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Navigating the roadblocks into Britain gets ever more difficult and expensive, as government hostility leaks into every transaction. By Maya Goodfellow On an industrial estate on the edge of central Birmingham, in a building nestled behind a car park and overlooking the city’s network of canals, I met a group of about 30 people who had come from all over the world but whose experiences of the UK’s immigration regime were remarkably similar. They formed a circle in the middle of the room and began talking about the problems they had faced. Overstretched lawyers and immigration specialists were on hand to offer advice. Diana was there that night. She came from Zimbabwe and moved from a visitor visa to a student visa, before going on to marry an EU citizen. But her marriage quickly deteriorated: “I had to come out of the relationship because of domestic violence.” She says she left her partner to save her life. She knew nothing about the asylum process, but in 2013, she was told that be...

The data shows the likelihood of experiencing anxiety rises then declines – and women are more likely to feel it than men I timed the interview all wrong. At 9.27am, three minutes before I’m supposed to call him, I’m running down the street in the rain. I duck into the nearest cafe, and it has too many people, but it’s 9.29 so I call him anyway. I’m standing in the garden now, yelling over the rain and the speaker blasting shitty jazz, trying to hear Dr Kevin Chapman, a specialist in anxiety disorders and adults and adolescents. Related: The hour you are most alone: how I got trapped by poverty and depression Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2PDQzHR

The California senator was set to storm the race but instead has been taking dramatic action to boost her campaign – will the impeachment inquiry save it? On a crystalline fall day, Kamala Harris arrived at a split-level home in a leafy northern Virginia suburb for a canvassing event to support local Democrats ahead of the state’s legislative elections next week. The front yard was full of volunteers, some wearing pink and green pins from the Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority that Harris joined as an undergraduate at Howard University, a historically black college in Washington. A woman dressed in a sari wished Happy Diwali to Harris, whose mother was an immigrant from India and whose first name means “lotus flower” in Sanskrit. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2JE79nn

Katarzyna Pruszkiewicz spent six months running fake social media accounts at self-described ‘ePR firm’ in Wrocław It is as common an occurrence on Polish Twitter as you are likely to get: a pair of conservative activists pouring scorn on the country’s divided liberal opposition. “I burst out laughing!” writes Girl from Żoliborz, a self-described “traditionalist” commenting on a newspaper story about a former campaign adviser to Barack Obama and Emmanuel Macron coming to Warsaw to address a group of liberal activists. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2Wvfdfm

A hard Brexit and entrenched inequality – or a nation where we can feed our kids and save the planet? It’s up to us Election night, 2017, at Harrow leisure centre was a tense affair. I had been in the borough for more than a month covering the battle for Harrow West – a Labour-held marginal that was 19th on the Tories’ target list. Labour won it in 1997 with a slim majority and had clung on to it ever since. The tension however, related to next-door Harrow East, a Tory constituency. It went to recounts, sending the Tory candidate pacing nervously in every direction. He had considered his seat safe; the Labour MP for Harrow West believed his was at risk. Yet Labour won Harrow West by 13,314 votes , increasing its majority fivefold, while in Harrow East the Tory majority was reduced to just 1,757 . I had been in the area to write about a seat that Labour might lose. It hadn’t occurred to me they might gain one. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2qemzrm

When you raise the question of not giving kids phones at all, parents balk. ‘How can we do that? ’ they ask. But what alternative is there? A report released by Common Sense Media on Tuesday found that by age 11, 53% of kids in the US have their own smartphone. And 69% do by the time they’re 12. This surge in phone ownership and the increased screen time associated with it comes amid growing concerns from experts and people like me that phones are bad for kids. Related: In a world made small by smartphones, we crave escape into otherness | Brigid Delaney Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2Nsxc1S

Women who have miscarried have seen their bodies change exponentially, but with no baby to prove why. It can all feel so futile In recent years, a zeitgeist shift surrounding the way we talk about postpartum bodies has stormed through culture. The preoccupation with “bouncing back” after the birth of a baby, while not completely erased, has begun to fade. In its place, a dialogue borne mainly through social media encourages grace, acceptance, and self-love for women whose bodies have changed in the wake of growing a human. You made a person. Of course things are different. Wear these changes with pride , the messages say. It’s a well-intended and much-needed societal shift – women needn’t expect themselves to return to their pre-partum body overnight, if ever. But unfortunately there are countless women who may not feel included by these mantras about loving your postpartum body, as they imply one crucial element: a live birth. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/...

Dossier has details of bribes to Fifa officials, according to anonymous Telegram account An anonymously run Telegram account has indicated that it wants to sell a tranche of emails relating to Russia’s 2018 World Cup bid, after reports that Russian officials compiled a dossier on how to bribe Fifa executive council members. The existence of the emails was first reported by the investigative website the Insider. According the Insider, an aide to the former footballer Franz Beckenbauer promised to deliver his vote in exchange for “generous compensation for his consulting services”, later specified as at least €3m. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2Wurr87

England take 1-0 series lead after seven-wicket victory Vince hits 59 from 38 deliveries at Hagley Oval England’s five-match Twenty20 series against New Zealand began with a relative stroll in Hagley Park as a typically stylish hand from James Vince helped set up a seven-wicket victory with nine balls to spare. When Eoin Morgan launched his opposite number, Tim Southee, over deep mid-wicket for six, it completed a chase of 154 that rarely felt in doubt after Vince had finessed 38-ball 59 from No 3. In such a picture-postcard setting, perhaps it was fitting that England’s most aesthetically-pleasing batsmen should prove the difference. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2JCfIiq

Move follows Olympic committee’s sudden decision to relocate event to avoid sweltering heat Tokyo’s governor, Yuriko Koike, has reluctantly dropped her opposition to the International Olympic Committee’s surprise decision to move next year’s Olympic marathon and walking events from the capital to the northern Japanese city of Sapporo due to concerns about the heat. “We cannot agree with the final decision, but the IOC [International Olympic Committee] has the authority to change [the location],” Koike said on Friday in a meeting with IOC representative John Coates. “The most important thing is to assure the success of next year’s Games.” Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2JGiGm3

