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Apple, Google owner Alphabet, Amazon, Facebook and Microsoft raked in money in first quarter Big tech is on a roll. In every minute of the first three months of 2021, Apple, Google owner Alphabet, Amazon, Facebook and Microsoft sold products and services worth about $2.5m (£1.8m) combined. Profits before tax for the period came in at $88bn – more than $1bn of profit for every working day. After a year of shifting to online work and leisure across the global economy, financial results published this week by most of US tech’s biggest names were bound to be strong. But even more bullish analysts on Wall Street were surprised by how fast they raked in money in the quarter, auguring even greater profits in the years ahead. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/3343ubN

The pair became trapped in a former lead mine at High Skears near Barnard castle before being freed by a specialist cave rescue team Two men have been rescued unharmed after they became trapped 800 metres underground in a disused mine near Barnard Castle. Six fire and rescue crews were called to High Skears, Middleton-in-Teesdale, on Friday, County Durham and Darlington fire and rescue service said in a statement. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2RjjvIo

As bodies pile up at the Ghazipur crematorium, staff and relatives turn their ire on the Modi government Coronavirus – latest updates See all our coronavirus coverage The bodies came, one after another, after another, after another. So many bodies that the ambulances and trucks carrying them into the crematorium blocked traffic. In Delhi, a city where someone dies from Covid-19 every four minutes, every day is a battle not just for hospital beds but for a space to say goodbye to the dead with dignity. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/3nBImTJ

Countries across Europe are starting to relax coronavirus restrictions as case numbers fall Coronavirus – latest updates See all our coronavirus coverage Counting on an accelerating vaccination campaign to keep new infections in check, much of continental Europe has announced plans for a gradual exit from lockdown over the coming weeks as case numbers begin to fall. Here is where things stand: Belgium (at least one vaccine dose administered to 25% of whole population) aims to permit outside dining in restaurants and bars again on 8 May, with a mandatory 10pm closing time and tables limited to groups of four. Non-essential shops and hairdressers reopened on Monday. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/3xE5LIy

The bestselling author of the Gruffalo is concerned about the limits coronavirus has placed on the lives of her young fans Children are not, says Julia Donaldson with a smile, going to write to her directly about the pandemic. Her assistant has just delivered a fresh pile of post, and the author shuffles through a stack of opened letters to make the point: “Children aren’t going to write, ‘Oh dear I feel so lonely or overcrowded’ – they are just writing their usual, ‘There were four kittens called mitten, litten, nitten and kitten.’ They are so sweet, some of the things they write.” If, as well as her permanent affection for the nation’s children, there is mild exasperation at being asked to act as their spokesperson as they emerge from another lockdown, it can be forgiven: as the creator of such beloved characters as the Gruffalo, Tiddler and Zog, the former children’s laureate , actor and singer-songwriter has long been expected to help her readers think, rhyme and imagine for the...

Chris, 29, digital experience consultant, meets Ariana, 31, graduate student – in person! What were you hoping for? When I heard I had a date with a girl called Ariana from America, I was hoping it would be Ariana Grande. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2Se0BCZ

‘I’ve taken the cat to the vet before,’ I tell my wife. I don’t say it was so long ago that it was a different vet. And a different cat When I wake, my left eyelid is heavy and sore to the touch, as if I had been punched the previous evening. I don’t recall this happening, but I suppose short-term memory loss could be another symptom. Maybe I’m in a motel room, I think, the floor strewn with empty bottles, my car still in flames outside. But I’m in my own bed, left eyelid half-shuttered and, as I will soon discover, red and swollen. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/3xC2v0s

Former US secretary of state says strained relationship is world’s ‘biggest problem’, as he warns of Beijing’s economic and military might Former US diplomat Henry Kissinger has said that US-China tensions threaten to engulf the entire world and could lead to an Armageddon-like clash between the two military and technology giants. The 97-year-old former US secretary of state, who as an adviser to president Richard Nixon crafted the 1971 unfreezing of relations between Washington and Beijing, said the mix of economic, military and technological strengths of the two superpowers carried more risks than the cold war with the Soviet Union. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2QJGYCt

The entrepreneur-turned-collector financed the Broad museum in LA, and made huge donations to Yale, Harvard and MIT Eli Broad, the billionaire entrepreneur turned philanthropist and art collector who played an outsized role in shaping the art and cultural scene of Los Angeles, has died at the age of 87. Broad passed away at Cedars-Sinai medical centre in Los Angeles following a long illness, said Suzi Emmerling, a spokeswoman for the Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/3u4HwBg

Treasurer Josh Frydenberg defends Coalition’s move as ‘drastic’ but needed The Australian government will introduce penalties including fines and jail time for anyone who tries to return home from India, with treasurer Josh Frydenberg defending the moves as “drastic” but needed. The move comes after two Australian cricketers who had been in India returned home on Thursday after transiting through Qatar, despite the government earlier in the week banning all direct flights from Covid-ravaged India. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/3eOQtbI

Suitable prevention measures urgently needed, say researchers, with larger households highlighted as a factor Coronavirus – latest updates See all our coronavirus coverage People in the UK’s south Asian communities were more likely to test positive for Covid, become severely ill and die than any other minority ethnic group in the country’s second wave of the coronavirus pandemic, according to a new study. During the first wave from February to September 2020, the paper in the Lancet medical journal found, all minority ethnic groups had a higher risk than the white community of testing positive for Covid, ending up in hospital, being admitted to intensive care, and dying, after accounting for any underlying health conditions. But in the second wave, from September to December 2020, minority ethnic groups did better – except for the south Asian communities. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/3ua9Pyn

Scores also injured in the blast in southern city of Pul-e-Alam the day before Pentagon begins to pull out its remaining forces At least 21 people have been killed and nearly 100 wounded after a car bomb exploded in an Afghan city south of the capital that president Ashraf Ghani has blamed on the Taliban . Friday’s blast occurred in a residential area of Pul-e-Alam, capital of Logar province, as people were breaking their Ramadan fast, and came on the eve of the formal start of the US military’s withdrawal from Afghanistan . Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/331JsOX

