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Also this week: remembering friends on World Aids Day and becoming that Official Old Person on the tube It’s right up there among the worst moments of my life. On the way home from a night out at the opera – a first-rate, if not stellar, production of Verdi’s Simone Boccanegra – the Northern line tube train was crowded. Rather gracelessly, my wife pushed me aside and made a beeline for the only available seat. Just as I was glorying in my heroic selflessness, a young man of about 30 got up to offer me the priority seat for elderly and disabled passengers. At first I blanked him, unable to believe he was actually talking to me. But he wouldn’t give up and asked again if I would like the seat. I hastily said I was fine, that I was only travelling a couple of stops but – through gritted teeth – thank you so much anyway. It then turned into a face-off. He kept insisting and I kept saying I was fine where I was, until I caved in and sat down. My wife looked at me and burst out laughing. ...

Dudley zoo said it had ‘no other option’ but to euthanise animal to ensure public’s safety A snow leopard has been shot dead after escaping from its zoo enclosure. The eight-year-old animal was killed at 5pm on 23 October after Dudley zoo in the West Midlands said it had “no other option in the interest of public safety”. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2SjhjLZ

Over 30 years, Tweedy has battled drugs, alcohol and in-fighting to become one of the US’s most revered musicians. Now he has turned his experiences into a memoir and a solo album The Wilco loft is situated in a broad, pale-bricked warehouse, repurposed into offices for tech companies and counselling services in a quiet corner of Chicago. The band that lends its name to the site occupy two floors, their vast space housing a recording studio and a rehearsal area, filled with all the paraphernalia and kitsch that accompany a career spanning nearly 25 years. It is dark, curious and smells of wood and cleaning fluid. There are instruments everywhere: rack upon rack of guitars and pianos that face each other as if in consultation. Jeff Tweedy sits in the kitchen. Despite being the lead singer of one of the US’s most revered bands, there is little grandiosity to him this lunchtime: the 51-year-old is a touch dishevelled, wearing a beanie and a large coat as if hunkering against the midwest...

Channing Tatum brings his strip show and self-help rally to London, offering consumerist feminism of the purest form Magic Mike is a 2012 film about male strippers, based on the early life of its star Channing Tatum . It is a tale of loss, directed by Steven Soderbergh, and now, as if to entirely miss the point of itself, it is a live strip show in Las Vegas and London. There is nothing about loss here. I waited for it, but it didn’t come. Perhaps stripping, by itself, is the wrong form to describe loss of soul? There is opportunity here for women and they know it. Groups of women, some old but mostly young, sit waiting with cocktails the size of cauldrons. Their screams are barely suppressed. Because it’s their turn now – this is a form of revenge. There is opportunity too for men, but of a different kind. Tickets are selling on resale websites for £675, but I don’t know what the dancers are paid. You’re worth what you can prise out of their purses, Tatum is told in the film by Mat...

From a pair of Ali v Cooper dates to Tyson and Bruno, half a dozen GB v US boxing battles from down the years “You got a Queen, you need a King,” crowed the brash, unbeaten 21-year-old Cassius Clay on his arrival in London in 1963. The chances of local hero Henry Cooper upsetting the princeling relied on a left hook nicknamed ’Enry’s ’Ammer. Cooper was left-handed but fought orthodox, carrying his power in his lead hand. If his opponent was worried, he hid it well. Entering the ring wearing a crown and a robe emblazoned with “Cassius Clay, The Greatest”, the visitor soon found his rhythm. A slashing jab opened the fragile skin above Cooper’s left eye and Clay began to showboat in the fourth. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2KNmRMo

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The PM’s remarks to the House of Commons liaison committee raised eyebrows in Brussels EU officials have dismissed Theresa May’s suggestion that extending Brexit talks could result in renegotiating the deal, as Brussels awaits the next twist in the British political drama. EU officials were perplexed by the prime minister’s comments to the House of Commons liaison committee on Thursday that extending article 50 would mean “you are then on the business of renegotiating the deal”. Although May went on to say that the current deal was the only one on offer, her remarks raised eyebrows in Brussels. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2rfnYeS

Prize recognises contribution to the understanding of mental health problems The Guardian writer Hannah Jane Parkinson has been named journalist of the year at the Mind media awards 2018. The prize, which recognises an outstanding contribution to the understanding of mental health problems, was awarded to Parkinson for her article It’s Nothing Like a Broken Leg , published in June. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2SjHcez

Sledgehammer in hand, the intrepid artist and ‘anarchitect’ embarked on a perilous odyssey of urban deconstruction – clearing a path for generations to come before his death aged 35 Bare-chested and swinging high on a suspended platform in the vast interior space of a derelict steel-trussed warehouse on a New York pier, Gordon Matta-Clark , acetylene torch in hand, cut into the walls, the floors and the roof, letting the light in. Along with the sparks raining from his torch, the light cascaded from the sky through the building’s empty void to the water beneath. Arcs of light moved with the sun’s passage through the day. The camera filming all this is alternately dazzled and consumed by mysterious gloom. Hidden then exposed, Matta-Clark is glimpsed hard at work, oblivious to the height and the danger, swaying on his little platform. For three months in 1975 the artist worked, unseen and illegally, in the warehouse. Used by the homeless and by junkies, it was best known for its gay ba...

