THE WASHINGTON POST: Jeanne Calment, the French doyenne believed to be oldest person in the world when she died at the extreme age of 122, was known for three things: her quick wit, her fondness for bicycling around the small city where she grew up -- and the fact that she was a daily smoker.
Before her death in 1997, Calment was often asked the secret to her good health. She would respond with a laugh and describe how she would frequently consume two pounds of chocolate a week, drank generous amounts of port wine and became a smoker at age 21.
At a time when public health messages emphasize just how important it is to carefully balance diets and fitness regimes in order to live long lives, Calment is a reminder of that no matter what we do there may always be a part of our health that is beyond our control. » |
Ariana Eunjung Cha | Thursday, September 19, 2015
Monday, May 17, 2021
Island Where People Live Longer Than Anyone on Earth | 60 Minutes Australia
Tiny Traces of DNA Found in Cave Dust May Unlock Secret Life of Neanderthals
THE OBSERVER: Advanced technique used to recover genetic material may help solve the mystery of early man
Scientists have pinpointed major changes in Europe’s Neanderthal populations – from traces of blood and excrement they left behind in a Spanish cave 100,000 years ago.
The discovery is the first important demonstration of a powerful new technique that allows researchers to study DNA recovered from cave sediments. No fossils or stone tools are needed for such studies. Instead, minuscule traces of genetic material that have accumulated in the dust of a cavern floor are employed to reveal ancient secrets.
The power of cave dirt DNA analysis is the scientific equivalent of “extracting gold dust from the air”, as one researcher put it, and has raised hopes that it could transform our understanding of how our predecessors behaved. » | Robin McKie, Science editor | Sunday, May 16, 2021
Scientists have pinpointed major changes in Europe’s Neanderthal populations – from traces of blood and excrement they left behind in a Spanish cave 100,000 years ago.
The discovery is the first important demonstration of a powerful new technique that allows researchers to study DNA recovered from cave sediments. No fossils or stone tools are needed for such studies. Instead, minuscule traces of genetic material that have accumulated in the dust of a cavern floor are employed to reveal ancient secrets.
The power of cave dirt DNA analysis is the scientific equivalent of “extracting gold dust from the air”, as one researcher put it, and has raised hopes that it could transform our understanding of how our predecessors behaved. » | Robin McKie, Science editor | Sunday, May 16, 2021
On the Scrappy Fringes of French Politics, Marine Le Pen Tries to Rebrand
LA TRINITÉ-SUR-MER, France — It was the setting for a straightforward origin story, or so it seemed. Marine Le Pen, the far-right leader aiming to be France’s next president, came to launch her latest campaign in the seaside resort where her firebrand father once announced his own bid for the presidency from the family home.
But the recent trip to the family base at La Trinité-sur-Mer in western France, where Ms. Le Pen posed for selfies with admirers, schmoozed with oystermen and took TV journalists on boat rides, was a critical part of a rebranding effort toward respectability.
Steering the motorboat was Florent de Kersauson, a prominent businessman who, after decades of backing center-right candidates, was switching to Ms. Le Pen’s National Rally. By embracing Mr. de Kersauson, a former senior executive at the telecommunications giant Alcatel, Ms. Le Pen latched on to the kind of establishment figure who could help persuade voters that her party was more than a scrappy, family business. And maybe even assuage doubts about her competence to move into the Élysée Palace.
“The National Rally, formerly the National Front, has gone from being a protest movement to an opposition movement, and is now a government movement,” Ms. Le Pen said. » | Norimitsu Onishi | Sunday, May 16, 2021
Cameron, Alexander, Osborne, Clegg: How the Austerity ‘Quad’ Sold Their Souls
It was excruciating. To watch a former British prime minister before a committee of MPs last week trying to explain away his aggressive lobbying of ex-colleagues on behalf of Greensill, which has since collapsed into insolvency, was as humiliating as it was distressing. That we are citizens of a country whose former leader can behave in such a way is shocking. He claimed that lobbying for Greenshill was consistent with a commitment to public service. Really?