Recording Academy was slammed last year after The Weeknd got zero nominations despite top-selling album The organisers of music’s Grammy Awards have announced an end to the “secret” committees that have led to allegations that the highest honours in the industry are open to rigging. The Recording Academy said on Friday that nominations for the next Grammy Awards in January 2022 will be selected by all of its more than 11,000 voting members, instead of by committees of 15-30 industry experts whose names were not revealed. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/333Em4X

Juno and Inception star gives interview to Oprah Winfrey ‘I feel like I haven’t gotten to be myself since I was 10 years old’ Actor Elliot Page has revealed how much happier he feels after having top surgery, and described transitioning as “life-saving”. “I want people to know that not only has it been life-changing for me, I do believe it is life-saving and it’s the case for so many people,” the actor told Oprah Winfrey on her new show for Apple TV+. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/3t7z7Mj

Footballing icon died of heart failure in Argentina in November The 60-year-old was ‘not properly monitored’, says report A medical board appointed to investigate the death of Diego Maradona has concluded that the football icon’s medical team acted in an “inappropriate, deficient and reckless manner,” according to a copy of the report shared with Reuters on Friday. Maradona’s death in November last year rocked Argentina, where he was revered, and prompted a period of mourning and finger-pointing about who was to blame after his long battle with addiction and ill health. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/3vv34aw

A petition, signed by more than 54,000 people, calls on Biden to return the garden to its ‘former glory’ as Jacqueline Kennedy designed Efforts to erase the Trump family legacy have reached the White House potting sheds and nurseries with Jill Biden being urged to restore the mansion’s garden to a state that predates ex-First Lady Melania Trump’s 2019 makeover. An online petition calling on the first lady to return the Rose Garden to its “former glory” has been signed by more than 54,000 people. The petition says Biden’s predecessor “had the cherry trees, a gift from Japan, removed as well as the rest of the foliage and replaced with a boring tribute to herself”. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/3gO0s3v

India’s healthcare system has been overwhelmed by the latest surge, with 386,452 new cases – which may be an undercount The US will restrict travel from India starting next week, the White House said Friday, citing a devastating rise in Covid-19 cases in the country and the emergence of potentially dangerous variants of the coronavirus. The limits, which take effect from 4 May, with bar most non-US citizens arriving from India from entering the United States. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/3t9BePo

Residents in England will no longer have to self-isolate if they leave home and remain outdoors A rule forcing care home residents who go on any sort of outside visit to then spend two weeks in their room is being scrapped, the government announces today. Campaigners have hailed the reversal, with one group saying the regulation had turned “care homes into prisons”. Under new guidance to begin from Tuesday, people living in care homes in England will not have to self-isolate if they leave the home to be in the garden of a relative or friend, or to visit outdoor spaces such as parks and beaches. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/3aTCQ9U

As Magnus Carlsen prepares for a two-day final with his old rival Hikaru Nakamura, Wada’s ban on Russia has reached chess Ian Nepomniachtchi’s feat in qualifying as Magnus Carlsen’s official challenger in a €2m, 14-game world title series at Dubai in November was subsequently hit on two fronts. First, having won the Candidates with a round to spare, Nepomniachtchi lost Tuesday’s dead rubber in Ekaterinburg. A more significant blow came on Friday, however, when he learned that he is not allowed to play with the Russian flag beside him in Dubai, owing to his country’s ban imposed by the World Anti-Doping Agency. Following Tuesday’s defeat by China’s Ding Liren, the 30-year-old Muscovite said that he lacked motivation for the game, a strange comment when a win would have raised his Fide world rating close to 2800, the super-elite level, while as it was Ding’s victory regained the No 3 spot in the ratings that he had briefly let slip a few days earlier. Continue reading... from The ...

Pascal Soriot says firm is doing its best to produce more and ‘should be proud of what we did in the world’ Coronavirus – latest updates See all our coronavirus coverage AstraZeneca’s chief executive, Pascal Soriot, has mounted a robust defence of the drugmaker’s Covid-19 vaccine efforts, and said the business should be proud of what it has done for the world and is doing its “very best” to produce more, as the company faces legal action from the EU over delivery shortfalls, and shipments to poorer countries have also been delayed. The company generated $275m (£197m) in revenues from the Covid vaccine it developed with Oxford University in the first three months of the year and shipped 48m doses to 120 countries through the global vaccine-sharing initiative Covax, 80% of which went to low and middle-income countries. In total, it has supplied more than 300m vaccine doses to more than 165 countries so far this year. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/3e35E1t

‘Situation is out of control’ as cases spike and hospitals run short of beds and oxygen Coronavirus – latest updates See all our coronavirus coverage Doctors in Nepal have warned that the country is facing a similar devastating wave of Covid-19 as neighbouring India , with border districts already reporting an alarming spike in cases and shortage of hospital beds and oxygen. In the Banke district of Nepal, bordering India, doctors at Bheri hospital said it was turning into a “mini India”, with coronavirus spreading out of control. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/3u6XN91

Decision to change cut-off date for pupil premium criticised for ‘making poorest pupils pay’ The government should “come clean” over its reduced funding for tens of thousands of disadvantaged pupils in England and repay the missing money to schools, according to the leader of the National Association of Head Teachers. Paul Whiteman, the NAHT’s general secretary, is the latest figure to criticise the Department for Education’s change to cut-off dates for children to qualify for pupil premium funding which goes to schools. By moving the date back from January this year to last October, the government is estimated to have saved up to £200m, based on freedom of information requests sent to local authorities. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/3vsRRY4

The anniversary marks the 1806 visit of Moehanga, from the Ngāpuhi tribe, to Britain New Zealanders have quietly acknowledged an anniversary this week: Moehanga Day, or the day Māori “discovered” Britain. In a tongue-in-cheek nod to their former colonial power, some Kiwis have began an annual remembrance of the first trip by a Māori to London. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/3aQkINU

A veg patch on the dancefloor, invites printed on cheese, $30,000 makeovers every six weeks … a new show at V&A Dundee celebrates a half-century of club culture. Is it a thing of the past? Dancers grind, twist and pump their bodies beneath a billowing parachute, while other revellers sprawl across six-metre long polyurethane silk worms, or perch on seating made from washing machine drums and refrigerator cases. A VJ mixes trippy visuals to the beat of the music, using junkyard scraps mixed with water and food colouring on an overhead projector, her psychedelic creations drifting across a vegetable patch sprouting from the centre of the dancefloor. This was just another regular night at Space Electronic , an experimental nightclub that began in an old engine repair shop in Florence in 1969, where music, art and performance were combined in a heady, night-long cocktail. It is one of many such extraordinary spaces featured in Night Fever: Designing Club Culture , a show at the V...

