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Revealed: major anti-lockdown group's links to America's far right

American Revolution 2.0, which presents itself as bipartisan, has been assisted by far-right individuals – some with extremist links

Leaked audio recordings and online materials obtained by the Guardian reveal that one of the most prominent anti-lockdown protest groups, American Revolution 2.0 (AR2), has received extensive assistance from well-established far-right actors, some with extremist connections.

Related: Armed protesters demonstrate against Covid-19 lockdown at Michigan capitol

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Brazil's President Bolsonaro must 'drastically change course' on Covid-19, says The Lancet

British medical journal’s editorial says the Brazilian president’s disregard for lockdown measures is damaging

The biggest threat to Brazil’s ability to successfully combat the spread of the coronavirus and tackle the unfolding public health crisis is the country’s president, Jair Bolsonaro, according to the British medical journal The Lancet.

In an editorial, The Lancet said his disregard for and flouting of lockdown measures was sowing confusion across Brazil, which reported a record number of Covid-19 deaths on Friday, and is fast emerging as one of the world’s coronavirus hot spots.

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20m Americans lost their jobs in April in worst month since Great Depression

Unemployment rate rose to 14.7% from just 4.4% in March as the coronavirus pandemic shuttered the global economy

More than 20 million people in the US lost their jobs in April and the unemployment rate more than trebled as the coronavirus pandemic shuttered the world’s largest economy, triggering a financial crisis unseen since the Great Depression.

The Department of Labor announced Friday that the US unemployment rate rose to 14.7% from just 4.4% in March and a near 50-year low of 3.5% in February before the US was hit by the virus.

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Potentially fatal bouts of heat and humidity on the rise, study finds

Scientists identify thousands of extreme events, suggesting stark warnings about global heating are already coming to pass

Intolerable bouts of extreme humidity and heat which could threaten human survival are on the rise across the world, suggesting that worst-case scenario warnings about the consequences of global heating are already occurring, a new study has revealed.

Related: One billion people will live in insufferable heat within 50 years – study

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Lisa Nandy: UK faces 'serious reckoning' about global role

Labour’s shadow foreign secretary says coronavirus crisis exposes ‘myth of exceptionalism’

Lisa Nandy has said the government’s “go it alone” approach left Britain unable to to prepare for the coronavirus crisis as she urged Boris Johnson to spearhead international cooperation to create and distribute a vaccine.

In her first newspaper interview since becoming shadow foreign secretary, the former Labour leadership candidate said the aftermath of the pandemic should mark a “serious reckoning” about Britain’s role in the world. She criticised the “myth of exceptionalism”, which she said was part of the country’s self-image.

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Man charged with murder over 2017 Greenwich stabbing

David Egan accused over death of Danny Pearce, who was allegedly targeted for his Rolex

A man has been charged with the murder of a 31 year-old in London almost three years ago.

David Egan, 23, of Deptford, south-east London, was expected to appear in custody at Bromley magistrates court on Saturday charged with the murder of Danny Pearce on 15 July 2017.

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Huge rise in fake goods and scams amid coronavirus lockdown, say UK councils

Complaints soar over useless face masks, handmade sanitisers and school meal scams

More than 500,000 unusable face masks, and a garage selling fake Covid-19 testing kits, are among the hundreds of frauds investigated by trading standards officers since the start of the lockdown.

According to the Local Government Association, fraudsters have gone into overdrive during the past six weeks to exploit the public’s fears and the fact that they are stuck at home.

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Public health directors in England are asked to take charge of Covid-19 testing

Care minister’s request is admission that centralised programmes have fallen short

  • Coronavirus – latest updates
  • See all our coronavirus coverage
  • Ministers have asked local directors of public health to take charge of Covid-19 testing in English care homes in what will be seen as a tacit admission that centralised attempts to run the programme have fallen short.

    In a letter to sector leaders, seen by the Guardian, the care minister, Helen Whately, acknowledged that testing of care home residents and staff needs to be “more joined up”. She describes the new arrangements as “a significant change”.

