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[
"Lin Jenkins",
"Damien Gayle"
] | 2016-08-28T20:49:42 | null | 2016-08-20T10:32:31 |
Lifeguards at Fistral beach, Newquay, rescue two-year-old child and woman along with man who later died in hospital
|
https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fuk-news%2F2016%2Faug%2F20%2Fman-swept-out-to-sea-by-10ft-wave-in-newquay-cornwall-dies.json
|
en
| null |
Man swept out to sea by 10ft wave in Cornwall dies
| null | null |
www.theguardian.com
|
A man has died after he and his family were swept off a beach in Cornwall by huge waves, despite a sea rescue by lifeboat volunteers. The man was with a woman and a two-year-old child when they got into trouble off Fistral beach, Newquay, on the county’s northwest coast, at about 5.20pm on Friday.
Lifeguards managed to rescue all three people but the man died in hospital, the Maritime and Coastguard Agency said.
Two Newquay RNLI lifeboats, Fistral RNLI lifeguards, the Newquay coastguard rescue team, the police, the air ambulance and the ambulance service all attended the scene, local media reported.
“RNLI lifeguards rescued a woman using their jetski and a man and two-year-old child were recovered from the sea by an RNLI lifeboat,” a coastguard spokesman said.
— Paul.L.Blatchford (@PLBlatchford) Yesterday afternoon From Fistral to Towan RNLI search operation,rescue & airlift #lifesaver #Cornwall #RNLI pic.twitter.com/AqIT0ddjTy
“The child and man were taken to hospital by the coastguard helicopter and the helimed [air ambulance] helicopter. The man, sadly, has since died in hospital.”
Falmouth coastguard said conditions during the rescue were treacherous, with 13ft waves and 10ft breaking waves in the area.
— RNLI (@RNLI) Our thoughts are with the family and all of those involved in yesterdays tragic accident in Newquay.
According to local radio station Pirate FM, it is thought that the victims were standing on rocks at the beach when they were swept off their feet by a 10-foot wave.
Severe coastal weather has seen thrill-seekers taking photos and filming themselves in treacherous conditions while videos of people getting swept along by waves have gone viral online.
Craig Woolhouse, Environment Agency flood risk manager, said: “We urge people to stay safe on the coast and warn wave-watchers against the unnecessary dangers of taking ‘storm selfies’.”
The rescue came as stormy weather brewed off the west coast of Britain and Ireland, with southwest coasts forecast to see the second-biggest August storm in a decade on Saturday.
The Met Office has issued a yellow weather warning across most of England and Wales, with winds expected to reach 40mph to 50mph inland as a low-pressure system moves in from the west.
Met Office forecaster Mark Wilson said parts of Devon were hit by 55mph winds, and Wales by 58mph winds, in the early hours of Saturday, but that they were expected to be “much, much lighter” on Sunday. No warnings have been issued for Sunday.
Temperatures are expected to drop from a high of 28C (82F) earlier this week to the low 20s (68F) or high teens in many parts this weekend. However, warmer weather should return from the middle of next week before the August bank holiday.
Nicola Maxey, from the Met Office, said autumn had not yet arrived. “There’s certainly some more sunshine around for next week depending on where you are in the country. It’s a low-pressure system passing through, it’s not the end of summer.”
The Bournemouth Air festival, set to take place along the Bournemouth seafront, called off its show after exceptionally high water levels damaged the beach stage areas. “With the more severe storm conditions forecast for today, the decision has been taken to cancel the ticketed Sunsets on the Beach at Boscombe Pier and the evening entertainment on the stage at Bournemouth in the interests of public safety,” a spokesman said.
|
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2016/aug/20/man-swept-out-to-sea-by-10ft-wave-in-newquay-cornwall-dies
|
en
| 2016-08-20T00:00:00 |
www.theguardian.com/b749cbb4627111b83b821b73bf784b84546f17c228ca8e5e559ad5e37f654abb.json
|
|
[
"Source",
"Kiro Radio Dori Monson Show"
] | 2016-08-30T12:52:33 | null | 2016-08-30T11:05:14 |
Donald Trump calls 49er Colin Kaepernick’s stance to sit during the US national anthem before NFL games as a protest against racial oppression a terrible thing
|
https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fus-news%2Fvideo%2F2016%2Faug%2F30%2Fdonald-trump-tells-colin-kaepernick-find-country-that-works-better-for-him-audio.json
|
en
| null |
Donald Trump tells Colin Kaepernick to 'find a country that works better for him' - audio
| null | null |
www.theguardian.com
|
Donald Trump tells Colin Kaepernick that ‘he should find a country that works better for him’ during an interview with Dori Monson on KIRO Radio on Monday evening. Trump, the Republican candidate for the US presidential election, calls the San Francisco 49er’s stance to sit during the US national anthem before NFL games as a protest against racial oppression ‘a terrible thing’
|
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/video/2016/aug/30/donald-trump-tells-colin-kaepernick-find-country-that-works-better-for-him-audio
|
en
| 2016-08-30T00:00:00 |
www.theguardian.com/1e8e1a95923b84d569cfe6eeb3760d740edf4daa01c39eb4a654a7f6a6984ceb.json
|
|
[
"Jamie Grierson"
] | 2016-08-26T14:49:05 | null | 2016-08-26T14:35:49 |
The three men were allegedly involved in the selling of horsemeat as beef
|
https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fuk-news%2F2016%2Faug%2F26%2Fthree-men-charged-over-uk-horsemeat-scandal.json
|
en
| null |
Three men charged over UK horsemeat scandal
| null | null |
www.theguardian.com
|
Three men have been charged with fraud over the selling of horsemeat in 2012, shortly before it was revealed that UK supermarkets were stocking beef products with traces of horse DNA.
Alex Ostler-Beech, 43, from Hull, Ulrik Nielsen, 57, from Gentofte, Denmark, and Andrew Sideras, 54, from Southgate, London, have all been charged with fraud offences.
All three men will appear at the City of London magistrates court on 27 September.
Kristin Jones, head of specialist fraud for the Crown Prosecution Service, said: “The CPS has today authorised charges against three men, relating to the sale of mixed beef and horsemeat products that were sold as beef.
“After carefully considering evidence from the UK and overseas, the CPS has decided that there is sufficient evidence to provide a realistic prospect of conviction and it is in the public interest to charge these three men.
“This decision comes after a thorough investigation conducted by the City of London police in liaison with partner agencies.
“May I remind all concerned that criminal proceedings against Nielsen, Ostler-Beech and Sideras will now be commenced and of their right to a fair trial. It is extremely important that there should be no reporting, commentary or sharing of information online which could in any way prejudice these proceedings.”
The details of the charge are that between 1 January 2012 and 31 October 2012, Ostler-Beech, Nielsen and Sideras conspired together, and with others, to defraud purchasers of goods that contained, wholly or in part, a mixture of beef and horsemeat, by dishonestly arranging for beef and horsemeat to be combined for sale as beef.
The charges follow an international criminal investigation that saw the City of London police, which is the National Policing Lead for Fraud, work with law enforcement agencies from across the UK and Europe.
|
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2016/aug/26/three-men-charged-over-uk-horsemeat-scandal
|
en
| 2016-08-26T00:00:00 |
www.theguardian.com/cb9e618a6d12249ffc28657f6c8ca933df9a06060f42012f600945f3f027854d.json
|
|
[
"Dave Hill"
] | 2016-08-26T13:14:36 | null | 2016-08-26T11:50:15 |
City Hall has little direct input into the capital’s schooling, but the prestige of the office can be a significant force for change and improvement
|
https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fuk-news%2Fdavehillblog%2F2016%2Faug%2F26%2Flondon-children-what-can-the-mayors-champion-for-education-do.json
|
en
| null |
London children: what can the mayor's champion for education do?
| null | null |
www.theguardian.com
|
During my recent visit to Tottenham I heard a story about some local school children who didn’t know the Thames when they saw it. A teacher had taken them to the Globe theatre. On arrival a member of her party pointed at the wide ribbon of water flowing by and asked: “What’s that?”
Such stories are not unusual. Many disadvantaged London children, taking after their parents, rarely travel beyond their own corner of the capital. The wider London of dazzling variety and rich possibility can remain foreign and even threatening to them.
One of the reasons housing benefit reform seems not have resulted in London households moving homes in as large numbers or over as large distances as some had feared is that many low income families appear willing to make considerable sacrifices in other areas of their lives in order to bridge their rent gaps and stay put, rather than break important local family and friendship ties.
Might there also be a related attainment gap between the excellent exam results so many London school children obtain and the uses to which they put them once they’ve left school? Might attainment levels among London’s less affluent children - of whom there are far too many - themselves be depressed by a limited sense of the opportunities London offers them, arising from a limited sense of belonging to London as a whole?
Such questions have certainly been raised before and perhaps are in the mind of Joanne McCartney, the experienced Labour London Assembly member and recently-appointed statutory deputy mayor to whom Sadiq Khan has now also handed responsibility for education and childcare. Mayors currently have no formal, direct powers over London schooling, but the profile of City Hall means that they and their lieutenants can highlight issues, mobilise opinion and bring people together to launch and support new initiatives.
Boris Johnson sponsored academy schools, encouraged the learning of musical instruments, formed a gold club to recognise schools that had done well in adverse circumstances and commissioned a report which called for a pan-London education authority to be set up, taking control over admissions, building connections between schools - more and more of which are outside local authority control - and raising standards. Last November, he advocated the creation of a London schools commissioner to address the capital’s need for more school places and to recruit and retain teachers.
Johnson has strong views on education, not all of them daft. Though a fan of the absurd Tory movement to bring back grammar schools and predictably enthused by the idea of free schools being mini-Etons on the state, he’s also a champion of the arts and foreign languages - not only Latin - and a believer that education is about something more than being good at doing tests.
Just before leaving City Hall he announced a scheme called Stepping Stones, designed to help vulnerable children make the transition from primary to secondary school. It is based at a Tottenham primary. Joanne McCartney’s constituency, which she has represented since 2004, contains Tottenham, so she’ll be well aware of the situation there. But, of course, her new remit takes in the whole of the capital and also includes pre-school care. Her priorities are listed as improving pre-school childcare provision, helping boroughs to provide school places and bolstering a city-wide effort to recruit a new generation of headteachers.
“We’re lucky that our schools are amongst the best in the country and young Londoners are full of bright talent,” she says. “But we still have a job to do to make sure all London’s young people receive the schooling they deserve. I’m looking forward to working with London boroughs, teachers and most importantly, schoolchildren to ensure that together we can ensure that all children, regardless of their background, are able to flourish and excel from early-years through to their chosen career path.”
Wish her luck in her new role. Perhaps she could begin by organising a mass visit to the Thames.
|
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/davehillblog/2016/aug/26/london-children-what-can-the-mayors-champion-for-education-do
|
en
| 2016-08-26T00:00:00 |
www.theguardian.com/5ee1565f898f37d3f272beaa52b74f0ccfb077ac53b14a1a5aa2b7aa576c14e7.json
|
|
[
"Andrew Anthony"
] | 2016-08-27T06:58:53 | null | 2016-04-10T06:00:38 |
Eighteen months on from the crash that left Richard Branson’s space project in doubt, Virgin Galactic is back. We talk to Branson and his team
|
https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fscience%2F2016%2Fapr%2F10%2Fvirgin-galactic-richard-branson-interview.json
|
en
| null |
Richard Branson: ‘Millions of people would love to become astronauts’
| null | null |
www.theguardian.com
|
Drive north-east out of Los Angeles, and when the suburban sprawl finally gives out, the terrain looks more and more unearthly – parched scrub, lunar ridges and vast cloudless skies. This is the Mojave desert, offering few attractions to the casual visitor but the perfect environment in which to test aircraft.
It’s in these barren parts that the Edwards air force base is located, where Chuck Yeager broke the sound barrier for the first time, and where the test pilots celebrated in Tom Wolfe’s The Right Stuff proved their mettle before going on to become America’s first astronauts. And it was here, at the Mojave Air and Space Port, that Virgin Galactic’s VSS Enterprise took off on its fourth powered test flight on 31 October 2014. At that point, 18 months ago, Richard Branson’s vision of sending members of the public into space seemed to be on the edge of realisation.
Since the discontinuation of the space shuttle programme in 2011, Nasa has largely given up on sending people into space. And while there is plenty of interest in unmanned expeditions, like the New Horizons probe that sent dramatic pictures back from Pluto last year, what has always fired the public imagination is the human component.
If its absence has left a void in human experience, Branson is one of several entrepreneurs who also see it as a gap in a new market. His was the first operation dedicated to civilian space travel but he’s recently been joined by two others. Elon Musk, the billionaire who took PayPal to market and is behind Tesla Motors, set up Space X as a private space cargo company. It has a contract to supply the international space station, but Musk has also announced plans to send humans into space.
A more direct rival is Blue Origin, a space travel company set up by Amazon’s Jeff Bezos, who announced last month that he aims to send people into space by 2017, although the first passengers will not be paying customers.
Facebook Twitter Pinterest The new SpaceShipTwo craft, VSS Unity, is essentially the same as Voyager, which crashed 18 months ago. Modifications include a safety lock to prevent the premature initiation of the feathering system that downed Voyager. Photograph: Barry J Holmes for the Observer
Only just over 500 people have ever travelled into space – that rather arbitrary line that’s defined as 100km above Earth’s surface. Branson’s plan was to rapidly expand that number, but by October 2014 this had already taken much longer than he had anticipated. Ten years earlier Branson had set up Virgin Galactic and gone into business with Scaled Composite, a company created by Burt Rutan, the renowned aerospace engineer who built SpaceShipOne, the first privately constructed and owned spacecraft to reach space.
SpaceShipOne had been funded by Microsoft’s Paul Allen as a scientific challenge rather than a commercial enterprise. But Branson wanted to build the world’s first spaceline for civilians, and with Rutan on board he announced that the first public space flights would begin in 2007. And the first passenger would be one Richard Branson. That turned out to be a wildly ambitious prediction. But then Branson’s brand image – with his attention-grabbing air balloon and powerboat escapades – is based on wild ambition.
And on that bright October day in California, it must have seemed as if Branson’s commercial blast-off was finally in sight. That was until the Enterprise broke up in mid-air, killing the co-pilot Michael Alsbury, but miraculously leaving the pilot-in-command, Peter Siebold, to fall 10 miles and survive.
Virgin Galactic pilot tells of falling from the sky after SpaceShip Two broke up Read more
It was an incredible descent in which the injured, oxygen-starved and freezing Siebold slipped in and out of consciousness while managing to free himself from his pilot’s seat, thus enabling his parachute to open automatically at around 20,000ft and deliver him, broken-boned but alive, to the ground.
Virgin Galactic crash: co-pilot unlocked braking system too early, inquiry finds Read more
At that moment the future of Virgin Galactic seemed to lie with the Enterprise in ruins in the desert. As Branson rushed to the crash site he was filled with doubts about the project’s survival. “For 12 hours after the accident we were very much trying to decide whether it was worth the risk of continuing,” he tells me. “I’m not the sort of person who gives up on things. The first time we crossed the Atlantic in the balloon it crashed, and we went on and did the Pacific. First time we crossed the Atlantic in a boat it sank, and we went on and got the record. So, generally speaking, we will pick ourselves up, brush ourselves down and carry on. But in the first 12 hours we did not know if any of the accident was our fault or whether it was a technical issue that couldn’t be rectified.”
Then it became clear that the crash was the consequence of a catastrophic pilot error. Alsbury had prematurely released a lever that controlled the aircraft’s moveable tail section, triggering a chain of events that resulted in the craft’s mid-air break-up.
Mistakes happen in test flights, and the death of test pilots has not been uncommon in the history of space flight. But the history of space flight has been governmental or military and therefore subject to different expectations. Nasa reported a 3% fatality rate when it was busy sending people up to space.
As Branson said just eight months before the accident: “For a government-owned company, you can just about get away with losing 3% of your clients. For a private company you can’t really lose anybody.”
He was talking about paying clients, but, still, any loss of life was bad publicity and potentially a commercial death knell – especially considering the cost of a ticket to space. The first 100 “future astronauts” who signed up for Virgin Galactic’s journey to 100km above the Earth had paid $200,000 for the privilege. A further 600, who would follow the first 100 into space, put down a sizeable deposit on a $250,000 ticket. All 700 would experience zero-gravity for six minutes and look down on the planet curving away beneath them. But no one wants to lay out that kind of money to die.
Facebook Twitter Pinterest Virgin Galactic’s chief test pilot, Dave Mackay. ‘At first there is silence,’ he says, ‘and then the engines fire up and you blast off, and it really gets going.’ Forget seeing the Earth from space: ‘The journey up there will be the thing,’ says Mackay. Photograph: Barry J Holmes for the Observer
Virgin Galactic put out a statement in which it appeared to distance itself from the accident, noting that it was its partner Scaled Composite that was responsible for the flight, and the two pilots were Scaled employees. Previous communiques about successful flights had not made such distinctions.
In the event very few future astronauts pulled out. Nevertheless Virgin, whose new manufacturing arm the Spaceship Company was already building a second spacecraft, suspended ticket sales. A subsequent investigation by the US National Transportation Safety Board found that there was a failure by Scaled Composite “to consider and protect against human error”.
Sixteen months on from the crash, Scaled Composite had been removed from the picture, and the world’s media were invited back to Mojave to see the unveiling of the new spacecraft…
Mojave Air and Space Port is not just a site for aeronautical births, it’s also a giant graveyard for old and disused aircraft that sit around, sometimes for years on end, slowly being corroded or cannibalised. It’s an eerie setting in many ways, a limitless vista of futuristic visions and broken dreams, of soaring ambition and once-modern flying machines brought sadly back down to earth.
Around the airport are dotted a number of giant hangars. In one of these, hundreds of Virgin Galactic and the Space Company personnel and media representatives and future astronauts are gathered to witness the first public viewing of the new aircraft.
Among them is Dave Mackay, a bald, short, quietly spoken man in his late 50s. You’d walk past him in the street without taking a second look, but he is Virgin Galactic’s chief test pilot and therefore possesses the kind of nerveless courage that is the preserve of a tiny fraction of humanity.
Mackay’s lifelong aspiration has been to be an astronaut. That’s why he became an RAF pilot. He always hoped Britain would develop a space programme but by the time he quit the RAF in 1995 and joined Virgin Atlantic to fly Boeing 747s, he had given up on that dream. Then along came Virgin Galactic, and space beckoned once more.
He had piloted the test flight immediately before the one that crashed in 2014. Did Alsbury’s death make him think again? “Michael’s death was devastating for everyone here,” he says. “He was a lovely man. But no, it didn’t make me reconsider. I’m used to it. Three of my colleagues in the RAF died. When I first heard about the death rate among fighter pilots I couldn’t believe it. But you adjust to it. And that’s the same with being a test pilot. We paid our respects to Michael but then continued with the job.”
He tells me about the “exhilaration” of flying in SpaceShipTwo. Adapted from Burt Rutan’s design for SpaceShipOne, the spacecraft – or “vehicle” as everyone calls it in Mojave – is carried into the air by a mothership, the twin-fuselage WhiteKnightTwo. SpaceShipTwo is designed with Rutan’s revolutionary “feathering mechanism”, a shape-changing airfoil that creates a shuttlecock effect on re-entry, and helps the aircraft – unlike those used by Space X and Blue Origin – to land on a runway. On take-off, the mothership releases the spacecraft at 50,000 feet. “At first there is silence,” says Mackay, “and then the engines fire up and you blast off, and it really gets going.”
Facebook Twitter Pinterest Branson, pictured with his son Sam, daughter-in-law Isabella and grandchild Eva-Deia, has long said he will be on Virgin Galactic’s maiden voyage, along with members of his family. Photograph: Barry J Holmes for the Observer
He compares it to putting your foot down in a performance car if the acceleration could go on for over a minute. Only “it’s so much greater than that”. He tells Virgin marketing people that they’ve got it wrong: they sell it on zero gravity and the experience of looking back down at the curvature of the Earth. “But,” he says without a trace of hyperbole, “I believe the journey up there will be the thing.”
Inside the hangar we hear speeches from Virgin Galactic bigwigs, trumpeting what a fabulous achievement the new aircraft is. But it’s essentially the same as the one that crashed, with a few minor alterations, including a safety lock to prevent the premature initiation of the feathering system that led to the crash. This event in the desert is not the launch of a new aircraft – more testing is required before it leaves the ground. It’s not even a product launch, because the new product is largely the same as the old one. But it could be seen as a relaunch of Virgin Galactic – a chance to announce to the world that everything is fine and back on track.
For that reason, perhaps, there is a sense of corporate nervousness in the air. A figure of $500m has been mentioned as the amount so far invested in the venture. That’s a lot to lose if things go pear shaped. Understandably, no one wants to spend too much time reflecting on the accident. Alsbury’s name is mentioned but it’s a swift reference to the past before moving quickly on to the glorious future. The note that everyone strives for is epic, historic and optimistic.
“Together we open space to change the world for good,” is the Virgin Galactic mission statement, repeated several times. There are recorded messages from Stephen Hawking, who hopes to be among the first passengers, and the young human rights campaigner Malala Yousafzai. Sarah Brightman, one of the future astronauts, sings Happy Birthday to Branson’s one-year-old granddaughter. There’s a valedictory sentimentality to proceedings, as if humanity itself was preparing to vacate the Earth.
Amid the songs, speeches and testaments comes the curtain-raising moment as Branson rides out in a Land Rover – sponsor of the project – towing the new SpaceShipTwo named VSS Unity. He’s dressed in a black leather biker’s jacket, blue jeans and a crisp white shirt, his flowing snowy locks swept back to his collar and his goatee beard and moustache broken by a trademark beaming smile.
He looks like a retired Hell’s Angel from the stockbroker belt, but it works. This is the man the media has come to see: Branson the eternal billionaire rebel; the consummate self-promoting businessman; the man who has jazzed up planes, trains and now, he hopes, spacecraft. In a hail of flashbulbs, Virgin Galactic is back in business.
Facebook Twitter Pinterest Would Branson be disappointed if in two years’ time the first flight had still not been made? ‘I would be astounded,’ he replies. Photograph: Barry J Holmes for the Observer
But what makes people want to travel to space? Branson likes to compare it to the early days of jet travel. That was prohibitively expensive for the vast majority, but just as jet travel has come to the point where many millions now fly, so one day, he says, will space travel. But those early jet passengers had destinations. Six minutes in suborbital space can’t really be described as a destination. So what’s the attraction?
Branson believes the question requires no answer for half the people in the world because they instinctively understand the desire to go to space. For the benefit of the other half, he suggests it’s a means of getting to know ourselves better, and in particular to respect our miraculous place in the universe. He tells me: “We have one planet in our solar system that’s habitable and that’s the Earth, and space travel can transform things back here for the better. First of all by just having people go to space and look back on this fragile planet we live on. People have come back transformed and have done fantastic things. There’s a wonderful book called The Overview Effect, which has interviews with all the people who’ve been to space and [tells of] their experiences, and how it’s changed them. I look forward to being changed in a positive way.”
Put this way, and leaving aside the commercial potential, the journey becomes less spatial than spiritual.
There is room on board for six passengers. Branson has long said he will be on the first flight along with family members, several of whom, including his 92-year-old mother, were present in Mojave. But which family members? “We’ll have to see nearer the time,” he says. “The whole family want to go: nephews, nieces, everyone except my wife. Both my children have now got their hands full with babies, so it’s possible that on the initial flight I’ll go up on my own and they’ll go up on subsequent flights. We’ll make that decision in six or nine months’ time.”
For the original 100 who paid out $200,000, there is a lottery system to decide who goes when. Several celebrities are rumoured to be among the group, including Leonardo DiCaprio, Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt, but none were present at Mojave.
However, many non-celebrity future astronauts were there, among them Ed Holliday, a youthful-looking 72-year-old from West Virginia – “just like Chuck Yeager”. Like Branson, he found the question of why he wanted to go to space barely worth raising. “I always say that’s the backwards question. Why would you not want to do this? What possible reason would you not want to go to space?”
What about the crash?
“That’s irrelevant. That’s why they call them test pilots,” he guffaws. “They were testing the vehicle.”
Holliday is a pilot himself of 40 years, though he made his money in the “investment business”. Along with the other founders, he’s been through simulator training in Philadelphia in a giant centrifuge with a rotating bucket at the end that creates six G-force. “That’s why they don’t have 100 founders now. Some didn’t like that. Some got airsick or burst into tears.” He lets out another big laugh.
It will be the best funfair ride the planet has to offer, but a funfair ride all the same
There are now said to be 89 founders left. Namira Salim, a Pakistani woman who lives in Monaco, with a family construction business in Dubai, is one of them. She says that space travel was her childhood dream. “It’s about taking a risk,” she tells me, “reaching for your dreams and doing the impossible to inspire others, and above all I think space flight is about making space for others. You know one could buy an expensive ticket and go to the international space station, but that doesn’t necessarily mean you’re going to open space travel for the common man. But by being part of such a programme as this you’re ensuring that the price will come down due to our initial investment, and any common person who wants to go to space can one day go to space, and moreover it makes a peaceful contribution to Earth and to the different technologies we can use to make life better for humanity. So that’s the motivation.”
In this telling, space travel becomes a kind of altruistic act of generosity towards the “common person” and a step towards world peace. That’s quite a billing to live up to, especially at this stage. Of course it’s necessary for Virgin to make its future astronauts, especially the founders, feel special, as though they are travel pioneers and social innovators. But the reality is that they will fly 100km up from the Earth’s surface, hang around for a few minutes and come back down to the same place. In other words, it will be the best funfair ride the planet has to offer, but a funfair ride all the same.
Branson talks of point-to-point travel as a long-term aim, going into space as a means of getting from one part of the Earth to another at tremendous speed. He is also looking at setting up a habitat in space and then doing orbital flights. “That’s something we’re working on for the future,” he tells me.
He says the Spaceship Company is also exploring whether it could work to reroute a giant asteroid, should one come heading towards Earth. “That’s the sort of thing we’d need to get government money as well as private money to make happen.”
In the meantime, another division of Virgin is making large numbers of small satellites. “There are 4 billion people who don’t have internet or Wi-Fi access,” he says. “This is the best way to get to them. Nothing will pull people out of poverty more than being connected.”
But he comes back once more to what he says are the “millions and millions of people out there who would love to become astronauts. If we can make it environmentally friendly, if we can make it affordable and if we can make it safe, then in time your children and my grandchildren will all have the chance to go to space.”
To critics who argue that firing rockets to take sightseers up into the darkness is environmentally unsound and unnecessary, Branson says that the passengers on his first space flights will account for an amount of carbon “not dissimilar to an upper-class seat flying from London to New York and back”, and that over the next few years they believe they can make the flights “as near as dammit carbon neutral”.
Having made several predictions over the years about the timing of the initial flight, Branson is under strict instructions by his employees not to give any further dates. When I ask if he aims to beat Bezos’s Blue Origin outfit into space, he says: “We’re not going to be in a race with him for obvious reasons.”
Would you be disappointed, I ask, if in two years’ time the first flight had still not been made?
“I would be astounded,” he replies.
Perhaps a better clue to the expected date is that when I ask him if his mother would be on board in the first flights, he says “She’ll be close to 93 then. Whether her body could cope with the G-force I’m not sure.”
That would mean he’s looking at the first flight some time next year. If you’re interested, it’s probably wise to apply soon. Virgin Galactic is about to start selling tickets again. To add to the current 700 ticket holders, Branson thinks there are a few thousand people who can afford the current prices. And they’re going up, not down.
It will now cost $300,000 to become an astronaut.
“Then,” says Branson, “we’ll slowly but steadily start bringing the price down as we build more spaceships and more spaceports around the world. I would love it if in 20 years’ time people who’d done relatively well can afford to go.”
If you can’t wait, then it’s time to mortgage the house. After all, in space no one can hear you scream.
|
https://www.theguardian.com/science/2016/apr/10/virgin-galactic-richard-branson-interview
|
en
| 2016-04-10T00:00:00 |
www.theguardian.com/e07ea139e264a4de733916e2797622d43ad4fc92c34ac5bba07b9f74dfaf98fc.json
|
|
[
"Press Association"
] | 2016-08-30T14:52:41 | null | 2016-08-30T14:29:04 |
Richard Cockerill has admitted a run-in with Italian military police in a branch of McDonald’s near Treviso has made Leicester Tigers ‘look a bit silly’.
|
https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fsport%2F2016%2Faug%2F30%2Frichard-cockerill-admits-leicester-look-silly-mcdonalds-incident.json
|
en
| null |
Richard Cockerill admits Leicester look ‘a bit silly’ after McDonald’s incident
| null | null |
www.theguardian.com
|
Richard Cockerill has admitted a run-in with Italian military police in a branch of McDonald’s near Treviso has made Leicester Tigers “look a bit silly”.
Cockerill, the club’s director of rugby, has confirmed a number of Leicester players have been disciplined internally after an incident following the club’s 33-10 pre-season victory over Treviso on Friday 19 August.
Italian carabinieri, military police, were called by McDonald’s staff after a player was alleged to have taken food without paying having become impatient in a queue in the early hours of Saturday 20 August.
Cockerill insists the matter was quickly dealt with, as the players involved were disciplined, and now expects the Tigers to start the new Premiership season without any further fallout.
“The players involved have been dealt with, it is disappointing for obvious reasons,” said Cockerill, refusing to name any players. “I would much prefer it not to happen. As the reports say, there was a player who took a cookie from a jar and that was paid for by the time the police arrived.
Manu Tuilagi focusing on fitness and Leicester before England and Lions Read more
“It all died down. It was something of nothing but the players involved have been dealt with by myself and that’s the end of the matter.
“It is private. It was dealt with swiftly and it was not particularly serious otherwise it would have been dealt with by the police.”
Leicester will open their Premiership campaign at Gloucester on Friday night, with Manu Tuilagi fully available for selection. Cockerill has reminded his players of their responsibilities as professionals in the social media age but admitted he can sympathise with the constant scrutiny that comes with ever advancing technology.
“It is a danger for everybody, and it is what it is,” said Cockerill. “You are a Leicester Tiger 24/7 and you are judged upon how you behave however good or bad that is.
“Our players do a lot of good things that don’t get reported. It is a lesson learnt for some young people about how those things can escalate. It made us all look a bit silly.
“My own personal view is that just because a young player is very good at something – and that can be anything – they are still young people growing up and they will still do things that they shouldn’t do, like all of us sat around this table and all of your readers too.
“Everybody does things that they shouldn’t do. Sometimes they have to experience those situations before they go: ‘Actually, I was told that would happen, it has happened, maybe I should have listened to the old prat who told us it would.’
“I have been there myself so I can understand how that happens, notwithstanding that we don’t accept or condone that type of behaviour. Those players have been dealt with and we move on. I would much rather it have not happened but our players do lots of good things as well.”
|
https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2016/aug/30/richard-cockerill-admits-leicester-look-silly-mcdonalds-incident
|
en
| 2016-08-30T00:00:00 |
www.theguardian.com/c16796ec98ddf51770af1404cc31cfcb3bf2acae1b0527c72e5217e7c8e6540d.json
|
|
[
"Adam Sich",
"Irene Baqué",
"Iman Amrani",
"Rachel Woodlock"
] | 2016-08-26T13:12:55 | null | 2016-08-25T13:58:00 |
Protesters gather outside the French embassy in London for a ‘wear what you want’ beach party against the burkini ban in some resorts in France
|
https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fuk-news%2Fvideo%2F2016%2Faug%2F25%2Fburkini-ban-protesters-beach-party-french-embassy-video.json
|
en
| null |
Burkini ban protesters stage beach party outside French embassy - video
| null | null |
www.theguardian.com
|
Protesters gather outside the French embassy in London for a ‘wear what you want’ beach party. The gathering is in response to the recent ban on burkinis in several French coastal towns. One woman says she is ‘standing in solidarity with Muslim women’ and others hold banners reading ‘Islamophobia is not freedom’. Iman Amrani and Irene Baqué report
|
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/video/2016/aug/25/burkini-ban-protesters-beach-party-french-embassy-video
|
en
| 2016-08-25T00:00:00 |
www.theguardian.com/9849658b878d262d82696670e6ffb8bcb6ab47581cb164c910ffd76bc8f0d77d.json
|
|
[
"Max Rushden",
"Ben Green",
"James Horncastle",
"Paolo Bandini",
"Nick Miller"
] | 2016-08-26T13:18:24 | null | 2016-08-18T10:20:39 |
The podders reflect on extraordinary feats by Manchester City’s star striker and Blackburn’s hapless defender. Plus, Joe Hart heads towards the exit; Paul Pogba’s (second) United debut; and a preview of the big kick off in Serie A
|
https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Ffootball%2Faudio%2F2016%2Faug%2F18%2Fmixed-fortunes-for-shane-duffy-and-sergio-aguero-football-weekly-extra.json
|
en
| null |
Mixed fortunes for Shane Duffy and Sergio Agüero - Football Weekly Extra
| null | null |
www.theguardian.com
|
Max Rushden continues in the hot-seat for this edition of Football Weekly Extra, and he’s got James Horncastle, Paolo Bandini and Nick Miller for company.
We begin by discussing Manchester City’s marvellous win in Romania, featuring as it did a hat-trick and two missed penalties from Sergio Agüero. Poor old Joe Hart doesn’t look he’ll be there by the time Pep’s lot confirm their spot in the Champions League proper.
Next, we reflect on Shane Duffy’s magnificent double-OG-red-card combo. Take a boo, son, take a boo!
Finally, we preview all the action in the Premier League this weekend, as well as the big kick offs in Serie A and La Liga and an emotional reunion for Lamps and Stevie G in MLS.
There are now a paltry 50 tickets left for Football Weekly Live in Manchester. AC Jimbo, Barrry Glendenning, John Ashdown and Paolo will be at the Royal Northern College of Music on Friday 2 September. Don’t miss out. Get your tickets here.
|
https://www.theguardian.com/football/audio/2016/aug/18/mixed-fortunes-for-shane-duffy-and-sergio-aguero-football-weekly-extra
|
en
| 2016-08-18T00:00:00 |
www.theguardian.com/739261fab98c451075f8c86ce92e38ca31191214f7375f3b7a96f1fc4c7300e9.json
|
|
[
"Mark Wohlwender",
"Photograph",
"Flavio Lo Scalzo Epa",
"Ciro De Luca Reuters",
"Alessandra Tarantino Ap",
"Filippo Monteforte Afp Getty Images",
"Angelo Carconi Ap",
"Awakening Getty Images",
"Marco Zeppetella Afp Getty Images",
"Andrew Medichini Ap"
] | 2016-08-26T13:17:27 | null | 2016-08-25T19:48:27 |
A day after the 6.2-magnitude earthquake struck in central Italy rescuers sift through collapsed masonry in the search for survivors, but their grim mission is clouded by uncertainty about exactly how many people had been staying in communities closest to the epicentre.
|
https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fworld%2Fgallery%2F2016%2Faug%2F25%2Fitalys-devastating-earthquake-cleanup-in-pictures.json
|
en
| null |
Italy earthquake - second day in pictures
| null | null |
www.theguardian.com
|
Sniffer dogs at work. The dogs are useful only for the first three days. If the dog does not bark, it means heavy machinery can be sent in to clear the debris.
Photograph: Angelo Carconi/AP
|
https://www.theguardian.com/world/gallery/2016/aug/25/italys-devastating-earthquake-cleanup-in-pictures
|
en
| 2016-08-25T00:00:00 |
www.theguardian.com/367b2aa9859af340a13c881168083ee35093a2d0d3212e0e1fd3ea35c4710ca2.json
|
|
[
"Virginia Wallis"
] | 2016-08-26T13:28:19 | null | 2016-08-11T06:00:30 |
My house is registered at the Land Registry in my name only. I married my partner in July – now he wants a divorce and I’m worried I’ll lose half the house
|
https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fmoney%2F2016%2Faug%2F11%2Fpartner-wants-divorce-can-he-take-50-house-ask-experts.json
|
en
| null |
My partner wants a divorce - can he take 50% of my house?
| null | null |
www.theguardian.com
|
Q When my parents died, they left me money which I used to buy my house outright, with no mortgage, in November 2015. It is registered at the Land Registry in my name only. My partner pays the household bills but I pay for food and the council tax.
I am not in full-time employment. Recently my partner asked me to marry him and in July this year I did, but now he wants a divorce. Is he entitled to 50% of the house? EL
A Not necessarily. How you split your assets – which include everything that belongs to either of you, not just things that you own jointly – on divorce depends on the financial agreement you come to or if you can’t agree, what a court decides is fair.
Given the shortness of your marriage, it may be that a court would think it appropriate for you to each walk away from the marriage with what you own in your sole names and to split jointly-owned property down the middle.
Currently, the courts generally try not to make orders that require former spouses to share “non-matrimonial” property. This means property acquired by gift or inheritance or acquired before marriage or civil partnership, and that would seem to exclude the house you bought before you got married.
However, the house could have to be shared if it is needed to meet your former husband’s financial needs after the split but that wouldn’t necessarily mean that he would get a 50% share. When deciding the division of assets, the courts take into account how long you’ve been married as well as your ages, ability to earn, property and money, living expenses, standard of living, role in the marriage and whether there are children involved.
But leaving the decision over how you split your assets to a court – by applying for a financial order, which costs £255 – may not get the desired result for either you or your former husband. Because the house is in your name and because the marriage will have been so short, I strongly recommend that you get professional legal help so that you and your ex can come to an agreement that you both think is fair.
|
https://www.theguardian.com/money/2016/aug/11/partner-wants-divorce-can-he-take-50-house-ask-experts
|
en
| 2016-08-11T00:00:00 |
www.theguardian.com/8bbcaea6a376493a44f019d79f2c480b6be7a5ad084cc671fd370208ea06b3c2.json
|
|
[
"Amy Lawrence"
] | 2016-08-26T13:18:12 | null | 2016-08-25T13:33:03 |
Mauricio Pochettino has expressed his disapproval the nutmeg that caused an internet stir
|
https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Ffootball%2F2016%2Faug%2F25%2Fmauricio-pochettino-unimpressed-by-erik-lamela-showboating-against-palace.json
|
en
| null |
Tottenham’s Mauricio Pochettino takes dim view of Lamela’s showboating
| null | null |
www.theguardian.com
|
It speaks volumes for Mauricio Pochettino’s drive to win that he was not impressed with a flash of impromptu showboating in stoppage time of a game with a slender scoreline.
That was the exact situation last weekend as Erik Lamela sent a flicked nutmeg though Andros Townsend’s legs as Tottenham closed out a 1-0 win over Cystal Palace. The crowd whooped. The clip caused an internet stir. Pochettino growled internally. It is not really his thing. If someone had tried something like that on him when he was playing? “Afterwords I would kill them!” he exclaimed.
“I understand Lamela’s game – he is always trying things like this in training sessions. But for me, it is important to show respect to the opponent. I don’t like it when you try to humiliate your opponent. Lamela never tries to humiliate opponents – it’s just the way he plays. But it is nothing to celebrate,” Pochettino added.
“One day, if we win a trophy or the Premier League, it will be time to celebrate. Or when we score a goal or win a game. Not for this type of action.”
On the pitch at the time Danny Rose put his hands to his head in disbelief, later explaining to Spurs TV, “I just thought ‘Erik why did you do that!? It was brilliant to watch, I just wish it was against another player and not Andros. It was brilliant, sorry Andros!”
If there was a warning of sorts in Pochettino’s appraisal, it was far less about curbing Lamela’s natural audacity and far more about reminding his players of the focus and determination to succeed he wants from them. This weekend Liverpool visit White Hart Lane, a contest he expects to be tough. Then comes the international break. After that a fresh wave of club games in three competitions including the Champions League which is causing such excitement around the place.
Pochettino is hopeful his players, still re-adapting to the demands of the season, will have sufficient sharpness to put in a strong performance against Liverpool. Although the opposition have improved considerably sinceJürgen Klopp’s first game - a goalless draw at White Hart Lane last October - he feels his own team have grown too.
“We have learned a lot and improved a lot but in football you need to carry on improving every day,” he says. “It is never enough. If you run 12km during the game, you can go further in the next game. You can always play better and do better. It is true, I happy with the way we have grown up but I am still concerned that we can improve more.”
Nabil Bentaleb completes loan move from Tottenham Hotspur to Schalke Read more
|
https://www.theguardian.com/football/2016/aug/25/mauricio-pochettino-unimpressed-by-erik-lamela-showboating-against-palace
|
en
| 2016-08-25T00:00:00 |
www.theguardian.com/24a3a91bd044e35508fb3c9e843e1a7e9921b81cd7dea2b8079a4fa7873dfc39.json
|
|
[
"Sarah Marsh"
] | 2016-08-26T13:23:25 | null | 2016-07-18T14:50:45 |
Postnatal depression is more common than you might think, and some people hold back from having a child due to concerns about mental health. We’d like to hear your experiences
|
https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fcommentisfree%2F2016%2Fjul%2F18%2Fpregnancy-mental-health-share-experiences.json
|
en
| null |
Have you had mental health problems related to pregnancy? Share your stories
| null | null |
www.theguardian.com
|
Pregnancy is a time of great joy, but it is also be a time of volatile emotions which can lead to mental health problems.
