Former US ambassador and Labour peer joins a long line of people who have gone out to meet awaiting paparazzi head-on

For a man at the centre of a storm that has rocked the political establishment, Peter Mandelson has spent the week looking remarkably relaxed. Day after day, as MPs have grilled civil servants over who knew what when about the former US ambassador’s security vetting, and police continue to investigate serious allegations over his own conduct, Mandelson has stepped out of his Regent’s Park mansion and pottered across the road to take his dog for a walk.

Smart-casually dressed in jeans and a jumper and holding in front of him a plastic ball-thrower, he has set off for the park like a weekending solicitor on his way to an egg and spoon race. There have been occasional small smiles for the photographers at his gate, but no comment. The message appears to be: I am insouciant, normal. Not in prison.

A century on from the first tournament in London, the table tennis world championships are back – with a fascinating history attached

The way Wang Chuqin plays, ping-pong is a physical impossibility. By the time you made it to the end of the first two words of that sentence, Chuqin, the men’s world No 1, has seen the ball, calculated its speed, direction, and height, judged whether it is travelling with topspin, backspin, left or right sidespin, or a combination of the four, decided how to return, forehand, backhand, attack, block, push, spin, and where to aim, shifted his weight, positioned his feet, rotated his hips, brought his racket into position, and hit the ball. By the time you got to that first full stop, he has done it all 12 times over.

You almost certainly didn’t know it, but Thursday was world table-tennis day. The England Federation set up a trail of golden tables around London to mark the occasion, and raise a little publicity for the World Team Table Tennis Championships, that are being held in the city for the first time since 1954. During a sunny lunch hour outside Temple Bar, underneath the walls of St Paul’s, city workers are playing during their break, pick-pock, pick-pock, and in among all the noise of the city there’s that familiar rat-a-tat-tat of a runaway ball skipping away from the table into some far corner while the players scurry after it.

The prodigious growth of running clubs, fuelled by young women, has seen the popularity of the event sky-rocket

There is always magic in the air on a London Marathon morning. But this year the event promises to dazzle and soar more than ever. A world-record 59,000 people will take part in Sunday’s race, raising close to £100m for charity while swallowing 93,024 Lucozade gels from Greenwich to the Mall. There are also whispers of a men’s world record attempt. But the biggest noise of all is coming from those hailing a new golden era of running.

The numbers are astonishing. The facts indisputable. More than 1.1 million people entered the ballot for this year’s race – 750,000 more than four years ago. Notably, a third of those were in the 18-29 category, with female entrants making up the biggest percentage of those under 30.

In February 2025, a cheap Russian drone tore through Chornobyl’s confinement shelter. Workers warn the site of the world’s worst nuclear accident is not safe yet

The dosimeter clipped to your chest ticks faster the moment you step off the designated path inside the Chornobyl nuclear power plant. Step back, and it slows again – an invisible line between clean ground and contamination.

Above rises the “new safe confinement” (NSC) – the largest, movable steel structure ever built, taller than the Statue of Liberty, wider than the Colosseum, its arch curving overhead like an aircraft hangar built for giant planes.

Testimony emerges from Babak Alipour, who spent three years on death row before being taken to gallows in March

Writing from his cell in the Rajai Shahr prison in the northern Iranian city of Karaj, Babak Alipour wanted to tell his friends about those who had already gone to their execution.

There was Behrouz Ehsani, 69, the elder statesman of the group, who was “never angry” about their predicament. Then there was Mehdi Hassani, a 48-year-old father of three who he saw a couple of times in the prison hospital and who would ask him to pass on to the children the message that he was “fine”.

Iranian foreign minister has landed in Islamabad but his ministry says there will be no direct negotiations with the US envoy

The US said on Friday it had imposed sanctions on an independent “teapot” refinery in China for buying billions of dollars’ worth of Iranian oil, as Washington and Tehran head into another round of peace talks this weekend.

