Le Pain Quotidien UK Arm Falls Into Insolvency, Most Cafes Close
The UK division of Le Pain Quotidien, the international bakery chain, has collapsed into insolvency, shutting all but
2023-07-04 23:48
The Best Android Games for 2023
The Android gaming market features outstanding gems that deserve a home on your Android phone
2023-07-04 23:22
Why Amsterdam is so much more than the stereotypes
Attracting over 18 million tourists a year, Amsterdam has become the hot spot for travellers across the globe. Filled with tree-lined streets, picturesque canals and some of the finest culinary creations and art, the Dutch city has something for everyone – despite the stereotypes. Now, we can't speak about Dam without addressing the elephant in the room. You could be a foodie; an art enthusiast; a world traveller, or simply passing through the city on a connecting flight – but you'll inevitably be asked by friends, family and peers about your smoking habits – or lack of. Yes, it's legal – but it certainly isn't the be-all, end-all. In fact, tourists who have had the pleasure of visiting Amsterdam recently would have noticed the absence of smoke in the air, which is down to a newly enforced rule last month. There's much, much more to the beautiful, culturally enriched city. Sign up for our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Nestled in the Museum Quarter of the city resides Jan Luyken, a newly-renovated property surrounded by depths of culture and an elegant shopping street. Think, the Bond Street of Amsterdam. From rich-coloured walls graced with contemporary art to grande mirrors and fringed lampshades, it's no surprise l immediately fell for Jan Luyken. The moment you step into the hidden gem, you feel the essence of laidback luxury and incredible attention to detail woven throughout. There's not a corner in the hotel that ignores the memo, from the reception area adorned with delicate glassware and vibrant flower to the rooms that boast comfortable beds, stunning Amsterdam views and tons of natural light. Not to mention, Jan Luyken has a host of some of the friendliest staff members happy to assist with any questions or concerns. They were also equipped with recommendations on some of the area's best fine-dining restaurants and world-famous museums and There are also plenty of shared spaces dotted around the ground floor – perfect for winding down after a long day exploring the city. There's a library decked out with an array of books and lifestyle magazines and plenty of space to truly make Amsterdam feel like a home away from home – especially for a solo traveller like myself. Jan Luyken even provides guests with a kitchen, complete with top-of-the-range Smeg appliances and complimentary baked goods, beverages and fresh fruit. The garden terrace adds an extra special spin to Jan Luyken, as outdoor space is often considered quite a rarity among hotels. It's located next to an aesthetically pleasing gym that makes working out feel that little bit easier. With a hotel so impressive, it can sometimes be tempting to stay in and around it – but with 48 hours in the city, I had to temporarily leave my newfound home comforts to prove that Amsterdam is much more than the stereotypes. Museums Amsterdam does many things well, museums being one of them. The city is jam-packed with cultural experiences, from fine art to photography and history. Two days certainly won't get you through the array of galleries across the city, but there are two in particular that should not be missed. Moco Museum: Founded in 2016, the independent museum boasts a variety of modern, contemporary, and street art. Here, you will find pieces from Jean-Michel Basquiat, Banksy, Icy & Sot, JR, KAWS, Keith Haring, Jeff Koons, Damien Hirst, Tracey Emin, Yayoi Kusama, THE KID, Andy Warhol, Studio Irma, among many more. The Museum of Prostitution: While Amsterdam's sex industry remains open, there's still an air of mystery surrounding it. At the world's first prostitution museum, you will learn about the Red Lights Secrets through an interactive experience. Without giving too much away, the museum delves into the history of sex work in the city, what a typical room looks like and positive testimonials. It also does not shy away from the darker truths of the industry, such as trafficking and unsolved murder cases. Parks Vondelpark: Considered one of the city's most famous parks, this charming area makes the perfect destination to wind down from walking around the city after a long day. During the summer months, there's a host of activities, bandstands – and it even has its own Picasso sculpture hidden along the path. Food Dinner in the Pulitzer Garden: For the foodies, this al-fresco dining experience is a must. Inspired by modern-Dutch cuisine, it offers a wide range of impressive culinary creations and beautifully crafted cocktails. This gem is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner, with an idyllic view of the tranquil gardens. For more information about Jan Luyken, click here. Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.
2023-07-04 22:49
Factbox-Europe's ongoing strike-related travel disruptions
European airports are in the middle of another busy summer as passenger numbers globally recover to pre-pandemic levels.