Worse was the glaring mismatch between the former puritan apostle of austerity – we are all in this together – and the compromising of such values. And not only him. In varying degrees, the other three members of the coalition quad – chancellor George Osborne, deputy prime minister Nick Clegg and chief secretary Danny Alexander, who together imposed “peak austerity” between 2010 and 2015 – have all walked away from the public square only to raise major questions about how their new lives are consistent with their old and thus the credibility of what all politicians say as they vie for support. Our democracy is the weaker. » | Will Hutton | Sunday, May 16, 2021
Sunday, May 16, 2021
The Observer View on the Spread of the Indian Variant in the UK
THE OBSERVER: The government’s slow response to ban travel to and from India has put the UK at risk
‘Data, not dates.” This was the approach Boris Johnson promised to take when he announced the roadmap out of lockdown for England in February. So far, the data has allowed the prime minister to meet the target dates for each phase of relaxing of social restrictions. Infection rates are the lowest they have been since last August; the number of people in hospital with Covid has dropped dramatically and vaccination is proceeding apace.
Yet as we stand on the cusp of the next easing of social restrictions, happening across England, Wales and most of Scotland tomorrow, there are worrying signs that the B.1.617.2 variant first detected in India is spreading quickly in some parts of the country. In Bolton, infection rates are 10 times higher than the English average. They may not yet justify a nationwide slowing in easing restrictions but they are worrying and require a rapid localised response to contain outbreaks. This mixed picture is a bitter pill to swallow. For weeks, the national mood has justifiably been one of relief; psychologically, it has felt like the end is in sight. The majority of British adults have now had one jab, offering them a good level of protection against Covid. Yet it was always clear that the biggest risk of a serious third wave would be from the spread of a variant that is more transmissable [sic], more likely to cause serious illness or with a greater degree of vaccine resistance. Scientists are now confident that B.1.617.2 is at least as transmissable [sic] as the B.1.1.7 variant originally detected in Kent, which contributed to the terrible death rates we saw in the second wave, and quite possibly more so. If this is the case, the race between the virus and the vaccine rollout will become more loaded in the former’s favour: modelling suggests that hospital admissions could increase significantly beyond what was seen in the second wave if B.1.617.2 proves to be much more transmissible [sic]. » | Observer editorial | Sunday, May 16, 2021
‘Data, not dates.” This was the approach Boris Johnson promised to take when he announced the roadmap out of lockdown for England in February. So far, the data has allowed the prime minister to meet the target dates for each phase of relaxing of social restrictions. Infection rates are the lowest they have been since last August; the number of people in hospital with Covid has dropped dramatically and vaccination is proceeding apace.
Yet as we stand on the cusp of the next easing of social restrictions, happening across England, Wales and most of Scotland tomorrow, there are worrying signs that the B.1.617.2 variant first detected in India is spreading quickly in some parts of the country. In Bolton, infection rates are 10 times higher than the English average. They may not yet justify a nationwide slowing in easing restrictions but they are worrying and require a rapid localised response to contain outbreaks. This mixed picture is a bitter pill to swallow. For weeks, the national mood has justifiably been one of relief; psychologically, it has felt like the end is in sight. The majority of British adults have now had one jab, offering them a good level of protection against Covid. Yet it was always clear that the biggest risk of a serious third wave would be from the spread of a variant that is more transmissable [sic], more likely to cause serious illness or with a greater degree of vaccine resistance. Scientists are now confident that B.1.617.2 is at least as transmissable [sic] as the B.1.1.7 variant originally detected in Kent, which contributed to the terrible death rates we saw in the second wave, and quite possibly more so. If this is the case, the race between the virus and the vaccine rollout will become more loaded in the former’s favour: modelling suggests that hospital admissions could increase significantly beyond what was seen in the second wave if B.1.617.2 proves to be much more transmissible [sic]. » | Observer editorial | Sunday, May 16, 2021
The Observer View on the Israel-Palestine Conflict
THE OBSERVER: It’s time for the international community to address this crisis with greater honesty about the key players and solutions
The sudden rekindling of the Israel-Palestine conflict, and the ensuing horrors, is a shameful reminder of the international community’s almost criminal neglect of the crisis. There have been no substantive peace talks for more than a decade. Donald Trump’s “deal of the century” was a cruel sham. Efforts now under way to engineer a ceasefire, or what is called a “sustainable calm”, amount to applying a sticking plaster to a deeply felt, long-festering wound.