It was time for Operation Hoppy Hour Sign up here to get an email whenever First Dog cartoons are published Get all your needs met at the First Dog shop if what you need is First Dog merchandise and prints Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2BXo28m

Last week 39 people were found dead in a refrigerated lorry trailer in Essex. Annie Kelly discusses the case of Minh, a Vietnamese teenager who was trafficked into the UK in 2013 and found himself enslaved on a cannabis farm. Plus: Robert Kitson on England making it to the Rugby World Cup final Distraught Vietnamese families are seeking information about their missing loved ones after the bodies of 39 people were found in a refrigerated lorry trailer in Essex on 23 October. Annie Kelly, who reports on modern slavery for the Guardian, talks to Rachel Humphries about why people are being trafficked into the UK, and what happens to them when they get here. Official statistics say up to 15,000 people are trapped in a form of modern slavery in the UK – although those working on the frontline believe this figure to be a huge underestimation. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2N5OLWy

Donald and Melania Trump have filed for residency in Palm Beach, according to documents obtained by the New York Times The lifelong New Yorker has officially become a Florida man. Donald Trump changed his primary residence from Manhattan to Mar-a-Lago – the exclusive golf club that he has referred to as the “winter White House”. “I cherish New York,” Trump said in a tweet on Thursday. But, he added, “despite the fact that I pay millions of dollars in city, state and local taxes each year, I have been treated very badly by the political leaders of both the city and state.” Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/36x0c1k

(DAKAR, Senegal) — The United Nations botched its investigation into accusations of sexual abuse in Central African Republic, letting down victims, according to a draft report. The report, written in 2017 but not yet made public, was leaked to The New Humanitarian and seen by The Associated Press. A senior U.N. official disputed the findings in the draft report, which the U.N. said were not included in the final report. An Associated Press investigative series in 2017 uncovered roughly 2,000 allegations of sexual abuse and exploitation by U.N. peacekeepers around the world over a 12-year period. The roughly 11,000 peacekeepers in Central African Republic had the most sexual misconduct allegations – 52- of any U.N. peacekeeping mission in 2016. “The leaked review … gives a rare behind-the-scenes glimpse at how the U.N. system investigates claims of sexual abuse and exploitation by its own peacekeepers – and shows why it often fails the victims it is supposed to serve,” ...

(SEOUL, South Korea) — North Korea confirmed Friday it conducted its third test-firing of a new “super-large” multiple rocket launcher that it says expands its ability to destroy enemy targets in surprise attacks, as it continues to expand its military capabilities while pressuring Washington over a standstill in nuclear negotiations. Pyongyang’s official Korean Central News Agency described the tests a day after the South Korean and Japanese militaries said they detected two projectiles launched from an area near the North Korean capital traveling more than 200 miles cross-country before landing in waters off the North’s eastern coast. Experts say the North could continue to ramp up weapons demonstrations ahead of an end-of-year deadline set by leader Kim Jong Un for the U.S. to offer mutually acceptable terms to salvage a fragile diplomacy strained by disagreements over exchanging sanctions relief and disarmament steps. Thursday’s launches followed statements of disple...

Ten ambulance crews sent to incident in south-east London, with local roads closed by police One person has died and 15 more have been injured after two buses and a car collided in south-east London, the emergency services have said. The Metropolitan police were called to the scene in Orpington, in the borough of Bromley, shortly after 10pm on Thursday night. They said one person, whom they did not name, was pronounced dead at the scene. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2N2wkCc

(CANBERRA, Australia) — Conservationists fear hundreds of koalas have perished in wildfires that have razed prime habitat on Australia’s east coast. Port Macquarie Koala Hospital President Sue Ashton said she hoped wildlife carers would be allowed to begin their search of the fire zone for survivors on Thursday. The fire was started by a lightning strike on Friday in a forest in New South Wales state, 300 kilometers (190 miles) north of Sydney, and has since burnt 2,000 hectares (4,900 acres). Two-thirds of that area was koala habitat, Ashton said. “If we look at a 50% survival rate, that’s around about 350 koalas and that’s absolutely devastating,” Ashton said of the death toll. “We’re hoping it’s not as bad as that, but because of the intensity of the fire and the way koalas behave during fire, we’re not holding out too much hope,” she added. Koalas climb high into trees during wildfires and survive if the fire front passes quickly below them. The koala colony was parti...

Shortlist for this year’s Diagram prize also includes The Dirt Hole and Its Variations, Noah Gets Naked and How to Drink Without Drinking The Dirt Hole and Its Variations, Ending the War on Artisan Cheese and Noah Gets Naked are among the 2019 nominees for the Bookseller’s annual prize for the oddest book title of the year. Many previous winners of the Diagram prize, which has been running for 41 years, have involved a certain part of the human anatomy, such as 1993’s winner American Bottom Archaeology, and Living With Crazy Buttocks, which took the award in 2002. Neither title is quite as it seems: the former relates to “the most ambitious archaeological undertaking to have been conducted in eastern North America since the WPA era”; the latter is a collection of essays about contemporary culture. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/322XwoF

Kieran Hodgson and Liza Tarbuck offer up a rare treat indeed – the only thing that has managed to make me laugh about Brexit On paper, it’s enough to send you running for the hills. A show about Brexit – pull on your trainers – a young comedian’s examination of its 60s and 70s origins – lace them tight – via impressions of politicians from that era, and you’re off, racing across the greensward, bug-eyed in horror. “Come back!” people might shout. “The conceit is he wants to rebuild his relationship with his leave-voting mother!” “Never!” you reply, without a second thought. “Never!” And this, as with so much to do with Brexit, would be wrong. For the show is How Europe Stole My Mum (Channel 4) and it is really, really good. Odd, unexpected, not for everyone, perhaps, any more than any comedy ever is, but fresh, charming and funny. It succeeded in something I had long believed unfeasible: it made me laugh if not exactly about Brexit then in very close proximity to it – an achievement ...

