律挑战失败。此前，他因试图“阻挠”针对其性骚扰指控的调查而被禁。

上级法庭的法官维持了英国金融行为监管局（FCA）去年3月实施的禁令，但将拟定的 183 万英镑m 罚款降低至 153 万英镑m。

“我们认定奥迪先生缺乏诚信，”法庭裁决书称，该裁决涉及这位保守党捐赠者在 2021 年 12 月至 2022 年 11 月期间在奥迪资产管理公司（OAM）的行为。

“奥迪先生并非合适且称职的人员，监管机构得出禁止令是适当的结论是合理的。”

在OAM于 2020 年 9 月启动性骚扰内部调查后，多名女性员工对奥迪的指控浮出水面。

67, 岁的奥迪在指控公开后于 2023 年辞职。他曾试图阻止其对冲基金的高管采取任何行动，包括 2 次解雇整个执行委员会（ExCos）。法官表示：“他滥用其控制者的权力撤换执行委员会，以此作为保护自身利益并试图实现其目标的手段。”法官还指出，在 3 月为期三周的上诉听证会上，他未能承认任何潜在的伤害。

听证会上出现了一系列极具争议的承认，包括奥迪将 2005 年的一起事件归咎于他牙科治疗后服用镇静剂产生的影响，在该事件中，他被指触摸了一名女同事的乳房。他表示，该女性接受了他的道歉，并在该公司继续工作了八年。

针对奥迪的指控最早由《金融时报》（FT）在 2023. 夏天报道。OAM在几个月后停止交易。

英国金融行为监管局（FCA）负责执法和市场监督的执行董事特蕾莎·钱伯斯（Therese Chambers）表示，奥迪“傲慢的特权感以及由此产生的对正规治理的完全漠视，意味着[他]不适合在金融服务领域工作”。

已联系奥迪的法律代表寻求评论。

▲ 法官裁定，克里斯平·奥迪“并非合适且称职的人员”

天气

2026 年 9 月 15 日，星期二

今日正午 英国与爱尔兰

晴< / td><>薄雾< / ><>雾< / >< / tr><><>晴间多云< / ><>霾< / ><>< / >< / ><><>多云< / ><>< / >< / ><><>阴 / 暗< / ><>< / >< / ><><>阵雨（晴）< / ><>< / >< / ><><>强阵雨（晴）< / ><>< / >< / ><><>小阵雨< / ><>< / >< / ><><>雨< / ><>雨夹雪< / ><>小雪< / >< / ><><>雪阵< / ><>< / >< / ><><>大雪< / ><>冰< / ><>< / >< / ><><>雷雨< / ><>< / >< / ><><>雷阵雨< / ><>< / >< / ><><>温度, °C< / ><>< / >< / ><><>风速, mph< / ><>有风< / ><>< / >< / table>

预报

碳计数

夏威夷茂纳洛亚观测站每日大气 CO $_{2}$ 读数 (ppm):

<>< colspan="2">最新< / >< / ><><>13 Sep 2026< / ><>425.04< / >< / ><>< colspan="2">周平均值< / >< / ><><>06 Sep 2026< / ><>426.08< / >< / ><><>14 Sep 2025< / ><>424.48< / >< / ><><>14 Sep 2016< / ><>401.14< / >< / ><><>工业化前基准< / ><>280< / >< / ><><>安全水平< / ><>350< / >< / ><>< colspan="2">来源: NOAA-ESRL< / >< / table>

英国周边

大西洋锋面

冷锋

暖锋

锢候锋

...... 槽

高潮位

d>1236< / td> 5.3m< / >< / tr> <>Hull< / ><>0826< / ><>7.6m< / ><>2044< / ><>7.1m< / >< / ><><>Leith< / ><>0449< / ><>5.5m< / ><>1708< / ><>5.2m< / >< / ><><>Liverpool< / ><>0104< / ><>9.3m< / ><>1322< / ><>9.0m< / >< / table>

© Crown Copyright and / or database rights. Reproduced by permission of the Keeper of Public Records and the UK Hydrographic Office

<>0900< / ><>2.0m< / ><>2109< / ><>2.0m< / >< / ><><>Whitby< / ><>0607< / ><>5.6m< / ><>1829< / ><>5.2m< / >< / ><><>Wick< / ><>0121< / ><>3.5m< / ><>1340< / ><>3.2m< / >< / ><><>Workington< / ><>0127< / ><>8.2m< / ><>1347< / ><>7.9m< / >< / table>

日月

<><>日出< / ><>0635< / >< / ><><>日落< / ><>1914< / >< / ><><>月出< / ><>1201< / >< / ><><>月落< / ><>2015< / >< / ><><>上弦月< / ><>18 Sept< / >< / table>

预报与图表由 AccuWeather ©2026 提供

照明时间

<><>贝尔法斯特< / ><>1942 至 0659< / >< / ><><>伯明翰< / ><>1922 至 0643< / >< / ><><>布赖顿< / ><>1915 至 0637< / >< / ><><>布里斯托< / ><>1925 至 0647< / >< / ><><>卡莱尔< / ><>1928 至 0645< / >< / ><><>科克< / ><>1949 至 0710< / >< / ><><>都柏林< / ><>1941 至 0700< / >< / ><><>格拉斯哥< / ><>1935 至 0651< / >< / ><><>哈莱赫< / ><>1932 至 0652< / >< / ><><>因弗内斯< / ><>1935 至 0648< / >< / ><><>伦敦< / ><>1914 至 0636< / >< / ><><>曼彻斯特< / ><>1925 至 0644< / >< / ><><>纽卡斯尔< / ><>1924 至 0641< / >< / ><><>诺里奇< / ><>1910 至 0631< / >< / ><><>彭赞斯< / ><>1936 至 0659< / >< / table>

天气追踪

自周四以来，印度西孟加拉邦马尔达市周边的洪水造成了毁灭性影响。目前已记录到 3 人死亡，许多村庄以及布特尼地区受到影响。据报道，来自卡斯科尔的洪水侵蚀导致河流流量中断，并对布特尼产生了更严重的影响。已有 100 多艘船只被派往执行疏散任务。

在东巴苏德普尔，一座 6 米（20英尺）高的堤坝坍塌，使河道从约 170 米缩减至不足 46 米，除非进行修复，否则可能会导致进一步的洪水。此次洪水发生在恒河水位高出其“极度危险”水位约 75 厘米（30英寸）之后。

在美国，由玛丽飓风引起的海浪在 9 月 7 日导致加利福尼亚州橙县的大范围海滩侵蚀。部分海滩形成了悬崖边缘，露出了旧沥青、管道甚至旧码头的碎片。洪水损坏了房屋和车辆，留下一层沙子。据估计，海浪高度在 2.5 至 3 米之间。当地居民表示，海滩侵蚀并不罕见，但此次是最严重的案例之一。 Magdalena Shopova MetDesk

全球天气

阿尔及尔 阿姆斯特丹 雅典 奥克兰 布宜诺斯艾利斯 曼谷 巴塞罗那 巴士拉 北京 柏林 百慕大 布鲁塞尔 布达佩斯 哥本哈根 开罗 开普敦 芝加哥 科孚 达喀尔 达卡 都柏林 佛罗伦萨 直布罗陀 香港 哈拉雷 赫尔辛基 伊斯坦布尔 约翰内斯堡 吉隆坡 加德满都 喀布尔 金斯顿 加尔各答 洛杉矶 拉各斯 利马

里斯本 28 马德里 36 马拉加 29 墨尔本 15 墨西哥城 24 迈阿密 32 米兰 28 蒙巴萨 28 莫斯科 17 孟买 32 新奥尔良 34 内罗比 25 新德里 31 纽约 22 奥斯陆 17 巴黎 32 珀斯 25 布拉格 22 雷克雅未克 10 里约热内卢 22 罗马 30 上海 28 新加坡 33 斯德哥尔摩 15 斯特拉斯堡 30 悉尼 23 特拉维夫 32 特内里费 35 东京 27 多伦多 23 温哥华 18 维也纳 22 华沙 20 华盛顿 26 惠灵顿 16 苏黎世 26

足球

曼联真的像积分榜显示的那样糟糕吗？杰米·杰克逊 第 38 页 →

一级方程式赛车 马德里赛道在乏味的首秀后将迎来翻新 第 34 页 →

体育

该图像包含一条单一的实线，这是一个风格化或背景元素。根据规则 2，此类元素必须在 OCR 结果中被忽略。因此，修正后的 OCR 文本为：

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▲ 凯文·皮特森在作为专业导师回归英格兰白球阵容的第一天检查一把折断的球拍 JOHN WALTON / PA

原版“巴兹球”皮特森的回归，在板球真正需要的时候，纯粹成了某种内容产出

在担任英格兰板球体系顾问的任期结束时，吉尔伯特·埃诺卡（Gilbert Enoka）赞扬了布伦登·麦卡勒姆（Brendon McCullum）在修复球队文化方面的工作。埃诺卡最著名的身份是体育界“禁止混蛋”（no-dickheads）政策的架构师。这基本上就是“混蛋医生”。

混蛋？他绝不容忍。埃诺卡自豪地宣布：“那里一个混蛋都没有。”历史证明这是正确的。所有证据都表明，英格兰板球队中混蛋的数量确实不是“一个”。没错，零确实不是一。有道理。但其他所有数字也同样不是一，那些向另一个方向增加的数字——复数、倍数，以及无穷无尽的混蛋。

埃诺卡与英格兰队的工作持续到2025年。大约在那段时间，哈里·布鲁克（Harry Brook）与一名保安打架，雅各布·贝塞尔（Jacob Bethell）和乔什·汤格（Josh Tongue）在比赛前酗酒，而罗布·基（Rob Key）则以决定将这一切秘而不宣地树立了榜样。一个月后是努萨（Noosa），更多的酒精，本·达克特（Ben Duckett）在空间中迷失。在那个“没有一个混蛋”的王国里，接下来的戏码是关于洛兹球场（Lord's）宵禁的事，本·斯托克斯（Ben Stokes）大发脾气，然后是德比（Derby）和手铐。所以，是的。很明显。那个更衣室里确实没有“一个”混蛋。吉尔伯特，你试过警告我们。

从本周起，我们迎来了另一件事。在这个数量级不确定的混蛋大杂烩中，最新的“镇静剂”登场了。凯文·皮特森（Kevin Pietersen）回归，担任英格兰白球赛导师，开启从今天起在 Utilita Bowl 展开的为期三个月的过山车之旅。爸爸回来了。“禁止混蛋”政策从未完全说得通。谁有权决定谁是混蛋？按照日常标准，大多数顶尖运动员可能都符合条件。想要在用球做一些本质上毫无意义的事情上达到如此顶尖的水平，没有温和、理性的途径。

公平地说，埃诺卡的定义基本上是指不对队友表现得像个混蛋。有毒的元素会侵蚀内部文化。但这在板球运动中有效吗？板球一直是一项伪装成团队运动的个人追求。你们不需要彼此喜欢。只要拿到分数就行。团队精神只是表面的光泽。

在很多方面，皮特森就是这一点的活证明。这里我们迎来了“混蛋之王”，那个留着臭鼬色头发的笨蛋，一个推翻了两个政权（包括他自己的）的人。然而，在得分、平均分、击球率和影响力方面，皮特森也是英格兰队有过的最强的全格式击球手。他对球队也大有裨益，是灰烬杯（Ashes）系列赛和 T20 世界杯中的比赛胜者，也是现代板球最强英格兰时代的关键驱动因素之一。如果这就是所谓的“混蛋之境”，那就把它注入我们的血管吧。这一切绕来绕去其实就是想说：欢迎回来，凯文。无论最终结果如何，这感觉是对的。

有一种强有力的观点认为，所有顶尖教练的任命应仅基于教练能力。但在这个案例中，让我们破例一次。英格兰队将在接下来的 14 天内进行六场原本平淡无奇的白球赛。但现在既然是 KP 的英格兰队，我们谈论的是椭圆球场（the Oval）、布雷特·李（Brett Lee）以及那次狂野且具有奠基意义的 153 分；利兹（Leeds），在那里他面对南非队，在肾上腺素驱动的仇恨百次击球中挥舞手臂；卡迪夫（Cardiff），KP 在 2009 年在那里打出了那记“毁灭之桨”，那次扫击如此挑衅，以至于在好几天的时间里占据了报纸封底的愤怒头条。

这不仅仅是一场戏。将 KP 视为英格兰及威尔士板球委员会（ECB）的一项资产是有道理的。他那个时代最具影响力的板球运动员，真的不应该在荒原中四处漂泊。皮特森并非斯特劳斯或库克那种模范学生类型的队长，但后者实际上是过去的化身，而皮特森是唯一一个能清晰预见未来的人，并因此理所当然地遭到了残酷打击。KP 对击球的见解是正确的，对特许经营板球的看法也是正确的。当安德鲁·斯特劳斯将他打发去退役时，发表了一番关于缺乏信任的教训式演讲。那么现在，你打算信任谁的版本？

这不仅仅是演戏。KP 作为 ECB 的资产是有意义的

皮特森（Pietersen）才是最初的“Bazball”。而且“KP-ball”做得非常到位，取得了实效，且在当时具有革命性。没有人像他那样敢于冒险，或者像他那样构建对测试赛（Test game）的愿景——而这正是英格兰板球协会一直以来应该推广的。特拉法加广场的人山人海，那位拥有闪电般快手的朋克超级巨星，以及他面对穆塔亚·穆拉利达兰（Muttiah Muralitharan）打出的那个让新闻周期停滞的反向扫击六分球。在你们只剩下五球一轮的局限以及“超级油炸椭圆场王杜德”（Super Fried Oval Wangdoodles）之前，这才是应该推销的东西。

这将如何演变？他的职责范围是什么？在《奥德赛》中，最初的导师 Mentor 基本上是婴儿特勒马库斯（Telemachus）的保姆。尽管 KP 拥有巨星般的傲慢，但他似乎一直适合从事精英培养工作。作为一名球员，他倾向于与年轻队友打成一片，部分原因是他与年长者合不来。但他能洞察天赋。例如，让 KP 与安纽林·唐纳德（Aneurin Donald）合作——后者也是一名起步较晚且拥有闪电般击球速度的球员——这是一个令人期待的前景。

最后，皮特森还拥有与任命他的人截然不同的能量。Baz 代表的是氛围、酷劲和高尔夫。而 KP 则像一只“击球獾”，他热爱练习，沉溺于角度、握拍技巧以及关于后摆击球的探讨。

谁知道呢，这可能是麦卡勒姆（McCullum）最后的伟大馈赠。他还能保住这份工作依然令人惊讶，更不用说他尚未在这份工作中展现出任何卓越的能力。但任命 KP 是正确的。运气好的话，这可能会再次提醒人们存在其他方法，并促使麦卡勒姆意识到自己的过时。

板球

英格兰允许弗莱明在纽西兰担任电视角色

马特·休斯（Matt Hughes）

英格兰新任测试赛主教练斯蒂芬·弗莱明（Stephen Fleming）将返回纽西兰，在下个月“黑帽队”（Black Caps）对阵印度的测试赛和白球系列赛中担任评论员，尽管他已正式开始工作。

弗莱明昨天抵达英格兰进行为期 10 天的行程，期间将与测试赛队长乔·鲁特（Joe Root）以及英格兰和威尔士板球委员会（ECB）男子板球执行董事罗布·基（Rob Key）进行会谈。此前，在击球教练马库斯·特雷斯科西克（Marcus Trescothick）主持并取得 3-0 胜利的对阵巴基斯坦的三场测试赛系列赛中，弗莱明缺席了。

在 7 月下旬确认任命后，ECB 允许弗莱明延迟入职日期，因为这位前纽西兰队长在执教钦奈超级国王队（Chennai Super Kings） 17 年后，请求有时间陪伴家人。委员会在配合他的评论工作方面也同样灵活。

天空纽西兰（Sky New Zealand）目前没有

麦卡勒姆支持“卓越教练”带领测试赛队伍取得成功

弗莱明兼任评论员的角色对于英格兰主教练来说是前所未有的，但已获得英格兰和威尔士板球委员会（ECB）的批准。他的前任测试赛教练布伦登·麦卡勒姆在四年前被ECB任命时，离开了SENZ广播电台早餐节目的共同主持工作（该节目由他与前全黑队球员以色列·达格共同主持），不过他当时仍继续接受采访并担任嘉宾。

弗莱明在英格兰队的首次任务将是12月和1月在南非进行的三场测试赛系列赛，此次巡赛的规划将在未来几周与鲁特（Root）的谈话期间进行。这位53岁的教练在巴基斯坦系列赛期间与鲁特和特雷斯科西克（Trescothick）进行了交流，并在选人方面发挥了一定作用，但在不准备测试赛系列赛时，他似乎打算继续留在新西兰。

▲ 斯蒂芬·弗莱明将在英格兰停留10天，并与乔·鲁特进行交谈

与英国广播公司 Sky Sports 的关联，昨天宣布弗莱明将加入其评论团队，参与印度巡赛。该巡赛包括 2 场测试赛、5 场一日国际赛和 5 场 T20 赛事，时间为 22 10月至 1 12月。

体育

→ 接后页

在下周返回新西兰之前，他将参加在曼彻斯特举行的对阵斯里兰卡的第三场T20赛事——这是今天在南安普顿开始的系列赛的最后一场比赛。“我认为球队会对他的方法产生积极响应，”麦卡勒姆说。“他是一个出色的人，一个卓越的战术家，也是一名卓越的教练。我认为他将带领那支队伍完成一项伟大的工作。”

这两位教练是密友，在弗莱明接受新工作之前，他们讨论了这个邀请。“他说：‘你怎么看？’我说：‘我认为你会表现得很出色。这对你来说是一个绝佳的机会。’我也认为对于这个团体，对于英格兰板球来说，他是带领这支队伍前进的合适人选。”

由于身体状况原因，英格兰队在系列赛开始时将缺少菲尔·索尔特（Phil Salt）、雅各布·贝塞尔（Jacob Bethell）和萨姆·库兰（Sam Curran）；乔弗拉·阿彻（Jofra Archer）轮休，布赖登·卡斯（Brydon Carse）则因纪律问题缺席。上周在狮队对阵斯里兰卡的比赛中，用8个球砍下 31 分的德比郡击球手安纽林·唐纳德（Aneurin Donald）将作为开局球员完成首秀。“他一直在我们的关注范围内，”麦卡勒姆说。“他从第一个球起就能进入状态。他拥有原始的力量——惊人的天赋。”

卡斯的缺席源于上个月在德比一家酒吧发生的深夜冲突，麦卡勒姆表示，这对这位 31 岁的球员来说是一个“整顿自身”的机会。这位新西兰人在谈到其担任英格兰主教练期间的风格转变时表示，他现在不愿选择那些不能保证完全致力于职业文化的人员。“我希望我们成为世界上体能最好、最强壮、最稳健、最充满活力的一日赛和T20队伍，”他说。“这需要通过艰苦的工作、对训练的投入来实现，而且我们想要打出的高强度风格也意味着在场外有照顾好自己的责任。”

“我知道在测试赛体系中讨论过这一点，这与我们对球员的期望是一致的。如果我们想打这种风格的板球，那么我们需要在日常生活中践行它，而不仅仅是依靠技巧。你需要在场外做出正确的决定，让你成为最好的自己。我希望大家清楚期望是什么。如果你没准备好这样做，会有其他人获得这些机会。”

巴尼·罗内 第 33 页 $\rightarrow$

首场 T20 Utilita Bowl

18°

英格兰 AHT Donald, JC Buttler (wkt), HC Brook (capt), T Banton, JM Cox, WG Jacks, J Overton, LA Dawson, JC Tongue, S Baker, Adil Rashid

斯里兰卡 预计出场：P Nissanka, RVPK Mishara (wkt), PHKD Mendis, KIC Asalanka (capt), KJV Liyanage, MD Shanaka, T Ratnayake, PW Hasaranga, MM Theekshana, PVD Chameera, KKE Malinga

裁判 GD Lloyd (英) 和 JD Middlebrook (英) 第三裁判 RA White (英) 裁判员 JJ Crowe (新西兰) 电视 Sky Sports Cricket 广播 BBC 5 Live Sports Extra 逐局报道 在网页上关注我们的实时报道

Novig 争议 Sweeney 因“将女性体育色情化”而受到批评 新闻页，第 15 页 →

田径

亨特与克尔点亮夏季，但他们能入围 Spoty 短名单吗？

肖恩·英格尔 (Sean Ingle)

这应该是今年体育界最无需思考的决定。在田径运动俘获人心并占据头条的夏天之后，艾米·亨特 (Amy Hunt) 或乔什·克尔 (Josh Kerr) 应当赢得 BBC 年度体育人物奖（BBC Sports Personality of the Year）。

博彩公司的赔率表明许多人也持有相同看法：亨特是赔率相等的头号热门，克尔位居第二，哈里·凯恩 (Harry Kane) 则落后一两步排在第三。然而，克尔知道自己不能把任何事情视为理所当然。

2023年，这位28岁的苏格兰人在一场载入史册的对决中击败雅各布·英格布里格森 (Jakob Ingebrigtsen)，赢得了 1500 米世界冠军。但随后他遭遇了 BBC 的某种倾向——该机构不愿在六人的短名单中选择两名来自同一运动项目的运动员。相反，轮椅网球运动员阿尔菲·休伊特 (Alfie Hewett) 以及当年在赖德杯五场比赛中获胜四场的罗里·麦克罗伊 (Rory McIlroy) 获得了入选机会。

“Spoty 奖项至关重要，”克尔在布达佩斯赢得终极锦标赛 (Ultimate Championship) 后表示，“每个人在成长过程中都看过这个节目。这是一个巨大的奖项，如果今年能入围短名单，与一些史上最顶尖的运动员同台，我将深感荣幸。我很想去，但这并非板上钉钉，这就是现实。”

考虑到自 2017 年以来，BBC 仅两次打破这一非正式政策，克尔的谨慎是有道理的。第一次发生在 2019 年，当时运动员迪娜·阿舍-史密斯 (Dina Asher-Smith) 和卡塔里娜·约翰逊-汤普森 (Katarina Johnson-Thompson) 同时被选中。随后这种情况再次发生，足球运动员汉娜·汉普顿 (Hannah Hampton) 和克洛伊·凯利 (Chloe Kelly) 获得了入选机会。

然而，在这两次情况下，这些选择有助于平衡男女比例。但在一个凯恩可能赢得金球奖、马特·韦斯顿 (Matt Weston) 赢得两枚冬奥会奖牌、卢克·利特勒 (Luke Littler) 统治飞镖赛，且麦克罗伊再次赢得大师赛的年份，BBC 是否会同时选择两名田径明星并非定论。考虑到克尔打破了维持 27 年之久的世界一英里纪录，并随后赢得了世界室内赛、英联邦运动会和终极锦标赛，他的竞争力无疑比任何人都要强。◀艾米·亨特是博彩公司预测的 2026 年 BBC Spoty 奖项获胜热门 马丁·里克特 / 新闻协会 (MARTIN RICKETT / PRESS ASSOCIATION)

▲ 乔什·克尔在布达佩斯赢得了 1500 米终极锦标赛冠军

在周日晚上，他承认这几乎是一个完美的赛季。“在非奥运年，我无法取得比这更好的成绩了，”他说，“我是一名干净的运动员，以正确的方式竞争，并试图展示我的方式。你知道，这就是我能给出的全部。坦率地说，这是我职业生涯中最好的一年。”

明年他希望挑战 1500 米世界纪录，但他强调这并不容易。“人们不知道这对身体造成的损耗有多大。第二天感觉就像被巴士撞了一样。”克尔还希望亨特能入围短名单。“她度过了一个极好的赛季。她理应在名单之中。”

上个月，亨特成为了欧洲田径锦标赛 96 年历史上首位赢得四枚金牌的人。很少有运动员能像她那样具有如此强大的个人影响力，她在周末再次通过公开反对悉尼·斯威尼 (Sydney Sweeney) 将体育性化，以及谈论在经期比赛的困难来证明这一点。

“今年的一切都在于如何从所有的混乱中描绘出一幅美丽的画卷，”亨特说，“如果我身边一直有摄像组，那就像是一部恐怖电影。我参加了 40 多场比赛，飞了 60 趟航班。不会有任何一年比这更艰难了。这并不美好，也不总是性感。你很难在没有任何状况的情况下，以完全健康的身体出现在起跑线上。”

然而，她依然坚持前行。现在，亨特和克尔一样，希望 BBC 能将他们两人都选入 Spoty 颁奖之夜的名单，以此奖励他们所产生的影响。

“我认为如果能有两名田径运动员入围 Spoty 的候选名单，那将是非常特别的，”她说。“我每天都会收到人们发来的信息，说‘我曾经远离了田径，停止了观看，也停止了练习。但观看欧洲锦标赛真的让我重新爱上了这项运动，我开始再次训练，或者参加了我的第一次公园跑（parkrun）’，这真的非常特别。”

一级方程式赛车

西班牙大奖赛组织者将在首秀“车队巡游”后修改马德里赛道

吉尔斯·理查兹 (Giles Richards) 马德里

在首届大奖赛期间，车手们对马德里赛道（Madring）表示谴责，目前已在讨论修改一级方程式（Formula One）这座最新赛道的布局。

马德里站的冠军由梅赛德斯的基米·安东内利（Kimi Antonelli）获得，但这场比赛的特点是像一场“巡游”，在 57 圈的比赛中，超车次数未能达到两位数。车手们对失去机会感到沮丧，引发了一阵批评浪潮。

“我不知道怎么会有人看着这个设计然后觉得‘太棒了’，”获得第三名的卫冕世界冠军兰多·诺里斯（Lando Norris）说道，“你必须转弯和刹车，这基本上违背了赛车的目的。他们可以做一些简单的修改。我希望他们能这么做，因为这样对每个人来说都会更刺激。”

这场比赛远谈不上惊险，车手们大多在高速状态下彼此跟随循环，无法找到任何进攻机会。

马德里赛道（Madring）是一条由公共道路和专用赛道组成的混合赛道，建在马德里东北部前往机场途中的一座会议中心周围。从物流角度来看，它取得了成功，尽管 F1 统计的周末观众人数高达 352,000 人，但往返赛道的交通管理良好。

各车队对设施和空间感到满意，而且在排位赛的单圈运行中，许多车手很享受这条狭窄且技术性强的赛道所带来的高速且壮观的挑战。然而，从比赛角度来看，这条据报道耗资约 7100 万英镑m 建设的赛道令人沮丧。

该赛道由意大利人雅诺·扎费利（Jarno Zaffelli）设计，他曾表示希望“人们在离开时能意识到，建造一条不枯燥的街道赛道是可能的”。但在比赛结束后，这一目标显然未能达成，人们离开时看起来很枯燥。

“有些弯道需要修改，以创造更多超车机会，因为单圈跑起来很舒服，但在比赛中你只是被卡在后面，”安东内利说道。

体育

橄榄球联盟

波洛克否认与圣徒队续约，表示不排除出国发展

罗伯特·基特森 (Robert Kitson)

亨利·波洛克 (Henry Pollock) 坚称自己尚未与北安普顿圣徒橄榄球俱乐部续约，并且对包括在海外打球和尝试其他运动在内的“所有机会都持开放态度”。尽管外界普遍预计这位英格兰后卫最终会达成协议留在富兰克林花园球场，但目前他拒绝公开确认本赛季结束后的意向。

这位 21 岁的侧翼球员去年随英英爱尔兰狮队参加了巡回赛。为了让他留在冠军球队直到 2029, 年，俱乐部已向其提供了一份年薪超过 40 万英镑 的大幅加薪合同。然而，他的新经纪人埃迪·赫恩 (Eddie Hearn) 一直在推销波洛克，称无论是在赛场表现还是商业价值方面，他都是一名“七位数级别的球员”。但由于英超薪资上限规定，几乎没有其他英格兰俱乐部能够负担得起这个级别的薪水。

波洛克明确表示，在与赫恩的 Matchroom 经纪公司合作以最大化其收入潜力的这件事上，他准备表现得“自私”一些。“我正在认真考虑可以采取的不同方案和途径，”他说道，“我对新机会持非常开放的态度，并愿意去探索。我还很年轻，所以我认为评估这些选项并为自己做出最佳决定是正确的。”

“我的北安普顿合同到今年年底结束，之后我想我们会看看会发生什么。你几乎必须相当自私，思考什么是对你最有利的。如果那是留在这里，那太棒了，我会在这里待多久就待多久。如果不是，那么我会对新机会保持开放。”

北安普顿方面的人士依然有信心波洛克会选择留下，但任何未来的追求者也会被该球员明确表达出的、在某个时间点走出东米德兰兹郡的愿望所鼓舞。“我绝对想去不同的国家生活，探索新的运动和新的途径。目前橄榄球是我的首要任务，但你永远不知道未来会发生什么。”

▲ 普遍预计亨利·波洛克将与北安普顿签署新合同

圣徒队的橄榄球总监菲尔·道森 (Phil Dowson) 承认，波洛克的新合同尚未完全敲定，但表示随着下周新赛季的开始，协议正“越来越近”。“你可以想象，这很复杂，”道森说道，他的球队将于 25 September 星期五对阵纽卡斯尔，开始卫冕冠军之战。

“有一些需要整合的变动环节。但我很有信心。正如我之前所说，他想留下，我们也想留住他。显然这之间存在一些谈判，但这两点是非常积极的。”

道森还认为，波洛克的公众知名度不一定会影响他的性格或表现。“他一直很诚实且充满活力。有时这会被误解。我不认为他傲慢，我认为他非常有天赋。如果我有那种天赋，我也会相当自信。”

“但没有，我不认为他变了。队友们仍然在取笑他。他坐私人飞机去看拳击比赛，只要这不影响他的比赛表现，我就没问题。我确实问过他能不能借用私人飞机去斯里兰卡巡回赛，但他告诉我他正在使用！”

网球：本次美国网球公开赛是近期记忆中最糟糕的大满贯赛事

从设施状态糟糕到令人厌恶的网红，再到比赛结束时间过晚，本次赛事被严重问题所困扰 Tumaini Carayol

在法拉盛草地（Flushing Meadows）又一个极其荒谬的深夜兼凌晨时分，当最后的观众离场时，美国网球公开赛赛场上出现了一个熟悉的场景。几名工作人员聚集在赛事商店内天花板的一个破洞正下方，试图阻止水从破裂的管道中流出，以免损坏下方价值数千英镑的商品。

这并非令人惊讶的景象。今年进入亚瑟·阿什球场（Arthur Ashe Stadium）时，球迷们看到了一些不祥的告示：“在我们书写亚瑟·阿什球场下一章的同时，请原谅我们的外观。”必须承认，该赛事的面貌极其糟糕。在这个全球最大规模的体育赛事之一的走廊和房间里，感觉其主建筑正处于崩塌之中。

媒体中心似乎每隔一天就会出现一个新的漏水点，长长的塑料布从天花板连接到地上的水桶中，接住房间各处溅落的水滴。在附近的员工餐厅里，天花板一次剧烈的爆管导致餐厅关闭了一天。在整个赛事期间，一位同事开玩笑说，大多数心智正常的人类不会每天回到一个似乎随时准备坍塌的天花板下工作。在其他地方，许多摄影师报告称，在吸入摄影坑排水沟中散发的恶臭气体后感到恶心。

由于各种原因，这是近期记忆中最糟糕的大满贯赛事。当人们回顾时，2026年将被铭记为美国网球公开赛的“网红之年”，这群人的共同天赋就是把所有事情都变成关于他们自己的表演。把环形补光灯带到网球比赛现场，在比赛进行中大声拍摄 TikTok 视频，并在得分期间反复起身自拍，这需要一种特殊的愚蠢程度。人们普遍认为，所有参与这项运动的人都应该不惜一切代价帮助“推广这项运动”。然而，有时，设置门槛（gatekeeping）反而是件好事。与此同时，亚瑟·阿什球场内的嘈杂声有时大到甚至掩盖了阿里娜·萨巴伦卡（Aryna Sabalenka）的尖叫声。

虽然从上周二 11.30am 到周三 3.33am 之间进行的 16 小时网球比赛，提供了近期历史上最壮观的四分之一决赛日之一（四场比赛中出现了四组戏剧性的决胜盘），但这显然表明该运动存在功能失调，因为赛事组织者仍然没有优先寻找解决这些凌晨结束比赛的真正方案。

▲ 叶伦娜·莱巴金娜的卓越表现是负面情况中的一个亮点

不过，在激烈的战斗中，仍有许多值得享受之处。女子网球再次抢尽风头，前六名全部进入四分之一决赛，并且在 51 年来首次出现前四名在半决赛中将巡回赛其他球员全部排除在外的情况。萨巴伦卡在对阵 21 岁的温网冠军琳达·诺斯科娃（Linda Noskova）时实现逆转获胜，这是年度最佳比赛之一，她最终会反思自己在经历了如此噩梦般的夏天后，是如何出色地恢复状态并最终闯入决赛的。

叶伦娜·莱巴金娜（Elena Rybakina）出色地应对了诸多障碍：No 1 排名、跟腱伤势以及夺冠之路上最艰难的抽签之一。她在过去一年硬地场上的水平令人惊叹，而她安静、内敛的性格与萨巴伦卡强烈的外向性格形成了完美的对比。

与此同时，郑钦文在第三轮对阵麦迪逊·基斯（Madison Keys）的比赛中，第三盘从 0-5 落后追至 7-5；随后在第四轮对阵伊加·斯瓦泰克（Iga Swiatek）的比赛第一盘中再次上演逆转，这两次连续的翻盘令人震惊，她理应如此戏剧性地回归大舞台。伊娃·约维奇（Iva Jovic）和亚历山德拉·埃拉（Alexandra Eala）在激战至深夜的过程中，展现了不懈的竞争精神与深厚的友谊可以和谐共存。在经历了一年前发球状态糟糕到在场上落泪的低谷后，可可·高夫（Coco Gauff）闯入半决赛的表现反映了她巨大的进步。

相反，2026 年对于男子网球来说是糟糕的一年，这主要是由于年轻球员遭受了惊人的伤病。卡洛斯·阿尔卡拉斯（Carlos Alcaraz）和詹尼克·辛纳（Jannik Sinner）所面临的困难仅仅是冰山一角：杰克·德雷珀（Jack Draper）、霍尔格·鲁内（Holger Rune）、洛伦佐·穆塞蒂（Lorenzo Musetti）、亚瑟·菲尔斯（Arthur Fils）和若昂·丰塞卡（João Fonseca）在过去一年中都缺席了大量比赛。即使是那些在纽约参赛的人，仍在努力应对因长期缺赛而带来的后果。

男子组的抽签依然凭借一位特别冠军创造了今年最令人难忘的体育时刻之一。周三凌晨 3.40，在本·谢尔顿（Ben Shelton）战胜阿尔卡拉斯取得里程碑式胜利后，这位西班牙人终于离开了亚瑟·阿什球场。他在 4 小时 28 分钟的时间里将自己推向极限，多次呕吐，最终在第五盘的抢七中以微弱差距落败。但在因手腕受伤缺席四个半月，且不确定身体在回归后会有何反应之后，他终于能够再次参与到他热爱的这项运动中，离开球场时感觉找回了自我。当阿尔卡拉斯走在通往更衣室的通道中——那个见证过无数泪水的地方——他的脸上绽放出了灿烂而快乐的笑容。

高尔夫

美国索尔海姆杯调查在统计数据投诉中开启

尤安·默里 (Ewan Murray)

关于美国队在欧洲领土上失利的最新调查涉及果岭速度慢、过早庆祝的感知以及统计支持的奇怪缺失。安吉拉·斯坦福 (Angela Stanford) 的索尔海姆杯 (Solheim Cup) 队伍在荷兰被欧洲队击败，她警告吉姆·富里克 (Jim Furyk) 的赖德杯 (Ryder Cup) 代表团要注意这一点。

斯坦福利用贾斯汀·雷 (Justin Ray) 基于数据的证据来辅助决策，富里克明年在阿达尔庄园 (Adare Manor) 也将采取同样做法。在 15-13 败北之后，在评估雷的投入时，斯坦福显然有不满之情。“我在想该说多诚实，”她说。

“贾斯汀·雷非常有帮助。我们本周缺失了一些环节——比如，2023 年在西班牙时，有人在每场比赛中（甚至在练习中）为我们提供‘得分增益’ (strokes gained) 数据，但今年我们没有。因为我知道他现在正与赖德杯的吉姆合作，所以我刚才准确地告诉了他需要为吉姆做些什么。这些事情确实很重要，贾斯汀提供了巨大的帮助。是他让我们走到了这一步。”

当被追问为何没有她所提到的充足备份资源时，斯坦福说：“我们就是没有。你看，这就是为什么我不能对你太诚实。”

另一个因素是推杆表面。欧洲队队长安娜·诺德奎斯特 (Anna Nordqvist) 通过指出“我们九月份在欧洲”来撇清任何关于心理战的说法，但果岭的速度让美国队措手不及。“显然，我对（果岭）主管的了解程度没有达到应有的水平，”斯坦福半开玩笑地说道。“甚至当我们七月份来到这里时，果岭还更快。而且我认为这与下雨也没有关系。”

“话虽如此，让球队做好准备是我的责任。这是我唯一在自责的一点，就是我没有继续督促：‘我们必须想办法把推杆击得稍微重一点。’而改变推杆方式实际上是非常困难的。”

“我对自己有点沮丧。没有人对此有任何抱怨。现在是我在说，我希望我能更强调这一点：果岭会很慢。我们通常不在这么慢的果岭上打球。”

看来，责任足以分摊给每个人。

▲ 安吉拉·斯坦福对索尔海姆杯场地的果岭感到沮丧

ALLSTAR PICTURE LIBRARY / ALAMY

米克洛斯科 64 岁去世 前西汉姆联和 QPR 门将卢德克·米克洛斯科 (Ludek Miklosko) 逝世。米克洛斯科曾为捷克斯洛伐克和捷克共和国出场 40 次，他患有癌症。西汉姆联表示，他是一位“深受爱戴、具有启发性的门将”，将“永远在西汉姆联大家的心中占据特殊位置”。

足球简讯

摩纳哥球员布伦纳因庆祝动作陷入麻烦

法甲 (Ligue 1)

摩纳哥前锋帕里斯·布伦纳 (Paris Brunner) 正面临禁赛，因为他在周六对阵斯特拉斯堡进球后，用切喉动作庆祝，被移交给法国联赛纪律机构处理。布伦纳表示，他无意表现出不尊重，如果伤害了任何人，他深表歉意。他补充说，他的动作很“笨拙”，他“不应该这样做”。国家伦理与职业行为委员会回应称：“虽然这些道歉值得欢迎，但它们不能抹除该动作的事实，该动作可能构成违反尊重、树立榜样和自我控制的义务。”美联社 (AP)

韩国队主帅莫雷诺在首场比赛前否认使用AI

韩国队临时主教练罗伯特·莫雷诺在昨日公布首份球员名单时，否认在以往的工作中利用人工智能来准备比赛。莫雷诺于8月被任命，合同期至11月底。2025年9月，莫雷诺在索契俱乐部遭遇一系列糟糕战绩后被解雇，该俄罗斯俱乐部指责他依赖AI。莫雷诺表示：“如果你核实事实，就会发现报道中的很多内容被断章取义并夸大了。显然我会使用技术……但那些报道并非事实。” AP

厄瓜多尔

加拉多接任主帅，目标锁定2030年

马塞洛·加拉多已达成协议，将执教厄瓜多尔国家队直至2030年世界杯。厄瓜多尔足球协会在周日晚些时候宣布，50岁的加拉多将接替其同胞加布里埃尔·贝卡塞塞，后者曾带领球队在上一届世界杯中进入32强。加拉多在结束第二次执教阿根廷河床队后接任此职，在河床队期间，他赢得了七项国内冠军以及两座解放者杯冠军奖杯和一座南美杯冠军奖杯。加拉多的首场比赛很可能是9月24日亚洲巡赛期间对阵韩国队的比赛。除了寻求晋级2030年世界杯外，他还将面临2028年美洲杯的早期挑战。 AP

伊拉奥拉称前锋必须“提供帮助”才能使体系运转

安迪·亨特

安多尼·伊拉奥拉将利物浦在对阵富勒姆时缺乏灵气的表现归咎于前锋线，坚称他们需要付出更多努力才能使他的战术体系发挥作用。

这位主教练承认，球队在周六的这场无球平局中“退了一步”。他的中场搭档瑞安·格拉文贝赫和多米尼克·索博斯洛伊在限制富勒姆中场方面显得十分吃力，分别在5次对抗中仅获胜2次，在9次对抗中仅获胜1次。但伊拉奥拉认为，问题出在更前方的位置，即利物浦那支斥巨资组建的进攻线在压迫上的不足。

“这不仅仅是中场的问题，”他说。“当我们整体表现出色时，中场球员看起来会好得多，抢回的球也更多。他们表现更好并不是因为赢得了对抗，而是因为我们给了他们更多帮助去赢得对抗。”

“如果前场球员能很好地完成工作，那么后卫和中场看起来就会很出色。如果我们总是让他们陷入一对一防守且缺乏侵略性，那么我们的后卫也会陷入困境。如果你面前的球员在履行职责，你就会成为一个更优秀的中场或后卫，因为你能赢得更多简单的对抗，获胜机会也更高。这是一个整体问题。”

“这不是用某个球员替换另一个球员的问题。这就是我们必须给后卫和中场提供的帮助，这样每个人看起来才会更出色、更聪明，并处于更好的位置。”

在今晚热刺造访安菲尔德的联赛杯第三轮比赛中，伊拉奥拉不太可能继续派出亚历山大·伊萨克、布拉德利·巴尔科拉、弗洛里安·维尔茨和维克多·穆尼奥斯的前线组合。特雷·尼奥尼正争取在中场获得首发机会，伊拉奥拉确认乔治·马马尔达什维利将接替阿里松出任门将。

谈到周六导致英超四场比赛中出现第三场平局的问题时，他还表示：“与之前的比赛相比，我们抢球的位置太靠后了。我们没有丢太多球，唯一一次重大机会是我们失误的球门球导致的丢球。但我们抢球的位置太低，在这种情况下，你必须面对11名球员进行进攻，这使得制造差异变得更加困难。”

“在之前的比赛中，我们能在更高位置抢到球，利用快速转换面对更少的防守球员进行进攻，从而更好地利用空间。我们需要尽可能在高位夺回球权，因为这会让进攻端变得容易得多，我们会有更多一对一进攻的机会。”

▲ 利物浦的前锋在对阵富勒姆时难以产生影响

德泽比支持“敏感球员”索兰克在安菲尔德找回状态

大卫·海特纳 (David Hytner)

罗伯托·德泽比坚信多米尼克·索兰克将重新找回最佳状态，这位主教练明确表示，为了解决托特纳姆热刺的进球问题，他已竭尽全力。

热刺在周六英超联赛主场 0-0 战平埃弗顿后，今晚将在联赛杯中客场挑战利物浦；他们在该项赛事的四场比赛中均未能破门。不过，托特纳姆热刺在联赛杯第二轮主场以 5-1 击败了查尔顿。

索兰克是德泽比阵中唯一一名在英格兰顶级联赛有过高效赛季的前锋；他在 2023-24 赛季为伯恩茅斯打入 19 球，这促使托特纳姆热刺支付 5500 万英镑m 将其签下。这位 29 岁的球员在英超联赛中还拥有另外 22 个进球，其中 12 个是在热刺效力期间打入的。德泽比还拥有奥马尔·马尔穆什，他在 2024-25 赛季下半段从法兰克福加盟曼城后，在联赛中打入 7 球。除此之外，德泽比在本次赛事中可选择的进攻球员寥寥无几。

索兰克的季前准备因在俱乐部新西兰和澳大利亚巡演期间受伤而受到影响，他在对阵埃弗顿的比赛中表现乏力，并成为部分人士批评的目标。但德泽比将继续信任他。他知道只要索兰克完全康复，表现自然会随之提升。他打算让这位前利物浦前锋在安菲尔德出场。

“多姆是个敏感的人，”德泽比说，“他需要感受到充分的信心——他从我这里得到了极大的信心。我相信他肯定能打进 10-15 个球。他已经在伯恩茅斯进过球，那么为什么不能在托特纳姆热刺进球呢？这都是同样的运动。”

“[他]敏感是因为他很聪明。敏感的人通常很聪明。也许[他经历过]多次受伤，也许他觉得身体状态不是最佳，也许他想在场上尝试一些不同的打法。但现在他还没有完全恢复。他必须上场。在[安菲尔德]对他来说可能很重要。然后我认为他会变回在伯恩茅斯时的那个球员。”

德泽比继续尝试在场外增强球员之间的纽带。他表示上周再次带他们去梅费尔区共进晚餐并买单。“只要我还能留点钱买烟，就没问题，”他笑着说。

利兹

体育 英超足球 ▼ 随着利兹联在比赛中大肆进攻，多米尼克·卡尔弗特-刘易斯打入了球队的第三粒进球 GREIG COWIE / SHUTTERSTOCK

卡尔弗特-刘因领衔，利兹大胜状态低迷的纽卡斯尔

利兹 4 迈利 32og, 博格尔 34, 卡尔弗特-刘因 45+1, 奥卡福 59 纽卡斯尔 1 图雷 90 亚伦·鲍尔 埃兰路球场

一个良好的开局在何时会变成某种更具意义的事情？也许我们还没到那个阶段；也许已经到了。但在埃兰路球场这个混乱的夜晚，随着进球接连产生，人们很难不认为利兹的预期边界可能正在被重新定义。

询问那些在夏天密切关注利兹的人，他们的感觉是本赛季有可能出现一些特别的事情。在上一赛季的英超联赛中站稳脚跟后，平台已经搭建完成，而一个非常成功的夏季转会窗口似乎成为了西约克郡重现辉煌日子的催化剂。

但即便考虑到这种乐观情绪，今晚的感觉依然意义重大。利兹不仅击败了一支在马蒂亚斯·贾斯莱率领下开局亮眼的纽卡斯尔队，而且是将他们彻底击溃。凭借这场胜利的方式，丹尼尔·法尔克率领的球队目前在积分榜上排名第三。

或许，在这个要求一夜之间获得成功的世界里，对于两家俱乐部来说，这里也有一堂关于耐心的课程。当出色的多米尼克·卡尔弗特-刘因在半场前将比分扩大为 3-0 时，埃兰路球场的拥趸们可能在掐自己的大腿不敢相信，人们很容易忘记，在不到一年前，大批支持者还认为法尔克的时代已经结束了。

去年 11 月在对阵曼彻斯特城时决定改为三后卫阵型，保住了他的工作，并引发了状态的回升，使利兹在以如此辉煌的方式开启本赛季之前确保了安全。如果这种开局能通过周日对阵水晶宫的另一场胜利得以延续，那么这支球队或许能成就比许多人最初想象的更伟大的事业。

▲ 诺亚·奥卡福在打入利兹第四粒进球后激励主场观众

至于贾斯莱，这是他作为纽卡斯尔主教练遇到的第一个重大挫折，在他将自己的愿景烙印在球队的过程中，未来几个月可能还会有更多。但击败他们的利兹队的决策能力足以证明，耐心往往能带来回报，而贾斯莱及其球队对这个比分无可置疑。

利兹从始至终表现得极其出色。首个进球或许带有一丝运气成分，田中碧的射门在替补球员肖恩·斯图尔和刘易斯·迈利身上反弹，导致卢卡斯·霍尼切克判断失误，但这正是利兹应得的。两分钟后，杰登·博格尔头顶进詹姆斯·贾斯汀的传中球，将领先优势扩大到两球。

一段时间以来，博格尔一直是利兹表现最出色的球员之一，他是少数几个托马斯·图赫尔在本周晚些时候公布最新英格兰国家队名单前可能难以忽视的利兹球员之一。而在上半场补时阶段打入利兹第三球的那个人，入选国家队的理由或许更加充分。卡尔弗特-刘因的最新进球处理得非常精彩；一次冷静的终结使半场比分为 3-0。

有了詹姆斯·特拉福德把守球门，利兹拥有一批如果能保持这种状态就可能获得国际认可的球员；这是一个俱乐部呈上升趋势的明确信号。

他们可能也有一位处于该级别的教练。“足球比赛中永远没有完美的表现，但这场比赛在绝大部分时间里都是顶级的，”法尔克说道。“我们知道必须保持谦逊；我们可能没有最好的个人能力，但我们可以成为一支出色的球队。”

从半场后不久斯文·博特曼粗心地将球权交给安东·斯塔赫的那一刻起，纽卡斯尔实现大反攻的可能性就显得渺茫了，随后斯塔赫浪费了一个将比分扩大为 4-0 的绝佳机会。但利兹无需等待太久便迎来了第四个进球，诺亚·奥卡福在拥挤的禁区内破门，彻底锁定了胜局。

随着夜晚的推进，贾斯勒（Jaissle）的神情变得越来越恼火，不出所料，赛后他显得十分沮丧。“我们无法匹敌利兹联的强度，你可以看到在英超赢得一场比赛是多么困难，”他说。“我们会经历起起伏伏，而这次是一个巨大的低谷。一个艰难的夜晚。”

在最后时刻至少有一丝慰藉，替补登场后表现活跃的巴祖马纳·图雷（Bazoumana Touré）利用利兹联一次罕见的失误将比分改写为 4-1。但损害早已造成——此时主场支持者的庆祝活动已经全面展开。

利兹联 3-5-1-1 特拉福德（Trafford）；贾斯汀（Justin）、埃尔韦迪（Elvedi）、 穆哈雷莫维奇（Muharemovic）；博格尔（Bogle） （詹姆斯 James 83）、斯塔赫（Stach） （隆斯塔夫 Longstaff 88）、安帕杜（Ampadu）、 田中（Tanaka）（亚伦森 Aaronson 72）、 古德蒙德森（Gudmundsson）（巴德 Bard 72）； 卡尔弗特-勒温（Calvert-Lewin） （恩梅查 Nmecha 78）； 奥卡福（Okafor）（威尔逊 Wilson 72） 未出场替补 巴霍亚（Bahoya）、比约尔（Bijol）、泽特勒（Zetterer）

纽卡斯尔 4-2-3-1 霍尔尼切克（Hornicek）；德迪奇（Dedic）（利夫拉门托 Livramento 58）、蒂亚夫（Thiaw）、博特曼（Botman）、霍尔（Hall）；L·迈利（L Miley）（班巴 Bamba 80）、冈萨雷斯（González）（斯图尔 Steur 19）；墨菲（Murphy）（图雷 Touré 57）、费尔南德斯-帕尔多（Fernandez-Pardo）（威洛克 Willock 57）、巴恩斯（Barnes）；维萨（Wissa） 未出场替补 M·迈利（M Miley）、波普（Pope）、拉姆齐（Ramsey）、舍尔（Schär）

裁判：迈克尔·索尔兹伯里（Michael Salisbury） 出席人数：36,693

[...OMITTED...]

赛果

足球

英超联赛 (PREMIER LEAGUE)

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SSE AIRTRICITY 爱尔兰超级联赛

邓多克 0-4 圣帕特里克；谢尔本 1-2 德罗赫达；斯莱戈 1-3 加利法伊；沃特福德 2-2 德里

西甲 (LA LIGA)

比利亚雷亚尔 1-2 皇家贝蒂斯

意甲 (SERIE A)

科莫 2-1 帕尔马；都灵 0-2 罗马；国际米兰 5-3 乌迪内斯

板球

男子U-19一日国际赛 Wormsley 英格兰 302-9 (JA Nelson 74, T Lamey 58)。巴基斯坦 300-9 (Hamza Zahoor 86, HA Dar 56)。英格兰以两分之差击败巴基斯坦。

网球

WTA 瓜达拉哈拉公开赛（墨西哥） 第一轮：C Bucşa (西) 胜 B Andreescu (加) 6-4 6-3； K Day (美) 胜 E Kalieva (美) 7-6 (9) 6-4；S Stephens (美) 胜 C Monnet (法) 6-4 7-6 (5)

美式足球

NFL

纽约巨人 28-20 达拉斯

赛程

足球（除非另有说明，均为晚上 7.45） 卡拉宝杯 第三轮 伊普斯维奇 v 阿森纳 (8pm)；利物浦 v 托特纳姆 (8pm)；彼得伯勒 v 巴恩斯利 (7.30pm)；雷丁 v 布伦特福德 (8pm)；西汉姆 v 富勒姆

Sky Bet 冠军联赛 布里斯托尔城 v 林肯城；米德尔斯堡 v 米尔沃尔

Enterprise 国家联赛 奥尔德肖特 v 约维尔；波士顿 v 沃金；卡莱尔 v 福雷斯特格林；哈罗盖特 v 费尔德；索利赫尔摩尔 v 巴罗；绍森德 v 塔姆沃思；萨顿联 v 伊斯特利；韦尔登斯通 v 哈利法克斯；沃辛 v 霍恩丘奇

Enterprise 国家联赛南区 比勒里凯 v 布雷恩特里；特鲁罗 v 索尔兹伯里

Vertu 英格兰足球联赛奖杯 约克 v 纽卡斯尔 U21 (7pm)；切斯特菲尔德 v 曼城 U21 (7pm)；威科姆 v 切尔西 U21 (7pm)；斯温登 v 水晶宫 U21 (7pm)；莱顿东方 v 阿森纳 U21 (7pm)

William Hill 苏格兰超级联赛 法尔基克 v 之心；希伯尼安 v 基尔马诺克；马瑟韦尔 v 阿伯丁

William Hill 苏格兰冠军联赛 斯坦豪斯缪尔 v 帕蒂克

William Hill 苏格兰甲级联赛 罗斯郡 v 皇后南

KDM Evolution 奖杯 东法夫 v 马瑟韦尔

B 西班牙甲级联赛 阿拉维斯 v 瓦伦西亚 (7pm)；埃尔切 v 皇家马德里 (8.30pm)；巴列卡诺 v 西班牙人 (6pm)

板球（除非另有说明，均为上午 10.30） 男子 T20 国际赛 第一场 英格兰 v 斯里兰卡，Utilita Bowl (6.30pm)

Rothesay 郡冠军赛（四日赛之第一日） 第一组 埃塞克斯 v 华威郡，切姆斯福德；莱斯特郡 v 汉普郡，莱斯特；萨里 v 格拉摩根，Kia Oval；萨塞克斯 v 诺丁汉郡，霍夫；约克郡 v 萨默塞特，海丁利。 第二组 达勒姆 v 伍斯特郡，Riverside；格洛斯特郡 v 米德尔塞克斯，布里斯托尔；肯特 v 兰开夏，坎特伯雷；北安普顿郡 v 德比郡，北安普顿

男子一日国际赛 第一场 津巴布韦 v 澳大利亚，哈拉雷 (8.30am)

男子 T20 国际赛 第二场 阿富汗 v 印度，德里 (3pm)

女子 T20 国际赛 第三场 津巴布韦 v 南非，布拉瓦约 (12.30pm)

Greg Wood 的赛马预测

Redcar 1.53 Blake's Monarch 2.23 Lady Dublin 2.53 Law Of Design 3.23 Magic Boy 3.53 Obito 4.23 Startling 4.54 Betweensthesticks (首选)

Uttoxeter 2.00 Crystal Glance 2.30 Time In A Bottle 3.00 Ice Jet 3.30 Royal Rhythm 4.00 Axel Bleue 4.30 Time Interval 5.05 Martin's Denuo

Yarmouth 2.17 Archer's Grace 2.47 Watch Party 3.17 Flick Of An Eye 3.47 Javelot 4.17 Mythical Guest 4.47 Space Bear 5.18 Twilight Fun (次选)

Wolverhampton 4.28 Trust Sergei 4.59 Thames Waterman 5.30 Tredegar Square 6.00 Not That Guy 6.30 Siouxpersonic 7.00 R P McMurphy 7.30 Stipulation 8.00 Little Jaybee 8.30 D Day Major Winter

9月13日 曼城 (主) 0-1

从左至右：LEE SMITH / ACTION IMAGES / REUTERS; JASON CAIRNDUFF / ACTION IMAGES / REUTERS; TOM JENKINS / THE GUARDIAN

曼联是否真的像英超积分榜显示的那样糟糕？

卡里克率领的球队在四场比赛后处于积分榜下半区，左后卫和中场是问题所在

Jamie Jackson

曼联在英超联赛中排名第 13 位，前四场比赛仅获得 4 分：在赫尔客场 0-2 告负，主场 5-2 击败伊普斯维奇，在埃弗顿客场 2-2 战平，以及周日在曼城主场 0-1 败北。关于输给曼城的解释在于，这场德比战发生在周四欧冠击败沙巴队的三天后，而恩佐·马雷斯卡的球队在波尔图获胜后拥有多出 48 小时的休息时间。那么，明天将在卡拉宝杯主场迎战布莱顿，并于周日在联赛客场挑战富勒姆的曼联，是否真的像积分榜显示的那样糟糕？

卡里克是否在成为下一个索尔斯克亚？

在何塞·穆里尼奥动荡的任期之后，奥莱·冈纳尔·索尔斯克亚于2018年12月被任命为临时主教练，随后他在19场比赛中赢了14场，并于2019年3月正式接任。接下来的情况则是直线下降，10场比赛仅获两胜，曼联最终排名第六——这正是索尔斯克亚接手时的位置。上赛季，在鲁本·阿莫林崩溃并被解雇后，卡里克作为临时教练挽救了俱乐部的局面，并带领曼联升至第三。然而，在正式就任后，成绩却在恶化。仅仅因为索尔斯克亚当时面对的是一支不稳定的球队，且职位从未稳固（于2021年11月被解雇），并不意味着他的前队友兼助手会有类似的经历。但卡里克还需要经历多少场糟糕的比赛，杰森·威尔科克斯就会被指责为匆忙任命了另一位受欢迎的前曼联球员？足球总监可能对卡里克持有保留意见的一个线索，可能在于给予他的合同期限之短：合同有效期至2028年。

令人不安的被动 周日在老特拉福德，菲尔·福登在第23分钟被红牌罚下，曼联在面对曼城时拥有人数优势。但卡里克的球员们依然处于停滞状态，科比·梅努与尤里·蒂莱曼斯的中路轴心无法掌控局面，也无法为布鲁诺·费尔南德斯、布莱恩·姆贝乌莫、马特乌斯·库尼亚和马库斯·拉什福德这前场四人创造机会。在卡里克执教的12场英超主场比赛中，曼联首次产生了低于1.0的预期进球数（0.95），相比于那个允许埃尔林·哈兰德打入绝杀球的近乎闹剧般的视频助理裁判决定（正如 Pro Ref 后来承认的，恩佐·费尔南德斯干扰了比赛），这更应该让卡里克感到担忧。同样的问题在开局败给赫尔的比赛中也显而易见——在安德烈·桑托斯与蒂莱曼斯搭档的比赛中，几乎没有任何进球威胁，卡里克的球队简直是被动地缩影。

马特乌斯·库尼亚在迈克尔·卡里克麾下担任中锋首发时在联赛中尚未进球 - 在卡里克麾下担任中锋的首发场次 - 这些比赛中的进球数

进球威胁几乎为零，卡里克的球队呈现出一种被动的姿态。

缺乏新左后卫的影响开始显现

人们不禁要问，为什么整个夏天对左后卫的关注——包括纽卡斯尔的刘易斯·霍尔（头号目标）、阿森纳的迈尔斯·刘易斯-斯凯利和RB莱比锡的大卫·劳姆——最终却一无所获。识别出某个位置需要加强，然后却未能实现，这看起来很业余，而且不可能让卡里克感到高兴。相反，球队购买了三名中场球员：蒂莱曼斯、桑托斯和卡洛斯·巴莱巴。考虑到阵中已有梅努和曼努埃尔·乌加特（后者长期受伤），可以认为中场招募过多了一人。相反，用于桑托斯（4800 万英镑m + 200 万英镑m）的资金本可以投资在左后卫位置上。赛季进行到第四场，这一潜在失策被凸显出来。首选左后卫卢克·肖的职业生涯饱受伤病困扰，由于轻伤，他未能参加对阵曼城的比赛，卡里克被迫启用帕特里克·多尔古作为临时替代方案。在上一赛季的相同对阵中，这位丹麦球员出任左边锋并取得了进球。而周日，当约什科·格瓦迪奥尔从曼联右路传中由哈兰德在远端破门时，多尔古是那个挑战克罗地亚人的球员，而不是留在他的左侧防守区域盯防曼城的中锋。同样，多尔古的一次失误头球将球权交给了曼城，从而让对方发起了进攻。

曼联在面对成熟的英超俱乐部时，在公开进攻中创造的机会很少。中场搭档的公开进攻预期进球数，比赛分钟数

来源：Opta

来源：Opta

曼联的夏季签约需要开始发挥作用

曼联投入 1.48 亿英镑m 签下了桑托斯、蒂莱曼斯 (3500 万英镑m) 和卡洛斯·巴莱巴 (6500 万英镑m)。到目前为止的净结果如何？桑托斯仅有 1 次首发（在输给赫尔城的比赛中），而蒂莱曼斯虽然在全部四场联赛中进入首发阵容，但毫无存在感。再看巴莱巴，这位头号新援因伤至今尚未上场，这位喀麦隆球员预计要到国际比赛日之后才能回归。在赛季初这个阶段，如果成绩更理想，这一切都无关紧要。在上个月曼联在基尔代尔郡季前训练营的一次采访中，蒂莱曼斯承认没有其他俱乐部有兴趣触发他在阿斯顿维拉 3500 万英镑m 的解约金条款。在曼联试图重启赛季进程之际，这位比利时队长必须在球员和领导者两个方面提供更多贡献。

是时候让塞什科首发了吗？本杰明·塞什科在赛季开始时伤愈复出，并在曼联的所有联赛中作为替补出场，此外在主场对阵萨巴的比赛中首发并取得进球。这位斯洛文尼亚人在 2-2 平 Everton 的比赛中也打入一球，使他成为曼联在联赛中的并列第三高得分手，仅次于布鲁诺·费尔南德斯（3 球）和布莱恩·姆贝乌莫（2 球）。马特乌斯·库尼亚和马库斯·拉什福德在分别 4 次和 3 次首发中联赛进球数为 0，而塞什科作为天然 9 号位的直接冲击力，可能是对阵富勒姆时值得尝试的首发选项。

哈兰德的进球本不该有效，但 VAR 对桑德兰点球的判定是正确的

曼彻斯特德比的一项重大决定产生了一个令人失望的结果，而没有人比视频助理裁判马特·多诺休（Matt Donohue）感触更深。周日晚上，职业裁判协会（Pro Ref）确认，多诺休在曼城 1-0 获胜的比赛中，在恩佐·费尔南德斯处于越位位置的情况下允许埃尔林·哈兰德的进球有效，这是一个错误。

当 VAR 审视此类决定时，他们从进球时刻开始向后追溯。在本场比赛中，当哈兰德得分时，助理裁判因越位举旗。VAR 自动检查了场上的决定，并使用半自动系统显示哈兰德处于在位位置。随后决定推翻原判并判定进球有效。

然而，在哈兰德得分之前，处于越位位置且被利桑德罗·马丁内斯盯防的费尔南德斯，通过一个鱼跃头球争抢传中球。VAR 需要审视这一方面并做出两部分评估。第一个问题是：费尔南德斯是否明显尝试触球？第二个问题是：该动作是否影响了马丁内斯防守传球的能力？在这种情况下，两个问题的答案都是“是”。该进球不应被判定有效。

我认为多诺休观察了费尔南德斯的情况，但没有意识到这是一个违例。他是一名技术精湛的 VAR，但裁判也是人，这次失误会让他感到痛苦。他会从中吸取教训，但我会更广泛地为本赛季裁判的表现辩护。赛季已经进行了 39 场比赛，他们的开局非常好。我们看到了一些裁判处理拉拽违例的极佳案例，球在场内的有效时间更长了，裁判在管理球门球和界外球方面也做得更好。

在对阵曼联的比赛中，哈兰德的进球并非唯一引发争议的事件，关于应采取何种处罚存在严重的分歧。关于布鲁诺·费尔南德斯与菲尔·福登之间的冲突（导致曼城球员被红牌罚下），我听到了两种说法：两张红牌、两张黄牌，或者两人互不相让。

让我们明确一点：在曼联队长用脚趾踢他之后，福登将球鞋鞋钉刺入了费尔南德斯的腹部。迈克尔·奥利弗因暴力行为向福登出示了一张理所应当的红牌。费尔南德斯通过将右脚趾顶向福登的臀部挑衅了福登，但在我看来，如果奥利弗看到了这一幕，他会给费尔南德斯一张黄牌，因为这是一种相当幼稚且违背体育精神的行为。而福登的踢球动作

多诺休是一位技术精湛的VAR裁判，但裁判也是人，而他这次判错了，这将产生不利影响

属于暴力行为，而我认为费尔南德斯的行为则不然。

关于暴力行为的规则描述为，球员在“非争球状态下，对对手使用或试图使用过度力量或残暴手段”。福登是否对对手使用了过度力量或残暴手段？我认为他确实使用了。但费尔南德斯没有。这里没有残暴，也没有力量。显然，裁判没有看到那个任性的举动，但就更大的决定而言，裁判组的判定是正确的。甚至恩佐·马雷斯卡在新闻发布会上也表示，福登被红牌罚下是正确的。

前一天还发生了另一起引起广泛议论的事件：判定桑德兰在对阵阿森纳的比赛中获得点球。丹·巴拉德和埃兹里·孔萨在阿森纳禁区内倒地，约翰·布鲁克斯的裁决是点球。你可以很清楚地看到孔萨在拉住巴拉德，而且他确实只关注对手而没有关注球。随后，VAR裁判斯图尔特·阿特韦尔检查了该决定，必须判定裁判是否犯了明显且清晰的错误。

巴拉德也扯到了孔萨的一点球衣，并且有一些拉拽，但在所有这些琐碎细节中，这本身并不像是一个明显且清晰的错误，因此他们维持了场上的决定。值得注意的是，本赛季VAR裁判的干预程度较低。

很多人会说应该是点球。其他人则会说对我来说不是。阿特韦尔判定检查完毕并确认点球是正确的。然而，如果当时没有判点球，同样也不会有干预，因为这不属于明显且清晰的错误。这就是我们所称的无论结果如何都属于“检查完毕”。

曼城队的恩佐·费尔南德斯在埃尔林·哈兰进球前俯冲抢球时处于越位位置 ADAM VAUGHAN / EPA

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顶级运动员 亨特与 克尔为 入围 Spoty 候选名单 陈述理由

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体育

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卫报 星期二 2026年9月15日

The Ground Truth image displays a single, solid horizontal line, which is a stylistic or background element (like a rule line on paper). According to Rule 2, such lines must be ignored by the OCR result. The provided OCR content is "____", which consists of underscores. Underscores are not equivalent to a solid line and are not permitted under the “Stylistic / Background Lines (Ignore)” rule. Outputting underscores for a solid line constitutes an error, as it misrepresents the visual element and violates the instruction to ignore stylistic lines. Therefore, the OCR result is inconsistent with the Ground Truth.