I was working as a musician in London and the idea of pulling pints in the country was romantic. So I filled in the application In the early days of reality television, I would get emails about contestant callouts. In 2005, one arrived entitled Country Pub. It offered a “life-changing” opportunity for couples to compete on a new daytime show to run a pub. I was working as a musician in London and the idea of chatting to locals and pulling pints in the countryside was romantic. My partner, Monia, and I procrastinated until the night before the deadline when, slightly tipsy, I filled in the application, trying to be witty in an effort to stand out. I must have done something right because we were invited to a filmed interview. I was 30 and Monia was 25. The production team were looking for two couples to run the pub for two weeks each. As the narrator said when it aired: “The couple who do best will leave their old life behind and become the new landlord and landlady.” Continue readin...

With May’s offering looking doomed, no deal a hoax and no plausible plan B, the government may soon be unable to govern With every passing day, the likelihood of the government winning the meaningful vote on Theresa May’s deal diminishes. There has been considerable chatter in Westminster about the idea that if the government loses the vote the first time, it might attempt to pass it a second time. This scenario is only plausible if the vote is a close-run thing. But if, as seems likely, the government loses by a wide margin, May’s deal will be definitively dead. So what happens then? Related: Theresa May rules out Norway-style Brexit compromise with Labour Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2FQl9Ln

Change prompts concern that country’s media is trying to rewrite wartime history Japan’s oldest English-language newspaper has sparked anger among staff and readers after revising its description of wartime sex slaves and forced labourers from the Korean peninsula. In a decision that critics said aligned it with the conservative agenda of the prime minister, Shinzō Abe, the Japan Times said it had used terms “that could have been potentially misleading” when reporting on the contentious subjects. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2PcTq6O

Ukrainian Orthodox church granted independence in significant blow to Moscow As relations between Russia and Ukraine deteriorate over the seizure of three ships by Moscow, the long-running conflict between the two countries is also playing out in the pews. The Ukrainian Orthodox church has been granted independence from the Russian church in a historic move that is likely to result in a split in eastern Orthodoxy. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2E3PmVB

The 24-year-old primary schoolteacher lives in one room with her family in rural Mexico. Now, as the star of Alfonso Cuarón’s new film, she’s being tipped for an Oscar Read Peter Bradshaw’s five-star review Yalitza Aparicio only auditioned for Roma because her sister was heavily pregnant and in no fit state to. Neither had acted before. But her older sister was desperate to know what the audition would be like, so she sent Aparicio along as a proxy. “I didn’t want to do the casting,” she says. “My sister pushed me because, in our community, they have never come before to ask us to be in films.” Aparicio got through the first audition, then the second and, finally, months later, the third. Now there is talk of her winning an Oscar. If she does, it will be deserved. Alfonso Cuarón’s Roma is a masterpiece, and Aparicio’s performance is astonishing. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2DT1veQ

This is a dinner that educates me, rather than one that makes me drool If you follow the restaurant scene on Instagram, you’ll possibly think of Two Lights in Shoreditch as “ the fishtail hanging out of a sandwich place ”. All restaurants in 2018 must have a dish to provoke Instagram users. I don’t make these rules; I am but a conduit. You may recall Red Farm’s Pac-Man dumplings or Kerridge’s Bar & Grill’s lobster omelette . And it is reported that at new Notting Hill mega-opening Caractere , Emily Roux is agitating – excuse me, enticing – diners with a Bourbon biscuit filled with mushed sardine butter . This, let’s be frank, sounds like something one might have been tricked to eat while blindfolded at an 1990s children’s birthday party. Hence, at Two Lights, a small, breaded sardine lies between two slices of purposefully bog-standard white bread, with its wispy tail draping out à la Tom & Jerry’s supper. It’s a sardine katsu sandwich for £4.50, a play on Japanese junk foo...

