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The Giant Container Ship Stuck In The Suez Canal Is Finally Free

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The Ever Given, the massive container ship that had blocked the Suez Canal for more than five days, is once again on the move.

The ship has finally been dislodged from both banks of the global trade route after it ran aground last Tuesday, setting off a frantic effort to free it before the world plunged too deeply into an international supply chain crisis.

“She’s free,” an official involved in the salvage operation said.

Tugboats were pulling the Ever Given toward the Great Bitter Lake, a wide stretch of water in the middle of the Suez Canal, for a technical inspection.

The Suez Canal, one of the world’s busiest trade routes, became blocked when the ship’s operators said it was blown off-course by strong winds during a sandstorm. Shipping experts also suggested human error may have caused the behemoth to shift sideways, lodging both the bow and stern in the sandy banks on either side of the canal.

The Ever Given is one of the largest container ships in existence, nearly as long as the Empire State Building is tall. It’s loaded with some 18,000 containers and weighs 220,000 tons, and dislodging it from both banks represented a complex and fraught engineering challenge.

The severing of the shipping artery had near-immediate impacts on global trade. Syria said it would begin rationing the use of fuel until the canal was once again open and analysts estimated the blockage was holding up almost £7.2bn in trade every day, The New York Times reported.

MAHMOUD KHALED via Getty Images

An aerial view taken on March 27, 2021 from the porthole of a commercial plane shows stranded ships waiting in line in the Gulf of Suez to cross the Suez Canal at its southern entrance.

Early Monday, the chair of the Suez Canal Authority announced the 1,300-foot ship had been dislodged from the eastern bank of the canal and tug boats were shepherding it back on course. 

“It is good news,” Osama Rabie, the chair of the canal, told The Wall Street Journal.

Traffic could begin coursing through the Suez Canal soon, although there are currently more than 450 ships stuck in a logjam and it’s unclear how long it will take to clear the backlog.

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Boris Johnson Believes He Acted With ‘Integrity And Honesty’ Over Links To Jennifer Arcuri

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Boris Johnson has insisted he acted with “integrity and honesty” during his time as London mayor, amid fresh questions about an alleged four-year affair with Jennifer Arcuri.

The prime minister is facing a London Assembly probe into whether he broke the City Hall code of conduct and whether he gave the American businesswoman “preferential treatment” while mayor.

Arcuri received £126,000 of taxpayers’ cash in event sponsorship and grants and Johnson spoke at a series of technology events she organised.

The entrepreneur was also afforded privileged access to three foreign trade missions led by Johnson when he was mayor.

Arcuri told the Sunday Mirror last week that she had an affair with Johnson between 2012 and 2016, while he was with his then-wife Marina Wheeler, who is the mother to four of the PM’s children.

In the interview, Arcuri said she slept with Johnson at the flat where she had a pole dancer’s pole, claimed they met once a week at the height of the affair, and recalled sending him topless pictures.

The PM’s press secretary Allegra Stratton on Monday insisted Johnson had acted in accordance with the Nolan principles of standards in public life, a claim that will be examined by the Assembly.

She told reporters: “He does believe in the wider principles of integrity and honesty, I’ve said that he acts with integrity and honesty, and I’ve said that he follows the Nolan principles on conducting himself in public life.”

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Boris Johnson and Jennifer Arcuri

Stratton also repeatedly highlighted a prior report from the Independent Office for Police Conduct, which cleared Johnson of any criminal investigation.

The IOPC found that Johnson did not commit the criminal offence of misconduct in public office while in his role as mayor of London.

Stratton would not say whether Johnson believed Arcuri was given preferential treatment, saying: “I’m not going to comment on the particular… This has been looked at by the Independent Office for Police Conduct. They have looked at it. They have found there was no impropriety.”

In 2019, HuffPost UK revealed that Johnson’s lawyers had written to the Assembly’s oversight committee to challenge its demands for “extensive” details of his links to Arcuri.

They also suggested that it was not in “the public interest” for an Assembly investigation to take place as it “risked becoming politicised”.

Asked whether Johnson would cooperate with the probe, Stratton said: “Of course.”

But she refused to say whether he would give evidence in person to the oversight committee or submit written evidence.

“I’m not going to get into these hypotheticals,” she said.

“Let’s cross all those bridges when they come.”

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Richard Okorogheye: Mother Appeals For Missing Son Who Was ‘Struggling’ With University

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Metropolitan Police

Richard Okorogheye

A worried mother is seeking help to try and find her son who has been missing for a week.

Student Richard Okorogheye, 19, who has sickle cell disease, said he was “struggling to cope” with university pressures and had been shielding during lockdown, according to his mother Evidence Joel.