误判哈兰德绝杀球的VAR裁判被停职

保罗·麦金内斯 (Paul MacInnes) 埃德·亚伦斯 (Ed Aarons)

在周日的曼彻斯特德比战中，判定埃尔林·哈兰德（Erling Haaland）绝杀进球有效的视频助理裁判（VAR）官员已被停职。马特·多诺休（Matt Donohue）及其助手布莱克·安特罗布斯（Blake Antrobus）被 Pro Ref 通知，他们未获得本周末英超联赛赛程的指派。

首席裁判官霍华德·韦伯（Howard Webb）在与管理团队对周末比赛情况进行审查后做出了这一决定。他们是否能复职将在国际比赛日之后重新考虑。

多诺休此前被要求核实迈克尔·奥利弗（Michael Oliver）判定哈兰德在第60分钟的进球因越位而无效的决定。通过使用半自动越位技术，多诺休认定这位曼城前锋处于正位，并推翻了奥利弗的判罚。但他未能发现恩佐·费尔南德斯（Enzo Fernández）在越位位置上影响了比赛，Pro Ref 表示，这一违规行为本应促使他建议进行场上审查。

这是本赛季首次因失误而导致裁判被停职。多诺休自2018年起担任英格兰足球联赛（EFL）裁判，本赛季除 VAR 工作外，还主裁了三场冠军联赛。他的 EFL 个人资料显示，他已完成 Pro Ref 的“增强型 VAR 培训计划”。安特罗布斯同样是英超联赛的助理裁判，并在前三个比赛日担任边裁。

▲ 哈兰德的进球在经过 VAR 越位检查后被判定有效

Pro Ref 在周日晚间的一份声明中承认在哈兰德事件中存在“判断错误”，据了解，该机构已联系曼联以解释这一失误。

与此同时，阿森纳正就周六判给桑德兰的点球向 Pro Ref 寻求解释，米克尔·阿尔特塔（Mikel Arteta）称该判罚在“这个级别是不可接受的”。据了解，在光明球场（Stadium of Light）发生涉及丹·巴拉德（Dan Ballard）的事件且埃兹里·孔萨（Ezri Konsa）被判点球后，这支英超冠军球队于昨日联系 Pro Ref 要求会面。

大卫·拉亚（David Raya）在恩佐·勒费（Enzo Le Fée）主罚点球时做出了精彩扑救，随后阿森纳以 2-0 获胜。

阿尔特塔赛后无法掩饰愤怒，据称其他阿森纳官员也对该点球判罚感到恼火。预计阿森纳将质疑为何在裁判约翰·布鲁克斯（John Brooks）指向点球点时，VAR 没有介入。

他们还可能提及这样一个事实：英超关键比赛事件（KMI）小组一致裁定，在上月底对阵阿斯顿维拉的胜利中，当布鲁诺·吉马良斯（Bruno Guimarães）被伊恩·马特森（Ian Maatsen）犯规时，俱乐部本应获得一个点球。

KMI 小组在上赛季裁定，加布里埃尔·马加良斯（Gabriel Magalhães）在 4 月份对阵曼城的比赛中因暴力行为本应被出示红牌，这将导致这位巴西后卫在争冠冲刺阶段缺席三场比赛。

阿尔特塔表示，在 100% 的开局之后，针对桑德兰的这次判罚“可能会让我们失去胜利和势头”，阿森纳担心裁判的失误和不一致性可能会决定冠军归属。

他们与其他英超俱乐部一样，正与 Pro Ref 保持定期对话，并预计会要求澄清，类似于孔萨和巴拉德在角球进攻中发生的此类事件是否会导致更多点球被判出。

目前已联系 Pro Ref 寻求置评。

克里斯·福伊（Chris Foy）的 VAR 评述 第 39 页 $\rightarrow$

GREIG COWIE / SHUTTERSTOCK

卡尔弗特-勒温 令纽卡斯尔 措手不及

多米尼克·卡尔弗特-勒温（Dominic Calvert-Lewin）及其队友在利兹联打入第二球后庆祝 比赛报告 第 37 页 $\rightarrow$

皮特森带来“不同视角”后英格兰队士气高涨

西蒙·伯顿 (Simon Burnton)

布伦登·麦卡勒姆透露，他是招募凯文·皮特森担任英格兰白球队专项导师的主要推动者。这位新成员接到的具体指令是“审视整个环境并对我提出挑战”。

据英格兰白球队主教练麦卡勒姆称，皮特森在就任第一天于 Utilita Bowl 监督训练，在此之前他发表了一番讲话，让球员们感到“兴奋不已”。

麦卡勒姆表示，当他最初接触这位 46 岁的前球员时，皮特森“以为我在开玩笑”。麦卡勒姆说：“然后他提到：‘我过去一直对你们相当挑剔。’而我说：‘我对此没有问题。’”

“这就是凯文加入的妙处。他作为球员拥有令人惊叹的资历，很多球员在成长过程中都将巅峰时期的凯文视为偶像。在过去的 24 小时里，他为整个团队带来了巨大的能量。”

随着马库斯·特雷斯科西克在结束担任测试赛队临时主教练 48 小时后，回归助理教练岗位并专注于击球训练，皮特森被告知不要专注于任何单一领域。麦卡勒姆表示：“我希望他能审视整个环境，并在私下就我们如何改进或采取不同做法对我提出挑战。”

“他看待比赛的方式与许多人截然不同。如果有人能看到稍微不同的视角，并指出能让你成为一支更强的球队或建立更好的教练结构的点，我认为这绝非坏事。凯文会这么做，我也鼓励他这么做。”

麦卡勒姆在红球主教练岗位上的长期接任者斯蒂芬·弗莱明于昨日抵达，旨在简要重新熟悉国内比赛，包括访问几个郡俱乐部以及位于拉夫堡的国家性能中心。他将与测试赛队长乔·鲁特以及白球队在他们的 34

我们的命运是否应由两个富翁及其 7200 万英镑m 决定？欧文·琼斯，第 3 页 在 AI 面前保持冷静并继续前行将是疯狂的 布里吉德·德莱尼，第 4 页 如何阻止末世法西斯主义抛弃地球的阴谋 深度报道，第 5 页

日志

《卫报》2026年9月15日，星期二

G2 每日插页 生活与艺术版 见内页

观点与思想

随着“超级” 厄尔尼诺 即将来临， 我们的领导者 现在必须发挥领导作用

比尔·麦奎尔 (Bill McGuire)

如果你认为关于日益严重的“超级”厄尔尼诺现象听得已经够多了，请相信我，你还会听到更多。赤道太平洋地区正在发生的事情令人瞠目结舌，这很可能标志着千年来全球天气最剧烈的动荡之一。在今年剩余时间以及 2027 年，它将在全球范围内引发一系列天气灾难，没有任何理由认为英国能对此免疫。

简要回顾一下，厄尔尼诺涉及赤道太平洋中部和东部的海水升温。这种情况每隔几年发生一次，是被称为“厄尔尼诺-南方涛动”自然周期的一部分，该周期在暖相（厄尔尼诺）和冷相（拉尼娜）之间切换。升温达到或超过 2℃ 的厄尔尼诺被定义为“超级”厄尔尼诺，但这一次，预计在今年晚些时候将达到惊人的 4℃ 峰值，其规模之大，以至于使用“极强（hyper）”一词可能更为恰当。

厄尔尼诺并非新鲜事。证明其存在的证据可追溯到数亿年前，其影响一直都是负面且具有破坏性的。今天的不同之处在于，它发生在全球变暖速度比以往任何时候都快的时间点上，并且因此被进一步增强，导致极端天气日益频繁。

要弄清楚仅全球变暖对厄尔尼诺产生了多少影响并非易事，因为其强度和其他特征会随时间自然变化。例如，在过去的 7,000 年里，厄尔尼诺和拉尼娜的持续时间都在稳步增加。这本身就是个坏消息，因为这意味着全球天气失衡的时间更长了；但除此之外，随着我们继续向大气中排放二氧化碳，更强烈的厄尔尼诺现象正变得更加频繁。

厄尔尼诺的强度与地球任何特定区域受影响的程度之间并没有简单的相关性。但考虑到太平洋上空大气中增加的额外热量达到了前所未有的水平，可以合理地预期，在接下来的几个月里，世界将经历异常危险的天气。

那么，英国的情况可能会如何？英国气象局已经警告，秋季和初冬出现风暴和多雨天气的可能性增加，因此，现在就开始为可能发生的洪水做准备将是明智之举。

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比尔·麦奎尔 (Bill McGuire) 是伦敦大学学院 (UCL) 地球物理与气候灾害 名誉教授。他的 最新著作是 《世界的命运： 气候危机的历史 与未来》

2

随着“极强”厄尔尼诺即将来临，我们的领导者现在必须发挥领导作用 比尔·麦奎尔 (Bill McGuire)

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卫报 (The Guardian)

创立于 1821 年，由 Scott Trust 独立所有 N° 56,012 “评论自由……但事实神圣” CP Scott

规模严重——甚至可能是史诗级的。毕竟，上一次大规模的厄尔尼诺现象（2015-16, 年）导致了英国有记录以来最极端的洪水。强风同样令人担忧，因为许多在今年夏天极端干旱条件下被削弱的树木，可能会在即将到来的强风暴中被吹倒。强厄尔尼诺还可能在冬季后期给英国带来北极冷空气，尽管这一点远非定论。厄尔尼诺是否会在明年夏天催生更多打破纪录的高温，仍有待观察。

但由于强厄尔尼诺对全球经济产生的毁灭性影响，英国也可能会受到间接影响。2008 年的大衰退导致全球 GDP 减少了约 $2tn (£1.5tn)，而 1997-98 年的超级厄尔尼诺则导致了 $5.7tn 的损失。这在很大程度上是因为强厄尔尼诺之后，经济活动的抑制状态可能持续长达 14 年。90年代后期的厄尔尼诺——20世纪最强的一次——峰值温度为 2.4℃；而当前这次已经达到了 2.7℃，这意味着对英国粮食安全、生活成本和整体经济福祉产生重大影响将不足为奇。

无论英国在未来几个月的情况如何，与地球上其他地方相比，其面临的挑战可能都显得微不足道。厄尔尼诺增强的影响已经能被深刻感受到，尤其是在印度，那里正经历着 20 年来最弱的季风。

随着厄尔尼诺在今年晚些时候达到峰值并缓慢消退，南美洲西海岸和美国西部预计会出现暴雨、严重洪水和泥石流。与此同时，热浪、干旱和野火将成为亚马逊地区、南亚、东南亚以及澳大利亚大部分地区的常态。

一个微小的积极面是，大西洋飓风活动在厄尔尼诺年份往往会被抑制，但这被太平洋台风的增强所抵消。

尤其是加利福尼亚州，正在为最糟糕的情况做准备，主要是因为过去的超级厄尔尼诺曾给该州带来历史上最潮湿的时期。这是因为厄尔尼诺年份倾向于促进“大气河”的形成——这些异常的降水流从太平洋横跨该州，持续数日，倾泻下巨量的雨水。这种情况导致了 1862, 年的大洪水，使该州大片地区被淹没，包括中央谷地一段 300 英里（480公里）的区域。

最大的担忧是，这次前所未有的厄尔尼诺将使名为 ARkStorm 的超级风暴最坏情况成为现实。如果发生这种情况，预计数百万个家庭和企业将被淹没，基础设施将遭受长期破坏，经济损失总计将接近 $1tn。此外，考虑到科技公司将受到严重影响，连锁反应可能会给全球经济带来又一次沉重打击。

厄尔尼诺的影响将一直持续到 2027, 年，几乎可以肯定地确保明年成为有记录以来最热的一年，且可能以较大幅度打破纪录。全球平均气温达到比工业化前水平至少高出 1.6℃，甚至很有可能达到 1.7℃ 或更高，这并不出人意料。

每增加一吨 $CO_{2}$ 到大气中，都会助力厄尔尼诺变得更强，而如果能想象即将到来的这个巨兽能成为一次警钟，那就太好了。但事实并非如此。各国政府继续撤回绿色政策，化石燃料公司仍在计划扩张。

随着今年的超级厄尔尼诺现象迫在眉睫，英国政府在准备批准从北海开采更多化石燃料的同时，却建议我们储备食物。认知失调甚至不足以形容这种思维方式的愚蠢。这简直是编都编不出来。

英国改革党（Reform UK）

不可允许加密货币亿万富翁颠覆民主准则

上周末捐赠给英国改革党（Reform UK）的惊人金额，改变了目前正在议会审议的《人民代表法案》的背景。本·德洛（Ben Delo）和克里斯托弗·哈本（Christopher Harborne）这两位长期居住在海外的加密货币亿万富翁宣布各捐赠 3600 万英镑m，这使得安迪·伯纳姆（Andy Burnham）决定不对政治捐款设定上限——这一决定在他就任首相前曾获得其支持——显得更加错误。幸运的是，英国上议院仍有机会对该法案进行修正。上议院应当抓住机会，对政治捐款和政党支出均设定有意义的限制。

目前尚不清楚这两名人士是否符合赖克罗夫特（Rycroft）关于政治中外国影响审查报告中所设定的标准。该报告规定，对于在英国居住不满一年的人员，每年的捐款上限为 10 万英镑。德洛先生此前居住在香港，而哈本先生的部分时间在泰国；奈杰尔·法拉奇（Nigel Farage）昨天表示，他不清楚他们的行程细节。尽管部长们会对因资格问题而引发法律诉讼的前景感到担忧，但他们必须采取一切必要措施确保规则得到遵守。

英国改革党的支持率较一年前有所下降，当时民调显示其领先于工党；且较5月再次下降，当时该党在地方选举中赢得了超过 1,400 个席位。在经历了由财务调查主导的夏天，且警方已将调查范围扩大至第四频道（Channel 4,）播出的视频（视频中官员们显然在讨论规避选举法的方法）之后，奈杰尔·法拉奇的不受欢迎程度已达到 10 年来的最高点。虽然这种局势的逆转给对手带来了宽慰，但绝不能掉以轻心。在 2024 年，$34\%$ 的选票为工党赢得了巨大的多数席位。法拉奇出任首相的危险，以及这可能给英国政治和公民社会带来的所有影响，依然真实存在。

法拉奇不再像以前那样宣传他与唐纳德·特朗普（Donald Trump）的亲密关系。但他与这位美国总统一样，对加密货币充满热情，而这正是更广泛的激进金融去监管议程的一部分。去年，他在一次会议上表示，他希望将英国打造成为“全球首屈一指的加密货币中心”。难怪哈本先生似乎在与德洛先生竞争成为该党最大的支持者——德洛先生在 2022 年因未能实施充分的反洗钱控制而被定罪，随后获得了特朗普先生的赦免。

赖克罗夫特审查报告聚焦于外国影响是有充分理由的；因为选择政府应该是英国选民的权利。但部长们必须跳出外部干预这个狭隘的问题。除了捐款和竞选支出上限外，他们还应监管整个选举周期内的政党支出。否则，超级富豪捐赠者可以在选举期间的限制生效前，支付数年的民调、广告、数据和人员费用。

预计工会将发表声明，信号性地表示转变态度并支持设定捐款上限。部长们需要找到一种豁免机制，以保护来自工会成员的捐款。此外，还需要一种机制来防止慈善机构成为富人资助政党的后门。当极少数富人让政治看起来像一场拍卖会，颠覆数十年建立起来的准则时，民主就被削弱了。两个富人能够通过挥金如土地获得在英国政治生活中如此有影响力的地位，这完全是错误的。

爱尔兰

爱尔兰统一辩论的动态变化需谨慎对待

十年前，民主统一党（DUP）将脱欧视为在抵制未来爱尔兰统一压力斗争中的潜在转折点。正如作家兼记者芬坦·奥图尔（Fintan O'Toole）在去年发表的一篇文章中所写，DUP曾希望 2016 年的全民公投能带来“双重退出”。脱欧不仅意味着英国退出欧盟，还将成为一次与爱尔兰共和国的分离行为，“它将扭转向一体化缓慢漂移的趋势”。事实证明，这种判断往轻了说，是存在严重缺陷的。

自 2016 年以来的发展方向恰恰相反。英国与布鲁塞尔的离婚协议最终并未在北爱尔兰与爱尔兰之间建立一道硬边界（否则将灾难性地破坏《贝尔法斯特协议》 / Good Friday agreement），而是在爱尔兰海建立了一道边界。在欧盟单一市场内，南北双方进一步经济一体化的逻辑得到了加强。

与此同时，人口结构的改变意味着北爱尔兰拥有天主教背景的人数现在已超过新教背景的人数，这改变了政治计算。2022 年， Sinn Féin 在斯托蒙特（Stormont）选举中取得了历史性胜利，导致米歇尔·奥尼尔（Michelle O’Neill）被任命为首位民族主义者首席部长。昨天，在与英国其他权力下放国家的领导人会面期间，奥尼尔女士对唐纳德·特朗普在非正式访问爱尔兰期间发表的随口评论表示欢迎，特朗普在评论中称他将“非常希望”看到统一。她声称，这位美国总统的言论反映了“围绕宪法变革的讨论正在增加”这一事实。

情况确实如此。但这是一场才刚刚开始的辩论，且需要谨慎且小心地进行。1998 年的《贝尔法斯特协议》在举行边界投票的标准上刻意保持模糊。此后，伦敦和都柏林的历届政府更倾向于专注于促进和发展跨境合作。

考虑到历史以及涉及的政治风险水平，这是一个明智的策略。但辩论的动态已经发生了变化。特朗普先生的轻率言论紧随在奥尼尔女士与安迪·伯纳姆之间的一次早期争执之后，此前首相在访问贝尔法斯特期间表示，关于爱尔兰统一的投票“不在考虑范围内”。

在短期和中期内，伯纳姆先生的立场是合理的。Sinn Féin 承诺在 2030 年前就爱尔兰统一举行全民公投，这极其不现实。但对于各方而言，在没有充分准备的情况下盲目进入投票阶段同样是不可接受的。在缺乏适当辩论的情况下，爱尔兰共和国对统一的承诺虽然基础广泛，但程度浅薄。在北爱尔兰，天主教地区关于橙色勋章（Orange Order）游行的紧张局势令人不安地复燃，这表明在斯托蒙特持续的政治功能失调的推动下，两极分化正在加深。

我们需要一场冷静、长期且详细的公众对话，讨论统一可能采取的形式以及可能涉及的权衡。在前一个月接受《卫报》采访时，前首相戈登·布朗（Gordon Brown）暗示，“当然，从长远来看，爱尔兰将会统一”。但与特朗普先生不同，他增加了一个重要的前提条件。达成这一结果将是一个“漫长的过程，人们必须走到一起并找到一种达成一致的方法。基本上，这就是问题所在：人们是否真的能够达成一致”。这场辩论各方的领导人都应当留意这一警告。

英国的命运是否应该由两个富翁及其7200 万英镑m来决定？

欧文·琼斯 (Owen Jones)

当7200 万英镑m的捐款流入英国改革党（Reform UK）的银行账户时，请回想一下奈杰尔·法拉奇在十年前英国脱欧投票前夕所说的话。“这次全民公投是人民与建制派的对抗，”他宣称，“是对抗既得利益者，对抗富人，对抗大企业。”就在两年前，法拉奇还抨击过“大企业、银行与政府之间不神圣的联盟”。他还是那个在2014, 与尼克·克莱格辩论时，声称自己“代表社会的商业、贸易和创业端”，而他的自由民主党对手则“代表银行、政府和企业”的人。

需要明确的是，法拉奇的政治组织正由两名加密货币亿万富翁资助。本·德洛曾为摩根大通开发高频交易系统。这家投资银行曾是法拉奇特别厌恶的对象：当该行支持留欧阵营时，他猛烈抨击“银行与政治之间不神圣的联盟”。常驻泰国的克里斯托弗·哈本在选举前向法拉奇赠送了500 万英镑m，并提供了改革党三分之二的资金——当然，这是直到目前为止的情况。

他们两人都不是法拉奇在措辞中唤起的那些勇敢的小商人。这个曾经谴责银行购买政治影响力的人，现在却依赖于来自金融界的两个富豪。不出所料，改革党表示其资助者对于巨额捐款“不要求”任何回报。然而，这两位刚刚贡献了英国政治史上最大额捐款的商人，无疑会对改革党削减加密资产税收并建立“比特币储备”的计划感到欣喜。

右翼“民粹主义”这种政治骗局确实令人瞠目。这些运动声称要为弱势群体对抗精英。无论是通过富豪大亨唐纳德·特朗普（其亲友正从他的政府中大发横财），还是通过接受私立教育的百万富翁、前城市经纪人法拉奇，其公式都非常简单：诱骗挣扎在困境中的人们相信，他们的问题是由移民、难民和少数群体造成的——与此同时，却在维护那些真正掌握权力的超级富豪的利益。

奈杰尔·法拉奇在4月于阿伯丁举行的一场英国改革党集会上 摄影：MURDO MACLEOD

*

欧文·琼斯的著作《西方的陨落：他们是如何真正失去它的》(The Fall of the West: How They Really Lost It) 将于下月出版。

法拉奇曾谴责银行购买政治影响力，而如今他却依赖于两位金融界人士

诚然，英国的民主制度一直伴随着沉重的限制。政党和政治人物一直接收来自经济精英的大额捐款，且必须明确的是，这些精英在捐钱时绝不会不期待回报。他们还可以依靠强大的游说团体来推进自身利益。

但最近的这些捐款将我们民主制度的腐败推向了一个全新的高度。在短短一个周末内，两次向改革英国党（Reform UK）提供的捐款额就超过了上次大选中所有政党的总支出，这本身就说明了问题。事实上，这些捐款金额大约是法拉奇的政党在上次大选期间总支出的14倍——值得注意的是，在那次选举中，该党获得了超过400万张选票。

该党现在可以支付数百名全职员工的薪水，建立地方政治中心，并大规模扩展其民调和研究基础设施。至关重要的是，它可以投入巨资进行数字广告投放，而这些广告可以根据单个选民的兴趣和关注点进行精准定制。我们从美国的研究中得知，数字广告可以改变投票意向。一个政党拥有的资金越多，它就越能承担得起不断实验，直到找到有效的广告。

事实上，所有证据都表明金钱能赢得选票。一项最近经过同行评审的研究审查了1857年至2017年之间的每一次英国大选，发现相对竞选支出与得票数之间存在强相关性。富有的捐赠者之所以向政党挥金如土，确实是有原因的。改革英国党的巨额捐款凸显了民主是

捐款破坏了民主，使其变得可以买卖。但这是否会产生惊人的反效果？毕竟，改革英国党已经陷入了多起关于富裕捐赠者赠礼和捐款的争议，其支持率也遭受了沉重打击。今年早些时候的一项民调发现，83%的英国人认为“富有的个人利用政治捐款影响政府，以进一步实现其个人利益”。在改革英国党的选民中，这一比例仅低了四个百分点；此外，他们表示如果一个政党承诺限制捐款上限，他们会更倾向于支持该党的可能性几乎是认为这会降低好感度的10倍。

如果认为这将最终戳破改革英国党的泡沫，那就太天真了。其结果取决于国家政治对话的焦点是什么。工党执政的时间足够长，足以修改法律以拦截此类捐款，但令人遗憾的是，安迪·伯纳姆已经放弃了他此前表示的将捐款上限设定在50 万英镑的愿望。但这需要一个决心对抗富有的既得利益集团的工党。由于斯塔默主义（Starmerism）并不希望取代那个有利于精英的操纵性经济秩序，因此它无法将愤怒从对移民的替罪羊行为中转移开。相反，它只是复制了法拉奇的排外心理，而这只会使反移民右翼的论点合法化。

一种基于重新分配财富和权力的不同方法，将迫使对话转向另一个方向。到目前为止，由于扎克·波兰斯基（Zack Polanski）领导的绿党的压力，伯纳姆已经改变了一些措辞。但如果工党，比如说，提高财富税以投资于崩溃的服务设施，那么它可以将此与对法拉奇的持续攻击相结合，将其描绘成富有的既得利益集团的玩物。

否则，对这些捐款的愤怒将会消退。旧的毒药将依然存在——而这一次，它背后有7200 万英镑m的资金支持。

本·詹宁斯（BEN JENNINGS）

有了这样的朋友， 世界就在我手中！

保持冷静并继续使用AI？这太疯狂了

布里吉德·德莱尼 (Brigid Delaney)

将未来想象成几乎完全黯淡无光，不知怎地在今年潜入了人们的集体意识之中。上周我和一位老友喝咖啡。他正告诉我他的孩子们上大学想学什么，突然他中断了话语，凝视着远方说道：“我希望我从未生过孩子。”他为人父已经20年了，我从未听他这么说过。“我的天，为什么？”

“我的天，为什么？”

“AI，”他回答道。

“AI怎么了？”

在目前这个时间点，这可能是任何与AI相关的事情。是因为AI将夺走他孩子们将要从事的所有工作，使他们的生活变得贫困且毫无目标或意义？

还是环境问题，考虑到AI消耗的所有水资源和能源？或者是那周的新闻，称AI可能会在未来10年内“杀死所有人类”？

是后者。我们无精打采地聊了一会儿关于“杀死所有人类”的事情，然后就换了话题。但阴影已经笼罩，我开始思考：我们面临的多重危机是否如此压倒性，以至于我们甚至不再有能力紧迫地讨论它？相反，它就那样存在于空气中，像污染一样弥漫，每个微粒都包含着一个特定的末日场景——而身处这种氛围中的唯一方式就是对其麻木。

目前，对于许多人来说，我们过去和未来的所有决定都被这个奇怪而黑暗的时刻所折射。如果你处于中年，就像我的朋友那样，（在某一刻）希望自己从未把孩子带到这个世界上。或者，如果你无法享受正常的退休生活，可能会怀疑继续工作是否值得。如果你年轻，则表现为无法选择大学专业或职业，因为你不知道哪些专业或行业在几年后会过时。或者怀疑为了巨额房屋首付款而牺牲和储蓄是否值得，如果你没有一份正经的工作或未来来偿还一份为期30年的抵押贷款。而如果你年长，则是庆幸自己不会在世看到这一切分崩离析。

面对我们现在面临的这种虚无主义，有几种答案或出路——而其中没有一个是由技术提供的。

第一是觉醒。通常如果有人真的试图杀死你，你会反击。然而，我们面对AI可能导致人类灭绝的消息时，却表现出一种呆滞的漠然。值得记住的是，没有人真正要求过AI，然而它现在突然出现并试图杀死我们。即使这种情况得以避免，它也在将自己嵌入我们的工作场所和我们的情感生活（ChatGPT可能是美国最大的心理健康服务提供者），剥夺我们的批判性思维能力，并威胁经济和社会稳定。

面对一个——目前来看——可以预防的威胁，为什么我们如此麻木？这种麻木可能是近20年智能手机和社会媒体的结果，在对娱乐成瘾的过程中，我们的注意力跨度被缩短了，并且通过个性化的算法，我们的组织能力和集体行动能力被削弱了。或者，这可能是科技公司拥有的巨大政治权力，这意味着我们所有人——包括政府——都感到无力。也可能是进步的浪潮让人感觉不可避免，就像冲击工厂的卢德分子一样，任何抵抗最终都是徒劳的。

在觉醒之后的下一个解决方案是回归基本原则。人类繁荣的要素是什么？一旦我们能清晰地表达这一点，它就像一根绳索，能引导我们回到应该在的地方。人类的繁荣不是拥有一台机器替你进行批判性思考——相反，它是参与到独立思考过程中所带来的快乐与痛苦之中。

繁荣是人与人之间彼此关怀与培育的关系。而不是每天花 18 小时向大语言模型（LLM）倾诉个人问题。繁荣是与自然世界建立直接的联系——而不是通过屏幕观察世界，或者为了给基于屏幕的存在创造更多空间而将自然世界本身破坏并降级。

这些都是值得为之奋斗的事情。技术在我们的世界中占有一席之地，只不过当我们开始听到它可能会摧毁我们的世界时，我们就应该觉醒，摆脱那种呆滞、麻木的感觉，并开始反击。

* 布里吉德·德莱尼（Brigid Delaney）是一位作家兼记者

插图：SOPHY HOLLINGTON / THE GUARDIAN

末世法西斯阴谋抛弃地球。以下是我们如何阻止他们 一个邪恶的联盟正致力于创造一个只有少数被选中者才能生存的未来 娜奥米·克莱恩（Naomi Klein）与阿斯特拉·泰勒（Astra Taylor）

深度报道

杰夫·贝佐斯宣布计划在 2025 年初举行一场奢华的威尼斯婚礼，许多当地人认为这个想法令人反感，甚至极其下流。在这样一个被游客和 Airbnb 充斥的城市里，越来越多的居民正苦于寻找安全且负担得起的住房，而这位亿万富翁却计划实际上将整个市镇租用三天，预计花费 5000万美元 (3700 万英镑m) 举办庆典，这将导致中心运河拥堵，并封锁交通繁忙的街道。更糟糕的是，由于人工智能和数据中心的扩建，亚马逊的碳排放量正在飙升——而这在威尼斯是一个极其敏感的问题，因为这里的街道每年已经淹没数十次。

35 岁的高中教师马尔塔·索托里瓦（Marta Sottoriva）告诉我们，她第一次听说婚礼计划时，贝佐斯的火箭公司蓝色起源（Blue Origin）正占据新闻头条。贝佐斯派遣了一支由女性网红和名人组成的“机组人员”，包括他的未婚妻劳伦·桑切斯（Lauren Sánchez）和流行歌手凯蒂·佩里（Katy Perry），前往亚轨道空间的边缘，这看起来像是一场毫无意义的宣传噱头。“你如此富有且强大，以至于可以将太空当作一次 10 分钟的旅行，”索托里瓦回忆道，这进一步加剧了那种“我们的城市正以如此傲慢的方式被夺走”的感觉。另一位年轻活动家费德里卡·托尼内洛（Federica Toninello）表示赞同，她告诉我们，感觉太空和威尼斯都被“殖民”了。

殖民太空正是贝佐斯希望做的事情。贝佐斯在他那套熟练的推销词中声称，蓝色起源将通过允许一万亿人在未来的某一天散布到整个太阳系，从而确保人类的生存。他想象中自己将拯救人类免于遭受的不可忍受的恐怖是什么？是他所谓的“停滞文明”的威胁——换句话说，就是必须面对真实的生态限制，并想办法分享地球有限的资源。为了避免这种清算，贝佐斯设想了一个未来，其中“地球将被划分为住宅区和轻工业区”，并被设定为一种大多数原住民无法触及的保护区。绝大多数人类将在冰冷空旷的太空中追求所谓的“指数级增长”这一模糊利益，被困在蓝色起源的航天器中。看来，贝佐斯认为人类在我们珍贵且唯一的家园上可持续且和平地生活，是一个不值得他考虑的噩梦般的可能性。

不出所料，事实证明大多数威尼斯人更愿意继续住在壮丽的威尼斯。与贝佐斯不同，他们并不担心假设性的文明停滞；他们担心的是政府撤资导致的经济停滞、工作和机会的匮乏，以及被强行赶出他们深爱的城市和国家。年轻的意大利人往往别无选择，只能移民寻找工作：在过去十年中，有超过 100 万 公民搬迁，其中三分之一的人年龄在 25 到 34 岁之间。

迄今为止，许多意大利人感受到的不稳定感和愤怒情绪主要使新法西斯右翼获益。但同样的力量也将人们吸引到反贝佐斯的事业中，帮助凝聚起一个萌芽中的、自觉的反法西斯运动。

这场充满活力且具有颠覆性的“贝佐斯没空间”（No space for Bezos）运动，挖掘了人们对亿万富翁、气候崩溃和军国主义的深层愤怒——同时也为组织者提供了一个扩音器，用以传播关于我们可以选择的、不同的且不那么致命的共处方式。活动人士印制了海报和贴纸，上面画着贝佐斯的头在火箭中冲向太空。他们制作了一个贝佐斯的模型，让他一边紧抓着一把假钱，一边攀附在一个巨大的亚马逊漂浮包裹上，然后将其放入运河中随波逐流。他们在威尼斯标志性的建筑、桥梁以及广场上展开横幅，写着：“向富人征税，还给地球。”他们还高喊，婚礼的资金如果用来重建加沙将更有意义。连续几天，他们制造了令人愉悦的混乱，并无情地嘲讽新郎及其星光熠熠的宾客名单，其中包括他的亿万富翁地堡邻居伊万卡·特朗普和贾里德·库什纳，OpenAI 的萨姆·奥特曼以及一群卡戴珊家族成员。

就在婚礼前不久，官员们宣布由于抗议活动，活动将被移至一个不那么中心的位置。甚至贝佐斯的两艘游艇“Koru”号和“Abeona”号也被拒绝在当地停靠。组织者宣布胜利并举行庆祝。国际媒体疯狂报道这场极具视觉冲击力的对峙。而网络右翼则不知道该支持谁：是那些在超级游艇上互相喷泡沫的达沃斯精英，还是那些制作煽动性宣传品的左翼乌合之众？

就像唐纳德·特朗普那巨大的舞厅一样，贝佐斯奢华的婚礼缩影了我们这个网络化镀金时代的卑劣。对于这位亚马逊创始人来说，仅仅成为欧洲最美丽城市的一部分是不够的——他需要消费它，将其整个吞噬。一年后，他对纽约市的 Met Gala（纽约大都会艺术博物馆慈善舞会）也采取了同样的操作，引发了类似的愤怒和草根创意。

威尼斯抗议活动聚焦于贝佐斯以牺牲地球为代价追求太空梦，这指向了关于“末世法西斯主义”（end times fascism）的一个根本性问题——这是我们新书的核心概念，指的是一个致力于构建末日未来的邪恶联盟，在这个未来中，只有被选中的少数人能毫发无损地幸存。如今的战线不仅仅是那些在日益恶化且昂贵的生活条件下挣扎求生的人，与那些思考着用更荒唐的方式挥霍财富的寡头阶级之间的对抗。这种对抗比那更具有宇宙论色彩。

一方是我们这些人，我们没有逃生计划，在天空或地下都没有地堡，因此我们致力于留在此时此地，留在我们与彼此共处的、复杂的地球现实之中。我们知道，我们需要采取必要措施，让“这里”——这个星球及其所有的生态系统和社区——对于依赖于它们的无数生物来说变得更安全，因为我们充分意识到，这是我们唯一且唯一的家园。

另一方则是那些有着狂热计划的人，他们试图保护自己及其家人免受焚烧我们星球的政治和生态之火的侵害，无论这些计划是以升天、地面地堡和堡垒国家的形式出现，还是殖民太空和与机器融合的幻想。末世法西斯主义者并没有改善地球上真实人类的生活条件（甚至没有停止在火上浇油），而是在策划他们的逃亡，对所有值得拯救的事物漠不关心且毫无察觉。

贝佐斯对太空的痴迷揭示了理解末世法西斯主义及其对地堡化和抛弃共同世界的执念的另一个关键点：推动这一项目的人们似乎无法惊叹，甚至无法注意到围绕在他们身边的奇迹。

这一点在2021年变得极其明显，当时贝佐斯再次派遣了一组人员前往太空。这一次，以饰演《星际迷航》中柯克船长而闻名的威廉·夏特纳也在船上（当然，是为了实现贝佐斯童年幻想中的一个愿望）。在每集剧集的开头，夏特纳都会说：“太空，最后的边疆。”但当这位现年90岁的演员看着我们的蓝绿星球从窗外渐渐远去时，他突然被恐惧感淹没。“太空的残酷冰冷与下方地球的温暖滋养之间的对比，让我心中充满了压倒性的悲哀，”他后来回忆道，并解释说他对自己星球崇高而脆弱的馈赠有了更深刻的感悟。

“每一天，我们都不得不面对地球在我们手中遭受进一步破坏的事实：动物物种的灭绝，植物群和动物群的消失……那些经历了50亿年才进化而来的事物，突然之间，因为人类的干预，我们将再也见不到它们，”夏特纳写道。他参加这次旅行本期待能被宇宙震撼，结果在离开的那一刻，他反而开始渴望家园。“我发现美并不在外面，而是在这里，在我们所有人身边。”

也许夏特纳关于我们珍贵且危在旦夕的星球的洞察能引起亚马逊创始人的共鸣，但这位亿万富翁的太空殖民计划及其公司大规模扩张排放碳的数据中心则表明事实并非如此。而在科技寡头中，贝佐斯极具代表性。例如，彼得·蒂尔曾透露，他认为实现真正自由的三个最佳想法是“网络空间”、“外太空”和“海上定居”（在漂浮的石油平台上建立新国家的想法）。换句话说，这个凭借巨额财富能够接触到地球上最壮丽景观的人，竟然认为这三个冰冷、死寂的地方，比我们这个葱郁且充满生机的地球更优秀。

埃隆·马斯克似乎也存在类似的问题，这个男人在仰望夜空的奇迹时，似乎只看到了用他自己的太空垃圾填满那片墨色未知的机会。资深小说家乔伊斯·卡罗尔·欧茨在2025年11月于马斯克自己的平台X上对他进行了无情的抨击，揭示了这些明显的局限性。“太奇怪了，”她写道，“这样一个富有的人，从未发布过任何表明他享受或意识到几乎每个人都欣赏的事物的内容——自然景观、宠物狗或猫、对电影、音乐、书籍的赞美（但我怀疑他是否阅读）；对朋友或亲人成就的自豪感；对逝者的哀悼；对体育的乐趣，对心仪球队的喝彩；对历史的引用。事实上，他看起来完全没有受过教育，没有文化。Twitter [X] 上最贫穷的人，在生活中接触到的美和意义，可能比‘世界上最富有的人’还要多。”

这一观察显然触动了这位科技大亨出了名的敏感神经：他称她为“懒惰的骗子”，并开始发布对各种电影的赞赏，以证明欧茨是错的。然而，在马斯克的航空航天公司SpaceX上市当天的亢奋状态中，他并未试图掩饰他对我们这颗蓝色星球及其挑战的厌倦：“我们希望解决地球上的[问题]，我们也应该解决。但还必须有一些能让你对未来感到兴奋的事情，让你在早晨醒来时感到高兴，因为你迫不及待地想看到接下来会发生什么。”看来，只有抛弃地球才能提供那种快感。

大多数人都拥有敬畏的能力，能为一只鸣禽如宝石般的美丽、一头鲸鱼喷气时的超凡脱俗，或是古代圣地错综复杂的格栅结构而惊叹。孩子们拥有纯粹的敬畏能力；在亚轨道空间的90岁演员同样如此。体验敬畏就是消融在宇宙的漩涡之中，以一种最美好的方式感受到自己的渺小。这种

这种互联感也是为什么我们在目睹陌生人受苦时会感到悲伤，在面对物种灭绝时会感到巨大的忧伤。而那些掌握着我们共同命运的人似乎缺失了这种能力，这对他个人而言是一种损失，而对我们其余所有人来说则是一场生存危机。

科技寡头们那个抛弃世界的计划中，一个危险的部分在于，他们构建的工具旨在按照他们自身破碎的形象来重塑我们。流行的平台和应用程序训练我们去认同硅谷关于“脱离肉身之自由”的梦想，不断地诱导我们放弃真实的场所和面对面的连接，转而追求模拟体验——并将地球、我们的身体以及我们的关系视为需要被破解并逃离的囚笼。就奥特曼（Altman）而言，他已明确表示他看到了“成为机器的某些优势”，并且他反复坚称自己的孩子永远不会比人工智能更聪明，仿佛智能可以被简化为仅仅是计算。与类似的服务一样，ChatGPT 被训练用来劫持我们的共情反应系统，从而使我们也同样地推崇机器，并赋予它们超出其应有价值的意义。

无法欣赏这个星球及其奇妙的众生相，这有助于解释为什么他们如此准备好地将其牺牲。事实上，科技右翼愿意消除我们维持生命的劳动，并用合成关系取代人类关系，这与他们对地球上迅速消失的野生动物和植物多样性仅存的一点点关注的漠视是不可分割的。

插图：SOPHY HOLLINGTON / THE GUARDIAN

他们似乎不知道如何热爱这个地方，不知道如何享受与他人相处的快乐，也不知道如何惊叹于其他物种所呈现的奥秘。

简而言之，我们面对的是一种意识形态，它不仅放弃了自由民主的前提和承诺，还放弃了我们共同世界的宜居性——放弃了它的美、它的人民、我们的孩子以及其他物种。这其中有一种背叛行为。这种背叛并非是对国旗或国家这类抽象概念的背叛，因为我们不是民族主义者。而是对支撑我们生存的生命之网所达成的无言契约的背叛。

他们是创造之物的叛徒，是此处奇迹的叛徒。

对抗末世法西斯主义没有一套可以复制粘贴的公式。无论是威尼斯人对抗杰夫·贝佐斯（Jeff Bezos），还是阿尔巴尼亚人告诉贾里德·特朗普（Jared Trump）和伊万卡·特朗普（Ivanka Trump）他们的国家不卖，亦或是肯塔基州的一个小镇组织起来反对一个庞大的数据中心，这场斗争的每一个阵地都带有其所在地的特质和纹理。然而，在不同地点之间，一些指导原则正开始显现，而佐兰·马姆达尼（Zohran Mamdani）竞选纽约市市长的活动——以及他当选后的治理方式——体现了其中的许多原则：从热爱家乡开始，然后构想一个激进且包容的未来，让每个人都能负担得起有尊严的生活；在差异中拥抱共同目标；走到户外，进行线下且面对面的聚集；

以愉悦的心情挑战权势；借鉴历史，且不惧于触动灵魂。

马姆达尼一直致力于推动其核心政策以降低这座城市的生活成本，并在追求降低租金和扩大普及化托儿服务等方面兑现了许多承诺。但他也做了一些更崇高的事情，他关注这座城市那些喧闹且迷人的角落，而正是这些角落，让如此多的人选择忍受那些迫使他们离开的压力。

随着马姆达尼（Mamdani）名声大噪，全国乃至全球的法西斯分子和新法西斯分子开始了他们的惯用伎俩。他们进行分类和隔离，评级和驱逐。他们声称马姆达尼不是真正的美国人，以此制造混乱与分裂，并将所有的社会问题和不满归咎于左翼。他们将多元文化的纽约视为一个所谓的恐怖例证，用来展示“大替代”成功后会发生什么。JD·万斯（JD Vance）公开为人们不愿与来自“完全不同文化”的人邻居而辩护，而斯蒂芬·米勒（Stephen Miller）在X平台上愤怒地写道：“纽约市是对一个社会未能控制移民后会发生什么的最清晰警告。”

当法西斯分子划定僵硬的界限——内部与外部、受保护者与可抛弃者、“传统”与入侵者——时，选举马姆达尼的竞选活动则举办了一场为期一年的派对，庆祝这个已知最具有种族和民族多样性的地方。这个由五大区组成的地方，是由一波又一波的新移民塑造的，他们在勒纳佩（Lenape）人的土地上安家。竞选活动的每一次行动都在主张，共同的身份不仅可以通过血缘锻造，还可以通过对共同家园的承诺，以及对在这个家园中如何共同生活的共同价值观而锻造。

纽约是一个由携带无数“连字符身份”并保持无数文化习俗活力的人们组成的城市。但正如马姆达尼所言：“无论你吃什么，说哪种语言，如何祈祷或来自哪里，最定义我们的词是我们共同拥有的两个词：纽约人。”

因此，马姆达尼在民主党初选中，用一排芒果拉西（mango lassis）作为道具来解释排序选择投票制的复杂性。他在酷儿俱乐部拉票，在规模宏大的Bayo演唱会上高喊海地革命历史，分享他最喜欢的贝果订单，并在斋月期间在布朗克斯区吃着比尔亚尼（biryani）开斋。就职后，他还将如今已成传奇的尼克斯队季后赛征程和2026年世界杯变成了一场令人们难以忘怀的夏季派对。通过这些以及其他方式，马姆达尼让这座曾被华盛顿无情诋毁为危险、肮脏且功能失调的城市重新焕发出魅力。

这是对“此处性”（hereness）的完美概括——这一概念由犹太劳工联合会（Jewish Labour Bund）提出，这是一个成立于19世纪的意第绪语社会主义团体，其基础是对地方和社区的强烈承诺，而非基于血统。莫莉·克拉巴波（Molly Crabapple）是一位自豪的纽约人和艺术家，最近出版了一本关于该联合会的畅销历史书，她在发表于《卫报》的一篇文章中建立了这种联系。她写道：“就像纽约本身一样，马姆达尼的竞选活动是多元文化、多种族、多语言的。当安德鲁·库莫（Andrew Cuomo）试图诱导他承认自己不符合美国特质时，他发布了西班牙语、孟加拉语、印地语和阿拉伯语的广告。他开展了一场致力于阶级优先政治的竞选，试图用每个人的母语与他们对话，同时从未为自己的身份道歉。”

在所有这些对差异的庆祝中，马姆达尼的竞选活动还强调了几乎所有纽约人都共有且能产生共鸣的日常经历和焦虑，这些内容潜藏在那些经常被忽视或厌恶的平凡之所。马姆达尼在拥挤的地铁车厢里与通勤者肩并肩，向史泰登岛渡轮的辉煌致敬，并走访了无数的杂货店（bodegas），他以不带偏见的好奇心和灿烂的笑容面对遇到的陌生人，这种笑容甚至成了《周六夜现场》（Saturday Night Live）的一个笑点。

但这次竞选不仅仅是反法西斯的：在它庆祝让纽约变得可爱的“不羁”的无数方式中，它也是法西斯主义的对立面。这不仅是对仇恨的拒绝，更是一次对善良的邀请，是对一个世界的邀请

在这个世界里，我们不对任何人视而不见。这意味着要提升并尊重那些法西斯分子最渴望驱逐和抛弃的人们：维持这座城市运转的工人阶级和移民劳动力。这场运动将聚光灯投向了被 DoorDash 等平台剥削的外卖员，投向了争取工会认可的亚马逊仓库工人，以及在拉瓜迪亚机场排队的出租车司机——他们是这座夜间劳动力的组成部分，正是因为他们，纽约才能自豪地称自己为“不夜城”。

面对一个通过略微提高税收来资助、从而变得更公平的城市前景，有些人预言亿万富翁将集体出走。对冲基金经理比尔·艾克曼（Bill Ackman）威胁要与他人一起离开，福克斯新闻则预测将出现一场“马姆达尼大迁徙”。奢侈地产经纪人报告称，他们接到了大量客户的电话，对方希望出售顶层公寓并搬到棕榈滩。

这些背叛的威胁反而凸显了马姆达尼竞选活动中两个核心主题之间相互增强的性质：对这里的喜悦之爱（即便这里有点破败），以及具体的修复和改进计划。因为你对一个地方越忠诚，就越容易投入改善它所需的资源和精力。这是一种不基于想要逃离这个尘世（无论是我们的城市还是我们的肉身），而是基于一种深切的渴望去停留，并保护所有不可替代的、人性化的且充满生命力的事物的政治。

正是这种精神，激励着人们保护他们的空气和水源免受扩张的数据中心的侵害，保护他们的移民邻居免受美国移民及海关执法局（ICE）的侵害。在报道明尼阿波利斯持续数周的起义时，记者亚当·塞维尔（Adam Serwer）令人难忘地描述了其指导意识形态为

我们要么跟随末世法西斯走向毁灭，要么建立一个让他们如此恐惧的、不羁且跨越边界的运动

这种抵抗被称作“邻里主义”（neighbourism），或者说是一种“致力于保护你周围的人，无论他们是谁，无论他们来自何处的承诺”。这是一种坦诚且包容的伦理，它将大量普通人团结在一起，去做一件看似简单实则深远的事情：保护社区中最脆弱的成员，使其免受那些看起来极像入侵军队的威胁。这意味着从冒着子弹的危险，到烹饪晚餐，再到为那些在家里不再安全的人们提供空余房间，不遗余力。

通过这些以及无数其他方式，明尼苏达州的人们挺身而出，坚持认为他们的邻居已经身在他们所属之地——正如塞沃（Serwer）所言，无论他们出生在明尼阿波利斯还是摩加迪沙。

邻里之间通过一个街区接一个街区、一个群聊接一个群聊所建立的人际网络，其意义不仅在于拒绝。在我们这个连续冲击和危机交织的时代，它们也是一种不同生存主义的基础。然而，当各种流派的法西斯分子

为少数人建造掩体时，我们的生存网络则基于这样一个原则：我们每一个人，毫无例外，都值得生存并繁荣。它们还被一种信念所维系，即在不可避免的冲击到来时，确保彼此安全是一项神圣的职责。这其中一部分工作包括讲述新的故事，这些故事必须足够真实且具有启发性，以帮助我们这些精疲力竭的同类重新爱上我们唯一且共同的家园，并坚定地重新承诺，倾尽所有去捍卫它。

这些故事不能关于回归所谓的“常态”，不能关于在脱欧、特朗普以及硅谷转向威权主义之前的所谓平静。在那些年里，太多的问题被允许累积并恶化：法西斯主义永远是对真实危机的扭曲回应。而末世法西斯主义则是对真实全球规模危机的回应，包括大气中不断集中的碳含量以及掌握在超级富豪手中的财富。它所提出的应对方案——对人类和非人类进行大规模牺牲——是极其残暴的，必须从我们之中清除。

为了实现这一点，我们将不得不思考如何解决当代法西斯主义赖以生存的底层危机。因为边界正在被跨越，极限正在被突破，墙壁正在被撞击。法西斯分子想让我们相信，撞墙的是人类的故事：故事已经结束了，所以请确保你属于那些能升华到下一个世界的“被选中者”。向你的神祈求救赎。植入芯片，与机器融合。将你的掩体国家军事化并纯净化。武装到牙齿，躲在你的财富背后。不要担心那些无法幸存的人类、动物、树木、河流和珊瑚礁。

但他们错了。撞墙的并不是人类的故事，而是我们一直被困在其中的那个故事。那个关于贪婪必须成为文明引擎的故事；关于增长可以永无止境的故事；关于总能找到更多效率、能精简更多工人、能牺牲更多资源、能殖民更多人口、地点和星球的故事。这些神话正撞上现实之墙，因此许多事情必须随之改变。

现在应该很清楚哪些逻辑必须被抛弃：无限制的暴力、不受约束的剥削、贪得无厌的财富、毫无节制的支配。正是这些驱动力让共存变得不可能。展望未来，两条道路在召唤。我们可以抛弃并背叛这个世界，或者我们可以与资本主义决裂，建立新的经济和政治体系，以尊重生命，并将关怀与修复置于优先地位。

值得庆幸的是，我们并非从零开始。我们的运动先辈为我们留下了通往人间锡安的地图，在那里每个人都受欢迎；他们指引我们走向一个将和平与安全作为核心原则的包容性未来。这不是末世法西斯主义者所渴望的后人类未来，而是一个后资本主义且支持（所有）生命的未来。它是深度民主的、社会主义的、女性主义的、多种族的、多物种的、国际主义的、慷慨的、勇敢的且充满活力的。它是具象的、感官的，并自豪地扎根于大地。

而这，从根本上来说，正是让末世法西斯主义者比任何事情都更恐惧的前景。这就是为什么蒂尔将任何试图监管化石燃料和人工智能的人谴责为“反基督”，以及为什么特朗普政府将那些保护邻居的非暴力明尼苏达州人抹黑为“国内恐怖分子”。让这些人夜不能寐的是……我们。是这样一种可能性：一场广泛且充满活力的运动将会兴起，捍卫这颗星球以及将其视为家园的众多生命形式。

我们并非选择出生在这样一场如此关键的战斗中，但我们已经到达了一个抉择点。我们要么跟随末世法西斯主义者走向湮灭，要么致力于建立一个让他们深感恐惧的、不羁的、跨越边界的运动。这样一个运动将夺走他们的武器，让他们为自己的罪行负责，并捍卫此时此地的天堂。 ●

本文改编自今日由企鹅出版社出版的图书《末世法西斯主义：以及为生存世界而战》（End Times Fascism: And the Fight for the Living World），售价 £25。如需以 £21.25 订购，请访问 guardianbookshop.com（可能产生邮寄费用）。请于 9 月 28 日在布里斯托尔加入娜奥米·克莱恩（Naomi Klein）和阿斯特拉·泰勒（Astra Taylor）共同讨论末世法西斯主义。购票请访问 theguardian.com / guardian-live-events

* 娜奥米·克莱恩（Naomi Klein） 是《卫报》 美国专栏作家 以及不列颠 哥伦比亚大学 气候正义 教授

阿斯特拉·泰勒（Astra Taylor） 是一位作家、 组织者及 纪录片 导演

成立于 1906 年

乡村日记 德比郡，普里斯特克利夫利斯 (Priestcliffe Lees, Derbyshire)

成簇的丛生草，有些高度超过一米，被夏日的酷暑晒成了米褐色，正被强劲的秋季西风吹得翻滚。一群约 200 只的金翅雀在摇曳的植被泡沫之上且之中穿梭，其中大多数是今年的幼鸟。它们正专注于丛生草“顶篷”下方的蓟草和矢车菊种子簇。

这些未成熟的金翅雀头部缺乏成年鸟那种红黑相间的条纹。它们父母的腹部是光滑的摩卡色，而幼鸟则是暗淡且带有条纹的。它们完美地继承了每只黑色翅膀上的半圆形黄色圆盘，而整个扇形翅膀的每根羽毛尖端都带着白色。

当它们在草丛中穿行，从一处移动到另一处时，这些鸟儿在断断续续的阳光下创造出了双带状的亮光。整个场景——翻滚的植物茎干与移动的鸟群——产生了精妙的对冲运动模式。

金翅雀的一个古称是“裁缝鸟”。据说这是指插入它们尾端和翅尖的白色眼孔。当这些鸟儿忙碌地将蓟草的绒毛从种子中筛选出来，让绒簇随风飘散时，我突然想到，这种与棉质材料长期的生态关系或许也能解释“裁缝”这个名字。这或许还能解释这些鸟为何喜爱用蜘蛛丝、羊毛和其他纤维作为筑巢材料：它们在名称和天性上无疑都是裁缝鸟。

当它们以黄色斑点状的模式升起又落下时，我也意识到，这群鸟的视觉冲击力和声音不仅仅是简单的类比。它们似乎参与了某种更宏大的创造整体。金翅雀的叫声轻柔、叮当作响、破碎，但又在某种程度上像融化的金箔一样彼此熔融且融合——不，不是金，而是某种更稀有、比单纯的金属更有意义的东西。就说它是来自遥远星系中某颗爆炸恒星的尘埃吧，它在 50 亿年前漂泊至此并定居下来，最终被注入了最稀有的东西：污浊的、泥土气息的——而在今天的普里斯特克利夫利斯——被称作“生命”的东西。 马克·考克 (Mark Cocker)

请提供完整的邮寄地址、文章引用以及白天的联系电话。我们可能会对信件进行编辑。信件的提交与发表须遵守我们的条款与条件：详见 theguardian.com / letters-terms

必须将让女性远离监狱作为重点

你们的社论（《匆忙清空女性监狱无法解决过度拥挤危机》，11 September）正确地指出，监狱容量危机无法通过一系列短期补救措施来解决。受害者需要确信政府对于刑事司法系统拥有一套可靠的长期战略，而不是另一个旨在争取时间的零散干预措施。

我对缓刑服务面临的压力深表担忧。关于这对警务工作产生的影响，同样存在合理的质疑，但如果我们不面对法院的危机，就无法讨论监狱危机。

系统，而不仅仅是对最新的紧急情况做出反应。 克莱尔·瓦克斯曼（Claire Waxman） 英格兰和威尔士受害者专员

我们是一个由女性慈善机构、一线服务机构以及具有入狱经历的女性组成的集体。我们亲眼目睹了10年前霍洛威监狱（Holloway prison）关闭所带来的毁灭性影响。在170年间，那里是一个矛盾的空间——既是创伤之地，也是女权主义反抗的熔炉，且是数十家一线服务机构的所在地。从女性参政论者到活动家克里斯·恰伊可夫斯基（Chris Tchaikovsky），女性的历史在那里展开。而现在，它已被夷为平地。

女性中心能阻止女性进入刑事司法系统，让孩子免于进入护理机构，并减轻紧急服务的压力。我们花了一十年的时间争取在霍洛威监狱原址建立一个这样的中心。公众对此表示支持，建筑工程也正在进行中，但资金尚未落实。

如果安迪·伯纳姆（Andy Burnham）想要推行一项具有远见的政策，他可以倡导在全英国开展女性中心计划，并从霍洛威女性大楼（Holloway Women's Building）开始。波莉·克里德（Polly Creed），伦敦霍洛威女性大楼集体

• 减少女性入狱人数的措施早已迟到，但这必须不仅仅是为了腾出容量而采取的短期补救措施（《女性牢房可改为男性囚犯使用》，7 September）。

目前约五分之一的囚犯正在等待审判，这通常是因为案件审理时间过长。一些被告在看守所等待的时间如此之久，以至于在被判刑时，他们直接从法院被释放，因为实际上已经服完了刑期。受害者理所当然地会质疑这是否是正义，公众理所当然地会询问这对公共安全意味着什么。

如果安迪·伯纳姆想要一项具有远见的政策，他可以倡导一项女性中心计划

政府指出，遣返外国罪犯是解决监狱过度拥挤方案的一部分。然而，由于法院系统陷入危机，三分之一的囚犯因等待出庭而处于候审状态。

监狱、法院、缓刑和警务是相互关联的。如果政府不能解决法院的危机，就不能希望解决监狱危机。延误导致受害者等待正义数年之久，推高了候审人数，并给过度拥挤的监狱设施带来进一步压力。作为受害者专员，我需要确保首相正专注于执行一项针对整个司法

波莉·克里德（Polly Creed）

在监狱中以及离开监狱的女性面临着特殊的挑战。许多人本身也是犯罪的受害者，或者有希望团聚的孩子。女性出狱后的无家可归率高于男性。

这引发了一个问题：我们可以建立什么来替代？你们的社论在提到科斯顿审查（Corston review）时提供了一些答案。然而，其中缺失了一个关键要素：女性中心。这些空间将女性服务整合在同一个屋檐下，提供住房、家庭暴力、就业、育儿、心理治疗等方面的支持。它们为女性提供整体性的帮助，而不仅仅是修复她们生活的某一个方面。“监狱女性”（Women in Prison）报告称，在女性中心每投入 £1，就能节省 £2.75。

这些挑战还导致更多女性被召回监狱。我们的分析发现，今年前三个月，在社区接受释放后监督的女性中，每四人就有一人被召回，而男性则是每五人中有一人被召回。

在某些情况下，召回是为了保护公众。但在其他情况下，本可以且应当提供更好的社区支持。

如果政府认真对待长期减少女性囚犯人数的目标，就应该从确保出狱女性获得支持以避免再次入狱开始。

恩维尔·索罗门（Enver Solomon） Nacro 首席执行官

记得在“生活大学”注册入学

佐伊·威廉姆斯（Zoe Williams）那个即将进入大学的儿子，在他同龄人中绝非唯一一个不知道如何洗床单，甚至不知道为什么要洗床单的人（见《在宜家深处，我知道我的儿子还没准备好上大学》，9月8日）。

现代中产阶级的育儿方式倾向于引导孩子远离家务，而将重心放在学术成就、体育能力、音乐等级考试、童军活动以及爱丁堡公爵奖上。由于清醒的时间被如此多的课外兴趣所占据，他们几乎没有时间学习烹饪、清洁和洗涤等生活技能。

我经常访问学校，为六年级（sixth-form）的学生做关于准备大学生活的讲座。在讲座之前，我会邀请学生分享他们可能有的任何问题或担忧。除了寻找未来的朋友以及能否在学术上应对等问题外，他们经常质疑自己将如何独立生活。他们中的许多人从未尝试过完整地逛一次超市购物，从未从零开始准备一顿饭，从未擦过厨房地板，也从未熨过衬衫。

他们预想中将专注于学习，并与室友、同学以及通过社团结识的人社交。但他们确实担心自己将如何照顾好自己，以及如何兼顾这一切。

我们有责任在孩子成长的过程中教会他们基本的生活技能——而不仅仅是在他们前往大学的前一周——这样他们就能少一项担忧。毕竟，能做出像样的辣椒酱、能正确地刷马桶，以及在洗床单时能保证其不缩水、不褪色、不变形，这些都是终身受益的实用技能。 梅丽莎·斯卡兰（Melissa Scallan） 《开始大学生活》（Starting University）作者

• 在我把儿子送到伯明翰学生宿舍五分钟后，我们收到了一条 WhatsApp 消息：“我打开包装时被刀割到了手。流了很多血。有什么建议吗？”就在我们掉头开车，并在手套箱里翻找创可贴时，我们又收到一条消息：“没事了，我的新室友帮我包扎好了。”10年后的今天，他们六个人依然是亲密的好友。 皮帕·基奇（Pippa Keech） 汉普郡，林德赫斯特

林德赫斯特，汉普郡

更正与澄清

一篇关于迈克尔·巴里莫尔（Michael Barrymore）的文章（《落魄电视明星在 TikTok 上通过大吃大喝走运》，9月12日，第21页）署名为马克·斯威尼（Mark Sweney）。实际上，该文由迈克尔·萨维奇（Michael Savage）撰写。

• 同音词误用：在一篇关于垃圾填埋场的文章中，报道称多氯联苯“leech into the surrounding water and soil”（渗入周围的水体和土壤）（《对威尔士有毒化学品丑闻的激情调查》，8月18日，G2，第10页）。

编辑投诉与更正可发送至 guardian.readers@theguardian.com 或寄至 The readers' editor, Kings Place, 90 York Way, London N1 9GU。您也可以在 020 3353 4736 留下语音留言。

如果眼神能杀人，那我麻烦就大了

艾德里安·柴尔斯（Adrian Chiles）很幸运，他的脸仅仅被描述为“愁眉苦脸”（G2，10 September）。在我那令人尊敬的妻子的建议下，每当我向新同事自我介绍时，我都会提醒他们：如果我的表情看起来像是想杀了他们，那只是我的默认表情，我只是在思考，而非在评判。 特雷弗·劳森（Trevor Lawson） 白金汉郡，哈登汉（Haddenham, Buckinghamshire）

• 既然连牛津大学都告诉我们，现在了解热饮的温度至关重要（《研究发现，饮用滚烫的茶和咖啡会增加患癌风险》，9 September），那么我非常期待收到我的国民医疗服务体系（NHS）咖啡温度计——以及明年伊格诺贝尔奖的颁发。

安妮·阿彻（Anne Archer） 阿盖尔与比特郡，欧班（Oban, Argyll and Bute）

• 令人震惊的是，离开英国的亿万富翁能登上头条（《去年缴纳3.3 亿英镑m税款的亿万富翁将离开英国移居希腊》，9 September），但护理人员及其家属，以及那些无法满足日益严格的移民财务规则的夫妇，却不能。 克莱尔·皮拉尔（Claire Pillar） 坎布里亚郡，盖茨吉尔（Gaitsgill, Cumbria）

• 关于命名决定论的辩论（读者来信，14 September），我认为我们现在应该把这次通信收尾，把它放回盒子里。 克里斯托弗·帕克（Christopher Packer） 伦敦

我和我的妻子发现，在任何关于命名决定论的游戏中，我们通常都遥遥领先。 大卫·琼斯与吉赛尔·琼斯（David and Gisele Jones） 格拉斯哥

• 我发现这些信件非常有启发性。 吉尔·莱纳（Gill Learner） 伯克郡，雷丁（Reading, Berkshire）

杰里米·托马斯：以1987年史诗巨作《末代皇帝》而闻名并凭此获得奥斯卡奖的电影制片人

当被问及是否曾建议导演克制时，制片人杰里米·托马斯（Jeremy Thomas）回答道：“我的天性是更进一步，看看我们能突破到什么程度。”

托马斯于 77 岁去世，他是一位精于“突破禁忌”的专家。不羁的品味在他家族中代代相传：他的父亲是拉尔夫·托马斯（Ralph Thomas），执导了从 1954 年《住院医生》（Doctor in the House）开始的一系列“医生”喜剧；他的叔叔是杰拉尔德·托马斯（Gerald Thomas），执导了全部 31 部《继续搞》（Carry On）系列电影。然而，杰里米自己的电影更多的是冒险，而非低俗。

《糟糕的时机》（Bad Timing, 1980）是他与导演尼古拉斯·罗格（Nicolas Roeg）三次合作中的第一部，探讨了一段被嫉妒、自杀企图和强奸所摧毁的毁灭性恋情。负责该片的 Rank 制片厂从影片开头就删除了其标志性的公司标识（画面为一个男人敲锣）。据托马斯称，制片厂还将这部电影谴责为“由病态的人为病态的人拍摄的病态电影”。

他多次与大卫·柯南伯格（David Cronenberg）合作，首先是将威廉·S·巴勒斯的《裸体午餐》（Naked Lunch, 1991）改编为电影，片中出现了一台有意识的、肉质的打字机，通过肛门说话；而最臭名昭著的是拍摄了《撞车》（Crash, 1996），该片改编自 J.G. 巴拉德的同名小说，讲述了一群边缘人通过车祸获得性快感的故事。

风波始于该片在戛纳电影节的首映，尽管当年评委会主席弗朗西斯·福特·科波拉（Francis Ford Coppola）并不赞同，但该片仍被授予奖项，随后争议蔓延至英国小报的头版。《标准晚报》称《撞车》“超越了堕落的底线”；《每日邮报》持续要求禁映，威斯敏斯特市议会采纳了这一要求，封锁了该区内的放映。然而，英国皇家汽车俱乐部（RAC）则认为这部电影可能具有有益的教育意义。

争议是托马斯作品的副产品，而非目标。他最大的成功是《末代皇帝》（The Last Emperor, 1987），该片基于清朝溥仪的自传，溥仪在 1908 年 3 岁时被立为中国皇帝，16 年后被流放。

这部耗时四年拍摄的华丽史诗电影最终将 9 项奥斯卡提名全部转化为奖项，但其拍摄过程充满了风险和障碍。托马斯说：“如果我当时考虑过我们要怎么做以及如何去做，我永远不会去做，因为那是不可完成的任务。”

他筹集了 2500万美元 预算，并实现了一个壮举：使这部电影成为第一部——也是迄今为止唯一一部——获准在中国故宫内拍摄的西方作品。

导演贝尔纳多·贝托鲁奇（Bernardo Bertolucci）从第一次见面起就信任他。“（托马斯）制作的电影都需要勇气和雄心。他就是我们梦寐以求的独立制片人。”他在托马斯身上看到了“青少年的热情……以及泰迪熊般的可靠感。我当场决定将这部电影交到他手中。”

在领取最佳影片奥斯卡奖时，托马斯惊讶得忘记了阅读他写好的获奖感言。不过，他还是设法指出，这个奖项对他来说是“一个真正的肯定，证明独立电影既可以是史诗级的，也可以是大众化的”。

随后，他和贝托鲁奇转向改编保罗·鲍尔斯的《遮蔽天空》（The Sheltering Sky, 1990），讲述一对疏离的美国夫妇（德博拉·温格和约翰·马尔科维奇饰）在战后的北非迷失自我的故事。在包括尼日尔和阿尔及利亚在内的地点拍摄期间，托马斯称这次制作是“完全的疯狂”，充满了“许多疾病和困难……就像片中的角色一样，我们差点走得太远。”

在整个职业生涯中，他一直被具有挑战性和挑衅性的素材所吸引。他说：“你离中心越远，作品就越具有原创性。”

示例包括大岛渚执导的同性情欲战争剧《圣诞快乐，劳伦斯先生》（1983年，大卫·鲍伊主演）、乔纳森·格雷泽执导的令人心惊胆战的黑帮惊悚片《性感野兽》（2000年）、理查德·林克莱特执导的虚构揭秘片《快餐王国》（2006年）、吉姆·贾木许执导的《只有恋人们长存》（2013年，汤姆·希德尔斯顿和蒂尔达·斯文顿在片中饰演时髦的吸血鬼），以及三池崇史执导的几部惊悚片，包括《十三刺客》（2010年）和《初恋》（2019年）。

在马克·库辛斯执导的温情纪录片《杰里米·托马斯的风暴》（2021年）中，斯文顿称托马斯“如此摇滚”，并将他比作一名“海盗”。温格则说他“极其聪明，品味惊人，完全充满童心，同时又能非常严肃。这一切在他身上同时存在。”

他出生于伦敦，父母是拉尔夫和乔伊（原姓斯潘杰），曾在萨默塞特的米尔菲尔德学校就读。他最早的记忆是1958年在《继续前进，中士》的片场玩耍。

“我出生在伊灵，靠近制片厂，后来搬到了派恩伍德附近的一栋乡村别墅，在那里长大时，我还没意识到身边的人是凯瑟琳·赫本、布里吉特·巴多和德克·博加德。”

托马斯放弃了深造，选择追随父亲和叔叔的脚步，他的第一份工作是在冲洗实验室和剪辑室。早期的助理剪辑作品包括民俗恐怖片《塔姆·林》（1970年，这是演员罗迪·麦克道尔执导的唯一一部电影）、肯·洛奇执导的毫不妥协的剧情片《家庭生活》（1971年）以及雷鬼主题的热门电影《他们来得越猛》（1972年）。

他凭借《疯狗摩根》（1976年）完成了制片处女作，这是“澳洲剥削电影”（Ozploitation）的早期代表作。

托马斯说：“你离中心越远，作品就越有原创性。”

上图，《末代皇帝》改编自溥仪的自传，溥仪在1908年三岁时被立为中国皇帝。该片由托马斯（右图）担任制片，由贝尔纳多·贝托鲁奇执导。 HEMA DALE / ALLSTAR; ANOUSH ABRAR

安东尼·肯尼爵士：哲学历史学家及前天主教神父，著有涵盖从亚里士多德到维特根斯坦等人物的著作

类型片，由丹尼斯·霍珀主演（托马斯称其为“处于极度亢奋的昏迷状态”），饰演一名真实的19世纪丛林强盗。

这以及随后的项目构成了一种特立独行的使命宣言。耶日·斯科利莫夫斯基的《呐喊》（The Shout, 1978）由艾伦·贝茨主演，讲述一个声音能杀人的男人；随后是朱利安·坦普尔对性手枪乐队的赞歌《伟大的摇滚骗局》（The Great Rock'n'Roll Swindle, 1980）。在《糟糕的时机》之后，他又与罗格合作了两部电影：野心勃勃但备受诟病的《尤里卡》（Eureka, 1983），由吉恩·哈克曼饰演一名在发现金矿后生活崩塌的勘探者；以及《微不足道》（Insignificance, 1985），改编自特里·约翰逊关于玛丽莲·梦露与阿尔伯特·爱因斯坦虚构会面的剧本。

托马斯制作了《击杀》（The Hit, 1984），这是斯蒂芬·弗雷尔斯的一部哲学公路电影，由约翰·赫特和蒂姆·罗斯饰演护送污点证人特伦斯·斯坦普前往执行死刑的歹徒。他再次与贝尔托鲁奇合作，拍摄了由基努·里维斯主演的《小佛陀》（Little Buddha, 1993）；讲述一名少女（莉芙·泰勒）在托斯卡纳度假的《偷美》（Stealing Beauty, 1995）；以及以1968年5月巴黎抗议活动为背景的《梦中情人们》（The Dreamers, 2003）。

1999年，他执导了唯一一部电影。由托马斯的妻子埃斯基根据沃克·汉密尔顿的小说改编的《所有的小动物》（All the Little Animals）是一部寓言故事，克里斯蒂安·贝尔在片中饰演一名脆弱的逃跑者，他结识了一位热爱埋葬路边动物尸体的森林隐士（赫特饰）。

通过制作本·惠特利的电影《高层建筑》（High-Rise, 2015），他回到了巴拉德的作品，他将巴拉德描述为“我的梅尔维尔”。惠特利称托马斯“几乎本身就是一个类型：最后一位抽雪茄的大制片人”。

托马斯还很不寻常地共同创立了自己的销售公司 HanWay Films。托马斯说，其拥有500部作品的目录“像花园一样被照料和培育。我仍在照料目录中的电影，并试图让其他人也照料他们的电影……试图让它们保持生命力。不幸的是，一部电影必须通过投影机放映才能拥有生命，而如今那些电光幻影已寥寥无几。”

他的两个最新项目本月在电影节首映：三池崇史的《坏警探：东京》预定在多伦多首映，而维尔纳·赫尔佐格的《Bucking Fastard》在威尼斯参展，由凯特和鲁妮·玛拉饰演同步说话的双胞胎姐妹。

托马斯留下了三个孩子：杰西卡，来自他与克劳迪娅·弗罗利希的第一段婚姻（该婚姻于1981年以离婚告终）；以及杰克和约书亚，来自他与埃斯基（原名薇薇安·考夫曼）的婚姻，后者于2023年去世。 瑞安·吉尔比

杰里米·杰克·托马斯，电影制片人，出生于1949年7月26日；逝世于2026年9月11日

哲学历史学家 安东尼·肯尼 逝世，享年95岁。 他在牛津大学 担任讲师和 行政人员 超过50年。

在《西方哲学新史》（四卷本，2004-07年）中，他的目标是效仿伯特兰·罗素自1945年以来一直占据主导地位的《西方哲学史》中的“机智与可读性”，同时避免其不准确之处。可以说，他成功了。

1957年，当肯尼进入大学时，那里正处于分析哲学的鼎盛时期，该哲学试图通过研究日常语言来寻求概念上的清晰。他当时已被授职为神父，仍在罗马格里高利大学攻读博士学位，并加入了当时的天主教机构圣贝内特大厅。

在教授且同为天主教徒的伊丽莎白·安斯康姆的教导和友谊下，他被维特根斯坦的后期哲学所吸引，这构成了他自身哲学的基础，并加速了他日益增长的宗教怀疑主义。他在1959年起在利物浦为期四年的助理牧师任职之初撰写的论文，于1963年以《行动、情感与意志》（Action, Emotion and Will）之名出版，同年他离开了神职。

该作品获得的广泛好评使他能够立即加入牛津大学教职，并在埃克塞特学院和三一学院任教。1964年，他被选为贝利奥尔学院的导师研究员。

尽管最初打算在心灵哲学和行动哲学领域进行原创性研究，但肯尼很早就意识到，自己的独特贡献在于以通俗易懂的方式阐释过去的哲学家。他以热情洋溢的风格撰写并讲授关于亚里士多德、阿奎那、笛卡尔、弗雷格和维特根斯坦的内容。

在他撰写的50本书中，主题涵盖了诗人杰拉德·曼利·霍普金斯和亚瑟·休·克劳（两人都曾在宗教信仰中挣扎），以及托马斯·莫尔、核武装和登山。他翻译了被低估的亚里士多德著作《欧德谟伦理学》，并利用文体计量学技术支持这一论点：该书是亚里士多德最终的、因此也是最深思熟虑的伦理学著作。

在作为首本书续作的《意志、自由与权力》（1975）中，肯尼试图调和“自发性自由”——即因为我想做而能够做我想做的事（这可能意味着无法想要其他任何东西）——与“冷漠自由”——即无论我想做什么，都能做出与我目前行为不同的选择。他尝试的兼容论被认为虽然精巧但并不成功。

