Brazil

Published 12 April Share close Share page Copy link About sharing Related Topics Kumbh Mela Several million Hindus have gathered to take a dip in the Ganges river as a deadly second Covid-19 wave continues to sweep India. The devotees are marking an auspicious bathing day on Monday at the Kumbh Mela religious festival in Haridwar city in the Himalayan state of Uttarakhand. Officials say they are struggling to impose safety norms due to huge crowds. Hindus believe the river is holy and bathing in it will cleanse them of their sins and bring salvation. The Kumbh Mela takes place every 12 years and the venue is chosen from amongst four cities, including Allahabad (also called Prayagraj), Haridwar, Nasik and Ujjain. Haridwar's turn to host the gathering came amid a sharp rise in the number of coronavirus infections, with India consistently reporting more than 100,000 cases …

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Marcelo Bielsa’s Leeds delivered after returning to the Premier League last season following a 16-year absence, finishing in an impressive ninth place. But Bielsa will be looking to build on this success and continue to add a number of worthy additions to his squad. Leeds have already been busy in the transfer window, bringing in Jack Harrison on a permanent basis from Manchester City, Junior Firpo from Barcelona, Kristoffer Klaesson and promising Chelsea academy prospect Lewis Bate. A number of names have also left the club including Pablo Hernandez, Leif Davis and Francisco Casilla. With just under four weeks to go in the window, there is little sign transfer business has come to a halt for the summer at Elland Road. And there’s plenty more transfer gossip coming out of Leeds with Daily Star Sport here to round-up the best bits… O’Brien deal still on Leeds are still interested in a deal to sign Huddersfield Town midfielder Lewis O’Brien. …

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Brits who have had the Indian-made AstraZeneca jab will be allowed into Portugal without the need to quarantine. The Mediterranean country had initially said anyone jabbed with the vaccine made by the Serum Institute of India and known as Covishield, wouldn’t be exempt from self-isolation rules. It was one of 13 European countries enforcing stricter rules because the vaccine has not yet been approved by the EU. But overnight it emerged the Portuguese government has changed its mind and will now recognise all AstraZeneca doses as well as the Chinese-made vaccine Sinovac. Up to five million Brits were given the Indian-made AstraZeneca vaccine, and face being effectively barred from many countries through no fault of their own. Portugal’s U-turn is understood to have occurred after president Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa was urged to take action on his visit to Brazil by members of the Portuguese community who will benefit from the decision. It means anyone who has been …

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The British summertime can be responsible for days full of sunshine, and also miserable stormy conditions. We have seen plenty of both this summer, with heatwaves hitting record-breaking temperatures and storms causing floods across areas of the UK. If the forecast is anything to go by , the country is in for another blast of stormy weather before temperatures once again soar to scorching levels. It is has been said that these extreme weather conditions could become the norm , as the effects of climate change become more evident, making the weather even more unpredictable than normal. It makes the ability to predict the weather even more desirable, but did you know that it is supposedly a skill that many insects already possess? Can insects predict the weather? For hundreds of years, people have looked to the behaviour of animals on the planet to help them predict the weather forecast. Attention to insects and spiders, in particular, have helped many, …

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Photo-Illustration: Maya Robinson/Vulture In the new romantic survival drama The Mountain Between Us , Kate Winslet and Idris Elba play strangers on a small chartered plane that crashes into snowcapped mountain peak, far from civilization. They have to survive the brutal cold, the threat of starvation and dehydration, and a pesky little mountain lion. But can they survive each other? (Yes, of course they can. This isn’t Alive .) Though The Mountain Between Us may not be the most sterling example, its Man Versus Nature theme plays to the strength of a medium that can wordlessly and powerfully express the pitiless beauty of the wild. Before getting into 25 better examples of Man Versus Nature films, a few ground rules: (1) The action has to take place on the planet Earth in recognizable conditions, so no post-apocalyptic scenarios (e.g. The Road ), no speculative fiction (e.g. The Day After Tomorrow ), and nothing set in outer space (e.g. Gravity ); (2) There were no …

