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9fd5e90bce7138dbff1f1348bd82da08 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/gabbyshacknai/2021/02/12/with-her-first-issue-as-bon-apptits-editor-in-chief-dawn-davis-has-a-new-recipe-for-the-magazines-success/ | With Her First Issue As Bon Appétit’s Editor-In-Chief, Dawn Davis Has A New Recipe For The Magazine’s Success | With Her First Issue As Bon Appétit’s Editor-In-Chief, Dawn Davis Has A New Recipe For The Magazine’s Success
Dawn Davis, Bon Appétit's new Editor-in-Chief Courtesy of Bon Appétit
For as long as she can remember, Dawn Davis has had a love affair with food. It was there during her childhood in Los Angeles, with weekly family outings to Marie Callender’s and with her aunt’s homemade gumbo every Christmas Eve. It was there when she began her career on Wall Street and attended cooking classes at the French Culinary Institute in order to unwind after a long day of work. It was there when she experienced New York’s dining scene for the first time and soon became a regular at some of the city’s most celebrated restaurants. And it was there when her unexpected jump to book publishing led her to author a collection of interviews with the country’s top chefs and restaurateurs. But it was not until last year that her appreciation of food history and flare for the perfect roast chicken or turmeric salmon became actual job requirements.
In August, Davis was appointed Editor-in-Chief of legendary multi-media food outlet Bon Appétit. The announcement came after what was a tumultuous summer for the brand that included the departure of Adam Rapoport, who after a decade leading the magazine, resigned under pressure when a 2004 photo of him wearing an offensive costume resurfaced. The image sparked a wider discussion around the longtime editor’s leadership style and BA’s workplace culture, and it quickly became clear to parent company Condé Nast that the choice for Rapoport’s successor would need to affirm its renewed commitment to diversity and inclusion. And as one of a few Black leaders in the publishing industry and the founder and publisher of Simon & Schuster’s 37 Ink imprint, which serves a platform for marginalized voices, Davis fit the bill completely.
When a friend initially reached out to her about the Editor-in-Chief opening at the brand, however, Davis was quick to recommend someone else, and it was only after they suggested she throw her own hat in the ring that she reluctantly agreed. Within a matter of weeks, the 55-year old found herself exchanging emails with Anna Wintour (who serves as Condé’s Chief Content Officer in addition to her duties as Global Editorial Director for Vogue), and not long after, she was was officially hired.
Davis pledged early on to bring the same innovative and progressive approach that she carried throughout her 25 years in publishing to Bon Appétit, and following a months-long listening tour with staff members, she started her new position in November. The editor has since overseen all of the company’s food outlets—Epicurious, Healthyish, and Basically, as well as the famous BA Test Kitchen—and the website’s traffic already increased 10 percent year-over-year in December. But the magazine’s March issue will be Davis’s first, and she’s not holding back when it comes to delivering sweeping changes and a fresh perspective.
Read on to learn how the new Editor-in-Chief is acclimating to the role and what efforts she’s making to build a Bon Appétit that champions diversity and shines a light on underrepresented voices whilst upholding the brand’s impressive 64-year legacy.
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Gabby Shacknai: Before being named Editor-in-Chief of Bon Appétit last year, you had a prolific career in the book publishing world. During your years at Simon & Schuster and HarperCollins, what was the extent of your relationship to journalism and the magazine space? Did you ever imagine that you'd pivot to this side of publishing?
Dawn Davis: I’ve always enjoyed magazines, and as a book publisher, they were one of my favorite sources for scouting story ideas and writers. I also read them for pleasure, to escape to the curated world presented in those pages. I never dreamed about being an editor-in-chief, though I always read the Editor’s Letter of a few food magazines and thought it was such a fascinating world!
Shacknai: What was your relationship to BA prior to joining, and what were your thoughts on the magazine—as both a reader and as a member of the publishing industry?
Davis: As my imprint didn’t have a cookbook line, I was reading BA purely for enjoyment — for fun and inspiration. I love to cook, and often turned to BA and bonappetit.com for recipe ideas. Always creative and fresh, BA was a reliable resource for culinary inspiration. I would daydream about the perfect menu at the perfect dinner party, which may explain why one of the first columns I introduced in my March debut issue is ‘Dream Dinner Party.’ We were very fortunate to share the legendary Cicely Tyson’s vision of her ideal dinner party, whom she would host, and what she would serve. Diahann Carroll was one such guest, and I imagine them drinking champagne in heaven.
Shacknai: How do you think your background as a book editor has helped—or challenged—you as you've taken on the Editor-in-Chief role?
Davis: We have really wonderful talent coming out of the BA Test Kitchen so we already have the expertise when it comes to ideating about food, about recipes, and culinary creations. But I’ve been thinking about storytelling in elegant, concise, and compelling ways for over two decades. I want to apply my experience from book publishing to shape the magazine into a bountiful platform, where you come for the recipes and stay for the ideas, the inspiration, and the stories.
The pandemic has shown us how essential food is to everything we do: from the basics—How will I get what I need to feed my family dinner tonight?—to the more abstract—What does a hotter, longer summer do to the acidity of certain fruit trees?—to the ethical—If farmers and meat processors are essential workers, where do they fall in the vaccine priority line? It’s all connected. Plus, I have an amazing rolodex of diverse writers to help us opine on these questions. So between the talent that was already on the team and my ability to frame stories and recruit contributors, I think our reach will be broader and more accessible and relatable. I’ve been thinking of it this way: Come for the recipes—always tested and delicious—and stay for the ideas.
Shacknai: You were obviously appointed BA's Editor-in-Chief in the wake of George Floyd's death and the subsequent racial awakening last summer, but it was also during a time when BA came under fire for its workplace culture and racial insensitivity. Why do you think it was so important that the magazine's new editor not only be a person of color but a woman of color?
Davis: My understanding is that the staff wanted it, but you’d have to ask them. I can’t speak to my predecessors’ management style, but I suspect I bring more humility and a more genuine interest in diverse perspectives to the job. And by having a different perspective—I’m the home cook who loves to experiment across an expansive range of recipes—I am going to open up what it means to be a food magazine. At BA, through storytelling, we can leverage the brand's reach to spotlight talent and voices across all races, genders, and backgrounds.
Our March issue, for example, has a wonderful story on women entrepreneurs who launched their own food businesses. For one, Tiffany Hall, she didn’t quit her own job but rather brings her skills as an attorney to her “side gig,” a premixed cocktail called Empower. Another entrepreneur Sophia Maroon, answered a dare from her brother to bottle their mother’s salad dressing. Stacy Madison, of Stacy’s Pita Chips, describes her journey from owning a single sandwich cart to succeeding as a serial entrepreneur. It’s all about food but elevates the person—here, the woman—behind the story as well.
Bon Appétit's March issue is the first with Davis as Editor-in-Chief. Courtesy of Bon Appétit
Shacknai: You started your role at BA in the midst of much of this turmoil, following the resignation of Adam Rapoport and the departure of staff members who spoke of a toxic culture at the brand. What has your strategy been in mitigating the aforementioned issues? What sort of efforts have you made thus far to ensure a healthy and fair workplace, and how will this continue down the line?
Davis: My goal at BA is to create a space and workplace culture where everyone feels comfortable contributing and participating in their own way. This is imperative to our desire to publish a modern magazine, in print, online, and in social media—one that provides a fun, nourishing, and informative place where the food community and food obsessives found all over the world want to hang out. I always listen and encourage the team to share their perspectives, their unique worldview as it relates to food. We have put into practice the idea that diversity of thought makes for a better product.
Shacknai: You have a long history of giving a platform to underrepresented voices. How do you plan to continue doing this in your new role at BA?
Davis: Our March issue is the perfect example. We presented a story that shares the perspective of a food delivery person working through the pandemic, that of a trained chef who loves working in a church's food pantry, and that of Valerie Castile, Philando Castile’s mother, who discusses how she is carrying on the work her son started in paying down lunch debt for students without the means to do so. We also have Melissa Miranda, a Filipinx chef whose restaurant Musang in Seattle is deeply rooted in supporting the local community. (Her recipe for roasted chicken adobo is amazing.)
These are all diverse perspectives on the broad universe of food. That is diversity of experience. As for writers of color, we’re already working together. In many cases, they’re calling me wanting to contribute to the magazine. Dawnie Walton, who has a fantastic debut novel, “The Final Revival of Opal & Nev,” will have a piece in the May issue, and the prize-winning poet and YA writer Kwame Alexander will contribute to the June issue. Valerie Boyd, the biographer of Zora Neale Hurston, has written a thought provoking article for our April issue that I’m excited to share.
Shacknai: With so much cooking content available online these days and social media turning everyone into an expert, how do you think BA can compete and remain relevant?
Davis: By offering tested, accessible recipes for novices and busy people and recipes that are a bit more extravagant for the experienced cook. By providing reliable, useful information on restaurants (our restaurant issue is much loved and heavily relied upon) and profiles of cities with great and developing food scenes. Also by supplying invaluable expertise on ingredients, cooking methods, and influencers in the food space. Plus, I hope to bring more reportage on how food impacts cultural equity, the environment, and social movements. And that’s to say nothing of our look at kitchens today. I don’t know about you, but my kitchen has seen more action in the past 12 months than in the previous five years. So, how do we update our cookware, appliances, and other essentials at various price points? What are the latest innovations in smart kitchens and in environmentally-forward ones? BA is the one resource for all that information and also for a recipe for a green curry lentil soup!
Shacknai: BA has been one of the most successful titles at Condé Nast, thanks to its forward-thinking video strategy and beloved test kitchen content. How will you ensure that this side of the brand continues to flourish?
Davis: We're working with Condé Nast Entertainment to bring in and develop new talent and to test new shows. I’ve seen a few, and they are fun, and each series, each chef, offers a really fresh, flavorful perspective to the kitchen. We're excited to start rolling out that content soon.
Shacknai: What sort of changes can we expect from BA with you at its helm? How do you plan to stay true to the magazine's long-standing legacy and retain existing readers whilst also working towards change and progression?
Davis: I think the March and April issues are good examples of my approach. The food and recipes will be first and foremost. If you need inspiration for what to serve your family and your friends (when it’s safe to gather again), we’ve got that. If you want to know what to do with those pantry staples and some fresh citrus, we have inspiration and recipes for that. But while you’re here, if you want to read about the fascinating ways food and culture intertwine, we’ve got that as well. Wait until you see our April issue. We’re exploring the one year in the past half-century that we think changed American food in the most significant ways and are asking the reader to deliberate with us. And if you want dynamic programming that covers everything from food to wine, from Filipinx cooking to Bahamian inspirations, from meatballs to recipes that maximize spring vegetables, BA is here for you.
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e4f11e66b8796ff2d866ceb1686a0b64 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/gabbyshacknai/2021/02/27/12-asian-american-founders-on-why-the-beauty-industry-needs-to-take-a-stand-against-asian-hate/?sh=3650e9a81c1d | 12 Asian-American Founders On Why The Beauty Industry Needs To Take A Stand Against Asian Hate | 12 Asian-American Founders On Why The Beauty Industry Needs To Take A Stand Against Asian Hate
Vicky Tsai, Christine Chang, Tina Craig, Ju Rhyu, Bee Shapiro, Amy Liu, Deepica Mutyala, Charlotte ... [+] Cho, Nikita Mehta, Priscilla Tsai, Sarah Lee, Emily H. Rudman Courtesy of brands
Over the course of the last year, as Covid-19 has raged across the United States, an outbreak of different variety has plagued every corner of the country as well. While the pandemic has spared no one from its devastating effects on the economy, public health, and day-t0-day life, the Asian-American community has also experienced 12 months of hatred, discrimination, and violent attacks—both physical and verbal—after being unfairly blamed for the virus. Between mid-March and the end of December, Stop AAPI Hate, a tool that tracks incidents of hate against Asian American and Pacific Islanders in the US, recorded more than 2,800 incidents of anti-Asian discrimination, and one widely-cited statistic identified a 1,900 percent increase in hate crimes against Asian Americans from the year prior.
In recent weeks, several troubling reports of violence against Asian seniors—including that of an 84-year-old San Francisco woman who died from injuries sustained during her attack—have led to heightened awareness of these anti-Asian hate crimes, and many have taken their response to social media. Big names, like Chrissy Teigen, Gemma Chan, Cardi B, and Naomi Osaka, have shared their outrage and encouraged others to speak out against these happenings, while others have used the hashtag #StopAsianHate to share their own experiences with racism. Some brands and corporations have also expressed their dismay, calling attention to the dire situation and making renewed pledges to act with inclusivity. Yet, within the beauty industry, relatively few have declared their support for the Asian-American community or even acknowledged the current surge in hate crimes. Given the field’s long history of benefitting from Asian tradition, innovation, labor, and buying power, the Asian-American women behind many of its most prominent brands believe it’s time for the beauty industry and its various players to finally take a stance against anti-Asian hate. Read on to hear 12 Asian-American founders discuss their experiences of discrimination within the space and why change is so long overdue.
Vicky Tsai, Founder of Tatcha
Vicky Tsai Courtesy of Tatcha
“As an Asian American, seeing the recent actions of discrimination and violence against our community in the US has been heartbreaking, but unfortunately it’s not anything new. Growing up, I was one of the only—if not the only—Asian students in school, and our representation in media was far and few. I learned about the concept of sekaijin (global citizen) when studying the writings of D.T. Suzuki, and I fell in love with the idea. As people who live between cultures, we have the opportunity to share the best of both worlds to advance society and uplift individuals. I created Tatcha exactly for this reason—to celebrate, honor, and share Japanese culture—but when we launched a decade ago, I still found myself being told that we wouldn’t succeed because Asian beauty was ‘too ethnic’ and not aspirational enough for western consumers. Luckily we have made progress since then, but in order for us to continue moving the conversation forward, we need to keep showing up, speaking out, and representing the cultures and heritages we come from, and the media needs to take notice and continue covering what is happening.
As an Asian American founder, it’s inherently part of my job to make myself visible and create whatever impact I can. The solidarity and support I’ve seen come from other communities of color has also given me hope that we can create a future where our children feel safe regardless of the color of their skin or the shape of their eyes. As a society, I think we can get there—and by talking about it, we're bringing the issue into the broader cultural conversation—but it’s going to take time, continued conversations, and education to make it a reality. There's no quick fix.”
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Charlotte Cho, Co-Founder of Soko Glam and Founder of Then I Met You
Charlotte Cho Courtesy of Soko Glam
“Growing up as an Asian American in California, the lack of Asian representation in the media led me to believe my physical appearance would never be seen as beautiful. Moving to Seoul and developing a passion for skincare completely changed this for me. The standards of beauty that I internalized in America were no longer relevant in Korea, and after five years, unlearned. Back in 2012, when Soko Glam was born, America was in the dark about K-Beauty and Korea’s ‘skin-first’ philosophy. A lot of the work Soko Glam did in the early years was surrounding educating Western consumers about ingredients, formulations, and skin health through our content resource, The Klog. It was surreal to witness the explosion of popularity from American consumers who dutifully followed the Korean 10-step skin care routine and the skin-first lifestyle that Koreans had ingrained in their culture. For the first time, I began to hear non-Asian women tell me, ‘I want to achieve glowing skin, like Korean women!’ This interest and acceptance of Korean beauty felt like a warm embrace from the West, one that I had never felt before in over 30 years.
Dave, my co-founder and husband, and I started Soko Glam in 2012, and I clearly remember that at the start, we were disregarded and underestimated by the beauty industry. No one thought that Korean beauty could take off with US consumers, since at the time, the industry was focused on brick-and-mortar shops and on color cosmetics. We were unfazed by the naysayers because we were passionate about skincare and the impact it could have on your skin and confidence. Fast forward to 2021, and Korean beauty is now synonymous with innovation. After proof of concept and the wide acceptance of Korean beauty, those same naysayers have tried to capitalize on these trends. I’m very proud of the impact we’ve made in the beauty and skincare industry. The US beauty industry should be crediting the K-beauty industry for setting a higher standard of innovations in product and packaging formulations, educating consumers about their skin, and bringing much more focus to indie brands.
