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Nicola Sturgeon Cleared Of Wrongdoing In SNP Police Probe

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Nicola Sturgeon has been cleared of wrongdoing following an probe into the SNP’s finances.

The party’s former leader was arrested in June 2023 by detectives investigating the whereabouts of £660,000 donated to the party for a second independence referendum campaign.

Her husband and former SNP chief executive Peter Murrell, and the party’s former treasurer Colin Beattie, were also arrested as part of the Operation Branchform probe.

Murrell was subsequently charged with embezzlement and appeared at Edinburgh Sheriff Court today.

In a statement, Police Scotland later confirmed that Sturgeon and Beattie will not be charged.

A spokesperson said: “Following direction from the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service, criminal enquiries into two people arrested as part of the investigation into the funding and finances of the Scottish National Party have now concluded.

“The 73 year-old man arrested on 18 April, 2023, and the 54 year-old woman arrested on 11 June, 2023, have not been charged and are no longer under investigation.”

The police inquiry was launched following allegations that the money, which was meant to be in a ring-fenced fund to pay for a second independence referendum, had been misappropriated.

Sturgeon announced earlier this year that she and Murrell had “decided to end” their marriage.

It was announced earlier this week that her memoir, Frankly, will be published in August.

Speaking outside her home near Glasgow, Sturgeon said: “I am completely in the clear, that is the outcome I would always have expected.

“As I have said to all of you many times, I have done nothing wrong so I was confident of reaching at this point and getting to this outcome.

“For almost two years I have had this cloud of investigation hanging over me.

“I think it won’t surprise anybody to hear me say that it’s not been an easy experience, so to reach this point today it is obviously something I am relieved about.

“I’ve been try to get on with my life and I now intend to do that.”

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I Tried Nigella Lawson’s Secret To The Thickest, Crumbliest Crumble Topping, And I Could Eat It By Itself

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If you’ve read my thoughts on carrot cake, brownies, and rocky road, you’ll know that I’m pretty strict on my baked goods.

To be honest, that’s because I don’t see the point in dirtying dishes, losing hours of my free time, and often spending more on ingredients than I would on a supermarket cake unless the result is really amazing.

Crumble is a rare exception. It doesn’t take long to mix fruit and sugar (for berry-based versions, I don’t even bother stewing them) and place a crown of crumbly, crunchy topping over it; even if you mess it up, the result still tastes good.

But having made over 100 of them in my life, I am no longer satisfied with “good.” I want a fall-apart topping that crumbles gently away to a shortcake-like layer at its base. I want a buttery, butty, toasty-but-not-too-intense flavour that’s so good, I could eat it by itself.

And in my extensive tests, I’ve found only Nigella’s recipe will do.

A cooked crumbel on the left: with custard on the right

Amy Glover / HuffPost UK

A cooked crumbel on the left: with custard on the right

Please, please don’t add too many special ingredients

I’ve tried adding oats to the mix (Gordon Ramsay chucks in granola or muesli for a chew, too). I’ve whacked in darker brown sugar for a more treacle-y topping, and included a range of spices.

You can see the chewiest, most flapjack-like results I’ve found below (this is the recipe if that’s what you’re after). But, at the risk of sounding grumpy and obstinate, that is not a crumble.

For that, you’ll need to stick to the classics: Nigella uses only sugar (both caster and demerara, though I’ve achieved a happy middle with granulated many times before), butter, and plain flour for the base of her crumble.

But because I want inches of thick crust, her added ingredient – baking soda, which introduces air to the deepest layer of the topping – is key.

She rubs the butter and flour (about 74% butter to flour, one teaspoon of baking powder per 100g flour) together before adding the sugars (half-caster, half-demerara; 60% the volume of flour) to the mix and stirring.

The result is a light, fluffy, buttery but not claggy layer that becomes increasingly pie-crust-like as you spoon deeper into it.

And because of the raising agent, you can dig very, very deep.

A flapjack-like apple crisp topping on the left: fluffier, lighter crumble topping from Nigella on the right

Amy Glover / HuffPost UK

A flapjack-like apple crisp topping on the left: fluffier, lighter crumble topping from Nigella on the right

Any changes I’d make?

Yes – though the baking powder does help to countenance the weight the demerara sugar adds, I actually prefer plain granulated or caster sugar.

That’s because I like mine so thick, though. If I wasn’t as interested in consuming basically nothing but crumble topping in the dessert, I’d probably love the caramel-y addition.

