What Age Expects
Following the success of the 2023 Tour of Calendar Girls The Musical, Lyn Paul returns to the cast for a second tour of the UK. Maureen Nolan and Honeysuckle Weeks also return to the cast. They are joined by newcomers Laurie Brett, who replaces Tanya Franks as Annie Clarke and Samantha Seager, who replaces Amy Robbins as Chris Harper. Liz Carney takes over from Paula Tappenden as Marie with Helen Pearson replacing Marti Webb as Celia. Andrew Tuton also joins the cast as the photographer Rob, previously played by Graham MacDuff.
The Tour opens at the Churchill Theatre, Bromley on Wednesday, 10th January. From there it heads north to The Lowry in Salford (16th-20th January), followed by the Opera House, Winter Gardens, Blackpool (23rd- 27th January). The reviews of the shows at all three venues are, almost without exception, very positive.
"This production benefits from a phenomenally good cast that has gelled together effectively.... Everyone will have their favourite character, whether it’s Honeysuckle Weeks’ down-to-earth Cora, Helen Pearson’s always over-dressed Celia, Lyn Paul’s once-a-teacher-always-a-teacher Jessie, or Liz Carney’s prim and proper Marie." (Greg Jameson, Entertainment Focus, 11th January 2024)
"Lyn Paul gives a very believable performance of retired teacher Jessie… with an inspiring rendition of What Age Expects." (Emily Davison, Bromley News Shopper, 12th January 2024)
“Lyn Paul, playing Jessie, also displays excellent vocals in her empowering number What Age Expects." *** (Lucy Boardman, Everything Theatre, 16th January 2024)
“Each member of the cast, including Liz Carney as Marie, Maureen Nolan as Ruth, Lyn Paul as Jessie, Helen Pearson as Celia, Samantha Seager as Christine and Honeysuckle Weeks as Cora, contributes to the magic of the musical with their brilliant on-stage chemistry, unique flair and talent.” ***** (Max Eden, North West End UK, 16th January 2024)
“The second half… is where the women really sock it to you, with four stellar vocal performances. Lyn Paul (Jessie), kicks things off with a defiant What Age Expects, followed by Liz Carney's (Marie) snarky Mrs. Rebellious, Maureen Nolan belting out My Russian Friend and I, and a heart-wrenchingly relatable Kilimanjaro performed by Laurie Brett (Annie).” **** (Danielle Roper, Manchester Evening News, 17th January 2024)
“Laurie Brett (Eastenders and Waterloo Road), Lyn Paul (New Seekers) and Honeysuckle Weeks (Foyle's War) particularly stand out in this cast, breathing life into their characters, turning preconceptions upside down and taking us through a rollercoaster of emotions…“ (Dean Thomas-Lowde, Canal Street Online, 17th January 2024)
“Lyn Paul (The New Seekers, Blood Brothers, Taboo) is fabulously matriarchal and stern as Jessie, yet we discover that Jessie’s outward appearance is a role she has played in life, and it possibly hides a deliciously wicked interior. Paul creates a commanding character, without ever being unwelcoming and the respect others have for her is apparent in both performance and reality. She blows us away with her solo. It holds a powerful message and is delivered by powerful vocals that give you goosebumps and extracted involuntary “wows” from around the theatre.” **** (Karen Ryder, Manchester Theatres, 17th January 2024)
“Lyn Paul (Jessie) gets the best individual applause of the night.” ** (Robert Beale, Theatre Reviews North, 17th January 2024)
“Lyn Paul, in the role of retired teacher Jessie effortlessly defies age and professional stereotypes. Jessie’s solo What Age Expects analyses the way society treats women as we age.” ***** (Lucy C, A Youngish Perspective, 19th January 2024)
“Lyn Paul is so charismatic and relaxed, her performance is just wonderful.” (Samantha Seager, quoted by Aimee Seddon in an interview for the The Gazette, 22nd January 2024)


At the end of January the tour heads across the Pennines to The Alhambra Theatre, Bradford (30th January - 3rd February) and the Grand Opera House, York (6th-10th February).
“Samantha Seager is fabulous as Chris, her energy and enthusiasm infectious as she rallies to keep morale high within the group. Lyn Paul and Maureen Nolan both deliver masterclass performances in tackling delicate subject matter.” (Christine Goode, on: yorkshire magazine, 30th January 2024)
“Strong performances too from Lyn Paul as Jessie - her performance of What Age Expects was a highlight… “ (Emma Clayton, Telegraph & Argus, 30th January 2024)
After the shows in Yorkshire the tour heads north for a fortnight of shows in Scotland - a week at His Majesty's Theatre, Aberdeen (13th-17th February) and another week at the King's Theatre, Glasgow (20th-24th February), Reviewing the opening night performance in Aberdeen for the Press and Journal, Rebecca Buchan writes:
“During the second act, the musical comes into its own. I was bowled over by the raw emotion and powerful acting of the leads, in particular Laurie Brett, Liz Carney, Maureen Nolan, Lyn Paul, Helen Pearson, Samantha Seager and Honeysuckle Weeks and I left the theatre a bit of a teary mess.” (The Press and Journal, 14th February 2024)
While she is in Aberdeen Lyn Paul celebrates her 75th birthday. Posting a message on X, formerly Twitter, Lyn writes: “My boys are here with me and they and my 'Calendar Girls' colleagues have made it a fantastic birthday.” (X, 16th February 2024, 4:46pm)
The tour returns to England for its last six weeks. The first stop is the Theatre Royal, Bath (5th-9th March), where Lyn and other members of the cast are well received by the critics:
“Lyn Paul as the matriarchal Jessie is a class act with a beautiful delivery of her song.” (Steve Huggins, Bath Echo, 6th March 2024)
“It’s a compelling story, the songs are great and obviously the highlight is the photographic session which is very funny and beautifully performed.” (Jacquie Vowles, What's On Bristol, 6th March 2024)
"All cast members work incredibly hard in what are challenging musical and acting roles. Some of the solo musical hits are a highlight, particularly Lyn Paul as the ageing Jessie who belts out one of the best songs in the show to tumultuous applause from the audience." (Nancy Connolly, Bath Chronicle, 7th March 2024, page 4)
Before arriving in Bath, Lyn posts a message on X: "The wonderful @TheatreRoyalBath is where @thegirlsmusical opens tomorrow. Can’t wait to be back there and acknowledge the butterfly! The first time I was there I did panto with my great friend Roy Hudd and my gorgeous son was only 8 months old. He’s now 34!" (X, 4th March, 10:36pm). The butterfly Lyn refers to is a reference to an incident that occurred in 1948, when a dead tortoiseshell butterfly was found on stage while the company was preparing to put on a children’s pantomime. Shortly afterwards the manager and producer of the show, Reg Maddox, died of a heart attack while he was lighting a scene on the stage. Tradition has it that Maddox haunts the theatre in the form of a benevolent butterfly. If a butterfly appears in the rafters it is taken as a sign that the show will be a hit.
After Bath, the tour returns to the Theatre Royal, Windsor (12th-16th March), where it had first begun in 2023. On Sunday, 10th March, two days before opening night, Lyn attends an “invitation only” tribute to Bill Kenwright at the London Palladium. The show is presented by Bradley Walsh and features performances by cast members from several of Bill’s shows, including Cabaret (Will Young), Heathers, Jesus Christ Superstar, Joseph and The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (Vivienne Carlyle and Lee Mead), Saturday Night Fever and the current touring cast of Blood Brothers. The stars paying tribute to Bill include Judi Dench and Finty Williams, Vanessa Redgrave, Maureen Lipman, Ian McKellen and Martin Shaw as well as Bill’s partner Jenny Seagrove and his daughter Lucy Kenwright. The show also features video tributes from Tommy Steele, Barry Manilow and John Travolta.
