Wales to Ban Visitors from Covid Hotspots in England

THE GUARDIAN: First minister says he will act this week if UK government refuses to stop people travelling

People who live in Covid-19 hotspots in England are to be banned from travelling to Wales, the Welsh first minister has announced.

Mark Drakeford said he had asked for the “necessary work” to take place to allow devolved powers to be used to prevent people from travelling into Wales from “high prevalence” areas.

Drakeford claimed people in Wales were “anxious and fearful” and were “clamouring” for action to be taken. He said the Welsh government would act by the end of the week if the UK government continued to refuse to stop people travelling from English Covid hotspots.

He said: “Evidence from public health professionals suggests coronavirus is moving from east to west across the UK and across Wales.

“Much of Wales is now subject to local restriction measures because levels of the virus have risen and people living in those areas are not able to travel beyond their county boundary without a reasonable excuse. I am determined to keep Wales safe.” » | Steven Morris and Libby Brooks | Wednesday, October 14, 2020

VP Debate: Pence Can't Answer a Question

The Vice Presidential debate asked the candidates a lot of important, hard questions. Unforunately, Mike Pence dodged every single one of them.

"Them"

They've played down Coronavirus for you. But, when it affects them they start taking precautions.

"Unmasked"

Rebellion PAC's latest ad. They say vanity is a deadly sin. Trump wouldn't wear a mask because of how it might make him look.

The Dazzling Beauty of Elizabeth Taylor in Iran

In 1976, actress Elizabeth Taylor and then-aspiring photographer Firooz Zahedi journeyed across the world to Tehran. They dined with royalty, toured ancient sites, shopped in the Grand Bazaar, and perhaps most importantly, took a series of photographs that offer beautiful glimpses of Iran before the revolution and provide an intimate portrait of a 20th-century film icon. Though never intended for public view, Andy Warhol published the photos in Interview magazine shortly after Zahedi and Taylor returned from Iran, and in 2012 they were exhibited at LACMA. Zahedi and Taylor remained close friends and he continued to photograph her throughout the rest of her life. In this episode of Expert Voices, Firooz Zahedi shares the stories behind the captivating images of Elizabeth Taylor in Iran and describes how this remarkable experience influenced his now decades-long career as a celebrated photographer. Sotheby’s will offer one of these magnificent photographs, Elizabeth Taylor Dressed as an Odalisque II, in our 20th Century Art / Middle East sale. (30 April | London, 2019)

Belgian Ex-King’s Love Child Wins Right to Royal Title

TATLER: Delphine will now be addressed as ‘Her Royal Highness’ and her two children will also have the title Princess and Prince

Delphine Boël, the Belgian King’s love-child, has won the right to call herself a princess after a seven-year legal battle to prove the former King Albert II, 86, is her father.

Boël, 52, was told she could use the royal title as well as the surname of the former monarch in a ruling by the Brussels Court of Appeal on Thursday 1 October. Boël’s lawyers confirmed that the aristocrat would take King Albert II’s name and be known as Delphine Saxe-Cobourg and Princess of Belgium.

Ms Boël, who works as an artist, has been reported to be Albert's illegitimate daughter since 1997. She will now be addressed as ‘Her Royal Highness’, and her two children Joséphine and Oscar will also have the title Princess and Prince. » | Rebecca Cope | Friday, October 2, 2020

Trump's ‘Hair’ Falls Off

The Secret Princess: King's Love Child in Court Battle for Recognition | 60 Minutes Australia

60 MINUTES reporter Liam Bartlett used to consider the British Royal family to be the masters – and mistresses – of scandal. Now he thinks they may have to hand over their crown to the Belgian Royal family, who have sensationally been ordered to acknowledge and recognise a brand-new princess. However, this decree is not a reason for official celebration on the streets of Brussels because, rather embarrassingly, the new royal is the 52-year-old love child of the former King, Albert II. Back in the 1960s when he was a prince, the supposedly happily married and deeply religious Albert took a long-term lover. Delphine Boel was the surprise consequence of the illicit affair. For most of her life she dutifully kept mum about her lineage, until a bitter falling out with her father changed her mind.

Chyna

China made Trump roll over like a dog.

Il Donald

THE ATLANTIC: The president knows what Mussolini knew: Some audiences crave images that offer false reassurance and over-the-top displays of power.

For reasons that need no elucidation, I spent a few hours this morning watching Benito Mussolini, the dictator of Italy from 1925 to 1945, performing in the old newsreel clips that now float around the internet. It wasn’t the verbal content I was after, just the imagery. The staged entrances. The gesticulation, the posturing, the arms raised in salute. The beautiful backdrops, the flags hanging from the ancient stone buildings of Rome, Palermo, Verona, Milan.

Il Duce—“the Leader,” the name called out by the crowds in the videos—was a short, balding, unattractive man. But he prepared himself carefully for public appearances, showing a camera awareness ahead of its time. Sometimes he wore suits, but he also wore a wide variety of military uniforms. Presumably to hide his missing hair, he often wore hats—simple berets or more elaborate, ceremonial head coverings, decorated with rooster feathers, animal fur, or national insignia.

He also had a sense of what other kinds of imagery would attract attention. Once, he stripped off his shirt and stacked hay with peasants. He wrestled, playfully, with a young lion. He presided, regally, over the elaborate marriage of his daughter to an Italian aristocrat, Galeazzo Ciano, in a grand society wedding at Saint Peter’s Basilica. Later, he made his son-in-law foreign minister. Later still, in 1944, he had Ciano shot. » \ Anne Applebaum, Staff Writer at The Atlantic | Tuesday, October 6, 2020

Fox & Fiends

Fox News consistently reports lies and reports unverified information as fact. Their “coverage” of Covid19 has revealed just how low they are willing to go to remain in Trump’s good graces.

Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak Lay Out Plans for New Lockdown

The Prime Minister has announced a new three-tier strategy for local lockdowns in an address to the nation.

Europe's Coronavirus Surge: Governments Struggling to Contain Sike in Infections

Today we are examining the current situation in France & in neighbouring countries with regards to COVID-19. This as the number of new cases across the continent continues to rise at an alarming rate, prompting governments to implement fresh containment measures.

Le bilan économique de Donald Trump anéanti par le Covid-19

LE MONDE: Editorial. Alors que, fin 2019, les taux de chômage et de pauvreté étaient au plus bas aux Etats-Unis, la crise liée à la pandémie a tout changé. L’économie américaine a besoin d’un plan d’aide, qui est, pour l’heure, bloqué par l’opposition entre républicains et démocrates.

Editorial du « Monde ». Donald Trump fait mine de se réjouir du rebond économique des Etats-Unis : en septembre, la première économie du monde avait recréé 11,4 millions d’emplois, la moitié des 22 millions détruits en mars-avril, lorsque éclata la crise du Covid-19. En réalité, ce chiffre est une catastrophe pour le président sortant : jamais le taux de chômage (7,9 %) n’avait été si élevé à la veille d’une élection présidentielle américaine depuis la deuxième guerre mondiale. Donald Trump a perdu l’un de ses arguments de campagne les plus forts, son bilan économique. » | ÉDITORIAL | lundi 12 octobre 2020

People in Gaza Sifting through Rubbish for Food, UN Head Says

THE GUARDIAN: Palestinians across Middle East suffering unprecedented poverty, says Philippe Lazzarini

People in Gaza are searching through rubbish to find food as Palestinians battle unprecedented levels of poverty, the head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees has said.

Across Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Gaza and elsewhere, Palestinian refugees are suffering at new depths because of the pandemic, according to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency chief, Philippe Lazzarini. “There is despair and hopelessness,” he said in an interview.

“In Gaza, people are going through the garbage,” Lazzarini said, referring to reports from UNRWA staff in the enclave. “More people are fighting to provide one or two meals a day to their families.” » | Oliver Holmes, Jerusalem correspondent | Monday, October 12, 2020

Velshi: Vice President Pence Missed the Easiest Hypothetical Debate Question Ever | MSNBC

MSNBC’s Ali Velshi says any politician who won’t promise to accept the election results doesn’t deserve your vote.

Meghan: 'I'm Told I Was the Most Trolled Person in the World'

THE GUARDIAN: Duchess of Sussex speaks of ‘almost unsurvivable’ online abuse she has experienced

The Duchess of Sussex has revealed she was told last year that she was the “most trolled person in the entire world” in a podcast in which she opened up about the “almost unsurvivable” online abuse she has experienced.

Meghan and her husband, the Duke of Sussex, joined three Californian high school students during an episode of their podcast, Teenager Therapy, and discussed topics including mental health stigma, self-care and online abuse.

The duchess said the Covid-19 pandemic, which has closed schools around the world, has meant more time online for many.

She told hosts Gael, Kayla, and Thomas: “Yes, it’s a great way to connect, but it also ends up being a place where there’s a lot of disconnection, you know, I can speak personally to. » | Jamie Grierson and agencies | Sunday, October 11, 2020

Is Trump Putting His Supporters at Risk for Covid? | DW News

White House doctor Sean Conley has said that President Donald Trump is no longer at risk of transmitting the coronavirus. But the statement did not say the president had tested negative for COVID-19. Trump has resumed his election campaign, addressing hundreds of jubilant supporters at the White House. It was his first public event since contracting the virus - and the president declared that he is 'feeling great.' He told the cheering crowd that the pandemic which has killed more than 210 thousand Americans will disappear soon.

Lessons from the Golden Era of Andalusia [ الاندلس ] | Al Jazeera World

Saadane Benbabaali is an Algerian academic whose ancestors came from what is now the southern Spanish region of Andalusia. He has retired from teaching literature and Arabic at Paris University III. But for 15 years, Benbabaali has led groups of students on annual trips to Andalusia to share his passion and knowledge about the region and its rich history.

He believes that the period of Arab Muslim rule over the Iberian Peninsula was arguably the only time in European history when Muslims, Jews and Christians lived relatively peacefully together, producing a common culture and harmonious society.

He also thinks that the period and place have powerful lessons for what he sees as today's fractured world. … [Cont’d: https://youtu.be/GGotnIfQaQg ]

UK Is at 'Tipping Point' of Covid Crisis, Says Senior Health Official

THE GUARDIAN: Jonathan Van-Tam says UK must act quickly to avoid history ‘repeating itself’

The UK is at a “tipping point” in the Covid-19 crisis and must act swiftly to avoid history “repeating itself”, the deputy chief medical officer, Jonathan Van-Tam, has said.

In a stark warning highlighting “the worst is yet to come if we don’t all act now”, Van-Tam said the country was “at a tipping point similar to where we were in March” and that the approach of winter made the situation even more grave.

“Winter in the NHS is always a difficult period, and that is why in the first wave our strategy was ‘contain, delay, research and mitigate’ to push the first wave into spring,” he said. “This time it is different as we are now are going into the colder, darker winter months. We are in the middle of a severe pandemic and the seasons are against us. Basically, we are running into a headwind.” » | Natalie Grover | Sunday, October 11, 2020