For years, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle framed their departure from the British royal family as a bold gamble to chase privacy, financial independence, and a new version of the American dream on the sun-soaked outskirts of Los Angeles. Now, that carefully constructed chapter is drawing to a close, prompting a close examination of the life the high-profile couple built in the heart of Hollywood. As BBC correspondent Shaimaa Khalil explores, the pair’s experience in Southern California reveals a complicated gap between the promise of their cross-Atlantic move and the reality of life as globally recognized public figures operating outside royal structures. When the couple stepped back as working royals in 2020, they traded the strict protocols and constant media scrutiny of palace life for a gated mansion in Montecito, a quiet, upscale enclave nestled between Santa Barbara and Los Angeles. Their stated goal was clear: escape the intrusive British tabloid culture that had plagued their relationship, build their own commercial brand independently, and carve out a normal life for their two young children. For a time, that vision appeared to be taking shape. They landed lucrative multi-year deals with streaming giant Netflix and podcast platform Spotify, launched their nonprofit Archewell, and positioned themselves as outspoken advocates for mental health, racial justice, and gender equity. But in recent months, cracks in that foundation have become impossible to ignore. Their Spotify deal ended early in 2023 after just one season of their flagship podcast, and their Netflix projects have failed to deliver the breakout cultural impact both sides initially anticipated. At the same time, the couple has been unable to escape the relentless public attention they sought to leave behind. Every personal detail, from their family dynamics to their public appearances to their internal disagreements, remains a staple of global media coverage. Even in their secluded Montecito compound, privacy has remained elusive. As they wind down the operations and public profile they built in Southern California over the past four years, analysts and commentators are reassessing whether the “American dream” they set out to achieve was ever truly attainable for two of the most famous people in the world. Khalil’s reporting delves into the shifting priorities of the couple, the missteps that derailed their initial Hollywood ambitions, and what the end of this chapter means for their public legacy and personal futures going forward.
分类： entertainment
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What do people think of Harry and Meghan returning to the UK?
After years of living abroad in North America following their high-profile departure from senior royal roles, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex are preparing to make a major move: returning to British soil later this month. The long-rumored shift in their residence has sparked widespread conversation across the United Kingdom, with members of the public sharing diverse perspectives on the couple’s homecoming.
To gauge public sentiment, on-the-ground interviews with London residents have revealed a wide spectrum of reactions. Some lifelong royal watchers expressed cautious curiosity, welcoming the couple back to the country they have deep familial and historic ties to, even as they acknowledge the friction that marked their exit. Others who supported the couple’s decision to step away from official duties see their return as a full-circle moment that could bring a new dynamic to the public face of the monarchy, even in an unofficial capacity.
Conversely, there are segments of the public that remain skeptical, pointing to the ongoing controversial interviews and media projects that have criticized the royal institution that still keep tensions high. Many Londoners also noted that they are curious to see what the couple’s next steps will be in the UK, whether they plan to take on any public-facing roles or maintain the more private lifestyle they built in California.
As the date of their planned relocation approaches, discussions around their return are only growing, reflecting the enduring public fascination with the couple’s life post-royal senior roles.
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Prince Harry and Meghan moving back to UK later this month
After six years of living abroad following their 2020 exit from senior royal roles, Prince Harry and Meghan, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, are preparing to move back to the United Kingdom, multiple UK media outlets have confirmed. Citing sources familiar with the couple’s plans, the BBC first reported the planned relocation, which was initially broken by the Daily Telegraph and The Sun.
According to insiders, the couple will leave their current California home later this August and take up residence in a private, non-royal property located outside of London. Their two young children, 7-year-old Prince Archie and 5-year-old Princess Lilibet, have already been enrolled in a local British school set to open its doors for the new academic term in September.
