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Gulf Today
10 hours ago
- Gulf Today
Oasis, Adolescence: How the UK finally got cool again
Helen Coffey, The Independent If you're Gen Z or younger, you probably can't remember the last time the UK was cool. It was before your time, I'm afraid – a Nineties heyday embodied by Britpop bands such as Oasis and Blur, Richard Curtis romcoms, YBAs (Young British Artists) headed up by Damien Hirst and his provocative animals in formaldehyde, and Tony Blair's Labour Party finally booting the Tories out of power in 1997 after an 18-year stronghold. It marked a period of genuine optimism — a feeling epitomised by sexy smackhead Mark Renton (Ewan McGregor) 'choosing life' at the end of Danny Boyle's Nineties masterpiece, Trainspotting – when British fashion, music and culture were the envy of all. A time when the country felt progressive, thriving and relevant. A time when, in fact, one might feel the tiniest bit justified in being 'proud to be British'. Ginger Spice was even able to wear a union jack mini-dress to the 1997 Brit Awards without the merest hint that she was making some kind of anti-immigration political statement. That same year, Katrina and the Waves won the Eurovision Song Contest on behalf of the United Kingdom with their uplifting ballad 'Love Shine a Light'. Since that golden era of Cool Britannia petered out, we've been sorely lacking in the trendy department. The Tories wrested power back from Labour again in 2010, introduced the chokehold of austerity, and clung on for the next 14 years. The flame of excitement prompted by the success of the 2012 London Olympics was comprehensively doused by the damp squib that was the Brexit referendum — and ensuing economic downturn — in 2016. Our street cred was further dented by dodgy Covid contracts and a succession of cringe-making leaders who ran the gamut from robotic to corrupt. Theresa May, Boris Johnson, Liz Truss, Rishi Sunak: it's practically a four-way tie in the 'which of our prime ministers was the most embarrassing' race to the bottom. No, for a nigh-on a quarter of a century, 'cool' was not a word one could feasibly use to describe the British Isles – not without a knowing flicker of irony, at any rate. But now, all of a sudden, we might just be on the cusp of Cool Britannia Mark II. Now, for the first time in decades, might it be — whisper it — cool to be British again? Of course, the country has long continued to hold a certain charm for anglophiles the world over, but it was previously always our past, rather than our present, that captivated foreigners. Jane Austen adaptations of varying quality may have flown off the shelves; Downton Abbey may have garnered such global popularity that endless series continued to be made, regardless of the increasing 'jump the shark' implausibility that the Crawley family were barely ageing through the decades. But modern Britain, with its deflated economy and mortifying politicians, its littering and its rioting and its binge drinking, was an understandably unappealing prospect for all but the country's staunchest defenders. People wanted the Britain of bonnets and smouldering heroes in the mould of Pride and Prejudice's Mr Darcy or a topless Aidan Turner as Poldark. They did not want the Britain of The Only Way Is Essex. Yet it seems the tide might finally have turned. The signs that the UK's cultural cachet was about to experience an unexpected surge were already there, of course. No, Keir Starmer's thrashing of the Tories last year was far from the jubilant landslide of Labour in the late Nineties, but it at least represented some kind of hope after years in exile for those on the Left. The official trend and soundtrack for that summer – Brat summer – was orchestrated by unabashedly hip British musician Charli XCX, whose album emboldened a generation of young people to sack off curating a perfect Insta grid and stay out raving all night in yesterday's makeup. Even Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris got in on the action after Charli declared 'kamala IS brat' on social media. Now, 2025 seems to be the year when everything has coalesced – and people are once again loving the UK for her grittiness, rather than her prettiness. The Gallagher brothers, pivotal in Cool Britannia's previous iteration, have kick-started a frenzy of Britpop nostalgia single-handed with their reunion tour. Guy Ritchie's latest gangster series, MobLand, with its hard-as-nails London crime scene juxtaposed by picturesque Cotswolds manor houses, was an instant success for Paramount. Adolescence, a dark mini-series set in Yorkshire about a 13-year-old boy who murders a classmate after becoming radicalised online, is Netflix's most-watched show of the year and its second most-watched English-language series of all time. The show's standout performances earned Emmy nominations for Stephen Graham, Erin Doherty and Ashley Walters, as well as 15-year-old Owen Cooper, who made history by becoming the youngest ever nominee in the limited series supporting actor category. And then there are the celebrity endorsements that keep rolling in. 'Everything here is just better,' comedian and talk show host Ellen DeGeneres recently said of the UK after moving here with wife Portia de Rossi following Donald Trump's re-election. 'The way animals are treated, people are polite. I just love it here.'


Gulf Today
10 hours ago
- Gulf Today
Gold falls on US-EU trade deal agreement
Gold fell to a near three-week low on Monday as a US-European Union trade accord lifted the dollar and risk sentiment, while investors awaited fresh cues on rate policy from this week's Federal Reserve meeting. Spot gold fell 1% to $3,304.87 per ounce as of 10:10am, touching its lowest level since July 9. US gold futures were down 0.6% at $3,320.20 per ounce. The US dollar index rose to a one-week high, making bullion more expensive for overseas buyers. A weekend deal between US President Donald Trump and the European Commission imposed a 15% tariff on EU goods, half the rate initially threatened, easing fears of a broader trade war. That pact came on the heels of last week's US-Japan agreement, while US and Chinese officials will resume talks in Stockholm on Monday, aiming to extend their trade truce by another 90 days. However, a US trade representative said no major breakthrough was expected with China, noting discussions would focus on monitoring and implementing existing commitments. The US Federal Reserve is expected to keep its benchmark rate in the 4.25%-4.50% range when its two-day meeting concludes on Wednesday. Markets, meanwhile, continue to price in a potential September rate reduction. Gold tends to do well in a low-interest-rate environment. Elsewhere, spot silver was down 0.2% at $38.05 per ounce, while platinum fell 1.8% at $1,375.88 and palladium gained 0.5% to $1,226.25. Reuters


Middle East Eye
11 hours ago
- Middle East Eye
UK must ask Israel to help Palestinian family leave Gaza, High Court rules
A British High Court judge has ruled that the UK must assist a Palestinian family in leaving Gaza by formally requesting that Israel allow them to exit the besieged enclave. The family had been granted permission earlier this year to enter the UK to visit their relative, a British citizen, but have been trapped in Gaza, as the Foreign Office has refused to submit a formal request to Israel for their passage via Jordan. Following the ruling, the family's solicitor, Jenni Whitaker, said she hoped that the Foreign Office would 'do the right, just and humane thing and urgently agree to assist our clients" by acting promptly upon the judgment.