Police confirm deaths and say gunman is believed to have shot himself during the serious firearms incident
Six people, including a child, have died after a gunman repeatedly opened fire in Plymouth, police have confirmed.
The atrocity is being classed as a domestic incident and is not thought to be related to terrorism. Police believe the suspect to have shot himself.
Continue reading...Pentagon aims to send in 3,000 soldiers to ‘aid reduction’ of nationals and Afghans with visas
The US and UK have scrambled reinforcements to Kabul to help evacuate their diplomats, soldiers and citizens as well as thousands of Afghans who have worked with them, as the Taliban advance towards the capital.
The Pentagon announced it would send three battalions, about 3,000 soldiers, to Kabul’s international airport within 24 to 48 hours of the announcement on Thursday. The defence department spokesman, John Kirby, said the reinforcements would help the “safe and orderly reduction” of US nationals and Afghans who worked with the Americans and consequently had been granted special immigrant visas.
Continue reading...Show has been shot in New Zealand so far but filming will move to UK from June 2022
Amazon has made the surprise decision to move production of its $1bn-plus Lord of the Rings series from New Zealand to the UK, rejecting tens of millions of dollars in incentives to shoot the TV show in the same location as the blockbuster films.
Amazon, which four years ago paid $250m to secure the TV rights to JRR Tolkien’s works after founder Jeff Bezos demanded a Game of Thrones-style hit for its streaming service, chose to film the first series in New Zealand after competitive bids from around the world.
Continue reading...The Guardian’s picture editors select photo highlights from around the world
Continue reading...Academics warn ‘fugitive’ emissions from producing hydrogen could be 20% worse for climate than using gas
The government’s plan to replace fossil gas with “blue” hydrogen to help meet its climate targets could backfire after US academics found that it may lead to more emissions than using gas.
In some cases blue hydrogen, which is made from fossil gas, could be up to 20% worse for the climate than using gas in homes and heavy industry, owing to the emissions that escape when gas is extracted from the ground and split to produce hydrogen.
Continue reading...Exclusive: Roland Rudd, pro-EU group’s former chair, resigns along with director Richard Reed
Roland Rudd, one of the leading campaigners in the fight to keep Britain tied closely to the EU, has stepped down as a director of the company behind the People’s Vote group.
In a move one insider said marked as a “sorry end” to the slow decline of the movement forged during the fierce battle over Brexit, Rudd and another director, Richard Reed, resigned and handed over the reins of PV Campaign Ltd to Mark Kieran.
Continue reading...Oxburgh Hall in Norfolk gives tiles a special coating to stop bats slipping off as part of £6m roofing project
Bats have probably been in the attics of Oxburgh Hall for centuries. But how can they return for a good day’s sleep when the National Trust puts new and unfamiliar tiles on the roof?
The trust on Thursday revealed the lengths to which it has gone to keep the bat residents of a historic manor house in Norfolk happy during a £6m reroofing project – including specially adapted tiles which they can happily scoot up.
Continue reading...Gerry Layton, a royal supporter from Leeds, bought the cake topping and marzipan base for his collection of memorabilia
An ardent royalist has bought the topping from a slice of Prince Charles and Princess Diana’s wedding cake for £1,850 ($2,565) at auction, more than 40 years after the couple married.
The large piece of cake icing and marzipan base features a detailed, sugared design of the royal coat of arms in gold, red, blue and silver. It was given to Moya Smith, a member of the Queen Mother’s staff, who preserved it with cling film and dated it 29 July 1981.
Continue reading...Analysis: eastern bloc spy agencies historically would target western staff in junior roles
The arrest of a British citizen in Berlin for allegedly spying for the Russians has a distinctly cold war flavour.
In recent years the Kremlin has been accused of carrying out a number of spectacular cyber-operations. They include the hacking and dumping in 2016 of thousands of Democratic party emails. Moscow’s audacious goal, according to Washington: to help elect Donald Trump as US president.
Continue reading...Raised charges and Covax deals on order books of Pfizer, BioNTech, Moderna and AstraZeneca
Two US companies, Pfizer and Moderna, have raised the prices of their Covid-19 vaccines after data from clinical trials showed their mRNA formula was more effective than cheaper vaccines from Britain’s AstraZeneca and the American drugs maker Johnson & Johnson.
AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson have pledged to provide their doses on a not-for-profit basis until the pandemic ends.
Continue reading...Judges say psychiatric expert report can form part of Washington’s full appeal
The WikiLeaks founder, Julian Assange, has lost a high court battle to prevent the US government expanding the grounds for its appeal against an earlier refusal to allow his extradition to face charges of espionage and hacking government computers.
