Category Archives: Media

Woman’s attraction to chandeliers not a sexual orientation, Ipso says

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Amanda Liberty made complaint about article in the Sun mocking declaration of love for German light fitting

A woman in a long-term relationship with a 92-year-old German chandelier has been told that her attraction to historic light fittings is not considered to be a protected sexual orientation.

Press regulator Ipso made the ruling after Amanda Liberty, a woman from Leeds in her mid thirties, complained about an article in the Sun mocking her public declaration of love for Lumiere, her name for an intricate lamp she bought on eBay.

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TikTok is the social media sensation of lockdown. Could I become its new star?

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With families and couples filming themselves dancing or performing skits, the app has become even more popular in recent weeks. I asked its British stars to help me get started

Andy Warhol predicted a time everyone would have 15 minutes of fame. He was nearly right – it is actually 15 seconds. That is the maximum duration of a video clip with music (non-music clips can last up to a minute) on TikTok, the video-sharing platform that has taken the world by storm. Favoured by under-25s, who make up its core audience, TikTok this year surpassed Facebook and WhatsApp as the world’s most downloaded non-gaming app.

TikTok’s content doesn’t take itself too seriously, and ranges from food to fashion, pranks to pets – as well as the ubiquitous dance challenges. It is a perfect fit, in other words, for the lockdown, when many of us are stuck inside and in desperate need of some silly fun. This may be why, even if you haven’t downloaded it, you suddenly find, clogging up your social media, clips of Justin Bieber dancing to I’m a Savage by Megan Thee Stallion, or Jennifer Lopez and Alex Rodriguez swapping outfits to Drake’s Flip the Switch. It seems everyone from doctors and nurses in PPE to bemused parents quarantined with teenagers are flocking to the app – and sometimes going viral in the process.

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Prince Harry may quit hunting over Meghan’s dislike of sport, says conservationist friend

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Dame Jane Goodall also reveals Duke of Sussex is finding departure from UK ‘a bit challenging’

The British primatologist Dame Jane Goodall believes the Duke of Sussex will give up hunting because of his wife’s dislike for the sport, and thinks he has been finding life “a bit challenging” since the couple moved to North America.

Goodall, 86, a friend of the pair who has been a guest at their Frogmore Cottage home in Windsor, said in an interview with the Radio Times that Harry and his brother, the Duke of Cambridge, were champions of the natural world – “except they hunt and shoot”.

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Release Julian Assange, says woman who had two children with him while in embassy

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Stella Moris, who had two sons with WikiLeaks founder while he was in Ecuadorian embassy, says he is in danger from coronavirus while in prison

The partner of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has revealed that she had two children with him while he was living inside the Ecuadorian embassy in London.

Stella Moris, 37, a South African-born lawyer, issued a plea for the father of her two young sons, Gabriel, three, and Max, one, to be released from prison and said there were genuine fears for Assange’s health.

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Jameela Jamil: ‘I think I’m less annoying in person than I am on Twitter’

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The presenter, 34, on using her platform, agitating for change and why she’s happy to learn when she gets it wrong

I was deaf, sometimes profoundly, until I was about 12. I’d have an operation – I’d had seven by then – get partial hearing, then lose it again. Finally, they couldn’t patch up my eardrum any more, so they had to fashion a new one. I’d say my hearing is at about 65% now.

It made me a more thoughtful, peaceful person, as well as hyper-observant. I can read people’s body language, which has heightened my ability to make good decisions. Growing up with a disability also makes you obsessed with control, so I’ve never even tried alcohol, even though it seems like I’m drunk on Twitter.

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Four journalists in Yemen sentenced to death for spying

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Court run by Houthi rebels orders release of six other journalists after time served

A court run by Yemen’s Houthi rebels has sentenced four journalists to death after their conviction on spying charges, their defence lawyer has said.

