Senior medical staff call for solutions to tackle root causes of excess deaths amid tenfold increase in a decade More than 1,300 patients a month in England are dying needlessly due to long A&E waits, a tenfold rise in a decade, figures suggest. There were more than 300 deaths linked to long waits every week in 2025, up from 30 a week in 2015, according to analysis by the Royal College of Emergenc...
Senior medical staff call for solutions to tackle root causes of excess deaths amid tenfold increase in a decade More than 1,300 patients a month in England are dying needlessly due to long A&E waits, a tenfold rise in a decade, figures suggest. There were more than 300 deaths linked to long waits every week in 2025, up from 30 a week in 2015, according to analysis by the Royal College of Emergency Medicine. Continue reading...
Bereaved relatives have been bombarded with calls, emails and letters addressed to the deceased ScottishPower sent a debt collection letter to my house demanding £130 owing on my late brother’s gas account. I am his sole executor and had informed it of his death. The company, meanwhile, owed a £430 credit on his electricity account. It eventually paid this with a cheque issued in my late brother’s...
Bereaved relatives have been bombarded with calls, emails and letters addressed to the deceased ScottishPower sent a debt collection letter to my house demanding £130 owing on my late brother’s gas account. I am his sole executor and had informed it of his death. The company, meanwhile, owed a £430 credit on his electricity account. It eventually paid this with a cheque issued in my late brother’s name, which could not therefore be cashed. Continue reading...
Anas Zawahri’s documentary lays heart-wrenching testimony over languorous shots of bullet-ridden ruins and deserted streets The western Syrian city of Homs is only a husk of its former self. Previously a major industrial centre, the region became a key battleground between 2011 and 2014, for Bashar al-Assad’s army and rebel forces. Amid the immense bloodshed, hundreds of thousands of civilians wer...
Anas Zawahri’s documentary lays heart-wrenching testimony over languorous shots of bullet-ridden ruins and deserted streets The western Syrian city of Homs is only a husk of its former self. Previously a major industrial centre, the region became a key battleground between 2011 and 2014, for Bashar al-Assad’s army and rebel forces. Amid the immense bloodshed, hundreds of thousands of civilians were either displaced or trapped inside their own homes. Filmed in the summer of 2023, this deeply moving documentary from Palestinian-born and Syria-based film-maker Anas Zawahri maps out the collective trauma and sorrow that continue to linger, even after the shooting has stopped. Unfolding in languorous, largely static shots of bombed rubble, hollowed-out buildings, and deserted streets, the film lays bare the startling extent of wartime brutality. A sense of stillness and stagnancy hangs in the air, and almost every wall is riddled with bullet holes, urban scars that mirror the psychological wounds borne by the survivors. Their heart-wrenching testimony is laid over these images of destruction, lending a human dimension to the ruins. One resident ruminates over how Homs changed from a city of laughter to one of agony and grief. With bitter irony, another considers himself lucky to be blind, and thus does not have to suffer the mental shock of seeing his beloved home town razed. Continue reading...
As social attitudes shift and concern for animal rights grows, the dog meat tradition in many parts of Nigeria is increasingly being questioned Every weekend in Lagos, 36-year-old Izien Aigbodion walks down his street with his three dogs – a poodle and two chow chows. Neighbours and passersby, more used to seeing dogs in cages than walking on leashes beside their owners, stop to stare. With treats...
As social attitudes shift and concern for animal rights grows, the dog meat tradition in many parts of Nigeria is increasingly being questioned Every weekend in Lagos, 36-year-old Izien Aigbodion walks down his street with his three dogs – a poodle and two chow chows. Neighbours and passersby, more used to seeing dogs in cages than walking on leashes beside their owners, stop to stare. With treats in one pocket and a bottle of water in the other, he pauses to calm his most skittish dog. “People believe that dogs can only follow orders,” he says, as one nudges his leg for attention. But when you live with them, you come to appreciate things like loyalty, emotion, even empathy.” Continue reading...
Former US soccer player Merritt Mathias looks at times when the beautiful game has been a political football. Plus, a deep dive into who is funding Reform UK Former US soccer player Merritt Mathias (pictured above) and journalists Musa Okwonga and Julio Ricardo Varela are a fascinating team of “football/soccer time-travellers”. They trace the history of how global power has tried to influence the ...
