Peter Bogdanovich, described as ‘the blazing night-sky comet of the New Hollywood generation,’ has died. He had a life of calamitous lows as well as spectacular highs, was twice bankrupt, a drug addict accused of seducing the 13-year-old half-sister of his murdered girlfriend and was also a revered director, a respected actor and an accomplished … Read more
The January 6th anniversary of the Capitol attack by an angry mob, cheer-leaded on by Trump’s false claim the election had been stolen, has come and gone. The House select committee set up in July 2021 to investigate, after an attempt to impeach Trump for incitement of insurrection fell short of the two thirds majority … Read more
Sidney Poitier, the trailblazing actor and a respected humanitarian and diplomat, the first black man to win a best actor Oscar, has died at 94. Barack Obama said he “epitomised dignity and grace” and had “singular talent” and he opened doors for a generation of actors to follow like Denzel Washington. He combated prejudice and … Read more
Tennis world No. 1 Novak Djokovic is locked up in an Australian refugee detention hotel over the weekend in deportation limbo after his visa was rejected. He claimed medical exemption for entry though it is not known on what grounds, apart from speculation that he used the excuse of a bout of Covid six months … Read more
The belated knighthood given to Tony Blair in an elevation to the Order of the Garter in the New Year Honours has aroused fury with more than 500,000 signatures on a petition to stop it. Anti-war campaigners described it as a “kick in the teeth” for the people of Iraq and Afghanistan, and military mothers … Read more
The Australian economic contraction caused by Covid has been less severe than feared. The signs are that the economy is primed for a rebound with expansion through 2022 and full employment by late in the year. The financial hit from the decoupling with China over political differences and criticism of the Wuhan origins of Covid, … Read more
Canada heads into 2022 with an economy roared back to pre-pandemic levels and a full recovery with 5.4% growth in the third quarter. Hopes are that this will continue though there is uncertainty about the impact of the Omnicron variant. The key factor astrologically is what will happen when transiting Uranus crosses the Canada … Read more
April Ashley, model, actress, writer and an early transgender woman who had sex reassignment surgery in Casablanca in 1960, has died. She was probably inter-sex and had an unhappy childhood with an abusive mother, joined the navy, attempted suicide and eventually ended up in Paris performing in a drag nightclub which allowed her to save … Read more
The James Webb Space Telescope had a perfect launch on its ‘voyage back to the birth of the universe’. It is planned to succeed the Hubble Space Telescope as NASA’s flagship mission in astrophysics and designed to answer unsolved questions about the universe. It will look further back in time than ever before to 400 … Read more
Cross the spine-chilling intrigues of King Henry V111’s court and Arabian Nights and you get a whiff of the atmosphere around the £500,000 divorce of Princess Haya, daughter of King Hussein of Jordan, and the youngest of six wives of Sheikh Maktoum, billionaire ruler of Dubai. She fled Dubai in 2019 saying she … Read more