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The United States will block shipments of palm oil from a major Malaysian producer that feeds into the supply chains of iconic U.S. food and cosmetic brands. It found indicators of forced labor, including concerns about child workers, along with other abuses such as physical and sexual violence. The order against FGV Holdings Berhad, one of Malaysia’s largest palm oil companies and a joint-venture partner with American consumer goods giant Procter & Gamble, went into effect Wednesday, said Brenda Smith, executive assistant commissioner at the U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s Office of Trade. The action, announced a week after The Associated Press exposed major labor abuses in Malaysia’s palm oil industry, was triggered by a petition filed last year by nonprofit organizations. “We would urge the U.S. importing community again to do their due diligence,” Smith said, adding companies should look at their palm oil supply chains. “We would also encourage U.S. consumer...

Interruptions to care have created a ‘cancer timebomb’ of untreated patients, says Macmillan Coronavirus – latest updates See all our coronavirus coverage Tens of thousands of patients could die because the NHS suspended such a large proportion of normal care to focus on tackling Covid-19, MPs have warned. Illnesses that went undetected or untreated included cancer and heart disease, the Commons health and social care committee says in a hard-hitting report. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2Sblvzq

List celebrates high-achieving black British individuals over past 400 years The model and transgender activist Munroe Bergdorf, the artist and film director Steve McQueen and the Booker prize-winning author Bernardine Evaristo are among the new names on a list celebrating key black individuals over the past 400 years. The mayor of Bristol, Marvin Rees , businesswoman Sharon White and British Vogue’s first black editor, Edward Enninful , are among other new entries on the list of 100 great black Britons , whose stories are told in a book of the same name. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2G5R1ww

Moldova, Morocco, Papua New Guinea floated as locations … the deadly cost of untreated illnesses during Covid … and the man who helped desegregate Britain Hello and welcome to this Thursday briefing with me, Alison Rourke. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2GmLjpB

Tesco still delivers far more food to doorsteps but is now valued lower on stock market It may account for less than 2% of the groceries sold in the UK compared to Tesco’s near 27% share of the nation’s food shopping, but the stock market value of 20-year-old Ocado is now greater than that of the 100-year-old supermarket giant – a change that could reflect the future of the weekly shop. A sharp increase in the speed of the shift to online shopping during the coronavirus pandemic has pushed up Ocado’s share price by 155% since March. As a result it is now valued at £21bn, compared to Tesco’s £20.9bn, even though Tesco delivers far more food to Britain’s doorsteps. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/34b5JKB

When he sat down in a pub that banned black people, Stephenson helped change Britain’s discrimination laws. He talks about organising the Bristol bus boycott, attacks from the National Front – and why Muhammad Ali composed a poem about him In 1964, Paul Stephenson walked into the Bay Horse pub in Bristol and ordered half a pint. A bartender served him, but when the pub’s manager noticed, he told Stephenson to get out, saying: “We don’t want you black people in here – you are a nuisance.” Stephenson refused, and the police were called. Eight officers arrived to arrest him for refusing to quit a licensed premises and held him in the police cells until midnight. The Bay Horse pub may have been notorious for banning black people, but it was not alone. In 1964 it was legal in the UK to refuse service on the basis of someone’s skin colour – and black and Asian people found themselves turned away not just from pubs but from working men’s clubs – and even from housing and jobs. Continue rea...

David Blagdon’s long-term detention has been described as ‘barbaric’. Whatever his disastrous personal choices, the system failed him repeatedly There’s never a good time to get a phone call from an escaped prisoner. I was at a talent show in Essex in August 2001, watching a succession of soul singers, when three missed calls from an unknown number appeared on my mobile, starting at 10.07pm. Stepping out of the club, I listened to the first message: “It’s David. I’m at King’s Cross station. This is urgent.” David Blagdon was a longtime prisoner who had become a friend after I interviewed him for a story in 1999. He’d left the number of a phone box for me to call him back, and when we spoke, he said he was on temporary home leave from prison and needed somewhere to stay. I called my neighbours in London, who agreed to let him in. It was after midnight when I returned to find David chatting to my neighbours, eating a sausage and drinking a beer. Continue reading... from The Guardian...

