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Critics say years of neglect and indecision by the government have left a funding deficit State nurseries in Britain are facing a financial crisis after years of “unjustifiable neglect” and indecision by the government, teachers warn as they prepare to petition the prime minister to “save maintained nursery schools”. Headteachers, parents and children will gather at Downing Street on Monday to hand in a petition calling for increased state funding for nurseries to secure their long-term future . Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2wgBi8w

Classicist’s pro-Remain stance led to Downing Street ‘veto’ – but a trustee place is now to be offered regardless She is Britain’s best known classicist, a Cambridge don with formidable intellect and a knack for getting people interested in all things ancient. That combination of passionate erudition and accessibility would, you might think, make Mary Beard a shoo-in for the board of the country’s most prestigious historical institution. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2vkHaNY

Nespresso also named in TV exposé of labour scandal in Guatemala High street coffee shop giant Starbucks has been caught up in a child labour row after an investigation revealed that children under 13 were working on farms in Guatemala that supply the chain with its beans. Channel 4’s Dispatches filmed the children working 40-hour weeks in gruelling conditions, picking coffee for a daily wage little more than the price of a latte. The beans are also supplied to Nespresso, owned by Nestlé. Last week, actor George Clooney, the advertising face of Nespresso, praised the investigation and said he was saddened by its findings. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/32EGCyt

Mohammad Rasoulof was prevented from attending the festival but won top award for his film There Is No Evil, about capital punishment in Iran Dissident Iranian director Mohammad Rasoulof won the top prize at the Berlin film festival for There Is No Evil, a searingly critical work about the death penalty in Iran. Rasoulof, 48, is currently banned from leaving Iran and was unable to accept the Golden Bear in person. Accepting the award on his behalf, producer Farzad Pak thanked “the amazing cast and crew who, put their lives in danger to be on this film”. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/3cgAnp0

All the latest from the 8am GMT start at the Spotless Stadium England have much to ponder after victory over Pakistan Email Daniel | or tweet @DanielHarris 7.32am GMT Breaking news: it looks nice in Sydney. 7.21am GMT This has been a great tournament so far: close games, favourites getting a doing, continuing jeopardy. But, in the end, the whole is judged on classic knockout matches, and more or less, this is the first of those. Then we’ll have Australia v New Zealand, and the last four, which is where things will need to really excel. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/3agtCBH

Historians can now pore over secret files from the papacy of Pius XII, who has long faced accusations of being a Nazi sympathiser New light will be shed on one of the most controversial periods of Vatican history on Monday when the archives on Pope Pius XII – accused by critics of being a Nazi sympathiser – are unsealed. A year after Pope Francis announced the move , saying “the church isn’t afraid of history”, the documents from Pius XII’s papacy, which began in 1939 on the brink of the second world war and ended in 1958, will be opened, initially to a small number of scholars. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2I6B7iD

Li Zehua is missing, presumed detained. He’s one of many for whom the coronavirus crisis has led to a political awakening and a demand for free speech Li Zehua, 25, a citizen journalist in Wuhan, is being chased. Wearing a facemask underneath a baseball cap, he quickly records a video while driving. “I’m on the road and someone, I don’t know, state security, has started chasing me,” he says breathlessly. “I’m driving very fast. Help me.” Later, Li posts a live stream of himself in an apartment, waiting for those same agents to knock on his door, probably to detain him. In an impassioned monologue, he explains why he quit a stable job at China’s state broadcaster, CCTV, and how he came to Wuhan on his own. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2I8Zqwk

Focus on your marriage first – and deal with it kindly. Then decide what to do next. That’s the grown-up thing to do The dilemma I’m in love with my wife’s close friend. These feelings built up over four years, and when we were drunk one night, I told her . She said she felt the same. Months later we met and chatted, but the net result is, because of her friendship with my wife, nothing could happen. She is now in another relationship and has moved on. I understand I’m the bad guy here, but it hurts that it’s circumstance rather than her not being interested in me. I’m struggling. I’ve fallen totally in love and think about her every waking minute. I think she represents everything that is missing in my current marriage – the spark for me has gone. I love my wife and care about her, but ultimately don’t fancy her any more. Is this normal for a marriage of 12 years? Should I be content with a woman who loves me, or does it mean I have some sort of mental issue for not being able to...

Critics say best director award for J’accuse highlights a deep problem in French society The elite world of French cinema, one of the pillars of the country’s exception culturelle , was bitterly divided after Roman Polanski was named best director at France’s equivalent of the Oscars. Several actresses walked out on Friday night as the César was awarded to the Franco-Polish director who is still wanted in the United States after he admitted the statutory rape of a 13-year-old girl. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/39f808W

Cooking that swings from the admirable to the impressive, but all at Mayfair prices Davies and Brook, Claridge’s, Brook Street, London W1K 4HR (020 7107 8848). Four course à la carte: £98, wines from £38 Complaining about the prices being too high at Claridge’s is like moaning about the Pope being too religious or Rory Stewart being too annoying. It literally comes with the territory, that territory being a corner in London’s Mayfair. So let’s acknowledge that four courses at Davies and Brook , named after the two streets upon which it sits, costs £98 and move on. It’s what happens when one of London’s grandest hotels imports one of New York’s most garlanded chefs. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2Tc2qi4