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    We fear hunger, not coronavirus: Lebanon protesters return in rage - video

    Lebanon’s coronavirus lockdown has sent an economy already in deep trouble into freefall, and many are struggling to survive. Gino Raidy is an activist who was prominent during the October 2019 anti-government corruption protests. Now, with many fearing hunger and believing there is nothing left to lose, he is helping to keep demonstrators safe as they demand real and lasting change

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    Europeans and Russians should remember what bound them together: anti-fascism | Kirill Medvedev

    Russian media pours scorn on Europe, but the only progressive way forward for our common continent is together

    In the early 1990s Russia used to have a strong sense of belonging in Europe. This began to change: the post-Soviet shock therapy reforms were a punishing transition to a free-market society, when a kilogram of sausage cost about the same as a monthly pension and many families experienced malnutrition and hunger. The sudden shift to a more “westernised” way of running the economy left many impoverished, which was eventually capitalised on – after the oligarchic power wars – by a new political leader who embraced a conservative, nationalist rhetoric: Vladimir Putin.

    Today, Russian television presenters feed us stories about a European continent in decay, where “aggressive migrants” run amok, where social services take children away from their parents for being “slapped”, where “sexual minorities” destroy traditional families.

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    Groundhog day getting you down? Here's my trick for breaking the monotony | Hadley Freeman

    For a while supper and wine were sufficient; now I’m watching every adaptation that is better than its source material

    I suspect I’m not alone in this but, at some point in the past two weeks, I hit my lockdown wall. Not literally, although apparently the “banging one’s head against the kitchen wall” phase kicks in on the eighth week, so that’s something to put in the diary. But last week I felt really, really over it. Enough with every day being the bloody same; enough with watching my children become increasingly fretful because they haven’t seen their friends in over a month, the equivalent of five years to a pair of four-year-olds. But unless you want to be one of those delightful people protesting the lockdown in the US, clothed in stars and stripes, AK-47s across their backs, what choice do we have? So, like Bill Murray, we grind out the same day, again and again and again.

    The trick is to invent things to look forward to. For a while, “supper” and “wine” were sufficient, but repetition has dulled their efficacy. So I set myself challenges, driven on by the thrill of completion. Some people hear the word “challenge” and think, “Fitness!” Those people are not me. “Rewatch the entirety of 30 Rock” is more my speed. It is so soothing to watch a show about a luxuriantly bouffanted New York tycoon who isn’t a moron. In a just world, Jack Donaghy would be the US president instead of, well, you get the point. Then, sparked by his brilliant turn as Chris Tarrant on the ITV drama, Quiz, my next challenge was, “Watch every Michael Sheen performance in which he plays a real person”. This was deeply enjoyable, even if, in my lockdown-confused mind, I now think Brian Clough interviewed Richard Nixon on TV and Kenneth Williams was prime minister when Diana died.

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    Can we please stop talking about Adele's body? | Arwa Mahdawi

    You’d think during a pandemic we’d all have gained a little perspective – but policing female bodies and appetites is a timeless trend

    Sign up for the Week in Patriarchy, a newsletter​ on feminism and sexism sent every Saturday.

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    This Europe Day we send a message of solidarity and friendship to British people

    The UK may no longer be an EU member but, as the current health crisis shows, cooperation continues to be essential

    On Saturday, for the first time in almost 50 years, we observe Europe Day without the United Kingdom as a member state of the European Union. As ambassadors and high commissioners representing the EU and its 27 countries in the UK, we are nonetheless very keen to mark the date with all the citizens of this great country and with the millions of EU nationals who live and work in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

    We celebrate Europe on 9 May because on this same day in 1950, exactly 70 years ago, in the aftermath of the devastating second world war, Robert Schuman, the Luxembourg-born foreign minister of France, laid the foundations of our collective endeavour. He said then: “Europe will not be made all at once, or according to a single plan. It will be built through concrete achievements which first create a de facto solidarity.”

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    The Last Dance: Is the Michael Jordan documentary a dressed-up puff piece?

    The hit docuseries on Michael Jordan and the 1990s Chicago Bulls scores big as entertainment, but journalistic compromises make it little more than longform branded content

    Not long after ESPN scored its first ever Academy Award for Ezra Edelman’s nonpareil OJ: Made in America, a masterclass in longform investigative journalism that drew comparisons to Mailer and Caro, the network announced another multi-part documentary series centering on an American sports icon. The Last Dance, a 10-part film jointly produced with Netflix, promised an unvarnished deep dive into one of the most transformative stars and feted dynasties in the history of sports: Michael Jordan and the 1990s Chicago Bulls.

    The anticipation only mounted with the release of a glossy extended trailer at Christmas that teased never-before-seen footage and a star-studded roster of interviewees – Barack Obama! Justin Timberlake! – along with the participation of Jordan himself, who has spoken only sparingly about the Bulls’ imperious reign and dumbfounding break-up in the two decades since his playing days. Initially slated for a June release alongside this year’s NBA finals, ESPN swiftly moved up the premiere date to April after the coronavirus pandemic went scorched earth on its spring programming schedule.