The following day Lyn posts a message on X: “Wonderful evening last night celebrating @BillKenwright. Everyone knows how my family and I felt about Bill so I’m not going to drag this out. I miss and love you Bill, I am eternally grateful to you and my world is a much sadder place without you in it.” (X, 11th March 2024, 11:21pm)
On 16th March, while Calendar Girls is in Windsor, Lyn's dad comes to see the show. Posting a message on X, Lyn writes: “My 96-year-old dad is coming to see @thegirlsmusical tomorrow. The wonderful carers at Oak House Care Home are bringing him and 4 other residents to see the show. To say I am beyond emotional would be an understatement. He hasn’t seen me perform for over 5 years. Love you dad.“ (X, 14th March 2024, 1:03am). After he has seen the show, Lyn writes: “He loved it in the moment but sadly didn’t remember it 5 minutes after it had finished. Alzheimer’s is the cruelest condition and just heartbreaking for everyone concerned.” (X, 17th March, 1.39am)


After its week in Windsor the tour moves on to the Waterside Theatre, Aylesbury (19th-23rd March), the New Victoria Theatre, Woking (26th-30th March) and the Theatre Royal, Norwich (2nd-6th April). Once again, Lyn's performance catches the eye of several reviewers.
"Lyn Paul plays Jessie who used to be a teacher and the WI members sometimes still call her Miss. She is proud of her achievements but hates being judged by her age. I hear this loudly even though I am much younger than all the cast on the stage. Lyn is a huge talent and outstanding in this role." (Jasmine Storm, 20th March 2024)
"Lyn Paul (Blood Brothers) brings prestige and gravitas as retired teacher Jessie who doesn’t let her age dictate what she does." (Mica Blackwell, Welcome To My Stagey World, 28th March 2024)
"The performances were all excellent with Laurie Brett and Samantha Seager as best friends Annie and Chris the pick of the bunch... They were aided by an excellent supporting cast, with Lyn Paul offering a real highlight with her song What Age Expects." (East Anglian Theatre Podcast)
The tour of Calendar Girls The Musical comes to an end at The Hawth, Crawley (9th-13th April).
"Lyn Paul delivers the ultimate show stopper with Jessie’s solo, What Age Expects." (Paul Scott, The Sussex Newspaper, 10th April 2024)
“The show is a true ensemble effort... stand out performances include three former Mrs. Johnstones’ (Blood Brothers): Maureen Nolan playing the constrained Ruth who finds courage from the bottom of a bottle, Lyn Paul as Jessie whose teaching career taught her a lot of resilience and Helen Pearson playing Celia the (air) hostess with the mostess.” (Sammi O’Neill, Theatre South East. 10th April 2024)
On 11th April, during the final week of Calendar Girls The Musical, it is announced that Lyn Paul would be appearing in Jerry's Girls at the Menier Chocolate Factory (18th May - 29th June). The following week, however, as rehearsals for Jerry's Girls are about to begin, Lyn pulls out of the show for personal reasons. She is replaced by Jessica Martin.
On 6th May Lyn announces that she and Tanya Franks will be taking part in the Walk For A Cure, a five kilometer sponsored walk in Kensington Gardens on the 8th June in support of Alzheimer’s Research UK. On the day they are joined by two other members of the Calendar Girls cast, Paula Tappenden and Colin R. Campbell. Between them they raise £933.

Pictured above (left to right):
Colin R. Campbell, Paula Tappenden, Lyn Paul and Tanya Franks.

On Sunday, 2nd June Lyn Paul joins comedian Jimmy Cricket, ventriloquist Steve Hewlett and comedian and actor Richard Gauntlett in Hooray For Hudd, a variety show at the West Cliff Theatre in Clacton, staged in memory of Roy Hudd. Organised by Roy's widow, Debbie Hudd, the show's proceeds go to a charity formed after Roy's death in 2020 with the aim of putting up a statue in his memory. Lyn sings two songs, Friends and a slow version of I Will Survive.
On Friday, 14th June Keith Burns, who played the Narrator in Blood Brothers, dies unexpectedly, at the age of 60. His funeral takes place the day after the general election. In one of her last posts before quitting X, formerly Twitter, Lyn writes: "I am thrilled Labour won but I am too sad to celebrate. At the moment I am preparing to go to the funeral of a very dear friend, Keith Burns. All his friends are devastated but we will celebrate the life of this supremely talented, wonderful man. I love you Kitty!" (X, 5th July, 10:57am).
On 22nd July Lyn joins her dad at the Oak House Care Home to celebrate his 97th birthday. Visiting her dad and making sure that he is well taken care of takes up more and more of Lyn’s time. She and her sister Nikki visit him every day but spending time with him and bearing witness to his declining health and fading memory takes its toll.
In September Lyn shares the news that her son Ryan will be leaving to join the Disney cruise liner Wonder. Anticipating (wrongly as it turned out) that Ryan wouldn't be returning home until 5th March 2025, Lyn and the family decide to celebrate Christmas before he leaves on 18th October.
On Sunday, 27th October Lyn attends a Celebration of Life ceremony at St. Paul’s Covent Garden, the Actors’ Church, in memory of Keith Burns.
On 5th November Lyn learns that she has been cast as Queen Rat in Dick Whittington at The Theatre Royal Windsor. Sharing the news of her return to panto, Lyn says: "I couldn’t be happier... The Theatre Royal is like a home from home… We are one big family and right now my heart is singing!"
Dick Whittington runs at the Theatre Royal Windsor from 22nd November until 12th January 2025, playing to packed houses and receiving enthusiastic reviews. Summarising the show in The Stage, Paul Vale writes:
“Steven Blakeley and Martin Cabble-Reid have become a long-running double-act at Windsor… The pair star as Sarah the Cook and Jack respectively, in a mad-cap adventure with several utterly random, hugely entertaining diversions...
This madness somehow doesn’t detract from the story, which sees Mikko Juan’s gung-ho Dick, battle Lyn Paul’s arch Queen Rat, with the help of Rina Punwani’s pugnacious pussy Talullah... Along with comedy impressionist Hilary O’Neil as Fairy Bowbells and the irrepressible Basil Brush as Alderman Fitzwarren, Windsor yet again strikes a carefully calculated balance between fantasy adventure and comic mayhem.”
(Paul Vale, The Stage, 9th December 2024)
Other reviewers are equally enthusiastic:
“The Theatre Royal Windsor has once again delivered a pantomime fit for royalty, with its dazzling production of Dick Whittington.... The villainous Queen Rat, played by the legendary Lyn Paul, is deliciously evil and her powerful voice echoes through the theatre.” (Ryan Bishop, West End Best Friend, 29th November 2024)
“Special guests this year are Hilary O’Neil who is Fairy Bowbells. The yin to her yang is New Seeker Lyn Paul. They play so well against each other, with Hilary showing why she is one of the sharpest impressionists and comedians in the business, while Lyn relishes her role as the baddie, Queen Rat." (Phil Creighton, Cheese Logs, 29th November 2024)
“Lyn Paul and Hilary O’Neil summon boos and cheers in equal measure as the show’s strong sparring partners Queen Rat and Fairy Bowbells, whilst Basil Brush as Alderman Fitzwarren confirms that old school variety is still well and truly alive." (Simon Sladen, British Theatre Guide)

Pictured above: Whittington
Lyn Paul as Queen Rat and Hilary O'Neill as Fairy Bowbells
in a publicity photo for Dick Whittington
which parodied the publicity for the musical / film Wicked.

Incidentally...
On 3rd March The Thinking Seed Company publishes a book for children aged 5-12 years, Lottie Meets Erwinkle Fink, written by Lesley Gillard with illustrations by former New Seeker Marty Kristian. On the same day Marty's latest song, Fell Like A Stone, makes its first appearance on the Hotdisc country music chart. The song spends nine weeks in the Top 40, peaking at number 14.
On 7th June one of Lyn Paul's friends, the singer and entertainer Rose-Marie Kane, dies suddenly at the age of 68. Responding to the news on X, Lyn writes: "I'm absolutely heartbroken to hear that my dear friend Rose-Marie has died. She was there for me at my lowest. I can’t believe it." (X. 7th June 2024, 8:31pm)
On Saturday, 7th December former New Seeker Eve Graham makes a one-off live appearane at Club 83 in Dundee.


In the News - 2024 |
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Jan |
Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse enter the public domain on 1st January, with Disney no longer enjoying an exclusive copyright over the earliest versions of the characters.
The Noto peninsula of Japan is hit by a 7.6 magnitude earthquake on New Year's Day.
On 2nd January a Japan Airlines Airbus A350, which was landing at Tokyo's Haneda Airport, bursts into flames after colliding with a Coast Guard plane. All 379 people on board the A350 are evacuated without loss of life. Five of the six crew on board the Coast Guard plane are killed.
