America had come together, setting aside all of our own wants and needs, to engage in the single greatest act of human kindness in history. We all stayed home, at […]
A hedge fund manager in Hong Kong has publicly apologised after a parody video of him licking his finger and wiping it on a hand rail in a metro car went viral, sparking anger in the city which is grappling to contain an outbreak of the new coronavirus.
Dressed as "Star Wars" characters, local officials in the Philippines are out and about to enforce strict quarantine measures while also handing out relief packages.
About 2m Britons have paused payments in the coronavirus crisis. Readers share their concerns
Almost one in five UK mortgage holders have now been granted a payment holiday, it was estimated this week – but people’s experiences of the process have been very different. Some struggled to get a holiday while others say it was almost too easy. And while for some it will add just a few pounds to their monthly mortgage bill, others say their outlay will rise by a lot more.
The Guardian asked readers who had applied for a mortgage payment holiday, or help with other debts, how they got on. Almost 200 people contacted us to tell us their stories.
Continue reading...Harrell launched the careers of 90s R&B megastars Mary J Blige and Jodeci on his Bad Boy label with the Notorious BIG
Andre Harrell, founder of the influential R&B and hip-hop label Uptown Records, has died. He was 59. The cause of Harrell’s death, which was announced early on Saturday by DJ D-Nice and confirmed by media outlets, was not immediately known.
Harrell started out as half of the early-80s hip-hop duo Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde but was best known for schooling an intern, Sean “Puff Daddy” Combs, in the music business.
Continue reading...Detailed pictures of planet glowing through clouds were taken with telescope in Hawaii
Astronomers have captured some of the highest resolution images of Jupiter ever obtained from the ground using a technique known as “lucky imaging”.
The observations, from the Gemini North telescope on Hawaii’s dormant volcano Mauna Kea, reveal lightning strikes and storm systems forming around deep clouds of water ice and liquid. The images show the warm, deep layers of the planet’s atmosphere glowing through gaps in thick cloud cover in a “jack-o-lantern”-like effect.
Continue reading...Bernicoff had appeared on the Channel 4 series alongside her husband, Leon, who died in 2017
June Bernicoff, best known as a cast member on the Channel 4 series Gogglebox, has died at the age of 82.
Bernicoff appeared on the hit series – in which members of the public commentate on television programmes from their living rooms – alongside her husband Leon, who died in 2017.
Continue reading...Televised broadcast includes extracts from Churchill’s historic victory speech
The Queen led tributes to the wartime generation on Friday night, recalling the “never give up, never despair” message of VE Day as the country marked the 75th anniversary of victory in Europe.
In a special broadcast, on a unique day of remembrance, reflection and celebration taking place during the coronavirus lockdown, she said: “Today it may seem hard that we cannot mark this special anniversary as we would wish. Instead we remember from our homes and our doorsteps.
Continue reading...Lebanon’s coronavirus lockdown has sent an economy already in deep trouble into freefall, and many are struggling to survive. Gino Raidy is an activist who was prominent during the October 2019 anti-government corruption protests. Now, with many fearing hunger and believing there is nothing left to lose, he is helping to keep demonstrators safe as they demand real and lasting change
Continue reading...The UK may no longer be an EU member but, as the current health crisis shows, cooperation continues to be essential
On Saturday, for the first time in almost 50 years, we observe Europe Day without the United Kingdom as a member state of the European Union. As ambassadors and high commissioners representing the EU and its 27 countries in the UK, we are nonetheless very keen to mark the date with all the citizens of this great country and with the millions of EU nationals who live and work in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
We celebrate Europe on 9 May because on this same day in 1950, exactly 70 years ago, in the aftermath of the devastating second world war, Robert Schuman, the Luxembourg-born foreign minister of France, laid the foundations of our collective endeavour. He said then: “Europe will not be made all at once, or according to a single plan. It will be built through concrete achievements which first create a de facto solidarity.”
Continue reading...She is the oldest person to grace the fashion bible’s cover – and she’s a hit on social media. Who says that getting older signals an end to vitality?
You can’t call Judi Dench lazy when it comes to contributing to society, but she’s been particularly dedicated to boosting morale of late. Who knows, perhaps she felt pressured to make up for her turn in the unhinged Cats film, where her feline character horrified viewers by appearing to wear a coat made of its own fur. Dench has provided vital comic relief during this time of crisis, predominantly with silly social media clips – a Twitter video of her wearing a novelty dog hat with pop-up ears in which she instructs us to “keep laughing” racked up 5.4 million views. Now she has supplied a far meatier pick-me-up by becoming, at 85, British Vogue’s oldest cover star.