Novel motorised smart screen tracks your movements to keep facing you for media and video calls Amazon’s latest top-of-the-range Alexa smart display has a trick up its sleeve like no other: it can follow you around a room. The third-generation Echo Show 10 costs £239.99 and is Amazon’s largest smart display, sitting above the smaller £100 Echo Show 8 with an 8in screen and £80 Echo Show 5 with a 5.5in screen. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/3nz4NJ0

It has taken four winters so far, but wild beauty, nature and the kindness of strangers en route make this slow journey more than worthwhile In the late summer of 2017 I became captivated by the sculpture A Line Made By Walking . It was created in 1967 by Bristol artist Richard Long, who walked carefully backwards and forwards through a grassy field, drawing a footpath with his feet. This fleeting track of trampled grass was the opposite of a footpath. It led nowhere and was created by one man. Related: My alternative summer: travel writers’ plans for an epic UK adventure Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/3xznCk0

At least 44 dead in disaster at Jewish religious festival … powerful voices join call for Covid inquiry… and Europe’s first 3D-printed house Morning everyone. I’m Martin Farrer and these are the top stories today. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2R71P2q

PM’s contact details were listed at the bottom of a 2006 press release as officials reportedly told him to change it Boris Johnson’s mobile phone number was freely available on the internet for the last 15 years, according to reports. A contact number for Johnson was listed on the bottom of a press release when he was still shadow higher education minister in 2006 – a document which was still available online in 2021. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/3e3seqZ

Key parliamentary committee says government has duty to end violence and rights abuses in Ethiopia The British government’s claims that its new development strategy would make it a “force for good” will be tested by whether it helps to end the conflict in the Tigray region of Ethiopia, a parliamentary select committee said on Friday. Failing to act would be “devastating” to the claim that the new Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) could lead the world by combining diplomacy and development, the MPs said in their report on the humanitarian situation in Tigray . Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2QJA0x9

Guardian analysis shows rapid progress rolling out vaccine is fuelling boom in consumer spending UK economy rebounds as hopes grow for end to Covid crisis Ángel Gurría: overhaul of global tax system can wait no longer OECD: Biden offers ‘once in a lifetime’ chance to end tax abuse Britain’s economy is building momentum and the Bank of England is expected to sharply upgrade its annual growth forecasts next week, as a Guardian analysis shows rapid progress rolling out the Covid vaccine is fuelling a boom in consumer spending. Activity has held up better than expected after businesses adapted to life under the third national lockdown, while the reopening of non-essential retail and hospitality venues outdoors in England and Wales has benefited from pent-up demand. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/3gPvo3j

As a new exhibition documents the UK ska-pop sound, stars including the Specials, Elvis Costello and Pauline Black recall how it opened up music, fashion and racial understanding 2 Tone Records began in a Coventry flat in 1979 and peaked two years later, when the Specials’ era-defining Ghost Town went to No 1 as riots blazed around a UK in recession. The label launched the Specials and the Selecter from the current City of Culture, plus Londoners Madness, Birmingham’s the Beat and others, all to chart success, but also ended up naming an entire movement: dance crazy, sharp-suited, political, multi-racial ska-pop that reverberates to this day. As a major 2 Tone exhibition comes to the Herbert Art Gallery & Museum in Coventry, the Guardian spoke to the people who were at the centre of a multicultural revolution. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2S4NP9N

Part environmentalism, part treasure-hunting, magnet fishing has attracted a tight group of enthusiasts around Glasgow who cast their lines out for grenades, knives, cannon balls – and shopping trolleys It doesn’t take long to see the appeal of casting a high-powered magnet into a canal to find anything from scrap metal and weaponry, to unexploded bombs and historical artefacts. For 13-year-old Cole Gartshore from Kirkintilloch, the mystery factor is so appealing that he has been out on the water with his dad most weekends since the pandemic began. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2QJzsHB

With public art collections closed we are bringing the art to you, exploring highlights from across the country in partnership with Art UK. Today’s pick: The Great Picture at Abbot Hall Art Gallery, Kendal This grand painting was commissioned by Lady Anne Clifford to mark her achievements and celebrate her prominent family, particularly its women. Made in 1646 during the English civil war, it is a rare celebration of the life of a woman of the period. It holds within it the story of Anne’s fight for her rights, and her talents as a writer who captured history from a woman’s perspective. The huge work across three canvases is believed to be by Jan van Belcamp . It features Anne three times. The central panel places her mother at the centre, pregnant with Anne, with her husband and two young sons, both of whom died in childhood. To the left is Anne aged 15, surrounded by objects illustrating her education and vast accomplishments. Following the death of her father, Anne, his sole hei...

Vaccine offered to all over 40s in England; first US Covid emergency aid supplies arrive in India ; UK temporarily reduces international aid from £14.5bn to £10bn Rapid spread of India Covid variant in UK is ‘worrying’, say scientists Ministers among main routes for Covid PPE deal ‘VIP’ channel, court hears See all our coronavirus coverage 5.46am BST India posted a record daily rise in coronavirus cases of 386,452 on Friday, while deaths from Covid-19 jumped by 3,498 over the last 24 hours, according to health ministry data. Related: India Covid crisis: first US relief supplies arrive as country hits new record cases 5.34am BST People aged 40 and over in England are now being invited to book their coronavirus jab, NHS leaders have announced. NHS England said that text messages will be sent out from Friday to 40 and 41-year-olds allowing them to arrange their vaccination appointments, PA media reports. It follows nearly 750,000 appointments being made on Monday and Tuesda...

