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[] | 2016-08-29T12:51:10 | null | 2016-08-29T13:00:18 |
More than 230 visitors took to the water at Rutland Sailing Club to try the sport for free ahead of the final medal race for Olympian Dylan Fletcher.
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Rio Olympics inspires people to give sailing a go
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More than 230 visitors took to the water at Rutland Sailing Club to try the sport for free ahead of the final medal race for Olympian Dylan Fletcher.
The club at Edith Weston was one of six key locations chosen to host the Royal Yachting Association’s Sail for Gold Roadshow because of a special connection with GB’s Olympic sailing team in Rio.
More than 50 club volunteers helped to run sailing trips in 15 different boats, including cruisers, dinghies and a catamaran, with visitors inspired by the Olympics having a chance to find out more about the sport and meet members of the British Sailing Team.
The Crabtree family from Kettering took to the water in a catamaran and Charlie, aged 12, was thrilled when they were able to take over some of the controls.
Dad Oliver, who works in IT, said: “I used to sail when I was a bit younger. I loved it today. At the moment it’s just a day out but we’ll definitely now find out a bit more about sailing.”’
The combination of inspirational Olympic sailing and the chance to get on the water during the Sail for Gold Roadshow also motivated Rutland SC member Clive Herd, aged 60, to go sailing again for the first time since major surgery when a burst appendix was diagnosed as cancerous. He said that while in intensive care, it was thinking about sailing that kept him going.
The father-of-three and grandfather from Spalding, is now looking forward to getting back on the water more regularly.
“I asked if I could go out to get my confidence back and it was so good to get on the water again - it’s great here, everyone is so supportive and helpful,” he said.
Many of those at the club stayed on after the sailing to watch Britain’s Olympic sailors on a big screen compete in their final medal races, including Market Harborough-raised Dylan Fletcher, who grew up sailing locally and with crew Alain Sign tried to medal in the thrills-and-spills 49er class.
The pair missed out on the podium after making a dramatic comeback in the final race only to capsize, finishing sixth overall.
Nevertheless a proud Rutland Sailing Club cheered them over the finish line.
Rutland Sailing Club always welcomes visitors wanting to find out more and details are at www.rutlandsc.co.uk
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http://www.stamfordmercury.co.uk/news/local/rio-olympics-inspires-people-to-give-sailing-a-go-1-7545844
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en
| 2016-08-29T00:00:00 |
www.stamfordmercury.co.uk/1904781ea85cb865bd53bb1f7b1915d2a8dd5c45b4121982caa38c884cb9bb9e.json
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[
"Elizabeth Anderson"
] | 2016-08-31T04:52:24 | null | 2016-08-30T10:47:08 |
Visit now for the offbeat news - from the Rutland & Stamford Mercury
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Revealed: The top UK companies for work-life balance
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A recruitment firm has been named the best company in the UK for work-life balance.
Financial recruiter Goodman Masson took first place in the list by jobs site Glassdoor, based on reviews submitted to its website by current and former staff.
The company, which is based in London and also has offices in Dusseldorf, was praised by staff for its “huge investment” in staff benefits and “great” parties twice a year.
“The attention paid to the wellbeing of staff is at a level rarely matched elsewhere,” said an anonymous employee working in the London office.
In second place was technology firm Cisco Systems, and in third place was insurer HomeServe.
West Midlands-based HomeServe, which employs 1,200 people at its headquarters in Walsall and has 2.1 million customers in the UK, was commended for its attitude towards the treatment of its staff.
“The salary is very competitive and you are rewarded very generously for your hard work and just for carrying out your role. The company has a great framework for career progression and is always looking to promote people internally for job roles,” said a water supply engineer working at the firm.
Greg Reed, chief marketing officer at HomeServe, said: “We believe if you take care of your people, they will take care of your customers. This means creating a culture where people genuinely enjoy coming to work every day because they feel what they do really makes a difference in our customers’ lives.”
Temping firm LOLA and Screwfix completed the top five. Other companies in the top 20 included Apple, American Express Lloyds Banking Group, Unilever and John Lewis.
Google is known for its plush offices, but doesn’t make the top 20 companies for work-life balance. Its new London office has sleep pods so workers can take a nap, although perhaps this is an indication of long hours.
For a company to have been considered, at least 50 work-life balance ratings must have been submitted by UK-based employees in the past year.
The top 20 companies for work-life balance:
1. Goodman Masson
2. Cisco Systems
3. HomeServe UK
4. LOLA Staffing
5. Screwfix
6. American Express
7. BP
8. Peninsula Business Services
9. ARM Holdings
10. Unilever
11.Thomson Reuters
12. Kantar Worldpanel
13. Atkins
14. Téléfonica
15. Credit Suisse
16. Rolls-Royce
17. John Lewis
18. Waitrose
19. Lloyds Banking Group
20. Apple
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http://www.stamfordmercury.co.uk/news/offbeat/revealed-the-top-uk-companies-for-work-life-balance-1-7550178
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en
| 2016-08-30T00:00:00 |
www.stamfordmercury.co.uk/b638c030fdb24b2a5c0526eea93943661b6944f094d8364710318799c0a705f1.json
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[] | 2016-08-29T18:51:25 | null | 2016-08-29T19:32:10 |
Bradley Wells’ derby-day double earned three points for Spalding United despite a dream start by Stamford.
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DERBY DAY: Bank holiday round-up and results
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Bradley Wells’ derby-day double earned three points for Spalding United despite a dream start by Stamford.
The Daniels went ahead after just 80 seconds at the Sir Halley Stewart Field on Bank Holiday Monday afternoon.
Peter Denton’s goal-kick was flicked on for Ryan Robbins to slot the ball beyond Michael Duggan into the bottom corner of the net.
The Tulips were level on eight minutes as Wells headed home Paul Walker’s assist.
Spalding took control with Wells’ eighth goal in just five appearances, slotting home from close range following Matt Varley’s long throw-in.
Delroy Gordon should have levelled in first-half stoppage-time but Stamford struggled to create chances after the break.
Mixed emotions on the final whistle
Tom Batchelor was fortunate to escape a red card for an apparent stamp on Wells who went close to completing his hat-trick, only to be denied by Denton at the end.
EVO-STIK NORTHERN PREMIER LEAGUE
First Division South: AFC Rushden & Diamonds 2 Bedworth 0, Basford 1 Chasetown 2, Belper 1 Gresley 2, Leek 2 Kidsgrove 2, Loughborough Dynamo 1 Lincoln 0, Romulus 2 Newcastle 1, Rugby 0 Carlton 1, Shaw Lane 2 Northwich 2, Spalding 2 Stamford 1, Stocksbridge Park Steels 2 Sheffield 1, Witton 3 Market Drayton 1.
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http://www.stamfordmercury.co.uk/sport/football/derby-day-bank-holiday-round-up-and-results-1-7549683
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en
| 2016-08-29T00:00:00 |
www.stamfordmercury.co.uk/eba6e136b6d7a8dc3b1ed0264b6e02be133aec4574549ed6c60a3f8df6b01ef0.json
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[] | 2016-08-31T04:53:29 | null | 2016-08-27T07:00:00 |
Visit now for the latest entertainment and leisure news and features - from the Rutland & Stamford Mercury, updated daily
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The Vikings return to take over castle
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The Vikings of Middle England are set to return to Rockingham Castle this August Bank Holiday to recreate their famous and realistic displays.
Enjoy the thrill of a live battle complete with crashing swords and authentic costumes, when the Castle comes alive with battles, pageantry and a living history village providing an immersive and educational environment for all the family to enjoy.
Experience the sights, smells and sounds of a Viking encampment, set against the thrilling background of a battle scene. Step back in time whilst meandering around the village. Observe craftsmen making weapons and coins, weaving nets and the healer brewing medicines for all those gory battlefield injuries.
Experienced bowmen will be on hand to teach their skills, preparing all members of the family to hold their own in a Viking invasion.
Against all this excitement, a quiet moment can be enjoyed listening to the storyteller weave fascinating tales to spark the imagination. The Castle, built by William the Conqueror 900 years ago, will also be open to observe the splendid collection of paintings and armour.
The event, running on Sunday, August 28 and Monday, August 29, is open from midday until 5pm.
The castle will be open from 1pm. Last entry at 4.30pm.
Visit the website for more details.
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| 2016-08-27T00:00:00 |
www.stamfordmercury.co.uk/3ad7b4c438b98e343086fbd2f996e839bcbdd531d6844536a324df20c5988340.json
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[] | 2016-08-29T10:51:10 | null | 2016-08-29T09:38:50 |
Deeping Rangers recorded their first league win of the season with a four-goal haul at Ratby Lane.
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FOOTBALL: First league win for Deeping Rangers
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Deeping Rangers recorded their first league win of the season with a four-goal haul at Ratby Lane.
A downpour prior to the start made for greasy conditions but both sides adapted to the conditions throughout that saw more very heavy rain, thunder and lightning.
A long clearance from the Deeping defence saw home defender Sam Wilson head on into the path of Scott Coupland who found Scott Mooney but his shot was tipped over by Mickey Turner.
Dan Schiavi won the ball, advanced into the Kirby half and his pass found Charlie Coulson to feed Mooney who was tackled by Will Cheshire as he was about to shoot. Schiavi then chased a ball to get in the home box where Wilson’s challenge was just about legal to clear the threat.
Kirby Muxloe’s Tyler Love sent a deep cross into the Rangers box that keeper Richard Stainsby collected just before Jordan Lever arrived.
Lever cut inside and shot from range that Stainsby saved well while Josh Burniston collected in his half and advanced to the Rangers goalline to see his cross eventually cleared.
Schiavi’s free-kick was met by Mooney but his header went the wrong side of the bar.
Deeping were denied as Schiavi, Coulson, Henry Dunn and Coupland - with slick passing and movement - freed Mooney who slid his shot inside the far post, only to see the assistant’s flag raised for offside.
Poor Rangers play allowed Lever to collect the ball and shoot from the edge of the area – his shot across the face of the goal missed the far post.
It was the visitors who broke the deadlock on 40 minutes. Dunn advanced from halfway to the edge of the home box, his touch found the advanced Tom Smith whose shot was spilled by Turner where Coupland pounced to prod the ball past him into the net.
Kirby responded as Will Cheshire got in behind the Deeping defence only to cross for Stainsby to claim while Love’s deep cross found Lever at the far post but his header was soft and into the hands of the keeper.
The half finished with Rangers close to doubling their advantage, Coupland found Schiavi free in the home box to shoot and bring a good save from Turner at the foot of his post.
The rain was heavier for the start of the second half as Rangers started brightly looking to increase their lead, Coulson saw his shot on the turn bounce in front of Turner but skid wide of the post
They were soon celebrating a second goal on 48 minutes – Schiavi’s free-kick was cleared back out to him with his second attempt flying to the far post where Coupland was on hand to half volley past the dive of Turner.
Rangers were well in control and increased the lead on 56 minutes. Schiavi’s corner was driven to the far post where Callum Madigan saw his volley go through the defenders on the line to hit the net.
Madigan was then in action at the other end as Dan Agar seemed to have got the better of him in the box but the defender recovered with a good tackle to halt the threat.
Deeping’s Smith sent in a cross that Mooney headed past the far post.
Kirby got a consolation on 73 minutes – Cheshire drove a pass to the near post where Agar collected and shot past Stainsby at the second attempt – at the same time a streak of lightning took out the floodlights (the referee continued play until they came back into action).
Rangers were not to be outdone and they restored their three-goal advantage on 77 minutes. Mooney chased a long ball in the home box and rounded the challenge of Turner to shoot inside the far post.
Deeping: Stainsby, Flack, Smith, Avis, Hunnings, Madigan, Dunn, Coulson, Mooney, Coupland (sub Bird 70 mins), Schiavi (sub Vieira 70 mins). Sub not used: Mann.
Deeping are at home to Gresley on Saturday in the Emirates FA Cup – six years after the Derbyshire club won 2-0 at Outgang Road in the extra preliminary round.
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| 2016-08-29T00:00:00 |
www.stamfordmercury.co.uk/0409c12337a86c706d39d44acad196a8258318c5dfdf065757c194eefaad3ede.json
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[] | 2016-08-26T13:10:52 | null | 2016-08-25T10:09:07 |
Bourne Grammar’s 153 Year 11 students are celebrating some impressive results which set them up for a confident move on to their sixth form education and beyond.
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GCSE RESULTS: Bourne Grammar School celebrates impressive results
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Bourne Grammar’s 153 Year 11 students are celebrating some impressive results which set them up for a confident move on to their sixth form education and beyond.
No fewer than 74 students achieved at least one A* grade amongst their 10 or 11 GCSE results, representing almost half of the students in the cohort.
Two pupils, Francesca Gardner from Bourne and Adam Hawkins from Baston, achieved a clean sweep of all A* grades. Hannah Scott from Langtoft along with Joseph Cuffling and Emily Fytche from Bourne each scored 10 A* grades. Alice Calcutt from Baston achieved an impressive 9 A* grades. Many other pupils saw only A* or A grades on their results slips.
Of the 1,499 GCSE grades received, 20 per cent were at the A* level and just over half were A-grade or better. 80 per cent of all grades achieved were grade B or better.
100 per cent of pupils passed GCSE English Language and there were outstanding results in English Literature too with 74 students achieving and A* or A grade. In mathematics - in which the GCSE examination is becoming ever more challenging - 98.7 per cent of the students achieved a good pass grade and 89 students achieved an A* or A grade. The science results were exceptional, with 100 per cent pass rate in each of biology, chemistry and physics. In biology, 80 per cent of the grades were A* or A and 83 per cent of the chemistry grades were at this level. Well over 40 per cent of the students grades in biology and chemistry were A* grades.
On average across the whole year-group, every pupil achieved equivalent to a high B grade for every GCSE examination taken. In French the average grade was close to an A*. At Bourne Grammar every student takes at least one modern foreign language at GCSE level. All take Spanish and 60 per cent of the grades were B or better. 83 per cent of the students grades in German were A or better.
A key indicator for high-performing selective schools such as Bourne Grammar is the percentage of pupils that achieves five or more A* or A grades including English and mathematics, in itself an impressive achievement. The class of 2016 achieved 40 per cent at this elevated level.
Bourne Grammar’s proud headteacher Jonathan Maddox said: “With grade inflation a thing of the past and the GCSE examinations becoming significantly more demanding, our students’ work ethic and the first-rate teaching they enjoy shine through in these results. We have plenty of students who are capable of top grades but many too who have had to work exceptionally hard to achieve their excellent results. They have been carefully supported and gently encouraged on their way and are now able to celebrate what they have achieved. These students can be confident that their results stand them in good stead as they start their A-Level students at our sixth form in September. I also look forward to welcoming students from many other local schools into our sixth form who will be enrolling later on today. Congratulations to all.”
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http://www.stamfordmercury.co.uk/news/education/education-news/gcse-results-bourne-grammar-school-celebrates-impressive-results-1-7543068
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| 2016-08-25T00:00:00 |
www.stamfordmercury.co.uk/d67af6303119dbf27d93f89a624ef27e4023ec006f72aba54d2df08fef84d02a.json
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[] | 2016-08-31T04:53:01 | null | 2016-08-24T10:35:36 |
Visit now for the latest music news - direct from the Rutland & Stamford Mercury
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ALBUM REVIEW: Ten tracks that define a band and a revolution in the folk genre
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Tales from the Tulgey Wood by Pennyless, Pennyless Music
Fairport Convention’s Liege and Leif, Songs of Leonard Cohen, The Times They Are A-Changin’ by Bob Dylan and Bridge Over Troubled Water by Simon and Garfunkel.
All these albums are considered not just classics, but a commentary on a generation and the ondition of our times.
When Pennyless band released their third album, Tales from the Tulgey Wood in 2012, it prompted one reviewer to call it as “far removed from big beards and knitting your own cider as possible”.
Inspired by Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland, including the name Tulgey Wood itself and the opening track Jabberwocky, Pennyless weave a magic spell that the same reviewer fittingly called “one of the few times that an album can be described as ‘a mixed bag’ in a nice way”.
There are instrumentals with Napoleon Crossing the Alps/Matterhornpipe, Catharsis/Repression and Romanian Circle Dance, while guitarist Les Woods becomes Mark Knopfler (Dire Straits) and Ralph McTell with Way Over Yonder and The Caretaker.
Despite the jigs and reels, occasional tweeness and a plethora of instruments, the Neil Young-esque Way Over Yonder, Winter Is Gone and The Caretaker make this an album far removed from big beards and knitting your own cider as possible Simon Stabler, Urban R(eal)ail Pink
Winter is Gone, Tell it to the Bees and Will o’ the Wisp, Pennyless’s landmark number, make this album an absolute treasure chest.
Review by Winston Brown
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| 2016-08-24T00:00:00 |
www.stamfordmercury.co.uk/f60a3be23887326973d84c4be7dd353d7a0fd9fa4d0019a7a0e3bd8a0603d72c.json
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[] | 2016-08-26T13:11:36 | null | 2016-08-25T17:56:55 |
Early indications of GCSE results across Lincolnshire show continued improvements this year.
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Continued improvements in GCSE results across Lincolnshire
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Early indications of GCSE results across Lincolnshire show continued improvements this year.
With 10 schools still to return data, provisional figures released today (Thursday) by Lincolnshire schools, including academies, indicate that the percentage of students attaining good grades in core subjects continues to rise.
The percentage of students attaining 5+ A*-C including English and maths is no longer a headline measure of school performance.
The new headline is the percentage of students attaining an A*-C grade in English and maths, which has increased by five per cent, from 58.3 per cent in 2015 to 63.2 per cent this year. An impressive 23 schools so far have achieved more than 60 per cent.
The percentage of students attaining A*-C in English is currently 73.5 per cent for 2016 and compares to 67.6 per cent last year, an increase of 5.9 per cent. Four of the 45 schools achieved 100 per cent in this measure.
The percentage of A*-C in maths is currently showing as 69.8 per cent for 2016, 1.8 per cent up on last year. Six of the 45 schools achieved 100 per cent in this measure
The government has been keen to emphasise the importance of the English Baccalaureate as this measure supports as many students as possible to achieve A*-C grades in a broad range of academic subjects. The percentage achieving the English Baccalaureate is 29.4 per cent for 2016 compared to 27.2 per cent in 2015 - an increase of 2.2 per cent on last year.
So far 24 schools have shown improvement on last year in this measure, with 12 of those schools improving by over five per cent points on last year.
Coun Patricia Bradwell, executive councillor for children’s services, said: “It’s looking like another impressive set of results this year. In particular, the percentage of students achieving the English Baccalaureate at 29.4 per cent is a significant improvement.
“Students deserve every credit for their commitment to reach their potential. Remember, if you haven’t got the results you need, don’t panic, there is plenty of advice and help out there – go to www.lincolnshire.gov.uk/teeninfolincs.”
Debbie Barnes, director of children’s services, added: “We have yet to see how the final figures will pan out, but the picture is showing that our students have done incredibly well to maintain improvements and standards. Schools continue to excel in providing the platform for students to perform to their best.
“Teachers, parents and carers deserve praise for their support and encouragement. My congratulations to all students and best wishes for your future plans.”
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http://www.stamfordmercury.co.uk/news/local/continued-improvements-in-gcse-results-across-lincolnshire-1-7545043
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| 2016-08-25T00:00:00 |
www.stamfordmercury.co.uk/379039205b343142c0797976de735a69ccaddc74197c0e183bc59b0a5c197b23.json
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[] | 2016-08-28T06:50:32 | null | 2016-08-28T07:00:00 |
Drolma Buddhist Centre presents a new term at Stamford Arts Centre, starting with a public talk on Friday, September 9.
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Come and learn the art of meditation
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Drolma Buddhist Centre presents a new term at Stamford Arts Centre, starting with a public talk on Friday, September 9.
Buddhist nun, Gen Kelsang Nyingpo will present ‘The Basics of Meditation’ at the Arts Centre from 7pm to 8pm. The talk will cost £6 per person. To book call the Box Office on 01780 763203.
Following the public talk, will be a special three-week course to explore basic meditation practices in more depth. The sessions will run at the Arts Centre on Fridays, including September 16, 23 and 30, from 7pm to 8.15pm. Each session is £6 or £15 discounted price for the whole course.
Weekly classes on ‘The Basics of Meditation’ are also held on Thursdays, 1pm to 2pm, starting on September 8.
To book call 01733 755444.
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| 2016-08-28T00:00:00 |
www.stamfordmercury.co.uk/0a379c6580e2cf73b6afaa7dcb5911d1db7efe8f3c4335a459711827c60c7451.json
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[] | 2016-08-26T12:55:50 | null | 2016-08-22T08:35:04 |
Ann Boulton rounds up this week’s Lincs ECB Premier action...
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LINCS ECB PREMIER: Round-up
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Ann Boulton rounds up this week’s Lincs ECB Premier action...
On a good day for batting that brought three centuries, Obus Pienaar hit an unbeaten 122 to break the Readers Lincolnshire ECB Premier League runs record, set by his predecessor at Sleaford, Tim McIntosh.
With three matches to go, the South African now has 1,394 runs for the season, with nine centuries.
Bracebridge Heath have a 22 point lead at the top, while below them Grantham head a chasing pack of four separated by just 15 points.
The top two played the bottom two and both took a gamble by declaring, only to see their opponents put up spirited performances to hang on to their wickets and earn a draw.
Bracebridge hosted Grimsby, declaring after 47 overs on 282 for five, Kit Spence unbeaten on 78 and Carl Stubbs hitting 51.
Brett Houston dismissed both Grimsby openers for 37 runs but Steve Crossley and Jack Wilson added 82.
When Crossley was out, Grimsby lost their next four wickets for 17 runs to make it 138 for seven but Hayden Tice and brother Harrison steadied the ship with a partnership of 41 and Hayden was unbeaten on 34 as the innings closed on 187 for eight, earning the visitors a valuable six points.
Nettleham fared even better at Grantham who declared after 42 overs on 253 for three.
Ross Carnelley scored his maiden century for the club in the ECB Premier League, carrying his bat with 115 while Dan Freeman made a welcome return to the batting line-up after injury to hit 55, this partnership putting on 127 for the third wicket.
Nettleham’s first wicket fell on 15 and the second on 60 but the visiting batsmen took advantage of a good batting track to score at a steady rate, Rhett Bridgens hitting 60.
From 170 for five, Jack Curtis and Connor Hawkins joined forces to bat out their 58 overs and take their side to 225 for five at the close.
This gave Nettleham nine points, closing the gap on Grimsby and both sides now have 10th placed Skegness in their sights after the seasiders suffered a heavy defeat at Bourne.
Jack Berry was once again the pick of the bowling, taking six for 45 as Skegness collapsed from 63 for one to 95 all out. Bourne lost two early wickets but an unbeaten 40 from Carl Wilson saw the home side to a six wicket win.
The closest game of the day was at Boston where Woodhall Spa’s innings closed on 223 for nine, Jack Timby making 60 and Jack Luffman 52.
Boston’s first wicket fell on eight but this brought Jonny Cheer to the crease and the chase was on as Cheer shared a third wicket stand of 81 with Liam Sparke.
Ross Dixon’s two dismissals made it 149 for five but this was to be Woodhall’s last success as Cheer and Tom Baxter pushed the total ever closer.
Going into the penultimate over, 22 were needed for victory but the batsman could make only six and eight more runs off the final over left the home side just eight short, Cheer with an unbeaten 113.
Pienaar’s century helped Sleaford to 247 for six at the close and Lindum suffered an early blow, losing two wickets for just 23 runs.
From here, Dwight Thomas brought some stability to the innings and when the West Indian was out for 89, the total had reached 170 for six.
Three more wickets fell but Lindum’s final pair dug in to take the final score to 208 for nine.
Keaton Critchell almost joined the century makers with 94 at Louth whose innings closed on 226 for nine at home to Market Deeping.
Tom Corden, who had earlier hit an unbeaten 31, then took five Deeping wickets as the visitors finished on 191 for nine, Patrick Harrington hitting 49.
Results: Skegness 95 (Berry 6-45), Bourne 99-4; Woodhall Spa 223-9 (J. Timby 60, Luffman 52), Boston 216-5 (Cheer 113no); Grantham 253-3 dec (42 overs) (Freeman 55, Carnelley 115no), Nettleham 225-5 (Bridgens 60); Sleaford 247-6 (Pienaar 122no), Lindum 208-9 (Thomas 89); Louth 226-9 (Critchell 94), Market Deeping 191-9 (Corden 5-76); Bracebridge Heath 282-5 dec (47 overs) (Spence 78no, Stubbs 51), Grimsby Town 187-8 (Crossley 68).
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| 2016-08-22T00:00:00 |
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[] | 2016-08-31T04:52:15 | null | 2016-08-30T06:00:04 |
Get the latest breaking news from the Rutland & Stamford Mercury - politics, transport, education, health, environment and more, updated daily.
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Take part in a duathlon for #TeamGeorge
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George Robinson has become the inspiration for a duathlon in Uffington, in order to raise funds and awareness of the teenager’s serious injury.
It’s just over a year since the 18-year-old suffered the life-changing injury while playing rugby with his schoolmates in South Africa.
But since then people have come together as a community to help the family in many ways.
The duathlon which will take place on Saturday, 10 September is a 5k run followed by a 25k bike ride and ends with a final 2.5k run, or alternatively a 50k bike ride.
Aiming for 250 entrants, organisers of the events are urging people to come along to support even if they are not taking part. There is plenty of parking available for the community to support friends and family.
The money invested will go towards a new off road electric chair called the Boma, for George.
Previously money has been invested for physiotherapy which has improved George’s condition tremendously.
Despite George’s condition, he is not letting this dampen his future and wants to live life to the full.
Lots of local businesses are helping with the running of the duathlon in order to help in whichever way they can.
The project is not only helping improve the quality of life for George but also bringing the community together.
It is also raising awareness of George’s condition so other people with the same or a similar condition can be enlightened by George’s determination to make a better life for himself and encourage others who have suffered with spinal cord injuries.
If you would like to be a supporter of #teamgeorge and participate in this duathalon then register online at www.regonline.co.uk/teamgeorgeduathlon.
Goodie bags, which include a #teamgeorge t-shirt are available for participants.
Also don’t forget your smiles and enthusiasm!
For more about #teamgeorge and ways you can donate or raise money, visit teamgeorge.org.uk and follow @teamgeorge37 on Twitter.
Related: Paralysed teen George Robinson is looking to future after rugby accident
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| 2016-08-30T00:00:00 |
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[] | 2016-08-30T12:51:48 | null | 2016-08-30T12:42:14 |
Police and fire crews were called to the Co-op supermarket in Market Deeping last night after a security alarm sounded and smoke was seen billowing into the sky.
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Emergency services called to Market Deeping’s Co-op store after heavy rain triggered cash machine alarm
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Police and fire crews were called to the Co-op supermarket in Market Deeping last night after a security alarm sounded and smoke was seen billowing into the sky.
Lincolnshire Police was notified an alarm had been activated at the premises, in Godsey Lane, at 9.20pm. Lincolnshire Fire and Rescue Service also sent an appliance to the scene.
Police officers carried out a thorough search but there was no sign of any break-in or other criminal activity.
Lincolnshire Police said this morning it is believed a security alarm inside a cash machine which faces out into the supermarket’s car park had malfunctioned after torrential downpours over the weekend.
A spokesman said: “It was initially thought someone was attempting to break into or steal the ATM, but it transpired that heavy rain had got inside the machine and it incorrectly thought it was being stolen.
“An alarm was triggered and a SmokeCloak anti-theft device was activated.”
SmokeCloak is an anti-theft device commonly used by cash handling, financial and banking companies. Once an alarm is activated, the area is cloaked with an impenetrable curtain of fog, reducing visibility to less than an arm’s length - making it much harder for thieves to steal money or goods.
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| 2016-08-30T00:00:00 |
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[] | 2016-08-27T16:50:07 | null | 2016-08-27T17:00:26 |
The chief operating officer for a health group is set to take on an ironman triathlon this Sunday - a challenge he never thought he would be able to do five years ago when he himself was overweight and unfit.
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Tim is all set for ironman triathlon
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The chief operating officer for a health group is set to take on an ironman triathlon this Sunday - a challenge he never thought he would be able to do five years ago when he himself was overweight and unfit.
Tim Sacks, who lives in Ketton is the chief operating officer for East Leicestershire and Rutland Clinical Commissioning Group. He will take on the Vichy Ironman Triathlon in France on Sunday.
Tim said: “All too often people think taking up exercise or a healthy diet is beyond them, they can’t do it or it won’t make any difference. I am proof that they can and it will.
“And you don’t have to be an Ironman to make a difference to your own health and fitness. Simple changes to your diet can make a rapid and noticeable difference.”
Tim’s training for this challenge coincided with a team of GPs on the governing body of the CCG taking on the Dambuster triathlon in Rutland in June and in the CCGs programme of supporting its staff to get fit health and active through the workplace challenge, organised by Sport England locally, which has seen many of the staff increasing their exercise and improving diet. They successfully took on the challenge of “virtually” walking to Rio, a combined 25 million steps, in May and June.
The benefits of health and fitness to individuals are well known and well documented. And every time an individual does something to improve their personal health and fitness, they are doing something to address a number of the killer diseases facing the nation, and the major health challenging the NHS.
As well as strengthening the cardiovascular system and the body’s muscles, many people exercise to keep fit, lose or maintain a healthy weight, sharpen their athletic skills, or purely for enjoyment.
You can follow and comment on Tim’s Ironman challenge on Twitter by following #irontimsacks.
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| 2016-08-27T00:00:00 |
www.stamfordmercury.co.uk/45922cc4aba15feff7714043d692c62be9e92908c9348b465cd1cf53d95327c8.json
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[] | 2016-08-28T18:50:56 | null | 2016-08-28T18:00:42 |
Brooke Action for Working Horses and Donkeys has teamed up with Land Rover Burghley Horse Trials to launch the Brooke Burghley Bake Off – a baking contest challenging people to come up with their best carrot cake recipe.
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Celebrities give support to final of baking contest at Burghley Horse Trials
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Brooke Action for Working Horses and Donkeys has teamed up with Land Rover Burghley Horse Trials to launch the Brooke Burghley Bake Off – a baking contest challenging people to come up with their best carrot cake recipe.
Three finalists will travel to Burghley Park in Stamford, on September 3 for the final. A selection of recipes and baking tips will be made into a recipe book sold in aid of the charity, with celebrities including Joanna Lumley and Rick Stein giving their support to the initiative.
Land Rover Burghley Horse Trials, one of the world’s leading televised equestrian three day events is supporting Brooke’s High Teas for Gee Gees campaign, which aims to raise awareness and funds for working horses, donkeys and mules by asking people to throw tea parties. This year the organisers are hoping people will make their picnics at Burghley Horse Trials Brooke-themed.
Brooke is a global charity that improves the lives of horses, donkeys and mules.
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| 2016-08-28T00:00:00 |
www.stamfordmercury.co.uk/c03aa3b622ce6f648f8a2d1dfd37c8db6963663094417315a3c00759afd1cc92.json
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[] | 2016-08-26T13:11:20 | null | 2016-08-25T13:31:10 |
Police are currently at the scene of a serious collision on A151 at Edenham, near Bourne.
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Road closed following serious crash between car and lorry in Edenham
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Police are currently at the scene of a serious collision on A151 at Edenham, near Bourne.
The crash, which was reported to police at 12.35pm, is said to involve a car and a lorry.
The road has been closed while the emergency services are working at the scene, and is unlikely to re-open for several hours.
An air ambulance is currently in attendance.
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| 2016-08-25T00:00:00 |
www.stamfordmercury.co.uk/af7e40a6ac85d07cd93d3ab8f92367f99daca854de43670dc3303e4a6a325eb6.json
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[
"Matt Allan"
] | 2016-08-26T13:08:43 | null | 2016-08-22T11:09:16 |
UK motorists have been hit by a near-20 per cent rise in insurance costs in the last year, new figures show.
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Car insurance costs soar nearly 20 per cent in 12 months
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UK motorists have been hit by a near-20 per cent rise in insurance costs in the last year, new figures show.
The average driver now pays £715 a year for fully comprehensive cover, up 19 per cent on the same time last year.
The figures were revealed by the Confused.com car insurance price index, which tracks quarterly and annual trends.
After dropping for several years from a high of £843 in 2011, insurance costs have been rising since the start of 2015. The latest figures, for the period from April to June 2016 show that costs have risen by 6 per cent since the start of the year and drivers are paying an average of £115 more for their insurance than they were in the same period last year.
Northern Irish drivers have been worst hit by the latest rises, seeing their premiums climb 25 per cent year-on-year. They now face an average premium of £863.
Also feeling the impact badly are motorists in parts of Scotland - the Highlands and Islands saw rises of 24 per cent and drivers in the Hebrides were hit with a staggering 42 per cent annual increase.
Conversely, Orkney’s capital - Kirkwall - was one of only two places to see a drop in costs, with a quarterly fall of four per cent. Hereford, in the West Midlands, was the only other place to see a fall in quarterly premiums - down two per cent on the first three months of the year.
While younger drivers might face the highest premiums overall, they have actually escaped the worst of the rises. Drivers aged 17 saw an annual rise of just eight per cent - the lowest of any age bracket - but still face average premiums of £2,013. A the opposite end, 61-year-old drivers saw a 24 per cent rise - the highest of any age group - but still only pay £418 a year.
And the gender gap persists, with male drivers facing annual rises of 21 per cent in comparison with the 18 per cent faced by women. This continued difference means the gap between the sexes is growing as men pay an average of £92 a year more - up from £27 in 2013.
Confused’s motoring editor, Amanda Stretton, said: “We’ve not seen price rises of this magnitude for five years - a 19 per cent annual increase is substantial to say the least. And these price rises are being felt across the board, for drivers of all ages and genders, across all UK regions.
“If prices continues to rise at the rate we’ve been seeing, we could be facing the possibility of average comprehensive premiums reaching a high not seen since 2011. This, combined with rising fuel prices and increased motoring costs across the board, could result in a sizeable dent in drivers’ pockets.”
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| 2016-08-22T00:00:00 |
www.stamfordmercury.co.uk/362abdfaa91a42a132a575d68168fd07a63461ff4530e5071834d76fdc4ab7dc.json
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[] | 2016-08-26T13:05:43 | null | 2016-08-26T07:00:00 |
Stamford Round Table will be hosting its popular car show this weekend on the picturesque Stamford Meadows, with free entry and over 500 iconic vehicles for spectators to enjoy.
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Classic cars on show at the Meadows
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Stamford Round Table will be hosting its popular car show this weekend on the picturesque Stamford Meadows, with free entry and over 500 iconic vehicles for spectators to enjoy.
The 13th annual car show will take place on Sunday (August 28), from 10am to 5pm and will feature a vast array of classic and modern vehicles for visitors to peruse. There will also be a live auction of a 2002 Toyota MR2 Roadster, a children’s play area and a fly past from the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight.
This great family day out also includes the very popular annual duck race at the Meadows, giving visitors the chance to cheer their duck as it floats to the finish line, with prizes for the winners and runners up.
Exhibitors at the car show have the opportunity to start their day with a leisurely rally through Stamford and the surrounding countryside, before arriving at Stamford Meadows and taking up their positions in the centre of the show, ready for the judging and awards ceremony.
To register for the rally visit the event’s website.
The annual car show is a key part of Stamford Round Table’s fundraising calendar with funds raised being used to support local causes and to benefit the local community.
Find out more online or follow @StamfordRoundTable611
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| 2016-08-26T00:00:00 |
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[] | 2016-08-26T13:10:04 | null | 2016-08-26T11:26:57 |
Plans for new homes in a village have been rejected following concerns about traffic and flooding.
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Plans for new homes in Thurlby rejected by South Kesteven District Council
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Plans for new homes in a village have been rejected following concerns about traffic and flooding.
