Thursday, February 13

Day: June 27, 2016

Two women go blind after looking at their smartphones in bed
ENGLISH, United Kingdom

Two women go blind after looking at their smartphones in bed

    Two women went temporarily blind from constantly checking their phones in the dark, say doctors who are now alerting others to the unusual phenomenon. The solution: Make sure to use both eyes when looking at your smartphone screen in the dark. In the New England Journal of Medicine, doctors detailed the cases of the two women, aged 22 and 40, who experienced “transient smartphone blindness” for months. The women complained of recurring episodes of temporary vision loss for up to 15 minutes. They were subjected to variety of medical exams, MRI scans and heart tests. Yet doctors couldn't find anything wrong with them to explain the problem. But minutes after walking into an eye specialist's office, the mystery was solved. “I simply asked them, 'What exactly were you doing wh...
Pope Francis says Church should apologise to gays
ENGLISH, Europe

Pope Francis says Church should apologise to gays

    Pope Francis has said that the Roman Catholic Church should apologise to gay people for the way it has treated them. He told reporters that the Church had no right to judge the gay community, and should show them respect. The pontiff also said the Church should seek forgiveness from other people it had marginalised - women, the poor, and children forced into labour. The Pope has been hailed by many in the gay community for his positive attitude towards homosexuals. But some conservative Catholics have criticised him for making comments they say are ambiguous about sexual morality. Speaking to reporters on his plane returning from Armenia, the Pope said: "I will repeat what the catechism of the Church says, that they [homosexuals] should not be discriminated against, that t...
France and Germany united over Brexit
ENGLISH, Europe

France and Germany united over Brexit

    German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Hollande have said they are in "full agreement" on how to handle the fallout from the UK's decision to leave the European Union. Hollande warned that "separated, we run the risk of divisions, dissension and quarrels". The two will hold talks later in Berlin amid a flurry of diplomatic activity in the wake of so-called "Brexit". The pound fell further in early trading in Asia on Monday as markets reacted. UK Chancellor George Osborne will issue a statement before the start of trading in the UK in a bid to calm markets. In other developments: British Prime Minister David Cameron will hold a cabinet meeting on Monday and the UK parliament will reconvene. Boris Johnson, who led the Leave campaign and is tipped to re...
How will Brexit affect your supermarket? See which stores could benefit the most from Britain leaving the EU
ENGLISH, Europe

How will Brexit affect your supermarket? See which stores could benefit the most from Britain leaving the EU

    It is a decision which will affect businesses throughout the UK. And with Britain set to leave the EU, some supermarkets are likely to do better than others in the coming months. A new report has found that the discount stores of Aldi and Lidl are set to benefit most from Brexit . The German discounters - which have soared in popularity with millions of shoppers across the country - could benefit more in the short and medium term from Britain's decision to leave the EU. The analysis by Kantar Retail says that there are a range of factors which will help Aldi and Lidl to be in a stronger position that their traditional High Street supermarket rivals. Kantar said: "The mid-term effect of goods sourcing is likely to be the largest factor of consideration for British retailers...
Jeremy Corbyn Under Fire: More Labour Resignations
ENGLISH, United Kingdom

Jeremy Corbyn Under Fire: More Labour Resignations

    More shadow ministers have announced resignations, heaping growing pressure on Jeremy Corbyn as Labour leader. The resignations come after a turbulent Sunday, which began with Mr Corbyn sacking shadow foreign secretary Hilary Benn on learning he had apparently been planning his downfall. Eleven other members of the shadow cabinet reacted by announcing their resignations during the day. This morning, those members have been followed by shadow foreign minister Diana Johnson, shadow minister for civil society Anna Turley and shadow armed forces minister Toby Perkins. Brexit reaction and in-depth analysis on our dedicated page Just minutes later, the news for Mr Corbyn worsened, with news that Chris Matheson, MP for Chester, was resigning as Parliamentary Private Secretary to ...