Royal babies are tumbling out at speed, most notably Zara Tindall, Princess Anne’s daughter, who delivered on the bathroom floor since her number three wouldn’t wait. Followed five days later by Princess Sofia of Sweden’s number three son. And last month Princess Eugenie, Prince Andrew’s youngest, produced her first, another boy. Lucas Tindall, 21 … Read more
The Suez Canal ground to a halt because of a stranded container ship is preventing goods worth an estimated $9.5billion per day from passing either way through the canal. Avoiding the canal by sailing around Africa, a 14-day 5,000 nautical mile journey, can add $450,000 in costs. A prolonged blockage could drive up the price … Read more
Nawal El Saadawi, the outspoken Egyptian feminist, writer and campaigner has died. Born into a traditional family she underwent female genital mutilation when six and at ten refused to marry, eventually qualifying as a doctor. She rose to professional prominence but lost her position because of her criticism of female circumcision, honesty about peasant health … Read more
Elsa Peretti, the jewellery designer who revolutionized the industry with sculptured pieces based on shapes found in nature, such as beans, scorpions and snakes, has died. She also drew inspiration from human skeletons, an early childhood fascination from trips to Italian chapels crammed with the bones of Capuchin friars. Her pieces accounted for 10% … Read more
The omnishambles of the botched EU vaccine procurement, slow roll-out and mystifying suspension and then lifting of the AstraZeneca vaxx have led to infection rates escalating and new lockdowns in France, Italy and Poland, with Germany likely to follow suit. The UK has vaccinated over 40pc of the population and the US 34pc. The EU … Read more
An epic tale of revenge is coming to a head in Scotland which encapsulates every cliché uttered on the subject. ‘While seeking revenge, dig two graves – one for yourself.’ ‘Revenge is its own executioner.’ ‘Revenge… is like a rolling stone, which, when a man hath forced up a hill, will return upon him with … Read more
Pluto, lord of the underworld, is bringer of passion, possessiveness and jealousy. Overseer of five of the seven deadly sins – pride, greed, wrath, envy, lust – it has two primal urges. One is transformation and the other is power, drives which are frequently at war with one another. When Pluto is a strong element … Read more
Greensill Capital, a UK financial services house involved in supply-chain financing has filed for bankruptcy sending out waves of collateral damage to banks such as Credit Suisse, the UK taxpayer and German town councils. Eye-watering sums are involved, Credit Suisse having frozen $1 billion in assets for a hard-to-estimate hit. The FT has calculated there … Read more
‘Marvelous’ Marvin Hagler, who has just died at 66, will be remembered as one of the greatest boxing middleweight fighters and one the finest at any weight in any era. He was a tough boxer, described as having a chip of both shoulders and a hard hitter. Born on 23 May 1954 5.17am Newark, New … Read more
The Daily Mail now dominates the UK market in print and globally online. Rubbished by the prime minister of the day after it launched in 1896 as a “a newspaper produced by office boys for office boys,” it became hugely popular and by the end of the Boer Wars in 1902 it had a … Read more