Exclusive: ‘Perfect storm’ hits charities as close to 5m Brits have stopped donating since start of the pandemic December 6, 2021 More than 4.6m fewer people in the UK have been donating to charities this year compared to 2019. What’s more, 2021 has been more challenging than 2020, with almost 700,000 more people halting their donations this year compared to the peak of the pandemic last year, according to recent YouGov research analysed by smart software provider Lightful. [...]
Sigh of relief in South Africa as Omicron variant appears to be ‘super mild‘ mutation with Covid death rate not jumping December 6, 2021 The WHO and Coronavirus experts are increasingly convinced the new Omicron variant is ‘super mild’ and has, so far, not led to a jump in Covid death rates anywhere in Southern Africa. The WHO is calling this morning for countries to drop travel restrictions and end the mass hysteria, and instead be cautiously optimistic as [...]
Disgraced abroad and locked up at home: Ousted Myanmar leader and Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi sentenced to four years in prison December 6, 2021 Media in Myanmar and Thailand are reporting this morning that a court in Myanmar has sentenced the country’s ousted leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, to four years in prison after finding her guilty of incitement and violating coronavirus restrictions. The ruling is the first in a series of cases brought against the 76-year-old Nobel laureate [...]
Covid silver lining: ‘Extremely mild’ Omicron variant is rapidly killing off much more deadly Delta coronavirus mutation December 6, 2021 Excitement is growing among Coronavirus experts in Southern Africa and around the world as it increasingly seems that the new Omicron variant is rapidly replacing the much more deadly Delta mutation. Experts are so ecstatic because it seems more and more that the Omicron variant is much more contagious and dominant than Delta, but also [...]
Women’s football was once banned but now it is a beacon of possibility December 5, 2021 Though 40,000 plus fans will celebrate Women’s sport at today’s FA Cup final between Arsenal and Chelsea, there’s a darker occasion being marked at the weekend – the 100-year anniversary of women’s football being banned in England. “Essentially, the Football Association (FA) said that the game of football was ‘quite unsuitable for women’,” said Charlotte [...]
Omicron is first coronavirus variant that is able to crush immunity from earlier Covid infection, researchers in South Africa find December 3, 2021 A new study in South Africa suggests this morning that the new Omicron variant has “substantial” ability to re-infect people who previously had Covid-19 simply because it is able to evade immunity systems in people’s bodies. The study estimated that the risk of reinfection for November 1 to 27, when Omicron started circulating, was 2.39 [...]
The Hand of God review: Childhood memories and Maradona obsessions December 3, 2021 Awards season can often be a time when great directors get reflective. Alfonso Cuarón’s Roma became an Oscar contender two years ago, while Greta Gerwig’s Lady Bird and Lee Isaac Chung’s Minari have both won acclaim in recent years as films based partly on the filmmaker’s experiences. It’s a tricky path to take, however, sometimes [...]
Novel coronavirus: Meet the writers who penned a book during lockdown December 3, 2021 They say everyone has a book in them, but usually that’s where it stays. Writing a novel is a time-consuming business, a months- or years-long project, often undertaken with little guarantee anyone will ever read it. Every successful author has their ‘origin story’, from JK Rowling scribbling away in an Edinburgh cafe to Dostoyevsky bashing out The [...]
Learn the right lessons from Australia’s barmy shutdown December 3, 2021 It is hard to say whether history will look warmly, or otherwise, on Australia’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic. When the virus first emerged, the country shut down – and shut down hard. It is only in recent weeks that even Aussies, of whom there are so many in London, were even able to contemplate [...]
Ollie Phillips: Chiefs vs Saracens could be the match of the season… so far December 2, 2021 The international players are back at their clubs and so is the Premiership, and in this blockbuster weekend of games we have the hottest match-up of the season so far. Chiefs vs Saracens There is no love lost between Exeter Chiefs and Saracens. Tony Rowe was shouting from the rooftops about Sarries deserving relegation after [...]