Macro

Lovely to see a new cousin, I have quite a flat head but dont have webbed feet 😺

Educationaly Sub Normal comes to mind!!

Sorry I couldn't make it but after all what is this Christmas thing anyway Humbug.mp4

If this is a manipulated and cropped photo as many claim why would the cropper not just take out the thumb? much easier I would have thought than inserting Andrew in the image, casts a lot of doubt on the claim that it is photoshopped.

Putin warned Wednesday that Moscow will seek to extend its gains in Ukraine if Kyiv and its Western allies reject the Kremlin’s demands in peace talks. U.S. President Donald Trump has unleashed an extensive diplomatic push to end nearly four years of fighting following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, but Washington’s efforts have run into sharply conflicting demands by Moscow and Kyiv. Speaking at an annual meeting with top military officers, Putin said Moscow would prefer to achieve its goals and “eliminate the root causes of the conflict” by diplomatic means, but he added that “if the opposing side and its foreign patrons refuse to engage in substantive dialogue, Russia will achieve the liberation of its historical lands by military means.” https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-war-putin-zelenskyy-trump-4bdd3a5c442838174c6179305d9396c9

European country ready to blow up £64m bridge connecting it to Putin's Russia The bridge was supposed to symbolise good relations between the two countries and was expected to increase trade. Norway is laying plans to blow up bridges across the country in the event of a Russian invasion. One of the bridges under consideration could be the Bøkfjord Bridge, that connects Norway with its Slavonic neighbour. Opened with much fanfare in 2017, the bridge was part of a new cross-border road link, which also included a tunnel. It was supposed to symbolise good relations between the two countries and was expected to increase trade. “We have a mutual interest in further developing cooperation, for business, trade, education, environment and other areas,” Minister Ketil Solvik-Olsen said at the time. https://www.express.co.uk/news/world/2147191/european-country-ready-blow-up-64m-bridge-norway?int_source=nba

A loose canon and a liability, he needs to wind his neck in and crawl back to his manor house and stay there with his even more disliked wife.

Bacon says he doesn’t see ‘moral clarity’ from White House on Russia-Ukraine war Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.) said on Sunday he thinks the White House lacks “moral clarity” on the issue of Ukraine and called on the administration to be a more forceful advocate of the democratic nation amid ongoing peace talks to end the war with Russia. “I would like to see the president be a stronger advocate for the free country, the sovereign country of Ukraine that wants to be a democracy, wants to be allied with us, and have a little more clear-eyed view of who [Russian President Vladimir] Putin Vladimir Putin House Republican after Witkoff’s leaked Russia call: White House ‘should be very concerned’ 5 ways Republicans are breaking with Trump Russia kills at least 3 in Ukraine ahead of diplomatic talks in US More(Vladimir Putin) is, that Putin is the invader. He’s the dictator. He has murdered all of his opponents,” Bacon said in an interview on ABC News’s “This Week.” More at THE HILL https://thehill.com/homenews/house/5627590-bacon-warns-putin-ukraine-control/

EU should stop discussing and move forward with Ukraine reparations loan, Dombrovskis tells Euronews In an interview with Euronews' flagship morning show Europe Today, European Commissioner for Economy and Productivity Valdis Dombrovskis said that the EU should stop discussing the options to finance Ukraine and proceed with using Russian frozen assets. "It is time that we stop discussing different options and move forward," European Commissioner for Economy and Productivity Valdis Dombrovskis told Euronews' Europe Today. Dombrovskis spoke with Euronews on Wednesday about how the EU should finance Ukraine's €135 billion budget hole, as the country faces one of the most challenging moments in its history amid the nearly four-year-long Russian war. The Latvian Commissioner believes that a reparation loan guaranteed by Russian frozen assets in Europe is "what can provide sizable support for Ukraine without putting additional and substantial fiscal burden on the EU or its member states". Euronews https://www.euronews.com/my-europe/2025/11/26/eu-should-stop-discussing-and-move-forward-with-ukraine-reparations-loan-dombrovskis-tells

