The Best Android Games for 2023
The Android gaming market features outstanding gems that deserve a home on your Android phone
2023-07-04 23:22
UN warns world to prepare for El Nino impact
The United Nations on Tuesday warned the world to prepare for the effects of El Nino, saying the weather phenomenon which triggers higher global temperatures...
2023-07-04 21:28
Factbox-Europe's ongoing strike-related travel disruptions
European airports are in the middle of another busy summer as passenger numbers globally recover to pre-pandemic levels.
2023-07-04 21:22
Make Them Eat Actual Hot Dogs at the Hot Dog Eating Contest!
They aren't eating hot dogs at the hot dog eating contest.
2023-07-04 20:58
The strange history of Taco Tuesday
The war over "Taco Tuesday" may be heating up now, but its origins date back several decades.
2023-07-04 20:52
Kate’s best Wimbledon looks, as she steps out in retro outfit for the tennis
Avid tennis fan the Princess of Wales has worn a vintage-inspired outfit on day two of Wimbledon. She supported up-and-coming British star Katie Boulter, watching her play Australian Daria Saville on court 18. Kate wore an Eighties-inspired outfit for her first visit to the Championships this year: a pale green Balmain blazer with structured shoulders, statement white buttons and a tennis-inspired white pleated midaxi skirt. As a patron of the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, Kate is a regular face at SW19 – and she brings her fashion A-game to every visit. Just over two months after marrying the Prince of Wales, Kate channelled bridal fashion in a demure white tiered dress by British brand Temperley. Kate’s tennis fashion tends to fall into two camps: Wimbledon whites or summer brights. To watch Andy Murray beat Vasek Pospisil in 2015, she went for the latter – wearing a bright red dress with a boat neckline, elbow-length sleeves and a flared skirt. The design was from high street brand LK Bennett, and is obviously a favourite of Kate’s, as she’s worn it since. Kate’s fashion tends to stick to block colours, making the patterned outfit worn to the 2016 tournament even more eye-catching. She chose a white A-line dress from Alexander McQueen – the brand responsible for her wedding dress – with an unusual pattern made up of butterflies, lipstick tubes, skulls and other eclectic items. Keeping things light and summery in a soft pale blue dress, in 2019, Kate presented men’s singles champion Novak Djokovic with the trophy in a romantic outfit by Emilia Wickstead. Even better, William coordinated with his wife in a pale blue shirt – paired with a chic light grey jacket. In one of her boldest Wimbledon looks yet, in 2022 Kate wore a sunshine yellow Roksanda dress with capped sleeves, bow detailing, a fitted waist and a flared skirt. To really channel summery energy, she accessorised it with a classic wide brimmed straw hat to watch the tennis from the Royal Box. Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live How tennis could be harming your body – and why it does you good This is how Novak Djokovic is preparing to win Wimbledon Money-saving ways to garden on a budget
2023-07-04 20:46
After the flood: The nightmare is just beginning for those left to rebuild after the Ukraine dam explosion
In a mud-soaked nightdress, the Ukrainian grandmother claws at the fetid water that has swallowed the steps down to her home in Kherson city. Frail and in shock, Antonia Shevchenko, 84 appears unaware of the futility of her attempts to try to drain the swamp drowning her house. Her daughter Svetlana, 64, marooned by the sweltering mud, tries to coax her to stop and calm down. Shelling roars in the background. It is the first time the pair have been back since they evacuated after the Nova Kakhokva dam blew up last month, unleashing the contents of one of Europe’s largest reservoirs over southern Ukraine. The explosion – which Ukraine blames on Russia – sparked the worst ecological disaster on the continent in recent history and will likely impact global food security, according to the United Nations. In Kherson, the capital of the region, it killed dozens of people, submerged whole towns, drowned all the wildlife and turned this street into a canal. “We didn’t even have time to get her clothes, we had to carry her in the slippers and nightie she is still wearing now,” says Svetlana in tears, as her confused mother repeats, “It’s all just mud,” in the background. “It’s impossible to fix this. I feel nothing now. Everything is just empty inside. Now it’s all gone, we have nothing left,” Svetlana adds. A few streets away Oksana Kuzminko, 70, who was also returning for the first time, picks her way through the devastation. “Welcome to zombie land,” she adds with