authors
list | date_download
timestamp[s] | date_modify
null | date_publish
timestamp[s] | description
stringlengths 1
5.93k
⌀ | filename
stringlengths 33
1.45k
| image_url
stringlengths 23
353
| language
stringclasses 21
values | localpath
null | title
stringlengths 2
200
⌀ | title_page
null | title_rss
null | source_domain
stringlengths 6
40
| maintext
stringlengths 68
80.7k
⌀ | url
stringlengths 20
1.44k
| fasttext_language
stringclasses 1
value | date_publish_final
timestamp[s] | path
stringlengths 76
110
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
[
"Sean Farrell",
"Larry Elliott"
] | 2016-08-29T18:50:09 | null | 2016-08-29T17:19:31 |
Justin Barnes, Sports Direct’s former head of brands, was a director of Barlin Delivery
|
https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fbusiness%2F2016%2Faug%2F29%2Fmike-ashley-confidant-involved-in-setting-up-sports-direct-delivery-business.json
|
en
| null |
Mike Ashley confidant involved in setting up Sports Direct delivery business
| null | null |
www.theguardian.com
|
A lawyer who is one of Mike Ashley’s closest confidants was involved in setting up the obscure company that organises international deliveries for Sports Direct and is owned by the billionaire retailer’s brother.
The Financial Reporting Council, the City regulator, is looking into the agreement between Barlin Delivery Ltd and Sports Direct, which was revealed last week. Shareholders have said the arrangement casts further doubt on corporate governance at the company that Ashley controls.
Public companies are required to report transactions with related parties such as family members but Sports Direct said its accountants, Grant Thornton, advised that John Ashley’s ownership of Barlin did not have to be disclosed. Sports Direct told the Financial Times Barlin arranged delivery of goods worth about 6% of Sports Direct’s £2.9bn of revenue and that Barlin’s profit was about £300,000.
Companies House records show that Justin Barnes, Sports Direct’s former head of brands, was the only director of Barlin Delivery from its incorporation on 6 February 2015 until 7 July 2015 when he resigned and John Ashley, Mike Ashley’s older brother, became a director.
Records also show Barnes has been a director of a separate company, Barlin Investments Ltd, since before 1992 and that he has been linked to other companies using the Barlin name.
Barlin Investments is registered at the same address in Reigate, Surrey, that Barlin Delivery registered before changing its address to a house in Lincolnshire in October 2015. Barlin Delivery’s terms and conditions on Sports Direct’s website list Barlin Delivery’s address as Millennium House, 99 Bell Street, Reigate.
Barnes’s involvement with Barlin Delivery raises fresh questions about its status as a provider of services to Sports Direct, which has been criticised by shareholders and governance experts. John Ashley is the sole owner of Barlin and was Sports Direct’s IT chief until 2014. Barlin Delivery’s other director is Margaret Brown, who owns the house in Cleethorpes, Lincolnshire, where the company is registered.
Barlin arranges all international deliveries for Sports Direct by commissioning couriers such as DHL to deliver goods ordered online from outside the UK. Sports Direct said Barlin was set up on the advice of professional advisers to reduce complexity and risk for Sports Direct.
Barnes, who is a trademark lawyer, was in charge of Sports Direct’s brands, which include Dunlop and Slazenger, when the retailer floated in 2007 and was one of four directors who shared a £25m bonus. He stopped being an employee of Sports Direct Holdings Ltd, Dunlop International and other companies linked to Sports Direct in 2008 but has continued to work for Ashley.
Barnes was reported to have led Ashley’s team that worked on a proposed bid for BHS this year. Ashley did not bid for BHS in the end. Barnes was also involved with Sports Direct’s decision to put USC into administration and to buy the chain back back minus its debts after stripping its assets.
He has represented Ashley in his dispute with Rangers FC and in June became a director of Rangers Retail Ltd when Ashley and other Sports Direct representatives resigned from the company. The club is suing Sports Direct over the joint venture, which makes Rangers about 4p for every pound fans spend at its Ibrox store.
Shareholders and investor groups have said Barlin adds to concerns about how Sports Direct is run by Ashley, who is executive deputy chairman of the company he founded. Earlier this year it emerged the billionaire had put his daughter’s boyfriend in charge of Sports Direct’s property division, putting him in line to earn millions of pounds from deals.
Sports Direct’s annual report says the company’s board “reviewed and, where appropriate, approved certain situational conflicts of interest that were reported to it by directors”. It said the company keeps a register of conflicts and keeps them under review.
Sports Direct holds its annual general meeting on 7 September at its head office in Shirebrook, Derbyshire. After the Guardian’s revelations about treatment of employees at Shirebrook’s warehouse, the company faces a revolt by shareholders other than Ashley, who owns 55%.
Keith Hellawell, Sports Direct’s chairman, and other directors are expected to suffer large votes against their re-election and could be voted down by minority shareholders. A resolution calling for an independent review of working practices, proposed by trade unions but opposed by Sports Direct’s board, is also expected to receive the backing of some big City investors.
Sports Direct did not respond to a request for comment. No individual wrongdoing is suggested.
|
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2016/aug/29/mike-ashley-confidant-involved-in-setting-up-sports-direct-delivery-business
|
en
| 2016-08-29T00:00:00 |
www.theguardian.com/ad65150d6b0bb46145ee318dc9f2bd6d2f8e4277f53b94b270a2909cd4152b72.json
|
|
[
"Press Association"
] | 2016-08-30T16:50:15 | null | 2016-04-26T13:52:04 |
Old Bailey jury finds Maxine Benson, 33, guilty of murdering 18-year-old Alfie Stone after she accused him of eating her food
|
https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fuk-news%2F2016%2Fapr%2F26%2Fwoman-faces-life-in-prison-for-stabbing-man-to-death-in-pasta-row.json
|
en
| null |
Woman faces life in prison for stabbing man to death in pasta row
| null | null |
www.theguardian.com
|
A woman is facing life behind bars for stabbing to death a teenager in a row over pasta.
Maxine Benson, 33, attacked 18-year-old Alfie Stone after making accusations that he or his older brother had eaten her food.
After a trial at the Old Bailey, Benson was found guilty of murdering Stone outside a branch of Tesco on Ickenham High Road, west London, on 9 November last year.
Teenage victims of knife crime in London this year – their stories Read more
The jury cleared Steven Hawgood, 29, and his girlfriend, Corinne Cripps, 28, of murder. They were sent back out to continue deliberating on an alternative manslaughter charge for the pair.
The court had heard how Benson was seen on CCTV wielding the knife and was also witnessed by members of the public, who gave Stone first aid after the attack.
Stone died within hours of the stabbing. A postmortem gave the cause of death as blood loss and a stab wound to the heart. There were no signs on his body of wounds received while trying to defend himself.
All the defendants lived close to where the attack took place.
|
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2016/apr/26/woman-faces-life-in-prison-for-stabbing-man-to-death-in-pasta-row
|
en
| 2016-04-26T00:00:00 |
www.theguardian.com/75b4ff7bddc1b7a8fb66c1bc2c4f365991af00832c631346a91bb642c7b496c8.json
|
|
[
"Jasper Jackson"
] | 2016-08-31T08:50:29 | null | 2016-08-31T07:33:36 |
Sky, BT, TalkTalk and O2, which block access to adult content, could be affected – even if customers opt in
|
https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fmedia%2F2016%2Faug%2F31%2Fisps-porn-block-ads-eu-guidelines-sky-bt-talktalk-o2.json
|
en
| null |
ISPs that restrict porn or block ads could be breaking EU guidelines
| null | null |
www.theguardian.com
|
Internet service providers that restrict online access to pornography or block ads could be breaking EU guidelines on net neutrality even if customers opt in.
ISPs Sky, BT and TalkTalk already block access to adult sites following pressure from the government, as do mobile operators such as O2. Mobile operator Three has also recently run a trial of ad blocking that asked users to opt in.
EU regulations only allow providers to block content for three reasons: to comply with a member state’s laws, to manage levels of traffic across a network, or for security.
MPs call for reforms over misleading broadband speed claims Read more
Blocking adult content falls into a grey area, with no clear legal framework in UK legislation, and providers have relied on providing the ability to opt in to protect themselves from falling foul of the rules.
However, an update to guidelines issued by EU body Berec says that even if a person indicates they want certain content to be blocked, it should be done on their device, rather than at a network level.
The updated guidelines say: “With regard to some of the suggestions made by stakeholders about traffic management features that could be requested or controlled by end-users, Berec notes that the regulation does not consider that end-user consent enables ISPs to engage in such practices at the network level.
“End-users may independently choose to apply equivalent features, for example via their terminal equipment or more generally on the applications running at the terminal equipment, but Berec considers that management of such features at the network level would not be consistent with the regulation.”
Interpretation of the EU guidelines falls to Ofcom, but the UK regulator must take them into account when deciding if there has been a breach.
An Ofcom spokesman said: “Ofcom will monitor compliance with the new rules, and look into any complaints received. We will consider any potential breaches as they arise in accordance with our interpretation of the regulation, and drawing upon the Berec guidelines to inform our approach.”
Frode Sorensen, co-chair of the Berec expert working group on net neutrality refused to comment on specific cases or countries, but said the updated guidance made it clear that it had found no legal basis for using customer choice to justify blocking any content without national legislation or for reasons of traffic management or security.
David Cameron said in October last year that he had secured an opt-out from the rules enabling British internet providers to introduce porn filters.
However, Sorensen said he was not aware of any opt-out, and the net neutrality rules introduced in November, after Cameron made his claim, said they applied to the whole European Economic Area which includes the UK.
The net neutrality rules are designed to ensure that internet providers to not favour specific sources of content such as commercial partners, or censor information that is not forbidden by laws passed by national governments.
A DCMS spokesperson said the rules still allowed for internet filters, but could not immediately point to the where in the legislation those were allowed at a network level.
A spokesperson said: “Family-friendly filters are permitted under the EU net neutrality regulation. The regulations gives end-users the right to access information and content of their choice, and enabling/disabling filters exercises this choice.”
A spokesperson for BT said: “BT offers filtering at both network and device level dependent on the customers preferences.”
“The Berec guidelines are not binding and it’s for Ofcom to consider in its application and enforcement of the EU regulations.”
“The UK has one of the safest online environments in the world and we believe customers should be able to continue to choose to use parental filters to protect children while online regardless of the technology.”
|
https://www.theguardian.com/media/2016/aug/31/isps-porn-block-ads-eu-guidelines-sky-bt-talktalk-o2
|
en
| 2016-08-31T00:00:00 |
www.theguardian.com/5a3a1b97c4c650b415bbbaa3acae341295c8f6e221a8400097754165747869b5.json
|
|
[
"Chris Cook"
] | 2016-08-27T00:51:36 | null | 2016-08-26T23:01:47 |
Thikriyaat’s form makes him the one to back in Goodwood’s Celebration Mile, while Bryan Smart’s Alpha Delphini arrives at Beverley on an upwards curve
|
https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fsport%2F2016%2Faug%2F27%2Ftalking-horses-saturdays-best-bets-plus-the-latest-racing-news.json
|
en
| null |
Talking Horses: Saturday's best bets plus the latest racing news
| null | null |
www.theguardian.com
|
Saturday’s TV races
A pair of progressive three-year-olds line up for Goodwood’s Celebration Mile on Saturday for what ought to be a thrilling contest, despite the small field. But, while Zonderland and Thikriyaat (4.30) appear closely matched on the face of it, stable form suggests the latter is the one to be with this time.
Ryan Moore back from injury with a bang aboard Spatial at Newmarket Read more
Clive Cox has had an excellent season but his horses have been scoring at only a 4% strike-rate in the fortnight since Zonderland put up a career-best effort at Salisbury. While a good few of his runners have been unfancied, there were three unplaced favourites in the mix, which is offputting before a race in which another step forward will be required from his chestnut.
Thikriyaat’s only defeat has been to Ribchester, who has since proved top class. He produced a strong finish to score after a troubled run through at the Glorious meeting here and should get a clearer sight of these four rivals.
The older horses are useful and this counts as a drop in class for Lightning Spear but he has not built on a promising first run of the year.
2.45 Goodwood The filly Grecian Light was having only her second start when runner-up to a much more experienced rival in the Sweet Solera, the best piece of form on offer.
3.00 Newmarket Fresher than these rivals after recently returning to action, Shawaahid should have more to offer.
3.10 Beverley This is a significant step up on the handicaps Alpha Delphini has been winning but Bryan Smart’s gelding is on a strong upward curve this year. Kingsgate Native is easily good enough but is trying to win consecutive races for the first time at the age of 11.
3.20 Goodwood In the closing stages of the Betfred Mile Can’t Change It was one of the eye-catchers of all time for those prepared to look at the back of the field, when he was repeatedly denied a run and finished full of running. He has a much more helpful draw this time.
3.35 Newmarket The four-year-old Walpole is making gradual progress and the step up in trip will surely help.
3.55 Goodwood This looks a good chance for the front-running Mr Singh, who will get the fast ground he loves.
4.10 Newmarket The colt Raucous has put up terrific efforts to be third in much hotter races on his last two starts.
|
https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2016/aug/27/talking-horses-saturdays-best-bets-plus-the-latest-racing-news
|
en
| 2016-08-26T00:00:00 |
www.theguardian.com/b269b3acafbf53be5da1e6868abdd5253d72de30986d4ed2bf2d9c4016e5ab21.json
|
|
[
"Jeremy Bullmore"
] | 2016-08-26T13:28:28 | null | 2016-08-06T06:00:25 |
Our careers expert – and you the readers – help someone who wants to teach adult literacy and a worker whose boss suddenly doesn’t like them but won’t say why
|
https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fmoney%2F2016%2Faug%2F06%2Fdear-jeremy-work-problems-solved-careers-expert.json
|
en
| null |
Dear Jeremy - your work problems solved
| null | null |
www.theguardian.com
|
I’m almost 60 and want to become an adult literacy teacher – how do I qualify?
I’ve been a freelance film-maker working in television and education in the public and voluntary sectors. Technical change is non-stop and, as I near 60, I feel my age is starting to count against me. But I have writing and editorial, as well as technical, skills and have always enjoyed “explain-y” projects as much as the simply creative ones.
In the 1990s, I helped one of my sound assistants with his literacy. (It had been constrained by his chaotic childhood in care.) From having no school qualifications, he went on to get a history degree.
It was hard to find materials to work with, but it was such a straightforward and purposeful thing to do and so rewarding, I’m wondering how to do it again. There must be a way to train and then teach literacy to adults, but the obvious searches haven’t got me very far. I’m not expecting to earn much, I never have, but the mortgage is paid and we have no children.
Jeremy says
I think you may have abandoned “the obvious searches” rather too soon. I found that a quick Google search (“teaching literacy to adults”) summoned up lots of leads – training, opportunities and recommendations for teaching materials. Don’t rush your search and do be prepared to follow even faint leads.
I’m not surprised you found your 1990s experience so rewarding (and so unforgettable). You must be right to see if you can replicate it. Given the nature of one-to-one tuition, which it’s most likely to be, you’re probably going to find what you’re looking for locally. So don’t just rely on the internet: make inquiries at your local council offices, schools and hospitals. There may well be an existing local charity that specialises in helping adults who, for whatever reason, have never fully mastered reading and writing.
I have one offbeat thought. All your experience is in film-making and education and you’ve always enjoyed “explain-y” projects. As and when you find your way back to helping adults with their literacy, keep your mind open to the possibility that your film-making skills could be put to good use. There must be many repetitive elements involved in such teaching – could a good video or two usefully replace them? It would be a wonderful way for you to combine your interests and experience.
Readers say
• Why not advertise yourself as a tutor? I don’t think you need any formal qualifications for this. I regularly see ads from people in their 60s offering to teach children a foreign language for an hour or so at the weekend or during school holidays. I can’t see it being that different to tutoring adults. FatherChewyLouie
• You could apply to be a teaching assistant in a college setting and go from there – initially, you might have to offer general support but you could specialise if you get on well with your boss. smithathon
• Have you considered working in prison education? There are always huge literacy issues in most prison populations so it’s an important aspect of education programmes, and an enthusiastic, proactive tutor would be a rare, terrific thing. lewislewis
Suddenly my manager doesn’t like me, but won’t tell me why when I ask
I started work in a department about a year ago. I was told that if I demonstrated a commitment to the job I could progress. I worked hard, contributed to team meetings and up-skilled at every opportunity but got no feedback from my line manager or the other member of the team.
My line manager said she had “an informal style of management” and only gives feedback “if you do something wrong”. But she wouldn’t give me any indication of what sort of training I should do to progress in the department. Then I found myself excluded from team meetings and upcoming projects without any reason being given. In fact, no word at all.
Then, to my utter amazement, my manager printed out a job advert for another organisation and gave it to me during a monthly one-to-one. She said I should look on the website and think about the other job, adding: “What kind of manager would I be if I did not tell you about other jobs out there?”
Before you say it, yes, I can take a hint! I asked point blank if she had a problem with my work but to my astonishment she said no. To make matters worse, the other job is in a different field and does not reflect the work I have been doing.
I reported the incident to HR (her line manager) and they have said they see nothing wrong with what happened.
The stress of the situation is getting to me (I am still being excluded from everything and am only being given menial tasks). Yes, I could just move on. But I just wish someone would give me a straight answer because all my confidence in applying for another job in the same field has been shattered.
If there’s something wrong with me or my work I need to know. How can I get to the truth?
Jeremy says
I’m sorry to say this, but I don’t think you’ll ever get to the truth, or at least in the sense of obtaining a useful and detailed assessment of your strengths and weaknesses. I can think of no explanation for your manager’s (and HR’s) behaviour other than this: for reasons that even they haven’t formulated precisely, they have decided that you somehow “don’t fit” in their department. It’s almost certainly nothing to do with performance and all to do with intangible things such as chemistry and personality.
So they have neither the reason to fire you nor the integrity to face you with their problem. Instead, they’re taking the cowardly way out. They’re trying to make your working life so unbearable that you’ll leave of your own volition, thus saving them the awkward (and possibly expensive) business of terminating your contract when they have no objective reasons for doing so.
It’s despicable behaviour and you have every right to be fiercely angry about it. But you must try hard not to let it affect your confidence. These are people whose opinions are worthless. The sooner you free yourself from their influence, the sooner you’ll find your feet again. Whatever you do, don’t for one second allow yourself to feel that you’ve in any way failed. Other people have failed you; it’s time you fired them.
Readers say
• Although her behaviour seems odd, could it be that there are redundancies in the pipeline, your job is in the firing line and she can’t tell you about it? Or she’s just a weirdo who enjoys freaking people out. Either way, it’s probably time to dust the CV off. swgirl
• Sounds like poor line management skills combined with you just don’t “fit” – perhaps with the team, or a one-on-one personality clash. Evelynsmee
• You are being bullied and the HR department is complicit in this bullying. Get another job somewhere else, leave on pay day and start your new job the following day. You owe these people nothing. VSLVSL
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.
|
https://www.theguardian.com/money/2016/aug/06/dear-jeremy-work-problems-solved-careers-expert
|
en
| 2016-08-06T00:00:00 |
www.theguardian.com/4c979b9fe8d89a970d11e5b650a8f0d73517b0b0f2a1a57f5a8b4e203f1564da.json
|
|
[
"Samuel Gibbs"
] | 2016-08-26T13:23:49 | null | 2016-08-25T14:09:20 |
Billion-plus messaging service will begin sharing private information with 1.7 billion-user Facebook and is preparing to allow businesses to message users
|
https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Ftechnology%2F2016%2Faug%2F25%2Fwhatsapp-to-give-users-phone-number-facebook-for-targeted-ads.json
|
en
| null |
WhatsApp to give users' phone numbers to Facebook for targeted ads
| null | null |
www.theguardian.com
|
Mobile messaging service WhatsApp will give its parent company Facebook personal information including users’ phone numbers, as part of plans to allow businesses to send messages to users.
WhatsApp’s billion-plus users will be notified of the change to its privacy policy from 25 August. They will have 30 days to decide whether to opt out of their information being used for ad targeting on Facebook, but will not be able to opt out of their data being sharing with the social network.
The ad targeting will be on Facebook’s platform, which has 1.71 billion monthly active users, with WhatsApp saying it won’t put banner ads or allow spam on its own platform.
A WhatsApp spokesperson said: “We want to explore ways for you to communicate with businesses that matter to you too, while still giving you an experience without third-party banner ads and spam.
“Whether it’s hearing from your bank about a potentially fraudulent transaction, or getting notified by an airline about a delayed flight, many of us get this information elsewhere, including in text messages and phone calls.”
The testing of tools designed to allow businesses to contact users was originally announced when WhatsApp dropped its yearly service fee on 18 January this year.
The phone number associated with a user’s WhatsApp account will be used on Facebook to show them ads. This will form part of the targeting the company allows for paying advertisers, who can upload contact databases. Those who use Facebook and are in the contact database uploaded by the advertiser will then be shown the targeted ads.
The information will also be used to show how people interact with a specific ad, but Facebook said that it would not tell advertisers who specifically interacted with the ad.
WhatsApp and Facebook accounts will remain separate. The service will not be merged with Facebook’s other chat-based service Messenger or photo-sharing service Instagram. But all services under Facebook will gain access to WhatsApp users’ phone numbers and other account information, and it can be used to suggest contacts be added as friends.
WhatsApp said: “We won’t post or share your WhatsApp number with others, including on Facebook, and we still won’t sell, share, or give your phone number to advertisers.”
End-to-end encryption
All messages sent using an up-to-date version of WhatsApp are sent encrypted end-to-end from the sender to the recipient preventing WhatsApp or anyone else from reading its contents. As a by-product, it also blocks the company targeting ads against what is said in messages, a common tool used by Facebook, Google and others.
What’s unclear is whether WhatsApp will allow companies to send users marketing messages. The company insists that it will not allow spam and is simply testing systems that replicate the current communications sent to users from banks, airlines and other services that use SMS to notify customers of events such as fraud alerts or travel delays.
However, the company’s updated privacy policy states that “messages you may receive containing marketing could include an offer for something that might interest you”.
Users can block messages being sent to them from numbers or accounts entirely, which should mean they can also block any messages sent from companies, should the function remain unchanged.
The company still insists that it does not sell ads when activating the service, linking to a blog post from 18 June 2012 titled “why we don’t sell ads” that emphatically states that “remember, when advertising is involved you the user are the product”. The post was made before the sale of billion-user messaging service to Facebook, although the company insists that the values still stand.
Multi-pillar approach
Facebook has been making moves to increase its share of user time on mobile devices by pushing services such as Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp that operate in addition to its core social network and Facebook app. In doing so it has added further users, beyond those signed up and using Facebook, to its user base.
But it has yet to fully leverage that non-Facebook userbase for its main revenue generating activity, advertising. Instagram has advertising, but neither WhatsApp nor Facebook Messenger currently does.
Messenger has been used as a test bed by Facebook for interactions with chatbots, brands and businesses, allowing users to book tickets to shows, ask for news and have services delivered to them in text or multimedia form along with their friends’ messages.
Although the crossover between WhatsApp and Facebook’s other services is undoubtedly high in developed nations, WhatsApp’s strength has been in reaching those who would not use or cannot use Facebook in developing nations and areas of poor connectivity.
How Facebook proceeds with revenue generation from the messaging service beyond the obvious customer service activities without spamming users remains to be seen. Many fear the introduction of marketing messages and other ads, despite the assurances of WhatsApp that there will be no spam.
|
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/aug/25/whatsapp-to-give-users-phone-number-facebook-for-targeted-ads
|
en
| 2016-08-25T00:00:00 |
www.theguardian.com/f094290948dfaea6f5197bfe27d3e89831cf58b71e86cf00e7cf16fb91044aa9.json
|
|
[
"David Squires"
] | 2016-08-30T12:52:46 | null | 2016-08-30T06:59:05 |
David Squires takes a look at the transfer window as clubs rush to finish their business with deadline day looming large
|
https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Ffootball%2Fpicture%2F2016%2Faug%2F30%2Fdavid-squires-on-the-transfer-window.json
|
en
| null |
David Squires on … the transfer window
| null | null |
www.theguardian.com
|
David Squires takes a look at the transfer window as clubs rush to finish their business with deadline day looming large. You can find David’s archive of cartoons here
|
https://www.theguardian.com/football/picture/2016/aug/30/david-squires-on-the-transfer-window
|
en
| 2016-08-30T00:00:00 |
www.theguardian.com/ecc2e46a772aba63cf0de0120f1f227b43b38ad312d48224031c9da95ba6f3f3.json
|
|
[
"Nicola Davis"
] | 2016-08-28T14:49:41 | null | 2016-08-28T14:23:07 |
IK Prize-winning system matches images from the 24/7 news cycle with centuries-old artworks and presents them online
|
https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fartanddesign%2F2016%2Faug%2F28%2Ftate-britain-project-recognition-artificial-intelligence-photography-paintings.json
|
en
| null |
Tate Britain project uses AI to pair contemporary photos with paintings
| null | null |
www.theguardian.com
|
Seated against a deep red backdrop, gazing intently at hand-held mirrors, two eunuchs in sparkling saris inspect their appearance before Raksha Bandhan celebrations in the red light district of Mumbai.
The photograph from the Reuters news agency is an arresting contemporary scene, but a new Tate Britain project is aiming to inspire deeper reflections with images from its own collection of paintings.
Launching on Friday, Recognition is the winner of 2016’s IK Prize – an annual award, this year supported by Microsoft, for a project that embraces digital technology to explore and showcase Tate’s collection of British art.
Tate Britain revamps Turner galleries after paintings return from tour Read more
This year, the challenge was to do it with artificial intelligence.
The team behind the winning project, from Italy-based communication research centre, Fabrica, say their inspiration came from an intriguing conundrum: how can you apply rational thinking to a subject like art?
Their answer is provocative. Recognition matches stunning photographs from the 24/7 news cycle with centuries-old artworks, and presents them online.
“The team have created and trained a ‘brain’ to a point where it is simulating certain human attributes and unleashed it online – and it is creating a gallery,” said Tony Guillan, the producer of the IK prize at Tate Britain.
After scanning through about 30,000 digitised artworks from the gallery, the system pairs the evocative photograph of the two eunuchs with a mellow scene from the brush strokes of Sir Peter Lely, the principal painter to Charles II. Two women, straight-backed and smiling slightly are seated, one holding a stringed instrument, the other resting her hand on the elaborate folds of her satin dress.
Facebook Twitter Pinterest Detail from Sir Peter Lely’s Two Ladies of the Lake Family (1660), which the Recognition software paired the Mumbai scene with. Photograph: Tate
It is a sumptuous 17th-century work, rich in details. But presented next to the contemporary photograph, Angelo Semeraro of Fabrica says the comparison provokes new artistic questions about gender identity and the notion of glamour. “I think this kind of a blend can bring a new value, a new view.
“Without knowing it, [the system] has created subjective meaning. By asking the question ‘how do computers work and think?’ you ask the exact same question of humans.”
Guillan said he hopes the project will encourage discussion about how we depict scenes and individuals. “News always presents itself as this mimetic, glass window on to the world, but of course photojournalism is an art form often; it is a mode of communication – and so is art and painting,” he said.
With £15,000 in prize money and £90,000 to produce their vision, the four-strong team at Fabrica have spent months developing the project, which harnesses a burgeoning form of artificial intelligence known as machine learning. It will be available in full online and there will be a small exhibition at Tate Britain.
“Computers are very good at mathematical operations,” said Andrea Vedaldi, an associate professor of engineering science at the University of Oxford, who was not involved in the project. “When things start to be very difficult is when you don’t really know how to express, in mathematical terms, what it is you want to do. For example, if you want to recognise a dog in an image ... it is not very easy to come up with the equations of a dog.”
Google says machine learning is the future. So I tried it myself Read more
Machine learning takes a different approach: show a system enough images of different canines in different poses, the theory goes, and the system will figure out what a dog is. “This process of going from specifics to the abstract concept, this is what is really challenging,” said Vedaldi. While progress in machine learning has been dramatic in recent years, he said, creating systems that truly “understand” images was still a work in progress.
It is a challenge that scientists and engineers such as Vedaldi continue to grapple with, developing and exploring powerful systems, including new tools based on a branch of machine learning called deep learning.
Recognition takes four different approaches to match images, based on technology developed by Microsoft and a team of AI specialists at the France-based company Jolibrain. “It can look for objects, like cups and saucers, it can look for faces, it can look for composition within an image – reading lines and colours – and it can look at the context that is attached to an image, so metadata, titles and things like that,” said Isaac Vallentin of Fabrica.
Now trained, the system will spend three months continuously analysing new photographs from Reuters, comparing each to thousands of digitised paintings, sculptures and other works. Where one or more matches can be found, the best – as selected by the technology – is entered into a searchable online gallery.
Visitors to the website will also be able to explore details of how the system made each match, including the strength of the resemblance across each of the four approaches, together with particular features it has recognised, such as the age and gender of a face. “We are trying to really honestly represent how the software itself is coming to its conclusions,” said Vallentin, adding that the system would also be able to create a sentence to explain, to a limited degree, each match.
The small, three-section display at Tate Britain will offer further insights, with visitors able to compare the matches they would make to those generated by the machine. The results will then be scrutinised. “We just want to take these two datasets in the end and find the connections, the similarities,” said Vallentin. “It is really an experiment for us.”
The team also hope the project will showcase the positive side of artificial intelligence – a technology that experts including physicist Stephen Hawking have raised safety concerns about.
“Technology is an empowering tool,” said Vallentin. “You can create really meaningful things and really helpful things, and beautiful things with technology.”
|
https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2016/aug/28/tate-britain-project-recognition-artificial-intelligence-photography-paintings
|
en
| 2016-08-28T00:00:00 |
www.theguardian.com/c56f88d4cc8bf61046269878b5b811b25370369621218898b8a8c3d3401a5d2d.json
|
|
[] | 2016-08-30T20:52:34 | null | 2016-08-30T18:50:12 |
Letters: We call on the UK government, the UN and the international community to be resolute in their commitment to investigating both the use, and users, of chemical weapons in Syria
|
https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fworld%2F2016%2Faug%2F30%2Fun-must-act-over-chemical-weapons-in-syria.json
|
en
| null |
UN must act over chemical weapons in Syria
| null | null |
www.theguardian.com
|
We are extremely concerned about the continuing use of chlorine as a chemical weapon in Syria, which the UN has just confirmed, and the suffering it causes for an already traumatised people (Report, 25 August). Any use of chemical weapons, whatever the toxic chemical used, is illegal under the 1997 Chemical Weapons Convention and international customary law. Some 192 countries have signed up to this convention, including Syria. As with many chemical weapons attacks, identifying the user is problematic because the perpetrator has invariably fled the scene. Collecting evidence in the middle of an active theatre of war is even more complicated. We therefore welcome the recent report of the UN investigation and the call by the US that President Assad be held accountable by the security council.
It must be emphasised by all signatories to the CWC that those using chlorine to injure and kill are committing a crime and will be held to account. So, we call on the UK government, the UN and the international community to be resolute in their commitment to investigating both the use and users of chemical weapons in Syria, and to prosecuting the perpetrators.
We also call on all practitioners of chemistry, be they in academe, industry, or trading of materials, to point out that chemicals should be used to help mankind. Chlorine has many legitimate and valuable roles but absolutely not as a poison for human lungs.
Professor emeritus Alastair Hay Leeds University, Chair-elect, Chemical Weapons Advisory Committee, Dr Tony Bastock Chairman, Contract Chemicals, and Prescot, Merseyside, chair, Chemical Weapons Advisory Committee, Dr Ron Manley Former director of verification, Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, Dr Catriona McLeish Harvard Sussex Programme
• As a reader in Middle East politics one might have expected that Reinoud Leenders (UN aid mission in Syria pays millions to Assad’s regime, 30 August) would have known that prior to 2011, when a civil disturbance was fanned – mainly by the US, UK, Saudi Arabia and Qatar – into a catastrophic conflict which has claimed some 400,000 lives and displaced more than 5 million, Syria had relatively good governance when compared with other countries in the region. It had an efficient system of education for boys and girls, from primary school to university level, a basic universal system of healthcare, no dress code for women, freedom of worship for all faiths, and in times of hardship food was subsidised by the government.
I lived in Syria for two years and was able to travel freely and experience the society there first-hand. The main criticism of the UN in the article seems to be that it gave aid directly to the regime in Syria – something that is standard UN practice in the distribution of aid throughout the world. Of course, the aid could be distributed by “the genuine Syrian businessmen”, mentioned by Mr Leenders, whoever they may be.
Paul Hewitson
Berlin
• Join the debate – email guardian.letters@theguardian.com
|
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/aug/30/un-must-act-over-chemical-weapons-in-syria
|
en
| 2016-08-30T00:00:00 |
www.theguardian.com/1b80e62aff30cf65e092c781d06034678564fe08d4b17f283c50760278b0c6a0.json
|
|
[
"Source"
] | 2016-08-29T04:59:12 | null | 2016-08-29T02:55:51 |
For the past year, six scientists have in lived in near-isolation inside a dome on Mauna Loa. For the duration of the study – which was funded by Nasa – they were only allowed to go outside while wearing spacesuits. On Sunday, the scientists finally walked out of the dome to shouts of “welcome back to Earth”. The crew members were greeted by their families and colleagues, who came bearing fresh pizza.
|
https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fglobal%2Fvideo%2F2016%2Faug%2F29%2Fscientists-complete-year-long-mars-simulation-in-hawaii-video.json
|
en
| null |
Scientists complete year-long Mars simulation in Hawaii - video
| null | null |
www.theguardian.com
|
For the past year, six scientists have in lived in near-isolation inside a dome on Mauna Loa. For the duration of the study – which was funded by Nasa – they were only allowed to go outside while wearing spacesuits. On Sunday, the scientists finally walked out of the dome to shouts of “welcome back to Earth”. The crew members were greeted by their families and colleagues, who came bearing fresh pizza.
|
https://www.theguardian.com/global/video/2016/aug/29/scientists-complete-year-long-mars-simulation-in-hawaii-video
|
en
| 2016-08-29T00:00:00 |
www.theguardian.com/8d590d94d83613b56de1d597d55c4dd1e2d8405b765825b292ef52c3b86bc279.json
|
|
[
"Joanna Ruck",
"Photograph",
"Stuart C. Wilson Getty Images",
"Peter Nicholls Reuters",
"Carl Court Getty Images",
"Justin Tallis Afp Getty Images",
"Steve Parsons Pa",
"Alex Livesey Getty Images For British Airways"
] | 2016-08-26T13:21:37 | null | 2016-08-23T10:59:51 |
The Olympians from Team GB have arrived back at Heathrow airport
|
https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fsport%2Fgallery%2F2016%2Faug%2F23%2Frio-olympic-heroes-return-team-gb-arrive-in-uk-in-pictures.json
|
en
| null |
Rio Olympics heroes return: Team GB arrive back in UK - in pictures
| null | null |
www.theguardian.com
|
British Olympians landed at Heathrow airport after returning from their most successful away Games. Team GB flew home on a BA plane which had its nose painted gold in honour of the medallists
|
https://www.theguardian.com/sport/gallery/2016/aug/23/rio-olympic-heroes-return-team-gb-arrive-in-uk-in-pictures
|
en
| 2016-08-23T00:00:00 |
www.theguardian.com/c7e5d5de8a073985b70727f676564abcba237349eb46148216831790a51f42ac.json
|
|
[
"Press Association"
] | 2016-08-28T00:51:38 | null | 2016-08-27T23:05:55 |
The probe soared 2,600 miles above Jupiter at 130,000mph, five years after leaving Earth to survey the giant planet
|
https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fscience%2F2016%2Faug%2F28%2Fnasa-spacecraft-juno-skims-jupiters-clouds-in-record-breaking-mission.json
|
en
| null |
Nasa spacecraft Juno skims Jupiter's clouds in record-breaking mission
| null | null |
www.theguardian.com
|
A spacecraft has skimmed the clouds of Jupiter in a record-breaking close approach to the giant planet. Juno activated its whole suite of nine instruments as it soared 2,600 miles above Jupiter’s swirling cloudtops, travelling at 130,000mph, on Saturday.
Nasa tweeted that Juno had successfully completed its closest ever fly-by to the planet right on schedule. It is the first of 36 such passes that the craft is scheduled to make over the next 18 months.
Nasa’s Jupiter tweet.
Rick Nybakken, Juno’s project manager at Nasa’s jet propulsion laboratory in Pasadena, California, said: “Early post-fly-by telemetry indicates that everything worked as planned and Juno is firing on all cylinders.”
Mission controllers at the space agency expect to capture stunning images and a wealth of scientific data from the approach, but it will take some days for all the data collected to be downloaded to Earth.
Nasa's Juno probe sends back first images of Jupiter Read more
“We are getting some intriguing early data returns as we speak,” said Scott Bolton, principal investigator of Juno from the Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio.
Facebook Twitter Pinterest Jupiter’s north polar region coming into view as Juno approaches. This view was taken when Juno was 437,000 miles away. Photograph: Nasa/PA
“It will take days for all the data to be downlinked, and even more to begin to comprehend what Juno and Jupiter are trying to tell us. This is our first opportunity to really take a close-up look at the king of our solar system and begin to figure out how he works.”
Nasa hopes to release a handful of close-up images from JunoCam, the probe’s panoramic colour camera, later this week. They should include the first detailed pictures of Jupiter’s north and south poles.
No spacecraft has flown so near to Jupiter before. The previous record for the closest approach to the planet was set by Nasa’s Pioneer 11 spacecraft, which passed at a distance of 27,000 miles in 1974.
Only one other spacecraft, Galileo, which visited Jupiter and its moons from 1995 to 2003, has orbited the planet. Although it was deliberately crashed on to Jupiter at the end of its mission, it orbited from much further out than Juno.
Facebook Twitter Pinterest A colour composite taken with Junocam’s visible red, green, and blue filters. The image on the right was also taken by JunoCam, but uses the camera’s infrared filter, which is sensitive to the abundance of methane in the atmosphere. Photograph: Nasa/EPA
The Juno probe: unearthing Jupiter’s past - podcast Read more
Powered by three huge solar panels, Juno was launched into space by an Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral, Florida, on 5 August 2011. It took five years to complete the 1.8bn-mile journey from Earth.
At the end of its 20-month mission, Juno will follow in the footsteps of Galileo by making a one-way plunge into the planet’s thick atmosphere.
Scientists are eagerly looking forward to analysing a treasure trove of data about Jupiter’s composition, gravity, magnetic field, and the source of its raging 384mph winds.
A British team from the University of Leicester is playing a key role in the mission, focusing on Jupiter’s powerful magnetic field, its spectacular auroras, and its dynamic atmosphere.
|
https://www.theguardian.com/science/2016/aug/28/nasa-spacecraft-juno-skims-jupiters-clouds-in-record-breaking-mission
|
en
| 2016-08-27T00:00:00 |
www.theguardian.com/b77c3e7068c5a4de50edae7fdb1e9496d48d751885e4b5b201f44621514f68cc.json
|
|
[] | 2016-08-26T18:50:55 | null | 2016-08-26T17:18:47 |
After two confident victories to begin their campaign, Manchester United will be supremely confident but Hull City have confounded everyone so far
|
https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Ffootball%2F2016%2Faug%2F26%2Fmatch-preview-hull-city-manchester-united.json
|
en
| null |
Hull City v Manchester United: match preview
| null | null |
www.theguardian.com
|
After the rip-roaring beginning of Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s Manchester United career and Paul Pogba’s magnificent return another summer signing could have his chance to light up José Mourinho’s third league game in charge. Henrikh Mkhitaryan is in line to start and his pace may strike fear into the hearts of Hull City. Mike Phelan can dream of a third unlikely win but is more likely planning not to be embarrassed by his former employers. Graham Searles
Kick-off Saturday 5.30pm
Venue KCOM Stadium
Last season n/a
Live BT Sport 1
Referee Jonathan Moss
This season G2, Y12, R0, 6.00 cards per game
Odds H 15-2 A 1-2 D 4-1
Hull City
Subs from Kuciak, Maloney, Maguire, Tymon, Bowen, Luer, Olley, Clackstone
Doubtful None
Injured Dawson (knee, Oct), McGregor (back, unknown), Bruce (achilles, unknown), Adubajo (knee, unknown)
Suspended None
Form WW
Discipline Y2 R0
Leading scorers Diomandé, Hernández, Maloney, Snodgrass 1
Manchester United
Subs from Romero, Johnstone, Jones, Rojo, Depay, Lingard, Rashford, Young,
Herrera, Fosu-Mensah, Tuanzebe, Keane, Schneiderlin, Darmian, Carrick, Mata
Doubtful Lingard (foot)
Injured None
Suspended None
Form WW
Discipline Y1 R0
Leading scorer Ibrahimovic 3
|
https://www.theguardian.com/football/2016/aug/26/match-preview-hull-city-manchester-united
|
en
| 2016-08-26T00:00:00 |
www.theguardian.com/0b3c190bde126b8becd16bf6b3f210baba2f087ccc29a56c0a1a9377f4a8b8ad.json
|
|
[
"John Harris",
"John Domokos"
] | 2016-08-26T13:22:22 | null | 2016-06-14T06:30:14 |
The party’s official line says Remain. But John Harris visits Stoke-on-Trent, a traditional Labour heartland, where most people seem to back Leave
|
https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fcommentisfree%2Fvideo%2F2016%2Fjun%2F14%2Flabour-supporters-brexit-stoke-on-trent-eu-referendum-video.json
|
en
| null |
The Labour supporters backing Brexit in Stoke-on-Trent heartland - video
| null | null |
www.theguardian.com
|
The party’s official line says Remain. But in Stoke-on-Trent, a traditional Labour heartland, most people seem to back Leave. John Harris finds anti-EU views in the factories, on the streets and outside the mosques. He asks the city’s Labour MPs the big question: what can they do to win their people back?
|
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/video/2016/jun/14/labour-supporters-brexit-stoke-on-trent-eu-referendum-video
|
en
| 2016-06-14T00:00:00 |
www.theguardian.com/28d2b1599eb43670f9dcf3e1ec94ed96d007061343ae11518dbb23740e6718ec.json
|
|
[
"Jeremy Bullmore"
] | 2016-08-26T13:28:39 | null | 2016-08-20T05:59:06 |
Our careers expert – and you the readers – help someone who wants to get back into the fashion industry, and a charity worker whose boss isn’t up to the job
|
https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fmoney%2F2016%2Faug%2F20%2Fdear-jeremy-work-problems-solved-careers-expert.json
|
en
| null |
Dear Jeremy - your work problems solved
| null | null |
www.theguardian.com
|
I left the fashion industry after being fired – how do I now get back into it?
Three and a half years ago I was abruptly fired from a job that I had worked in for just short of a year. It was demanding, high-pressured, and I was proud of the work I had accomplished – but I accept that under my watch a deadline was missed. The firing process was humiliating, leading me to avoid applying for jobs. After about six months I did get a job (the only one I got an interview for) which was lower in pay and skill level, and away from the fashion industry I had previously spent seven years in. But it allowed me to remain financially independent.
I worked there for two years, choosing to leave in the hope of getting back into the industry I loved.
Although my confidence has slowly increased, it continually takes a knock. Having spent more than three years out of the fashion industry my skills and experience have been rendered irrelevant. I have no problem with taking on lower-level roles and working my way back up, but it seems to receive responses such as “weird” and “why?”, considering my previous managerial position.
I am too old for graduate schemes and cannot apply for internships for the same reason. I am slowly coming to realise that I may no longer have a career in the industry after exhausting my contacts, but I don’t know what I can apply for and whether I can be taken as a serious candidate for roles I feel brave enough to put myself up for.
Jeremy says
I don’t need to tell you this, but confidence, when shattered, can take a very long time indeed to regain anything like its original muscle. And when subjected to further setbacks, as yours has been, recovery can be still further postponed. I say this not to rub in an obvious truth, but because once accepted, it has an important bearing on your future employment strategy.
You worked in the industry for seven years, but because that was three years ago, the ever fashion-conscious fashion industry chooses to see your experience as no longer relevant. However short-sighted that may be, you’re probably wise not to fight it.
But the main point is this: there are almost certainly jobs on the periphery of the fashion industry where the pressure is less but your experience will still have a value. I’m thinking, for example, of public relations or feature journalism, or setting up fashion shoots or working in retail. Thinking back over your own seven years in the business should prompt the thought of other such jobs, where a feel for fashion is a bonus but you don’t need the very latest cutting-edge knowledge.
In other words, don’t assume that your fashion experience no longer has any value simply because a return to the centre of the industry itself seems unlikely.
Readers say
• I would look for jobs that mirror the skills you need for fashion then try to move across. So if it’s basically “project management”, do that in any field you can get into. geraldinemitchell
• Fashion is a savagely competitive industry. You need to ask yourself just how much you love it. There are other things you can do. Some related to what you’ve been doing, such as buying. olderbutwiser
• Make sure your CV is skills focused so that your post-fashion industry experience can be sold to prospective employers as transferable skills. Fairyfink
My charity’s old boss was terrible, but the new one has turned out to be worse
I have been involved with a small charity for many years on a voluntary basis, and a few years ago was offered a part-time position. 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, it became apparent that the then chief executive was not up to the job. A number of staff members, including myself, approached the trustees to express our concerns. The boss was eventually ushered out over the following year, but not without considerable damage to staff morale, with several leaving because working conditions became so difficult.
Things then calmed down, and our new chief executive is in situ. The problem is, 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. As he comes across to us, he doesn’t seem to understand the charity or what we are trying to achieve, 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 very personal. But what can we do now?
Jeremy says
I think you’re wrong to rule out another approach to the trustees. I can absolutely understand how difficult this must seem: you fear coming across as a perpetually dissatisfied bunch of moaners who resent all forms of authority. And it will certainly not please the trustees to be told they’ve made a serious mistake in this appointment; their first instinct may well be to defend him.
But I still believe your responsibility is to the charity – and simply trying to function under these difficult circumstances will almost certainly not be enough. I suggest you take it in stages. Write a calm, brief, factual note to the trustees on your new chief executive’s first six months (or whatever period seems appropriate). Say you hope that his dictatorial approach can be put down to his unfamiliarity with the charity and its people. Meanwhile, you’ll all do everything you can to help him make it work.
If, as seems likely, more months pass with no improvement in his manner and management skills, the trustees will surely have to listen to you.
Readers say
• If two CEOs have ended up behaving in a similar manner, maybe there’s something inherent in the role that creates this behaviour. Did you see the job description when the role was advertised? Are you friendly with any of the trustees? You could have an informal chat and try to find out what the trustees want. He may just be a bad fit, but it might be worth a little investigation to get a full understanding of the facts. fizzdarling
• Playing devil’s advocate, your team has been working under someone ineffectual and is used to having autonomy. The new guy is coming in to a rudderless organisation and trying to get a firm grip. Being popular will not be in their job description. The key questions are, what is the strategy set by trustees, and is the CEO following it? If he is then knuckle under. If not, you have cause for complaint. UNCHARITABLE
• If you seriously want to change something, approach the trustees and tell them what you’ve told us. thespleen
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.
|
https://www.theguardian.com/money/2016/aug/20/dear-jeremy-work-problems-solved-careers-expert
|
en
| 2016-08-20T00:00:00 |
www.theguardian.com/46d1fd95f5ea8aa7c5b7c1009029964c16fe698c1a6d9d464cd32042e2642e37.json
|
|
[
"Virginia Wallis"
] | 2016-08-26T13:28:48 | null | 2016-07-28T16:49:00 |
Will I be liable, as a home owner and landlord, for a charge if I buy another property before selling the one I live in?
|
https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fmoney%2F2016%2Fjul%2F28%2Fi-want-to-know-where-i-stand-regarding-capital-gains-tax.json
|
en
| null |
I want to know where I stand regarding capital gains tax
| null | null |
www.theguardian.com
|
Q I need to obtain clarity on whether I would pay capital gains tax on purchasing a property using a bridging loan whilst I’m in the process of selling a second home.
I own a small flat that is on a long-term rental while my main home is a flat in a popular area of London and is on the market for £450,000. It is located in an area that continues to show buoyancy with neighbouring properties selling quite quickly.
However, I’ve found a property that I wish to buy and have made an offer of the full asking price of £230,000, subject to selling mine. If in the meantime, I took a bridging loan in order to secure the property whilst my main home is being sold, would I be liable to pay capital gains even though it was during a short transitional period of buying and selling, as on paper I would be classed as owning three properties, albeit briefly? DM
A The number of properties you own has no direct effect on the potential capital gains tax (CGT) bill. What matters is the nature of the property. As you are selling the flat that is your main home – and assuming that you have lived there for the whole time you have owned it – there will be no CGT to pay because you will be eligible for what’s called ‘private residence relief’ which makes any gain on a home you have lived in tax free.
There would, however, be a CGT bill if instead you sold the flat that you have been renting out because any gain made on a property that was not your main home does not qualify for private residence relief and so is taxable.
The tax that you do need to worry about if you have multiple properties is stamp duty land tax (SDLT) as a higher rate of SDLT can be applied to the purchase of more than one property.
In your case, if you do decide to get a bridging loan to buy the £230,000 property before selling the flat that is your main residence, the higher rates – which are 3% above the standard rates – will have to be paid. But provided you sell your old flat within 36 months of buying the new property, you’ll be able to claim a refund of the difference between the standard and higher rates of SDLT.
You could avoid being temporarily out of pocket by selling your current flat before buying the new property or by selling and buying on the same day. That’s because the higher rates do not apply if you sell a main residence and replace it with a new main residence.
