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‘It had to be Jessie Buckley’: star-maker Nina Gold glimpses Oscar chance for Hamnet casting

‘It had to be Jessie Buckley’: star-maker Nina Gold glimpses Oscar chance for Hamnet casting

Woman who paired Buckley with Paul Mescal in critics’ favourite is contender in new Academy Award category If you were to compile a list of the most powerful people in the movie business, you might start with the auteurs, the A-list actors or the execs who bankroll Oscar-winning projects. But among those better-known powerbrokers is another vital cog in the Hollywood machine: the people with the ability to make and grow stars. Continue reading...

A linguistic own goal from Starmer’s critics | Letters

A linguistic own goal from Starmer’s critics | Letters

Readers respond to Jonathan Liew’s article on rude chants on the football terraces about the prime minister Jonathan Liew links rude football chants to the unmerited personal abuse which Keir Starmer is currently receiving ( When crowds direct offensive chants at Keir Starmer, who’s to blame? I’m afraid he is, 13 January ). Football managers are frequently the target for similar treatment. Like them, Starmer has to set his team’s strategy and tactics and produce results that please supporters. Continue reading...

A long-running battle between family-run cafes and the chains | Letters

A long-running battle between family-run cafes and the chains | Letters

Guardian readers responds to an article by Rhiannon Lucy Cosslett in which she laments the takeover of four family-owned cafes I can’t help being disappointed by the current controversy over the Hampstead Heath cafes, as highlighted by Rhiannon Lucy Cosslett ( I’m sick of avocado toast – I just want to keep my local, untrendy cafe, 12 January ), as it’s all happened before. In 2016, as chair of the Hampstead Heath management committee, I voted against the proposal to take the running of the Parliament Hill cafe away from the D’Auria family and hand it to the Benugo chain, but the proposal was initially agreed (albeit by only one vote). There was a predictable outcry against this decision, and I found myself confronted by angry protesters at a meeting chaired by the local MP, Keir Starmer. Continue reading...

Testing times for English cricket | Letters

Testing times for English cricket | Letters

Readers respond to Emma John’s article on the difference in attitudes to the game in England and Australia Emma John’s perceptive analysis of cricket in Australia is spot-on ( England ruthlessly privatised cricket – Australia embraces it with constant public displays of affection, 9 January ). I have been visiting Australia for many years – our son and his family live in Sydney. The locals, on hearing my accent, mostly respond by saying “Sorry about the cricket, mate.” It’s not in a gloating or superior way, but in a genuine sense of puzzlement at how when we have often promised a real contest we perform like a malfunctioning firework. As Emma observes, in Australia cricket is a national obsession and accessible to all, either to watch or to play. In England it has become elitist, with free-to-air TV coverage long gone, the cost of going to a game increasingly prohibitive and the county game’s importance as a place to learn having been eroded. In spite of a loyal and well-heeled bunch of supporters, epitomised by the Barmy Army, it has become a minority sport, and the poorer for it. Continue reading...

Art is good for mental health? Not when you’re a novelist in poverty | Letter

Art is good for mental health? Not when you’re a novelist in poverty | Letter

Publishing pays abysmally, says an anonymous writer, who feels closer to their neighbours on benefits than to their former peers in teaching and academia Access to the arts might be good for mental health ( The Guardian view on living more creatively: a daily dose of art, 9 January ), but the conditions in which most artists have to produce their work does nothing to improve their own. I’m a novelist, and I was paid £1,000 and £500 respectively for my last two books. The latter was shortlisted for an international literary award. That’s £1,500 earned in 10 years. Before turning to writing full-time, I worked in other areas: in local government, and as a teacher and academic. Continue reading...

'I'm the tariff KING and the tariff king has done a great job!' - Trump

'I'm the tariff KING and the tariff king has done a great job!' - Trump

"Donald Trump described himself as the 'tariff king' as he unveiled his new 'Great Healthcare Plan' in DC on Friday. "If you have the wrong president, they'll change the system in two minutes. I mean, they'll change it. And the drug companies are very powerful, too. You have to deal with them. In this case, it was both. I mean, you had a problem with the drug companies, but you had a tougher problem in theory other than the fact that i understood how to deal with them and I'm the tariff king and the tariff king has done a great job and i hope we win the Supreme Court case because if we don't uh be a shame for our country. It would be a shame," he said. Trump's tariffs agenda is being challenged in the US courts by a group of businesses and some US states, arguing that the president does not have the authority to impose the extra levies. It could see the administration forced to refund billions of dollars - while Trump has admitted that would be 'almost impossible for our country to pay'. The administration says the new healthcare plan will lower prices and premiums, hold insurance companies accountable and mean better transparency in the system. "

'Wipe out US imperialism!' - Johannesburg rallies against 'Trumpism', blasts Washington policy in Venezuela, Palestine

'Wipe out US imperialism!' - Johannesburg rallies against 'Trumpism', blasts Washington policy in Venezuela, Palestine

"Hundreds of protesters gathered outside the United States Consulate in Johannesburg's district of Sandton on Friday, to denounce US 'imperialism' and Washington's foreign policies toward Venezuela and Palestine. Footage shows demonstrators holding Palestinian flags and placards bearing messages such as, 'America has always been on the wrong side of every liberation struggle on earth', and 'Wipe out US imperialism'. Activist Stephen Faulkner said there are clear parallels between what Palestine and Venezuela are facing, stating both countries are being 'under attack from imperialism'. "This is very scary for us in the southern part of our continent," Faulkner said. "We know our continent is rich with extractives and possesses many things the Northern Hemisphere wants." He claimed that the issue goes beyond oil, saying, "If you show that you are prepared to empower the people and take on the multinational companies - which are at the core of Trumpism - then you can expect repression. That is Trump's message." Protesters also alleged that Donald Trump narratives targeting Venezuela and South Africa are merely a pretext for sanctions or economic intervention. "Both are clearly false and are being used as a pretext to justify actions in South Africa as well, such as imposing more tariffs or even sanctions," one demonstrator said. Maduro and his wife, accused of narco-terrorism by the United States, were captured in the so-called 'Operation Absolute Resolution', led by US forces, which involved attacks in Caracas and three states near the capital. At least 100 people were killed and 'a similar number wounded' as a result of the operation, according to Venezuela's Minister of Interior, Justice and Peace, Diosdado Cabello. Venezuela's acting President Delcy Rodriguez reaffirmed Maduro's authority despite his imprisonment, stating that "there is a government, that of President Nicolas Maduro" and that she has "the responsibility to take charge while his kidnapping lasts.""