Figures show that one in five women suffer from depression, anxiety or post-birth psychosis during pregnancy or a year after giving birth.
It’s not just new mums who experience this: figures from the UK Medical Research Council and University College London suggest that 21% of new fathers also experience a depressive episode
For some women, the challenge begins even before they fall pregnant. Those who have mental health conditions, such as bipolar disorder, may have to weigh up whether they are prepared to come off their medication to have a child.
We want to hear your stories of pregnancy and mental health: whether on the challenges of pre or postnatal depression or the difficulties of coming off medication to have a child. Perhaps fear over mental health issues in your family or partner is holding you back from having a child in the first place.
We also want to hear from men who have experienced mental health problems associated with becoming a father. Share your story with us below.
As this is a sensitive topic, please be reassured that we will not share or publish any personal details without obtaining contributors’ permission first.
|
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/jul/18/pregnancy-mental-health-share-experiences
|
en
| 2016-07-18T00:00:00 |
www.theguardian.com/2f68516bba86d8a6fb67d4a5e22c634b99eae18584fcd3d701115e3d69f82633.json
|
|
[
"Shreya Dasgupta For Mongabay",
"Part Of The Guardian Environment Network"
] | 2016-08-26T13:24:37 | null | 2016-08-24T11:09:10 |
Mongabay: Humanity’s environmental footprint has increased, but at a much slower rate compared to population and economic growth because of more efficient use of natural resources
|
https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fenvironment%2F2016%2Faug%2F24%2Fhuman-impact-on-environment-may-be-slowing-down-study-shows.json
|
en
| null |
Human impact on environment may be slowing down, study shows
| null | null |
www.theguardian.com
|
Human activities have taken a heavy toll on our environment. But there may be some hope, researchers say.
Although human pressures continue to expand across our planet, their overall rate of increase is slower than the rates of population and economic growth, a new study published in Nature Communications has found.
Using data from satellites and on-ground surveys, scientists have created maps that show how the impacts of human activities on the environment (or human footprint) have changed over a 16-year period, between 1993 and 2009.
The team found that while human population increased by 23% and the world economy grew by 153% during this period, human footprint increased by only 9%.
“Seeing that our impacts have expanded at a rate that is slower than the rate of economic and population growth is encouraging,” lead author Oscar Venter of the University of Northern British Columbia, said in a statement. “It means we are becoming more efficient in how we use natural resources.”
Facebook Twitter Pinterest Maps suggests that the rate of human footprint increase is much slower than that of population and economic growth. Photograph: Venter et al 2016
To map the impact of human activities across the earth’s land surface, the team analyzed eight variables, such as built-up area, crop land, pasture land, human population density, railways and roads, for the years 1993 to 2009.
These maps, which the scientists say are the first set of temporally inter-comparable human footprint maps, show that human footprint may be reducing. But nearly three-fourths of the earth’s land surface still faces intense, rapidly increasing human pressures.
Regions that are rich in biodiversity, and have a high proportion of threatened species, are under high human pressure, the study found. In fact, only three percent of these hotspots are still free of major human pressures.
Some biomes facing high human footprint include the temperate broadleaf forests of Western Europe, eastern United States and China, the tropical dry forests of India and parts of Brazil, and tropical moist forests of south-east Asia.
“Our maps show that three quarters of the planet is now significantly altered and 97% of the most species-rich places on Earth have been seriously altered,” co-author James Watson from the University of Queensland and Wildlife Conservation Society, said in the statement. “There is little wonder there is a biodiversity crisis.”
Facebook Twitter Pinterest Map showing changes in human environmental impact increased or decreased from 1993 to 2009. Photograph: Venter et al 2016.
Areas with no or low human footprint are also fast disappearing. In 1993, around 27% of the world’s land area had no measurable human footprint, the study found. But by 2009, human activities had encroached upon 9.3% (or 23m sq km) of these areas of previously intact habitats.
Regions with no or low human footprint now occur in deserts like the Sahara, Gobi and Australian deserts, and the most remote moist tropical forests of the Congo basins. Much of the Amazon, too, has low human pressure, the study found, despite being encroached by settlements, agriculture, and waterways and roads.
Wealthy nations in general showed some signs of decreased human footprint. But the researchers caution that it is important to find out the factors that drive this trend. Wealthier countries could simply be shifting their demand for food and raw materials to other countries. For example, nearly 40% of beef produced in the Amazon is exported for consumption in European Union countries, instead of being consumed domestically, researchers say.
The new maps are available to the public at http://wcshumanfootprint.org/. The team hopes that policy makers and researchers will use these maps for various applications, including identification of places that are still “wild”, have low human footprint and should be protected.
|
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/aug/24/human-impact-on-environment-may-be-slowing-down-study-shows
|
en
| 2016-08-24T00:00:00 |
www.theguardian.com/06c6ba6894ac2abab21b16ee2aaa0bc87d588c4b26899c6bedab2e00cf0bb101.json
|
|
[
"Olivia Solon"
] | 2016-08-26T13:26:39 | null | 2016-06-30T11:12:06 |
Thomas Ross sketched technical drawings before filing 1992 patent for Electronic Reading Device, which he said is ‘the very essence’ of iPhone, iPod and iPad
|
https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Ftechnology%2F2016%2Fjun%2F30%2Fapple-lawsuit-iphone-invention.json
|
en
| null |
Man suing Apple for $10bn says he's 'very confident' about the case
| null | null |
www.theguardian.com
|
A businessman has filed a $10bn lawsuit against Apple, claiming that the iPhone, iPad and iPod all infringe his 1992 invention of an Electronic Reading Device, or ERD.
In an exclusive interview, Thomas Ross, from Miramar in Florida, told the Guardian that he knows he is fighting a goliath. “I am just one person going up against the resources and power of Apple, the biggest corporation in the world. But what’s right is right.”
Ross says he worked on the idea – his first and last invention – for more than a year, drawing on his experience as a software consultant. The culmination of his work was three hand-sketched technical drawings of the ERD between May and September 1992, before filing a patent in November of that year.
“I would be at home wanting to read books and it dawned on me that it would be nice to have a device aggregating different functions. It was somewhat cumbersome to carry around different devices for different purposes – the trend at the time,” he said.
The ERD was conceived as a reading and writing device, with a back-lit screen, that stored media on the device and on remote servers. The patent was filed four years before the Palm Pilot launched and 15 years before the first iPhone.
Facebook Twitter Pinterest Thomas Ross’s sketch of his Electronic Reading Device. Photograph: Handout
Ross, who now works as a manager at a law firm, imagined a device that could, according to court documents, “allow one to read stories, novels, news articles as well as look at pictures, watch video presentations, or even movies, on a flat touchscreen”. It would also include communication functions, such as a phone and a modem, and would come with rounded edges in various sizes.
In addition to the three hand-scribbled images of the device, Ross also created a flowchart showing how media could be requested and downloaded from a remote server as well as a description of the device’s purpose, look and feel.
Ross never took his invention further than the design stage. “It was a question of funds. I was not a rich man and neither am I today. I was never good at going after investors and selling them my idea. I am a quiet man,” he explained.
Despite applying to protect his invention in 1992, Ross failed to pay the required fees and so his application was declared abandoned in 1995 by the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). Instead of using patent law, Ross is now battling the tech giant with copyright law.
Ross argues that Apple’s iPhone, iPod and iPad are “the very essence” of his ERD. He supports his claim by making reference to the fact that Steve Jobs bragged in 1996 that the company had always been “shameless about stealing great ideas”.
“Instead of creating its own ideas, Apple chose to adopt a culture of dumpster diving as an R&D strategy,” says Ross, who is representing himself, in the complaint.
When USPTO declared the patent filing abandoned, the ERD plans found themselves in “just the sort of place that Apple would have been delighted to rummage through and discover diamonds in the rough to be exploited”.
In March 2015, Ross’s lawyer sent a cease and desist letter to Apple’s CEO Tim Cook, requesting that the company immediately stop distributing the infringing products.
Apple’s legal counsel Jeffrey Lasker responded in writing, saying that the company believed the claims “have no merit” and pointing out that neither Ross nor his lawyer were able to show any evidence that Apple had accessed the patent applications, “other than to say that Apple copied Mr Ross’s ‘ideas’”.
“Additionally, based on our review of the materials you provided, we do not believe there is any similarity between Apple’s products and Mr Ross’s applications,” Lasker added.
Apple’s letter didn’t deter Ross, who filed the lawsuit Ross v Apple with the Florida southern district court on 27 June. In addition to seeking $10bn in damages, Ross wants Apple to forfeit the patents derived from his designs.
“It’s pretty clear that this is just a nuisance case filed by an individual who maybe thought he could make some money out of it, but clearly doesn’t know what he’s doing,” says Mark Terry, a Florida-based patent lawyer.
“He doesn’t even have a US patent. He just has some copyrights for some childish hand drawings.”As for the $10bn in damages, Terry says: “He clearly just pulled a number out of nowhere.”
Terry points to another “serious” patent case, Apple v Samsung, where initial damages awarded by the jury were $600m – a figure which ended up being reduced. “If [Ross] had a serious case, that would have been a more realistic number,” Terry adds.
Ross recognises it won’t be easy. “I’m against some very esteemed and well-known attorneys. They know what they’re doing,” he says. Nevertheless, he remains bullish about his chances.
“I am very confident. I believe in what I did. In spite of the odds I feel that I have a shot at it.”
|
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/jun/30/apple-lawsuit-iphone-invention
|
en
| 2016-06-30T00:00:00 |
www.theguardian.com/747b0ac36d4797df0ba66b81476a974ecdf6d15555aa45a183d6ef371f2f7fca.json
|
|
[
"Associated Press"
] | 2016-08-26T13:24:49 | null | 2016-08-21T01:51:28 |
Ban on all fishing, rafting and other river activities in the US river will remain until fish stop dying, say officials
|
https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fenvironment%2F2016%2Faug%2F21%2Fyellowstone-fish-deaths-183-miles-of-river-closed-to-halt-spread-of-parasite.json
|
en
| null |
Yellowstone fish deaths: 183 miles of river closed to halt spread of parasite
| null | null |
www.theguardian.com
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Closures on a 183-mile stretch of the Yellowstone river and hundreds of miles of other waterways could continue for months while biologists try to prevent the spread of a parasite believed to have killed tens of thousands of fish.
The closures will remain until the waterways improve and fish stop dying, according to officials from Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks. The ban includes all fishing, rafting and other river activities.
Officials are now worried the fish kill could have a lasting impact on the Yellowstone’s reputation as a world-class trout fishery that draws visitors from around the world.
The closures extend to hundreds of miles of waterways that feed into the Yellowstone, including the Boulder, Shields and Stillwater rivers.
No dead fish were found inside Yellowstone National Park, where a celebration of the National Park Service’s 100th anniversary is set for next week and no closures were planned there.
A 'black and smelly' job: the search for China's most polluted rivers Read more
The parasite causes fish to contract a fatal kidney disease and die. FWP spokeswoman Andrea Jones said the disease can have a mortality rate as high as 90%. Other places that have had similar outbreaks include Washington State, Oregon, Idaho, Canada and Europe.
Reports of the Yellowstone river fish kill began pouring in more than a week ago. Wildlife officials confirmed more than 4,000 fish deaths, but they say the toll is probably much higher.
Most have been mountain whitefish, a native game species, but reports emerged that the die-off has affected some rainbow trout and Yellowstone cutthroat trout species crucial to the fishing industry.
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https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/aug/21/yellowstone-fish-deaths-183-miles-of-river-closed-to-halt-spread-of-parasite
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en
| 2016-08-21T00:00:00 |
www.theguardian.com/5a1d1b4e685de4a6002de95234371c0a12298857c8750e453489bafd33bd9e3c.json
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[
"Rob Smyth"
] | 2016-08-28T14:52:02 | null | 2016-08-28T12:59:28 |
Pakistan’s captain, a dignified veteran with deadpan wit, has become cricket’s accidental hero by staying true to himself in a world where independent thought is endangered
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https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fsport%2F2016%2Faug%2F28%2Fpakistan-misbah-ul-haq-legend-cricket.json
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Pakistan’s Ol’ Man Misbah secures his legend by just saying nuthin’
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www.theguardian.com
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The internet has shattered the comforting notion of individuality. That cult film you’ve been telling your best mates to watch? It’s got 14,000 followers on Twitter. That organic, gluten-free, Fairtrade, vegan pale ale you love? Father John Misty’s just posted a selfie of him supping it. We are, as Dan Ashcroft put it in Nathan Barley, oblivious to the paradox of our uniform individuality.
In the manic, try-hard modern world, it is the man who stands still who finds himself in space. Misbah-ul-Haq never wanted to stand out, yet by staying true to himself he has become the accidental hero of Pakistan and world cricket. The word ‘unique’ feels inadequate to describe him. And his mystique is such that, even if you wanted to copy him, you couldn’t.
Misbah-ul-Haq says Pakistan deserve No1 status after life on the road Read more
By leading Pakistan to the top of the Test rankings for the first time, after taking over with their cricket at rock bottom, he has cemented the legend of Ol’ Man Misbah. Some are born great, some achieve greatness, some have greatness thrust upon them – and some stumble upon it at the age of 42 after doing 10 press-ups. He is not quite a great batsman, but he now sits at the top table of Test captains with people like Richie Benaud, Mike Brearley, Sir Frank Worrell and Imran Khan.
Pakistan’s 2-2 draw in England, in the best series in this country since the 2005 Ashes, was an outrageous result for a relatively limited team who had not played a Test outside Asia since 2013. They have also played no ‘home’ Tests under Misbah, a far greater handicap than most realise. Even more notable is the manner in which they have gone to No1 – playing controlled, atypically Pakistan cricket, and after a Test series in England so harmonious that it verged on schmaltzy.
England’s meetings with Pakistan usually come with a cast-iron guarantee of controversy, yet Pakistan were so charming that only the most miserably one-eyed patriot begrudged them their draw. The dignity of Misbah, his determination to right previous wrongs and to give hope and pride to a country devastated by terrorism, almost brings a lump to the throat.
This is not just a story of a good man doing good things. Misbah has an indefinable cool that makes him one of the more interesting figures in modern sport. It is apt that it took Pakistan six years to reach No1, because Misbah is the king of deferred gratification. (This column, in the spirit of its subject, comes to you almost a week after Pakistan went to the top.) He believes in patience, discipline and logic, always logic. He plays international cricket with a resting heartbeat, no matter how extreme the highs and lows. At Lord’s, he made a wonderful first-innings hundred; in the second innings, he was out second ball for nought trying to hit Moeen Ali into the crowd. “If you have a favourite shot, you have to play it,” he said afterwards. “This is how you score a hundred and this is how you sometimes score zero.”
He would make a great poker player; Misbah has a level of inscrutability that hints tantalisingly at an all-knowing wisdom. That makes it hard to get a handle on him, even now. What exactly does he do that makes him such a good captain? He has a voice a bit like the boring priest in Father Ted and does not believe in ostentatious rhetoric, yet he has an obtuse charisma, is a superb man-manager and has a wit so deadpan that half the time you genuinely don’t know if he is joking or not. His team would crawl the ends of the earth for him – and stop to give him 10 press-ups along the way.
Facebook Twitter Pinterest Misbah-ul-Haq leads his Pakistan team on a lap of honour after their win in the fourth Test against England gave them a draw in the series. Photograph: Gareth Copley/Getty Images
His response to drawing the series and becoming world No1 could barely have been more Misbah: he went to Norway for a ‘Play for Peace’ charity match and biffed a century in 34 balls. Where do you start with that? But then Misbah has always done things differently. In a country where players are blooded young – 20 years ago in October Hasan Raza made his Test debut at the official age of 14 – Misbah took the long road.
His family prioritised his education, and it was not until after his Masters degree that he made his first-class debut at 24. He did not become a Pakistan regular until he was 33 and his international career was apparently over when, in 2010, at the age of 36 he was recalled to the team as captain. Misbah was the last, last, last resort for a country in disarray. In the previous 18 months there had been the terrorist attack on the Sri Lanka team in Pakistan, the spot-fixing scandal in England and other allegations of match-fixing.
Lord’s debut to remember for the ageless Misbah-ul-Haq | Vic Marks Read more
Misbah has only recently become a national treasure. He was made a scapegoat for his batting in defeats to India in the World T20 final of 2007 and the World Cup semi-final of 2011, and for a long time was the subject of vicious criticism over his cautious captaincy. He had complete courage of his convictions, a particularly admirable quality in a world where independent thought is increasingly endangered. Others can shout their opinions. Misbah doesn’t need to. Misbah knows.
He has won over almost everybody now. After sorting out Pakistan cricket, Misbah should turn his attention elsewhere: the Brexit fallout, perhaps, or the X Factor’s plummeting ratings. Who wouldn’t stay home on a Saturday night to match Misbah mentor a 37-year-old teacher from Grimsby with a dream and a half-decent falsetto?
With his antiquated values of dignity, modesty and patience, Misbah has shown that sometimes it’s good to be behind the times and given hope to those who believe there is an alternative way of doing things – not just in Test cricket, but in life. Kipling’s ‘If’ could have been written about him. So could parts of old Paul Robeson song: Ol’ Man Misbah: he must know sumpin’ but he don’t say nuthin’, he just keeps on rolling along.
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https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2016/aug/28/pakistan-misbah-ul-haq-legend-cricket
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en
| 2016-08-28T00:00:00 |
www.theguardian.com/9f962e8d0d23341f3a69b5d40eaf5d78e7bf1b88434b8d554b742ab7a72ea434.json
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[
"Will Macpherson"
] | 2016-08-26T13:21:08 | null | 2016-08-26T13:08:53 |
Today we have Will Macpherson at the Oval to watch Surrey v Lancashire
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https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fsport%2Flive%2F2016%2Faug%2F26%2Fcounty-cricket-surrey-lancashire-live.json
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County cricket: Surrey v Lancashire and much more - live!
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www.theguardian.com
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Today we have Will Macpherson at the Oval to watch Surrey v Lancashire
• Thursday’s report: Footitt puts Surrey on verge of beating Lancashire
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https://www.theguardian.com/sport/live/2016/aug/26/county-cricket-surrey-lancashire-live
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en
| 2016-08-26T00:00:00 |
www.theguardian.com/5ee460fceb1551e715871b757f38f1dd10d811a376a06bc1bab11d598c0b0a0c.json
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[
"Agence France-Presse"
] | 2016-08-27T06:51:13 | null | 2016-08-27T06:38:10 |
Suspected mastermind of attack on cafe in July that killed 22 mostly foreign hostages among those shot dead
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https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fworld%2F2016%2Faug%2F27%2Fbangladesh-police-kill-three-alleged-islamist-extremists.json
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Bangladesh police kill three alleged Islamist extremists
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www.theguardian.com
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Bangladesh police stormed a militant hideout outside Dhaka on Saturday, shooting dead three alleged Islamist extremists, including the suspected mastermind of an attack on a cafe that killed 22 mostly foreign hostages last month.
“We can see three dead bodies here,” senior police officer Sanwar Hossain said.
“Tamim Chowdhury is dead. He is the Gulshan attack mastermind and the leader of JMB (Jamayetul Mujahideen Bangladesh, a domestic militant outfit),” he said.
Dhaka cafe attack ends with 20 hostages among dead Read more
Chowdhury, a Bangladeshi-Canadian citizen, had earlier been named by police as the suspected mastermind of the attack on the cafe in Gulshan, an upscale Dhaka neighbourhood.
The bodies were retrieved after police staged an hour-long gun battle with extremists in Narayanganj, a city 25km south of Dhaka, Hossain said.
“The operation went on for an hour. We can see three dead bodies. They did not surrender. They threw four, five grenades at police and fired from AK 22 rifles,” Bangladesh national police chief AKM Shahidul Hoque said.
“Three extremists were killed. Among them, one of the dead persons looked exactly like the photo of Tamim Chowdhury that we have.”
Bangladesh’s government has blamed the JMB for the 1 July cafe attack in which 20 hostages, including 18 foreigners, were killed along with two policemen.
Bangladesh cafe attack: Japan, Italy and US mourn dead hostages Read more
Police say Chowdhury, 30, who returned from Canada in 2013, has been leading a faction of the militant group, also said to be behind scores of murders of members of religious minorities.
“We heard that Tamim Chowdhury is among the dead. [His] physical appearance shows that it was Tamim Chowdhury. But we need to be 100% sure,” Bangladesh home minister Asaduzzaman Khan said.
Police on 2 August announced a two million taka ($25,000) reward for information leading to the arrest of Chowdhury, who disappeared after allegedly masterminding the cafe attack.
Together with the elite security force, the Rapid Action Battalion, they have carried out a series of raids on suspected militant hideouts.
In June more than 11,000 people were arrested in a bid to quash a spate of brutal murders of secular writers, gay rights activists and religious minorities.
Dhaka officials say they knew attackers, as details of victims emerge Read more
Isis claimed responsibility for the Gulshan attack, releasing photos from inside the cafe during the siege and of the five men who carried out the deadly assault and were shot dead at its end.
Bangladeshi authorities have rejected the claim, saying international jihadist networks have no presence in the world’s third largest Muslim majority nation.
Bangladesh has been reeling from a deadly wave of attacks in the last three years, including on foreigners, rights activists and members of the country’s religious minorities.
Both Isis and a branch of Al-Qaida have claimed responsibility for many of the attacks.
Critics say prime minister Sheikh Hasina’s administration is in denial about the nature of the threat posed by Islamist extremists and accuse her of trying to exploit the attacks to demonise her domestic opponents.
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https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/aug/27/bangladesh-police-kill-three-alleged-islamist-extremists
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en
| 2016-08-27T00:00:00 |
www.theguardian.com/47373672c66f858520daa8acff9ddf6e2e0bf22696a9a3d1f6280dcc9d2f77e0.json
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[
"Rebecca Ratcliffe"
] | 2016-08-30T02:59:44 | null | 2012-01-13T23:00:34 |
Uploading a video clip on to YouTube of your toddler getting up to mischief can win over a cooing international audience and earn big money. Here's how ...
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https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fmoney%2F2012%2Fjan%2F13%2Fearn-money-youtube-viral-video.json
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YouToo can earn £100,000 on YouTube
| null | null |
www.theguardian.com
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When Howard Davies-Carr uploaded a video of his two children on to YouTube, he thought it would be seen only by his sons' godfather and a few friends. More than 400m views later, it has earned him well over £100,000.
The clip of one-year-old Charlie mischievously nibbling his three-year-old brother Harry's finger, known as "Charlie bit my finger – again!", became a global phenomenon.
Davies-Carr now regularly uploads videos of his sons – satisfying a cooing international audience and earning him money from the adverts YouTube places next to the clips. In his case, they include a leading baby milk provider, Oxfam and Vodafone.
"I've always filmed the boys, but now I make a short extract to upload. I'm grateful to have these snapshots of the boys growing up – the money is a bonus." You would be forgiven for thinking Davies-Carr's story is a fluke – even he puts his success "entirely down to luck". But increasing numbers of people are earning money through the advertising revenue generated by their videos – and not only clips that have gone "viral", such as the one of the man cursing his dog, Fenton, as it chased deer across Richmond Park.
Across Britain, people of all ages are putting their hobbies online and uploading films to an audience which waits with bated breath. Livie Rose, 21, originally from Swansea and now living near Brighton, started filming make-up tutorials in January 2010 after she got hooked on the beauty videos produced by teenagers in America.
"My mother saw the videos I was watching and said 'You could do that', so I did," she told Guardian Money. Rose has deferred studying politics at Queen Mary University in east London to concentrate on her YouTube channel, "liviesays", and has even created a studio from her earnings.
"I don't want to lose the chance to study, but the channel was starting to take me places. I didn't want to miss out on an opportunity." The hobby she describes as her "unnatural interest in make-up", earns her anything from £50 to several thousand pounds each month, depending on the popularity of her videos. "I didn't set out to make this into a living, but it's the best kind of hobby, because I get to make money out of it."
She adds: "The proportion YouTube takes is fixed, but it doesn't actually take that much. Say I earned £1, they would probably take about 10p."
Video makers can earn money from advertising via the site's partner programme, a scheme aimed at regular uploaders with big audiences. Basically, this means you share in the revenue generated when people watch. Partners must agree to YouTube allowing "relevant" adverts to be placed alongside, and even within, their videos and earn money based on a combination of "impressions" (views) and "clicks" (how many people click on the ad). "Pre-roll advertising" – those often annoying ads you have to watch before the video starts playing – can be particularly lucrative, as advertisers are willing to pay more.
All of this means the amount of money you can earn will vary dramatically. However, YouTube insists that "partners will always get the majority of the [ad] revenue".
There are more than 20,000 partners worldwide. While the site wouldn't disclose how many there are in Britain, it claims it has seen a "seven-times increase" in the number of UK partners earning more than $10,000 (around £6,460) a year, plus a 154% increase in revenues received.
Anyone can apply to be a partner as long as they regularly upload original videos that are viewed by thousands of people, and either own, or have permission to use, all the audio and video content, it says. This means videos featuring pop songs, a movie, TV or video game visuals can be problematic.
Shoo Rayner, 55, a children's author from the Forest of Dean, whose mission statement is to teach the world to draw, has been sharing artistic tips for two years, and has racked up well over 2m views. He has his own channel, Shoo Rayner Drawing. "I'm not making an enormous amount but I am hoping to do this full time soon," he says. "I'll have to do other things, as well – I'm starting a course on YouTube for business, and I can do speaking engagements to top up my earnings – but I expect around 60% of my income will come from YouTube advertising."
Rayner adds: "You can't predict the amount you're going to make, although I find January is pretty lean and it starts building from there until Christmas. You can see your earnings ticking up throughout the day, depending on who has watched the video."
Rebecca Flint, who is 16 and from the Isle of Man, has sold language learning books, music CDs and dance DVDs after a video of her dancing to pop songs went viral, propelling her to Japanese stardom. Her stage name is Beckii Cruel, and she now has her own website, beckii.co.uk
"When I first started, I was filming the videos on a laptop in my bedroom and then overlaying the music," she says. "Nothing happened at first but then, suddenly, I went viral. It was a complete surprise. It's been fantastic – I've had the opportunity to travel to Japan eight times and perform live."
But you don't have to go viral to make it, according to Steve Roberts, who lives in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk. His football skills tutorials (available on his YouTube channel, STRskillSchool) have more than 48,000 subscribers. "I judge my success according to how many people come back to watch each week. If you've got something interesting to say, or a hobby to share – put it on video."
So what happens if that clip of your cat climbing into a box ends up "doing a Fenton"? YouTube claims its technology can predict when a video is about to go massive. "We can contact the owner and offer to start serving up advertising, so they can make money from a one-week sensation," it says.
The Fenton clip was reportedly filmed by a 13-year-old boy, and has inspired a range of spin-off items. In early December, the boy's father was quoted as saying: "We won't be buying a Caribbean island just yet." At that point, the clip had been viewed by just over 1 million people. By this week, it had been viewed more than 4.4 million times – and counting.
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https://www.theguardian.com/money/2012/jan/13/earn-money-youtube-viral-video
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en
| 2012-01-13T00:00:00 |
www.theguardian.com/839bc3153f596cc7df782dcebe28b1defbed7a9ebb006efd5502ec85892a5561.json
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[
"Mark Brown",
"Nils Pratley"
] | 2016-08-31T12:50:26 | null | 2016-08-31T11:17:10 |
Arts body forced by tribunal to publish oil firm’s investment in galleries following pressure by environmental campaigners
|
https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fartanddesign%2F2016%2Faug%2F31%2Ftate-paid-350000-pounds-a-year-bp-sponsorship-figures-reveal.json
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Tate paid 'paltry' £350k a year in BP sponsorship, figures reveal
| null | null |
www.theguardian.com
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Tate received £350,000 a year in BP sponsorship between 2007 and 2011 and a one-off payment of £750,000 for its Cultural Olympiad film project, figures reveal.
After years of refusing to publicly reveal sponsorship figures, Tate was ordered to publish them by an information tribunal earlier this summer.
It followed sustained pressure by environmental campaigners, who argue the sums are pitifully small and evidence that Tate did not need the money. Tate has argued the figures are significant.
The figures show that Tate received £350,000 a year, apart from in 2010 when it received £1.1m. That money included a special payment of £750,000 for a project to get children involved in making an animated movie.
Emma Hughes, a spokesperson for the campaign group Platform, said the amounts were “paltry”.
She added: “The Tate gallery has been forced to reveal that during 2007-11 BP was branding its walls for a pittance, just £350,000 most years. That’s less than 0.5% of Tate’s income.”
Hughes said the 2010 figure still represented less than 1% of Tate’s funding and came at a time when “oil was gushing into the Gulf of Mexico due to BP’s Deepwater Horizon disaster”.
“The company tried to buy public support by quadrupling the amount of money they gave the Tate. As BP fought over compensation for Gulf of Mexico communities in the US courts they were throwing money at the Tate in an attempt to de-toxify their brand.”
BP’s long sponsorship of Tate Britain comes to an end in 2017. While it is not renewing with Tate or the Edinburgh festival, BP’s longstanding relationships with the British Museum, National Portrait Gallery, Royal Opera House and Royal Shakespeare Company will continue for a further five years after it announced a deal worth £7.5m in total.
Each arts organisation welcomed the deals and praised BP for its long-established sponsorship of the arts.
As well as giving money to UK arts organisations, BP has given money to institutions such as the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) – donating $25m (£19m) for the ”BP Grand Entrance”.
Campaigners say the arts sponsorship money is tainted and have vowed to continue campaigning against it. That means a continuation of the letters, petitions and regular peaceful and artistically staged protests that have included spilling oily black molasses at Tate’s summer party in 2010 and whispering transcripts of the Deepwater Horizon trial in 2013.
It is not the first time Tate has been forced to reveal BP sponsorship figures. In December last year, it was ordered to disclose figures for the 17 years before 2011. That revealed a total of £3.8m in annual amounts varying between £150,000 and £330,000.
A spokeswoman for Tate said it would not be commenting further, beyond releasing the figures.
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https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2016/aug/31/tate-paid-350000-pounds-a-year-bp-sponsorship-figures-reveal
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en
| 2016-08-31T00:00:00 |
www.theguardian.com/32e629041abc948566750e035a2ff274e4373432100d4c74335795353987fdb9.json
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|
[
"Press Association"
] | 2016-08-30T14:50:10 | null | 2016-08-30T13:21:38 |
Police launch murder investigation over attack on two Polish men in The Stow area in Harlow on Saturday evening
|
https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fuk-news%2F2016%2Faug%2F30%2Ffive-teenage-boys-arrested-after-man-dies-following-attack-in-essex.json
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| null |
Five teenage boys arrested after man dies following attack in Essex
| null | null |
www.theguardian.com
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A murder investigation has been launched after a man died of head injuries following an attack in Harlow, Essex.
Five teenage boys have been arrested after two Polish men were assaulted and knocked unconscious outside a row of takeaway shops in The Stow area at about 11.35pm on Saturday.
One of the men, a 43-year-old man from Harlow, was discharged from hospital after he was treated for suspected hand fractures and bruising to his stomach. The other, a 40-year-old man also from Harlow, died from head injuries on Monday.
Essex police said the attack was apparently unprovoked, and one line of investigation was that it was a hate crime.
Senior investigating officer DI Al Pitcher, of the Kent and Essex serious crime directorate, said: “This is now a murder investigation and our inquiries have quickly led to the arrest of five teenage boys.
“Following this vicious attack, a man has sadly lost his life and I urge anyone with information to contact us as soon as possible.”
Police will be carrying out extra patrols in the area to provide reassurance to the community.
Four 15-year-old boys and one 16-year-old boy, all from Harlow, remained in police custody on Tuesday.
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https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2016/aug/30/five-teenage-boys-arrested-after-man-dies-following-attack-in-essex
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en
| 2016-08-30T00:00:00 |
www.theguardian.com/b7439ed4e4baf32afe2be60e7f4dd26f01183465db96a0fff358f674660c7e64.json
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[
"Source"
] | 2016-08-29T10:52:05 | null | 2016-08-29T09:43:59 |
An explosion was reported outside Brussels Criminology Institute at 2am local time, with local media reporting a car ramming the gates of the building
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https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fworld%2Fvideo%2F2016%2Faug%2F29%2Fexplosion-brussels-criminology-institute-arson-not-terrorism-video-report.json
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Explosion at Brussels Criminology Institute 'probably arson not terrorism' - video report
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www.theguardian.com
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Belgian authorities have played down reports that the Brussels Criminology Institute was the target of a terrorist attack on Monday morning. The prosecutor’s office described the incident as much more likely to be an arson attack designed to destroy criminal evidence. An explosion was reported outside the facility at 2am local time, with local media reporting a car ramming the gates of the building. No one was injured in the incident. Photograph: Geert Vanden Wijngaert/AP
Attack on Brussels’ criminology institute ‘probably arson’
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https://www.theguardian.com/world/video/2016/aug/29/explosion-brussels-criminology-institute-arson-not-terrorism-video-report
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en
| 2016-08-29T00:00:00 |
www.theguardian.com/fdba6e11eb4f19af4c5586ca1e531dc25deda671a8b1a2a3db9131f872a4b14f.json
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[] | 2016-08-27T20:50:47 | null | 2016-08-27T20:30:13 |
Plan to raise funds from national insurance as MPs from all parties demand action by Theresa May to solve cash crisis
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https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fsociety%2F2016%2Faug%2F27%2Fuk-needs-new-tax-to-save-nhs-social-care-from-collapse.json
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Former minister calls for new tax to save NHS and social care
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www.theguardian.com
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A dramatic call for a new health and care tax has been made by a former Tory health minister, amid demands by MPs of all parties for Theresa May to act to save the NHS and the social care system from collapse.
Dr Dan Poulter, who stepped down from the Department of Health last year and now works both as an MP and as a part-time NHS doctor, said his experience inside hospitals had convinced him that radical, long-term funding solutions for the health and care sectors are “urgently required”.
The NHS secret is out. And local communities won't like it Read more
He told the Observer: “On the hospital wards I often see people who are medically fit to go home, but who are forced to stay in hospital because of difficulties arranging their social care package or because of a lack of appropriate housing. Good healthcare cannot be delivered without properly funded social care.
“A long-term plan to ensure a properly funded and sustainable health and social care system is urgently required, and I believe a health and care tax – perhaps introduced through raising national insurance – offers one of the simplest ways forward.”
Poulter spoke out amid growing frustration about a lack of clarity in the government’s approach to social care and how to fund it, as the number of elderly people soars and pressures on hospital services mount. In the Tory manifesto last year, former prime minister David Cameron promised to introduce a cap of £72,000 on the care costs for each individual, after which the state would pay. But soon after polling day, he delayed the scheme’s introduction until 2020, because money was not available.
Poulter, who was responsible for steering the plan for a cap through parliament, said that with public finances unlikely to improve, the much-vaunted policy had little chance of being implemented: “Given that the introduction of a cap was considered unaffordable a year ago, and that the costs of social care continue to increase, there is now little prospect of the cap being introduced at all.” What the NHS and care systems need, he said, is a special tax that will guarantee an income stream, rather than policies like the cap which are entirely dependent on the economic climate of the moment.
“Linking tax income with health and care spending would give people the opportunity to see how their money is being spent, and allow a legitimate debate about what is an appropriate level of taxation required to ensure a sustainable funding settlement for our NHS and social care system in the years ahead,” Poulter said.
Echoing his call for a new approach from government that would offer long-term security of funding, Richard Murray, director of policy at health thinktank the King’s Fund, said: “Tackling the growing crisis in social care will be a key test of the prime minister’s promise of a country that works for everyone, and must move much higher up the government’s agenda.
Facebook Twitter Pinterest Dr Dan Poulter stepped down from the Department of Health last year. Photograph: Felix Clay for the Guardian
“England remains one of the few major advanced countries that has not reformed the way it funds long-term care in response to the needs of an ageing population. A frank and open debate is needed on how to fund health and social care on a sustainable basis into the future, recognising that a long-term strategy will exceed the lifetime of a single parliament. With many people facing real problems in paying for social care right now, this is not something that can be put off any longer.’’
The calls for action came as May prepared to chair her first cabinet meeting since the summer break at Chequers on Wednesday. Downing Street officials said that while the challenges of how to make a success of Brexit would top the agenda, social policies including the challenges for the NHS would also be discussed.
Last week the Guardian revealed that NHS bosses were drawing up plans for hospital closures, cutbacks and radical changes to the way healthcare is delivered in an attempt to meet spiralling demand and plug the hole in its finances. Without the cuts the NHS at local level would face a financial shortfall of about £20bn by 2020-21.
Lib Dem MP Norman Lamb, who was also a health minister in the coalition government, said it was a disgrace that ministers had postponed the care cap on the grounds of cost, yet maintained it would still be introduced in four years’ time. The Department of Health maintained it was still committed to the care cap, despite a widespread belief in the sector that the plan is dead.
“This government is committed to ensuring that those in old age can access care that is both affordable and dignified. The position on the care cost cap hasn’t changed,” a spokesperson said.
Vicky McDermott, chair of the Care and Support Alliance, which represents 80 of Britain’s leading charities campaigning for a properly funded care system, said the crises hitting the NHS and social care were inextricably linked and needed a long-term solution.
“The government needs to get to grips with the scale of the social care crisis. The reality is that at least a million people aren’t getting the basic care they need. One million hospital days were lost to delayed discharge in 2015, costing the NHS £2.4bn, and it’s estimated that the money spent by the NHS on excess bed days due to people awaiting homecare could fund 5.2 million hours of homecare. The latest figures show that at least £1bn is needed for social care this year – just to keep things as they are,” she said
Last year’s Conservative manifesto pledged an extra £8bn a year for the NHS by the end of this parliament, as demanded by the NHS chief executive, Simon Stevens, in his 2014 “five-year forward view”. But Stevens made clear that was the minimum money required, and radical reforms to the way healthcare is delivered would also be necessary to make the NHS hit its budgets.
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https://www.theguardian.com/society/2016/aug/27/uk-needs-new-tax-to-save-nhs-social-care-from-collapse
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en
| 2016-08-27T00:00:00 |
www.theguardian.com/dbee8eee5bf86bea6dc15094813913f03f0a4963546b8419bda8fda6a1586699.json
|
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[
"James Meikle"
] | 2016-08-26T13:27:51 | null | 2014-11-14T00:00:00 |
Taylor breaks down during apology for sexist shirt as he delivers progress report on comet mission
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https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fscience%2F2014%2Fnov%2F14%2Frosetta-comet-dr-matt-taylor-apology-sexist-shirt.json
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en
| null |
Rosetta scientist Dr Matt Taylor apologises for ‘offensive’ shirt
| null | null |
www.theguardian.com
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The scientist who caused a furore by wearing a sexist shirt as he gave a progress report on the Rosetta mission on Wednesday has made an emotional apology for his “big mistake”. Matt Taylor was more plainly dressed on Friday as he broke down in tears at a briefing, apparently struggling to speak before confessing: “I made a big mistake and I offended many people, and I am very sorry about this.”
Taylor’s gaudy clothing, including images of semi-naked women, sparked a row over his wardrobe and infuriated fellow scientists.
His apology during an update on the progress of the European Space Agency mission was greeted sympathetically by particle physicist Clara Nellist. “Impressed with Taylor from @ESA_Rosetta for admitting shirt choice was a mistake. Takes strength of character.”
Facebook Twitter Pinterest Dr Matt Taylor, the British scientist involved in the Rosetta mission, cries as he makes an apology for wearing an ‘offensive’ shirt.
Feminist science journalist Elizabeth Gibney said: “Said he made a big mistake and is v sorry. Then moved on to Philae science. Good stuff.”
Others were less impressed by the apology. @I_WillPearce tweeted: “The fact that Matt Taylor was bullied/forced/coerced into apologising for expressing his fashion taste makes me very sad.”
The controversy follows the revelations from the scientist’s sister Maxine that he could be “useless” in everyday life. Portraying her tattooed sibling as absent-minded, unable to find his car in the car park, and sometimes lacking in common sense, she told the Evening Standard, he didn’t like making decisions.
That, in the light of Taylor’s apparent failure to weigh up all the consequences of his sartorial, rather than scientific, image may have to change. At least when it comes to dress sense.
• This article was amended on 17 November 2014 to correct the name of the particle physicist Clara Nellist. An earlier version named her as Clare Nellist.
