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Campaigners demand a sweeping inquiry into royal property financesFollowing a National Audit Office (NAO) report that uncovered undisclosed rental income from Prince Andrew Mountbatten‑Windsor’s subletting of three cottages, anti‑monarchy group Republic and former Liberal Democrat minister Norman Baker are pressing the Public Accounts Committee for a full investigation of all royal finances.Andrew’s cottage subletting triggers public outcryThe NAO confirmed that the former Duke of York received private income from the three cottages on his Royal Lodge estate while paying only a “peppercorn rent”. The report noted that the exact rent charged was unknown, prompting calls for greater transparency.Subletting took place under a long‑term lease secured with a £1 million premium and £7.5 million of renovations in 2003.Sources suggest the cottages may have generated up to £30,000 a year each, though the figure remains unverified.Financial scale of Crown Estate leases and royal rentalsThe Crown Estate, a £15 billion portfolio held “in right of the crown”, operates as an independent business with profits paid to the Treasury. A portion of these profits, the sovereign grant, funds the royal household’s official duties.Royal household rental income amounted to £3.6 million in the 2024‑25 financial year.As of May 2026, the household manages 255 properties across the occupied palaces estate.Political ramifications and public perceptionBoth Republic and Baker argue that the issue extends beyond Andrew, citing similar arrangements for other royals such as Edward’s stable block and the Duchy of Cornwall’s leasing activities. Constitutional law expert Dr Craig Prescott warned that while subletting is legally permissible, the perception of private enrichment from public assets fuels public distrust.Former public accounts chair Margaret Hodge expressed “very concerned” remarks on BBC Radio 4, highlighting the NAO’s inability to quantify the exact earnings.What reforms could follow the inquiry?If Parliament orders a comprehensive probe, possible outcomes include:Legislative clarification of subletting rights within Crown Estate leases.Stricter oversight of the sovereign grant and its allocation.Potential removal of all royals, except the monarch, from publicly owned accommodation.Such reforms would aim to align public property use with transparency expectations and restore confidence in the monarchy’s financial stewardship.

The EU Sanctions and Settler Leaders’ Defiant ResponseWhen the European Union announced a new tranche of sanctions targeting Israeli settler organisations and their leaders, the reaction was unexpectedly celebratory. Regavim, co‑founded by Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, and activist Daniella Weiss of the Nachala movement both dismissed the penalties as a “badge of honour” and “ridiculous”. Their statements signal a broader refusal to be swayed by diplomatic pressure.Sanctioned Entities and the Scope of EU MeasuresThe EU’s package targeted:Regavim – a settler‑rights NGO linked to Bezalel SmotrichNachala – led by Daniella Weiss, known for border‑area conferences on settlement expansionAmana – a cooperative that finances West Bank settlementsMeir Deutsch – director of RegavimIn total, four entities and three individuals were listed. The sanctions complement earlier actions by the United Kingdom, Canada and other allies that targeted Smotrich for alleged support of violence in the West Bank.Casualties and Displacement Figures Since October 2023Human‑rights monitors have documented a sharp rise in settler‑related violence after the October 2023 Hamas attack. Reported figures include:1,168 Palestinians killed in the occupied West Bank12,666 injured33,000 displacedNearly 23,000 Palestinians detained, many without chargeThese statistics illustrate the human cost accompanying the settlement push.Implications for the Israeli‑Palestinian Conflict and International PressureAnalysts argue that the EU’s “toothless” sanctions may inadvertently grant domestic prestige to hard‑line settlers. The lack of tangible repercussions—settlers rarely travel to Europe and thus feel little personal impact—means the measures are unlikely to curb expansion or hold perpetrators accountable. The article notes a “closed loop” of entitlement, where settler ideology, state support, and military backing reinforce each other, sustaining a climate of impunity.Outlook: Prospects for Settlement Expansion and Diplomatic LeverageGiven the settlers’ defiant stance and the Israeli government’s ongoing endorsement—exemplified by plans for the E1 corridor linking East Jerusalem to Maale Adumim—future settlement growth appears probable. Without stronger, enforceable international actions, the EU sanctions risk remaining symbolic. Observers warn that continued violence and displacement will likely persist, further complicating any diplomatic pathway toward a two‑state solution.

