Its reports and live updates on the devastating tremor were marked at an event in New York on Wednesday.
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Following the international success of her debut novel The Help, Kathryn Stockett returns with The Calamity Club, her first work of fiction for 17 years. As the Great Depression looms over the rich and poor residents of 1930s Mississippi, women on the fringes are battling on every level.
Having spent an unhappy time at the local orphanage, Meg is longing to reach her 12th birthday when she will be permitted to leave to work in a factory. When the defiant Birdie arrives to stay with her aloof sister Frances and joins her at the orphanage to volunteer, this sparks an unlikely bond with Meg and then Charlie as they aim to take back control of their lives.
Featuring strong subject matters including sterilisation, racism and poverty, they are dealt with grace, humour and resilience that bring a sensitive understanding to the difficult topics. At over 600 pages, the pacing of the novel could have been improved after a slow start to proceedings; still, the rich and lengthy cast of intriguing well drawn-out characters do then move the book along.
A thoroughly enjoyable, enriching and heartwarming read that was worth the wait, I predict The Calamity Club will be another book club favourite for many years to come.
Fresh revelations come after two women told the BBC they had been raped on the Channel 4 reality show.
The music legend on delivering “memory songs” for his 20th solo album, The Boys of Dungeon Lane – and why he’s intrigued by the new Beatles biopics.
The ex-Great British Bake Off judge speaks to crowds at Hay Festival about the books that shaped her.
Adapted from the warning pamphlets dropped over Gaza moments before bombardments, Your Presence Is A Danger To Your Life is a harrowing yet vital account of life in Gaza after October 7.
Compiled from the testimonies of 26 Palestinians living under the genocidal siege imposed by the Israeli Defence Force, Syrian writer and journalist Samar Yazbek captures the unimaginable realities faced by the men, women, and children of Gaza. In her introduction, Yazbek writes that “humans are capable of brutalising each other, in ways that challenge language’s very capacity of expression.” Yet the courage and resistance found within these testimonies prove otherwise. By facilitating the voices and stories of those enduring genocide, Yazbek documents humanity at both its most broken and most resilient.
The accounts, narrated by survivors ranging in age from 13 to 65, differ in length and detail but are equally devastating. Throughout the book, survivors speak the names of those who were martyred, ensuring they are remembered in print. In doing so, Your Presence… becomes not only a collection of testimonies, but also a collective eulogy for the Palestinian people.
Among the book’s most disturbing details is its documentation of artificial intelligence and technologically advanced “killing machines,” known locally as the zannanat. These drones are described as capable of issuing commands, scanning faces and irises, and carrying out lethal attacks.
This is not an easy book to read, but it is an essential one. These stories cannot be allowed to disappear into silence, and while world powers may have turned their backs on Palestine, ordinary people still have the responsibility to listen, bear witness, and refuse indifference. One fine thread through this work is the persistence of hope, and therefore resistance. Miraculously, the testimonies leave little room for hatred: instead, they focus on mourning the dead, preserving memory, and finding the strength to overcome unimaginable brutality.
The show starring Nicolas Cage will be available to watch in both colour and black and white.
With support from Irish singer-songwriter Colin Andrew, who bore an uncanny resemblance to actor Paul Mescal, the night began with an immediately electric atmosphere which only peaked when Andrew launched into a cover of Handbags And Gladrags by Rod Stewart. Radiating charisma and charm, he was undeniably responsible for the crowd’s enthusiasm when Kiefer Sutherland eventually took to the stage.
Opening with Down Below, an infectious Americana track from his upcoming album Grey, Sutherland introduced Tramshed to his mesmeric storytelling. Delivering gravelly vocals, each husky riff felt more consoling than the last. An eyebrow-raising, smooth transition into a cover of Garbage’s I’m Only Happy When It Rains, the audience hung on his every note.
Singing farewell to the West Coast, Goodbye California offered a poignant moment of reflection, with fans swaying as they reminisced about the singer’s days in Hollywood. Sutherland appeared truly content, not just with himself but with his music. With a stripped-back set consisting of vintage rugs and a Western-style twig tree, he simply let the songs speak for themselves.
A notable standout of the set was Simpler Time and This Is How It’s Done, blurring the lines between Cardiff’s Tramshed and a smoky country & western bar. It was clear that Sutherland wasn’t trying to prove anything; he was simply here for his love of music. I was particularly captivated by the drum-driven outro of Down In A Hole, which perfected the balance of his set with just as many familiar crowdpleasers as there was new, unreleased material.
Sutherland has undeniably put to rest any talk of music merely being a side project to him, proving instead that it is his genuine passion. Yet, while the gig was impressively atmospheric, one is left wondering if the songs would resonate quite as loudly without a star-studded name on the ticket.
Kiefer Sutherland + Colin Andrew, Tramshed, Cardiff, Fri 22 May
words ELLIE EVANS photos NADINE BALLANTYNE
The Puerto Rican star will make a cameo in the latest in the animated Disney film franchise.
Mexican actor Cristo Fernández, 35, has moved from playing professional football in fictional TV to real life after signing with an American football club.
Fernández – who plays Dani Rojas in the popular TV series Ted Lasso – has signed with USL Championship side El Paso Locomotive FC, the second-highest league in the US.
He tells the BBC that it is a “dream come true” to play professional football and that his popular Ted Lasso catchphrase “football is life” was his own invention.