New home in shape of boulder is first legally habitable property with load-bearing walls made using 3D-printing technology A Dutch couple have become Europe’s first tenants of a fully 3D printed house in a development that its backers believe will open up a world of choice in the shape and style of the homes of the future. Elize Lutz, 70, and Harrie Dekkers, 67, retired shopkeepers from Amsterdam, received their digital key – an app allowing them to open the front door of their two-bedroom bungalow at the press of a button – on Thursday. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/333oNtS

Hibikiryu, 28, landed on his head during a bout in March and was later treated for a spinal injury A Japanese sumo wrestler has died a month after suffering a concussion during a bout, as the ancient sport’s authorities come under renewed pressure to rethink their outdated approach to head injuries . Hibikiryu, a 28-year-old rikishi in one of the lower divisions, died from acute respiratory failure, the Japan Sumo Association said, despite earlier showing signs that he was recovering from his injuries. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/3u4B9hi

Fox News chat leaves vague impression that FBI raid on ex-mayor’s apartment was somehow Hunter Biden’s fault Rudy Giuliani guilty? That’s what they want you to think! And who are they ? The sinister cabal of Hunter Biden, the Lincoln Project and Department of Injustice, of course. That would have been the impression of Fox News viewers on Thursday night when Giuliani gave his first TV interview since federal agents seized mobile phones and computers from his New York apartment, part of an investigation into his dodgy Ukrainian dealings . Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/3u62vDQ

Constitutional questions have dominated the Scottish election campaign. As voters go to the polls next week, Libby Brooks assesses whether they will give the SNP a majority and a mandate for a new independence referendum Nicola Sturgeon has said that next week’s election in Scotland is the most important in the country’s history. The SNP is once again promising to hold a referendum on independence if it wins a majority in the Scottish parliament. The Guardian’s Scotland correspondent, Libby Brooks , tells Rachel Humphreys that the pandemic has cast a long shadow over the campaign, with very little door-knocking or in-person campaigning. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/3gQoVFe

President promoted his $4tn plans to rebuild crumbling US infrastructure and expand the social safety net at drive-in rally On his 100th day as US president, Joe Biden spontaneously lowered his black face mask, leaned towards the microphone and shouted: “Go Georgia, we need you!” It was a fitting moment in a state that has more claim than most to be the ground zero of a potentially transformative presidency. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/3aPvi8e

As India’s hospitals struggle to keep pace with demand, the pandemic has exposed global market failures, lack of knowledge and anticipation Coronavirus – latest updates See all our coronavirus coverage New waves of the Covid-19 pandemic in countries, such as India and Kenya have exposed the poor management of oxygen supplies. Prof Trevor Duke, editor of the World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines on oxygen therapy for children, answered questions on what countries with limited resources can do to secure better supplies. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/3t81Q3C

Emergency services and ambulances ‘treating dozens of injured’ as rescue services say 28 killed Dozens of people have been killed in a crowd crush at a Jewish religious gathering in northern Israel attended by tens of thousands of people. A rescue service spokesman said 28 people died in the crush early on Friday, according to Reuters. The Magen David Adom ambulance service said 103 people had been injured, including dozens fatally. Channel 12 TV put the number of dead at 38. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/3vrixIL

Campaigners fear that bags are often used just once despite their name, creating more plastic waste The Co-operative Group is to stop selling plastic “bags for life” because, with many shoppers using them only once, they have become as big a problem as the single-use carriers they replaced. With more than 1.5 billion “bags for life” sold each year Jo Whitfield, the chief executive of Co-op Food, said plastic pollution was a “massive issue” for retailers. “Many shoppers are regularly buying so called “bags for life” to use just once and it’s leading to a major hike in the amount of plastic being produced,” she explained. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/3sYRq6c

Watchdog pays out £742,132 in refunds amid concerns about online learning during Covid-19 Coronavirus – latest updates See all our coronavirus coverage Students in England and Wales made record numbers of complaints against their universities last year after disruption to teaching caused by the Covid-19 pandemic and lecturers on strike resulted in widespread frustration with courses. Students were particularly concerned that online learning was of lower quality than in-person lectures and seminars, according to the annual report from the Office of the Independent Adjudicator (OIA), which acts as the final arbiter for student complaints and determines whether tuition fees should be refunded. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/3t3L9Gp

Legal team allege she is being held in worse conditions to other inmates due to the “Epstein Effect” Lawyers for Ghislaine Maxwell have released a photograph of the British socialite, who is in a US prison facing sex trafficking charges, showing her with a bruised face. Maxwell, 59, who is accused of procuring underage girls for the convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein to abuse, has been in jail since last year while awaiting trial. She denies the allegations. Since her arrest last summer, she has only been seen in court sketches during hearings. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/3e1sJBR

Rolling coverage of the latest economic and financial news Heathrow lost £329m in Q1, with just 1.7m passengers Total pandemic losses are nearly £2.4bn Airport cuts passenger forecast to 13m-36m, down from 81m in 2019 Heathrow blames ‘continuing uncertainty over Government policy’ Restarting travel on 17 May will ‘kickstart recovery’ Worried about queues at the border 8.42am BST Why would restarting foreign holidays help UK exporters , as Heathrow claims? Well, under normal times, a lot of the cargo actually travels on passenger jets, rather than on freight-only flights. That option shrank once the pandemic hit passenger travel. Heathrow is the UK’s biggest port, but 95% of cargo is carried in the hold of passenger planes. Unused slots have allowed more dedicated freighter operations and higher rates for cargo have allowed airlines to keep operating some routes with low passenger load factors. However, despite our collective efforts, cargo volumes were down 5.0% in the fir...