The Asian-American community has seen a rise in violence and discrimination over the last year. Our elders have been physically harassed, and micro-aggressions are becoming normalized. The beauty industry, including media and brands, can curb this violence and amplify Asian-American voices and experiences to create a culture where hate against Asian Americans is nonexistent and AAPI representation is plentiful. It starts by being an ally to Asian Americans, providing education, and having open platforms to communicate and discuss these issues. It also means giving credit where credit is due, by acknowledging the impact of Asian-inspired trends, whenever they are taking inspiration from it.”
Tina Craig, Founder of U Beauty
Tina Craig Courtesy of U Beauty
“It’s not until pretty recently that we’ve experienced adequate representation, like the presence of Asian-American models in editorials and ads. Growing up in the ‘80s and ‘90s, it was especially noticeable. It was the age of glamazon supermodels, like Cindy Crawford and Paulina Porizkova, with features impossible for me to achieve. Foundation shades were either orange or pink, so I just didn’t use any. Anytime I did see Asians depicted in popular culture, the women were portrayed as hardened dragon ladies with heavy black eyeliner and long spiky nails, and Asian men just Chinese delivery guys. We were both invisible and misrepresented until the past decade. The fox-eye trend is offensive, as is the appropriation of ancient medicinal practices. The women in my family have been doing Gua sha and rolling for as long as I can remember (and far longer!). I’m in full support of everyone using these longstanding methods and tools and of course, it’s not offensive when non-Asian women appropriate these practices. But it is problematic when they try to tell us how to do them better. Let’s educate ourselves on the cultural origins and honor them instead of trying to usurp something for yourself.
There’s been a staggering rise in violent attacks against Asian Americans in the past year: an incomprehensible 1,900 percent—and 90 percent go unreported. We are the silent minority who don’t like drawing attention to ourselves. But we can’t let ourselves be silenced and stereotyped anymore. Outspoken support from various industries is vital in making this change, as the time for brands to stay quiet on social issues is over. I would love to see brands use their platforms to allow more Asian Americans to share their stories, along with more conversations and dialogue around these issues. Naturally, I’d love to see Asian models more frequently portrayed in imagery—if not for myself, for the younger generations to feel a strong sense of representation.”
Deepica Mutyala, Founder of Live Tinted
Deepica Mutyala Courtesy of Live Tinted
“Growing up, I didn’t see myself represented in media, magazines, or in any part of the beauty world, and because of that, I conformed to what I was seeing instead. I tried to change everything about my looks, from dying my hair blonde, to wearing blue contacts. It’s that experience that shaped my intent and career path. I’m aiming to change that narrative for the next generation and would love to see a diversified beauty industry that represents many different cultures. Speaking for myself and to my experience, I've always felt tokenized in the beauty industry. But I choose to view it as a positive thing now because the existence of a token Brown girl wasn't even a thing when I was growing up, so I feel like we are moving in the right direction. My goal is to normalize all shades and skin tones to be seen as equals. We deserve more opportunities in creative careers. We were told our whole life to go down a very traditional career path to ‘live the American dream,’ but the reality is that there is a whole collective of us out there that are super talented and meant to build our own versions of the American dream. I hope more of us are given the opportunity to do so, and I plan to do what I can to help make that happen.”
Sarah Lee, Co-Founder of Glow Recipe
Sarah Lee Courtesy of Glow Recipe
“The beauty industry can always be more diverse and inclusive when it comes to representation. It’s a responsibility for brands to have products for all skin types and tones, have diverse imagery in their marketing, and communicate realistic expectations of beauty. Brands have a huge influence on consumers, so it’s crucial to use that for positive, uplifting change. It’s amazing to see how many beauty lovers are obsessed with Asian beauty because it demonstrates the importance and relevance of those traditions within the industry. Earlier in our careers, we noticed that many global brands were inspired by Asian beauty traditions, innovations, and tools that informed the products they would launch. Asia was and still is the hub of new, cutting-edge technologies that everyone is excited about. From the clear impact that Asian beauty has made on the industry across all kinds of brands, past and present, it’s so vital that the Asian community is being supported during this really horrific time.
When the news started showing all these violent crimes against Asians, it was extremely upsetting. We were so inspired by our Asian-American peers speaking out and using their platforms to shed light on these acts, while also sharing their personal experiences as Asian Americans within the industry and the world. We are fortunate to have a platform from which we can raise awareness of these important issues while sharing the core values upon which we built our company. We plan on continuing to leverage our platform to speak up and having meaningful and deeper dialogues with our community, and we hope to see more brands speaking out and spreading awareness in support of the Asian community.”
Christine Chang, Co-Founder of Glow Recipe
Christine Chang Courtesy of Glow Recipe
“In recent months, there have been stories within the beauty industry at large of lifestyle brands misrepresenting Asian influences or customs and receiving heavy backlash as a result. If companies are selling Asian-inspired products or tools, I do think it’s incredibly important for these companies to also provide sufficient education around these ingredients, traditions, and innovations, and also support the communities they derive inspiration from. Inclusivity in the beauty industry is non-negotiable, and visibility and representation is critical because it can have a lasting impact on customers. When someone doesn’t feel represented as a part of how beauty is defined, it’s extremely discouraging and isolating. We believe that all customers should be able to see some aspect of themselves reflected within a brand’s values, visuals, and language. There’s also so much diversity within Asian cultures—it’s not a homogenous group. We’d love to see more Asian Americans of all backgrounds, skin tones, and regions be widely represented in campaigns and storytelling.”
Amy Liu, Founder of Tower 28
Amy Liu Courtesy of Tower 28
“A lot of progress has been made but ultimately, I don’t think Asians are fairly represented in beauty. Generally, it’s the same profile that is always promoted as the beauty standard for Asian: fair skin, jet black hair, slanted eyes, thin figure. This single-note expression leaves out so many, including Southeast Asians and those with deeper skin tones. The beauty industry needs to cast a wider net. We (Asians) don’t all look the same! And as a percentage of the overall population, we certainly are not reflected proportionally in the media. Frankly, I think it’s taken a really long time for Asians to even be part of the conversation. Growing up, I never saw Asian models. The only celebrities I saw that I could identify with were few and far between (e.g. Lucy Liu), and often, it’s the half-Asian, half-white, more Western looking Asian woman that our culture deems beautiful. Not showing or promoting Asian faces as part of the beauty standard has damaging effects, especially since society tells women and girls that their worth and identity is defined by their looks. If you don’t feel seen, you don’t feel of worth, and that lack of self-confidence permeates every facet of life. So many Asian-Americans I know feel relegated to be in a support position, away from the limelight, ever the number two. It only perpetuates the hardworking Asian stereotype of a person who does the heavy lifting, but if you look at leadership, it’s still not diverse enough.
As the Asian community has become increasingly wealthy around the world, brands have paid attention because it made sense for their pocketbooks. Lunar New Year advertising in luxury is ubiquitous, and the beauty industry loves to be inspired by Asian skincare trends (BB/CC cream, K Beauty, sheet masks, and more). If you’re trying to take our money and market to us, you need to also stand with us and stand up for us. I’m sickened by what’s happening, but I’m also glad it’s forcing people to pay attention and give Asian-Americans a voice and a platform. Just like you would for any of your friends, show up. Stand up for your Asian employees, consumers, and community. Let people know where you stand on the issue, and help dispel the stereotypes using whatever tools you have: images in social media, the words you use, influencers you include, the people you hire and promote. It all makes a difference.”
Priscilla Tsai, Founder of cocokind
Priscilla Tsai Courtesy of Cocokind
“We are not represented proportionate to how much we give and consume in the beauty industry. We are so used to trying to ‘fit in’ to the beauty standards that the Western culture has created for us. As a result, to me, it feels like we are outsiders trying to fit in rather than as fellow Americans with a culture and heritage that should be celebrated in the beauty industry. We mostly hear about Asian beauty in the context of K-Beauty and J-Beauty, but this doesn’t recognize the span of influence that the Asian culture has had on the broader beauty industry as we know it today, from Asian-inspired ingredients, skincare steps, methodologies, and more. The industry has some catching up to do in order to truly honor the contribution from the Asian culture.
The Asian community has provided endless inspiration and consumer dollars to the beauty industry. Any beauty company should recognize how important this community is and show support during this difficult time. If you are comfortable taking our dollars, you should feel the responsibility to stand up for us too. We need to better celebrate any demographic that is currently underrepresented, such as the AAPI and BIPOC communities. We see this as one united effort, not as separate issues. I’m excited that the Asian American and BIPOC communities are coming together right now to demand more from brands; we deserve to be a part of the inclusivity conversation. Beauty and wellness brands need to take us seriously!”
Nikita Mehta, Co-Founder of Fable & Mane
Nikita Metha Courtesy of Fable & Mane
“In the past year, I have seen more brands include brown skinned women—this week, for instance, L'Oréal has appointed Nidhi Sunil as the first Indian global ambassador which is a good steer in the right direction, although I do sometimes wonder why it took so long. More beauty brands now cover my skin shade color and hair type concerns, which simply did not exist as little as five years ago. There is so much innovation and cultural beauty secrets to learn, acknowledge, and appreciate from Asia, from the slow beauty ritual of Japan to the facial cleansing steps in Korean skincare and coveted glass skin to the incredible energy medicine from China. For me, Asian Beauty, specifically in wellness, represents a new healing dimension of beauty for our bodies and our planet. From a purely product point of view, I believe it starts with education as it involves a new habit to adopt. I would love to see more brands start sharing knowledge of the rituals from Asia through imagery, educational how to videos, understanding the benefits of ingredients and championing the results from a scientific standpoint and incorporate this into their launches in an authentic, transparent way.”
Bee Shapiro, Founder of Ellis Brooklyn
Bee Shapiro Courtesy of Ellis Brooklyn
“Beauty and fashion will always have an aspiration/desire/want aspect on some level. This is how trends are created and is core to how the industry functions. I have seen tremendous change in Asian representation—spurred by K-beauty and the rise of Chinese consumers—but I haven't seen a whole lot changed on Asian American representation which is altogether a different look. I do think the product offerings have been improved, though, especially in foundation colors. I remember as a teenager, there were only a few color brands that even had foundations with a warmer undertone.
This cultural appropriation aspect is such a landmine, and it's full of nuance. Facial massage and the idea of draining lymph nodes, for example, have been part of East Asian beauty routines for some time now. I don't necessarily feel personally insulted that others are coming out with Gua Sha tools etc. It's getting popular because it's effective. What I take more umbrage with is when I see photo shoots that try to make a non-Asian model look Asian. These are the editorial spreads or ad images that put Caucasian models on the streets of Tokyo for example and do cat eye makeup to somehow make her look more Asian. I also think Asian Americans, again here, are lost. I don't think I've ever seen a spread documenting the uniqueness of Asian American lifestyle and culture in an aspirational way. I think it's important to include Asian Americans in the idea of what aspiration can look like. That means in imagery and campaigns. Imagery is incredibly powerful. This is why we have all that FOMO, want, desire, from viewing Instagram. Capturing Asian Americans apart and more than your typical Asian aesthetic could be very liberating.”
Ju Rhyu, Founder of Hero Cosmetics
Ju Rhyu Courtesy of Hero Cosmetics
“The beauty industry does owe a lot of its commercial success to Asian beauty culture—K-Beauty, J-Beauty, Chinese beauty tools, to name a few. Not to mention, many brands have been catering to the Asian community with Lunar New Year products or packaging and events like Singles Day. Now is the time for the beauty community to show they support the Asian-American community by acknowledging the racism we face. One thing they can do more of is to talk more about the inspiration or history of things inspired by Asian culture. For example, if they use a gua sha, talk more about how it has been used in Chinese beauty culture, even if they are a non-Chinese brand. I think this would promote a lot more education and also honor and respect the cultures that many of these ideas come from.
The Asian-American community is a significant one in the US that often gets overlooked. The buying power is over $1 trillion, and we are the fastest growing demographic in the US. It's easy to overlook Asians since we tend to have the ‘model minority’ reputation as people who have integrated well in the US and have had reasonable success educationally and professionally. But that doesn't mean that racism against Asian Americans doesn't exist, and I hope that the beauty community can voice their support and acknowledge that it does happen and find long term solutions for change. I'd love to see more diverse hiring at all levels of an organization, better representation in content, more sensitivity to the Asian-American community in marketing, and more recognition when ideas or products come from Asia.”
Emily H. Rudman, Founder of Emilie Heathe
Emily H. Rudman Courtesy of Emilie Heathe
“A main reason why I started my brand, Emilie Heathe, was because when I was growing up in the early ‘90s, I did not see a representation of myself in mainstream media as an Asian American. Back then, the focus was more Eurocentric and ‘all-American’ California girl looks: blonde hair, blue eyes, tan skin. And the few brands that were available or more Asian-specific were really focused on an Asian consumer from Asia and sticking to a more stereotypical aesthetic. I was Asian but raised in a predominantly white community, even being raised in New York City. Fast forward to 2021, and we have certainly come a long way in mainstream media, but we still have so much further to go. To this day, there is still a lot of tokenism or quota filling, where brands are just checking off the diversity box to display diversity in their marketing and give the appearance of inclusion. But are they using diverse teams to create those marketing materials? Just because you include an Asian face in your ad or display, does that really mean you are taking the particular needs of that type of customer to heart, and is it filtering into all parts of your creative process?
There is a fine line between inspiration and copying and appropriation, but I do understand that it is difficult to navigate. On the one hand, there is a heritage and history and tradition that needs to be maintained, respected, and honored. At the same time, without widespread sharing or transformation, traditions can fade away. I think permission, respect, and sharing are what’s missing in what we see in the industry today. I think people need to pay homage to where their inspiration came from and not try to make it entirely their own. It’s great to see brands ride the K- beauty wave, but at the same time, is it fair that they are marketing their innovations when those really come from somewhere else? I know there has been a lot of debate about the popularity of gua-shaing, a traditional Asian beauty practice that is now being offered by what feels like every brand under the sun. I think it is wonderful to be inspired from other cultures, but again, it has to be done with respect.
The Asian community has been one of the most powerful when setting trends in beauty. From a pure business standpoint, Asian Americans have insane spending power, even given their small size proportional to the rest of the population. We literally helped build America and are instrumental to its survival and commerce. For a lot of Asian Americans, we have felt like we have needed to stay silent because we’ve had it ‘better’ than other minority groups or because we are too afraid of what might happen if we make a stand. I think we need to stop feeling this way, and the beauty industry and all industries need to support us in making our voices heard—saying that they too believe it is not ok and are vocally working on being better, doing better, and working to change their mindset, practices, and perceptions and rid themselves of assumptions. Show Asians, hire asians, work with Asians—and don’t stop there. Do this with all BIPOC and other underrepresented groups. Don’t make assumptions, don’t put us in buckets because that makes your life easier. The change has to come from within—internally at companies as well as internally in each person to individually change their mindset and educate themselves. It is not something that is one and done. It’s something you constantly have to be learning about and actively doing.”
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8e7d761fe0f2001580b20171f080a18b | https://www.forbes.com/sites/gabbyshacknai/2021/03/03/meet-lyvecap-a-first-of-its-kind-probiotics-system-that-goes-beyond-industry-standards/ | Meet LYVECAP, A First-Of-Its-Kind Probiotics System That Goes Beyond Industry Standards | Meet LYVECAP, A First-Of-Its-Kind Probiotics System That Goes Beyond Industry Standards
LYVECAP's 200-billion-CFU probiotics system comes in a patented cap that releases the potent formula ... [+] into your favorite beverage. Courtesy of LYVECAP
As a leading pediatric gastroenterologist and adjunct professor at Stanford University, Dr. Yinka Davies always knew her career would revolve around gastrointestinal and digestive issues. But not long after finishing medical school, while treating a patient whose gut flora was entirely and inexplicably out of control, she realized she was thinking about gut health in all the wrong ways. “We didn’t really know what we were dealing with at the time, and I tried every probiotic on the market, but it wasn’t until I used a medicinal formulation that we really saw an improvement,” Dr. Davies recalls. “So, that was really the first experience—and I think there have been countless others since—seeing how important a balanced gut really is and what a huge role it plays in wellness and overall health.” The gastroenterologist was also noticing an ongoing rise of unwellness in her practice and her clinical research and decided that a dramatic change was in order.