The scheme for five homes at a former nursery in Thurlby were opposed by residents who spoke at a meeting of the district council’s development control committee this week.
Planning officers were recommending approval for the plan to demolish a bungalow and build five new homes on the White House Nurseries site.
But committee members agreed with the objectors and parish council and refused planning permission.
The committee was told the new detached bungalows would be on a private drive leading to The Green.
Coun Barry Dobson (Con), a member of Thurlby parish council and a district councillor representing the Dole Wood ward, said villagers were concerned about increased traffic.
He said the site was close to four separate junctions and a sharp, dangerous bend.
The road was already overcrowded with quarry lorries and was used as a ‘rat run’ when the nearby A15 Peterborough to Bourne Road was closed.
Coun Dobson said it was feared that if the plan was approved, similar neighbouring sites could be opened up for development.
He added flooding and sewerage were already a problem for the area, and it was feared this would be made worse.
He said the site, along the rear of gardens to properties in Obthorpe Lane, The Green, High Street and Old School Close, amounted to “backfill not infill” and added it was not what the village wanted.
Coun Mike King (Con) described the scheme as “backland development” and said it was not acceptable to extend housing in the village into the countryside.
He said flooding was a real problem in the village, with water and sewage in the road. He claimed the flood risk had never been satisfactorily addressed.
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| 2016-08-26T00:00:00 |
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[] | 2016-08-31T04:52:14 | null | 2016-08-29T10:46:25 |
Visit now for the offbeat news - from the Rutland & Stamford Mercury
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Sleepiness linked to traffic noise and pollution
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Nodding off in the middle of the day may be down to pollution generated by traffic, suggests new research.
The study shows exposure to traffic pollution is a trigger for daytime sleepiness - and may also trigger SNORING.
More than 12,000 adults were included in the Respiratory Health in Northern Europe (RHINE) study.
The findings show that people exposed to high levels of pollution had a 65 per cent greater chance of suffering from daytime sleepiness, compared to those who had no exposure.
Traffic noise in the bedroom was also a trigger - with people 46 per cent more likely to feel sleepy in the day if exposed.
And the research also suggests that people are also 29 per cent more likely to be a habitual snorer if they are exposed to traffic noise while they sleep.
Daytime sleepiness affected one in five people involved in the study, while one in four reported habitual snoring.
Ane Johannessen, an epidemiologist at Bergen University in Norway, wrote the study together with Professor Thorarinn Gislason and other Northern European researchers.
She said: “Exposure to traffic should be taken into account when planning treatment for patients with sleep disturbances, because reducing noise and pollution exposure in the bedroom may have a beneficial effect.
“Reducing exposure through relocating the bedroom away from pollution sources or making the bedroom more soundproof to protect against traffic noise, as well as mapping alternative and less polluted outdoor everyday routes may help patients with their sleep disorders.”
The study also showed that men, older subjects, smokers and those with lower education were more likely to report habitual snoring.
They were usually less physically active, with a higher BMI, and more likely to have a diagnosis of obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA).
Women, older people, smokers, and those with lower education were more likely to report daytime sleepiness.
The new research is due to be presented at the European Respiratory Society’s International Congress in London next month.
Professor Jorgen Vestbo, President of ERS and Professor of Respiratory Medicine at the University of Manchester, said: “The question of who snores may be a running joke in some households but for many snoring is a serious issue, with direct links to physical and mental well being and the same is true for daytime sleepiness.
“We want people to think more about the environment around them and the impact it can have - from the way they sleep to the air they breathe.”
To coincide with Congress, the ERS will be holding some free public lung function testing, starting in Trafalgar Square on September 2 and 3.
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| 2016-08-29T00:00:00 |
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[] | 2016-08-31T04:52:06 | null | 2016-08-30T11:09:15 |
Visit now for the more sport news - direct from the Rutland & Stamford Mercury
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Kian continues juniors’ hot streak with open championship win
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www.stamfordmercury.co.uk
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Kian Pearce continued the excellent form of juniors at Greetham Valley Golf Club when he won the Ping Junior Open at Gainsborough Golf Club while the club’s junior squad won the South Lincolnshire junior finals at Sleaford.
Kian triumphed on his first visit to the Gainsborough course with a score of 66 (nett), playing off 16, whilst the junior team go forward to the Lincolnshire finals at Boston West following their convincing round-robin win at Sleaford.
In their competition, the Greetham team of four played singles against each of two other teams and emerged unbeaten in all of the games racking up 13 out of a maximum of 16 points. The team consisted of Tom Haynes, Harry and Joe Sargood and Izzy Haughton.
Saturday was a highlight in the golfing calendar at Greetham with the Ladies and Gents Captains’ weekend.
With Stableford qualifiers, a putting competition, target golf on the range and the par three challenge, there were prizes across the board, thanks to generous sponsorship from Savvi Travel, Proputt, Nature’s Naturals, Pasqualino Risi, Harboro Hotel, Bruce Strickland and G&A Builders.
More than 160 players entered the qualifiers but thunder and lightning in the afternoon, coupled with monsoon-like rainfall, meant that most of the competitions were unable to be completed.
The one exception was the Ladies’ event, which started and finished before the weather deteriorated. Lesley Young took third place with a fine score of 38 points, including a birdie on the third hole; playing off 19. Lesley held her game together well until the last four holes where she dropped a few strokes.
Second place went to Jackie Friend with 39 points in a well-constructed round after a poor first hole where she took a six, but thereafter scored regularly. The overall winner, on countback, was Valda Austin, who had the thrill of scoring a birdie on the final hole to take the top place.
Highlight of the day, however, was the club captain’s charity haircut, in which captain Micky Fish and his step-daughter Corinne Barker had their heads shaved for the captains’ charity, Dove Cottage.
This event raised over £670. Not only did the two have their heads shaved but a golf group staying in the hotel also joined in with their captain also having a close cut and donating £90. Members were all very generous with payments for being allowed to take a turn with the shaver as well as Bob Scrafton and Ally McNaughton donating tickets to the British Seniors Masters at Woburn, which were raffled and raised £150.
In the Gents’ midweek competition, there was a very close finish with countback being the deciding feature amongst the top places. Fourth place was taken by young Winston Childs, whose handicap is coming down rapidly. Winston (23) started brilliantly with 19 points on the front nine and was well placed until a failure to card a score on the final hole.
His score of 35 was beaten by Peter Maksymiw (also with 35) but he also fell foul on two holes with nil returns. A birdie on the 14th was enough to allow him to pip Winston for that place. Second place went to Darren Want (12) in a steady round of 37 which included a run of five pars in the middle of the course. The overall winner (also on 37) was Robert Lewin, who must be kicking himself for not exceeding that score as he failed to score on two holes on the back nine.
Mike Pare recorded a hole-in-one in a friendly mixed match at Greetham and was surprised to see the ball disappear into the hole on the Lakes course’s 12th hole. Whilst being naturally delighted he said the high spot was receiving kisses from all the lady players - he has now put his name down for more mixed matches.
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http://www.stamfordmercury.co.uk/sport/more-sport/kian-continues-juniors-hot-streak-with-open-championship-win-1-7550216
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en
| 2016-08-30T00:00:00 |
www.stamfordmercury.co.uk/966813167ea794f9d90f3c1c1bc7510b2b287ac9712171d35739c2631fd1c7c8.json
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[] | 2016-08-26T12:51:27 | null | 2016-08-22T14:47:21 |
Crista Cullen and Hannah Macleod have struck gold - after helping Team GB to glory at Rio 2016.
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http%3A%2F%2Fwww.stamfordmercury.co.uk%2Fsport%2Fother-sport%2Fgolden-girls-rio-delight-1-7538257.json
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Golden girls rio delight
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www.stamfordmercury.co.uk
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Crista Cullen and Hannah Macleod have struck gold - after helping Team GB to glory at Rio 2016.
The Boston-born duo both aided the women’s hockey team as they defeated the Netherlands in a tense and gripping shoot-out on Friday night.
Cullen, along with Lily Owsley and Nicola White, were on target as Great Britain came from 3-2 down to draw 3-3 with their highly-rated opponents, who have won gold at the past two games.
In the shoot-out Helen Richardson-Walsh and Hollie Webb converted as goalkeeper Maddie Hinch added to the heroics, shutting out the Netherlands to secure a 2-0 victory.
Both Macleod and Cullen, who celebrated her 31st birthday the day after taking top spot on the podium, helped Team GB to a historic victory, featuring in all eight contests.
The previous best two finishes for the team were both bronze-medal positions in 1992 and 2012.
Former Oakham School student Cullen, Macleod and Lincoln’s Georgie Twigg were part of the squad which finished third in London four years ago.
But now the trio, along with Dry Doddington’s Shona McCallin, can all claim to be Olympic champions, the first Lincolnshire gold medallists since Stamford’s Lord Burghley won the 400m hurdles at Amsterdam in 1928.
GB booked their place in the final having won all seven of their previous Rio 2016 matches, topping Group B by beating Australia (2-1), India (3-0), Argentina (3-2), Japan (2-0) and the USA (2-1).
They then beat Spain in quarters last Monday (3-1) and New Zealand in semis on Wednesday (3-0).
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http://www.stamfordmercury.co.uk/sport/other-sport/golden-girls-rio-delight-1-7538257
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en
| 2016-08-22T00:00:00 |
www.stamfordmercury.co.uk/a43c154fdbf0316d07d4a61d0af678d8a9608bbf6788ac799e4cd913ba563da7.json
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[] | 2016-08-27T14:50:07 | null | 2016-08-27T15:00:54 |
Record numbers of dog lovers from all parts of the area flocked to Waterside Garden Centre last Sunday for the Three Counties Annual Fun Dog Show.
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http%3A%2F%2Fwww.stamfordmercury.co.uk%2Fnews%2Flocal%2Frecord-numbers-of-dog-lovers-take-their-mutts-to-show-1-7544893.json
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Record numbers of dog lovers take their mutts to show
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www.stamfordmercury.co.uk
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Record numbers of dog lovers from all parts of the area flocked to Waterside Garden Centre last Sunday for the Three Counties Annual Fun Dog Show.
Besides parading their pooches, owners could sit in a jet cockpit, have their faces painted, win a teddy on the tombola and spend their money on cakes, goods from the Three Counties shop, a raffle and other games of chance.
Barry Briggs, the retired Rutland dog warden, oversaw the judging process aided by Carly from Burghley Vets, Rachel the South Holland dog warden and the sponsor of each class. But selecting winners was no easy task!
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http://www.stamfordmercury.co.uk/news/local/record-numbers-of-dog-lovers-take-their-mutts-to-show-1-7544893
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en
| 2016-08-27T00:00:00 |
www.stamfordmercury.co.uk/c3ac1d2cbfa997f06cbdcd36a9ca613171fac5bf7e4065c18b7902f7b18df05a.json
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[] | 2016-08-30T16:51:54 | null | 2016-08-30T16:16:04 |
A Whitwell resident is trying to trace the owner of a peacock and peahen which have been living in her garden for the past fortnight.
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http%3A%2F%2Fwww.stamfordmercury.co.uk%2Fnews%2Flocal%2Fdo-you-know-who-owns-peacock-and-peahen-found-in-whitwell-1-7551052.json
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Do you know who owns peacock and peahen found in Whitwell?
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www.stamfordmercury.co.uk
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A Whitwell resident is trying to trace the owner of a peacock and peahen which have been living in her garden for the past fortnight.
The feathered friends were first spotted in the village on Wednesday, August 17.
Marlen Godwin, who lives in Main Street, said: “They were first seen in the churchyard and have visited most of the houses in Whitwell but have been in my garden for most of the past fortnight.
“I have been trying to keep them away from the A606 because they just amble across it with no urgency whatsoever. It’s likely they belong to someone, and I have tried calling local zoos and country estates but have so far not been able to find their owner. I’m hoping somebody out there might be able to solve the mystery, so they can return home. Failing that, I’ll carry on looking after them.”
Mrs Godwin said from the birds’ plumage she believes one is a peacock and the other a peahen.
Peafowl is the name given to two species of bird which are members of the pheasant family. The Indian Peafowl is a native bird to the Indian subcontinent and the Green Peafowl breeds from east Burma to Java.
The males are adorned with spectacular rear feathers, which they use to attract females. They can often be found gracing the lawns of statemly homes.
If you know who the owner is, call Mrs Godwin on 01780 460145.
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http://www.stamfordmercury.co.uk/news/local/do-you-know-who-owns-peacock-and-peahen-found-in-whitwell-1-7551052
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en
| 2016-08-30T00:00:00 |
www.stamfordmercury.co.uk/fd0e35afb6218bff865d061bdcc5bf3431ba851d5dbd72a81defd6d0817a415e.json
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[] | 2016-08-26T13:09:19 | null | 2016-08-20T06:08:52 |
America’s most notorious lovers and bank robbers take the country by storm in a compelling musical adventure being brought to the stage by the ever dependable Peterborough Revellers next month.
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http%3A%2F%2Fwww.stamfordmercury.co.uk%2Fwhat-s-on%2Farts-entertainment%2Fblues-gospel-and-rockabilly-from-peterborough-revellers-1-7535466.json
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Blues, gospel and rockabilly from Peterborough Revellers
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www.stamfordmercury.co.uk
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America’s most notorious lovers and bank robbers take the country by storm in a compelling musical adventure being brought to the stage by the ever dependable Peterborough Revellers next month.
When Bonnie and Clyde meet, their mutual cravings for excitement and fame immediately set them on a mission to chase their dreams. Their bold and reckless behaviour turns the young lovers’ thrilling adventure into a downward spiral, putting themselves and their loved ones in trouble with the law. Forced to stay on the run, the lovers resort to robbery and murder to survive. As the infamous duo’s fame grows bigger, their inevitable end draws nearer.
Bonnie & Clyde is a thrilling and sexy musical with a non-traditional score, combining blues, gospel and rockabilly music performed by Peterborough Revellers in their début show at The Corn Exchange Theatre, Stamford.
You can see the show on September 22, 23 and 24 at 7.30pm and September 25 at 3pm (carvery and show option available). Tickets cost £12.50 (concessions £11.50) from the box office on 01780 766455 or online at www. stamfordcornexchange.co.uk
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http://www.stamfordmercury.co.uk/what-s-on/arts-entertainment/blues-gospel-and-rockabilly-from-peterborough-revellers-1-7535466
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en
| 2016-08-20T00:00:00 |
www.stamfordmercury.co.uk/84c4034116a6ab9117b76549ff3545f32cf1b8fcfb3678f6c7dd9a2339875840.json
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[] | 2016-08-26T13:09:29 | null | 2016-08-25T12:20:56 |
Oakham’s excellent GCSE results reflect yet another incredibly successful year for the school.
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http%3A%2F%2Fwww.stamfordmercury.co.uk%2Fnews%2Feducation%2Feducation-news%2Fgcse-results-another-successful-year-at-oakham-school-1-7543603.json
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GCSE RESULTS: Another successful year at Oakham School
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www.stamfordmercury.co.uk
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Oakham’s excellent GCSE results reflect yet another incredibly successful year for the school.
As well as an impressive 42 pupils achieving straight A*/A grades, the school saw almost a third of all exams taken gaining the top A* grade.
Headmaster Nigel Lasbrook said: “The results are tremendous – to have such an impressive number of exams taken resulting in either an A* or A grade is a testament to the hard work and dedication of the students and their teachers.”
For the second year running, seven Oakhamians achieved the top A* grades in all of their 10 or 11 GCSE exams. They are: Sachin Black, George Figgis, Matthew Jennings, Zak Myers, Morgan Overton, Rebecca Sale and Lizzy Sanders. Another 21 pupils achieved at least eight A*s.
Mr Lashbrook said: “GCSE results day heralds the end of the academic year – and what a year it has been for Oakham!
“On top of our outstanding Upper School results, which saw 54 per cent of all exams taken being awarded A*-A grades, there has been a catalogue of individual, team and school successes. Numerous national finals were reached – including the Chamber Choir earning the title of one of the top three choirs in the country in the BBC Songs of Praise School Choir of the Year competition, and the senior boys hockey team, who now rank second in the country following the national playoff.
“Oakham is focused on the Total Curriculum and nothing sums this up more than Morgan Overton’s success. In the same week that his winning composition for the BBC Inspire Young Composers’ Competition featured on BBC Radio 3, he learnt he had a clean sweep of A*s in his GCSE results!”
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http://www.stamfordmercury.co.uk/news/education/education-news/gcse-results-another-successful-year-at-oakham-school-1-7543603
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en
| 2016-08-25T00:00:00 |
www.stamfordmercury.co.uk/60c731147f7c0b5e955d26debf558aa002b2485c0602be343bcae475d2c85cd9.json
|
[
"Alan Swann",
"Alan.Swann Jpress.Co.Uk"
] | 2016-08-27T20:51:31 | null | 2016-08-27T20:42:17 |
Sri Lankan international Prasanna Jayawardene cracked a terrific ton for Woodhall Spa against Bourne in the Lincs Premir Division today (August 27).
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http%3A%2F%2Fwww.stamfordmercury.co.uk%2Fsport%2Fcricket%2Flincs-premier-division-sri-lankan-star-puts-bourne-to-the-sword-deeping-suffer-a-deluge-1-7547686.json
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en
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LINCS PREMIER DIVISION: Sri Lankan star puts Bourne to the sword, Deeping suffer a deluge
| null | null |
www.stamfordmercury.co.uk
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Sri Lankan international Prasanna Jayawardene cracked a terrific ton for Woodhall Spa against Bourne in the Lincs Premir Division today (August 27).
Jayawardene played 58 Test matches for his country and displayed his class with an innings of 124 as Woodhall piled up 279-9 in 48 overs.
Colin Cheer claimed 4-81 for Bourne against Woodhall Spa.
Sadly heavy rain then washed out the game before Bourne had a chance to bat. Colin Cheer bagged 4-81 for Bourne.
Market Deeping’s home game with Grantham lasted just 36 overs before the weather intervened. Ashley Fisher took 3-33 as Grantham finished on 128-5.
Deeping are fourth in the table with two matches to go. Bourne are sixth.
No matches in the division were completed today.
RESULTS
MARKET DEEPING v GRANTHAM abandoned
Grantham 128-5 (36 overs) (B. Powell 67no, A. Fisher 3-33).
WOODHALL SPA v BOURNE abandoned
Woodhall Spa 279-9 (48 overs) (P. Jawaradene 124, T. Dixon 42, C. Cheer 4-81, B. Collins 2-47, J. Berry 2-66).
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http://www.stamfordmercury.co.uk/sport/cricket/lincs-premier-division-sri-lankan-star-puts-bourne-to-the-sword-deeping-suffer-a-deluge-1-7547686
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en
| 2016-08-27T00:00:00 |
www.stamfordmercury.co.uk/f901538fb8f04e5e89d8bfb5c5bc713789560c5f643065cd72d1ed6d5b7341e2.json
|
[
"Damien Lucas",
"Damien.Lucas Jpress.Co.Uk"
] | 2016-08-26T13:07:26 | null | 2016-08-20T06:00:00 |
Video game escapism in its purest form.
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http%3A%2F%2Fwww.stamfordmercury.co.uk%2Fwhat-s-on%2Farts-entertainment%2Fconsole-corner-no-man-s-sky-review-1-7528920.json
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Console Corner: No Man’s Sky review
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www.stamfordmercury.co.uk
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Video game escapism in its purest form.
No Man’s Sky in undeniably a work of art, but have you got time to look around the whole gallery?
No Man’s Sky launched last week after much hype and billed as quite literally the biggest video game ever made.
The self-perpetuating game, which promises to be potentially endless, was four years in the making by a tiny team in game production terms. And you can tell as it will instantly take your breath away.
Make no mistake there has never been anything like this before. As you fly ever deeper into the universe, new planets and solar systems roll silently into view – some will have been seen before, others discovered for the very first time. And you have 18 quintillion of them to choose from...
Each has its own set of flora, fauna and inhabitants. By exploring, players gain information about the planets that they can submit to The Atlas, a universal database that can be shared with other players of the game and for which they are rewarded in currency each time.
Each planet is a work of art you could spend hours studying, analysing and dissecting. These works of art are housed in an endless gallery and for art connoisseurs it will be Manna from heaven.
However, most people’s playing time will be finite.... unless you’re at university and can afford to miss the odd class here and there to squeeze in just one more exploration of a peculiar alien planet.
And that is where one of the game’s key sticking points comes in. As much as No Man’s Sky takes us to Infinity and leaves us wondering what waits beyond, there is also an almost irresistible itch which you can’t scratch because you can never truly “complete” this game in the traditional sense.
But that is very much a personal take on NMS, many people might enjoy jumping on for a couple of hours here and there, discovering lots of different things and logging it to the Atlas, if anything it could be cathartic but many people like a beginning, a middle and an end to their games.
No Mans Sky is undeniably a work of art
The care, thought, time and brilliance that has gone into this utterly original video game is mindblowing and deserves to be experienced by PlayStation gamers.
It is the purest form of video game escapism we have ever seen and should be celebrated as such.
But it will more likely go down as a cult classic than the blockbuster success it’s craft deserves.
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http://www.stamfordmercury.co.uk/what-s-on/arts-entertainment/console-corner-no-man-s-sky-review-1-7528920
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en
| 2016-08-20T00:00:00 |
www.stamfordmercury.co.uk/0ab33cc2f68f106b6d10dbcf6935b040d63f097a1489514dbf55ba8705187e07.json
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[] | 2016-08-31T04:53:09 | null | 2016-08-20T17:00:55 |
Get the latest breaking news from the Rutland & Stamford Mercury - politics, transport, education, health, environment and more, updated daily.
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http%3A%2F%2Fwww.stamfordmercury.co.uk%2Fnews%2Fstamford-round-table-s-car-show-set-to-feature-500-vehicles-1-7534944.json
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Stamford Round Table’s car show set to feature 500 vehicles
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www.stamfordmercury.co.uk
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Stamford Round Table’s popular car show will return to Stamford Meadows on Sunday, August 28.
The 13th annual event, which runs from 10am to 5pm, will feature a vast array of classic and modern vehicles for visitors to drool over, the live auction of a 2002 Toyota MR2 Roadster, a children’s play area and a Battle of Britain Memorial Flight flypast.
The free family event also includes the annual duck race at Stamford Meadows, giving visitors the chance to cheer their duck on to the finishing line with prizes for the winners and runners up.
Exhibitors at the show have the opportunity to start their day with a leisurely rally through Stamford before arriving taking up their positions.
The annual car show is a key part of Stamford Round Table’s fundraising calendar with funds raised being used to support local causes and the community.
Visit www.facebook.com/StamfordRoundTable
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http://www.stamfordmercury.co.uk/news/stamford-round-table-s-car-show-set-to-feature-500-vehicles-1-7534944
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en
| 2016-08-20T00:00:00 |
www.stamfordmercury.co.uk/18da895d6073543015f8989e1f5aa64923a9d3d7c547be0811331f5bfa49c0b8.json
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[] | 2016-08-31T04:52:23 | null | 2016-08-29T09:00:28 |
Get the latest breaking news from the Rutland & Stamford Mercury - politics, transport, education, health, environment and more, updated daily.
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http%3A%2F%2Fwww.stamfordmercury.co.uk%2Fnews%2Fbourne-tickets-scoop-cash-prizes-1-7545836.json
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Bourne tickets scoop cash prizes
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www.stamfordmercury.co.uk
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A lucky ticket holder from Bourne scooped a £200 prize in the weekly Lincolnshire and Nottinghamshire Air Ambulance draw.
Ticket number L5422 scooped a top prize, while L59741 and L18424, both also bought in Bourne, won £50 each.
The draw raises funds to keep the service flying.
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http://www.stamfordmercury.co.uk/news/bourne-tickets-scoop-cash-prizes-1-7545836
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en
| 2016-08-29T00:00:00 |
www.stamfordmercury.co.uk/d7bb2724f034bb2ea5c8d60640b0901b2e7cdb6ee1e12075d385a434f3c8d0de.json
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[] | 2016-08-26T13:10:15 | null | 2016-08-24T17:02:22 |
There were colourful displays of flowers, fruit and vegetables, pot plants and more at Stamford Horticultural Society’s Flower and Produce Summer Show.
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http%3A%2F%2Fwww.stamfordmercury.co.uk%2Fnews%2Flocal%2Fdisplays-impress-judges-at-show-1-7542270.json
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Displays impress judges at show
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www.stamfordmercury.co.uk
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There were colourful displays of flowers, fruit and vegetables, pot plants and more at Stamford Horticultural Society’s Flower and Produce Summer Show.
Judges at the event, held at the United Reformed Church Hall, in Broad Street, on Saturday, were impressed by the quality of the exhibits.
Bob Beck, who took over the organisation of the society’s two annual shows this year, said: “What was so encouraging, was that there were several new entrants.
“Most of them had never competed in shows previously but many won prizes and are now looking forward to entering the Spring Show in April. Both are open shows, so entrants do not have to be members of the society.”
The fuchsias and begonias were particularly good and dahlias proved to be a great success for Judith Measures who won all the major awards in that section.
Although the Top Vase class for flowers was down on entries, the Top Tray class, a collection of three vegetables, had more entries than previous years.
The cookery section was well represented with an array of chocolate brownies, quiches, Swiss rolls, oatcakes, cakes, jams and chutneys.
Prizewinners:
SECTION 1 - DAHLIAS
DAHLIA SOCIETY SILVER MEDAL: Judith Measures
DAHLIA SOCIETY BRONZE MEDAL: Judith Measures
FELIX VINE MEMORIAL CUP: Judith Measures
JIFFY POT TROPHY: Judith Measures
SECTION 2 & 3 – FLOWERS AND POT PLANTS
JOHN FREEMAN MEMORIAL TROPHY (Chrysanthemums): Mick Thwaite
TOM DALTON VASE (Gladioli): Eric Kendrick
JE DOLBY MEMORIAL TROPHY (Asters): Mick Thwaite
JH NAYLOR MEMORIAL PRIZE (Zinnias): Mick Thwaite
E WALKER MEMORIAL VASE (Mixed flowers): Steve Harris
DICKON SINKER O.B.E. TROPHY (Sweet Peas): Anthea Rampling
HART ROSE BOWL (Best pot plant): Denise Collins
FRANK FITCHETT TROPHY (Roses): Angela Rudkin
W&J BROWN TROPHY (most points excluding members’ classes): Stephen Harris
ALAN DAWN PRIZE (orchid): Maureen Rennie
SECTION 4 – VEGETABLES
RW PARKER MEMORIAL TROPHY (Carrots): Al Perna
REG CLIPSTON TROPHY (Heaviest onion): Al Perna
BOB BARFORD CUP (5 tomatoes & 1 cucumber): Mick Thwaite
WILKO PRIZE (most points excluding members’ classes): Al Perna
ARTHUR HOLMES MEMORIAL PRIZE (Vegetable collection): Alan Hart
SECTION 5 – FRUIT
GARDEN NEWS SHIELD (best exhibit): Al Perna
MRS M RASELL CUP (most points in section 5 excluding members’ classes): Al Perna
SECTION 6 – JUNIORS
JUNIOR AWARD CERTIFICATE (8 years & under): Georgie Rose Gray
JUNIOR AWARD CERTIFICATE (9 – 15 years inclusive): Sean Lee
SECTION 7 – FLORAL ARRANGEMENT
THE DOLBY TROPHY (Best exhibit): Honor Harris
SOCIETY FLORAL ARRANGEMENT CERTIFICATE (most points): David Lee
SECTION 8 – COOKERY
WEIGHMAN SHIELD (most points in both shows) : Honor Harris
SOCIETY COOKERY CERTIFICATE (runner-up): Anthea Rampling
BANKSIAN MEDAL: Alan Hart
DT BROWN TOP TRAY 2016: Al Perna
STANLEY ATKIN CHALLENGE SALVER: Al Perna
JOHN BLOOM CERTIFICATE: Steve & Honor Harris
QUINCENTENARY TROPHY: Steve Harris
LADY EXETER’S TROPHY: Steve Harris
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| 2016-08-24T00:00:00 |
www.stamfordmercury.co.uk/21880763d924e2a5f10cf422ba2aad8cb4bd0351f40feed3a0e897b7fff914cd.json
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[
"Diane King"
] | 2016-08-26T13:06:37 | null | 2016-08-24T11:27:46 |
The Cola-Cola glass bottle has been voted as the most iconic packaging on the UK’s shelves.
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Coca-Cola bottle ‘most iconic packaging’
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The Cola-Cola glass bottle has been voted as the most iconic packaging on the UK’s shelves.
A study of 1,500 Brits exploring the influence of packaging and branding on shopping habits found that one in six people thought the Coca-Cola bottle was the most identifiable in terms of packaging.
Indeed, it was deemed to be just as recognisable without its logo or the product itself.
The research, commissioned by Easyfairs, organisers of Packing Innovations and Luxury Packaging London, found the Toblerone triangular chocolate bar finished as a close runner up, with Marmite’s glass jar rated as third-best-loved product packaging.
Beauty brands, such as the Tiffany Box and the Chanel No.5 Bottle just missed out on the top ten.
Coke’s success has been attributed to its targeting younger audience, with one in five Millennials selecting the bottle as the most recognisable pack product.Pringles’ iconic cylinder tube, fourth on the overall list, was the Millennial’s second favourite.
The study also revealed barcodes as the greatest packaging invention, ahead of more traditional items such as the cardboard box (21 per cent) - although the younger generation, 18-34 years, voted for 3D printing and re-sealable zips as its top two.
Gerry Sherwood, Event Director for the Easyfairs’ Packaging Portfolio, who commissioned the survey, said: “Millennials have officially passed Baby Boomers as the largest generation in history, and are more personally connected to their favourite brands than ever before. It is therefore not surprising to see 3D printing come out top in our poll for this age group.”
Top Ten Most Recognisable Brand’s Packaging
1. Coca-Cola Bottle
2. Toblerone Triangle
3. Marmite Jar
4. Pringles Tube
5. KFC Bucket
6. Heinz Ketchup Bottle
7. Fairy Liquid Bottle
8. Apple’s iPhone Box
9. Walkers Crisp Packet
10. Amazon Box
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http://www.stamfordmercury.co.uk/news/local/coca-cola-bottle-most-iconic-packaging-1-7541247
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en
| 2016-08-24T00:00:00 |
www.stamfordmercury.co.uk/434b10c1bf436f359c1637bb7211ec55f5993a205b379665a3fb37607ef218c7.json
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[
"Mark Lea",
"Mark.Lea Jpress.Co.Uk"
] | 2016-08-27T20:51:07 | null | 2016-08-27T21:11:00 |
Bourne Town boss Jimmy McDonnell was happy to share the celebrations and credit after their first home win of the season.
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FOOTBALL: Feelgood factor for Bourne Town
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www.stamfordmercury.co.uk
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Bourne Town boss Jimmy McDonnell was happy to share the celebrations and credit after their first home win of the season.
The Wakes came from behind thanks to second-half goals from captain Dan Smith and top scorer Zak Munton.
Having collected a single point from three previous games at Abbey Lawn, they got a maximum haul against Irchester United on Saturday afternoon in the ChromaSport & Trophies United Counties League Division One.
McDonnell said: “It feels very good, to be honest.
“But I’ve had my go and enjoyed it so I want to give credit to all the lads.
“They deserved it because we got 100 per cent from every single one of them and I really couldn’t have asked for any more.
First-half action at Abbey Lawn on Saturday
“It wasn’t just a battle – we played our way and scored good goals against a decent side who wouldn’t surprise me if they finished around the top end of the table.
“Our lads have quality and hopefully they will believe in themselves.
“I can’t fault anyone and it’s a squad game now where everyone will be involved.
“We’ve got local lads and it means a lot to me as well.
We’re a proper little family club without any big finances but credit to those who put all the effort in. Jimmy McDonnell
“On Saturday we could go all home happy but we’ve got that togetherness as a club.
“Those lads can go on to play at a higher level but they will only leave if it’s the right move.
“It’s a good day all round for everyone – and it’s not just about the players. We’ve got committee members who are working hard around the ground at 8am.
“We won’t get carried away by one result and we’ve got a tough cup game at home to Yaxley on Tuesday night.
“I didn’t want to be one of those managers who kept saying after 10, 12 or 14 games that we would turn the corner and get another win.
“At some point you have got to do it and there are fine margins which all add up.
“We all like to win but I’d give credit to everyone in the UCL because we don’t do it for the money. We could play for a village side for nothing and just give it 70 per cent.
“I wanted to come back on board because certain things have not been right for a long time but now everyone here is working together.
“We’re a proper little family club without any big finances but credit to those who put all the effort in.”
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http://www.stamfordmercury.co.uk/sport/football/football-feelgood-factor-for-bourne-town-1-7547698
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en
| 2016-08-27T00:00:00 |
www.stamfordmercury.co.uk/c4579d6e2c6c0e2636a06878bbc03333a8185bc75ee582100aebc3c8b1206d80.json
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[] | 2016-08-31T04:53:34 | null | 2016-08-21T12:00:18 |
Visit now for the latest lifestyle news and features from the Rutland & Stamford Mercury
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Gold medal glory as Sandringham Flower Show for landscape firm’s stunning garden
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The boss of a landscape gardening company is celebrating after winning a gold medal at the Sandringham Flower Show.
The one-day event, which attracts around 25,000 visitors each year, features show gardens built to a standard to rival any of the major horticultural shows.
Jonny Baker, who runs Whissendine-based Farm and Garden Ltd, entered a show garden for the 13th time and was delighted to finally win a gold medal.
He said: “We’ve plenty of silvers and silver-gilts over the years, but this is our first gold so I’m really happy.”
The 8m x 8m garden was designed in association with the Norfolk branch of the Guide Dogs For the Blind Association to mark the charity’s 85th year.
It featured lots of planting and a mixture of textures underfoot – for the benefit of partially-sighted visitors – including bark, gravel and turf.
Jonny, far left, and his team built it from scratch in less than four days.
Judging was carried out by well-known gardeners and broadcasters Alan Mason and Chris Beardshaw.
Jonny’s team raised around £1,000 for Guide Dogs through collection buckets and by selling food and drinks during the garden construction process.
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http://www.stamfordmercury.co.uk/lifestyle/gold-medal-glory-as-sandringham-flower-show-for-landscape-firm-s-stunning-garden-1-7534938
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| 2016-08-21T00:00:00 |
www.stamfordmercury.co.uk/51b7ce7a2626aab9b7917189aa858be190a92532acbc7399cf1048981e7ba961.json
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[] | 2016-08-26T13:00:10 | null | 2016-08-21T15:24:24 |
Bourne Town manager Jimmy McDonnell and playmaker George Couzens were both uncompromising in their disappointment after a below-par performance against Woodford United.
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MATCH VERDICT: Home truths to be handed out as Bourne Town boss McDonnell lets rip
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‘Buy into it or we’ll let you go’ warning from fuming Wakes manager
Bourne Town manager Jimmy McDonnell and playmaker George Couzens were both uncompromising in their disappointment after a below-par performance against Woodford United.
The Wakes boss blamed poor use of possession, defensive lapses and a lack of concentration for a 4-1 defeat to a side who had only scored once in their previous three league matches.
But McDonnell’s most scathing words were reserved for the seven first team squad members who made “different excuses” for missing the game against the Reds.
“We were in the game and then bottled two 50-50s in the first half, they had two gos at taking a free kick and we got caught out both times,” McDonnell said.
“We all want to play the nice, pretty football but don’t want to do the ugly side of it.
“Sometimes, you’ve got to earn the right to do that and we don’t want to do that.
Bourne Town midfielder George Couzens (right) marks Woodford Utd goalscorer Jordan Featherstone. Photo by Tim Wilson.
“But on the other hand, those lads all turned up to play and we had one lad who turned up and played the first half before he had to go to a wedding.
