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Are Israel and Palestine on the brink of another war?

Oliver Holmes, the Guardian’s Jerusalem correspondent, discusses what has prompted the worst unrest in Israel and Palestine since 2014 Oliver Holmes , the Guardian’s Jerusalem correspondent, talks to Rachel Humphreys about the violence that has broken out between Israel and Palestine. In recent weeks there has been a sharp escalation in anger over Israel’s half-century occupation, its ever-deepening military grip over Palestinian life and a wave of evictions and demolitions. In Jerusalem, hundreds of Palestinians have been wounded in near-nightly protests that escalated over the weekend and spread to other areas of Israel and the occupied West Bank. Following weeks of intense violence in Jerusalem, Hamas, the Islamist group that holds power inside Gaza, fired a barrage of rockets towards Jerusalem on Monday evening . Since then, it has launched hundreds more at Israeli towns nearby, and Israel has conducted dozens of airstrikes, including hits on residential buildings. More than 80 ...

Spencer Silver, who helped invent the Post-it Note, dies at age 80

The corporate scientist discovered the unique adhesive that allowed notes to be easily attached to surfaces and removed The inventor of the adhesive used on the Post-it Note has died, according to the company 3M, which produces the product, and his published obituary. Spencer Silver was 80 and died May 8 at his home, the family’s obituary said. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/3bpFp3T

Helping pupils in England catch up on lost learning will cost £13.5bn – report

‘Significant investment’ beyond existing £1.7bn needed to deliver on PM’s promise that ‘no child is left behind’ after pandemic The government will need to spend £13.5bn in England to plug gaps in pupils’ learning caused by disruption to their education over the pandemic, according to research. The report also warns that the government’s forthcoming long-term education recovery plan will need “significant investment” more than three years beyond the existing £1.7bn in short-term catch-up funding if the government is to deliver on the prime minister’s promise that “no child is left behind” . Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/3bmPH4M

Delay in giving second jabs of Pfizer vaccine improves immunity

Study finds antibodies against Sars-CoV-2 three-and-a-half times higher in people vaccinated again after 12 weeks rather than three Coronavirus – latest updates See all our coronavirus coverage The UK’s decision to delay second doses of coronavirus vaccines has received fresh support from research on the over-80s which found that giving the Pfizer/BioNTech booster after 12 weeks rather than three produced a much stronger antibody response. A study led by the University of Birmingham in collaboration with Public Health England found that antibodies against the virus were three-and-a-half times higher in those who had the second shot after 12 weeks compared with those who had it after a three-week interval. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/3ePmz8t

Boost self-isolation payments or risk Covid resurgence, experts say

Thinktanks urge UK government to fund system that would cover wages on a similar basis to furlough scheme Coronavirus – latest updates See all our coronavirus coverage Payments to allow people with Covid symptoms to self-isolate need to be increased sharply or a return to normal life could lead to a resurgence in infections and deaths, ministers are being warned. Two leading thinktanks have proposed that the government funds grants for employers and the self-employed, on a similar basis to the furlough scheme, to encourage more people to isolate. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/3eKarW9

‘A great day’: Biden hails relaxed CDC guidance for fully vaccinated Americans

Rochelle Walensky announces relaxation of guidelines: ‘We have longed for this moment … [to] get back some sense of normalcy’ As coronavirus cases and deaths decline across the US amid vaccination efforts, the director of the CDC said Thursday that fully vaccinated Americans could participate in most indoor activities without wearing a mask. An unmasked president Joe Biden heralded the announcement during an outdoor press conference several hours later, saying: “Today is a great day for America in our long battle with coronavirus.” Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/33DWGBN

Would you pay £99,000 for this self-lacing Nike? Sneakers Unboxed review

Design Museum, London From battered Vans to box-fresh Adidas, how did sneakers become an $80bn-a-year global industry? This fun show has all the answers – including how to get really fat laces ‘It was all about being the freshest,” says Koe Rodriguez, toothbrush in hand. “That’s how you pulled honeys, how you got respect from the hard rocks. That’s how you laid your game down. It was all about being fresh.” The hip-hop historian’s not talking about his teeth, though, but his sneakers. Rodriguez appears in Just for Kicks , a 2005 documentary about sneaker culture that also features an MC explaining his painstaking monthly shoelace-cleaning ritual. Treating his precious laces as if they were the finest cashmere, he would carefully scrub them between his clenched knuckles, then pinch out the water, squeeze them with a towel, and press them with the tip of a hot iron, to make them as wide as possible. “They gotta be fat,” he insists. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.t...