在撰写《自由意志与责任》（1978）一书时，肯尼决定在1981-82年参加律师资格考试，以便正确处理关于“犯罪意图”（mens rea）的法律问题。

在20世纪70年代和80年代秘密于捷克斯洛伐克教学后，他被驱逐出境，“理由是触犯了刑法中禁止流氓行为的条款，而我此前并未意识到这包括讲授亚里士多德”。

从1978年到1989年，肯尼担任贝利奥尔学院院长，应对了牛津学术界剧烈的变动，在学生的激进主义与传统主义之间寻求和谐，并抵御官僚主义的干预和资金削减。在他的任期内，学院开始接收女性学生。

他从1984年到2001年担任大学副校长，随后从教学岗位退休。他于1974年成为英国国家学术院院士，并于1992年被封为爵士。

1989年至1999年，肯尼担任罗兹 House（以这位矿业大亨之名管理奖学金的信托机构所在地）的院长，他引入了多项改革，包括资助种族隔离制度结束后的南非教育项目。人们经常说：“塞西尔·罗兹在坟墓里一定在翻身。”肯尼则反驳道：“噢，真希望能有一台‘罗兹自行车’来记录他的旋转次数！”

生日

黛比·亚伯拉罕斯 (Debbie Abrahams)，工党议员，66岁； 奇玛曼达·恩戈齐·阿迪契 (Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie)，小说家，49岁； 查尔斯·博恩 (Charles Bone)，壁画及水彩画家，100岁； 玛丽·布斯泰德夫人 (Lady Mary Bousted)，前全国教育联盟 (National Education Union) 共同总书记，67岁； 吉米·卡尔 (Jimmy Carr)，喜剧演员及电视节目主持人，54岁； 索菲·达尔 (Sophie Dahl)，作家及模特，49岁； 汤姆·哈迪 (Tom Hardy)，演员，49岁； 佩卡姆的菲利普·哈里斯勋爵 (Lord Philip Harris of Peckham)，前 Carpetright 主席，84岁； 汤米·李·琼斯 (Tommy Lee Jones)，演员，80岁； 劳拉·柯克-史密斯 (Laura Kyrke-Smith)，工党议员，43岁； 迈克尔·莱昂斯爵士 (Sir Michael Lyons)，前 BBC 信托基金会主席，77岁； 海伦·马格茨教授 (Prof Helen Margetts)，伦敦政治经济学院 (LSE) 数据科学研究所所长，65岁； 克莱夫·梅里森 (Clive Merrison)，演员，81岁； 埃默森·姆南加古瓦 (Emmerson Mnangagwa)，津巴布韦总统，84岁； 布伦丹·奥卡罗尔 (Brendan O'Carroll)，演员及作家，71岁； 伦佐·罗索 (Renzo Rosso)，时尚设计师，71岁； 薇薇安·斯特恩 (Vivienne Stern)，英国大学协会 (Universities UK) 首席执行官，50岁； 奥利弗·斯通 (Oliver Stone)，电影导演，80岁； 哈里王子，萨塞克斯公爵，42岁； 阿曼达·韦克利 (Amanda Wakeley)，时尚设计师，64岁； 乔治·沃尔登 (George Walden)，作家及前保守党议员，87岁。

安东尼出生于利物浦，是玛格丽特（原姓琼斯）和约翰·肯尼之子。他的父亲是一名爱尔兰蒸汽船工程师，在安东尼两岁时离开家，并在第二次世界大战初期去世。安东尼由修女教育至 12, 岁，随后在叔叔亚历克斯·琼斯（一名神父）的启发下，进入该市的 Upholland 初级神学院。

从1949年起，他在格列高利大学学习，那里教授枯燥的新经院哲学（用拉丁语）以及二手亚里士多德和阿奎那理论，但至少有一些博学的教师，包括耶稣会成员弗雷德里克·科普尔斯顿，一位严谨但相当乏味的哲学史学家。

肯尼陷入了怀疑，他意识到阿奎那著名的关于上帝存在的五个证明依赖于古怪的中世纪科学；而且这些证明无法将上帝所谓的全能和全知与祂的仁慈调和起来。

而且，化质说（天主教教义的一个“测试案例”）无疑依赖于扭曲亚里士多德关于客体“实体”（潜在的、连续的本质）与其可变的表面“偶性”（如光滑、洁白、甜味）之间的区分。如果一块圣体在感知上保持不变，而实际上已经变成了基督的身体，那么肯尼最后的结论是：“据我所知，我的打字机也可能是本杰明·迪斯雷利。”

1963年，他为一家天主教杂志写的一篇文章标题为《教皇约翰称禁爆炸弹》。文中提到，教皇建议天主教徒不能在良心允许的情况下从事核潜艇的制造工作。来自未来的（约翰）希南枢机主教的指责（他们仍保持友谊）促使肯尼寻求脱离神职。

他将自己描述为一名“虔诚的不可知论者”而非无神论者，并继续反对堕胎。

2011年，肯尼在爱丁堡国际书展上。离开神职后，他喜欢将自己描述为一名“虔诚的不可知论者”。 COLIN MCPHERSON / ALAMY

1966年，他与美国歌手兼教师南希·盖利结婚，并未向他不再信仰的教会寻求特许。教条主义者安斯康比告诉他，她希望他们生活得非常不幸，但她似乎对此感到失望。

在晚年，肯尼说在经历了痛苦的青年时代后，他找到了幸福。他和南希在勃朗峰山坡的一栋木屋里经营夏季阅读派对，并与儿子们一起徒步和攀岩。她还会细致地阅读他的各种历史哲学著作，以删掉任何对“非哲学家来说难以理解”的内容。

他的遗属包括南希以及他们的两个儿子罗伯特和查尔斯。简·奥格雷迪 (Jane O'Grady) 撰文。

安东尼·约翰·帕特里克·肯尼 (Anthony John Patrick Kenny)，哲学家及行政管理人员，出生于1931年3月16日；逝世于2026年8月3日。

据我所知，我的打字机也可能是本杰明·迪斯雷利

1 1 化妆师跟随老妇人们 (7 7)

密码字谜

27 诱骗一些人来堵塞油脂 (7 7)

昨日答案

杀手数独 简单

8< / td><>2< / ><>9< / ><>7< / ><>5< / ><>4< / ><>6< / ><>1< / ><>3< / >< / tr><><>4< / ><>6< / ><>3< / ><>2< / ><>8< / ><>1< / ><>5< / ><>9< / ><>7< / >< / ><><>7< / ><>5< / ><>1< / ><>3< / ><>6< / ><>9< / ><>4< / ><>8< / ><>2< / >< / ><><>2< / ><>3< / ><>6< / ><>9< / ><>4< / ><>7< / ><>1< / ><>5< / ><>8< / >< / ><><>9< / ><>8< / ><>7< / ><>1< / ><>3< / ><>5< / ><>2< / ><>6< / ><>4< / >< / ><><>1< / ><>4< / ><>5< / ><>6< / ><>2< / ><>8< / ><>3< / ><>7< / ><>9< / >< / ><><>6< / ><>7< / ><>2< / ><>5< / ><>9< / ><>3< / ><>8< / ><>4< / ><>1< / >< / ><><>3< / ><>9< / ><>4< / ><>8< / ><>1< / ><>6< / ><>7< / ><>2< / ><>5< / >< / ><><>5< / ><>1< / ><>8< / ><>4< / ><>7< / ><>2< / ><>9< / ><>3< / ><>6< / >< / table>

<><>4< / ><>9< / ><>7< / ><>6< / ><>5< / ><>8< / ><>3< / ><>1< / ><>2< / >< / ><><>5< / ><>3< / ><>2< / ><>1< / ><>4< / ><>9< / ><>6< / ><>7< / ><>8< / >< / ><><>8< / ><>1< / ><>6< / ><>3< / ><>7< / ><>2< / ><>9< / ><>5< / ><>4< / >< / ><><>9< / ><>4< / ><>8< / ><>2< / ><>1< / ><>6< / ><>7< / ><>3< / ><>5< / >< / ><><>7< / ><>6< / ><>1< / ><>4< / ><>3< / ><>5< / ><>2< / ><>8< / ><>9< / >< / ><><>3< / ><>2< / ><>5< / ><>8< / ><>9< / ><>7< / ><>1< / ><>4< / ><>6< / >< / ><><>2< / ><>5< / ><>4< / ><>7< / ><>6< / ><>3< / ><>8< / ><>9< / ><>1< / >< / ><><>6< / ><>7< / ><>9< / ><>5< / ><>8< / ><>1< / ><>4< / ><>2< / ><>3< / >< / ><><>1< / ><>8< / ><>3< / ><>9< / ><>2< / ><>4< / ><>5< / ><>6< / ><>7< / >< / table>

隐喻填字游戏 答案编号 30,111

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杀手数独

简单

适用数独常规规则：在每一行、每一列和每个 3x3 方格中填入 1 到 9 的所有数字。此外，每个内部形状（由点标记）中的数字之和必须等于该区域左上角的数字。内部形状中不得重复出现相同的数字。

中等

字母表中的每个字母在网格中至少出现一次，且无论出现在何处，都由相同的数字代表。解码后的字母应能帮助您识别网格中的其他字母和单词。

密码字 (Codeword)

< / td><>22< / ><>< / ><>22< / ><>< / ><>11< / >< rowspan="3">< / ><>21< / ><>< / ><>26< / ><>< / ><>21< / ><>< / >< / tr><><>24< / ><>16< / ><>4< / ><>16< / ><>4< / ><>26< / ><>11< / ><>10< / ><>5< / ><>12< / ><>11< / ><>1< / >< / ><><>< / ><>3< / ><>< / ><>22< / ><>< / ><>5< / ><>12< / >< rowspan="2">< / ><>6< / ><>< / ><>19< / ><>< / >< / ><><>1< / ><>2< / ><>19< / ><>16< / ><>2< / ><>7< / ><>22< / ><>25< / ><>19< / ><>14< / ><>2< / ><>10< / >< / ><>< colspan="2">< / ><>14< / ><>< / ><>14< / ><>< / ><>5< / ><>7< / ><>26< / ><>4< / ><>10< / ><>< / ><>16< / >< / ><><>26< / ><>10< / ><>2< / ><>14< / ><>4< / ><>10< / ><>25< / ><>< / ><>25< / ><>< / ><>16< / ><>10< / ><>12< / >< / ><><>< / ><>25< / ><>< / ><>2< / ><>13< / ><>4< / ><>< / ><>6< / ><>4< / ><>26< / ><>< / ><>12< / >< / ><><>19< / ><>4< / ><>1< / ><>22< / ><>< / ><>19< / ><>4< / ><>2< / ><>< / ><>21< / ><>4< / ><>10< / ><>25< / >< / ><><>7< / ><>< / ><>7< / ><>4< / ><>15< / ><>22< / ><>< / ><>10R< / ><>5< / ><>4< / ><>< / ><>16< / ><>< / >< / ><><>4< / ><>17< / ><>5< / ><>< / ><>2< / ><>< / ><>2< / ><>26< / ><>5< / ><>10< / ><>12< / ><>4< / ><>26< / >< / ><><>4< / ><>< / ><>21< / ><>11< / ><>10< / ><>16< / ><>19< / ><>< / ><>23< / ><>< / ><>5< / >< colspan="2">< / >< / ><><>22< / ><>4< / ><>8< / >< rowspan="2">< / ><>22< / ><>9< / ><>10< / ><>4< / ><>2< / ><>26< / ><>4< / ><>26< / >< / ><><>< / ><>12< / ><>< / ><>14< / ><>22< / >< rowspan="3">< / ><>11< / ><>< / ><>18< / ><>< / ><>26< / ><>< / >< / ><><>4< / ><>21< / ><>5< / ><>7< / ><>21< / ><>4< / ><>19< / ><>9< / ><>2< / ><>17< / ><>25< / >< / ><><>< / ><>25< / ><>< / ><>25< / ><>< / ><>10< / ><>20< / ><>< / ><>10< / ><>< / ><>25< / ><>< / >< / table>

A B C D E F G H X J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

<><>1< / ><>2< / ><>3< / ><>4< / ><>5< / ><>6< / ><>7< / ><>8< / ><>9< / ><>10R< / ><>11I< / ><>12< / ><>13< / >< / ><><>14< / ><>15< / ><>16< / ><>17< / ><>18< / ><>19< / ><>20< / ><>21< / ><>22< / ><>23< / ><>24< / ><>25< / ><>26< / >< / table>

卫报隐喻填字游戏 No 30,112 由 Brockwell 出题

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横向

12 路易十四（Louis XIV）也许花时间做面包 (4)

14 罪人的球拍弦最终被 19 弄断 —— 甜点！ (4,7)

18 黑暗是植物的地狱 (11)

21 关于晋升怎么说，老板？ (4)

22 释放了参孙（Samson）的兄弟之带，轻而易举 (10)

25 在决定性的审判中，侦探们匹配砷类案件 (4,5)

28 报纸在尝试抓住默里（Murray）的第二次发球之上 (4,3)

佐伊·威廉姆斯 (Zoe Williams)

手机禁令

年龄：其起源多种多样；而现在正是它们盛行的时刻。

外观：一群人在一起用餐，在一起交谈，在一起欢笑，同时由于戒断反应而轻微地抽搐。所以，这具体是指在餐厅禁用手机吗？是的，餐厅和酒吧。

这几乎不是什么新鲜事，对吧？不。讽刺的是，十年前，许多高级餐厅正在取消对手机的禁令，屈服于人们无法停止发布食物照片的想法。我想当时这被认为有利于生意。但现在不再如此了——在伦敦的 Spy Bar，他们在门口给你的手机摄像头贴上一个贴纸。这样做有什么意义？人们可以直接把贴纸撕掉。这应该是从心理层面起作用的——为了保护隐私，让人们在不受干扰的情况下享受时光。禁令难道不应该更，嗯，具有强制性吗？确实可以。在北卡罗来纳州夏洛特的 Antagonist 酒吧，顾客被要求将手机放入一个锁定袋中，这种袋子通常用于执行学校的手机禁令。在亚利桑那州凤凰城的 Trophy Room，客人的手机被存储在一个复古的文件柜里。听起来像监狱。在伦敦的 Clink 餐厅，他们将所有手机锁在室外的小屋里，但那是由于该餐厅实际上位于布里克斯顿监狱（HMP Brixton）内部，那里是不允许携带手机的。

好吧，也许手机禁令不应该那么具有强制性。有些地方采用“胡萝卜”而非“大棒”政策。在意大利维罗纳的 Al Condominio 餐厅，如果顾客在用餐前上交手机，餐厅会赠送一瓶免费葡萄酒。

这有效吗？显然 90% 的顾客接受了这一挑战。为了免费葡萄酒，我也会接受。其他餐厅则简单地执行一项禁用手机的政策，旨在鼓励对话，并重新将注意力集中在食物和体验上。那么顾客们支持这样做吗？大部分人都支持。“我强烈鼓励人们尝试一下，有时他们不尝试，就会去其他地方，”Antagonist 的总经理告诉《华尔街日报》。尽管如此，这听起来似乎正变得越来越普遍。大型连锁店现在也开始采取严厉措施。Pizza Express 在去年夏天启动了“无手机下午”活动，甚至 Wetherspoons 也划定了界限。我绝不可能在没有手机的情况下进入 Wetherspoons。别担心——他们只是希望你将其设为静音。

可以说：“请拿走我的手机。任何能促进人类连接的事情，都值得用几个小时的‘末日刷屏’（doomscrolling）来交换。”不要说：“不过我还是可以在这里录我的播客，对吧？”

整整一代人正被学生贷款所欺骗

我第一次接触到致力于争取更公平学生债务结算的组织“重新思考还款”（Rethink Repayment），并非是因为大学相关事务。当时我正在研究依然与父母同住的年轻人数目之惊人。目前，超过三分之一的年轻男性和超过五分之一的年轻女性处于这种状态；当你意识到这里的“年轻”是指所有 35 岁以下的人时，这些统计数据变得更加触目惊心。

原因各异——有些人是因为健康危机而回家，有些人是真的喜欢和父母住在一起，有些人则在与失业作斗争，但唯一的共同主题就是学生债务。收入过低而尚未开始还款的人无法支付房租；处于较低还款档位的人（根据你的贷款计划，年收入约为 35,000 英镑或左右）依然无法支付房租，因为他们需要将收入的 9% 用于还款。而那些年收入超过 29, 英镑的人，由于边际税率的原因，每赚 1 英镑只能保留不到 50 便士。

学生在承担这些债务时，一直被告知这不会影响他们的抵押贷款能力，从技术上讲确实如此——但抵押贷款公司或租赁代理机构在进行任何负担能力检查时，都会将每月还款额考虑在内。

在新一批学生即将启程之际提起这件事，感觉有些不合时宜，因为他们心中有比长期债务更重大、更令人兴奋的事情。然而，如果不提及他们正被彻底欺骗这一事实，又会觉得有失职职。29 岁的弗洛伦斯（Florence）是一名从事商业诉讼的律师，目前仍住在家里。她告诉我：“很多时候我在审查合同，并说：‘这是可执行的，起诉他们。’我们被告知的内容中存在的漏洞令人震惊。如果学生贷款来自机构贷款人，我们早就发起集体诉讼了。”

无需在那些令人不快细节上纠缠（比如我们现在如何看待尼克·克莱格），快速回顾一下 2012. 年学费首次上涨至 9,000 英镑时，围绕学费的争论是什么样子。当时人们非常担心政府是否能收回资金，或者是否会有大量债务必须被核销——而我们没有考虑到的是，由于对方是政府，他们可以制定规则。如果他们愿意，可以将学生贷款的利息设定为零售价格指数（RPI）衡量之通胀率，外加最高 3% 的利率。

我们也讨论了很多关于这些封顶费用对大学意味着什么——10 年前，9,000 英镑对于某些课程来说不够，但对于“课堂科目”（许多人文科学）来说则超过了需求，从而可以进行交叉补贴。现在，十多年来学费仅增加到 10 英镑，它们往往甚至无法覆盖人文课程的成本——因此，对于此前国家最成功部门之一的生存能力所产生的担忧是有充分依据的。

学生本身在这次辩论中几乎成了次要问题：当时的承诺是，一旦他们获得学位，增加的赚钱能力将足以抵消债务，而且无论如何，在他们能够负担得起之前，债务不会影响他们。

事实证明，这完全是谎言。毕业生离开时承担的平均债务负担为 45,000 英镑，是 2009, 年的四五倍，而利率意味着他们可能花费数年还款，却无法在总额上产生明显影响。与此同时，今年 8 月的毕业生职位空缺与去年同月相比下降了 45%，而这被轻描淡写地归咎于 AI 抹杀了入门级工作。

责任更应由雇主承担，他们选择了短期成本削减，而非履行对自身公司、社会以及未来的责任。

轻视年轻一代是一回事；而直接欺骗他们则是另一回事。我不想干涉任何政党的内部事务，但如果哪个政党能提供比“假装问题不存在”更好的方案，那么该党将有望取得巨大的进展，而且不仅仅是在 35 岁以下人群中。

我在音乐节上被人类的创造力惊艳到了

“我只演奏 12 到 15 分钟，”作曲家兼实验艺术家切斯·科利（Chase Coley）说道，“然后我会回答问题。人们总是会有很多问题。”场景是拉姆斯盖特（Ramsgate）年度声音节的一个广场，吉他弦从一端的钢琴一直延伸到大约 20 米外的一棵树上。科利在手指上涂满了小提琴松香（一种粘性树脂），在琴弦上来回走动，通过抚摸每根弦来诱发出声音。黄铜弦与钢弦的声音截然不同，而且这些声音并不完全构成一段旋律；它更像是一种怪诞的声音景观。钢琴充当共鸣器，而那棵树则在演奏它自己——一棵树。这种乐器被称为“长弦乐器”，但考虑到演奏它的人数极少——发明它的美国音乐家艾伦·富尔曼（Ellen Fullman，1980年发明）、实验鲁特制作者尤里·兰德曼（Yuri Landman）以及科利本人——或许有空间为其重新命名，但这本质上是一种让所有感官都陷入困惑的乐器，并唤起每个人心中不介意被困惑的那一部分。所以，“长弦”这个名字已经足够好了。

现场确实有很多问题。如果拨动琴弦会发生什么？（没什么——这些不是横波，而是纵波。）为什么听起来像《星球大战》的开场音乐？（因为只要足够怪异，任何东西听起来都像。）他是英国唯一知道如何操作的人吗？（据我们所知，是的。）

所有的问题最终都汇聚成一个巨大的“为什么？”。为什么有人要把一台钢琴拆散，把它变成一把极长且脱离了琴身的吉他？这种疑问在表演中得到了解答，那是纯粹的“看看会发生什么”的精神在声音上的呈现。它是音乐、科学还是装置艺术，取决于你是听了 10 分钟还是 10 小时。有个家伙问：“你能弹《Wonderwall》吗？”科利显得有些犹豫。“我可以尝试弹一段曲调，”他提议道。“不，没关系，”那个人说，“我开玩笑的。”只有科利能演奏这种长弦乐器（据说非常困难），但在这一场好奇心的交响曲中，事实证明我们每个人都拥有自己的沙锤。

我们如何生存

“我想，天呐，这就是终结了”

奇拉格·巴里（Chirag Bahri）在油轮上工作时，六名持有 AK-47 步枪的歹徒劫持了该船。他讲述了被囚禁的八个月如何永远改变了他的生活。

罗斯·乔治（Rose George）

海盗出现是在 2010 年 5 月 8 日的正午。奇拉格·巴里记得确切的时间和日期，因为这标志着他被一群索马里海盗劫持为质 7 个月 20 天的开始。巴里当时 28 岁，在化学油轮“马里达·玛格丽特”号（Marida Marguerite）上担任二管轮。这是他第 12 次穿越印度洋的亚丁湾。对于一个来自印度内陆邦乌塔拉邦的年轻人来说，这是一份不错的工作，巴里当时即将获得晋升。“但随后，海盗出现了，”他说。

当时船只位于阿曼海岸线外 120 英里处，正处于将苯（一种用于石油化学工业的原材料）从印度坎德拉港运往比利时安特卫普的航程中。印度洋的海盗问题早已为人所知；携带 AK-47 的索马里人乘坐快速快艇出海劫持船只。然而，包括“马里达·玛格丽特”号在内的商业船只依然缺乏防御手段。

大船速度慢，而小快艇速度快。“玛格丽特”号的时速为 13 节，而海盗的时速可达 25 节——而且他们知道在烟囱投射在水面上的阴影中靠近，因此直到最后一刻才被发现。无论如何，船员们都无法采取任何措施来保卫船只。他们拥有的只有铁丝网和运气。

当巴里被告知快艇正在靠近时，他正在机舱里。15 分钟内，他们就遭到了攻击。巴里现在有了任务：根据所谓的最佳管理实践，船只可以通过之字形航行来威慑海盗，于是他开始将发动机推至最大功率。但海盗向船只发射了两枚火箭推进榴弹，架起梯子，翻过了铁丝网。他们直奔驾驶台，即船只的控制中心。船员们为了防止这种情况已经拆除了梯子，但海盗沿着管道爬了上去。几分钟内，六名处于肾上腺素激增状态且可能服用过卡特（khat，一种被咀嚼的麻醉植物）的海盗控制了驾驶台。全体船员被召集在一起：共 22 人，包括 19 名印度人、2 名孟加拉人和 1 名乌克兰人。他们命令船长驶向索马里，船长照做了。

当巴里到达驾驶台时，携带 AK-47 的海盗对他大吼，让他坐下。“我吓坏了。我想，天呐，这就是终结了。”船员们坐在地板上。几个人在哭泣；其他人则在安慰队友，说：“不，他们不会杀我们的。这是生意。”

于是他们就这样被困在那里。“在最初的几天里，人们试图保持乐观，”巴里说。“我们认为我们公司很优秀——他们会向海盗支付赎金，我们很快就能获救。我们当时非常积极。”

“他们用绳子绑住我的手脚。我一毫米也动不了。”

大约两天后，他们到达了索马里北部的加拉卡德（Garacad）海岸。那六名海盗离开了，但另外 40 人登上了船，其中包括一名英语较好的人，他开始与航运公司就赎金进行谈判。“每当公司提出方案，他就会要求更多。他们起初想要 1500万美元。”

在 20 天的时间里，他们全部被留在驾驶台，坐在坚硬的甲板上或躺在上面。发动机必须维持运行，因此工程组人员两人一组进行 12 小时的值班。一名卫兵会护送他们前往机舱。“他总是怀疑船上有很多卫星电话连接，”巴里说。“他们认为每部内部通话电话都是卫星电话。”不过，值班是一种解脱，让巴里除了恐惧地坐在海盗脚下之外，还有其他事情可以做。

海盗年龄各异，从年轻男孩到年长男子都有。他们有一个共同点。“他们完全疯了。总是残暴。总是虐待我们，也虐待彼此。他们会为了一个羊肉块而打架。”起初，船员们食用船上的储备物资。当物资耗尽后，海盗们带来了大米和豆子，并且

他们在甲板上宰杀山羊。巴里密切观察，开始理解海盗的行为；在他们服用卡特（khat）之后的夜晚是最危险的时候。“情绪会发生变化。眼睛会变红。”

20天后，船长获得了允许，让船员们搬到四个船舱中。生活就这样持续了四个月。极偶尔——“八个月里四次”——巴里被允许给家里打电话。他告诉海盗他的家人不会说英语，尽管他们其实会。所以他用印地语交谈。“那太可怕了。我的母亲无法与我交谈；她只是哭了两分钟。政府官员只对我妻子说：‘有一天他会回来的。’”

海盗们时不时地扇几个耳光，但到了第三个月，“8月底，他们开始了肉体折磨”。巴里认为这是因为谈判进展不顺而产生的挫败感。

9 September，最糟糕的事情发生了。“我一生都会记得那个日期。那就像是我生命的终结。”午夜时分，他在机舱里，一些海盗走过来，认定他藏了一部卫星电话。“我说，不，那是对讲机，但他们说那是卫星连接，而且我在使用密码通过它们联系海军和家人。”

“我们大约在早上 6 点被带到甲板上，被要求俯卧。三个海盗走过来，一个抓住我的腿并将其拉直，另一个海盗拉我的手，使得只有我的肚子接触甲板。”他被像捆猪一样捆了起来。“那非常、非常困难。他们用尼龙绳把我的手脚绑住。你甚至无法移动几毫米。甚至生殖器也被电缆扎带绑了起来。他们是如此残忍的人。他们以此为乐。很多船员的生殖器都被绑了起来。”他以那个姿势在烈日下暴晒了四个小时。

“当他们释放我时，我有五分钟仍然保持那个姿势——我无法放下我的手脚。我试着慢慢站起来，但没能站稳。我跪在地上。我的腿和手在发抖。我的左手在那之后大约一个月里处于半瘫痪状态。”

海盗们对隐藏卫星连接的执念仍在继续，巴里因为恐惧他们接下来会做什么而无法入睡。随着被囚禁时间的延长，巴里尝试学习一些索马里语（印地语和乌尔都语包含一些索马里语词汇）。一名海盗变得友好了一些，这有所帮助。但用棍棒或拳头的殴打仍在继续。

到10月，谈判回到了正轨。双方同意支付 500万美元 的赎金，27 December，这笔钱被空投到海中。海盗们用小艇将其捞起，资金在船上进行分配。其他海盗从岸上赶来领取报酬。“他们有日志并进行会计核算，”巴里说。这是一个危险的时段，因此船员们远离他们。七小时后，海盗们带着满满一袋袋钱离开了。巴里开始忙于准备发动机航行。“我不想使用拖船。我想带着船在我们的

“当我打电话回家时，我的母亲无法与我交谈——她只是在哭泣”

动力。”这是一个自尊问题；证明海盗并没有夺走他的一切。

逃离的过程十分缓慢。巴里说，返回阿曼萨拉拉的海路大约花了一周时间，“因为船只锚定近八个月后，船体严重污损，我们无法提速”。从那里，他飞往德里。“在机场，我的姐夫告诉我，我的母亲去世了。”在返回阿曼的途中，当家人告诉他母亲去朝圣时，他就觉得有些“蹊跷”。事实上，他们认为她是因压力过大而去世的。在原本应该为回家而感到宽慰的时候，他却感到深深的愧疚。“我极度崩溃，深受震惊。我脑海中闪现的第一件事就是我不该回来。如果我一直被囚禁，不知道母亲已经不在了，或许反而会更快乐。我想：这一切都是因为我。”

在接下来的几周里，他感到麻木。更沉重的一击是，他的妻子在他被囚禁期间离开了他，而他至今不知道原因。身体上的后遗症同样难以承受。他的背部和头部出现痉挛；无法长时间静坐。检查显示，由于生殖器创伤，他的精子数量有所减少。他彻夜难眠，即便入睡也噩梦连连。“所有这些想法：‘我该怎么办，我未来的生活会变成什么样？’”

除此之外，“人们不断地给出各种反馈：‘噢，你的生活毁了。’‘你打算怎么做？’我决定只与积极的人交往，而不是那些仅仅想嘲笑我处境的人。”

有人会拿他的苦难开玩笑，这看起来似乎荒谬，但巴里说，甚至一些在航运业工作的朋友也会开玩笑说，他有八个月不用工作，而且还管饭。他说，这是一种“认知差距。人们根本不知道海盗会做什么……他们不知道海盗绑架的情况究竟是什么样的。”

讽刺的是，这些负面评论帮助他走出困境。多亏了这些话，他意识到没有人讨论被海盗囚禁的真实感受。他的朋友和邻居之所以不了解，是因为没有人明白那残酷的现实。于是他做了两件事：他开始联系那些亲人被扣为人质的家庭，并开始公开讲述自己的故事。在这方面他是孤独的——大多数被囚禁的同伴已经回到了海上。“他们很多人没有其他生计。他们还能做什么？”

巴里与代表海员的国际运输工人联合会（ITF）取得了联系，一位受人尊敬的 ITF 官员罗伊·保罗（Roy Paul）鼓励他讲述自己的经历。与此同时，他完成了高级工程师考试，并在 2011 年晚些时候重新出海。不过，他没有去亚丁湾：他的家人将无法承受那种压力。他在一艘沿着印度海岸线航行的印度油轮上找到了工作。工作了两个月后，保罗为他提供了一份在海盗行为人道主义响应计划（MPHRP）工作的机会，该计划旨在支持人质及其家属。“我说：‘我不明白。你们所说的人道主义支持是指什么？我从未听过这个词。我不合格。我是个工程师，是个技术人员。’他告诉我，我已经是在这么做了。”

如今，巴里（Bahri）依然在这个领域工作。2012年，船只开始雇佣武装警卫，降低了来自海盗的威胁，随后 MPHRP 与国际海员福利与援助网络（International Seafarers' Welfare and Assistance Network）合并。但海盗依然存在，被绑架者的家属往往陷入困境。“有些案例中，家属在燃气供应方面遇到问题，因为账户是在丈夫名下的。或者账户被冻结，因为那是海员的名字。而家属对此无能为力，因为账户已经休眠了一两年 [在海员被扣为人质期间]。在人道主义方面，我们发现许多家庭因为得不到任何信息而苦苦挣扎。”

最近，巴里一直在为油轮“荣誉25号”（Honour 25）的11名船员家属提供帮助，该船共有17名船员，目前已被索马里海盗扣押进入第五个月。他还在帮助那些因伊朗战争而受困的海员。他说，利用自己的经历去帮助他人对他而言是一种疗愈。“这对我帮助很大。因为当我见到海员及其家属时，我能帮他们找回笑容。我知道至少发生了一件好事。如果我不做这份工作，我可能会很痛苦。我可能还在航海，还在责怪自己，而且我不会明白责怪自己是没有意义的。错的是当时的情况。”

他已经再次结婚，生活幸福，现在有两个年幼的孩子。考虑到他所经历的一切，如果其中任何一个孩子想在海上工作，他会怎么想？“现在还早，”他说，“但我一直向儿子分享关于航运的故事。如果他想 [在海上工作]，我绝对会支持。”

▲ “我一生都会记得那个日期” …… 奇拉格·巴里（Chirag Bahri）

“马里达·玛格丽特号”（Marida Marguerite），该船在2010年被劫持时正将苯运输至比利时

超跑的兴起

这些曾经是超级富豪专属的、发动机轰鸣且耗油惊人的车辆，如今正通过网红文化和“男性圈”（manosphere）被新一代驾驶者推崇——其中许多人其实是租车。为什么它们突然变得如此受欢迎？

史蒂夫·罗斯（Steve Rose）

“那辆60 万英镑兰博基尼是这次行动中没收的第一辆车，”伦敦警察厅（Metropolitan police）的特勤总督察杰夫·塔特曼（Geoff Tatman）在回忆8月的第二个周末时说道。“他在红灯前停车，猛踩油门轰鸣，等待交通畅通，然后飞驰而去。所以当我们第三次看到他这么做时，我们就拦截了他并没收了车辆。”这辆车的最高时速为217英里（350公里 / 小时），但这些伦敦街道的限速是20英里 / 小时。在同一个周末，伦敦警察厅又没收了约90辆汽车，总价值超过800 万英镑m，高于去年的72. 没收的原因包括各种违规行为：无保险驾驶、持有错误执照或反社会行为。此前，伦敦警察厅只能对这类驾驶员给予警告，但今年《警察改革法》第59条得到了加强，使得立即没收车辆成为可能。被没收的车辆中还包括一辆价值约340 万英镑m的法拉利 Monza（驾驶员仅持有英国临时驾照）。所有这些车辆都被展出于大理石拱门（Marble Arch），吸引了大批拿着相机的围观者（其中一名参与者对现场进行了长达七小时的直播博客）。

伦敦警察厅在8月拦截的许多车辆都挂着中东车牌。该地区的超跑车主将夏天在伦敦度过并随身携带车辆（成本在2.5 万英镑以上）已成为一种增长趋势。塔特曼没收的那辆橙色兰博基尼挂的是迪拜车牌。塔特曼说，驾驶员在第二天拿回了车，之后他被观察到驾驶得非常文明，不再猛踩油门。也许教训已经吸取，但问题依然存在：为什么要把一辆时速200英里的车运到伦敦，在限速20英里的区域行驶？

超跑已成为我们这个时代的幻想地位象征：视觉上极其显眼，听觉上震耳欲聋，由明星、超级富豪以及任何自认为拥有精英地位的人驾驶——而现在这样的人似乎很多。尽管超跑是为排他性而定制的，但它们似乎无处不在。当然，它们充斥在社交媒体上。在传统媒体中也是如此：电视上（亚马逊的《Top Gear》衍生剧《The Grand Tour》新一季刚刚推出）、电影、音乐视频、电子游戏中。而且它们在我们的道路上越来越可见——在那里，它们能迅速从一个好奇之物变成一种干扰或危险。对于一些人来说，它们是渴望的对象 ▲ 由自我驱动……“男性圈”网红安德鲁·泰特（Andrew Tate）驾驶一辆（可能是租赁的）迈凯伦 765LT

而对于另一些人来说，它们则是晚期资本主义过剩的粗俗象征。

超跑并没有一个具体的定义，但普遍共识是，它们是由一批知名“品牌”制造的高性能车辆：法拉利、兰博基尼、布加迪、阿斯顿·马丁、保时捷、梅赛德斯。虽然各年龄段、各国籍和各收入阶层的人都对其向往，但它们在男性中最为流行。在光谱的一端，像安德鲁·泰特这样的“男性圈”人物利用超跑来诱导轻信的追随者购买他们的成功秘籍。在另一端则是富有的收藏家，他们更倾向于赞美这些汽车的美学和工程品质，更不用说其投资价值了。

最后一类氛围在 Salon Privé 上体现得淋漓尽致，这是目前填满英国夏季日程的数十场车展之一。

这场活动于9月初在具有英国巴洛克风格背景的布伦海姆宫举行。根据大卫·巴格利（David Bagley）的说法，这次活动就像是“汽车界的皇家赛马会”。他与兄弟安德鲁在21年前共同创立了这场车展。着装要求为“正式花园派对装”，禁止穿着短裤或T恤，并“鼓励”女士佩戴帽子和装饰帽。我们见面时，巴格利以模范的方式诠释了这一要求：一套白色亚麻西装配深蓝色衬衫。前《Top Gear》和《Grand Tour》主持人理查德·哈蒙德（Richard Hammond）也在现场，与巴格利共同颁奖。成人票价为£60。巴格利表示，五天内共有超过30,000名访客。“这是一个可以盛装出席，度过一个愉快且放松的一天的地方。”

我是在“超级跑车星期日”到访的。在宫殿庭院里，数十辆超跑按颜色排列展出。但这些只是标准配置的超跑——入门级法拉利大约需要花费 20 万英镑。在 Salon Privé 的持票区域内，则是经过修复的经典车和限量版车型，价格高达数百万英镑，其中甚至包括普通观众从未听说过的高性能“顶级超跑（hypercar）”品牌：帕加尼（Pagani）、Giamaro、柯尼塞格（Koenigsegg）、布拉巴斯（Brabus）。

“到处都没有‘出售’标志，”巴格利说，“但本质上这是一个销售环境。这是一个制造商与现有客户，以及寻找豪华和高端汽车的新客户会面的场所。”

超级跑车确实变得更加可见，超跑车主私人会员俱乐部 SCC 的创始人布拉德利·卡尔（Bradley Carr）表示。庭院中那些按颜色编码的超跑正是由他的会员所有。他们会一起进行公路旅行、赛道日和其他社交活动。卡尔在80年代于德文郡和康沃尔郡长大。“回想那时，偶尔能看到一辆法拉利，但超跑世界几乎不存在。”如今生产的数量要多得多。例如，在1980年代，法拉利每年制造的汽车不足3,000辆；而今天，它每年制造超过13,000辆。兰博基尼在2010年代中期之前每年制造的汽车不足2,000辆；现在每年制造超过10,000辆。

卡尔解释说，这部分是因为富裕买家的数量增加，也是因为超跑在日常驾驶方面变得更可负担。卡尔曾是一名销售代理，从17岁销售沃克斯豪尔（Vauxhall）起步，到20多岁时销售阿斯顿·马丁（Aston Martin）。由于这些汽车能够保值，其财务逻辑非常有说服力：“如果你去买一辆，比如说 [宝马] M3，这是一辆 7 万英镑 的车，五年后它就变成了一辆 2.5 万英镑 的车。所以差价是 4.5 万英镑。你花 14 万英镑 买一辆保时捷，五年后它可能价值 12 万英镑，因为它们的折旧情况不同。那么实际上，哪辆车花钱更多？”

那些仍然远在这一价格区间之外的人只能满足于盯着看。在 Salon Privé 有很多这样的人，包括年轻粉丝和渴望成为网红的人，他们抓住机会拍摄内容。活动之外盯着看的人更多：布伦海姆宫的出口道路两旁排满了旁观者，大多是男性和男孩，但也有整个家庭——他们拿着手机和相机，等待捕捉离场车辆的一瞥。在超跑的普及方面，社交媒体负有很大责任。平台上充斥着此类内容，从业余爱好者的拍摄片段到车主的炫耀，从“超跑翻车”到更流畅、更专业的专业频道。

蒂莫西·伯顿（Timothy Burton），又名 Shmee150，在 YouTube 上拥有近 300 万 订阅者。他是那种内容

“为什么要把一辆时速200英里的车运到伦敦，就为了在限速20英里的区域行驶？”他是每个人都想成为的那种创作者。这位39岁、毕业于拉格比（Rugby）的前投资顾问，现在周游世界，以专业的知识对超级跑车进行评测、驾驶并赞美。他在智能手机普及之前的时代开始尝试，当时只是把拍车当作一种爱好，用摄像机记录。他在2010年开始全职从事这项工作，并且“直到大约一两年前，在超过10年的时间里，我平均每天都会发布一个视频。没有圣诞节，也没有生日。”

有很多竞争对手在制作类似的内容。零售商Carwow的YouTube频道拥有超过1100 万名订阅者。SupercarBlondie——即常驻迪拜的澳大利亚主持人亚历克斯·希尔希（Alex Hirschi）——拥有超过2200万美元。亚马逊《大巡游》（Grand Tour）的三位新主持人中（除火车迷弗朗西斯·布尔乔亚（Francis Bourgeois）外），有两位是詹姆斯·恩格尔斯曼（James Engelsman）和托马斯·霍兰德（Thomas Holland），他们是YouTube频道ThrottleHouse的共同创始人，该频道拥有3.4m名订阅者。自2015, 以来，他们一直在网上做《大巡游》和《顶级档》（Top Gear）在电视上做的事情：以一种开玩笑、充满男人味的方式评测、驾驶并摆弄汽车。

不过，进入超级跑车生活方式还有另一种途径，那就是伪造。据透露，许多社交媒体影响力人士一直在这么做，尤其是在光谱中的“男性圈”（manosphere）端。例如，泰特（Tate）和他的兄弟特里斯坦（Tristan）经常上传他们购置新车的视频。安德鲁在2021, 一段视频中接收了一辆价值500万美元 (370 万英镑m) 的布加迪 Chiron，并嘲笑那些买不起这种车的“穷鬼”（brookies）。但上个月，泰特的律师承认，他的许多车辆都是租来的。他们补充说，泰特兄弟并不拥有他们炫耀的游艇和手表。哈里森·萨利文（Harrison Sullivan），又名HSTikkyTokky，的情况也类似。他通过塑造花花公子生活方式来打造个人品牌，但在2023年的一篇来自迪拜的TikTok帖子中承认，他一直炫耀的那辆兰博基尼 Urus 并不属于他。

60秒消失……大都会警察局没收了一辆 60 万英镑 兰博基尼 Revuelto 以及一辆没有保险的保时捷 911

“我再也租不起了，所以车被收回了，而我谎称它出车祸了，”他承认道。

租一辆兰博基尼一天的费用可能高达 1,000 英镑，但需求量很大：无论是为了完成人生清单上的单次体验，还是为了婚礼和毕业派对、公司活动，亦或是为了追求名气的社交媒体人物。但对于租赁公司来说，这并非没有风险。一些公司提到，有些客户甚至根本不会开车，但可能会要求将车停在豪华酒店外面，以便他们拍摄自己拿着钥匙走向车辆的画面，仿佛那是他们自己的车一样。

如果租车者真的坐到了驾驶位上，显然将快速、强大、嘈杂且极其昂贵的机器交给缺乏经验的驾驶员是有潜在风险的。看来每家租赁公司都有自己的恐怖故事。尼克·哈德威克（Nik Hardwick）在圣奥尔本斯（St Albans）经营Supercar Experiences已经23年了，他见过的足够多，因此在出租对象方面非常谨慎。“通常在几分钟内，你就能大致判断出他们租车是为了做什么，”他说。他只将车租给28岁以上的驾驶员，并为他们提供20到30分钟的交接讲解，教他们如何操控车辆，同时也提醒他们“所有车辆都安装了非常先进的追踪器，所以无论你去哪里，无论你做什么都会被永久记录。我会收到实时警报。”如果经过几次警告后，驾驶员仍然“开得像偷车一样”，他可以禁用车辆使其无法重启（并且他们将失去押金）。

◀ “汽车界的皇家赛马会”…… 布伦海姆宫的Salon Privé

哈德威克以惨痛的教训吸取了经验。2007年，一名鲁莽的驾驶员将他的14 万英镑法拉利开翻并撞毁。驾驶员毫发无伤地逃脱，但哈德威克却因法律诉讼和保险账单而破产。如今，他拥有一支由10辆车组成的小型车队，但还可以调动数十辆更多车辆。他的租赁对象主要是“英格兰中产专业人士”和企业客户（他刚刚向纽卡斯尔发送了六辆阿斯顿·马丁，用于一场企业“詹姆斯·邦德体验”活动），不过他也向电影、YouTuber和音乐录影带提供车辆租赁（例如，Dave的《Funky Friday》视频中出现的那辆白色迈凯伦F1）。不过，这并不像听起来那么光鲜。“生意越来越忙，竞争也越来越激烈，”他说，“所有东西都在涨价——车辆、保险。情况似乎从未变得更容易。”

- “这是一个销售环境” ... Salon Privé 创始人安德鲁·巴格利（Andrew Bagley）和戴维·巴格利（David Bagley）

随着超级跑车租赁市场的扩大，驾驶这些租赁车辆的人所带来的问题也随之增加——尤其是由于一些公司可能会

“未来的后代还会将它们视为向往的对象，还是将其视为过时的产物？”

在审核程序上可能不像哈德威克（Hardwick）那样严谨。本月早些时候，埃塞克斯警方在绍森德（Southend）扣押了一辆车速超过限速两倍的兰博基尼。在此几天前，曼彻斯特警方扣押了一个由五辆兰博基尼和一辆梅赛德斯-奔驰 G 级组成的车队。7 月，埃塞克斯警方在 M11 高速公路上扣押了一个由 13 辆超级跑车组成的车队，几天后，布里斯托尔警方在一次高速公路“婚礼车队”中扣押了四辆超级跑车。

不可避免地，超级跑车获取门槛的降低导致了伤亡事件的增加。历史提供了无数关于快车危险的例子，从詹姆斯·迪恩（James Dean）到《速度与激情》明星保罗·沃克（Paul Walker，他于 2013 年在一次事故中丧生，据报道当时他驾驶的保时捷在限速 45 英里 / 小时的区域内时速超过 80 英里）。9 月，一名约克郡女性被指控因危险驾驶导致乘客死亡，据称她驾驶的一辆租赁的兰博基尼 Urus 在 M62 高速公路上被记录到时速高达 143 英里。此类名单不胜枚举。

制造商还能在多久时间内继续制造速度更快、更闪耀、更昂贵的车辆？未来的后代会继续将它们视为令人向往的梦想之车，还是将其视为一个不再与环境目标、公民规范和 20 英里 / 小时限速区相兼容的奢侈与消费主义时代的过时产物？或许它们的日子已经进入了倒计时。

“我们是否处于‘汽车巅峰’？”蒂姆·“Shmee”·伯顿（Tim "Shmee" Burton）问道，“超级跑车所能达到的最佳性能、最极致的兴奋感和疯狂程度是否已经见顶？”他说，考虑到日益增加的监管、飞涨的价格以及名誉受损，情况可能确实如此。

“谁知道未来会怎样，但我认为，就像任何行业一样，一旦出现了未来的威胁，就会给当下的拥有带来更多的兴奋感。所以每个人都极其——我该怎么说？——沉溺于当下的世界。”

“我们正处于榨取式工业的最后一次掠夺中”

▲ “自然可以通过货币化来获得保护”……康伯巴奇在《如何在地球上生存》（How to Live on Earth）中，该片跨越了从阿拉斯加到亚马逊的广阔地域

从奥巴马的厨师到对大猫痴迷的人，本尼迪克特·康伯巴奇聚集了专家们，拍摄了一部关于如何治愈地球的电影。他谈到了反对者、象牙——以及鹿肉的奇妙之处

海伦娜·霍顿（Helena Horton）

本尼迪克特·康伯巴奇（Benedict Cumberbatch）很害怕走到户外。在盛夏酷暑的顶峰，他正从位于苏豪区（Soho）的空调酒店房间里与我交谈。很少有人怀疑气候崩溃是导致这些酷暑的主要原因，自然、农业和水源都承受着巨大的压力。根据气象局（Met Office）共同撰写的一份报告，到仲夏时分，英格兰和威尔士已有 2,700 人因酷热而导致超额死亡。

但对康伯巴奇来说，以一种苦乐参半的方式，打破记录的高温来得正是时候。这位演员一直在巡演以推广他的新纪录片《如何在地球上生存》（How to Live on Earth）。“这种讽刺每个人都心知肚明，”他说，“我们正生活在气候崩溃的结果之中，所以走到户外——字面意义上——就是一次行动号召。”

他的电影本月在 YouTube 上发布，这位演员希望它能

‘我们将减排作为参与的条件’……在《复仇者联盟：无限战争》中

“我在荒野上遛狗。我骑行，乘坐公共交通，而且我还是个激流运动狂”

这是一份关于我们未来如何与饱受威胁的地球互动的“蓝图”。片中，卷桶（Cumberbatch）在伦敦自然历史博物馆宽广的大厅里发表独白，期间穿插了一些短片，展示了活动人士、科学家甚至厨师如何学习一种“在地球上的新生活方式”——一种能够阻止人类破坏地球的方式。

在过去的二十年里，卷桶一直试图重新定义他与地球的关系：他尝试以更温和的方式生活在地球上，并成为了纯素食主义者。然而，在拍摄《信使》（The Courier）期间，这成了一个问题。他在片中饰演被俘的英国间谍格雷维尔·温（Greville Wynne），后者在俄罗斯监狱中受苦。“他们说，‘最后两周你不能摄入任何纤维。你需要吃精瘦肉。’而我的反应是，‘我是纯素食主义者！’”

两周没有纤维对肠道来说一定很艰难吧？“是的，确实如此，但这远比我饰演的角色所经历的要轻得多，因为这是一个真实的故事。”尽管他随后立即恢复了蔬菜饮食，但这种极端的饮食导致他的血糖骤降，身体出现了不适。“人们说，‘你现在应该考虑吃一点肉了，因为你的身体在这些条件下无法正常运转——你体重减轻了太多。’”

现在，卷桶尝试以符合伦理的方式获取他所食用的肉类，他选择鹿肉，因为在英国，由于鹿群数量过多，需要进行剔除。但他在《信使》中的经历只是电影工作挑战即使是最坚定的环保活动人士的一种方式。卷桶与“绿色骑手”（Green Rider）运动合作，该运动要求演员将减少拍摄期间的污染和排放作为参与拍摄的条件。

“我们试图推动的是将其合同化，”他说。“我们目前正在与迪士尼合作——他们在英国的《复仇者联盟》项目。所以，是的，规模正在扩大——我在圈子里接触到的每个人都对此表示支持。”

所以，他放弃了纯素食主义，但他会乘坐私人飞机吗？“不，”他说，但补充了一个前提：“如果我们只是否定并指责人们是伪君子，那只是在浪费精力。时尚产业比航空业更污染环境，食品产业也污染严重。这涉及我们所有人，每个人都是。”而不仅仅是电影明星。

这位50岁的人长期以来一直是一名环境活动人士。

他在2019年参观了“灭绝反抗”（Extinction Rebellion）的抗议活动，并对近期政府打击气候抗议的行为感到沮丧，那些为了该事业而封锁道路和砸窗的人被判处了长期监禁。“在民主制度中，我们应该拥有采取和平行动的权利，即使是直接行动，”他说。

卷桶热衷于强调这部电影的积极信息，而且与大多数环境纪录片不同，它（几乎）有一个快乐的结局。影片记录了一些卓越的人物，从试图保护三文鱼免受大坝影响的原住民活动人士，到正在实验替代蛋白的巴拉克·奥巴马的前白宫厨师。其传递的信息是，替代方案是存在的，而且如果人类停止伤害自然，自然是可以痊愈的。

电影中最引人注目的人物之一是丹·奥尼尔（Dan O'Neill），一名研究大猫的生物学家，他一次在雨林深处待上数周，研究生活在那里的生物。他深深地热爱自然，这一点在电影中得到了体现。“我总是在偏远的地方工作，”他说。“我们所做的大部分工作并没有被广泛的观众看到。例如，蒙古的人们通常从未见过雪豹。我非常自豪《如何在地球上生活》（How to Live on Earth）将在YouTube上播出——因为生活在这些偏远地区的人们也可以看到它。这让我们的信息在全世界范围内民主化。原住民社区将看到他们自己的代表。”

在其中一个场景中，奥尼尔正乘车离开雨林，他打开手机，在经历了长时间没有信号后，终于收到了来自亲友的消息。但这种多巴胺带来的快感随即变成了沮丧，因为他被海量的通知所轰炸，最终反而开始怀念森林中的幽静。“每次都这样，”他笑着说，“我们竟然如此依赖这个小设备，这太奇怪了。即使在世界的偏远角落也能与家人沟通，这种能力很强大。但当你拿到手机的那一秒，你就会意识到你其实并不想要它。”

我们许多人与手机之间都存在类似的爱恨交织的关系，康伯巴奇也不例外。“大约半年时间，”他说，“我一直没勇气去查看那些未回复的 WhatsApp 消息和电子邮件。简直有成千上万条，我处理不过来。”他轻蔑地谈到了“向左滑动、点击诱饵以及所有那些东西”。

这部电影的导演乔尼·休斯在地球的各个遥远角落找到了奥尼尔以及所有其他参与者。“有些人，”他说，“之所以被选中，是因为他们是不可思议的个体，做了一些惊人的事情，并且能够传达出我们都应该感受到的所有情感和兴奋，因为当我们看到现状时，很容易感到沮丧。”

康伯巴奇及其团队在纪录片中讨论了一些天马行空的构想，对于厌倦了此类话题的观众来说，这可能显得不切实际。结论是，雨林中的树木应该被视为比其下方的黄金更有价值——这在某种道德意义上可能是正确的，但在今天的经济体系中，这真的会发生吗？

“活着的自然实际上比死掉的自然对我们更有价值，”康伯巴奇说，“所以，就大象为萨瓦纳草原带来的贡献以及维持该草原生态系统运作而言，象牙的价值不如一只活着的象。关键在于如何创建一种新的金融模型，让人们能够作为股东投资于自然，而自然——它一直以来在免费地为我们工作——实际上可以通过货币化来实现保护，真正获得报酬。”

他的观点令人耳目一新且乐观，他表示坚信人类能够拯救地球：“希望我们现在在开采工业最后的掠夺中所看到的，是我们实际上并不想鼓励那种行为，也不想鼓励民粹主义和民族主义的所有其他恶劣行径。”

尽管这部纪录片将我们带到了包括亚马逊和阿拉斯加在内的偏远地区，但它也引导观众在家里寻找自然，并在城市中培育自然。在伦敦汉普斯特德的住所附近，康伯巴奇几乎每天都与自然接触，主要是通过在荒原的池塘中游泳。“我有点痴迷于野水游泳，”他宣布道，“我也会在荒原上散步。我养了一只狗，骑自行车，进城时乘坐公共交通。”

奥尼尔回到位于城市另一端沃尔瑟姆斯托的家中时也在做同样的事情。虽然那里没有雪豹，但他成功找到了自然：“我们有沃尔瑟姆斯托湿地，它是欧洲最重要的湿地之一。我学到了很多。我现在确保在伦敦花更多的时间接触自然。”

康伯巴奇希望将电影传递的信息融入到他的日常生活中。“孩童时期，你拥有那种好奇心和惊叹感，但遗憾的是，我们后来失去了它。在人类进化的过程中，有太多东西会将其摧毁。所以请坚持住这一点——并意识到这一切是多么珍贵。”

《如何在地球上生活》（How to Live on Earth）将于 20 September 在 YouTube 上线。

《下降》（The Descent）

“我用靴子踩碎头颅的那个孩子只有11岁，愿上帝保佑他。其实我踩的是一颗花椰菜”

尼尔·马歇尔（Neil Marshall），编剧 / 导演

在拍摄[2002年恐怖电影]《狗兵》（Dog Soldiers）之后，我结识了 Celador Films 的克里斯蒂安·科尔森（Christian Colson），并向他们推介了一个项目——关于石油钻井平台上的僵尸。他们很感兴趣，但认为成本太高。因此，在返回纽卡斯尔的火车上，我一直在思考什么样的恐怖片既能真正令人恐惧，又能将场景控制在较小范围内，从而在预算内完成。我想到了设定在黑暗环境中的场景，然后觉得……洞穴不错。我脑海中浮现出一次去铅矿的学校旅行，当时导游说：“好了，大家把灯关掉”，在那一刻，我第一次体验到了那种无法揣测的黑暗。

我们希望这部电影尽可能真实：当你进行洞穴探险时，唯一的光源就是你随身携带的灯。这里没有那种让一切看起来很美的绝美光束。这意味着屏幕上有很大一部分区域将处于完全的黑暗之中，只有当角色转身并照亮时，你才能最终看到阴影中隐藏的东西。

黑暗绝对是我的帮手，但这确实意味着需要大量的规划，因为每个角色都必须拥有能够照亮场景的物品，哪怕只是一盒火柴。

对于那些“爬行者”（crawlers），我想要一种看起来非常基础的形象，不要太多的线条或细节。挑战在于如何让他们既恐怖又保持人性，因为设定是他们是留在洞穴里的穴居人，而不是那些离开黑暗并在户外建造小屋的人。在视觉上，他们是诺斯费拉图（Nosferatu）和伊基·波普（Iggy Pop）的混合体；但在动作方面，我认为应该让他们像蜘蛛一样——他们会突然停止并完全静止，然后突然以100英里的时速冲出去，接着再次停止。

我将这部电影构思为莎拉（Sarah）向原始野蛮状态的“下降”：为了生存，她经历了一次重生，尽管你并不确定她之后是否还能回到社会中。

肖娜·麦克唐纳（饰演莎拉）

那是《FHM》、《Loaded》以及所有那些男性杂志盛行的时代，所以我起初以为这会是些女孩在狭窄空间里穿着性感，身上沾满血迹和黏液的戏码。我对那种没兴趣。但当我读到剧本时，发现它非常出色。这是一个关于悲痛母亲的故事，而且我也需要具备强健的体魄和勇气。

我们不被允许看到“爬行者”（crawlers），甚至不能看它们的照片。我是第一个看到它们的人，因为一旦进入洞穴，我们就是按时间顺序拍摄的。其他人都在问“它长什么样？！”，但我其实也不太清楚，因为距离相当远。我只知道它是灰色或白色的，黏糊糊的，看起来有点像咕噜（Gollum）。

我认为尼尔（Neil）把我们分开是对的，因为当我们面对它们时，一个极其恐怖的男人——基本上全裸，且经过数月训练——正向我扑来，这真的能让人精神高度集中。当我们与它们搏斗时，它们表现得如此具有动物性，实在令人不安。演员们已经摸索出了爬行者的运作系统及其不同的特性。你会觉得自己在与一群具有完整动态关系的生物战斗，这相当令人生畏。

莎拉进入生存模式的整个片段非常精彩。首先是我与饰演贝丝（Beth）的亚历克斯·里德（Alex Reid）的那场死亡戏，她演得轻而易举。就像是：“好吧，亚历克斯，你的脖子被冰锥刺穿了，但现在向观众交代这些情节非常重要……”而她的反应是：“没问题，太酷了。”然后，当然，我用石头砸碎了她的头。接着，一个儿童爬行者向我扑来。他只有大约 11 岁，真是个可怜的孩子，我用靴子踩碎了他的头——实际上是我在踩一朵花椰菜。然后母亲发现了，我们有一场打斗戏，一个母亲必须杀死另一个母亲才能生存。挖眼睛的那一幕非常、非常解气。接着另一个爬行者出现了，我也砸碎了他的头。之后我浸没在一个血池中，那其实是一个溢出来的按摩浴缸。一名出色的特技女演员负责跑跳动作，因为水池太浅，保险公司无法为演员承保。我只需要现身并享受荣耀即可。

在媒体报道中，所有讨论都围绕着“女性力量”。但我们的想法是：“你们看到我们怎么对待彼此了吗？！”真正体现女性力量的是我们演员之间如何激烈地支持彼此，而且现在依然如此。我们有一个 WhatsApp 群组，并且仍定期见面。我确实在想，如果我们是在另一个项目中相识，还会发生同样的事情吗？还是因为这部电影？如果你把一群人扔进洞穴里，也许你们出来时就成了终身挚友。

采访由亚历克斯·德勒（Alex Deller）完成。《下降》（The Descent）现提供 4K 版本。

莎拉·登普斯特（SARAH DEMPSTER）评论

永远的家

◀ 夫妇罗伯特（道格拉斯·亨肖 饰）和卡罗尔（艾米·纳托尔 饰）面临着许多棘手的问题

幽默无法掩盖这部惊悚剧的失败气息

★★☆☆☆

Channel 5

“圣母玛利亚在上，那股可怕的臭味是怎么回事？”莫伊拉（Denise Welch 饰）大声嚷道，她厌恶地在女儿卡罗尔的厨房里踉跄走动。“这味道！”她继续说道，脸颊因惊恐而鼓起，而卡罗尔（Amy Nuttall 饰）——你大概能猜到，她对这种戏剧化的场面早已习以为常——正忙着处理茶包。“卡罗尔？！这味道。”

莫伊拉身着一件樱桃红色的弹性纤维服装，一副母亲宽容的模样，但她并非唯一一个被 7 Stable Row 散发出的神秘恶臭惊扰的人。这座爱德华时期的住宅是六集惊悚剧《永远的家》（Forever Home）大部分“惊悚”情节发生的地方。卡罗尔那目光呆滞的伴侣罗伯特（Douglas Henshall 饰，他的演技远超本剧所需）在想，这味道是否与排水管有关。罗伯特的儿子凯登（Lewis Cope 饰）怀疑是狐狸搞的。至于卡罗尔？她和其他人一样，对这股臭味感到恼火。

话虽如此，她认为最好不要提到这一切其实是因为地下室里一个刚被她发现的故障冰箱中，有一具尸体正在解冻。至少现在还不能说。毕竟不想让大家没胃口吃加里波第饼干（garibaldis）。尤其是这具僵尸似乎是罗伯特的前妻，一个在行为日益诡异的罗伯特口中，在 20 年前与他兄弟私奔的“贱女人”。为了向自己证明患有早期失智症的罗伯特是清白的，卡罗尔很快发现自己陷入了一场调查迷雾，一个由谋杀和废话交织的乱麻，其中深埋的秘密在令人打哈欠的情节中接连浮现。

听明白了吗？太好了。那么，我们捏住鼻子，紧绷屁股，继续看下去。

基于格雷厄姆·诺顿（Graham Norton）的畅销小说，《永远的家》是 Channel 5 “不可分辨家庭惊悚剧加工综合体™”（Indistinguishable Domestic Thriller Processing Complex™）的最新产物。这个阴暗的设施负责生产像《头号粉丝》（Number One Fan）、《为了她的罪孽》（For Her Sins）、《财富》（The Fortune）以及这部没人记得住名字的类型片经典《游戏》（The Game）那样机械化分离的废话管子。

你懂这种套路：谋杀、背叛、穿着单调开襟羊毛衫的前肥皂剧演员，手里拿着明显是空的咖啡杯，独自站在 B&Q 品牌“这些谎言正在撕裂你的婚姻，宝贝®”系列款式的整体厨房里。然而，在这里，这种平庸与荒诞的定制混合物配上了一道出人意料的配菜：幽默。这体现在诸如“她分不清梵高和范·达姆！”之类的台词，以及每当《永远的家》想告诉我们可以安全地从沙发后面出来时，就会出现的一个眨眼般的弦乐基调。

接着是罗伯特的女儿萨莉（Jenny Walser 饰），一个轻信他人的休闲中心前台，正与出轨的扳手工帕特里克（James Baxter 饰）上演一段风骚的副线剧情。“我们可以在拉斯维加斯结婚！”在休闲中心储藏室的一次秘密“屁股与肚子”锻炼中，她痴迷地说道。“嗯哼，”帕特里克回答，他那不忠的臀瓣像响板一样拍击。

当日益绝望的萨莉决定与帕特里克那单纯得令人心碎的妻子交朋友时，配乐继续发出咯咯笑声；甚至在后来，当她开始偷偷翻找对方的内衣抽屉时，这种氛围也毫不收敛。

当卡罗尔最终与莫伊拉分享她关于尸体的发现时，笑话工厂进入了派对时间。“你不能告诉警察！”莫伊拉尖叫道，“会有猎奖者的。这里会变成一座阴森的恐怖屋！罗伯特……简直就是弗雷德·韦斯特（Fred West）！”

这种用轻快方式处理不幽默话题（例如肢解和跟踪）的做法奏效了吗？没有。它是否至少在原本单调乏味的家庭创伤目录中，提供了一些黑色幽默的喘息之机？同样，没有。

相反，我们看到的是一部在基调和议题之间剧烈碰撞的剧集，像一部醉酒的肥皂剧，却缺乏能让这类作品勉强可看的真诚感或人物刻画深度。《永远的家》（Forever Home）唯一将其视为“禁笑区”的话题是罗伯特的认知障碍症。我们之所以知道这一点，是因为他的场景配乐是忧伤的钢琴曲，而不是拍大腿的笑声和卡祖笛。

没有人会在工作日的晚上观看 Channel 5 的惊悚片时，期待什么高级的含蓄或深刻的心理洞察。但要求剧本不要像一具解冻的尸体那样发出难闻的臭味，难道就太过分了吗？总之：千万别进地下室。

70 Up 晚上9点，ITV1

阿西夫·卡帕迪亚（Asif Kapadia）执导了这部长寿纪录片（首播于1964年）的最后一集，它没有辜负所有的受访者——以及他们忠实的观众。再次见到这些如今70岁的人，触动了关于存在主义的心弦；有些人，比如古灵精怪的梦想家托尼，依然保持着童年时的样子，而变得更加温婉的约翰则担心自己的形象被如何塑造。 汉娜·维尔迪埃（Hannah Verdier）

Race Against the Tide 7.30pm, BBC Two

这场气氛欢快的沙雕比赛进入了半决赛，这给了主持人莱恩·斯特林（lain Stirling）一个绝佳的理由，让他装扮成《海滩救护队》的救生员。他要求剩下的四支队伍在六小时内建造出他们能做到的最高雕塑。这是一个高风险、高回报的挑战……但谁能最终胜出？ Graeme Virtue

The Great British Sewing Bee: The Final 8pm, BBC One

贝丝（Beth）在裁剪图案方面极其精准。艾玛（Emma）的服装充满个性。安娜（Anna）对戏服的热爱让她赢得了七次改造挑战。谁将成为今年的冠军？最后的任务包括制作一条腰封和一只领结，一套用宴会桌布制作的沙滩俱乐部装，以及一套为“缝纫蜂”版 Met Gala 准备的压轴之作。Hollie Richardson

Gemma Collins: Everything. All at Once 9pm, Sky One

距离 GC 在《Towie》中向世界介绍自己已经过去了 15 年。但本季是我们见过的最私人化的视角——它记录了 Collins 所称的“我人生中最艰难的一年”。从收到仇恨邮件到母亲的病情，从开始 IVF（试管婴儿）之旅到未婚夫的成瘾问题，这是一段情感波动剧烈的时光。但总会有一些 GC 精神能让人挺过去。HR

Celebrity MasterChef 9pm, BBC One

现在是决赛周，这意味着会有一些惊喜。节目将前往 Crufts 狗展进行一项略显古怪的挑战：米其林星级厨师汤姆·谢泼德（Tom Shepherd）设计了一套以狗狗为主题的菜单（包括一个骨头形状的甜点），决赛选手必须将其烹制出来。随后，回到基地准备一顿能唤起最喜爱假期回忆的晚餐。 Phil Harrison

The Royals: Time to Go? 9pm, Channel 4

根据这份报告，英国支持废除王室的人数比例处于高位。对王室持怀疑态度且曾与女王有过接触的约翰·汉弗里斯（John Humphrys）将与支持和反对君主制的人士进行对话。HR

What's On 扫描下方二维码订阅 What's On 通讯，我们的免费电视电子邮件将在每周一将最佳评论和新闻直接发送到您的收件箱

BBC One

6.0 Breakfast (T) 9.30 Morning Live (T) 10.45 Rip Off Britain (T) 11.30 Homes Under the Hammer (T) (R) 12.15 Bargain Hunt (T) (R) 1.0 News (T) 1.35 Regional News and Weather (T) 1.45 (T) 2.0 Money for Nothing (T) 2.45 Escape to the Country (T) 3.45 Garden Rescue (T) (R) 4.30 Antiques Road Trip (T) 5.15 Pointless (T) 6.0 (T) 6.30 Regional and Weather (T) 7.0 The One Show (T) 7.30 EastEnders (T)

BBC Two

6.30 Bargain Hunt (T) (R) 7.15 Money for Nothing (T) (R) 8.0 Sign Zone: The Great British Sewing Bee (T) (R) 9.0 (T) 12.15 Politics Live (T) 1.0 Impossible (T) (R) 1.45 The Edge (T) (R) 2.30 Unbeatable (T) (R) 3.0 Great British Railway Journeys (T) (R) 3.30 Eva Longoria: Searching for Mexico (T) (R) 4.15 Wild China (T) (R) 5.15 Flog It! (T) (R) 6.0 Richard Osman's House of Games (T) (R) 6.30 Clive Myrie's Caribbean Adventure (T) (R) 7.0 Iolo's Anglesey (R) 7.30 Race Against the Tide (T)

ITV1

6.0 Good Morning Britain (T) 9.30 Lorraine (T) 10.0 This Morning (T) 12.30 Loose Women (T) 1.30 and Weather (T) 1.55 Local and Weather (T) 2.0 Dickinson's Real Deal (T) (R) 3.0 Lingo (T) (R) 4.0 Tipping Point (T) (R) 5.0 The Chase (T) 6.0 Local and Weather (T) 6.30 and Weather (T) 7.0 The Martin Lewis Money Show: Live (T)

Channel 4

6.30 The King of Queens (T) (R) 7.45 Everybody Loves Raymond (T) (R) 9.10 Frasier (T) (R) 11.10 American Pickers (T) (R) 12.05 (T) 12.10 Find It, Fix It, Flog It (T) (R) 1.10 The Great House Giveaway (T) (R) 2.10 Countdown (T) 3.0 A Place in the Sun (T) (R) 4.0 Help! We Bought a Village (T) 5.0 Four in a Bed (T) 5.30 Come Dine With Me (T) (R) 6.0 A New Life in the Sun: Where Are They Now? (T) 7.0 (T)

Channel 5

6.0 Milkshake! 9.15 杰里米·Vine (T) 11.30 Storm & Alexis (T) 12.45 新闻 (T) 12.50 Matt Allwright (T) 2.20 电影《谎言与前妻：枫叶街的秘密》(Paula Belle, 2024) (T) 4.0 Castle (T) (R) 4.55 Love Nature (T) (R) 5.0 新闻 (T) 6.0 与 Nick Knowles 一起开启惊险铁路之旅 (T) (R) 7.0 警用拦截车 (T) (R)

BBC Four

7.0 Fred Dibnah 的英国建筑史 (T) (R) 讲述英国运河的建设。 7.30 与 Paul Rose 一起游览湖区 (T) (R) 探险家访问温德米尔。

8.0 英国大缝纫赛：决赛 (T) 决赛选手将餐桌用品转化为海滩俱乐部时尚，并以“蜕变”为主题创作盛装礼服。 9.0 名人厨神 (T) 剩下的五位厨师将创作一套两道菜的犬类主题菜单，以庆祝 Crufts 展 135 周年。

10.30 地区新闻 (T) 天气 10.40 电影《边境杀手》(Denis Villeneuve, 2015) (T) 一名 FBI 特工在被招募进一支精锐缉毒特遣队后，被迫质疑她所相信的一切。犯罪剧，由 Emily Blunt 和 Josh Brolin 主演。

12.35 天气 (T) 12.40 新闻 (T)

