Search for survivors continues after collapse of Nairobi apartments

Rescue and security workers search through rubble of building in Kenyan capital as seven people are confirmed dead



Rescue workers are continuing to search for residents feared trapped in the rubble of a six-storey building that collapsed in Nairobi after days of heavy rain, killing at least seven people.

The building in the Huruma residential estate collapsed late on Friday. Kenyan television stations showed rescue and security workers working through rubble and heavy slabs of concrete. It is not known how many people were in the building at the time of its collapse.

Japheth Koome, of Nairobi County police, told Reuters: “Seven people are confirmed dead and 121 people have been rescued and rushed to various hospitals in Nairobi.”

The collapse raised concerns about the safety of other blocks in the area. “It is raining, and these houses were built without Nairobi County authorisation,” Jonathan Mueke, deputy governor of Nairobi County, said on the privately owned QTV station. “I am asking residents in the area to leave. In the area where this one collapsed there are 189 houses.” Continue reading...





Published By - Theguardian.com - Sports New, LifeStyle News, Politics news, UK and world political comment and analysis: Saturday 30 April 2016 10.21 BST

Trump forced from his motorcade amid chaotic protests at California convention

• Hundreds stormed area where frontrunner went to address Republicans
• With entrance blocked, Trump was forced to exit vehicle to access hotel

Protesters in California forced Donald Trump to leave his motorcade and walk along a highway on Friday, amid chaotic demonstrations in which activists torched an American flag and set fire to a piñata of the Republican frontrunner.

Hundreds of protesters repeatedly tried to storm the hotel where Trump was due to address the California Republican convention in Burlingame, near San Francisco International Airport.

Some protesters managed to get inside the Hyatt Regency by booking rooms in advance. When inside they unfurled two large Stop Hate banners from the upper floors that could be seen from outside, where protesters hurled eggs, clashed with baton-wielding police, and blocked roads. Continue reading...






Published By - Theguardian.com - Sports New, LifeStyle News, Politics news, UK and world political comment and analysis: Saturday 30 April 2016 00.10 BST

Please, Facebook, don't make me speak to your awful chatbots

The future of apps is chatbots, and it’s going to be terrible

Have you heard? Apps are dead: chatbots are the new apps. And they will soon be doing everything, from taking your pizza orders to scheduling your meetings. This is the future and it’s going to be terrible.

The rise of the chatbot has been foretold for some time but only in the past few weeks with Facebook’s Messenger bots, chat app Kik’s bot store and the rise of subversive artbots have they really hit the public consciousness.

So how did we get here? In many ways, it’s the perfect convergence of almost every tech trend of the past five years.

Trend one: the hybrid command line
Remember Peach? Probably not. At this stage, four months after launch, it seems unlikely that even Peach’s developers remember Peach. The app, a social network from the co-founder of Vine, tried to live somewhere between a Twitter-style social network and a WhatsApp-style messaging platform. It was fun for about three days, and then it died a quick death as everyone got bored. Continue reading...





Published By - Theguardian.com - Sports New, LifeStyle News, Politics news, UK and world political comment and analysis: Friday 29 April 2016 12.16 BST

From monojeaning to bone broth: this week’s fashion trends

What’s hot and what’s not in fashion this week

Going up
Dogna Gvasalia The world’s hottest designer, Demna Gvasalia of Vetements, has his clothes reimagined for poochwear. God bless you, internet.

La Liste Tunisienne Homeware designed by Laurence Touitou, aka sister of APC founder Jean. Based on the household items the siblings grew up with in Tunisia, there’s handicraft and chic in equal measure. Win win.

Monojeaning On the cover of Needed Me, Rihanna is wearing a pair of jeans as one outfit. Dizzying denim skills. Continue reading...





Published By - Theguardian.com - Sports New, LifeStyle News, Politics news, UK and world political comment and analysis: Friday 29 April 2016 12.23 BST

Protesters clash with Trump supporters at California rally

Republican frontrunner restates plans for US-Mexican wall at Orange County event as large crowd demonstrates outside venue



Donald Trump ran into a buzzsaw of angry protests at his inaugural rally in California, as a large crowd enraged by his stance on immigration clashed with his supporters outside the venue, blocked cars from leaving and shattered the windows of a police cruiser.

Trump swept into the Golden State on Thursday, more than a month before the 7 June primary, and delighted his conservative, mostly white audience inside an amphitheatre at the Orange County Fairgrounds by blaming illegal immigrants for a spike in murders and other violent crimes. He also vowed again to build a wall on the US-Mexican border.

Outside the venue, a crowd of largely Latino but also white and African American demonstrators shouted and chanted slogans before the event, then returned as it drew to a close.

Hundreds of people formed human barricades on an approach road to a nearby freeway, blocked the Fairgrounds exits, and waved banners that said “Build a Wall Around Trump” and “Dump the Trump”. Continue reading...





Published By - Theguardian.com - Sports New, LifeStyle News, Politics news, UK and world political comment and analysis: Friday 29 April 2016 09.26 BST

Egyptian cleric defends CIA agent convicted over his rendition

Abu Omar says Sabrina De Sousa, who faces extradition to Italy, is a scapegoat and the real culprits are more senior officials

The radical Egyptian cleric who was kidnapped in Milan by the CIA in 2003 has come to the defence of a former CIA officer convicted for her alleged role in his extraordinary rendition.

