David Leask

heraldscotland.comLet's try having an intelligent discussion about mummies in museumsRemoving the dead from display in Glasgow has sparked claims of cancellation. Neil Mackay says culture warriors should cut the cheap chat and engage their brains

Evergreen column from Neil Mackay about how every “debate” is stupid now. www.heraldscotland.com/politics/vie...

thetimes.comLiz Truss has now shown she’s as good a writer as she was a prime ministerThis new memoir, Bank Job, is a pedantic screed and will not widen her appeal in the US — nor will it salvage her reputation at home

Liz Truss has now shown she’s as good a writer as she was a prime minister www.thetimes.com/article/b663...

thetimes.comThe 1806 dockland murder that shocked and thrilled LondonA fatal shooting, the cesspit that revealed the truth, and blackmail from beyond the grave: Thomas Morris relives an extraordinary crime in Blood on the Thames

The 1806 dockland murder that shocked and thrilled London www.thetimes.com/article/eeeb...

thetimes.comSerbian leader Aleksandar Vucic concedes defeat to student partyVucic makes surprise announcement, bringing an end to 12 years in power

Serbian leader Aleksandar Vucic concedes defeat to student party www.thetimes.com/article/2aa2...

David Leask reposted

Harry Wallop

@harrywallop.co.uk

Replying to @harrywallop.co.uk

Here's my long read in The Sunday Times Magazine on the amazing success story of Mutti. And how it persuaded famously budget-conscious Brits to splash out on a boring, storecupboard staple: the tinned tomato www.thetimes.com/life-style/f...

thetimes.comThe secret of Mutti’s £1.60 tomatoes: seeds, trophies and a polpa machineMutti is now the UK’s biggest supplier of tinned tomatoes. How did a 127-year-old family firm persuade British shoppers to spend £1.60 on a store-cupboard staple?

David Leask reposted

thetimes.comHugh MacDiarmid: contrarian poet who inspired creation of the SNPAlmost 100 years since Drunk Man Looks at the Thistle was published, Alex Linklater talks to David Leask about his legacy

Hugh MacDiarmid: contrarian poet who inspired creation of the SNP www.thetimes.com/article/c476...

thetimes.comRevealed: Scottish state pays staff £27m for jobs that don’t existAn SNP ban on compulsory redundancy means 800 public-sector ‘ghost workers’ are on full pay even though their roles are gone

Revealed: Scottish state pays staff £27m for jobs that don’t exist www.thetimes.com/article/c654...

thetimes.comPoll shows Burnham bounce but tough road ahead to beat SNPA survey finds the prime minister is the most popular leader in Scotland, but voters still have concerns over the triple lock pension and mayor proposals

Poll shows Burnham bounce but tough road ahead to beat SNP www.thetimes.com/article/a5ea...

thetimes.comHugh MacDiarmid: contrarian poet who inspired creation of the SNPAlmost 100 years since Drunk Man Looks at the Thistle was published, Alex Linklater talks to David Leask about his legacy

Hugh MacDiarmid: contrarian poet who inspired creation of the SNP www.thetimes.com/article/c476...

www.glasgowlife.org.uk/event/1/a-dr...

glasgowlife.org.ukA Drunk Man Looks at the Thistle: Hugh MacDiarmid and a Hundred Years of the Scottish Renaissance - Glasgow LifeThe Centenary Conference 1926 - 2026

thetimes.comGlasgow anti-hate drive flooded with racist abuse from USThe council said its campaign celebrating diversity was met with comments that would cause ‘real fear and alarm’

Glasgow anti-hate drive flooded with racist abuse from US www.thetimes.com/article/1d99...

David Leask reposted

George Greenwood

@georgegreenwood.bsky.social

A gambling company closely linked to Nigel Farage’s right-hand "Posh George" Cottrell got its licence using a document which appears to have been faked. With @petergeoghegan.bsky.social and Cormac Kehoe www.thetimes.com/uk/politics/...

thetimes.comGambling site linked to George Cottrell ‘used fake document to get licence’Questions have been raised over how Tether.Bet, a firm closely linked to Nigel Farage’s right-hand man, obtained documents allowing international operations

thetimes.comTommy Robinson hired investigators to photograph journalists’ homesThe far-right activist wept as he told a court he wanted to put pressure on the Daily Mail after it reported on his luxury holiday in Cyprus during UK riots

Tommy Robinson hired investigators to photograph journalists’ homes www.thetimes.com/article/6a76...

thetimes.comMI5 spied on NHS founder Nye Bevan for decadesThe Labour politician was watched until 1960 despite no evidence he aided the Soviet Union, newly released files from the National Archives show

MI5 spied on NHS founder Nye Bevan for decades www.thetimes.com/article/2f98...

thetimes.comHow Russia and Iran are fanning the flames in French riotsHostile foreign powers are believed to be stirring up trouble as student protests in Paris and other big cities descend into violence