Lastly, as Nigella says, “The crumble topping can be made up to one week ahead and stored in the fridge until needed” or frozen for up to three months and taken out as needed.

I reckon that’s as good an excuse as any to do what I do; make a huge batch in one go and whip it out any time you feel a craving.

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Trump’s Envoy Had An Eyebrow-Raising Reply To Claims Putin Already Breached Ceasefire Plan

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Donald Trump’s envoy has dismissed claims from Ukraine that Vladimir Putin had already breached terms of a partial ceasefire deal overnight.

The US president said on Tuesday that he had managed to persuade his Russian counterpart to agree to halt all strikes on “energy and infrastructure” in Ukraine for 30 days, in what he described as a major step towards peace.

But the Kremlin’s readout of the call was worded slightly differently, saying Moscow had only agreed to a temporary ceasefire on “energy infrastructure”.

Hours later, president Volodymyr Zelenskyy said there had been direct strikes on civilian infrastructure across Ukraine yet again.

European leaders quickly condemned Russia for breaching the terms of the agreement already, but it seems the White House was not so worried.

Steve Witkoff, Trump’s special envoy, told Bloomberg TV he had it on “good information” that Putin had told Russian forces not to strike Ukrainian energy infrastructure within 10 minutes of his call to Trump.

Witkoff said: “Putin issued an order within 10 minutes of his call with the president directing Russian forces not to be attacking any Ukrainian energy infrastructure.

“Any attacks that happened last night would have happened before that order was given.

“In fact, the Russians tell me this morning that seven of their drones were on their way when President Putin issued his order and they were shot down by Russian forces.”

He continued: “So I tend to believe that President Putin is operating in good faith. He said that he was going to be operating in good faith to the President yesterday, and I take him at his word.”

Russia has also accused Ukraine of breaching the truce, saying its defence ministry destroyed 57 Ukrainian drones overnight.

Witkoff then praised the relationship between Putin and Trump, saying he expected to pair to meet soon.

He said: “You know, I can’t speak for them, but my best bet would be that it’s likely to happen. They have a great rapport together. They had a great rapport in the first Trump administration.

“It was on display yesterday. This was really a very positive, very proactive, outcome oriented call, and that’s who President Trump is. He’s there to get to the goal line. And we did a we went a long way yesterday to doing that.”

The envoy’s comments come as Trump and Zelenskyy were having a scheduled phone call about ending the Ukraine war on Wednesday.

Their relationship has been far less “positive” than Trump and Putin’s, especially after the US president chastised Zelenskyy in the Oval Office over his supposed lack of gratitude for America’s support throughout the war.

Trump even withheld military aid and intelligence sharing with Ukraine until Kyiv agreed to a 30-day ceasefire and a mineral-sharing deal with the States as a form of repayment for wartime support.

Although Putin ordered the full-blown invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Trump has not asked the aggressor to make any concessions in the name of peace.

But Trump’s national security adviser Mike Waltz has suggested Ukraine may have to do “some type of territory-for-future-security guarantees” for the country’s future – and a “permanent pathway into Nato is incredibly unlikely”.

Meanwhile, Russian troops continue to advance in eastern Ukraine.

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Bella Ramsey Opens Up About ‘Freeing’ Autism Diagnosis

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The British actor has previously disclosed that they were told that they were neurodivergent while working on the first season of The Last Of Us.

“I’ve spoken a bit about neurodivergence before, but I always for some reason didn’t want to… I felt like I didn’t want to say what it was,” they said, before sharing: “I got diagnosed with autism when I was filming season one of The Last Of Us.”

Describing the diagnosis as “freeing”, Bella continued: “It enables me to walk through the world with more grace towards myself about not being able to do the easy everyday tasks that everyone else seems to be able to do.”

The former Game Of Thrones star told British Vogue they first pursued an autism diagnosis after a crew member on The Last Of Us who had a child with autism “assumed” that Bella did too.

According to the magazine, this diagnosis confirmed something Bella had “always wondered” about themself, having grown up feeling out of place and often experienced sensory issues and what Vogue described as a “painful hyperawareness of other people’s micro-expressions and body language”, which are often associated with people within the autism community.

Bella is currently gearing up for the return of The Last Of Us, in which they reprise their acclaimed performance as Ellie from the first series.

Read Bella Ramsey’s full interview in British Vogue here. The Last Of Us returns to UK screens on 14 April.