New Zealand’s glaciers are retreating. After years of inaction, Covid could be a wake-up call for change – but is it already too late? Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/3ezklZm

Much-hated insects are voracious predators of pests, produce powerful antibiotics and pollinate plants For those who have asked what the point of wasps is, there is now a comprehensive answer. They are voracious predators of pest insects, produce powerful antibiotics in their venom, pollinate plants and even make a nutritious snack. The benefits to humans of the much-hated insects are revealed in the first major scientific review of the ecosystem services they provide. It focused on the 33,000 known species of hunting wasps, which carry stings and live in every corner of the world. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2R8BMb4

Hormones, steroids and antibiotics intended for use on dogs, horses, pigeons and farm animals intercepted by officials The government has been urged to open an investigation into illegal imports of veterinary drugs, after the number seized at the UK border increased dramatically last year. The Veterinary Medicines Directorate, the executive agency that regulates animal drugs, seized more than 40 different illegal medicines in the year to March 2021, compared with just one in 2019, one in 2018 and three in 2017. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/3aN1edf

Explore an interactive database that reveals how the climate crisis is reshaping glaciers around the world The world’s glaciers are melting at an ever-increasing pace, with one report suggesting the rate of ice loss roughly doubles every 10 years. Scientists are saying the rapid disappearance of mountain glaciers – separate from the Greenland and Antarctic ice shields – is one of the most dramatic signs of global heating. Now, a Guardian visualisation makes these stark changes visible to the naked eye. The graphics show the outlines of glaciers from Alaska to the Andes shrinking over the course of just a few decades. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/3u2K6aN

The party has yet to reveal whether the new leader will also be first minister, or whether the roles will be separate After Arlene Foster’s decision to quit as leader of Democratic Unionist party in the wake of an internal revolt, there is a vacancy at the top. The party, founded half a century ago by firebrand Ian Paisley, is at a crossroads, with polls in February showing a sharp decline in support in favour of the Traditional Unionist Voice led by Jim Allister, who broke away from the DUP in 2007, and the Alliance, a centrist party eschewing orange and green politics. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/3xB15TR

The deeply gendered experience of freedom is cunningly exposed in a shocking interrogation of art, privilege and property If you wanted to locate a defining preoccupation in the consistently remarkable, formally daring fiction of Rachel Cusk, you might well alight on the issue of property. Cusk is obsessed with houses. Her revelatory Outline trilogy, completed in 2018 with the publication of Kudos , faltered on the awkward class politics of its central volume, in which the narrator’s efforts to renovate an ex-council flat are undermined by the inconvenient working classes living below. Now, in her first novel since the trilogy’s reimagining of novelistic form, Cusk gives us not just a dream home but a dream home with a second home attached – the “Second Place” of the novel’s title. And it’s not just any old place either. It is, says the narrator, “a place of great but subtle beauty, where artists often seem to find the will or the energy or just the opportunity to work”. Indeed, she...

Refurbishment row threatens to engulf prime minister … Biden declares ‘America is on the move’ … and how to save Britain’s woodlands Morning everyone. This is Martin Farrer bringing you the best stories of the day. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/3aJz4je

Under existing climate policies, electric vehicles could wipe out use of 2m barrels a day of diesel and petrol The number of electric cars, vans, trucks and buses on the world’s roads is on course to increase from 11m vehicles to 145m by the end of the decade, which could wipe out demand for millions of barrels of oil every day. A report by the International Energy Agency has found that there could be 230m electric vehicles worldwide by 2030 if governments agreed to encourage the production of enough low-carbon vehicles to stay within global climate targets. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/3gOvjgq

Decision taken despite the risk of politicising music competition, head of European Broadcasting Union says Belarus had to be banned from this year’s Eurovision after it repeatedly submitted songs calling for “no dissent” despite the risk of the decision politicising the music competition, the head of the event’s organising body has said. Noel Curran, director general of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), the industry body that produces the annual international competition, said a stand needed to be taken with Belarus cracking down on anti-government protests, while also conceding the danger of stoking controversy over future country submissions. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/3u6rN4H

19th-century campaigner helped change divorce law after being ruined by abusive husband Caroline Norton, a woman at the centre of one of the most publicised court cases of the 19th century and an “unsung hero in the fight for women’s rights”, is being celebrated with a heritage blue plaque in London. The biographer Lady Antonia Fraser this week unveiled the plaque for someone she said deserved to be far better known, a woman who was in an abusive marriage and was ruined by her husband , but fought back and helped change the law. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2R9AT29

A moving new documentary provides a sensitive first-person account of a chimp raised as a human, and the caretaker who followed her to extraordinary ends Janis Carter was 25 when, in September 1976, she responded to a bulletin-board ad for a job as a part-time caretaker of a chimpanzee. The job was relevant to Carter’s interests as a graduate student in the primate studies group at the University of Oklahoma, and could help pay for school. It was also mostly hands-off; the caretakers, psychologist Maurice Temerlin and his wife, Jane, relayed instructions via note left on the kitchen counter, save for one hard rule: no physical contact with Lucy, their 11-year-old chimp. Related: Primatologist Jane Goodall: ‘Tarzan married the wrong Jane’ Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/3nunkpY

Much of Britain’s temperate rainforest has been destroyed – but it can sometimes regenerate. The race is on to map what survives and restore what we can Few people realise that England has fragments of a globally rare habitat: temperate rainforest . I didn’t really believe it until I moved to Devon last year and started visiting some of these incredible habitats. Temperate rainforests are exuberant with life. One of their defining characteristics is the presence of epiphytes , plants that grow on other plants, often in such damp and rainy places. In woods around the edge of Dartmoor, in lost valleys and steep-sided gorges, I’ve spotted branches dripping with mosses, festooned with lichens, liverworts and polypody ferns . You may have heard of England’s most famous fragment of temperate rainforest: Wistman’s Wood, in the middle of Dartmoor. With its gnarled and stunted oaks, its remote location marooned within a sheep-nibbled moorscape, and attendant tales of spectral hounds that ins...

There are books, podcasts, apps and devices devoted to it. But what’s behind this new obsession with a strong pelvic floor? If you want to know about the wonders of a healthy pelvic floor, you could do worse than look to Coco Berlin, who styles herself “Germany’s most famous belly dancer”. Berlin started belly dancing in 2002, but it wasn’t until a few years later, when she went to Egypt to study dancers there, that she wondered why they were so much better. She concluded they were seriously in touch with their pelvic floor, the internal muscular structure that supports the internal organs and prevents incontinence, among other important functions. “When I connected to my pelvic floor, for the first time in my life, I had this feeling of embodiment,” Berlin says. It improved her dancing – before, she says, it had felt “like mimicry” – but also affected the rest of her life. She felt more confident, “I had the feeling that I own my body”. Her enjoyment of sex was greatly improved, and...