18th-century prison with gory history reopens as £8.5m visitor attraction in Cornwall Most visitors to Cornwall head to the surf beaches, the picturesque fishing harbours, art galleries, gardens or castles in search of light and joy. However, a murkier side of life in the south-west of Britain is being told from within the towering granite walls of an 18th-century prison, which is reopening as a new visitor attraction on Thursday. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/3jo4Gxa

Like most people, Jess spent a lot of time online during weeks of lockdown earlier this year. But the 36-year-old Australian wasn’t focused so much on playing Animal Crossing or watching Netflix. Instead, she found herself diving ever deeper into the Internet for information about QAnon . Jess, who asked for her last name not to be used because her employer doesn’t allow her to share views on social media, says she became interested in the complex conspiracy theory in part because it claims to offer answers amid the turbulence of 2020. She says she’s not always sure she believes everything she reads about QAnon online. But she has become active in the QAnon community on Twitter, tweeting out a mix of claims about secret pedophilia rings, anti-Joe Biden articles and pro-Trump content several times a day. “It seems to have really started picking up here. I think, because things are picking up so much over there in America,” Jess tells TIME from her Sydney home. “A lot of the ...

Last year fierce clashes broke out between protesters and police on 1 October, but the introduction of harsh security laws has largely stifled dissent Thousands of riot police were stationed across Hong Kong on Thursday to stamp out any large democracy rallies as the financial hub marked China’s National Day under the shadow of a growing crackdown on dissent. The People’s Republic of China celebrates its founding on 1 October with a holiday and carefully choreographed festivities. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/3l7Ku3f

Beijing’s national security law has prompted the exit of people from all walks of life in fear they or their children are at risk Joe Kwong* loves Hong Kong. But he knows he has to leave. A university-educated construction worker in his 30s, he is just one of many Hongkongers who have uprooted their lives in recent months – or are now planning to – because of fears over the rapid demise of the rule of law and civil liberties. Hong Kong’s descent into effective Chinese control has been swift, and was cemented in June by the introduction of the national security law , which prohibits acts of secession, subversion, terrorism, and collusion with foreign forces. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/36lBsvl

With a crowded election cycle, non-committal politicians and a pandemic to worry about, public support for a yes vote in the referendum is eroding It is believed to be the first country in the world to put the legalisation of recreational cannabis to a national public vote. But amid a pandemic, an election concentrated almost entirely on the Covid-19 crisis, and a simultaneous vote on euthanasia, New Zealand’s upcoming marijuana referendum has not captivated the mainstream public attention that it might have in an ordinary year. New Zealand would join Canada and Uruguay on the list of countries legalising the sale and use of cannabis for adults if more than half of voters approved it – but public backing for the measure has eroded in polling during 2020, reversing growing support in recent years. In a debate plagued by claims of misinformation from both sides – and taking place during an overcrowded election cycle – some politicians have shied away from the matter altogether, fearing...

Sunday’s vote could lay the foundations for the birth of a new nation in the Pacific after surprising support emerged in 2018 referendum It’s the final week of campaigning and two flags fly above the competing rallies, concerts, and campaign meetings: the French tricolour and the multi-coloured flag of Kanaky. On Sunday, voters in New Caledonia will go to the polls for a second referendum on the political future of the French Pacific dependency. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2ScbX7t

Effect seen across much of world will have profound consequences, warn scientists The climate crisis is heating up nights faster than days in many parts of the world, according to the first worldwide assessment of how global heating is differently affecting days and nights. The findings have “profound consequences” for wildlife and their ability to adapt to the climate emergency, the researchers said, and for the ability of people to cool off at night during dangerous heatwaves. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/34aqjuB