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Eating These 7 Fruits Before Bed Will Seriously Improve Your Sleep

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According to Mental Health UK, 1 in 5 people in the UK aren’t getting enough sleep and a lack of quality sleep can lead to health problems such as lowered concentration, being more susceptible to illness and infection as well as contributing to the effects of anxiety and depression.

However, according to Panda London’s Sleep Expert Max Kirsten, there are some foods that can aid a better, more restful sleep. This is due to a multitude of benefits such as anti-inflammatory properties, melatonin, and potassium.

Which fruits can help you sleep bettter?

According to Kirsten, having one of these fruits before bed regularly will make a huge difference to your sleep:

Pineapples contain bromelain which has anti-inflammatory properties and helps with muscle relaxation, easing you into a gentle sleep.

Cherries, particularly tart cherries, can be particularly beneficial for sleep, as this viral TikTok beverage show. This is because they are a natural source of melatonin, a hormone that regulates sleep-wake cycles. According to Kirsten, eating tart cherries or even tart cherry juice can help increase melatonin levels in the body which can potentially improve sleep quality and duration.

Kirsten recommends having some tart cherries just a couple of hours before bed to trigger the sleepy feeling that helps you to drift off.

Thanks to the magnesium and potassium in bananas, the fruit can help relax muscle and promote better sleep. Kirsten adds that, “anything that contains magnesium can encourage relaxation, the best thing about eating bananas before bed is the tryptophan they contain can encourage sleepiness and aid a deep, restful sleep.”

This is because Tryptophan is an amino acid that plays a role in producing serotonin; a neurotransmitter associated with relaxation and mood regulation.

Speaking of serotonin, kiwis encourage higher levels of serotonin, which makes it ideal for just before bed. This is because you’ll find yourself more relaxed and, thanks to the vitamin C in kiwi fruit, the quality and duration of your sleep will be improved, too.

Oranges

Of course, oranges are also a great source of vitamin C. Kirsten says that the natural sugars in oranges can provide a gentle energy boost during the day and may improve moods, making it easier to unwind before bedtime.

An unlikely everyday fruit perhaps but papaya is rich in both vitamins C and E, as well as folate and potassium. Potassium, of course, helps to relax muscles and eating foods like papaya can encourage a deeper, higher quality rest. The nutrients within potassium can relax muscles and lower blood pressure, making dropping off much easier.

Finally, good old apples contain fibre and natural sugars which stabilise blood sugar levels. This helps to prevent nighttime wakefulness as well as improving general mood and wellbeing.

If you continue to have sleep problems, speak to your GP for support.

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Does ‘Vabbing’ Actually Make You Irresistible To Men? I Asked A Sexologist

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Ever heard of vabbing? No?

Well, nor had I until this morning (how I cherish my life before then).

Turns out the phrase refers to a social media phenomenon (it would be inaccurate to call it a trend, as most people seem appalled by it) that involves wiping vaginal secretions on your pulse points. Yes, really.

In a now-deleted TikTok video, a site user said: “I swear if you vab, you will attract people, like a date, a one-night stand. Or you’ll just get free drinks all night.”

“Elle Woods should have been teaching vabbing instead of the bend and snap – it’s more effective,” the TikToker added.

It’s important to stress that the practice, which is a portmanteau of “vagina” and “dabbing”, really hasn’t taken off – it seems to be more of a point of viral outrage than an actual trend.

Still, I thought I’d speak to sexologist, therapist, and author at Passionerad Sofie Roos about whether the original controversial clip had any merit whatsoever.

And?

Kind of, but not really, the expert said.

“A study published in 2020 found that heterosexual men can smell women’s sexual arousal, and one part of that is the vaginal secretions, especially the lubrication that’s produced when [women are] turned on,” the sexologist explained.

So, there might be a real appeal in the scent – but not in the context of “vabbing,” Roos reckons.

“Research published in Science Direct 2006 finds that female pheromones are very dependent on the social context to work, so wearing vaginal secretions as a perfume in any not-so-sexually-loaded situation will most likely have a disgusting effect,” she shared.

“In my opinion… it’s better to use a good-smelling perfume of high quality” if you want to attract a date, Roos continued.

Smelling of, er, secretions is just “unhygienic” in the wrong context.

Pheromones may actually matter, though

Obviously, there’s no need to “vab.” But speaking to TIME, Noam Sobel, a professor in neurobiology and smell expert, said that our partner’s BO might have more of a say in how much we fancy them than we realise.

“The underlying theory is that you somehow select immune compatibility in a mate” through scent, he told the publication.