James and Susan Kenneavy’s Ford Kuga was found on Drummore beach in south Scotland after bad weather Police are searching for a couple after their car was found “washed up” on a beach amid bad weather. James and Susan Kenneavy’s Ford Kuga was found empty on Drummore beach near Stranraer in the south of Scotland at around 7.30am on Thursday. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2DUFBbs

People are risking their lives by crossing the Channel in dinghies. A hostile UK government must share blame for this calamity A little girl looks out at the approaching rescue boat from inside her oversized lifejacket. Her family, huddled around her in the darkness, cling to the edges of the dinghy as it is buffeted by the waves. They are lucky to have been spotted and lucky to have survived the crossing. These nine people, including four young children, are the latest to reach Britain in what has been described as a “new” phenomenon of migrants taking to the English Channel in small boats not fit for travel. In the past month alone, 110 people have crossed the English Channel into British waters. With more than 400 commercial ships passing through the Dover Strait every day, it is the busiest shipping thoroughfare in the world. Travelling with youngsters, in the fog and at night, packed into tiny rubber dinghies, these people are putting their lives in extreme danger. Continue re...

There is no vision for local government beyond the bare basics. It’s an illogical position that will have miserable consequences The truth is finally out. Parliament has been told that ministers have no vision for local government beyond carrying out basic functions dictated by Whitehall. Even while cutting real terms local government funding by 49%, the government usually at least pretends it sees some wider role for councils in shaping the future of their places. But evidence from Melanie Dawes , permanent secretary at the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government, to the public accounts committee inquiry on local government spending has laid bare the true position. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2E992Y2

Special counsel Robert Mueller’s willingness to prosecute should make the president’s son and other aides who testified worried Donald Trump’s eldest son and other associates of the president may be at greater risk of prosecution after Robert Mueller , the special counsel, showed he is willing to criminally charge people for lying to Congress. Mueller on Thursday obtained a guilty plea from Michael Cohen , one of Trump’s closest advisers for more than a decade, who admitted giving an untrue account to Congress about the Trump Organization’s effort to develop a tower in Moscow during 2016. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2Q33ncy

Business group warns of growing shortages across all skills levels Nine in 10 businesses say Brexit has affected their ability to recruit and train staff this year, the Confederation of British Industry has said. The Recruitment and Employment Confederation, the professional body for the recruitment industry, says the public sector, including the NHS and schools, face up to seven more years of skills shortages, based on current demand. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2U0VEK2

Referenced by Rachel Maddow and Bob Woodward, a pulpy thriller about a commander-in-chief losing command of reality is receiving a timely rerelease “Nobody in this country can tell a president of the United States that his mind is sick.” That’s the blunt assessment of the defense secretary in Night of Camp David, a political thriller from 1965 that stands to be rescued from an undeserved obscurity by its republication this month. The coal-black front cover of the new edition is unadorned apart from one line, in white block letters: “What would happen if the president of the USA went stark-raving mad?” Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2U154Fo

By SARAH STEIN KERR, AINARA TIEFENTHÄLER and SAMEEN AMIN from NYT U.S. https://ift.tt/2RoQ2b5

By ERICA L. GREEN, KATIE BENNER and ANNIE FLANAGAN from NYT U.S. https://ift.tt/2Q178iy

You can’t beat gestural slang, which is why the late Baroness Trumpington’s two-fingered salute spoke to our hearts Gestural slang has given us the best in communication for at least 2,500 years. The Roman poet Martial and the historian Suetonius both noted the use of the impudent or infamous digit. Nowadays, that classic middle finger decorates territorial claims from playgrounds to motorways. Whether in good-humoured repudiation or less nuanced acts of aggression, the origins of this essentially European gesture are apparently phallic. That finger you may have just flipped in response to these words represents a penis in a state of some excitement. On the other hand, the signature gesture of confrontational British slang uses twice as many fingers. We may use a single digit when it suits us, but a V-sign says it better. The gesturer’s palm faces inward, the index and middle fingers are raised, spread, and often jerked upwards. This week the gesture had another moment as tributes wer...

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SmartAsset (YC S12) Is Hiring a Data Engineer by mcarvin | on Hacker News .

The Ticket Fairy (YC S15) Is Hiring an Engineer in Auckland, NZ by riteshpatel | on Hacker News .

BuildZoom (marketplace for construction) is hiring engineers by the_economist | on Hacker News .

Mino Games Is Hiring Game Programmers in Montreal by joshbuckley | on Hacker News .

Fox News Breaking News Alert 3 dead, 8 injured after high-speed chase at border 11/29/18 11:45 PM

Fox News Breaking News Alert Deputy US marshal killed in Arizona shooting 11/29/18 8:55 PM

Fox News Breaking News Alert President Trump cancels meeting at G20 with Russian President Vladimir Putin over Ukraine tensions 11/29/18 8:44 AM

Fox News Breaking News Alert Ex-Trump attorney Michael Cohen pleads guilty to lying to Congress in Russia probe 11/29/18 6:34 AM

