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US newsObituarySinger Gene Pitney dies, aged 65The American singer-songwriter Gene Pitney, whose biggest hit was Twenty Four Hours From Tulsa, has been found dead in a hotel room in Cardiff, it was announced today. He was found dead early this morning while midway through a 23-date UK tour, his agent, Jene Levy, said. The 65-year-old musician - nicknamed the Rockville Rocket after the town in which he spent his teenage years - was a key bridge between 50s rock'n'roll and 60s pop.

Great explorers you’ve probably never heard ofRussia holidaysLauded by Tolstoy and idolised by the Soviet Union, Nikolai Miklouho-Maclay campaigned for the suppression of slavery and challenged deceitful Europeans Passport details Born in Rozhdestvenskoye, Russia, on 17 July 184, and cursed with a name that’s confusing even for Russophiles, Miklouho-Maclay may be the greatest and most likable 19th-century explorer you’ve never heard of.  Claim to fame His adventures straddled the globe from the Canary Islands and North Africa to Patagonia, Easter Island, China, Thailand, Malaysia, Australia, the Philippines and New Guinea.

TheatreObituaryTony ChurchA founder RSC member, he played a key role in state- subsidised theatreThe British theatre was transformed in the 1950s and 60s, not so much by its writers as by its actors, and Tony Church - who has died after a long illness, aged 77 - played a crucial part in that process. As a founder associate member of the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1960, he went on to become one of its stalwart members and chief advocates.

Ukraine This article is more than 2 months oldUkraine look to Las Vegas as model for ousting Russians from gambling sectorThis article is more than 2 months oldOfficials to take inspiration from way US authorities rooted out Italian mob in Nevada in bid to reduce Russian exploitation of industry Ukrainian officials seeking to oust Russian actors from its gambling industry are going to emulate the methods of the US authorities in the 1980s when they rooted out the Italian mob from the casinos of Las Vegas.

Missouri This article is more than 1 year oldUS federal judge denies 19-year-old’s request to attend her father’s executionThis article is more than 1 year oldJudge upholds Missouri law that bars anyone under 21 from witnessing an execution A federal judge in the US has denied a request from a 19-year-old woman to allow her to watch her father’s death by injection, upholding a Missouri law that bars anyone under 21 from witnessing an execution.

Chuck Daniel in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, on 27 October 2023. He was incarcerated at Angola prison when he was 16. Photograph: Annie Flanagan/The GuardianChuck Daniel in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, on 27 October 2023. He was incarcerated at Angola prison when he was 16. Photograph: Annie Flanagan/The GuardianLouisiana This article is more than 2 months oldThis article is more than 2 months oldJuvenile prisoners were routinely punished by fellow inmates at the ‘Alcatraz of the south’, according to a new lawsuit

City neighbourhoods in a dayLisbon holidaysOnce a seedy area of Lisbon, the riverside Cais do Sodré district has been reborn as one of the city's coolest, a hub of great clubs, bars, restaurants and original shopsOpen any Portuguese magazine these days and there is sure to be an update on Lisbon's riverside Cais do Sodré. Its transformation from sleazy haunt frequented by hard-drinking sailors to one of the city's coolest nightlife districts has been swift, and made the country sit up and take note.

Painting This article is more than 3 years oldNandy raises concerns over imperialist Foreign Office muralsThis article is more than 3 years oldDebate about appropriateness of images by Sigismund Goetze reignited in wake of Black Lives Matter protests The Foreign Office has come under scrutiny over a set of large-scale painted murals in which the Anglo-Saxon empire is triumphantly portrayed, including one in which Africa is depicted as a little naked boy carrying a fruit basket.

UK newsOpen verdict on relative of DianaA coroner recorded an open verdict at the inquest on Princess Diana's stepbrother yesterday after a pathologist gave evidence that the reasons for his death remained a mystery. Adam Shand Kydd, 49, from London, was discovered dead on his bed in a flat in Cambodia in April this year. A published author and keen historian, he had travelled to Phnom Penh a month earlier to further his writing career.