The first day of the rest of your life

Tyson Fury admits that it would be "sad" for him to announce a comeback fight, even for £500million. The world heavyweight champion confirmed back in April after his win over Dillian Whyte that he planned to hang up his gloves, but has been teasing a return already. He is still training twice a day with his coaches including dad John and a host of pals, but continues to insist that he is finished with competition. He has toyed with the idea of exhibition bouts in the vein of Floyd Mayweather , but even then has minimal interest. The Brit has placed what is essentially an unmatchable price of £500m for his return to world championship fighting, likely against the winner of Anthony Joshua and Oleksandr Usyk's August rematch. “If I do come back it’ll be a sad day for me," Fury told The Telegraph . "It will be that I've let money overcome my morality because I put achievements before money. But if someone wants to put half a billion on the table I will test that morality … [Read more...] about Tyson Fury says boxing comeback will be “a sad day” amid £500million claim

Growing up in Calcutta (now known as Kolkata ), where food is something akin to religion, and in a house presided over by my mother who was a fabulous cook, my memories of great food and grand meals are prodigious. Yet, when I sat down to write this piece, a single memory leapt to my mind — a memory from so long ago that it should have faded by now. Only, it hasn’t. Even today, on somnolent Sunday afternoons, I wistfully recollect our day trips to Barasat on the outskirts of Kolkata, where we had a bagaanbari (literally, a house with a garden), and where the caretaker would cook lunch for us visitors. The food wasn’t anything fancy, but sitting al fresco and eating off chipped, mismatched plates while the birds kept up a drowsy monotone of cooing in the trees above, everything tasted heavenly. The caretaker-cum-gardener- cum-cook’s name was Ponchu. He must have had a more civilised name, or bhalo naam , as we say in Bangla. But he was universally known as Ponchu. I called him … [Read more...] about When Sundays in Kolkata meant road trips, wood fires, and a cook who fed both the body and soul

Click here to read the full article. Robert O’Hara , the Tony Award-nominated director and acclaimed playwright, sat beneath a tree near the side of the Delacorte Theater in Central Park. On the opening night of “ Richard III ,” a searing adaptation of Shakespeare’s tragedy mounted by O’Hara and The Public Theater in Central Park this summer, the director shied away from the photographers and the spotlight. Before taking his seat in the back of the house, watching restlessly as directors do on opening nights, he sat beneath a tree in the quiet and talked about Richard. More from Variety Shakespeare in the Park to Return With 'Richard III' Featuring Danai Gurira and 'As You Like It' 'Reopening Night' Documentary Chronicles Shakespeare in the Park During COVID: 'We Opened in Chaos' How Rudy Valdez Brought Shakespeare in the Park's 'Reopening Night' to Life for HBO “We all look more like the devil than we think we do,” O’Hara told Variety , breathing … [Read more...] about Danai Gurira on Starring in Robert O’Hara’s ‘Richard III’: ‘It Should Be a Historical Play, But It’s Actually a Political Thriller’

Boris Johnson sent for his official ministerial jet to fly home after a seaside jaunt with wife Carrie and their children. The Tory PM was last night accused of using government planes as his “personal taxi service”. The trip came the weekend before his embarrassing defeat in the Tiverton by-election, when the Prime Minister was snapped enjoying a day on the beach with Mrs Johnson. Mr Johnson is said to have spent the “whole weekend” campaigning ahead of the crunch vote, which saw the Tories lose the seat to the Lib Dems for the first time in a century. Ministers are usually prohibited from using official jets, paid for by the taxpayer, for party political visits. But the Sunday Mirror has established an official Government plane, complete with United Kingdom livery and the tail number G-GBNI, was despatched from London to Royal Naval Air Station Culdrose, a helicopter base near the village of Goonhusband, early on the morning of Monday 13 June. It returned to London … [Read more...] about Boris Johnson sent for ministerial jet to bring family home from Cornwall jaunt

Chinese leader Xi Jinping arrived Thursday in Hong Kong to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the British handover of a city that his rule has transformed from a global hub known for its political freedoms to one that is much more tightly controlled by the Communist Party. In a staged event carried live on Chinese TV, students and others lined the platform of a high-speed rail station and packed a red carpet to greet the leader making his first trip outside of mainland China in nearly 2 ½ years — a choice that underscored Hong Kong's ever-closer ties to the mainland. Waving small red Chinese and Hong Kong flags, the students chanted “Welcome, welcome! Warm welcome!” while city leader Carrie Lam greeted Mr. Xi and his wife, Peng Liyuan. Under Mr. Xi's leadership, China has reshaped Hong Kong, cracking down on protests, imposing a strict national security law used to silence dissent, introducing a more "patriotic" curriculum in schools, and revamping election laws to keep opposition … [Read more...] about China’s Xi visits changed Hong Kong for handover anniversary

