Royal Covid Family

This year is going to look different due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Not only for common people, but also for the royals.

According to a source who spoke to People magazine, the Queen and Prince Philip are currently in isolation at Windsor Castle and to be determined on whether they’ll even head to the Sandringham Estate at all.

William and Kate for their part are “are waiting to hear about government guidelines just like everyone else” and while “The children miss their great-granny” it’s “the same rules for them as everyone.”

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry, on the other hand, will be spending Christmas in Los Angeles where they’re currently living with their young son Archie.

The entire royal family potentially being apart for the holidays is a break from the norm—but apparently the Queen might be relieved due to how intense 2020 has been. She might be happier for a quieter household this year.

Clint Eastwood is relentless: watch Richard Jewell trailer

The first trailer for Richard Jewell has been released today, offering a look at the latest film from director Clint Eastwood. The movie is a surprise addition to the 2019 release calendar, as filming only began this past June. But Clint works incredibly fast, and basically did the same thing with last year’s The Mule.

Directed by Clint Eastwood and based on true events, “Richard Jewell” is a story of what happens when what is reported as fact obscures the truth. “There is a bomb in Centennial Park. You have thirty minutes.” The world is first introduced to Richard Jewell (Paul Walter Hauser) as the security guard who reports finding the device at the 1996 Atlanta bombing—his report making him a hero whose swift actions save countless lives.


But within days, the law enforcement wannabe becomes the FBI’s number one suspect, vilified by press and public alike, his life ripped apart. Reaching out to independent, anti-establishment attorney Watson Bryant (Academy Award winner Sam Rockwell) , Jewell staunchly professes his innocence. But Bryant finds he is out of his depth as he fights the combined powers of the FBI, GBI and APD to clear his client’s name, while keeping Richard from trusting the very people trying to destroy him.

Kathy Bates costars as Richard’s mother, Bobi, while Jon Hamm leads the FBI investigation as Tom Shaw. Olivia Wilde rounds out the central cast as Atlanta Journal-Constitution reporter Kathy Scruggs.

The first trailer for Richard Jewell sets the film up as a companion piece to Eastwood’s 2016 drama Sully. Both movies are based on true stories and center on heroic protagonists who unjustly come under fire by law enforcement. Sully was a critical and commercial hit, landing on both the American Film Institute and the National Board of Review’s list of the 10 best films of the year.

Richard Jewell is opening in theaters nationwide December 13.

Carnage in Afghanistan

U.S. special operations forces and Afghan commandos conducted a predawn raid on a building filled with dozens of Al Qaeda fighters in southern Afghanistan, killing over 20 of the militants, officials said Monday.

Helmand police chief Col. Ehsamudin Helmandi said Afghan special forces killed 22 Taliban militants in addition to the Al Qaeda fighters. At least 14 other militants were wounded and some were taken prisoner as a result of the operations.


Helmandi said six Al Qaeda terrorists were also arrested in the operation, including Pakistani and Bangladeshi citizens.

No U.S. forces were wounded, according to American officials. Some Afghan special forces were wounded in the fight, though exactly how many was not immediately clear. However, an Afghan official claimed Monday that dozens of civilians were killed or wounded during the raid.


The police chief blamed the Taliban and Al Qaeda for causing the civilian casualties in Musa Qala district because they used the local residents as human shields. The exact number of civilians killed is not immediately clear.

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani's spokesman Sediq Seddiqi said in a statement on Monday that the leader was "saddened and devastated to hear that civilians have lost their lives in an incident in Helmand, despite President Ghani's repeated call for extra cautions in conducting military operations."


The joint operation destroyed a major Taliban hub in Helmand, which was also a gathering point for Al Qaeda fighters moving through the area. The Al Qaeda fighters were discovered as a result of communication intercepts, U.S. officials said, declining to elaborate because of the sensitivity of the intelligence.

The son of bin Laden killed in US raid

Hamza bin Laden , the son of the late al-Qaida leader, was killed in a U.S. counterterrorism operation in the Afghanistan-Pakistan region. A statement issued in President Donald Trump’s name gave no further details. American officials have said there are indications that the CIA, not the U.S. military, conducted the strike. The CIA declined comment on whether the agency was involved.

