Pink Supermoon Set to Brighten UK Night Skies Next Week

THE GUARDIAN: Celestial event due to take place shortly before sunset on Tuesday and will be visible until next morning

A pink supermoon is set to brighten the night skies over the UK next week, though there will not be any noticeable difference in colour, as the name might suggest.

The full moon in April is also known as the “pink moon” as it is named after pink flowers, known as phlox, which bloom in the springtime.

The celestial event is expected to take place just before sunset on Tuesday 27 April as the moon rises in the east and will be visible until it sets in the west the next morning.

It is also a supermoon because the full moon will occur when it is near its closest point to the Earth in its orbit. » | PA Media | Sunday, April 25, 2021

Was King Solomon the Ancient World’s First Shipping Magnate?

THE OBSERVER: Marine archaeologist unearths evidence suggesting biblical king’s riches were based on voyages he funded with Phoenician allies

King Solomon is venerated in Judaism and Christianity for his wisdom and in Islam as a prophet, but the fabled ruler is one of the Bible’s great unsolved mysteries.

Archaeologists have struggled in vain to find conclusive proof that he actually existed. With no inscriptions or remnants of the magnificent palace and temple he is supposed to have built in Jerusalem 3,000 years ago, the Israelite king has sunk into the realm of myth.

Now British marine archaeologist Dr Sean Kingsley has amassed evidence showing that Solomon was not only a flesh-and-blood monarch but also the world’s first shipping magnate, who funded voyages carried out by his Phoenician allies in “history’s first special relationship”.

Over 10 years, Kingsley has carried out a maritime audit of “the Solomon question”. By extending the search beyond the Holy Land, across the Mediterranean to Spain and Sardinia, he found that archaeological evidence supports biblical descriptions of a partnership between Solomon, who “excelled all the kings of the earth in riches and in wisdom”, and the Phoenician king Hiram, who “supplied Solomon with cedar timber and gold, as much as he desired”. » | Dalya Alberge | Sunday, April 25, 2021

Frankreich: Lehrer in Gefahr | Fokus Europa

Immer mehr Pädagogen, die Kritik an radikalen Islamisten üben, stehen in Frankreich unter Polizeischutz. Die Polizei befürchtet weitere Attentate, wie das auf den Lehrer Samuel Paty im Oktober 2020.

What Living in London Was Like During The Blitz | Cities At War: London | Timeline

This programme includes an award-winning trilogy whose theme is the miraculous resilience of the human spirit in the face of adversity.

Documenting Nazi Persecution of Gays: Josef Kohout/Wilhelm Kroepfl Collection

In 1994, the Museum acquired the unique collection of Josef Kohout. More widely known as Heinz Heger, Kohout recorded his experiences in The Men with the Pink Triangle, the first published account of a gay survivor of the Nazi camps. Dr. Klaus Müller, the Museum's Representative for Europe, shares his story.

Pride Month: The Nazi Persecution of Gay People (2020)

Before the Nazis came to power, Berlin was home to a vibrant gay community. Within weeks of their rise in March 1933, the Nazis drove this population underground and waged a violent campaign against homosexuality. Over the next 12 years, more than 100,000 men were arrested for violating Germany's law against "unnatural indecency among men.” During this time, proof was often not required to convict an individual. Some were sent to concentration camps and subjected to hard labor, cruelty, and even medical experiments aimed at “curing” them.

Gay Pride: Kitty Fischer on Gay Male Rescuer in Auschwitz

For National Gay Pride Month USC Shoah Foundation is featuring a testimony clip every week in June of eyewitnesses to the Nazi persecution of Gay men in the Holocaust. Kitty Fischer recounts her time in Auschwitz-II Birkenau when as a young girl she encounters for the first time a gay male prisoner who will turn out to save her life.

UK Far Right, Lifted by Trump, Now Turns to Russia

THE NEW YORK TIMES: The anti-Islam agitator Tommy Robinson struck gold in America. Keeping it might require help from Moscow, where other British far-right activists are also finding friends.

