This Chic Hilltop Hotel Is Positano's Best-Kept Secret

One look at the creamy pastel houses and stone passageways clasping the jade-green coastline, and you understand why this once-sleepy fisherman's town is known worldwide as the "jewel of the Amalfi Coast." But being known far and wide as the region's showpiece doesn't come without its drawbacks: The crowds can be overwhelming (and it's about to get even busier now that United Airlines will be flying nonstop from Newark to Naples starting May 22). But this isn't to say that Positano should be skipped; instead, it just means you should choose your lodging wisely. In Positano, you don't need a hotel, you need a retreat.

Literally high above the madness of the pedestrian-clogged streets and over-puffed hotels that have morphed into tourists traps, you'll find an intimate, bijou escape with the most extraordinary views: Hotel Villa Franca. The moment you enter into Hotel Villa Franca's calm, white embrace, a sense of mystical peacefulness floods over you like a cool wave wrapping sunbaked rocks. The tranquil arty vibe of this former private residence comes care of owners and third-generation hoteliers Rosa Taddeo and Massimo Napoli, who are responsible for dressing the family-owned boutique dwelling with international and local modern art pieces. Each of the suites are dedicated to one of their favorite contemporary artists, and everything from the snappy bespoke linens to the fashionable gold cutlery has been hand-selected by the talented duo.

Hotel Villa Franca's ultra-swanky restaurant, Li Galli is quite frankly the very best fine dining experience to be had on the Amalfi Coast at the moment. Hurry and go now before Michelin catches on and reservations become impossible—there are only about 20 covers after all. The size is deliberate: the attention to detail and personalization is staggering at Li Galli and at Hotel Villa Franca as a whole. From the fresh focaccia bread served with a tasting cart of olive oils sourced from all over Italy to the kind of intricate desserts you remember long after they've been devoured, every dish is considered.

Presentation is only second to taste. Executive Chef Savio Perna collaborates with multi-starred chef Nino Di Costanzo, and both are masters of creativity. You may find yourself actually applauding dishes like the chocolate eggplant, a modern twist on a regional classic, and the risotto with lemony langoustines and tarallo breadcrumbs is the kind of dish worth traveling for (seriously). Also, the restaurant's views—over the private Li Galli islands, which resemble a woman laying on her side—are nothing short of memorizing.

But Hotel Villa Franca has these kinds of views in droves. Head up to the sleek rooftop pool deck, and the uninterrupted 360-degree panoramas of Positano make you feel like you're in the clouds. There's also an al fresco rooftop restaurant, Li Galli Grill, for casual bites and a Krug champagne bar. Downstairs, there's a well-stocked wine cellar where you can enjoy hosted wine tastings, and there's the Gallis Bar for signature cocktails.

The Dubrovnik Guidelines for Cooperation between China and Central and Eastern European Countries

On 12 April 2019, the 8th Summit of China and Central and Eastern European Countries (hereinafter referred to as "CEECs") was held in Dubrovnik, Croatia. Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic of the Republic of Croatia, Premier Li Keqiang of the State Council of the People's Republic of China, Prime Minister of the Republic of Albania Edi Rama, Chairman of the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina Denis Zvizdic, Prime Minister of the Republic of Bulgaria Boyko Borissov, Prime Minister of the Czech Republic Andrej Babis, Prime Minister of the Republic of Estonia Juri Ratas, Prime Minister of Hungary Viktor Orban, Prime Minister of the Republic of Lithuania Saulius Skvernelis, Prime Minister of Montenegro Dusko Markovic, Prime Minister of the Republic of North Macedonia Zoran Zaev, Prime Minister of the Republic of Poland Mateusz Morawiecki, Prime Minister of Romania Viorica Dancila, Prime Minister of the Republic of Serbia Ana Brnabic, Prime Minister of the Slovak Republic Peter Pellegrini, Prime Minister of the Republic of Slovenia Marjan Sarec and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Latvia Edgars Rinkevics attended the Summit. They expressed appreciation and gratitude to Croatia for the efforts it had made as the host country to ensure the success of the Summit. Austria, Belarus, the European Union, Greece, Switzerland and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development were present as observers.

The Participants reviewed the results of the cooperation between China and CEECs (hereinafter referred to also as "16+1 Cooperation") and hold that the Sofia Guidelines for Cooperation between China and Central and Eastern European Countries are being implemented in an effective manner. 16+1 Cooperation has proven to be a pragmatic and useful platform for promoting cooperation between China and CEECs.