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https://www.theguardian.com/science/2014/nov/14/rosetta-comet-dr-matt-taylor-apology-sexist-shirt
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en
| 2014-11-14T00:00:00 |
www.theguardian.com/647c0d2cca59a7b5d212a1be46090bf1e1524266624e843fcd33754e20e8851b.json
|
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[
"Tom Mccarthy"
] | 2016-08-29T18:52:16 | null | 2016-08-29T15:38:39 |
New York Post publishes explicit Twitter messages sent by former congressman and husband of Hillary Clinton’s top aide to a woman he met online
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https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fus-news%2F2016%2Faug%2F29%2Fanthony-weiner-sexting-twitter-scandal.json
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Huma Abedin separates from Anthony Weiner after latest sexting scandal
| null | null |
www.theguardian.com
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Top Hillary Clinton aide Huma Abedin announced on Monday that she had separated from her husband, former congressman Anthony Weiner, after the publication of newly revealed, explicit Twitter messages sent by Weiner to a woman he met online.
“After long and painful consideration and work on my marriage, I have made the decision to separate from my husband,” Abedin said in a statement. “Anthony and I remain devoted to doing what is best for our son, who is the light of our life. During this difficult time, I ask for respect for our privacy.”
Abedin, 40, and Weiner, 51, were married in 2010 in a ceremony officiated by Bill Clinton; the couple have a four-year-old boy.
The latest messages appear to follow a long-running pattern of conduct by Weiner online that has made a public spectacle of his marriage and recalled the sex scandals attached to the Clintons’ marriage.
Weiner resigned from Congress in 2011 after similar explicit messages came to light. His 2013 New York City mayoral bid foundered on a similar scandal.
The Post on Monday published texts and images said to have been sent and received by Weiner about a year ago, in July 2015. The images include one that appears to have been sent by Weiner in which his young son, asleep, is visible in the background.
Abedin went to work for Clinton as a 19-year-old White House intern and has been her indispensable aide for about a decade, working for Clinton through her 2008 presidential bid and during her tenure as secretary of state. Emails between Abedin and Clinton revealed by an investigation of Clinton’s email practices show Abedin coordinating travel for Clinton, managing access to her, and helping her with matters as small as fax machine operation.
“I have one daughter,” Hillary Clinton told attendees at Abedin’s wedding. “But if I had a second daughter, it would be Huma.”
Clinton’s political enemies moved quickly to capitalize on the break-up. Donald Trump, the Republican presidential nominee, released a statement warning that Weiner’s online behavior may have “greatly compromised” national security.
“Huma is making a very wise decision. I know Anthony Weiner well, and she will be far better off without him,” Trump said in the statement.
“I only worry for the country in that Hillary Clinton was careless and negligent in allowing Weiner to have such close proximity to highly classified information,” the statement continued. “Who knows what he learned and who he told? It’s just another example of Hillary Clinton’s bad judgment. It is possible that our country and its security have been greatly compromised by this.”
The Republican nominee had referenced Abedin’s relationship with Weiner on the campaign trail on many occasions in the past year. He first railed against Weiner as a “sleazebag” and a “perv” in August 2015 at an event in Massachusetts. Trump opined then that Abedin was sharing classified information with her husband.
During Weiner’s time in Congress, Trump twice donated to the New York Democrat and giving a total of $4,300 to Weiner’s campaigns.
As Weiner’s mayoral bid collapsed in 2013, Abedin, already anticipating Clinton’s presidential run, appeared alongside him and expressed support for him. She did not appear at a concession speech he gave at the end of the campaign.
The disintegrating mayoral bid, and the couple’s efforts to prevent the same from happening to their marriage, were the subject of an award-winning documentary released this year. That film, Weiner, is scheduled to be broadcast on cable television in October, weeks before the election.
Earlier this month, Weiner said that Abedin had never agreed to be featured in the documentary.
Abedin was widely reported to have sought Clinton’s counsel when her husband’s sexting was revealed in the summer of 2011. It’s not known what Clinton advised her. Unnamed intimates of the Clintons told the New York Times that year that the Clintons were unhappy with the situation and with Weiner.
Clinton followed the Weiner scandal closely via updates from other aides, internal emails show.
Weiner’s Twitter account has been deleted.
Additional reporting by Ben Jacobs in Washington
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https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/aug/29/anthony-weiner-sexting-twitter-scandal
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en
| 2016-08-29T00:00:00 |
www.theguardian.com/e2f8c3270553caf55fee7d6cb49246809191d43af093124dcb2ab9195b0c39d8.json
|
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[
"Caroline Davies"
] | 2016-08-29T10:49:58 | null | 2013-04-28T00:00:00 |
Judge describes 'wicked and selfish' motive of using daughter to provide parent with a fourth child
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Girl, 14, forced to become pregnant with donor sperm bought by mother
| null | null |
www.theguardian.com
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A mother forced her 14-year-old adopted daughter to inseminate herself with donor sperm to provide a baby for her after she was prevented from adopting any more children, it can be revealed.
The daughter, a virgin, is believed to have miscarried at 14, but went on to have a baby at 16 after regularly inseminating herself with sperm bought over the internet by her "domineering" mother because she was too scared to refuse.
Details of the shocking case have emerged in a previously secret court judgment, which can be reported today for the first time and which raises serious questions over loopholes in international adoptions and the regulation of the global traffic in gametes.
The adoptive mother, who cannot be identified for fear of identifying her daughter and grandchild, is now serving a five-year prison sentence after admitting child cruelty.
In a high court judgment deciding welfare provisions, family division judge Mr Justice Jackson described "an abiding sense of disbelief that a parent could behave in such a wicked and selfish way towards a vulnerable child".
The mother had already adopted three children as babies from abroad, twice when she was married and once as a single parent after her divorce. She had chosen not to give birth herself because of a health condition and had undergone an elective sterilisation.
But she was distraught when an attempt to adopt a fourth baby was thwarted when she was denied approval.
The judgment, released after representations from media organisations including the Guardian, states the mother immediately turned to her adopted daughter.
The daughter "became pregnant at her mother's request, using donor sperm bought by the mother, with the purposes of providing a fourth child for the mother to bring up as her own", the judgment states.
"The AI [artificial insemination] programme was planned when A [the daughter] was 13, began when she was 14 and ended when she became pregnant with D [her child]" aged 16, the judge said.
The truth was only discovered at the birth. Midwives were alarmed at the "pushy and insensitive" mother, who tried to prevent her daughter breastfeeding the newborn, saying "we don't want any of that attachment thing". Noticing the daughter's reluctance to hand the baby to her mother, they called in child protection workers when the mother attempted to remove the baby from the ward.
In a week-long hearing, held in private, the judge heard there were four occasions when the local authority, which cannot be named, was alerted to the mother's inappropriate behaviour towards her children but did not find cause for concern. A serious case review into the case is due to be published next month.
The mother, described as "highly articulate", and who "loves the children and they undoubtedly love her", had isolated the family. The children were schooled at home, and the adoptive father of the eldest two was deliberately excluded, did not know where they lived and had not seen them for 10 years. Neighbours and social services were kept at bay.
"The mother resorted to the AI programme because she was determined to have a fourth child, and because there was no other way of achieving this," said the judge. The daughter "allowed her body to be used by her mother because she loves her", and though she did not want to take part, she has said in interviews she was not "brave enough" to tell her mother.
The mother subjected her to a "degrading, humiliating and, on occasions, painful" ordeal. Over two years the daughter had to inseminate herself seven times, "alone in her bedroom, using syringes of semen and douches prepared by the mother".
Her mother had purchased ovulation-testing equipment to work out when her daughter was most likely to conceive. Because the mother wanted a girl, she forced her daughter to use painful acidic douches containing vinegar or lemon and lime juice, and eat a special diet, in the belief it could affect gender.
On the first occasion, semen was provided by a donor who came to the house. The others involved sperm purchased from Cryos International, an international sperm-bank network based in Denmark.
The daughter, who had no friends of her own age, later told investigators she was "shocked, pretty shocked" when her mother first asked her but also thought, "if I do this … maybe she will love me more". In agreeing, she said "feelings of gratitude for my adoption influenced how I behaved".
The court was shown a Mother's Day list drawn up by the daughter of things she could give her mother, which included a picture of a positive pregnancy test kit.
The judge said it was "likely that A had briefly become pregnant at 14" but had miscarried. When she became pregnant at 16, health workers were told the false story that she had spent the night with a boy who abandoned her and was now abroad. The girl also told health professionals it was her wish for her mother to bring up the child. The girl had, with her mother, attended private clinics on occasion for pregnancy testing, and the mother had changed her GP.
On four occasions social services were alerted over concerns about the children's welfare but on each found no immediate child protection concerns. On two of those occasions, a neighbour, worried about the children's isolation and the mother's shouting and swearing, had called. On another, the mother's GP raised concerns about who was looking after the children when the mother was admitted to hospital for a month.
The local authority was also alerted by an anonymous acquaintance who wrote to agencies and officials in the country from which the mother was seeking to adopt a fourth child, apparently raising concerns over her suitability. This ultimately resulted in her being denied approval. The court heard there were also questions over whether the third adoption had been legal, or if it had flouted international loopholes.
The mother had succeeded in keeping social services at arms' length so that their intervention was "essentially superficial", the judge said.
DNA tests showed the child was conceived using donor sperm supplied through Cryos. The judge said there were "no effective checks on a person's ability to obtain sperm from Cryos" and that no "meaningful medical involvement is demanded", except for a document, purporting to record the authority of a physician and which in any case the mother had forged.
The judge also noted that no checks were made on the children regarding home schooling after the mother refused to allow an education welfare officer to visit. The only contact was by email, so "the approval [for] home education was given without anyone ever setting eyes on the children".
In a statement, the local Safeguarding Children Board said: "Nothing can change what has happened to the children in this truly terrible case. It is clear that public bodies must highlight the major public policy issues which arise from this case. The relevant local Safeguarding Children Board has undertaken a serious case review and they aim to have this published in the coming weeks.
"The lessons from this case are already being put into practice as the relevant agencies are starting to implement its draft findings."
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https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2013/apr/28/girl-forced-pregnant-donor-semen
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en
| 2013-04-28T00:00:00 |
www.theguardian.com/feca39f7eeead0299a7f0a69c0b956228c5ff9065a84812b7bf2a315f2f0db90.json
|
|
[
"Heather Stewart",
"Severin Carrell"
] | 2016-08-29T20:50:24 | null | 2016-08-29T18:17:16 |
Theresa May urged to scrap plans to redraw electoral map after analysis showed up to 30 Labour seats could be abolished
|
http%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fpolitics%2F2016%2Faug%2F29%2Flabour-accuses-tories-abusing-power-electoral-boundary-review.json
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Labour accuses Tories of abuse of power over boundary review
| null | null |
www.theguardian.com
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Labour has urged Theresa May to drop plans for a radical redrawing of the electoral map after analysis published by the Guardian showed that boundary changes could affect up to 200 of the party’s seats.
Jon Ashworth, a shadow minister, accused the Conservatives of abuse of power and gerrymandering after the research, carried out by the Tory peer and psephologist Lord Hayward, suggested Labour would be disproportionately hit by the planned reduction in seats from 650 to 600.
Ed Balls: Labour did not deserve to win election Read more
“To be frank it is an abuse of power by Theresa May, to gerrymander the electoral system and to stack it against Labour in this way,” the MP for Leicester South told Sky News.
The changes, initiated by David Cameron, aim to ensure that each person’s vote is of similar value by equalising the number of registered voters in each constituency to within 5% of 74,769.
But a higher proportion of existing Conservative seats are currently within the range, so only between 10 and 15 are expected to disappear, while Labour could see up to 30 of its seats abolished.
“This is about deliberately damaging Labour’s prospects at the next general election, and that’s why it’s shoddy,” Ashworth said. “Theresa May should drop these plans.”
He pointed out that while reducing the number of MPs, ostensibly to cut the cost of politics to the taxpayer, Cameron had put 260 extra peers in the House of Lords, while Brexit would bring added responsibilities for Westminster.
Facebook Twitter Pinterest David Cameron initiated the boundary review. Photograph: Christopher Furlong/PA
Ashworth’s comments came as Gordon Brown argued that the right political response to Brexit should be radical constitutional reform, including an elected upper chamber and much more significant devolution to Scotland.
In a speech at the Edinburgh book festival, written in collaboration with Scottish Labour leaders and policy staff, the former prime minister said Holyrood should be given powers currently controlled by the EU. Those could include control over all territorial fisheries, agriculture and social rights, as well as the European convention on human rights and EU academic programmes such as Erasmus.
At the same time, a UK-wide constitutional convention was needed to investigate new structures, including a UK senate for the nations and English regions, said Brown.
His speech deliberately echoed similar remarks made over the weekend by Kezia Dugdale, the Scottish Labour leader.
Replace House of Lords with elected senate, urges Gordon Brown Read more
In extracts released before his speech, Brown said the carefully constructed deal by the Smith commission to give Holyrood extra tax and policy powers after the 2014 independence referendum would also need to be ripped up.
Brown couched the proposals as the most sophisticated alternative to two competing stances: the unchanging support for the union of the Tories, and the quest for Scottish independence which the first minister, Nicola Sturgeon, is due to rekindle later this week.
“We enter autumn with two entrenched positions which are polar opposites: the UK government wants Scotland in Britain but not in Europe and the Scottish government wants Scotland in Europe but not in Britain,” said Brown.
“Now is the time for fresh thinking and not a replay of the tired old arguments and slogans. [I] believe that we should examine a way forward that offers a more innovative constitutional settlement, more federal in its relationship with the UK than devolution or independence and more akin to home rule than separation.”
Brown said that overhaul would also include the Treasury sending up to £750m more to Holyrood: his advisers estimate the EU programmes, including agricultural subsidies, academic grants and regional funds, are worth £750m in Scotland. But Labour sources admit that giving Holyrood more money and far greater political autonomy from Westminster would provoke a fresh battle with English MPs over Scottish funding.
Labour’s near-wipeout in Scotland at last year’s general election, with just one MP for a Scottish seat remaining, raised questions about how the party could ever win a majority at Westminster, which will be underlined by the results of the boundary review.
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http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2016/aug/29/labour-accuses-tories-abusing-power-electoral-boundary-review
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en
| 2016-08-29T00:00:00 |
www.theguardian.com/a70312b1ff8334e2562e8bbe4c04a755c9424224bba5812775b5fdff7775a7cd.json
|
|
[
"Richard P Grant"
] | 2016-08-26T13:27:31 | null | 2016-08-23T07:00:08 |
Scientists and science communicators are engaged in a constant battle with ignorance. But that’s an approach doomed to failure, says Richard P Grant
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https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fscience%2Foccams-corner%2F2016%2Faug%2F23%2Fscientists-losing-science-communication-skeptic-cox.json
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Why scientists are losing the fight to communicate science to the public
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www.theguardian.com
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A video did the rounds a couple of years ago, of some self-styled “skeptic” disagreeing – robustly, shall we say – with an anti-vaxxer. The speaker was roundly cheered by everyone sharing the video – he sure put that idiot in their place!
Scientists love to argue. Cutting through bullshit and getting to the truth of the matter is pretty much the job description. So it’s not really surprising scientists and science supporters frequently take on those who dabble in homeopathy, or deny anthropogenic climate change, or who oppose vaccinations or genetically modified food.
It makes sense. You’ve got a population that is – on the whole – not scientifically literate, and you want to persuade them that they should be doing a and b (but not c) so that they/you/their children can have a better life.
Brian Cox was at it last week, performing a “smackdown” on a climate change denier on the ABC’s Q&A discussion program. He brought graphs! Knockout blow.
Q&A smackdown: Brian Cox brings graphs to grapple with Malcolm Roberts Read more
And yet … it leaves me cold. Is this really what science communication is about? Is this informing, changing minds, winning people over to a better, brighter future?
I doubt it somehow.
There are a couple of things here. And I don’t think it’s as simple as people rejecting science.
First, people don’t like being told what to do. This is part of what Michael Gove was driving at when he said people had had enough of experts. We rely on doctors and nurses to make us better, and on financial planners to help us invest. We expect scientists to research new cures for disease, or simply to find out how things work. We expect the government to try to do the best for most of the people most of the time, and weather forecasters to at least tell us what today was like even if they struggle with tomorrow.
But when these experts tell us how to live our lives – or even worse, what to think – something rebels. Especially when there is even the merest whiff of controversy or uncertainty. Back in your box, we say, and stick to what you’re good at.
We saw it in the recent referendum, we saw it when Dame Sally Davies said wine makes her think of breast cancer, and we saw it back in the late 1990s when the government of the time told people – who honestly, really wanted to do the best for their children – to shut up, stop asking questions and take the damn triple vaccine.
Which brings us to the second thing.
On the whole, I don’t think people who object to vaccines or GMOs are at heart anti-science. Some are, for sure, and these are the dangerous ones. But most people simply want to know that someone is listening, that someone is taking their worries seriously; that someone cares for them.
It’s more about who we are and our relationships than about what is right or true.
This is why, when you bring data to a TV show, you run the risk of appearing supercilious and judgemental. Even – especially – if you’re actually right.
People want to feel wanted and loved. That there is someone who will listen to them. To feel part of a family.
The physicist Sabine Hossenfelder gets this. Between contracts one time, she set up a “talk to a physicist” service. Fifty dollars gets you 20 minutes with a quantum physicist … who will listen to whatever crazy idea you have, and help you understand a little more about the world.
How many science communicators do you know who will take the time to listen to their audience? Who are willing to step outside their cosy little bubble and make an effort to reach people where they are, where they are confused and hurting; where they need?
Atul Gawande says scientists should assert “the true facts of good science” and expose the “bad science tactics that are being used to mislead people”. But that’s only part of the story, and is closing the barn door too late.
Because the charlatans have already recognised the need, and have built the communities that people crave. Tellingly, Gawande refers to the ‘scientific community’; and he’s absolutely right, there. Most science communication isn’t about persuading people; it’s self-affirmation for those already on the inside. Look at us, it says, aren’t we clever? We are exclusive, we are a gang, we are family.
That’s not communication. It’s not changing minds and it’s certainly not winning hearts and minds.
It’s tribalism.
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https://www.theguardian.com/science/occams-corner/2016/aug/23/scientists-losing-science-communication-skeptic-cox
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en
| 2016-08-23T00:00:00 |
www.theguardian.com/76e4ccc926ca384b0e08af38227a26bd9dfa5e5df4bf1d2648f6670d96198cf7.json
|
|
[
"Source"
] | 2016-08-30T10:52:46 | null | 2016-08-30T09:29:06 |
21-years old Kyle Edmund wins against Richard Gasquet 6-2, 6-2, 6-3 during the first round matches of the US Open on Monday
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https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fsport%2Fvideo%2F2016%2Faug%2F30%2Fkyle-edmund-hits-best-win-of-career-us-open-video.json
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| null |
Kyle Edmund hits 'best win' of his career at US Open - video
| null | null |
www.theguardian.com
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21-years old Kyle Edmund speaks at a press conference following his win against Richard Gasquet 6-2, 6-2, 6-3 during the first round matches of the US Open on Monday. Very pleased with his performance, the Briton said the victory was probably his ‘best win’ of his career. Photograph: Mike Frey/BPI/REX/Shutterstock
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https://www.theguardian.com/sport/video/2016/aug/30/kyle-edmund-hits-best-win-of-career-us-open-video
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en
| 2016-08-30T00:00:00 |
www.theguardian.com/8d94081be042ac16c67caf06c0daa33501709add5147b114afcc024ae92a6c39.json
|
|
[
"Nick Miller"
] | 2016-08-28T14:51:44 | null | 2016-08-28T14:50:45 |
Minute-by-minute report: Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City side are looking to maintain their 100% start to the season against West Ham. Join Nick Miller for the action
|
https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Ffootball%2Flive%2F2016%2Faug%2F28%2Fmanchester-city-v-west-ham-united-premier-league-live.json
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| null |
Manchester City v West Ham United: Premier League - live!
| null | null |
www.theguardian.com
| null |
https://www.theguardian.com/football/live/2016/aug/28/manchester-city-v-west-ham-united-premier-league-live
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en
| 2016-08-28T00:00:00 |
www.theguardian.com/fb802acecaeed1afc064fd7110b4ce76c75ea1b5d8ca85749d689241cbb73c62.json
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|
[
"David Hambling"
] | 2016-08-29T20:59:18 | null | 2016-08-29T20:30:11 |
Weatherwatch: The Bat-Signal makes cloud projection look easy, but attempts to replicate a 16th-century miracle rarely succeed
|
https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fscience%2F2016%2Faug%2F29%2Fpictures-sky-just-illusion-weatherwatch.json
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en
| null |
Pictures in the sky are just an illusion
| null | null |
www.theguardian.com
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The 16th-century Italian polymath Gerolamo Cardano is known today for his work on algebra and probability theory. But he also provided an account of a rare meteorological phenomenon in Milan, when there was a report of an angelic visitation.
Cardano ran to the spot where, along with 2,000 other people, he saw what appeared to be an angel hanging in the air. “The strangeness of the sight filled everyone with amazement,” Cardano records in his book On Medicine.
The only person present not amazed was a lawyer. He pointed out that the winged figure was in fact a projection, an image of the bronze angel on the top of the bell tower of San Gottardo reflected on to low cloud by the rays of the sun.
The Dantean Anomaly Read more
Such images tend to be blurred. Gotham’s Bat-Signal in the Batman movies may look simple, but it is hard to replicate in real life because clouds are uneven and make poor screens.
On 25 December 1930, the inventor Harry Grindell Matthews projected the image of an angel above Hampstead Heath in London with the message “Happy Christmas”, but like other plans for cloud-based advertising, it did not come to fruition because of the poor quality of the images.
Modern cloud projectors using lasers suffer the same problem. When the artist Dave Lynch projected a galloping horse above Nottingham in 2015, though recognisable it was indistinct due to the uneven cloud.
To so impress the crowd, Cardano’s angel must have been cast on to an unusually – if not miraculously – thick and even cloud.
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https://www.theguardian.com/science/2016/aug/29/pictures-sky-just-illusion-weatherwatch
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en
| 2016-08-29T00:00:00 |
www.theguardian.com/b87833ac50dc005de91145631cedd1cd701181d9a0c3325f3a849f03fd66945c.json
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[] | 2016-08-26T13:28:44 | null | 2016-08-15T06:00:16 |
He doesn’t understand what we do and senior staff find it impossible to work with him
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My charity's old boss was terrible, but the new one is worse - what can we do?
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www.theguardian.com
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Twice a week we publish problems that will feature in a forthcoming Dear Jeremy advice column in the Saturday Guardian so that readers can offer their own advice and suggestions. We then print the best of your comments alongside Jeremy’s own insights. Here is the latest dilemma – what are your thoughts?
I have been involved with a small charity for many years on a voluntary basis, but a few years ago I was offered a part-time position that I took up. I feel passionately about the work the charity does and am committed to doing whatever I can to help it succeed.
However, when I became a member of staff and more involved with the day-to-day operations, it became apparent that the then CEO was not up to the job. A number of staff members, including myself, approached the trustees to express our concerns.
The CEO was eventually ushered out the following year but not without considerable collateral damage to staff morale, with several people leaving because working conditions became so difficult.
Things then calmed down and our new CEO is in situ. The problem is that the situation is even worse than with his predecessor. We can’t approach the trustees again as they clearly have faith that he can do the job, having appointed him. He doesn’t seem to understand the charity or what we are trying to achieve; he is brusque and appears dictatorial and bureaucratic. Senior staff say they find him impossible to work with and sadly end up trying to find ways to avoid involving him in decisions.
We can’t see – from our standpoint at work – that he has anything to add and he obstructs the positive initiatives of others.
This is not like a regular business. As charity workers we all believe so much in what we are doing and what we want to achieve, and it becomes personal.
But ... what can we do now?
Do you need advice on a work issue? For Jeremy’s and readers’ help, send a brief email to dear.jeremy@theguardian.com. Please note that he is unable to answer questions of a legal nature or to reply personally.
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https://www.theguardian.com/money/2016/aug/15/charity-boss-terrible-what-can-we-do
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en
| 2016-08-15T00:00:00 |
www.theguardian.com/9231329fd5c422bad90ed1dd16c33cb17a655c1f47700aba6fd2e298df7f846b.json
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[
"Helen Davidson"
] | 2016-08-28T02:51:39 | null | 2016-08-28T02:42:04 |
Chief minister-elect wants information on state of Don Dale centre and the welfare of young detaineers
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https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Faustralia-news%2F2016%2Faug%2F28%2Fnorthern-territory-michael-gunner-seeks-urgent-briefing-on-juvenile-detention.json
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| null |
Northern Territory: Michael Gunner seeks urgent briefing on juvenile detention
| null | null |
www.theguardian.com
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One of Michael Gunner’s first acts as chief minister-elect of the Northern Territory will be to call a briefing on youth justice and the welfare of young detainees at the notorious Don Dale youth detention centre.
Gunner was addressing media on Sunday morning, after leading the Labor party to an emphatic victory over the scandal-plagued Country Liberal party (CLP) government on Saturday.
With 60% of the votes counted, Labor had won 15 seats in the 25-seat unicameral parliament, with another three predicted. The CLP was reduced from 12 to one, with another two possible at most, after suffering an almost 19% swing against it.
Bill Shorten says NT result shows voters want focus on healthcare and education Read more
The new Northern Territory government will have to manage expected economic hard times, as well as a crisis in youth justice. Gunner said he would be seeking some meetings immediately, before writs are issued and the full make-up of his team is clear. A treasurer would be elected by caucus.
“I will be seeking a meeting with the corrections commissioner, the CEO of justice and the Aboriginal peak organisations, and the NT council of social services, to be briefed on Don Dale, the welfare of the kids, an update on legal issues and where we are at, to make sure we start on the right foot even now about how we handle these issues,” he said.
“We want to do things differently, better, and together, so let’s start by having that discussion together.”
Gunner said he would be seeking a briefing “from the start” on the state of Don Dale.
“There’s a lot of information we don’t have.”
The royal commission into child protection and youth detention will hold its first directions hearing next week.
Labor’s costings released on the Thursday before the election included $15m earmarked for a new juvenile detention centre to replace Don Dale but not until 2019/20.
Gunner said conversations with peak organisations had been around diversionary and rehabilitation programs, and he had not received any recommendations that the physical infrastructure of the facility was the most immediate issue.
“That’s not to say Don Dale isn’t important, and what we do in that space isn’t important, but a lot of the feedback I’ve had from those organisations … has been they’re happy to help. They’ve had the hand reached out and we’re happy to work with them.”
The chief minister-elect also said Labor would begin work on establishing an independent commission against corruption, continue a Buy Local policy and enact Labor’s first home buyers’ grant scheme.
Gunner said unless there was different advice from the treasury department Labor would not be providing a minibudget before a full budget, as he believed that would be a “handbrake” on government. Labor would hold a series of economic summits.
“We think we can bring our plans in through that transition phase without affecting or interrupting the delicate business situation we have in the Northern Territory,” he said.
The party's over for the Country Liberals as volatility takes hold in Northern Territory Read more
With a larger independent crossbench than CLP opposition looking likely, Gunner said he would ensure all non-Labor MLAs were well-resourced. He didn’t rule out making the CLP share funds ordinarily earmarked for the opposition party with independents, should they be in the minority.
The former chief minister Adam Giles, whose seat of Braitling is still undecided, said on Saturday night the result had been a “thumping” for his party and they had heard the message from the electorate about the cost of disunity in government and looking after oneself instead of the people.
The CLP would rebuild and return, he said.
“We will remove the disagreements, we will remove the personalities of politics and we will come back bigger and better because one thing is for sure: Labor can’t manage the economy, Labor can’t manage law and order, hence one day in the future the NT will look on us to take leadership, albeit in a more concise, less personality operated government.”
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https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2016/aug/28/northern-territory-michael-gunner-seeks-urgent-briefing-on-juvenile-detention
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en
| 2016-08-28T00:00:00 |
www.theguardian.com/beaeb80038004b8dee1f51b90edf33867c541b0210bcb7ee64a547256c3abe83.json
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|
[
"Associated Press In Hilo"
] | 2016-08-26T13:27:17 | null | 2016-08-21T19:36:47 |
US, French and German volunteers have been living on freeze-dried food and trying to avoid personal conflicts on the red planet-like slopes of Mauna Loa
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https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fus-news%2F2016%2Faug%2F21%2Fscientists-simulation-mars-mission-hawaii-hi-seas.json
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| null |
Scientists simulating Mars mission on Hawaii long for end to year in isolation
| null | null |
www.theguardian.com
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Six scientists are close to wrapping up a year of near isolation in a Mars simulation on a Hawaii mountain.
The scientists are housed in a dome on Mauna Loa and can go outside only in spacesuits, the Hawaii Tribune-Herald reported.
They manage limited resources while conducting research and working to avoid personal conflicts. Communication is delayed by 20 minutes, the length it would take to relay messages from Mars.
Kim Binsted, principal investigator for the Hawaii Space Exploration Analog and Simulation (Hi-Seas), said this simulation was the second-longest of its kind after a mission that lasted 520 days in Russia.
“They’re doing OK, as far as we can tell,” Binsted said of the scientists.
Forty years of missions to Mars Read more
Previous simulations in the Mauna Loa dome have lasted four to eight months. Mauna Loa soil is similar to what would be found on Mars. The area’s high elevation means almost no plant growth. Nasa funded the study run through the University of Hawaii.
The scientists will have access to fresh produce and other foods not available to them in the dome when the simulation ends on 28 August.
“They are clamoring to get into the ocean,” Binsted said. “I think they will enjoy having a beer as well.”
The current simulation has been the fourth and longest, with volunteers from France, Germany and the United States, including a soil scientist, an astronomer, a physicist and an astrobiologist, who have survived on freeze-dried foods for months. An eight-month simulation starts in January.
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https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/aug/21/scientists-simulation-mars-mission-hawaii-hi-seas
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en
| 2016-08-21T00:00:00 |
www.theguardian.com/b44355b2d0a388bbe7b222718b30664837101a3eb0a3151b4e4af9dceb4bb900.json
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|
[
"Jamie Jackson"
] | 2016-08-29T20:52:29 | null | 2016-08-29T19:30:10 |
The Manchester City winger Raheem Sterling has revealed he made a promise to himself before the season started to work harder than ever, and also praised the impact of new manager Pep Guardiola
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https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Ffootball%2F2016%2Faug%2F29%2Fraheem-sterling-manchester-city-work-harder-guardiola.json
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| null |
Raheem Sterling says new work ethic behind improved Manchester City form
| null | null |
www.theguardian.com
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Raheem Sterling has stated that before the season started he promised to work harder than ever at Manchester City.
The forward has begun impressively under the current manager Pep Guardiola and scored twice in Sunday’s 3-1 victory over West Ham. Sterling pointed to the promise he made as a factor in his form and said that last term’s uneven campaign helped the improvement.
“Every day I’m learning,” he said. “It’s something that I will definitely take into every season with me, to remember that sort of stuff and just to move forward from it. I just made a promise, something that I said to myself, that when I come back at the start of this season I am going to work hard and try to be as consistent as I can.”
Sterling has started four of City’s five wins, being stood down only for the Champions League knockout round second leg against Steaua Bucharest, which was effectively a dead-rubber.
“I’m enjoying my football and I am enjoying winning games and I am working hard to continue doing that,” he added. “This is the season you will see me working my hardest, that’s for sure. I didn’t come into the season thinking: ‘I want to show everyone.’ But just to concentrate on my football, that’s the most important thing. People will talk, but the most important thing for me was to come in and do well under the new manager and impress here. I knew if I kept working hard I would get my chances.”
Raheem Sterling and England’s players reflect us all, so why so much hate? | Barney Ronay Read more
Guardiola called Sterling to offer support when the forward was struggling with England at the Euro 2016. “It was a big lift,” Sterling said. “The manager’s been in the game a long time, won stuff, worked with young players, worked with great players and he knows how to get the best out of his players. He’s been a massive help. Not just for me, but the other players as well – the whole team.
“It’s good to have a manager that not just talks to me but makes the whole team feel really welcome, makes everyone feel they are all one, whether you are starting or not. Everyone’s hungry, everyone’s ready to run for him and play for him.”
Of Guardiola’s drive for perfection, he said: “It’s a challenge. He puts his system into play, likes a certain way to play and when everyone is working hard together it’s a plus and you get the rewards for it. The manager’s got his style and obviously coached Barcelona and at times you can see that. It’s exciting – some things we need to work on, but as the season goes on we will just get better and better.
“He will bring the best out of the whole team, not just me. He will definitely push everyone to do better. We are hungry, ready and pushing to win the games.”
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https://www.theguardian.com/football/2016/aug/29/raheem-sterling-manchester-city-work-harder-guardiola
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en
| 2016-08-29T00:00:00 |
www.theguardian.com/dbe7dd4b8e46de5c59fb27e4269ee5097184b895ba8e3b219d9aa20bb59b440e.json
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[
"Phillip Inman Economics Correspondent"
] | 2016-08-26T13:17:38 | null | 2016-08-25T18:38:57 |
Editorial: A lot rests on Janet Yellen and the rate-setters meeting at Jackson Hole this weekend. Too much, for their own good and ours
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https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fcommentisfree%2F2016%2Faug%2F25%2Fthe-guardian-view-on-central-bankers-growing-power-and-limited-success.json
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The Guardian view on central bankers: growing power and limited success
| null | null |
www.theguardian.com
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To find the true centre of power in today’s politics, ignore the sweaty press releases from select committees, look past the upcoming party conferences – and, for all our sakes, pay no mind to the seat allocations on the 11am Virgin train to Newcastle. Look instead to the mountains of Wyoming, and the fly-fishers’ paradise of Jackson Hole.
Over the next couple of days, the people who set interest rates for the world’s major economies will meet here to discuss the global outlook – but it’s no mere talking shop. What’s said here matters: when the head of the US Federal Reserve, Janet Yellen, speaks on Friday, the folk who manage our pension funds will take a break from the beach reads to check their smartphones for instant takes.
This year the scrutiny will be more widespread and particularly intense. Since the 2008 crash, what central bankers say and do has moved from the City pages to the front page. That is logical, given that the Bank of England created £375bn of new money through quantitative easing in the four years after 2009 and has just begun buying £70bn of IOUs from the government and big business. But the power and prominence of central banks today is also deeply worrying. For one, their multibillion-pound interventions have had only limited success – and it is doubtful that throwing more billions around will work much better. For another, politicians are compelling them to play a central role in our politics, even though they are far less accountable to voters. This is politics in the garb of technocracy.
Next month is the eighth anniversary of the collapse of Lehman Brothers. Since then the US central bank has bought $3.7tn (£2.8tn) of bonds. All the major central banks have cut rates; according to the Bank of England’s chief economist, Andy Haldane, global interest rates are at their lowest in 5,000 years. Despite this, the world economy is, in his description, “stuck”. This government boasts of the UK’s recovery, but workers have seen a 10% drop in real wages since the end of 2007 – matched among developed economies only by Greece. Fuelling the popularity of Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders is the fact that the US is suffering one of the slowest and weakest recoveries in recent history. In April, the IMF described the state of the global economy as “Too Slow for Too Long”.
Having thrown everything they had at the world economy, all central bankers have to show is the most mediocre of score sheets. When it comes to monetary policy, the old cliche almost fits: you can lead a horse to water, but you cannot make it avail itself of super-low interest rates to kickstart a sustainable recovery. Two forces appear to be at work. First, monetary policy has been used by politicians as a replacement for fiscal policy on spending and taxes, when it should really be complementary. Second, major economies – such as Britain after Thatcher’s revolution – have become so unequal and lopsided that vast wealth is concentrated in the hands of a few who use it for speculation rather than productive investment. QE has pushed up the price of Mayfair flats and art by Damien Hirst. It has done next to nothing for graphene in Manchester.
All this was foreseen by Keynes in his General Theory: “I am now somewhat sceptical of the success of a merely monetary policy directed towards influencing the rate of interest. I expect to see the State, which is in a position to calculate the marginal efficiency of capital-goods on long views and on the basis of the general social advantage, taking an ever greater responsibility for directly organising investment.”
Eighty years on, it is time those words were heeded by policymakers. In Britain, that means using state-owned banks such as RBS and Lloyds to direct loans to those industries and parts of the country that elected and accountable politicians see as being in need. Couple that with a tax system that rewards companies on how much value they add to the British economy, and the UK might finally be back in business.
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https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/aug/25/the-guardian-view-on-central-bankers-growing-power-and-limited-success
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en
| 2016-08-25T00:00:00 |
www.theguardian.com/f9ca5c9363aa415ec74aa516faf6cd3894a2ffa11767c528ab38508c9142c1bb.json
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|
[
"Jamie Grierson"
] | 2016-08-29T14:50:02 | null | 2016-08-29T14:00:12 |
Detectives launch murder investigation and family in shock after death of 30-year-old banker Oliver Dearlove
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https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fuk-news%2F2016%2Faug%2F29%2Fsomeone-punched-him-man-dies-assault-south-london-oliver-dearlove.json
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| null |
'Someone punched him and that was it': man dies after assault in south London
| null | null |
www.theguardian.com
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The mother of a London banker who died after being assaulted on a night out with friends has said her “perfect” son had “so much more life to live”.
Detectives have launched a murder investigation after Oliver Dearlove, 30, died in hospital on Sunday night, less than 24 hours after he was assaulted in south-east London.
Dearlove, who worked as a relationship manager for the private bank Duncan Lawrie, and had previously worked for Coutts and Barclays, had been out in the Blackheath area of London with former university friends when he was reportedly punched by an unknown assailant. No arrests have been made.
Dearlove, who lived with his girlfriend in Eltham, was a keen football fan and played as a forward for his local team Lord Hood FC. He was set to go on holiday with friends to Las Vegas next week for a collective 30th birthday celebration.
His mother, Joy Wright, from Chislehurst, south-east London, told the Guardian she last saw her son on Thursday.
“He was very easygoing, lots and lots of friends, played lots of football,” she said. “He studied hard at school. He worked for a private bank in Belgravia. He had been travelling for a year. He did what most nice people do.”
Dearlove came from a big family, Wright said, with six siblings and stepsiblings: younger twin brothers, a third brother, two stepbrothers and a stepsister.
Describing what she believed to have happened in the early hours of Sunday morning, she said: “He and his friends all met up, had lunch, dinner, drinks. He texted his girlfriend that he loved her around 10pm. Someone picked a fight, punched him and [he] fell backwards and that was it.
“I don’t think there was an altercation. I think someone said to him and his friends ‘what are you looking at’ and that was it. I think he stopped breathing when he hit the floor. His friends gave him CPR.”
She added: “He was just perfect. I’m in a state of shock. We have friends and family here and we’re all pulling together. Sometimes I’m alright, sometimes I’m not. I’m absolutely devastated for him. [He had] so much more life to live.”
Claire Wheatley, Dearlove’s girlfriend of nearly four years, said they had recently discussed having a baby together.
“We were trying to get some money together so we could buy a house together,” she said. “We had big plans. We were planning on having a baby as well.
“He was the kindest person. He was the most amazing person I’ve ever met and ever known. I’m so lucky to have known him.”
Wheatley, who met Dearlove at a New Year’s Eve party, said she received a message from him at around 10pm on Saturday simply saying “love you”.
“He and his friends aren’t the kind of guys who look for trouble. They like having a good time and a bit of banter. But he’s just the kindest person and would normally cower away from things like that, from any altercation.”
Metropolitan police were called at around 12.45am on Sunday morning to reports of a man assaulted in Tranquil Vale, near Blackheath station.
Police officers, London ambulance and the air ambulance all attended the scene. Dearlove was taken to an east London hospital where he died at 10.22pm on Sunday night. A postmortem will be held on Tuesday at Greenwich mortuary.
DCI Lee Watling, of the homicide and major crime command, said: “We are retaining an open mind at this stage of the investigation with regards to a motive and our primary aim is to establish how Mr Dearlove came to receive the injuries which led to his death.
“We are appealing for anyone who was at Tranquil Vale who witnessed the incident, in particular a group of up to four white females who Mr Dearlove and his friends were speaking to around the time the offence occurred.”
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https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2016/aug/29/someone-punched-him-man-dies-assault-south-london-oliver-dearlove
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en
| 2016-08-29T00:00:00 |
www.theguardian.com/2173f09263e5fefcb18ced921b38b56b8cdf8a72c1000af86138b107ceb79142.json
|
|
[
"Justin Mccurry"
] | 2016-08-30T08:52:21 | null | 2016-08-30T07:54:17 |
Two senior regime officers reported to have been killed for posing a threat to leader Kim Jong-un
|
https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fworld%2F2016%2Faug%2F30%2Fnorth-korea-reportedly-executes-officials-anti-aircraft-gun-purge.json
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| null |
North Korea executes officials by anti-aircraft gun in new purge - report
| null | null |
www.theguardian.com
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North Korea’s purge of senior officials who are deemed a threat to Kim Jong-un’s leadership of the country has continued with the public executions of two senior officials, according to South Korean media, possibly to generate fear among members of the elite after recent high-level defections.