This Nighttime Behavior Can Be A Sign Of Dementia There are plenty of reason you might feel off in the late afternoon and evening. Maybe you’re mentally wiped after socializing all day, or your brain is fried from hours of work. If you got up early, it could simply be that you’d rather crawl under a blanket and watch Netflix than interact with other people—all of these are legitimate reasons to feel cranky during this time. But in people with dementia—which is an umbrella term for mental decline and can be related to a number of diseases such as Alzheimer's—there’s a phenomenon known as “sundowning,” where symptoms (such as being agitated or anxious) ramp up later in the day and evening. As you head into the holiday season, you’re likely spending more time than usual with older loved ones. With that, it’s worth it for any adult to better understand how sundowning presents, and what it might mean for the cognitive health of your loved one. We tapped two health care providers who treat older adults for more information. Yahoo https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/doctors-nighttime-behavior-sign-dementia-162900059.html?guccounter=1

Russia's 'catastrophic' flu outbreak adds to Putin's army's 'humiliating' losses A "catastrophic" outbreak of flu and respiratory issues is said to be spreading through Russian troops and decreasing the army's manpower in Ukraine, according to the military partisan movement ATESH. A "catastrophic" flu outbreak is reportedly ripping through Russian forces in Kherson, delivering another humiliating setback to Vladimir Putin. Seasonal influenza and respiratory illnesses are said to be devastating Russian troops and severely depleting the army's fighting strength in Ukraine, according to the military partisan movement ATESH. The group reported a "catastrophic surge" in sickness sweeping through the 127th Separate Reconnaissance Brigade and multiple other units. Soldiers are being compelled to endure cold, wet conditions for months without adequate medical attention or heating, ATESH claimed. https://www.the-express.com/news/world-news/191663/russia-s-catastrophic-flu-outbreak-adds-putin-s-army-s-humiliating-losses

Russia strikes Ukraine’s capital despite US peace push KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russia launched a wave of attacks on Ukraine’s capital Kyiv early Tuesday, striking residential buildings and energy infrastructure, according to video footage and local authorities. A residential building in the central Pechersk district and another in Kyiv’s eastern district of Dniprovskyi were badly damaged, Mayor Vitalii Kitschko said. Video footage posted to Telegram showed a large fire spread through multiple floors of the nine-story building in Dniprovskyi. At least four people were injured, the head of Kyiv city administration, Tymor Tkachenko, said. Source AP news https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-war-peace-plan-trump-80f3f5d57c32cc7b91778fdb6b086af9

As billions are spent buying up flats and houses for asylum seekers, with locals moved out... How long until a group of small boat migrants are moved into a house in your street? A special report by SUE REID At the heart of a seaside town on Lincolnshire's east coast, three big Victorian houses stand just a few yards from each other on the same long road. Until recently, they contained flats for Skegness people of all ages who paid £500 or so a month to live in them. Today all that has changed. The former renters are no longer there. The new residents, we have discovered, are 21 young Somali and Afghan men, some fresh off the Channel boats, who told the Daily Mail – as they smoked cigarettes in the gardens – of their delight at having a free roof in their newly adopted country. If this sounds an extraordinary reversal of fortunes for Skegness locals, it is a microcosm of what is happening across the country. Read more: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-15070869/billions-spent-buying-flats-houses-asylum-seekers-special-report-SUE-REID.html

Starmer carries out major reshuffle after Rayner resignation David Lammy has become deputy prime minister and Shabana Mahmood the new home secretary in a major reshuffle triggered by Angela Rayner's resignation. Rayner stepped down as deputy prime minister, Labour deputy leader and housing secretary on Friday, after the PM's ethics adviser said she had breached the ministerial code when she failed to pay enough stamp duty on her flat in Hove. In her resignation letter, Rayner said she "deeply regretted" not seeking specialist tax advice and said the strain she was putting on her family by staying in post had become "unbearable". Rayner's exit is a blow for Sir Keir Starmer and comes just days after he made changes to his No 10 team. Read More: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cgmzgjywr8wo

