UK News
Ukraine war briefing: Russian oil hub of Tuapse hit for fourth time as environmental disaster mounts | Ukraine
Ukrainian drones struck Russia’s Black Sea port of Tuapse on Friday for the fourth time in 16 days as authorities struggled to cope with a growing environmental disaster from toxic black smoke clouds and oil leaking into the sea. Ukraine’s SBU security service said drones had again struck the seaport and refinery that make Tuapse an important hub for Russian oil exports. Local Russian officials said a major operation was under way to put out a fire at the port but no casualties were reported. The refinery has been hit and set ablaze at least twice since 16 April, halting production, in attacks that have thrown up dense black clouds over the town and caused oil slicks along the coastline, ruining the beaches of the popular resort.
Russian authorities had so far cleared more than 13,300 cubic metres of fuel oil and contaminated soil along the coast, they said on Friday. State TV showed a reporter standing on a blackened beach and using a spade to show how deep the oozing filth had seeped.
Russia launched almost 410 drones at Ukraine in a daytime attack that including injuring 10 people in the western city of Ternopil, Ukrainian officials said on Friday. Air force units downed or neutralised 388 of them in the north, south, centre and west of the country, Ukraine’s air force said. In Ternopil, about 150-200km from the Polish border, 10 people were hurt in the attack, which hit industrial and infrastructure facilities, the city’s mayor said.
In central Ukraine, 19 drones were downed over the Cherkasy region, the regional governor said, reporting damage to a nursery, a school, seven private houses and a power line. A woman was hurt in the central Vinnytsia region, the local governor said, adding that a building was destroyed. Near the southern city of Odesa, which had come under the overnight attack, another daytime attack damaged the roof of a shopping centre and caused a fire, the regional governor said, while Zelenskyy said at least five people were wounded in the region.
Ukraine has announced plans to carry out reforms of the army this summer to address problems with infantry shortages and the discharge of the longest-serving soldiers, four years into the war with Russia. Manpower shortages have become an even more pressing issue as enthusiasm for service has waned amid reports of poor training and support, as well as heavy-handed draft officers. “Now, in May, all key details will be finalised,” Zelenskyy said on Telegram on Friday. “In June, the reform will begin – and the first results must already be delivered in June.” He promised higher pay for the infantry, saying: “A Ukrainian infantryman who holds the front line must feel that our state truly respects him.” Ukraine had to be ready to fight on if a peace deal could not be reached, Zelenskyy said. Mykhailo Fedorov, who was named defence minister in January, said the changes announced amounted to a “systemic” transformation of the army.
Public prosecutors in Peru said they were investigating an alleged trafficking network offering fake jobs in Russia to Peruvians before forcing them to fight in Moscow’s war on Ukraine. Individuals including former military personnel and police officers were allegedly recruited through social media with deceptive offers of well-paid work as security agents and other jobs in Russia, the attorney general’s office said. According to information provided to the police, “victims were reportedly taken to Russia and, once on foreign soil, forced to take part in combat operations in the context of the armed conflict between Russia and Ukraine”, it said. Thirteen Peruvians had died in the Ukraine war, a lawyer for the victims’ families told local media.
UK News
The Devil Wears Prada 2 to Lenny Henry: your complete entertainment guide to the week ahead | Culture
Going out: Cinema
The Devil Wears Prada 2
Out now
Sequels, for spring? Groundbreaking. OK, but this just happens to be one of the most anticipated sequels of the last decade, with Meryl Streep, Anne Hathaway and Emily Blunt returning to their respective roles of high-fashion supervillain Miranda Priestly, journalist Andy Sachs and type-A nightmare Emily Charlton.
Hokum
Out now
Adam Scott (Severance) stars in this Irish-set haunted-house horror about a man whose journey to spread his parents’ ashes involves some unexpectedly spooky twists and turns. Irish former electrician Damian McCarthy writes and directs his first Hollywood feature after a couple of lower-budget homegrown hits.
Wild Foxes
Out now
Valéry Carnoy directs this French coming-of-age drama which premiered at Cannes last year to prize-winning effect. Set at a sport-focused boarding school, it concerns the aftermath of a near fatal accident for young boxer Camille (Samuel Kircher) who is rescued by his best friend, Matteo, (Faycal Anaflous).