The White House statement said Hamza bin Laden’s death “not only deprives al-Qaida of important leadership skills and the symbolic connection to his father, but undermines important operational activities of the group.” It said Osama bin Laden’s son “was responsible for planning and dealing with various terrorist groups.” The U.S. officials had suspected this summer that Hamza bin Laden was dead, based on intelligence reports and the fact that he had not been heard from in some time.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss intelligence matters. Defense Secretary Mark Esper told Fox News Channel in a late August interview that it was “my understanding” that Hamza bin Laden was dead. A U.S. official familiar with the case who spoke on condition of anonymity about intelligence-gathering said bin laden was killed in the past 18 months. Confirming such a high-profile death can take a long time, said the official, who declined to say what led the U.S. to report bin Laden’s death with certainty.

The younger bin Laden had been viewed as an eventual heir to the leadership of al-Qaida, and the group’s leader, Ayman al-Zawahri, had praised him in a 2015 video that appeared on jihadi websites, calling him a “lion from the den of al-Qaida.” Bin Laden’s death leaves Zawahiri with the challenge of finding a different successor. Hamza bin Laden is believed to have been born in 1989, the year of the Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan, where his father became known among the mujahedeen fighters.

His father returned to Saudi Arabia and later fled to Sudan after criticizing the kingdom for allowing U.S. troops to deploy in the country during the 1991 Gulf War. He later fled Sudan for Afghanistan in 1996, where he declared war against the U.S. As al-Qaida’s leader, Osama bin Laden oversaw attacks that included the 1998 bombings of the U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, as well as the bombing of the USS Cole off Yemen. He and others plotted and executed the 2001 attacks against the United States that led to the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan. U.S. Navy SEALs killed the elder bin Laden in a raid on a house in Abbottabad, Pakistan, in 2011.

Hamza bin Laden began appearing in militant videos and recordings in 2015 as an al-Qaida spokesman. “If you think that your sinful crime that you committed in Abbottabad has passed without punishment, then you thought wrong,” he said in his first audio recording. After the Sept. 11 attacks, a U.S.-led invasion of Afghanistan sought to topple the Taliban, an ally of al-Qaida, and seize the elder bin Laden. He escaped and split from his family as he crossed into Pakistan. Hamza was 12 when he saw his father for the last time — receiving a parting gift of prayer beads. “It was as if we pulled out our livers and left them there,” he wrote of the separation.

Hamza and his mother followed other al-Qaida members into Pakistan and then Iran, where other al-Qaida leaders hid them, according to experts and analysis of documents seized after U.S. raid that killed Osama bin Laden. Iran later put the al-Qaida members on its soil into custody. During this time, Hamza married. In March 2010, Hamza and others left Iranian custody. He went to Pakistan’s Waziristan province, where he asked for weapons training, according to a letter to the elder bin Laden. His mother left for Abbottabad, joining her husband in his hideout. On May 2, 2011, the Navy SEAL team raided Abbottabad, killing Osama bin Laden and his son Khalid, as well as others. Saber and other wives living in the house were imprisoned. Hamza again disappeared. In August 2015, a video emerged on jihadi websites of al-Zawahri introducing “a lion from the den of al-Qaida” — Hamza bin Laden. Since then, Hamza had been featured in al-Qaida messages, delivering speeches on everything from the war in Syria to Donald Trump’s visit to Saudi Arabia on his first foreign trip as president. But he hadn’t been heard from since a message in March 2018, in which he threatened the rulers of Saudi Arabia. Post navigation