The conservative daily, the JoongAng Ilbo, reported on Tuesday that Hwang Min, a former agriculture minister, and Ri Yong-jin, a senior official at the education ministry, were executed by anti-aircraft gun at a military academy in Pyongyang earlier this month.
Hwang was reportedly killed for making policy proposals that were seen as a direct threat to Kim’s leadership. The report did not give details of the proposals. Ri was said to have been executed for falling asleep during a meeting chaired by Kim.
The newspaper’s front-page report, based on information from an unnamed source it claimed had “special knowledge” of the regime, has not been independently verified. No announcement has been made by the state’s official KCNA news agency.
The rumoured executions, though, would fit into a pattern of purges Kim has ordered against perceived enemies since he became leader in late 2011 after the death of his father, Kim Jong-il.
The most influential official to have been executed was Jang Song-thaek, Kim’s uncle and second-in-command. Jang, denounced as a “traitor for all ages”, was killed in December 2013 after being found guilty of treason and other crimes against the North Korean state.
In April last year, Hyon Yong-chol, a former defence chief, was executed after falling asleep during a military rally attended by Kim.
The JoongAng Ilbo speculated that the executions could herald a new round of purges, intended as a show of force by Kim in retaliation for recent defections, including that of Thae Yong-ho, deputy ambassador at the North Korean embassy in London.
The regime denounced Thae as “human scum”, and claimed he had fled to South Korea to escape charges of misusing government funds, selling state secrets and committing child rape.
The JoongAng Ilbo said the defections had “rekindled talk of instability and disunity among the North Korean elite”.
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https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/aug/30/north-korea-reportedly-executes-officials-anti-aircraft-gun-purge
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en
| 2016-08-30T00:00:00 |
www.theguardian.com/ba64b823823dd5bd07cfe87c8e8672a1c5ad1c5ca3276d3df866888038862ece.json
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|
[] | 2016-08-30T16:52:35 | null | 2016-08-30T16:06:22 |
How did Apple find itself owing up to €13bn (£11bn) in back taxes to Ireland?
|
https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Ftechnology%2Fvideo%2F2016%2Faug%2F30%2Fwhy-apple-is-facing-13bn-tax-bill-in-ireland-video-explainer.json
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en
| null |
Why Apple is facing a €13bn tax bill in Ireland - video explainer
| null | null |
www.theguardian.com
|
Apple has been ordered to pay a record figure of up to €13bn (£11bn) in back taxes to Ireland by the European commission. This video explains the ‘sweetheart deal’ that the commission has ruled amounts to illegal state aid
Apple ordered to pay up to €13bn after EU rules Ireland broke state aid laws
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https://www.theguardian.com/technology/video/2016/aug/30/why-apple-is-facing-13bn-tax-bill-in-ireland-video-explainer
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en
| 2016-08-30T00:00:00 |
www.theguardian.com/bc064052ae135443bbdeb7ce2af0f653b71bac21b0ef5777752d071a4666178d.json
|
|
[
"Tim De Lisle",
"Vithushan Ehantharajah"
] | 2016-08-27T08:51:43 | null | 2016-08-27T08:47:06 |
Over-by-over report: England are looking to take a 2-0 series lead at Lord’s after winning the rain-interrupted opener by 44 runs
|
https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fsport%2Flive%2F2016%2Faug%2F27%2Fengland-v-pakistan-second-odi-live.json
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en
| null |
England v Pakistan: second ODI - live!
| null | null |
www.theguardian.com
| null |
https://www.theguardian.com/sport/live/2016/aug/27/england-v-pakistan-second-odi-live
|
en
| 2016-08-27T00:00:00 |
www.theguardian.com/43de446eb80eb29db3af1c38a9b852dfbc6068f2cc7749a6ef4957700f2a747c.json
|
|
[
"Nicola Slawson"
] | 2016-08-28T18:49:39 | null | 2016-08-28T17:25:28 |
78-year-old is thought to have leaned into stationary vehicle to close window when it lurched forward, trapping her arm
|
https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fuk-news%2F2016%2Faug%2F28%2Fwomans-armed-severed-in-freak-accident-in-west-cornwall.json
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en
| null |
Woman's arm severed in freak accident in parked car in west Cornwall
| null | null |
www.theguardian.com
|
A woman’s arm has been severed in a freak accident in a parked car, police say.
The 78-year-old leaned into the vehicle outside a bungalow in Hayle, west Cornwall, on Saturday afternoon. The car is then thought to have lurched forwards, trapping her arm and ripping it off.
She was airlifted to Derriford hospital in Plymouth. Police said the woman had suffered “life-changing injuries”, but it was hoped that surgeons would be able to reattach the arm and she would make a good recovery.
A spokesman for Devon and Cornwall police said: “What appears to have happened is that she leaned into the car to close the electric windows.
“She turned on the ignition to get the power for the electric windows, but unfortunately the car was in gear and lurched forward, trapping her hand or arm. In the process of doing that, it has taken her arm off.”
|
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2016/aug/28/womans-armed-severed-in-freak-accident-in-west-cornwall
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en
| 2016-08-28T00:00:00 |
www.theguardian.com/65d01f366c4f54dfda745af22ab95e1a80463d7e086c097d58b0d94d8528f5ab.json
|
|
[
"Natalie Nougayrède"
] | 2016-08-26T18:51:04 | null | 2016-08-26T18:35:55 |
The court ruling was correct. But the nation has still not found a way to ensure its Muslim population are equal citizens of the republic
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https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fcommentisfree%2F2016%2Faug%2F26%2Fburkini-ban-france-failed-minorities-muslim.json
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| null |
The burkini ban shows how badly France has failed its minorities
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www.theguardian.com
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I can’t remember a time in recent history when France has appeared so isolated on an international level because of its own political choices. The criticism that has been levelled at France ever since the burkini scandal broke – especially since the pictures emerged of armed policemen forcing a Muslim woman sitting on a beach to partly undress – has brought to mind other, different, but no less spectacular instances of what some have described as “French-bashing”.
I created the burkini to give women freedom, not to take it away | Aheda Zanetti Read more
In 2003, when France opposed the Iraq war, anti-French sentiment in America reached such a degree that French fries were renamed “freedom fries” in some restaurants, including Congress cafeterias. In 1995, after France carried out nuclear tests in the Pacific, there was an international boycott of French wines. Now we have seen a demonstration of women denouncing discrimination in front of the French embassy in London, and social media is awash with messages mocking France’s obsession with a piece of clothing.
The burkini ban imposed this month by 30 French municipalities carries so many outright absurdities that it is no surprise there has been a global backlash. How could it be that France’s proclaimed attachment to universal values came to this? How could it be that in Cannes, of all places – on the very beach where in 1953 Brigitte Bardot famously posed in a bikini – women could now be told what they can and can’t wear?
So much has been said about this political, social and moral mess that trying to make sense of it is to risk appearing complacent or in denial about France’s republican or democratic flaws. I’m not. France has dug itself into a hole it needs to climb out of quickly.
But if there is one positive aspect to a situation in which so much confusion, paranoia, racism and hypocrisy have been thrown around, it is that finally a court has clarified what the law says – and what principles need to be upheld. In a keenly awaited ruling, France’s highest administrative court, the Conseil d’Etat, today overturned the burkini ban because, the judges said, “it represents a severe and manifestly illegal threat to fundamental freedoms that are the freedom of coming and going, freedom of conscience and personal freedom”.
The Conseil d’Etat gave no credence whatsoever to claims that the burkini ban, as some of its defenders have claimed, was necessary to uphold laïcité, France’s brand of secularism; nor was it a way of protecting “public order”. In a context where France is still officially in a state of emergency following the recent terror attacks in the country, this is significant.
It took France a long time to find the right balance between respecting the Catholic traditions of many of its people and implementing its 1905 law of separation of church and state. In recent decades, what has been unfolding – and has now taken on an increasingly hysterical dimension – is a new quest for a democratic notion of inclusiveness within French society for Muslims, especially French-born youngsters who feel disenfranchised. None of this has been made easier by the fact that France still has to come to terms with its colonial past, and that terrorism has made toxic passions swirl.
The Conseil d’État gave no credence to claims that the burkini ban was necessary to uphold France’s brand of secularism
In 1909, the Conseil d’Etat had to rule on an issue not altogether different from today’s burkini question. The city of Sens had at the time outlawed religious processions and even the wearing of cassocks on its streets. Anti-clerical sentiment was so high that the very public appearance of religious clothing was itself deemed disruptive.
But the judges struck down the ban with arguments that strikingly echo today’s ruling. And they included a reminder that the 1905 law was about freedom of conscience just as much as it was about ensuring the “neutrality” of the republic in all things religious (the latter point being, by the way, the reason for the 2004 veil ban in French state schools). Article 1 of the 1905 law guarantees the “free exercise” of any faith, for which “restrictions” can only be made “in the interest of public order”.
French politics today has been upended by the public order question: Nicolas Sarkozy called this week for the banning of all religious clothing in public areas – a message intended to court far-right and anti-Muslim voters ahead of next year’s presidential election.
Claims that the burkini is a threat to “hygiene” or “good manners” have been exposed as completely groundless, but it has been trickier to sweep aside claims that, in France’s tense atmosphere, the burkini might set off scuffles or other violent incidents on French beaches. Many people reading this will immediately jump: applied to beaches in Britain, does that mean a Sikh wearing a turban, or any other person carrying “conspicuous” religious clothing, would represent some sort of risk?
However, it is possible that the mayor of Nice – a city still traumatised by July’s terror attack, and where there have been signs of inter-ethnic tensions – may have had reasonable concerns that racist people might want to attack a woman wearing the burkini. Of course, the first thing to say about this is that upholding public order should be the responsibility of the police – not of women, who must be free to choose their clothes.
But the reason the French prime minister, Manuel Valls, recently shifted from talking about the “enslavement” of women (as a way of explaining his support for the ban) to mentioning “public order” is that this offered a potentially more solid basis for his views – which this week led to a show of divisions within the government. Now the highest court has clearly ruled that neither “public order” nor “emotions linked to terrorist acts” can be invoked to legitimise the ban.
President Hollande has carefully stayed away from the arguments, no doubt waiting for the ruling. But that does little to hide the fact that France’s second socialist president under the Fifth Republic has failed to genuinely reach out to Muslims, especially the young, to reassure them that they will be considered equal citizens, and need not feel overlooked. Again, there is historical precedent: in the 1980s, when the Front National first reared its head, Hollande’s predecessor, François Mitterrand, also missed an opportunity to convey that sense of inclusiveness, despite many slogans heard at the time (such as touche pas à mon pote, for those who remember).
France’s burkini ban exposes the hypocrisy of its secularist state | Iman Amrani Read more
The roots of France’s republican model go back to the battle between church and state, and also to its colonial past. A historian once told me that Britain’s multiculturalism partly points to the way it ran its empire, through “indirect rule”, whereas the French ran theirs directly, in part by settling one million nationals in Algeria.
Today’s ruling is a crucial turning point. It will hopefully restore common decency and the rule of law, and emphasise that the burkini does not in itself threaten public order. If that had been the case, then France’s state of emergency would have meant that, officially, citizens of different backgrounds or faiths could no longer safely sit on a beach together. The ruling isn’t the solution to all the issues that have to be dealt with – that’s some way off. But hopefully it will give a troubled nation some breathing space.
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https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/aug/26/burkini-ban-france-failed-minorities-muslim
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en
| 2016-08-26T00:00:00 |
www.theguardian.com/04eb5e016642e6f028bfa76349a8d439c25aeb30ed408a32388d12a3ae562e1b.json
|
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[
"Associated Press In Los Angeles"
] | 2016-08-26T13:16:15 | null | 2016-08-25T22:03:40 |
Phillies send fan favorite Ruiz to Dodgers for catcher AJ Ellis, a minor league pitcher and a player to be named or cash
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https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fsport%2F2016%2Faug%2F25%2Fphillies-trade-catcher-carlos-ruiz-aj-ellis-dodgers.json
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en
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Philadelphia Phillies trade longtime catcher Carlos Ruiz to Dodgers
| null | null |
www.theguardian.com
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The NL West-leading Los Angeles Dodgers have swapped catchers with Philadelphia, getting Carlos Ruiz and trading AJ Ellis to the Phillies.
Baseball needs a USA Dream Team at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics Read more
The deal was announced Thursday. The Dodgers also got cash while giving up Ellis, minor league pitcher Tommy Bergjans and a player to be named or cash.
The 37-year-old Ruiz was hitting .261 with three home runs and 12 RBIs in 48 games as a backup to Cameron Rupp. Ruiz has hit .340 (16 for 47) since the All-Star break.
Popular with Phillies fans who loved to call out his nickname “Chooch”, Ruiz will be reunited in Los Angeles with former Philadelphia star Chase Utley.
Ruiz was an All-Star in 2012 and is a .353 hitter in 11 World Series games.
Ellis hit .194 with one homer and 13 RBIs as a backup to Yasmani Grandal.
Bergjans was 3-13 with a 4.98 ERA at Class A Rancho Cucamonga.
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https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2016/aug/25/phillies-trade-catcher-carlos-ruiz-aj-ellis-dodgers
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en
| 2016-08-25T00:00:00 |
www.theguardian.com/621a944caccaa4dcf813000aace622027f8a41ea1bd6544929e639ce9a0419bb.json
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[
"Press Association"
] | 2016-08-26T13:12:39 | null | 2016-08-25T15:23:33 |
A line attached to the world’s largest airship came into contact with high-voltage cable, its manufacturer has confirmed
|
https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fuk-news%2F2016%2Faug%2F25%2Fairlander-10-mooring-line-hit-power-cable-before-crash.json
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en
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Airlander 10 mooring line hit power cable before crash
| null | null |
www.theguardian.com
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A mooring line attached to Airlander 10 hit power lines before the airship crashed, its manufacturer, Hybrid Air Vehicles (HAV), has said.
Airlander 10, which is part plane, part airship and the length of a football pitch, was damaged on Wednesday after nosediving at Cardington airfield in Bedfordshire during its second test flight.
UK Power Networks, the firm responsible for maintaining power lines in the area, said five of its customers lost power at about 12.45pm after the world’s largest airship came into contact with high-voltage cables. Supplies were not restored until 2pm.
A statement from HAV said: “Hybrid Air Vehicles Ltd can confirm a mooring line attached to the Airlander did contact a power line outside the airfield.
“No damage was caused to the aircraft and this did not contribute to the heavy landing.”
Facebook Twitter Pinterest A man looks at damage to the Airlander 10. Photograph: Darren Staples/Reuters
Although the cockpit took the brunt of the impact when the airship hit the ground, no one was injured. The Air Accidents Investigation Branch is to investigate the crash.
Airlander 10 was first developed for the US government as a long-endurance surveillance aircraft, with HAV campaigning to return it to the sky after it fell foul of defence cutbacks.
The £25m aircraft, so named because it can carry 10 tonnes, is 92 metres (302ft) long, 44 metres wide, 26 metres high and can travel at 92mph.
It is about 15 metres longer than the biggest passenger jets and uses helium to become airborne.
HAV says it will be able to stay airborne for about five days during manned flights, and that it could be used for a variety of functions, such as surveillance, communications, delivering aid and even passenger travel.
An Airlander 50 is planned, which would be able to transport 50 tonnes of freight.
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https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2016/aug/25/airlander-10-mooring-line-hit-power-cable-before-crash
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en
| 2016-08-25T00:00:00 |
www.theguardian.com/112d367d0be1f720dc049668ace9f29651b898bff8e574576ac423cfa84a6d27.json
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[
"Richard Williams"
] | 2016-08-26T13:21:07 | null | 2016-08-26T12:07:37 |
The first British MotoGP win for 35 years went under the radar but he and his sport deserve a wider profile
|
https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fsport%2Fblog%2F2016%2Faug%2F26%2Fcal-crutchlow-motogp-brno-richard-williams.json
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en
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Cal Crutchlow’s MotoGP triumph in Brno deserves Olympian acclaim
| null | null |
www.theguardian.com
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For some, the imminent blizzard of damehoods, knighthoods and other honours for Britain’s medal winners in Rio will serve as a sharp reminder that John Surtees – the only man in history to have won world championships on two and four wheels – continues, at 82, to be denied the title bestowed upon Sir Jackie Stewart and Sir Stirling Moss, not to mention Sir Philip Green.
Silverstone’s grandstands and grass banks will be full of enthusiasts to witness next week’s MotoGP meeting, but motorbike racing has never enjoyed much in the way of status in Britain, even though the top international formula was dominated for several decades not just by Surtees but also by Geoff Duke, Mike Hailwood, Phil Read and Barry Sheene. So it was no surprise when Cal Crutchlow’s success at Brno last weekend – the first for a British rider since Sheene’s win in Sweden 35 years ago – went widely unnoticed, drowned in the acclaim for various homeward-bound tumblers, pedallers, trampolinists, divers and dressage artists.
In terms of the motor sport hierarchy, it’s a class thing. Formula One draws royalty and celebrities to its paddocks, even at unlovely Silverstone. MotoGP enjoys no such glamorous patronage, which is very much to its benefit in some respects, ensuring an absence of pomp and pretension. Unfortunately sponsors and broadcasters tend to be attracted by those very qualities, which is largely why MotoGP finds itself tucked away in the TV schedules and failing, at least in Britain, to enjoy much coverage in newspapers, including this one.
A maiden victory for the 30-year-old Crutchlow, midway through his sixth season in the top tier, is not going to change that overnight. Despite being totally overshadowed by the events in Rio, however, his achievement was worthy of a place alongside any of them, being the reward for a combination of skill, courage, persistence, and sheer racecraft at the highest level of international competition. And very spectacular it was, too.
Racing on the Brno circuit goes back to 1930, and until 1948 the original 19-mile track ran through eight villages on public roads combining asphalt and cobbled surfaces.
Bikes started racing there in 1950, on a circuit reduced to 11 miles. The first British winner of the 500cc race was Dickie Dale, a former RAF flight mechanic, in 1958. John Newbold, the son of a Derbyshire butcher, was the last, in 1976. The modern permanent circuit, which lies within the perimeter of the old one but does not use any of its roads, came into being in 1987. At 3.3 miles, it is reckoned to be a long lap by current standards, and certainly a demanding one.
Facebook Twitter Pinterest John Surtees practising at Monza in 1957. The only man to have won world championships on two and four wheels deserves greater honours. Photograph: Keystone/Getty Images
Crutchlow won last Sunday’s Grand Prix of the Czech Republic because he responded to difficult conditions by taking a risk. Heavy rain had fallen all morning, stopping an hour before the race was due to begin. The track was still wet when the riders left the pits but the vast majority of the riders started on the softer of the two wet-tyre compounds, believing that it would soon dry out and they would be able to switch to bikes fitted with intermediate or slick tyres.
One or two compromised, with a soft tyre at the front and a hard one at the back. Crutchlow, however, opted for the harder rubber at both the front and rear of his privately entered Honda, knowing that he would sacrifice grip early on but feeling that if the track dried only slowly, his tyres would offer longer life and the chance of lasting through the full 22 laps.
Crutchlow's success reminded me of watching Keke Rosberg at Monaco in 1983 when Nico’s dad gambled on starting on slicks
He paid an immediate price, dropping from 10th on the grid to 15th at the end of the first lap as others exploited the grip from their softer rubber. But within a few laps he started to make up places, finding that as the track gradually dried he was able to get his tyres closer to their operating temperature. His progress was so rapid that by lap 16 he had overtaken the leading trio of Ducatis – Andrea Iannone, Scott Redding and Andrea Dovizioso – into a lead that he would never relinquish. Valentino Rossi briefly had his Yamaha within five seconds of the Englishman, but took the flag with a seven-second deficit.
To sweep past the Ducatis, which had finished first and second in the preceding Austrian GP, must have given Crutchlow particular pleasure. He endured a painful season with the Italian team in 2014, joining them after three promising years with the Tech 3 Yamahas in the perfectly reasonable belief that only a full works organisation could offer him the chance of grand prix victories. The season quickly went sour and it was not until a month after the announcement that August that he would be leaving the team at the end of the year that a third place in Aragon gave him his only podium on the troublesome Desmosedici.
While the Ducatis have since improved dramatically, Crutchlow has gradually recaptured the zest of his Tech 3 years. In his second season on a Honda entered by the Monaco-based LCR team, once again he is a dangerous underdog. But for a poorly timed pit stop, he would have won last month’s German GP. The win at Brno does not mean that he is now going to start dominating the likes of Rossi, Marc Márquez and Jorge Lorenzo on their factory-entered machines, but it does represent the visible flowering of the promise that he showed when making the difficult transition from Superbikes to the top tier five years ago.
Crutchlow has never had the fastest machine in the MotoGP field, and sometimes he exceeds the limit in an attempt to compensate for a performance deficit. During last Saturday’s practice session he crashed and destroyed one of his bikes. His team worked until past midnight to build up a replacement. How the mechanics feel about that usually depends on how the rider responds on the track.
Whether on two wheels or four, wet conditions offer the ultimate test, and Crutchlow has shown on many occasions that he welcomes the challenge. His success on Sunday reminded me of watching Keke Rosberg at Monaco in 1983, when Nico’s dad took a gamble on starting on slicks in damp conditions in his underpowered Williams-Ford and ran away from the turbo-engined Renaults, Ferraris and Brabham-BMWs, whose drivers all opted for wet-weather tyres.
Those are the kind of wins that stick in the memory. Silverstone is a meteorologically challenging place at the best of times, but on Sunday week there will be no shortage of spectators praying for a spot of rain.
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https://www.theguardian.com/sport/blog/2016/aug/26/cal-crutchlow-motogp-brno-richard-williams
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en
| 2016-08-26T00:00:00 |
www.theguardian.com/6c2a05cbda0e2cc0ed04cac48f5ff9997ddc4a73cc1cc1324b108fe4b2b819f8.json
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|
[
"Source",
"Corriere Della Sera"
] | 2016-08-26T13:19:57 | null | 2016-08-26T09:46:47 |
A woman who used to teach at the Romolo Capranica school in the earthquake-hit town of Amatrice breaks down upon seeing it reduced to rubble
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https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fworld%2Fvideo%2F2016%2Faug%2F26%2Fitalian-teacher-returns-to-ruins-former-school-earthquake-amatrice-video.json
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en
| null |
Italian teacher returns to ruins of former school in earthquake-hit Amatrice - video
| null | null |
www.theguardian.com
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A woman who used to teach at the Romolo Capranica school in the earthquake-hit town of Amatrice breaks down upon seeing it reduced to rubble. The teacher visits the town on Wednesday after she heard of the disaster. She tells the interviewer she hasn’t been able to locate some of her former students
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https://www.theguardian.com/world/video/2016/aug/26/italian-teacher-returns-to-ruins-former-school-earthquake-amatrice-video
|
en
| 2016-08-26T00:00:00 |
www.theguardian.com/def547f86306689865be77112912b4746ded6e389d297a48dc048980e631c9cd.json
|
|
[
"Press Association"
] | 2016-08-26T16:50:40 | null | 2016-08-26T16:12:48 |
José Mourinho emphasised it will be ‘very difficult’ for Bastian Schweinsteiger to play for Manchester United this season
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https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Ffootball%2F2016%2Faug%2F26%2Fbastian-schweinsteiger-jose-mourinho-manchester-united.json
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en
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José Mourinho confirms Bastian Schweinsteiger will be left in cold
| null | null |
www.theguardian.com
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José Mourinho has emphasised it will be “very difficult” for Bastian Schweinsteiger to play for Manchester United this season – and had a dig back at Karl-Heinz Rummenigge following the Bayern Munich chairman’s criticism of how he has handled the player.
Schweinsteiger has been frozen out at United, with Mourinho making it clear he is not part of his plans. Earlier this week the 32-year-old former Germany midfielder said he would not be joining another club in Europe and added of his employers: “I will be ready, if the team needs me.”
Luke Shaw: ‘I could hardly walk for six months, never mind play football’ Read more
When asked on Friday if there was any chance Schweinsteiger could play for United at all this season, Mourinho said: “I think it’s very difficult to happen. I’m not saying it’s impossible. I’m saying it’s very difficult.
“We have a decision completely made about Paul Pogba, Ander Herrera, Morgan Schneiderlin, Marouane Fellaini and Michael Carrick. We have five players for two positions. It’s very difficult that an opportunity will arrive.”
After reports emerged of the former Bayern man Schweinsteiger, a World Cup winner with Germany, being made to train with United’s reserves, Rummenigge was quoted earlier this month as saying he could “hardly believe” such treatment, labelling it “a lack of respect for a worthy player”.
Mourinho said on Friday: “I thought after I read some quotes from people at Bayern Munich they would run to Manchester to bring him [Schweinsteiger] back, but no, that did not happen. I am quite surprised Mr Rummenigge is not here now to take him back.”
Schweinsteiger has two years left on his United contract, and in terms of the prospect of him staying despite not playing, Mourinho said: “I cannot answer for him. It’s his life. It’s his career. He has a contract with Man United and has the right to make that decision to stay.
“That’s not a problem for us. Football is made of decisions. I did that all my career. Not just me, everyone does. Some players react in a different way and have other kind of decisions. Bastian is not speaking a lot. He gave this last statement, which he is completely free to do in an objective and polite way like he did. There are no problems at all.”
Mourinho was speaking before Saturday’s trip to Hull, where United will be looking to make it three wins out of three. They are coming up against a promoted side who have caused a major surprise by also taking maximum points from their first two games – including against the champions Leicester – despite having a threadbare squad and no permanent manager.
The former United assistant manager Mike Phelan is the man in charge, and Mourinho feels he deserves to be given the job full-time. “I hope he gets the job despite losing the match,” Mourinho said. “I think it’s not intelligent to make a decision about a manager because he wins or loses a match.
“I think the reality is he’s one of the most successful assistant managers in the country, in the Premier League. Now he has this job and he has managed to motivate and organise the people. Are they defensive? Yes. But that’s the way they have found to get points. I think he deserves the job.”
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https://www.theguardian.com/football/2016/aug/26/bastian-schweinsteiger-jose-mourinho-manchester-united
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en
| 2016-08-26T00:00:00 |
www.theguardian.com/0c2d566bef156c96c7af821ef7bc03cc4bf10c3d94624060b7c584712880807c.json
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|
[
"Chitra Ramaswamy"
] | 2016-08-26T13:28:27 | null | 2016-08-22T14:42:00 |
The value of rare plates has soared and they are now seen as an investment along the same lines as fine wine or a Rolex. But you needn’t break the bank to get one...
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https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fmoney%2Fshortcuts%2F2016%2Faug%2F22%2Fpersonalised-number-plates-more-popular-than-ever.json
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en
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FL45H G1T: Why personalised number plates are more popular than ever
| null | null |
www.theguardian.com
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The most expensive one of all time is 25 O, selling for an eye-watering £400,000 in 2014. K1 NGS and KR15 HNA sold for more than £200,000. Lord Alan Sugar’s reads AMS 1, and the Queen owns A7, the first one ever issued in London, in 1903. (Earl Russell camped overnight to get his hands on it.) Personalised number plates may still be seen by the nine out of 10 drivers in Britain who don’t have one as the ultimate (and most embarrassing) proof of the super-rich inflated ego, but they are bigger business than ever.
Figures released by the DVLA, which began selling personalised plates for the Treasury in 1989, reveal that a record £102m was raised in 2015, a £15m increase on the previous year. Since 1989, the DVLA has sold more than 4.5m registration numbers and raised around £2.3bn for the Treasury. Meanwhile, the value of rare plates has soared and a personalised number plate is now seen as an investment along the same lines as fine wine or a Rolex. “It’s a money-spinner,” says Adam Griffiths, personalised registrations manager at the DVLA, “though we did see a drop in sales from 2007-9, partly because of the crash. Last year was the first time we exceeded £100m. We have a million hits on our website a month.”
Honk if you're an 8THEIST: how forbidden vanity plates vary by US state Read more
However Griffiths, who confesses he isn’t “in a fortunate enough position yet” to have his own personalised number plate, insists it’s no longer only a rich motorist’s game. “People sell cars on every couple of years so they like to keep the same number plate. Personalised plates start on our website at £250, and 90% of our plates are under £1,000 so you don’t have to break the bank to get one.”
Along with a six-strong team running five live and four online auctions every year, Griffiths is responsible for predicting which number plates are going to be most desirable. “Each auction has 1,500 registrations for sale,” he explains. Which ones are currently proving most popular, I ask, picturing lots of Game of Thrones characters crafted out of letter and number combinations. It turns out to be duller than that.
“It’s always the ones spelling names that do well,” says Griffiths “Other than that, the least amount of digits do the best. The smallest amount you can get now is two, so in the last auction we had 85 O and it went for £40,000. People like them because they stand out. It looks expensive.”
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https://www.theguardian.com/money/shortcuts/2016/aug/22/personalised-number-plates-more-popular-than-ever
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en
| 2016-08-22T00:00:00 |
www.theguardian.com/615f9f5ca872be77e77cd32d3dbf0dd22dce1fdd4f17da75813bfbe93488448c.json
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[
"Source"
] | 2016-08-27T18:51:16 | null | 2016-08-27T18:40:36 |
Chelsea FC manager Antonio Conte says his team have played good football but there is room for improvement with hard work.
|
https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Ffootball%2Fvideo%2F2016%2Faug%2F27%2Fantonio-conte-we-deserved-to-win-against-watford-video.json
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en
| null |
Antonio Conte: 'We deserved to win against Watford' - video
| null | null |
www.theguardian.com
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Chelsea FC manager Antonio Conte says his team played good football on the day but there is room for improvement with hard work. Chelsea beat Watford 3-0 at Stamford Bridge on Saturday with Eden Hazard, da Silva Willian and Victor Moses hitting the back of the net
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https://www.theguardian.com/football/video/2016/aug/27/antonio-conte-we-deserved-to-win-against-watford-video
|
en
| 2016-08-27T00:00:00 |
www.theguardian.com/0f78a632ca4c17493e0c74326cccc8ea22687d618e7b26304747debdc547a30d.json
|
|
[
"Source",
"Kingston Police"
] | 2016-08-28T02:49:31 | null | 2016-02-09T00:00:00 |
UK police extend a thank you to a member of the public who extended his leg to stop a suspect who was being chased by officers
|
https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fuk-news%2Fvideo%2F2016%2Ffeb%2F09%2Fpasserby-casually-trips-up-suspect-who-was-running-from-police-video.json
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| null |
Passerby casually trips up suspect who was running from police - video
| null | null |
www.theguardian.com
|
UK police have extended a thank you to a civilian who extended his leg to trip up a suspect who was being chased by Kingston police officers. The footage, posted to the force’s Facebook page, shows a member of the public in Kingston upon Thames casually tripping up the suspect, allowing the officers to make the arrest. In a comment below the video, police wrote: ‘The borough commander was extremely impressed when he saw this footage and would like to meet the passerby personally to say thanks! So if you’re out there get in touch … ’
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https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/video/2016/feb/09/passerby-casually-trips-up-suspect-who-was-running-from-police-video
|
en
| 2016-02-09T00:00:00 |
www.theguardian.com/12fc078e5954c5b6cbcb692d29697c34ae0d3d196c2ccb2f231c31311d359751.json
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[
"Lisa O'Carroll"
] | 2016-08-29T02:59:35 | null | 2015-08-19T10:24:26 |
With many Londoners paying at least half their salary in rent, politicians say urgent measures are needed to prevent a ghettoisation of the capital
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https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fmoney%2F2015%2Faug%2F19%2Fhigh-london-rents-new-controls-on-landlords-david-lammy.json
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en
| null |
Sky-high London rents prompt calls for new controls on landlords
| null | null |
www.theguardian.com
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London has become one of the most expensive cities in the world to rent a home, prompting politicians to call for New York-style controls on landlords.
In 18 of London’s 33 boroughs, the median rent for a one-bedroom flat is more than £1,000 a month, statistics from the government agency that values properties for the purposes of council tax in England and Wales show.
Through the roof: how London rents are rising – interactive Read more
In Greater London, the rent for a one-bedroom flat has risen by an average of 22% over the past five years, the Valuation Office Agency data reveals.
The figures have prompted David Lammy, one of Labour’s prospective candidates for London mayor and the MP for Tottenham, to warn that the capital risks civil unrest similar to that in the ghettoised suburbs of Paris unless rent controls are imposed.
Rent controls – or rent stabilisation, as it is referred to in New York – are not caps on monthly rent: they are usually restrictions on in-contract rent increases and lease conditions, such as length of tenancy. This prevents landlords pushing rents up to overheated levels.
“I worry about London,” Lammy says. “If we don’t do something about this, we are going to be like the Parisian banlieue, where you have squalid accommodation outside the centre, a rise in rioting and chronic and endemic hardship.”
The Valuation Office Agency figures show rents for a one-bedroom flat in Greenwich, south-east London, have risen by up to 30% over five years – from a median of £750 a month to £975. In Islington, in north London, rent for a one-bedroom flat has gone up by 20% over the same period, from £1,213 to £1,452.
Snakes and ladders for renters as Berlin rent cap starts to bite Read more
In all but four London boroughs, the median rent for a two-bedroom flat is more than £1,100 a month.
The gap between what Londoners should pay – economists most commonly say 30% of their salary – and what they actually pay is among the highest in the world, according to a report by McKinsey Global Institute. Anecdotal evidence suggests many Londoners are paying at least half their salary in rent.
Laura and her partner tell first hand of the consequences of rent inflation. Their joint income was not enough to enable them to continue renting in Hackney after their two children were born. Laura and the children have now moved to Nottingham to live with her father, while her partner rents a room in London from Monday to Saturday and sees his children one day a week.
“I’ve been in London for 14 years and have this sense of failure that we didn’t manage to do it,” Laura says. “I still come down to London for work. I hear mums in the playground saying with the tax credits going they will struggle. These are people you might think on the outside are privileged, they work in the creative industry and they feel they have to keep up. But people keep it in, like this dirty secret.”
Why Stockholm's housing rules have backfired for many Read more
NHS worker Janey Galloway said her rent covers 90% of her salary. “I don’t earn enough to get a mortgage and I can’t afford to move, and social housing waiting lists are approximately four years. I’m basically trapped,” she said.
To rent in Bexley, the cheapest of London’s suburbs, a nurse or teaching assistant on a salary of £19,700 a year with monthly take-home pay of £1,373 would be looking at paying £700 a month for a one-bedroom flat, according to the Valuation Office Agency data – 50% of their pay.
Go north to Barnet and the rent rises to 75% of take-home pay, while the rent in Camden would leave a teaching assistant in debt.
Rent control is unpopular among Conservative politicians. Zac Goldsmith declined to respond to the Guardian’s questions, but Andrew Boff, the Tory’s mayoral candidate and the party’s housing expert, believes that rather than stabilise rents, affordable housing should be built for social and private renters, regardless of their income.
“Every rental story is a horror story. The housing problems are so severe, more than we have ever seen in London’s history,” says Boff. He cites an innovative solution that he thinks should be copied across the capital: Barking and Dagenham council has created 477 homes open to anyone at 65% or 80% of market rent.
New York's rent controls: 'essential for the future of the city' Read more
Separate data from 2014, supplied by City Hall, shows that London is becoming like New York and Berlin, where the majority of homes are rented. In the early 1960s, 36% of Londoners owned their homes, the data shows. The figure peaked at 59% at the turn of the century, but by 2011 fell below 50%.
Sarah Hayward, Camden council’s Labour leader, who commissioned a report from the London School of Economics and Political Science on the global renting experience, argues that unless fair rent, as opposed to market rent, becomes the norm, the capital will “lose its soul”.
“I am really worried about the future of London,” Hayward says. “One of our selling points is that London offers diversity. It’s edgy, it’s cultured, it’s intellectual, it’s artsy, it’s fashion as well as business.”
• This article was amended on 20 August 2015 to remove personal details at the request of one of the interviewees.
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https://www.theguardian.com/money/2015/aug/19/high-london-rents-new-controls-on-landlords-david-lammy
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en
| 2015-08-19T00:00:00 |
www.theguardian.com/232ca53cc09e503268dd74f7a67ca41bb0195fd0e9975fc299f97dda313e5186.json
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[
"Stephen Curry"
] | 2016-08-26T13:27:26 | null | 2016-08-25T10:40:15 |
Ed Yong’s new book on our complex relationships with the microbial world contains a multitude of wonders
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https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fscience%2Foccams-corner%2F2016%2Faug%2F25%2Flifes-little-surprises-i-contain-multitudes-ed-yong.json
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en
| null |
I Contain Multitudes by Ed Yong review - full of life’s little surprises
| null | null |
www.theguardian.com
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On one view, the rise of natural philosophy over the last several millennia has slowly stripped man of his God-given dominion over creation and squeezed the human species into a tiny corner of the cosmos that, through accidents of physics, chemistry and evolution, happens to be our home. The diminishment of humankind is a trajectory that I find terrifying and exhilarating and it continues apace in Ed Yong’s masterful new book, I Contain Multitudes, which tells the stories of the microbes that swarm within and around us.
While we might preen at how far we have come in the past few thousand years, the whole of human history is but the work of a moment next to the three or four billion years that microbes – mostly bacteria, but also their cousins among the archea and single-celled eukaryotes – have ruled the roost. This is the point around which Multitudes pivots: precedence matters. The multi-celled animals and plants that emerged late in life’s story had to find accommodation on a planet where every niche was already occupied by invisible microbes. They had no choice but to interact, bodily and genetically, and through the blind thrashing of evolution, with the Earth’s microbiome. And we are only now discovering the extraordinary reach of the web of interactions spun from those turbulent processes.
Gut reaction: the surprising power of microbes | Ed Yong Read more
The central idea is so obvious and so obviously important that we are stung like Huxley on learning of Darwin’s theory of evolution by natural selection: “How extremely stupid not to have thought of that!” The idea is not Yong’s, of course – it has emerged from over a century of research, much of it very recent. But he had the wit and the skill to wring from this mass of observations a tale that shifts our personal cosmology once more (informing us along the way that we have more bacteria in our guts than there are stars in the Milky Way) and compels us look anew at the world.
Multitudes starts out in the middle of the seventeenth century with Leeuwenhoek’s discovery, using his superior microscope, of tiny animalcules in a drop of pond water, and alights briefly on the well-known work of Pasteur and Koch who were central to the germ theory of disease that still dominates most people’s thinking about bacteria – their reputations remain mostly unfriendly. It fell to the microbial ecologists of the twentieth century to rehabilitate bacteria as a normal component of the planetary scheme of life. Though some microbes are parasitic and pathogenic, many have developed symbiotic relationships with their hosts. And as researchers have delved deeper, particularly since adding DNA sequencing to their toolkit in the 1970s (which makes it relatively easy to identify individual species and to catalogue their genetic and molecular capabilities), the richness and complexity of those relationships has produced surprise after surprise.
From this treasure-trove of research Yong pulls story after story: how luminescent bacteria colonise and control the development of light-emitting organs in the Hawaiian bobtail squid; how the beewolf wasp (since long before Fleming chanced upon penicillin) squirts its larvae with bacterial paste to give them the protection of antibiotics as they transform into adults; how human babies are slathered in microbe-infested mucus as they are delivered through their mothers’ vagina, the gift of life being accompanied by the gift of bugs to seed their childhood microbiome; how a mother’s milk is formulated not just to feed her baby but to keep those bacteria happy too; and how the microbes in its gut may well affect how that growing child thinks and behaves.
And those are just some of the naturally occurring effects. Now that researchers have started to get a grip on the world’s microbes, they are – naturally – trying to find them new forms of employment. Yong has tales of how microbial transplants are saving frogs in California, or allowing cows to feed on toxic plants in Australia, or stopping mosquitos from transmitting the dengue virus, or curing humans of chronic diarrhoea.
Life's big surprises: The Vital Question and Life's Greatest Secret Read more
I do the book a disservice by just listing some of the contents – a pencil sketch of an oil painting. I Contain Multitudes presents, as the subtitle has it, “a grander view of life” and there are large hypotheses at play here, such as the idea of the immune system as an instrument for management of microbial co-existence rather than simply a brute defence against intruders; and of disease as dysbiosis, the result of imbalance or disharmony in the networks of our relations with different microorganisms. Things aren’t quite as hokey as the tree of souls in James Cameron’s Avatar but they’re more holistic than we have previously supposed.
The book is necessarily episodic in construction but Yong keeps a firm hold of the various threads, paying out his narrative like a master navigator. He has an easy, manner that is nevertheless respectful of the material and the reader. The prose is smart, canny, and often quite beautiful. Yong has an enviable knack for metaphor. Here he is describing Carl Woese’s discovery of archea, one of the three great kingdoms of life: “It was as if everyone had been staring at a world map only for Woese to quietly unfold a full third that had been hidden underneath.” The rise of DNA analysis in biology is rendered simply as: “The gentle caress of the cotton bud replaces the swing of a butterfly net.”