On the same day the deputy leader of Hamas, Saleh al-Arouri, is assassinated in Beirut.
At 7.00am on 3rd January junior doctors in England begin a six-day strike, the longest stoppage in the history of the NHS.
On the same day 91 people are killed by two bomb explosions at a commemorative ceremony in eastern Kerman, Iran, marking the assassination of Qasem Soleimani. The Islamic State group (IS) later claims responsibility for the attack.
The actor and singer David Soul, best known for his role as Detective Kenneth "Hutch" Hutchinson in the TV series Starsky & Hutch (1975-1979), dies on 4th January, aged 80.
Oscar Pistorius is released from prison on parole on 5th January, nearly 11 years after murdering his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp.
On 6th January the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issues an emergency airworthiness directive (EAD), requiring all operators of the Boeing 737-9 MAX aircraft to conduct inspections before returning the aircraft to service. This followed an incident the previous day in which an Alaska Airlines plane window and piece of fuselage blow out midair, forcing an emergency landing in Portland, Oregon.
The footballer Franz Beckenbauer, who won the World Cup trophy as captain of West Germany in 1974, and won it again as the team's manager in 1990, dies on 7th January, aged 78.
J.P.R. Williams, the full-back who played rugby for London Welsh, Bridgend and Barbarians and earned 55 caps playing for Wales, dies on 8th January, aged 74.
On 9th January the President of France, Emmanuel Macron, appoints Gabriel Attal to replace Élisabeth Borne as the Prime Minister of France, At 34, he is the youngest person and the first openly gay person to serve as French Premier.
The President of Ecuador, Daniel Noboa, declares a 60-day state of emergency on 9th January, following prison riots and the escape of two prominent prisoners - José Adolfo Macías Villamara, the leader of the organised crime syndicate Los Choneros, and Fabricio Colon Pico, the leader of another criminal group, Los Lobos. On the same day Los Choneros gunmen break into a TC Televisión studio during a live broadcast, forcing staff to the floor and taking them hostage.
Paula Vennells, the Chief Executive Officer of Post Office Limited from 2012 to 2019, announces on 9th January that she will return her CBE "with immediate effect", after facing mounting pressure over the Horizon IT scandal.
On 11th January a set of commemorative stamps featuring the Spice Girls goes on sale in the UK to mark the pop group's 30th anniversary.
Annie Nightingale, the first female presenter on BBC Radio 1 in 1970 and the first female presenter of BBC Television's The Old Grey Whistle Test, dies on 11th January, aged 83.
On the same day the US and UK launch air and naval strikes on Houthi sites in Yemen in response to its ongoing attacks on Red Sea shipping. Further joint air strikes to protect the "free flow of commerce" are launched on 22nd February.
Lai Ching-te of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) wins the Presidential election held in Taiwan on 13th January. He is inaugurated as President on 20th May.
The singer-songwriter Melanie Safka, best known for her songs Brand New Key and What Have They Done To My Song, Ma (which became the New Seekers first hit single), dies on 23rd January, aged 76.
Frank Farian, the record producer who founded Boney M, dies on the same day, aged 82.
On 25th January a convicted murderer Kenneth Eugene Smith is executed in Alabama using nitrogen gas. It is the first time that this method of capital punishment had been used anywhere in the world.
On the same day Valdo Calocane, who killed three people in Nottingham on 13th June 2023, is sentenced to indefinite detention at a high-security hospital after admitting manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility.
Icon of the Seas, the largest cruise ship in the world, embarks from Miami on its maiden voyage on 27th January.
Chita Rivera, twice a winner of the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical - for her roles in The Rink (1984) and Kiss Of The Spider Woman (1993) - dies on 30th January, aged 91.
The Pharmacy First scheme is launched by the UK government and NHS England on 31st January, enabling patients to get treatment for seven common conditions directly from their local pharmacy, without the need for a GP appointment or prescription.
On the evening of 31st January Abdul Shokoor Ezedi attacks a 31-year-old woman (his ex-partner) and her two daughters with a corrosive alkaline substance on a street in Clapham. Police recover Ezedi's body from the River Thames at Tower Pier, near Tower Bridge, on 20th February.
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Feb |
On Friday, 2nd February Scarlett Jenkinson and Eddie Ratcliffe are sentenced at Manchester Crown Court to life in prison, having both been found guilty of the "brutal, planned and sadistic" murder of Brianna Ghey, a 16-year-old transgender girl.
On the same day, nearly a week after three soldiers had been killed in a drone strike on a US army base in Jordan, the USA launches retaliatory strikes against Iran-backed militias in Iraq and Syria.
Ian Lavender, best known for his role as Private Pike in the BBC sitcom Dad's Army, dies on 2nd February, aged 77.
The Northern Ireland Assembly meets on Saturday, 3rd February, two years to the day since the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) withdrew its First Minister in protest against Brexit trade rules, which had imposed extra checks and paperwork for goods moving between Northern Ireland and Great Britain.
The Welsh rugby union fly-half Barry John dies on 4th February, aged 79.
On Monday, 5th February it is announced that King Charles III had been diagnosed with cancer.
The Copernicus Climate Change Service reports on 8th February that global warming, measured from February 2023 to January 2024, had exceeded 1.5°C across an entire year for the first time.
On Sunday, 11th February Kelvin Kiptum, the men's marathon world record holder, and his coach, Gervais Hakizimana, are killed in a car accident near Kaptagat in western Kenya.
The disc jockey Steve Wright, who presented Steve Wright In The Afternoon for 12 years on BBC Radio 1 and 23 years on BBC Radio 2, dies on Monday, 12th February, aged 69.
On Tuesday, 13th February members of the German Bundestag vote by 407 to 226 in favour of the Cannabisgesetz, a bill legalising the use of cannabis by adults (18-years-old and over), as well as the personal possession and cultivation of limited amounts of cannabis by adults in Germany, The new law comes into effect on 1st April.
On Thursday, 15th February Transport for London announces the names to be given to each of London's six Overground lines: The Liberty Line (Romford to Upminster); The Lioness Line (Euston to Watford Junction); The Mildmay Line (Stratford to Richmond / Clapham Junction); The Suffragette Line (Gospel Oak to Barking Riverside); The Weaver Line and The Windrush Line.
The Labour party candidates Damien Egan and Gen Kitchen win the by-elections held in Kingswood and Wellingborough on 15th February, overturning Conservative majorities of 11,220 in Kingswood and 18,540 in Wellingborough.
On Friday, 16th February the Russian prison service announces that Alexei Navalny, one of Vladimir Putin's most prominent critics, had died at the age of 47 at the remote IK-3 prison in the Arctic Circle.
On Thursday, 22nd February Shamima Begum, the British-born woman who travelled to Syria to join the Islamic State (IS) terrorist group at the age of 15, loses her appeal against the UK government's decision to revoke her UK citizenship.
Intuitive Machines' Odysseus lander touches down in the Moon's south polar region on 22nd February. It is the first lunar landing by a private company and the first lunar landing of any kind for an American-made spacecraft since Apollo 17 in 1972.
On Saturday, 24th February junior doctors in England go on strike for the 10th time in their long-running pay dispute with the government. Their five-day walk out begins at 7.00am and ends at 11.59pm on Wednesday, 28th February.
Dave Myers, one half of the TV cooking duo the Hairy Bikers,, dies on 28th February, aged 66.
Former Labour and Respect Party MP George Galloway, now representing the Workers Party of Britain, wins the by-election held in Rochdale on 29th February. The Labour party had withdrawn support for its candidate Azhar Ali on 12th February over remarks he had made suggesting that Israel had allowed the Hamas attack on 7th October 2023 to go ahead, in order to "green light" an invasion of Gaza.
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Mar |
On Wednesday, 6th March Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, a weapons handler on the set of the movie Rust, who loaded a gun for the actor Alec Baldwin before it fired and killed the cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, is found guilty on the charge of involuntary manslaughter but acquitted of tampering with evidence. She is sentenced to 18 months in prison.
The legislative elections held in Portugal on 10th March result in the Socialist Party (PS), led by Pedro Nuno Santos, losing the absolute majority it had gained in the 2022 elections. On 21st March the President Rebelo de Sousa asks Luis Montenegro, the leader of the Democratic Alliance (AD), to form a minority government
On Monday, 11th March, following weeks of gang violence, Ariel Henry announces that he will resign as Prime Minister of Haiti, pending the establishment of a transitional Presidential Council.