“I tell my patients all the time that as physicians and practitioners, we’re really good at treating disease, but what we need to get better at is keeping you well and understanding how we do that,” Dr. Davies says. “That’s what really drove my interest in shifting the paradigm and coming into this space, and I felt that we needed to go from reactive to proactive.” She spent the next two decades reframing her approach to gut health and the use of probiotics, working with Dr. Claudio De Simone, a pioneer in the field of intestinal microflora, and the lauded De Simone Formulation, a high-potency microbiotic mix of live bacteria that has been the subject of more than 70 clinical trials.
Dr. Davies was convinced of the myriad benefits of taking such a probiotic daily, but she kept encountering the same response among patients. “I’d hear from people, ‘Oh, I forgot to take it,’ or ‘I left it in the fridge,’” she explains. “But what I noticed was that everyone always had their water bottle—this was around the time that we first started seeing reusable bottles everywhere—so I thought, wouldn’t it be great if you could put your probiotic on your water bottle and just go?” And four years later, the gastroenterologist is launching just that.
Dr. Yinka Davies, founder of LYVECAP Courtesy of LYVECAP
LYVECAP is the culmination of Dr. Davies’ years of research and testing and offers the efficacy of the De Simone Formulation in an accessible and practical delivery system. The cutting-edge probiotic contains 200 billion CFUs, one of the highest potencies on the market, and comes in a patented cap system that allows users to add the probiotic to the contents of their water bottle with a simple pull and push.
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The system is direct-to-consumer and sold through a subscription model that ships cold in a climate-controlled environment every 30 days, which Dr. Davies believes will take some of the hassle out of buying a probiotic. “Probiotics work best when you take them on a daily basis, and if you take it for 30 days then forget to order it again, you’re throwing your whole system off and have to build that flora back again,” she says. “So, we got into the subscription model because we want people to feel well, and we want people to notice a change, which won’t happen if they don’t take it consistently.”
While convenience is no doubt at the center of the brand and its technology, though, LYVECAP is also on a mission to break through the noise surrounding probiotics, which Dr. Davies believes is the biggest hurdle. “The word probiotic is so associated with wellness, but what I’m hoping people will understand is that you can’t just randomly put bacteria together and hope that magic happens. You have to bring the right bacteria together that then immunologically change the game,” she explains. “So, when people ask how this compares to other probiotics, the answer is that there’s zero comparison because there are very few probiotics on the market that have the actual science behind them.” The probiotic in LYVECAP, conversely, boasts an impressive potency and has consistently demonstrated efficacy.
LYVECAP's first product, STRONG, is designed specifically with athletes in mind. Courtesy of LYVECAP
LYVECAP’s first product, STRONG, is designed to improve recovery time, boost performance, strengthen immunity, and enhance cognitive ability—all affects that seemingly anyone would benefit from, yet it was developed specifically with athletes in mind. “It was nice to come out in sort of a smaller niche of people who know their bodies well and to really try to control that first before we bring out the next product,” Dr. Davies notes. Among those who have used STRONG are Olympic hopefuls, professional tennis players, and MLS players, but so too are Dr. Davies’s sons and a long list of others who are active but far from elite athletes. “We’ve put it into a space of people who just take care of themselves, and we’ve seen just as great of a response,” the founder says. “I think the only difference is that athletes are trained to notice these changes because they’re constantly pushing their bodies.” LYVECAP’s next product, BALANCED, however, will cater to a wider demographic with 112.5 billion CFUs and a lower price tag. “It’s for people who maybe aren’t an elite athlete but still want to make sure that their gut flora can withstand a cold or a flu or a virus.”
At $150 a month, LYVECAP STRONG comes at a higher cost than most probiotics, but Dr. Davies believes it’s well worth it. “Without even looking at the science or the strains behind the product, but just looking apples-to-apples at the CFUs and comparing the bacteria, we’re actually less,” she says. “What you see a lot is a product that has 10 billion or 100 million CFUs, so it might cost less, but it’s also not going to do much. It really does require the amount of bacteria we have, that many CFUs, to make a difference in the gut.”
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52e8693f23b5ba092ca46759e85f7f23 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/gabbyshacknai/2021/03/08/as-her-cbd-brand-happy-dance-launches-at-ulta-kristen-bell-answers-the-most-pressing-cbd-questions/?sh=6640eb141d0e | As Her CBD Brand Happy Dance Launches At Ulta, Kristen Bell Answers The Most Pressing CBD Questions | As Her CBD Brand Happy Dance Launches At Ulta, Kristen Bell Answers The Most Pressing CBD Questions
Kristen Bell launched Happy Dance last October. Courtesy of Happy Dance
Kristen Bell is having what she calls “a sedentary day.” After a morning filled with phone calls, she’s getting ready to hop into a production meeting on Zoom and has somehow found the time to feed and clothe her two children, Lincoln and Delta, amidst it all. And though it’s hard to believe the actress is ever anything but cool and collected—thanks to her chipper voice, happy-go-lucky attitude, and general friendliness on and off the screen—she credits it all to CBD—and specifically, to Happy Dance, the line of simple CBD products she launched last year in collaboration with Lord Jones.
Bell first discovered CBD a few years back when her hairstylist used a Lord Jones cream on her shoulders following a haircut, but she’d heard rumblings about its wonders long before that. “It’s hard to explain what it did to me,” she recalls. “But I just felt this overall improvement, and at the end of a chaotic day, using any Lord Jones product made me feel like I was either turning down the volume on my children or turning the thermostat of my life to exactly the right temperature.” Her drives home from work, usually marked by thoughts of bath time, buying new lunchboxes, and turning in school projects, were suddenly blissful, and despite the storied Los Angeles traffic, she even found herself rocking out to whatever new pop song was playing on the radio. “I thought, there’s really something to this,” Bell says.
CBD quickly became a staple in the actress’s life, but she felt that its market, while expansive, still had a large gap that was in need of filling. “I contacted Lord Jones and just asked them if we could create a product together that demystifies CBD, that doesn’t play into the stoner trope or feel too clinical but that feels cheeky and a little more me, and at a price point that can be more accessible,” she explains. “I really wanted to allow people who had not used it before or who had not been exposed to it the accessibility, and in any of my entrepreneurial ventures, that’s always been the priority.”
Bell thought long and hard about what she would look like if she were in your vanity or medicine cabinet and last October, she delivered exactly that with the launch of Happy Dance. With just three products—a bath bomb, a body butter, and an all-purpose coconut melt—all under $30, the CBD line was highly anticipated as a playful addition to any bathroom routine but also as a helpful and affordable one. “These are really simple products that could fit into the lifestyle of anyone because I don’t think self-care needs to be difficult or eventized,” she says.
The Happy Dance features just three products: a bath bomb, a body butter, and an all-purpose coconut ... [+] melt. Courtesy of Happy Dance
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Now, just five short months after its debut, Happy Dance is heading to select Ulta Beauty locations nationwide, a move that Bell believes will even further build on the brand’s accessibility. “Accessibility means two things: it means a price point that you can afford, but it also means availability on a shelf where you can purchase it at a store near you,” she notes. “So, the partnership with Ulta is what makes that dream a reality.”
The actress hopes Happy Dance’s rollout at the national retailer will also help shine a light on the brand’s charitable partner, Susan Burton’s New Way of Life Reentry Project, and aid communities that are disproportionally affected by marijuana-related offenses. “It was not lost on me that the BIPOC community has been adversely affected for marijuana-based crimes throughout history, and because CBD is pulled from the same strand of the hemp plant, we thought it was the perfect chance to donate one percent of profits back to this amazing organization,” Bell says. “And the Ulta launch is going to make this a brand that is sustainable for Miss Burton’s philanthropic endeavors.”
But even with the product line now available at more than 500 Ulta stores and on its website, Bell knows that CBD can still be a confusing space. So, to ensure that all Happy Dance customers can find their happy dances in the same way she has, the actress is answering some of the most common questions about CBD, clarifying the biggest misconceptions and sharing her own tips and tricks along the way.
Gabby Shacknai: What exactly is CBD?
Kristen Bell: CBD stands for cannabidiol, and that is a compound found naturally in hemp plants, but it’s one of over 100 active compounds in the plant. Unlike some of the other compounds, like THC, though, CBD is not intoxicating and will not get you high.
Shacknai: What does “full-spectrum CBD” mean?
Bell: All Happy Dance products feature CBD from full-spectrum hemp extract, and full-spectrum basically means that the extract features elements of the whole plant—like terpenes and rare cannabinoids—in it in addition to CBD. So, a full-spectrum hemp extract also can contain less than 0.3 percent THC, which is the legal limit of what will not get you high.
Shacknai: Is CBD safe?
Bell: The CBD category is really saturated, and it’s really tough to understand what to trust when you’re buying a CBD product. But the whole reason I partnered with the Lord Jones team is because they were a pioneer in the space and have some of the most trusted CBD products available. There are a few things I would say are important to look for when buying a CBD product. You have to make sure that what you’re buying says CBD or cannabidiol on the packaging as opposed to hemp-seed oil or cannabis sativa seed oil because there’s no CBD in the seed of the plant. There are select products—ours are among them—that have a COA, which is a certificate of analysis and is incredibly important for transparency in my opinion. You can basically enter the COA number from our bottle on our website, and it will bring up the certificate to ensure that the product contains the amount of CBD advertised. It’s also important to make sure the product has undergone third-party testing for heavy metals, pesticides, microbiological contaminants, and residual solvents—that’s all really important when you’re pulling something from a plant and putting it into a lotion. I’d also say it’s a good idea to shop from brands who are exclusively in the CBD space and truly understand the landscape because it’s changing at the speed of light, and it’s a higher likelihood that they’ll actually understand it.
"The body lotion is so soothing, the coconut oil has so many purposes, and the bath bomb is the only ... [+] one I don’t use every single day—I wish!" Bell says. Courtesy of Happy Dance
Shacknai: What benefits can CBD offer?
Bell: It provides a calm sense of wellbeing, and it calms and soothes when you need it most. For me, after a long stressful day, there is nothing like taking a bath with our CBD bath bomb. I also keep the coconut oil in my purse and use it throughout the day on my temples, on my cuticles, to take my makeup off at night. It’s hard to explain, but CBD really does let turn down the volume of my life, especially when I’m in ‘mom’ mode.
Shacknai: How often should people use CBD?
Bell: I would encourage people to try it out for themselves. The only person who’s going to know how and when to use them is you. I use them multiple times a day, and if you’re nervous about it, you can check the amount that’s in the bottle and look up the COA on our website and decide for yourself. You can start with one application and see how you like it, but there’s no exact prescription for every person.
Shacknai: Do you use CBD as a holistic tool or something that you reach for only when you need it?
Bell: I use it everyday. I use it everyday because the three products we’ve created are so seamless with my routine. The body lotion is so soothing, the coconut oil has so many purposes, and the bath bomb is the only one I don’t use every single day—I wish! But I keep them on at all times because I really love the formulation, and having been involved in creating it allowed me to test it to figure out what worked. So, I was a creator here but also a consumer, and when we started the company, the only test subject I had was myself. I trusted my gut and thought other people would love it, and I hope that as we grow, we can listen to our customers and hear what they want and need.
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524ea8db1d07dda40ed41ab6a917e51c | https://www.forbes.com/sites/gabbyshacknai/2021/03/08/spotify-launches-equal-a-new-initiative-dedicated-to-women-in-music-and-audio/ | Spotify Launches EQUAL, A New Initiative Dedicated To Women In Music And Audio | Spotify Launches EQUAL, A New Initiative Dedicated To Women In Music And Audio
With EQUAL, Spotify users are encouraged to ‘Flex Their Power to Listen’ and to play more women, no ... [+] matter the day. Courtesy of Spotify
Spotify believes that audio has the power to change the world, and it’s with that in mind that the fast-growing streaming platform has developed its latest campaign. In honor of International Women’s Day, Spotify is launching EQUAL, a new initiative highlighting the women creators on its platform and working towards equity for women in the audio industry.
EQUAL will bring a number of new programs and steps to the company, including EQUAL Hub, a dedicated space to celebrate women creators and help increase awareness of their work among fans. “With billions of songs and millions of podcasts on Spotify, it’s easy for fans to default to what they know and love best,” explains Marian Dicus, Spotify’s Vice President and Global Co-head of Music. “But the EQUAL Hub makes it easy for fans to engage directly with women creators and their content helps to increase awareness amongst fans so that more people listen, ensuring their music shapes the future.” Available globally, the hub may be launching during International Women’s Month, but Spotify plans to make it a permanent fixture on its platform and will regularly refresh it to reflect new women creators.
Throughout March 8, Spotify will release episodes of “WOMN,” a new music and talk show featuring a diverse group of women creators, influencers, and cultural figures. There, guests like Tokimonsta, Jenny Lorenzo, and Jazzmyne Robbins will discuss women-centered content and share personal reflections on the music that inspired them. Spotify will also feature women on the covers of more than 200 top playlists, including Today’s Top Hits, Viva Latino and Modus Mio, to further amplify awareness and ensure that even more fans have the opportunity to listen. And Girls Make Beats, She’s The Music, Sound Girls, GLAAD, Color of Change, Women in Music, and Women’s Audio Mission, all nonprofit partners of Spotify, will curate unique playlists that shine a light on the artists shaping the future of music.
Spotify playlists will feature women creators in their curation and on their covers. Courtesy of Spotify
In an effort to foster more equity for women in music and audio, Spotify will also an invite-only EQUAL board. Composed of 15 organizations from around the world, it will provide each organization a one-time grant and work together on concrete ways to make the audio industry more equitable for women creators. “The EQUAL board will build upon our already established efforts in the space and expand into us providing ‘always-on’ support that puts women at center stage,” Dicus says, noting that Spotify is currently in the process of extending invitations to relevant organizations. “Each quarter, the EQUAL board will have a different focus, allowing the group to really dive into a topic and work together on tangible ways to make the audio industry more equitable for women.”
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Spotify is dedicated to continuing theses efforts well beyond International Women’s Month, and in April, it will launch the EQUAL music program in 50 countries, from Japan to Argentina and Malaysia to the U.K. “As the world’s most popular audio streaming subscription service, Spotify takes its responsibility of highlighting and amplifying women of all experiences voices seriously,” explains Dicus. “The audio we consume should reflect the diversity of the world we live in, and women deserve to see themselves, and hear themselves, represented throughout it. We know there is still work to do—both as an industry and as a company—but we’re committed to being a driver of real progress both on and off our platform.”
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48636305b59abc395f09220b7226e4a4 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/gabbyshacknai/2021/03/31/8-fitness-founders-on-the-lessons-theyve-learned-a-year-into-the-pandemic/?sh=34d974e37f60 | 9 Fitness Founders On The Lessons They’ve Learned A Year Into The Pandemic | 9 Fitness Founders On The Lessons They’ve Learned A Year Into The Pandemic
The pandemic has forced many in the fitness industry to reevaluate their businesses. getty
Last March, as businesses from coast to coast closed their doors and the country came to a collective pause, the fitness industry was forced to grapple with a devastating new reality: after years of consistent and monumental growth for the sector, everything had changed overnight. No longer were there waitlists of a hundred people vying for the same spot in a spinning class or a stream of selfies from beautiful yoga studios or a row of treadmills. Gone were the days of shared equipment and overfilled studios, and no one was sure when—or even if—they would return.
A year on, gyms are starting to reopen and pre-pandemic fitness rituals are beginning to seem like a possibility once again, but the last 12 months have shaken the industry to its core and required its members to get creative in every way. Some have expanded their virtual class offerings, some have launched apps, and some have rethought their entire business models. With the future of fitness still far from certain, eight founders and sharing the biggest lessons they’ve learned during the pandemic and how the changes they’ve had to make may ultimately have been blessings in disguise.
Megan Roup, Founder of Sculpt Society
Megan Roup Liana Tarantino
“Fortunately, I launched The Sculpt Society app in 2019 ahead of the pandemic. At the time, I had grown my community within NYC and knew that I wanted to connect with more women and could do that by taking my program digital. I was lucky that I had my program already in place digitally once the lockdown happened. At the beginning of the pandemic, I also went live on The Sculpt Society App everyday to encourage my community to move their bodies and give them the space to show up for themselves, especially if they were working from home and caring for their families. My daily live workouts on TSS App evolved into post-workout coffee chats, where I was able to further connect with the TSS family and strengthen our relationship, which motivated me to continue to create new programs and show up every day.
