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Britain’s Got Talent star Jonathan Goodwin paralysed

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Jonathan Goodwin, an escapologist, has been paralysed following an accident, according to his fiancee Amanda Abbington.

After an accident during rehearsals for America’s Got Talent: Extreme last year, the Sherlock actress said he nearly died twice.
 She revealed that the stunt performer, who competed on Britain’s Got Talent in 2019, now uses a wheelchair.

He was supposed to break free from a straight jacket while suspended 30 feet in the air between two cars.

Instead, as they caught fire, Mr Goodwin was crushed between them. “He fell 30 feet and lost a kidney, broke both shoulder blades, shattered both legs,” Ms Abbington, 48, said on Jay Rayner’s Out To Lunch podcast.

“He had third-degree burns, which broke his spine and severed his spinal cord, and he was on the verge of death.” Then he nearly died again on the operating table.”

“He’ll be like that forever unless there’s some kind of stem cell surgery or that thing Elon Musk is designing with the little chip,” she said. Mr. Goodwin, a Pembrokeshire native, has remained “positive and upbeat, and so strong,” she said.

“I just aspire to be like him in terms of courage and strength.” “He’s just incredible, honestly, like a very happy, positive human being, just liquid sunshine,” she says. He’s incredible.”

The stuntman, according to the actress, left a voice message before his surgery saying there was a 50% chance he wouldn’t make it.

He expressed his love for her and thanked her for sharing the last few months of his life with him.

For about ten years, the couple had been friends on social media. Joe, Abbington’s son, thought his act was “amazing,” so Abbington followed him. She claimed they met after she divorced Martin Freeman, a fellow Sherlock actor, and he divorced his wife.

They spent hours on the phone each day at first, Ms Abbington said, before he flew to Vienna to meet her for the first time. Mr. Goodwin proposed within 30 minutes. The couple plan to marry this summer.

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Meghan Markle’s animated series Pearl has been cancelled by Netflix

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In an effort to save money, Netflix has cancelled the development of Pearl, an animated series created by Meghan Markle.

The show, which was announced last year, is one of several projects that the streaming behemoth has cancelled. Netflix announced a sharp drop in subscribers last month, warning that millions more are on the verge of abandoning the service.

The company’s market value plummeted by more than $50 billion, and experts warned it would be difficult to get back on track. Meghan will serve as an executive producer on Pearl, according to Archewell Productions, the company founded by the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.

The series was supposed to follow the exploits of a 12-year-old girl who is inspired by historical figures.

Netflix did confirm, however, that it will continue to collaborate with Archewell Productions on a number of projects, including a documentary series called Heart of Invictus. The series will focus on athletes competing in the Invictus Games for injured veterans, which will be held in The Hague in 2022 and was founded by Prince Harry.

A BBC request for comment was not immediately returned by Archewell Productions.

Netflix also announced that two animated children’s series, Dino Daycare and Boons and Curses, would be cancelled.

Netflix announced in April that its total number of subscribers had fallen by 200,000 in the first three months of this year, far short of its goal. It also predicted that two million more users would abandon the service in the three months leading up to July.

Some analysts warned that the company had run out of easy ways to grow the business after a period of rapid expansion during the pandemic. Consumers who are strapped for cash are cutting back on streaming services to save money, while others believe there is too much content to choose from in the face of fierce competition from companies like Disney and Amazon.

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A four-year-old Dutch boy enjoys a joyride in his mother’s car

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After driving his mother’s car in the Netherlands, a four-year-old boy may have a future in Formula One.

On Saturday, the child crashed into two parked cars in Utrecht’s central city before fleeing the scene in his pyjamas and bare feet, according to police. After seeing him walking down the street alone in the cold, concerned bystanders called the cops. No one was injured in the incident, and police claimed on Instagram that they had discovered a “new Max Verstappen.”

When his father went to work on Saturday, the child awoke and took his mother’s car keys “to go for a drive,” according to police.

A report of an abandoned vehicle near-by, which appeared to have hit two parked cars, came in after officers were dispatched to pick him up.

According to the police, it was registered to the boy’s mother, and officers contacted her. When police handed the phone to the child, he allegedly imitated driving and made steering wheel gestures. “We then realised that the child could have been the driver,” continued the Instagram post.

Before being reunited with his mother, the four-year-old was given some hot chocolate and a teddy bear at the police station.