The Participants hold that 16+1 Cooperation is an embodiment of the 17 countries jointly supporting the development of a sustainable and open world economy, and a rules-based multilateral trading system with the World Trade Organization (WTO) at its core. The Participants reaffirm their commitment to uphold the UN Charter and international law, the three pillars of the UN and transparency, inclusiveness, fairness, justice and pragmatism. The Participants express their commitment to fight corruption and bribery in all their forms. The Participants are determined to promote economic globalization, help realize the Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development, and encourage full implementation of the Paris Agreement.

The Participants will provide a fair and just environment and a level playing field for foreign companies doing business in their own countries by upholding the principles of mutual respect, mutual benefit and fair competition.

How The World's Billionaires Got So Rich

There are many possible ways to become one of the world’s richest people. Some billionaires built arcade machines, made wedding dresses, sold soy sauce or invented hot new apps, then saw their fortunes multiply. Others grew tech firms to sky-high valuations and got ultra-wealthy along the way. While there are many roads to riches, there are a few paths where ten-digit fortunes are more likely to be made.

Fashion and retail was the industry with the second most billionaires, accounting for 235, or 11% of the worldwide total. Six of the top 20 billionaires on our list were part of that category, thanks to their respective ownerships of fashion retailer Zara, cosmetics brand L’Oreal, luxury group LVMH and Walmart, the world’s biggest company, as measured by revenue. The industry has minted plenty of other name-brand billionaires including Sara Blakely, the shapewear guru behind Spanx; Under Armour CEO Kevin Plank; and Home Depot cofounders Bernard Marcus, Arthur Blank and Kenneth Langone.

Even as e-commerce giant Amazon takes a bite out of retail sales, there are plenty of entrepreneurs still making money in the sector, including 19 newcomers. Among the new faces are Sheela Gautam, who sells mattresses in India; Helga Kellerhals, who owns electronics retailers in Germany and Lawrence Rossy, who runs the largest dollar store chain in Canada, Dollarama.

A tenth of the richest people on earth got rich by building real estate empires. With a total of 220 billionaires, the real estate industry was the third largest source of wealth this year. China was home to the most property owners, with 60, followed by the United States, with 44. Among those was President Donald Trump, with an estimated net worth of $3.1 billion.

Why divorce rates are falling fast

I am a child of unhappily divorced people. Apparently, there are happily divorced people, but I have always thought they were a myth; an invention of advertisers, who need people to always be happy, even in extremis. Your heart can be in pieces, but how well you wear a cashmere shrug and gambol with a puppy!

For me, it was like growing up filled with emotional shrapnel. I didn’t think I would get married, although I always wanted to. I felt incapable of trust. I was love-shy. I am married now, although I do not know if I will stay married. Does anyone really know if they will survive? The fractures between us are large and growing. Sometimes we fill them in, and sometimes not. Perhaps one day we will no longer want to.

I always had a ghoulish interest in marriage though – and in divorce. It was a secret and unacknowledged obsession, which I tried to pretend I was above. Before I was married I would haunt wedding shows deliberately – and insultingly. (I was born to a woman who would shout at random brides, helpfully: "Don’t do it!") I was jealous, and contemptuous. But I wanted to get married, and for bad reasons. I wanted to get married to show I was not broken. I wanted to get married to prove I was wanted.

For that is what marriage is: the universal sign of being wanted, and settled, and loved. Nothing exposes your needs – and defects – like relationships. When I became engaged at 39 I expected congratulations, for, as my husband said, quoting Louis CK, he was the last branch I clung to as I fell out of the tree, and I married him, at least partially, because he said things like that. He knew things about me that I didn’t. My friends treated me like a bad investment that had, suddenly and miraculously, produced a dividend.

Too often, you come to the most important relationship of your adult life like a child, with all a child’s needs, hopes and fears. So, I have been asking people why they got divorced. It’s a curiously intimate question if you really dig in, and ask how they felt, rather than what happened. What were you seeking and how did you feel when it didn’t show up?

Jerry Seinfeld announces four London dates in summer 2019

Jerry Seinfeld is to give four rare performances in London when he brings his standup show to the Hammersmith Apollo in summer 2019.