The Week's TV HighlightsCape Fear (Apple TV) – Javier Bardem and Amy Adams star in a bold remake of the Scorsese classic. Reviewer Lucy Mangan praised Bardem's performance.Emma Barnett: Fighting Endometriosis (BBC iPlayer) – Today presenter confronts the reality of endometriosis, affecting 1 in 10 women. Reviewed by Rachel Aroesti.Tip Toe (Channel 4) – Russell T Davies tackles homophobia and politics with strong performances from Alan Cumming and David Morrissey. Reviewed by Lucy Mangan.Film Picks of the WeekEnzo – Cannes‑acclaimed drama by Laurent Cantet and Robin Campillo exploring teenage rebellion. Reviewed by Peter Bradshaw.Ghost in the Machine – Documentary examining AI’s roots in right‑wing ideology and eugenics. Reviewed by Leslie Felperin.Acting – Sophie Fiennes’ documentary on Cheek By Jowl’s Declan Donnellan and Shakespeare’s Macbeth. Reviewed by Peter Bradshaw.

The Origins of 'Mogging' Until recently, if someone had said "mog" to me, I probably would have assumed they were talking about the children's book cat created by the late great Judith Kerr. If asked about "mogging" or being "mogged," I would have been completely baffled. But for many members of gen Z and gen Alpha (or anyone who is just a bit too online), the slang term, which means to outdo or outshine others, is everywhere. From Manosphere to Mainstream Mogging's origins are in the manosphere, where it began as a verb derived from the acronym "Amog" (alpha male of the group). In misogynistic forums in the 2010s, to "mog" came to mean to outdo someone in terms of sexual desirability. Mogging has been adopted by "looksmaxxing" influencers such as Braden Peters, known online as Clavicular, who encourage men to try to alter their looks – sometimes in extreme ways – to increase their "sexual market value". Such an influencer might talk of "frame mogging" another person in a photo or video – a variation on mogging that specifically refers to being more muscular. The Evolution of Competitive Language Even now, as the term has begun to be used much more widely, and in a tongue-in-cheek way, it is still typically associated with looks (a friend of mine, for example, was described by her boyfriend's younger siblings as "mogging him" in a photo). But increasingly, mogging can mean besting others at basically anything. The gold medal Olympic figure skater Alysa Liu said in an interview last year that her main competition strategy was "to mog", while a 23-year-old colleague of mine tells me that she and her friends joke about "walk-mogging" when they overtake people on the street. Linguistic Analysis of Modern Slang Tony Thorne, director of the slang and new language archive at King's College London, says a lot of new slang terms "have come recently from the same kind of male-based internet culture", referencing the words "simp" (someone who is excessively attentive), "soy boy" (a derogatory term for a man who is not stereotypically masculine) and "sigma" (someone cool and successful). Not to mention "maxxing," now such an established part of the lexicon that it was tweeted by the US Department of Defense earlier this year. The Cultural Impact of Competitive Slang Thorne thinks it is significant that "mogging" in particular has become fashionable at this time. "What it implies – hyper-competitive, hyper-individualist, aggressive selfishness" has become "mainstream behaviour", he says. Which is why Will Adolphy, a psychotherapist who was himself once an ardent follower of manosphere influencers, has concerns about the word. "Part of me can see how it's a kind of handy, even entertaining word," he says. But the idea of mogging "reinforces this sense that there are certain people that will dominate others based off their physical appearance and status", he says. Psychological Concerns About Competitive Language Dr Emily Sehmer, an NHS child and adolescent psychiatrist, worries too about the "constant sense of competition" that concepts such as mogging help to foster, especially for teenagers, who are developing their socio-emotional skills and typically "have a desire to fit in and to get peer approval". Apart from anything else, she adds, wanting to mog someone is "kind of mean, isn't it?" The Ironical Reappropriation of 'Mogging' "I think people are right to be concerned," about the rise in usage of slang that originates from a toxic subculture, Thorne says – and notes that some of his fellow linguists feel uncomfortable about researching it. But, he adds, "mogging" has moved well beyond its origins, and many people who use it now "tend to understand it and laugh at it, and they use it themselves, but ironically". Certainly, plenty of mogging content on social media now has an irreverence to it: such as the trend of posing for the photo on a rollercoaster in order to "mog" the screaming riders next to you. Making what started as an aggressive concept into something very silly pokes fun at the ridiculousness of the manosphere, my younger colleague explains. She shows me a picture of herself on a recent holiday, standing next to a statue of Napoleon, that she sent to a group chat of her friends. The caption? "I mogged Napoleon!"

