Marie Yovanovitch, the ousted U.S. ambassador to Ukraine said a “smear campaign” against her by the President and Rudy Giuliani, his personal lawyer, undermined U.S. national security and emboldened Russia. During impeachment proceedings she said she was “kneecapped” by corrupt interests and abandoned by State Department leaders. Trump in his usual knee-jerk fit of … Read more
The first public hearings in the Trump impeachment process in Congress started today at 10.06am. It’s a long process that may end up in front of the Republican-controlled Senate who are likely to vote in favour of the president. But public testimony from diplomats and others indicating that Trump improperly used his office … Read more
Sarah Brightman, the world’s best-selling soprano and a superstar of the crossover genre between pop and classical, has given her first concert in the UK for fifteen years to an enraptured audience in the Albert Hall. Best known for Phantom of the Opera and her ‘Time to say Goodbye’ duet with Andrea Bocelli, she … Read more
The US stock market’s meteoric rise stands in sharp contrast to sagging investor confidence in the face of a worsening economic outlook. “There is a disconnect between where the market is going and where the economy is heading,” one analyst said, with the China-USA trade tiff harming US consumers and farmers more than Chinese. A … Read more
A frisson of a Royal sex scandal (or two) is a welcome relief from the tedium of politics on a roid-rage rampage. Season 3 of The Crown dramatizes Princess Anne’s fling with Andrew Parker Bowles in the early 1970s, who was the about-to-be husband of Camilla, with Camilla simultaneously dallying with Princess Charles. The aristos … Read more
Petite, mischievous and renowned for her eccentric fashion style when off set, actress Helena Bonham Carter, has been grabbing audiences and awards for an astonishing three decades. Born 28 May 1966 in London, her latest jaunt is playing Princess Margaret in Netflix’s The Crown, seasons 3 and 4. She comes from an illustrious family … Read more
Mike Bloomberg, the billionaire former three-times mayor of New York City, is contemplating a possible 2020 presidential campaign, reversing his decision earlier in the year, though he hasn’t firmly decided yet. His concern is that the current crop of Democratic presidential candidates are not up to defeating Trump. Bloomberg is a divisive figure not least … Read more
Shakespeare’s Prince Hal rose to the challenge of transitioning into a stalwart King Henry. Which was the faint hope in Thailand two years back when Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn moved closer to replacing his revered, steady-hand-on-the-tiller father who had reigned for seven decades. Maha, 28 July 1952 5.45pm Bangkok, Thailand, was a playboy prince, with a … Read more
Anthony Hopkins looks set for another triumph with Netflix’s The Two Popes receiving rave reviews. He plays Pope Benedict, wracked with doubt on the edge of retirement with Jonathan Pryce as the other lead playing his greatest critic and future successor Pope Francis. It launches later this month and is based on a play … Read more
Lindsay Hoyle is reckoned a safe pair of hands as the new Speaker of the House of Commons as it enters one of the most decisive times in its long history. After the pyrotechnics of John Bercow everyone is sighing with relief. Hoyle, 10 June 1957, is a known quantity having been a … Read more