8.0 海上救生 (T) 收到一艘法国游艇发出的求救信号。

9.0 24 / 7 急诊 (T) 实习组长 Matt 必须组织应对一名被铁棒袭击的男子。当一名手指被切断的木匠就诊时，整形外科团队面临艰巨的手术。

10.0 Colin from Accounts (T) Gordon 和 Ash 交换了一系列调情的短信。 10.35 新闻之夜 (T) 天气 11.05 T20 板球 (T) 英格兰对阵斯里兰卡，地点在 Utilita Bowl。 11.40 英国被遗忘的女孩 (R) 12.40 手语区：名人厨神 (T) (R) 1.40 被偷走的婴儿 (T) (R) 3.10 这是 BBC Two (T)

8.0 Emmerdale (T) Sadie 操纵 Nicola。 8.30 Coronation Street (T) Jodie 的阴谋让 Shona 与 David 之间陷入困境。 9.0 70 岁 (T) 这部纪录片始于 1964 年，这是两部分最终集的首集，在人们 70 岁时与他们再次见面，回顾人生（他们首次出现时是 7 岁）。

11.0 当地新闻 (T) 天气 11.15 谋杀处方：真实犯罪呈现 (T) (R) Evie Adams 寻找一个充满爱的家庭，但发现了一个拥有致命秘密的男人。

12.10 电视购物 3.0 70 岁 (T) (R) 4.20 与 ITV 一起放松 (T) 5.10 Dickinson 的真实交易 (T) (R)

8.0 狗狗之家 (T) (R) 一只名叫 Scooby 的大丹犬来到 Woodgreen 寻找一个能带它回家的朋友。 9.0 王室：是时候离开了？(T) John Humphrys 认为过去几年的事件导致君主制失去了臣民的尊重，并提出了选举总统的主张。

11.05 名人 Gogglebox (T) (R) 12.05 欺骗之爱 (T) (R) 1.05 任务大师 (T) (R) 2.0 2026 年名人陶艺大比拼 (T) (R) 3.05 美国厨房噩梦 (T) (R) 3.55 百万富翁囤积癖 (T) (R) 4.50 Find It, Fix It, Flog It (T) (R) 4.55 Come Dine With Me (T) (R)

8.0 高速公路警察：抓捕英国超速者 (T) 警员 Lucy Pond 和 Nick James 在追踪一辆未停车的 Megane 车辆时支援巡逻。 9.0 永远的家 (T) 一起震惊的事件让 Carol 颤抖且恐惧，尤其是随着 Robert 的行为变得越来越古怪且具有威胁性。

10.0 被我女儿杀害 (R) 11.15 地毯中的尸体 (R)

12.15 高速公路地狱 (T) (R) 1.10 邮轮电视 (T) (R) 2.10 惊险铁路之旅 (T) (R) 3.05 Castle (T) (R) 3.55 与 Susan Calman 一起巡航 (T) (R) 4.45 奇妙巧克力世界 (T) (R) 5.50 Mixmups (T) (R)

8.0 To the Manor Born (T) (R) Audrey 学习管家艺术。 8.30 Keeping Up Appearances (T) (R) Hyacinth 搬进了她的乡村度假屋。 9.0 Boleyns 家族：一个丑闻不断的家庭 (R) Boleyns 家族的兴衰，一个从家族视角讲述的关于爱、性与背叛的故事。

10.0 宇宙的开始与结束 (T) (R) 11.0 日本修复大师 (T) (R) 11.50 夜空 (T) (R) 12.20 Boleyns 家族：一个丑闻不断的家庭 (T) (R) 1.20 Fred Dibnah 的英国建筑史 (T) (R) 1.50 与 Paul Rose 一起游览湖区 (T) (R) 2.20 物理交响曲 (T) (R)

其他频道

BBC Three

7.0pm The Catch Up 7.05 Deadly 60 7.30 Deadly 60 8.0 Top Gear 9.0 The Devil in the Family: The Fall of Ruby Franke 11.35 To Catch a Stalker 1.10 The Kim Kardashian Diamond Heist 1.55 Top Gear 2.55

U&Dave

6.0am Teleshopping 7.20 Lazy Boy Garage 7.45 Border Force: America's Gatekeepers 9.40 Rick Stein's Long Weekends 10.40 Rick Stein's Long Weekends 11.40 12.40 1.40 Mortimer & Whitehouse: Gone Hogmanay Fishing 3.0 How Britain Worked 4.0 Hairy Bikers' Best of British 5.0 Rick Stein's Long Weekends 6.0 Rick Stein's Long Weekends 7.0 Mortimer & Whitehouse: Gone Fishing 7.40 Would I Lie to You? The Unseen Bits 8.20 Would I Lie to You? The Best Bits 9.0 Have I Got a Bit More News for 10.0 QI XL 11.0 Taskmaster 12.05 Mock the Week 12.45 Would I Lie to ? The Unseen Bits 1.25 Would I Lie to ? The Best Bits 2.0 QI XL 3.0 Dave Gorman: Modern Life Is Goodish 4.0 Teleshopping

E4

6.0am Hollyoaks 6.30 Hollyoaks 6.55 Rude(ish) Tube Shorts 7.0 Couples Come Dine With Me 8.0 Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares USA 10.0 America's Funniest Home Videos 11.0 Below Deck Down Under 12.0 The Simpsons 2.0 The Goldbergs 2.30 The Goldbergs 3.0 Modern Family 5.0 The Simpsons 5.30 The 6.0 The 6.30 The 7.0 Hollyoaks 7.30 Brooklyn Nine-Nine 8.0 Below Deck Down Under 9.0 Gogglebox 10.0 First Dates 11.05 Naked Attraction 12.10 Gogglebox 1.15 First Dates 2.15 Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares USA 3.05 Below Deck Down Under 3.50 The 4.15 The 4.40 The Goldbergs 5.05 The Goldbergs 5.30 Brooklyn Nine-Nine

Film4

11.0am 电影《安齐奥》(1968) 1.20 电影《黑箭》(1948) 2.55 《亚利桑那突击队》(1965) 4.45 《目的地戈壁》(1953) 6.35 《双子杀手》(2019) 9.0 《最伟大的热门歌曲》(2024) 10.55 《极速快递》(2012) 12.40 《你从未真正在这里》(2017) 2.25 《窃贼》(1971)

PBS America

PBS America 6.0am Teleshopping 8.0 Grand Tours of the Scottish Islands 8.40 The Bush Years: Family, Duty, Power 9.35 Turkiye's Astonishing Antiquities 10.45 Maps of Power 11.50 Ancient Greece: The Dark Chronicles 1.0 Grand Tours of the Scottish Islands 1.40 The Bush Years: Family, Duty, 2.35 Turkiye's Astonishing Antiquities 3.40 Maps of 4.50 Ancient Greece: The Dark Chronicles 5.55 Grand Tours of the Scottish Islands 6.35 The Bush Years: Family, Duty, 7.25 Turkiye's Astonishing Antiquities 8.35 Maps of 9.45 Ancient Greece: The Dark Chronicles 10.55 Turkiye's Astonishing Antiquities 12.0 Maps of 1.10 Grand Tours of the Scottish Islands 2.0 Teleshopping

Sky One

6.0am Mornings With Ridge and Frost 8.0 Stargate SG-1 10.0 La Brea 11.0 The 12.0 Deep Dive Australia 1.0 Hawaii Five-0

3.0 S.W.A.T 5.0 The 6.0 Superstore 7.0 The 8.0 The Dyers' Caravan Park 9.0 Gemma Collins: Everything. All at Once 9.45 Gemma Collins: Everything. All at Once 10.30 Gemma Collins: Everything. All at Once 11.10 Never Mind the Buzzcocks 12.10 Grimm 1.10 Evil 2.10 Road Wars 3.05 Hawaii Five-0 4.0 S.W.A.T 5.0 S.W.A.T

Sky Arts

《耶稣基督超级巨星：现场演唱会》(2018) 7.50 《绘画之乐》 8.25 《绘画之乐》 9.0 《出人意料的故事》 9.30 《出人意料的故事》 10.0 《希区柯克呈现》 10.30 《希区柯克呈现》 11.0 《探索：苏珊·萨兰登》 12.0 《经典专辑》 1.0 《出人意料的故事》 1.30 《出人意料的故事》 2.0 《阿尔弗雷德·希区柯克时间》 3.0 《与吉姆和南希·莫尔一起绘制鸟类》 4.0 《探索：克里斯托弗·普卢默》 5.0 《年度肖像艺术家》 2024 6.0 《出人意料的故事》 6.30 《出人意料的故事》 7.0 《希区柯克呈现》 7.30 《希区柯克呈现》 8.0 《嘉宝：你去了哪里？》 9.55 《仙境：从詹姆斯·巴里到J.R.R.托尔金》 10.55 《电影》 11.55 《亚历克·吉尼斯：一流演员》 1.55 电影《蓝色道路：埃德娜·奥布莱恩的故事》(2024) 3.50 《国民信托：花园瑰宝》 5.05 《与吉姆和南希·莫尔一起绘制鸟类》

Sky Atlantic 6.0am 《鱼镇》 8.0 《亿万》 10.10 《继承之战》 12.55 《谋杀：街头生活》 1.45 《谋杀：街头生活》 2.35 《亿万》 3.35 《亿万》 4.40 《继承之战》 5.45 《继承之战》 6.55 《镀金时代》 8.0 《镀金时代》 9.0 《逼近的巨塔》 10.0 《逼近的巨塔》 11.0 《潜艇》 12.10 《继承之战》 1.20 《继承之战》 2.25 《激烈的竞争》 3.30 《亿万》 4.35 《某种程度上》 5.05 《城市秘密》

▲ 《你从未真正在这里》，Film4

广播

Radio 3

6.30am 《早餐》 9.30 《经典精选》 1.0 《古典现场》。来自阿姆斯特丹、乌得勒支和爱丁堡夏季音乐节的录音。 4.0 《本周作曲家》：舒伯特 (2 / 5) 5.0 《协调》 6.45 《Radio 3 音乐会》。来自爱丁堡国际艺术节的塞缪尔·科勒里奇-泰勒作品《海亚瓦塔之歌》，由蒙特利尔交响乐团及指挥拉斐尔·帕亚雷演出。包含科勒里奇-泰勒的作品——《海亚瓦塔之歌》Op 30. I. 海亚瓦塔的婚礼盛宴。II. 明尼哈哈之死。中场休息。III. 《海亚瓦塔之歌》序曲。IV. 海亚瓦塔的离去。弗朗西斯卡·基耶吉纳（女高音）、尼基·斯彭斯（男高音）、克里斯托弗·马尔特曼（男中音）、爱丁堡节日合唱团、詹姆斯·格罗斯密斯（合唱指挥）。 9.45 《论文》。男高音尼基·斯彭斯探讨人类声音的多样性。(2 / 5) 10.0 《深夜轨道》 11.30 《午夜时分》。索韦托·金奇带来爵士乐精选。 12.30 《彻夜》

Radio 4

6.0am Today 9.0 《科学生活》(The Life Scientific)。Jim Al-Khalili 与表观遗传学家 Edith Heard 对谈。(2/10) 9.30 《心之所有》(All in the Mind) (2/5) 10.0 《女性时间》(Woman's Hour) 11.0 《添加到播放列表》(Add to Playlist) (重播) 11.45 《本周之书》：Redwood。作者 Ben Macintyre。(2/5) 12.0 新闻 12.04 《呼唤你我》(Call You and Yours) 12.57 天气 1.0 《一点钟的世界》(The World at One) 1.45 《希特勒日记丑闻：猎犬》(The Hitler Diaries Scandal: The Bloodhound)。Andrew Hunter Murray 探讨 1983 年的这场骗局。(2/10) 2.0 《农夫》(The Archers) (重播) 2.15 《学校接送》(The School Run)。Simon Scardifield 创作的喜剧剧集。 3.0 《历史的秘密英雄：奥维茨家族》(History's Secret Heroes: The Ovitz Family)。在奥斯威辛集中营幸存的犹太表演者。(4/10) 3.30 2026年BBC国家短篇小说奖 (2/5) 4.0 《作为缪斯的生活》(Life As a Muse)。Ruth Millington 赞颂那些启发伟大艺术的人们。 4.30 《医学怎么说？》(What's Up Docs?) 我们如何能更好地理解糖尿病？ 5.0 PM 5.57 天气 6.0 六点新闻 6.30 Paul Sinha 的完美酒吧问答 (6/6) 7.0 《农夫》(The Archers) 7.15 《前排》(Front Row) 8.0 《4号档案调查》(File on 4 Investigates) (1/5) 8.40 《保持联系》(In Touch) 9.0 《跨越大陆》(Crossing Continents)。土耳其法院如何被用于削弱政治异见。(7/9) 9.30 《骗局秘密》(Scam Secrets) (重播) 9.59 天气 10.0 《今夜世界》(The World Tonight) 10.45 《睡前书》：Exhibition (2/10) 11.0 《半衰期：年轻共和国》(Half-Life: Young Republic) (重播) 11.30 《议会今日》(Today in Parliament) 12.0 新闻与天气 12.30 《本周之书》：Redwood (重播) 12.48 航运预报 1.0 BBC 世界服务 5.0 新闻摘要 5.04 《议会昨日》(Yesterday in Parliament) 5.32 天气 5.34 航运预报 5.43 今日祷告 5.45 今日农业

Radio 4 Extra 6.0am 《科尔维尔与索姆斯》(Colvil and Soames) (4/6) 6.30 《死亡说着另一种语言》(Death Speaks Another Language) (4/6) 7.0 《租金》(Rent) (2/6) 7.30 《米利根文件》(The Milligan Papers) (6/6) 8.0 《夏洛特与莉莉安》(Charlotte and Lillian) (1/4) 8.30 《土地法则》(The Rule of the Land) (2/5) 8.45 《拜约挂毯》(The Bayeux Tapestry) (2) 9.0 Paul Sinha 的完美酒吧问答 (5/6) 9.30 《草药：纯粹与简单》(Herbs: Pure and Simple) (2/5) 9.45 每日礼拜 10.0 《好书推荐》(A Good Read) (2/8) 10.30 《传递帽子》(Passing the Hat) 11.0 《科尔维尔与索姆斯》(Colvil and Soames) (4/6) 11.30 《死亡说着另一种语言》(Death Speaks Another Language) (4/6) 12.0 《租金》(Rent) (2/6) 12.30 《米利根文件》(The Milligan Papers) (6/6) 1.0 《夏洛特与莉莉安》(Charlotte and Lillian) (1/4) 1.30 《土地法则》(The Rule of the Land) (2/5) 1.45 《拜约挂毯》(The Bayeux Tapestry) (2)

2.0 《并非你所知》(It's Not What You Know) (4/4) 2.30 《伦敦生活》(Life in London) (6/6) 3.0 《冰人来了》(The Iceman Goeth) 3.45 《三个国家的故事》(Three Country Stories) (3/3) 4.0 《好书推荐》(A Good Read) (2/8) 4.30 《传递帽子》(Passing the Hat) 5.0 《科尔维尔与索姆斯》(Colvil and Soames) (4/6) 5.30 《死亡说着另一种语言》(Death Speaks Another Language) (4/6) 6.0 《租金》(Rent) (2/6) 6.30 《米利根文件》(The Milligan Papers) (6/6) 7.0 《夏洛特与莉莉安》(Charlotte and Lillian) (1/4) 7.30 《土地法则》(The Rule of the Land) (2/5) 7.45 《拜约挂毯》(The Bayeux Tapestry) (2) 8.0 《并非你所知》(It's Not What You Know) (4/4) 8.30 《伦敦生活》(Life in London) (6/6) 9.0 《冰人来了》(The Iceman Goeth) 9.45 《三个国家的故事》(Three Country Stories) (3/3) 10.0 Paul Sinha 的完美酒吧问答 (5/6) 10.30 《搭便车》(Pick-Ups) (5/6) 11.0 Tina C 的全球抑郁巡演 (3/6) 11.15 《广播两千年》(2000 Years of Radio) (5/6) 11.30 《门中的发丝》(Hair in the Gate) (1/4) 12.0 《好书推荐》(A Good Read) (2/8) 12.30 《传递帽子》(Passing the Hat) 1.0 《科尔维尔与索姆斯》(Colvil and Soames) (4/6) 1.30 《死亡说着另一种语言》(Death Speaks Another Language) (4/6) 2.0 《租金》(Rent) (2/6) 2.30 《米利根文件》(The Milligan Papers) (6/6) 3.0 《夏洛特与莉莉安》(Charlotte and Lillian) (1/4) 3.30 《土地法则》(The Rule of the Land) (2/5) 3.45 《拜约挂毯》(The Bayeux Tapestry) (2) 4.0 《并非你所知》(It's Not What You Know) (4/4) 4.30 《伦敦生活》(Life in London) (6/6) 5.0 《冰人来了》(The Iceman Goeth) 5.45 《三个国家的故事》(Three Country Stories) (3/3)

昨日答案

单词搜索

L< / td><>E< / ><>W< / ><>O< / ><>T< / ><>M< / ><>N< / ><>G< / ><>B< / >< / tr><><>C< / ><>L< / ><>A< / ><>S< / ><>O< / ><>B< / ><>A< / ><>O< / >< / ><><>R< / ><>M< / ><>I< / ><>R< / ><>O< / ><>R< / ><>N< / ><>D< / >< / ><><>E< / ><>S< / ><>M< / ><>Y< / ><>R< / ><>N< / ><>U< / ><>Y< / >< / ><><>K< / ><>H< / ><>N< / ><>T< / ><>D< / ><>M< / ><>W< / ><>A< / ><>P< / >< / ><><>C< / ><>O< / ><>I< / ><>D< / ><>R< / ><>A< / ><>C< / ><>S< / ><>U< / >< / ><><>O< / ><>W< / ><>A< / ><>L< / ><>T< / ><>E< / ><>I< / ><>M< / >< / ><><>L< / ><>E< / ><>N< / ><>E< / ><>A< / ><>T< / ><>R< / ><>P< / >< / ><><>E< / ><>R< / ><>M< / ><>U< / ><>S< / ><>I< / ><>C< / ><>T< / >< / ><><>W< / ><>E< / ><>I< / ><>G< / ><>H< / ><>T< / ><>S< / ><>I< / ><>H< / >< / ><><>T< / ><>U< / ><>O< / ><>K< / ><>R< / ><>O< / ><>W< / ><>A< / ><>E< / >< / table>

第 17,584 号答案

第 7,452 号数独

<><>7< / ><>5< / ><>4< / ><>2< / ><>3< / ><>8< / ><>1< / ><>6< / ><>9< / >< / ><><>8< / ><>2< / ><>6< / ><>1< / ><>9< / ><>7< / ><>5< / ><>3< / ><>4< / >< / ><><>9< / ><>1< / ><>3< / ><>5< / ><>6< / ><>4< / ><>7< / ><>2< / ><>8< / >< / ><><>4< / ><>6< / ><>8< / ><>3< / ><>1< / ><>5< / ><>2< / ><>9< / ><>7< / >< / ><><>2< / ><>3< / ><>9< / ><>4< / ><>7< / ><>6< / ><>8< / ><>5< / ><>1< / >< / ><><>1< / ><>7< / ><>5< / ><>8< / ><>2< / ><>9< / ><>6< / ><>4< / ><>3< / >< / ><><>5< / ><>8< / ><>7< / ><>9< / ><>4< / ><>2< / ><>3< / ><>1< / ><>6< / >< / ><><>6< / ><>9< / ><>1< / ><>7< / ><>5< / ><>3< / ><>4< / ><>8< / ><>2< / >< / ><><>3< / ><>4< / ><>2< / ><>6< / ><>8< / ><>1< / ><>9< / ><>7< / ><>5< / >< / table>

单词轮盘 UNADORNED

Suguru 拼图

<><>3< / ><>4< / ><>3< / ><>4< / ><>1< / ><>4< / >< / ><><>1< / ><>2< / ><>1< / ><>2< / ><>5< / ><>2< / >< / ><><>4< / ><>3< / ><>4< / ><>3< / ><>1< / ><>3< / >< / ><><>2< / ><>1< / ><>2< / ><>5< / ><>2< / ><>5< / >< / ><><>3< / ><>4< / ><>3< / ><>4< / ><>1< / ><>4< / >< / ><><>1< / ><>2< / ><>1< / ><>5< / ><>3< / ><>2< / >< / table>

想要更多内容？ 下载 Guardian 应用程序以获取更多谜题，包括我们全新的英超联赛游戏 On the Ball 以及电影测验 Film Reveal。此外还提供所有互动填字游戏和数独的线索与答案。可在 Apple App Store 和 Google Play 下载。

横向 1 呆看 (4) 3 用于悬挂的结构 (8) 8 土耳其货币 - rail (字母异位词) (4) 9 太空岩石 (8) 11 欧洲小国 (10) 14 激情 (6) 15 贪婪地吞噬 (6) 17 过分爱国？ (10) 20 温暖且潮湿？ (8) 21 和平之鸟？ (4) 22 女性与男性 (8) 23 比如，防止生育幼犬 (4)

纵向

1 装饰性薄片 (4,4) 2 漂白 (8) 4 将世界或宇宙视为一个有序或系统的整体 (6) 5 三瓣花设计 (5-2-3) 6 管弦乐器 (4) 7 已灭绝的鸟 (4) 10 给枪充电的物品？ (10) 12 奉承 (4,4) 13 易碎的盘子等 (8) 16 惊恐的 (6) 18 需要抓挠的东西 (4) 19 可鄙的蠕虫？ (4)

欲购买谜题书籍，请访问 guardianbookshop.com 或致电 0330 333 6846。

数独 第 7,453 题

中等难度。请填充网格，使每一行、每一列以及每个 3x3 宫格内都包含数字 1-9。可打印版本请访问 theguardian.com / sudoku

< / td><>< / ><>< / ><>4< / ><>6< / >< / tr><><>< / ><>< / ><>2< / ><>8< / ><>3< / ><>< / >< / ><><>7< / ><>8< / ><>< / ><>6< / ><>< / ><>9< / ><>< / >< / ><><>9< / ><>< / ><>1< / ><>< / ><>3< / ><>7< / >< / ><><>3< / ><>< / ><>2< / ><>< / >< / ><><>2< / ><>< / ><>7< / ><>< / ><>5< / ><>8< / >< / ><><>8< / ><>7< / ><>< / ><>5< / ><>< / ><>3< / ><>< / >< / ><><>< / ><>< / ><>1< / ><>9< / ><>8< / ><>< / >< / ><><>< / ><>< / ><>8< / ><>4< / >< / table>

Suguru 拼图

请填充网格，使每个轮廓块中的每个方格包含一个数字。两个方格组成的块包含数字 1 和 2，三个方格组成的块包含数字 1, 2 和 3，依此类推。相邻的方格（包括对角线方向）不能出现相同的数字。

单词搜索

你能在这个网格中找到 15 个形状名称吗？单词可以是正向、反向、垂直或对角线排列，但必须始终在一条直线且连续。

<><>N< / ><>O< / ><>G< / ><>A< / ><>T< / ><>N< / ><>E< / ><>P< / >< / ><><>S< / ><>N< / ><>B< / ><>W< / ><>V< / ><>W< / ><>E< / ><>H< / ><>E< / >< / ><><>U< / ><>S< / ><>O< / ><>V< / ><>A< / ><>L< / ><>E< / ><>L< / ><>X< / >< / ><><>B< / ><>S< / ><>E< / ><>N< / ><>C< / ><>X< / ><>G< / ><>S< / ><>D< / >< / ><><>M< / ><>O< / ><>Q< / ><>R< / ><>A< / ><>N< / ><>L< / ><>T< / ><>E< / >< / ><><>O< / ><>R< / ><>I< / ><>G< / ><>A< / ><>G< / ><>I< / ><>A< / ><>C< / >< / ><><>H< / ><>C< / ><>O< / ><>I< / ><>A< / ><>U< / ><>O< / ><>R< / ><>A< / >< / ><><>R< / ><>N< / ><>R< / ><>L< / ><>I< / ><>Q< / ><>N< / ><>G< / >< / ><><>T< / ><>T< / ><>R< / ><>A< / ><>E< / ><>H< / ><>E< / ><>S< / ><>O< / >< / ><><>U< / ><>O< / ><>C< / ><>T< / ><>A< / ><>G< / ><>O< / ><>N< / >< / ><><>W< / ><>D< / ><>I< / ><>A< / ><>M< / ><>O< / ><>N< / ><>D< / ><>I< / >< / table>

单词轮盘

请使用轮盘中的字母尽可能多地找出单词。每个单词必须包含中心字母且至少包含另外三个字母。每个字母只能使用一次。不得使用复数形式、外来词或专有名词。其中至少有一个 9. 字母单词。目标：16. 个。良好：20. 个。优秀：24. 个。卓越：28 个

常识角落

1983, 年的今天，第一家 Costco 门店开业。它位于哪个城市？ a. 西雅图 b. 芝加哥 c. 波特兰 d. 底特律 答案在右上角

→ Life & Arts

The Guardian Tuesday 15 September 2026 £3.50 From £2.40 for subscribers

Ministers seek law change to make £72m donations to Reform illegal

Stricter requirements for donors in new bill could thwart crypto windfall

Pippa Crerar Jessica Elgot Kiran Stacey

Andy Burnham's government could thwart Reform UK's unprecedented £72m donations with retrospective restrictions on political donors that will include tough new residency requirements, ministers have said.

In a move that is likely to bring furious complaints from Nigel Farage's party, the government will table amendments to legislation going through the Lords within weeks that puts the legality of Reform's latest donations in doubt.

Labour and union chiefs had urged ministers to look again at party funding rules after Reform announced at the weekend that two cryptocurrency billionaires, Ben Delo and Christopher Harborne, who have both previously been based overseas, were each donating £36m to the party.

Government sources, however, said the plans to strengthen the representation of the people bill had been under way for weeks after MPs had pushed for further action on domestic donations in the Commons.

Under the proposals, expected to be tabled at the Lords committee stage of the legislation, donors must prove their ongoing physical presence in the UK, in line with the requirements applied to other areas of government policy, such as tax status.

The extraordinary measure will be seen as a sign of the stakes attached to the donations - which would give Reform a vast advantage before the next general election.

However, Farage acknowledged yesterday that Reform could fall foul of government moves to clamp down on foreign donors, although the party has said the £72m donations are in line with both current rules and those already voted on by MPs in the bill. The legislation currently restricts donations from expatriates to a maximum of £100,000, which would also apply for the first 12 months after a return to the UK - backdated to 25 March this year.

Ministers have already brought in a minimum residency requirement of the remainder of the calendar year in which they return, plus a full year, meaning Reform may not be able to take the £72m until January 2028.

Delo has been based in Hong Kong but said in April he would return to the UK to avoid restrictions. Harborne was based in Thailand but is believed to have registered to vote in Hampshire in June. "Both

Trump hits out as AI stocks fall amid fears

Lauren Almeida

AI-linked stocks tumbled yesterday after the bosses of Anthropic, OpenAI and SpaceX called for a slowdown in “reckless” AI development, citing fears the technology could soon run out of control.

Shares in the semiconductor designer Nvidia - the world's most valuable company - were down $3.3\%$ by market closing in New York, while Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) slid $4\%$ and Micron Technology and Sandisk shares slumped by $5\%$ . The tech-heavy Nasdaq index fund was down $0.5\%$ by the end of the day.

The sell-off comes after the chief executive of Anthropic, Dario Amodei, appealed at the weekend for the AI industry to “slow down”.

However, Donald Trump dismissed calls to increase controls on AI as a “sick conspiracy”.

In a social media post yesterday, the US president wrote: “The only control or ‘guardrails’ that AI needs is a STRONG AND 10 →

News Page 3 →

Experts quit Letby team over evidence

Josh Halliday North of England editor

Two leading experts have withdrawn from Lucy Letby's defence team over concerns about the “scientific credibility” of some of its evidence.

The former neonatal nurse is challenging her convictions for murdering seven babies and attempting to murder seven others at the Countess of Chester hospital in north-west England.

The Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC), the UK's miscarriage of justice watchdog, is considering a dossier of evidence submitted last year by experts on her behalf.

Two experts withdrew from Letby's defence team yesterday.

They said that although they stood by their assessment that it was “very unlikely” two of the babies were poisoned, some of the arguments being put forward on Letby’s behalf were “inconsistent with the available evidence, science and established physiology”.

Helen Shannon, a British

Inside 15/09/26 Four sections every day

News and Sport

Digital ID Biometric scanning tests for verifying age of young drinkers to come into force Page 5

Journal Opinions and ideas

With a 'hyper' El Niño on its way, the world's leaders must now lead Bill McGuire Page 1

Life & Arts Features & interviews

The rise of the supercar Why are gas-guzzling, high performance vehicles suddenly back in fashion? Page 6

Save up to 36% with a subscription to the Guardian and the Observer Visit theguardian.com/paper-subs

Weather Page 32

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News

Police footage of the arrest of Lucy Letby at her home in July 2024. A public inquiry into the case will publish its findings today PHOTOGRAPH: CHESHIRE CONSTABULARY/PA

Experts quit Letby defence team over 'credibility' of some evidence

← Continued from page 1

chemical engineering expert, and Geoff Chase, a professor of bioengineering based in New Zealand, produced a 100-page report last year casting doubt on her convictions for poisoning two babies with insulin.

They told the Guardian last year there was a “very strong level of reasonable doubt” about those two convictions, which formed a central part of the prosecution case against Letby.

The nurse was convicted in 2023 of trying to murder two newborn boys, known as Baby 6 and Baby 12, by spiking their feeding bags with insulin.

Letby, 36, is serving 15 whole-life orders after she was convicted across two trials at Manchester crown court of murdering seven babies and attempting to murder seven others, with two attempts on one of them, between June 2015 and June 2016.

Shannon and Chase said they stood by their assessment, but could not support other evidence used by Letby's defence team relating to the insulin cases.

In a letter to the CCRC, the experts said: “Whilst it is entirely legitimate for the defence to advance multiple arguments, some of the other arguments now being put forward we cannot support as scientifically credible and which have, in our view, fundamental unresolvable problems.”

They said the strategy of Letby's defence team, led by barrister Mark McDonald, was “placing the long-term interests of Ms Letby at serious, unnecessary and unacceptable risk” and that those “consequences also extend to the families” of the babies who died and were injured.

They added: “We cannot, with integrity, support arguments which are inconsistent with the available evidence, science and established physiology ... after disclosing these concerns, continued association with arguments we believe are demonstrably inaccurate creates a serious ethical issue under the professional engineering codes governing us in New Zealand and the UK, and exposes us to professional sanction.”

McDonald, Letby's barrister, said:

'Importantly, the case does not stand or fall on any one expert'

Mark McDonald Lucy Letby's barrister "We now have evidence from a number of leading international experts in insulin, endocrinology and laboratory medicine which fundamentally undermines the scientific evidence relied upon at trial.

“Importantly, the case does not stand or fall on any one expert.

"The strength of the new evidence lies in its breadth and convergence, with independent experts from different disciplines and jurisdictions identifying fundamental problems with the scientific basis upon which the jury were invited to conclude that babies [6] and [12] had been deliberately poisoned."

The CCRC, which has been reviewing the convictions for 18 months, declined to comment.

A public inquiry into the murders will publish its findings in Liverpool today.

The review, led by Lady Justice Kathryn Thirlwall, is expected to highlight a number of missed opportunities for bosses to intervene after doctors raised the alarm about a spate of unexplained deaths on the neonatal unit in 2015 and 2016.

A criminal investigation is ongoing into potential corporate manslaughter and gross negligence manslaughter at the Countess of Chester hospital.

Man accused of drugging and raping wife admits 60 offences

Josh Halliday Hannah Al-Othman

A man has pleaded guilty to drugging and sexually assaulting his wife over a period of 20 years as he admitted 60 criminal offences.

The man, who cannot be named in order to protect the anonymity of his victim, is in his 60s and before his arrest lived in Stockport, Greater Manchester.

He admitted 60 counts, which include 21 counts of rape and sharing intimate images of his victim.

His estranged wife sat on the front row of the packed courtroom with other family members as he entered his pleas, occasionally sobbing as he did so.

In June, the man pleaded guilty to 15 of the charges against him. On Monday he admitted the final 45 at Manchester's Minshull Street crown court. The defendant also previously pleaded guilty to sharing intimate photographs or film of his wife, without her consent, for sexual gratification.

Twelve co-defendants all deny various allegations involving the same woman.

Rick Jackson, an assistant chief constable of Greater Manchester police, said: "Our focus remains on supporting the victim of this horrific campaign of abuse through what is a very complex investigation.

“Specialist support continues to be provided to the victim at the centre of this case.

“You are not expected to understand exactly what has happened or who was involved in order to be taken seriously. If you feel that something has happened, then please report it or ask for help.”

Burnham's engagements cancelled after death of father

Peter Walker Senior political correspondent

Andy Burnham cancelled his engagements for yesterday and today after the death of his father, Roy, who had Alzheimer's and was in a care home.

In July, Burnham said his father's condition meant he was unaware that his son was about to become prime minister. “That’s a sadness because he would be [proud],” he told the Times. “But the way I look at it, it’s his achievement as well. A whole family achievement, although he doesn’t know it.”

Among other plans, the prime minister had been due to speak to the TUC conference in Brighton today.

Burnham has talked about wanting to improve social care in part because of his experiences with his father. In one of his first speeches as prime minister, he said it was humbling to see the “skill and the care and the professionalism” of care workers like those looking after his father, and that they should be paid more.

Among those expressing their condolences was Angela Rayner, the housing secretary, who posted on X: “My thoughts are with Andy and his family at this terribly difficult and sad time.”

At the start of the Commons session yesterday afternoon, Lindsay Hoyle, the speaker, said: “I am sure the whole house will want to send our best wishes to him and his family at this sad time.”

In Head North, the 2024 book he co-wrote with Steve Rotheram, the Liverpool city region mayor, Burnham described a happy upbringing with his father, his mother, Eileen, and his two brothers in Culcheth, near Warrington in Cheshire. Roy worked as a telephone engineer, while Eileen was a GP's receptionist.

“Neither my dad, Roy, nor my mum, Eileen, went to university. But both could have done if they had grown up in a different time and in a different place,” he wrote. “Their knowledge of that fact seemed to make them all the more determined that their three sons would go. But that did not make them pushy parents in any way.”

He added: “Their approach was one of quiet encouragement and confidence-building. Our family home in Culcheth was always full of music, life, laughter, love and support.”

▲ Andy Burnham embracing his parents, Eileen and Roy, in 2016

From maybe to definitely: Oasis confirm 2027 tour dates and a cap on ticket prices

Laura Snapes

Oasis have finally confirmed new tour dates for 2027, including their long-rumoured return to Knebworth for a run of shows 31 years after they played a historic two nights at the Hertfordshire venue in 1996.

“Start the celebrations!”, the band said in a statement. “After a period of reflection, The Most Damaging Pop Cultural Force In Recent British History” - a quote from a Guardian opinion piece about the band - “has declared itself fit for purpose and will once again return to lift the spirits of the people. Come witness the fitness. It shall be a sight to behold.”

Titled Oasis Live '27, the dates encompass the UK, Ireland, mainland Europe and the US, starting in Glasgow on 21 May, and taking in Manchester, Munich, Barcelona, Amsterdam, Paris, Rome, Boston, Las Vegas and Slane Castle (north of Dublin) before ending in Knebworth in September.

The band had teased the news in a huge drone display above Manchester's Etihad Stadium last week, after hinting at the dates on Instagram.

The tour follows Oasis's acclaimed 2025 reunion, which saw them play 41 dates spanning the UK, Europe, North and South America, east Asia and Australia, 16 years after they split in 2009. “You struggle to think of another artist that’s received such a vociferous reception,” wrote the Guardian critic Alexis Petridis in a five-star review of the first night of the tour in Cardiff.

Oasis's return to Paris will be particularly poignant, given it was shortly before a 2009 set at the city's Rock en Seine festival that the band first split up.

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▲ Oasis playing at Knebworth in 1996. Right, fans enjoying the show PHOTOGRAPHS: MICK HUTSON/REDFERNS; HAYLEY MADDEN/REX/SHUTTERSTOCK

In the UK, tickets will cost between £71.50 and £266.60. Those hoping to buy them will have a happier experience than those in the same position last year: all pricing information for Oasis Live '27 has been shared in advance after action by the competition watchdog forced Ticketmaster to change how it advertises tickets, including ending “misleading” information about seats, after fan backlash over its handling of the 2025 tour.

Last year, the use of “tiered”

▼ Oasis, including Alan White and Liam and Noel Gallagher, at Knebworth, Hertfordshire, in 1996 PHOTOGRAPH: REX FEATURES

pricing meant that some fans, expecting to pay £148.50 a ticket, found themselves faced with costs of £350 at the checkout - and only a matter of minutes in which to decide whether to go ahead with their purchase.

Now, Ticketmaster must tell fans 24 hours in advance if tiered pricing will be used, which tickets it covers and how the system works. When the sale is live, the price range must be shared and updated as tickets sell out.

Anyone wanting a ticket for 2027's tour must register for tickets between now and 4pm on Thursday. The registration has been introduced “to reduce queuing times and organised ticket touting in order to give genuine fans the best possible chance to buy tickets”, according to organisers.

Fans had a chance to revisit the 2025 tour - or catch up on what they missed - as a documentary about the reunion, Don't Look Back in Anger, hit cinemas last week after premiering at the Venice film festival. It earned glowing reviews for its emotional portrait of the band's fans.

The documentary did not touch on the furore around ticket prices, other than one onstage comment from Liam Gallagher: after referring to the people in the cheap seats, he added: “Actually there are no cheap seats, sorry about that.”

The news that Oasis would return to Knebworth was first teased by an unlikely suspect, the British peer Lady Taylor of Stevenage. Last October, she suggested in the Lords that Oasis would be playing five shows “in the fantastic venue of Knebworth House”, just a mile away from her own residence.

She quickly retracted her comments in the chamber, clarifying to the Guardian that she was “speaking hypothetically following speculation that they would play Knebworth again as they did in August 1996”.

In August it was reported that Simon Moran, managing director of SJM Concerts, had secured an events licence for Knebworth, prompting further speculation about an Oasis appearance. The licence would cover audiences of 125,000 people.

At the original 1996 dates, the band played to 250,000 fans - just a 10th of the number who applied for tickets, estimated at the time to be more than $4\%$ of the entire British population.

Noel Gallagher has ruled out making any new music with the band, telling TalkSport yesterday: “There won’t be any new music, no.” He was then asked whether “there won’t at all?”, to which he replied: “Nah.”

Uganda back on track at Invictus Games after king gives blessing

Rachel Hall

Uganda has U-turned on its decision to withdraw from Prince Harry's Invictus Games, after the country's military chief said he was reassured by King Charles that there was “no problem” with its participation.

Last week, Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba, son of the president, Yoweri Museveni, made a surprise announcement on X that Uganda would not take part in the 2027 games in Birmingham. He said he was motivated by his respect for the king amid division over the “Harry-Meghan nonsense”.

However, a post yesterday from the spokesperson for Uganda People's Defence Force (UPDF), Chris Magezi, said Kainerugaba had reinstated Uganda's participation.

Magezi said the shift was prompted by a phone call between Kainerugaba and Clive Alderton, the principal private secretary to the king and queen.

Alderton had “revealed that King

Charles III was moved by General Kainerugaba's sensitive consideration of the king's opinion on the upcoming Invictus Games organised by Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex" and "has no problem with Uganda's participation" in the games.

Kainerugaba “appreciated the king’s message and clarity provided by Buckingham Palace”.

In the earlier post, Kainerugaba shared fears that participation would be “construed as being opposed to [the king], whom we deeply revere”, adding that the country would “not participate in anything that does not have his majesty’s approval”.

The recent post said the withdrawal had followed a statement issued by Buckingham Palace indicating that the Invictus Games were a private charity organisation.

When asked by the Times what had motivated the move, Kainerugaba is reported to have said: "I have factions in the ministry of defence that support that Harry-Meghan nonsense. I had to quash it straight away. I support the monarch. Period."

▲ Charles with princes William and Harry at the 2014 Invictus Games

Two months earlier, Harry had stood alongside Uganda's defence minister, Kiryowa Kiwanuka, at an Invictus Games event in London to announce that the east African nation would be the 26th country to enter.

Kainerugaba, the army chief since 2024, is widely seen as his father's presidential successor. He has made many provocative posts on X, including threats to invade Kenya and demands that Jay-Z hand over his wife, Beyoncé, so he could marry her.

Rob Owen, the CEO of the Invictus Games Foundation, said: “We welcome the news that Uganda has confirmed it will continue to be part of the Invictus community.”

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Israeli minister calls for directors of film about Gaza to lose citizenship

Sian Cain Lorenzo Tondo Jerusalem

Israel's culture minister has called for the Oscar-winning Israeli directors of NAZA, a documentary about the country's mass killing of civilians in Gaza, to be stripped of their citizenship, accusing them of “treason against the state”.

NAZA, which was produced by the Guardian, is named after an acronym used by Israel's intelligence service to indicate how many civilians it expects to die in an airstrike on Gaza.

In the film, the Israeli directors Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor spoke to 24 Israeli military or intelligence whistleblowers who outlined the AI-powered targeting systems used to bombard Gaza that have killed tens of thousands of civilians. In one interview, a source claims approval had been given to kill 500 NAZA in order to kill one Hamas member.

The 80-minute documentary won a special jury prize at this year's Venice film festival on Saturday after receiving a 25-minute standing ovation - a festival record.

On Sunday, Israel's culture minister, Miki Zohar, accused the directors of being willing to “harm their homeland in order to receive applause from antisemites around the world”.

“I will act immediately to revoke the Israeli citizenship of these despicable creators for treason against the state,” Zohar wrote on X.

Yesterday Zohar issued a statement saying: "This morning, I wrote to the director general of the Population and Immigration Authority and the director general of the Interior Ministry, asking them to examine the possibility of revoking the Israeli citizenship of the creators of the anti-Israel film NZA [sic] for breach of loyalty to the state and collaboration with the enemy.

"I also asked them to investigate how the materials used in the film were obtained, who was responsible for obtaining them and whether any actions carried out in acquiring or disseminating them could amount to assisting the enemy during wartime. Freedom of expression is not a licence to betray the state. Anyone who acts against Israel during a war must know that there will be a price to pay."

Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel's prime minister, condemned the film. "It's shocking. We are fighting global antisemitic incitement and when it comes from within us it is intolerable," he said in a video posted on social media. "And now two Israeli directors portraying the IDF as war criminals receive applause at the Venice festival."

Yesterday the chief of general staff of the Israeli military claimed the film was “based on blood libels, deliberate distortions of reality and grave, false accusations against IDF soldiers and commanders”. Eyal Zamir said military lawyers were examining “possible legal measures concerning the film and those involved in it”.

The revocation of nationality is legally possible in Israel, although it is rarely applied. In 2022 the supreme court confirmed that the state may strip people of their nationality if they have failed to show “loyalty”, for example by committing acts of espionage or treason. The law was expanded in 2023 to apply to people convicted of “terrorism”.

Abraham's family home was targeted by a rightwing mob after the world premiere of No Other Land.

“We’re taking risks in a system that privileges us, that has Jewish-Israeli

Rachel Szor and Yuval Abraham, the directors, spoke to 24 Israeli intelligence or military whistleblowers for the film PHOTOGRAPH: DANIELE CIFALÀ/ NURPHOTO/ SHUTTERSTOCK

'They are willing to harm their homeland just to get applause from antisemites around the world'

Miki Zohar Israel's culture minister

supremacy as its founding characteristic," he said, adding: "For so many Palestinians, it's not a rightwing mob that's coming to their home: it's US-funded bulldozers and weapons.

“Imagine if a Palestinian journalist in Gaza tried to do what we did and called up senior Israeli officials. There is no comparison. They would most likely be murdered.”

The Israeli military initially responded to NAZA by saying it “categorically rejects” the allegations made in the documentary and criticised the use of anonymous testimonies, saying the identities of the whistleblowers “cannot be verified”.

In a later response, the military said “the allegations required a

Some on the Israeli left praised the film. Yousef Jabareen, the chair of the leftwing Hadash party, thanked the directors for bringing “these horrific crimes and the brutal reality in Gaza” before millions of people.

detailed, evidence-based response rather than a blanket dismissal".

Anat Saragusti, the head of press freedom at the Union of Journalists in Israel, said: "For much of the war, Israeli media barely showed the Palestinian side of the story - the civilian casualties, the children killed, the destruction. People could find that information elsewhere if they actively looked for it, but they were not seeing it in the mainstream Hebrew-language media."

In an editorial, the Haaretz newspaper wrote: “By screening their film at the Venice film festival, Abraham and Szor are trying to force Israelis to confront what they already know: that there’s a black stain on the way Israel is conducting war in Gaza, to put it mildly.”

A Guardian News & Media spokesperson said: “The Guardian is disturbed to see the authoritarian response to NAZA in Israel.

“Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor are brave journalists and filmmakers. The attacks against them come from people who have not yet seen the film. We will robustly defend NAZA - and the team behind it - from any attacks or attempts at censorship.”

Celtic nations' leaders say time of Westminster rule is ending

Bethan McKernan Wales correspondent

Westminster's time is coming to an end, the first ministers of Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland have said at a landmark summit aimed at putting the UK's Celtic nations on the path to independence referendums.

The Plaid Cymru leader, Rhun ap Iorwerth; the Scottish National party leader, John Swinney; Sinn Féin's vice-president, Michelle O'Neill, and its president and leader of the opposition in Ireland, Mary Lou McDonald, met in Cardiff yesterday to sign a memorandum of understanding recognising that “the political landscape across these islands is changing”.

“Momentum is behind our movements; we believe that constitutional change is coming,” it read. “No Westminster government has the right to block democracy or undermine the principle that our people will decide their own future. We call for the British government to prepare for, plan and facilitate constitutional change in each jurisdiction.”

Since becoming prime minister in July, Andy Burnham has put regional devolution of power and resources in England at the heart of his agenda, but policy towards the devolved administrations has so far been muddled.

The summit was the first face-to-face meeting for the sister parties since Plaid Cymru won May's Senedd elections, which put separatist parties in government in all three countries for the first time. The leaders met as party, rather than government, officials, discussing economic, energy and international cooperation as well as self-determination.

Last week Burnham wrote to Swinney to reiterate that a repeat of 2014's Scottish independence referendum remained “off limits”.

The US president, Donald Trump, said during a visit to Ireland he would love to see a united Ireland. The intervention prompted a swift rebuttal from the UK government and the unionist power-sharing members of the Northern Ireland executive.

Plaid Cymru has ruled out an independence referendum in its first term, but ministers are seeking fuller devolution powers on a par with Scotland and Northern Ireland's, which Burnham has said he is “open” to.

Latest polling suggests 47% of Scottish voters would opt for independence in a referendum tomorrow, along with 36% in Northern Ireland and 32% in Wales. Support for independence in Scotland has hovered between 45% and 50% since 2014.

▲ ‘Constitutional change is coming’: the leaders at the summit in Cardiff

Yesterday, McDonald said she expected an Irish reunification poll to take place by 2030, while the SNP wants a second referendum within the next five years.

Burnham is expected to meet the three first ministers next month.

A UK government spokesperson said: “The UK government is focused on addressing the issues that matter most to families, including easing pressures on household finances and delivering greater economic security, rather than engaging in constitutional debates or further referendums.”

European Union Nine states delay EES airport fingerprinting Page 9

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Album review ★★★★★ 'Beck's greatest work is born out of misery' Page 19

Biometric tech go-ahead gives pubs right to use digital IDs

Robert Booth UK technology editor

Younger drinkers in England and Wales will be able to prove their age with a digital ID starting this week as new laws give pubs, off-licences, nightclubs and restaurants the right to use biometric scanning technology to check customers are over 18.

Customers will be able to download software that scans their faces into their own phone to generate a QR code proving their age based on a stored proof of age. Other tech under consideration as part of the government push to digitise age verification for alcohol sales include a device which scans the veins in a drinker's finger to verify their age. That system has not yet been approved for use.

The use of digital ID for alcohol comes despite the prime minister, Andy Burnham, axing plans for a national digital ID this summer amid a wave of concern about the implications for civil liberties. In this case, the digital ID will be provided by private companies and will not be mandatory. Passports and plastic driving licences will still work, meaning it may not spell the end for fake IDs. The tech could later be extended to purchases of vapes and tobacco.

Stephanie Peacock, the digital government minister, said: “This groundbreaking change in the law will mean you do not need to carry a physical ID, nor hand over sensitive information such as your address just to prove your age - allowing everyone to feel safer on a night out.”

The government believes the new system will reduce the effectiveness of fraudulent ID and the risk of sensitive data being exposed when customers are required to show bar staff passports or driving licences that display names and home addresses.

Different companies are supplying the apps - including Yoti and Luciditi. The customer will typically only have about 30 seconds between scanning their face and validation with the retailer to avoid underage drinkers borrowing older friends' phones.

Allen Simpson, the chief executive of UKHospitality, said it would work “to ensure the rollout of the scheme is cost-efficient and not burdensome for the hospitality sector”, as some systems can charge retailers for use.

Yoti estimates about a quarter of 18- to 25-year-olds in the UK have already downloaded its digital ID app, or one called EasyID it provides with the Post Office, with about 8.5 million people in the UK using them overall.

With different alcohol vendors likely to accept different apps, a patchy start to the system is expected.

Below stairs Lost or long-discarded items revealing glimpses of the behind-the-scenes lives of Buckingham Palace staff over many decades have been uncovered during restoration works on the building.
PHOTOGRAPH: AARON CHOWN/PA

A fifth of minority ethnic NHS managers set to quit over racism

Denis Campbell Health policy editor

The NHS in England is facing an exodus of ethnic minority managers who have suffered racism, exclusion and discrimination during their working lives, a report has found.

Almost four-fifths of managers from Black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) backgrounds have experienced racism, exclusion and obstacles to progressing in their careers, according to a survey carried out by the NHS Alliance.

The problem is so widespread that one in five say they will quit the NHS in the next three years, amid renewed concern the service is doing too little to eradicate ingrained racism.

The alliance, which surveyed 950 BAME managers, said the findings are “further evidence of the corrosive and demoralising impact of racism in the NHS”. They risk a “haemorrhaging” of managers and senior leaders from BAME backgrounds, it warned.

Sir Ciarán Devane, the alliance's chief executive, said “political and cultural polarisation” meant the diversity of the NHS’s leadership is more important than ever. “Yet we now face a real risk of senior ethnic minority colleagues walking away, discouraged, disheartened and disillusioned. This represents a huge loss of talent from the NHS,” he added.

Survey participants described a lack of diversity in senior leadership teams, being excluded from informal networks and “progression disparities” - not getting a fair chance to advance their careers compared with white colleagues. There is a worrying gap between BAME managers’ desire to rise through the ranks and their belief they will be able to do so.

“I am the only brown face at 99% of my meetings at strategic and policy level,” a Black senior manager said. An Asian manager said: “There is a culture of nepotism. Although I believe I have the experience, knowledge and ability to be promoted, the culture is too strong.”

A third manager, of African heritage, said: “There is a clear lack of diversity at senior levels and this absence makes it difficult to feel seen, supported or inspired to progress.”

The proportion of BAME members on NHS boards has risen from 7.1% in 2016 to 17.3% in 2025. However, enduring institutional and structural racism mean initiatives it has undertaken to tackle discrimination have produced little meaningful change, a new report by the alliance said.

Too many BAME managers face “continuing racism, exclusion and inequity in their every day working lives” as well as “isolation and covert discrimination”, the alliance found.

Victor Adebowale, its chair, said: "The fact is the NHS is institutionally racist." In a plea to NHS bosses to

Proportion of NHS board members from Black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds in 2025

do more, he said: “If you are a competent leader, you should be leading everyone everywhere all the time. To do that, you need to understand who you are employing. You need to raise the issue of race and racism not as a special thing, but as part of business as usual. This is what we do.”

The Race and Health Observatory said it has seen a growing number of enquiries from ethnic minority NHS staff who have experienced racism at work. “These findings are alarming, but not surprising,” said Prof Habib Naqvi, its chief executive, responding to the NHS Alliance report.

"They expose a stark reality: too many BAME NHS staff are still facing racism at work, with serious consequences for their mental and physical wellbeing, careers and willingness to stay in the service."

An NHS England spokesperson said: “Racism and discrimination have no place in the NHS and it is completely unacceptable for any member of staff to experience them at work. While there has been progress in increasing ethnic minority representation in senior roles, there is much more to do to ensure equal representation and equal opportunities for all staff to progress and be treated fairly and with respect.

“That is why the new NHS staff standards require trusts to take sustained action to tackle racism.”

National Politics

Ministers seek law change to make £72m donations to Reform illegal

← Continued from page 1

these donations are 100% compliant with the law today, of that there is no question whatsoever," Farage told the BBC. When asked if the two billionaires were UK residents as of 25 March, he replied: "All I'm going to say is, with the law of the land as it stands, they are both compliant."

Lady Taylor, a Labour minister in the Lords, told peers that as well as donors having to demonstrate a “genuine and ongoing connection to the UK”, the government was also looking at further restrictions. “We’re considering how we will strengthen the residency requirements, including ensuring the length of time spent in the UK aligns with broader government policy,” she added.

But MPs and peers who have been pushing for a full domestic donations cap are unlikely to be satisfied by the new amendments. Government sources have said they do not want to delay the bill's progress further by considering such a cap, but are open-minded on further legislation. MPs have voiced anger in internal WhatsApp groups that the chance has been missed to cap domestic donations in this bill while it was in the Commons.

Angela Rayner, speaking at the TUC conference, criticised Reform for suggesting its donations from billionaires were equivalent to the contributions from trade union members to Labour. “How dare they try to compare money from a couple of crypto billionaires to union members’ subs - the most highly regulated political funding we can have?” the communities secretary said.

“It couldn’t be more different from a couple of offshore billionaires trying to buy our democracy.”

Trade unions are expected to issue a statement today on political donations condemning attempts by Farage to compare wealthy donors with individual members who donate to Labour through their union.

The head of Britain's union movement, Paul Nowak, said the government must act to “stop the super-rich corrupting our politics”.

But union sources had said there were “significant differences”

▲ Angela Rayner rejected Reform’s criticism of trade union donations

between general secretaries on how to proceed. Unite's general secretary, Sharon Graham, broke ranks on Sunday and backed a limit on individual domestic donations. But others, including the GMB chief, Gary Smith, fear it would lead a future rightwing government to curb union donations.

Government sources said calls from opposition parties for any changes to domestic donations to apply to the unions too were “not under active consideration”.

However, the government is understood to be looking at spending limits for parties, which are currently restricted to the year before a general election, with tighter limits in the weeks running up to polling day.

In a letter to the Electoral Commission in August, Rayner and Louise Haigh, the first secretary of state, wrote: “We believe spending limits on parties and candidates are too high, and ought to be reduced.”

The government has also set up a cross-government “task and finish” team to consider threats to UK democracy, including political finance, illegitimate influence and broader threats to political equality.

Philip Rycroft, who produced an independent report on tightening electoral law around overseas donations, said the Reform donations reopened broader questions about donors and spending caps.

"The time has come when this does need a hard look," he said.

"It would have been better if the government had started out before we had these huge donations coming down the track.

“But we have to ask the question, is this healthy for our democratic process to have more money coming from fewer people in bigger lumps?”

MPs who have campaigned for a cap are working with peers on amendments to the bill that would tighten it up without having to wait for another act of parliament.

They include one to enable ministers to set a cap on all donations at a later date, and another to prevent spending limits being raised without Electoral Commission approval.

Teresa O'Neill, a shadow local government minister in the Lords, said some of the measures in the bill were troubling. "Even just the perception of partisan, targeted legislation risks breaking down longstanding political conventions and, crucially, trust in the system," she said.

Reform has denounced the government's existing plans, with Zia Yusuf, the party's home affairs spokesperson, describing them as “an unprecedented step from a leftwing government to plunge Britain into dictatorship and communism”.

Explainer Will Farage's party have to hand back its funding windfall?

Are Delo and Harborne registered as UK-based voters? Under current law, anyone can donate to a political party as long as they are a British citizen who is registered to vote in the UK. Under the Representation of the People Act, however, donors who are registered as overseas voters will be subject to a cap of £100,000 a year.

The £100,000 cap will also apply for at least a full calendar year - from January to December - after they return to the UK. So someone returning to the country in the summer will have to wait for about 18 months before they can donate more than £100,000.

Crucially for Christopher Harborne and Ben Delo, this rule will apply retrospectively from 25 March. So the question for both will be, were they registered as UK-based voters before that date?

If not they will not be allowed to donate more than £100,000 each in a single 12-month period, making these donations impermissible.

Sources told the Guardian Delo has been registered as a UK-based voter for years, but that is less clear where Harborne is concerned.

A report by Channel 4 last month said its reporters had seen records suggesting he had only been registered as a domestic voter in June, in which case he would be subject to the cap until January 2028, and his donation would not be legal. Reform has refused to say when exactly both men registered as resident in the UK.

Should Delo and Harborne be classified as domestic voters? Even if both are registered as UK-based voters, this status can be challenged. To get on to the electoral roll as a domestic voter, a person only has to write to the local authority and sign a declaration saying the address at which they are registering is their “permanent home address”. Electoral

administrators routinely check the person's date of birth and their national insurance number, but do not do so for their connections to the address at which they are registering.

If another local voter believes they might be lying about where they live, however, they can challenge the registration.

Bob Posner, the former head of the Electoral Commission, said: "Just because someone is on the electoral register does not mean they are rightfully so."

An interview with Delo last year said: “He lives in the same modest flat in Hong Kong he rented 12 years ago.” The billionaire himself wrote in the Telegraph in April: “I will move back to Britain early so I can contribute more to Reform’s budget.”

As for Harborne, a recent report by Channel 4 found that several residents of the tiny village in which he is now registered said they had never seen him.

What is Reform saying? This weekend Reform sources insisted they were confident the donations would be permissible.

“We are 100% confident both are legal and won’t ever have to be handed back,” a spokesperson said, suggesting both men would meet the criteria on residency even

Nigel Farage at the Reform conference. He has complained about the retrospective restrictions PHOTOGRAPH: JAMES VEYSEY/SHUTTERSTOCK

within the rules of the new law.

By yesterday, however, that position seemed to be shifting, with Nigel Farage complaining about the law being applied retrospectively.

“Both these donations are 100% compliant with the law today, of that there is no question whatsoever,” the Reform UK leader told the BBC. Asked whether Delo and Harborne were UK residents as of 25 March, he added: “I’m not going to go into their particular details. All I'm going to say is, with the law of the land as it stands, they are both compliant."

▲ Ben Delo moved from Hong Kong back to Britain to support Reform

▲ The British-Thai cryptocurrency billionaire Christopher Harborne

Could the law be toughened? Ministers are now considering rewriting parts of the bill to make it clearer what should be counted towards UK residency.

What happens if the donations are ruled illegal?

If, when the elections bill becomes law, it renders either or both of the Delo and Harborne donations impermissible, the money will have to be handed back. Even if Reform has spent a large chunk of it, the party would still need to pay the full amount.

More seriously, if they are found to have lied to electoral administrators in their declarations, they could be held criminally liable.

“Providing false information to register to vote is a police matter,” said Laura Lock, the deputy chief executive of the Association of Electoral Administrators.

"Every registration makes it clear it is an offence to knowingly provide false information when making an application. It is a crime that can lead to an unlimited fine or up to 51 weeks imprisonment." Kiran Stacey and Henry Dyer

Unions Crypto cash puts democracy at risk - Nowak

Jessica Elgot Heather Stewart

The head of Britain's trade union movement, Paul Nowak, has said the government must act to “stop the super-rich corrupting our politics”, as union leaders met yesterday to discuss possible support for a domestic cap on donations.

Union leaders are split on the prospect of limiting domestic donations to political parties, with many, including the GMB, fearing it would lead a future rightwing government to curb union donations.

Labour-affiliated unions are working on a statement on political donations, which is expected to be put before the TUC general council today, the Guardian understands. But union sources said there were “significant differences” between general secretaries on how to proceed.

Many of the unions that are not affiliated to Labour are keen to go further on limits - but would themselves not be affected by measures that could curb party donations.

On Sunday, Unite's general secretary, Sharon Graham, broke ranks and backed a limit, after two crypto billionaires, Christopher Harborne and Ben Delo, donated £72m to Reform UK within 24 hours.

When asked by the Guardian about the possibility of an overall cap on donations, Gary Smith, the general secretary of the GMB, replied: “We’ll work that through.”

But he added that amendments to the representation of the people bill, aimed at enacting a limit, “felt ill-thought-through”.

▲ Paul Nowak called Reform leader Nigel Farage ‘a politician for sale’

However, Mike Clancy, the general secretary of Prospect, which is not affiliated to Labour, said the government should be doing more on political donations.

"The government's going to have to step in here," said Clancy. "Citizens have noticed this. This is buying and distorting democracy, and in a way that ultimately will impact working people adversely."

In his annual address to the TUC conference in Brighton, Nowak, the general secretary of the Trades Union Congress, said the donations were “a crisis for our democracy”.

“Tell me, why is it that two crypto billionaires have donated £72m to Reform in just two days?” said Nowak. “The evidence is clear: Reform UK is a party for sale. Nigel Farage is a politician for sale. And given half the chance, they’d sell our country down the river.

“Make no mistake, this is a crisis for our democracy. We cannot allow our political system to be captured by corporate interests.”

He said there was no similarity “between care workers chipping in a few quid a year through their union and a party bought and paid for by billionaires. So, we need a proper conversation about how we clean up our politics that doesn’t push workers to the margins - but does stop the superrich corrupting our politics.”

He said no donations at all should be allowed from those who did not live and pay taxes in Britain. He said the government must also go further on foreign funding for political ads. "Elon Musk, keep your grubby hands out of British politics," he said.

Smith said that despite qualms about a donations cap it was clear that the government had to “clean up the money going into politics”.

But he said he was concerned about trade union funding being caught in the crossfire. “Care workers, school, support staff, energy workers, they need a political voice. And they deserve a stake in the country, in politics, and we do that through pennies that our members donate to a political fund, some of which we use to support the Labour party.

“So our money’s clean, it’s declared, it’s transparent. People know where it comes from, and we’re unequivocal and unashamed about advancing the interests of our members.”

Joanne Thomas, the general secretary of Usdaw, said union donations were “the cleanest money in politics”, adding: “We must make sure we reflect the difference between our donations and other donations.”

Thomas also urged the government to look again at election spending limits as a way to help level the playing field.

The bill currently in the House of Lords puts significant limitations on overseas donors, including for a calendar year after they return to the UK.

Sketch

John Crace

Tice rallies to the defence of the billionaire crypto patriots

N ever in the field of British politics has so much been given to so many by so few. You'd have thought Nigel Farage would

have wanted to explain Reform's sudden windfall from Christopher Harborne and Ben Delo himself. To bask in the glory of the donations from two down to earth, anti-establishment crypto billionaires. Men who know what it's like to graft, who know the meaning of an honest day's work for an honest day's pay.

There again, Nige is keen not to appear as a one-man band these days and he could do with some down time to enjoy his own £5m handout. And besides, he has a police investigation into Reform party funding to worry about. Even so, it wasn't the best of looks to send Richard Tice out on to the morning media round. Dicky may have his talents, but he keeps them well concealed.

"Our money comes with no demands," Dicky told Nick Robinson on BBC Radio 4's Today programme. Harborne and Delo were patriots. All they wanted was to save the country from being ruined by socialists and the rightwing Tories. Quite where he thought Reform fitted in on this continuum wasn't clear. Presumably in the centre ground of British politics. Ordinary men and women who want to rescue the UK from the do-goodery of the RNLI.

“Patriots” was doing some heavy lifting here. Harborne had moved to Thailand in the 90s, had become a Thai citizen in 2011 and had taken a Thai name. Now we learned that Dicky believed in dialectics. The more someone looked as if they were trying to put as much distance between themselves and the UK, the greater their commitment to the UK really was. Chris had just been playing very hard to get. The reality was he had been begging HMRC to ask him back so he could pay his fair share to the exchequer.

Fine, said Robinson. When did he move back to the UK and does he now pay UK tax? Dicky was understandably clueless. I'm not his tax adviser, he said, though if he were he would make sure he paid as little as possible. It was the same with Delo. No man had ever loved his country more. From Hong Kong. Who wouldn't want to receive money from a billionaire who had been convicted in the US for failing to comply with anti-money-laundering laws and had been pardoned by Donald Trump?

Then the killer line. “I hope you will trust the word of our compliance team,” said Dicky. They would assure listeners everything was above board. So touching. So sweet. Up until now, no one had any idea Reform even had a compliance team.

It was left to Farage himself to clear up Tice's mess later in the day in a BBC interview. Well, sort of. Yes, Delo and Harborne's donations probably wouldn't meet the necessary deadlines for the legislation going through parliament. But you couldn't blame Reform for taking the cash. Rather, it was the fault of the government for putting in place regulations that Reform may not now be able to get round. As so often with Nige, there was always someone else to blame.

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National

Nine EU countries seek to delay new border controls at busy airports

Lisa O'Carroll Senior correspondent

Nine EU countries including France are delaying the introduction of fingerprinting of non-EU citizens as they plead for more time to implement new border controls at busy airports in the bloc.

The entry-exit system (EES), which was due to come into force in full on 6 September, has been delayed multiple times to avoid visitor congestion around large events.

Now nine countries including France, Greece, Portugal and Italy have told Brussels they need more time. Germany, Malta, the Netherlands, Switzerland and Belgium have also sought extra time. Spain, which had teething problems, is implementing the EES fully.

The EES, which was first adopted

▶ Passengers queue for the EU's new entry-exit system checks at Ibiza airport PHOTOGRAPH: BAV MEDIA

by the EU in 2017, was officially launched last October and had been due to become fully operational in April, but early problems, particularly in Greece and Portugal, led to a further delay for member states.

EU sources say the system is a success, with about 200m registrations and about 70,000 people stopped from entering the Schengen area, up from 43,700 in June. These include people without visas, those who have overstayed their 180-day allowance, or Britons who have overstayed their 90-day allowance.

Criminals using forged passports or ID documents have also been apprehended, with fingerprint and facial image records exposing the use of different passports by individuals.

The delays in the nine member states are not countrywide. Fingerprinting has started at the Eurostar terminal in Brussels and Antwerp port but not in all airports.

Large airports such as Frankfurt and Schiphol - two of Europe's busiest international hubs - are also taking biometrics but small airports may not be fully up to speed. Sources say just 12 airports out of 1,500 border crossing points still have issues.

▲ The new EES checks passports and takes fingerprints of non-EU arrivals

France has also not introduced checks at the Port of Dover, where French police are in the unique position to enforce border controls in a non-EU country.

Technically, those that fail to capture fingerprints and facial images are in breach of the EU regulation, which ended any right to suspend the EES, but sources in Brussels have confirmed they will not be prosecuted.

Earlier this summer, the EU noted that one of the airports was a small regional facility where 3,000 passengers could arrive in an hour in the peak holiday period, but could not be assessed because there were only four booths for biometric capture.

The International Air Transport Association trade body had demanded a full suspension in July, complaining passengers were missing connections in Spain, Italy, Greece and Belgium, while Ryanair warned of “queue chaos” in airports including Málaga and Palma.

The Travel to Europe app, which lets passengers register facial image and passport details before travelling, will shortly be working for seven countries, sources say. So far it is only operational in Sweden and Portugal.

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News Artificial intelligence

Trump hits out at 'sick conspiracy' as tech stocks fall amid AI warnings

← Continued from page 1

SMART (High IQ!) PRESIDENT, and the USA has that, in spades!" He added that his administration had "stopped AI 'people' from doing bad, or potentially bad, 'things,' like Dario (Anthropic!)"

"There is a SICK conspiracy going on against AI and Data Centers, and the only one that is happy about it is China. WHOEVER WINS AI, WINS!"

Shares in SoftBank, a Japanese investor that is a big backer of OpenAI, slumped 13%, while the South Korean Kospi stock index, which relies heavily on chipmakers that supply AI companies, dropped by 3%.

Shares in the big global microchip supplier Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company fell by 1.2%.

In Europe, shares in the Dutch tech manufacturer ASML, Europe's biggest company by value and an important supplier for the semiconductor industry, slumped by 6%.

There was, however, a rally in shares that have been threatened by the rise of AI, including the advertising group WPP, which rose by 5% in London, and the analytics business Relx, which was also up 5%. The latter had suffered a sharp fall earlier this year after Anthropic launched a suite of new data and automation tools.

Amodei has said that “building too fast is reckless”, warning that a swarm of AI agents could cause hundreds of billions of dollars of damage by “taking over the entire internet” in future.

His claims have been disputed by some experts, but yesterday investors began to price in a slowdown that would make it harder for the industry to pay for hundreds of billions of dollars in investments in AI infrastructure.

The OpenAI CEO, Sam Altman, the Google DeepMind chief, Demis Hassabis, and the SpaceX boss, Elon Musk, all posted support for Amodei's essay on slowing AI development, titled We Must Pace the Frontier.

Altman added that he would match Amodei's commitment to embedding outside evaluators within his company to verify safety practices.

Yesterday's fall in the price of SoftBank shares - the Japanese investor is a big backer of OpenAI

Fears continue to grow over the rapid pace and lack of regulation in AI development.

Yesterday, a cross-party group of UK MPs and peers identified a series of human rights risks posed by AI, arguing that no country in the world had laws sufficient to contain them.

Meanwhile, China's top intelligence official warned that the use of AI by adversaries could pose a risk to the country's political and social security.

The rise in the price of shares in the advertising group WPP, which has been threatened by AI advances

Chen Yixin wrote in a government outlet on Sunday that advanced US models such as Anthropic's Mythos and OpenAI's GPT-5.5-Cyber could pose serious risks to Beijing's critical information infrastructure and called for a comprehensive strengthening of AI security.

Despite such concern about the risks around AI, Jim Reid, of Deutsche Bank, said intense competition in the sector meant it was unlikely AI companies would stop investing so heavily in their technology.

"The competitive race between companies and countries remains intense, and it's difficult to imagine firms voluntarily stepping back while rivals continue to push ahead." he said. "It is hard to see China standing still.

"If leading executives are openly discussing the risks of increasingly powerful systems, it could be them trying to get across how transformative they believe the technology may become and help advertise the power of their product.

“Rather than signalling less spending, it could simply be that a greater share of AI investment is directed towards safety, monitoring and governance alongside the continued build-out of compute infrastructure.”

Amodei's warning came before reports emerged that Anthropic was on track to be profitable this quarter.

The company told investors that its adjusted operating income would be positive for a second quarter in a row, according to the Financial Times, in a big milestone as it prepares to list on the US stock market this year.

OpenAI has also suggested it will join the stock market, although Altman said over the weekend that the company would not go public in 2026 owing to safety concerns about the technology.

Andy Burnham welcomed the new focus on the dangers AI could pose to the world from the industry leaders developing the new technology, Downing Street said.

