All posts tagged: reminder

an uncomfortable reminder of the innocent people ‘burnt out’ during the Troubles

an uncomfortable reminder of the innocent people ‘burnt out’ during the Troubles

Published by Sam Flores

The images coming out of Belfast overnight on Tuesday were shocking. Violent unrest erupted in the north of the city after a man was seriously injured in a knife attack and a Sudanese migrant was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder. British far-right agitators including Stephen Yaxley-Lennon (also known as Tommy Robinson) wasted no time in race-baiting. They encouraged angry white men and boys to take to the streets and vent their fury. Many did. I live in Belfast, and in a hark back to the violence of our past, houses were set ablaze and families were left fleeing for their lives. People identified as migrants (often merely people of colour) were singled out as targets. Road blocks were put in place across the city, reportedly patrolled by “loyalist” vigilantes. Migrant-owned businesses were shuttered and others were set ablaze. People trying to travel to or from work were prevented from doing so. Youth groups were cancelled. There is a legacy in Northern Ireland of people being burnt out of their houses or being forced from …

Monty Don gets ‘reminder’ from BBC after wearing Barbour jacket on Gardeners’ World

Monty Don gets ‘reminder’ from BBC after wearing Barbour jacket on Gardeners’ World

Published by Daniella Wilson

Get the latest entertainment news, reviews and star-studded interviews with our Independent Culture email Get the latest entertainment news with our free Culture newsletter Get the latest entertainment news with our free Culture newsletter Horticulturalist Monty Don has been “reminded” of BBC guidelines after appearing on Gardeners’ World wearing a Barbour jacket, while simultaneously featuring in an advertising campaign for the same brand. BBC rules state that presenters must not wear clothing on air that they have agreed to promote. Don was seen in a navy blue Barbour jacket during the most recent series of the popular gardening programme. He is currently part of Barbour’s “Way Of Life” campaign, where he discusses his relationship with nature. BBC guidelines on conflicts of interest state: “Presenters or other individuals must not appear on-air wearing clothing or using products or services which they have agreed/been contracted to promote, advertise or endorse or in which they have a specific financial interest.” A BBC spokesperson said: “We have clear guidelines around presenters’ commercial activities while working with the BBC, and …

Extreme heat in Europe ‘a brutal reminder’ of climate crisis, UN chief says | Extreme heat

Extreme heat in Europe ‘a brutal reminder’ of climate crisis, UN chief says | Extreme heat

Published by Jenni Sidey

The UN climate chief has said an extreme early heat event sweeping parts of western Europe was “a brutal reminder of the spiralling impacts of the climate crisis”, after France and the UK set new temperature records for May on two consecutive days. Simon Stiell, the executive secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, said on Wednesday the “main culprit” was humanity’s burning of coal, oil and gas – known to be the primary driver of climate change. “The science is clear that human-induced climate change is making these heatwaves more frequent and extreme,” Stiell said, as France, Spain and the UK sweltered in temperatures usually associated with July or August. “Protecting human lives, businesses and economies from extreme heat and the many other soaring costs of climate change is core business for every nation, and it starts with kicking the fossil fuel addiction much faster.” The war in the Middle East had laid bare the “soaring costs” of fossil fuel reliance and the need to pivot to cleaner sources of energy, Stiell …

Country diary: A jaw-dropping bounty of wildlife – and a reminder of what Britain has lost | Poland

Country diary: A jaw-dropping bounty of wildlife – and a reminder of what Britain has lost | Poland

Published by Sam Flores

Have I made a mistake in visiting Biebrza national park? Not that I mind encountering more bird species in a day than I do in a year at home. Nor do I regret meeting a young elk, all gangle and improbable proportions; or kneeling before a clump of lady’s slipper orchid in jaw-droppingly ostentatious bloom among Solomon’s seal and a carpet of lily of the valley. I definitely appreciate the homely clatter of the neighbourhood white storks, and the constant soundtrack of cuckoos and golden orioles. I certainly have no objection to watching the sunset from a wood-fired hot tub, listening to corncrakes as bats emerge and a beaver cruises past. But something shifts in me when, in the space of a few minutes in an observation tower, we watch three species of marsh tern hanging like precision-engineered angels to tweezer insects from the water’s surface, and a white-tailed eagle hunting greylag geese then settling with its mate in a dead tree to watch a train of common cranes in the field below meeting a …

The shocking Married at First Sight allegations are yet another sobering reminder of reality TV’s dark side

The shocking Married at First Sight allegations are yet another sobering reminder of reality TV’s dark side

Published by Daniella Wilson

Stay ahead of the curve with our weekly guide to the latest trends, fashion, relationships and more Stay ahead of the curve with our weekly guide to the latest trends, fashion, relationships and more Stay ahead of the curve with our weekly guide to the latest trends, fashion, relationships and more It was billed as a “social experiment”. In each season of Married at First Sight, a lineup of hopeful singles walk down the aisle to be greeted by a complete stranger, someone who has supposedly been selected as their perfect match. A mock wedding ensues – and the “newlyweds”, two people who have never previously laid eyes on each other, then proceed to move in together to see if they can make their relationship work. And throughout every tentative kiss, stony silence and explosive row, the cameras are rolling. As far as dating shows go, it is a high-stakes, high-emotion format – and one that pulls in a lot of viewers. In September 2024, the UK version of MAFS (as it is known by …

