Study highlights ‘extraordinary consolidation of power’ in pensions market
More should be done to make sure that there is ‘proper accountability’ of trustees, former pensions minister Sir Steve Webb argued. Source link
All posts tagged: extraordinary
Director Guillermo del Toro recognised for ‘extraordinary’ contribution to film
A celebration of his work will also see his 1992 film debut Cronos re-released in cinemas next month. Source link
#Melania Trump denies #Epstein ties in extraordinary address
First lady Melania Trump denied she had any relationship with Jeffrey Epstein in an extraordinary address from the White House on Thursday and dismissed online speculation that the disgraced financier and sex offender introduced her to Donald Trump. “I have never been friends with Epstein,” she said. Source link
Stephen Fry on his Standard Theatre Award: ‘Being in a play is extraordinary’
This is the sort of gold you get when you talk to Fry. “As I got older, I discovered more about Oscar and more about myself and just felt this immediate connection to this remarkable man,” he continues. After playing Wilde in the eponymous 1997 film, “I had in my head that it would be wonderful to play Lady Bracknell, although I didn’t like to push myself forward, because, you know, one’s British, after all, and you don’t do that. So when the offer came … well it meant so much but it terrified me. I was absolutely appalled at the possibility of it not working.” As the reviews attested, it worked very well indeed: his Lady Bracknell was magnificent. Source link
A bust of Barbra Streisand and beautiful memories: Richard E Grant’s garden – in seven extraordinary items | Richard E Grant
Step into Richard E Grant’s garden in Richmond, London, and you’ll be met with a rather unconventional sight. Instead of the daffodils and tulips you’d usually find in an English garden at this time of year, Grant’s space is full of props and decorations from the films he’s starred in – from Saltburn to Carrie Cracknell’s 2022 adaptation of Persuasion. After any job, he says, “I go to the production department and try and buy or bribe my way” to get pieces to put in his garden. The space has, until now, been a private spot for Grant to entertain his actor friends. But now he has shared it with the world as part of the Royal Horticultural Society’s new podcast, Roots. I took a look around it – here are some of the weird and wonderful things that can be found there. Saltburn’s proscenium arch The colourful proscenium arch from Saltburn. Photograph: RHS Behind a hedge and next to a wooden bench is something fans of Emerald Fennell’s 2023 hit Saltburn will recognise instantly. …
Gaelic Warrior storms to Gold Cup glory as Mullins makes extraordinary look normal
Good morning and welcome to our live coverage of the fourth and final day of the Cheltenham Festival as we build up to the Gold Cup at 4pm. Overnight rain has made the going good to soft, soft in places, but with a drying breeze and only light showers forecast today there cannot be any excuses. It remains good National Hunt ground. What we could call the King George triumvirate – The Jukebox Man, Gaelic Warrior and Jango Baie – are jostling for favouritism at the top of the betting, but the money this morning has come for Jango Baie, 7/2 from 11/2. Last year’s Arkle winner is stepping up in trip, but could be the classiest type in the contest and Nicky Henderson’s horses have generally been running well. Nico De Boinville is on board, and is looking to win his second Gold Cup having won as a conditional jockey on novice Coneygree in 2015. Harry Redknapp’s The Jukebox Man finished in front of Jango Baie and Gaelic Warrior in the King George and is …
‘Extraordinary cruelty’: images show longterm ‘starvation strategy’ in Sudan | Global development
There is strong evidence that the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) committed a war crime by depriving the villagers of north Darfur of the means to produce food, legal experts argue in a new analysis published today calling for the Humanitarian Research Lab’s (HRL) revelations to be used in international courts. The destruction of the villages, farming equipment and infrastructure all provide strong evidence of a “starvation strategy” against a population already struggling with food insecurity because of the war, says Tom Dannenbaum, a professor at Stanford Law School and a leading expert on the use of starvation in war. “People were at the brink of starvation and objects indispensable to their survival were being destroyed,” says Dannenbaum, who co-authored the analysis alongside Yale Law School professor Oona Hathaway. He says it was not merely the fact the villages had been attacked but the targeted destruction of livestock enclosures, as well as the forced displacement of the farmers, that led to reduced farming activity that suggested a deliberate attempt to prevent the villages from being able …
Harrison Ford thanks his ‘extraordinary’ wife after receiving SAG-AFTRA Life Achievement Award
Harrison Ford is grateful to a lot of people, including his wife Calista Flockhart, after receiving the Life Achievement Award at the 2026 Actors Awards. He was named the 61st recipient of SAG-AFTRA’s highest honor: the SAG-AFTRA Life Achievement Award for his career and humanitarian accomplishments. The 83-year-old actor was presented his award by fellow actor and longtime friend, Woody Harrelson. “I’m still a working actor,” the legendary actor said, after joking that he was just halfway through his career. Harrison thanked a slew of people who impacted him throughout his career – George Lucas, Steven Spielberg, and of course, his wife, Calista. © Getty ImagesHarrison poses with his 61st SAG-AFTRA Life Achievement Award award “I want to say thank you, from the bottom of my heart to my extraordinary, beautiful wife, Calista,” the actor said, clearly emotional. “And my family, who have given me love and courage through all of it.” Calista looked on with tears in her eyes, cheering on her husband. Harrison wrapped up his speech with a joke, telling the crowd: …
The Testament of Ann Lee review – Amanda Seyfried is (maybe) the second coming of Christ in this extraordinary biopic
Get the latest entertainment news, reviews and star-studded interviews with our Independent Culture email Get the latest entertainment news with our free Culture newsletter Get the latest entertainment news with our free Culture newsletter An extraordinary woman, shuffled off into the margins of history, is gifted ecstatic new life in The Testament of Ann Lee. And, best of all, it’s a musical – of shuddering, percussive breaths; the yowl of the electric guitar; and the soft, vibrating thuds of hands smacking flesh in self-soothing repetition. Together, they tell the story of Ann Lee (Amanda Seyfried), the prophet of the 18th-century Shaker movement, whose belief that she was the second coming of Christ offered a vision of equality of gender and race, of pacifism and community. As a film, it’s both faithful and thrillingly iconoclastic. It revives the tradition of painted backdrops, alongside William Rexer’s rich cinematography on 35mm film stock, while reinterpreting Shaker worship, songs and dances that varied between uncontrolled emotional outbursts and symbolic gesture, through a modern, abstract style by composer Daniel Blumberg …
Queen meets Gisele Pelicot and praises rape survivor’s ‘extraordinary dignity’ | UK News
The Queen has met French rape survivor, Gisele Pelicot, and told her she was left “speechless” by the account of her ordeal in her new memoir. Ms Pelicot was drugged and raped by her ex-husband, who also allowed strangers to rape her while she was unconscious, for almost a decade. The Palace said in a statement on Monday that the pair met at Clarence House, the official home of the King and Queen, while repairs are made to Buckingham Palace. Image: The pair spoke through an interpreter. Pic: PA The Frenchwoman’s book, titled Hymn To Life: Shame Has To Change Sides, was launched at London’s Royal Festival Hall on Friday, with readings given by Hollywood actresses Kate Winslet, Dame Kristin Scott Thomas and Juliet Stevenson. She has been touring the UK promoting it. The Queen wrote to the 73-year-old last year to praise her “extraordinary dignity and courage” in a letter the survivor said left her “overwhelmed” and which is now framed in her office. When the two women spoke for 30 minutes over tea …