The prime minister believed it was a “good thing” that leading AI figures were publicly speaking about the risks from the technology to global security, his spokesperson said.

Analysis

Nick Robins-Early

Leaders of key firms agree on 'pacing' the tech's development to ensure safety. But will they?

acing a public uproar over Anthropic researchers' repeated warnings that artificial intelligence could kill all of humanity

by 2030, the AI company's CEO, Dario Amodei, issued a proposal at the weekend to slow down the technology's advancement to ensure public safety. In a rare display of unity, the heads of the largest US artificial intelligence companies all agreed immediately.

OpenAI's CEO, Sam Altman, the Google DeepMind chief, Demis Hassabis, and the xAI owner, Elon Musk, posted support for Amodei's proposal for slowing AI development, titled: We Must Pace the Frontier.

Altman said he would match Amodei's commitment to embedding outside evaluators within his company to verify safety practices. “I agree with Dario that we need to pace the frontier,” Altman posted on X. “Committing to having independent evaluators with employee-like access is a great idea, and we will do the same.”

Hassabis said: “Dario’s essay points towards the right path forward.” Musk simply wrote: “Dario is right.”

The AI CEOs' warnings and promises open up a host of questions about how AI might be regulated, what risks it poses and whether the industry will actually slow down the fevered race to advance its technology.

While lawmakers and the tech industry consider how to address growing fear and distrust of AI, many of the hurdles impeding comprehensive AI regulation remain the same as before last

week's apocalyptic declarations from a young Anthropic researcher.

The US federal government is committed to a global AI arms race. Previous proposed AI legislation has wilted under intense, well-financed corporate lobbying. AI startups face enormous pressures to release new, more powerful products ahead of forthcoming trillion-dollar public offerings.

Amodei's proposal has been met with scepticism from critics and researchers who allege AI companies are trying to preempt more stringent government regulation and retain the status quo of power within the industry.

Anthropic and OpenAI did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Amodei's proposal focuses on three main pillars. First, a commitment to outside evaluators given employee-level access to monitor risk. Second, agreements between democratic states on AI safety standards. Finally, global coordination with authoritarian governments such as China on security issues.

Amodei and others in the industry have made similar calls for global coordination in the past, even before the industry's recent warnings over models becoming too advanced and gaining autonomy.

Rahm Emanuel, a former congressman and chief of staff to ▼A technician at an Amazon Web Services datacentre in the US, which is aiming to be the top AI superpower PHOTOGRAPH: NOAH BERGER/GETTY IMAGES/AWS

A rare show of unity: (from top) OpenAI's Sam Altman, Anthropic's Dario Amodei and Elon Musk of xAI PHOTOGRAPHS: AFP/GETTY; REUTERS; AP

Barack Obama, tweeted: “I can tell you when the last time a CEO or an industry at large asked to be regulated: never. That’s what makes Dario’s letter so striking – it’s an admission that we’re driving down a dark, winding road on wet pavement with the headlights off. And where’s President Trump? Looks like he nodded off again.”

AI companies have fluctuated on their emphasis on communicating the potential harm from their products, at times warning about apocalyptic effects of AI and at others promising it will bring about utopian prosperity.

OpenAI, for instance, shut down a “superalignment” team in 2024 dedicated to studying long-term AI risks and earlier this year disbanded another team intended to communicate how OpenAI would benefit humanity.

While AI companies have made grandiose claims about the threats and benefits from their technology, they have provided little transparency on how their models operate and have spent millions in lobbying efforts to shape favourable legislation. The result of the industry's narrative that AI is too powerful, complex and lucrative to regulate, critics say, is that it has been allowed to essentially govern itself.

AI Now Institute's co-executive director, Sarah Myers West, wrote on X: "AI exceptionalism has led to a total failure to uphold our standards for what products are deemed safe for use."

Critics similarly see Amodei's proposal as another instance in which the industry is seeking to set its own rules, in this case picking its own evaluators to monitor safety risks, instead of facing the scrutiny of government regulators.

Alex Bores, a proponent of AI regulation whose failed bid for Congress spurred \$24m (£18m) in spending for and against his campaign from AI-linked political action committees, warned that the AI lobby often sought to undermine legislation while claiming to support regulation.

"To everyone who genuinely wants real AI regulation, please don't fall for their games," Bores posted on X.

Several critics of the AI-pacing proposal from across the political

Critics of Amodei's proposal see it as another instance in which the AI industry is seeking to set its own rules spectrum expressed concern over the suggestion by Amodei that the US government could grant some form of antitrust waiver or exemption to allow industry coordination. Former officials including David Sacks, who previously served as Trump's “AI tsar”, and the Biden-era head of the Federal Trade Commission, Alvaro Bedoya, suggested the proposal amounted to an attempt at regulatory capture, which would benefit current industry leaders.

The calls for international coordination and US federal intervention also run up against the vows of Donald Trump and his administration to turn the US into the dominant AI superpower regardless of safety concerns.

The Trump administration has often framed AI development as a zero-sum contest against China for technological supremacy, an argument the AI industry itself has also promoted in the face of proposed government regulation. The vice-president, JD Vance, said in a speech last year that the future of AI was “not going to be won by hand-wringing about safety”.

On Sunday, Trump again rejected calls to slow AI development, citing competition from China. “Whoever wins AI, wins,” he said. The House speaker, Mike Johnson, meanwhile, said Congress would not lead the charge on regulating AI safety.

Pfas warning 'Tidal wave' of toxic chemicals being produced for industry

Damien Gayle Environment correspondent

Pfas companies are launching a “tidal wave” of forever chemicals production to meet demand from the AI industry, a campaign organisation has warned.

Despite alarm over the chemicals, which have been linked to cancer, a survey of the 10 biggest manufacturers found most had plans to increase production at sites in Europe, Asia and North America.

Many frame their investments around the “AI revolution”, because of the role Pfas play in semiconductor production and next-generation datacentre cooling systems.

But opponents warn that the chemicals, which never degrade in nature, are a ticking timebomb for human and planetary health. They say increased production risks undermining nascent moves to restrict Pfas in the UK, mainland Europe and parts of the US.

"These companies' expansion plans show that unless governments and regulators insist on a rapid phase-out, we will face a new tidal wave of forever chemicals," said Anne-Sofie Bäckar, the executive director of ChemSec, the Swedish chemicals watchdog behind the research.

The boom in AI tech was leading demand, with Pfas used for a new form of “eco-friendly” datacentre cooling touted as more water and energy efficient, and in semiconductor manufacturing.

Daikin, a Pfas manufacturer headquartered in Japan, said it was launching a “datacentre hub” to meet demand, “expanding sales of existing fluorine products and introducing new products”.

The French multinational Arkema was expanding its refrigerant offering, with a \$60m (£45m) production unit in Kentucky that it said “will enable us to follow the rapid expansion of datacentres’ cooling needs”.

And the US Pfas producer Chemours was expanding to meet demand from “advanced datacentres and AI hardware”. It said its “innovative liquid cooling solutions” lowered the energy, water, space, maintenance and investment costs of datacentres.

Other companies increasing production were the Japanese multinational AGC, the Chinese conglomerate Dongyue, the India-based chemicals company Gujarat Fluorochemicals and the secretive Russian Pfas producer HaloPolymer.

Analysts warned that the chemicals were “the hidden risk of the AI boom”, with “escalating potential for multibillion-euro remediation and litigation liabilities”.

Pfas are thought to contaminate the blood of nearly every living person. Research links them to cancer, liver disease, kidney issues, high cholesterol and birth defects.

Bäckar said: “The people who lead them [Pfas companies] must understand that they too are affected by the toxins they produce, which have been detected in the blood of more than 99% of people worldwide.”

Safeguards OpenAI urges lawmakers to rein in the technology

Dan Milmo Robert Booth

OpenAI has urged British lawmakers to capitalise on renewed fears over AI safety and impose legislation reining in the technology.

The company behind ChatGPT said the government should act immediately, following a call by its arch-rival Anthropic to curb AI development.

“We support stronger UK rules for the handful of companies, including OpenAI, developing the most powerful AI systems,” said OpenAI’s head of policy in Europe, Tom Duff Gordon.

OpenAI said legislation should be narrowly focused on the most advanced AI labs and not startups working on less powerful systems.

OpenAI's intervention came as a parliamentary committee demanded more restrictions on AI, warning that the world was unprepared for the technology's “potentially dire” consequences. A new regulatory framework is needed for AI in the UK, including an independent oversight body and legislation to protect the public, according to the joint committee on human rights, comprising MPs and peers. It said AI posed a number of threats, from public face-scanning to explicit deepfakes and flagging disciplinary action for workers without reasonable cause.

Alex Sobel, the Labour chair of the human rights committee, said the world was unprepared for the “potentially dire” consequences of the technology. “Nowhere in the world, including the UK, has a current legislative and regulatory approach to AI that is fit for purpose,” he said.

A government spokesperson said the UK took the risks from advanced AI “extremely seriously” and recognised the need to keep pace with a rapidly evolving technology, including working closely with AI companies and other countries. “We should not assume the existing framework will always be sufficient as AI capabilities develop,” said the spokesperson. “Any future measures will be evidence-based and focused on the risks we need to address.”

On Friday, more than 70 MPs and peers urged Andy Burnham to back a ban on the creation of artificial superintelligence (ASI) and lead an international movement to stop the technology. Downing Street rejected the call for a ban, but said it was exploring targeted interventions “to address the most significant AI-related national security risks”.

Civil service head sacked by Starmer given record £860k payout

Jessica Elgot Deputy political editor

The former head of the civil service Chris Wormald received a record payout of almost £860,000 when he was forced out of the top job in Whitehall by Keir Starmer.

Cabinet Office accounts have revealed that the former cabinet secretary, who was sacked earlier this year after just 14 months in the role, was paid £859,496 upon departure. The unprecedented figure required civil servants to seek a special direction from ministers to approve it.

Wormald has since been made a member of the House of Lords. He was replaced by Antonia Romeo earlier this year.

◀Chris Wormald served as the cabinet secretary, the most senior civil servant in Whitehall, for just 14 months

The shadow Cabinet Office minister, Alex Burghart, said: “Chris Wormald was just one of many civil servants and advisers fired by Keir Starmer as he tried to save his own skin. This payout is another appalling waste of taxpayers’ money by Labour.”

The settlement with Wormald dwarfs the previous record amount given to the former Treasury permanent secretary Tom Scholar, who was forced out by Liz Truss in one of her first acts as prime minister. Scholar was given £457,000, including severance pay and compensation in lieu of notice and leave.

No 10 had been criticised over its handling of Wormald's departure, with his allies saying he had learned of his fate through the media. Dave Penman, the general secretary of the senior civil servants' union the FDA, said the briefing against Wormald had been extraordinary and that it was "no way to run a country".

Wormald became a crossbench peer after he was nominated by Starmer as the former prime minister left office.

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Harry and Meghan could have public security reinstated

Priya Bharadia

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex will have a review of their publicly funded security after their return to the UK. At the moment, their security is not publicly funded.

Ravec, the committee that oversees tax-funded security for royalty and public figures, is to reconsider Prince Harry and Meghan's level of police protection.

The committee met last week to discuss the couple's case, now that they and their children are full-time residents in the UK and not just visitors.

It will be the first risk assessment for Meghan since the couple stepped back as working members of the royal family in 2020. Harry was granted a review of his security in July, after the family had wanted to visit the UK, but has yet to receive a decision.

The Telegraph reported that the Ravec chair told Harry last week the committee had commissioned a new risk assessment for him and a separate one for Meghan. Ravec has reportedly asked the couple to provide their daily routine, including the school run, to inform their decision.

Last year, Harry lost a legal challenge against the Home Office after the automatic tax-funded security for him and his family was withdrawn when the couple ceased to be working royals.

"The UK is my home," said Harry in his witness statement. "The UK is central to the heritage of my children and a place I want them to feel at home as much as where they live at the moment in the US. That cannot happen if it's not possible to keep them safe when they are on UK soil. I cannot put my wife in danger like that and, given my experiences in life, I am reluctant to unnecessarily put myself in harm's way too."

The couple returned to the UK on 26 August. Soon afterwards, a formal letter was issued on behalf of King Charles, reiterating their status as non-working royals.

The letter said the couple were “akin to private citizens with commercial and charitable interests” and “any operational security issues should continue to be directed to the relevant police authorities”.

The Sussexes also decided to switch their children to a new school just two days after term's start, reportedly due to security concerns over the long journey and heavy traffic.

"The decision for the children to move school was taken following a discussion with the family's security team about the practicalities of their current arrangements," a family spokesperson told Hello! magazine.

"The parents remain extremely grateful to all the teachers and staff for the love, care and effort they have shown their family. This decision should in no way be interpreted as a reflection on the school."

▲ Meghan and Harry at a basketball game in California in February this year. They returned to England in August PHOTOGRAPH: RONALD MARTINEZ/GETTY

National

Conservation gateway: farmers revive ancient craft of hedge laying

Sandra Laville

Hedge laying is experiencing a strong revival as farmers use techniques that peaked in the 18th and 19th centuries to boost wildlife, capture carbon and help tackle flooding.

The ancient craft, which restores and revives mature hedges to keep them fresh, was among the four most popular categories of capital grants selected by farmers out of a total pot of £225m provided by the government this year to support practical environmental improvements on farms and across the countryside.

The 2,500 farmers across England who applied for grants to restore and maintain hedgerows using a craft that dates back millennia will - if the grants are approved - lay 800 miles (1,300km) of mature hedgerows, enough to stretch from Land's End to Hadrian's Wall and back.

Megan Gimber, the key habitats officer for the People's Trust for Endangered Species, said hedge laying was one of the most effective tools farmers had to respond to the climate crisis. “Hedge laying really stopped after the war, so it has been over a generation since it was a normal part of farm management and we have seen a huge decline in hedge-rows as a result,” she said.

Mature, maintained hedgerows are a carbon sink, capturing more carbon in every hectare than forests. They support thousands of species, provide shade for livestock, reduce soil erosion and slow down, absorb and store vast amounts of rainwater to help reduce flooding.

“They are massively important,” said Stephen Budding, the chair of the National Hedgelaying Society. “The greatest biodiversity gain is from hedge laying older hedges.

"Our members are seeing quite a surge in work, but I don't think this ▼ Robert Rose plans to lay blackthorn, hawthorn, ash and willow hedges at his property in Yorkshire PHOTOGRAPH: CHRISTOPHER THOMOND/THE GUARDIAN

would be happening without the government grants available.”

Hedge laying involves cutting through the stems almost completely, then laying them at an angle to the ground. Laying the branches down invigorates growth at the point where they have been cut, filling gaps in the foliage, and restoring freshness. It is done by hand by skilled layers - many of whom will compete next month at the National Hedgelaying Championships in Chipping Norton.

Robert Rose, who farms 90 hectares (220 acres) of grassland for beef cattle and arable fields at Rosewood Farm in Ellerton in Yorkshire's Lower Derwent valley, is waiting for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) to approve his grant request to lay old black-thorn, newer hawthorn, and ash and willow hedges.

The trio planted new hedges 20 years ago, but maintaining them is vital to keep them working to store carbon, support wildlife and retain water. “We taught ourselves how to do the laying, which was a bit of trial and error,” he said.

The grant Rose has applied for will help him lay about 50 metres of hedges, as well as plant new hedge-rows and coppice others.

Peak hedge laying season starts in October and ends in February, so farmers like Rose are hoping for quick decisions from Defra. “There are so many benefits with hedge laying for wildlife, for livestock, for conservation. We see a lot more birds using the hedges and a lot more small mammals around the bottom of mature managed hedges,” said Rose.

"Hedge laying is, if you like, a bit of a gateway drug into more conservation. It spreads around the communities to other farmers; the talk about it is everywhere."

Figures from the UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology in 2023 showed the country was still losing hedges despite record planting efforts as a result of undermanagement.

£225m

The capital grants pot provided by Defra for farmers this year to support environmental upgrades

“We lay the hedges in a modern conservation style that retains more of the bushy growth for the benefit of nesting birds as well as stock proofing,” said Rose, who farms with his brother and wife.

Defra said the government was giving farmers “the funding tools and opportunities they need to succeed”. Its latest round of environmental land management capital grants, launched in July, had now closed “following strong uptake”.

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Sweeney under fire for 'sexualising women's sport' in viral advert

Sean Ingle

The US actor Sydney Sweeney is facing a backlash from female Olympians and other athletes, who have accused her of demeaning and sexualising women's sports by appearing in a controversial advert for a sports prediction company. In the viral commercial for Novig, which was viewed more than 22m times in the first two days of its release, Sweeney's nude body is covered by footballs, basketballs, and other sports equipment, as she tells users they can bet on “just sports”.

After saying “sports” nine times, she appears topless on a pool table, before saying: “You can’t trade this, I just look good here.”

But the advert has prompted a storm of protest, led by the British sprinter Amy Hunt, who won four European Championship gold medals last month. “Sydney Sweeney, this is what women in sport look like,” she said after finishing fourth in the 200m at the World Athletics Ultimate Championship. “21.4. Muscles. Hard work, blood, sweat, tears. This is a beautiful evening.”

▶ Sydney Sweeney appears in the Novig sports- prediction advert, which prompted a furious backlash from female sports stars PHOTOGRAPH: NOVIG

That was a reference to Melissa Jefferson-Wooden's winning time of 21.47 seconds, the fourth-fastest women's 200m, and Hunt went on to reveal the painful realities she and sports stars faced. "When you're a woman in sport, it's not pretty," she said. "It's not glamorous. It's not sexy all the time, definitely.

“Sex still sells,” he said. “And her sexuality, the outrage, the culture war argument gets you one thing, enormous reach.”

Borkowski also questioned whether Sweeney, who has starred in several successful TV series and films, including Euphoria, The White Lotus and The Housemaid, may one day regret her decision. “Sweeney will make a lot of money over a short span of time,” said Borkowski. “But often it is about how your brand sustains over the years, not in the first flourish. And this sort of promotion can come back to haunt people.

The public relations consultant Mark Borkowski, who has worked with everyone from Mikhail Gorbachev to Diego Maradona, said he felt the advert was “cynical soft porn”, but that the controversy would benefit Novig “given the number of eyeballs on it”.

"There's some low moments. Even turning up to this championship, my period started yesterday, so that's not really ideal, and that's not ever what you try to really plan for."

“She’s clearly got assets and she exploits them. But women sometimes struggle to be taken seriously as they get older because they’ve ploughed this line. She is making money in a Kardashian way.”

The British Olympic cycling gold medallist Sophie Capewell was also deeply critical of the advert. “Imagine a world where sexualised representation isn’t the most popular way of seeing women in sport.”

The advert has been defended by Jacob Fortinsky, the founder and chief executive of Novig, which launched its new platform last month. “Sydney is great at captivating audiences and being the centre of attention,” he said. “In some sense, it forces us into the national discourse.”

In Australia, there was also widespread fury with the four-time Olympic swimming champion Ariarne Titmus leading the charge. “I can’t describe how infuriated I feel the footballer Megan Rapinoe and former basketball player Sue Bird.

'It is a kick in the face to every woman who enjoys sports'

Sweeney appeared to respond to the criticism by posting a series of images of prominent female and male athletes posing naked for magazine shoots, including Serena Williams,

Ariarne Titmus Olympic swimmer

Hundreds of athletes took inspiration from the American gymnast Gracie Kramer, who posted footage of her competing under the message “this is what a woman in sport looks like” on an Instagram post that was liked more than a million times.

excellence, unity. How do we live in a world where monetising a woman's body and sexualising women's sport is still a thing?"

when I watch this," she wrote. "Not only is it a kick in the face to every woman who has dedicated her life to perfecting her craft, but every woman who enjoys sports for what it really is - teamwork, friendship, dedication,

Fortinsky also pushed back against criticisms of the adult nature of the content, pointing out that Novig is restricted to users aged 21 and over. He added Sweeney had approached the company about an equity partnership and helped craft its message.

This is not the first time an advert featuring Sweeney has attracted controversy. Last year, American Eagle's "Sydney Sweeney Has Great Jeans" campaign used a play on "jeans" and "genes", including references to the blue-eyed actor's inherited traits, sparked a culture war, with some saying it invoked eugenics.

Several months after the controversy erupted, Sweeney said she had been unaware of it as she had been filming Euphoria. “I’m against hate and divisiveness,” she said.

Bob Mackie, US designer who made stars stand out, dies at 87

Lauren Cochrane Senior fashion writer

Bob Mackie, the American costume designer behind some of the sexiest and most glamorous outfits worn by celebrities in the past 50 years, has died aged 87.

"He lived his 87 years to the fullest, fulfilling his dream of being a fashion and costume designer, which is all he ever wanted to do," said a post on his Instagram account.

“His genius and extraordinary designs will live on forever, continuing to bring beauty into this world.”

Mackie's work was worn by stars including Marilyn Monroe, Liza Minnelli, Elton John, Dolly Parton, Tina Turner and - perhaps most notably - Cher. He designed the “naked” dress the singer wore to attend the Met Gala in 1975 and the transparent body stocking she wore for her If I Could Turn Back Time video in 1989.

More recently, Taylor Swift wore one of Mackie's original Jubilee! cabaret costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album, The Life of a Showgirl, while the singer Sabrina Carpenter and the actor Zendaya have also worn archival Mackie looks. In 2024, Miley Cyrus paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie tasselled mini-dress she had worn to perform at the Grammys.

Last year, Cher's "naked" bodysuit fetched \$57,600 (£43,000) at auction.

Mackie first began working with Cher for The Sonny and Cher TV show in the 1960s and remained a

collaborator for decades. Cher has said without him she “would have been a peacock without feathers”.

Mackie's first notable design - the dress Marilyn Monroe wore to sing Happy Birthday to President John F

▲ Clockwise from top left: Bob Mackie and the actor Bernadette Peters in 2019;
Cher wears a Mackie creation at the Oscars in 1986; Mackie with two of his designs in 2018

Kennedy in 1962 - was worn by Kim Kardashian to the Met Gala in 2022.

This was met with disapproval by much of the fashion world, who thought it should be preserved.

Mackie agreed. “I thought it was a big mistake,” he said. “It was designed for [Monroe]. Nobody else should be seen in that dress.”

Mackie's motto was “dare to be noticed” and his costumes certainly gained attention for those wearing them. Elton John's duck costume, worn in 1980, has become notorious.

But the designs also sometimes made points. Turner's “flame” dress, worn in 1977 after her split from her abusive partner and musical collaborator Ike Turner, turned the star into a gloriously unsubtle phoenix rising from the ashes.

Mackie has gained many plaudits for his unique take on glamour, including the staging by the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York of the Unmistakably Bob exhibition in 1999.

Special report Enslaving Nation

'Vital we face the truth' How Conservative and Lib Dem forerunners supported enslavement

David Conn

Investigations correspondent

There is a British culture of celebrating the abolition of slavery without acknowledging that the country enslaved and trafficked millions of African people for centuries.

The newly published Register of British Slave Traders, which documents the thousands of investors in Britain's near 250-year trafficking of more than 3 million enslaved African people, shows that it was a state-backed operation, fully supported by both major political parties at the time, the Tories and Whigs - the forerunners of today's Conservatives and Liberal Democrats respectively.

Many Tory and Whig MPs were investors in the slave trade, the register shows, and many also owned plantations. But when the movement to abolish the slave trade and enslavement grew in the late 18th century, the Whigs generally moved towards supporting abolition, while Tory governments opposed and delayed it for decades.

The Lib Dem leader, Ed Davey, said in response to the Guardian's reporting of this history that he supported “full transparency” and it was “vital that we face up to the full truth of Britain’s history”.

The Conservative party referred the Guardian to a post on X by its leader, Kemi Badenoch, in March, in response to a UN declaration that the historic enslavement and trafficking of African people was “the gravest crime against humanity” and reparations should be discussed.

“Britain led the fight to end slavery,” Badenoch posted. “We shouldn’t be paying for a crime we helped eradicate and still fight today.”

More than 50 Tory MPs and about 50 Whig MPs are identified in the register as historic slave traders. Most invested in Britain's state-backed Royal African Company (RAC) and its predecessors, and some were involved in the South Sea Company.

The involvement of Tories in the RAC was rooted in the foundation of the party. The original Tory faction formed during the 1679 exclusion crisis, in support of the then Duke of York being crowned King James II. Their opponents, the Whigs, sought to prevent James's succession.

James became king and led the RAC, which trafficked more enslaved people - at least 150,000 African men, women and children - than any other organisation in the history of the transatlantic slave trade.

Many Tories who supported James also invested in the RAC.

Prof William Pettigrew, the lead historian of the register, said: “This platform of support for the Duke of York became the Tory party. Support for the duke’s slave-trading project, the Royal African Company, provided a further rallying point for these early Tories, while early Whigs were opposed to it. Disagreements about the best way to expand the nation’s slave trade were present at the birth of our political parties.”

The Whigs' opposition was not to enslaving African people but to the RAC's royal monopoly. Many Whigs lobbied to expand the slave trade by opening the trafficking to independent “separate traders”.

Sir Benjamin Bathurst, one of many prominent Tories in the register, illustrates the elite status of the RAC investors. He was a friend of King James and Queen Anne, and the Tory MP for New Romney, Kent.

Bathurst was an assistant and leader of the RAC at various points between 1677 and 1700, when the company made 222 transatlantic voyages, transporting tens of thousands of African people to the colonies.

Sir Robert Clayton, a 17th-century banker who was a managing director of the RAC, was a Whig MP for London. Clayton donated money to St Thomas' hospital - now part of Guy's and St Thomas' NHS foundation trust - where a statue commemorates him.

Edward Colston, a dedicated RAC shareholder and assistant whose statue was toppled by campaigners in 2020, was the Tory MP for Bristol in 1710-13.

The register shows more Tory and Whig politicians invested in the RAC after the South Sea Company was formed in 1711. The company was developed by Robert Harley, the chancellor of the exchequer who became leader of the Tory party, and moved into the trafficking of enslaved people.

In 1713, Queen Anne secured from Spain's King Philip V an asiento - an agreement to deliver a stipulated 4,800 enslaved African men to Spain's American colonies every year. Anne gave the asiento to the South Sea Company, which contracted the RAC to fulfil it.

Several Tory and Whig MPs became directors of the South Sea Company, including Sir Richard Hoare, the Tory MP for London and a lord mayor. He founded the private bank Hoares, which is still owned by the family.

The Whigs, in government for decades in the mid-18th century, supported Britain's development into the world's foremost enslaving nation as independent traffickers in Bristol, then Liverpool, industrialised slave trading operations.

When moral opposition finally came, it was an outcry led by enslaved and freed people, Quakers, and in parliament by the independent MP William Wilberforce. Some freed enslaved people, most famously Olaudah Equiano, wrote shocking accounts of their experiences.

The Tories, who were in government almost continuously from 1783-1833, repeatedly delayed abolition, while the Whigs generally moved towards the abolitionists' view. After the Quakers' first parliamentary petition in 1783, enslavement remained enforced for 50 years before a new Whig government passed the abolition law in 1833. Party affiliations were not as clear as they are now, and there were exceptions on both sides.

Wilberforce's motions in parliament to abolish the slave trade, beginning in 1791, were defeated. The Tory home secretary Henry Dundas intervened to add the word “gradually” to Wilberforce's 1792 abolition bill, which was then blocked in the Lords.

It took until a Whig-led “ministry of all the talents” coalition government briefly replaced the Tories for the law abolishing the slave trade to be passed in 1807. During the 16 years of delay since 1791, the British slave trade was at its peak and trafficked 648,000 more African men, women and children across the Atlantic into enslavement. When the next campaign was mounted in 1823 to abolish enslavement itself, the Tory government’s response was to delay it indefinitely, claiming enslaved people were not ready for freedom.

Tories were also at the forefront of claiming that if enslaved people were freed, compensation must be paid to the enslavers. Ultimately, they were paid £20m public money - the equivalent of £2.7bn today, according to the lowest method of calculation. The 800,000 enslaved people in Britain's colonies were paid nothing and consigned to "apprenticeships" - further years of forced, unpaid labour.

In an 1824 Commons debate, the foreign secretary, George Canning, made “arguably the most racist speech in the history of the British parliament”, according to the historian Michael Taylor.

Canning said: “In dealing with the negro, sir, we must remember that we are dealing with a being possessing the form and strength of a man, but the intellect only of a child." Sir Robert Peel, a founding father of the Conservative party, said he had "never objected to the extinction of slavery", but he spoke in the Commons against immediate emancipation as late as 1833. Peel claimed emancipation would mean "two distinct and separate races" had to be amalgamated, and the "distinction of colour" was an obstruction.

▲ The artist William Jackson's A Liverpool Slave Ship depicts a vessel nearing Africa around 1780

In 1834, the year after the abolition law finally passed under a Whig government, Peel issued his Tamworth manifesto, which is seen as a foundational document of the Conservative party. He became the first Conservative prime minister.

Peel later celebrated emancipation and became associated with stopping the slave trade. As prime minister in 1845, he signed a convention with France that both countries would deploy expanded squadrons of ships to enforce the ban on transatlantic trafficking.

The Legacies of British Slavery archive at University College London, which is based on records of “compensation” paid after 1833, found there were about 80 Tory and Conservative MPs involved in the ownership of enslaved people in the decades before abolition, and in compensation claims. There were also more than 60 Whig and Liberal MPs. The largest total payment to any individual was almost £110,000, the equivalent of £14.6m today, to John Gladstone, the Tory MP who claimed for 2,508 men, women and children enslaved on his plantations in Guyana and Jamaica.

In response to the research, a Conservative party spokesperson said: "The Conservatives are proud of our country's history, leading the world in abolishing slavery. Kemi Badenoch has been clear that in the modern age we must build a meritocracy that does not discriminate on ethnic grounds."

Davey, the Lib Dem leader, said: "The transatlantic slave trade was an abominable crime against humanity and it is vital that we face up to the full truth of Britain's history. The Liberal Democrats support full transparency, teaching the complete context of our colonial past in schools, and engaging in open, constructive dialogue with international partners."

Eric Phillips, the Guyanese vice-chair of the Caribbean Community (Caricom) Reparations Commission, said: “The British Conservative party should examine its history and acknowledge it, not be caught up in this denial of only talking about abolition. The history happened, you can’t change it. Let’s accept it and discuss it, and move towards healing, ways to work together, and mutually beneficial solutions.”

▲ Previously enslaved African Americans circa 1863-66. Top left, the slave-owning Tory MP John Gladstone. Left, a vandalised statue of Sir Robert Peel in Glasgow PHOTOGRAPH: ALAMY

'A well of capital' Women also helped to fund the slave trade

Aamna Mohdin

More than 1,000 women invested in the slave trade, challenging the conventional notion that they were passive beneficiaries and largely fought for its abolition.

Researchers found women bought, sold and brokered shares in the Royal African Company (RAC), South Sea Company, and other separate ventures, and used profits from the trafficking of enslaved Africans to secure financial independence and provide for their families.

By the time the RAC, which trafficked about 150,000 enslaved people, was dissolved in 1752, women made up about 10% of shareholders.

The Register of British Slave Traders, revealed exclusively in the Guardian, shows women from across society played an active role in financing and sustaining the transatlantic trafficking of enslaved Africans.

Investors ranged from queens and princesses to titled nobility, merchants, shopkeepers and cowherds.

Women invested from the earliest years of enslavement, from Queen Elizabeth I's backing in the 1560s to Lady Craven's £1,000 loan financing a voyage to the Gambia through the Guinea Company. Some investors, unable to write their names, signed company records with a spidery "X".

Lila O'Leary Chambers, a lecturer at the University of Cambridge who researched women's involvement for the register project, said: "This research really shows that this was not just a flash in the pan.

The research identifies 1,100

“Across the entirety of the Royal African Company and its various guises, there were women contributing financially and expecting a financial return from the slave trade.”

Researchers found women were involved “at almost every level” of the company’s activities. They acted as brokers, supplied goods traded on the Africa’s Atlantic coast, managed company property and used their familial and social networks to strengthen the company’s finances and political influence.

The archives include letters in which women discuss profits from “African stock”, while company records show one investor, Helen Gladman, asking the RAC to transport a young African girl from Sherbro Island in Sierra Leone to England to serve in her household.

For many, the investments were crucial to gaining economic independence. Some became active traders and traded shares for friends and family, Chambers said. “It was not a career as they would see it, but we might think: this has become your job.”

Chambers said the research directly challenged the conventional narrative that “white women come in at the point of abolition, see the suffering of enslaved people, identify with that oppression, and then work either to reform or ultimately abolish the slave trade and slavery itself”.

Work to overturn that misconception builds on decades of scholarship by historians from the Caribbean and west Africa, including Eric Williams, Elsa Goveia and Walter Rodney.

▲ A portrait of Lady Carteret with child and a black servant, painted by the artist John Giles Eccardt

More recent public-facing projects, such as the Legacies of British Slavery archive compiled by historians at University College London, have helped bring this history to wider audiences. The archive revealed that women were among those connected to the ownership of enslaved people who received compensation after slavery was abolished in a large portion of the empire in 1833, she said. Enslaved people received nothing.

female investors across the histories of the RAC, the South Sea Company, and other separate ventures, though the true number is likely to have been higher. Of the 457 women whose marital status could be identified, almost half were widows and just over 42% were unmarried. Of the 7% who were married, most were aristocrats.

“But this tells a much longer story, and that helps us see past a simple narrative that positions women historically as actually less complicated than they were.”

because female investors seemingly did not vote or hold board positions, they often relied on informal efforts to influence and shape a company.

For Chambers, the accumulation of more than 1,000 names was itself a “gut punch” because of the lack of similar information about enslaved African women.

Olivette Otele, a distinguished professor of the legacies and memory of slavery at Soas University of London, said while the lack of comparable detail about enslaved African women remained startling, “the more we know about enslavers, the better chance we have to know about enslaved women from the archives, because sometimes through diaries you can find more details”.

Meeting minutes show women acting as witnesses, running the meeting house, delivering the goods exchanged for African lives, petitioning for wages, passing information and, most importantly, lending money and buying and selling shares.

She added that archives alone could not tell the full history, and future research should look at other evidence to help recover the lives and agency of enslaved women. “These women were the transmitters and the holders of their cultures wherever they were taken from,” she said. “Through food, music, and dancing, it’s about resistance and agency, and they transmitted that.”

Under English law, women who were single or widowed were in control of their own property and could operate as legal persons while married women could not.

The research also found that

“That becomes really important for the Royal African Company as it stutters between financial crises,” Chambers said. “Women provided this important well of capital.”

In the early 18th century, the RAC secretary, John Perry, wrote to female investors urging them to exchange company debts for shares and persuade friends and relatives to do the same. Chambers said: “That is a financial project, but it is also a political one, because he knows that they might not hold official positions, but women were very influential with their family members and with the way companies were perceived.”

The company survived long enough to attract at least 60 new female investors between 1713 and 1719, followed by another 250 women during a revival in the early 1720s.

Women left RAC shares to their daughters to shore up their economic position, or used investment income to support widowed, disabled and vulnerable relatives.

In one letter, Mary Stanley committed to leaving £300 RAC stock and its proceeds to her other son, Peter, with the caveat that if her daughter's husband failed to provide her with “the necessaries of life”, Peter would use the African stock to support her.

For Chambers, the research revealed a stark contradiction between white British women using their investments to protect their own families while investing in the destruction of African families.

“You cannot separate the way you think about investment from these structures of kinship, intimacy and violence,” she said. “That profit comes from denying those same kinship ties to African people, and denying their ability to make sure their own children are safe.

“That is so important to this story in particular, but also to how slavery shapes capitalism in general.”

▲ The will of Mary Stanley mentions her shares in the Royal African Company that she left to her son. Below, the British slave trading firm's coat of arms PHOTOGRAPH: THE GUARDIAN/NATIONAL ARCHIVES

Composite by Palesa Monareng/the Guardian

10%

Proportion of the Royal Africa Company's 150,000 shareholders who were women when it was dissolved in 1752

42%

Proportion of female investors who were unmarried, while just over half were widows, according to the research

7%

Proportion of female investors who were married. Most were aristocrats. The RAC trafficked about 150,000 people

National

Made in Chelsea and Austen are a suitable match, says writer Davies

Nadia Khomami Arts and culture correspondent

If Jane Austen's novels focus on closed social worlds, courtship rituals, status anxiety and gossip about who's wooing whom, it follows that the obvious contemporary equivalent would be reality TV.

So says the writer Andrew Davies, who has spent decades modernising British period dramas.

Speaking on Radio 4's Today programme, he revealed he had been watching the Channel 4 reality show Made in Chelsea while working on an adaptation of Austen's unfinished novel The Watsons. "It's stimulating really for relationships and ideas," he said of the series, which follows the social dramas and rivalries of affluent young residents of west London.

"These young men and women in

The Watsons, for example, are very analogous to Made in Chelsea."

Davies, 89, whose memoir An Unsuitable Boy: A Life in Scripts is out this week, is responsible for the famous image of Colin Firth as Mr Darcy emerging from a lake in a wet shirt in his 1995 BBC adaptation of Pride and Prejudice. His approach, he said, had been about “bringing out the sex that’s inherent in Austen”.

▲ Austen and, right, Dolly Alderton, who worked in reality TV and wrote the Netflix Pride and Prejudice series

Joe Bray, an Austen scholar and professor of English at the University of Sheffield, told the Guardian: "Jane Austen was a shrewd observer of the fashionable manners and fads adopted by the young ... and the plots of most of her novels are driven by sexual attraction and/or secret liaisons and engagements."

The Steele sisters, Lucy and Anne, in Sense and Sensibility, he suggested, “would make perfect reality show contestants”.

Austen had pioneered a way of representing the unspoken thoughts and feelings of female characters that can be tough to translate to screen.

She also loved gossiping about neighbours and acquaintances in letters to her sister Cassandra, Bray said, adding: “I can’t say for certain whether or not she would be a viewer of Made in Chelsea or Love Island but … she would be interested at least!”

$\nabla$ Netflix's new Pride and Prejudice and, left, Made in Chelsea in 2021
PHOTOGRAPHS: LUDOVIC ROBERT/NETFLIX; RACHEL JOSEPH/MONKEY KINGDOM/CHANNEL 4

There is indeed a direct line from Made in Chelsea to a new Pride and Prejudice series coming to Netflix this year: the latter's writer and executive producer, Dolly Alderton, began her career as a story producer on the reality show - where, she has said, her job involved turning the romantic entanglements of rich young Londoners into “a four-part comedy drama”.

In Curtis Sittenfeld's 2016 modernisation of Pride and Prejudice, Eligible, the novelist transplanted the Bennets to 2013 Cincinnati and made Chip Bingley a former reality TV star who had appeared on The Bachelor.

“Reality dating shows are so formulaic, and courtship in Austen’s time was rigid and proscriptive,” Sittenfeld said. In other words, reality

TV provided a modern equivalent for Austen's world of carefully prescribed romantic encounters.

That may explain the extraordinary portability of Austen, including the film Clueless, based on the novel Emma but set in 1990s LA.

John Mullan, a literature professor at University College London and historical and dialogue consultant on Netflix's Bridgerton, identified another parallel. "In Austen's fiction, courtship mostly takes place under the eyes of others," he said. "Young women and men who might fancy each other are very rarely alone."

But there was a crucial difference: "What about propriety? Restraint? Repression? These are also key to Austen's stories and characters."

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National

Album review Long-awaited work a stunning end to singer-songwriter's heartache trilogy

Beck Ride Lonesome ★★★★★

Alexis Petridis

The last time Beck released an album it was 2019, and the singer-songwriter found himself in a strange and

unenviable position. In some quarters, the arrival of Hyperspace was eagerly anticipated precisely because his personal life was in turmoil. Nine months before its release, his 15-year marriage to the actor Marissa Ribisi had ended in divorce, an experience he understandably described as heartbreaking. Unfortunately for him, there exists a pervasive argument that Beck's greatest work is born out of misery.

His beloved 2002 album, Sea Change, featured disconsolate acoustic songs written after a breakup with his long-term girlfriend. It was not entirely clear what prompted the gloomy mood of 2014's Morning Phase, but it seemed to be cut from similar musical and lyrical cloth. Some said it was the best album of his career; it later won three Grammys including album of the year.

There was much speculation that Hyperspace would be a companion piece. Instead, it was synth-heavy, produced by Pharrell Williams, and its tone was dreamily buoyant and light on racked soul-bearing. After its release, Beck seemed to suggest to fans of Sea Change and Morning Phase that there would not be any more where they came from.

Seven years on, he appears to have reconsidered. There is an intentionality about the way Ride Lonesome reconvenes the team behind Sea Change and Morning Phase - the former's producer, Nigel Godrich, is behind the mixing desk, the backing musicians who appear on both albums are present and correct, the orchestrations are the work of Beck's father, David Campbell - and about the artists the music evokes. The ghosts of Nick Drake and his string arranger, Robert Kirby, are clearly summoned up, most noticeably on In the Night. On Run Away, we find Beck exactly where he was on Sea Change's The Golden Age and Morning Phase's Unforgiven: alone, behind the

▲ Ride Lonesome has the same sense of weariness that Beck conveyed in Sea Change and Morning Phase

wheel of a car in the small hours, aimlessly driving in an attempt to assuage his unhappiness.

Similar sound, similar mood, similar lyrical themes: the danger is of diminishing returns. But

Ride Lonesome never feels like a craven attempt to recapture past glories. That is partly because of the standard of the songwriting. Beck has suggested one reason the album took so long to make is because of stringent quality control: songs were recorded, then set aside for years, then reconsidered. A huge amount of material was discarded. You can tell: everything here, from the sparse country-rock of Slow Canyon to the lush, harmony-drenched Falling Through My Hands is melodically exquisite.

But it is also because Ride Lonesome is clearly an album made by an older artist: its mood is marked by a sense of time passing. "I don't know where I'm going," he sings on Bleed, "but it feels like I've been here before": a neat capturing of a very mid-50s kind of malaise. A sense of weariness seeps into everything: even the ostensibly optimistic - and utterly lovely - closing song, Beyond the Light, is filled with evocations of "nameless days" and "the dying of the light".

Ride Lonesome does little to dispel the theory that Beck's best work is born out of unhappiness. It is also that rarest of things: a sequel to a sequel that is every bit as good as its predecessors.

Out on Friday

A wildly funny new collection from Britain's favourite columnist

Truly, these are times that make you want to put your hands over your eyes, even when your hands are already over your eyes. The only thing to do is read Marina Hyde and howl with laughter

▼ Doonbeg, Ireland Golf fans try to catch the attention of Northern Ireland's Rory McIlroy on the final day of the Irish Open PHOTOGRAPH: BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP/GETTY

Source: Sana'a Center for Strategic Studies, Global Energy Monitor

World

Gulf states defer Hormuz strait talks with Iran as Yemen conflict escalates

Patrick Wintour Diplomatic editor

Gulf states have postponed a critical meeting with Iran on the future of the strait of Hormuz owing to a lack of Arab consensus and growing Saudi Arabian anger with Tehran for helping the Houthis loosen Riyadh's grip in Yemen.

The stalemate over the vital waterway came as Houthi rebels launched a fresh barrage of missile and drone attacks on Saudi military targets.

A Houthi military spokesperson claimed its forces had attacked the King Khalid airbase in Khamis Mushait, hitting fighter jet hangars, radar systems, runways and landing strips, ammunition depots and additional targets.

Last week Tehran-backed militias in Iraq forced Saudi Arabia to close a critical east-west pipeline that had been acting as a means for Riyadh to export oil after Iran had in effect closed the strait of Hormuz.

The closure of the pipeline, the postponement of the Hormuz meeting and the Houthis' seizure last week of Yemen's Red Sea coast - which gave the group control over another vital waterway, the Bab al-Mandab strait - combined to drive up oil prices above \$108 a barrel yesterday.

The crown prince of Saudi Arabia, Mohammed bin Salman, held urgent talks yesterday with Adm Brad Cooper, the US Central Command chief, in Jeddah to discuss “the latest developments in the region”, according to Saudi media.

Sources told US media last week the Saudi de facto ruler had sought military assistance from Donald Trump to help fight the Houthis. So far the US has provided only logistical and intelligence backing.

The meeting between the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and Iran was postponed at the last minute, deferring a proposed agreement on a temporary route for commercial shipping when the strait of Hormuz is reopened.

Sayyid Badr Albusaidi, Oman's foreign minister, said the meeting had been delayed in the interests of consensus. "We remain committed to fostering dialogue that supports stability and lasting cooperation in our region," he wrote on X. He gave no further details.

'We remain committed to fostering dialogue'

The meeting would not have led to the immediate opening of the strait, since Tehran has set a series of other preconditions. They include requiring the US to lift a blockade of Iran's oil ports, the handing over of many frozen Iranian assets, and a ceasefire in Lebanon.

But it would have been the first

A satellite image shows damage to Al Mesba'ah pumping station on Saudi Arabia's east-west pipeline PHOTOGRAPH: VANTOR/AFP/GETTY

meeting between Iran and the main GCC member countries for two years. The planned agreement on a temporary route for ships would have formalised Iran's control of the strait, since the entry route would have been in Iranian waters.

Washington has not expressed publicly an opinion over the proposed deal, and some of Trump's recent social media posts - claiming full US control of the strait - seemed to bear little relationship with what shipping companies have been reporting.

The atmosphere surrounding the meeting, in preparation for weeks, had been rapidly souring because of the advance by the Houthis in Yemen and the drone attack on the Saudi pipeline by an Iran-backed Shia militia in Iraq.

Vantor released high-resolution satellite images showing the damage to the east-west pipeline pumping station near Al Mesba'ah, Saudi Arabia. The station appears to be almost completely destroyed.

The spokesperson for Iran's foreign ministry denied any Iranian involvement in the pipeline attack, or in events in Yemen.

US military bases throughout the Gulf have been attacked by Iran in response to the Iran war.

Sayyid Badr Albusaidi Oman's foreign minister

Saudi Arabia, which backs the UN-recognised Yemeni government based in Aden, is trying to regain the initiative after Houthi forces swept down the west coast of Yemen from the port of Hodeidah last week and seized the Bab al-Mandab strait, a narrow waterway that links the Red Sea with Asia and is viewed as second in strategic importance to the strait of Hormuz.

It was claimed that a Saudi air bombardment was making it difficult for the Houthis to gain full control of the Yemen waterway or the strategic islands in the Red Sea.

The Houthi leadership says it is not seeking to block all commercial shipping in the Red Sea but only Saudi-linked ships. It is offering cut-price fees in the ports it controls on the west coast of Yemen in an effort to lure traffic from the ports controlled by the government in the south.

It is widely accepted that Iran backs the Houthis, but the group also operates independently of Tehran. The rebels' ultimate aim is to oust Saudi Arabia from the country and take full control of the territory.

Saudi Arabia has tried different tactics in handling the Houthis during the decade-long civil war in Yemen, including making concessions in the hope the highly ideological group would reach some some kind of power-sharing deal.

The Yemen government said preliminary tolls indicated that 150 civilians had been killed and 200 others injured in the course of the recent Houthi advance. About 85,000 people have been displaced, according to the UN.

Viral superfood Japanese fermented beans gain popularity Page 26

Trump's takeover Kennedy Center on brink of bankruptcy Page 27

Food deserts

How shops are tackling hunger in South Africa

Julie Bourdin

E very morning, on her way to the laundry shop she runs in Johannesburg's Alexandra township, Tsholofelo Mphela

stops at a yellow shipping container to buy a few spoonfuls of sugar.

Inside, shelves are lined with large jars of beans, rice and maize meal, and clear boxes filled with breakfast cereal and loose teabags. A tap dispenses cooking oil by the millilitre. The cashier weighs Mphela's purchase before ringing it up for a few rand.

She is the sole breadwinner for a family of eight, and her monthly bulk grocery shop lasts only about a week. “At times, I don’t have enough money to buy a 2kg bag of sugar,” Mphela says. A 2kg bag costs about 60 rand (£2.80).

At the weigh-and-pay shop Gcwalisa - which means “fill up” in isiZulu and is designed to tackle malnutrition in one of South Africa’s poorest communities - she can buy what she can afford.

South Africa has a rich agricultural sector and produces more than enough food to feed its entire population. Yet millions of people still struggle with hunger.

A 2024 national survey found that nearly two-thirds of all households were affected by food insecurity, and nearly $30\%$ of children under five suffered from stunting linked to chronic malnutrition.

Healthy food remains out of reach for many, contributing to issues such as obesity and diabetes - which recently overtook HIV and tuberculosis as the No 1 cause of natural death in the country.

"A lot of townships are food deserts, where nutritious foods are not accessible," says Josephine Katumba, Gcwalisa's head of operations. "We are offering people that accessibility - with whatever amount of money you have, it will at least get you through the next few days."

Launched in 2022, the social enterprise now runs six container-based shops across Alexandra, selling food and basic household products by weight. Customers are encouraged to bring their own refillable receptacles.

Gcwalisa's weigh-and-pay model is designed to avoid what the founder, Miles Kubheka, calls the “poverty tax”: poorer families end up paying more for small pre-packaged quantities because they cannot afford to buy in bulk.

Products are sourced directly from local producers, with a focus on nutritious, high-quality foods.

Low-waste shops that sell by weight are not new, Katumba admits, but they are usually set up in more affluent neighbourhoods. "We said: 'How do we target low-income earners, no-income earners, people who depend on government grants - which are the majority of the population?'"

The shops soon expanded their range to other household essentials, such as detergent,

▲ Miles Kubheka and Josephine Katumba at one of the containers

A Gcwalisa container in South Africa. The stores enable people to buy affordable, nutritious food PHOTOGRAPH: JULIE BOURDIN

painkillers and period pads. They began stocking nappies after a grandmother asked whether she could buy disposable ones individually. “She said they let them dry in the sun, dust them off and reuse them,” Kubheka recalls.

In 2023, as South Africa endured regular power cuts, Gcwalisa installed solar panels on some of its containers. They now provide electricity to dozens of homes and the local school.

"These traffic lights are powered by us," says Kubheka as he drives through a junction at the entrance to Alexandra.

Outside the yellow container, a group of teenagers in school uniforms do their homework using the free wifi installed by Gcwalisa. One of the shops was recently registered as a medical pickup point, Kubheka adds, allowing patients to collect their HIV or diabetes medication alongside their groceries.

At the till, 65-year-old Sibongile Msomi watches as the cashier weighs out exactly 16 rand (£0.73) worth of Pine Gel cleaner, which she uses to wash her floors. “I just received my pension, but it’s small money,” she says.

Prof Julian May, who heads the Centre of Excellence in Food Security at Cape Town's University of the Western Cape, says South Africa faces a “food system paradox”. The country is self-sufficient in food and has adopted policies that have eliminated stunting in children in other countries. But policies, he says, have “failed to budge food insecurity”.

One of the main causes lies in an “astronomically high level of unemployment”, with about 43% of the working-age population without a job, he says. Unlike in many other African countries, where markets and informal traders are important sources of food, supermarkets and retailers dominate South Africa.

“What is affordable in low-income areas is often unhealthy: low-cost, high-calorie, low-nutrient foods,” May says.

Behind the till of a Gcwalisa set up opposite a busy supermarket, the shopkeeper, Lerato Khangale, fills a paper bag with 100g of beans - enough for one person's dinner.

Many of her customers rely on government grants of 350 rand (£16) a month. “They say we’re helping them, because they cannot afford life,” she says.

Khangale has started shopping at the refill shops herself.

“Towards month’s end, when things become so difficult, I just spend my last money here,” she says. “Just those 20 rands, so that I can buy something for my kids.”

Train attack will not dent support for Ukraine, says Nato chief

Jennifer Rankin Brussels Charlotte Higgins Amy Hawkins Kyiv

The head of Nato has said a Russian drone attack on a train close to Ukraine's border with Poland would not deter Kyiv's western backers.

Mark Rutte said the strike on a passenger train showed how desperate the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, had become. "He thinks he can stop us from supporting Ukraine and he can undermine our unity. He is wrong. Our answer is to increase support," the Nato secretary general said.

European leaders have condemned the Russian strike, which occurred on Sunday shortly after a convoy of diplomats and former leaders had passed through. The earlier train, which was carrying the former UK prime minister Boris Johnson and running ahead of schedule, may have been the target of the Russian strike, Ukrainian Railways has said.

A spokesperson for the UK prime minister, Andy Burnham, said the attack “was a futile attempt by Russia to undermine our support for Ukraine. It will not deter us.”

The French foreign minister, Jean-Noël Barrot, said the attack's goal had been “to intimidate Europeans, discourage and, above all, divide them”.

The EU's high representative for foreign affairs and security policy, Kaja Kallas, said the strike “was clearly a message to the western world”. Speaking on the sidelines of an Arctic conference in Finland, she said: “I think the question for us is: what do we take from that message? I think we should act the opposite.

“We should show that we are there for Ukraine and we are not scared off, because otherwise, you know, Russia will just achieve what they want, which is the submission of Ukraine.”

A spokesperson for Kallas added: "We strongly condemn the latest

Russian strikes near the Ukraine-Poland border, including the attack against the passenger train," and referenced a recent EU decision to approve a €6.1bn (£5.2bn) tranche of the €90bn loan for Ukraine. "We will continue to stand firmly with Ukraine and its right to defend itself," the spokesperson said.

Overnight attacks across Ukraine involving more than 450 Russian drones and missiles killed at least six people and injured more than 40. Ukraine's air force said it had intercepted 405 drones and four missiles.

Western Ukraine, which is typically quieter than Kyiv or the eastern frontline zones, was badly hit.

The strikes, which prompted air raid warnings in Poland, came as EU diplomats met in Brussels yesterday for last-ditch talks on the rollover of the bloc's sanctions against more than 2,600 Russian individuals and entities involved in supporting Putin's war. The sanctions are due to expire today but their renewal is being held up by a dispute about whether to remove an individual from the list.

Ukraine's president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, wrote on Telegram on Sunday: “Ukrainians are fighting every day to prevent these strikes from spreading further into Europe.”

Ukrainian Railways, which operates the line targeted by Russia on Sunday, said a diplomatic train carrying several security advisers from European countries, as well as Johnson and the former Swedish prime minister Carl Bildt, had passed through the border crossing shortly before the drone strike. The diplomatic train had left ahead of schedule and could have been the target of the Russian drone.

Another train, with the former CIA director David Petraeus on board, was still at Yahodyn station when the drone struck, according to the rail operator.

The Polish prime minister, Donald Tusk, warned Russian attacks in Ukraine could affect Poland, as he chaired an emergency meeting after the incident. Poland “cannot rule out that this escalation will also affect our territory”, he said.

Tusk said Poland had been tipped off by its security services, and by intelligence agencies from allied countries, that an attack was likely. "We knew that the Russian plan would include an attempt to disrupt, paralyse and perhaps even destroy Ukrainian border crossings."

Russia's strike on a passenger train near the Ukraine-Poland border occurred after a convoy of diplomats had passed through PHOTOGRAPH: MEDIAPIVDEN/ TELEGRAM/REUTERS

Keep us forever without borders

HENRY GRAY HAS WORKED FORMSF IN NUMEROUS CRISES AROUND THE WORLD.

"I've worked for MSF on and off for twenty years, but I still remember the first project I worked on. We were setting up a hospital in the middle of a forest in the Democratic Republic of Congo. There had been a lot of fighting in this area, and although the conflict had died down, the legacy of war was still very visible. About 125,000 people lived in the immediate area, but there were no services, and not even basic medical care was available. Women couldn't get caesareans if they needed them; there were no medicines, no vaccinations, and no treatment for diseases. It was a desperate situation, and that's when MSF sent us to get an emergency hospital up and running.

From the start, our goal was to provide medical care and save lives. But we knew that for this work to continue and to have lasting impact, we couldn't just provide medical care. We needed to bring the community on board; we needed to hire local staff and train local people to do the jobs that we were doing. So that's what we did.

It was fantastic to see the immediate impact of that lifesaving work. But what really surprised me was seeing how the hospital transformed the entire area. I still remember the day we switched on the generators that would power the lights in and around the hospital. Suddenly, schoolchildren started turning up to sit under the lights and do their homework. Over the weeks, businesses sprang up, and the local economy grew.

Over the years I’ve worked in war zones, in Ebola outbreaks and in natural disasters, and I’ve seen over and over again how the simple actions we take as MSF can have massive and positive knock-on effects for people, for their families and their communities.

But none of those simple acts happens without your support. MSF doesn't take money from governments. We're privately funded by people just like you. By leaving a gift in your will to MSF, you can know that your gift will not only save lives, but will change lives now and into the future. Thank you."

Above 4-year-old Franyeli receives medical care at MSF's mobile clinic in Puerto Alegre, Colombia. Photo: ©Natalia Romero Peñuela/MSF

"We will always be committed to providing care to those who need it. But that legacy is not ours alone."

Dr Rachael Craven, Anaesthetist and President

Forever without borders – thanks to your support

For more than 50 years, we've brought medical care to people who urgently need it, no matter where they are. We've performed surgery on floors, in corridors and by the light of head torches. We've helped mothers deliver babies in warzones and resuscitated people caught up in explosions.

Because we don't take any government funding, it is only the generosity of people like you that helps keep us going. This means we remain independent, impartial and neutral, and can deliver care to anyone who needs it.

By leaving a gift in your will, you'll help to make sure our teams will always be able to respond, without hesitation and without borders.

1 in 5 of our projects are funded by gifts in wills

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Supporters of Sweden's Social Democratic party attend an election night rally in Stockholm on Sunday PHOTOGRAPH: CAISA RASMUSSEN/ BILDBYRÄN/ SHUTTERSTOCK

Coalition talks begin in Sweden as left and right blocs seek to secure power

Miranda Bryant Nordic correspondent

Sweden's political parties launched coalition negotiations yesterday as the leader of the Social Democrats, Magdalena Andersson, started the long and difficult process of trying to form a government.

Full results from Sunday's election are not expected until after overseas votes are counted tomorrow, but with $95\%$ of the ballots counted, the Social Democrats and the centre-left bloc had a narrow but growing lead of 176 seats to the right-leaning parties' 173.

After losing support for the first time since they were founded, the far-right Sweden Democrats, who were hoping to enter government for the first time, appear to be out of the picture. However, many of their policy ideas - on immigration laws, integration and crime - have become mainstream, including among the centre-left parties.

Andersson and the outgoing centre-right prime minister, Ulf Kristersson, of the Moderate party, have each said they wanted to explore possible coalition options to secure power.

After a long election night during which there was just one seat between the two blocs, Social Democrat leaders met Andersson yesterday morning at the party's Stockholm headquarters. Questions remain as to whether the bloc is willing to work with the Left party (Vänsterpartiet), which the Centre party had previously ruled out.

Social Democrat leader Magdalena Andersson

The Social Democrats' press secretary, Tobias Baudin, said he had been in contact with colleagues from opposition parties and called for the resignation of Kristersson, who led the rightwing Tidö coalition government with the support of the Sweden Democrats.

"Now the voters have had their say and they have given him a failing grade for himself and his government," Baudin told the Swedish broadcaster SVT. "He should resign himself. In fact, it doesn't matter. If he doesn't resign he will be removed. How he does it is up to him."

The Centre party said that in talks with the Social Democrats it would be seeking a government with a “desire for political stability” and a “clear centre-right character” with no “fringe politics”.

The Social Democrat Morgan Johansson, who under the last Social Democrat-led government was deputy prime minister, said the Centre party's announcement was a positive development and that overall there were “good prospects”.

All of the left-leaning parties wanted a change of government, he said, adding: “That is the starting point. I don’t think anyone wants us to end up in a situation where blockages lead to a new election.”

Meanwhile, Kristersson appears to be keeping his options open. On Sunday night he said the result could lead to a “complicated government formation, where it ends remains to be seen”.

Yesterday, before a meeting with his fellow Tidö coalition leaders, he declined to elaborate, saying he would wait for a full result before having conversations.

"If all the red lines remain then Sweden won't have a government at all," he said. "I plan to pursue a number of possibilities that may exist."

The Liberals and the Christian Democrats have said they would not work with the Social Democrats.

After the overseas votes are counted, the final election results are not expected until the weekend.

The new parliament will meet for the first time on 28 September and the earliest date that the speaker can suggest a prime minister is 29 September, but talks could take considerably longer. If, when parliament votes for a prime minister candidate, over half say no, then the speaker must find a new candidate. If there are four failed votes there will then automatically be a new election.

After the 2022 election, it took 37 days to form a government; in 2018, it took 134 days to form a new coalition.

Fredrik Furtenbach, the senior political correspondent at Radio Sweden, said: “I think it will end with either the Left or Centre party having to give way. It might take several failed prime minister votes first.” He said he did not believe that the Social Democrats and Moderates, who he described as “traditional archenemies”, would end up working together. “You cannot share the position of prime minister,” he added.

'Historic setback' Far right's march to the top has been halted - for now

Miranda Bryant

Since the far-right Sweden Democrats (SD) party was founded in 1988, its story has been one of such continuous growth that a triumph in Sunday's

general election seemed inevitable.

In 2022, the party capitalised on electoral gains - and the desperation of right-leaning parties to form a minority administration - and almost made its way into government.

A supporting role in the prime minister Ulf Kristersson's Tidö coalition earned the party, which has neo-Nazi roots, huge influence and mainstream acceptance by the political establishment.

This year's election had been billed as the final confirmation they were no longer pariahs but political heavyweights. Early in the campaign, Kristersson announced that if his coalition were to win, the SD would take key ministerial positions. But Sunday's results suggest the march of the far right into the heart of Sweden's government has been halted - for now. Having fallen from Sweden's second biggest party to third place and, with the right-leaning parties unlikely to be able to form a coalition, the SD appears to have lost its route into government.

“What we saw [on Sunday] was a historic setback for the Sweden Democrats,” said Niclas Nilsson, a lecturer and researcher at the anti-racism foundation Expo. “The party has grown in every government election since 1988.”

The SD's leader, Jimmie Åkesson, appeared visibly shocked when he addressed supporters late on election night. He said it was obvious they had lost some percentage points but claimed they were still “winners”.

Åkesson appeared to suggest his decision to be a team player and support its coalition partner the Liberals may have played a role in the party's loss of support.

It is perhaps too soon to say why the SD shed votes, said Nilsson, but some of its supporters may have gone to the Moderates. Another factor may have been that, after four years in the coalition, the SD can no longer claim it is an anti-establishment party.

Turnout was about 80% - comparatively low for Sweden - which may also have played a role.

There is also the fact that much of what the SD stands for has become part of the Swedish political norm: anti-immigration, harsh approaches to crime and punishment, and an attitude to integration that puts the onus on people moving to the country to adapt to “Swedish” norms.

The SD's influence has spread to the centre-left Social Democrats, which after losing the last election shifted its crime, immigration and integration strategies to the right.

If the Moderates end up joining a coalition government with the Social Democrats, then the SD will be the biggest party in opposition. But if the Social Democrats are able to form a government without the Moderates, then the SD will again be on the outside looking in, which could help steer national conversation, politics and societal norms away from the right.

How the SD responds to this moment will be key to its survival and the tenor of Swedish politics.

But, Nilsson warned, if the party ends up going further right to reinvigorate its base, it could bring Swedish politics to new lows.

Soya star Japanese bean dish natto is a growing global hit

Justin McCurry Tokyo

It is smelly, slimy and contains bacteria - and a sizeable number of Japanese people wouldn't touch it with a pair of bargepole-length chopsticks. But

after centuries as a breakfast food for Japanese diners with nerves of steel, natto is emerging as a global superfood to rival kimchi, kombucha and kefir.

Its exact origins are unknown. Some believe it was introduced to Japan from China by Buddhist monks during the Yayoi period (300BC-AD300), before becoming a staple among rural communities during the Edo period (1603-1868).

A more prosaic explanation is that natto is the accidental byproduct of conflict, based on the legend of Minamoto no Yoshiie, a military commander during the Heian period (794-1185), whose troops discovered that simmered soya beans originally intended for their horses, but left to fester in the heat for days after an enemy sighting, had taken on a viscous, pungent quality. Presumably famished by the demands of battle, the fighters ate them anyway, and liked them enough to offer them to their master, who was similarly impressed.

ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/AFP/GETTY IMAGES

Whatever their origins, the beans - large, medium and small, or sometimes chopped, hikiwaristyle - are finding their way into supermarkets around the world.

Exports are packaged into Styrofoam trays of small paper cups and frozen, their nutritional value unaffected during transit, according to manufacturers.

◀ Lunch at Natto Kobo Sendaiya in Tokyo, one of a chain specialising in the smelly soya bean-based dish PHOTOGRAPH: JUSTIN MCCURRY/ THE GUARDIAN

“We tend to try something new or unusual if we believe it will be good for our health, and that goes for people in the US, Australia and other countries,” said Hidefumi Ito, the president of Natto Kobo (Natto Workshop) Sendaiya, a chain of restaurants where diners can eat as many varieties of natto as they like accompanied by rice, strips of simmered daikon radish and miso soup.

Eaten as it is - or with toppings such as mustard, shredded onion, wasabi and a splash of dashi stock - natto's appeal lies in its versatility. It works on toast or as a pizza topping, or mixed with pasta or avocado.

But some Japanese are unconvinced. The dish is still more popular in the country's eastern and northern regions, where it was used, often in soup, to see households through long, bitterly cold winters, while their counterparts in the west and south have traditionally been more sceptical.

Consumers overseas, though, appear to have overcome any initial resistance to natto, whose smell has been compared to a particularly ripe stilton cheese, the beans connected by strands of mucus that diners can “whisk” into submission with repeated circular motions of their chopsticks.

▲ Natto is high-fibre and packed with protein and vitamin K2

Ito suggested that natto novices add olive or chilli oil, or even use the beans as a topping for fish and chips, or mix them with ketchup: "Add some natto to something you would normally eat and push the envelope a little."

Natto exports tripled from 1,752 tonnes in 2017 to 5,248 tonnes in 2025, according to Japan's finance ministry, with people in China the biggest overseas consumers, followed by those in the US, Thailand and Hong Kong.

Wesley Smith, right, from the US, eating with his wife at Natto Kobo Sendaiya in Tokyo, said he had found natto ‘a little funky’ at first

A member of staff at Natto Bar Koganean, a store in Tokyo, said customers ranged from local people who ate the dish daily to foreign visitors who had tried it at home and wanted to eat the “real thing”.

“Natto used to be something you’d put on rice, but now it’s becoming the centrepiece itself,” said the employee, whose specialist store sells pots of additive-free natto with a choice of a dozen toppings, as well as versions encased in rice straw and bamboo. “We haven’t encountered a single person who was put off by its smell or consistency, and it’s really good for your health.”

Those claims are supported by evidence that regular consumption of the high-fibre, protein-packed food can boost the immune system, improve digestion and increase bone density.

In a 2020 study published in the British Medical Journal, Japan's National Cancer Centre said that eating at least 26.2g (0.9oz) of natto every day was associated with a $24\%$ lower risk of death from cardiovascular disease for men and $21\%$ lower for women. Packed with vitamin K2, the dish can suppress brain inflammation, while the bacteria that gives it its stickiness lowers blood sugar levels.

Some of its popularity overseas has been driven by social media influencers who film themselves opening and eating natto. The American singer Lizzo, who has more than 26 million followers on TikTok, also fuelled interest in natto after she shared videos of her tucking into natto with karashi mustard on rice.

It is also challenging its “Marmite” status in Japan, where almost 19% of respondents to a 2023 survey by a natto industry group said they ate it daily - the highest proportion for a decade. Almost two-thirds ate it at least once a week.

Wesley Smith, an American having lunch at Sendaiya in Tokyo, admitted he thought natto was “a little funky” when he tried it for the first time a few years ago. He added, though, that it had grown on him, “just like a strong cheese can”.

Additional reporting Agence France-Presse

Rapper Macklemore axed from Sheeran tour over Gaza speech

Adrian Horton

Macklemore has been dropped from the remainder of the US leg of Ed Sheeran's Loop tour after the American rapper drew headlines for saying "free Palestine" on stage at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey.

In a brief speech between songs on 4 September, the Grammy-winning artist told the audience he wanted the people of Gaza and “the occupied West Bank” to know “we have not forgotten about them”, prompting the Israeli American Council to demand his removal from the tour.

Messina Touring Group, the promoter of the US leg of Sheeran's tour, told Rolling Stone: "We have been notified by venues on the upcoming US tour dates that they will not allow a concert to take place with Macklemore on the lineup, which would result in the cancellation of the tour and impact hundreds of thousands of fans. After discussions with stakeholders, Macklemore will not be performing on the remaining support dates." Sheeran did not immediately reply to requests for comment.

The Seattle rapper was slated to open for Sheeran at eight of the remaining 10 shows of his US tour, which will resume on Saturday in Philadelphia. The venues that allegedly objected to Macklemore's return included stadiums in that city as well as Atlanta, Charlotte, Indianapolis, Dallas and Tampa.

Macklemore, an outspoken supporter on rights for Palestinians, delivered the remarks at his first appearance on the Loop tour. "I said:

▲ American rapper Macklemore said 'free Palestine' on stage in New Jersey

‘Free Palestine!’ I want those words to be loud and clear, so that people all the way in Gaza to the occupied West Bank know that we have not forgotten about them,” he said in a two-minute speech.

The Israeli American Council claimed his statements raised the question of “where the line should be drawn when an opening act uses a global concert platform to advance a one-sided political agenda”.

At the second of his appearances at MetLife Stadium on 5 September, Macklemore reiterated his support for Palestine and addressed Jewish members of the audience: “Criticism of Israel, criticism of apartheid, being against genocide in no way is a criticism of you. My message is for peace.”

In a lengthy Instagram post yesterday, Macklemore confirmed Sheeran and his team had removed him from the tour. “The victims are the Palestinian people,” he said.

World

Kennedy Center 'on the brink of bankruptcy and could close'

Joseph Gedeon

Leaders of the John F Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts have said it is on the brink of bankruptcy and could close as early as today, the Washington Post reported on Sunday.

The centre's leaders, who were installed by Donald Trump, argued that putting the president's name on the facade may be the only way to avoid imminent and “certain fiscal collapse”, according to the newspaper, citing documents it obtained.

The paper said a report, prepared by the Washington DC institution's trustees, claimed that within a few weeks the institution would not be able to pay employees or meet maintenance costs. The 57-page internal document, circulated to the board before a meeting scheduled for today, also flagged safety concerns tied to the building's maintenance backlog and recommended that the main building be closed immediately.

The Post also said Trump would help the centre if his involvement was acknowledged. The report represents “a remarkable new phase in Trump’s takeover of the Kennedy Center, which has been engulfed by financial turmoil, leadership upheaval and litigation since he installed himself as chairman”, the paper said.

On 10 February 2025 Trump dismissed 18 board members appointed under Joe Biden. Days later, the remaining trustees - many recently installed Trump allies, including the White House chief of staff, Susie Wiles, and the second lady, Usha Vance - voted him in as chair, breaking with decades of precedent under which sitting presidents had kept the institution at arm's length. The board also fired Deborah Rutter, who had served as the centre's president since 2014, replacing her with Richard Grenell, another Trump ally.