Makers say machine could be part of an agricultural revolution of automation and sustainability In a sunny field in Hampshire, a killer robot is on the prowl. Once its artificial intelligence engine has locked on to its target, a black electrode descends and delivers an 8,000-volt blast. A crackle, a puff of smoke, and the target is dead – a weed, boiled alive from the inside. It is part of a fourth agricultural revolution, its makers say, bringing automation and big data into farming to produce more while harming the environment less. Pressure to cut pesticide use and increasing resistance to the chemicals meant killing weeds was the top priority for the farmers advising the robot company. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/3sXmFhP

President pushes ambitious families and jobs plans, calling for a ‘blue-collar blueprint’ to rebuild America Joe Biden argued that “America is on the move again” in his first address to Congress, where he unveiled a sweeping $1.8tn package for families and education and pitched his “blue-collar blueprint” to re-build America. Flanked by two women – Vice-President Kamala Harris and House speaker Nancy Pelosi – for the first time in US history, the president gave his speech on the eve of his 100th day in office as the country continues to fight the coronavirus pandemic. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/3dWTJlT

The space station is expected to become fully operational in 2022 after about 10 missions to bring up more parts and assemble them in orbit China has launched the first module of its new space station, a milestone in Beijing’s ambitious plan to place a permanent human presence in space. The Tianhe or “Heavenly Harmony” unmanned core module, containing living quarters for three crew, was launched from Wenchang in China’s Hainan province on a Long-March 5B rocket on Thursday. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/3aMT5Wm

Nearly 1 in 50 people worldwide have had Covid ; third of Mexicans show exposure to coronavirus ; Cambodia reports national record new cases Facebook blocked hashtag calling for Narendra Modi to resign over pandemic Arundhati Roy on India’s Covid catastrophe Explainer: why is getting medical oxygen for Covid patients in some countries so difficult? See all our coronavirus coverage 5.31am BST Cambodia reported a daily record of 698 new coronavirus cases, the health ministry said in a statement issued late on Wednesday, as the country struggles to contain a wave of infections that emerged about two months ago. The Southeast Asian nation has recorded one of the world’s smallest caseloads, but the outbreak first detected in late February has seen infections climb to 11,761, with 88 Covid-19 deaths. Authorities have put Phnom Penh and the nearby town of Takhmau under lockdown until May 5, while all markets were shut in the capital on Saturday. The government has, however, ease...

Funeral directors say up to 2,000 bodies await burial or cremation in warehouses at Prima Porta cemetery Coronavirus – latest updates See all our coronavirus coverage Steps away from a warehouse containing row upon row of coffins at Prima Porta cemetery in Rome, anger simmered among a group of about 12 funeral workers queueing up outside the administrative office. Some were there to deliver bodies for burial or cremation, others to collect the ashes of the deceased cremated months ago. “It’s a tragic, shameful situation,” said Maurizio, a funeral company worker. “Just look around you – we’re all waiting. They blame it on coronavirus, but that’s just an excuse. This is how it is every day.” Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/3nwDG1j

Gareth Wild finished his ‘magnum opus’ by filling the last of 211 spots in the parking lot of Sainsbury’s in Bromley A man has completed a six-year challenge to park in every car parking space at his local Sainsbury’s. Gareth Wild, 39, from Bromley, south-east London, said he decided to take on the challenge after noticing his preference for certain spots. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2RcGCnW

Three months after the coup, four brothers tell how they joined protesters fighting the junta before fleeing for the border The young men only had a moment to study the river before rushing into the waist-deep water. The brothers – ranging in age from 15 to 21 – were unfamiliar with the border area and afraid of being seen. On the run from Myanmar’s military, they pushed on into the Thaunggin River. After just a few minutes of wading, they stumbled into no man’s land. Moments after crossing the river, three smugglers dressed in military fatigues met them. After handing over 6,000 Thai baht (US$200) and exchanging a few words, the smugglers led them deeper into the woods and then to safety in Thailand. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2Qxvylm

For months, information has been leaked to the press from inside Downing Street, including allegations Boris Johnson was given the cash – which has not yet been published in any declarations – to do up his official residence. The Guardian columnist Rafael Behr discusses how damaging this could be for the prime minister The Guardian columnist Rafael Behr talks to Rachel Humphreys about the latest allegations surrounding Boris Johnson. There has been a series of damaging leaks over the past few months. They include text messages sent by Sir James Dyson asking Johnson for help so that his employees would not have to pay extra tax if they came to the UK to make ventilators during the pandemic, to which Johnson replied: “ I will fix it tomo! ”; a text to the prime minister from the Saudi crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman; leaked emails about donations solicited to cover the renovations of the prime minister’s flat ; and claims Johnson said last October he would rather see bodies pile up ...

State of the union style speech to tout his accomplishments Includes an appeal to working-class voters on economic recovery plans White House announces sweeping plan for childcare and pre-school 2.50am BST Fact check: Economic growth “In the process, while this was all going on, the economy created more than 1,300,000 new jobs in 100 days. More new jobs in the first 100 days than any president on record.” 2.45am BST Fact check: “I traveled over 17,000 miles with” Xi Jinping of China Although Biden has interacted with Xi Jinping on many occasions, the two don’t have a record of really traveling together, as the Washington Post explains . Biden has made this false claim before. It wasn’t in today’s speech as prepared, and he appears to have ad libbed it. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/3aMZoJb

Laura Italiano claimed she was forced to write a report about migrant children being given a copy of the VP’s book as part of a welcome kit A reporter at Rupert Murdoch’s New York tabloid has resigned after she claimed she was forced to write an incorrect story about migrants and Kamala Harris . The New York Post published a story on 23 April headlined “Kam on in”, which claimed that migrant children were being given a copy of the vice-president’s 2019 book, Superheroes Are Everywhere, as part of a welcome kit in Los Angeles. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/3aJw6vh

A year since the pandemic started, women’s bodies and habits have changed. Here they discuss underwiring, sleep underwear, and how going bra-free helps with polymastia I was a teen in the 70s and morphed into a feminist. I find bras hideously uncomfortable; I only started wearing one in 2018 when I went back to work and the lack of confidence that often besieges women over 60 made me too self-conscious to face the public bra-free. Lockdown has released me from the bra, and the job, and I doubt I’ll wear one again. Jackie, writer, Midlands Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/3xrxhsS