The Metropolitan Police said officers are becoming increasingly concerned about the teenager who is believed to have left his family home in the Ladbroke Grove area of west London on March 22.

He was reported missing on March 24.

Joel told the MyLondon website: “Richard has never done anything like this.

“Something has gone wrong.”

He would only leave the house to go to hospital for regular blood transfusions for his condition.

Joel recalled him saying he was going to visit a friend, although none of them have seen him, telling her to drive safe and that he would “see me later”, she told the website.

She returned home from a nursing shift at around 9pm and assumed he was in his room.

She cooked him a meal but found he was not there when she knocked on his door and he did not answer his telephone.

The alarm was raised after a locksmith helped her gain entry to the room which was empty but Richard’s wallet, bus pass and bank card were left behind.

The teenager was last seen leaving his home and heading in the direction of Ladbroke Grove, west London, on March 22 at approximately 8.30pm, police said.

Officers added that he was known to frequent London’s Westminster and Hammersmith and Fulham areas.

Chief Inspector Clare McCarthy, of the Met’s Central West Command Unit, said: “Our officers have been working tirelessly to locate Richard, using all investigative opportunities and data inquiries, speaking with witnesses and trawling CCTV.

“We are following every lead possible and are appealing for the public to help us in our work.

“If you may have seen Richard, please contact police.

“If Richard is safe and well, we ask him to contact us as a matter of urgency so that we can put his family’s minds at ease.”

Anyone with information is asked to call police on 101 quoting 21MIS008134, or to call 999 in an emergency. There is also a facility online to pass any information on to the charity Missing People.

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Fresh Calls For Inquiry Into David Cameron’s Ties With Scandal-Hit Banker

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Calls have intensified for an inquiry into David Cameron’s involvement with a scandal-hit banker after allegations surfaced that Lex Greensill was given privileged access to Whitehall departments.

An investigation by the Sunday Times alleged that Greensill enriched himself through a government-backed loan scheme he designed after the then prime minister gave him access to 11 departments and agencies.

He founded Greensill Capital, the firm that went on to employ Cameron but later collapsed, causing uncertainty for thousands of jobs at Liberty Steel, having been its main financial backer.

Labour and Sir Alistair Graham, former chairman of the Committee on Standards in Public Life, called for a full inquiry into the “scandal”.

The allegations surfaced after the former Conservative leader faced scrutiny for reportedly trying to persuade government figures to grant emergency loans to Greensill Capital, where he was an adviser.

The Sunday Times report alleged the Australian financier was given access to the departments while Cameron was in No 10 so he could promote a financial product he specialised in.

The Pharmacy Early Payment Scheme, announced in 2012, saw banks swiftly reimburse pharmacists for providing NHS prescriptions, for a fee, before recovering the money from the government.

Greensill Capital went on to provide funds for the scheme.

Geensill could not be reached for comment, but the newspaper said he was understood to deny making large returns from a pharmacy deal.

Sir Alistair said: “There clearly should be a full inquiry because it sounds like a genuine scandal in which the public purse was put at risk without proper political authority.”

Labour’s shadow chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, Rachel Reeves, said: “These reports raise very serious questions about the conduct of former Conservative prime minister David Cameron and the access he gave Lex Greensill to ministers and Whitehall departments.

“The British people deserve answers to those questions. That’s why the Conservatives should agree to an urgent inquiry so we can get to the bottom of this latest scandal.”

Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden defended his long-term ally on Sunday, saying Cameron is a “man of utmost integrity and I’ve no doubt at all he would have behaved properly”.

Asked on The Andrew Marr Show if there would be an inquiry, the Cabinet minister responded: “As far as I can tell, no decision in government policy was changed as a result of any meetings that took place. They’d be properly declared.”

A government spokesman said: “Lex Greensill acted as a supply chain finance adviser from 2012 to 2015 and as a crown representative for three years from 2013.

“His appointment was approved in the normal manner and he was not paid for either role.”

The office of Cameron, who was prime minister between 2010 and 2016, has not responded to a request for comment.

He was cleared of breaking lobbying rules by a watchdog after reportedly asking Chancellor Rishi Sunak to support Greensill Capital through the government’s Covid Corporate Financing Facility.

The Registrar of Consultant Lobbyists concluded that Cameron was an employee of Greensill Capital so was not required to declare himself on the register of consultant lobbyists.

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Moderna Vaccine Will Arrive In April, Oliver Dowden Says

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Yui MokPA

Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden takes part in an on air interview outside BBC Broadcasting House in central London before appearing on the BBC1 current affairs programme, The Andrew Marr Show. Picture date: Sunday March 28, 2021.

