“From humble origins”, Notting Hill Carnival has grown to become a huge “cultural landmark” in the heart of London, said The Voice. And this year marks the 60th anniversary of what is now a “massive celebration” of Caribbean culture. 

What is it?
The second largest carnival in the world, taking place over the late August bank holiday weekend. Millions turn up to enjoy the costumes, dance to the steelpan, calypso, soca, reggae and dancehall music, and sample all manner of food, from Guyanese pepper pot to Trinidadian roti.

What’s the history?
Many Caribbean carnivals trace their roots back to “rebellion against enslavement”, said Secret London. Enslaved people would don costumes and cover themselves with “paint, mud or oil, as an act of defiance against their oppressors”. 

The “shocking” origins of Notting Hill Carnival lie in the “brutal, racially motivated murder” of Antiguan carpenter Kelso Cochrane in 1959, said Sky History. The 32-year-old was stabbed in nearby Paddington, where racial tensions were turning “febrile” after the arrival of the Windrush generation. Trinidadian-born journalist Claudia Jones organised an indoor carnival to “push back against the racism the community faced since the 1958 race riots”, and “celebrate Caribbean culture”. It moved outdoors in 1966, and became what is now known as Notting Hill Carnival.

What’s happening this year?
For its 60th anniversary, community leaders have “clubbed together to kick the party off”, said The Standard. A “host of talks and panels”, and dedicated walks through west London, will offer the opportunity to “learn about what the carnival really means”.

Its future remains uncertain, however. Policing challenges, the use of facial recognition, and a debate over the location have all plagued the event in recent years. But what is “not up for debate”, said The Times, is the carnival’s “underlying importance” to the community. Its preservation is seen as one of the most “vital” ways to emphasise Caribbean and British-Caribbean identity.

With inflation on the rise, fuel rationing and continued threats of air strikes, the vast majority of the Iranian population continue to be pawns in a war with no end in sight.

Speaking openly about politics in Iran still “carries obvious risks”, said Nawal Al-Maghafi in The Guardian. But there is “no single narrative of the war”, with some believing it has “strengthened national unity”, and others saying it has only “deepened repression”.

‘Abandoned by the West’
Iran has sustained billions of dollars’ worth of damage from US attacks, said Maziar Motamedi in Al Jazeera. And this adds to “decades-old economic structural issues”, continually “strained by years of Western sanctions and local mismanagement”. Inflation has risen to “nearly 90%” in the last month, with food inflation “hitting 134%”.

Many Iranians feel “abandoned” by the West, said Roxana Saberi and Fatemeh Jamalpour in The Times. They believe the US and others have “largely stood by during the recent executions and the January massacre”. The “inaction” of the international community hits hard, the head of a survivor charity told the paper. “If these Western countries have democracy, how come they don’t care to see that the Iranian people are suffering?” The regime’s brutal crackdown since January has left Iranians with “widespread trauma” that “spans generations and classes”. 

‘Fervour’ and ‘fear’
There is still a “fervour” among those who support the regime, said Krishnan Guru-Murthy on Channel 4. Many are still eager to “express their love of country and their hatred of the enemy”.

For others, the “greatest fear” is that “the war will end with the Islamic Republic still in power”, said Kelly J. Shannon on the Atlantic Council. However the conflict ends, the “remnants of the regime” will probably become “further entrenched and even more oppressive”.

Both Washington and Tehran invoke the interests of the Iranian people, said Mahmoud Rasouli on the European Consortium for Political Research, but they never allow these interests to “directly determine the direction of the conflict”. And there’s the paradox: the Iranian people are “central” to the language used around the war, but “peripheral” in the “decision-making processes that shape their future”.

Mount Etna continues to spew lava and ash in Catania, Sicily. Europe’s highest and most active volcano has been erupting from several vents since 6 August, causing the disruption and cancellation of hundreds of flights, in what experts say is its longest stretch of continuous activity since the 1970s. 

Salvatore Allegra / AP Photo

Northumberland: Loughbrow House, Hexham
An impressive Victorian country house set in mature gardens, less than 30 minutes’ drive from Newcastle. 7 beds, 5 baths, kitchen-diner, 4 receps, 3-bed self-contained cottage, 2-bed self-contained annexe, garden, garage. OIEO £2.1 million; Galbraith.

Oxfordshire: Honeysuckle Cottage, Shenington
Charming period cottage with far-reaching rural views. The cities of Coventry and Oxford are within easy reach. 2 beds, family bath, kitchen, 2 receps, garden, off-street parking. £600,000; Savills.

West Sussex: Old Well Cottage, West Harting
A fine Grade II house within the South Downs National Park, close to Portsmouth and 4.5 miles from Petersfield, with easy railway access to London. 4 beds, 3 baths, kitchen/breakfast room, 3 receps, heated pool, garden, parking. £2 million; Savills.

Norfolk: Walnut Shade, Suton
This delightful Grade II medieval former hall house is set within approx. 2.5 acres, and is close to Norwich and Cambridge. 5 beds, 3 baths, kitchen, 3 receps, study, garden, outbuildings, garage, parking. £995,000; Sowerbys.

The Taliban are vile. Democracies must still engage with them
The Economist’s editorial board
There’s “a grim stability” in Taliban-controlled Afghanistan, says The Economist. “Music is banned. The vice-and-virtue police dish out beatings to sinners”, and women are “barred from” much of public life. Western isolation tactics and sanctions have “achieved almost nothing”. We must face the “hard” truth that “if the West does not engage with” the regime, “other powers will”. Many “decent governments recognise” rulers “they despise”; it’s time to hold our “collective noses and talk to the Taliban”.

Why being good at your job can be bad for your career
Rhymer Rigby in The Times
There are many “drawbacks to being competent” at work, writes Rhymer Rigby, including “not getting promoted” and “ending up doing everything”. Competency makes you “invisible”: “you create no friction”, so your manager rarely sees you; you “become a high-performing part of the furniture”. The competent have to learn to “be less agreeable” and even “strategically incompetent” at times. And, if that doesn’t work, they should threaten to leave, “which often focuses others’ minds wonderfully on just how much they do”.

Ukrainian cathedrals, Gaza’s archives, Iranian squares – modern war is systematically erasing human history
Simon Jenkins in The Guardian
Vladimir Putin’s mission “to eliminate Ukraine’s historical identity” has meant “the destruction of 545” magnificent buildings, writes Simon Jenkins. “Donald Trump’s egoistic bomb-fest” has damaged Iran’s palaces and squares and, in the Middle East, “the ancient city of Gaza is now largely rubble”. It seems “victory today” lies “in destroying an enemy’s identity and morale as much as in killing its people”. But “one of humanity’s deepest obligations is to its past” and “that past” should know “no national boundaries”.