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    John Crace's big bank holiday quiz

    Have you been keeping up with the news?

    What reason did the government give for not joining the EU procurement scheme on four separate occasions?

    Brussels had the wrong address so we never got the email

    We weren’t allowed to because we had left the EU.

    All the European ventilators had the wrong plugs.

    In her evidence to the home affairs select committee, did Priti Patel say that the reason passengers weren’t tested on arrival at airports was because...

    The UK had too many international air passengers

    The UK had too few international air passengers

    The UK had both too many and too few international air passengers

    The communities secretary, Robert Jenrick, owns three homes, two of which are in London. Where is the third which he visited in contravention of lockdown rules?

    Exmoor

    His constituency of Newark

    Herefordshire

    What did the Daily Mail think VE Day stood for in its readers’ offer for a 75th Anniversary Celebration coin?

    Victory in Europe

    Victory for Europe

    Victory over Europe

    Who was visited by the police after breaking lockdown to go to Dover to make a video about his failure to find any illegal immigrants?

    Richard Tice

    John Redwood

    Nigel Farage

    How many people in South Korea (population 52 million) have died from the coronavirus?

    256

    2,560

    25,600

    What did Donald Trump suggest people should think about using to help them beat coronavirus?

    Sunbed courses

    Dettol

    Chloroquine

    What is France selling to help pay for the coronavirus crisis?

    The Arc de Triomphe

    The wine cellar of the Elysee Palace

    Its national collection of antique furniture

    How long do you get on a free Zoom conference call?

    30 minutes

    40 minutes

    60 minutes

    What was Boris Johnson doing when he took 10 days off in Chequers in February during the early days of the coronavirus pandemic?

    Recovering from his 10-day break to Mustique at the New Year.

    Sorting out his complicated private life.

    Helping Carrie Symonds arrange a baby shower for her friends.

    What was the name of the two doctors who cared for Boris Johnson in St Thomas’ after whom he named his son?

    Imran

    Ranjit

    Nicholas

    What aliases did the transport secretary, Grant Shapps, use for his second job as an internet marketeer when first elected as an MP?

    Maurice Blue and Archie Stoat

    Mostyn Orange and Torquil Beaver

    Michael Green and Sebastian Fox

    How many coronavirus tests did Priti Patel tell a Downing Street press conference had been carried out?

    300,034,974,000

    3,000,349,740,000

    30,034,974,000

    Who is being lined up to take the blame for the inevitable public inquiry into the government’s handling of the pandemic?

    The EU

    Matt Hancock

    Meghan and Harry

    How much will a mug of coronavirus breakout star, Chris Whitty, cost you from the ‘Chris Whitty Appreciation Society’?

    £8

    £10

    £12

    What did deputy chief medical officer, Jenny Harries, tell a Downing Street press conference in March that couples should do?

    Separate

    Stop being so needy

    Move in together

    Banksy has donated a new artwork to Southampton general hospital. It depicts a boy holding up

    A testing kit

    A Boris Action man

    A nurse doll

    Where is Tom Cruise’s new film set to be shot?

    The International Space Station

    Richard Branson’s Necker Island

    The Nightingale Hospital in London

    What was Meghan reading to her son Archie in his first birthday video

    Lights! Camera! Action!

    Duck! Rabbit!

    Duck! Never!

    15 and above.

    Excellent: give yourself a round of applause

    11 and above.

    Well done: you seem to have been paying attention to the news

    7 and above.

    Not bad: you appear to have been trying to keep with events

    0 and above.

    Risible: were you trying to get the answers wrong?

    3 and above.

    Very poor: do you follow the news at all?

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    Vanessa Feltz: ‘Preserve your mystique at all costs’

    The broadcaster, 58, on God, privacy, Mini convertibles, the rudeness of Madonna and her school nickname, Vanessa the Undresser

    Even aged two, I was a child of great perspicacity. At nursery we had to answer the register by saying “Yes, Auntie” or “Present, please”, which I found deeply confusing. First, I thought, you’re not my auntie. And if I’m asking politely for a present every day, where on earth is it?

    Vanessa the Undresser was my nickname at school, and I put that down to my parents. When a sex scene started on TV I was banished to the hall. I’d stand with one ear against the door desperately trying to work out who was doing what to whom and in what position. Thus was aroused in me an unshakable thirst for sex in all its permutations. I’ve never tired of it, menopause or not.