The Moderna vaccine will arrive in the UK by the end of April, culture secretary Oliver Dowden has said. 

Speaking on Sunday, the cabinet minister sought to reassure Brits shipments of the new jab were still on course to reach the health service, after reports last week that the UK vaccine rollout could slide. 

He also confirmed all people would get their second jab of the Covid shot within 12 weeks of their first. 

Dowden cast doubt over whether people could begin booking summer holidays abroad, however, as a third wave of the pandemic appeared to be taking hold in mainland Europe. 

Ministers have insisted they will meet the target of giving a jab to all adults by July, but supplies have been affected by issues in India and a row with the European Union over exports has raised concerns.

Dowden insisted that the vaccination programme remains “on course”, telling BBC One’s Andrew Marr: “We expect that in April Moderna will come.”

The US vaccine has been approved for use in the UK and would be the third to be rolled out after Oxford/AstraZeneca and Pfizer.

The culture secretary said he could guarantee that everyone will get a second dose of a coronavirus vaccine within 12 weeks of their first after doubts were raised by French foreign minister Jean-Yves Le Drian.

“Yes, of course, we’ve been planning that all the way through. It’s one of the most important considerations as we’ve rolled out the vaccine,” Dowden told Sky’s Sophy Ridge on Sunday.

Ian WestPA

Prime Minister Boris Johnson leaves 10 Downing Street to attend Prime Minister’s Questions at the Houses of Parliament, London. Picture date: Wednesday March 17, 2021.

He said that “we clearly don’t currently have a surplus of vaccines” when asked about suggestions the UK was planning to offer 3.7 million jabs to Ireland.

Professor Mark Woolhouse, who advises the government on the Scientific Pandemic Influenza Group on Modelling (Spi-M), said he was “a little bit nervous about a full relaxation” planned for June 21.

He told the BBC the road map to easing restrictions in England must be “guided by the data” particularly on vaccines, adding: “The idea that we can suddenly emerge from this in one great bound, I think, is a little over-optimistic.”

Dowden said another lockdown “is the last thing in the world we would want to do” but acknowledged dates in the road map may slip if things worsen.

“Of course they could be delayed if the situation deteriorates but at the moment we’re on track,” he told Marr.

Travel abroad is currently illegal other than for a few reasons but a government taskforce will on April 12 detail a review on whether foreign holidays can return.

Dowden said “all options” are being considered when asked about a possible system that could allow shorter quarantine periods with greater testing for countries deemed less risky.

But he told Ridge there are “challenges around international travel”, pointing towards rising infection rates in Europe.

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More Than 2.5 Million People Get Second Dose Of Covid-19 Vaccine In England

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More than 2.5 million people have now received their second dose of a coronavirus vaccine, with more than one in three of those taking place in the last week, NHS England said.

More than 25 million people in England have been vaccinated with their first dose, with the number of people receiving their second dose reaching a new weekly high.

Some 900,000 people received their second jab in the last week, NHS England said, around twice as many as the week before.

Focus is now on ensuring those in the most at-risk cohorts have had the chance to be vaccinated, ahead of the target of offering all priority groups their first vaccine by April 15.

With a tighter supply of available doses next month, NHS England is urging those aged 50 and older or those with an underlying health condition to get their first jab.

It said three in four people aged 50-54 have been jabbed so far, up from half in the last week.

Dr Nikki Kanani, GP and NHS medical director for primary care, said: “The NHS in England has now vaccinated 25 million people which is an unbelievable achievement by NHS staff across the country, who have continued to work at speed.

“At the same time as increasing second doses week on week, the NHS is reaching out to those 50-69 year-olds who haven’t yet taken up the offer to be vaccinated.

“If you are one of those people yet to book a first dose, please come forward and get your life-saving Covid-19 vaccine which will not only protect you but those around you.”

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‘Jaysus! ‘Jaysus!’ Jedward’s Famous Quiffs Are No More As Twin’s Shave Off Each Other’s Hair On Live TV

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Jedward are as famous for their huge blond quiffs as they are for their dodgy choreo, but now the loveable twin brothers have a whole new look going on.

The 28-year-olds are now both sporting buzz cuts after shaving each other’s famous locks off live on Irish TV on Friday night.

The siblings, who shot to fame on the 2009 series of The X Factor, were in surprisingly good spirits considering they were about to ditch their trademark look on RTE’s The Late Late Show.

It was all in the name of charity as John and Edward were raising money for the Irish Cancer Society’s Daffodil Day appeal.