Gender parity in the art world isn’t going to fill galleries with more mediocre art. But would it be such a crime if it did? I’ve seen a lot of art. Two things are inherent in this statement: I’ve seen a lot of bad art, and a lot of art by men. Ergo: I have seen a lot of bad art by men. I think it’s time some women got a chance. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2C0ZdZi

Updates from the first match of the T20 series Morgan puts his faith in rookies for opening match Get in touch with Adam via email or on Twitter 12.14am GMT The clocks have changed, the weather is grim, the summer is gone. On the bright side: it means international cricket - and the OBO - coming to you at all hours through the course of the next month with England’s men in New Zealand for five T20s and two Tests. The series opener is at Hagley Oval in Christchurch, one of the most beautiful grounds on the planet. Being a lovely little place in the middle of the parklands, there are no floodlights - thus the Friday afternoon timing; unusual in the shortest form of the game. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2BZ9pBh

Agency honours linguists, including many women, who eavesdropped and decoded in secret locations The spy agency GCHQ is celebrating its centenary on Friday by highlighting little-known wartime eavesdropping and decoding work that took place in five secret locations around the country, from the Kent cliffs to the Derbyshire countryside. That includes the dangerous work undertaken daily by about 50 linguists, many of whom were women, who listened into shortwave German naval and airforce radio at Abbots Cliff House near Dover, a site exposed to enemy attack. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/33b3PYM

Report also favours backdating reimbursals and a pause before money is paid to new recipients Financial companies should be required by law to refund victims of bank transfer scams, and should consider reimbursing the many thousands defrauded since 2016, according to a report from MPs. They also said retailers and other companies that suffer data breaches that lead to fraud should be forced to pick up the bill for the costs of reimbursing customers and issuing new bank cards. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/36r0hDM

Fire that erupted on train travelling through Punjab province blamed on explosion of gas cylinder carried by a passenger Dozens of people were feared dead after a passenger train erupted in flames in Pakistan on Thursday. Television footage showed flames pouring out of the carriages as people could be heard crying, with local media reporting the incident took place in Rahim Yar Khan district in Punjab province. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2Nr33A3

(SYDNEY) — The World Organization for Animal Health says around a quarter of the global pig population is expected to die from African swine fever. Dr. Mark Schipp, the organization’s vice president, told reporters in Australia that the spread of the disease in the past year to countries including China, which has half the world’s pig population, had inflamed a worldwide crisis. Schipp says veterinary scientists worldwide are trying to find a vaccine for the disease, but that it’s a “complex challenge” because of the nature of the virus. While the disease does not spread to humans, it is virtually 100% fatal once embedded in pig populations.

Fri Martin’s whole life was controlled by her violent partner until she stabbed him to death. Now her lawyers are challenging her murder conviction. By Sophie Elmhirst That day, 20 November 2014, the argument was about a hundred things, but mostly it was about cigarettes and milk. Farieissia Martin and Kyle Farrell were always arguing about something. They’d been like that ever since they first got together, aged 16. On again, then off again. Now 21, Kyle and Fri, as everyone called her, had two young daughters, but they still fought constantly. They loved each other too much, their friends said. Fri and Kyle didn’t live together, at least not officially. Kyle still lived with his parents in Toxteth in Liverpool, but he was always over at Fri’s, a few streets away. Fri lived with the girls in a small red terraced house on Charlecote Street, a pretty road that slopes steeply down towards the River Mersey. There are hanging baskets outside the houses, flowerbeds filled with lavender an...

The singer-songwriter talks candidly about her friendship with Jackie Onassis, being humiliated by Harvey Weinstein and why she has no time for the US president Carly Simon somehow appears both brittle and unbreakable as she opens the door to her hotel room in Boston, Massachusetts, where a publicist hovers discreetly. She is wearing a blue sweater, blue jeans and a blue scarf and is smiling broadly. Her hair is shoulder length with the familiar low fringe. She puts on a pair of glasses; lukewarm hotel tea is ordered and poured. The singer-songwriter is chatty and charming. She says she has just been listening to the audio version of her latest memoir, Touched by the Sun, about her friendship with Jackie Kennedy Onassis, the widow of former president John F Kennedy and the Greek shipping magnate Aristotle Onassis. It is read by Elizabeth McGovern , who plays the Countess of Grantham in Downton Abbey. That is fine with Simon, a fan of British TV, including Downton and Last Tango in H...

Architects are taking issue with risk-averse playparks full of sluggish roundabouts and tiny climbing frames. But are playgrounds in the middle of roads really the answer? In the decades after the second world war, the celebrated architect Aldo van Eyck designed more than 700 playgrounds in Amsterdam , filling bomb sites with dazzling constellations of tumbling bars, leapfrog posts and climbing domes. His idea was that by providing children with a range of elemental forms and open-ended structures – rather than swings, roundabouts and other playground staples – their creativity would be stimulated and they would invent new games. These “tools for the imagination”, as he called his kit of sandpits, frames and posts, became a familiar part of Amsterdam’s streetscape, a connected galaxy of playtime fragments that spread across the city, from public spaces and even to roadside verges, never fenced off. It was a vision of play without walls, the protected domain of the child thrown open...