US private payrolls accelerate

Recession? What recession? US company payrolls surged by 195,000 in August, well above Wall Street estimates and at a time when fears have been growing about a looming recession, according to a report Thursday from ADP and Moody’s Analytics. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones had been looking for a gain of just 140,000 following July’s 142,000, which was reduced downward by 14,000 from the original count. August’s growth was the best showing since the 255,000 added in April. The numbers come amid speculation that the decade-long economic expansion is coming to an end. The New York Federal Reserve puts the chance of a recession at 39% in the next 12 months, the highest level since the Great Recession that ended in mid-2009. “Businesses are holding firm on their payrolls despite the slowing economy,” Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s, said in a statement. “Hiring has moderated, but layoffs remain low. As long as this continues recession will remain at bay.” However, he also said that the current pace of job growth needs to continue at a time when various sectors, including manufacturing and agriculture, are falling. “This highlights why the economy is at risk, because if job growth slows any further that means unemployment will start to rise and that will be the fodder for recession,” Zandi added in a subsequent CNBC interview. Fully 100,000 of the new jobs came in the education and health services (58,000) and leisure and hospitality industries (42,000). Health care and social assistance was the fastest-growing sub-component, with 45,000 positions added. In all, services accounted for 184,000 of the total, with goods-producing industries adding 11,000. Manufacturing grew by 8,000 and construction contributed 6,000, though natural resources and mining saw a reduction of 2,000. Information services saw a loss of 6,000 jobs. Companies with 50 to 499 employees were the largest growth sector at 77,000, though small businesses grew by 66,000. Firms with more than 1,000 employees saw growth of 47,000. The ADP/Moody’s count comes a day ahead of the more closely watched Labor Department nonfarm payrolls report. Dow Jones estimates that the report will show payroll growth of 150,000 after July’s 164,000 with the unemployment rate staying at 3.7%. The continued job growth shows the U.S. economy “remains in relatively good shape” said Paul Ashworth, chief U.S. economist at Capital Economics, though he added that he thinks the government report will show growth of just 110,000. Economists occasionally will use the APP/Moody’s report to tweak their estimates. On balance, the two counts have run close through 2019, with the mean, or average, monthly ADP count topping the government by 5,800, and the median, or midpoint, total undershooting the Labor Department’s tally by 16,000.

Gwyneth Paltrow and husband Brad Falchuk are moving in together

It's official! Gwyneth Paltrow and Brad Falchuk are moving in together. The actress, 46, confirmed the news to InStyle months after she revealed she and her husband of nearly a year have only been only living together part time – taking turns sleeping at each other's houses. The couple wed in September 2018. "Married life has been really good. We took a year to let everybody (in the family) take it in and let the dust settle. And now we’re moving in together this month," she told the magazine. "I adore my husband. He’s brilliant and deeply kind. I feel like he’s a real equal too. And he pushes me in the best ways. I really like being married. It’s fun." Paltrow also looked back on her rise to fame in celebration of 20 years of covers with the magazine. She recalled being only 26 when she did her first cover for the magazine in 1999. "It was at a time in my life when everything was going absolutely crazy. I was becoming super famous," she said. "People started recognizing me on the street, especially after 'Shakespeare in Love.' " Paltrow explained this time in her life wasn't all excitement. "It was also a complicated time for me because my dad was going through all of his health stuff," she said of director-producer Bruce Paltrow who died of throat cancer in in 2002. "I felt overwhelmed. I think when you’re so young and something like that happens to you, it’s very hard to have any perspective on what’s going on. You’re in a storm. In a way, I was extremely present because that’s all I could be. Yes, Gwyneth Paltrow cooks: And she has some nasty words for anyone who thinks otherwise Gwyneth Paltrow on aging: You see yourself and wonder 'Is that me?' Now, she says she sees her younger self in her eldest child, Apple. "There’s this optimism that comes from having your whole life ahead of you and not knowing what’s going to happen," she said. "Back then everybody was telling me, 'You’re going to be something.' I was like, 'I don’t know, but I guess I’m on this train.' It’s funny: Now I see the kind of energy I had then in my daughter." In May, Paltrow celebrated Apple's 15th birthday in an Instagram post, calling herself the "proudest mama ever." “Happy 15th to my angel... I will never be able to put into words how much I love you," Paltrow wrote. "You are so strong and so good and so damn funny and sooooo gorgeous inside and out." https://eu.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/celebrities/2019/08/06/gwyneth-paltrow-becoming-super-famous-dads-death/1930503001/

