Skateboarders soar out of the concrete bowl beneath London’s Southbank Center, as they have done for the past 40 years, while hiphop beats stoke up the party atmosphere.
But this is no party — it’s a protest. These knights of the pavement are jousting with authorities to save one of the world’s most iconic skateparks from being converted into a stretch of chain stores and cafes.
“It’s world renowned. People literally come all the way from America or Europe just to see this place,” says Henry Edwards-Wood, 25, a professional skateboard cinematographer and spokesman for the “Long Live Southbank” campaign.
To support their campaign skateboarders held a three-day “jam” over the May bank holiday weekend and have launched an online petition which has gathered more than 28,000 names from across the globe.
And this clash between counterculture and consumerism is also going legal. Lawyers acting for the Long Live Southbank campaign have filed an application to protect it as a community space in the way that Britain’s famed village greens are sacred.
“This is a big tourist attraction for people who come to London. Who’s going to come here to see a Starbucks or another Wagamamas?” said Edwards-Wood, as skateboarders in hoodies and backwards baseball caps whizzed past.
The dingy “undercroft” where the skateboarders are based sits beneath the brutalist Southbank Center on the River Thames, home to renowned arts venues such as the Hayward Art Gallery, the Queen Elizabeth Hall, and Purcell Room.
In the 1970s it became the birthplace of skateboarding in Britain and has since won a name as a mecca for skaters around the globe, featuring in numerous videos and in the best-selling computer game Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 4.
It has also provided a refuge for BMXers and graffiti artists.
Earlier this year, however, the Southbank Center unveiled plans for a new Festival Wing which would involve the destruction of the undercroft and the building of a new skatepark under a nearby bridge.
The £ 120 million ($ 186 million) facelift includes new space for performances and exhibitions and has special arts facilities for young people.
Southbank Center Director Mike McCart says the spot now colonized by the skateboarders is a prime location for cafes and restaurants — the rent from which would fund the plan.
“If we’re unable to use commercial retail in this location it would fundamentally undermine the project as a whole,” he said.
McCart said the proposed new site under the Hungerford Bridge about 200 meters (yards) along the river would be the same size and area as the current spot.
“We’ve kept it absolutely raw, so it’s a found space very similar to the ones the skaters inherited in the Seventies.”
The leader of Lambeth council, Lib Peck, said they would “like to see skateboarding kept on the South Bank.”
“We are confident that a satisfactory solution can be found,” Peck said.
But the Southbank skaters are not giving up without a fight.
At the jam on the first weekend of May, hundreds of tourists and passersby lined up behind the fences that surround the skating area to watch a skateboard contest, while music blared over a sound system.
Volunteers sold black and white “Long Live Southbank” T-shirts and cupcakes to raise money for the campaign. Skaters gave beginners lessons to children and adults alike — making sure their pupils put on the safety helmets that they themselves refuse to wear.
As night fell it got nostalgic with classic skate movies shown on a big screen and photos of Southbank from the 1970s to the present day taped to a wall.
Nick Jensen, a professional skateboarder who has frequented Southbank for years, said it was a “mecca for skateboarding.”
“It’s like threatening to take a part of your upbringing or part of who you are away,” he said of the closure plan.
Their campaign has won heavyweight support at home and abroad.
British lawmaker and former culture minister Ben Bradshaw said he was “really sad” at the plan to close the “iconic cultural landmark in London” while respected broadcaster and journalist Libby Purves wrote in The Times newspaper that to replace the skate spot to build more shops and cafes would be “cultural vandalism.”
Mark Gonzales, an American professional skateboarder and artist named the most influential skateboarder of all time by Thrasher magazine, the industry bible, called for the preservation of the spot.
“It’s a place where skaters from all around the world can go and they can meet other skaters from other countries,” he said in a video statement for the campaign.
Tom “Blondey” McCoy, a 15-year-old sponsored skater, said that building a new park nearby as the Southbank Center had suggested would not have the same “vibe.”
“It’s just a completely irreplaceable thing — and the way I see it retail is the most replaceable thing,” he said.
“It’s as important to us as a part of our lives as our homes.”
Skateboarders fight to save famed London spot
Skateboarders fight to save famed London spot
The biggest piece of Mars on Earth is going up for auction in New York
- The natural history-themed sale on Wednesday features a 54-pound hunk of Mars estimated at $2 million to $4 million
NEW YORK: For sale: A 54-pound (25-kilogram) rock. Estimated auction price: $2 million to $4 million. Why so expensive? It’s the largest piece of Mars ever found on Earth.
