Category Archives: Society

Duchess of Argyll sex scandal retold in new BBC drama series

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Admirers of vilified aristocrat say they hope series will allow her to be ‘seen in a different light’

It took the judge more than three hours to read out his damning judgment at the end of one of the longest, most expensive and toxic divorce cases of the 20th century.

Margaret, the Duchess of Argyll, was, he declared with contempt, “a highly sexed woman” who was not “satisfied with normal relations and had started to indulge in disgusting sexual activities to gratify a debased sexual appetite”.

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How can I get over a breakup that I brought upon myself? | Ask Annalisa Barbieri

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You need to talk about your feelings of guilt and insecurity so you can start to forgive yourself

I’m 26 years old, and have been having a really hard time in the past few months due to a breakup I brought upon myself.

Last year I started a long-distance relationship with a girl. I loved her, but felt I was constantly struggling with my emotions and honesty due to my insecurity. This caused me to be needy, desperate and always seeking some sort of validation from her, and we had a few breaks because of this.

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‘Nothing will help’: Tunisians trapped in poverty lose hope

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Eleven years after the start of the Arab spring, those trying to survive rising prices, unemployment and a pandemic feel little has changed

For a decade, Tunisia’s revolution has been remembered on 14 January, the day autocratic ruler Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali fled to Saudi Arabia and the political elite declared the revolution complete.

From today, by President Kais Saied’s decree, the event will be marked on 17 December, the day street trader Mohamed Bouazizi set himself on fire in protest at state corruption and the faltering economy. The self-immolation became a catalyst for Tunisia’s uprising and the wider Arab spring.

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‘All I can think about is the children’s future’: drought devastates Kenya

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Nomads’ herds are dying along with rare wildlife as the longest dry spell in memory edges pastoralists ever nearer starvation

Dahabley smells of rotting flesh. Bodies of starved cows lie in various stages of decomposition, after being dragged to the outskirts of the village in Wajir county, north-east Kenya. They are added to on a near-daily basis and fester in the heat amid multiplying flies.

North-east Kenya is well used to spells of drought, but it is experiencing the worst in living memory. As the region’s short rainy season, which starts in October, draws to an end, parts of Wajir have only seen small showers and other areas have had no rain at all for more than a year.

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No 10 parties raise questions about whether PM will follow Covid science

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Analysis: After a steady stream of reports, how likely is it that Boris Johnson will take advice about imposing tougher restrictions?

• Boris Johnson joined No 10 party during May 2020 lockdown, say sources

Cast your minds back to 15 May 2020. Matt Hancock, the then health secretary before he quit for breaking restrictions by having an affair, was giving a press conference where he said people should be “staying at home as much as is possible”.

Social interaction was strictly limited to outdoors and one person at a time. It was the week when people were told they could meet one parent outside, in a socially distanced way, but not both of them together.

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Judge calls for ban on drunken parties in UK armed forces after rape case

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Pattern of criminal behaviour seems to be emerging, says judge as another sailor is jailed for raping a colleague

A judge has called for a ban on parties in the armed forces involving excessive drinking after a Royal Navy sailor was jailed for raping a female colleague following a party at a hotel.

The judge said a pattern of criminal behaviour seemed to be emerging and asked military chiefs to consider finding a way of clamping down on drink-fuelled parties that end with colleagues bunking down together.

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Dining across the divide: ‘He’s such a nice guy but supports Brexit. He’s young; it’s not normal’

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Both have experienced being treated as outsiders in the UK, but can they broach one of Britain’s most divisive topics?

Batuhan, 22, Bournemouth

Occupation Support worker and neuropsychology master’s student
Voting record Batuhan is not eligible to vote in the UK. In the last Turkish local government elections, he voted for the centre-left Republican People’s party
Amuse bouche Huge fan of basketball; supports any team LeBron James is playing for

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Cut back on socialising, says Whitty, as he predicts surge of hospitalisations

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Chief medical officer warns of ‘two epidemics on top of each other’ as UK records highest ever daily total of new cases

Chris Whitty sent a clear message to cut back on socialising in the run-up to Christmas Day, warning that a rise in Covid hospitalisations is “nailed on” after cases hit a record high.

Appearing alongside the prime minister, who has continued to insist formal restrictions on gatherings are unnecessary, Whitty said: “Don’t mix with people you don’t have to.” He advised the public to “prioritise social interactions that really matter to them”, suggesting work parties may be ill advised.

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Canapes and party hats in CCHQ: Boris Johnson’s latest photo nightmare

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Picture emerges showing Tory mayoral candidate, activists and a party donor crammed together during lockdown

As Christmas parties go, it may not be everyone’s idea of a good time: there are barely touched canapes, hotel buffet-style containers of hot food, a hand sanitiser dispenser visible in the background, and about 25 political activists, all crammed into a brightly lit basement in the middle of a pandemic.

Uninspiring though it might be, that is the scene captured by a photo taken at Conservative campaign headquarters (CCHQ) last December, which emerged in the Daily Mirror on Tuesday to create another political nightmare for Boris Johnson.

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Why UK has been less keen than US to give Covid jab to children

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Differing adult uptakes, healthcare systems and cultures of medicine have played role in approaches

The UK and US may have many things in common, but when it comes to vaccinating children against Covid, the approach has been markedly different.

In May, the US Food and Drug Administration’s emergency use authorisation of the Pfizer/BioNTech jab was expanded from people aged 16 and older to those aged 12 to 15, with two doses recommended for all those eligible.