This story of neglect, cementing in place injustices and inequities stretching back to the 1948 Palestine war, made a new explosion of violence all but inevitable. It has played into the hands of extremists on both sides who seek victories, not peace. It threatens the future of Israel and Palestine and regional stability. The events of the past week have rendered the prospect of a lasting settlement more distant than ever. » | Observer editorial | Sunday, May 16, 2021
The sudden rekindling of the Israel-Palestine conflict, and the ensuing horrors, is a shameful reminder of the international community’s almost criminal neglect of the crisis. There have been no substantive peace talks for more than a decade. Donald Trump’s “deal of the century” was a cruel sham. Efforts now under way to engineer a ceasefire, or what is called a “sustainable calm”, amount to applying a sticking plaster to a deeply felt, long-festering wound.
This story of neglect, cementing in place injustices and inequities stretching back to the 1948 Palestine war, made a new explosion of violence all but inevitable. It has played into the hands of extremists on both sides who seek victories, not peace. It threatens the future of Israel and Palestine and regional stability. The events of the past week have rendered the prospect of a lasting settlement more distant than ever. » | Observer editorial | Sunday, May 16, 2021
Charles to Open Up Palaces to the Public When He Becomes King – Reports
THE GUARDIAN: Prince of Wales is said to want Buckingham Palace, Sandringham and other royal homes to go from ‘private spaces to public places’
The Prince of Wales reportedly plans to give people greater access to the royal palaces when he becomes king.
Charles wants Buckingham Palace, Clarence House, Windsor Castle, Sandringham and Balmoral to be transformed from “private spaces to public places”, according to the Sunday Times.
The newspaper said the heir to the throne wants these royal residences to open more widely for longer periods during the year.
Charles is reportedly speaking to the Duchess of Cornwall, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and other royals about the plans.
The newspaper said Charles is considering opening Buckingham Palace and gardens throughout the year when he is king, including when he is in residence. » | PA Media | Sunday, May 16, 2021
The Prince of Wales reportedly plans to give people greater access to the royal palaces when he becomes king.
Charles wants Buckingham Palace, Clarence House, Windsor Castle, Sandringham and Balmoral to be transformed from “private spaces to public places”, according to the Sunday Times.
The newspaper said the heir to the throne wants these royal residences to open more widely for longer periods during the year.
Charles is reportedly speaking to the Duchess of Cornwall, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and other royals about the plans.
The newspaper said Charles is considering opening Buckingham Palace and gardens throughout the year when he is king, including when he is in residence. » | PA Media | Sunday, May 16, 2021
Saturday, May 15, 2021
Thousands Join London Protest against Violence in Gaza
THE GUARDIAN: Jeremy Corbyn and Palestinian ambassador address crowd and call for UK government to act
Thousands of people marched through central London on Saturday to express solidarity with the Palestinians in Gaza.
Organisers said immediate action is needed from the UK government to help end the brutal violence.
At least 139 people have been killed in the Gaza Strip, including 39 children, after a spiral of violence that began with the attempted eviction of Arabs from the Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood in East Jerusalem. In Israel at least seven people have been killed, including one child.
Saturday is the Palestinian Nakba day, the anniversary of the expulsion of hundreds of thousands of Arabs from their homes more than 70 years ago. » | Damien Gayle | Saturday, May 15, 2021
Thousands of people marched through central London on Saturday to express solidarity with the Palestinians in Gaza.
Organisers said immediate action is needed from the UK government to help end the brutal violence.
At least 139 people have been killed in the Gaza Strip, including 39 children, after a spiral of violence that began with the attempted eviction of Arabs from the Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood in East Jerusalem. In Israel at least seven people have been killed, including one child.
