Category Archives: Society

MPs criticise ‘dramatic increase’ in aid spending over lack of transparency

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Questions over rise in funds to ministries outside Department for International Development, with little clarity on value for money

MPs have criticised a “dramatic increase” in aid spending in ministries outside the Department for International Development, because they have not put in place adequate measures to assess value for money.

A report, by the House of Commons public accounts committee, questioned the doubling of the Newton Fund, managed by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, to £735m, despite the department’s “weak understanding” of how funds were spent, where and with what results.

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UK promises extra £600m for family planning in poorest countries

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Majority of funding will go to UN population fund, which works across countries with highest maternal death rates

The UK government has pledged to spend an extra £600m to support family planning programmes in some of the world’s poorest countries.

Most of the money, which will be rolled out between 2020 and 2025, will be given to the UN population fund (UNFPA), which works in 150 countries, including the 46 with the highest rates of maternal deaths and lowest rates of modern contraceptive use.

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German court rules that hangovers are an ‘illness’

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Frankfurt court made ruling in relation to illegal claims by a company selling anti-hangover ‘shots’

A German court has ruled that hangovers are an “illness”, in a timely judgement days after the annual Oktoberfest beer festival began in Munich.

The case landed before judges in Frankfurt when plaintiffs claimed a firm offering anti-hangover “shots” and drink powders to mix with water was making illegal health claims.

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Reports of sexual assaults on London Underground soar

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Campaigners say incidents are still underreported and more must be done to stop attackers

Sexual assaults reported on the tube have soared by 42% in the last four years, new figures show.

Attacks recorded on the London Underground leapt from 844 in 2015-16 to 1,206 in 2018-19, according to analysis by the PA news agency.

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Amnesty International staff to vote on strike action over redundancies

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Employees urge charity to consider using donations to fund jobs as management say job losses are unavoidable

Staff at Amnesty International are to vote on whether to strike over a dispute about redundancies.

The trade union Unite will ballot its 300 members at the human rights organisation next week.

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Mass protests in Spain after 19 women are murdered by partners

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‘Feminist emergency’ demonstrations follow series of high-profile rape cases

Protesters will take to the streets of more than 250 towns and cities across Spain on Friday to declare a “feminist emergency” after a series of high-profile rape cases and a summer in which 19 women were murdered by current or former partners.

Organisers are aiming to “turn the night purple” – the colour of the feminist movement – to raise the alarm and protest against apathy, indifference and a lack of attention from politicians and the media.

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Ministers accused of ‘radio silence’ over LGBT school protests

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Louise Casey says Birmingham demonstrations have been put in ‘all-too-difficult box’

The former integration tsar, Dame Louise Casey, has accused ministers of “radio silence” over protests against the teaching of LGBT equality at a Birmingham school.

Casey said the government had failed to act on what she described as homophobic demonstrations because it was in the “all-too-difficult box”.

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Argentina police arrest gang accused of smuggling cocaine in plastic penises

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Police say they seized the cocaine-loaded penises at the home of a couple who managed a Peruvian restaurant

Police in Argentina have arrested members of a gang of drug dealers accused of smuggling cocaine hidden inside plastic penises.

The cocaine-loaded members, of the kind found as costume adornments at party shops, were sold by dealers operating in the red light district of the city of La Plata, about 36 miles south of Argentina’s capital city of Buenos Aires.

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Climate emergency poses major threat to future global health, say top medics

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Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene fears medical impact of failure to prepare for global heating over next 25 years

The climate crisis represents the biggest threat to the future of global health over the next quarter of a century, according to a survey of top medical professionals.

The vast majority of members of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, some of whom are responsible for significant discoveries in tropical diseases that plague poorer countries, believe governments and health bodies are failing to prepare adequately for the medical impacts of global heating.

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Number of women dying in childbirth way off track to meet worldwide targets

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UN figures show slow decrease in maternal mortality rate, with rates on the rise in countries including the US

The number of women dying in pregnancy and childbirth has fallen by more than a third since 2000, according to new UN figures, but the rate of decline remains way off track to meet global targets to cut maternal deaths.

In the US maternal death rates have increased by over 50% and progress in reducing deaths in the 10 countries with the highest rates has slowed since 2000.

