Iran says thousands of ancient clay tablets returned from US
Iran says it has received thousands of Achaemenid-era clay tablets from the United States in the fifth such instalment, following a drawn-out legal...
2023-09-22 20:29
3 NFL coaches squarely on the hot seat after Week 5
These three NFL coaches couldn't have expected to be on the hot seat in 2023, but embarrassingly bad performances have turned up the heat.
2023-10-09 12:25
Bill Cosby faces new sexual assault lawsuit from former Playboy model
Victoria Valentino claims Cosby raped her after giving her and a friend pills in 1969.
2023-06-02 21:18
‘Like a disaster movie’: Brit family in Corfu describe holiday horror and escape plan
A British family was forced to flee in the middle of the night as the wildfires ravaging parts of Greece broke out in Corfu on Sunday evening and came within metres of their holiday home. Rebecca Bell, 50, of Sheffield, was among those who received an evacuation order via a text message overnight as dozens of blazes erupted on the western island, with more than 2,000 people moved to safety. “It did feel like the end of the world yesterday,” she told The Independent from the village of Sinies, describing the intensity of the heat, “banks of flames” cascading down the hillside, and a “yellow glow of fire” in the sky. The blaze broke out in the northern part of Corfu, which is popular with British tourists, on Sunday evening, with those in Sinies, Santa, Megoula, Porta and Palia Perithia told to evacuate to Kasiopi. Have you been affected by this story? Email tara.cobham@independent.co.uk Firefighters have struggled through the night to contain 82 wildfires across Greece, 64 of which started on Sunday, the hottest day of the summer so far, amid strong winds and successive heatwaves driven by the climate crisis. The most serious fire was on the island of Rhodes, where 19,000 people had been evacuated from several locations as wildfires burned for a sixth day, Greek authorities said, in what was "the largest evacuation from a wildfire in the country". Ms Bell, who works for a technology company, arrived at their rented villa in Sinies on Friday with her husband, Mat Pennell, their 18-year-old daughter, and the teenager’s friend for the family’s two-week summer holiday. They were all about to leave for dinner on Sunday evening when they received the evacuation order. But, unable to see flames, only smoke, and reassured by the villa owner, they decided to continue with their evening plans. It was when they got into the car after eating and attempted to return to the villa that was the most frightening moment, she said. “We saw banks of flames coming down the hillside and realised it was serious.” The roads to the village were shut and police cordons were in place, but the family were allowed to collect their passports from the villa. “We packed up in 10 minutes and threw everything into the car,” said Ms Bell. “I’ve never packed a bag that quickly in my life. “When we were up there by the villa it was hot, you could feel the heat. The fire was perhaps about 400 metres from our villa.” She spoke of giant fire and water trucks driving up the hill as they were coming back down. The family went to the evacuation point Kasiopi but said there was nothing happening there, so they sat in the car until about 2am when they realised they would not be making it back to the villa that night. “It felt weird driving around like, ‘What do we do now?’ It was bizarre, very disaster movie-esque,” said Ms Bell. They spoke with a local businessperson who let the family stay in his home for the night. “Because we had rented privately it was down to us to work out our next move, and we ended up with some kind strangers,” Ms Bell said. “My husband and I slept on the sofa in the man’s living room, which was super kind and amazing to be so welcoming to people in such a crazy situation.” She said they did not sleep a huge amount and heard helicopters presumably dropping water on the hillside at sunrise. The family managed to make it back to the villa on Monday morning, shortly before receiving a text message that advised people to return to their accommodation as “the situation is under control and the fire is receding”. Ms Bell said smoke can still be seen rising in the hills but the yellow glow of fire has been replaced by clear skies. “The fire looked pretty close to the villa, but nothing has burned,” she said, adding: “Safety first, but I am very glad the holiday plans didn’t go to rack and ruin.” Read More Greece fires – live: Corfu evacuations begin as tourists fleeing Rhodes inferno spend second night in airport ‘Like hell on earth’: Brits evacuated from Rhodes describe devastating Greek wildfires Greece wildfires: Everything you need to know How to tell if you have Covid or heatstroke Why do heatwaves in the UK feel hotter than abroad?
2023-07-24 21:19
Barbie is still smashing box office records three weeks after hitting cinemas
It’s been out for more than three weeks, and yet Greta Gerwig’s Barbie is still painting the movie industry pink after smashing several fresh box office records. The new movie, starring Margot Robbie as the iconic doll, has become the highest-grossing movie at the US box office by a female director, solo or otherwise - much to the chagrin of Ben Shapiro. The previous record was held by Jennifer Lee, the director of Frozen 2, after the Disney film banked $477.4m at US box offices. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter But this Barbie just keeps breaking records. The movie hit $492.6m on Thursday 10 August, and it now stands at $526.3m in the US. Barbie also became the highest-grossing live-action movie by a female director after the fourth weekend in cinemas. The pink sensation overtook Captain Marvel, which earned $1.13bn globally in 2019 and was co-directed by Anna Boden. Gerwig's movie has now taken $1.18bn to date. The records keep tumbling despite the fact that Robbie was not even first choice for the role, which she revealed last week. The actor, who was also a producer on the movie, recently told Vogue that both her and director Greta Gerwig initially wanted Gal Gadot for the role but scheduling conflicts got in the way. “Gal Gadot is Barbie energy. Gal Gadot is so impossibly beautiful, but you don’t hate her for being that beautiful because she’s so genuinely sincere, and she’s so enthusiastically kind, that it’s almost dorky. It’s like right before being a dork,” she said. Barbie was also banned in Kuwait recently, and now faces calls for a ban in Lebanon amid complaints in the Arab nations about the film’s social values. There are currently no plans in the works for a sequel. “At this moment it’s all I’ve got. I feel like that at the end of every movie, like I’ll never have another idea and everything I’ve ever wanted to do, I did," Gerwig said in a recent interview. “I wouldn't want to squash anybody else’s dream, but for me, at this moment, I’m at totally zero." 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.
2023-08-14 18:15
Dollar hovers near 15-month low as easing inflation spurs rate peak bets
By Ankur Banerjee and Joice Alves SINGAPORE/LONDON The dollar hovered near a 15-month low on Friday and was
2023-07-14 16:47
Bavarian village to decide future of key BMW factory
A sleepy Bavarian village could decide the future of BMW's drive towards electromobility as it goes to the polls on Sunday over the German automobile giant's plans...
2023-09-24 11:59
Protest derails planned celebration of 20-year ban on oil drilling near Chaco national park
U.S. Interior Secretary Deb Haaland was supposed visit Chaco Culture National Historical Park
2023-06-12 04:55
Cardinals sign free-agent starting pitchers Kyle Gibson and Lance Lynn to 1-year contracts
The St. Louis Cardinals have filled a couple of holes in their starting rotation by completing one-year contracts with free-agent right-handers Kyle Gibson and Lance Lynn
2023-11-22 13:22
41 workers in India are stuck in a tunnel for an 8th day. Officials consider alternate rescue plans
Officials trying to save 41 workers who have been trapped in a collapsed tunnel in northern India for eight days are contemplating alternative rescue plans after snags with a drilling machine caused them to halt digging
2023-11-19 14:29
At least 10 Cuban migrants die after truck overturns in Mexico, officials say
At least 10 Cuban migrants died and 17 others were injured when the truck they were traveling in overturned in southern Mexico on Sunday, Mexican authorities say.
2023-10-02 05:45
MrBeast teams up with TikToker to make pasta with 10K eggs, fans call it 'dope'
MrBeast collaborated with Peters Pasta for making pasta dough with twice the amount of egg yolk
2023-06-21 15:52
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