Rare Canadian oriole to fly thousands of miles back home – on passenger jet
Nearly two years ago, she was spotted perched on an apple tree in Ontario – thousands of miles from her natural habitat – capturing the attention of birdwatchers across Canada. Now a Bullock’s oriole who ended up in the Ottawa area is set to finally fly home to western North America – in the passenger cabin of an Air Canada flight. It’s been mind-boggling,” Ray Holland, who first noticed the oriole, told the CBC, as hundreds of birdwatchers travelled to the area to catch a glimpse. Weeks later Holland found the bird lying in the snow, seemingly weakened by a bout of freezing temperatures. As the bird recuperated, the centre began looking into how best to return her to her habitat.
Source:The Guardian
August 15, 2017 18:22 UTC
Militia leaders who descended on Charlottesville condemn 'rightwing lunatics'
“We spoke to the Charlottesville police department beforehand and offered to come down there and help with security,” Yingling told the Guardian. It is legal for civilians to carry weapons openly, including intimidating assault rifles loaded with 30-round magazines, which the Light Foots – but not the police or official military – carried during the Charlottesville event. Yingling said he had been asked to bring a team to Charlottesville by a local militia, the Virginia Minutemen Militia, to reinforce their numbers, and to be in charge on the day. “We absolutely would not wear something like this, the Confederate symbol, that would align us with these rightwing lunatics,” he said. He said rightwingers and counter-protesters screamed at his militia in Charlottesville.
Source:The Guardian
August 15, 2017 18:11 UTC
IMF warns China over 'dangerous' growth in debt
The IMF said debt as a proportion of gross domestic product would rise from 235% to almost 300% by 2022. “International experience suggests that China’s credit growth is on a dangerous trajectory, with increasing risks of a disruptive adjustment and/or a marked growth slowdown,” the IMF said. The main cost of this stronger growth outlook is further large increases in public and private debt. Such large increases have internationally been associated with sharp growth slowdowns and often financial crises. “The sharp growth in recent years reflects both a rise in credit to the real economy and intra-financial sector claims.
Source:The Guardian
August 15, 2017 18:00 UTC
Adani mining giant faces financial fraud claims as it bids for Australian coal loan
The Adani Group fully denies the accusations, which it has challenged in submissions to the authority. According to the allegations in the file, the effect of these transactions was that the Adani Group spent an average 400% more for the materials. Facebook Twitter Pinterest Adani Group chairman Gautam Adani meets with Queensland premier Annastacia Palaszczuk in 2016. Facebook Twitter Pinterest Extract from page 14-15 of the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence file on Adani Group. According to the report, these were sold to the Adani Group for an average markup of about 860%.
Source:The Guardian
August 15, 2017 18:00 UTC
Hoffenheim v Liverpool: Champions League play-off first leg – live!
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Source:The Guardian
August 15, 2017 17:45 UTC
Walnut snip: Nestlé cuts nut out of chocolate after prices surge
The vanilla and caramel versions of the Walnut Whip, a cone of milk chocolate with a fondant filling, will go on sale this week under the Nestlé Whip brand, with a mint variant to follow next month. First produced by Duncan’s of Edinburgh in 1910, Nestlé claims one Walnut Whip is eaten every two seconds in the UK. The company has previously offered alternative flavours to the classic vanilla, but all have been topped with half a walnut. “There was a shortage of crop and then there is the additional factor of exchange rates and rising transport costs as well,” she said. Nestlé said walnut fans would still be able to buy single Walnut Whips all year round and six-packs at Christmas.
Source:The Guardian
August 15, 2017 17:37 UTC
Bill Gates gives $4.6bn to charity in biggest donation since 2000
Recipient of 64m Microsoft shares is a mystery, but is expected to be tech tycoon’s foundationBill Gates, the world’s richest man, has donated $4.6bn (£3.6bn) in the Microsoft founder’s biggest gift to charity since he set up the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Gates donated 64m Microsoft shares according to a US Securities & Exchange Commission filing. The shares donated represent about 5% of his current $90bn fortune. They donated $16bn worth of Microsoft shares in 1999 and followed it up with another $5.1bn a year later. The Gates Foundation has grown to become the world’s largest private charity with $40.3bn of funds, before the latest gift.
Source:The Guardian
August 15, 2017 17:30 UTC
The Guardian view on the EU customs union: stay, don’t shadow | Editorial
It is impossible not to be both cynical and angry about the government’s “future partnership paper” on customs arrangements with the EU, which was published on Tuesday. Those discussions, which aim to reach some agreements in October, are not about future customs arrangements. The paper speculates about ways in which future customs arrangements could be made simple and frictionless – as they are at the moment. That, though, is too hot for the Tory party. There is, nevertheless, a substantive policy announcement in the customs paper.
