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- Senior minister insists Boris Johnson paid for Downing Street flat refurbishment
- 15 French volunteers leave cave after 40 days without daylight or clocks
- Covid live: Indian PM Narendra Modi says ‘storm’ of coronavirus infections has shaken country
- Missing Indonesian submarine found broken up in Bali Sea
- At least three killed as Iranian fuel tanker attacked off Syria
- Model’s ‘hands off my hijab’ post sparks protest over France’s proposed ban
- Biden becomes first US president to recognise Armenian genocide
- Labour group urges Keir Starmer to back better Brexit deal
- Footballers and clubs to boycott social media in mass protest over racist abuse
- Australian defence minister says conflict over Taiwan involving China ‘should not be discounted’
- Real-life plot twists leave Oscars struggling to adapt to new reality
- Why India’s worsening Covid crisis is a dire problem for the world
- Italy to relax Covid restrictions as Draghi hopes ‘gamble’ pays off
- Iraq says 82 died in fire at Baghdad hospital housing Covid patients
- Seeking fun guy: tall, with GSOH … and a Covid jab
- ‘An indescribable moment’: Indigenous nation in US has right to lands in Canada, court rules
- Meet the miniaturist whose tiny homes are a delight
- A mayday call, a dash across the Mediterranean … and 130 souls lost at sea
- ‘Deep systemic racism’: will Minneapolis’s police department ever change?
- The UK’s femicide epidemic: who’s killing our daughters?
- Going vegan: can switching to a plant-based diet really save the planet?
- Diana, Bashir, and that TV interview: now Panorama investigates itself
- UK replaces France as Europe’s second largest electric car market
- Chad dictator's death spells chaos in Islamist terror’s new ground zero | Simon Tisdall
- Before Chauvin: decades of Minneapolis police violence that failed to spark reform
- Man behind Bondi beach club unveils plans as hostility grows to proposal
- ‘They’re stealing our customers and we’ve had enough’: is Deliveroo killing restaurant culture?
- My friends sob on the phone, my heart bleeds for my mother country | Dippy Chaudhary
| Senior minister insists Boris Johnson paid for Downing Street flat refurbishment Posted: 25 Apr 2021 04:09 AM PDT Liz Truss dismisses 'stream of allegations' but could not confirm where PM had got the money A senior minister has insisted Boris Johnson did pay for the refurbishment of his official Downing Street flat out of his own pocket but could not confirm where he had got the money. The international trade secretary, Liz Truss, insisted Johnson paid all costs personally, and dismissed a "stream of allegations about personal issues" in the light of an incendiary blogpost by Dominic Cummings on Friday night that levelled serious claims of impropriety against the prime minister. Continue reading... |
| 15 French volunteers leave cave after 40 days without daylight or clocks Posted: 25 Apr 2021 03:40 AM PDT Deep Time project investigated how a lack of external contact would affect sense of time – and two thirds wanted to stay longer Fifteen people have emerged from a cave in south-west France after 40 days underground in an experiment to see how the absence of clocks, daylight and external communications would affect their sense of time. With big smiles on their pale faces, they left their voluntary isolation in the Lombrives cave to a round of applause and basked in the light while wearing special glasses to protect their eyes after so long in the dark. Continue reading... |
| Covid live: Indian PM Narendra Modi says ‘storm’ of coronavirus infections has shaken country Posted: 25 Apr 2021 06:33 AM PDT Latest updates: Modi urges all citizens to take vaccines and exercise caution after India suffers a fourth straight day of record coronavirus cases
The EU is preparing rapid assistance for India as it copes with a growing Covid-19 crisis that has seen infections and deaths hit record highs, AFP reports, citing European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen. Von der Leyen tweeted Alarmed by the epidemiological situation in India. We are ready to support.