The sure-footedness of the writing is a joy, but also instills confidence, as does Yong’s renunciation of the breathless wonder that sometimes infects popular science writing. He deals adroitly with the realities and incompleteness of research, dosing the text with warnings and caveats. We are carefully reminded of the limited relevance that laboratory studies may have for real world scenarios, and exhorted repeatedly not to confuse causation and correlation. And Multitudes is nicely illuminated by conversations with the “gleeful, imaginative, driven scientists” who have devoted their lives to investigating what is happening on the microbial front line. Yong has marvels aplenty to share, but makes room also for questions, uncertainties and disputes. This is a story that is far from finished and I would not be surprised if in five or ten year’s time a new edition is required.
Occasionally, Yong is hampered by his main players. I tripped over the long, unpronounceable Latin names – the likes of Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron or Algoriphagus machipongonensis – even though they are quickly neutered by abbreviation. More difficult to deal with is invisibility. Microorganisms are variously spheroid, rod-like or spiral in shape under the microscope, but remain out of sight in our daily lives, known principally by their effects on us and other creatures. These impacts are richly described in Multitudes, but even after we have become acquainted, our microbial companions feel strangely absent. Yong is not at fault here – this is simply the curse of the microbial (and the molecular) world.
I Contain Multitudes is hardly a light read – I closed the book with the feeling that Yong has peered into every microbial niche – but it is an endlessly rewarding one. In the realm of the life sciences there is a noble tradition of popular books that, by synthesizing emergent findings scattered through research journals, have reshaped our view of the world, peeling away the old, familiar veneer to reveal inner workings of unimaginable intricacy. In my own reading I think of Schrödinger’s What is Life, Dawkins’ The Selfish Gene and, more recently, Nick Lane’s The Vital Question. Among such company, I Contain Multitudes can hold its head high.
Ed Yong’s I Contain Multitudes can be ordered from the Guardian bookshop. @Stephen_Curry and his microbes are a professor of structural biology at Imperial College.
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https://www.theguardian.com/science/occams-corner/2016/aug/25/lifes-little-surprises-i-contain-multitudes-ed-yong
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en
| 2016-08-25T00:00:00 |
www.theguardian.com/abd8f8a8718851cb8a62963e1f646cbd218ed0bc60bcd539bead93e9e5d28a93.json
|
|
[
"Tim Adams"
] | 2016-08-28T06:51:42 | null | 2016-08-28T06:00:24 |
An intimate interview with Quincy Jones found the good times still rolling before his Proms tribute
|
https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Ftv-and-radio%2F2016%2Faug%2F28%2Ffront-line-quincy-jones-prom-unforgettable-herseys-hiroshima-radio-review.json
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en
| null |
The week in radio: Front Line; Quincy Jones Prom; Unforgettable; Hersey’s Hiroshima
| null | null |
www.theguardian.com
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Front Row: Quincy Jones Radio 4 | iPlayer
The Proms Radio 3 | iPlayer
Unforgettable Radio 4 | iPlayer
Hersey’s Hiroshima Radio 4 | iPlayer
John Wilson’s Front Row interview with Quincy Jones was the perfect introduction to the 83-year-old’s Proms debut. Wilson is a dab hand at this kind of assignment, evading stock answers and getting at fragments of honest insight. He had Jones, composer and producer for everyone from Ray Charles through Frank Sinatra to Michael Jackson, talking about growing up in South Side Chicago gangs. Jones traced for Wilson the scar on his hand where a switchblade nailed him to a fence, and another from an ice pick on his head. He received both wounds when he was seven years old, giving a lie to any “show me the child” notions. He claimed he first saw a piano when he came across one in a house he had broken into as a boy. He recalled how, on touching the keys, “every cell in my body told me this was what I would do for the rest of my life”.
The subsequent Proms performance of his music by the Metropole Orkest, led by Jules Buckley, revealed the joyous results of that premonition 70 years on. The two-hour tribute was a masterclass in some of the most irresistible American dance music of those decades, from big band jazz to hip-hop (or from Billie Holiday to Billie Jean, as Wilson observed).
Jones said he recognised only two categories of music: good and bad. By the time he came on stage to conduct a full orchestral finale of his song Let the Good Times Roll, it was clear into which grouping, in a Proms programme that placed him between Mendelssohn and Tchaikovsky, his output belonged. Jones’s doctors apparently believe he is good for another 30 years yet. He has recently given up drinking. “I feel like a 19-year-old again,” he said, brightly.
The week-long series Unforgettable took its name from the famous duet between Natalie Cole and an intimate recording of her late father, Nat. There have been plenty of musical collaborations between the living and the dead since, but this attempt at extending the principle to an interview format was a first. It just about worked, thanks mainly to speed editing technology and a deft choice of interviewers and subjects. The TV writer Tony Garnett, whose credits included Cathy Come Home, revived his arguments of the 1960s and 1970s with the moralising Mary Whitehouse, no less formidable from beyond the grave. It was a treat, too, to hear the warm wisdom of Douglas Adams and Derek Jarman, “interviewed” respectively by business partner and brother-in-law, and half-imagine that their singular spirits lived undimmed.
Facebook Twitter Pinterest The stories of six survivors of the Hiroshima nuclear attack were heard in John Hersey’s account. Photograph: Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum/EPA
There were very different haunting voices in Hersey’s Hiroshima, which told the story of the landmark publication of war reporter John Hersey’s account of the experiences of six survivors of the first nuclear attack. Peter Curran’s programme reflected on the impact of those first-hand accounts, which evaded the US censor, and were published in a special issue of the New Yorker in August 1946. The print run sold out in hours and magazines sold for hundreds of times the cover price. Albert Einstein sent 1,000 scientists across the world a copy to bring home the human consequence of nuclear warfare.
A year after Hersey published his story, the BBC produced readings of his survivors’ stories in four half-hour instalments, rendered in unflinching received pronunciation. Those original recordings, available on Radio 4 Extra, retain all of their power to shock. In forensic detail, Hersey’s witnesses – the doctor who found himself the only unhurt survivor in the city’s hospital as the tide of wounded and dying flooded in, the mother scrabbling for her children in the rubble – recall the hours before and after the bomb. Their stories, partly because of the stiff upper lip of their telling, sound like our Pompeii: immediate and human, forever set in stone. Unforgettable indeed.
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https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/aug/28/front-line-quincy-jones-prom-unforgettable-herseys-hiroshima-radio-review
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en
| 2016-08-28T00:00:00 |
www.theguardian.com/134e6c662fd9e0738f452ce431336bfcefe0ddda5cdd8cac58d74bb26d19b937.json
|
|
[
"Anna Tims"
] | 2016-08-26T13:23:46 | null | 2016-08-25T06:00:03 |
New rules for Amazon Prime are forcing me to reveal details against all banking terms
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https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fmoney%2F2016%2Faug%2F25%2Famazon-prime-share-payment-details.json
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en
| null |
Amazon is making me share my payment details
| null | null |
www.theguardian.com
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I’m hoping you can put pressure on Amazon to change the new terms to their service which allows Amazon Prime subscribers to share benefits with their family.
When I changed my email address I created a new account with Amazon and re-established the Prime service on that address. I then went to share my service with my wife as I used to. However, it seems that I can now only share services if I also share my payment details.
It is against all banking terms and conditions to share your payment details with another individual, even if they are your spouse. Amazon is literally forcing people to break those conditions to use the Prime sharing service.
I asked Amazon to register my complaint on this and it just ended the chat window. Hardly representative of good service. NB, London
Amazon is no more communicative with me and ignores two requests to comment.
Last July, unannounced, it changed the benefits of its Prime sharing service which, until then, allowed subscribers to share the one-day delivery perk with up to four others.
Amazon Household, as it’s now called, restricts this altruism to one adult in the same household and up to four children who don’t need to be account holders and can’t use it to make purchases.
The good news is that the participating adult can now share streaming video and Kindle books. The bad news is, as you say, both adult account holders need to authorise each other to copy their payment details to their own account and use them for purchases.
No doubt Amazon’s intention is to put people off taking up the sharing service and encourage them instead to stump up the £79 a year for their own Prime account. It is always a risk to share your card details unless you have a joint account.
“Generally, a bank’s terms and conditions prohibit customers from allowing other people to use their cards to make transactions, unless the card issuer had permitted this for practical reasons such as disability,” says the UK Cards Association.
“If someone does give another person consent and the means to use their card, the issuer could not be expected to take liability for any transactions made by that third party.”
If you need help email Anna Tims at your.problems@observer.co.uk or write to Your Problems, The Observer, Kings Place, 90 York Way, London N1 9GU. Include an address and phone number.
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https://www.theguardian.com/money/2016/aug/25/amazon-prime-share-payment-details
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en
| 2016-08-25T00:00:00 |
www.theguardian.com/d350fefd3811bcb04d81f528fc486ee80c2e429ce52ee002f9570380ba46f5fe.json
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|
[
"Leo Benedictus"
] | 2016-08-31T02:59:55 | null | 2012-01-09T00:00:00 |
Leo Benedictus woke up rich after an erroneous bank transfer - but could it last?
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https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fmoney%2F2012%2Fjan%2F09%2Fbank-account-250000-error.json
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en
| null |
The day I found £250,000 in my bank account
| null | null |
www.theguardian.com
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You may struggle to believe this. Even while it was happening to me, I struggled too. One morning before Christmas, I checked my online bank account and noticed – although that seems too mild a word for it – that someone had just given me a quarter of a million pounds.
A woman with an unfamiliar name (which it feels unfair to mention) had, without warning, paid £250,000 into my current account. It was an exciting moment. This is not the kind of figure that a writer for the Guardian gets blasé about.
I assumed there was a glitch in the website; but when I logged off and on again, the money was still there. An hour later: still there. It had been deposited the day before, but there was no sign of anybody looking for it. I Googled the woman, and found several people with her name, but decided that I couldn't contact them. This was very private business that I wouldn't want to spread around. (Nor can you assume you'll get an honest answer to the question: "Excuse me, is this gigantic sum of money yours?")
Besides, maybe it was my money now? If £10 notes are the property of the bearer, would the same apply to all those zeroes? Should I put it into a high-interest account until the matter was resolved? (There didn't seem to be quite enough to run away with. Nowhere near enough if I took my wife and children, which ideally I would.) Maybe there would be a reward, ahem, for giving it back? Or might this all be some ingenious scam? It would have to be very ingenious indeed, because I couldn't work out how anyone might profit by giving me a quarter of a million pounds.
Of course there was the slim chance that this money had been given to me on purpose. I focused on that. In March I'd published a novel, so I took to wondering if some shy patron of the arts had loved it and gone frankly rather overboard. (Her shyness would be so pronounced, of course, that she'd prefer to ferret out my bank details rather than post me a cheque.) Maybe the eccentric companion of a deceased forgotten aunt was giving me my legacy? I tried strenuously to believe so as I typed an email to my bank explaining things.
Later, I rang the UK Payments Council, which oversees the payments system, in search of answers. It turned out that it is familiar with "erroneous transfers", which occur when somebody mistypes an account number or a sort code. "If that combination happens to belong to someone else, then that payment will go through to a third party," a spokewoman confirmed. "Although if they use that money, essentially they are committing theft," she warned. "No matter how much you need it or how much you want it, that money doesn't belong to you." Not even the interest? "No."
This was a blow. It was softened, however, by the news that my case was the largest that she had heard of. "I've seen it happen with £10,000 or £20,000, but you're the first in my time with a quarter of a million," she said
Days passed, and still the money didn't move. I checked continually. There was something hypnotic about the sight of my usual domestic debits splashing on the surface of that enormous balance. Between checks, I kept forgetting that the money was there, and then – perhaps when an Aston Martin drove past – remembering.
Another thought occurred to me. What if I just borrowed the money for a few hours, and gambled with it? I would return the full amount afterwards, providing I won. A friend suggested that I would be in breach of trust law, but I found it hard to believe that anyone would prosecute me if they got their money back. All I'd need would be an online betting account, an odds-on certainty and a stiff drink. I'd get £50,000 richer in five minutes if a 1-5 shot came home. If it didn't, admittedly, I'd get prison.
At last, just over a week after the money had arrived, my bank called. It was as I'd feared: I'd have to give everything back – although they needed my approval to transfer the money. (The results of saying no were not explained.) In the process of typing a sort code, the bank explained, this mysterious woman had pressed "6" when she meant "8", and lost a fortune.
I've tried to trace her since, without success. I'd like to tell her about the interesting week I had with her money. I'd also like to find out what her week had been like. Rather fraught, I'm guessing. Finally, I'd thank her for ensuring that I'll never make that same mistake – mainly because I no longer have a quarter of a million pounds.
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https://www.theguardian.com/money/2012/jan/09/bank-account-250000-error
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en
| 2012-01-09T00:00:00 |
www.theguardian.com/d641343c3a4b50e6ca39e9d429e26e8dcdbabe0469152845627fe35ae116f139.json
|
|
[
"Maeve Shearlaw"
] | 2016-08-26T13:20:13 | null | 2016-08-24T06:00:12 |
We’re looking for people who have had the unique experience of living at least half their lives under the USSR
|
https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fworld%2F2016%2Faug%2F24%2F25-years-with-the-soviet-union-25-without-we-want-to-hear-your-stories.json
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en
| null |
25 years with the Soviet Union, 25 without. We want to hear your stories
| null | null |
www.theguardian.com
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By the summer of 1991 it was clear that the Soviet empire’s days were numbered.
After widespread shortages of food and other supplies, rising nationalism and demands for independence across Central Asia, a coup against leader Mikhail Gorbachev ultimately ended his political career and resulted in the birth of 15 new and independent nations.
Collapse of the USSR – in pictures Read more
But a long and complicated shared history meant that the transition was never going to be simple.
“Like a marriage, there was so much that was jointly owned that it was hard to make a clean break. Industries, military units, whole populations, were scattered across an empire, indivisible,” the Guardian wrote to mark the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Soviet Union.
From the EU-leaning Baltic states, to those who’ve stayed closely connected with Russia, nations have trodden different paths in forming new identities. Some regions still haven’t found their place in the new world order, with “breakaway” republics remaining frozen in conflict.
Were you there?
As some post-Soviet countries begin to mark 25 years since the Soviet Union collapsed, we are looking for people across the region who have had the unique experience of living at least of half of their life under Soviet rule and the rest in a independent nation.
What do you remember about the last days of the USSR? How did the transition affect you personally? After quarter of a century, what have been the most positive and negative changes to your daily life?
If this isn’t your personal experience but you have a story of a family member you’d like to share, we’d like to hear from you too.
Fill in your details in the form below and we’ll use some of your submissions in our coverage marking 25 years since the Soviet Union fell apart. Alternatively, you can email maeve.shearlaw@theguardian.com.
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https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/aug/24/25-years-with-the-soviet-union-25-without-we-want-to-hear-your-stories
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en
| 2016-08-24T00:00:00 |
www.theguardian.com/fad3f09971ac630d893e0bbfa49e85e598d097693cdbde6e6bf11388ef44174e.json
|
|
[
"Source",
"Jukin"
] | 2016-08-30T08:52:19 | null | 2016-08-30T08:28:40 |
A dog has a lucky escape after it wanders on to the track at the Rally Codasur in Bolivia.
|
https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fglobal%2Fvideo%2F2016%2Faug%2F30%2Fdogs-lucky-escape-rally-car-misses-head-by-inches-video.json
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en
| null |
Dog's lucky escape as rally car misses its head by inches - video
| null | null |
www.theguardian.com
|
A dog has a lucky escape after it wanders on to the track at the Rally Codasur in Bolivia. Footage posted on to YouTube at the weekend shows a car barely missing the dog’s head as it hits a dip in the track causing the vehicle to jump
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https://www.theguardian.com/global/video/2016/aug/30/dogs-lucky-escape-rally-car-misses-head-by-inches-video
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en
| 2016-08-30T00:00:00 |
www.theguardian.com/c295fde2058807fb928b576220cc39eb95f92792cadf096ff5018d53bf29b56a.json
|
|
[
"Sarah Boseley"
] | 2016-08-31T12:50:24 | null | 2016-08-31T11:37:42 |
Patients dying within 30 days of starting the treatment are ‘unlikely to have gained survival or palliative benefits’, say authors
|
https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fsociety%2F2016%2Faug%2F31%2Fchemotherapy-mortality-study-cancer-care-england-patients-dying-palliative.json
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en
| null |
Chemotherapy mortality study could help improve cancer care in England
| null | null |
www.theguardian.com
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Almost 1,400 patients with either breast or lung cancer died in England in 2014 within a month of being given chemotherapy, according to a study which suggested they suffered harm rather than benefited from the drug treatment.
Those who died within 30 days accounted for a small proportion of the total number given the toxic anti-cancer drugs designed to destroy tumours. Most of the patients were given chemotherapy for palliative care, with the intention of relieving cancer symptoms rather than curing the patient.
But, according to the authors of the study commissioned by Public Health England (PHE), “patients dying within 30 days after beginning treatment [with chemotherapy] are unlikely to have gained the survival or palliative benefits of the treatment, and in view of the side-effects sometimes caused ... are more likely to have suffered harm”.
The study, which is published in the Lancet Oncology journal, showed the deaths were spread across the country and not clustered in any one area. However, analysis of the data submitted by the hospitals revealed some had higher death rates than would be expected once the age and condition of the patient had been taken into account. All those hospital trusts have been asked to check their data and investigate whether patients were treated appropriately.
The study is groundbreaking because it is the first time that national data has been gathered together and analysed for 30-day mortality after chemotherapy. It found that a larger proportion of patients die than in the clinical trials carried out by the drug companies. The death rate in trials of drug treatments for lung cancer was 0.8%, but in the present study it is 3%.
“Trials try to exclude high-risk patients,” said Dr Jem Rashbass, cancer lead for PHE and one of the study’s authors. “You are more likely to get a positive answer [about the benefit of the drug] because of the case mix.”
PHE hopes the research will enable hospitals and clinicians to look carefully at who they treat with chemotherapy and, in some cases, make better decisions. There is no suggestion of blame, most people do well on chemotherapy.
“These are judgments,” said Rashbass. “Medicine is greatly informed by hindsight. No doctor tries to give medicine to their patient to kill them but sometimes that balance goes the wrong way. I don’t see this as being bad practice.
“The easiest way not to kill your patients with chemotherapy is not to give it to anyone, and that is clearly wrong.”
There were 569 breast and 720 lung cancer deaths within 30 days of those patients being given chemotherapy for palliative care.
There were 41 breast cancer patients and 53 lung cancer patients who died after chemotherapy intended to cure them. The breast cancer patients were being treated at seven hospital trusts: Burton, Ipswich, Kettering, South Warwickshire, Dorset, Gloucestershire and Coventry and Warwickshire.
The lung cancer patients were being treated at five trusts: Milton Keynes, South Tyneside, Torbay and South Devon, Surrey and Sussex, and the Royal Bournemouth and Christchurch.
Most of the trusts said either that they had made mistakes in the data they sent to PHE or that the patient died of something other than their chemotherapy treatment.
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https://www.theguardian.com/society/2016/aug/31/chemotherapy-mortality-study-cancer-care-england-patients-dying-palliative
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en
| 2016-08-31T00:00:00 |
www.theguardian.com/093919299bb4739230e6d2d5d88cf9f6d08f30f8249db6a17bc9ac4b23b1a2f8.json
|
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[
"Guardian Sport"
] | 2016-08-31T12:53:13 | null | 2016-08-31T11:46:28 |
Joe Hart said: ‘Torino’s offer came at the right moment for me, in the right manner, and I’m very excited,’ after agreeing a season-long loan from Manchester City
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https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Ffootball%2F2016%2Faug%2F31%2Fjoe-hart-torino-excited-test-serie-a-transfer-window-manchester-city.json
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en
| null |
Joe Hart joins Torino: ‘I’m very excited to test myself in the beautiful Serie A’
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www.theguardian.com
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Joe Hart has spoken of his excitement after joining Torino on a season-long loan from Manchester City – calling the move a sudden turning point in his career.
Transfer news: Joe Hart deal confirmed, Tottenham start Sissoko talks – live! Read more
The 29-year-old left the England training camp on Tuesday to finalise terms and undergo a medical, and Torino confirmed the deal was in place on Wednesday. The move should ensure regular action for Hart after he slipped further down the pecking order at the Etihad Stadium following the signing of Claudio Bravo from Barcelona.
Hart told Torino’s website: “Torino’s offer came at the right moment for me, in the right manner, and I’m very excited to test myself in an important and beautiful league such as Serie A.
“Everyone knows the history of goalkeepers in Italy, and I’m sure I can learn in Torino. That’s why I accepted President Cairo’s proposal.
Facebook Twitter Pinterest Joe Hart poses with fans as he arrives to sign for Torino. Photograph: Alessandro Di Marco/EPA
“I already know [assistant manager] Attilio Lombardo, we won a lot working together in Manchester and I hope to experience the same success this year. The coach here wants humility and ambition. I like that. That’s how I want to be.”
Urbano Cairo, the Torino president, said the transfer “makes us proud, and demonstrates our willingness to build a more competitive team … It’s not only his talent – Hart also brings with him humility and enthusiasm.”
With Pep Guardiola making clear his preference for a ball-playing keeper, Willy Caballero was preferred to Hart for the opening three Premier League matches of the season by the new manager, with the arrival of Bravo then in effect pushing Hart down to third place.
Torino emerged as his most likely destination after Everton and Sevilla distanced themselves from the player and Sunderland’s reported interest was not reciprocated.
Hart had been at City 10 years and been at the centre of all their success in recent seasons, including the Premier League title wins of 2012 and 2014.
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https://www.theguardian.com/football/2016/aug/31/joe-hart-torino-excited-test-serie-a-transfer-window-manchester-city
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en
| 2016-08-31T00:00:00 |
www.theguardian.com/c78733ee289e53693ade484e2ff7a0844a3bb1dd6e66e49ae4825226a0b9e2b3.json
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[
"Press Association"
] | 2016-08-26T13:10:20 | null | 2016-08-25T18:40:56 |
Two people who were rescued from car that became submerged after crashing into Hooe Lake have died
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https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fuk-news%2F2016%2Faug%2F25%2Fman-and-woman-dead-pulled-from-car-plymouth-lake.json
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en
| null |
Man and woman dead after being pulled from car in Plymouth lake
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www.theguardian.com
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A man and a woman who were rescued from a submerged car that crashed into a lake have died, police said.
Devon and Cornwall police said the vehicle ended up on its roof after falling 20ft into Hooe Lake in Turnchapel, Plymouth, on Thursday.
The emergency services were called at 1.55pm after reports that the vehicle had left the road and entered the lake. Police officers and members of the public entered the water in an effort to rescue the occupants and the man was freed from the vehicle.
— Spotlight (@BBCSpotlight) Eyewitness @pssplymouth captured police & locals trying to save man & woman inside car which crashed in Hooe Lake pic.twitter.com/5WWmvqs0v5
He received CPR from the officers before ambulance crews arrived and he was taken to Derriford hospital in Plymouth.
The Devon and Somerset fire and rescue service got the woman out of the vehicle.
The police later released a short statement saying the man and woman had died. The force did not give any further details.
The emergency services, including air ambulance, coastguard and lifeboat and the Ministry of Defence police were at the scene and Barton Road was closed.
Police appealed for witnesses to the incident to come forward.
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https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2016/aug/25/man-and-woman-dead-pulled-from-car-plymouth-lake
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en
| 2016-08-25T00:00:00 |
www.theguardian.com/8edea68a7766efc5c36a1474e713aacbd1ea8c31efa00ef3a3b2b7d636f8df89.json
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[
"Source"
] | 2016-08-26T13:28:09 | null | 2016-08-18T02:11:23 |
A faked ritual killing filmed in a courtyard at Cern, the Geneva particle physics research complex, has prompted an investigation
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https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fscience%2Fvideo%2F2016%2Faug%2F18%2Fmock-human-sacrifice-at-cern-video.json
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en
| null |
Mock human sacrifice at Cern - video
| null | null |
www.theguardian.com
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A fake ritual killing filmed in a courtyard at Cern, the Geneva particle physics research complex, has prompted an investigation. A spokeswoman suggested users of the facility had ‘let their humour go too far’ and warned of the potential for ‘misunderstandings about the scientific nature of our research’
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https://www.theguardian.com/science/video/2016/aug/18/mock-human-sacrifice-at-cern-video
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en
| 2016-08-18T00:00:00 |
www.theguardian.com/82eb96a3e8a2edd0762b870a31010c883b7659f7df49dbf71884edef160c8c40.json
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[
"Judy Berman"
] | 2016-08-26T13:16:55 | null | 2016-08-25T16:03:47 |
Jill Soloway’s adaptation of Chris Kraus’s novel is funny and beautiful in its own way. But it can’t transmit the intense pleasure of the ideas in the original
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https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fbooks%2F2016%2Faug%2F25%2Fi-love-dick-tv-you-still-cant-beat-the-book.json
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I Love Dick is great as a TV show, but you still can't beat the book
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www.theguardian.com
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Chris Kraus had been describing her 1997 novel I Love Dick as funny for years by the time the news broke, in February, that Transparent creator Jill Soloway was adapting it for TV. Many wouldn’t listen. “Almost invariably, reviewers praise the book for its embrace of ‘feminine abjection’, although I see it more as comedy,” she wrote in an essay for the Guardian.
Fair enough: I Love Dick is fun to read. Its minimal plot is propelled by perversity and real-life gossip: a film-maker named Chris Kraus and her husband, an academic who shares a name with Kraus’s then-spouse Sylvère Lotringer, spend an evening with a colleague of Sylvère’s. Chris becomes obsessed with their charismatic acquaintance, identified only as “Dick ______.” (The cultural critic Dick Hebdige, whose cease-and-desist notice led Kraus to excise the character’s last name, filled in the blank himself.)
In her promising Amazon pilot, though Soloway heightens the frisson of Chris’ all-consuming crush, she doesn’t come close to capturing the book’s intellectual pleasures. Her adaptation transforms I Love Dick into a simple half-hour comedy, with an expanded cast of characters and proper jokes. Some of them are scathing: at an academic gathering, a man blithely refers to Chris as “the Holocaust wife” – a reference to Sylvère’s research that trivializes her own work and genocide in the same breath. Kathryn Hahn plays Chris as an awkward neurotic, ensuring that the character comes across as humorous and mostly sympathetic rather than fully unhinged.
But I Love Dick, the book, is punctuated by ideas more than events. Halfway through the book, Chris realizes: “Through love I am teaching myself how to think.” By this point, the torrent of erotic energy drummed up by her crush has given way to a series of essays that re-evaluate the underrated work of feminist artists such as Eleanor Antin and Hannah Wilke, and meditate on the story of American activist Jennifer Harbury’s marriage to “disappeared” Guatemalan guerrilla Efraín Bámaca Velásquez. There’s suspense in I Love Dick, but it’s not about whether Chris will finally win Dick’s love or what will become of her marriage. As the letters grow into a writing project, the question that emerges is whether this period of intense living will lead Chris to a new level in her art. The book’s still-growing influence is better proof than its actual resolution that it did.
Feminist criticism has a reputation for being dense and dour, but some of it is electrifying. From Judith Butler’s academic treatises to the essays of Audre Lorde and Ellen Willis, the most resonant feminist essays are driven by the author’s need to think her way to some form of liberation. And as Willis often wrote, liberation doesn’t just mean political equality; it’s also about women’s right to pleasure. “Life without pleasure – without spontaneity and playfulness, sexuality and sensuality, aesthetic experience, surprise, excitement, ecstasy – is a kind of death,” she wrote.
Soloway has called Kraus’s book “the invention of the female gaze”. It’s a puzzling sort of compliment. I Love Dick was published in 1997. If it “invented” the female gaze, what were the Brontës and Virginia Woolf up to? I Love Dick’s real innovation was to make the intellectual thrills of feminist criticism the engine of a novel – and to heighten that novel’s reality through Chris’s pursuit of pleasure. Its hybrid form was unique at the time. But now its influence is everywhere in feminist literature, from Sheila Heti’s How Should a Person Be?, a novel that brutally deconstructs a real friendship, to Maggie Nelson’s X-rated, theory-steeped memoir The Argonauts. Even Jenny Offill’s less formally subversive Dept of Speculation, narrated by a woman who sacrifices her writing career for family and then learns her husband’s cheating, owes a debt to Kraus.
TV has, in the past decade or so, become as effective a medium for serialized narratives as literature. But the I Love Dick pilot proves the rule about television: it can’t compete with books when it comes to expressing complex ideas. Jill Soloway is our most intellectual television creator working today. She seems determined to do Kraus’s text justice. Hahn periodically reads the book’s epigrams, like “every letter is a love letter”, as the words flash against a bright red screen. Chris, Sylvère (Griffin Dunne) and Dick (Kevin Bacon) even discuss their professional interests during a tense restaurant scene, though Sylvère and Dick’s jargon-filled conversation is clearly meant to sound like pretentious noise.
In the book, Chris’s encounter with Dick changes her relationship to art overnight; her understanding of Henry James and the Ramones becomes intensely personal. But a TV show can’t capture the thrill of these discoveries because it can’t give viewers more than a few seconds per episode of Chris writing down her epiphanies as Hahn reads them in voiceover. So the pilot translates this initial flood of inspiration into a scene of Chris typing on her computer, lost in a fantasy where they’re back at dinner and Dick follows her into the bathroom.
Facebook Twitter Pinterest Chris Kraus, author of I Love Dick. Photograph: Reynaldo Rivera
It’s an intoxicating scene, shot as a series of woozy, warmly lit closeups punctuated by the occasional still. The dream restaurant serves animals still covered in fur, an image both surreal and primal. Dick is dressed inappropriately for a spot with a tasting menu, in a bad boy’s white T-shirt, and sticks a hand down his pants. All of Soloway’s deliriously objectifying shots from earlier in the episode, which show Dick as the cowboy Chris sees when she looks at him, seem lead up to this moment.
This could be the birth of a new aesthetic. Despite feminism’s ascendance on TV, with forces like Shonda Rhimes and Jenji Kohan broadening representations of women while pushing progressive gender politics, creators still don’t enjoy the stylistic freedom independent feminist filmmakers seized decades ago. I applaud Soloway for trying to insert at least one small reference to those forebears: not a spoiler, but the visual poetry of Julie Dash’s Daughters of the Dust, the free-associative anarchy of Věra Chytilová’s Daisies, and the obsession with subjectivity that fuels Agnès Varda’s entire filmography are all forerunners of the two-minute fantasy sequence at the end of this pilot.
It was a kind of hint that Soloway probably knew she could never replicate the intellectual rigor of her source material for television. Instead of attempting the impossible, she made a very good television show. But it doesn’t hold a candle to the transcendent experience of reading I Love Dick.
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https://www.theguardian.com/books/2016/aug/25/i-love-dick-tv-you-still-cant-beat-the-book
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en
| 2016-08-25T00:00:00 |
www.theguardian.com/3c429e96d4ce2cb05c83c054df3dcdd22f0618cca1eb47d0312dca9e653c4746.json
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|
[
"Jason Burke"
] | 2016-08-26T13:20:01 | null | 2016-08-26T11:19:28 |
When Jason Burke became Africa correspondent, people’s memories of the Soweto uprising gave him reason for optimism
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https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fmembership%2F2016%2Faug%2F26%2Fjourney-soweto-reveals-south-africas-past-and-present.json
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en
| null |
A journey to Soweto reveals South Africa's past and present
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www.theguardian.com
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It was evening in Kliptown, a neighbourhood of Soweto. If the township as a whole has moved on and largely up in recent years, Kliptown is lagging. Children played on the rubbish-strewn railway tracks. Young men bantered and argued as they watched a scrappy game of street football. Matrons carried bags of groceries back from the rowdy market. Outside the liquor store, drinkers held cheap spirits wrapped in paper bags with a grip as secure as the chains and locks on the grills around the shop itself.
It was exactly four decades since students in Soweto launched a series of protests and demonstrations that were bloodily repressed by the apartheid regime. The Soweto uprising re-energised a flagging liberation movement and set South Africans on the road to eventual freedom.
So within a week of arriving as the Guardian’s recently appointed Africa correspondent, I was in Soweto, equipped with little more than a notebook and the exhilaration which comes from plunging into a new story.
'My activism started then': the Soweto uprising remembered Read more
Not an entirely new story, as I have reported on many occasions from places across Africa over 20 years as a foreign correspondent. But most of these trips – war in Sierra Leone, football in Liberia, famine in Ethiopia, Islamic militancy in Algeria, riot and ruin in Zimbabwe, a couple of trips to South Africa itself – were fleeting. Now I live in Johannesburg.
The paradox is that when you arrive with so much to learn, you also have so much to do. The first thing a correspondent needs to organise is the multiple entry resident’s journalist visa. Then come phones, data, a bank account, a home, utilities and all the rest. It is enormously time-consuming but it is also a fantastic way to start to learn about the country, and its idiosyncrasies.
This was especially true of my last posting. As south Asia correspondent based in Delhi, for the first 18 months I spent two or three hours every morning simply dealing with logistics, before turning to the news.
Facebook Twitter Pinterest People queue to cast their votes during local elections in Diepsloot township, north of Johannesburg. Photograph: Reuters
Indian bureaucracy is of course of legendary complexity – in part justifiably – and then there were the simple challenges of everyday life. Thieves repeatedly stealing the copper from wiring out the back of the apartment, for example, or the monkeys chewing through cables.
So far South Africa has proved much easier, allowing more time for the other pressing task: to search out the journalists, politicians, analysts, creative artists and campaigners who matter, and make friends (and some enemies).
Later will come a second wave of contacts, at a deeper level – the sources local journalists talk to. They might include campaigners who are less known but perhaps better connected; more esoteric but perhaps less politicised experts; an older generation of activists full of insight and knowledge, and a young generation well worth cultivating now; opposition politicians with time on their hands who will one day be back in power; senior (and junior) cops, spooks; the backroom dealmakers, the criminals.
There are also the dozens of far-flung freelancers – the eyes and ears of the correspondent in a distant capital – to call, help, rally.
Then there are all those “friends of the paper”, as my first editor called them, to look up. He was talking about a tough area of south London but these wonderful people exist everywhere. These are the individuals, sometimes influential and important but often neither, who for whatever reason feel a link with the Guardian, calling (or now sending) in tips and comments, or simply amplifying our reach. With this newspaper’s historic links to South Africa, there are more here than elsewhere. Email or WhatsApp may render the contact more rapid, but little beats a phone call.
Facebook Twitter Pinterest Residents of the Kliptown section of Soweto burn tyres during a protest ahead of municipal elections. Photograph: Marco Longari/AFP/Getty Images
Though most are based in capital cities, it’s also important that correspondents take time to head to the provinces. So when I was in Pakistan, that meant Peshawar, the restive frontier city, and the mountains of the north; in Iraq, it was Basra and remote Anbar; in Kenya, where I travelled in July, it was Eldoret in the west and Mombasa in the east.
It is often in the provincial towns or smaller cities that the reality of a country and a society lies. Borders are rarely simply those marked on a map. Within any nation there are countless other frontiers, of tribe, ethnicity, social and economic situation. Globalisation has rendered the formal borders less important, but the informal ones are as powerful as ever.
One obvious pitfall in shifting from region to region is the temptation to immediately compare one with another. How can one compare Africa, all 50-plus countries, with south Asia, with its 1.6 billion people? To do so is ridiculous – and insulting to those who live in both.
The Guardian view on South Africa’s elections: democracy comes of age | Editorial Read more
But some parallels can help the new arrival. A breathless western analyst recently described with horror the lack of ideological content in many election debates in democratic African countries. This is no surprise to anyone who has experienced polls in, say, Bangladesh or Nepal and who understands the role of clan, caste, tribe, ethnicity, the importance of identity, of such relations determining political allegiance.
Yet how exceptional is this? “This society is so very complicated,” earnest British army officers used to complain to me in Afghanistan, as they struggled to interpret the local factional rivalries that were so important in the war. But all societies are complex – they just seem more so if you are ignorant of the dynamics that inform the choices made by individuals and communities.
So I have spent a large amount of time this summer explaining Brexit and recent developments in British politics and society, where identity and tribe seem to triumph over ideology or economics as much as anywhere else.
Facebook Twitter Pinterest The image of fatally wounded Hector Pieterson, 12, being carried by friend Mbuyisa Makhubo during the Soweto uprising. Photograph: Keystone-France/Gamma-Keystone via Getty Images
In time, of course, a deeper sense of the region you are covering as a correspondent emerges. Then you begin to understand the story, and where you went wrong early on. There is a moment when the enthusiasm and fresh eyes of the new arrival intersects with growing knowledge and comprehension of the veteran. This is when the phone calls fall into place, the ideas come fast and the words flow easily. This happy conjunction does not last forever, and when it is gone, it is time again to move on.
In Soweto, I found what I like best of all: a complicated story spanning three generations of a family that plunges a reader into the past and present of a country, all while providing characters and narrative to make a steady stream of fact and observation more readable.
It was the story of the siblings and relatives of Mbuyisa Makhubo, the 18-year-old seen holding a dying Hector Pieterson, 12, in his arms during the 1976 uprising. An iconic photograph of the two, taken by a local journalist, was printed around the world.
The most telling paragraph in a report is often the last. A reporter makes a decision: will those final sentences be optimistic, leaving the reader upbeat, or the opposite?
In this case, I opted for the former, and quoted Zongezile Makhubo, a 37-year-old nephew of Mbuyisa who still lives in Soweto, where he runs a tourism startup. “We have shown that our country unites to face the challenges,” he said.
In five years perhaps, I might know if my choice was the right one.
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https://www.theguardian.com/membership/2016/aug/26/journey-soweto-reveals-south-africas-past-and-present
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en
| 2016-08-26T00:00:00 |
www.theguardian.com/2c7e3cbfe554bfe9fd984faab97e23dba24f67602546fc665d83bc1d409c793c.json
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[] | 2016-08-28T18:49:55 | null | 2016-08-28T18:29:47 |
Letters: According to authoritative 2001 research, the Great Fire’s actual death toll almost certainly amounted to several thousand
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https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fuk-news%2F2016%2Faug%2F28%2Fthe-great-fire-of-london-killed-a-lot-more-than-a-dozen-people.json
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The Great Fire of London killed a lot more than a dozen people
| null | null |
www.theguardian.com
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Your editorial on the Great Fire of London (27 August) repeats the discredited idea that “human casualties were low; perhaps fewer than a dozen deaths”. First, official records of the time failed to even record the existence of thousands of poor Londoners, let alone their deaths. And with temperatures in the fire reaching 1,500C or more, many victims would have been simply been turned to ash. Many also died of starvation and exposure in the aftermath of the fire. According to authoritative 2001 research, the Great Fire’s actual death toll almost certainly amounted to several thousand.
Norman Miller
Brighton
• Join the debate – email guardian.letters@theguardian.com
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https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2016/aug/28/the-great-fire-of-london-killed-a-lot-more-than-a-dozen-people
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en
| 2016-08-28T00:00:00 |
www.theguardian.com/2869a12c8306fa8b05ba2b37644b92866baa795e23cfd09a9890444b9750bd42.json
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[
"Ben Jacobs"
] | 2016-08-30T04:52:15 | null | 2016-08-30T03:27:07 |
Ex-governor of Texas and two-time presidential hopeful will once again compete for nation’s favor alongside Ryan Lochte, Vanilla Ice and Calvin Johnson
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https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fus-news%2F2016%2Faug%2F30%2Fdancing-with-the-stars-rick-perry-latest-attempt-to-shimmy-up-a-poll.json
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en
| null |
Dancing with the Stars: Rick Perry's latest attempt to shimmy up a poll
| null | null |
www.theguardian.com
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Rick Perry may have infamously forgotten the third government agency he wanted to abolish in 2011 – but he’ll need to remember his dancing shoes this fall.
The three-term governor of Texas and two-time failed Republican presidential hopeful is appearing on the reality show Dancing With The Stars. According to a report from Entertainment Tonight, Perry will join Olympian Ryan Lochte, one-hit rapper Vanilla Ice and former NFL star Calvin Johnson on the televised dance competition.
Although the show has been televised for 23 seasons, Perry will be only the second former elected official to take his turn twirling on stage.
However he won’t be the first competitor with close ties to the GOP. Past seasons have featured the former House majority leader Tom DeLay, who resigned in 2006 after being charged with campaign finance violations, as well as Sarah Palin’s daughter Bristol, and Antonio Sabato Jr, a former soap opera actor who spoke in support of Donald Trump in Cleveland in July.
In the show’s most recent season Marla Maples, Trump’s ex-wife, finished tenth behind former NFL player Doug Flutie and ahead of actor Mischa Barton.
Although several have launched their political careers on reality television, including Wisconsin congressman Sean Duffy who appeared on the sixth season of MTV’s Real World and Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump who hosted NBC’s The Apprentice before running for president, Perry will break new ground using elected office as a springboard for reality television.
There is one precedent for a former governor going on reality television. In 2010 the former Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich appeared with Trump on Celebrity Apprentice after being impeached and removed from office for corruption.