On Saturday, 16th March Vaughan Gething is announced as the winner of the Welsh Labour leadership election to replace Mark Drakeford as party leader and Wales' First Minister. He is officially nominated as First Minister by the Senedd on 20th March.
Steve Harley, best known as the lead singer of Cockney Rebel, dies from cancer on 17th March, aged 73.
On Wednesday, 20th March Leo Varadkar announces his intention to step down as Taoiseach and as leader of Fine Gael.
The result of the Presidential elections held in Russia from 15th to 17th March is announced on 21st March. Vladimir Putin, who did not face any credible opposition, is re-elected for a fifth term as expected with 88% of the vote.
On Friday, 22nd March Catherine, The Princess of Wales, reveals in a video statement that, following her abdominal surgery in January, she had been diagnosed with cancer and was undergoing chemotherapy treatment. Responding to the video on X, formerly Twitter, Lyn Paul writes: "Perhaps now, people will leave this young woman alone and let her heal and get better in her own time."
At least 137 people are killed and more than 145 injured on 22nd March when four gunmen open fire on the crowd gathered at the Crocus City Hall in Moscow. The Islamic State (IS) claims responsibility for the attack.
The UN Security Council adopts Resolution 2728 on 25th March, calling for an immediate ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza and demanding the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages. The USA did not veto the measure as it had done on previous votes.
The Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore collapses into the Patapsco River on 26th March after the container ship Dali collides into one of its support pillars.
On Thursday, 28th March Sam Bankman-Fried, the co-founder and former CEO of the failed crypto exchange FTX, is sentenced to 25 years in prison for defrauding customers and investors, and ordered to pay $11 billion to compensate victims.
Sir Jeffrey Donaldson stands down as leader of Northern Ireland's Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) on 29th March, having been arrested the day before and charged with rape and other historical sexual offences.
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Apr |
Seven aid workers from World Central Kitchen (WCK) are killed in Deir al-Balah on 1st April when the three cars they are travelling in are attacked by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). An IDF investigation concludes that the attack was a "grave mistake".
A 7.4 magnitude earthquake hits Taiwan near the eastern county of Hualien on Wednesday, 3rd April. At least 16 people are killed and more than 1,100 injured.
The Arizona Supreme Court rules on 9th April that the state can enforce a law from 1864 that makes abortion punishable by two to five years in prison, except when the mother's life is at risk. On 1st May the Arizona Legislature votes to repeal the 1864 abortion law.
The former Buffalo Bills footballer O.J. Simpson, who was acquitted in 1995 of the murder of his former wife Nicole Brown and her friend Ronald Goldman, dies of cancer on 10th April at the age of 76.
On Saturday, 13th April a 40-year-old man, Joel Cauchi, who had been diagnosed with a mental illness, stabs 18 people in the Westfield Bondi Junction shopping centre, killing six of them. He is shot in the chest and killed by a lone police inspector, Amy Scott, who tracked and confronted him on the building's fifth floor.
On the same day Iran attacks Israel with more than 300 drones and missiles in retaliation for an air strike on its consulate in Damascus on 1st April, which killed 13 people.
On the morning of 16th April the 17th-century stock exchange building (Børsen) in the center of Copenhagen catches fire, resulting in the collapse of its iconic Dragespir ("Dragon Spire").
Major General Aharon Haliva, the commander of the Israel Defence Force's Military Intelligence Directorate, resigns on 22nd April, taking "full responsibility" for the failure to anticipate the surprise attack on Israel by Hamas on 7th October 2023.
On the same day the House of Lords drops its opposition to the UK government's controversial Safety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) Bill. Having completed its passage through Parliament, the Bill receives Royal Assent and becomes law on 25th April.
Mike Pinder, one of the founding members of the Moody Blues, dies on 24th April, aged 82.
In the early hours of the morning on Thursday, 25th April the blades of the windmill on top of the world-famous Moulin Rouge cabaret club in Paris collapse into the street below.
The New York Court of Appeals overturns Harvey Weinstein's 2020 rape conviction on 25th April, stating that his trial had "erroneously admitted testimony of uncharged, alleged prior sexual acts against persons other than the complainants of the underlying crimes."
On the same day Scotland's First Minister Humza Yousaf ends the SNP's power-sharing deal with the Scottish Green Party, prompting a Conservative motion of no confidence in the First Minister and a Labour motion of no confidence in the Scottish government. On Monday, 29th April he announces his resignation.
On 27th April Iraq's parliament passes a bill criminalising same-sex relationships, with jail terms of up to 15 years.
Guitarist Duane Eddy, the 'King of Twang', dies on 30th April at the age of 86.
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May |
The Labour party candidate, Chris Webb, wins the Blackpool South by-election held on Thursday, 2nd May, overturning the Conservatives' 2019 general election majority of 3,690 to win by 7,607 votes. In local authority elections held on the same day, the Tories lose 474 councillors and control of 10 councils, as well as losing 10 of the 11 mayoral elections. Sadiq Khan is elected for the third time as Mayor of London; Andy Burnham is elected for the third time as Mayor of Greater Manchester.
The actor Bernard Hill, known for his role as Yosser Hughes in Alan Bleasdale's television drama Boys From The Blackstuff, dies on 5th May, aged 79.
On the same day the Israeli government shuts down the Al Jazeera television network in Israel and authorizes the seizure of its equipment.
John Swinney is officially sworn into office as the new First Minister of Scotland on 8th May, having been elected unopposed as Leader of the SNP two days earlier.
On 10th May the United Nations General Assembly passes a resolution granting Palestine the rights of an Observer State, allowing its representatives to be seated among the UN's Member States but without the right to vote.
Switzerland, represented by Nemo with the song The Code, wins the 68th Eurovision Song Contest, held in the Malmo Arena on 11th May. On the day of the contest, following a backstage incident the day before, the contestant from the Netherlands, Joost Klein, is disqualified from taking part.
Alice Munro, who in 2013 became the first Canadian to win the Nobel Prize for Literature, dies on 13th May, aged 92.
The new Co-op Live arena in Manchester, which had been due to open on 23rd April, opens on 14th May.
The Prime Minister of Slovakia, Robert Fico, is seriously injured after being shot at five times by a would-be assassin on 15th May.
On 16th May a State of Emergency is declared in the French overseas territory of New Caledonia, following violent protests over a planned voting reform allowing people who had lived in the territory for over 10 years to vote in local elections.
The President of Iran, Ebrahim Raisi, and Iran's Foreign Minister, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, are killed in a helicopter crash on Sunday, 19th May.
On 20th May Karim Khan KC, the Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), applies for arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Hamas's leader in Gaza, Yahya Sinwar, for war crimes. Two days later Norway, Ireland and Spain announce that they will formally recognise a Palestinian state from 28th May.
On the same day the Infected Blood Inquiry Report is published. The five-year inquiry, which investigated the infection of thousands of NHS patients from contaminated blood transfusions and blood products between 1970 and 1991, found that the infections happened "because those in authority - doctors, the blood services and successive governments - did not put patient safety first." Responding to the report, the Prime Minister Rishi Sunak described it as a "day of shame for the British state".
On 21st May a Singapore Airlines Boeing 777-312ER (Flight SQ321 from London Heathrow to Singapore) encounters severe turbulence over Myanmar, resulting in injuries to 104 on the people board and the death of a passenger, 73-year-old Geoff Kitchen.
On the same day the four members of ABBA, Agnetha, Benny, Björn and Anni-Frid, are appointed Commander, First Class, of the Royal Order of Vasa by His Majesty King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden.
The Scottish swimmer David Wilkie, who won three Olympic medals, including the gold medal in the 200m breaststroke at the 1976 Olympics, dies of cancer on 22nd May, aged 70.
The general elections held in South Africa on 29th May result in a historic defeat for the ruling African National Congress (ANC), which loses the parliamentary majority it had held since 1994..
On 30th May a Manhattan jury finds former US President Donald Trump guilty on all 34 counts of falsifying of business records to conceal hush-money payments to the pornographic film actress Stormy Daniels.
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June |
Rob Burrow, the former Leeds Rhinos rugby player who had been diagnosed with motor neurone disease (MND) in 2019, dies on 2nd June at age of 41.