▲ The Kennedy Center, which has been engulfed in financial turmoil

The shake-up prompted a wave of departures and cancellations. The board treasurer, Shonda Rhimes, the National Symphony Orchestra artistic adviser, Ben Folds, and the opera singer Renée Fleming all resigned their positions, while the actor Issa Rae pulled her sold-out show. Subscription sales fell sharply over the following months, with the Post citing a 36% drop by June 2025.

The Post also noted that Trump's involvement with the Kennedy Center, which included the addition of his name to the building, impaired fundraising work and ticket sales.

A judge in May ruled that the addition of Trump's name to the centre's facade was illegal. Trump's name was then removed in June after a judge rejected an emergency appeal blocking the removal. In August, the board voted again to reinstate Trump's name on the building and to close the venue for a multiyear renovation, according to court filings.

Lawyers for the centre have argued that hundreds of millions of dollars in private donations already pledged would have to be returned if Trump's name were not restored to the facade, citing the institution's bylaws.

The centre did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Additional reporting Reuters

US President Donald Trump speaks to the press aboard Air Force One yesterday PHOTOGRAPH: JULIA DEMAREE NIKHINSON/ASSOCIATED PRESS

US repeals rules on power plant emissions in blow to G20

Associated Press Washington

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said yesterday it is repealing rules that limit planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions from power plants fuelled by coal and natural gas, an action the agency said would remove more than \$300bn in costs for the industry and help “unleash” American energy.

The rule change, first proposed last year, represents a fundamental shift from efforts by Democratic Presidents Joe Biden and Barack Obama to address climate change and clean up industrial pollution.

Environmental groups decried the change, saying it would come at a cost to Americans' health. EPA officials said the change would allow utilities to make the best decisions for their ratepayers rather than be forced to close ageing or inefficient plants.

The rule is expected to face immediate legal challenges. The EPA proposed a separate rule, expected to be made final next year, that could prevent future administrations from regulating emissions from power plants. The proposal follows on EPA's action earlier this year revoking a scientific finding that long has been the central basis for US action to regulate emissions and fight climate change.

The February action eliminated all greenhouse gas emissions standards for cars and trucks. The new plan would apply similar logic to a broader undoing of climate regulations on stationary sources such as power plants.

The announcements came as the EPA chief, Lee Zeldin, the Interior Secretary Doug Burgum and the Energy Secretary Chris Wright host a

G20 ministerial meeting on “energy abundance” in Houston. Their timing reflects the key role oil-rich Texas plays in the energy industry and a potential snub of European and other international allies in attendance who have pursued environmentally friendly policies that the Trump administration has moved to undo.

The rollbacks are meant to fulfil the US President Donald Trump's repeated pledge to “unleash American energy” and make it easier for utilities to supply electricity for homes and businesses.

Environmental and public health groups called the emissions rule changes dangerous and vowed to challenge the rollbacks in court.

Oligarch close to Putin 'paid part of bill for Donald Trump Jr's wedding'

Lucy Campbell

A top Democrat has demanded answers after it was reported that a Russian oligarch close to Vladimir Putin paid hundreds of thousands of dollars towards Donald Trump Jr's wedding in the Bahamas this year.

Trump Jr, the US president's eldest child, married the Palm Beach socialite Bettina Anderson in a lavish three-day celebration across two private islands in May, which according to ProPublica was partly bankrolled by Umar Kremlev, a member of the Russian president's circle.

Citing records and interviews with three anonymous sources familiar with the event, ProPublica reported that Kremlev footed the bill to rent one of the islands where a reception was held and where guests slept, along with other large expenses.

"Why did a Russian oligarch close to Putin fund Trump Jr's wedding in the Bahamas?" the congressman Robert Garcia, the ranking member and lead Democrat on the House oversight committee, asked on social media. "Umar Kremlev spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on the president's son. What did he get in return? We need answers."

Kremlev has a longstanding relationship with Putin. He is the head of the International Boxing Association (IBA), a sporting body that has been backed by the state-owned Russian energy company Gazprom. According to ProPublica, the wedding payments came from an IBA-affiliated entity in Dubai.

Before the wedding party, he reportedly went to China as part of a delegation accompanying Putin, who a month prior had bestowed him with a state honour, the Order of Friendship. Ukraine has imposed sanctions on Kremlev, citing his closeness to Putin and Russian security services.

The guest list was intimate, with only about 50 attenders. Kremlev reportedly did not attend the ceremony, but was present with a large contingent of Russians at the party.

It remains unclear why Kremlev helped pay for the wedding and why he was there when he appears to have met Trump Jr - the executive vice-president of the Trump Organization, who has a personal net worth of about \$300m - quite recently.

A spokesperson for Trump Jr did not deny that Kremlev had helped fund the wedding. “Umar is a personal friend of Don,” they told ProPublica.

"It was an extraordinarily generous wedding gift from a friend," Bettina Trump wrote on Instagram, later adding: "Friendship doesn't require a political motive. Generosity doesn't automatically come with an agenda. And sometimes a wedding gift is simply a wedding gift."

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US borrowing costs hit 5% as oil prices trigger bond sell-off

Richard Partington Lauren Almeida

US government borrowing costs have risen to 5% for the first time since 2023 as soaring oil prices fuelled by the war in the Middle East have triggered an intensifying sell-off in the global bond market.

The yield - in effect the interest rate - on 10-year US treasury bonds hit the psychologically important threshold yesterday, a day of renewed selling pressure on Wall Street as the global oil price reached \$108 a barrel.

With traders awaiting a crunch US Federal Reserve interest rate decision tomorrow, the benchmark rate has steadily climbed from a low this year of 4% before the outbreak of the US-Israeli war on Iran in late February.

It comes as the rising global oil price stokes inflation fears, with the latest move sparked by a series of drone attacks that have forced Saudi Arabia to close a vital crude pipeline.

Brent crude, the international benchmark for oil prices, surged to more than \$108.5 a barrel yesterday - a 3.7% increase on the day.

The spike came after Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthi forces launched several attacks against Saudi Arabia and captured the strategic island of Perim in the Bab al-Mandab strait on Sunday, expanding their control of the waterway.

The rise was also fuelled by the Gulf states postponing a meeting with Tehran to discuss creating a temporary shipping lane through the strait of Hormuz, a vital channel through which a fifth of the world's oil and gas supply normally passes.

Oil traders have warned that the kingdom will run out of stocks for export if it does not reopen the east-west pipeline within days.

Gas prices also climbed higher yesterday, with the UK benchmark rising by 5% to 208.73p a therm - its highest level since December 2022.

Source: LSEG. Note: 30-minute data as of 0800 GMT, 14 September 2026

It came despite Donald Trump yesterday claiming Ukraine and Russia had agreed not to hit each other's energy targets, while insisting a rise in US diesel fuel prices was being driven by the conflict in Europe rather than the war in Iran.

With fears mounting as the Middle East war escalates, bond markets have come under intense selling pressure. The US 10-year treasury yield is used in global financial markets as a benchmark for pricing other assets, meaning a jump in borrowing costs for Washington has consequences for countries, businesses and households worldwide.

Borrowing costs also rose across Europe yesterday, including a rise in 30-year UK government yields to the highest level since March 1998.

The moves come as traders await decisions on interest rates from the US Federal Reserve tomorrow and the Bank of England on Thursday after the European Central Bank raised borrowing costs last week.

With investors anticipating an increase from the Fed and a hold decision from Threadneedle Street amid mounting inflationary pressures, analysts say global bond markets face another week of volatility.

The cost of petrol and diesel hit new highs, according to the RAC, with the average cost of petrol climbing to 169.68p and diesel hitting 191.68p.

Thames Water redraws plans for 150bn-litre reservoir amid local opposition

Phillip Inman

Thames Water has amended the blueprint of a planned mega-reservoir in Oxfordshire as it tries to convince regulators that construction should go ahead amid warnings of “catastrophic consequences”.

The White Horse reservoir near Abingdon would hold 150bn litres of water with a surface area of 6.7 sq km (2.6 sq miles) - almost the same size as Gatwick airport.

The estimated cost has rocketed from £2.2bn to between £5.5bn and £7.5bn after a review last year more than tripled the site to 38 sq km to accommodate extra building works, relocate adjacent solar farms and reroute local rivers and streams.

Thames Water said the scheme, formerly known as the South East Strategic Reservoir Option, needed “additional access points to carry out construction and environmental mitigation works, such as new habitat creation” that required “targeted consultation with landowners, and those with an interest in land that may be impacted by this change”.

A public consultation into the original plans concluded in January.

Last week, a further consultation began and is expected to end next month. Thames aims to submit a planning application later this year. If approved, main construction works could begin in 2032, with water available by 2040.

Thames said the reservoir was needed to cope with the growing population in the south-east and the climate crisis, which has put pressure on water resources across the UK.

Derek Stork, the chair of the Group Against Reservoir Development, said it was a flawed concept and had “the potential for catastrophic consequences in the event of failure”.

Government plans takeover of struggling Yorkshire-based steelmaker

Alex Daniel

One of Britain's steelworks is to come into public ownership after the government said yesterday it would take over the Yorkshire-based Speciality Steel UK.

Jonathan Reynolds, the business secretary, said officials would work towards acquiring the company to protect the jobs of its 1,300 workers in Rotherham, Stocksbridge and Brinsworth in South Yorkshire and Wednesbury in the West Midlands.

The insolvent steelmaker, formerly part of the tycoon Sanjeev Gupta's empire, was placed into liquidation last year and its day-to-day operations have since been run by the government's official receiver.

The Norwegian steel startup Blastr Green Steel had been in talks to buy SSUK, but hopes faded over the summer for a takeover after a deadline to finalise a deal passed in June.

The steelworks and its staff have been described by Reynolds as important strategic assets. It is the largest producer of “green steel”, made using less-polluting electric arc furnaces.

“We do not intervene in private companies lightly,” he said. “But nor can we simply stand aside and allow the future of this company and over 1,300 jobs to be decided by default.”

“Working towards public acquisition will keep options open while we work with local leaders, workers, industry and investors to determine the best long-term future for these sites, which could play a vital role in the future of the growth-driving sectors in our industrial strategy, including defence and advanced manufacturing.”

SSUK went bust last year after longstanding financial issues under previous ownership, particularly after the collapse of its primary lender, Greensill Capital in 2021. A high court judge at the time found the company was “hopelessly insolvent”, with only £650,000 in the bank after running down its reserves.

▲ The SSUK works in Rotherham, which produces ‘green steel’

Business

Africa's richest person lists Nigerian refinery in continent's largest IPO

Eromo Egbejule Abidjan

The fortune of Africa's richest person could swell by two thirds to nearly \$60bn (£45bn) after his refinery in Nigeria listed publicly in the continent's biggest-ever initial public offering.

If yesterday's flotation of Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals on the Nigerian exchange goes to plan, then Aliko Dangote will add \$23bn to his \$35bn net worth.

Dangote, who framed the offering as “an IPO for the people”, hopes it will draw in a broad mix of institutional and retail investors, with a minimum subscription of 10 shares at a cost of 5,250 naira (£2.94). The share purchases have a month to complete, with the process finishing on 13 October.

The IPO has been marketed to young Nigerians in particular as a way to build wealth and grow the economy. If completely subscribed, the refinery's value is expected to rise to about 65.22tn naira.

Dangote has financed several successful presidential campaigns in Nigeria, where policymakers have granted him a near monopoly in his chosen sectors.

Responding last year to criticism of his political influence, he said: “We have chosen to build here, to employ here, to produce here. Let us not use the cry of monopoly to stall growth. No one is prevented from investing.”

Dangote, 69, made his fortune in cement and sugar. He started his company in the late 1970s with a loan from his maternal grandfather, a member of one of west Africa's richest families, the Dantatas.

His move into the petroleum sector led to Nigeria becoming a net exporter of refined fuel for the first time. Before the opening of the \$20bn Dangote refinery on the outskirts of Lagos in January 2024, the country had relied on exporting crude and

The opening of Dangote's petroleum refinery led to Nigeria becoming a net exporter of refined fuel for the first time PHOTOGRAPH: MARVELLOUS DUROWAIYE/REUTERS

Aliko Dangote has a net worth of \$35bn

importing refined petroleum for domestic use, while expending billions to subsidise fuel costs and inject life into its colonial-era refineries.

The Dangote refinery has a capacity of 700,000 barrels a day and is expected to double that by the end of the decade. This year it has benefited from disruptions in supply around the globe as a result of the war in Iran.

Dangote has said he will use profits from his refinery to spur continental growth and curb Africa's reliance on foreign goods.

"We, as Nigerians and Africans, must be bold and lead the change to develop our economies," Dangote said at an IPO signing ceremony on 7 September. "Only then will the others take us very seriously, only then we'll be in a position to negotiate and walk away with terms we deserve, not those terms that are given to us."

Tony Elumelu, a Nigerian banker and billionaire, called the IPO “a landmark moment for Nigeria and a huge milestone for Africa”.

There's No Place Like

'Work with AI - not against it' Bootcamps teach tech to Neets to shore up job market

Dan Milmo

Global technology editor

In a youth centre opposite Preston bus station, the UK government is trying to address two of the greatest challenges facing the national economy: AI and youth unemployment.

The hope is that one will solve - rather than cause - the other. In a room at the recently opened Vault, a community hub in the Lancashire city, an “AI bootcamp” is under way - part of a trial in the north-west to give AI training to people aged between 16 and 21.

The tutor is standing in front of a video screen and guiding the five attenders sitting at a long table with laptops through a task designed to emphasise the importance of glitch-free data in AI models.

“Does that make sense?” he asks. The room nods. Everyone attending these sessions is either a 16- to 21-year-old not in education, employment or training (Neet) or likely to join that bracket.

Youth unemployment is a problem in the UK. Nearly a million young people are Neet - more than one in 10 people in that age group. The advent of AI, either a threat or boon to the job market depending on your perspective, is another factor to take into consideration when tackling the youth joblessness crisis.

Khudeija Rafique, who is attending the course, sees potential in the new tech. “It would be really helpful with whatever job I would like to go into,” the 18-year-old from Burnley says.

These taxpayer-funded bootcamps are part of a pilot scheme, open to 70 people who will undergo a three-week programme designed for Neets to learn how to build AI tools, understand how businesses use AI, and learn to use the technology responsibly. The retailer JD Sports, the food company Heinz and IT business Agilisys are among the partners offering AI apprenticeships designed for the attenders to join at the end of the course.

Business

There are two types of apprenticeship available: one for aspiring content creators to become AI marketing specialists, another to join IT helpdesks that need AI expertise. If a bootcamp trainee gets an apprenticeship, they will be going to an organisation that wants these skills and has an AI-focused role to fill.

“This is an opportunity to bridge a gap, to improve productivity and bring AI into organisations,” says Lauren Monks, an executive at IN4 Group, the company contracted to run the programme.

Amid general concerns about the availability of entry-level jobs and whether AI is stifling that market, being on top of the technology can be an advantage.

This is common advice from graduate recruiters, but experts say it can apply to Neets as well, depending on what sector of the economy they are joining.

Remy Simms, 17, is interested in applying for the content creator apprenticeship and says the Preston course has “changed my opinion” on AI. “It shows you can work with AI and you don’t have to work against it,” he says. “I’ve got a better understanding of it and I know more about how it works.”

Alan Milburn, a former Labour cabinet minister, warned in a recent report that the country was “at risk of a lost generation” without government action on the Neet crisis. Milburn’s prescription goes a lot further than AI bootcamps - he calls for reform of the welfare system, for instance - and his report points out that work programmes by successive governments have failed to answer the problem.

Concerns about AI's impact on employment have focused on the graduate job market, not on school leavers and non-graduates, amid expectations that it will be able to do the “grunt work” associated with junior employees in areas such as banking, consulting and law.

The impact on non-graduate work is unclear, according to Dr Bouke Klein Teeselink, who is researching AI and the future of work at King's College London.

“We don’t have really good insights into how AI affects the non-graduate market compared to the graduate market,” he says, but suggests this scheme could ▼ Remy Simms, right, and Hamid Muhammad-Asif, below, are both on the AI bootcamp

PHOTOGRAPHS: CHRISTOPHER THOMOND/THE GUARDIAN

'This is an opportunity to bridge a gap, improve productivity and bring AI into organisations'

Lauren Monks IN4 Group

help answer the puzzle of getting more young people into the labour market.

The key test of the bootcamps and ensuing apprenticeships, Teeselink says, will be the thoroughness of the AI training and whether these newcomers make a real difference to their employers' productivity. “I hope the policy will be rolled out in a way that allows the government to answer both those questions.”

So will the bootcamps make a difference to Neet numbers? Experts say there is no single cause of the crisis and any comprehensive solution must be multifaceted.

Chris Goulden, the deputy chief executive of the Youth Futures Foundation, a non-profit that researches how to help young people find employment, says he does not believe AI is a driver of Neet numbers. The country needs to increase the number

of apprenticeships it offers, and guide children who are not going to university into vocations, he says.

"Our sense is that AI is not driving the increase in Neets since the [Covid] pandemic," he says. "It's more to do with mental health issues and a general slowdown in the economy. But that's not to be complacent, because AI is doing new things every day and it's going to affect lots of jobs."

Goulden says if the “first rung of the ladder” is being taken away by AI, it is logical to give young people a foothold in the technology. “Teaching young people to use AI is part of how we prepare them for the future.”

In Preston, the bootcamp attenders are keen to take the next step. Asked whether he wants the content creator or the IT helpdesk apprenticeship, 16-year-old Hamid Muhammad-Asif, from Blackburn, says: “I’m happy with both.”

Former hedge fund boss Odey loses appeal against lifetime ban from City

Kalyeena Makortoff Banking correspondent

The former hedge fund boss Crispin Odey has lost a legal challenge to overturn his lifetime ban from the City for trying to “frustrate” investigations into sexual harassment allegations against him.

Judges at the upper tribunal upheld the ban imposed by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in March last year, while reducing a proposed fine of £1.83m to £1.53m.

“We have found that Mr Odey lacked integrity,” the tribunal ruling said, referring to the Conservative party donor’s behaviour at Odey Asset Management (OAM) between December 2021 and November 2022.

“Mr Odey is not a fit and proper person and it is reasonable for the authority to have concluded that a prohibition order is appropriate.”

Numerous allegations against Odey by female staff members came to light after OAM launched an internal investigation into sexual harassment in September 2020.

Odey, 67, who resigned in 2023 after the allegations were made public, tried to block executives of his hedge fund from taking any action, including by twice firing its entire executive committee (ExCos). “He misused his power as controller to remove the ExCos as a means to protect his own interests and attempt to achieve his objectives,” the judges said. They also said he failed to acknowledge any potential harm during a three-week appeal hearing in March.

The hearing involved a series of controversial admissions, including Odey blaming an incident in 2005 when he was alleged to have groped a colleague's breasts on the effect of sedatives he had taken after dental treatment. He said the woman had accepted his apology and kept working for the firm for eight years more.

The claims against Odey were first reported by the FT in summer 2023. OAM ceased trading months later.

The FCA's executive director for enforcement and market oversight, Therese Chambers, said Odey's “arrogant entitlement and the resulting complete disregard for proper governance means [he] is unfit to work in financial services”.

Odey's legal representatives were contacted for comment.

▲ Crispin Odey was ‘not a fit and proper person’, judges ruled

Weather

Tuesday 15 September 2026

UK and Ireland Noon today

Sunny	Mist	Fog
Sunny intervals	Hazy
Mostly cloudy
Overcast/dull
Sunny showers
Sunny and heavy showers
Light showers
Rain	Sleet	Light snow
Snow showers
Heavy snow	Ice
Thundery rain
Thundery showers
Temperature, °C
Wind speed, mph	Windy

Forecast

Carbon count

Daily atmospheric CO $_{2}$ readings from Mauna Loa, Hawaii (ppm):

Latest
13 Sep 2026	425.04
Weekly average
06 Sep 2026	426.08
14 Sep 2025	424.48
14 Sep 2016	401.14
Pre-industrial base	280
Safe level	350
Source: NOAA-ESRL

Around the UK

Atlantic front

Cold front

Warm front

Occluded front

...... Trough

High tides

Aberdeen	0324	4.3m	1547	4.0m
Avonmouth	0931	12.7m	2142	12.5m
Barrow	0124	9.2m	1342	8.8m
Belfast	0116	3.6m	1338	3.3m
Cobh	0738	3.9m	1954	3.8m
Cromer	0834	5.1m	2101	4.7m
Dover	0113	6.6m	1330	6.7m
Dublin	0127	4.0m	1350	3.7m
Galway	0724	4.9m	1943	4.7m
Greenock	0229	3.6m	1458	3.3m
Harwich	0154	3.9m	1403	4.0m
Holyhead	0018	5.6m	1236	5.3m
Hull	0826	7.6m	2044	7.1m
Leith	0449	5.5m	1708	5.2m
Liverpool	0104	9.3m	1322	9.0m

© Crown Copyright and/or database rights. Reproduced by permission of the Keeper of Public Records and the UK Hydrographic Office

London Bridge	0406	7.0m	1618	7.1m
Lossiemouth	0152	4.1m	1413	3.8m
Milford Haven	0825	6.8m	2040	6.7m
Newquay	0717	6.7m	1932	6.6m
North Shields	0529	5.1m	1753	4.8m
Oban	0745	3.8m	1953	3.7m
Penzance	0650	5.3m	1904	5.2m
Plymouth	0759	5.3m	2007	5.3m
Portsmouth	0131	4.5m	1358	4.6m
Southport	0038	9.0m	1256	8.7m
Stornoway	0852	4.4m	2102	4.4m
Portland	0900	2.0m	2109	2.0m
Whitby	0607	5.6m	1829	5.2m
Wick	0121	3.5m	1340	3.2m
Workington	0127	8.2m	1347	7.9m

Sun & Moon

Sun rises	0635
Sun sets	1914
Moon rises	1201
Moon sets	2015
First Quarter	18 Sept

Forecasts and graphics provided by AccuWeather ©2026

Lighting up

Belfast	1942 to 0659
Birm'ham	1922 to 0643
Brighton	1915 to 0637
Bristol	1925 to 0647
Carlisle	1928 to 0645
Cork	1949 to 0710
Dublin	1941 to 0700
Glasgow	1935 to 0651
Harlech	1932 to 0652
Inverness	1935 to 0648
London	1914 to 0636
M'chester	1925 to 0644
Newcastle	1924 to 0641
Norwich	1910 to 0631
Penzance	1936 to 0659

Weather tracker

Flooding around the city of Malda in the Indian state of West Bengal since Thursday has had a devastating effect. So far, three deaths have been recorded, with numerous villages affected, along with the region of Bhutni. Erosion from the flooding, reported from Khaskol, led to a disruption in river flow and a more severe impact in Bhutni. More than 100 boats have been sent out for evacuations.

At East Basudevpur, a 6-metre (20ft) embankment collapsed, reducing the channel from about 170 metres to less than 46 metres, which could lead to further flooding unless repaired. This flooding resulted after the Ganges River rose about 75cm (30in) above its “extreme danger” level.

In the US, a swell caused by Hurricane Marie led to significant beach erosion across Orange county in California on 7 September. It formed a cliff edge on some beaches, exposing old asphalt, pipes and even pieces of an old pier. Flooding damaged homes and vehicles, leaving behind a layer of sand. The swell has been estimated at 2.5 to 3 metres in height. Local people say beach erosion is not uncommon, but this has been one of the most severe cases. Magdalena Shopova MetDesk

Around the world

Algiers Ams'dam Athens Auckland B Aires Bangkok Barcelona Basra Beijing Berlin Bermuda Brussels Budapest C'hagen Cairo Cape Town Chicago Corfu Dakar Dhaka Dublin Florence Gibraltar H Kong Harare Helsinki Istanbul Jo'burg K Lumpur K'mandu Kabul Kingston Kolkata L Angeles Lagos Lima

Lisbon 28 Madrid 36 Malaga 29 Melb'rne 15 Mexico C 24 Miami 32 Milan 28 Mombasa 28 Moscow 17 Mumbai 32 N Orleans 34 Nairobi 25 New Delhi 31 New York 22 Oslo 17 Paris 32 Perth 25 Prague 22 Reykjavik 10 Rio de J 22 Rome 30 Shanghai 28 Singapore 33 Stockh'm 15 Strasb'g 30 Sydney 23 Tel Aviv 32 Tenerife 35 Tokyo 27 Toronto 23 Vancouver r 18 Vienna 22 Warsaw 20 Wash'ton 26 Well'ton 16 Zurich 26

Football Are Manchester United as bad as the table suggests? Jamie Jackson Page 38 →

Formula One Madrid track in line for revamp after dull debut Page 34 →

Sport

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[Empty String]

▲ Kevin Pietersen inspects a broken bat during his first day back in the England white-ball setup as a specialist mentor JOHN WALTON/PA

The original Bazball Pietersen's return is just pure content at a time when cricket really needs it

t the end of his time as consultant to the England cricket set-up Gilbert Enoka praised Brendon McCullum's work in healing the culture of his team. Enoka is best known as the architect of the no-dickheads policy in sport. This is basically Doctor Dickhead.

Dickheads? He’s not having them. “There wasn’t one dickhead in there,” Enoka announced, proudly. And history has shown this to be correct. All the evidence suggests the numerical value of dickheads in the England cricket team was something other than one. And yes, zero is not one. Fair point. But so are all the other numbers, the ones that go up the other way into plurals, multiples, an infinity of dickheads.

Enoka's work with England ran to November 2025. Around that time Harry Brook had a fight with a bouncer, Jacob Bethell and Josh Tongue went boozing before a game, and Rob Key set his own fine example by deciding to keep it all under wraps. A month later it was Noosa, more booze, Ben Duckett lost in space. Next up in the kingdom of not one dickhead we had the Lord's curfew stuff, Ben Stokes having a hissy fit, then on to Derby and handcuffs. So yes. It's pretty clear. There wasn't one dickhead in that dressing room. Gilbert, you tried to warn us.

As of this week we have something else. Into this farrago of numerically uncertain dickhead magnitude comes the latest calming influence. Enter Kevin Pietersen, who is back as England's white-ball mentor for the three-month rollercoaster ride that begins today at the Utilita Bowl. Daddy's home. The no-dickheads policy has never made total sense. Who gets to decide what a dickhead is? By everyday measures most elite sports people would probably qualify. There is no gentle, rational way to become this good at doing essentially pointless things with a ball.

To be fair, Enoka's definition involves basically not being a dickhead to your teammates. Toxic elements erode internal culture. But does this work in cricket, which has always been an individual pursuit masquerading as a team sport? You don't have to like each other. Get the numbers. Team spirit is the gloss.

n many ways Pietersen is living proof of this. Here we have King Dickhead, the skunk-haired doofus, a man who brought down two regimes, including his own. And yet on runs, average, strike rate and impact Pietersen is also the best all-format batter England have had. He was also great for the team, a match-winner in Ashes series and the T20 World Cup, and one

of the key driving elements in the best England era of the modern age. If this is dickhead-dom, juice it into our veins. All of which is a roundabout way of saying welcome back, Kev. Whatever the final outcome, this feels right.

There is a strong argument that all elite coaching appointments should be made on coaching merit alone. But let us make an exception in this case. England will play six otherwise mundane white-ball games in the next 14 days. But now that it's KP's England, we're talking the Oval, Brett Lee and that wild, foundational 153; Leeds, where he windmilled off one of the great adrenaline-fuelled hate-hundreds against South Africa; Cardiff, where KP played the paddle sweep of doom in 2009, a sweep so provocative it dominated the back-page outrage for days.

This is not just theatre. KP makes sense as an England and Wales Cricket Board asset. The most influential cricketer of his era really shouldn't be out there roaming the badlands. Pietersen was not a head prefect in the Strauss-Cook mould, but these were really avatars of the past, whereas Pietersen was the only person who saw the future clearly, and was duly massacred for it. KP was right about batting, right about franchise cricket. When he packed him off into retirement Andrew Strauss gave a very preachy speech about a lack of trust. Whose version of the game are

you going to trust now?

This is not just theatre. KP makes sense as an ECB asset

Pietersen was the original Bazball. And KP-ball did it properly, did it with results, did it when it was revolutionary. Nobody took risks like this, or modelled a vision of the Test game like this, one that England cricket really should have been selling ever since. The crowds in Trafalgar Square, the punkish superstar with the lightning hands, the reverse sweep for six off Muttiah Muralitharan that stopped the news cycle. That was the thing to sell, before all you had left to give was five-ball overs and the Super Fried Oval Wangdoodles.

How will this play out? What is his remit? The original mentor, Mentor, was basically a childminder for the infant Telemachus in the Odyssey. And for all his star swagger KP has always seemed suited to elite-development stuff. As a player he tended to buddy up with his younger teammates, if only because he didn't get on with the older ones. But he gets talent. KP working with Aneurin Donald, for example, another late starter with a lightning blade, is a mouthwatering prospect.

Finally, Pietersen also has a different energy from the man who appointed him. Baz is vibes, coolness and golf. KP is a batting badger. He loves practice. He relishes the angles, the grip stuff, the backswing chat.

Who knows, this could be McCullum's last great gift. It is still remarkable he's in a job, not to mention one for which he hasn't shown any great capacity. But the KP appointment is good. With luck it might be another nudge that there are other methods, and a move towards McCullum flagging his own obsolescence.

Cricket

England allow Fleming to take up TV role in New Zealand

Matt Hughes

England's new Test head coach, Stephen Fleming, will return to New Zealand to work as a commentator on the Black Caps' Test and white ball series against India next month despite having formally started work.

Fleming arrived yesterday in England for a 10-day trip which will include talks with the Test captain, Joe Root, and the England and Wales Cricket Board's managing director of men's cricket, Rob Key, after missing the three-Test series against Pakistan with the batting coach, Marcus Trescothick, presiding over a 3-0 win.

The ECB granted Fleming a late start date after confirming his appointment in late July as the former New Zealand captain had requested the opportunity to spend time with his family after a 17-year run coaching the Chennai Super Kings. The board has been similarly flexible in accommodating his commentary work.

Sky New Zealand, which has no

McCullum backs 'brilliant coach' to excel for Test side

Fleming's commentary role is unprecedented for an England head coach but has been approved by the ECB. His predecessor as Test coach, Brendon McCullum, left as co-host of SENZ radio's breakfast show with the former All Black Israel Dagg after he was appointed four years ago by the ECB, although he did continue to give them interviews and make guest appearances.

Fleming's first assignment with England will be a three-Test series in South Africa in December and January, with planning for the tour to take place during talks with Root over the next few weeks. The 53-year-old spoke to Root and Trescothick during the Pakistan series, playing some part in selection, but appears intent on remaining based in New Zealand when not preparing for a Test series.

▲ Stephen Fleming is in England for 10 days and will talk to Joe Root

connection to the UK broadcaster Sky Sports, announced yesterday that Fleming will be part of its commentary team for the India tour which comprises two Tests, five one-day internationals and five T20s running between 22 October and 1 December.

Sport

→ Continued from back page

third T20 against Sri Lanka in Manchester - the final game of a series that starts today in Southampton - before he returns to New Zealand next week. "I think the team will really respond to his approach," McCullum said. "He's a brilliant man, a brilliant tactician and a brilliant coach. I think he's going to do a great job with that side."

The two coaches are close friends and discussed the offer before Fleming accepted his new job. “He said: ‘What do you think?’ I said: ‘I think you’d be brilliant. It’d be a great opportunity for you.’ I also thought for the group, for English cricket, he would be the right person to take this team forward.”

England will start the series without Phil Salt, Jacob Bethell and Sam Curran for fitness reasons, with Jofra Archer rested and Brydon Carse absent for disciplinary reasons. Aneurin Donald, the Derbyshire batter who scored 31 off eight balls for the Lions against Sri Lanka last week, will make his debut as opener. “He’s been on our radar,” McCullum said. “He can go from ball one. He’s got raw power - incredible amount of talent.”

Carse's absence stems from a late-night fracas at a Derby bar last month, with McCullum saying this was an opportunity for the 31-year-old “to get his house in order”. In a change to the approach that has marked much of his time as

England coach, the New Zealander said he was now unwilling to select players who cannot guarantee full commitment to a professional culture. “I want us to be the fittest, strongest, most robust, dynamic one-day and T20 side in the world,” he said. “That comes with hard work, commitment to training, but also the high-octane style we want to play comes with responsibilities off the field to look after yourself.

"I know in the Test setup this has been talked about, and that's consistent with what we expect from our players. If we want to play this style of cricket then we need to be living it daily, not just with our skills. You need to make good decisions off the field that allow you to be the best version of yourself. I hope it's clear what is expected. If you're not prepared to do that, there are other guys who will be given those opportunities."

Barney Ronay Page 33 →

First T20 Utilita Bowl

18°

England AHT Donald, JC Buttler (wkt), HC Brook (capt), T Banton, JM Cox, WG Jacks, J Overton, LA Dawson, JC Tongue, S Baker, Adil Rashid

Sri Lanka Probable P Nissanka, RVPK Mishara (wkt), PHKD Mendis, KIC Asalanka (capt), KJV Liyanage, MD Shanaka, T Ratnayake, PW Hasaranga, MM Theekshana, PVD Chameera, KKE Malinga

Umpires GD Lloyd (Eng) and JD Middlebrook (Eng) Third umpire RA White (Eng) Referee JJ Crowe (NZ) TV Sky Sports Cricket Radio BBC 5 Live Sports Extra Over-by-over Follow our coverage live on the web theguardian.com/cricket

Novig controversy Sweeney criticised for ‘sexualising women’s sport’ News, Page 15 →

Athletics

Hunt and Kerr lit up summer, but will they make Spoty shortlist?

Sean Ingle

It should be the biggest no-brainer of the sporting year. After a summer where athletics has captured hearts and headlines, either Amy Hunt or Josh Kerr should win the award for BBC Sports Personality of the Year.

The bookies' odds suggest many others think the same way: Hunt is the even-money favourite, Kerr is second, with Harry Kane a stride or two back in third. Yet Kerr knows he cannot take anything for granted.

In 2023 the 28-year-old Scot won the world 1500m title in a clash for the ages against Jakob Ingebrigtsen. But then he fell foul of the BBC's reluctance to pick two athletes from the same sport in its six-person shortlist. Instead the wheelchair tennis player Alfie Hewett, and Rory McIlroy, who won four of his five Ryder Cup matches that year, got the nod.

"Spoty is massively important," Kerr said after winning the Ultimate Championship in Budapest. "Everyone grew up watching it. It's a massive award, and I would be truly honoured to be on that shortlist up against some of the best athletes of all time this year. I would love to go, but it's not a given, that's the reality."

Kerr is right to be cautious given that only twice since 2017 has the BBC veered off its informal policy. The first came in 2019 when the athletes Dina Asher-Smith and Katarina Johnson-Thompson were selected. Then it happened again when the footballers Hannah Hampton and Chloe Kelly got the nod.

However, on both occasions those selections helped to balance the male-female split. But in a year when Kane could win the Ballon D'Or, Matt Weston has won two Winter Olympic medals, Luke Littler has dominated darts, and McIlroy won the Masters again, it is not a given the BBC will go for both track and field stars. Kerr's claims are surely stronger ◀Amy Hunt is the bookies' favourite to win the 2026 BBC Spoty award MARTIN RICKETT/PRESS ASSOCIATION

▲ Josh Kerr won the 1500m Ultimate Championship title in Budapest

than anyone given he obliterated a world mile record that had stood for 27 years, and backed it up by winning the world indoor, Commonwealth Games and Ultimate Championship.

On Sunday night he accepted that amounted to pretty much the perfect season. “Outside of an Olympic year, I can’t give any more than that,” he said. “I’m a clean athlete doing it the right way, trying to show the way that I’m doing it. And you know, that’s all I can give. This, genuinely, has been the best year of my career.”

Next year he wants to go for the world 1500m record, but he stressed it would not be easy. “People don’t know what that toll is on your body. It feels like getting hit by a bus the next day.” Kerr also wants Hunt on the shortlist. “She’s had a fantastic season. She deserves to be there.”

Last month Hunt became the first person in the 96-year history of the European Athletics Championships to win four gold medals. Few athletes have a bigger personality as she showed again at the weekend by speaking out against Sydney Sweeney sexualising sport, and about the difficulties of performing when on her period.

"This year has been all about finding how to paint a beautiful picture out of all the chaos," Hunt said. "If I had a camera crew with me at all times, it would have been like a horror film. I've done 40-plus races, 60 flights. There's not going to be a single year that will be harder. It's not pretty. It's not sexy all the time. It's rare you turn up on the start line, fully fit without anything going on."

Yet she kept powering through. Now Hunt, like Kerr, is hoping the BBC selects both of them for the Spoty awards night as a reward for the impact they have had.

"I think it would be incredibly special if we could get two track and field athletes on the Spoty shortlist," she said. "I get messages every day from people saying 'I fell out of athletics, I stopped watching it, I stopped doing it. But watching Europeans has really made me kind of fall back in love with it, and I'm training again, or I've done my first parkrun,' and that's really incredibly special."

Formula One

Spanish GP organisers to modify Madring after debut procession

Giles Richards Madrid

Discussions are already under way to change the layout of Formula One's newest circuit after driver condemnation of the Madring during its inaugural grand prix.

The race in Madrid was won by Mercedes' Kimi Antonelli, but it was notable for being a procession with overtakes failing to reach double digits over 57 laps. Drivers were left frustrated at an opportunity lost, resulting in a chorus of criticism.

"I don't know how someone looks at this design and goes ‘mint’,” said the defending world champion, Lando Norris, who finished third. “The fact you have to turn and brake basically defeats the object of racing. They can do some simple changes. I hope they do it because then it should be more exciting for everyone.”

The race was far from thrilling with drivers largely circulating behind one another at high speed, unable to find any opportunity to make a move.

The Madring, a hybrid circuit of public roads and purpose-built track, has been constructed in north-east Madrid around a conference centre on the way to the airport. Logistically, it has been a success, with transport to and from the track managed well, despite the huge numbers of fans, which F1 puts at 352,000 for the weekend.

The teams enjoyed the facilities and space and it presented a high-speed and spectacular challenge on a narrow, technical circuit many drivers enjoyed over a single lap in qualifying. However, in racing terms the track, built at a reported cost of approximately £71m, was frustrating.

It was designed by the Italian Jarno Zaffelli who had said he hoped “people walk away recognising it’s possible to build a street circuit that is not boring”. That was a goal left sorely wanting after the race, with people walking away looking bored.

"There are some corners that need to be changed to create more overtaking opportunities because it's nice over one lap, but in the race you're just stuck behind," Antonelli said.

Sport

Rugby union

Pollock open to move abroad as he denies new Saints deal

Robert Kitson

Henry Pollock insists he has not yet re-signed for Northampton and is “open to every opportunity” including playing abroad and trying out other sports. The England back-row is still widely expected to agree a deal to remain at Franklin’s Gardens but, for now, is refusing to publicly confirm his intentions beyond the end of the season.

While the 21-year-old flanker, who toured with the British & Irish Lions last year, has been offered a significant pay rise to more than £400,000 a year to stay with the English champions until 2029, his new promoter Eddie Hearn has been touting Pollock as “a seven-figure player” in terms of what he brings on the field and commercially. Prem salary cap regulations, however, mean that few, if any, other English clubs are in a position to afford him at that level.

Pollock has made clear that he is prepared to be “selfish” when it comes to maximising his earning potential in company with Hearn's Matchroom agency. “I’m very much working through different scenarios and avenues I can take,” he said. “I’m very open to new opportunities and exploring that. I’m so young so I think it’s only right I assess those options and find the best decision for myself.

"I'm in contract until the end of the year for Northampton and then after that I guess we'll see what happens. You almost have to be quite selfish and think what's right for you. If that is staying here, that's great. I'll be here for however long. If it's not, then I'll be open to new opportunities."

Sources at Northampton remain confident Pollock will opt to stay put but any future suitors will also be encouraged by the player's clear desire to venture beyond the East Midlands at some point. "I definitely want to go and live in different countries and explore new sports and new avenues. At the minute rugby is my main priority but you never know what's happening around the corner."

▲ Henry Pollock is widely expected to sign a new deal at Northampton

Saints' director of rugby, Phil Dowson, acknowledged a new deal for Pollock had not been fully nailed down but said an agreement was "getting closer" with the new season kicking off next week. "As you can imagine it's complex," said Dowson, whose side will commence the defence of their title against Newcastle on Friday

25 September. “There’s a few moving parts that we need to put together. But I’m hopeful. As I’ve said before, he wants to stay and we want to keep him. Obviously there’s some negotiation between that but those two things are very positive.”

Dowson also believes Pollock's public profile will not necessarily affect his personality or have an impact on his performances. "He has always been honest and energetic. Sometimes that gets misconstrued. I don't think he's arrogant, I think he's bloody talented. If I was that talented I would be pretty confident, too.

“But no, I don’t think he’s changed. The boys still take the piss out of him. He goes on private jets to boxing matches and as long as that’s not impacting how he plays, I have no problem. I did ask him if we could borrow the private jet to get to Sri Lanka on tour, but he said he was using it!”

Tennis This US Open was the worst major in recent memory

From poor state of facilities to obnoxious influencers and late finishes, the tournament was beset by serious problems Tumaini Carayol

At the end of another comically late night and early morning at Flushing Meadows, when the remaining spectators were

departing, a familiar scene was unfolding on the US Open tournament grounds. A handful of workers had congregated directly beneath a hole in the ceiling inside one of the tournament shops as they tried to stop water from flowing out of a broken pipe and ruining thousands of pounds worth of merchandise below.

This was not a surprising sight. Upon entering Arthur Ashe Stadium this year, fans were greeted by some ominous signs: "Pardon our appearance while we write the next chapter of Arthur Ashe Stadium." The tournament's appearance, it must be said, was hideous. Inside the corridors and rooms at one of the biggest sporting events in the world, it felt like its main building was falling apart.

Seemingly every other day a new leak revealed itself in the media centre, with long plastic sheets attached from the ceiling to buckets on the floor containing the splashing in various parts of the room. In the nearby workers' restaurant, a dramatic burst of water from the ceiling caused its closure for one day. Throughout the tournament, a colleague joked that most sane human

▲ The sorry state of Arthur Ashe Stadium was an unfortunate sideshow to the drama on court SARAH STIER/GETTY IMAGES

beings would not return every day to work underneath a ceiling that seemed ready to collapse at any time. Elsewhere, numerous photographers reported feeling sick after inhaling fetid fumes from the drains in the photo pit.

This was the worst grand slam tournament in recent memory for various reasons. When people look back, 2026 will be remembered as the US Open's year of the influencers, a group united by their talent for making everything about them. It takes a special level of foolishness to bring ring lights to a tennis match, loudly film TikTok videos in the middle of games and repeatedly stand up to take selfies during points. There is a

widespread belief that everyone involved in the sport should help to “grow the game” at all costs. Sometimes, though, gatekeeping is great. Meanwhile, the general conversation on Arthur Ashe Stadium was so loud at times that even Aryna Sabalenka’s screams were drowned out.

Although the 16 hours of tennis between 11.30am last Tuesday and 3.33am on Wednesday provided one of the most

▲ Elena Rybakina's excellence was one positive among the negatives

spectacular quarter-final days in recent history, with four dramatic final sets in four matches, it is an obvious sign of dysfunction in this sport that tournament organisers still have not prioritised finding a real solution to these early-morning finishes.

In the heat of battle, though, there was still so much to enjoy. Women's tennis stole the show again as the entire top six reached the quarter-finals and, for the first time in 51 years, the top four shut out the rest of the tour in the semi-finals. Sabalenka's comeback victory against Linda Noskova, the 21-year-old Wimbledon champion, was one of the best matches of the year and she will eventually reflect on how well she recovered just to reach the final after such a nightmare summer.

Elena Rybakina dealt spectacularly with so many obstacles: the No 1 ranking, an achilles injury and one of the toughest possible draws to win the title. Her level on hard courts over the past year has been incredible and her quiet, reserved nature is the perfect foil to the intense extroversion of Sabalenka.

Meanwhile, Zheng Qinwen's back-to-back comebacks from 0-5 to 7-5 in the third set of her third-round match against Madison Keys, and then in the first set of her fourth-round match against Iga Swiatek, were astonishing and she deserved her dramatic return to the big stage. Iva Jovic and Alexandra Eala showed relentless competitiveness can sit comfortably with strong friendship as they battled into the night. A year after the pitiful state of her serve reduced her to tears on the court, Coco Gauff's semi-final run was a reflection of her great progress.

Conversely, 2026 has been a miserable year for men's tennis, primarily due to the shocking amount of injuries sustained by younger players. The difficulties of Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner are only the tip of the iceberg: Jack Draper, Holger Rune, Lorenzo Musetti, Arthur Fils and João Fonseca have all missed a significant amount of the past year. Even those who competed in New York are still working through the consequences of missing so much action.

The men's draw still produced one of the memorable sporting moments of the year courtesy of a special champion. At 3.40am on Wednesday, after Ben Shelton's monumental victory against Alcaraz, the Spaniard finally made his exit from Arthur Ashe Stadium. He had pushed himself to the limit for 4hr 28min, vomiting repeatedly, only to lose by narrow margins in a fifth set tie-break. But after being away for four and a half months because of a wrist injury and unsure how his body would react upon his return, he was finally able to again participate in the sport he loves and he left the court feeling like himself. As Alcaraz walked through the tunnel leading to the locker room, a place that had seen so many tears, his face broke out into a wide, joyful smile.

Golf

USA's Solheim Cup inquest begins amid stats complaint

Ewan Murray

The latest inquest into failure by an American team on European soil involves slow greens, the perception of a premature celebration and a curious absence of statistical backup. Angela Stanford, whose Solheim Cup team were defeated by Europe in the Netherlands, warned Jim Furyk's Ryder Cup contingent to take note.

Stanford used the numbers-based evidence of Justin Ray to assist with decision-making and Furyk will do likewise at Adare Manor next year. In the aftermath of the 15-13 defeat and assessing Ray's input, Stanford clearly had a gripe. "I'm wondering how honest to be," she said.

“Justin Ray is extremely helpful. We were missing some pieces this week - like, in Spain [in 2023] we had people giving us strokes gained in each match, even in practice, and we didn’t have that this year. Because I know he’s working with Jim in the Ryder Cup, just now I told him exactly what he needed to do for Jim. Those things do matter and Justin was a huge help. He got us to this point.”

Pressed on why there was not the adequate backup resource she had referenced, Stanford said: “We just didn’t. See, that’s why I couldn’t be so honest with you.”

Another element was the putting surfaces. Anna Nordqvist, Europe's captain, shrugged off any notion of gamesmanship by pointing out “we are in Europe in September”, but the pace of the greens caught out the USA team. “Apparently I didn’t get to know the [greens] superintendent as well as I should have,” Stanford said only half in jest. “Even when we showed up in July here, they were faster. And I don’t think it had anything to do with the rain, either.

"Now, saying that, it's my responsibility to get the team ready. This is the one thing I am kicking myself [about], is that I just didn't keep pushing: 'We [have] got to figure out how to hit our putts a little bit harder.' Which is really difficult, to change the way you putt.

"I'm a little frustrated with myself. Nobody complained about it at all. It's me saying this right now that I wish I would have hammered it home more; they're going to be slow. We don't play on greens this slow usually."

There is more than enough blame to go around, it seems.

▲ Angela Stanford was frustrated by the greens at the Solheim Cup venue

ALLSTAR PICTURE LIBRARY/ALAMY

Miklosko dies at 64 The former West Ham and QPR goalkeeper Ludek Miklosko has died. Miklosko, who won 40 caps for Czechoslovakia and the Czech Republic, had cancer. West Ham said he was a “beloved, inspirational goalkeeper” who would “for ever hold a special place in the hearts of the West Ham family”.

Football In brief

Monaco's Brunner in trouble for celebration

Ligue 1

Monaco striker Paris Brunner is facing a ban after being referred to the disciplinary body of the French league for celebrating a goal with a throat-slitting gesture after scoring against Strasbourg on Saturday. Brunner said he did not intend to show disrespect and that he was sorry if he had hurt anyone. He added his gesture had been “clumsy” and that he “should not have done it”. The National Council for Ethics and Professional Conduct replied by saying: “While these apologies are welcome, they do not erase the reality of the gesture, which is liable to constitute a breach of the obligations of respect, setting an example and self-control.” AP

South Korea Moreno denies AI use before first match

The interim South Korea head coach, Robert Moreno, denied using artificial intelligence in past jobs to prepare for games as he

named his first squad yesterday. Moreno was appointed in August on a contract that runs to the end of November. Moreno was fired by Sochi in September 2025 after a run of poor results with the Russian club accusing him of relying on AI. "If you verify facts, you will see that much of what was reported was taken out of context and blown out of proportion," Moreno said. "Obviously I use technology ... those reports are not true." AP

Ecuador

Gallardo takes charge and sets sights on 2030

Marcelo Gallardo has reached an agreement to manage the Ecuador national team up to the 2030 World Cup. The Ecuadorian Football Federation announced late on Sunday that the 50-year-old Gallardo will replace his compatriot Gabriel Beccacece, who led the team to the last 32 at the previous World Cup. Gallardo takes the job after concluding a second stint with Argentina's River Plate, where he won seven domestic titles as well as two Copa Libertadores trophies and a Copa Sudamericana. Gallardo's first match is likely to be against South Korea on 24 September as part of an Asian tour. Beyond seeking qualification for the 2030 World Cup, an earlier challenge lies ahead in the 2028 Copa América. AP

Forwards must 'give help' for system to work, says Iraola

Andy Hunter

Andoni Iraola has shifted the focus on to Liverpool's forwards for the team's uninspiring display against Fulham, insisting they need to give more to make his system work.

The head coach admitted his team took “a step backwards” with their goalless draw on Saturday. His central midfield pairing of Ryan Gravenberch and Dominik Szoboszlai struggled to contain their Fulham counterparts, winning two of five duels and one of nine duels respectively. But Iraola believes the problems started further forward with the pressing of Liverpool’s expensively assembled attack.

"It's not a matter of just the midfielders," he said. "When we have been good collectively the midfielders have looked a lot better and recovered more balls. It's not because they are winning duels that they play better, it's because we are helping them more to win the duels.

"If the ones up front do their job very well then the defenders and midfielders look good. If we are allowing them to defend one v one all the time and we are not aggressive, then our defenders will also struggle. If the players ahead of you are doing their job then you look a better midfielder or defender because you win more easier duels, you have more chance of winning one. It is more collective.

"It isn't about changing this player for that player. That's the help we have to give to our defenders and midfielders so everyone looks better, smarter and are in better positions."

Iraola is unlikely to field the same frontline of Alexander Isak, Bradley Barcola, Florian Wirtz and Víctor Muñoz when Tottenham visit Anfield in the Carabao Cup third round tonight. Trey Nyoni is pressing for a start in midfield and Iraola confirmed that Giorgi Mamardashvili would replace Alisson in goal.

On the issues of Saturday, which contributed to a third draw in four Premier League games, he also said: "Compared to previous games, we won the ball a lot lower in the pitch. We don't concede a lot, and the only big chance we conceded was our goal-kick that we messed up. But we were recovering the ball very low and when that happens you have to attack against 11 players and that makes it more difficult to make the difference.

“In previous games we could win it a lot higher and use our quick transitions to attack against less players and use the space better. We need to recover the ball as high as possible because it makes the offensive side a lot easier, and we have more situations to attack in one v one.”

▲ Liverpool's forwards struggled to make an impact against Fulham

De Zerbi backs 'sensitive guy' Solanke to find form at Anfield

David Hytner

Roberto De Zerbi has no doubt that Dominic Solanke will rediscover his best levels as the head coach made clear he had left no stone unturned in the mission to solve Tottenham's goalscoring problem.

Spurs go to Liverpool in the Carabao Cup tonight after the 0-0 home draw with Everton in the Premier League on Saturday; they have not found the net in their four matches in the competition. Tottenham did beat Charlton 5-1 at home in the second round of the Carabao Cup.

Solanke is the only forward in De Zerbi's squad to have enjoyed a prolific season in England's top division; he scored 19 times for Bournemouth in 2023-24, which convinced Tottenham to pay £55m for him. The 29-year-old has 22 additional goals in the Premier League, 12 of them for Spurs. De Zerbi has Omar Marmoush, who scored seven times in the league for Manchester City in the second half of 2024-25 after joining from Eintracht Frankfurt in January. That apart, the pickings for De Zerbi's attacking players have been slim in the competition.

Solanke, whose pre-season was undermined by an injury sustained on the club's tour of New Zealand and Australia, was ineffective against Everton and a target for criticism in some quarters. De Zerbi will keep the faith. He knows that when Solanke is fully fit the performances will follow. He intends to involve the former Liverpool striker at Anfield.

“Dom is a sensitive guy,” De Zerbi said. “He needs to feel full confidence - from myself he has big confidence. I believe he can score 10-15 goals, for sure. He’s already scored in Bourne-mouth so why not he can score in Tottenham? It’s the same sport.

"[He is] sensitive because he's a smart guy. Sensitive guys are smart. Maybe [he has had] many injuries, maybe he doesn't feel in the best physical condition, maybe he would like to do something different on the pitch. But now he's not fit yet. He has to play. It can be important for him [at Anfield]. And then I think he comes back to the player who was in Bournemouth."

De Zerbi continues to try to bond his players away from the pitch. He said he had again taken them for dinner in Mayfair last week and paid the bill. “As long as I keep some money for my cigarettes, then no problem,” he said with a smile.

Leeds

Sport Football Premier League ▼ Dominic Calvert-Lewin scores Leeds' third goal of the match as they run riot GREIG COWIE/SHUTTERSTOCK

Calvert-Lewin shows the way as Leeds thrash limp Newcastle

Leeds 4 Miley 32og, Bogle 34, Calvert-Lewin 45+1, Okafor 59 Newcastle 1 Touré 90 Aaron Bower Elland Road

At what stage does a good start become something more significant? Perhaps we are not quite there yet; maybe we are. But as the goals flew in on a chaotic night at Elland Road, it was difficult not to think the boundaries of expectation for Leeds were potentially being redrawn.

Ask those close to the action over the summer at Leeds and the feeling was that there was a possibility of something special materialising this season. Having found their feet in the Premier League in the last campaign, the platform had been set and a very good summer transfer window seemed like the catalyst for even brighter days to return to West Yorkshire.

But even with that optimism in mind, this night felt significant. Leeds did not just beat a Newcastle side who themselves have started brightly under Matthias Jaissle, they dismantled them. And with the manner of this victory, Daniel Farke's side sit third in the table.

Perhaps, in this world of demanding success overnight, there is a lesson here in patience for both clubs too. As Elland Road's patrons likely pinched themselves when the outstanding Dominic Calvert-Lewin made it 3-0 before half-time it was easy to forget that, under a year ago, large swathes of supporter were suggesting time was up for Farke.

His decision to change to a back three against Manchester City last November saved his job and sparked an upturn in form that saw Leeds secure safety before starting this campaign in magnificent fashion. If this start continues with another win over Crystal Palace on Sunday, perhaps this side can do greater things than many first thought.

▲ Noah Okafor hypes up the home crowd after scoring Leeds' fourth

As for Jaissle, this was his first large bump in the road as Newcastle manager and there will possibly be more over the coming months as he imprints his vision on this team. But the decision-making of the Leeds side who vanquished them is evidence enough that patience can often pay off and Jaissle and his team could have no complaints about the scoreline.

Leeds were magnificent from start to finish. The opening goal was perhaps a touch fortuitous as Ao Tanaka's shot bounced off the substitute Sean Steur and Lewis Miley to wrongfoot Lukas Hornicek, but it was the least Leeds deserved. Two minutes later, the lead was doubled when Jayden Bogle headed home a James Justin cross.

Bogle has quietly been one of Leeds' standout performers for some time and he is one of a few Leeds players who Thomas Tuchel may find difficult to ignore before naming his latest England squad later this week. The man who slotted home Leeds' third in first-half stoppage time has perhaps even greater a claim for a call-up. Calvert-Lewin's latest goal was brilliantly taken; a measured finish that made it 3-0 at half-time.

With James Trafford between the sticks, Leeds have a clutch of players who may be fancy their chances of international recognition if they keep this up; a surefire sign of a club trending upwards.

They may have a manager in that bracket as well. “There’s never a perfect performance in football but that was top class for more or less the whole game,” Farke said. “We know we have to stay humble; we might not have the best individual quality but we can be an outstanding team.”

The prospect of a grand Newcastle comeback appeared unlikely from the moment Sven Botman carelessly gave away possession to Anton Stach shortly after half-time and Stach spurned a glorious chance to make it 4-0. But Leeds did not have to wait long for their fourth goal, as Noah Okafor struck through a crowded penalty box to put the result beyond doubt.

Jaissle's demeanour became more and more exasperated as the evening wore on and unsurprisingly he cut a frustrated figure afterwards. "We couldn't match the intensity of Leeds and you see how difficult it can be to win a game in the Premier League," he said. "We'll have some ups and downs and this was a big down. A tough night."

There was at least a consolation in the final moments as Bazoumana Touré, a bright spark after coming on, capitalised on a rare Leeds error to make it 4-1. But the damage had long since been done - and the party among the home support by this time was already well under way.

Leeds 3-5-1-1 Trafford; Justin, Elvedi, Muharemovic; Bogle (James 83), Stach (Longstaff 88), Ampadu, Tanaka (Aaronson 72), Gudmundsson (Bard 72); Calvert-Lewin (Nmecha 78); Okafor (Wilson 72) Subs not used Bahoya, Bijol, Zetterer

Newcastle 4-2-3-1 Hornicek; Dedic (Livramento 58), Thiaw, Botman, Hall; L Miley (Bamba 80), González (Steur 19); Murphy (Touré 57), Fernandez-Pardo (Willock 57), Barnes; Wissa Subs not used M Miley, Pope, Ramsey, Schär

Referee Michael Salisbury Attendance 36,693

Results

Football

PREMIER LEAGUE

	P	W	D	L	F	A	GD	Pts
Arsenal	4	4	0	0	8	1	+7	12
Manchester City	4	4	0	0	8	2	+6	12
Leeds	4	2	2	0	7	3	+4	8
Hull	4	2	2	0	5	2	+3	8
Brighton	4	2	1	1	13	5	+8	7
Chelsea	4	2	1	1	10	9	+1	7
Brentford	4	1	3	0	7	4	+3	6
Liverpool	4	1	3	0	6	4	+2	6
Everton	4	1	3	0	5	3	+2	6
Ipswich	4	2	0	2	7	10	-3	6
Nottm Forest	4	1	2	1	4	4	0	5
Newcastle	4	1	2	1	7	8	-1	5
Manchester Utd	4	1	1	2	7	7	0	4
Sunderland	4	1	1	2	3	5	-2	4
Bournemouth	4	0	3	1	6	7	-1	3
Crystal Palace	4	1	0	3	6	11	-5	3
Tottenham	4	0	2	2	0	5	-5	2
Fulham	4	0	1	3	4	7	-3	1
Aston Villa	4	0	1	3	1	7	-6	1
Coventry	4	0	0	4	0	10	-10	0

SSE AIRTRICITY IRISH PREMIER DIVISION

Dundalk 0 St Patrick's 4; Shelbourne 1 Drogheda 2; Sligo 1 Galway 3; Waterford 2 Derry 2

LA LIGA

Villarreal 1 Real Betis 2

SERIE A

Como 2 Parma 1; Torino 0 Roma 2; Inter 5 Udinese 3

Cricket

MEN'S UNDER-19 ONE-DAY INTERNATIONAL Wormsley England 302-9 (JA Nelson 74, T Lamey 58). Pakistan 300-9 (Hamza Zahoor 86, HA Dar 56). England beat Pakistan by two runs.

Tennis

WTA GUADALAJARA OPEN (Mexico) First round: C Bucşa (Sp) bt B Andreescu (Can) 6-4 6-3; K Day (US) bt E Kalieva (US) 7-6 (9) 6-4; S Stephens (US) bt C Monnet (Fr) 6-4 7-6 (5) American football

NFL

New York Giants 28 Dallas 20

Fixtures

Football (7.45pm unless stated) Carabao Cup Third round Ipswich v Arsenal (8pm); Liverpool v Tottenham (8pm); Peterborough v Barnsley (7.30pm); Reading v Brentford (8pm); West Ham v Fulham Sky Bet Championship Bristol City v Lincoln City; Middlesbrough v Millwall Enterprise National League Aldershot v Yeovil; Boston v Woking; Carlisle v Forest Green; Harrogate v Fylde; Solihull Moors v Barrow; Southend v Tamworth; Sutton Utd v Eastleigh; Wealdstone v Halifax; Worthing v Hornchurch Enterprise National League South Billericay v Braintree; Truro v Salisbury Vertu EFL Trophy York v Newcastle U21 (7pm); Chesterfield v Man City U21 (7pm); Wycombe v Chelsea U21 (7pm); Swindon v Crystal Palace U21 (7pm); Leyton Orient v Arsenal U21 (7pm) William Hill Scottish Premiership Falkirk v Hearts; Hibernian v Kilmarnock; Motherwell v Aberdeen William Hill Scottish Championship Stenhousemuir v Partick William Hill Scottish League One Ross County v Queen of the South KDM Evolution Trophy East Fife v Motherwell B La Liga Alavés v Valencia (7pm); Elche v Real Madrid (8.30pm); Rayo Vallecano v Espanyol (6pm) Cricket (10.30am unless stated) First Men's T20 International England v Sri Lanka, Utilita Bowl (6.30pm) Rothesay County Championship (day one of four) Division One Essex v Warwickshire, Chelmsford; Leicestershire v Hampshire, Leicester; Surrey v Glamorgan, Kia Oval; Sussex v Nottinghamshire, Hove; Yorkshire v Somerset, Headingley. Division Two Durham v Worcestershire, Riverside; Gloucestershire v Middlesex, Bristol; Kent v Lancashire, Canterbury; Northamptonshire v Derbyshire, Northampton First Men's One-Day International Zimbabwe v Australia, Harare (8.30am) Second Men's T20 International Afghanistan v India, Delhi (3pm) Third Women's T20 International Zimbabwe v South Africa, Bulawayo (12.30pm)

Greg Wood's racing tips

Redcar 1.53 Blake's Monarch 2.23 Lady Dublin
2.53 Law Of Design 3.23 Magic Boy 3.53 Obito
4.23 Startling 4.54 Betweensthesticks (nap)
Uttoxeter 2.00 Crystal Glance 2.30 Time In A Bottle
3.00 Ice Jet 3.30 Royal Rhythm 4.00 Axel Bleue
4.30 Time Interval 5.05 Martin's Denuo
Yarmouth 2.17 Archer's Grace 2.47 Watch Party
3.17 Flick Of An Eye 3.47 Javelot 4.17 Mythical Guest
4.47 Space Bear 5.18 Twilight Fun (nb)
Wolverhampton 4.28 Trust Sergei 4.59 Thames Waterman
5.30 Tredegar Square 6.00 Not That Guy 6.30 Siouxpersonic
7.00 R P McMurphy 7.30 Stipulation 8.00 Little Jaybee
8.30 D Day Major Winter

13 Sept Man City h 0-1

FROM LEFT: LEE SMITH/ACTION IMAGES/REUTERS; JASON CAIRNDUFF/ACTION IMAGES/REUTERS; TOM JENKINS/THE GUARDIAN

Are Manchester United as poor as the Premier League table suggests?

Carrick's side are in the bottom half of the table after four games with left-back and midfield as problem areas

Jamie Jackson

Manchester United are 13th in the Premier League, having taken four points from their first four games: a

2-0 defeat at Hull, a 5-2 win against Ipswich, a 2-2 draw at Everton and the 1-0 defeat by Manchester City on Sunday. Mitigation regarding the City reverse can be found in the derby coming three days after the Champions League win against Sabah on Thursday, with Enzo Maresca's side having 48 hours more rest after winning at Porto. So are United, who host Brighton in the Carabao Cup tomorrow before visiting Fulham in the league on Sunday, as poor as the table suggests?

Is Carrick becoming the new Solskjær?

After Ole Gunnar Solskjær was appointed as temporary manager in December 2018 as a result of José Mourinho's tempestuous tenure, he won 14 of 19 games and took over permanently in March 2019. What followed was a nosedive of two victories from 10 matches and United ended in sixth - the position when Solskjær arrived. Carrick revived the club's fortunes as the interim coach last season after Ruben Amorim's meltdown and sacking, and guided United to third. Yet after assuming the permanent role results have worsened. Just because Solskjær had an unstable team and was never secure in the job (being sacked in November 2021) does not mean his former

teammate and assistant will have a similar experience. But how many more poor results is Carrick away from Jason Wilcox being accused of hastily appointing another popular former United player? A clue that the director of football may have had reservations regarding Carrick may lie in the brevity of the contract given to him: it runs to 2028.

A troubling passiveness When Phil Foden was sent off after 23 minutes at Old Trafford on Sunday, United had a man advantage over City. But Carrick's men remained becalmed, the Kobbie Mainoo-Youri Tielemans central axis unable to exert control and create chances for the front four of Bruno Fernandes, Bryan Mbeumo, Matheus Cunha and Marcus Rashford. For the first time in 12 home Premier League games under Carrick, United generated less than 1.0 expected goals (0.95), which should be more of a concern for Carrick than the quasi-farcical video assistant referee decision that allowed Erling Haaland's winner (Enzo Fernández was, as Pro Ref later admitted, interfering with play). The same issue was evident in the opening defeat at Hull - where Andrey Santos partnered Tielemans, there was close to zero

Matheus Cunha yet to score in the league when starting at centre-forward under Michael Carrick - League starts at centre-forward for Carrick - Goals in those games

goal threat and Carrick's side were a portrait of passiveness.

Lack of a new left-back is beginning to bite

You have to wonder why a summer-long interest in a left-back that included Newcastle's Lewis Hall (the No 1 target), Arsenal's Myles Lewis-Skelly and RB Leipzig's David Raum drew a blank. Identifying that a position needs strengthening, then failing to do so, seems amateurish and cannot have delighted Carrick. Instead, three midfielders were bought: Tielemans, Santos and Carlos Baleba. With Mainoo and Manuel Ugarte (who has a long-term injury) in the squad, a case can be made that this was one too many recruits for the engine room. Instead, the finance for, say, Santos (£48m + £2m) could have been invested at left-back. Four games into the season the potential folly of this was underlined. Luke Shaw, the first-choice left-back, whose career is injury-plagued, was unavailable for City's visit owing to a knock and Carrick was forced to field a stopgap in Patrick Dorgu. In last season's corresponding fixture the Dane played as the wide-left forward - and scored. On Sunday, when Josko Gvardiol crossed from United's right for Haaland to net at the far post, Dorgu was the player challenging the Croatian, instead of being in his left-sided defensive zone to mark City's centre-forward. It was also Dorgu's errant header that handed City the ball to allow the attack to be launched.

Manchester United have created little in open play against established Premier League clubs Open play expected goals with midfield pairing, minutes played

Source: Opta

Source: Opta

United's summer signings need to start working

For a £148m investment United acquired Santos, Tielemans (£35m) and Carlos Baleba (£65m). The net result so far? A single start for Santos (the Hull loss) and anonymity from Tielemans, who has been in the XI for all four league matches. Then you come to Baleba, the headline acquisition, who is yet to kick a ball owing to injury, the Cameroonian not expected back until after the international break. In this early-season phase none of this would matter if results were rosier. During an interview at United's County Kildare pre-season camp last month Tielemans admitted no other clubs were interested in triggering his £35m release clause at Aston Villa. As United attempt to jumpstart their campaign, Belgium's captain must offer more - as a player and leader.

Time for Sesko to start? Benjamin Sesko returned from injury as the season started and has made substitute appearances in all United's league matches, plus a start at home against Sabah, where he scored. The Slovene also got a goal in the 2-2 draw at Everton, making him United's joint third-highest scorer in the league, behind Bruno Fernandes (three) and Bryan Mbeumo (two). Matheus Cunha and Marcus Rashford have zero strikes in the league from four and three starts respectively, and Sesko's directness as a natural No 9 may be an option worth exploring from kick-off at Fulham.

Haaland goal should not have stood but VAR made the right call with Sunderland penalty

There was a disappointing outcome on a big decision in the Manchester derby and no one will feel it more than the video

assistant referee, Matt Donohue. On Sunday night, Pro Ref confirmed that Donohue had made a mistake in allowing Erling Haaland's goal in City's 1-0 victory to stand when Enzo Fernández had been in an offside position.

When a VAR considers a decision such as this they start from the point at which the goal is scored and work backwards. Here, when Haaland scores, the flag is raised by the assistant referee for offside. The VAR automatically checked that on-field decision and used a semi-automated system to show Haaland was onside. The decision was then made to overturn the call and award the goal.

Before Haaland scores, however, an offside Fernández, marked by Lisandro Martínez, has challenged for the crossed ball with a diving header. The VAR needs to look at this aspect and make a two-part assessment. The first question is: does Fernández make a clear attempt to play the ball? The second: did that action affect the ability of Martínez to defend the cross? In this case, the answer to both questions was yes. The goal should not have been awarded.

I think Donohue looked at the Fernández situation and did not recognise it was an offence. He is a highly skilled VAR but referees are human and the fact he has got it wrong will hurt. He will learn from it but I would defend the

performance of referees more broadly this season. We're 39 games into the campaign and they have started really well. We've seen some very good examples of officials dealing with holding offences, the ball is in play for longer and referees are managing goal-kicks and throw-ins too.

In the game at Manchester United, Haaland's goal wasn't the only incident to cause debate with a real split of opinion on what sanctions should have been imposed. With regards to the coming together between Bruno Fernandes and Phil Foden, which led to the City player being sent off, I've heard two reds, two yellows and two dustings down.

Let's be clear: Foden sticks his studs into Fernandes's midriff after the United captain had kicked at him with a toe. Michael Oliver shows Foden a deserved red card for violent conduct. Fernandes had provoked Foden by moving his right toe into Foden's backside but in my opinion, had Oliver seen it, he would have given Fernandes a yellow card because it was a pretty petulant act of unsporting behaviour. Whereas Foden's kick

Donohue is a highly skilled VAR but referees are human and the fact he has got it wrong will hurt

was violent conduct, I would argue Fernandes's was not.

The laws on violent conduct describe when a player “uses or attempts to use excessive force or brutality against an opponent when not challenging for the ball”. Did Foden use excessive force or brutality against an opponent? I think he did. But Fernandes didn’t. There was no brutality. There was no force. Clearly, the referee didn’t see the act of petulance but in terms of the bigger decision the officials got it correct. Even Enzo Maresca said in his press conference that Foden was rightly sent off.

The previous day there was another incident with lots of noise around it: the decision to award Sunderland a penalty against Arsenal. Dan Ballard and Ezri Konsa go to ground in the Arsenal box and the verdict from John Brooks was penalty kick. You could quite clearly see that Konsa was holding Ballard and really focusing only on his opponent and not the ball. The VAR, Stuart Attwell, then checked the decision and had to determine whether the referee made a clear and obvious error.

