Panamanians vote in election dominated by former president who was banned from running
PANAMA CITY: Panamanians head to the polls Sunday to vote in an election that has been consumed by unfolding drama surrounding the countrys ex-president, despite not even being on the ballot. Voters in the normally sleepy Central American nation will weigh promises of economic prosperity and migratory crackdowns with a corruption scandal. Panamas election will be one of the most complex in its modern history. The vote is marked by increased political fragmentation and social discontent under outgoing President Laurentino Cortizo, said Arantza Alonso, senior analyst for the Americas at the risk consulting firm Verisk Maplecroft. The presidential race remained in uncertain waters until Friday morning, when Panama's Supreme Court ruled that leading presidential contender Jos Ral Mulino was permitted to run. It said he was eligible despite allegations that his candidacy wasnt legitimate because he wasnt elected in a primary. Mulino joined the race late, replacing former President Ricardo Martinelli as the candidate for the Achieving Goals party. The fiery Martinelli was barred from running in March after he was sentenced to more than 10 years in prison for money laundering. Martinelli has dominated much of the race, campaigning for his former running mate from inside the walls of the Nicaraguan Embassy, where he took refuge in February after receiving political asylum. While lacking Martinelli's spunk, Mulino has coasted on his connection to the ex-president. He was rarely seen without his blue Martinelli Mulino 2024 cap and promised to help Martinelli if elected. Everybody said if (Martinelli) runs, he'll win, said Ragnhild Melzi, vice president of public programs for the New York-based Council of the Americas. Mulino is his successor and I think he benefits from what Martinelli had, from the positives that a very large part of Panamanians saw in him. The dynamism there was. Trailing Mulino are former President Martn Torrijos and two candidates from previous elections, Ricardo Lombana and Rmulo Roux. Mulino also promised to usher in a humming economy seen under Martinelli, and stop migration through the Darien Gap, the perilous jungle region overlapping Colombia and Panama that was traversed by a half million migrants last year. His message resonated with many voters tired of the political establishment in Panama, which was roiled for weeks last year by mass anti-government protests. The protests targeted a government contract with a copper mine, which critics said endangered the environment and water at a time when drought has gotten so bad that it has effectively handicapped trade transit through the Panama Canal. Panama's leading presidential candidate is a late entry promising a return to better times
West Midlands mayor had been expected to hold on but was defeated by Labour by 1,508 votes to cap awful results for Tories Labour triumphs in London and West Midlands leave Sunak reeling Keir Starmer: Its time to end the UKs divisions Labour is for all Full mayoral and council results for England Phillips quotes Lee Anderson, the former Tory MP who who now a Reform UK, who said on Friday that Rishi Sunak would still lose even if he gave everyone in Britain 1m. People have stopped listening to Sunak, Anderson said. Phillips pus it to Harper that Anderson was right. Harper says he does not agree. He says the elections showed that, when politicians deliver, people do notice. Continue reading...
Driver Dies After Crashing Into White House Security Barrier
Washington Police said that they are investigating the fatal crash as a traffic crash.
Fire in Sundarbans: Water crisis likely to increase due to low tide in rivers
Coast guard, forest dept, police, local admin join fire service to douse the fire
Australian police shoot dead 'radicalized' teen who stabbed a man in Perth
The boy attack stabbed another man in an incident police said had the hallmarks of terrorism but was yet to be declared a terrorist act.
Protests around Israel call on PM to accept a deal for return of hostages; hopes for deal rise as militant group continues indirect talks on new Israeli proposal Thousands of Israelis protested on Saturday, demanding the prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu , accept a ceasefire agreement with Hamas that would see the remaining Israeli hostages brought home from Gaza. Reuters reports that at a rally in Tel Aviv that took place as Hamas officials were meeting Egyptian and Qatari mediators in Cairo, relatives and supporters of the more than 130 hostages still in captivity said anything possible had to be done to bring them home. We need to bring them back. We need to bring all the hostages back, the live ones, the dead ones. We got to bring them back. We got to switch this government. This has got to end. Continue reading...
Australian MP Brittany Lauga claims she was drugged, sexually assaulted during night out
Bangladesh economy faces three risks: CPD
Persistent inflation, a snowballing debt burden and slow economic growth are the three challenges to Bangladesh, according to Debapriya Bhattacharya, a distinguished fellow at the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD)
Australian MP Brittany Lauga was drugged and sexually assaulted during night out, video goes viral
A female MP of Australia has claimed that she was drugged and sexually assaulted during a night out after a grainy Snapchat video of the incident emerged online.
On Saturday, Ranbir Kapoor and Alia Bhatt, accompanied by their little one, Raha, graced the residence of parents-to-be Varun Dhawan and Natasha Dalal. The trio wore shades of white.