The four were among a group of 10 journalists who were detained by the Iran-backed rebels and accused of “collaborating with the enemy”, in reference to the Saudi-led coalition that has been at war with the Houthis since 2015, Abdel-Majeed Sabra said.

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Influencers among ‘key distributors’ of coronavirus misinformation

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Study suggests mainstream news outlets struggling to compete with celebrities’ and politicians’ reach

Celebrities and politicians with large social media followings are proving to be key distributors of disinformation relating to coronavirus, according to a study that suggests the factcheckers and mainstream news outlets are struggling to compete with the reach of influencers.

The actor Woody Harrelson and the singer MIA have faced criticism after sharing baseless claims about the supposed connection of 5G to the pandemic, while comments by the likes of the Brazilian president, Jair Bolsonaro, playing down the scale of the crisis in the face of scientific evidence have attracted criticism in recent days.

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Lawsuit raises questions about source of Jeff Bezos’s affair revelation

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In lawsuit, Michael Sanchez has accused AMI of plot to ‘scapegoat’ him, and has cast doubt on claim that he was the ‘sole source’

A top executive at the tabloid publisher behind the National Enquirer said in a private email that he was “saving for my tombstone” the untold story of how the tabloid uncovered a 2019 exclusive about Jeff Bezos’s extramarital relationship, according to a lawsuit against the publisher.

The claim raises new questions about how American Media Inc (AMI) discovered the Amazon CEO’s relationship, and how it obtained knowledge of explicit sexual photographs that Bezos, one of the world’s richest men, has alleged were used against him by the publisher for “extortion and blackmail”.

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‘I was face-to-face with Tony Blair’: Michael Sheen on Murdoch, class and giving away his money

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He renounced acting for activism, then had to start earning again. As he returns to TV, Sheen talks about life in isolation, politics and his curious encounter with the man he has portrayed more than any other

Michael Sheen is at home in south Wales, looking out on his garden. The sun catches the side of his face, lighting up his scraggly hair and beard. “We’re very lucky to have a garden to go out in. I know not everybody does,” he says. In the current climate of famous people churning out endless videos of their isolation struggles from the side of a pool in a mansion, it’s a telling sentiment.

A few years ago, after a successful stage and screen career, the actor, 51, “refocused” his life away from entertainment towards community work and activism, and moved back to Wales from Los Angeles. He had been living there for much of the past two decades, to be near his eldest daughter, Lily (her mother is the actor Kate Beckinsale, and they remain close). “And then when my daughter was 18 and went off to a life of her own, I realised: ‘Oh, I can go home again now.’”

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Sean Hannity defends Fox News against claims of coronavirus misinformation: ‘I never called it a hoax’

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Hannity responds to open letter signed by 74 journalism professors and leading journalists claiming Fox News spread false statements

Fox News host Sean Hannity has hit back against intense criticism of the conservative network’s coronavirus coverage, even claiming in a new interview he was ahead of most media in taking Covid-19 seriously.

Related: How science finally caught up with Trump's playbook – with millions of lives at stake

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Hungarian journalists fear coronavirus law may be used to jail them

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Reporters say measures are being used to deny them access to information on pandemic

Hungarian journalists say a new law supposedly aimed at fighting the coronavirus will make objective reporting of the pandemic harder and leave them open to facing court cases or even jail time for their reporting.

The measures, in place since Monday, have been roundly criticised for the sweeping powers they hand to the nationalist prime minister, Viktor Orbán, to rule by decree. Another part of the bill provides penalties of up to five years in prison for those spreading misinformation during the pandemic.

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Jack Schofield, Guardian’s Ask Jack tech columnist, dies at 72

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Paper’s editor says Schofield was ‘one of the first true computing experts in British journalism’

Jack Schofield, the Guardian’s former computer editor and author of its technology advice column, Ask Jack, for almost 20 years, has died aged 72.

Schofield was taken to hospital following a heart attack on Friday night and died on Tuesday afternoon.

