Author: Liam Porter

Chris Brown has pleaded not guilty to an assault charge in London after he allegedly attacked a fellow club-goer with a bottle in 2023. The 36-year-old American star — currently on tour in Europe — is accused of attempting to cause grievous bodily harm to music producer Abraham Diaw just hours after performing to thousands at a venue in Cardiff, Wales. Prosecutors call the attack “unprovoked.” The BBC reported on Friday that Brown, also facing charges of assault occasioning actual bodily harm and having an offensive weapon, appeared at Southwark Crown Court in London to deny the first charge. He did…

A midsummer pole dance in southern SwedenI enjoyed midsummer at a rented beachside cottage in the Skåne village of Bjärred, north of Malmö, with Swedish friends. We ventured to the local church to enjoy the dancing round a midsummer pole decorated with vibrant blue and red flowers, with many local residents adorned in intricately decorated flower crowns. After taking a dip in the Öresund strait along the long jetty with its bathhouse, we towelled off to indulge in deliciously sweet strawberries and sip Briska ciders into the late hours of daylight.CaitlinA party on Denmark’s northern shoresA sand dune-lined beach in…

Birmingham City have expressed an interest in signing £7.5m-rated ex-Celtic forward Kyogo Furuhashi, 30, from French Ligue 1 side Rennes. (Sponichi Annex – via Scottish Sun), externalTurkish club Trabzonspor have agreed a fee in the region of £6.8m (€8m) with Southampton for striker Paul Onuachu, 31, and negotiations over personal terms are ongoing. (Fabrizio Romano), externalThe Saints have rejected a £10m (€12m) bid for winger Kamaldeen Sulemana, 23, from Italian Serie A side Atalanta, who are managed by former Southampton boss Ivan Juric. (Sky Sports), externalSouthampton and Sheffield United face stiff competition from Leeds, Wolves and four German Bundesliga clubs…

Pirates of the Caribbean is a $4.5bn swashbuckling film franchise and Blackbeard and Calico Jack Rackham are among marauding buccaneers who have captured imaginations over the centuries.But almost nothing is known about the life and times of actual pirates.Now a leading British marine archaeologist is co-directing an expedition that has been allowed for the first time to search for pirate ships off Nassau on the island of New Providence, a notorious pirate hideout 300 years ago.No one had until now explored the seabed for their ships and treasure, let alone everyday belongings that could be as valuable to historical research…

In 2026, Australia will open the doors to a newly built international airport for the first time in over 50 years—and it’s so stunning you might actually want to spend hours in the terminal.Western Sydney International Airport (WSI), slated to debut next year, has just reached its most important milestone yet: Major construction on the terminal is now complete, and its designers have unveiled a first look at the airport’s beautiful interior.WSI is located in Sydney’s Badgerys Creek neighborhood, approximately a 35-minute drive west from Sydney Kingsford Smith Airport (SYD), Australia’s busiest air travel hub. Designed by Zaha Hadid Architects…

Iran built its most critical nuclear enrichment facility, Fordo, deep inside a mountain to shield it from attacks.But the United States has a bomb that experts think could probably reach the subterranean site. President Trump is considering a plan to use it.Only the U.S. military has the 30,000-pound GBU-57, or Massive Ordnance Penetrator, that may be able to destroy Fordo, and it is the only armed force with aircraft that can carry out a mission with it. Sources: Congressional Research Service (bomb capabilities); Center for Strategic and International Studies, Institute for Science and International Security (minimum depth of facility) The…

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.US private equity giant Apollo will provide £4.5bn in debt financing to support the UK’s Hinkley Point nuclear project, in a deal that will help ease financial pressures on the flagship development.The investment grade financing will be provided as unsecured debt at an interest rate just below 7 per cent, people familiar with the matter said.The funding could be used for other UK projects by French state-owned electricity group EDF, but Hinkley Point is expected to be the primary target for the…

I’ve visited the inner-city Melbourne suburb of Footscray many times but last week I saw it in an entirely different light: as a nightmarish bizarro world, sort of real and sort of not. The concept of using art to reinvigorate disused spaces is far from novel, but it’s been taken to compelling heights in The Door in Question, an intense – and at times deeply unsettling – 90-minute extended reality, or XR, production that blends immersive theatre, escape rooms, virtual reality and mixed reality (overlaying the real world with digital elements).Described by creator and director Troy Rainbow as “an immersive…

Marian Crișan, who won the Palme d’Or in Cannes for his short film “Megatron” as well as directing Locarno award-winning “Morgen” and HBO series “Silent Valley,” is gearing up to shoot his next project in Romania this August. “Holy Light” is a co-production between Crișan’s Rova Film banner, Moldova’s Alternative Cinema, and Slovakia’s Nukleon Frame and financed through CNC Romania, CNC Moldova, and the Slovak Audiovisual Fund. Speaking with Variety out of his homeground at the Transilvania Film Festival, where he is presenting at the Pitch Stop as the producer for Ilinca Straton and Eugen Dediu’s “At King’s Gate,” Crișan…

One of my most vivid memories of covering the NBA is watching T.J. McConnell shoot 3-pointers in an off-site practice gym. It was 2018 and the 76ers were in Miami playing the Heat in the first round of the playoffs. I was there to interview then-Sixers coach Brett Brown, but I found myself more interested in this little dude hoisting shots up in the background. And yes, hoisting is the right word. In stark contrast to most NBA players who flick up 30 footers like they’re tossing wadded-up paper into the trash bin, McConnell appeared to be using every ounce of…