Saturday is the Palestinian Nakba day, the anniversary of the expulsion of hundreds of thousands of Arabs from their homes more than 70 years ago. » | Damien Gayle | Saturday, May 15, 2021
Johnson ‘Must Think Again on Plans to Relax Covid Rules’
THE OBSERVER: Top adviser warns of India variant impact as scientists urge delay in lockdown changes
Boris Johnson was under mounting pressure on Saturday to reconsider Monday’s relaxation of Covid rules in England because of the threat posed by the India variant. His own advisers and independent health experts raised fears that it could lead to a surge in hospital admissions, especially among young adults.
From Monday people will be able to meet in groups of up to 30 outdoors, while six people or two households will be permitted to meet indoors. Pubs, bars, cafes and restaurants will be allowed to serve customers indoors. Indoor entertainment such as museums, cinemas and children’s play areas can also open along with theatres, concert halls, conference centres and sports stadiums. » | Denis Campbell, Toby Helm and David Connett | Saturday, May 15, 2021
Boris Johnson was under mounting pressure on Saturday to reconsider Monday’s relaxation of Covid rules in England because of the threat posed by the India variant. His own advisers and independent health experts raised fears that it could lead to a surge in hospital admissions, especially among young adults.
From Monday people will be able to meet in groups of up to 30 outdoors, while six people or two households will be permitted to meet indoors. Pubs, bars, cafes and restaurants will be allowed to serve customers indoors. Indoor entertainment such as museums, cinemas and children’s play areas can also open along with theatres, concert halls, conference centres and sports stadiums. » | Denis Campbell, Toby Helm and David Connett | Saturday, May 15, 2021
Beneath Joe Biden’s Folksy Demeanor, a Short Fuse and an Obsession With Details
WASHINGTON — The commander in chief was taking his time, as usual.
It was late March, and President Biden was under increasing pressure to penalize President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia for election interference and the biggest cyberattack ever on American government and industry. “I have to do it relatively soon,” he said to Jake Sullivan, his national security adviser.
Mr. Biden had already spent the first two months of his presidency debating how to respond to Mr. Putin, and despite his acknowledgment in March that he needed to act quickly, his deliberations were far from over. He convened another meeting in the Situation Room that stretched for two and a half hours, and called yet another session there a week later.
“He has a kind of mantra: ‘You can never give me too much detail,’” Mr. Sullivan said.
Quick decision-making is not Mr. Biden’s style. His reputation as a plain-speaking politician hides a more complicated truth. Before making up his mind, the president demands hours of detail-laden debate from scores of policy experts, taking everyone around him on what some in the West Wing refer to as his Socratic “journey” before arriving at a conclusion.
Those trips are often difficult for his advisers, who are peppered with sometimes obscure questions. Avoiding Mr. Biden’s ire during one of his decision-making seminars means not only going beyond the vague talking points that he will reject, but also steering clear of responses laced with acronyms or too much policy minutiae, which will prompt an outburst of frustration, often laced with profanity. » | Michael D. Shear, Katie Rogers and Annie Karni | Friday, May 14, 2021
India Variant Could Lead to Serious Third Wave of Covid in UK
THE GUARDIAN: Analysis: If B.1.617.2 proves highly transmissible, hospitalisations could peak again, models show
It was all looking so good. After a brutal second wave in the winter, the lockdown combined with the swift rollout of vaccines forced infections, hospitalisations and deaths down to levels not seen since last summer. The vaccines performed better than expected, not only in preventing deaths, but in hampering the spread of the virus. Scientific advisers were confident about England’s cautious roadmap back to a life more normal: the worst, it seemed, was over.
Now, those same advisers are deeply worried that the new variant of concern from India, B.1.617.2, could undermine the hard-won achievement. The government strategy has been to ease restrictions as vaccines reach more people, aiming for a delicate balance that opens up society while preventing another wave that overwhelms the NHS.
Without the new variant, outbreak modellers advising Sage anticipated a modest third wave in July and August, with perhaps 4,000 to 11,000 more deaths, but nothing on the scale of the devastating winter wave.