Boy, 16, found collapsed in Coventry street after house party, while man in his 20s died in Hendon, Barnet, in the capital A 16-year-old boy has died in hospital after being stabbed in Coventry. Separately, a young man died in a stabbing in Hendon, north London. Coventry police said they were called to Clay Lane in Stoke at about 10.30pm on Saturday after a member of the public found the teenager collapsed with stab wounds. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2VAgZgW

Fox News Breaking News Alert Tom Steyer ends presidential campaign after Biden wins South Carolina primary 02/29/20 6:20 PM

Igor Matovic’s party rides wave of public anger over murder of journalist to defeat ruling populist left Smer-SD Slovak voters have handed a resounding victory to the centre-right, anti-graft OLaNO opposition party in an election dominated by an angry backlash over the 2018 murder of a journalist investigating corruption in the eurozone state. Having vowed to immediately push through anti-corruption measures should he win office, the OLaNO party leader, Igor Matovic, galvanised voter outrage over the murder of Jan Kuciak and his fiancee and the high-level graft their deaths exposed. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/38cFLGz

Race called by major networks immediately as polls closed Biden had pinned hopes on strong showing in South Carolina Joe Biden has won the crucial South Carolina primary, according to early results projections, in a victory that could rejuvenate the former vice-president’s bid for the Democratic nomination after poor results earlier in the month. Biden’s margin of victory was not immediately clear as polled closed at 7pm – but his bid for the state, the first in the primary cycle with a major population of African American voters, was buoyed after a strong debate performance earlier in the week and a crucial endorsement of the South Carolina congressman Jim Clyburn. Recent polling has suggested Biden could be set for a strong showing. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2uEE7zC

Tim Leunig, who advises Rishi Sunak, has suggested ministers could look to be like Singapore One of the most senior government advisers has said the UK does not need its farming or fishing industries, according to reports. In comments seen by the Mail on Sunday, Dr Tim Leunig is understood to have said the food sector was “not critically important” to the country’s economy – and that agriculture and fisheries “certainly isn’t”. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2T8x0Jb

Washington state raises alert following country’s first coronavirus death as France and Italy restrict public events. Follow live news First coronavirus death in the US as Italy and France cancel public events Trump fends off criticism of ‘hoax’ remark after first US coronavirus death ‘Very high risk’: Australia adds Iran to coronavirus travel ban ‘To hell and back’: my three weeks suffering from coronavirus Yes, it is worse than the flu: busting the coronavirus myths 1.01am GMT Hello and welcome to our live coverage of the coronavirus outbreak. Before we get underway with this blog, here are the main points making news right now. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2I3Xp4J

The streaming service Disney+ launches this month in the UK, and it has the stars and the money to shake things up Disney will mark its entry into the European streaming wars this week when it unveils its Disney+ service at a glitzy promotional event. The entertainment giant is seeking to challenge the dominance of Netflix and Amazon’s Prime Video, and at the private event on Thursday will unveil a formidable arsenal of content. This includes the $100m Star Wars spin-off series The Mandalorian , Pixar hits such as Toy Story and family favourites such as Frozen 2 – content it hopes will be attractive enough to get consumers to fork out for yet another streaming service. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2I9LSkl

Fox News Breaking News Alert Biden wins South Carolina Democratic primary, Fox News projects, in crucial boost to campaign after early losses 02/29/20 4:01 PM

Photographer Anselm Ebulue grew up playing basketball. After listening to a speech by MP David Lammy on the cuts to the sport’s funding, he began a series of portraits of basketball players, asking his subjects why they played. It became clear to Ebulue that, despite the lack of funds, basketball can be a great force for social cohesion and a vital outlet from frustration Click on each image for more information Local authorities have had their money slashed by up to 40%. The idea that they could invest in courts and facilities is, I am afraid, pie in the sky. In a constituency such as mine, knife crime and gun crime are souring. I thank God for the basketball facilities we have at Ducketts Common and Finsbury Park Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/38e0KZj

Arsenal face Chelsea in Continental Cup final on Saturday Midfielder missed last season’s final with ACL injury A year ago Jordan Nobbs sat on the sidelines nursing her ruptured anterior cruciate ligament as an Arsenal side captained by Kim Little lost the Continental Cup final to Manchester City on penalties. On Saturday Arsenal are back in the final, this time against Chelsea, and with Little on the sidelines while Nobbs wears the armband. Nobbs’ injury kept her out of the game for nearly a year, also forcing her to miss last summer’s World Cup, but she has emphatically proved both her fitness and her undiminished ability since returning in August: only three Arsenal players have made more appearances this season and only one has more goals than the 27-year-old midfielder. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2vpIDT2

The former England captain’s new MLS club will take the field for the first time on Saturday after six years of uncertainty, but out-of-the-box success could prove hard to come by When David Beckham’s Inter Miami take to the field at the Banc of California stadium on Saturday night, six arduous years of crippling uncertainty will melt away. The former England captain never thought it would be like this, yet the Miami political landscape is far trickier to beat than a well positioned defensive wall with a curling free-kick, something the 44-year-old did so wonderfully during his stellar playing days. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/39aCDMF