Still, Gary Beauchamp, president of the Monell Chemical Senses Centre, told TIME that it’s hard to work out how much, say, sweat actually influences our attraction.

“There are so many things going on with humans, in terms of how you select somebody you want to be with or get married to or have children with… isolating the odour part to it has been very, very difficult.”

It’s far safer to bet that doing something like “vabbing” is a turn-off, don’t you think?

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This Is How Ashley Walters ‘Screwed Up’ 1 Take Of Adolescence Halfway Through

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Ashley Walters had a bit of an on-set nightmare while filming the Netflix drama Adolescence, which required everyone to go back to square one.

Much has already been made about Adolescence’s unique filming style, which saw each hour-long episode of the hard-hitting drama being recorded in one continuous shot.

To accommodate this, both the cast and crew were put through weeks of rehearsals, with each episode being filmed straight-through, twice a day, over the period of a week.

On Monday morning, Stephen Graham and his wife Hannah Walters – both of whom worked as executive producers on Adolescence, while Stephen was also its co-writer and one of its stars – paid a visit to Radio X, where they were asked about how it all worked.

“Why would you do that?” host Chris Moyles asked of the straight-through technique. “Because what if you’re 53 minutes in and someone goes, ‘John… Bob… Oh, God damn it…’?”

Stephen responded: “Well, that’s the risk that you take, isn’t it?”

Chris then asked: “What if you’re, like, halfway through and someone goes, ‘Stephen… I mean…’.”

“That happened!” Stephen teased, with Hannah confirming: “It happened in Ashley’s episode. Ashley screwed up.”

Stephen Graham and Hannah Walters at the premiere of Adolescence last week
Stephen Graham and Hannah Walters at the premiere of Adolescence last week

via Associated Press

“Oh you’ve grassed him up,” Stephen then remarked, to which she insisted: “He won’t mind me saying!”

Since Adolescence’s release, Netflix has shared plenty of behind-the-scenes tidbits about how it was made – including what happened when the cast and crew made mistakes.

Last week, Ashley admitted that he’d already been through one major headache before production had even begun, when he turned up to set with a sports injury after an impromptu basketball game with his daughter.

“I took it for granted,” Ashley revealed. “I’m not gonna lie. Because I wanted to do the one-shot process so much.

“And I turned up to set with a bad back, by the way. My back had gone.”

He even went as far as saying “it nearly didn’t happen” for him, were it not for a last-minute appointment with a chiropractor who was able to sort him out.

The Chris Moyles Show Radio X airs every weekday from 6.30am on Radio X and Global Player. All four episodes of Adolescence are available to stream now on Netflix.

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People Are Just Realising Who Directed One Of Jennifer Love Hewitt’s Most Famous Scenes, And Wow

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You may already know that Tim Burton was the unlikely director for both Batman and Batman Returns ― though he doesn’t think he’d do another superhero movie.

But that’s got nothing on the improbable director Jennifer Love Hewitt says is behind one of her most famous scenes.

In I Know What You Did Last Summer, the actor’s character breaks down after months of being followed by a killer. The camera shows her spinning in the street as she screams: “What are you waiting for, huh? What are you waiting for?”.

The moment is probably the best-known scene in the movie – and Jennifer says it was directed by a child, in an interview that’s resurfaced in a viral Instagram Reel.

Jennifer Love Hewitt

via Associated Press

Jennifer Love Hewitt

Speaking to US Weekly in 2018, the star said: “Here’s what’s crazy about that – that scene was actually directed by a kid who won a contest to come on and create a moment for the movie, and it became the biggest part of the movie.”

Though she admitted “I have no idea where he is,” she said his direction was great.

She claimed he said, “I want her to stay in the street and turn around and just… scream, like, ‘What are you waiting for?’”.

“I was literally like, are you kidding me right now?” Jennifer added.

“This is what I’m gonna do? Okay, this is a great idea, let’s have this guy come in,” she said sarcastically.

“And then we were doing it, and it looked amazing. And now everybody loves it.”

“That’s one of the best scenes of the movie. And one of my favourites to recite as well,” an Instagram user commented under a post about the fact.

“That kid is a genius,” another wrote.

I Know What You Did Last Summer’s sequel was announced in 2024 and is due to come out on June 18 of this year.

The actor is set to star in the new release, having previously told US Weekly: “I’m gonna be the creepy old lady who’s still turning around in the street screaming into the air and the kids are gonna hit me. That’s gonna be my part in the next movie!”

