Category Archives: Society

Safety fears force Ngozi Fulani’s charity to pause work after palace racism incident

Posted on by

Sistah Space says many domestic abuse services temporarily halted after founder spoke of encounter with Susan Hussey

A charity led by a black domestic abuse campaigner who was asked where she “really came from” by the late queen’s senior lady-in-waiting has had to pause its operations because of safety fears.

Sistah Space said it was “forced to temporarily cease” working after its founder, Ngozi Fulani, spoke out about her treatment by Susan Hussey at a reception at Buckingham Palace. The charity supports women of African and Caribbean heritage who have been affected by domestic and sexual abuse.

Continue reading...

‘It’s absurd’: Indonesians react to new law outlawing sex outside marriage

Posted on by

Six people in Indonesia share their views on the controversial legislation and what it means for them

The news that Indonesia’s parliament has passed new legislation outlawing sex outside marriage – as part of a wider overhaul of the country’s criminal code – has triggered concern from human rights activists and prompted protests in the capital Jakarta.

Here, six people in Indonesia share their views on the controversial legislation, and what it may mean for their personal lives and those of fellow citizens when it comes into effect.

Continue reading...

Home Office adviser Nimco Ali appears to quit by criticising Suella Braverman

Posted on by

Adviser on violence against women says on live radio she is on a ‘completely different planet’ to home secretary

A government adviser on violence against women appears to have effectively resigned from her role on live radio after saying she is on a “completely different planet” to the home secretary, Suella Braverman.

Nimco Ali, a social activist who was appointed to the independent role by the then home secretary, Priti Patel, in 2020, used an interview to criticise Braverman’s stance on the issue and announce her intention to relinquish her role.

Continue reading...

Officers unlikely to stand in for striking ambulance drivers, police chiefs say

Posted on by

Combination of overstretched forces and few licensed drivers means requests expected to be turned down

Police say they will not replace striking ambulance drivers as health trusts scramble to limit the effects of a wave of industrial action.

The trusts, which are responsible for running ambulances, have approached individual police forces to see if officers might ferry patients to and from hospital.

Continue reading...

Lizard Downs in Cornwall protected for public use after 140 years

Posted on by

Open Spaces Society secures re-registration of 116 hectares of ‘splendid’ moorland’ for common use

More than 100 hectares of some of the most stunning landscape in west Cornwall has finally been recognised as common land, protecting it for the public 140 years after it was threatened with enclosure.

Lizard Downs was authorised for enclosure – the act of taking ownership of common land – in 1880 but the proposed fencing off never happened.

Continue reading...

Macron announces free condoms for 18- to 25-year-olds in France

Posted on by

President hails ‘revolution for contraception’ as government seeks to curb STIs and unwanted pregnancies

The French president has said condoms will be made available for free in pharmacies for 18- to 25-year-olds in an attempt to reduce unwanted pregnancies among young people.

“It’s a small revolution for contraception,” Emmanuel Macron announced during a health debate with young people in Fontaine-le-Comte, a suburb of Poitiers in western France.

Continue reading...

Millions cannot afford to heat homes as UK faces Arctic cold snap

Posted on by

As temperatures plunge, fears grow for households struggling to pay for heating, food and warm clothing

More than 3 million low-income UK households cannot afford to heat their homes, according to research, as a “dangerously cold” weather front arrived from the Arctic.

The UK Health Security Agency has issued a cold weather alert recommending vulnerable people warm their homes to at least 18C, wear extra layers and eat hot food to protect themselves from plummeting temperatures.

Continue reading...

Arctic air to boost demand for warm spaces as archbishop urges people not to despair

Posted on by

Justin Welby says too many people face ‘real hardship and pain’ as temperatures fall and bills rise

A surge of Arctic air causing sub-zero temperatures across the UK is poised to send demand for warm spaces surging, and the archbishop of Canterbury has urged people not to despair in the face of “real hardship and pain”.

The weather system moving quickly south from Norway, nicknamed the Troll of Trondheim, will result in colder weather for at least a week, the Met Office has forecast, as a network of “warm hubs” said it had seen 80,000 people use its facilities in the last week.

Continue reading...

Migrants face ‘unprecedented rise in violence’ in EU borders, report finds

Posted on by

Asylum seekers beaten and sexually assaulted before being illegally removed, says Border Violence Monitoring Network

Thousands of migrants and asylum seekers are facing “an unprecedented rise in violence” at the EU’s border, including beatings, forced undressing and sexual assaults, according to a report exposing thousands of alleged illegal expulsions in harrowing detail.

Activists interviewed 733 individuals trying to reach Europe in 2021 and 2022, who provided grim testimony of group pushbacks that affected more than 16,000 others. The work updates the 2020 edition of The Black Book of Pushbacks, offering a total compilation of 1,633 individuals telling of illegal expulsions affecting nearly 25,000 people since 2017.

Continue reading...

Rising temperatures causing distress to foetuses, study reveals

Posted on by

Climate crisis increases risks for subsistence farmers in Africa who usually work throughout pregnancy

Rising temperatures driven by climate breakdown are causing distress to the foetuses of pregnant farmers, who are among the worst affected by global heating.

A study revealed that the foetuses of women working in fields in the Gambia showed concerning rises in heart rates and reductions in the blood flow to the placenta as conditions became hotter. The women, who do much of the agricultural labour and work throughout pregnancy, told the scientists that temperatures had noticeably increased in the past decade.

Continue reading...