The American paradox of protest: Celebrated and condemned, welcomed and muzzled
NEW YORK: Theyre hallmarks of American history: protests, rallies, sit-ins, marches, disruptions. They date from the early days of what would become the United States to the sights and sounds echoing across the landscapes of the nations colleges and universities during this activist spring. And just as much a part of that American history? Those same events being met with irritation, condemnation, anger, calls to desist, and at times the use of law enforcement and aggressive tactics to make that happen. Dissent is essential for democracy. But dissent must never lead to disorder, President Joe Biden said Thursday, summing up the enduring national paradox. Americans cherish the right to assemble, to speak out, to petition for the redress of grievances. It's enshrined in the first of the constitutional amendments. They laud social actions of the past and recognize the advances toward equality that previous generations made, often at risk of life and limb. But those same activities can produce anger and outright opposition when life's routines are interrupted, and wariness that those speaking out are outsiders looking to sow chaos and influence impressionable minds. The public at large disliked the Civil Rights protesters. The public at large disliked the Vietnam War protesters. And the public at large disliked the womens movement protesters ... and all of the protests that have that basically have occurred going forward, says Robert Shapiro, professor of political science in the School of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University and an expert on public opinion in American politics. But that doesnt mean protests havent had an impact, he says, even if it's not immediate. Public opinion changes on the issues as a result of the effectiveness of the protests doing one very important thing, raising the visibility and salience of the issues. Consider, for example, the Occupy Wall Street protest of 2011. It drew attention to economic inequality in the United States, he says. People were paying more attention to the conversation thereafter. The issue of economic inequality in the United States has become, and remains, more visible. Nearly 2,200 people have been arrested during pro-Palestinian protests on US college campuses PROTESTS SWELL, AND OPPOSITION TO THEM DOES TOO Over the last few weeks, protest camps have sprung up and been forced down over the Israel-Hamas war, which has been going on since early October. The Israeli government launched military action in the Gaza Strip after militants from Hamas killed about 1,200 people and took about 250 more as hostages in an attack on Oct. 7 in southern Israel. The Israeli offensive has killed more than 34,500 Palestinians, according to the Health Ministry in Gaza, as well as caused widespread damage to infrastructure. Hundreds of pro-Palestinian protesters remain on UCLA campus despite police ordering them to leave Pro-Palestinian demonstrators at U.S. schools have been calling on their administrations to cut economic and other ties with Israel or companies they say support the war. The protest encampments started April 17 at Columbia University and have rippled out nationally. What has also rippled is opposition to the demonstrations. Administrators, under pressure to restore order and normal functioning close to college commencements, have said they support the right to speak but not to disrupt life for other students or violate conduct rules. Police have been called to clear campus encampments all over the country, with more than 2,300 people arrested. When it comes to protest activity, though, disruption is the point, says Celeste Faison, co-national Director of the Movement for Black Lives network, a coalition of organizations that came together following the Black Lives Matter protests in 2014 that were catalyzed by the death of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri. Its always in those uncomfortable moments and those uncomfortable pushes that change is possible, she says. What historically has created change in the United States are those who are willing to put their bodies on the line, their voice on their line, their communities on the line. That resonates with Andrew Basta, a fourth-year undergraduate student at the University of Chicago who was spending time on Tuesday at the encampment at that school. Said Basta, 21: Its not only fair, but its actually, I think, a responsibility on us to be disruptive, to change our lives accordingly and to resist. Police break up protests, make arrests at UCLA, Yale, Dartmouth, New York schools WHERE IS THE LINE DRAWN? Rabbi Moshe Hauer would disagree that disruption is necessary. He points to demonstrations and rallies that have taken place over the years with permits and required approvals, and where people made their voices heard without blocking roadways or interrupting life. The right for people to speak out is one we absolutely embrace as part of being American, as part of being serious human beings who know that nobody has a monopoly on the truth, says Hauer, executive vice president of the Orthodox Union, a Jewish organization. We have to enable ourselves to listen to other voices and people raising their voice, clearly expressing their opinion whether we like the opinion, whether we dislike the opinion. But he is among those dismayed by the current spate of campus protests. He says they have descended into antisemitism and created an atmosphere that is unsafe for Jewish students and communities. It's cause for concern, he says, when there is a movement which chooses to define its tactics by things ... which are intimidating, which are threatening, which clearly, clearly, clearly lead to violence. Calls for orderly protest have been frequent in American history, at times accompanied by a nostalgia for previous eras that can be misplaced. Its a romanticism of the past that its actually not true. For instance, media covers Martin Luther King with a lot of love and reverence. But we know: Back then, he was presented in media as this anarchist disruptor, Faison says. At the end of the day, we have a really bad pattern of defaming protesters when theyre in the fight, and then celebrating protesters when they get the win or after they take the risk. It's a sort of ideological appropriation when people who were considered radical or crazy at the time of their protests are later considered on the right side of history, says Charles McKinney, associate professor of history at Rhodes College, who studies the Civil Rights Movement. The states role then is to incorporate those values while being ambivalent about the process in which those values were incorporated into the nation. It reinforces the idea that the power of protest isn't necessarily in convincing people in the present, but in impacting the conversations in the culture. The most potent of American history's protests from the Boston Tea Party in 1773 on down resonated far beyond their eras and, with their enduring notoriety, succeeded. It works, right? says Robert Widell, Jr., associate professor of history at the University of Rhode Island, who has studied political movements. Its effective in, at the very least, altering the terms of debate and changing the way that people think about a particular issue or a set of issues, or just putting it in peoples brains that something is happening here. New York police clear pro-Palestinian protesters from Columbia University after occupation
Australian police shoot dead a boy armed with a knife after he stabbed a man in Perth
MELBOURNE: Western Australian police shot and killed a adicalised 16-year-old boy with a knife who had stabbed a man in a Perth car park, police and the state premier said Sunday. The teenager ushed at police who responded by shooting him twice with Tasers before firing a single fatal shot, they said. There are indications he had been radicalised online. But I want to reassure the community at this stage it appears he acted solely and alone, PremierRoger Cook said. Police received a call late on Saturday from a male warning that he was going to commit acts of violence but without giving his name or location,the state's police commissioner, Col Blanch, told reporters. Within minutes, another emergency call alerted police that a male with a knife was running around the car park in Willetton, a southern suburb of Perth, he said. Police body camera images showed the teenager refused officers' demands that he put down the knife, the police chief said. The weapon was a 30-centimetre (one-foot) kitchen knife, believed to be from the attacker's home, he said. Officers fired two Tasers at him but oth of them did not have the full desired effect, he said. The male continued to advance on the third officer with a firearm who fired a single shot and fatally wounded the male. The teenager died in hospital later in the night, he said. A knife attack in Australia against a bishop and a priest is being treated as terrorism, police say Online radicalisation The middle-aged man who had been stabbed was in a serious but stable condition and appeared to be doing well, the police commissioner said. The man had suffered a single, possibly two centimetre stab wound that may have punctured a lung, he said. Police believe the teenager sent elevant messages to some members of the Muslim community who immediately called police, he said, without giving details of the messages. The boy had mental issues but also online radicalisation issues, the police chief said. In the past two years, the attacker had been part of a countering violence extremism programme for people who show signs of eligious or issues-motivated concerns, he said. It is not a criminal based approach but it is a programme to help individuals who are expressing ideologies that are of concern in our community. But they may not be committing any crimes. Police said they did not know what had triggered the attack. Blanch said it had the hallmarks of a terrorist incident but he was not making an official declaration right now as he had no concerns about a wider network being involved. Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said he had been briefed by police and intelligence services who had advised there was no ongoing threat. We are a peace-loving nation and there is no place for violent extremism in Australia, he said in a message on social media. Indian-origin couple hid in backroom barricaded with dozens during Sydney mall knife attack Recent knife attacks Despite the rarity of such violent crimes in Australia, the Perth attack comes less than a month after a knife-wielding assailant killed six people in a shopping mall in Sydney. The mentally ill knifeman, 40-year-old Joel Cauchi, was tracked down, shot and killed by a police inspector. Cauchi's parents say he was diagnosed with schizophrenia at 17 but stopped taking medication, later leaving their Queensland home and dropping out of treatment. Two days after the mall attack an Assyrian Christian bishop was brutally stabbed during a live streamed service in western Sydney. The bishop has since recovered and a 16-year-old suspect has been charged with committing a terrorist act.