Sotheby’s in New York will be auctioning what’s known as NWA 16788 on Wednesday as part of a natural history-themed sale that also includes a juvenile Ceratosaurus dinosaur skeleton that’s more than 6 feet (2 meters) tall and nearly 11 feet (3 meters) long.
According to the auction house, the meteorite is believed to have been blown off the surface of Mars by a massive asteroid strike before traveling 140 million miles (225 million kilometers) to Earth, where it crashed into the Sahara. A meteorite hunter found it in Niger in November 2023, Sotheby’s says.
The red, brown and gray hunk is about 70 percent larger than the next largest piece of Mars found on Earth and represents nearly 7 percent of all the Martian material currently on this planet, Sotheby’s says. It measures nearly 15 inches by 11 inches by 6 inches (375 millimeters by 279 millimeters by 152 millimeters).
“This Martian meteorite is the largest piece of Mars we have ever found by a long shot,” Cassandra Hatton, vice chairman for science and natural history at Sotheby’s, said in an interview. “So it’s more than double the size of what we previously thought was the largest piece of Mars.”
It is also a rare find. There are only 400 Martian meteorites out of the more than 77,000 officially recognized meteorites found on Earth, Sotheby’s says.
Hatton said a small piece of the red planet remnant was removed and sent to a specialized lab that confirmed it is from Mars. It was compared with the distinct chemical composition of Martian meteorites discovered during the Viking space probe that landed on Mars in 1976, she said.
The examination found that it is an “olivine-microgabbroic shergottite,” a type of Martian rock formed from the slow cooling of Martian magma. It has a course-grained texture and contains the minerals pyroxene and olivine, Sotheby’s says.
It also has a glassy surface, likely due to the high heat that burned it when it fell through Earth’s atmosphere, Hatton said. “So that was their first clue that this wasn’t just some big rock on the ground,” she said.
The meteorite previously was on exhibit at the Italian Space Agency in Rome. Sotheby’s did not disclose the owner.
It’s not clear exactly when the meteorite hit Earth, but testing shows it probably happened in recent years, Sotheby’s said.
The juvenile Ceratosaurus nasicornis skeleton was found in 1996 near Laramie, Wyoming, at Bone Cabin Quarry, a gold mine for dinosaur bones. Specialists assembled nearly 140 fossil bones with some sculpted materials to recreate the skeleton and mounted it so it’s ready to exhibit, Sotheby’s says.
The skeleton is believed to be from the late Jurassic period, about 150 million years ago, Sotheby’s says. It’s auction estimate is $4 million to $6 million.
Ceratosaurus dinosaurs were bipeds with short arms that appear similar to the Tyrannosaurus rex, but smaller. Ceratosaurus dinosaurs could grow up to 25 feet (7.6 meters) long, while the Tyrannosaurs rex could be 40 feet (12 meters) long.
The skeleton was acquired last year by Fossilogic, a Utah-based fossil preparation and mounting company.
Wednesday’s auction is part of Sotheby’s Geek Week 2025 and features 122 items, including other meteorites, fossils and gem-quality minerals.
French prisoner escapes in fellow inmate’s luggage
- The inmate “took advantage of the liberation of his fellow inmate to hide himself in his luggage and get out,” the statement said
LYON: France’s prison service said Saturday it had launched an investigation after a man escaped by smuggling himself into his cellmate’s bag as he left jail, having served his sentence.
The 20-year-old prisoner escaped from Corbas prison, near Lyon, southeast France, on Friday, broadcaster BFMTV reported.
The inmate was serving several sentences, the prison service said in a statement to AFP.
He “took advantage of the liberation of his fellow inmate to hide himself in his luggage and get out,” the statement said.
The escaped prisoner was also under investigation in a case linked to organized crime, a source close to the affair told AFP.
An internal investigation is underway and Lyon prosecutors had opened their own investigations, the prison service added.
Belgium returns 2,000-year-old sarcophagus to Egypt
- Prosecutors said the artefact — along with a piece of an ancient wooden beard — was presented to the Egyptian ambassador at a ceremony in the Belgian capital.
BRUSSELS: Belgian authorities on Friday said they had handed over a roughly 2,000-year-old sarcophagus to Egypt, a decade after it was seized by police in Brussels.