En route to the G20, PM rejects plan B and accuses Labour of wanting to leave country with no deal Theresa May has ruled out any plan B involving a Norway-style compromise deal with the Labour party in order to deliver a parliamentary consensus on Brexit, saying the opposition party’s refusal to accept the backstop arrangement put the UK on a course for no deal. Influential backbenchers, including former Tory minister Nick Boles and Labour’s Stephen Kinnock, have been developing a compromise proposal based on membership of the European Economic Area plus a negotiated customs union, believing it is the only version of Brexit that could attract enough Labour and Tory votes to deliver a parliamentary majority. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2Rqterm

PM plunges into fraught summit featuring Trump, Putin and Salman … US president lashes out as Cohen makes plea deal … and a new house for £65,000 Hello on a Friday. It’s Warren Murray hitting the tarmac with a packed agenda. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2FRc4Sk

Now in its 10th year, a forum intended to secure global governance has become a stage for increasingly populist leaders The leaders from the world’s 20 biggest economies converge on Buenos Aires on Friday looking for consensus on the global flows of trade and investment – at a time when such consensus has been increasingly difficult to come by. Ten years on from the first G20 summit – convened in an effort to alleviate the global financial crisis – the Argentinian hosts are struggling to find common ground among the heads of state and government representing 19 of the biggest national economies and the EU – 85% of global economic output. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2P6Uh93

Campaigners call for price freeze after year of disruption, with worst punctuality figures in a decade UK rail fares will rise by 3.1% in January, the industry body the Rail Delivery Group has said. New fares for all tickets to take effect from 2 January 2019, published on Friday, show an average rise that will add more than £100 to many commuters’ annual season tickets. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2rbwbR7

Former legal fixer said Trump continued trying to develop tower in Moscow months into presidential campaign Follow live updates One of Donald Trump’s closest advisers spoke with a Kremlin official about securing Russian government support for a planned Trump Tower in Moscow during the 2016 presidential election campaign, he said on Thursday. Michael Cohen, who served as Trump’s legal fixer for more than a decade, said in an explosive testimony that Trump continued trying to develop a tower in Russia’s capital months into his campaign for the presidency – contradicting Trump’s account. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2ztLaKz

NHS prevention programme in England to invite 5,000 people with type 2 to take part in trial Thousands of people are to be offered a very low calorie diet (VLCD) by their GPs in the hope of reversing their type 2 diabetes, NHS England has announced. The 800-calories-a-day regimen, made up of soups and shakes, has been shown to help people lose excess weight that has caused fat to build up around their internal organs including the pancreas, leading to type 2 diabetes. About 10% of the NHS budget is spent on treating diabetes, which can have serious complications including blindness and the need for amputation. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2DTRBcT

The proposal, in response to violent crime, is supposed to increase public confidence but has been criticised Sadiq Khan, the mayor of London, has come under pressure to order Cressida Dick, the Metropolitan police commissioner, to stop plans for officers to patrol residential areas of the city with their guns on show. The plans being considered by the Met are supposed to boost community confidence and public safety, but triggered swinging criticism on Thursday night. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2AALCqo

Social work assessments show ‘alarming rise’ to 1,960 cases reported in 2017-18 The number of girls in England who have experienced or are believed to be at risk of female genital mutilation (FGM) has more than doubled in a year, according to assessments by council social workers. Analysis of government figures shows that FGM featured in 1,960 social work assessments in 2017-18 – more than twice the 970 cases reported in the previous year. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2Q35m0j

Permission granted to spend £60m cash received from sale of HQ The government has in effect bailed out Tory-run Northamptonshire county council after giving it unprecedented permission to spend up to £60m of cash received from the sale of its HQ on funding day-to-day services. The highly unusual move – accounting rules normally prevent councils using capital receipts in this way – means the crisis-hit authority is likely to escape falling into insolvency for the third time in less than a year. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2ShAlm3

Up to 17% of children could have symptoms of FASD through mothers drinking during pregnancy, says new report Up to 17% of children could have the symptoms of foetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD) because their mothers drank during pregnancy, according to a new study, whose findings were criticised for potentially causing pregnant women to panic and seek an abortion. Foetal alcohol spectrum disorder is diagnosed from a collection of mental and physical problems in a child, including some distinctive facial features, such as a small head, small eyes and a thin upper lip. It can be associated with learning difficulties and mood problems. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2SfjD6A

Two Yorkshire factories try to tackle housing crisis with modular two and three-bedroom homes The UK is entering a new era of prefab homes with the opening of a Yorkshire factory that will build fully-fitted three-bedroom homes with a price tag as low as £65,000. Eight houses fitted with kitchens and bathrooms will roll off the production line every day in Knaresborough, to be loaded on to lorries for delivery across the country. Experts have hailed it a revolution in British housebuilding that would slash the 40 weeks it could take to build a traditional home to just 10 days. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2Q35kFJ