How Russia and Iran are fanning the flames in French riots www.thetimes.com/article/4ec0...

thetimes.comTommy Robinson used ‘bully-boy’ tactics on journalists, court toldThe far-right activist denies charges of harassment causing fear of violence against two Daily Mail journalists, forcing one to flee his home

Tommy Robinson used ‘bully-boy’ tactics on journalists, court told www.thetimes.com/article/07f8...

thetimes.comHe helped to build China’s ‘visionary’ megacity: now he’s been purgedThe former mayor of Chongqing was seen as a great survivor, having outlasted Bo Xilai, but has finally met his downfall

He helped to build China’s ‘visionary’ megacity: now he’s been purged www.thetimes.com/article/b322...

thetimes.comI survived the Road of Death to escape town being starved by RussiaNataliia is one of the few to have recently left Oleshky, an occupied Ukrainian town where the suffering has drawn comparison to the horrors of Stalin’s reign

I survived the Road of Death to escape town being starved by Russia www.thetimes.com/article/a38b...

thetimes.comThe truth about Robert Burns and his connection to the slave tradeA major new academic investigation has argued it is unhelpful to make the Scottish poet a symbol of what his compatriots did and how it changed the country

The truth about Robert Burns and his connection to slavery. >>>> Or lack thereof. www.thetimes.com/article/2340...

Revealed: secret (and strange) Pentagon study on warp speed travel www.thetimes.com/article/523c...

thetimes.comTrump waives Russia sanctions passed by Congress amid Ukraine rowThe US president blocked sanctions — on Putin and buyers of Russian oil — days before they were due to come into effect

Trump waives Russia sanctions passed by Congress amid Ukraine row www.thetimes.com/article/7d1f...

thetimes.comUkraine ‘has run out of Patriot interceptor missiles’Sources say Kyiv was powerless to stop the latest wave of Russian ballistic missile strikes because they had none of the US weapons left

Ukraine ‘has run out of Patriot interceptor missiles’ www.thetimes.com/article/ae7e...

Anti-migrant ‘thuggery’ threatens lifeboat crews, says charity watchdog www.thetimes.com/article/31ac...

Reform councillors call Muslims ‘parasites’ and black children ‘animals’ www.thetimes.com/article/d162...

thetimes.comSally Rooney pulls books from UK over support for Palestine ActionFaber & Faber, Rooney’s publisher, said it would halt sales in the UK of her books, which include Normal People

Sally Rooney pulls books from UK over support for Palestine Action www.thetimes.com/article/9f3e...

thetimes.comHow Elon Musk’s surprise Starlink limits could spell disaster for UkraineCritics accuse the tech boss of having the ‘blood of Ukrainian children’ on his hands as speed restrictions on the network could impede the country’s defence

How Elon Musk’s surprise Starlink limits could spell disaster for Ukraine www.thetimes.com/article/5b69...

thetimes.comZelensky says Putin is ‘disrespecting’ US, after Kyiv hit without warningNo sirens sounded before deadly Russian missile and drone attacks, but Trump insists intelligence is still being passed on despite threats to cut access

Zelensky says Putin is ‘disrespecting’ US, after Kyiv hit without warning www.thetimes.com/article/85f3...

motherjones.comDrone strikes didn't take out a Russian bot farm, but we were primed to believe itA viral rumor illustrates people’s hunger to make sense of the division we see online.

Your periodic reminder that it isn’t just knuckle-dragging rightists on X who are gullible to internet misinformation, however implausible. There are “believe what they want to be true” goobers aplenty on BlueSky too.

Brian C. Keegan, Ph.D.@brianckeegan.com

www.motherjones.com/politics/202...

I wrote up a story on the biggest money laundering fine in French history - imposed on a bank partly owned by Celtic’s main shareholder - and some commenters decided it was designed to put off the team’s players ahead of an inconsequential midweek Scottish league match.

Rob Davies@byrobdavies.bsky.social

Rumbled.

thetimes.comIan Hislop: ‘Prince Harry? He’s Tim-Nice-But-Dim’The journalist and satirist was still a student when a drunk Peter Cook offered him a job on Private Eye. Now, he’s celebrating 40 years as the editor — and pulling fewer punches than ever

Ian Hislop: ‘Prince Harry? He’s Tim-Nice-But-Dim’ www.thetimes.com/article/7324...

thetimes.com‘Hostile takeover’: Mathematicians reckon with an AI revolutionWelcome to the ‘mathpocalypse’, when hundreds of solutions to problems that had stumped experts for decades seemed to be solved by artificial intelligence

‘Hostile takeover’: Mathematicians reckon with an AI revolution www.thetimes.com/article/dd2b...

thetimes.comTrump ‘strikes deal with Putin’ to release 4.8m tonnes of dieselDiesel prices around the world have surged since the outbreak of war in Iran, and the US president is under pressure to get them down before midterm elections

Country attacking Iran lifts sanctions on country attacking Ukraine. www.thetimes.com/article/d7db...