On Friday, 7th June the Prime Minister of Denmark, Mette Frederiksen, is assaulted while walking in the centre of Copenhagen.
On 8th June four of the hostages kidnapped by Hamas on 7th October 2023 are freed by Israel Defense Forces from two separate buildings in Nuseirat.
Narendra Modi, leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), is sworn in for a third term as India's Prime Minister on Sunday, 9th June. Although the BJP did not win an outright majority in India's general election, its allies, the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and the Janata Dal (United) (JD(U)), won 16 and 12 seats each, enabling a BJP-led coalition, the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) to take power.
On the same day the dead body of the TV presenter Dr. Michael Mosley is discovered on the Greek island of Symi, four days after he had gone missing.
On Tuesday, 11th June Hunter Biden, the son of US President Joe Biden, is found guilty of the illegal possession of a handgun and of lying about his drug use when he bought it in 2018. He is the first child of a sitting US President to be convicted of a federal crime.
The singer Françoise Hardy dies in Paris on 11th June, aged 80.
The King's Birthday Honours, published on 14th June, include Damehoods for Imelda Staunton and Tracy Emin, and a Knighthood for Alan Bates, the former sub-postmaster who successfully campaigned to highlight the Post Office Horizon scandal.
On 17th June Sir Ian McKellen falls off stage during a performance of Player Kings at the Noël Coward Theatre in London, breaking a wrist and chipping one of his vertebrae.
Donald Sutherland, whose film career spanned five decades and included roles in M*A*S*H (1970), Klute (1971), Don't Look Now (1973), Ordinary People (1980), JFK (1991) and Pride And Prejudice (2005), dies on 20th June, aged 88.
On Sunday, 23rd June two synagogues, two Eastern Orthodox churches, and a traffic police post are attacked almost simultaneously in the Russian republic of Dagestan.
Wikileaks founder Julian Assange is released from HM Prison Belmarsh on 24th June, having agreed a plea deal with US prosecutors. He is flown to the Northern Mariana Islands, an US territory in the Pacific, where he pleads guilty to a charge under the Espionage Act of 1917 of conspiracy to obtain and disclose national defence information. In return, he is sentenced to time already served and released to fly home to his native Australia and be reunited with his family.
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July |
On Monday, 1st July the US Supreme Court rules that Donald Trump and other former US Presidents are partially immune from criminal prosecution, stating that a President has immunity for "official acts", but is not immune for "unofficial acts"
The French National Assembly elections held on 30th June and 7th July end in a stalemate, with none of the political parties winning an outright majority. The New Popular Front, a left-wing alliance, wins 182 seats, ahead of the ruling Ensemble alliance with 168 seats. The far-right National Rally - widely expected to win the election, after taking a strong lead in the first round of voting - wins 143 seats.
The Labour Party, led by Keir Starmer, wins the general election held in the UK on Thursday, 4th July, securing a 174-seat majority. The Conservative Party is reduced to 121 seats, losing 251 seats in total, including those of twelve Cabinet ministers and South West Norfolk, the seat of the former prime minister Liz Truss.
A 61-year-old woman, Carol Hunt, and her two daughters, Hannah Hunt, 28, and Louise Hunt, 25, are killed in a crossbow attack at their home in Bushey, Hertfordshire, on Tuesday, 9th July.
Gavin Plumb, a security guard who plotted to abduct, rape and murder television presenter Holly Willoughby is jailed for a minimum of 16 years on 12th July.
On the same day Judge Mary Marlowe dismisses the involuntary manslaughter case against the actor Alec Baldwin for a fatal shooting on the set of the film Rust. The trial collapses after Baldwin's lawyers allege that police and prosecutors had hidden evidence - a batch of bullets - that could have been connected to the shooting.
Ruth Westheimer, the sex therapist and talk show host better known as Dr. Ruth, dies on 12th July, aged 96.
Donald Trump survives an assassination attempt on Saturday, 13th July while addressing a crowd at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. Thomas Crooks, the 20-year-old man who opened fire on the former president, is shot dead at the scene by a Secret Service sniper. One audience member dies and two others are wounded in the attack. On 23rd July Kim Cheatle resigns as Director of the United States Secret Service, stating in her letter of resignation that she took "full responsibility for the security lapse".
On 16th July, after members of his cabinet resigned and called for him to do the same, Vaughan Gething resigns as the First Minister of Wales.
On 17th July 50.5% of the workers at the Amazon warehouse in Coventry vote against granting union recognition to the GMB, formerly the General, Municipal, Boilermakers and Allied Trade Union.
The UK Covid-19 Inquiry publishes its first report and recommendations on Thursday, 18th July, concluding that flaws in UK pandemic preparations meant that COVID caused more deaths and economic damage than it should have.
On the same day five Just Stop Oil protesters are sentenced at Southwark Crown Court for organising protests that brought part of the M25 to a standstill over four days in November 2022. Just Stop Oil co-founder Roger Hallam is sentenced to five years in prison; the other defendants each receive four-year jail terms
The comedian Bob Newhart dies on 18th July, aged 94.
Six-time world snooker champion Ray Reardon dies on 19th July, aged 91.
On 19th July the cyber security technology company CrowdStrike issues a software update that causes the operating system to crash on millions of Microsoft Windows computers around the world. The tech failure affects banking and healthcare services, disrupts commercial airline flights and temporarily takes Sky News and other broadcasters offline.
On the same day the United Nations' International Court of Justice (ICJ)
declares that Israel's occupation in 1967 of the Palestinian territories (the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem) and the subsequent creation of Israeli settlements, are illegal under international law.
Sandy Posey, who had a Top 20 hit in 1967 with the song Single Girl, dies on 20th July, aged 80.
On 21st July US President Joe Biden ends his re-election campaign and endorses Vice-President Kamala Harris to succeed him as the Democratic candidate for President.
On 23rd July Charlotte Dujardin, a three-time Olympic gold medallist in dressage events, pulls out of the Paris Olympics after footage emerges of her "excessively" whipping a horse.
On Friday, 26th July between 1:00am and 05:30am saboteurs damage signal boxes on railway lines connecting Paris with other French cities, causing widespread delays and cancellations ahead of the opening ceremony of the 2024 Summer Olympics.
The Irish novelist Edna O'Brien, whose first book The Country Girls was banned in Ireland, dies on 27th July, aged 93.
Nicolás Maduro is declared the winner of the Presidential elections held in Venezuela on 28th July. The result is denounced as fraudulent by opposition leader María Corina Machado and is followed by nationwide protests.
Three young girls - Bebe King, aged 6, Elsie Dot Stancombe, 7, and Alice Dasilva Aguiar, 9 - are killed in a knife attack at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class at the Hart Space dance studio in Southport on Monday, 29th July, with five other children and two adults also injured. A 17-year-old boy, Axel Rudakubana, is arrested on suspicion of murder and attempted murder. The following day more than 1,000 people join a peaceful vigil to honour the victims. Hours later, violence breaks out after a group of right-wing protesters gathers outside a mosque near to the dance studio. Over the following days demonstrations organised by far-right groups descend into riots in towns and cities across the UK, leading to over 1,000 arrests.
Ismail Haniyeh, the political leader of Hamas, is assassinated in Tehran on 31st July.
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Aug |
On Thursday, 1st August, in the largest prisoner swap between the West and Russia since the Cold War, sixteen prisoners being held in Russian jails are exchanged for eight Russian prisoners held in the US, Norway, Germany, Poland and Slovenia.
On 2nd August Al-Shabaab militants attack Lido Beach in Somalia's capital Mogadishu. At least 38 people lose their lives with injuries to more than 200 others.
On Monday, 5th August a stencilled goat by the street artist Banksy appears on the side of a building near Kew Bridge. A further eight animal-themed artworks by Banksy appear at other locations in London during the following eight days.
Sheikh Hasina resigns as Prime Minister of Bangladesh on 5th August, following weeks of anti-government protests. She flees the country later the same day.
Three concerts by Taylor Swift, scheduled for 8th, 9th and 10th August at the Ernst-Happel-Stadion in Vienna, are cancelled following the arrest on 7th August of three men suspected of planning a terrorist attack at the venue.
The British-born Australian zoologist Adam Britton is sentenced to 10 years and five months in prison on 8th August, having pled guilty in September 2023 to 56 offences related to the sexual abuse and torture of animals, as well as possession of child abuse material.