If the £230,000 property is not going to be your new main residence, the higher SDLT rates will apply and you won’t be able to get a refund of the tax.
|
https://www.theguardian.com/money/2016/jul/28/i-want-to-know-where-i-stand-regarding-capital-gains-tax
|
en
| 2016-07-28T00:00:00 |
www.theguardian.com/7960ddb1d9323a2f2e4f0beb11a187e4095d704e815c24c3d81648c7487945c6.json
|
|
[
"Agence France-Presse"
] | 2016-08-29T16:52:14 | null | 2016-08-29T16:47:36 |
Pupils at Pretoria high school for girls say they were forced to chemically straighten their hair and not have ‘untidy afros’
|
https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fworld%2F2016%2Faug%2F29%2Fsouth-africa-pretoria-high-school-for-girls-afros.json
|
en
| null |
Racism row over South Africa school's alleged hair policy
| null | null |
www.theguardian.com
|
A South African school has been accused of racism for allegedly telling black girls to straighten their hair and not wear afros.
Pupils at Pretoria high school for girls have said they were forced to chemically straighten their hair and not have afros that were deemed untidy. Over the weekend, students donning afro hairstyles and braids held a protest at the school to voice anger against the alleged longstanding rule.
Politicians weighed in on the row, with the Economic Freedom Fighters party accusing the school of seeking “to directly suppress blackness in its aesthetics and culture”.
Mmusi Maimane, leader of the main opposition Democratic Alliance party, tweeted:
— Mmusi Maimane (@MmusiMaimane) My daughter has an Afro. It's the only way she wears her hair. Would she not be allowed at PTA girls?
On Monday, Panyaza Lesufi, the minister of the education department in Gauteng province, visited the government-run school for talks with senior staff and students. “I really want to arrest the situation before it gets out of control,” Lesufi said.
An online petition against the school’s alleged policy has gathered more than 10,000 signatures since it was created on Friday. The petition, titled Stop Racism at Pretoria Girls High, calls on authorities to ensure that the “school’s code of conduct does not discriminate against black and Muslim girls”.
“We are being discriminated against because of our hair. They want us to relax our hair – they want our hair to look a certain way,” an anonymous student told the PowerFM radio station.
Facebook Twitter Pinterest Protests at Pretoria high school for girls Photograph: Twitter
The prestigious school in Pretoria was historically attended by whites only but now admits black children following the end of apartheid in 1994. The school’s code of conduct (pdf) has a detailed list of rules about hair, but does not specifically mention the afro hairstyle, according to the BBC.
South Africa is still grappling with racial issues 22 years after the end of white-minority rule.
Black students at the school also alleged on social media that they were not allowed to speak ethnic languages to one other.
Disagreements over students’ hairstyles have previously arisen in South African schools, with some parents accusing education authorities of racism.
|
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/aug/29/south-africa-pretoria-high-school-for-girls-afros
|
en
| 2016-08-29T00:00:00 |
www.theguardian.com/e8401c4bd537b570071282ced7dec53de9e31c7643c22ba13a6f2b03fcd6296a.json
|
|
[
"Anna Tims"
] | 2016-08-26T13:29:08 | null | 2016-08-09T06:00:07 |
It took years’ worth of back payments from us, though the rule says we are liable only for the past 12 months
|
https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fmoney%2F2016%2Faug%2F09%2Fco-operative-energy-didnt-bill-us-but-claims-we-owe-it-nearly-1500.json
|
en
| null |
Co-operative Energy didn't bill us, but claims we owe it nearly £1,500
| null | null |
www.theguardian.com
|
We have been trying to move our account from Co-operative Energy to Ovo Energy and found that, despite paying by monthly direct debit, we had accrued £1,468 of debt since 2012.
We were never informed that we were underpaying. When we pointed this out, Co-operative Energy said it did not have the systems in place for that.
We paid the bill as it was blocking our transfer. However, reading your column, I realise that under law we are only liable for the past 12 months if we were not billed.
Is there any way we can get a refund of what we paid? MG, Salisbury, Wiltshire
Frankly, Co-operative Energy hasn’t had the systems in place to issue coherent bills for nearly a year after botching the launch of a new computer system last summer.
By November it had become the most complained about energy company in the country after many of its 500,000 customers received inaccurate bills or no bills at all, and were prevented from fleeing to more switched-on providers.
You are the victim of a double incompetence: the fact the company failed to advise you that your monthly payments were falling short and that it was oblivious to the Energy UK “back-billing” rule means customers are only liable for the previous 12 months of charges if they have not received a bill for a year.
The Co-op recollected its obligations after The Observer waded in and refunded you £833 of your payment.
“As a direct debit review was not conducted on the account in the appropriate timescale, they will only be required to pay the outstanding amount from the last 12 months,” says a spokesperson.
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.
|
https://www.theguardian.com/money/2016/aug/09/co-operative-energy-didnt-bill-us-but-claims-we-owe-it-nearly-1500
|
en
| 2016-08-09T00:00:00 |
www.theguardian.com/15300d833ca78885ee75a4defc35e8696697d712b20714f2e686d0fe59dc3e5c.json
|
|
[
"Nicholas Watt",
"Owen Jones"
] | 2016-08-26T13:30:57 | null | 2016-04-14T19:08:32 |
Mayoral candidate says Muslim women should consider whether to remain veiled when interacting with public service providers
|
http%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fpolitics%2F2016%2Fapr%2F14%2Fsadiq-khan-question-to-be-asked-about-hijabs-veils-london.json
|
en
| null |
Sadiq Khan says there is 'question to be asked' about use of hijabs in London
| null | null |
www.theguardian.com
|
Sadiq Khan, the Labour candidate for London mayor, has said there is “a question to be asked” about why some Muslim women in the capital wear hijabs and niqabs.
Khan, who became the first Muslim cabinet minister in Gordon Brown’s government in 2009, warned of an “insidious” development if people thought it was right to treat women differently to men.
In an interview with the London Evening Standard, the frontrunner in next month’s mayoral contest contrasted the way Muslim women dressed when he was growing up in London in the 1970s and 80s with the way many women dressed today.
London mayor: Goldsmith embarrassed as ‘repellent’ imam’s Tory links emerge Read more
Khan, 45, said: “When I was younger you didn’t see people in hijabs and niqabs, not even in Pakistan when I visited my family. In London we got on. People dressed the same. What you see now are people born and raised here who are choosing to wear the jilbab [a loose gown] or niqab.
“There is a question to be asked about what is going on in those homes. What’s insidious is if people are starting to think it is appropriate to treat women differently or that it has been forced on them. What worries me is children being forced to adopt a lifestyle.”
Khan suggested Muslim women should think about whether to wear the niqab, which covers the face, when they interacted with providers of public services. Asked whether women should be allowed to cover their faces, he said: “It’s not for me to tell women what to wear. But I do think that in public service we should be able to see each other’s faces. Eye contact matters. You should be able to see the face.”
He added: “There is no other city in the world where I would want to raise my daughters than London. They have rights, they have protection, the right to wear what they like, think what they like, to meet who they like, to study what they like, more than they would in any other country.”
During the interview Khan sought to answer critics who say that his record as a human rights lawyer means he would be soft on terrorism.
Zac Goldsmith, Khan’s Tory opponent, has been criticised after his campaign distributed leaflets describing the Labour candidate as “radical and divisive”. Khan tweeted this week: “Hey @ZacGoldsmith. There’s no need to keep pointing at me & shouting ‘he’s a Muslim’. I put it on my own leaflets.”
Khan said he would never apologise for his work as a human rights lawyer. But he pledged to place London on a “war footing” to tackle terrorist threats. “On day one I am going to put us on a war footing with these terrorists,” he said. “That will mean having a major review of our capabilities to deal with this.”
Khan said he was the best-qualified candidate to deal with terrorism because he was the only one with security clearance as a privy councillor. “Do you think I’d have been invited to weekly security meetings where there were MI5 and MI6, representatives from the police service and chaired by the home secretary if there were any concerns about me?”
He said he had been singled out by extremists – and been given police advice on protection – because of his liberal views, particularly on same-sex marriage. “There are people in Tooting who no longer talk to me because of it. When I was first elected I had all sorts of problems from these extremists. There was a fatwa put out against me. I’m the person with the plan in relation to fighting extremism.”
Goldsmith told the Evening Standard this week that Khan had been “giving platform, oxygen and cover” to extremists, and highlighted Khan’s decision to share a platform with Suliman Gani, an imam whom he described as “repellent”. His attack backfired when it emerged that Goldsmith had posed for a photo with Gani.
|
http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2016/apr/14/sadiq-khan-question-to-be-asked-about-hijabs-veils-london
|
en
| 2016-04-14T00:00:00 |
www.theguardian.com/fba7e483e8d1b099064a8f9d8256d619ddd41add7374fcdf2c7f59bf10998ab9.json
|
|
[
"Mawuna Koutonin"
] | 2016-08-26T13:20:43 | null | 2016-08-18T06:30:25 |
In the 19th century, European visitors to this abandoned medieval city refused to believe that indigenous Africans could have built such an extensive network of monuments. Such ignorance was disastrous for the remains of Great Zimbabwe
|
https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fcities%2F2016%2Faug%2F18%2Fgreat-zimbabwe-medieval-lost-city-racism-ruins-plundering.json
|
en
| null |
Lost cities #9: racism and ruins - the plundering of Great Zimbabwe
| null | null |
www.theguardian.com
|
In the early 16th century, rumours of a mysterious fortress with gargantuan walls, abandoned in the African jungle, spread around Europe. Surrounded by goldmines and sitting on a 900-metre-high hill, the city was thought to represent the summit of a unique African civilisation which had traded with distant Asian countries, including China and Persia.
A Portuguese sea captain, Viçente Pegado, was one of the first foreigners to encounter the site, in 1531. He wrote: “Among the goldmines of the inland plains between the Limpopo and Zambezi rivers [is a] fortress built of stones of marvellous size, and there appears to be no mortar joining them … This edifice is almost surrounded by hills, upon which are others resembling it in the fashioning of stone and the absence of mortar, and one of them is a tower more than 12 fathoms high.”
Great Zimbabwe was constructed between the 11th and 14th centuries over 722 hectares in the southern part of modern Zimbabwe. The whole site is weaved with a centuries-old drainage system which still works, funnelling water outside the houses and enclosures down into the valleys.
At its peak, an estimated 18,000 people lived in the capital of the Kingdom of Zimbabwe. Only 200 to 300 members of the elite classes are thought to have actually stayed inside its massive stone buildings, watched over at night by guards standing on the walls, while the majority lived some distance away.
Today, the ruins of Great Zimbabwe are a shell of the abandoned city that Captain Pegado came across – due in no small part to the frenzied plundering of the site at the turn of the 20th century by European treasure-hunters, in search of artefacts that were eventually sent to museums throughout Europe, America and South Africa.
It was said that Great Zimbabwe was an African replica of the Queen of Sheba’s palace in Jerusalem. The idea was promoted by the German explorer Karl Mauch, who visited in 1871 and refused to believe that indigenous Africans could have built such an extensive network of monuments.
“I do not think that I am far wrong if I suppose that the ruin on the hill is a copy of Solomon’s Temple on Mount Moriah,” Mauch declared, “and the building in the plain a copy of the palace where the Queen of Sheba lived during her visit to Solomon.” He further stated that only a “civilised nation must once have lived there” – his racist implication unmistakeable.
Other European writers, also believing that Africans did not have the capacity to build anything of the significance of Great Zimbabwe, suggested it was built by Portuguese travellers, Arabs, Chinese or Persians. Another theory was that the site could have been the work of a southern African tribe of ancient Jewish heritage, the Lemba.
Adding to the mystery, the indigenous people living around the site were said to believe it was the work of demons, or aliens, on account of its impressive size and the perfection of its workmanship.
In 1905, however, the British archaeologist David Randall-MacIver concluded the ruins were medieval, and built by one or more of the local African Bantu peoples. His findings were confirmed by another British archaeologist, Gertrude Caton-Thompson, in 1929, and this remains the consensus today. In the language of the builders’ descendents, the Shona people who live in the region today, Zimbabwe means “big stone houses” or “venerated houses”.
The city’s buildings were made of impressive granite walls, embellished with turrets, towers, decorations and elegantly sculpted stairways. The most notable of the buildings, an enclosure 250 metres in circumference and 9.75 metres high, was crafted with 900,000 pieces of professionally sliced granite blocks, laid on each other without any binders. Its perimeter columns were decorated with soapstone sculptures of a silhouetted bird with human lips and five-fingered feet.
Facebook Twitter Pinterest The function of the Great Enclosure’s conical tower has been the subject of much speculation. Photograph: Alamy
More than 4,000 gold and 500 copper mines were found around the site, and it was suggested that for three centuries, 40% of the world’s total mined gold came from the area, compounding to an estimated 600 tonnes of gold. Thousands of necklaces made of gold lamé have been discovered among the ruins.
Great Zimbabwe’s prosperity came from its position on the route between the gold producing regions of the area and ports on the Mozambique coast; over time it became the heart of an extensive commercial and trading network. The main trading items ranged from gold, ivory, copper and tin to cattle and cowrie shells. Imported items discovered in the ruins have included glassware from Syria, a minted coin from Kilwa, and assorted Persian and Chinese ceramics.
The period of prosperity at Great Zimbabwe continued until the mid-15th century, when the city’s trading activity started to decline and its people began to migrate elsewhere. The most common hypothesis to explain the abandonment of the site is a shortage of food, pastures and natural resources in Great Zimbabwe and its immediate surroundings. But the precise cause remains unclear.
Unparalleled architecture
Great Zimbabwe is a fusion of manmade and natural beauty; a complex of 12 groups of buildings spread over 80 stunning hectares of the Mutirikwi valley. In the words of the Zimbabwean archaeologist and art historian Peter Garlake, the site displays “an architecture that was unparalleled elsewhere in Africa or beyond”.
The ruins are divided into three main architectural zones: the Hill Complex, the Great Enclosure and the Valley Complex. The oldest, the Hill Complex, was occupied from the ninth to the 13th centuries. Believed to have been the spiritual and religious centre of the city, its ruins extend some 100 metres by 45 metres.
Facebook Twitter Pinterest Remains of the Great Enclosure: the most popular explanation for Great Zimbabwe’s abandonment is a shortage of food, pastures and natural resources. Photograph: Alamy
Notable features of the Hill Complex included a huge boulder in a shape similar to that of the Zimbabwe Bird, from where the king presided over every important ritual, such as the judgment of criminals, the appeasing of ancestors and sacrifices to rainmaker gods. The sacrifices happened over a raised platform below the king’s seat, where oxen were burned. If the smoke went straight up, the ancestors were appeased. If it was crooked, they were unhappy and another sacrifice must be made.
South of the Hill Complex lies the Great Enclosure, occupied from the 13th to the 15th centuries: a spectacular circular monument made of cut granite blocks. Its outer wall, five metres thick, extends some 250 metres and has a maximum height of 11 metres, making it the largest ancient structure in Africa south of the Sahara.
The most fascinating thing about the Great Enclosure walls is the absence of sharp angles; from the air they are said to resemble a “giant grey bracelet”. A narrow passage just inside the walls leads to a conical tower, the use of which has been the subject of much speculation – from symbolic grain bin to phallic symbol.
The last part of the ruins is the Valley Complex: a series of living ensembles made up of daga (earth and mud-brick) houses, scattered throughout the valley and occupied from the 14th to 16th centuries.
Here lived about 2,000 goldsmiths and equally numerous potters, weavers, blacksmiths and stonemasons – who would heat large granite rocks in a fire before tossing water on the red-hot rock. The shock of cold water cracked the granite along fracture planes into brick-shaped pieces that could be stacked without the need for mortar to secure them. Millions upon millions of these pieces were produced in the plains below and hauled up the hill, as the city constantly expanded.
Facebook Twitter Pinterest The walls of the great enclosure reach 11 metres in height. Photograph: Alamy
The function of its massive, non-supportive walls have various interpretations: some believe they were martial and defensive, or that they were a symbolic show of authority, designed to preserve the privacy of royal families and set them apart from commoners.
Unfortunately, the ruins have been damaged over the last two centuries – not least due to the British journalist Richard Nicklin Hall, who in 1902 was appointed curator of Great Zimbabwe by the British South Africa Company for the purposes “not [of] scientific research, but the preservation of the building.”
How a powerful African empire built a kingdom that covered vast swathes of southern Africa is a source of pride Clinton Dale Mutambo
Hall destroyed a significant part of the site, claiming he was removing the “filth and decadence of the Kaffir [ie African] occupation”. In his search for signs that the city had been created by white builders, layers of archeological deposits up to four metres deep were lost.
Reconstruction attempts by Zimbabwe nationalists since 1980 have caused further damage – as have some of the roughly 20,000 tourists who visit the site every year, climbing the walls for thrills and to find souvenirs.
Political and ideological battles have also been fought over the ruins. In 1890, the British mining magnate and coloniser Cecil Rhodes financed archeologist James Theodore Bent, who was sent to South Rhodesia by the British Association of Science with instructions to “prove” the Great Zimbabwe civilisation was not built by local Africans.
The government of Ian Smith, prime minister of Southern Rhodesia (modern Zimbabwe) until 1979, continued the colonial falsification of the city’s origins in official guide books, which showed images of Africans bowing down to the foreigners who had allegedly built Great Zimbabwe.
In 1980, Robert Mugabe became prime minister, and the country was renamed “Zimbabwe”, in honour of the Great Zimbabwe civilisation, and its famous soapstone bird carvings were depicted in the new Zimbabwean flag.
Lost cities #5: how the magnificent city of Merv was razed – and never recovered Read more
Yet much is still to be known about the ancient capital city. With no primary written documents discovered there or elsewhere, Great Zimbabwe’s history is derived from archaeological evidence found on the site, plus the oral history of the local Shona-speaking people, particularly regarding spiritual beliefs and building traditions.
Designated a Unesco World Heritage Site in 1986, the preservation of Great Zimbabwe – led by the National Museums and Monuments of Zimbabwe organisation – is now challenged by uncontrolled growth of vegetation, which threatens the stability of its dry stone walls. The spread of lantana, an invasive flowering shrub introduced to Zimbabwe in the early 20th century, has put added of strain on the preservation work.
“Great Zimbabwe’s significance – not only in Zimbabwe’s history, but Africa’s as a whole – is immense,” says Clinton Dale Mutambo, founder of the marketing company Esaja in Harare, Zimbabwe’s capital. “How a powerful African empire built a kingdom that covered vast swaths of southern Africa is a source of pride for Zimbabweans – and something that colonial governments tried for a long time to undermine by linking this wondrous kingdom to the Phoenicians.”
Please share your stories of other ‘lost cities’ throughout history in the comments below. Follow Guardian Cities on Twitter and Facebook to join in the discussion
|
https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2016/aug/18/great-zimbabwe-medieval-lost-city-racism-ruins-plundering
|
en
| 2016-08-18T00:00:00 |
www.theguardian.com/d43ecac9699530536e1d242575846966907dd02618970cf5c19eb392bde65b32.json
|
|
[
"Amelia Hill"
] | 2016-08-28T16:49:47 | null | 2016-08-28T15:49:27 |
Unique in the UK, Chelmsford county court hosts therapy dogs each week, to reduce stress and make court less intimidating
|
https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Flifeandstyle%2F2016%2Faug%2F28%2Fcanines-in-court-therapy-dogs-making-the-wait-for-a-verdict-more-human.json
|
en
| null |
Canines in court: therapy dogs making the wait for a verdict 'more human'
| null | null |
www.theguardian.com
|
David is waiting to find out if his children are going to be taken away from him. He paces the court waiting room and appears to be nearing the end of his tether. Other people instinctively give him a wide berth.
But Tina Jullings from Canine Concern approaches David with a small dog. “Would you like to stroke Bushy?” she asks brightly, offering up the chaotically hairy yorkshire terrier-chihuahua mix. He pauses, smiles, then laughs. “What’s a dog doing in a court?” he asks, touching Bushy gently on his head. “That’s crazy.”
It was January when Judge Lynn Roberts, the designated family judge for Essex and Suffolk, decided to brings dogs into Chelmsford county court. Volunteers from Pets as Therapy and Canine Concern, who usually take their therapy dogs into care homes and special schools, agreed to bring their pets into the court building to visit everyone from the judges and staff to the court users and their families. Roberts also arranges bespoke visits by the dogs if a child will be at court on a day when the animals are not due to visit.
My rescue dog is saving my life Read more
Chelmsford is the only court in the country to welcome therapy dogs, but six months into the scheme, Roberts regards it as such a success that she is planning to introduce it to Ipswich county and family court.
“For many people, coming to court is the most stressful experience in their lives,” says Roberts, stroking the sleek head of Ella, a black, flat-haired retriever, who is visiting the judge in her retiring room before the official day begins. “It’s easy for us who work in the system to lose touch with how stressful it is but litigants are here because the future of their children is being determined, or their marriage, or where they’re going to live.
“In the US, they bring llamas and alpacas into care homes but I’m not going to attempt to bring in anything larger than a dog.” She pauses and gazes at Ella, who stares back with total canine devotion: “Having said that, I would love to bring in a donkey. I love donkeys too. But no, I think I will stop at dogs.”
So-called “courthouse facility dogs” are common in America, Canada and Chile, where they help children in all legal settings, as well as crime victims and witnesses, and those appearing in front of the drug and mental health courts.
But Roberts admits there is no tangible evidence as to the scheme’s impact. “I don’t think anybody could say if there’s any concrete result,” she said. “There was a suggestion from Cafcass [the body which represents children in family court cases] that we should assess the scheme but I don’t want to do that: I don’t want to make it all scientific. It’s working for us and it doesn’t cost the courts a penny.
Facebook Twitter Pinterest Judge Lynn Roberts with Ella. Photograph: Guardian video
“No one’s pretending it’s a cure-all,” she adds, reluctantly waving Ella goodbye and turning back to her case preparations. “It just releases a bit of stress and tension.”
The dogs have a schedule to keep to at Chelmsford: first they visit the judges, then the court staff and then the court users in the waiting rooms.
The district judge David Vavrecka is a fan of the scheme: “My initial, immediate reaction was that it was a fantastic idea,” he said. “A dog will not change the outcome of a court case but in a very bleak and conflicted situation, it can make the experience less intimidating and more human. And if, only in a very small way, we can improve the experience for our litigants, that seems to be very important.”
An emotional support animal is just a mouse click away Read more
The circuit judge Catriona Murfitt agreed: “All the 101 things whirling around in my brain, about the cases I’m going to hear that day, stop whirring for those five minutes when the dogs come round,” she said. “But it’s probably most helpful for litigants in person, who come to court with no lawyers and are often entirely alone, knowing very little about what’s going to happen in the courtroom.”
David Hodges, another district judge, is, however, less enthusiastic. “I just about tolerate the interruption to my morning when the dogs come round,” he said. “But I have two concerns. One is that certain cultures don’t traditionally feel the same way about dogs as British people tend to feel, and it could be quite off-putting for them to be approached by a dog at a moment of great stress.
“The other is that serious business happens in court. When the dogs visit the judges – between 9am and 10am – we’re doing very serious preparation for the cases we’re hearing that day. I personally find it an unwelcome distraction and I suspect the litigants feel the same if they’re talking to their representatives.”
An hour later, however, when Ella trots into his courtroom as he sits surrounded by paperwork, even Hodges appears won over by her canine charm. “Hello,” he croons quietly, tickling her under the ear. “You go all dreamy when I do this, don’t you?”
His concern that some litigants will find the dogs offensive or intrusive is countered by Kate Miller, a family law barrister at Chelmsford: “I have heard judges and lawyers voice concern that litigants who are facing the potential for losing their children don’t want to pat a dog or that certain cultures won’t appreciate it,” she said. “But I have myself observed the contrary: lots of people do want to pat a dog, and often exactly at moments of their greatest stress.”
In the court waiting room, the dogs are welcomed by some but waved away by others.
Kennel Club dog photographer of the year 2016 – in pictures Read more
Angela has been waiting for two and a half hours to hear whether she will be able to keep her children. Visibly shaking and teary, she bends over Bushy and hugs him tightly.
“My little boy loves dogs,” she murmurs. “Bringing dogs in is such a good idea. It distracts me: I can push what’s happening to me to the back of my mind, just for a second.”
A woman standing at the edge of the waiting room is taking a break from giving evidence. When she spots Ella emerging from the lift, her distraught expression changes. She gives a brief laugh of surprise and smiles. Then the moment passes and she turns away.
The names of people in court have been changed.
|
https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2016/aug/28/canines-in-court-therapy-dogs-making-the-wait-for-a-verdict-more-human
|
en
| 2016-08-28T00:00:00 |
www.theguardian.com/7751e311c6579396d5edd9a13ca6d7c8bc0a08bb803647bcf3ba4d2e5ab8bdea.json
|
|
[
"Jessica Elgot"
] | 2016-08-26T13:08:50 | null | 2016-08-25T06:00:04 |
Omar, a 17-year-old Syrian, has Home Office approval to join family in London but is trapped in refugee camp waiting for transfer
|
https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fworld%2F2016%2Faug%2F25%2Fwhat-am-i-waiting-for-child-refugees-trapped-in-calais-appeal-to-mps.json
|
en
| null |
'What am I waiting for?': child refugees trapped in Calais appeal to MPs
| null | null |
www.theguardian.com
|
Omar’s home for the last six months has been a makeshift wooden hut in the Calais “Jungle” refugee camp, where the teenager sleeps alone under piles of donated blankets.
But unlike many of the thousands of refugees living in the tents and containers next to the bypass, the Syrian teenager has a home waiting for him in the UK.
Omar has been approved by the Home Office to cross to the UK, under the Dublin regulation, which will give the shy 17-year-old the right to join his uncle and cousin in north-west London. And yet he is still living in the makeshift refugee camp, with no way of knowing when he will be able to leave. He has been waiting for his transfer to the UK for almost two months.
Volunteers working in the camp say violence is increasing as its population increases with the good weather, meaning more people are attempting the journey. Omar (not his real name) said he does not tell his family in Syria about the dangers he faces each night. “I could not tell them, no. They would be too scared for me,” he said.
Hungry, scared, and no closer to safety: child refugees failed by Britain Read more
For now, when the atmosphere in the camp turns tense, Omar said he stays shut in his cabin or heads for the main road to stand under the bridge on the outskirts of the camp, out of the melee.
Omar is one of many refugee children in the camp caught up in bureaucratic delays. He applied in March and the Home Office approved his “take charge request” in June. Every day he waits for the call telling him it is his day to be transferred to the UK.
The Home Office is under increasing pressure to speed up the process of bringing children who have the right to be in the UK across the Channel, with human rights groups claiming children are being left at risk of violence and exploitation in the camp.
Labour’s former shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper wrote to the home secretary, Amber Rudd, last week, and said the Home Office was given details last month of 110 children and teenagers still in Calais who have Dublin rights to be reunited with their families in the UK. No action had yet been taken on their cases, Cooper said. At the current rate of progress it would take over a year to reunite every child with their family.
An additional 200 children in the camps in Calais are eligible for sanctuary in Britain under the Dubs amendment to bring child refugees to the UK, brought about by Labour peer Alf Dubs, formerly a child refugee himself. It commits the government to relocate lone child refugees in Europe “as soon as possible”. Though ministers promised around 3,000 would be brought to Britain, around a tenth of that number have arrived so far.
Visiting the camp on Tuesday with Save the Children and two Conservative MPs, Heidi Allen and David Burrowes, Cooper said the delay in Omar’s case and others was hard to understand. All three said they would seek a meeting with Rudd in order to press for a Home Office official to be based in Calais, though one has now been seconded to the Dublin Unit at France’s interior ministry in Paris.
Facebook Twitter Pinterest An aerial view of the container camp at the Calais refugee camp, where many unaccompanied children live. Photograph: Pascal Rossignol/Reuters
For now, Omar is in limbo. All the paperwork is in order and yet he has been waiting for more than six weeks with no word of when he will finally cross safely to the UK. He has heard stories about Willesden, the suburb where he will eventually live.
“They told me it’s so beautiful, you can’t imagine,” he said. Burrowes, MP for the neighbouring Enfield Southgate, smiled but agreed. “It is beautiful because of the freedom it brings, the safety,” he said. “It is beautiful in that sense. The opportunity it brings.”
The camp is on edge when the MPs visit after a disturbing late night fight between two parts of the camp. Volunteers warn that many of the children at the youth centre are in need of special care and attention after the violence.
While Omar waits in the camp, each day brings a new risk. “Everything is bad here, there is a lot of violence,” he said. “There is no law in the Jungle, and there are a lot of people looking just to take advantage of the situation.”
Walking back to his cabin one evening, he came across a fight between Sudanese and Afghan refugees. “Really it was a big fight, 600 people, throwing rocks at each other.”
'They are falling apart': the fate of lone children in Calais' refugee camp Read more
One missile caught him in the eye and his face is still scarred. No ambulance would come to the camp, he said, so he had to walk to the underpass where he waited half an hour for medical help.
Laura Griffiths, the senior field manager for Safe Passage, who are handling Omar’s case, said it was important to keep reminding authorities that the delays left children not just in limbo but at risk. “You’re sitting here in danger,” she said.
Others waiting for their transfer include Ahmed, a 13-year-old with learning difficulties who has been given special dispensation to go to the UK along with his father, because of the demands of his disability. Few of Omar’s friends are left in the camp and he sleeps alone in the container, decorated with woollen rugs and posters with English language quotes. One says: “I love Syria, more than my life” and he said he was hopeful he would return there.
For now, he is keen to ask the MPs what they can do to help. “I just have one question, what am I waiting for?” he asks. There is no answer, other than paperwork.
The Syrian community has shrunk to around 50 of the 8,000 people living in the camp. Volunteers say though the system is slow, there are now official routes in place to help Syrians claim asylum in France or help children reach families in the UK.
Around 30 Syrian boys have been reunited with their families in the UK, through the work of Safe Passage. But for others, no such systems exist. Volunteers are particularly worried about unaccompanied young girls, mostly from Eritrea, whose numbers are growing, with up to 50 now in the camp.
Were they to decide to claim asylum in France and move to the official housing, only six beds for young women are on offer and volunteers say many young asylum seekers of either sex are regularly turned away, despite being actively encouraged to claim asylum in France.
Johnny Willis, a volunteer co-ordinator with Help Refugees who runs the camp’s brightly painted youth centre, said he had had 10 asylum seekers turned away by the authorities in one day.
“Staying in France is the only safe thing we can really recommend. And they are wasting their youths here, this really talented bunch of kids, they have so much to offer and it is just painful to watch them here for months on end. But they say, ‘OK, we’ll stay in France’, we make the phone call and get told there is no space.”
|
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/aug/25/what-am-i-waiting-for-child-refugees-trapped-in-calais-appeal-to-mps
|
en
| 2016-08-25T00:00:00 |
www.theguardian.com/0d8a5d22eb3dfce36f824270efe33f17fd8ee68a3f670b558c7544fc27772e65.json
|
|
[
"Tom Davies",
"Vithushan Ehantharajah"
] | 2016-08-30T12:52:37 | null | 2016-08-30T12:50:10 |
Over-by-over report: England can wrap up the five-match series with victory against Pakistan at Trent Bridge. Follow all the action here
|
https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fsport%2Flive%2F2016%2Faug%2F30%2Fengland-v-pakistan-third-odi-live.json
|
en
| null |
England v Pakistan: third ODI - live!
| null | null |
www.theguardian.com
| null |
https://www.theguardian.com/sport/live/2016/aug/30/england-v-pakistan-third-odi-live
|
en
| 2016-08-30T00:00:00 |
www.theguardian.com/211a01ba8cd16441f0872cc1f080c627c96858f3233df84e4a48b12f2c7868a7.json
|
|
[
"Ben Quinn",
"Nadia Khomami"
] | 2016-08-26T13:13:23 | null | 2016-08-25T11:40:53 |
Workmates from Manchester say they were taken from taxi and made to lie on ground with guns to their heads, before being questioned and released
|
https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fuk-news%2F2016%2Faug%2F25%2Fmen-seek-answers-after-being-arrested-at-gunpoint-by-kent-police.json
|
en
| null |
Three men seek answers after being arrested at gunpoint by Kent police
| null | null |
www.theguardian.com
|
Three businessmen from Manchester are seeking answers from Kent police after their taxi was stopped and they were arrested by heavily armed masked officers before being held in cells for hours and then released at 4am without explanation.
Joe Taylor, 32, said he and his two colleagues were “petrified” by the chain of events, which took place when they were visiting the south-east on a work trip.
Speaking to the Guardian, Taylor said that more than a dozen police, some carrying assault rifles and wearing masks, surrounded them after their taxi was stopped on the A2 shortly after they left their hotel in Northfleet. They were on their way to eat at the Bluewater shopping centre after a day viewing potential worksites.
Taylor, who runs his family’s Lancashire-based lighting firm, said he was on the phone to his family at the time and was told by police: “If you don’t put that fucking phone down I’ll blow your head off.”
He said he and his colleagues were taken from the taxi and made to lie on the ground with guns to their heads, and were then held in a police station before being released at 4am without any charges or explanation.
Kent police confirmed that the car stop happened and that the men were arrested on suspicion of firearms offences but subsequently released.
Taylor said he and his colleagues were still coming to terms with what had happened to them on Tuesday and had not subsequently had an explanation from the force.
“We are three lads who have never been in trouble at all,” said Taylor.
“You just don’t know how to act in a situation like this. You are kind of naive, thinking at the time that it’s all going to get sorted out in a few minutes, but then it’s not. We were almost like [in] a state of shock really. It was a bit of a blur and we were on the floors in handcuffs, machine guns at our heads and being escorted off.”
Taylor said he had spent all Wednesday on the phone to Kent police trying to get an explanation and that he was still stranded because his car remained impounded.
“We don’t even know if it’s a member of the public or a CCTV operative who has seen something that they have misconstrued as a gun. They told us they would not be able to answer any questions until we were interviewed. But then we were given nothing, with no one accepting responsibility. We were just let out the back door of a Kent police station without an answer.”
A spokeswoman for Kent police confirmed on Thursday that armed officers had stopped a vehicle shortly after 6pm on Tuesday on the London-bound carriageway of the A2.
“The vehicle was stopped to make urgent inquiries in connection with a serious investigation on behalf of Essex police,” she added. “Three men were arrested on suspicion of firearms offences and were arrested at the scene.
“Armed officers making enquiries of subjects expect them to comply with instructions. Officers follow the national authorised professional practice, which define standards and tactics necessary to maintain the safety of the public, the individuals themselves and the officers.
“No complaint has been received by Kent Police. Anyone wishing to make a complaint is encouraged to contact the relevant force to do so.”
The force also said that there was no risk to the wider public.
|
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2016/aug/25/men-seek-answers-after-being-arrested-at-gunpoint-by-kent-police
|
en
| 2016-08-25T00:00:00 |
www.theguardian.com/721c12c8d9aaa21f203fd02a62eb90ffef7dd9a75c690954afd5631445e06c2b.json
|
|
[
"Anushka Asthana",
"Bruno Rinvolucri",
"Irene Baqué",
"Leah Green",
"Loretta Trickett",
"Nesrine Malik"
] | 2016-08-26T13:22:35 | null | 2016-06-30T06:00:04 |
The Guardian’s political editor, Anushka Asthana, says the Leave camp have let a genie out of a bottle, and they must put it back
|
https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fcommentisfree%2Fvideo%2F2016%2Fjun%2F30%2Fracism-brexit-eu-referendum-video.json
|
en
| null |
Britain needs to talk about the R-word: racism - video
| null | null |
www.theguardian.com
|
A vote for Brexit is not racist, argues the Guardian’s political editor, Anushka Asthana. But a small group with deeply racist views have hijacked the result of last week’s referendum, and are having a field day. Boris Johnson and others in the Leave camp have let a genie out of a bottle, and they must do whatever they can to put it back
WARNING: contains swearing
|
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/video/2016/jun/30/racism-brexit-eu-referendum-video
|
en
| 2016-06-30T00:00:00 |
www.theguardian.com/d4e5d1c83f39d2838d7bf9de26046bab953f4d14bb0e7b8615fc9ebc18a07f3e.json
|
|
[
"Rebecca Allen"
] | 2016-08-26T13:03:27 | null | 2016-08-18T13:26:14 |
While results nationally have remained broadly the same, they disguise significant changes at a subnational level
|
https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Feducation%2F2016%2Faug%2F18%2Fa-level-results-british-students-grades.json
|
en
| null |
What A-level results day tells us about British students
| null | null |
www.theguardian.com
|
Results day marks the end of two years’ work for students – and the beginning of the end of A-levels as we know them.
A-level results day 2016: UK students get their grades – live Read more
As well as A-levels ceasing to be modular, with exams taken along the way, AS-level results will no longer count towards final A-level grades.
In general, each year’s A-level results tell us little about the effectiveness of teaching, since the exams regulator’s policy of comparable outcomes means the overall grade distribution is tied to GCSE achievement. This means if GCSE results rise, AS- and A-level results will be allowed to rise in the ensuing years.
So while, overall, this year’s A-level results are similar to last year’s, the main conclusion we can draw from this is that those taking A-levels this summer had similar GCSE attainment to that of their predecessors.
A-level results show another drop in A* and A grades Read more
But while results nationally have stayed broadly the same, there have been significant changes at a subnational level. The distribution of A-level grades is always better in England than it is in Wales. This disparity has increased further, with 52.8% in England achieving A*-B compared with 48.1% in Wales – versus 52.7% and 49.0% last year.
What is fascinating is that the proportion of A* and A grades among Welsh boys has fallen significantly in 2016, a pattern not mirrored by Welsh girls or English boys. Academics have previously shown that the exam performance of teenage boys is affected by major sporting events. Could the success of Wales in Euro 2016 be to blame?
Nationally, the number of entries in the social sciences, such as economics and sociology, has continued to rise. However, there has been no increase in entries in the so-called facilitating subjects, which are preferred by the more selective Russell Group of universities.
Next year may be a different story, as the changes kick in. The first sign of things to come can be seen in this year’s AS-level results, particularly in the subjects that have been “decoupled” from A-levels.
Ditch the platitudes, please: A-levels matter – especially for the least well off | Frances Ryan Read more
Approximately a third of subjects have been decoupled so far, with the link to be broken for the remainder of subjects over the next two years. Sixth forms can still enter students for AS-levels in these subjects – but they will no longer count towards the A-levels they will sit next summer.
This has resulted in some large falls in entry levels in the subjects that have decoupled. Entries in AS history, for example, have fallen by 24%; other decoupled subjects have dropped by up to a third. By contrast, in mathematics, which will be among the final set of AS-levels to be decoupled in two years, the proportion of entries has fallen by only 2%.
Looked at another way, between two-thirds and three-quarters of schools and colleges have still chosen to enter year 12 students for AS-levels in the decoupled subjects.
AS-levels can help students make informed decisions about which subjects to continue into year 13 and help sixth forms track student performance. The evidence suggests, for now at least, a majority of sixth forms believe these benefits outweigh the value of the extra teaching time that not preparing for AS-levels exams would present.
Rebecca Allen is director of Education Datalab
|
https://www.theguardian.com/education/2016/aug/18/a-level-results-british-students-grades
|
en
| 2016-08-18T00:00:00 |
www.theguardian.com/b9c8844041eeb57d2b79a7446ae26dfd77a73fb8a18ab3729f0782fd19ba90d2.json
|
|
[
"John Vidal",
"Haider Newmani"
] | 2016-08-26T13:25:23 | null | 2016-08-22T08:00:06 |
Researchers identify exposure to toxic materials from explosion of munitions and burning of military waste by US army as cause of birth defects and cancers
|
https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fglobal-development%2F2016%2Faug%2F22%2Firaq-children-health-cost-war-induced-air-pollution-study-toxic-waste-birth-defects.json
|
en
| null |
Iraqi children pay high health cost of war-induced air pollution, study finds
| null | null |
www.theguardian.com
|
Air pollution caused by war may be a major factor in the numbers of birth defects and cancers being reported in Iraq and other war zones, a study has suggested.
Human exposure to heavy metals and neurotoxicants from the explosion of bombs, bullets, and other ammunition affects not only those directly targeted by bombardments but also troops and people living near military bases, according to research published in the scientific journal Environmental Monitoring and Assessment.
Millions of Iraqi children repeatedly and relentlessly targeted, says UN Read more
Mozhgan Savabieasfahani, an Iranian toxicologist and lead author of the report, said “alarming” levels of lead were found in the “baby” or “deciduous” teeth of Iraqi children with birth defects, compared with similar teeth donated from Lebanese and Iranian children.
“Deciduous teeth from Iraqi children with birth defects had remarkably higher levels of Pb [lead],” she said during a recent visit to London. “Two Iraqi teeth had four times more Pb, and one tooth had as much as 50 times more Pb than samples from Lebanon and Iran.”
The study is important, because there has been scant research on how years of warfare across the Middle East have impacted local civilian populations, and data is hard to collect.
However, the few investigations that have been conducted suggest sharp increases in congenital birth defects, premature births, miscarriages and leukaemia cases in Iraq and other war zones, a finding supported by interviews with doctors.
The study supports claims that the long-term health of many thousands of former US soldiers was devastated by air pollution caused by the unregulated burning of huge volumes of military waste in hundreds of open air “burn pits” during the Iraq war.
More than 85,000 US Iraq war veterans who have signed a government register have been diagnosed with respiratory and breathing problems, cancers, neurological diseases, depression and emphysema since returning from Iraq. About half have stated that they were exposed to the burn pits.
The toll among soldiers has been documented in testimonies given to the US Department of Veterans Affairs and in a new book, The Burn Pits, based on interviews with 500 veterans exposed to pollution. They record how foam, electronics, metal cans, rubber tyres, ammunition, explosives, human faeces, animal carcasses, batteries, asbestos insulation and heavy metal waste were doused in jet fuel and set on fire during the Iraq war.
Facebook Twitter Pinterest US marines in Fallujah search a house for insurgents bathed in the haze of their own grenades. Photograph: Scott Peterson/Getty Images
“There were 270 of these pits burning 24/7, sometimes for years. Some are still burning today. These materials converged in a toxic plume that hovered over bases, and seeped into soldiers’ sleeping and working quarters, which were often a mile or less away,” said former US Marine and Army sergeant Joseph Hickman, author of the book.
“The vets told me that they were told the smoke was a nuisance but not a hazard. Some of the pits were worse than others. One, at Balad air base, covered 10 acres and burned 50 tonnes of trash a day. There were no regulations on what could be burned, anything that was considered trash went in there.”
An air sampling study by the US Department of Defense at Balad base in 2008 detected high levels of particulate matter, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, volatile organic compounds, as well as Agent Orange-type dioxins and furans.
Thousands of tonnes of herbicides containing deadly dioxins were dropped on Vietnamese and Laotian forests in the 1970s, but the health effects on veterans and local communties were not officially admitted for 27 years.
We could see that when the bombing started, so did the birth defects Mozhgan Savabieasfahani
“The open-air bonfires [in Iraq] – which violated not only Environmental Protection Agency air quality standards, but the Pentagon’s own regulations – were supposed to be used only as a temporary measure, until incinerators could be put in place. But they continued to operate throughout most of these wars, with a number still running as late as 2015,” said Hickman.
Evidence of the pollution effects on Iraqi communities is barely known because little research has been done. But Savabieasfahani said the toxicological effects of the air pollution would inevitably have been damaging.
“We know that they burned pesticides, pharmaceuticals, chemicals, solvents, medical waste and toxic heavy metals. All are extremely polluting to the environment. Thick black clouds of pollution were common, day and night,” she said.
“I was alerted to the pollution when living close to Basra when the invasion started and several women at the university where I was teaching spontaneously aborted.
“But getting tissue samples out of Iraq has proved nearly impossible and little research into the pollution’s effect on people living close to the burn pits has been conducted.”
“We found very high levels of mercury, lead, titanium and various toxic metals in hair of children and parents of children with disorders or severe birth defects, showing metal contamination has happened since 2003 – with increased disorders and defects.”
She added: “We could see that when the bombing started so did the birth defects. In May 2010, 15% of 547 babies born at the [Basra] hospital had severe birth defects. This is in contrast to 2% to 4% that is normal,” she said.
Later in 2010, rates of babies being born with birth defects were as high as 30%, said Savabieasfahani. “Pollution all ends up in the body. People were breathing in high levels. Major damage was being done to people,” she said.
The full scale of the pollution from years of war in the region may never be known.
|
https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2016/aug/22/iraq-children-health-cost-war-induced-air-pollution-study-toxic-waste-birth-defects
|
en
| 2016-08-22T00:00:00 |
www.theguardian.com/0ba43b863f93c6bc31f2bcd3f4a552134c6a348b06fde32b52e0fcdda21cf8fa.json
|
|
[
"Ryan Baxter",
"Jonathan Fisher"
] | 2016-08-26T13:19:40 | null | 2016-08-25T18:03:55 |
Arsenal will take on Paris Saint-Germain, Basel and Ludogorets in the Group A of the 2016/17 Champions League after the draw was made on Thursday in Monaco
|
https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Ffootball%2Fvideo%2F2016%2Faug%2F25%2Farsenals-champions-league-group-all-you-need-to-know-video.json
|
en
| null |
Arsenal's Champions League group: all you need to know - video
| null | null |
www.theguardian.com
|
Arsenal will take on Paris Saint-Germain, Basel and Ludogorets in Group A of the 2016/17 Champions League after the draw was made on Thursday in Monaco. Arsenal have failed to progress beyond the round of 16 in each of the last six seasons and will be hoping to buck that trend this year
|
https://www.theguardian.com/football/video/2016/aug/25/arsenals-champions-league-group-all-you-need-to-know-video
|
en
| 2016-08-25T00:00:00 |
www.theguardian.com/d6a5c153306d7b9876721d93c4022176a0fe503fe54f820ec7ee9694fa072036.json
|
|
[
"Associated Press"
] | 2016-08-26T13:15:57 | null | 2016-08-26T00:39:06 |
The small mammal – ‘one of the cutest animals in America’ – is struggling to survive as summers get hotter and drier
|
https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fenvironment%2F2016%2Faug%2F26%2Famerican-pika-vanishing-from-western-us-as-habitat-lost-to-climate-change.json
|
en
| null |
American pika vanishing from western US as 'habitat lost to climate change'
| null | null |
www.theguardian.com
|
Populations of a rabbit-like animal known as the American pika are vanishing in many mountainous areas of the west as climate change alters its habitat, according to findings released by the US Geological Survey.
The range for the mountain-dwelling herbivore is shrinking in southern Utah, north-eastern California and in the Great Basin that covers most of Nevada and parts of Utah, Oregon, Idaho and California, the federal agency concluded after studying the mammal from 2012-2015.
This study’s conclusion marks a more authoritative statement about the role of global warming on the animal compared to research released in 2003 that found climate change was at least partly contributing to the animal’s decline.
“The longer we go along, the evidence continues to suggest that climate is the single strongest factor,” said Erik Beever, a research ecologist with the USGS and lead author.
America’s most remote site – the undiscovered side of Yellowstone Read more
The pika’s habitat on mountain slopes, known as talus, are becoming hotter and drier in the summer and harsher in the winter with less snowpack to serve as an insulator, Beever said.
The study bolsters the long-running efforts of wildlife advocacy groups to have the animal added to the endangered species list amid concerns about global warming.
The US Fish and Wildlife Service rejected a request in 2010, saying not all populations were declining. A new request was made this April by a high school student in New York state.
A preliminary decision on that request is due out in early September, but the agency’s staff eill not take into account the new study because they are bound to only take into account information submitted with the petition, said fish and wildlife service spokeswoman Serena Baker.
Noah Greenwald, endangered species director at the Center for Biological Diversity in Arizona, said the new research confirms that climate change is putting the animal at real risk. He said it should help with future petitions to have the animal declared endangered – something he says is necessary to ensure future generations are treated to seeing the critters during mountain hikes.
“It’s gotta be one of the cutest animals in North America. It’s like a cross between a bunny rabbit and prairie dog,” Greenwald said. “Part of what makes our world interesting is the diversity of animals and plants that you can see when you go to different species.”
President Barack Obama mentioned the plight of the pika when he spoke at Yosemite National Park in June this year about the damage climate change is inflicting on the nation’s national parks. He said the pika was being forced further upslope at Yosemite to escape the heat.
The study did not quantify how many total American pika still exist, but honed in on several areas where the small animal has historically roamed eating grass, weeds and wildflowers.
The animal is thriving in a few places, such as the Columbia River Gorge in Oregon and Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming, but overall is suffering, Beever said.
Pikas had disappeared from Zion National Park in Utah despite being seen as recently as 2011. In nearby Cedar Breaks National Monument, they were no longer in three-quarters of their historical habitat, Beever said.
Pikas were only found in 11 of 29 sites where they once lived in north-eastern California.
In the Great Basin, which stretches from Utah’s Wasatch mountains in the east to the Sierra Nevada and Cascade mountains in the west, the population is down about 44% compared to historical records.