King Charles III, Harry’s father, was only notified of the couple’s relocation plans this past Sunday, and no adjustments to the pair’s current royal status are on the table. The couple will remain private citizens, with no intention of returning to full-time working royal duties. This update comes as a surprise, as the family’s July 2024 visit to the King at his private Highgrove Estate in Gloucestershire did not include any discussion of a permanent move, and the King had no advance knowledge of the plan before last weekend. Buckingham Palace has confirmed that Charles welcomes the move, as it will give him more opportunities to spend private, personal time with his son, daughter-in-law and grandchildren.
William and Catherine, the Prince and Princess of Wales, have also been formally notified of the couple’s plans. For context, the Sussexes stepped down from their official royal roles and left the UK in early 2020, completing their relocation to Southern California that March. Tensions between the couple and the rest of the royal family have run high in the years since, with July’s meeting marking a major turning point in their fractured relationship. That meeting was the first time King Charles had seen Archie and Lilibet in person in more than four years, and the first joint visit by Harry and Meghan to the UK since the 2022 state funeral of Queen Elizabeth II.
Security arrangements have been one of the most persistent points of conflict between Prince Harry and UK officials since the couple stepped down. Last year, the duke lost a high-profile legal challenge against the UK government over his bid to retain the same level of personal police protection he received as a working royal, a benefit that was withdrawn after his 2020 exit. Ahead of July’s visit, Harry nearly canceled the trip after his request for police security was rejected, and he has repeatedly stated in past interviews that safety concerns have prevented him from bringing his family to live in the UK. After news of the planned return broke, a Home Office spokesperson confirmed that all royal security decisions are made by the Executive Committee for the Protection of Royalty and Public Figures (RAVEC), and noted that the UK’s protective security framework remains “rigorous and proportionate.”
For Invictus Games Foundation, the veteran sports charity founded by Prince Harry, the move is unexpected but welcome. The 2025 Invictus Games for injured service members and veterans will be hosted in Birmingham, and foundation chief programmes and strategy officer David Wiseman told the BBC that having Harry based in the UK ahead of the event is excellent news. “I will be really pleased to have him back in the country. Moving is stressful for anyone so I hope it all goes well and the children settle well at school,” Wiseman said, adding that the relocation “took everybody by surprise” but will deliver significant benefits to the foundation’s work.
The surprise announcement has sparked widespread speculation across UK political and royal circles, with many senior figures noting they had no advance warning of the plan. Ailsa Anderson, former press secretary to Queen Elizabeth II, described the move as “a bolt out of the blue” in an interview with BBC Radio 4’s *Today* programme. She noted that the relocation raises a host of unresolved questions, particularly around the future of the strained relationship between Harry and his brother William, the future of the couple’s security, and their dynamic with the British tabloid press. Anderson also suggested Harry’s July 2024 visit, which included a trip to his late mother Princess Diana’s ancestral home in Northamptonshire, may have shifted his perspective on returning. “I wonder whether that made a shift in his views and he really wants to come back because he’s missed his life here for the last six years,” she said.
UK Education Secretary Lucy Powell welcomed the couple’s move, noting that the enrollment of Archie and Lilibet in British schools is a “great endorsement” of the UK’s education system. Powell also confirmed that she learned of the plans via social media and news reports Wednesday evening, just like the general public, and had not received any advance notification from Downing Street. She added that it is not expected the children will attend a local state school, a detail that has not been confirmed by the Sussexes’ representatives.
As of Thursday, the Sussexes have not yet released an official statement confirming the relocation plans or their long-term intentions following the move.
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Chinese Valentine’s Day is rooted in legend and tradition, not just romance
While many modern couples now frame Qixi, China’s traditional “Valentine’s Day,” around romantic dates, chocolate boxes, and flower bouquets, the centuries-old festival carries far deeper cultural roots that communities across Asia are working to preserve and pass to new generations. Observed annually on the seventh day of the seventh month of the lunar calendar (falling on August 19 in 2026), Qixi is celebrated far beyond China’s borders, with vibrant observances in Vietnam, Singapore, and other Asian communities with shared cultural heritage.
