Lawrence Casey went into Bude canal in Cornwall after daughter Jessica lost control of mobility scooter
An 86-year-old man has died while attempting to rescue his disabled daughter from a canal.
Lawrence Casey went into Bude canal in north Cornwall to rescue his daughter Jessica after she suddenly lost control of her mobility scooter and plunged into the water.
Continue reading...Kristen Stewart’s entirely compelling Di has no escape from the dress-up game of monarchy in Pablo Larraín’s unreverential movie
Sandringham, Christmas 1991. Bare trees, frosted fields, dead pheasants on the drive. Inside the grand house the dining table has been laid in readiness, but one of the principal guests – arguably the main course – is running late and lost. She grinds her car to a halt, tosses her perfect hair in frustration. “Where the fuck am I?” asks Diana, Princess of Wales.
And so begins this extraordinary film, which bills itself as “a fable from a true tragedy” and spotlights three days in the dissolution of Charles and Di’s marriage. Working off a sharp script by Steven Knight, Chilean director Pablo Larraín spins the headlines and scandals into a full-blown Gothic nightmare, an opulent ice palace of a movie with shades of Rebecca at the edges and a pleasing bat-squeak of absurdity in its portrayal of the royals. Larraín’s approach to the material is rich and intoxicating and altogether magnificent. I won’t call it majestic. That would do this implicitly republican film a disservice.
Continue reading...Swedish pop group shows cross-generational appeal, amassing 5.5m likes on TikTok since 1 September
Two singles released from Abba’s first album in 40 years have raced to the top of the streaming charts, in a comeback that has generated praise and excitement among fans who remember the original releases and a new younger audience.
The first two singles from Abba’s forthcoming album, to be released on 5 November, were in first and third place on YouTube’s trending rankings in 12 countries on Friday, including the UK. I Still Have Faith In You gained 4.4m views within 24 hours in Britain and Don’t Shut Me Down 1.4m views.
In a further confirmation of the Scandinavian pop band’s cross-generational appeal, Abba have already amassed 991,000 followers and 5.5m likes on TikTok despite only joining the platform on 1 September.
Businesses are becoming increasingly aware that exhaustion is a ticking timebomb
This week, staff at Nike’s headquarters in Oregon breathed a prolonged sigh of relief, after learning that they were getting a week off to de-stress and recover from the pressures of the Covid-19 pandemic.
In an open message to staff posted on LinkedIn, Nike’s senior manager of global marketing science, Matt Marrazzo, told staff: “In a year (or two) unlike any other, taking time for rest and recovery is key to performing well and staying sane.”
Continue reading...Secret documents reveal scale of funeral strategy and government anxieties over resources
The UK government’s vast security operation to manage the immediate aftermath of the death of the Queen include official social media blackouts and a ban on retweets.
These plans, codenamed Operation London Bridge, which were first revealed in a Guardian Long Read in 2017 and have now been seen in full by Politico, detail the scale of the arrangements for the funeral and government anxieties about whether the UK has the resources to execute them.
Continue reading...Alexanda Amon Kotey, one of a gang of four IS militants, admits to hostage taking and conspiracy to murder in US court
A British terrorist accused of beheading western hostages for Islamic State has pleaded guilty to multiple charges in a US federal court.
Alexanda Amon Kotey, 37, was one of the gang of four IS militants nicknamed “the Beatles” by their captives due to their British accents.
Continue reading...Possession could be criminalised as home secretary vows to ‘take tough action’ on use of laughing gas
Possession of nitrous oxide, one of the most popular drugs among 16- to 24-year-olds, could be criminalised after the home secretary ordered experts to review its effects.
Priti Patel said she was ready to “take tough action” on the widespread use of laughing gas, which is taken mostly through balloons filled from small metal cylinders often seen littering areas around nightclubs and music festivals.
Continue reading...Chair of commission scrutinising post-Brexit trade deals says ministers must act now to get shelves stocked for Christmas
The government is being urged to “get a handle” on the supply chain crisis, as the chair of a cross-party commission created to scrutinise the UK’s post-Brexit trade deals said ministers need to act now to avoid empty shelves in the run-up to Christmas.
“Red tape and labour shortages from Brexit have exacerbated problems that are being acutely felt across production, processing, manufacturing, retail and of course logistics,” said Aodhán Connolly, who chaired an extraordinary session of the UK Trade and Business Commission, a group of cross-party MPs and business representatives set up as an independent adviser to government in April.
Continue reading...Swedish hitmakers to release album of brand new material in November, and digital avatars will appear in London concert residency in 2022
One of the most anticipated comebacks in pop culture has finally come to pass: the return of Abba.
Forty years after the bitter songs written in the wake of two band divorces for their last album, 1981’s The Visitors, the Swedish pop quartet have reunited for Voyage, an album of brand new songs that will be released on 5 November – including, they say, a Christmas song. Two tracks from it, the stately and epic ballad I Still Have Faith in You and the shimmying Don’t Shut Me Down, are out now.