Albanian children facing racist bullying due to UK asylum row, says envoy

Posted on by

Albanian ambassador to UK calls for end to ‘campaign of discrimination’ amid debate over small boat arrivals

Albanian children are being subjected to racist bullying in UK schools because of the debate surrounding arrivals by small boats, the country’s ambassador in London has said.

Qirjako Qirko spoke out after Albanians were singled out by ministers and sections of the media during the recent rise in the number of his country’s citizens travelling across the Channel to claim asylum in the UK.

Continue reading...

Northern Ireland can create abortion clinic buffer zones, supreme court rules

Posted on by

Unanimous judgment in UK’s highest court means Stormont assembly can proceed with abortion services bill

The Northern Ireland assembly can legislate to create buffer zones around abortion clinics to protect users and staff, the UK’s highest court has ruled.

The supreme court’s unanimous judgment means the assembly can proceed with the abortion services (safe access zones) (Northern Ireland) bill, which criminalises people who enter the specified areas and influence people attending clinics.

Continue reading...

Health experts in conundrum over best way to avoid winter ‘tripledemic’

Posted on by

RSV, Covid-19 and flu cases are exploding, but many health officials aren’t forcing masks or discouraging in-person gatherings

Dr Jason Newland, a pediatric infectious disease doctor at St Louis children’s hospital, is just waiting for his cold to start. “I can list off about 10 people right now that have had some sort of illness in the past five days,” Newland said.

That’s because the respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and influenza seasons started months earlier than usual, amid the continuing spread of Covid-19 and the common cold. The flu hospitalization rate is the highest it’s been in a decade, according to public health officials. Scientists have described the collision of viruses as a “tripledemic”.

Continue reading...

Ministers to release papers relating to firm recommended by Michelle Mone

Posted on by

Labour force move to release material about awarding of contract to PPE Medpro through humble address in Commons

Ministers will have to release papers, advice and correspondence relating to the award of contracts to PPE Medpro, a company recommended by Conservative peer Michelle Mone who subsequently appeared to receive millions originating from its profits.

Labour forced the move through a “humble address” in parliament on Tuesday, which asked for the government to hand over documents involving ministers and special advisers relating to PPE Medpro to parliament’s public accounts committee.

Continue reading...

Former development secretaries urge Sunak to increase east Africa aid amid drought

Posted on by

‘Famine in all but name’ ravaging Somalia, Ethiopia and Kenya, yet British aid is one-fifth of 2017 amount

The UK urgently needs to do more to help more than 28 million people in drought-stricken Somalia, Ethiopia and Kenya, two former secretaries of state for international development and the heads of 14 of the UK’s leading aid agencies have warned in a joint letter to the prime minister, Rishi Sunak.

They say one person is dying every 36 seconds, yet British aid to the region is only one-fifth of what Britain provided when the region was struck by famine in 2017. More than 7 million children are acutely malnourished across the three countries.

Continue reading...

Free preschool childcare for all would boost UK growth, report finds

Posted on by

Labour-endorsed study finds initiative would save families thousands of pounds, cut benefits spending and raise tax revenues

Free universal preschool childcare and more funding for after-school clubs could increase government revenues and save a family with young children between £620 and £6,175 a year, a joint report endorsed by the Labour party has revealed.

The Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) and the charity Save the Children have called for a universal childcare guarantee for all families until the end of primary school to allow more women to get back into work and reduce the attainment gap between rich and poor children in their early years.

Continue reading...

Martin Lewis charity highlights mental toll of cost of living crisis

Posted on by

Survey finds nearly a fifth of respondents have had suicidal ideation about financial problems

The shocking impact that soaring bills are having on mental health has been laid bare by a report that highlights how money worries are driving many people to thoughts of suicide.

The Money and Mental Health policy institute, a charity founded and chaired by the consumer champion Martin Lewis, reported that 17% of respondents to a survey said they had experienced suicidal ideation over the past nine months owing to the rising cost of living.

Continue reading...

Strep A: No 10 tells parents to look for signs of infection with reports of eighth death

Posted on by

Warning comes as health official says earlier start to cases in UK could be knock-on effect of pandemic

Downing Street has told parents to be on the lookout for signs of strep A infection after reports a primary-school pupil has become the eighth child to die in a matter of weeks.

On Monday, Alison Syred-Paul, headteacher at Morelands primary in Waterlooville, Hampshire, said: “Very tragically, we have learned of the death in recent days of a child who attended our school, who was also diagnosed with an invasive Group A streptococcal (iGAS) infection.”

Continue reading...

Hip and knee ops fell by more in UK than in any EU nation in 2020

Posted on by

Hip replacements fell 46% in UK as a result of Covid and knee operations by 68%, study finds

Britain may be the hobbling man of Europe, according to figures showing that the fall in the number of hip and knee surgeries as a result of the Covid pandemic was greater in the UK than in any EU country.

The number of hip replacement operations fell 46% in 2020 in the UK, compared with just 7% in Germany and 12% in France. Meanwhile, the number of knee operations slumped 68% in the UK, compared with just 3% in Finland and an average of 24% across the EU.

Continue reading...

Mone’s Covid lobbying ‘extraordinarily aggressive’, claims Hancock

Posted on by

Ex-minister claims Tory peer intimated unnamed firm she was helping was being treated unfairly

The Conservative peer Michelle Mone made “extraordinarily aggressive” lobbying efforts on behalf of a company bidding to supply Covid tests during the pandemic, Matt Hancock has claimed in a serialisation of his diaries.

The former health secretary claimed that Lady Mone made “wild accusations” about the procurement process, intimating that the company she was helping, which is not named, was suffering unfairly.

Continue reading...