Month: December 2020

Read More The sweetness of clementine curd mellows the hit of fiery ginger in this tasty winter dessert We get through a ridiculous amount of ginger in my house. Whether it’s fresh, crystallised or stem ginger in syrup, it’s such a familiar comfort and makes many appearances in both my sweet and savoury cooking at…

Read More The prize-winning writer on her new memoir Not a Novel, growing up near the Berlin Wall and her support for refugees The writing of Jenny Erpenbeck has a tendency to sneak up on you rather than trumpet its arrival. The first page of her new book Not a Novel starts with an understated…

Read More The grand prix season ends in Abu Dhabi this weekend. The sport needs to rethink its partnerships with oppressive regimes For Formula One fans around the world, the news that world champion Lewis Hamilton has recovered from coronavirus and will be fit to race in Abu Dhabi this weekend will be met with…

Read More Less than 48 hours left to reach deal, as UK prepares to deploy naval ships to patrol waters Trade talks between the UK and the EU are continuing with less than 48 hours to go until the deadline imposed by both parties to reach a deal. With both sides warning on Friday that…

Read More Unilateral sanctions kill, sicken and starve people in the nations that are targeted and make humanitarian work increasingly difficult and risky, a UN rapporteur has said, in a damning assessment. The Covid-19 pandemic could have brought humanity together in cooperation to combat the deadly disease. Instead, 2020 has seen an expansion of the…

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Read More David Walliams, Whoopi Goldberg, Bruce Springsteen … when celebrity authors make big money from children’s books, do young readers and other writers pay the price? Need help this Christmas? Six children’s authors kids will love What do David Walliams, Lil Nas X, Ricky Gervais, Dermot O’Leary, Geri Halliwell, Bruce Springsteen, Miranda Hart, Greg…

Read More Letter says Coronavirus Act powers will be used to force English secondaries to stay open for all pupils Coronavirus – latest updates See all our coronavirus coverage The government is using its emergency powers under the Coronavirus Act to threaten to use legal action against headteachers in England who want to allow their…

Read More The Child Poverty Action Group helped a Dundee primary make life better for deprived families Please donate to our appeal here It was the “special occasions” at her children’s school that Anna (name changed) struggled with. She and her partner both work but, with four children, stumping up the cash for Halloween costumes,…

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Read More At 94, what has the world’s most-travelled naturalist learned? He talks garden birds in lockdown, the eerie silence of Chernobyl – and tackling the climate crisis Before the stay-at-home orders of 2020 kept him in one place for months on end, David Attenborough had never sat in his garden and listened to the…

Read More The electoral college will confirm Joe Biden’s victory on Monday but Donald Trump’s fact-phobic hold on the Republican party holds firm Nearly four decades after the publication of A Very British Coup, a popular novel by member of parliament Chris Mullin, America is in the throes of a very Trumpian coup – desperate,…

Read More Residents of Brisbane and the Gold and Sunshine coasts warned to prepare for a month’s worth of rain in less than a day South-east Queenslanders have been urged to prepare their homes and rethink travel with a month’s worth of rain tipped to fall in less than a day. Up to 150mm of…

Read More They’re loyal, diligent – and have unbeatable noses. Could dogs play a key part in the fight against the pandemic? A single-storey building in a lonely rural business park, a few miles from Milton Keynes on a grey autumn day. It looks like a location for a bleak thriller: where a kidnap victim…

Read MoreRuhollah Zam ran a site that Iran accuses of inciting the nationwide protests of 2017-18.Ruhollah Zam ran a site that Iran accuses of inciting the nationwide protests of 2017-18.