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    ‘Anyone popular at school has muscles’: the rise of the ripped teen

    Charlie, 13, starts his morning with 40 press-ups; William, 15, spends an hour a day working out. But when does a healthy interest become a dangerous obsession?

    Charlie is working on two things in lockdown. First, his studies: at 13, he’s the first to admit his focus is patchy. “I don’t do a lot of homework,” he says. “My mum complains about that all the time.” That isn’t to say he hasn’t thought about a career. “I wanted to be a game designer, but now I think the future’s in diseases, in microbiology, so I am also interested in that. A bit.”

    His other work requires hours of dedication and is something Charlie has genuine enthusiasm for: working on his body. His daily routine starts with 40 press-ups while his shower is running. He eats five eggs and four pieces of toast for breakfast. His ideal lunch would be grilled fish and rice, but when he is at school he typically has to eat pasta with tuna sauce, since the canteen’s focus is feeding children, not lean body sculpting. “He won’t eat sausages or any processed stuff,” says his mother, Helen. She is married and lives in Liverpool with the couple’s three children, aged five to 13.

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    'I feel I've come home': can forest schools help heal refugee children?

    They have a middle-class reputation, but one outdoor school near Nottingham is reconnecting disadvantaged 10-year-olds with nature and a sense of freedom

    When Kate Milman was 21, she paused her English degree at the University of East Anglia to join protests against the Newbury bypass. It was 1996, and the road was being carved out through idyllic wooded countryside in Berkshire. She took up residence in a treehouse, in the path of the bulldozers, and lived there for months. It was a revelation. She lived intimately with the catkins, the calling birds, the slow-slow-fast change in the seasons. Despite being in a precarious position as a protester, she felt completely safe and her brain was calmed.

    “You know when you go camping and go back to your house, and everything feels wrong? The lighting is harsh and everything seems complicated indoors. It just got under my skin, this feeling – that [living in the woods] is like being at home.”

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    From stage star to Vogue cover: Why age cannot wither Judi Dench

    She is the oldest person to grace the fashion bible’s cover – and she’s a hit on social media. Who says that getting older signals an end to vitality?


    You can’t call Judi Dench lazy when it comes to contributing to society, but she’s been particularly dedicated to boosting morale of late. Who knows, perhaps she felt pressured to make up for her turn in the unhinged Cats film, where her feline character horrified viewers by appearing to wear a coat made of its own fur. Dench has provided vital comic relief during this time of crisis, predominantly with silly social media clips – a Twitter video of her wearing a novelty dog hat with pop-up ears in which she instructs us to “keep laughing” racked up 5.4 million views. Now she has supplied a far meatier pick-me-up by becoming, at 85, British Vogue’s oldest cover star.

    Related: Judi Dench becomes British Vogue's oldest cover star

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    'Colour allows us to understand in a deeper sense': Hitler, Churchill and others in a new light

    The story of global conflict is all the more powerful when it isn’t seen in black and white. Artist Marina Amaral explains her latest work

    On a stretcher lies a patient; his ashen face protrudes from under a green blanket, eyes closed. Two uniformed women carry the stretcher, wearing face masks. It looks as if it’s a lovely day: the sun is shining, the shadows dark, the sky blue. But this is not a happy picture. Is the casualty even alive, or has he already been taken by the killer virus that has wrapped itself around our planet like a python, squeezing the life from it?

    The photograph was taken at an ambulance station in Washington DC. Within the past couple of months? It could have been, if it weren’t for the uniforms (I don’t think today’s nurses wear lace-up leather boots) and the stretcher. In fact, it was taken more than a century ago, in 1918, during the Spanish flu epidemic, which killed so many millions. The photographer is unknown, forgotten. But the black and white picture was recently “colourised” by Marina Amaral.

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    Labour urges extended eviction ban amid risk of huge job losses

    Five-point plan to protect renters comes as poll shows 1.7 million people fear unemployment

    Labour is calling on the government to draw up emergency measures to protect renters beyond June as polling shows up to 1.7 million people in the private sector fear that they will lose their jobs this summer.

    Dire economic forecasts released this week, including a Bank of England warning that the country faces its worst recession in 300 years, has prompted Labour to rapidly escalate its call for current protections for the rented sector, like the three-month ban on evictions in England and Wales, to be extended.

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    Plan to open schools on 1 June in doubt as unions air safety fears

    Joint statement insists return will not happen until stringent ‘test and trace’ regime in place

    Ministers’ plans to reopen schools as early as 1 June are in serious doubt after unions representing teachers and school staff insisted that they would not consider a return without a stringent coronavirus “test and trace” regime.