It’s a cause close to the brother’s heart after they lost their mum to cancer in 2019.

As John picked up the electric razor to free his brother of his quiff, Edward said: “We’ve had this hair for over 10 years. It’s part of our identity. I don’t think we’d be here today if we didn’t have the hair, but this is the first time we’re going to have our hair like this since the beginning of Jedward.”

The Eurovision star then joked that he’d be investing in hats and sunscreen – before hilariously catching his reflection and screaming “Jaysus! Jaysus!”

“Who am I? Who is this person?,” John exclaimed before joking that he was a doppelgänger for Sinead O’Connor. 

The brothers then treated everyone to an impromptu rendition of their fellow Irish star’s biggest hit, Nothing Compares 2 U.

It was all just as brilliantly chaotic as you’d expect.

Jedward’s efforts helped raise €2.5million (£2.1m) for the Irish Cancer Society. 

Earlier in the show, Jedward performed an acoustic rendition of Cyndi Lauper’s True Colours. They also shared that as well as their mum battling cancer, their grandad had previously been diagnosed with lung cancer and skin cancer. 

To donate to Daffodil Day, visit the Irish Cancer Society.

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Sharon Osbourne Leaves US Show The Talk Following Heated On-Air Discussion About Piers Morgan And Racism

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Sharon Osbourne has left US chat show The Talk following a heated on-air discussion about racism.

It came after her friend Piers Morgan left Good Morning Britain following comments he made about Meghan Markle.

The Talk has been off air while CBS investigated the incident and has now announced Sharon has left the programme.

It said her behaviour during the 10 March episode “did not align with our values for a respectful workplace”.

CBS Photo Archive via Getty Images

Sharon Osbourne on The Talk.

In a statement obtained by the PA news agency, it said: “Sharon Osbourne has decided to leave The Talk.

“The events of the March 10 broadcast were upsetting to everyone involved, including the audience watching at home.

“As part of our review, we concluded that Sharon’s behaviour toward her co-hosts during the March 10 episode did not align with our values for a respectful workplace.”

Responding to Sharon’s claims she had been set up by producers, CBS said: “We also did not find any evidence that CBS executives orchestrated the discussion or blindsided any of the hosts.”

However, CBS said it acknowledges the network, studio teams and producers are “accountable for what happened during that broadcast” because “it was clear the co-hosts were not properly prepared by the staff for a complex and sensitive discussion involving race”.

CBS Photo Archive via Getty Images

L-R: Elaine Welteroth, Carrie Ann Inaba, Sharon Osbourne, Sheryl Underwood and Amanda Kloots, hosts of the CBS series THE TALK

CBS said during The Talk’s hiatus it will coordinate “workshops, listening sessions and training about equity, inclusion and cultural awareness for the hosts, producers and crew”.

It added: “Going forward, we are identifying plans to enhance the producing staff and producing procedures to better serve the hosts, the production and, ultimately, our viewers.”

The Talk is set to return to US screens on Monday 12 April.

The former X Factor judge has been contacted for comment.

Sharon’s future on The Talk was thrown into doubt after she clashed with co-host Sheryl Underwood, during a discussion about Piers’ comments on Meghan’s recent interview with Oprah Winfrey.

He was criticised for saying he does not believe the duchess after she revealed she had suffered with her mental health and had suicidal thoughts.

CBS Photo Archive via Getty Images

Sheryl Underwood, host of the CBS series THE TALK

During a heated discussion, Sharon said: “I feel even like I’m about to be put in the electric chair because I have a friend who many people think is a racist so that makes me a racist.”

Sharon confronted co-host Sheryl, who is Black, and told her “don’t try and cry, because if anyone should be crying, it should be me”.

She added: “You tell me where you have heard him say, educate me, tell me when you have heard him say racist things.

“Educate me. Tell me.”

Sheryl said it was “not the exact words of racism” but “the implication and the reaction to it, to not want to address that because she is a Black woman and to try to dismiss it or to make it seem less than what it is, that’s what makes it racist”.

Sharon, wife of rocker Ozzy Osbourne, later said she was “truly sorry” if she caused offence with her comments.

She gave an interview to Entertainment Tonight and alleged she had not been sufficiently prepared for the conversation by producers.

Sharon said her co-hosts “had preparation, they had written questions for them” but she was only approached eight minutes before filming began and was asked if she was OK with discussing Piers.

She told ET she felt she had been “set up,” adding: “My anger was like, I cannot believe this, I’m your sacrificial lamb.”

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Seth Rogen Clarifies Rumours About Emma Watson Walking Off Set Of This Is The End

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Seth Rogen has clarified reports about Emma Watson walking off the set of This Is The End, due to the outrageous content of one of its scenes.