How did a forum for global cooperation become a stage for authoritarians? The Guardian world affairs editor, Julian Borger, analyses the G20 ahead of the summit in Buenos Aires with the help of the Guardian’s foreign correspondents. Plus William Davies on why we stopped trusting elites When the G20 first met in 2008, it was in the heat of a global economic meltdown as world leaders worked together to help stabilise the plunging financial markets. But for the G20’s 10th birthday summit, the mood around the table has changed. Some of the biggest countries including the US, China, Brazil, Russia, Saudi Arabia and Turkey are run by populist autocrats and authoritarians. Joining Anushka Asthana is the Guardian’s world affairs editor, Julian Borger, who is in Buenos Aires for the summit . He says the focus will be on a series of bilateral relationships, particularly between Donald Trump and China’s Xi Jinping, Russia’s Vladimir Putin and Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman....

The actor’s McConaissance, his rebirth as a grizzled character actor, has won him widespread acclaim. He talks about career wobbles, his work with young offenders – and why he’s never truly satisfied with his work At this point, the sight of Matthew McConaughey scuffed up and scuzzy, without a tan but with a shirt, is no longer a shock. It has been seven years since the McConaissance that saw the actor stop (or, at least, curb) toplessness to be conciously reborn as a grizzled character actor. But what remains surprising is just how low – or rather high – he is now willing to go. Previous roles of the McConaissance (“I don’t mind the word,” he grins. “It’s got a good metre”) have seen him embrace fried-chicken greased vileness (trailer-trash thriller Killer Joe ), pot-bellied greed (mining saga Gold ) and life as an emaciated rodeo redneck (Aids drama Dallas Buyers Club ). But they have still always been heroes on some level, even if there are a lot of caveats. Underneath it all, the...

Are you sitting comfortably? Many people are not – and they insist that the way we’ve been going to the toilet is all wrong. By Alex Blasdel For their 27th wedding anniversary, the Breaking Bad star Bryan Cranston gave his wife, Robin, a gift that promises “to give you the best poop of your life, guaranteed”. The Squatty Potty is a wildly popular seven-inch-high plastic stool, designed by a devout Mormon and her son, which curves around the base of your loo. By propping your feet on it while you crap, you raise your knees above your hips. From this semi-squat position, the centuries-old seated toilet is transformed into something more primordial, like a hole in the ground. The family that makes the Squatty Potty says this posture unfurls your colon and gives your faecal matter a clear run from your gut to the bowl, reducing bloating, constipation and the straining that causes haemorrhoids. Musing about the gift on one of America’s daytime talk shows in 2016, Cranston said: “Eliminatio...

Medical research enters a new era to find ways to eradicate HIV from infected populations More than 50 years after it jumped the species barrier and became one of the most devastating viruses to affect mankind, HIV remains a stubborn adversary. Treatment has improved dramatically over the past 20 years, but people who are infected will remain so for the rest of their lives, and must take one pill daily – at one time it was a cocktail of 30. But now, as another World Aids Day pulls into view, scientists are beginning to ask if the biggest breakthrough – an out-and-out cure for the tens of millions who have contracted the virus – could be in sight. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2Q33p4a

The Cambridge Analytica whistleblower reveals how certain brands were weaponised during the US election campaign Christopher Wylie, the whistleblower who exposed the widespread misuse of data by his former employer, Cambridge Analytica, has revealed how the company “weaponised” the fashion industry in the run up to the 2016 US election, which he claims helped Donald Trump get elected. Speaking at the annual BoF Voices festival in Oxfordshire, Wylie revealed for the first time a matrix based on data collected by the firm which he claims can show how users’ preferences for particular brands on social media platforms – Facebook, in particular – were then used to help target these same users with pro-Trump messaging. He compared the misuse of fashion-based data as one of the campaign’s lesser reported “weapons of mass destruction”. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2BECuT9

From Friday, only vehicles producing zero emissions will be allowed to drive freely in downtown Madrid – making it a pollution pioneer in Europe By 10.15 on Wednesday morning, Enrique Pelagio had parked his lorry in the chic Madrid neighbourhood of Chueca and was stacking the trolley that would bring the local cafes, bars and restaurants their daily bread and pastries. Across the road was the van from the fruit and veg shop, while near the craft beer place sat a red delivery truck from the ubiquitous Mahou brewery. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2DVwqHo

Historic CDU vote on successor could help determine the future of Germany – and Europe It has been described as the cliffhanger of the year, a battle that has left Germany – and Europe – on the edge of its seat. At stake, say some, is nothing less than the future direction of both country and continent. On Saturday 8 December, Germany’s conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU) will vote on a successor to Angela Merkel, one of the world’s most formidable leaders, who is stepping down after 18 years in charge of the party and 13 as chancellor. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2ShOP5l