But the new variant is here. What that means is still uncertain. Take the outbreak in Bolton and surrounding areas out of the picture and the situation in England looks far less alarming, suggesting the region may be an outlier. Yet some scientists working on B.1.617.2 believe it is destined to displace the dominant and highly transmissible Kent variant, B.1.1.7, in the UK and note that charts displaying the steep rise in cases look horribly similar to those that tracked the surge of the Kent variant in December. » | Ian Sample, Science editor | Friday, May 14, 2021
India variant could seriously disrupt lifting of lockdown, says Boris Johnson »
It was all looking so good. After a brutal second wave in the winter, the lockdown combined with the swift rollout of vaccines forced infections, hospitalisations and deaths down to levels not seen since last summer. The vaccines performed better than expected, not only in preventing deaths, but in hampering the spread of the virus. Scientific advisers were confident about England’s cautious roadmap back to a life more normal: the worst, it seemed, was over.
Now, those same advisers are deeply worried that the new variant of concern from India, B.1.617.2, could undermine the hard-won achievement. The government strategy has been to ease restrictions as vaccines reach more people, aiming for a delicate balance that opens up society while preventing another wave that overwhelms the NHS.
Without the new variant, outbreak modellers advising Sage anticipated a modest third wave in July and August, with perhaps 4,000 to 11,000 more deaths, but nothing on the scale of the devastating winter wave.
But the new variant is here. What that means is still uncertain. Take the outbreak in Bolton and surrounding areas out of the picture and the situation in England looks far less alarming, suggesting the region may be an outlier. Yet some scientists working on B.1.617.2 believe it is destined to displace the dominant and highly transmissible Kent variant, B.1.1.7, in the UK and note that charts displaying the steep rise in cases look horribly similar to those that tracked the surge of the Kent variant in December. » | Ian Sample, Science editor | Friday, May 14, 2021
India variant could seriously disrupt lifting of lockdown, says Boris Johnson »
Friday, May 14, 2021
Boris Johnson dans le piège écossais
LE MONDE: Les deux partis écossais favorables à l’indépendance ont renforcé, jeudi 6 mai, leur majorité au Parlement d’Edimbourg et souhaitent désormais l’organisation d’un nouveau référendum. Le premier ministre britannique y est opposé.
Editorial du « Monde ». Près de cinq ans après le vote des Britanniques en faveur de la sortie de l’Union européenne (UE), quatre mois après un accord signé à l’arraché, le Brexit est tout sauf un dossier clos. Non seulement pour les voisins européens des Britanniques, avec lesquels aucun des grands dossiers de la séparation – procédures douanières, Irlande, pêche, équivalences financières – n’est vraiment réglé. Mais aussi pour le Royaume-Uni lui-même, où le Brexit exacerbe les tendances séparatistes dans les deux « nations » – Ecosse et Irlande du Nord – qui, ayant voté majoritairement pour demeurer dans l’UE, se sentent trahies par le « Brexit dur » de Boris Johnson. » | Éditorial, Le Monde | lundi 10 mai 2021
Editorial du « Monde ». Près de cinq ans après le vote des Britanniques en faveur de la sortie de l’Union européenne (UE), quatre mois après un accord signé à l’arraché, le Brexit est tout sauf un dossier clos. Non seulement pour les voisins européens des Britanniques, avec lesquels aucun des grands dossiers de la séparation – procédures douanières, Irlande, pêche, équivalences financières – n’est vraiment réglé. Mais aussi pour le Royaume-Uni lui-même, où le Brexit exacerbe les tendances séparatistes dans les deux « nations » – Ecosse et Irlande du Nord – qui, ayant voté majoritairement pour demeurer dans l’UE, se sentent trahies par le « Brexit dur » de Boris Johnson. » | Éditorial, Le Monde | lundi 10 mai 2021
EU Citizens Arriving in UK Being Locked Up and Expelled
THE GUARDIAN: Europeans with job interviews tell of detentions and expulsions despite rules allowing non-visa holders to attend interviews
EU citizens are being sent to immigration removal centres and held in airport detention rooms as the UK government’s “hostile environment” policy falls on them after Brexit, according to campaigners and travellers interviewed by the Guardian.
Europeans with job interviews are among those being denied entry and locked up. They have spoken of being subjected to the traumatic and humiliating experience of expulsion, despite Home Office rules that explicitly allow non-visa holders to attend interviews.