Some reaction to the anti-lockdown protests in London, England yesterday, in which the Metropolitan police said eight officers were injured. Two of them were taken to hospital, although their injuries are not believed to be serious. The Met said five people were arrested for offences including assault on police and public order offences. Ken Marsh, chairman of the Metropolitan Police Federation, which represents thousands of rank-and-file officers, said: We can assure everyone that we shall be raising the scenes we witnessed in Hyde Park yesterday with senior management in the Metropolitan Police with utmost urgency. The safety of our police officers should be top of the agenda. We wish all our injured colleagues a swift recovery and will be supporting them as best as we can. Our brave police are the best of us and should not be the target of senseless violence by a criminal minority for just doing their job. Moreover, the mass election rallies in India and the permission to bring huge religious festivals forward from 2022 to 2021 (the Kumbh Mela at Haridwar) is one explanation for the huge rise of cases in India. Much depends on how people behave in these events. If they maintain distance and wear masks, there is little danger. Continue reading... |
| Missing Indonesian submarine found broken up in Bali Sea Posted: 25 Apr 2021 05:28 AM PDT President sends condolences to relatives of 53 crew of KRI Nanggala, which lost contact on Wednesday A missing Indonesian submarine has been found, broken into at least three parts, deep in the Bali Sea, army and navy officials have said, as the president sent condolences to relatives of the 53 crew. Rescuers found new objects, including a life vest, that they believe belong to those who were onboard the 44-year-old KRI Nanggala-402, which lost contact on Wednesday as it prepared to conduct a torpedo drill. Continue reading... |
| At least three killed as Iranian fuel tanker attacked off Syria Posted: 24 Apr 2021 01:54 PM PDT State news agency says fatal fire broke out after ambush thought to have involved drone At least three people died when an Iranian fuel tanker was attacked off Syria's coast on Saturday, in the first assault of its kind since the Syrian civil war started a decade ago, a war monitor said. "At least three Syrians were killed, including two members of the crew," said Rami Abdel Rahman, head of the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. Continue reading... |
| Model’s ‘hands off my hijab’ post sparks protest over France’s proposed ban Posted: 25 Apr 2021 03:43 AM PDT Rawdah Mohamed, whose Instagram selfie went viral, says she wants to fight 'deeply rooted stereotypes' A Somali-Norwegian model whose Instagram post criticising a proposed ban on the hijab in France went viral has said she wants to fight "deeply rooted stereotypes" against Muslim women. Rawdah Mohamed posted a selfie on Instagram with "hands off my hijab" written on her hand, starting a campaign that has been trending on Twitter, Instagram and TikTok. Continue reading... |
| Biden becomes first US president to recognise Armenian genocide Posted: 24 Apr 2021 11:10 AM PDT President called Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Friday to inform him US would make designation on 106th anniversary of the genocide Joe Biden has become the first US president declare formal recognition of the Armenian genocide, more than a century after the mass killings by Ottoman troops and opening a rift between the new US administration and Ankara. Related: Biden vows US will work with Russia on climate Continue reading... |
| Labour group urges Keir Starmer to back better Brexit deal Posted: 25 Apr 2021 01:30 AM PDT MPs and activists urge their leader to commit to aligning Britain with Brussels and restoring EU programmes Keir Starmer, the Labour leader, is coming under pressure from Europhile MPs and party activists to support sweeping changes to the Brexit deal as concern rises about the damage it is doing to Britain's economy and jobs and the freedom to move and work across the continent. A report for the leftwing group Another Europe is Possible and separate research by the non-aligned, internationalist Best for Britain organisation both strongly support the case for more active engagement with the EU to improve the deal and rebuild relations with member states. Continue reading... |
| Footballers and clubs to boycott social media in mass protest over racist abuse Posted: 24 Apr 2021 02:00 PM PDT Professionals and teams from top English leagues will log off Twitter, Facebook and Instagram for the whole of next weekend The world of English professional football will unite for an unprecedented four-day boycott of social media next weekend to protest at the continued abuse and racism aimed at players. Clubs in the English Premier League, English Football League, Women's Super League and Women's Championship will switch off their Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts in response to "the ongoing and sustained discriminatory abuse" of footballers, and their despair over a lack of action from the tech companies. Continue reading... |