In 2013, Seth co-directed and co-wrote the star-studded disaster comedy, which sees a number of celebrities playing themselves as they deal with the end of the world.

The Harry Potter star was supposed to have been involved in a scene that featured Channing Tatum being led around on a dog leash while sporting a thong, while Danny McBride led a group of cannibals.

Reports after the film was released claimed the sequence proved too much for Emma, who decided she couldn’t be involved and walked off set, although she did appear in other scenes and helped promote the film when it was released.

Danielle Levitt/British GQ

Seth Rogen in his GQ photo-shoot

Asked about the rumours during an interview with GQ magazine, Seth said: “I don’t look back on that and think: ‘How dare she do that?’ You know? I think sometimes when you read something, when it comes to life it doesn’t seem to be what you thought it was.

“But it was not some terrible ending to our relationship. She came back the next day to say goodbye. She helped promote the film.

“No hard feelings, and I couldn’t be happier with how the film turned out in the end.”

“She was probably right,” Seth added. “It was probably funnier the way we ended up doing it.”

Paul Bruinooge via Getty Images

Emma Watson at the premiere of Little Women in 2019

HuffPost UK has contacted Emma Watson’s publicist for comment.

Although he didn’t name anyone directly, actor James Franco previously alluded to the incident in Interview magazine.

He said: “The movie is a comedy, but it’s kind of an outrageous one, and this actress—I won’t say who, but she had a smaller role in the film—walked off the movie in the middle of a scene.”

James continued: “I’ll admit that the scene we were doing was pretty crazy. There’s not any nudity, but it is pretty outrageous. It’s not as if the scene wasn’t in the script, though.

“In any case, I didn’t see any of this go down, but I guess she basically went up to the directors, Seth and Evan [Goldberg], and said, ‘I don’t think I can do this’. She, by the way, didn’t have to do anything crazy in the scene. But what was going on around her was, I guess, too extreme for her.

“So Seth was like, ‘Well, what can we do to fix it?’. And she said, ‘There’s nothing you can do to fix it. It’s just everything’. And he said, ‘Well, let’s just shoot it and I promise you can come to the editing room, and, if you don’t like what we’ve cut together, then we will not put it in the movie’. And she said, ‘No, that’s still not good. I just can’t do this. I can’t be here’. And he said, ‘Do you want to leave?’. And she said, ‘Yeah, I’ve got to leave’.”

Read Seth’s interview in full in the May issue of British GQ available via digital download and on newsstands Thursday 1st April.

Danielle Levitt/British GQ

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Seriously Guys, You Really Need To Wash Your Face Masks

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You grab your face mask from your pocket, think “I really should wash this soon”, forget all about it, then repeat the process next time you pop to the shop. Sound familiar?

Just 13% of people who wear reusable face masks are washing them frequently enough and in the right way, according to a study by YouGov.

A third (32%) wash their mask after every use, which is recommended. But even among those people, only 41% wash them at 60 degrees or higher, despite the fact lower temperatures are not enough to kill viruses like Covid-19.

Dr Roger Henderson, a senior GP who’s been working with Copper Clothing on their masks, is calling on Brits to take their mask care seriously to prevent the spread as lockdown measures ease.

Face masks become ineffective if they aren’t clean, he says. “If you take your mask off and set it down somewhere or leave it in your pocket, this allows for potentially harmful bacteria to spread onto other surfaces,” he tells HuffPost UK.

“Masks made from different materials will have different risks, but overall, it is best practice to wash your mask daily and wash your hands after every use. Really, you should be washing your mask as regularly as your pants.”

The government’s website says you should wash your face covering “regularly” and follow the washing instructions for the fabric. “You can use your normal detergent. You can wash and dry it with other laundry,” it adds. “You must throw away your face covering if it is damaged.”

Meanwhile, the Centre for Disease Control (CDC) says you should wash and dry wet or dirty masks as soon as possible to prevent them from becoming mouldy. “Wet masks can be hard to breathe through and are less effective than dry masks,” it says.

Dr Ed Wright, senior lecturer in microbiology at the University of Sussex, previously told HuffPost UK coronavirus particles have a fatty, oily outer layer – and washing is important, because detergent damages that layer.

“That layer is required for the virus to be able to infect a cell,” he said. “If you use soap or detergent, they will interact with this waxy, oily layer and disrupt that, so the virus will fall apart and won’t be able to infect anybody.”

The World Health Organisation adds that you should store fabric masks in a clean, reusable bag when you’re out and about – shoving them in a pocket next to your phone and keys is not recommended.

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