“On top of that, we had seven lads who rang up to say that they couldn’t make it because of weddings, birthdays, girlfriends and different excuses.
“To be honest, it’s got to stop because we’re either all in item or we forget about it.
“We’re not good enough to let seven first team squad members and yet it hits the nail on the head when our man of the match was Kai Willerton who has come in from the reserves.
I don’t think the score reflects the difference in the teams but, at the same time, I don’t think we deserved any more than what we got today because we weren’t on top of our game Bourne Town midfield playmaker George Couzens
“He was the best player on the park today and whilst I was pleased for him, if I was a first team squad player, I’d be looking at myself and saying ‘how has Kai come in and played a lot better than what I did today?”
Bourne could have posed more of a threat if better had use had been made of Couzens’ skill and the experience gained as youth team player at Norwich City.
Couzens, who played up front in the second half after Zak Munton was substituted, said: “In the first half, I didn’t think that we played too badly.
“But in the second half, we were a bit sloppy in places.
“When we played football, we looked like a different team than when we tried to go long.
“I don’t think the score reflects the difference in the teams but, at the same time, I don’t think we deserved any more than what we got today because we weren’t on top of our game.
“Things haven’t quite clicked for us yet this season and once we get into a winning mentality, we’ll be alright.
“We’ve got the players to do it and it’s just getting the defence to work with the midfield, the midfield to work with the strikers and then everything to work together.
“Sometimes, we miss the midfield out and once we do click, I think we’ll go up and up as the season goes on.”
MATCH VERDICT: Bourne Town hurt by absentees as Woodford United profit
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http://www.stamfordmercury.co.uk/news/match-verdict-home-truths-to-be-handed-out-as-bourne-town-boss-mcdonnell-lets-rip-1-7536990
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| 2016-08-21T00:00:00 |
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[] | 2016-08-26T12:49:26 | null | 2016-04-20T14:40:18 | null |
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As counter-terror campaign intensifies in Algeria, Libya’s weapons making their way into the country
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north-africa.com
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As counter-terror campaign intensifies in Algeria, Libya’s weapons making their way into the country
In the first four months of 2016, the Algerian army has killed 31 Islamist insurgents, and captured 33 others nationwide. Furthermore, an arsenal of war big enough to wreck havoc was siezed, including over 300 war weapons were retrieved, 202 hideouts were destroyed and a dozen explosive belts were seized during counter-terrorism operations that mainly took place in the Kabylie region, and the southeastern region, which is facing an immense terrorist threat due to its proximity to lawless Libya. The number of seizures has increased dramatically this year, to such a point that the authorities and local citizens cannot help but wonder what these seizures are telling them about possible terror plans in the region. Continue here
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http://north-africa.com/as-counter-terror-campaign-intensifies-in-algeria-libyas-weapons-making-their-way-into-the-country/
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| 2016-04-20T00:00:00 |
north-africa.com/d20bcac3b7ee86cb422c87dd2ee413664858433922f17621814c2d486b06f079.json
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[] | 2016-08-26T12:49:53 | null | 2016-04-08T14:45:00 | null |
http%3A%2F%2Fnorth-africa.com%2Fa-status-quo-change-in-libya%2F.json
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A Status Quo Change in Libya?
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A Status Quo Change in Libya?
Libya is going through a substantial transformation and that’s not without pain. There have intense negotiations over the past months, perhaps as intense as the fighting within Libya, which is struggling with so many competing militias, and competing interests of foreign governments. We asked top Analyst Hakim Aftab from MEA Risk LLC to provide us with the latest assessment. Mr. Aftab was kind to write the summary below but also warned that the situation is so fluid and volatile that it can change any time.
————————————————
After several months of diplomatic endeavors, the UN-brokered Presidential Council (PC) and Government of National Accord (GNA) moved to Tripoli, where they operate from a naval base, despite the animosity of dozens of militias based in the capital and a few other cities.
The arrival of Fayez Serraj, chairman of the PC and PM-designate of the GNA, in Tripoli was greeted and endorsed by the international community, which sees this as a step toward bringing stability and the political process back on track in Libya. Furthermore, a few European countries have vowed to launch an anti-Islamic State military intervention in Libya, if the GNA enters Libya and allows it. Locally, however, the unity government divides Libya. The Islamist government of Tripoli has even resigned a few days after the GNA arrived. One thing is for certain; this development is going to change the status-quo.
In Libya proper :
There has been a very mixed reaction to the PC’s and GNA’s move to Tripoli. The Tripoli-based, Islamist-leaning Salvation Government (SG) had announced that it was stepping down in a statement, that it is no more an executive authority, but went back on its word a few days later, claiming the resignation was fake, and warning the Presidency Council of any attempt to seize government buildings.
In addition to this, the Tripoli-based parliament, the General National Congress (GNC), seems to be on the brink of dissolution, in light of sanctions imposed by the European Union against its leader, Nuri Abu Sahmain, including travel ban and asset freeze, for obstructing the implementation of the Libyan Political Agreement.
While this paves the way for the unity government to take over, many political, religious and military forces in the capital continue to oppose the unity government. The most virulent reaction came from the Tripoli-based Grand Mufti, Sadek Ghiriani, who warned that “the door to a 10-year Jihad” had been opened, due to the fact that the “controversial” nature of the political agreement signed on December 17th in Skhirat (Morocco). “The scholars pointed out that this article is illegal because in Islam a non-Muslim cannot judge a legal dispute for Muslims,” said Ghariani. Nuri Abu Sahmain, President of the Tripoli-based parliament, the General National Congress, has also deplored the arrival of the Government of National Accord. Sahmain called the move an “illegitimate coup”, as there remains “disputed issues” in the political agreement which should have been resolved before the move.
On the militia front, two of the most powerful ones in western Libya, the Special Deterrence Force, otherwise known as Rada, and the Misratan forces have decided to support the government of national accord. However, 20% of the militias are against it, including the Islamist Libya Dawn coalition, which supported the now dissolved salvation government of Tripoli. The unity government is at risk of being attacked or besieged in its base by rival militias which have expressed their willingness to move against it. “This government was not selected by Libyans and it was not approved by any legitimate authority in the country,” Libya Dawn said in a statement. The coalition of Islamist militias set a number of preconditions, which they said, if were met, any government can work freely in the capital. Said conditions include a clear commitment to the Islamic Sharia, and that the laws that were amended by the GNC to comply with the Sharia must remain effective.
The eastern parliament, based in Tobruk, has yet to vote on legitimacy of the unity government. The “House of Representatives”, which has been trying to obtain amendments to the political agreement of Skhirat, recently announced that it would take the necessary measures to separate from Libya if its demands were not fulfilled by the unity government. Speaker Ageelah Saleh said that the government of national accord has not been endorsed yet in order to assume power, pointing that it remains illegitimate until it is approved from inside the parliament in Tobruk.
The most crucial demand of the House of Representatives is for the unity government to support the Libyan National Army, led by the controversial figure Khalifa Haftar; a request that no one sees as satisfiable, despite Egypt’s support for General Haftar, as his troops have been accused of human rights abuses by the United Nations. The Bayda-based government, led by Abdullah al-Thinni, has announced repeatedly that it would disregard any government that had not been legitimized by the House of Representatives. Members of the parliament have told the press that a majority of MPs are in favor of the new government, but the lack of quorum keeps them from materializing their support.
Nevertheless, allegiances have also shifted in favour of Fayez Serraj. Several Libyan cities and tribes have thrown support to the PM-designate, including Sabratha, Misrata, Zuwara and Zawiyah in western Libya. The Petroleum Facilities Guardforce, the militia in charge of securing oil fields, announced its willingness to work immediately under Fayez Serraj’s authority, vowing to open all oil ports and “to protect Libyans potentials from terrorisms and power usurpers”. In a surprise move, the Tubu and Tuareg tribes have also shown support to the UN-backed government. Formerly allied with the HoR and GNA respectively, said tribes seem to have defected mostly for political reasons.
In the international scene and outside of Libya :
Many countries have applauded the PC’s and GNA’s move to Tripoli; Algeria, Tunisia, Turkey, France, Italy, Germany, the UK, the USA to name just a few. All of the above intend to work closely with the Government of National Accord as the only legitimate government in Libya. This came calls by United Nations’ Security Council to all its member states to refrain from dealing with “parallel institutions” in Libya. It is also believed that said countries have touched base with the unity government to start mapping out an international military intervention against the Islamic State in Sirte.
In point of fact, the EU’s foreign policy chief, Federica Mogherini, said that the European Union will not intervene militarily in Libya unless the government of national accord (GNA) introduces an official request. “Defeating Daesh effectively can only happen through a legitimate Libyan government in charge of its own security,” the EU’s top diplomat said. “We have supported efforts to create a national unity government for months,” she said. “If we want to help them, we should trust them because they know their country better than we do.”
France and Italy have, on many occasions, expressed their readiness for a military intervention. The French FM Jean-Marc Ayrault has recently urged the international community to prepare in this perspective. Libya is a concern shared by all the countries of the region and beyond,” Ayrault said. “The chaos which reigns there today aids the rapid development of terrorism. It is a direct threat to the region and to Europe,” he added. US Special Forces have been on the ground, working with Libyan officials, and US war planes carried out airstrikes in Sabratha in February. Libyan officials have said that French, British and Italian commandos are also on the ground helping militiamen battling IS in the eastern city of Benghazi, despite denials from said governments. The establishment of the unity government could also pave the way for lifting the arms embargo on Libya, allowing Western countries to provide greater support to local forces defeat the Islamic State. The militant organization was recently defeated in Sabratha, Derna, and parts of Benghazi.
Abu-Abdullah al-Masry, an official leader of the Islamic Court in Sirte, has promised to wage a war against the UN-backed government, which he called “government of crusaders”. In light of this threat, we expect that the efforts to organize an international intervention will materialize in weeks to come. Security reinforcements and the setting up of humanitarian camps in Algeria, Tunisia and Egypt reinforce this belief.
The unity government faces a myriad of security, political and economic challenges. Where the two formerly competing governments of Tripoli and Tobruk failed, the GNA may succeed, due to the West’s unconditional support and will to root out the Islamic State, end the immigrant crisis that has become a major source of concern in Europe in the past few months, and stop the ticking time bomb that is Libya.
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http://north-africa.com/a-status-quo-change-in-libya/
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| 2016-04-08T00:00:00 |
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[] | 2016-08-26T12:51:52 | null | 2016-03-18T15:28:08 | null |
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Mortar shell attack on an Algerian gas field, no casualties
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Mortar shell attack on an Algerian gas field, no casualties
According to MEA Risk sources, an insurgent group has attacked a gas field exploited by the Algerian state-owned energy company Sonatrach, Statoil and BP in the In Salah gas site of Krechba, in the Saharian province of Ghardaia. Two homemade mortar shells were fired; the first one fell on the base entrance point, and the second landed on inside the base. There were no casualties.
The army has launched large-scale sweep operations in the area at 10:30 this morning to locate the insurgents. This is the first terrorist attack to take place in southern Algeria since the In Amenas hostage crisis in January 2013.
Although the operations have not been disrupted, the Central Processing Facility (CPF) was shut down as a safety precaution. No casualties were reported thanks to the swift response of the local army detachment. Security sources have revealed that two insurgents, thought to be part of Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, were involved in the mortar attack. The army is still trying to locate them. In the meantime the multinational companies based in southern Algeria have been placed on lockdown.
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http://north-africa.com/mortar-shell-attack-on-an-algerian-gas-field-no-casualties/
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| 2016-03-18T00:00:00 |
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[] | 2016-08-26T12:50:27 | null | 2016-02-25T15:34:39 | null |
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Libya: Western troops confirmed on the ground in Libya
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Libya: Western troops confirmed on the ground in Libya
MEA Risk trackers are reporting that Libyan officials confirmed that a French combat squad comprised of 15 troops has been operating out of Benghazi’s Benina air base for more than 2 months, and have helped the pro-government Libyan National Army conduct 2 operations against the Islamic State and other insurgent groups in the eastern city of Benghazi.
British and American teams are also said to be operational in Benghazi and Misrata, which is located to the east of the IS stronghold Sirte, despite the fact that ultraconservatives vividly oppose the presence of Western forces in Libya. The French authorities have refused to comment.
Meanwhile, in Sabratha, an offensive was launched by Islamic State militants, who briefly entered the center of the western Libyan city of Sabratha, killing 17 before the local authorities forced their retreat. A citywide scouring operation has let IS take advantage of an apparent security gap, according to the local authorities.
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http://north-africa.com/libya-french-british-us-troops-confirmed-on-the-ground-in-benghazi-misrata-as-is-briefly-takes-control-of-sabratha-killing-17/
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| 2016-02-25T00:00:00 |
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[] | 2016-08-26T13:02:45 | null | 2022-01-06T16:41:00 |
Food Fetish
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bangalore.explocity.com
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Home Article Food Fetish
Food Fetish
Jeyadra S
Baker
Which is one food you hate?
I have been thinking about this question. But I just like all food so much. So none!
What is the easiest dish to bake?
I find bread baking to be easy and fun.
Which restaurant would you recommend to a newcomer?
I love Truffles Ice and Spice. That’s the one I would recommend.
When is the first time you cooked something?
When I was in the third grade I made dosa. It was a lot of fun.
Fav bar for the evenings?
I can’t pick from the many in Bangalore. It keeps changing based on mood.
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| 2022-01-06T00:00:00 |
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[] | 2016-08-26T13:00:30 | null | 2014-12-18T16:14:25 | null |
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Interesting Christmas Food From Around the World
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Home Uncategorized Interesting Christmas Food From Around the World
Interesting Christmas Food From Around the World
Eating KFC in Tokyo and Coal Candy in Italy are all part of the Christmas tradition. Here are some interesting ones. Source: Gourmandia
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https://bangalore.explocity.com/interesting-christmas-food-from-around-the-world/
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| 2014-12-18T00:00:00 |
bangalore.explocity.com/7bcfbacc4451dc817974ccd0637cb85f983b9460e9cb1815ad578205da40a152.json
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[] | 2016-08-26T13:01:25 | null | 2014-12-18T17:15:30 | null |
https%3A%2F%2Fbangalore.explocity.com%2Fexperiencing-bangalore-through-food%2F.json
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Experiencing Bangalore Through Food
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The festive season, for me, is all about food. I have always been fascinated by food – its heartiness, warmth and the explosion of tastes. Bangalore has given me several reasons to make every eat out, every meal and every occasion a memorable experience.Among the many restaurants that I have visited during my eight year stay in the city, one place that gets full marks for food and service, isin Kalyan Nagar. Besides the a la carté fare, their buffets are a lavish spread. While grills are served at the table, the live pasta/risotto counter keeps the little ones enthralled. Desserts are a must try; bite sized portions of mousse and cakes that are loaded with flavour. The service is friendly and the restaurant is child-friendly too.
Ebony at Barton Centre, MG Road, has been serving Bangaloreans for many years, and I have celebrated many memorable occasions there. Besides the gorgeous views of the city that overshadows everything else, what caps the experience, is the food. The buffet options are simple yet varied, and served with a choice of Indian and International drinks and beverages. The place is often completely booked, and therefore a reservation well in advance will make the dining experience enjoyable and hassle free.
A restaurant that I visited very recently, that was truly authentic in its food and ambience was Fujian On 24th in JP Nagar. Located on a bustling street, this pan-Asian dining space has both formal and outdoor areas. The imposing Buddha at the entrance sets just the right mood for fare that includes Five Spiced Grill Chicken, a variety of veg and non-veg dim sums, Chef’s special Oriental salad and scrumptious seafood and lamb mains. This followed by complimentary Oriental tea. Fujian serves some fine and rare wines and spirits, prepared by a master mixologist.
Charmaine K Rathish, a passionate foodie, is a creative writer and food blogger. She is the creative head at www.outoboxcontent.in
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https://bangalore.explocity.com/experiencing-bangalore-through-food/
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| 2014-12-18T00:00:00 |
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[] | 2016-08-26T13:05:46 | null | 2015-01-15T00:00:00 |
Tata Nano, the world’s cheapest car which made a big splash in 2008, and Cervo, Maruti’s small car expected to hit Indian roads this year, have some competition. Three engineering students in Bangalore have designed a small car prototype called Saz. Sanu Rahman, 24, Syed Zeeshan K, 22, and Syed Arif Ullah, 23, final-year mechanical engineering students from HKBK College of Engineering in Hebbal, built the 150cc vehicle as part of their a final year project. They spent Rs 1.4 lakh on the project with some help from friends and family. “We are confident that each Saz will cost anything between Rs 75,000 and Rs 80,000 if it is mass produced,”said Sanu. Saz has been built with parts bought from the scrap market in Shivajinagar. The steering, dashboard, outer body and tyres are from a damaged Nano. The front seat is from a Daewoo Matiz. “The back seat is designed and stitched by us,” said Sanu. No wonder the car’s name comes from the first letters of the trio’s names. The car runs on petrol and LPG, and comes fitted with a hydro-mileage booster which uses a high frequency pulsed current to fracture water into gas. Saz gives a mileage of 35 kilometres per litre of petrol and 25 kilometres per litre of LPG. Saz is 10 feet long and 3 feet 6 inches wide. It needs a parking space of two motorcycles. “Our car’s width is half of conventional small cars, thus saving space on the road as well,” said Arif. “The prototype car has an innovative independent front and back tilt suspension system which allows it to be manoeuvred like a motorcycle,” added Zeeshan. Work began on the prototype two years ago. Sanu said, “We started with a 300cc engine and finally settled on a 150cc engine. Our objective was to build a vehicle which would be a convergence of a car and a motorcycle.” Source: Bangalore Mirror
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150cc Car Created by Engg Students
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Home Article 150cc Car Created by Engg Students
150cc Car Created by Engg Students
Tata Nano, the world’s cheapest car which made a big splash in 2008, and Cervo, Maruti’s small car expected to hit Indian roads this year, have some competition. Three engineering students in Bangalore have designed a small car prototype called Saz.
Sanu Rahman, 24, Syed Zeeshan K, 22, and Syed Arif Ullah, 23, final-year mechanical engineering students from HKBK College of Engineering in Hebbal, built the 150cc vehicle as part of their a final year project.
They spent Rs 1.4 lakh on the project with some help from friends and family. “We are confident that each Saz will cost anything between Rs 75,000 and Rs 80,000 if it is mass produced,”said Sanu.
Saz has been built with parts bought from the scrap market in Shivajinagar. The steering, dashboard, outer body and tyres are from a damaged Nano. The front seat is from a Daewoo Matiz. “The back seat is designed and stitched by us,” said Sanu. No wonder the car’s name comes from the first letters of the trio’s names.
The car runs on petrol and LPG, and comes fitted with a hydro-mileage booster which uses a high frequency pulsed current to fracture water into gas. Saz gives a mileage of 35 kilometres per litre of petrol and 25 kilometres per litre of LPG.
Saz is 10 feet long and 3 feet 6 inches wide. It needs a parking space of two motorcycles. “Our car’s width is half of conventional small cars, thus saving space on the road as well,” said Arif.
“The prototype car has an innovative independent front and back tilt suspension system which allows it to be manoeuvred like a motorcycle,” added Zeeshan.
Work began on the prototype two years ago. Sanu said, “We started with a 300cc engine and finally settled on a 150cc engine. Our objective was to build a vehicle which would be a convergence of a car and a motorcycle.”
Source: Bangalore Mirror
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https://bangalore.explocity.com/article/150cc-car-created-by-engg-students/
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| 2015-01-15T00:00:00 |
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[] | 2016-08-26T13:03:10 | null | 2022-01-06T16:41:00 |
I pick Coringa (in Koramangala) as my venue of choice to take Dad out for a meal on Father’s Day. Despite our background and reputation of being carnivores - we are Mangaloreans - Dad is (mostly) a vegetarian.
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In Search Of A Vegetarian Father’s Day
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Home Article In Search Of A Vegetarian Father’s Day
In Search Of A Vegetarian Father’s Day
By Caroline Radhakrishnan
I pick Coringa (in Koramangala) as my venue of choice to take Dad out for a meal on Father’s Day. Despite our background and reputation of being carnivores – we are Mangaloreans – Dad is (mostly) a vegetarian. Besides, Coringa is around the corner from where he lives.
Coringa is an speciality Andhra restaurant, one that is is vastly different from the norm. Theirs is the exotic sounding Coastal Andhra cuisine from the East Godavari district of AP.
They make a serious effort to stay authentic and therefore, a good part of this restaurant’s menu cannot be easily found available in most other Andhra restaurants.
They first started five years ago at Hebbal, but luckily for me, opened their Koramangala outlet 3 months ago. The menu staple is “Andhra Bhojanam” (thali meals)and this location boasts a bar.
I am blown away by Coringa’s simplicity and flavors of the home. While seafood and other non-vegetarian fare is their forte, their vegetarian fare is great. I dare say that even committed meat lovers, like me, will not miss the meat for the crisp arvi or a gooey stuffed brinjal or a melt in the mouth cube of yam or a crunchy banana stem stir fry or even an unusual, stuffed bitter gourd (yes indeed). (In fact I have unilaterally renamed their stuffed Karela to Stuffed Carol’a, after my name.)
They also serve seasonal dishes like raw jackfruit stir fry, raw jackfruit biryani and even the very rare, stuffed Teasel gourd aka Kantola. The simple dal (called Pappu) has various delightful avatars – something that pleases even my fussy vegetarian Iyer. I could write odes to their vast vegetarian menu but I will go into raptures over their gorgeously multi-hued lobsters, crabs, prawns and even chicken and mutton. I am not a chicken person, but their chilli chicken is a must-taste. Literally chillies and chicken, this is an eye-watering delight for those who can handle the heat.
The milder cashew mutton with its liberal sprinkling of the nut, would be a good option for the less adventurous. As far as seafood is concerned, I do prefer mine subtly seasoned and their style is a bit heavy on the masalas. However, the freshness of their catch cannot be disputed and theirs comes almost directly from sailing vessel to a cooking one, sometimes the catch is barely a day old. Of some reassurance, they will happily tone down (or turn up) the spice level on request.
They also have a range of traditional drinks like buttermilk, tender coconut, starch water, or Panakkam to quench an accidental or deliberate fire in the gullet.
I cannot conclude without waxing eloquent on their desserts, for in no other restaurant have I seen the White Pumpkin Halwa or the sundried, finely layered mango jelly or the piece de resistance, the Poota Rekulus, which are rolled up layers of ultra fine sheets made of rice, sugar and coconut, to be popped into the mouth in one go.
Back to their authenticity, you won’t find paneer butter masala or gobi manchurian or its ilk to taint the purity of their offering. I like my specialty restaurants to stick to their speciality and not humour the public just to enhance business. To nitpick though, I don’t believe the Potato Cheese Balls and Crab Cheese Balls are exactly “Andhra” dishes. groundnut stuffing notwithstanding.
And back to Father’s Day, we’re definitely headed to Coringa. It panders to Pa’s tastes.
But dessert will be a cake from my oven. Albeit a multigrain, healthier version.
View Coringa listing here.
Caroline Radhakrishnan is a food lover with a brave palate that is open to sampling almost any cuisine. Her baking classes are very popular. She makes wines from fruits and vegetables and uses fresh and dry spices to give the wines an Indian taste. She can be contacted at omiacara@gmail.com.
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Wolf Of Church Street @ Hard Rock Cafe
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Home Event Wolf Of Church Street @ Hard Rock Cafe
Wolf Of Church Street @ Hard Rock Cafe
Date: 2016-06-03 to 2016-06-03
Time: to
Ready for Round 2?
Here’s a guess – youre still not over the last time.
You know the drill, crawl from bar to bar along Church Street, creating havoc as you move along
They’re back and ready to work Church street one more time!
#WolfofChurchStreet The Pub Crawl starts at Hard Rock Cafe, then Social, followed by Russh and ending with an exclusive Pub Crawl After Party at Blue FROG.
The charges for the pub crawl are Rs. 1000, full cover (this includes 1 drink at each venue + after party access at Blue Frog + 1 bottle of morning fresh + Exclusive WOCS Merchandise).
Drink. Network. Crawl.
Be the #WolfOfChurchStreet on Friday, June 3rd 2016.
Hard Rock Cafe
40, St Marks Road, 560001
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https://bangalore.explocity.com/event/wolf-of-church-street-hard-rock-cafe/
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| 2022-01-06T00:00:00 |
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[] | 2016-08-26T13:02:21 | null | 2014-12-18T16:07:56 | null |
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Max Erbacher’s Art On Church Street
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By Anagha Maareesha
Max Erbacher is confused. The huge real estate hoardings all over Bangalore caught his eye. While they promised orchards, woods and harmony, he found the apartment complexes are set amidst squalor, pollution and traffic.
His project is in reaction to this confusion. Titled “Promises”, the project is a display of hoardings across the city. The stark black text on white background artworks make proclamations like the real estate hoardings do, but with sarcasm. “Open your windows to the great wide outside” reads a huge installation on Church Street. Just across the road, tons of developers advertise apartments with pools, while the rag pickers dig out their lunch from bags of trash below them.
His art installation stand tall in a face-off with what he considers to be ostentatious hoardings in Shivajinagar and Ashok Nagar.
Erbacher is visiting Bangalore on an artist residency programme at Goethe Institut and with the Mod Institute. Speaking to Explocity, Erbacher said that these gated communities are security for the rising middle class and are expected to deliver on their promise of luxury; but the contradiction is that they get isolated from what happens outside the walls.
“I was shocked by the garbage situation on the roads and the potholes,” Erbacher said, “but instead of fixing it, people just drive around it. All this driving around (he described air quotes) just ignores the problem. And in a way this divide between the gated community and the people on the streets is changing the social structure. It creates an isolated island for the people inside.”
In an attempt to understand the societal dynamic Erbacher took to the streets in a second project titled “Beggar”.
With a yellow begging bowl, he sits immobile on the street for an hour with a sign saying “Today I am your friend”. Sometimes people drop some change in the bowl, sometimes they don’t. “Its is very interesting to see the world at what he calls, “High Heel” level”.
“I started this many years ago and have been doing in every country I visit.” he explained.
People reacted variously ways to “Beggar”. Some were awe-inspired and waited for an hour to speak to him. Many gave him money. And he was touched by the fact that most of the money came from people who were clearly not from high income groups. For example, the first person to make a donation was a security guard who dropped Rs 10 into the begging bowl. At the end of the appointed hour of his project, he collected about Rs 350. Much of it came from the cleaning ladies who fished it out from their saree knots and humble tiffin boxes, he said.
“Beggar” sought to illustrate the tenuous nexus between money and friendship.
But it also raised the question: “Does luxury make us comfortably numb?”
What is the great outdoors that our windows open up to?
(Watch the video on “Beggars” on the YouTube Explocity Videos channel: “Bangalore Minute: Max Erbacher’s Art On Church Street”.)
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| 2014-12-18T00:00:00 |
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[] | 2016-08-31T10:53:43 | null | 2022-01-06T16:08:00 |
If London and Singapore can have Cocktail Week, so can Bangalore. Bangalore will celebrate cocktail culture, in this beer focused city.
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Cocktail Culture: The Bangalore Cocktail Week
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Home Article Cocktail Culture: The Bangalore Cocktail Week
Cocktail Culture: The Bangalore Cocktail Week
If London and Singapore can have Cocktail Week, so can Bangalore. From 26 August to 2 September, 2016, Bangalore will celebrate cocktail culture, in this beer focused city.
Archit Singhal, founder of the Bangalore Cocktail Week said, “Bangalore is known as the Pub Capital of India. The Delhi Cocktail Week and Mumbai Cocktail Week changed the way those cities look at cocktails and this time, we are all set to raise the bar and bring to Bangalore the choicest cocktail of experiences.”
The signature cocktails of celebrity mixologists Andrew Quadari and Hemanth Mundkur can be sampled (or consumed by the barrel, we aren’t judging) at 25 bars across the city. They will also conduct masterclasses.
Pub crawls are the best way to hit up all the participating bars. The cocktails at the participating venues are also discounted to Rs 300 inclusive of all taxes specially for the event.
Participating outlets include:
Easy Tiger- Church Street and Koramangala
Watson’s- Ulsoor, JP Nagar and Vasanthnagar
Smokehouse Deli – Lavelle Road and Indiranagar
G77 Cafe- Indiranagar
Gilly’s- BEL Road and Koramangala
The Biere Club- Vittal Malya Road and Whitefield
Hammered- Vasanthnagar
The Whitefield Arms- Whitefield
ALT- Whitefield
Puma Social- Indiranagar
Social- Whitefield and Church Street
Shiro- MG Road
Bootlegger- MG Road
Barebones- Indiranagar
Horn Ok Please- Indiranagar
Three Dots And A Dash- Indiranagar
Hangover- Indiranagar
Carry age proof and drink responsibly (or don’t. Again, we aren’t judging.)
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[] | 2016-08-26T13:04:43 | null | 2022-01-06T16:41:00 |
The celebrated restaurant showcases the diversity of Kerala with the introduction of Syro Malabar Christian cuisine. The meal uses traditional recipes from Travancore, Kollam, Allapuzha and Changanssary and will be served for breakfast.
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Karavalli Takes You To Church
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Home Article Karavalli Takes You To Church
Karavalli Takes You To Church
If the kitchen is considered a temple, the Syro Malabar cuisine at Karavalli takes you to church.
The celebrated restaurant showcases the diversity of Kerala with the introduction of Syro Malabar Christian cuisine. The meal uses traditional recipes from Travancore, Kollam, Allapuzha and Changanssary and will be served for breakfast.
Executive Chef, Naren Thimmaiah keeps the dining experience authentic and has created this breakfast menu featuring signature Syro Malabar Christain dishes. This includes Puttu Kadala Curry, Vellayappan Meen Moily which don’t seem like typical breakfast dishes to us, but go figure the Syro Malabar Christians. Some of the other breakfast items are Porotta Mutta Roast which is a popular egg roast eaten with Malabar Paratha, Chayaa Vazhapoo, a banana blossom cutlet with tea.
The festival happening on the weekend gives the leeway for one to partake with free flowing sparkling wine in the morning.
At Karavalli, Taj Gateway, Residency Road. For breakfast on 16 and 17 July at Rs 990 including taxes.
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Bidding Farewell To The Only West Indian Restaurant In Bangalore
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Home Article Bidding Farewell To The Only West Indian Restaurant In Bangalore
Bidding Farewell To The Only West Indian Restaurant In Bangalore
30 years ago Susan John came to Bangalore from Trinidad and Tobago after getting married to an Indian. A new city, a new culture; but she did not want to lose touch with her roots. The only way to do this was to cook. Cook for her friends, family and neighbours. This is how Sue’s Food Place, the only West Indian restaurant in Bangalore opened its doors in Indiranagar in 1998.
But on the 1 May 2016 they served their last lunch buffet as the restaurant closed its door. “ I’m not a spring chicken anymore, you know,” John says in an interview with Explocity. “My husband is not well and I have to take care of him so I have decided to close the restaurant.”
West Indian cuisine was unique, even in 2016, but also 20 years ago. “When I opened the place it was the only non vegetarian restaurant in town,” Susan reminisces. After a few years Nandini opened and then the rest followed. But what most attracted the crowds, then and now, was curiosity. The curiosity to try the cuisine. The only thing they knew about the West Indies was cricket; that was the only link.
The buffet was ever so popular. It was a place where John could play her music and serve her food to guests. They relaxed, at home vibe of the place was loved by the diners. It was difficult at times being a woman alone running the place. “I did not get a liquor licence because I did not want to deal with the bureaucracy”. But that never deterred guests.
“I loved all the young people who came to restaurant. The old ones were a bit snobbish I’m afraid, “ She confides. “I still love my work but there are so many things to do, I don’t know how they managed at home without me all these years.” John wants to thank the people of Bangalore for the love she has received. We shall also certainly miss Sue’s Food Place.
By Anagha M
(Coincidentally and sadly with this article the author also bids farewell to Explocity)
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[] | 2016-08-26T13:00:57 | null | 2014-12-18T17:21:00 | null |
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Meet The Chef
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Home Restaurants Meet The Chef
Meet The Chef
Chef Vikas Seth
Head Chef, Sancho’s
Do you think Mexican cuisine is similar to Indian?
Yes, there are definitely similarities, especially with the ingredients – tomatoes, chili, beans etc. Many people also equate them because both cuisines are ‘spicy’. But I don’t think that is entirely true. The way we use chilis and the spice levels are very different. Although yes there is a lot of relatability in Indian and Mexican food.
So why aren’t there more Mexican restaurants?
Honestly, I’m also not sure. Maybe because some people, as Indians, think it is similar to our food and try to make it our way. And that doesn’t work out. But I can tell you that sourcing authentic Mexican ingredients is very difficult. It is not an easy job to get some of the recipes right.What are your opinions on outlets like Taco Bell?
Such commercialised restaurants do not offer any authenticity, and diners might gather wrong opinions of the cuisine altogether. But on the other hand, places like these are an easy way to introduce diners to a new cuisine, it makes it popular.In the Winter Special menu at Sancho’s which authentic ingredients have you used?
We have included many unique ingredients like the Guajillo Chili, which is a widely used in Mexico. We have used Zucchini Blossoms. And a favourite from Mexico – Chorizo which are spicy sausages.What is the best street food in Mexico?
I have discovered many interesting dishes during my time in Mexico. One I loved was Tamale which is a corn based dough and is steamed or boiled in a leaf wrapper. They even make sweet versions with strawberries.
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| 2014-12-18T00:00:00 |
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[] | 2016-08-26T13:01:52 | null | 2014-12-18T17:18:43 | null |
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The Erudite Epicure
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Home Restaurants The Erudite Epicure
The Erudite Epicure
Stollen
This is German equivalent of fruit cake. It is stuffed with yummy dry fruits and marzipan. The cake is usually eaten during the Christmas season, when it is called Weihnachtsstollen or Christstollen. It was made first time at the Council of Trent in 1545 as a Christmas pastry.
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https://bangalore.explocity.com/the-erudite-epicure/
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| 2014-12-18T00:00:00 |
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[] | 2016-08-26T13:05:03 | null | 2022-01-06T16:41:00 |
Imagine getting into your car after an evening at the pub, slightly buzzed but not too. Imagine turning the key to get the engines rolling. Now imagine a car that refuses to budge. If the makers of ‘Sarathi’ a device that can tell if you’ve been drinking or not are to be believed, this is not science fiction, it’s hard-core science fact. It’s an idea in the making. A great one we feel. And the inventors are twenty one years old, yes all four of them, who’ve spent many hours perfecting and creating a protoype device that could help everyone in Bangalore. Maybe even the world. It had to do with nailing drunk drivers before they hit the roads and do damage. You’ve probably been stopped at one time or another by the Bangalore Traffic Police if you drive a car at night, and asked to blow into an instrument. They’re trying to see if you’ve been drinking before driving. The Bangalore Traffic Police have booked over thirty thousand cases of drunk driving in 2012 alone. The device they use is hand-held, low tech and not always 100% reliable. In addition, many motorists don’t want to put lip to instrument for sanitary and hygenic reasons. “I’d rather go to jail than blow into one of those things,” said Rachana, a lady driver who won’t give us her last name for obvious reasons. “Who knows who has just breathed his germs into it.” Enter Santosh S Malagi, Pruthviraj M, Ramachandra U and Vijaykumar H (students of Kamala and Venkappa M Agadi College of Engineering and Technology, Laxmeshwar) who have revolutionised the business of identifying drunk drivers even before they hit the roads in their cars. Called, ‘Sarathi,’ (which in Sanskrit is ‘charioteer’) the device is installed in the dashboard of the car. As soon as you turn the key to start the ignition of the vehicle an alert goes out automatically to the RTO offices via a open-source, online portal, telling them if your alcohol level is above 0.03% (or 35 microlitres of alcohol in 100 millilitres blood), the legal limit. “Presently, we have the support of an open source portal called Xively.com, which the RTO officials will have to monitor regularly in order to see who is violating the law.” Besides identifying drunk drivers, the device has many other features. It detects fuel emissions (to help reduce pollution), engine temperature (to let you kow if your car is over heating) and GPS positioning (to tell you where you are). As a matter of fact, the original idea was to create a device to track pollution, heating and GPS. The drunk driver application came as an afterthought. But a welcome one. The camaraderie between Malagi, Mallangoudar, Udapi and Hiremath is evident as they share similar interests. Reading, browsing the internet and travel. They also have formed a group called ‘Y-Nots’ who organise seminars and quizzes in college. When we discussed costs, Malagi explained that creating the Sarathi prototype costs them Rs 11,000. But he believes that integrating with existing systems will bring the cost down to Rs 5000 – 6000 per unit. Malagi explained that they’ve planned a version of ‘Sarathi’ that can smell a persons breath and flat out refuse to start the car. A traffic cop’s dream come true. What about the future, we wondered. “We don’t even have a business plan, but want to make it commercially viable.” They have made many modifications to their initial design and feel they’re ready to hit the markets. They hope to get funded so they can make their own dreams come true. The Anti Drunk Driving Team Santosh S Malagi, 21, Project Leader Malagi is adept at CAN (Controller Area Network) hardware, Microcontroller coding, Arduino interfacing LabVIEW interface development, connectivity and soldering. Pruthviraj Mallangoudar, 21 Mallangoudar handles CAN Microcontroller coding, LabVIEW interface development and soldering. Ramchandra Udapi, 21 Apart from CAN, Udapi works on GPS and memory card data logging, data collection and analysis. Vijaykumar Hiremath, 21 Hiremath works on sensor integration and GPS and memory card data logging, testing and Arduino coding.