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This biggest change to my business is it is now fully digital. Digital went from 50% of my business to 100% overnight. Over the past year, I have learned that self-care is really important and not a selfish act. In order to show up for my TSS family every day, I needed to take the time to realign myself, and I’d do that by stepping outside for a daily walk, popping in a podcast, or catching up with friends and family. I also learned that it’s important to release some control and hire team members to take the stress off of me and allow me to flourish in what I do best. There was a time when I was answering customer service questions, dealing with the shipping and handling of my TSS equipment, and filming and editing my own videos (I still do that, though!).
While the pandemic (hopefully) comes to an end soon, I don’t see online fitness going anywhere. In fact, I believe it will continue to thrive. Not only do many people still want to take safety precautions and feel safer working out at home, but online fitness provides an efficient, cost effective, flexible, and convenient way to get a workout in. With at-home fitness, you no longer have to choose between ‘not having enough time to workout’ and a healthy lifestyle.”
Kristin Sudeikis, Founder of FORWARD__Space
Kristin Sudeikis Courtesy of FORWARD__Space
“We were somewhat prepared for this quick turn to virtual in the sense that we knew we would eventually be launching a digital expression of FORWARD__Space, which comes from my experience teaching to thousands around the globe. When we opened our physical doors and began selling out classes in 2019, guests would consistently ask for an app or a way to continue to sweat with us while they traveled. They wanted to be able to tune in and be led through the FS experience anytime from anywhere. In knowing this, we’ve consistently worked to make the digital experience for our clients as seamless as possible.
[When the pandemic began], we immediately began offering daily digital dance breaks via Instagram Live to assist in alleviating stress and anxiety. The immense response informed us that we needed to swiftly and efficiently provide a more expanded version of FORWARD__Space virtually, so we expedited our plans and launched the FS Virtual Hub on April 24, 2020 ahead of its intended 2021 release. With the Virtual Hub, we were able to offer Live and On-Demand sweat sessions globally, introducing us to a much wider audience very quickly. We also began offering FS Interactive sessions via Zoom, where guests could connect and dance together from around the globe. Since the launch of our FORWARD__Space Virtual Hub, members have streamed nearly half a million hours of content, across more than 98 countries and in the past six months, annual memberships have doubled. We also launched our Virtual Corporate Wellness program as a way for brands and companies to engage with their colleagues and/or clients in a new, fun, and engaging way. In some ways, it has replaced team happy hours or team offsites. In this time where we may not be able to share space, we can still share time—and moving and dancing together to incredible music is, and has been, one of the great connectors and community builders.
The biggest lessons have been in staying malleable, staying flexible, intently listening, and staying in clear communication surrounding topics such as what is needed for the internal team, the growing FS community, and the world at large. We then listen and work to innovate and execute from those exact and immediate learnings. People are ready to be a part of brands and experiences that are contributing to the individual self as well as the world around us. The hybrid of virtual and in-person experiences is most definitely here to stay, which to us, is phenomenally exciting.”
Erika Rayman, Founder of The DB Method
Erika Rayman Courtesy of The DB Method
“We’re fortunate that our mission has always been to support our customers’ fitness journey at home, so the transition was pretty seamless for us. I could never have imagined, though, how central we would become to people’s health and wellbeing during the pandemic. I feel incredibly grateful that so many people have trusted our machine and our method to provide them with an effective workout and some fun during such a difficult time. We introduced our new app in late 2020, which was way ahead of schedule! We hired a Chief Fitness Officer to deepen our focus on workout development for all fitness levels and design goal-focused fitness programs, such as weight loss, pelvic floor health, and, of course, glute definition. Our entire team put in countless hours of work to produce content and get it off the ground.
I’ve learned that fitness truly has no bounds! What started as a booty machine has now helped people to transform their bodies, improve their posture, become stronger athletes, reduce body pain, run faster, and feel better about themselves from the inside out. When you look good, you feel good, and when you feel good, you look good! Mental and physical health are so closely tied together, and so many people have been isolated and have felt like they’re alone. This made our highly engaged community even more valuable than before. Our Facebook group has nearly tripled in size and remains a supportive space for customers to talk all things DB but more importantly, to understand we’re all in it together.
The future of home fitness is very bright. I think we have all gotten used to the efficiency of working out at home without the commute to and from the gym. The great thing about The DB Method is that our workouts are only 10 minutes a day, so when things begin to return to normal, finding time to transform yourself won’t come in the way of life!”
Dale Borchiver and Elizabeth Endres, Cofounders of Sweats & The City
Dale Borchiver and Elizabeth Endres Courtesy of Sweats & The City
“Everything completely changed rapidly—all of a sudden, studios, gyms, and so much more shutdown overnight. We were incredibly lucky and grateful that our business model allowed us to pivot immediately. We really did not hesitate and switched our content to cater to virtual fitness to help keep our community moving and inspired. We had to cancel and change partnerships that no longer made sense and start catering towards the virtual and at-home fitness scene. We immediately created and aggregated lists and guides of at-home workout deals, Instagram live schedules, then eventually outdoor studio openings, COVID precautions, safety reviews, and more. We most recently came out with our own platform, Sweat with Sweats, which was in response to the strong need in the market of people wanting to be held accountable to their at-home fitness routine, all at an affordable price.” -Dale Borchiver
“The last year has really emphasized the importance of community when it comes to fitness, on both a personal and business level. Whether it means working out on Zoom, FaceTiming a friend, or doing an IG live, we personally felt best when we were sweating with others. It was a very difficult year, but evolving to find that sense of community in places other than the boutique studios we used to frequent was not only important for our physical and mental health, but it also allowed for a lot of growth in our business. I know there has been a lot of debate around the stickiness of virtual fitness, but I truly think that the last year has shown people how effective, efficient, and connective at-home workouts can be. That said, I know there are a lot of people itching for that studio vibe, and we are really excited for all of our studios to reopen. I think both virtual and in-person will remain strong through all of this. The pandemic has definitely shown us that movement remains a constant no matter that!” - Elizabeth Endres
Rachel Katzman, Founder of P.volve
Rachel Katzman Courtesy of P.volve
“While the pandemic was filled with unprecedented challenges, we were able to double down on offerings we already had in place and be nimble in defining new opportunities for new and existing members in the P.volve community. Our on-demand offering had been stable for two years, but we did pivot quickly to launch our Live Virtual Studios. We knew that our community needed that group experience to feel connected and grounded so we worked quickly to get that up. This hybrid approach (on-demand plus Live Virtual Studio) to fitness has been a conversation within the industry for years, and we’re proud to have brought this to our community so quickly.
We’ve approached most challenges as opportunities. Even while in-person workouts became unavailable across the country during the pandemic’s peak, we knew the demand for virtual options was increasing and made the decision to move forward with, and ultimately accelerate, our brick-and-mortar expansion plans. We opened studio locations in Chicago and Los Angeles and went a step further by opening up P.volve’s streaming services for 30 days free to all new streamers throughout March and April of last year. To provide value to our customers, we needed to raise the bar and become even more solutions-oriented, creative, and communicative with our community, and in response, we integrated virtual one-on-one training programs, expanded our offerings in our digital library, and diversified our Live Virtual Studio to reflect the new and trending hybrid model. We’ve gained a deep understanding of the shifting landscape by really listening to our customers’ priorities. This created room for us to grow and meet our customers’ demands in real-time. We learned the value of flexibility, which was an incredible opportunity for us to enter the homes of our community virtually—at any time, at any place. What used to be people who found it difficult to focus on their workouts and health from home are now leaning into the benefits of at-home or hybrid fitness options, which allow you to focus on your health, both in a physical atmosphere and in a digital one at your own time.
I envision a continued conversation underscoring the importance of regular exercise and movement for not only the body but also the mind-body connection. Especially as people begin transitioning from WFH back out in their real-life scenarios, it’s so important that they’re keeping their health at the forefront and really understanding how their bodies work. After a year when many were confined only to their homes, we are prioritizing how we can continuously educate our community on the numerous benefits that functional fitness has on overall health and wellbeing. I also strongly believe that we’ll see consistent commitment to at-home training, long after the pandemic, likely utilized in tandem with in-person training.”
Sadie Lincoln, Cofounder of barre3
Sadie Lincoln Courtesy of barre3
“We launched our first barre3 subscription business in 2011, and as fate would have it, we had just invested in a digital re-platforming in 2019, which included a deeper and more premium experience for at-home workouts. We were prepared to take care of our communities instantly with a product we are really proud of, and because of this, we have been very resilient this year with 100% growth in our digital business. We switched from being a studio-first brand of fitness to a digital-first brand of fitness essentially overnight. We have over 170 studios all owned and operated by women, who together decided to launch a livestream studio business in addition to our premium digital subscription, allowing their clients with emotional connections to their instructors to continue barre3 together. The vast majority of their clients chose the livestream classes because it helped them feel less lonely and a part of a community.
I am so proud of all of our owners and their instructors for having a growth mindset and quickly adapting to teaching into a camera. It is a very different skill set, and they continue to impress me with their ability to teach remarkable classes in this environment. We are all very thankful for our studio clients who continue to support their local studios. This year has truly been a test of our brand and the authentic connection we have with the communities we serve. We have signed 14 new studios this year and have only lost two during the pandemic and consider this a strong indicator about our future performance as a company.
Living our entire lives at home has been incredibly challenging, but it has also given many of us an opportunity to evaluate the importance of our health and wellbeing. I have had countless conversations about how appreciative people feel for a more introverted lifestyle, a regular sleep schedule, and time to do simple things, like taking a walk around the neighborhood. We have time to notice how different behaviors positively and negatively impact our stress levels. None of us are exercising for external reasons, like a wedding, a reunion, or a beach vacation. We are exercising with an internal motivation to feel good in our bodies and cope with this challenging moment. We are all learning how powerful it is to be still, to be present, and to exercise in a mindful way. What is really exciting for barre3 is that this is what we have been teaching since we opened our doors in 2008. When our clients let go of future results and exercise to be honest and present in their bodies, they build a healthy and rewarding relationship with their bodies and with fitness. Before the pandemic, this mindset was a big departure from traditional fitness motivations, but now we are seeing a larger moment towards mindful fitness. We are really excited to show people that they can continue to workout this way after the pandemic, instead of restarting that battle with their bodies to get to an end result.”
Rebecca Balyasny, Founder of bande
Rebecca Balyasny Courtesy of bande
“I had not realized how much I missed connecting with friends and family through fitness until the pandemic. I have always loved playing sports with friends, from being a kid playing every and any sports to my Columbia tennis days to my 20s playing pick-up basketball. In my 30s, I turned more to working out independently, as I had so little time between kids and work. Once the pandemic hit, my typical independent workouts became unfulfilling, and I craved connection during that time. This was what prompted me to launch bande. The virtual fitness space needed a platform that stimulates social connectivity. I started the business in June on the premise of improving the technology of the livestream fitness experience and establishing close connections between instructors, students, and fellow students. I believe in this thesis more than ever and am excited to be executing on that vision. Building the technology was more involved and took longer than I anticipated. I know that I was optimistic and overly aggressive in my original timeline but learned that we will always get there!
I’ve learned so many lessons, big and small, that apply to fitness, tech, and managing and hiring people. It’s hard to boil down. What I try to focus on above all else is the positive impact we are having on our members and how we can continue to improve our product to improve their lives. It’s important to see through the weeds and create a business that makes people’s lives better in the end. It’s both fulfilling on a personal level and will enable us to build a best-in-class brand.
The future will likely be a hybrid between virtual and in-person offerings. There will continue to be tons of opportunity in the space for innovative brands to emerge. We are just at the very beginning. Bande will have its pulse on all the different tech opportunities out there and how they can improve our customer experience. I’m constantly looking at VR, wearables, gaming, et cetera, and seeing where we can innovate. I’m excited to be in a space that is at a pivotal point in time and that will truly improve people’s lives. My goal at bande is to do everything in our power to help people connect through fitness, and get the best workout at the same time!”
Angela Manuel-Davis, Cofounder of AARMY
Angela Manuel-Davis' Courtesy of AARMY
“We were not prepared at all! But we are an instinctual company and our instincts led us to pivot immediately, so we did. We closed our doors in LA and NYC on a Friday, and by Saturday, we were offering free practices on Instagram Live and did so for 150 days straight. We had multiple practices each day, out of both coasts, as a unified AARMY team to reach a global community. We all have a tremendous conviction to provide community, to be of service, to provide encouragement, and to coach individuals to live their very best lives, and the pandemic allowed us to do that, in a different way.
AARMY always had the intention of launching a digital platform, so while our business strategy didn't necessarily change, the timing and execution of our platform was accelerated. We know transition periods are our greatest opportunity for transformation, so we showed up on Instagram Lives and learned on the fly then launched our digital platform earlier than originally planned, which has allowed us to extend our reach well beyond our HQ locations. I believe a digital footprint is still going to have a massive role in how people work out. The pandemic launched us into future thinking and forced us into executing the future sooner than we imagined, thinking bigger and wider. AARMY's role will continue to be a beautiful hybrid of live in-person experiences and a digital platform to connect with a global community.
As a Black female business owner, the learnings and opportunities of this past year have been monumental, as this time has required us to put pressure on progress in our personal lives, in the fitness community, and beyond. I have learned that the ability to be innovative and agile is mandatory. And I have always believed in the importance of community, so we quickly learned to be creative in how we connect with others, in how we sweat alongside and encourage our community through a screen, all while providing a space of connection and belonging. I learned to be even more intentional with my time and energy, being present with my family and prioritizing what is most important. I always coach my athletes that how you do one thing is how you do all things, so even with the global pandemic, I knew that no one was going to hand me my best life or a successful business, so I had to give my 100 every single day.”
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4c1c5d6734f79c7828d032b824226bc8 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/gabeklein/2018/12/04/how-slow-lanes-can-speed-up-new-mobility-and-save-lives/?utm_campaign=Mobility%20%26%20Transportation&utm_medium=email&utm_source=Revue%20newsletter | How Slow Lanes Can Speed Up New Mobility (And Save Lives) | How Slow Lanes Can Speed Up New Mobility (And Save Lives)
Road including a slow lane. Courtesy of Remix
Mobility is the word on everyone’s lips these days. I was in a number of large cities in the last month and have noticed that my conversations with local business leaders keep shifting towards discussions about the quality of and need for bike and pedestrian infrastructure. 10 years ago, I wouldn’t have expected CEOs to address these topics - they were strictly the purview of smallish, urban bike advocacy groups and of progressive leaders in cities like Portland and San Francisco. But now, even the corporate world can’t ignore the serious returns on investment that these upgrades can generate - both in terms of human health and in terms of capital.
But the topic of bike and pedestrian infrastructure didn’t enter the zeitgeist by accident. This past spring, cities across the country - Atlanta included - woke up to a new reality as hundreds of shared electric scooters seemingly blinked into existence on sidewalks, medians, and empty lots. The urban mobility landscape was transformed overnight.
As someone who’s been heavily engaged in this space for over two decades, it’s gratifying to finally see both companies and cities working to set the bar higher for alternative modes of urban transportation. But the newfound excitement around electric scooters and the infrastructure to accommodate them has also engendered a fair share of tension and friction. Cities are resistant to the “chaos” that seems to be accompanying the launch of shared scooter and bike systems. Some see the scooters in particular as a new danger to pedestrians, or as another unwanted intervention in our lives by Big Tech. But the truth is that these scooters are one piece of the puzzle in putting our society on a new, more sustainable trajectory.
Climate change is real, and it’s happening. This recognition must be accompanied by a sense of urgency in getting people out of cars and onto bikes, trains, buses, and everything in between. But cities have a legitimate mandate to reduce chaos and keep citizens safe as well.
What To Do?
The threat of climate change means that anything below a sense of urgency in getting people out of cars is insufficient. We must take a radical, all-of-the-above approach to restructuring our lives and how we move - and this requires us to engage with any new form of mobility that could bring us closer to the goal of sustainability. However, some find this difficult to square with the fact that city governments have been designed to reduce danger and unpredictability in our urban environments. But the choice we face here is not an exclusive one - we do not need to slow down the adoption of new technologies. We need to speed up our ability to integrate them.