Lhakpa Sherpa works for minimum wages and currently washes dishes, as she trains for her 10th Everest summit with no endorsement deals, no nutritionist and no trainer I reach Lhakpa Sherpa’s West Hartford apartment at noon on an overcast Sunday in Connecticut. She bounds out of the front door, embraces me, and welcomes me inside. The small apartment is dimly lit. The living room has a few chairs, and a wall of sports medals from her two daughters’ 5Ks and gymnastic meets. Related: Nepal sets new rules for Everest climbers after deadly season Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2BZje2g

Illegally trafficked migrants will stay silent if police continue to report victims to Home Office In January 2018, a terrified 18-year-old Vietnamese man walked into a police station in London and told police that he had spent five years being trafficked in and out of cannabis houses by criminal gangs across the capital. In halting English, he tried to explain how he had been taken from Vietnam, travelling overland across Europe, before being put in the back of a refrigerated lorry in France and brought to the UK to work in cannabis cultivation, he says. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2MZVr8A

Anti-vaccination film to premiere in theatres as several states have been battling against localised outbreaks of measles Anti-vaccination campaigners are preparing to release the sequel to Vaxxed, the highly contentious film that has been used to spread the unfounded claim that vaccines cause autism and other developmental problems. Vaxxed II: The People’s Truth will be premiered on 6 November in 50 venues across America. Its producers, led by Robert F Kennedy Jr, are keeping locations secret with tickets sold quietly in advance in the hope of foiling efforts to block the movie. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2BUwx3U

The prime minister’s failure to get his way has been an inspiring case study in the limits imposed by a hung parliament Before we all charge off into the electoral unknown, let us remember some realities that are at risk of being left behind in the rush. In the 30 years before 2010, no British general election produced a hung parliament. In the nine years since 2010, two have done so. Nothing about this is predictive for 12 December. But it is clearly within the bounds of possibility that there could be a third hung parliament – and a fourth Conservative government in this decade without an overall majority. “Single-party government is the British norm,” wrote the political scientist David Butler in a 1978 book, Coalitions in British Politics , that presciently considered what might happen if that norm were ever to change. Forty years on, change has come. In this election at least seven British parties, and three more in Northern Ireland, could win seats. So the new norm could easily ...

Fox News Breaking News Alert Washington Nationals top Houston Astros in Game 7 to claim World Series title 10/30/19 9:12 PM

(DAVAO, Philippines) — The third strong earthquake this month jolted the southern Philippines on Thursday morning, further damaging structures already weakened by the earlier shaking. In the city of Kidapawan, a hotel damaged in the earlier earthquakes further buckled and precariously leaned onto an adjacent hospital that had been emptied of people because it was damaged. Six staffers who were inside Eva’s Hotel managed to run out safely, Mayor Joseph Evangelista said. Both buildings were cordoned off as they may collapse completely anytime. Thursday’s 6.5 magnitude quake was centered 10 kilometers deep (6 miles) near Kisante town, the U.S. Geological Survey said. On Tuesday, a 6.6 magnitude earthquake nearby triggered landslides and caused other damage. At least eight people died, two are missing, 395 were injured and more than 2,700 houses and buildings, including schools and hospitals, were damaged, according to the Office of Civil Defense. In the same region on Oct. 16,...

Tim Morrison is an important witness and his appearance at the inquiry is unlikely to be helpful to Donald Trump The top White House official on Russian affairs will be leaving his post soon, it was reported, a day before he was due to give testimony to the impeachment inquiry in Congress. Tim Morrison, a senior director on Europe and Russia, is a key witness on the central question in the impeachment investigation: whether Donald Trump used the power of his office to persuade the Ukrainian government to launch investigations aimed at damaging his political opponents. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2PyMMvq

Fox News Breaking News Alert Washington Nationals top Houston Astros in Game 7 to claim World Series title 10/30/19 8:53 PM

Commuters in the New Zealand capital are divided over tradition linked to murder of girl at site of city traffic tunnel It won’t make any lists of the world’s spookiest places, though it is arguably one of the noisiest. Inside the bare, concrete tunnel that takes Wellington’s commuters into the city centre, a path is littered with abandoned rental scooters and the air is thick with exhaust fumes and the deafening, incessant honking of car horns. But the tradition of motorists beeping their horns as they drive through the Mount Victoria tunnel has become a city-wide superstition – and has also proved divisive. Many residents believe a jaunty toot – or, for some, blasting their horns for the tunnel’s entire 623-metre length – either wards off evil spirits, or acknowledges the memory of a teenage girl who was murdered and her body buried at the site a year before the tunnel was opened in 1931. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2WtCK05

The Guardian’s political editor, Heather Stewart, tells Anushka Asthana that the general election on 11 December will be highly unpredictable as Brexit preferences, unpopular leaders and tactical voting intersect. Plus: Guy Standing on the plunder of natural resources by private interests Britain is bracing itself for a winter election on 12 December after MPs finally supported Boris Johnson’s call to let voters decide which party should take control of the Brexit talks. It comes just over two years after the last election left no party with a majority and a deadlock in parliament. Heather Stewart joins Anushka Asthana to discuss how the parties will aim to attract votes in what is being called the most volatile election in a generation. Voters have never been more willing to switch parties and the divide on Brexit could produce unpredictable local results. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/334i29Q

‘Ask Amanda Knox’ will offer insight on ‘life, love, suffering and meaning’, says editor of Seattle publication Years after she was twice convicted and then twice acquitted for murder in Italy, Amanda Knox will be taking her opinions into the public sphere through an advice column in a local Seattle publication. Knox, now 32, will be periodically answering reader-submitted questions in her new column entitled, “Ask Amanda Knox” which will be published in the Seattle-area news outlet, Westside Seattle. The weekly print and online newspaper serves parts of Seattle and a few surrounding cities. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/322TEnq

Five group members get one-year terms under law that bans information that endangers or demoralises military A court in Myanmar has sentenced five members of a traditional theatrical troupe to a year in prison for their gibes about the military. The members of the Peacock Generation thangyat troupe were arrested in April for performances during celebrations of Myanmar’s traditional new year in which they poked fun at military representatives in parliament and military involvement in business. The military is a powerful political force in Myanmar even though the country has an elected government. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/32X3oRz