Hassan Mustafa Osama Nasr, who is known as Abu Omar, told the Guardian in a telephone interview that he believed Sabrina De Sousa, who faces imminent extradition to Italy, was a scapegoat and ought to be pardoned by Italy’s head of state, Sergio Mattarella. De Sousa, a 60-year-old dual American and Portuguese citizen, faces a four-year prison sentence and is due to be extradited from Portugal on 4 May.

“Sabrina and the others who were convicted are scapegoats. The US administration sacrificed them. All of those higher up in the hierarchy are enjoying their immunity,” he said. “These people higher up, without doubt they should be convicted in this case. They should face trial.”





Published By - Theguardian.com - Sports New, LifeStyle News, Politics news, UK and world political comment and analysis: Friday 29 April 2016 12.06 BST

Flood Re insurance offers hope to those who can’t get cover

Government-backed scheme has started offering cover to at-risk householders, but there still are exclusions

Flood Re, the scheme designed to offer affordable insurance to 350,000 UK homes at high risk of flooding, has finally opened for business. But thousands of householders may have to switch home insurer to take advantage.

Developed by the insurance industry, with government backing, Flood Re was set up after insurers said they were no longer prepared to offer universal flood cover to households who had been flooded in the past.

Billions of pounds have been paid out by the industry in recent years following a series of devastating flooding events, across the north of England and in Cumbria in particular.

Flood Re, which offers subsidised cover, received the final go ahead from financial regulators last week, and opened for business on Monday. Continue Reading...





Published By - Theguardian.com - Sports New, LifeStyle News, Politics news, UK and world political comment and analysis: Saturday 9 April 2016 07.00 BST

Ted Cruz is 'Lucifer in the flesh', says former speaker John Boehner

‘Never worked with a more miserable son of a bitch,’ says Boehner, but presidential hopeful Cruz counters: ‘I don’t even know the man’



John Boehner, the former House speaker, has called presidential candidate Ted Cruz “Lucifer in the flesh” in remarks that expose the depth of discontent within the Republican party.

Speaking at a town hall-style event for students at Stanford University in California on Wednesday, Boehner called front-runner Donald Trump his “texting buddy”, but offered a more graphic response when asked about the Texas senator.

“Lucifer in the flesh,” the former speaker said. “I have Democrat friends and Republican friends. I get along with almost everyone, but I have never worked with a more miserable son of a bitch in my life.”

His comments were first reported by Stanford’s student newspaper.

Cruz, campaigning in Fort Wayne, Indiana on Thursday ahead of the state’s 3 May primary, responded by saying Boehner was letting his “inner Trump come out”.





Published By - Theguardian.com - Sports New, LifeStyle News, Politics news, UK and world political comment and analysis: Friday 29 April 2016 05.02 BST

Billionaire investor Carl Icahn sells entire stake in Apple

Icahn has sold his shares in the company over concerns at China’s influence on its stock price

Billionaire activist investor Carl Icahn says he had sold his entire stake in Apple Inc, citing the risk of China’s influence on the stock.

In an interview with US cable television network CNBC on Thursday, Icahn also said he was “still very cautious” on the US stock market and there would be a “day of reckoning” unless there was some sort of fiscal stimulus.

Icahn had been a huge cheerleader of Apple, acquiring a stake in the company almost three years ago, repeatedly calling the investment a “no brainer.”

In an open letter to Apple chief executive Tim Cook in May 2015, Icahn had argued that shares of the iPhone maker were worth $240 (£164), about 90% more than they had been trading. At $240 a share, Apple’s market cap would be $1.4tn, Icahn asserted.

But Icahn, who owned 45.8m Apple shares at the end of last year, said China’s economic slowdown and worries about how China could become more prohibitive in doing business triggered his decision to exit his position entirely.

Published By - Theguardian.com - Sports New, LifeStyle News, Politics news, UK and world political comment and analysis: Friday 29 April 2016 01.13 BST

Zuckerberg has given Facebook investors all they need. He wants one thing in return: control

Company is likely to let its co-founder and CEO push that little bit further, given that it’s making more money, from more users

Mark Zuckerberg has dominated the desktop internet. He’s dominated the mobile internet. Now he’s going to dominate Facebook itself, and the company is probably going to let him.

The big news that came out of Facebook’s quarterly earnings report is that the company is making more money, from more users, being shown more adverts – and more profitable adverts at that.

The numbers are, well, big. Its userbase grew from 1.44 billion to 1.65 billion. Once upon a time, the number of people on Facebook grew fivefold over the course of a single year; it can’t do that anymore, because there aren’t enough people on the Earth.

It can’t even double any more, because there aren’t enough people with internet access. Which lends some necessary context to the company’s philanthropic efforts to push low-cost connections to the developing world through its Internet.org program.

Published By - Theguardian.com - Sports New, LifeStyle News, Politics news, UK and world political comment and analysis: Thursday 28 April 2016 11.17 BST