In Beijing this year, the city’s Folk Custom Museum, located within the historic Dongyue Taoist Temple, marked the festival with its 14th consecutive year of Qixi programming, this time under the theme “Asking for Skills.” The event centered on the festival’s lesser-known core tradition of *qiqiao*—the historical practice of young women praying for improved dexterity, craftsmanship, and wisdom—bringing this ancient custom to life through interactive, hands-on activities for attendees of all ages.
The day opened with a moving performance of traditional Chinese classical music, before transitioning to a series of workshops rooted in historic Qixi practices. Participants tried their hand at natural nail dyeing using garden balsam, a plant-based pigment long linked to wishes for beauty and good fortune, and created custom sachet-shaped bead paintings woven with Song brocade, a rare and precious Chinese silk textile, and strung with pearls that symbolize wholeness and prosperity. Many families also joined in making *qiaoguo*, a traditional decorative pastry shaped using carved wooden molds.
“We especially hope that young audiences can understand the meaning of our traditional festivals through interactive and engaging experiences,” explained Jia Juan, a member of the museum’s public education department. The annual event draws roughly 500 attendees each year, and Jia walked through the festival’s layered origins: beyond the iconic romantic legend of the Cowherd and Weaver Girl, Qixi first grew from ancient Chinese astronomical worship, with *qiqiao* customs developing steadily through the Han Dynasty and flourishing during the Tang and Song dynasties (7th to 13th centuries).
The romantic core of the festival draws from one of China’s most beloved ancient myths: Zhinü, the weaver girl represented by the star Vega, falls in love with Niulang, a mortal cowherd embodied by the star Altair. When their forbidden love draws the wrath of the Jade Emperor, he separates the pair across the Milky Way, granting them only one annual reunion on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month, when magpies form a bridge across the heavens for them to meet. Records of this legend date all the way back to the pre-Qin period, before 221 BCE.
Thousands of miles away in Singapore, cultural organizers are working to revive Qixi traditions that faded among younger generations after the festival was first brought to the country by Chinese migrant women in the 1930s. Researcher Lynn Wong launched Qixi Fest, a multiday public initiative, in 2023 to reintroduce the custom to modern Singaporeans, with this year’s program running through August 23.
Wong’s work to revive the festival grew from a personal realization: despite growing up in a Chinese Singaporean community, she had never encountered Qixi growing up, raised instead on Western fairy tales and folk stories. She began interviewing elderly community members to collect their memories of the festival, documenting her research in a book to preserve the oral history of the tradition. “We’re trying to create the childhood memories of this new generation of Singaporeans so that they grow up with the stories that our forefathers grew up with,” she said.
For Singaporean Hor Xin Hao, a Cantonese descendant who maintains his family’s generations-old Qixi rituals, the modern framing of Qixi as simply a Chinese Valentine’s Day diminishes the festival’s far broader cultural meaning. Each year, his family sets up an outdoor prayer table facing the night sky late on the sixth day of the seventh lunar month, offering prayers and gifts of incense, fresh flowers, perfume, cosmetics, and soap through midnight to honor the Seven Maidens, the celestial sisters that include Zhinü the Weaver Girl. These offerings are believed to bring blessings of beauty and good fortune.
“I personally feel that the idea of a Valentine’s Day actually reduces the original idea behind the festival into something narrower,” Hor explained. For him, Qixi is far more than a celebration of romance: it is a tribute to ancestral legacy, traditional values, and humanity’s connection to the natural world and the stars above. “It contains the way we look at life from the interaction between us and the universe,” he said.
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Jellyfish mesmerise in their own museum in Florida
Nestled in the coastal city of Pompano Beach, Florida, a one-of-a-kind cultural attraction has opened its doors, inviting visitors to dive into the captivating world of one of the ocean’s most fascinating creatures. The newly launched Jellyfish Museum stands as the first institution in the United States entirely devoted to showcasing these graceful, gelatinous marine predators that have drifted through the world’s oceans for hundreds of millions of years.
