Mrs Hinch, whose real name is Sophie Hinchliffe, garnered popularity after sharing her cleaning tips and recommendations on social media and TV. The cleaning enthusiast has managed to gain over 4.1 million followers on Instagram. Now, fans of hers have created their own social media groups dedicated to cleaning and tidying tips.
Another user suggested: “Put a clear bag full of 2ps and 1ps in water, hang from the doors and windows, they think it’s a wasp nest and stay away.”
Other users also recommended using one or two pence coins inside a sealed sandwich bag full of water.
They then suggested to hang the bag up near doors and windows.
“Put a bag of water with a few 2ps in hanging beside your door,” claimed another person.
One user suggested: “We used to grow basil by the back door when we lived in Western Australia as they were so bad.
“There are a few different herbs that are recommended to grow around the doorways to help keep flies at bay. I would google to see what is recommended.”
Another person added: “Eucalyptus oil and mint oil, I put in burners. Not one fly in the house now.”
A third penned: “Peppermint oil. Mix in a spray bottle with water and spray around windows and doors. Apparently lavender or eucalyptus works too.”
A fourth said: “We have several basil plants next to doors, it definitely seems to be working.”
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Speaking on Sydney radio station 2GB, Barnaby Joyce, the Australian Deputy Prime Minister, claimed the Chinese ship was doing more than just observing the military drill.
“We can’t do anything about (the ship in Queensland), quite frankly,” he said.
“They can sit in international waters and do their job.”
Mr Joyce alleged: “But that’s one section of the listening and there are other sections where they try to hack in.
“They have computers that will basically try and break into our computers and into our secret areas and communication networks.
“But (you have to ask) what is interesting about Australia? It’s your iron ore, your gas, your vital agricultural exports and your alliances and how close your platform is with the United States.
“(China wants to learn) how well your platforms work together in comparison to their platforms and their military.”
The Chinese vessel is entitled to operate in the area as it is not performing any economic activity.
READ MORE: China threatens US with ‘serious consequences’ for ‘trespassing’
Kim says China-North Korea ties are vital in the face of hostile foreign forces, while Xi promises to bring cooperation ‘to a new stage’,
The leaders of North Korea and China have exchanged messages pledging to strengthen cooperation on the 60th anniversary of the signing of their Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance.
In a message to China’s Xi Jinping on Sunday, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said their relationship was vital in the face of hostile foreign forces, while Xi promised to bring cooperation “to a new stage”, according to North Korea’s KCNA news agency.
China has been North Korea’s only major ally since the two sides signed the treaty in 1961, and international sanctions imposed over Pyongyang’s nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programmes have made it more dependent than ever on Beijing for trade and other support.
The friendship pact calls on the two countries to come to each other’s assistance should either side come under attack.
“Despite the unprecedentedly complicated international situation in recent years the comradely trust and militant friendship between the DPRK and China get stronger day by day,” Kim said in his message, KCNA reported, using the initials for North Korea’s official name.
The treaty is defending socialism and peace in Asia “now that the hostile forces become more desperate in their challenge and obstructive moves,” Kim said.
Xi’s message said he plans to provide greater happiness to the two countries and their people by strengthening communication with Kim and “by steadily leading the relations of friendship and cooperation between the two countries to a new stage,” KCNA said.
The China-North Korea treaty has a validity period of 20 years and was renewed in 1981 and 2001.
NK News, a website that monitors North Korea, said that it expected Xi and Kim to extend the treaty for another 20 years.
Xi and Kim’s exchange of messages is the latest sign of renewed ties between the neighbours, which analysts say is aimed at the United States amid gridlocked nuclear talks between Pyongyang and Washington and worsening US-Beijing tensions.
“It’s a marriage of convenience,” Park Won-gon, professor of North Korean Studies at Ewha Womans University, told AFP.
The two allies’ relations have had discord since the end of the Korean War, he added, and they will “never really trust each other”.
But they need each other to deal with Washington, Park added.
“And the closer they get, the harder it will be to denuclearise North Korea.”