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Fire spread quickly through 600-year-old site dating back to Ryukyu kingdom in Okinawa A fire ripped through a historic Japanese castle on the southern island of Okinawa spreading throughout the world heritage site’s complex, local authorities said. Shuri castle is a key part of a complex dating back to the Ryukyu kingdom, and is believed to have been in use from around the 1400s. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/36myF2g

Culture secretary and former home secretary join swathe of moderate Tories not standing The culture secretary, Nicky Morgan, and the former home secretary Amber Rudd are among a number of Conservative moderates who have announced they will not stand again at the upcoming 12 December election. Morgan announced the news on Twitter, accompanied by a letter in which she cited “the clear impact on my family and the other sacrifices involved in, and the abuse for, doing the job of a modern MP” as part of the reason for her decision. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/36mLk5F

JLM says party’s handling of antisemitism cases means only ‘exceptional candidates’ will be backed The Jewish Labour Movement (JLM) has withdrawn campaigning support for Labour in the upcoming general election in protest at its handling of antisemitism cases. As one of the oldest socialist societies affiliated to Labour, the group regularly sent out activists to support candidates across the country before voters went to the polls. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2JCmMLX

Government lacks ‘clear and coherent vision’ for prison service, says justice committee The prison system in England and Wales is in an “appalling” state of crisis, lacking decency or security and no clear plan for desperately needed change, MPs have warned in a report that raises questions over the government’s pledges on prisons ahead of an election. The justice committee, chaired by the Conservative MP Bob Neill, condemned Boris Johnson’s “policy by press notice” approach to prisons following a raft of announcements widely seen as electioneering tactics. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/31ZqE06

• Charity Commission conducted review into organisation • ‘Evidence of lack of training in key areas such as staff welfare’ An independent review of football’s anti-racism organisation, Kick It Out, has found a series of governance failings including poor communication and a lack of training in staff welfare, the Charity Commission has revealed. The review followed complaints to the commission by former employees about the culture and management at the organisation, including one woman who had suffered a serious sexual assault at a working residential away day. The perpetrator was not a Kick It Out employee or official, and although the charity’s management believed they tried to support the woman as well as they could, the victim felt they lacked adequate expertise and procedures. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2Wq4RgQ

Prime minister was able to secure support for early election on fourth attempt, which would see country head to polls on 12 December Full story: General election confirmed for 12 December 6.41am GMT The Conservatives’ election manifesto is being written by a lobbyist for the fracking company Cuadrilla and major internet companies such as Amazon and Facebook, raising concerns about whether her paying clients could influence the party’s policies. Related: Fracking lobbyist hired to draw up Tory manifesto 6.22am GMT So, how are the parties selling themselves in these early days of the campaign that hasn’t officially launched yet? Well, the announcement of the general election barely been made before the online campaigns kicked off with videos on social media. The General Election has just been called. It's time for real change. pic.twitter.com/aiUwhxm5K6 #BackBoris to get Brexit done. Only @BorisJohnson can take our country forward and deliver on the people's pr...

Parties may stand aside in some constituencies in bid to stop ‘damaging Brexit’ The Liberal Democrats, Plaid Cymru and Green party are set to unveil a general election pact in which the parties would stand aside in certain seats to boost each others’ chances. An announcement expected next week on the pact, which is a successor to the so-called progressive alliance discussed before the 2017 general election that achieved little mainly due to local parties’ inability to agree who should stand down where. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/36j7Qw8

Britain will go to the polls on 12 December … two more men sought over 39 bodies in lorry trailer … and the pub with the same barmaid since 1957 Good morning – Warren Murray here. Did you know election signs are made of something called “correx”? You’re going to be seeing quite a lot of it … Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2Jy11ga

With MPs voting to call an election on 12 December, there’s still time to make sure your voice is heard To vote in a UK general election you must: Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/31VvNpY

Extreme stress and accusations of bias have pushed Whitehall to the brink. But for some, there have also been opportunities It’s essential that you get ready for when the UK leaves the EU on 31 October” tweeted the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy last Friday, at almost exactly the same time as the chancellor, Sajid Javid, appeared on national television to admit that the UK will not be leaving this Thursday . Related: MPs can push no deal, but it’s civil servants who will have to make it work | Gus O'Donnell Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/36jHaes

How ready are the Tories, Labour, Lib Dems, SNP, Brexit party and Greens for the snap poll? Preparedness Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/36jt2lo

What is it like to have the same job in the same company for as long as 40 years? A tailor, school meals supervisor, bus driver and sexual health nurse tell all In the future, the people who spend their careers doing the same job will be historical curios, the workplace equivalent of a narwhal’s tusk. We’ll look at them, and marvel at how much careers have changed. Technology has profoundly transformed the nature of the work we do. The Office for National Statistics predicts that 1.5 million British workers risk losing their jobs as a result of automation, with farm workers, waiting staff and shelf fillers notably at risk. At the same time, globalisation has decimated UK manufacturing , with jobs outsourced to developing nations with cheaper workforces and fewer labour protections. The rise of the gig economy has also seen a growing number of people in precarious, low-paid temporary work, without the perks of permanent employees: maternity leave, sick pay or a pension. What this me...

Voters in Labour seat of Bury North and Tory seat of Chingford split over merits of pre-Christmas poll MPs break Brexit deadlock with vote for 12 December election In the foothills of the Pennines, the market town of Ramsbottom was busy with afternoon shoppers when news broke of a looming general election. Teacups clattered, eyes rolled and heads shook wearily in a town that voted 53% for leave in June 2016. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/36k63Hg

The first son’s 294-page rant against American liberals is more notable for what it doesn’t say than for what it does In Triggered: How the Left Thrives on Hate and Wants to Silence US, the eldest son of the US president blasts a high-pitched rant against American liberals who he accuses of turning the country into a socialist monument to political correctness. The US government has been infected with antisemitism, Donald Trump Jr writes in the 294-page book that will be published next week. “Angry mobs” are now in charge of major media outlets, political correctness has taken hold and “we have completely ceded control of what we can and cannot say in public to the left”. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2BRTnJu