The show was his second choice after the judge overseeing his corruption trial refused to let him travel to Costa Rica to appear on tried to appear on I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out of Here.
Since dropping out of the presidential race, Perry first endorsed Texas Senator Ted Cruz on the eve of the Iowa caucuses. However, since Donald Trump clinched the nomination, the former Texas governor has become an active surrogate on the real estate mogul’s behalf.
The new season of Dancing With The Stars is scheduled to premiere on 12 September on ABC.
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https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/aug/30/dancing-with-the-stars-rick-perry-latest-attempt-to-shimmy-up-a-poll
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en
| 2016-08-30T00:00:00 |
www.theguardian.com/fb4da992db5db61dfee86af6bfd73f4d46ba6c4d11c00ff4cea4d32ba1a063b4.json
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[
"Dalya Alberge"
] | 2016-08-26T13:27:40 | null | 2016-08-23T06:00:08 |
There has been a tendency to see the writings as mere decoration, says UK academic who translated them for book
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https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fscience%2F2016%2Faug%2F23%2Fancient-egypt-written-works-published-book-english-first-time.json
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en
| null |
Ancient Egyptian works to be published together in English for first time
| null | null |
www.theguardian.com
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Ancient Egyptian texts written on rock faces and papyri are being brought together for the general reader for the first time after a Cambridge academic translated the hieroglyphic writings into modern English.
Until now few people beyond specialists have been able to read the texts, many of them inaccessible within tombs. While ancient Greek and Roman texts are widely accessible in modern editions, those from ancient Egypt have been largely overlooked, and the civilisation is most famous for its monuments.
The Great Pyramid and sphinx at Giza, the tombs in the Valley of the Kings and the rock-cut temples of Abu Simbel have shaped our image of the monumental pharaonic culture and its mysterious god-kings.
Facebook Twitter Pinterest Carved text from pyramid. Photograph: Dalya Alberge
Toby Wilkinson said he had decided to begin work on the anthology because there was a missing dimension in how ancient Egypt was viewed: “The life of the mind, as expressed in the written word.”
The written tradition lasted nearly 3,500 years and writing is found on almost every tomb and temple wall. Yet there had been a temptation to see it as “mere decoration”, he said, with museums often displaying papyri as artefacts rather than texts.
The public were missing out on a rich literary tradition, Wilkinson said. “What will surprise people are the insights behind the well-known facade of ancient Egypt, behind the image that everyone has of the pharaohs, Tutankhamun’s mask and the pyramids.”
Hieroglyphs were pictures but they conveyed concepts in as sophisticated a manner as Greek or Latin script, he said. Filled with metaphor and symbolism, they reveal life through the eyes of the ancient Egyptians. Tales of shipwreck and wonder, first-hand descriptions of battles and natural disasters, songs and satires make up the anthology, titled Writings from Ancient Egypt.
Penguin Classics, which is releasing the book on Wednesday, described it as a groundbreaking publication because “these writings have never before been published together in an accessible collection”.
Wilkinson, a fellow of Clare College and author of other books on ancient Egypt, said some of the texts had not been translated for the best part of 100 years. “The English in which they are rendered – assuming they are in English – is very old-fashioned and impenetrable, and actually makes ancient Egypt seem an even more remote society,” he said.
Facebook Twitter Pinterest A commemmorative text for Amenhotep III. Photograph: Dalya Alberge
In translating them, he said, he was struck by human emotions to which people could relate today.
The literary fiction includes The Tale of the Shipwrecked Sailor, a story of triumph over adversity that Wilkinson describes as “a miniature masterpiece”. It is about a magical island ruled by a giant snake – his body “fashioned in gold, his eyebrows in real lapis lazuli” – who shares his own tragedy in encouraging a shipwrecked sailor to face his predicament.
“I was here with my brothers and my children ... we totalled 75 snakes ... Then a star fell and they were consumed in flames ... If you are brave and your heart is strong, you will embrace your children, you will kiss your wife and you will see your house,” it reads.
Letters written by a farmer called Heqanakht date from 1930BC but reflect modern concerns, from land management to grain quality. He writes to his steward: “Be extra dutiful in cultivating. Watch out that my barley-seed is guarded.”
Turning to domestic matters, he sends greetings to his son Sneferu, his “pride and joy, a thousand times, a million times”, and urges the steward to stop the housemaid bullying his wife: “You are the one who lets her do bad things to my wife … Enough of it!”
Other texts include the Tempest Stela. While official inscriptions generally portray an ideal view of society, this records a cataclysmic thunderstorm: “It was dark in the west and the sky was filled with storm clouds without [end and thunder] more than the noise of a crowd … The irrigated land had been deluged, the buildings cast down, the chapels destroyed … total destruction.”
The number of people who can read hieroglyphs is small and the language is particularly rich and subtle, often in ways that cannot be easily expressed in English.
Wilkinson writes: “Take, for example, the words ‘aa’ and ‘wer’, both conventionally translated as ‘great’. The Egyptians seem to have understood a distinction – hence a god is often described as ‘aa’ but seldom as ‘wer’ – but it is beyond our grasp.”
Words of wisdom in a text called The Teaching of Ani remain as true today as in the 16th century BC: “Man perishes; his corpse turns to dust; all his relatives pass away. But writings make him remembered in the mouth of the reader.”
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https://www.theguardian.com/science/2016/aug/23/ancient-egypt-written-works-published-book-english-first-time
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en
| 2016-08-23T00:00:00 |
www.theguardian.com/8dc8f75627fc1e18955554010246d9563d6892a2509b87a3601c1956d283a488.json
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[
"Owen Jones",
"Graham Ruddick",
"Dan Milmo"
] | 2016-08-26T13:22:51 | null | 2016-08-24T16:44:58 |
Never mind Jeremy Corbyn’s journey – what matters is that privatisation has been a train wreck, and ideologues who want to roll back the state can’t admit it
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https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fcommentisfree%2F2016%2Faug%2F24%2Ffloor-first-class-railways-jeremy-corbyn-privatisation-train.json
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From the floor to first class, Britain’s railways are a disgrace
| null | null |
www.theguardian.com
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Some will accuse this column of shamelessly using an embarrassing story involving the Labour leader to further my political cause. They will be right. If you want to find outrage over how many empty seats there were on the 11am train to Newcastle on 11 August, most of the media is there to cater for you. If you are among the 58% of the population who want to renationalise the railways and other utilities, you are going to struggle – to put it mildly – to find your views reflected in the media. Consider this a modest attempt to redress the balance.
Here begins the shameless shoehorning. If you believe in free market dogma – that private ownership inevitably brings more efficiency, better quality and cheaper services – then there are two major embarrassments in Britain: the NHS and the rail industry.
The NHS is embarrassing because it is a publicly run healthcare system that is superior to and more efficient than the privately run, fragmented mess that is the US equivalent. And it is loved for it. Its continued existence – though badly undermined by creeping privatisation – is a reminder of how public ownership can be vastly superior to the private sector.
The rail industry is an embarrassment because it can demonstrate just how atrocious services run for profit can be. The desire for the railways to return to public ownership – a wish felt by millions of Conservative voters – is not born of mass false consciousness, of a failure to understand that privatisation has been a glorious success. It is a product of the lived experience of Britain’s frustrated, ripped-off commuters. Richard Branson may have succeeded in causing Jeremy Corbyn embarrassment. But if Branson believes that the British public has any affection or trust in his rail services, he will be disappointed.
There are publicly run systems across Europe that are cheaper, more efficient, and of a better quality than ours
Much of my life is spent in train carriages, crisscrossing the country. Shelling out for an extortionate ticket in exchange for an uncomfortably overcrowded train is a bitterly familiar experience. Here’s a pro tip: if there isn’t a seat, space often can be found in the floor area next to a toilet.
On the many morning train services going into London, one in three passengers must stand because of lack of space. The evidence shows that overcrowding is getting worse on British trains. Then there’s the cost. If you live in London and urgently needed to make it to Leeds today, you would have to part with at least £98.70. A British Airways flight to Paris booked today, on the other hand, will leave you £62 worse off. The cheapest train to Edinburgh today costs £128.20. There are cheaper flights available to Madrid (£88), Berlin (£90) and Rome (£112). The proportion of British commuters’ pay packets spent on train tickets is up to is six times higher than their European equivalents.
Facebook Twitter Pinterest Photograph: Guy Bell/Rex Features
As a 2013 report found, the state shells out billions more on public subsidies for railways than it did in the days of British Rail. And after inflation, overall public spending on the railways was an astonishing six times higher in 2013 than after privatisation in 1996.
Ah, say the train companies: if our service is so bad, why has there been such a dramatic explosion in the number of rail passengers over the years? The fact that more people have to travel longer distances for work or study because of changes in the nature of our economy is no endorsement of the national embarrassment that is our rail system. Indeed, if you’re wondering why you’re sitting next to a toilet after spending £98.70, look no further than the rail system’s failure to adequately replace rolling stock.
Rather than investing properly in their own infrastructure, companies would prefer to turn public subsidies and rip-off fares into dividends for their shareholders. It is the state that has had to step in to upgrade and improve Britain’s rail infrastructure and technology. As so often under modern British capitalism, the taxpayer carries the risk and the companies enjoy the profit.
We don’t need to speculate about whether public ownership could be a more effective way to organise our rail industry. We can just look to existing examples. There are publicly run systems across Europe that are cheaper, more efficient and of a better quality. In our own country, the East Coast franchise was brought under public ownership in 2009. It was profitable, bringing hundreds of millions of pounds to the Treasury. It needed less public subsidies than any other rail franchise. It enjoyed the best public satisfaction of any long-distance rail franchise. We can’t be having a shining beacon of public sector success, though, and so the government privatised it last year.
Its new owners – Richard Branson among them – celebrated by removing many of its cheapest advance fares, meaning de facto fare increases of up to 100%.
Mass strikes and belligerent disputes: why it’s all kicking off on the railways | Christian Wolmar Read more
For the ideologues who want to roll back the state in favour of profiteering companies, the failure of privately run rail is an awkward reality. There are many others. We live in a country still reeling from the consequences of the greed of an unregulated financial sector. Even Philip Hammond – now Theresa May’s chancellor – once noted that the failure of G4S to provide sufficient Olympic security guards (the state, predictably, had to step in) shook his devotion to the private sector.
The case for publicly run rail is popular, and for good reason. It would cost nothing to bring rail franchises into public ownership as they expire, and they could prove to be cash cows for the Treasury.
And you don’t have to be a devout leftie: there are Tory-supporting middle-class professionals in London’s commuter belt who are exasperated with a failed privately run model. The views of the Conservative party and Conservative voters frequently diverge. A clever political strategy would be to exploit these tensions.
It doesn’t mean returning to the days of British Rail, either. This time around, we could have a democratically run rail system, with franchises partly run by representatives of passengers and workers. The high priests of the “private sector is always best” religion would rather we shut up about the train wreck of rail privatisation. But it demonstrates how wrong they are. And we should never let them forget it.
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https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/aug/24/floor-first-class-railways-jeremy-corbyn-privatisation-train
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| 2016-08-24T00:00:00 |
www.theguardian.com/2c5a886efa946ad523b9cd937cfce458b705259b5d9868bfa0d2d8834fde20cf.json
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[
"Philip Hoare"
] | 2016-08-30T10:52:49 | null | 2016-08-30T09:10:13 |
A remarkable discovery has been made: that orcas evolve according to culture, just like we do. And yet we cull them in coves and parade them in aquariums
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Humans and dolphins are so similar - when will we stop persecuting them?
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www.theguardian.com
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This Thursday, 1 September, marks Japan Dolphins Day. Anyone following social media may well sigh. Isn’t there always a something-or-other day? Perhaps so, but with 100 demonstrations planned outside Japanese embassies and consulates worldwide, this event has a bitter and serious urgency: the soon-to-be continued slaughter of wild dolphins in the infamous inlet at Taiji, subject of Oscar-winning documentary The Cove.
Between September and April, up to 2,000 dolphins will be driven inland and killed for their meat. Cynically, those that look the prettiest and jump the highest to evade the butchers’ knives will be saved – to sell to oceanariums around the world. Those bloody waters, and the sight of sentient cetaceans leaping for their lives, should be enough to stir even the most cynical out of their complacency.
Earlier this year, the activist star of The Cove, Ric O’Barry, was detained by the Japanese authorities for two weeks. O’Barry was the original trainer for the Flipper TV series, capturing the five dolphins used for the show. But in 1970 he changed course and formed the Dolphin Project, fighting to free captive cetaceans and, in particular, to stop the Taiji cull.
“I’ve been operating out of guilt,” O’Barry tells me from his Miami home, as he prepares to leave for the London demonstration, “I helped create this industry.” Before 1959, when the Taiji cull began, there was no market for captive dolphins. Now oceanariums in China, Turkey, Russia, the Middle East and even the Caribbean will pay up to $150,000 per animal. Japan itself has 52 dolphinariums. O’Barry says that London is the key to changing the situation. “If we can get 10,000 people outside the Japanese embassy on Thursday, that will make the Japanese government take notice.” He notes that with the next Olympics to be held in Japan, the country will be keen to avoid adverse publicity. “If we can do that in London on 1 September, it will end this story once and for all.” Most especially, O’Barry is appealing to animal welfare organisations to pool resources and alert their members to attend.
The Taiji cull follows the resumption of the Faroe Islands’ annual hunting of pilot whales in July, known as the grind. This year, 200 whales were herded into the shallows and 120 were dispatched to be cut up by the islanders and eaten. Last Friday, a third grind saw another 40 whales rounded up and nine killed. This is despite warnings from the Faroe Islands government that, like the dolphins hunted in Japan, the high amounts of heavy metals in their meat can cause impacted immune systems, fertility problems, and premature dementia. A new film, made by Andrew Sutton in collaboration with David Attenborough, seeks to propose an alternative and more profitable venture for the islanders: whale-watching, rather than whale-killing.
Facebook Twitter Pinterest Dusky dolphins leap from the water just off Kaikoura, South Island, New Zealand. Photograph: Philip Hoare
Underlying all these issues, as pressing as they are, is a new and astonishing discovery. It comes in the shape of a scientific report released earlier this year which was shamefully under-reported. In it, the authors establish that for the first time it can be proved that the evolution of a species other than Homo sapiens has been affected by cultural change. This has been demonstrated in orca, or killer whales – the largest of the dolphin family, which are subject, like their cousins, to captive status in US, Europe, and Asia.
New Scientist magazine which, along with Nature, was one of the few publications to give the report prominence, explained that killer whale populations have different hunting strategies: “Some herd fish, while others pick on seals. Biologists consider this a form of culture. New research reveals these cultural groups are genetically distinct, meaning culture has shaped their evolution. It’s the first time this has been seen in other animals. Killer whales are intelligent, long-lived, and social like us. Culture is one more reason to set them free.”
What is remarkable about this statement is the unusual undertow of unscientific emotion it expresses. Scientists I have spoken to say this report is a defining one: that it has the power to change the way we see other species.
These dolphins talk to each other. Why do we insist it isn’t language? Read more
In his famous 1988 poem, Heathcote Williams celebrated a Whale Nation. Yet the fact that cetaceans recognise no national boundaries sits uneasily with the way their fates are dealt with over our borders – geographical and metaphysical. Ironically, as Franz de Waal notes in his new book, Are We Smart Enough to Know how Smart Animals Are?, it was a Japanese primatologist, Kinji Imanishi, who first proposed in 1952 “that we may justifiably speak of animal culture if individuals learn habits from one another resulting in behavioural diversity between groups”. Western scientists rejected Imanishi’s naming of individual animals as too anthropomorphic. Only later would it be acceptable to name dolphins, elephants or primates in order to better track their “social careers” over many generations.
If we accept that an animal other than us can be evolutionarily transformed by culture, how can we countenance the treatment of that animal as a captive? Who passed sentence on the dolphin or the orca, the primate or the elephant? It’s time we caught up with the Greek poet Oppian, who declared in the 2nd century that the hunting of dolphins was immoral.
O’Barry feels his own mortality creeping up on him: “At 77, I’m running out of time,” he says. It’s hard not to share his frustration. How many dead poets, how many dolphin days, how many scientific papers does it take to make us realise how close we are to these animals, and how outrageous our treatment of them is?
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https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/aug/30/dolphins-like-humans-persecuting-orcas-culture-cull
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en
| 2016-08-30T00:00:00 |
www.theguardian.com/83a5cd1b78877a6ba26c7f448bd6da5067205d84c930cd3926aa214b2e0a0fc7.json
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[
"Graham Ruddick",
"Nils Pratley"
] | 2016-08-28T12:55:06 | null | 2016-08-21T15:47:40 |
Home of former owner was on brink of repossession before interest-free sum from retail giant paid off debts
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https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fbusiness%2F2016%2Faug%2F21%2Fdominic-chappell-used-15m-bhs-loan-to-pay-off-family-mortgage.json
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Dominic Chappell used £1.5m BHS loan to pay off family mortgage
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www.theguardian.com
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The family home of Dominic Chappell, the former owner of BHS, was on the brink of being repossessed before cash from the department store chain was used to pay off the mortgage.
The Guardian has learned that financial company Amicus initiated legal proceedings against the Chappell family to repossess the property unless their debts were repaid. The debt was settled when the parent company of BHS paid out £1.5m. The money came from BHS and was paid out as an interest-free loan. It has not been repaid.
The saga raises further questions about Chappell’s management of BHS and highlights the chaos behind the scenes as the chain headed for collapse.
BHS shuts doors on flagship Oxford Street store for last time Read more
The last of BHS’s 164 stores are scheduled to close before the end of month. The demise of BHS has led to the loss of 11,000 jobs and left a £571m pension deficit, which Sir Philip Green, the previous owner, has pledged to “sort”.
MPs described the corporate governance of Retail Acquisitions, the company that owned BHS, as a “joke” after Chappell admitted to the parliamentary committee investigating the demise of BHS that a £1.5m loan had been paid out. One of the directors of Retail Acquisitions, Eddie Parladorio, voted against the loan, with the only two votes in favour cast by Chappell and his friend Lennart Henningson.
However, the MPs were unaware of the financial predicament facing the Chappells and the house at the time of the loan. Chappell told the committee that the £1.5m was paid because the property, which is in Dorset, “needed to be remortgaged”.
Retail Acquisitions, which is 90% owned by Chappell, bought BHS from Green for £1 in March 2015. The company collapsed just 13 months later, but Retail Acquisitions banked at least £17m from it.
The failure of BHS is being investigated by the Insolvency Service, the Financial Reporting Council and the Pensions Regulator. The Serious Fraud Office is also considering whether to launch a formal inquiry.
Journalists must fight Companies House proposal to delete records Read more
The mortgage on the family home, where Chappell’s mother and father still live, was provided by London-based lender Amicus. It is thought the loan was initially for less than £1m but was gradually increased.
Amicus declined to comment, citing client confidentiality.
Chappell claimed he had “absolutely no idea what was going on” with the property despite describing it to MPs as “my family home” and the fact that the £1.5m payment that settled the debt was paid from his company.
“I don’t know, it is nothing to do with me, it is my father’s property,” Chappell said when asked about the loan.
“I have absolutely no idea what is going on there, nor do I want to know. That is as far as I am prepared to make a statement. I don’t discuss finances with my father on these matters, so that is where we are.”
The payment of the £1.5m loan from Retail Acquisitions was complex. It was paid to a company called JDM Island Properties, which had only one director and shareholder, Colin Sutton, an associate of the Chappells. JDM Island Properties then bought the Chappell family house. Filings on Companies House reveal that this month the shares in JDM passed from Sutton to Olivia Investments, a Gibraltar-based vehicle that acts as the Chappell family’s investment fund.
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https://www.theguardian.com/business/2016/aug/21/dominic-chappell-used-15m-bhs-loan-to-pay-off-family-mortgage
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| 2016-08-21T00:00:00 |
www.theguardian.com/49c2c108348be409af78409b00cf8d0a8feb5aeb761e313ef21d80199ac43943.json
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[
"Les Roopanarine"
] | 2016-08-27T18:51:20 | null | 2016-08-27T18:22:16 |
Rajiv van La Parra’s early goal ensured Huddersfield retained their Championship lead, while League One pacesetters Bolton were held at the Valley
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Football League your thoughts: Terriers retain lead as Fulham snap at their heels
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Championship
The Terriers identity, David Wagner called it: a small, aggressive dog going paw to paw with big dogs. That’s the approach the Huddersfield boss is trying to instil at the John Smith’s Stadium, and a fine job he has made of it since taking over from Chris Powell last November. Eighteenth then, Huddersfield began the day two points clear at the top of the Championship and unbeaten. They ended it the same way. What’s more, clearly emboldened by their flying start, they’ve now moved on from big dogs to Wolves. Rajiv van La Parra turned in a Nahki Wells rebound after six minutes to score what proved the winning goal against his old club.
With second-placed Brighton not kicking off at Newcastle until teatime, the onus was on Norwich and Fulham – both a couple of points adrift of top spot at the start of the afternoon – to keep pace with the league leaders. The task proved beyond Norwich, who slumped to a 3-0 defeat at St Andrew’s, David Davis opening the scoring before a Clayton Donaldson double clinched Birmingham’s first home victory since March.
Fulham, however, fared better at Ewood Park, where former Blackburn manager Kenny Dalglish had probably left his seat by the time Thomas Cairney struck the only goal of the game in the 94th minute. The defeat leaves Blackburn bottom of the division with a solitary point. Fulham move up to second.
Huddersfield maintain lead as Rajiv van La Parra downs Wolves Read more
Hot on their heels are Barnsley, whose emphatic 4-0 win over Rotherham catapulted them into third spot. Marc Roberts, Adam Hammill, Tom Bradshaw and Ryan Kent claimed the local bragging rights for Paul Heckingbottom’s side.
It was also a good day for Queen’s Park Rangers, whose defence was breached twice in the opening half at Wigan only for both goals to be ruled out for offside. Nedum Onuoha scored after the break to give Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink’s men a 1-0 win that lifted them from seventh to fourth.
For Nottingham Forest, the visit of Leeds United raised the outlandish possibility of a third successive 4-3 home win. Goals from Pajtim Kasami, Damien Perquis and Oliver Burke ensured Philippe Montanier’s side came close to keeping their end of the bargain, but Garry Monk’s visitors succumbed in far tamer fashion than Burton and Wigan. Ironically, given their own vulnerability at set pieces, a late free-kick from Kalvin Phillips was all Leeds could muster as their miserable record at the City Ground – where they have now won just twice in 21 league visits – continued. Forest’s 3-1 win left them in sixth spot.
A Jack Grealish volley gave Aston Villa an early lead at Bristol City, but that was as good as it got for the visitors. Tammy Abraham, Joe Bryan and Lee Tomlin all found the net after the break to give Lee Johnson’s side a 3-1 win and fifth place to go with the signing of Forest front man Jamie Paterson, which was announced at the interval.
At Portman Road and Cardiff City Stadium, one-goal wins were the order of the day. Former Tottenham winger Grant Ward performed the honours for Ipswich, volleying home after a quarter of an honour to undo Preston. Yann Kermorgant snatched a late winner for Reading at Cardiff, for whom keeper David Marshall – reportedly the subject of a £5m bid from Hull City – was absent.
Both sides ended the afternoon with 10 men at Griffin Park, where Sam Huchinson headed home in added time to salvage a point for Sheffield Wednesday after Lasse Vibe’s opener for Brentford.
League One
They never score when it pours. Isn’t that the saying? Whatever, a torrential downpour put paid to proceedings at the County Ground, where Jamie Sendles White came closest to breaking the deadlock. The Swindon defender sent an early header against the Bristol Rovers woodwork before a waterlogged pitch forced an abandonment with a hour gone and the game goalless.
Happily, events elsewhere were more conclusive.
Phil Parkinson, who took his unbeaten Bolton side to Charlton, is not one to crow. Nonetheless, he must have been feeling pretty good about life when Gary Madine put the league leaders ahead eight minutes after the break at the Valley. Formerly of said parish, Parkinson was sacked in unceremonious fashion in 2011 and had not returned since. So it’s a fair bet he wasn’t too happy when substitute Ademola Lookman came off the bench to rescue a late point for Charlton. On the plus side, his team remain two points clear at the top of the league.
Facebook Twitter Pinterest Gary Madine, centre, is congratulated by team-mates after scoring the opening goal for Bolton in their 1-1 draw at the Valley. Photograph: ProSports/REX/Shutterstock
For that, Parkinson has Oldham to thank. Peter Clarke gave the visitors an early lead at second-placed Bradford City and, although Billy Clarke hit back for the home side with a 57th-minute penalty, Stuart McCall’s side could not chart a course to a fourth successive league win.
There were no such problems for Millwall, for whom Steve Morison was the catalyst as they bounced back from their midweek EFL Cup defeat against Nottingham Forest. Morison’s first-half double helped the visitors to a 3-1 victory at Chesterfield, leaving them fifth. One spot above them are Port Vale, who beat third-placed Scunthorpe 3-1 at home.
The Proact Stadium hosted what was arguably the game of the day. Walsall led Bury 3-0 at half-time, only for the visitors to hit back through Leon Barnett, debutant James Vaughan and Danny Mayor to secure an unlikely draw. Gillingham likewise drew on the power of three to stage an improbable comeback, fighting back from two goals down at Shrewsbury Town. Max Ehmer was the stoppage-time hero for Justin Edinburgh’s men.
Billy Sharp and Jamie Wilson gave Sheffield United their first victory of the season, a 2-1 home win over Oxford United, while Peterborough and Fleetwood both chalked up 2-0 away wins, at MK Dons and Southend respectively. There were 1-1 draws in the games between Coventry and Northampton, Bradford and Oldham and Rochdale and Wimbledon.
League Two
On a day that brought a feast of goals across the division, the biggest winners were Grimsby, whose 5-2 win over Stevenage included a hat-trick for Omar Bogle. Not to be outdone, Andy Williams also netted three times in Doncaster’s 4-1 victory over 10-man Yeovil.
Nonetheless, it was a match in which two players notched doubles that provided perhaps the most significant result of the afternoon in League Two. Cole Stockton scored either side of a Kevin Ellison effort to clinch a 3-2 win over Accrington Stanley and maintain Morecambe’s grip on top spot. The visitors’ comeback, which owed much to the 36th-minute dismissal of Stanley defender Mark Hughes, came after a Billy Kee brace appeared to have put the home side in the driving seat.
Luton Town struck three times after the break at Cambridge to run out comfortable winners. As a result, Nathan Jones side’ leapfrogged Crawley – beaten 3-1 at home by Notts County – to claim second spot. Colchester went fourth with a 2-0 win at Wycombe, while Mansfield moved up to fifth after a 2-1 victory at Leyton Orient. Behind them lie Carlisle, who beat Barnet 1-0 at the Hive Stadium, ahead of Plymouth, 1-0 winners at Blackpool.
Newport drew 2-2 at Hartlepool, while Portsmouth were 1-0 winners at Exeter and Cheltenham won 2-0 at home to Crewe.
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https://www.theguardian.com/football/football-league-blog/2016/aug/27/football-league-your-thoughts
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| 2016-08-27T00:00:00 |
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[] | 2016-08-26T13:23:38 | null | null | null |
https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fuk%2Flifeandstyle%2Frss.json
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Life and style
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| 2016-08-01T00:00:00 |
www.theguardian.com/2a4bd116cb00d841bc6532769f5f1e0704cbc1b74ae7bc0e5c1c1d8ea4d01170.json
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[
"Julian Borger"
] | 2016-08-30T00:52:12 | null | 2016-08-29T22:55:06 |
Former Portugal prime minister and UN high commissioner for refugees out in front after third ballot vote to choose Ban Ki-moon’s successor
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Antonio Guterres solidifies lead in race to become UN secretary general
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Portugal’s former prime minister, Antonio Guterres, has consolidated a strong lead in the race to become the next United Nations secretary general, after a third security council secret ballot on Monday.
Diplomats said that only a decisive stand by Russia, which has argued that the job should go to an eastern European, could now stop Guterres succeeding Ban Ki-moon in the UN’s top job. A fourth straw poll is expected in September in the hope that a consensus forms around a winner by October.
In a succession of straw polls by secret ballot, the 15 security council members vote whether to encourage, discourage or express no opinion about a candidate. Results of Monday’s poll supplied by diplomats showed 11 members voted to “encourage” Guterres, who served as the UN high commissioner for refugees for a decade.
That was the same level of support as the previous vote, on 5 August, but the number of discourage votes rose from two to three, with just one voicing no opinion.
Miroslav Lajcak, the Slovak foreign minister, was a surprise runner-up, rising from 10th place out of 11 contenders earlier this month. In joint third position were Vuk Jeremic, a former Serbian foreign minister, and Irina Bokova, a former Bulgarian foreign minister and director-general of Unesco, the UN education and cultural organisation, and the last serious hope for those who wanted a woman to take the world’s top diplomatic job for the first time.
“This really widens the gap in the race. It shows Guterres’s lead has stabilised,” a diplomat at the UN said. There was widespread speculation that either Russia or a Russian ally on the council had switched from no opinion to an anti-Guterres vote.
“The real question is whether this discourage vote is tactical, in order to exact a price for Russian agreement, or whether it is substantial and they are saying: we don’t want him,” the diplomat said.
Russia and the four other permanent council members – the US, UK, France and China – all have the power to block a candidacy. Although this secretary general race has been far more open than previous contests, the winner will still have to be agreed by the five permanent members, as before.
Lajcak’s dramatic rise makes him a feasible compromise candidate if Russia remains adamant on Guterres, though he received five discourage votes. It is not known whether there were permanent members among those five votes.
A number of candidates who fared poorly in the latest straw poll will now be under pressure to drop out of the race. They include Moldova’s former foreign minister Natalia Gherman, and the UN’s former climate chief, Christiana Figueres. Helen Clark, an early favourite backed by several western capitals, got eight discourage votes in the against only five backing her. Diplomats said she would now face a tough decision on whether to stay in the race.
Matthew Rycroft, Britain’s ambassador to the UN, urged low-scoring candidates to pull out, to help winnow the field in the last stage of the race.
“I would encourage them to look at are they going to get to nine positive votes and no vetoes. And if they are, then great – they should stay in the race,” Rycroft said before Monday’s vote, adding that “if that’s a long way off” they should follow the example of earlier contenders who had withdrawn.
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https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/aug/29/antonio-guterres-united-nations-secretary-general
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en
| 2016-08-29T00:00:00 |
www.theguardian.com/944431ac4a6b9cad373d4362e499e87fde86a573bed531ad69ede3a1626fc632.json
|
|
[
"Guardian Readers"
] | 2016-08-26T16:51:06 | null | 2016-08-26T14:53:06 |
France’s burkini bans have put women’s appearance under scrutiny once again. Share your experiences of dressing modestly, and what it means to you
|
https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fworld%2F2016%2Faug%2F26%2Fdo-you-wear-a-burkini-or-dress-modestly-share-your-experiences.json
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en
| null |
Do you wear a burkini, or dress modestly? Share your experiences
| null | null |
www.theguardian.com
|
France’s highest administrative court has suspended a ban on the burkini – beachwear that covers the body and head – in a test case in the southern town of Villeneuve-Loubet, near Nice. Lawyers argued that the bans were feeding fear and infringing on basic freedoms. If you wear a burkini, or dress modestly, we’d like you to share your experiences.
Several towns in France implemented the ban citing concerns over religious clothing in the wake of recent terrorist killings in the country. It is hoped the temporary suspension will set a precedent for other towns that have banned the burkini.
There has been strong backlash against what many see as a ludicrous law. Around 40 demonstrators gathered outside the French embassy in London Thursday, for a ‘wear what you want’ beach party to protest the ban. Woman held flags and banners reading ‘Islamophobia is not freedom’, and ‘Our choice’.
Aheda Zanetti, the garment’s creator, says it isn’t something to be mistake for oppression, or a symbol of Islam. “It’s just a garment to suit a modest person, or someone who has skin cancer, or a new mother who doesn’t want to wear a bikini” she says.
If you wear a burkini, or dress modestly, we’d like you to hear from you. You can share your experiences using the form below – anonymously if you prefer – and we’ll use a selection in our reporting.
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https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/aug/26/do-you-wear-a-burkini-or-dress-modestly-share-your-experiences
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en
| 2016-08-26T00:00:00 |
www.theguardian.com/fc93d8d0cb0cbad470d81dbbac6fc3b9d3fbef5d0269976c606bcaaef38e1eca.json
|
|
[
"Guardian Readers",
"John Harris",
"Jakub Krupa",
"Danny Dorling"
] | 2016-08-26T13:30:59 | null | 2016-08-25T12:10:02 |
Two months after the UK voted to leave the EU, we’d like to know how your life has been affected by the decision. Share your experiences with us
|
http%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fpolitics%2F2016%2Faug%2F25%2Fhow-has-the-brexit-vote-affected-your-life-share-your-experiences.json
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en
| null |
How has the Brexit vote affected your life? Share your experiences
| null | null |
www.theguardian.com
|
Economic measures present a fairly stable post-Brexit Britain. UK unemployment rates remain unchanged at 4.9%, suggesting employers are not making any sudden decisions to lay off staff. The number of people claiming unemployment benefit dropped by 8,600 in July, surprising economists who were expecting a rise of 9,500. And consumer spending is also on the up.
But is this the whole picture? For many of the estimated 3 million non-British EU citizens living in the UK, the vote to leave has proved unsettling at the very least.
We’d like you to share your experiences of life after Brexit. Perhaps you’re a business owner whose company has been affected, either positively or negatively? Or perhaps you, or your partner or family, are uncertain about your future status in the UK?
You can share your experiences using the form below – anonymously if you prefer – and we’ll use a selection in our reporting.
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http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2016/aug/25/how-has-the-brexit-vote-affected-your-life-share-your-experiences
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en
| 2016-08-25T00:00:00 |
www.theguardian.com/963bfe45a8681b236c0b2ec1dec8a7b119a22469d41d55bc7f873f254208b4c7.json
|
|
[
"Eleanor Ainge Roy"
] | 2016-08-30T02:52:12 | null | 2016-08-30T00:56:41 |
Farming community of Oamaru attracts visitors from around the globe after community embraced subculture where wrought iron meets science fiction
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https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fworld%2F2016%2Faug%2F30%2Fnew-zealand-town-oamaru-steampunk-capital-of-the-world.json
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How an ordinary New Zealand town became steampunk capital of the world
| null | null |
www.theguardian.com
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The humble farming town of Oamaru, three hours south of Christchurch on New Zealand’s South Island, used to be known for its population of blue penguins and having the best-preserved collection of Victorian architecture in the country.
But that was before it became the world’s unlikely capital of steampunk, drawing enthusiasts from around to globe to what was once an economically depressed rural service centre wedged between the Kakanui mountain range and the Pacific Ocean.
The castle that Dot built: New Zealander dream home comes with moat and dungeon Read more
Earlier this month Oamaru made it into the Guinness Book of World Records for the largest gathering of steampunks in the world.
For the uninitiated, the term steampunk was coined in the 1980s and is based on imagining inventions the Victorians might have created for the modern world. The movement was kickstarted by science fiction novels and has branched out to incorporate art and fashion while spawning a well-established aesthetic, typified by embellished hats and goggles.
Iain Clark, who is widely credited with launching steampunk in Oamaru and likes to be known by the name Agent Darling, said the movement began to take hold in 2010. At the time many locals were suspicious of what they saw as a weird niche interest gaining traction in their otherwise ordinary town.
Facebook Twitter Pinterest Iain Clark, who likes to go by his steampunk name: Agent Darling. Photograph: Eleanor Ainge Roy
But despite the early resistance, the movement grew.
“Some people can’t stand it, but most have come to accept that steampunk has allowed many shy people with slightly unusual interests to come out of the shadows,” said Clark.
“It has been particularly freeing for the creatives and artists in the community, to have Oamaru adopt something like steampunk as a core part of their identity.”
In 2010 Clark approached Weta Workshop – the Wellington-based special effects and props company that worked on Lord of The Rings — which donated half a shipping container of artwork and statues for a steampunk exhibition in the town.
Facebook Twitter Pinterest Steampunk fans take part in a parade in the New Zealand town of Oamaru. Photograph: Iain Clark
The tipping point came when local farmers started turning up in droves to the exhibition, intrigued by the creative, outlandish inventions on display – which often incorporated materials scavenged from dumps and secondhand shops in the area.
“The farmers went home and started tinkering in their sheds, creating steampunk inventions. That’s when it really started to go like wildfire,” recalls Clark.
With the farmers on board, the wider community began to embrace steampunk too, and now it is not uncommon to see people sauntering down the main street in full Victorian costume, nodding politely at gob-smacked tourists.
Facebook Twitter Pinterest Steampunk HQ, a museum, in Oamaru. Photograph: Eleanor Ainge Roy
“It seemed to hit a frequency at the right time,” said Helen Jensen, whose steampunk name is La Falconesse.
“New Zealanders are great creators and inventors, especially if they can make inventions from the junk collected in their garden sheds. I think the inventive side of steampunk is something Kiwis are particularly open to – making things from nothing makes sense to them.”
Oamaru is home to 14,000 people, many employed in the rich agricultural industry in the surrounding Waitaki district.
Driving along the town’s main drag you’ll pass the usual franchises – McDonald’s, KFC and Liquor Land. But turn towards the seaside and you’ll soon find yourself immersed in a steampunk wonderland, with pristine Victorian architecture carved from local stone, a steampunk-themed children’s playground and the looming, apocalyptic looking Steampunk HQ, a museum, stationed by the railway tracks.
“I didn’t understand what it was at first, and to be honest I probably still don’t,” said Kristen Murdoch, a local who works at the information centre.
Being different is becoming the norm here – something we celebrate. Iain Clark
“But I think Oamaru has gradually become accepting of it. It is so different and unique, it can be divisive, but it has definitely made us more open-minded, and it has been huge for young kids who might not be into the mainstream – it makes them feel more at home here.”
Steampunk games such as teapot racing invented in Oamaru have been adopted by steampunk groups the world over, and Clark knows a number of Victorian enthusiasts who have moved to Oamaru specifically to be closer to the thriving scene.
“It’s hard to feel shy when there are so many people walking around, bowing to you in the street,” said Clark.
“Being different is becoming the norm here – something we celebrate.”
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https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/aug/30/new-zealand-town-oamaru-steampunk-capital-of-the-world
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en
| 2016-08-30T00:00:00 |
www.theguardian.com/a383136b80065cf93bc2fe06bd4ea9bc76729c2a067f56d0fd492c3681341bd8.json
|
|
[
"Graham Ruddick"
] | 2016-08-26T13:21:25 | null | 2016-08-25T18:26:44 |
Liberty Media talking with CVC about a £6.4bn deal to take control of the motor sport but Sky, Qatari investors and even Apple are also in the hunt
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https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fsport%2F2016%2Faug%2F25%2Fus-media-tycoon-john-malone-leads-race-to-buy-f1.json
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US media tycoon John Malone leads race to buy F1
| null | null |
www.theguardian.com
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A media company controlled by American tycoon John Malone is leading the battle to buy Formula One with the broadcaster Sky also in the hunt.
Malone’s Liberty Media, which owns a collection of media, telecoms and entertainment assets, is in talks with the private equity group CVC about a deal for the Formula One parent company, Delta Topco.
Other companies who have looked at a deal to buy the motorsport include the Qatari owners of football club Paris Saint-Germain. Liberty Media’s sister company Liberty Global, which owns telecom groups around the world, including Virgin Media, and is working on a deal with Discovery Communications, another Malone company, has also taken a look at Formula One. Apple has also been linked.
It will cost around $8.5bn (£6.4bn) to take control of Formula One. Liberty Media could initially buy a minority stake, which would not require regulatory approval, before acquiring a majority stake, according to Sky News, which first reported the story.
Meet the biggest winner in the history of Formula One: CVC Capital Partners Read more
Chase Carey, a key lieutenant of Rupert Murdoch at News Corporation and also a non-executive director of Sky, is also being lined up as chairman.
CVC has made billions from Formula One through dividends and selling down its stake. The private equity fund bought a majority stake in Formula One in 2006 for around $1.7bn but has since reduced that to 35.5% by selling minority stakes to investors such as BlackRock and the Norwegian sovereign fund.
The ownership structure of Delta Topco is complex. While CVC holds 35% of the shares, it controls the sport because its shares have special voting rights. Waddell & Reed, an American fund manager, has a stake of just under 20% while Bernie Ecclestone, who is the chief executive of Formula One Group, also has a stake.
Formula One Group holds the commercial rights to the sport, making its money from sponsorship deals, television rights, and charging fees to the venues that host the races.
Despite CVC making billions from Formula One, the sport is under pressure to become more entertaining due to the dominance of Mercedes, whose drivers are Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg.
The motor-racing tracks in Europe, including Silverstone in the UK, are struggling to make a profit from hosting grand prix events once the fee to Formula One Group is taken into account. The sport has also been criticised for turning its back on its traditional heartlands in Europe by staging races in places such as Azerbaijan and Bahrain rather than France.
