Author: News Desk

Emma Watson returns to social media and shares personal essay Emma Watson has shared a personal life update with her Instagram followers to mark her 33rd birthday, breaking with her usual private approach to social media. The Harry Potter star shared details of the past couple of years of her life, including learning to surf, adopting a dog, taking up therapy, making gin and reuniting for a Harry Potter TV reunion special.  She also spoke of experiencing sadness and anger, learning about love and being a woman, and launching a women’s environmental investment fund. Watson said it had taken three…

NHS bosses spend £1,000,000 a week on private ambulances Private ambulance companies are earning millions of pounds during the largest healthcare service strike in history, according to research by trade union Unison. The union has found that over £1m is being spent every week on private ambulance firms to cover emergency calls, with bosses booking private emergency vehicles and crews up to a year in advance to be available to respond to emergencies such as road traffic accidents and strokes. Unison claims that this commercial approach is a short-term sticking plaster that highlights a lack of long-term planning and government…

Opposition urges Tories to cut ties with rightwing group over ‘culture war’ comments Opposition parties are urging the Conservatives to cut ties with a rightwing student group, Turning Point UK (TPUK), that has been described as a far-right group promoting divisive and dangerous rhetoric.  Although the group has no formal links with the Conservative Party, Conservative MP Marco Longhi is TPUK’s honorary president, and former ministers Priti Patel and Jacob Rees-Mogg have praised the group in the past, along with deputy party chair Lee Anderson.  TPUK, which advocates free markets and small government, has increasingly focused on “culture war” issues,…

Arsenal still in race for Premier League title despite nervy performance Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard remains optimistic despite the team twice giving away two-goal leads in a week, causing some fans and pundits to write off their chances of winning the Premier League.  In Sunday’s game against West Ham, Gabriel Jesus and Martin Odegaard quickly put Arsenal in the lead, but poor play from Thomas Partey and Gabriel allowed West Ham to draw level.  It was all too familiar for the Gunners – just seven days earlier, Arsenal were winning 2-0 at Anfield, but Liverpool dug deep and secured a…

SpaceX set to fly giant Starship rocket system SpaceX, founded by billionaire Elon Musk, is set to launch its Starship rocket, which is the most powerful rocket ever built.  The rocket is almost 120m tall and is designed to have nearly double the thrust of any rocket in history. It will be launched on Monday from Boca Chica in Texas on an uncrewed demonstration, aiming to send the upper stage of the vehicle almost one circuit around the globe. Musk has appealed to everyone to be cautious and temper their expectations since it is not uncommon for a rocket to…

Sudan death toll nears 100 as fighting rages and hospitals run short of supplies Fighting between Sudan’s army units and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has left at least 97 people dead and hundreds more injured, according to the doctors’ trade union. The violence broke out on Saturday over disagreements on integrating the RSF into the military, as part of a transition towards civilian rule after a 2021 military coup. The RSF is led by Gen Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, known as Hemedti, who is the deputy head of Sudan’s transitional governing Sovereign Council. Hospitals are running out of critical…

US shooting: Four dead at Alabama 16th birthday party Four people were killed and 28 injured in a mass shooting at a 16th birthday party in the US state of Alabama. Shots were fired at the Mahogany Masterpiece Dance Studio in the city of Dadeville on Saturday, leaving many critically injured. One of the victims named by local media is high school senior Phil Dowdell, a star athlete. The incident marks the 160th mass shooting in the US so far this year, according to the Gun Violence Archive. President Joe Biden has renewed his calls for tougher gun laws, asking,…

Melbourne overtakes Sydney as Australia’s biggest city Melbourne has surpassed Sydney as Australia’s most populous city for the first time in more than a century due to a boundary change. The new city limits now include the area of Melton, where populations have rapidly grown. According to the latest government figures from June 2021, Melbourne’s population is 4,875,400, which is 18,700 more than Sydney. However, when taking into account the functional areas of the greater Sydney and Melbourne regions, Sydney remains larger. The federal government predicts that Greater Melbourne will overtake Greater Sydney in 2031-32. Melbourne previously held the title…

Today’s news summary – Paper Talk The NHS features on many of Monday’s front pages in a variety of stories. There are a variety of images on the front pages, some reflecting the latest from the Premier League, celebrity news and an Orthodox Easter Sunday service in Kyiv. NHS dominates The Daily Express warns that potential walkouts by nurses in England until Christmas could strike fear in those dependent on the health service. However, the “I” newspaper reports that divisions among unions over the government’s pay offer could potentially bring an end to the industrial action. A Times opinion poll…

  The French parliament is set to send two delegations to visit Taiwan this month after President Emmanuel Macron’s controversial remarks on China and Taiwan sparked criticism at home and abroad after his trip to State Visit to Beijing. Advertising On the flight returning from China, where he received a warm welcome, Macron said in an interview published last Sunday by French newspaper Les Echos that Europe should set its own policy on Taiwan to avoid being “followers” of Washington’s “agenda” on the subject of the ongoing dispute between Beijing and Taipei. As his critics circled, the French president has…