Manchester United are finally closing in on the signing of Jadon Sancho but are still yet to meet Borussia Dortmund‘s asking price, according to reports. The Red Devils have been admirers of the 21-year-old for some time and have reignited their pursuit of his services after launching a failed attempt to bring him to Old Trafford last summer.
United came agonisingly close but were unable to agree a fee with Dortmund, who stood firm in their desire to keep hold of the man from Camberwell.
He stayed in Germany as a result, going on to play a crucial role for his side last season with 16 goals and 20 assists in all competitions.
However, the 20-time Premier League champions are determined to follow through on their interest this time around and have acted quickly to negotiate a summer move for their long-term target.
Talks between the two clubs have been ongoing for a number of weeks, but it seems as though a final agreement could soon be on the cards, according to transfer expert Fabrizio Romano.
It is claimed that all parties are confident of Sancho joining United ‘in the next days’, with the Red Devils looking to finalise add-ons and the structure of their bid.
Despite this, their reported offer of £72.6million still falls short of the £81m wanted by Dortmund in order to part ways with the forward.
Although there is still work to be done for United, they are seemingly closer than ever to bringing former City prospect Sancho back to Manchester.
Personal terms and agent fees are said to have been rubber-stamped, with Dortmund of the persuasion that a deal could be on the horizon.
United’s decision to negotiate add-ons may well bring the value of their total package up to the Bundesliga outfit’s asking price, suggesting that Sancho’s long and painful transfer saga could finally be nearing its conclusion.
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The Red Devils are said to be eyeing a number of other additions this summer, with the capture of a new central defender to partner Harry Maguire also believed to be on Ole Gunnar Solskjaer‘s agenda.
However, United legend Gary Neville recently suggested that Sancho’s arrival would be all the Norwegian boss needs to mount a renewed Premier League title challenge next season.
“I think Sancho comes in on that right-hand side, with [Mason] Greenwood as a potential back-up,” Neville told Sky Sports’ Monday Night Football last month.
“Up front you’ve then got [Edinson] Cavani and Greenwood. On the left [Marcus] Rashford and [Anthony] Martial, and then you’ve got [Paul] Pogba who could potentially fit there if he’s not playing in midfield.
“If you sign [Harry] Kane or [Erling] Haaland, which is what’s being mooted, I don’t think that works for Manchester United.
“[The policy of] allowing young players to emerge like Greenwood, making sure Rashford plays. [Donny] van de Beek can’t get a game. I think it’s Sancho and that’s their business done.”
United finished as Premier League runners-up last season, with City clinching the title in style after stretching to a 12-point lead over their bitter rivals.
The US President issued Russian President Vladimir Putin a warning while speaking to reporters after Nato meetings. Labelling Mr Putin a “bright” and “worthy adversary”, Mr Biden stressed that the US would retaliate if he refused to cooperate.
He said: “I’m going to make clear to President Putin that there are areas we can cooperate if he chooses.
“If he chooses not to cooperate and acts in a way that he has in the past, then we will respond. We will respond in kind.”
Mr Biden also warned that if Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny were to die in prison, relations between Russia and the international community would be damaged.
He said: “Navalny’s death would be another indication of Russia has little or no intention of abiding by basic fundamental human rights.
“It would be a tragedy. It would do nothing but hurt his relationships with the rest of the world in my view. And with me.”
Last week, Mr Putin said US-Russia relations are at their lowest point in years during an interview with NBC News ahead of his meeting with Mr Biden.
He hailed former US President Donald Trump as “an extraordinary individual, talented individual,” but said Mr Biden, as a career politician, was “radically different” from his predecessor.
Speaking to NBC News, Mr Putin said: “We have a bilateral relationship that has deteriorated to its lowest point in recent years.”
The crypto market frenzy of 2021 continues as both Ethereum and Cardano hit all-time price highs today. It comes after Bitcoin’s price surged by more than a third in value over the last week and eight percent overnight. Meanwhile, Dogecoin’s price has levelled out following a drop after Elon Musk’s appearance on Saturday Night Live, but remains up more than 1,000 percent since the start of the year.