Study suggests women with long or irregular menstrual cycles face greater chance of premature death Women’s periods could act as a barometer for their general health, with irregular periods and long menstrual cycles associated with greater risk of dying before the age of 70, a study in the British Medical Journal suggests. The menstrual cycle is the normal monthly hormonal cycle a woman’s body goes through during her reproductive years, counted from the first day of her period until the day before her next. On average, this lasts 28 days, but there is considerable variation between women, with 24 to 35 day cycles also considered normal. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/3jnnLzy

York region police announced 29 arrests connected to gambling den operating while legal casinos shuttered Police in Canada have charged dozens of people and seized millions in assets after discovering that a sprawling mansion north of Toronto was thriving as a underground gambling den while legal casinos were shuttered due to the coronavirus lockdown. York region police announced 74 charges on Wednesday connected to a months-long investigation into illegal gambling operations in Ontario . As well as making 29 arrests, police seized more than $10m in assets, firearms, cash and high-end liquor. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2G65iJD

Northern Ireland’s cumulative cases per 100,000 double in a week; Neanderthal genes increase risk of serious Covid-19, study claims ; Russia places huge bet on Covid vaccine . Follow the latest updates Germans embrace fresh air to tackle coronavirus Israel bans mass protests as Covid lockdown tightens See all our coronavirus coverage 12.46am BST Residents of infection hotspot Madrid are to be barred from leaving except on essential trips under new rules to fight the coronavirus resurgence, Spain’s government said on Wednesday. But regional authorities said the decision had no legal basis, Reuters reports, setting the stage for a political showdown in an area accounting for more than a third of Spain’s 133,604 new cases in the past two weeks. 12.33am BST Hello and welcome to today’s live coverage of the coronavirus pandemic. My name is Helen Sullivan and I’ll be bringing you the latest from around the world and as always, would be delighted to hear from you wherever you are. ...

Report warns of a cascade of job losses as coronavirus furlough scheme winds down Coronavirus – latest updates See all our coronavirus coverage More than a third of UK employers plan to make staff redundant over the next three months, according to research warning of a cascade of job losses caused by the coronavirus pandemic. With a month to go until the end of the government furlough scheme on 31 October, 37% of more than 2,000 managers polled by YouGov said they were likely to make staff redundant by the end of the year. About 60% of the managers surveyed from larger businesses with more than 250 employees said their companies planned to make redundancies this year. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/36hFJjj

Candidates throw insults amid arguments over healthcare, coronavirus and supreme court First presidential debate: follow live Donald Trump and Joe Biden sparred bitterly during the first presidential debate of the general election on Tuesday night, hurling personal insults as they clashed over healthcare, the coronavirus and the supreme court. Ignoring the rules, the candidates repeatedly interrupted each other, with Biden losing his patience at one point and retorting: “Will you shut up, man? This is so unpresidential.” Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/3n6U8oC

The singer, whose career was celebrated in the 2019 biopic of the same name, had been diagnosed with dementia several years ago Helen Reddy, the Australian singer best known for her anthemic 1972 hit I Am Woman, has died at 78. Reddy had been diagnosed with dementia in 2015 and had been living in a Los Angeles nursing home for professional entertainers. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/3jhZI4Z

Some of the most lucrative contracts received by firms such as PwC and Deloitte since the pandemic began Whitehall ‘infantilised’ by reliance on consultants Since the onset of the pandemic, the government has spent tens of millions of pounds on management consultants to help it manage elements of the Covid-19 response, from the much-criticised NHS test-and-trace programme to buying PPE. Earlier this year, the Guardian revealed that at least £56m of taxpayers’ money had gone to companies such as PricewaterhouseCoopers, Deloitte and McKinsey for their help with initiatives that often have not run smoothly. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/348gGfU

Initiative aims to ensure low-income countries are not frozen out by rich nations Coronavirus – latest updates See all our coronavirus coverage The World Bank has announced plans for a $12bn (£9.3bn) initiative that will allow poor countries to purchase Covid-19 vaccines to treat up to 2 billion people as soon as effective drugs become available. In an attempt to ensure that low-income countries are not frozen out by wealthy nations, the organisation is asking its key rich-nation shareholders to back a scheme that will disburse cash over the next 12 to 18 months. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2GoBlnS