I adored the former Love Island host, and wish we could have shown her a more hopeful reality: that women who err and fail are worthy of love My adoration for Caroline Flack bordered on teenage. As an American abroad in the UK last summer, managing the vague, inchoate loneliness of time spent in a country not my own, the hours I watched her, six nights a week from roughly 9pm to 10.30pm, became a benchmark of cosy normalcy, a point of connection in an often cruel and unfamiliar world. She was, in the way that is specific to pop figures we engage with daily, a friend, albeit one I had never met. That raspy voice, her surprised guffaw, her dresses (pretty, bordering on wacky, like early Cher ) and the empathy she brought to a bloodless and occasionally unkind television format lent her an air of approachable glamour, a local-girl-done-good sheen, aspirational but earthy. Not since I saw Sarah Jessica Parker on Broadway in 1996, belting her heart out with a childlike vibrato, had I hu...

Fresh from the Oscar-winning 1917, the actor is taking on his most challenging role yet “There’ll be no more of this shit,” snarls George MacKay, eyes bulging like a young Iggy Pop. “I’ll give you the full 11 inches of my dick, just so you can know how it feels to get shaaafted !” His temple throbs. His mouth froths. He gets so excited that he spills some of his lemon and ginger tea on the floor of the photo studio we’re sitting in. “Oh dear,” he says, Iggy Pop transforming rapidly into an extremely apologetic, polite young man. “I’m just going to wipe that up with my bum.” And so he does – sliding across the floor while his black trousers soak up the drink. A polite young man George MacKay might be, but at just 27 he’s had plenty of practice trying on other personas: a closeted gay activist in Pride, a singing Scottish squaddie in Sunshine On Leith and – most recently – Lance Corporal Will Schofield in Sam Mendes’ first world war smash, 1917. He is soon to play the notorious Austra...

Rude, dismissive and hostile, or friendly and self-deprecating? The home secretary divides opinion The story goes like this: when the news that Priti Patel had stepped down as international development secretary spread through her department, some civil servants burst into an impromptu singalong of Ding Dong! The Witch is Dead. While largely told secondhand, the vignette illustrates a current political truth about Patel, that someone who not many years ago was regularly tipped as a future prime minister is now among the most divisive figures in Westminster. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2VtFEnf

Expert tips on how to be kinder to the planet – from cooking and cleaning to fashion and finance Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2VIkWQP

Leap Day comes only once every four years, so you’ll have to party four times as hard. Here’s an hour-by-hour schedule Modern Toss on celebrating Leap Day Leap Day is a date that should be more significant. Christmas, Halloween, Valentine’s Day; those happen every year. But Leap Day? You have to wait four years for one. Which means that you’ll need to party four times as hard. Luckily, we’ve drawn up a detailed timetable in order for you to maximise your celebration ... Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2To8TFn

Suddenly single at 52, I had a lot to learn about dating. But nothing prepared me for the casual racism I had been with my partner for six years when she announced, abruptly, that it was over. I remember she was crying. I was not: I was too stunned. It was as if, in the rulebook of how to end a relationship, she had torn out the last chapter. Disagreements, rows, eating meals in silence, sleeping in separate rooms: these things were all missing from our end sequence. So, at 52, I found myself unexpectedly single. As well as the pain of the breakup, I was also scared about single life. I had never struggled to meet women, but in the old-fashioned way: at parties, bars and clubs. This was the age of apps. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/3cllvFI

Mark Constantine’s beauty brand is in tune with the zeitgeist: so why is his ethical approach to capitalism not bearing fruit? The badge on the lapel of Lush’s co-founder, Mark Constantine, does the talking for him today as his beauty retail empire is buffeted by one crisis after another. A potential pandemic is “closing half the bloody world”, he explains, as his lapel badge reads: “Fuck, fuck, fuckity fuck”. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2uDFvm3

Helena, 30, civil servant, meets Adam, 32, charity worker What were you hoping for? For it not to be the most awkward thing on the planet. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/3ciM7av

Tiger Ye, 21, lives in Wuhan and started showing symptoms in mid-January. Here he tells the story of his illness and recovery On 17 January my muscles became sore all over. I may have had a slight fever, but it wasn’t strong enough to notice. Looking back, it is a little scary, because my house and the language school where I study Japanese are within a 5km radius of the Wuhan seafood market (where the virus is believed to have originated). To treat my muscle soreness, I took some cold tablets because I thought it was a normal cold. Now that I think of it, I might have missed the best time for treatment, failing to contain the virus with antiviral drugs in its early stages. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2PzZEkc

Coalition with Anwar Ibrahim appears to be back on after week of political turmoil Mahathir Mohamad has said he will stand again for Malaysian prime minister on behalf of the former ruling coalition, less than a week after quitting and plunging the country into political turmoil. That meant Mahathir – who as interim prime minister is the world’s oldest government leader at 94 – reunited with on-off ally and long-term rival Anwar Ibrahim, 72, resuming a pact that swept their coalition to a surprise election victory in 2018. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/3al0MjT