| Australian defence minister says conflict over Taiwan involving China ‘should not be discounted’ Posted: 24 Apr 2021 07:51 PM PDT Peter Dutton says Australia is focused on maintaining good relations with Beijing but China has been 'very clear' about its plans for reunification The Australian defence minister, Peter Dutton, has said a conflict involving China over Taiwan cannot be discounted but he insists the government's focus remains on having "good relations" with Beijing. Dutton was on Sunday asked about the prospect of a "battle over Taiwan" following remarks from the former defence minister, Christopher Pyne, and the ex-prime minister, Tony Abbott, about China's expansionist plans in the region. Continue reading... |
| Real-life plot twists leave Oscars struggling to adapt to new reality Posted: 24 Apr 2021 12:00 PM PDT Lockdowns, the rise of streaming and demands for diversity are forcing change on the 93rd Academy Awards No full-blown red carpet, no outfit questions, no after-parties – many involved in Sunday's Oscars are happy to take a break from a four-hour seated ceremony that, some argue, has long put the movie industry's in-house favourites, the promotion of luxury lifestyles and virtue-signalling ahead of peer-reviewed creative recognition. The event has been under reconstruction since the #OscarsSoWhite campaign forced an expansion of the voting body's membership and drafting of inclusivity requirements that will come into effect next year. Continue reading... |
| Why India’s worsening Covid crisis is a dire problem for the world Posted: 25 Apr 2021 05:09 AM PDT Analysis: Urgent supplies are needed to stem the rampant spread of infections in country of 1.4bn The catastrophe unfolding in India appears to be the worst-case scenario that many feared from the Covid-19 pandemic: unable to find sufficient hospital beds, access to tests, medicines or oxygen, the country of 1.4 billion is sinking beneath the weight of infections. The two opposed assumptions of the global response to coronavirus – wealthy countries in the west prioritising vaccines for their own need in one camp, and the argument led by the World Health Organization for global vaccine equality in the other – are also failing to hold as the scale of the crisis in India points to an urgent need to prioritise the response there. Continue reading... |
| Italy to relax Covid restrictions as Draghi hopes ‘gamble’ pays off Posted: 25 Apr 2021 03:03 AM PDT Prime minister under pressure within coalition to lift lockdown measures but death toll remains high Italy will begin easing its coronavirus lockdown on Monday in what is considered to be Mario Draghi's first significant gamble since taking office as prime minister in February. More than half of Italy's 20 regions will be in the more lenient "yellow zone" category of restrictions even though the country is still recording thousands of new infections each day and a stubbornly high Covid-19 death toll. Continue reading... |
| Iraq says 82 died in fire at Baghdad hospital housing Covid patients Posted: 25 Apr 2021 03:49 AM PDT Negligence blamed for Saturday night blaze as prime minister dismisses key hospital officials Iraq's interior ministry has said 82 people died and 110 were injured in a catastrophic fire that broke out in the intensive care unit of a Baghdad hospital tending to severely ill coronavirus patients. Negligence on the part of hospital authorities has been blamed for the fire on Saturday night, which initial reports suggested was caused by an oxygen cylinder exploding in the ward of Ibn al-Khatib hospital. Continue reading... |
| Seeking fun guy: tall, with GSOH … and a Covid jab Posted: 24 Apr 2021 10:15 PM PDT For many who use dating apps to find their ideal partner, the willingness to have a vaccination is becoming a deal breaker Before the pandemic, Neha knew exactly what she was looking for in a date: an athletic, liberal-minded guy who liked healthy living but wasn't too outdoorsy. Ideally, he would be Indian like her. Party types were a no-no, pets were a turn-off. Now, multiple dating apps, three lockdowns and a handful of real-life dates later and Neha's adding a new, elusive quality to that list: Covid vaccination status. Related: Dating apps: is it worth paying a premium to find love? Continue reading... |
| ‘An indescribable moment’: Indigenous nation in US has right to lands in Canada, court rules Posted: 25 Apr 2021 03:00 AM PDT Canada's supreme court decision on the Sinixt people could affirm hunting rights for tens of thousands For decades the Rick Desautel had been told by courts and governments that his people no longer exist in Canada. But Desautel and others in his community in Washington state have long argued that they are descendants of the Sinixt, an Indigenous people whose territory once spanned Canada and the United States. Continue reading... |