LONDON — Two days after supporters of former President Donald J. Trump stormed the U.S. Capitol, but failed to reverse his election defeat, a defiant shout sounded from across the ocean. Tommy Robinson, Britain’s loudest amplifier of anti-Islam, far-right anger, insisted the fight was not over.

“You need to pick yourselves back up,” Mr. Robinson said in an online video viewed tens of thousands of times. “As Donald Trump says, it’s only just beginning.”

A former soccer hooligan and founder of the English Defence League, one of Britain’s most notorious nationalist groups, Mr. Robinson has largely been a pariah in his home country but Trump loyalists embraced him much the way they embraced many of the American extremist groups whose members would join the Capitol riot, including the Proud Boys and the Oath Keepers.

Mr. Robinson appeared on Fox News and Infowars. A right-wing U.S. research institute even bankrolled a 2018 rally in London that foreshadowed the violence at the Capitol: Mr. Robinson’s supporters attacked police officers in a street fight near Parliament. A month later, Representative Paul Gosar, Republican of Arizona, flew to London to speak at a second rally for Mr. Robinson.

His message? Keep fighting. » | Jane Bradley and Michael Schwirtz | Friday, April 23, 2021

‘The System Has Collapsed’: India’s Descent into Covid Hell

THE GUARDIAN: Many falsely believed that the country had defeated Covid. Now hospitals are running out of oxygen and bodies are stacking up in morgues

Looking out over a sea of jostling, maskless faces gathered at a political rally in West Bengal on Saturday, the Indian prime minister, Narendra Modi, proudly proclaimed that he had “never ever seen such huge crowds”. A mask was also noticeably absent from Modi’s face.

That same day, India registered a record-breaking 234,000 new coronavirus cases and 1,341 deaths – and the numbers have kept rising since.

The country has descended into a tragedy of unprecedented proportions. Almost 1.6 million cases have been registered in a week, bringing total cases to more than 15 million. In the space of just 12 days, the Covid positivity rate doubled to 17%, while in Delhi it hit 30%. Hospitals across the country have filled to capacity but this time it is predominately the young taking up the beds; in Delhi, 65% of cases are under 40 years old.

While the unprecedented spread of the virus has been partly blamed on a more contagious variant that has emerged in India, Modi’s government has also been accused of failures of political leadership from the top, with lax attitudes emulated by state and local leaders from all parties and even health officials across the country, which led many to falsely believe in recent months that India had defeated Covid.

“Leadership across the country did not adequately convey that this was an epidemic which had not gone away,” said K Srinath Reddy, president of the Public Health Foundation of India.

“Victory was declared prematurely and that ebullient mood was communicated across the country, especially by politicians who wanted to get the economy going and wanted to get back to campaigning. And that gave the virus the chance to rise again.” » | Hannah Ellis-Petersen in Delhi | Wednesday, April 21, 2021

India Scrambles to Supply Oxygen as Covid-19 Patients Gasp for Breath »

French Policewoman Stabbed to Death in Suspected Islamic Terror Attack

THE TIMES OF ISRAEL: Assailant, a 36-year-old Tunisian man, was shot and killed by officers in town of Rambouillet, southwest of Paris; prosecutors open a ‘terror probe’ over attack

RAMBOUILLET, France (AFP) — A female police employee was stabbed to death by a Tunisian man at a police station southwest of Paris on Friday in a suspected terror attack, officials said.

The attacker was fatally wounded when an officer opened fire on him at the station in Rambouillet, a wealthy commuter town about 60 kilometers (40 miles) from Paris, a police source told AFP on condition of anonymity.

Prosecutors said they were opening a “terror probe” into the attack that took place in the secure entrance area of the station at around 2:20 pm (1220 GMT.)