When I was running the Department of Transportation in Washington D.C., and then in Chicago, my constant obsession was safety. We made huge strides in separated, or “protected” bike infrastructure to match the growth of our large, cutting-edge bikeshare systems, Divvy and Capital Bikeshare which launched during my tenure. Near the end of my time in government, I started noticing something unexpected – people were jogging, doing Segway tours, and riding electric skateboards, all in the protected bike lanes. It had, in effect, been democratized - and everyone benefitted. The creation of these safe, slower lanes, where everyone from a rollerblader to a mom and child on a tandem bike felt safe moving, was one of the most important changes I achieved in both cities.
Now, with the exponential growth of electric and shared mobility options, it is becoming clear that there is yet another contender for space in the geography between the street and the sidewalk. And things are, perhaps, starting to get a little crowded.
On a quantitative level, it is a difficult question to answer: between people-filled sidewalks that rightly prioritize humans moving at about 3 or 4 mph and the 2-ton vehicles that barrel down the urban roadway at 25-40 mph, where does the 30 lb vehicle that moves at 10-15 mph fit?
Field of vision and fatality rates for varying vehicle speed. Safe Streets
Enter: the “slow” lane
Don’t get me wrong - no one likes a good bike lane better than me, and I ride in one - often with my kids - for safety every chance I get (plus, there is the added benefit of whizzing past cars sitting in traffic). But here in America, our bike lanes are not usually the fully grade-separated, expansive ones found in places like Amsterdam or Copenhagen. While we have spent the last decade retrofitting our cities to be safer for cyclists, we only occasionally implement protected bike lanes. More often, we are left with standard bike lanes that offer physical space but minimal protection, or the “sharrow” that sends a message but offers no real safety at all.
This raises the question: what is the biggest factor in unsafe road conditions? Is it the varied speeds at which different vehicles move? Or is it the differences in size and weight? Knowing this is important in designing the solution to the safety problem.
On local roads, in our neighborhoods and smaller towns, I believe the focus needs to be on promoting shared use by all vehicle types at very reduced speeds. Bike lanes only really become a necessity on larger, arterial-type streets, where separation is needed because of the huge differences in speed. In fact, this recognition has led many cities to lower local speed limits because the findings are so simple: speed kills.
Led by millennials moving to city centers and their baby boomer parents choosing city life as a convenient way to age-in-place, cities are reurbanizing at a rapid clip. As millennials have families and start to raise children, they should not be forced to make the choice of moving to the suburbs for want of a safe street.
Mobility lane pop-up in Kansas City. Better Block KC
The Slow Lane?
So what is a “slow lane” – and why should we embrace a new option? Because if you are an urban resident, your life will be safer with them, and you just don’t know it yet! Modes are changing faster than at any time since the introduction of the Model T (remember OFO?). This means we need streets that are flexible and can support micro and electric mobility, no matter what new device launches next week or the week after.
Imagine your typical four-lane, city-controlled street. Two travel lanes in each direction, a lane of parking on each side, and no bike lane in sight. Planners often look at these streets as being prime for a “road diet” with a reversible lane inserted in the middle and two travel lanes removed. In a slow lane, or mobility lane, or whatever name we come up with, we take the travel lane adjacent to the parking lane and slim it down to 8-9 feet (vs. its current 10-14 feet). The middle lanes, on either side of the double yellow stripe, remain at standard width. In addition to slimming the outside travel lane, the addition of thermoplastic markings communicates that this is a “slow lane” with a 15 mph speed limit that prioritizes non-cars.
This does not obviate the need for protected, and ideally, grade separated infrastructure for bikes and micromobility; instead, this is a more immediate bridge, a retrofit now, and when we rebuild the street (every 15-30 years…) we should build the gold standard in infrastructure as they do in the Netherlands.
Check out this before-and-after example of 14th Street NW, in my hometown of Washington D.C., with a slow lane modeled:
Thanks to Tiffany Chu and Remix for the help with this mock-up:
Before a slow lane. Courtesy of Remix
Road including a slow lane. Courtesy of Remix
Reprioritizing cars on our streets is another big part of the rethink we need. I believe that cars should be allowed in these slow lanes as this is key to fast adoption - but they should be given the lowest priority. This is a model that works - just check out the “Fietstraat” in the Netherlands. It keeps everyone safe, as the most dangerous thing on a sidewalk is now a pedestrian staring at their phone. Too often, we prioritize speed, when the real metric we should be focusing on is the safe throughput of people in a city. Getting this right will mean a more viable business for bike and scooter companies, and a boost in our fight against climate change.
While this is the beginning of a conversation, there is no reason cities can’t start installing slow lanes now on locally controlled streets - and quickly. The simple requirements of paint and thermoplastic markings are already in use in every city. It’s time to accelerate how we rethink our streets, because climate change doesn’t have a speed limit.
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07366600e6338b3df1355a10e2f3a249 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/gabeklein/2021/04/01/its-time-to-get-rid-of-parking-tickets-and-change-how-we-manage-and-monetize-the-curb/?sh=707908b85d95 | It’s Time To Get Rid Of Parking Tickets And Change How We Manage And Monetize The Curb | It’s Time To Get Rid Of Parking Tickets And Change How We Manage And Monetize The Curb
Citibike station Photo by Daniel Adams on Unsplash
As a former transportation commissioner and current bike, scooter and electric-car owner, I understand the passion parking spots can evoke. What emotions in life are comparable to the euphoria of seeing a parking spot (or bike corral) open up right in front of the restaurant you have a reservation for in 2 minutes, or the store you need to pop into with a cranky child in tow?
For a hundred years, vehicles and parking have been an essential part of the architecture of our lives and our cities. I was fascinated to learn that “parking” originated from the concept of “park space” on our boulevards in Washington D.C., my hometown, in the 1870’s. The curbs we use today are probably the most overlooked and underrated aspect of this urban architecture. By default, it’s easy to assume that there is no better use for the side of the road than to store vehicles. The curb, after all, is the natural companion to the car and truck - or at least, it was, for a long period of time, post- trees, flowers, and horses.
Why revisit our use of the curb:
Cities are dynamic environments. That parking space you were thrilled to find in front of your favorite restaurant five years ago might be used by 10 Doordashers, five private vehicles picking up food, a Sysco SYY truck dropping off supplies, a UPS truck teetering with Amazon AMZN boxes today. It may even already be converted to a bike corral.
The evolution has been slowly happening for years:
When the world has changed in the past, the architecture of our cities has adapted. Even before the pandemic, shifts were happening in the way we lived - from logistics to food delivery, the rise of e-commerce over retail shopping, shared mobility, and shifts in car and bike ownership.
All of these changes have already had huge effects on traffic patterns and urban life, and many of them hit your world at - yes - the lowly curb. That double-parked UPS delivery truck you just had to swerve around may seem like a traffic problem, but what it really is, is a curb problem.
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I am not proposing that we rid our streets of the ability to stop or park. What I am seeing, rather, is the need to adapt the way we utilize this scarce resource.
With the adoption of the right mix of new policies and regulations, testing frameworks, operational models, incentives, and plain old openness to new ideas, cities can seed, benefit, or create wholesale change. It should be change that actually makes parking, or stopping, dropping off, easier.
What needs to change:
For decades, we’ve taken a “law and order” approach to parking. We’ve used the proverbial stick to police how people stop, for how long they stop, and where they stop. Where we previously had need for enforcement, we can now use technology to understand and make more intelligent, efficient and equitable decisions about what works best for any given neighborhood or street or city.
Some cities have already begun a new approach. In Washington D.C., where I live, “flex & PUDO zones” are being tested around the city - portions of, or entire block-faces for pickups and deliveries only. This appears to be working well, and will likely need to be expanded. As our cities continue to evolve, how do we juggle the need to park with the need to pick-up and drop-off, all while keeping roadways safe for pedestrians and cyclists, and keeping buses and deliveries moving?
PUDO zone Photo by Gabe Klein
A new approach:
The first step is to see what is actually happening at the curb now in 2021, and make our decisions based on those realities. Technologies that can look holistically and reliably at the entire picture, 24 hours a day, already exist. Cloud-based, locational services, computer vision, license plate recognition, and even fixed-lidar can give us pools of information that will help us rethink how we reach the desired societal and business outcomes at the curb, all while respecting people’s privacy and making services frictionless where possible.
Most cities are charging residents to stop at the curb, while large, profitable companies are not being charged for pick-up and drop-off. This can change, and it’s in the interest of delivery and rideshare companies to proactively pay for their spot at the curb, too. In New York City alone, UPS racked up $33.8 million in fines in 2018. This money is not tax deductible. If companies are instead billed for the time they stop, it’s a tax write off. Furthermore, there are significant safety and efficiency benefits that accrue and mishaps avoided when you don’t have to stop in the middle of a street.
Allocated pickup and drop-off areas (PUDOs) are working well now, but of course, things are going to change yet again. Soon, more restaurants and stores will reopen. How do we juggle the need to park with the need to stop, all while keeping roadways clear for traffic?
The role of technology + pricing:
Data can help here, too. As cities generate more money at the curb from commercial vehicles, this can offset the price of parking. When we better understand the ways people park, we can create models that work better for restaurant-goers, shoppers and residents. Our firm, Cityfi, worked with a private developer and a city to equalize prices on and off-street in a neighborhood, and to charge by the minute instead of fractions of hours via paybyphone. It was a success.
Layers of technology can also make the parking experience more frictionless. This increases revenue for cities, but also prevents unnecessary policing or government interaction with citizens who are just trying to get a cup of coffee, particularly Black people who have been unfairly treated by law enforcement.
If we were to layer a system of graduated pricing on top of this strategy, whereby we charge by the minute, every “X” minutes the pricing increased, perhaps doubled, you would incent turnover based on timeframes for a loading, 30-minute, 1-hour, 2-hour or longer targeted zone, and there would be no reason for enforcement. It is a self-policing system because the escalating rates would function in lieu of enforcement.
Green line: Parking charge by the minute, increases first 5 minutes, 15 minutes and then every 30 ... [+] minutes in 5 cent graduated increments; Red line: Standard rate of $2.75 per hour, assumes parking ticket after 2nd hour Chart by Ahmed Darrat, Cityfi
And the best news? The technology needed to implement these systems already exists. Mobility-focused tech companies such as Automotus have developed the video analytics software and automated electronic invoicing processes necessary to implement a graduated payments system for fleets today. Companies like Passport have integrated rate engines with Google Maps for frictionless geolocated native payments for consumers. These are familiar systems that are already used as the backbone of tolling and congestion pricing. Wireless connectivity and edge computing means the only requirement for these systems is power, making installation very simple and cost effective for any agency.
Cities across the country are already primed for new ways of managing their curbs. Los Angeles, Santa Monica, Seattle, D.C., Boston and Columbus have already developed temporary smart loading zones to accommodate the rapid rise in commercial vehicle use. Our world has changed - it’s time for our streets to catch up.
Bike lane in Washington D.C. Photo by Gabe Klein
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7f89b280e668905bd6d5b6578b0be6cf | https://www.forbes.com/sites/gabezaldivar/2016/02/02/ebay-unveils-wealth-of-super-bowl-data-and-predictions/ | eBay Unveils Wealth Of Super Bowl Data And Predictions | eBay Unveils Wealth Of Super Bowl Data And Predictions
You can see it in the crates of avocados leaving Costco this week, in the massive amount of beer that will be consumed. You can witness its arrival with the friendly wagers between pals that are being conducted en masse. Perhaps, however, there is no more intriguing way to enjoy Super Bowl’s arrival than diving through all the lovely data found in myriad eBay purchases in a report titled The Business of the Big Game.
And that’s exactly what the online marketplace has given we football fans just days before Lady Gaga belts out the National Anthem, signaling the Denver Broncos and Carolina Panthers’ turn to take center stage.
In a captivating post on Tuesday, eBay unveiled a deluge of data as pertains to the big game, even going so far as offering up some predictions as to the winner.
The Vince Lombardi Trophy is displayed inside the NFL Experience Tuesday, Feb. 2, 2016, in San... [+] Francisco. The Denver Broncos will play the Carolina Panthers in Super Bowl 50 Sunday, Feb. 7, 2016. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
That’s right. In time you will have the skinny on which team to place that bet on thanks to the way consumer demands are swaying.
Now the most striking image is eBay’s visual representation of where the nation is situated as far as team specific purchases.
The following image represents items purchased from July 22, 2015 to January 27, 2016:
Image courtesy eBay.
As the report states, Broncos-specific purchases are indeed spread across a wide swath of the nation. However, Panthers fans are most definitely getting prepared: “With orange areas dominating, Denver Broncos merchandise stands out, but don’t count the Panthers out just yet. The highest concentration of the heatmap’s 229,636 transactions are clustered in the Southeast.”
Now the entire report is chockablock filled with juicy football tidbits. However we have our favorites as pertains to some of the sports biggest stars as well as the moment we all gather in the living room: Halftime.
Here are just a few points that standout from this data purge.
Jersey Superstar - Peyton Manning claims the top spot in jersey sales on eBay among all past Super Bowl players, something represented well in the following.
Image courtesy eBay.
The report continues that a change of wardrobe perhaps caused an uptick in sales: “Peyton’s second Super Bowl with the Denver Broncos sold more jerseys than his second big game with the Colts. But, Indianapolis fans in 2010 paid more – $37.76 on average – than their Denver counterparts – average of $31.36.”
The Dab Dominates – As the report states, Panthers gear trailed Broncos gear on eBay until Week 6. The reason is as simple as a nifty celebration dance. Cam Newton unveiled his version of the Dab and the rest is commerce history: “After that game, sales of Carolina merchandise started to spike, and quickly closed the gap against the Broncos’ lead.” All QB Love: It’s true that most of the top jersey sales belong to quarterbacks. However, there is one notable outlier: “On eBay, quarterback jerseys sell better than other positions. But, in 2013, the Baltimore Ravens quarterback, Joe Flacco, wasn’t as popular as the Ravens’ Ray Lewis, who retired following his championship win and who ranks fourth on the jersey list.” Halftime Bits Of Tid – It may just be a banner year for merchandise representing halftime performers. As the report states, there is a sizable increase in items sold relating to whoever takes center stage. As noted, Bruno Mars and Beyonce will join Coldplay in the much-publicized show. And speaking of Mars: “Bruno Mars made the biggest impact, jumping 244% in bought items the week after his performance (2014) compared to the week before.”
PREDICTIONS
And there are of course some things to glean from all the data. Now we leave it to you if you want to forego offensive metrics and defensive prowess for purchasing power.
However, eBay relayed to me that there are some correlations to previous purchases: “One trend that eBay has found is that before a team wins its first Super Bowl, sales on eBay jump significantly compared to their competitor. Seattle fans bought 34 percent more gear than Broncos fans before their upset in 2014 for their first Super Bowl win. Similarly, Saints fans bought 114 percent more gear than Colts fans ahead of their first Super Bowl championship in franchise history in 2009.”
If you were wondering, the Broncos have the edge at the moment, but things are extremely fluid. If you want an updated list of trends, then visit eBay’s link to monitor how purchases are going leading up to the Super Bowl.
If you think about it, it makes a great deal of sense. We are a nation of bandwagoners. (Maybe that’s just my fellow Los Angeles natives and me.) Those without loyalty may be slowly gobbling up the jerseys of that team they think will actually win, consciously or not.
In any case, the nation has Super Bowl fever. Expect that to continue well after Sunday when items fly off the virtual shelf thanks to millions watching athletes and performers deliver the best show of the year.
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7b1e87cafa6dddf2c242c267be73fa60 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/gabezaldivar/2016/06/06/ebay-trends-point-to-triumph-for-penguins-cavaliers/ | eBay Trends Point To Triumph For Penguins, Cavaliers | eBay Trends Point To Triumph For Penguins, Cavaliers
Sharks battle Penguins. Warriors take on Cavaliers. And all the while thousands of consumers devour various caps, shirts and other paraphernalia to show support during the delightful tumult that are the Stanley Cup and NBA Finals.
By now you have some idea of who might get out of the 2015-2016 season triumphantly with their very own parade.
But if you’re the kind of fan that looks for signs of impending fortune lurking in every shot, penalty and momentum shift then you will enjoy the culmination of eBay’s data mine of consumer habits ahead of the two major finals.
As of this writing the Penguins hold a 2-1 stranglehold on the Stanley Cup Finals series with the Sharks, which just means you can’t have everything if you live in the Bay Area.