“It’s not that they’ve just moved, they are gone all together,” Beever said.
|
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/aug/26/american-pika-vanishing-from-western-us-as-habitat-lost-to-climate-change
|
en
| 2016-08-26T00:00:00 |
www.theguardian.com/9ccc4ace70955e7a4fc1debee450ff6e6557b4361f9e6fbbdf42a74289979803.json
|
|
[
"Dugald Baird"
] | 2016-08-26T13:10:48 | null | 2016-08-24T15:41:48 |
Crash and Pursuit of Happyness actor to join Martin Compston, Vicky McClure and Adrian Dunbar in BBC police corruption drama
|
https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fmedia%2F2016%2Faug%2F24%2Fthandie-newton-line-of-duty-series-four-bbc.json
|
en
| null |
Thandie Newton to star in Line of Duty series four
| null | null |
www.theguardian.com
|
British film star Thandie Newton is to play the antagonist in series four of hit BBC police corruption drama Line of Duty.
Newton will take on the role of Detective Chief Inspector Roz Huntley who faces investigation by the AC12 police unit.
She follows Keeley Hawes, Lennie James and Daniel Mays in playing the target of an AC12 inquiry.
Line of Duty promoted to BBC1 for two more series Read more
Series regulars Martin Compston, Vicky McClure and Adrian Dunbar will all return to the Jed Mercurio drama. Filming starts in Belfast next month.
Facebook Twitter Pinterest Adrian Dunbar, Martin Compston and Vicky McClure in Line of Duty. Photograph: Steffan Hill/BBC/World Productions/Steffan Hill
Newton said: “I watched the last three seasons of Line of Duty with breathless admiration for its creators, both behind and in front of the camera.
“I couldn’t be more thrilled to be joining them now.”
The show sees Newton engaged in a career-defining case, Operation Trapdoor, under intense pressure to catch the culprit and prove herself to her superiors, according to the BBC.
Following conflict with a colleague, it is not long before AC-12 decides to probe her handling of the investigation.
The award-winning series moved to BBC1 after its huge success since launching on BBC2 in 2012.
This third series was the highest-rating BBC2 drama series since the current measuring system began in 2002, with an average of 5.1 million viewers.
|
https://www.theguardian.com/media/2016/aug/24/thandie-newton-line-of-duty-series-four-bbc
|
en
| 2016-08-24T00:00:00 |
www.theguardian.com/71cf5a032bcc0459818333e5d82004c61aaad199f4b3b6c31b2ca1a092559542.json
|
|
[
"Tracy Mcveigh"
] | 2016-08-28T00:51:40 | null | 2016-08-27T23:05:16 |
South Africa’s leading tribal painter Esther Mahlangu has joined Lady Gaga and a luxury vodka brand to raise money for HIV prevention
|
https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fworld%2F2016%2Faug%2F27%2Fartist-esther-mahlangu-lady-gaga-belvedere-vodka-red-aids-south-africa.json
|
en
| null |
Grandmother of African art finds unlikely partner in war on Aids
| null | null |
www.theguardian.com
|
On the outskirts of a sprawling low compound stands a sun-bleached, hand-painted billboard. It welcomes visitors to the village and proclaims: “Esther is here … First lady to travel over sea.”
Esther Mahlangu is indeed here. She is sitting, legs outstretched, on a reed mat lain across a mud floor, painting careful black lines on a rough piece of paper with her chicken-feather paintbrush, inside an open-sided thatched-roof hut. This is the classroom where she teaches young girls, just as her mother and grandmother taught her “long, long ago”, she says.
This culture must not die. Our young people are vandalising our traditions. This is why I try to motivate them Esther Mahlangu
At 82 years old, Mahlangu is not only an artist and teacher, but one of the last skilled custodians of the traditions of the Ndebele people. Her painting uses the pigments of her surroundings: the black comes from the mud in the river; the grey from a tree leaf pounded into paste; and there are five colours to be extracted from the African soil nearby. Shop-bought paints also fill giant well-used pots. She is especially fond of an azure, which can be seen in her wild geometric patterns that adorn every cow dung-plastered surface of the surrounding huts, walls and houses.
One of the most famous artists in South Africa, Mahlangu is a living tourist attraction, although visitors are few and far between in this far-flung village, two hours’ drive from the nearest city. And she is indisputably the most honoured gogo – Zulu for grandmother – of the Ndebele who remain in the Mpumalanga homelands.
The tribe’s numbers have dwindled as young people have departed to look for work in the big South African cities. The scourges of poverty, malaria, Aids and TB have also taken their toll. Mahlangu herself, a widow, has outlived all three of her sons and three of her grandchildren. However, she sees the real risk as the extinction of her tribe’s traditions, and it is that which has driven this little old lady to travel the world pushing Ndebele art internationally, in the hope of making the next generation at home also see its worth.
“This culture must not die,” she said. “Our young people don’t wear the clothes or respect their forefathers, the girls have hair extensions and wear western clothes. This does not make me feel comfortable. They are vandalising our traditions. This is why I talk to them, try to motivate them with my travels and teach them too about Aids.”
Facebook Twitter Pinterest Lady Gaga has promoted Esther Mahlangu’s Belvedere Red bottle. Photograph: The Sydney Morning Herald/Fairfax Media via Getty Images
Along with art, the battle against Aids is Mahlangu’s passion now and the two obsessions have led her into an extraordinary collaboration. As part of a campaign promoted by Lady Gaga, she has just created a classic Ndebele design for a special-edition bottle of Belvedere vodka (Red). Half of the profits will be donated to the Global Fund to be used in tackling HIV/Aids, malaria and TB.
Red’s strategy of partnering with big-name, luxury and designer brands to produce a bespoke product, sales of which generate donations to the fund, has been criticised for being too consumerist. It was set up by Bono’s One charity, but is run separately.
Charles Gibb, president of Belvedere vodka, is happy to acknowledge the PR benefits for his brand, but is also proud of his relationship with the most famous artist of the Ndebele people, whom he calls “a very special woman”.
Under the shadow of 'dirty' HIV, South African children offered a refuge Read more
“For celebrities and artists, it’s as important to do something as much as it is for anyone else,” said Gibb. “And most of them have something they care about. So everyone is tapping into something and at the end of the day it’s people relying on the Global Fund who benefit.”
It’s an unlikely alignment. A little great-grandmother from a yellow-dusted African village and a Polish luxury spirit drunk in some of the world’s more upmarket bars and hedonistic nightclubs. Mahlangu doesn’t drink alcohol and she certainly doesn’t drink vodka.
“I am very proud of her,” says her son, William. “She is our queen, queen of Ndebele, and our happy mascot.”
Mahlangu perches cheerfully on the chair, feet dangling, enjoying the role of dignitary. A tiny woman, her body is from the top of her head to her sandalled feet swamped by strips of beadwork, tapering metal and coloured bands. A heavy wool blanket in bright stripes of primary colours completes her plumage.
In 1986, when she was “discovered” by a passing French art dealer, Aids was still unknown. It is still a taboo subject and Mahlangu will touch only briefly on it but is passionate about educating young people on prevention.
Facebook Twitter Pinterest ‘I love to travel, but I love most to come home’: Esther Mahlangu Photograph: Jonx Pillemer/(RED)
In Weltevreden clinic, the local health centre, there are signs already of prevention. They have not seen a baby born with HIV since 2008. “It’s very different now, less people are dying,” said Sister Bathabile, who runs the clinic for a population of 9,500, of whom almost one in 10 are HIV positive. “It’s 15km to the hospital and our clinic is very, very small, too small,” she said, indicating the packed waiting room and queue of patients outside on the grass. “The doctor comes once a week, so it’s not ideal, but we never have a shortage of medicines at least. It is very rare for us to not have antiretrovirals.”
But charities stress that the real danger in South Africa is in slipping backwards. While the government and the Global Fund are supporting HIV/Aids work, the epidemic can be controlled, but eradicating it is still a pipe dream. Mahlangu still hopes it will happen in her lifetime. In October she will be in London for the opening of the British Museum’s exhibition of South African art, which will run from 27 October to 26 February. The only thing that fazes Mahlangu about such a long trip is airport security. Not because of the large bag of mealie meal she insists on carrying with her to combat her fear of being stuck with foreign food, but because of the metal detectors.
“They are always trying to make me take off my wedding bands,” she said, showing the rows and rows of brass rings on her wrists and ankles that are carefully tapered to accentuate the limbs. Given to her on her wedding day by her husband, her neck rings came on the same day from her parents.
“I say no, I cannot, these are from my husband. And oh they get very upset. Maybe they want me to sit on the X-ray machine.” She goes off in gales of laughter.
“No, I love to travel, but I love most to come home again. It makes me happy if people like Ndebele art.” And now, by buying it, people can contribute to battling the scourge that has blighted her homeland’s recent history.
The limited edition Red bottle, designed by Esther Mahlangu, is available from September. For every bottle bought, Belvedere will donate 50% of the profits to the Global Fund, the leading financier supporting HIV/Aids prevention in Africa.
|
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/aug/27/artist-esther-mahlangu-lady-gaga-belvedere-vodka-red-aids-south-africa
|
en
| 2016-08-27T00:00:00 |
www.theguardian.com/012b5084c08f27192495acee02f4c0fb63ad5a87d1029132c034a51d1967b070.json
|
|
[
"Anushka Asthana"
] | 2016-08-30T22:50:15 | null | 2016-08-30T22:40:46 |
Shadow Welsh secretary Paul Flynn wants flat-rate payments to replace ‘complex and tedious’ system brought in after the expenses scandal
|
http%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fpolitics%2F2016%2Faug%2F30%2Fcorbyn-ally-calls-for-mps-expenses-to-be-paid-automatically.json
|
en
| null |
Corbyn ally calls for MPs' expenses to be paid automatically
| null | null |
www.theguardian.com
|
A member of Jeremy Corbyn’s shadow cabinet has described parliamentary expenses as an “unnecessary chore” that should be scrapped and replaced with an automatic payment for MPs.
Paul Flynn, the shadow leader of the House of Commons who has the expenses system within his brief, said the process involved “hours of tedious, frustrating trawling through a bureaucratic morass of rules that are complex and tedious”.
After the duck house … where MPs’ expenses went next Read more
He said trying to improve the system would be like “polishing dung” and dismissed the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (Ipsa) as a “bureaucratic ornament”.
Flynn, who is also shadow Welsh secretary, told Labour MPs about his idea by email but said he was speaking in a personal capacity. A Labour spokesman stressed that the position was not party policy.
In the email Flynn wrote: “Ipsa was misconceived in panic and fear. All parties sought a lifeline to escape from the nightmare of the expenses scandal. Ipsa was the wrong solution.”
He also warned that the watchdog, which was set up in the wake of the MPs’ expenses scandal, which caused widespread anger, costs too much and takes up too much staff time.
Flynn added: “The previous lax rules of the Fees Office invited abuse and were rightly abolished. The most efficient best value alternative would have been to replace expenses at reduced total cost with an automatic allowance. The pendulum swung from permissiveness to minute control of claims large and small. Ipsa is a bureaucratic ornament.”
Instead he suggested a flat-rate allowance calculated on the distance an MP’s constituency is from Westminster, arguing that it would be a better system even if politicians received less money.
He said the new system “robs MPs and our staff of much of their most precious possession – time”, adding: “There is continuing resentment against unnecessary chores that diminish MPs’ ability to do their numberless essential tasks.”
Flynn is a close ally of Corbyn but the controversy is unlikely to dent the chances of the party’s leader retaining his position. A YouGov poll for the Times put Corbyn on 62% with Labour members, while his opponent, Owen Smith, trailed on 38%, excluding the don’t knows. Almost half of respondents said they would support reselections of sitting MPs – a revelation that could further heighten tensions within the party.
Flynn’s email angered a number of Labour MPs who said the idea sent the wrong message out to voters at a time when politicians were already suffering personal attacks.
Chris Bryant told the Telegraph: “Setting up a whole new system all over again and awarding ourselves a flat-rate payment will not go down very well with our constituents.
“If you’re going to get £250 a month whether or not you travel from Westminster to your constituency and back again then that might limit the number of times you travel. This would just reward lazy MPs. We’ve only just had a pay rise and I think to most ordinary voters this will look like another pay rise by any other name.”
Even if Ipsa thinks MPs deserve a fresh pay rise, it is not the time to give it Read more
Ipsa’s new system has been unpopular among MPs but it has also awarded a 10% pay rise followed by a further salary rise of £1,000 in February.
In the MPs’ expenses scandal Flynn was found to have claimed £7,052 for a new kitchen, £1,153 for carpets and £1,200 in decoration costs for his London property in 2005, before selling it and moving to a new £275,000 flat.
He was required to repay more than £2,000 for mortgage interest payments following the scandal.
Responding to Flynn’s comments, the Lib Dem’s Tom Brake said: “With this kind of cloudy thinking on political transparency we would call for Paul Flynn to resign from the shadow cabinet but that’s not as big a thing as it used to be.”
|
http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2016/aug/30/corbyn-ally-calls-for-mps-expenses-to-be-paid-automatically
|
en
| 2016-08-30T00:00:00 |
www.theguardian.com/6d2f468a1b61be3e141426e234cd0bd4c510d0c44f5eb942d98540fdd0028549.json
|
|
[
"Anna Tims"
] | 2016-08-26T13:30:07 | null | 2016-07-22T22:44:23 |
These properties from Northumberland to Devon offer ample inspiration for the creatively inclined
|
https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fmoney%2Fgallery%2F2016%2Fjul%2F22%2Fhomes-for-artists-in-pictures.json
|
en
| null |
Homes for artists - in pictures
| null | null |
www.theguardian.com
|
Duns, Berwickshire
The vaulted, glass and timber annexe in the garden would make a self-contained artist’s eyrie flooded with natural light. On the market for offers over £350,000, the former lodge house has been expensively renovated and has almost three acres. There are two bedrooms and a shower room in the main house – a third is across the lawn in the annexe. Strutt & Parker , 0131 718 4488
|
https://www.theguardian.com/money/gallery/2016/jul/22/homes-for-artists-in-pictures
|
en
| 2016-07-22T00:00:00 |
www.theguardian.com/a836e041cdbbeaf0f9c23321599ab47db1b547d1e6348f5970c9d7196b5b84cc.json
|
|
[] | 2016-08-29T08:49:55 | null | 2016-08-29T07:00:54 |
My job title sounds wishy-washy even to me – but it’s important to persuade companies to behave ethically. Which they will, if it makes them money
|
https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fcommentisfree%2F2016%2Faug%2F29%2Fsecret-life-corporate-responsibility-director.json
|
en
| null |
The secret life of a corporate responsibility director: I point businesses towards their moral compass
| null | null |
www.theguardian.com
|
My full email signature reminds me that I am a corporate social responsibility director. Don’t know what it means? Me neither. But Googling various definitions of the constituent words of my job title tends to sees me through to until 09.12am each morning. I’ll work it out, eventually.
Theresa May promised to tackle corporate atrocities. Now she must keep her word | Peter Frankental Read more
This isn’t how it was meant to be. I wanted to present Match of the Day. Thank goodness that the university careers department put me on the straight and narrow. Apparently there was no vacancy for being Adam Ant, either.
I couldn’t hack working in international development. Twelve months in West Africa in the early 1990s soured my Live Aid-fuelled desire to work in foreign aid. There followed a traverse through an internship and on to a couple of jobs in human resources, before I stumbled into my current role in the early 2000s.
By 09.13am I’ve nearly figured out what I am supposed to be working on. This usually involves trying to convince everyone else in the business to do things they don’t really want to because “it’s the right thing to do”. Not all companies are naturally imbued with a moral compass. Historically, they have been asked to deliver products or services, ensure employment for people and make money; there’s been little pressure to do any of this in a specific way.
Conversations often go something like this: “Perhaps we should do our bit to minimise global warming by setting carbon reduction targets that are based on the recommendations of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change?” “Sounds expensive. Will we have to pay a consultant to calculate that? Will we meet three-year payback on capital investments? Will it give us any marketing advantage? Can we pass on the cost to the consumer somehow?”
“Or maybe we should begin to explore possible human rights, child labour or modern slavery risks in our supply chains?” “Hmm… sounds like we might need to add headcount, and there’s no budget until the new financial year.”
The hard truth is that businesses invariably want to explore any potential commercial benefit of more ethical operations
You’d be forgiven for thinking it all sounds a bit wishy-washy, but corporate responsibility and sustainability are increasingly serious issues to businesses, and the wider public, apparently. Research suggests that up to 60% of consumers would pay more for environmentally or socially responsible products. Interestingly, the proportion of people who actually pay more for these products is significantly lower than those who say they will. I know of a leading American company that bases their investments on 15% of their target market paying more for a product with a positive sustainability story. I’m also aware that the so-called “discount” retailers have been aggressively recruiting CRS teams in recent years. This isn’t just for affluent mums to get excited about when they put their Essential Waitrose kaffir lime leaves in the boot of their Range Rover – this is mass market.
The idealists in the industry (and there are many) operate under the illusion that businesses should adopt full-scale sustainable practices overnight. I think it’s a naive view of how things work. While there are a small number of organisations that have been able to adapt their business models or products relatively quickly, for the vast majority it is inconceivable.
Success is achieved less through big wins and enthusiastic approval, but via little nudges and passive acquiescence. “Did they say yes?” “Well, they didn’t say no.” For all the time I’ve worked in the industry, I can’t remember a success that was achieved because anyone ever wanted to operate more responsibly or to be more sustainable. The victories have been about managing risk, protecting or enhancing brand reputation, saving money, competitive advantage, a created fear of inaction or, simply, grinding people down. It’s nudges, pokes, prompts, subtleties – and more nudges.
The cold hard truth is that businesses will invariably want to explore any potential commercial benefit of more ethical operations, looking at opportunities to “sell” sustainability either by charging a slight premium (“renewable only” energy tariffs) or by outcompeting a rival (two bars of chocolate at the same price, but one is Fairtrade). But ultimately, it boils down to whether operating sustainably pays.
The troubling evolution of corporate greenwashing Read more
I’ve heard people say that companies don’t need to be doing that much to operate more sustainably, as long as they aren’t doing nothing. These people tend to be rewarded based on their organisation’s financial performance only. Their holidays and kids’ Christmas presents are dependent on them making money for their employer. You could argue that morally they should act, but so should consumers. People say they want more responsibly produced products, but when they get to the tills it’s price that is king.
But it’s OK. We don’t have to move too quickly. It’s not like any of the sustainability issues – a collapse in biodiversity, melting ice, flooding, extreme weather events, drought, modern slavery - are particularly urgent. Let’s see how they play out.
We’re on a journey in this industry. I’m not sure where we’re going. I do know it’ll take us ages to get there, but as long as nobody starts singing Summer Holiday I can probably cope. But, hey, it’s keeping me in a job, so I shouldn’t push too hard. Although I dread the day when climate change is fine, supply chains are all fair, nothing goes to landfill, workers are healthy and safe, pension funds are all responsibly invested and some companies pay a little too much tax. I mean, that sounds great … but what would I do all week?
• Are you a train conductor, a novelist or a headteacher? We want to hear your candid accounts of what work is really like. Find full details on submitting your story anonymously here
|
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/aug/29/secret-life-corporate-responsibility-director
|
en
| 2016-08-29T00:00:00 |
www.theguardian.com/8a26cf4afa41d62924cfb8025fa4cdd4701323b43d27c1b2df01c6b3589b2ae4.json
|
|
[
"Jack Schofield"
] | 2016-08-26T13:25:53 | null | 2016-08-18T08:50:23 |
Esther’s MacBook Air has died and would cost too much to repair. She’s thinking of buying a more affordable Windows laptop to replace it, but which one should she choose?
|
https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Ftechnology%2Faskjack%2F2016%2Faug%2F18%2Fshould-i-replace-a-macbook-air-with-a-windows-laptop.json
|
en
| null |
Should I replace a MacBook Air with a Windows laptop?
| null | null |
www.theguardian.com
|
My first ever laptop was a MacBook Air. However, the logic board stopped working, and Apple was going to charge $600 to fix it. Technicians have told me it is not worth fixing. At this point in time I cannot afford to buy a new MacBook, so which PC laptop would you recommend? I am a third year social work student, and I won’t really be carrying it to class: it will mostly be used at home. I don’t run any special applications, and my budget is less than $1,000. Esther
If you have $1,000 to spend, then you can probably get a new 11in MacBook Air for $899 or a 13in MacBook Air for $999. You could even get a $1,099 13in MacBook Pro for less, if you look for discount offers on Amazon or at a local store. Or you could get a Mac Mini and add your own keyboard and screen for less than $1,000, though you would lose the portability of a laptop.
First, check with your university or college to see if you qualify for any educational discounts on Apple products. Next, look at refurbished and second-hand models. These tend to be expensive – Macs hold their value well – but you may get some of that back if you eBay your broken MacBook Air for “spares or repair”.
While you can afford $899 for an 11in MacBook Air, that’s the minimum price. Expanding the memory to the recommended 8GB adds $100, while three years of Apple Care support would add another $249, bringing the total to $1,248. For this price, you could buy five low-end Windows laptops and not worry about them breaking.
However, this not a particularly good time to buy a Mac, because the current line-up is rather old and, despite last year’s refreshes, needs updating. The 13in MacBook Pro, mentioned above, hasn’t been redesigned since 2012, and the Mac mini design dates from 2010. The 11in MacBook Air still has a resolution of 1366 x 768 pixels, with Mac fans waiting for Apple Retina screens. Except for the overpriced ($1,299) MacBook, the MacRumors Buyer’s Guide rates them all “Don’t Buy”.
The shortage of new models seems to have depressed Mac sales in the USA, but you can expect an upsurge when Apple rolls out some new ones, or just refreshes the old ones. After that, you may be able to pick up an older MacBook for less.
Pro vs Air
The MacBook Air is aimed at people who need portability, and its performance is compromised. If you don’t need the portability, then I’d generally recommend a MacBook Pro instead. And while the cheapest non-Retina 13in MacBook Pro can justifiably be dismissed for being overpriced and out of date, it does have some advantages. It’s the only surviving MacBook where you can easily replace the memory, the battery and the hard drive, and I think it’s the only one that still has a proper Ethernet port, Firewire, and a built-in DVD drive.
With a 13in MacBook Pro, you can upgrade the memory for very little cost. You can swap the DVD drive for an SSD (solid-state disk), and replace the battery and the logic board if they fail. Of course, if you can’t do those things yourself, a repair shop will do the job, and you won’t be wholly dependent on Apple.
The 13in MacBook Pro’s reparability means it could outlast today’s soldered down, sealed-box designs.
As you have only used a Mac, I’d urge you to stick with Mac if possible: people generally like what they know. Even if, one day, you came to prefer Windows 10, you would still have had to learn new ways do lots of things.
Windows alternatives
There are two obvious approaches. The first would be to buy a very cheap Windows laptop to tide you over. In this case, your long-term aim would be to buy another Mac when new models appear and/or your finances improve. The second would be to buy a more powerful Windows laptop to use for several years.
Very cheap Windows laptops tend to have Intel Atom Z3735F or similar Pentium/Celeron processors, 2GB of memory, and 32GB eMMC flash drives (roughly the equivalent of an SD card, not an SSD). An example is the Lenovo IdeaPad 100S with an 11.6in screen, available from Amazon.com for $149.65. Alternatives include the Asus EeeBook X205TA, which I’ve seen as low as $140, and the HP Stream 11, which you can get for around $179 from Wal-Mart etc. There’s also an HP Stream 13 with a 13.3in screen.
These 2GB laptops are the modern equivalent of netbooks, designed for casual use. They are much less powerful than your MacBook Air, but they can still run Microsoft Office – which you should be able to get free, as a student – and handle web browsing and email. Although they are short of storage space, you can add a 32GB or 64GB SD card, and you can save files to a cloud drive. Microsoft OneDrive access is built in, but you can use Apple’s iCloud, if you already have that.
For a little more money, you could get a Windows 10 detachable or two-in-one with a touch-sensitive screen. These work as both laptops and tablets, running tablet apps downloaded from the Windows Store. I like the Asus T100Chi as it’s better made than most similar machines and has a “Full HD” touchscreen (1920 x 1200 pixels) for $188.24. The HP Stream X360 is an alternative at $262.92.
If you shop around, you can find plenty of similar machines from Asus, HP and Lenovo with 11.6in, 13.3in, 14in and 15.6in screens. The “best buy” may be whatever’s on special offer this week.
Windows 10 laptops
“Proper” Windows laptops have at least 4GB of memory (which is fine for Windows 10), faster Intel Core processors, and either an SSD or a traditional 500GB or 1TB hard drive. These will perform more like your MacBook Air. They will run several programs at once, and support many more browser tabs without slowing down.
They are also, of course, more expensive, but you will have to balance the price difference. For example, the Asus Zenbook UX305UA (or CA) is arguably a better laptop than the MacBook Air: you get a newer, better processor (2.3GHz Core i5-6200U), a better screen with touch sensitivity, 8GB and a 256GB SSD for around $750, where the 13in MacBook Air costs $1,119. But if you’re paying $750, you’re not far off the price of a low-end Mac.
A compromise might be something like a Lenovo Yoga 710 with 11.6in Full HD screen, 4GB of memory and 128GB SSD for $499. There are lots of versions of the Yoga 700 and HP Pavilion 13 around, and you can often pick up bargains.
If you are willing to move up to a less-portable 15.6in screen, the Asus X555LA is good value and looks quite MacBook-like. You get an Intel Core i3-5020U processor, 4GB of memory (expandable), a 1TB Hard Drive and DVD for $315.36. Again, there are several other models with slightly different specifications.
None of these laptops is as well made as a MacBook, and the trackpads and keyboards are rarely more than average, and they don’t run macOS. However, when at home, you can raise the screen to an ergonomic height and use them with an external USB keyboard and mouse. In practical terms, they’ll do the same job for a fraction of the price.
Have you got another question for Jack? Email it to Ask.Jack@theguardian.com
|
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/askjack/2016/aug/18/should-i-replace-a-macbook-air-with-a-windows-laptop
|
en
| 2016-08-18T00:00:00 |
www.theguardian.com/098ddabfac6fb559bb05c947a2dfa5a147011fce734e1a0d78bba0880834b0fe.json
|
|
[
"Jacob Steinberg",
"Dominic Fifield",
"Stuart James",
"Louise Taylor",
"Ed Aarons"
] | 2016-08-31T08:52:56 | null | 2016-08-31T08:46:41 |
Rolling report: Join Jacob Steinberg on the final day of the transfer window as Jack Wilshere heads for the exit at Arsenal while Shkodran Mustafi is set to arrive
|
https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Ffootball%2Flive%2F2016%2Faug%2F31%2Ftransfer-deadline-day-news-jack-wilshere-shkodran-mustafi-and-more-live.json
|
en
| null |
Transfer news: Leicester agree £30m Slimani deal, Brahimi to Everton - live!
| null | null |
www.theguardian.com
|
04:33
Alan Pardew’s attempts to refresh his Crystal Palace squad, and reinvent the team’s style of play, have already seen him given the leeway to shatter the club’s transfer record twice this summer, first to sign Andros Townsend and then Christian Benteke. Add Steve Mandanda, James Tomkins and Loic Remy to the recruitment drive and this is already arguably the strongest squad Palace have ever had.
Yet the club expect at least two more arrivals on deadline day, with Jack Wilshere’s potential loan move from Arsenal the most mouth-watering prospect. The England midfielder has offers from virtually half the Premier League to consider - Arsenal will not countenance him moving to a direct rival for a top four place - as well as Roma, Celtic and Valencia from abroad. But, with a young family, he may be more enticed by the prospect of moving to Palace, Bournemouth or Watford.
The south London club are privately hopeful a deal will be concluded today and, with Yohan Cabaye having withdrawn from the France squad with a knee injury which is still being assessed, he will be needed in a side desperately lacking in creativity. Palace are also hopeful of securing Charlton’s highly rated young winger, Ademola Lookman, and retain an interest in Tomas Rincon at Genoa.
There will be departures, too. Jordon Mutch could replace the outgoing Jeff Hendrick at Derby County, while Keshi Anderson is joining Bolton on loan and will be followed by other youngsters, Sullay Kaikai and Hiram Boateng, in seeking first-team football elsewhere. Luke Croll could also join Exeter and Jonny Williams could be heading back to Ipswich on loan.
|
https://www.theguardian.com/football/live/2016/aug/31/transfer-deadline-day-news-jack-wilshere-shkodran-mustafi-and-more-live
|
en
| 2016-08-31T00:00:00 |
www.theguardian.com/047fc0443cd906170334073b7ead8914565119ba9fd1f5d44d3b6d7b900f6fde.json
|
|
[
"Samuel Gibbs"
] | 2016-08-26T13:26:53 | null | 2016-08-23T08:45:43 |
Sleekly designed air purifier and bladeless fan removes pollutants from your surroundings, quickly bringing respite from hay fever and other allergies
|
https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Ftechnology%2F2016%2Faug%2F23%2Fdyson-pure-cool-link-review-fan-clean-air-purifier.json
|
en
| null |
Dyson Pure Cool Link review: a fan that blows clean air in your face
| null | null |
www.theguardian.com
|
Dyson’s first Internet of Things fan, the Pure Cool Link, is also an air purifier that claims to be able to turn your pollution- or pollen-filled rooms into clean, hay-fever-free zones within minutes.
It’s the first in the new range of Link devices, which have Wi-Fi and connect to Dyson’s Link app on Android or iOS, allowing remote control, monitoring and information.
What does it do?
Facebook Twitter Pinterest The glass HEPA filter sits around the outside of the fan’s central column for easy removal. A strip of activated carbon on the inside takes care of chemicals and smells. Photograph: Samuel Gibbs for the Guardian
The theory behind the filtration is really quite simple. The Pure Cool Link pulls air through a fine mesh filter and fires it out through one of the company’s air multiplier fan designs.
The 360-degree glass HEPA filter can capture up to 99.95% of pollutants - anything over 0.1microns. In the air trapped in the filter there is pollen, spokes, smoke, dust and other irritants. The filter also has activated carbon, similar to that used in cooker hoods, to trap any chemicals in the air, thus removing smells and pollutants.
The cleaned air is then piped through to the paperclip-like loop, directing the air forward with force and sucking air through the back of the loop as it does so, amplifying the airflow.
Controls + App
Facebook Twitter Pinterest The small remote is easy to use and convenient, but all of its functions are also replicated by the Dyson Link app. Photograph: Samuel Gibbs for the Guardian
There are two ways to control the Pure Link Cool. As with every other Dyson fan, there’s a small infrared remote for turning on the fan, increasing or decreasing its power, setting it to oscillate or operate on a timer. There’s also a button for putting it into night mode, which limits the fan strength to four or less and dims the LED display on the front.
Pressing the “auto” button allows the fan to control itself in response to the quality of the air in the room at the time, turning on and cleaning the air when required.
If you choose to the connect the fan to Wi-Fi – you do not have to – you can also control it using the Dyson Link app for Android or iOS. The app provides information on filter life, telling you when you need to change it – which is roughly once a year depending the quality of air in your house – and set schedules for it to run on a daily or weekly basis.
Facebook Twitter Pinterest The Dyson Link app provides all the information you might need about your purifier and allows remote operation from anywhere with an internet connection. Photograph: Samuel Gibbs for the Guardian
Users can also get an instant reading of the air quality around the fan and the air quality outdoors, and a chart showing air quality throughout the day or week and how often the purifier was active. There are also air quality targets that you can change, grouped into “good quality”, “sensitive to particles and pollutants” and “very sensitive to particles and pollutants”, which the machine responds to when automatically cleaning the air.
Operation
Facebook Twitter Pinterest Setting up the Pure Cool Link is pretty straightforward using the Dyson Link app with a step-by-step guide. Photograph: Samuel Gibbs for the Guardian
Using it is incredibly simple. Put it in your desired spot, plug it in, connect it to Wi-Fi using the app, which runs through a quick step-by-step guide then either hit the button the remote to set the fan in motion or switch it into automatic.
As a purifier it works very well. It’s quite robust, so moving it from place to place –say in the living room in the during the day and bedroom at night – isn’t a problem. Appreciatively clearing a small living room of pollen for a hay fever suffer took only around 20 minutes or so and with the purifier set to automatic, it maintained a pollen-free haven even at the heights of suffering.
It also removed smells quite effectively and while kept under level four out of 10 fan speed, was quiet enough to not disrupt TV watching or similar. There were occasions where the fan would kick up to level six or so, if not put into night mode, which made hearing dialogue difficult without high volumes.
Facebook Twitter Pinterest The small screen on the base shows the fan speed, timer duration, whether the Pure Cool Link is in automatic or connected to Wi-Fi. Photograph: Samuel Gibbs for the Guardian
As a fan the Pure Cool Link isn’t as effective as the Dyson’s other models. At the same fan speed it seems to push a smaller volume of air, meaning that to cool you from across the room requires it to be turned up pretty high. On level 10, the airflow is relatively strong, but it makes a lot of noise doing it, making it hard to do anything else in the room at the same time. It cannot compete with the airflow of an old Panasonic 60cm, high-quality bladed fan for air flow.
Observations
Facebook Twitter Pinterest Two small buttons, one either side of the fan, depress to unclip the top loop from the base for cleaning and changing the filter. Photograph: Samuel Gibbs for the Guardian
Changing the filter is a two-second job. Just unclip the loop using the side buttons, lift the metal sheath and slot another filter over it
It’s a statement piece of furniture in a room as much as a purifier
The remote magnetically attaches to the top of the fan when not in use
The remote is very much line of sight, more so than other Dyson fans
Like most other Dyson products the fan’s noise is as pleasant as a fan can get, but still blocks out other wanted sound
The base doesn’t tilt
The airflow is more targeted and directional than a traditional fan
There’s only so much cooling a fan without air conditioning is capable of
The air quality information is detailed enough to spot that the pollution levels in the front room increase when cars are driving past in the morning and evening commutes
Price
Facebook Twitter Pinterest When not in use the remote attaches to the top of the fan via magnets for safe keeping. Photograph: Samuel Gibbs for the Guardian
The Dyson Pure Cool Link purifier fan costs £350 for a circular desk model and £450 for the larger oval tower as tested here, which places it at the high end of the market, in-line with the company’s other fans, heaters and humidifiers. Air purifiers are available from around £50 and up.
The £50 filter will need to be changed once a year when the fan is run for 12 hours a day, of which the machine will notify users through the app and display.
Verdict
The Dyson Pure Cool Link is a premium air purifier and fan that delivers. The merits of air purification and the need for it in British homes can be debated, but there’s no doubt the purifier works. It rapidly cleans the air in any room you put it in, keeps it clean and provides much needed respite for allergy suffers, particularly in the summer months.
It isn’t the best fan in the world, though, making a significant amount of noise when pushed to the limit, but is pretty quiet at low levels and easily quiet enough to not disrupt my sleep.
The connected app is really interesting, and gives you a visual readout of what it’s been doing all day when left in automatic, while the small hand remote makes controlling it from bed or the sofa easy.
It’s certainly a standout statement in any room, but whether that ease of use and design is worth the price depends on how much you value air quality or whether you suffer from allergies. Other purifiers will probably do as good a job for significantly less money, but its likely none do it while looking as good.
Pros: easy to use, easy to clean and change the filter, excellent data read-out, simple remote, automatic monitoring and operation, scheduling, rapid cleaning, doubles as a fan Cons: expensive, can be quite loud when pushed, may not complement your decor
Facebook Twitter Pinterest The turbine-like fan that sucks air in through the filter and fires it up through the loop. Photograph: Samuel Gibbs for the Guardian
Other reviews
|
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/aug/23/dyson-pure-cool-link-review-fan-clean-air-purifier
|
en
| 2016-08-23T00:00:00 |
www.theguardian.com/3d00d25a35d0832929e5cb8cd2ea1147ca6a85de95afe4d37504cbb0aa9c8f00.json
|
|
[
"Associated Press"
] | 2016-08-31T08:52:50 | null | 2016-08-31T07:46:03 |
Government sends military to north of the country to help in cleanup effort after flooding caused by heavy overnight rain
|
https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fworld%2F2016%2Faug%2F31%2Fdead-nursing-home-typhoon-lionrock-hits-north-japan.json
|
en
| null |
Nine dead at nursing home after Typhoon Lionrock hits Japan
| null | null |
www.theguardian.com
|
At least nine elderly people have been found dead at a nursing home in Japan after heavy overnight rain from Typhoon Lionrock flooded towns across the north of the country.
Police discovered the bodies in the town of Iwaizumi while checking another facility in the neighbourhood, said Takehiro Hayashijiri, an official at the Iwate prefecture disaster management division.
The identities of the victims and other details, including the whereabouts of their caretakers, were not known, Hayashijiri said. The Japanese public broadcaster NHK said the home was for people with dementia.
NHK also reported that authorities found two more bodies in another town in Iwate.
Footage showed the nursing home partially buried in mud, surrounded by debris apparently washed down from the mountains. A car by the home was overturned.
“We’re making a government-wide effort to assess the extent of damage,” the chief cabinet secretary, Yoshihide Suga, said. The government sent the self-defence force, Japan’s military, to help in the rescue and cleanup effort.
Further north, on the island of Hokkaido, at least two rivers broke their banks. The embankments gave way early on Wednesday, NHK said, quoting Japan’s ministry of land, infrastructure and tourism.
Facebook Twitter Pinterest Workers repair a flood-damaged bridge over the Sorachi river in Minamifurano, northern Japan. Photograph: Daisuke Suzuki/AP
Authorities in the town of Minamifurano reported many people trapped in houses and shelters by flooding from the Sorachi river, NHK said.
Typhoon Lionrock made landfall on Tuesday evening near the city of Ofunato, 310 miles (500km) north-east of Tokyo on the Pacific coast, and crossed the main island of Honshu before heading out to the Sea of Japan.
It was the first time a typhoon has made landfall in the northern region since 1951, when Japan’s Meteorological Agency started keeping records.
The scene of large parts of northern Japan covered with muddy water was a reminder of the major tsunami that struck the same region five years ago.
Iwate prefecture, the area hit hardest by the typhoon, is one of the areas still rebuilding from the March 2011 tsunami and earthquake, which killed more than 18,000 people along the north-east coast.
|
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/aug/31/dead-nursing-home-typhoon-lionrock-hits-north-japan
|
en
| 2016-08-31T00:00:00 |
www.theguardian.com/c07f65837d8131beb0d3791d1cf72c6e84416a5bd03269f864fd49f90b6f7d40.json
|
|
[
"Tim Radford"
] | 2016-08-30T16:59:31 | null | 2016-06-02T18:00:15 |
Study raises possibility that two populations of grey wolves, separated by thousands of miles and years, may have resulted in modern domestic dogs
|
https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fscience%2F2016%2Fjun%2F02%2Fdogs-are-twice-as-friendly-to-humankind-as-previously-thought-suggests-study.json
|
en
| null |
Dogs are twice as friendly to humankind as previously thought, suggests study
| null | null |
www.theguardian.com
|
Humankind’s long friendship with the dog may have begun at least twice. Grey wolves in western Eurasia may have started hanging around Stone Age hunter-gatherer clans even before humans and dogs clinched the relationship perhaps 14,000 years ago in east Asia.
New research based on DNA samples from prehistoric hounds, as well as genetic studies of modern dogs and wolves, suggests that two populations of grey wolves – separated by thousands of miles and thousands of years – may have begun the connection that turned Canis lupus into Canis lupus familiaris.
The scientists say in the journal Science that their scenario remains hypothetical. Researchers have been arguing about the origins of the spaniel, the terrier and the collie for more than a decade.
“Animal domestication is a rare thing and a lot of evidence is required to overturn the assumption that it happened just once in any species,” said Professor Greger Larson, one of the authors and the director of the Wellcome Trust palaeogenomics and bio-archaeology research network at Oxford University.
Facebook Twitter Pinterest Scientists show that dogs were domesticated twice - video. Source: University of Oxford
“Our ancient DNA evidence, combined with the archaeological record of early dogs, suggests that we need to reconsider the number of times dogs were domesticated independently. Maybe the reason there hasn’t been a consensus about where dogs were domesticated is because everyone has been a little bit right.”
The domestication of cattle, sheep and goats began with the first farm settlements in the Fertile Crescent at the end of the last Ice Age 10,000 years ago. The only animal known to have been domesticated twice is the pig, in both east Asia and the near East. The same story might be true for Rover and Fido. If so, grey wolves must have started hanging around human settlements for food scraps: the step from scavenger to hunting companion would have taken many generations.
Modern dogs seem to share a common origin: in 2005 geneticists looked at canine DNA and decided that all 400 modern breeds and all 400 million modern dogs had descended from grey wolves that lived in eastern Asia perhaps 15,000 years ago.
But much older bones found with human remains also seemed to show evidence that dogs and humans teamed up in Europe long before that distant befriending event far to the East.
Then Laurent Franz from Oxford University and colleagues began looking at samples of mitochondrial DNA – inherited only from the mother, and therefore a sure guide to ancestry – taken from the bones of 59 European dogs that lived between 3,000 and 14,000 years ago. They also looked at the entire genome of a dog found buried at Newgrange in Ireland, dating from about 5,000 years ago. Then they compared the ancient DNA with that from 2,500 modern dogs and wolves.
This revealed evidence of a separate origin which could not be detected in modern dogs because contact between prehistoric humans from east Asia and west Eurasia would have led to interbreeding, scrambling the genetic evidence. The Oxford scientists, however, could not make the direct link with a different wolf ancestor in the west because this proposed “ghost” population would have long since disappeared.
“Once you have a domestic animal, the wild animal becomes a problem. It’s the same for the aurochs, the wild ancestor of cattle: there’s none of them left either. Or the dromedary camel. We have a very long and proud history of killing all kinds of things,” Larson said. “The population of wolves that gave rise to dogs simply doesn’t exist anymore.”
To settle the question, the researchers are looking at more dog and wolf samples from Stone Age Europe for evidence of a dog-wolf connection that could only have begun in the west.
“That would be the smoking gun. Equally, if we get the early Mesolithic and Neolithic dogs and wolves of western Europe and they look very much like modern dogs then the hypothesis of two origins becomes a lot less tenable. We will have an answer one way or another to this question.”
Besides the dogged pursuit of canine origins, Larson’s lab is working on other domestication puzzles: the story of wild boars and domestic pigs, of jungle fowl and chickens and the first water buffaloes.
“Everything has this unique story,” he said. “Pigs are still the only thing we know where there was more than one.” And though he grew up in a dog-owning family, he does not have a dog himself. “I get asked this every six seconds. I wish the answer was yes.”
|
https://www.theguardian.com/science/2016/jun/02/dogs-are-twice-as-friendly-to-humankind-as-previously-thought-suggests-study
|
en
| 2016-06-02T00:00:00 |
www.theguardian.com/e1d5a6492bb792d9ef95f9493d5c8566576e60e4b7c91543085c91d3d170b44a.json
|
|
[
"Damian Carrington",
"Martin Rees",
"Simon Lewis"
] | 2016-08-29T12:52:07 | null | 2016-08-29T12:00:01 |
Experts say humanity’s impact on Earth now so profound that the Holocene must give way to epoch defined by nuclear bomb tests, plastic pollution and domesticated chicken
|
https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fenvironment%2F2016%2Faug%2F29%2Fdeclare-anthropocene-epoch-experts-urge-geological-congress-human-impact-earth.json
|
en
| null |
The Anthropocene epoch: scientists declare dawn of human-influenced age
| null | null |
www.theguardian.com
|
Humanity’s impact on the Earth is now so profound that a new geological epoch – the Anthropocene – needs to be declared, according to an official expert group who presented the recommendation to the International Geological Congress in Cape Town on Monday.
The new epoch should begin about 1950, the experts said, and is likely to be defined by the radioactive elements dispersed across the planet by nuclear bomb tests, although an array of other signals, including plastic pollution, soot from power stations, concrete, and even the bones left by the global proliferation of the domestic chicken are now under consideration.
The current epoch, the Holocene, is the 12,000 years of stable climate since the last ice age during which all human civilisation developed. But the striking acceleration since the mid-20th century of carbon dioxide emissions and sea level rise, the global mass extinction of species, and the transformation of land by deforestation and development mark the end of that slice of geological time, the experts argue. The Earth is so profoundly changed that the Holocene must give way to the Anthropocene.
“The significance of the Anthropocene is that it sets a different trajectory for the Earth system, of which we of course are part,” said Prof Jan Zalasiewicz, a geologist at the University of Leicester and chair of the Working Group on the Anthropocene (WGA), which started work in 2009.
“If our recommendation is accepted, the Anthropocene will have started just a little before I was born,” he said. “We have lived most of our lives in something called the Anthropocene and are just realising the scale and permanence of the change.”
Prof Colin Waters, principal geologist at the British Geological Survey and WGA secretary, said: “Being able to pinpoint an interval of time is saying something about how we have had an incredible impact on the environment of our planet. The concept of the Anthropocene manages to pull all these ideas of environmental change together.”
Facebook Twitter Pinterest High levels of nitrogen and phosphate in soils, derived from artificial fertilisers, could be taken as evidence of the onset of the Anthropocene. Photograph: Pascal Rossignol/Reuters
“The Anthropocene marks a new period in which our collective activities dominate the planetary machinery,” said Prof Chris Rapley, a climate scientist at University College London and former director of the Science Museum in London. “Since the planet is our life support system – we are essentially the crew of a largish spaceship – interference with its functioning at this level and on this scale is highly significant. If you or I were crew on a smaller spacecraft, it would be unthinkable to interfere with the systems that provide us with air, water, fodder and climate control. But the shift into the Anthropocene tells us that we are playing with fire, a potentially reckless mode of behaviour which we are likely to come to regret unless we get a grip on the situation.” Rapley is not part of the WGA.
Martin Rees, the astronomer royal and former president of the Royal Society, said that the dawn of the Anthropocene was a significant moment. “The darkest prognosis for the next millennium is that bio, cyber or environmental catastrophes could foreclose humanity’s immense potential, leaving a depleted biosphere,” he said.
The Anthropocene epoch could inaugurate even more marvellous eras of evolution Read more
But Lord Rees added that there is also cause for optimism. “Human societies could navigate these threats, achieve a sustainable future, and inaugurate eras of post-human evolution even more marvellous than what’s led to us. The dawn of the Anthropocene epoch would then mark a one-off transformation from a natural world to one where humans jumpstart the transition to electronic (and potentially immortal) entities, that transcend our limitations and eventually spread their influence far beyond the Earth.”
The evidence of humanity’s impact on the planet is overwhelming, but the changes are very recent in geological terms, where an epoch usually spans tens of millions of years. “One criticism of the Anthropocene as geology is that it is very short,” said Zalasiewicz. “Our response is that many of the changes are irreversible.”
Facebook Twitter Pinterest Human activity has left a permanent layer of airborne particulates in sediment and glacial ice. Photograph: Pool/Reuters
To define a new geological epoch, a signal must be found that occurs globally and will be incorporated into deposits in the future geological record. For example, the extinction of the dinosaurs 66m years ago at the end of the Cretaceous epoch is defined by a “golden spike” in sediments around the world of the metal iridium, which was dispersed from the meteorite that collided with Earth to end the dinosaur age.
For the Anthropocene, the best candidate for such a golden spike are radioactive elements from nuclear bomb tests, which were blown into the stratosphere before settling down to Earth. “The radionuclides are probably the sharpest – they really come on with a bang,” said Zalasiewicz. “But we are spoiled for choice: there are so many signals.”
Other spikes being considered as evidence of the onset of the Anthropocene include the tough, unburned carbon spheres emitted by power stations. “The Earth has been smoked, with signals very clearly around the world in the mid-20th century,” said Zalasiewicz.
Facebook Twitter Pinterest Another candidate to be considered as evidence of the Anthropocene is plastic pollution. Photograph: Dimitar Dilkoff/AFP/Getty Images
Other candidates include plastic pollution, aluminium and concrete particles, and high levels of nitrogen and phosphate in soils, derived from artificial fertilisers. Although the world is currently seeing only the sixth mass extinction of species in the 700m-year history of complex life on Earth, this is unlikely to provide a useful golden spike as the animals are by definition very rare and rarely dispersed worldwide.
In contrast, some species have with human help spread rapidly across the world – the domestic chicken is a serious contender to be a fossil that defines the Anthropocene for future geologists. “Since the mid-20th century, it has become the world’s most common bird, it has been fossilised in thousands of landfill sites and on street corners around the world,” said Zalasiewicz. “It is is also a much bigger bird with a different skeleton than its prewar ancestor.”
The 35 scientists on the WGA – who voted 30 to three in favour of formally designating the Anthropocene, with two abstentions – will now spend the next two to three years determining which signals are the strongest and sharpest. Crucially, they must also decide a location which will define the start of the Anthropocene. Geological divisions are not defined by dates but by a specific boundary between layers of rock or, in the case of the Holocene, a boundary between two ice layers in a core taken from Greenland and now stored in Denmark.
Facebook Twitter Pinterest The domestic chicken is a serious contender to be a fossil that defines the Anthropocene for future geologists. Photograph: Alamy
The scientists are focusing on sites where annual layers are formed and are investigating mud sediments off the coast of Santa Barbara and the Ernesto caves in northern Italy, where stalactites and stalagmites accrete annual rings. Lake sediments, ice cores from Antarctica, corals, tree rings and even layers of rubbish in landfill sites are also being considered.
Once the data has been assembled, it will be formally submitted to the stratigraphic authorities and the Anthropocene could be officially adopted within a few years. “If we were very lucky and someone came forward with, say, a core from a classic example of laminated sediments in a deep marine environment, I think three years is possibly viable,” said Zalasiewicz.
Generation Anthropocene: How humans have altered the planet for ever Read more
This would be lightning speed for such a geological decision, which in the past have taken decades and even centuries to make. The term Anthropocene was coined only in 2000, by the Nobel prize winning scientist Paul Crutzen, who believes the name change is overdue. He said in 2011: “This name change stresses the enormity of humanity’s responsibility as stewards of the Earth.” Crutzen also identified in 2007 what he called the “great acceleration” of human impacts on the planet from the mid-20th century.