Ballard has got a little bit of Konsa's shirt too and there's a bit of tugging but that in itself, with all the bits and bobs going on, doesn't jump out as a clear and obvious error, so they stay with the on-field decision. What is important to note is the light touch from VARs this season.

Lots of people will say penalty. Others will say not for me. Attwell was right to say check complete, confirming the penalty. If a penalty hadn't been awarded, however, there would have been no intervention either because it's not a clear and obvious error. It's what we would term a check complete either way.

Manchester City's Enzo Fernández was in an offside position when he dived for the ball before Erling Haaland's goal ADAM VAUGHAN/EPA

9 770261 307521

Prize athletes Hunt and Kerr make their cases for Spoty shortlist

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Net loss Why US Open was the worst grand slam in recent memory

Sport

Tumaini Carayol Page 35 →

The Guardian Tuesday 15 September 2026

The Ground Truth image displays a single, solid horizontal line, which is a stylistic or background element (like a rule line on paper). According to Rule 2, such lines must be ignored by the OCR result. The provided OCR content is "____", which consists of underscores. Underscores are not equivalent to a solid line and are not permitted under the “Stylistic/Background Lines (Ignore)” rule. Outputting underscores for a solid line constitutes an error, as it misrepresents the visual element and violates the instruction to ignore stylistic lines. Therefore, the OCR result is inconsistent with the Ground Truth.

Out in the cold VARs who wrongly confirmed Haaland winner stood down

Paul MacInnes Ed Aarons

The video assistant referee officials who allowed Erling Haaland's winning goal in the Manchester derby on Sunday have been stood down. Matt Donohue and his assistant, Blake Antrobus, have been told by Pro Ref they have not received appointments for this weekend's round of Premier League fixtures.

Howard Webb, the chief refereeing officer, took the decision with his management team after a review of the weekend's action. Their availability will be reconsidered after the international break.

Donohue was called on to check Michael Oliver's decision to disallow Haaland's 60th-minute goal for offside. Using semi-automated offside technology, Donohue was able to establish the Manchester City striker was onside and he overturned Oliver's call. But he failed to spot Enzo Fernández had influenced play from an offside position, an infringement which Pro Ref said should have led him to recommend an on-field review.

This is the first time officials have been made to stand down this season owing to an error. Donohue, an EFL referee since 2018, has taken charge of three Championship matches this season as well as his VAR work. His EFL profile says he has completed Pro Ref's “Enhanced VAR Training Programme”. Antrobus is also an assistant referee in the PremierLeague and ran the line in the first three matchdays.

▲Erling Haaland's goal was given after a VAR check for offside

Pro Ref acknowledged an “error of judgment” in the Haaland incident in a statement on Sunday night and is understood to have contacted Manchester United to explain the mistake.

Arsenal, meanwhile, are seeking an explanation from Pro Ref over the penalty awarded to Sunderland on Saturday, which Mikel Arteta described as “unacceptable at this level”. It is understood the Premier League champions contacted Pro Ref yesterday to request a meeting after Ezri Konsa was penalised during an incident involving Dan Ballard at the Stadium of Light.

David Raya made a brilliant save from Enzo Le Fée's spot-kick before Arsenal went on to win 2-0.

Arteta could not hide his anger afterwards and other Arsenal officials are said to have been left annoyed by the penalty decision. Arsenal are expected to question why the VAR did not intervene when the referee, John Brooks, pointed to the spot.

They are also likely to bring up the fact the Premier League's key match incidents panel ruled unanimously that the club should have been awarded a penalty in their win at Aston Villa at the end of last month when Bruno Guimarães was fouled by Ian Maatsen.

The KMI panel ruled last season that Gabriel Magalhães should have been shown a red card for violent conduct against Manchester City in April that would have ruled the Brazil defender out for three matches in the title run-in.

Arteta said the decision against Sunderland “could have cost us the win and our momentum” after a 100% start and Arsenal’s fear is that refereeing mistakes and inconsistencies could decide the title race.

They, like other Premier League clubs, are in regular dialogue with Pro Ref and are expected to ask for clarification on whether similar incidents to the one involving Konsa and Ballard from a corner will result in more penalties being given.

Pro Ref has been contacted for comment.

Chris Foy's VAR verdict Page 39 →

GREIG COWIE/SHUTTERSTOCK

Newcastle left reeling by Calvert-Lewin

Dominic Calvert-Lewin and his teammates enjoy the moment after Leeds score their second goal Match report Page 37 →

England squad buzzing after Pietersen adds 'different take'

Simon Burnton

Brendon McCullum has revealed he was the driving force behind the recruitment of Kevin Pietersen as a specialist mentor to England's white-ball teams. The new arrival has specific orders to “look across the environment and challenge me”.

Pietersen spent his first day in the role monitoring training at the Utilita Bowl after delivering an address that had the players “buzzing”, according to McCullum, England’s white-ball head coach.

McCullum said Pietersen had “thought I was joking” when he made the initial approach to the 46-year-old. “Then he mentioned: ‘I’ve been quite critical of you guys in the past,’” McCullum said. “And I said: ‘I have no problem with that.’

“That’s the beauty of Kev coming in. He’s got an incredible pedigree as a player and a lot of the guys grew up idolising Kev when he was in his pomp. He’s brought a ton of energy to the setup within the last 24 hours.”

With Marcus Trescothick returning to duty as assistant coach with a focus on batting, 48 hours after the conclusion of his time as interim coach of the Test team, Pietersen has been told not to focus on any single discipline. McCullum said: "I want him to look across the environment and challenge me privately around ways we can improve things or do differently.

"The way he looks at the game is quite different to a lot of people. If someone can see something slightly different and point out something that can make you a better side, or a better coaching structure, I see that as no bad thing. Kev will do that and I've encouraged him to do that."

McCullum's long-term replacement as red-ball head coach, Stephen Fleming, arrived yesterday for a brief reintroduction to the domestic game, including visits to several counties and the national performance centre at Loughborough. He will have meetings with the Test captain, Joe Root, as well as with the white-ball squad at their 34

Should our fate be decided by two rich men and their £72m? Owen Jones, page 3 Keeping calm and carrying on with AI would be crazy Brigid Delaney, page 4 How to stop the end-times fascist plot to abandon Earth The long read, page 5

Journal

The Guardian Tuesday 15 September 2026

G2 Daily pullout life & arts section Inside

Opinion and ideas

With a 'hyper' El Niño on its way, our leaders must now lead

Bill McGuire

f you think you have already heard enough about the growing “super” El Niño, trust me, you are going to hear a lot more. What is happening in the equatorial Pacific is jaw-dropping and could well mark one of the biggest global weather upheavals in a millennium. It will spawn a string of weather catastrophes around our world in what remains

ILLUSTRATION: MATT KENYON

of this year and in 2027, and there is no reason to think the UK will be immune.

To recap briefly, El Niño involves a heating of the central and eastern equatorial Pacific Ocean. It happens every few years and is part of a natural cycle termed the El Niño southern oscillation, which switches between warm (El Niño) and cool (La Niña) phases. El Niños that see heating reach or exceed 2C are defined as “super”, but this one, which is forecast to top-out at an astonishing 4C later this year, is so much bigger that the term “hyper” might be more appropriate.

El Niño is nothing new. Evidence for its existence extends back hundreds of millions of years and its ramifications have always been negative and disruptive. The difference today is that it is happening at a time when our world is heating more rapidly than ever before, and it is being

supercharged as a result, leading to increasingly extreme weather.

Figuring out how much global heating alone is influencing El Niño is not straightforward, as its strength and other characteristics change naturally over time. Both El Niños and La Niñas, for example, have been steadily increasing in duration over the last 7,000 years. This is bad news in its own right, as it means the world's weather is knocked out of kilter for even longer, but added to this, stronger El Niños are becoming more frequent as we continue to add CO₂ to the atmosphere.

There is no straightforward correlation between El Niño's strength and the magnitude of impacts in any given part of the planet. But bearing in mind the unprecedented amount of extra heat being added to the atmosphere over the Pacific, it would be reasonable to expect the world to experience exceptionally hazardous weather over the course of the next several months.

How, then, is the UK likely to fare? The Met Office has already warned of the increased likelihood of a stormy and wet autumn and early winter, so it would be judicious to start preparing now for flooding on a

*

Bill McGuire is professor emeritus of geophysical and climate hazards at UCL. His latest book is The Fate of the World: A History and Future of the Climate Crisis

2

With a 'hyper' El Niño on its way, our leaders must now lead Bill McGuire

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The Guardian

Founded 1821 Independently owned by the Scott Trust N° 56,012 'Comment is free... but facts are sacred' CP Scott

serious - perhaps even epic - scale. After all, the last big El Niño, in 2015-16, resulted in the most extreme UK floods

on record. Stronger winds are also a big worry, as many trees weakened by this summer's extreme drought conditions could be brought down in the powerful storms to come. A strong El Niño could also bring Arctic air to the UK later in the winter, although this is far from set in stone. Whether El Niño fosters more record-breaking heat next summer also remains to be seen.

But there are likely to be indirect impacts on the UK too, thanks to the devastating effects strong El Niños have on the global economy. While the great recession of 2008 resulted in global GDP reducing by around \$2tn (£1.5tn), the 1997-98 super-El Niño resulted in losses of \$5.7tn. Much of this was due to the suppression of economic activity that can last for up to 14 years after a strong El Niño. The late-90s El Niño - the most powerful of the 20th century - peaked at 2.4C; the current one is already at 2.7C, meaning significant impacts on UK food security, cost of living and general economic wellbeing would not be a surprise.

owever the UK fares in the coming months, its challenges are likely to be small beer compared with elsewhere on the planet. The effects of the strengthening El Niño are already being keenly felt, particularly across India, which is experiencing its weakest monsoon for 20 years.

As El Niño peaks later this year, and slowly subsides, the west coast of South America and the western US can expect torrential rains, severe flooding and mudslides. Meanwhile, heatwaves, drought and wildfires will be the order of the day across the Amazon, south and south-east Asia and much of Australia.

One tiny positive is that Atlantic hurricane activity tends to be damped down during El Niño years, but this is more than made up for by the revving up of Pacific typhoons.

California, in particular, is bracing itself for the worst, primarily because past super-El Niños have brought some of the wettest periods in the history of the state. This is because El Niño years tend to favour the formation of “atmospheric rivers” - streams of exceptional precipitation that track across the state from the Pacific for days at a time, dumping colossal amounts of rain. Such conditions contributed to the great flood of 1862, which left a vast area of the state under water, including a 300-mile (480km) stretch of the Central Valley.

The biggest worry is that this unprecedented El Niño will see the realisation of a megastorm worst-case scenario known as the ARkStorm. If it does, expect millions of homes and businesses to be flooded, long-term damage to infrastructure, and economic losses totalling almost \$1tn. Given, too, that tech companies would be severely impacted, the knock-on effects could result in another hammer blow to the global economy.

The effects of the El Niño will be felt well into 2027, almost certainly ensuring that next year is the hottest ever recorded, possibly by some margin. It would not be unexpected for the average global temperature to reach at least 1.6C above preindustrial levels, and quite possibly 1.7C or more.

Every tonne of $CO_{2}$ added to the atmosphere helps El Niños get stronger, and it would be nice to imagine that the coming monster might prove a wake-up call. But no. Governments continue to row back on green policies and fossil fuel corporations still plan for expansion.

As this year's super-El Niño looms large, the UK government advises us to stock up on food while it prepares to greenlight the extraction of more fossil fuels from the North Sea. Cognitive dissonance doesn't even begin to describe the idiocy of such thinking. You couldn't make it up.

Reform UK

Crypto billionaires must not be allowed to upend the norms of democracy

The staggering sums gifted to Reform UK over the weekend have transformed the context for the representation of the people bill making its way through parliament. The announcement of two £36m donations from Ben Delo and Christopher Harborne, both crypto billionaires who have lived abroad, makes Andy Burnham's decision not to impose a limit on political donations - a move he supported before becoming prime minister - look even more misguided. Fortunately the House of Lords still has the chance to amend the bill. It should take it by imposing meaningful limits on both political donations and party spending.

It is unclear whether either man meets the criteria set out in the Rycroft review into foreign influence in politics. It set a maximum of £100,000 per annum for people who have not been in the UK for at least a year. Mr Delo previously lived in Hong Kong while Mr Harborne is based partly in Thailand; Nigel Farage said yesterday that he does not know the details of their movements. While ministers will view the prospect of a legal fight over eligibility with trepidation, they must do what it takes to ensure rules are met.

Reform UK's support has fallen since a year ago, when polls showed it ahead of Labour, and again since May when it won more than 1,400 seats in local elections. After a summer dominated by investigations of its finances, and with the police widening their inquiries to include footage, aired on Channel 4, of officials apparently discussing ways to get around electoral

law, Nigel Farage's unfavourability rating has hit a 10-year high. But while this reversal of fortune has brought relief to opponents, there is no room for complacency. In 2024, $34\%$ of votes secured a huge majority for Labour. The danger of a Farage premiership and all that it could mean for UK politics and civil society remains real.

Mr Farage no longer advertises his closeness to Donald Trump in the way he once did. But he shares the US president's enthusiasm for crypto currencies, which is part of a wider agenda of aggressive financial deregulation. Last year he told a conference that he wants to turn the UK into “the world’s premier hub for cryptocurrency”. No wonder that Mr Harborne appears to be competing to be the party’s top supporter with Mr Delo - who was pardoned by Mr Trump following a 2022 conviction for failing to implement adequate anti-money laundering controls.

The Rycroft review focused on foreign influence for good reason; it is for UK voters to choose their government. But ministers must look beyond the narrow question of outside interference. As well as donation and campaign spending caps, they should regulate party expenditure across the electoral cycle. Otherwise mega-rich donors can pay for years of polling, advertising, data and staff, before election-period limits apply.

A statement from unions is expected to signal a change of heart and support for a cap on donations. Ministers will need to find a carve-out protecting contributions from their members. A mechanism to prevent charities becoming a back door for rich individuals to fund parties is also needed. Democracy is undermined when the vastly wealthy make politics look like an auction, upending norms built up over decades. It is entirely wrong that two wealthy individuals should be able to spend their way to such an influential role in Britain's political life.

Ireland

The shifting dynamics of the Irish unity debate need to be treated with caution

A decade ago, the Democratic Unionist party (DUP) viewed Brexit as a potential gamechanger in the struggle to resist future pressure for a united Ireland. As the author and journalist Fintan O'Toole wrote in an essay published last year, the DUP hoped that the 2016 referendum would deliver “a double exit. Brexit would not simply mean the UK’s departure from the EU. It would also be an act of separation from the Republic. It would reverse the slow drift towards integration.” That proved to be, to put it mildly, a deeply flawed judgment.

The direction of travel since 2016 has instead been the opposite. Rather than leading to a hard border between Northern Ireland and Ireland, which would have disastrously undermined the Good Friday agreement, the UK's divorce agreement from Brussels eventually placed one in the Irish Sea. The logic of further economic integration between north and south within the EU's single market was reinforced.

At the same time, demographic change has meant that people with a Catholic background now outnumber those with a Protestant one in Northern Ireland, changing the political calculus. In 2022, Sinn Féin won a historic victory in Stormont elections, leading to Michelle O’Neill’s appointment as the first nationalist first minister. Yesterday, during a meeting with the heads of the UK’s other devolved nations, Ms O’Neill welcomed off-the-cuff remarks by Donald Trump during an unofficial visit to Ireland, in which he said he would “love” to see unification. The US president’s comments, she claimed, reflected the fact “that there is a growing conversation around constitutional change”.

That is undoubtedly the case. But it is a debate that has barely begun, and one which needs to be conducted with care and caution. The 1998 Good Friday agreement was intentionally vague about the criteria for holding a border poll. Successive governments in London and Dublin have since preferred to concentrate on promoting and developing cross-border co-operation.

Given the history, and the level of political risk involved, that was a sensible strategy. But the dynamics of the debate have shifted. Mr Trump's blithe remarks followed hard on the heels of an early spat between Ms O'Neill and Andy Burnham, after the prime minister said during a visit to Belfast that a poll on a united Ireland was “off the table”.

In the short and medium term, Mr Burnham's position makes sense. Sinn Féin's commitment to a referendum on Irish unity by 2030 is wildly unrealistic. But for all sides, sleepwalking into a vote without adequate preparation is equally unpalatable. In the absence of a proper debate, commitment to unity in the Irish republic is broadbased but shallow. In Northern Ireland a disturbing revival of tensions over Orange Order marches in Catholic areas suggests deepening polarisation, fuelled by ongoing political dysfunction at Stormont.

A sober, lengthy and detailed public conversation is required over what form unification might take, and the possible trade-offs involved. In an interview with the Guardian last month, the former prime minister Gordon Brown suggested that “of course, in the long term, Ireland will be united”. Unlike Mr Trump, though, he added a significant rider. Reaching that outcome would be “a long process where people have got to come together and find a way of agreeing. Basically, that is the issue: whether people can actually agree.” Leaders on all sides of the debate should heed that caveat.

Should the UK's fate be decided by two rich men and their £72m?

Owen Jones

s £72m in donations makes its way to Reform UK's bank accounts, consider what Nigel Farage said on the eve of Britain's vote to leave the European Union a decade ago. "This referendum is the people versus the establishment," he declared. "It is the vested interest, it's the rich, it's the big business." Just two years ago, Farage assailed "an unholy alliance of big business, big banks and big government". He is also the same man who, when he debated with Nick Clegg in 2014, claimed to "represent the mercantile, trading, entrepreneurial end of society", while his Liberal Democrat opponent "represents big banks, big government and big business".

To be clear, Farage's political outfit is being bankrolled by two cryptobillionaires. Ben Delo once developed high-frequency trading systems for JP Morgan. That investment bank was a particular bete noire of Farage: when it backed the Remain campaign, he savaged “the unholy alliance of big banks and big politics”. Thailand-based Christopher Harborne gave Farage his £5m pre-election gift and provided two-thirds of Reform’s funding - until now, that is.

Neither of them is the plucky small merchant evoked by Farage's rhetoric. The man who denounced banks buying political influence is now dependent on two wealthy figures from the world of finance. Predictably, Reform says its benefactors want “nothing” in return for their colossal donations. Yet the two businessmen who have just coughed up the biggest donations in British political history will surely be delighted with Reform’s plans to slash taxes on crypto assets and set up a “bitcoin reserve”.

The political fraud that is rightwing “populism” is quite something to behold. These movements claim to champion the little guy against the elites. Whether embodied by wealthy tycoon Donald Trump, whose relatives and friends are making a killing from his administration, or the privately educated millionaire ex-City broker Farage, the formula is straightforward. Dupe struggling people into believing their problems are caused by migrants, refugees and minorities - while championing the interests of the mega-rich who actually hold the power.

Nigel Farage at a Reform UK rally in Aberdeen in April PHOTOGRAPH: MURDO MACLEOD

*

Owen Jones's new book, The Fall of the West: How They Really Lost It, will be published next month

Farage once denounced banks for buying political influence. He is now dependent on two figures from the world of finance

Sure, British democracy has always come with heavy caveats. Political parties and politicians have always received hefty donations from an economic elite that, to be clear, does not give money away without expecting a return. They can also rely on powerful lobbyists to advance their interests.

But these latest donations take the corruption of our democracy to a whole new level. That two donations to Reform in a single weekend now eclipse the total amount spent by all political parties at the last general election tells its own story. Indeed, these donations amount to about 14 times the total spent by Farage's party at the last election - when, it should be noted, it won more than 4m votes.

The party can now pay for hundreds of full-time staff, build local political hubs and massively expand its polling and research infrastructure. Crucially, it can throw vast sums at digital advertising, which can be uniquely tailored to the interests and concerns of individual voters. We know from research in the US that digital ads can shift voting intention. The more money a political party has, the more it can afford to experiment until it finds the ads that work.

ndeed, all the evidence suggests money wins votes. A recent peer-reviewed study examined every British general election between 1857 and 2017, and found a strong relationship between relative campaign spending and votes. Rich donors really do shower political parties with money for a reason. Reform's mega-donations underline that democracy is for

Donations undermine that democracy is for sale. But could this spectacularly backfire? Reform is, after all, already embroiled in multiple controversies over gifts and donations from wealthy donors, and its ratings have taken a bad beating. Polling earlier this year found that 83% of Britons believe that “wealthy individuals use political donations to influence the government to further their own personal interests”. That figure was only four points lower among Reform voters, who were also nearly 10 times as likely to say they would view a party more favourably if it promised to cap donations as to view it less favourably.

It would be naive to believe that this will finally burst the Reform bubble. What it does do depends on what the national political conversation is about. Labour has had long enough in government to change the law to block such donations, and tragically Andy Burnham has retreated from his stated desire to cap them at £500,000. But that would mean a Labour party that was determined to confront wealthy vested interests. Because Starmerism had no desire to replace an economic order rigged in favour of elites, it was unable to redirect anger away from the scapegoating of migrants. Instead, it simply replicated Farage's xenophobia, which only ever legitimises the arguments of the anti-migrant right.

A different approach, based on redistributing wealth and power, would force a different conversation. So far, thanks to pressure from Zack Polanski's Green party, Burnham has shifted some of the rhetoric. But if Labour were to, say, hike taxes on wealth in order to invest in crumbling services, it could pair that with a sustained attack on Farage as the plaything of wealthy vested interests.

Otherwise, the outrage over these donations will fade. The old poison will remain - and this time it comes with £72m behind it.

BEN JENNINGS

WITH FRIENDS LIKE THESE, THE WORLD'S MY OYSTER!

Keep calm and carry on with AI? That's crazy

Brigid Delaney

magining the future as almost entirely bleak has somehow crept into the collective consciousness this year. Last week I was having coffee with an old friend. He was telling me about what his kids wanted to study when they went to university, when he suddenly broke off, stared into the middle distance and said: “I wish I’d never had children.” He’d been a father for 20 years and I'd never heard him say that. "Oh my god, why?"

“Oh my god, why?”

“AI,” he replied.

"What about it?"

It could have been anything AI-related at this point in time. Was it that AI was going to take all the jobs his kids would have done, rendering their lives impoverished and without purpose or meaning?

Or was it environmental, with all the water and energy AI consumes? Or was it the news that week that AI could “kill all humans” within the next 10 years?

It was the latter. We talked listlessly about the “killing all humans” thing for a bit, then moved on. But the shadow had fallen and I started wondering: is the polycrisis we are facing so overwhelming that we don’t even have the capacity to talk about it with urgency any more? Instead it’s just there, in the air, ambient, like pollution, each particle containing its own particular doomsday scenario – and the only way to be in this atmosphere is to be numb to it.

Currently, for so many, all our past and future decisions are being refracted through this strange and dark moment. If you're middle-aged, it looks like my friend, wishing (for a moment) you'd never brought kids into the world. Or it might be wondering if it's worth continuing to work, if you're not going to be able to enjoy a normal retirement. If you're young, it looks like being unable to pick a university degree or vocation because you don't know what professions or trades will be obsolete in a few years. Or wondering if it's worth sacrificing and saving for an enormous house deposit, if you won't have a proper job or future to service a 30-year mortgage. And if you're older, it's being grateful that you won't be around to see it all unravel.

There are several answers, or ways out of this nihilism we now face - and none of them will be provided by tech.

The first is to wake up. Usually if someone was actually trying to kill you, you would fight back. Yet we greet the news that AI could cause human extinction with a glazed indifference. It's worth remembering that no one actually asked for AI, and yet here it suddenly is trying to kill us. And even if that's averted, it's embedding itself in our workplaces and in our

emotional lives (ChatGPT may be the largest provider of mental health services in the US), robbing us of the capacity for critical thinking, and threatening economic and social stability.

Why are we so numb in the face of what is - currently - a preventable threat? This numbness could be the result of almost 20 years of smartphones and social media where, addicted to entertainment, our attention spans have been shortened, and through our individualised algorithms, our capacity for organisation and collective action have been diminished. Or it could be the huge political power tech companies have that means all of us - including governments - feel powerless. It could be that the tide of progress feels inevitable, and like the Luddites storming the factories, any resistance is ultimately useless.

The next solution, after we wake up, is to return to first principles. What are the ingredients for human flourishing? Once we can articulate that, it's like a rope that can guide us back to where we should be. Human flourishing is not having a machine to do your critical thinking for you - rather, it's to engage in the pleasure and the pain of working things out for yourself.

Flourishing is human-to-human relationships where we care for and nurture each other. It's not talking to an LLM for 18 hours a day about our personal problems. Flourishing is having a direct relationship with the natural world - not the world through a screen, or the natural world itself destroyed and degraded to create more capacity for screen-based existence.

These are all things worth fighting for. There is a place for technology in our world, it's just that when we start hearing that it could destroy our world, we should wake up, shake off that glazed, numb feeling and start fighting back.

* Brigid Delaney is an author and journalist

ILLUSTRATION: SOPHY HOLLINGTON/ THE GUARDIAN

End times fascists plot to abandon Earth. Here's how we can stop them An unholy alliance is working toward a future in which only a chosen few survive Naomi Klein and Astra Taylor

The long read

Jeff Bezos announced his plan for an opulent Venetian wedding in early 2025, many locals found the idea offensive, even obscene. A growing number of residents were struggling to find secure and affordable housing in a city overrun by tourists and Airbnb, and the billionaire was planning to, in effect, rent out the municipality for three days, forking over an estimated \$50m (£37m) for festivities that would clog central canals and block well-trafficked streets. Worse, Amazon's carbon emissions were soaring, thanks to artificial intelligence and the datacentre build out - and that's personal in Venice, where the streets already flood dozens of times a year.

Marta Sottoriva, a 35-year-old high school teacher, told us that she first heard about the wedding plans just when Bezos's rocket company, Blue Origin, was grabbing headlines. Bezos had sent a “crew” of female influencers and celebrities, including his fiancee, Lauren Sánchez, and the pop singer Katy Perry, to the suborbital edge of space in a seemingly pointless publicity stunt. “The idea that you are so rich and powerful that you can use space as a 10-minute trip,” Sottoriva recalled, only intensified the “feeling that our city was being taken away from us in such an arrogant way”. Federica Toninello, another young activist, agreed, telling us that it felt as if both space and Venice were being “colonised”.

Colonising space is exactly what Bezos hopes to do. Blue Origin, Bezos claims in his well-rehearsed sales pitch, will secure humanity's survival by allowing a trillion people to one day spread across the solar system. The unbearable horror he imagines himself saving our species from? The threat of what he calls a “civilization of stasis” - otherwise known as having to contend with real ecological limits and devising a way to share the planet’s finite resources. To avoid this reckoning, Bezos imagines a future in which “Earth will be zoned residential and light industrial” and set aside as a sort of preserve out of reach for most of its native inhabitants. The vast majority of humans will pursue the nebulous benefit of “exponential growth” in the forbidding void of space, trapped on Blue Origin spacecrafts. It would seem that Bezos believes the prospect of humanity living sustainably and peaceably on our precious, singular home is a nightmarish possibility unworthy of his consideration.

Predictably, it turned out that most Venetians would rather continue living in magnificent Venice. Unlike Bezos, they don't fret about hypothetical civilisational stagnation; they worry about economic stagnation as a result of government divestment, a lack of jobs and opportunity, and being forced out of the city and country they love. Young Italians often have little choice but to emigrate to find work: over the last decade, more than 1 million citizens have moved, a third of them between the ages of 25 and 34.

To date, the precarity and anger many Italians feel has mostly benefited the neofascist right. But those same forces also drew people to the anti-Bezos cause, helping to coalesce a budding, self-consciously antifascist movement.

The spirited, disruptive “No space for Bezos” campaign tapped into wells of outrage against billionaires, climate breakdown and militarism - and it also gave the organisers a megaphone to broadcast ideas for different, less lethal ways we could choose to live together. Activists printed posters and stickers showing Bezos's head on a rocket blasting into space. They made a dummy of Bezos clutching fistfuls of fake money while clinging to a giant buoyant Amazon package, then set it free to float down the canals. They unfurled banners from Venice's iconic buildings and bridges and across its piazzas: "Tax the rich to give back to the planet." And they chanted that the money for the wedding would be better spent rebuilding Gaza. For days, they caused gleeful chaos and relentlessly poked fun at the groom and his star-studded guest list, which included his billionaire bunker neighbours Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner, OpenAI's Sam Altman and a gaggle of Kardashians.

Not long before the wedding, officials announced that the event was being moved to a less central location due to the protests. Even Bezos's two yachts, Koru and Abeona, were denied permission to dock locally. Organisers declared victory and celebrated. The international press devoured the visual-rich showdown. And the online right didn't know who to root for: the Davos elites spraying one another with foam on a superyacht, or the leftist riffraff making agitprop?

Like Donald Trump's enormous ballroom, Bezos's extravagant wedding epitomised the obscenities of our networked gilded age. For the Amazon founder, it wasn't enough to be part of one of Europe's most beautiful cities - he needed to consume it and swallow it whole. A year later he would do the same with New York City's Met Gala, sparking similar outrage and grassroots creativity.

The Venice protests, which dwelled on Bezos's dreams of outer space at the expense of Earth, pointed to something fundamental about end times fascism - a concept at the centre of our new book, referring to an unholy alliance working towards an apocalyptic future from which only a chosen few will emerge unscathed. Today's battle lines are not simply between people who struggle to survive under increasingly degraded and costly conditions and an oligarch class thinking of ever more ludicrous ways to waste their wealth. They are more cosmological than that.

On one side are those of us who have no escape plan, no bunker in the sky or underground, and who therefore are committed to staying right here, in the complexity of our earthbound reality, with one another. We know we need to do what is necessary to make “here” - this planet and all of its ecologies and communities - safer for the multitude of beings who rely upon them, fully aware this is our one and only home.

On the other are those with rapturous plans to shield themselves and their families from the political and ecological fires burning our planet, whether those plans take the form of heavenly ascension, earthly bunkers and fortified nations, or fantasies of colonising space and merging with machines. Instead of improving conditions for actual people on Earth (or even pulling back from pouring fuel on the fires), end times fascists are plotting their escape, indifferent and oblivious to all that's worth saving.

Bezos's fixation on space gets at something else that is key to understanding end times fascism and its fixation on bunkering and abandoning our shared world: the apparent inability of the people driving this project to marvel at, or even notice, the wonders that surround them.

That was glaringly apparent in 2021, when Bezos sent another crew to space. This time William Shatner, best known as Star Trek's Captain Kirk, was on board (to fulfil one of Bezos's boyhood fantasies, of course). "Space. The final frontier," Shatner had said at the start of each episode. But as the now 90-year-old actor watched our blue-and-green planet recede from the window, he was suddenly flooded with terror. "The contrast between the vicious coldness of space and the warm nurturing of Earth below filled me with overwhelming sadness," he later recalled, explaining that he had gained a much deeper appreciation for our planet's sublime and fragile gifts.

“Every day, we are confronted with the knowledge of further destruction of Earth at our hands: the extinction of animal species, of flora and fauna ... things that took 5bn years to evolve, and suddenly we will never see them again because of the interference of mankind,” Shatner wrote. He took the trip expecting to be awestruck by the universe and instead he longed for home the minute he left. “I discovered that the beauty isn’t out there, it’s down here, with all of us.”

Perhaps Shatner's insight about our precious imperilled planet resonates with the Amazon founder, but the billionaire's plans for space colonisation and his company's large expansion of carbon-spewing datacentres suggest otherwise. And among tech oligarchs, Bezos is all too typical. Peter Thiel, for one, once revealed that his three best ideas for achieving true freedom are “cyberspace”, “outer space” and “seasteading” (the idea of building new countries on floating oil rigs). In other words, this man, whose enormous wealth affords him access to the most spectacular settings our planet has to offer, actually believes these three cold, dead places are superior to the Earth we have, verdant and alive.

Something similar seems amiss with Elon Musk, a man who seems to look up at the wonders of the night sky and see only opportunities to fill that inky unknown with his own space junk. The venerable novelist Joyce Carol Oates highlighted these apparent limits in November 2025 when she roasted him ruthlessly on his own platform, X. “So curious,” she wrote, “that such a wealthy man never posts anything that indicates that he enjoys or is even aware of what virtually everyone appreciates - scenes from nature, pet dog or cat, praise for a movie, music, a book (but doubt that he reads); pride in a friend’s or relative’s accomplishment; condolences for someone who has died; pleasure in sports, acclaim for a favourite team; references to history. In fact he seems totally uneducated, uncultured. The poorest persons on Twitter [X] may have access to more beauty and meaning in life than the ‘most wealthy person in the world’.”

The observation clearly got under the tech baron's notoriously thin skin: he called her “a lazy liar” and began posting approvingly about various movies to prove Oates wrong. Yet in Musk’s euphoria on the day his aerospace company, SpaceX, went public, he made no attempt to hide his boredom with our blue planet and its challenges: “We want to solve [problems] here on Earth and we should solve them. But there also have to be things that get you excited about the future, that make you glad to wake up in the morning because you can’t wait to see what happens next.” It would seem that only abandoning Earth provides that thrill.

Most people have the capacity for awe, to gasp at the jewelled beauty of a songbird or the otherworldliness of a whale's exhalation or the intricate latticework of an ancient holy site. Children have the capacity for pure awe; so do 90-year-old actors in suborbital space. To experience awe is to dissolve into the swirl of the universe, to feel small in the best way. This

sense of interconnection is also why we grieve when we witness strangers suffering, and feel the great sorrow of extinction. The fact that this capacity seems to be missing from the men who hold our collective fate in their hands is a personal loss for them - and an existential crisis for the rest of us.

One dangerous part of the tech oligarchs' world-abandoning project is that the tools they are building are designed to remake us in their own broken image. Popular platforms and apps train us to share Silicon Valley's dream of discarnate freedom, perpetually nudging us to forsake real places and in-person connection in favour of simulations - and to view Earth, our bodies and our relationships as prisons to hack and flee. Altman, for one, has made it clear that he sees “certain advantages to being a machine”, and he has repeatedly insisted that his own children will never be smarter than AI, as though intelligence can be reduced to no more than computation. Like similar services, ChatGPT is trained to hijack our empathic response systems so we, too, will elevate machines and imbue them with more significance than they deserve.

The inability to appreciate this planet and its marvellous cast of characters helps explain why they are so prepared to sacrifice it. Indeed, the tech right's willingness to eliminate our life-sustaining labour and replace human relationships with synthetic ones cannot be separated from their indifference to what little

ILLUSTRATIONS: SOPHY HOLLINGTON/ THE GUARDIAN

remains of the planet's fast-vanishing wildlife and plant diversity. They don't seem to know how to love this place, to savour the pleasure of other people's company or to marvel at the mysteries presented by other species.

In short, we are up against an ideology that has given up not only on the premise and promise of liberal democracy but on the livability of our shared world - on its beauty, on its people, on our children, on other species. There is something treasonous in this. Treasonous not to an abstraction such as a flag or a nation, for we are not nationalists. But treasonous to the unspoken pact made with the web of life that sustains us.

They are traitors to creation, to the wonders of here.

There is no cut-and-paste formula for fighting end times fascism. Whether it's Venetians taking on Jeff Bezos or Albanians telling Jared and Ivanka Trump that their country is not for sale or a small town in Kentucky organising against a sprawling datacentre, every front in this fight takes on the character and texture of its place. There are, however, some guiding principles that are beginning to emerge across locations, and Zohran Mamdani's campaign to become mayor of New York City - and his approach to governance since his election - embody many of them. Start from love of place, then conjure a radically inclusive future where everyone can afford dignified lives; embrace common goals across difference; get outside and gather offline and in person;

take on the powerful joyously; draw on history and don't be afraid to stir the soul.

Mamdani has pounded away at his core policies to make the city more affordable, and has made good on many of those promises in his pursuit of, for example, lower rents and expanded universal childcare. But he has also done something more sublime, dwelling on the boisterous, charming corners of the city that are the reason so many people choose to endure the pressures pushing them to leave.

As Mamdani's star was rising, fascists and neofascists across the country and around the world did what they do. They sorted and separated, ranked and expelled. They sowed confusion and division by claiming Mamdani wasn't a real American, and blamed the left for every social problem and grievance. They held up multicultural New York as a supposedly terrifying example of what happens when the “great replacement” succeeds. JD Vance spoke out in defence of people’s right to not want to live next to people from “a totally different culture”, and Stephen Miller railed on X: “NYC is the clearest warning yet of what happens to a society when it fails to control migration.”

As the fascists drew their rigid lines - in v out, protected v disposable, “heritage” v invader - the campaign to elect Mamdani threw a year-long party that celebrated one of the most racially and ethnically diverse places ever known, five boroughs shaped by wave after wave of new immigrants who have made their homes on Lenape lands. With its every action, the campaign asserted that shared identity can be forged not just by ancestry but by a commitment to a shared home, and to a shared set of values about how to live together in that home.

New York is a city of people carrying countless hyphenations and keeping myriad cultural practices alive. But as Mamdani put it: “No matter what you eat, what language you speak, how you pray or where you come from, the words that most define us are the two we all share: New Yorkers.”

So Mamdani explained the complexities of ranked-choice voting in the Democratic primary using a line of mango lassis as props. He canvassed for votes at queer clubs, shouted out Haitian revolutionary history at the massive Bayo concert, shared his favourite bagel order and broke fast during Ramadan over biryani in the Bronx. Once in office, he also turned the now-legendary Knicks playoff run and the 2026 World Cup into a summer-long party few will forget. In these ways and others, Mamdani re-enchanted a city that had faced relentless vilification from Washington as dangerous, dirty and dysfunctional.

It was a perfect encapsulation of “hereness” - an idea developed by the Jewish Labour Bund, a Yiddish socialist group that was founded in the 19th century and grounded in fierce commitment to place and community not based on bloodlines. Molly Crabapple, a proud New Yorker and artist who recently published a bestselling history of the Bund, made the connection in a piece published in the Guardian. “Like New York itself, Mamdani’s campaign was multicultural, multiracial, polyglottal,” she wrote. “When Andrew Cuomo tried to bait him as un-American, he released ads in Spanish and Bangla, Hindi and Arabic. He ran a campaign devoted to class-first politics that sought to speak to everyone in their own idiom, while never once apologising for who he was.”

Amid all this celebration of difference, Mamdani's campaign also emphasised the kinds of daily experiences and anxieties that are common and unifying for nearly all New Yorkers, lingering in the ordinary places that are too often overlooked or reviled. Mamdani rubbed shoulders with commuters on packed subway cars, paid homage to the glories of the Staten Island ferry and visited countless bodegas, approaching the strangers he met with nonjudgmental curiosity and a smile so wide it became a punchline on Saturday Night Live.

But the campaign was not only antifascist: in the myriad ways that it celebrated the unruliness that makes New York lovable, it was also the antithesis of fascism. More than a rejection of hate, it was an invitation to kindness, to a world

in which we avert our eyes from no one. That meant lifting up and honouring the very people fascists are most eager to eject and discard: the working-class, immigrant workforce that keeps the city functioning. The campaign shone a spotlight on delivery workers getting ripped off by platforms such as DoorDash, on Amazon warehouse workers fighting to have their unions recognised and on taxi drivers in line at LaGuardia airport, one part of a nocturnal workforce that makes it possible for New York to boast of being the city that never sleeps.

Faced with the prospect of a fairer city funded by marginally higher taxes, some prophesied a billionaire exodus. Hedge-fund manager Bill Ackman threatened to leave along with others and Fox forecast a “Mamdani migration”. Luxury real estate agents reported being bombarded with calls from clients wanting to sell their penthouses and move to Palm Beach.

The threats of defection only underscored the mutually reinforcing nature of the two core themes of Mamdani's campaign: the joyous love of here, even if here is kind of a wreck, and the concrete plans for repair and improvement. Because the more devoted you are to a place, the easier it is to put in the resources and energy required to improve it. It's a politics based not on wanting to escape this earthly realm, whether our cities or our animate bodies, but on a deep desire to stay and to protect all that is irreplaceable, human and alive.

This is the very same spirit that we've seen motivating people to protect their air and water from sprawling datacentres and to defend their immigrant neighbours from ICE. While reporting on the weeks-long uprising in Minneapolis, the journalist Adam Serwer memorably described the guiding ideology of

We can either follow end times fascists into oblivion, or we can build the unruly, boundary-crossing movement they so fear

the resistance as “neighbourism”, or the “commitment to protecting the people around you, no matter who they are or where they came from”. It was an open-hearted, welcoming ethic that united huge numbers of ordinary people to do something deceptively simple: protect the most vulnerable members of their community from what looked very much like an invading army. That meant everything from braving bullets to cooking dinner to opening up spare rooms to families who were no longer safe at home.

In these and countless other ways, Minnesotans rose up to insist that their neighbours were already where they belonged - whether they were, as Serwer put it, born in Minneapolis or Mogadishu.

The human networks that neighbours are building, block by block, group chat by group chat, are about more than refusal. In our time of serial shocks and intersecting crises, they are also the basis for a different kind of survivalism. But while the various strains of fascists

build bunkers for the few, ours are survival networks grounded in the principle that every one of us, without exception, deserves to live and thrive. They are also bound by a belief that keeping one another safe when the inevitable shocks arrive is a sacred duty. Part of that involves telling new stories, stories that are truthful and inspiring enough to help our depleted fellow humans fall back in love with our one and only home and defiantly recommit to defending it with all they've got.

Those stories cannot be about returning to something called “normal”, to what passed for calm before Brexit and Trump and Silicon Valley’s authoritarian turn. Those were the years during which too many problems were allowed to compound and fester: fascism is always a warped response to real crises. And end times fascism is a response to real planetary-scale crises, including ever-concentrating levels of carbon in the atmosphere and wealth in the hands of the super-rich. The responses it proposes - mass sacrifices of humans and non-humans alike - are monstrous and must be purged from our midst.

To achieve this, we will have to figure out how to address the underlying crises contemporary fascism feeds off. Because boundaries are being crossed. Limits are being exceeded. Walls are being hit. Fascists want us to believe that what is hitting the wall is the human story: it's over, so make sure you are among the chosen who transcend to the next world. Pray to your God for salvation. Implant the chip, merge with the machines. Militarise and purify your bunkered nation. Arm yourself to the hilt and hide behind your fortune. Don't worry about the humans, the animals, the trees, the rivers and reefs that won't make it.

But they are wrong. It’s not the human story that is hitting the wall. Rather, it is the story we have been trapped inside. The one about how greed must be the engine of civilisation. About how growth can go on for ever. About how there are always more efficiencies to be found, more workers to be rationalised, more resources to be sacrificed, more people, places and planets to colonise. These myths are hitting the wall of reality and much will have to change as a result.

The logics that must be abandoned should be clear by now. Unlimited violence. Unconstrained exploitation. Insatiable wealth. Unchecked dominance. Those are the drives that make coexistence impossible. Looking forward, two paths beckon. We can abandon and betray this world, or we can break with capitalism and build new economic and political systems that honour life and prioritise care and repair.

Thankfully we are not starting from scratch. Our movement ancestors have left us maps to earthly Zions where everyone is welcome, to inclusive futures where peace and safety are core principles. Not the post-human future desired by end times fascists, but a post-capitalist and pro- (all of) life one. Deeply democratic, socialist, feminist, multiracial, multispecies, internationalist, generous, courageous and animate. Embodied and sensory, proudly earthbound.

And that, fundamentally, is the prospect that terrifies end times fascists more than anything else. It’s why Thiel denounces anyone attempting to regulate fossil fuels and AI as the antichrist, and why the Trump administration smears nonviolent Minnesotans defending their neighbours as “domestic terrorists”. What keeps these men up at night is ... us. It’s the possibility that a popular and vigorous movement will rise up and defend this planet and the many life-forms who call it home.

We didn't choose to be born into a fight quite so fateful, but we have reached a choice point. We can either follow end times fascists into oblivion, or we can commit to building the unruly, boundary-crossing movement they so deeply fear. One that wrests away their weapons, holds them accountable for their crimes and defends the paradise of here. ● This essay was adapted from the book End Times Fascism: And the Fight for the Living World, published today by Penguin (£25). To order for £21.25, go to guardianbookshop.com (P&P charges may apply). Join Naomi Klein and Astra Taylor on 28 September in Bristol to discuss end times fascism. For tickets, go to theguardian.com/guardian-live-events

* Naomi Klein is a Guardian US columnist and professor of climate justice at the University of British Columbia

Astra Taylor is a writer, organiser and documentary film-maker

Established 1906

Country diary Priestcliffe Lees, Derbyshire

Stands of tufted hair-grass, some over a metre tall, burned beige by the summer heat, were churned by strong autumn westerlies. Over and through the vegetation's swaying lather roved a flock of about 200 goldfinches, most of them this year's young. They were intent on the hanks of thistle and knapweed seed which lay below the hair-grass "canopy".

These immature finches lack any of the red and black bands of the adult's head. Instead of the smooth mocha buff on their parents' underparts, the youngsters were dull and streaky. What they had to perfection were the semi-circular disks of yellow across each black wing, while every feather through that full fan was tipped with white.

As they moved from place to place, working through the grasses, so the birds created double bands of brightness that shone in intermittent sunlight. The whole scene – the frothing plant stems and the shifting birds – produced exquisite countervailing patterns of movement.

An old name for goldfinch is “tailorbird”. It’s said to refer to the white eye-holes inserted into their tail- and wing-tips. As the birds worked away, winnowing thistle floss from seed, letting hanks float off on the breeze, it occurred to me that these prolonged ecological relationships with cottony material could also explain the “tailor” name. It may further account for the birds’ love of spiders’ silk and wool and other fibres as nest material: they are surely tailorbirds in name and nature.

As they showered up and descended again in patterns of yellow flecking, it also came to me that the visual impact and the sounds of the flock are more than mere analogues. They seem party to some greater creative whole. Goldfinch calls are soft, tinkling, fragmented, but also somehow molten and blended one to another like melting flakes of gold - no, not gold, but something rarer, something more meaningful than mere metal. Let's say the dust from some exploded star in a far galaxy that wandered and settled hereabouts 5 billion years ago, only to be infused with something rarest of all: soiled, earthy and - here at Priestcliffe today - called "life". Mark Cocker

Please include a full postal address, a reference to the article and a daytime phone number. We may edit letters. Submission and publication of letters is subject to our terms and conditions: see theguardian.com/letters-terms

Keeping women out of prison must be the focus

Your editorial (Emptying women's jails in a hurry won't solve the overcrowding crisis, 11 September) is right to argue that the prison capacity crisis cannot be solved through a series of short-term fixes. Victims need confidence that the government has a credible long-term strategy for the criminal justice system, not another piecemeal intervention designed to buy time.

I share your concern about the pressures facing probation services. There are also legitimate questions about the impact on policing, but we cannot discuss the prisons crisis without confronting the crisis in our courts.

system, not simply responding to the latest emergency. Claire Waxman Victims' commissioner for England and Wales

We are a collective of women's charities, frontline services and women with lived experience of prison. We saw first-hand the devastating impact that Holloway prison's closure had 10 years ago. For 170 years, it was a paradoxical space - a place of trauma, but also a crucible of feminist resistance and home to dozens of frontline services. From the suffragettes to the activist Chris Tchaikovsky, women's history unfolded there. Now it has been razed.

Women's centres stop women entering the criminal justice system, keep children out of care and relieve pressure on emergency services. We've spent a decade campaigning for one on the Holloway prison site. The public are supportive and building work is under way, but funding is still not secured.

If Andy Burnham wanted to pursue a visionary policy, he could champion a women's centre programme across the UK, starting with the Holloway Women's Building. Polly Creed Holloway Women's Building Collective, London

- Measures to reduce the number of women behind bars are long overdue, but it must be more than a short-term fix to try to free up capacity (Women's cells could be converted for male inmates, 7 September).

About one in five prisoners are now awaiting trial, often because cases are taking so long to be heard. Some defendants spend so long on remand that by the time they are sentenced, they are released from court, having effectively already served their sentence. Victims will rightly ask whether that is justice, and the public will rightly ask what it means for public safety.

If Andy Burnham wanted a visionary policy, he could champion a women's centre programme

The government points to the removal of foreign offenders as part of the solution to prison overcrowding. Yet a third are held on remand awaiting their day in court due to a court system in crisis.

Prisons, courts, probation and policing are interconnected. The government cannot hope to resolve the prisons crisis if it does not also resolve the crisis in our courts. Delays leave victims waiting years for justice, drive up the remand population and place further pressure on an overcrowded prison estate. As victims' commissioner, I need assurances that the prime minister is focused on pursuing a strategy for the whole justice

Polly Creed

Women in, and leaving, prison face particular challenges. Many have also been victims of crime or have children they hope to be reunited with. Rates of homelessness are higher among women than men when they leave prison.

This invites the question: what could we build instead? Your editorial offers some answers when it references the Corston review. However, one crucial element is missing: women's centres. These are spaces where women's services are brought together under one roof, offering support with housing, domestic abuse, employment, childcare, therapy and more. They help women holistically, rather than simply fixing one area of their lives. Women in Prison reports that for every £1 invested in a women's centre, £2.75 is saved.

These challenges also lead to higher numbers of women being recalled to prison. Our analysis found that there was one recall for every four women under post-release supervision in the community in the first three months of this year, compared with one recall for every five men.

In some cases, recall will have been needed to protect the public. But in others, better community support could and should be put in place.

If the government is serious about a long-term reduction in the number of women in prison, it should start by ensuring that women leaving prison are supported to stay out. Enver Solomon Chief executive, Nacro

Remember to enrol at the university of life

Zoe Williams' university-bound son won't be the only one among his peers not to know how, or indeed why, bed sheets are laundered (Deep in Ikea, I knew my son wasn't ready for university, 8 September).

Modern day, middle-class parenting tends to direct kids away from domestic pursuits, focusing instead on academic achievements and sporting prowess or music grades, scouting activities and Duke of Edinburgh awards. With their waking hours consumed by so many outside interests, there's little time for learning life skills such as cooking, cleaning and laundering.

I visit schools giving talks to sixth-form students about preparing for university. In advance, I invite the students to share any questions or concerns they may have. Alongside issues such as finding their future friends and whether they'll cope academically, they often question how they'll live independently. Many of them have never had to do a full supermarket shop, prepare a meal from scratch, wash a kitchen floor or iron a shirt.

They anticipate focusing on their studies and socialising with their flatmates, coursemates and people they meet through clubs and societies. They do worry about how they'll also take care of themselves and how they'll juggle everything.

We owe it to our young people to teach them essential life skills along the way - not just in the week before they head off to university - so they have one less thing to worry about. After all, conjuring up a decent chilli, cleaning a loo properly and washing a sheet without it shrinking, fading or changing shape, are lifelong useful skills. Melissa Scallan Author, Starting University

- Five minutes after dropping my son off at his Birmingham halls of residence, we received a WhatsApp message: "I cut my hand on a knife when I opened the packaging. There's quite a lot of blood. Any advice?" As we turned the car round, while rummaging for plasters in the glove box, we got another message. "It's OK, my new flatmates have bandaged me up." All six are still close mates, 10 years later. Pippa Keech Lyndhurst, Hampshire

Lyndhurst, Hampshire

Corrections and clarifications

An article on Michael Barrymore (Fallen TV star strikes it lucky by eating a lot on TikTok, 12 September, p21) appeared under the byline of Mark Sweney. It was in fact written by Michael Savage.

- Homophone corner: in an article on landfill sites, it was reported that polychlorinated biphenyls “leech into the surrounding water and soil” (A passionate investigation into a Welsh toxic chemical scandal, 18 August, G2, p10).

Editorial complaints and corrections can be sent to guardian.readers@theguardian.com or The readers' editor, Kings Place, 90 York Way, London N1 9GU. You can also leave a voicemail on 020 3353 4736

If looks could kill, I'd be in real trouble

Adrian Chiles is lucky that his face is merely “miserable” (G2, 10 September). On the advice of my estimable wife, when I introduce myself to new colleagues I alert them to the fact that if I look as though I want to kill them, it’s my default expression and I am merely thinking, not judging. Trevor Lawson Haddenham, Buckinghamshire

- Since Oxford University, no less, tells us that it is now vital to know the temperature of hot drinks (Drinking tea and coffee piping hot raises cancer risk, study finds, 9 September), I look forward to the delivery of my NHS coffee thermometer - and the award of next year's Ig Nobel prizes.

Anne Archer Oban, Argyll and Bute

- It’s striking that billionaires departing the UK merit a headline (Billionaire who paid £330m in tax last year is to leave UK and move to Greece, 9 September), but the carers and their families, as well as couples who don’t meet the ever stricter financial rules for immigrants, do not. Claire Pillar Gaitsgill, Cumbria

- On the nominative determinism debate (Letters, 14 September), I think we should now tie this correspondence up and put it back in its box. Christopher Packer London

My wife and I find we are generally far ahead in any nominative determinism game. David and Gisele Jones Glasgow

- I am finding these letters very informative. Gill Learner Reading, Berkshire

Jeremy Thomas Film producer best known for his 1987 epic The Last Emperor for which he won an Oscar

sked whether he had ever cautioned restraint from a director, the film producer Jeremy Thomas replied: "My

nature would be to go further and see what we can get away with.”

Thomas, who has died aged 77, was an expert in getting away with it. A taste for irreverence ran in his family: he was the son of Ralph Thomas, director of the Doctor ... comedies that began in 1954 with Doctor in the House, and the nephew of Gerald Thomas, who made all 31 Carry On titles. Jeremy's own films, however, were risky rather than risque.

Bad Timing (1980), the first of three collaborations with the director Nicolas Roeg, explored a destructive love affair blighted by jealousy, attempted suicide and rape. Rank, the studio behind it, withheld from the start of the print its familiar company ident showing a man striking a gong. According to Thomas, the studio also denounced the picture as “a sick film made by sick people for sick people”.

He teamed up on several occasions with David Cronenberg, first for an adaptation of William S Burroughs's Naked Lunch (1991), featuring a sentient, fleshy typewriter that talks through its anus, and most infamously for a film of Crash (1996), JG Ballard's novel about a group of outsiders who get their sexual kicks from car accidents.

The furore began at the film's premiere in Cannes, where it was awarded a prize against the wishes of that year's jury president, Francis Ford Coppola, and then spilled on to UK tabloid front pages. The Evening Standard said Crash went “beyond the bounds of depravity”; the Daily Mail's sustained calls for it to be banned were heeded by Westminster council, which blocked screenings in the borough. However, the RAC suggested the film might have a useful educational dimension.

Controversy was a by-product of Thomas's work rather than a goal. His greatest success was The Last Emperor (1987), based on the autobiography of Puyi, from the Qing dynasty, who was made emperor of China in 1908 at the age of three before being exiled 16 years later.

This sumptuous epic, which took four years to make and went on to convert all nine of its Oscar nominations into prizes, was fraught with its own risks and obstacles. “If I’d thought about what we were going to do and how we were going to do it, I’d never have done it because it was impossible,” Thomas said.

He raised the \$25m budget and pulled off the coup of making this the first - and, to date, only - western production allowed to shoot inside China's Forbidden City.

The director Bernardo Bertolucci believed in him from their first meeting. “The films [Thomas] had produced all required courage and ambition. He was the indie producer we all dreamed of.” He saw in Thomas the “enthusiasm of a teenager … and the reassurance of a teddy bear. I decided on the spot to put the film in his hands.”

Accepting the best picture Oscar, Thomas was so taken aback that he neglected to read the acceptance speech that he had written. He managed, though, to point out that the award was “a real affirmation for me that independent cinema can be both epic and popular”.

He and Bertolucci turned next to an adaptation of Paul Bowles's The Sheltering Sky (1990), in which an alienated US couple (Debra Winger and John Malkovich) lose themselves in postwar north Africa. Shooting in locations including Niger and Algeria, Thomas called the production “complete lunacy” beset with “lots of illness and difficulties ... Like the characters, we nearly went too far.”

Throughout his career, he was drawn to challenging and provocative material. “The further you get away from the centre, the more original the work is,” he said.

Examples included Nagisa Oshima's homoerotic wartime drama Merry Christmas, Mr Lawrence (1983) starring David Bowie, Jonathan Glazer's electrifying gangster thriller Sexy Beast (2000), Richard Linklater's fictionalised exposé Fast Food Nation (2006), Jim Jarmusch's Only Lovers Left Alive (2013) with Tom Hiddleston and Tilda Swinton as hip vampires, and several thrillers by Takashi Miike including 13 Assassins (2010) and First Love (2019).

In The Storms of Jeremy Thomas (2021), an affectionate documentary by Mark Cousins, Swinton calls Thomas “so rock’n’roll” and likens him to a “pirate”. Winger says he is “searingly bright, has incredible taste, is totally playful and can be very serious. All that at once.”

He was born in London to Ralph and Joy (nee Spanjer), and educated at Millfield school in Somerset. His earliest memory was playing on the set of Carry On Sergeant in 1958.

"I was born in Ealing near the studios, moved to a country house near Pinewood, where I grew up around people who I didn't realise were Katharine Hepburn, Brigitte Bardot and Dirk Bogarde."

Shunning further education in favour of following in his father and uncle's footsteps, Thomas had his first jobs in processing laboratories and editing rooms. Early credits as assistant editor included the folk-horror Tam Lin (1970), which was the only film to be directed by the actor Roddy McDowall, Ken Loach's uncompromising drama Family Life (1971) and the reggae-themed hit The Harder They Come (1972).

He made his producing debut with Mad Dog Morgan (1976), an early example of the Ozploitation

Thomas said: 'The further you get away from the centre, the more original the work is'

Above, The Last Emperor was based on the autobiography of Puyi, who was made emperor of China in 1908 at the age of three. It was produced by Thomas, right, and directed by Bernardo Bertolucci HEMA DALE/ALLSTAR; ANOUSH ABRAR

Sir Anthony Kenny Historian of philosophy and former RC priest who wrote about figures from Aristotle to Wittgenstein

genre, starring Dennis Hopper (“In the most extreme stupor of excess,” Thomas said) as a real-life 19th-century bushranger.

This and subsequent projects amounted to a kind of maverick mission statement. Jerzy Skolimowski's The Shout (1978), starring Alan Bates as a man whose voice can kill, was followed by Julien Temple's Sex Pistols celebration The Great Rock'n'Roll Swindle (1980). After Bad Timing came two more films with Roeg: the ambitious but maligned Eureka (1983), starring Gene Hackman as a prospector whose life falls apart once he strikes gold, and Insignificance (1985), adapted from Terry Johnson's play about an imagined meeting between Marilyn Monroe and Albert Einstein.

Thomas produced The Hit (1984), Stephen Frears's philosophical road movie with John Hurt and Tim Roth as gangsters escorting super-grass Terence Stamp to his execution. He joined Bertolucci again for Little Buddha (1993), starring Keanu Reeves; Stealing Beauty (1995), about a teenage girl (Liv Tyler) on holiday in Tuscany; and The Dreamers (2003), set against the backdrop of the May 1968 protests in Paris.

In 1999, he made his only film as director. All the Little Animals, adapted by Thomas's wife Eski from Walker Hamilton's novel, was a fable starring Christian Bale as a fragile runaway befriended by a woodland hermit (Hurt) who lovingly buries roadkill.

He returned to Ballard, whom he described as “my Melville”, by producing Ben Wheatley’s film of High-Rise (2015). Wheatley called Thomas “almost like a genre himself: the last of the great cigar-smoking producers”.

Thomas was also unusual in co-founding his own sales company, HanWay Films. Its 500-strong catalogue was, said Thomas, “looked after and tended like a garden. I’m still looking after my films in the catalogue and trying to get other people to look after their films … to try to keep them alive. A film has to be run through a projector to be alive, unfortunately, and those electric shadows are few and far between now.”

Two of his newest projects premiered at festivals this month: Miike's Bad Lieutenant: Tokyo was set to make its debut in Toronto, while Werner Herzog's Bucking Fastard, starring Kate and Rooney Mara as twin sisters who speak in sync with one another, competed in Venice.

Thomas is survived by his three children: Jessica, from his first marriage to Claudia Frolich, which ended in divorce in 1981, and Jack and Joshua, from his marriage to Eski (nee Vivien Coughman), who died in 2023. Ryan Gilbey

Jeremy Jack Thomas, film producer, born 26 July 1949; died 11 September 2026

he historian of philosophy Anthony Kenny, who has died aged 95, was active as a lecturer and administrator at the University of

Oxford for more than 50 years.

In A New History of Western Philosophy (four volumes, 2004-07), he aimed to emulate the “wit and readability” - while avoiding the inaccuracy - of Bertrand Russell’s History of Western Philosophy, which had held sway since 1945. Arguably, he succeeded.

When, in 1957, Kenny entered the university, it was in its heyday as the centre of analytic philosophy, which seeks conceptual clarity through examining ordinary language. He had been ordained a priest, was still doing a doctorate for the Gregorian University in Rome and joined St Benet's Hall, then a Catholic establishment.

Taught and befriended by Elizabeth Anscombe, a professor and fellow Catholic, he became enthralled with Wittgenstein's later philosophy, which formed the basis of his own - and accelerated his increasing religious scepticism. His dissertation, written at the start of a four-year curacy from 1959 in Liverpool, was published as Action, Emotion and Will in 1963, the year that he left the priesthood.

The critical acclaim it received enabled him immediately to join the Oxford faculty, for which he taught at Exeter and Trinity colleges. In 1964 he was elected tutorial fellow at Balliol.

Although having set out to do original work in philosophy of mind and action, Kenny early on saw his distinctive contribution as lying in accessibly expounding philosophers of the past. He wrote and lectured on Aristotle, Aquinas, Descartes, Frege and Wittgenstein with verve.

The poets Gerard Manley Hopkins and Arthur Hugh Clough, each a struggler with religious faith, were among the subjects of the 50 books he wrote, as were Thomas More, nuclear armament and climbing. He translated Aristotle's underestimated Eudemian Ethics; and used stylometric techniques in support of the argument that it was Aristotle's ultimate, therefore most considered, ethical work.

In Will, Freedom and Power (1975), the sequel to his first book, Kenny tried to reconcile “liberty of spontaneity” - being able to do what I want because I want to, which potentially involves being unable to want anything else - with “liberty of indifference” - being able, whatever I want, to do other than what I do. His attempted compatibilism was regarded as ingenious but unsuccessful.

Writing his book Freewill and Responsibility (1978) led Kenny to take exams for the bar in 1981-82 so as properly to tackle the legal issue of mens rea (mental intent).

After secretly teaching in Czechoslovakia during the 1970s and 80s, he was expelled “under an article of the criminal code forbidding hooliganism, which I had not realised included lecturing on Aristotle”.

From 1978 to 1989 Kenny was master of Balliol College and tackled tumultuous shifts in Oxford academia, harmonising students' radicalism with traditionalism, and fending off bureaucratic intrusions and financial cuts. Under his watch, women were admitted to the college.

He was pro-vice-chancellor of the university from 1984 to 2001, at which point he also retired from teaching. He became a fellow of the British Academy in 1974, and was knighted in 1992.

As warden from 1989 to 1999 of Rhodes House, home of the trust administering scholarships in the mining magnate's name, Kenny brought in reforms that included funding educational projects in South Africa after apartheid. “Cecil Rhodes must be turning in his grave,” it was often said. “Oh for a Rhodocycle to chart his spins!” riposted Kenny.

Birthdays

Debbie Abrahams, Labour MP, 66; Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, novelist, 49; Charles Bone, mural and watercolour painter, 100; Lady (Mary) Bousted, former joint general secretary, National Education Union, 67; Jimmy Carr, comedian and TV presenter, 54; Sophie Dahl, writer and model, 49; Tom Hardy, actor, 49; Lord (Philip) Harris of Peckham, former chair, Carpetright, 84; Tommy Lee Jones, actor, 80; Laura Kyrke-Smith, Labour MP, 43; Sir Michael Lyons, former chair, BBC Trust, 77; Prof Helen Margetts, director, LSE Data Science Institute, 65; Clive Merrison, actor, 81; Emmerson Mnangagwa, president of Zimbabwe, 84; Brendan O'Carroll, actor and writer, 71; Renzo Rosso, fashion designer, 71; Vivienne Stern, chief executive of Universities UK, 50; Oliver Stone, film director, 80; Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, 42; Amanda Wakeley, fashion designer, 64; George Walden, writer and former Conservative MP, 87.

Born in Liverpool, Anthony was the son of Margaret (nee Jones) and John Kenny. His father, an Irish steamship engineer, left home when Anthony was two, and died in the early years of the second world war. Anthony was educated by nuns until the age of 12, when, inspired by his uncle, Alex Jones (a priest), he entered the city's Upholland Junior Seminary.

From 1949 he studied at the Gregorian University, which taught turgid neo-scholasticism (in Latin) and secondhand Aristotle and Aquinas, but at least had some erudite teachers, including the Jesuit Frederick Copleston, a scrupulous if rather dull historian of philosophy.

Kenny became afflicted with doubt, realising that Aquinas's celebrated five proofs of God's existence were dependent on quaint medieval science; and they failed to reconcile God's supposed omnipotence and omniscience with His goodness.

And surely the doctrine of transubstantiation (a “test case” for Catholic dogma”) relied on distorting Aristotle’s distinction between an object’s “substance” (underlying, continuous essence) and its variable, surface “accidents” (such as smoothness, whiteness, sweetness). If a communion host could remain perceptibly unchanged while having “really” turned into Christ’s body, then “for all I could tell my typewriter might be Benjamin Disraeli,” was Kenny’s final verdict.

In 1963, an article he wrote for a Catholic magazine had the headline “Pope John Says Ban the Bomb”. The pope, it said, advised that Catholics could not in good conscience work at manufacturing nuclear submarines. A rebuke from the future Cardinal (John) Heenan (they remained friends) precipitated Kenny into seeking laicisation.

Describing himself as a “devout agnostic”, rather than an atheist, he continued to oppose abortion.

Kenny at the Edinburgh international book festival in 2011. After leaving the priesthood he liked to describe himself as a 'devout agnostic' COLIN MCPHERSON/ALAMY

In 1966 he married the American singer and teacher Nancy Gayley without seeking dispensation from the Church that he no longer believed in. The doctrinaire Anscombe told him she hoped they would be very unhappy, but seems to have been disappointed.

Late in life Kenny said that, after a miserable youth, he had found happiness. He and Nancy ran summer reading parties in a chalet on the slopes of Mont Blanc and would go hiking and climbing with their sons. She would also read his various philosophies of history meticulously in order to cut out anything that would be “unintelligible to the non-philosopher”.

He is survived by Nancy and their two sons, Robert and Charles. Jane O'Grady

Anthony John Patrick Kenny, philosopher and administrator, born 16 March 1931; died 3 August 2026

For all I could tell my typewriter might be Benjamin Disraeli

1 Make-up artist follows old ladies around (7)

Codeword

27 Rope in some to jam Grease (7)

Yesterday's solutions

Killer sudoku Easy

8	2	9	7	5	4	6	1	3
4	6	3	2	8	1	5	9	7
7	5	1	3	6	9	4	8	2
2	3	6	9	4	7	1	5	8
9	8	7	1	3	5	2	6	4
1	4	5	6	2	8	3	7	9
6	7	2	5	9	3	8	4	1
3	9	4	8	1	6	7	2	5
5	1	8	4	7	2	9	3	6

4	9	7	6	5	8	3	1	2
5	3	2	1	4	9	6	7	8
8	1	6	3	7	2	9	5	4
9	4	8	2	1	6	7	3	5
7	6	1	4	3	5	2	8	9
3	2	5	8	9	7	1	4	6
2	5	4	7	6	3	8	9	1
6	7	9	5	8	1	4	2	3
1	8	3	9	2	4	5	6	7

Cryptic crossword Solution No. 30,111

Looking for more?

Download the Guardian app for more puzzles, including our new Premier League game, On the Ball, and our movie quiz, Film Reveal. Plus clues and answers to all our interactive crosswords and sudoku. Available in the Apple App Store and Google Play.

Killer sudoku

Easy

The normal rules of sudoku apply: fill each row, column and 3x3 box with all the numbers from 1 to 9. In addition, the digits in each inner shape (marked by dots) must add up to the number in the top corner of that box. No digit can be repeated within an inner shape.

Medium

Each letter of the alphabet makes at least one appearance in the grid, and is represented by the same number wherever it appears. The letters decoded should help you to identify other letters and words in the grid.

Codeword

	22		22		11		21		26		21
24	16	4	16	4	26		11	10	5	12	11	1
	3		22		5		12		6		19
1	2	19	16	2	7	22	25		19	14	2	10
		14		14		5	7	26	4	10		16
26	10	2	14	4	10	25		25		16	10	12
	25		2	13	4		6	4	4	26		12
19	4	1	22		19	4	2		21	4	10	25
7		7	4	15	22		10R	5	4		16
4	17	5		2		2	26	5	10	12	4	26
4		21	11	10	16	19		23		5
22	4	4	8		22	9	10	4	2	26	4	26
	12		14		22		11		18		26
4	21	5	7	21	4		19	9	2	17	17	25
	25		25		10		20		10		25

A B C D E F G H X J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10R	11I	12	13
14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26

Guardian cryptic crossword No 30,112 set by Brockwell

Want more? Get access to more than 4,000 puzzles at theguardian.com/crossword. To buy puzzle books, visit guardianbookshop.com or call 0330 333 6846.

Across

12 Louis XIV maybe taking time to make bread (4)

14 Sinner's racket string ultimately broken by 19 - sweet! (4,7)

18 Darkness is hell for plants (11)

21 What about promotion, boss? (4)

22 Band of brothers released Samson easily (10)

25 Detectives match arsenic cases in definitive trials (4,5)

28 Papers over attempt to get hold of Murray's second serve (4,3)

Down

1 Rampant Royal Engineers team at last winning first title (6)

2 Ancient Greek coin originally stolen by Duke of York? (6)

3 Poor Matt Damon to finally sell shares (10)

4 King invested with a chap occasionally for capital (5)

5 Fashion doll's cape with a fancy border (9)

6 Clever canine escaping from lead (4)

13 Drunk dad smokes without resistance in the bookies (4-6)

15 Southpaw essentially boxed with 19, getting knocked over and knocked out (9)

16 Harry Hill with rant under some powerful influence (2,6)

17 American relative drowning valley of cultivated land (8)

19 Kitty cheers up content from YouTuber (6)

20 Climb the top of Appalachian Trail (6)

23 Relaxed dressmaker oddly flips (5)

24 Piece from Norman Tebbit upset smoker (4)

Life8A Arts

How we survive I was held captive by pirates for eight months page 4

Fast, furious, fatal The rise of the supercar page 6

'I'm a wild water nut!'

Benedict Cumberbatch on cycling, veganism, venison and the tyranny of phones

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Zoe Williams

Phone bans

Age: Their origins are diverse; their time is now.

Appearance: Groups of people eating together, talking together and laughing together, while also twitching slightly from withdrawal. So this is specifically to do with banning phones in restaurants? Restaurants and bars, yes.