And crypto investor and innovator Nick Spanos expects more of the same.
He said: “Dogecoin is a fad, within a growing movement that is here to stay.
“Excitement from Dogecoin’s Saturday Night Live debut will carry over into tokens with proven utility.
“Some airheads lash out at Dogecoin as ‘annoying,’ but what is actually annoying is being dominated by big banks and big government and their extortionist fees, inflation, and financial exclusion.”
Mr Spanos, who founded the Bitcoin Centre NYC in 2013 – the first live cryptocurrency exchange that helped launch Dogecoin – says the coin remains “a powerful marketing tool”.
He added: “It is driving attention and adoption of crypto and decentralisation as a concept.
“And in that respect, it is invaluable.
“I expect many people to cash in on their Dogecoin profits in the coming days, and this is likely to boost the wider crypto market as a lot of this money will flow into other altcoins which have strong potential instead of it being converted into fiat money.
“It’s easy to imagine that ZAP’s price will be among those to benefit from this wave.”
Mr Spanos is the co-founder of Zap.org and a pioneer in unleashing the potential of smart contacts on the blockchain through his ZAP Protocol token which operates on the Ethereum platform
Many investors have already stated that Ethereum’s decentralised, open-source blockchain with smart contract functionality will soon outperform Bitcoin because it is “easier to use”.
And Professor Carol Alexander, from the University of Sussex Business School, believes public blockchains have “the power to change the whole system”.
She added in an interview with Express.co.uk: “Crypto has the power to change the entire financial system and the way financial markets dominate the economy.
“It is the future of all commerce, if you are a washing machine manufacturer you will use smart contracts, so will the health system.
“Smart contracts are on blockchains – it is a code that automatically executes step-by-step as soon as something is done the next step happens.
“Not all of these are on Ethereum, there are other public blockchains like Polkadot and IOTA – different blockchains focus on different types of applications.
“They don’t have to be public, either, they can be private like the central bank digital currencies would have to be.”
Britain’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has previously warned against investing in digital tokens.
It stated: “If consumers invest, they should be prepared to lose all their money.
“Some investments advertising high returns from crypto assets may not be subject to regulation beyond anti-money laundering.
“Significant price volatility, combined with the difficulties valuing [Bitcoin] reliably, place consumers at a high risk of losses.”
Express.co.uk does not give financial advice. The journalists who worked on this article do not own cryptocurrency.
Cleaning expert Mrs Hinch has garnered an impressive 4.1million followers on Instagram. Mrs Hinch, whose full name is Sophie Hinchliffe, rose to fame after she began sharing her cleaning tips and tricks on social media and TV. Now, the cleaning influencer has her own podcast, books and homeware line at Tesco.
Another user commented: “Squeegee after every shower definitely helps.”
Another user said: “I keep a squeegee and bottle of Viakal in the shower and just give it a quick squirt and squeegee it down every time. It takes seconds.”
Another user commented: “I used a squeegee after every shower then takes off most of water and helps stop the mould as well at bottom.”
Another user recommended rubbing toothpaste on the shower screen.
They said: “Try a cheap toothpaste and rub it in all over leave it for 10 minutes to dry and clean off.
“My shower screen was like yours and removed and made it a lot better.”
While another user suggested using lemon and salt.
They said: “Try half a lemon with salt, use the lemon to scrub the salt onto the shower screen and once scrubbed, rinse it off.”
You can buy a squeegee for as little as 79p from The Range, £3 from Wilko and ASDA and £1.99 from Amazon.
This article contains affiliate links, which means we may receive a commission on any sales of products or services we write about. This article was written completely independently, see more details here.
After Derek Chauvin was found guilty of the murder of George Floyd, stars like Mariah Carey and Katy Perry took to social media to speak out about the long-awaited verdict.
Stars like Mariah Carey and Jada Pinkett-Smith are speaking out after Derek Chauvin was found guilty of the murder of George Floyd. The jury announced the verdict on April 20, and the terminated Minneapolis police officer was found guilty of all three of his charges: second degree murder, third degree murder and second-degree manslaughter. Immediately after the verdict was announced, Ciara was one of the first celebrities to celebrate the verdict with a tweet that read, “Thank you Jesus! I’m in tears. May your legacy live on forever #GeorgeFloyd.”
