Free thinking. Straight talking. Explore more opinion from the nation’s leading comment writers. |  | Henry Bodkin, in Jerusalem Jerusalem Correspondent | This round of unrest in Iran is on course the bloodiest in years with more than 490 protesters and 48 security personnel killed in the latest demonstrations.
Last night’s figures from Human Rights Activists in Iran, a respected non-governmental organisation, doubled the estimate from the day before – yet they are still likely to underestimate the true toll as a result of suppression of the media and an internet blackout.
Since last Thursday, the Islamic regime has become more violent in their efforts to repress the protests.
| Protesters have continued to fill the streets in Tehran, despite the authorities’ increasingly deadly crackdown | Doctors described hospitals as overwhelmed with dead and wounded patients, with an eye hospital forced into “crisis mode” because of the number of people who had lost one or both eyes.
One of the victims was 23-year-old Rubina Aminian, who joined a demonstration after classes at her textiles college on Thursday and now lies buried on a roadside in Western Iran after local mosques were forbidden from conducting a proper ceremony. | Rubina Aminian, 23, was found shot in the back of the head and buried at the roadside | The protests have spread to Britain, with more than 1,000 demonstrators gathering in Whitehall calling for “Iranian freedom” and calling on the Government to proscribe the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps.
Senior Labour figures have joined leading Conservative and Reform members in calling for Sir Keir Starmer to ban Tehran’s “terror army”.
The US government has echoed the calls while Donald Trump is still mulling military action against the Islamic Republic, including cyber operations.
With or without US intervention, is Ali Khamenei, the 86-year-old supreme leader, running out of options?
And, if so, is Reza Pahlavi, the exiled crown prince, the man to fill the void?
With every sign that demonstrators were not backing down, the only safe bet at this stage is that the death toll will continue to rise.
Read the full story here ➤
Student protester shot in back of the head and buried by roadside ➤
US prepares for cyber war with Iran ➤
Prince of Iran conjures a revolution from his wealthy US suburb ➤ | | Telegraph View The Prime Minister’s joint statement is not enough. Our nation should offer its full support to Iranian protesters Continue reading ➤ Jane Shilling It’s never been cooler to be out in the freezing cold Continue reading ➤ Michael Mosbacher ‘Un-pensioning’ could set a very dangerous precedent indeed Continue reading ➤ | | Germany is mounting a quiet charm offensive to lure Rolls-Royce’s next-generation Ultrafan engine work out of Britain and into Brandenburg, dangling generous subsidies in return. With Berlin desperate to protect jobs as its car industry falters, and Rolls listening, the stakes for the UK are high, writes Matt Oliver, our Industry Editor. Continue reading ➤ | | | Somerset pub The George Inn has solid evidence to back up its claims of antiquity | | The title of England’s oldest pub is feverishly contested, with upwards of a dozen establishments fighting it out for the crown. Yet many claims of venerability are at best impossible to substantiate and at worst clearly false. With this in mind, our pubs expert Will Hawkes visited several of the nation’s oldest boozers in an attempt to separate the genuinely old from the downright dubious. Continue reading ➤ | |  | | Jennifer Lawrence, in a Givenchy ‘naked dress’ embroidered with flowers, was the most showstopping look of the night | | The awards ceremony itself surprised us in three ways this year: it actually handed out gongs to the right people, people dressed relatively normally and we weren’t subjected to celebrities’ irrelevant opinions on geopolitics or the moral state of the world. Nikki Glaser, the returning host, bucked the trend slightly, however, by opening the night with a joke about celebrities appearing on the redacted Jeffrey Epstein list. Kara Kennedy reviews the night’s highs and lows.
