The Conversation

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The BBC’s highest-paid presenter, Gary Lineker, will soon be back in action after being briefly suspended for what the broadcaster described as a breach of its impartiality guidelines. The former footballer’s tweet on March 7 described the wording of the new government policy on immigration as language “not dissimilar to that used by Germany in the 30s”. It triggered attacks by Conservative MPs, intense national debate and a crisis at the corporation. The BBC’s flagship TV football review programme, Match of the Day, was aired without presenters or contributors at the weekend amid calls for the resignation of its director general, Tim Davie. The BBC gave up on finding substitute presenters after other pundits stood down in solidarity. Lineker refusedContinue Reading

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A MANCHESTER UNITED legend has recalled how he received an X-rated baptism of fire the first time he faced the notorious Wimbledon Crazy Gang from Vinnie Jones. This former Russian international winger was signed by Sir Alex Ferguson from Shakhtar Donetsk in 1991 for £650,000. 2 Andrei Kanchelskis moved to Manchester United in 1991Credit: PA:Empics Sport 2 He revealed an X-rated welcome to England courtesy of Vinnie JonesCredit: News Group Newspapers Ltd He went on to play 123 top-flight matches, scoring 28 goals, throughout his four-year stay and won the title twice and lifted both the FA Cup and League Cup. The man in question is, of course, the now 54-year-old Andrei Kanchelskis, who went on to play for theContinue Reading

COVID, bird flu, mpox – a virologist on why we're seeing so many viruses emerge

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Kateryna Kon/Shutterstock From the widespread outbreak of mpox (formerly called monkeypox) in 2022, to the evolving bird flu situation, to recent cases of Marburg virus in Equatorial Guinea, COVID isn’t dominating the headlines as much as it used to. Instead, we’ve been regularly hearing about outbreaks of newly emerging or re-emerging viruses. So, is the incidence of virus outbreaks increasing? Or, have we just become better at detecting outbreaks thanks to improved technology developed during the COVID pandemic? The answer may be a bit of both. Read more: Three years on, the COVID pandemic may never end – but the public health impact is becoming more manageable There are an estimated 1.67 million viruses yet to be identified that currentlyContinue Reading

Woman viewing social media on her phone.

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The UK prime minister, Rishi Sunak, recently hinted that he may ban the social media application TikTok from devices used by government employees. His comments follow similar bans by the European Commission and US federal government. In the EU and US cases, security concerns were used as the justification for a ban. Unlike Facebook or Instagram (both owned by US-based Meta), TikTok is owned by ByteDance, which is based in China. Such concerns are not new. In October 2022, the former US secretary of state Mike Pompeo described his fear that China could compel TikTok to act as a “Trojan horse”, accessing and exploiting sensitive data on users’ devices. TikTok, like many social media applications, collects significant amounts of userContinue Reading

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J amie Lee Curtis has revealed the poignant name she has given to her first ever Oscar in a touching nod to her transgender daughter. The actress, 64, was awarded the gong for best supporting actress at the 95th Academy Awards on Sunday for her portrayal of Deirdre Beaubeirdre in Everything Everywhere All At Once. Appearing on the Today show on Tuesday, Curtis became emotional as she watched a clip of her acceptance speech for the first time. She also shared the carefully thought of name that she has decided to give her gold statue – “Them”. “Hi everybody, it’s Today, here they are,” she beamed while stroking her award as she appeared via video link, before adding: “I’m inContinue Reading

The Conversation

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Sacrificial dilemmas are popular among philosophers. Should you divert a train from five people strapped to the tracks to a side-track with only one person strapped to it? What if that one person were a renowned cancer researcher? What if there were only a 70% chance the five people would die? These questions sound like they have nothing to do with a government budget. These annual events are, after all, conveyed as an endeavour in accounting. They are a chance to show anticipated tax revenues and propose public spending. We are told the name of the game is “fiscal responsibility” and the goal is stimulating “economic growth”. Never do we talk of budgets in terms of sacrificing some lives toContinue Reading

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Citing death threats and harassing phone calls, the federal judge who is presiding over a pivotal case that could decide the future of the abortion pill in the U.S. asked attorneys not to publicize the date of a key hearing, telling them “less advertisement is better.” Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk of the U.S. Northern District of Texas held a telephone conference with attorneys in the case on Friday in which he set oral arguments for Wednesday morning. But Kacsmaryk asked the attorneys not to publicize the hearing, citing security concerns. “And because of limited security resources and staffing, I will ask that the parties avoid further publicizing the date of the hearing,” Kacsmaryk told the attorneys, according to a court transcriptContinue Reading

The Conversation

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The theatricality of the warmth on show between British prime minister Rishi Sunak and French president Emmanuel Macron during their summit in Paris should not detract from how important it is that Franco-British cooperation has been renewed. Relations reached rock bottom under Boris Johnson and his successor Liz Truss. The latter’s famous comment that the “jury is out” on whether Macron was a friend or foe shocked diplomats around the world. Deep sighs of relief will be audible from both sides of the Channel now that Sunak has made it clear Macron is a firm friend. It is also a cautious step by the UK to recognise the importance of its European partners – something it has strenuously attempted toContinue Reading

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FORMER Premier League referee Mark Clattenburg has opened up on his frosty relationship with Craig Bellamy. The official revealed that the former Wales striker never forgave him for handing him a second yellow card for diving when, in fact, he should have been awarded a penalty. 2 Mark Clattenburg incorrectly sent Craig Bellamy offCredit: News Group Newspapers Ltd Asked by Sport Bible what players he didn’t like to referee, Clattenburg, who was a top-flight official from 2004 to 2017, explained Bellamy used to give him a difficult time. The man with the whistle even joked he wished Newcastle had kept him on a “20-year-deal” so he never had to take charge of one of his matches because Clattenburg is aContinue Reading

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A local drama group in south Belfast turned its weekly meeting into a celebration after the success of member James Martin at the Oscars. The star of An Irish Goodbye has become the first person with Down’s syndrome to win at the Academy Awards. While Martin celebrated in LA, Babosh drama group was also toasting his success playing an estranged brother in the production, which scooped best live action short film. He got his start at Babosh, a drama group for adults with learning disabilities which meets every Monday night. Group co-ordinator Frances Nelson said Martin has been given a profile which is really important to show people he can talk, can act and is “every bit as good asContinue Reading