Kelvin Davis is from the Ngāpuhi tribe, who make up about half of the nation’s Māori prison population. He is also the corrections minister Kelvin Davis describes himself as a member of “the most incarcerated tribe in the world”. The former teacher grew up in New Zealand’s deprived Northland region and has seen childhood friends, schoolmates and relatives locked away. Appointed the country’s corrections minister in 2017, he is now on a mission to empty the nation’s prisons of Māori inmates. And after just eight months with Davis in the job, the overall prison population has dropped by 8%. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2Q2C41L

Sir Terry Farrell’s son, who inspired design when he was eight, says he may bid for item A doll’s house designed in 1981 by Sir Terry Farrell, the architect of the MI6 headquarters, partly to send up the hi-tech architectural style employed by his rivals Norman Foster and Richard Rogers, is to be auctioned. The 176cm-tall structure is made up of angular platforms, escape hatches and landing pads and features space toys and figures. It was inspired by a sketch by Farrell’s son Max, then eight, who suggested a “space city”. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2E5gkfl

There are four Brexit tribes, not two – any poll focusing on a binary choice ignores the pain austerity has inflicted “The polls called the referendum wrong” is a common misapprehension. In fact, while they were clearly wrong in the past two general elections, opinion polls were mostly right – at least within a margin of error – all the way through the 2016 referendum campaign. Although most commentators chose to interpret the polls through the prism of their own confirmation bias (what their friends thought would happen), and therefore assumed remain would walk it, the eventual close-run win for leave was fairly well predicted. Latest polling suggests that remain has improved its showing a little – although the net result is still “neck and neck”, too close to call. The problem with most polls, however, is not that they might be wrong but that they mask how polarised British voters’ views have become. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2PYLP0W

UK aid to Yemen is eclipsed by the billions brought in through the bungling, deceitful sale of British weapons to Saudi Arabia The war in Yemen has killed as many as 57,000 people since March 2015, left 8.4 million people surviving on food aid and created a cholera epidemic . The British government claims to have been at the forefront of international humanitarian assistance, giving more than £570 m to Yemen in bilateral aid since the war began. Yet the financial value of aid is a drop in the ocean compared with the value of weapons sold to the Saudi-led coalition – licences worth at least £4.7bn of arms exports to Saudi Arabia and £860m to its coalition partners since the start of the war. Relatively speaking, aid has been little more than a sticking plaster on the death, injury, destruction, displacement, famine and disease inflicted on Yemen by an entirely man made disaster . Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2rdBWhl

Dire warnings of a no-deal Brexit could be seen as helpful to first-time buyers. But a downturn would hurt those who can least afford it the most House prices are falling. Those words feel like the first fat drops of rain, falling after a long summer drought, bringing not so much sadness as sweet relief. The housing market has been running far too hot for too long. Lives and prospects are parched. A change in the weather is surely just what everyone needed. Besides, the 1.7% fall in average house prices recorded by property website Rightmove this month sounds like more of a light shower than a monsoon, especially as it mainly affected London and the commuter hotspots of the south-east. If nervousness about what’s going to happen after Brexit is forcing greedy homeowners to be a bit more realistic, or developers to think twice about converting city landmarks into obscenely expensive flats for the super-rich, then arguably that’s all to the good. Continue reading... from The Guardi...

Seven decades of prosperity have lulled the UK into thinking we’re special – that disasters only happen to other people Most British people don’t have the first inkling of what a crisis is. They think it’s a political thing. “Government in crisis”, and so on. Whatever happens at the top, life will go on as ever. There will be food in the shops, medical supplies in the hospitals, water in the taps and order on the streets (as much as there usually is). Anyone who warns you otherwise is a catastrophist, a drama queen, a scaremonger, a Cassandra. That’s what a seven-decade period of general peace and collective prosperity does for you. It makes you think it’s normal, rather than a hard-won, fragile rarity in history. It makes most people complacent, and turns a small but unfortunately influential number into the kind of adolescent romantics who think you can smash up everything in the house and stick two fingers up to Mummy and Daddy because, no matter what you do, they will always be th...

The proposal for the Honister Pass has been approved by the park authorities. But profit cannot triumph over beauty The Honister Pass , from Borrowdale to Buttermere , links the two loveliest places in England. It is a ravine of exquisite ruggedness , a retreat from the crowds of Windermere and Keswick. In the national gallery of scenery, Honister is the Mona Lisa. To whom does this beauty belong? The answer is supposedly to us all, guarded by the Lake District national park. But it is claimed by a company that, it appears, wishes to exploit the existing slate mine at the pass’s summit with a kilometre-long zip wire down one side of it. The structure would be on the slopes of Fleetwith Pike, in the heart of wildest Cumbria, backing on to Pillar and Scafell and looking across to Dale Head and the Cat Bells ridge. The mine’s present owners run it as a successful tourist business , which I admire. Their plan to increase their appeal with a zip wire has been twice rejected by the park ...