I was invited by the singer’s manager to the Hollywood Bowl concert where he donned the notorious T-shirt Back in June, I wrote a piece for the Guardian recounting how Morrissey had once been my greatest inspiration . As one of his very few black fans, I described how, after years of giving him the benefit of the doubt, buying every record he ever made, and leaping on stage to kiss him at shows, I felt personally betrayed by his repeated demonstrations of intolerance. Fast-forward a few months, and on Sunday I woke to friends sending me pictures of Morrissey wearing a T-shirt emblazoned with the words “Fuck the Guardian” . One message was accompanied by expletives, another by the eye-roll emoji. Another simply said, “You did this.” Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2WnHfcy

The pursuit of rapid growth won’t solve the huge challenges we face. A more honest, humane approach is the answer • Esther Duflo and Abhijit Banerjee are joint winners of the 2019 Nobel prize in economic sciences In 2017, a poll in the UK asked: “Whose opinion do you trust the most when they talk about their field of expertise?” Nurses came first – 84% trust them. Politicians came last. Economists were second from bottom on 25%.This trust deficit is mirrored by the fact that the consensus of economists (when it exists) is often systematically different from the views of ordinary citizens. The Booth School of Business at the University of Chicago regularly asks a group of about 40 prominent academic economists their views on core economic topics. Working with the economist Stefanie Stantcheva, we ran a survey: we selected 10 of the questions that were asked of the Booth panel and put them to 10,000 Americans. On most of these issues, our respondents were sharply at odds with economis...

Tesorio (YC S15) Is Hiring a Head of Integrations by FabioFleitas | on Hacker News .

Māori commentators lament that more rugby teams don’t come up with ways to challenge the traditional dance New Zealanders have expressed disappointment at the decision to fine England for their v-shaped formation for the All Blacks haka in their Rugby World Cup semi-final, with many fans praising them for their dignity and dramatic flair. On Saturday night, England delighted fans in both camps when players arranged themselves to face the All Blacks. The V – which many inside New Zealand took to stand for “victory” – was widely praised by New Zealanders, many of whom commented on the dignified and low-key response of the English side to what can be a confronting and emotional experience. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/34eg2vC

Kelly Bachman called out the producer while he watched. Two years earlier, she had organized a show that used standup to tackle sexual assault That I crossed paths with Harvey Weinstein at a standup show last Wednesday to me is some kind of cosmic wonder, because this isn’t the first time I’ve responded to him with comedy – although it was the first time he was in the room. When the news broke in 2017 about rape accusations against him, it was difficult to find a comedy show where I didn’t hear a bad rape joke, usually coming from a male comedian who was punching down on accusers with unoriginal and offensive jabs. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/34jzK9z

WARNING: the front page pictures contain spoilers on the Great British Bake Off final Brexmas, Brelection, call it what you will, Wednesday’s papers all look ahead to a festive snap election with turkeys, a Grinch and even a New Year’s Leave party. Also, please note that, although I will not be referring to who won the Great British Bake Off final, you will unavoidably get an idea if you look at the front pages below. The Guardian carries a large picture of a packed Commons and casts the election vote in terms of Brexit. The headline is “Parliament breaks deadlock with December 12 election.” It notes that the national poll could be the most unpredictable in a generation and that nearly half of Labour MPs either abstained or were absent for the vote. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2MYfyEo

Revisiting a diary forces you to confront ‘ugly, foolish behaviour’, writes Helen Garner . Pulling together a book of extracts was instructive – but not easy • Read more about Guardian Australia’s Unmissable books of 2019 I’ve always thought I was quite good at reading faces, but the look people give you when you tell them you’re going to publish your diary is more complex and mysterious than the average expression: a half-smiling blur of alarm, tinged with suspicion and protest, which opens into a shyly guilty curiosity. A writer I like and greatly respect, when I told her about my plan, drew in a sharp breath and said, “Your idea of privacy must be very different from mine.” I was mortified. Did she imagine my diary as a narcissistic spilling of guts, the sort of ghastly self-glorifying mush that women like Anaïs Nin used to spew out? We were sitting in a bar. I started babbling about how it was a stream of fragments, chunks of life. She still had that doubtful look. So I got out ...

The Guardian’s Martin Chulov describes how US special forces finally tracked down Baghdadi, who was killed in a raid at the weekend. Plus: Robert Booth on the criticism of the London fire brigade’s response to the Grenfell Tower disaster US special forces finally caught up with the Islamic State leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, on Saturday at a safe house in the Syrian province of Idlib, one of the few areas of the country still outside regime control. In a night-time raid, Baghdadi detonated a suicide vest and killed himself and three of his children, according to Donald Trump. The Guardian’s Middle East correspondent, Martin Chulov , has followed the rise and fall of Isis in the past five years from close quarters. He tells Rachel Humphreys what Baghdadi’s death will mean to the terrorist organisation, which has lost almost all the territory it held at its peak. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/3308tZg

Lt Col Vindman reportedly said omissions included references to Joe Biden and Burisma A decorated army officer and the top Ukraine expert on the national security council has reportedly told House impeachment investigators that the White House transcript of a call between the presidents of the US and Ukraine left out important words and phrases. The New York Times cited three sources familiar with Alexander Vindman’s testimony on Tuesday who said the omissions included Donald Trump making reference to recordings of the former vice-president Joe Biden and Volodymyr Zelenskiy making reference to Burisma, the company for which Biden’s son Hunter worked. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2JMkev5

Kodable is hiring Game Developers to help teach millions of kids to code by jm20 | on Hacker News .

