A proponent of using the drug hydroxychloroquine to treat Covid-19 despite scant evidence of its efficacy has been named to a top pandemic prevention role at the Department of Health and Human Services, the Washington Post reports. Steven J Hatfill is a virologist who served in Donald Trump’s first administration, during which he promoted hydroxychloroquine…
The German chancellor, Olaf Scholz, is to be played out of office by a military band who will perform tunes chosen by him that are intended to sum up his mood and political life. Scholz will bow out to the Beatles, Johann Sebastian Bach and an Otis Redding hit made famous by Aretha Franklin. The…
They are called skorts – a portmanteau of shorts and skirts – and the Irish camogie players who are obliged to wear them have had enough. Players from Dublin and Kilkenny instead wore forbidden shorts before a provincial game on Saturday, in a coordinated protest that has won support from politicians and commentators who say…
Spain’s transport minister has said the country’s rail network suffered “an act of serious sabotage” after vital signalling cable was stolen over the busy bank holiday weekend, bringing severe delays to high-speed services between Madrid and Seville that affected more than 10,000 travellers. The country’s state-owned rail operator, Renfe, said the problems on the line…
Sainsbury’s has drawn a line under a previous controversial attempt to create its own ethical label by agreeing a major tea deal with the Fairtrade Foundation. As a result of the move, all classic teabags in the “by Sainsbury’s” range will move to Fairtrade, with Kerrina Thorogood, the foundation’s director of partnerships, describing the move…
Years after his wife died while kayaking, a man has been accused of murder and trying to claim more than $1m in life insurance. Graeme Davidson, 55, who now lives in Thailand, was charged over the death of his wife Jacqueline. Jacqueline Davidson, 54, drowned while kayaking with her husband at Lake Samsonvale, north of…
Scotland Yard has received a dossier of evidence documenting myriad alleged war crimes committed by a paramilitary group during the conflict in Sudan. Lawyers have submitted a 142-page file of evidence to the war crimes unit of the Metropolitan police containing details of numerous atrocities perpetrated by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF). Compiled by a…
Human rights groups have condemned the arrest of relatives of Anna Kwok, an exiled pro-democracy activist who is wanted by the Hong Kong police, in the first example of the city’s national security law being used to target the family members of an activist living overseas. Kwok, 28, is the executive director of the Washington-based…
Westpac’s chief executive believes Australia may be recovering from the depths of the cost-of-living crisis and has hailed the re-election of the Albanese government as an “enormous positive” for the country. Anthony Miller said on Monday the worst of the inflation-induced pressure on borrowers was easing, as the share of customers falling behind on repayments…
Donald Trump on Sunday announced on his Truth Social platform a 100% tariff on all movies “produced in Foreign Lands”, saying the US film industry was dying a “very fast death” due to the incentives that other countries were offering to draw American film-makers. In his post, he claimed to have authorised the commerce department…