Don't say sorry and other key things I learnt from my terrifying car accident As a former police detective for 14 years with Surrey Police, I regularly provide advice on criminal matters for BBC's Morning Live. I have also attended many car accidents in a professional capacity, but this summer, for the first time, I was in a head-on collision with another car myself. Being directly involved in one of the more than 900 car accidents that happen in the UK every day gave me a different perspective. The woman in the other car, in her early seventies, had a medical episode while driving and swerved straight into my lane and hit me. At the time, I didn't know any of that - I just remember a huge bang and then everything felt like a blur. Read more: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c5ypypy2jk2o

Farage says 'be ready for an election in 2027' with one key reason for a Labour meltdown Nigel Farage will tell his fledgling party on Friday to prepare for power as soon as 2027 – as he warns the financial markets could foreclose on Labour's spendthrift Government and force an early election. Mr Farage, whose Reform UK has topped the polls for months, will issue the alert in a speech to his annual conference in Birmingham. In an interview with the Daily Mail ahead of the conference, the former City trader highlighted the rising borrowing costs being forced on Labour by sceptical financial markets. The news comes as Nadine Dorries defects to Reform UK in massive boost for Nigel Farage. And he predicted that a new party formed by Jeremy Corbyn could splinter Labour and help hasten the Government's demise. Markets lose confidence in Britain "I think they may struggle to last the course," he said. "The financial situation is very, very grim. The bond markets, just every single day there is a loss of confidence. I was with a couple of big Wall Street guys last night and confidence in the UK is ebbing. If I'm right about the temptation of the Left for many Labour MPs, they may well struggle to get through another couple of years. Read more: https://www.express.co.uk/news/politics/2104636/farage-says-be-ready-election

Pentagon warns Venezuela as 2 military aircraft fly near US warship Two Venezuelan military aircraft flew near a United States Navy ship in international waters, the US Department of Defense has said, in a move described as “highly provocative” amid escalating tension between Washington and Caracas. The Defense Department warned Venezuela in a statement late on Thursday to cease further provocative moves, describing the Venezuelan aircraft buzzing over the US vessel – reported to be the guided-missile destroyer Jason Dunham – as an attempt “to interfere with our counter-narco-terror operations”. “Today, two Maduro regime military aircraft flew near a US Navy vessel in international waters,” the Pentagon said in a post on the X platform. Read more: https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/pentagon-warns-venezuela-2-military-043110129.html

They left Cuba seeking the American Dream. ICE sent them home in shackles Havana, Cuba — A US Immigration and Customs Enforcement flight returned 161 Cuban deportees to the communist-run island last week, the first time many of the men and women aboard had touched Cuban soil in years. Upon arrival, the deportees had shackles removed from their wrists and ankles and one at a time descended the stairway of the chartered 767 aircraft to be reprocessed by waiting Cuban immigration and health officials. Some seemed visibly dazed to suddenly be back in their homeland. According to Cuban officials, the flight had the largest number of deportees received to date – a further sign of the Trump administration’s determination to radically alter what until recently had been preferential immigration status afforded to Cubans. Read more: https://edition.cnn.com/2025/09/02/americas/cuba-deportees-us-ice-intl-latam

Rubio says US will 'blow up' foreign crime groups if needed Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said the US will "blow up" foreign crime groups if needed, possibly in collaboration with other countries. "Now they're gonna help us find these people and blow them up, if that's what it takes," Rubio said during a visit to Ecuador. He also announced the US will designate two of Ecuador's largest criminal gangs, Los Lobos and Los Choneros, as foreign terrorist organisations. The comments come days after US forces carried out a strike on a boat in the Caribbean Sea. The White House says it killed 11 drug-traffickers, though it did not release their identities. Read more: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cx23nzwjnwwo

Experts see fissures despite Xi, Putin and Kim’s show of unity When Xi Jinping, Vladimir Putin, and Kim Jong Un all appeared together on a Beijing red carpet on Wednesday, it made for a powerful visual of unity against the West — but one that analysts say fell short of proving what Xi boasted was China’s “unstoppable” rise as a global leader. Although all three nations were sending a pointed rhetorical message, multiple analysts told CNN that they saw nothing to resolve a longstanding debate in the US intelligence community about whether the three should be considered a “bloc” acting in concert or merely three opponents of the West who work together when it suits them. There were also no outward signs of a substantive change in defense cooperation between any of the three, something that has been closely watched by US security officials particularly after North Korea began offering its soldiers to fight on Russia’s behalf in Moscow’s war against Ukraine. Read more: https://edition.cnn.com/2025/09/03/politics/experts-xi-putin-kim-meeting

