Stricken carriers are grounding their ageing, four-engined giants as cash runs out

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When Sir Richard Branson marked the 25th anniversary of Virgin Atlantic in 2009, he and the model Kate Moss posed on the wing of a Boeing 747. This symbol of the jet age was the only option for the billionaire showman. But a decade later, the plane has become a symbolic casualty of the chaos engulfing the airline industry during the coronavirus pandemic. Last week, Virgin Atlantic said it would retire all seven of its 747s.

More than 1,500 of the jumbo jets have been delivered over the 52 years it has been in service, but analysts say the savage decline in passenger traffic as governments seek to contain the spread of Covid-19 could hasten the decline of the plane, heralding an ignominious end for the so-called Queen of the Skies.

Supreme court decision hailed as victory for LGBT community

Brazil’s supreme court has overturned rules that limit gay and bisexual men from donating blood in a decision considered a human rights victory for LGBT+ people in the country.

The move came as more nations review restrictions on blood donations imposed during the 1980s HIV/Aids crisis, with some countries applying blanket bans, some have waiting periods after gay sex, and others – like Italy – having no limitations.

It’s important to get fresh air and exercise – but do we need to wear masks while running, walking and cycling? We asked some experts

To mask or not to mask while getting fresh air is the question many of us are asking ourselves. According to the CDC, we should wear masks in “areas of significant community-based transmission”, such as grocery stores and pharmacies. While the CDC doesn’t list the outdoors as a high-density space, that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s OK to exercise outdoors mask-free.

Related: Quarantine is perfect for discovering the beauty and power of boredom

Seventy-five years after VE Day, the pandemic is a sharp reminder of the urgency of international co-operation

Franklin D Roosevelt did as much as anyone to ensure the allied victory 75 years ago. Following Japan’s sneak attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941, and Nazi Germany’s declaration of war four days later, the US president willingly joined the fight, able at last to overcome isolationist opposition in Congress and answer Winston Churchill’s pleas to formally take Britain’s side.

Yet biographers suggest the defeat of fascism took second place in Roosevelt’s mind to the postwar creation of an international organisation guaranteeing future global peace and security. At a White House meeting with Churchill that same month, they agreed that their new alliance, incorporating the Soviet Union and other anti-Axis countries, should be named the “United Nations”.

Dropped by the original publisher after a staff protest, the film-maker’s autobiography can be brutally honest but also a bore, and neither he nor Mia Farrow come out of it well

Though I see what he was getting at, I don’t quite agree with Hilaire Belloc, who once wrote that just as omelettes are either admirable or intolerable, and nothing in between, so it is with autobiography. Most memoirs, alas, struggle over the same things: fame, for instance, is often less interesting (or perhaps simply harder to describe) than the struggle to achieve it; the central irony of autobiography is that it’s far easier to be truthful about other people than it is to be honest about oneself. Such books tend, then, to be patchy: utterly delicious at times, but at other moments, stodgy and in need of seasoning.

If Woody Allen’s Apropos of Nothing was an omelette, you’d scoff down two-thirds of it pretty smartish, I think, after which – sated, to a degree – you’d mournfully scrape what remained on your plate into the bin. Later, you might be troubled by a hint of indigestion; even a little light queasiness. But in the morning, contemplating the Alka-Seltzer, I’m not sure you would be full of regret, let alone inclined to avoid omelettes for life. What I’m trying to say is that Allen’s autobiography is a mixed bag. If he can write (obviously, he can), and if he is, at points, surprisingly honest (eye-poppingly so, on occasion), then he can also be a bore and a self-deceiver. Of course, if you’re one of those who, disgusted by what you regard as his moral failings, has vowed never to watch Annie Hall or Manhattan again, then you’re unlikely to want to embark on Apropos of Nothing in the first place – and fair enough, that’s up to you. But I’m not in that camp. Nor can I comment on Allen’s alleged abuse of his adoptive daughter, Dylan, a crime of which he was first accused in 1992 (two police investigations into this have come to nothing). What I will say, however, is that I regard it as both disgraceful and alarming that Hachette, his original publisher, gutlessly dropped his book following a walkout by some of its staff – and that though I was sometimes repulsed by it myself, I was also fascinated, even entertained. So, shoot me. Again, that’s your choice.

If you’ve been making more coffee at home lately, there are plenty of uses for your daily brew’s remnants – from composting to cleaning

Coffee is good for more than just waking you up in the morning. Before you toss used grounds, consider putting them to use in the garden, around the house, or in bath and body products.

Repel garden pests
Sprinkle grounds liberally around your plants, or the perimeter of your garden, to deter pests such as ants, slugs, and snails.

IN 1993, 12-year-old Zoe Hitchman passed away after falling ill with meningitis.

The former First Lady even has a special song request.

The Government's new "stay alert" slogan for the next stage of the UK's fight against coronavirus has divided opinion.