Despite the WGA’s expert recommendation, the declaration of the Anthropocene is not yet a forgone conclusion: “Our stratigraphic colleagues are very protective of the geological time scale. They see it very rightly as the backbone of geology and they do not amend it lightly,” said Zalasiewicz. “But I think we can prepare a pretty good case.”
Rapley also says there is a strong case: “It is highly appropriate that geologists should pay formal attention to a change in the signal within sedimentary rock layers that will be clearly apparent to future generations of geologists for as long as they exist. The ‘great acceleration’ constitutes a strong, detectable and incontrovertible signal.”
Evidence of the Anthropocene
Human activity has:
Pushed extinction rates of animals and plants far above the long-term average. The Earth is now on course to see 75% of species become extinct in the next few centuries if current trends continue.
Increased levels of climate-warming CO2 in the atmosphere at the fastest rate for 66m years, with fossil-fuel burning pushing levels from 280 parts per million before the industrial revolution to 400ppm and rising today.
Put so much plastic in our waterways and oceans that microplastic particles are now virtually ubiquitous, and plastics will likely leave identifiable fossil records for future generations to discover.
Doubled the nitrogen and phosphorous in our soils in the past century with our fertiliser use. This is likely to be the largest impact on the nitrogen cycle in 2.5bn years.
|
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/aug/29/declare-anthropocene-epoch-experts-urge-geological-congress-human-impact-earth
|
en
| 2016-08-29T00:00:00 |
www.theguardian.com/a3044a7b88ccedf39b2b20661a8f9faa3f2ddcb1e5056c2b5b9d94a773de2982.json
|
|
[
"Matt Shore",
"Olly Mann"
] | 2016-08-26T13:25:57 | null | 2016-07-01T04:47:56 |
From the 7th annual VidCon in Anaheim, California, we explore how YouTube has impacted the lives of creators and fans alike
|
https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Ftechnology%2Faudio%2F2016%2Fjul%2F01%2Fvidcon-how-youtube-changed-my-life-tech-podcast.json
|
en
| null |
How YouTube changed my life - Chips with Everything tech podcast
| null | null |
www.theguardian.com
|
From the 7th annual VidCon in Anaheim, California, we explore how YouTube has impacted the lives of creators and fans alike
|
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/audio/2016/jul/01/vidcon-how-youtube-changed-my-life-tech-podcast
|
en
| 2016-07-01T00:00:00 |
www.theguardian.com/1444511f24f7a6da0395ea99c4d9d605446880afc9ed231e3319ee1e4286b403.json
|
|
[
"Helen Davidson"
] | 2016-08-27T00:51:12 | null | 2016-08-27T00:45:00 |
Cartoonist Rights Network International says Mr Eaten Fish’s work pushes through secrecy surrounding detention centre
|
https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Faustralia-news%2F2016%2Faug%2F27%2Frefugee-artist-detained-on-manus-island-wins-international-cartooning-award.json
|
en
| null |
Refugee artist detained on Manus Island wins international cartooning award
| null | null |
www.theguardian.com
|
An Iranian man currently detained in the Manus Island detention centre has won an international cartooning award for courage.
Ali, who goes by the pen name Mr Eaten Fish, has been detained in Australia’s offshore immigration processing centre for more than three years. The 25-year-old suffers from obsessive compulsive disorder and has been assaulted while in the centre.
In giving Ali the award for courage in editorial cartooning, the Cartoonist Rights Network International (CRNI) said his work “pushes through the veil of secrecy and silence and layers of fences in a way that only a talented artist speaking from the inside can”.
Nauru files: leaked reports read aloud in 10-hour vigil outside Australia House in London Read more
“Eaten Fish has been able to keep up a stream of cartoons documenting the unspeakable abuses and excesses of the guards and administrators of the camp,” said the organisation.
“For this he has been the subject of beatings, deprivation of food and, even worse, degrading treatment by the guards. Australia has made publication of negative information about the camp punishable by two years in prison.
“Eaten Fish is one of those whose work as a cartoonist brings to light the horrors that are happening around him. CRNI believes that his body of work will be recognised as some of the most important in documenting and communicating the human rights abuses and excruciating agony of daily life in this notorious and illegal prison camp.”
CRNI is an international human rights organisation with a network of more than 600 illustrators. It seeks to support and defend cartoonists facing censorship, intimidation, imprisonment, violence and death.
It campaigns for protection and freedom of cartoonists, and its annual award seeks to honour an individual for expressing their freedom of speech rights.
“We do not award a cartoon,” the organisation said. “We make no comment on the quality or intent of a specific cartoon. We award a cartoonist under threat or attack.”
Medical experts and advocates have pushed for Ali to be brought to Australia for medical care of his mental and physical illnesses, including post-traumatic stress disorder, OCD and panic attacks.
I've worked in most conflict zones. I've never seen such high rates of trauma as on Nauru | Anna Neistat Read more
More than 30 Australian cartoonists, including the Guardian’s First Dog on the Moon and David Squires, as well as David Rowe, Jon Kudelka, David Pope, Fiona Katauskas and Cathy Wilcox, drew cartoons in support of Ali.
The cartoonist’s Australia-based advocate, Janet Galbraith, who will accept Ali’s award on his behalf, has previously told Guardian Australia she fears for his life.
“He arrived in Manus as a young man who was already quite a vulnerable person and I remember being told by some of the workers there that this guy just doesn’t fit here at all, it’s so dangerous for him,” Galbraith said.
“That has played out. He has severe OCD, he will wash his clothes or body for hours and still feel like it’s disgusting. He will wash himself until he’s bleeding.”
She said Ali has frequently been targeted by some guards and occasionally by other detainees.
The Department of Immigration and Border Protection has defended the care and treatment of Ali in the Manus centre.
|
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2016/aug/27/refugee-artist-detained-on-manus-island-wins-international-cartooning-award
|
en
| 2016-08-27T00:00:00 |
www.theguardian.com/ffba80bb50eb64ed45dc3bf821d69cfa60e46886c7a6902a0dd237390a4a9bb5.json
|
|
[] | 2016-08-28T04:51:40 | null | 2016-08-28T03:01:49 |
Burkina Faso government bans annual beauty contest for being sexist after social media criticism
|
https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fworld%2F2016%2Faug%2F28%2Fmiss-bim-bim-outrage-in-burkina-faso-brings-big-bottom-contest-to-an-end.json
|
en
| null |
Miss Bim Bim: outrage in Burkina Faso brings big bottom contest to an end
| null | null |
www.theguardian.com
|
The government of Burkina Faso has banned an annual beauty contest for women with the biggest buttocks, saying such events are sexist.
Advertisements for this weekend’s third edition of “Miss Bim-Bim”, carrying an image of two fully clothed women with exaggeratedly large behinds, provoked an outcry on social media.
“Our role is to do everything to avoid damaging the image of women,” said Minister Laure Zongo in a statement, adding that social media criticism had persuaded her to act.
The male organiser of the event, Hamado Doambahe, said it aimed to promote a more positive body image for African women and encourage fashion designers to use African costumes.
Introducing Miss Woubi, Ivory Coast's unlikely cross-dressing pageant Read more
Contests like Miss Bim-Bim have been held in other West African countries.
Women’s rights groups have mixed views about the tendency in many African cultures to celebrate women with larger bodies than are typically admired elsewhere.
While they welcome the shift away from the unnaturally thin female shapes promoted by the global fashion industry, they deplore the emphasis on men judging women’s body shapes.
The head of Burkina Faso’s High Council for Communications, Nathalie Some, called for people in advertising, the media and the arts to protect the rights of women and girls.
|
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/aug/28/miss-bim-bim-outrage-in-burkina-faso-brings-big-bottom-contest-to-an-end
|
en
| 2016-08-28T00:00:00 |
www.theguardian.com/ef6ea645b707d823c6e69165eb15cbbbd728a1211aade7748f35d5e7873fe484.json
|
|
[
"Leilani Farha"
] | 2016-08-29T16:52:34 | null | 2016-08-29T15:11:25 |
The villagers of Susiya and the Bedouin are some of the West Bank’s most vulnerable communities. Their fate is in the hands of the UN security council
|
https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fcommentisfree%2F2016%2Faug%2F29%2Fpalestine-evictions-human-rights-susiya-bedouin-un-security-council.json
|
en
| null |
Palestine’s latest evictions are a human rights crisis - world leaders must act
| null | null |
www.theguardian.com
|
Abu Jihad, a Susiya village elder, waits anxiously. His home in the south Hebron hills of the occupied West Bank faces demolition for the third time. Legal options are running out as Israeli authorities proceed with their plans to forcibly evict half the village. Global opinion and pressure have helped keep the bulldozers at bay this time around. So far.
The Palestinian herder community of Susiya was forced out of its century-old village in 1986. Israel declared the area an archaeological site and then handed it over to Israeli settlers. The villagers moved into tents and caves on their own farmland, but were evicted from there as well by the Israeli army in 1991. No reasons were given. They now live on another part of their farmland, sandwiched between a hostile Israeli settlement and one of its outposts.
For several decades now, the villagers of Susiya have lived under the constant threat of becoming homeless once again. Mass demolition of their homes and forced evictions took place in 2001 and 2011. Israel claims it has no planning permits to build on the farmland, but at the same time makes it impossible for Palestinians to obtain permits. Residents of Susiya have applied for permits over the years but each application is met with rejection.
Every week somewhere in the West Bank a family watches while their home is demolished by bulldozers
Susiya’s plight is not an exception. In addition, more than 46 Bedouin communities in the central West Bank – around 7,000 Palestinians – face Israeli pressure to leave their homes. These are among the most vulnerable people in Palestine. Most of them are Palestinian refugees, forced out of southern Israel following the 1948 Arab-Israeli war.
Israel wants much of this land in Palestine for its own settlements – which the international court of justice and the UN security council have repeatedly said are illegal. Not surprisingly, the communities are resisting their expulsion, knowing that without their land, they lose everything. But the Israeli authorities are fighting hard to remove them: the Bedouin are not permitted to build anything on this land – not a hut, school, kindergarten or health clinic – and are denied access to essential services such as electricity and water, on land they have inhabited for generations.
Every week somewhere in the West Bank a family watches while their home is demolished by bulldozers. In 2016 there has been a dramatic rise in forced evictions across the West Bank. The Israeli authorities have already demolished 793 structures – the highest on record. 1,218 Palestinians, including 568 children, have been made homeless.
When help is offered, the donations of tents, water tanks and children’s play equipment are seized or destroyed. Access to grazing land and markets, essential for these herding communities to earn a living, is restricted, irreparably damaging their way of life. The aim and effect of this coercive environment is clear – to make life for Palestinians on the land unliveable.
Israeli rights groups join battle to save symbol of Arab resistance to evictions Read more
When political actions have egregious human rights results they must be addressed as matters of human rights. For Palestinian Bedouin and herder communities, violation of the right to adequate housing and to be free from homelessness and its grave repercussions is a daily threat and a common reality, with no end in sight and no access to effective recourse or remedy.
Two years ago, along with four other United Nations independent human rights experts appointed by the human rights council, I raised the case of the Bedouin with the Israeli government. We urged them to halt the plans to forcibly transfer these already vulnerable people – a serious violation of international law. Despite the seriousness of our concerns, we received inadequate responses and not only have the plans not been halted, the situation has worsened: demolitions of their structures have increased three-fold.
The Bedouins and the villagers of Susiya have been let down by the international community in the past. Their rights to adequate housing and to non-discrimination have been systematically ignored. Today the security council will hear about the serious plight of these communities from the UN’s special envoy to the region. The international community must recognise the grave human rights implications of Israel’s plan to forcibly evict and transfer these communities. Abu Jihad, the other residents of Susiya village and the Bedouin are looking to world leaders to recognise their equal membership in the human family, and to act decisively to guarantee their right to adequate housing and to non-discrimination.
|
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/aug/29/palestine-evictions-human-rights-susiya-bedouin-un-security-council
|
en
| 2016-08-29T00:00:00 |
www.theguardian.com/c9e2f0e39b1d9d5c0feb6c843bc232e2b2fe99e78b11fc15dc8ef31f5950ea0d.json
|
|
[
"Stuart Dredge"
] | 2016-08-26T13:26:13 | null | 2016-07-01T06:00:25 |
New iOS apps of June 2016 include Motion Stills, Splash – 360 Video Camera, Live.ly, Rodeo Stampede, Pixel Cup Soccer 16 and Human Resource Machine
|
https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Ftechnology%2F2016%2Fjul%2F01%2Fbest-iphone-ipad-apps-games-motion-stills-rodeo-stampede.json
|
en
| null |
20 of the best iPhone and iPad apps and games this month
| null | null |
www.theguardian.com
|
From turning your photos into gifs to riding buffalo for a sky zoo, and from shooting virtual-reality videos to learning to code, this month has a varied selection of new apps and games for iOS devices.
As ever, prices are correct at the time of writing, and IAP indicates that an app uses in-app purchases in some way.
If Android is your platform of choice, there’s a separate monthly roundup for that, which can be found here.
APPS
Motion Stills (Free)
Have you been using the Live Photos feature on iOS? Strangely, this app from Google is the first to make it useful, through the way it turns your few-second clips into gifs that can be shared on social networks and messaging apps. Clever, simple and fun.
Splash – 360 Video Camera (Free)
Virtual reality isn’t going to be just about experiencing 360-degree scenes: you may be making your own. Splash is definitely worth trying if you’re itching to get creative with VR, turning your panoramic videos into 3D clips that can be viewed with the Google Cardboard headset. You can also browse the “splashes” of other users from around the world.
Blue Plaques of London (Free)
This official app from English Heritage is a guide to the blue plaques scattered around London explaining where famous historical figures lived. The app will help you find more than 900 plaques, and plan a route to take in the most interesting spots.
Live.ly (Free)
Lip-synching app Musical.ly has become something of a craze on smartphones, but this new spinoff is different: a direct rival for Periscope, YouNow and other live-streaming services. You can use the app to broadcast live video while chatting to viewers. It has rocketed up the App Store chart in its early days.
RunGo (Free + IAP)
Another app designed to help you find your way around a city, although in this case, you’re expected to be running not walking. RunGo is a collection of jogging routes with voice navigation to make sure you don’t get lost, and tools to track your times and calorie-burning.
Box Island (Free + IAP)
There’s a lot of talk about encouraging children to learn to program, and a fair few apps aiming to help them do it. Box Island is the latest: a series of programming puzzles based around slotting commands together in sequences to control the game’s boxy hero. It’s accessible and fun.
Gboard (Free)
Another Google app: this time a keyboard replacement app for iOS. There’s a Google search button built in and, this being 2016, gifs and emoji are brought to the fore as well. The Swype-style “glide typing” is also useful, even if this isn’t the only place you’ll find such a feature nowadays.
Gideon AI – Smart Home (Free)
It’s still early ideas for the idea of a “smart home” to become truly affordable and mainstream, but there are plenty of devices and technologies out there pushing in that direction. Gideon AI is worth a look if you’re ahead of the crowds – it aims to make it easier to manage your connected home.
Toca Life: Vacation (£2.49)
The latest app from children’s developer Toca Boca, this is almost like a virtual doll’s house: a collection of holiday-themed scenes, characters and items that children can play with at will, making up their own stories and even recording them as videos. An open-ended digital toy box, and delightful with it.
Screen: Netflix UK Video Discovery (Free)
Keeping up with what’s new on Netflix can be a difficult task, but if you don’t want to rely solely on the video-streaming service’s own recommendations, this is a handy third-party app to try. “Get rid of the crap, find content you’ll like,” it promises, warning you when shows are about to disappear as well as highlighting new content.
GAMES
Rodeo Stampede - Sky Zoo Safari (Free + IAP)
Aka Crossy Rodeo, with visual inspiration taken from mobile hit Crossy Road, although the game itself is no copycat. You have to lasso and ride a range of animals, hopping from back to back and taming new ones for your “sky zoo”, which you can upgrade as you play.
Pixel Cup Soccer 16 (£2.29)
England may have crashed out of Euro 2016, but if the football bug is still strong with you, Pixel Cup Soccer 16 is a marvellously oldschool arcade game to try. Viewed from side on, it sees you pinging the ball from player to player, with simple controls and retro graphics to enjoy.
CSR Racing 2 (Free + IAP)
The original CSR Racing was a popular and original driving game: short, sharp drag races rather than lengthy lap-fests. The sequel looks bolder and better, with absolutely spiffing graphics, lots of car customisation, and some well-thought-out multiplayer features to keep you competing.
Human Resource Machine (£3.99)
More programming skills here – “programming is just puzzle solving” explains the App Store listing, encouragingly – in a game that sees you solving a series of logic puzzles with your nascent coding skills. Unlike Box Island, this is aimed at all ages and offers some challenging puzzles to figure out.
Lego Star Wars: The Force Awakens (Free + IAP)
Released alongside the console version, this is the latest Lego co-branded game, with the latest Star Wars movie its source. It’s a polished mix of battling and building, with plenty of Legofied characters from the film to play as, and a “season pass” that’ll ensure you get all new levels and characters as they’re released in the coming months.
Pocket Arcade Story (£3.99)
Developer Kairosoft had a cult hit with its Game Dev Story game, which simulated a games development studio. There’s no sequel (yet) but the company’s latest release is in a similar vein. You run an amusement arcade, installing games, keeping customers happy and taking on rival arcades. It’s very addictive.
Adventure Company (Free + IAP)
This is an utter treat for anyone who loves action or RPG games. It sees you creating a party of characters then sending them out to fight, discover ancient relics and level up, with all manner of weapons and enemies to keep the action fresh.
Transformers: Earth Wars (Free + IAP)
Can this be better than the (genuinely great) Angry Birds Transformers game? It’s certainly a faithful take on the universe of the Autobots and Decepticons, as you build a team of robots-in-disguise then send them out to battle, while building up your own fortress.
Sky Force Reloaded (Free + IAP)
You can’t beat a classic scrolling shoot ’em up, and Sky Force Reloaded is one of the best mobile examples of the genre. Crisp, clear visuals and a pulsating soundtrack accompany the expected barrage of bullets, with the ability to collect new planes and upgrade them providing the strategy.
Farm Heroes Super Saga (Free + IAP)
King is still going strong with its “Saga” games, although adding “super” is a new move for the Candy Crush company. This will be familiar to anyone who has played the original Farm Heroes Saga game: swap colourful crops to make matches, while using boosters to help when you get stuck.
That’s our selection, now how about yours? The comments section is open for your thoughts on the apps above, or your recommendations for those we’ve missed.
|
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/jul/01/best-iphone-ipad-apps-games-motion-stills-rodeo-stampede
|
en
| 2016-07-01T00:00:00 |
www.theguardian.com/ceb0d77c5ddaf0f6268a83378a4ce6a309927bd91f4ae599047f0d5b43efa846.json
|
|
[
"Dawn Foster"
] | 2016-08-26T13:13:04 | null | 2016-08-26T06:10:11 |
If the government truly cared about value for money for taxpayers rather than the profits of private landlords, they’d build social housing
|
https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fhousing-network%2F2016%2Faug%2F26%2Fhousing-benefit-private-rented-sector-dead-money-social.json
|
en
| null |
Housing benefit pumped into the private rented sector is dead money
| null | null |
www.theguardian.com
|
Last year, the government handed £9.3bn in housing benefit to private landlords – almost double the amount spent 10 years ago, according to a survey this week by the National Housing Federation (NHF). The rise is partly down to higher rents and stalled earnings, but also because the number of people in private rented accommodation claiming housing benefit has risen since 2008 from 1 million to 1.5 million.
Why does this matter, if people are being housed? First, cost – in many parts of the UK, the cost of private renting far outstrips the rents offered by local authorities and housing associations. The NHF estimates that if those claiming housing benefit in private rentals were in affordable housing, taxpayers would save £1.5bn a year. And many of those taxpayers claim housing benefit themselves.
But housing benefit pumped into the private rented sector is also dead money. Paying rent to your local council means the money is reinvested, in housing and other services. As long as the house stands, the revenue raised benefits the community. Paying rent to a private landlord lines their pockets, contributing to the upwards transfer of wealth from the poorest to the richest. It’s an inefficient, short-term way to spend state cash.
Private rental sector is the 'new home of poverty' in the UK Read more
Landlord lobbying groups, acting in the interests of those landlords with multiple properties who view themselves as entrepreneurs, always argue their members are philanthropic, providing a service out of the kindness of their hearts, and are a vital part of the economy. In reality, renting property privately is a money spinner, and each day I am inundated with tales of the miserly and dangerous ways landlords have fitted out properties and their endless refusal to fix basic problems.
But the rent continues to flow. Many people on housing benefit feel they have no choice – there are landlords who won’t let to anyone in recipient of benefits, or with children, and the fees at the beginning of tenancies are often so exorbitant that people in poverty simply cannot move.
For many people this situation is likely to get worse. This week the Fabian Society reported that poorer renters are at risk of huge shortfalls in rent, as the gap between housing benefit and mid-market average housing costs widens. The shortfall at the moment stands at £35, but that is projected to rise to £108 by 2020 if benefit rates do not change.
People face two options: eviction, or cutting down on essentials. The problem is that many people are already paring down their consumption to levels below the poverty line. One woman I spoke to last year had eaten only sandwiches for weeks, and I’ve learnt to bring coffee to people’s homes when I interview them, as many of my interviewees can’t even afford to turn the kettle on.
The move to private renting as social housing has been depleted is, and always has been, ideologically driven – social housing aims to meet an essential need while reinvesting the rent paid, whereas private renting merely enriches the lives of a small number of people. But now, the claim that private renting is as much of a social good as social housing is revealed to be a lie. When the money stops pouring in and housing benefit dries up, the goodwill of private landlords is tested and often revealed to be finite.
Not everyone can or wants to own their own home – people will always need to rent. But the government can focus on ensuring homes for rent are a good investment, and safe and secure for tenants. If they truly cared about value for money for taxpayers, rather than the profits of a tiny number of private landlords, they would focus on building social housing.
Join the Guardian Housing Network to read more pieces like this and follow us on Twitter @GuardianHousing to keep up with the latest social housing insight and analysis.
|
https://www.theguardian.com/housing-network/2016/aug/26/housing-benefit-private-rented-sector-dead-money-social
|
en
| 2016-08-26T00:00:00 |
www.theguardian.com/25d69c0193ede205941ef2c22db399da37e225ece7229a08696e0af3ebcf9f8b.json
|
|
[
"Greg Wood"
] | 2016-08-29T18:52:29 | null | 2016-08-29T18:21:34 |
Silvestre de Sousa was made favourite to win the jockeys’ championship after Jim Crowley drew a blank at Epsom
|
https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fsport%2F2016%2Faug%2F29%2Fsilvestre-de-sousa-jockeys-title-race-championship-epsom-jim-crowley-horse-racing.json
|
en
| null |
Silvestre de Sousa rides 245-1 four-timer to regain lead in title race
| null | null |
www.theguardian.com
|
The market leaders in the betting for this season’s Flat jockeys’ championship swapped places for the second time in three days on Monday, as Silvestre de Sousa and Jim Crowley went head-to-head on the bank holiday card at Epsom Downs on what proved to be a one-sided afternoon. De Sousa started the day two winners behind Crowley, but surged into the lead with victories in the first four races.
El Astronaute, an 11-4 chance for the Indigenous Handicap over five furlongs, was the only favourite in De Sousa’s four-timer, which also included wins on Hurricane Rush (11-4), Ancient Astronaut (4-1) and Goodwood Zodiac (5-2) at combined odds of 245-1. Crowley, who had replaced De Sousa as the title favourite on Monday morning after riding 20 winners in a fortnight, drew a blank from five rides at Epsom, including a half-length second to Hurricane Rush aboard the 6-5 favourite, Firefright.
De Sousa was odds-on for last year’s title from early July, when Ryan Moore sustained an injury which kept him out of action until September. Richard Hughes’s decision to retire from the saddle a couple of weeks later allowed the Brazilian rider to coast home 36 winners clear of his nearest rival, with 132 victories in all.
This year’s riders’ championship, however, seems sure to be much closer and could yet run all the way to Champions Day at Ascot on 15 October, which marks the official conclusion of the title race.
De Sousa, two clear of his main rival with 81 winners, is now odds-on once again to retain the championship with most bookmakers, although William Hill still offer even money. Crowley, meanwhile, is an 11-10 chance with Stan James, creating a 97.5% book at the best prices available about the front two which underlines the nip-and-tuck nature of this year’s race.
“I feel no pressure,” De Sousa said after his third win of the day. “I feel as good as the ride I have. Things are going well, the treble helps and I hope to keep it going.”
Ryan Moore back from injury with a bang aboard Spatial at Newmarket Read more
Jamie Codd, Ireland’s leading amateur rider over jumps, added a victory at the home of the Derby to a record that includes success at the Cheltenham and Aintree Festivals when Hubertas, the 3-1 favourite, took the Amateur Derby over the Classic trip of 12 furlongs.
“It’s great to do this on my first ride here,” Codd said. “When you see it on TV, you don’t think it’s daunting, but when you ride it, there’s a massive pull for the first five furlongs and even the camber in the home straight is quite tricky. I was probably there too soon, but my excuse is I’m a jump jockey.”
Limato, the July Cup winner, has re-emerged as a contender for the Group One 32Red Sprint Cup at Haydock Park on Saturday having seemingly been ruled out by Henry Candy, his trainer, after finishing second in the Nunthorpe Stakes at York earlier this month.
Candy also has Twilight Son, last year’s winner, among the five-day entries for Saturday’s race and the ground at Haydock is likely to determine which of his Group One-winning sprinters lines up. Limato would prefer a sound surface, while Twilight Son likes some cut in the ground and could wait for the Champions Sprint at Ascot in October if the going is too fast this weekend.
“If it came up too firm for Twilight Son and if Limato looked in the sort of form that he could cope with it, then he’d run,” Candy said. “It would be the closest [gap] between races he’s ever attempted.”
Limato was the 3-1 favourite for Saturday’s race when the market opened but was taken out of the betting after his run at York. He is now back in the betting as the 5-1 second-favourite behind Quiet Reflection, the Commonwealth Cup winner at Royal Ascot, at 9-2.
David Wachman, who has saddled the 1,000 Guineas winner in both England and Ireland, said on Monday that he will retire from training at the end of the season.
“After much deliberation, I have decided to hand in my trainer’s licence at the end of this season,” Wachman, who trained Legatissimo to win the 1,000 Guineas at Newmarket last season, said in a statement. “While not taken easily, the decision to retire will allow me to spend more time with my family as well as pursuing various other business interests.”
Wachman, who is 45, started training in 1996 and moved to his current stable near Cashel in 2002 after marrying Kate Magnier, whose father John heads the Coolmore Stud’s racing and bloodstock syndicate. His other big-race winners included Again, in the 2009 Irish 1,000 Guineas, and Bushranger in the 2008 Middle Park Stakes.
“Over the last 20 years I have trained for many wonderful owners and I would like to extend my deepest gratitude and thanks to them as they have been absolutely central to the success that we have enjoyed here,” Wachman said.
“The nature of training is such that you have plenty of ups and downs but I’ve been lucky enough to have many good days and train some top-class horses during that time. Also a big thank you also goes to each and every one of my staff members for their unwavering loyalty, dedication and commitment and I wish them all the very best for future.”
|
https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2016/aug/29/silvestre-de-sousa-jockeys-title-race-championship-epsom-jim-crowley-horse-racing
|
en
| 2016-08-29T00:00:00 |
www.theguardian.com/d428f80e1cc8c4e817fa52a5541d41531ce8ed064f2b045f529db4c2400f1daa.json
|
|
[
"Tom Dyckhoff"
] | 2016-08-31T02:59:53 | null | 2009-02-07T00:01:00 |
Tell us what it's like to live in the pleasant market town
|
https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fmoney%2F2009%2Ffeb%2F07%2Fhertford-hertfordshire-property-homes.json
|
en
| null |
Let's move to ... Hertford, Hertfordshire
| null | null |
www.theguardian.com
|
What's going for it?
No, never thought of living there myself either, to be honest. It's one of those towns whose name precedes it, such as Stafford, or Bedford, perhaps - once mighty enough to have whole shires named after them. These days, though, the name is far, far mightier than the place, now little more than a pleasant market town passed by en route for sexier destinations. Like Corby. Still, good bone structure: a pretty old town in the centre, great commuter links, good schools, a decent restaurant for Friday nights with a babysitter at home. In other words, the perfect spot to settle with kids. Plus you've got to love somewhere with rivers Rib, Beane and Mimram running through it. Mimram! Sounds like a put-upon servant in a Dickens novel.
The case against
Kind of nowhere. Almost invisible centre. Not cheap.
Well connected?
Very. The town's practically small enough to do on foot (don't be lazy). Two stations: Hertford North - south to London Moorgate (40-50 minutes/five to seven trains an hour), north to Stevenage; and Hertford East to London Liverpool Street (53 minutes/half-hourly). The A10 gets you to the M25 in 15 minutes; the A1(M) is eight miles west, the M11 11 miles east.
Schools
One of the draws. Primaries, Hertford St Andrews CofE and Morgans Junior "good", says Ofsted, with Bengeo, Wheatcroft and Mill Mead "good with outstanding features" and St Joseph's Catholic "outstanding". Secondaries: Richard Hale for boys is "good", Simon Balle and The Sele schools are "good with outstanding features".
Hang out at...
The Hillside on Port Hill for veal chops, though many locals vouch for Lussmanns.
Where to buy
The pretty historic centre, especially areas such as Port Hill, or Folly Island for cottagey, well-kept Victorian terraces. Bengeo seems to be where the posh-uns live, and Balls Park and the Riverside for the arrivistes, with not-too-ugly new flats and houses.
Market values
Vast five-bed piles with grounds, £550,000-£1m. Decent three- or four-bed detacheds, £250,000-£550,000. Semis, from £200,000 to £500,000 for large Victorians. Terraces, from £175,000 (postwar/modern) or £210,000 (period) up to £375,000 for large four-bedders. One-bed flats, from £100,000 for a modern block, from £140,000 for a period conversion; two-beds, £155,000-£275,000.
Bargain of the week
Two-bed flat in a low-rise apartment block about 15 minutes' walk from Hertford North, £145,000, with Haart (01707 322222).
Live in Hertford? Join the debate at theguardian.com/money/property
From the streets of Hertford
Jo Stetzel "There's an excellent Thai restaurant (Baan Thitiya), good pubs (White Horse), lovely independent shops. But the trains are in a state."
Liz Cobbold "There are too many hairdressers and beauty parlours - this is footballers' wives' territory, so don't think of leaving home without your make-up."
Tom Williams "We have lovely open spaces all within a few miles of the town (Blakemore Wood) and river walks close by."
Jennifer Runham "It's insular with nothing for young people to do. The Mail is available by the shedload."
• Do you live in Walton-on-the-Naze? Do you have a favourite haunt or pet hate? If so, write, by next Friday, to lets.move@theguardian.com.
• This correction was printed in the Guardian's Corrections and clarification column, Thursday 12 February 2009. The Hillside restaurant on Port Hill, Hertford, closed in 2008.
|
https://www.theguardian.com/money/2009/feb/07/hertford-hertfordshire-property-homes
|
en
| 2009-02-07T00:00:00 |
www.theguardian.com/a5d931f44788f77a5e0457079e1e04b0bc1b5c54b1da841be1ef5e8703864f68.json
|
|
[
"Source"
] | 2016-08-26T13:21:35 | null | 2016-08-23T10:43:11 |
Liverpool manager Jürgen Klopp says the media are ‘obsessed’ with the transfer window, and doesn’t believe in improvement on the training pitch
|
https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Ffootball%2Fvideo%2F2016%2Faug%2F23%2Fliverpool-manager-jurgen-klopp-says-media-is-obsessed-with-transfer-window-video.json
|
en
| null |
Liverpool manager Jürgen Klopp says media is 'obsessed' with transfer window - video
| null | null |
www.theguardian.com
|
Liverpool manager Jürgen Klopp says the media is ‘obsessed’ with the transfer window, and doesn’t seem to believe in improvement on the training pitch. Speaking at a press conference on Monday, Klopp says there is no pressure on Liverpool despite their 2-0 loss to Burnley on Saturday where he says the team didn’t show enough desire in the final third
|
https://www.theguardian.com/football/video/2016/aug/23/liverpool-manager-jurgen-klopp-says-media-is-obsessed-with-transfer-window-video
|
en
| 2016-08-23T00:00:00 |
www.theguardian.com/10125b65c01b9a6d29572918f29f4acbd4600e44dad45ec182a274ef439544dc.json
|
|
[
"Jason Burke"
] | 2016-08-30T20:52:32 | null | 2016-08-30T19:37:52 |
Islamic State news agency reports its spokesman Abu Muhammad al-Adnani was killed surveying operations in Aleppo
|
https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fworld%2F2016%2Faug%2F30%2Fkey-isis-leader-killed-in-syria-jihadi-group-says.json
|
en
| null |
Key Isis leader killed in Syria, jihadi group says
| null | null |
www.theguardian.com
|
Abu Muhammad al-Adnani, one of Islamic State’s longest-serving and most prominent leaders, has been killed in Syria, the group’s Amaq News Agency reported.
The jihadi group’s spokesman was killed “while surveying the operations to repel the military campaigns against Aleppo”, Amaq said on Tuesday. Isis holds territory in the province of Aleppo, but not in the city where rebels are fighting Syrian government forces.
Amaq did not say how Adnani was killed. Isis published a eulogy dated 29 August but gave no further details.
The death is a major blow to Isis. Drone strikes and attrition by other means have cut deep into the senior ranks of the organisation, and very few of the original leadership remain alive.
Senior leaders are difficult to replace, even if some capable commanders remain, and this new casualty underlines the degree to which Isis has been put under pressure in recent months. The group is losing territory, financial resources and key personnel.
Adnani, believed to have been about 40, is a particularly significant loss. The veteran jihadi was the author of a series of declarations and speeches over four years which, particularly over the past 18 months, had gained a significant audience. He was often the face of the militant group, such as when he issued a message in May urging attacks on the United States and Europe during the holy month of Ramadan.
His diatribes were known for their mix of calls to arms that western intelligence officials credit with inspiring a series of lone actors and sympathisers to launch murderous attacks. They also outlined a historical narrative which explained Isis campaigns as the final stages of a millennial battle against apostates and unbelievers.
Adnani also had a key operational role, heading up the “external operations department” of Isis. This was tasked with the international strikes that have killed hundreds in the 26 months since Isis seized the Iraqi city of Mosul and declared the new caliphate, with its leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi as the new caliph. Adnani oversaw a series of operational commands based in Syria and Iraq, which targeted countries around the Islamic world and Europe through the use of Isis recruits from those nations.
A former mason from Idlib province in Syria whose real name was Taha Subhi Falaha, Adnani was a veteran of the Islamic insurgency in the region. He first fought alongside the founders of the group that would evolve into Isis in the aftermath of the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003. Incarcerated for several years and released around 2010 as Isis began its campaign to carve out a new enclave in Iraq, Adnani rose rapidly through its ranks.
Several analysts have suggested that Adnani was being groomed as a potential successor to Baghdadi. A series of photographs showing the spokesman lecturing, holding meetings with commanders and overseeing the training of recruits was published by Isis over recent months in an apparent bid to boost his profile and credibility.
A cult of martyrdom is likely to build around “Sheikh Adnani”, with descriptions of how his body was untouched by the blast or bullets which killed him, and smelt of musk. Such references have been part of the Islamic militant tradition since the war in Afghanistan against the Soviets in the 1980s.
Making Adnani a martyr will not however make up for for the loss of a key operative for Isis, nor obscure the strain the group is under.
Recent advances by the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces, an alliance of Kurdish and Arab militias, and by Syrian rebels backed by Turkey, have made inroads into Isis holdings in Aleppo province, cutting them off from the Turkish border and supply lines along it.
Iraq said in January that Adnani had been wounded in an airstrike in the western province of Anbar and then moved to the northern city of Mosul, the group’s capital in Iraq.
Adnani had been the chief propagandist for the jihadi group since he declared in a June 2014 statement that it was establishing a modern-day caliphate spanning large swaths of territory it had seized in Iraq and neighbouring Syria.
|
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/aug/30/key-isis-leader-killed-in-syria-jihadi-group-says
|
en
| 2016-08-30T00:00:00 |
www.theguardian.com/3e86a80833bedabd2228de68df6875caf1eadf11c40faa31d6448575acfb6873.json
|
|
[] | 2016-08-28T18:52:27 | null | 2016-08-28T18:29:28 |
Brief letters: History of fostering | ‘Moist’ is a winning word | Bertolt Brecht v Brendan O’Carroll | Wrens’ bravery
|
https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Ftv-and-radio%2F2016%2Faug%2F28%2Fguardian-reading-fans-of-mrs-browns-boys-there-are-at-least-two-of-them.json
|
en
| null |
Guardian-reading fans of Mrs Brown’s Boys? There are at least two of them
| null | null |
www.theguardian.com
|
Your article (Barnardo’s reveals stories of Britain’s first foster children, August 26) gives a misleading impression of the origin of fostering, or “boarding out” as it was then more usually known. The practice dates back to at least the 18th century, when it was in use in Ireland and Scotland. Gilbert’s Act of 1782 sanctioned its use for pauper children in England and Wales, and in 1870 its wider adoption by the poor-law authorities received official approval.
Peter Higginbotham
Ilkley, West Yorkshire
• To my late father, being “moist” did not mean being pathetic (Letters, 26 August). He and my mother used to play a word game in which they took turns to nominate the dirtiest word in the English language among the most ordinary of adjectives, and his favourite, “moist”, was a regular winner. To understand why, it should probably be said out loud rather than written and read.
Andrea Morgale
Edgware, Middlesex
• Stuart Heritage may be relieved to discover at least one Guardian reader who finds Mrs Brown’s Boys very funny (Laugh all you like, 27 August). And how can any critic resist the skill of a writer who can turn riotous comedy instantaneously to touching pathos and then cut through it with the killer aside “It’s a man in a dress, for feck’s sake”? Bertolt Brecht? Give me Brendan O’Carroll any day.
Tony Neal
Tealby, Lincolnshire
• Stuart Heritage consistently used the pronoun “we” (“The truth is that we don’t get Mrs Brown’s Boys”). Was this the royal “we”, or was it some attempt at passive shaming? If “we” enjoy it, we’re not worthy Guardian readers? Personally, we think it’s hilarious.
Deanna Westwood
Morton, Lincolnshire
• Jonathan Stanley (Letters, 27 August) asks if anyone else has noticed that wrens are more visible and courageous this year. My wife is much the same as usual.
David Cunliffe
Hanley Swan, Worcestershire
• Yes!
Alison Markillie
Glastonbury
• Join the debate – email guardian.letters@theguardian.com
|
https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/aug/28/guardian-reading-fans-of-mrs-browns-boys-there-are-at-least-two-of-them
|
en
| 2016-08-28T00:00:00 |
www.theguardian.com/88bc635c1814e2814ea9a4c2753b8ed3869a3248e530b12c7572ba7a11b72943.json
|
|
[
"Press Association"
] | 2016-08-30T12:52:39 | null | 2016-08-30T12:23:23 |
Wayne Rooney has announced the 2018 World Cup will be his final tournament with England after he was kept on as captain by new boss Sam Allardyce
|
https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Ffootball%2F2016%2Faug%2F30%2Fwayne-rooney-england-internatioanl-retirement-2018-world-cup.json
|
en
| null |
Wayne Rooney confirms international retirement after 2018 World Cup
| null | null |
www.theguardian.com
|
Wayne Rooney has announced the 2018 World Cup will be his final tournament with England after he was kept on as captain by new boss Sam Allardyce.
Rooney, 30, has led his country since August 2014 and is England’s record goalscorer having registered 53 in 115 appearances.
José Mourinho has revived Manchester United’s winning mentality, says Wayne Rooney Read more
However, after taking over from Roy Hodgson following Euro 2016, Allardyce initially refused to confirm whether the Manchester United forward would keep the armband.
Allardyce also declined to name a captain in his first squad announcement on Sunday night, adding a minor element of intrigue. Question marks over his place in the team also appear to have been answered by the decision and Rooney, preparing for Sunday’s opening 2018 World Cup qualifier in Slovakia, says Russia 2018 is likely to be his last chance to win a major international competition.
Speaking at St George’s Park, Rooney said: “Realistically I know myself that Russia will be my last opportunity to do anything with England. Hopefully I can end my time with England on a high.
“I said before the Euros I enjoyed playing in this team, and that’s the case still. There were some questions about whether I should stop playing, but I am looking forward to getting back on the pitch.
“I made my mind up before the Euros, whether we did well or not, that I was going to continue. I’ve had nothing to think about since then.”
He added: “My mind is made up … Russia will be my last tournament.”
|
https://www.theguardian.com/football/2016/aug/30/wayne-rooney-england-internatioanl-retirement-2018-world-cup
|
en
| 2016-08-30T00:00:00 |
www.theguardian.com/34d537056fad1aa36b02604a5a99ddf6631d71dac7d0323e0b1d7e9b302afa75.json
|
|
[
"Jon Swaine",
"Lauren Gambino",
"Richard Luscombe"
] | 2016-08-26T13:15:14 | null | 2016-08-26T11:12:15 |
Stephen Bannon’s enrollment is apparent violation of crucial swing state’s election law requiring voters to be legal residents of county they register in
|
https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fus-news%2F2016%2Faug%2F26%2Fsteve-bannon-florida-registered-vote-donald-trump.json
|
en
| null |
Trump campaign chief is registered to vote in Florida at unoccupied home
| null | null |
www.theguardian.com
|
Donald Trump’s new presidential campaign chief is registered to vote in a key swing state at an empty house where he does not live, in an apparent breach of election laws.
Stephen Bannon, the chief executive of Trump’s election campaign, has an active voter registration at the house in Miami-Dade County, Florida, which is vacant and due to be demolished to make way for a new development.
“I have emptied the property,” Luis Guevara, the owner of the house, which is in the Coconut Grove section of the city, said in an interview. “Nobody lives there … we are going to make a construction there.” Neighbors said the property had been abandoned for several months.
Bannon, 62, formerly rented the house for use by his ex-wife, Diane Clohesy, but did not live there himself. Clohesy, a Tea Party activist, moved out of the house earlier this year and has her own irregular voting registration arrangement. According to public records, Bannon and Clohesy divorced seven years ago.
Bannon previously rented another house for Clohesy in Miami from 2013 to 2015 and assigned his voter registration to the property during that period. But a source with direct knowledge of the rental agreement for this house said Bannon did not live there either, and that Bannon and Clohesy were not in a relationship.
Bannon, Clohesy and Trump’s campaign repeatedly declined to answer detailed questions about Bannon’s voting arrangements. Jason Miller, a Trump campaign spokesman, eventually said in an email: “Mr Bannon moved to another location in Florida.” Miller declined to answer further questions.
Bannon is executive chairman of the rightwing website Breitbart News, which has for years aggressively claimed that voter fraud is rife among minorities and in Democratic-leaning areas. The allegation has been repeated forcefully on the campaign trail by Trump, who has predicted the election will be “rigged” and warned supporters that victory could be fraudulently “taken away from us”.
Facebook Twitter Pinterest The vacant house under which Stephen Bannon is registered to vote in Florida. Photograph: Richard Luscombe for the Guardian
But it is not clear that Bannon is actually entitled to vote in Florida, one of the most important prizes for Trump and Hillary Clinton in their quest for the 270 electoral votes they need to secure the White House in November’s general election.
Details of the apparent breach of election laws by Trump’s campaign chief came as it was revealed that Bannon was once charged with misdemeanor domestic violence after a violent argument with his first wife. Court documents first obtained by Politico describe how, in 1996, his wife was left with red marks on her neck and wrist after the New Year’s Day argument at their home in Santa Monica, California, which began when she woke early to feed their twin daughters and he “got upset at her for making noise”.
The case was closed after Bannon’s ex-wife failed to appear in court to testify to the accusations. Five months later, she filed to dissolve their marriage. In a police report of the 1996 altercation, she described three or four previous arguments that “became physical”.
Bannon, who only recently came into the Trump camp in a move to reset the ailing campaign, is now under fresh scrutiny over his right to vote.
Under Florida law, voters must be legal residents of the state and of the county where they register to vote. Guidelines from the Florida department of state say that Florida courts and state authorities have defined legal residency as the place “where a person mentally intends to make his or her permanent residence”.
Wilfully submitting false information on a Florida voter registration – or helping someone to do so – is a third-degree felony punishable by up to five years in prison.
Election officials in Miami-Dade make clear to prospective voters that they are required to actually live in the county and to use their home address in election paperwork. “You must reside in Miami-Dade County,” their website states. It adds: “When you register to vote, an actual residence address is required by law.” A county spokeswoman did not respond to questions relating to Bannon’s situation.
Three neighbors said the house where Bannon is currently registered to vote had been abandoned for three months. When the Guardian visited the property on Thursday a large window in the front aspect was missing. A soiled curtain was blowing through it. The driveway was a mess of tree branches and mud.
Bannon never appeared at the house, according to the neighbors. One of them, Joseph Plummer Jr, who lives next door, said Clohesy lived at the house until earlier this year and that a man of Latino appearance in his 20s was the only male ever seen there. Asked whether a man of Bannon’s description stayed at the house, Plummer said: “No, that was not that individual, not at all.”
Diane Clohesy. Photograph: rightwingnews.com
The same arrangement was in place at the previous house in Miami. The $5,500 per month rent was paid via Bannon’s accountants in Beverly Hills, but “he was never there,” according to someone with direct involvement in the rental arrangement, who requested anonymity for fear of repercussions from Bannon. “In my opinion, he was not living there,” said the source. “He maybe came around twice a year for a couple of days at best, but he did not live there.” The source’s account was supported by another neighbor, who declined to be quoted for publication.
Bannon owns no property in his name in Miami-Dade, according to records held by the office of the county property appraiser. As recently as last week he was reported to be a resident of Laguna Beach in Orange County, California, where, according to public records, he owns a house.
From October last year until he joined the Trump campaign this month, Bannon was the lead presenter on the Breitbart News Daily talkshow, which airs seven mornings a week on SiriusXM. A Sirius spokeswoman said Bannon hosted the show live from Washington DC or New York.
Records from the Orange County registrar of voters state that Bannon was registered to vote there from the 1980s until 2014, when he cancelled his registration and began registering in Miami. He had voted in most general elections by mail in California but, according to records, did not vote in the 2012 presidential primary, when eventual nominee Mitt Romney beat candidates including Newt Gingrich, Bannon’s fellow rightwinger and Trump ally.
Bannon also co-owns a condominium in Los Angeles and is known to stay at the so-called “Breitbart embassy”, a luxurious $2.4m townhouse beside the supreme court in Washington DC, where his website’s staff work from basement offices. A Bloomberg profile of Bannon published last October, with which he cooperated, stated that Bannon “occupies” the townhouse and described it as being “his”.
Steve Bannon: the Machiavellian 'bully' who made Breitbart into 'Trump Pravda' Read more
But according to records at the DC office of tax and revenue, the Breitbart house is actually owned by Mostafa El-Gindy, an Egyptian businessman and former member of parliament. Gindy has received favorable coverage from Breitbart News, which styles him as a “senior statesman”, without an accompanying disclosure that he is the website’s landlord.
Neither Bannon or Clohesy, his ex-wife, responded to requests for comment for this article.
Acquiring Florida residency is often attractive to outsiders to the state due to Florida’s lack of state income tax. This allows people with a residency to legally avoid paying state income tax on so-called “unearned” income, such as dividends, interests and retirement benefits. Attorneys often advise people seeking Florida residency that it helps to assign their voter registration to a property in the state.
Clohesy, who has worked on conservative films produced by Bannon since their divorce, also has a voting arrangement that appears to contravene Florida regulations. Rather than register to vote from her rented homes in Miami, she was and continues to be registered to vote in neighboring Broward County from a mailbox at a shipping facility in the city of Pompano Beach.
The use of such mailbox addresses is not allowed by Broward County, which requires that residents use their home address. “You have to give the address where you live, so you can’t use a PO box,” said Tonya Edwards, a spokeswoman for the county supervisor of elections.
Clohesy appears in the county election register as living at 102 Governmental Center, which is actually the address of the elections supervisor’s office. Edwards, the spokeswoman for the office, told the Guardian this designation was intended for homeless people.
|
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/aug/26/steve-bannon-florida-registered-vote-donald-trump
|
en
| 2016-08-26T00:00:00 |
www.theguardian.com/84b8792e4808d007992b474e1734d23a1a57b67d170b8cd30de42dd4a1b29348.json
|
|
[
"John Howell"
] | 2016-08-26T14:50:36 | null | 2016-08-26T13:44:23 |
Antonio Conte has admitted he does not expect Chelsea to be able to secure his first-choice transfer targets before Wednesday’s deadline
|
https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Ffootball%2F2016%2Faug%2F26%2Fantonio-conte-does-not-expect-chelsea-to-land-first-choice-transfer-targets.json
|
en
| null |
Antonio Conte does not expect Chelsea to land first-choice transfer targets
| null | null |
www.theguardian.com
|
Antonio Conte has admitted he does not expect Chelsea to be able to secure his first-choice transfer targets before Wednesday’s deadline, with the club having now turned their attentions to the Fiorentina full-back Marcos Alonso as they seek to bolster defensive ranks.