What new weapons did China show off in its massive military parade? China showed off a range of weapons and military hardware with a massive parade on Wednesday, staged in front of President Xi Jinping and 20 other heads of state, including Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. Here's a look at some of the weapons that were on display, including some the world had not seen previously: Drones, AI and lasers China's LY-1 laser weapon was displayed during the parade for the first time, mounted on top of armored trucks. Defense analyst Alexander Neill told the BBC that the powerful device is believed to have the ability to disable electronics or blind pilots. Read more: https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/weapons-did-china-show-off-132108046.html

December trial set for Wisconsin judge indicted over obstructing immigration agents A Wisconsin judge who is accused of helping a migrant evade arrest by federal immigration agents will stand trial in December. The trial for Milwaukee County Circuit Court Judge Hannah Dugan, who was indicted on two counts in May, had her trial set for Dec. 15 on Wednesday by U.S. District Judge Lynn Adelman. The jury selection is scheduled to take place on Dec. 11 and 12, according to court documents. Read more: https://thehill.com/regulation/court-battles/5485350-december-trial-set-for-wisconsin-judge-indicted-over-obstructing-immigration-agents/

Trump says Putin knows where he stands, adding "you’ll see things happen" if US is unhappy with decisions on Ukraine President Donald Trump issued a warning Wednesday when asked about his message to Russian President Vladimir Putin regarding the ongoing conflict in Ukraine. “I have no message to President Putin. He knows where I stand, and he’ll make a decision one way or the other,” Trump said from the Oval office. “Whatever his decision is, we’ll either be happy about it or unhappy, and if we’re unhappy about it, you’ll see things happen,” the president added in what appeared to be a veiled threat. Trump grew visibly agitated when questioned about the administration’s actions – or lack there of – so far against Russia. Read more: https://edition.cnn.com/politics/live-news/trump-administration-epstein-files-09-03-25#cmf462dus00003b5za18qivep

How merciless 'Red Queen' Angela Rayner was brought down by a mess of her own making For a politician who prides herself on giving straight answers, unlike so many of her evasive colleagues, Angela Rayner has been unable to answer one simple question: where does she actually live? We still don’t actually know if it is her constituency home in Greater Manchester, where her former husband and their children reside, or her grace-and-favour flat in Westminster or her (now infamous) £800,000 seaside apartment in Hove. What we do know, however, is that her bewildering property affairs have resulted – finally – in her admission that she has not paid enough stamp duty on her new, swanky residence on the Sussex coast and, in the process, potentially avoided, deliberately or otherwise, inheritance tax. Her silence, the result, she says, of a family court order to protect her special-needs son, has lasted ten tumultuous, revelation-filled days – and a week is supposed to be a long time in politics – when she has gone from heir apparent to the beleaguered Prime Minister (Labour’s approval ratings have slumped to a record low) to, potentially, dethroned Red Queen; the name was coined by Lord Ashcroft, the former Conservative Party deputy chairman, the author of an unauthorised biography of her last year which first raised questions about her dealings in the housing market. See more: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-15063623/Angela-Rayner-brought-mess-making.html

Trump says video showing items thrown from White House is AI after his team indicates it's real WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump said Tuesday that a video circulating online that showed items being tossed out of an upstairs window of the White House was created with artificial intelligence, despite his press team seeming to confirm the veracity of it hours earlier. Donald Trump, who has boasted of being an expert in building design as he takes on remodeling projects at the White Houseand beyond, told reporters that the video has “got to be fake” because the windows, he said, are heavy and sealed shut. The video, which circulated Monday, appears to show a small black bag and a long white item being tossed out of a window on the building's east side. rump blamed the video on AI, saying the creation of fake videos was one of the downsides of the technology, but then said, "If something happens that’s really bad, maybe I’ll have to just blame AI.” Read more: https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/trump-says-video-showing-items-220312099.html