| Meet the miniaturist whose tiny homes are a delight Posted: 25 Apr 2021 05:00 AM PDT Carmen Mazarrasa builds exquisite doll's houses where she can control everything – except when the mice decide to move in… At moments of unrest I open Instagram and scroll impatiently until I see what I need to see, and then I exhale, a gleeful loosening. What I am looking for is something recognisable – a plant, a pencil, a chair, a bowl of dumplings – shrunk to a fraction of its size. How to describe the pleasure, the sweet, squealy pleasure of studying a miniature iPhone, suitable only for a busy mouse, or smoked salmon bagel that would fit on the head of a pin, or a set of tools balanced on a fingernail? My favourites are the miniatures that are truly banal – a plug extension lead on @DailyMini recently thrilled me, as did a rack of postcards showing scenes from holidays appropriate only for ants. In those moments of tightening stress, when the world feels far too large, I have plenty to choose from. The world of tiny things is growing. Artists sculpting miniature objects have found new audiences on Instagram and clients on Etsy – a recent purchase of mine on eBay was a gutted fish on a plate, at 1/12th its real size. I am also watching a pack of crumpets. Once the stuff of elderly hobbyists, over the past decade miniature making among millennials has seen a boom. The queen of the miniacs is Carmen Mazarrasa, whose tiny rooms, filled with covetable things, make the viewer feel wobbly, both at the scale and their desire. Because it's not just that the rooms of rugs or ceramics or beds look real, it's that they look like rooms you might see in Architectural Digest, filled with artful paintings and replicas of iconic chairs. Continue reading... |
| A mayday call, a dash across the Mediterranean … and 130 souls lost at sea Posted: 24 Apr 2021 10:45 PM PDT Last week, a dinghy full of migrants sank near Libya. Those who were part of the rescue mission tell of a needless tragedy The weather was already turning when the distress call went out. A rubber dinghy with 130 people onboard was adrift in the choppy Mediterranean waters. On the bridge of the Ocean Viking, one of the only remaining NGO rescue boats operational in the Mediterranean, 121 nautical miles west, stood Luisa Albera, staring anxiously at her computer screen and then out at the rising storm and falling light at sea. Continue reading... |
| ‘Deep systemic racism’: will Minneapolis’s police department ever change? Posted: 25 Apr 2021 02:00 AM PDT The department has seen decades of reform efforts, but activists say racism and violence are too ingrained to eliminate As Derek Chauvin crushed George Floyd's neck under his knee, slowly killing him, a police officer who had just joined the force repeatedly asked Chauvin if they should adjust Floyd's position. Chauvin, a 19-year-veteran of the department, refused. That precise interaction – an experienced officer training younger officers to act violently – was not a one-time failure, but a "systemic" problem within the Minneapolis police department, according to RT Rybak, who served as Minneapolis mayor for 12 years. Continue reading... |
| The UK’s femicide epidemic: who’s killing our daughters? Posted: 25 Apr 2021 01:00 AM PDT In the latest part of our End Femicide campaign, we examine how stalking, coercive control and pornography lie behind so many of the killings of 272 young women in 10 years. Will the domestic abuse bill, due to become law this week, do enough to keep women safe? Alice Ruggles was described by her friends and family as vibrant, witty and "sharp as a tack". She loved life. Then, in January 2016, aged 24, she met Lance Corporal Trimaan "Harry" Dhillon, who was 26. She didn't know that he had a restraining order taken out on him by a previous girlfriend. Dhillon began to coercively control Ruggles, isolating her from friends. In July, having learned that he was cheating on her, she ended their seven-month relationship. Dhillon turned into a stalker. He frequently drove 100 miles from his camp in Edinburgh to spy on her, leaving unwanted flowers and chocolates. He continually texted and threatened to post intimate photographs. He told her on voicemail that he didn't want to kill her, he wouldn't kill her. Continue reading... |
| Going vegan: can switching to a plant-based diet really save the planet? Posted: 25 Apr 2021 01:30 AM PDT If politicians are serious about change, they need to incentivise it, say scientists and writers The UK business secretary, Kwasi Kwarteng, is considering a "full vegan diet" to help tackle climate change, saying people will need to make lifestyle changes if the government is to meet its new emissions target of a 78% reduction on 1990 levels by 2035. But how much difference would it make if everyone turned to a plant-based diet? Experts say changing the way we eat is necessary for the future of the planet but that government policy is needed alongside this. If politicians are serious about wanting dietary changes, they also need to incentivise it, scientists and writers add. Continue reading... |
| Diana, Bashir, and that TV interview: now Panorama investigates itself Posted: 24 Apr 2021 11:00 PM PDT Special programme investigates if the broadcaster ignored the way controversial reporter landed scoop It was one of the most controversial and shattering TV programmes the BBC has ever broadcast. And early next month, the corporation is to return – in a Panorama special – to its 1995 interview with Princess Diana by the then little-known Martin Bashir. Related: How did the Martin Bashir I knew become TV's anti-hero? Continue reading... |
| UK replaces France as Europe’s second largest electric car market Posted: 25 Apr 2021 06:32 AM PDT About 31,800 battery electric cars were sold in Britain in first three months of 2021 The UK overtook France to become Europe's second largest electric car market in the first quarter of the year, amid rising demand for cars with zero exhaust emissions. About 31,800 battery electric cars were sold in the UK in the first three months of the year, compared with 30,500 in France, according to analysis by Matthias Schmidt, an independent automotive analyst. Continue reading... |