    In an unusual joint statement, which one senior union official said indicated that an early return to a normal school timetable was “off the menu”, the Trades Union Congress said that there should be “no increase in pupil numbers until full rollout of a national test and trace scheme”, and called for the establishment of a Covid-19 taskforce with government, unions and others to agree on the safe reopening of schools.

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    Roy Horn of Las Vegas's famous Siegfried and Roy act dies from Covid-19

    Horn was famed for introducing a pet cheetah to the magic show and was mauled on stage by a tiger in 2003

    Roy Horn of Siegfried & Roy, the duo whose extraordinary magic tricks astonished millions until Horn was critically injured in 2003 by one of the act’s famed white tigers, has died from coronavirus complications. He was 75.

    Horn died of on Friday in a Las Vegas hospital, according to a statement released by his publicist Dave Kirvin.

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    Aberfan teacher Rennie Williams dies aged 86

    Williams was recognised for her bravery after 1966 school disaster in which 144 people died

    A teacher who led pupils to safety during the Aberfan school disaster has died aged 86.

    Rennie Williams, from Merthyr Tydfil, was recognised for her bravery when a colliery spoil tip collapsed on to Pantglas primary school and a number of surrounding buildings on 21 October 1966. A total of 116 children and 28 adults were killed in the disaster.

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    Could a 12-year-old Australian-Chinese violinist be the next child prodigy?

    Decca Classics’ youngest-ever signing, Christian Li, has been hailed a ‘superstar’ who is already up there with the greats

    The classical music world is no stranger to young talent. The 19th century virtuoso Niccolò Paganini started playing aged seven, while Yehudi Menuhin caused a sensation with his performance, at the same age, of Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto.

    Now, however, there’s a new kid on the block, whose backers say transforms from “normal child” to “absolute superstar” the moment the lights dim. Christian Li, a 12-year-old schoolboy violinist from Melbourne, recently became the youngest-ever artist signed by the Decca Classics record label. He will release a new recording later this month, a contemporary adaptation of a traditional Chinese folk tune.

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    Coronavirus app has changed the way the Isle of Wight sees itself

    Islanders are coming to terms with unexpected publicity from the contact-tracing pilot project


    Last Sunday, we woke to the news that the Isle of Wight really had been chosen as the pilot location for the NHS coronavirus contact-tracing app, the idea having been floated by the leader of the council at the start of the previous week.

    Thus a manic week began here at News OnTheWight, where we’ve been pumping out stories as usual, taking part in national media briefings, delving into details of the app and exploring privacy issues while dealing with queries from media outlets from around the world. All sorts of organisations started pushing press releases supporting the app – the most unexpected being the Church of England.

    When Matt Hancock, the health secretary, announced at last Monday’s press conference, “Where the Isle of Wight goes, Britain follows”, there was a collective spitting out of tea on the island and beyond. Of course there were the predictable jibes – “How do I install the app on my fax machine?” was one of the best we heard, and once again, creativity was ignited with memes and T-shirts.

    With such attention, locally it felt like little else but the app was discussed.

    How has the app gone down? Lots of people seem to be jumping on board, claiming any perceived privacy downsides as a small price to pay. Others, with earlier smartphones, were excluded. Older residents overheard in the post office said they really wanted to use the app but their steam-powered mobile phones weren’t capable.

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    Imagine the UK getting rid of road rage, congestion and exhaust fumes for ever | Susanna Rustin

    Britain is a latecomer to decarbonising transport but changes under lockdown and initiatives abroad could spark a revolution

  • Coronavirus – latest updates
  • See all our coronavirus coverage
  • It was a grim irony that the best transport news in ages was buried in the first few days of the coronavirus lockdown. On 26 March, the government published a document, Decarbonising Transport, which went further in facing up to the problem of emissions from air and vehicle traffic than most campaigners had dared to hope for.

    The challenge is enormous. In 2016, transport overtook energy to become the single biggest source of domestic emissions. Motor vehicles on their own are responsible for around a fifth of the total. On aviation, the UK is the world’s third-worst polluter, behind China and the US.

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    Lockdown has made us see the natural world anew – let's not waste it | Gaby Hinsliff

    The pandemic is giving us a lesson in life, hope and death. It’s one we should never forget

    Back in the days when we all still hurried oblivious through crowded city streets, the names chalked on the pavement must have been easily missed. But now a long-running campaign by rebel botanists across Europe to highlight overlooked nature in the city, scribbling names and plant details alongside a pretty weed growing through a wall or a tree spreading overhead, has unexpectedly found its niche.