Prosecutors said the artefact — along with a piece of an ancient wooden beard — was presented to the Egyptian ambassador at a ceremony in the Belgian capital.
“After 10 years of investigation and proceedings, it is a true act of justice to return to its country of origin an item that was misappropriated from its heritage,” said Julien Moinil, the Brussels public prosecutor.
The artefacts were seized by Belgian police in 2015 after Interpol issued a notice following a request from a court in Egypt, prosecutors said.
They were housed in the meantime at the Royal Museum of Art and History in Brussels.
A statement said that the wooden sarcophagus, which dates back to the Ptolemaic period between the 4th and 3rd centuries BC, “undoubtedly belonged to a member of Egyptian high society.”
“The choice of materials and the meticulous execution bear witness to exceptional craftsmanship,” it said.
It added that hieroglyphics on the sarcophagus made it possible to identify the former occupant as a man called Pa-di-Hor-pa-khered and that he was portrayed as having transformed into Osiris, god of the underworld.
Moveable feast: Danish chef serves up gastronomic journey by bike
- Morten Kryger Wulff got the idea more than two decades ago to take his cooking to the great outdoors
- This lead customers on a gastronomic bike ride through Copenhagen – with delectable food served at every stop
COPENHAGEN: Hopping off his custom-built bicycle-turned-portable kitchen, Danish chef Morten Kryger Wulff started whipping up a feast of tantalizing, original dishes – served with a generous side of nature.
The 56-year-old chef, a veteran of prestigious kitchens across Europe, got the idea more than two decades ago to take his cooking to the great outdoors, leading customers on a gastronomic bike ride through Copenhagen – with delectable food served at every stop.
On a sunny weekday in July, grilled seaweed, dill cream, bean fricassee, Nordic pizza, and blackcurrant ice cream were on the menu for the ride from the Danish capital’s harbor to the Amager Nature Park.
“This is as close as I can come to nature, cooking-wise, in a chef way,” said Wulff.
The tour lasts about four hours total, covering three to five kilometers (around two to three miles).
It is broken into bike rides of about 15 minutes each, in between which the chef gets off his bike, unfolds his table and starts cooking.
“You take away the walls of a traditional restaurant and you expose yourself to the city and to the elements you’re in,” he said.
In his cargo bike – a contraption he designed himself, measuring over two meters (six feet seven inches) long and weighing 130 kilograms (287 pounds) – he brings everything he needs: a foldable work surface, a refrigerator, a gas burner and all his ingredients.
“It is impressive to watch him cook from that small kitchen, to see how compressed everything is,” said Pernille Martensson, a Copenhagen local who joined the tour with her husband to celebrate his birthday.
The route is “part of the menu,” said Wulff.
“For example, the dish with fish or shellfish or seaweed are typically served by the channels,” he said.
On the docks, he sautes shrimp before serving them in shells.
As Wulff and his group gradually move away from Copenhagen’s city center, the chef – who has worked at The Savoy hotel in London and Geneva’s InterContinental – shares stories about the city and the project.
It all began in 2002, when he was kicked out of a municipal park for trying to have a barbecue with friends, and decided to start cooking outdoors legally.
Wulff takes an ecologically gentle approach.
“The food we get for these tours is, of course, all harvested and bought locally,” he said, adding that even the wines come from around Copenhagen.
“Bicycle, it’s the most sensible vehicle, the smartest vehicle. It does not use any energy. You can have a battery, but it’s pedal-powered,” he said.
The mobile approach to dining means he and his customers “meet the city, we meet the locals,” he said.
The self-proclaimed “bicycle chef” said he is “very passionate about cargo bikes and what they can do.”
He frequently participates in the Danish cargo bike championships, an unconventional competition held annually in Copenhagen.
In 2016, he was named courier of the year.
The award committee said he had “demonstrated the many possibilities of the cargo bike with his mobile kitchen project.”
Bicycle-loving Copenhagen has over 385 kilometers (239 miles) of bike lanes, the oldest dating back to 1892.
Colorado dentist accused of poisoning his wife’s protein shakes going on trial for murder
- After his initial attempts to kill her failed, prosecutors allege he ordered a rush shipment of potassium cyanide, saying it was needed for a surgery
- Craig’s attorneys have argued that testing of his wife’s shake containers did not turn up signs of at least one poison blamed for killing her
DENVER: Just days before she died after suffering symptoms that mystified her doctors, Angela Craig confronted her husband, James, in their suburban Denver kitchen over his lack of support.