Unlike traditional aquariums that spread jellyfish exhibits among dozens of other marine displays, this niche museum centers every inch of its space on highlighting the extraordinary diversity, beauty, and biological uniqueness of jellyfish species from across the globe. Curators and marine biologists worked together to design immersive habitats that let visitors watch these pulsating creatures drift through illuminated water, their translucent bodies creating a mesmerizing, almost otherworldly visual experience.
Organizers behind the project say the museum fills a long-unmet niche for marine enthusiasts and casual tourists alike, combining recreational wonder with subtle educational outreach about jellyfish’s critical role in marine ecosystems. For visitors, the attraction offers a serene, visually striking escape that sets it apart from crowded coastal destinations, turning a simple visit into an unforgettable encounter with these ancient ocean dwellers.
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Angélique Kidjo makes history for Africa with star on Hollywood Walk of Fame
A decades-long career that redefined global music and bridged cross-cultural divides reached an unprecedented landmark this week, as Beninese superstar Angélique Kidjo made history by becoming the first African musician to receive a star on the iconic Hollywood Walk of Fame.
The 66-year-old five-time Grammy winner, celebrated globally for her powerhouse vocals and genre-blending sound that fuses traditional West African rhythms with funk, jazz, R&B, and pop, used the induction ceremony to highlight the foundational role African art has played in global music creation. Speaking to gathered guests at the Tuesday unveiling, Kidjo said: “We Africans just don’t know what we’ve given to the world, and what we continue giving to the world for the music to exist. Without us, there’s no music possible on this planet.”
Kidjo’s vision of global unity took center stage during her remarks, framing the honor as a validation of her long-held belief in shared humanity. “The star for me means that my vision of the world as a small village is a reality,” she said. “It doesn’t matter where we come from, what language we speak, which skin colour we have. We are human. It’s one human family.”
The ceremony drew a roster of A-list guests, including fellow Beninese-born Hollywood actor Djimon Hounsou, Academy Award-nominated actor Willem Dafoe, and Nigerian Afrobeats star Adekunle Gold, alongside Kidjo’s family and close friends. Attendees celebrated the artist’s 40-plus year career with joyous singing and dancing, honoring a discography that includes high-profile collaborations with music legends ranging from Burna Boy, John Legend and Bono to Alicia Keys.
Born and raised in southern Benin, Kidjo fled her home country for Paris in 1983 to escape oppressive rule under the then-communist government. In a 2023 interview with the BBC, she reflected on that experience, saying, “From the moment the communist regime arrived in Benin, I became aware that the freedom we enjoy can be snatched away in a second.” After building her career in Europe, she eventually relocated to the United States, where her work continued to gain international acclaim.
Today, Kidjo’s discography spans 18 full-length albums, with 17 Grammy nominations and five wins to her name. She released her latest studio project, *HOPE!!*, earlier this year, featuring production from Pharrell Williams and collaborations with Ayra Starr, Quavo, Nile Rodgers, and Diane Warren. Beyond her Grammy success, she received the 2023 Polar Music Prize and was named one of Time Magazine’s 100 Most Influential People in 2021.
Dafoe, who spoke at the induction ceremony, lauded Kidjo’s unmatched work ethic and artistic commitment, comparing her energy to James Brown, widely known as the hardest working man in show business. “She is without a doubt the hardest working woman in showbusiness,” Dafoe said. “The first time I saw Angélique perform live, I thought her music, her dancing, her commitment were incredible. She’s not only an incredible performer, songwriter and musician, but also an incredibly kind and giving person and a real deal activist.”
Beyond her artistic work, Kidjo has long been a dedicated advocate for marginalized communities. She serves as a goodwill ambassador for both Unicef and Oxfam, and co-founded the Batonga Foundation, which works to expand educational and economic opportunity for vulnerable young girls and women across Benin.