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https%3A%2F%2Fbangalore.explocity.com%2Farticle%2Fholding-back-the-sarathi%2F.json
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Holding back the Sarathi
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bangalore.explocity.com
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Home Article Holding back the Sarathi
Holding back the Sarathi
Imagine getting into your car after an evening at the pub, slightly buzzed but not too. Imagine turning the key to get the engines rolling. Now imagine a car that refuses to budge. If the makers of ‘Sarathi’ a device that can tell if you’ve been drinking or not are to be believed, this is not science fiction, it’s hard-core science fact.
It’s an idea in the making. A great one we feel. And the inventors are twenty one years old, yes all four of them, who’ve spent many hours perfecting and creating a protoype device that could help everyone in Bangalore. Maybe even the world.
It had to do with nailing drunk drivers before they hit the roads and do damage.
You’ve probably been stopped at one time or another by the Bangalore Traffic Police if you drive a car at night, and asked to blow into an instrument. They’re trying to see if you’ve been drinking before driving. The Bangalore Traffic Police have booked over thirty thousand cases of drunk driving in 2012 alone.
The device they use is hand-held, low tech and not always 100% reliable. In addition, many motorists don’t want to put lip to instrument for sanitary and hygenic reasons. “I’d rather go to jail than blow into one of those things,” said Rachana, a lady driver who won’t give us her last name for obvious reasons. “Who knows who has just breathed his germs into it.”
Enter Santosh S Malagi, Pruthviraj M, Ramachandra U and Vijaykumar H (students of Kamala and Venkappa M Agadi College of Engineering and Technology, Laxmeshwar) who have revolutionised the business of identifying drunk drivers even before they hit the roads in their cars.
Called, ‘Sarathi,’ (which in Sanskrit is ‘charioteer’) the device is installed in the dashboard of the car. As soon as you turn the key to start the ignition of the vehicle an alert goes out automatically to the RTO offices via a open-source, online portal, telling them if your alcohol level is above 0.03% (or 35 microlitres of alcohol in 100 millilitres blood), the legal limit.
“Presently, we have the support of an open source portal called Xively.com, which the RTO officials will have to monitor regularly in order to see who is violating the law.”
Besides identifying drunk drivers, the device has many other features. It detects fuel emissions (to help reduce pollution), engine temperature (to let you kow if your car is over heating) and GPS positioning (to tell you where you are). As a matter of fact, the original idea was to create a device to track pollution, heating and GPS. The drunk driver application came as an afterthought. But a welcome one.
The camaraderie between Malagi, Mallangoudar, Udapi and Hiremath is evident as they share similar interests. Reading, browsing the internet and travel. They also have formed a group called ‘Y-Nots’ who organise seminars and quizzes in college.
When we discussed costs, Malagi explained that creating the Sarathi prototype costs them Rs 11,000. But he believes that integrating with existing systems will bring the cost down to Rs 5000 – 6000 per unit.
Malagi explained that they’ve planned a version of ‘Sarathi’ that can smell a persons breath and flat out refuse to start the car. A traffic cop’s dream come true.
What about the future, we wondered. “We don’t even have a business plan, but want to make it commercially viable.” They have made many modifications to their initial design and feel they’re ready to hit the markets. They hope to get funded so they can make their own dreams come true.
The Anti Drunk Driving Team
Santosh S Malagi, 21, Project Leader
Malagi is adept at CAN (Controller Area Network) hardware, Microcontroller coding, Arduino interfacing LabVIEW interface development, connectivity and soldering.
Pruthviraj Mallangoudar, 21
Mallangoudar handles CAN Microcontroller coding, LabVIEW interface development and soldering.
Ramchandra Udapi, 21
Apart from CAN, Udapi works on GPS and memory card data logging, data collection and analysis.
Vijaykumar Hiremath, 21
Hiremath works on sensor integration and GPS and memory card data logging, testing and Arduino coding.
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https://bangalore.explocity.com/article/holding-back-the-sarathi/
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en
| 2022-01-06T00:00:00 |
bangalore.explocity.com/5c24e43cad511047fb34f2c7ad5876ddcd66fe31dc528fe2c9651e21e716105b.json
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[
"Daniel Taylor"
] | 2016-08-28T18:51:43 | null | 2016-08-28T17:08:23 |
Two goals from Raheem Sterling and one from Fernandinho helped Manchester City to a 3-1 Premier League victory over West Ham as Pep Guardiola’s winning start continued
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https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Ffootball%2F2016%2Faug%2F28%2Fmanchester-city-west-ham-united-premier-league-match-report.json
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Manchester City continue winning start as Raheem Sterling sees off West Ham
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www.theguardian.com
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Perhaps the most daunting part for Manchester City’s rivals is that these are still the embryonic stages of Pep Guardiola’s reign, with the players slowly getting used to a new set of ideas, different tactics and a manager who gives the impression that he is only satisfied by the highest forms of excellence. Five games, five wins – Guardiola has had an immaculate start, and still there is the clear impression of a side that can get even better.
That must be a thrilling thought for their supporters when Leroy Sané, one of their expensive summer recruits, has not had the chance yet to demonstrate why Guardiola made him a priority signing. The same applies to Ilkay Gündogan, Guardiola’s first signing, and Claudio Bravo was also in the stands after his £17m move from Barcelona. Guardiola’s decision not to start his new goalkeeper was a perplexing one – better here, you might imagine, than a debut in the Manchester derby – and threatened to backfire when Willy Caballero came for a cross in the 59th minute, flapped at thin air and Michail Antonio headed in the goal that changed the complexion of this match.
The game had been so one-sided until that point it came as a jolt to discover that City were threatening to waste all their previous good work. They had been exhilarating in the first half but Caballero’s mistake contributed to a nervous final 30 minutes, before Raheem Sterling soothed the crowd’s nerves with his second goal of the afternoon. Guardiola had got away with it to a certain extent - though it would be a brave man to take issue with the new manager’s choices when his team are winning as a matter of routine.
Manchester City 3-1 West Ham United: Premier League – as it happened Read more
There was, however, one obvious downside for City in the form of Sergio Agüero’s elbow on Winston Reid during the second half and the threat of retrospective action from the Football Association meaning he will be banned from the game against Manchester United on 10 September, as well as Bournemouth’s visit to this stadium the following week and the EFL Cup tie against Swansea City. Agüero had not had one of his better games and perhaps there was an element of frustration in the incident that led to Reid being unable to continue.
Otherwise, this was another day to supply hard evidence that Guardiola’s arrival has rejuvenated Sterling and that City’s other creative players are also relishing the change of manager. Kevin de Bruyne’s free-kick for Fernandinho’s goal was not the only time the Belgian demonstrated there might be no one better in the league when it comes to placing the ball exactly where he wants it. Nolito has slotted seamlessly into the left side of attack and David Silva, that gem of a player, is playing with such distinction his deterioration last season already feels like a distant memory.
For West Ham, still missing the injured Dimitri Payet, there were times, especially in the first half, when the match strayed dangerously close to becoming a full-on ordeal. Guardiola’s players did not just move the ball at uncommon speed, they chased down their opponents with an urgency that was not seen under Manuel Pellegrini. If the players lost possession they did everything to get it back as quickly as possible. It is the mentality that helped make Barcelona such a formidable team under Guardiola’s guidance and, if anything, it was a surprise their first-half superiority did not bring them even more goals.
A common theme throughout Guardiola’s managerial career is that he does not tolerate slow starts. His players are under instructions to pin back their opponents from the beginning and only seven minutes had elapsed by the time the opening goal came.
Silva was prominently involved, as is so often the case, moving across the centre of the pitch, from right to left, and sliding his pass behind the visiting defence for Nolito to reach the byline. Sterling was unmarked in the penalty area and turned the past beyond Adrián, West Ham’s goalkeeper, with a first-time finish.
After 18 minutes, the game had started to feel like a foregone conclusion. Fernandinho had headed in De Bruyne’s expertly taken free-kick and West Ham, with the 20-year-old Ashley Fletcher making his full debut, looked desperately inferior. Yet Antonio has now scored eight headers in the Premier League in the last year, more than any other player, and the latest one gave Slaven Bilic’s team new momentum.
City were aggrieved that the cross came in from Arthur Masuaku when, already booked, the player had caught John Stones’s knee with his studs in a first-half challenge that went unpunished. Ultimately, though, West Ham could not capitalise on that period when the home side suddenly looked a little unsure of themselves. Instead, Silva hit the post in the closing exchanges before playing in Sterling to go around Adrián and roll in a carefully placed shot from a difficult angle.
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https://www.theguardian.com/football/2016/aug/28/manchester-city-west-ham-united-premier-league-match-report
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en
| 2016-08-28T00:00:00 |
www.theguardian.com/0a93cd7a5a89eeded08b3d02841c5e370312199868c693142b7f8abf189938a8.json
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[
"David Smith"
] | 2016-08-28T08:51:50 | null | 2016-08-28T08:00:27 |
Southside With You offers a fond farewell to the president during his final year in office – in stark contrast to scathing tales of presidents past
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https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fus-news%2F2016%2Faug%2F28%2Fobama-legacy-biopic-film-southside-with-you.json
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| null |
'History will be kind to him': Obama biopic bodes well for president's legacy
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www.theguardian.com
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“On our first date, I treated her to the finest ice cream Baskin-Robbins had to offer, our dinner table doubling as the curb,” says a historical marker at the corner of Dorchester Avenue and 53rd Street in Chicago. “I kissed her, and it tasted like chocolate.”
Southside with You review: Obamas' first date is Before Sunset sans subtlety Read more
This is how Barack Obama remembers courting Michelle Robinson in 1989. The future president and first lady visited an art gallery, watched Spike Lee’s Do the Right Thing at the cinema, and talked and talked. Their meeting of minds is recounted in a movie, Southside with You, which opened on Friday to mixed reviews.
The flattering portrait was released to 813 cinemas in North America, far more than first planned, after positive reaction at the Sundance film festival in January. Opinion polls showing the president’s approval rating well above 50% will also have done no harm. “Mr Obama hasn’t even left office, but the cinematic hagiography has begun,” the New York Times commented.
Written and directed by 31-year-old Richard Tanne, Southside with You stars Parker Sawyers as Barack and Tika Sumpter as Michelle; the executive producer is the musician and Obama fan John Legend. It meanders through a series of conversations – reminiscent of Richard Linklater’s Before Sunrise – against the backdrop of southside Chicago in the late 1980s. At one point, the ambitious young lawyers walk past a wall bearing the name of people killed on the city streets.
The movie sticks mostly to the facts, although a community meeting in a church, where Obama displays his rare talent for oratory, is incorporated from a later date. Michelle, 26, asks 28-year-old Barack if he has dated white women. Tanne has said he doesn’t know if this happened but imagines it probably did at some point. Valerie Jarrett, who in real life had dinner with the couple early in their relationship and is now a senior adviser to the president, does not appear.
Some critics have praised the film and others have been lukewarm. Obama’s conservative foes are likely to dismiss the film as propaganda. It comes at a wistful moment for the president’s admirers, as he enters the final stretch, his speeches sometimes punctuated by audience cries of “I love you!” and “four more years!”
The contrast with his predecessor, George W Bush – whose final year in the White House was greeted by Oliver Stone’s scathing biopic, W – could not be starker. Where Obama gets a gentle romantic comedy, Bush was seen boozing, going to war on a flimsy premise and threatening the family legacy.
“At the end of the Obama years, we get a glorification,” said Joshua Kendall, a presidential historian. “At the end of the Bush years, we get a denigration.”
Obama’s reputation appears to have grown in inverse proportion to his potential successors, with Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump enduring record disapproval ratings. Obama is campaigning for Clinton; Bush took a back seat during John McCain’s 2008 run for the White House.
Facebook Twitter Pinterest ‘Obama is seen as a solid person.’ Photograph: Zach Gibson/AFP/Getty Images
Kendall added: “It’s a moment where the election is a downer on both sides, with all the darkness, and Obama is seen as a solid person. History will be kind to him. The film is going there, and is maybe a little too glowing, but it’s generally right. People [think] there’s an honesty and integrity about him.”
Southside with You is only the first cinematic valentine to Obama. Another film is imminent: Barry, about his time as a student in New York. Should America’s first black president write another memoir, a screen adaptation might be expected to follow.
“The problem with biography in general is it tends to be hagiography or denigration, in movies even more than books,” Kendall said. “In general, people don’t tend to want to take in the complexity.”
Obama is far from the first president to be lionised – or demonised – by Hollywood. Abraham Lincoln’s reputation was burnished by John Ford’s Young Mr Lincoln in 1939 and Steven Spielberg’s Lincoln in 2012. Richard Nixon suffered a similar fate to Bush when he was played by Anthony Hopkins in Nixon, also directed by Stone, in 1995.
The British writer Peter Morgan, the author of political dramas including The Deal, The Queen, Frost/Nixon, The Special Relationship and The Audience, said: “In the US, when they talk about the president, they also talk about the head of state. I think they tend to portray their presidents heroically or as villains.”
Morgan has not yet seen Southside with You but suggested that, in general, it was wise to let the dust settle before turning political lives into art.
“I thought W was done far too quickly. I’m normally an admirer of Oliver Stone, but it was rushed out. I think the rule of thumb is to wait for 10 years. If you wait, then you have the possibility of something having a metaphorical aspect and being about more than itself.”
Recalling his own foray into depicting Nixon in a stage play and film about the former president’s landmark TV interviews with the British broadcaster David Frost, Morgan said: “In America, it was a play about Richard Nixon. In Britain, it was a play about David Frost.
“I had a particularly terrifying screening in Washington where all the old Watergate bounty hunters came to watch. Nixon was a very American tragedy which no Englishman could claim to own.”
Lincoln – review Read more
There are signs in recent years that Hollywood is finding new ways to explore the White House. Franklin D Roosevelt, another president who might be expected to receive heroic treatment, was instead portrayed having an affair with his cousin in 2012’s Hyde Park on Hudson, starring Bill Murray and Laura Linney. Lee Daniels’ The Butler saw presidents come and go through the eyes of a black butler played by Forest Whitaker.
When he was played by Kevin Spacey opposite Michael Shannon in Elvis & Nixon earlier this year, for once Watergate was not the focus of a film about the 37th president. A recent HBO adaptation of Robert Schenkkan’s play All the Way presented Bryan Cranston’s richly nuanced depiction of Lyndon Johnson as both angel and ape. Coming soon at the Venice film festival is the premiere of Jackie, featuring Natalie Portman as Jackie Kennedy in the aftermath of her husband’s assassination in 1963.
Not every politician, however, reads and watches coverage of themselves as assiduously as Donald Trump does. Asked if Obama had seen Southside with You, White House press secretary Josh Earnest replied: “I have not talked to him about the film and I don’t know whether or not he’s seen it. But I’ll see if we can get you some information about that.”
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https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/aug/28/obama-legacy-biopic-film-southside-with-you
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en
| 2016-08-28T00:00:00 |
www.theguardian.com/609f1585a1f6504e103be8a488f97df9de6cffea803165cdae7b7703dfce3d9a.json
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[] | 2016-08-26T14:50:34 | null | 2016-08-26T13:53:03 |
Chelsea will be wary of Burnley but Antonio Conte will also be confident his side can produce a winning performance if they are allowed as much of the ball as Liverpool were last Saturday
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https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Ffootball%2F2016%2Faug%2F26%2Fchelsea-burnley-match-preview.json
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en
| null |
Chelsea v Burnley: match preview
| null | null |
www.theguardian.com
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Burnley’s eye-catching win over Liverpool last weekend served as a warning to Chelsea that a fixture which once might have been considered a likely walkover actually has the potential to be awkward. “They are a very solid team in defensive situations, and always ready to go on the counter-attack with two forwards,” said Antonio Conte, who was impressed by Sean Dyche when the pair met at a coaches’ meeting in pre-season. “This is dangerous.” All three of his side’s successes to date have been narrow and nerve-jangling. This, too, should prove tight. Dominic Fifield
Kick-off Saturday 3pm
Venue Stamford Bridge
Last season n/a
Referee Mark Clattenburg
This season G1, Y3, R1, 5.00 cards per game
Odds H 3-10 A 14-1 D 5-1
Chelsea
Subs from Begovic, Eduardo, Aina, Mikel, Tomori, Chalobah, Cuadrado, Miazga, Loftus-Cheek, Matic, Batshuayi, Pedro, Moses, Rémy
Doubtful Aina, Mikel (both match fitness), Cuadrado, Miazga, Rémy (all possible loans), Willian (calf)
Injured Zouma (knee, Sep), Van Ginkel (knee, Oct)
Suspended None
Form WW
Discipline Y8 R0
Leading scorer Costa 2
Burnley
Subs from Robinson, Pope, Lafferty, Tarkowski, Darikwa, K Long, Kightly, Ulvestad, Gudmundsson, Hennings, Jutkiewicz, C Long, Flanagan, Barnes
Doubtful Barnes (hamstring)
Injured None
Suspended None
Form LW
Discipline Y3 R0
Leading scorers Gray, Vokes 1
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https://www.theguardian.com/football/2016/aug/26/chelsea-burnley-match-preview
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en
| 2016-08-26T00:00:00 |
www.theguardian.com/7ea94850985fdafbc83b36a79109557bcb02e76073c0f6f436462d1962a266c9.json
|
|
[
"Angelique Chrisafis",
"Rachel Woodlock"
] | 2016-08-26T14:51:03 | null | 2016-08-26T14:35:15 |
Suspension concerns single ban in southern town but is likely to set precedent for other places that prohibited full-body swimwear
|
https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fworld%2F2016%2Faug%2F26%2Ffrances-highest-court-suspends-burkini-ban-in-test-case.json
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| null |
France's highest court suspends burkini ban in test case
| null | null |
www.theguardian.com
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France’s highest administrative court has suspended a ban on the burkini in a Riviera coastal town after a challenge by rights groups.
The ruling from the state council suspends a single decree against full-body swimsuits issued by the mayor in the southern resort of Villeneuve-Loubet, near Nice. But it is likely to set a precedent for other towns that have banned the swimwear on their beaches.
Sadness, anger and fear: how Nice is responding to the burkini ban Read more
The state council ruled that the mayor did not have the right to issue a burkini ban – stating that local authorities could only restrict individual liberties if there was a “proven risk” to public order. It believed that proven risk had not been demonstrated.
The bans – made in the form of short-term mayoral decrees – began to be issued in a series of beach spots following the Bastille Day attack in Nice and the murder of a priest in Normandy.
They do not explicitly use the word burkini but ban “beachwear which ostentatiously displays religious affiliation”, citing reasons such as the need to protect public order, hygiene or French laws on secularism.
At a hearing before the state council on Thursday, lawyers for the rights groups in the Villeneuve-Loubet case argued that the bans were feeding fear and infringe on basic freedom.
A lower court had ruled on Monday that the Villeneuve-Loubet ban was necessary to prevent public disorder. But the state council found that this did not hold up under French law.
The row over burkinis had intensified after a woman in a headscarf was photographed on a beach in Nice removing a long-sleeved top while surrounded by armed police.
The city banned the burkini on its beaches last week, following about 15 seaside areas in south-east France where mayors had done the same.
The bans have divided France’s government and society and drawn anger abroad. The former president, Nicolas Sarkozy, campaigning for his party’s nomination to run again as president in 2017, used his first public rally this week to call for a nationwide ban on the swimsuits, while the Socialist government has become divided, with the prime minister and one of its leading feminist voices at cabinet-level taking opposing positions.
The burkini bans have prompted a row over the French principle of laïcité – secularism – amid accusations that politicians are twisting and distorting this principle for political gain, and using it to target Muslims.
The French republic is built on a strict separation of church and state, intended to foster equality for all private beliefs. In theory, the state is neutral in terms of religion and allows everyone the freedom to practise their faith as long as there is no threat to public order.
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https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/aug/26/frances-highest-court-suspends-burkini-ban-in-test-case
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en
| 2016-08-26T00:00:00 |
www.theguardian.com/81995bbd974f34fc9b4c4c89176ab930c975696d6ee6930ec331e9758984ddbc.json
|
|
[
"Agence France-Presse"
] | 2016-08-30T02:52:15 | null | 2016-08-30T02:40:26 |
Police accuse 17-year-old of crippling official home page and posting a demand that A-level tests be postponed
|
https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fworld%2F2016%2Faug%2F30%2Fsri-lankan-teenager-hacks-presidents-website-to-try-and-get-exams-delayed.json
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en
| null |
Sri Lankan teenager hacks president's website to try and get exams delayed
| null | null |
www.theguardian.com
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Sri Lankan police have arrested a 17-year-old teenager accused of hacking into President Maithripala Sirisena’s official website and posting a message calling for the postponement of A-level examinations.
The boy was taken into custody on Monday under computer crimes laws and on conviction faces a fine of 300,000 rupees ($2,000) and up to three years in jail.
Spelling mistake prevented hackers taking $1bn in bank heist Read more
“We traced the hack to his home in Kadugannawa,” a police official said, referring to a town about 100km (62 miles) east of the capital, Colombo. “The website was crippled over the weekend after the attack.”
On Monday the president’s official site was up and running again.
The attacker had removed the home page and replaced it with a demand that the president postpone the ongoing GCE Advanced Level examinations or step down.
Sri Lankan websites had been hacked in the past but this is the first time a teenager has been arrested under 2007 laws against computer crimes.
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https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/aug/30/sri-lankan-teenager-hacks-presidents-website-to-try-and-get-exams-delayed
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en
| 2016-08-30T00:00:00 |
www.theguardian.com/94c57cfcde2611cc47a944781f82ad194474fc00f0a305714d4f9d9d596d0656.json
|
|
[
"Source"
] | 2016-08-26T16:50:48 | null | 2016-08-26T14:43:11 |
Crystal Palace chairman rejects a bid from Tottenham Hotspur for fans’ favourite Wilfried Zaha
|
https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Ffootball%2Fvideo%2F2016%2Faug%2F26%2Falan-pardew-crystal-palace-keen-to-keep-zaha-video.json
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en
| null |
Alan Pardew: Crystal Palace is very keen to keep Wilfried Zaha - video
| null | null |
www.theguardian.com
|
During a press conference on Friday, Crystal Palace manager Alan Pardew talks about the rejection of a bid for Wilfried Zaha from Tottenham Hotspur. The manager is confident the decision, ultimately taken by the chairman, is good news for the Eagles as Zaha was player of the year and the fans’ favourite last season
|
https://www.theguardian.com/football/video/2016/aug/26/alan-pardew-crystal-palace-keen-to-keep-zaha-video
|
en
| 2016-08-26T00:00:00 |
www.theguardian.com/c505f68f31a1b809accf8596274b2aae144e16a584bdfc83ea2166456bafe61a.json
|
|
[
"Phil Maynard",
"Adam Sich"
] | 2016-08-30T16:52:27 | null | 2016-08-30T16:21:26 |
The impeachment trial of Brazil’s first female president Dilma Rousseff is nearing its final stage with a vote in the senate
|
https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fworld%2Fvideo%2F2016%2Faug%2F30%2Fbrazilian-president-dilma-rousseffs-impeachment-trial-video-explainer.json
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en
| null |
Brazilian president Dilma Rousseff's impeachment trial - video explainer
| null | null |
www.theguardian.com
|
The impeachment trial of Brazil’s first female president Dilma Rousseff is nearing its final stage with a vote in the senate. Her supporters admit she is likely to be permanently ejected from power when the votes are counted. Rousseff took power in 2010, but following an economic crisis she has been accused by political enemies of manipulating the federal budget. Photograph: Mario Tama/Getty Images
Brazil president Dilma Rousseff comes out fighting in impeachment trial
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https://www.theguardian.com/world/video/2016/aug/30/brazilian-president-dilma-rousseffs-impeachment-trial-video-explainer
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en
| 2016-08-30T00:00:00 |
www.theguardian.com/0ac8151a79782e433fc2875fc0a6484be20c674ab13fd30c9e41193d65d3519c.json
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[
"Jill Papworth"
] | 2016-08-26T13:29:39 | null | 2016-07-15T06:00:33 |
Tower above the neighbours and enjoy the views from this unusual property
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https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fmoney%2Fgallery%2F2016%2Fjul%2F15%2Fformer-windmill-essex.json
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en
| null |
For sails: a former windmill in Essex
| null | null |
www.theguardian.com
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It’s not exactly run of the mill and any buyer should note that the majority of the original internal machinery is still in place and has to remain as a condition of the planning permission. Tower Windmill is on sale at a guide price of £625,000 through agent TuckerGardner .• This article was amended on 18 July. It previously listed the price as £675,000, but in the time between it being written and published this was reduced. This has been corrected.
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https://www.theguardian.com/money/gallery/2016/jul/15/former-windmill-essex
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en
| 2016-07-15T00:00:00 |
www.theguardian.com/59ca5f55eb5a2676e9caa8447cb28634cf92ebb547e91e26352239fdd1a3e970.json
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[
"Chris Cook"
] | 2016-08-26T18:51:34 | null | 2016-08-26T17:24:25 |
Can’t Change It is napped to land the big handicap at Goodwood (3.20) with Tom Queally riding for the first time
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https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fsport%2F2016%2Faug%2F26%2Fhorse-racing-tips-27-august-2016.json
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en
| null |
Horse racing tips: Saturday 27 August
| null | null |
www.theguardian.com
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Can’t Change It is napped to land the big handicap at Goodwood (3.20) with Tom Queally riding for the first time
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https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2016/aug/26/horse-racing-tips-27-august-2016
|
en
| 2016-08-26T00:00:00 |
www.theguardian.com/28067cc42bb597d754f56aa8b2f3728f34453ab46926e07abe75aef1ccc16aa8.json
|
|
[
"Josephine Mckenna In Rome"
] | 2016-08-28T12:51:52 | null | 2016-08-28T11:08:18 |
Anti-mafia chief says organised crime was notorious for infiltrating construction contracts after 1980 quake
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https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fworld%2F2016%2Faug%2F28%2Fitaly-earthquake-mafia-construction-contracts.json
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en
| null |
Italy must block mafia from earthquake rebuild, says expert
| null | null |
www.theguardian.com
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Italian authorities must ensure the mafia is blocked from playing any role in reconstruction after the country’s devastating earthquake that killed nearly 300 people, the country’s top anti-mafia prosecutor has said.
Franco Roberti, head of Italy’s national anti-mafia directorate, said organised crime had been notorious for infiltrating construction contracts after the 1980 Irpinia quake near Naples in which at least 2,483 people died. He said steps must be taken to ensure this did not occur after the 6.2 magnitude quake that devastated central Italian towns including Amatrice, Accumoli and Pescara del Tronto last week.
Italy earthquake throws spotlight on lax construction laws Read more
“There are risks, it is useless to hide it,” Roberti told the Italian daily La Repubblica. “And post-earthquake reconstruction is a tasty morsel for criminal organisations and committees.”
Roberti, who was the chief prosecutor in Salerno before his appointment in 2013, said that faulty construction by the Naples Camorra had also played a role in the death and destruction at Irpinia. He said lessons had been learned but the risks remained. “They are always high but the dramatic experience from the L’Aquila earthquake gave us an important model that has worked well,” he said. “We are ready.”
Roberti’s comments come after Italian magistrates opened an inquiry into whether companies ignored anti-seismic regulations when restoring public buildings, such as a school in Amatrice that was reduced to rubble in last week’s earthquake.
“Everyone suspects such a tragedy was not just a question of destiny,” said Giuseppe Saieva, chief prosecutor in the provincial capital of Rieti, north of Rome, who is heading the investigation. “Our duty is to verify if there was also responsibility, human culpability.”
There have been further claims in the Italian media that the Romolo Capranica school that collapsed in Amatrice was not constructed to meet quake-resistant norms. The school was inaugurated in 2012 after being rebuilt by a consortium of builders, Valori Scarl, which won a contract from Amatrice town council for €700,000 (£600,000) to implement anti-earthquake safety standards in the school buildings, according to judicial sources. A lawyer for the consortium, Filippo Dinacci, has defended the builders and said they had acted correctly.
Italy held a day of national mourning on Saturday for the 290 victims of the earthquake. In Ascoli Piceno, an emotional funeral was held for dozens of local victims and the president, Sergio Mattarella, and the prime minister, Matteo Renzi, joined hundreds to mourn the victims while flags flew at half-mast across the country.
As civil protection crews and firefighters continued to search for survivors in the three medieval towns on Sunday, Italy’s state museums were donating proceeds to relief and reconstruction. The culture minister, Dario Franceschini, appealed to Italians to visit a museum as a gesture of solidarity for the quake victims and their families.
Meanwhile there is growing concern that thousands of schools and public buildings are at risk because they are not quake-proof. Italian media reported 60% of councils in the Lazio region surrounding Rome have no emergency plans.
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https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/aug/28/italy-earthquake-mafia-construction-contracts
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en
| 2016-08-28T00:00:00 |
www.theguardian.com/e7819d7125342076dc06eafd853c0afb8752f29c219a249cea4767404a0a8f67.json
|
|
[
"Press Association"
] | 2016-08-27T08:49:19 | null | 2016-05-23T17:55:51 |
Lorna Moore from Walsall in West Midlands sentenced to two and a half years for plot to bring up family in war zone
|
https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fuk-news%2F2016%2Fmay%2F23%2Fbritish-muslim-convert-lorna-moore-jailed-plan-children-isis-syria.json
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en
| null |
British Muslim convert jailed over plan to take children to Isis in Syria
| null | null |
www.theguardian.com
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A British Muslim who wanted bring up her children under Islamic State in Syria has been jailed for two and a half years.
Lorna Moore, 34, was planning to take her three young children, one of them 11 months old, to the war zone.
Moore, a Muslim convert from Walsall, West Midlands, failed to tell authorities her husband, Sajid Aslam, 34, was about to leave for Syria.
Ayman Shaukat, 28, was also convicted of preparing terrorist acts by helping Aslam and another Muslim convert, Alex Nash, 22, on their way.
Sentencing at the Old Bailey, the judge, Charles Wide, described Moore as a very strong character, and said she “knew perfectly well of [her] husband’s dedication to terrorism”.
“One of the troubling things about you is your facility for telling lies,” he added. He said Moore had told “lie after lie” to the jury during her trial and that some of her evidence was “nonsense”.
She was sentenced to two years and six months imprisonment.
Shaukat was jailed for 10 years with a five-year extended licence while Nash was jailed for five years with a one-year additional licence.
At the time of Aslam’s departure in August 2014, Moore had taken the rest of the family on a Butlin’s holiday in Skegness. The day after dropping Aslam off at the airport, Shaukat sent a photograph of himself on his mobile phone posing with the Isis flag.
As Aslam crossed into Syria, he sent a triumphant message back to Shaukat in the form of a video link to a song called I Made It by Cash Money Heroes.
Within months, Moore had booked flights to Palma and Majorca, but her final destination was given away in a text from Nash’s pregnant wife, Yousma Jan, 20, in Turkey, saying “see you there”.
Moore insisted she would never put her children’s lives in danger, adding: “They mean the world to me.”
She claimed her relationship with Aslam ended after he became abusive and they only lived together for the sake of the children, who are now aged three, nine and 10. She told jurors that when she turned to a Muslim cleric for a divorce, he told her that a “white Muslim is not a special Muslim” and she must take her husband back.
Shaukat, of Pargeter Street, Walsall, denied helping his friends join Isis by dropping Aslam and Nash off at airports.
The convicted burglar and law graduate was nicknamed Karma Chameleon because he presented different versions of himself to jurors and his home in the Caldmore area in Walsall is known locally as Karma.
He described Isis as evil and said he told MI5 he would “assist in any way [he] could” after agents contacted him as treasurer of the community group Islam Walsall. Other members of the West Midlands group allegedly set off for Syria between July and December 2014.
The first to join Isis was Muslim convert Jake Petty, 25, also known as Abu Yaqoob Britany. His mother, Sue Boyce, a Christian minister, wept as she told jurors how she begged him not to go and later had to identify his body from video footage on social media after he was killed in December 2014.
Petty was swiftly followed by former schoolmate Isaiah Siadatan, 24, whose pregnant wife, Kerry Thomason, 24, was prevented from joining him. He had sent her an email in December 2014 insisting that she should bring their children to him to live in Isis territory.
The judge described Thomason as naive and said her husband made “ugly threats” against her in trying to persuade her to join him.
She was sentenced to two years imprisonment suspended for two years with a supervision order and six-month tagged curfew between 6pm and 6am.
Thomason previously pleaded guilty to assisting her husband in preparation of his terrorist acts.
Siadatan is believed to have been killed in the summer of 2015, although his death is unconfirmed.
Nash and Jan were arrested by Turkish authorities and sent back to the UK. Nash took sole responsibility for the plan and admitted preparing acts of terrorism, while a charge against Jan was discontinued.
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https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2016/may/23/british-muslim-convert-lorna-moore-jailed-plan-children-isis-syria
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en
| 2016-05-23T00:00:00 |
www.theguardian.com/6345e005ad645666074997f8b7b241d00fa65fb745b510e478d15c22435b3772.json
|
|
[
"Press Association"
] | 2016-08-30T00:50:13 | null | 2016-08-29T23:01:14 |
BHF says differences are ‘alarmingly high’ but better tests are being developed for female heart attack diagnoses
|
https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fsociety%2F2016%2Faug%2F30%2Fwomen-50-more-likely-to-be-misdiagnosed-after-heart-attack-study.json
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en
| null |
Women 50% more likely to be misdiagnosed after heart attack - study
| null | null |
www.theguardian.com
|
Women are 50% more likely than men to be given a wrong diagnosis after a heart attack, according to a study.
Three in 10 patients’ initial diagnosis differed from their final diagnosis. Researcher Dr Chris Gale said an initial misdiagnosis could have “potentially important clinical repercussions, including an increased risk of death”.
The study by Leeds University researchers looked at records of nearly 600,000 heart attack patients admitted to 243 NHS hospitals in England and Wales between April 2004 and March 2013. It found that 198,534 patients were initially misdiagnosed.