Confusion about whether EU citizens can explore the UK job market and then go home with an offer in order to apply for a work visa has added to the growing number of detentions. In other cases, visitors are clearly breaking rules, such as those now barring EU citizens from taking up unpaid internships.
At least a dozen European citizens – mostly young women – were detained and expelled at Gatwick airport alone over 48 hours last week, two female Spanish detainees told the Guardian. Some were sent two hours’ drive away to Yarl’s Wood detention centre in Bedfordshire, where a Covid scare meant they were confined to their rooms. » | Giles Tremlett in Madrid and Lisa O'Carroll | Thursday, May 13, 2021
EU citizens are being sent to immigration removal centres and held in airport detention rooms as the UK government’s “hostile environment” policy falls on them after Brexit, according to campaigners and travellers interviewed by the Guardian.
Europeans with job interviews are among those being denied entry and locked up. They have spoken of being subjected to the traumatic and humiliating experience of expulsion, despite Home Office rules that explicitly allow non-visa holders to attend interviews.
Confusion about whether EU citizens can explore the UK job market and then go home with an offer in order to apply for a work visa has added to the growing number of detentions. In other cases, visitors are clearly breaking rules, such as those now barring EU citizens from taking up unpaid internships.
At least a dozen European citizens – mostly young women – were detained and expelled at Gatwick airport alone over 48 hours last week, two female Spanish detainees told the Guardian. Some were sent two hours’ drive away to Yarl’s Wood detention centre in Bedfordshire, where a Covid scare meant they were confined to their rooms. » | Giles Tremlett in Madrid and Lisa O'Carroll | Thursday, May 13, 2021
Thursday, May 13, 2021
Brexit and the Insanity of Our New Immigration Policy
Prince Harry Likens Life in Royal Family to ‘Being in The Truman Show’
The Duke of Sussex has likened life in the royal family to a mix between being in The Truman Show and being in a zoo.
In a wide-ranging 90-minute interview, Prince Harry also appeared to criticise the way he had been raised by his father, stressing he wanted to “break the cycle” of genetic pain and suffering.
Speaking to the American actor Dax Shepard for his Armchair Expert podcast, Harry was promoting his new Apple TV+ series about mental health, The Me You Can’t See, with Oprah Winfrey, which launches next week.
He said that in his 20s he realised he did not want the royal “job”, having seen what it did to his mother, Princess Diana. He said he had been forced to “grin and bear it”, but added: “I’ve seen behind the curtain, I’ve seen the business model, I know how this operation runs and how it works. I don’t want to be part of this.
“It’s a mix of being in The Truman Show and being in the zoo.” » | Caroline Davies | Thursday, May 13, 2021
Prince Harry appears to criticise way he was raised by his father »
Greensill Lobbying Leaves Your Reputation in Tatters, Cameron Told
David Cameron was on Thursday told that his persistent lobbying of ministers, begging for favours on behalf of the controversial bank he worked for, had “demeaned” the position of the prime minister and left his “reputation in tatters”
. The former prime minister was forced to deny that his text message and WhatsApp lobbying campaign on behalf of Greensill Capital was driven by fears that an “opportunity to make a large amount of money was at risk”.
Cameron, who joined Greensill as an adviser and lobbyist exactly two years after he left Number 10, repeatedly refused to tell MPs how much money he stood to make from Greensill before the bank collapsed last year.
He told MPs he was paid “a generous amount, far more than I earned as prime minister” but declined to give even a ballpark figure, claiming that his pay was “a private matter”.
Cameron, 56, also refused to state how many shares he had been granted in the bank. He dismissed as “completely absurd” reports that he had boasted to friends that he stood to make £60m from a successful flotation of the supply chain financing firm. » | Rupert Neate | Thursday, May 13, 2021
Israeli Cities Are Facing Increasing Incidents of Mob Violence | DW News
An Arab-Israeli man, who was beaten by a group of Israeli far-right nationalists on Wednesday evening, was "seriously injured but stable," the Ichilov hospital in Tel Aviv said. Images of the beating were broadcast by an Israeli public broadcaster.