It’s almost an embarrassment of riches for hockey and basketball fans in the area at the moment. However, the following image illustrates that consumer trends point to the Penguins getting over on San Jose in the end.
Zoher Karu, eBay ’s Vice President and Chief Data Officer, had some thoughts on Penguins items that now festoon the great part of the nation: “While it’s no surprise that there’s been an influx of memorabilia hitting eBay, it’s been fascinating to see how team popularity is spread across the U.S. For instance, the Pittsburgh Penguins are concentrated on the East Coast, but they still had a large following in Florida - despite the fact that they knocked out the Tampa Bay Lighting in the previous round. Maybe it’s Penguins fans flying south for the summer?”
Perhaps it’s much ado about a three-time champion garnering far more fans outside of its metropolitan area. I have to think, however, there will be a wave of people ready to board the San Jose bandwagon if the series changes its tide.
As for the NBA, eBay market movement hasn’t been the series soothsayer it’s was in the NHL.
As you see below and has been echoed on eBay, LeBron James’ Cavaliers saw more memorabilia leave the virtual store than Warriors items.
Now you can keep tabs on what’s trending on eBay, but the trends illustrate a close race at the Internet marketplace.
The Cavs may have had the edge, but the nation is particularly keen on the ebullient Warriors and a hot streak that doesn’t show signs of waning heading into Game 3.
Two games in, it’s been all Warriors and its constant barrage of threes. Perhaps a Cleveland coup is in store in the coming days. If so, we may just have to re-think eBay and its clairvoyant powers.
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2d69163eec6ff5ce4c1a4147122bbe59 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/gabrielleigh/2019/06/13/the-future-of-mobility-will-companies-like-via-change-the-way-we-move-around/ | The Future Of Mobility: Will Companies Like Via Change The Way We Move Around? | The Future Of Mobility: Will Companies Like Via Change The Way We Move Around?
The International Association of Public Transport (UITP) held its biennial Global Summit in Stockholm this week, and there seemed to be a clear consensus on one fact: the world's cities are growing, people are moving around more than ever before, and as a result we need better, smarter public transport systems as soon as possible.
At the forefront of that discussion is how we can leverage shared ride services and other new tech to complement and enhance municipal and regional transport systems. Technology holds so much promise for streamlining and optimizing urban mobility, but it can also threaten public transport networks, acting as a disincentive for governments to invest in costly infrastructure.
A HillsVia van in Tokyo. Via
That's why a company like Via is particularly interesting. The New York-based firm, which is now working on around 75 deployments in 17 countries, approaches transport in a very multi-faceted way. In some instances it simply provides technology – to use data and optimize how transit networks run. In other cases it actually operates the service, on everything from shuttle buses to shared ride cars.
Via Deployment Map Via
"We’re providing a new, more flexible option," said Dillon Twombly, Chief Revenue Officer at Via. "If you think about subway, light rail and bus, those are all very efficient under the right circumstance but the challenge of getting people that first and last mile, looking at underserved neighborhoods or rural areas where it doesn’t make sense to run a fixed route bus. Or if you’re trying to get home from work at 3 in the morning, there’s often no really good option for you. So that economic empowerment piece of mobility is really important." He cites a pilot project ongoing right now with the Los Angeles Metro that addresses exactly that issue.
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It's a big shift for many people, especially in countries like the US, to consider using shared ride services – whether that's an UberPool or a city bus, instead of their car. But among the attendees at the UITP Summit, the understanding was it's a shift that needs to happen, and the service offerings need to get better in order to help it along – so that it's easy and seamless, even comfortable, for someone to choose not to use their car. For many here, the thinking was that this will require taking a holistic approach, and creating smart partnerships between public and private.
A Via project in Australia. Via
"Cities are looking at service planning overall, how can they use existing or new modes of transportation to meet people's needs and integrate them into one single experience," said Twombly. "We partner with cities to make sure they get that data so they can look at planning in a new way, and you’re not looking at just your rail planning or just your fixed route or just your on demand. You want the totality of your transportation options and how you can best serve different rider subgroups."
It's a nice thought: an integrated transit system that encompasses every conceivable option for getting from one point to another, and is intelligent about pointing towards the most efficient ways of doing so, both for the end user and for the system as a whole. We're still a little ways from seeing these kinds of systems broadly operational, but there are projects underway around the world. Public transport needs to get better for the sake of quality of life and the environment – two highly pressing, and interrelated, concerns. Thankfully, in many places, it is.
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dfec9d49eec40047748a5356e6c5d48f | https://www.forbes.com/sites/gabrielleigh/2020/11/11/these-8-places-have-low-covid-rates-and-open-borders/?sh=6ef5f6737049 | These 8 Places Have Low Covid Rates And Open Borders | These 8 Places Have Low Covid Rates And Open Borders
It seems as if the coronavirus is running rampant across much of the western world once again, and that’s leading to new travel restrictions, reduced flights and more. For those who had been looking to maybe get away in the fall or winter, this is depressing news. This recent list of places you can travel to with no restrictions may be appealing, but many potential travelers might be wondering whether it’s worth it considering the risk of getting sick while abroad. Furthermore, how long will they stay open at this rate?
Palm trees at sunset on Guadeloupe in the Caribbean. Many would-be travelers have been dreaming of ... [+] scenes like this as the weather turns cold up north. getty
The good news is there are places that continue to welcome visitors that also boast reassuringly low rates for infections and hospitalizations in recent weeks. That means not only can you visit, you won’t likely have to worry about a worsening situation on the ground while you’re there. So without further delay, here are 8 places that have low COVID-19 rates and open borders with few entry restrictions.
1. Dominican Republic
A beach on Saona island in the Dominican Republic, and the country's flag flying. getty
It’s been great to see that even as the Dominican Republic has led the way in terms of welcoming visitors compared to many neighbors, and has made it as easy as possible to go there, its COVID-19 numbers have remained low and stable. This is a very nice place to visit, even more so because it’s simple to do so these days.
Entry requirements: No test is required to enter though there may be a health screening (such as temperature checks) on arrival. There is a quarantine from 9pm to 5am on weekdays and from 7pm to 5am on weekends, but most visitors here will be spending the bulk of their time at resorts so for many this is likely not a major issue. Complete details here.
2. Bahamas
It would be hard to find a more perfect vision of Caribbean paradise than the Bahamas. getty
The Bahamas has seen case counts (which were low to begin with) drop even further in recent weeks. That and its proximity to the US make it an ideal option for an escape. The requirements to enter are a little more extensive than for some places, but they’re sensible, and easy enough to fulfill. If they help to keep cases down, all the better.
Entry requirements: Travelers must obtain a negative PCR test within five days of departure, and then complete a Travel Health Visa Application in which they submit proof of that negative test. The cost for the visa is $40 if staying under 5 days, and $60 if staying longer (children under 10 are exempt from both.) The great thing about the visa is that it includes health insurance during the stay and covers the cost of a required rapid antigen test on the 5th day of a visitor’s stay as well. And since the negative PCR test is a condition of the visa, there’s no uncertainty when heading to the airport as to whether you have the correct proof of the negative test or not. Finally, a daily online health questionnaire needs to be filled out. Complete details here.
3. Bermuda
Hamilton, Bermuda waterfront and Front Street taken from the harbor. Bermuda is an island with a ... [+] flavor all its own. getty
Bermuda has among the most restrictive requirements on this list, but it shouldn’t be too difficult to complete them regardless. And it may well be worth it when you consider just how low case counts have been there. What’s more, Bermuda hasn’t had a COVID-19 death in months.
Entry requirements: Visitors need to get a negative PCR test result within 7 days of departure and apply for a Travel Authorization online (cost: $75) no less than 24 hours before travel. A number of tests are also required once in country, depending on length of stay, but the good news is the Travel Authorization fee covers the cost of all of these. Those tests will happen on arrival, on day four, day eight and day 14 if applicable. Important: after testing on arrival, travelers will need to quarantine at their accommodations for 24 to 48 hours until a negative result comes back. Most results are said to be ready within 24 hours. Complete details here.
4. Nicaragua
A Nicaraguan scene with volcano in the distance. getty
Though there has been some doubt as to whether the virus figures out of Nicaragua are entirely reliable, if we take them at face value the numbers look very good. Nicaragua is more suited to adventurous and experienced travelers, but most reports from those visiting the country are overwhelmingly positive. And you are free to enter with a negative PCR test, with no restrictions once in country.
Entry requirements: Bring a negative PCR test taken within 72 hours. Complete details here.
5. Peru
Peru, where you'll almost certainly see an alpaca. getty
After being very hard hit initially, the COVID-19 trend in Peru has also been improving, with cases and deaths down. Peru is of course a fascinating country that’s deservedly well-known for its fantastic food. For a unique trip with plenty of variety, it’s hard to beat.
Entry requirements: A negative PCR test taken within 72 hours will get you into the country without a problem. There is currently no quarantine requirement. Note that there is a nationwide 11pm curfew. Complete details here.
6. Ghana
Elmina, Ghana and the hilltop Sao Tiago fort, built by the Portuguese in 1555 and taken by the Dutch ... [+] 82 years later. Photo by M.Torres getty
Ghana reopened this fall and so far things seem to be going very well. Cases are low, as are deaths. For anyone that’s been itching to get to Africa, Ghana may hold the key.
Entry requirements: Ghana requires a negative PCR test taken within 72 hours of departure and also does mandatory testing on arrival at a cost of $150 per passenger. Those test results take half an hour to come back and assuming the result is negative, travelers are free to enter. Complete details here.
7. Maldives
The Maldives has seaplanes, isolated islands and overwater bungalows. getty
The Maldives is another shining example of a nation open to tourism that has managed to keep case counts low. If you want to get really ambitious, note that a Maldives resort is offering unlimited use of an overwater bungalow for all of 2021 for $30,000. Which when evaluated in terms of monthly rent ($2,500) is a pretty great deal. (But keep in mind food and drinks are expensive and you can’t just stroll down to the local grocery store.)
Entry requirements: No restrictions or testing requirements. Complete details here.
8. Bahrain
Manama, Bahrain. getty
Bahrain may not be everyone’s idea of an ideal vacation but for those suffering from cabin fever and wanderlust after months of being stuck at home, it could be an interesting change of scenery nonetheless. Bahrain reopened a while back and though numbers weren’t looking good for a while, they now look much better. What’s more, with testing on arrival in place, there’s no need to hunt down a PCR test within a certain number of hours before departure. This could be a good bet for a straightforward getaway to an unusual destination.
Entry requirements: All passengers will be tested on arrival at a cost of roughly $80. Those under six years old are exempt. A second test will be required if staying more than ten days, but it’s a good bet very few leisure travelers will be in this situation. Complete details here.
Bonus: Brazil
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. getty
There are still relatively high numbers of daily infections in Brazil so they don’t quite make it onto this list officially, but it is worth mentioning because numbers are down from their peak and seem to be getting better, unlike many places in the Americas and Europe right now. They have also proven to be consistently open to allowing visitors with few requirements, so there are unlikely to be any surprises between booking a trip and actually arriving. If you’re willing to travel with a little bit of risk, this might be a good bet.
Entry requirements: No restrictions. Complete details here.
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963ab823795f8462157d68de8a1b13c5 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/gabrielleigh/2020/12/07/why-you-may-need-a-digital-travel-pass-to-fly-in-2021/ | Why You May Need A Digital Travel Pass To Fly In 2021 | Why You May Need A Digital Travel Pass To Fly In 2021
Global airline trade association IATA has announced it will be trialing a new “travel pass” that may very well become one of the most important apps of 2021. It aims to be a central resource for information about COVID-19 travel requirements and restrictions, as well as an official place to carry test results (and vaccination status, eventually) to show to check-in agents and border officers around the world.
Singapore continues to be largely closed off to outsiders because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Can a ... [+] Travel Pass help open things up? NurPhoto via Getty Images
If successfully implemented it would solve one of the major problems of travel in the pandemic era: confusion around what specific requirements exist to travel to any given place and whether what you have is going to be official enough to get in once you land.
Doing something like this in a way that satisfies most travel providers and border control authorities is no doubt a complex task. But if it can be pulled off, you may very well find this travel pass, or something like it, is a must when you head out to fly in 2021.
What the travel pass does
IATA describes the Travel Pass as having the following objectives:
“Informing passengers on what tests, vaccines and other measures they require prior to travel, details on where they can get tested and giving them the ability to share their tests and vaccination results in a verifiable, safe and privacy-protecting manner is the key to giving governments the confidence to open borders.”
Airports are losing millions this year, including Dublin's international airport (pictured). A ... [+] Travel Pass aims to help bring passengers back, if all goes well. (Photo by Artur Widak/NurPhoto via Getty Images) NurPhoto via Getty Images
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IATA points out that the infrastructure for this will need to support governments, airlines, laboratories and travelers – all of whom must be able to trust that the pass is secure, that personal information is protected, that everyone involved considers it official, and that what’s on there can be verified as legitimate.
In the end, the goal is to facilitate more travel even while COVID-19 continues to spread – although hopefully over time and as more people get vaccinated, this spread continues to diminish. And combined with solutions like this, hopefully, things should get better and better in 2021 for people who need to travel.
IATA lays out some of the complexity involved in pulling everything together. IATA
Clearing away the confusion
Travel this year has been confusing and chaotic. Every country, state and region seems to have their own rules and no one can agree on the best way of doing things. More than that – those rules keep changing. Some become more restrictive, others less so. As vaccinations begin to happen, that may only intensify.
MORE FROM FORBESCoronavirus Vaccine Airlift Begins: Here's How It's Getting DoneBy Gabriel Leigh
Consider the vast range of PCR test result formats (which might arrive in an email, by text message or be printed on a slip of paper), or the lack of clarity around complex quarantine requirements that change by the week. Even this many months in, there are health forms handed out on planes that are never collected on arrival, or proprietary web-based forms that passengers are unaware of and have to scramble to fill out on a mobile phone before going through passport control.
Sao Paulo Governor Joao Doria, Sao Paulo state Health Secretary Dr. Jean Gorinchteyn, and Butantan ... [+] Institute Director Dimas Covas pose for photos next to a container carrying doses of the CoronaVac vaccine after it was unloaded from a cargo plane that arrived from China at Guarulhos International Airport in Brazil. (Photo by NELSON ALMEIDA / AFP) (Photo by NELSON ALMEIDA/AFP via Getty Images) AFP via Getty Images
If there were a piece of software that offered verified, up-to-date info both to the traveler and about the traveler’s health status – pulling all of these threads together – it could be revolutionary both for passengers and authorities. That becomes even more true in a likely 2021 scenario where some people are vaccinated and others aren’t – and which vaccines are “official” in any given country is a constantly changing situation.
Blockchain for security
One interesting detail about the Travel Pass is that IATA plans to use decentralized blockchain technology to ensure there is no central database that could be hacked to access personal information. That would seem to be a good sign – that the people handling the tech are savvy and not likely to build something that exposes private data. That’s essential because widespread adoption of something like this will absolutely rely on all partners being one hundred percent confident that it is safe and secure.
Potential pitfalls
The best thing that could happen is that one travel pass product becomes the default option, in use by airlines and immigration authorities across the world. The more all of this can be streamlined across borders, across airline alliances and so on, the better off everyone will be. That may be a lot to ask, however. Already there are competitors, such as this product from the World Economic Forum. Competition is a good thing, as long as it doesn’t add to confusion in this case. Hopefully one very clear winner will emerge.
Samples are taken from travellers prior to departure at testing booths in the recently-inaugurated ... [+] COVID-19 coronavirus rapid testing centre at Israel's Ben Gurion International Airport, Tel Aviv. (Photo by Emmanuel DUNAND / AFP) (Photo by EMMANUEL DUNAND/AFP via Getty Images) AFP via Getty Images
But it’s just as likely that some countries will opt for homemade options, certain airlines will award contracts to private companies of their choosing and so on. In that situation there may be questions over which apps and programs are legitimate, and which are not. There may be confusion about which can be used where. And even if things go relatively smoothly, international passengers may find themselves having to download a new app and sign up for a new profile every time they take a flight. That would limit the effectiveness of travel passes like these and put a damper on travel demand.