Seinfeld will perform two shows a night on 12 and 13 July, marking his return to the capital for the first time in seven years. The 64-year-old superstar comedian, who found international fame with his eponymous TV series, has had recent hits with the Netflix special Jerry Before Seinfeld and the Emmy-nominated web series Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee. He will arrive in the UK after a residency at the Beacon theatre, New York.

The comic recently gave an interview to the New York Times in which he reflected on the current climate in comedy including Bill Cosby's sentence for sexual assault, Louis CK's return to live performance after admitting sexual misconduct and the cancellation of Roseanne Barr's show after she posted a racist tweet.

Seinfeld said that the intensity of solo standup is what makes it so popular: “The thing about being in comedy is, 'We hate you, get off the stage' is what we're used to. Every comedian has that as part of their life. Getting booed, yelled at, hated. So you almost don't notice it. You either have the skin for it or you don't."

In one of his most recent UK performances, in 2012, Seinfeld performed in Birmingham. “Oh my God, Birmingham, England!" he yelled as he took the stage. “Do you know how many years I have been wanting to come here? Zero! Never even thought about it."

Franklin Medhurst obituary

My father, Franklin Medhurst, who has died aged 98, was an architect and town planner, author, campaigner and environmentalist.

Two years ago the message in his pro-EU letter to the Guardian went viral and was retweeted by the MP Jo Cox days before she was murdered. Later, Frank, a lifelong cyclist, was asked to start the first Jo Cox Way bike ride, a 260-mile ride from Cox’s constituency in Birstall, West Yorkshire, to the House of Commons in London.

In the 1960s Frank was director of the Teesside Survey and Plan, a revolutionary 40-year urban restructuring programme. After two years, when the plan was almost complete, he was abruptly dismissed. He later claimed, in his book A Quiet Catastrophe (2013), that his firing was associated with the 70s Poulson affair.

Born to artisan glassmakers Arthur (known as Will) and Winifred (nee Maberly) in Bristol, Frank went to Askwith Memorial school in Taunton, Somerset. He was 19 when war broke out and he volunteered for the Royal Air Force. Frank served as a wireless operator and an air gunner, and was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for sinking a U-boat, which was only located this year.

He married Betty Blackwell in 1944, and after the war received ex-serviceman grants to train as an architect at Bristol School of Architecture (1946-1951) and then at the London School of Town Planning (1951-53), where he was taught by EAA Rowse.


Betty and Frank divorced in the 70s, and in 1982 he married Jenny Hydes, a Fairtrade retailer, with whom he campaigned on poverty and against the Iraq war. He gained a further degree from the Open University in global politics (1989) and retired the following year.

In his 70s he planted a 3,000-tree wood near his home, recently named Franklin’s Wood. Complications from a heart operation in his 80s resulted in an amputation below the knee, but undeterred he bought a reclining tricycle which he rode into his late 90s. His final book, War and Liberty, was published last year.

Frank is survived by Jenny, five children from his first marriage, Nick, Steve, Bruce, Amelia and me, 11 grandchildren, 11 great-grandchildren and one great-great-grandson.

Uber and CitySprint among gig economy firms to face parliament

Uber and courier firms including CitySprint are to be called to give evidence to a parliamentary inquiry into gig economy companies that have continued to deny workers employment rights despite tribunal rulings.

Frank Field MP, chair of the work and pensions committee, is to see if changes to legislation and enforcement are needed to ensure workers have their legal employment rights.

The new inquiry comes after a string of tribunal rulings against companies, including Uber, eCourier and CitySprint, which ruled that couriers and taxi drivers should be classified as workers and be entitled to holiday pay and the minimum wage. The companies failed to deliver those rights across their workforce, and argued that their drivers and riders were self-employed contractors.

"The inquiry will, I hope, shine a bright light on the extent to which justice is being evaded in the gig economy," said Field, who resigned the Labour whip late August. "We will be looking to suggest any immediate changes that are required, both to the law itself as well as its enforcement, to ensure no company is able to evade justice."

The inquiry launches as Uber continues to fight a 2016 tribunal ruling that said its drivers were workers and not self employed. The latest round is expected to be heard at the court of appeal late in October. Since the tribunal ruling Uber has offered some improved conditions for UK drivers, including limited insurance, limits on working hours and a 24-hour phone line for support.

Uber has repeatedly insisted that most of its drivers wanted to retain the flexibility to choose their own hours. However, the firm continues to face criticism over conditions. Couriers working for its Uber Eats takeaway delivery service this week protested outside the company’s London head office over a change in pay structure, which they said left them out of pocket.