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Tired, emotional and besieged by fans and enemies alike, by 1966 the Fab Four were ready to quit touring for good. A new collection of images by rock photographer Jim Marshall captures their last gigs
The Beatles played their last official concert on 29 August 1966, at Candlestick Park in San Francisco. Jim Marshall’s pictures capture the group at a pivotal moment, when they are already feeling nostalgia for what they are leaving behind.
Two months earlier, the Beatles had finished precording Revolver, a glittering collection of pop gems. The next day they boarded a plane to begin a global tour during which they would play nothing from it. They were not being perverse; it was simply that none of the songs lent themselves to live performance. On stage, they were a four-piece band. They could hardly play anything as complex as Eleanor Rigby or Tomorrow Never Knows to tens of thousands of fans.
Continue reading...Sun, 07 Jun 2026 05:00:24 GMT
Visitors flock to Book Arsenal in Ukraine’s capital as wartime writing takes centre stage
It was a literary festival, all right, but if your reference for such things is Hay-on-Wye and Edinburgh, or Melbourne and Sydney, or New York and Washington DC, then at Kyiv Book Arsenal you might think you had slipped through a crack in the universe and landed in an alternative reality.
For a start, they were so young, the audience members. Dressed in their considerable best, they clutched their bags of books bought directly from publishers’ stalls and stopped to hug their friends – the festival providing the perfect opportunity for a people-watching passeggiata through its venue, the city’s vast 18th-century military arsenal.
Continue reading...Sun, 07 Jun 2026 09:00:29 GMT
One of the best seats in Manchester, if not the entire north
I’m perched on a tall stool at a new Manchester bar, perusing a menu of fishy things and various aquatically adjacent items: Lindisfarne oysters, devilled eggs with brown crab and trout roe, hand-dived razor clams and scallop tartare with elderflower dressing. Bar Shrimp sits on New York Street, which feels weirdly fitting, because this place is much more “quietly sceney” New York than anything remotely “aren’t we edgy?” London. Glass-fronted, with discreet net curtains and a Tracey Emin-esque neon name sign, inside it’s draped, floor-to-ceiling, in red, just like in those red room scenes in Twin Peaks. Expect oversized, monogrammed ice cubes, nine types of mezcal and just as many amaros, as well as a menu featuring the likes of cuttlefish sandwiches and buffalo fried cod with blue cheese dressing.
Bar Shrimp is a dog whistle to 1980s kids such as myself, who grew up seeing New York in the likes of After Hours or Wall Street, or in something with James Spader being up to no good and drinking Japanese whiskey highballs. It’s a bar opened by three friends: chef Joseph Otway, sommelier Daniel Craig Martin and general manager Richard Cossins, who met while they were all working at Dan Barber’s Blue Hill at Stone Barns in Tarrytown, New York State. (Blue Hill, in case you didn’t know, is catnip to the aloof foodie crowd – its customers wouldn’t be seen dead at Noma because it’s far too accessible). But does Bar Shrimp make a terrific fuss about this hallowed connection? Nope. Are there nods to Saint Dan Barber dotted around the place, or even in Higher Ground, the Bar Shrimp team’s acclaimed neo-bistro next door? Nah. Does Bar Shrimp even mention that it and Higher Ground are supplied by Cinderwood Market Garden, their own working farm in Nantwich, Cheshire, and pretty much in the spirit of Barber’s Blue Hill mantra? Barely. The Shrimp boys are far too cool to namedrop.
Continue reading...Sun, 07 Jun 2026 05:00:25 GMT
Legal papers, expert investigations and social media posts tell story of how a 32-year-old Iraqi appeared to run ‘proxy’ campaign
On Monday, a slightly dishevelled Iraqi man, shackled and dressed in beige prison overalls, was ushered into a Manhattan courtroom.
Mohammad Baqer Saad Dawood al-Saadi, 32, pleaded not guilty to a series of terrorism-related offences, then gestured toward the judge and prosecutors. “I’m a prisoner of war. I’m not a threat,” he told them. “Children and women are being killed by your rockets.”
Continue reading...Sun, 07 Jun 2026 05:00:24 GMT
The US president brags about ending wars but look at Ukraine, Gaza, Iran and Lebanon to see what his casual disregard for diplomacy and obsession with instant results have achieved
There are visionary statesmen and high-minded negotiators, pragmatic mediators and professional diplomats – and then there are meddling fools. As ceasefires implode, vast numbers of civilians die or flee, and wars Donald Trump started, fuelled or pledged to resolve rage unchecked, there’s no doubt which category he belongs to. In baseball parlance, in Ukraine, Iran-Lebanon and Israel-Palestine, Trump is “0 for 3”. He boasted he alone could cut deals and bring peace. He’s delivered neither. In striking out, he mostly makes matters worse.
The heroic age of 19th-century diplomacy, typified by Prince Metternich’s great power-balancing “concert of Europe” and Benjamin Disraeli’s Balkan “peace with honour”, is history now. But it’s not that long since Nobel-winning peacemakers such as the UN chief Kofi Annan and the Finnish diplomat Martti Ahtisaari, or the US senator George Mitchell, who brokered Northern Ireland’s Good Friday agreement, were troubleshooting intractable conflicts the world over. Where are the successors to Desmond Tutu, Andrei Sakharov or Yitzhak Rabin when you need them?