Marriage may improve chances of surviving a heart attack, say researchers Read more
Heart attacks can be broken down into two main types: Stemi and Nstemi. A Stemi attack occurs when there is a total blockage of the main artery that pumps oxygenated blood around the body. The more common Nstemi type of heart attack involves a partial blockage of one or more arteries. Both result in serious damage to the heart muscle.
Women who had a final diagnosis of Stemi had a 59% greater chance of a initial misdiagnosis compared with men, according to the study, which appears in the European Heart Journal Acute Cardiovascular Care. Women who had a final diagnosis of Nstemi had a 41% greater chance of a misdiagnosis when compared with men.
Dr Mike Knapton, associate medical director at the British Heart Foundation, which part-funded the study, said the differences in diagnosis were “alarmingly high” but better tests were being developed for female heart attack diagnoses.
He noted that when different limits were applied to the troponin test, a routine test for a heart attack, more women received a correct diagnosis of heart attack. “However, this new study highlights the current scale of the issue and confirms more research is urgently needed into tests that will enable earlier and more accurate diagnosis of a heart attack, particularly in women,” he said.
Up to 28,000 women a year in the UK die from heart attacks, according to BHF estimates. There are around 275,000 female heart attack survivors in the UK, many of whom will be living with heart failure as a result of this illness.
The longer a heart attack is left undiagnosed and untreated, the more the heart muscle can be damaged irreversibly.
|
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2016/aug/30/women-50-more-likely-to-be-misdiagnosed-after-heart-attack-study
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en
| 2016-08-29T00:00:00 |
www.theguardian.com/2cb8d6b84a59d180d05f4e126b4845262878de2345b303ee8bf018d4f2a8d3d7.json
|
|
[
"Olivia Solon"
] | 2016-08-31T10:55:31 | null | 2016-08-30T21:20:49 |
European commission called unfair in move some say could affect tech industry’s future – but others argue Apple shouldn’t just ‘enrich the 1%’
|
https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Ftechnology%2F2016%2Faug%2F30%2Fapple-eu-tax-bill-silicon-valley-response.json
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en
| null |
Silicon Valley outraged by Apple tax bill: 'Europe is changing rules retroactively'
| null | null |
www.theguardian.com
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Ireland’s cosy relationship with Silicon Valley has been called into question after the European commission slapped Apple with a whopping $14.6bn tax bill.
The commission argued the “sweetheart” tax arrangements Ireland made with Apple between 1991 and 2015 allowed the tech giant to avoid tax on almost all profits from sales of its products across the EU’s single market, booking the profits in Ireland rather than the country where the product was sold.
The reaction in Silicon Valley – which has long used creative accounting to outsmart the tax man – as well as the wider tech community has been one of shock and disappointment.
“Instead of saying ‘going forward, this won’t be allowed’ – which seems more fair – the EU is trying to change the rules of the game retroactively. It makes little sense to me,” said Om Malik of the San Francisco venture capital firm True Ventures.
“If they change the rules going forward, that’s their prerogative. These companies have been complying with the Irish rules. Now a lot of them will have to re-evaluate their relationships with Europe.”
‘This could be a serious problem for the tech industry’
It’s not just big companies that will be affected, says Matt Lerner from the venture capital seed fund and accelerator 500 Startups.
“The world is getting smaller. Every day we see the free flow of talent and capital across borders. Sometimes it’s for a lower cost of living, or to reach talent or for tax breaks. Even startups are doing this stuff,” he said.
The EU is trying to change the rules of the game retroactively Om Malik, True Ventures
“What concerns founders and their investors is if there’s a lack of predictability. Apple has been doing this since 1991, thinking it was following the law, and now suddenly it’s a problem.
“Intellectually, this concerns me a lot. For this to suddenly happen could be a serious problem for the tech industry,” he said. “But the public markets aren’t too panicked about this, which leads me to believe this isn’t the end of it.”
‘Ireland may never see a cent of that €13bn’
For Daire Hickey, the Irish cofounder of Web Summit, a conference for startups, the decision is bad news for his homeland, despite some Irish newspapers reporting the news as if it were a lottery win for the country.
“Ireland has always been transparent in its wish to tax Apple and other multinationals at a low rate. The EU is moving the goalposts by giving a decision on something that has been going on for decades.
“While the country could do with €13bn, we have always been up front about our low tax rate and we absolutely have to defend it.
Tech giants know where the power lies. It’s not with us | Rafael Behr Read more
“It’s farcical to suggest for the EU to dangle €13bn in front of the Irish people. Between appeals, claims made by other countries, including the US, Ireland may never see a cent of that €13bn. This policy could open the floodgates for chaos.”
But not everyone in the valley is Team Apple.
‘Sales in Europe should be taxed in Europe’
“Neither Apple nor any other company should be allowed to have their cake and eat it too,” said Pratap Chatterjee, of the San Francisco-based watchdog CorpWatch. “Sales in Europe should be taxed in Europe.”
It is wrong that my purchases are used to enrich the 1% rather than support the community in which Apple works Pratap Chatterjee, CorpWatch
“As a San Francisco Bay area resident, I have used Apple computers and phones for 25 years and I think it is wrong that my purchases are used to enrich the 1% rather than supporting the community in which it works.”
Silicon Valley has long had close ties with the Emerald Isle, stemming from the thousands of Irish emigrants who moved to San Francisco in the early 1800s, fleeing a country facing famine in favour of one on the cusp of a gold rush.
In 1854, two newly successful Irish arrivals, Denis Oliver and Dan McGlynn, bought a plot of land to the south of San Francisco and founded a ranch, which they named after a place in Galway where Oliver grew up – Menlo Park, now home to Facebook and the venture capital firms clustered along Sand Hill Road.
In more recent years, Ireland, along with the Netherlands and Luxembourg, have wooed Silicon Valley with attractive tax deals, offering low rates of corporate tax in return for job creation and investment. What this meant for Apple was an effective tax rate of less than 1% of profits.
Today’s ruling is just the start. Tax collectors across Europe will be poring over the business activities of Apple and other multinationals in their markets, wringing their hands at the tantalizing possibility of an EU-sanctioned windfall.
Meanwhile, Silicon Valley’s tech elite prepares to board private jets to Burning Man, wondering what the European Union has against them.
|
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/aug/30/apple-eu-tax-bill-silicon-valley-response
|
en
| 2016-08-30T00:00:00 |
www.theguardian.com/995063d32299cd1fc02f64985a00a457372f8ab550c459606fe3df8aeb3bcc76.json
|
|
[
"Hannah Devlin"
] | 2016-08-28T14:59:06 | null | 2015-05-15T00:00:00 |
Study shows that modern hunter-gatherer tribes operate on egalitarian basis, suggesting inequality was an aberration that came with the advent of agriculture
|
https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fscience%2F2015%2Fmay%2F14%2Fearly-men-women-equal-scientists.json
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en
| null |
Early men and women were equal, say scientists
| null | null |
www.theguardian.com
|
Our prehistoric forebears are often portrayed as spear-wielding savages, but the earliest human societies are likely to have been founded on enlightened egalitarian principles, according to scientists.
A study has shown that in contemporary hunter-gatherer tribes, men and women tend to have equal influence on where their group lives and who they live with. The findings challenge the idea that sexual equality is a recent invention, suggesting that it has been the norm for humans for most of our evolutionary history.
Mark Dyble, an anthropologist who led the study at University College London, said: “There is still this wider perception that hunter-gatherers are more macho or male-dominated. We’d argue it was only with the emergence of agriculture, when people could start to accumulate resources, that inequality emerged.”
Dyble says the latest findings suggest that equality between the sexes may have been a survival advantage and played an important role in shaping human society and evolution. “Sexual equality is one of a important suite of changes to social organisation, including things like pair-bonding, our big, social brains, and language, that distinguishes humans,” he said. “It’s an important one that hasn’t really been highlighted before.”
How hunting with wolves helped humans outsmart the Neanderthals Read more
The study, published in the journal Science, set out to investigate the apparent paradox that while people in hunter-gatherer societies show strong preferences for living with family members, in practice the groups they live in tend to comprise few closely related individuals.
The scientists collected genealogical data from two hunter-gatherer populations, one in the Congo and one in the Philippines, including kinship relations, movement between camps and residence patterns, through hundreds of interviews. In both cases, people tend to live in groups of around 20, moving roughly every 10 days and subsisting on hunted game, fish and gathered fruit, vegetables and honey.
The scientists constructed a computer model to simulate the process of camp assortment, based on the assumption that people would chose to populate an empty camp with their close kin: siblings, parents and children.
When only one sex had influence over the process, as is typically the case in male-dominated pastoral or horticultural societies, tight hubs of related individuals emerged. However, the average number of related individuals is predicted to be much lower when men and women have an equal influence – closely matching what was seen in the populations that were studied.
“When only men have influence over who they are living with, the core of any community is a dense network of closely related men with the spouses on the periphery,” said Dyble. “If men and women decide, you don’t get groups of four or five brothers living together.”
Sexual equality is one of the important changes that distinguishes humans. It hasn’t really been highlighted before Mark Dyble, leader of the study
The authors argue that sexual equality may have proved an evolutionary advantage for early human societies, as it would have fostered wider-ranging social networks and closer cooperation between unrelated individuals. “It gives you a far more expansive social network with a wider choice of mates, so inbreeding would be less of an issue,” said Dyble. “And you come into contact with more people and you can share innovations, which is something that humans do par excellence.”
Dr Tamas David-Barrett, a behavioural scientist at the University of Oxford, agreed: “This is a very neat result,” he said. “If you’re able to track your kin further away, you’d be able to have a much broader network. All you’d need to do is get together every now and then for some kind of feast.”
The study suggests that it was only with the dawn of agriculture, when people were able to accumulate resources for the first time, that an imbalance emerged. “Men can start to have several wives and they can have more children than women,” said Dyble. “It pays more for men to start accumulating resources and becomes favourable to form alliances with male kin.”
Dyble said that egalitarianism may even have been one of the important factors that distinguished our ancestors from our primate cousins. “Chimpanzees live in quite aggressive, male-dominated societies with clear hierarchies,” he said. “As a result, they just don’t see enough adults in their lifetime for technologies to be sustained.”
The findings appear to be supported by qualitative observations of the hunter-gatherer groups in the study. In the Philippines population, women are involved in hunting and honey collecting and while there is still a division of labour, overall men and women contribute a similar number of calories to the camp. In both groups, monogamy is the norm and men are active in childcare.
Andrea Migliano, of University College London and the paper’s senior author, said: “Sex equality suggests a scenario where unique human traits, such as cooperation with unrelated individuals, could have emerged in our evolutionary past.”
|
https://www.theguardian.com/science/2015/may/14/early-men-women-equal-scientists
|
en
| 2015-05-15T00:00:00 |
www.theguardian.com/fdcb4f87fd209394f0f55451979225c8f66605bd2f4a5eaa5e3dd09bc053dbf5.json
|
|
[
"Sandra Haurant"
] | 2016-08-30T18:59:50 | null | 2013-06-04T00:00:00 |
A gruelling selection process and training programme separates you from the driver's cabin of a train, but your reward is a decent salary and potentially a job for life
|
https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fmoney%2F2013%2Fjun%2F04%2Fhow-become-train-driver.json
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en
| null |
How do I become … a train driver
| null | null |
www.theguardian.com
|
Becoming a train driver was not a boyhood dream for Craig Puffett. His grandfather and uncles all worked in the industry, and he had plenty of fun on the local miniature railway as a child, but Puffett's ambition to join the railways developed later in life.
"At school, careers guidance was geared towards a professional career, and I started out as a trainee quantity surveyor," Puffett, 42, says. "But the recession meant I didn't get an enormous amount of experience. After a while I went to work for an internal auditing and accountancy firm, but I found working in an office environment too stuffy and political for me. It wasn't my cup of tea."
He stuck out office life for several years before deciding he needed a change. He came across an advert for a train driving position and applied, but wasn't successful. He kept on searching and eventually took a job as a chauffeur. "It was a long way from office work and I really enjoyed it. I did that for five years, but in the end the hours and pay were unpredictable, and as my wife and I were starting a family I decided I needed something more reliable."
Train driving was still in the back of his mind and before long he saw an advert for what was then Silverlink Metro, now London Overground Rail Operations Ltd (Lorol), inviting applications for trainee train drivers working from London Euston and Watford, near the family's home. "I thought: 'I've got another chance'," Puffett says. It was months before a reply came back, asking him to spend a day at an assessment centre to see if he was cut out for the job.
The company does not have any specific requirements when it comes to qualifications or work experience for applicants, but the recruitment process is very tough. Puffett underwent a number of assessments, including a psychometric test, listening and reading comprehension, mechanical comprehension, and a structured interview. "There were six of us and they whittled it down during the day. If you didn't pass a test you were told as much and left. Two out of six of us made it through. It was nerve-racking."
Puffett's preparation for the tests, which included weeks playing 'Bop It', a children's reflex game, and Tetris, to get his reaction speeds up, paid off. After another interview with the driver manager and HR manager he was finally offered a place on the training programme – which was every bit as rigorous as the selection process.
The programme is modular and trainees have to pass each stage before they can move on to the next. "The first nine or 10 weeks were in the classroom, learning about trackside rules and regulations. There was four weeks' traction training on trains we would be driving, and training on how trains work and the sorts of faults that might occur."
"You have to do 200 hours with an instructor, with a third taking place in the dark," Puffett explains. "Then there is a week-long assessment based on everything you have learned." It should take nine months to complete, but for Puffett a shortage of instructors made it longer.
Only once enough hours have been clocked up can trainee drivers finally go solo. "I was nervous on the day," he says. "You keep your fingers crossed that nothing will go wrong – even though you have had the training you still don't want it to happen. It was strange not to have anyone there, but it was fine."
The prospect of potential problems keeps drivers on their toes, but Puffett says it is not normally a stressful job. "It is usually incident-free, although I did have a run in with a dozy pigeon once. It fell on the train right where the electric cable is and blew the power out. I had to do the walk of shame down the station platform to explain the delay to the passengers."
Puffett says that to do the job you need to be self-reliant, as a lot of the day is spent alone. "And you have to be happy to follow procedures to the letter. You can't improvise," he says.
The shift work would not suit everyone –he starts at 4.20am to drive the first train of the day, and late shifts finish at 1am, and a lot of weekends are spent at work. But his shift pattern means a four-day week, and a week off work at the end of each four-week roster.
According to Lorol, while some trainees are college leavers, many train drivers apply for the job having already followed a career in a different line of work, so Puffett's career change is not unusual.
"The pay and benefits are pretty good and the shift work suits me," Puffett says. Trainee drivers start with a salary of £24,024 rising to £39,372 after the training period, while experienced drivers earn £50,451. There is a final salary pension and rail travel for free or at a discount rate.
"This is the longest I have ever stuck with a career and I can see myself staying," Puffett says. "It's one of the few areas left where you can really have a job for life."
|
https://www.theguardian.com/money/2013/jun/04/how-become-train-driver
|
en
| 2013-06-04T00:00:00 |
www.theguardian.com/ce953d75a5e5e01e270aa1e59a00ca120be6ccf4509a255f37ad0bd240f643ea.json
|
|
[
"Peter Walker",
"Michael White"
] | 2016-08-29T22:50:03 | null | 2016-08-29T21:00:12 |
Labour leader wants to ‘harness advances of new technology to organise political campaigning like we’ve never seen before’
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Jeremy Corbyn plans Sanders-style campaign for next general election
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www.theguardian.com
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Jeremy Corbyn plans to make Labour’s next general election campaign a digital affair, modelled in part on the social media techniques used by Bernie Sanders during his run for the Democratic nomination in the US.
Ed Balls: Labour did not deserve to win election Read more
The promise is part of a wider announcement of the Labour leader’s digital policies, including a commitment to universal high-speed broadband and mobile connectivity across the UK, and to new online learning resources.
Corbyn is expected to say in a speech in east London on Tuesday morning that his efforts to see off Owen Smith, the leadership challenger, were “leading the way in harnessing the advances of new technology to organise political campaigning like we’ve never seen before”.
Corbyn supporters say his regular presence on social media, along with the use of other technological innovations, helps him bypass a suspicious mainstream news media and could see a general election message delivered more effectively than polls suggest.
His initial election as Labour leader was credited in part to his team’s bespoke phone canvassing app, which helped volunteers contact potential voters. In his speech on Tuesday, Corbyn is expected to liken such innovations to tactics used by Sanders, the Vermont senator who ran Hillary Clinton surprisingly close for the Democrat presidential nomination.
Facebook Twitter Pinterest Bernie Sanders at a campaign rally earlier this year. Photograph: UPI/Barcroft Images
On a more general policy level, Corbyn is promising a nationwide broadband and mobile network, and an online learning hub linked to another of his proposed ideas, a national education service.
Other proposals include: publicly funded software and hardware to help teach programming; a voluntary “digital citizen passport” to create a secure portable identity; and more use of technology to debate and devise legislation.
“My leadership campaign is leading the way in harnessing the advances of new technology to organise political campaigning like we’ve never seen before,” Corbyn is to say in his speech.
Emily Thornberry hits out at Tom Watson and Labour NEC Read more
“The creativity of the networked young generation is phenomenal. We have thousands of young volunteers on our campaign taking part in this digital revolution. We will channel this new energy and creativity into Labour’s general election campaign whenever it comes, it’s in this way that Labour can get back into government.
“There is also a clear need for more online democracy and our manifesto today sets out how Labour would democratise the internet in order to rebuild and transform Britain, so that no one and no community is left behind.”
Corbyn’s campaign says investment in areas such as universal fast broadband is justified by the subsequent boost to business, pointing to a rapid growth in the digital economy in Cornwall following a project to provide fibre broadband to businesses there.
With leadership ballot papers due to be sent out in the next few days before voting, which closes on 21 September, both Corbyn and Smith have been busy touring the country and announcing policy initiatives.
Corbyn has made announcements on the arts, education and transport. Smith has given pledges on policies for young people, Brexit and the NHS. The victor – Corbyn remains the bookmakers’ favourite – will be announced at the Labour annual conference on 24 September.
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http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2016/aug/29/jeremy-corbyn-bernie-sanders-style-campaign-next-2020-general-election-labour
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| 2016-08-29T00:00:00 |
www.theguardian.com/f229af3bde4e950ea3e09147869677ba44f9b1985b131c78e2628969479b6403.json
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[
"Hilary Osborne"
] | 2016-08-28T08:59:25 | null | 2016-05-19T11:04:26 |
Frequent rule changes and a huge range of schemes have made pensions a minefield
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https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fmoney%2F2016%2Fmay%2F19%2Fuk-pensions-complicated-rule-changes.json
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Why are UK pensions so complicated?
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www.theguardian.com
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The Bank of England’s chief economist Andy Haldane has warned that the UK pension system is too complicated, admitting that even he finds it confusing.
“I consider myself moderately financially literate,” he said. “Yet I confess to not being able to make the remotest sense of pensions.”
At its most basic, a pension is a savings account you pay into and can only withdraw money from when you reach the age of 55. Which sounds simple. So why are pensions so confusing?
There are lots of rules about what you can and cannot do
In April 2015, the government introduced “pension freedoms” which made the rules about what you can do when you retire a bit simpler. In theory, you can now access all your money as you wish, subject to tax on some of the withdrawals.
However, before you get that far there are rules on how much you can put in each year (£40,000 unless you are a high earner), how much you can invest in total (£1m) and what happens to your fund if you die (you can leave it to someone tax-free if you die before 75, but there is a tax bill after that). And different pension schemes have their own rules and charges.
Governments keep fiddling with them
The pensions system involves lots of money and lots of people, so successive governments have made changes to it. These are generally geared towards making the system fairer, encouraging people to save and closing unintended consequences of previous changes. The results though are layer upon layer of rules.
In 2006, the pensions industry was hoping to see an end to the confusion, with 6 April that year supposed to bring “pensions simplification”. That day, eight sets of old rules were brought together and some old limits were scrapped. It did make some bits of the system easier – for example, anyone could now open a personal scheme alongside their work pension. But since then there have been more pensions acts, all bringing their own new rules and regulations. Only on Wednesday, we saw the announcement of another pensions bill in the Queen’s speech.
As well as complicating the rules, the fact that MPs keep changing the system could be putting off people from engaging with it – after all, what’s the point of learning how it works if it might change again next year.
There are lots of different types of pension
Roughly speaking, there are two types of pension: the state pension and those organised by either an individual or employer. But within both groups there different systems, and over your working life you could end up with several pensions run in different ways.
The state pension is based on your national insurance (NI) contributions. For anyone retiring before 6 April 2016, there are potentially two sets of payment – the basic state pension, currently worth up to £119.30 a week, and the second state pension, paid on top of the basic state one. Anyone retiring on or after 6 April 2016 gets the new state pension – this is worth up to £155.65 a week. There is no additional state pension any more but, to complicate matters, people who have made enough NI contributions during their working life will qualify for an extra payment on top.
Beyond the state pension there are severaltypes of scheme. Workplace pensions are offered by employers, but can be run as either “defined benefit” or “defined contribution” schemes. Defined benefit schemes are usually final salary schemes, and how much you will be paid will depend on your earnings when you retire. Defined contribution schemes will set how much you need to pay in each month and your payout will depend on how the pension scheme’s investments perform. Your employer will contribute each month too, so a workplace pension is generally worth signing up to. Previously, employers could leave their workers to set up their own scheme, but under auto-enrolment they must all offer a scheme and make payments into it.
Personal pensions are set up by individuals – often freelancers or contracters who don’t have access to a workplace scheme. They choose their own investments and make payments into their account each month or year.
The government has also introduced the Lifetime Isa, which everyone insists is categorically not a pension but, as it offers people a way to save until retirement, it is likely to be considered as an alternative for some savers.
They involve tax
To encourage people to save the government offers tax relief on money put into pensions. If you are a basic rate taxpayer it is worth 20%, if you pay the higher rate it is worth 40% and at the top rate it is worth 45%. This means that to put £100 into your pension will only cost you £80 if you are a basicrate payer and £55 at the top rate.
If you are paying into a workplace pension your employer will take your contributions from your pay before deducting tax, but if you are paying into a personal scheme the provider will only reclaim 20% – if you are a higher rate or top rate taxpayer you need to reclaim the difference via your tax return.
If you are a non-taxpayer and paying into a pension you get 20% tax relief on the first £2,880 each tax year.
No one knows who to trust for advice and information
After mis-selling scandals around pensions and other financial products many people are sceptical about taking advice on what to do with their money. The Pensions Advisory Service has lots of resources and a phone line if you have questions – it doesn’t sell pensions so you won’t be put under pressure to sign up for anything.
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https://www.theguardian.com/money/2016/may/19/uk-pensions-complicated-rule-changes
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en
| 2016-05-19T00:00:00 |
www.theguardian.com/3ce142f1280613794bdcd5451aa7232196c43e1bb04437a0bef755adad012651.json
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[
"Graham Readfearn"
] | 2016-08-26T13:24:56 | null | 2016-08-25T01:13:47 |
More than 150 leading climate scientists at universities and government agencies ask for cuts to coal exports, saying: ‘There is no Planet B’
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Climate scientists write another letter warning of unfolding crisis for Turnbull to ignore
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www.theguardian.com
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I’m guessing that Malcolm Turnbull gets a fair few letters on any given day. You wonder how he has the time to read them all.
How do you prioritise the ones worth your attention and the ones that you can toss in the round-shaped filing cabinet under your desk?
Perhaps there’s some formula involved in picking out the ones worthy of a public response – some sort of computer model that measures time and effort against the votes you might get, the donors and lobby groups you can afford to upset and the sort of reaction you can expect from the mainstream media.
Either that, or the letters all get dropped into a giant hessian sack ready for a morning lucky dip.
Honestly, I’ve no idea.
But a factor that appears not to be all that important are ones warning of an unfolding crisis that threatens people’s way of life, impacts countries across the globe, condemns future generations to several metres of sea level rise and generally makes the future not all that pleasant.
The number of letters coming into the prime minister’s office of late from climate change and marine scientists warning of these sorts of scenarios would be very hard to miss, especially when they’re signed by some of the best informed scientists from Australia and the rest of the world.
The latest one to drop into Turnbull’s office/social media feed/sack/bin carries the signatures of more than 150 of Australia’s leading scientists who work at universities and government agencies across the country.
The letter says “governments worldwide are presiding over a large-scale demise of the planetary ecosystems, which threatens to leave large parts of Earth uninhabitable” and asks for “meaningful reductions” in greenhouse gas emissions and cuts to coal exports.
The letter, coordinated by Australian National University Earth scientist Dr Andrew Glikson, lays out a few facts.
July 2016 was the hottest month the world has experienced on a temperature record going back 136 years. Levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere are rising at a rate not known in at least 55m years. Daytime heat records in Australia are being broken three times as often as cold records. Ice sheets are melting at an increasing rate and sea level rise was is accelerating.
Once he had collaborated with colleagues to refine the text, it only took Glikson a couple of days to gather the signatures.
He told me there was an increasing sense of frustration among scientists that warnings and predictions, stemming from peer-reviewed research over many years, were going unheeded in the corridors of power.
He put the lack of genuine action to cut greenhouse gas emissions down to two things: a media that downplays or ignores the issue, and a fossil fuel industry with too much power over the political process.
Many people just don’t understand the issue because there has been something of a cover-up across many parts of mainstream media, with a few exceptions. Sure, the media reports the issue, but they don’t explain it.
But the fossil fuel industry is the largest in the world by far. There’s an enormous vested interest and the political elites just follow that money.
So Glikson admitted he didn’t “anticipate a response” from the prime minister’s office.
Scientists ask for coal cuts
The letter, like several others over the last year or so, have called for Australia to move away from its support for the fossil fuel industry, in particular coal.
In October last year, just before the United Nations climate talks in Paris, scientists joined campaigners and advocates to sign an open letter to world leaders asking for a moratorium on new coalmines in Australia.
Australia was in the process of doubling its coal exports, the letter said, something that was “incompatible with the world’s objective of limiting global warming below dangerous levels”.
In February this year, about 3,000 scientists from more than 60 countries sent a letter to the prime minister pleading for reconsideration of the drastic cuts to climate research planned at the CSIRO.
The letter said that rather than cut climate change research, what was needed was more investment.
Without committing to the continued development of next generation climate monitoring and climate modelling, billions of public investment dollars for long-term infrastructure will be based on guesswork rather than on strategic and informed science-driven policy. The societal benefits of climate science far outweigh the likely high costs of reacting to future climate change instead of strategically planning for it.
In June more than 2,000 marine scientists and reef managers from across the world sent Turnbull a letter asking his government to “stop endorsing the export of coal” and to “stop or revoke the approval of new mines”.
— Graham Readfearn (@readfearn) Letter to @TurnbullMalcolm from 2k+ coral scientists asks for end to backing of coal exports and no more coal mines pic.twitter.com/4Cx6p2obWj
Coral reefs supported 500 million people worldwide, the letter said, but reefs were “threatened with complete collapse”
A quarter of marine species were at risk, exposing “hundreds of millions of people to decreasing food security and increased poverty”.
Advice from a former Malcolm
So let’s say thanks to either the luck of the draw or advice from his policy team, Turnbull finds himself reading the latest open letter from scientists asking for leadership on cutting greenhouse gas emissions. What should he do?
Maybe he could take some words of advice from a former version of himself?
We know that the consequences of unchecked global warming would be catastrophic.
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https://www.theguardian.com/environment/planet-oz/2016/aug/25/climate-scientists-write-another-open-letter-warning-of-unfolding-crisis-for-prime-minister-malcolm-turnbull-to-ignore
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| 2016-08-25T00:00:00 |
www.theguardian.com/c2225622b177f2c49993ba73dccd1f9502e17e574a9e8ba8e99968d5a19b3a52.json
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[
"Josh Halliday"
] | 2016-08-30T12:50:20 | null | 2016-08-30T10:49:03 |
Mia Ayliffe-Chung’s funeral will be multi-faith ceremony to counter ‘misinterperation’ of her murder as an act of terrorism
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https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fuk-news%2F2016%2Faug%2F30%2Fbritish-backpacker-australia-mia-ayliffe-chung-funeral-quran-islamic-reading.json
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British backpacker's funeral to include passage from the Qur'an
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A British backpacker murdered in Australia will have a reading from the Qur’an at her funeral to counter the “misrepresentation” of her killing as an act of terrorism, her mother has said.
Mia Ayliffe-Chung was stabbed to death at a hostel in Queensland last Tuesday. Thomas Jackson, 30, died in hospital overnight on Monday from injuries he sustained trying to save her.
Smail Ayad, 29, from France, has been charged with the pair’s murder.
Detectives have played down terrorism as a motive for the killing, despite reports that the attacker shouted “Allahu Akbar” during the stabbing, and suggested that “mental health or drug misuse issues” may have played a part.
On Tuesday Rosie Ayliffe complained about the “misrepresentation” of her daughter’s death “as an act of terrorism on the part of an Islamic fundamentalist”. She said Mia’s funeral would be a multi-faith ceremony, with a reading from the Qur’an, along with a Jewish text or song, a Sikh reading and a Buddhist performance.
“After talking about the misrepresentation of Mia’s death in the media as an act of terrorism on the part of an Islamic fundamentalist, the minister delivering the service suggested we include a Qur’anic reading, and he will find something suitable with a friend who is an Islamic scholar,” Ayliffe wrote in her Independent column.
She said her daughter was “essentially Buddhist in outlook” and believed in reincarnation and other tenets of the faith. “We have therefore decided on a prolonged, reverberating note from a Buddhist singing bowl to signify the beginning and end of a meditation on life and death,” she added.
Ayliffe, from Wirksworth in Derbyshire, previously said her daughter’s ashes would be scattered around the world so she could continue her travels.
Police allege Jackson was set upon by Ayad in the bathroom of Shelley’s Backpackers in Home Hill, north Queensland, where he and another man were tending to the fatally wounded Ayliffe-Chung.
His father, Les Jackson, said on Tuesday: “Our darling Tom has left us and the world is a poorer place. Thanks again to everyone for the love and support you have given us over the last few days, we will be forever grateful.
“There is dark and evil in this world perpetrated by a few, but so much more love and light emanates from so many more. That thought will sustain us over the coming days.”
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https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2016/aug/30/british-backpacker-australia-mia-ayliffe-chung-funeral-quran-islamic-reading
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en
| 2016-08-30T00:00:00 |
www.theguardian.com/4c420daa7135b07904dbcc161550814273d68b93454b6979e277509fb8dedbbe.json
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[
"Associated Press"
] | 2016-08-28T06:51:43 | null | 2016-08-28T06:35:42 |
About 20 heavily-armed fighters of the Maute militant group stormed the jail in Marawi and disarmed the guards
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https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fworld%2F2016%2Faug%2F28%2Fphilippines-isis-linked-extremists-free-eight-militants-in-attack-on-jail.json
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Philippines: Isis-linked extremists free eight militants in attack on jail
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Islamic extremists supporting Isis freed eight fellow militants in an attack that also allowed 15 other inmates to escape from a provincial jail in the southern Philippines, police said on Sunday.
About 20 heavily-armed fighters of the Maute militant group stormed the Lanao del Sur provincial jail in Marawi city before nightfall on Saturday, disarmed the guards and rescued their eight comrades. The attackers also seized two rifles from guards, police said.
Philippine communist rebels announce seven-day truce for peace talks Read more
The eight who escaped were arrested a week ago when they were caught with a homemade bomb in van at a security checkpoint.
The others who escaped, apparently to divert the attention of authorities, were facing murder and illegal drugs charges.
The Maute group is a new band of armed Muslim radicals, who have pledged allegiance to Isis and use black flags with logos of the Middle East-based extremists.
Based in Lanao del Sur’s Butig town, the militants have attacked army troops and beheaded a soldier and two kidnapped workers earlier this year. Before being killed, the two workers were made to wear orange shirts similar to beheading victims of Isis.
A number of Muslim armed groups in the country’s south, including some commanders of the violent Abu Sayyaf, have pledged loyalty to Isis. The military has tried to play down their action, saying there has been no evidence of an active collaboration between the foreign extremists and Filipino militants who are aiming to prop up their image and secure badly-needed funds amid years of battle setbacks.
President Rodrigo Duterte, who was sworn in in June, has pursued peace deals with two large Muslim rebel groups but has ordered troops to destroy the Abu Sayyaf and other militants.
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https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/aug/28/philippines-isis-linked-extremists-free-eight-militants-in-attack-on-jail
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en
| 2016-08-28T00:00:00 |
www.theguardian.com/84cfc5e6b9e5ad4f01d3a78224d94560e601f0be87860e9762d0c8adebe18a06.json
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[
"Jane Silk"
] | 2016-08-30T16:52:53 | null | 2016-08-30T15:19:19 |
The 66-year-old should apologise for branding pensioners ‘virtual corpses’. Longevity brings many benefits, if you embrace the years with grace
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https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fcommentisfree%2F2016%2Faug%2F30%2Fjeremy-paxman-attack-older-generation-pensioners-virtual-corpses.json
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Jeremy Paxman’s spiteful attack on older people shows he needs to grow up
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Jeremy Paxman stands accused of insulting the elderly and of being in denial about his own status as an OAP, after describing old age as “incontinence and idiocy”. In a newspaper column at the weekend the former Newsnight presenter, aged 66, said the older generation are “virtual corpses’’.
Paxman made the remarks after picking up a copy of Mature Times, a free publication aimed at people over 50. In his column for the Financial Times, Paxman, wrote: “At the reception desk of a hotel to which I checked in this week was a pile of free copies of Mature Times, which calls itself ‘the voice of our generation’. Oh God, I thought, the cheeky bastards are including me. Back off. For this must be the most unfashionable publication in Britain. Who wants to be called ‘mature’, like an old cheese? We all know that ‘mature’ means on the verge of incontinence, idiocy and peevish valetudinarianism.”
Paxman: pensioners 'are virtual corpses' on verge of 'incontinence and idiocy' Read more
In making these remarks Paxman has insulted more than 21 million people (yes, that’s how many over-50s there are in the UK) and I’m sure, on reflection he may regret offending his peers. At the sprightly age of 66 he is indeed one of the 11.6 million people over 65 in this country and he needs to get over it.
Coincidentally, the September 2016 edition of Mature Times marks the 25th anniversary of our publication. With a readership of more than 500,000 across the UK, we are a campaigning paper and tackle the challenging issues that directly relate to older people.
We work with Age UK, Independent Age, Royal Voluntary Service and other national charities for older people to address the concerns of our readers, including social and hospital care, age discrimination, pension rights, loneliness and isolation. Our campaigning style has engendered great reader loyalty, as has the fact we are independent in our stance – we cross the political divide.
We are proud of our readers and our monthly issues contain stories of their amazing exploits, from climbing Everest to wing walking, while raising significant funds for charities. We disseminate relevant information, from claiming tax rebates and pension credits, to how to avoid financial scams. So, Paxman, what is your contribution to positive living? Anyone can chide and deride, but how many people’s lives do you enrich?
If he had made his remarks about any other minority group, whether religious, ethnic or sexual preference, he would have been shamed into making a public apology. So why does he think it is acceptable to use such spiteful language against the older generation? It is illegal under the Equality Act of 2010, but Paxman’s comments prove that such ageism is prevalent and it is shocking that a journalist of his standing should stoop so low.
Jeremy Paxman savages a new victim - a ‘dreary’ magazine for the over-50s Read more
Sixteen years into Mature Times’ age demographic (the over 50s), he is behaving in a puerile manner and slinging cheap jibes, albeit using long derogatory words such as valetudinarian, to disrespect the millions of us in this age bracket. Well, I have a couple of long words for you, Paxman: gerascophobia and gerontophobia. He seems to be suffering from both a fear of getting old and of older people. With any luck he will live to a good age and realise that there are many benefits that come with longevity, but only if he accepts that life is there to be enjoyed, not feared.