A Voepass ATR 72-500 carrying 58 passengers and four crew crashes in the town of Vinhedo on 9th August, killing everyone on board.
On the same day a female trainee doctor, Moumita Debnath, is raped and murdered while on duty at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata. In response, doctors across India hold a national strike on 17th August.
On 14th August Tedros Adhanom, the Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO), declares the outbreak of mpox (formerly known as monkeypox) in parts of Africa to be a public health emergency of international concern.
Former England football manager Sven-Göran Eriksson dies on 26th August, aged 76.
On Tuesday, 27th August brothers Noel Gallagher and Liam Gallagher announce that Oasis will reform for a reunion tour.
Phil Swern, the English record and radio producer who co-created the PopMaster quiz hosted by Ken Bruce, dies on 31st August, aged 76.
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Sep |
On 2nd September the UK government announces that the use of single headline grades for assessing the performance of schools - either Outstanding, Good, Requires Improvement or Inadequate - will be scrapped with immediate effect.
On 4th September the Grenfell Tower Inquiry publishes its second and final report into the
circumstances leading up to and surrounding the fire at Grenfell Tower in the early
hours of 14th June 2017. The Inquiry report finds that the deaths that occurred were all avoidable and resulted from a chain of failures by governments, "dishonest" companies and a lack of strategy by the fire service.
Michel Barnier is appointed Prime Minister of France on 5th September.
Rebecca Cheptegei, an athlete from Uganda who competed in the women's marathon at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris. dies on 5th September, four days after being doused in petrol and set on fire by a former boyfriend.
The bass guitarist Herbie Flowers, one of the founding members of the pop group Blue Mink who also worked as a session musician on recordings by David Bowie, Brian Ferry, Elton John, Lou Reed and Cat Stevens (among many others), and later went on to form the band Sky, dies on the same day, aged 86.
The Brazilian musician Sérgio Mendes, best known for his international hit Mas Que Nada, also dies on 5th September, aged 83.
Edmundo González, the opposition candidate who had disputed the result of July's presidential election in Venezuela, flees his country for Spain on 7th September.
James Earl Jones, the voice of Darth Vader in the original Star Wars trilogy, dies on 9th September, aged 93.
Storm Boris, named on 11th September, causes widespread floods in central Europe and The Balkans. leading to at least 24 deaths and billions of pounds of damage.
Former US President Donald Trump survives a second assassination attempt on Sunday, 15th September while playing golf at the Trump International Golf Club in Florida.
Junior doctors in England take part in an online referendum between 19th August and 15th September. On 16th September the BMA announces that 30,227 (66% of those taking part) had voted in favour of the UK government’s offer of a 22% pay rise.
On 16th September the former BBC News presenter Huw Edwards is placed on the Sex Offender Register and sentenced to six months in prison, suspended for two years, after pleading guilty to three counts of making indecent images of children.
Pagers and walkie-talkies used by the armed group Hezbollah explode across Lebanon on Tuesday, 17th and Wednesday, 18th September, killing at least 32 people and injuring thousands more.
Daily publication of London's Evening Standard comes to and end on 19th September. The first weekly edition of the newspaper is published on 26th September.
Anura Kumara Dissanayake is inaugurated as President of Sri Lanka on Monday, 23rd September, having won 42.31% of the votes cast in the presidential election held on 21st September. None of the candidates standing for election won more than 50% of the total votes, which required a second count to tally voters' second and third choice candidates.
On Tuesday, 24th September the King of Thailand endorses the same-sex marriage bill passed by Thailand's Senate on 18th June.
Hurricane Helene makes landfall in Horseshoe Beach, Florida on 26th September, causing widespread damage and loss of life in Florida, North Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia.
Dame Maggie Smith dies on Friday, 27th September, aged 89.
On the same day the Israeli air force attacks Hezbollah's headquarters in Beirut, killing Hassan Nasrallah, the secretary-general of Hezbollah.
Three Just Stop Oil protesters throw an orange-coloured soup over two Vincent van Gogh paintings at the National Gallery in London on 27th September, hours after two others had been given prison sentences for targeting one of the same works of art in October 2022.
The singer-songwriter Kris Kristofferson, best known for songs such as Help Me Make It Through The Night and Me And Bobby McGee, dies on 28th September, aged 88.
Martin Lee of the Brotherhood Of Man dies from heart failure after a short illness on Sunday, 29th September, aged 77.
On Monday, 30th September Israel launches a ground invasion of Lebanon
The UK's last coal power station at Ratcliffe-on-Soar closes on the same day.
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Oct |
On 1st October Iran launches 181 ballistic missiles at targets in Israel. Israel retaliates on 25th October by launching missiles at targets in and around Tehran.
Hurricane Milton makes landfall in Siesta Key, about 50 miles (80km) south of Tampa, on Wednesday, 9th October. Before it arrives an estimated six million Floridians are ordered to evacuate. Afterwards nearly 3.4 million homes and businesses are left without power.
Scotland's former First Minister Alex Salmond dies on Saturday, 12th October, aged 69.
On Sunday, 13th October the USA gives Israel 30 days to boost Gaza aid or risk a cut to military support.
Yahya Sinwar, the leader of Hamas, is killed by Israeli forces on Wednesday, 16th October during a raid on a building in Rafah.
On the same day London's Elizabeth Line is announced as the winner of the RIBA Stirling Prize 2024.
Liam Payne, the former One Direction star, dies on 16th October after falling from a third floor balcony at the Casa Sur Palermo Hotel in Buenos Aires.
On Thursday, 17th October Kenyan senators vote to remove Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua from office. Gachagua, who was taken to hospital with chest pains, failed to testify at his impeachment trial.
Mitzi Gaynor, the dancer and actor who starred as Nellie Forbush in the 1958 film of South Pacific, dies on 17th October, aged 93.
Cuba experiences a nationwide blackout after its main energy plant fails at around 11:00am (15:00 GMT) on Friday, 18th October. Two days later the island is hit by Hurricane Oscar.
A referendum on European Union membership held in Moldova on 20th October ends in a narrow victory for the "yes" campaign.
Geoff Capes, the British shot put record holder and two-time world's strongest man, dies on 23rd October, aged 75.
On Friday, 25th October 26-year-old Alexander McCartney is sentenced at Belfast Crown Court to life imprisonment with a minimum tariff of 20 years for 185 charges of child sexual abuse crimes and blackmail, along with one manslaughter charge, with all offences carried out online from his childhood bedroom.
Parliamentary elections are held in Georgia on 26th October. The official results, which are disputed by Georgia's opposition parties and the President of Georgia, Salome Zourabichvili, give the ruling Georgian Dream party an outright majority of almost 54%, amounting to 89 seats in the 150-seat parliament.
The ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), which had ruled Japan almost continuously since 1955, loses its single-party majority in the 465-member House of Representatives following the snap general elections held on Sunday, 27th October.
On Tuesday, 29th October torrential rain triggers flash flooding in the eastern province of Valencia. The floods cause the deaths of at least 229 people.
Teri Garr, known for her roles in films such as Young Frankenstein, Tootsie and Close Encounters Of The Third Kind, dies on 29th October, aged 79.
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Nov |
On Saturday, 2nd November Kemi Badenoch is announced as the new leader of the Conservative Party.
Quincy Jones, the musician and producer who worked with Ray Charles, Michael Jackson, Frank Sinatra and many others, dies on Sunday, 3rd November, aged 91.
Donald Trump wins the US Presidential election held on 5th November.
The Actor Timothy West dies on 12th November, aged 90.
On the same day Justin Welby announces his intention to resiagn as Archbishop of Canterbury. His resignation follows an independent review by Keith Makin into the Church of England’s handling of allegations of serious abuse by the late John Smyth.
On 19th November, at the end of a nine-day hikoi (protest march), more than 40,000 people gather outside New Zealand’s parliament to protest against the Treaty Principles Bill, which sought to reinterpret the country's founding document between British colonisers and Maori people.
On the same day thousands of British farmers protest in Parliament Square over the UK government's proposed changes to inheritance tax for farmers announced in the Budget.
John Prescott, who served as Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007, dies on 20th November, aged 86.
Best-selling novelist Barbara Taylor Bradford dies on 24th November, aged 91.
Eddie Stobart, founder of the self-named UK haulage company, dies on 25th November, aged 95.
A ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah, set to last 60 days, comes into effect in Lebanon at 4:00am local time on Wednesday, 27th November.
On Friday, 29th November MPs in the UK vote in support of the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, which passes its second reading in the House of Commons by 330 votes to 275.
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Dec |
Former world snooker champion Terry Griffiths dies on 1st December, aged 77.
On the same day the US President Joe Biden issues an official pardon for his son Hunter Biden, who had pleaded guilty to tax charges in September, and had been found guilty of being an illegal drug user in possession of a gun in June.
Former Wimbledon champion Neale Fraser dies on 2nd December, aged 91.
On Tuesday, 3rd December President Yoon Suk Yeol announces the imposition of martial law in South Korea, prompting the National Assembly to pass an emergency motion nullifying the declaration. On 14th December the National Assembly votes to impeach him and on 31st December the Seoul Western District Court grants the issue of an arrest warrant.
On Friday, 6th December the Constitutional Court of Romania annuls the results of the first round of voting in the Presidential elections held on 24th November.
On Saturday, 7th December the President of Syria, Bashar al-Assad, flees Damascus by plane, as rebel troops led by the Islamist anti-government group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) advance upon the city.
On the same day a pair of ruby red slippers worn by Judy Garland in The Wizard Of Oz sells for $28m (£22m) at an auction room in Dallas.
On 11th December Urfan Sharif and his wife Beinash Batool are found guilty of murdering Urfan's 10-year-old daughter Sara Sharif. Urfan is sentenced at the Old Bailey to a minimum of 40 years in prison; Beinash is jailed for a minimum of 33 years. Sara's uncle, Faisal Malik, is sentenced to 16 years in prison for causing or allowing her death.
On 13th December the President of France, Emmanuel Macron, appoints François Bayrou as the Prime Minister of France to replace Michel Barnier, whose government had been brought down by a vote of no confidence in Parliament on 4th December,.
Tropical cyclone Chido strikes the island of Mayotte, a French overseas territory in the Indian Ocean, on Saturday, 14th December, causing the death of at least 39 people. The following day it makes landfall in Pemba, Mozambique, where a further 120 people lose their lives.
The Chancellor of Germany Olaf Scholz loses a vote of confidence on 16th December. The President, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, dissolves the Bundestag and sets 23rd February 2025 as the date for early elections.
Igor Kirillov, the head of Russia's Radiation, Chemical and Biological Protection troops, is killed in an explosion in Moscow on 17th December.
On 19th December Dominique Pelicot is sentenced to 20 years in prison for repeatedly drugging and raping his wife; Gisèle Pelicot. and for inviting at least 83 male strangers to rape her while she was unconscious.
On 20th December Taleb al-Abdulmohsen, a 50-year-old Saudi citizen who had moved to Germany in 2006, drives a SUV into a crowd at the Christmas market in Magdeburg, killing 6 people and injuring at least 299 others.
On Christmas Day an Azerbaijan Airlines Embraer 190 (Flight 8243 from Baku) is struck by a Russian surface-to-air missile as it prepares to land at Kadyrov Grozny International Airport. The aircraft is diverted to Kazakhstan but crashes before it can reach Aktau International Airport. 38 of the 67 passengers and crew on board are killed.
On 27th December the National Assembly of South Korea votes to impeach the Prime Minister and acting President Han Duck-soo.
Jimmy Carter, who served as the 39th President of the United States from 1977 to 1981, dies in Plains, Georgia on Sunday, 29th December, aged 100.
On the same day a Jeju Air Boeing 737-800 (Flight 2216 from Bangkok) crashes after belly landing at Muan International Airport in South Korea. Two of the cabin crew who were sitting at the back of the plane are rescued alive but four other crew members and all of the 175 passengers on board are killed.
Mikheil Kavelashvili, a former Manchester City footballer, is sworn in as the sixth president of Georgia on 29th December.
The New Year Honours list published on 30th December includes Knighthoods for former England football manager Gareth Southgate, for the actor Stephen Fry and for the Mayor of London Sadiq Khan. The Olympic 800m champion and BBC Sports Personality of the Year Keely Hodgkinson receives a MBE. Sarah Lancashire, Carey Mulligan and gardener Alan Titchmarsh are awarded CBEs.
The disc jockey Johnnie Walker, who had announced his retirement from broadcasting on 6th October, dies on 31st December, aged 79.
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In the Charts |
|
UK Chart débuts |
|
- Gracie Abrams
- Gigi Perez
- Perrie
- Myles Smith
|
UK Best-selling Singles |

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- Gracie Abrams
That's So True
- Beyoncé
Texas Hold 'Em
- Benson Boone
Beautiful Things
- Sabrina Carpenter
Espresso
- Sabrina Carpenter
Please Please Please
- Sabrina Carpenter
Taste
- Billie Eilish
Birds Of A Feather
- Billie Eilish
Lunch
- Eminem
Houdini
- Ariana Grande
We Can't Be Friends (Wait For Your Love)
- Ariana Grande
Yes And
- Hozier
Too Sweet
- Noah Kahan
Stick Season
- Lady Gaga & Bruno Mars
Die With A Smile
- Gigi Perez
Sailor Song
- Perrie
Forget About Us
- Chappell Roan
Good Luck Babe
- Shaboozey
A Bar Song (Tipsy)
- Taylor Swift featuring Post Malone
Fortnight
- Teddy Swims
Bad Dreams
- Teddy Swims
Lose Control
- Teddy Swims
The Door
- Charli XCX featuring Billie Eilish
Guess
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Hit Albums |

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- Gracie Abrams
The Secret Of Us
- James Arthur
Bitter Sweet Love
- Michael Ball & Alfie Boe
Together At Home
- Beyoncé
Cowboy Carter
- Sabrina Carpenter
Short ‘n Sweet
- Coldplay
Moon Music
- Crowded House
Gravity Stairs
- Billie Eilish
Hit Me Hard And Soft
- Ariana Grande
Eternal Sunshine
- James
Yummy
- Mark Knopfler
One Deep River
- Lady Gaga
Harlequin
- Kacey Musgraves
Deeper Well
- Pet Shop Boys
Nonetheless
- Chappell Roan
The Rise And Fall Of A Midwest Princess
- Shed Seven
A Matter Of Time
- Rod Stewart & Jools Holland
Swing Fever
- Taylor Swift
The Tortured Poets Department
- Teddy Swims
I've Tried Everything But Therapy (Part 1)
- Charli XCX
Brat
- Will Young
Light It Up
- Zutons
The Big Decider
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|
At the Movies |
|
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- Alien: Romulus
- All Of Us Strangers
- All We Imagine As Light
- American Fiction
- Anora
- Anyone But You
- The Apprentice
- Back To Black
- Bad Boys: Ride Or Die
- Beetlejuice Beetlejuice
- Better Man
- The Bikeriders
- Bird
- Blitz
- Bob Marley: One Love
- Civil War
- The Color Purple
- Conclave
- The Critic
- Deadpool & Wolverine
- Despicable Me 4
- A Different Man
- Dune: Part Two
- Emilia Pérez
- The Fall Guy
- Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga
- Gladiator 2
- Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire
- Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire
- Heretic
- The Holdovers
- IF
- Inside Out 2
- It Ends With Us
- Joker: Folié à Deux
- Juror #2
- Kingdom Of The Planet Of The Apes
- Kung Fu Panda 4
- Mean Girls
- Megalopolis
- Migration
- Moana 2
- Nightbitch
- One Life
- The Outrun
- Paddington In Peru
- The Piano Lesson
- Poor Things
- Priscilla
- Queer
- The Room Next Door
- Sing Sing
- The Substance
- Thelma
- Twisters
- Venom 3
- Wicked: Part One
- Wicked Little Letters
- The Wild Robot
- Wonka
- The Zone Of Interest
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On Stage |
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Tony Award for Best Musical:
The Outsiders
Olivier Award
for Best New Musical:
Operation Mincemeat
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On Television |
|
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- Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway (Series 20)
- Baby Reindeer
- Blue Lights (Series 2)
- Breathtaking
- Canada's Drag Race (Season 5)
- Coma
- The Day Of The Jackal
- Doctor Who (Ncuti Gatwa)
- Domino Day
- Gladiators
- Gogglebox (Series 23)
- House Of The Dragon (Series 2)
- Joan
- Lost Boys And Fairies
- The Masked Singer (Series 5)
- Mr. And Mrs. Smith
- Mr. Bates vs. The Post Office
- One Day
- The Penguin
- Putin vs. The West (Series 2)
- Ripley
- Rivals
- RuPaul's Drag Race Down Under (Season 4)
- RuPaul's Drag Race UK (Series 6)
- RuPaul's Drag Race: UK vs The World (Series 2)
- Ruth
- Slow Horses (Series 4)
- Spacey Unmasked
- Strictly Come Dancing (Series 22)
- The Tattooist Of Auschwitz
- The Tourist
- The Traitors (Series 2)
- Trigger Point
- True Detective: Night Country
- Truelove
- Vera (Series 13)
- Wednesday (Season 2)
- Young Sheldon (USA: Season 7)
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Sporting Heroes |
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BBC Sport
BBC
Sports Personality
of the Year:
Keely Hodgkinson
|
Darts: Luke Humphries wins the PDC World Darts Championship at Alexandra Palace, beating 16-year old Luke Littler in the final, 7-4.