In that 2023 argument captured on home surveillance video, she accused him of suggesting to hospital staff that she was suicidal, court documents show.
Prosecutors say James Craig caused the ailments that ultimately killed his wife by poisoning her protein shakes and trying to make it look as if she killed herself. His trial on murder and other charges is set to begin Monday with the questioning of potential jurors.
Angela Craig, 43, died in March 2023 during her third trip to the hospital that month. Toxicology tests later determined she died of poisoning from cyanide and tetrahydrozoline, an ingredient that is found in over-the-counter eye drops.
The couple were married 23 years and had six children.
Craig has pleaded not guilty to charges including first-degree murder, solicitation to commit murder and solicitation to commit perjury.
Police say Craig tried to fabricate evidence to make it appear his wife killed herself
The 47-year-old dentist allegedly bought arsenic online around the time his wife began to experience symptoms like dizziness and headaches for which doctors could find no cause, prosecutors say.
At the time of his arrest, police said Craig was trying to start a new life amid financial troubles and appeared to be having an affair with a fellow dentist. Prosecutors said he had affairs with two other women, but they have not detailed a motive in his wife’s death.
Craig’s attorneys have argued police were biased against him and claimed testing of his wife’s shake containers did not turn up signs of poison. They’ve questioned the reliability of a jail inmate who said Craig offered him $20,000 to kill the case’s lead investigator, an alleged plot for which Craig is also on trial.
To avoid being held accountable, prosecutors said, Craig tried to fabricate evidence to make it appear his wife killed herself.
He tried to get another fellow inmate to plant fraudulent letters at Craig’s home to make it look like his wife was suicidal, prosecutors said. Then, in the weeks before Craig had been set to stand trial in November, prosecutors said he also sent letters to the ex-wife of the inmate he allegedly tried to get to kill the investigator, offering her $20,000 for each person she could find to falsely testify that his wife planned to die by suicide, they said.
Previous Craig attorneys withdraw from case
As jury selection was about to begin, his lawyer at the time, Harvey Steinberg, asked to withdraw, citing a rule allowing lawyers to step down if a client persists in actions considered criminal or that they disagree with.
Another attorney for Craig, Robert Werking, later argued that investigators did not look into whether Craig wrote the letters or check them against his handwriting. Werking also said that the inmate and his ex-wife were prosecuted for forgery for their roles in an alleged fraud ring in 2005, suggesting they could not be trusted.
Werking withdrew from the case himself this month after being charged with arson of his own home, leaving his wife and law partner, Lisa Fine Moses, to defend Craig. Werking’s attorney, David Beller, said he was getting mental health treatment and asked the public to show him grace.
Moses did not immediately return telephone and email messages seeking comment.
Prosecutors plan to show video of couple’s argument
Over the objections of the defense, prosecutors plan to show the video of the argument in the kitchen to jurors.
“It’s your fault they treated me like I was a suicide risk, like I did it to myself, and like nothing I said could be believed,” Angela Craig told her husband after her first trip to the hospital.
Prosecutors convinced the judge jurors should see the video because they said it disproves potential claims that Angela Craig poisoned herself — possibly while trying to dissuade him from divorcing her — or to frame him and gain an advantage over him if they did divorce.
“Her mental state is anger and frustration, not suicidality or desperation to keep the defendant in the marriage,” Senior Chief Deputy District Attorney Michael Mauro wrote in a recent court filing.
One of Angela Craig’s siblings, Mark Pray, said last year that James Craig not only orchestrated the “torment and demise” of his sister but had shown disregard for others, including their children.
An online search
Prosecutors say James Craig searched online for answers to questions such as “how to make murder look like a heart attack” and “is arsenic detectable in an autopsy?”
After Craig’s initial attempts to kill his wife failed, prosecutors allege, he ordered a rush shipment of potassium cyanide, supposedly for surgery. The shipment was accidentally discovered by an employee at his dental practice in the Denver suburb of Aurora on March 13, 2023. The employee reported it to the office manager two days later when Angela Craig returned to the hospital for a third and final time.
Craig’s business partner, Ryan Redfearn, told a nurse treating Angela Craig that he was concerned she could have been poisoned with the cyanide. The nurse reported that to police, who began their investigation the same day.
Angela Craig died days later.