That Time I Got Reincarnated As a Slime: Tears of the Azure Sea
Out now
A beach vacation at a private resort is disrupted by Yura, an underseas priestess who is after some help in dealing with the potential awakening of a dormant Aqua Dragon. This adventure bridges the gap between the third and fourth series of the popular animated Japanese TV show. Catherine Bray
Going out: Gigs
Tsatsamis
Manchester, 2 May; London, 8 May
London-based artist and producer Tsatsamis released his mixtape Tsycophant last month and showcases its lithe electropop on this mini tour. Keep an ear out for the pensive, George Michael-esque Secret Boyfriend and the sweaty strut of Angelina, which sounds like Hurts wrestling with Years & Years. Michael Cragg
Tame Impala
7 to 13 May; tour starts London
Kevin Parker tours his psych-pop outfit around arenas in support of last year’s Deadbeat album. Perfect timing, given that the album’s third single, Dracula, has gone viral on TikTok and has nestled itself in the upper echelons of charts worldwide thanks to a remix with Blackpink’s Jennie. MC
Courtney Pine
Cheltenham Town Hall, 3 May; Ronnie Scott’s, London, 7 & 8 May
Four decades ago, this sax-playing descendent of the Windrush generation helped spark a revolution across the 1980s UK jazz scene and way beyond. Pine’s Out of the Ghetto: A Modern Day Jazz Story tour celebrates the vision that fuelled a new sound, and a still-growing new audience. John Fordham
Tectonics festival
City Halls and Old Fruitmarket, Glasgow, 2 & 3 May
Tectonics is an annual feast for the ears, showcasing composers and performers working at classical music’s cutting edge. Virtuoso tuba playing from Danielle Price and Frédéric Le Junter’s experimental sound machines are among this year’s major premieres. Flora Willson
Going out: Art
Aleksandra Kasuba
Tate St Ives, 2 May to 4 October
Long before immersive art was even really a thing, Lithuanian American artist Aleksandra Kasuba was creating “spatial environments” for viewers to inhabit. This St Ives show – the first of her work in the UK – will feature early paintings and mosaics alongside proto-immersive installations all about utopian ideals of social harmony and communal living.
Zurbarán
National Gallery, London, 2 May to 23 August
Gazing saints, bowls of lemons, loads of magi and a circumcision: the so-called Spanish Caravaggio took on a huge variety of subject matter, but always with a singular intensity and sense of heightened drama. Francisco de Zurbarán was a giant of 17th-century art, a proper master of the baroque, and this exhibition will be a serious art blockbuster.
Genuine Fake Premium Economy
ICA, London, to 5 July
Three millennial artists – Jenna Bliss, Buck Ellison and Jasmine Gregory – come together in this show at the ICA to try to make sense of how the hell any of us survived the 2008 financial crisis. How do we live, love, work and survive in a world of massive inequality and capitalist greed? Maybe the film, photography and painting here will provide answers.
Rose Finn-Kelcey
Arts Collective, Northampton, to 1 August
Pioneering feminist performance conceptualist and Northampton native Rose Finn-Kelcey died in 2014. Her work dealt with ideas of architecture, spirituality, the domestic and the mundane, all with humour and biting satire. This show inaugurates the Art Collective complex, a brand new art space for Northampton. Eddy Frankel
Going out: Stage
Lenny Henry
Touring to 3 November
First came the glut of stage shows based on classic sitcoms, now the comedy giants of the 80s and 90s are reliving their greatest hits. Following in Harry Enfield’s recent footsteps, the Comic Relief co-founder embarks on a tour that fuses standup with stories about his best-loved roles. Rachel Aroesti
Sherlock Holmes
Regent’s Park Open Air theatre, London, 2 May to 6 June
In this new adventure, Sherlock’s world collapses into chaos with the arrival of an unknown woman and mysterious jewel at 221b Baker Street. It’s penned by Joel Horwood (The Ocean at the End of the Lane), directed by the always-mischievous Sean Holmes and stars Joshua James as Sherlock and Jyuddah Jaymes as Watson. Miriam Gillinson
Sweat
Citizens theatre, Glasgow, to 16 May; Royal Lyceum theatre, Edinburgh, 3 to 20 June
This co-production of Lynn Nottage’s Pulitzer-winning play is based on extensive interviews with the residents of Reading, Pennsylvania, where industrial decline is devastating the factory workers’ way of life. MG
Return to the Forest
Aviva Studios, Manchester, 7 to 10 May; touring to 27 June
South African choreographer Gregory Maqoma reunites with puppetry company Theatre-Rites (following 2021’s The Global Playground) for a new show where a magical forest comes alive. Theatre-Rites, celebrating its 30th anniversary, has a great track record for creating imaginative, experimental kids’ theatre blending puppetry and dance. Lyndsey Winship
Staying in: Streaming
Legends
Netflix, 2 May
With The Gold, Neil Forsyth turned one of Britain’s most notorious heists into a quality retro drama. Now he’s found inspiration in a more obscure crime story: an ambitious operation by undercover customs officers to stop the heroin trade. Steve Coogan, Tom Burke and Hayley Squires star.