The woman, 48, was stabbed in the throat twice, the police source said. » | Alice Lefebvre and Tiphaine Liboux | Friday, April 23, 2021

Brexit and the Worst Government Ever - Sheep Led by a Buffoon

The present British government must rank as one of the worst ever. Incompetent and dishonest, they favour their friends and cronies who are rewarded with lucrative contracts. Thirteen (62%) of the 21 members of the cabinet voted remain and yet now champion leave. Four of the eight cabinet members including the Home Secretary and the Foreign Secretary who voted to tighten immigration, are children of immigrants.

The Queen Marks 95th Birthday

THE GUARDIAN: The Queen spending day quietly while still in official royal mourning for Prince Philip

The Queen is marking her 95th birthday on Wednesday while still in official royal mourning for her husband of 73 years, the Duke of Edinburgh.

For a second consecutive year, the traditional 41-gun and 21-gun salutes, traditionally fired in Hyde Park and the Tower of London on the occasion, have been cancelled.

Buckingham Palace is also not expected to issue any official photograph of the monarch.

Instead, she is said to be spending the day quietly. Close family members may join her but it is thought these may not include the Prince of Wales.

Prince Charles is reported to have retreated to his official Welsh home Llwynywermod, in Myddfai, Llandovery, to mourn the loss of his father, having travelled there from Windsor, where he and senior royals were among the 30 mourners to attend Prince Philip’s funeral. » | Caroline Davies | Wednesday, April 21, 2021

Alexei Navalny Moved to Hospital as Fears Grow for Life of Putin Critic

THE GUARDIAN: Doctors say opposition leader, who is on hunger strike, is in danger of a heart attack or kidney failure

Alexei Navalny has been transferred to a prison hospital as concerns have grown among supporters that the Russian opposition leader is dangerously ill and could die “at any minute”.

Navalny’s transfer came after his doctors warned at the weekend that the Kremlin critic, who has been on hunger strike for nearly three weeks, was in danger of a heart attack or kidney failure.

In a statement on Monday, Russia’s prisons service said a doctors’ committee had decided to transfer Navalny to an infirmary in another prison in the Vladimir region that “specialises in dynamic monitoring of similar patients”. » | Andrew Roth in Moscow | Monday, April 19, 2021

Ontario Shifts Strategy as It Scrambles to Combat Worsening Covid Outbreak

THE GUARDIAN: Province announces plans to make coronavirus vaccines more accessible in response to public pressure

Canada’s most populous province has announced plans to make coronavirus vaccines more accessible and the federal government pledged emergency aid as authorities scramble to combat a worsening outbreak in Ontario.

The shift in strategy comes after the premier, Doug Ford, was forced into a U-turn over deeply unpopular new restrictions announced on Friday.

In response to mounting public pressure, Ontario announced late on Sunday that it would lower the age threshold to receive the AstraZeneca vaccine from 55 to 40.

Earlier on Sunday, the federal government promised it would help send nurses and doctors from other provinces to help in Ontario hospitals, where the ICU admissions continue to grow and doctors fear the province may soon begin triaging care. » | Leyland Cecco in Toronto | Monday, April 19, 2021

König der Einsamkeit: Ein Leben als Aussteiger | ARTE Re: Doku

"Ich wollte der Gesellschaft entkommen, die ich verachte", sagt Mauro Morandi. Seit sage und schreibe drei Jahrzehnten ist der inzwischen 80 Jahre alte Italiener der einzige Bewohner der kleinen Mittelmeer-Insel Budelli. "ARTE Re:" über ein ganz besonderes Leben in Einsamkeit. Und die Angst, vertrieben zu werden aus dem selbst gewählten Paradies.