2023-07-04 21:22
Make Them Eat Actual Hot Dogs at the Hot Dog Eating Contest!
They aren't eating hot dogs at the hot dog eating contest.
2023-07-04 20:58
Kate’s best Wimbledon looks, as she steps out in retro outfit for the tennis
Avid tennis fan the Princess of Wales has worn a vintage-inspired outfit on day two of Wimbledon. She supported up-and-coming British star Katie Boulter, watching her play Australian Daria Saville on court 18. Kate wore an Eighties-inspired outfit for her first visit to the Championships this year: a pale green Balmain blazer with structured shoulders, statement white buttons and a tennis-inspired white pleated midaxi skirt. As a patron of the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, Kate is a regular face at SW19 – and she brings her fashion A-game to every visit. Just over two months after marrying the Prince of Wales, Kate channelled bridal fashion in a demure white tiered dress by British brand Temperley. Kate’s tennis fashion tends to fall into two camps: Wimbledon whites or summer brights. To watch Andy Murray beat Vasek Pospisil in 2015, she went for the latter – wearing a bright red dress with a boat neckline, elbow-length sleeves and a flared skirt. The design was from high street brand LK Bennett, and is obviously a favourite of Kate’s, as she’s worn it since. Kate’s fashion tends to stick to block colours, making the patterned outfit worn to the 2016 tournament even more eye-catching. She chose a white A-line dress from Alexander McQueen – the brand responsible for her wedding dress – with an unusual pattern made up of butterflies, lipstick tubes, skulls and other eclectic items. Keeping things light and summery in a soft pale blue dress, in 2019, Kate presented men’s singles champion Novak Djokovic with the trophy in a romantic outfit by Emilia Wickstead. Even better, William coordinated with his wife in a pale blue shirt – paired with a chic light grey jacket. In one of her boldest Wimbledon looks yet, in 2022 Kate wore a sunshine yellow Roksanda dress with capped sleeves, bow detailing, a fitted waist and a flared skirt. To really channel summery energy, she accessorised it with a classic wide brimmed straw hat to watch the tennis from the Royal Box. Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live How tennis could be harming your body – and why it does you good This is how Novak Djokovic is preparing to win Wimbledon Money-saving ways to garden on a budget
2023-07-04 20:46
After the flood: The nightmare is just beginning for those left to rebuild after the Ukraine dam explosion
In a mud-soaked nightdress, the Ukrainian grandmother claws at the fetid water that has swallowed the steps down to her home in Kherson city. Frail and in shock, Antonia Shevchenko, 84 appears unaware of the futility of her attempts to try to drain the swamp drowning her house. Her daughter Svetlana, 64, marooned by the sweltering mud, tries to coax her to stop and calm down. Shelling roars in the background. It is the first time the pair have been back since they evacuated after the Nova Kakhokva dam blew up last month, unleashing the contents of one of Europe’s largest reservoirs over southern Ukraine. The explosion – which Ukraine blames on Russia – sparked the worst ecological disaster on the continent in recent history and will likely impact global food security, according to the United Nations. In Kherson, the capital of the region, it killed dozens of people, submerged whole towns, drowned all the wildlife and turned this street into a canal. “We didn’t even have time to get her clothes, we had to carry her in the slippers and nightie she is still wearing now,” says Svetlana in tears, as her confused mother repeats, “It’s all just mud,” in the background. “It’s impossible to fix this. I feel nothing now. Everything is just empty inside. Now it’s all gone, we have nothing left,” Svetlana adds. A few streets away Oksana Kuzminko, 70, who was also returning for the first time, picks her way through the devastation. “Welcome to zombie land,” she adds with a despairing shrug. Until recently, the only way to navigate these streets was to steer a boat between the tops of the roofs of the submerged houses. Now the waters have receded, the terrifying scale of the damage and the work still to be done has been revealed. Sewage, mud, rubbish, dead animals, bits of masonry and potentially land mines swirl together in the backyards of the partially collapsed houses. The area is still being pounded by Russian forces, stationed on the other side of the swollen banks of the Dnipro River. Anna Gatchecnko, 73, another elderly resident of this district, says the combination of floodwaters and the war is “your worst nightmare”. “We survived the Russian occupation, the shelling, and now this happened,” she says, wearing plastic bags she has tied to her feet in the toxic slush. “They took everything. My house, my belongings were the last things in this world that I had.” The Kakhovka dam – essential for fresh water and irrigation in southern Ukraine – is located in a part of the Kherson region that Moscow illegally annexed in September and has occupied for the past year. The damage is so severe that Ukraine has accused Russia of “ecocide” – believing Moscow’s forces blew it up in an attempt to prevent Kyiv’s troops from advancing in the south as they launched a counteroffensive. Moscow has vehemently denied the accusations and blamed Kyiv. Experts say the dam was so robustly built only an internal explosion could have caused such a catastrophic breach. The tearing floods have wiped out hundreds of towns and villages according to the United Nations, which has warned nearly a quarter of a million people have been left in need of drinking water. Downstream of the dam, towns and villages have morphed into polluted swamps where cholera has been detected. Upstream, the reservoir which once sustained swathes of agricultural land has turned into a salty desert. Residents in those areas queue to get water from fire trucks under shelling. And the repercussions will be felt well beyond Ukraine’s borders, potentially sparking global hunger. Ukraine – a major exporter of grains, oils and vegetables – was already struggling to export its harvest because of war. The ravages of flooding in one of the world’s most important breadbaskets will almost inevitably lead to lower grain exports, higher food prices around the world, and less to eat for millions in need. “The truth is this is only the beginning of seeing the consequences of this act,” Martin Griffiths, a United Nations aid official warned recently. It also raised fears about the stability of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, Europe’s largest, which relied on the waters of the now-dry Kakhovka reservoir to function. Rafael Grossi, head of the UN’s International Atomic Energy Agency which has unsuccessfully attempted to build a safety zone around the facility, was so concerned he travelled to the Russian-occupied plant. There he admitted it was ”grappling with ... water-related challenges”. In Zaporzhizhia’s regional capital, Taras Tyshchenko, head of the Ministry of Health’s Centre for Prevention and Disease Control, said if the Russians were capable of unleashing the waters over Kherson, they would have no qualms in taking out the nuclear power plant. Since the explosion at the dam, his health facility tests the air and waters across the region multiple times a day for radiation and contamination. So far it has detected cholera and remains on high alert for radiation. It has been through three rounds of training in the event there is a disaster at the nuclear power plant and has distributed potassium iodide tablets to those living within the danger zone. The damage from the destroyed dam is unfathomable, he says in front of the city’s main dock which is now dried out. The sweeping concrete jetty, which once hosted commercial water traffic, stoops forlornly over muddy puddles where his teams take water samples. “It could take well over a decade to fix the dam, refill the reservoirs and restore this region to normal,” he adds grimly. “And that work can only really start after victory.” In the interim, cities, towns and villages along the Kakhovka reservoir will morph into wastelands if no solution is found. Deep fissures criss-cross the cracked riverbeds where dead fish and molluscs slowly crisp in the sun. In one village, a forlorn fisherman drives a scooter across the desert scape in search of a pool of water. “Once the dam exploded we tried to build our own mini dams to try to retain some water,” explains Vitaly Marozov, 29, who works at a 400-hectare farm producing vegetables and fruit just outside of the southern city of Nikopol. He plays us a video of local volunteers building a makeshift barrier out of sacks and soil. “Now we are trying to dig wells but the water is salty,” he adds. This is already destroying crops. Standing by a destroyed field of cabbages, dusted white with salt, he says they will be lucky if they can salvage a fifth of their total yearly yield. The damage, he believes, will cost their farm 22 million hryvnias, or around £500,000, and it will only get worse as the season progresses. “We are just one farm, this is the case all around this area. This will impact global food security unless someone does something drastic,” he continues. Back in the waterlogged regions, volunteers deliver aid by boats to the communities now cut off from help. Others bring pumps to try to drain the pools of stagnant water from the worst-hit areas. But all it does is expose the irreparable damage done to the entire southern sweep of Ukraine. We find Olha Mosyk, 70, who was forced to swim to safety with a litter of newborn kittens, islanded by destruction in her home in the Mykolaiv region. Sodden muddy piles of dirt mark the remains of the walls of her house. “You need steel teeth to break Ukrainians. That won’t work on me,” she says, pulling up the remains of rotten potatoes from her destroyed field which is the same tyranny of blackened mud. “All we can do is try to pull ourselves together,” she adds with a pause. Back in Kherson city, Svetlana tries to comfort her mother, Antonia, who is on the cusp of a panic attack. “How do I feel? Crying all the time. My whole body is shaking,” the 84-year-old says faintly, her red floral nightie a flash of colour in the grey water. “It’s all flooded. My whole life is under water.” Read More Zelensky accuses Russia of plotting ‘radiation leak’ attack at Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant Ukraine's president tells other countries to act before Russia attacks nuclear plant Ukrainian soldiers rescue Russian troops left to drown after Kakhovka dam destruction Russia-Ukraine war live: Moscow ‘arrests General Armageddon’ over Wagner rebellion Recapping the revolt in Russia, through the words of 4 presidents and a mutinous warlord