And yet, that would still be better than what we have now. IATA’s international presence and relevance to the airline industry puts it in good position to promote this travel pass as a standard for all to adopt. It says the pilot project is slated for the end of this year and an initial launch for Q1 2021. Many will be watching closely as that happens.
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0a5cd468ae97e47eea8bb3b07bd133e2 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/gabrielshaoolian/2016/04/25/cold-email-outreach-8-tips-to-improve-your-email-campaign-results/?sh=39789e65600f | Cold Email Outreach: 8 Tips To Improve Your Email Campaign Results | Cold Email Outreach: 8 Tips To Improve Your Email Campaign Results
Sales are vital for every business to succeed. Lead generation is the first step of any sales process, and it comes in all forms. One of the most effective forms of lead generation is cold email outreach. If done right, it can be very effective at generating targeted leads at a low cost. If done wrong, it will not only be a big time suck and money drain, it can even damage your brand.
I started a digital agency 15 years ago and I had to do cold sales to get my first clients in through the door. Today, that digital agency, Blue Fountain Media, is a global company with over 220 people and growing and has served hundreds of clients each year. In this article, I am going to share with you tactics on how to make cold email outreach more effective so it generates a greater response.
Any established business owner or senior employee can tell you they receive a seemingly endless stream of cold sales emails. When done correctly, these seemingly innocuous email marketing initiatives can generate new leads and revenue for your business. But when they fail, they can get your business’ email efforts blacklisted to the point that you can’t send any outbound emails without them going to recipient spam folders.
How to Do Sales Emails Correctly:
Doing cold sales emails correctly is not a quick and easy 1,2,3 task. Blasting out a template email to multitudes of leads is not the way to start a relationship, or gain interest in what you are offering. If you do this, you will come across as spam and the recipient will not respect your brand. In order to help you craft an email that has the best chance of success I’ve laid out below some simple rules to follow.
1. Don’t Use Templates
One of the most frustrating things for business owners is getting an email and immediately knowing that it’s a template that has been sent to thousands of people. Obviously if you’re trying to send email to hundreds of thousands of people writing each email specifically for one individual isn’t a viable option, but you can still do some things to make an email seem more personal. Personalized fields like first name, business name, industry vertical, location, and title are all great ways to make someone feel as if you’re actually speaking to them instead of just blasting thousands of businesses at once. While this means you might have to create a handful of extra mailers the return on investment is worth the time and effort.
2. Start with Them
A lot of companies like to start with themselves when they send sales emails. They’ll launch into a long-winded explanation about what they do and why it’s so fantastic for a business to work with them. Once in a blue moon that may work, but personally, I’d much rather hear about why you’re interested in talking to me specifically and what it is about my business that makes you a good fit to solve a need for a service or product. This can be difficult to pull off correctly, but it can be achieved by referencing their vertical and specific company name along with a simple statement about why their company is well-known in their space. Doing this shows that you care about the companies you’re trying to work with more than yourself, and this goes a long way.
3. Show You’re on Top of Trends
A great way to add legitimacy to any outbound sales email is to show that you’re on top of trends that are relevant to your recipient’s vertical. Two great ways to do this is to either highlight recent work you’ve done in their vertical or to reference breaking news in their industry in a way that ties back to the product or service you’re offering. Either of these strategies build trust with users because it shows you know what you’re talking about and that you have a least a basic understanding of what they need.
4. Don't Get Too General
This ties directly in to showing that you’re on top of trends and not using templates. Being too general with your sales emails is a huge mistake. Make sure that your emails are tailored specifically to each recipient’s vertical in some way. Being as specific to them as possible to get their attention is absolutely essential to getting your foot in the door with a sales email. General mailers look and feel like spam and while they take less time and energy to create the return on investment is also generally much lower.
5. Include a Strong Call to Action
This one seems sort of obvious, but I can’t tell you how many times I get a sales email outlining what a company or service does and then I don’t get any sort of next step. It’s great that you have the best development service in the northern hemisphere, but what do you want me to do? Should I call you? Schedule a meeting online? Drive up to your business unannounced demanding a meeting? It’s important to include a strong call to action that lets recipients know if they should email you back or if there’s somewhere you want them to go to request a quote or purchase a product.
6. Keep It Short
Most contacts who receive sales emails are busy people and have lots of emails coming their way every day. It’s therefore extremely helpful to keep your emails concise. Open with an interesting and unique subject line, hit their main pain points, show value, leave an impression and wrap it up as quickly as you can. Business owners don’t have time to read through a 500 word email and will immediately send them to the trash.
7. Add Another Touchpoint
Most businesses rely on sales emails because they are a relatively cost-efficient way to create new business without wasting lots of time and energy. Sales emails are a great start, but adding another touchpoint in the process is an even better way to make sure your business is closing sales the right way. If you have a contact’s phone number take the time to give them a follow up call to see if they got your email and if there is anything you can do to help them in person. Another option is to send print collateral if you have a contact’s address. It’s a great way to add legitimacy to your business to close potential leads that might be on the fence about working with you.
8. Pleasantries are Odd
Imagine for a second you’re at a cocktail party. You’re standing alone drinking a nice glass of wine waiting for some colleagues to show up, and all of a sudden someone you’ve never met before jumps in front of you and goes “Hi! How are you today?” Your immediate reaction would probably to either pleasantly tell them you’re fine and move on, or run away quickly.
Sales emails aren’t that different. Your emails effectively interrupt everything else that is going on in someone’s life – and that’s why they can be so powerful. That being said, starting your emails with “Hi! Hope you’re well!” is extremely odd. I don’t know you, I know you don’t really care about how I’m doing, and that you just want to sell me something. Get to it. I’m a lot more likely to interact with you if you ask me a question or introduce yourself and then quickly follow up about something we have in common. Emails should achieve that same goal by starting the conversation quickly and efficiently. Unless you know someone, a pleasantry doesn’t really get that done.
A Sales Email That Missed the Mark and How It Could be improved
As a leader of a company I get more than 20 solicitations per day from various people asking me to work with them. From IT companies to space brokers, it is rare that I get one catches my attention and makes me stop what I’m doing. It’s no easy task – but some emails are noticeably worse than others. For example, let’s take an actual email I received below:
This email violates almost all of the rules I’ve laid out above. In general, this email suffers from a myriad of spelling and capitalization mistakes, and very strangely uses “IT services” and “mobile apps development services” almost interchangeably. They aren’t the same thing – at all – and this is a huge issue before we even dive in to the body of the email because it suggests that this company doesn’t really understand the value of their own service offering.
Getting started with the actual content, let’s look at the first sentence. I’ve redacted individual and company names, but I’ve never met or heard of this company before. The fact that this person introduces themselves in the first sentence adds absolutely no value. It’s not as if the person is a well-known player in my space or someone I’ve worked with before. I understand trying to make the sale seem like it’s coming from an individual and not just the company, but this is using up valuable real estate without adding real value.
The second paragraph finally gets to the point as to who this company is and what they do, but I still have no idea why I’m getting this email or why they specifically want to work with me. Let’s forget for a second that my company, Blue Fountain Media, offers mobile app development services and if I wanted to build an app for my company I would just do it myself – if I were a business owner that actually wanted an app I would want to know what they could specifically do for me. Nothing in this paragraph is tailored to my vertical, and my interest is all but lost.
One thing that is nice is that they specify that they operate out of New Jersey. I’m in New York, so that’s a doable 2 hour drive for a meeting, which certainly makes this offer a bit more appealing. However, after introducing the fact that they are based out of Princeton the email then backtracks and says that they have development centers across the globe. Particularly in the world of information technology and development this is a big question mark. Including “development centers spread across the globe” isn’t impressive - it leads to questions about quality of work and probably should be removed.
The third paragraph has a lot of syntax and punctuation problems that don’t really put any outstanding fears about the “global development” question to rest. However, let’s focus on the call to action in this paragraph: “Shall I call you now?” While this call to action is certainly strong, it’s completely illogical. If this email is in fact reaching out to C-suite or financial decision-makers at companies, is it reasonable to think they are going to want you to call them right after reading this email? These are extremely busy people who have calendars that are already filled with tons of meetings and tasks they need to get done. A call to action like “I’d love to schedule a call with you to discuss further” is a much more efficient way to achieve the same goal of getting someone on the phone with you in person while making it clear that you respect the recipient’s time.
This email does manage to use personalized fields for my name and it does include bullet points, so there are some positives here. I also appreciate the fact this email is short, but by the time I’m done reading it I’m so disillusioned with the company because of their spelling mistakes, strange call to action, and reference to “development centers spread across the globe” that this email is going immediately into the trash.
Sales Takes Time
Whether it’s B2B or B2C, most really big sales take a good amount of time to gestate. Sales emails are similar in that they take time to perfect and often the first sales email you send won’t provide immediate ROI. It’s important that you closely track sales email performance so you can tweak them appropriately and A/B test emails to get a sense of what connects with recipients and what doesn’t. If you don’t get immediate results, don’t despair. Stick at it and remember that the reason so many businesses do sales emails, is that when they are done right it is one of the most effective sales tactics in the business.
To learn more about improving your digital presence and driving results, visit Blue Fountain Media online.
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d6c833fe969504e751e09abce7dc159d | https://www.forbes.com/sites/gabrielshaoolian/2017/02/07/logo-redesign-what-to-consider-when-its-time-for-a-brand-update/?sh=3dab10253e99 | Updating Your Brand For A Fresher Look: How To Know It's Time For A Logo Redesign | Updating Your Brand For A Fresher Look: How To Know It's Time For A Logo Redesign
Image Designed By: Blue Fountain Media / Image Credit: Morton Salt, Pepsi, The León Group
Other than your brand name, your company logo is one of the most important things people will notice when they discover your brand for the first time -- and it’s something they’ll continue to see and notice every time they encounter your brand in the future. It’s critical that your logo tells the right story about your company. You want it to convey your personality and have it be immediately recognizable as unique to your company.
But the truth is no logo can stay relevant forever. Times change and so do design sensibilities and norms. Companies change too, and the logo that spoke volumes when your company was formed may no longer make sense if you pivot or undergo a substantial change to your business. Here are a few cases when a logo redesign may be in order:
The logo is old
Even if when your company was formed you had a logo you loved, you might find that over time it grows stale or is no longer as relevant or as appealing as you once thought. Not to mention, an outdated logo is usually easy to spot, even for average consumers who don’t know the first thing about design. There are often one or two design elements that are no longer in style (think: italicized fonts, gradients, or bubbly text) that end up making the logo look like something out of the last decade. No matter how iconic your logo is, its creation will always be informed by the design standards, norms, and trends of the time in which it was created. This means that it will become outdated at some point. Think back to the last time your logo was refreshed and consider whether signs of age are beginning to show.
The logo is too complex
Logos with a lot of detail or too much gradient often don’t translate well to digital. Companies that were established long before the digital age may find that their logos look great on letterhead but not so great as profile images or in digital ad creative. Modern design in our current moment is all about simplicity, and fortunately logos without too much complexity usually look best on the web. If you look at your web properties and find that your detailed logo is difficult to see or decipher, it’s a clue that a redesign might be in order.
The company is evolving
When your company first got started and a logo was designed, it was probably perfectly emblematic of what you stood for. But we all know that no company remains static for long. Companies grow and evolve drastically over time. New services, products, and company missions are introduced. Mergers and acquisitions take place. Company changes are usually things to be celebrated -- they are often brought about by growth and development. Unfortunately, these positive changes may also end up rendering a company’s original logo less than entirely relevant. A logo redesign can be just the thing to help signal a new direction.
Image Credit: BP Global
BP introduced a stylized sunflower with modern shades of yellow and green to match their increased focus on environmentalism.
The company is growing
Many companies start out small and spend a few years fighting for survival. During this phase of the company’s development, investing in quality logo design might not be top of the list of necessary expenses. Maybe something gets designed on the fly and it’s maintained out of necessity during the lean years. As the company grows and becomes better known, however, that scrappy logo might no longer cut it. A young company that is growing more established should consider a logo redesign if the proper time and investment wasn’t put towards branding in the early stages.
Things to consider:
Once your company determines that the time has come for a logo redesign, there are a few things to keep in mind as you begin the process.
How identifiable is your logo?
Companies that have long and storied histories usually have logos that are immediately identifiable. The logo alone can conjure intense feelings for the viewer who has come to associate the logo with the brand and the brand with positive experiences or memories. The golden arches for example, will immediately bring McDonald’s to mind. A single swoosh makes people think of the athleticism and perseverance that Nike has come to embody. The more identifiable the logo, the more cautious a company needs to be in redesigning it. You don’t want to overhaul the logo so much that it loses its original power and meaning.
Pepsi is another example of an identifiable logo. Throughout the years the brand has undergone many changes, but they still maintain a familiar look and feel.
Image Credit: Designhill; Pepsi
How much do you want to honor the past?
Related to the question of how recognizable or iconic a logo has become, is the question of how much the company wants to honor its past in the redesigning of its logo. A logo redesign can be a bold statement that proclaims a break from the past. It’s important to consider if this is indeed the statement you’re trying to make. Bold redesigns can fail if they’re perceived as erasing a cherished brand history or betraying the principles the brand was founded upon.
Over time Morton Salt has redesigned their beloved Morton’s Salt Girl. The newest version of the logo is modern while maintaining a nostalgic connection to the brand’s origins.
Image Credit: Morton Salt
How outdated is your logo?
Earlier I mentioned how obvious it is to consumers when a logo feels tired, stale, or glaringly outdated. But there are degrees of how outdated a logo can be. A logo that hasn’t been touched in twenty years will almost certainly be in need of full redesign, but a logo that was redesigned within the past few years might warrant a subtler touch. If the logo is only somewhat outdated, there’s the option to simply refresh it to bring it in line with current design sensibilities.
Google updates its logo on a regular basis without doing any huge overhauls. The result is a logo that is constantly evolving:
Image Credit: Digiperform; Google
How important are current trends?
Logo design, like anything, goes through trends. When considering a redesign it’s useful to look at current trends to get a sense of where design sensibilities lie. That said, it’s not a good idea to blindly redesign your logo according to these trends. Trends, as we all know, are fleeting. Furthermore, not all design trends will be suitable for all brands. Many current designs favor simplicity and minimalism, but that look might not work for a university with a deep and rich history, for example. Learn about current trends but don’t let them dictate your direction.
Where will the logo live?
It’s important to consider where your logo will appear. Most business are multi-faceted and a logo is almost always going to be used in a variety of places. People will see and interact with your logo in many different ways. They’ll see it on your website and your social profiles. They might see it on billboards and magazine spreads, or even emblazoned on the side of a van.
Consider, The León Group for example. The property management group has their logo not just on digital collateral - but offline as well, often featured on the side of their vehicles. Considering this facet of logo use during the design process is critical. Something that conveys well on a website may not be as effective when enlarged on an offline platform.
Image Credit: The León Group
Updating Your Logo Design
As far as the world is concerned, your logo is the face of your brand. It plays a critical role in the way consumers perceive your company -- and whether or nor not they will have positive first impressions. Logos that are noticeably outdated, too complex, or no longer entirely relevant are good candidates for a redesign. If you are going to invest in a logo redesign make sure to consider ways to maintain your brand’s integrity and identifiable design elements at the same time as you focus on updating for a more modern feel.
To learn more about logo design, visit Blue Fountain Media online.
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3e71ff48be622eb658dcb2ffb44b7b3c | https://www.forbes.com/sites/gadlevanon/2020/08/17/what-the-post-pandemic-economy-will-look-like/?sh=21ca8c637835 | What The Post-Pandemic Economy Will Look Like | What The Post-Pandemic Economy Will Look Like
The Covid-19 pandemic is leading to what may end up being the deepest economic recession since the Great Depression. Consumption categories affected by social distancing are driving this recession. And they will be slow to recover to pre-pandemic levels, as many consumers remain reluctant to spend on them.
But eventually, a vaccine will be found, and the fear of the virus will dissipate. How different will the US economy look, say five years from now?
First let’s identify the main Covid-19 related economic trends that will impact the US economy:
What’s new will be old. To start, some of the industries most impacted by social distancing – entertainment, travel, lodging, food services and personal services – should make close to full recovery, but only after a wrenching down-period. 2020 and perhaps 2021 as well, will be devastating for these industries, resulting in many bankruptcies and mergers. The stronger companies will survive, making these industries more efficient. And in the years prior to the pandemic, these industries were growing much faster than the overall economy. That consumer demand figures to rebound, to the benefit of the companies still standing.