Harvey Mason Jr., CEO of the Recording Academy — the organization behind the Grammy Awards — also praised Kidjo’s cross-cultural impact during the ceremony. “She’s connected cultures, she’s crossed borders, she’s reminded audiences everywhere that while we may come from different backgrounds, her music unites in a way that few other things can,” Mason said.
Kidjo now joins more than 2,800 entertainment icons with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and is only the second person of African origin to receive the honor, following white South African actress Charlize Theron. Fans of African music can find more reporting on the continent’s vibrant creative scene at BBCAfrica.com, and follow BBC Africa on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram for updates.
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Once shaped by court rituals, China’s imperial cuisine lives on today
Nearly a century after its founding, a historic Beijing restaurant remains one of the last guardians of China’s imperial culinary legacy, keeping alive dishes, rituals and handcrafting techniques that trace their roots directly to the palaces of the Qing Dynasty.
One of its most beloved delicacies carries a story that stretches back to the final years of imperial rule. Legend holds that Empress Dowager Cixi once dreamed of a savory pancake late in her reign, and when the identical treat was served to her for breakfast the next morning, she was so delighted that she rewarded her head chef with a silver ingot. Originally named minced pork pancake, the dish was renamed “dream pastry” to honor its connection to Cixi’s vision, explains Zhou Tong, a veteran pastry chef at Beijing’s iconic Fangshan Restaurant.
Founded in 1925 by former Qing Dynasty court chefs inside Beihai Park, a centuries-old imperial garden where dynastic royals once relaxed, conducted state affairs and held sacred rituals, Fangshan’s core mission is written directly into its name: Fangshan translates literally to “imitating imperial cuisine.” While a small number of other Beijing establishments also offer their own interpretations of imperial court dining, and the Palace Museum preserves Qing-era dining artifacts ranging from ornate pastry molds to serving vessels, Fangshan stands out for its commitment to passing down original recipes and techniques from generation to generation of chefs.
Imperial cuisine is far more than a collection of fancy dishes: it encompasses the strict rituals that structured every meal, from the emperor’s daily breakfast to grand state banquets and sacred ceremonial feasts. For example, drinking milk tea was always the formal opening step at Qing Dynasty banquets, notes Teng Deyong, a researcher specializing in court culture at the Palace Museum. During grand events, the emperor would bestow portions of wine and food to assembled princes and high officials, and recipients were required to perform full formal rites of respect before they could partake.
Sacrificial ceremonies, a core part of imperial court life, followed their own separate set of culinary rules. One of the most important Qing rituals, held at the Palace of Earthly Tranquillity inside the Forbidden City, centered on unseasoned boiled fatty pork. After the ceremony concluded, the pork was distributed to attendees, and receiving this sacrificial meat was considered a high honor. This tradition of unseasoned ritual food stretches back even further in Chinese cultural history: Wandi Wang, a professor of Chinese studies at Lehigh University in Pennsylvania, points to the *Book of Rites*, an ancient Confucian text detailing ceremonial customs, which describes an unseasoned meat broth called “grand stew” served during sacrificial rituals.
“The absence of added flavoring was itself meaningful: the unseasoned dish evoked an earlier and simpler way of cooking and thus expressed a ritual ideal of honoring antiquity and remembering cultural origins,” Wang explained.
Pastries held a special place in imperial dining, with a dedicated palace institution solely responsible for crafting sweet and savory treats for the court. At Fangshan, Zhou still makes the original imperial versions of dream pastry and small steamed corn buns following century-old recipes, and servers share the dishes’ rich histories with every table. “People enjoy them even more because they carry such meaningful history,” Zhou said.
His craft is passed down through an unbroken line of master-to-apprentice training, and traditional methods strictly require all work to be done by hand — no modern blenders or food processors are permitted. Beans are pulverized by hand using fine sieves, and specialty flours are mixed and aged in custom-made copper pots. “A machine may be more convenient, but the texture is completely different,” Zhou explained. “You lose the delicate graininess and sandy mouthfeel that handcrafted pastries are supposed to have.” That commitment to craft has paid off: pea flour cakes and red bean rolls, two of Fangshan’s most popular pastries, sell more than 200 orders per day during peak tourist seasons.