Premier League: 10 things to look out for this weekend Read more
Chelsea have signed only two players since Conte’s arrival – Michy Batshuayi from Marseille and N’Golo Kante from Leicester City – despite the hierarchy having indicated earlier this summer that they expected to bring up to six significant signings into the club in the wake of last season’s 10th place finish.
Yet those efforts have been frustrated to date as time ticks down towards the cut-off. “I must be honest, I think we’ll have a problem to reach our [transfer] targets” said Conte. “I still hope with this transfer market to improve the squad and the team with some new players, but we understand our targets are very difficult to reach. But we have a game against Burnley for now which is more important than the transfer market. Then, after that, I hope [moves are made to secure] some more players than now before the deadline.”
Chelsea cannot offer European football to prospective targets this season and, with only six days of the transfer window remaining, are chasing a number of alternative targets having missed out on Conte’s preferred choices. Bids for both Kalidou Koulibaly and Alessio Romagnoli were rejected by Napoli and Milan respectively this week with Conte, forced to improvise, having surprisingly turned his attention since to Alonso.
The 25-year-old boasts previous Premier League experience with Bolton – for whom he signed at 19 – and Sunderland during a loan spell in 2014. He would provide further cover for Cezar Azpilicueta and Branislav Ivanovic at full-back, allowing the latter to shift into central defence should he be needed.
Conte’s desire for a further defensive additions could see two new recruits at Chelsea before Wednesday’s deadline. The knock sustained by the youngster Ola Aina in the midweek win over Bristol Rovers has potentially left the Italian with only four fully fit defenders ahead of Saturday’s visit of Burnley, with Kurt Zouma still recovering from the knee ligament injury sustained earlier this year.
|
https://www.theguardian.com/football/2016/aug/26/antonio-conte-does-not-expect-chelsea-to-land-first-choice-transfer-targets
|
en
| 2016-08-26T00:00:00 |
www.theguardian.com/c1282b9dd38401a6454c7ef3868840d0f2daf09374c56fb90967e73fc9958337.json
|
|
[
"Patrick Barkham"
] | 2016-08-30T14:50:19 | null | 2005-09-25T23:03:43 |
There was the one about Jesus asking to be put up for the night, and puns about paedophile priests, but a tale of two men on a bridge that mocks sectarianism has been found the funniest religious joke by readers of a Christian website.
|
https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fuk%2F2005%2Fsep%2F26%2Freligion.world.json
|
en
| null |
Bigot on a bridge wins poll for funniest religious joke
| null | null |
www.theguardian.com
|
There was the one about Jesus asking to be put up for the night, and puns about paedophile priests, but a tale of two men on a bridge that mocks sectarianism has been found the funniest religious joke by readers of a Christian website.
Demonstrating a fondness for black humour about their faith or lack of it, Christians, Buddhists, Jews, Muslims, atheists and agnostics sent 951 religious jokes to the website Ship of Fools (Shipoffools.com). Readers had the chance to vote for the funniest, and the most offensive, and more than 10,000 did so.
The latter category featured the most submitted joke: Jesus walks into a motel, throws a bag of nails on the counter and says: "Can you put me up for the night?"
Gentler humour about the secret sexual habits of nuns and Jesus's problems with his stone-throwing mum dominated the top 10 funniest jokes.
"We were surprised that Christians sent such offensive jokes. We didn't think they had it in them," said the editor, Simon Jenkins. While the site steeled itself for cries of blasphemy from its mostly Christian readership, "heard it" was a more common complaint than "profanity!".
According to Mr Jenkins, the identity of the joker was all-important in determining the acceptability of the gags, which were debated on the site's messageboards and performed live at the Greenbelt Christian festival. No Jewish or Muslim jokes were published on the site because it was considered inappropriate for a Christian website to joke about other faiths. "Context - who is telling the joke - is a really important factor. If someone is telling a joke about Catholics and they are a Northern Irish protestant paramilitary, that is very different from a Catholic priest telling a joke against himself."
Jokes about Catholics proved particularly popular, and not just satirical gags about the sexual peccadillos of some Catholic priests, which dominated the final list of the 10 most offensive jokes. "The Roman Catholic church has been around the longest and Catholicism has got some of the most colourful characters, such as mother superior and the Pope," said Mr Jenkins. "A lot of stock settings for religious jokes are the convent or the confessional."
Mr Jenkins said the danger of the bill to outlaw religious hatred was not so much that stand-up comics would be hauled off to prison but that it risked leading to self-censorship among ordinary people. "If the bill becomes law people will be cautious about joking about religion. It is a restriction of free speech by stealth. More than ever, religion needs to be discussed and debated and attacked and defended. It's got to be in the rough and tumble of public debate."
The funniest joke
I was walking across a bridge one day, and I saw a man standing on the edge, about to jump. I ran over and said: "Stop. Don't do it."
"Why shouldn't I?" he asked.
"Well, there's so much to live for!"
"Like what?"
"Are you religious?"
He said: "Yes."
I said: "Me too. Are you Christian or Buddhist?"
"Christian."
"Me too. Are you Catholic or Protestant?"
"Protestant."
"Me too. Are you Episcopalian or Baptist?"
"Baptist."
"Wow. Me too. Are you Baptist Church of God or Baptist Church of the Lord?"
"Baptist Church of God."
"Me too. Are you original Baptist Church of God, or are you Reformed Baptist Church of God?"
"Reformed Baptist Church of God."
"Me too. Are you Reformed Baptist Church of God, Reformation of 1879, or Reformed Baptist Church of God, Reformation of 1915?"
He said: "Reformed Baptist Church of God, Reformation of 1915."
I said: "Die, heretic scum," and pushed him off.
|
https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2005/sep/26/religion.world
|
en
| 2005-09-25T00:00:00 |
www.theguardian.com/ff3c39187b35b00bd9d5c9d7bc7c82edac2cb65d7de796648a49b616b0b857ea.json
|
|
[
"Paul Rees"
] | 2016-08-27T22:51:49 | null | 2016-08-27T21:00:13 |
After a frustrating time with injuries Leicester’s Manu Tuilagi is ready to get back on the field and complete his transition from 13 to 12
|
https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fsport%2F2016%2Faug%2F27%2Fmanu-tuilagi-fitness-leicester-england-lions-premiership.json
|
en
| null |
Manu Tuilagi focusing on fitness and Leicester before England and Lions
| null | null |
www.theguardian.com
|
If one player deserves a break in a season that ends with a Lions tour, as long as it does not involve one of his bones, it is Manu Tuilagi, who, since scattering New Zealand tacklers like skittles at Twickenham at the end of 2012, has spent more time on the treatment table than on the pitch.
The Leicester and England centre was seen as someone who could help mould England into a force by the 2015 World Cup, but since the end of the 2013 Six Nations injuries have reduced him to three starts in 36 Tests and two appearances from the bench, as well as restricting his involvement in the 2013 Lions tour to Australia.
A persistent groin problem kept him out of action for more than a year and though he returned to action last season and was a replacement for England’s final two matches in the Six Nations he suffered a hamstring strain that ruled him out of the tour to Australia and further put back Eddie Jones’s plans to turn him into an international 12 in the style of New Zealand’s Ma’a Nonu.
Rob Baxter: Exeter’s foundations are strong for new Premiership season Read more
“I am feeling really good,” says Tuilagi, who, at 25, has time on his side. “I am not going to say I am getting used to missing England matches but it is what it is. You cannot change what has happened but look to the future and look after your body.
“I was bitterly disappointed to miss the Australia tour where the boys did really well. When the first Test was played, I was flying out to Samoa and was able to watch the first half while in transit.
“The boys were relentless and under Eddie we train hard and have a pretty simple gameplan. He drops me a text every now and then to see how I am getting on and he definitely wants me to play at 12, which is not much different to playing 13. It depends how you use different players and in terms of phase play, it is not a set position.
Mark McCafferty urges Premiership Rugby and Lions chiefs to discuss dates Read more
“We have a number of centres at Leicester. Matt Toomua is joining, Peter Betham can play at 12 or 13, as can Mathew Tait, and for me it is making sure I learn the roles. I learn so much off Aaron Mauger [Leicester’s head coach] who spent his playing career in the midfield. It is about being a smart footballer.”
Tuilagi has made his name as a hard runner who is formidably difficult to haul down when he has broken into a stride. Mauger and Jones want to exploit the handling skills and creative ability commonly innate in Pacific Islanders, much as New Zealand turned Nonu from a head-down bosher to the leading inside-centre of his era.
“You always try to improve your skills,” Tuilagi says. “It’s about looking up, not so much looking at the ball the whole time but working on your vision.
“For me it is about trying to get fit, back to my best and in a good place mentally. If I do that then everything else will take care of itself.
“The last few years have been frustrating but in a way I learned a lot, perhaps more than if I had played the whole time. When you are fit, you take things for granted. The groin injury I had was uncommon and difficult to gauge. The hamstring at the end of last season was just unlucky.
“My goal this season is to stay fit and win some medals with Leicester. If I do well with my club, England will take care of itself. My game is about bringing that physicality to the midfield and crossing the gainline. That doesn’t have to be about running over people. It is all about manipulating the defence but there are times when the simple option is the right one.
“My weight is good at the moment, at 112kg [17st 8lb] just one over where I want to be. I am concentrating on the here and now, which is Leicester. We do not talk about the Lions here, just the Tigers.”
|
https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2016/aug/27/manu-tuilagi-fitness-leicester-england-lions-premiership
|
en
| 2016-08-27T00:00:00 |
www.theguardian.com/2b6bf0fbce59f443358a3a9275cd87f518f9a12b5c7653f2d7afea6e7e475b81.json
|
|
[
"John Naughton"
] | 2016-08-28T04:59:02 | null | 2016-08-28T04:15:22 |
A groundbreaking book by historian Yuval Harari claims that artificial intelligence and genetic enhancements will usher in a world of inequality and powerful elites. How real is the threat?
|
https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fcommentisfree%2F2016%2Faug%2F28%2Fideology-liberal-democracy-technology-bioscience-yuval-harari-artificial-intelligence.json
|
en
| null |
Forget ideology, liberal democracy’s newest threats come from technology and bioscience
| null | null |
www.theguardian.com
|
The BBC Reith Lectures in 1967 were given by Edmund Leach, a Cambridge social anthropologist. “Men have become like gods,” Leach began. “Isn’t it about time that we understood our divinity? Science offers us total mastery over our environment and over our destiny, yet instead of rejoicing we feel deeply afraid.”
That was nearly half a century ago, and yet Leach’s opening lines could easily apply to today. He was speaking before the internet had been built and long before the human genome had been decoded, and so his claim about men becoming “like gods” seems relatively modest compared with the capabilities that molecular biology and computing have subsequently bestowed upon us. Our science-based culture is the most powerful in history, and it is ceaselessly researching, exploring, developing and growing. But in recent times it seems to have also become plagued with existential angst as the implications of human ingenuity begin to be (dimly) glimpsed.
The title that Leach chose for his Reith Lecture – A Runaway World – captures our zeitgeist too. At any rate, we are also increasingly fretful about a world that seems to be running out of control, largely (but not solely) because of information technology and what the life sciences are making possible. But we seek consolation in the thought that “it was always thus”: people felt alarmed about steam in George Eliot’s time and got worked up about electricity, the telegraph and the telephone as they arrived on the scene. The reassuring implication is that we weathered those technological storms, and so we will weather this one too. Humankind will muddle through.
But in the last five years or so even that cautious, pragmatic optimism has begun to erode. There are several reasons for this loss of confidence. One is the sheer vertiginous pace of technological change. Another is that the new forces at loose in our society – particularly information technology and the life sciences – are potentially more far-reaching in their implications than steam or electricity ever were. And, thirdly, we have begun to see startling advances in these fields that have forced us to recalibrate our expectations.
A classic example is the field of artificial intelligence (AI), defined as the quest to enable machines to do things that would require intelligence if performed by a human. For as long as most of us can remember, AI in that sense was always 20 years away from the date of prediction. Maybe it still is. But in the last few years we have seen that the combination of machine learning, powerful algorithms, vast processing power and so-called “Big Data” can enable machines to do very impressive things – real-time language translation, for example, or driving cars safely through complex urban environments – that seemed implausible even a decade ago.
And this, in turn, has led to a renewal of excited speculation about the possibility – and the existential risks – of the “intelligence explosion” that would be caused by inventing a machine that was capable of recursive self-improvement. This possibility was first raised in 1965 by the British cryptographer IJ Good, who famously wrote: “The first ultraintelligent machine is the last invention that man need ever make, provided that the machine is docile enough to tell us how to keep it under control.” Fifty years later, we find contemporary thinkers like Nick Bostrom and Murray Shanahan taking the idea seriously.
There’s a sense, therefore, that we are approaching another “end of history” moment – but with a difference. In his famous 1989 article, the political scientist Francis Fukuyama argued that the collapse of the Soviet empire meant the end of the great ideological battle between east and west and the “universalisation of western liberal democracy as the final form of human government”. This was a bold, but not implausible, claim at the time. What Fukuyama could not have known is that a new challenge to liberal democracy would eventually materialise, and that its primary roots would lie not in ideology but in bioscience and information technology.
For that, in a nutshell, is the central argument of Yuval Noah Harari’s new book, Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow. In a way, it’s a logical extension of his previous book, Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind, which chronicled the entire span of human history, from the evolution of Homo sapiens up to the political and technological revolutions of the 21st century, and deservedly became a world bestseller.
Those who ride the train of progress will acquire divine abilities. Those left behind face extinction
Most writers on the implications of new technology focus too much on the technology and too little on society’s role in shaping it. That’s partly because those who are interested in these things are (like the engineers who create the stuff) determinists: they believe that technology drives history. And, at heart, Harari is a determinist too. “In the early 21st century,” he writes in a striking passage, “the train of progress is again pulling out of the station – and this will probably be the last train ever to leave the station called Homo sapiens. Those who miss this train will never get a second chance. In order to get a seat on it, you need to understand 21st century technology, and in particular the powers of biotechnology and computer algorithms.”
He continues: “ These powers are far more potent than steam and the telegraph, and they will not be used mainly for the production of food, textiles, vehicles and weapons. The main products of the 21st century will be bodies, brains and minds, and the gap between those who know how to engineer bodies and brains and those who do not will be wider than the gap between Dickens’s Britain and the Madhi’s Sudan. Indeed, it will be bigger than the gap between Sapiens and Neanderthals. In the 21st century, those who ride the train of progress will acquire divine abilities of creation and destruction, while those left behind will face extinction.”
This looks like determinism on steroids. What saves it from ridicule is that Harari sets the scientific and technological story within an historically informed analysis of how liberal democracy evolved. And he provides a plausible account of how the defining features of the liberal democratic order might indeed be upended by the astonishing knowledge and tools that we have produced in the last half-century. So while one might, in the end, disagree with his conclusions, one can at least see how he reached them.
In a way, it’s a story about the evolution and nature of modernity. For most of human history, Harari argues, humans believed in a cosmic order. Their world was ruled by omnipotent gods who exercised their power in capricious and incomprehensible ways. The best one could do was to try to placate these terrifying powers and obey (and pay taxes to) the priesthoods who claimed to be the anointed intermediaries between mere humans and gods. It may have been a dog’s life but at least you knew where you stood, and in that sense belief in a transcendental order gave meaning to human lives.
But then came science. Harari argues that the history of modernity is best told as a struggle between science and religion. In theory, both were interested in truth – but in different kinds of truth. Religion was primarily interested in order, whereas science, as it evolved, was primarily interested in power – the power that comes from understanding why and how things happen, and enables us to cure diseases, fight wars and produce food, among other things.
In the end, in some parts of the world at least, science triumphed: belief in a transcendental order was relegated to the sidelines – or even to the dustbin of history. As science progressed, we did indeed start to acquire powers that in pre-modern times were supposed to be possessed only by gods (Edmund Leach’s point). But if God was dead, as Nietzsche famously said, where would humans find meaning? “The modern world,” writes Harari, “promised us unprecedented power – and the promise has been kept. Now what about the price? In exchange for power, the modern deal expects us to give up on meaning. How did humans handle this chilling demand? ... How did morality, beauty and even compassion survive in a world of gods, of heaven or hell?”
The answer, he argues, was in a new kind of religion: humanism – a belief system that “sanctifies the life, happiness and power of Homo sapiens”. So the deal that defined modern society was a covenant between humanism and science in which the latter provided the means for achieving the ends specified by the former.
And our looming existential crisis, as Harari sees it, comes from the fact that this covenant is destined to fall apart in this century. For one of the inescapable implications of bioscience and information technology (he argues) is that they will undermine and ultimately destroy the foundations on which humanism is built. And since liberal democracy is constructed on the worship of humanist goals (“life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness” by citizens who are “created equal”, as the American founders put it), then our new powers are going to tear liberal democracy apart.
How come? Well, modern society is organised round a combination of individualism, human rights, democracy and the free market. And each of these foundations is being eaten away by 21st-century science and technology. The life sciences are undermining the individualism so celebrated by the humanist tradition with research suggesting that “the free individual is just a fictional tale concocted by an assembly of biochemical algorithms”. Similarly with the idea that we have free will. People may have freedom to choose between alternatives but the range of possibilities is determined elsewhere. And that range is increasingly determined by external algorithms as the “surveillance capitalism” practised by Google, Amazon and co becomes ubiquitous – to the point where internet companies will eventually know what your desires are before you do. And so on.
Here Harari ventures into the kind of dystopian territory that Aldous Huxley would recognise. He sees three broad directions.
1. Humans will lose their economic and military usefulness, and the economic system will stop attaching much value to them.
2. The system will still find value in humans collectively but not in unique individuals.
3. The system will, however, find value in some unique individuals, “but these will be a new race of upgraded superhumans rather than the mass of the population”. By “system”, he means the new kind of society that will evolve as bioscience and information technology progress at their current breakneck pace. As before, this society will be based on a deal between religion and science but this time humanism will be displaced by what Harari calls “dataism” – a belief that the universe consists of data flows, and the value of any entity or phenomenon is determined by its contribution to data processing.
We require machines that are super-intelligent: intelligence is necessary; consciousness is an optional extra
Personally, I’m not convinced by his dataism idea: the technocratic ideology underpinning our current obsession with “Big Data” will eventually collapse under the weight of its own absurdity. But in two other areas, Harari is exceedingly perceptive. The first is that our confident belief that we cannot be superseded by machines – because we have consciousness and they cannot have it – may be naive. Not because machine consciousness will be possible but because for Harari’s dystopia to arrive, consciousness is not required. We require machines that are super-intelligent: intelligence is necessary; consciousness is an optional extra which in most cases would simply be a nuisance. And it’s therefore not a showstopper for AI development.
The second is that I’m sure that his reading of the potential of bioscience is accurate. Even the Economist magazine recently ran a cover story entitled: “Cheating death: the science that can extend your lifespan.” But the exciting new possibilities offered by genetic technology will be expensive and available only to elites. So the long century in which medicine had a “levelling up” effect on human populations, bringing good healthcare within the reach of most people, has come to an end. Even today, rich people live longer and healthier lives. In a couple of decades, that gap will widen into a chasm.
Homo Deus is a remarkable book, full of insights and thoughtful reinterpretations of what we thought we knew about ourselves and our history. In some cases it seems (to me) to be naive about the potential of information technology. But what’s really valuable about it is the way it grounds speculation about sci-tech in the context of how liberal democracy evolved.
One measure of Harari’s achievement is that one has to look a long way back – to 1934, in fact, the year when Lewis Mumford’s Technics and Civilization was published – for a book with comparable ambition and scope. Not bad going for a young historian.
|
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/aug/28/ideology-liberal-democracy-technology-bioscience-yuval-harari-artificial-intelligence
|
en
| 2016-08-28T00:00:00 |
www.theguardian.com/a1290a33c89b8a53ee29c0cabb2b29d403b0088967ba168d3ee60be880728e65.json
|
|
[
"Rebecca Schiller"
] | 2016-08-31T12:53:22 | null | 2016-08-31T11:16:16 |
I, like many other women, have had problems at work due to pregnancy – and those in precarious economic situations face potentially much worse outcomes
|
https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fcommentisfree%2F2016%2Faug%2F31%2Fmaternity-rights-discrimination-blights-women-lives.json
|
en
| null |
Maternity rights are not an optional extra
| null | null |
www.theguardian.com
|
The fact that three-quarters of women experience a negative or discriminatory effect of their pregnancy at work, as a report from the women and equalities select committee shows, isn’t a huge surprise to me.
Seven years ago I was pregnant for the first time and emailed my employer’s human resources department to ask whether I would accrue bank holidays during my maternity leave. It’s not a life-shatteringly interesting question, but something I felt I needed to know to consider how long I could afford to be at home with my newborn. Instead of clarification I received a sharp email instructing me that maternity leave was intended to be for “recuperating from childbirth and spending time with my baby”. It was not a way of greedily storing up holiday. Chastened and naive, I didn’t ask again. Those bank holidays I was indeed entitled to disappeared into the ether, and I didn’t go back to that job.
Rise in women facing discrimination on taking maternity leave Read more
Since then, as chief executive of the human rights in childbirth charity Birthrights, I’ve worked with many women facing a range of violations during or due to pregnancy and childbirth, and I know how lucky I am. In my case the stakes were pretty low. I could just about afford not to battle but could have battled if necessary. And when I realised that my much-loved job wouldn’t accommodate work life and family life I was able to do something else.
For others maternity discrimination is more than an inconvenience – it is a matter of life and death, of basic survival versus thriving. The committee estimates that 53,000 women each year are being discouraged from attending antenatal appointments by their employers, despite permanent employees having the right to time off for these crucial check-ups. I’ve seen the result of this while sitting in hospital waiting rooms – sometimes for hours – with women attending vital appointments for their high-risk pregnancies. As the minutes tick past at the overstretched unit, their slots get pushed back later and later. They weigh up upsetting their employer against missing a key check-up. It’s a choice between yours and your baby’s physical safety now, and knowing you’ll have a job to go back to and can put food on the table when that bump is a squawking toddler demanding three meals a day.
Banging the drum for the rights of pregnant women is often portrayed as an occupation for the privileged. Defending women’s rights to choose how and where they give birth or insisting that employers make careers possible for working mothers has cleverly been placed in a box marked “entitled”. Hiding behind that label is a truth that although these issues affect all women (whether they plan to have children or not), it is those at the vulnerable end of the spectrum who often face the most profound consequences of having a uterus and daring to take it to work.
Those with the fewest legal protections are casual, agency and zero-hours contract workers – an expanding group in recent years due a scarcity of permanent jobs. This is also, unsurprisingly, a group in which women are over-represented. These individuals, often on the minimum wage, can represent some of those most likely to be exposed to difficult pregnancies and births. Women at the lowest end of the socioeconomic spectrum face a greater risk of dying in pregnancy, their babies have a higher risk of being stillborn or dying after birth and both mothers and babies stand a significantly greater chance of suffering complications. Insisting they can get to their midwife is no entitled plea – it is a plea for basic human rights.
When I went on maternity leave, my employers made me feel invisible | Anonymous Read more
Yet with the current mindset, one that allows us to become complacent about the rights of those at the edge of a precipice of disadvantage, the government is permitted to make woolly promises with no timeframe. The media continues to report this as simply an economic problem and out come the arguments about the difficulties maternity rights pose for small business or the ideological discussions about whether women could or should “have it all”.
Four out of five women experience pregnancy and, whether we intend to use it or not, our capacity to become pregnant sits at the root of every woman’s unequal treatment in society. This is not a discussion that needs to stay in the boardroom. Without progress in pregnancy and childbirth we cannot make enough progress in women’s broader rights. And those made more vulnerable because of their precarious low-paid, low-status jobs will continue to find pregnancy a gateway to the food bank.
The report criticises the Equalities and Human Rights Commission for its belief that maternity discrimination is simply an issue of misinformation that can be corrected with a few well-placed facts. The ECHR’s spokesperson asserts this is “not bigger picture stuff”, but I (like the select committee) strongly disagree. In the broader context of reproductive rights, where the most vulnerable in society are punished at every level with life-altering consequences, maternity discrimination cannot be anything but the very biggest of big pictures.
• Why Human Rights in Childbirth Matter by Rebecca Schiller is published on 15 September
|
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/aug/31/maternity-rights-discrimination-blights-women-lives
|
en
| 2016-08-31T00:00:00 |
www.theguardian.com/d589217382fcc54865afe8ef14d7162f0a0cf406f03b15c6affcc124b0578e33.json
|
|
[
"Giles Richards"
] | 2016-08-26T13:21:19 | null | 2016-08-25T12:44:59 |
F1 resumes at Spa after its break and the German who is remarkably measured in everything will need to race better than ever to surpass his Mercedes team-mate
|
https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fsport%2F2016%2Faug%2F25%2Fnico-rosberg-deadly-accurate-punchy-outgun-lewis-hamilton-f1-spa.json
|
en
| null |
Nico Rosberg must be deadly accurate and punchy to outgun Lewis Hamilton
| null | null |
www.theguardian.com
|
There are few better circuits for Formula One to begin the second half of the season than the glorious Spa-Francorchamps, where this weekend breathtaking speed will be balanced by testing corners and spectacular changes of elevation. This year the Ardennes will attract more fans than ever because the number of tickets has been increased to accommodate the Dutch, who are coming en masse to support Max Verstappen in his first race at the track as both a Red Bull driver and a grand prix winner.
Lewis Hamilton confirms he will take grid penalty at Belgian Grand Prix Read more
They are eager now the mid-season break is over to go racing again but while Verstappen is a draw for many perhaps the question looking to be answered at Spa is at the sharp end. What can Nico Rosberg do to defeat his Mercedes team-mate Lewis Hamilton?
The momentum shift towards the British driver in the latter part of the first 12 races was remarkable. Hamilton was 43 points behind Rosberg, who had won the opening four races of the season, after the fourth grand prix in Russia but now leads by 19 points, having triumphed in the past four races. Defeated in the world championship twice since Mercedes brought their dominant car to the field in 2014, Rosberg needs to race better than he ever has before, take the fight to Hamilton and, crucially, make a step up he has not managed previously against his team-mate. In short he needs to be punchy and, with the Mercedes threat of severe sanctions on the drivers should they clash on the track, deadly accurate.
Rested after the summer vacation then, are the feet moving fast? Well, cursory inspection suggests Rosberg is coming out from his corner of the garage hungry at least, with much being made of an interview published by ESPN. In it Rosberg questioned Hamilton’s concerns over safety when the German had won pole after slowing what was adjudged to be just enough when going through waved double-yellows at the Hungaroring. Hamilton had backed off under the flags dropping his quick lap in the process.
“I just think it’s interesting to see how he’s become such a safety freak all of a sudden,” Rosberg said. “That right after a double-yellow flag he decides to go to the people in charge and discuss it.” Adding pointedly: “He’s not known for being such a safety freak.”
The intimation aimed at Hamilton and his intentions was interpreted as another salvo of the psychological battle between the pair and the beginning of the resumption of their hostility for the run-in to the championship. Battle renewed with new steel in the challenger’s gloves.
In reality this was barely sparring. The bulk of Rosberg’s comments were far more indicative of how controlled he is away from the emotional atmosphere of the track and perhaps, even, of what he is lacking.
His relationship with Hamilton was, he continued: “Up and down. It’s always going to be difficult. We have the necessary respect and it’s a good battle.” If that sounds familiar, it is. Not least from July this year when he told the Guardian’s Donald McRae: “I have huge respect for him but we’re not best friends at the moment.”
More was to come in Wednesday’s interview and again, it was also familiar. “He is now ahead of me at the moment. That means up to now he has done a better job … We are very close on points, so it will keep being a good battle all the way to the end.”
Something on Rosberg’s mind again, back in July before his defeat by Hamilton in Hungary. “He’s done some great things and he’s been beating me. I have to fight back and that’s the awesome challenge,” he told McRae.
Which is becoming as recognisable as was his refrain before the points gap was overcome that his lead proved he had been the better driver thus far in the season. A line long since dropped.
Nico Rosberg: ‘I have huge respect for Lewis Hamilton but we are not best friends’ Read more
The difficulty is Rosberg is remarkably measured in everything. If he has a new plan it will not be given away lightly. It was in Hungary when the lead fell to Hamilton. Rosberg’s composure had taken a beating, the reality of what had happened in such a short time had sunk in and he appeared somewhat shellshocked. Normal service has long since resumed.
He needs more than that now, with nine races remaining, and even given the engine penalty Hamilton will have to take – likely now at Spa – the usual answers have just not served. “I just want to beat him in as many races as possible and then we will see where we are,” Rosberg told ESPN.
Careful, controlled, considered – but that is not the fighting talk he needs and from which evidence Hamilton need not fear a knockout blow.
|
https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2016/aug/25/nico-rosberg-deadly-accurate-punchy-outgun-lewis-hamilton-f1-spa
|
en
| 2016-08-25T00:00:00 |
www.theguardian.com/f34d6ee6d957b7fd14d20d23e1b84fdb779b1c1afcdcefd86fa26403164ef314.json
|
|
[
"Terry Macalister",
"Mary Dejevsky",
"Simon Jenkins"
] | 2016-08-29T16:55:10 | null | 2016-08-20T15:00:07 |
The high price of nuclear plants and growth in alternative technology is leading observers outside the green lobby to question the project’s value
|
https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fbusiness%2F2016%2Faug%2F20%2Fdo-we-even-need-hinkley-point-smart-usage-windpower-hi-tech-batteries.json
|
en
| null |
If wind and solar power are cheaper and quicker, do we really need Hinkley Point?
| null | null |
www.theguardian.com
|
Should Theresa May take the axe to the troubled Hinkley Point nuclear project, it will propel wind and solar power further into the limelight. And for renewable technologies to become really effective, Britain and the rest of the world need breakthroughs in electricity storage to allow intermittent power to be on tap 24/7, on a large scale and for the right price.
Cheap, light and long-life batteries are the holy grail, and achieving this requires the expertise of people like Cambridge professor Clare Grey. The award winning Royal Society fellow is working on the basic science behind lithium-air batteries, which can store five times the energy in the same space as the current rechargeable lithium-ion batteries that are widely used today.
She is also focusing on sodium-ion and redox flow batteries; the latter store power in a liquid form, contained in vats or tanks that in theory can easily be scaled up to power-grid sizes.
“There has been an amazing transformation in this field. There is an explosion of interest and I am extremely lucky to have decided early on to concentrate on this area,” she says, although she is keen to play down the idea that a eureka moment is just around the corner.
She is also thankful for Hinkley – if only because of the government’s long-term funding deal with EDF Energy that it gave rise to. “It has put a price on [future] electricity in the market which is high, and this has potentially opened up further commercial space for new technologies such as batteries. But independent of Hinkley we do need better batteries and my chemistry will hopefully help find them,” she says.
The wisdom of bringing in the Chinese to help EDF, the French state-owned utility company, construct the proposed new Somerset reactors has been highlighted as a key factor behind the government’s reluctance to push the go button.
But ministers are also aware that, in the last 18 months, many experts in the field have concluded that the biggest argument against the plant is not that it is too expensive, at £18.5bn, but that the kind of “on-all-the-time” power it delivers is no longer what is required.
Even employers’ trade body the Institute of Directors said last week that it was right for the government to run the slide-rule over Hinkley again to see whether it really made sense.
City investment house RBC Capital Markets says no current minister starting from scratch today would ever agree to the deal George Osborne oversaw with EDF: a 35-year index-linked contract paying £92.50 per megawatt hour in 2012 money – double the current wholesale price of electricity.
But, more ominously for government, it adds: “We question whether such large-scale generation is needed in a rapidly changing and decentralising electricity market where the costs of renewables and storage are coming down.”
That is traditionally a message that has come from the leaders of the wind and solar sector – such as Jeremy Leggett, the founder of solar panel maker Solarcentury and a figurehead for the wider green industry.
He is delighted that others are picking up on arguments he has been making for years. “Finally the message is getting through that Hinkley, and indeed nuclear, make no sense today simply because wind and solar are cheaper. If we accelerate renewables in the UK, we can get to 100% renewable power well before 2050,” he says.
“The message is getting through on the feasibility of this too. One thousand cities around the world are committed to 100% renewable supply, some as soon as 2030. More than 60 giant corporations are committed to 100% [low carbon] supply, some as soon as 2020.”
Part of the growing confidence in wind and solar comes from experience. Portugal ran for four days on only wind, solar and hydro power in May, while solar power in Britain produced more electricity than coal-fired stations in the same month.
Dong Energy, the biggest investor in British offshore wind farms, says it is already possible to produce power with a subsidy of £85 per megawatt hour, and costs are dropping all the time.
The Global Wind Energy Council in Brussels claims that wind power alone reached 432.42 gigawatts of installed capacity at the end of 2015 – more than the 382.55GW of nuclear for the first time ever. But that wind capacity can be available on average only about 40% of the time, compared to 90% for nuclear.
Paul Dorfman, a senior research fellow at the Energy Institute at University College London, says for too long Hinkley has been justified by reference to immediate supply shortages that in fact can’t be met by nuclear. And he says that pouring money into new atomic power plants can only take investment away from renewables, whose costs are dropping, unlike those of atomic power.
Facebook Twitter Pinterest Burbo Bank windfarm in the mouth of the River Mersey. Photograph: Christopher Furlong/Getty Images
“Hinkley will definitely not come online in time to help with the critical UK electricity gap or with our carbon emission commitments. In fact, due to inevitable delays and cost overruns, Hinkley will block scarce resources going to necessary UK renewables, grid upgrades, and energy efficiency. Don’t believe the hype: it’s not ‘nuclear and renewables’ – because of the sheer cost of nuclear, it’s ‘nuclear or renewables’,” he argues.
Cornwall Energy, an energy industry consultancy, recently released a chart showing increasing numbers of periods when there are negative wholesale prices for power, which effectively means electricity on the UK grid is free. Tom Edwards, a consultant at Cornwall, says: “As the UK adds more low-marginal-cost generators to the network, especially wind and solar, we would expect to see more and longer-duration negative pricing events.”
The Economist, traditionally a cheerleader for low-cost market solutions to everything, including energy, has also lost faith in Hinkley, which it describes as a “white elephant”.
“To keep the lights on in the short run it would make more sense to use gas-powered plants. These can be built quickly, run cheaply and turned on or off as required. Meanwhile, the sums earmarked for Hinkley could be put to use in better ways,” it said in an editorial headlined “Hinkley Pointless”.
The Economist believes improved electricity storage is a key answer to the frequently repeated criticism of wind and solar that it is intermittent, and points out that battery technology is fast improving.
The magazine also champions interconnectors, which can link energy-hungry Britain with northern Europe, where there is a wind-energy surplus, or with a country such as Iceland – a centre of geothermal power due to its volcanoes.
The Economist concludes: “All of these options would be cheaper than Hinkley, which would take 10 years to get going and represent a huge, continuing cost to bill payers, if it ever worked at all. Such a strategy would also buy time to see what new technologies emerge.”
The atomic lobby is desperate to see Hinkley go ahead as soon as possible.
“We should not be pitting technologies against each other. The scale and scope of the challenge means we need all technologies available to meet our energy needs, as 65% of capacity will close between 2010 and 2030,” says Tom Greatrex, chief executive of the Nuclear Industry Association and a former Labour MP. “This needs to be replaced with low-carbon generation, including both nuclear and renewables. Hinkley Point C will provide 3.2GW of power – 7% of the UK’s electricity needs – with further nuclear projects taking this to 16GW by the mid-2020s.”
However, Steve Thomas, emeritus professor of energy policy at Greenwich University, says the UK should bide its time and not be panicked into making ill-considered decisions such as giving the green light to Hinkley.
“I don’t think we need to do anything in double-quick time. The coal plant does not need to close before 2025. As long as its utilisation is low, it won’t cause large emissions.
“Two of our eight nuclear plants will probably close in 2023, the rest will go on till 2028 and beyond. If no more delays happen, Hinkley will be online in 2026; the other nukes are a few years behind, whatever the developers say. So nuclear is the slowest, riskiest possible way to meet any gap.”
|
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2016/aug/20/do-we-even-need-hinkley-point-smart-usage-windpower-hi-tech-batteries
|
en
| 2016-08-20T00:00:00 |
www.theguardian.com/a589b5e41d454d1422a01e9403f6cb73d75e4c354efab528307655f9a3042aae.json
|
|
[
"Guardian Readers",
"Sarah Marsh"
] | 2016-08-26T13:22:16 | null | 2016-07-19T11:12:19 |
The rapid rise in veganism in the UK has been driven by young people. Here, four parents explain how to raise a vegan child safely
|
https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fcommentisfree%2F2016%2Fjul%2F19%2Fparents-raising-vegan-babies.json
|
en
| null |
Meet the parents raising vegan babies
| null | null |
www.theguardian.com
|
The number of vegans in the the UK has shot up by 350% to 542,000 people in a decade. This increase seems mainly to be driven by young people - almost half of all vegans are aged 15-34. Some of these people will choose to bring up their children the same way. For many, the idea of raising a child on a vegan diet might seem difficult to comprehend. Here, parents talk about how you can safely raise children on a plant-based diet.
Steffi Rox 33, Torquay, Devon: Getting calcium is easy for us as we’re a family of kale lovers
I have been a vegetarian since the age of six. It was my own choice and much to my parents’ dismay. Then, a few years ago I became vegan and when I did this I made my son (aged two at the time) vegan too.
When I first changed to a vegan lifestyle I joined lots of online vegan parenting groups both for support and advice. There are also numerous websites from which I’ve been able to source information and guidance such as the Vegan Society and Viva. I’ve not talked too much to other non-vegan parents about our choices but those that know have been supportive, making special arrangements for things like children’s birthday parties so my son doesn’t miss out.
We didn’t speak to a doctor about going vegan as I’ve learned they have little training in nutrition, so instead we chatted to some nutritionists who were very encouraging and fully in support of the health benefits of a vegan lifestyle.
I read up on what child vegans need and make sure my son gets all the right nutrients and so forth. Getting calcium is easy for us as we’re a family of kale lovers and kale is a great source of calcium, which we also get from fortified non-dairy milks, chickpeas and other leafy vegetables. As far as calcium goes it’s much more easily absorbed from these sources than from cow’s milk and far healthier so I’ve no concerns about calcium. By avoiding dairy we also lower the risk of diseases such as osteoporosis and some cancers.
I have seen the health benefits of being vegan (for example, I haven’t had a cold for ages) and my son has been bug-free too. Before going vegan he was always catching things but that’s all changed now.
I can advise people to do research before making the change, not only to ensure your child has a healthy diet but also so you’re prepared to answer any negative comments you might get and that you can competently answer any questions. Unfortunately, people can be very misinformed about how healthy a vegan diet is and so can be set against it, so it is helpful to be able to inform them properly about it.
Jamie Paton, 26, Fife, Scotland: We know we are doing the best for our child
We always wanted our daughter to be vegan but, at first, we were unsure about how to go about it. I feel very strongly when it comes to the ethics of veganism – we wanted our child to be compassionate and were also aware of the health benefits of this diet.
It wasn’t hard to make the switch. We did it when Harley was four months old. Harley craves lots of fruit and vegetables. We have tried her with mock meats but she isn’t really keen on them so we tend to stick to a whole foods plant-based diet. In terms of how we will explain it all to her when she’s older, we just plan on educating her about why we don’t eat animals. As parents we hope she stays vegan but that’s ultimately down to her. We are strict with her now because when you eat animal products you are taking the life of another being and we completely disagree with it.
Facebook Twitter Pinterest Photograph: Jamie Paton
It might seem like bringing up a vegan child would be hard, but there are lots of different options these days. The only hard part is the judgment passed on us by other parents. There was a great deal of this when we first started out and we have been told it is child abuse and that is sick, and that we shouldn’t force this on our child. However, we are confident parents now and know what we are doing is best for our child, for the animals and for the planet.
To be safe we just made sure Harley was getting everything she needs supplement-wise such as iron, calcium, etc. We do all that with the food she eats. We also make she is getting a lot green vegetables and a lot of high carbohydrate low-fat foods. Protein has never really been a concern because we know the food she is eating has more than enough protein and this is just a misconception about vegan food.
I run a vegan podcast and I speak to vegan activists from all over the world and a lot of vegan parents. I have spoken with leading vegan children’s author Ruby Roth and she was extremely helpful with Harley (as has YouTuber Vegan Geezer). They told me how to deal with the judgment from other people, and to remember that when others judge you for what you do they most likely don’t know much about the vegan lifestyle.
You will hear a lot of people tell you that you can’t raise a child vegan because your child won’t be healthy and will lack energy. This is completely untrue so just be confident with what you’re doing and if you need help reach out to the vegan community because they are always there for you.
Charlotte Farndon, 31, north London: George knows why he is vegan and thinks it is highly important
George, who is now four, has been vegan for about two years. We were vegetarian before that and made the decision as a family. People ask me a lot, why not wait for him to ask to become vegan? I know a few vegan families who bring up their children as vegetarians. However, if you believe in something morally as a parent then you should pass on those morals. It’s up to him to change his mind and question it as he gets older but I teach my son to say please and thank you, so I don’t see why I shouldn’t teach him to be vegan because I believe it’s the right thing.
I don’t think he remembers what it was like before he became vegan but he is a headstrong little boy and does know he is vegan. He knows he is different from other students (I think he is the only vegan in his school) and he is really proud of that. George cannot have hot lunches like most of the other children and when they make honey bagels at school or jelly or cakes, he is the only one who will not have any. But that doesn’t bother him at all and the teachers know about his dietary requirements. When George tells me that they made jelly at school he says he didn’t want to eat it because it’s made of dead pig.
We didn’t go to our GP when we initially became vegan but a number of my friends are doctors and are amazed by how healthy George’s diet is. We sought their advice and researched extensively online. George has since had a blood test too. A vegan diet can be a very healthy one, full of fibre, iron, protein and full of vitamins, minerals and nutrients but there are strongly required supplements for children such as calcium and B12. A vegan child can consume plenty of B12 and calcium in plant foods and milks but a supplement is beneficial to ensure an adequate amount. Supplements are provided by many parents following a range of diets. You need to be cautious and educate yourselves on your requirements. Not all vegan diets are equal and just as you can have a healthy or an unhealthy omnivorous diet, you can have a healthy or unhealthy vegan diet.
I would not base my vegan child’s diet on refined carbohydrates such as white bread for breakfast, pasta for lunch and a pizza with a vegan cheese for supper. Typically, a vegan will put significant research into their child’s diet. We are not only questioned on it regularly but have made a conscious decision to be different from the norm and more often than not, based on thorough research.
A vegan dish made for George includes brown rice and grilled vegetables.
George knows why he is vegan which we believe is highly important and one of the main reasons he does not feel excluded from other foods. We eat a lot of beans, lentils, kale and quinoa and George will happily eat a bowl of spinach. He makes breakfast himself and is really involved in the food we make. He is very proud that he is vegan – he thinks he is saving environment and the animals and making himself stronger at the same time.
Rachel Wells, 28, Bedfordshire: Preparation is key – it’s definitely made me more organised
My son is now 15 months old. I didn’t receive support for breastfeeding so he was formula fed until then and he’s vegan because I am. I’m vegan firstly for ethical reasons, then health and environmental ones.
I did my research online, reading articles and speaking to other vegan parents before making the choice. I spoke to my health visitor about it as well and she recommended first steps nutrition as a source of information
The advice I would give is that preparation is key as there aren’t many vegan foods for on the go. It’s not hard at all, however, and you get used to reading labels. I make most of our food from scratch so I know what’s going in it.
The challenges are other people, especially online, where vegans get judged a lot. And family members who believe that eating meat is essential.
Being vegan from almost birth it will be easier for him to understand that we have to look after the earth and the animals and I’ll talk to him about why others eat animals and drink animal milk I try not to normalise non-vegan activities like zoos or farms so it’s not confusing for him, this goes for TV shows as well.
His health obviously hasn’t changed but compared to other toddlers and children he’s very rarely ill. Other parents are curious and maybe a bit intimidated. They can be judgmental but if you’re feeding your one-year-old McDonalds and giving them fizzy drinks you need to have a word with yourself before you start pointing the finger.
|
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/jul/19/parents-raising-vegan-babies
|
en
| 2016-07-19T00:00:00 |
www.theguardian.com/a5924509f907f5fe94700691ecc9267621fb9738890001faae524736f7edd8eb.json
|
|
[
"Julia Kollewe",
"Nils Pratley"
] | 2016-08-26T13:23:59 | null | 2016-08-26T11:31:09 |
Big four supermarkets badly hit with four in five shoppers now visiting bargain stores and buying an ever-wider array of goods including fresh fruit and veg
|
https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fbusiness%2F2016%2Faug%2F26%2Fbritons-spent-5bn-bargain-stores-poundland.json
|
en
| null |
Britons spent £5bn in bargain stores last year
| null | null |
www.theguardian.com
|
Britons spent nearly £5bn at bargain stores such as Poundland, B&M and 99p Stores over the past 12 months, increasingly drawn by fresh fruit and vegetables, with more than 2.2m households shopping there for the first time.
Data from market researchers Nielsen showed that spending at bargain stores totalled £4.9bn in the year to July, up 17% from the previous year.
Nearly four-fifths of households in Britain (78%) now buy from them, with more than half shopping at Poundland alone. Together, bargain stores are more popular than the bigger German discount supermarket chains Aldi and Lidl, which are visited by three-quarters of households. Poundland, Poundworld, 99p Stores (now owned by Poundland), Poundstretcher, B&M and Home Bargains were included in the figures.
Almost a third of the increased annual amount spent at bargain stores hailed from shoppers switching from mainstream supermarkets and health & beauty retailers. Britain’s top four supermarkets – Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Asda and Morrisons – have been worst affected, accounting for nearly three-quarters of the spending shifted towards bargain stores.
“The rising spend at bargain stores is driven by two things,” said Mike Watkins, Nielsen’s UK head of retailer and business insight. “The huge rise in first-time visitors and, more importantly from a long-term perspective, shoppers buying a larger repertoire of products from bargain stores – some of which they previously bought from mainstream retailers.”
Poundland’s green light proves the value of talking to shoppers Read more
Watkins said bargain stores should continue to win market share, particularly as they are expanding in retail parks and on the high street, and if the Brexit vote turns out to affect consumer spending. A business survey on Thursday showed that retail sales were expected to slow in the autumn after a summer bounce.
The growth in sales has also been driven by bargain stores moving beyond the £1 price tag – almost one-in-four items cost more. Watkins said this “resonates well with shoppers because removing the £1 ‘straitjacket’ allows stores to offer good value across a much wider range of products, which makes for bigger baskets and more expensive trips”.
Household items, packaged groceries such as pasta, cereal, crisps and canned goods, sweets and cosmetics are the most popular products bought, accounting for 63% of bargain store sales.
However, fresh fruit and vegetables have recorded the biggest rise in popularity, albeit from a small base over the last year, in terms of number of shoppers and frequency of purchase. While shoppers have traditionally visited pound shops for non-perishable items, they are now also stocking up on 2kg bags of potatoes and kilogram nets of carrots and onions.
Watkins said: “This is similar to what we saw some years ago with Aldi and Lidl who initially attracted shoppers with special buys for non-food items and low prices on groceries.”
However, bargain chains such as Poundland have not been immune to the decline in the number of high street shoppers. The company has admitted that buying its lossmaking rival 99p Stores resultedhit sales.
|
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2016/aug/26/britons-spent-5bn-bargain-stores-poundland
|
en
| 2016-08-26T00:00:00 |
www.theguardian.com/ee9af78c683730a6a9e30f6870d899979282f8b726011640efbcf30df440d142.json
|
|
[
"Karl Mathiesen"
] | 2016-08-30T10:52:30 | null | 2016-08-30T09:52:13 |
Climate Home: Aviva, Aegon and Amlin issue joint statement urging leaders to build on previous commitments and end subsidies within four years
|
https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fenvironment%2F2016%2Faug%2F30%2Fleading-insurers-tell-g20-to-stop-funding-fossil-fuels-by-2020.json
|
en
| null |
Leading insurers tell G20 to stop funding fossil fuels by 2020
| null | null |
www.theguardian.com
|
Three of the world’s biggest insurers have called on G20 leaders to implement a timeframe for ending fossil fuel subsidies when they meet in China this week.
The G20 has already committed to phase out “inefficient fossil fuel subsidies that encourage wasteful consumption” over the “medium term”. In May, the G7 nations pledged to achieve this by 2025.
When the leaders of the 20 largest economies meet in Hangzhou on Thursday and Friday, they must commit to an end to assistance for fossil fuel companies within four years, said a joint statement from insurers Aviva, Aegon and Amlin.
The statement read: “Given the urgency of the climate change crisis, underscored by the Paris agreement reached in December of 2015, the next steps on this commitment are long overdue.”
The three insurers manage $1.2tn (£916.9tn) in assets. Aviva’s CEO, Mark Wilson, said: “Climate change in particular represents the mother of all risks – to business and to society as a whole. And that risk is magnified by the way in which fossil fuel subsidies distort the energy market. These subsidies are simply unsustainable.”
Estimates of fossil fuel subsidies vary widely depending on the definition of a subsidy. The OECD reports that its member states contribute $160-$200bn each year to the production of coal, oil and gas.
But the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said this doesn’t account for the damage to the environment and human health, for which governments carry the cost. The IMF estimates this to amount to a staggering $5.3tn a year, or $10m per minute.
“We’re calling on governments to kick away these carbon crutches, reveal the true impact to society of fossil fuels and take into account the price we will pay in the future for relying on them,” said Wilson.
