Olivia Alabaster
The Independent
United Kingdom
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Past articles by Olivia:
Which areas are in tier 4: Full list
Matt Hancock on Wednesday announced that more parts of the country will enter strict tier 4 restrictions as coronavirus infections spike throughout the country. The Health Secretary told the House of Commons that three quarters of the country will be in tier 4 restrictions as of Thursday morning “due to the number of cases we have seen.” Here is the full list of areas that will be in tier 4 from… → Read More
Which areas are in tier 4: Full list
Matt Hancock has announced new parts of the country will enter new tier 4 restrictions, citing the new rapidly spreading variant of coronavirus. The Health Secretary outlined a number of areas in the east and south of England that will move into the top tier on Boxing Day and has left only one part of the country in the most lenient rules. Here is the full list of areas that are in tier 4 and… → Read More
Which areas are in tier 4: Full list
Matt Hancock has announced new parts of the country will enter new tier 4 restrictions, citing the new rapidly spreading variant of coronavirus. The Health Secretary outlined a number of areas in the east and south of England that will move into the top tier on Boxing Day and has left only one part of the country in the most lenient rules. Here is the full list of areas that are in tier 4 and… → Read More
Which areas are in Tier 4: Full list
Boris Johnson has announced a new tier 4 level of restrictions, citing a new strain of coronavirus, thought to be more contagious. It will extend across much of southeast England, the east of England, and London, and will see non-essential shops and gyms closed. Here is the full list of areas to go into tier 4, as of midnight on Saturday. Bedford, Central Bedfordshire, Luton and Milton Keynes… → Read More
The statue for Mary Wollstonecraft is fearless and brave – she doesn’t need clothes to tell us that
If the statue was to wear 18th-century garb, would that have been right? To imprison her in the past, trap her in corsets and ruffles? → Read More
Lebanon explosion: Video shows destruction throughout Beirut
“Every window is completely destroyed… the cats are alive.” As the dust began to settle after Tuesday’s shocking explosions in Beirut, families across the Lebanese capital were dealing with the overwhelming aftermath. Dozens have been killed and thousands injured, and the tolls look likely to rise, given the massive and widespread destruction caused by the explosions. Our → Read More
Massive explosion rocks central Beirut
A massive explosion has rocked central Beirut, sending a mushroom cloud of dust into the air, and leaving dozens of people injured. Videos showed the aftermath of the explosion in the Lebanese capital’s port area, which is right next to the central Downtown area of the city. The aftershock was felt in the mountains above Beirut, at least 13 miles away, and was so strong it → Read More
Why we have to keep telling the stories of those bearing the brunt of Syria’s civil war
Nearly nine years into the Syrian war, and a new horrific phase of the conflict has opened up – three million civilians are trapped in Idlib, with nowhere to go to escape an unforgiving onslaught from Assad and Russian forces. → Read More
Iran plane crash most likely a ‘shootdown event’, aviation experts say
Doubts have been cast over Iranian assertions that a deadly Ukrainian plane crash near Tehran was the result of technical failures, with independent aviation operations experts saying a “shootdown” was the most likely explanation. → Read More
Five stabbed at Hannukah celebration in rabbi's home in New York
A man has stabbed five people at a rabbi’s home in New York state, during Hannukah celebrations, police said. The attacker then fled by car, police said. The stabbings happened at around 10 pm in Monsey, one of several Hudson Valley towns that have seen an influx in large numbers of Hasidic Jews in recent years. Ramapo Police Chief Brad Weidel said hours later that New York → Read More
Cargo ship 'crashes into buildings' on Istanbul coast
A cargo ship has crashed into buildings on Istanbul’s coast, according to local media reports. The Liberia-flag ship ran aground in Turkey on Friday, and no casualties have yet been reported. The crash led authorities to close the Bosphorus, the picturesque and crowded waterway running through Turkey's largest city. There were no immediate reports of casualties, CNN Turk said. → Read More
2010-2019: The stories that defined the decade
It almost feels like it’s now become the norm for, at the end of each year the world to sigh collectively – “what a year that’s been.” Whether the world is genuinely becoming a more terrible place, or whether we feel increasingly jaded by bad news stories given the relentless onslaught of information is up for debate. But what does seem clear is that there are those news → Read More
From a White House statement to death on the streets. It has been a fast and distressing week in Syria
A coolly distant White House missive last Sunday evening, informing that the US would neither condone or condemn a Turkish invasion of Syria, very soon had on-the-ground ramifications. → Read More
Homophobia and ‘Soviet hangover’ driving HIV infections in Eastern Europe and Central Asia, says David Furnish
Homophobia and a “Soviet hangover” are driving HIV infections in parts of Eastern Europe and Central Asia, according to David Furnish, AIDS campaigner and Sir Elton John’s husband. While the rate of new HIV infections is decreasing globally – falling 40 per cent since its peak in 1997 - certain areas of the world are witnessing increasing rates. → Read More
Iran seizes foreign oil tanker 'smuggling oil' in Gulf strait
Iran has seized a foreign oil tanker allegedly “smuggling fuel” to unspecified Arab states, according to state media. In July, Iran’s Revolutionary Guard seized a UK-flagged vessel, amid heightened tensions in the vital shipping lane. Iran initially claimed that vessel, the Stena Impero, had collided with an Iranian fishing boat. → Read More
Shipwreck kills up to 150 people off the coast of Libya
Up to 150 people have died in a large shipwreck off the coast of Libya, according to the UN’s refugee agency. A further 150 were rescued and are being returned to Libya, UNHCR added. The Mediterranean sea is a dangerous route for refugees trying to get to Europe. In 2018, over 2,000 people died attempting to make that journey. Libya is a hub for refugees, many of whom try to → Read More
Dark tourism: What is drawing thousands to Chernobyl and Cambodia’s killing fields?
The approach to the Chernobyl exclusion zone is reminiscent of another no-go area I have visited once before. The DMZ, on the border between South and North Korea, shares the same expanse of big white skies and wild, unmanaged forest. They felt the same, too, with their otherworldly atmospheres and stark imagery. → Read More
Spain election: Socialist prime minister calls early election amid ongoing Catalan crisis
The Spanish prime minister has called an early general election for April after his government’s budget was voted down. Pedro Sanchez told a news conference after a meeting of his cabinet that the election will take place on 28 April. The election, the third in under four years, is a further sign of an increasingly fragmented political scene, with Catalonia's independence push → Read More
Roger Stone arrested: Read the full indictment as FBI charges former Trump adviser
Roger Stone Jr, the US president’s former adviser, has been arrested as part of the special counsel's investigation into the Trump campaign and its links to Russia. → Read More
Syria attack: Second Isis suicide bombing in days hits US convoy
A suicide bombing claimed by Isis has targeted a US-Kurdish convoy in northern Syria, the second such attack in days. The attacker drove his car into a checkpoint, injuring several soldiers of Kurdish-led forces, locals said. A spokesperson for the US-led coalition in Syria confirmed that a joint US and Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces convoy was “involved” in a car bomb → Read More