Lilou, the airport therapy pig

At San Francisco airport she is the most beloved land travel assistant. LiLou, this is her name, is not a hostess, but a small pig. If you land after a long flight it is likely that you will find her there, at the arrivals, ready to rip you a smile. LiLou is part, along with some dogs, of the Wag Brigade, a group of animals that are used by the airport for pet therapy, in this case to relax and entertain passengers stressed by the journey. “The presence of members of the Wag Brigade, their unconditional and gide-free love reduces depression and anxiety,” explains Jennifer Henley of the San Francisco Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, which activated the airport service in 2013. LiLou is the latest arrival. In addition to being present, she manages to amaze travelers by greeting them (with a grunt or by nodding her head), turning on herself, rising on two legs and even playing a keyboard, and then ending the performance with a bow ( and punctually gathering applause, caresses and sweets). “It is apparent that LiLou is happy when she shows her abilities and receives compliments,” says her owner, Tatyana Danilova. “It is exciting to be able to do something for the community and bring joy in such an original way.” The pig also has an Instagram page (lilou_sfpig) where it shows itself in all its glory. When she is not at the airport, LiLou visits patients in hospitals and nursing homes: confirmation that animals are more human than humans.

Italy's super volcano

An underwater eruption of Italy's supervolcano, Campi Flegrei, could produce 100-foot tsunamis that could severely impact populated coastal areas like Pozzuoli and Sorrento, scientists have said. By modeling offshore eruptions at the active volcano, which sits to the west of Naples, researchers were able to show that tsunamis could pose a risk to the region. They believe the National Emergency Plan for Campi Flegrei should be updated accordingly. Campi Flegrei is a volcanic complex consisting of 24 craters and edifices. Many of these are underwater, in Pozzuoli Bay. The volcano last erupted in 1538, when a week-long discharge led to the formation of a new volcano, Monte Nuovo. Campi Flegrei has been active for 60,000 years, with the caldera forming during two large explosive eruptions. Several recent studies have indicated changes are taking place at the system. In one, researchers discovered magma appears to be building under the volcanic system, suggesting Campi Flegrei is entering a new caldera cycle. This new phase, they say, could "at some undetermined point in the future," culminating in a "large volume eruption." In another report, researchers looked at the ground deformation that has taken place in the region since the 1950s, finding that the volcano has been building energy throughout this period, potentially indicating it is "evolving towards conditions more favorable to eruption." Because of the risk Campi Flegrei poses—around 500,000 people live in the volcano's "red zone"—the Italian government has a National Emergency Plan for the event of an eruption. This plan, however, does not include the event of an eruption taking place at sea. "Campi Flegrei is an active volcano that has been producing explosive eruptions in the past for at least 60,000 years including two super eruptions," Martina Ulvrova, from ETH Zurich's Institute of Geophysics, told Newsweek. "There are several high risks associated with this volcanic activity including large explosions that would destroy landscape and emit ashes into the atmosphere, dense pyroclastic flow of hot gas, ash and other volcanic material that is ejected into the atmosphere during an eruption." Ulvrova added that, while the evacuation plan for a more likely land-based eruption is well established, a tsunami could also pose a risk: "We cannot neglect it and it should be included in the hazard maps for the region," she said. In a study published in the Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research, Ulvrova and her colleagues produced models showing the potential tsunamis produced by eruptions of different sizes in various locations in the Bay of Pozzuoli. According to their tests, an explosion would form a "crater-like cavity at the water surface" with a column of water appearing in the center. When the column collapses, it would produce a second wave.

Life on Mars?

NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine told Hill.TV on Friday that evidence of water and other environmental factors on Mars means researchers should leave no stone unturned in their search for Martian life. “We have found liquid water — 12 kilometers under the surface of the Mars,” Bridenstine said during an interview on “Rising.” “What do we know about liquid water?” he asked. “Anywhere it exists on Earth, there’s life.” “I’m not saying there’s life on Mars, but we should find out,” Bridenstine added. Bridenstine said scientists have also discovered complex organic components on the surface of mars, the presence of an ocean in its northern hemisphere and the existence of methane cycles. "We have discovered that the methane cycles of Mars are commiserate with the seasons of Mars," he said. "Again increasing the probability that we could find life on a world that’s not our own." The idea of life existing on Mars has intrigued people for centuries. But, since no humans have successfully made the journey, exploration has been limited. The U.S. and other countries, however, have been sending spacecraft to orbit or land on Mars since the 1960s, and, through each mission, scientists have been able to learn more about the mysterious planet. "Mars used to be a lot like Earth," Bridenstine said said. "So by studying Mars, we can learn about our own planet." Bridenstine joined “Rising” to discuss the NASA’s latest efforts to send more Americans to the moon by 2024, including the first woman, as part of Apollo’s twin project Artemis. He emphasized that NASA hopes to use the moon as a training ground and test site before a human mission to Mars at a later date.

How to play badminton nicole junkermann

The object of badminton is to hit the shuttlecock over the net and have it land in the designated court areas. If your opponent manages to return the shuttlecock then a rally occurs. If you win this rally i.e. force your opponent to hit the shuttlecock out or into the net then you win a point. You are required to win 21 points to win a set with most matches being best of 3 sets. Points can be won on either serve. Serves should be diagonal across the court to count and should always be hit from below the waist. If the scores are tied at 20 all, then the player/team to gain two clear points ahead of their opponent will win the game. The side who wins the game then goes on to serve first in the next game. Badminton is fun which makes it a good activity for family and friends to bond. At the same time, it is also an effective calorie-burner that not only builds strength but put your reflexes to the test. After all, players are required to run, lunge, stretch, leap and jump around the 20 x 44 feet rectangular court. Just 30 minutes into the game you could feel as though you’ve been through an intense workout or just ran a marathon. Badminton is fun and it can also improve agility, boost flexibility and sprint speed, improve hand-eye coordination, strengthen muscles, boost cardiovascular activity. The longest match was 124 minutes and was played between Sun Jun from China and Peter Rasmussen from Denmark. 

Google vs Viagogo

Google has today dealt a blow to controversial second-hand ticketing company Viagogo by suspending its website as an advertiser. It is the second setback for the firm this month. Earlier in July, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said it would take Viagogo to court. Google said: “When people use our platform for help in purchasing tickets, we want to make sure that they have an experience they can trust. “This is why we have strict policies and take necessary action when we find an advertiser in breach.” Last year, the Football Association, the trade body UK Music and MPs signed an open letter to Google executives, urging it to stop Viagogo from advertising. Viagogo has come under fire in recent months amid claims touts resell tickets at prices way above face value. This is done via its website for second-hand tickets to music and sporting events. The CMA launched its legal challenge against the company in August last year. It said it was concerned the website was breaking consumer-protection law. Following this, a court ordered Viagogo to overhaul its business. It said the firm must tell buyers whether there was a risk they would get turned away at the door. But the CMA said earlier this month the firm had not done enough to change its practices. In March, the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport committee of MPs urged consumers to boycott the site. They also criticised Google at the time for retaining Viagogo as an advertiser. Viagogo has said it is working with the CMA. A spokesperson for Viagogo said: “We were extremely surprised to learn of Google’s concerns today. We are confident that there has been no breach of Google’s policies and look forward to working with them to resolve this as quickly as possible.” Which magazine consumer rights expert Adam French said: “Viagogo has persisted in its apparent disregard for consumer law despite repeated warnings from the competition watchdog to change its practices and a court order requiring them to take action, so it is good to see firm action from Google that will ultimately hit the site where it hurts by hampering its ability to reach consumers. “The CMA’s allegations – that the firm is still using misleading ticket availability messages and failing to adequately warn fans that tickets sold on the site may not get them into events – are damning. We would urge all consumers to steer clear of Viagogo. ” https://www.bmmagazine.co.uk/news/google-suspends-viagogo-from-advertising-after-breach-of-client-trust/