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The man on a mission to reveal the ‘souls’ of vanishing glaciers

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American adventurer Garrett Fisher flies in a ramshackle antique plane, dangling his camera out of the window to capture the beauty of glaciers before they disappear

Satellite images and the latest scientific studies may accurately inform us how quickly the world’s glaciers are melting. But Garrett Fisher’s mission is different: to reveal the “souls” of vanishing glaciers.

This, the American adventurer believes, is best achieved by flying solo over each glacier in a ramshackle antique plane and dangling his camera out of the window to capture their varied forms, textures and beauty – before they disappear forever.

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Indian Scientists Beg Modi to Stop Hiding the COVID Data

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Adnan Abidi via Reuters

More than 350 scientists in India have signed a petition begging Prime Minister Narendra Modi to publicly release crucial COVID-19 data in a desperate attempt to mitigate the spread and predict the next surge.

Some fear that Modi’s desire to keep such vital information on variants, tests carried out, recovered patients and vaccine efficacy secret suggests that the 18.7 million cases reported and 208,330 deaths might be a radical understatement of the scale of the problem.

India logged an astonishing 386,452 new cases Friday as new appeals for more space and firewood for cremations compounded the lack of hospital beds and oxygen.

Read more at The Daily Beast.

Minister’s aide tells family facing £40,000 fire safety bill to call Samaritans

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Robb family had written to Robert Jenrick asking for help with repairs to flat in Manchester tower block

Ministers have urged a family facing a devastating bill as part of the building safety crisis to contact the Samaritans if they want help with “feelings of distress or despair”.

In a move that sparked “disbelief” in the leaseholder involved, Jamie Robb, the response from an aide to the housing secretary, Robert Jenrick, to a plea for help with fire remediation works included the phone number for the suicide prevention service. It recommended its “free, anonymous, confidential and non-judgemental support”.

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Carrie Symonds’ influence at No 10 extends much further than the decor

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Analysis: Boris Johnson’s fiancee has no official role, but has helped shape the personnel and vision of the PM’s office

“She’s buying gold wallpaper,” Boris Johnson is said to have told panicked aides last February of his fiancee Carrie Symonds’ interior decorating plans for their No 11 flat. The costs far exceeded the £30,000 allowance for prime ministers, and apparent attempts last year to cover them by other means – Conservative party funds, a charitable trust and Tory donors – seem to have failed.

As well as Dominic Cummings’ diatribe over the “unethical, foolish and possibly illegal” refurbishment spending saga, Helen MacNamara, the Cabinet Office’s director general of propriety and ethics, was also reported to be strongly opposed.

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Lord Speaker calls for Covid public inquiry ‘as soon as possible’

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Norman Fowler, health secretary under Thatcher, says ‘let’s have an inquiry and let’s do it now’

The Lord Speaker, Norman Fowler, has said a public inquiry into how the Covid pandemic was handled by the government should be set up “as soon as possible” and should not be delayed.

Lord Fowler, who was a cabinet minister under Margaret Thatcher for 11 years and is a former Conservative party chair, said: “I would support those saying we need an inquiry into … whether there was a delay in lockdown because if there was we need to know why.”

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The government dithers and delays, but the UK needs a Covid public inquiry now | Marcus Shepheard

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The longer the wait, the greater the danger that the next unexpected health crisis will be mishandled

It is time for a public inquiry. The coronavirus crisis has been an extraordinary period for the UK, and the toll substantial. More than 127,000 people have died, children have lost years of education, and we have seen the largest drop in GDP since consistent records began more than half a century ago.

There have been myriad other harms to individual livelihoods, and to wellbeing. Much of this flows from decisions made in Whitehall. While the government has done some things well – the vaccine programme is an undisputed success so far – there are sincere, legitimate questions about many of its other choices.

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RIP skinnies. What’s next for jeans?

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With denim returning to our wardrobes, the jury is out as to which cut of jeans will win out. Make the ‘anything goes’ moment work for you by looking to vintage inspiration for these 10 styles

In fashion, one thing’s for sure – the era of sweatpants is over, and denim is back. It’s also pretty clear that skinny jeans, the style that has refused to die for 20 years, are finally, waning from fashion’s pole position, thanks to gen Z relentlessly roasting milllenials over their trouser choice. And that is where the certainties end.

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Teargas, flash-bangs: the devastating toll of police tactics on Minnesota children

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Families living near Brooklyn Center protests suffer as chemicals enter their homes and kids face a ‘battlefield experience’

As police used teargas and flash-bangs on protesters outside the Brooklyn Center police department, young children listened, terrified, from their homes directly across the street.

Among them were two 11-year-old girls with autism, which makes them intensely sensitive to loud noises, their older sister, Jamiya Crayton, said.

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‘We no longer fear the tweet’: Biden brings US back to world stage in first 100 days

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The president has personally moved to repair partnerships, presenting himself as the anti-Trump, but some fear compromises have felt like business as usual

The most striking aspect of Joe Biden’s first 100 days in foreign policy is the change of style. With his emphasis on consultation with allies and partners, he is presenting himself on the world stage as the anti-Trump.

Related: Biden’s world: how key countries have reacted to the president’s first 100 days

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Germany first to hand back Benin bronzes looted by British

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Culture minister says country is facing up to ‘historic and moral responsibility’ by returning artefacts to Nigeria

Germany is to become the first country to hand back the Benin bronzes looted by British soldiers in the late 19th century, after the culture minister, Monika Grütters, announced it would start returning a “substantial” part of the artefacts held in its museums to Nigeria from next year.

“We face up to our historic and moral responsibility to shine a light and work on Germany’s historic past,” Grütters said after museum experts and political leaders struck an agreement at a summit on Thursday.

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UK students sue government over human rights impact of climate crisis

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Three claimants in their 20s say their rights to life have been breached because of inadequate roadmap to solve emergency

The UK is being taken to court by three young people who claim their human rights are being breached by the government’s failure to act decisively on the climate crisis.

Adetola Stephanie Onamade, Marina Tricks and Jerry Amokwandoh, all students in their early 20s, will on Saturday ask for a judicial review of government actions to cut national carbon emissions.

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