Humans 150 000 years ago

Boris Johnson planned to build a £150,000 treehouse for his son Wilf at Chequers, it has been reported. The prime minister and his wife Carrie wanted to build the treehouse during autumn 2020 but had to pull the plug after it raised security concerns. The treehouse's design included bulletproof glass but could be seen by the roadside, prompting police to warn the PM about the risks involved. There were discussions about having Lord Brownlow, a Tory donor ranked the 521st richest person in the UK last year, fund the project, with plans for the treehouse drawn up for the country retreat, it has been reported. Some No10 aides warned Mr Johnson against the project due to the cost and the matter of it being more expensive than some homes in many parts of the UK. Prime Minister Boris Johnson with Carrie, their son Wilfred and dog Dilyn “He was told it would look terrible,” a government source told The Times . The newspaper reports that it is unclear whether the Chequers … [Read more...] about Boris Johnson ‘planned to build £150,000 treehouse for son Wilf’ at Chequers

Police on Wednesday morning rescued a 13-year-old girl who was kidnapped by another teenager, in what authorities currently believe was a human trafficking situation. The incident occurred in Canton, Georgia, just after 10:20 a.m. when officers of the Canton Police Department approached a 2014 Dodge Caravan that had been reported stolen. A young woman was seen driving the car while using a cellphone, while a younger girl was also observed, Fox 11 News reported Friday. Once pulled over, the teen driver was unable to provide any license or registration for the vehicle. Upon searching the car, officers found 13 THC vape cartridges, three vape pens, a THC-laced candy themed after Nerds Rope, and numerous pieces of lingerie. The officers were eventually able to ascertain that the 16-year-old driver was planning to transport the younger girl over state lines, leading them to suspect a human trafficking scenario. Police were able to reunite the 13-year-old with her family. … [Read more...] about Teen girl charged with kidnapping, trafficking of 13-year-old: Police

More than half of Britons holidaying abroad in 2022 are expecting to put more cash towards their spending at resorts this year. Some 53% of people plan to have a foreign holiday this year, up from 43% who said this in 2021. Nearly six in 10 (59%) families are expecting to travel overseas this year, the Post Office Travel Money report indicated. Among those expecting to travel abroad this year, 54% are planning to increase their budget for resort spending. Recommended By-elections show voters have run out of patience with Boris Johnson Nearly a quarter (23%) plan to spend money they saved during the Covid-19 lockdowns. But a significant proportion (24%) of those planning trips abroad said they will be cutting their holiday budget because they have less money to spend, rising to more than three in 10 (31%) of families. Researchers also found that seven in 10 (70%) people who set a budget on their last overseas holiday ended up busting it. On … [Read more...] about Sun, sea and spend: Holidaymakers expect to increase resort budgets this year

(AFP) — The Spanish prime minister on Saturday described a deadly migrant rush on the enclave of Melilla from Morocco as an attack on Spain’s “territorial integrity”, as human rights activists demanded an investigation. At least 18 African migrants died in the latest drama on the doors of the European Union, when around 2,000 mostly sub-Saharan African migrants approached the Moroccan border with the tiny territory at dawn on Friday. More than 500 managed to enter a border control area after cutting a fence with shears, Melilla authorities said in a statement. Moroccan officials said late Friday that 13 migrants had died of injuries sustained in the incursion, in addition to five confirmed dead earlier in the day. “Some fell from the top of the barrier” separating the two sides, a Moroccan official said. Migrants climb the fences separating the Spanish enclave of Melilla from Morocco in Melilla, Spain, Friday, June 24, 2022. Dozens of migrants stormed the border … [Read more...] about Pictures: 18 Dead as 2,000 African Migrants Storm Spanish Enclave

Bollywood’s Baadshah Shah Rukh Khan did not earn the title of romance king just like that. From his persona to his charm, to the way he treats his on-screen and off-screen women, SRK has always set an example. Although the actor has a diverse range of filmography, when one thinks of romantic films in Bollywood, Shah Rukh Khan has to be the first name to come to mind. However, he now says that he is too old to do romantic films. The superstar completed three decades in the industry today, June 25 and on this special day, he dropped his look from his much-anticipated comeback film Pathaan. He also held a Live session on Instagram for the first time, where he spoke about the film and also answered some questions asked by the fans. One of them asked SRK whether he misses playing roles like ‘Rahul’. The actor has played the romantic hero Rahul in many a film such as Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, Kabhi Khush Kabhi Gham and Chennai Express among others. Answering the question, he said, “I don’t … [Read more...] about Shah Rukh Khan: ‘I’m Too Old to Do Romantic Films, Maybe Rahul, Raj are for Younger People to Play’

