Inflation and pay deals leave Scottish ministers facing 1.5bn budget black hole | Scottish politic

 Posted on May 27, 2024  |  3 minutes  |  639 words  |  Barrett Giampaolo

Scottish politics This article is more than 1 month oldInflation and pay deals leave Scottish ministers facing £1.5bn budget black hole This article is more than 1 month oldSituation facing finance minister described as ‘one of most challenging fiscal backdrops’ since devolution Scottish ministers are facing a £1.5bn black hole before next week’s draft budget, as a combination of surging inflation and expensive public sector pay deals put extreme pressure on government spending. [Read More]

Jihadi John: The Making of a Terrorist by Robert Verkaik review

 Posted on May 27, 2024  |  5 minutes  |  926 words  |  Christie Applegate

Book of the dayPolitics booksReviewThis involving study attempts to explain what turned a seemingly ordinary London teenager into an Isis psychopathBritish and American hostages held by Isis and their predecessors in Iraq were kept in near total darkness, fed very little food, subjected to repeated and brutal torture, mock executions and endless psychological torment before being beheaded on camera in the most sadistic and shocking fashion. One of the men responsible for holding the hostages captive, administering the torture and finally the grotesque executions was a young Briton of Kuwaiti descent called Mohammed Emwazi, better known by his media moniker, Jihadi John. [Read More]

Panty by Sangeeta Bandyopadhyay review two worlds collide

 Posted on May 27, 2024  |  2 minutes  |  216 words  |  Merlyn Hunt

Sangeeta BandyopadhyaySangeeta BandyopadhyayFiction in translationReviewA strange, ethereal novel in which a woman’s life changes when she finds a stranger’s discarded underwear in her wardrobe A woman moves into a flat in Kolkata and finds “a panty” in the wardrobe that, due to unforeseen circumstances, she is forced to wear. To her surprise, she “steps into another woman”, the original owner, whose sex life mingles with her own. So begins Panty, a strange, ethereal novel comprised of dream-like strands that branch off from and feed one another. [Read More]

Spotted black snake found in Queensland public toilet video | Environment

 Posted on May 27, 2024  |  1 minutes  |  118 words  |  Merlyn Hunt

Environment Spotted black snake found in Queensland public toilet – video Police call wildlife carer and snake catcher Tennille Bankes to a public toilet cubicle in Goondiwindi, Queensland, after a local is surprised by a spotted black snake in the toilet bowl. As Bankes lures the serpent out, she explains that they have a 'natural instinct to go into holes' and that toilets offer a place to cool down and the chance of a snack, due to the frogs that also take refuge there to escape the heat [Read More]

Thousands of Virginia students walk out in protest at governors trans proposals | Virginia

 Posted on May 27, 2024  |  3 minutes  |  572 words  |  Christie Applegate

Virginia This article is more than 1 year oldThousands of Virginia students walk out in protest at governor’s trans proposalsThis article is more than 1 year oldNew guidelines put forward by Republican Glenn Youngkin would restrict protections for transgender students Thousands of Virginia high school students walked out of school on Tuesday to protest proposed guidelines put forward by Governor Glenn Youngkin that would restrict protections for transgender students. Students from nearly 100 high schools staged walkouts across the state to protest against the new policies, holding signs criticizing the guidelines and waving pride flags in support of their LGBTQ+ peers. [Read More]

Birmingham fire assault suspect arrested over man set alight in London | UK news

 Posted on May 26, 2024  |  4 minutes  |  714 words  |  Delta Gatti

UK news This article is more than 9 months oldBirmingham fire assault suspect arrested over man set alight in LondonThis article is more than 9 months oldIncident in Ealing last month also involved a man being set alight after leaving mosque A man arrested on suspicion of attempted murder after a 70-year-old man was set on fire while walking back from a mosque in Birmingham has been arrested over a similar incident in London last month. [Read More]

Mac McClung seals improbable NBA Dunk Contest win with 540-degree jam | NBA

 Posted on May 26, 2024  |  3 minutes  |  580 words  |  Delta Gatti

NBA This article is more than 10 months oldMac McClung seals improbable NBA Dunk Contest win with 540-degree jamThis article is more than 10 months oldPlayer has scored only three baskets in NBA career6ft 2in guard has yet to play for his team this seasonMac McClung went some way to single-handedly restored the shine on a dunk contest that has been widely panned in recent years. McClung, the 6ft 2in Philadelphia guard on a two-way contract, defeated New Orleans’ Trey Murphy III in the finals of the dunk contest. [Read More]

Male dolphins form lifelong bonds that help them find mates, research finds | Dolphins

 Posted on May 26, 2024  |  4 minutes  |  758 words  |  Christie Applegate

Seascape: the state of our oceansDolphins This article is more than 1 year oldMale dolphins form lifelong bonds that help them find mates, research findsThis article is more than 1 year oldIn behaviour only previously seen in humans, ‘social brain’ helps dolphins form complex alliances to see off their rivals for females Dolphins form decade-long social bonds, and cooperate among and between cliques, to help one another find mates and fight off competitors, new research has found – behaviour not previously confirmed among animals. [Read More]

Man resumes date after leaving to shoot dead scammer over $40, police say | Texas

 Posted on May 26, 2024  |  3 minutes  |  611 words  |  Christie Applegate

Texas This article is more than 8 months oldMan resumes date after leaving to shoot dead ‘scammer’ over $40, police sayThis article is more than 8 months oldErick Aguirre arrested on count of murder after allegedly shooting Elliot Nix while on a date at Texas burger restaurant What started as a date at a Texas burger joint earlier this month ended with one of the participants going to jail after allegedly murdering someone else over $40 and carrying on with the rest of the date as if nothing happened, according to authorities. [Read More]

Ron Jeremy found not competent to stand trial for multiple rape charges | Rape and sexual assa

 Posted on May 26, 2024  |  3 minutes  |  533 words  |  Christie Applegate

Ron Jeremy appears for his arraignment in 2020 on rape and sexual assault charges in Los Angeles. Photograph: David McNew/APRon Jeremy appears for his arraignment in 2020 on rape and sexual assault charges in Los Angeles. Photograph: David McNew/APRape and sexual assault This article is more than 1 year oldRon Jeremy found ‘not competent’ to stand trial for multiple rape chargesThis article is more than 1 year oldLos Angeles judge rules porn star is in “incurable neurocognitive decline”, sparing him trial on rape and sexual assault charges [Read More]