Simon Tisdall is a Guardian foreign affairs commentator
Continue reading...Sun, 07 Jun 2026 05:00:25 GMT
More and more of our furry friends are getting their own living spaces, complete with soft furnishings and decorations. We asked some of the owners why
Lox is sprawled out on a green sofa, bathed in warm light from a standing lamp, framed art on the wall behind him.
This may sound like a relatively ordinary description of someone in their living room – except that Lox is a cat, not a human, and the “living room” he shares with another cat, Lottie, is a converted cupboard in a New York apartment.
Continue reading...Sun, 07 Jun 2026 04:00:23 GMT
Research shows generations of children in England will grow up homeless unless government addresses council housing debt, charity says
It would take more than a century to clear the social housing waiting lists in England at the government’s current speed of delivering new social homes, research by Shelter has shown.
The housing charity found that more than 1.3m households are on a waiting list for a social home, but only 12,198 were built by councils, housing associations or private developers across England last year. This equates to an average of 110 households waiting for every new social home delivered, and it would take 119 years to clear the waiting lists if building continued at the same rate.
Continue reading...Sun, 07 Jun 2026 06:00:26 GMT
The justice secretary said he spoke to the US vice president after he blamed mass immigration for Nowak’s murder
There is an interesting report in the Sunday Times saying that Keir Starmer is considering targeting net zero and transport as he looks for cuts to fund his defence investment plan.
Starmer will reportedly cut capital investment, which covers (long-term) investment in buildings and equipment, across all government departments by 1% to raise about £6bn by the end of this parliament – but is seeking to impose further cuts on transport and net zero.
Continue reading...Sun, 07 Jun 2026 09:42:47 GMT
Exclusive: deal in 2020 had sought to stimulate local battery making but industry says it still cannot meet targets
The EU and UK car industries are urging the European Commission to adjust the Brexit trade deal and suspend, for a second time, tariffs on imports of electric vehicles.
They have expressed concerns that they will not be able to meet the conditions set for 1 January 2027 for tariff-free sales. This is because of strict rules of origin over what products can qualify for tariff-free trade under the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement which has applied since 2021.
Continue reading...Sun, 07 Jun 2026 06:00:25 GMT
Keiko Fujimori, the daughter of 1990s leader Alberto, is vying with a congressman to become country’s ninth president in a decade
Peruvians go to the polls on Sunday in an election runoff that pits a perennial rightwing candidate, Keiko Fujimori, against a leftist congressman, Roberto Sánchez. Amid rising crime, chronic political instability, corruption scandals and voter apathy, they are vying to become Peru’s ninth president in a decade.
Fujimori, who is the daughter of the late president Alberto Fujimori, won 17% of the vote in the first round in April. Sánchez, a former trade and tourism minister, took 12 % of the vote, edging out Rafael López Aliaga, an ultra-conservative former Lima mayor. The stage is set for a polarised left-right replay of the country’s last election in 2021.
Continue reading...Sun, 07 Jun 2026 05:00:24 GMT
Offers and services for you
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LE MASSIF SPA
Envelop yourself in the energy and essences of the alpine woodland and succumb to true wellness with our exclusive selection of rituals and treatments.
The BIOAQUAM CIRCUIT includes indoor and outdoor jacuzzi (30 sqm), indoor and outdoor sauna, steam room, relaxation areas and spa buffet with infusions and detox snacks.
PRIVATE SPA. A spa within a spa: rituals and relaxation in an exclusive setting, just for you. Experience unique wellbeing, alone or with a partner.The SECRETS OF THE FOREST, enchanting itineraries, with treatments inspired by thousands of years of Alpine wisdom and therapeutic, precious products sourced from mountain meadows and woods.
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CHÉTIF RESTAURANT
Our restaurant is a journey through the authentic flavours of our mountain cuisine and traditional Mediterranean cooking.
Every day our chefs carefully prepare the best raw ingredients and proudly present the fresh pasta and desserts they have made in our kitchen with infinite passion and devotion. The carefully curated wine list, the splendour of the surroundings and the distinctive service will engage your senses and fill your holidays with memorable experiences at table too. -
DEL GIGANTE BAR
Our hotel bar is named after the “Dente del Gigante”, or Giant’s Tooth, a mountain peak more than 4,000 metres tall in the northern section of the Mont Blanc massif. After a day out on the slopes or exploring the mountains, treat yourself to a delicious afternoon tea, Italian aperitivo or glass of wine. Berni, our Bar Manager, is a real icon of Courmayeur Dolce Vita, don’t it miss it out.
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LA LOGE DU MASSIF SKI LODGE
Is your private ski lodge on the slopes of Plan Checrouit
• Restaurant with indoor and outdoor areas
• Bar and après-ski
• 3 Terraces with 360° panoramic views on Mont Blanc glaciers
• Kids club (3-12 years)
• Ski concierge service and private ski-in/ski-out room with
heated lockers and direct access to the slopes. -
GIFT VOUCHERS
The most beautiful gifts are made up of happiness, splendour and relaxation.
Exactly what we offer at Le Massif, where every moment is created from the spirit of Italian hospitality.
HOLIDAY GIFT VOUCHER
Give the gift of a holiday in search of the most prestigious wellnes.
CUSTOM GIFT VOUCHER
Choose the value of your gift voucher and give the present of cherished relaxation and pampering.
SPA GIFT VOUCHER
A relaxing day at the natural spa.
Info and reservations at reception.