Former chancellor says he also wanted to reduce stamp duty and set upelectric car charging network Sajid Javid has said an income tax cut and a network of electric car-charging stations were in the budget he would have delivered, had he remained chancellor. Javid told the Times he wanted to cut the basic rate from 20p to 18p from April and had plans to reduce the basic rate to 15p from 2025. He resigned during Boris Johnson’s cabinet reshuffle after refusing to replace his advisers with No 10’s picks. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2T8Ynmr

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Number of fresh cases in China declines and US confirms second possible ‘community spread’ infection. Follow live news US confirms second coronavirus case without links to travel Which countries currently have travel restrictions in place? Will the Olympics be cancelled? The sports events under threat Coronavirus fears trigger biggest one-day fall on US stock market Share your experiences 3.29am GMT There has been another case of unknown origin reported in the United States, bringing the total number of cases of unknown origin to three. According to the statement, the infected individual identified as a resident of Washington County neither had history of travel to a country where the virus was circulating, nor is believed to have had a close contact with another confirmed case. Public health officials are considering it a likely community-transmitted case, which means that the origin of the infection is unknown, the statement added. 3.22am GMT Queensland Health has just s...

Fox News Breaking News Alert CDC: 2nd coronavirus case due to 'community spread' confirmed in California 02/28/20 4:57 PM

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Papers show Telegraph article was in briefing pack before historic speech on Europe Margaret Thatcher’s infamous “No, no, no” retort to Jacques Delors , a historic moment in the UK’s relationship with Europe, which also had the effect of precipitating her downfall, was partly inspired by an article penned by a young journalist named Boris Johnson , her newly released private papers show. In 1990, 30 years before Johnson took the UK out of the European Union , an article he penned as the Telegraph’s EC (European Community) correspondent warning of the threat the EC posed to national sovereignty was in Thatcher’s briefing pack as she delivered the combative speech to parliament. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/3afJrst

Men benefit more than women and creative arts provide worst returns, according to tax data One in five students would be financially better off if they skipped higher education, according to groundbreaking research that compares the lifetime earnings of graduates and non-graduates. Analysis by the Institute for Fiscal Studies found while 80% of former students gained financially from attending university, about 20% earned less than those with similar school results who did not attend, highlighting how some subjects, such as creative arts, offer negative financial returns. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/32zz1kK

Retailer seeks to cut fashion waste with children’s coats featuring reusable name tags John Lewis is tackling fashion waste by launching a hand-me-down drive with extended name labels attached to children’s coats that can be easily amended by parents. The department store chain is introducing organic cotton labelling inside its own-brand children’s coats so the new owner can cross out the name of the last person and write a new name. Coats have been chosen to test this labelling because they have a long life and are often the most costly garment for parents. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/3cebydv

Letters sent to UK firms urging them to increase number of women in leadership roles An influential investor group has warned 63 publicly listed companies, including Stagecoach Group and the Ladbrokes owner GVC, over their failure to increase the number of women on their leadership teams ahead of a year-end deadline. It marks the third successive year that the Investment Association (IA) has written to companies lagging behind on key targets that aim to bolster the proportion of women in boardrooms and executive committees to 33% by the end of 2020. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2I2Iibt

Fox News Breaking News Alert President Trump holds a rally in North Charleston, S.C., 24 hours before the polls close in the state's Democratic primary. Watc 02/28/20 4:09 PM

Nigeria confirms outbreak as losses deepen on world stock markets … universal credit ‘harming mental health’ … at-risk listing for Victorian Jurassic Park Morning everyone. I’m Martin Farrer and these are the top stories this Friday. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/3acPJZK

Public urged to help tackle rise in nighthawking blamed on organised crime Organised crime is being blamed for a rise in illegal metal-detecting at heritage sites, including one of England’s finest medieval castles and the battlefield of Hastings. English Heritage said December last year was the worst month for such incidents in more than four years and there were more than double the number of incidents in 2019 as there were in 2017. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/3cfJq9S

The chart-topping LA singer has put out her most versatile and emotionally raw album yet. She talks about feeling used in relationships, the pain of miscarriage and facing death There are two security gates protecting Halsey’s home in the winding hills of Los Angeles. You clear the first, then you wait as the next is released by her team. Halsey is sitting at the kitchen table, dousing a burrito and waffles in hot sauce in front of a towering image of Kurt Cobain playing the Reading festival. It is the day after she put out her third album, Manic, her most exposed and versatile yet. “I was petrified to release it,” she says. Now 24, she began releasing music on Tumblr when she wast 17. Then, she expressed her pain through dystopian metaphors; now, she is specific and literal. On Manic, she discusses her father (929), her breakup from rapper G-Eazy (Without Me) and her reproductive health (More). Musically, Manic takes in minimal electronica (Ashley), countryfied pop (You Should Be S...

Li and Xu fell in love in a country where gay marriage and surrogacy are illegal. Their story is part of a growing trend Before Qiguang Li could pass through customs and step on to US soil for the first time, he faced a three-hour detention where he learned that he needed to be more candid about his identity. It was September 2015, after a long flight from Shanghai to Los Angeles. Li came with another man, Wei Xu, who asked a US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officer whether the two of them could go through the border screening together. “What’s your relationship?” asked the officer. They said they were friends. “Then you can’t.” So Xu went first and passed the screening. He forgot one important thing, though: Li’s travel documents were in Xu’s bag. Li, 37 at the time, spoke poorer English and couldn’t properly explain to the officer what had happened. After a while of anxious waiting, Xu returned to the checkpoint to look for Li, still unaware of his mistake, and they were both...