a despairing shrug. Until recently, the only way to navigate these streets was to steer a boat between the tops of the roofs of the submerged houses. Now the waters have receded, the terrifying scale of the damage and the work still to be done has been revealed. Sewage, mud, rubbish, dead animals, bits of masonry and potentially land mines swirl together in the backyards of the partially collapsed houses. The area is still being pounded by Russian forces, stationed on the other side of the swollen banks of the Dnipro River. Anna Gatchecnko, 73, another elderly resident of this district, says the combination of floodwaters and the war is “your worst nightmare”. “We survived the Russian occupation, the shelling, and now this happened,” she says, wearing plastic bags she has tied to her feet in the toxic slush. “They took everything. My house, my belongings were the last things in this world that I had.” The Kakhovka dam – essential for fresh water and irrigation in southern Ukraine – is located in a part of the Kherson region that Moscow illegally annexed in September and has occupied for the past year. The damage is so severe that Ukraine has accused Russia of “ecocide” – believing Moscow’s forces blew it up in an attempt to prevent Kyiv’s troops from advancing in the south as they launched a counteroffensive. Moscow has vehemently denied the accusations and blamed Kyiv. Experts say the dam was so robustly built only an internal explosion could have caused such a catastrophic breach. The tearing floods have wiped out hundreds of towns and villages according to the United Nations, which has warned nearly a quarter of a million people have been left in need of drinking water. Downstream of the dam, towns and villages have morphed into polluted swamps where cholera has been detected. Upstream, the reservoir which once sustained swathes of agricultural land has turned into a salty desert. Residents in those areas queue to get water from fire trucks under shelling. And the repercussions will be felt well beyond Ukraine’s borders, potentially sparking global hunger. Ukraine – a major exporter of grains, oils and vegetables – was already struggling to export its harvest because of war. The ravages of flooding in one of the world’s most important breadbaskets will almost inevitably lead to lower grain exports, higher food prices around the world, and less to eat for millions in need. “The truth is this is only the beginning of seeing the consequences of this act,” Martin Griffiths, a United Nations aid official warned recently. It also raised fears about the stability of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, Europe’s largest, which relied on the waters of the now-dry Kakhovka reservoir to function. Rafael Grossi, head of the UN’s International Atomic Energy Agency which has unsuccessfully attempted to build a safety zone around the facility, was so concerned he travelled to the Russian-occupied plant. There he admitted it was ”grappling with ... water-related challenges”. In Zaporzhizhia’s regional capital, Taras Tyshchenko, head of the Ministry of Health’s Centre for Prevention and Disease Control, said if the Russians were capable of unleashing the waters over Kherson, they would have no qualms in taking out the nuclear power plant. Since the explosion at the dam, his health facility tests the air and waters across the region multiple times a day for radiation and contamination. So far it has detected cholera and remains on high alert for radiation. It has been through three rounds of training in the event there is a disaster at the nuclear power plant and has distributed potassium iodide tablets to those living within the danger zone. The damage from the destroyed dam is unfathomable, he says in front of the city’s main dock which is now dried out. The sweeping concrete jetty, which once hosted commercial water traffic, stoops forlornly over muddy puddles where his teams take water samples. “It could take well over a decade to fix the dam, refill the reservoirs and restore this region to normal,” he adds grimly. “And that work can only really start after victory.” In the interim, cities, towns and villages along the Kakhovka reservoir will morph into wastelands if no solution is found. Deep fissures criss-cross the cracked riverbeds where dead fish and molluscs slowly crisp in the sun. In one village, a forlorn fisherman drives a scooter across the desert scape in search of a pool of water. “Once the dam exploded we tried to build our own mini dams to try to retain some water,” explains Vitaly Marozov, 29, who works at a 400-hectare farm producing vegetables and fruit just outside of the southern city of Nikopol. He plays us a video of local volunteers building a