The White House has defended plans for Barack Obama’s 60th birthday this weekend, as America brings back some COVID-19 restrictions due to a surge in Delta variant cases. Hundreds of people have reportedly been invited to celebrate the former president’s milestone at his multimillion dollar home in Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts. Image: Press Secretary Jen Psaki
Month: August 2021
Shares in China’s biggest online gaming companies slumped after state media branded their products “spiritual opium” and compared them to “electronic drugs”. The criticism – as reported by Reuters news agency – has stoked concerns that the online gaming sector will be the next to receive unwanted attention from Beijing’s regulators, following a crackdown on
A Belarusian activist who was reported missing has been found dead in a park in Kiev, Ukrainian police have said. Vitaly Shishov led Kiev-based non-profit organisation Belarusian House (BDU) that helps Belarusians fleeing persecution. He was reported missing by his partner on Monday after not returning home from a run. Police have launched a criminal
A US police officer has become the third suicide among those who defended the Capitol building from rioters in January. Washington DC police officer Gunther Hashida was found dead at his home on 29 July, leaving a wife and three children. Mr Hashida, 43, was part of the emergency response team in the Special Operations
Rapper Dizzee Rascal has been charged with assault after a woman was injured in Streatham, south London. The grime artist, whose real name is Dylan Mills, is due to appear at Croydon Magistrates’ Court on Friday 3 September. Police were called to a residential address on 8 June and found a woman with minor injuries.
The ferocity of the fires in Turkey is quite something to behold. We watched, along with the residents of the pretty seaside town of Cokertme on the Aegean coast, as the crackling dry forests around the community were devoured within minutes. The village appeared to be surrounded. We watched as fire engines reversed and screeched
There is no prospect of an amber watchlist being introduced at the latest travel review this week, Sky News understands. Government sources have confirmed that Boris Johnson has rejected the idea. Live COVID updates from the UK and around the world Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player ‘We have to have
Nicola Sturgeon has invited Boris Johnson to meet her to discuss their COVID recovery plans. The Scottish first minister invited the prime minister to her official Edinburgh residence, Bute House, during his visit to Scotland this week. She said it would be “their first opportunity to meet in person for a while”. Ms Sturgeon acknowledged
Fewer contacts of people with coronavirus will be told to isolate by the NHS COVID-19 app after an update today. The “logic” which underpins how close contacts are identified and notified will be changed following a review into the NHS COVID-19 app by the health secretary, the Department for Health and Social Care says. Live
Professional footballers are at an increased risk of developing dementia depending on the length of their careers and their playing position, according to a landmark study. The research was based on the health records of around 8,000 former professional footballers in Scotland and found that the risk of goalkeepers developing a neurodegenerative disease was similar
Team GB have won gold in team eventing at the Tokyo Olympics. Laura Collett, Tom McEwen and Oliver Townend secured what is Team GB’s 11th gold at this year’s Games – the team’s 33rd medal in total. All three riders were making Games debuts, but delivered high-class displays to end a 49-year wait for team
Belarusian Olympic sprinter Krystsina Tsimanouskaya has arrived at the Polish embassy in Tokyo after refusing to board a flight back to Minsk. The 24-year-old was seen entering the building after spending the night at an airport hotel. She said she was seized by officials from her own country on Sunday after she publicly complained about
Simone Biles, who has pulled out of several events at the Tokyo Olympics citing the need to protect her mental health, will compete in the balance beam final, USA Gymnastics has said. “We are so excited to confirm that you will see two U.S. athletes in the balance beam final tomorrow – Suni Lee AND
The fallout from comments made by DaBaby about HIV and gay men continues, after the rapper was booted off the bill of a major music festival. DaBaby has been widely criticised for his comments, where he told audience members to put their phone lights in the air – unless they were HIV-positive or were gay
Video-conferencing company Zoom, which became a household name during the coronavirus pandemic, has reached an $85m (£61m) settlement in the US. A class-action lawsuit accused the company of a series of privacy breaches by sharing millions of users’ data with Google, Facebook and LinkedIn. It also alleged Zoom had misled users by claiming to offer
Plastic pollution is creating an “evolutionary trap” for young sea turtles because they “eat anything”, according to a new study. Research led by the University of Exeter found plastic in the stomachs of small juvenile turtles along both the east (Pacific) and west (Indian Ocean) coasts of Australia. The animals travel on currents and start