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Harrie Lavreysen and Dutch teammate Jeffrey Hoogland tied for the Olympic record in qualifying for the men’s sprint at the Izu Velodrome, clocking the same time of 9.215 down to the thousandth of a second. In the qualifying rounds, cyclists get what’s called a flying start before they are timed over 200 metres. That means the two Dutch riders averaged 48.55 mph during their qualifying lap. Hoogland will be seeded first and Lavreysen second for the knockout rounds. That’s when riders face off against each other in a cat-and-mouse game over three laps with the fastest to the finish line advancing to the next round. From sailing to skateboarding, here is a roundup of what else is happening today in Tokyo. Athletics Peruth Chemutai of Uganda has won the gold medal in the women's 3,000m steeplechase. The rest of the podium is made up of Team USA Courtney Frerichs in silver and Kenya's Hyvin Kiyeng in bronze. The men's 800m race was dominated by Kenya with a one-two …

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Covid vaccines are expected to be offered to children in the UK aged 16 and 17, in line with many other countries. The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) are set to approve the jab for teens over 15, meaning that children in England will be vaccinated in time for their return to schools in September. The teen vaccine rollout will likely happen in late August and should affect roughly 1.5 million youngsters. But what are the risks involved with child vaccinations and what side effects should be expected? Find out everything here: What COVID-19 vaccine has been approved for children? The vaccine rollout could be expanded to children aged 16 and 17 in time for September term ( Image: Getty Images) The Pfizer vaccine is the only vaccine that has been authorised for children in the UK, for those aged 12 or older. Approval of the Pfizer vaccine followed a US clinical trial in around 1,000 children aged 12 to 15 that found side …

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In a games in which Team GB’s equestrian team shined, Charlotte Dujardin began her rise to being one of the most decorated female athletes in Britain. At the London 2012 Games, Dujardin and her team set the new Olympic record in the team dressage, taking home gold medals for both her individual and team performances. Coming away with a double gold medal haul from one Olympic games is impressive, but Dujardin carried on such elite performances at the 2016 Rio Games. Once again riding on her horse Valegro, she also won the individual gold medal there too, taking a silver in the team dressage. Charlotte Dujardin and her horse Valegro win gold in the Freestyle Individual Dressage Equestrian event at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on August 15 2016. (Image: Mirrorpix) After the Games, Dujardin retired her long standing partner, Valegro, at age 14, his final performance being televised live on the BBC. She held every individual elite …

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Published 48 minutes ago Share close Share page Copy link About sharing Related Topics Coronavirus pandemic The World Health Organization (WHO) has called for a suspension on booster vaccines until at least the end of September. WHO Chief Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Tuesday that it would allow for at least 10% of the population in every country to be vaccinated. A number of nations including Israel and Germany have announced plans to administer a third dose. But Dr Tedros has warned poorer nations are falling behind. According to the WHO, low-income countries have only been able to administer 1.5 doses for every 100 people due to a lack of supply. Dr Tedros said that there needs to be a reversal and that the majority of vaccines should go to lower income countries. "I understand the concern of all governments to protect their people from the Delta variant. …

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By Francesca Gillett Published 1 hour ago comments Comments Share close Share page Copy link About sharing Related Topics Coronavirus pandemic All 16 and 17-year-olds in the UK will start being offered a first dose of the Covid jab within weeks, after a recommendation from vaccine experts. They will not need parental consent and will receive the Pfizer-BioNTech jab, the Joint Committee on Vaccine and Immunisation said on Wednesday. Advice on when to offer the second dose will come later, the JCVI added. The change in guidance means around 1.4 million teenagers will be eligible. Prof Jonathan Van-Tam, England's deputy chief medical officer, said there were plenty of vaccines available, adding: "We have the supply and I'm expecting this to start in a very short number of weeks indeed." "There is no time to waste in getting on with this," he said, …

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