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Read More Owner of The Olive Branch says scrapped Christmas parties have hit business, but it is likely to survive Coronavirus – latest updates See all our coronavirus coverage The owner of the pub crowned the best in the UK in a new consumer guide has warned that it is facing “the worst December” in…

Read More Dad was an alcoholic, and violent and destructive with it. But when I was nine, he painstakingly created a thing of beauty, which I have kept to this day My father was an alcoholic; and when you grow up with an alcoholic, you get used to them pissing in places they shouldn’t. In…

Read MoreThe global chemical weapons watchdog is criticizing Syria for failing to declare a chemical weapons production facility and respond to 18 other issuesThe global chemical weapons watchdog is criticizing Syria for failing to declare a chemical weapons production facility and respond to 18 other issues

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Read More ‘Why are you walking like that?’ she says. ‘No reason,’ I say. ‘This is how I walk now’ My wife comes out to my office shed with a parcel, which she hands to me. “These are for you,” she says. I open the package. “Fleecy insoles,” I say. “Thank you.” Continue reading…‘Why are…

Read More Philip, 57, sales manager, and Liz, 61, illustrator What were you hoping for?An interesting and entertaining evening, and to meet a soulmate. Continue reading…Philip, 57, sales manager, and Liz, 61, illustratorWhat were you hoping for?An interesting and entertaining evening, and to meet a soulmate. Continue reading…

Read More Despite aggressive early lockdown measures, cases and deaths are now surging. How did things get so bad? Early in the coronavirus pandemic, California was celebrated as a beacon of common sense in a country on the brink. Continue reading…Despite aggressive early lockdown measures, cases and deaths are now surging. How did things get…

Read More A dangerous trip almost ended in disaster but the project was saved with some ingenuity What is the weather like up on Mount Everest today? Last year a bunch of daredevil scientists and Sherpas laboured in the “death zone” and installed the world’s highest weather station, perched at 8,430 metres, just 400 metres…

Read More Ruhollah Zam encouraged anti-government demonstrations and used his Telegram channel to spread embarrassing information about officials Iran has executed a journalist over his role in inspiring nationwide economic protests in 2017, months after he returned from exile to Tehran under mysterious circumstances. Iranian state television and the state-run IRNA news agency said that…

Read More Austria’s Constitutional Court has lifted a ban on wearing headscarves in primary schools that was in force since 2019, arguing that it targets Islam and hinders integration of Muslim girls. The court declared the ban unconstitutional in a Friday ruling, saying it violates Austria’s principles of religious and ideological neutrality. “The school is…

Read More Queensland Tertiary Admissions Centre says incorrect email sent while testing notification process The Queensland university admissions body has apologised after it accidentally emailed tens of thousands of year 12 students telling them they were “ineligible” for a university admissions score. Due to an IT bungle, 24,000 students in the state received an email…

Read More Young children prefer toys and other material items over “experiences” like vacations or trips to theme parks, a recent study has found, surprising approximately no one, while covering for the ongoing Covid-19 isolation of kids. Children aged three to five prefer material gifts to experiential ‘presents,’ according to a recent study conducted by…

Read MorePresident Donald Trump has planned three more executions before he leaves office on 20 January.President Donald Trump has planned three more executions before he leaves office on 20 January.

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Read More The U.K. government will end taxpayer-funded support for fossil fuel projects in other countries, Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced Friday, in the hopes of setting a global example as the country prepares to host a key UN climate summit next year. Wealthy countries’ continued financial support for companies taking part in oil, gas…

Read More Some governors have encouraged people to voluntarily wear masks but punt legal responsibility to local municipalities. Some governors have encouraged people to voluntarily wear masks but punt legal responsibility to local municipalities.

Read More The FDA has authorized emergency use of a COVID-19 vaccine developed in record time by Pfizer Inc. and BioNTech. Shots will begin within days. The FDA has authorized emergency use of a COVID-19 vaccine developed in record time by Pfizer Inc. and BioNTech. Shots will begin within days.

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Read More Government says deal allowing Beijing officials to interrogate Chinese nationals was standard ‘technical arrangement’ The Swiss government has strongly rejected accusations that a deal allowing Chinese officials to enter Switzerland and interrogate Chinese nationals put dissidents at risk. Switzerland entered into a so-called re-admission agreement with China back in 2015. The deal expired…