There are countless examples of older people continuing to contribute to our lives, such as Paxman himself, and many of our readers continue to develop, challenge and stretch their minds and bodies. Age often brings wisdom and experience, which is one of the many reasons why ageism has no place in our society. We need to continue to present the positive aspects of ageing and to change perceptions of older people by highlighting their real and positive contribution to society.
So grow up, Paxman, give the older generation the respect they fully deserve and hopefully your life will be enriched by a more positive attitude toward ageing well.
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https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/aug/30/jeremy-paxman-attack-older-generation-pensioners-virtual-corpses
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en
| 2016-08-30T00:00:00 |
www.theguardian.com/2cc563bb52843cba3f31df8796e6e7a3c9d78eb72ae3dbd9a55f13ba2ae48184.json
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[
"Nadia Khomami"
] | 2016-08-27T10:51:20 | null | 2016-08-27T09:01:05 |
President Sergio Mattarella visits worst-hit town of Amatrice and attends state funeral in Ascoli Piceno as death toll rises to 290
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https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fworld%2F2016%2Faug%2F27%2Fitaly-holds-day-of-mourning-for-earthquake-victims.json
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Italy holds day of mourning for earthquake victims
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Italy has begun a national day of mourning as the president, Sergio Mattarella, visits Amatrice, the hilltop town devastated in the earthquake that hit the centre of the country this week.
Italy quake: grief and trauma in hilltop towns as hopes fade of finding survivors Read more
The Civil Protection Agency said on Saturday that the death toll from the quake had risen to 290 after two bodies were recovered overnight from the rubble of Amatrice, the site of 224 of the deaths, including those of three Britons.
Mattarella was shown the extent of the damage by the mayor, Sergio Pirozzi. The president met and thanked rescue workers, who have been working since early Wednesday to save trapped people and recover the bodies of those killed.
While there is little hope of finding any more survivors, the head of the civil protection agency, Immacolata Postiglione, said the search would continue. “I confirm once again, as we have from the start, that the units doing the searches and rescues, including with dogs, are absolutely fully active,” she said.
Mattarella, who will attend a state funeral for up to 40 of the victims in Ascoli Piceno, was taken only to the edge of the medieval town because the centre was deemed too dangerous. Before the funeral, the flower-covered caskets were lined up in a sports centre, where mourners were saying farewell to loved ones.
Facebook Twitter Pinterest President Sergio Mattarella (centre) is shown the damage in Amatrice by the mayor Sergio Pirozzi (in white). Photograph: Ciro de Luca/Reuters
“Even if I didn’t know them, my heart broke for them,” said resident Luciana Cavicchiuni. “My thoughts are with them because there are people who have lost everything; homes, loved ones and the sacrifices made in life. These things should not happen.”
Aftershocks continued to rattle the area overnight, the strongest measuring 4.2. The Italian geological institute said 1,332 aftershocks had hit the central mountains since Wednesday’s pre-dawn 6.2 magnitude quake which left 387 injured. On top of the deaths in Amatrice there were 11 deaths in nearby Accumoli and 49 in Arquata del Tronto.
The three Britons were Marcos Burnett, 14, who was on holiday with his parents and sister, Will Henniker-Gotley, 55, and his wife, Maria, 51, from south London. Marcos’s parents were being treated in hospital for minor injuries.
Eight Romanians, a Canadian, a Spaniard and a Salvadoran were also among those killed. The 2,500-strong population of Amatrice, voted one of Italy’s most beautiful historic towns last year, had been swollen with summer visitors, many from Rome, in anticipation of its popular annual food festival this weekend.
At least 215 people had been pulled alive from the rubble, but no survivors had been found since Wednesday night. Pirozzi said finding someone alive three days after the quake “would take a miracle”.
Fifteen people were still missing, he said, and workers would continue digging until all the bodies had been recovered. “I want to thank all the volunteers. I am eternally grateful, they have saved hundreds of lives.”
Many of those left homeless by the quake have been living in tent cities where volunteers have been providing basic amenities.
The prime minister, Matteo Renzi, declared a state of emergency, authorised an initial €50m (£43m) in aid, and cancelled residents’ taxes.
As rescue and relief efforts continued, there were mounting questions as to why there had been so many deaths in an area known for decades to be the most seismically hazardous in Europe.
After a 2009 earthquake in nearby L’Aquila left 300 people dead, authorities released €1bn to upgrade buildings in the region, but takeup has been low. Despite eight devastating earthquakes in 40 years, experts estimate 70% of Italy’s buildings do not meet seismic standards.
Italy’s culture minister said 293 historical buildings had been damaged or destroyed by the Amatrice quake, and public prosecutors announced an investigation into whether anyone could be held responsible.
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https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/aug/27/italy-holds-day-of-mourning-for-earthquake-victims
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| 2016-08-27T00:00:00 |
www.theguardian.com/02df0180ee32c43d088518375de2bfa0ad64e52e72d7479c47675be585ae53b6.json
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[
"Peter Walker",
"Heather Stewart"
] | 2016-08-30T08:50:21 | null | 2016-08-30T07:45:24 |
Charlie Elphicke, the MP for Dover and Deal, says France and the UK must work together
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https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fuk-news%2F2016%2Faug%2F30%2Fdover-mp-warns-against-tit-for-tat-battles-with-france-over-border-security.json
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Dover MP warns against 'tit-for-tat' battles with France over border security
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www.theguardian.com
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The Conservative MP for Dover has urged the government to avoid any “tit-for-tat” battles with France over border security ahead of talks in Paris between Amber Rudd, the home secretary, and her French counterpart.
Rudd is expected to tell Bernard Cazeneuve on Tuesday that the UK government would not accept changes to the Le Touquet agreement, that allows British border checks to take place in Calais.
The president of the region around Calais, Xavier Bertrand, called on Monday for the Le Touquet agreement to end, telling the BBC: “It’s not possible to keep people here without a new agreement between the two governments.”
Amid reports that Britain could respond to such a move by reviewing other elements of security cooperation with France, Charlie Elphicke, the MP for Dover and Deal, urged caution.
“France, clearly, has suffered some serious terrorist atrocities, and we need to stand with France,” he told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme on Tuesday. “Threatening a tit-for-tat is not the right thing to do.
“What we need to do is work more closely together. Next year it’s likely there will be a change of [French] government and we need to understand what it is that they want to achieve. I think what they want to achieve is, as we in Dover want, is to see a lasting solution to a problem that has gone on too long.”
Rudd and Cazeneuve had been due to due to discuss cooperation on terrorism and security following a series of deadly attacks in France, including in Nice, at what is their first face-to-face meeting.
But she was set to stress to Cazeneuve that Britain is opposed to any change to the 2003 Le Touquet deal. A Home Office source said: “This is a complete non-starter. The home secretary is crystal clear that people in need of protection should seek asylum in the first safe country they enter. That’s the long-held norm, and we are going to stick to it.”
Elphicke said lorry drivers passing through Calais faced increasing peril from people seeking to get on to their trucks using desperate measures, and that France and Britain need to cooperate to remove the so-called “Jungle” camp near the French port, a base for thousands of people seeking to reach the UK.
“I spoke to lorry drivers who have been attacked with chainsaws, they’ve been petrol bombed, they’ve been attacked with machetes, their lorries have been stopped by trees. It’s a really serious situation,” Elphicke said.
“That’s why we need to have a new treaty between Britain and France to deal with these problems once and for all.
“We need to dismantle the Calais Jungle, to set up a repatriation centre to help the vulnerable people there back to their home nations, but most of all we need to target the people traffickers, who are busy attacking lorries in international transit, and are also exploiting the vulnerable people in the Jungle.”
Those who work with the migrants and refugees in Calais believe that simply dismantling the camp will make very little difference.
Efforts by local authorities earlier this year to clear a section of the makeshift camp led to a similar number of residents cramming into more cramped and insanitary conditions, while other, even worse, encampments sprang up along the coast.
There is political pressure building in France over the issue ahead of next year’s presidential election. Nicolas Sarkozy, the former French president, who is seeking his party’s nomination to run again in 2017, used a speech at the weekend to call for the main Calais camp to be relocated to the UK.
Sarkozy said: “I’m demanding the opening of a centre in Britain to deal with asylum seekers in Britain, so that Britain can do the work that concerns them. The Jungle should not be in Calais or anywhere else, because this is a republic and those with no rights to be here should return to their country.”
The Le Touquet agreement is a reciprocal arrangement that allows British border officials to check the documents of migrants seeking to enter Britain from the camps in Calais – and French officials to do the same in Dover.
But some French politicians claim it supports the existence of the main Calais camp.
Sir Peter Ricketts, a former British ambassador to France, warned on Monday that if a rightwing candidate wins the presidential election next year, Britain “is going to have to deal with a pretty serious conversation with France about the Le Touquet agreement”.
He said the UK was unlikely to accept the hotspot idea – adopted by the EU to tackle the crisis of mass migration from Syria and elsewhere in the Middle East to Greece and Italy – warning that it would attract many more people to Calais. “As soon as you suggest that, it becomes a huge magnet,” added Ricketts.
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https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2016/aug/30/dover-mp-warns-against-tit-for-tat-battles-with-france-over-border-security
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en
| 2016-08-30T00:00:00 |
www.theguardian.com/dccea29b034aab935d004a05ac75ec03880eb76c16815eae15df30991c6eee61.json
|
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[
"Rob Davies",
"Joseph Stiglitz",
"Anatole Kaletsky",
"Larry Elliott"
] | 2016-08-26T16:54:41 | null | 2016-06-28T09:57:15 |
Virgin billionaire says ‘thousands and thousands’ of jobs will be lost following the decision to leave the EU
|
https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fbusiness%2F2016%2Fjun%2F28%2Frichard-branson-investors-pulling-out-of-uk-after-brexit-vote.json
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en
| null |
Richard Branson: investors pulling out of UK after Brexit vote
| null | null |
www.theguardian.com
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Virgin billionaire, Sir Richard Branson, says Chinese business partners are already pulling investment from the UK in the light of the EU referendum vote, and warned that “thousands of jobs will be lost”.
Speaking at the final round of Voom, a competition for young entrepreneurs hoping to secure funding and support from Virgin, Branson warned that the business climate after the Brexit vote was already hurting the economy.
“I met with a group of Chinese businessmen yesterday morning who have invested heavily in England and who are now going to stop investing and withdraw investments they’ve already made,” Branson told the Guardian.
He said his opinion that leaving the EU would damage investment in Britain was shared by “every single person I’ve met from overseas”.
Branson, whose business empire includes airline Virgin Atlantic and home broadband and TV provider Virgin Media, blamed pro-Brexit politicians for causing chaos in global markets, accusing them of misleading the public. Branson also has a stake in Virgin Money, which has suffered a 40% slump in its shares since the referendum.
“Businesspeople do not want politicians to completely and utterly wreck the hard work they’ve done for years and years and that is effectively what happened,” Branson said.
“Thousands and thousands of jobs will be lost as a result of this. Thousands of jobs that would have been created will be lost and the knock-on effect will be so dire.
Richard Branson starts his own campaign to keep Britain in the EU Read more
“The sad thing is I really think Brexiters were misled and did not realise. People said it was scaremongering. It wasn’t scaremongering and the last 48 hours have proved that.”
Earlier in the week, Branson, who campaigned for the UK to remain in the EU, called on the government to consider holding a second referendum, “based on the misrepresentations made by the leave campaign”.
The entrepreneur does not have the right to vote in UK elections because he lives in the British Virgin Islands, but has weighed in on the Brexit debate, pointing out that he employs 50,000 people in the UK.
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https://www.theguardian.com/business/2016/jun/28/richard-branson-investors-pulling-out-of-uk-after-brexit-vote
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en
| 2016-06-28T00:00:00 |
www.theguardian.com/e093c23b96d37c6eaf19cec44b86e0e3ea755862ce90b5ce66023725a7839c5e.json
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[
"Press Association"
] | 2016-08-29T12:50:09 | null | 2016-05-23T11:34:02 |
Jason Dockrill, who killed 23-year-old Suvi Aronen in 2003, has admitted raping another woman two years earlier
|
https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fuk-news%2F2016%2Fmay%2F23%2Fstalker-jason-dockrill-murdered-finnish-student-admits-horrific.json
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en
| null |
Stalker who murdered Finnish student admits 'horrific' rape
| null | null |
www.theguardian.com
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A serial stalker who bludgeoned a Finnish student to death after attacking three other women on the same day has admitted carrying out a “horrific” rape two years earlier.
Jason Dockrill is serving a life sentence for the “sadistic and sexual” murder of 23-year-old Suvi Aronen, whom he raped, mutilated and bludgeoned to death near Wanstead Common, east London.
Dockrill, 46, pleaded guilty at the Old Bailey on Monday to rape and two counts of indecent assault relating to an attack on a stranger in a park in November 2001.
Judge Timothy Pontius adjourned sentencing until 18 July so that mental health reports could be carried out.
“Plainly, having read the statement of the victim, this is a very serious sexual attack. She was in fear for her life,” he said.
“It was a stranger rape carried out in a park and it consisted not just of rape but two serious indecent assaults as well.
“It is fortunate the defendant has decided to change his plea today and saved the victim the ordeal of giving evidence about these horrific crimes committed 15 years ago.”
Dockrill was linked to the attack by DNA evidence after a cold case review, the court was told.
When sentencing him to life imprisonment with a minimum of 25 years for the murder in 2004, Judge Michael Hyam said he was “a danger to women and likely to remain so for a long time, if not indefinitely”.
The unemployed fitter, from Stratford, east London, had denied murdering Aronen on 20 March 2003 on the grounds of diminished responsibility but was convicted of murder after trial.
The judge described the attack as “sexual and sadistic conduct so brutal that doctors consider it exceptional”.
Dockrill dragged Aronen into scrubland as she walked home, sexually assaulted her and battered her with a brick.
Her harrowing cries were heard by her parents who had called her mobile phone just as he struck.
Dockrill had attacked three other women in the hours leading up to Aronen’s death – he tried to rob a 44-year-old woman, attacked an 80-year-old in the park and violently robbed another woman in the street.
He was jailed for a total of nine-and-a-half years for these, to run concurrently.
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https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2016/may/23/stalker-jason-dockrill-murdered-finnish-student-admits-horrific
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en
| 2016-05-23T00:00:00 |
www.theguardian.com/ef25922ab526c875db229a0059c621507d60e58f9a6dcc4a6e6a93d84e6b8aa6.json
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[
"Helen Roxburgh In Shanghai"
] | 2016-08-26T13:20:37 | null | 2016-08-23T05:00:06 |
The Shanghai Tower is another in a long list of ambitious skyscrapers competing fiercely for sustainability credentials as well as height. But how ‘green’ are these buildings – and is environmentalism really the motivation?
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https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fcities%2F2016%2Faug%2F23%2Finside-shanghai-tower-china-tallest-building-green-skyscrapers.json
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Inside Shanghai Tower: China's tallest skyscraper claims to be world's greenest
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www.theguardian.com
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Twisting high above Shanghai’s financial district, China’s tallest tower – and the second tallest in the world – is preparing to officially open its substantial doors to the public next month. The Shanghai Tower, reaching 632 metres, is the third “supertall” tower on the city’s iconic skyline. Looking out from the 119th floor, the city lies below like a toy model, a densely packed mass of streets and high-rise buildings.
China loves a world record, and its new building boasts plenty, including the world’s fastest elevators, highest hotel and restaurant, and tallest viewing platform. Reassuringly, it also required the largest ever cement pouring for the foundations. But most importantly, the 128-storey tower also claims to be the world’s greenest skyscraper. Awarded the top green rating, LEED Platinum, the government is hailing the tower as a sign of China’s growing green credentials.
China’s sustainability record in the past has been abysmal. The country burns 47% of the world’s coal, according to the US Energy Information Administration, and is facing the impact of decades of rapid deforestation and water pollution. With some of the most polluted air on the planet, killing as many as 4,000 people a day, an increasingly restive population is demanding more government action.
Nervous of the impact that smog-filled days and clogged roads could have on social stability, the government has begun tree planting programmes, ordered thousands of cars off the roads in cities such as Beijing, and is investing in green technology in a big way. China is now the biggest renewables market in the world, more than double than in the US, and home to almost one of every three wind turbines globally.
Green buildings, however, make up a woefully small part of the green industry, with most work focused on quick construction and quicker sales. Estimates put the number of green buildings on the mainland at less than 1%, though a 2014 target by the State Council wants 30% of new construction projects to be green by 2020.
Facebook Twitter Pinterest The Shanghai Tower (right) has been awarded the highest sustainability rating. Photograph: Connie Zhou/Gensler
In Shanghai, engineer Shunfu Cha points to 200 wind turbines spinning at the top of the tower – the world’s tallest turbines, naturally – which generate around 10% of the building’s electricity. “These are one of the most obvious green technologies,” he says, gesturing upwards into the clouds. “But only one part of bringing down the energy use.”
The building collects rainwater and re-uses waste water, has a combined cooling and heating power system and uses 40 other energy-saving measures that developers claim cut 34,000 metric tonnes from its annual carbon footprint. The building is wrapped in two layers of glass for natural cooling and ventilation, and in total developers say a third of the site is “green space”, including 24 sky gardens sitting between the two skins.
“At the moment, everyone is trying to achieve top green certification criteria,” says Xiaomei Lee, managing director of Gensler Shanghai, the building’s architect. “But nobody yet has achieved LEED Platinum for a supertall building. People assumed that a building of this size can’t achieve such a high sustainability rating.”
Shanghai Tower might be the only supertall tower to achieve LEED Platinum, but it is part of an increasing movement for towers to market green credentials as the demand for more sustainable urban development is felt.
The world’s first Passivhaus-certified office tower – a certification rating that considers ongoing annual energy use, considered more stringent than other energy codes – was opened in Vienna two years ago, using 80% less heating and cooling energy than an equivalent tower through efficient power systems. London’s tallest building, the Shard, also has a raft of sustainability features which enable it to use 30% less energy than a conventionally designed skyscraper of the same height. Globally, 75 skyscrapers are LEED rated.
Facebook Twitter Pinterest Bosco verticale in Milan, with more than 1,000 different species of tree. Photograph: Alamy
More buildings are also turning green, literally. The Two World Trade Center development in New York has been designed to include a series of green terraces featuring different biozones. And in Milan, the Bosco Verticale is a pair of residential towers with 800 trees and thousands of plants on concrete balconies, maintained with recycled water. In Tel Aviv, plans for the Gran Mediterraneo tower include farms, vertical gardens and a range of fauna.
Advocates say that far from their reputation as polluters, skyscrapers offer environmental benefits. “Per capita, skyscrapers use less energy and water, generate less waste and provide for a more engaged living experience,” says Mahesh Ramanujam, chief operating officer at the US Green Building Council. “When properly developed, they also preserve and protect precious green space in urban markets.”
People assumed that a building of this size can’t achieve such a high sustainability rating Xiaomei Lee
But the concept of “green skyscrapers” itself is controversial. Buildings are the largest contributor to climate change through carbon emissions, and critics point out that logically, taller towers will need more resources both to run and to construct. So are we just seeing the latest version of “greenwashing”?
Environmental concerns include the fact that clusters of towers can make the streets below dark, trapping hot air and pollution at ground level. There is a knock-on impact in terms of carbon emissions, blocking light to surrounding properties, forcing the need for more electric lighting and eradicating the possibility of solar energy.
Tall towers also face charges of elitism. News that London has 260 new skyscrapers in the pipeline met with bitter opposition from campaigners earlier this year, largely on the grounds that these towers will mostly offer luxury apartments that do little to help problems of affordable housing.
Facebook Twitter Pinterest In 2014, two Russian free climbers reached the top of the Shanghai Tower in just two hours.
And money is certainly to be made in green development. Investors and companies are increasingly looking to benefit from cost efficiencies, with maintenance bills around 20% less than typical commercial buildings. While they cost more to build, the USGBC estimates most green projects pay for themselves in around seven years, especially as property agents say rents in LEED-certified buildings can be up to 30% higher.
The UN expects two-thirds of the world to live in cities by 2050 – the Chinese government’s target is 60% by 2020 – presenting challenges over how to provide sustainable buildings in space-starved cities. Research has suggested that high-rise buildings are the most sustainable form of urban development. A 2013 report by Terrapin Bright Green, commissioned by the New York government, recommended knocking down Manhattan towers that were too inefficient and replacing them with even bigger skyscrapers. Modern replacements could be 44% larger and still use 5% less energy, the study claimed.
While Terrapin acknowledged that demolishing and rebuilding wouldn’t be appropriate – or affordable – in every case, they found that even where buildings were knocked down and replaced, the energy needed to dismantle the existing building and construct a new one would still be offset within 15 and 28 years.
“Some people have opposed taller buildings on the premise that they use more energy, but they have failed to consider the larger spillover effects of urban sustainability that come from a dense urban fabric,” claims Sarene Marshall, executive director for the Center for Sustainability at the Urban Land Institute. “While buildings are the largest contributor to climate change through carbon emissions, transportation is a very close second. When you have a denser urban population, people are more likely to walk, bike or use public transportation to get to work. So if you build taller buildings, you have a denser urban fabric.
Facebook Twitter Pinterest A 2013 report suggested knocking down ‘inefficient’ skyscrapers in Manhattan and replacing them with taller ones. Photograph: Timothy A Clary/AFP/Getty Images
“If you build lower buildings and spread them out over a longer distance, what often happens is a much higher footprint in automobile transportation.”
A study by the New Climate Economy backs this up. Comparing the cities of Barcelona and Atlanta, with similar populations, Atlanta was found to have a much larger carbon footprint because people used cars to get around a large, sprawling urban area. The thinktank concluded that taller, denser buildings can dramatically reduce a city’s carbon impact.
However, green credentials and promises don’t always stack up. Critics say that LEED criteria focuses too much on the development of the building, and not enough on how it is used afterwards. A New Republic report claimed that The Bank of America tower in New York, hailed as the world’s most “environmentally responsible” office building when it opened in 2010, actually produces more greenhouse gases and uses more energy per square foot than any comparably sized office building in Manhattan. In relying too much on LEED ratings, critics argue, developers and governments can get additional publicity without necessarily being energy efficient in the long run.
Shanghai tower climb - in pictures Read more
In many US states, there are also tax breaks for energy-efficient buildings, leading to claims that building designers target the easiest and cheapest green points in order to qualify as LEED rated and gain tax exemptions.
And there are cases where the new technology disappoints. In London, the Strata Tower in Elephant and Castle, met criticism by residents when it opened as its in-built wind turbines – designed for helping heat and cool the building properly – weren’t turning. “I feel like I’m in an eco experiment that has gone wrong at the design stage”, one resident said. The promised new public garden at the Walkie Talkie tower in London also attracted criticism for being neither particularly green nor public enough.
For advocates of high-rise buildings, vertical development seems to be the future, and they remain convinced that green skyscrapers like the Shanghai Tower are the only sustainable way to do it. Sceptics will be watching closely for evidence that their optimism is not unfounded.
Follow Guardian Cities on Twitter and Facebook to join the discussion
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https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2016/aug/23/inside-shanghai-tower-china-tallest-building-green-skyscrapers
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en
| 2016-08-23T00:00:00 |
www.theguardian.com/dc7fc1039625551ee8b6d8a835cc4ba0c7443b4d13dcce0f425f33d04d2b0afc.json
|
|
[
"Simon Burnton"
] | 2016-08-27T16:51:13 | null | 2016-08-27T16:09:50 |
Arsenal claimed their first win of the season thanks to goals from Santi Cazorla, Mesut Özil and Alexis Sánchez to ease them past Watford 3-1
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https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Ffootball%2F2016%2Faug%2F27%2Fwatford-arsenal-premier-league-match-report.json
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Arsenal’s Mesut Özil and Alexis Sánchez turn on style against Watford
| null | null |
www.theguardian.com
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On Friday Wenger was asked whether his transfer dealings were motivated by desperation. “Look at my face,” he responded. “Is this the face of someone who tends to panic?” A day later he might have enjoyed the expressions on a few Watford defenders as Arsenal, previously becalmed this season, for one half at least displayed the kind of creativity and ruthlessness that would have even their manager’s harshest critics purring.
Mesut Özil, who made his first start of the season after appearing as a substitute at Leicester, was at the heart of much of their finest football, with Alexis Sánchez also outstanding, winning a penalty, claiming an assist and scoring a goal of his own against an unfamiliar, and unconvincing, Watford back three.
The patched-up nature of Arsenal’s defence had been a feature of the early season, but this time it was their opponents’ that was significantly weakened. With Craig Cathcart injured and Miguel Britos given leave to attend the birth of his child, there were league debuts for Younès Kaboul and Christian Kabasele, who played either side of the mountainous Austrian Sebastian Prödl.
Football clockwatch: Leicester 2-1 Swansea, Watford 1-3 Arsenal and more – live! Read more
Arsenal swiftly worked out a way through them, with the first hint of it coming in the sixth minute when Sánchez’s chipped pass found Özil bursting into the area but offside. Two minutes later the pair repeated the trick in reverse, Özil this time lofting the ball into the box, but before the Chilean could bring it under control he was caught by Nordin Amrabat’s elbow. Kevin Friend took so long to give the penalty that Watford had assumed there would not be one, and on the touchlines Walter Mazzarri burst into furious gesticulations when the referee finally pointed to the spot. Santi Cazorla stroked his penalty low, central but beyond the diving Heurelho Gomes to kick-start a difficult first half for the home side It took another 25 minutes before Özil and Sánchez combined again with any real menace. This time the pair played a smart one-two on the edge of the penalty area, but Sánchez’s resulting low shot was saved by Gomes. In the intervening period Watford had occasionally threatened, Amrabat in particular doing well down the right. It was from one of his crosses that Watford came closest to an equaliser though it was Arsenal’s Laurent Koscielny who nearly scored it, his miscued clearance forcing Petr Cech into a smart save. Seconds later Troy Deeney turned the ball wide of the near post after a low cross from the left wing-back, José Holebas.
Having fought their way to an approximation of parity on the run of play, the last five minutes of the first half turned out to be very long ones for Watford. First they were sliced open by an excellent, swift counterattack which ended with Sánchez mishitting Theo Walcott’s fine cross over Gomes, the ball bouncing just over the line before it was cleared. Then in the final moments of stoppage time Sánchez was given a preposterous amount of time and space on the left wing, and he was the only player on the pitch to spot Özil’s late sprint into the penalty area. His centre was precise, and appropriately despatched.
As the teams left the field at half-time Roberto Pereyra, Watford’s recent signing from Juventus and initially a substitute, entered it, spending the interval warming up before replacing Adlene Guedioura. Shortly afterwards Mazzarri abandoned his back three altogether, replacing Kabasele with another new arrival, Daryl Janmaat, and within two minutes his side had a goal. Janmaat’s cross was half-cleared to Capoue, whose blocked shot fell to Pereyra, who took a touch and found the corner from eight yards.
Watford improved significantly after their reshuffle, and Odion Ighalo twice came close to bringing if not panic then at least a flicker of concern to Wenger’s face. First he latched on to the rebound after Holebas’s shot had been saved, only for Cech to rise and deny him as well. Then the Nigerian’s overhead kick, after Holebas’s long throw was flicked on by Rob Holding, flew narrowly over the bar. With a lead to protect Arsenal were increasingly content to contain and occasionally break, with both Walcott and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain sending attempted chips over the bar.
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https://www.theguardian.com/football/2016/aug/27/watford-arsenal-premier-league-match-report
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en
| 2016-08-27T00:00:00 |
www.theguardian.com/00076d94975b270e1ec08c9d2e65922b01603adeff44bc654716452565265b8a.json
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|
[
"Miles Brignall"
] | 2016-08-30T00:50:03 | null | 2016-08-29T23:01:14 |
Annual Barclays report finds no region is less prosperous than last year and Scotland saw biggest rise – but study was done before EU referendum
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https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fbusiness%2F2016%2Faug%2F30%2Fprosperity-hotspots-emerging-around-uk-study-finds.json
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| null |
Pre-Brexit vote research shows prosperity hotspots emerging across UK
| null | null |
www.theguardian.com
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Every region of the UK is better off than it was a year ago, according to a new study that found Scotland enjoyed the biggest rise in prosperity last year, beating London and several other booming English cities.
Despite uncertain economic conditions during the year caused by volatile stock markets, China’s slowdown and the lead up to Brexit, Barclays’ latest prosperity index found that no region’s overall prosperity declined last year, despite recent reports that wages have fallen for many in real terms.
This study, which examines a raft of measures including average annual pay, local house prices, small business growth rates and even things like charitable giving, showed that while London continues to be the UK’s most prosperous city, others are also emerging as prosperity hotspots.
Are we on the verge of a crash in house prices? Only the data will tell | Danny Dorling Read more
While the prosperity of ordinary workers has improved, the number of millionaires in the UK fell to 690,000, meaning that one in every 67 people in the UK is now worth at least seven figures. Last year there were 715,000 millionaires across the country.
After the south-east and London, eastern England hosts the largest proportion of the country’s millionaires, with 148,000. Wales and the north-east are home to the fewest millionaires, each hosting 1.7% of the country’s total.
Scotland led the way in terms of increase in household wealth over the last year, according to the report – rising by 13%, pushing it up into seventh place overall. It narrowly beat the capital, which saw a 12% increase in prosperity last year.
However it should be noted that the research was carried out before June’s Brexit vote, which has since lead to a cooling of the property market, particularly in London.
The study will give heart to those who have talked about the boom in the northern half of the UK.
Facebook Twitter Pinterest Scotland saw the biggest rise in prosperity across the UK. Photograph: Alamy
It found that:
Manchester and Sheffield saw some of the largest increases in small and medium-sized enterprise turnover at 15%, and 11% respectively – compared with 7% in London.
Yorkshire saw the second biggest rise in the number of new businesses created with a 1.8% increase, second only to London.
At an average age of 45, Manchester has the youngest business owners in the UK, compared with average age 50 in places such as Guildford and Cambridge.
Leeds, Cambridge and Liverpool have the highest proportion of female entrepreneurs in UK cities – at 29%.
In a sign of their status as increasingly attractive areas in which to live and work, both Bristol and Cambridge saw higher growth in house prices than London, up 14% for Cambridge and 13% for Bristol, compared with just 11% in London.
Leeds came out on top for cities when it comes to increase in average earnings, rising by 6% last year, followed by Newcastle, where earnings rose by 5%. Earnings in London dropped 1% over the same period.
Birmingham and the West Midlands region saw the largest growth in GDP per capita, with this rising by 12.9% in Birmingham alone, closely followed by Reading (11.3%), Manchester, and Cambridge (both 10.5%).
Paul Swinney, principal economist at Centre for Cities, said: “While it is encouraging to see some cities comparing favourably to London and the south-east on some of the key measures in the prosperity index, it is important to remember that there is still some way to go to ensure that everyone in the UK can enjoy equal levels of prosperity.
“A large part of this will be investment in skills, particularly in areas which are still recovering from the decline in traditional industries. The most vibrant places are those [that] have high-skilled workforces and which have focused on supporting firms and employment in the knowledge-based service sectors.
“By making these issues a priority, regions across the UK can start to attract more of the industries and jobs, which offer the best prospects of long-term growth and prosperity.”
Akshaya Bhargava, who heads Barclays’ wealth division, said: “It is particularly reassuring to see that there is strong activity throughout the whole of the UK.
“As we look at the future of global trade and inward investment post-Brexit it is the success of our entrepreneurs that will help drive future prosperity – it is essential that business leaders and policymakers continue to nurture these growth areas in order to ensure that these trends continue.”
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https://www.theguardian.com/business/2016/aug/30/prosperity-hotspots-emerging-around-uk-study-finds
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en
| 2016-08-29T00:00:00 |
www.theguardian.com/911abef8f2df2e707c4f98cb6d2a0b1e59f6670330490596abd73a75556e37a9.json
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[
"Martin Belam",
"Eva Wiseman"
] | 2016-08-29T10:50:00 | null | 2016-08-20T09:26:03 |
A few hours on the Victoria line’s new night service yield music, laughter, selfies, mice and an encounter with London mayor Sadiq Khan
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https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fuk-news%2F2016%2Faug%2F20%2Flondon-night-tube-meet-people-travelled-first-night-sadiq-khan.json
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| null |
London night tube: meet the people who travelled on the first night
| null | null |
www.theguardian.com
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It was the night that London’s Underground finally became a 24-hour service, or, as one driver put it in an announcement: “It’s 4am and you lot are still on the tube.”
The Victoria and Central lines are the first two underground lines launching a night service. The Northern, Jubilee and Piccadilly lines are expected to follow suit before the year is out.
Friday’s service started with little fanfare at Walthamstow Central, as the 00.10 departure, newly classified on the timetable as a night tube, left with only a few people on board. Naso Koutzoukis was one of them. Originally from Athens, and having lived in London for five years, he’d travelled on the train specifically to head in to town to “see the drunken crowds. It should be fun.”
Facebook Twitter Pinterest Naso Koutzoukis travelling in the first night tube train on Victoria line.
London's night tube set for weekend debut Read more
Passenger numbers swelled and the volume of chat rose as the train headed into central London. The aptly named Victoria from Brixton was unconvinced it really counted as the Victoria line night tube yet, as a train ran at this time every evening. She began asking people how they felt about being on the “almost night tube”.
“I’m a fucking pest on the tube. People either love it or hate it, but I’m always asking who are you, where are you going, what are you doing.”
Facebook Twitter Pinterest Victoria from Brixton in full pest mode, talking to fellow passengers.
On the return journey from Brixton, Kevin Chauphary was much more sure he was on an actual night tube. “I definitely think it’s a momentous occasion for all of us Londoners. It increases safety massively. You are not just loitering around waiting for a night bus.”
Night bus services have also been improved to coincide with the night tube’s launch, with eight routes extended to 24-hour operation to provide additional connections to areas being served by the night tube.
At 1.30am, back at Walthamstow Central, with a flurry of TfL officials, press people and a couple of Guardian Angels in attendance, London’s mayor, Sadiq Khan, boarded the train. This was now definitely, officially, the night tube.
Facebook Twitter Pinterest London’s mayor, Sadiq Khan, boards a Victoria line train in front of the press pack.
Asked if he could imagine himself using it when it wasn’t launch night, he said he could, and not just after late nights working at City Hall. “We’ve all been out at restaurants, checking our watches for the last tube home,” he said. “The joy of the night tube is that we won’t have to do that anymore.”
He pointedly praised predecessor Boris Johnson for “announcing” the night tube, but stressed the amount of effort that he himself had put in to get the details right – not just with TfL and their workforce, but with entities such as the British Transport police and with local residents.
“Cities like Berlin and Copenhagen have 24/7 metros at the weekend, and it’s time we had one too. By the end of the year we’ll have the five main tube lines running.”
Facebook Twitter Pinterest Sadiq Khan praised predecessor Boris Johnson for announcing the project
Earlier, between journeys, crews of orange-clad contractors were trying to keep the trains clean. It was the first day on the job for one of the cleaners – proof that the night service is already delivering some of the promised economic benefits with new jobs.
But how good are the jobs? Asked about the conditions of those helping the service to operate not directly employed by TfL, Khan said he wanted to raise standards. “I want to use the power of procurement at City Hall to ensure not only that we get value for money, but to ensure the people working on services get fair remuneration, and there is trade union recognition,” he said.
By now the train was once again in central London, and passengers were gathering around the mayor to take pictures of him. “I was shellshocked,” said one, about seeing Khan on the Victoria line. “Is it appropriate to ask for a selfie with him?” she asked fellow travellers.
Facebook Twitter Pinterest Bus driver Julian using the Victoria line to get home from a late shift.
Julian, a bus driver, got on at Brixton for the return journey heading back north. He’d just finished working a shift from 6.20pm to 1.45am. “A short one,” he laughed, “normally it is 10 or 12 hours.”