The Treasury Department targeted Hengli Petrochemical (Dalian) Refinery, which it said is one of Iran’s largest customers of crude oil and petroleum products. The department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control said it also imposed sanctions on about 40 shipping companies and vessels that operate as part of Iran’s shadow fleet.

Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi arrived in Islamabad late Friday. Earlier on social media, he wrote that he was travelling to Pakistan on a trip focused on “bilateral matters and regional developments.” He didn’t specify who he would meet.

Shortly after Araghchi touched down, the country’s government made it clear there would be no direct negotiations with American government representatives during this visit. Foreign ministry spokesperson Esmael Baqaei said on X that, “No meeting is planned to take place between Iran and the US”.

Instead, Baqaei said Pakistani officials would convey messages between the delegations. Baqaei thanked the Pakistani government for its “ongoing mediation + good offices for ending American imposed war of aggression.”

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt had said in an interview on Fox News that Witkoff and Kushner would meet with Araghchi. “We’re hopeful that it will be a productive conversation and hopefully move the ball forward to a deal,” Leavitt said. She said vice-president JD Vance would not travel but that he remains “deeply involved,” and would be willing to go to Pakistan “if we feel it’s a necessary use of his time.”

The talks planned for Saturday come as much of the world is on edge over a war that has snarled crucial energy exports through the strait of Hormuz, clouded the global economic picture and left thousands dead across the Middle East.

The international community continues to denounce the humanitarian crises stemming from the conflict. European Council president António Costa said on Friday that the immediate opening of the strait of Hormuz without restrictions is “vital” for the world. Also, a World Food Programme representative today said that 45 million people will face food insecurity and malnutrition if the strait of Hormuz continues to be blocked.

Pakistan has been trying to get US and Iranian officials back to the table after Trump this week announced an indefinite extension of the ceasefire with Iran, honouring Islamabad’s request for more time for diplomatic outreach.

That hasn’t lowered tensions in the strait, a strategic waterway through which a fifth of the world’s oil and natural gas is shipped during peacetime. Iran has kept its stranglehold on traffic through the strait, attacking three ships earlier this week, while the US is maintaining a blockade on Iranian ports and Trump has ordered the military to “shoot and kill” small boats that could be placing mines.

To celebrate the release of the film Mother Mary, starring Anne Hathaway and Michaela Coel, in which a fashion designer creates a comeback dress for a pop star, we weigh up the best performative looks

“Dressed like a fabulously turned-out carrion crow,” is how our reviewer described the gothic, avian-like get-up PJ Harvey wore to perform her journalistic and theatrical ninth album, The Hope Six Demolition Project, in Brixton, south London, in 2016. The dress was the work of Harvey’s longtime friend, the Belgian designer Ann Demeulemeester, and epitomises the more dramatic stage looks – melodramatic but pared-back – that Harvey turned to for her later, darker albums. As she said of the clothes: “For me, it’s about the ability to meet the world. And it is a second skin, isn’t it? It’s protection, as well. It’s a very big part of clothing, the feeling of protection, particularly in Ann’s clothes.” Who would have thought that someone who earlier in their career took to the stage in Spice Girls co-ords and hot-pink catsuits would wind up in such serious Belgian high-fashion? Ellie Violet Bramley

Een viraal plaatje vergelijkt prijzen uit 2006 met die van 2026 en de conclusie lijkt simpel: alles werd twee keer zo duur. Maar achter dat gemiddelde schuilt een veel ongemakkelijker verhaal — over welke prijzen ontspoorden, en welke keurig binnen de bandbreedte bleven.

Een huis kostte in 2006 gemiddeld 235.000 euro, becijferden CBS en Kadaster. In februari 2026 stond de teller volgens De Hypotheker op 487.768 euro. De zorgpremie ging in dezelfde periode van 88 naar bijna 159 euro per maand: een stijging van 80 procent, meldt vergelijkingssite Overstappen.nl. De energierekening werd na de gascrisis van 2022 een achtbaan en blijft volgens Energievergelijk ook in 2025 rond de 2.000 euro per jaar hangen.