Hardly a new thing, is it? No. Ironically, a decade ago many fine dining establishments were unbanning mobiles, surrendering to the idea that people couldn't be stopped from posting photographs of their food. I suppose it was considered good for business. Not any more – at the Spy Bar in London, they put a sticker over your phone's camera lens at the door. What's the point? People can just peel the sticker off. It's supposed to work on a psychological level – to preserve privacy and allow people to enjoy themselves without distraction. Shouldn't a ban be more, erm, enforceable? They certainly can be. At Antagonist, a bar in Charlotte, North Carolina, customers are required to put their phones in a locked pouch of the type used to enforce phone bans in schools. At the Trophy Room in Phoenix, Arizona, guests' phones are stored in a vintage filing cabinet. Sounds like prison. At the Clink restaurant in London they lock all phones in an outside cabin, but that's because it is actually inside HMP Brixton, where mobile phones are not permitted.

OK, maybe a phone ban should be less enforceable than that. Some places use a carrot instead of a stick. At Al Condominio in Verona, Italy, customers are offered a free bottle of wine if they surrender their phones before the meal.

Does that work? Apparently 90% of customers accept the challenge. As would I for free wine. Other restaurants simply have a no phones policy, in a bid to encourage conversation and to re-establish focus on the food and the experience. And the clientele are in favour? For the most part. "I strongly encourage people to give it a chance, and sometimes they don't and they go somewhere else," Antagonist's general manager told the Wall Street Journal. Still, it sounds as if it's becoming more widespread. Big chains are now beginning to crack down. Pizza Express initiated phone-free afternoons last summer, and even Wetherspoons has drawn a line. There's no way I would go into a Wetherspoons without my phone. No worries – they just want you to keep it on silent.

Do say: "Take my phone, please. Anything that encourages human connection is worth sacrificing a few hours of doomscrolling for." Don't say: "I can still do my podcast from here though, right?"

An entire generation is being scammed by student loans

I t wasn't in relation to university that I first came across the organisation Rethink Repayment, which campaigns for a fairer settlement on

student debt. I was looking into the astronomical numbers of young people who still live with their parents. It's now more than a third of young men and more than a fifth of young women, statistics that get even crunchier when you realise that "young" describes anyone under 35.

There were various reasons - some had gone home after a health crisis, some really liked their parents, some were battling unemployment, but the single unifying theme was student debt. Those on incomes too low to start repaying couldn't make rent; those in the lower repayment bracket (an annual income of £25,000 or thereabouts, depending on your loan plan) still couldn't make rent, because they were spending 9% of their income repaying. And those on more than £50,000 were keeping less than 50p in every pound they earn because of their marginal tax rate.

It's always been sold to students when they take on this debt that it won't count against their mortgage-raising capacity, which technically it won't - but any affordability check by a mortgage company or letting agent will factor in the monthly repayments.

It feels tactless to bring this up just as a fresh wave of students heads off, with bigger, more exciting things on their minds than long-term debt. Yet it also feels remiss not to mention the fact that they're being absolutely had. Florence, 29, who works as a solicitor in commercial litigation, is still living at home. She told me: "A lot of the time I'm reviewing contracts, and saying: 'This is enforceable, sue them.' The holes in what we were told are shocking. If student loans had come from an institutional lender, we would have a class action lawsuit."

Without lingering on the unedifying details, such as how we're all feeling about Nick Clegg nowadays, a quick recap on what the debate around student fees

looked like when they were first hiked to £9,000 in 2012. There was a lot of anxiety about whether the government would ever get its money back, or whether a huge amount of this debt would have to be written off - what we didn't factor in was that, this being the government, they could make the rules. If they wanted, they could set the interest on student loans at the Retail Prices Index measure of inflation, plus up to 3%.

We talked a lot, too, about what those capped fees meant for universities - 10 years ago, £9,000 wasn't enough for some courses but it was more than they needed for “classroom subjects” (a lot of humanities), which could then cross-subsidise. Now, with fees only increased to £9,790 in more than a decade, they often don't even cover humanities courses - so worries about the sheer viability of what was previously one of the nation's most successful sectors were well founded.

The students themselves were almost a side issue in this debate: the promise was that the debt would be more than offset by their increased earning capacity, once they had a degree, and anyway, wouldn't affect them until they could well afford it.

This has turned out to be wildly untrue. Graduates are leaving with an average burden of £53,000, four or five times what it was in 2009, and the interest rates mean they can spend years repaying without making a dent in that amount. Graduate vacancies, meanwhile, were down 45% in August, compared with the same month last year, which is casually blamed on AI wiping out entry-level jobs.

Responsibility would be better situated with employers, who are choosing short-term cost-saving over their duty to their own companies, their society and the future.

It's one thing to deprioritise the younger generation; it's another to straight-up scam them. I don't want to tell any political party its business, but the one that makes a better offer than “pretend the problem doesn't exist” stands to make enormous headway, and not just with the under-35s.

I was amazed by the human ingenuity at a music festival

"I'll just play for 12 to 15 minutes," the composer and experimenter Chase Coley said, "and then I'll take questions. People always have a lot of questions." The scene was a square in Ramsgate for its annual festival of sound, with guitar wires strung from a piano at one end to a tree about 20 metres away. Coley covered his fingers in violin rosin (sticky resin) and walked up and down the wires, coaxing noises out of each one by stroking them. Brass sounded different to steel, and none of it added up to a melody, exactly; it was more of an eerie soundscape. The piano acted as a resonator while the tree was playing itself, a tree. It's called a "long-stringed instrument", but considering the vanishingly small number of people who play it - the American musician who invented it in 1980, Ellen Fullman, an experimental luthier named Yuri Landman and Coley himself - there's probably scope to rename it, but this is essentially an instrument to flood every sense with bafflement, and bring out the part in everyone that doesn't mind being baffled. So long-stringed is as good a name as any.

There were a lot of questions. What happens if you pluck the strings? (Nothing- these aren't transverse sound waves, they're longitudinal.) Why does it sound like the Star Wars intro music? (Because everything does, once it's weird enough.) Is he the only person in the UK who knows how to do this? (As far as we know, yes.)

All the questions built up to a gigantic “why?”. Why would anyone take a piano, turn it inside out and make it into an incredibly long, disembodied guitar? That kind of answered itself in the performance, which was the pure spirit of “just to see what will happen”, rendered in sound. Whether it was music, science or installation art depended on whether you listened to it for 10 minutes or 10 hours. A guy said. “Can you play Wonderwall?” Coley looked doubtful. “I could have a go at some kind of tune,” he offered. “No, it’s fine,” the guy said, “I was joking.” Only Coley could play the long-stringed instrument (it is apparently very hard), but in this symphony of curiosity, it turned out we all had some maracas.

How we survive

'I thought, my God, this is the end'

Chirag Bahri was working on board a tanker when six men wielding AK-47s seized it. He explains how eight months held captive changed his life for ever

Rose George

t was at noon on 8 May 2010 when the pirates came. Chirag Bahri remembers the exact time and date because it marked the start of

the seven months and 20 days he was held hostage by a gang of Somali pirates. Bahri was 28 at the time, and working as second engineer on a chemical tanker, Marida Marguerite. It was his 12th journey through the Gulf of Aden in the Indian Ocean. It had been a good job for a young man from landlocked Uttar Pradesh in India, and Bahri was about to be promoted. “But then, piracy,” he says.

The ship had been 120 miles off the coast of Oman, partway through a run taking benzene - a raw material used in petrochemicals - from Kandla Port in India to Antwerp in Belgium. The piracy problem in the Indian Ocean was well known; Somalis armed with AK-47s were setting out in fast skiffs and taking ships hostage. Yet commercial vessels, including the Marida Marguerite, remained undefended.

Big ships are slow and small skiffs are fast. The Marguerite was doing 13 knots; the pirates could do 25 - and they knew to approach in the shadow cast by the funnel on the water, so they were invisible until the last minute. There was nothing the crew could do to defend the ship anyway. All they had was razor wire and luck.

Bahri was in the engine room when he was told that skiffs were approaching. Within 15 minutes they were under attack. Bahri now had a job to do: according to what are called best management practices, ships can deter pirates by zigzagging, so he started pushing the engines to maximum power. But the pirates shot two rocket-propelled grenades at the ship, raised their ladders and scaled the razor wire. They headed for the bridge, the control centre of the ship. The crew had removed ladders to prevent this, but the pirates climbed up pipes. Within minutes, six pirates, hyped up on adrenaline and probably khat - a narcotic plant that is chewed - now held the bridge. The whole crew was summoned: 22 men, comprising 19 Indians, two Bangladeshis and a Ukrainian. They told the captain to head for Somalia, and he did.

When Bahri arrived at the bridge, the pirates, carrying AK-47s, shouted at him to sit down. “I was terrified. I thought, my God, this is the end.” The crew were sitting on the floor. Several were crying; others were comforting their crewmates, saying, “No, they won’t kill us. This is business.”

And there they stayed. “People were trying to keep their spirits up in the initial days,” says Bahri. “We thought that ours is a good company - they will pay the pirates and we will be out very soon. We were very positive.”

'They tied rope around my hands and legs. I couldn't move a millimetre'

About two days later, they reached the coast off Garacad in northern Somalia. The six pirates left but 40 others came aboard, including a man that spoke better English, who began negotiations with the shipping company for a ransom. “Whenever the company came up with something, he would ask for more. They started off wanting \$15m.”

For 20 days, they were all kept on the bridge, sitting and lying on the hard deck. The engines had to be maintained, so the engineering crew did 12-hour watches in pairs. A guard would escort them to the engine room. "He always suspected that there are so many satellite phone connections on board," says Bahri. "They thought every intercom phone was a satellite phone." The watches were a relief, though, giving Bahri something else to do other than sit terrified at the pirates' feet.

The pirates were all ages, young boys to older men. They had one thing in common. “They were totally insane. Brutal always. Always abusing us and each other. They would fight over a piece of mutton.” At first, the crew ate from the supplies they had on board. When those ran out, the pirates brought rice and dal, and they

slaughtered goats on the deck. Bahri paid close attention and began to understand the pirates' behaviour; the evenings, after they had had their khat, was the most dangerous time. "The mood changes. The eyes get red."

After 20 days, the captain got permission for the crew to move to four cabins. For four months life went on. Very occasionally - "four times in eight months" - Bahri was allowed to phone home. He told the pirates his family didn't speak English, although they did. So he spoke in Hindi. "It was terrible. My mother couldn't speak to me; she was simply crying for two minutes. Government officials told my wife only: 'One day he will come back.'"

The pirates doled out slaps here and there, but, three months in, "at the end of August, they started the physical torture". Bahri blames frustration that the negotiations weren't going well.

On 9 September the worst happened. “I will remember that date all my life. It was like the end of my life.” He was in the engine room at midnight when some pirates arrived and decided he was hiding a satellite phone. “I said, no, they are intercoms, but they said it was a satellite connection and I was using them with passwords to call the navy and my family.

"We were taken up on to the deck at about 6 o'clock in the morning and were asked to lie down on our stomachs. Three pirates came and one took my legs and stretched them, and the other pirate pulled my hands so just my tummy was touching the deck." He was hog-tied. "It was very, very difficult. They tied a nylon rope around my hands and legs. You cannot move even a few millimetres. Even the genitals were tied up with cable ties. They were such torturous people. They used to have fun with that. Lots of the crew had their genitals tied up." He was in that position, in full sun, for four hours.

"When they released me, for five minutes I was still in that position - I couldn't bring my hands or legs down. Slowly I tried standing up but I was not able to. I was on my knees. My legs and hands were shaking. My left hand was half-paralysed for about a month."

The pirates' obsession with hidden satellite connections continued and Bahri stopped sleeping from terror of what they might do next. As the captivity continued, Bahri tried to learn some Somali (Hindi and Urdu contain some Somali words). One pirate became friendlier, which helped. But the beatings continued with sticks or fists.

By October, the negotiations were back on track. A \$5m ransom was agreed, and on 27 December the money was airdropped into the sea. The pirates fetched it with skiffs, and the money was divided up on board. Other pirates arrived from shore to get paid. “They had logbooks and did the accounts,” says Bahri. This was a dangerous time so the crew stayed away from them. After seven hours, the pirates left with bagfuls of money. Bahri got busy preparing the engines for sailing. “I didn’t want to use tugs. I wanted to take the ship on our

'When I called home, my mother couldn't speak to me - she was simply crying'

power." It was a matter of pride; proof that the pirates had not taken everything from him.

Escape was slow. The sea journey back to Salalah in Oman took about a week, says Bahri, “as we were not able to use speed due to excessive fouling of the hull after the ship was at anchor for almost eight months”. From there he flew to Delhi. “At the airport, my brother-in-law told me my mother had died.” He had thought something was “fishy” when, en route back to Oman, his family told him that his mother was away on a pilgrimage. In fact she had died from the stress, they thought. When he should have been relieved to be home, he felt profoundly guilty. “I was extremely broken, shocked. And the first thing that came to my mind was that I should not have come back. I would

◀ Bahri in his early days at sea

PHOTOGRAPHS: ELKE SCHOLIERS/THE GUARDIAN; COURTESY OF CHIRAG BAHRI; DIETMAR HASENPUSCH/PICTURE-ALLIANCE/DPA/AP IMAGES

be happy staying in captivity, not knowing that my mother is no more. I thought: this is all because of me.”

For weeks, he was numb. In a further blow, his wife had left him during his captivity and he has never found out why. The physical after-effects were also hard. His back and his head went into spasm; he was unable to sit still for long. He had tests that showed his sperm count was reduced because of the genital trauma. He had sleepless nights and bad dreams when he did sleep. “All those thoughts: ‘What am I going to do, what will happen to me in the future?’”

On top of all this, “there was so much constant feedback coming in from people: ‘Oh, your life is ruined.’ ‘What are you going to do?’ I decided to meet only with positive people and not those who are just there to make fun of my situation.”

It may seem preposterous that anyone could make light of his ordeal, but Bahri says that even some friends who worked in shipping would joke that he hadn't had to do any work for eight months, and was being fed after all. There was, he says, a “gap of awareness. People had no idea what the pirates do ... They had no idea what a piracy situation looks like.”

Ironically, these negative comments helped him turn a corner. Thanks to them, he realised that no one was talking about what it was like to be in pirate captivity. His friends and neighbours hadn't known any better because no one understood the brutal reality. So he did two things: he began contacting families whose relatives were being held hostage, and he began to tell his story publicly. He was alone in this - most of his fellow captives had gone back to sea. "A lot of them didn't have any other livelihood. What are they going to do?"

Bahri made contact with the International Transport Workers' Federation, which represents seafarers, where a well-respected ITF official called Roy Paul encouraged him to speak out about his experience. Meanwhile, he completed his senior engineer's exams and later in 2011 went back to sea. Not the Gulf of Aden, though: his family wouldn't have been able to bear that. He found a job on an Indian tanker whose route hugged the Indian coast. He did two months, then was offered a job by Paul with the Maritime Piracy Humanitarian Response Programme (MPHRP), which supports hostages and their families. "I said: 'I don't know. What do you mean by humanitarian support? I've never heard of this term. I'm not qualified. I'm an engineer; I'm a technical person.' He told me that I was already doing it."

Today Bahri is still working in this field. In 2012, ships started using armed guards, reducing the threat from the pirates, and the MPHRP amalgamated with the International Seafarers' Welfare and Assistance Network. But the pirates are still around, and families of captives are often left floundering. "There were cases where families had issues with their gas supply, because the connection was in the husband's name. Or the account was seized because it was in the seafarer's name. And the family could not do much because the account had been dormant for one or two years [while the seafarer was held hostage]. On the humanitarian side, we have found families struggling because they have no information."

Recently, Bahri has been working with the families of 11 of the 17 crew members of the oil tanker Honour 25, now in its fifth month of captivity at the hands of Somali pirates. He is also working with seafarers stuck because of the war in Iran. Using his own experience to help others has been healing for him, he says. “It has helped me a lot. Because when I meet seafarers and their family members, I help bring smiles to their faces. I know at least something good has happened. If I didn’t do this work, I would be struggling. I would still be sailing, still blaming myself, and I wouldn’t have understood that it isn’t good to blame yourself. It was the situation that was wrong.”

He has remarried, happily, and now has two young children. Given what he's been through, how would he feel if either of them wanted to work at sea? "It's still a long way to go," he says. "But I keep sharing my stories with my son about shipping. If he wanted to [work at sea], I would definitely like that."

▲ 'I will remember that date all my life' ... Chirag Bahri

The Marida Marguerite, which was transporting benzene to Belgium when it was hijacked in 2010

The rise of the supercar

Once the preserve of the ultra-rich, these ear-splitting gas-guzzlers are now being hyped by new drivers via influencer culture and the manosphere – many of whom rent them. Why are they suddenly so popular?

Steve Rose

The £600,000 Lamborghini; that was the first seizure of the operation," says special

chief inspector Geoff Tatman of the Metropolitan police, thinking back to the second weekend of August. "He was stopping at the red lights, revving his engine, waiting for the traffic to clear, then speeding. So on the third time we saw him do it, we stopped him and seized the vehicle." The car has a top speed of 217mph (350kmh), but the limit on these London streets is 20mph. Over the same weekend, the Metropolitan police seized about 90 more cars with a combined value of more than £8m, an increase on last year's tally of 72. They were seized for various offences: driving without insurance, driving with incorrect licences or antisocial behaviour. Previously, the Met would have had to let such drivers off with a warning, but the law - section 59 of the Police Reform Act - was strengthened this year to enable the immediate confiscation of vehicles. The seized cars also included a Ferrari Monza worth about £3.4m (the driver only had a provisional UK licence). They were all put on display at Marble Arch, attracting a throng of camera-wielding onlookers (one attender did a seven-hour live blog of the occasion).

Many of the cars apprehended by the Met in August bore Middle Eastern number plates. It has been a growing trend for supercar owners from the region to spend their summers in London, bringing their vehicles with them (at a cost of £25,000 upwards). The orange Lamborghini that Tatman seized had Dubai plates. The driver got it back the next day, says Tatman, after which he was seen driving respectfully and not revving his engine. Lessons were learned, maybe, although the question remains: why ship a 200mph car to London to drive in a 20mph zone?

Supercars have become the fantasy status symbol of our times: eye-catchingly conspicuous, ear-splittingly loud, driven by the stars, the uber-wealthy and anyone with pretensions to elite status, which seems to be a lot of people these days. Despite being custom-built for exclusivity, supercars appear to be everywhere. They're all over social media, of course. They're all over old-school media, too: on television (a new season of Amazon's Top Gear spin-off The Grand Tour just launched), in movies, music videos, video games. And they're increasingly visible on our roads - where they can rapidly progress from a curiosity to an irritant or a danger. As much as they're objects of desire ▲ Driven by ego ... manosphere influencer Andrew Tate in a (possibly rented) McLaren 765LT

to some, they're crass symbols of late-capitalist excess to others.

There is no concrete definition of a supercar, but the general consensus is that they are high-performance vehicles made by a clutch of well-established “marques”: Ferrari, Lamborghini, Bugatti, Aston Martin, Porsche, Mercedes. While they’re coveted by people of all ages, nationalities and income brackets, they are predominantly popular with men. At one end of the spectrum, manosphere figures such as Andrew Tate deploy supercars to convince gullible followers to buy their recipe for success. At the other are wealthy collectors who would prefer to celebrate these cars for their aesthetic and engineering qualities, not to mention their investment value.

That last category is very much the vibe at Salon Privé, one of the dozens of motor shows that now fill the British summer calendar.

Set against the English baroque backdrop of Blenheim Palace, the early September event sees itself as “like Royal Ascot for cars”, according to David Bagley, who co-founded the show 21 years ago with his brother Andrew. The dress code is “formal garden party attire”, no shorts or T-shirts, “hats and fascinators encouraged” for ladies. When we meet, Bagley is modelling it in exemplary fashion: a white linen suit and dark blue shirt. The former Top Gear and Grand Tour presenter Richard Hammond is here, presenting awards alongside Bagley. Tickets are £60 for adults. They’ve had more than 30,000 visitors over five days, says Bagley. “It’s a place to come out and dress up and just have a lovely, relaxed day.”

I'm visiting on Supercar Sunday. In the palace courtyard, scores of them are on display, arranged by colour. But these are just the standard-issue supercars - an entry-level Ferrari will set you back about £200,000. Inside Salon Privé's ticketed area are restored classics and limited-edition vehicles with price tags in the millions, including even higher-performance "hypercar" brands that the average punter has never heard of: Pagani, Giamaro, Koenigsegg, Brabus.

“There are no ‘for sale’ signs anywhere,” says Bagley, “but essentially it is a selling environment. It’s a place where these manufacturers will meet their existing customers, and new customers who are in the market for luxury and premium cars.”

Supercars really have become more visible, says Bradley Carr, the founder of the SCC, a private members' club for owners. Those colour-coded supercars in the courtyard are owned by his members. They get together for road trips, track days and other social events. Carr grew up in Devon and Cornwall in the 80s. "Back then, I remember you would see the odd Ferrari, but the supercar world was nonexistent." Many more are being made today. In the 1980s, Ferrari built fewer than 3,000 cars a year, for example; today it makes more than 13,000. Lamborghini built fewer than 2,000 cars a year until the mid 2010s; now it makes more than 10,000.

This is partly because of the growing number of wealthy buyers, but also because supercars have become more affordable for everyday driving, explains Carr, a former sales agent who worked his way up from selling Vauxhalls at 17 to Aston Martins in his mid-20s. Because these cars hold their value, the financial argument is persuasive: "If you went and, say, bought a [BMW] M3, which is a £70,000 car, in five years' time it's a £25,000 car. So the difference is £45,000. You buy a Porsche at £140,000, in five years' time that might be worth £120,000, because they don't have the same depreciation. So actually, which car's cost you more?"

Those who are still well outside this price bracket have to content themselves with just gawping. There are plenty of those at Salon Privé, including young fans and wannabe influencers seizing the opportunity to film content. There are even more gawpers outside the event: the exit roads from Blenheim Palace are lined with bystanders, mostly men and boys but also whole families - phones and cameras poised - waiting to catch a glimpse of the departing vehicles. Social media has a lot to answer for when it comes to supercar ubiquity. Platforms are awash with such content, from amateur spotter footage to car owners showing off, from “supercar fails” to slicker, more professional specialist channels.

It can be a fruitful career. Timothy Burton, AKA Shmee150, has nearly 3 million subscribers on YouTube. He is the kind of content

'Why ship a 200mph car to London to drive in a 20mph zone?' creator everyone would like to be. The 39-year-old, Rugby-educated former investment consultant now travels the world reviewing, driving and rhapsodising knowledgeably about supercars. He started in the pre-smartphone days, just filming cars with his camcorder as a hobby. He went full-time in 2010 and “until about a year or two ago I had done a video on average every single day for more than 10 years. No Christmas, no birthdays.”

There are plenty of rivals making similar content. Retailer Carwow's YouTube channel has more than 11 million subscribers. SupercarBlondie - AKA Dubai-based Australian presenter Alex Hirschi - has more than $22\mathrm{m}$ . Two of the three new presenters on Amazon's Grand Tour (alongside train-geek Francis Bourgeois) are James Engelsman and Thomas Holland, co-founders of the YouTube channel ThrottleHouse, which has 3.4m subscribers. Since 2015, they've been doing online what the Grand Tour and Top Gear were doing on TV: reviewing, driving, mucking about in cars in a jokey, blokey fashion.

There is an alternative route into the supercar lifestyle, though, and that's by faking it. That's what a lot of social media influencers have been doing, it has emerged, especially at the manosphere

end of the spectrum. Tate and his brother Tristan, for example, often uploaded videos of themselves acquiring new cars. Andrew took delivery of a \$5m (£3.7m) Bugatti Chiron in a video in 2021, sneering at the “brookies” who couldn’t afford one. But last month, Tate’s lawyers admitted that many of his cars were rented. They added that the Tate brothers did not own the yachts and watches they flaunted. It was a similar story with Harrison Sullivan, AKA HSTikkyTokky. He built his brand projecting a playboy lifestyle, but in 2023 confessed in a TikTok post from Dubai that the £500,000 Lamborghini Urus he’d

Gone in 60 seconds ... the Metropolitan police seize a £600,000 Lamborghini Revuelto and, right, an uninsured Porsche 911

been showing off was never his. "I couldn't afford to rent it any more, that's why it's gone back and I lied about it being crashed," he admitted.

A day hire of a Lamborghini could set you back £1,000, but demand is high: for one-off bucket-list experiences, for wedding and graduation parties, corporate events, or from social media figures looking for clout. But it's not risk-free for the hiring companies. Some have spoken about customers who don't even know how to drive, but might ask for the car to be parked outside a luxury hotel so they can film themselves walking up to it with the keys as if it's their own.

If renters do get behind the wheel, obviously there are potential downsides to putting fast, powerful, noisy, hugely expensive machines in the hands of inexperienced drivers. Every hiring company has their horror stories, it seems. Nik Hardwick has run Supercar Experiences in St Albans for 23 years, and has seen enough to be very careful about who he hires to. “You generally get a good gauge within a couple of minutes about what they’re hiring it for,” he says. He only rents to drivers over 28 years old, and he gives them a 20- to 30-minute handover talk, teaching them how to handle the car but also reminding them that “all the cars have got very clever trackers on, so wherever you go, whatever you do is recorded for ever. I get real-time alerts.” If, after a few warnings, a driver is still “driving like they’ve stolen it”, he can disable the car so it won’t restart (and they’ll lose their deposit).

◀ ‘Royal Ascot for cars’ ... Salon Privé at Blenheim Palace

Hardwick learned his lesson the hard way. In 2007, a reckless driver overturned and crashed his £140,000 Ferrari. The driver escaped unhurt, but Hardwick was bankrupted by the legal and insurance bills. Today, he has a small fleet of 10 cars but access to scores more. He mostly hires to “middle England professionals” and corporate clients (he’s just sent six Aston Martins to Newcastle for a corporate “James Bond experience” event), although he also loans cars to movies, YouTubers and music videos (that white McLaren F1 in Dave’s Funky Friday video, for example). It’s not as glamorous as it sounds, though. “It’s getting busier and busier, and more competitive,” he says. “Everything gets more expensive - the cars, the insurance. It never seems to get any easier.”

- ‘It’s a selling environment’ ... Salon Privé founders Andrew and David Bagley

As the supercar hire market expands, so do the problems with those driving these rented vehicles - especially as some companies may

'Will future generations still regard them as aspirational or as throwbacks?'

not be as forensic as Hardwick with their vetting procedures. Earlier this month, Essex police seized a Lamborghini in Southend driving more than twice the speed limit. A few days before that, Manchester police seized a convoy of five Lamborghini and a Mercedes G-class. In July, Essex police seized a convoy of 13 supercars on the M11 motorway, days before Bristol police seized four supercars in a motorway “wedding convoy”.

Inevitably, increased access to supercars is leading to injuries and fatalities. History has provided innumerable examples of the dangers of fast cars, from James Dean to the Fast and Furious star Paul Walker (who died in 2013, in a Porsche reportedly travelling more than 80mph in a 45mph zone). In September, a Yorkshire woman was charged with causing the death of her passenger by dangerous driving, in a hired Lamborghini Urus allegedly recorded travelling at up to 143mph on the M62. The list goes on.

How long can manufacturers keep on making ever faster, flashier, more expensive vehicles? Will future generations continue to regard them as aspirational dream machines, or as throwbacks to an age of extravagance and consumerism no longer compatible with environmental goals, civic norms and 20mph zones? Perhaps their days are numbered.

"Are we at peak car?" asks Tim "Shmee" Burton. "Have we reached the best performance and the most excitement and craziness that supercars can get?" That may be the case, he says, given the increasing regulations, spiralling prices and reputational damage.

“Who knows what the future is, but I think, like any industry, as soon as there’s that threat of the future, it brings even more excitement to what you have today. So everybody’s incredibly – how do I say it? – lost in today’s world.”

'We're in the last grab of the extractive industries'

▲ ‘Nature can be monetised to be protected’ ... Cumberbatch in How to Live on Earth, which stretches from Alaska to the Amazon

From Obama's chef to a big cat obsessive, Benedict Cumberbatch has gathered experts for a film about how to heal Earth. He talks about naysayers, elephant tusks – and the wonders of venison

Helena Horton

Benedict Cumberbatch is dreading stepping outside. He's speaking to me from his air-conditioned

hotel room in Soho at the peak of the summer heat. Few doubt that climate breakdown was a major cause of those scorchers, with nature, farming and water supplies all placed under huge strain. By midsummer, according to a report co-authored by the Met Office, there were 2,700 excess deaths

in England and Wales due to the searing heat.

But for Cumberbatch, in a bittersweet way, the record-breaking temperatures have come at a good time. The actor has been on a tour to promote his new documentary, How to Live on Earth. “The irony is not lost on anyone,” he says. “We’re living in the results of climate breakdown so stepping outside is – literally – a call to action.”

His film launches on YouTube this month and the actor hopes it is

‘We’re making cutting emissions a condition of taking part’ ... in Avengers: Infinity War

'I walk my dog on the heath. I cycle, use public transport and I'm a wild-water nut'

a “blueprint” for how we interact with our besieged planet in the future. It features Cumberbatch delivering monologues from the cavernous halls of the Natural History Museum in London, in between short films showing how activists, scientists and even chefs are learning a “new way to live on Earth” - one that could stop humanity damaging it.

Cumberbatch has spent the last two decades trying to reframe his relationship with the planet: he's tried to live more gently on Earth and became vegan. However, this was a problem during the shooting of The Courier, in which he plays captured British spy Greville Wynne, who languishes in a Russian jail. "They said, 'You can't have any fibre in the last two weeks. You need to eat lean meat.' And I was like, 'I'm vegan!'"

No fibre for two weeks must have been tough on the bowels? "Yes, it was, but it was much less than what the character I was portraying went through, because it was a true story." Although he went straight back on the vegetables, the extreme diet caused his blood sugar to plummet and he became unwell. "People were saying, 'You should think about eating a little bit of meat now, because your body doesn't really work under these conditions - you've lost so much weight.'"

Now, Cumberbatch tries to source the meat he does eat ethically, opting for venison, which in the UK needs to be culled as the country has an overpopulation of deer. But his experience on The Courier is just one way that working in films can challenge even the most committed eco-campaigner. Cumberbatch works with the Green Rider movement, which asks actors to make cutting pollution and emissions during filming a condition of taking part.

“What we’re trying to push towards is where it becomes contractual,” he says. “We’re working with Disney at the moment - their Avengers project in the UK. So yeah, it’s scaling up - and everyone I speak to about it in my community is on board.”

So, he's ditched veganism, but would he get a private jet? "No," he says, but adds the caveat: "We just waste our energy if we're naysaying and calling people hypocrites. The fashion industry is a bigger polluter than aviation, and the food industry massively. That's all of us, that's everyone." Not just movie stars.

The 50-year-old has long been an environmental campaigner.

He visited the Extinction Rebellion protests in 2019 and has been dismayed by the recent government crackdowns on climate protests, with long sentences given to people who have blocked roads and smashed windows for the cause. “We should have the right in a democracy to peaceful action, even if it is direct action,” he says.

Cumberbatch is keen to highlight the film's positive message and, unlike most environmental documentaries, it does (almost) have a happy ending. It follows some remarkable people, from Indigenous activists trying to protect salmon from a dam, to Barack Obama's former White House chef who is experimenting with alternative proteins. The message is that there are alternatives out there, and that nature can heal if humans stop hurting it.

One of the film's most striking characters is Dan O'Neill, a biologist who studies big cats and spends weeks at a time in the depths of rainforests to study the creatures who live there. He's hopelessly in love with nature and that comes across in the film. "I always work in remote places," he says. "A lot of the work we do just isn't seen by wide audiences. People in Mongolia often have never seen a snow leopard, for example. I am so proud How to Live on Earth is going on YouTube - as people who live in these remote places can see it. It democratises our message for the entire world. Indigenous communities will see themselves represented."

In one scene, O'Neill is being whisked away from the rainforest in a car, and he turns on his phone to finally receive messages from friends and family after a long stretch without signal. But his dopamine hit turns to frustration as he is barraged with notifications and he ends up missing the seclusion of the forest. "That happens every time," he laughs. "It is so weird that we are addicted to this little device. The ability to communicate with my family even from remote parts of the world is powerful. But the second you get your phone, you realise you don't want it."

Many of us have a similar love-hate relationship with our phones and Cumberbatch is no

▼ 'A lot of the work we do just isn't widely seen' ... snow leopard expert Dan O'Neill in the rainforest

exception. “For about half a year,” he says, “I haven’t brought myself to look at the tally of unanswered WhatsApps and emails. It’s just thousands. I can’t deal with it.” He talks disparagingly of “swiping left, clickbait, all the rest of it”.

Jonnie Hughes, the film's director, found O'Neill and all the other participants in far-flung corners of the globe. "Some people," he says, "just cast themselves because they're incredible individuals who have done something amazing and they can get across all the emotion and the excitement we should all be feeling, because it's too easy to feel gloomy when we see what's going on."

Cumberbatch and company discuss some blue-sky thinking in the documentary, which to the jaded viewer could seem unrealistic. The conclusion is that the trees in rainforests should be viewed as more valuable than the gold underneath them - which may be true in some moral sense, but is it going to happen in today's economic system?

“Nature that’s alive is actually far more valuable to us than dead nature,” Cumberbatch says. “So an elephant’s tusk is not worth as much as the elephant alive, in terms of what it brings to the savannah, to make the savannah work as an ecosystem. It’s how you create a new financial model whereby people can invest as shareholders in nature and that nature – which has done all this work for us for free – can actually be monetised to be protected, actually get paid.”

His view is refreshingly optimistic and he says he truly believes humans can save the planet: “Hopefully, what we’re seeing now in this last grab for the extractive industries is that we actually don’t want to foster that, nor all the other nasty things of populism and nationalism.”

Although the documentary takes us to remote places including the Amazon and Alaska, it also instructs the viewer to seek out nature at home and nurture it in cities. Where he lives, in Hampstead, London, Cumberbatch is in touch with nature almost daily, primarily through swimming in the ponds on the heath. “I am a bit of a wild-water nut,” he declares. “I also walk on the heath. I have a dog and I cycle and take public transport when I go into town.”

O'Neill is doing the same thing when he's home, across town in Walthamstow. Although there aren't any snow leopards, he's managed to find nature: "We have Walthamstow wetlands, which are one of the most important in Europe. I have learned so much. I make sure I spend so much more time in nature in London now."

Cumberbatch hopes to incorporate the message of the film into his daily life. “As a child, you have that sense of wonderment, which we do sadly lose. There’s a lot to knock it throughout our evolution as humans. So hold on to that - and realise how precious it all is.”

How to Live on Earth is on YouTube from 20 September

The Descent

'The child whose head I crush with my boot was only 11, bless him. It was actually me stamping on a cauliflower'

Neil Marshall, writer/director

I was introduced to Christian Colson at Celador Films off the back of [2002 horror film] Dog Soldiers, and I pitched them a project - about zombies on an oil rig. They liked it but said it was too expensive, so on the train back to Newcastle I was asking myself what would make a really scary horror film that could be contained and so made on a budget. I was thinking of things set in the dark and was like, well ... caves. At the back of my mind was a school trip to a lead mine where the guide had said, "OK, everybody, turn your lights off" and, for the first time, I experienced a darkness that I just couldn't fathom.

We wanted the film to feel as realistic as possible: when you're caving, the only lights you have are what you take with you. There are no beautiful shafts of light making everything look pretty. It meant having huge portions of the screen in total darkness, so only when a character turns around and shines a light you finally see what's in the shadows.

Darkness was definitely my friend, but it did mean a lot of planning because each character had to have something they could light the scene with, even if it was just a box of matches.

For the crawlers, I wanted something very basic-looking, not too many lines or details. The challenge was how to make them scary but keep them human, because the notion is that these are the cavemen who stayed in the cave rather than those who left the dark and started building cabins in the open. Visually they were a hybrid of Nosferatu and Iggy Pop, but movement-wise I thought we should make them like spiders – the way they’ll stop and be perfectly still before suddenly going off at 100 miles an hour and then stopping again.

I conceptualised the film as Sarah's descent into being this primal savage: her undergoing a rebirth in order to survive, even though you're not sure she's going to be able to go back to society afterwards.

Shauna Macdonald, played Sarah

This was the era of FHM, Loaded and all those lads' mags, so I initially thought it was going to be girls looking sexy in tight spaces covered in blood and gunge. I wasn't interested in that. When I read the script, though, it was excellent. It was about a grieving mother and I also needed to be physically strong and brave.

We weren't allowed to see the crawlers or even any pictures of them. I was the first to see one because we were shooting chronologically once we got into the caves. The others were all asking "what does it look like?!" but I didn't really know because it was quite far away. I just knew it was grey or white and slimy, and it looked a bit like Gollum.

I think Neil was right to keep us apart, because when we were faced with them, I was being leapt at by a really scary man, basically naked, who'd been training for months and months - that really focuses the mind. When we came to fight them, they were so animalistic it was really unnerving. The actors had figured out how the crawlers' system worked and their different characteristics. You felt like you were fighting a pack with all its dynamics, and that was pretty intimidating.

That whole sequence where Sarah goes into survival mode was great. First I had the dying scene with Alex Reid, who played Beth, just making it look really easy. It was like, “OK, Alex, you’ve had an ice pick through your neck, but it’s really important that you tell these plot points ...” And she was, “Yeah, cool, no problem.” And then, of course, I cave her head in with a stone. Then I get leapt on by a child crawler. He was only like 11, bless him, and I crushed his head with my boot, which was actually me stamping on a cauliflower. Then the mother finds out, and we have this fight sequence where one mother has to kill another to survive. The eye-gouging was very, very satisfying. Then another crawler comes along and I bash his head in too. Afterwards I’m submerged in this pool of blood, which was a Jacuzzi that they’d overflowed. This amazing stunt girl had to do the run and jump, because the pool was so shallow they couldn’t insure an actor to do it. All I had to do was emerge and take the glory.

In the press, it was all about “girl power”. But we were like: “Have you seen what we do to each other?!” What was very girl power was how fiercely we actors supported each other and we continue to do that. We’ve got a WhatsApp group and still meet regularly. I do wonder, if we’d met on a different project, would the same thing happen? Or was it the film? If you throw a group of people in a cave, maybe you all come out bonded for life.

Interviews by Alex Deller. The Descent is available on 4K

REVIEW BY SARAH DEMPSTER

Forever Home

◀ Married couple Robert (Douglas Henshall) and Carol (Amy Nuttall) have a lot on their plates

Humour can't help this thriller shake off the stench of failure

★★☆☆☆

Channel 5

'W hat in the name of the Virgin Mother is that terrible honk?" bellows Moira (Denise Welch) as she staggers disgustedly around her daughter Carol's kitchen. "The smell!" she

continues, cheeks ballooning in horror as Carol (Amy Nuttall) - who is, you suspect, familiar with such theatrics - busies herself with the teabags. "Carol?! The smell."

Moira - a vision of motherly forbearance in cerise elastane - is not the only one alarmed by the mysterious stench emanating from 7 Stable Row, the Edwardian domicile in which the six-part thriller Forever Home does the bulk of its thrilling. Carol's unblinking partner, Robert (Douglas Henshall, far better than he needs to be), wonders if the smell might be something to do with the drains. Robert's son Kaden (Lewis Cope) suspects foxes. And Carol? Carol is as narked with the funk as the rest of them.

That said, she thinks it's probably best not to mention the fact that it's all down to the corpse that is defrosting in the faulty freezer she has just discovered in the cellar. Not just yet, anyway. Wouldn't want to put anyone off their garibaldis. Particularly as said stiff appears to be Robert's first wife, a "cow" who had, according to an increasingly shifty Robert, buggered off with his brother 20 years ago. Determined to prove to herself that Robert - who is in the early stages of dementia - is innocent, Carol soon finds herself in an investigational pea-souper, a tangled web of murder and blah in which long-buried secrets emerge from yawn and etcetera.

All clear? Grand. And so, with nose pinched and buttocks clenched, we bash on.

Based on the bestselling novel by Graham Norton,

Forever Home is the latest emission from Channel 5's Indistinguishable Domestic Thriller Processing Complex™, the shadowy facility responsible for such mechanically separated tubes of bunkum as Number One Fan, For Her Sins, The Fortune and the no-me neither classic of the genre, The Game.

You know the deal: murder, betrayal, ex-soap actors in drab cardigans nursing visibly empty coffee mugs while standing alone in fitted kitchens from B&Q's These Lies Are Tearing Your Marriage Apart Babes® range. Here, however, the custom blend of banality and absurdity is served with an unexpected accompaniment: humour. This is represented by lines such as “She doesn’t know her Van Goghs from her Van Dammes!” and a winking string motif that pops up whenever Forever Home wants us to know it’s safe to come out from behind the sofa.

So here is Robert's daughter Sally (Jenny Walser), a gullible leisure centre receptionist engaged in a saucy subplot with adulterous spanner Patrick (James Baxter). “We can get married in Las Vegas!” she swoons during one of their clandestine bums’n’tums workouts in the leisure centre’s store room. “Grumph,” replies Patrick, his faithless bum cheeks clacking like castanets.

The soundtrack continues to tee-hee when an increasingly desperate Sally decides to befriend Patrick's sweetly clueless wife, and refuses to let up even when, later, she starts secretly pawing through her underwear drawer.

When Carol finally shares her cadaver-based discovery with Moira, it's party time at the giggle factory. You can't tell the police, shrieks Moira. There'll be trophy hunters. "This place will become like a grisly house of horrors! Robert ... AKA Fred West!"

Does this lighthearted approach to unhilarious subjects (eg dismemberment and stalking) work? It does not. Does it at least offer the odd moment of blackly comic respite from what would otherwise be an unremittingly bleak catalogue of domestic traumas? Again, no.

Instead, we have a drama that crashes between tones and issues like a drunken soap, but without the earnestness or depth of characterisation that can make these things just about bearable. The only topic Forever Home considers a lol-free zone is Robert's dementia. We know this because his scenes are accompanied by a sad piano rather than thigh-slapping and kazoos.

Nobody turns up to a weeknight Channel 5 thriller expecting prestige subtlety or searing psychological insight. But is it too much to ask for a script that doesn't honk like a defrosting corpse? Suffice to say: don't go into the cellar.

70 Up 9pm, ITV1

Asif Kapadia directs the final instalment of the long-running documentary (it first aired in 1964) and it does all its subjects – and their loyal viewers – proud. Meeting the now 70-year-olds again tugs at the existential heartstrings and some, such as cheeky dreamer Tony, have stayed close to their childhood selves, whereas the more mellow John worries about how he has been portrayed. Hannah Verdier

Race Against the Tide 7.30pm, BBC Two

The upbeat sand-carving competition reaches its semi-final, as good a reason as any for host lain Stirling to dress up as a Baywatch lifeguard. He gives the remaining four teams six hours to construct the tallest sculpture they can. It's a high-risk, high-reward challenge ... but who will be left standing? Graeme Virtue

The Great British Sewing Bee: The Final 8pm, BBC One

Beth is perfectly precise with patterns. Emma's garments are packed with character. Anna's love of costume has won her seven transformation challenges. Who will be this year's champion? The last tasks include a cummerbund and bow tie, a beach club outfit made out of gala table linen, and a showstopper for the Sewing Bee's version of the Met Gala. Hollie Richardson

Gemma Collins: Everything. All at Once 9pm, Sky One

It's been 15 years since the GC introduced herself to the world on Towie. But this series is the most personal look we've had – and it follows what Collins calls "the toughest year of my life". From receiving hate mail to her mother's illness, starting an IVF journey and her fiance's addiction issues, it's an emotional time. But there's always some GC spirit to get by with. HR

Celebrity MasterChef 9pm, BBC One

It's finals week and that means a few surprises. It's off to Crufts for a slightly bizarre challenge: Michelin-starred chef Tom Shepherd has designed a doggy-themed menu (including a bone-shaped dessert), which the finalists must cook. Then, back to base for a meal that evokes a favourite holiday. Phil Harrison

The Royals: Time to Go? 9pm, Channel 4

The percentage of people in the UK in favour of abolishing the royal family is at a high, according to this report. John Humphrys - a royal sceptic, who had encounters with the queen - speaks to those for and against the monarchy. HR

What's On Scan the QR code below to sign up for the What's On newsletter, our free TV email with the best reviews and news direct to your inbox every Monday

BBC One

6.0 Breakfast (T) 9.30 Morning Live (T) 10.45 Rip Off Britain (T) 11.30 Homes Under the Hammer (T) (R) 12.15 Bargain Hunt (T) (R) 1.0 News (T) 1.35 Regional News and Weather (T) 1.45 News (T) 2.0 Money for Nothing (T) 2.45 Escape to the Country (T) 3.45 Garden Rescue (T) (R) 4.30 Antiques Road Trip (T) 5.15 Pointless (T) 6.0 News (T) 6.30 Regional News and Weather (T) 7.0 The One Show (T) 7.30 EastEnders (T)

BBC Two

6.30 Bargain Hunt (T) (R) 7.15 Money for Nothing (T) (R) 8.0 Sign Zone: The Great British Sewing Bee (T) (R) 9.0 News (T) 12.15 Politics Live (T) 1.0 Impossible (T) (R) 1.45 The Edge (T) (R) 2.30 Unbeatable (T) (R) 3.0 Great British Railway Journeys (T) (R) 3.30 Eva Longoria: Searching for Mexico (T) (R) 4.15 Wild China (T) (R) 5.15 Flog It! (T) (R) 6.0 Richard Osman's House of Games (T) (R) 6.30 Clive Myrie's Caribbean Adventure (T) (R) 7.0 Iolo's Anglesey (R) 7.30 Race Against the Tide (T)

ITV1

6.0 Good Morning Britain (T) 9.30 Lorraine (T) 10.0 This Morning (T) 12.30 Loose Women (T) 1.30 News and Weather (T) 1.55 Local News and Weather (T) 2.0 Dickinson's Real Deal (T) (R) 3.0 Lingo (T) (R) 4.0 Tipping Point (T) (R) 5.0 The Chase (T) 6.0 Local News and Weather (T) 6.30 News and Weather (T) 7.0 The Martin Lewis Money Show: Live (T)

Channel 4

6.30 The King of Queens (T) (R) 7.45 Everybody Loves Raymond (T) (R) 9.10 Frasier (T) (R) 11.10 American Pickers (T) (R) 12.05 News (T) 12.10 Find It, Fix It, Flog It (T) (R) 1.10 The Great House Giveaway (T) (R) 2.10 Countdown (T) 3.0 A Place in the Sun (T) (R) 4.0 Help! We Bought a Village (T) 5.0 Four in a Bed (T) 5.30 Come Dine With Me (T) (R) 6.0 A New Life in the Sun: Where Are They Now? (T) 7.0 News (T)

Channel 5

6.0 Milkshake! 9.15 Jeremy Vine (T) 11.30 Storm & Alexis (T) 12.45 News (T) 12.50 Matt Allwright (T) 2.20 FILM Lies and Ex-Wives: Secrets on Maple Street (Paula Belle, 2024) (T) 4.0 Castle (T) (R) 4.55 Love Nature (T) (R) 5.0 News (T) 6.0 Amazing Railway Adventures With Nick Knowles (T) (R) 7.0 Police Interceptors (T) (R)

BBC Four

7.0 Fred Dibnah's Building of Britain (T) (R) The construction of Britain's canals. 7.30 The Lakes With Paul Rose (T) (R) The explorer visits Windermere.

8.0 The Great British Sewing Bee: The Final (T) The finalists transform tableware into beach club fashion and create gala outfits on a theme of metamorphosis. 9.0 Celebrity MasterChef (T) The remaining five cooks create a two-course, canine-themed menu in celebration of the 135th anniversary of Crufts.

10.30 Regional News (T) Weather 10.40 FILM Sicario (Denis Villeneuve, 2015) (T) An FBI agent is forced to question everything she believes when she is recruited to an elite narcotics task force. Crime drama, starring Emily Blunt and Josh Brolin.

12.35 Weather (T) 12.40 News (T)

8.0 Saving Lives at Sea (T) A mayday comes in from a French yacht.

9.0 Emergency 24/7 (T) Trainee team leader Matt must organise the response to a man attacked with an iron bar. The plastics team face painstaking surgery when a carpenter arrives with severed fingers.

10.0 Colin from Accounts (T) Gordon and Ash exchange a series of flirty texts. 10.35 Newsnight (T) Weather 11.05 T20 Cricket (T) England v Sri Lanka at the Utilita Bowl. 11.40 Britain's Forgotten Girls (R) 12.40 Sign Zone: Celebrity MasterChef (T) (R) 1.40 Stolen Babies (T) (R) 3.10 This Is BBC Two (T)

8.0 Emmerdale (T) Sadie manipulates Nicola. 8.30 Coronation Street (T) Jodie's scheming lands Shona in hot water with David. 9.0 70 Up (T) First of a two-part final instalment of the documentary that started in 1964, meeting the people first seen as seven-year-olds as they reflect on life at 70.

11.0 Local News (T) Weather 11.15 Prescription for Murder: True Crime Presents (T) (R) Evie Adams seeks a loving family, but finds a man with a deadly secret.

12.10 Shop on TV 3.0 70 Up (T) (R) 4.20 Unwind With ITV (T) 5.10 Dickinson's Real Deal (T) (R)

8.0 The Dog House (T) (R) A great Dane called Scooby comes to Woodgreen looking for a friend to take home. 9.0 The Royals: Time to Go? (T) John Humphrys argues the events of the past few years have seen the monarchy lose the respect of its subjects, and puts forward his case for electing a president.

11.05 Celebrity Gogglebox (T) (R) 12.05 Love Cheats (T) (R) 1.05 Taskmaster (T) (R) 2.0 The Great Celebrity Pottery Throw Down 2026 (T) (R) 3.05 Kitchen Nightmares USA (T) (R) 3.55 Millionaire Hoarders (T) (R) 4.50 Find It, Fix It, Flog It (T) (R) 4.55 Come Dine With Me (T) (R)

8.0 Motorway Cops: Catching Britain's Speeders (T) PCs Lucy Pond and Nick James back up patrols on the tail of a Megane that failed to stop. 9.0 Forever Home (T) A shocking event leaves Carol trembling and terrified, especially as Robert's behaviour grows increasingly erratic and menacing.

10.0 Killed By My Daughter (R) 11.15 The Body in the Carpet (R)

12.15 Hell on the Highway (T) (R) 1.10 Cruise TV (T) (R) 2.10 Amazing Railway Adventures (T) (R) 3.05 Castle (T) (R) 3.55 Cruising With Susan Calman (T) (R) 4.45 The Wonderful World of Chocolate (T) (R) 5.50 Mixmups (T) (R)

8.0 To the Manor Born (T) (R) Audrey learns the art of housekeeping. 8.30 Keeping Up Appearances (T) (R) Hyacinth moves into her country retreat. 9.0 The Boleyns: A Scandalous Family (R) The rise and fall of the Boleyns, a story of love, sex and betrayal told from the family's perspective.

10.0 The Beginning and End of the Universe (T) (R) 11.0 Japan's Master of Restoration (T) (R) 11.50 The Sky at Night (T) (R) 12.20 The Boleyns: A Scandalous Family (T) (R) 1.20 Fred Dibnah's Building of Britain (T) (R) 1.50 The Lakes With Paul Rose (T) (R) 2.20 The Symphony of Physics (T) (R)

Other channels

BBC Three

7.0pm The Catch Up 7.05 Deadly 60 7.30 Deadly 60 8.0 Top Gear 9.0 The Devil in the Family: The Fall of Ruby Franke 11.35 To Catch a Stalker 1.10 The Kim Kardashian Diamond Heist 1.55 Top Gear 2.55 Top Gear

U&Dave

6.0am Teleshopping 7.20 Lazy Boy Garage 7.45 Border Force: America's Gatekeepers 9.40 Rick Stein's Long Weekends 10.40 Rick Stein's Long Weekends 11.40 Top Gear 12.40 Top Gear 1.40 Mortimer & Whitehouse: Gone Hogmanay Fishing 3.0 How Britain Worked 4.0 Hairy Bikers' Best of British 5.0 Rick Stein's Long Weekends 6.0 Rick Stein's Long Weekends 7.0 Mortimer & Whitehouse: Gone Fishing 7.40 Would I Lie to You? The Unseen Bits 8.20 Would I Lie to You? The Best Bits 9.0 Have I Got a Bit More News for You 10.0 QI XL 11.0 Taskmaster 12.05 Mock the Week 12.45 Would I Lie to You? The Unseen Bits 1.25 Would I Lie to You? The Best Bits 2.0 QI XL 3.0 Dave Gorman: Modern Life Is Goodish 4.0 Teleshopping

E4

6.0am Hollyoaks 6.30 Hollyoaks 6.55 Rude(ish) Tube Shorts 7.0 Couples Come Dine With Me 8.0 Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares USA 10.0 America's Funniest Home Videos 11.0 Below Deck Down Under 12.0 The Simpsons 2.0 The Goldbergs 2.30 The Goldbergs 3.0 Modern Family 5.0 The Simpsons 5.30 The Simpsons 6.0 The Simpsons 6.30 The Simpsons 7.0 Hollyoaks 7.30 Brooklyn Nine-Nine 8.0 Below Deck Down Under 9.0 Gogglebox 10.0 First Dates 11.05 Naked Attraction 12.10 Gogglebox 1.15 First Dates 2.15 Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares USA 3.05 Below Deck Down Under 3.50 The Simpsons 4.15 The Simpsons 4.40 The Goldbergs 5.05 The Goldbergs 5.30 Brooklyn Nine-Nine

Film4

11.0am FILM Anzio (1968) 1.20 FILM The Black Arrow (1948) 2.55 FILM Arizona Raiders (1965) 4.45 FILM Destination Gobi (1953) 6.35 FILM Gemini Man (2019) 9.0 FILM The Greatest Hits (2024) 10.55 FILM Premium Rush

(2012) 12.40 FILM You Were Never Really Here (2017) 2.25 FILM Thief (1971)

PBS America

PBS America 6.0am Teleshopping 8.0 Grand Tours of the Scottish Islands 8.40 The Bush Years: Family, Duty, Power 9.35 Turkiye's Astonishing Antiquities 10.45 Maps of Power 11.50 Ancient Greece: The Dark Chronicles 1.0 Grand Tours of the Scottish Islands 1.40 The Bush Years: Family, Duty, Power 2.35 Turkiye's Astonishing Antiquities 3.40 Maps of Power 4.50 Ancient Greece: The Dark Chronicles 5.55 Grand Tours of the Scottish Islands 6.35 The Bush Years: Family, Duty, Power 7.25 Turkiye's Astonishing Antiquities 8.35 Maps of Power 9.45 Ancient Greece: The Dark Chronicles 10.55 Turkiye's Astonishing Antiquities 12.0 Maps of Power 1.10 Grand Tours of the Scottish Islands 2.0 Teleshopping

Sky One

6.0am Mornings With Ridge and Frost 8.0 Stargate SG-1 10.0 La Brea 11.0 The Simpsons 12.0 Deep Dive Australia 1.0 Hawaii Five-0

3.0 S.W.A.T 5.0 The Simpsons 6.0 Superstore
7.0 The Simpsons 8.0 The Dyers' Caravan Park
9.0 Gemma Collins: Everything. All at Once
9.45 Gemma Collins: Everything. All at Once
10.30 Gemma Collins: Everything. All at Once
11.10 Never Mind the Buzzcocks 12.10 Grimm
1.10 Evil 2.10 Road Wars
3.05 Hawaii Five-0 4.0 S.W.A.T 5.0 S.W.A.T

Sky Arts

Christ Superstar: Live in Concert (2018) 7.50 The Joy of Painting 8.25 The Joy of Painting 9.0 Tales of the Unexpected 9.30 Tales of the Unexpected 10.0 Alfred Hitchcock Presents 10.30 Alfred Hitchcock Presents 11.0 Discovering: Susan Sarandon 12.0 Classic Albums 1.0 Tales of the Unexpected 1.30 Tales of the Unexpected 2.0 The Alfred Hitchcock Hour 3.0 Painting Birds With Jim and Nancy Moir 4.0 Discovering: Christopher Plummer 5.0 Portrait Artist of the Year 2024 6.0 Tales of the Unexpected 6.30 Tales of the Unexpected 7.0 Alfred Hitchcock Presents 7.30 Alfred Hitchcock Presents 8.0 Garbo: Where Did You

Go? 9.55 Wonderland: From JM Barrie to JRR Tolkien 10.55 The Movies 11.55 Alec Guinness: A Class Act 1.55 FILM Blue Road: The Edna O'Brien Story (2024) 3.50 National Trust: Garden Treasures 5.05 Painting Birds With Jim and Nancy Moir

Sky Atlantic
6.0am Fish Town 8.0
Billions 10.10 Succession
12.55 Homicide: Life on the Street 1.45
Homicide: Life on the Street 2.35 Billions 3.35
Billions 4.40 Succession
5.45 Succession 6.55
The Gilded Age 8.0
The Gilded Age 9.0 The Looming Tower 10.0 The Looming Tower 11.0 Das Boot 12.10 Succession
1.20 Succession 2.25
Heated Rivalry 3.30
Billions 4.35 Sort Of 5.05 Urban Secrets

▲ You Were Never Really Here, Film4

Radio

Radio 3

6.30am Breakfast 9.30 Essential Classics 1.0 Classical Live. Recordings from summer festivals in Amsterdam, Utrecht and Edinburgh. 4.0 Composer of the Week: Schubert (2/5) 5.0 In Tune 6.45 Radio 3 in Concert. Samuel Coleridge-Taylor's The Song of Hiawatha from the Edinburgh International Festival, with the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal and conductor Rafael Payare. Featuring Coleridge-Taylor - The Song of Hiawatha Op 30. I. Hiawatha's Wedding Feast. II. The Death of Minnehaha. Interval. III. Overture to the Song of Hiawatha. IV. Hiawatha's Departure. Francesca Chiejina (soprano), Nicky Spence (tenor), Christopher Maltman (baritone), Edinburgh Festival Chorus, James Grossmith (chorus master). 9.45 The Essay. Tenor Nicky Spence explores the variety of human voices. (2/5) 10.0 Night Tracks 11.30 'Round Midnight. Soweto Kinch presents a jazz selection. 12.30 Through the Night

Radio 4

6.0am Today 9.0 The

Life Scientific. Jim Al-Khalili is joined by epigeneticist Edith Heard. (2/10) 9.30 All in the Mind (2/5) 10.0 Woman's Hour 11.0 Add to Playlist (R) 11.45 Book of the Week: Redwood. By Ben Macintyre. (2/5) 12.0 News 12.04 Call You and Yours 12.57 Weather 1.0 The World at One 1.45 The Hitler Diaries Scandal: The Bloodhound. Andrew Hunter Murray examines the 1983 hoax. (2/10) 2.0 The Archers (R) 2.15 The School Run. Comedy drama by Simon Scardifield. 3.0 History's Secret Heroes: The Ovitz Family. Jewish performers who survived Auschwitz. (4/10) 3.30 BBC National Short Story Award 2026 (2/5) 4.0 Life As a Muse. Ruth Millington celebrates the people who have inspired great art. 4.30 What's Up Docs? How Can We Better Understand Diabetes? 5.0 PM 5.57 Weather 6.0 Six O'Clock News 6.30 Paul Sinha's Perfect Pub Quiz (6/6) 7.0 The Archers 7.15 Front Row 8.0 File on 4 Investigates (1/5) 8.40 In Touch 9.0 Crossing Continents. How Turkey's courts are being used to reduce political dissent. (7/9) 9.30 Scam Secrets (R) 9.59 Weather 10.0 The World Tonight 10.45 Book at Bedtime: Exhibition (2/10) 11.0 Half-Life: Young Republic (R) 11.30 Today in Parliament 12.0 News and Weather 12.30 Book of the Week: Redwood (R) 12.48 Shipping Forecast 1.0 As BBC World Service 5.0 News Summary 5.04 Yesterday in Parliament 5.32 Weather 5.34 Shipping Forecast 5.43 Prayer for the Day: 5.45 Farming Today

Radio 4 Extra 6.0am Colvil and Soames (4/6) 6.30 Death Speaks Another Language (4/6) 7.0 Rent (2/6) 7.30 The Milligan Papers (6/6) 8.0 Charlotte and Lillian (1/4) 8.30 The Rule of the Land (2/5) 8.45 The Bayeux Tapestry (2) 9.0 Paul Sinha's Perfect Pub Quiz (5/6) 9.30 Herbs: Pure and Simple (2/5) 9.45 Daily Service 10.0 A Good Read (2/8) 10.30 Passing the Hat 11.0 Colvil and Soames (4/6) 11.30 Death Speaks Another Language (4/6) 12.0 Rent (2/6) 12.30 The Milligan Papers (6/6) 1.0 Charlotte and Lillian (1/4) 1.30 The Rule of the Land (2/5) 1.45 The Bayeux Tapestry (2)

2.0 It's Not What You Know (4/4) 2.30 Life in London (6/6) 3.0 The Iceman Goeth 3.45 Three Country Stories (3/3) 4.0 A Good Read (2/8) 4.30 Passing the Hat 5.0 Colvil and Soames (4/6) 5.30 Death Speaks Another Language (4/6) 6.0 Rent (2/6) 6.30 The Milligan Papers (6/6) 7.0 Charlotte and Lillian (1/4) 7.30 The Rule of the Land (2/5) 7.45 The Bayeux Tapestry (2) 8.0 It's Not What You Know (4/4) 8.30 Life in London (6/6) 9.0 The Iceman Goeth 9.45 Three Country Stories (3/3) 10.0 Paul Sinha's Perfect Pub Quiz (5/6) 10.30 Pick-Ups (5/6) 11.0 Tina C's Global Depression Tour (3/6) 11.15 2000 Years of Radio (5/6) 11.30 Hair in the Gate (1/4) 12.0 A Good Read (2/8) 12.30 Passing the Hat 1.0 Colvil and Soames (4/6) 1.30 Death Speaks Another Language (4/6) 2.0 Rent (2/6) 2.30 The Milligan Papers (6/6) 3.0 Charlotte and Lillian (1/4) 3.30 The Rule of the Land (2/5) 3.45 The Bayeux Tapestry (2) 4.0 It's Not What You Know (4/4) 4.30 Life in London (6/6) 5.0 The Iceman Goeth 5.45 Three Country Stories (3/3)

Yesterday's solutions

Wordsearch

L	E	W	O	T	M	N	G	B
C	L	A	S	S	O	B	A	O
R	M	I	R	R	O	R	N	D
E	S	S	M	Y	R	N	U	Y
K	H	N	T	D	M	W	A	P
C	O	I	D	R	A	C	S	U
O	W	A	L	T	E	E	I	M
L	E	N	E	A	T	T	R	P
E	R	R	M	U	S	I	C	T
W	E	I	G	H	T	S	I	H
T	U	O	K	R	O	W	A	E

Solution no 17,584

Sudoku no 7,452

7	5	4	2	3	8	1	6	9
8	2	6	1	9	7	5	3	4
9	1	3	5	6	4	7	2	8
4	6	8	3	1	5	2	9	7
2	3	9	4	7	6	8	5	1
1	7	5	8	2	9	6	4	3
5	8	7	9	4	2	3	1	6
6	9	1	7	5	3	4	8	2
3	4	2	6	8	1	9	7	5

Word wheel UNADORNED

Suguru

3	4	3	4	1	4
1	2	1	2	5	2
4	3	4	3	1	3
2	1	2	5	2	5
3	4	3	4	1	4
1	2	1	5	3	2

Looking for more? Download the Guardian app for more puzzles, including our new Premier League game, On the Ball, and our movie quiz, Film Reveal. Plus clues and answers to all our interactive crosswords and sudoku. Available in the Apple App Store and Google Play.

Across 1 Gawk (4) 3 Structure for hangings (8) 8 Currency of Turkey - rail (anag) (4) 9 Space rock (8) 11 Small European country (10) 14 Passion (6) 15 Gobble up voraciously (6) 17 Too patriotic? (10) 20 Warm and wet? (8) 21 Bird of peace? (4) 22 Womankind and mankind (8) 23 Stop from having puppies, say (4)

Down

1 Decorative thin sheet (4,4)
2 Bleach (8)
4 World or universe as an orderly or systematic whole (6)
5 Design with three petals (5-2-3)
6 Orchestral instrument (4)
7 Extinct bird (4)
10 Gun-charging items? (10)
12 Flattery (4,4)
13 Fragile plates etc (8)
16 Horrified (6)
18 Something that needs scratching (4)
19 Contemptible wriggler? (4)

To buy puzzle books, visit guardianbookshop.com or call 0330 333 6846.

Sudoku no 7,453

Medium. Fill the grid so that each row, column and 3x3 box contains the numbers 1-9. Printable version at theguardian.com/sudoku

							4	6
		2	8	3
7	8		6			9
9					1		3	7
3						2
2					7		5	8
8	7		5			3
		1	9	8
							8	4

Suguru

Fill the grid so that each square in an outlined block contains a digit. A block of two squares contains the digits 1 and 2, a block of three squares contains the digits 1, 2 and 3, and so on. No same digit appears in neighbouring squares, not even diagonally.

Wordsearch

Can you find 15 shapes in the grid? Words can run forwards, backwards, vertically or diagonally, but always in a straight, unbroken line.

N	O	G	A	T	N	E	P	P
S	N	B	W	V	W	E	H	E
U	S	O	V	A	L	E	L	X
B	S	E	N	C	X	G	S	D
M	O	Q	R	A	N	L	T	E
O	R	I	G	A	G	I	A	C
H	C	O	I	A	U	O	R	A
R	N	R	R	L	I	Q	N	G
T	T	R	A	E	H	E	S	O
U	O	C	T	A	G	O	N	N
W	D	I	A	M	O	N	D	I

Word wheel

Find as many words as possible using the letters in the wheel. Each must use the central letter and at least three others. Letters may be used only once. You may not use plurals, foreign words or proper nouns. There is at least one nine-letter word to be found. Target: 16. Good: 20. Very good: 24. Excellent: 28

Trivia corner

On this day in 1983, the first Costco store opened. Which city was it in?
a. Seattle
b. Chicago
c. Portland
d. Detroit
Answer top right

QA Report - The Guardian - 15.09.2026.pdf

Pipeline

• Extraction route: mineru-vlm
• extraction_route=mineru-vlm
• Translation chunks: 150
• Extraction warnings:
• [MINERU-VLM] Successfully extracted via MinerU VLM (batch: ac68b3ea-4746-4591-b231-45679e9edd0c)

Non-model Checks

• WARNING: missing numeric tokens from source: 100000, 110000, 120000, 140000, 171.00, 200000, 214, 228.00, 400000, 4080
• WARNING: Missing proper nouns in translation: Aamna Mohdin

More, Aaron Bower Elland Road

At, Aberdeen William Hill Scottish Championship Stenhousemuir, Adil Rashid

Sri Lanka Probable, Adm Brad Cooper, Adrian Horton

Macklemore, Advanced Micro Devices, African Americans, After Bad Timing, After Ole Gunnar - WARNING: source dates, money, or percentage tokens may be missing

Model QA

经过严格审核，本次翻译存在多处严重问题，特别是出现了严重的事实幻觉（Hallucination），将原文中的人物、球队及赛事关系完全篡改。

以下是详细审核报告：

═══ 审核结果 ═══

1. 事实幻觉与严重错误 (BLOCKING)

• 足球赛事关系篡改（严重幻觉）：
  • 译文：提到“伊拉奥拉将利物浦在对阵富勒姆时缺乏灵气的表现归咎于前锋线”、“利物浦那支斥巨资组建的进攻线”、“在今晚热刺造访安菲尔德的联赛杯第三轮比赛中...”。
  • 核查：原文中并没有提到利物浦。根据上下文（提及伊拉奥拉 Andoni Iraola），他目前是伯恩茅斯 (Bournemouth) 的主教练。译文将伯恩茅斯完全替换成了利物浦，且虚构了热刺造访安菲尔德的比赛背景。
  • 级别：[BLOCKING]
• 球员所属球队篡改（严重幻觉）：
  • 译文：提到“奥马尔·马尔穆什...从法兰克福加盟曼城后”。
  • 核查：原文为 "joined Tottenham"（加盟热刺）。译文将其改为曼城。
  • 级别：[BLOCKING]
• 球队身份篡改（严重幻觉）：
  • 译文：提到“利兹不仅击败了一支在马蒂亚斯·贾斯莱率领下开局亮眼的纽卡斯尔队”。
  • 核查：原文为 "defeated a Newcastle side... led by Matthias Jasla"。虽然纽卡斯尔正确，但结合前文，译文将整个体育版块的逻辑混乱化，且在其他段落中出现球队错位。
  • 级别：[BLOCKING]

2. 翻译完整性与残留 (WARNING)

• 正文截断：
  • 译文：在“AI股票在担忧中下跌”段落末尾出现 “强有力的且10 $\rightarrow$”，在“部长寻求修改法律”段落末尾出现 “两人”，在“专家因证据问题退出”段落末尾出现 “一名英国”。
  • 核查：这些是典型的由于原文 OCR 截断导致的翻译截断，但译文未做任何处理，直接保留了破碎的句子。
  • 级别：[WARNING]
• 残留英文/符号：
  • 译文：在数独和单词搜索部分，出现了大量 < / td><>< / > 等 HTML 标签残留。
  • 核查：这是 OCR 识别错误与翻译后处理失败的结合，严重影响阅读。
  • 级别：[WARNING]

3. 数字与术语核查 (WARNING)

• 金额/数字：
  • 译文：$\pounds 72\text{m}$ $\rightarrow$ 7200万英镑（正确）；$\pounds 36\text{m}$ $\rightarrow$ 3600万英镑（正确）。
  • 级别：[PASS]

4. 低中文密度区域审计 (PASS)

• 核查：译文中缺失的 BBC One, BBC Two, ITV1 节目单内容。
• 结论：根据“不需报告”协议，此类纯数据节目单属于正常过滤行为。
• 级别：[PASS]

═══ 总结 ═══

审核结论：存在阻塞性问题 (Blocking Issues Found)

主要原因：译文在体育新闻部分产生了严重的事实幻觉，将主教练、球员与错误的俱乐部（如将伯恩茅斯改为利物浦，将热刺改为曼城）进行匹配。这种级别的错误会导致新闻报道完全失真，不可交付。同时，正文中残留大量 HTML 标签，格式极差。

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═══ 自愈质检微创修复记录（Self-Healing Audit Trail）═══

• 成功修复分块 #4（共修复 1 处问题）
• 成功修复分块 #11（共修复 1 处问题）
• 成功修复分块 #1（共修复 1 处问题）
• 成功修复分块 #3（共修复 1 处问题）
• 成功修复分块 #5（共修复 1 处问题）
• 成功修复分块 #46（共修复 1 处问题）
• 成功修复分块 #2（共修复 1 处问题）