You simply will not read every book in your lifetime Not enjoying that book you’re reading? Quit. It’s okay. You’re allowed to do it. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2zuYHBO

Liverpool’s problems could worsen in the derby, Ranieri returns to the Bridge and Newcastle fans plan a walk-in protest Maybe the table never lies but it sure can mislead. Perhaps Liverpool are the second-best team in the Premier League at the moment but that does not mean they are very good. So far in the league they have been unbeaten and unconvincing. The main problem is their midfield , which lacks ingenuity and suffers from waning dynamism. Jürgen Klopp has not overhauled it swiftly enough, though at least he has started Xherdan Shaqiri in the last two leagues games to bring more inventiveness. But he deployed Jordan Henderson, James Milner and Gigi Wijnaldum for Wednesday’s lame Champions League defeat in Paris. Henderson is suspended for Sunday’s Merseyside derby so there’s no need for him to be dropped. But there’s a good case for sidelining Wijnaldum and even Milner to go with a midfield trio of Shaqiri, Naby Keïta and Fabinho. That would partly be an expression of faith in ...

• PFA chief denies he said it or would use such language • Outdated language claim brings leadership back into spotlight • No suggestion union leader is racist Gordon Taylor’s leadership of the Professional Footballers’ Association is back in the spotlight after it emerged a complaint was made that he referred to black players as “coloured” at an event arranged to promote diversity and racial equality. Taylor has told the PFA he cannot recall using the alleged term when giving a talk almost a year ago. A spokesperson for the players’ union said: “Gordon firmly believes he didn’t say it and it is not language he would ever use. He has led in this area for 40 years and understands fully the sensitivities.” Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2E47EG8

UK regulator gives firm three months to improve after shambolic summer The rail regulator has told Network Rail to improve its performance or face fines after the punctuality and reliability of Britain’s train services slumped this summer. The Office of Rail and Road (ORR) said problems in implementing the new timetable in May , as well as extreme weather , had contributed to the worst performance since 2014, possibly breaching Network Rail’s licence conditions. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2P88NO4

Despite ‘project hysteria’ headlines, stark economists’ warnings on May’s deal and no deal seem to be sinking in with MPs Who’s afraid of a governor of the Bank of England? Who needs experts – especially economists? Even the head of the Office for Budget Responsibility admits their forecasts are like landing a jumbo jet on the proverbial postage stamp. Brexiters – and that maverick little cadre of leftist Lexiteers – had plenty of ammunition as they rubbished Wednesday’s estimates from the government and the bank , warning of the dire effect of every brand of Brexit. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2FMlrmn

A video from a Huddersfield school has sparked outrage, but change will only come if we address Britain’s xenophobia By Wednesday morning, many millions of people had watched a video of a 15-year-old Syrian refugee seemingly being thrown to the ground and water being poured on his face in a Huddersfield school playground . The incident had apparently taken place some weeks before, but it was shared overnight on Tuesday and quickly went viral. It’s impossible for any compassionate person to watch the short clip and not feel distressed by it. Related: Family of bullied Syrian schoolboy considering leaving Huddersfield Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2U0hBcz

Vice-minister condemns work of He Jiankui, but Chinese regulations are vague Chinese authorities have declared the work of He Jiankui, a scientist who claims to have created the world’s first gene-edited babies , a violation of Chinese law and called for the suspension of all related activity. “The genetically edited infant incident reported by media blatantly violated China’s relevant laws and regulations. It has also violated the ethical bottom line that the academic community adheres to. It is shocking and unacceptable,” Xu Nanping, a vice-minister for science and technology, told the state-owned CCTV on Thursday. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2AybanT

Stephen Prosser claimed he was injured by being forced to sit next to man who was ‘the size of Jonah Lomu’ A holidaymaker has lost his claim against British Airways after saying he was injured by being forced to sit next to an obese man who was “the size of Jonah Lomu”. Stephen Prosser, 51, had claimed he suffered personal injury and loss of earnings after being made to sit next to the large passenger during a 12-hour flight from Bangkok to Heathrow. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2Rswym0

PM tells senior MPs talks with EU would have to be reopened if UK sought extension to departure process • Follow the latest political news - live updates The government would have to reopen negotiations with the EU on the Brexit deal if it sought an extension to the departure process to allow for a second referendum on the plan, Theresa May has told a committee of senior MPs. Related: Brexit: MPs condemn ministers' refusal to publish legal advice Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2RoEODm

Shadow Brexit secretary Keir Starmer accuses government of showing contempt for house Follow the latest politics news – live updates Angry MPs led by Labour’s Sir Keir Starmer have demanded to know why ministers are refusing to publish the government’s full legal advice relating to Theresa May’s Brexit deal in an emergency Commons debate. The shadow Brexit secretary accused the government of “showing contempt for this house” and said the government’s counter-offer of sending the attorney general, Geoffrey Cox, to answer questions on Monday was not good enough. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2E2Lmo9