Je kunt een festival overslaan of zelfs de vakantoe; je kunt niet besluiten dit jaar even niet te wonen of niet ziek te worden.

Het modale inkomen volgde slechts gedeeltelijk: van zo'n 29.500 euro in 2006 naar 48.000 euro in 2026, raamt het Centraal Planbureau. Een plus van ruim zestig procent — flink, maar niet genoeg om gelijke tred te houden met de vaste lasten.

Niet alles werd twee keer zo duur — en daar zit het probleem

De schok zit niet in het gemiddelde, maar in de scheefgroei. Brood, bier en koffie volgden grotendeels keurig de cumulatieve inflatie, die volgens het CBS ook in 2025 nog 3,3 procent bedroeg. De buitencategorie — wonen, zorg, energie — ontsnapte aan de zwaartekracht. En precies die kosten zijn niet optioneel. Je kunt een festival overslaan of zelfs de vakantoe; je kunt niet besluiten dit jaar even niet te wonen of niet ziek te worden.

Daar komt bij dat de lage hypotheekrente die de woonlasten lange tijd kunstmatig dempte, sinds 2023 weer richting vier procent kruipt. Wie nu instapt op een huis van een half miljoen, betaalt in absolute euro's beduidend meer dan zijn ouders ooit deden. De middenklasse die twintig jaar geleden vanzelfsprekend kocht, huurt en wacht nu af.

De gemiddelde Nederlander werd niet armer. Het normaal van 2006 werd alleen onbetaalbaar.

Nieuwe documenten laten zien hoe de veroordeelde zedendelinquent tot in zijn laatste maanden jonge vrouwen huisvestte in luxe appartementen in Londen, terwijl de Britse politie eerdere waarschuwingen negeerde.

Jeffrey Epstein bleef tot vlak voor zijn dood in 2019 jonge vrouwen huisvesten in luxe flats in de Londense wijken Kensington en Chelsea. Uit een groot dossier met miljoenen pagina’s aan e-mails, bonnetjes, creditcardoverzichten en huurcontracten blijkt dat hij meerdere appartementen financierde en zelf de huur en dagelijkse uitgaven van vrouwen betaalde.

Volgens een BBC‑onderzoek gaat het om minstens vier flats in een van de duurste stukken van de Britse hoofdstad, waar ten minste zes vrouwen woonden die zich later als slachtoffer van zijn misbruik meldden. Een deel van hen werd uit Rusland en Oost‑Europa naar het Verenigd Koninkrijk gehaald en kreeg van Epstein niet alleen onderdak, maar ook geld voor Engelse taallessen en andere kosten. In mails is te lezen hoe hij zich presenteert als “landlord” die de huur betaalt, maar ook dreigt de geldkraan dicht te draaien als vrouwen stoppen met voor hem te “werken”.

De documenten laten zien dat Epstein tot in de laatste maanden van zijn leven actief bezig was met de Londense flats. Zo werd een vrouw nog 16 dagen voor zijn arrestatie per trein tussen Londen en Parijs vervoerd, terwijl andere reizen en uitgaven verborgen bleken in tienduizenden regels aan creditcardtransacties. De National Crime Agency deelde al in 2019 financiële informatie met de FBI over betalingen aan een rekening bij Coutts voor de huur van een Chelsea‑flat.

De onthullingen zijn extra omstreden omdat de Metropolitan Police al in 2015 meldingen over Epstein ontving, maar meermaals besloot geen volledig strafrechtelijk onderzoek in te stellen. Slachtoffers en juristen dringen nu aan op een onafhankelijk onderzoek naar de vraag hoe Epstein jarenlang vrouwen in Londen kon huisvesten, terwijl er bij de autoriteiten al signalen over zijn misbruik bekend waren.

Thomas Hawk posted a photo: