Culture
WORLD
Europe vs. America: The World Cup’s Hidden Culture War
A racist jibe, a disputed red card and a peace prize have turned the 2026 World Cup into an unlikely stage for transatlantic tension.
EUROPE
Britain’s Restaurant Bust Feeds the New Diet Gospel
Britain's restaurant downturn and the rise of rule-based diet trends belong to the same food mood, one that treats eating out as risky and eating correctly as virtue.
Film
Out-classed: Chalamet Takes on Europe’s Classical Arts
With the Oscars five days away, Timothée Chalamet managed to unite the opera world, the ballet world, and his own family against a single offhand remark.
LIFESTYLE
Qatar’s Art Storage Signals Cultural Maturity
In November 2025, Qatar announced the Gulf's largest museum-grade art storage facility, marking a shift from spectacle to stewardship.
Exhibitions
Timbuktu Manuscripts Return as Museums Raise Prices
As 28,000 manuscripts arrived back at the Timbuktu Ahmed Baba Institute in August 2025 after 13 years in Bamako, Paris's Louvre raised standard admission to €22, marking the latest divergence in how access to Africa's written past is being rearranged.
Popular
Hollywood Takes Homer and Greece Pushes Back
Christopher Nolan had every right to reinvent Homer, but Greek frustration reveals what is lost when a living cultural inheritance becomes Hollywood spectacle.
Iran and Ukraine’s Wars Are Converging
Caspian strike on Iranian ship and warnings to Europe suggest two wars merge into one conflagration.
The US-Saudi Nuclear Deal Normalises Enrichment in the Gulf
The US-Saudi nuclear agreement may be civilian in name, but its enrichment provisions could persuade other Middle Eastern states that nuclear latency is becoming the region's new measure of power.
Greece Keeps Betting on Golden Visa Capital
Greece is preserving its golden visa programme because foreign capital remains valuable to its recovery, even as property investment worsens pressure on housing.
Andy Burnham Plans to Retax British Homes
Burnham weighs a property tax overhaul that could redirect who pays for Britain's homes.