For Fan Liangliang, Fangshan’s current executive chef, adapting to the restaurant’s traditional standards required unlearning everything he had been taught in modern culinary school. Instead of prioritizing speed and efficiency, he had to master slow, labor-intensive techniques unique to imperial cuisine, such as “Nizihuo” — a method that involves mincing ingredients like fish, shrimp or chicken into a smooth paste, then reshaping the paste into intricate decorative forms like frogs, birds or flowers.
“This is one of the hallmarks of imperial cuisine,” Fan said. “Every dish had to be innovative, visually beautiful, nutritious and worthy of presentation on the imperial dining table.”
As times have changed, the restaurant has made thoughtful adaptations to align with modern norms: rare, protected ingredients like bear paws are no longer served, and other ingredients have been substituted to fit contemporary availability and dietary preferences, all while retaining the core spirit and flavor of each original dish.
Scholars note that Chinese culinary traditions have always carried layered meaning beyond sustenance, reflecting broader cultural, political and aesthetic values that evolve over time. Wang points to a famous poem by Tang Dynasty poet Du Fu, who wrote about cold noodles made from pagoda-tree leaves. “The poem is not simply a description of a dish,” Wang said. “Du Fu turns the verdant, fresh, yet modest dish into an expression of his political loyalty and thwarted ambition to serve the emperor.”
“Preserving a culinary tradition begins with taking its history seriously,” Wang added. “Culinary heritage tells us not only how people ate in the past, but also how people in the present choose to remember and give meaning to that past.”
Fan emphasizes that at its core, Fangshan’s imperial cuisine is a historic fusion of Manchu and Han Chinese culinary traditions, bringing together the food culture of the Qing Dynasty’s Manchu rulers and China’s Han majority. “It’s not simply a collection of dishes from the two cultures,” he said. “It represents the blending of their different approaches to food into a unified cuisine.”
While core techniques like stir-frying, braising and stewing have remained intact, and some ingredients have been updated for accessibility and modern palates, the team’s commitment to preserving this unique cultural heritage remains unshaken. “When people dine at Fangshan Restaurant, I hope they experience more than just a meal,” Fan said. “They experience the weight of history.”
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ZZ Top drummer Frank Beard dies aged 77
The iconic blues-rock band ZZ Top has announced the passing of its longtime drummer, founding member Frank Beard, at the age of 77. According to an official statement posted to the band’s official website, Beard died on Monday while receiving hospice care at his personal ranch in Richmond, Texas, surrounded by his close family members. No details regarding his specific cause of death have been released to the public.
Beard’s death has forced the band to cancel two scheduled tour stops this week in the western United States: a Monday performance in Salt Lake City, Utah, and a Wednesday show in Colorado Springs, Colorado. However, the group confirmed that it plans to pick up its ongoing *The Big One! Tour* this coming weekend, with two scheduled sets at the Austin City Limits venue in Austin, Texas — a spot the band says counted among Beard’s favorite performance spaces, in a city he considered a second home.
A foundational member of ZZ Top, Beard was part of the band’s original lineup when the group was formed in Houston, Texas, in 1969. Alongside lead vocalist and guitarist Billy Gibbons and bassist Dusty Hill, Beard made up the iconic trio that played its first public live show in 1970. Over the course of his six-decade tenure with the band, Beard contributed to 15 full-length studio albums and four live albums, helping craft the group’s signature blues-rock sound that catapulted them to global fame. The band’s discography includes countless chart-topping hit singles such as *Gimme All Your Lovin’*, *Sleeping Bag*, and their well-known cover of *Viva Las Vegas*.