The night tube will make a significant difference to his weekend commute. What used to be a 90-minute journey to Finsbury Park by bus would now be just 25 minutes on the tube.
“I think it would be a good idea to extend it to Thursday,” he said. “For a lot of people Thursday night is when the weekend starts. I wouldn’t do it on a Sunday though. Everyone would stay out late and not go to work on Monday.”
Facebook Twitter Pinterest Charlotte Campbell busks at Oxford Circus as passengers walk by.
Away from the trains, at Oxford Circus station, Charlotte Campbell had been busking through the night – packing up at 3.30am. Unsurprisingly, she played her song written about the night tube, Free the Night, on more than one occasion.
“It’s like New Year’s Eve,” she said. “I think the night tube brings that out in people. There hasn’t been any rowdiness. It’s been happy drunk, not nasty drunk.”
That mood was demonstrated on the escalators at Oxford Circus at 3.45am, as two groups of passengers heading in different directions started chanting and singing “Night tube!” at each other.
Facebook Twitter Pinterest Groups of passengers cheer and sing about the night tube on the Oxford Circus escalators. Alex and Ibbi are on the right. Actors Izzy Meikle, Eros Vlahos and Charlie Rowe are part of the group of the left.
One of them, Ibbi, said that the night tube will mean her “getting to do more of London. It’s exactly what London is about, and exactly what London needs.”
Alex, who was with her, said the main benefit for him will be spending less money on Uber. It was a name that cropped up again and again in conversations about the alternative methods people would have used to get home without the tubes operating. One of Sadiq Khan’s party asked a passenger: “Are you getting the tube instead of an Uber?” But the reply was: “No, we are getting the tube to go and get an Uber.”
Facebook Twitter Pinterest A carriage full of late-night sleepyheads on the Victoria line.
By 4am, Victoria line trains heading out of town had become less of a night tube party and more of a silent slumber. And there were still some of the finer details to sort out. Instead of stating that only the Victoria and Central lines were running, the automatic train announcements take the longer route of listing every other line in the capital as being suspended, which becomes a rather monotonous soundtrack over the course of a journey.
The consensus of frontline staff seemed to be that there were fewer passengers than anticipated on opening night. On the ticket barriers at Victoria, one of the new night tube workers, who has taken his role as a second job for an extra bit of income, said that “people are asking questions that indicate really they don’t know much about the night tube. Asking about lines that aren’t even in the plans.” He expected next weekend to be busier, with it being the Notting Hill carnival and bank holiday weekend.
Facebook Twitter Pinterest The shoulder is a popular resting place on the night tube.
Earlier in the evening, a couple whose flight back from Barcelona was delayed were relieved to find the tube was still running when they reached Victoria, simplifying a journey back to Blackhorse Road that could have added yet more delay to their plans. By 4.30am it was airport traffic heading in an outbound direction using the service instead. The new tube saved at least one business traveller getting an Uber to Victoria in order to head to Gatwick.
Facebook Twitter Pinterest A journey begins.
At 5am passengers were beginning to include people looking fresh-faced enough that they must be heading out for the day, rather than heading home, and there was the sight of morning make-up being applied while waiting for a train.
Facebook Twitter Pinterest Waiting for a tube.
But still there were people returning home from either work or leisure. Ahmed was travelling from Oxford Circus to Tottenham after a kitchen shift that finished at 4am. A couple of seats from him, Isobel was returning to Finsbury Park from Brixton, after a night at a house-warming party. The invite had suggested that getting the night tube journey home was one of the reasons it was worthwhile attending.
“I’m not sure I’d have gone if it wasn’t for the night tube, or I would have gone but left much earlier. I wouldn’t have fancied the night bus.”
Facebook Twitter Pinterest Isobel and Ahmed on their way home.
Not everyone had been impressed with the night. There was a group of friends lamenting that they were only 13 when alcohol was banned on the underground in 2008, and Londoners responded by having a boozy tube party. The night tube party hadn’t been anything in the same league, they said: “It’s better than the N91, but it’s not that exciting.”
And the real losers last night?
The tube’s mice – suddenly finding their weekend nocturnal peace disturbed by trains running every 10 minutes, and the humans that travel on them.
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https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2016/aug/20/london-night-tube-meet-people-travelled-first-night-sadiq-khan
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en
| 2016-08-20T00:00:00 |
www.theguardian.com/a127129fec086799a12bd17990f61e184bf1814439535d70196ccfec6e4c036c.json
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[
"Adam Gabbatt"
] | 2016-08-26T13:15:44 | null | 2016-08-26T10:00:16 |
Over half of the organization’s staff quit over disapproval of appointed leadership and potential to solicit large donations, contradicting Sanders’ grassroots ethos
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https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fus-news%2F2016%2Faug%2F26%2Fbernie-sanders-our-revolution-grassroots-jeff-weaver.json
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en
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Is Bernie Sanders' Our Revolution over before it even began?
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www.theguardian.com
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The next phase of Bernie Sanders’ political revolution had not begun before it began to unravel. Just days before Wednesday’s launch of Our Revolution, an organisation which aims to build on the momentum of the senator’s Democratic primary campaign, more than half of its staff resigned.
Fleeing the Bern: half of staff quit Sanders legacy project before it begins Read more
This was not a case of a few volunteers deciding they didn’t have the time to work towards a revolution. This was core staff members in key positions deciding Our Revolution was doomed to failure. Eight people quit – from a staff of 15. The entire organising department went. The digital director, Kenneth Pennington, went too.
For an organisation aiming to organise grassroots volunteers through digital media, this was quite a blow. It landed after Jeff Weaver, who managed Sanders’ primary campaign, was appointed president of the group.
Under the stewardship of Weaver – who has worked on Sanders campaigns for three decades – the Vermont senator won more than 13 million votes, proving an unlikely challenger to the eventual nominee, Hillary Clinton. But even as Sanders was riding a wave of activism and involvement not seen for decades, dissatisfaction with Weaver was spreading.
Younger Sanders staff members were critical of money spent on television ads, funds they felt would be better spent on outreach. Grassroots activists spoke of a lack of coordination between the campaign and volunteers on the ground.
Claire Sandberg, until this week organising director at Our Revolution, was among the most vocal critics. “I left and others left because we were alarmed that Jeff would mismanage this organization as he mismanaged the campaign,” she told the New York Times.
Sandberg said she was concerned about how Our Revolution would raise and spend money, fearing the group would “betray its core purpose by accepting money from billionaires and not remaining grassroots funded and ploughing that billionaire cash into TV instead of investing it in building a genuine movement”.
An anonymous staff member told Politico they joined Our Revolution after promises from Sanders and his wife Jane Sanders – chair of Our Revolution’s board – that Weaver would not be involved.
Weaver’s appointment was not the only thing to turn activists away. Our Revolution has been registered as a 501(c)4 organisation, which means it is able to accept large donations from anonymous donors. Given that a large part of the senator’s appeal in the primary lay in his criticism of the acceptance of anonymous money in politics, this is anathema to many Sanders supporters.
Furthermore, the group is being run by two white men: Weaver and executive director Shannon Jackson. This is worrying to some supporters, given Sanders’ struggle to appeal to minorities. One source close to the project, from a minority background, said they had “concerns about how are these two people qualified to do the kind of work that needs to be done to organise people of color”.
There are also questions over what Our Revolution will actually do. On Wednesday Sanders spoke for 40 minutes. He spent 30 minutes heralding the success of his presidential campaign. Beyond listing the candidates and issues on which he said Our Revolution would focus, operational details were scarce.
There was talk of organising people to campaign for candidates and protest against issues such as Citizens United, the supreme court decision that unfettered political donations, and a single-payer healthcare system.
Sanders also said: “Real change never ever takes place from the top on down. It happens when people come together and demand fundamental change in this country.”
This did not quite chime with the idea of a nationwide organizing project that, it seems, will aim to issue top-down missives to activists.
Third-party presidential candidates fight for 15% in polls – and a spot in debates Read more
One more thing could hamper Our Revolution: it seems Sanders isn’t going to be a part of it. Listening to his speech on Wednesday, it seemed as if he planned a distinctly hands-off role.
“As I understand it,” he said, “Our Revolution will endorse 100 candidates.”
Later he mentioned a ballot initiative in Colorado in support of single-payer healthcare.
“As I understand it,” he said, “Our Revolution will be supporting that ballot item.”
The attention of some supporters has already started to drift. After the Democratic national convention in Philadelphia last month, many of the “Bernie or bust” crowd turned to Jill Stein, the Green party candidate for president, or even the Libertarian, Gary Johnson.
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https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/aug/26/bernie-sanders-our-revolution-grassroots-jeff-weaver
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en
| 2016-08-26T00:00:00 |
www.theguardian.com/3cbf917eb09315f8b275463a4165b0a6a4232b68a76a81942762233939fd99b5.json
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[
"Samuel Gibbs"
] | 2016-08-26T13:26:25 | null | 2016-08-11T06:00:30 |
When Microsoft first floated the two-in-one hybrid idea, many balked at the suggestion. But after years of improvements, they’re worth serious consideration
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https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Ftechnology%2F2016%2Faug%2F11%2Flaptop-tablet-hybrid-microsoft-two-in-one.json
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en
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Your next computer should be a laptop-tablet hybrid. Really
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www.theguardian.com
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The PC and tablet industry is currently going through a bit of a revolution. At one stage tablets were the new hotness – the device to replace the PC as your default computing platform. But now Windows PCs are having a resurgence, this time in a new, 21st-century skin: the two-in-one.
As tablet sales peaked as consumers realised they were great for consuming media but then dwindled as the same consumers discovered their increasingly larger smartphones were good enough for that. No one really needs a smartphone and a tablet that can basically perform the same duties and run the same apps.
Meanwhile, the PC industry has been slowly contracting, suffering from six consecutive quarters of declining sales, according to data from Canalys. But the one device that is rising – up 13% in a quarter – and it’s another convergence device, much like the smartphone. Part Windows PC, part tablet, the two-in-one.category covers touchscreen laptops that turn into tablets and tablets that can turn into laptops with a detachable keyboard.
One of the reasons they’re rising in popularity is that they’re actually quite good.
Facebook Twitter Pinterest Bill Gates holding something that looks remarkably like a Windows tablet in the year 2000. Photograph: Jeff Christensen/AP
Perhaps surprisingly, it was desktop computing giant Microsoft that practically invented the tablet (if you discount Star Trek’s PADD of course), as long as a decade and a half ago. In the early 2000s, its Windows XP-based so-called Tablet PCs came in a variety of forms, including what we now know as a tablet, as well as convertible machines that folded back on themselves and even so-called hybrid machines that detached from their keyboards.
The trouble then was that while the concept was sound the technology to make them useful wasn’t. They had short battery lives and resistive touchscreens that were unresponsive and bulky. Fast forward to 2012 and Microsoft tried again with the Surface. It used the latest low-power chips, displays and large-format touchscreen development borne of the mobile tablet generation triggered by the launch of the iPad in 2010.
It took several years of improvements, but Microsoft has succeeded in forging the revitalised category, helped on the operating system side of things first by the tablet-friendly Windows 8 and now by Windows 10. Having lived with a Microsoft Surface Pro 4 and several other Windows-based tablets for six months, I’m a convert.
Laptops are, frankly, boring. But a full Windows computer is still necessary for most people, so the concept of a PC that can double as a makeshift tablet for media consumption is appealing. Until recently that meant bulky, expensive devices that were heavy and expensive.
Now the two-in-one category spans almost every capability and cost. Cheap ones are, as you might expect, not as nice to use, but they get the job done. Even the lowest-power processors are capable of doubling as general computing machines.
More expensive ones, including the Surface Pro 4, are more powerful than most will ever need and last as long as a laptop between charges. They’re also as light as a laptop, if not a little lighter, and often have better screens.
They do not, however, behave the same way as mobile tablets such as Google’s Pixel C or Apple’s iPad Pro: they’re laptops in tablet shells, and so aren’t as fast to power on from standby and don’t last as long. But that’s OK for most people. They’re mostly a PC, something you use at home where power is constantly available or on the road as you would a laptop.
At the same time the shortcomings of the tablet form factor – mainly the bulk of the machine and the quality of the detachable keyboard – are gradually being reduced. Today’s removable keyboards available with Samsung’s TabPro S or the Surface Pro 4 are as good, if not better, than many laptop keyboards.
Treated as tablets, there is still an app gap, of course – the handling of high-resolution screens by Windows still isn’t great, and standby time is an issue. But a new breed of Windows tablets made by experienced smartphone manufacturers, and produced as consumer electronics as much as PCs, are on their way.
Treated as laptop replacements, Windows 10 two-in-ones are no longer a gimmick – they’re are actually worth buying, which is never something I thought I’d be saying when Microsoft first floated the idea.
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https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/aug/11/laptop-tablet-hybrid-microsoft-two-in-one
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en
| 2016-08-11T00:00:00 |
www.theguardian.com/462bd594470f409f4d9417319efef546344ec54ba08010171c251b607c3ccb09.json
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[
"Bill Brewster"
] | 2016-08-26T13:14:45 | null | 2016-08-26T11:55:40 |
British clubs are being scapegoated for society’s drug problems, and strangled by licensing laws and spiralling rents. If we’re not careful they’ll disappear
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https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fcommentisfree%2F2016%2Faug%2F26%2Fsave-fabric-clubs-drugs-licensing-laws-rent.json
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en
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Save Fabric: our clubs are under threat as never before
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www.theguardian.com
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Playing for the first time at a great club like Fabric will always be a special moment, but playing there on the opening Saturday and meeting your future wife that night make it an extra special place for me. I proposed to her a few months later on the same dancefloor at midnight on 31 Dec 1999.
When my in-laws, a retired headmaster and French teacher, wanted to see what I did for a living, the staff at the club opened the VIP room especially for them, gave them a bottle of champagne on the house and escorted them down to the DJ booth. My mother-in-law loved dancing there: “It’s so dark no one can see how old I am!”
Then there were the many times I turned up at 10pm to play the warm-up set in room 1, only to find managing director Keith Reilly playing his bag of records with all the enthusiasm of a kid with a new toy. Fabric is no ordinary club.
But even though this feels personal there are wider issues that go beyond one club in EC1 that is currently shut with its future looking uncertain following two tragic deaths and the suspension of its licence. Over the past 10 years we have lost nearly 50% of our club spaces. The change in licensing laws has meant the free entry bar has affected paid entry to nightclubs, as has the rise of festivals, but spiralling rents, intransigent councils and avaricious developers have also played a part.
Nightclubs can be liberating, transformative spaces. For gay men and women, a nightclub is often the first step they make into a safe space as they come out. Nightclubs have been the motor that has driven the best of British fashion for over 30 years. Great clubs – and DJs – can define the sound of a city. Bristol, with its bass-heavy sound, produced Massive Attack, Tricky, Portishead and Roni Size. Glasgow’s fierce electronic eclecticism is a direct product of the Sub Club, Optimo and the sadly recently closed Arches.
Of course, they are also great places to go and get hammered or pull, but nightclubs have been responsible for transforming previously unloved urban areas. Fabric (and Turnmills, also now closed) brought life to soporific Clerkenwell, a place where it had previously been impossible to buy a bottle of water late at night without breaking into a shop. Now it hums with activity. The recently closed Dance Tunnel and its sister venue Dalston Superstore performed the same function in E8, while Peckham’s Bussey Building is the fulcrum of a newly buzzing scene in south-east London. Most importantly they are incubators for new musical styles and movements. From disco to hip-hop and house, there is not a single genre of dance music that would exist today without without the testing ground of the nightclub dancefloor. Given the fact that we export far more music than steel or cars these days, it should be valued and cherished.
Governments and arts councils fall over themselves to lavish grants fatter than a diva’s waistline on opera, but anything remotely connected to the black community, from jazz to electronic music, is either starved or derided. In 1985, in the wake of inner-city riots, government minister Oliver Letwin urged Margaret Thatcher not to give money to black businessmen, claiming “new entrepreneurs will set up in the disco and drug trade”. More recently, a government spokesman told the BBC: “The current regulations strike a fair balance between making sure we have music entertainment for the public and preventing crime and disorder, whilst keeping the public safe.”
Drug-taking is endemic in British society and there’s not a shred of evidence anywhere to suggest closing nightclubs will somehow either lower drug harm or eliminate consumption. It’s a smokescreen for a drug policy that has consistently failed over a 50-year period. Short of performing a colonoscopy on every clubber, it’s impossible to eliminate all drug use in clubs (and, indeed, anywhere else). Only last December, Fabric’s drug policy was described by district judge Allison as a “beacon of best practice”. Given the fact that drugs are rife in prison, where theoretically some form of security exists, what chance do clubs have to control this issue?
We could be bold, like Amsterdam and Berlin, which regard nightlife not as a social disorder issue but a tourist attraction.
Or we could be like New York, where neoliberal policies have all but destroyed what was once the most musically innovative and vital club scene in the world. If we want our cities to be modern, vital, vibrant, inclusive spaces that are available to everyone and not just a gaggle of oligarchs, we need to save Fabric.
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https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/aug/26/save-fabric-clubs-drugs-licensing-laws-rent
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en
| 2016-08-26T00:00:00 |
www.theguardian.com/8231274f5e6b39f9af1155f6b8dd77f4a93caaa9472377cd52ede92c710b294f.json
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[
"Lara Williams"
] | 2016-08-26T13:26:50 | null | 2016-08-26T08:14:43 |
Once considered a crass way of showing off, now the sign-off is a nod of acknowledgement that we are doing the best we can
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https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Ftechnology%2F2016%2Faug%2F26%2Fsent-from-my-iphone-humblebrag-etiquette.json
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en
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Sent From My iPhone: how a humblebrag became a key piece of net etiquette
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www.theguardian.com
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Is there a more divisive valediction than the default “Sent From My iPhone” sign-off? When the iPhone first appeared, users were roundly condemned for their thinly veiled humblebrag among the mounting popularity of Apple products.
The message was clear: having an iPhone was so much more than having something on which you could make calls and browse the internet. It was a gorgeous trinket and elite lifestyle marker that signalled both sophistication and technological know-how. Membership of the club was something to be boasted about, and you could feel the conceit as users pressed send. The backlash was immediate.
Quickly it became crass, and a little embarrassing, even. Either you wanted to show off your smartphone or you couldn’t figure out how to turn the message off. The Atlantic said it was a failure of the imagination, arguing the space would be put better to use with a casual bon mot or quirky alternative (“sent from my telco slingshot”), while Mashable countered it was too much information. Soon it was rarely seen, and if it did appear at the footer of an incoming email, rather than feeling contempt you thought: “Bless”. By then it was little more than a charming throwback.
Recently, however, the refrain has returned to our correspondence, but those using the sign-off can no longer be accused of not knowing how to switch it off (it’s easy) or gloating (it’s not a big deal). Rather the phrase has become an important part of online decorum. Including the sign off contains an innate apology for the brevity of the message. It begs forgiveness for any spelling or grammatical errors. It allows a little wiggle rooms for errant emojis. It is a nod of acknowledgement that you are on the hoof and doing as well as can be expected.
And it works. The researchers Caleb T Carr and Chad Stefaniak found in their paper Sent From My iPhone: The Medium and Message as Cues of Sender Professionalism in Mobile Telephony that those receiving a message containing spelling and grammatical errors forgiving of the mistakes when sent from a phone. What’s more,it boosted credibility over and above a perfectly worded message without the caveat. They also found for a poorly worded and incorrectly spelled message from a desktop or laptop, credibility dropped. Users forgave errors attributed to the constraints of writing on a tiny touch screen, but not mistakes made on a computer.
It is no great secret that instant messaging and smartphones are changing how we communicate with each other. Who would have thought the fullstop, a stalwart of grammar, would become so often redundant. And yet the taut manner and abrupt line breaks we engage with when using our phones has made it pretty clear when a sentence has come to its end.
Manners and etiquette take time to evolve. They develop according the the conventions and norms of the culture in which they exist. The very first iPhone was launched late in 2007, and how we interact with it and others through it is still very much in flux. We’re still getting a handle on who it is and isn’t appropriate to send the aubergine or water droplets emoji to – and what it means when someone send them to us. Crucially, manners require a lot of reading between the lines; respecting the various nudges and nuances of behaviour that imply what we don’t want to say outright. Sent From My iPhone makes for the most polite way of letting on that this fresh hell of being always accessible can be a perpetual inconvenience, and that we’re just doing the best we can.
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https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/aug/26/sent-from-my-iphone-humblebrag-etiquette
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en
| 2016-08-26T00:00:00 |
www.theguardian.com/fc7d7d0bcb359fae893ff22c88c1c36c5f6930e283b59ea103910ea862a4e6c2.json
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[
"Anna Tims"
] | 2016-08-26T22:54:44 | null | 2016-08-26T22:45:46 |
You’ll have to embrace your curves in these properties from Suffolk to Berkshire
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https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fmoney%2Fgallery%2F2016%2Faug%2F26%2Fhomes-that-are-round-in-pictures.json
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en
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Homes that are round - in pictures
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www.theguardian.com
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Sudborough, near Kettering, Northamptonshire
A perfect circle, it was the home of the children’s author BB and has been elegantly upgraded, with a swirl of open-plan living areas downstairs, and three bedrooms and a bathroom segmenting the upper floor. There’s no shop in the village, which might bother some. Asking price: £545,000. Fine & Country , 01858 463747
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https://www.theguardian.com/money/gallery/2016/aug/26/homes-that-are-round-in-pictures
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en
| 2016-08-26T00:00:00 |
www.theguardian.com/2cad370238812ff96e526dd36fbf8d3387ccbc79b110dc793bf6f081cab9a307.json
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[
"Petter Hellström"
] | 2016-08-26T13:27:25 | null | 2016-08-22T07:15:05 |
An emotional debate has erupted over the absence of Palestine on Google Maps. But why does it matter whether Palestinians are on the map? Historian of science Petter Hellström looks at maps of the colonial era for clues
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https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fscience%2Fthe-h-word%2F2016%2Faug%2F22%2Fnot-on-the-map-cartographic-omission-history.json
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en
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Not on the map: cartographic omission from New England to Palestine
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www.theguardian.com
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The issue caught fire after the Forum of Palestinian Journalists accused Google of removing Palestine from their maps. This, the organisation argued, made the tech giant complicit in Israeli policies of annexation and settlement of the occupied territories. Google responded that they had never labelled Palestine in the first place, while blaming a technical bug for removing the labels for the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. While many commentators pointed out the inflated nature of the claim, fewer have engaged with the long-term implications of cartographic omission.
Because Palestine, after all, has been removed. It is there on old paper maps, of the Holy Land, of the Roman and Ottoman empires, of the British mandate. Yet in our digital age, a search on Google Maps for Israel produces a map without Palestine. It displays Israeli urban centres down to a few thousand inhabitants, and even marks Ma’ale Adumin, an Israeli settlement on the occupied West Bank. At the same time it shows no Palestinian place-names or urban centres, not even major ones like Gaza City, Khan Yunis or Nablus. The dotted, inconsistent borders of the occupied territories leave the impression that they are not claimed or administered by anyone.
Facebook Twitter Pinterest Israel and the Palestinian territories on Google Maps, 19 August 2016. Following strong criticism regarding their omission, the Gaza Strip and the West Bank were re-labelled on 19 August. The Golan Heights, between Israel and Syria, remain unlabelled. Photograph: Geographicus/Google Maps
While many commentators have pointed out that Palestine is not the only disputed territory in the world, comparisons with Crimea and other disputed regions fall short. Other map controversies are about where borders should be drawn between two sovereign states, yet at stake in the case of Palestine is whether the country and its people exist at all. Israeli nationalists have long denied this – the architects of Israel even rallied under the slogan “a land without a people for a people without a land”. Palestine is presently the only state recognised by the UN not to appear on Google Maps. [See footnote.]
Historians of cartography have long studied the practices and consequences of cartographic omission. In a landmark study, “New England cartography and the Native Americans”, published posthumously in 1994, the British historian of cartography J. B. Harley analysed seventeenth-century maps to follow the progressive replacement of the Native Americans with European settlers. In Harley’s analysis, the maps were something more than historical records of that process. Because they made the colonists visible at the expense of the indigenous population, they were also instruments of colonial legitimisation.
Many colonial mapmakers preferred to leave the areas of predominantly indigenous presence blank, rather than to reproduce an indigenous geography; one example is Herman Moll’s 1729 map of New England and the adjacent colonies, seen above. The traces of indigenous presence, past and present, were gradually removed from the maps as the colonists pushed west. The apparent emptiness helped to justify the settlers’ sense that they had discovered a virgin territory, promised to them by Providence. The pattern was the same in all areas of colonial activity, including Australia and Africa.
Facebook Twitter Pinterest John Smith’s map of New England, drawn in 1614 and later published in London, showing no traces of the indigenous population. Photograph: Wikimedia
Incidentally, Harley’s study began as a conference paper entitled “Victims of a map”, a title he borrowed from an anthology of contemporary Palestinian and Lebanese poetry. Discussing the implications of not representing Native American place-names on colonial maps, Harley quoted the Israeli historian and political scientist Meron Benvenisti, deputy mayor and chief planning officer of Jerusalem in 1971–78, who described the process with which the Israeli state Hebraized the place-names of the country they had conquered: “Like all immigrant societies, we attempted to erase all alien names”, Benvenisti said. “The Hebrew map of Israel constitutes one stratum in my consciousness, underlaid by the stratum of the previous Arab map.”
If a map were to represent a territory in all its detail, it would need to be as large as the territory itself, as famously noted by Jorge Luis Borges in his short story “On exactitude in science”. Thus, drawing a map always involves choices, whether they are reflected or not. In the conflict-ridden Middle East, those choices are often blatantly political. The official map of Israel, available on the web page of the Israeli government, integrates the occupied territories into Israel and is devoid of any Palestinian place-names. Conversely, Palestinian maps often label the whole country as Palestine – effectively a refusal to acknowledge the development since 1948.
Official map of Israel, integrating the occupied territories and showing no Palestinian place-names, as seen on 18 August 2016. Photograph: Govmap
Does this mean we should suspect Google of any political agenda? As the project Disputed Territories demonstrated in 2014, Google Maps shows you different maps of disputed territories depending on which country you are in when you access them. Google, after all, is a commercial actor: they make their billions by pleasing their customers. In the polarised conflict over Palestine, not labelling the occupied territories as either Israeli or Palestinian might well cause the least total amount of indignation. Still it is only one of several possible solutions. If, as others have argued, we mapped political realities rather than conflicting political ideals, Google might have marked Palestine as an occupied territory, rather than as an independent state.
Map is not territory, and introducing or removing a name on the map does not invalidate the existence of the thing it refers to: it was European colonists, not their maps, who dispossessed the Native Americans. But everyone who has been to school or who has navigated with a map knows how they direct our attention and shape our experience – and memory – of reality.
Immersed in the values and evident truths of their time and place, but also eager to please their readers, mapmakers of the colonial era represented overseas territories from their particular perspective. Trying to stay impartial in the eyes of customers and the surrounding society, the mapmakers at Google similarly represent – and so reproduce – the world as it appears from their culturally encoded point of view. When they chose not to mark Palestine on their maps, they only codified into a cartographic image, how they and their fellow westerners already viewed the world.
• Note added 24 August 2016: State of Palestine is recognised by the UN as a non-member State.
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https://www.theguardian.com/science/the-h-word/2016/aug/22/not-on-the-map-cartographic-omission-history
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| 2016-08-22T00:00:00 |
www.theguardian.com/1d4207e762d5bfbaa90bfe27da5227024d535c44aae09da1d0f300cad33d85a4.json
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[
"Guardian Sport"
] | 2016-08-26T13:16:43 | null | 2016-08-26T11:52:58 |
Manchester United have been handed a tough task in the group stage of this season’s Europa League after being drawn with Fenerbahce, Feyenoord and the Ukrainian side Zorya
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Manchester United to face Fenerbahce, Southampton draw Inter in Europa League
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www.theguardian.com
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Manchester United have been handed a tough task in the group stage of this season’s Europa League, after being drawn with Fenerbahce, Feyenoord and the Ukrainian side Zorya.
Europa League: Manchester United to face Fenerbahce, Southampton draw Inter – as it happened Read more
United missed out on qualification for the Champions League after finishing fifth in the Premier League last season, so have to make do with Thursday-night duty this season. Fenerbahce and Feyenoord have been regulars in Europe’s top competition in recent years, but neither qualified this year after finishing as runners-up in their respective leagues. Fenerbahce lost to Monaco in the Champions League third qualifying round.
Southampton, the only other English side in the competition, will play Internazionale, Sparta Prague and the Israeli club Hapoel Beer-Sheva, who lost to Celtic in the Champions League qualifiers.
The draw will see the Fenerbahce striker Robin van Persie face two of his former clubs: Manchester United, who he left for Turkey in 2015, and Feyenoord, with whom he started his career before moving to Arsenal in 2004.
West Ham were eliminated from the competition before the group stage, after they were eliminated in the qualifiers by Astra Giurgiu, who secured a 2-1 win at the London Stadium on Thursday night.
The first round of games will take place on September 15.
Europa League draw in full
Group A: Manchester United, Fenerbahce, Feyenoord, Zorya Luhansk
Group B: Olympiacos, Apoel Nicosia, Young Boys, Astana
Group C: Anderlecht, St Etienne, Mainz, Qabala
Group D: Zenit, AZ Alkmaar, Maccabi Tel Aviv, Dundalk
Group E: Viktoria Plzen, Roma, Austria Vienna, Astra
Group F: Athletic Bilbao, Genk, Rapid Vienna, Sassulo
Group G: Ajax, Standard Liege, Celta Vigo, Panathinaikos
Group H: Shakhtar Donetsk, Braga, Gent, Konyaspor
Group I: Schalke, Salzburg, Krasnodar, Nice
Group J: Fiorentina, PAOK, Slovan Liberec, Qarabag,
Group K: Internazionale, Sparta Prague, Southampton, Hapoel Beer-Sheva
Group L: Villarreal, Steaua Bucharest, Zurich, Osmanlispor
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https://www.theguardian.com/football/2016/aug/26/manchester-united-fenerbahce-southampton-inter-europa-league
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en
| 2016-08-26T00:00:00 |
www.theguardian.com/84a36de0addbea288b8338fa1ec771f59ccd0c00e34c319bedbd897f01311a99.json
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[
"Dave Hill"
] | 2016-08-27T14:49:15 | null | 2016-08-27T14:39:37 |
The word village can cause suspicion when applied in London, but some of the qualities it suggests are important for new urban neighbourhoods
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https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fuk-news%2Fdavehillblog%2F2016%2Faug%2F27%2Fhow-to-create-londons-new-village-communities.json
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How to create London's new 'village' communities
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www.theguardian.com
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Descriptions of London as a city of villages can be off-putting. When estates agents start selling an area as a “village”, be it Crouch End in the mid-nineties or, say, Blackhorse in Waltham Forest today, they are speaking to a specific middle-class aesthetic. This can be attractive - not least to Guardian types - but also rather superior and twee. Think “nice” coffee and “artisan” cheese: nothing wrong with either, but you know what I mean.
It is also contradicts the version of the city that draws to it people who have grown up in small communities and see London as a place of escape into perpetual change and welcome anonymity. They didn’t move to the big, bad smoke to pretend they live in the Cotswolds and be known to everybody in their street. The urban village as a planning concept can also trigger unease if and when it is a recipe for resented redevelopment.
Yet, as Kath Scanlon of LSE London writes: “Observers over the centuries have remarked that London is quintessentially a city of villages. Neighbourhoods like Dulwich, Hampstead and Richmond were historic settlements engulfed by the capital as it expanded.” She adds: “Now the name is applied to everything from Edwardian speculative estates (Furzedown Village) and 19th century railway suburbs (Hither Green Village) to the growing number of new developments that call themselves villages.”
There’s no denying that big city neighbourhoods with some of the qualities associated with villages - intimacy, character, a self-contained functionality and so on - are attractive to lots of people. In the film below, Scanlon talks about the brand new Kidbrooke Village, developed by Berkley Homes where part of the 1960s Ferrier Estate used to be. Is it measuring up to its name? The film is seven minutes long.
Facebook Twitter Pinterest Kath Scanlon on creating communities. Video: LSE London.
Scanlon says her research on Kidbrooke Village has lessons for the rest of London: “The scale of housing demand in the capital means that we need to build big to have any hope of meeting it, especially if using green belt land is ruled out. On past experience these new developments will be housing Londoners for at least 50 years, if not 150. They need to work as communities, not just as collections of homes.” Now read on.
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https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/davehillblog/2016/aug/27/how-to-create-londons-new-village-communities
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en
| 2016-08-27T00:00:00 |
www.theguardian.com/bd48756de2dd2eb2105c5389966b43e3a2ce6400b84c133e57345b2427911a2b.json
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[
"Hadley Freeman"
] | 2016-08-29T12:52:33 | null | 2016-08-29T11:51:10 |
It’s hard to find an intact pair of jeans these days, and it seems that the less denim there is, the more it costs. History will not judge this trend kindly
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https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Ffashion%2F2016%2Faug%2F29%2Fripped-designer-jeans-new-ugg-boot-denim-trend.json
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Are ripped designer jeans the new Ugg boot?
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www.theguardian.com
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I accidentally tore the knee of my jeans the other day. Looking around, I see a lot of people who appear to have done the same. What’s going on? And, given I have a whole wardrobe of chinos and trousers, might they benefit from the same treatment?
Stephen, by email
Excellent question, Stephen. I myself have wondered this, given that an unripped pair of jeans these days is about as rare as a decent Ben Affleck film: you know they existed once, surely. Maybe in the 90s? But they have long since vanished, even from memory. A few months ago, I shared the fascinating tale of my purchase of some jeans in Los Angeles, a saga that shall not only win the Pulitzer of Pulitzers, but will be studied by journalism and literature students for centuries to come. No, not studied – WORSHIPPED.
Facebook Twitter Pinterest The Emperor’s New Clothes? Kanye West, New York, 2016. Photograph: Farrell/BFA/Rex/Shutterstock
Anyway, one detail I left out of that magnum opus was the difficulty I had in finding a pair of jeans that were intact. In one poncey boutique, a shop assistant confidently handed me a pair. They turned out to be $300, which was already hilarious. Even more intriguingly, they didn’t really exist. Oh sure, there was a denim crotch area (I know, I really have a way with words. Language is poetry and words are my tools), but that was pretty much it. There were seams, so I knew vaguely where to put my legs, but the front of the jeans was ripped away. Entirely. Out of genuine curiosity, I tried them on and, in my denim hotpants and ankle cuffs, I looked like the worst superhero ever conceived and, yes, I am counting Antman. And yet, they cost at least three times as much as a normal pair of jeans. This is just one of the stranger truths about the ripped-jeans trend: the less jeans there are, the more the jeans cost. This same equation, incidentally, can be made about shoes: the strappier the sandal, the higher the price. Honestly, it’s like The Emperor’s New Clothes every day round here, the way some people seem to prefer invisible clothes to actual ones.
A lot has been written about how great jeans are these days: the flattering fits! The soft material! The variety of washes! Never mind your golden age of TV, we are living through the golden age of denim. What a time to be alive! And yet, this golden age has birthed some of the more unflattering trends ever inflicted upon denim – and bear in mind I was alive in the 80s.
There’s “feathering”, for example –which jeans manufacturers love to boast about – which refers to the white lines across the tops of jeans legs, acting as “look here” arrows towards your crotch (yup, I used “crotch” twice in one column, and that’s why they pay for my words round here). Feathering is what happens when denim has been overused and overextended. Think of it as stretchmarks for your jeans. Who pays for stretchmarks? That is not a rhetorical question – I gave birth to twins less than a year ago, so I’d be happy to sell some of mine.