Former US soccer player Merritt Mathias looks at times when the beautiful game has been a political football. Plus, a deep dive into who is funding Reform UK Former US soccer player Merritt Mathias (pictured above) and journalists Musa Okwonga and Julio Ricardo Varela are a fascinating team of “football/soccer time-travellers”. They trace the history of how global power has tried to influence the game and make it political. After setting the scene with musings on this year’s World Cup, they first look at the 1934 tournament in Mussolini’s Italy, which Uruguay boycotted. Hollie Richardson YouTube and Spotify, episodes weekly Continue reading...
This clarion call about the loss of delight and safety in children’s lives is also a reminder of the sheer magic of reading Every day, on my walk to work, I pass a primary school. A group of little people are being dropped off by parents. They are met at the gates by a teacher who greets them all by name before leading them up the steps to breakfast club. In the cold and dark of winter, with the s...
This clarion call about the loss of delight and safety in children’s lives is also a reminder of the sheer magic of reading Every day, on my walk to work, I pass a primary school. A group of little people are being dropped off by parents. They are met at the gates by a teacher who greets them all by name before leading them up the steps to breakfast club. In the cold and dark of winter, with the school’s windows glowing invitingly, I sometimes envy these children their warm, welcoming cocoon. I thought of that daily scene often when reading this book, which is inspired by Frank Cottrell-Boyce’s time as Waterstones children’s laureate. During his laureateship he ran a campaign with the literary charity BookTrust called Reading Rights, addressing literacy inequality for children in poverty. It was prompted by the discovery that nearly half of children were arriving at school without having been read to. Many had no clue how books worked. They were trying to swipe rather than turn pages, or expand illustrations by pinching them with their fingers. Continue reading...
Four months into US oil blockade, Cubans see island drained as state electric company fights to provide even a few hours of power a day The doctor called from the darkness, a shadowy figure sitting on the stoop of his apartment building. “I want to tell you we’ve been four days without light,” he said. “And without electricity, water is also a problem. And there are mosquitoes everywhere.” From th...
Four months into US oil blockade, Cubans see island drained as state electric company fights to provide even a few hours of power a day The doctor called from the darkness, a shadowy figure sitting on the stoop of his apartment building. “I want to tell you we’ve been four days without light,” he said. “And without electricity, water is also a problem. And there are mosquitoes everywhere.” From the buildings around came a cacophony, as beyond dark windows people smashed pots against pans. It was a cacerolazo , a traditional form of protest which has now become commonplace in Cuba amid seemingly endless rolling blackouts. Continue reading...
Foreign executives used to come to China to study shoppers. Today, many come to study their future competitors. That shift, according to Joe Ngai, chairman of Greater China at McKinsey & Company, says almost everything about how China’s role in the global economy has changed. For much of the past two decades, China was the market multinationals could not afford to miss. The formula was often strai...
Foreign executives used to come to China to study shoppers. Today, many come to study their future competitors. That shift, according to Joe Ngai, chairman of Greater China at McKinsey & Company, says almost everything about how China’s role in the global economy has changed. For much of the past two decades, China was the market multinationals could not afford to miss. The formula was often straightforward: enter the market, ride the growth of a rapidly expanding middle class and capture a...
A Chinese man bought a flat on the 34th floor of a newly developed building only to be told four years later that the building only had 32 floors. The man, surnamed Shen, from northwestern China’s Shaanxi province, bought a new-build flat in a village near the provincial capital city Xian in 2013. He bought a 90-square-metre unit on the 34th floor of a building which cost 2,646 yuan (US$400) per s...
A Chinese man bought a flat on the 34th floor of a newly developed building only to be told four years later that the building only had 32 floors. The man, surnamed Shen, from northwestern China’s Shaanxi province, bought a new-build flat in a village near the provincial capital city Xian in 2013. He bought a 90-square-metre unit on the 34th floor of a building which cost 2,646 yuan (US$400) per square metre. It was about one third of the average housing price, because the residential compound...