Man strandet auf einer einsamen Insel und baut sich dort alleine eine Existenz auf. Für Mauro Morandi ist das weder Wunsch- noch Alptraum, sondern gelebte Realität. Seit sage und schreibe drei Jahrzehnten ist der inzwischen 80 Jahre alte Aussteiger der einzige Bewohner des kleinen Mittelmeer-Eilands Budelli. Ein italienischer Robinson Crusoe? „Nein, das bin ich sicher nicht“, sagt Mauro. „Robinson Crusoe wollte ja wieder weg von seiner Insel. Ich aber will hier sein.“ Ein Film über ein Leben in selbstgewählter Einsamkeit. Wie schnell vergeht die Zeit, wenn man selbst das Tempo vorgibt? Wie viel Natur verträgt der Mensch, wie viel Mensch die Natur? Und was braucht man eigentlich alles zum Glücklichsein? Es sind die großen Fragen, die in der Welt von Mauro eine zentrale Rolle spielen.Doch da ist auch die Sorge, nicht für immer auf der Insel bleiben zu dürfen. Denn, wenn es schlecht für ihn läuft, könnte Mauro Morandi schon bald aus seinem Paradies vertrieben werden.

Reportage (D 2019, 33 Min)

Mahler: Symphony No.5 In C-Sharp Minor - 4. Adagietto (Sehr langsam)

Mahler: Symphony No.5 In C-Sharp Minor - 4. Adagietto (Sehr langsam) · Simón Bolívar Youth Orchestra of Venezuela · Gustavo Dudamel

The Funeral of The Duke of Edinburgh

The Funeral procession and service for His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh at St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle.

BBC live HERE »

Elizabeth II et le Royaume-Uni font leurs adieux au prince Philip

LE MONDE: Lors d’une cérémonie en comité restreint, le duc d’Edimbourg sera inhumé dans le domaine du château de Windsor, où Philip a rendu son dernier souffle le 9 avril.

Lors d’une cérémonie en comité restreint pour cause de pandémie et aux accents militaires, la reine et le Royaume-Uni font leurs adieux, samedi 17 avril, au prince Philip, qui a servi sans relâche la couronne et épaulé Elizabeth II pendant plus de sept décennies. Mort « paisiblement » il y a huit jours, l’époux de la reine, connu pour son franc-parler et son humour – flirtant parfois avec le racisme ou le sexisme – aurait eu 100 ans le 10 juin.

Le duc d’Edimbourg sera inhumé dans le domaine du château de Windsor, où Philip, né à Corfou prince de Grèce et du Danemark, a rendu son dernier souffle après une vie dévouée au service de la monarchie depuis son mariage, il y a soixante-treize ans, avec Elizabeth, alors héritière présomptive de la Couronne. La reine perd celui qui était selon les propres mots sa « force » et son « soutien ». Depuis le couronnement d’Elizabeth II en 1952, il était resté en retrait pour soutenir indéfectiblement son épouse et devenir un pilier de la monarchie. » | Le Monde avec AFP | samedi 17 avril 2021

Prince Philip Funeral Will Be Moment of Anguish for Queen, Says Archbishop

THE GUARDIAN: Queen will behave with dignity and courage but will need the support of the nation, says Justin Welby

The Queen may behave “with extraordinary dignity and extraordinary courage” but the Duke of Edinburgh’s funeral at Windsor Castle on Saturday will be an “anguished moment” for her, the archbishop of Canterbury has said.

Justin Welby spoke as Buckingham Palace revealed there will be no sermon and no eulogy to Prince Philip, who for seven decades played a prominent role in the nation’s public life.

Eulogies are not common at royal funerals and neither are family readings, which are also absent from the order of service published on Friday night. It includes readings and music chosen by Prince Philip, and the lack of sermon is at his request.

The only words touching on the impact he made as the Queen’s consort of 73 years will be delivered by clergy in the bidding and prayers.

The monarch, who marks her 95th birthday on Wednesday, would require the support of the nation at this difficult time, said Welby, who will give the blessing at St George’s chapel, where the Queen is expected to sit alone. » | Caroline Davies | Friday, April 16, 2021

Funeral of His Royal Highness The Prince Philip Duke of Edinburgh »

Prince Philip Funeral: Plans, Timings and TV Coverage

BBC: Funeral preparations are under way for Prince Philip, Queen Elizabeth II's husband, who died on Friday 9 April aged 99.

This is what we know about the event. » | Friday, April 16, 2021