They went to the accident scene together, and he was asked if he could demonstrate how the car worked.

According to police, the child opened the car with the key, put it in the ignition, and moved his foot to the clutch and gas pedals. His mother described him as “resourceful.”

Officers advised the parents to keep their car keys hidden from their children in the future. Police wrote in the post, “New Max Verstappen found in (the Utrecht suburb of) Overvecht,” referring to the current Dutch Formula One world champion driver. “Fortunately, this mini driver’s adventure came to a satisfying conclusion,” police said.

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After a two-year hiatus, the White House press dinner is back

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After a six-year hiatus, US President Joe Biden has resumed his tradition of speaking at the annual White House Correspondents’ Dinner. 

Since 2016, he is the first leader to speak at the event, where the president is mocked by a friendly audience of journalists.  It was postponed for two years due to the pandemic, and Donald Trump boycotted it while he was in office. 

Trevor Noah, a comedian and host of The Daily Show, was the event’s main attraction.  The gala, which has been an American press tradition since 1921, brought together celebrities, renowned journalists, and high-ranking US officials. Among the celebrities in attendance were Kim Kardashian, Pete Davidson, Drew Barrymore, and Chris Tucker. With a jab at Donald Trump, Mr. Biden addressed the fact that he is the first president to attend the event since 2016. 

“This is the first time in six years that a president has attended this dinner. It’s understandable given that we experienced a terrible plague followed by two years of Covid “he stated. “It’s actually nice too, once again, to have a president who isn’t afraid to come to the White House Correspondents’ Dinner and hear jokes about himself,” Noah added later on stage. 

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Volunteers deliver emergency contraception pills during the Ukraine conflict

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As reports of rape rise, charities are working to get emergency contraception into Ukrainian hospitals.

Nearly 3,000 packets of morning-after pills have been delivered to areas of the country hardest hit by the Russian invasion. The pills were provided by the International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF), and volunteers are delivering them.

Caroline Hickson, a member of the group, says that when it comes to distribution, timing is crucial. “[The morning-after pill] is effective in preventing pregnancy for a window of five days,” she told.

“If you’ve been a victim of gender-based violence, it’s critical that you get help as soon as possible, because becoming pregnant as a result of rape is extremely traumatic.”

Medical abortion pills, which can be used up to 24 weeks of pregnancy, have also been sent by the organisation.

Ms Hickson explained that the pills are available to assist women in a variety of situations, including those who are having consensual sex but believe it is not the right time to start a family.
“Emergency contraception was available in Ukraine prior to the war, but supply chains have been disrupted, and it’s critical for women to have access to this,” she said.

Because there are so many people displaced across Ukraine, it’s difficult for aid workers to determine how many supplies are needed in which areas.

Last week, Ukrainian troops pleaded for food and medicine for Mariupol, which has been cut off from humanitarian aid by Russian troops.

The IPPF has been collaborating with the UN Population Fund and the International Medical Corps to bring tablets into Ukraine.

“The UN agencies, civil society organisations, and the Ministry of Health have come together to identify the needs, and they’ve been communicated to all of us working in support,” Ms Hickson said.

Emergency contraception is included in UN kits sent to women and girls involved in conflicts around the world.

In Ukraine, they’ve done the same thing, as well as sending supplies for family planning and childbirth.

The BBC has discovered evidence of Ukrainian women being raped by invading soldiers in villages just outside of Kyiv during the war.

Similar stories have been reported by other media outlets from Bucha, a city north-west of Kyiv.

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Biden proposes $33 billion to assist Ukraine in its war

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President Biden has requested $33 billion (£27 billion) in military, economic, and humanitarian aid for Ukraine, despite insisting that the US is not “attacking Russia.”

Mr. Biden stated that approval of the deal by US lawmakers was “critical,” as it would aid Ukraine’s defence. More than $20 billion in military aid, $8.5 billion in economic aid, and $3 billion in humanitarian aid are included in the proposal.

On Thursday, Mr. Biden said, “It’s not cheap.” “However, if we allow aggression to prevail, it will be more costly.”

Despite the fact that the US has already pledged assistance to Ukraine, the proposals represent a significant increase in aid. President Biden stated that the United States has provided ten anti-tank weapons for every tank Russia has deployed in Ukraine.

Despite his fiery rhetoric, he stated that the United States was not attacking Russia. He insisted, “We are assisting Ukraine in defending itself against Russian aggression.” A spokesperson for Russia’s Foreign Ministry said on Thursday that Western military support for Ukraine threatens “the continent’s security.”