In our time of climate crisis and inequality, as top chefs dream less of Michelin stars and more of changing the world, the New Nordic movement is reaching beyond haute cuisine into classrooms, supermarkets and parliaments. By Kieran Morris Few restaurants have enjoyed as much acclaim and influence, or been as widely caricatured, as the Copenhagen fine-dining institution Noma. In its 16 years of existence, it has been at the top of the World’s 50 Best Restaurants list four times. There are three Noma books, two feature-length films and a Noma documentary series. There are Noma dissertations and dozens of “ Nomaheads ” – dedicated diners who follow the restaurant all over the world, from Yucatan to Tokyo to Sydney and back again. In the early 2010s, there were so many articles about hunting for wild produce with Noma’s charismatic head chef that one writer declared it “The Era of the ‘I Foraged With René Redzepi’ Piece”. There is even a 240-page travelogue , written by an Esquire edi...

Stopping the virus’s spread is about putting others first – but we all know what’s happened to vaccination levels When death came to the village of Eyam , it was probably hidden inside a roll of cloth. Bubonic plague is thought to have been carried to this remote corner of Derbyshire from London back in the 1660s by infected fleas, trapped in a bale of fabric ordered to make costumes for a festival. The sickness spread fast, killing dozens of villagers and leaving many on the verge of fleeing in panic – but then something extraordinary happened. The rector of Eyam, believing it his duty to spare neighbouring towns from infection, persuaded his parishioners to take the astonishingly self-sacrificing step of sealing themselves off from the world. They would live or they would die, but nobody would leave until the sickness had burned itself out. One mother is said to have buried six of her children, yet by staying must have saved countless other women from the same fate. Continue readin...

(UNITED NATIONS) — U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned Thursday that inequality for women is growing and it “should shame us all in the 21st century because it is not only unacceptable, it is stupid.” The U.N. chief said in a speech at the New School in New York that gender inequality and discrimination against women is the “one overwhelming injustice across the globe — an abuse that is crying out for attention.” “Everywhere, women are worse off than men, simply because they are women,” he said, and minority, migrant, refugee and disabled women “face even greater barriers.” Guterres said gender inequality is “a stain,” just like slavery and colonialism were in previous centuries. He said young women like Malala Yousafzai, the Pakistani schoolgirl who campaigned for girls’ right to education after surviving being shot by Taliban militants, and Nadia Murad, the Nobel peace laureate who survived enslavement and sexual abuse by Islamic State extremists in Iraq, “...

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As testing begins on thousands linked to the Shincheonji Church of Jesus, members fear being blamed amid recriminations over the outbreak Had it been any other week, Ji-yeon Park, a 26-year-old nail artist, would have been at her twice-a-week bible study with her fellow Shincheonji worshippers. Instead, she says, her life has come to a halt as she worries about her church and if she, too, has been infected. Jiyeon is one of 230,000 members of the Shincheonji Church of Jesus, a doomsday sect at the heart of the Covid-19 outbreak in South Korea, and she says she is scared of being found out about her faith. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2VtBmfr

Hong Kong media tycoon Jimmy Lai has been arrested on suspicion of participating in an unlawful assembly last year and intimidating a reporter in 2017. The arrest was confirmed by Mark Simon, the group director for Lai’s company, Next Digital Ltd., which publishes the Apple Daily newspaper. Two former pro-democracy lawmakers and activists, Lee Cheuk-yan and Yeung Sum, were also arrested on suspicion of unlawful assembly Friday, he said. “This is ridiculous,” Simon said by phone. Lai was being held in a police station in Kowloon and was waiting to see his lawyer, he said. The Police Public Relations Branch didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment Friday. The moves were earlier reported by local media including Now TV and Cable TV. Lee Chuk Yan is 63, Yeung Sum, 72, and Jimmy Lai 71. “These men are not in anyway a flight risk. They need to be processed quickly and out of that police station as quickly as possible.” – Mark Simon — Mark Simon (@HKMarkSimon) F...

Lai, who was arrested with two other activists, has been a major financial patron of Hong Kong’s pro-democracy movement Hong Kong police have arrested three veteran pro-democracy figures for taking part in an unauthorised anti-government march last year amid the city’s most serious political crisis for decades. Jimmy Lai, the founder of Next Media, which publishes the popular, anti-government Apple Daily newspaper, was picked up by police on Friday morning for taking part in a march banned by police on August 31, according to public broadcaster RTHK. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/3cdtPaF

Ballots went out to Labour members this week as the race to succeed Jeremy Corbyn as leader intensifies. The remaining candidates, Keir Starmer, Rebecca Long-Bailey and Lisa Nandy, all made their pitches to a live audience at this week’s Guardian hustings in Manchester Labour members began voting for their next leader this week as candidates continued to make their case for why they should be picked to replace Jeremy Corbyn. Keir Starmer , Lisa Nandy and Rebecca Long-Bailey all took to the stage for the Guardian hustings with Anushka Asthana . In a testy encounter, the candidates sparred over their analysis of why the 2019 election went so badly for the party and whether it could have better handled the issue of Brexit. But there was also agreement when it came to moving towards a green new deal, expanding council housing and the need for electoral reform. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2VvZ1vJ