Thank you Jesus! I’m in tears. May your legacy live on forever #GeorgeFloyd. 🙏🏽❤️
Mariah Carey joined the online celebration by tweeting, “Hallelujah!!!!!!!!” Meanwhile, Jada Pinkett Smith tweeted, “Come thru Justice!” Alyssa Milano also took to social media to tweet, “FOUND GUILTY ON ALL THREE CHARGES. Rest In Peace, George Floyd. You have changed the world.#verdict.”
Even more celebrities reacted to the verdict. Captain America star Chris Evans tweeted, “Justice. Sending love to George Floyd’s family and friends,” while pop star Katy Perryposted, “rest in JUSTICE George Floyd.” The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star Garcelle Beauvais also shared a message about justice on her Instagram page: “Justice for Black America is justice for All America.” Beyoncé‘s mother, Tina Knowles, wrote about justice as well in an Instagram message: “Justice is served! All three counts!!! Praise the Lord!!! Just the Beginning!!! If bad Police faced jail for killing unarmed people , or breaking the law and abusing people they would not do these things. I am not saying under any circumstance that there are not police officers that really try to protect and serve . And I must say that the police that told the truth in this trial and did not protect Derick Chauvin . I commend them and pray that it is the beginning of change.”
Justice. Sending love to George Floyd’s family and friends.
Talk show personalities also made sure to chime in. The Talk host Elaine Welterothtweeted, “GUILTY OF ALL CHARGES#ChauvinTrial,” while The View host Meghan McCainwrote, “May justice heal our nation.”
Politicians also joined the conversation on Twitter after the verdict was announced. Former First Lady Hillary Clinton tweeted, “George Floyd’s family and community deserved for his killer to be held accountable. Today, they got that accountability. Always and forever, Black lives matter.” And Kamala Harris‘s niece, Ambitious Girl author Meena Harris, tweeted, “Rest in power, George Floyd.”
George Floyd’s family and community deserved for his killer to be held accountable.
While the verdict was celebrated, stars also reminded people of the grim reality the country faces as the fight against systematic racism continues. Renown poet Amanda Gorman, who recited a poem at Joe Biden‘s inauguration, tweeted, “A reminder that victory would be George Floyd being alive. Every day Black Americans worry if they will be next is another day without justice.” Orange is the New Black star Danielle Brooks also called attention to this ongoing fight by posting an Instagram message that read, “One small step in the right direction. Thank you jurors for doing the right thing. #JusticeForGeorgeFloyd.”
A reminder that victory would be George Floyd being alive. Every day Black Americans worry if they will be next is another day without justice.
Chauvin was convicted on April 20 after a lengthy trial and deliberation by the jury. The verdict comes almost a year since Floyd, an unarmed Black man in Chauvin’s custody, died after the police officer pinned him to the ground by his neck for nearly 10 minutes. The prosecution argued for weeks that Chauvin’s actions on May 25, 2020, were a “substantial causal factor” in Floyd’s death. Defense told a very different story, dragging Floyd’s character and insisting that his death could be attributed to different reasons, including a heart condition.
A photo of George Floyd’s memorial in Minneapolis, Minnesota, taken on the day Derek Chauvin’s guilty verdict was announced. [Chelsea Lauren/Shutterstock]
However, Dr. Martin Tobin, a pulmonologist and expert in the science of breathing, told the court that Floyd’s cause of death was due to a lack of oxygen. “A healthy person subjected to what Mr. Floyd was subjected to would have died,” Tobin told jurors. Prosecutors played bystanders’ footage of the final moments of Floyd’s life, showing him begging Chauvin to get off his neck, clearly saying, “I can’t breathe” and calling out for his mother.
Despite knowing that Floyd, 46, couldn’t breathe, Chauvin ignored bystanders’ pleas to release him and didn’t relent until he fell unconscious. George Floyd died in the ambulance on the way to the hospital.