| Chad dictator's death spells chaos in Islamist terror’s new ground zero | Simon Tisdall Posted: 24 Apr 2021 11:00 PM PDT The west backed military solutions across the Sahel. With the death of President Idriss Déby, that strategy is helping to destabilise the region The death in battle last week of Chad's unloved dictator, Idriss Déby, has pushed the Sahel up the west's political and media agenda. The sudden burst of interest is unlikely to last. The global attention span for this desperately poor, unstable and ill-governed region is chronically short. And yet the Sahel is, or soon could be, everyone's problem. A vast, arid swath of sub-Saharan Africa that comprises Mali, Niger, Chad, Mauritania and Burkina Faso (the so-called G5 Sahel), plus parts of neighbouring countries, the Sahel is where the world's toughest challenges collide. The spread of jihadist terrorism, claiming record numbers of lives and posing a possible threat to Europe, is the most closely watched phenomenon. Continue reading... |
| Before Chauvin: decades of Minneapolis police violence that failed to spark reform Posted: 25 Apr 2021 06:06 AM PDT Highest-profile incidents prompted intervention from local, state, or federal officials and promises of reform A day after a jury convicted Derek Chauvin, a white former police officer, of murdering George Floyd, a 46-year-old Black man, the US justice department announced a sweeping investigation into whether Minneapolis police systematically violate citizens rights, use excessive force and discriminate against people of color. Related: 'Deep systemic racism': will Minneapolis's police department ever change? Continue reading... |
| Man behind Bondi beach club unveils plans as hostility grows to proposal Posted: 25 Apr 2021 01:24 AM PDT Janek Gazecki says Amalfi Beach Club is no more controversial than 'a restaurant on the sand' and entry would be free The man behind a proposed Italian-style beach club on Bondi beach says he is pushing forward with the controversial plan despite vigorous opposition from locals and politicians. The founder of the proposed Amalfi Beach Club, Janek Gazecki, said media reports had misrepresented his plan when it first hit headlines in October last year, which described it as an "exclusive" or "private" club, targeting "high net worth" individuals such as doctors, surgeons and models. Continue reading... |
| ‘They’re stealing our customers and we’ve had enough’: is Deliveroo killing restaurant culture? Posted: 24 Apr 2021 11:00 PM PDT The takeaway service may have felt like a lifeline during lockdown, but its ambitious vision will dramatically change the way we eat Shukran Best Kebab – the finest Turkish restaurant in the Seven Sisters area of north London, according to some people (although it is surrounded by fierce rivals to the throne) – joined Deliveroo two years ago, and back then it seemed like a no-brainer. "Life as a small, independent restaurant is hard and the profit margins are slim," says Hüseyin Kurt, Shukran's owner. "We wanted more customers and money coming in and Deliveroo seemed to offer that. I didn't think there was a downside." Within a few days of signing a contract with the company, a shiny new tablet computer arrived on which orders placed via Deliveroo appeared out of the ether with a satisfying ping. The sense that something was wrong dawned gradually. Kurt, a gregarious, bearded man in his early 40s, who left his central Anatolian home town in 1995 and used his love of food to build a new life in the UK, ran the numbers: with Deliveroo's commission amounting to 35% plus VAT on every order, he was forced to increase his prices to avoid losing money on each sale. It meant anyone buying his huge adana kofte or mixed shish kebabs through the Deliveroo app was in effect paying three surcharges for the convenience, as Deliveroo was also charging them a delivery and service fee. That went down badly with previously loyal customers who were presented with a vast number of often heavily discounted competitors when using the app. Continue reading... |
| My friends sob on the phone, my heart bleeds for my mother country | Dippy Chaudhary Posted: 24 Apr 2021 10:45 PM PDT People of Indian heritage in Britain are helpless witnesses as the Covid crisis unfolds thousands of miles away The messages started arriving less than a month ago and have grown more desperate and frequent as the days have progressed. WhatsApp pleas from people I have never met being forwarded to me, asking about the availability of hospital beds, or anguished requests for money so that they can treat loved ones. And most heartbreaking of all, despairing calls for oxygen so that they can breathe. Coronavirus is suffocating India, and the devastating pictures and statistics tell their own grim tale of a nation facing what is being called the world's worst outbreak. As its politicians and medical experts try to tackle the situation, those of us with deep bonds to the country find ourselves as helpless witnesses thousands of miles away, watching the tragedy unfold. Continue reading... |
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