The pet dog of a coronavirus patient in Hong Kong has been found to have a “low level” of the virus, the Hong Kong government said early Friday. The dog tested “weak positive” for the coronavirus, the city’s agricultural and fisheries department said in a statement , without giving further details. Officials will carry out further tests to confirm whether the dog has really been infected with the disease, or if it was a result of environmental contamination of its mouth and nose. Much is still not known about the virus that is spreading around the world after emerging in central China late last year. It is thought to have transferred to humans from bats and has been shown to spread in a number of ways, but the Hong Kong agricultural department said it doesn’t have evidence that pet animals can be infected, or be a source of infection to people. If confirmed, the dog would be the first case of a pet catching the coronavirus amid a global outbreak that’s now infected more ...

Ireland and Netherlands report first cases as US officials monitor thousands getting off domestic flights for symptoms. Follow live news Coronavirus fears trigger biggest one-day fall on US stock market Mike Pence ‘not up to task’ of leading US coronavirus response, say experts What are super-spreaders and how are they transmitting coronavirus? UK schools and offices could close for up to two months Coronavirus map: how Covid-19 is spreading across the world Share your experiences 2.03am GMT The chief health officer, Brendan Murphy, says part of Australia’s planning is setting up dedicated primary care clinics to try to get people who get infection to isolate at home and delay the spread. He said it’s significant that children seem to be less affected by this virus on the evidence so far. One of the surprising features about this is how few children seem to have been identified as infected. That is very unusual compared to, say, influenza. We don’t know whether children ar...

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Scientists found substantial divergences between Chinese red pandas and Himalayan red pandas in three genetic markers Red pandas, the bushy-tailed and russet-furred mammals that dwell in Asia’s high forests, are not a single species but rather two distinct ones, according to the most comprehensive genetic study to date on these endangered animals. Scientists said on Wednesday they found substantial divergences between the two species – Chinese red pandas and Himalayan red pandas – in three genetic markers in an analysis of DNA from 65 of the animals. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/32JcHp7

From sex ed games for kids to products for the ageing – I have seen the future of sex toys and been amazed I have seen a roomful of people recoil – for purely aesthetic reasons – from a marijuana leaf decal on a sex toy. I have met a venture capitalist who tried out 297 sex toys and yet still argued passionately for diamantes on vibrators despite a chorus of “but what if they fall off?” I’ve heard that a toy designed like a lily is good, but one that is designed like a butterfly is bad – but I still don’t know why that is. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2Vre5Lb

NHS says system will struggle if more than 28 patients need artificial lung treatment Follow the latest coronavirus news England only has 15 available beds for adults to treat the most severe respiratory failure and will struggle to cope if there are more than 28 patients who need them if the number of coronavirus cases rises, according to the government and NHS documents. Ministers have revealed in parliamentary answers that there are 15 available beds for adult extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) treatment at five centres across England. The government said this could be increased in an emergency. There were 30 such beds in total available during the 2018-19 winter flu season. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2wNOvFT

Failure to modify benefit is likely to increase pressure on NHS, researchers say Universal credit is linked to an increase in “psychological stress” among the jobless people who claim it, according the first major study to quantify the impact of the government’s flagship welfare system on mental health. The study found the introduction of universal credit across the UK was associated with a 6.6 percentage point increase in mental health issues among recipients compared with a comparison group who were in employment or retired. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2wU2eew

Demand for bigger cars drives increase in greenhouse gas emissions, says Which? New cars sold in the UK produce more carbon dioxide than older models, according to new research that suggests the industry is going backwards in tackling the climate crisis. Cars that reach the latest standards of emissions use cleaner internal combustion engine technology to combat air pollution , but the relentless rise in demand for bigger, heavier models meant that average emissions of the greenhouse gas rose, according to the consumer group Which? Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2vox9iv

Wigan MP describes Labour’s second referendum position as an “absolute disaster” Labour leadership candidates Keir Starmer and Lisa Nandy clashed over Brexit and antisemitism in a TV hustings event with personal attacks on each other’s records in shadow cabinet. The Wigan MP described Labour’s second referendum position led by Starmer, the party’s shadow Brexit secretary, as a “collective failure of leadership” and an “absolute disaster”. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2VEWHTB

National Audit Office says regulator has not adjusted to the rise of online gambling The Gambling Commission is outpaced and outgunned by betting companies, according to a government report warning that the watchdog is struggling to protect people from gambling-related harm. The National Audit Office, which monitors the effectiveness of public bodies, said the regulator had not adjusted to technological change such as the rise of online and mobile gaming. It said funding constraints had hampered the commission, which has an annual budget of £19m but regulates an industry that took £11.3bn from punters last year. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/398biL5

Historic England concerned that 166-year-old statues are cracking and losing toes Dinosaurs are once again facing an extinction threat. Not a giant meteor this time but changing water levels threatening a Victorian Jurassic park that has fascinated and thrilled generations of visitors for 166 years. Historic England is announcing on Friday that it is adding the Crystal Palace dinosaurs to its heritage at risk register, worried by large cracks appearing in some of the 30 lifesize statues that were part of a pioneering project to educate and entertain people about natural science. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2uBTxoh