Snooker: Ronnie O'Sullivan wins a record-extending eighth title at the Masters snooker tournament at Alexandra Palace, beating Ali Carter 10-7 in the final.
Kyren Wilson wins the World Snooker Championship with a 18-14 victory over Jak Jones in the final at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield.
Judd Trump wins the UK Championship for a second time, beating Barry Hawkins 10-8 in the final at the Barbican in York.
Tennis: Aryna Sabalenka wins the women's singles title at the Australian Open for the second year in a row. She beats Zheng Qinwen in the final, 6-3,6-2.
Jannik Sinner wins the men's singles title, fighting back from two sets down to beat Daniil Medvedev in the final, 3-6 3-6 6-4 6-4 6-3.
Iga Swiatek wins the women's singles title at the French Open for the fourth time, beating Jasmine Paolini in the final, 6-2, 6-1. Carlos Alcaraz wins the men's singles final, beating Alexander Zverev. in five sets, 6-3 2-6 5-7 6-1 6-2. He becomes the youngest man to win Grand Slam titles on all three surfaces - hard courts, grass and clay.
Barbora Krejcíková defeats Jasmine Paolini in the women's singles final at Wimbledon, 6-2, 2-6, 6-4. Carlos Alcaraz beats Novak Djokovic in the men's singles final, 6-2 6-2 7-6 (7-4).
Aryna Sabalenka wins the women's singles title at the US Open, beating Jessica Pegula in the final 7-5 7-5. Jannik Sinner beats Taylor Frita in the men's singles final, 6-3 6-4 7-5.
Team Europe wins the Laver Cup for the fifth time. Carlos Alcaraz, who was making his Laver Cup début, beats Taylor Fritz in the final match 6-2 7-5 to secure a 13-11 victory.
Super Bowl 2024: the Kansas City Chiefs beat the San Francisco 49ers 25-22 in overtime to win the team's third Super Bowl in five years.
Cricket: on 9th March James Anderson becomes the first pace bowler to take 700 Test wickets, dismissing India's Kuldeep Yadav on day three of the fifth Test in Dharamsala. India, however, win the fifth Test by an innings and 64 runs to complete a 4-1 series victory.
India beat South Africa in the T20 World Cup final, scoring 176-7 (20 overs) to overhaul South Africa's total of 169-8 (20 overs).
England win the First Test against Pakistan in Multan by an innings and 47 runs. No team in Test history had ever conceded as many as the 556 runs England did in Pakistan’s first innings and then gone on to win by an innings. Harry Brook scores 317 runs, England’s first triple-century for 34 years while Joe Root scores 262 to become England’s leading run-scorer of all-time. Pakistan, however, win the Second and Third Tests to take the series 2-1.
Horse Racing: the 10-11 favourite Galopin Des Champs, ridden by Paul Townend, wins the Cheltenham Gold Cup for the second year in a row.
Paul Townend also rides the winner at the Grand National, the 7-1 joint favourite I Am Maximus.
City Of Troy, ridden by Ryan Moore, wins the Epsom Derby.
Rugby Union: Ireland win the Six Nations Championship for the second year in a row. Wales finish bottom of the table for the first time in 21 years, losing all five of the team's matches.
Football: Liverpool, playing without star players Diogo Jota, Darwin Nunez and Mohamed Salah, beat Chelsea 1-0 in the final of the Carabao Cup.
Manchester City win a record fourth successive Premier League title, beating West Ham 3-1 on the final day to end the season two points ahead of Arsenal.
Manchester United win the FA Cup for the 13th time, beating Manchester City in the final, 2-1.
Real Madrid win the UEFA Champions League for the 15th time, defeating Borussia Dortmund 2-0 in the final at Wembley Stadium.
Spain beat England 2-1 in the 2024 European Championship final. England manager Gareth Southgate resigns on 16th July, two days after England's defeat.
Rowing: Cambridge win the Men's and Women's Boat Races. The men's team beats Oxford by three and a half lengths; the women's team wins by seven lengths.
Golf: the world number one and 4-1 favourite Scottie Scheffler wins the Masters for a second time.
Xander Schauffele wins the US PGA Championship at Valhalla, Kentucky with a record score of 21 under.
Bryson DeChambeau wins the US Open for the second time. Rory McIlroy, who had held a two-shot lead before dropping shots at three of the last four holes, finishes in second place.
Xander Schauffele wins the 152nd Open Championship at Royal Troon, becoming the first player to win The Open and US PGA Championship in the same year since Rory McIlroy in 2014.
Athletics: Alexander Mutiso Munyao wins the London Marathon men's race, crossing the finish line in a time of 2 hours. 4 minutes and 1 second.
Olympic champion Peres Jepchirchir wins the women's race in a world-record time of two hours, 16 minutes and 16 seconds.
Norway's Jakob Ingebrigtsen sets a new 3,000m world record of 7:17.55 at the Diamond League meeting in Silesia, breaking the previous record of 7:20.67 set by Kenya's Daniel Komen in 1996; shortly afterwards Armand Duplantis breaks his own pole vault world record, clearing a height of 6.26m.
Boxing: Oleksandr Usyk beats Tyson Fury in a boxing match at Riyadh’s Kingdom Arena on 19th May to become the sport's first four-belt undisputed heavyweight champion.
Daniel Dubois beats Anthony Joshua in five rounds at Wembley Stadium to retain the IBF heavyweight title.
Cycling: Mark Cavendish wins stage five of the Tour de France, breaking the stage wins record of 34 he had shared with Eddy Merckx. Tadej Pogacar wins the stage 21 time trial into Nice to secure his third Tour de France title. Having also won the Giro d'Italia, he becomes the first man to win cycling's two biggest races in the same year since Marco Pantani in 1998.
Olympic Games: the USA tops the medals table at the Paris Olympics, winning 40 gold, 44 silver and 42 bronze medals. The US women's basketball team beats the host nation France, to win the final gold medal of the games. France finishes with 64 medals - 16 gold, 26 silver and 22 bronze, including 4 gold medals for the swimmer Leon Marchand. Three other swimmers - Torri Huske of the USA, Summer McIntosh of Canada and Mollie O'Callaghan of Australia - win three gold medals apiece. Two gymnasts - Simone Biles of the USA and Shinnosuke Oka of Japan - also win three gold medals each. Team GB wins 14 gold, 22 silver and 29 bronze medals, including a gold in the women's 800m for Keely Hodgkinson and a gold in mountain biking for Tom Pidcock, who retains the Olympic title he first won in Tokyo despite suffering a puncture on lap three.
Motor Racing: Lewis Hamilton wins the British Grand Prix for the ninth time, setting a new record for victories at a single circuit.
Max Verstappen wins his fourth consecutive Formula 1 World Drivers’ Championship with a fifth place finish in the Las Vegas Grand Prix.
Lando Norris wins the season-ending Grand Prix in Abu Dhabi to secure the F1 Constructors’ Championship for McLaren, the team's first title for 26 years.
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Page-turners |
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Man Booker Prize
Winner:
Samantha Harvey
Orbital
Percival Everett
James
Rachel Kushner
Creation Lake
Anne Michaels
Held
Yael van der Wouden
The Safekeep
Charlotte Wood
Stone Yard Devotional
Women's
Prize for Fiction
V. V. Ganeshananthan
Brotherless Night
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