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MPs back Covid passes in England amid large Tory rebellion

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Measure comes into force on Wednesday and was passed despite many Tories voting against

Boris Johnson has suffered a humiliating rebellion over measures to slow the spread of the Omicron variant, with 99 Conservative MPs rejecting plans for vaccine certificates despite surging infections and personal lobbying by the prime minister.

Johnson had earlier warned his cabinet of a “huge spike” in cases but failed to convince many in his party to support plans to insist on a Covid certificate or negative lateral flow test to attend large venues.

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‘Colossal waste’: Nobel laureates call for 2% cut to military spending worldwide

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Governments urged to use ‘peace dividend’ to help UN tackle pandemics, climate crisis and extreme poverty

More than 50 Nobel laureates have signed an open letter calling for all countries to cut their military spending by 2% a year for the next five years, and put half the saved money in a UN fund to combat pandemics, the climate crisis, and extreme poverty.

Coordinated by the Italian physicist Carlo Rovelli, the letter is supported by a large group of scientists and mathematicians including Sir Roger Penrose, and is published at a time when rising global tensions have led to a steady increase in arms budgets.

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Star Hobson verdict: mother’s girlfriend found guilty of murdering toddler

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Amateur boxer punched 16-month-old to death in Keighley, West Yorkshire, while mother found guilty of allowing the death

A “cunning and clever” woman has been found guilty of murdering her girlfriend’s toddler after being caught on CCTV “terrorising” the child when she was left to babysit.

Savannah Brockhill, 28, an amateur boxer and security guard who called herself the “number one psycho”, punched 16-month Star Hobson to death in Keighley, West Yorkshire, on 22 September 2020.

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Urgent action needed to halt trafficking of children in world’s orphanages – report

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Millions of children worldwide are at risk of abuse and exploitation in institutions, often to attract funding from donors, says Lumos charity

Immediate action must be taken to prevent trafficking and exploitation of children in orphanages, according to a report published on Monday.

International children’s charity Lumos says that an estimated 5.4 million children worldwide live in institutions that cannot meet their needs and neglect their rights and where they are exposed to multiple forms of exploitation and harm.

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‘So depressing’: Covid empties City of London of pre-Christmas cheer

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The ‘work from home’ rules are less stringent than before in the financial hub, but many seem to be staying away

At about 1pm in Paternoster Square on Monday, four placid, Christmassy eyes gazed at the trickle of workers emerging from the London Stock Exchange in search of lunch. “PLEASE DO NOT TOUCH THE REINDEER,” a sign on the enclosure said. “THIS IS TO PREVENT THE TRANSMISSION OF CORONAVIRUS.”

“I remember when you could stroke them,” said a passing trader. “It’s so depressing. I wish I’d stayed at home now.”

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Heads warn of Omicron chaos in English schools, with staff and pupils absent

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Some schools said to have up to half their teachers off due to Covid, and there are fears parents will keep pupils at home

Headteachers are warning of “chaos” in England’s schools as Omicron sweeps across the country, with high levels of staff and pupil absences and reports that parents are planning to keep children home to avoid the virus before Christmas.

School leaders and unions urged the government to introduce more protective measures, including masks in classrooms, better ventilation and tougher isolation rules to try to slow the spread of the virus before the holidays.

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What makes boosters more effective than the first two Covid jabs?

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Analysis: top-up vaccines make key changes to our antibody defences, reducing the threat from Omicron

Covid-19, we should know by now, is a moving target. In autumn the rollout of boosters to older age groups was contentious. Now they’re the single biggest focus. So why do boosters help so significantly compared with first and second jabs, and are we on a conveyor belt towards needing an ever-increasing number of top-ups?

Even before Omicron, it was clear boosters would be required to maintain the levels of protection against infection, although protection against severe illness appeared to be holding up well.

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UK has Omicron Covid patients in hospital, government confirms

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Top UK medical adviser says growing number of people going to emergency departments diagnosed with Omicron

People have been admitted to hospital with the Omicron variant in Britain, a government minister has confirmed, as a senior public health adviser said further curbs may be needed.

The education secretary, Nadhim Zahawi, said he could confirm there were “cases in hospital with Omicron”. “We’ve been able to test people who are in hospital over the past two weeks, and so there is a lag to hospitalisation,” he told Trevor Phillips on Sky News.

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‘My son’s birthday party is off’ – the sacrifices UK parents are making to save Christmas

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Families tell of their ‘heartbreak’ as parties and other social plans are cancelled in the wake of Omicron

’Tis the season to be jolly, and last week Marieke Navin and her boyfriend were planning to attend three Christmas parties between them. But now, following the rise of the Omicron variant, they are not going to any.

“I was looking forward to those parties,” said Navin. “But my priority is protecting Christmas. I don’t want my children to be isolating in their room on Christmas Day, or be unable to visit their dad or my parents. I don’t want my partner’s kids to be unable to come to us on Boxing Day. I don’t want to jeopardise the movement of the children, and I don’t want anyone being poorly over Christmas.”

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Scientists fear falling trust in Boris Johnson could harm bid to curb Omicron surge

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Researchers say new rules may be needed to cut deaths, but there are concerns that ‘fed-up’ people will ignore government

Ministers announced a huge expansion of the booster vaccine campaign on Saturday night, amid warnings that further restrictions will be needed imminently to prevent tens of thousands of deaths.

With new Covid measures being discussed in Whitehall and claims of people being turned away from booster walk-in centres, third jabs will be opened up to those in their 30s from Monday in England. Those who had their second jab three months ago or more will be eligible.

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