The Bridge Between Art and ScienceWhy do we find things beautiful? More precisely, why do some paintings of coloured dots in rippling patterns inspire in me something like revelation? The idea that beauty is the feeling you get when encountering truth is unfashionable in the arts, but lingers in the sciences. The physicist Paul Dirac once proposed that it is more important that a formula is beautiful than that it can be proven: when a perfectly beautiful theory produces results that cannot be real, he argued, then we should not discard the theory but reconsider what is real.Since the 1970s, Terry Winters has been rebuilding that bridge between art and science. Taking inspiration from disciplines including botany – his early paintings, particularly, evoke sprouting pods and tangled roots – engineering, computer modelling and cybernetics, his paintings might be understood as diagrammatic approximations of the patterns that govern everything from the division of cells to the constellation of stars. If every era has to renew its standards of beauty to reflect new understandings of how the world is constructed, then Winters comes as close to providing that model as any living painter.Mathematical Patterns in Visual ArtThese eight new works take their titles from the language of geometry and mathematics: Area, Array, Field, Locus, Point, Scope, Sequence and Set. Each is composed of overlapping patterns that pull each other out of shape according to invisible laws of attraction and repulsion. Field is indicative: on a sooty pink ground, a dense grid of dusty blue cells bends inwards like a trampoline beneath a bowling ball, while an intersecting arrangement of larger circles swells outwards. The disorienting effect of this push-pull is exaggerated by an optical illusion, created by ragged phosphorescent orange haloes around the blue circles, that makes them appear to be craters sunk into the crust of paint. You have to walk up to the surface to be reassured that it is flat.Point shows a teeming landscape of cells bulging outwards at the centre, as if a scum of frogspawn had been skimmed off a pond and placed under a paperweight microscope. In Sequence, a storm of pink interference skims through a yellow circle split like a brain into hemispheres, while a nebulous weather system sweeps in from the right. In Scope, vaguely symbolic arrangements of freshwater blue and desert orange nodules move across the familiar circle-within-a-square geometry of Leonardo's Vitruvian Man. Where that famous demonstration of sacred geometries exudes stillness and calm, the systems that run through Winters' worlds are wild and strange. Here, as much importance is given to the subjective factors of perception and consciousness as the objective principles of logic and proportion.Optical Illusions and Sensory ExperienceAll of this should not distract from the pure sensory pleasure afforded by these pictures. In Locus, another optical illusion seems to lift the red edge of the painting off the canvas like a clumsy wooden frame, squeezing the pockmarked sphere at its centre so that it balloons outwards, threatening to burst. The same cadmium red, so sandy that the pigment seems barely to have been suspended in oil, turns carmine pockets into rock formations that climb off the surface of Set. These sleights of hand evoke the more secular movement of op art, in which patterns are manipulated to exploit the idiosyncrasies of human perception rather than to uncover deeper truths. Which begs the question: is this all just a conjuring trick?Rediscovering the Renaissance ApproachThere is something magical about these works. Even though Winters is generally credited with having extended the lineage of modernist American painting into the present, his practice is in this sense pre-modern. In its rejection of the idea that art should be separated from science, it resembles the Renaissance attitude according to which painting is no less a tool for understanding the world than mathematics, and magic is just the name for things we don't yet understand. His commitment to synthesising diverse spheres of knowledge, his alchemist's commitment to materials, and his sheer technical ability certainly mark him out in a scene recently overwhelmed by chancers and charlatans, bandwagoners and snake-oil salesmen. That his work is enjoying a revival might be taken as an encouraging sign.Beauty as a Path to TruthDirac, incidentally, was proved right. He formulated a theory that was so beautiful it couldn't possibly be wrong, even though it implied the existence of phenomena that everyone agreed must be impossible. He stood by it, and a few years later, someone else discovered anti-matter. Winters' paintings likewise offer a flash of those secret patterns that underpin the physical world, and which science has yet to illuminate. Which is to say, they're beautiful.Exhibition DetailsTerry Winters: Along the River is at Modern Art, London, until 11 July

The PlanMarcelo Bielsa has left his indelible mark on this Uruguay team. His 4-3-3 system is built for direct football, allowing his side to press their opponents high up the field and chase the ball at all times.The CoachAfter the 5-1 humbling by the US, Marcelo Bielsa was seen as the man responsible. Upon their return to Montevideo, Bielsa called a press conference to say he was not resigning, that he had “strength” to continue and admitted he was questioned by his players for his “behaviour”.Star PlayerFederico Valverde. The captain of Real Madrid arrives at this World Cup at his peak; at the age of 27 he is among the best in the world and is starting to be the leader Uruguayans hope can inspire their country to the later stages of the tournament.One to WatchMaximiliano Araújo started his career as a right-back, but earned his first move abroad, to Puebla in Mexico, thanks to his qualities as a winger.Unsung HeroFederico Viñas. The Real Oviedo striker could get his chance to shine due to the dip in form of Núñez, Bielsa’s main goal threat.Probable Starting XI