Tensions between Facebook and Apple have been growing, but is it just an attempt to get ahead of US antitrust regulators? A longstanding feud between Mark Zuckerberg and Tim Cook could come to a head this week, as a highly-anticipated Apple operating system update will for the first time allow users to opt out of cross-platform tracking. Tensions between Facebook and Apple have been growing for some time, but the new operating system threatens to kneecap Facebook’s business model, and has turned up the heat, said Ari Lightman, a professor of digital media and marketing at Carnegie Mellon University’s Heinz College. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/3gJ6OB6

An extraordinary activist, she fought for integrated hospitals, helped organise the March on Washington and became the first Black TV presenter in the south The words of Xernona Clayton’s friend and mentor Martin Luther King Jr still ring in her ears, she says, not least his dictum that “if you can change a man’s heart, you can regulate his behaviour”. One incident illustrates how successful this philosophy can be. It was 1968 and Clayton was in Atlanta, Georgia, leading the Model Cities Program, a federal initiative to help reduce urban poverty. Also on the programme was a man named Calvin Craig, who was the Georgia “grand dragon” of the Ku Klux Klan (KKK). At this time, the KKK was still a prominent entity, openly engaged in cross-burnings, racist violence and intimidation, such as protesting outside white-owned restaurants in their robes to discourage Black people from entering. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/3xtSBOu

These fun, characterful boltholes with nature on the doorstep are featured in Stay Wild, a new book from Canopy & Stars Standing in a 100-year-old apple orchard close to the Malvern Hills and on the edge of Knapp and Papermill nature reserve , this house is the work of two generations of a family with Scandinavian heritage. There’s a strong Swedish vibe: from the structure of the “little cottage” to the pine-lined interior and the red-and-blue colour scheme. In among the trees is a huge firepit. It’s a beautiful spot, with the orchard carpeted with meadow grasses in summer and its boughs heavy with fruit in autumn, and a gate leading straight on to the nature reserve. • Sleeps four from £120 a night Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/3gL0hWs

Brexit, Covid and the prime minister’s character add up to a triple whammy that has upended the old ways of doing politics Instead of a cabinet, Britain has courtiers. In place of a prime minister, there is a potentate. The traditional structures still exist, but as tributes to an obsolescent way of governing. There are still secretaries of state. But their place in the formal, constitutional hierarchy has little bearing on real power, which swirls in an unstable vortex of advisers and officials vying for proximity to Boris Johnson’s throne . The product of this arrangement is the acrid stew of scandal leaking out of Downing Street – a mixture of financial irregularities, reckless statecraft and vendetta, some of it involving the prime minister’s fiancee, just to complete the impression of Byzantine intrigue. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/3u0s5Ku

As supplies run low during a devastating second Covid wave, a civilian army has stepped into the breach Coronavirus – latest updates See all our coronavirus coverage For more than two weeks the calls have kept on coming, sometimes over 1,000 a day. The voices on the end of Mohit Arora’s phone are desperate for only one thing: oxygen. “We are getting 1,000 calls a day but we can only accommodate 10 to 15 cylinders a day, that’s it,” said Arora. “It’s very painful – people are calling and crying down the phone, pleading for oxygen all through the night.” Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/3gRxsHU

Study in England says single treatment can have dramatic impact on curbing spread ; Fiji fears ‘Covid tsunami’ after India variant outbreak; New Zealand donates $1m; Mutations, politics, vaccines: the factors behind India’s Covid crisis Harry and Meghan to join Biden at concert to boost global vaccination Global faith leaders call for drug firms to vaccinate world See all our coronavirus coverage 5.46am BST The World Health Organization is sending extra staff and supplies to India to help fight the coronavirus pandemic, says the WHO chief, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, adding: “WHO is doing everything we can, providing critical equipment and supplies, including thousands of oxygen concentrators, prefabricated mobile field hospitals and laboratory supplies.” 5.38am BST The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Germany increased by 22,231 to 3,332,532, data from the Robert Koch Institute for infectious diseases showed on Wednesday. The reported death toll rose by 312 to 82,28...

People were uncertain the fish existed, until citizen scientists made an underwater recording If, at midnight, you stick your oar into the water of the lagoon near Kallady Bridge in Batticaloa, on Sri Lanka’s east coast, you might hear fish sing. It sounds, according to Prince Casinader , who was a former local MP moonlighting as a journalist, “like a man idly playing on the keys of a piano. Bass notes and treble notes. Or like someone rubbing a finger around the rim of a wet wine glass.” For a while, people were uncertain about whether the fish really existed. In a 2017 Trip Advisor review of singing fish tours organised by a local hotel, the tourist writes, “The Sound was there and we listened by placing the ear-end of the Oar … in water. And in one spot we heard it even without listening through the oars. It was an amazing experience.” The hotel’s owner responds: “Even though a lot of people know Batticaloa as the ‘Land of the Singing Fish’ most of them including locals think it ...

US’s top infectious disease expert lambasts wealthy countries for failing to provide equitable access to coronavirus vaccines Families of Australians caught in India Covid surge plead for repatriation Why Australia is under pressure to upgrade advice on aerosol transmission WHO blames ‘perfect storm’ of factors for India Covid crisis Dr Anthony Fauci, the White House’s chief medical adviser, has said countries have failed to unite to provide an adequate global response to prevent the “tragic” coronavirus outbreak from overwhelming India, and singled out wealthier nations for failing to provide equitable access to healthcare around the world. Speaking to Guardian Australia from the US, Fauci said the situation in India had highlighted global inequality. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/3xDtWar

Research finds that lockdown gave people time to indulge in games such as Animal Crossing Most British adults played computer games during the pandemic after the lockdown gave people the time to indulge in releases such as Animal Crossing and contributed to a shortage of next-generation game consoles. Research by Ofcom found that 62% of UK adults played some form of computer game in 2020. The media regulator said this represented an increase on previous years, as adults sought new forms of entertainment under the restrictions of the pandemic. Although younger people are still substantially more likely to play games, there was an uptick across all age groups driven by casual gaming on mobile phones. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/3aKgkzY

Fawzia Koofi is an Afghan politician who for the past few years has been one of the few women in peace talks with the Taliban. Last August she was wounded in an assassination attempt. She discusses the attack and the threat the Taliban pose to women’s rights, while the Guardian’s world affairs editor, Julian Borger, discusses the legacy of the US ‘forever’ war Last August, Fawzia Koofi , a member of Afghanistan’s peace negotiating team, was wounded in an assassination attempt. Koofi, also a women’s rights activist, has been a vocal Taliban critic, but the Taliban denied they were behind the attempt on her life. Just weeks later she was once again face to face with them at negotiations trying to reach an agreement to bring stability to Afghanistan. She tells Rachel Humphreys about the progress of those negotiations and the impact the US troop withdrawal will have on her country, and in particular on women’s rights. After 20 years of US military involvement in Afghanistan, the US has...

