Boris Johnson gets a surprise peck from an ostrich in Texas
In the video, posted by his wife Carrie Johnson, an ostrich slowly walks toward a car before poking its head through the driver's seat window where Johnson is sitting with his son on his lap. Once in front of Johnson, the bird quickly pecks its beak toward his hand.
'Oh, Christ,' Johnson yells before driving off in the video.
'Too funny not to share,' Carrie Johnson said in the caption on Instagram.
It is not clear which wildlife park they were visiting, but other posts on the same account show the family visiting Dinosaur Valley Park, about 80 miles (128 kilometers) southwest of Dallas.
Boris Johnson, who served as prime minister from 2019 to 2022, was also spotted with his wife at a local restaurant in Lake Granbury, Texas, on Sunday, according to the restaurant's Facebook page.
'We are so honored to have him as our guest!!' said Stumpy's Lakeside Grill in a Facebook post with a photo of the former prime minister.
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The Guardian
19 minutes ago
- The Guardian
Over £300m given to English councils to help house Ukrainian refugees unspent
More than £300m given to English councils to help Ukrainian refugees into accommodation has not been spent, while thousands of them face homelessness. Freedom of information requests to 150 councils in England, shared with the Guardian, identified that £327m – about a third of the £1bn budget – was still sitting in council bank accounts more than three years after Russia invaded Ukraine. Most of the funds councils have spent have been used to pay staff and partner organisations. Only £22m has been spent on temporary accommodation for Ukrainians and £15m to help them into private rented accommodation. Many Ukrainians struggle to find accommodation in the private rented sector because of the need to provide a deposit, something councils can help with but which some Ukrainians say in practice can be slow, bureaucratic and difficult to access. Finding a UK guarantor can also be difficult and those unable to speak English struggle to negotiate with landlords. British Red Cross research earlier this year found that Ukrainian refugees were more than twice as likely as British people to experience homelessness. Using data from across Britain, the Red Cross research estimates that more than 6,400 Ukrainian families will experience some form of homelessness this year. Baljeet Nijjhar of UKrainian Refugee Help, who obtained and collated the FoI data, said: 'Local councils are allocated thousands of pounds per Ukrainian arrival, yet the guests we support seem to struggle to access this directly when in need. 'The most common issue is inability to rent privately and people often don't know anyone in the UK who could act as a guarantor, so it's the local council that they must rely on here to solve this problem. 'Our research shows that many councils have significant levels of funds left, but have helped very few people to rent, whereas others have demonstrated a 'can do', proactive approach and have helped significantly more.' She called for targets to be set for council spending of government money earmarked for Ukrainians and for interventions from Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) to get more people into private rented accommodation more quickly. Solomiia Baranets, a Ukrainian refugee and trainee lawyer who runs the Ukrainian Employment Integration Project to help people find jobs, said she had struggled to get housing for herself and her family and was trying to help others in the same situation. 'The status of Ukrainians here is not stable. I have two children and a disabled mother. I contacted more than 50 landlords. They were very polite but they never came back to me. The council did not help me. I had to help myself.' Stan Beneš, the director of Opora, an organisation that supports Ukrainians in rebuilding their lives, said: 'The quality of council support for Ukrainians is often a postcode lottery. Since the Ukraine visa schemes began, councils have had significant discretion over how to use government-allocated funds, and whether to top them up from their own budgets. Sign up to First Edition Our morning email breaks down the key stories of the day, telling you what's happening and why it matters after newsletter promotion 'Differences in council structures, resources and priorities across the UK have widened the gap. While some Ukrainians still receive a high level of support, an ever-growing number are struggling. These barriers are further compounded by the trauma of war and forced relocation.' Dr Krish Kandiah, the director of the Sanctuary Foundation, which provides support for Ukrainian refugees, praised the British public for their hospitality. 'It is now vital that the UK builds on that generosity by ensuring that every Ukrainian has the security and dignity of their own front door,' he said. An MHCLG spokesperson said: 'Councils are given a set amount of funding per arrival and it's not unusual for this to be spent over the duration of their time in the UK rather than all at once. Ultimately councils are best placed to understand the needs of their local communities and explain how this money is spent.'
