It’s clear that if there is a crisis, it affects both men and women, boys and girls. So what can be done to boost reading?
The demise of men reading books has, once again, been greatly exaggerated.
A recent ABC article about Australians’ reading habits claimed “Australians, especially men, are reading less than ever before” and “the data showed females, on average, were reading more than males across all age groups”.
Continue reading...Protesters holding placards outside City Hall detained on suspicion of displaying item in support of proscribed group
Police arrested 13 people at a protest in Norfolk on Saturday on suspicion of showing support for the proscribed group Palestine Action.
A group assembled outside City Hall in St Peters Street, Norwich, holding placards referencing the organisation, Norfolk police said. The force said they were arrested on suspicion of displaying an item in support of a proscribed organisation, contrary to section 13 of the Terrorism Act 2000.
Continue reading...Afzal Khan had said visit to Turkish-occupied northern Cyprus was in personal capacity but resigned after furore
Cyprus has welcomed the resignation of the UK’s trade envoy to Turkey, Afzal Khan, saying it sends “a resounding message” amid widespread criticism of the Labour MP’s recent visit to the island’s breakaway Turkish-occupied north.
Khan had defended his trip on 8 August in a letter to the British prime minister, Keir Starmer, claiming it was conducted “in a personal capacity during the parliamentary recess”.
Continue reading...Brazen daytime robbery involved four masked suspects taking diamonds, luxury watches and gold, police say
Smash-and-grab thieves in Seattle made off with an estimated $2m in diamonds, luxury watches, gold and other items in a daring midday jewelry store robbery that took just about 90 seconds, police said on Friday.
Video from the west Seattle store’s surveillance cameras shows four masked suspects shattering the locked glass front door with hammers and then ransacking six display cases on Thursday.
Continue reading...White House officials said it mentioned the abductions of Ukrainian children by Russian forces in occupied territory
Donald Trump hand-delivered a personal letter from first lady Melania Trump to Russian leader Vladimir Putin raising the plight of Ukrainian and Russian children caught in the middle of the ongoing war between the two European countries, it was reported on Saturday.
The contents of the letter were unknown – but two Trump administration officials told Reuters that it mentioned the abductions of children resulting from the war that broke out after Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022.
Continue reading...Ukrainian leader to return to White House after Alaska summit between US president and Vladimir Putin
Ukraine’s president has said he will fly to Washington on Monday to meet Donald Trump after the Alaska summit amid speculation that the US president will ask him to cede territory to end the war.
Next week’s meeting will mark the first return to the White House for Volodymyr Zelenskyy since his infamous row with Trump and the vice-president, JD Vance, in the Oval Office in February.
Continue reading...