Related: Judi Dench becomes British Vogue's oldest cover star
Continue reading...Teenagers affirm evidence that suggests they are particularly struggling with coronavirus crisis
When, in late February, Betsy Sheil turned 16, she thought she was staring down the end of secondary school, not the beginning of global pandemic.
“I was going to finish year 11 and do my GCSEs, then I was going to have a really long summer with my friends, hopefully go abroad – have that summer that everyone has.”
Continue reading...Williams was recognised for her bravery after 1966 school disaster in which 144 people died
A teacher who led pupils to safety during the Aberfan school disaster has died aged 86.
Rennie Williams, from Merthyr Tydfil, was recognised for her bravery when a colliery spoil tip collapsed on to Pantglas primary school and a number of surrounding buildings on 21 October 1966. A total of 116 children and 28 adults were killed in the disaster.
Continue reading...His 1955 song Tutti Frutti, with the lyric ‘awopbopaloobop alopbamboom’, and a series of follow-up records helped establish the genre and influence a multitude of other musicians
Little Richard, one of the pioneers of the first wave of rock’n’roll, has died. He was 87.
Richard – whose real name was Richard Penniman – had been in poor health for several years, suffering hip problems, a stroke and a heart attack.
Continue reading...Britain is a latecomer to decarbonising transport but changes under lockdown and initiatives abroad could spark a revolution
It was a grim irony that the best transport news in ages was buried in the first few days of the coronavirus lockdown. On 26 March, the government published a document, Decarbonising Transport, which went further in facing up to the problem of emissions from air and vehicle traffic than most campaigners had dared to hope for.
The challenge is enormous. In 2016, transport overtook energy to become the single biggest source of domestic emissions. Motor vehicles on their own are responsible for around a fifth of the total. On aviation, the UK is the world’s third-worst polluter, behind China and the US.
Continue reading...We could all use a daily dose of uplifting these days. And when we think of the word "uplifting," many things come to mind such as; cats, cats, cats, and more cats.
But if we places that aside we also think of @TheLatestKate, the Instagram Queen of positivity through beautiful animal illustrations.
If you're in need of a pick-me-up, take a moment and read through these lovely inspirational messages. And if you need even more, you can also follow @TheLatestKate on Instagram for daily motivation.
This is neat! We've never given much thought as to what "sounds" languages around the world would give certain animals.
Not to sound naive but we definitely thought "meow" was universal for the sound a cat makes... turns out, not so much.
Creator of this super interesting and well-drawn graphics is freelance illustrator James Chapman. You can follow his Tumblr, Instagram, Facebook and/or Twitter to be kept up-to-date with these fanasinating graphics! Did you know, in English, we say dogs go "Woof," but in Romanian they go "Ham Ham?"
Just something to think about.
Ready to smile? Each week we are featuring the newly adopted pets of the week! Is there a lovelier sight than an animal being adopted?! We wholeheartedly thank those who have adopted, providing animals with a loving, comfortable and warm home. There's literally nothing better.
We're seeing a lot of new furry faces being adopted due to the new regulations, and while we absolutely adore seeing so many adopted faces, please remember that a pet is for life. The decision to adopt one is one that should be thought through thoroughly.
For those of you who are thinking about getting a pet, just remember; adopt, don't shop.
If you recently adopted a pet, shoot us an email to be featured in next weeks list!
The brain works really hard to make sense of the constant stream of information coming at it, and for the most part it does a pretty good job. That said, a small shift in perspective can turn unassuming situations into double-take inducing photos of intriguing perspective. Your brain is doing its best, but at times it's name match against double-take causing images of skewed perspective.
There are many hazards in this world, and appropriately there are many ominous signs that speak the language of fear. You never know it there could be some hidden mine shaft or risk of monkey attack. Whether they're warning of some totally extreme danger or their scary in their own right, it's usually best to pay attention to spooky signs.
If you're like anyone else, it's hard to escape garbage moments made possible by shortsighted people who aren't thinking with everyone's best interest in mind. There are crook landlords, people stealing crap, and some massive disrespect just floating around the world. This trashiness belongs on Garbage Island.
This manager was power tripping all over the place. Fortunately, the employee was ready to take their revenge, and the manager's fraudulent practices end up being their ultimate undoing. We love a good revenge story where the manager gets what was coming to them in the end.
The headline says it all! Let’s dive right in. Costume Contest We had such fun with our Fanart Contest that we want to honor another section of the Dresden fandom’s creatives: cosplayers and cosplay photographers! Read all the rules, then submit your Cosplay Contest entries to yearofdresden@gmail.com by May 12th. Coloring Pages Running low on [...]
Telling Lies is a game where you sift through video calls to solve a mystery. Half the time you don't know what you should be doing, but that's part of the fun, says Jacob Aron