GB secure four Olympic relay slots for Paris
Great Britain secure four out of a possible five relay slots for the Olympics in Paris this summer via the World Athletics Relays event in the Bahamas.
Trains on same track: Railway probe body starts investigation
A probe committee formed by Bangladesh Railway's Pakshey division has started investigation into yesterday's incident of two trains on the same track narrowly avoiding an accident near the Bangabandhu Bridge Rail Station in Sirajganj
It's 2024 And Pakistan Welcomes Yoga Officially, Govt. Institution Holds Free Classes
Yoga is normally linked with India and there are not many formal institutions in Pakistan to teach yoga. Though privately people like the physical part of yoga exercises. Many residents appreciated the move to organise Yoga classes with several people inquiring about the programme.
'Questions remain unanswered': Four babies found dead in US woman's freezer
Rapper says sport, music and gaming venture in south London is aimed at widening opportunities for young black community Stormzy has won three Brit awards, headlined Glastonbury, persuaded Usain Bolt and Jos Mourinho to star in a music video, and bought AFC Croydon Athletic with the former Crystal Palace player Wilfried Zaha. His skills on the pitch, however, are not up to much. Im shit at football. I was never going to be a footballer, he said. But maybe if I knew how to be a pundit [Id have gone down that road]. Maybe if I knew how to be a data analyst or all the intricate jobs behind the scenes that people might not know about. Continue reading...
Baby Reindeer and how a compelling TV drama reflects the stalkers in us all | Eva Wiseman
Raised as we now are on social media and true crime, we need to fight the impulse to always find out more If you havent yet watched Baby Reindeer , a story that begins with its star Richard Gadds experience with a stalker, you probably have a good reason. It will not be because, for instance, nobody has recommended it, told you how extraordinary it is, or powerful, or unique, and it wont be because you havent heard of it its success has been startling (as I type its at the top of Netflixs UK and US charts weeks after its release) and its themes have made headlines. It could be, as is the case with a friend of mine, that its subject matter hits too close to home, and however unsettling it is for me to watch, for them the prospect feels like it might pull a thread and unravel everything, not least the damage caused by police failures, but well come to that. Despite Gadds nuanced portrayal of the woman who stalked him, and his beautifully strange story of love and trauma, some fans of the show quickly created a horrible sort of sequel when they attempted to expose the stalker on social media. Historic tweets were urgently screengrabbed, photographs posted side by side, she was quote-tweeted as if a celebrity the characters name was trending for days. On Instagram , Gadd urged them to stop. Please dont speculate on who any of the real-life people could be. Thats not the point of our show. Continue reading...
Were looking at losing 20% of Olympic nations: how the climate crisis is changing sport
Athletics Kenya is worried about how the climate might shape the future of its country, let alone its sport. And it is not alone The drive from the tiny Eldoret airport to the town of Iten in the south-west corner of Kenya takes about an hour. Its a winding unlit road with few road signs: you need to know where youre going to get there. The towns population isnt known there hasnt been a census in more than a decade but the local municipal authority estimates it around 56,000, up from 40,024 in2009. Roughly 35% live below the poverty line. And yet, a sign on the only paved road into town calls this the Home of Champions, owing to its phenomenal athletic success. This corner of Kenya has produced 14 mens and nine womens Boston Marathon winners since 1991, who have brought home 22 and 14 wins, respectively. They have also won 13 of 18 gold medals in the 3,000m steeplechase at the World Athletics Championships since the event was introduced in 1983. Continue reading...
Lizzos flute, Billy Porters wings and Chers naked dress: the Met Gala through the years in pictures
As this years event at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City draws nearer, we look back at some of the biggest, boldest and most iconic looks to ascend its steps Continue reading...
As more NHS trusts in England report budget deficits health leaders warn that waiting lists will rise Hospitals are being forced to cut medical staff, threatening their ability to care for patients, senior health leaders have warned. NHS trusts are reporting budget deficits after the chancellor Jeremy Hunt gave Englands health service 2.5bn extra funding, which only covers inflation and pay increases. Continue reading...
Love Lies Bleeding review Kristen Stewart keeps it real in deliciously lurid outlaw romance
Rose Glasss follow-up to her acclaimed Saint Maud is a scorchingly sexy, darkly violent tale of a gym managers love affair with a bodybuilder This may seem an unexpected point to make about an actor who is arguably one of the coolest people on the planet, but the key to Kristen Stewart s mesmerising screen presence is her ordinariness. I dont mean her looks, although as Lou, the manager of a bodybuilding gym in an insalubrious New Mexico backwater, Stewarts natural magnetism is somewhat muted behind a whey powder pallor, an air of defeated weariness and hair that looks as if its been deep-fried rather than washed. Rather, its the unstudied, naturalistic quality of her performances, which are seeded with little glitchy details and gestures the way she rakes her fingers through her fringe; the moment when she nervously wipes her nose on the sleeve of her T-shirt. Small things, perhaps, but these seemingly unconscious tics humanise her characters. They are recognisable, relatable moments of social awkwardness that anchor her in (or at least near) the real world. Its a quality that adds to all her performances, but which is particularly invaluable in British director Rose Glasss second picture, the deliciously lurid and thrillingly degenerate outlaw romance Love Lies Bleeding . When the rest of the movie launches itself headlong into outlandish, almost cartoonish excess, Lou is plausibly three-dimensional and grounded. The rooted realism that underpins Stewarts performance offers a necessary balance to some of the more untrammelled impulses in Glasss follow-up to her impressive debut feature, Saint Maud (2020). Continue reading...
Peruvian steak and Yorkshire pudding with mint? How the British Sunday roast went global
The traditional British weekend lunch is being revamped with more exotic ingredients by chefs with worldwide influences The ingredients of a traditional Sunday roast are often passionately debated: does a yorkshire pudding belong if the meat is not beef? Is cauliflower cheese an acceptable side? Now a growing number of pubs and restaurants are adding even more unusual contenders into the mix, adapting the beloved meal with global additions. Continue reading...