    Going for a walk is the only real freedom many have had for weeks, and with no particular place to go but out, there is finally time to notice nature creeping through the cracks: the birdsong no longer drowned out by traffic; the daffodils in front gardens giving way to frothy peonies; a fat supermoon hanging heavy on the night horizon.

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    Irish support for Native American Covid-19 relief highlights historic bond

    • GoFundMe page for Navajo and Hopi aid lists many Irish names
    • Choctaw Nation sent donation in 1847 for potato famine victims

    The list of recent donors reads like an Irish phone book. Aisling Ní Chuimín, Shane Ó Leary, Sean Gibbons, Kevin Boyle, Kevin Keane, Clare Quinn, Eamonn McDonald, on and on down a GoFundMe page that by Friday had raised $3.15m of a $5m goal.

    The individual amounts are not remarkable – $10, $20, $30, some exceeding $100 – but the story behind the donations stretches back two centuries and encompasses a singular act of generosity that forged a bond between Native Americans and Ireland, a bond now renewed in the coronavirus era.

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    First Indians arrive home after weeks stranded abroad

    Repatriation flights and naval warships help return some citizens after long delays

    Relieved Indians are arriving at airports across the country on the first flights to bring home those stranded abroad, and others are en route on naval warships, in an extensive repatriation effort labelled the vande mataram (long live the motherland) mission.

    Photos from inside a plane landing at Chennai airport showed the flight crew, who were tested for Covid-19 beforehand, wearing protective suits and smiling behind masks and visors.

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    'You can't ask the virus for a truce': reopening America is Trump's biggest gamble

    With states opening even as Covid-19 rages on, the president is rolling the dice on his career – and tens of thousands of lives

    On Monday the Republican governor of Nebraska, Pete Ricketts, a close ally of Donald Trump and frequent visitor to the White House, opened his daily coronavirus briefing with a big announcement. “Today is May 4,” he said, “the first day of loosened restrictions statewide.”

    With his declaration, Ricketts placed Nebraska at the vanguard of America’s reopening. Churches can now open their doors to worshippers, wedding bells and funeral dirges will be heard once more, hospitals can reschedule elective surgeries, and most Nebraskans will be able to resumehaving their hair cut, nails manicured, bodies massaged and skin tattooed.

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    Thousands turn out for VE Day parade in Belarus despite Covid-19 concerns

    Country’s leader Alexander Lukashenko boasts of holding only parade in former Soviet Union

    Thousands of people, including elderly veterans of the second world war, turned out for Belarus’s Victory Day military parade despite the coronavirus pandemic.

    Images from the parade showed crowds packed on to parade bleachers as the country’s leader, Alexander Lukashenko, boasted of holding the only parade in the former Soviet Union to mark the defeat of Nazi Germany.

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    Gangs take bigger risks to smuggle drugs into lockdown Britain

    Consignments are being moved in bulk across borders as Covid-19 cuts off normal routes, say police

    Organised crime groups are taking increasingly audacious risks as they attempt to smuggle large quantities of drugs into lockdown Britain, senior police figures say.

    Analysing the latest operations of transnational criminal networks, the National Crime Agency’s head of drug threat said that police were making more significant seizures during the pandemic than normal.

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    Weddings and coronavirus: couples forced to cancel but face massive bills

    They believed insurance would cover the pandemic but have received demands for thousands

    Couples who have been unable to get married because of the coronavirus lockdown have had their wedding insurance claims rejected – in some cases despite being assured they were covered before buying their policy.

    The Guardian has heard from people who have lost thousands when claims were turned down by provider WeddingPlan Insurance.

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    Young men more likely than women to break lockdown rules – UK survey

    Researchers call on government to do more to explain need for physical distancing

    Young men are more likely than young women to break lockdown rules, research suggests.

    A team of psychologists led by Dr Liat Levita from the University of Sheffield surveyed 2,000 13- to 24-year-olds in the UK to examine the impact of the pandemic on young people.

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    How to understand Covid-19 antibody testing in 10 steps

    Inaccuracies in the testing, such as false negatives and false positives, are potentially harmful

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    Coronavirus UK: latest deaths, confirmed cases – and which regions are hardest hit?

    Latest figures from public health authorities on the spread of Covid-19 in the United Kingdom. Find out how many confirmed cases have been reported in each of England’s local authorities

    Please note: these are government figures on numbers of confirmed cases – some people who report symptoms are not being tested, and are not included in these counts.

