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A "treasured" keepsake box that once belonged to Charles Darwin's daughters has been donated to English Heritage and will go on show later this year. The Victorian red leather box contains shells gathered by Darwin on his famous Beagle voyage, where his observations fostered the ideas that led him to develop his theory of evolution. Darwin's descendants have donated the red leather box and its "treasures" to English Heritage, which will display the object at what was Darwin's home - Down House, in Kent. The naturalist and his wife Emma gave the box to their daughters, who, starting with the eldest, Annie, filled it with family mementos. When Annie died, aged 10 in 1851, the box passed to her sister Henrietta, otherwise known as Etty. Advertisement She continued to fill it with souvenirs, including locks of hair belonging to members of the Darwin family, Darwin's silk handkerchief and the shells. More from Kent Napier Barracks: Asylum … [Read more...] about Charles Darwin: ‘Treasured’ keepsake box owned by naturalist’s daughters to go on display

Brian McFadden shared a collection of pictures that debuted his fiancée's growing bump as the couple eagerly awaited the arrival of their baby. The 40-year-old former Westlife star, who is expecting a little girl with Danielle Parkinson in May, took to social media to document the stages of her pregnancy journey. In the selection of five shots, Danielle showed off her blossoming baby bump throughout the recent months of her pregnancy. Alongside the cute post, that Brian shared with his 275,000 Instagram followers, the musician had nothing but praise for his bride-to-be. "Beautiful @daniparky with minimac growing bigger every month," he penned. The dad of two was quickly inundated with messages from friends and followers, who shared their excitement about the upcoming arrival of their bundle of joy. "Gorgeous excited to see you little McFadden?" added one follower. "Awww how gorgeous xxx" added a second. A third wrote: "Aww beautiful bump - certainly glowing … [Read more...] about Brian McFadden shares snaps of fiancée’s bump as couple prepare for baby’s arrival

Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey has warned Brussels against creating a "serious escalation" by forcing firms to relocate euro clearing business away from the UK. Mr Bailey told MPs Britain should "resist very firmly" any attempt by the EU to try to dismantle by "dubious" means the dominance of London in clearing euro-denominated derivatives - a business sometimes described as the plumbing of the financial market. It was the latest broadside by the governor on Europe, two weeks after he took Brussels to task over its apparent intransigence on granting post- Brexit "equivalence" for Britain's financial services sector. Appearing before the Treasury select committee on Wednesday, Mr Bailey said that stand-off now risked becoming a "side show" amid reports about the EU's attempt to shift euro-denominated clearing to the continent. Europe's top banks are being asked by Brussels to justify why they should not have to do so, according to a report by the … [Read more...] about Bank of England’s Andrew Bailey warns EU against ‘dubious’ attempt to grab multi-trillion clearing business

In Zambia, nearly one in every five recently deceased people brought into Lusaka's central morgue tested positive for the coronavirus, a study by the Boston University School of Public Health showed. The authors of the study said that challenges the view that Africa somehow "dodged" the COVID-19 pandemic. The findings, published in theBMJ global health journal, indicate that low numbers of reported infections and deaths across Africa may be from lack of testing, with the coronavirus taking a terrible but invisible toll on the continent. "Our findings cast doubt on the assumption that COVID-19 somehow skipped Africa or has not impacted the continent as heavily," says study co-author Dr. Lawrence Mwananyanda. Rapid spread However, in a recent interview with DW, the director of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), John Nkengasong, said the coronavirus had spread rapidly in Africa too. That, he said, could be behind the discrepancies in the … [Read more...] about COVID cases in Africa were ‘underreported’