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Myanmar blocks hundreds of news sites and threatens editor with life in jail

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Fears abuses may go unreported after journalist arrest under terrorism laws for interview with rebel group Arakan Army

Myanmar has cracked down on journalists, blocking news websites and maintaining a longstanding internet ban in some areas, prompting warnings it is becoming increasingly hard to monitor abuses in the country.

On Tuesday, Myanmar charged a journalist under a terrorism law for publishing an interview with the Arakan Army, a rebel group that demands greater autonomy for the state’s ethnic Rakhine people. The group had recently been labelled a terrorist organisation.

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Mexican journalist gunned down in first fatal attack of 2020

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  • María Elena Ferral shot eight times in Veracruz state
  • Attacks on reporters continue despite coronavirus pandemic

A Mexican journalist has been shot dead in broad daylight as violent crime in the country – and attacks on the press – continue amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Related: Mexico’s human rights chief draws fury for asking if journalists have been killed

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Exiled Pakistani journalist goes missing in Sweden

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Sajid Hussain, who wrote about rights abuses in Balochistan, had been granted Swedish asylum

A prominent Pakistani journalist who fled the country after receiving death threats has gone missing in Sweden where he had been granted political asylum.

Sajid Hussain, 39, went into self-imposed exile in 2012 after his reporting on forced disappearances and human rights abuses in the turbulent region of Balochistan had led to death threats. He had continued to run an online newspaper, the Balochistan Times, from abroad covering the same topics.

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Trump attacks journalists for asking ‘snarky’ questions on coronavirus testing in US – video

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Donald Trump said that federal physical distancing guidelines might be toughened as he urged Americans to help fight the coronavirus with tough measures through April. Trump, speaking to reporters at the White House, said more than 1 million Americans had been tested for the coronavirus, which he called a milestone. But when questioned about testing per capita in the US, Trump wrongly claimed that the population of Seoul in South Korea was 38 million people (it is actually closer to 10 million people) and told the reporter to stop asking ‘snarky’ questions

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RT loses challenge against claims of bias in novichok reporting

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Kremlin-backed channel fails to overturn Ofcom ruling that also related to Syria coverage

The Kremlin-backed news channel RT has lost a high court challenge to overturn a ruling by the UK media regulator that it broadcast biased programmes relating to the novichok poisoning in Salisbury and the war in Syria.

Ofcom fined RT £200,000 after determining that seven programmes, including two presented by the former MP George Galloway, were in breach of UK broadcasting rules relating to due impartiality regarding matters of political controversy.

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Meghan to narrate Disney documentary in first role since royal split

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Elephant will launch on Disney+ days after Sussexes step back from being senior royals

The Duchess of Sussex is to narrate a Disney film which documents the journey of a family of elephants across the Kalahari desert in southern Africa, which will launch three days after she and Prince Harry “step back” from being senior royals.

Meghan will voice the Disneynature documentary Elephant, which will be available on Disney+ from 3 April, and is her first major acting role since becoming a royal.

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Egypt forces Guardian journalist to leave after coronavirus story

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Ruth Michaelson had reported on study that questioned country’s official tally of cases

Egyptian authorities have forced a Guardian journalist to leave the country after she reported on a scientific study that said Egypt was likely to have many more coronavirus cases than have been officially confirmed.

Ruth Michaelson, who has lived in and reported from Egypt since 2014, was advised last week by western diplomats that the country’s security services wanted her to leave immediately after her press accreditation was revoked and she was asked to attend a meeting with authorities about her visa status.

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Julian Assange denied bail in UK after claiming ‘high risk’ of catching coronavirus

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District Judge Vanessa Baraitser refused Assange’s release from Belmarsh Prison in London believing he still poses a flight risk

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange’s application for bail to avoid contracting the novel coronavirus has been denied by a British judge.

Assange was denied bail after arguing that his release from a UK prison would mitigate his “high risk” of catching coronavirus.

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