The Pond Picasso's Environmental JourneyIn a boggy field in Somerset, Shaun Hancox operates an orange and black excavator, rhythmically removing lumpy clay soil and sculpting it into brown banks. What appears as a scar of bare earth on what was once green pasture will soon transform into a thriving freshwater ecosystem once rain fills the newly created depressions. This is the work of "the Picasso of ponds," a man who has transitioned from shaping golf courses to creating vital wildlife habitats across Britain.The Art and Science of Pond Creation"There's a lot more thought that goes into it than digging a hole," explains Hancox of Creative Wetlands. His background in golf course construction has given him unique insights into water movement and landscape design. "A golf ball rolls very much how water moves. When you're putting in a wildlife pond, you look at the landscape and give your pond the best chance of holding water and doing what it should do." The shapes of his ponds are "almost golf course bunkers but in a more rustic, natural way." At Heal Somerset, a 185-hectare former dairy farm being rewilded, Hancox is digging four new ponds, including one double-bowled pond 30 meters in diameter specifically for great-crested newts.The Decline of Britain's Freshwater HabitatsBritain has lost at least 400,000 ponds over the past century, according to the Freshwater Habitats Trust. A similar number remain, but many are overgrown, degraded, or affected by nutrient pollution. "Everyone realises we're in a sorry state with freshwater and it needs to be addressed," says Hancox. This decline has had devastating consequences for aquatic and semi-aquatic species that depend on these freshwater ecosystems for breeding, feeding, and shelter.Transforming Landscapes for WildlifeThe ponds created by Hancox and his team are specifically designed to maximize their ecological impact. Crucially, these new ponds are not connected to any river system, which can wash nutrient-rich or polluted water into them. Instead, they are charged by clean rainwater or clean groundwater, enabling more delicate aquatic plants to thrive. Within a year of being created, the ponds fill with aquatic life, including damselflies and dragonflies, and provide food and shelter for birds, from moorhens to house martins, who feed on the insects and use the pond-side mud to build nests.The Future of Freshwater ConservationInitiatives like the Newt Conservation Partnership, a coalition of the Freshwater Habitats Trust and the Amphibian and Reptile Conservation Trust, are working to ensure these habitats are maintained long-term. The partnership operates across 70 local authorities in England and ensures that any new pond habitat is maintained for 25 years, with ponds inspected and landowners receiving annual payments to manage them. "It guarantees that they will be suitable for newts in 25 years' time," says Pete Case of the Newt Conservation Partnership. "When it comes to newt conservation, everyone focuses on making a pond, but newts spend two-thirds of their life on land. If you don't get that bit right, they aren't going to do so well." This comprehensive approach to habitat creation and management represents a promising model for future conservation efforts across Britain and beyond.

Tragic Shooting of a Palestinian Infant Near HebronAn Israeli soldier opened fire on a Palestinian family near Hebron, killing an infant. The incident, reported by Al Jazeera on June 6, 2026, adds a new flashpoint to an already tense environment in the occupied West Bank.Details of the Incident Reported by Al JazeeraLocation: Outskirts of Hebron, West Bank.Time: Early morning hours on 2026-06-06.Victim: One-month-old Palestinian baby, identified by family members.Perpetrator: An unidentified soldier of the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF).Immediate reaction: Palestinian residents and local officials called for an investigation and demanded accountability.Casualty Figures and Recent Violence StatisticsFatalities in the West Bank during the first half of 2026: 12 Palestinians, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.Injuries reported in similar incidents: 34 civilians.Previous incidents involving minors in the Hebron area (2024‑2025): 3 documented cases.Potential Ripple Effects on Israeli‑Palestinian RelationsHeightened tension: The killing is likely to fuel protests in Hebron and surrounding towns.Diplomatic pressure: International human‑rights groups have called for a transparent inquiry.Security posture: The IDF may increase patrols, which could further strain civilian‑military interactions.Outlook for Security and Diplomatic ResponsesInvestigation: The Israeli military has announced a preliminary review, but timelines remain unclear.International response: The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) is expected to issue a statement.Future risk: If the incident is not addressed to the satisfaction of Palestinian authorities, there is a risk of escalated clashes and broader regional criticism.

