Category Archives: Society

Denmark launches children’s TV show about man with giant penis

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Critics condemn idea of animated series about a man who cannot control his penis, but others have backed it

John Dillermand has an extraordinary penis. So extraordinary, in fact, that it can perform rescue operations, etch murals, hoist a flag and even steal ice-cream from children.

The Danish equivalent of the BBC, DR, has a new animated series aimed at four- to eight-year-olds about John Dillermand, the man with the world’s longest penis who overcomes hardships and challenges with his record-breaking genitals.

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Silence your inner critic: a guide to self-compassion in the toughest times

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Is your internal monologue friendly, calm and encouraging – or critical and bullying? Here is how to change it for the better

Tobyn Bell still remembers the precise moment when his self-compassion practice paid off.

He had just arrived home from work and was turning over in his mind the mistakes he had made that day, what he could or should have done – the kind of self-critical thoughts he had struggled with for years. Then, unexpectedly, another voice piped up in response, calm and steadying, addressing Bell by a fond nickname from his childhood.

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Top UK bosses are paid 115 times more than average worker, analysis finds

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Vast gap in earnings described as ‘unfair’ and ‘repugnant’ by trade union leaders

Bosses of top British companies will have made more money by teatime on Wednesday than the average UK worker will earn in the entire year, according to an independent analysis of the vast gap in pay between chief executives and everyone else.

The chief executives of FTSE 100 companies are paid a median average of £3.6m a year, which works out at 115 times the £31,461 collected by full-time UK workers on average, according to research by the High Pay Centre thinktank.

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How do you feel about shielding in the UK during lockdown?

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We’d like to hear from those who are at high risk from coronavirus and are having to shield during the new national lockdown

The government have asked those who’re high risk from coronavirus to start shielding again as the the new national lockdown gets underway.

New government guidelines advise those who are clinically vulnerable to the disease to stay at home unless they’re going outside for exercise or attending a medical appointment.

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The many U-turns on the road to England’s third lockdown

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November lockdown decision has been followed by a series of flip-flops and 11th-hour announcements

The government’s coronavirus strategy for England has changed a number of times since the start of the November lockdown, as infections soared and a new variant of the virus emerged.

14 October 2020: Johnson dismisses calls from the Labour leader, Keir Starmer, for a “circuit-breaker” lockdown, telling MPs: “Opportunism is the name of the game for the party opposite.”

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UK to move to highest coronavirus alert level as full lockdowns loom

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Boris Johnson to make TV announcement on Monday night after pressure to tackle soaring infection rate

The government is expected to announce new steps to control the spread of coronavirus, as the chief medical officers recommended that the UK move to the highest coronavirus alert level.

Boris Johnson is due to make a TV address on Monday evening where he is set to announce mass school closures and tight lockdown restrictions. MPs will be recalled to parliament from Wednesday.

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Tier 5, closed schools, national lockdown? The new Covid rules England could face

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As coronavirus spreads rapidly, what are the options for the government?

Pressure is building on the government to move rapidly to curb the currently rapid spread of coronavirus, with ministers indicating tougher rules for England could be imminent. So what new restrictions might be considered?

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Analysis: is it wise for England to mix and match Covid vaccines?

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US experts warn against plan to give different second jab if supplies run low

The UK is setting the pace around the world in the approval and use of Covid vaccines but, while other countries watch intently, not all are yet prepared to embrace what looks like public health pragmatism rather than strict adherence to evidence.

Britain is the first country in the world to approve and use the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine, just as it was first with Pfizer/BioNTech’s. In a further trailblazing decision, it is giving everyone a first shot of either of those vaccines, with the second shot delayed to 12 weeks afterwards instead of the three- or four-week interval in the trials.

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Sci-fi movies leave me empty. Isn’t the real world dramatic enough? | Prove me wrong

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Science fiction is just a bunch of loud noises, special effects and unbelievable plotlines, argues Alison Rourke. Shelley Hepworth tries to prove her wrong

Alison: Shelley, I think sci-fi movies are a waste of time. If I’m going to spend a couple of hours watching something, I want the characters, and how they relate to each other, to be the hero of the story. When I watch sci-fi, it seems like the machines, the special effects and the fantasy are the main point of the film. I know for some people that’s about escapism, but how can it provide an escape if what’s on screen is fundamentally unattainable in real life?

Sorry, but it just leaves me empty. Prove me wrong, Shelley.

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How is the Oxford Covid vaccine being deployed in England?

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With jab to be administered to public for first time, we look at key questions about its rollout

The biggest vaccination programme in the UK’s history will receive a major boost on Monday, with the first use of the Oxford/AstraZeneca Covid vaccine. Here we look at some key questions about how it will be deployed in England.

