JOHANNA LEGUERRE/AFP Robert Bourgi has lifted the lid on decades of work with French and African presidents It was January 1998 and Robert Bourgi was waiting to see the Gabonese president Omar Bongo, in an antechamber at his seaside palace in Libreville. He was there to collect funds for the approaching French presidential election on…
BBC Nazdana fled from Afghanistan with her divorce documents There is a young woman sheltering under a tree between two busy roads clutching a pile of documents to her chest. These pieces of paper are more important to Bibi Nazdana than anything in the world: they are the divorce granted to her after a two-year…
Following Spencer and Jackie — biopic melodramas about Princess Diana and First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy — Chilean director Pablo Larraín rounds out his informal trilogy with Maria, another film about a world-famous woman in close proximity to death. His subject this time is the iconic Greek-American opera soprano Maria Callas, and though the film doesn’t…
BBC Smartphones have worked their way deep into our lives and have become indispensable for work and socialising. Unsurprisingly, many children want them too, but here we are much less sure of the benefits they bring. Many parents worry they are addictive and expose children to inappropriate and harmful content. A growing number think stronger…
The Brutalist is a towering paean to the American dream, in all its force and folly. Set over several decades, Brady Corbet’s post-World War II immigrant saga is — like the architectural achievements of its protagonist — constructed with meticulous consideration, resulting in a work of multifaceted technique and piercing humanity. The film, arresting from…
How trip to Titanic turned from smiles to tragedy BBC The view from inside Titan at the surface of a previous Titanic dive “I saw five people smiling, looking forward to their journey.” That was Renata Rojas’ recollection of her time on a support ship with five people bound for the Titanic wreck. They were…
Hezbollah has confirmed the death of its leader Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah, after Israel said it had killed the 64-year-old in an airstrike on Beirut. Nasrallah, the former leader of Lebanon’s militant Shia Islamist movement, was one of the best known and most influential figures in the Middle East. Prior to his death, Nasrallah had not…
BBC “They all know it is the moment of truth.” By Wednesday afternoon the Conservatives should be a lot closer to knowing who their next leader will be – and the party’s conference in Birmingham, which starts on Sunday, is a huge and very public job interview. The common view among Tories I’ve spoken to…
Lennon Torres was 13 when she received her first iPhone. She raced to download the apps all her friends used: Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat, eager to experience social media alongside her peers. But Torres, now 25, wasn’t the average 13-year-old. She was also a reality show contestant who later regularly guest starred on the show…