The Lead: Democracy's Tipping Point in GhanaAccra, Ghana – Ghana has recorded 14 arrests linked to false news and offensive speech in less than 16 months, nearly double the number documented during the previous administration's entire eight-year tenure, according to the Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA).The rise has triggered a sharp debate in one of West Africa's most stable democracies over whether authorities are simply enforcing long-standing laws in a new digital environment, or edging into a more restrictive approach to public speech.The Political Irony: Mahama's Past WarningsThe controversy carries added political weight because President John Mahama, while in opposition in 2022, warned that using state power to intimidate dissent was a "dangerous blueprint" for democracy.Government Position: Enforcement Not RepressionA senior ruling party official dismissed allegations that the arrests amount to a crackdown."The opposition intentionally sponsors people to insult the President," he told Al Jazeera. "When the law catches up with them, they cry persecution to score cheap political points."He pointed to the case of TikToker Prince Ofori, known as "Fante Comedy", who was arrested last August over alleged threats to President Mahama.Days after his arrest, Ofori appeared at a political rally alongside opposition figures, a development the official said showed how quickly such cases become politicized."They paraded him at an opposition rally," he said.Opposition Response: A Warning Sign for DemocracyOpposition leaders see something more troubling taking shape.Minority leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin has been among the most outspoken critics."The state-sponsored persecution must stop," he told Al Jazeera. "Arresting citizens for words that do not constitute genuine threats is not justice. It is intimidation."He said free speech has limits, but argued that the state is increasingly crossing a line."Excessive use of state power risks undoing Ghana's hard-won democratic gains," he said.Legal Framework: Where is the Line?At the centre of the debate are long-standing provisions in Ghana's Criminal Code and Electronic Communications Act, which authorities say are now being applied to a fast-moving digital landscape.Government supporters argue the increase in arrests reflects the explosion of anonymous and unregulated online content.Critics say the problem is not the laws themselves, but how they are being used.A legal consultant who reviewed recent cases said he counted at least 16 alleged misapplications of Section 208 in the past 18 months, compared with roughly a dozen in the previous eight years."The law has been abused beyond repair," he said. "Repeal is the only remedy."Media Freedom and Blurred BoundariesVeteran journalist Ben Ephson said Ghana needs clearer guidance on where free expression ends and harm begins."The government must properly explain the arrests so people can draw the line between press freedom and responsible journalism," he said.He added that both journalists and state institutions risk overstepping if the rules remain unclear."When you compare the freedom of the media and the rights of the individual, we need to be careful that the media, in trying to do their work, don't trample on people's rights," he said.Global Context: Shrinking Civic SpaceOthers say Ghana's debate mirrors tensions playing out in other democracies.Tegha King of the Universal Peace Federation Ghana said concerns about shrinking civic space are not unique to Ghana."The global civic space must cultivate more free speech, not less," he told Al Jazeera.He said stronger institutions, not more arrests, are needed to manage the pressures of the digital age."There must be independent courts, transparent enforcement, media self-regulation and digital literacy," he said.Civic Awareness and External ConcernSome analysts point to gaps in public understanding of constitutional rights."There is a lack of constitutional education among many Ghanaians," said David Adofo of the African Chamber of Content Producers. "People must know the consequences of their actions before they act, not after."Concerns are also being voiced outside the country."We have had many concerns from diasporans about perceived erosion of press and political freedoms, especially news of blogger arrests," said Nana Kofi Opoku-Agyemang of the NuGhana Expat Center. "Negative news sells fast. The government must be cautious so it does not project a negative image of Ghana in the diasporan community."Government Stance: Existing Laws, New ChallengesOfficials insist there is no coordinated effort to silence dissent.An NDC communicator said the legal framework in question predates the current administration and defended the approach."Ghana's laws, Section 208 of the Criminal Code and Section 76 of the Electronic Communications Act, have been on the books for decades," he said. "What has changed is the sheer volume of reckless, anonymous and sometimes dangerous content on social media. There is no systematic crackdown. There is simply enforcement of existing law."The Path Forward: Breaking the CycleGhana remains one of West Africa's more open democracies, with a competitive political system and active media landscape.But the rise in speech-related arrests has sharpened scrutiny of how far the state can go in policing online expression without undermining the democratic culture that helped define its reputation.The debate is also politically charged because of Mahama's own past warnings.As opposition leader, he described the use of state power against dissent as a "dangerous blueprint." Today, critics say his government faces accusations it once condemned.For Alexander Afenyo-Markin, the moment calls for restraint — and reflection."We should not continue to say that because it happened yesterday, it should happen today and tomorrow. That cycle must end," he said. "President Mahama has an opportunity to leave a legacy of tolerance and free speech. I hope he takes it."