2023-07-04 19:58
How tennis could be harming your body – and why it does you good
With Wimbledon underway and Nick Kyrgios already out due to injury, is tennis actually any good for you? Every tournament brings fresh injuries into the public eye, but the sport’s praises are often sung by fitness fans all over the world. So, how does it weigh up health and safety-wise? Is it worth investing some time in the sport if you enjoy Wimbledon? Tennis elbow The most common injury in tennis is tennis elbow, says Lucy Macdonald, physiotherapist at Octopus Clinic, and it’s something which has affected the likes of Andy Murray and Venus Williams. “Tennis elbow is the generic term for pain in the elbow, normally where irritation of the tendon runs over the elbow.,” she says. “It is often caused by a sudden overload on a tendon, in a way it is not used to, and it cannot cope with the forces that are on it. Treating it involves modifying what you are doing. “It can also be caused by other racket sports, and even things like breastfeeding a baby or cutting hedges and gardening,” she explains. But, it isn’t the end of tennis dreams. You can treat it. “Do not completely rest, modify the load going through the elbow, reduce the frequency and longevity of playing tennis, but things like physical support and tape can also help. “Changing your technique to take pressure off the tendon can help,” Macdonald explains. “The long-term treatment is to gradually build up the resilience of the tendon – a top spin stroke adds the most pressure – and alongside that, use static contractions – exercises that are just contracting the muscle, holding it and then relaxing.” Wrist injuries Kyrgios has pulled out of Wimbledon already, due to a wrist injury. “People may get wrist injuries if they fall and fracture the wrist. Or if they get a repetitive strain injury – if you use your wrist a lot in terms of the strokes you use with a lot of topspin – you can get some overuse and cause a flare up,” says Macdonald. Ankles and knees “Being on a slippery court, it can be easy to go over on your ankle,” she continues. “It happens in a lot of sports, if you’re running for a ball or trying to change direction. “You might get some knee problems, as they take such a hit generally with any propulsive sport – you get wear and tear on the knees, and sudden twists could impact your medial meniscus. Strength training is the best thing for that.” The benefits Should you be worried about all these injuries if you want to start playing, though? “The main cause of injuries in tennis is the sporadic nature people play it. If they suddenly go and play once every few months, the body is not used to the movements required in tennis, ” Macdonald notes.“You may suddenly run across the court and strain your calf or rupture your Achilles, because you haven’t run in months. “If you play it regularly and are consistent with the amount you play, it can be really beneficial,” she says.Any exercise is good, but the social aspect of tennis is hugely motivating, if you’re meeting up with three friends to play tennis, you have to show up – it gets you exercising regularly if you do it consistently. Tennis is beneficial for “increasing your heart and breathing rate, which is really good for your cardio and respiratory system. It keeps the range of motion in your shoulders, improves your balance with direction changes, and reduces your risk of falling,” says Macdonald. So, don’t let the risk of injury put you off. “There are so many positives that outweigh the negatives. Exercise, in general, extends your life span, and every illness out there is reduced by doing exercise. Even though it may have some impact on our musculoskeletal system, it is overwhelmingly positive for your mental and physical health.”
2023-07-04 19:51
Who is Jay Z's mother? Beyonce and Blue Ivy look resplendent as they attend Gloria Carter's wedding to Roxanne Wiltshire
Gloria Carter shares a strong bond with her son Jay-Z who was instrumental in bringing her out of the closet
2023-07-04 19:47
Have Heather Locklear's demons returned? Star has had major issues in the past with mental illness and substance abuse
Some of Locklear's friends told the publication that the actress may have started drinking again following several rehab stints
2023-07-04 18:58
'Liberty, equality, fraternity' for all? New riots make France confront an old problem
The lofty ideals of “Liberty, Equality, Fraternity" to which France aspires are embossed on its coins and carved above its school doors
2023-07-04 18:56
Phoebe Waller-Bridge debating unpopular opinions with radio callers is a fun watch
Whenever a celebrity appears on BBC Radio One's "Unpopular Opinion" segment, there's always at least
2023-07-04 18:28