Allegation follows new law that lets Hong Kong ask for sensitive data if deemed to threaten national security Big technology companies may already be complying with secret Chinese requests for user information held in Hong Kong and ought to “come clean” about the vulnerability of the data they hold there, a senior US state department official has said. The allegation of possible secret cooperation between major companies and Hong Kong authorities follows the implementation of a sweeping and controversial new national security law that allows Hong Kong authorities to demand sensitive user data from companies if it is deemed to threaten national security . Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/34cGyqL

Fox News Breaking News Alert Biden defends son, says Hunter overcame 'drug problem' after Trump raises family controversies 09/29/20 7:35 PM

Fox News Breaking News Alert Trump tells Biden radical left will 'have you wrapped around their finger' as clash over law and order takes center stage 09/29/20 7:11 PM

YEREVAN, Armenia — Leaders of Azerbaijan and Armenia brushed off the suggestion of peace talks Tuesday, accusing each other of obstructing negotiations over the separatist territory of Nagorno-Karabakh, with dozens killed and injured in three days of heavy fighting. In the latest incident, Armenia said one of its warplanes was shot down by a fighter jet from Azerbaijan’s ally Turkey, killing the pilot, in what would be a major escalation of the violence. Both Turkey and Azerbaijan denied it. The international community is calling for talks to end the decades-old conflict between the two former Soviet republics in the Caucasus Mountains region following a flareup of violence this week. It centers on Nagorno-Karabakh, a region that lies within Azerbaijan but has been under the control of ethnic Armenian forces backed by the Armenian government since 1994 at the end of a separatist war. The U.N. Security Council called on Armenia and Azerbaijan Tuesday evening to immediate...

Fox News Breaking News Alert Presidential debate gets personal as Biden calls Trump a ‘clown,’ Trump tells Biden he’s not ‘smart’ 09/29/20 6:38 PM

Fox News Breaking News Alert President Trump, Joe Biden clash over Supreme Court nomination. Join the debate now. 09/29/20 6:26 PM

Fox News Breaking News Alert Presidential debate: Trump, Biden clash over Barrett Supreme Court nomination, ObamaCare in first showdown 09/29/20 6:16 PM

Fox News Breaking News Alert President Trump and Joe Biden square off for historic debate in Cleveland, 9 pm ET on Fox News Channel 09/29/20 5:51 PM

Orange Health (YC S20) Is Hiring Mobile App Engineers (RN, iOS/Droid) in India by dhruvg9 | on Hacker News .

As President, Donald Trump has cast China as a global villain: a malevolent actor that all but launched a worldwide pandemic on an unsuspecting world, robbed Americans of their jobs and stole U.S. business secrets. He has made the Chinese Communist Party a catch-all enemy that pulls puppet-like strings to make international organizations like the World Health Organization work at cross-purposes with Washington, all charges Beijing vigorously denies. At the same time, Trump has presented himself to the world—and to U.S. voters—as the only person capable of pummeling Beijing into submission, chiefly through a landmark trade deal. Democrats, the President and his allies say, are the willing patsies who bow to Beijing, as when former Vice President-turned-Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden sought closer ties to the growing superpower in his multiple visits there. “A rising China is a positive, positive development, not only for China but for America and the world writ la...

First of three presidential debates tonight in Cleveland Debate offers Trump chance to yank 2020 race his way Coronavirus rates on the rise again in New York Faulty ballots sent to an unknown number of Brooklyn voters Sign up for Fight to Vote – our weekly US election newsletter 12.53am BST We’re closing down this blog, but Joan E Greve and I will be covering the presidential debate tonight. Follow along here. 12.38am BST A federal appeals court upheld a ruling – contested by Republicans - that extends the deadline for counting absentee ballots in Wisconsin. The decision means that ballots postmarked by 3 November will be so long as they arrive before 9 November. The Republican National Committee and state Republican leaders and legislators had argued against the extension - arguing that people would have plenty of time to return their ballots. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/30h80m2