Sky News
an hour ago
- Sky News
Jimmy Lai's son says his father will 'most likely die in jail' unless UK govt intervenes
The bustle still exists in Hong Kong, but its tone is not the same. A city once famous for its protest, now simply doesn't dare. Just a few years ago it would have been hard to imagine a court case as high-profile as that of Jimmy Lai without at least a handful of supporters and placards. But as closing arguments began in the trial of one of the city's most well-known pro-democracy figures, there was not a hint of dissent in sight. Now Lai's son, Sebastian, who advocates on his behalf, has said that the treatment of his father will have dire implications for Hong Kong"as a a financial centre", and has warned the British government (of which Lai is a citizen), that if it fails to act "my father is most likely going to die in jail". Jimmy Lai has been described as the most famous prisoner of conscience anywhere in the world. He is an iconic figure within Hong Kong's pro-democracy movement and is one of the most high-profile people to be charged under Hong Kong's controversial national security law. The self-made millionaire, lifelong critic of Beijing, and the owner of pro-democracy newspaper Apple Daily is accused of colluding with foreign forces and publishing seditious material. After a five-month adjournment, closing arguments in his trial will get under way in earnest this week. There is a sense here that authorities have found this trial a little tricky to resolve. How to handle an elderly man who some believe has become emblematic of a cause? How to balance significant international criticism with the city's desire to assure the world it is just, fair and back open for business? His family and lawyers believe this partly explains the multiple, lengthy adjournments. Lai's son, Sebastian, has spent years advocating for his father from London. He has not seen him in nearly five years. "The worst-case scenario is that he dies in prison," he says. It is a legitimate concern. Lai has spent over 1,600 days in solitary confinement. He is 77 years old and diabetic. Indeed, on Friday, the first day of the resumed court activity was taken up by discussions about his health and the court was then adjourned so he could be fitted with a heart rate monitor. "In Hong Kong, it's a concrete cell which gets up to 30, 40C and he bakes in there essentially," says Sebastian. "So we're incredibly worried about him, and all of this in the last four years was aimed to break him, to break his spirit." 'If he dies, that's a comma on Hong Kong' Sebastian insists his father's death would not just be a personal tragedy, but a huge problem for both the Hong Kong authorities and Beijing's government. "You can't tell the world you have the rule of law, the free press and all these values that are instrumental to a financial centre and still have my father in jail," he says. "And if he dies, that's it, that's a comma on Hong Kong as a financial centre." It's criticism that the authorities in Hong Kong are acutely aware of. Indeed, the government there has insisted in a statement that the city's "correctional facilities are humane and safe" and said that claims to the contrary are merely "external forces and anti-China media" working to "glorify criminal behaviour and exert pressure on the courts". But Lai is also a British citizen and there is a sense his family believes successive UK governments have failed in their duty to support him. Petitioning is a journey Sebastain describes as "heartbreaking". "It's time to put actions behind words," he says. "Without that, my father is most likely going to die in jail." It's criticism that the authorities in Hong Kong are acutely aware of, the regional government claimed in a statement that "external forces and anti-China media" are actively working to "distort the truth, blatantly discredit the judicial system, in an attempt to glorify criminal behaviour". Some believe the Lai trial is one of the final outstanding affairs in the wake of the crackdown on Hong Kong's huge 2019 pro-democracy protests, actions the Beijing-backed authorities say were necessary to restore order and stability. When you spend time in this city, it's hard not to conclude those efforts have been remarkably successful. Any signs of dissent are now extremely hard to track down. Tiny slogans graffitied in hidden places, a few independent bookstores still stocking political titles or young people choosing to not spend money in Hong Kong where possible is about as much as exists. Meanwhile, the mainland Mandarin language is more commonly heard in the streets and slogans and banners extolling causes favoured by Beijing are not hard to find. In today's Hong Kong, stances are staked in quiet acts of compassion, such as committed visits to friends behind bars. 'Don't ever second-guess Beijing' It's on one of these trips we accompany Emily Lau, a former Hong Kong lawmaker and pro-democracy supporter. "It's very important to show the people inside that they have not been forgotten," she explains, as she climbs into one of Hong Kong's iconic red taxis. "It's my way of showing my support." She is visiting Dr Helena Wong, a fellow member of the Democratic Party, and one of the so-called '47' - 47 activists tried together for conspiracy to commit subversion. Her key offence was standing in an unofficial primary election. Lau is upbeat as we chat, but also frank about the state of democracy in her city. "It's very difficult. Now it seems you cannot demonstrate, you cannot march, you cannot petition," she says. "And if you do post something online or some posts, you have to be very careful about what you say. "I will never say we are finished, no, but right now, of course, it's very difficult." We wait outside for her as she visits Dr Wong. She reports back that she's in good spirits and was happy to see her friend. Their political party is in the process of disbanding, like every other pro-democracy group. The pressure has simply become too much, and she fears this isn't the end. "Don't ever second-guess Beijing," she says. "Don't try." Indeed, the only political groups able to continue are those who at least tacitly support Beijing and its laws. 'Not as bad as people think' Ronnie Tong runs a think tank called Path of Democracy, which also sponsors people to run for office. He bills it as a moderate force, but in reality, it has supported the National Security Law and all measures used to crack down on protesters. "I don't think it is as bad as people think," he says. "The only thing they cannot say is to advocate succession or separatism." I ask if using the word 'democracy' in the group's title feels a little ironic, given his voice is likely only permitted insofar as it does not criticise Beijing. "No, I don't think so," he replies. "People have to understand that politics is also about personal relationships." That will likely not wash with many people here, but right now most feel they have no choice but to keep a low profile or move on. The Lai trial is only one small part of Hong Kong's story, but it's a reflection of the rapid change here and a snapshot of a city adjusting.
