Six great reads: Trump Island, Albania; DB Cooper revisited; and Alanis oughta know
Our books team packed for the beach to compile their essential list of summer reading: from novels by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie and Alan Hollinghurst to memoirs by Cher and Manhattan enfant terrible restaurateur Keith McNally, there's something for everyone. Plus they also rounded up the best new paperbacks and children's fiction. Put those screens away!
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'On Sazan, a small island off the coast of Albania, the landscape is Jurassic. Ferns, giant lavender, plumbago, rosemary, broom and laurels grow on the mountain at its centre. The view from the top, with its dramatic sunsets, is dizzyingly beautiful.
Albanians call Sazan Ishulli i Trumpëve – Trump Island. Until now mostly untrammelled by development, it is on the verge of becoming a mecca for ultra-luxury tourism, another addition to Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner's real-estate portfolio … '
The pair have spent more than $1bn on an Albanian island that will be a luxury resort – once the unexploded ordnance has been removed. Marzio Mian travelled to Sazan to see how the developers' amibitions intersect with a bigger geopolitical picture.
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It's one of the most famous missing persons cases in history: in 1971, a man held a plane to ransom for $200,000, then parachuted out in his suit and dress shoes, never to be seen again. What happened to him? Daniel Lavelle took a fresh look at a mystery that still has people scrabbling for answers – as well as a Manhattan dive bar dedicated to it.
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She made her name with rage-fuelled anthems – and sold 75m records in the process. Speaking to Charlotte Edwardes ahead of her set at Glastonbury on Friday evening, the California-dwelling earth mother explained why she's ready to let rip again …
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Can you imagine Liverpool without its Welsh Streets or London without Battersea Power Station? For 50 years, writes our architecture critic Oliver Wainwright, one small band of activists have been finding creative alternative uses for great buildings their owners couldn't see.
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'I started to notice my interruptions, the creative ways I managed to bring the conversation back to my favourite topic: me. I noticed how, in lieu of listening, my mind would embark on wild and weird adventures, fighting against the odds to relate everything back to my experience. My partner recalled the time that I said, to my embarrassment: 'That reminds me of me.'
Ioan Marc Jones did his bit to end the plague of mansplaining, manologuing and bropriating … by shutting up himself
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Daily Mail
9 hours ago
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Ivanka Trump sparks security fears at Jeff Bezos wedding with intimate photo 'revealing location'
Ivanka Trump has sparked security fears after she potentially revealed the new location of the star-studded wedding between Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez. The three-day party, $48 million affair in Venice had a last minute venue change due to protests from angry locals and global tensions arising from the US strike on Iran over this past weekend. Ivanka has ignited concerns after she posted a photo of her hotel room number alongside several pictures of herself and husband Jared Kushner in their formal attire. 'Ready to celebrate the love story of our friends, Lauren Sanchez and @JeffBezos,' she posted on X on Thursday afternoon. The image set contained a photograph of a white door with the couple's room number and the word 'Dolce Vita' written on the front. It immediately sparked concerned replies from eagle-eyed social media users. 'Did you dox location by posting the photo of that door?' one person replied to her post, which has now been seen by more than 235,000 people. The pre-wedding festivities began Thursday with what was believed to be the rehearsal dinner, an event attended by a long list of celebrities. They include Kim Kardashian, Khloe Kardashian, Kris Jenner, Kendall Jenner, Kylie Jenner, Leonardo DiCaprio, Orlando Bloom and Tom Brady, all of whom were dressed to the nines. Ivanka and Kushner were seen arriving in Venice ahead of the event in a gondola. The couple previously jetted in with their children Arabella Rose, 13, Joseph Frederick, 10, and Theodore James, eight. The first daughter shared snaps of her and husband Jared Kushner, but included one image which may have given away the location of the exclusive event One person replied with concern to her post, which has now been seen by more than 235,000 people Ivanka is one of the most insulated guests at the wedding, since she has a Secret Service detail that is no doubt causing a headache for other partygoers. A heavy police presence has been spotted in the city ahead of the nuptials, while divers were seen conducting sweeps of the canals. On Thursday, the bride was seen sporting terrifyingly tight corset for the party, while her Amazon billionaire groom was dressed in a white shirt, black suit and sunglasses. Bezos held out his hand as he and Sanchez stepped aboard a water taxi, before the the couple shared a quick kiss in front of adoring fans. Ivanka and her family jetted off to Venice on Tuesday to make the wedding. The family has been seeing enjoying the sites, spotted getting into a water taxi to explore the city on Wednesday. Ivanka has been sharing their trip to social media, posting some snaps from the family vacation later on in the day. 