Growing up on set put Oscar-winning actor Jennifer Connelly on the fast track to Hollywood fame. But despite her success, one of her lasting regrets was not finishing college and, she says, its still on her to-do list Jennifer Connelly is on a Zoom call from her home in Brooklyn, jetlagged after attending Louis Vuittons pre-fall 2024 show in Shanghai, which does not bode well: she is known to have been reticent in past interviews, and sometimes while working. When she made A Beautiful Mind , the 2001 movie for which she won an Oscar for playing the wife of schizophrenic mathematician John Nash, the co-producer Brian Grazer was unnerved by her reserve. It was hard for me to get to know her on the set because Im so emotional, he told a writer in 2001. Shes very serious. Shes not silly. She doesnt have that buoyancy. It is a relief, then, to find Connelly to be thoughtful and lovely and erudite, happy enough to discuss her life and career. I ask if Grazers description is one shed recognise. Continue reading...
Bellingham inspires 'complete team' Real to La Liga title
Real Madrid are La Liga champions and BBC Sport examines the story of their success this season.
Man dies after crashing car into White House perimeter gate: Cops
Man dies after crashing car into White House perimeter gate Cops
25 Pro-Palestine Protesters Arrested at University of Virginia
25 people were arrested, tear gas, pepper spray used on Gaza war protesters at US university.
Palli Biddyut Samity staffers go on indefinite strike
Officials and employees of Palli Biddyut Samity (PBS) went on an indefinite strike throughout the country today to press home their 16-point demand, including elimination of wage and benefit discrimination
Teenager Fatally Shot by Australian Police After He Stabbed a Man
The episode occurred just weeks after two major stabbing attacks in the country. The teen had been under monitoring for having extremist tendencies.
Australian MP Brittany Lauga alleges she was drugged, sexually assaulted
Australian MP Brittany Lauga alleges she was drugged, sexually assaulted
The WTA finals host revealed its commitment to womens rights by jailing a female activist If a record of sexual apartheid is not the ideal look for a nation that must still, occasionally, placate progressives, news of an extreme example the lengthy imprisonmentof Manahel al-Otaibi , a 29-year-old fitness instructor and womens rights activist has at least arrived too late to tarnish Saudi Arabias latest sporting triumph: buying up the Womens Tennis Association finals. In fact, given that countrys hectic promotional schedule, there could hardly have been a more convenient time for human rights organisations to report, as they did last week, that al-Otaibi whose circumstances were for months unknown, is serving 11years in prison for the terrorist offences of wearing indecent clothes (ie, not an abaya) and supporting womens rights. Her sister, Fouz al-Otaibi, fled the country in 2022 to avoid similar persecution. Fouz tweeted last week : Why have my rights become terrorism, and why is the world silent? Continue reading...
Now limit on Twitter: Replies allowed only to verified users to avoid spam
In yet another bid to sanitise X social media platform, Elon Musk on Sunday announced that users can now limit replies only to verified users to avoid spam and bots.
5 Hamas Gunmen Killed By Israel in West Bank Raid
Israeli forces killed five Palestinians, including four fighters from the militant group Hamas, in an overnight raid near the city of Tulkarm
One Indian soldier killed in 'ambush by militants' in Jammu and Kashmir
One soldier was killed and four injured as an Indian Air Force (IAF) convoy in Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch district was ambushed on Saturday, three weeks before polling in the Anantnag-Rajouri Lok Sabha constituency
Council to drop apostrophes on street signs
A North Yorkshire resident says the punctuation changes risk everything going downhill.
Russia adds Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelenskyy to wanted list
The Kremlin did not specify why the Ukrainian president had been added, only that a criminal case had been opened against him. Tens of thousands are already on the list, including high-ranking politicians.
Horror and fury in Australia as epidemic of violence against women sweeps across the country
Anger and grief have erupted, with women demanding action from the government on what has become a national emergency It was the death of Samantha Murphy that prompted a sense that something in Australia was very wrong. The 51-year-old mother of three left her home in Ballarat in regional Victoria to go for a jog at around 7am on a Sunday morning in early February and did not return. Continue reading...
History in the making in Russia as Putin set to begin another term in office
Just a few months short of a quarter-century as Russias leader, Vladimir Putin starts another six-year term as president holding extraordinary power
Gavaskar hits back at Kohli's rants
Indian cricket legend Sunil Gavaskar has slammed star batter Virat Kohli for his tirade on former cricketers and analysts over their criticism of the star batters low strike rate.
Australian police shoot dead boy armed with knife
Police say there were signs the boy was radicalised online.
'Wont interfere', say Siddaramaiah, DKS after SIT arrests Revanna in sex scandal
'Wont interfere', say Siddaramaiah, DKS after SIT arrests Revanna in sex scandal naeem Sun, 05/05/2024 - 11:37
They wait in the rain to see Warren Buffett. Will they still flock to Omaha when hes gone?
Berkshire Hathaways billionaire CEO, 93, steels shareholders for new era at the annual meeting known as Woodstock for Capitalists As dawn broke on Saturday, thousands had gathered outside Omahas CHI Health Center Arena. Some arrived before 3.30am, standing for hours in the drizzle. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, said Larry Blivas, 70, near the front of the line. The realtor traveled from Los Angeles to see an icon, he explained. Continue reading...
Prisons sleepwalking into crisis as inmates forced to share single cells
Longer sentences and court backlogs push 25% of prisoners in England and Wales into shared cells, adding to drug-use and violence The scale of the prison overcrowding crisis has been laid bare by figures revealing that a quarter of prisoners in England and Wales have been sharing cells designed for one person with at least one other inmate. According to the Ministry of Justice (MoJ), 11,018 cells intended for single use were being shared by two prisoners, with a further 18 such cells shared by three inmates. The overall prison population which has ballooned over recent decades because of longer sentences and court backlogs stood at about 88,000 when the statistics were originally compiled in late February. Continue reading...
Cop29 summit to call for peace between warring states, says host Azerbaijan
Organisers of this years environmental conference hope cooperation on green issues could help ease global tensions This years Cop29 UN climate summit will be the first Cop of peace, focusing on the prevention of future climate-fuelled conflicts and using international cooperation on green issues to help heal existing tensions, according to plans being drawn up by organisers. Nations may be asked to observe a Cop truce, suspending hostilities for the fortnight-long duration of the conference, modelled on the Olympic truce , which is observed by most governments during the summer and winter Olympic Games. Continue reading...
Revealed: key files shredded as UK government panic grew over infected blood deaths lawsuit
Lost documents prevented victims from finding out the truth, official inquiry told Disastrous failures that caused the contaminated blood scandal were denied by ministers for decades after officials destroyed, lost and blocked access to key documents, memos submitted to the official inquiry reveal. Several batches of files involving the work of a blood safety advisory committee were shredded as the government faced the threat of legal action, documents show. Patients who were given contaminated blood when they were children have also told the infected blood inquiry how their hospital medical files were destroyed or initially withheld. Continue reading...