Times
an hour ago
- Times
Enjoyed the holiday? Now buy the swanky vintage poster
If Jeremy Sacher tires of looking at a verdant Queen's Park through the windows of his west London home, he needs only to step into his kitchen to find a view of New York's Times Square or an Imperial Airways flying boat heading for Cape Town. Sacher, you see, is an avid collector of travel posters created during the early decades of the 20th century to entice the adventurous into a world gradually being made smaller by trains, planes and automobiles. Back then such ephemera was used as a cheap, cheerful and entirely disposable way to promote the services of shipping companies, airlines and railways. But now surviving examples of the best vintage travel posters have become valuable and highly sought-after. Sacher began collecting more than 40 years ago when, as the head of a design company, he found himself making regular trips to studios in New York. 'There were many more poster dealers in the US than there were in the UK, so I became familiar with the world of collecting and with the names of the top graphic artists. 'Howard Hughes employed many of them when he owned Trans World Airlines during the 1940s and 1950s, so I started collecting posters advertising the airline's routes,' he explains. In recent years Sacher has bought through the art agents Nicolette Tomkinson and Sophie Churcher, who set up the specialist art agency Tomkinson Churcher in 2016 following the closure of Christie's South Kensington saleroom, which ran a vintage poster department. Travel posters first became seriously collectable after New York's Swann Galleries staged the first dedicated auction in 1979. Now the best examples by leading graphic artists such as the Frenchmen Roger Broders and Adolphe Mouron Cassandre, the Brits Norman Wilkinson and Frank H Mason, or the Irishman Paul Henry can fetch as much as £15,000 apiece. Tomkinson says the golden age of Britain's railways during the 1920s and 1930s resulted in some of the best images but, by the very nature of their role as short-lived advertisements, few have survived — and getting hold of good ones is becoming increasingly difficult. 'Sometimes travel posters are numbered but in most cases we never really know what the print runs were,' she explains. 'What is certain is that only a fraction of those produced actually survived, because they were either pasted over or torn down. And when collectors get hold of the best, they tend to hold on to them.' But some big collections saved by people who had connections with the printers, the artists or the firms that commissioned the designs do occasionally come on to the market. One spectacular cache emerged in Australia about 20 years ago, having been amassed by the owner's father, a teacher, who had written to the country's various train companies during the 1920s asking for travel posters to use in geography lessons. He received more than 200, which were dispersed at auction for in excess of £200,000. And while posters promoting trips to once-popular British holiday resorts such as Skegness and St Andrews continue to sell for as much as £5,000, it's those depicting more glamorous continental destinations that many collectors find most uplifting. Tomkinson says several such images have been consigned to a Lyon & Turnbull auction (happening on October 29) and include a 1957 lithograph of Cote d'Azur, 'after Pablo Picasso', which is estimated to fetch £1,500. And at his by appointment gallery in south London, the dealer James Manning is offering a striking 1930s image by the top artist AE Halliwell promoting 'cruises to Norway' for £4,000. However, travel posters are not categorised only by country but also by modes of transport and activities, meaning there are images that hold appeal to fans of cars, trains and aeroplanes, others that attract those drawn to the glamour of steam-driven liners and still others that are bought by regular visitors to top ski resorts such as St Moritz and Gstaad. Buying vintage originals is not, however, the only route to getting some uplifting travel posters on to your walls, as there are now several firms, such as Stick No Bills and the north London gallery Pullman Editions, that sell brand-new, top quality images that are either in a vintage style or licensed fine art prints of exceptional posters from the golden era of graphic advertising. Uniquely, Stick No Bills has been granted access to the historic archives of travel companies such as Pan American Airways, British Overseas Air Corporation (BOAC), Lufthansa, the Fomento del Turismo Mallorca and Braniff International Airways in order to recreate the best of their vintage posters. Sizes range from postcard-format works to unique Master editions featuring 24-carat gold lettering applied by the Spanish royal family's yacht gilder — and costing as much as £16,000. Which might be the price of a darned good holiday. But the poster will last a whole lot longer — and there's no need to endure the journey…