makeshift barrier out of sacks and soil. “Now we are trying to dig wells but the water is salty,” he adds. This is already destroying crops. Standing by a destroyed field of cabbages, dusted white with salt, he says they will be lucky if they can salvage a fifth of their total yearly yield. The damage, he believes, will cost their farm 22 million hryvnias, or around £500,000, and it will only get worse as the season progresses. “We are just one farm, this is the case all around this area. This will impact global food security unless someone does something drastic,” he continues. Back in the waterlogged regions, volunteers deliver aid by boats to the communities now cut off from help. Others bring pumps to try to drain the pools of stagnant water from the worst-hit areas. But all it does is expose the irreparable damage done to the entire southern sweep of Ukraine. We find Olha Mosyk, 70, who was forced to swim to safety with a litter of newborn kittens, islanded by destruction in her home in the Mykolaiv region. Sodden muddy piles of dirt mark the remains of the walls of her house. “You need steel teeth to break Ukrainians. That won’t work on me,” she says, pulling up the remains of rotten potatoes from her destroyed field which is the same tyranny of blackened mud. “All we can do is try to pull ourselves together,” she adds with a pause. Back in Kherson city, Svetlana tries to comfort her mother, Antonia, who is on the cusp of a panic attack. “How do I feel? Crying all the time. My whole body is shaking,” the 84-year-old says faintly, her red floral nightie a flash of colour in the grey water. “It’s all flooded. My whole life is under water.” Read More Zelensky accuses Russia of plotting ‘radiation leak’ attack at Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant Ukraine's president tells other countries to act before Russia attacks nuclear plant Ukrainian soldiers rescue Russian troops left to drown after Kakhovka dam destruction Russia-Ukraine war live: Moscow ‘arrests General Armageddon’ over Wagner rebellion Recapping the revolt in Russia, through the words of 4 presidents and a mutinous warlord
2023-07-04 19:58
Have Heather Locklear's demons returned? Star has had major issues in the past with mental illness and substance abuse
Some of Locklear's friends told the publication that the actress may have started drinking again following several rehab stints
2023-07-04 18:58
'Liberty, equality, fraternity' for all? New riots make France confront an old problem
The lofty ideals of “Liberty, Equality, Fraternity" to which France aspires are embossed on its coins and carved above its school doors
2023-07-04 18:56
Ditch Deliveroo – make these healthy, 30-minute pizzas instead
Stop ordering pizzas on Uber Eats and get into the kitchen to make your own. These spicy feta, pepper and courgette pizzas from Cooks&Co will be hot and ready to eat long before a delivery driver gets there with your cold, soggy takeaway. Swap meat for vegetables and mozzarella for feta and you can call it a healthy win, too. Spicy feta, pepper and courgette pizzas Serves: 4 Prep time: 15 mins, plus defrosting | Cooking time: 12-15 mins Ingredients: 2 x 220g frozen pizza dough balls, defrosted 100g pizza sauce 200g grated mozzarella 1 courgette, cut into ribbons 150g Cooks&Co Roasted Red and Yellow Peppers, quartered 25g Cooks&Co Tri-colour Jalapeno Slices 100g feta To serve: Drizzle extra virgin olive oil Basil leaves Method: Preheat the oven to 240C/gas mark 9. On a floured surface, roll out each dough ball into a rough 30cm round and place on 2 large lightly floured baking trays. Spread with the pizza sauce leaving a 2cm border. Sprinkle with cheese and top with courgette ribbons, peppers and jalapenos. Crumble over the feta and drizzle with a little olive oil. Bake for 12-15 minutes. Drizzle with extra oil and scatter over a few basil leaves to serve. Cooks tip: Add spoonfuls of mascarpone instead of feta. For more recipes, visit cooksandco.co.uk Read More Three quick and easy vegan fakeaway recipes The dish that defines me: Eddie Huang’s Taiwanese beef noodle soup Nutritionist explains how women can eat to help balance hormones The only three recipes you need to seize the summer How to shop at Borough Market in the summer Budget Bites: Three light recipes that sing of summer
2023-07-04 18:23
Afghan Taliban order women's beauty parlours to shut
Afghanistan's Taliban authorities have ordered beauty parlours across the country to shut within a month, the vice ministry confirmed Tuesday, the latest curb to further...
2023-07-04 17:57
Everything you need to know about 'Insidious' ahead of 'The Red Door'
It's been five years since the last Insidious film was released, so horror fans are
2023-07-04 17:45