Europes best beach holidays: Peniche, Portugal
Theres a great restaurant and bar scene in this surf mecca, plus birdlife and snorkelling on peaceful islands a short ride away It was the small and enigmatic Berlengas archipelago that drew us to Peniche harbour. Peniche, 60 miles north of Lisbon, is famous for its surfing beaches, but the islands off its coast often get overlooked. Every morning a couple of hardy passenger boats bounce over eight miles of waves from the peninsula of Peniche to Berlenga Grande. We took our seats on deck between sacks of onions and oranges and, flecked with sea-spray and followed by flocks of screaming gulls, we watched green hills emerge from blue waves ahead. At the port, the goods are unloaded with gulls wheeling and cawing overhead. Seabirds nest everywhere: in the islands grass, its sea caves and its hidden coves. Keeping out of nesting areas, we followed a footpath to a pair of sandy beaches. The sea is warmer here than at the more open mainland stretches and, at Praia da Berlenga, it is as still and clear as sea-green stained glass and offers fantastic diving. Continue reading...
Formerly best known as The Crowns Prince Charles, the British actor is starring as a cocky US tennis pro in Guadagninos new hit film. But, he says, he was happiest living off grid in a van for his next film, La Chimera What makes a movie star? Josh OConnor, the 33-year-old British actor best known until, well, last week as the thin-skinned, tight-lipped Prince Charles in seasons three and four of The Crown , has been mulling over this question of late. Earlier this year he completed a drama set in the first world war called The History of Sound , with Paul Mescal. Pauls a friend, and to watch him work was amazing, says OConnor. I really cant underplay how brilliant he is. Paul has that movie-star quality, whatever that is. I wish I could articulate it, but hes just graceful about it all. Zendaya is another one. OConnor is currently in cinemas alongside her in Challengers , Luca Guadagninos critically acclaimed psychosexual tennis romp, which topped the box offices in both the UK and US last weekend. They play two sides of a lascivious love triangle, with Mike Faist as the third, but it is clear that Zendayas Tashi Duncan is the one pulling the strings. Ive never done premieres like Ive done with Challengers , says OConnor. So thats alien to me anyway, but to see how she breezes through them with such class and generosity. Im a nervous wreck, I dont think Im helpful to anyone. And Mike as well, were both a bit like: What the fuck? This is mad! But shes just on the nail. Continue reading...
EU at risk of implosion as far-right seeks scapegoats, minister warns
Centre-right politicians must resist urge to copy or work with far right, Spains environment minister says The future of the EU is being jeopardised by people stirring up social tensions for short-term political gain, Spains environment minister has said ahead of next months European parliamentary elections. Teresa Ribera, who is heading the list for the ruling Spanish Socialist Workers party in Junes poll, said the European project is at risk of an implosion. Continue reading...
The Searchers by Andy Beckett review the leftists who took their lead from Tony Benn
An absorbing study of five Labour radicals Jeremy Corbyn, Diane Abbott, John McDonnell, Ken Livingstone, plus Benn himself makes a convincing case for their cultural victories but romanticises Corbyns years as the partys leader This might seem like an eccentric book. As Labour prepares for power after four consecutive general election defeats, Andy Beckett is interested not in what is to come but what has just been. He is particularly preoccupied by the rise of Jeremy Corbyn, what happened to him as party leader and what his leadership represented. The Searchers is mostly fair-minded, diligently reported and researched, but leaves you in no doubt that Beckett, a Guardian columnist, is a sympathetic Corbynite. In the long, final section, covering 2015 to the present day, Beckett writes nostalgically about the excitement of the early years of Corbyns leadership when the left, for so long ridiculed, traduced and marginalised (Peter Mandelson joked during the era of New Labour dominance that they had been contained in a sealed tomb), seized control of the party and unlocked a spirit of radical countercultural optimism, especially among younger voters. Continue reading...
The big picture: author Paul Auster in his element
The celebrated writer, who died last week, is captured by Arnold Newman in his study in 1993 with his trusty Olympia manual typewriter Few novelists ever inhabited their vocation with more conviction than Paul Auster , who died last week of lung cancer at the age of 77. This picture, taken in 1993 by Arnold Newman, captured the writer in his element and among the objects that defined him. The author of The New York Trilogy is pictured in his basement study in the Brooklyn brownstone house that he shared with his wife, novelist Siri Hustvedt (she wrote in a room in the attic). The white walls and bare lightbulbs cast the 19th-century workspace in 20th-century light; you are reminded that his contemporary and friend Don DeLillo had, the previous year, described Austers fictional method as building a traditional storytelling architecture with sharply modern interiors. There is the ever-present authorial cigarette Austers 1995 film Smoke was set in a Brooklyn tobacconist (he belatedly switched to a vape in 2018) and, centre stage, the Olympia manual typewriter on which he produced every word of his novels and which was itself the subject of a short 2002 book. Continue reading...
Karma has a way of biting back: Zerodha Co-founder
Guess what goes around comes around. I spent four years at a call centre, making unsolicited calls to people in the US. I guess Karma has a way of biting back
Armed men gun down 23-year-old Ecuadorian model in broad daylight
Former Miss Ecuador contender Landy Prraga Goyburo was shot dead in Quevedo. She had over a million social media followers and was linked to deceased drug trafficker Leandro Norero and his accountant Helive Angulo.
Indian students in the US are entirely not participating in the protests or are keeping their participation minimal as protests grow against Israeli investment and the Gaza war.
Tripura police nab 16 Bangladeshi nationals in Dhalai district
Agartala: Tripura Police apprehended a total of 16 Bangladeshi nationals, including five children, in two separate incidents within Dhalai district. Acting on intelligence input, the Gandacherra Police Station raided Mas Kumbhir Para and detained 11 Bangladeshi individuals, including three minors. Police found travel tickets, Bangladeshi Covid vaccination documents, and Bangladeshi currency during the search. Interrogation [] The post Tripura police nab 16 Bangladeshi nationals in Dhalai district appeared first on NORTHEAST NOW .