President Biden is requesting that Congress authorise a massive sum of money for Ukraine, more than twice what the US has already spent on military and humanitarian aid. The US president wants to show that he is unfazed by vague threats of nuclear retaliation and a warning from Russian President Vladimir Putin that retaliatory strikes could be launched against countries that intervene in Ukraine.

He dismissed those remarks, saying they reflect Russia’s desperation over their abject failure to accomplish what they set out to do.

He explained to Americans why this money was needed – at a time when many are struggling with rising living costs – by saying that it was not cheap, but that doing nothing was even more expensive.

A new plan to allow US authorities to not only freeze but also liquidate the assets of Russian oligarchs is risky, and it has alarmed civil liberties groups in the United States. In Congress, however, it is likely to receive bipartisan support.

It will not, however, begin to cover the cost of the additional funds the White House wants to devote to Ukraine’s war efforts.

The White House said in a statement that the package will “establish new authorities for the forfeiture of property linked to Russian kleptocracy, allow the government to use the proceeds to support Ukraine, and further strengthen related law enforcement tools.”

This week, the Canadian government proposed legislation that would allow it to seize and sell Russian assets.

Under pressure to broaden its sanctions, the ruling Liberals are pushing for the seizure of “any type of property,” including money, digital assets, and virtual currency.

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Olivia Wilde: Actress given custody papers on stage

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Olivia Wilde, an actress and director, appeared unfazed after receiving child custody documents while performing on stage in Las Vegas. On Tuesday, she was giving a presentation when she was handed a brown envelope.

When she opened it, she discovered custody papers from her ex-boyfriend Jason Sudeikis. According to sources close to Sudeikis, he had no prior knowledge of the circumstances surrounding the letter’s delivery.

Wilde is best known for her role as Remy ‘Thirteen’ Hadley in the medical drama House and for directing the US high school teen film Booksmart.

In 2011, she met Sudeikis, who is best known for his comedy series Ted Lasso. Before divorcing in 2020, they were engaged and had two children together. At a CinemaCon conference in a theatre, Wilde was interrupted while introducing footage from her upcoming thriller Don’t Worry Darling.

“Is this for me?” Wilde inquired. An unknown woman handed her an envelope marked “private and confidential.”

She scanned the contents of the letter during her presentation before continuing on with her speech.
The letter was never mentioned again, leading to speculation that Wilde had received a new screenplay.

However, it was revealed on Wednesday that the letter actually contained custody papers for her and Sudeikis’ children. A source close to Sudeikis told Variety that “papers were drawn up to establish jurisdiction relating to Ms. Wilde and Mr. Sudeikis’ children.”

“Mr. Sudeikis had no prior knowledge of the time or location at which the envelope would have been delivered as this would have been solely up to the process service company involved, and he would never condone her being served in such an inappropriate manner,” they continued.

After questions arose about how the letter ended up being delivered to Wilde on stage, the event’s organiser, CinemaCon, said in a statement to Variety that it would “re-evaluate” its security protocols.

“Because it’s the right thing to do, we’ll act accordingly. We want to act in a responsible and safe manner.”

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News Trending War

The Ukraine conflict will result in the largest price shock in 50 years

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The World Bank has warned that the conflict in Ukraine will result in the “largest commodity shock” since the 1970s.

According to a new forecast, the conflict’s disruption will result in massive price increases for goods ranging from natural gas to wheat and cotton. According to Peter Nagle, a co-author of the report, the price hike is “starting to have very large economic and humanitarian effects.” “Households all over the world are experiencing a cost-of-living crisis,” he said.

“We’re especially concerned about the poorest households because they spend a larger percentage of their income on food and energy, making them particularly vulnerable to this price spike,” the World Bank’s senior economist added.

According to the World Bank, energy prices are expected to rise by more than 50%, increasing household and business bills.

The most significant increase will be in the cost of natural gas in Europe, which is expected to more than double. Prices are expected to decline next year and in 2024, but they will still be 15% higher than last year.

According to the World Bank, “the largest 23-month increase in energy prices since the 1973 oil price hike,” when tensions in the Middle East sent prices soaring, occurred between April 2020 and March this year.

Similarly, oil prices are expected to remain high into 2024, with a barrel of Brent Crude, the benchmark measure, expected to average $100 this year, resulting in widespread inflation.

