The 5 000 year leap

Germany's Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV) have placed the Alternative for Germany (AfD) under surveillance, according to local media. That designation gives state agents more powers for surveillance in certain circumstances, including potentially tapping the party's communications. The BfV refused to comment on media reports from Der Spiegel magazine, the DPA news agency and public broadcaster ARD. The Interior Ministry, which oversees the BfV, said it would neither confirm nor deny them. Why has there been no official statement? The BfV is apparently unable to announce the decision officially because of an ongoing legal dispute. A court in the city of Cologne last week rejected an urgent motion by the AfD to stop the BfV from placing it under formal investigation . The party said any announcement that it was being investigated would undermine its right to fight the election on an equal footing to other political parties. In response, the … [Read more...] about Germany places entire far-right AfD under surveillance — reports

WHEN Saffron Drewitt-Barlow feels her skin is lacking a bit of glow, she knows exactly what to do – get online and book a first-class plane ticket for her favourite beauty therapist. Money is no object for the 21-year-old, which is why she’s able to splash $10,000 a time arranging for her number one facialist to fly from her home in Brighton to Saffron’s family mansion in Florida. Far from being a rarity, it’s something Saffron does every month or so (Covid permitting)… and it’s just the beginning of her mammoth beauty spend. The daughter of Britain’s first gay dads, ex-couple and multi-millionaires Barrie and Tony Drewitt-Barlow, also forks out over $12,000 a year to keep her hair extensions looking good, has a make-up artist on her books for whenever she needs him and gets her lashes and nails down every couple of weeks. It’s all part of Saffron’s Absolutely Fabulous life , which she’s detailing in her new Fabulous column. She’s already touched on the unusual family … [Read more...] about I spend $200k a year on beauty – I never wash my own hair, jet my facialist in from UK & spend 4 hours a day on make-up

MASTERCHEF judges John Torode and Gregg Wallace are "not as friendly off screen" and have never been to each other's houses. The judges on the long-ruining cooking series - who have appeared on the BBC show since 2005 - have a "calm" relationship, but John revealed the pals have "never really cooked for each other." The 55-year-old opened up on the his relationship with his co-presenter, which exists primarily during the confines of work. He joked: "I had to wait until his fourth wedding before I got invited to be his best man. "It's well documented that we don't socialise outside of work. We've never been to each other's houses. We've never really cooked for each other." Torode added: "We spend a lot of time together, sharing a lot of things: emotion, food, pressure and changing people's lives. 17 years on, it's still a relationship that is calm and in good stead. I think it's an amazing thing." Over the years the duo have bonded over their passion for … [Read more...] about MasterChef’s John Torode and Gregg Wallace reveal why they haven’t hung out off-screen in 17 years

THIS Morning has been hit with almost 2,000 Ofcom complaints after Dr Michael Mosley encouraged viewers to eat just 800 calories a day to lose "lockdown weight". Fans were left outraged by the "dangerous" segment last week, which aired on Friday's episode with hosts Alison Hammond and Dermot O'Leary . The professional insisted that consuming 800 to 1,000 calories a day can be "safe and effective" on the programme - adding that he is a "fan of rapid weight loss". This is less than half of the recommended calorie intake, which is 2,500 for men and 2,000 for women. The segment faced fierce backlash online at the time, particularly as it aired during Eating Disorder Awareness Week , and 1,932 people have reported their concerns to TV watchdog Ofcom. This Morning will now be assessed on whether or not the regulator needs to conduct a full investigation into the complaints. Taking to Twitter, one fan wrote on Friday [26 February]: "There is no way This Morning … [Read more...] about This Morning hit with nearly 2,000 complaints after viewers enraged by 800-calorie diet to lose ‘lockdown weight’

LET'S be honest - when was the last time you cleaned out the fluff from your tumble dryer? A week ago? A month maybe? Well if you don't do it regularly, lint can start to build up around the motor - which causes the machine to overheat and poses a huge fire risk. One woman who knows a little something about this is firefighter Amy Niblett. Earlier this week, Amy dismantled her mum's old tumble dryer to find an astonishing amount of fluff which had built up over the past 25 years. Posting on the Facebook group Family Lockdown Tips & Ideas , the firefighter explained how her mum asked to help "de-fluffing" the well-used machine. She wrote: "I decided to take the casing off my mums 25 year old tumble dryer that she still uses after noticing fluff poking through the seams of the metal! Took me nearly 2 hours!" But while Amy expected for there to be a small build up of lint hiding in the machine, she didn't expect to find a mountain of fluff lingering around the … [Read more...] about Woman cleans tumble dryer for the first time in 25 years and is horrified by the huge mountain of lint