Scores of warnings and alerts in place … tout tools on Viagogo could assist fraud … and the faces behind Tories’ lucrative fundraising ball Hello, Warren Murray with the Guardian’s best offerings for Thursday morning. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/39fXXA8

Labour MP calls for criminal investigation into conduct of ticket resale platforms Tickets website Viagogo provides an armoury of tools that experts say make it easier for ticket touts to commit fraud, evidence obtained by the Guardian has shown. The findings, which prompted a call for a criminal investigation, emerged after a disillusioned former tout lifted the lid on Viagogo’s “inventory manager”, an online portal available only to people who sell multiple tickets. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2TknhhN

Pembroke College suspends philosophy tutor Peter King after court appearance An Oxford university lecturer has been suspended after he pleaded guilty to three counts of producing indecent photographs of a child. Philosophy tutor Peter King, who published a controversial paper on the ethics of child pornography in 2008, appeared at Oxford crown court last week. He will be sentenced next month. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2w7LNL9

Child safeguarding at risk as police say lack of technology and time limits prevent device checks Police are giving back to suspected paedophiles phones and computers that possibly hold child abuse images because they do not have the time or technology to search the devices, a report says. Prosecutions are being dropped because the technology that helps officers quickly scan devices to determine the likelihood of indecent images being present is not consistently available across forces, a policing watchdog finds. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2Tjserd

For decades it has been the dominant metaphor in neuroscience. But could this idea have been leading us astray all along? By Matthew Cobb We are living through one of the greatest of scientific endeavours – the attempt to understand the most complex object in the universe, the brain. Scientists are accumulating vast amounts of data about structure and function in a huge array of brains, from the tiniest to our own. Tens of thousands of researchers are devoting massive amounts of time and energy to thinking about what brains do, and astonishing new technology is enabling us to both describe and manipulate that activity. We can now make a mouse remember something about a smell it has never encountered, turn a bad mouse memory into a good one , and even use a surge of electricity to change how people perceive faces. We are drawing up increasingly detailed and complex functional maps of the brain, human and otherwise. In some species, we can change the brain’s very structure at will, alt...

‘Alex was on vacation in Greece – but even on vacation, he still climbs. Fortunately, unlike in the film Free Solo, he’s on a rope here’ When you’re climbing, things can go from fun to serious pretty quick. The worst fall I ever had happened while I was in Aspen, Colorado , in 2002. I broke my neck, my pelvic bone and four ribs. I collapsed my right lung, too, and had kidney and liver damage. I didn’t think about anything as I fell. I was just waiting for my equipment to catch me, but it didn’t. It all came away from the wall and I hit the ground 11 metres below. I don’t remember the impact so there was no trauma associated with that. I just remember waking up pretty disorientated, with about eight heads looking down at me. “Oh my God, you just fell,” I thought. It shook me up and I swore I was finished with climbing. But I was 22 and my photography career was just starting to be a thing. So three months later, when a magazine asked me to go on a rock shoot, I agreed and I’ve been cl...

London scheme’s approach differs dramatically from those of police and many other charities A freezing wind is whipping through London’s Victoria as Tim Joyce and Gerry O’Brien approach two rough sleepers huddled in sleeping bags on the pavement outside a branch of the Halifax bank. A few doors along police and private security guards hustle other homeless people out of doorways, sending one running into the traffic in his socks. Another flees towards the station, duvet flapping. Joyce and O’Brien, both charity workers, want to help people off the streets, but their tactics differ dramatically from those of the police and many other homelessness charities. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/32xqqze

Our forebears struggled hard for the right to a work-life balance. But now our leisure time is under unparalleled assault. It’s time to renew the fight When they are under attack, or celebrating a big birthday, trade unions sometimes like to remind us about the historic fights they have won: holidays, sick pay and the big one, the weekend. The weekend was the best of the battles, because the victory was the most audacious. It makes me swell with pride – albeit of the most hypothetical kind (somehow I doubt the National Union of Journalists freelance chapel had much input). Sick pay, one feels, would have been won eventually, by the arc of progress. Likewise, holiday pay: sooner or later, measures to recognise our shared humanity would have sprung into being with or without a workers’ solidarity movement. Two full days out of seven given over to leisure, to conviviality, not as a favour but as a right, however: this was a new kind of empowerment. Continue reading... from The Guardi...

