The long night has officially begun, and two bleak winters will now pass before we are gifted season three of this magnificent show. Season one of House of the Dragon, HBO’s more intimate Game of Thrones prequel, was a grandiose and decade-spanning display of politicking – the prelude to the...
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The flame of the Paris Olympics has long ceased to burn and yet, its memorable individual stories won’t die down for years to come. After a closing ceremony which saw Hollywood megastar Tom Cruise glide down into the Stade de France to whisk the Olympic flag over to Los Angeles...
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The British street art institution known as Banksy has re-emerged with a series of nine animal-themed pieces across London. The latest project from the anonymous artist, who has long blurred the boundary between thought-provoking technique and vandalism, has captured the imagination of passers-by commuting in the capital. But alongside injecting...
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A man from Birmingham who headed a plot to smuggle 139 kilograms of cocaine hidden amongst a shipment of bananas into the UK has been convicted. Sajid Ali, aged 56, will be sentenced on 16 October following his conviction at Coventry Crown Court in July. Four other members of the...
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The University and College Admissions Service (UCAS) has confirmed its plans to scrap personal statements. This change will take effect in 2025 for those applying to study in 2026. Rather than writing a structured 4000-character piece, students will now answer the following three questions: Why do you want to study...
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The imminent Paris Olympics will mark the first Summer Games since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, an ongoing campaign which is supported by Belarus. A select number of Russian and Belarusian athletes have been cleared to compete in Paris as Individual Neutral Athletes (AIN) by the International Olympic...
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A Coventry man has been banned from entering all shops and businesses in the city centre, after being found guilty of massive credit card fraud. Luke Campbell, 34, of no fixed address, was arrested on 29 May by West Midlands Police, before being sentenced to eight weeks in jail for...
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A whole decade has now passed since the footballing world descended on the samba epicentre of the globe, Brazil, for a month of sporting magic. Back in 2014, Roy Hodgson was England manager, Frank Lampard, Steven Gerrard and Wayne Rooney were still at it, and Jude Bellingham was about to...
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Five Coventry men have been handed prison sentences after a Warwickshire Police investigation uprooted the group’s wide-reaching cannabis empire. Cannabis farms linked to the gang were discovered at three separate addresses in Rugby and Coventry in an investigation last September, with more than £15,000 in cash confiscated at a fourth...
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England’s recently unveiled home shirt looks like a stylish and innocuous people-pleaser – that is, until you see its reverse. The launch of Nike’s latest England kit ahead of this summer’s fast-approaching European Championships in Germany has divided the nation, regardless of whether one is interested in football or not....
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When the documentary film 20 Days in Mariupol won Ukraine its first-ever Oscar on 10 March, its director, Mstyslav Chernov, appeared conflicted. “This is the first Oscar in Ukrainian history”, he proudly began his speech, “and I’m honoured.” His next words, however, addressed more explicitly the serious matter at issue....
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The reason we often wish we could watch something ‘for the first time again’ is because we feel as if we’ve just watched a piece of film history. That is exactly what the grand spectacle of Dune: Part Two feels like. After seeing the first part in October 2021, I,...
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2023 was an extraordinary year for cinema, replete with the returns of many celebrated auteurs and the flourishing of numerous British indie voices. Whilst some upcoming awards contenders are yet to be released here in the UK, here are the ten best films I have been able to see thus...
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