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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The tech giant faces a huge fine and may be forced to make changes to the App Store.

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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In the deadliest days of its outbreak, a country that has prided itself on good relations with almost everyone has found itself largely friendless.

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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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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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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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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Sam Blum

If you blinked, you might have missed European soccer’s latest surrender to big money. But that doesn’t mean it’s all over…

The post The Rise and Collapse of Europe’s Soccer Super League appeared first on The Nation.

Jeet Heer

Why did it take a sexual assault scandal to raise red flags about a deeply flawed biography?

The post Philip Roth and His Defensive Fans Are Their Own Worst Enemies appeared first on The Nation.

Protesters are taking to the streets of Colombia demonstrating against the government's mishandling of the pandemic, and its proposal to raise taxes at a time of deep economic pain.

The death toll in the pandemic continues to rise in India. Dozens of people have died in a stampede in Israel. Examining Kamala Harris's role in these first 100 days of the Biden administration.

Elie Mystal, The Nation

The Chauvin verdict seemed like a victory. Then came the racist reaction to the verdict—and the murder of Ma’Khia Bryant.

The post White Supremacy Never Takes a Day Off appeared first on The Nation.

Alexis Grenell

Sexual assault victims face an impossible burden of proof. We know enough to demand that the governor step down.

The post Just Because Cuomo Deserves Due Process Doesn’t Mean He Shouldn’t Resign appeared first on The Nation.

A customer asked me to make a replica out of her cat’s fur when it died. She took the knitted cat to bed and slept well for the first time since her loss

I was born in the former Soviet Union, where my mother taught me to knit when I was very young. It was a skill every Russian woman had when I was growing up, because clothes were in short supply. After moving to Boston, Massachusetts, in the 1990s, I quickly fell out of the habit: why knit a cardigan you could easily pick up for $20 in a store?

It was adopting a cat that led to me taking it up again. I had always thought of myself as a dog person, but when I was offered a beautiful ragdoll cat called Mittens, I couldn’t resist him. Ragdolls have soft, silky coats, and Mittens loved to be brushed. His hair was so beautiful that rather than throw away the loose strands that came away in the brush, I started collecting them. Eventually, I had enough to fill a shoebox. That’s when I wondered if it might be any good as yarn.

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Remote learning has made it harder for school staff to pick up on clues that students lack permanent housing. New federal funding is meant to help re-establish contact

Portia and her two boys were living at the St Ambrose Family Shelter in Dorchester, Massachusetts, located in an old Catholic church, when the pandemic hit.

To protect her family from the virus, she moved in with her mother in a one-bedroom apartment. But with a baby brother in the same room and unreliable wifi, 13-year-old Quentin began to struggle in school. Then the landlord threatened to evict them, calling the arrangement a fire hazard.

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After overcoming my own trauma, I cannot stand back and allow governments to be complicit in allowing people to die

I run Scotland’s, and the UK’s, first overdose prevention service, also known as a drug consumption room, from an ambulance in Glasgow city centre.

The service allows people to take their own drugs under supervision of trained professionals who can intervene in the event of an overdose. We also provide a sterile area with clean equipment to reduce infections and the spread of blood-borne viruses, such as HIV, of which Glasgow is experiencing its worst outbreak in 30 years.

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The new rooftop restaurant at Selfridges offers small sharing plates at high-end prices

En route to Alto by San Carlo, on the rooftop of Selfridges in London, I thought about how for a long time eating in a department store was never anyone’s idea of “destination dining”. That’s the fancy term, by the way, for a dining experience that you covet from afar, then map a journey towards, before packing a weekend suitcase to be within thrilling proximity of a big-name chef. No one ever felt like this about the all-day breakfasts at BHS Bournemouth. Or, for that matter, a scone with jam in an M&S cafe, which is generally a self-consoling act after another doomed search for a reliable strapless balconette bra. I’ve long argued that the goths and indie kids of Carlisle bankrupted the House of Fraser cafe by loitering all day discussing Bauhaus B-sides, sharing one 57p whipped cream-topped hot chocolate, before inevitably stealing the mug.

However, judging by the lengthy queue of customers standing in Oxford Street waiting to board the special lift to Alto, the mood towards in-store dining has shifted. I noticed this again on a recent trip to Native, which has taken root in the courtyard at the new Browns store on Brook Street. Pop in for Balenciaga sneakers and a Cire Trudon room spray, stay for six courses of fresh and foraged small plates.

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As he took office, the president noted four crises: the coronavirus pandemic, climate, economy and racial justice. Here’s his progress on each

In his inaugural address on 20 January, Joe Biden declared: “We will be judged, you and I, for how we resolve the cascading crises of our era.”

Related: Republicans still orbiting Trump dark star fail to derail Biden’s first 100 days

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Sasha Abramsky

As Hollywood’s aristocracy convened for the Oscars, laid-off hotel workers were protesting to get their jobs back.

The post Red Carpet at the Picket Line appeared first on The Nation.