Last year the US and China issued a joint statement saying that they would use China’s G20 presidency to produce a timeline for the phaseout.
Shelagh Whitley, a research fellow at the Overseas Development Institute (ODI), said the G20 pledge to end fossil fuel subsidies was “empty” if it lacked a concrete timeline. ODI’s own estimate puts fossil fuel subsidies at $444bn each year.
“These subsidies fuel dangerous climate change,” said Whitley. “If we are to have any chance of meeting the 2C target set at the Paris climate summit then governments need to start a programme of rapid decarbonisation. The finance sector recognises the importance of moving away from fossil fuels, governments need to realise they may be the only ones left not moving.”
The statement was also signed by the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries (IFoA) and Open Energi. It comes six days after 130 investors issued a similar pre-G20 representation. In the US, the Sierra Club has launched a campaign calling on the Obama administration to support the same target.
|
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/aug/30/leading-insurers-tell-g20-to-stop-funding-fossil-fuels-by-2020
|
en
| 2016-08-30T00:00:00 |
www.theguardian.com/a1eb7b2a3c19df3c05a610d383a92ffbd0aec29507f3d19944fefbe55cd56b0e.json
|
|
[
"Jeremy Bullmore"
] | 2016-08-26T13:28:32 | null | 2016-08-13T06:00:18 |
Our careers expert – and you the readers – help a Tefl teacher wanting to return to the UK, and someone who loves to makes things but can’t get a job
|
https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fmoney%2F2016%2Faug%2F13%2Fdear-jeremy-work-problems-solved-careers-expert.json
|
en
| null |
Dear Jeremy - your work problems solved
| null | null |
www.theguardian.com
|
My brother, a Tefl teacher, wants to return to the UK – what are his job options?
My brother has been a Tefl teacher for more than a decade and is head of a Tefl school for adults in Australia. He is also an accomplished musician. After a recent trip back home with his wife and children they have decided to come back for a year or two – potentially longer. It is all rather dependent on employment, of course, which is probably the first factor before location.
My brother is a dedicated and passionate teacher. I feel teachers across the spectrum in this country are not valued (I say this as a teacher myself), so I’d be really interested in your view and those of Tefl teachers here. Also, are there any areas in the UK with a particular need for Tefl teachers?
Jeremy says
This is such a specialised inquiry that I can do little better than refer your brother to a good search engine. I’ve surfed a bit myself and it’s clear there is demand for experienced Tefl teachers in the UK, though I suspect opportunities for someone as senior as your brother may be few and far between.
As far as location is concerned, it seems obvious that demand is most likely to be concentrated in the larger metropolitan areas such as London, Birmingham, Manchester and so on.
But, as is so often the case, your brother’s questions are most likely to be usefully answered by that small army of Guardian readers always so ready to share their first-hand knowledge.
Readers say
• Oxford, Cambridge and Bath have a year-round Tefl offer. Don’t discount holiday revision courses too – Oxford is full of them and students are increasingly diverse, needing EFL and subject-specific tuition. Green123
• I was in a similar situation when I moved back from Mexico. Initially the options were limited, but when a friend suggested looking at English as an additional language (EAL) posts in boarding schools, a whole world opened up. Many boarding schools rely on an intake of overseas pupils and a strong EAL department is essential to making a success of this strategy. juliafbird
• One option is to work at a summer school for kids. You can find these jobs at Tefl.com. Another better-paid option is to get a job teaching EAP (English for academic purposes) at a university. The best way into this is to apply to teach on a pre-sessional summer course. These jobs are on Jobs.ac.uk. It’s not uncommon to be taken on for teaching work in the academic year following the summer course. You stand more of a chance if you have the Delta qualification, or an MA in Tesol and applied linguistics. Katy Yelland
• Lots of universities have partnerships with an organisation called Into, which helps international students brush up on their language skills before they start university. Scrowjane
• It’s pointless teaching English as a foreign language in Britain. The job pays better and has more status in eastern Europe or Asia or Latin America. The real money is to be made in oil-producing countries. KarlNaylor75
• I’ve worked as and recruited teachers into EAP in a university. The jobs are advertised on university websites, Jobs.ac.uk and Baleap.org. You will need a diploma (Delta) or master’s in applied linguistics. The Delta is better and can be studied part-time and more cheaply. possumpossum
I’m good at making things. What I need is a job that will allow me to do it
I face a bit of a conundrum. I feel as if I have a million skills but, for love nor money, I seem unable/incapable of finding the career I want. I am 32 and for 16 years have worked in hospitality for a large IT company. I believe I am good at it, but my heart’s not in it.
What do I want? To make stuff. Vague, I hear you say. Agreed. All I can say is that every non-work moment of my day is spent making things, from robots to garden watering systems to gaming consoles. I have looked into the model-making and movie prop industries but have come up against the standard excuse for us Generation X people – how much experience do you have?
How do I find a job that allows me to make things without the catch-22 of in-work experience … of making things?
Jeremy says
If you were a would-be graphic designer you’d have compiled a portfolio and would be assiduous in keeping it fresh and contemporary. I wonder if you’ve attempted to compile the equivalent of a portfolio of your inventions. If you haven’t, as an obsessive maker of things this challenge should appeal to you.
I’ve no idea how you might go about it or what form your “portfolio” might take, but you should be able to produce something. I imagine you have photographic records of at least some of your constructions or, if not, could soon produce them.
The point I’m making is that in the absence of formal employment experience, hard physical evidence of your competence could be an excellent substitute. The more ingenious and imaginative you can make such an exhibit, the more effective it can be. Its very construction proves your abilities.
Then you should see if you can attract a little publicity. You could start a blog about your passion, passing on hints to others. And maybe attract a mention in your local paper with a photograph of one of your constructions. It doesn’t have to be a great feature: just enough for you to add to your credentials.
If you can achieve some or all of this, plus any other thoughts that may occur to you, you start from a stronger position when you approach model-making or film prop companies. You will not be an inexperienced amateur but an interesting individual with evident talent, and even something of an established reputation.
Readers say
• Have you thought about doing videos of your model making and putting them on YouTube? They should be delivered as if you were demonstrating to an audience – you can edit to fast-forward the slower sections. You can then send a link to your YouTube channel with your CV as proof of your skills. sojomo
• Make things you think people might want to buy and put them on eBay. Something will sell for a big margin. Make more to check it wasn’t a one-off. Next, set up as a sole trader and get a website going. Be unique, sell for good margins and take pride in quality and customer service. If and when you get bored of working alone you’ll have more than enough skills to get a job you want. 8rocko
• Think broader: architects need models, training companies need training rigs and demo sets, hospitality companies need one-off giveaways, colleges need displays … Justabloke
• Your skills may be well used in the engineering sector – I am told it’s easier to get into than creative industries. Look for apprenticeships, then after some training and experience you could move into something more creative and practical. gertrudefeigenbaum
|
https://www.theguardian.com/money/2016/aug/13/dear-jeremy-work-problems-solved-careers-expert
|
en
| 2016-08-13T00:00:00 |
www.theguardian.com/26472f87eda2dbad0153a772101da1cd99affc3e0edcaa290b8919b2402b84b8.json
|
|
[
"John Vidal"
] | 2016-08-28T16:57:20 | null | 2016-08-12T12:49:39 |
Supporters are trying to improve sport’s reputation through a campaign group with no members that is funded anonymously
|
https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fenvironment%2F2016%2Faug%2F12%2Fgrouse-shootings-rich-influential-backers-join-forces-fire-on-critics.json
|
en
| null |
Grouse shooting's rich, influential backers join forces to fire on critics
| null | null |
www.theguardian.com
|
With the Glorious Twelfth, the 2016 grouse season is under way – and the first birds will be served up in many a country house on Friday night. But after raising a glass to the late Duke of Westminster, who owned a vast acreage of grouse moorland, the shooters may also toast a colourful and remarkably influential group of people trying to improve the tarnished reputation of their sport.
They include the retired cricketer Sir Ian Botham, a billionaire hedge fund owner who houses his chickens in a coop that supposedly cost £150,000, and a lobbyist who boasts of his role advising a Russian oligarch.
They are united by their support for a group called You Forgot the Birds (YFTB). YFTB describes itself as a network that “includes naturalists and sportsmen, farmers, landowners, self-confessed birders, conservationists, those who live in the town and country”. But ask about specifics of grassroots support for YFTB and details are harder to come by. Its funders are anonymous – and it has no members.
That hasn’t stopped the group being influential. With friends in the Times, the Spectator, the Telegraph and the Mail – whose editor Paul Dacre owns a Scottish grouse moor – the shooters and landowners have signed up Sir Beefy to be their mouthpiece. In a series of ever-stronger articles in the Mail, the cricketing legend has taunted the RSPB and pressured the BBC to have Springwatch broadcaster and RSPB vice-chair Chris Packham sacked. This week, Botham has accused Packham of having “eco-Tourettes” and called him the “rallying point for a small group of angry bird activists”. And on Friday morning, in a bad-tempered encounter on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, the cricketer and the naturalist took potshots at each other as Nick Robinson listened in. “It’s only people like Chris that want to sabotage nature,” said Botham. “Beefy’s batting on a sticky wicket,” Packham replied.
Why such antipathy between the two tribes – and why is Packham such a target? The answer begins with the RSPB’s longstanding defence of raptors such as hen harriers, which feed on grouse but are still being illegally persecuted and killed by some grouse moor owners. Meanwhile, there is evidence that driven grouse shooting – where wild birds are sent towards the guns by “beaters” – damages protected wildlife sites, and increases flood risk and greenhouse gas emissions.
Adding to the shooters’ pain is a parliamentary e-petition that has more than 89,000 signatures calling for an end to the sport. Not since foxhunting with dogs was threatened with legislation in the 1990s has a country sport felt so besieged.
RSPB calls for shooting estates to be licensed Read more
Both sides are putting up facts and shooting down each others’ science. But the grousers appear to have decided that aggressive PR is the best tactic. Two years ago they called in London lobbying company Abzed.
The result was YFTB, which appears to be a classic “astroturfing” PR operation that gives the impression of a grassroots operation, suggesting the public and landowners all hate the RSPB, but which actually represents the views of very few anonymous landowners.
The only person who has said he is funding YFTB is hedge fund owner Crispin Odey, a Vote Leave enthusiast who made tens of millions of pounds betting on Brexit and was once married to Rupert Murdoch’s eldest daughter, Prudence. Odey, a keen shooter, lives in a Gloucestershire mansion where he has built his extravagant chicken coop, which is styled after a Greek temple.
The names of the people who make up the group’s trustees and advisory board are secret, but they are known to include Martyn Howat, once chair of the British shooting association (BASC), and Sir John Scott, the fifth baronet of Beauclerc who writes for the Field and lives grandly in the Scottish borders.
Other influential friends are thought to be the Times columnist and climate sceptic Viscount Matt Ridley, who has a Northumbrian estate and regularly defends grouse shooting, and Simon Hart MP, who is paid £30,000 to chair the pro-shooting Countryside Alliance which he once ran.
Facebook Twitter Pinterest Those involved in hunting and shooting were described as the ‘nasty brigade’ by the BBC wildlife presenter Chris Packham. Photograph: Christopher Thomond for the Guardian
But most of YFTB’s work is done in London by Ian Gregory, a former BBC journalist who works with Centaurus, has his own lobbying company Abzed and who acts as both the group’s spokesman and its policy director. Abzed also used to act as the official secretariat for the small all-party parliamentary group for e-cigarettes which includes Ridley.
Botham is key to YFTB’s existence. Not only does he shoot, his name is guaranteed publicity – as his appearance on the Today programme proved. Since he began writing for the Mail, he has gone after the RSPB. Before this week’s diatribe, he and YFTB have accused the RSPB of arrogance, of being in the hands of leftwing greens, of financial and ecological incompetence, of being monolithic and misleading its donors, and of sucking money away from other charities. If that hasn’t set the feathers flying enough, YFTB also complained to the charity commission about RSPB practices – and Botham has threatened to sue the charity for libel.
You Forgot the Birds is a concerted attempt by shooting interests to manipulate government policy processes Chris Packham
Meanwhile, Packham has been subjected to trial by social media and a concerted campaign by countryside lobbyists and groups to get the BBC to investigate and sack him after describing those involved in hunting and shooting as “the nasty brigade” in a magazine article. “Our editorial standards committee has discussed this complaint. We’re expecting to publish [the response] in September,” said a spokesman.
So when Botham’s name is used to set off these firestorms, is he actually the one writing the articles? Gregory is evasive. “We work together. Botham is absolutely not paid. He is passionate about this. He is not being used. He articulates the views of gamekeepers and landowners,” he says. He sends the Guardian Botham’s response to two questions: “There are activists in and outside the RSPB with a clear agenda of getting grouse shooting banned – I am passionate about putting the other side of the debate which is that such a ban would not just lead to heavy job losses but the destruction of breeding grounds which are essential to birds like lapwing and curlew.”
Gregory is contemptuous of the RSPB. “I am a townie. But people are fed up with the RSPB. It is arrogant and incompetent. It is becoming a one issue group. It doesn’t publish data on its conservation record. It is in decline. It is ideological,” he says.
Facebook Twitter Pinterest The RSPB’s efforts to protect raptors such as hen harriers have brought it into conflict with some grouse moor owners. Photograph: RSPB Images/PA
He denies links with the Countryside Alliance and says climate change is not on YFTB’s agenda. “We represent a patchwork of funders, lots of grouse moor owners and farming interests who are very private but passionate about nature. This is about influencing the debate about how conservation is conducted.”
Packham is the scalp that YFTB wants. “Is it appropriate for him to have a role as a BBC presenter? He calls shooters ‘psychopaths’ ... and farmers [involved in the badger cull] ‘brutalists’. He challenges the BBC brand. He is extremely biased and explosive in his language,” says Gregory.
Packham is measured in response: “My hypothesis, and that’s all it is, is that You Forgot the Birds is a concerted attempt by shooting interests to manipulate government policy processes to try and get their demands met on grouse shooting by neutralising the RSPB and people like myself who side with them. And that there are overlaps with the ‘so-called’ Countryside Alliance.
“They are trying to brand us as extremists, animal rights activists. They are picking on the RSPB to undermine the credibility of its science. It is a spin campaign to try to change the way we appeal to the public.”
The RSPB has declined to comment but its former conservation director Mark Avery is shocked. “It’s nasty stuff. Picking on Packham is playing the man instead of the ball. They are only interested in attacking the RSPB and Packham.
“Grouse shooting is clearly the top sport of the rich establishment. They are gathering together to put yobs like me and Packham back in our places because we have shone a light on grouse shooting.”
|
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/aug/12/grouse-shootings-rich-influential-backers-join-forces-fire-on-critics
|
en
| 2016-08-12T00:00:00 |
www.theguardian.com/37f47a87c90b5894705dc0ab80a4a1a0218bdcbcfcf408499aadc0f9d0d7a482.json
|
|
[
"Sam Levin"
] | 2016-08-26T13:16:25 | null | 2016-08-25T17:52:02 |
The federal agency is investigating the cyberattack against the Ghostbusters actor after her personal information and explicit images were leaked online
|
https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Ftechnology%2F2016%2Faug%2F25%2Fhomeland-security-leslie-jones-hacking-investigation.json
|
en
| null |
Homeland Security has 'open investigation' into Leslie Jones hacking
| null | null |
www.theguardian.com
|
The Department of Homeland Security is investigating the cyberattack against Ghostbusters actor Leslie Jones one day after her personal information and explicit images were leaked online.
In a short statement on Thursday, a spokesperson for the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency said that the Homeland Security investigations unit in New York “has an open investigation into this matter”.
“As a matter of agency policy and in order to protect the integrity of an ongoing investigation, we will not disclose any details,” the statement said.
“As a matter of agency policy, we are unable to disclose any information related to an active investigation,” a spokeswoman said.
News of the inquiry came less than 24 hours after the comedian’s website JustLeslie.com was taken down after hackers reportedly published photos of her driver’s license and passport, along with nude images that allegedly came from her iCloud account.
Her site was also apparently defaced with a video of the gorilla Harambe, marking the latest racist attack against the Saturday Night Live actor, who has faced an onslaught of harassment and online bullying this year.
Jones, who is usually a prolific tweeter, has yet to comment on the attack.
Leslie Jones faces constant abuse – because that's how racism works | Rebecca Carroll Read more
This is not the first time federal investigators have gotten involved in high-profile celebrity hacking cases. Department of Homeland Security agents led an investigation last year that led to the arrest of Alonzo Knowles, a Bahamian man, who had allegedly hacked into celebrities’ email accounts to steal unreleased movie and TV scripts along with private sex tapes.
Knowles reportedly told an undercover agent that he had dossiers on at least 130 accounts of stars and executives in entertainment, sports and media.
The FBI also investigated the attack on Oscar winner Jennifer Lawrence, whose naked pictures were exposed in 2014, also allegedly from her Apple iCloud account.
Last year, Sony Pictures co-chair Amy Pascal was also forced to leave her position after a hack revealed embarrassing emails that included racially insensitive remarks about Barack Obama. The US government said that hack was linked to North Korea.
Since the Jones hacking, many celebrities have tweeted their support for the comedian, and commentators have noted that black women in powerful positions often face coordinated harassment campaigns and persistent racist and misogynistic attacks.
Jones has repeatedly spoken out online bullying, and earlier this year Twitter responded by permanently banning Milo Yiannopoulos, a British columnist with the rightwing website Breitbart, who had aggressively targeted the comic.
Jones’ representatives have not responded to requests for comment, and DHS officials did not immediately respond to inquiries on Thursday.
An FBI spokeswoman said Homeland Security was handling the matter.
|
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/aug/25/homeland-security-leslie-jones-hacking-investigation
|
en
| 2016-08-25T00:00:00 |
www.theguardian.com/1833edba3dbf6570a3e740202daa991932fa0934bdc95127ffee45ad7a389b0f.json
|
|
[
"John Scanlon"
] | 2016-08-30T16:57:41 | null | 2016-08-30T14:00:02 |
With the planet at a crossroads, September will bring two crucial global conferences on the urgent issue of how best to protect endangered species
|
https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fenvironment%2F2016%2Faug%2F30%2F7-billion-people-how-protect-wildlife-endangered-species.json
|
en
| null |
In a world of 7 billion people how can we protect wildlife?
| null | null |
www.theguardian.com
|
Consumers and collectors want sturgeon caviar, snakeskin bags, shark meat and fins, wild snowdrop bulbs, precious rosewood furniture, and quality agarwood oil, as well as rare birds, reptiles, cacti and orchids. But they rarely stop to think about their origins. There are now over seven billion people consuming biodiversity every day in the form of medicines, food, clothing, furniture, perfumes and luxury goods. Demand for products drawn from nature is increasing, and with it pressure is growing on some of our wildlife species.
Our capacity to harvest from the wild has no limits, and modern transport has no frontiers. There are 1.1 billion international tourist arrive a year, 100,000 flights every day, and 500 million containers are shipped a year, allowing wildlife products to reach the four corners of the earth, legally or illegally. The tensions between boosting global trade, promoting development and conserving wildlife persist, in what sometimes seems like a set of objectives that are pulling in opposite directions.
But we can also see examples where competing demands have been reconciled, such as through well-regulated trade, under the CITES treaty, of wild animals and plants, such as in the wool of the vicuña, made into fine suits; meat of the queen conch, eaten as a delicacy; the skin of the alligator, made into watch straps; or the bark of the African cherry, turned into prostate medicine. Each has benefited both the species and local communities and their development.
Illegal trade, worth up to $20bn a year, is now at an industrial scale, driven by transnational organised criminals
Wildlife-based tourism has also greatly benefited from these strict trade controls by ensuring that the wildlife that underpins this lucrative and expanding industry is protected. The mountain gorilla is a wonderful example, where enhanced enforcement and well-managed tourism has seen gorilla numbers climbing.
In the right circumstances, trade can be an incentive for managing wildlife sustainably. It can provide positive economic benefits for local communities, as we have seen with the vicuña, where the numbers of wild animals have risen from 6,000 in the late 60s to more than 400,000 today. Close to 1,000 people in one Peruvian village alone are employed in the trade of its fine wool. But it can also be a threat to wild populations of animals and plants and their ecosystems if it is not sufficiently regulated or controlled, poorly monitored and managed, or conducted at unsustainable levels.
Illegal trade, worth up to $20bn a year, is now happening at an industrial scale, driven by transnational organised criminals. It robs local people of livelihoods and countries of revenue, as well as of their natural and cultural heritage and the associated tourism potential. It can also become intertwined with legal trade, as we have seen with python skins, posing challenges for authorities and consumers in determining legal origin. It is pushing many species towards extinction.
We also know that great conservation gains of the past can come under renewed threats, as is the case with the rhino in South Africa. Rhino poaching there was stable at about 10 a year in the decade to 2007 and rhino numbers were increasing. But then poaching increased sharply to around 1,200 last year, putting these hard-won gains at risk.
Facebook Twitter Pinterest Rhino numbers were increasing, but over the last decade poaching has intensified. Photograph: Alamy Stock Photo
Over the same period we have seen a surge in the illegal killing of the African elephant and trade in its ivory, which peaked in 2011 with an estimated 30,000 elephants being slaughtered for their ivory, putting certain populations at imminent risk of extinction.
How do we approach the legal and sustainable utilisation of wildlife in an increasingly crowded and interconnected world, where transnational organised criminals target high-value species, and where there are differing perspectives over how wildlife is utilised?
Why the Guardian is spending a year reporting on the plight of elephants Read more
Contemporary solutions do exist. The international community has a legally binding agreement responsible for monitoring and responding to unsustainable levels of trade in wild animals and plants and to illegal wildlife trade. The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora - CITES - deals specifically with individual species that are, or may become threatened through illegal or unsustainable international trade, including listed timber, marine and aquatic species, by strictly regulating such trade; we now record over 1,000,000 trade transactions annually. Commercial trade may also be prohibited, as is necessary, such as for elephant ivory and rhino horn, and from 2017 illegal trade will also be annually reported.
CITES has been greatly assisted by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), which not only first promoted the need for such a treaty back in 1963, but which has continuously provided sound scientific assessments into its decision making processes.
Yet the world has changed a lot since CITES was adopted. In that time we have witnessed growing prosperity, changing consumption and production patterns, vastly enhanced scientific knowledge, phenomenal advances in technology and, above all, exponential growth in global trade. Since 1975 the world’s population has grown from four to well over seven billion people – an additional three billion potential consumers of wildlife and wildlife products.
And while we are fortunate to live in an interconnected world, legitimate forms of transport are exploited by transnational criminals to shift their contraband and by travellers purchasing illegal or unsustainably sourced wildlife products.
In response, CITES has continually evolved. Emerging technologies for tracing and identifying wildlife in trade are being developed and utilised, and cooperative implementation and enforcement efforts are actively promoted and strengthened, such as though the International Consortium on Combating Wildlife Crime.
Facebook Twitter Pinterest Manta rays are now being brought under CITES trade controls. Photograph: Michael Pitts
New marine species, including hammerhead sharks and manta rays, and timber species such as rosewood, are being brought under CITES trade controls, and well-targeted programmes to support parties implement these listings are in place.
September will see the 17th World Wildlife Conference, or CoP17, convene in Johannesburg, South Africa. CITES will consider changes to the trade controls of close to 500 species of wild animals and plants, along with new and improved measures to ensure the sustainability of legal trade and to combat the scourge of illegal trade.
Yes, there is a strong sense of common purpose in ensuring the survival of wildlife. But there are some divergent approaches on the table as to the best path to follow, making it one of the most critical meetings in the 43 year history of the convention.
CITES’ decisions have a real world impact and the differing views will be a reflection of the high stakes and the interest and passion for wildlife that CITES generates among governments and observers alike.
And on the eve of CoP17 the wider conservation community will gather in Hawaii for the IUCN World Conservation Congress, where activists, scientists and leaders from across the globe will debate the planet’s most pressing conservation challenges and how to meet them under the theme “Planet at the crossroads”.
The world spotlight will be fixed on these critical sustainability issues in Hawaii and Johannesburg in September, as we map out a path for the ensuring the survival of the world’s wildlife on an increasingly crowded and interconnected planet.
|
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/aug/30/7-billion-people-how-protect-wildlife-endangered-species
|
en
| 2016-08-30T00:00:00 |
www.theguardian.com/e58bf8d1877383bf99c55f44369c43a124467fe528635452924aa6b7b39260f8.json
|
|
[
"Guardian Readers"
] | 2016-08-30T14:50:16 | null | 2016-08-30T14:11:40 |
Amid recent demonstrations across the UK, we want to hear from those involved in the movement about why it matters
|
https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fus-news%2F2016%2Faug%2F30%2Fblack-lives-matter-uk-what-does-it-mean-to-you.json
|
en
| null |
Black Lives Matter UK: what does it mean to you?
| null | null |
www.theguardian.com
|
In the UK earlier this month, Black Lives Matters UK held protests across Britain. Now protesters arrested during a demonstration in Nottingham have claimed that police treated them disproportionately harshly. The solicitor representing them said: “My clients feel that they have been targeted because of the colour of their skin.”
Police 'treated UK Black Lives Matter protesters more harshly due to race' Read more
It raises questions about the treatment of black people in the UK and during recent demonstrations, the organisation campaigned on what they described as “a nationwide crisis of racism”. They cited statistics showing that black people are far more likely to die in police custody and up to 37 times more likely to be stopped and searched than white people.
We want to hear from our readers about what the Black Lives Matter movement means to you. Why is the campaign necessary in the UK? What are your experiences? Are you planning to join future demonstrations? What message do you want to get across? Share your stories and experiences with us.
|
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/aug/30/black-lives-matter-uk-what-does-it-mean-to-you
|
en
| 2016-08-30T00:00:00 |
www.theguardian.com/a465a1c8f4e4665871ffaa2ab06f651b254c0097856908d5187d29a8a9199d26.json
|
|
[
"Tom Phillips"
] | 2016-08-26T13:20:35 | null | 2016-08-26T05:11:34 |
Although dismissed by many as impossible, support for a break away from Beijing appears to have grown, especially among the young
|
https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fworld%2F2016%2Faug%2F26%2Fliberate-hong-kong-calls-independence-china-elections-loom.json
|
en
| null |
'Liberate Hong Kong': pre-election calls for independence from China grow
| null | null |
www.theguardian.com
|
When Edward Leung closes his eyes and dreams of Hong Kong’s future he pictures a utopian metropolis of skyscrapers and social justice, “where people can do whatever they want as long as it isn’t harmful to others”.
“It’s an international place. A cosmopolitan state,” says the fashionable 25-year-old politics and philosophy graduate.
Is it part of China? “No,” Leung replies emphatically. “Not any more.”
Leung is one of the leaders of a small but increasingly visible independence movement in the former British colony that is setting the agenda before key elections for Hong Kong’s Legislative Council parliament on 4 September.
The movement was catapulted into the headlines in early August when the semi-autonomous city – which returned to Chinese rule almost two decades ago, in 1997 – saw the first pro-independence rally in its history.
Several thousand protesters took to the streets after six pro-independence candidates, foremost amongst them Leung, were barred from the upcoming election in what critics condemned as an act of political censorship designed to snuff out opposition to Beijing’s authoritarian rule.
“They try every means to oppress us,” complained Leung, one of the leaders of Hong Kong Indigenous, a so-called “localist” political group founded in the wake of 2014’s umbrella movement protests to combat what its members see as China’s erosion of the city’s way of life.
Facebook Twitter Pinterest Edward Leung speaks to the press after challenging a controversial election rules requiring candidates for upcoming elections to sign a form saying the city is an “inalienable” part of China. Photograph: Anthony Wallace/AFP/Getty Images
Beijing considers advocating independence subversion and its Communist party-controlled media has given “extremists” such as Leung short shrift.
In a recent editorial the editor of the nationalist tabloid the Global Times lampooned “the Hong Kong independence farce” as a radical fringe that would not be tolerated.
The former colony’s Beijing-backed government has claimed such ideas are a blatant violation of the territory’s mini-constitution, the Basic Law, which describes Hong Kong as an “inalienable part” of the People’s Republic of China.
Yet experts and activists say there has been a recent groundswell of support for independence among Hong Kong’s disillusioned youth who fear the “one country, two systems” formula – introduced after handover to safeguard its much-cherished freedoms – is no longer working.
A Chinese University of Hong Kong study, published in July, showed 17% of citizens backed splitting from China with that figure reaching nearly 40% among 15 to 24-year-olds.
“Compare it to a cancer if you like. It has spread from loony talk to universities, and now to secondary schools,” a columnist for the South China Morning Post admitted this week, arguing that interest in independence was here to stay.
Chan Ho-tin, the 25-year-old founder of the Hong Kong national party, one of several recently formed pro-independence groups, said he had been surprised how many people attended August’s historic rally, which he organised.
“Two years ago Hong Kong independence was a taboo. You couldn’t say that. If you said that … everybody condemned you: you’re nuts, you’re crazy,” said Chan, who was among the six candidates barred from running in next month’s election.
Facebook Twitter Pinterest A skyline view of the skyscrapers of Hong Kong. The former British colony has new elections on 4 September. Photograph: Jonas Gratzer/LightRocket via Getty Images
No more. Chan predicted that within five years the majority of public opinion would share such views.
“Hong Kong is still a colony in my eyes. Before 1997 it was a colony of Britain and after 1997 a colony of China,” argued the activist, who said he had given up his day job earlier this year in order to kick-start his push for independence and universal suffrage.
“Why don’t we just cut off the relationship?” mused Chan, who admitted that his decision to take on Beijing had left his mother, with whom he still lives, concerned. “Then we can have our own government, then we can have democracy. This is a very simple thought.”
Leung, who was born in mainland China but raised in Hong Kong, said the cause had been boosted by Beijing’s refusal to grant genuine democracy to the former colony, even after the 79-day umbrella movement, in which both he and Chan took part.
As long as we are under Chinese rule there is no hope to realise democracy Edward Leung, independence movement leader
“Some of us realised that, well, as long as we are under Chinese rule there is no hope to realise democracy or real autonomy in Hong Kong.
“It is still not a mainstream idea – we are still a minority,” Leung admitted. “But we are getting more and more popular and the tendency is growing. And that is the most essential point of our movement – it is growing especially, among our generation.”
Hong Kong’s leader, Leung Chun-ying, has attempted to extinguish growing talk of independence, declaring the topic off-limits. “[Debating independence] is absolutely not a matter of free speech,” he said this week. “[It] is very clear that Hong Kong is an inalienable part of our country. What room for discussion is there?”
Hong Kong’s traditional opposition parties defend the right to openly discuss the idea but dismiss it, in practice, as an unworkable pipe dream.
“We don’t think independence is possible,” said Emily Lau, the chairwoman of the Democratic party, who is stepping down from frontline politics after the coming election. “We eat mainland food. We drink mainland water. How the hell [are we going to become independent?]”
The veteran lawmaker blamed worsening Chinese repression for the “surge” in interest in what she called a “nascent” political group.
Lau said she had warned Zhang Dejiang, one of China’s top leaders, that Beijing’s encroachment on Hong Kong’s liberties were fuelling support for independence when he visited the former colony in May.
Many locals felt Hong Kong was now facing its “darkest hours since ’97” following China’s alleged abduction of five local booksellers, Lau recalled telling Zhang, adding: “People want to find a way out and some opt for independence.”
Suzanne Pepper, a political blogger who has been following politics in the former colony since the 1970s, described calls for independence as Hong Kong’s answer to Bernie Sanders’ bid for the White House: ultimately unachievable but nevertheless an effective way to force key topics onto the political agenda.
“[Hong Kong independence is] a complete fantasy. Never. Never. Never. Hong Kong cannot ever be independent,” Pepper said. “But it’s very important that people in Hong Kong understand what is happening ... Beijing is trying to take over. Beijing is trying to integrate this political system with the mainland so it will become ‘one country, one system’.
“The message [from the independence movement] is: we want China to leave us alone,” she added. “And if enough people keep making this argument then Beijing will have to listen.”
Proponents of independence say they have no roadmap for what they admit will be an extremely long and unpredictable hike to freedom.
“I don’t know the exact time. I don’t know how. But it is going to happen. It’s inevitable,” claimed Chan, vowing to use “any means necessary” to achieve his goal. “I don’t limit myself to only peaceful rallies or just limit myself to riots.”
Baggio Leung, another umbrella movement alumnus who backs independence, was also vague about how it might be achieved but hinted it was only likely to happen if the Communist party collapsed.
“What we need to do is to strengthen ourselves and wait for a chance,” said Leung, 30, one of three candidates from the Youngspiration party running in September’s election. “It is somehow like a revolution – no one will have a plan for a revolution.”
Facebook Twitter Pinterest Baggio Leung, a leader from the Youngspiration political party, during a recent campaigning event in Hong Kong Photograph: Tom Phillips for the Guardian
On a recent evening, Edward Leung and a group of fellow activists gathered outside a metro station in Hong Kong’s New Territories to lend their support to a Youngspiration campaign event.
Baggio Leung, who is no relation, said Beijing’s bullying meant many young Hong Kongers now felt their only option was to break away from China after 2047, when the 50-year “one country, two systems” model expires.
“We are losing our freedom – freedom of speech, freedom of publishing,” he said, pointing to the case of the missing booksellers. “Can you imagine Hong Kong without freedom? I don’t think that we can still survive.”
Many young Hong Kongers now viewed authoritarian China as a foreign country, Leung added.
“We think that Hong Kong people are somehow different from other nations, like Chinese. We have different cultures, we have different languages, we have different currencies, and our economic system is different from theirs”.
As commuters rushed past, activists waved flags in the sticky night air and erected tall blue and white banners urging them to join the struggle for self-determination.
“Liberate Hong Kong,” read one. “The revolution of our times.”
|
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/aug/26/liberate-hong-kong-calls-independence-china-elections-loom
|
en
| 2016-08-26T00:00:00 |
www.theguardian.com/ac33e8761de7519de85662dba1c4bda45c43a22324fbe83cf8b2a323a7b76b30.json
|
|
[
"Nils Pratley"
] | 2016-08-30T18:52:33 | null | 2016-08-30T18:42:08 |
Tim Cook fails to see the basic point that Apple has been paying so little tax in Europe that a confrontation was inevitable eventually
|
https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fbusiness%2Fnils-pratley-on-finance%2F2016%2Faug%2F30%2Fapples-showdown-with-europe-has-been-a-long-time-coming.json
|
en
| null |
Apple and tax: a showdown with Europe has been a long time coming
| null | null |
www.theguardian.com
|
Welcome to the baffling world of multinational corporate taxation. The European commission’s ground-breaking ruling that Apple owes Ireland €13bn (£11bn) in back-taxes after enjoying a quarter-century of illegal state-aid has exposed at least three oddities, or examples of plain old hypocrisy.
First, there is the bizarre spectacle of the Irish government saying it would rather not have a cash windfall that would fund its health service for a year. Even after the years of austerity, Dublin would rather fight commissioner Margrethe Vestager’s ruling.
Second, US politicians are performing gymnastics. A US Senate committee in 2013 accused Apple of being “among America’s largest tax avoiders” by exploiting Ireland’s generous tax breaks. Yet, now that Vestager & co have taken a shot at those same Irish inducements, the US political establishment is furious.
Third, there is a mystery of why Brussels has taken so long to act. One of Apple’s contentious deals with the Irish revenue authority dates to 1991, for heaven’s sake. Or perhaps no detective work is required. Deals between multinational and tax authorities are officially confidential. In practice, that is merely a polite fiction to allow regulators and legislators to do nothing until public anger reaches boiling point. That is what has happened with taxation of multinationals. Vestager deserves congratulation for reading the mood.
In the other corner, Tim Cook, Apple chief executive, takes the prize for misplaced indignation. His “message to the Apple community in Europe” was a masterclass in missing the bleedin’ obvious. Cook grumbled about how the commission had “launched an effort to rewrite Apple’s history in Europe, ignore Ireland’s tax laws and upend the international tax system in the process.” He warned, or threatened, that jobs and investment in Europe would be at risk. Yet he failed to address the wider picture, or see the basic point that Apple has been paying so little tax in Europe that a confrontation was inevitable eventually.
Yes, we all understand that the intellectual development takes in California. But that does not equate to a licence to reduce the tax bill to tiny sums in territories in which the actual sales of products take place. Vestager had it right: “If my tax bill was 0.05%, falling to 0.005%, I would think I need to have a second look.”
Cook should indeed rethink. The tax system for multinationals is in a fine old mess, but a company like Apple ought to be able to recognise a few basic principles. Number one: forget the 1990s, or even the 2000s, and know when your tax-planning is just too aggressive for your customers’ tastes.
ARM and Britain’s ‘industrial strategy’
A landslide was always on the cards. By a majority of 95%, the shareholders of ARM Holdings voted on Tuesday for their company to be sold to SoftBank of Japan for £24bn, a price equivalent to 43% more than the old share price. The result was never in doubt.
Less predictable, however, has been the lack of serious fuss elsewhere about a foreign takeover of the biggest and best technology company to have come out of the UK in the past 20 years. Chancellor Philip Hammond set the tone on day one with his silly comment that the deal showed that, after the UK’s vote for Brexit, the country had lost “none of its allure to global investors.” Nonsense. ARM, as a firm that sells and licenses its microchips around the globe, can afford to be indifferent about the UK’s membership of the EU.
The real Brexit angle was only this: SoftBank got its offer on the table before Theresa May’s government could decide whether its commitment to “a proper industrial strategy” should mean bids like the one for ARM should undergo a national interest test.
Hammond’s lack of concern is more alarming the more one considers how little, apart from a pay-day for ARM shareholders, SoftBank brings to the table. The Japanese firm’s promise to double the workforce in the UK over the next five years commits it doing only what ARM would almost certainly have achieved under its own steam.
At least SoftBank founder and chief executive Masayoshi Son shares ARM’s management’s enthusiasm for the opportunities offered by the chip-heavy “internet of things,” it could be argued. Yes, but it’s hard to see why ownership from Japan is an improvement on a set-up that has served ARM well.
As a highly successful public company, ARM has never struggled to get its investment plans approved by shareholders. SoftBank, by contrast, carries a mountain of debt, has no experience in the microchip business, and has competing claims on its capital, not least a US mobile telephone business facing stiff competition.
“A proper industrial strategy wouldn’t automatically stop the sale of British firms to foreign ones, but it should be capable of stepping in to defend a sector that is as important as pharmaceuticals is to Britain,” said May in her one and only speech in the campaign to win the Tory leadership. The reference was to Pfizer’s failed tilt at AstaZeneca in 2014. Is the UK technology industry, with ARM at its head, different? Perhaps it is, but a UK government ought to be able to explain why.
|
https://www.theguardian.com/business/nils-pratley-on-finance/2016/aug/30/apples-showdown-with-europe-has-been-a-long-time-coming
|
en
| 2016-08-30T00:00:00 |
www.theguardian.com/c0a4e6048c82f4ce9c6a050b3546943c8bed8a269de16cfa66e5486eabeebdbf.json
|
|
[
"Rob Davies"
] | 2016-08-26T13:23:44 | null | 2016-08-25T16:16:21 |
Fall in value of sterling and loss of livestock in Chinese floods fuel export boom – and dearer bacon in UK
|
https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fbusiness%2F2016%2Faug%2F25%2Fbrexit-vote-pushes-up-price-bacon-china-british-pork.json
|
en
| null |
Brexit vote pushes up price of bacon as China hoovers up British pork
| null | null |
www.theguardian.com
|
Brexit is pushing up the price of a bacon butty as China exploits the weak pound to hoover up British pork amid its own domestic shortage.
China’s farming industry has been devastated by severe flooding, which has forced suppliers to look further afield for their pork.
The added demand from China has pushed up EU pork exports to the People’s Republic by 60%, to reach 1.2m tonnes in the first six months of the year.
Much of China’s appetite has been sated by British meat exports, which have become cheaper for foreign buyers thanks to the weakness of sterling following the Brexit vote.
The result has been a 40,000-tonne rise in pig meat exports, up 31% on the first half of last year.
Some shop suppliers have raised their prices by up to 38%, according to purchasing company Beacon, causing price increases at the till of up to 19%, as supermarkets pass the cost on to consumers. It added that high prices would persist.
Pigs, Brexit and China: what’s the future for Britain’s farmers? Read more
“The combination of such huge demand for British pork from China and the devaluing of sterling following Brexit is impacting our breakfast tables,” said Emma Warrington, a senior food buyer at Beacon.
“Figures from our butchery suppliers show the price of British bacon rising, in some cases substantially, with data from [butcher] Birtwistles showing that the spike in demand was equal to an additional 30,000 tonnes in the first six months of 2016.
“All of this means we might be paying a higher price for a bacon sandwich for the foreseeable future.”
China’s paucity of pigs has been caused by severe floods, which have affected millions of people and left pig farmers struggling to protect their livestock.
The European farming industry has also felt the effect of flooding, which Beacon warned could pile on the misery for anyone who likes chips with their bacon butty.
It said the floods had affected potato crop quality and quantity, which is set to drive up prices for chips and other potato products.
Britain’s vote to leave the European Union – and the subsequent drop in the value of sterling – has triggered a string of warning about the cost of goods, including supermarket produce, holidays and bottles of wine.
The Consumer Prince Index measure of inflation reached 0.6% in July, the highest level in 20 months, with many economists saying the effect on inflation has yet to be felt in full.
Some industries such as domestic tourism are reporting benefits as the weak pound makes the UK a more attractive place for foreign visitors. Swiss luxury watch firms have reported a boom in tourists buying timepieces in the UK.
The most recent health-check on the state of the UK’s manufacturing sector also lent some weight to claims that the weakness of the pound will prove a boon to exporters.
Manufacturing exports rose to their highest level in two years in the three months to the end of July, according to quarterly survey data from the Confederation of British Industry.
But economists have warned not to read too much into one export figure. The CBI said it was not all good news for UK firms that do business with overseas clients.
The business lobby group said the currency effect was a “double-edged sword”, with manufacturers likely to feel the pinch as the cost of imported materials rises.
|
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2016/aug/25/brexit-vote-pushes-up-price-bacon-china-british-pork
|
en
| 2016-08-25T00:00:00 |
www.theguardian.com/87b2fe9ec3eac9097ab42c52f35e988002a2b68db75b741cab23544b04775263.json
|
|
[
"Press Association"
] | 2016-08-31T10:50:25 | null | 2016-08-31T09:40:37 |
Police release image of suspect after pupils aged 13 and 14 were targeted while walking home in Enfield
|
https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fuk-news%2F2016%2Faug%2F31%2Ftwo-schoolgirls-sexually-assaulted-same-man-north-london-enfield.json
|
en
| null |
Two schoolgirls sexually assaulted by same man in north London
| null | null |
www.theguardian.com
|
Two teenage schoolgirls were sexually assaulted by the same man as they walked home.
The pupils, aged 13 and 14, were targeted in Silver Street, Enfield, north London, on 20 July, and police have asked any more victims to come forward.
Detectives released a CCTV still of the suspect, who wordlessly assaulted the younger girl at about 4pm and then walked off. A few minutes later he did the same to the 14-year-old.
Facebook Twitter Pinterest CCTV still of the suspect. Photograph: Metropolitan police/PA
The man is white, approximately 5ft 8in, and has short black hair and stubble. He was wearing a grey T-shirt, a dark body warmer and bright red trousers.
DI Chris Rixon said: “We have been carrying out extensive inquiries to identify this man who we want to speak to in connection with this investigation.
“That has included a significant trawl and search of CCTV in the local area and we have now issued this still to ask the public for their help. If you recognise this man or have any information that could help us identify him, then please get in contact with us.
“At this stage we have no information to suggest there are any other incidents, but I’d ask anyone else that something similar has happened to to report it so it can be investigated.”
Anyone with information can call police on 020 8345 3349, or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
|
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2016/aug/31/two-schoolgirls-sexually-assaulted-same-man-north-london-enfield
|
en
| 2016-08-31T00:00:00 |
www.theguardian.com/56a3ac06a8f90c6697463e7d77eb1aab6177e15ca99369a8c5640e687565afd0.json
|
|
[
"Joel Santos Barcroft Images"
] | 2016-08-26T13:25:03 | null | 2016-08-23T06:30:08 |
Unforgiving temperatures of up to 60C (140F) beat down on these saltminers on a daily basis. Joel Santos travelled to capture the area’s dry, brutal beauty
|
https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fworld%2Fgallery%2F2016%2Faug%2F23%2Fdeadly-desert-working-60c-heat-afar-triangle-ethiopia-in-pictures.json
|
en
| null |
Deadly desert: working in 60C heat - in pictures
| null | null |
www.theguardian.com
|
Unforgiving temperatures of up to 60C (140F) beat down on these saltminers on a daily basis. The mines, situated in the Afar Triangle in Ethiopia, stretch across 38,000 sq miles and at their lowest point are more than 300ft below sea level. Joel Santos travelled to capture the area’s dry, brutal beauty
|
https://www.theguardian.com/world/gallery/2016/aug/23/deadly-desert-working-60c-heat-afar-triangle-ethiopia-in-pictures
|
en
| 2016-08-23T00:00:00 |
www.theguardian.com/3ab913b348efe88febd1ffaf1d609b24e5bc875cf63264a22e900a0954a0bc1c.json
|
|
[
"Tom Davies"
] | 2016-08-26T13:18:11 | null | 2016-08-24T07:10:38 |
Ryan Mason and Micah Richards to Hull? | Sofiane Boufal to Spurs or Southampton? | Chelsea to land Milan’s £30m Alessio Romagnoli?
|
https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Ffootball%2F2016%2Faug%2F24%2Ffootball-transfer-rumours-moussa-sissoko-to-tottenham.json
|
en
| null |
Football transfer rumours: Moussa Sissoko to Tottenham?
| null | null |
www.theguardian.com
|
Being a mill, the Mill often finds itself beset by an existential ennui at churning through the same products day in day out, wondering why rejected items keep being bunged back in for another whirl. Stories about Arsenal failing to land transfer targets, for instance. But what of their neighbours?
All has been relatively quiet on the Tottenham front this summer, but they like to get themselves in the mix late on in the window, and hark! Here they are chasing Euro 2016’s Moussa Sissoko, who may or may not be related to Newcastle Relegation’s Moussa Sissoko. Spurs have upped their offer for the France dynamo, offering to throw in Nabil Bentaleb – currently stewing in the Under-21s after going all wantaway on Mauricio Pochettino’s ass – as part of an attempted deal to to prise the midfielder, literally, from Mike Ashley’s employment. Newcastle want £30m, while Spurs value Bentaleb at £15m, despite effectively putting him on the naughty step.
Premier League: transfer window summer 2016 – interactive Read more
While Spurs are rummaging around at the back of the cupboard, they’ve also decided it might be an idea to hawk out Ryan Mason, over whom Hull have begun talks, and Clinton N’Jie, who is set for a loan switch to Marseille for a year as part of the deal bringing Georges-Kévin N’Koudou to White Hart Lane. Hull’s caretaker Mike Phelan is also reported to be interested in bringing Micah Richards to the KC Stadium, because if there’s one player who understands what being in a doomed relegation scrap surrounded by fans baying for the departure of the owners in an atmosphere of acrimony and decay is all about …
Another putative Tottenham target meanwhile, the Lille forward Sofiane Boufal, is the subject of a €15m bid from Southampton, as Claude Puel lines up the next wave of Saints attackers destined to spend the subsequent summer being linked with Big Red Clubs in the north-west. Lille want €20m though.
Chelsea are after the Milan defender Alessio Romagnoli, waving £30m around in the hope it may work rather more smoothly than similar wad-waving in the direction of Napoli over Kalidou Koulibaly, who has now been offered a new contract with a £60m release clause by the Serie A club.
Today’s daily diet of Arsenal disappointment includes fresh reports on the unlikelihood of Shkodran Mustafi being lured from Valencia or of Alexandre Lacazette leaving Lyon, while Everton are edging towards the view that maybe all those implicitly critical things that have been said about Joe Hart might have a smidgeon of validity, and are casting covetous glances instead in the direction of the Paris Saint-Germain goalkeeper Salvatore Sirigu.
And West Brom want to tempt full-back Charlie Taylor away from the stability and security that characterises life at Leeds United.
|
https://www.theguardian.com/football/2016/aug/24/football-transfer-rumours-moussa-sissoko-to-tottenham
|
en
| 2016-08-24T00:00:00 |
www.theguardian.com/b0472cea37a4a9ce197d1aa7f1d566eb18ec415888d39c5e25f79dbca72ad9fc.json
|
|
[
"Rory Carroll"
] | 2016-08-30T10:52:22 | null | 2016-08-30T10:00:27 |
There were 10,000 lookouts, scanning the wilderness for signs of smoke. Now just a few hundred remain, and they pass the time hiking, writing and knitting
|
https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fus-news%2F2016%2Faug%2F30%2Fus-national-parks-fire-lookout-forest-wildfire.json
|
en
| null |
'Freaks on the peaks': the lonely lives of the last remaining forest fire lookouts
| null | null |
www.theguardian.com
|
For Levi Brinegar, alone atop his mountain, a storm can feel like the end of the world. Clouds swallow the peak, winds howl and lightning blazes.
“The tower shakes. During the last one the windows cracked. The lightning was 50 feet away. It was like strobe lighting going off. It was crazy.”
Brinegar, 26, endures this, and more, for $12 an hour. He could not be happier. He reckons he has the best job in the world. “It’s fun. I’ll definitely try to get back next year.”
