Vicky Beeching is a star of the Christian music scene. But that scene has turned against her since she told the world she was gay. In this exclusive interview, Vicky takes on a member of the evangelical church who says she has 'given in to temptation'.
Former White House press secretary branded a ‘serial liar’ by critics
An explosives team visited the site in the town of Bovenkarspel, 55 km (35 miles) from the capital, where police said a metal cylinder involved in the explosion had been recovered. It "must have been placed" there, police spokesman Menno Hartenberg told Reuters. A security guard in the testing centre alerted police to a "loud blast" that broke several windows shortly before 7 a.m., a police statement said.
Nicola Sturgeon facing calls to resign as witnesses back Alex Salmond's evidence on key meetings Tom Harris | The cynical SNP has shattered any faith in the Scottish constitution Nicola Sturgeon has come out fighting in her long-awaited appearance before the Holyrood inquiry into her government's unlawful investigation of Alex Salmond, amid calls for her to resign. The First Minister apologised for the "serious mistakes" made in the handling of Mr Salmond's alleged sexual harassment claims, but insisted that she was not out to "get" her predecessor. She said there is not "a shred of evidence" to support her former mentor's claim there was a "malicious and concerted" attempt to see him removed from public life and she has consistently denied breaching the ministerial code. Ms Sturgeon is facing calls from the Scottish Conservatives to step down after two witnesses backed up Alex Salmond's claim that she misled parliament about a meeting with her predecessor. The Scottish Government launched an investigation into the former first minister after a number of women came forward with allegations of sexual harassment. But a successful judicial review by Mr Salmond resulted in the investigation being ruled unlawful and "tainted by apparent bias", with a £512,250 payout for legal fees. Mr Salmond was later acquitted of 13 charges following a criminal trial at Edinburgh's High Court. Follow the live updates below.
We watch as businesses and lives are being ruined by Brexit – and yet not a single apology from those who championed the cause
The residents of the largest US state will not follow the mask mandate from 10 March
$10bn was set aside by Congress to help care providers pay for staffing, protective gear, care for uninsured individuals, and vaccine distribution
The first digital vaccine certificate is set to be launched by the world's airlines this month as part of a four-step plan for summer holidays being considered by the Department for Transport (DfT). The Travel Pass app, developed by the International Air Transport Association (IATA), will allow passengers to present pre-departure test or vaccine certificates on arrival at their destination, enabling them to sidestep quarantine or other restrictions. IATA is in talks with the DfT over the app, to which immunity certificates for those who have had Covid but have not been vaccinated could be added. It will be trialled by 10 airlines including IAG, which owns BA, Qantas and Singapore Airlines, starting initially with pre-test data but ready to be adapted to include vaccine certificates once they are digitised. At present, most countries are using paper to confirm people's inoculations, which the airlines are concerned could delay the introduction of a travel pass with both vaccinations and test data and lead to lengthy queues at airport immigration desks. The app is part of a four-stage approach IATA has proposed to the DfT that would see international travel restart in May, with pre-departure testing or vaccines being used for entry to a country before the eventual removal of all restrictions to allow free travel between "green list" countries. It proposes three tiers of countries including a "red list", where there may still be quarantine and pre-departure testing, an "amber list" where quarantine is replaced by tests or vaccine certificates, and a "green list" where travel corridors between low-risk countries could allow unrestricted travel.
Piers Morgan has declared he’s ‘done seeing naked, pregnant celebrities’ and claims women are doing it ‘just for clicks’ after seeing Emily Ratajkowski’s naked bump pics. The Good Morning Britain host was back on a rant this morning, noting Emily’s latest Instagram naked photos of her baby bump progress. While Susanna Reid looked on the photo favourably, saying that the model was ‘celebrating her body’, Piers took a far more dim view of the pics, saying she was using her pregnancy ‘for clicks’.
Nicola Sturgeon is facing calls to resign after two witnesses in the Alex Salmond scandal corroborated his version of key events and provided damning evidence she repeatedly misled parliament. In a potentially devastating development for the First Minister, ahead of her appearance before a Holyrood inquiry on Wednesday morning, a pair of former special advisers contradicted her claims about two meetings in 2018. Ms Sturgeon has told parliament she only found out about the allegations when Mr Salmond visited her home on April 2, 2018 and but she refused to intervene. Last week she denied during First Minister's Questions the identity of one of the women was shared with Geoff Aberdein, Mr Salmond's chief of staff, "to the best of my knowledge". But Duncan Hamilton, a former SNP MP and junior counsel, said the name of a complainant was given to Mr Aberdein by a senior official shortly after Mr Salmond was informed of the government's investigation into sexual misconduct claims on March 7, 2018.
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NHS staff: how would you feel if a Covid vaccine was compulsory for work?We would like to hear from NHS and care home staff about how they feel if a Covid vaccine was made compulsory A close-up of the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine in a fridge at a mass vaccination centre. Photograph: Matthew Horwood/Getty Images
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QAnon followers believe that on 4 March, which was once the inauguration date of US presidents, Donald Trump will become president again
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The island had come out of lockdown on 1 February.
