Complete immersion in Belize March 22, 2022 There is a human skull half-submerged in the mud at my feet. Through the damp gloom, I can just make out other bones, scattered across the floor. Luckily, I haven’t stumbled upon a gruesome murder scene, but the truth is almost as chilling. This is an ancient Mayan ceremonial cave, buried deep within the jungle [...]
Destrier looks ready to strike in Red Rum April 7, 2021 AINTREE handicaps, like at Cheltenham, are always devilishly difficult puzzles to unravel and that looks the case with the 18-runner Close Brothers Red Rum Handicap Chase (4.40pm). Paul Nicholls’ Getaway Trump will be well fancied after his impressive win at Doncaster last month, but he has the burden of top weight which may prove too [...]
Most Dangerous Game: Waltz is excellent in bitesize TV thriller July 7, 2021 If you were to write a must-have list for action thrillers, TV show Most Dangerous Game would tick many of the boxes. You have a desperate hero with nowhere to turn, a villain with scary levels of omnipotence, and a concept that is easy to buy into. Liam Hemsworth is Dodge Tynes, an earnest hero [...]
US stocks rebound after heavy losses July 20, 2021 US stocks recovered from a battering yesterday during the morning session as investors purchased assets that looked cheap after Monday’s falls. All the US’ main benchmarks rose in the morning. The blue chip S&P 500 was up 1.12 per cent; the tech-heavy Nasdaq increased 0.73 per cent and the Dow Jones added 1.49 per cent. [...]
The Many Saints of Newark review: The Sopranos makes its long-awaited return September 21, 2021 * This review contains spoilers for The Sopranos TV show * The Sopranos was a near-perfect TV show, a Shakespearean epic that took the gangster movies of Francis Ford Coppola and Martin Scorsese and shaped them into a surreal, psychological soap opera. Where other shows have aged, the Sopranos is as fresh today as when [...]
Under Milk Wood: Michael Sheen shines at the National Theatre June 24, 2021 There are few opening lines as transportive as that in Dylan Thomas’ 1954 radio play Under Milk Wood. “It is Spring, moonless night in the small town, starless and bible-black, the cobblestreets silent and the hunched, courters’-and- rabbits’ wood limping invisible down to the sloeblack, slow, black, crowblack, fishingboat-bobbing sea.” It’s a surprise, then, when [...]
O2 Arena to resume live events in December with Squeeze gig October 5, 2020 The O2 Arena has announced plans to resume live events for the first time in eight months in December with a gig headlined by 70s rock group Squeeze. The Cool for Cats rockers will play to socially distanced fans on Saturday 5 December in the first concert at the east London venue since it was [...]
Not just NatWest: Compliance guru on why money laundering is rampant in the City October 21, 2021 Over the past few decades, money laundering has become an increasingly prevalent issue. Financial institutions are constantly looking for new ways to fight money launderers, and several anti-money laundering policies have been put in place to help this effort. However, the recent case against NatWest sent shockwaves through the City, with many financial institutions realising that the financial watchdog, [...]
Heart and Seoul in South Korea, as the nation reopens for tourism April 25, 2022 The baby octopus floats in its tank, blissfully ignorant, until, all too soon, its time comes. The tiny, wrinkled old woman, who, I later learn, has been manning this particular food stall in Seoul’s colourful, noisy, aromatic Gwangjang market for over thirty-two years, yanks it out unceremoniously and whacks it down onto the steel surface. [...]
Buyer beware! The metrics suggest Bitcoin could drop even further June 30, 2022 Crypto AM columnist Dr Chris Kacher warns that, despite Bitcoin's current downturn, there may be further to fall.