KATHMANDU, Nepal (AP) — A Nepalese man shattered the previous mountaineering record for successfully climbing the world’s 14 highest peaks, completing the feat in 189 days. Nirmal Purja scaled the 8,027-meter (26,340-foot) Mount Shishapangma in China on Tuesday, which was the last of the 14 peaks that are more than 8,000 meters (26,240 feet) in height. The previous record for climbing the 14 peaks was seven years, 10 months and six days. It was set by South Korean climber Kim Chang-ho in 2013. Mingma Sherpa of Seven Summit Treks in Kathmandu, which equipped the expedition, said the 36-year-old Purja was in good health and safely descending from the summit. Climbing experts called the record a momentous achievement in mountaineering history. “It is a great achievement for mountaineering and mountaineers and a milestone in the history of climbing,” said Ang Tshering, who previously headed the Nepal Mountaineering Association. A former soldier in the British army, Purja...

James Starkie reportedly swore and punched door in Strangers’ Bar outburst A top aide to the home secretary was escorted out of a bar in the Houses of Parliament by armed police on Tuesday night, just as MPs were voting on an election that Boris Johnson wants to make about law and order. Two people who witnessed the incident said Priti Patel’s chief of staff, James Starkie, was ordered out of Strangers’ Bar, which is frequented by MPs, after swearing loudly in the vicinity of the Conservative MP Bob Stewart, being refused service and appearing to punch a door. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2WlPNRo

Many university technical colleges are less than half full Technical schools set up with lavish public funds by Michael Gove are half full and often score lower results than other secondaries, Whitehall’s spending watchdog has found. University technical colleges (UTCs), a type of free school focusing on teaching students who are usually aged between 14 and 19, were also less likely to be rated as good or outstanding by Ofsted, a report by the National Audit Office said. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/36jWWGf

I confronted him about funding at Whipps Cross hospital. His reassurances since are utterly unconvincing A few days after my daughter was born, she nearly died. During this time, she had to wait for hours on a ward at Whipps Cross hospital in east London, just to see a doctor. Related: 'The NHS has been destroyed': Boris Johnson confronted by father of sick child Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/369Cisx

The 30th anniversary of the fall of the Wall marks a great chance to see these fascinating, and less-well-known, reminders of a divided city Although it’s been almost 30 years since the Berlin Wall fell, traces of the cold-war-era division can still be seen and felt throughout the city. GDR-era architecture and infrastructure is still strewn across the former east (including tourist-friendly districts Mitte, Prenzlauer Berg and Friedrichshain), from the streetlights and high-rise Plattenbauten tower blocks to outsize boulevards, such as Karl-Marx-Strasse , and the former Geisterbahnhöfe – the metro network “ghost stations” that were closed during the period of division. Then there are the demographic divisions. There’s a reason the biggest Turkish communities – and the best kebabs – can be found in former West Berlin districts, such as Neukölln, Kreuzberg and Wedding, while former eastern districts, like Lichtenberg and Marzahn, are known for their Vietnamese communities and restau...

The town has found a way to heal itself by turning adult education upside down Luci, a place team worker, is sitting with a group of women round the big kitchen table at a Friday afternoon drop-in centre in the Lower Falinge estate in Rochdale. “What is adult education exactly?” she asks. “You picture people in classrooms, in rows. That’s not what we do here.” She is talking about the Citizens’ Curriculum, a local project that has been highly successful in redressing the deficit in adult education, an acknowledged national problem. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2Jy2QKm

Boris Johnson’s Brexit bill dead in a ditch … Britons maimed in Queensland shark attack … and risks of cannabis medications outweigh benefits Hello – Warren Murray helping you embark upon another Tuesday. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2PrgW3L

Belgian Malinois, whose name has not officially been released, was injured in the raid in Syria A dog credited with hunting down Isis leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi has been hailed as a “good boy” – despite reportedly being a female – after it was injured in the raid in Syria on Saturday. On Sunday president Donald Trump said a “beautiful” and “talented” dog had chased the Islamic State leader inside his Syrian compound, moments before he detonated a suicide vest. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2JwwhMR

Men are thought to be locals but no arrests made, as sniffer dogs and extra boats brought in Cambodian officials looking for Amelia Bambridge, the British woman missing on Koh Rong island since Thursday, are focusing their search on fishing boats and have interviewed three men about her disappearance. Bambridge, 21, from Sussex, was last seen at around 3am on Thursday at a beach party. Nearly 150 Cambodian officials plus seven volunteers have been searching the island and surrounding areas since Saturday. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2PCmqZR

Catherine Kenny 1983-2016: Catherine needed treatment for addiction and mental health issues. Instead, she became Northern Ireland’s first known synthetic cannabinoid victim Spice is more than a deadly drug – it’s a window on our society The day after Catherine Kenny suffered a seizure in Belfast city centre in March 2016, she woke up in hospital. The first person she saw at her bedside was her sister Lee-Maria Hughes, who had been there for her all her life. “I said to her: ‘My God, sweetheart, what am I gonna do with you?’” Hughes says. “She just opened her eyes and said: ‘Will you help me? Please help me, I need help.’” She had never asked for help before. Kenny had battled alcohol and drug dependency since her teens. Eventually, it had led to her sleeping rough on the streets of Belfast. Over the next few days, Hughes tried desperately to get her sister into rehab, but she did not succeed. Five days after her seizure, Kenny died alone in the doorway of a derelict shop just me...

The act of welcoming and feeding strangers can transcend borders. Priya Basil discovers the power of unconditional hospitality We begin as guests, every single one of us. Helpless little creatures whose every need must be attended to. Creatures who, for a long time, can give nothing or very little back, yet who – in the usual run of things – nevertheless insinuate ourselves deep into the lives of our carers and take up permanent residence in their hearts. Our early dependence is indulged in the expectation that we, in turn, will become dependable. Maybe reaching adulthood really means learning to be more host than guest: to take care more than, or at least as much as, to be taken care of. Implicit in this outlook, it seems to me, is still an assumption that each person will, eventually, become a parent – the ultimate role, at least in cultures where the nuclear family is considered the foundation of society. A role I decided to forego. A choice that left me questioning what my part c...