Myanmar security forces opened fire in several places on Wednesday to break up anti-junta protests, killing at least nine people, according to local media reports, and injuring several others a day after a regional diplomatic push to end the month-long crisis made little headway. Security forces fired rubber bullets and tear gas at protesters in several places, including Myanmar's main cities of Yangon and Mandalay, and there were also reports of live ammunition being used in some places.Four people were shot dead during a protest in Myingyan, a city in the central Mandalay division, according to medics. Another two protesters were killed during a demonstration in the heart of Mandalay city, said medics. One of the victims in Mandalay was shot in the head and the other in the chest, according to a doctor, who asked not to be named."They fired tear gas, rubber bullets, and live rounds," a volunteer medic on the scene told AFP, adding that at least 10 people were injured.There were several witness accounts of security forces firing live bullets on protesters in Mandalay. "They opened fire on us with live bullets. One was killed, he's young, a teenage boy, shot in the head," Moe Myint Hein, who was wounded in the leg, told Reuters by telephone.A spokesman for the ruling military council did not answer telephone calls seeking comment.Images posted on Twitter showed protesters fleeing tear gas and rubber bullets in the commercial hub, Yangon, on Wednesday.The scenes from Myingyan, a city in the central Mandalay division, were particularly gruesome with witnesses and local journalists reporting two deaths from gunshot wounds. Violence was also reported in Monywa, in the southern Sagaing region. There was no official confirmation of the reports."Oh my eyes, it hurts," one woman in a teacher's uniform shouted as she and other protesters scattered through a cloud of tear gas in the second city of Mandalay, according to a live video feed.Nine people were hurt when police fired rubber bullets in Mandalay, the Myanmar Now news agency reported.The Monywa Gazette reported five people were wounded when security forces fired live ammunition in that central town and there were also unconfirmed reports of firing and injuries in the two other central towns, Myingyan and Magway.Protesters, journalists arrestedSecurity forces detained about 400 protesters as they broke up protests in Yangon, Myanmar Now reported. One activist said several protest leaders were among those taken away.Video posted on social media showed long lines of young men, hands on heads, filing into army trucks as police and soldiers stood guard. Protesters were also out in Chin State in the west, Kachin State in the north, Shan State in the northeast, the central region of Sagaing and the south, media and residents said."We're aiming to show that no one in this country wants dictatorship," Salai Lian, an activist in Chin State, told Reuters.At least 21 people have been killed since a military coup on February 1 ended Myanmar's tentative steps towards democratic rule and triggered protests across the country and international dismay.Myanmar’s military has also begun a crackdown against journalists and news photographers in recent days, with the Associated Press calling for the release of AP photographer Thein Zaw, 32, who was arrested on Saturday as he covered a demonstration in Yangon.Thein Zaw and five other Myanmar journalists have been charged under a law against "causing fear, spreading false news or agitating directly or indirectly a government employee".ASEAN fails to unite behind calls for Suu Kyi's releaseThe latest violence came a day after foreign ministers of members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in a virtual meeting called for restraint but failed to unite behind a call for the military to release ousted government leader Aung San Suu Kyi and restore democracy."We expressed ASEAN's readiness to assist Myanmar in a positive, peaceful and constructive manner," the ASEAN chair, Brunei, said in a statement.Myanmar's state media said the military-appointed foreign minister attended the ASEAN meeting that "exchanged views on regional and international issues", but made no mention of the focus on Myanmar's problems.It said Wunna Maung Lwin "apprised the meeting of voting irregularities" in November's election.The military justified the coup saying its complaints of voter fraud in the November 8 elections were ignored. Suu Kyi's party won by a landslide, earning a second five-year term. The election commission said the vote was fair.Junta leader Senior General Min Aung Hlaing has said the intervention was to protect Myanmar's fledgling democracy and has pledged to hold new elections but given no time frame.Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said on Tuesday in an interview the coup was a "tragic" step back for Myanmar and the use of lethal force by its security forces was "disastrous".ASEAN's bid to find a way out of the crisis has drawn criticism from inside Myanmar, with concern it would legitimise the junta and not help the country."No more words, action," activist Thinzar Shunlei Yi told Reuters in a message when asked about the ASEAN effort. She called for sanctions on businesses linked to the military.More charges for Suu KyiTuesday evening's news bulletin on Myanmar state television said agitators were mobilising people on social media and forming "illegal organisations".Suu Kyi, 75, has been held incommunicado since the coup but appeared at a court hearing via video conferencing this week and looked in good health, a lawyer said.She is one of nearly 1,300 people who have been detained, according to activists.Ousted President Win Myint is facing two new charges, his lawyer, Khin Maung Zaw, said, including one for a breach of the constitution that is punishable by up to three years in prison.(FRANCE 24 with AFP, AP and REUTERS)
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