Liberty Media also owns stakes in Live Nation Entertainment, the concert promoter, and the Atlanta Braves baseball team. It is listed on the Nasdaq stock exchange in New York, meaning Formula One would become a listed company as part of the deal.
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https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2016/aug/25/us-media-tycoon-john-malone-leads-race-to-buy-f1
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en
| 2016-08-25T00:00:00 |
www.theguardian.com/b0dd90a9f174ced56f6e32ec3f30f5382368b0e7c62561ca9fa7173e36b9f5e0.json
|
|
[
"Mary Dejevsky"
] | 2016-08-31T10:50:27 | null | 2016-08-31T09:57:22 |
The summer break was dominated by quarrelling between new ministers and lobbying. Now the cabinet must tackle the big questions of leaving the EU
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https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fcommentisfree%2F2016%2Faug%2F31%2Ftheresa-may-brexit-ministers-cabinet-eu.json
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en
| null |
At Theresa May’s Brexit awayday, spats and spin must be put aside
| null | null |
www.theguardian.com
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There is at least as much of the scorned “company awayday” about today’s cabinet meeting at Chequers as there is the feel of the new term. But there needs to be rather more substance than customarily comes out of either. For all the (largely male) characterisation of Theresa May as headmistress trying to impose some discipline on staff and students who have gone a bit wild over the summer break, this gathering needs to do much more.
Brexit talks: PM warned not to try to 'negotiate the unnegotiable' Read more
Two months after the UK voted narrowly, but clearly, in favour of leaving the EU, May has to marshal the ministers she has appointed behind a clear and common purpose.
It is all very well to argue that August didn’t really count because we have “gone European” in the sense of taking the whole month off, so really no time has been lost. However, politics in August was active enough for the three senior Brexit ministers (Boris Johnson, Liam Fox and David Davis) to be seen quarrelling – not just with remainers, but among themselves – for Brexiteers to argue on the basis of short-term economic figures that the economic harm from Brexit was exaggerated, and for a host of interest groups to lobby for their particular cause (from the City, via science and technology to academia). If all this was going on in public, how much else was seething away in private? The prime minister may have been striding over mountainsides, but many others have been very busy indeed.
Yet to what effect? So far all that appears to have been decided is this. The UK will move to leave the European Union; “Brexit means Brexit”, as Theresa May has said. A second referendum on the terms negotiated – as per Labour’s Owen Smith and many others – will not happen so long as May is prime minister.
Two months on, the choice remains as stark as it was in June
Other points, however confidently articulated, seem less certain. The prime minister has the authority to invoke article 50 to trigger the leaving process – but MPs will apparently have a role. There will be no hurry to start the process, but no dallying either. There will be no early election – oh, won’t there? And wouldn’t there be at least pressure for one if there were a proper opposition? And what about the two – or is it three – million EU citizens currently living in the UK? Will they have the right to stay? They probably will, but no one wants to say so lest it encourages a wave of new arrivals.
This will presumably be broached at today’s meeting, but it is a detail beside the big questions that need urgent answers. One – even at this relatively early stage – is of May’s own making. The potentially destructive dispute about demarcation and precedence that broke out between Fox and others is a product of the departmental structure May has devised. The Brexit campaign that dissolved so spectacularly in the shock of victory has to reconnect with its supporters and get back to the basic premise of “taking back control”.
The second – for all that ministers have been asked to accentuate the positive and suggest how Brexit can benefit their particular department – is the question that lurked beneath the whole campaign: single market versus curbs on EU migration. All the argument over the summer on this side of the Channel has been about negotiating as much single market as possible, while limiting free movement just enough to satisfy the leave voters. The difficulty here is that the EU insists that the two are indivisible and linguistic nuance is probably not what many leave voters had in mind.
Two months on, the choice remains as stark as it was in June. Oh, to be a fly on the Chequers wall.
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https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/aug/31/theresa-may-brexit-ministers-cabinet-eu
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en
| 2016-08-31T00:00:00 |
www.theguardian.com/44f028119adb9283200457d47a0bdbceb388dccd8bd5c5302a57eef0909cb02e.json
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[] | 2016-08-26T13:17:11 | null | 2016-08-25T23:50:52 |
Building evacuated over suspicious device and man arrested after police respond to what was initially reported as a stabbing
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https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fworld%2F2016%2Faug%2F26%2Fthree-killed-in-crossbow-attack-in-toronto-say-canada-police.json
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| null |
Three killed in crossbow attack in Toronto, say Canada police
| null | null |
www.theguardian.com
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Three people have been killed in an attack involving a crossbow in Toronto on Thursday.
A man was taken into custody and police later evacuated a building over a suspicious package in a related incident, Detective Mike Carbone said, without giving further details.
In the initial incident, police responding to a report of a stabbing to find three people who appeared to have been injured by crossbow bolts, said police spokesman David Hopkinson. Two men and a woman were pronounced dead.
“We don’t have any idea with regards to why this may have happened,” said Hopkinson.
CTV News, citing emergency services, said two other people were seriously injured.
An undentified man, 35, was taken into custody, police said.
Television footage showed police tape surrounding part of a residential street in Scarborough, a suburban area east of the city’s downtown area.
In 2010, a man shot his father in the back with a crossbow in a Toronto public library before smashing his skull with a hammer. Zhou Fang, who had suffered domestic abuse, was convicted of a lesser charge of second-degree murder.
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https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/aug/26/three-killed-in-crossbow-attack-in-toronto-say-canada-police
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en
| 2016-08-25T00:00:00 |
www.theguardian.com/cdc14ae81e6e3d0397c366f5daea7c51f1847183f000687bb57bbfff8c5147e7.json
|
|
[
"Jonathan Wilson"
] | 2016-08-26T13:15:56 | null | 2016-08-25T08:40:14 |
The German remains a popular figure at Anfield but there is only so long a lack of consistency can be tolerated
|
https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Ffootball%2Fblog%2F2016%2Faug%2F25%2Fthe-question-will-jurgen-klopp-be-given-time-liverpool.json
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| null |
The Question: How long will Liverpool keep faith with Jürgen Klopp?
| null | null |
www.theguardian.com
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How long should it be before it’s reasonable to lose faith with a manager? How soon should improvement be seen? It’s not a question that has any easy answer – and it’s one to which the answer seems to be very dependent on context.
Take Liverpool. On Saturday, Jürgen Klopp returns to White Hart Lane, the ground at which, last October, he managed his first Premier League game. The sense then was that Liverpool had pulled off a major coup to land one of the most exciting managers in Europe. Dozens of supporters – of both clubs – clamoured round the car park to get their pictures of Klopp getting off the team bus. In the Liverpool end there were banners reading “Liverpool Über Alles”, “Jurgen, Wir Glauben,” and “Jurgen’s Reds – Scouse nicht Englisch” and another featuring Klopp’s face on a “We Believe” flag. Twenty-three photographers surrounded the Liverpool bench as Klopp took his position before the kick-off.
Jürgen Klopp: Daniel Sturridge is not a wide player for Liverpool Read more
Ten months on, Klopp is as popular as ever. In the summer he signed an extended contract until 2022. If there have been dissenting voices, they have been quiet and few. Which is, perhaps, a little odd: even Klopp, in the interview published in Stern magazine last week, seemed a little taken aback.
Under Klopp, Liverpool have taken 1.59 points per game. Under Brendan Rodgers, Liverpool averaged 1.88 points per game. Such blunt statistics do not tell anything like the full story. There is an argument that Klopp is still putting right problems left by his predecessor. It can happen that in changing a team they go backwards before they go forwards. Klopp, in that Stern interview, suggested that as his way is coaching rather than buying expensive players – which he described as “sick”– there are no quick fixes. But it is at the very least intriguing that Klopp should be afforded such patience.
In some ways, it speaks very well of Liverpool. The fashion is for fans to demand sacrifice as soon as there’s the slightest sign of trouble, something Sir Alex Ferguson memorably blamed on reality TV and the public feeling they could have a phone vote to evict someone every time they got bored. Yet history shows the greatest managers take time.
In Brian Clough’s first season at Derby County and at Nottingham Forest, he finished in the bottom half of the second flight. Within five years he had won the league with Derby; it took three with Forest. Ferguson was in his seventh year at Manchester United when he won the league for the first time; Herbert Chapman was in his sixth at Arsenal. Don Revie just avoided relegation in his first season at Leeds; it took him three years even to be promoted, the same length of time it took Bill Shankly at Liverpool (even if his side did finish third in the Second Division, missing promotion by a place, two years running).
It’s a different game now and the influence of money means both the parameters within which a club is expected to operate are far more defined and that the prospect of slipping below expected level is terrifying for directors and owners. Often it becomes apparent very quickly that a manager and club simply do not fit and when that is the case, a swift end tends to be best for everybody.
Sunderland have made a habit of surviving with an annual slaughter of a sacrificial manager. But imagining Clough, Shankly, Revie and Ferguson having the starts they had in a modern context cannot but provoke the question of how many great managerial careers are being extinguished before they have begun.
Klopp, at the moment, still has a tide of expectation behind him, in part because of his charisma, in part because of his achievements at Mainz and Borussia Dortmund and in part because there have been flashes of excellence. When Liverpool were good last season, they were very good – in the two wins over Manchester City last season, or in the Europa League successes against Villarreal and Dortmund. More than that, the football was thrilling. If Liverpool could find a level of consistency playing in that way it would be the best of all worlds.
But consistency is the problem. Liverpool were brilliant for 20 minutes (against admittedly acquiescent opponents) after half-time against Arsenal on the opening weekend and that was enough for a 4-3 win. The other 70 minutes were rather less impressive, something that seems far more significant after Saturday’s 2-0 defeat to Burnley.
Liverpool, we know, can attack if the opposition push up and leave space behind them. They can impose themselves physically on teams not keen on the battle. But can they defend? Can they break down sides who play a narrow back four and sit deep? And can they really turn Jordan Henderson into Sergio Busquets?
Klopp is going to have to find answers (and Emre Can may be a simple solution to that last issue). It may be the Burnley result was a blip, a useful warning against any sense the job is nearly done, but if it wasn’t, if Liverpool do oscillate between brilliant and ordinary as they did last season, it will be fascinating to see how much longer patience with the manager will endure.
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https://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2016/aug/25/the-question-will-jurgen-klopp-be-given-time-liverpool
|
en
| 2016-08-25T00:00:00 |
www.theguardian.com/323837471732dd7f29ddf74d1dbaa85ff10fa63ccc296dacbd8b9c2208b18e17.json
|
|
[
"Peter Walker",
"Michael White",
"Sadiq Khan",
"Rutger Bregman"
] | 2016-08-26T13:30:28 | null | 2016-08-26T12:05:38 |
Ronnie Draper says he has not been given a reason for his suspension, amid claims of purge of leader’s supporters
|
http%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fpolitics%2F2016%2Faug%2F26%2Fpro-corbyn-union-leader-threatens-legal-action-over-labour-suspension.json
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| null |
Pro-Corbyn union leader threatens legal action over Labour suspension
| null | null |
www.theguardian.com
|
The leader of a pro-Jeremy Corbyn trade union has said he is considering taking legal action against his suspension from the Labour party, a decision that has brought accusations about a “rigged purge” of Corbyn supporters.
In his first full statement since news emerged of his suspension on Thursday, Ronnie Draper, the general secretary of the Bakers, Food and Allied Workers union (BFAWU), said he had still not been told precisely why the action had been taken.
The shadow chancellor, John McDonnell, released a statement on Thursday evening accusing anti-Corbyn forces within the party of undertaking a wider clear-out of supporters before September’s leadership election.
In his statement, Draper, whose union has nearly 20,000 members, said he had received an email from the party on Tuesday saying he was suspended.
“I am now blocked from attending Labour party meetings, annual conference and, above all, voting in the leadership election,” he said. “The only explanation I have been given is that this is something to do with an unidentified tweet I have posted. I have not been given the opportunity to refute any allegations, or a date for any hearing.
“I believe this flies in the face of natural justice. I intend to challenge my suspension robustly and am currently taking legal advice.”
Draper said he was not seeking any special treatment, arguing that “all members should be allowed to be heard and be given the opportunity to vote for the candidate of their choice”.
He said: “I am extremely concerned that suspensions and bans are being imposed in an arbitrary or politically motivated way in this election, and I will be raising the issue with the general secretary.”
Labour has said only that it does not discuss national executive committee (NEC) decisions concerning individual members. The party’s general secretary, Iain McNicol, has also tweeted to correct McDonnell’s statement saying Draper had been suspended by “party officials”, to stress it had been done by the NEC.
— Iain McNicol (@IainMcNicol) .@johnmcdonnellMP John, just to clarify you say 'party officials'. Decisions are made by elected NEC members, and not party staff.
The suspension highlights what some Corbyn supporters see as wider attempts by those in the party who support the leadership challenger, Owen Smith, to weed out members and registered supporters who are seeking to vote to keep Corbyn in office.
The party’s compliance unit is working through applications to check whether 180,000 new registered supporters who signed up to take part in the vote are eligible, or whether some are members of, or public advocates for, other groups.
Corbyn’s team believes the party’s compliance committee makes arbitrary decisions, often on political grounds, some of which could breach members’ human rights.
McDonnell’s statement endorsed these fears, saying: “Labour party members will not accept what appears to be a rigged purge of Jeremy Corbyn supporters. The conduct of this election must be fair and even-handed.”
The shadow chancellor said he had asked McNicol to ensure any members suspended or denied a vote were told why.
Adding to the recriminations is a high court battle over whether 130,000 full members who joined Labour in the past six months are eligible to vote. After the NEC ruled they were not, a group of members won a high court challenge against the decision, only for this to be overturned on appeal.
McDonnell questioned why Draper had been suspended while the Labour peer David Sainsbury had had no action taken against him after Electoral Commission figures showed he had donated £2.1m to the Liberal Democrats in the first quarter of this year, as well as the same sum to Labour.
Lord Sainsbury, a science minister in the upper house under Tony Blair, released a statement saying both donations had been intended to fund the pro-remain Britain Stronger in Europe campaign before the EU referendum in June.
A Labour spokeswoman said she was looking into whether there were any internal rules explicitly preventing members from donating to other parties. It is not known whether Sainsbury, who is on a leave of absence from the Lords, is still a Labour member.
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http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2016/aug/26/pro-corbyn-union-leader-threatens-legal-action-over-labour-suspension
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en
| 2016-08-26T00:00:00 |
www.theguardian.com/40ae05b4baf925d922fa26734c9e510365c4c8ffab1674f9f33d6f52c0756397.json
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[] | 2016-08-26T13:27:35 | null | 2016-08-24T09:40:38 |
New Research on infants and foetuses in Brazil reveals extent of brain damage caused by mosquito-borne virus
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https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fworld%2F2016%2Faug%2F24%2Fzika-damage-to-brain-goes-well-beyond-microcephaly-research-shows.json
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en
| null |
Zika damage to brain goes well beyond microcephaly, research shows
| null | null |
www.theguardian.com
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A new report shows in graphic detail the kind of damage Zika infections can do to the developing brain – damage that goes well beyond microcephaly, a birth defect in which the baby’s head is much smaller than normal.
The current Zika outbreak was first detected last year in Brazil, where the virus has been linked to more than 1,800 cases of microcephaly, which can cause severe developmental problems.
Scientists edge closer to creating effective Zika virus vaccine Read more
Earlier research has shown the Zika virus attacks neural progenitor cells, a type of stem cell that develops into different types of nerve or brain cells.
The latest research, published in the journal Radiology, draws from imaging and autopsy findings linked with confirmed Zika infections done on 17 infants and foetuses cared for at the Instituto de Pesquisa, in Campina Grande in the state of Paraíba in north-eastern Brazil, where the infection has been especially severe.
The study also included reports on 28 foetuses or newborns with brain anomalies whose mothers were suspected of having Zika during pregnancy.
Nearly all babies in each group had ventriculomegaly, a condition in which the ventricles, or fluid-filled spaces in the brain, are enlarged.
While most of the foetuses had at least one exam showing abnormally small head circumference, suggesting they had microcephaly, three of the foetuses with ventriculomegaly had normal head circumference, but severe ventriculomegaly.
Nearly all of the foetuses or babies in the confirmed Zika group and nearly 80% of those in the presumed Zika group also had abnormalities of the corpus callosum, a large bundle of nerves that facilitates communication between the left and right hemispheres of the brain.
In all but one of the cases studied, the researchers found instances in which developing neurons did not travel to their proper destination in the brain.
In many cases, the babies’ skulls seemed to have collapsed on themselves, with overlapping tissues and abnormal skin folds suggestive of a brain that had stopped growing.
“From an imaging standpoint, the abnormalities in the brain are very severe when compared to other congenital infections,” said the study’s co-author Dr Deborah Levine of Beth Israel Deaconess medical centre and a radiology professor at Harvard Medical School.
As with other reports, the paper suggests that Zika does the most harm in the first trimester of pregnancy. The researchers plan to keep following the cases to see what impact prenatal Zika infections have on future brain development.
There is no vaccine or treatment for Zika, which is a close cousin of dengue and chikungunya and causes mild fever, rash and red eyes. An estimated 80% of people infected have no symptoms, making it difficult for pregnant women to know whether they have been infected.
Zika is carried by mosquitoes, which transmit the virus to humans. A small number of cases of sexual transmission have been reported in the US and elsewhere.
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https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/aug/24/zika-damage-to-brain-goes-well-beyond-microcephaly-research-shows
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en
| 2016-08-24T00:00:00 |
www.theguardian.com/146864468b07e01740c3cf5a5e87fc023b2cd084611f132be5e714fbb4b7f4f7.json
|
|
[
"Caroline Davies"
] | 2016-08-26T13:14:55 | null | 2016-08-24T12:47:51 |
Airlander 10 sustains damage but no one injured on landing in fields during second test flight at Cardington airfield
|
https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fuk-news%2F2016%2Faug%2F24%2Fworlds-biggest-aircraft-crashes-bedfordshire-airlander-10.json
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en
| null |
World's biggest aircraft crashes in Bedfordshire
| null | null |
www.theguardian.com
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The world’s largest aircraft, a part-plane, part-airship hybrid being developed in the UK, has crashed during its second test flight.
The 92-metre-long (302ft) Airlander 10 was damaged during the flight from RAF Cardington airfield, Bedfordshire, with photographs showing it on the ground with its nose pointing towards the floor.
Hybrid Air Vehicles (HAV), which is developing the Airlander 10, denied reports it had crashed into a telegraph pole in nearby fields.
The company tweeted: “Airlander sustained damage on landing during today’s flight. No damage was sustained mid-air or as a result of a telegraph pole as reported.
“We’re debriefing following the second test flight this morning. All crew are safe and well and there are no injuries”.
The £25m aircraft was first developed as a surveillance aircraft for the US army’s Long Endurance Multi-intelligence Vehicle (LEMV) programme. It was to provide intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance to support ground troops, and a first flight took place in 2012 before the programme was cancelled in 2013.
HAV then reacquired the aircraft and brought it to RAF Cardington where it was reassembled and modified for civilian use.
Powered by four diesel engine-driven propellers, the company claims it could be used for a variety of functions, including surveillance, communications, transporting freight, delivering aid and passenger travel.
HAV claims the aircraft, which is 44 metres wide and 26 metres high will be able to stay airborne for about five days during manned flights, and hopes to be building up to 10 Airlanders a year from 2021.
The Airlander is about 15 metres longer than the biggest passenger jets, and uses helium to become airborne, travelling at speeds of up to 92mph.
It successfully completed its first test flight on 17 August, performing one lap of the airfield before landing about half-an-hour later. It is to undergo about 200 hours of test flights.
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https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2016/aug/24/worlds-biggest-aircraft-crashes-bedfordshire-airlander-10
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en
| 2016-08-24T00:00:00 |
www.theguardian.com/f6859b5a9c40b1d51bc40d1e4eae6dc391536e768fc719c9ddd4eeff83a58249.json
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|
[
"Samuel Gibbs"
] | 2016-08-26T13:26:29 | null | 2016-08-25T06:00:03 |
The best phablet going is now waterproof, with a brilliant curved screen, better stylus and cracking cameras, wrapped in a narrow, premium body
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https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Ftechnology%2F2016%2Faug%2F25%2Fsamsung-galaxy-note-7-review-the-king-of-the-phablets-returns.json
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Samsung Galaxy Note 7 review: the king of the phablets returns
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www.theguardian.com
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The Galaxy Note 7 is the return to the UK for Samsung’s king of the stylus-equipped phablets, but does anyone really want a stylus anymore?
Even if the answer is “no” and you never touch the “S Pen”, the Note 7 offers something else. It is one of the first phones of any size that users can unlock using their eyes with the built-in infrared iris scanner.
Curved front and back
Facebook Twitter Pinterest Both the front and back are curved at the edges, making for a narrow device, despite the screen’s 5.7in diagonal dimensions. Photograph: Samuel Gibbs for the Guardian
The Note 7 is the spitting image of the Galaxy S7 Edge. A curved screen bends down towards the sides and a glass back is rounded in a similar fashion to the front. There is a small metal band around the outside. Side-by-side the only obvious difference is that the Note 7 is very slightly larger.
It’s 7.9mm thick, 153.5mm tall and 73.9mm wide. The S7 Edge is 0.2mm thinner, 2.6mm shorter and 1.3mm narrower. The Note 7 is also 12g heavier at 169g, with the stylus docked. The differences are negligible in use, which makes the Note 7 one of the easiest big phones to use, and makes its chief rivals, the Apple iPhone 6S Plus and Nexus 6P, look positively fat in almost every dimension bar thickness - the iPhone and Nexus are both 7.3mm thick.
The curved screen edges are more aesthetic than functional, but help to maintain a narrow width which makes holding the Note 7 so much easier than almost any other phablet. It feels great in the hand, with a level of refinement in the edges, materials and shape beyond any previous Note.
The 5.7in quad HD AMOLED screen is one of the brightest, clearest and best I’ve ever seen on a smartphone, with inky blacks and bold colours. It’s clearly visible outdoors, which is remarkable for the often easily washed out OLED-based screens, and is even better than that fitted to the already excellent S7 Edge.
The Note 7 is also waterproof to IP68 standards which means 1.5m for 30 minutes in fresh water. The ports are open, which means no fiddly doors, including the stylus slot and its S Pen, which can now work underwater on the screen too.
Specifications
Screen: 5.7in quad HD AMOLED (518ppi)
5.7in quad HD AMOLED (518ppi) Processor: octa-core Samsung Exynos 8890 or quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 820
octa-core Samsung Exynos 8890 or quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 RAM: 4GB of RAM
4GB of RAM Storage: 64GB + microSD card
64GB + microSD card Operating system: Android 6.0.1 with TouchWiz
Android 6.0.1 with TouchWiz Camera: 12MP rear camera with OIS, 5MP front-facing camera
12MP rear camera with OIS, 5MP front-facing camera Connectivity: LTE, Wi-Fi, NFC, USB-C, wireless charging, Bluetooth 4.2 and GPS
LTE, Wi-Fi, NFC, USB-C, wireless charging, Bluetooth 4.2 and GPS Dimensions: 153.5 x 73.9 x 7.9 mm
153.5 x 73.9 x 7.9 mm Weight: 169g
Wireless charging and one day’s battery
Facebook Twitter Pinterest The blue and gold Note 7 is very attractive in the flesh. Photograph: Samuel Gibbs for the Guardian
The Note 7 has the same processor, graphics and amount of RAM as the S7 Edge and performs similarly.
Like the S7 Edge, the Note 7 is snappy and rapidly crunches through pretty much anything you might throw at it. It feels particularly sprightly loading and switching between programs. Split-screen multitasking also doesn’t slow it down, although the utility of it on a 5.7in screen is debatable.
Battery life is slightly disappointing. The Note 7 charges really fast, hitting 70% in 50 minutes via the included USB-C fast charger, but the battery won’t last much more than a day without special treatment.
Using it as my primary device, listening to five hours of music via Bluetooth headphones, browsing and using apps for three hours with hundreds of push emails and 30 minutes of light gaming, the Note 7 lasted from 7am on day one until 8am on day two.
Wireless charging worked well overnight on a 5W pad built into a piece of furniture. Battery-saving modes, including those that monitor apps and put those you don’t use to sleep to prevent them using power, are built in and I found battery life to slowly improve as that process rolled along.
It’s also worth noting that battery life is expected to increase by around 10%-20% with the roll out of Android 7.0 Nougat.
TouchWiz
Facebook Twitter Pinterest The apps, people and task edge slides out from a small tap on the side of the curved screen. Photograph: Samuel Gibbs for the Guardian
The Note 7 runs the same modified version of Android 6.0 Marshmallow called TouchWiz as the S7 Edge, but with additions to support the stylus.
Most of Samsung’s modifications to Android are good, particularly as Android 6.0 Marshmallow is now out of date. It has more quick settings, more power-saving modes including a system to identify and put unused apps to sleep, extensive control over notifications including the power of the vibration, and a built-in blue light filter for nighttime use.
The small audio output settings in the notification shade allow you to switch output between various Bluetooth devices, headphones and the internal speakers, without having to disconnect anything.
A collection of small edge utilities are available, useful for quickly accessing contacts or apps, but little beyond that. They can be removed if you do not find them useful. Samsung’s gaming tools can record game footage, stop notifications or buttons from disrupting play and can limit the smartphone’s performance to save battery power. You can minimise a game without pausing it too.
It’s not all good, however. The Upday social news aggregator panel on the homescreen (which replaced Flipboard on earlier Samsung phones) I found irritating so I turned it off. I also suffered a bug with Samsung’s new Cloud sync service, which backs up the phone’s contents to Samsung’s free 15GB cloud storage, which caused the Android media server service to rapidly drain the battery.
Media server bugs are common with Samsung smartphones, usually associated with corrupted images particularly on SD cards, although not in this case as I did not have a microSD card installed at the time. Turning off Samsung Cloud syncing was the only solution to the battery drain I could find. It is likely the result of using a pre-release device; it got several updates in the time I had with it.
Microsoft’s Office, Skype and OneDrive apps come pre-installed, which can be disabled but not uninstalled.
S Pen
Facebook Twitter Pinterest Writing short notes while the screen is off is very handy as a digital post-it note. Photograph: Samuel Gibbs for the Guardian
The rest of Samsung’s software tweaks to Android are to support the S Pen stylus, which is one of the best small styluses available. The pressure-sensitive nib is significantly smaller than previous versions, which makes it feel more accurate, while the whole system is very responsive as long as you’re using a Samsung app.
Using the stylus in Evernote, for instance, a little bit of lag was noticeable but the feel on the screen has also been improved making it much more like drawing on paper.
Samsung’s new Notes app collects together most of the stylus features in one place. Hand-drawn notes, text, handwriting recognition, audio and images can be collated and synced with Samsung Cloud, but sadly not Evernote like Samsung’s older S Notes.
You can use the stylus to make quick selections of text for translation, screen annotations and use a solid collection of productivity tools. The S Pen works on the screen when the phone is asleep, which is saved to Samsung Notes and can be pinned on the screen like a post-it note.
All the stylus’s features can also be used when the screen is wet, which means it can be used underwater, if you really want. When not in use the stylus docks neatly into the phone.
The stylus is quite useful for drawing small diagrams, sketches or handwritten notes, but not much more than that. But it does have one killer new feature: instant gif making. You can record an area of the screen to make a gif of up to 15 seconds.
Fingerprint scanner
Facebook Twitter Pinterest The fingerprint scanner doubles as a home button, with the USB-C port - a first for a Samsung phone - immediately below it. Photograph: Samuel Gibbs for the Guardian
The fingerprint scanner on the front is the same as the Galaxy S7 Edge and is solid, recognising my fingers and thumbs instantly most of the time. It will also secure apps, purchases and passwords, just like any other Android Marshmallow or later device.
Iris scanner
Facebook Twitter Pinterest Look into my eyes. Photograph: Samuel Gibbs for the Guardian
The Note 7 is one of the first smartphones to feature iris scanning, which uses an infrared camera to record and then match the unique patterns of your irises. It’ll match either or both your eyes, and works very well, unlocking the phone or authenticating something within a second.
You have to raise it up to eye level for it to reliably work, but it will recognise me even with an off-centre glance at the right height. I do not wear glasses or use contact lenses.
It isn’t as convenient as the fingerprint scanner, and requires a swipe up on the screen to activate, but works when your hands or the fingerprint scanner are covered, which will be very useful in winter.
Cameras
Facebook Twitter Pinterest The 12-megapixel camera on the back has optical image stabilisation and rapid autofocus, as well as a fast lens, making the most of low-light photography. Photograph: Samuel Gibbs for the Guardian
The Note 7 has the same front and back camera as the Galaxy S7 Edge, which are some of the best available on a smartphone.
The rear 12-megapixel camera is fast, great in low-light and makes it difficult to take a poor photo. It can take RAW photos too. The front-facing 5-megapixel selfie camera is good, but lacks fine detail, producing softer-looking photos that some may find more flattering.
Observations
Facebook Twitter Pinterest The always-on display can provide a clock and notifications, as well as a read-out of what’s playing from Spotify or other music apps. Photograph: Samuel Gibbs for the Guardian
The back glass has surprisingly high levels of friction, which makes it easier to keep hold of, but also makes it a fingerprint magnet
There’s a heart beat sensor on the back that barely anyone will employ for health monitoring, but it can be used as a selfie camera trigger
You can only register four fingerprints on the scanner
The always-on display shows the time, date, calendar or image, depending on your settings, and can be scheduled to turn on or off between set hours to not keep you up at night, or turned off completely
The always-on display (which I had active turning my battery tests) consumed around 10-15% of battery life each day
The Note 7 had the strongest signal of any smartphone I’ve tested, but suffered battery drain and got hot in the congested network conditions of London commuter trains
Price
The Samsung Galaxy Note 7 costs £700 and is available in three colours: black, blue with gold sides, and silver.
For comparison, the 5.5in Galaxy S7 Edge costs £639, the 5.7in Google Nexus 6P costs £449 (64GB is £499) and the 5.5in Apple iPhone 6S Plus costs £619 (64GB is £699), which makes the Note 7 about the same price as top-end rivals.
Verdict
The Samsung Galaxy Note 7 is, without doubt, the best phablet going. It’s powerful, full of useful features and little in the way of gimmicks, and provides productivity tools others simply don’t.
The S Pen is something you may not use all the time, but comes in really handy at least once a day for me, and when not in use safely docks out the way, not detracting from the aesthetic or function of the phone.
The cameras, fingerprint scanner, wireless charging, waterproofing and screen are also top notch. So is the fit, finish and feel of the device. The iris scanner is a novelty that may become more useful when winter rolls along. But it is the curved edges and minuscule bezels around the screen that are the Note 7’s best bit.
They make a very large phone feel not too big too hold - it’s more manageable than any other 5.7in phablet without sacrificing screen real estate.
The only real downside, which has been the same for each of Samsung’s Note series launched around August, is that its software is no longer up to date. Android 7.0 Nougat is much improved on notifications and battery life. The Note 7 will get an update to Nougat, but when is unknown.
Pros: waterproof, curved screen and back, fingerprint scanner, iris scanner, wireless charging, microSD card slot, S Pen, brilliant display, great camera Cons: not yet Android 7 Nougat, only one day’s battery, expensive
Facebook Twitter Pinterest The S Pen slots into the bottom of the phone with a push-button click. Photograph: Samuel Gibbs for the Guardian
Other reviews
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https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/aug/25/samsung-galaxy-note-7-review-the-king-of-the-phablets-returns
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en
| 2016-08-25T00:00:00 |
www.theguardian.com/47109b690bc9e1cb7ab2a99ca71af317992b2ce255cca3e5077d45a86804fcaf.json
|
|
[
"Heather Stewart",
"Jessica Valenti"
] | 2016-08-28T00:51:28 | null | 2016-05-05T13:17:38 |
British PM says he respects billionaire for making it through Republican primaries but refuses to retract earlier criticism
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http%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fpolitics%2F2016%2Fmay%2F05%2Fdavid-cameron-donald-trump-deserves-respect.json
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en
| null |
David Cameron: Donald Trump deserves respect
| null | null |
www.theguardian.com
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David Cameron has said he “respects” the controversial presidential candidate Donald Trump for making it through the gruelling Republican primary process.
The prime minister refused to retract his claim, made when a Trump candidacy still seemed an unlikely prospect, that the billionaire’s proposal for banning Muslims from the US was “stupid, divisive and wrong”.
Speaking at a joint press conference at 10 Downing Street alongside his Japanese counterpart, Shinzo Abe, Cameron said, having come through the tough primary process, Trump “deserves our respect”.
Neither George W nor George HW Bush will endorse Donald Trump Read more
“Knowing the gruelling nature of the primaries, what you have to go through to go on and represent your party in a general election – anyone who makes it through that deserves our respect,” he said.
However, he added: “What I said about Muslims, I wouldn’t change that view. I’m very clear that the policy idea that was put forward was wrong, it is wrong, and it will remain wrong.”
Cameron’s spokeswoman later said the prime minister respected Trump, “politician to politician”, given the fierce state-by-state battle for party supporters’ votes that primary candidates must endure before they can win the right to fight for the presidency.
Global policymakers are scrambling to catch up with the fact that Trump, who once appeared an eccentric outsider, will be the official Republican candidate after storming to success in the primaries. Abe visibly smirked – before rearranging his face into a serious expression – when the idea of Trump gracing the table at next year’s G7 summit was mentioned.
Cameron’s change of tone came after George Papadopoulos, an adviser to Trump, told the Times on Wednesday that he thought the prime minister should reach out with an apology or some sort of retraction.
Papadopoulos said Cameron’s comments were uncalled for and it would be wise for the prime minister to “reach out in a more positive manner” to the Republican frontrunner.
Asked if Trump would forgive the remarks, he said: “I can’t speak directly for him, but it would seem that if Prime Minister Cameron is serious about reaching out, not only to Mr Trump’s advisers but to the man himself, an apology or some sort of retraction should happen.”
No 10 sources said Cameron would be willing to meet Trump, as he would any other presidential candidate who visited the UK and requested discussions. He met Mitt Romney, the Republicans’ last candidate, in 2012.
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http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2016/may/05/david-cameron-donald-trump-deserves-respect
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en
| 2016-05-05T00:00:00 |
www.theguardian.com/e392421f2cef59a509ec93d983240c8f170c6fd573a0091085fec6322f91e244.json
|
|
[
"Haroon Siddique"
] | 2016-08-26T16:48:50 | null | 2016-08-26T15:01:50 |
Virgin boss says his helmet saved his life after coming off his bike when he hit a road hump in the British Virgin Islands
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https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fbusiness%2F2016%2Faug%2F26%2Frichard-branson-survives-high-speed-bicycle-crash.json
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en
| null |
Richard Branson survives high-speed bicycle crash
| null | null |
www.theguardian.com
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Sir Richard Branson has said he believes his cycle helmet saved his life after he came off his bike at high speed when he hit a road hump.
The billionaire boss of Virgin suffered a cracked cheek, torn ligaments and cuts and bruising to his body in Monday night’s crash, which occurred on Virgin Gouda, one of the British Virgin Islands.
He was with his two children, Holly and Sam, when he hit a road hump as they headed down a hill in the dark.
“The next thing I knew, I was being hurled over the handlebars and my life was literally flashing before my eyes,” he said. “I really thought I was going to die. I went flying head-first towards the concrete road, but fortunately my shoulder and cheek took the brunt of the impact, and I was wearing a helmet that saved my life.”
— Richard Branson (@richardbranson) Forget my injuries (cracked cheek, torn ligaments) – I'm having to drink tea out of a straw! https://t.co/aEh6TsDQz4 pic.twitter.com/t8g8HdHFqN
The 66-year-old said his bike disappeared over the side of a cliff and he was left counting his blessings that he was alive and not more seriously injured.
His assistant was the first to arrive on the scene followed by another member of his team who sprinted up the hill. They took him home and patched him up before he flew to Miami for scans.
Branson said it was one of many brushes with death he has had over the years. These include being rescued along with other crew members from his capsized speedboat when attempting the fastest-ever Atlantic crossing in 1985.
Two years later he ended up in the sea again when forced to abandon his hot air balloon while attempting the first transatlantic crossing in a balloon.
In February he was bitten by a stingray, and cut his head running into a bulletproof glass door. And Monday’s accident occurred on the fifth anniversary of the fire on Necker Island, which is owned by Branson. “What a way to mark it,” he said. “Thankfully, good fortune has smiled on me so far.”
The crash happened the day before he created a storm by releasing CCTV images on his Twitter account showing Jeremy Corbyn walking past free seats before he was filmed sitting on the floor complaining about “ram-packed” carriages on a Virgin Trains service.
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https://www.theguardian.com/business/2016/aug/26/richard-branson-survives-high-speed-bicycle-crash
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en
| 2016-08-26T00:00:00 |
www.theguardian.com/28ed9b0a793609442fb9ba5a7b8490b07a2fef0ef327e6461f91f8d9ddab516a.json
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|
[
"Michael Slezak"
] | 2016-08-29T20:55:13 | null | 2016-08-29T20:15:57 |
Australian company’s write-down of assets relied on optimistic prediction for how oil price will change, according to financial activist group
|
https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fbusiness%2F2016%2Faug%2F30%2Fsantos-australia-fanciful-lng-projections-inflating-value-of-assets-by-billions.json
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| null |
Santos’s 'fanciful' LNG projections 'inflating value of assets by billions'
| null | null |
www.theguardian.com
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Santos, one of the companies driving Queensland’s liquefied natural gas export boom, is relying on price projections so optimistic that they inflate the value of the company’s assets by billions of dollars, according to a leading analyst.
This month Santos announced a write-down of the value of its Gladstone gas export project, GLNG, of US$1.5bn. The value of the project dropped because the price it gets for the exported gas is tied to the price of crude oil, which has dropped.
But according to an analysis by the pro-renewables financial activist group Market Forces, that write-down of its assets relied on an optimistic prediction for how the oil price will change, with Santos’s projections significantly higher than those of competitors Woodside and Beach Energy, brokers such as Deutsche Bank and Goldman Sachs, as well as analysts at the World Bank.
According to Santos’s own explanation of how its asset’s value is tied to oil prices, if it had used Goldman Sachs’ projected oil prices rather than its own optimistic ones, the value of its assets would be US$3.5bn less in 2020.
Australian gas 40% cheaper in Japan than in Australia despite export costs Read more
Alternatively, if it followed the World Bank’s forecast to 2020, its assets would take more than a US$2bn hit that year.
Even its peers in the market, Woodside Petroleum and Beach Energy, projected oil prices to 2021 that would result in Santos’s assets taking more than a US$1bn write-down most years.
Santos’s write-downs have led some analysts to speculate that parts of the brand-new facility would be mothballed within a year or two.
The latest company update from Goldman Sachs on Santos recommended investors sell their stock in the company, noting long-term expectations for the price of oil.
Santos declined Guardian Australia’s request to comment on the issue.
“It just seems fanciful,” said Daniel Gocher from Market Forces, who prepared the analysis. “They’re a good $5 to $15 above the median forecast price per barrel.
“The comparison is pretty representative – we’ve got the brokers in there, and the World Bank, who you’d think would be rather conservative. And we’ve also got their peers.
“There is plenty of opinion out there that says that they’re on thin ice already,” Gocher said, adding that Santos had more debt than similar companies in the market. “If they’re not getting the prices for gas that they were expecting, then they’re going to find it harder to meet their debt obligations.”
Santos now has the lowest investment-grade credit rating of BBB-. When the company declared its recent write-down, the rating agency Standard & Poor’s said if oil prices stayed low, Santos could start selling its assets to meet its debt obligations.
Bruce Robertson from the pro-renewables financial analysis group, the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis, said if Santos did declare a multibillion-dollar write-down, it “would be in all sorts of trouble”.
“In my opinion it would make financing of the business very problematic,” Robertson said.
If energy ministers bow to gas industry they'll be deciding in the dark Read more
He said the large discrepancy in forecasts showed Australia needed consistent reporting of the value of gas reserves and resources, as in the US.
The inconsistent reporting made it hard for investors to judge the value of a company, he said, but it also made it hard for policymakers to judge how large the country’s available reserves were. “There’s no transparency or consistency. Each company is calculating reserves and resources using a different set of assumptions.”
Gocher said Santos’s “fanciful” projections pointed to the over-investment in the LNG sector in Australia. “A lot of those investments will be in jeopardy and wouldn’t get the go-ahead today if they were making the same decision now,” he said.