Then there’s ripped denim. I’ve tried to understand the mentality behind this look. Is it saying: “I’m so wild I tore my jeans moshing last night at 3am and I’m so cool I didn’t even notice”? Is it: “I know I spent $300 on jeans but I’m actually really hard-working – you know, like those old guys in whiskey adverts. I keep it real”? Or perhaps it is: “I suffer terrible hot flushes so need constant ventilation”?
I honestly don’t know, and, doubtless, ripped designer jeans will be seen in years to come as embarrassing a trend as Ugg boots and flash mobile phone cases are now. In the meantime, yes, I fully endorse your idea of ripping up your chinos, because it will simultaneously mock the ripped-jeans trend and ruin your chinos. Win-win from my perspective.
You wrote about the burkini ban last week. This led me to wonder if there is any item of woman’s clothing that is not in some way controversial?
Marcus, by email
No! Well, controversial to men, anyway. Men love to email me to say that ACTUALLY it’s women who judge other women’s clothes just as ACTUALLY the burkini is totally oppressive to women and ACTUALLY women do feminism all wrong, so thank God they are here to save us all. I used to think men who claimed women must wear high heels to be sexy were bad enough. But these days, I find men who talk loftily about how sad it is that some women “feel they have to wear high heels” even worse. Flat-out sexism is definitely preferable to this kind of sexist condescension in the guise of sympathy.
Anyway, just as a general summation, here is a selection of comments men have made to me and my friends about our clothes over the years:
“Your skirt’s too short.”
“Your skirt’s too long – you fundamentalist or something?”
“Your heels are too high.”
“I hate wedge heels.”
“Flat shoes are so unflattering on women.”
“I hate when women wear makeup.”
“I love lipstick on a woman.”
“I never liked bikinis.”
“One-piece bathing suits are so frumpy.”
“I don’t get polo necks.”
“You’re showing too much cleavage.”
So there we go! I think we all know what the moral of this story is, right? Women – tchuh! They just never get it right.
Post your questions to Hadley Freeman, Ask Hadley, The Guardian, Kings Place, 90 York Way, London N1 9GU. Email ask.hadley@theguardian.com.
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https://www.theguardian.com/fashion/2016/aug/29/ripped-designer-jeans-new-ugg-boot-denim-trend
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en
| 2016-08-29T00:00:00 |
www.theguardian.com/c31e47c8c31528c6669b7eeab3dde53bac9393c1cfb3011b85ea3c515ea2f0f4.json
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|
[
"Diane Taylor"
] | 2016-08-27T02:49:09 | null | 2016-06-22T19:42:41 |
Social workers speeded up the return of the murdered six-year-old to her parents after finding out that she did not want to move back in with them, emails show
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https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fuk-news%2F2016%2Fjun%2F22%2Fellie-butler-had-begged-not-to-be-sent-back-to-her-parents-says-aunt.json
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Ellie Butler had begged not to be sent back to her parents, says aunt
| null | null |
www.theguardian.com
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Ellie Butler, the six-year-old who was beaten to death by her father, had begged social workers not to force her to move home and live with him a few months before her death, according to her aunt.
Emails from Julie Gray to the court-appointed social workers reveal Ellie had said she wanted to stay living with her grandparents “for one hundred million years” and was frightened about the prospect of moving in with Ben Butler.
“She [Ellie] has started asking why does she have to go to live with mummy because she does not want to,” Julie Gray wrote in an email in October 2012 obtained by the Guardian. “She wants to stay with Nana and Granddad forever and ever. She is very clear that she does not want to go to live with Ben and Jennie but she would like to visit and return to her home after.”
“She has recently got into the habit of not wanting to go to sleep in case she is taken away, having nightmares about waking up somewhere else, getting in bed with mum and dad and myself when I stay over so she cannot be taken away and has also wet herself on several occasions – which I am informed is a sign of stress in a child who does not usually have this problem.”
On Tuesday Ben Butler was found guilty at the Old Bailey of killing his daughter after a “brutal assault” on Ellie in October 2013 while minding her at home in south London. She had been returned to his care just 11 months earlier, after a family court judge ruled it was appropriate to be taken from her grandparents to be returned to Butler’s care.
He was jailed for a minimum of 23 years for her murder. His partner Jennie Gray – Julie’s sister – was given a 42-month sentence for child cruelty and for her part in a “cynical” and “calculated” cover-up of their daughter’s death and their fake 999 call two hours after she had died.
Ellie’s grandfather Neal Gray, 70, called on David Cameron to order a public inquiry into what went wrong in his family’s case. He has also written to children’s minister Edward Timpson to raise his concerns about what he believes was a failure of the judiciary to protect his granddaughter from her abusive and violent father.
High court refuses to publish Ben Butler judgment from 2014 Read more
The wider Gray family say they repeatedly warned of the dangers of returning Ellie to her parents, but complain that they were ignored.
In another email exchange on 29 October 2012 with Julie Gray, one of the social workers – who worked for Services for Children (S4C) – admitted knowing Ellie did not want to return to her parents and said for that reason the handover was going to be speeded up.
“Effectively she does not have a choice in this, as we would expect her to say she does not want to go. The decision taken to move her sooner is due to a belief that she is unlikely to choose this,” the email states.
Ellie’s grandfather Neal Gray also said that he alerted S4C to her fears. “When the independent social workers came round Ellie hid under the table and said: ‘don’t let them take me away, Nana’,” said Neal Gray.
Asked if they were aware of the bed wetting, S4C has accepted that Ellie’s family had alerted them to the issue. It also said: “No one in private law or public law would give the full choice to a five year old of where they live. Their views are listened to, but to give a burden of a choice is not appropriate.”
Ellie had lived with her maternal grandparents, Neal and Linda Gray, since she was 10 weeks old. At five years old the girl was reunited with her parents following a bitter battle over her living arrangements, which began when Butler was convicted of assaulting her at seven weeks old.
That conviction was quashed and in November 2012 Mrs Justice Hogg in the family court ruled that Ellie should be returned to her parents by the end of the year.
Hogg removed the local council from the case on the grounds that Butler no longer trusted them and engaged S4C to oversee the transition in Ellie’s living arrangements. S4C moved her to her parents on 9 November 2012, even though Hogg had allowed for more time.
S4C was also criticised by the author of a Serious Case Review investigating what went wrong with Ellie’s care, Marion Davis CBE, for not listening enough to Ellie’s views and wishes. S4C denies this and said they had done one-to-one work with Ellie allowing her to express her views.
Davis said it was “surprising that there was not a pause for reflection” in relation to Ellie’s living arrangements. “Arguably in any introductory programme … there might have to be a slowing of the pace in order to be sure that everyone is comfortable and committed to the placement,” she said in the report.
The Serious Case Review also states that Ellie asked to speak to Hogg about the move but this request was not granted. When Ellie returned from a contact visit with her parents just days before she went to live with them she had a bruise on her head. Her grandparents raised this with S4C and reported it to Ellie’s doctor and her school.
A spokeswoman for S4C said: “No injuries were seen by or reported to S4C.”
Although there were photos of Ellie with bruises on her face in the last months of her life S4C has said that it saw no bruises on her during the time that it worked with her.
Neal Gray said he repeatedly left messages for S4C expressing concern about Ellie’s welfare after she went to live with her parents.
A spokeswoman for S4C said it did not have any recollection of not responding to contact made by Mr Gray during its work with the family. However the spokeswoman admitted that S4C should have made further contact with Ellie’s grandparents to tell them its work with Ellie was concluding.
• This article was amended on 23 June 2016 to add a response from S4C about an email exchange in which it stated that “effectively” Ellie Butler did not have a choice about where she lived.
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https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2016/jun/22/ellie-butler-had-begged-not-to-be-sent-back-to-her-parents-says-aunt
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| 2016-06-22T00:00:00 |
www.theguardian.com/d76be2b281b71c6818913733c081e7f29c08bd2929f5e85d71a7e6439ebd0bc0.json
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[
"Maev Kennedy"
] | 2016-08-27T02:49:11 | null | 2016-08-03T14:58:55 |
Family pay tribute to ‘devoted mother and treasured wife’ Jennifer Hill after accident near Gavarnie in poor visibility
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https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fuk-news%2F2016%2Faug%2F03%2Fbritish-woman-dies-cycling-ravine-pyrenees-jennifer-hill-gavarnie.json
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| null |
British woman dies after cycling into ravine on Pyrénées holiday
| null | null |
www.theguardian.com
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Tributes have been paid to a Welsh woman who died after cycling into a ravine in fog, while on holidays in the Pyrénées.
There was speculation that Jennifer Hill, who was on a cycling holiday with her husband, may have missed a sharp turn while descending a steep road above the resort of Gavarnie. Visibility was described as poor by local firefighters at the time of the accident on Sunday evening.
Hill was the director of learning and skills at Vale of Glamorgan council in South Wales, and tributes came from council officials and from her family, who described her as “a devoted mother and treasured wife”.
In a statement issued through the council, the family said: “We are so proud of her dedication to her work and many achievements both in the Vale and earlier in her career. She strove for nothing less than the best, whether it was cycling, running, or tending our beautiful garden. Nothing can replace her.”
The council’s managing director, Rob Thomas, said he was shocked to hear of her death. “Jennifer’s work was admired far beyond the Vale of Glamorgan and her tragic death is a great loss to her profession. The greater loss is of course to Jennifer’s family, friends and colleagues. Having worked closely with her for several years I feel very fortunate to have been able to call Jennifer both a friend and colleague. Her compassion was unbreakable, in even the most testing of circumstances, and she will be deeply missed.”
The council leader, Neil Moore, called her death “an absolute tragedy”, describing her as a public servant of great distinction. “Jennifer’s work has had a very real impact on the prospects of learners of all ages in the Vale of Glamorgan. Her dedication to improving education was hugely respected both throughout the Vale and beyond.”
Hill joined the council in 2012 when she moved to live in Monmouth with her family, having previously worked as assistant director of schools and children’s services at Enfield in London. In Glamorgan she oversaw the council’s best ever exam results, and improvements in the education service praised by inspectors.
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https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2016/aug/03/british-woman-dies-cycling-ravine-pyrenees-jennifer-hill-gavarnie
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en
| 2016-08-03T00:00:00 |
www.theguardian.com/96536c30ccdb15c86e89abb5b6aa4f593b9b696df97567b34be96aa567bb98ca.json
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[
"Source",
"Jeremy Vine Facebook"
] | 2016-08-30T18:50:18 | null | 2016-08-30T17:15:00 |
BBC presenter Jeremy Vine is confronted by a woman during a cycle in an alleged road rage incident
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https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fuk-news%2Fvideo%2F2016%2Faug%2F30%2Fbbc-jeremy-vine-alleged-road-rage-incident-video.json
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| null |
BBC’s Jeremy Vine in alleged road rage incident - video
| null | null |
www.theguardian.com
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BBC presenter Jeremy Vine is confronted by a woman during a cycle in an alleged road rage incident. The footage, which was posted by Vine on his Facebook page, shows a woman shouting at him for cycling in the centre of the road in order to avoid car doors on a narrow Kensington street. The incident is said to have taken place last Friday
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https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/video/2016/aug/30/bbc-jeremy-vine-alleged-road-rage-incident-video
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en
| 2016-08-30T00:00:00 |
www.theguardian.com/5f4361cc9edcabc0ff2c2cd25b0745060bc67a2f8894516d5a3089aa9a3256b6.json
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|
[
"Vidhi Doshi"
] | 2016-08-30T06:52:17 | null | 2016-08-30T06:00:23 |
With apps to reduce queues for water and to protect women in danger, a project teaching computer skills to girls in India’s Dharavi slum is changing aspirations
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https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fglobal-development%2F2016%2Faug%2F30%2Fgirls-india-learn-app-coding-navigate-way-out-mumbai-slum.json
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Girls learn app coding to navigate a way out of their Mumbai slum
| null | null |
www.theguardian.com
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Ansuja Madival’s mother, who works as a maid, had never touched a tablet before, so the 15-year-old had to show her which buttons to press. “She was so happy when she saw what I had made,” Ansuja says. “She never knew I was so good at computers.”
No one thought schoolgirls from Mumbai’s Dharavi slum could code mobile apps. The girls didn’t even know what an app was until recently.
But for the past few months, 67 girls have been taking coding lessons at the weekends with a local non-profit, the Slum Innovation Project.
“We learned it so quickly,” says Roshani Shaikh, 14. “Because we’re girls, our parents didn’t want us to do all this in the beginning. They’d say, ‘You need to help with the housework, what will you do with computers?’ Now they say we’ve made them proud, that we’ve made the whole community proud.”
Sapna Helagi, 15, adds: “When I first came here, I couldn’t even use the mouse. I would type only two or three words in one minute. Now, see how fast I am typing.”
Dharavi is home to more than 1 million people, 5,000 businesses and 20,000 small factories. About 90% of the housing in the slum is illegal, and piles of rubbish sit next to open sewers. The slum has come to symbolise the vast inequalities of wealth in India, as well as the aspirations and ambitions of the country’s working classes.
The Dharavi girls saw computers for the first time five years ago. “We had one at school but we could only look, no touching,” says Zaberi Ansari, 15. “I did extra computer classes but it cost 600 rupees [£6] a year and all we learned was [Microsoft drawing programme] Paint. It was Paint for two years, then PowerPoint for two years and you learn nothing because you share the computer, so it’s only 15 minutes a week per person.”
Nawneet Ranjan, from the Slum Innovation Project, which runs educational and sports programmes for the slum’s children, said that at first parents were reluctant to send their girls to lessons. “You know how it is in India – the girl never gets to go to these kinds of classes. If there’s any [opportunity], it goes to the boy. Even if there’s an extra glass of milk, the boy gets to drink it, not the girl.
Facebook Twitter Pinterest Girls in a doorway in Dharavi slum, photographed in 2011. The slum is one of the most densely populated area in the world. Photograph: Bethany Clarke/Getty Images
“The kids here don’t have much. Their parents are taxi drivers, or watch repairmen, or construction workers,” he says. “They don’t learn to dream beyond that.”
Ranjan brought laptops to the slum and started teaching computer classes two years ago, starting with programmes such as Word and Excel, and moving on to more complicated tools. “The girls know intuitively how to use smartphones and tablets. They pick it up easily. I try to teach them using stories so they can remember, and we make apps that help their communities, address problems they have in their daily lives, so they are really passionate about making them.”
Ranjan had the idea to teach code this year, when he noticed that most of the girls had access to smartphones. “I realised that if they had the skills to design apps, maybe they could solve a lot of the problems in their communities,” he says. “Girls using technology used to be almost taboo. They don’t get the same opportunities as boys, and so we thought we’d do a class especially for them.”
In Dharavi, most households have at least one smartphone, even though few homes have basic facilities such as toilets.
Prime minister Narendra Modi’s government has launched huge programmes to promote computer literacy and online connectivity as part of his Digital India campaign, but has focused on rural areas rather than the urban poor.
One of the apps developed by the girls is Women Fight Back, which has a distress alarm and geolocation tool for women who find themselves in danger. Another, Clean and Green, allows the user to take a geotagged photo of rubbish and send the picture to the local municipal authority. A third, Paani, sends an alert when it is your turn to collect water from the communal tap. “We girls spend all day queueing for water,” says Ansuja. “It means we have less time for our studies.”
Roshani and Sapna’s app, Padai, has basic English, Hindi and maths exercises for people who have never had an education. “When our parents came here, we showed them this app. They never finished school, they don’t know that two plus three equals five. So I showed them this app, and made them do the exercises. They were so happy,” says Roshani.
Facebook Twitter Pinterest One of the girls in the project displays an app on a smartphone. Photograph: Courtesy of Dharavi Diary
Learning to code and working with computers has taught the girls other skills too. “Our first lesson was using Word, and we had to type an essay with the title Myself. I had never used full stops, commas or anything like that before. I just used to write the words. Now I can use punctuation, and make sentences,” says Zaberi.
“We go home and teach our parents and brothers and sisters what we learn,” adds Roshani. “We taught them how to do their signature; they could never do it before.”
But despite the girls’ efforts, poor Wi-Fi signals and expensive mobile data means few people in the slum are likely to download and use their apps. Plus, smartphones in the slum usually belong to men, and women have limited access to them.
Still, the girls hope their skills will help them when they look for careers. “It’s already helping,” says Ansuja. “At school, my teacher saw me using the computer and she was impressed at how good I was. She asked me where I learned how to use it. I hope I can work with computers one day, and I hope I can use them to help my friends and family.”
|
https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2016/aug/30/girls-india-learn-app-coding-navigate-way-out-mumbai-slum
|
en
| 2016-08-30T00:00:00 |
www.theguardian.com/390c741c8f61cc5dc29df7f2d0d5ec4cfa6e5e4ba83d5b77a5215cb1aa39acbe.json
|
|
[
"Source"
] | 2016-08-28T16:51:52 | null | 2016-08-28T15:48:07 |
Recovery efforts continue in Italy, where hundreds have died following Wednesday’s earthquake
|
https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fglobal%2Fvideo%2F2016%2Faug%2F28%2Fhope-grief-italy-earthquake-survivors-video.json
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en
| null |
'I won't give up': hope and grief for Italy's earthquake survivors - video
| null | null |
www.theguardian.com
|
Recovery efforts continue in Italy, where hundreds have died following Wednesday’s earthquake. Officials held a state funeral on Saturday for many of the victims, the youngest being just 18 months old. Some affected towns have been abandoned following the disaster, while other residents have vowed to stay on
|
https://www.theguardian.com/global/video/2016/aug/28/hope-grief-italy-earthquake-survivors-video
|
en
| 2016-08-28T00:00:00 |
www.theguardian.com/0eaca2bb7a5ba8a9b73dc28f7ddf59b364e1259a0551b016dfba1352b7e5af88.json
|
|
[
"Lola Okolosie"
] | 2016-08-26T16:48:42 | null | 2016-08-26T16:30:00 |
GCSE success should be celebrated – but for those who do badly, why should it be so difficult to recover later down the line?
|
https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fcommentisfree%2F2016%2Faug%2F26%2Fgcse-adult-education-success.json
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en
| null |
There’d be less pressure on GCSEs if adult education hadn’t been slashed
| null | null |
www.theguardian.com
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We all love a good news story and GCSE results day, with its pictures of beaming 16 year olds receiving the required A*-Cs, happily provides this once a year. People’s hearts are warmed, in part because this is a milestone we all at least half-remember.
On A-level results day, alongside stories of the ecstatic students who received the grades required for university, newspapers usually roll out an I-failed-but-look-at-me-now story, of someone with an achingly cool or distinguished professional title.
But there’s rarely an equivalent I-got-10Fs-in-my-GCSEs-but-now-I’m-a-total-success. There’s a tacit understanding that if you tank in your GCSEs, there is no way forward for you. This should focus minds on the value and huge importance of adult further education, but unfortunately it rarely does.
Ditch the platitudes, please: A-levels matter – especially for the least well off | Frances Ryan Read more
Hopefully that will change this year. The “dramatic fall” of 2.1 percentage points in GCSE A*-C grades is in part a result of the new compulsory retakes for 17 year olds who didn’t make these grades in English and maths the first time around. Last year, nearly three-quarters of 16 year olds sitting English gained these coveted grades, compared with just 35% of 17-year-old “resitters”. Students who have failed their maths or English GCSE sometimes need years of further classes before they are able to attain the qualification at this level. This is one of many reasons why adult further education really matters.
Nearly half of those of working age lack basic numeracy skills, and over 5 million adults can be described as functionally illiterate, having literacy skills below that expected of an 11 year old; they wouldn’t be able to pass a GCSE exam. And for every statistic in this debate, there is a person who may experience anxiety around the simplest of tasks – a bus ride to a new area, or a visit to the supermarket. They will often have to work for poverty pay, and have a ring-fenced social life – a world of meaning they cannot access, just beyond their reach. Adult further education should be seen as a fundamental feature of an equal society, and the fact that it is currently under threat tells us a great deal.
Wouldn’t it be great if each August we used results day to focus our minds on what is happening to adult education? We’d perhaps begin to see it as a permanent national necessity, something that should be accessible to everyone, not just the privileged. Perhaps it would make us question how we can allow our government to cut the adult skills budget by 40% and lose nearly 200,000 course places. We might heed the warning last year from the Association of Colleges that in less than four years, adult education in England will cease to exist. What will happen then to the hundreds of thousands of adults studying to improve their basic English and maths skills?
The ability to fund a college course is, unsurprisingly, one of the main barriers for adults who would like to return to education (also, of course, the difficulty of studying part-time while working full-time). Last year the government decided to extend its further education loan scheme to 19-23s. In straitened times that will be hailed as good news, but it remains the case that many, concerned about taking on even more debt, particularly in economically uncertain post-Brexit Britain, might not feel confident enough to take up these loans.
Since 2010 there has been a steady decline in the number of those aged 24 or over studying level 2 and 3 courses (GCSEs, A-levels or their equivalents). And since 2012, there has been a 40% reduction in the proportion of mature and part-time students at universities, following the introduction of tuition fees.
Over five million adults have literacy skills below that expected of an 11-year-old
Theresa May’s talk of improving the life chances of the “just managing” and “left behind”, is, as former education secretary Estelle Morris rightly points out, all well and good, but without a commitment to well-funded adult education, it rings hollow.
When columnists bemoan the public’s lack of engagement with politics and pervasive disaffection, politicians and their bubble-speak are often blamed. Yet we aren’t asking enough questions about what education plays in that apathy – and not just the type of education perceived as solely for the young, or for privileged adults who can afford extortionate postgraduate fees.
Education should be lifelong, and shouldn’t just be about adults retraining to develop skills that fit a fast-changing market. Learning has its own worth. Removing the barriers to further education is one important way of ensuring we as citizens remain engaged in our communities and wider society. On GCSE results day we should remember that education isn’t just important to the individual, it’s fundamental to the functioning of our democracy.
|
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/aug/26/gcse-adult-education-success
|
en
| 2016-08-26T00:00:00 |
www.theguardian.com/658a2931cf9f31e7fcb8ffff556e3eee84406a700aa53f2381240d7769699091.json
|
|
[
"Greg Wood"
] | 2016-08-27T16:51:49 | null | 2016-08-27T16:25:08 |
You’re Hired (3.10 Goodwood) is the nap; So Beloved (4.20 Goodwood) is next best
|
https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fsport%2F2016%2Faug%2F27%2Fhorse-racing-tips-sunday.json
|
en
| null |
Horse racing tips: Sunday 28 August
| null | null |
www.theguardian.com
| null |
https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2016/aug/27/horse-racing-tips-sunday
|
en
| 2016-08-27T00:00:00 |
www.theguardian.com/31936f89685876b843c8c9f5e1c4c282fdf64dd35a9d1866bf4897b80e2fdcbd.json
|
|
[
"Peter Moseley"
] | 2016-08-27T16:58:58 | null | 2014-08-20T00:00:00 |
Peter Moseley: If we want to understand what’s happening in the brain when people ‘hear voices’, we first need to understand what happens during ordinary inner speech
|
https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fscience%2Fblog%2F2014%2Faug%2F21%2Fscience-little-voice-head-hearing-voices-inner-speech.json
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en
| null |
Talking to ourselves: the science of the little voice in your head
| null | null |
www.theguardian.com
|
Most of us will be familiar with the experience of silently talking to ourselves in our head. Perhaps you’re at the supermarket and realise that you’ve forgotten to pick up something you needed. “Milk!” you might say to yourself. Or maybe you’ve got an important meeting with your boss later in the day, and you’re simulating – silently in your head – how you think the conversation might go, possibly hearing both your own voice and your boss’s voice responding.
This is the phenomenon that psychologists call “inner speech”, and they’ve been trying to study it pretty much since the dawn of psychology as a scientific discipline. In the 1930s, the Russian psychologist Lev Vygotsky argued that inner speech developed through the internalisation of “external”, out-loud speech. If this is true, does inner speech use the same mechanisms in the brain as when we speak out loud?
We have known for about a century that inner speech is accompanied by tiny muscular movements in the larynx, detectable by a technique known as electromyography. In the 1990s, neuroscientists used functional neuroimaging to demonstrate that areas such as the left inferior frontal gyrus (Broca’s area), which are active when we speak out loud, are also active during inner speech. Furthermore, disrupting the activity of this region using brain stimulation techniques can interrupt both “outer” and inner speech.
So the evidence that inner speech and speaking out loud share similar brain mechanisms seems pretty convincing. One worry, though, is whether the inner speech we get people to do in experiments is the same as our everyday experience of inner speech. As you might imagine, it’s quite hard to study inner speech in a controlled, scientific manner, because it is an inherently private act.
Typically, studies have required participants to repeat sentences to themselves in their heads, or, sometimes, count the syllables in words presented on a computer screen. These lack both the spontaneity of typical inner experiences and the conversational quality (think of the conversation with your boss) and motivational purposes (“Milk!”) of inner speech. Although the experience is undoubtedly different for everyone (not everyone reports having “conversations” in their head, for example), what does seem clear is that inner speech is a complex and multifaceted phenomenon.
Why does it matter whether we have an accurate understanding of what’s going on in our brains when we use inner speech?
One reason is that understanding typical inner experience may be the key to understanding more unusual inner experiences. For example, psychologists have argued that hearing voices (“auditory verbal hallucinations”) might simply be a form of inner speech that has not been recognised as self-produced (although there are also important competing theories). Neuroscientists have found some evidence in favour of this theory. When they scanned the brains of people who reported hearing voices, they discovered that many of the same areas of the brain are active during both auditory hallucinations and inner speech. Broca’s area, for example, is often active in people when they’re hearing voices.
But if we really want to know what the difference between what happens in the brain during inner speech and voice hearing – and how inner speech might become hearing voices – then first we need to understand what our internal talk is usually like. A recent study by researchers in Finland attempted to address flaws in previous brain-imaging studies of inner speech. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), they studied the difference between activity in the brain when participants experienced an auditory verbal hallucination, and when they deliberately imagined hearing the same voice. In this way, they controlled for aspects of the experience such as the sound and the content of the voice.
They found the main difference between the two conditions was the level of activation in a cortical region known as the supplementary motor area (SMA), which contributes to the control of movement. When participants heard voices, there was significantly less activation in the SMA, which fits with previous hypotheses suggesting that recognising actions as one’s own might rely on signals from motor cortical areas reaching sensory areas of the brain.
Of course, none of this is to say that understanding what happens in the brain is the only, or the most important, aspect of research into hearing voices. We also need to understand what the experience is like, how we can help people who are distressed by it, and when there’s a need for psychiatric care. But to do any of this, we first need to know what typical inner speech is like, and the underlying neuroscience is part of that understanding.
Peter Moseley is a PhD student in the psychology department at Durham University, working with the Hearing the Voice project
The Hearing the Voice project is conducting a survey in collaboration with the Edinburgh International Book Festival to explore the ways readers imagine, hear or even interact with the voices of characters in stories. To take part, click here. Information about voice-hearing in general is available at our project blog
|
https://www.theguardian.com/science/blog/2014/aug/21/science-little-voice-head-hearing-voices-inner-speech
|
en
| 2014-08-20T00:00:00 |
www.theguardian.com/fffb1902a3fd83943e789f2ca3df3587a492a2867d6543feffd61826d4718f32.json
|
|
[
"Australian Associated Press"
] | 2016-08-26T13:25:11 | null | 2016-08-19T03:38:03 |
Academics say plan to slash number of wild horses is needed to protect delicate Snowy Mountains environment
|
https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fenvironment%2F2016%2Faug%2F19%2Fculling-5000-brumbies-41-scientists-back-controversial-kosciuszko-proposal.json
|
en
| null |
Culling 5,000 brumbies: 41 scientists back controversial Kosciuszko proposal
| null | null |
www.theguardian.com
|
A plan to cull more than 5,000 brumbies in the Snowy Mountains has received the support of leading scientists from around Australia.
Forty-one scientists from 16 universities have written to the New South Wales premier, Mike Baird, to support the proposed cull of 90% of the brumby population in Kosciuszko national park.
They are backing a controversial NSW government plan to reduce the number of brumbies from 6,000 to 600 over 20 years, arguing it is needed to protect the delicate Alpine environment.
One of the signatories, Prof Don Driscoll from Deakin University, said the academics behind the letter represented the greatest pool of knowledge about Alpine ecosystems in the country. Horses were not compatible with nature conservation in a national park, Driscoll said.
A time to cull? The battle over Australia's brumbies Read more
“Horses are stock animals recently introduced and are not characteristic of this area, but threaten ecosystem processes, ecosystems and species that are characteristic,” he said on Friday.
He said the brumbies in Kosciuszko had degraded 48% of the national park and the current management strategy was not working. The population had increased from 4,200 in 2009 to 6,000 despite 450 being removed each year, he said.
Driscoll said the group believed the current rehoming system was not a humane solution because there was not enough demand for the brumbies. “Only 18% of 3,183 horses removed since 2002 were rehomed,” he said. “The remaining 82% of horses went to abattoirs after a long journey.
“Such prolonged transport was ranked as the worst animal ethics outcome of all the control options considered in the independent technical reference group report.”
Driscoll said the scientists did not agree with all aspects of the plan, arguing the 20-year time frame for the cull was too long and it would be humane to speed up the process.
The proposal has drawn the ire of some locals, brumby lovers and animal activists, with almost 250 people protesting against the plan in Sydney at the start of this month. Those protesting argue that the brumbies have been in the park for 150 years and shooting 90% of the population is unacceptable.
|
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/aug/19/culling-5000-brumbies-41-scientists-back-controversial-kosciuszko-proposal
|
en
| 2016-08-19T00:00:00 |
www.theguardian.com/cc7cb236d63a415368208df40624117d48b52fa25344884ddad913d9e66c9f1b.json
|
|
[
"Miles Brignall"
] | 2016-08-27T06:54:51 | null | 2016-08-27T06:00:00 |
I bought a prepaid travel card from the Commonwealth Bank but it is refusing to let my daughter withdraw the remaining balance for me
|
https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fmoney%2F2016%2Faug%2F27%2Fprepaid-travel-card-commonwealth-bank-australia.json
|
en
| null |
I’ve got £600 in an Australian bank but can’t get it out
| null | null |
www.theguardian.com
|
I have been a Guardian reader for more than 70 years and am hoping you will be able to help me. My daughter lives in Australia, and while visiting her a few years ago I bought a prepaid travel card from the Commonwealth Bank in Port Melbourne for my travels. There is now less than Aus$1,000 (£600) remaining in the account.
As I am becoming increasingly infirm and it is unlikely that I shall travel out there again, I asked my daughter, who has the second card and the pin number, to withdraw the money. The bank has refused to allow her to do so and made her feel like a criminal. I have tried to ring the bank on the number she gave me but to no avail. I have to go through an international operator and am told that the number is “not available” on this line.
My daughter has been back to the bank several times but has had no joy. Can you suggest what I should do next? I am inclined to give up since any remedy I can think of may cost more than is in the account. AC, Sheffield
There must be thousands of prepaid cards lying abandoned in people’s homes, though few will be holding quite such a large credit as yours. You and your daughter’s efforts to get the money failed partly because your card had expired and your daughter had moved house. It seems the bank couldn’t verify that the money was rightfully yours.
Happily, we were able to intervene on your behalf with the Commonwealth Bank’s head office in Australia and, after 20 emails were sent back and forth with passport details etc, the money has been paid into your daughter’s local bank account as you had originally wanted. It was a bit of a struggle but we got there in the end.
Others with prepaid cards should take note and cash them in early.
We welcome letters but cannot answer individually. Email us at consumer.champions@theguardian.comor write to Consumer Champions, Money, the Guardian, 90 York Way, London N1 9GU. Please include a daytime phone number
|
https://www.theguardian.com/money/2016/aug/27/prepaid-travel-card-commonwealth-bank-australia
|
en
| 2016-08-27T00:00:00 |
www.theguardian.com/1199aa42bf4e02fbd5ee637657eb7c6d6c3722544c4bfaa37256c744ab5638b5.json
|
|
[
"Haroon Siddique",
"Gagan Bhatnagar"
] | 2016-08-28T16:49:40 | null | 2016-08-28T16:31:16 |
Doctors call for slots to be extended from 10 to 15 minutes to improve service
|
https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fsociety%2F2016%2Faug%2F28%2Fdoctor-appointments-15-minutes-bma-overweight-population.json
|
en
| null |
GP appointments should be five minutes longer, says BMA
| null | null |
www.theguardian.com
|
GP appointments should be extended to 15 minutes because an ageing and increasingly overweight population means that many patients need extra time at the doctors’ surgery, according to the British Medical Association (BMA).
The standard slot currently stands at 10 minutes but the BMA GPs committee (GPC) believes that increasing the length of appointments by 50% would allow for improved decision-making and service, as well as reducing the administrative burden for doctors outside clinic hours.
Jeremy Hunt cannot bully his seven-day NHS plans through Read more
In order to lengthen the contact time, the BMA says, in a report published on Monday, there should be a reduction in the number of patients each GP has to see every day. Dr Brian Balmer, who is on the GPC’s executive team, said: “In a climate of staff shortages and limited budgets, GP practices are struggling to cope with rising patient demand, especially from an ageing population with complicated, multiple health needs that cannot be properly treated within the current 10-minute recommended consultation. Many GPs are being forced to truncate care into an inadequate timeframe and deliver an unsafe number of consultations, seeing in some cases 40-60 patients a day.”
He said this was well above the 25 consultations a day recommended in many other EU countries. “We need a new approach that shakes up the way patients get their care from their local GP practice,” he said.
Until April 2014, GP appointments in England were fixed at 10 minutes. The requirement was dropped following a negotiation with doctors’ leaders. The length can be varied but it remains the standard: the NHS Choices website tells patients they should expect doctors to spend an average of 8-10 minutes with them.
Based on a widely accepted formula of 72 appointments per 1,000 patients each week and an average list size of 1,600 patients, the report, Safe Working in General Practice, proposes that GPs should be offering 115 appointments a week – an average of 23 a day over five days.
The committee is not suggesting doctors suddenly slash the number of appointments but said the health service should be aiming for this target to enable patients to get proper care. Its members did say more government money would be needed to fund longer appointments but did not say how much – although the likely expense will make the idea of longer appointments difficult to achieve.
Dr Zoe Norris, a GP locum, said the current 10-minute appointment might be just enough for a fit and healthy patient with a single condition but even then the time taken for them to enter the room, talk about their problem and then be examined added up. “As soon as you throw anything unusual into the mix you’re scuppered,” she said. “That might be you have got a complex patient, you might have a patient who needs help getting undressed. There’s no time to do the preventative things you need to do. It’s heartbreaking. I feel as though I’m doing half a job.”
Nevertheless, she said there was a reluctance to cut patients short, which led to GPs working 14-hour days.
The GPs committee said it would be possible to achieve greater efficiencies, helping fund longer appointments by linking together several surgeries into hubs, allowing them to work together to manage demand.
A report by the NHS Alliance and Primary Care Foundation published last year estimated that 27% of GP appointments could be avoided through greater integration, use of a wider primary care team and improved administration.
But Balmer is adamant that increased government funding will still be necessary. “More GPs must be put in front of patients so that the number of consultations per GP a day falls to a sustainable level,” he said. “General practice cannot be allowed to continue being run into the ground: it’s time for positive change that gives patients the care they deserve.”
An NHS England spokesman emphasised it no longer required appointments of a fixed length: “How long to allocate to individual patient appointments is at the discretion of individual GP practices, based on patient need, and there are no national limits suggesting 10 minutes should be the norm,” he said.
|
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2016/aug/28/doctor-appointments-15-minutes-bma-overweight-population
|
en
| 2016-08-28T00:00:00 |
www.theguardian.com/de7c8c5cc195603accd07b65d0fc06e2ca2f592990a00787011ebd21c45be7cd.json
|
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