BERLIN — International powers with conflicting interests in Libya’s civil war have called for a cease-fire and agreed to respect a much-violated arms embargo in an effort to end the country’s long-running conflict. The agreement comes after a warning that the conflict that has spiraled into a proxy war risks becoming the "next Syria." The agreement on Sunday came after about four hours of talks in Berlin where German Chancellor Angela Merkel hosted leaders of 11 countries, with Libya’s two main rival leaders also in the German capital but not at the main conference table. Merkel told reporters that powers had agreed that a tentative truce in Tripoli over the past week should be turned into a permanent ceasefire to allow a political process to take place. A special committee made up of five military officials from each side will monitor the truce, she said. Libya has sunk further into chaos since the 2011 ouster and killing of its longtime dictator, Moammar Gadhafi. … [Read more...] about Libya players agree cease-fire amid warnings war may become ‘next Syria’

M y disgruntled uncle recently said that if the coronavirus was at least visible to the naked eyes, we could smash it with our bare hands, bringing the pandemic to an end. But our experience with another organism, the mosquito, which is at least a million times bigger than the virus, has proven us wrong. The mosquitoes are reasonably big, unmissable even for a person with cataract. It makes an annoyingly irritating buzzing sound near our ears audible even for an octogenarian hard of hearing. But it has managed to escape our “slaps and claps” and has been pestering us since time immemorial. Globally, the mosquito and its dirty baggage (mosquito-borne diseases) affect 700 million people and kill one million every year. It has been a source of diseases and death for hundreds of years. It has been living on earth even before the humans appeared, as carbon studies date its existence from about 200 million years ago. One can remember the iconic scene in the Jurassic Park movie where a … [Read more...] about Mosquito bites

On the way into work early this morning I checked the headlines and felt like I’d been punched in the stomach. Millions of women will today be feeling the same. The ricochet of the overturning of Roe v Wade can be felt globally. For, on the surface of things, while this “only” appears to affect America, in truth it affects us all. The gradual dominance of conservative ideals in the US in recent years mirrors, in many ways, what can be already seen in so-called “modern” Britain: we are living through a time which is more focused on the crackdown on civil liberties than on protecting human rights ; where we can see, clear as day, the “othering” of disenfranchised communities through odious legislation such as the Nationality and Borders Bill . We have plans from our own government to send vulnerable refugees over to Rwanda , a failure to ban trans conversion therap y , the deliberate stoking of “culture wars” and straw man arguments used to perpetuate a … [Read more...] about What does the Roe v Wade Supreme Court ruling mean for British women?

The son of a prime minister beat his girlfriend before pushing her out of a fourth-floor window to her death, a court heard in Russia . Wealthy Murtuz Medzhidov, 26, was jailed for 13 years in a strict regime prison colony. He murdered "brilliant" student Tomiris Baysafa, 21, pushing her 40ft to her death through a window, a court found. The verdict came after a campaign for justice by the dead girl’s mother who had protested at Russia ’s judicial “lawlessness” when a year ago Medzhidov was acquitted. The judge in the initial trial was seen as “extremely supportive” of Medzhidov - son of an influential ex-prime minister of oil-and-gas region Dagestan, Mukhtar Medzhidov. Murtazali Medzhidov at court ( Image: Vesti.ru) The grieving mother Zhanna Akhmetova, 42, had complained that her daughter had been traduced as “an absolutely sick psycho-emotional person”, and compelling forensic evidence had been ignored. She had appealed for justice to the presidents of … [Read more...] about Son of prime minister pushed girlfriend out of fourth-floor window to her death

Bharat C. Raval, president of the Indian Salt Manufacturers’ Association (ISMA), started his career as a salt inspector with the Gujarat government. After spending 19 months in the government, he was attracted towards the salt cooperatives initiated by none other than Dr. Verghese Kurien, the ‘Milkman of India’. Kurien trained Mr. Raval at the Sabarmati Salt Farmers’ Society where he joined in April 1988 as a procurement executive. Nearly 35 years later, Mr. Raval feels that the salt industry is facing huge challenges in meeting the demand and in tackling the realisation crisis faced by salt farmers. Initially, the society where Mr. Raval worked produced 30,000 metric tonnes of salt. It reached up to 7,00,000 metric tonnes in three years, by 1991. “We have also operated CSR activities those days by providing health infrastructure support to salt farmers. Farmers were getting ₹ 17/per tonne when we entered the sector and the the price went up in the first years to ₹27 per tonne and … [Read more...] about Crisis in salt sector hits 5 lakh people in Gujarat