In the northern city of Acre on Wednesday, a Jewish motorist was reportedly beaten by Arab residents. In the Tel Aviv suburb of Bat Yam, Jewish youths reportedly ransacked stores and beat an Arab man, Israeli media reported. An Arab man was also beaten by a mob in Haifa.
A state of emergency was declared in the mixed Jewish-Arab city of Lod, where a synagogue and other Jewish property were set on fire and an Arab resident was shot dead.
Prime Minister Netanyahu condemned the scenes of violence, saying "nothing can justify an Arab mob assaulting Jews, and nothing can justify a Jewish mob assaulting Arabs."
He also said that he was looking at employing the Israeli army to "bring back order and rule" within Israel, adding that he would push legislation to give him emergency powers if necessary.
In the northern city of Acre on Wednesday, a Jewish motorist was reportedly beaten by Arab residents. In the Tel Aviv suburb of Bat Yam, Jewish youths reportedly ransacked stores and beat an Arab man, Israeli media reported. An Arab man was also beaten by a mob in Haifa.
A state of emergency was declared in the mixed Jewish-Arab city of Lod, where a synagogue and other Jewish property were set on fire and an Arab resident was shot dead.
Prime Minister Netanyahu condemned the scenes of violence, saying "nothing can justify an Arab mob assaulting Jews, and nothing can justify a Jewish mob assaulting Arabs."
He also said that he was looking at employing the Israeli army to "bring back order and rule" within Israel, adding that he would push legislation to give him emergency powers if necessary.
Liz Cheney Castigates Republican Colleagues for Backing Trump
The US representative Liz Cheney, speaking in the House a day before her expected ouster from a Republican leadership post, chastised her party colleagues for not standing up to the former president Donald Trump and his false claim that the November election was stolen. ’Remaining silent and ignoring the lie emboldens the liar. I will not participate in that,’ she said.
Cheney, the No 3 Republican in the House of Representatives, was one of 10 Republicans in the House who voted to impeach Trump in January after he delivered a fiery 6 January speech to supporters, many of whom then stormed the US Capitol in an attempt to block certification of his election loss to Joe Biden
Cheney, the No 3 Republican in the House of Representatives, was one of 10 Republicans in the House who voted to impeach Trump in January after he delivered a fiery 6 January speech to supporters, many of whom then stormed the US Capitol in an attempt to block certification of his election loss to Joe Biden
Covid Research: Variant Found in India May Spread Faster Than Type Detected in Kent
THE GUARDIAN: Reports that Sage will meet on Thursday to discuss threat with PHE figures expected to show big jump in cases linked to variant
Evidence is growing that a troubling variant of the coronavirus discovered in India is more transmissible than the variant first detected in Kent and which fuelled the UK’s second wave of infections and spread around the world.
It comes amid reports that Public Health England figures to be released on Thursday could show that the number of cases linked to the variant have tripled in a week. The i newspaper reported that scientists on the Sage advisory committee would hold an urgent meeting on Thursday to discuss the threat.
Meanwhile, researchers at Imperial College London analysed more than 127,000 swabs taken between 15 April and 3 May in England, and found that while coronavirus case rates had halved compared with March, the variant of concern known as B.1.617.2 and found in India could be spreading faster than the “Kent variant”, at least in London. » | Ian Sample, Science editor | Thursday, May 13, 2021
Evidence is growing that a troubling variant of the coronavirus discovered in India is more transmissible than the variant first detected in Kent and which fuelled the UK’s second wave of infections and spread around the world.
It comes amid reports that Public Health England figures to be released on Thursday could show that the number of cases linked to the variant have tripled in a week. The i newspaper reported that scientists on the Sage advisory committee would hold an urgent meeting on Thursday to discuss the threat.
Meanwhile, researchers at Imperial College London analysed more than 127,000 swabs taken between 15 April and 3 May in England, and found that while coronavirus case rates had halved compared with March, the variant of concern known as B.1.617.2 and found in India could be spreading faster than the “Kent variant”, at least in London. » | Ian Sample, Science editor | Thursday, May 13, 2021
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