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    Coronavirus live news: thousands turn out for Belarus VE Day parade, as Russia infections near 200,000

    Belarus leader holds parade prompting safety concerns as other nations curb WW2 events; Russia records 10,000 new Covid-19 cases; Spain’s daily death toll continues to fall. Follow the latest updates

    A child was among sixteen migrants rescued four miles off the coast of France when their makeshift vessel bound for Britain ran into difficulties in the middle of the night, authorities said.

    The group was picked up 3.8 miles off the French port of Calais after calling for help, French maritime authorities confirmed to AFP. A French maritime surveillance vessel rescued the migrants at around 5am and transported them to the Channel port of Dunkirk, where they were handed over to border police.

    Vladimir Putin has told Russians they are invincible when they stand together, as he sought to send a message of unity after the country’s tally of Covid-19 cases reached the fifth highest in the world.

    Addressing the nation in a speech as he presided over Victory Day celebrations, a sombre Putin invoked the memory of the country’s veterans who fought in the second world war.

    We are united by our shared memory, hopes and aspirations, as well as a sense of shared responsibility for the present and the future. We know and strongly believe that when we stand together, we are invincible.”

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    UK plans £250m boost for cycle lanes and fast-track e-scooter trials

    Campaigners call for redesign of transport system to help prevent bounce-back in air pollution

    The government is expected to unveil a £250m investment in UK cycle lanes to encourage commuters to ride to work instead of using public transport, as part of the effort to prevent a resurgence of coronavirus.

    Grant Shapps, the transport secretary, is expected to make the funding announcement during his appearance at the Downing Street coronavirus briefing on Saturday.

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    UK coronavirus live: Grant Shapps to lead daily press conference - latest updates

    Travellers into UK will be quarantined for two weeks when they arrive as part of measures to prevent a second peak, Boris Johnson is expected to say. Follow the latest updates

    The transport secretary Grant Shapps will lead the government’s daily coronavirus press conference, which is due to begin shortly.

    He will be joined by the deputy chief medical officer Prof Jonathan Van-Tam.

    Tributes have been paid to a learning disabilities nurse who died after testing positive for the coronavirus.

    Augustine Agyei-Mensah, known to his colleagues as Gus, was a highly regarded team member at Northamptonshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust.

    Our hearts break today for Augustine’s wife and young family. We remain committed to supporting them through this time.

    Augustine epitomised what we stand for here at NHFT. He was committed to making a difference and giving people a second chance.

    Continue reading...




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    Навальный помог Яндексу закрыть промо-блок собственных yandex-сервисов

    Блок был призван переделать Яндекс в "гибрид" из принадлежащих ему соцсетей, медиа-архивов, новостей — который не делится трафиком со сторонними качественными сайтами, а замыкает посетителей на платформе Яндекса, где к контенту есть вопросы..




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    Amsterdam's "Cat Boat" Is A Floating Cat Sanctuary

    Welcome to the one and only cat sanctuary that floats! A true hidden gem in Amsterdam. 

    De Poezenboot (translated in English to 'The Cat Boat') first began not on a boat at all. In 1966, a woman in Amsterdam, known as v. Weddle, found a stray mother cat with kittens and took on the task of caring for them. Soon enough, more and more cats began to come and be taken under her wing. 

    Fast forward to two years later in 1968 and the first boat was born! V. Weedle had a large house with a terrace but was soon becoming too small for the cats so she bought a boat on the canal! The boat was named 'The Tjalk' and was completely furnished and made suitable for all the cats. And as soon as the floating santuary was open people came to help care for all those stray cats -- the first volunteers. 

    Written in the history of De Poezenboot, "The Tjalk has served faithfully for about 10 years and was replaced by an Ark at the end of 1979. And because the Ark was specially built on the yard for the shelter of cats, this boat met all the requirements we set for it. "

    And in 1987, the foundation was founded, "Stichting de Poezenboot."

    De Poezenboot is home to so many beautiful cats but is also working to help cats find a forever home with a family. You can donate to their cause here. 

    Follow 'The Cat Boat' on Instagram




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    Trees Cocooned in Spiders Webs Were Spotted After The Massive Floods In Pakistan

    The floods that submerged one-fifth of Pakistan's territory took more than six months to recede.

    One of the most affected regions was the Sindh region, located in the western corner of South Asia. 

    At their peak, the floodwaters were up to 20 feet deep. About 20 million people were displaced.