On Wednesday, judges said the weight given to a misleading report from Assange’s psychiatric expert that was submitted at the original hearing in January could form part of Washington’s full appeal in October.
Continue reading...Inquest into death of Laura Daniels hears she travelled to Thailand for trial of Hannah Witheridge’s killers despite serious health problems
The sister of the murdered British backpacker Hannah Witheridge died in hospital after leading the fight for justice for her sibling and travelling to Thailand despite being seriously ill, an inquest heard.
Laura Daniels, a paediatric nurse, died in 2019 aged 30 after years of complications following surgery, five years after her 23-year-old sister was killed.
Continue reading...Employee at British embassy in Berlin suspected of passing on documents in exchange for cash
German police have arrested a British man who worked at the British embassy in Berlin on suspicion of spying for Russian intelligence in exchange for cash bribes, according to prosecutors.
Germany’s highest public prosecutor said the man, identified only as David S, was arrested at his Potsdam apartment at 2.20pm on Tuesday, and his home and embassy workplace were searched.
Continue reading...Pfizer reportedly asked to supply 35m more doses, with final go-ahead for this year’s programme still awaited
Ministers have started ordering vaccines for a booster campaign in autumn 2022, with Pfizer reportedly being asked to supply the UK with a further 35m doses.
The government has still not give the final go-ahead for the vaccine booster programme expected this autumn, but it is understood to have placed the order with Pfizer despite the company raising its prices.
Continue reading...Virginia Giuffre’s lawyer says it ‘would be very ill-advised for Prince Andrew to ignore judicial process’
Prince Andrew cannot hide behind his wealth and power from allegations he sexually abused a child, a lawyer for his accuser has said, warning the duke that he risks a “default judgment” if he ignores the civil case brought against him in the US.
David Boies, representing Virginia Giuffre, has said he and his client have tried everything they can to resolve the matter after alleging that the Duke of York had sex with her while she was 17 – knowing she had been trafficked by his former friend, the disgraced former financier Jeffrey Epstein.
Continue reading...Mistaken for drug dealers? Monitored by police? A new play staged in a Bradford car park weaves stories of everyday racism, faith and petrolheads
“I don’t go out, I don’t really go clubbing, I don’t drink, I don’t do none of that,” says Sohail Hussain, who is explaining how all encompassing his hobby is. “All my money goes on cars – for me it’s an investment.”
Hussain is one of three actors starring in Peaceophobia, a piece from collaborative theatre company Common Wealth and Fuel that interweaves stories about Islam, faith and modified car culture. Set in a car park in Bradford, the three drivers – Casper Ahmed, Mohammad Ali Yunis and Hussain – chat pistons and prayer over the constant hum of engine noise and tension.
Continue reading...Analysis: fate of condemned camelid shines light on one of the UK’s greatest animal health threats
Long-necked, mop-headed and allegedly “a bit grumpy”, Geronimo the alpaca may seem an unlikely cause célèbre.
Yet the future of the eight-year-old camelid has divided experts, stirred some tabloids into indignant fury, and provoked campaigners – known as “alpaca angels” – to march through London.
Continue reading...Official records contrast with witness evidence of loneliness and physical decline among older people in Georgian society
By the time he reached his 60s Isaac Hendley could look back proudly on his life as a shoemaker in 18th century London. But when he looked forward he could only see the shame of being “passed to his parish” since his “bodily infirmities” meant the end of his independence and self-reliance.
After a year of grappling with his physical deterioration and fears that “he should come to want”, Hendley took his own life in 1797. An inquest recorded the state of his mind according to the testimonies of friends and colleagues.
Continue reading...Data collected from 38 member countries says UK among the major economies now in the slow lane
The world’s major economies have seen their rapid recovery after easing Covid restrictions begin to run out of steam in the past month as a resurgence in the virus depressed consumer spending, according to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development.
There are signs that the recovery in the US and Japan is losing momentum, the OECD said, while parts of Europe and China have slowed as consumers remain reluctant to eat out, visit attractions and shop as they did before the pandemic.
Continue reading...Politicians around world continue to respond to report from Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
Food production around the world will suffer as global heating reaches 1.5C, with serious effects on the food supply in the next two decades, scientists have warned, following the biggest scientific report yet on the climate crisis.
Rising temperatures will mean there will be more times of year when temperatures exceed what crops can stand, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, in its sixth assessment report published on Monday.
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