From Hong Kong to South America to London, young people have had enough of economic, social and ecological collapse “I’m 22 years old, and this is my last letter,” the young man begins. Most of his face is masked with black fabric; only his eyes, tired and steely, are visible below a messy fringe. “I’m worried that I will die and won’t see you any more,” he continues, his hands trembling. “But I can’t not take to the streets.” The nameless demonstrator – one of many in Hong Kong who have been writing to their loved ones before heading out to confront rising police violence in the city – was filmed by the New York Times last week in an anonymous stairwell. But he could be almost anywhere, and not only because the walls behind him are white and characterless, left blank to protect his identity. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2PtnoHu

We must apply the three Rs to plane travel: replace if possible, reduce to the essential, and refine to make it worthwhile “What did you do on global climate protest day, Daddy?” “I was in the city centre, and joined the protest for a while. But I had to leave, as I needed to get to the airport to fly home.” Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2BWGIVv

Soaring use of the ‘zombie drug’ is an inevitable response to a systemic failure in social care and drugs laws Why did Catherine Kenny and her best friend die in the same doorway? You can tell a lot about a society by the drugs it depends on. In the UK right now, the main drug of choice is booze. Despite 338,000 hospital admissions in 2017-18 and at least 6,000 deaths (not to mention 900 fatalities at the hands of drunk drivers), alcohol brings in £12bn in tax revenue, which makes it far easier to swallow. Cocaine is another recession-proof perennial. London alone snorts a reported 23kg a day, with more than 600 deaths last year, as purity soars and the price falls due to rising Colombian output. Yet cocaine still has the brand identity of a luxury good, conferring on its users the association of being in an elite class of substance abuser. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2MX2hMi

OneSignal Is Hiring Full Stack and Site Reliability Engineers San Mateo by gdeglin | on Hacker News .

MPs voice outcry as Tokyo 2020 organisers say they have no plans to restrict use of flag that Seoul says has militaristic roots South Korea is intensifying its campaign to ban the Japanese “rising sun” flag from being displayed at next year’s Tokyo Olympics , in the latest diplomatic row linked to the countries’ bitter wartime history. In September, South Korea’s sports ministry asked the International Olympic Committee [IOC] to ban the flag – regarded by many Koreans as a symbol of Japanese militarism and colonial rule. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2q3tTq4

Iowa police say event went wrong when cylinder containing gunpowder was taped over, causing it to explode Authorities say an Iowa family’s attempt at a gender reveal party went horribly wrong when a homemade device that was meant to discharge coloured powder instead exploded like a pipe bomb, killing a 56-year-old woman. The Marion County Sheriff’s office said Pamela Kreimeyer died instantly when debris struck her head Saturday before flying another 132 meters (432 feet), and landing in a nearby field in rural Knoxville, about 56km (35 miles) southeast of Des Moines. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2Pu3mMX

One of the most fascinatingly strange and unpredictable films of 1999 still carries with it more pleasures to be discovered When Being John Malkovich opened in 1999, nobody knew the name of its screenwriter, Charlie Kaufman, who’d spent the previous 15 years laboring in the comedy salt mines, submitting articles on spec to National Lampoon, writing a number of unproduced pilots, and landing gigs on short-lived (if beloved) sketch shows like Get a Life and The Dana Carvey Show. Yet as soon as it premiered – and for every project he did afterwards – it was talked about as a Charlie Kaufman film, even though it was directed by Spike Jonze, whose work on innovative commercials and videos for Weezer (Buddy Holly), Beastie Boys (Sabotage), and others had earned him a reputation as one of the most sought-after talents in the business. This was virtually unprecedented; even Robert Towne, whose script for Chinatown is frequently cited among the best ever written, wasn’t credited over its direc...

Chief executive denies Beijing is planning to replace her and says she will ‘handle the situation’ After five months of protests, Hong Kong’s embattled leader Carrie Lam has said her government will “tackle the violence head on” as the Asian financial hub slips into a recession , its first since the global financial crisis. Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, Lam said she expected Hong Kong to register negative growth for the full year of 2019. Last week, the government said it would spend HK$2bn ($255m) to support sectors hit by the protests, following a previous HK$19.1bn ($2.4bn) relief package. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/347MBLN

Hate speech targeted at minorities in the northeastern Indian state of Assam is spreading almost unabated through Facebook at the same time as the Indian government is stripping nearly 2 million people there of citizenship, according to a new report released Tuesday. Posts targeting religious and ethnic minorities in Assam have been seen more than 5.4 million times, according to the global online advocacy group Avaaz, calling into question the success of the approach taken by Facebook since it was used to spread hate speech during the 2017 Rohingya genocide . “I’m not sure what lessons Facebook has learned from the Rohingya crisis,” Alaphia Zoyab, a senior campaigner at Avaaz who led the team that wrote the report, tells TIME. “If they’re waiting for actual violence, that’s too late. They need to heed the warnings now.” In August this year, the Indian government published its final list of citizens of Assam , leaving 1.9 million people off. The ruling Hindu-nationalis...

Testimony by Alexander Vindman, an army lieutenant colonel, could weigh heavily in impeachment inquiry The top Ukraine expert on the national security council planned to tell Congress on Tuesday that a July phone call between Donald Trump and the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, caused him to raise an internal alarm about a suspected subversion of US foreign policy – by the White House. The anticipated testimony before congressional investigators by Alexander Vindman, an army lieutenant colonel who was decorated with a Purple Heart after being wounded by a roadside bomb in Iraq, could weigh heavily in the impeachment inquiry against Trump . Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/3492JfT

Both men are in a serious condition with lower limb injuries after they were bitten off the Whitsundays coast Paramedics have responded to an emergency call that two men had been bitten by a shark near Airlie beach, in the Queensland Whitsunday region. The two men, both aged in the 30s, are reportedly suffering lower limb injuries. They are being treated by paramedics at Abell Point marina at Airlie beach, having been brought back to shore by a boat. The Queensland ambulance service said both are in a serious condition. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/34bhwqx