Home secretary asked officials to see if applicants could be processed on isolated St Helena A Whitehall brainstorming session prompted by Priti Patel led to the idea being floated of sending asylum seekers to a volcanic island in the South Atlantic, the Guardian understands. The Financial Times reported that the home secretary had asked officials to look into the idea of processing asylum seekers on Ascension Island, an isolated volcanic British territory, and on St Helena, which is part of the same island group but 800 miles away. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/3cINhgj

Race against time to save plants and fungi that underpin life on Earth, global data shows Two in five of the world’s plant species are at risk of extinction as a result of the destruction of the natural world, according to an international report. Plants and fungi underpin life on Earth, but the scientists said they were now in a race against time to find and identify species before they were lost. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/36gBPXN

Panel calls for improved access to healthcare for inmates to avoid preventable deaths Coronavirus - latest updates See all our coronavirus coverage The number of deaths from natural causes on the prison estate is “unacceptably high”, a watchdog has warned, urging ministers to do more to allow inmates to be allowed out to die. The average age of an inmate dying a “natural death” is 56, compared with 81 in the general population, the Independent Advisory Panel (IAP) on Deaths in Custody said. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/3l2C0KH

Government was right to prioritise speed over cost, says National Audit Office Coronavirus – latest updates See all our coronavirus coverage The government spent £569m buying 20,900 ventilators to keep people alive during the Covid-19 pandemic but lack of demand means NHS hospitals have used just a few of them. All but 2,150 of the machines it bought are still being held in a Ministry of Defence warehouse in case they are needed in the coming second wave of the disease. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2HIDMSM

India’s pandemic agency says cases may be ten times official figure ; New York introduces face mask fines as positivity rates climb; Boris Johnson apologises for getting north-east England lockdown rules wrong . Follow the latest updates Global coronavirus deaths pass 1m with no sign rate is slowing Walt Disney sheds 28,000 jobs at theme parks as pandemic bites Interactive: how did we get to one million deaths? France struggles to push Covid app as neighbours race ahead See all our coronavirus coverage 12.48am BST A commonly used arthritis drug is to be trialled with care home residents who have Covid, after it was observed that those taking it for their joint pains were less likely to end up in hospital with the virus. Older people in care homes, who often have some degree of dementia, tend not to do well in hospital, where they become more confused and may pick up infections. The trial will break new ground by giving the drug to people at care homes, where they can be super...

Adalimumab could counter hyper-inflammation seen in severe coronavirus cases Coronavirus – latest updates See all our coronavirus coverage A commonly used arthritis drug is to be trialled with care home residents who have Covid, after it was observed that those taking it for their joint pains were less likely to end up in hospital with the virus. Older people in care homes, who often have some degree of dementia, tend not to do well in hospital, where they become more confused and may pick up infections. The trial will break new ground by giving the drug to people at care homes, where they can be supervised and monitored afterwards by doctors and nurses. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2EKoGLr

Benefit given to 16 million people not mentioned in chancellor’s new support package announcement Coronavirus – latest updates See all our coronavirus coverage Around 700,000 people, including 300,000 children, will be “cut adrift” into poverty at a time of surging unemployment and plummeting living standards if the government cuts the £20-a-week pandemic uplift to key social security benefits, charities have warned. The letter reflects growing pressure on the chancellor Rishi Sunak, who failed to say whether he would protect the £20 increase, which benefits around 16 million people, when he outlined his latest Covid-19 support package last week, despite warning that the UK faced a winter of business failures and rising unemployment. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/30ltNZU

Bill de Blasio announces crackdown amid positive test rise Officials concerned over virus increase in nine zip codes New York City will impose fines on people who refuse to wear a face covering in public, Mayor Bill de Blasio said on Tuesday, as he announced that the rate of positive tests for the coronavirus had climbed above 3% in the city for the first time in months. Related: Coronavirus live news: one million deaths worldwide; Netherlands reports record daily rise in cases Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/30icA3E