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Outcry as Saga travel firm advertises cruise ‘exclusively for Brits’

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Over-50s holiday company apologises for brochure after Twitter backlash

Saga, the insurance and travel company aimed at the over-50s, has apologised after customers were sent a brochure advertising a cruise “exclusively for Brits”, prompting a furious backlash.

Twitter user Anthony Bale, who is a university professor, said his mother was “outraged” after being sent the magazine, the front page of which outlined the characteristics of the cruise.

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Caesarean babies have different gut bacteria, microbiome study finds

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C-section babies pick up more hospital bacteria than those born vaginally, research shows

Babies born by caesarean section have different gut bacteria to those delivered vaginally, the most comprehensive study to date on the baby microbiome has found.

The study showed that babies born vaginally pick up most of their initial dose of bacteria from their mother, while C-section babies have more bugs linked to hospital environments, including strains that demonstrate antimicrobial resistance. The findings could explain the higher prevalence of asthma, allergies and other immune conditions in babies born by caesarean.

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US attack on WHO ‘hindering morphine drive in poor countries’

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Claims have hurt efforts to help people around world in acute pain, say palliative care experts

An attack on the World Health Organization (WHO) by US politicians accusing it of being corrupted by drug companies is making it even more difficult to get morphine to millions of people dying in acute pain in poor countries, say experts in the field.

Representatives of the hospice and palliative care community said they were stunned by the Congress members’ report, which they said made false accusations and would affect people suffering in countries where almost no opioids were available.

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Air pollution particles found on foetal side of placentas – study

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Research finds black carbon breathed by mothers can cross into unborn children

Air pollution particles have been found on the foetal side of placentas, indicating that unborn babies are directly exposed to the black carbon produced by motor traffic and fuel burning.

The research is the first study to show the placental barrier can be penetrated by particles breathed in by the mother. It found thousands of the tiny particles per cubic millimetre of tissue in every placenta analysed.

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OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma files for bankruptcy

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Move is partly aimed at halting more than 2,000 lawsuits filed against drug firm

US drug-maker Purdue Pharma has filed for bankruptcy and announced a $10bn (£8bn) plan to settle thousands of lawsuits that accuse the company’s prescription painkiller, OxyContin, of fuelling the deadly opioids crisis.

The company, owned by the billionaire Sackler family, faces more than 2,000 lawsuits, including actions from nearly all US states and many local governments, which allege Purdue falsely promoted OxyContin by downplaying the risk of addiction. The public health crisis claimed the lives of nearly 400,000 people between 1999 and 2017, according to the latest US data.

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Welsh rugby legend Gareth Thomas reveals HIV diagnosis

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Ex-British Lions captain believed to be first UK sportsman to go public about living with virus

Welsh rugby star Gareth Thomas has revealed that he is HIV positive.

Mr Thomas, who came out as gay in 2009, is thought to be the first UK sportsman to go public about living with the virus, and has revealed that he was driven to suicidal thoughts as a result of his diagnosis.

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Sam Smith on being non-binary: ‘I’m changing my pronouns to they/them’

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Singer ‘scared shitless but feeling super free right now’ and asks fans to be kind

The pop star Sam Smith has come out as non-binary and asked to be addressed by the pronouns they/them. Smith, 27, wrote on Instagram: “After a lifetime of being at war with my gender I’ve decided to embrace myself for who I am, inside and out.”

In an interview with Jameela Jamil published in March, Smith said: “I’m not male or female, I think I flow somewhere in between. It’s all on the spectrum.” Smith described being non-binary as “your own special creation”.

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Kenyan schoolgirl, 14, kills herself after alleged period shaming by teacher

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Teenager who had her first period during school lesson was reportedly branded ‘dirty’ and expelled from classroom

A 14-year-old schoolgirl in Kenya took her own life after a teacher allegedly embarrassed her for having her period in class.

The girl’s death has prompted protests from female parliamentarians and reignited a national conversation about “period shaming” and access to menstrual products.

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Woodland sounds help relaxation more than meditation apps – study

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National Trust research finds birdsong and rustling leaves increase relaxation by 30%

Gentle woodland sounds such as birdsong and the breeze rustling leaves in the trees are more relaxing than meditation recordings, a new study claims.

Researchers exposed participants to three soundtracks – a woodland, a woman guiding a meditation session and deep silence.

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