Be sun safe: 10 of the best moisturising SPFs
Think you dont need sunscreen? Think again and the new versions are easy to wear By chance I chatted with three different people in quick succession who all went on (separate) holidays and all got sunburnt. One said she never wears sunscreen at home, would normally while away but seeing as she was swimming, she didnt think it mattered. The second person hated sunscreen because: It is just so thick and sludgy and leaves a white cast. Then there was the one who just doesnt bother because they feel it interferes with them getting a tan. The misinformation around SPF gives me a headache but here goes, again. Unless you live in a house with no windows, you need sunscreen all year round. Formulations have changed so the dense, white-casting iterations are less of a thing most mimic the texture and the results of great skincare. The sun is your frenemy. Its a glorious source of vitamin D, aka your friend. But it is also your enemy as it damages your skin. There is nothing healthy about a tan: thats just sun damage. Sunscreen is protection against skin cancer and skin burning, but it also protects you from hyperpigmentation and premature ageing. If nothing else, Im hoping people will start wearing sunscreen out of sheer vanity. 1. Hello Sunday The One Thats a Serum SPF 50 23, hellosundayspf.com 2. Origins Ginzing SPF 30 Daily Moisturizer 34, johnlewis.com 3. Mecca Cosmetica To Save Face SPF50+ Brightening Sun Serum 38, meccacosmetica.com 4. Ultra Violette Queen Screen SPF 50+ Lightweight Skinscreen 38, ultraviolette.co.uk 5. Innisfree Daily UV Defence Sunscreen High Protection SPF 30 22, sephora.co.uk 6. Murad Multi Vitamin Clear Coat SPF50 42, lookfantastic.com 7. Sol de Janeiro Rio Radiance, SPF 50 Body Lotion 40, cultbeauty.co.uk 8. Shiseido Expert Sun Protector Lotion 19, shiseido.co.uk 9. Supergoop! Play Mineral Lotion SPF30 35, spacenk.com 10. Glossier Invisible Shield Daily Sunscreen 32, glossier.com Continue reading...
On Friday, Nepal announced the issuance of a new Rs 100 currency note featuring a map that includes the disputed territories of Lipulekh, Limpiyadhura, and Kalapani
Family shopping at the garden centre
Its time to seek out brighter summer colour for windowboxes and terrace pots Summer arrives in a large box from our local Camden Garden Centre . One of the big bi-annual shopping trips to signal a shift in light and growing season. We are with my daughter Kala. On the hunt for summer plants to refresh our pots and window boxes. The allotment and Kalas garden will wait, to be grown from seed well mostly sow a little later. Continue reading...
Deadly Rains and Flooding: Rio Grande do Sul Struggles to Cope
Braslia: H eavy rains in Brazil's southernmost state of Rio Grande do Sul this week killed at least 55 people, local authorities said on Saturday evening, while dozens remain unaccounted for.Rio Grande do Sul's civil defence authority said 74 people were still missing and more than 69,000 had been displaced as storms in the last few days have affected nearly two thirds of the 497 cities in the state, which borders Uruguay and Argentina. The local authority said it is now investigating whether another seven deaths were related to the storms, after earlier in the day it had reported a total of more than 55 deaths. Floods destroyed roads and bridges in several regions of the state. The storm also triggered landslides and the partial collapse of a dam at a small hydroelectric power plant. A second dam in the city of Bento Goncalves is also at risk of collapsing, authorities said.In Porto Alegre, the capital of Rio Grande do Sul, the Guaiba lake broke its banks, flooding streets. Porto Alegre's international airport has suspended all flights for an indefinite period.State Governor Eduardo Leite told reporters on Saturday evening that Rio Grande do Sul would need a Marshall Plan to recover from the storms and its consequences, referring to a plan for Europe's economic recovery after World War Two. Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who had visited Rio Grande do Sul on Thursday, will travel back to the state on Sunday to follow the rescue efforts, his chief of communication Paulo Pimenta said on Saturday.Lula said on X that his government is in constant contact with state and cities' authorities to support the region with whatever they need. Rains are expected in the northern and northeastern regions of the state until Sunday, but the volume of precipitation has been declining, and should be well below the peak seen earlier in the week, according to the state meteorology authority.Still, river water levels should stay high for some days, Leite said earlier on Saturday. Rio Grande do Sul is at a geographical meeting point between tropical and polar atmospheres, which has created a weather pattern with periods of intense rains and others of drought.Local scientists believe the pattern has been intensifying due to climate change. Australian Police Shoot Dead Teenager in Perth After Stabbing Attack Suspected of Terrorism Uttarakhand Forest Fires: Video Surfaces, Culprits Boast About Setting Fires JD(S) Leader HD Revanna Detained by SIT in Connection with Kidnapping Case
Islamic Jihad commander killed in Rafah, says Israeli army
Aiman Zaarab, Islamic Jihad Rafah Brigade's commander, was killed by IDF after leading an attack on Kibbutz Sufa. He commanded and directed the Islamic Jihad's special soldiers during the October 7 attack on Kibbutz Sufa and the Sufa military post on the Gaza Strip's border. Two additional Islamic Jihad operatives were killed during the operation, according to the IDF.
Boeing set to launch astronauts to International Space Station in historic mission
After years of delays and stumbles, Boeing is finally poised to launch astronauts to the International Space Station for Nasa. It's the first flight of Boeing's Starliner capsule with a crew on board, a pair of Nasa pilots who will check out the spacecraft during the test drive and a weeklong stay at the space station.
Australian Police Shoot Dead Teenager in Perth After Stabbing Attack Suspected of Terrorism
Perth: Australian police reported on Sunday that they had shot dead a 16-year-old boy after he stabbed a man in Perth, Western Australia. The incident, which took place in the suburb of Willetton late on Saturday night, has been deemed a potential act of terrorism. According to state authorities, the teenager, armed with a kitchen knife, had shown signs of being radicalized online. Concerned members of the local Muslim community had alerted the authorities before the attack.While it appears that he acted solely and alone, the incident bears the hallmarks of terrorism, stated Western Australia Premier Roger Cook during a televised news conference in Perth. The victim, who was stabbed in the back, is currently in stable condition in the hospital.This incident follows the recent charging of several boys with terrorism-related offenses by New South Wales police. These charges came in the wake of the stabbing of an Assyrian Christian bishop during a live-streamed sermon in Sydney on April 15. Not long before this incident, a mass stabbing in the Bondi suburb of Sydney resulted in the deaths of six people.While gun and knife crime remain rare in Australia, the incident has raised concerns about terrorism. Despite this, Australia consistently ranks among the safest countries in the world, according to federal government statistics. Uttarakhand Forest Fires: Video Surfaces, Culprits Boast About Setting Fires JD(S) Leader HD Revanna Detained by SIT in Connection with Kidnapping Case Karnataka: Saddam Hussein raped a Dalit girl and made her pregnant, then stabbed an inspector and a constable
SC functions suspended for the day to show respect to AJ Mohammad Ali
Chief Justice Obaidul Hassan today partially suspended the judicial functions of the Supreme Court's Appellate and High Court divisions for today, as a mark of respect to senior lawyer AJ Mohammad Ali, who passed away on Thursday
Ofcom accused of excluding bereaved parents from online safety consultation
The UK regulator has been criticised by grieving families and internet abuse survivors for failing to engage with them Bereaved parents and abuse survivors who have endured years of preventable, life-changing harm linked to social media say they have been denied a voice in official discussions about holding tech firms to account. Mariano Janin, whose daughter Mia, 14, killed herself after online bullying , and the parents of Oliver Stephens, 13, who was murdered after a dispute on social media , are among those who have accused Ofcom of excluding them from a consultation process for tackling online harms. Continue reading...