Brinegar is a fire lookout for the US Forest Service. He has spent the summer on a peak in Montana’s Helena-Lewis and Clark national forest armed with binoculars, a compass and a radio, scanning the wilderness for smoke.
— Rory Carroll (@rorycarroll72) Levi Brinegar mans a fire lookout in Helena national park. Door is bear-proofed. I think I want his job. pic.twitter.com/U9FrFj0wYq
Dozens more like him do the same across the US every summer, perched in 15ft by 15ft wooden cabins atop remote towers with sweeping panoramas, a low-tech, very human first line of defense against conflagrations. They are known, unofficially, as the “freaks on the peaks”.
The nickname is affectionate, not derogatory. It recognizes certain qualities needed to operate in lonely eyries – an embrace of nature, solitude and disconnectedness. And an ability to shift mental gears and respond when tempests and fires interrupt serene observation of cloud and canopy.
“We have a certain reputation,” said Leif Haugen, 46, a veteran who trains other lookouts. “It takes a certain type of person to do it. All lookouts have their own individual oddities.”
The challenge, Haugen said, was to accept nature’s rhythm. “New lookouts often have all these plans, they’re going to read all these books, or paint, or photograph, or learn an instrument. Then they’re amazed by how much they just sit there on the catwalk, watching weather. Those who can be content with themselves, and not having a list, have the most success.”
For some, inhabiting a sanctuary of contemplation far from modernity’s noise is a spiritual experience. In the semi-autobiographical story A River Runs Through It, based on his Montana upbringing, Norman Maclean noted: “It doesn’t take much in the way of mind and body to be a lookout. It’s mostly soul.”
When not gazing at clouds for signs of lightning, and forests for plumes of smoke, some lookouts knit, some hike, some study birds, deers, foxes and bears. Quite a few write.
The poet Gary Snyder worked as a lookout in Washington state’s North Cascades. Edward Abbey, who worked as a ranger and lookout in Utah and Arizona in the 1960s and 1970s, captured the job’s mystical appeal in novels such as Desert Solitaire and Black Sun.
Philip Connors quit his editing job at the Wall Street Journal after 9/11 and moved from New York to New Mexico where he has spent 14 summers, keeping vigil over Gila national forest for $13 an hour, and writing about it. “At the beginning I thought of it as a paid writing retreat with good views,” he said in a phone interview. “It has turned into something larger. I’ve become pretty deeply invested in this place.”
We don’t have cable television or high-speed internet. We get paid to look out the window all day Philip Connors
Connors, 43, accepted the peak freak moniker. “It’s way of acknowledging we’re the last of a dying breed. And that what we do is pretty far outside the cultural mainstream. We don’t have cable television or high-speed internet. We get paid to look out the window all day.”
Almost all are manned by just one person but some have couples, such as Chuck Manning, 71, head of the Northwest Montana chapter of the Forest Fire Lookout Association, and his wife. “I think it’s a great experience for a couple to be in a small lookout,” he said. “You’re in a very confined area. You really learn to get to know each other.”
Staffed lookout towers began a century ago, peaked at about 10,000 in the 1950s, then gradually declined to just a few hundred. Wisconsin has become the latest state to close its last towers, deeming aircraft and cameras cheaper and safer.
Volunteers maintain and restore some former lookouts to safeguard the heritage. The Forest Service rents out many decommissioned towers as holiday rentals.
Facebook Twitter Pinterest Part of Helena-Lewis and Clark national forest still recovering from a 2003 wildfire. Photograph: Rory Carroll for the Guardian
In Montana, New Mexico and other parts of the west the numbers of staffed, operational lookouts has stabilized over the past decade, stalling, if not reversing, the trend towards obsolescence.
It seems human eyes and intelligence can still do things that drones, satellites and infrared cameras cannot.
One reason is the policy of letting more fires burn. Fires can actually benefit ecosystems by clearing brush and regenerating forests. But they can swiftly explode out of control, hence the need for constant vigilance.
“The techno-fetishists always dream of replacing us (but) we can do things for firefighters on the ground that a camera attached to a drone just can’t do,” said Connors, noting that many lookouts stay in the job for decades, acquiring deep knowledge of terrain and weather.
Another reason is the increasingly unpredictable fire behavior. They burn fiercer, bigger and more frequently – a new normal attributed in part to climate change. “Fire behavior has ramped up. It’s different to what it used to be,” said Haugen, a lookout near Montana’s border with Canada for 23 years.
Record-high temperatures and drought-induced tinderbox conditions can turn a spark into a wall of flame within minutes. A recent example is the Blue Cut fire in California, which destroyed hundreds of structures, torched 37,000 acres and forced 80,000 people to flee.
Lookouts are tasked with spotting puffs of smoke early, feeding correct coordinates to fire crews and averting such disasters.
“Every time I see that smoke I get real excited,” said Brinegar, clutching binoculars as he circled the catwalk on the Stonewall tower, 8,270ft above Montana’s majestic wilderness, the Rockies in the distance.
The dirt path up to the tower winds through swathes of charred, spectral trees, the legacy of a 2003 inferno from which this part of the forest has yet to recover – a stark reminder of what is at stake.
Since taking over the outpost in July – this is his first season – Brinegar has called four fires, including one on Nevada Mountain, 17 miles away. Each time helicopters and ground crews doused the blazes before they exploded.
Upon spotting smoke, a lookout uses a table-sized 360-degree compass known as a fire finder to identify the location, then relays it to base. Twice Brinegar has confused mist known as water dogs with smoke, a common rookie mistake. “I’ve learned to take my time if I’m not sure, wait maybe 10 minutes before calling it.”
Most days are uneventful: rise at 7am, breakfast on military rations (there is electricity and a stove but the former infantry soldier prefers rations to cooking), check in with base, scope the landscape, measure humidity, file a weather report, lunch, more scoping, a supper of potatoes and sausages, maybe a DVD, sunset, bed.
Brinegar savors the solitude. Having grown up in rural California he finds cities crowded and noisy. “I’m not a people person. I miss the woods, the quiet. Being by yourself you figure out what you want to do with your life.”
Facebook Twitter Pinterest Levi Brinegar at the US Forest Service’s Stonewall fire lookout in Montana. Photograph: Rory Carroll/Rory Carroll/The Guardian
When not on duty he hikes and checks out deer, goats and other wildlife. The tower’s heavy door is studded with spikes to deter grizzlies, but he has yet to see one. He does, however, wear a bearskin cape, bought online for $300.
Storms are exciting and nerve-wracking, said Brinegar, who sports a long, auburn beard. “It feels like a miniature earthquake. The water in your glass sways.” With 90mph winds roaring and hail hammering the panes he hunkers on a wooden stool – “the lightning seat” – which has glass jars on its feet to conduct electricity. The tower also has lightning rods and grounding cables to protect against a direct strike.
— Rory Carroll (@rorycarroll72) The fire lookout's 'lightning chair'. Glass feet keep it grounded if struck during storm. pic.twitter.com/t4EbHQs1L6
Every five to seven days Brinegar rides an all-terrain vehicle down to Lincoln (population 1,100) for a night or two, then returns. There is phone signal, so he can text and email, but otherwise has little human contact beyond his twice-daily radio reports.
Fire season here will end when the snows come, perhaps later this month. Until then Brinegar will continue his vigil and maybe, he said with a sheepish grin, watch The Shining a few more times. “I’ve watched it five times already.”
|
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/aug/30/us-national-parks-fire-lookout-forest-wildfire
|
en
| 2016-08-30T00:00:00 |
www.theguardian.com/6ef753497e1cb0a80848eafc1e0300ebb101b54ce716e3c7e2936a4678bee954.json
|
|
[
"Source",
"Yannis Mendez"
] | 2016-08-26T13:30:39 | null | 2016-08-23T15:21:07 |
New footage from Corbyn train trip shows someone standing next to him saying, in seeming reference to a lack of seats: ‘Hopefully at York some people will get off’
|
http%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fpolitics%2Fvideo%2F2016%2Faug%2F23%2Fjeremy-corbyn-walks-through-packed-carriage-during-11-august-train-trip-video.json
|
en
| null |
Jeremy Corbyn walks through packed carriage during 11 August train trip - video
| null | null |
www.theguardian.com
|
New footage from Corbyn’s train trip on the 11 August has been sent to the Guardian in which someone standing next to him says, in seeming reference to a lack of seats: ‘Hopefully at York some people will get off.’ The footage sent by Yannis Mendez, who originally filmed Corbyn sitting on the floor of the train, also shows the Labour leader walking through a packed carriage
|
http://www.theguardian.com/politics/video/2016/aug/23/jeremy-corbyn-walks-through-packed-carriage-during-11-august-train-trip-video
|
en
| 2016-08-23T00:00:00 |
www.theguardian.com/ca6e3671164ecc49eea7316f0e340d5ce6c5fa20d70aa1ac9bba852678e67bdf.json
|
|
[
"Patrick Collinson"
] | 2016-08-26T13:29:38 | null | 2016-07-30T06:00:26 |
Losses from online crime are borne by customers but there are simple changes that could help protect them
|
https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fmoney%2F2016%2Fjul%2F30%2Fonline-fraud-crime-theft-bank-account.json
|
en
| null |
Banks need to tackle web fraud
| null | null |
www.theguardian.com
|
A child’s bike is stolen, and the police visit the distressed family twice in the space of a few days. Up the road, £37,000 is stolen, but the police don’t bother to visit, and no investigation takes place. Why? Because one is a physical theft, the other happened online.
Britain is suffering an epidemic of financial crime, yet the institutional response is feeble, with banks the most to blame. The Office for National Statistics revealed this month that there have more than 5.8m incidents of cybercrime in the past year, far more than previously thought and enough to nearly double the headline crime rate in England and Wales.
One in 10 of us fall victim to online scams, virus attacks and thefts of bank details every year. The sums stolen are truly spectacular: £193bn a year – 50% more than the annual budget for the entire NHS.
Sneerers will say it’s silly old duffers falling for scams that they would spot a mile off. It’s not. The £37,000 was stolen from a reader paying for building work – not knowing that fraudsters had hijacked the builder’s email and changed the account numbers to be paid. We first wrote about this type of elaborate scam in February, after a record label manager and her husband were conned out of £25,000. They were hardly the types you could accuse of not being internet savvy.
The £134,000 stolen in our story today came from a retired headmaster in full control of his faculties. My own 90-year old father fields calls almost every day from fraudsters. He’s a retired accountant, reads the financial press, and enjoys tantalising the scammers into thinking he’s about to give them all his money. Other older people, though, are among the most distressing victims.
There is one simple reform that should have been enacted years ago, but probably has not been because bank IT systems are creaking after being cobbled together from various mergers and acquisitions.
People are often convinced their money is safe because it is being transferred into an account in their name. But banks pay no attention to account names, basing transfers entirely on sort codes and account numbers. Forcing them to match these up with a customer’s name will halt at least some of these frauds.
A second troubling area is the role of Barclays bank in particular. When the Guardian Money desk receives an email from a reader who has lost money, a colleague will ask “Was it transferred into a Barclays account?”. The answer, more often than not, is “of course”. We may be only seeing a tiny snapshot of the true picture of fraud across the UK, but we are bewildered as to why Barclays seems to feature so frequently. It says it is fighting as hard as any other bank to beat fraud.
When banks were at risk from burglaries, they used iron bars and unbreakable safes. Now the risk of bank theft falls on the customer, the incentive to protect, to chase, to prosecute, has fallen away. The police can’t fight this alone; the banks need to be compelled to do one hell of a lot more.
|
https://www.theguardian.com/money/2016/jul/30/online-fraud-crime-theft-bank-account
|
en
| 2016-07-30T00:00:00 |
www.theguardian.com/19e2365f58e687bbcd98f7d9b5252a1ee97668356db8fe6086f002304af2d4e4.json
|
|
[
"Peter Walker"
] | 2016-08-30T20:57:42 | null | 2016-06-14T14:33:02 |
Peter Walker: The troubled trajectory of the capital’s backstreet bike routes has repercussions for cycling policy across the country
|
https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fenvironment%2Fbike-blog%2F2016%2Fjun%2F14%2Flessons-from-londons-failing-quietways-scheme.json
|
en
| null |
Lessons from London's failing 'quietways' cycle scheme
| null | null |
www.theguardian.com
|
It has arrived with less fuss than the segregated superhighways, but as of this week London has the first in its new generation of officially designated cycling “quietways”.
Quietway 1 runs for just over five miles from Greenwich to Waterloo in south-east London, eschewing main roads for a combination of back streets, traffic-free paths and cyclist-only contraflows. The quietway programme, led by Transport for London, is meant to provide seven of these routes by this time next year, intended in part for less experienced or gung-ho riders who prefer to go at a more leisurely pace.
If you don’t live in London this might be the time you’re thinking: hang on, what’s this got to do with me? But read on, because the troubled trajectory for the capital’s quietways project has lessons for cycling across the country. And they’re not especially positive ones.
Providing a road environment in which people other than the young, swift and bold can cycle is, of course, in part about creating separated lanes on busy roads, as London has done with its new and shiny north-to-south and east-to-west superhighways. These can be complex in their way – along with the lane itself you need redesigned junctions and the like – but to an extent this is the easier part of transforming things.
The other element of a bike-friendly city is less about bulldozers and big projects and more about subtle changes. As such it’s much easier to get wrong or to half do. It involves making smaller roads, especially residential streets, more oriented around humans (whether on bikes or walking) than around motor vehicles.
Part of this is speed reduction. If bikes are to share the road space with cars, then the cars must be going at no more than 20mph. This can be hard. It’s also – and this is the really tricky bit – about making it more difficult to drive. Doing this involves cutting off rat runs using bike-permeable dead-ends or one-way routes. The Dutch are very good at such schemes. In many places a trip which might take five minutes on a bike could take three times as long in a car. And so people tend to not use cars unless it’s necessary.
This is hugely politically difficult, because car owners tend to object very noisily to such measures. To create effective quietways you need political vision and courage. And this is often lacking.
Facebook Twitter Pinterest Quietway 1 route through south-east London. Photograph: Jonathan Bewley/J Bewley/Sustrans
To return to the specific example of London, the quietways programme is hampered by the fact it is built on streets under the control of local councils. And local councils are not bold. That, in the main, is why the quietways programme seems to be failing.
Quietway 1 actually seems to be the exception. I’ve not ridden it, but people who I trust have done so and report on it fairly favourably, despite some oddities like some vastly over-engineered metal gates you need to slalom around at one point.
But sadly, that might be that. Boris Johnson’s former commissioner for cycling, Andrew Gilligan, said this week that the programme was being sunk by council’s unwillingness to close off streets to rat-running traffic.
“I think the quietways programme is a failure at the moment,” Gilligan told a cycing conference in Hackney, according to the road.cc website. “There’s going to be a couple of good ones, but not many more.” It was, he added, “discouraging how little progress there has been on quietways”.
He was reacting in part to a decision last week by Hackney council in east London to not block rat runs along a section of another proposed quietway. Rather than closing 13 junctions along the route to motor vehicles (but allowing bikes to pass) the council opted to just make the quietway route narrower, which will reduce the average 4,000 vehicle a day traffic on the road by just 10%. The route is thus only a quietway in name, according to the London Cycling Campaign.
The debate over the Hackney scheme is complex. There are concerns that the junction closures would just push vehicles onto other side roads, which saw a majority of people living within the affected area oppose the idea. But however you see it, the result is not a “quietway”. It will be a rat run for cars, but now a narrowed rat run with cars trying to squeeze past cyclists. It’s just a new name for the same roads.
It also means something else. It means the minority of people who own a car in Hackney – about a third of households, according to the 2011 census – still keep control of the streets, with the negative consequences of air pollution, danger and noise still visited on everyone.
Closer to home for me, part of yet another quietway is due to go down my own street in south-east London. This is a narrow residential street, but one with the misfortune to run between two bigger roads, and thus a popular rat run. Twice a day it’s choked with rush hour cars and vans, slaloming through the narrow pinch points and bouncing over the speed bumps, the 20mph speed entirely theoretical. When I take my son and his friends to school I generally have to stand in the road, physically stopping the traffic so they can cross. The idea it’s a quietway is laughable.
Southwark council consulted about a year ago on an exciting-sounding plan to block the road off to motor vehicles at one end, thus curbing 90% of the traffic. This won majority support from residents. And then ... nothing. A new consultation appeared, which would make a few tweaks to junctions but do nothing for traffic levels. My locals councillors insist both options are still possible, but the longer it goes on the more I assume they, too, are bowing to the noisy minority of car drivers.
There is a wider issue here: how much longer do politicians permit noisy objectors to veto or delay changes which provably make a town or city more safe? Business as usual means more pedestrians and cyclists killed, injured and intimidated, it means more early deaths from vehicle smog, it means older people, children, disabled people, the inexperienced and cautious, more or less entirely excluded from being able to cycle on their own streets.
A few weeks ago I spoke to Paul Steely White, who heads Transportation Alternatives, a New York City-based campaign group which helped push for the cycling infrastructure in that city. He used a parallel which struck me. I think it’s entirely relevant to the failing quietways scheme:
|
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/bike-blog/2016/jun/14/lessons-from-londons-failing-quietways-scheme
|
en
| 2016-06-14T00:00:00 |
www.theguardian.com/89b0f7d4840a064f8e6b60ab268d0e09abeab5a619424b4a4ae3125c247174c3.json
|
|
[
"Donna Ferguson"
] | 2016-08-26T14:59:08 | null | 2013-09-23T00:00:00 |
Online property sales are dominated by a handful of websites, but there are many others with a different focus, specialist criteria and alternative search facilities
|
https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fmoney%2F2013%2Fsep%2F24%2Fproperty-websites-alternatives-rightmove.json
|
en
| null |
Property websites: 15 great alternatives to Rightmove
| null | null |
www.theguardian.com
|
If you're looking for somewhere new to live you'll be well aware of the main property websites such as Rightmove and Zoopla. But while they carry more than a million listing, you may miss out on your perfect home if you make them your only port of call.
If you aren't sure where you want to live, want to take on a renovation project or dream of living somewhere truly unique, there are other sites to help you in your search. Here are 15 of the best alternatives for buyers and tenants.
1. Find a Hood Designed to help you work out where to live, this site asks you to describe your "perfect hood" using 10 different criteria. For example, a local park and good schools might be your top priorities if you've got kids, while low crime may be more important to you if you have to travel home late at night. It then shortlists 15 areas within your chosen region of England or Wales that it thinks will suit you, based on statistical data from official sources. (You can also check this data for any postcode in the UK.)
2. Property Network This site also aims to help you find a place to live, this time based on what it can glean about you from Facebook. You log into the site via Facebook and it uses information about your "likes", "check-ins", education status, work and personal interests to make recommendations about neighbourhoods and properties you can buy or rent. You can also see information – after it has been anonymised – about your potential or existing neighbours.
3. Find Properly Enter your price range and use a map to pinpoint places you regularly commute to or visit (by bike or public transport). You can restrict the maximum commute time and, once you get your results, filter the neighbourhoods by property type, crime rate, the maximum distance to a park and council tax band. You can also restrict your search to certain tube zones and areas popular with either students, young professionals, families or retired people. The site is limited to London at the moment.
The Stream, Colchester. Photograph: Waterside Properties
4. Waterside Properties If it's a sea view you're after, this site is the place to start – it lists properties for sale and rent by water, whether that's a marina, the sea, a river or a lake. Meanwhile, tucked away on CanalCuttings you can find properties and moorings by canals for sale. Alternatively, if you're feeling rich, search on Prime New Developments for new-builds around the world in the "sun and sand" category.
5. Property Snake This lets you search for properties in a general area or postcode which have had their prices cut. There is a "listing history" showing when the property was reduced in price and by how much, as well as the usual estate agent's details.
Zoopla has a similar facility. On its homepage you can "sort by" the "most reduced" properties in an advanced search.
6. Tepilo Set up by the TV presenter Sarah Beeny, this site cuts out estate agents and letting agents, allowing vendors to upload photos and descriptions for free. The commission saved can potentially be passed on to a buyer or tenant as a discount. It is also possible that you will have less competition as a buyer if the properties are not being marketed outside the site.
7. Whitehot Property This site, and another called Property Earth, allow you to buy repossessions. The properties listed here tend to be priced for a quick sale by mortgage lenders. Bear in mind that any money you save may come at someone else's expense.
8. Unmodernised This is a good place to start if you're eager for a project. It lists only properties that offer the potential for the buyer to add value, usually because they need refurbishment or because they already have planning permission for work. Similarly, property blog Wreck of the week publishes a regular round-up of homes for sale around the country. You can even put a "wanted" advertisement on the site for six months for £4.
9. Propertyauctionaction For those who are able to act quickly, buying at auction may be an option. This site lists upcoming auctions taking place around the country and has a (limited) search function. Alternatively, you could go straight to the auctioneers' sites: Allsop, Must Be Sold, Savills, Countrywide Property Auctions and Barnard Marcus are five of the biggest worth checking out.
10. UK Land Directory If, on the other hand, your dream is to self-build, then the first thing you need is a plot of land, ideally already with planning permission. UK Land Directory and UK Land and Farms are among the few sites that allow you to search for plots for free, with most listings stating clearly whether planning permission has already been granted. Other sites such as Plotfinder and BuildStore's PlotSearch charge between £10 and £20 for one-off access to their listings.
The Manse in Nairn. Photograph: Church of Scotland
11. The Church of Scotland A large number of period churches, chapels and vicarages are being auctioned off at bargain prices across Scotland. Many are being sold without the planning permission needed to convert them into residential homes, and as they are listed buildings it may be difficult to get. What's more, some are in extremely rural locations and are not connected to the mains water or electricity supply. However, there are residential properties on the site, and you might be able to grab a bargain. The Church of England also sells off around 20 "closed churches" each year, but doesn't list prices on its website.
12. Unique Property Bulletin For buyers who want something a bit different, visiting this blog will feel like visiting a sweet shop. The hand-picked properties range from old schools and churches to tube stations, police stations and nuclear bunkers. The Unique Property Site lists equally unusual properties, especially under the "odds and sods" category, where you can currently find an old fire station in Lincoln, a pump house in Lancashire and a 14th-century tower house in Italy.
13. The Modern House This site lists modern properties of architectural note, including many shortlisted for prestigious prizes. But don't expect to pay a pittance for someone else's grand design – asking prices for the properties currently on its books range from £285,000-£6.85m. Cheaper architectural gems in the UK and the US can sometimes be found on the property blog WowHaus, if you're lucky.
14. Period Property UK Whether you want a thatched cottage, a medieval manor house or any other type of historic home, this search engine can help. And if you like the sound of that (and money is no object) then you'll love British & Irish Stately Homes, which features properties for sale and rent, complete with stately prices.
15. SpeedFlatmating If you're sick and tired of traipsing around London looking for a room to rent, this site might offer welcome relief. Instead of going to a flat, you go to a "flatmate-finding party" hosted by the website, where you could meet lots of potential flatmates at the same time. Sadly, it won't help if you don't live in the capital.
Spotted any useful alternatives to Rightmove that we have missed? What are your favourite property-hunting websites? Tell us about your experiences.
|
https://www.theguardian.com/money/2013/sep/24/property-websites-alternatives-rightmove
|
en
| 2013-09-23T00:00:00 |
www.theguardian.com/6d1c03d8415cef50374340b1278f24fa35c22f2de10f4affabb4c66d09327b2e.json
|
|
[
"Anushka Asthana",
"Rowena Mason"
] | 2016-08-30T20:50:16 | null | 2016-08-30T19:46:08 |
‘Continuum’ of options stretches from liberal access to single market to stringent border controls alongside trade tariffs
|
http%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fpolitics%2F2016%2Faug%2F30%2Fdivisions-emerge-as-whitehall-draws-up-brexit-scenarios.json
|
en
| null |
Divisions emerge as Whitehall draws up Brexit scenarios
| null | null |
www.theguardian.com
|
Civil servants have been asked to assess the impact of a wide range of Brexit scenarios, from full membership of the European Economic Area (EEA) to a system under which some Europeans would need visas just to holiday in Britain.
Theresa May gathers her cabinet at Chequers on Wednesday with Brexit at the top of the agenda, and the scenarios exercise has already started to expose potential divisions in government.
The scenario planning is taking place across government with reports expected to be fed into the Brexit department run by David Davis. However, the findings are likely to remain internal.
Some officials at the Foreign Office are pushing for “as much Europe as possible” while others in the Home Office are reluctant to consider full EEA membership or single market access because their priority is an immigration clampdown, according one Whitehall source.
They said government departments were thinking of the possible forms that Brexit could take along a “continuum” stretching from heavy access to the single market with limited restrictions on immigration to stringent border controls alongside trade tariffs imposed under WTO rules.
Europe is out to shaft Brexit Britain. Here's how Theresa May can prevent it | Paul Mason Read more
May has asked every cabinet minister, most of whom campaigned to remain in the EU, to set out how Brexit could be a success in their areas, and will be expecting them to report back on Wednesday.
Facebook Twitter Pinterest The Britain Stronger in Europe campaign will relaunch on Friday as Open Britain. Photograph: Justin Tallis/AFP/Getty Images
Britain Stronger In Europe, which led the remain campaign, is being rebranded and will relaunch on Friday as Open Britain, to push for a deal in which the UK is open for business, trade and investment.
The group, which is backed by a cross-party group of politicians including Anna Soubry, Pat McFadden, Chuka Umunna, Nick Clegg and Dominic Grieve, has more than 500,000 registered supporters from the referendum campaign.
Umunna, who also chairs a new group called Vote Leave Watch that will scrutinise Brexit negotiations, said: “The problem the prime minister has got is that ‘Brexit means Brexit’ is a meaningless soundbite. No one knows what Brexit will look like.”
He argued there was no precedent for the EU to grant single market access without free movement. “That is the circle that the prime minister has to square,” he said, claiming the other key issue was the promise of £350m a week for the NHS.
Responding to news that May will not give MPs a vote before triggering article 50, the mechanism that starts the clock on Brexit negotiations, Umunna said she would need to bring other aspects of the negotiations to the House of Commons. “Parliament will have to repeal the 1972 European Communities Act which provides for primacy of EU law,” he said.
Tom Brake, the Lib Dem foreign affairs spokesperson, accused the leading figures for Brexit in government, Boris Johnson, Liam Fox and David Davis, of doing nothing but squabbling about the size of their departments.
“It’s about time they start actually considering the UK’s future,” he said. “Any Brexit deal which does not include membership of the single market will have a profoundly negative impact on the UK’s economy.”
A number of groups are springing up among Brexit campaigners who want to ensure that the government does not water down the withdrawal from the EU. Some are putting together a core Vote Leave group whose activities will be separate to the ongoing work of their former chief executive Matthew Elliott and plans being put in place by the donor Arron Banks.
Brexit is not inevitable, says former civil service chief Read more
Some Brexit campaigners will hope to represent the 17 million leave voters in different ways. Steve Baker, former chair of the Conservatives for Britain group, said he would now be leading the European Research Group.
“Conservative MPs will be supporting the government and I in particular am not interested in oppositional activity. I only want to be constructive in supporting the government’s policy, which is to leave the EU,” Baker said. He added he was confident that May would deliver a “uniquely British deal”.
Baker has been critical of the suggestion that pro-EU officials will try to water down the plans for Brexit and ensure it is at the weakest end of the scenarios.
The Whitehall source echoed reports that Treasury officials were lining up at one end of the spectrum. He said they were pushing hard for economic access, and said a similar position was being taken by those working in the Foreign Office, particularly in the European sections.
However, special advisers to the foreign secretary, Boris Johnson, will be urging his departmental staff to remember that he was a vocal proponent for Brexit.
The source indicated that Home Office officials were focused on immigration, with worries about the cost of implementing any extra border controls. However, one scenario could involve some European citizens, from countries further away, needing visas for holidays.
Officials at big infrastructure departments such as defence and transport were keen to protect their own projects while staff at Defra were “delighted to kill off the rural payments agency” that administers the EU’s common agricultural policy, the source added.
A briefing note(pdf) from the House of Commons library highlights the huge number of decisions the British government will have to take about its future relationship with the EU. It raises the possibility that the UK could allow EU citizens to remain only if they do not claim benefits, and restrict their access to social housing.
“If Brexit means an end to free movement rights, the UK would be able to impose restrictions on access to many social security benefits via immigration law, for example by making EU/EEA nationals’ leave to remain in the UK subject to a condition that they have no recourse to public funds,” the briefing says.
The government will also have to think about whether to stop providing student loans and UK-rate tuition fees for EU students.
|
http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2016/aug/30/divisions-emerge-as-whitehall-draws-up-brexit-scenarios
|
en
| 2016-08-30T00:00:00 |
www.theguardian.com/02b04581e5c2d527616bb2b37c0d4a552554c0d20aa52d59fb00339dc072f700.json
|
|
[
"John Abraham"
] | 2016-08-26T13:24:41 | null | 2016-08-25T10:00:08 |
John Abraham: The Greenland Ice Sheet is losing 110 million Olympic size swimming pools worth of water each year.
|
https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fenvironment%2Fclimate-consensus-97-per-cent%2F2016%2Faug%2F25%2Fglobal-warming-is-melting-the-greenland-ice-sheet-fast.json
|
en
| null |
Global warming is melting the Greenland Ice Sheet, fast
| null | null |
www.theguardian.com
|
A new study measures the loss of ice from one of world’s largest ice sheets. They find an ice loss that has accelerated in the past few years, and their measurements confirm prior estimates.
As humans emit heat-trapping gases, we expect to see changes to the Earth. One obvious change to be on the lookout for is melting ice. This includes ice atop mountains, ice floating in cold ocean waters, and the ice within large ice sheets or glaciers. It is this last type of ice loss that most affects ocean levels because as the water runs into the oceans, it raises sea levels. This is in contrast to melting sea ice – since it is already floating in ocean waters, its potential to raise ocean levels is very small.
So measuring ice sheet melting is important, not only as a signal of global warming but also because of the sea level impacts. But how is this melting measured? The ice sheets on Greenland and Antarctica are huge and scientists need enough measurements in space and time to really understand what’s going on. That is, we need high-resolution and long duration measurements to fully understand trends.
Greenland Ice Sheet Photograph: Briggs/CPOM
In a very recent publication in the journal Geophysical Research Letters, an international team reported on a new high-resolution measurement of Greenland. The lead author, Malcolm McMillan from the Centre for Polar Observation and Modeling, and his colleagues mapped Greenland with incredibly high resolution (5 km distances).
They accomplished this mapping by obtaining data from the Cryosat 2 satellite. This satellite uses a technique called radar altimetry to measure the height of surfaces. It is able to track the elevation of the ice sheets on Greenland with high precision. If the height of the ice sheet is growing, it means the ice is getting thicker. If the heights are decreasing, it means the ice layers are getting thinner.
A simplistic view would be that if ice sheets become taller, then they contain more frozen water. If they are shorter, they contain less water. But, this isn’t the entire story. Scientists also have to account for other changes, such as changes to density, surface roughness, and water content. When you realize that the Greenland Ice Sheet is thousands of meters thick, and the top layers include both snow and firn (which later get buried and compressed into ice), it becomes apparent that accounting for the constitution of the ice sheet is important when estimating how much water is being delivered to the ocean.
The authors of this study did such an accounting and they discovered that not only is Greenland losing a lot of ice, but the loss varies a lot depending on location and year. For example, 2012 was a year of incredible ice loss compared to other years. Also, the western side of the ice sheet is losing much more ice than the eastern side. They also found that a small part of the ice sheet (less than 1% of the sheet) is responsible for more than 10% of the mass loss.
In total, they estimate approximately 270 gigatons of ice loss per year for 2011–2014. This result is almost a perfect match to independent measurements made by other researchers and builds our confidence in their conclusions. To put this in perspective, the Greenland Ice Sheet is losing approximately 110 million Olympic size swimming pools worth of water each year.
Lead author Malcolm told me:
Using high resolution satellite data from ESA’s CryoSat-2 mission, we have produced a detailed and comprehensive picture of how Greenland has changed in recent years. In particular, we have been able to map the changing ice sheet in fine detail, and pinpoint where, and when, the greatest ice losses have occurred. These observations reveal not only the extent of Greenland’s contribution to sea level in recent years but, thanks to their high resolution, allow us to identify the key glaciers that are showing the greatest signs of change. The data also enable us to look at how much ice has been lost in each year and, for example, to quantify the large impact on the ice sheet of the record summertime temperatures occurring in 2012. Within a wider context, satellite records such as these are crucial for systematically monitoring our climate system, and assessing the impact of rising temperatures across Earth’s polar regions. In particular, they help us to understand the sensitivity of the ice sheet to changes in its surrounding atmosphere and ocean environment, and aid the development of reliable sea level rise projections.
The duration of this study is pretty short (4 years). I will be very interested to see if the mass loss continues at the same rate in following years. If the rate of mass loss increases, it may signify a larger future contribution to sea level from Greenland. This would be bad news for vulnerable coastal cities like Miami and certainly something coastal areas should plan for.
|
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/climate-consensus-97-per-cent/2016/aug/25/global-warming-is-melting-the-greenland-ice-sheet-fast
|
en
| 2016-08-25T00:00:00 |
www.theguardian.com/9d4cb70af0e022b1db3845e63018787e85b7b22b193748ceb7afea9d44b6f77a.json
|
|
[
"Amaal Said"
] | 2016-08-26T13:17:11 | null | 2016-08-25T12:42:10 |
The poet and photographer reads a poem about her relationship with the dark and how she has used it to forget
|
https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fglobal%2Fvideo%2F2016%2Faug%2F25%2Fdanish-born-somali-poet-amaal-said-recites-before-grief-video.json
|
en
| null |
Danish-born Somali poet Amaal Said recites Before Grief - video
| null | null |
www.theguardian.com
|
The poet and photographer reads a poem about her relationship with the dark and how she has used it to forget. ‘It’s also about the stories I’ve pushed my mother to tell – the ones that tell where and what she has survived,’ says Said
|
https://www.theguardian.com/global/video/2016/aug/25/danish-born-somali-poet-amaal-said-recites-before-grief-video
|
en
| 2016-08-25T00:00:00 |
www.theguardian.com/b808e449d34989b0317560520cd92bdb073c259aa16c01b4bc1adbc1849aa80e.json
|
|
[
"Nicola Davis"
] | 2016-08-27T08:58:54 | null | 2016-08-27T07:00:01 |
The announcement that scientists think they may have found a planet orbiting the star nearest to our sun is potentially big news – even if it would take 70,000 years to get there
|
https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fscience%2F2016%2Faug%2F27%2Fproxima-b-could-we-live-on-this-newly-found-planet-or-could-something-else.json
|
en
| null |
Proxima b: could we live on this newly found planet - or could something else?
| null | null |
www.theguardian.com
|
Discovery of potentially Earth-like planet Proxima b raises hopes for life Read more
What’s all the excitement about?
Scientists have discovered a planet, called Proxima b, orbiting the closest star to our sun – a red dwarf known as Proxima Centauri, which lies 4.2 light years away. What’s more, there are clues that it could, potentially, have some similarities to Earth.
Does this mean we’ve found a second home/alien civilisation?
No. We don’t even know for sure that Proxima b is a rocky planet, although researchers think this is likely, judging by other planets orbiting small stars. What we do know is that it is within the so-called “habitable zone”, meaning that if water is present on the planet, it could be in liquid form. But many important questions are as yet unanswered. We don’t know if the planet has water, or an atmosphere, or a magnetic field to shield it from the high-energy radiation emitted by its star. What is likely is that the newly discovered planet is “tidally locked” to its star, meaning that only one side receives sunlight. Proxima b might be within the habitable zone, but whether it could host life is quite a different matter.
How do we know it’s there?
Astronomers have not seen the planet directly, but have detected it from its influence on its star, using instruments at the European Southern Observatory in Chile. While a star exerts a gravitational tug on a nearby planet, the planet also exerts a smaller tug on the star, meaning that the star “wobbles” a little as the planet travels around it. This wobble can be spotted in the light emitted by the star – as the star moves towards us, its light appears slightly bluer, and as it moves away, it appears redder. By looking at the timing of this wobble, scientists can work out how long it takes for the planet to orbit the star, and its distance from the star, while the mass of the planet affects just how big the wobble is. In the case of Proxima b, the planet takes 11.2 days to travel around Proxima Centauri at a distance of around 7.5m km (4.5m miles) from it – that’s about 5% of the distance between the Earth and our sun. The mass of the newly discovered planet is thought to be at least 1.3 times that of the Earth.
How many other similar planets could be out there?
Thousands of exoplanets – planets outside our solar system – have been found to date. The first confirmed discoveries were in 1992, when astronomers found planets orbiting a type of neutron star known as a pulsar. The first planet orbiting a sun-like star was discovered in 1995. Since then, missions such as the Kepler space observatory, as well as ground-based observations, have found many more, including a number of Earth-sized worlds within the habitable zone of their stars. But that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Based on Kepler’s results, astronomers have suggested there could be as many as 40bn habitable, Earth-sized planets in our galaxy, travelling around red dwarfs or stars similar to our sun (yellow dwarfs). But with Proxima Centauri our nearest stellar neighbour, none of these planets would be as close as Proxima b.
When will we know more about it?
That depends. That Proxima b is, relatively, so close makes it an exciting prospect for scientists trying to probe the nature of other planets. But there’s a hitch: scientists are trying to figure out if it is possible to see Proxima b pass across the face of its star – a process known as a transit. If it does, it will help to pin down many details of the planet’s makeup, including its size, atmosphere and density, which will shed light on whether the planet is indeed rocky. Unfortunately, the chances of being able to see such a transit are rather small. But there are other ways of probing the Proxima b. Using the European Extremely Large Telescope, which is currently under construction, it might be possible to capture a direct image of the planet. The James Webb space telescope, set to launch in 2018, might be able to shed light on whether or not the planet has an atmosphere, and if it does, what it is made of.
Luminous beauty of Jupiter's auroras revealed by Hubble telescope Read more
Will anyone from Earth ever get near it?
That’s unlikely, to say the least. Using current technology, it would take around 70,000 years for a probe to reach the planet, although emerging technology could halve that. Further, ambitious projects, such as Yuri Milner’s $100m Breakthrough Starshot initiative, plan to create miniature space probes that would be propelled by light beams and travel at speeds of up to 100m mph, meaning that it could reach Proxima Centauri within a matter of decades.
Is the newly discovered planet part of a solar system like ours, with a group of other planets?
We don’t yet know. Scientists say they have also spotted a second, weaker signal, but it is too early to say whether that could be another orbiting body.
Do astrophysicists think there is life elsewhere in the universe?
Most seem sanguine – but whether or not there is, has been, or ever will be life on Proxima b remains a mystery, for now at least.
|
https://www.theguardian.com/science/2016/aug/27/proxima-b-could-we-live-on-this-newly-found-planet-or-could-something-else
|
en
| 2016-08-27T00:00:00 |
www.theguardian.com/116869a4c3eb7a5d5da89326e0b96a4085a60bcaf7837f074c187004b6d4c249.json
|
|
[
"Nick Ames"
] | 2016-08-31T12:53:14 | null | 2016-08-31T11:29:12 |
The League One club trudged to a lifeless win over West Bromwich Albion and will have gained little from an exercise in swatting aside a bunch of teenagers
|
https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Ffootball%2Fblog%2F2016%2Faug%2F31%2Fmillwall-west-bromwich-albion-checkatrade-efl-trophy.json
|
en
| null |
Millwall struggle to see the benefits of revamped Checkatrade Trophy
| null | null |
www.theguardian.com
|
“It’s a little bit unusual today,” said Millwall’s PA announcer as kick-off approached. He could probably have left it there, but was not swayed from explaining the West Bromwich Albion team to those who had turned up. “They’re youngsters and don’t have squad numbers,” he continued, picking out the starting XI, listed alphabetically, from the back of the programme in what almost amounted to a look-and-read session with the crowd. It was a worthwhile exercise; none of the away side’s outfield players were over 19 and the visiting party had a single first-team appearance between them.
Checkatrade Trophy sees attendances fall as the #BTeamBoycott bites Read more
In the event, West Brom Under-23s – a detail omitted from the official match literature – let nobody down in their first Checkatrade Trophy fixture. It took 63 lifeless minutes for a much-changed Millwall to break them down through Jimmy Abdou – at 32 the oldest starter on the pitch – and it was only when the striker Steve Morison emerged for the final quarter to deliver an object lesson in centre-forward play that any chasm in experience became glaringly evident.
Morison, who scored from the spot to wrap up a 2-0 win, set off straight down the tunnel at full time, shaking only the hands offered to him en route. Job done, point made. The prospect of facing a weatherbeaten centre-forward of his ilk was one of the reasons West Brom and other clubs with category one academies had signed up to augment a competition previously reserved for the lower divisions; it may have seemed unbecoming for Morison to be tasked with brushing aside a team of teenagers but that was an apt enough summary of the deep unease surrounding this season’s controversial revamp.
Millwall were just a goal away from reaching last season’s final at Wembley, losing to Oxford in the southern area final, but were one of the 30 clubs to vote in favour of allowing category one teams – to take part. Financial considerations – £10,000 for a win during the group stage, a figure that will escalate with progress – were a significant factor and there was little sign of any additional shot in the arm on a night when £5 tickets for adults did little to enhance the game’s appeal.
“Will it bring the crowds back? No, if I’m being honest I can’t see it,” admitted the Millwall manager, Neil Harris, afterwards. In fact, Millwall fared respectably in that department. Back in 1986, just 967 had watched a Full Members’ Cup tie at the old Den. The opposition that night were West Brom and the potential hook for any journalist with an interest in proceedings 30 years on seemed obvious. The given attendance this time was 2,054 – four clear of the new Den’s lowest-ever crowd, set at this stage of the competition against Peterborough last year – and thus averted humiliation, even if the atmosphere never rose above the perfunctory.
Ian Lenagan: ‘If the Football League does not suggest solutions the FA or Premier League will’ Read more
To neutral eyes it felt like an unwelcome preview of how football might develop should such an occasion be replicated on a more regular basis, as well as a glimpse of the feeling that might surround lower-league clubs should the Premier League’s bigger sides cannibalise the market much further. Yet Millwall were one of the night’s success stories: at Fleetwood, just 392 watched an under-23 team sent by Blackburn, the Championship’s bottom club, lose 1-0 and attendances were notably low elsewhere too.
The #BTeamBoycott hashtag that had circulated over the preceding few weeks had taken effect, and several managers opted to cut corners too. One, Wycombe’s Gareth Ainsworth, came off the substitutes’ bench late in the win over Northampton at the age of 43, scoring their third goal; another, Paul Tisdale of Exeter, was an unused replacement for the tie with Oxford; while Luton made the schoolboy Connor Tomlinson their youngest-ever player, at 15 years and 199 days, for the victory against Gillingham. Portsmouth made 11 changes to face Yeovil and will consequently be fined under the tournament’s rules; Harris himself named only five Millwall substitutes and gave full debuts to his youngsters Kris Twardek and Noah Chesmain, citing injuries. The sense was that, with many lower-division clubs finding their matchday resources increasingly stretched to the limit, a point was being made: it is all very well using this tournament to nurture Premier League squads but how about helping the rest of us conserve what we have?
“One thing I would judge this on is the timing of the games,” Harris said. “That was our eighth game in four weeks. It’s a joke. A joke. It needs to be looked into and that’s not a criticism, it’s a request.”
New EFL Trophy sparks withdrawals, anger and apathy before a ball is kicked Read more
That had been problematic from the start. West Brom, for their part, had been unable to call upon their academy’s star turn, the England Under-17s winger Jonathan Leko, because of the international break; Manchester United, Manchester City, Tottenham and Arsenal were among several clubs who declined to enter teams for similar reasons and it certainly raised eyebrows to hear the Football League chief executive, Shaun Harvey, admit last week that the idea changes had been made “on the hoof” was “a perception you can draw now”.
For the West Brom coach, Jimmy Shan, the night had been one from which his players “could learn more than in half a season in the under-23 league”. He saw Kane Wilson, a 16-year-old right-back who made his first-team debut in the League Cup tie at Northampton last week, perform with the confidence of one far older and was pleased with the way his players retained possession in the first half. That education, notwithstanding the misguided and populist bluster that the England national team will be the end beneficiary of Premier League sides’ involvement, will do Wilson and his peers no harm, but there was little on Tuesday night to suggest anybody else will come out the better for it.
|
https://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2016/aug/31/millwall-west-bromwich-albion-checkatrade-efl-trophy
|
en
| 2016-08-31T00:00:00 |
www.theguardian.com/134aa3caf473200cde8d77f88f8b9e7f5c9c89e6718debdfa070740752be9e6c.json
|
|
[
"Steven Bloor",
"Mark Wohlwender",
"Photograph",
"Julian Finney Getty Images",
"Stuart Macfarlane Arsenal Fc Via Getty Images",
"John Walton Pa",
"Michael Regan Getty Images",
"Anthony Devlin Pa",
"Nick Potts Pa",
"Eddie Keogh Reuters"
] | 2016-08-29T00:51:46 | null | 2016-08-28T22:47:59 |
From a prancing Pep Guardiola to a soaked Jamie Vardy, here’s our pick of the best photography from the weekend’s matches in England’s top flight
|
https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Ffootball%2Fgallery%2F2016%2Faug%2F28%2Fthe-dozen-the-weekend-best-premier-league-photos.json
|
en
| null |
The Dozen: the weekend's best Premier League photos
| null | null |
www.theguardian.com
|
Jamie Vardy takes a breather during the torrential rain rain that fell in the latter stages of Leicester City’s convincing 2-1 win over Swansea City at The King Power Stadium. Vardy notched his first goal of the season when he opened the scoring in the 32nd minute
Photograph: Michael Regan/Getty Images
|
https://www.theguardian.com/football/gallery/2016/aug/28/the-dozen-the-weekend-best-premier-league-photos
|
en
| 2016-08-28T00:00:00 |
www.theguardian.com/403fd40e5d0a18cafc5267ae042a9cd25cc4b90146a0de97c6a44260c422e2f0.json
|
|
[
"Guardian Sport",
"Press Association"
] | 2016-08-29T12:52:19 | null | 2016-08-29T11:19:41 |
Southampton have signed Sofiane Boufal from Lille for an undisclosed club-record fee
|
https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Ffootball%2F2016%2Faug%2F29%2Fsouthampton-sign-sofiane-boufal-lille-record-fee.json
|
en
| null |
Southampton break transfer record to sign Sofiane Boufal from Lille
| null | null |
www.theguardian.com
|
Southampton have announced the signing of the attacking midfielder Sofiane Boufal from Lille for a club-record undisclosed fee. The 22-year-old Morocco international has agreed a five-year contract.
Football transfer rumours: Chelsea to sign Real Madrid's James Rodríguez? Read more
It is understood the fee for Boufal could rise to £21m. Southampton’s previous record signing was Dani Osvaldo, who joined from Roma in 2013 in a deal that could have been worth up to £14.6m.
Boufal said: “I’m very, very happy to sign for Southampton and I am really excited to play in St Mary’s stadium in front of the fans. Southampton showed big interest in signing me, and I can see that this club is the best place for me to continue my progression as a footballer.
“I hope I can achieve many great things with Southampton. It is a very good club, with excellent facilities, and I feel it is the perfect environment to continue my development.”
Southampton’s manager, Claude Puel, had been looking to add more firepower to his squad after losing last season’s top scorers Sadio Mané and Graziano Pellè.
Boufal scored 12 goals in all competitions in his first full season with Lille as they finished fifth in Ligue 1 and reached the final of the Coupe de la Ligue.
Premier League: transfer window summer 2016 – interactive Read more
Southampton’s executive director of football, Les Reed, said: “I’m absolutely delighted to welcome Sofiane to Southampton. He has shown his undoubted qualities in France over the past few seasons, and we are extremely confident he will successfully adapt to life in the Premier League.
“Sofiane is a player we have watched develop closely over the last few years, and we’re thrilled to have him join the club ahead of what promises to be a very exciting season, with Europa League football on the horizon.
“His excellent campaign with Lille last season meant a number of clubs were pursuing him to secure his services, but we’re delighted that Sofiane sees Southampton as the best place for him to continue his development. Saints fans may have to wait for a few weeks yet to see him demonstrate his skills, as Sofiane had a delayed start to his pre-season training and will be working very hard with our fitness staff to get up to full match fitness.”
|
https://www.theguardian.com/football/2016/aug/29/southampton-sign-sofiane-boufal-lille-record-fee
|
en
| 2016-08-29T00:00:00 |
www.theguardian.com/2128b3f279dbc07bed4bd40c5823d4e15eceab30053e1fb2de71a5e2cf824430.json
|
|
[
"Victoria Coren Mitchell"
] | 2016-08-28T00:49:38 | null | 2016-08-27T23:05:16 |
The police don’t need to man up and be tough. There should be a place for delicate flowers
|
https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fcommentisfree%2F2016%2Faug%2F27%2Fmay-the-force-be-with-us.json
|
en
| null |
May the force be with us
| null | null |
www.theguardian.com
|
The job title “head of the Police Service of Northern Ireland” sounds a bit like a punchline. The joke would be about challenges or diplomacy. It might be an amusing example of a job that a klutzy or tactless sitcom character would be ill-suited to doing.
I’m not saying that Chief Constable George Hamilton QPM is a klutzy or tactless sitcom character. I mean, he’s the head of the Police Service of Northern Ireland. I wouldn’t be so rude. But there is something of sitcom about the week he’s just had: a scenario in which the chief constable was a little hapless, clumsy and unwise, but ultimately lovable.