David Leask reposted

Emma Yeomans

@yeomans.bsky.social

Far-right activists linked to Patriot Platform and Restore have been clashing with police in France, following aid workers and trying to enter tents in the Dunkirk and Calais camp overnight. We unmasked them. www.thetimes.com/article/migr...

thetimes.com‘Migrant hunters’ targeting small boats clash with French policeA new group of hard-right influencers has been in skirmishes with the authorities after ten British activists were banned for ‘inciting hatred’

David Leask reposted

Steve Rosenberg

@bbcstever.bsky.social

"In this building lived and worked journalist Anna Politkovskaya. Killed 7 October 2006"

thetimes.comMy last lunch with Jeffrey Archer and how he changed my lifeFraser Nelson shares his tales of a writer who left him spellbound — and whose legacy runs far beyond the books he left behind

I once read a Jeffrey Archer - about 30 years ago - and all I remember is thinking it was terrible but also reading it to the very last page. >>>>>My last lunch with Jeffrey Archer and how he changed my life www.thetimes.com/article/7b2a...

Jeffrey Archer obituary: MP, peer and multimillion-selling author www.thetimes.com/article/edca...

thetimes.comRussian scientist dies after ‘dropping test tube’ containing pneumonic plagueDozens of laboratory workers have been quarantined as Russian officials face accusations of withholding information about a suspected outbreak in Siberia

Russian scientist dies after ‘dropping test tube’ containing pneumonic plague www.thetimes.com/article/f813...

David Leask reposted

Really keen to hear from people who want to holiday in Scotland but find it too expensive

David Leask@leaskyd.bsky.social

Hiya. Are you English? Fancy a holiday in Scotland? But can’t afford it? If so, I’d like to interview you for the Sunday Times.

thetimes.comWhy Trump thinks a retired teacher in Alaska is a plot to ruin his presidencyDan Sullivan Jr is the man the president fears most in next month’s crucial midterm elections

Why Trump thinks a retired teacher in Alaska is a plot to ruin his presidency www.thetimes.com/article/28e1...

Really keen to hear from people who want to holiday in Scotland but find it too expensive

David Leask@leaskyd.bsky.social

Hiya. Are you English? Fancy a holiday in Scotland? But can’t afford it? If so, I’d like to interview you for the Sunday Times.

In England this would be a criminal offence. In Scotland it soon will be. It’s certainly an actionable breach of journalistic ethics in most European rule-of-law democracies.

Michael Tracey@m-tracey.bsky.social

Say it with me -- reporting is not "doxxing" ... reporting is not "doxxing." Of course I wouldn't publish her phone number, address, social security, etc. But her identity? Absolutely. That's squarely in the public interest. Despite the cynical legal tactics to arbitrarily shroud her in anonymity.

heraldscotland.comFormidable journalist who helped steer The Herald through turbulent times‘A perfect example of what a good, experienced journalist should be’

Never underestimate the wisdom of a backbench sub. www.heraldscotland.com/news/health/...

David Leask reposted

Hiya. Are you English? Fancy a holiday in Scotland? But can’t afford it? If so, I’d like to interview you for the Sunday Times.

Hiya. Are you English? Fancy a holiday in Scotland? But can’t afford it? If so, I’d like to interview you for the Sunday Times.

There is so much democratic backsliding in America…..but sometimes it’s worth just zooming in on one little episode to understand just how far US public life has degraded in the last few years. This is one of those times.

Sahil Kapur@sahilkapur.bsky.social

A phenomenal moment in the Senate. Eric Schmitt, R-Mo., claims he has evidence Jack Smith went to a HAWKS game in Atlanta. Smith denies it. Schmitt declares he has busted Jack Smith for perjury. Smith, vexed, says he went to HAWKEYES game in Maryland. WATCH IN FULL, UNINTERRUPTED

In short, a Republican senator appears to imply that the federal prosecutor investigating Trump conspired with a local one doing the same in Atlanta. His evidence? That the fed had attended a sporting event in Atlanta. But the senator had mixed up the Atlanta Hawks with the Iowa Hawkeyes.

I do wonder what would happen to a legislator in a European democracy who behaved like this?

thetimes.comThe tragedy that forced Serbia’s strongman to call electionsIn 2024, 16 died when a station roof collapsed. Now voters have the chance to elect a government untainted by the corruption the disaster came to epitomise

The tragedy that forced Serbia’s strongman to call elections www.thetimes.com/article/3c82...

thetimes.comWhy ‘London-style’ coffee shops are taking over in ParisSites offering menus in English and better brews are encroaching on traditional Paris cafés still serving the beverage known as ‘sock juice’

Why ‘London-style’ coffee shops are taking over in Paris (or the Bobos are switching to flat whites) www.thetimes.com/article/1afd...