For Doug Wilson’s neighbors, CNN documentary a reminder Moscow is Christian nationalism’s ground zero

For Doug Wilson’s neighbors, CNN documentary a reminder Moscow is Christian nationalism’s ground zero

Published by Sam Flores

MOSCOW, Idaho (FāVS News) — Joann Muneta expected to be angry, as she usually is when a major news outlet turns its cameras on pastor Doug Wilson and the Christian nationalist movement growing in her backyard. But after watching CNN’s latest documentary air Sunday night (March 22), the 90-year-old Moscow activist felt something she hadn’t expected. “I was so sad after it was over,” said Muneta, who has lived in Moscow for 65 years and is chair of the Latah County Human Rights Task Force. “Usually I get angry. But this time I was just so sad.” CNN anchor and chief investigative correspondent Pamela Brown’s hourlong documentary, “The Rise of Christian Nationalism,” aired on “The Whole Story with Anderson Cooper.” It was Brown’s second major report on Wilson, whose reach now extends from his Christ Church pulpit in Moscow to the halls of power in Washington. For many in Moscow’s surrounding Palouse region, their reaction was familiar even when the emotions were not. The episode included accounts from women who are former members of Christian …

Still the master, Guardiola fires timely reminder to Arsenal

Still the master, Guardiola fires timely reminder to Arsenal

Published by Sam Flores

LONDON, March 22 : Eight years ago, Pep Guardiola began one of the most dominant periods by any manager in the history of English football by masterminding a defeat of Arsenal in the League Cup final. On Sunday he repeated the trick at Wembley to remind everyone that despite suggestions his powers are on the wane, he remains the master at delivering silverware. City’s 2-0 defeat of Premier League leaders Arsenal courtesy of a double by youngster Nico O’Reilly was Guardiola’s 16th major trophy since taking charge in 2016 and his record fifth for the club in the League Cup. Afterwards the Spaniard acknowledged the competition lacks the prestige of the Premier League or Champions League. But there was no disguising how much it meant to him judging by his celebrations, especially against his former apprentice Mikel Arteta whose Arsenal side are threatening to seize power domestically and who were even being tipped for a quadruple. It was also a victory for Guardiola’s footballing philosophy as his side emerged from Arsenal’s suffocating early grip to …

Kent meningitis outbreak a cruel reminder young people are most at risk | UK News

Kent meningitis outbreak a cruel reminder young people are most at risk | UK News

Published by skeptic

Meningitis is thankfully rare, but the outbreak in Kent is a cruel reminder that the disease is still with us, and that young people are most at risk. Health authorities are yet to identify the exact strain that has killed two students – one a sixth-former in Canterbury, the other studying at the University of Kent – and left 11 others seriously ill. But we know we are dealing with the bacterial form of meningitis. Thankfully, not as common as it once was, but no less devastating. Follow latest: Hundreds of masked Kent university students queue for antibiotics Image: Pic: CNRI/Science Photo Library “There’s been less and less disease thanks to the effectiveness of vaccines, which are now available on the NHS”, said Dr Tom Nutt, chief executive of charity Meningitis Now. “So to get a big cluster like this in Canterbury, I think, is pretty shocking and pretty unusual.” Babies, children and young adults are most at risk, and the bacterial infection – sluggish compared to respiratory viruses like colds and flu – has …

Women having to queue for the toilet is a physical reminder of society’s gender gap

Women having to queue for the toilet is a physical reminder of society’s gender gap

Published by Daniella Wilson

Get the Well Enough newsletter with Harry Bullmore for tips on living a healthier, happier and longer life Get the Well Enough email with Harry Bullmore Get the Well Enough email with Harry Bullmore Do you remember the last time you had to queue for a toilet? If several examples spring to mind, the chances are you were standing in the women’s line. Whether at theatres, airports, shopping centres or festivals, the pattern is the same: men breeze in and out with barely a wait, while women stand in line. In most public buildings, toilet space is divided by floor area, giving men and women roughly equal space. While this might appear fair, research on gender and toilet design has shown that equal floor area does not result in equal access. It assumes that men and women use toilets in the same way and for the same length of time, an assumption built directly into most public toilet designs. Men’s toilets usually combine cubicles with urinals, which take up less space and can be used …

BAFTAs Brought Painful Reminder for Tourette Syndrome Community

BAFTAs Brought Painful Reminder for Tourette Syndrome Community

Published by Daniella Wilson

When the advocate Jess Thom heard about a person with Tourette’s “ticcing” the BAFTAs, she had a familiar feeling: dread. Thom has Tourette Syndrome and when she got word of what happened with John Davidson, it brought to the surface many of the misunderstandings and confused reactions she has spent her life trying to fight. “There are a lot of myths and oversimplifications about Tourette Syndrome, and a global frenzy is not the best place to have a conversation about them,” the U.K.-based Thom, 45, said by Zoom from her home Monday evening as she reflected on the events. “And it’s all happening in a climate with increased hostility to disabled people, with threats to Medicaid and the ADA.” Davidson at the ceremony engaged in “ticcing,” the term for when people who have Tourette Syndrome, or TS, involuntarily say or do something that can have the effect of making others uncomfortable. In this case, the executive producer and inspiration for the Tourette’s-focused winner, I Swear, called out a series of curses and insults, as well as a racial …