The hot water started boiling when Mr Hamilton, in his role as the head of the Police Service of Northern Ireland, tweeted a 19th-century police recruitment poster from the Robert Peel era. Above it, he wrote his own message calling for new recruits.
A junior officer replied: “Yes but police expected to do far more roles than ever anticipated by Sir Robert! Social worker, paramedic, child minder etc.”
The chief constable wrote back (all of this in the public Twittersphere): “I know – more complex & challenging but we are here to serve so let’s get on with it rather than wallowing in self-pity!”
The junior officer continued to argue the point and Mr Hamilton tweeted: “You’re allowed to leave & seek another job – nobody is asking you to stay. Dry your eyes, do the job or move on!”
Now, you are a well-informed person. You know about Twitter. I don’t need to spell out what happened between that and the chief constable’s abject apology video the next morning. These days, if anybody at all says anything about anything, they might as well tweet an abject apology video immediately, just to save time.
That’s not to say I disagree with the people who shouted at Mr Hamilton for insensitivity. You can’t be telling exhausted, depressed, put-upon police officers to dry their eyes or quit. Imagine if they quit! What kind of force do you think you’d be left with? It would be like 1960s Soho all over the country.
People join the police for two reasons: because they think they can do some good or because they relish the idea of bossing others about. (Often a combination of the two.) It is the former group who get tired and depressed by the Sisyphean task, the suspicion and cynicism they face, the violence and suffering they witness, the relatively little they can do about it. Those who don’t, who remain uncomplicatedly excited by the uniform and the authority… God save us from a force composed of nobody but them. Those are the ones that enjoy ordering Muslim women to strip on public beaches. Those are the ones in whose custody we are not safe.
We must get away from this hackneyed old rubbish about police officers needing to man up, be tough, stop whining about hard work, scary gangs, sexism, racism etc. It’s not the army. The police are supposed to be just like us, members of the public, there to help and to keep the peace. There is a place for delicate flowers – or there should be.
This story makes for an interesting contrast with another from last week, in which the governors of Drake Hall prison and Hewell prison were criticised for allowing two female inmates from the former to visit a pair of transgender inmates at the latter and give them a makeover. The robbers Bethany Steventon and Louise Footman were given haircuts and treatments by the unidentified women from Drake Hall, who are doing a beauty course. Onlookers and the press have been bitching about the use of public money on transport costs.
But that’s a wonderful decision by the governors: it shows such original thinking, confidence and respect for humanity. It’s a wave of kindly imagination and fellow-feeling, from people who could so easily be numbed and desensitised by years of exposure to the nasty end of human behaviour.
I would assume that the best of prison officers, like police officers, must be made sad and tired by experience; to push through into a stronger and more creative altruism is truly heroic.
The thing is, I think Chief Constable George Hamilton, head of the Police Service of Northern Ireland, is probably that type too. I think he’s on the side of the angels.
Tweeting the 19th-century recruitment advert was witty and interesting. It was also a reminder of the original altruistic principles of Robert Peel. Mr Hamilton called for recruits “from ALL backgrounds” and talked about service, not rule.
Unfortunately, as would happen in a sitcom, the chief constable allowed a moment’s impatience to get him into a total pickle. He started by going online to declare: policing is for everyone! Somehow, he got argued into declaring: it’s not for everyone!
I just don’t think he’s a person who would be unsympathetic to exhaustion or depression face to face. Have a look at his abject apology video. I’d be amazed if George Hamilton were not a kind and sympathetic man to deal with personally. At worst, he may be hamstrung by the idea that policemen or women have to be tougher than “normal” men and women.
If that’s the case, he just needs to remind himself of Robert Peel’s main message: “The police are the public and the public are the police.”
Mr Hamilton was true to that principle when he called for “citizens of ALL backgrounds” to apply. But this isn’t just about black and white, male and female. Perhaps it’s time that “tough and not tough” went on to the list.
What use is that in a riot? you may ask. It might be interesting to see. We are not all tough guys, so neither should our police force be.
|
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/aug/27/may-the-force-be-with-us
|
en
| 2016-08-27T00:00:00 |
www.theguardian.com/9e246c1ae0dd8d49d0837e4e55839340af6ece8d030c7c8eb13a00310570c96d.json
|
|
[
"Bonnie Malkin"
] | 2016-08-27T12:58:57 | null | 2016-07-02T04:29:53 |
Huge non-stop lightshow dwarfs the Earth’s transient polar displays, say Nasa scientists, as they carry out project to observe effects of solars winds
|
https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fscience%2F2016%2Fjul%2F02%2Fluminous-beauty-of-jupiters-auroras-revealed-by-hubble-telescope.json
|
en
| null |
Luminous beauty of Jupiter's auroras revealed by Hubble telescope
| null | null |
www.theguardian.com
|
Astronomers have used the powerful Hubble space telescope to capture images of the luminous auroras that light up the poles of Jupiter.
Jupiter, the largest planet in the solar system, is best known for its colourful storms, the most famous being the Great Red Spot.
Astronomers are now turning their attention to the planet’s poles and observing Jupiter daily over several months to determine how various components of its auroras respond to different conditions in the solar wind, a stream of charged particles ejected from the sun.
Auroras are created when high-energy particles enter a planet’s atmosphere near its magnetic poles and collide with atoms of gas.
Jupiter’s auroras are huge and hundreds of times more energetic than auroras on Earth – and they never stop, thanks to the planet’s strong magnetic field.
A statement from Nasa said the new observations and measurements would help to better explain how the sun and other sources influence auroras.
Facebook Twitter Pinterest Jupiter appearing to be wearing a luminous crown in this Hubble Space Telescope image showing an aurora over one of the planet’s poles. Photograph: NASA/ESA/PA
The images were released as Nasa’s Juno spacecraft hurtled closer toward the solar system’s largest planet, where it will spend a year analysing how Jupiter formed and helped set the stage for life on Earth.
“These auroras are very dramatic and among the most active I have ever seen,” said Jonathan Nichols from the University of Leicester, UK, and principal investigator of the study.
“It almost seems as if Jupiter is throwing a firework party for the imminent arrival of Juno.”
During a 20-month study Juno is expected to circle the gas giant in 37 egg-shaped orbits to measure microwaves radiating from inside the planet’s thick atmosphere, map its massive magnetic field and conduct other experiments.
Scientists are particularly keen to learn how much water Jupiter contains, a key to unlocking the origins of the largest celestial body in the solar system after the sun.
|
https://www.theguardian.com/science/2016/jul/02/luminous-beauty-of-jupiters-auroras-revealed-by-hubble-telescope
|
en
| 2016-07-02T00:00:00 |
www.theguardian.com/9e50fe238d5aeeb4a0be3139528c624d167718eb5c262536a53bf427ccb5f477.json
|
|
[
"Megan Carpentier"
] | 2016-08-26T13:26:28 | null | 2016-07-02T11:00:08 |
There’s a whole class of information that Facebook thinks it knows about me and is willing to sell – the problem is their data isn’t entirely accurate
|
https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Ftechnology%2F2016%2Fjul%2F02%2Ffacebook-ad-targeting-settings-preferences.json
|
en
| null |
Race, politics, travel plans: things Facebook's algorithm can't get right
| null | null |
www.theguardian.com
|
Facebook knows everything about you. At least that’s what we, and the advertisers it sells us to, are constantly told. But a peek behind its algorithmic curtains suggests what it does know might be wrong.
As any of its 1.65 billion users can tell you, Facebook is constantly “updating” its privacy settings, which is why I tool through all my settings every few weeks. I try to keep a lock on what strangers can learn about me on Facebook or have access to; not because I’m disinclined to participate in the platform, but because my family is uncomfortable with strangers having access to their personal lives, and that seems fair.
But although I choose to share some information with people I don’t know – I’m a journalist and don’t accept friend requests from strangers, you’ll see if you look me up – and even allow people to follow my public posts, there’s a whole class of information that Facebook thinks it knows about me, and it allows anyone willing to pay $5 to run a Facebook ad to essentially utilize that information.
Buried deep in anyone’s privacy settings – click the little lock icon, then “See More Settings”, then the word “Ads” in the left-hand column, then “Edit” in the “Ads based on my preferences” row, and then “Visit Ad Preferences” – is a list of key words that Facebook has assigned to your profile from which advertisers can choose when targeting their ads.
For those unfamiliar with Facebook ad buys: when you buy an advertisement or promote posts, the company allows you to target who will see it based on all kinds of data, including what kind of phone they’re using and a list of keyword preferences. Advertisers get a least a little peace of mind that they aren’t sending make-up ads to my Uncle Pete, and Facebook can sell more ads by claiming that people who don’t care, won’t see.
But algorithms are flawed ways to categorize people: we’re often messy and unpredictable, and we all use Facebook for different reasons. So what Facebook thinks it knows – and sells to advertisers – about me isn’t entirely accurate.
For instance: listed under “lifestyle and culture”, Facebook has been serving me ads based on my supposed “ethnic affinity”, which it lists as African American. It also thinks I’m interested in both communism and the Belgian social-democratic Flemish political party (I’ve never been to Belgium, unless you count being in the airport for a connecting flight in 1995). It considers me one of its “technology late adopters” and that I’m both part of a “family-based household” and “away from my family”.
It lists Princess Superstar as one of the people I care about because in 2007 my friend Josh and I used to laugh about her video Bad Babysitter – we met while I was dog-sitting for his housemates – even though I don’t like her on Facebook and am pretty sure we never discussed it on the platform; it believes I am into the artist Flea because I liked a page for my local flea market. It seems to think I am a very, very big fan of professional wrestling – I blame my article on the Gawker case, which I shared on Facebook like a dutiful Guardian employee – and like the Tasmanian football championship, though I don’t care about soccer and have never been to Tasmania.
It also thinks I’ve traveled to Bruges, Easter Island, some place called Roystonea and the Matterhorn (the last of which was actually a restaurant at which I once ate, albeit not one in Switzerland or Italy).
It also, correctly, notes that I shop for shoes online (but not by clicking Facebook ads), like drinking, have an interest in mammals (though, to be fair, I also really dig reptiles); it knows what phone I use, which one I used to use, and that I spend most of my time on Facebook using Chrome. It also somehow knows that, when I’m at the office, I often listen to Vivaldi concertos on YouTube, that I was (until now) a secret fan of even terrible police procedurals and that I have an interest in – as they term it, but I never have – suffrage, though I’ve neither liked nor posted about any of those things.
While advertisers couldn’t go into my profile and find that information – at least, they can’t right now – they can access my eyeballs based on it. And Facebook is monetizing both the information I explicitly gave them, that which they gleaned from my use of their platform and, quite clearly, that which they’d have no reason to know unless they were tracking me off-platform or buying information about my preferences on the open market.
I could, of course, delete all of it and force them to start over – and I might, but I’d have to delete each item one-by-one. But, then they would just start over – and who knows what they’d mine next, maybe they’d be right.
|
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/jul/02/facebook-ad-targeting-settings-preferences
|
en
| 2016-07-02T00:00:00 |
www.theguardian.com/022020a8f05a48c0e36f9fe2fba4db0de824b0322724ceb6515c3b6d42a70b58.json
|
|
[
"Andrew Brown"
] | 2016-08-30T12:52:51 | null | 2016-08-30T11:28:28 |
In the empty spaces of the Swedish Arctic, I could truly see, smell and hear the world around me. Returning to the city, I had to shut my senses down
|
https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fcommentisfree%2F2016%2Faug%2F30%2Fon-holiday-wild-selves-back-at-work-swedish-arctic.json
|
en
| null |
On holiday we connect with our wild selves. Back at work we lose them again
| null | null |
www.theguardian.com
|
On our fourth day of walking, the forest grew sparser and the trees themselves shrank to dwarf birches and then to clumps of shrub willow in the sheltered parts of the valley. We entered a world of rock and water, thin grasses and lichen, in which nothing moved but the wind, which was never still. The simplicity of the landscape was overwhelming and I surrendered to it completely. Cold, hunger and fatigue were the only distractions on offer, but none remained very pressing for long. Just walking among the mountains of the Swedish Arctic filled my senses for the next eight days, and sharpened them until I could see and smell and even hear the world around me properly.
Wild Scandinavia: adventure without breaking the bank Read more
The last night of the journey was spent on the shore of an enormous hydroelectric plant. There was still no electricity, no noise and no running water, but we could see in the twilight electric lights in the far distance on the other shore.
But the sight of machine civilisation had no effect on my wilderness perceptions, any more than looking at photographs of the wilderness in a busy office can restore the quality of attention that you have when inside it.
The first thing I stopped noticing after we left the wilderness and disembarked was the ground beneath my feet. We were on a tarmac road, and every step landed on exactly the same surface as the one before. There was no need to place my feet. The focus of attention shifted. Now there were things to read in the environment – a rusting van from which all the wheels had been removed rested by the side of the road, with a logo still painted on its side for “All wheel drive”.
Within the hostel I stopped thinking about light. It was something that came on with a switch. Once I had power over it, I stopped noticing anything remarkable about it. Water was no longer a substance with weight that had to be hauled up from the rivers, but just a convenience. One less thing to think about. Instead, my attention moved to blocking people out. There were so many of them. There might have been 20 at any one time in the front parts of the hostel and this was five or six times as many strangers as I had grown used to. It made for a lot of other people’s conversations to tune out.
The night train brought me down to Stockholm, where my shield of inattention grew very much thicker and heavier
Within 24 hours we had reached a small, quiet town and my reawakening skill of not noticing things, of coping with constant distractions, was put to a real test. It failed. I found I could not stand restaurants with any kind of piped music. It wasn’t the volume: the noise of a train pulling into the station was much louder but not disturbing. Nor was it necessarily the music. It was the demand that I listen to it while thinking about something else, even if that was only whether to order the smoked reindeer hash.
The night train brought me down to Stockholm, where my shield of inattention grew very much thicker and heavier. After a couple of days there I felt like a lobster, armoured all over against the world around me. I no longer smelled the traffic fumes. I couldn’t hear music in restaurants. I could sit on a plane with 120 other people and notice them only as obstacles in the gangway.
In London the transformation to everyday urban reality is complete. The only way I can write this piece is by clamping a pair of headphones on and putting on music to which I will half listen – paying it just enough attention that it blanks out all the other sounds of the office while not appearing as anything distinct itself. The only stimulations I can notice are oversized or unnatural ones. But I find that I crave these. Even lobsters want to be tickled.
In a few more days, all this will seem entirely natural. It’s a process one goes through at the end of every restorative holiday. But the ability to function in a constantly distracting world is bought at a real price. Distraction becomes the whole of the environment. Reflective thought becomes almost impossible. It’s harder to solve difficult problems and after a while harder even to recognise them. The world becomes simpler and full of frustration. Welcome to the working week.
|
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/aug/30/on-holiday-wild-selves-back-at-work-swedish-arctic
|
en
| 2016-08-30T00:00:00 |
www.theguardian.com/63690905da148579ea58ad442144ca9b5bb9a422b39b722b2b2685d51eb94dd0.json
|
|
[
"Hugh Muir"
] | 2016-08-26T13:23:31 | null | 2016-08-19T06:20:10 |
Tony Long, ‘Britain’s deadliest firerarms officer’ tarnished by his killing of Azelle Rodney in 2005, restates his case in a documentary that is as timely as ever
|
https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Ftv-and-radio%2F2016%2Faug%2F19%2Ftony-long-secrets-of-a-police-marksman-channel-4-review.json
|
en
| null |
Secrets of a Firearms Officer review - shoot-to-kill from the eye of the sniper
| null | null |
www.theguardian.com
|
When I think of a marksman, I think of Clint Eastwood as the Man With No Name, but that, it seems, is all wrong. Tony Long, once a renowned firearms officer for the Metropolitan police, was the star of Secrets of a Police Marksman (Channel 4). No hat, no poncho, no chewed cigar. It turns out that real protectors/killers have the bland look of a night manager from Tesco. Certainly Long appears to have found the guise of everyman a useful one in his 25 years as part of an elite group at Scotland Yard, for whom he shot five people, killing three.
This record was open to interpretation. Long, mindful that some officers never fire an operational shot, considered himself unfortunate. On one occasion, he said: “I was halfway through shooting and thought:‘Why is it me again?’” Admirers, however, dubbed him The Equalizer, borrowing (one might guess) from the 1980s TV series starring Edward Woodward as a gun-toting do-gooder.
Long never came across as boastful, but the documentary made clear he was a crack-shot apart. It called him “Britain’s deadliest firearms officer”.
Opening his casebook, Long described his shooting in 1985 of a west-London man, Errol Walker, who had murdered a young woman and was threatening to kill her four-year-old daughter. Long is a man for detail. “I fired a single shot at his head and as I did that his eyes seemed to flip open and roll up into his head.”
Facebook Twitter Pinterest Tony Long at a gun range in Prague. Photograph: Production Company/Channel 4
Also described, with grainy footage, testimony and partial reconstruction, was Long’s shooting in 1987 of two men engaged in an armed robbery in south-east London. He fatally shot two of them, hitting both twice. Long recalled his immediate reaction: “I’m thinking ‘You have done it now, you have shot three people’.” Yet the nub of the programme, part of the Secret History series, was his most notorious case, the 2005 cause celébrè shooting of drugs and firearms suspect Azelle Rodney in north London. Though the Crown Prosecution Service declined at the time to prosecute, outraging Rodney’s family, an official inquiry doubted Long’s account. He was prosecuted at the Old Bailey seven years after his retirement.
Long was acquitted, but left “tarnished”. Amid enduring concern over Rodney’s death, and wider accusations of shoot-to kill-policing, this was a platform for a clearly aggrieved Long to restate his case.
It raised important questions. How much armed policing do we need to meet the terrorist threat? Who will carry those guns on our behalf? Might they, because of unconscious bias, be more likely to shoot people of minority backgrounds? Do we accept that mistakes will be made in good faith?
Are we comfortable with Long’s summary of the necessary thought process? “If they pose an immediate threat to you, they cease to be a human being. They are a target. They have to be shot and you shoot them.”
Margaret Thatcher would have admired his directness, and she loomed large in last night’s third instalment of The 80s with Dominic Sandbrook (BBC2). It was another lively romp through a decade which gave us Big Bang, big hair, wide lapels, Del Trotter, mobile phones, acid house and the Iron Lady. She was all business, Sandbrook said, unleashing privatisations on British Telecom and British Gas to bring to an ailing nation the smack of firm management. She unleashed the poll tax, thus initiating the separation between the governing and governed that bedevils us today.
This was social history for those of us of a certain age. We saw the first mobile phone, the first raves, the first Comic Relief, the first British branch of Ikea. But what we saw most was the incongruous, unexplained sight of the amiable Sandbrook in a cavernous deep blue parka coat. Was he chilly throughout? Or was it costume, identifying him as the time-travelling narrator? Worth noting that he didn’t visit the scene of Thatcher’s triumph, the Falklands.
Still, he did reach the satisfying conclusion that Thatcher did not shape the nation as much as she wanted. She hoped privatisations would mould a nation of entrepreneurs; instead people cashed in their shares for profit. She wanted Victorian values; she got riots and ravers high on ecstasy. She was cussed but we were worse.
|
https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/aug/19/tony-long-secrets-of-a-police-marksman-channel-4-review
|
en
| 2016-08-19T00:00:00 |
www.theguardian.com/5185bb0383652102ee88cd4ad14bbcce90a1a146ac266407ea6ee2cfe104ceb4.json
|
|
[
"Richard Parkin",
"Mike Ticher",
"David Squires",
"Miles Martignoni"
] | 2016-08-26T13:19:13 | null | 2016-08-25T16:30:21 |
More teams in trouble, ominous signs emanating from Old Trafford, refereeing controversy and the role of a modern-day captain... the team discuss the latest developments
|
https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Ffootball%2Faudio%2F2016%2Faug%2F26%2Fjurgen-klopps-liverpool-flops-gaurdian-australias-premier-league-podcast.json
|
en
| null |
Jürgen Klopp’s Liverpool flops - Guardian Australia's Premier League podcast
| null | null |
www.theguardian.com
|
Back to the starting lineup of Richard Parkin, Mike Ticher, David Squires and Michael Bridges this week as the pod discuss the major talking points heading into the third weekend of the 2016-17 season.
First up, the quartet dissect Sunderland’s defeat to Middlesbrough last weekend, a result that highlighted the value of investment – and prompts a mention of the c-word. And while there might not be overt talk of a “crisis” at Liverpool just yet, there is a sense among the team that time is running out for Jürgen Klopp after defeat to Burnley.
Also on a packed agenda this week: Hull City’s excellent start to the season which already has them 15% safe; Mike Dean’s letter of the law; and the latest on David Squires’ scientific kit-based predictions.
All that and more in the latest episode brought to you from Guardian Australia’s recording bunker in Sydney.
|
https://www.theguardian.com/football/audio/2016/aug/26/jurgen-klopps-liverpool-flops-gaurdian-australias-premier-league-podcast
|
en
| 2016-08-25T00:00:00 |
www.theguardian.com/1e4a5b3a0c0bcac7c149493fb28599c99baf739933f555d19e1929ee7d2cbf44.json
|
|
[
"David Hambling"
] | 2016-08-26T13:27:59 | null | 2016-08-18T20:30:11 |
Weatherwatch: Unexpected storm that saved Japanese from vast Mongol invasion force was taken as a sign of heavenly favour
|
https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fscience%2F2016%2Faug%2F18%2Fhow-typhoon-sank-kublai-khan-weatherwatch.json
|
en
| null |
How a typhoon sank Kublai Khan
| null | null |
www.theguardian.com
|
In August 1281, the celebrated Kublai Khan, Great Khan of the Mongol Empire, sent a fleet to invade Japan. But – as with a previous invasion attempt in 1274 – he failed to prepare adequately for the weather.
The vast invasion force, with more than 4,000 ships carrying 140,000 troops, sailed from Korea and China. The Japanese were not only outnumbered but outgunned, as the Mongols had novel weapons including exploding arrows and grenades.
The fog of war Read more
However, the Japanese defenders proved tenacious, and the invaders could not get a firm foothold on shore in Kyushu. Then a major typhoon struck.
Wishing to avoid being stranded in hostile territory, the invading soldiers re-embarked and tried to sail through the storm. Some ships collided with each other, others were blown on to rocks. Most of the army drowned.
Survivors who washed up on Japanese soil were hunted down by the defending samurai. The invasion was defeated, and only a few hundred ships returned to port.
In Japan, the typhoon was taken as a sign of heavenly favour, and was known as the “divine wind” – Kamikaze in Japanese.
Powerful typhoons are rare in Kyushu, and some have suggested that the storm was exaggerated. However, researchers looking at lake-bed sediments in the area have found indications of a major inundation that dates to the right period.
In addition, analysis of timbers from the invasion ships suggests they were poorly constructed, and would not have survived a typhoon.
|
https://www.theguardian.com/science/2016/aug/18/how-typhoon-sank-kublai-khan-weatherwatch
|
en
| 2016-08-18T00:00:00 |
www.theguardian.com/6a292c0d5508f6e68cadb14298c70c6447624ed986c682098deff70f2d854635.json
|
|
[
"Nick Cohen"
] | 2016-08-27T16:52:15 | null | 2016-08-27T16:45:08 |
The internet has helped polarise politics but the zealots need to look to themselves
|
https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fcommentisfree%2F2016%2Faug%2F27%2Fdonald-trump-fox-news-charlie-sykes-modern-debate.json
|
en
| null |
Did better broadband make Americans more partisan?
| null | null |
www.theguardian.com
|
It is easy to suspect that the web makes us stupid. I could fill the rest of this newspaper with anecdotes of British leftists using Facebook to reinforce each other’s belief that Corbyn’s leadership is a triumph; of cybernats turning to Twitter to bury the nagging feeling that an enormous deficit would have left an independent Scotland close to bankruptcy; or of American conservatives finding incontrovertible proof on white supremacist sites that President Obama is a Muslim.
As I only have this space, I will give you the story of Charlie Sykes. I don’t believe anyone can count themselves properly adult unless they stop at some point in their lives and think through every prejudice they hold. The US shock jock did so last week and confessed at the end of his self-examination to being frightened by the conservative movement he had helped nurture.
When Donald Trump told a lie, Sykes said, he could no longer say to his audience: “By the way, you know it’s false.” Facts were biased now. Fact-checkers were the hirelings of the hated liberal media. The fact was his fellow conservatives had had it with facts. The partisan web was their trusted source. If they’d read Trump was telling the truth on a conservative site or Facebook, that was all the confirmation they needed.
Sykes described an “alternative media reality and there’s no way to break through it. I swim upstream because, if I don’t say these things from some of these websites, then suddenly I have sold out. Then they will ask what’s wrong with me for not repeating these stories that I know not to be true.”
Suspecting the web has made us stupid is not the same as proving it, however. To understand is not to pardon, and I do not mean it as an exoneration when I say you can make a good argument that the populist movements sweeping the rich world are understandable reactions to modern crises and fears, not a by-product of new communications technology.
A minority of schoolchildren in the United States are white, and within 25 years whites will become a minority in the American population as a whole. You would be naive in the extreme not to have expected a frenzied backlash. Meanwhile, here in Europe, Marine le Pen and Nigel Farage haven’t come from cyberspace. Economic insecurity and mass migration are real, as is the murderous violence of the Islamo-fascists. The euro will truly never work. The banks really did collapse and governments really did fail to send bankers before judges, and compelled taxpayers to bail them out instead. All these things happened and would have changed politics whether Twitter existed or not. You do not appear to need technology to explain our discontents.
Facebook Twitter Pinterest Charlie Sykes, right, with Republican Ted Cruz. Photograph: Tannen Maury/EPA
Yet, listen to the jeering tone and cocksure ignorance of modern debate for a while, and think again. When Sykes talks about there being no way for the truth to break through alternative media reality, he is describing a world where people are so alienated from each other they cannot accept the good faith of an opponent who produces a discomforting argument. You can see the alienation in the T-shirts worn by Labour supporters announcing with pride that they’ve “never kissed a Tory”. They are not alone in their sexual taboos. In the 21st century, the idea of love crossing a political divide revolts partisans everywhere. In 1960 just 5% of Americans said they would be upset if their child married a supporter of a rival political party. By 2010, that number stood at 40%.
In a research paper published in the American Journal of Political Science, Yphtach Lelkes, Gaurav Sood and Shanto Iyengar found depressing proof that the web is fuelling segregation. The rollout of broadband in the US allowed them to conduct a controlled experiment. Access to new broadband services varied wildly because each state had different “rights of way” laws governing the use of the conduits, trenches and towers broadband providers need. The researchers matched the attitudes of those who did and did not have broadband with data on partisan hostility from studies of voters beliefs in the 2004 and 2008 presidential elections.
Greater use of the web ensured that an admirer of Jon Stewart would think that conservatives were not just mistaken but stupid, or a viewer of Fox News would work on the assumption that liberals were wicked. Both sides could dismiss uncomfortable facts as lies. Both sides allowed their politics to become so bound up with their identity, opposing arguments felt almost as if they were physical assaults. As the authors put it in a separate paper: “Partisans discriminate against opposing partisans to a degree that exceeds discrimination based on race.”
Broadband access was worth studying because the better your connection the longer you spend online. Optimists might have hoped we would take the opportunity of fast broadband to read more widely, and challenge more preconceptions. Not a bit of it. The better the access to the web many enjoyed, the more they clung to their own kind. The longer they stayed online, the more they turned for comfort to ideologues who shared their ideology. Most use broadband to access entertainment from pornography to Game of Thrones, of course – assuming that is a distinction with a difference. But you do not have to live deep in an ideological silo to be affected. One study of voting behaviour estimated that watching a mere four minutes of Fox News a week was enough to increase the odds of an American voting for a conservative candidate.
It is vulgar determinism to believe that changes in politics can be reduced to changes in technology. That does not mean they cannot accentuate pre-existing hatreds and help create new ones. As they do, we face a future of hostile tribes, screaming at each other in incomprehensible tongues; of peoples with battlefields aplenty but without common ground.
It need not be that way. An urgent, if undiscussed, reform is for governments to legislate to stop Facebook and others using their algorithms to deliver news users want to hear, rather than need to hear. More important would be a cultural reaction against the impoverishment so many supporters of the populist movements exhibit. Their inability to argue, their denial of hard evidence, their certainties, and their fanatical denunciations of sellouts, traitors and apostates speak of men and women whose souls have withered along with their minds.
They should be made to face their own inadequacies, and asked politely but repeatedly: who wants to live their life with only the echo of their own voice for company?
|
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/aug/27/donald-trump-fox-news-charlie-sykes-modern-debate
|
en
| 2016-08-27T00:00:00 |
www.theguardian.com/1d59a9a7da3582b9cfc50ecad0866e09873831887ce1c761f8b3d0b2b3dce31a.json
|
|
[
"Olga Oksman"
] | 2016-08-26T13:26:24 | null | 2016-08-21T11:00:15 |
A growing number of companies are specializing in virtual reality experiences for wealthy real estate shoppers – and VR may head to the non-luxury market next
|
https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Ftechnology%2F2016%2Faug%2F21%2Fvirtual-reality-real-estate-competition-luxury.json
|
en
| null |
Goggles on, checks away: how virtual reality is reimagining real estate sales
| null | null |
www.theguardian.com
|
I am sitting in a Starbucks with an architect. He hands me an Oculus virtual reality headset with a Samsung phone slipped into the goggle area. In his hands is an iPad. I put the headset over my eyes and the cafe disappears. Suddenly I am in Miami, inside a sleek luxury apartment. I can see white condo towers and water views from the vast windows.
Symphonies in space: orchestras embrace virtual reality Read more
I move out to the pool, a must for any luxury condo in Miami, and a menu appears offering me the chance to change the time of day simply by looking at the choice. I select sunset, the water in the pool moves with the breeze and I feel myself start to relax when the architect’s voice, seemingly coming from space, startles me.
In fact, he is still sitting across from me at the cafe, and I am now clutching the edge of the table to give myself a sense of where my body is in space. My eyes are telling me that I have just walked into a generously sized kitchen where different countertop marble color choices are now floating in front of me. My body says I am sitting down in a loud cafe and if I keep moving my head backwards and turning to look behind me, I am going to fall out of my chair.
Somewhere in my wandering around the virtual Miami bachelor pad I run across a beautiful model sitting out on the deck in a tasteful black dress. “If you look at her face for a few seconds, she smiles at you,” the architect, who is following my adventures, and my gaze, on the iPad tells me. The idea of forcing her to smile unnerves me even though I know she is not real, and I walk away.
Facebook Twitter Pinterest A VR shot of 1000 Museum, a Zaha Hadid project in Miami Photograph: Handout
A few minutes later I reluctantly take off the headset and rejoin reality. The architect, Gonzalo Navarro, is part of a growing number of people who specialize in creating virtual reality experiences for wealthy real estate shoppers. Navarro’s company, ArX Solutions, creates virtual apartments for condo buildings that have not actually been built yet. “I am an architect that has never designed a building,” he tells me with a laugh. He did, on the other hand, create a virtual reality version of an entire city once to help the builders petition for approval to create it in the real world.
Virtual reality, a technology that most associate with gaming, entertainment and dystopic warnings from sci-fi writers including Ray Bradbury and Neal Stephenson, has moved into the real estate world in a big way. Goldman Sachs estimates that by 2025, virtual reality software for real estate applications will be a $2.6bn market. Companies have sprung up that create websites for viewing homes in virtual reality, like Transported and You Visit. Real estate agencies from Sotheby’s to Corcoran to Douglas Elliman have used the technology to entice clients. According to Navarro, existing sites like Zillow will get on the virtual reality bandwagon as the technology becomes more ubiquitous and hardware gets cheaper, allowing it to eventually trickle down to the non-luxury real estate market.
As virtual reality apps and headsets are becoming more quotidian, entering more homes, usually as an entertainment tool, competition in the world of virtual reality real estate has become fierce, says Navarro. “All the big real estate studios are working on this technology,” he says, each with their own programmers busy trying to create a more realistic view of the future. Someday soon, people could spend hours being transported into everything from Park Avenue penthouses to sprawling McMansions. Once the technology becomes as everyday as iPhones have, none of us may ever be productive again.
Even with the current limitations in the physical hardware, which limits the sharpness of the image, virtual reality makes a lot of sense when selling a new development, says Navarro. Instead of spending the money to build a model apartment and furnish it, real estate companies can have virtual versions created that can go where the agent does. While virtual mockups are not cheap, they cost a fraction of the $1m or so that a furnished and decorated model luxury apartment would cost, explains Navarro.
At a time when wealthy foreign buyers are flooding the luxury markets in large cities like New York and London in an effort to invest their money away from their volatile home countries, having a virtual reality set that can easily travel takes away the burden of bringing a buyer halfway across the world to see a model apartment. The novelty of walking through a virtual reality home adds to the allure. “It’s like Call of Duty, only without the killing part,” Navarro says with a grin.
The entire process of creating an oversized condo, with tastefully bland furniture in neutral tones, out of thin air takes only about a month and a half. A bathroom can be generated in just a week. The paintings on the walls, fancy light fixtures and furniture are all based on real items. Views are stitched in from actual photos taken at the height of the future condo. The smiling blonde model in the black dress is the only other element introduced into the virtual world that exists outside it. “She’s real,” Navarro says with a laugh.
|
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/aug/21/virtual-reality-real-estate-competition-luxury
|
en
| 2016-08-21T00:00:00 |
www.theguardian.com/8ec8e3afea2125e4a1946742cb86aff21fce6198f38b8b9634ad2535b1a7862b.json
|
|
[
"Elle Hunt"
] | 2016-08-30T00:52:16 | null | 2016-08-30T00:46:08 |
Judge releases pop star as a potential juror in an aggravated rape and kidnapping case over conflict with her pending sexual assault lawsuit
|
https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fmusic%2F2016%2Faug%2F30%2Ftaylor-swift-excused-jury-duty-nashville.json
|
en
| null |
Taylor Swift excused from jury duty in Nashville
| null | null |
www.theguardian.com
|
The question of Taylor Swift’s absence from the MTV Video Music Awards, a source of much speculation, has been put to bed: she was being considered for jury duty.
A Nashville judge dismissed the 26-year-old pop star as a potential juror in an aggravated rape and kidnapping case on Monday, which clashed with the awards ceremony in New York.
Taylor Swift condemns Kim Kardashian's release of Kanye West chat Read more
Ken Whitehouse, a spokesman for the Davidson County district attorney general’s office, said Swift felt she could not be impartial, given her pending civil case that also involved sexual assault.
“She asked to be left off out of concern for an upcoming trial in Denver where she was – she used the term – ‘groped’ by a fan at a meet-and-greet,” said Whitehouse.
A former radio host, David Mueller, sued Swift in September last year, stating that he lost his job because of false accusations he grabbed the singer’s buttocks backstage during a 2013 photo shoot. Swift launched a counterclaim the following month, in which attorneys said she had been “surprised, upset, offended, and alarmed” by the alleged assault.
Swift told the judge she would be more than willing to serve on a jury in any other type of case, said Whitehouse.
The jury duty hearing clashed with the MTV Video Music Awards at Madison Square Garden on Monday night.
Swift had not been nominated for an award, and reportedly had not submitted any videos for consideration.
But whether or not she would attend the ceremony had been the source of much speculation given her long-running feud with Kanye West and his wife, Kim Kardashian West.
Organisers had given the notoriously outspoken West four minutes on stage with which to do whatever he wanted – and he did mention Swift, in passing, in his rambling monologue.
Tracey Bates, a resident of Tennessee and fellow potential juror, broke the news of Swift’s whereabouts when she tweeted, “I am on jury duty with @taylorswift13”.
Bates tweeted at first that Swift’s security personnel initially would not let her take a picture.
— Tracy's Activism (@TracysActivism) Got an autograph in my copy of The New Jim Crow
But later Bates posted a video and numerous photos, including a selfie with Swift in the waiting room. (These, and several other tweets by Bates, have since been deleted as she attempts to curb the media’s use of her photos.)
Bates said Swift had been happy to pose with other potential jurors before she was dismissed from the pool, and had autographed her copy of The New Jim Crow with: “So nice to meet you!!”
— Tracy's Activism (@TracysActivism) They won't let us take pictures with @taylorswift in the jury room.
Bryan Merville said he took a photo with Swift for his daughters, who are huge fans. He said he was one of about 140 people waiting in a holding area on Monday morning before they were called to separate courtrooms. About 15 to 20 people asked Swift for a photo or autograph.
“She’s about as famous as they come, but she couldn’t have been nicer,” Merville said. “She took the time to talk to every person who asked her for a picture.”
A representative for the singer did not respond to Reuters for comment on Swift’s jury duty or on West’s VMAs speech.
Reuters contributed to this report.
|
https://www.theguardian.com/music/2016/aug/30/taylor-swift-excused-jury-duty-nashville
|
en
| 2016-08-30T00:00:00 |
www.theguardian.com/9110f60968e472ccc68c4d54d327c5ad06ee9a3409cd5a62a493c7f5b04d46f7.json
|
|
[
"Ed Aarons",
"Fabrizio Romano"
] | 2016-08-30T12:52:41 | null | 2016-08-30T12:45:25 |
Chelsea are close to agreeing a deal with Fiorentina for Marcos Alonso, with Antonio Conte’s side expected to pay a fee of around €27m (£20.5m
|
https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Ffootball%2F2016%2Faug%2F30%2Fchelsea-marcos-alonso-fiorentina-signing.json
|
en
| null |
Chelsea close to signing Fiorentina’s Marcos Alonso for £20.5m
| null | null |
www.theguardian.com
|
Chelsea are close to agreeing a deal with Fiorentina for Marcos Alonso, with Antonio Conte’s side expected to pay a fee of around £20.5m (€27m).
Transfer window live: Hart's agent confirms Torino move, Zaha, Wilshere and more! Read more
The Chelsea manager has been keen to add a new left-back to his squad after allowing the Ghana international Baba Rahman to join Schalke on loan this month, with the former Real Madrid and Bolton defender Alonso now identified as his primary target.
Negotiations have been ongoing for days, with Fiorentina now expected to accept a renewed offer for the 25-year-old. Alonso is already understood to have agreed personal terms and is keen on a return to the Premier League.
Chelsea’s search for a new central defender remains unresolved having seen bids for Napoli’s Kalidou Koulibaly and Milan’s Alessio Romagnoli rejected. They may now attempt to bring in a player on loan to provide short-term cover.
|
https://www.theguardian.com/football/2016/aug/30/chelsea-marcos-alonso-fiorentina-signing
|
en
| 2016-08-30T00:00:00 |
www.theguardian.com/4433b0184898db9c704baf7b41c4c4154c80a517ede42d6b4981ecc7a8d3f62d.json
|
|
[
"Eurasianet.Org",
"Part Of The New East Network"
] | 2016-08-26T13:19:53 | null | 2016-08-25T05:00:02 |
Locals mourn the loss of the Mayakovsky Theatre, the latest victim of Dushanbe’s controversial urban redevelopment programme
|
https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fworld%2F2016%2Faug%2F25%2Four-history-began-here-outcry-as-tajikistans-cultural-heart-is-demolished.json
|
en
| null |
'Our history began here': outcry as Tajikistan’s cultural heart is demolished
| null | null |
www.theguardian.com
|
The director of Dushanbe’s Mayakovsky Theatre weeps as she describes how demolition workers moved in.
Since work began in May, much of the Mayakovsky – a low-key, utilitarian and yet much-loved Soviet era constructivist building along the capital’s main thoroughfare – has been destroyed.
“We walk around like madmen. We have decided that when they pulled our theatre down, we will for a while try to avoid passing through the centre,” says director Munira Dadayeva, who first visited the Mayakovsky when she was just four years old.
Lovers of the unassuming red building have long known this day would come. Many Soviet-era structures have been pulled down in Dushanbe over the past few years, despite widespread public opposition.
The trend, evident across much of the former Soviet Union, shows no sign of slowing, despite a protracted period of economic stagnation. Tajik officials have brushed off criticism of the urban redevelopment programme, saying the buildings targeted for removal are of negligible historical or cultural significance and need replacing.
Facebook Twitter Pinterest The Mayakovsky theatre before the demolition began. Photograph: Katherine Long/Mashallah News
Historian Gafur Shermatov has denounced the official explanation for the destruction. “They justify the demolition of this building by arguing that it is very dilapidated and unable to withstand earthquakes, but this is not true,” he says.
In its first incarnation, the building that went up in the late 1920s in a town then called Stalinabad served as the House of Peasants, a clubhouse for farmers. It was here that on the 19 October 1929 Tajik statesman Nusratullo Makhsum declared the creation of the Tajik Soviet Socialist Republic.
The town was renamed as Dushanbe in 1961, and the construction was the first completed there as a “capital building” — with foundations designed for long-term use.
“This is a very good and solid building,” Shermatov says. “It was designed by Pyotr Vaulin and constructed to quadruple strength. It will soon be 100 years since it was finished, and yet it is has not been damaged once, even though it has been through many earthquakes.”
There are few cultural developments in Tajikistan’s modern history that did not first occur in the House of Peasants. It was home to Tajikistan’s first cinema, first modern library, first public reading rooms, first theatre and first radio broadcasting centre.
It even housed the country’s first driving school and the first home of the popular Soviet-era Pioneer youth movement.
“Our history began in that very building. Killing the House of Peasants means killing the history of Dushanbe and the point from where it began,” Shermatov says.
Facebook Twitter Pinterest The sound engineer’s cabin beside the auditorium. Photograph: Katherine Long/Mashallah News
City authorities have promised to provide the Mayakovsky company with new premises, but no new building has been confirmed so far.
According to Dadayeva, the government said there would be no room for them at the gargantuan $100m National Theatre, which began construction last year.
“That is why they promised to make us a new building. But we have heard nothing yet. Our things are just scattered around,” the director says.
Decades’ worth of equipment has been stashed at the Lohuti theatre, another site on the same road which is also slated for removal. “If they give us new premises, this will be the theatre’s third birth,” Dadayeva says.
When civil war broke out in the 1990s after the fall of the Soviet Union, the Mayakovsky company tried to keep going, but eventually relocated temporarily to the Russian city of Magnitogorsk. Before that, in 1993, officers from the Russian military base in Tajikistan raised 200,000 roubles to keep the theatre going.
“During the war, I remember rehearsing with [the actor] Barzu Abdurazakov in the play Gelsomino. The crowd was sitting in the square shouting. The men stood on guard and women brought them whatever food they could muster. Despite the rallies, we would go to work and continue our business,” Dadayeva remembers.
After the war, the Mayakovsky troupe also acted as an unofficial diplomatic bridge between Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, who have a long and troubled history.
Facebook Twitter Pinterest Gulnara Akhmedova, deputy director, in her former office in the Mayakovsky. Photograph: Katherine Long/Mashallah News
“In 2010 and 2012, when relations between Tajikistan and Uzbekistan reached their lowest point, our theatre visited the Youth Theatre of Uzbekistan [in Tashkent] and performed there,” says actress Mavlon Najmutdinova. “That was a time when our politicians were not talking to one another. But through theatre we found a common language.”
Trekking in Tajikistan's Fann mountains, central Asia's 'crown jewels' Read more
As Tajikistan’s last remaining Russian-language theatre company, the Mayakovsky was the only troupe able to continue going on tours abroad. Efforts to enlist the help of the Russian Embassy in Dushanbe in saving the theatre were unsuccessful.
Once the Mayakovsky demolition is completed, government efforts will shift to removing a monument in central Dushanbe erected to mark the 20th anniversary of the Tajik Soviet Socialist Republic. It is likely the old parliament building and the mayor’s office will follow.
“The city should grow and develop, but it should not develop at the cost of moving things around, but through the accumulation of valuable objects,” Shermatov says. “The new must not destroy the old.”
A version of this article first appeared on Eurasianet.org. All photographs courtesy of Katherine Long
|
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/aug/25/our-history-began-here-outcry-as-tajikistans-cultural-heart-is-demolished
|
en
| 2016-08-25T00:00:00 |
www.theguardian.com/20a2777c148eb4a7f0c8149478dbfda1f0ad4ae7dd1be9dc5ef97544c1f943e1.json
|
|
[
"Jenny Rohn",
"Photograph",
"Adam Roberts Private Collection",
"David Bishop Private Collection",
"Adam Roberts Swab",
"Send Private Collection",
"Rachel Carey Private Collection",
"Jenny Rohn Lablit.Com",
"Andrew Steele Scienceogram.Org"
] | 2016-08-27T22:58:59 | null | 2016-05-20T11:59:56 |
The long-awaited O’Neill Review on Antibiotic Resistance paints a sobering, dystopian picture of our future. Jenny Rohn asks what we are doing about it
|
https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fscience%2Foccams-corner%2Fgallery%2F2016%2Fmay%2F20%2Ftime-for-action-drug-resistant-microbes-jenny-rohn-antibiotics.json
|
en
| null |
It’s time for drastic action on drug-resistant microbes
| null | null |
www.theguardian.com
|
Dr Adam Roberts,
“Two Review recommendations are for a global public awareness campaign, and new mechanisms to encourage industry to re-enter the antimicrobial discovery field – because we desperately need new drugs, but it’s no good making new ones if we just squander them. In my lab at UCL the award-winning “Swab and Send” project has reached millions with the message of appropriate antibiotic use, and has already led to the discovery of some potentially exciting compounds that are now being investigated.”
|
https://www.theguardian.com/science/occams-corner/gallery/2016/may/20/time-for-action-drug-resistant-microbes-jenny-rohn-antibiotics
|
en
| 2016-05-20T00:00:00 |
www.theguardian.com/2fe970218da4ef380b19e30f6008404cb4d1540e897bd5df7dff600f73545ac2.json
|
|
[
"Guardian Sport"
] | 2016-08-26T13:19:04 | null | 2016-08-23T13:36:43 |
Answer a simple question and you could off to Stamford Bridge to watch live Premier League football
|
https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Ffootball%2F2016%2Faug%2F23%2Fwin-a-home-pair-of-premier-league-tickets-to-chelsea-v-burnley.json
|
en
| null |
Win a (home) pair of Premier League tickets to Chelsea v Burnley
| null | null |
www.theguardian.com
|
The Guardian has teamed up with Carabao Energy Drink to give six lucky readers the chance to win a pair of home tickets to Chelsea v Burnley on Saturday 27 August at 3pm. Recently kicking-off a new global partnership with Chelsea FC, South-East Asian energy drink Carabao – newly launched in the UK – is the club’s official training wear partner for the next three seasons.
To be in with a chance of winning, simply answer the following question:
Terms and conditions
1. The competition is closed to employees of any company in the Guardian Media Group and any person whom, in the promoter’s reasonable opinion, should be excluded due to their involvement or connection with this promotion. Entrants must be 18 or over.
2. Answer the question correctly and complete your personal details on the online form and your details will be entered into a free prize draw. Only one entry per person.
3. Entries must be made personally. Entries made through agents/third parties are invalid. Entry indicates acceptance of terms and conditions.
4. The prize is a pair of home tickets to watch the Chelsea v Burnley at Stamford Bridge on Saturday 27 August at 3pm. Travel to and from the venue is not included, nor is accommodation.
5. No purchase necessary to enter. Fill in the online application form with the necessary details, name and mobile number.
6. All entries must be received by 10am on Thursday 25 August 2016.
7. The winner will be notified before 10pm on Thursday 25 August 2016 by telephone or email. Prize winners’ details can be obtained by writing to Guardian Sport at Guardian News & Media Limited, Kings Place, 90 York Way, London N1 9GU, UK.
8. Stamped addressed envelope required.
9. Winners will be the first entry drawn at random from all qualifying entries by an independent judge on 25 August 2016. The judge’s decision is final.
10. There is no cash or other alternative to these prizes in whole or in part. Prize is not transferable in whole or in part. Prize is not for resale.
11. The winners will be required to participate in all required publicity, including any presentation ceremony.
12. The decision of the promoter in all matters is final and binding and no correspondence will be entered into.
13. The promoter is not responsible for any third party acts or omissions.
14. We cannot guarantee that the event will be free from disruptions, failings or cancellations. We are not liable for such disruptions, failings or cancellations unless they are caused by our negligence. Any requests for refunds or compensation arising from them should be sent to the operator of the event. We can provide you with their details on request.
15. The promoter reserves the right to cancel or amend this promotion due to events or circumstances arising beyond its control.
16. The prize is subject to the terms and conditions listed above.
17. GNM accepts no responsibility for any damage, loss, liabilities, injury or disappointment incurred or suffered by you as a result of entering the Competition or accepting the prize. GNM further disclaims liability for any injury or damage to your or any other person’s computer relating to or resulting from participation in or downloading any materials in connection with the Competition. Nothing shall exclude the liability of GNM for death or personal injury as a result of either party’s negligence.
18. GNM reserves the right at any time and from time to time to modify or discontinue, temporarily or permanently, this Competition with or without prior notice due to reasons outside its control.
19. The Competition will be governed by English law. Promoter: Guardian News & Media Limited, Kings Place, 90 York Way, London N1 9GU, UK.
|
https://www.theguardian.com/football/2016/aug/23/win-a-home-pair-of-premier-league-tickets-to-chelsea-v-burnley
|
en
| 2016-08-23T00:00:00 |
www.theguardian.com/779fa179b8d0b64ea9b1af4f71276f20a08e5bfde987ea693840ba241f80a507.json
|
Subsets and Splits
No community queries yet
The top public SQL queries from the community will appear here once available.