Amandaland
BBC iPlayer & BBC One, 6 May, 9pm
As a sitcom, Motherland was mostly about parenthood and a bit about class – its spin-off is mostly about class and a bit about parenthood. Having weathered humiliations involving campsite toilets and a celebrity chef, series two reunites us with Lucy Punch’s inveterate social climber.
Fallen
ITVX, 3 May
American source material, a primarily British cast, German and Swiss producers and a Brazilian broadcaster: this adaptation of Lauren Kate’s inordinately successful YA romantasy fiction is the result of a dizzyingly globalised TV industry. Now the show – which won an international Emmy last year – finally airs in the UK.
Berlusconi – Condemned to Win
BBC iPlayer & BBC Four, 5 May, 10pm
Everyone knows that Silvio Berlusconi parlayed his status as a media tycoon into a long career at the top of Italian politics. But this ESPN doc puts a lesser-known element of his empire under the microscope: examining how his ownership of AC Milan helped him become prime minister. RA
Staying in: Games
Wax Heads
Xbox, PS5, PC, Switch, out 2 May
Ever fancied running a record shop, picking out recommendations and getting to know 100+ fictional bands? Well this grungy little game has invented all of this for your amusement.
inKonbini
PC, Xbox, Switch, PS5, out now
Alternatively, in 1990s Japan, here you are a college student who’s taken a job stacking shelves at one of the country’s squillions of quaint convenience stores. Sounds like a drudgery simulator, but things get more interesting as you get to know your customers. Keza MacDonald
Staying in: Albums
Tori Amos – In Times of Dragons
Out now
A metaphorical story based around a desperate fight for democracy in the face of a “billionaire Lizard Demon” forms the backbone of the 18th album by the US singer-songwriter. On the epic six-minute opener, Shush, Amos spotlights a coercive patriarchy, before eventually reaching a sense of hope on Stronger Together.
Kacey Musgraves – Middle of Nowhere
Out now
The country music superstar attempts to settle into singledom on her seventh album. On the title track that means enjoying the freedom of being undefined, while a certain lack of intimacy (“ain’t nobody’s tool up in my shed”) is bemoaned on the playful single, Dry Spell.
Zara Larsson – Midnight Sun: Girls Trip
Out now
Originally released last September, Zara Larsson’s excellent fifth album, Midnight Sun, was a surprising flop. Since then, however, she’s scored a US Top 10 single alongside PinkPantheress, and watched her 2015 bop Lush Life re-enter the charts worldwide. Hence this repack, with a remix album featuring a global roster of female guests.
American Football – American Football
Out now
Seven years after their last album, also called American Football, the midwest emo quartet return with 10 more songs to cry to. Focusing on topics such as suicide, divorce and addiction, songs such as Bad Moons and No Feeling, with Turnstile’s Brendan Yates, make sadness seem quite pretty. MC
Staying in: Brain food
Aadam Jacobs Archive
Online
Chicago’s Aadam Jacobs is an obsessive chronicler of the city’s music scene and this fascinating archive features live recordings of early shows by the likes of Nirvana, Depeche Mode and Sonic Youth, plus contextual info.
Darknet Diaries
Podcast
Tech expert Jack Rhysider’s engrossing series analyses developments in the shadowy world of cybercrime, from the hacking groups destabilising national security to bot farms gaming the music charts.
The Safe Box
BBC World Service, Tuesday, 8.06pm
Marking World Press Freedom Day, presenter Myra Anubi’s investigation into the French organisation Forbidden Stories explores how journalists aim to continue the sensitive work of colleagues who have been killed or who are at risk. Ammar Kalia
Aaron Thiara has been portraying Ravi Gulati in the soap in a story about complex PTSD.
Source link
-
Crime & Safety2 weeks agoBicester man denies sexually assaulting two young girls
-
Oxford News2 weeks agoBanbury cake company with 400 year history shut down
-
UK News2 weeks agoStarmer says it ‘beggars belief’ he wasn’t told about Mandelson vetting failure as he faces Commons – UK politics live | Politics
-
UK News1 week agoTV tonight: Shetland meets CSI in a new drama about a disgraced cop | Television
-
Crime & Safety3 weeks agoLorry overturns on Oxfordshire A43 roundabout with driver trapped
-
UK News2 weeks agoFears over rogue parking by sunrise-chasers at national park after overnight ban
-
Crime & Safety2 weeks ago‘A red kite stole my mother-in-law’s sausage rolls’
-
UK News4 weeks agoUkraine war briefing: Russian oil facilities burn as Zelenskyy tours Middle East | Ukraine