Only government action will preserve the clearer, bluer skies gifted to us by the coronavirus lockdown

• Coronavirus – latest updates
• See all our coronavirus coverage

Many of us will have noticed differences in traffic noise and air pollution during the lockdown. Startling images have come from India where, for the first time in a generation, the Himalayas have been visible more than a hundred miles away. Something similar happened in the UK in 1921 when coal shortages during a miner’s strike led to newspaper reports of distant landmarks being visible as never before. In the UK we too have been able to look up at clearer blue skies, less impeded by air pollution and not crisscrossed by aircraft contrails. This helped Germany to break a solar power record.

In Beijing, air pollution controls for the 2014 Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting also brought a return to blue skies. The term “APEC blue” emerged in Chinese social media and was nominated as Beijing’s top environmental phrase for the year. Later it took on a tinge of sadness, to mean something wonderful, but brief. One woman posted about love on social media, “He’s not that into you – it’s just an APEC blue!”

Maroon 5 could have silenced their many haters with a spectacular performance. But they didn’t do that.

The 46-year-old actress is now revealing the agony she went through before receiving a diagnosis of multiple sclerosis (MS) last August."Ever since my son was born, I was in an MS flare-up and didn't know, and I was giving it everything to seem normal," Blair told Robin Roberts in an interview that aired Tuesday on "Good Morning America." "And I was self-medicating when he wasn't with me. Blair recalled that she would get so fatigued prior to her diagnosis that she would need to pull over to take a nap after dropping her son, now 7, off at his school one mile away from their home. During her interview with "GMA" at her Los Angeles home, Blair was in an "exacerbation" of MS, or an attack that causes new symptoms or the worsening of existing symptoms.

Iconic hip-hop producer and Alicia Keys’s husband, Swizz Beatz, isn’t afraid to tell his guy friends he loves them.

Best Cell Phone Plans For Kids - If you are like most parents, you want your kids to be happy, and you want them to stay safe but giving your kid a cell phone may seem a little overzealous, a mobile device can be a terrific way to always be in touch…

Best Cell Phone Plans For College Students - Being a student means making budget your middle name. What better place to start than with your cell phone plan? You want enough minutes, lots of texting, and a data plan that won’t quit. College is an ex…

Best Prepaid Cell Phone Plans - For people who don’t like the idea of signing a long-term contract then choosing the best prepaid cell phone plans might fit your needs. A prepaid phone plan is the only way to control your monthly cell phone bill. Yo…

Tags: haaak

Best Unlimited Data Plans - Do you use your cell phone for streaming music or videos or use it as a Wi-Fi hotspot? Having unlimited data could really save you some money on your next phone bill. Switching to an unlimited data plan would allow you to…

Whatever effect warm weather has on the coronavirus, it won’t be enough to safely drop social restrictions.

While researchers across Canada are among the scientists working on coronavirus vaccines, the country doesn’t have the means to quickly produce any successful result.

To public health specialists, it’s a disturbing trend that could lead to people ignoring government warnings.

Lobbyists for multiple industries are gearing up to claim a slice of the next — and possibly last — trillion-dollar relief pie.

Using data from the COVID Tracking Project, we’re following how each state is responding to COVID-19.

Countries scramble to fill the plates of the most vulnerable.

TYPE 2 diabetes is a common condition which affects millions of people worldwide. There is a warning sign which lies in your gums indicating blood sugar levels are dangerously high.

HIGH blood pressure is an ominous threat because it marks the first stage in a sequence of events that could lead to cardiovascular complications. To ward off the threat, it is important to start your day with a cereal that keeps your reading in check.

Two former Inslee campaign staffers have a message for Joe Biden: To unite the Democratic party, prioritize climate policies.

Two new reports argue that renewable energy and battery storage can make so-called peaker plants obsolete.

My kids are asking when the coronavirus will end. Here’s how I’m responding.