    But apparently, people were not the only ones seeking shelter from the devastating floods. 

    One of the unexpected side-effects of the flooding has been that millions of spiders climbed up into the trees to escape the rising floodwaters, turning them into futuristic-looking trees cocooned in spiders' webs.

    The people living in that area claimed they have never seen this phenomenon before but were glad to discover that those cocooned trees were actually significantly reducing the numbers of mosquitos and thereby, the risk of malaria. 

    It is thought that the mosquitoes were getting caught in the spiders' webs which would be one blessing for the people of the area, facing so many other hardships after the floods. 

    Check out some of the stunning photos, released by the department of international development.




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    Fifteen Cats From Tech Support Who Are Busy Making An Update To Your PC (Memes)

    "Don't worry, I'm from tech support...Just lemme get a closer look."

    Well...it seems like these cats are more interested in all those mouses and cookies hiding in your computer.  




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    Disney Launches a Collection Of Cloth Face Masks Featuring Her Beloved Animal Characters

    People all over the world are now being advised to wear face masks to slow the spread of coronavirus. 

    Luckily, Disney is here to bring a spark to this new corona fashion wear, especially for kids who are more frightened these days. 

    In a statement on its home page, the company expressed its commitment to serving the communities during these challenging times by creating a new line of family-friendly reusable cloth face masks featuring its timeless stories and beloved characters.  

    Disney announced it will donate one million cloth face masks for children and families in underserved and vulnerable communities across the U.S. and pledged to donate all the profits to the non-profit organization, Medshare, which specializes in redistributing medical supplies to hospitals in need. 

    From Baby Yoda to Winnie The Pooh and Mickie Mouse, the masks are aimed at kids and kids at heart who can finally have a chance to let out their inner character. 

    You can purchase a four-pack of face masks for $19.99 in small, medium, and large sizes. 

    Check out some of the cool designs. 




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    Purrfect Combination Of Creepiness And Cats ("Creepy Cat" Comic)

    Artist Cotton Valent has created a brilliant cat comic series called, "Creepy Cat."

    Creepy Cat is the purrfect combination of creepiness and cats! Honestly, what more can you want in life? The story begins when Flora, the human, moves into an old house. Turns out, the old house is occupied by a "creepy cat." And that is where their story begins! 

    You can follow the amazing series on Manga Mutiny! We love "Creepy Cat!"




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    How to Prevent Your Pet From Developing Separation Anxiety Post Quarantine

    During this crazy time many of us have been confined to our homes and for some that means to be home 24/7 with our best friends. Our pets. However, because of this, many pets have become accustomed to having us home with them. 

    But then the question is... will they be okay once bans are lifted and people are able to slowly go back to their daily routines?

    Will they be able to handle their best friends not being by their side 24/7?

    It is expected that many dogs (even cats!) can suffer from separation anxiety, and pet experts are saying that it's a good idea to get your pet ready and used to post-quarantine separation now, to minimize their stress later. 

    Here are some useful tips for both dog and cat owners.

    More videos on Cheezburger's Youtube Channel 





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    Cat Medley: Funnies, Glow-Ups, Rescues And Loss

    We're in need of a delicious cat medley this week, wouldn't you say?

    We searched through the most up-voted cat pictures on the popular subreddit r/cats from the past few weeks, and we decided to share them all with you!

    The pictures all have one thing in common, and that is, of course, cats. However, that's where the similarities end. 

    There are images of hilarious cats being hilarious, adorable-ness (naturally), glow-ups, and mourning and loss. We wanted to take a moment to appreciate the beauty of all these cats and remember those who have recently left us, they may be gone but never forgotten. 




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    Animals Of Instagram Spotlight Of The Week: Wild Cat Fiona

    Once a week, we will be featuring an extraordinary animal account on Instagram! Their story, the adorable pictures, and pawesome videos! This week's spotlight goes to wild cat Fiona

    Fiona is insta-famous with a following of over 100k and we have a suspicion it has something to do with those stunning emerald eyes of hers! Seriously, every single picture of this cat is the most beautiful picture, it was terribly difficult to sum up their beauty into a short list. 

    Fiona isn't just a pretty face, she is a registered emotional support animal who has taken to Instagram to emotionally support the internet! Fiona's owners have created this beautiful idea called "Eterneva." Eterneva is a site in which you can turn your beloved pets ashes into diamonds that you can carry with you everywhere and every day. 

    Pretty beautiful idea! Now, prepare to be mesmerized by Fiona's eyes!