'Da Venezia, con amore,' she captioned a series of photos, which translates to 'From Venice, with love.' The upcoming wedding seems to be a family affair for Ivanka, as other members of the Trump family are rumored to be among the 200 guests. The original plan was for a huge party at the Scuola Grande della Misericordia on Saturday night, but it has now been moved to another venue in the Arsenale area of the city, according to local media. A source revealed to Daily Mail that around 60 of Venice's water taxis are reserved for the week, with some of the 400 gondolas on the island out of commission as well. Bezos' superyacht, Koru, which includes a bronze goddess statue that shares similarities with his lover Sanchez, is also in the area, moored off the coast of Croatia, which is located across from Italy in the Mediterranean. However, not all are happy about Bezos taking over the city for days. On Monday, Greenpeace activists unfurled a huge banner in St Mark's Square, the iconic heart of Venice protesting against the wedding. It showed an image of Bezos face and the slogan: 'If you can rent Venice for your wedding then you can pay more tax.' Activists from British group 'Everyone Hates Elon' were also involved and said they had carried it out to highlight the, 'environmental and social injustice of the wedding'. One said: 'Bezos encapsulates an economic and social model which is steering us towards collapse. 'All to often now social injustice travels on an equal par with the climate, on one side the arrogance of a few billionaires who have a lifestyle that devastates the planet, the other people who suffer daily from the environment crisis.' These demonstrations are part of the reason why Bezos chose to move part of the wedding elsewhere. He's also hired a team of former US marines to provide security for the event. The actual wedding ceremony is set to kick off on Friday.
The Guardian
18 hours ago
- The Guardian
Six great reads: Trump Island, Albania; DB Cooper revisited; and Alanis oughta know
Our books team packed for the beach to compile their essential list of summer reading: from novels by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie and Alan Hollinghurst to memoirs by Cher and Manhattan enfant terrible restaurateur Keith McNally, there's something for everyone. Plus they also rounded up the best new paperbacks and children's fiction. Put those screens away! Read more 'On Sazan, a small island off the coast of Albania, the landscape is Jurassic. Ferns, giant lavender, plumbago, rosemary, broom and laurels grow on the mountain at its centre. The view from the top, with its dramatic sunsets, is dizzyingly beautiful. Albanians call Sazan Ishulli i Trumpëve – Trump Island. Until now mostly untrammelled by development, it is on the verge of becoming a mecca for ultra-luxury tourism, another addition to Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner's real-estate portfolio … ' The pair have spent more than $1bn on an Albanian island that will be a luxury resort – once the unexploded ordnance has been removed. Marzio Mian travelled to Sazan to see how the developers' amibitions intersect with a bigger geopolitical picture. Read more It's one of the most famous missing persons cases in history: in 1971, a man held a plane to ransom for $200,000, then parachuted out in his suit and dress shoes, never to be seen again. What happened to him? Daniel Lavelle took a fresh look at a mystery that still has people scrabbling for answers – as well as a Manhattan dive bar dedicated to it. Read more She made her name with rage-fuelled anthems – and sold 75m records in the process. Speaking to Charlotte Edwardes ahead of her set at Glastonbury on Friday evening, the California-dwelling earth mother explained why she's ready to let rip again … Read more Can you imagine Liverpool without its Welsh Streets or London without Battersea Power Station? For 50 years, writes our architecture critic Oliver Wainwright, one small band of activists have been finding creative alternative uses for great buildings their owners couldn't see. Read more 'I started to notice my interruptions, the creative ways I managed to bring the conversation back to my favourite topic: me. I noticed how, in lieu of listening, my mind would embark on wild and weird adventures, fighting against the odds to relate everything back to my experience. My partner recalled the time that I said, to my embarrassment: 'That reminds me of me.' Ioan Marc Jones did his bit to end the plague of mansplaining, manologuing and bropriating … by shutting up himself Read more
The Guardian
a day ago