LONDON, June 08, 2026--Nebius (Nasdaq: NBIS), the AI cloud company, today announced it is investing approximately £1.7 billion to build out capacity in the UK with three new deployments of NVIDIA infrastructure, as the company continues to expand its commercial and AI R&D hub in London.
LONDON, June 08, 2026--Nebius (Nasdaq: NBIS), the AI cloud company, today announced it is investing approximately £1.7 billion to build out capacity in the UK with three new deployments of NVIDIA infrastructure, as the company continues to expand its commercial and AI R&D hub in London.
The Meaning Behind Putin's Response To Zelensky: "Keep On Working, Brothers" Authored by Larry Johnson via Sonar21.com Vladimir Putin used a phrase during the closing session of the Saint Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) that I think most non-Russians missed or ignored. He said, "Work, Brothers." First, let me explain the context for Putin saying this. Zelensky published an open let...
The Meaning Behind Putin's Response To Zelensky: "Keep On Working, Brothers" Authored by Larry Johnson via Sonar21.com Vladimir Putin used a phrase during the closing session of the Saint Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) that I think most non-Russians missed or ignored. He said, "Work, Brothers." First, let me explain the context for Putin saying this. Zelensky published an open letter to Putin that I, and many others, believe was timed deliberately to coincide with the SPIEF plenary session… This was a provocative move aimed at disrupting the forum's atmosphere. Putin was asked about it during the question and answer period of the final session. He called the letter “ rude ” and said it was “ no way to set up a face-to-face meeting .” Putin went on to reveal that Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov had tried to show him the letter on two separate occasions — first on June 4, then again just before arriving at SPIEF for his speech this morning (Friday, June 5). He described the letter during his answer in a dismissive way, i.e., he did not think it worthy of a serious response. Rather than engage with Zelensky’s proposals, Putin turned away from the letter entirely. He said the ones to be addressed were Russia’s combatants and soldiers at the line of contact, telling them: The country is proud of you and places its hopes on you. We should address not the authors of this letter, nor lovers of the epistolary genre, but our fighters on the front line. He then closed with the phrase: “Work, brothers!” To understand the import of that phrase you need to be introduced to Magomed Nurbagandov: Magomed Nurbagandovich Nurbagandov (January 9, 1985 – July 10, 2016) was a police lieutenant serving in the National Guard of Russia, stationed in Kaspiysk in the Republic of Dagestan. He was a Dargin by nationality, born in the village of Sergokala. By all accounts an exceptional student — he graduated from lyceum with a gold medal and then with honors from the law faculty...
A group of high-profile private credit firms are lending €1.1 billion ($1.3 billion) to French business software firm Cegid , in a show of confidence in a sector that’s been rattled by an AI-induced selloff. Arcmont Asset Management and Ares Management Corp. are leading the loan to the Silver Lake Management -backed company, according to people familiar with the matter. Vista Credit Partners and P...
A group of high-profile private credit firms are lending €1.1 billion ($1.3 billion) to French business software firm Cegid , in a show of confidence in a sector that’s been rattled by an AI-induced selloff. Arcmont Asset Management and Ares Management Corp. are leading the loan to the Silver Lake Management -backed company, according to people familiar with the matter. Vista Credit Partners and PGIM Inc. are also involved in the financing, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the information is private. The proceeds will be used to finance Cegid’s acquisition of fintech Shine, a transaction whose close is expected to be announced as soon as Monday, the people said. The loan is priced at 550 basis points over the benchmark Euribor, with an original issue discount of 98 cents on the euro. The debt, which matures in 2030, replaces a bridge loan of the same size that was underwritten by Citigroup Inc. , JPMorgan Chase & Co. , Royal Bank of Canada and UBS Group AG . Representatives for Arcmont, Ares, Cegid and Silver Lake declined to comment. Representatives for PGIM and Vista didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment. Cegid, which first received investment from Silver Lake in 2016, says the acquisition of Shine will help it to service more than 1 million small and midsize businesses with enterprise resource=planning tools across major economies in Europe. Cegid said when it announced the deal that the combination with Shine creates “the first fully integrated, cloud-native and AI-driven financial hub.” The multitrillion-dollar private credit industry was hit with a fresh round of redemptions last week, with Blackstone Inc. and Cliffwater choosing to impose a 5% cap on outflows. Retail investors are jittery about the industry’s concentration in software lending, and private credit managers are realizing that convincing them otherwise is more of a marathon than a sprint. In Europe, funds managers are quick to distance themselves from the volat...