We don’t know exactly what her new role in the franchise will be yet ― but there’s been no mention of child directors so far.

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This Brilliant Moment From Adolescence Episode 3 Wasn’t Actually In The Script

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Because of everything that went into Adolescence, the gripping new Netflix drama in which each episode was filmed in one continuous shot, it’s been well-documented that months of planning was required before shooting could actually begin.

However, that doesn’t mean that there wasn’t room for improvisation once the cameras did start rolling.

Speaking to Variety, director Philip Barantini revealed that during episode three – which sees Jamie being analysed by a child psychologist – teen actor Owen Cooper surprised everyone once he really got inside of his character’s mindset.

“Owen’s such a lovely kid so to get him to really go there and be really nasty and horrible to this character, it wasn’t in his nature initially to do that,” Barantini explained.

“So, there were moments in that episode where, during the rehearsals, I kept on saying: ‘go further, go mad, you hate her, scream at her, get it all out’. Obviously he’d never had to do that before, so he had to go there and realise the level he could take it.”

He continued: “There was one moment in one take, which I never asked him to do, where he’s talking to Erin [Doherty] and the camera’s on him and he just starts yawning.

“Everyone behind the camera was going, ‘oh my god, he’s never done that before!’ Erin being Erin just said to him, ‘I’m sorry, am I boring you?’. And he had this cheeky smile on his face.”

Owen Cooper at the premiere of Adolescence last week
Owen Cooper at the premiere of Adolescence last week

via Associated Press

Owen also spoke about the improvised moment during an interview on The One Show last week.

“It was the second take and, you know, I was tired so a yawn came to me,” he explained.

“Then Erin did an amazing line, she said, ‘Am I boring you?’. So, that took me back and it made me smile, because it wasn’t in the script. I wasn’t expecting that at all, so it took me back a little bit, but it was amazing.”

All four episodes of Adolescence are now available to stream on Netflix.

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‘She Asked Me If I Wanted To Go Half On A Baby’: People Share Their WTF Dating Moments

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If there is one thing that single people can tell you, it’s that not every first date is magical. Some are actually very far from it.

Take me, for example, I once turned up to a date with somebody I thought I liked a lot, only to be told by him that he hated animals and giving to charitable causes. He also wore a t-shirt saying: “I was sober once, worst hour of my life.” It’s safe to say, we were not a match.

However, after reading through a recent Reddit thread, I’m starting to believe that my bad date was actually, by most measures, pretty good – and I got off lightly.

Posting on /r/AskReddit, i_like_maps asked: “What’s the biggest ‘wtf?!’ moment that you’ve had a on a first date?”, and the responses they received were… interesting to say the least.

One person’s hobbies were a little… too much

User Addicus commented: “We met online, chatted a bit, and decided to meet. Now, this was not a hook up situation. We both were, and clearly stated that we were, looking for a long term situation.

“She was cute, seemed smart and reasonably funny. When we got to talking about hobbies and interests, I told her I liked to read, sail, was into motorcycles and playing music. She mentioned that she ‘enjoyed live music, the theatre and the occasional Saturday night gangbang’.”

Ah. Well. Good for her?

Another person had a bananas approach to snacking

Apprehensive_Flan88 recalled: “Took me back to her place asked me if I wanted a snack brought out two fully rotten black bananas and two spoons cracked hers open and started going to town on the compost banana goo kept looking up at me like expecting me to do the same.”

Bleugh. To each their own.

One single had no time to waste when it came to babies

DatboyTeedy revealed: “First Date with a woman about 7-8 years older than me. Convo was going fine at applebees but then she asked me if wanted to go half on a baby. Then she told me her clock is ticking and she wants a kid with me. Needless to say that was the only date.”

Who doesn’t love a woman who knows what she wants?

A little criminal damage got in the way of this date

Joyofresh had quite the first date journey. They recalled: “Met a girl in a cafe, agreed to [a] drink later that week. Day came she didn’t respond. Whatever.

“Later she reached out to me again saying she lost her phone and we started dating. After a month she told me actually the day we originally agreed to a first date she was in jail for breaking into her ex’s apartment…”

I’ve heard some excuses in my time but that one is new even for me.

A third party slithered into this first date, unnoticed

Korar67 said: “Went out on a date. At the end we started making out. Something felt weird on my ear. I pulled back and saw a snake sticking out of the sleeve of her sweater. It was her pet snake. It had been in there the whole time.”

Sure! Why not!

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