Continue reading...Exclusive: head of key research into third dose says it may be better to prioritise vulnerable first
There is “almost certainly no urgency” to press ahead with booster shots for healthy adults and it may be better to see how the pandemic pans out before a decision is made, the scientist leading key research into third shots has said.
Prof Saul Faust, chief investigator of the Cov-Boost study whose data next week is expected to help inform a decision on the rollout of boosters across the UK, told the Guardian that for now it may be preferable to prioritise only the vulnerable, including those with compromised immune systems.
Continue reading...Prof Calum Semple and others advising government on Covid-19 response have been targeted by anti-vaxxers
Members of the government’s Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage) have been sent suspicious packages and hate mail throughout the pandemic, one of the UK’s leading virologists has revealed.
Prof Calum Semple, a member of Sage and the New and Emerging Respiratory Virus Threats Advisory Group (Nervtag), said the incidents of abuse included one “particularly nasty” experience when he was targeted by anti-vaxxers.
Continue reading...Foreign secretary says UK must engage with Taliban in Afghanistan after meeting with Qatari officials
Evacuations may be able to resume from Kabul airport “in the near future”, the foreign secretary, Dominic Raab, has said as he expressed a need for direct engagement with the Taliban.
Speaking after talks in Qatar on Thursday, Raab raised hopes that the Britons and Afghans left behind may be able to leave on flights from Afghanistan’s capital.
Continue reading...First-half sales fall £2bn, says industry body, as barriers are compounded by staff shortages
Exports of food and drink to the EU have suffered a “disastrous” decline in the first half of the year because of Brexit trade barriers, with sales of beef and cheese hit hardest.
Food and Drink Federation (FDF) producers lost £2bn in sales, a dent in revenue that could not be compensated for by the increased sales in the same period to non-EU countries including China and Australia.
Continue reading...Nicola Sturgeon says certificates in limited scenarios could protect public health and boost vaccine take-up
The Scottish government is proposing vaccine certificates for entry to nightclubs and large-scale indoor and outdoor events in an attempt to curb escalating Covid infections before the autumn.
Announcing the plans, which MSPs will be asked to vote on next week, the first minister, Nicola Sturgeon, said that – although expected with schools returning last month – “the scale of the increase [in infections] in recent weeks has been very concerning”.
Continue reading...Analysis: Insurgents’ cooperation is needed for evacuations, but PM could face criticism for engaging with them
Boris Johnson’s decision to dispatch a senior spy chief to talk directly to the Taliban in Qatar reflects an uncomfortable but necessary reality: the UK has little option but to engage with the insurgent group now in control of Afghanistan.
Thousands of Afghans eligible for resettlement in the UK are believed to remain trapped in the country – UK ministers refuse to say how many – and hundreds of British nationals. With western troops withdrawn, it is only with Taliban cooperation that people will be able to leave safely and smoothly.
Continue reading...Syed Taalay Ahmed, who worked for Muslim Television Ahmadiyaa International, was ambushed in Tamale
Tributes have been paid to a British journalist who was killed in an armed robbery in Ghana.
Syed Taalay Ahmed, 31, who grew up in Hartlepool, was working for Muslim Television Ahmadiyaa International (MTA) when he was killed, the station said.
Continue reading...Manchester City footballer faces possible trial on four counts of rape and one of sexual assault
The Manchester City footballer Benjamin Mendy will remain in custody before a potential trial on rape charges after a bail application was refused.
The 27-year-old French international has been in custody at HMP Altcourse in Merseyside since last Friday, when he appeared at Chester magistrates court charged with four counts of rape and one of sexual assault.
Continue reading...Students delay studying abroad and some even switch continents because of visa delays
Thousands of British students have been hit by post-Brexit visa hurdles, leaving many struggling to complete their language courses or take up internships in the EU.
While some have delayed studying abroad or even switched continents because of visa delays, hundreds of undergraduates taking modern foreign language courses may miss out on a vital part of their degree.
Continue reading...Conservation charity’s supporters give more than £865,000 despite pandemic closing majority of sites
The National Trust has reported a 383% increase in online donations during the pandemic year when most of the charity’s venues were “put into hibernation”.
Figures from the charity showed that online donationswere more than £865,000, an increase of 383% from 2019/20.
Continue reading...After a four-year legal battle, Helen Macdonald gave an emotional statement after her alpaca was forcibly removed from his home in Gloucestershire and put down.
Macdonald said the UK government did not engage in good faith and that 'all the time they were simply planning to murder Geronimo'.
She went on to accuse the government of falsifying Geronimo’s positive bovine tuberculosis test, and that she would not accept the postmortem results if there was not an independent witness present