The band underwent a major shift in 2021 when original bassist Dusty Hill passed away, after which the group chose to continue touring with new bassist Elwood Francis stepping into Hill’s role. Following Beard’s death, Gibbons shared a heartfelt tribute to his bandmate and collaborator of more than 50 years.
“Today, Elwood and I lost a great friend and collaborator, and the world lost one of the most naturally innovative drummers and a great and true son of Texas,” Gibbons said in the statement. He added that Beard’s instantly recognizable, steady backbeat was the critical backbone that kept ZZ Top at the top of the rock scene for decades. Staying true to Beard’s own wishes, Gibbons confirmed that the band will continue performing moving forward.
ZZ Top, one of the longest-running active rock bands in American history, was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2004, in recognition of its massive influence on blues and rock music. Over the course of their career, the band has toured extensively across North America, Europe, and South America, building a loyal global fanbase that spans multiple generations.
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Sonia Gandhi’s memoir to revisit love, loss and her decision to decline India’s top job
NEW YORK — One of the most consequential figures in modern Indian politics, Sonia Gandhi, is preparing to open a deeply personal window into her life and decades of history with the iconic Nehru-Gandhi political dynasty, with her firsthand memoir scheduled for release this November via publisher Alfred A. Knopf. The 79-year-old former Indian National Congress president, who grew up in a small Italian town before her fateful meeting with Rajiv Gandhi at the University of Cambridge, pulls back the curtain on a life defined by love, extraordinary loss, and unexpected political destiny in the upcoming book, titled *Belonging: A Journey of Love*.
Gandhi’s life story is inextricably tied to one of the most famous political families in the world. When she married Rajiv Gandhi, she joined a dynasty that had shaped India since its independence: Rajiv was the grandson of Jawaharlal Nehru, India’s founding prime minister, and the son of Indira Gandhi, the nation’s first female prime minister. What began as a quiet private life was shattered by two devastating national tragedies, as Gandhi recounts in the memoir. First, in 1984, Indira Gandhi was assassinated, thrusting Rajiv into the role of prime minister. Just seven years later, Rajiv Gandhi was also killed in an assassination, turning personal grief into an unplanned entry into public life for Sonia Gandhi.
Unlike many existing accounts of the Nehru-Gandhi family, which have often focused on their public legacy rather than their private humanity, Gandhi says her book offers an unvarnished look at the people behind the political names. In a statement released Tuesday by Knopf to announce the publication date, Gandhi noted that countless works have been written about her famous family, but few have captured the core truth of their motivations, their choices, and their very human shortcomings. This memoir, she explains, is ultimately a tribute to their humanity, while also offering readers an intimate, on-the-ground perspective on six decades of social and political transformation in India, the nation she now calls home.
For Gandhi, entering politics was never a planned ambition. “It was heartbreak and loss that threw me into the public world of politics. Up till then I had guarded my privacy fiercely,” she said in her statement. She would go on to make history as the longest-serving president of the Indian National Congress, and in a move that shocked many observers, she declined the party’s invitation to take the office of prime minister. In 2014, the Congress party lost national power to Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party, a Hindu nationalist party that has held office ever since.
Gandhi acknowledged that putting her life story to paper was not an easy process. Opening up about private moments and experiences she had long kept hidden required vulnerability, she said. But as she stepped back from active political life in recent years and reflected on her journey, she began to see the throughline that connects every chapter of her story: from her quiet childhood in rural Italy to the turbulent, complex years she spent in India as Rajiv’s wife and Indira’s daughter-in-law, a thread of love and loyalty has shaped every step of her path.
Today, the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty remains a core force in Indian opposition politics. Both of Sonia Gandhi’s children, Rahul Gandhi — the current leader of the Congress party — and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, hold seats in India’s lower house of parliament as members of the Congress party.
