Fema official regrets fake press conference | World news

 Posted on May 12, 2024  |  2 minutes  |  290 words  |  Kary Bruening

World newsFema official regrets fake press conferenceBy the standards of Fema, the US government agency that notoriously botched the relief effort after Hurricane Katrina, the attempt at news management following the California wildfires seemed relatively benign. At least it didn't leave thousands of people stranded without food or shelter. When no reporters showed up to a last-minute news conference on the fires last week, agency staff members simply asked the questions themselves. [Read More]

From the river to the sea: where does the slogan come from and what does it mean?

 Posted on May 12, 2024  |  4 minutes  |  647 words  |  Chauncey Koziol

Israel-Gaza war This article is more than 2 months oldExplainerThis article is more than 2 months oldAndy McDonald was suspended from the Labour party for borrowing from the phrase, which some say advocates the eradication of Israel Israel and Hamas at war – live updates “We won’t rest until we have justice, until all people, Israelis and Palestinians, between the river and the sea can live in peaceful liberty,” said Andy McDonald, a Labour MP, at a protest in London organised by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign. [Read More]

Gaza before and after: satellite images show destruction following Israeli airstrikes | Israel-Gaza

 Posted on May 12, 2024  |  4 minutes  |  658 words  |  Valentine Belue

Satellite view shows damaged areas in Gaza after strikes by Israel. Photograph: Maxar Technologies/ReutersNewly released images show entire neighbourhoods reduced to rubble after strikes from Israel in the war against Hamas Israel-Hamas war: live updates by Jonathan Yerushalmy and agenciesNewly released satellite images reveal how cities and towns in Gaza have been destroyed by almost three weeks of Israeli bombardments on the besieged enclave. Apartment buildings are crumpled and entire neighbourhoods lie in ruins, in pictures taken before and after Israeli airstrikes and provided by Maxar Technologies and Planet Labs. [Read More]

It is a time of witch hunts in Israel: teacher held in solitary confinement for posting concer

 Posted on May 12, 2024  |  7 minutes  |  1344 words  |  Aldo Pusey

The ObserverIsrael-Gaza warMeir Baruchin, who was fired and jailed for criticising the military, says that many who agree with him are afraid to go public An unlikely charge of intent to commit treason landed Meir Baruchin, a grey-haired, softly spoken history and civics teacher, in the solitary confinement wing of Jerusalem’s notorious “Russian Compound” prison in early November. The evidence compiled by police who handcuffed him, then drove to his apartment and ransacked it as he watched, was a series of Facebook posts he’d made, mourning the civilians killed in Gaza, criticising the Israeli military, and warning against wars of revenge. [Read More]

Kim Jong-un on trend with fashionable fisherman sandals | Fashion

 Posted on May 12, 2024  |  3 minutes  |  479 words  |  Valentine Belue

Fashion This article is more than 4 months oldKim Jong-un on trend with fashionable fisherman sandalsThis article is more than 4 months oldNorth Korean leader dons Vogue ‘footwear of the season’ for recent visit to Naval Command North Korea might be one of the least accessible and most authoritarian countries in the world, but could its leader, Kim Jong-un, be emerging as one of its most fashion-aware politicians? On a recent visit to the Naval Command of the Korean People’s Army to mark Navy Day, the elusive leader donned a pair of “mandals”, teaming his stone-coloured suit with a pair of light-grey fisherman sandals, worn, naturally, with socks. [Read More]

Opera-loving woman becomes last victim of 'Yellow Mama' | World news

 Posted on May 12, 2024  |  3 minutes  |  588 words  |  Chauncey Koziol

World newsOpera-loving woman becomes last victim of 'Yellow Mama'Alabama abolishes electric chair as US starts to reconsider its zeal for death penaltyTo the usual wave of public indifference, Lynda Block, who killed a policeman nine years ago, was herself killed in an Alabama jail yesterday, the 25th person to be executed in the US this year. However, she is likely to earn a special footnote in history as the last person ever to suffer that most American of deaths: the electric chair. [Read More]

Rosalind Eleazar: a star devoted to the exhilarating thrill of theatre

 Posted on May 12, 2024  |  5 minutes  |  908 words  |  Aldo Pusey

Spotlight onStageAfter drama school, the actor feared she’d made a terrible mistake until she had a run of acclaimed roles on stage, TV and in the hit film version of David Copperfield Rosalind Eleazar remembers lying in bed after leaving drama school and feeling depressed that the phone hadn’t rung. She was 27 when she graduated, having gone to university and tried her hand at other careers. “It was a month after leaving Lamda and I just plummeted. [Read More]

Acid with Pink Floyd and harems with Paul McCartney the wild life of Stash, the playboy prince |

 Posted on May 11, 2024  |  5 minutes  |  960 words  |  Jenniffer Sheldon

MusicInterviewAcid with Pink Floyd and harems with Paul McCartney … the wild life of Stash, the playboy prince Melanie XuluHe wooed Nico, saw Syd Barrett lose his mind and got busted for drugs with the Stones. Now, at 81, Prince Stanislas Klossowski de Rola has become a TikTok sensation He was a friend of the Rolling Stones and Pink Floyd, a flatmate of Paul McCartney and a lover of women including Marianne Faithfull, Anita Pallenberg and Nico. [Read More]

Best podcasts of the week: The twisting tale of Dawn Hacheney, and the house fire that killed her

 Posted on May 11, 2024  |  5 minutes  |  1031 words  |  Chauncey Koziol

Best podcasts of the weekPodcastsIn this week’s newsletter: Mortal Sin investigates the death of a pastor’s wife that was more than it seemed. Plus: five of the best genre-defying podcasts Don’t get Hear Here delivered to your inbox? Sign up here Picks of the weekUncovering Roots Widely available, three episodes with more to come in 2024 This moving and powerful new podcast gives a voice to lesser-known people whose stories need to be heard. [Read More]

Dwayne Fields, the first black Briton to reach the north pole: I spotted this polar bear stalking

 Posted on May 11, 2024  |  12 minutes  |  2463 words  |  Aldo Pusey

Black livesExplorationInterviewDwayne Fields, the first black Briton to reach the north pole: ‘I spotted this polar bear stalking us’Sasha MistlinA familiar face on Countryfile and other TV shows, Fields escaped being shot when he was barely out of his teens. Now 37, he’s determined to keep exploring the world – and open it up for young people In 2005, Dwayne Fields found himself staring down the barrel of a gun in east London. [Read More]