Russia produces about 11% of the world’s oil, the third largest share, but “disruptions resulting from the war are expected to have a lasting negative effect,” according to the report, as sanctions force foreign companies to leave and access to technology is limited.

Although Russia currently supplies 40% of the EU’s gas and 27% of its oil, European governments are working to wean their countries off of Russian supplies. This has aided in the rise of global prices by increasing demand for supplies from other countries.

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It’s official: Elon Musk has paid $44 billion for Twitter

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Elon Musk, a billionaire, has taken control of Twitter in one of the biggest tech deals in history. Musk will pay approximately $44 billion for the social network, with shares valued at $54.20. On April 14, Musk announced his takeover bid, calling it his ‘best and final offer.’

“Free speech is the foundation of a functioning democracy, and Twitter is the digital town square where important issues affecting humanity’s future are discussed.” I also want to make Twitter better than it has ever been by adding new features, opening up the algorithms to increase trust, defeating spam bots, and authenticating all humans.However, Twitter initially put in place a “poison pill defence” against the hostile takeover. However, after Musk announced that he had secured funding, the Tesla board entered into negotiations with the co-founder of the company. Musk met “privately with several shareholders of the company to extol the virtues of his proposal” on Friday, according to the Wall Street Journal, and also made video calls to them to press his case.

“I hope that even my harshest critics remain on Twitter, because that is what free speech means,” Musk said earlier today on Twitter. It’s also worth noting that Musk sent out a rather obnoxious tweet about Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates on Saturday, ostensibly in response to Gates shorting Tesla. More than a million people have liked the tweet. He then joked that his tweet was being reviewed by the’shadow ban council.’

On the platform, he has been a staunch supporter of ‘free speech.’ “I invested in Twitter because I believe in its potential to be the platform for free speech around the globe, and I believe free speech is a societal imperative for a functioning democracy,” Musk wrote in a filing to the US Securities and Exchange Commission. “Twitter has extraordinary potential,” he wrote in the filing. “I’ll get it unlocked.”

Musk has already floated the idea of privatising Twitter. “If our twitter bid succeeds, we will defeat the spam bots or die trying!” he tweeted recently. Then came another post in which he stated that all humans on the platform should be authenticated.

The Tesla co-founder has previously spoken about the need for a ‘Edit Button’ on the platform, and even held a poll in which he purposefully misspelt yes and no, presumably to emphasise the need for an edit button given the frequent typos that people make while tweeting. It’s worth noting that Twitter has already confirmed that an Edit button will be introduced.

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France Election Results: Macron Defeats Le Pen and Promises to Bring a Divided France Together

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Emmanuel Macron has been re-elected as France’s president for another five years after a convincing victory over rival Marine Le Pen, who received the far right’s highest vote share yet. He won by a larger margin than expected, 58.55 percent to 41.45 percent.

At the foot of the Eiffel Tower, the centrist leader told jubilant supporters that now that the election was over, he would be a “president for all.” He is the first sitting president to be re-elected in 20 years.

Despite her defeat, Ms Le Pen, 53, claimed that her large vote share was still a victory.

She told her supporters that the ideas represented by her National Rally had reached new heights. “It’s the eighth time the Le Pen name has been hit by defeat,” said far-right rival Eric Zemmour, pointing out that she had ultimately failed, just like her father before her: “It’s the eighth time the Le Pen name has been hit by defeat.”

In 2011, Marine Le Pen took over the party founded by her father, Jean-Marie Le Pen, in an attempt to electability. On Sunday, she received more than 13 million votes on a platform that included tax cuts to combat rising living costs, a ban on wearing the Muslim headscarf in public, and a referendum on immigration controls.

In his victory speech, Mr Macron said, “An answer must be found to the anger and disagreements that drove many of our compatriots to vote for the extreme right.” “It will be my responsibility, as well as the responsibility of those around me.”

More than a third of voters did not cast a ballot for either candidate. More than three million people cast spoilt or blank votes, resulting in the lowest turnout in a presidential run-off since 1969.

Although much of France was on vacation on election day, the low turnout reflected voter apathy, as voters complained that neither candidate represented them. The BBC reported that voters who said they were casting blank ballots wanted to punish the current president. Anti-Macron protesters gathered in a number of cities, including Paris, Rennes, Toulouse, and Nantes, to reject the outcome.

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