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Kanye West announces tour dates in Russia
Rapper Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, is set to take the stage for two back-to-back concerts this October at St. Petersburg’s 70,000-seat Gazprom Arena, marking the highest-profile performance by a Western artist in Russia since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine four years ago. Tickets for the hotly anticipated shows sold out within just hours of their Monday announcement, with prices spanning from 9,000 Russian roubles (approximately £78) all the way up to 160,000 roubles (around £1,394).
These upcoming Russian concerts arrive as Ye works to rebuild his public image, which has been badly tarnished by years of widely condemned antisemitic and pro-Nazi statements. In January of this year, the rapper issued a public apology, attributing his inflammatory remarks to a past brain injury and his bipolar disorder diagnosis.
Despite this public attempt at reconciliation, Ye’s planned 2026 European summer tour has been severely disrupted, with multiple dates scrapped amid widespread public backlash over the artist’s long-documented extreme views. In the United Kingdom, the major annual Wireless Festival was called off entirely after Home Office officials denied Ye entry into the country, ruling that his presence would not be “conducive to the public good” after he was booked to headline all three nights of the event. Scheduled performances in France, Poland, Italy and the Czech Republic were also scrapped by organizers, though shows in Spain, Portugal, the Netherlands, Turkey and Albania ultimately moved forward as planned.
At Ye’s recent concert in Madrid, Spain’s national public broadcaster RTVE reported that as much as 60% of ticket holders were international fans who had been unable to attend a show by the artist in their home countries. RTVE reviewer Javier Villuendas praised the performance’s “spectacular” staging, which features Ye performing atop a massive illuminated dome, and called his hit-packed setlist “to put it simply, a fire emoji.” He also noted that “we didn’t see any Nazis in the audience, by the way.” Music outlet Mondo Sonoro’s critic Daniel Caballero added that the electrifying set left the crowd “practically speechless,” observing that Ye appeared focused, fully committed to the performance, and “determined to regain his sanity and his passion.”
Rumors of a planned Russian performance by Ye have circulated for years. The rapper first visited the country in 2024 to attend the birthday of Russian fashion designer Gosha Rubchinskiy, a frequent collaborator, when plans for a show were first floated.
Not everyone has welcomed Ye’s upcoming St. Petersburg shows, however. Prominent conservative Russian lawmaker Vitaly Milonov, known for his hardline anti-Western stances, has publicly suggested that Ye replace his planned original setlist with traditional Russian folk songs to align with nationalist views. “Maybe after this he’ll stop his disgusting antics and become a normal person,” Milonov added in a public video statement.
Before Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, regular performances by major Western musical acts were common across the country, with A-list artists including Red Hot Chili Peppers, Lana Del Rey, Muse and System of a Down all touring in Russian cities. But after the invasion began, the vast majority of major international record labels suspended all operations in Russia, leaving only a small number of Western artists willing to stage performances in the country. Most of those who have performed have been lower-profile B-list acts including Tyga, DaBaby, Akon and pro-Trump rapper Lil Pump, with American pop star Jason Derulo the most notable exception, having staged shows in St. Petersburg and Moscow last year and telling fans he planned to return as part of his 2026 world tour.
Ye’s string of antisemitic controversies first began in 2022, when a series of offensive posts on social media led to his accounts being removed from major platforms and the termination of his high-profile partnerships with major fashion brands including Adidas and Balenciaga. The backlash intensified after he openly declared himself “a Nazi”, released a track titled Heil Hitler and sold merchandise emblazoned with the swastika, a symbol associated with Nazi Germany.
In January 2026, Ye issued a formal apology via a full-page print advertisement in *The Wall Street Journal*, writing: “I am not a Nazi or an antisemite.” He reflected on a “four-month-long manic episode of psychotic, paranoid and impulsive behaviour”, saying he was “deeply mortified” by his past actions, and explained that his bipolar disorder means “you’re manic [and] you don’t think you’re sick”.
Critics have nevertheless questioned the timing of Ye’s apology, which coincided with the release of his new studio album *Bully* and the official launch of his 2026 world tour, leading many to suggest the statement was a calculated PR move rather than a genuine change of heart.