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https://www.theguardian.com/business/2016/aug/30/santos-australia-fanciful-lng-projections-inflating-value-of-assets-by-billions
|
en
| 2016-08-29T00:00:00 |
www.theguardian.com/adeae0c7b262dd75c0fd3027050e4687735e72d0f4b210801aceaee579246cdf.json
|
|
[
"Daniel Taylor"
] | 2016-08-26T13:18:33 | null | 2016-08-25T13:05:10 |
The 18-year-old striker has lost his England place after slipping down the pecking order at Manchester United
|
https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Ffootball%2F2016%2Faug%2F25%2Fmarcus-rashford-selected-for-england-under21s-after-losing-place-in-senior-squad-manchester-united.json
|
en
| null |
Marcus Rashford loses England place after being ousted at Manchester United
| null | null |
www.theguardian.com
|
Marcus Rashford has lost his England place after being moved out of the Manchester United team since José Mourinho took control at Old Trafford and brought in Zlatan Ibrahimovic to play in attack.
Rashford has dropped into England’s Under-21 side after Sam Allardyce decided he could not justify a place for the 18-year-old when the new era under his managership begins with a World Cup qualifier in Slovakia on Sunday week.
Five outsiders Sam Allardyce should consider for his first England squad Read more
Rashford’s emergence at Old Trafford last season, scoring eight times in 18 games, led to Roy Hodgson calling him up for Euro 2016 and the teenager breaking Wayne Rooney’s record as England’s youngest player at a European Championship.
Since then the sacking of Louis van Gaal, Mourinho’s appointment and the arrival of Ibrahimovic have meant Rashford being restricted to a 70th-minute substitute’s appearance against Leicester City in the Community Shield and not getting off the bench for United’s wins against Bournemouth and Southampton.
Allardyce has spoken to Gareth Southgate, the manager of England’s Under-21s, and the pair have decided Rashford should not be involved in the senior setup when the striker has yet to play a minute in the Premier League this season.
Southgate’s team play Norway in a European Under-21 Championship qualifier in Colchester on 6 September and Rashford has been named in the squad, with the likelihood he will play his first game at that age level. Arsenal’s Rob Holding and Aston Villa’s Jack Grealish have also been selected.
England Under-21 squad v Norway
Goalkeepers Angus Gunn (Manchester City), Jordan Pickford (Sunderland), Joe Wildsmith (Sheffield Wednesday)
Defenders Calum Chambers (Arsenal), Ben Chilwell (Leicester), Brendan Galloway (West Brom, loan from Everton), Kortney Hause (Wolves), Rob Holding (Arsenal), Mason Holgate (Everton), Dominic Iorfa (Wolves), Matt Targett (Southampton)
Midfielders Lewis Baker (Vitesse Arnhem, loan from Chelsea), Nathaniel Chalobah (Chelsea), Isaac Hayden (Newcastle), Will Hughes (Derby), Ruben Loftus-Cheek (Chelsea), John Swift (Reading), James Ward-Prowse (Southampton)
Forwards Demarai Gray (Leicester), Jack Grealish (Aston Villa), Marcus Rashford (Man Utd), Nathan Redmond (Southampton), Dominic Solanke (Chelsea), Duncan Watmore (Sunderland)
|
https://www.theguardian.com/football/2016/aug/25/marcus-rashford-selected-for-england-under21s-after-losing-place-in-senior-squad-manchester-united
|
en
| 2016-08-25T00:00:00 |
www.theguardian.com/8d0d5c6e0e05abad99e5eeecf7e7f9bf3a915c2c15444afdc167ea0ff95732ce.json
|
|
[
"Press Association"
] | 2016-08-29T16:52:24 | null | 2016-08-29T15:59:50 |
The Belgium winger Nacer Chadli has joined West Bromwich Albion from Tottenham Hotspur for a club-record fee
|
https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Ffootball%2F2016%2Faug%2F29%2Fwest-bromwich-albion-nacer-chadli-spurs.json
|
en
| null |
West Brom seal £13m Nacer Chadli deal as Saido Berahino looks set to stay
| null | null |
www.theguardian.com
|
West Bromwich Albion have signed Nacer Chadli from Tottenham Hotspur for a club‑record fee of £13m on a four-year deal. The Belgium winger’s price will soon be eclipsed when Albion complete an expected £15m deal for Malaga’s defensive midfielder Ignacio Camacho.
Chadli spent three years at Spurs and becomes Albion’s third signing of a frustrating summer with Tony Pulis, the head coach, targeting a host of signings before the deadline on Wednesday.
West Brom’s need for new blood laid bare in dour draw with Middlesbrough Read more
Chadli told the club’s official site: “I feel very good to be here. It came very quickly but I spoke to the club and they have a good team, a good manager and I am very pleased to be here. My ambitions? I just want to help the team win as many games as possible.”
Pulis said: “He’s a top, top player and I’m delighted we’ve got him. I said last week that these signings all had to be about players who would improve our squad – and Nacer does precisely that.”
West Bromwich have endured transfer difficulties this summer, with Pulis voicing his concerns over a lack of players several times – despite the club being prepared to break their transfer record.
They pulled out of a £15m deal for West Ham United’s Diafra Sakho in July over fears regarding his fitness, had several bids rejected by Leicester City for Jeffrey Schlupp and have been chasing Southampton’s Jay Rodriguez on loan.
Albion were prepared to sell Saido Berahino for around £20m – with Stoke City and Crystal Palace tabling bids around that figure – but it looks unlikely he will leave The Hawthorns. They were ready to sell the 23-year-old striker only once they had found a replacement but were never in a position to sign a forward in earlier in the window. Berahino, whose contract expires next summer, is out of the country on holiday for four days.
Chadli, 27, arrives after making 119 appearances, scoring 25 goals, for Tottenham who he joined from Twente for £7m in 2013. He played 40 times for Spurs last season but has not featured for Mauricio Pochettino’s side this term.
Chadli’s arrival paves the way for Callum McManaman to leave Albion, with Newcastle United linked with the winger.
|
https://www.theguardian.com/football/2016/aug/29/west-bromwich-albion-nacer-chadli-spurs
|
en
| 2016-08-29T00:00:00 |
www.theguardian.com/daff9b873bd20bb348983a6ad455884e801b465163d78ce075596c44911e42a0.json
|
|
[
"Haroon Siddique",
"Peter Walker"
] | 2016-08-30T18:50:12 | null | 2016-08-30T17:11:32 |
BBC presenter uploads footage on Facebook showing altercation with motorist as he cycles through west London
|
https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fuk-news%2F2016%2Faug%2F30%2Fjeremy-vine-posts-footage-alleged-road-rage-incident-cycle.json
|
en
| null |
Jeremy Vine posts video of alleged road rage incident
| null | null |
www.theguardian.com
|
The BBC presenter Jeremy Vine has published video footage showing a driver threatening to knock him out and allegedly assaulting him while he was on his bicycle.
Vine said the incident took place while he was commuting through Kensington, west London, on Friday. The Metropolitan police said it had no record of an incident being reported.
The footage, posted on Facebook on Tuesday, shows Vine coming to a stop as a black car drives close to his bike. He explains to her that he is trying to stay a car’s width away from the parked cars on both sides of the narrow street. But the woman gets out of the car and starts hurling abuse at him.
She says: “Why the fuck would you stop in front of a car. You don’t respect your fucking life. Move your bike, move your bike. I could have hit you and I’d be done for a murder. Get the fuck out of the road. Fucking idiot, now fuck off. You lot piss me off.”
Vine said she began “kicking out” during the tirade, although this cannot be seen on the footage. After shouting at him she gets back in her car and begins tailing him again, at one point nearly hitting a parked vehicle.
The pair clash again in an incident that Vine said took place 30 seconds later. The woman, in front of him at this point, stops her car at a red traffic light at a junction and approaches him again.
As Vine implores her not to hit him – warning her “You’ve already assaulted me” – she says: “If you take a picture of my car I’m going to knock you out because that’s my personal belonging, don’t fucking take a picture.”
She then goes to her vehicle and Vine claims that as he drew up beside her she formed her hand into the shape of a gun which she then pretended to aim and fire at him, although, again, this can not be seen in the footage.
Vine wrote on Facebook: “I hate to overload our hard-working London police with footage from my commute, but I feel the person you see on the tape will at some point hurt someone very badly – either with her car or in a direct personal assault. See what you think.”
|
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2016/aug/30/jeremy-vine-posts-footage-alleged-road-rage-incident-cycle
|
en
| 2016-08-30T00:00:00 |
www.theguardian.com/917e07b1ba7fefa9fed27dde5a75bd17153f6f746e8ae0b1d1ed380f833b5f92.json
|
|
[
"Maev Kennedy"
] | 2016-08-26T13:27:33 | null | 2016-08-21T17:11:10 |
Hi-tech imaging has revealed exceptionally rare manuscript overlaid by 16th-century deerhide document held at Oxford University
|
https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Ftechnology%2F2016%2Faug%2F21%2Fhidden-codex-reveals-secrets-of-life-in-mexico-before-spanish-conquest.json
|
en
| null |
Hidden codex may reveal secrets of life in Mexico before Spanish conquest
| null | null |
www.theguardian.com
|
One of the rarest manuscripts in the world has been revealed hidden beneath the pages of an equally rare but later Mexican codex, thanks to hi-tech imaging techniques.
The Codex Selden, a book of concertina-folded pages made out of a five-metre strip of deerhide, is one of a handful of illustrated books of history and mythology that survived wholesale destruction by Spanish conquerors and missionaries in the 16th century.
Facebook Twitter Pinterest A covered-up page with a page from the Codex Selden. Photograph: Bodleian
Researchers using hyperspectral imaging, a technique originally used for geological research and astrophysics, discovered the underlying images hidden beneath a layer of gesso, a plaster made from ground gypsum and chalk, without damaging the priceless later manuscript.
The underlying images must be older than the codex on top, which is believed to have been made about 1560 and was donated to Oxford’s Bodleian library in the 17th century by the scholar and collector John Selden.
The codex is one of fewer than 20 dating from before or just after the colonisation, which were saved by scholars who realised the importance of the strip cartoon-like images, a complex system that used symbols, stylised human figures and colours to recount centuries of history and beliefs, including religious practice, wars, the founding of cities and the genealogy of noble families.
One Spanish witness of the destruction wrote that people were distraught to see their books – and their history – burn, anguished “to an amazing degree, and which caused them much affliction”. Of those known to have escaped the bonfires, the Bodleian had five, the largest group in the world – and now it has six.
Scholars at the Bodleian and the universities of Leiden and Delft, in the Netherlands, are still analysing the newly revealed images, but believe they are unique, a previously unknown genealogy that may help unlock the history of archaeology sites in southern Mexico.
Some of the pages have more than 20 characters sitting or standing, similar to other Mixtec manuscripts – from the Oaxaca region of modern Mexico – which are believed to depict kings and their councils, but uniquely in this case depicting men and women. One so far unidentified figure appears repeatedly, and is symbolised by a twisted cord and a flint knife.
Other pages include people walking with sticks and spears, women with red hair or elaborate headdresses, and what appear to be place names with symbols for rivers.
The researchers, who publish their work this month in the Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports, had been trying a variety of non-invasive techniques to unlock the secrets of the codex, but x-ray examination had revealed nothing.
|
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/aug/21/hidden-codex-reveals-secrets-of-life-in-mexico-before-spanish-conquest
|
en
| 2016-08-21T00:00:00 |
www.theguardian.com/8f6e6c05a35b2eac51e76ea9fa2d9434e81a989e7eb018b1eb6fc5cf06536c7c.json
|
|
[
"Dana Nuccitelli"
] | 2016-08-26T13:25:21 | null | 2016-08-22T10:00:00 |
Dana Nuccitelli: Summer Arctic sea ice is at its lowest since records began over 125 years ago
|
https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fenvironment%2Fclimate-consensus-97-per-cent%2F2016%2Faug%2F22%2Fhistorical-documents-reveal-arctic-sea-ice-is-disappearing-at-record-speed.json
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en
| null |
Historical documents reveal Arctic sea ice is disappearing at record speed
| null | null |
www.theguardian.com
|
Scientists have pieced together historical records to reconstruct Arctic sea ice extent over the past 125 years. The results are shown in the figure below. The red line, showing the extent at the end of the summer melt season, is the most critical:
Facebook Twitter Pinterest Time series of Arctic sea ice extent, 1850-2013, for March (blue line) and September (red line). Illustration: Walsh et al. (2016)
Arctic sea ice extent in recent years is by far the lowest it’s been, with about half of the historical coverage gone, and the decline the fastest it’s been in recorded history. Florence Fetterer, principal investigator at the National Snow and Ice Data Center, described the data reconstruction process in a guest post at Carbon Brief:
However, as Fetterer explains, gaps remained in their records, which have now been filled into the NSIDC dataset using a variety of sources:
The sea ice edge positions in the North Atlantic, between 1850 and 1978, derived from various sources, including newspapers, ship observations, aircraft observations, diaries and more.
Sea ice concentration data from regular aerial surveys of ice in the eastern Arctic by the Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute, St. Petersburg, Russia, beginning in 1933.
Sea ice edge positions for Newfoundland and the Canadian Maritime Region from observations, for 1870 to 1962.
Detailed charts of ice in the waters around Alaska for 1954 to 1978, originally the property of a consulting firm (the Dehn collection).
Arctic-wide maps of ice cover from the Danish Meteorological Institute from 1901 to 1956.
Whaling ship logbook entries that noted ship position along with an indication of whether the ship was in the presence of ice.
Facebook Twitter Pinterest A Danish Meteorological Institute ice chart for August, 1926. The red symbols mark the location of observations recorded in ship logbooks. Illustration: Walsh et al. (2016).
It’s not just the area of ice-covered ocean that’s shrunk; in fact, the volume of Arctic sea ice has declined even faster. As illustrated in this video created by Andy Lee Robinson, about two-thirds of the summer sea ice has disappeared in just 36 years as the warming oceans have thinned the ice.
Facebook Twitter Pinterest Annual minimum Arctic sea ice volume 1979–2015, created by Andy Lee Robinson.
Previous research has also shown that Arctic sea ice is at its lowest level in at least 1,450 years, and the recent decline is mostly due to human-caused global warming.
This dramatic change may be causing ripple effects throughout the Earth’s climate system. For example, some research has suggested a possible connection between the Arctic sea ice decline and the intensity of California’s recent record drought (although the connection is not definitive). Those record drought conditions in turn contributed to the intense wildfires currently raging across California. Other research has suggested possible connections between disappearing Arctic sea ice and extreme weather events, but again, these connections aren’t yet definitive.
The loss of ice causes what scientists call a feedback effect. Ice is highly reflective, while the ocean beneath is dark. When the ice on the ocean surface melts, the Arctic becomes less reflective and absorbs more sunlight, causing it to warm faster, melting more ice, causing more warming, and so on. This feedback is one of the main reasons why the Arctic is Earth’s fastest-warming region, with temperatures rising about twice as fast as in lower latitudes.
Swedish scientist Svante Arrhenius predicted this Arctic amplification effect in 1896. As a result, the Arctic is effectively the ‘canary in the coal mine’ of the Earth’s climate, showing us the dramatic effects human-caused global warming can have on the climate system. The signal is clear, but the question remains whether we’ll take action, or stay in the coal mine.
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https://www.theguardian.com/environment/climate-consensus-97-per-cent/2016/aug/22/historical-documents-reveal-arctic-sea-ice-is-disappearing-at-record-speed
|
en
| 2016-08-22T00:00:00 |
www.theguardian.com/ffff5114023056450a8ef5a6e81a352a07609a3785c9fe4466f925b6342a0453.json
|
|
[
"Ed Aarons",
"Dominic Fifield"
] | 2016-08-30T14:52:45 | null | 2016-08-30T13:28:06 |
Crystal Palace have announced the signing of striker Loïc Rémy on a season-long loan from Chelsea and will reject Tottenham’s new £21m offer for Wilfried Zaha
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https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Ffootball%2F2016%2Faug%2F30%2Fcrystal-palace-loic-remy-loan-wilfried-zaha-tottenham.json
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en
| null |
Crystal Palace sign Rémy on loan and will reject new Tottenham bid for Zaha
| null | null |
www.theguardian.com
|
Crystal Palace have announced the signing of the striker Loïc Rémy on a season-long loan from Chelsea and will reject Tottenham’s new £21m offer for Wilfried Zaha.
Palace confirmed the move for Rémy, who made just three Premier League starts for Chelsea last season, on Tuesday, with the club understood to be paying loan a fee of around £3m for the 29-year-old.
Crystal Palace reject Tottenham Hotspur’s £12m bid for Wilfried Zaha Read more
“This is a very good chance for me and a big opportunity. It was very important to know Alan Pardew as he is a very good manager and I am happy to be here,” said the France international.
Alan Pardew added: “Loïc has been a target of mine throughout this transfer window and I’m delighted the deal has been done. I brought him to Newcastle so I know what he is capable of and I am convinced he will be a quality addition to our squad as we evolve.
“Loïc has international and Champions League experience as well as being a Premier League title winner and is the latest example of the high calibre of players we have brought into the club during this transfer window.”
Rémy’s arrival means Palace have bolstered their squad further after the signings of Christian Benteke, Andros Townsend James Tomkins and Steve Mandanda.
They remain in the market for a central midfielder, with negotiations ongoing for Genoa’s Tomás Rincón. West Bromwich Albion, Sunderland and West Ham have all been asked to be kept abreast over developments after the Italian club received an offer from Palace worth around £6.8m.
The south London club are understood to be in discussions with the 28-year-old’s representatives and consider him a potential replacement for the departed Mile Jedinak. Alan Pardew had hoped to secure James McCarthy from Everton, though the player is believed to be reluctant to move south.
Transfer window live: Hart's agent confirms Torino move, Rémy joins Crystal Palace and more! Read more
West Brom are likely to be very active in the market over the next 36 hours even in the wake of completing Nacer Chadli’s club record £13m signing from Tottenham Hotspur, with Tony Pulis still intent upon adding five new faces to his squad.
An enquiry was lodged with Palace on Monday night as to the potential availability of Connor Wickham, though Pardew would have to secure a replacement before any deal would be considered in this window. Jordon Mutch is interesting Derby County and could move to the iPro Stadium if Jeff Hendrick leaves the Championship club.
Meanwhile, Tottenham are also understood to have returned with a new bid worth an initial £21m for England international Zaha. Steve Parish, the Palace chariman, insisted last week that the 23-year-old is not for sale after rejecting an offer worth an initial £12m and it is expected they will resist any further attempts to lure him away from Selhurst Park.
|
https://www.theguardian.com/football/2016/aug/30/crystal-palace-loic-remy-loan-wilfried-zaha-tottenham
|
en
| 2016-08-30T00:00:00 |
www.theguardian.com/ea066fdda1869bc2219817a7728ffd0aa30949d020e721f0b25391cd261e78b0.json
|
|
[
"Jessica Elgot"
] | 2016-08-27T18:51:12 | null | 2016-08-15T11:00:03 |
Former Labour chief suggests leader ‘let Tory Brexiters run amok’ as he endorses Owen Smith for party leadership
|
http%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fpolitics%2F2016%2Faug%2F15%2Fneil-kinnock-condemns-corbyn-for-silence-or-ignorance-over-brexit.json
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en
| null |
Neil Kinnock condemns Corbyn for 'silence or ignorance' over Brexit
| null | null |
www.theguardian.com
|
The former Labour leader Neil Kinnock has accused Jeremy Corbyn of showing “ignorance, lack of concern, or willingness to let the Tory Brexiters run amok” after the EU referendum, as he endorsed Owen Smith for leadership of the party.
In an article for the Guardian, Lord Kinnock says Corbyn has “either been silent on this central issue or so soft voiced that no one has heard a word” and adds that he believes the poll result could have been different if a Labour leader had made a passionate case for remain.
“It seems that he just wants to leave it all to the Tories who haven’t even got a government majority on the issue. That’s not leadership,” Kinnock wrote.
When it comes to Europe, Owen Smith beats Jeremy Corbyn hands down | Neil Kinnock Read more
The Labour Movement for Europe, a party affiliate chaired by Kinnock, nominated Smith, the MP Pontypridd, by a margin of 10 to 1 this weekend, although Corbyn was far ahead of his rival in nominations from constituency parties, leading Smith by 273 nominations to 51.
Sebastian Vogt, LME’s national secretary, said its members viewed Smith as “the more genuinely pro-European candidate” and 81% backed him for the leadership.
Facebook Twitter Pinterest Owen Smith MP speaking at a Labour leadership debate in Gateshead on 11 August. Photograph: Ian Forsyth/Getty Images
Vogt said: “In the face of the biggest challenge facing our country in a generation it is vitally important that the Labour party continues to stand united in its proud internationalist tradition and does not let the Tories take us out of the European Union on this blank cheque they have given themselves.”
Smith, a former shadow work and pensions secretary, has been keen to put clear water between him and Corbyn, his once Eurosceptic rival, over policy on Europe, promising a second referendum and telling a hustings on Thursday that the party should be “fighting harder” to halt a “hard Brexit”.
Jeremy Corbyn: Tom Watson is talking nonsense – and he knows it Read more
Kinnock said he had long doubted Corbyn’s commitment to the remain campaign. “He entered the referendum campaign late, took a holiday in June, and described his enthusiasm for staying in the EU as seven out of 10. Plainly, the party leader’s commitment had neither clarity nor conviction – 10 events in six weeks was never going to be enough to mobilise potential support. On the most vital issue of this generation – the future national and international wellbeing of our country – the leader simply didn’t show leadership.”
Kinnock said Labour needed a leader who was “up to the task” of having a key role in shaping the UK’s relations with the EU. Smith, he said, could play that role. “He is a socialist to the core, a dedicated and knowledgeable European reformer, a gutsy campaigner and negotiator with radical and credible policies.”
Smith’s politics have regularly been compared with those of Kinnock; each has characterised themselves as being on the “soft left” of the party, rejecting unilateralism and battling internal opponents.
On Monday evening Corbyn will hold a rally for black and ethnic minority supporters of his leadership campaign in his Islington constituency, alongside the shadow health secretary, Diane Abbott.
The Corbyn campaign has had a testing few days, with the Labour leader using an Observer interview to accuse his deputy, Tom Watson, of talking “nonsense” about far-left entryists in the party. He will mention the appeal court judgment saying that Labour’s national executive committee did have the power to block new members from participating in the leadership ballot.
Judges and infiltrators in Labour’s civil war | Letters Read more
That case will now not be heard by the supreme court, after the five new Labour members who brought the original crowd-funded case against the party decided they would end their legal fight. Christine Evangelou, Edward Leir, Hannah Fordham, Chris Granger and FM, a teenage member, had argued that the ruling was a breach of their contract with the party. Although the high court ruled in favour of them, Labour brought the case to the court of appeal, which overturned the decision.
More than £93,000 had been raised on the members’ crowdfunding website, but Fordham wrote on Sunday that they had decided not to appeal directly to the UK’s highest court, citing the costs involved. “This has been an odd, emotional rollercoaster of a week for us all,” she wrote. “Unfortunately, given the costs involved in pursuing the case further ... we have taken the decision that this is where this particular legal case has to stop.”
|
http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2016/aug/15/neil-kinnock-condemns-corbyn-for-silence-or-ignorance-over-brexit
|
en
| 2016-08-15T00:00:00 |
www.theguardian.com/fbfe21c9a7ab04aadc032e62fbd0861714801df17689014ca66d182021386fd7.json
|
|
[
"Photograph",
"Kristian Buus"
] | 2016-08-26T13:25:46 | null | 2016-08-23T07:45:09 |
Energy Gardens is a pan-London community garden project where reclaimed land alongside overground train stations and track is cultivated by local community groups. Up 50 gardens are to be created across the rail network.
|
https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fworld%2Fgallery%2F2016%2Faug%2F23%2Fthe-london-rail-networks-energy-gardens-in-pictures.json
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en
| null |
The London rail network's Energy Gardens - in pictures
| null | null |
www.theguardian.com
|
Energy Gardens is a pan-London community garden project delivered by Repowering London, Groundwork and Transport for London where reclaimed land alongside overground train stations and track is cultivated by local community groups. Up to 50 gardens will be created across the rail network.
|
https://www.theguardian.com/world/gallery/2016/aug/23/the-london-rail-networks-energy-gardens-in-pictures
|
en
| 2016-08-23T00:00:00 |
www.theguardian.com/9b47a232b3f21a85e2c1cb42d77bec08cec906d8fda4f8e56850428ae8186811.json
|
|
[
"Ben Mcaleer"
] | 2016-08-31T12:53:11 | null | 2016-08-31T12:12:54 |
Roberto Martínez was sacked when his tactic of trying to outscore opponents failed. Ronald Koeman is succeeding by trying to build on solid foundations
|
https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Ffootball%2Fwho-scored-blog%2F2016%2Faug%2F31%2Fronald-koeman-everton-premier-league.json
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en
| null |
How Ronald Koeman led Everton to their best start to a season for a decade
| null | null |
www.theguardian.com
|
As August draws to a close and the transfer deadline nears with each passing minute, Premier League managers will be looking back on their first three games of the new season. Pep Guardiola, José Mourinho and Antonio Conte can reflect on 100% records, a feat that was nearly matched by newly appointed Everton boss Ronald Koeman. His unbeaten team go into the international break in fourth place after their best start to a Premier League season for a decade. They haven’t started this well since David Moyes took the team on a seven-match unbeaten run at the start of the 2006-07 season.
Koeman has made the ideal start as he tries to take the club back into Europe following a period of regression under Roberto Martínez. They were a tad fortunate to secure all three points against Stoke City on Saturday – a Shay Given own goal helped Everton to victory – but winning only breeds confidence.
Koeman’s first job was to strengthen the defence and he made goalkeeper Maarten Stekelenburg his first signing. The 33-year-old may not be the most inspiring import, but he has the trust of the manager after a good working relationship at Ajax and then Southampton. Picking up Idrissa Gueye for a modest £7m was an even more astute signing. After making an indifferent start at Aston Villa at the beginning of last season, the Senegalese midfielder established himself as a key man for the club and earned himself a move back to the Premier League when Villa were relegated.
He has rapidly become a vital cog in Koeman’s side, with his rating (7.46) better than any other player at the club this season. No player has made more tackles (16) than the 26-year-old, with Gueye providing the necessary shield to the defence. With James McCarthy and Mo Besic sidelined due to injury, Gueye’s capture has proved all the more important.
Everton close to club record £35m deal for Porto forward Yacine Brahimi Read more
As a former defender himself, Koeman was always likely to start his work at the back. While Ashley Williams was bought to cover the departure of John Stones to Manchester City, Koeman was early to identify the Wales captain as a top target. The £12m fee is hefty for a player who turned 32 this month, but Williams brings a wealth of top-flight experience. Everton conceded the third most shots per game (14.6) in the league last season and that statistic is down to 10.7 this season. It may be a small sample size but they are also conceding fewer goals: they shipped an average of 1.45 per match last season and that statistic has fallen significantly to 0.67.
Refinements are still required at the back and up front. Of the four goals Everton have scored this season, one was the aforementioned own goal by Given and another was a teasing free-kick from Ross Barkley against Tottenham on the opening day that was more of a cross than a shot.
Nevertheless, with Koeman able to call on Gerard Deulofeu, Romelu Lukaku and summer arrival Yannick Bolasie, the Everton attack should click soon – especially if Yacine Brahimi joins from Porto as the club’s record signing. Martínez built his team on a weak foundation, tried to outscore opponents and lost his job when it failed. Koeman has instead focused his efforts on the defensive side of Everton’s game and it has contributed to their bright start to the campaign.
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|
https://www.theguardian.com/football/who-scored-blog/2016/aug/31/ronald-koeman-everton-premier-league
|
en
| 2016-08-31T00:00:00 |
www.theguardian.com/1583d87346f7d953a5542fbe5c5efa24639c9931e4d60e0ab5e622f5cfde119c.json
|
|
[
"Joshua Robertson"
] | 2016-08-29T04:49:47 | null | 2016-08-29T04:40:24 |
Mia Ayliffe-Chung’s mother doesn’t want to meet Smail Ayad, who allegedly went on stabbing spree at backpackers’ hostel
|
https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Faustralia-news%2F2016%2Faug%2F29%2Fmother-of-murdered-british-backpacker-says-claims-alleged-killer-an-islamist-are-nonsense.json
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en
| null |
Mother of murdered British backpacker says claims alleged killer an Islamist are 'nonsense'
| null | null |
www.theguardian.com
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The mother of slain British backpacker Mia Ayliffe-Chung has said she has no desire to meet her alleged killer, while decrying the “nonsense” in public discussion linking the tragedy to Islamic fundamentalism.
Rosie Ayliffe, writing for UK newspaper the Independent about her daughter’s death at an Australian backpackers’ hostel last week, said the alleged murderer, the French national Smail Ayad, had “never set foot in a mosque”.
Queensland police separately confirmed there was still no evidence that Ayad – who has also been charged with the attempted murder of Briton Tom Jackson in an alleged stabbing spree at the hostel in Home Hill, north Queensland – was even a practising Muslim.
Backpacker stabbing: father 'immensely proud' of critically injured Tom Jackson Read more
Ayliffe said that “much nonsense is being spoken in the press about [my daughter’s] alleged killer”, who was “not an Islamic fundamentalist, he has never set foot in a mosque”.
“The TV engineer who visited yesterday said, ‘Well we know what that was about, it was that Moslemic terrorism!’ Thanks for clarifying,” she said.
Supt Ray Rohweder, of Queensland police, said it was unlikely that investigators would ever be able to rule out Ayad having attended a mosque but “we certainly found nothing – no Koran, nothing of a religious nature – to suggest he was a practising Muslim”.
“You would think [if he were, there would be] a Koran or a prayer mat, or something like that, but there was nothing of that nature,” Rohweder told the Guardian. “We are conducting inquiries overseas but there is nothing to suggest he’s a practising Muslim.”
Despite police ruling out extremist motives for the killing, the case was cited by some Australian politicians who called for restrictions on Muslim immigration. Continued speculation on social media worldwide about the significance of Ayad’s alleged cries of “Allahu Akbar” [God is greatest in Arabic], amid what French-speaking witnesses told investigators was incoherent speech, has been a source of ongoing frustration for police.
Ayliffe, who is writing a daily blog for the Independent while preparing to travel to Australia to collect her daughter’s ashes, noted that Ayad, who has also been charged with seriously assaulting 12 police officers after being taken into custody, had been prevented from appearing in Townsville magistrates court last Friday over public safety concerns.
She said she was unlikely to meet Ayad and she did not want to.
Ayliffe said there would be a place of remembrance in the UK for Mia, who was just days into an 88-day stint of casual farm labour – picking stones from between sugar cane rows – to extend her Australian working holiday visa.
But she decided to have her daughter’s body cremated in Australia and to give vials containing her ashes to her friends from around the world “to scatter in places dear to her or to them. That way she can visit places she hasn’t visited yet.
“I’m fully aware that her body is on a slab somewhere in a cold dark place,” Ayliffe said. “She wouldn’t mind the dark but she’s not good with the cold. I couldn’t bear for her to be kept like that for weeks and decided she needed to be cremated sooner rather than later.”
An autopsy completed last Friday showed Ayliffe-Chung had died as a result of multiple stab wounds, police have said.
Jackson, an aspiring journalist who police have said received stab wounds to the eye, face and torso after coming to Ayliffe-Chung’s aid during the alleged attack, remains on life support in Townsville hospital.
Politicians jostle to cry 'lone wolf' over stabbing of British backpacker in Queensland Read more
His father, Les, who travelled to his bedside from the UK, said in a statement: “There are many and varied reasons why we are, and always will be, immensely proud of Tom.
“His actions in response to this horrific attack only add to that sense of pride.”
Ayliffe wrote of the beginning of processing her grief at the death of her daughter, whom she hadn’t seen in almost a year: “In my head she’s still alive, well and living in Australia, cracking jokes about throwing stones and setting up a stall to sell the rocks she’d picked up as part of her farm work.
“At the moment the only way I can really cope with our loss is to think Mia’s time had come and what happened in that hostel on Tuesday was her fate. It was always going to happen like that.
“She was lent to us for a period of time and now, in Ben Jonson’s words, she’s been ‘exacted by the Lord on the just day’. (I always struggled to teach that poem without welling up!)
“But I also think that wise little girl was here for a reason and part of my journey will be to find out what that reason was.”
The charges against Ayad are due to be heard in court again on 28 October.
|
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2016/aug/29/mother-of-murdered-british-backpacker-says-claims-alleged-killer-an-islamist-are-nonsense
|
en
| 2016-08-29T00:00:00 |
www.theguardian.com/35c45187ee92f8fa9edbbf1cda658996e973e84b3334bf3a367f26d3ab93beea.json
|
|
[
"Greg Wood"
] | 2016-08-29T16:52:21 | null | 2016-08-29T16:29:06 |
Bee Case (3.35 Goodwood) is the nap; Oriental Fox (4.10 Goodwood) is next best
|
https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fsport%2F2016%2Faug%2F29%2Fhorse-racing-tips-tuesday.json
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en
| null |
Horse racing tips: Tuesday 30 August
| null | null |
www.theguardian.com
| null |
https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2016/aug/29/horse-racing-tips-tuesday
|
en
| 2016-08-29T00:00:00 |
www.theguardian.com/e42cb9c130a8d6610e7679b467255ec6c82c1490de00e6f32584d5303eed12e2.json
|
|
[
"Associated Press In Chicago"
] | 2016-08-28T16:51:53 | null | 2016-08-28T16:28:16 |
Darwin and Derren Sorrells, 26 and 22, face first-degree murder charges after shots fired at a third man hit Nykea Aldridge, authorities say
|
https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fus-news%2F2016%2Faug%2F28%2Fdwyane-wade-cousin-shooting-nykea-aldridge-men-charged.json
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en
| null |
Siblings charged with murder in death of Dwyane Wade's cousin, police say
| null | null |
www.theguardian.com
|
Chicago police said on Sunday two brothers had been charged with first-degree murder in the shooting death of Nykea Aldridge, the cousin of NBA star Dwyane Wade, as she was walking to register her children for school.
Mike Pence praises 'plainspoken' Trump amid furor over Dwyane Wade remarks Read more
Authorities said 26-year-old Darwin Sorrells Jr and 22-year-old Derren Sorrells were charged on Sunday in the death of Aldridge.
Police said the 32-year-old mother of four was pushing a baby in a stroller near the school when two men walked up and fired shots at a third man but instead hit Aldridge in the head and arm. Aldridge was not the intended target, police said.
Police said the suspects had criminal records. Chicago police superintendent Eddie T Johnson planned to release more information at a news conference later on Sunday.
Authorities are investigating whether the encounter between the men was a robbery, possibly involving a driver from a ridesharing company, police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said on Saturday.
Chicago has been in the throes of a major increase in gun violence this year, largely centered in a few south and west side neighborhoods, after years of seeing declines. This July alone, there were 65 homicides – the most that month since 2006.
Wade, whose charitable organization, Wade’s World Foundation, does community outreach in the Chicago area, signed with the Chicago Bulls in July after 13 years with the Miami Heat. On Thursday he and his mother, pastor Jolinda Wade, participated via satellite in an ESPN-hosted town hall meeting on Chicago gun violence.
Facebook Twitter Pinterest Darwin Sorrells, left, and Derren Sorrells. Photograph: Chicago police department/EPA
Wade has reacted to his cousin’s death online, tweeting Friday: “My cousin was killed today in Chicago. Another act of senseless gun violence. 4 kids lost their mom for NO REASON. Unreal. #EnoughIsEnough.”
On Saturday morning, he tweeted: “The city of Chicago is hurting. We need more help& more hands on deck. Not for me and my family but for the future of our world. The YOUTH!” In a following tweet, he added: “These young kids are screaming for help!!! #EnoughIsEnough”.
In 2012, Wade’s nephew, Darin Johnson, was shot twice in the leg but recovered.
Aldridge’s death became the center of political controversy on Saturday, after Donald Trump, the Republican nominee for president, seemed to attempt to use it to appeal to African American voters.
Appearing on CNN on Sunday, Trump’s running mate, Mike Pence, sidestepped questions about the flow of guns into Illinois from his state. Chicago police have said more than half of the guns used in crimes come from out of state, including about 20% from Indiana.
Asked about the statistic, the Indiana governor instead brought up failing schools in Chicago and his running mate Donald Trump’s pledge to create jobs.
|
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/aug/28/dwyane-wade-cousin-shooting-nykea-aldridge-men-charged
|
en
| 2016-08-28T00:00:00 |
www.theguardian.com/ae7df38ed4ca8743edc889e017e32d6d77b3dcec3e8e7377c2baf83d04fbc7ca.json
|
|
[
"Krista Brewer"
] | 2016-08-26T13:16:31 | null | 2016-08-25T14:28:52 |
Prison populations boost the representation of the towns where they’re located. This decreases the power of prisoners’ home communities, which need it more
|
https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fcommentisfree%2F2016%2Faug%2F25%2Fprison-gerrymandering-voting-incarceration.json
|
en
| null |
Prison gerrymandering: incarceration weakens vulnerable voting communities
| null | null |
www.theguardian.com
|
One person equals one vote: seems simple enough. Unfortunately, that hasn’t worked out for many Americans throughout history, specifically women and people of color. There is a long tradition of denying women, people with low incomes and people of color their vote in America, most recently in the form of a poll tax that, in an increasing number of states, requires a state-issued photo ID in order to vote. The situation can seem insurmountable.
But there is something President Obama can do, right now, that could make huge strides towards fixing one aspect of longstanding disenfranchisement. We could end the practice of prison gerrymandering, or including prisoners in the US census where they are imprisoned rather than where they lived before incarceration.
This practice transfers the voting power of millions of mostly urban black and brown people to overwhelmingly white and rural districts, an all-out plunder of the political power of black and brown communities. They are counted in the population in the districts where their prisons are even though convicted felons are banned from voting.
As the Obama administration’s US Census Bureau undertakes an historic one-month comment process ahead of the 2020 census, the time has come to mobilize and stop an injustice that is as grotesque as it is routine.
We know from modern campaigns to end mass incarceration that the United States holds more than 20% of the world’s prisoners despite having only 5% of the world’s population. The vast majority (60%) of those people are black and brown, and they’re in prison and jail for crimes, like using drugs, for which white people often never get arrested, prosecuted or imprisoned.
Under the equal protection clause of the 14th amendment of our constitution, states are required to apportion their congressional districts and state legislative seats according to “one man, one vote”. This precedent was established by US supreme court cases Wesberry v Sanders (1964) and Reynolds v Sims (1964).
Just this year, in March, the US district court for the Northern District of Florida ruled that Jefferson County’s practice of prison gerrymandering is unconstitutional. In his summary statement, Judge Mark E Walker wrote, “To treat the inmates the same as actual constituents makes no sense under any theory of one person, one vote, and indeed under any theory of representative democracy.”
But prison gerrymandering allows us to normalize a process which denies representation – and humanity – to millions of people. People in prison have children, parents, siblings, friends and communities who need them, who need services in their absence, and who deserve to be counted.
This is why the Women Donors Network has signed on to a letter with the Funders’ Committee on Civic Participation and other prominent foundations, asking the US Census Bureau to change this unjust policy.
It’s also why WDN has for years supported the leadership of formerly incarcerated people, and has helped to fund the first national conference of Formerly Incarcerated and Convicted People and Families Movement, to be held in September. This conference seeks to shape the narrative of not only the president’s last days in office but of the next administration in regard to prison policies. We are at a turning point in the struggle to stop prison gerrymandering.
President Obama has made clear that equality and equal representation are values important to his administration. Addressing prison gerrymandering falls in line with those values. Obama has the power to solve this issue – he can strike down an unconstitutional practice of how prisoners are counted, while standing up for the premise of one person, one vote.
|
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/aug/25/prison-gerrymandering-voting-incarceration
|
en
| 2016-08-25T00:00:00 |
www.theguardian.com/fd43273e6703272471b92701be142e722efc13a20a15925535b6d40c37848ae2.json
|
|
[
"Source"
] | 2016-08-27T16:49:15 | null | 2016-08-27T15:10:32 |
Cars are at a standstill on the M20 on Saturday morning after a pedestrian bridge collapsed onto a lorry, injuring one person
|
https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fworld%2Fvideo%2F2016%2Faug%2F27%2Fhuge-tailbacks-m20-pedestrian-bridge-collapses-on-lorry-video.json
|
en
| null |
Huge tailbacks as M20 pedestrian bridge collapses on lorry - video
| null | null |
www.theguardian.com
|
Cars are at a standstill on the M20 on Saturday morning after a pedestrian bridge collapsed onto a lorry, injuring one person. It is thought that the truck clipped the bridge on the motorway, bringing it down and forcing the road to close in both directions. The M20 links London with the port of Dover and the nearby Eurotunnel terminal, and was expected to be particularly busy over the bank holiday weekend
|
https://www.theguardian.com/world/video/2016/aug/27/huge-tailbacks-m20-pedestrian-bridge-collapses-on-lorry-video
|
en
| 2016-08-27T00:00:00 |
www.theguardian.com/207582df54240da77d840f43e8658bf53c8cb89ccff4652414b3124585b3acbb.json
|
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