Glimpse of sun after weeks of unrelenting rain marks end of longest sunless period in area since records began
Aberdeen has finally had some sunshine, for the first time in 21 days – marking the end of the longest sunless period in the area since Met Office records began in 1957.
Residents of the Granite city in north-east Scotland glimpsed the sun late on Thursday afternoon, with sunshine having been last recorded on 21 January.
Continue reading...Australia stands at a crossroads as it rolled out the red carpet for some, while greeting others with batons
Isaac Herzog’s visit to Australia was not a routine diplomatic engagement. It was an ethical and political test of the Australian state. At the very moment a red carpet was rolled out for a man accused of inciting genocide, peaceful Australian citizens were met with batons while exercising their democratic right to protest.
For me, this was never an abstract political debate. Before the visit, I pursued the legal channels that are meant to protect citizens and lodged a formal complaint with the Australian government about the role Herzog played in rhetoric and policies that contributed to the destruction of my family in Gaza. Seven of my relatives were killed. My father died because of a lack of medicine, food and water. My brother, his wife, their four children and her father were also killed. Their bodies remain buried beneath the rubble. Despite the seriousness of this complaint, I have received no response from the government.
Continue reading...Semi-final first leg: Atlético Madrid 4-0 Barcelona
E Garcia 6og, Griezmann 14, Lookman 33, Alvarez 45+2
You must always have faith, Diego Simeone had said and so it was. A biblical storm blew through the Metropolitano, leaving Barcelona torn to pieces and Atlético Madrid closer to a first Copa del Rey final in 13 years than even he could ever have believed. Forty-five extraordinary minutes gave them a 4-0 lead to take to the second leg at Camp Nou in three weeks’ time. An own goal from Eric García and three more, from Ademola Lookman, Antoine Griezmann and Julián Alvarez before the half-time whistle did the kind of damage that only a miracle can repair now.
Barcelona could not even begin to fix it here in a second half in which they had a goal ruled out after seven long minutes waiting on the VAR not bringing any more goals. They then had Eric García sent off late on. It was a wonder they were still standing at all, given what had hit them from the very start.
Continue reading...Though Department of Homeland Security almost certain to shutter at midnight Friday, ICE to be largely unaffected
Democrats in the US Senate have blocked a funding package for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) amid ongoing fury over the Trump administration’s crackdown and the deaths of two people in Minneapolis.
Thursday’s vote means that the department is almost certain to shut down at midnight on Friday evening, affecting a range of services yet largely leaving the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency (ICE) – the target of Democrats’ ire – unaffected because it is already the recipient of lavish federal funding.
Continue reading...Inquest concluded Robin Windsor was ‘vulnerable to rejection’ which was among ‘contributing factors’ that led to death
The family of a Strictly Come Dancing professional dancer have told of their “profound sadness” after an inquest jury concluded he took his own life.
Robin Windsor, 44, was found in a hotel room in Shepherd’s Bush, west London, in February 2024.
Jurors found Windsor was “vulnerable to rejection both emotionally and professionally” and that this was among the “contributing factors” that led to his death.
In a statement on Windsor’s X account on Thursday, after the conclusion of the inquest, his family said: “The coroner has now concluded the investigation into the cause of Robin’s death. It is with profound sadness that we acknowledge that Robin took his own life.
“As a family, together with Robin’s close friends, we can now begin to move forward and attempt, over time, to rebuild our lives.”
The Latin and ballroom dancer joined the BBC programme in 2010 and danced with actors Patsy Kensit, Anita Dobson and Lisa Riley, along with Dragons’ Den entrepreneur Deborah Meaden in four series until 2013.
He could not perform in the 2014 series because of a back injury and was dropped in 2015 but still appeared in the Christmas special that year, dancing alongside TV presenter Alison Hammond.
A written statement from Emmerdale actor Riley read to the inquest at West London coroner’s court said Windsor’s “glow had gone” after he was cut from the professional dancers’ lineup.
She said: “It was from this moment, on to the time of his death, he kept slipping deeper and deeper into endless depression.