Since Thatcher’s day, the Tories have held the community up as a model minority. The tactic appears to be paying off Last week, the “ most Indian cabinet ” in British history realised a long-standing dream of the Tory right: the introduction of a purposely cruel “points-based” immigration system . Finally, as many were quick to point out, we saw the limits of “representation politics” laid bare – the home secretary, Priti Patel, and the three other British Indians appointed to Johnson’s cabinet will only embolden Tory racism. But there is a more important story to tell here about how the modern Conservative party came to embrace British Indians – one that runs through Nairobi, Harrow East and occupied Kashmir. Related: Anti-Muslim violence in Delhi serves Modi well | Mukul Kesavan Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/395f3AX

If you’re worried about the coronavirus and are having trouble getting hold of medical masks, these numbers will explain why: China is the world’s largest producer of them, with a reported daily capacity of 20 million pieces, but by the estimate of its manufacturers domestic demand alone is around 50 to 60 million per day. No wonder you can’t find medical masks at your local pharmacy. Some experts doubt the effectiveness of such masks for stopping transmission of the virus, officially named COVID-19. U.S. health officials say the bug spreads mostly between people who are in close contact with each other, and from respiratory droplets when an infected person sneezes or coughs. “A surgical mask might provide some protection, but it’s going to be very modest,” William Shaffner , a professor of preventative medicine at Vanderbilt University says. But that hasn’t put a damper on demand. The scale of the epidemic in China—where the virus originated and where almost 78,500 p...

CDC says person is not known to have traveled to outbreak zone, suggesting virus may be spreading within community US health officials have confirmed a new case of coronavirus infection in California that could be a sign that the virus is spreading in an American community. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported the case on Wednesday night and said it concerned a person in northern California who had no known travel to a country where a virus outbreak has been taking place, or connection to a known patient. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/381MMtB

Human rights lawyer will represent Maldives, which is joining the Gambia in taking Myanmar to court for alleged genocide Amal Clooney will represent the Maldives in seeking justice for Rohingya Muslims at the UN’s highest court, where Myanmar faces accusations of genocide. The Maldivian government has said it will join the Gambia in challenging Myanmar’s treatment of Rohingya people during an army crackdown in Rakhine state in 2017 that forced more than 700,000 people to flee to neighbouring Bangladesh. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/381O08b

XIX (YC W17) Is Hiring Engineers in San Francisco by emilxix | on Hacker News .

Saudi Arabia temporarily halted religious visits that include stops in Mecca and Medina, which draw millions of people a year as the Islamic world’s holiest cities, to help prevent the spread of coronavirus into the country. Tourism visa-holders from countries with reported coronavirus infections will also be denied entry, the Saudi embassy in Washington said in an emailed statement, without naming any countries. The steps are temporary and subject to continuous evaluation, according to the statement. The government is acting to block the deadly virus as neighboring countries including Kuwait, Bahrain, Iraq and the United Arab Emirates have flagged dozens of cases. No infections had been reported by Saudi Arabian authorities as of Wednesday. The kingdom is also suspending entry by citizens from Gulf States traveling under their national IDs, as well as travel by Saudis to the Gulf States. Saudis abroad who want to return or Gulf citizens in Saudi Arabia who wish to leave may ...

Losses on Asian stock markets mount as Saudi Arabia bans entry of religious pilgrims over virus fears. Follow live news Trump puts VP Pence in charge of US response Staff at Australian hospital racially abused over coronavirus panic More new cases outside China than inside, says WHO Coronavirus map: how Covid-19 is spreading across the world Inquiry opens into hospitals at centre of Italy outbreak 4.57am GMT We are well into this announcement by Morrison that Australia is getting ahead of the World Health Organisation and is implementing a pandemic response plan, despite the WHO not declaring a pandemic. He is yet to provide any detail of what this plan is, or how/if it will change anything for Australian people’s daily life. 4.56am GMT While Morrison’s announcement has some sense of alarm to it, he is also reassuring people. “There is no need for us to be moving to having mass gatherings of people stop. You the football and the cricket and play with your friends down the...

President gives rambling address to reassure Americans Trump says US ready to spend ‘whatever’s appropriate’ US officials confirm new case in northern California Donald Trump on Wednesday put Vice-President Mike Pence in charge of the US response to coronavirus. In a lengthy, rambling and often confusing address meant to reassure Americans about the potential impact of the virus, Trump said the risk to the American people “remains very low”. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2vhAgc7

On Monday the jury returned a guilty verdict on two of the five charges against the movie producer, who is now awaiting sentencing. The Guardian US reporter Lauren Aratani discusses covering the trial and what the verdict means for the #MeToo movement. And: the latest in the coronavirus outbreak On Monday a New York jury found Harvey Weinstein , the former Hollywood film producer, guilty of two of the five charges he faced. On 11 March he will be sentenced – the charges mean a minimum prison sentence of five years and a maximum of up to 25 years. Zoe Brock , who was not part of the trial but is one of more than 100 women who have accused Weinstein of sexual harassment and assault, describes her shock and relief at hearing the verdict, while the Guardian US reporter Lauren Aratani tells Rachel Humphreys about covering the trial and what the outcome means for the #MeToo movement. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2Ppl2IU

Donald Trump’s Peace to Prosperity plan for the Middle East envisages an outcome with characteristics similar to apartheid, say 50 former foreign ministers and leaders from across Europe As Europeans dedicated to promoting international law, peace and security worldwide, we express our deep concern about President Trump’s Middle East plan, titled Peace to Prosperity. The plan contradicts internationally agreed parameters for the Middle East peace process, relevant UN resolutions, including security council resolution 2334, and the most fundamental principles of international law. Instead of promoting peace, it risks fuelling the conflict – at the expense of Israeli and Palestinian civilians alike, and with grave implications for Jordan and the wider region. It has been met with widespread opposition in the region, in Europe, and in the United States. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/393N5Wd