I have no children and have started to fear for my legacy. What can I do?
Legacy can be found in the lives you touch and your impact on others The question I am a 54-year-old woman with a good career and a stable marriage. I live across the globe from my parents, my siblings and their kids and I am child-free. I have reduced contact with them to brief and polite birthday and Christmas messages, which they respond to, but we have no relationship or ongoing contact as such. It is close to estrangement, and I have no desire to try to repair this. I am child-free because I always feared repeating my familys parenting style and had no sense of my childhood as a positive experience. I have become preoccupied with the idea of a legacy of a life well lived. I have always placed high value on social contribution and working hard. But, as I increasingly ponder the likelihood of dying alone and without children, I have started to become quite critical about the point of striving in my career, and how and what I should be doing with my time. I feel being forgotten is a realistic proposition and it leads me to wonder whether this is liberating, and I can stop striving, do as I please, or should I strive harder and find a way of leaving my mark, ensuring I have a life that will mean something? Is this just an indulgent existential crisis? Do I need to just get over myself? Continue reading...
Unfair jail sentences one more example of demonising societys morally unfit | Kenan Malik
The IPP scandal should not be seen in isolation. It is all part of todays politics by vilification David Blunkett acknowledged last week that it was the biggest regret of his political life. As home secretary under Tony Blair in 2001, Blunkett was the architect of the imprisonment for public protection scheme, or IPP. Under the IPP system, offenders were given a sentence (or tariff) proportionate to the offence committed. Once that sentence was completed, the offender was not released but remained imprisoned for as long as the Parole Board deemed them a risk to society. And when finally released, they remained on licence, meaning they could be recalled to prison at any time for minor breaches of regulation, or even because, as MPs discovered, of a lack of suitable accommodation . Continue reading...
Public House, Paris: A calamitous experience restaurant review
With a famed pie maker on board, the new British brasserie in Paris ought to be glorious. Instead, its a huge disappointment Public House, 21 rue Daunou, 75002 Paris, France (+33 1 77 37 87 93; publichouseparis.fr ). Starters 8.50-19.50; mains 19.50-36.50; desserts 9-15; wines from 28 It was a simple plan: hop on the Eurostar to Paris and go for dinner at Public House, a new and audacious restaurant in the 9th arrondissement by pie king Calum Franklin, formerly of the Holborn Dining Room. Its mission: to bring scotch eggs, sausage rolls and the best, most golden, flaky pastry creations to the French. I could then write a sweet observational piece about the bourgeoisie of the Louboutin-shod opera district swooning over steak and ale pies, and adjusting both their corsets and their gastronomic perspective. Behold, the gravy-slicked anglais showing us how to eat. Donney-moi une autre pie etc. Because if anybody could do it, if anybody could finally make the French understand the quality and depth of modern British restaurant food, it had to be Franklin. Hes a gifted chef. Hes a lovely man. He literally wrote the book on pies. Go Calum, go. Continue reading...
Dan Poulters defection wont fix an unequal NHS | Letters
The health service took a turn for the worse under David Cameron and Keir Starmer has said nothing of improving the nurses lot Reading of Dan Poulters defection ( Top Tory MP defects to Labour in fury at NHS crisis ) was of particular interest to me: I am a mental health nurse in the NHS; I too cover the A&E department in my local hospital; and I work for the same NHS trust. He lists many reasons why he is appalled at the state of the NHS, and does well to highlight the suffering that mental health patients are forced to go through, thanks to lack of resources and outsourcing to private providers. However, it was laughable to read of his praise for David Camerons Conservative party, with its commitment to the NHS. Poulter speaks of his concern over health inequalities, yet it was Camerons party that unleashed austerity and only advanced such inequalities. Poor mental health is overwhelmingly experienced by those from a lower socioeconomic standing. Many people were accelerated into poverty thanks to Camerons policies. Continue reading...
TV tonight: Martin Freeman returns in dodgy cop drama The Responder
Night-response officer Chris Carson is dragged into Liverpools drug war. Plus: a beautiful documentary about The Piano winner Lucy. Heres everything to watch this evening 9pm, BBC One Continue reading...
A cut above: Austrias exciting modern wine scene
In the right hands, theres diversity and much to love about grner veltliner, the signature Austrian white grape, and other local drops Funkstille Grner Veltliner, Niedersterreich, Austria 2023 (from 12.49, Hay Wines ) Its taken a while, but it does seem as if Austrian wine, a long-neglected part of the classical European vinous repertoire, is finally getting something like its due attention in British wine shops and supermarkets. The countrys wines have, in fact, long been sommelier favourites, thanks, I think, to their ability to combine freshness and ripeness. Certainly, when it comes to Austrias signature white grape variety, grner veltliner, theres no lack of aromatic fleshy fruit flavour of the sort that drinkers reared on, say, New Zealand sauvignon blanc, might enjoy. But theres a natural briskness, too, plus a range of intriguing spicier flavours, notably white pepper and something green and savoury I think of as celery salt. There are some very attractive own-label bottlings at M&S, Waitrose and Morrisons around the 8-9 mark, but if you can its worth shelling out a few quid more for the extra level of concentrated ripe pear, peach and pithy, zippy lime and orange in the exuberantly youthful new vintage from Funkstille. Maria & Sepp Muster Grfin, Steiermark, Austria 2020 (41.60, Vinvm ) Another outstanding grner comes from a producer that has winemaking roots going back more than a millennium: the impeccable Schloss Gobelsburg Grner Veltliner Langenlois, Kamptal 2022 (from 18, Hedonism , The Whisky Exchange ) is an irresistibly stylish swish of luscious apricot fruit seasoned with that classic grner white pepper and salt. Austrias growers are also justly famous for their rieslings, for which there is a heritage every bit as rich and long as in Germany or Alsace: Domne Wachau, a contender for the title of the worlds best co-operative producer, makes a number of superb examples, starting with the perfectly weighted mix of fleshy tropical fruit and lime ping and zing of Domne Wachau Riesling Federspiel Terrassen 2022 (19.40, Noble Grape ). As well as the classics, Austria also has one of the worlds most vibrant and adventurous natural wine scenes, which is responsible for some truly extraordinary orange wines, such as Maria and Sepp Musters Grfin, a soft, gently grippy but exceedingly complex wine with flavours that range from strawberry and Campari to ripe apple. Continue reading...