- The Guardian
Five Great Reads: King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard, a mysterious skyjacker, and Albania's Trump Island
Happy Saturday! The world felt like a scary place this week, but these five reads kept me going – as did the campaigners who forced Jeff Bezos to relocate his wedding in Venice. If only we got the inflatable crocodiles – but at least there was a Bezos lookalike confusing the crowds. Continuing with the theme of the rich, Ivanka Trump and her husband, Jared Kushner, have spent more than $1bn on an Albanian island – one of the last undeveloped islands in the Mediterranean. Unlike in Venice, the Albanian prime minister, Edi Rama, has welcomed the purchase of Sazan Island, saying 'We need luxury tourism like a desert needs water.' Albanians call Sazan Ishulli i Trumpëve – Trump Island. Until now mostly untrammelled by development, the island, which was once home to a military base, is on the verge of becoming a mecca for ultra-luxury tourism – once the unexploded ordnance has been removed. Environmental concerns: Environmentalists such as Olsi Nika, a marine biologist and the director of the NGO EcoAlbania, are worried about the development. 'This area is in the Karaburun-Sazan maritime national park. It means the beaches and waters within 2km (1.25 miles) of the shore are protected. What will large public works, the building of docks, yacht traffic and sewage run-off do to the place?' How long will it take to read: five minutes. It's been hard to shake the image that the character Lena Dunham's landmark series, Girls, gave Allison Williams. In this interview, the actor reflects on privilege, growing up with a famous parent, and her role in sci-fi horror film M3gan. What does she think of AI, tech and parenting? Williams recounts using ChatGPT to answer one of her three-year-old son's questions. 'Watching what happened to his face was like when Gemma sees her niece interacting with M3gan. Like, I have connected my kid to a drug, this is so immediately addictive and intoxicating,' she says. She quickly put her phone away and made a mental note to go to the library next time to get out a book. 'I can't justify it, logically,' she says. 'It just felt like an innate instinct.' And her thoughts on Botox? She loves having it when she's not filming – 'because, you know, you need to make facial expressions when you're shooting'. How long will it take to read: five minutes. Further reading: if you want to be really terrified, read what Paula Cocozza learned recording thousands of hours of teenagers on their phones. This year marks 80 years since the US dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, killing more than 200,000 people. Today, every one of the crew members who carried out the bombings is dead. One of the last writers to interview them reopens his files. 'Just in the last week, war has broken out in the Middle East over fears that Iran may be very close to having a bomb. In such times, perspective matters … History has lessons to teach us.'. How long will it take to read: 11 minutes. Further reading: one million and counting: Russian casualties hit milestone in Ukraine war. Sign up to Five Great Reads Each week our editors select five of the most interesting, entertaining and thoughtful reads published by Guardian Australia and our international colleagues. Sign up to receive it in your inbox every Saturday morning after newsletter promotion On 24 November 1971, a man who called himself 'Dan Cooper' hijacked a plane for US$200,000. He then parachuted out in his suit and dress shoes, never to be seen again. 'It's like the best book I've ever read, but I'm missing the first and last chapters,' podcaster Darren Schaefer tells writer Daniel Lavelle, who both potentially suffer from the 'Cooper curse' (a term coined by author Geoffrey Gray about being totally obsessed with the case). I've personally still got whiplash from the opening of this story. DB Cooper effect: the mind-boggling mystery has inspired news article after article, books, podcasts, movies, documentaries, even a DB Cooper-themed bar – and an annual convention held in Oregon. How long will it take to read: five-and-a-half minutes. Imagine performing at an theatre in Plovdiv, Bulgaria, that was built between AD98-117 in 'Europe's longest continually inhabited city'. Or a former panopticon Lukiškės prison in Vilnius, Lithuania, or the Lycabettus hill theatre in Athens. Laura Snapes takes us inside Australia's experimental rock band King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard's European residency tour, where the group of six don't rehearse and but do make time to be tourists in the cities they perform in. Photography: Maclay Heriot captures it all on film. Hot tip: throw on the band's existential new record in the background while reading. How long will it take to read: five minutes. Enjoying the Five Great Reads email? Then you'll love our weekly culture and lifestyle newsletter, Saved for Later. Sign up here to catch up on the fun stuff with our rundown of must-reads, pop culture, trends and tips for the weekend. And check out the full list of our local and international newsletters.