EXCLUSIVE: Quite a week for Netflix’s film division, which tonight won a ferocious auction for the Simon Kinberg spec script Here Comes The Flood. I’m told that the deal mid seven figures, an extremely high amount for a script that has no talent attached to it, but the kind of roles that attract stars. Deadline […]

Bill Maher’s final “New Rule” on Friday’s Real Time With Bill Maher was, as usual, a doozie. “The liberal media and liberal party,” said Maher, “is doing…exactly what Republicans want: for us to go down the rabbit hole of ‘Joe Biden, sex monster.'” Maher was of course referring to allegations made by Tara Reade, who […]

Jock Palfreeman warns systemic corruption could see him returned to a Bulgarian jail for the rest of his life, and he condemns the influence of the far-right over Sofia's political establishment.

A unique American business model taking 'paddock to plate' into the dining mainstream is being watched by Australian farmers as a way to get a better share of the food dollar.

On a property hidden in bushland are old cars, tractors, motorbikes, trucks and sulkies from a bygone era that once belonged to an Australian politician and obsessive collector.

Tim Cahill may be Australia's all-time leading goal scorer, but the Socceroos legend has been inspired by a young player who was also told he won't make a top-ranked team because of his size.

Two Sydney brothers are acquitted of causing their bedridden mother's death by failing to get her medical help, after a judge agrees it had been her choice to sleep in a urine-soaked bed, surrounded by squalor.

A group of cyber sleuths from Adelaide takes out the national missing persons "hackathon", finding nearly 100 new pieces of information for police to investigate.

The Australian racing industry is in turmoil after revelations of former racehorses being slaughtered at abattoirs, with leading trainer Chris Waller so shocked he "couldn't watch" the vision.

MORNING BRIEFING: A proposal to bring NSW sexual consent laws in line with Victoria and Tasmania is introduced, while a man is rushed to hospital with multiple stab wounds after a two-vehicle crash.

Old rivals Australia and New Zealand produce another netball classic, with the Silver Ferns edging out the Diamonds to take a lead in the Constellation Cup series.

MORNING BRIEFING: Police charge a man who allegedly returned a blood alcohol reading of 0.299 during a random breath test last night, and motorsport fans plan to protest against the NSW Government's decision to demolish the Parramatta Speedway.

Figures released by the Department of Finance last week show the budget is now back in deficit by $4.8 billion. Now some economists doubt the government will be able to reach the projected surplus, including former Treasury advisor Warren Hogan.

MORNING BRIEFING: Commuters and HSC students have been advised to avoid the M1 at Berowra after a road worker was hit by a utility early this morning, causing lane closures, and a man dies in a blaze at a Maitland home.

The Workers Compensation Commission finds in favour of a former House Rules contestant who claimed she was now unemployable because of the negative way she was portrayed on the Channel Seven show.

In the wake of the construction disasters of the Opal Tower and Mascot Towers, the NSW Government is introducing new laws to Parliament which would mean builders have a duty of care to owners and could be fined upwards of $100,000 for any faulty work.

Billionaire property developer Huang Xiangmo publishes a lengthy and scathing attack at the ATO, which is pursuing him over a $141 million tax bill, and ASIO, which revoked his permanent residency.

MORNING BRIEFING: Plans to sell off the remaining bus routes have been slammed by the unions, and the annual Sculpture by the Sea exhibition adds colour to the eastern coastline.

Meet John. He's 59, and used to be a teacher. He's also been job hunting for a decade and is one of almost 900,000 people in NSW living below the poverty line, according to a new report.

The current 5.25 per cent interest rate for reverse mortgages under the Government's Pension Loans Scheme has not fallen despite three official cash rate cuts this year.

A 19-year-old woman is charged with torture and causing the death of an animal after allegedly stabbing a cat 20 times and throwing it from a balcony on Sydney's northern beaches.

The NSW Government will discuss establishing a national park south of Sydney to protect the state's last chlamydia-free koala colony under threat by urban expansion.