In a blow to the fight against climate change, the Supreme Court on Thursday limited how the nation’s main anti-air pollution law can be used to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from power plants. By a 6-3 vote, with conservatives in the majority, the court said that the Clean Air Act does not give the Environmental Protection Agency broad authority to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from power plants that contribute to global warming. The court’s ruling could complicate the administration’s plans to combat climate change. Its proposal to regulate power plant emissions is expected by the end of the year. President Joe Biden aims to cut the nation’s greenhouse gas emissions in half by the end of the decade and to have an emissions-free power sector by 2035. Power plants account for roughly 30% of carbon dioxide output. “Capping carbon dioxide emissions at a level that will force a nationwide transition away from the use of coal to generate electricity may be a sensible … [Read more...] about U.S. Supreme Court limits Biden’s powers in curbing emissions

When the resting place of the American Civil War submarine H L Hunley was finally discovered in 2000, marine archaeologists found the eight-man crew still at their posts , frozen in time. It was as if the men aboard had been killed instantaneously - none were found to be trying to fix damage or abandon the sub. As the shipwreck was recovered, experts pored over the craft to try and determine what had caused it. The Hunley was a Confederate vessel that sank after a battle with the 23-gun blockade ship USS Housatonic in 1864. It's the first submarine in the history of naval warfare to sink another ship. But in doing so, the Hunley also sealed its own fate. Now, scientists from Duke University believe the weapon system used by the Hunley to take down the Union vessel was what caused the mysterious death of the crew on board. ( Image: Reuters) Rather than use standard self-propelled torpedoes, the Hunley mounted a 60kg keg loaded with gunpowder on a 5-metre pole on … [Read more...] about Deep sea mystery of crew deaths aboard sunken American Civil War submarine finally solved

India added 540 species to its faunal database in 2021 taking the total number of animal species to 1,03,258. The country also added 315 taxa to the Indian flora during 2021, taking the number of floral taxa in the country to 55,048. Of the 540 faunal species, 406 are new discoveries and 134 new records to India. Thirteen new genera were also discovered in 2021.  Among the new species discovered is one species from mammal, 35 reptiles and 19 species of pisces. The new mammal species discovered is Crocidura narcondamica , a white-toothed shrew, from Narcondam Island of the Andaman and Nicobar group of islands. Among the reptiles discovered in 2021, notable is Boiga whitakeri , or Whitaker’s cat snake, from the Western Ghats in Tamil Nadu. The most number of new discoveries was from the faunal group Hymenoptera, an order of insects, comprising the sawflies, wasps, bees, and ants, in which 80 species, including one new genus, were discovered. Dhriti Banerjee, Director, … [Read more...] about India adds 540 species to its faunal database, 315 taxa to its flora in 2021

The Texas Supreme Court reversed a lower court on Friday evening and allowed a pre- Roe 1925 law prohibiting abortions to go into effect. The state supreme court’s order is the latest addition in an ongoing feud between Texas government officials and abortion providers following the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decision to overturn Roe v. Wade. Although the 1925 law prohibiting abortions was not enforced after Roe was decided in 1973, the law remained on the books. A Harris County judge temporarily blocked the abortion ban after abortion clinics sued. The abortion clinics argued the law was effectively repealed when the Supreme Court decided Roe v. Wade , but the Texas Supreme Court disagreed and allowed the pre- Roe ban to go into effect. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton applauded the court’s decision as a “Pro-life victory!” “Pro-life victory! Thanks to my appeal, SCOTX has slapped down the abortion providers and the district court carrying their water,” Paxton … [Read more...] about Texas Supreme Court Allows Abortion Ban to Go into Effect

O ne day, five years ago, when I was lost somewhere in my thirties, the writer in me woke up and demanded to be let out. “Unleash your inner child,” she said, and as someone prone to gullibility, I was elated. After all, the children and the husband were all grown up and well-trained (pun intended), and I had some free time in my hand after a decade of maintaining a sane house and mind. Now, after being a full-time writer for a while, I discovered the inner child has grown into a snarky, bratty woman and could be quite a handful. For starters, she would criticise everything I write, including the shopping list, recipes and to-do lists. On days when she was particularly riled up, she would call my stories names such as “pouched egg”, meaning half-baked, and medu vadai, implying the plot hole is as big as the story. “They are better off blinking as an icon on your desktop,” she would say. I believed her, mostly. Showing off There were days when I would override her and submit my … [Read more...] about Forty and sulking