Source:The Guardian
August 15, 2017 17:26 UTC
Pound falls against dollar as inflation comes in lower than expected
Sterling fell against the dollar on Tuesday after the CPI rate of inflation remained unchanged in July, reducing pressure on the Bank of England to increase interest rates to curb the rising cost of living. Show Hide Inflation is when prices rise. The government's preferred measure of inflation, and the one the Bank of England takes into account when setting interest rates, is the Consumer Prices Index (CPI). The Retail Prices Index (RPI) is often used in wage negotiations. Even so, the BoE’s monetary policy committee had said earlier this month it expected CPI to climb to about 3% in October before gradually retreating.
Source:The Guardian
August 15, 2017 17:10 UTC
Brazilian police identify those involved in favela shooting of UK tourist
“We already have the dynamic of what happened,” the investigating officer, Bruno Gilaberte, said on Tuesday. Arrest warrants have been issued for four men and two boys. According to a statement he gave to police, their car failed to stop for a group of armed men who then opened fire. One of those accused, Jacson Lima Ferreira, 19, was arrested last Saturday after a police operation in Sapinhatuba 3, another poor community in Angra. Gilaberte said members of the gang approached the family’s car and opened fire when it tried to accelerate away.
Source:The Guardian
August 15, 2017 16:24 UTC
Falling oak tree kills religious festivalgoers on Madeira
Fall of 200-year-old tree kills at least 12 and injures scores during Celebration of Our Lady of the Mount festival near FunchalAt least 12 people have been killed after a 200-year-old oak tree fell into a crowd at a religious festival on the Portuguese island of Madeira. The festival is called the Celebration of Our Lady of the Mount, the Atlantic island’s biggest annual religious festival, which draws large crowds. An amateur video posted on the website of the local newspaper Jornal da Madeira shows the tree crashing down into a crowd of people. TV reports showed fire and rescue services working to help victims and cutting away the fallen tree. Miguel Albuquerque, the head of the regional government of Madeira, declared three days of mourning for the victims.
Source:The Guardian
August 15, 2017 16:22 UTC
Maria Sharapova handed wild card for US Open
Previous US Open champions who have received US Open main draw wildcards include Martina Hingis, Lleyton Hewitt, Kim Cljisters and Juan Martin del Potro. The 30-year-old is currently ranked at 148 in the world and her inclusion was welcomed by four-time US Open singles winner Billie Jean King. “Glad to see USTA give Maria Sharapova a wild card, suspension over, great for the sport to have her back,” she wrote on Twitter. Meanwhile, Serena Williams has admitted she is targeting a return to tennis at the Australian Open in January as she prepares to have her first child. The 23-time grand slam winner is expected to give birth at the end of the year but is hoping to be back on court within weeks.
Source:The Guardian
August 15, 2017 16:12 UTC
Russian hackers Fancy Bears use hotel wifi networks to spy on VIP guests
Luxury hotels in at least seven European capitals were the target of attacks in which the Russian state hackers are said to have accessed wifi systems to spy on wealthy and influential guests RONALDO SCHEMIDT/AFP/GETTYRussian hackers who infiltrated the computer systems of the Democratic National Committee in the US are now focusing on the wifi networks of European hotels to spy on guests in a “chilling” cyberoperation. The state-sponsored Fancy Bear group infected the networks of luxury hotels in at least seven European countries and one Middle Eastern country last month, researchers say. FireEye, the US cybersecurity company that discovered the attacks, said the hotels were in capital cities and belonged to international chains that diplomats, business leaders and wealthy travellers would use. None of the hotels known to have been a target was in the UK but all regularly host British guests. According to FireEye, the hackers gained access to a first computer in each hotel’s network using…
Source:The Times
August 15, 2017 16:07 UTC
Profits come at a premium as Marshall motors ahead
Demand for premium marques has played to Marshall Motor’s strengths with its German and Jaguar Land Rover showrooms Oli Scarff/Getty ImagesStrong demand for premium car brands and the popularity of cheap finance deals have helped Marshall Motor to bypass the uncertainty affecting many forecourts and drive sales and profits higher. Marshall said that its high proportion of German and Jaguar Land Rover showrooms was one reason for a record performance in the first half of the year. Daksh Gupta, chief executive, said: “From our perspective, the premium brands are growing stronger and stronger. The German brands and Jaguar Land Rover account for about 40 per cent of the new UK car market and 62 per cent of our business is in that category.”Revenues at Marshall, one of the largest car dealer networks in Britain, rose by 43.7 per cent to £1.18 billion and underlying…
Source:The Times
August 15, 2017 16:07 UTC