Read the review here ➤
Plus, the full list of winners ➤ | | | | | Forecast by James Bowes, University of Warwick data | | It mightn’t be long before more people are leaving Britain than arriving, possibly as soon as this coming December, according to at least one analyst. This would come as a huge surprise to politicians, experts and voters. But, ask Hans van Leeuwen and Emma Taggart, would it also deliver a seismic shock to the economy? Continue reading ➤ | | | ‘By sharing my story, I can try to find purpose in the pain,’ says Summer McKesson | | When Summer McKesson took a DNA test to discover more about her recently diagnosed genetic condition, the results surprised her, yet they were unrelated to her health. Instead, Summer uncovered seven half-siblings and came to the realisation that she was a result of “fertility fraud” after one doctor used his own sperm to father countless children. Continue reading ➤ | | | The entrance to Lincoln Cathedral is at the top of Steep Hill, famous for its sprawling history and array of independent businesses | From medieval beauties teeming with half-timber to glossy modern thoroughfares, Britain is home to a wide array of attractive streets. But which are the fairest of them all? Encompassing alleys, avenues, crescents, cut-throughs, side roads, back streets and boulevards, our round-up of the nation’s 20 prettiest streets will make you proud to be British. Continue reading ➤ Below are two more articles that I hope will improve your day: | All the world’s a stage Every weekday, Orlando Bird, our loyal Reader Correspondent, shares an off-piste topic that has brought out the best of your opinions and stories. Orlando writes...
I’ve been enjoying a recent correspondence on readers’ favourite Shakespeare productions. It began with a letter from Graham Chaney, discussing Hamlet. While clearly a towering masterpiece and all that, the play has received a fair bit of criticism over the centuries.
It wasn’t just Dr Johnson who felt that the gloomy Dane should pull himself together. Graham pointed out that “Voltaire thought it ‘a vulgar and barbarous drama, which would not be tolerated by the vilest populace of France or Italy’, and ‘the work of a drunken savage’.
“Tolstoy thought Shakespeare ‘not an artist’, and all his plays devoid of artistic worth... DH Lawrence disliked the character of Hamlet as ‘repulsive in its conception, based on self-dislike and a spirit of disintegration’.” Not one to mince words, old David Herbert.
This got Hilary Aitken thinking: “I have seen about 80 Shakespeare plays and have concluded that while some are better than others, no play is inherently good or bad and much depends on the the production.
“My all-time favourite was a 1985 Royal Shakespeare Company production of Troilus and Cressida, which was utterly absorbing, even if nobody regards that play as Shakespeare’s finest. I once left a production of Coriolanus because it seemed to consist of Toby Stephens shouting. Some years later, a different production with Greg Hicks in the title role suddenly illuminated the text, and I saw it several more times.”
Sue Leach, meanwhile, recalled: “In 1971 I went on an A-level trip from Whitby Grammar School to Liverpool to see Charles Dance play Coriolanus. It gave me a lifelong love of Shakespeare and I often think of my teacher, Michael Farrant, who set me on my way.”
Still, the prize for most memorable performance surely goes to this one, described by Karen Falcke: “In 1974, studying King Lear for English A-level, a group of us went to see a matinee performance in Wimbledon. A very well-known actor played Edgar, who pretends to be mad.
“Without warning, he did a handstand and his tunic dropped over his head, revealing all. I will never forget the collective gasp of thrilled shock from the convent girls surrounding me, or the pain of my neighbour’s nails digging into my wrist.”
“Suit the action to the word, the word to the action,” Hamlet tells the Players. I think he’d have approved. Which plays have lingered in your mind and why? Send your responses here and the best of the bunch will feature in a future edition of From the Editor PM, to which you can sign up here.
Please confirm in your reply that you are happy to be featured and that we have your permission to use your name. | Caption competition with... |  | Matt Pritchett Cartoonist | Hello,
We’re back! I hope you all had a lovely break. To kick off the caption competition we have a news reporter in a storm. I’m excited to see what you come up with!
P.S. for an inside look at what inspires my weekly cartoons, you can sign up for my personal subscriber-exclusive newsletter here. Submit your answers ➤ | | Find as many words as you can in today’s Panagram, including the nine-letter solution. Visit Telegraph Puzzles to play a range of head-scratching games, including PlusWord, Sorted, and Quick, Mini or Cryptic Crosswords.
Yesterday’s Panagram was CALCIFIED. Come back tomorrow for the solution to today’s puzzle. | | Please let me know what you think of this newsletter. You can email me your feedback here.
Thank you for reading. Have a fulfilling day and I hope to see you tomorrow. Chris Evans, Editor | |
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