Taliban claim responsibility for bomb and gun attack on security firm’s compound Five employees of the security firm G4S, one British and four Afghan, have been killed in a Taliban bomb and gun attack on the company’s compound in Kabul. Militants attacked the compound in the Afghan capital late on Wednesday, detonating a vehicle bomb outside the gate before attempting to force their way inside. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2Q14Fog

Alfonso Cuarón’s intimate family drama, set in 1970s Mexico, is a triumphant blend of tragedy, comedy and absurdity A lfonso Cuarón ’s new film Roma is thrilling, engrossing, moving – and just entirely amazing, an adjectival pileup of wonder. He has reached back into his own childhood to create an intensely personal story, and this is the second time I have seen it since the premiere at this year’s Venice film festival, hoping to get a clearer view of those later images that on first viewing were made wobbly by tears. Same problem, though. Those coming to see this film had prepare themselves to be emotionally wrung out. Cuarón has an extraordinary way of combining the closeup and the wide shot, the tellingly observed detail – humorous or poignant or just effortlessly authentic – with the big picture and the sense of scale. At times, it feels novelistic in its sense of character development and inner life: a densely realised, intimate drama developing in what feels like real time. In ...

The will of the people is now to stay in the EU. This is our big chance to form a government and defend working-class voters The Labour party should oppose Brexit and support remain in a people’s vote because of its impact on the communities we represent. But we should also oppose Brexit because, by doing so, we maximise our chances of forming the next government. Amid the noise of Theresa May’s final attempts to get her Brexit agreement through parliament, we are in danger of losing sight of the damage any Brexit – deal or no deal – would mean for working-class communities and Labour’s heartlands. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2QsGY7Q

The environmental impact caused by meat consumption has given rise to a number of startups looking to supply it in a more affordable way There are billions of people on this planet, and many of us love to eat meat. Can the demand be filled in a sustainable, affordable way? A bunch of entrepreneurs are not only optimistic but are working to make this happen sooner than you may think. Related: Bloody beetroot burgers – why would anyone want them? Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2Auf0yq

The Brazilian scored PSG’s winner in perhaps his most effective high-profile performance since leaving Barcelona With Neymar the questions have always been along the same kind of lines. How far? How good? To what height can the broad wings of his own attacking talent carry him? At a slightly wild Parc des Princes, Liverpool lost an exciting, slightly fractious Champions League game 2-1 , menaced throughout by a star striker intent on posing two very different sets of questions. For the opening 40 minutes, Liverpool felt the force of what was surely Neymar’s most effective high-profile performance since his Barcelona days. This was followed by the beta version: a second half of circus play and indulgence on the ball, with Neymar tumbling to the turf like a tiny little Victorian fairy sprite lashed with a blow from the under-gardener’s rake; and beyond that the full range of attacking ego-ball. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2ABr5lk

David Attenborough’s Dynasties programme likely to be moved if Labour agrees to BBC debate instead of ITV’s offer Viewers tuning in to see the final episode of David Attenborough’s Dynasties programme next Sunday night could be in for a surprise, with the programme likely to be moved for a special Brexit debate featuring Theresa May. Related: Brexit: May suggests she will activate full no deal planning if she loses vote - Politics live Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2DSwl7l

Women like Sammy Woodhouse – a victim of the Rotherham child abuse ring – aren’t being protected. The law has to change Sammy Woodhouse is an extraordinarily courageous woman. She is the victim of the most appalling crimes in the most appalling circumstances, and yet she chose to set aside her anonymity. Yesterday she told her story , one that must spark a powerful case for a change to British law. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2r7gLxk

• In demand fast bowler was born in Barbados • Move could mean Archer is available for West Indies tour Jofra Archer, the highly-rated Sussex fast bowler who was born in Barbados but holds a British passport, will be available to play for England from 1 January 2019 after the England and Wales Cricket Board agreed to change its rules over eligibility. Related: Joe Root’s modern captaincy represents a sea change for England | Andy Bull Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2KIMa1Q

Police search Frankfurt offices as part of investigation into alleged money laundering Police in Germany have raided the offices of Deutsche Bank in connection with the Panama Papers revelations and as part of an investigation into alleged money laundering. About 170 police officers, prosecutors and tax inspectors searched six Deutsche Bank officers in and around Frankfurt, the public prosecutor’s office said. Investigators are looking into the activities of two Deutsche Bank employees who allegedly helped clients to set up offshore companies to launder money, it added. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2DSrjIl

By MATT FLEGENHEIMER from NYT U.S. https://ift.tt/2RlVM5r