Two former Bank of China Ltd. (BOC) executives are under investigation over a roughly 46 billion yuan ($6.8 billion) bad-loan exposure tied to a stalled Tianjin property project linked to Hong Kong developer Pan Sutong, Caixin has learned. The case underscores the lingering fallout from a failed real estate venture that continues to draw scrutiny across China’s state banking sector. On Friday, ant...
Two former Bank of China Ltd. (BOC) executives are under investigation over a roughly 46 billion yuan ($6.8 billion) bad-loan exposure tied to a stalled Tianjin property project linked to Hong Kong developer Pan Sutong, Caixin has learned. The case underscores the lingering fallout from a failed real estate venture that continues to draw scrutiny across China’s state banking sector. On Friday, anti-graft authorities said Wang Shaojun , a former president of BOC’s Shenzhen branch, is under investigation for suspected corruption. The notice followed a May 29 announcement that Xin Qiang, a former deputy head of the bank’s credit approval department, is also being investigated.
A South Korean protest calling for a redo of last Wednesday’s local election over ballot shortages at polling stations has taken an unexpected turn, with some protesters demanding that actress and singer IU send coffee to the rally. The demand appears to stem from IU’s decision in 2024 to provide prepaid food and drinks for demonstrators calling for the impeachment of former president Yoon Suk-yeo...
A South Korean protest calling for a redo of last Wednesday’s local election over ballot shortages at polling stations has taken an unexpected turn, with some protesters demanding that actress and singer IU send coffee to the rally. The demand appears to stem from IU’s decision in 2024 to provide prepaid food and drinks for demonstrators calling for the impeachment of former president Yoon Suk-yeol over his failed martial law bid. The protesters calling for a new election, who are widely seen as...
(RTTNews) - Carlyle Group Inc. (CG), an investment firm, on Monday announced that it has agreed to acquire up to 100% of South Korea's Chung Ho Group, a home and healthcare appliance rental firm, from members of the founding Joung family. Financial terms of the deal were not disc
(RTTNews) - Carlyle Group Inc. (CG), an investment firm, on Monday announced that it has agreed to acquire up to 100% of South Korea's Chung Ho Group, a home and healthcare appliance rental firm, from members of the founding Joung family. Financial terms of the deal were not disc
On June 2, 2026, Thomas M. Siebel, CEO and Chairman of the Board, reported the sale of 17,350 shares of C3.ai, Inc. (NYSE:AI) Class A Common Stock through an open-market transaction, as disclosed in the SEC Form 4 filing . Transaction and post-transaction values based on SEC Form 4 weighted average reported price ($11.32). * 1-year price change calculated using June 2nd, 2026 as the reference date...
On June 2, 2026, Thomas M. Siebel, CEO and Chairman of the Board, reported the sale of 17,350 shares of C3.ai, Inc. (NYSE:AI) Class A Common Stock through an open-market transaction, as disclosed in the SEC Form 4 filing . Transaction and post-transaction values based on SEC Form 4 weighted average reported price ($11.32). * 1-year price change calculated using June 2nd, 2026 as the reference date. Continue reading
Police and hunters in Utsunomiya, 100km north of the capital, resume their search for animal that is not usually seen so close to Tokyo A city in Japan has closed all its 94 primary and secondary schools after a bear was spotted in the municipality for the first time. Officials in Utsunomiya, a city of half a million people about 100km (62 miles) north of Tokyo, took action after a medium-sized bl...
Police and hunters in Utsunomiya, 100km north of the capital, resume their search for animal that is not usually seen so close to Tokyo A city in Japan has closed all its 94 primary and secondary schools after a bear was spotted in the municipality for the first time. Officials in Utsunomiya, a city of half a million people about 100km (62 miles) north of Tokyo, took action after a medium-sized black bear – estimated to be about one-metre-long – was seen near a park in the city on Saturday. The bear was spotted again on CCTV running just in front of two startled young men in the city centre, in the early hours of Sunday. Continue reading...