Andy Serkis says the upcoming Batman film will be darker and broodier than the previous cinematic incarnations.

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Demi Lovato says she's really happy with Max Ehrich after posting their swoon-worthy moment from the new Ariana Grande and Justin Bieber video, "Stuck with U," directly to her own...

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Kim Kardashian's baby boy turns one! The Keeping Up With the Kardashian star is celebrating Psalm West's first birthday. It's safe to assume her and Kanye West's little...

Ashley Benson and Cara Delevingne don't seem to have plans for reconciliation. After almost two years since the two began dating and one year since they went public with their...

Katy Perry is getting real about her hormonal changes and mood swings during pregnancy. On Saturday, during the SHEIN Together livestream event--a virtual festival led by the clothing...

Nothing is stopping these two lovebirds. The infamous Too Hot to Handle couple Harry Jowsey and Francesca Farago are officially engaged. During a recent Zoom reunion of the...

From being more conscious about travel to an uptick in staycations, Laura Hampson chats to leading travel experts about their predictions for 2021

HHS will ship 14,400 vials of the drug to state health departments, putting the onus on them to decide which hospitals get some of the country's limited supply.

South Korea's capital closed down more than 2100 bars and other nightspots on Saturday because of a new cluster of coronavirus infections, Germany scrambled to contain fresh outbreaks at slaughterhouses, and Italian authorities worried...

Ever since he fled Venezuela last year, opposition senator Hernan Aleman has dreamed of toppling President Nicolas Maduro.But, like many of the exiles now holed up in next-door Colombia, he knew that those who talked of doing it...

Many people saw more than the last moments of Ahmaud Arbery's life when a video emerged this week of white men armed with guns confronting the black man, a struggle with punches thrown, three shots fired and Arbery collapsing dead.The...

Dramatic footage has surfaced of a woman being pulled away from her screaming son by a number of police officers while protesting during the coronavirus pandemic.Two clips shared to Facebook depict the woman speaking with police...

UK cops caught a suspect this week after an ill-timed fart revealed his hiding place.The bizarre arrest happened on Thursday in Harworth in England's East Midlands as Nottinghamshire Police went to an address on Brookside Walk with...

Televangelist Jim Bakker recently suffered a stroke, according to a Facebook post Friday by his wife, Lori. As a result, the 80-year-old preacher will be taking what’s described as a “sabbatical” from his television show. “For many years now, Jim has been working non-stop, working hard to bring incredible prophets and guests to our show, […]

Saturday Night Live kicked off its season 45 finale this weekend with a tip of the hat to the Class of 2020. The cast members appeared on-screen remotely in the cold open as graduating seniors, with Alec Baldwin joining them as President Donald Trump. Wearing a red “Make America Great Again” cap, Baldwin offered a […]

Some of the biggest names in comedy are coming together tonight on NBC for a Byron Allen-driven special to raise money for COVID-19 relief. The two-hour broadcast titled the “Feeding America Comedy Festival” will be co-hosted by Allen, Tiffany Haddish, Billy Crystal, and Kenan Thompson. The special will feature pre-recorded comedy segments from Kevin Hart, […]

Inter Milan midfielder Christian Eriksen has revealed that he has been living at the club's training ground after the coronavirus outbreak cut short his house search.

Former Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger believes Liverpool will still be considered "champions in everyone's head" – even if they are never crowned.

Football is, it turns out, coming home after all this summer as ITV plan to show Euro 1996 in its entirety.

Welcome to the Evening Standard's LIVE coverage as the coronavirus crisis continues to heavily impact sport across the globe.

Welcome to the Evening Standard's live blog covering the latest transfer news and rumours from the Premier League and Europe.

Manchester United have embarked on an aggressive recruitment drive to sign some of Europe's top young players - and they appear to have landed two in one week.

Piers Morgan's wife Celia Walden has revealed that her husband is using his downtime to...

Gemma Atkinson stunned fans on Saturday after she shared a topless photo of herself...

The UFC is returning after an involuntary eight-week break in what will be the U.S.’s first major sporting event since the coronavirus pandemic shut down much of the world two months ago.

F1 remains hopeful that the season can start in early July with a doubleheader at the Austrian Grand Prix. But even if it does, it will likely lack its usual festive atmosphere.

If the draft was conducted before the season’s completion, teams would not be able to trade players, there would be a lack of clarity over next year’s salary cap and the draft order could be determined before all games are played.

In the latest instalment of our Hindsight In 2020 series: The first baseman had one of the prettiest swings in baseball, but manager Cito Gaston and hitting coach Willie Upshaw wanted Olerud to generate more power.

The Cleveland Cavaliers became one of the first NBA teams to reopen their practice facilities for voluntary individual workouts on the first day the league allowed it.

QuestCap, a Toronto investment company, and a doctor with the Blue Jays are part of a group that could be central to the games starting up again in North and South America.