Why Britain was still Great in 1984
The Observer found 99 good reasons, from Pimms to pubs to panto dames What were the best bits about living in Britain in 1984? Despite a decided national tendency to deplore discuss and dissect what is wrong (pub opening hours, football hooligans, the weather, Page Three, Margaret Thatcher) the Observer came up with a list of 99 random and subjective reasons why Britain was still Great. There are plenty you could guess: the Beatles, black cabs and crumpets; Pimms, panto dames, pubs, the Sunday papers. Some more overarching ideas about ourselves havent changed: the pervasive nostalgia behind the inclusion of country cottages, Georgian architecture, teatime and landscape painting is as heady as ever. Continue reading...
'They unilaterally took some measures': EAM Jaishankar on new Nepal 100 rupee currency
A cabinet meeting on Friday decided to incorporate a new political map of Nepal on 100 rupee banknotes, covering the controversial territories of Lipulekh, Limpiyadhura and Kalapani as part of its territory.
Australia: Queensland MP claims she was drugged, sexually assaulted
Brittany Lauga, a Labor MP from Queensland, Australia, has alleged that she was drugged and sexually assaulted last weekend in the town of Yeppoon in central Queensland.
I have a 50:50 chance of developing Alzheimers in my 50s
John Jennings may have inherited a gene from his mother that could trigger early-onset of the condition.
'Canada a rule-of-law country': PM Trudeau after 3 Indian arrested over Hardeep Nijjar's murder
Nijjar, a Canadian citizen, was shot dead outside a gurdwara in Surrey, British Columbia, on 18 June, 2023.
Why France is finding vegan croissants hard to stomach
The idea of butter-free patisseries appeals to some but horrifies dairy farmers and traditionalists.
'Canada is rule-of-law country': Trudeau after arrest of 3 Indians
Following the arrest of three Indian nationals in a case involving the execution of pro-Khalistan separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a terrorist recognized by India, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau stated on Saturday that Canada is a ule-of-law country. Every Canadian has the fundamental right to live safely and free from discrimination and threats of violence in Canada, he added.
'Canada is a rule-of-law country': Trudeau after arrest of 3 Indians in Nijjar murder case
Following the arrest of three Indian nationals in a case involving the execution of pro-Khalistan separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a terrorist recognized by India, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau stated on Saturday that Canada is a ule-of-law country. Every Canadian has the fundamental right to live safely and free from discrimination and threats of violence in Canada, he added.
Australian MP Alleges She Was Drugged, Sexually Assaulted During Night-Out
Queensland Labor MP Brittany Lauga shared her ordeal on social media and said several women who had similar experiences reached out to her.
Nothing surprises me about Messi
Messi's five assists, which all came in the second half, are a new record for an MLS game and he now has 10 goals and 12 assists in eight league appearances so far this season.
After US, university protests spread worldwide in solidarity with Palestine
Just How Dangerous Is Europes Rising Far Right?
Anti-immigration parties with fascist roots and an uncertain commitment to democracy are now mainstream.
Trudeaus comments came during an event in Toronto which was celebrating Sikh heritage and culture.
25 arrested from University of Virginia for pro-Palestine protests
25 people were detained at the University of Virginia amid the ongoing pro-Palestine protests. Demonstrators at the University of Michigan protested against the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict. Meanwhile, at the University of Michigan, demonstrators expressed their opposition to the ongoing conflict by chanting anti-war slogans and waving flags during the commencement ceremonies.
Trudeau reacts to arrests in Nijjar murder: Canada a rule-of-law country
Trudeau reacts to arrests in Nijjar murder Canada a ruleoflaw country
Chinas Xi Visits Europe, Seeking Strategic Opportunity
The Chinese leader has carefully chosen three countries France, Serbia and Hungary that to varying degrees embrace Beijings push for a new global order.
His Skull Was Taken From Congo as a War Trophy. Will Belgium Finally Return It?
For decades, Belgium failed to return the remains of hundreds of people taken by force from former colonies. A draft law could change that, but critics say it is not going far enough.
Im in awe of our young people and their courage in the face of arrests and teargas
The Georgian governments bid to pass Russia-style law has met spirited opposition, mostly from young people keen to lean towards Europe The finale of Beethovens revolutionary fifth symphony was met with deafening applause at the National Opera and Ballet Theatre in Tbilisi last Thursday night. The cheers grew into a powerful expression of solidarity with the protests outside on Rustaveli Avenue. People hung EU flags from the theatres balconies and shouted, No to the Russian Law! Europe! Georgia [ Sa-kar-tve-lo ]! Continue reading...
Chicken or egg? One zoologists attempt to solve the conundrum of which came first
The writer of a new book about life on Earth seen through the prism of the egg says the age-old paradox actually leads us back a billion years to the bottom of the ocean The chicken or the egg? Sometimes, as a zoology author, I am asked this question by the kid at the front with the raised hand and large questioning eyes. Sometimes its the older guy at the back with a glint in his eye. Sometimes its a student who approaches the lectern at the end of a lecture while everyone else files out. The same mischievous eyes, the same wry smile. So which came first? they ask, beaming, unaware that this is not the first time I have been asked. I hadnt foreseen, years ago, when I began exploring the evolution of the animal egg and the role it has played in the long history of life on this planet, that it would become pretty much the only question I would be asked. I spent years reframing the evolution of life on Earth as a story told from the eggs perspective, tracing this strange vessels adaptation to land, its movement across continents, the evolution of the umbilical cord, the evolution of the placenta, menstruation, menopause but even now, having finally turned this journey into a book, I expect that a great deal of my dialogue with readers will be chicken-based. Continue reading...
Israelis rally for hostage deal as talks continue
Tens of thousands protest in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem ahead of further ceasefire negotiations in Cairo.
On-fire Ronaldo scores third hattrick in seven games
Ronaldo was once again the star performer for his side and was as clinical as ever in front of the goal. The 39-year-old was too hot to handle for the Al-Wehda players who completed the 66th hat-trick of his illustrious career.