“His glow had gone.”
Addressing Windsor’s family in the courtroom, the coroner Dr Anton van Dellen said: “I hope you can think of the happy times he brought to the public and the deep affection the public held him in.”
The dancer’s family thanked those who “marked (Windsor’s) life with such love”.
“We wish to express our sincere gratitude to everyone who has shown us kindness, compassion and support throughout the long and difficult period since Robin’s passing,” their statement said.
“Thank you to everyone who has remembered Robin and marked his life with such love.”
A BBC spokesperson said: “Our sympathies are with Robin’s family, friends and all who knew him. The whole of the Strictly Come Dancing family remain deeply saddened by his passing. Robin was a much-loved member of the team – both on and off air – during his time on the show.
“As the inquest has heard this week and the jury concluded, several complex factors contributed to how Robin felt at the time of his tragic death and our thoughts remain with all who knew and loved Robin.”
Windsor, from Ipswich, had been an ambassador for mental health charity Sane.
The Windsor family statement concluded: “If you or someone you care for is struggling with mental health, reaching out for support can really make a difference. You don’t have to face things alone.
“Support is available via organisations like Sane and You Are Loved (a company that provides mental health support for LGBT+ people).”
• In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on freephone 116 123, or email jo@samaritans.org or jo@samaritans.ie. In the US, you can call or text the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline on 988, chat on 988lifeline.org, or text HOME to 741741 to connect with a crisis counselor. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. Other international helplines can be found at befrienders.org
Continue reading...More than 30 malicious Chrome extensions installed by at least 260,000 users purport to be helpful AI assistants, but they steal users' API keys, email messages, and other personal data. Even worse: many of these are still available on the Chrome Web Store as of this writing.…
Nvidia and AMD can take a seat. On Thursday, OpenAI unveiled GPT-5.3-Codex-Spark, its first model that will run on Cerebras Systems' dinner-place-sized AI accelerators, which feature some of the world's fastest on-chip memory.…
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MILAAN (ANP) - Shorttracker Jens van 't Wout voelde in de olympische finale "een soort paniek" bij William Dandjinou, zijn grote concurrent uit Canada. "Ik heb vaak een soort halve inhaalacties bij hem gedaan en dan werd het niets. Ik dacht nu: ik moet het gewoon proberen. Of ik haal hem in of ik eindig als laatste. Gelukkig pakte het goed uit", vertelde de 24-jarige Nederlander met de gouden medaille om zijn nek in de Milano Ice Skating Arena.
Van 't Wout is bij de mannen de eerste Nederlandse shorttracker die een individuele gouden medaille wint op de Olympische Spelen. Sjinkie Knegt zorgde in 2014 met brons bij de Spelen van Sotsji voor de eerste olympische medaille voor de Nederlandse shorttrackers. "Sjinkie had niet verwacht dat ik nu op het podium zou eindigen", wist Van 't Wout. "Ik kan zelf ook nog amper geloven dat ik nu op de hoogste trede sta. Ik riep na de finish alleen maar 'What the fuck!'. We hebben hier als team zo hard voor gewerkt."
MILAAN (ANP) - Xandra Velzeboer heeft op de Olympische Spelen in Milaan het moment zien uitkomen dat ze zich al zo vaak had voorgesteld. Het was nog mooier. "Dit is echt een droom die uitkomt", zei de 24-jarige shorttrackster nadat ze als eerste Nederlandse ooit de olympische titel op de 500 meter had veroverd. "Ik had dit al heel vaak gevisualiseerd."
"Ik ben heel blij dat het gelukt is", zei een stralende Velzeboer. "We zijn van ver gekomen na de mislukte mixed relay. We waren dinsdag heel teleurgesteld, maar het vertrouwen is nooit weggeweest. We reden ook zo hard in de B-finale, dat heeft ook veel bevestiging gegeven. Het veranderde niets aan mijn doel van vandaag. Ik wist dat ik het kon, maar dat ik zo hard zou rijden, had ik misschien niet verwacht."