Ressa has been subject to sustained campaign of gendered online abuse and has been targeted by Philippine leader Rodrigo Duterte The UN’s cultural agency has awarded its annual press freedom prize to Philippine journalist Maria Ressa whose reporting has made her a target of her country’s judiciary and online hate campaigns. Ressa, a former Asia lead investigative reporter for US network CNN and head of domestic network ABS-CBN News, now manages the news website Rappler whose reporting has attracted the wrath of Philippine leader Rodrigo Duterte. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/3dZmZby

Under bill signed by the governor, doctors can in some cases face felony charges for performing the procedure Arizona’s governor has signed a sweeping anti-abortion bill that bans the procedure if the woman is seeking it solely because a fetus has a genetic abnormality such as Down’s syndrome. Doctors who perform an abortion solely because the child has a survivable genetic issue can face felony charges. The proposal also contains a raft of other provisions sought by abortion opponents. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/32RoqTn

Grieving relatives of the dead forced to wait hours for a funeral pyre amid an explosion of new Covid cases Crematoriums in Delhi are being inundated with so many bodies that they have been forced to build makeshift funeral pyres on spare patches of land as the Covid crisis sweeping India led to an explosion of new cases . Crematoriums across the capital are struggling to cope, with grieving relatives forced to wait up to 20 hours for a funeral pyre for their loved ones. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/3euAz5O

Digital health certificates could show whether tourists have been vaccinated, tested negative or recovered from the virus Coronavirus – latest updates See all our coronavirus coverage Spain aims to reopen to overseas holidaymakers from June under the Covid digital health certificate scheme, the country’s secretary of state for tourism has said. Fernando Valdés told the World Travel & Tourism Council summit in Mexico on Tuesday that the programme – under which tourists could show they have been vaccinated, tested negative or recently recovered from the virus - would prove “fundamental to offering travellers certainty”. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2QEBp8n

Union body says 15,000 people of working age have died from Covid in England and Wales Coronavirus – latest updates See all our coronavirus coverage The Trades Union Congress is calling for an immediate public inquiry into the handling of the Covid pandemic, insisting it should examine whether workers were kept safe enough after about 15,000 people of working age died from Covid in England and Wales. The GMB union said the prime minister’s reported comments that he would rather see “bodies piled high” than approve a third lockdown “shows why a public inquiry is needed now”. It said its members “deserve to know why they were put in harm’s way unnecessarily and if the PM think it’s OK for them to die”. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/3xnsnNs

Automated lane-keeping systems likely to be allowed only when traffic is moving slowly Motorists could legally allow their cars to “self-drive” on British motorways later this year – but only slowly, the government has announced. Drivers could soon be allowed to read a newspaper or watch a film via the car’s built-in screen in periods of slow-moving traffic, using automated lane-keeping system (Alks) technology that makes the car stay in lane and a safe distance from other vehicles. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/3aITdpN

Research finds that lockdown gave people time to indulge in games such as Animal Crossing Most British adults played computer games during the pandemic after the lockdown gave people the time to indulge in releases such as Animal Crossing and contributed to a shortage of next-generation game consoles. Research by Ofcom found that 62% of UK adults played some form of computer game in 2020. The media regulator said this represented an increase on previous years, as adults sought new forms of entertainment under the restrictions of the pandemic. Although younger people are still substantially more likely to play games, there was an uptick across all age groups driven by casual gaming on mobile phones. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/3aKgkzY

Research from Public Health England suggests that protection conferred a fortnight after vaccination See all our coronavirus coverage A single dose of a Covid-19 vaccine can slash transmission of the virus by up to half, according to a Public Health England study. The PHE finding offers further hope that the pandemic can be brought under control as it indicates that vaccinated people are far less likely to pass the virus on to others. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/3aMl4Fp

Health body says mass gatherings, low vaccination rates and more contagious variants all to blame for surge in cases See all our coronavirus coverage The World Health Organization (WHO) has said India’s deadly Covid-19 second wave was caused by a “perfect storm” of mass gatherings, low vaccination rates and more contagious variants. Speaking on Tuesday, WHO spokesperson Tarik Jašarević warned against blaming mutations of the virus as the sole cause of the tsunami of cases that have engulfed India in recent weeks, pushing the country’s healthcare system to the brink of collapse, and said that complacent behaviour had also played a role. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/3noGxJw

Jennifer Lopez and J Balvin among stars at performance to raise money for Covax Coronavirus – latest updates See all our coronavirus coverage The Duke and Duchess of Sussex will join the US president, Joe Biden, at a concert in Los Angeles aimed at increasing the global vaccination effort. Harry and Meghan are “campaign chairs” of the A-list event, Vax Live . Hosted by Selena Gomez, and organised by Global Citizen , the event, on Saturday 8 May, will feature musical performances by names from the worlds of film and politics, and music performances from stars including Jennifer Lopez, Pearl Jam’s Eddie Vedder, Foo Fighters, J Balvin and HER. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/32PKrC1

Slowing down relaxation of coronavirus restrictions also among measures suggested by Tony Blair Institute for Global Change Coronavirus – latest updates See all our coronavirus coverage Vaccinating older children and slowing down the relaxation of coronavirus restrictions are among measures that could help to prevent a third wave of Covid in the UK, according to a report from an organisation set up by the former prime minister Tony Blair. The government’s roadmap suggests all Covid restrictions could be lifted in England on 21 June . However, scientists have warned that even with an ongoing vaccination programme, the plan could lead to a resurgence of the virus and thousands , if not tens of thousands , of additional Covid-related deaths by summer next year. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/3tZHCKy