As we grow up, we are ripped from that present into something more exquisitely painful: nothing stays still however much we need it to. What remains fixed are these holiday snaps in which, four decades on, I now find myself as a near stranger. As we change they stay still, rebuking us, baffling us, touching us where it hurts most.

By Stuart Jeffries. Read the article in The Guardian.

Iran is attempting to reinvent its reputation in the UK by building an embassy building in central London featuring a contemporary art gallery and cultural centre. The Iranian foreign ministry has submitted a planning application for the six-storey building on a South Kensington street corner, featuring a dramatic cantilevered arch, acutely-angled walls and irregularly punched-out windows, a recent architectural vogue. Its architect believes the building, which will cost at least £100m and is sited in a sensitive area of historic buildings, will embody “Iran’s public image in London”.

By Robert Booth. Read the article in The Guardian.

Tattoos, suddenly, are everywhere. According to one survey this month, a fifth of all British adults have now been inked (as contemporary usage has it). Among 16- to 44-year-olds, both men and women, the figure rises to 29%. Only 9% of over 60s have one, according to a survey of 1,000 adults by the Ask Jeeves website, but 16% of people aged between 30 and 44 have two. The survey, while not entirely scientific, is in line with a 2008 US study showing that 36% of Americans aged 18-25, 40% of those aged 26-40 and 10% of those aged 41-64 have a tattoo.

By Jon Henley. Read the article in The Guardian.

Les Chinois se sont substitués aux Japonais des années 1970 dans les cauchemars occidentaux. Si un ouvrier chinois est payé dix fois moins qu’un ouvrier européen, c’est avant tout parce qu’il faut huit Chinois pour produire ce que produit l’Européen. La Chine est une vaste usine d’assemblage de produits largement fabriqués ailleurs. Prenez un iPod : il est fabriqué en Chine, mais son coût est fait de 5 % de salaires chinois, 15 % de redevances américaines et 40 % de valeur ajoutée japonaise, car c’est là qu’est produite la puce électronique de base.

By Arnaud Leparmentier. Read the article in Le Monde.

Of all the games to choose for a first live broadcast during this World Cup, a 7-0 drubbing was probably the last thing the authorities in North Korea wanted to see. But the isolated, football-loving nation witnessed its team’s collapse to Portugal along with the rest of the world today as the state broadcaster, Korean Central Television, showed the entire game, despite a reputation for political caution and face-saving censorship.

By Jonathan Watts and David Hytner. Read the article in The Guardian.