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Who is Robert Jenrick’s wife Michal Berkner?

Who is Robert Jenrick’s wife Michal Berkner?

ROBERT Jenrick sensationally defected to Reform UK after being sacked by Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch. The MP has made headlines recently, but who is his wife Michal Berkner? Who is Robert Jenrick? Robert Jenrick was elected as the MP for Newark at the 2014 by-election following the resignation of the Conservative Patrick Mercer. He had been...

Bank of England governor hits out at populism as Trump interferes in US Fed

Bank of England governor hits out at populism as Trump interferes in US Fed

Andrew Bailey says he and heads of other institutions have duty to ‘challenge back’ populist narratives Business live – latest updates The governor of the Bank of England has called on the world’s leading global institutions to fight back against the rise of populism as one of the biggest threats to growth in living standards. In a thinly-veiled response to Donald Trump’s attempts to interfere in the independence of the US Federal Reserve , Andrew Bailey said that he and the heads of other institutions had a duty to “challenge back” populist narratives. Continue reading...

Add to playlist: the dark fog of Los Angeles saxophonist Aaron Shaw and the week’s best new tracks

Add to playlist: the dark fog of Los Angeles saxophonist Aaron Shaw and the week’s best new tracks

The woodwind player who taught André 3000 music theory releases his searching debut album next month From Los Angeles Recommend if you like Miguel Atwood Ferguson, Shabaka Hutchings’s flute music, the Coltranes Up next Debut album And So It Is released 13 February For woodwind players, breath is everything: the lifeforce of artistry, the thing that furnishes sound with personality. But a few years ago, the Los Angeles saxophonist Aaron Shaw realised he was becoming increasingly breathless. In 2023, aged 27, he was diagnosed with bone marrow failure, meaning he wan’t producing enough oxygen-carrying red blood cells. A change of approach was required. Continue reading...

Family of man killed by off-duty ICE agent in LA demands charges: ‘The ache will never go away’

Family of man killed by off-duty ICE agent in LA demands charges: ‘The ache will never go away’

After Renee Good’s killing in Minneapolis, calls grow for accountability in the shooting of Keith Porter Jr on New Year’s Eve Family and friends of a Los Angeles man who was killed by an off-duty US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer over the holidays are urging local officials to arrest and prosecute the federal agent. Keith Porter Jr, a 43-year-old father of two, was fatally shot by an ICE officer on New Year’s Eve outside his apartment complex, according to LA and federal officials. An LA police department (LAPD) spokesperson said after the incident that Porter had fired gunshots into the air. A US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) spokesperson said the off-duty immigration officer was “forced to defensively use his weapon” while responding to an “active shooter”. Continue reading...

The best recent crime and thrillers – review roundup

The best recent crime and thrillers – review roundup

The Cut Up by Louise Welsh; The Persian by David McCloskey; The 10:12 by Anna Maloney; Very Slowly All at Once by Lauren Schott; Vivian Dies Again by CE Hulse The Cut Up by Louise Welsh (Canongate, £20) This welcome third outing for gay Glaswegian auctioneer Rilke opens with his discovery of a body. Obnoxious jewellery dealer Rodney Manderson has been killed outside the Bowery auction rooms, stabbed through the eye with the Victorian hatpin that his boss, Rose Bowery, has brandished in front of the nation on Bargain Hunt. As she discussed the pin’s virtues as a deadly weapon as well as its millinerial uses, the fiercely loyal Rilke decides – while feeling grateful to have skipped lunch and trying not to think of jelly – to remove it before calling the police. They soon decide they’ve got their man, but Rilke’s not so sure; the roots of the crime may lie in the past – in particular, a notorious reform school. With a central character who feels like an old friend, The Cut Up is as sharply observed, humane and beautifully written as its two superb predecessors. The Persian by David McCloskey (Swift, £20) Former CIA analyst McCloskey’s fourth novel centres on Jewish Iranian dentist Kam Esfahani. Dissatisfied with life in Sweden, where his family relocated when driven out of Iran, and wanting the wherewithal to move to California, he accepts an offer from the chief of Mossad’s Caesarea Division. Returning to Tehran, he runs a fake dental practice as cover for assisting in “sowing chaos and mayhem in Iran”. Things go awry when he enlists double agent Roya Shabani, widow of an Iranian scientist killed by the Israelis. The book takes the form of a series of confessions that Kam, now caught and imprisoned, is forced to write by his torturer, and these documents – which may or may not reveal the whole truth – are interspersed with flashbacks. Kam’s cynical tone and mordant humour serve to underline not only the horror, but also the inherent hypocrisy of the endless cycle of violence and retribution: this masterly novel is tragically topical and utterly gripping. Continue reading...