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India’s approval of covid vaccines triggers mass immunisation drive

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Green light for Oxford vaccine alongside domestic Covaxin hailed as ‘decisive turning point’ by PM

India has granted emergency approval to both the Oxford/AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine and the domestically developed Covaxin, signalling the start of one of the largest Covid-19 immunisation drives in the world.

At a press conference on Sunday, the drugs controller general of India said the decision to approve both the Oxford vaccine and Covaxin, which is produced by the Indian company Bharat Biotech and was part-funded by the government, had come after “careful examination” of the data.

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Generation Z and the Covid pandemic: ‘I’m 100% more politicised’

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The virus has not only changed young people’s day-to-day lives but also their hopes and dreams for the future

Two months ago, the Guardian interviewed a group of young people from across the UK about their experiences of the coronavirus pandemic and their feelings about how their lives had been affected. Here those young people reflect on an extraordinary year and share their hopes and fears for the future.

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Richest 1% have almost a quarter of UK wealth, study claims

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Official figures have missed £800bn of private assets, says thinktank, amid calls for wealth tax to fund Covid recovery

Almost a quarter of all household wealth in the UK is held by the richest 1% of the population, according to alarming new research that reveals a historic underestimation of inequality in the country.

The study found that the top 1% had almost £800bn more wealth than suggested by official statistics, meaning that inequality has been far higher than previously thought. Researchers said the extra billions was a conservative estimate and could well be more.

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Hospitals without walls: the future of digital healthcare

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In the wake of Covid, doctors and designers are radically adapting their thinking about what a hospital can be and what it should deliver

St Mary’s hospital was slated for a £1bn redevelopment before the pandemic struck, with work due to start in 2027. The main emergency and specialist hospital serving north-west London will still get its upgrade, but it might look quite different now. “Covid-19 has dramatically changed things,” says James Kinross, a surgeon who works at St Mary’s and sits on its redevelopment planning committee.

Before the pandemic, Kinross says, the committee’s goal was to improve the efficiency of existing care pathways; now it’s to rethink those pathways entirely. St Mary’s is a test case, but the shape of healthcare is being reconsidered everywhere and that has major implications for the way hospitals will look in future.

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‘From now on, I was in an LGBTQ+ family’: my husband came out as trans while I was on maternity leave

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I’d chosen an unconventional partner, and we both bristled at gender stereotypes. But I had sensed a distance between us, and it wasn’t just new parenthood

Today I sat on a bench facing the sea and sobbed my heart out. I don’t know if I will ever recover. This is a note on my phone, written on 9 November 2017.

I forgot about it for a couple of years, but I remember typing it as if it were yesterday. The gulls squawked and the sun dipped into the sea. I had been sitting there so long my hands were too cold to type. I put my phone into my coat pocket, and turned the buggy to face home.

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‘I’d sunk, lost all confidence’: the charity helping young people into work

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Georgina George and Jamil Mungul credit UK Youth-supported programmes with helping them find a new direction

  • Please donate to our appeal here

Georgina George had a tough time at school and struggled for years afterwards to work out what she wanted to do with her life.

Then just before the pandemic hit, it all came together: she discovered a passion for aviation engineering and found a job in the sector that she loved. Shaking off the problems from her past, the 23-year-old began to forge ahead.

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What difference will Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine make in UK?

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We look at how the introduction of a new vaccine in the fight against Covid will work

The Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine is central to the government’s plans for ending social distancing in the UK and returning to some sort of normality. It has invested in seven different vaccines, but the biggest order is for 100m doses of the AstraZeneca jab, most of which will be manufactured in the UK. While the prime minister was jubilant that the UK was first in the world to approve the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine, he is now able to claim a British triumph. More to the point is the ease of use of the AstraZeneca vaccine. Unlike Pfizer’s, it does not have to be kept in the long term at -70C. Pfizer’s vaccine can be stored in a fridge for five days, but AstraZeneca’s can be kept for months at fridge temperature, which is 2-8C and will be easy to take to care homes to administer to residents, the first priority group for vaccination.

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BioNTech criticises EU failure to order enough Covid vaccine

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Firm races to fill potential gap left by bloc’s gamble on several vaccines being approved

BioNtech has criticised the EU’s failure to order more doses of its coronavirus vaccine, saying it is now racing with its US partner, Pfizer, to boost production amid fears of a European “gap” left by the lack of other approved vaccines.

The Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine was the first to be approved by the bloc late last month, after being accepted by the UK, Canada and the US. They and other countries have also since approved the Moderna or Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine, leaving the EU trailing behind.

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