The shift to online. Industries which are positioned to transition to online commerce, and may have anyway over the long run, have sped up their evolutions. The retail apocalypse, in which brick-and-mortar retail increasingly gives way to e-commerce, is here. In addition, restaurants will still have increased curbside pickups and home-delivery, telemedicine is unlikely to entirely diminish, and higher education and banking both figure to retain strong online components. Beyond the accelerated shift online, the higher education industry looks especially fragile and may significantly shrink during this crisis.
The main long-lasting impact of Covid-19 will be the acceleration of the shift to remote work. Pre-pandemic, roughly 5 percent of full-time employees with office jobs worked from home, a figure likely to settle at 20-30 percent in the new normal. Location will become less important in hiring, with a larger number of white-collar workers living further away from city centers, in different parts of the US and also outside the country. This will have massive ripple effects, including reducing demand for business travel, impacting the hotel and transportation industries, especially air and train transportation.
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Declining commercial real estate and cities. The collective shift to online will also lead to a drop in demand for office and retail space, including for higher education. This change will be both large and relatively sudden, and will have an outsized, perhaps unprecedented, impact on non-residential real estate construction and prices. Industries that rely on providing services to office buildings and brick and mortar retail stores will shrink as well.
The impact on city centers will be especially large. Fewer people will go there to work, shop, and consume other services. Real estate prices are likely to grow more slowly, or drop more sharply, than in other places. Areas outside city centers will benefit from this trend, experiencing an increase in consumption and demand for real estate. In a more extreme scenario, the shift in business and real estate tax revenue from the principal cities in metro areas to other locations will start a vicious cycle of fiscal crisis in principal cities reducing government services and the quality of life there, spurring more people to leave.
However extreme it proves, the current decline in business activity and incomes as well as the long-term crisis expected in real estate activity and prices, will lead to a state and local fiscal crisis that could easily impact spending even five years from now.
What are the labor market implications of these trends?
The acceleration of the shift to online activities and the destruction of less efficient companies, as well as the pressure to cut costs in a recession, will lead to a major boost in automation and efficiency-improvement and a lower demand for workers.
That drop in demand, and the corresponding wage stagnation, will hit especially hard in several ways: Demand for workers in the social-distancing related industries will decline as they become more efficient; routine office jobs will be automated faster; there will be fewer sales jobs, especially in brick-and-mortar retail; likewise there will be less demand for in-person customer service jobs in restaurants, for construction workers, and for higher education workers. Lastly, more white-collar jobs will be offshored.
But certain jobs will be in greater demand: The rise in online shopping and home deliveries will significantly increase the demand for drivers and warehouse workers. Driverless cars becoming a significant factor will reverse this trend, but that is not likely for at least the next decade. In addition, the shift to online activity, acceleration in companies’ digital transformation, and general technology sector growth will increase the demand for technology-related workers and services.
These trends will have a more negative impact on the demand for less-educated workers than on professionals. But at the same time, the long-run trend of much lower growth in the supply of less educated workers will continue. It is therefore not clear whether there will be over-supply of less educated workers.
The bad news overall is that the economic scars of the pandemic are not only likely to linger for years but also exacerbate the decades-long trend of rising income inequality. Many high-earning workers will benefit from growing technology demand while the jobs of many less-educated workers will vanish.
The good news is that the U.S. economy is likely to retain its dominant global position. Technology is going to become even more important, and the US has a strong comparative advantage in that sector, especially in growth areas like cloud computing, internet, business-related software, online payments, social media and smartphone software. US technology hubs will benefit the most. Secondly, the depth of the crisis will leave many distressed companies and assets ripe for plucking across the globe. The US private equity industry is much larger and more developed than elsewhere, and in a great position to benefit from these opportunities.
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1e6fcb6d0ce3672389cd2f6648f84c45 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/gadlevanon/2020/11/23/remote-work-the-biggest-legacy-of-covid-19/?sh=3788b9787f59 | Remote Work: The Biggest Legacy Of Covid-19 | Remote Work: The Biggest Legacy Of Covid-19
The biggest impact of Covid-19 may be remote work. Pre-pandemic, roughly five percent of full-time employees with office jobs worked primarily from home. That figure is likely to settle at 20-30 percent in the new normal, with variation across occupations and industries. Location will become less important in hiring. More white-collar workers will live farther from city centers, in different parts of the U.S. and even outside the country, accelerating and changing geographic trends.
A large, permanent increase in remote work
An increasing number of employers expect remote work to become the new normal. Remote work does not seem to hurt productivity, and there is a growing realization that reversing remote work practices after a year or more would be difficult.
The Conference Board conducted two surveys among U.S. HR executives in April and in September. Just five percent of respondents reported that, prior to the pandemic, 40 percent or more of their employees were working primarily from home (at least 3 days per week). But by April, nearly 20 percent of respondents said they expected 40 percent or more of their employees to work primarily from home after the pandemic. By September, that number had risen to over a third of responding companies.
Results are even stronger for organizations with primarily professional and office workers. Almost half believe that, a year after the pandemic subsides, at least 40 percent of their employees will work from home three or more days per week.
The Conference Board
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Which jobs are likely to experience bigger increases in remote working?
In most office jobs, working from home has been a rapidly growing option for about 15 years. Pre-pandemic, most acceleration in the work-from-home trend occurred in high-skilled white-collar occupations; rates among office and administrative workers were substantially lower. The pandemic, however, has seen administrative remote work climbing as well.
The fastest growth in remote work has been in computer-related occupations, with business, financial, and management occupations also experiencing rapid growth in teleworking. Remote work is generally not an option for most blue-collar and manual services jobs and health, education, and retail sales jobs.
The Conference Board
Online job ads provide another hint about the remote trend. Job ads data from The Conference Board® Burning Glass® Help Wanted OnLine™ series indicate a large increase in the share of office jobs ads that allow remote work. Chart 3 shows this by selected occupation groups for two periods: the eight weeks ending on February 29th (pre-pandemic) and the eight weeks ending in mid-October. Again, the increase was most noticeable in computer occupations. The chart also shows that some clerical and office support jobs not requiring a bachelor’s degree have experienced a large increase in remote status.
The Conference Board
Prior to the pandemic, clerical/admin office workers were less likely to work from home for several reasons. First, many were hourly/non-exempt workers (eligible for overtime pay), which creates complications in a remote work environment. Two, employers were required to regularly document their hours worked each day and total overtime earnings—hard to do for remote work. Third, many workers lacked the space and equipment to easily shift work home.
These issues created significant barriers—barriers that were removed when pandemic lockdowns forced companies to address them. This may signal a massive shift to remote work for these jobs.
Hiring of remote workers outside commuting zones
Perhaps the biggest impact of the accelerated shift to remote work is the growing willingness of employers to hire workers outside office commuting zones.
According to The Conference Board September 2020 survey, before the pandemic, only 12 percent of surveyed U.S. organizations were willing to hire 100 percent virtual workers anywhere in the U.S. or internationally. In comparison, by September 2020, 36 percent were willing: a threefold increase. The share was even higher for predominantly white-collar employers (Chart 4).
Now that many organizations have concluded that remote work works, they realize they can potentially increase their talent pool and lower labor costs by hiring from less expensive markets. This new willingness to hire remote workers could foretell a trend of shifting professional and office jobs to less expensive geographies, as well as a wave of offshoring jobs.
The Conference Board
The geographical implications of a permanent increase in remote work
Prior to the pandemic, many Americans, especially parents in large metro areas, found it impossible to have an adequately sized home and a reasonable commute. Remote work can significantly reduce this conflict. As a result, housing demand may shift from areas near city centers where employment was concentrated prior to the pandemic. Think Midtown and the Financial District in Manhattan and the Chicago Loop. But to where?
Remote workers who must come to the office periodically will move farther away from city centers, but still within reasonable commuting distance. That will likely lead to a shift to the suburbs or smaller towns around the city center.
Workers not required to report in physically will move to attractive residential areas. Places ranked high in best places to live rankings will likely see an influx. The current shift from the Northeast and Midwest to the West and South may accelerate. Vacation destinations may see faster growth.
City centers will likely be hardest hit. The drop in economic activity since the pandemic’s start is most significant in city centers. Some economic activity is shifting to areas outside city centers.
In sum, 2020’s unexpected but successful experiment with massive remote work may lead not just to more remote workers, but also to millions of Americans relocating in the next decade or so.
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f05f93a0238d43435a491187148e3c41 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/gadlevanon/2021/02/04/companies-may-regret-jumping-on-the-remote-work-bandwagon/ | Companies May Regret Jumping On The Remote Work Bandwagon | Companies May Regret Jumping On The Remote Work Bandwagon
Working from home AFP via Getty Images
After 11 months of positive experience with remote work, a large and growing share of employers is expecting and planning for it to become the new normal for many of their workers. But what if after the country and the economy recover, it turns out that remote work does not work as well as expected?
Indeed, there is a risk that many companies will regret jumping on the remote work bandwagon before too long.
The pandemic’s spontaneous remote work experiment has, to this point, gone better than expected. According to several studies, many employers have concluded that remote work works.
The shift to remote work also provides employers with other benefits: lower office space expenses and – no longer geographically confined – a larger pool of job candidates, which, in turn, will reduce labor costs by permitting hiring from cheaper markets. That is undoubtedly why executives are preparing for this new normal to extend well beyond COVID-19. Only about a quarter of organizations reported that more than 10 percent of their workforce worked primarily remotely (at least three days a week) before the pandemic, according to The Conference Board’s September survey of 330 HR leaders. More than one-third of respondents expect that 40 percent or more of their workers will continue to be primarily remote one year after COVID-19 has subsided.
But this forecast rests on the assumption that employers are right about the enduring success of remote work. Employers’ 2020 experiences have to be understood in context, however: It was an unusual year if there ever was one, with both a once in a century pandemic and one of the deepest recessions in US history.
Remote work’s effectiveness may well remain even after the pandemic is long gone and the economy fully recovers. But there are a couple of reasons to be cautious about making such a prediction.
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First, changes in perceived productivity/performance in 2020 were driven by several forces and it is hard to disentangle them. To what extent, for example, were they spurred by the impact of the shift to remote work and how much by the impact of operating in an economic crisis? Many workers may have performed well in 2020 not because they worked from home but because the sense of urgency around completing tasks was elevated by many companies’ dire financial conditions.
Second, the quality of collaboration can remain strong when people still know each other well from the time they were together in an office. But this familiarity will weaken as the workforce churns and workers interact less in person with comparative strangers. And third, its not clear how feasible it would be to maintain corporate culture without all the informal interactions that occur in an office space.
In sum, there is a non-trivial risk that after several years of the increasing prevalence of remote work, some companies will conclude that it is not as successful as expected and decide to bring workers back to the office. But such a move would present its own, new complications.
A shift to remote work will prompt millions of Americans to relocate within the next decade, many leaving expensive housing markets in large metro areas for cheaper living elsewhere. Some will move far enough away from the office as to make a daily commute taxing, while others will move to places where a daily, or even weekly, commute would be impossible. Trying to readjust from that would be akin to squeezing toothpaste back into the tube. Many remote employees also value other benefits of working from home beyond reduced commuting, such as increased control of their daily work schedule, and having to dress less formally, especially from the shoulders down. Forcing workers back to the more structured environment of an office would have large retention consequences.
How should business leaders proceed?
First, to make a more accurate determination of how successful remote work is, many companies will need to improve their in-house performance analytics, such as work quantity and quality as well as clients’ and co-workers’ feedback, to determine optimal remote work rates. It is very likely that these rates will vary significantly across types of jobs. Thus far, for example, tech workers have worked remotely at much higher rates than those in other occupations.
Second, business leaders should make the shift to remote work more gradual and avoid promising that it will be the new normal. Managing expectations will be critical for executives and workers alike.
Third, companies will have to make contingency plans for a possible reversal if remote work proves less efficacious than expected. For example, companies may want to estimate the number of employees with a high risk of quitting, if a forced return to the office becomes necessary.
The experiences of the last year have been exceptional, for better and worse. They have created opportunities – but, as with emerging from any upheaval, we must be careful in how we define and adjust to a new normal. It will take thorough consideration and planning.
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ee1ded6570fc2f9d56255bedbbfcb274 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/gadyepstein/2010/08/13/chinas-foreign-apologists-er-defenders/ | China's Foreign Apologists, Er, Defenders | China's Foreign Apologists, Er, Defenders
Image via Wikipedia
We take on one of the great creatures of China punditry, the China Apologist, in this week's Sinica podcast recorded in Beijing. Actually, this creature has been around for a very long time, sometimes referred to imprecisely as a Panda Hugger, but we chose to tag and analyze — dissect? vivisect? — the present-day animal as we find him walking the Earth. And talking on CNBC, attacking Google, recommending that Nike and General Electric should invest in North Korea because similar engagement with China by Apple, Mattel and other Western companies has helped give the Chinese people "more freedom than they could have imagined even a decade ago." The alleged apologist I refer to is Shaun Rein, who has staked out strong positions in commentaries here at Forbes and drawn the ire of some other China watchers, notably The Peking Duck.
Listen to the mp3 here for Rein's case for the defense, and for our spirited discussion about the entire subspecies of apologists, including my anthropological definition of what a China apologist is. You'll hear first on the podcast about the curious case of Chinese funny man Guo Degang, who has run afoul of authorities and whose books have been taken off the shelves in several cities. Earlier this month, Guo, a big celebrity here, chose at his peril to disregard one of life's axioms: Never pick a fight with an opponent who buys their ink by the barrel. In this case, he took on a very powerful, state-backed media apparatus, and it has not gone entirely well for him. (A good blow-by-blow, somewhat literally, here). As our pundit panel noted, since the state media has limited freedom to take on serious government problems, they go after celebrities with gusto. A sort of political twist on tabloid journalism, but just like in the West, it is also a commercial phenomenon: it sells newspapers gets page views.
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afb73a421c44651532f1bf999221d8fd | https://www.forbes.com/sites/gadyepstein/2010/10/08/what-liu-xiaobo-and-the-nobel-peace-prize-stand-for/ | What Liu Xiaobo And The Nobel Peace Prize Stand For | What Liu Xiaobo And The Nobel Peace Prize Stand For
2010 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Liu Xiaobo
China created a problem for itself with Liu Xiaobo. That much is obvious after the Chinese dissident won the Nobel Peace Prize today for his peaceful calls for democracy in his country. But what should be even more obvious is that it was not the much-reported Chinese threat of damaged relations with Norway that created this problem. It was sending a man to prison for 11 years for peacefully advocating democracy in his country. [Read here for what Liu Xiaobo stands for, in his own words before his sentencing; then read here for the Chinese court's verdict and sentencing of Liu.]
Many of us around the world, including perhaps even members of the Nobel committee, have shown something akin to tolerance for China's authoritarian instincts over the last decade, as the memories of Tiananmen Square faded and the era of the Chinese boom dawned. Many Chinese dissidents you have never heard of have been locked away for several years at a time for peaceful, noble and brave actions, while the freer world, so busy engaging with China, looks the other way or, at most, asks the government quietly and meekly to do better. This year's decision by Google to end self-censorship in China was the exception that proves the rule, so newsworthy because it was so jolting from the status quo.
Yet the status quo endures, day after day. We can become desensitized by the relentlessness of everyday authoritarianism. Even the most disproportionate punishments, though briefly shocking enough to make headlines, end up being remembered only by a small number. At this moment, a lawyer named Gao Zhisheng is missing somewhere in the dark recesses of China's security apparatus -- he was a bigger name for a while, a rumored Nobel contender himself, when he was missing for much of last year, then resurfaced this year a near-broken man. Now he is gone again, certainly no better off, and forgotten to much of the world, much less to the Chinese people, many of whom have never heard of him.
This has been the unfortunate fate of most Chinese dissidents, to be remembered by only a few and known to very few of their own countrymen. Chinese writer Zha Jianying wrote movingly of this in a 2007 New Yorker article about her imprisoned dissident brother Zha Jianguo, posing the existential question of what good her brother's sacrifice has done.
This Nobel Peace Prize helps answer that existential question. It has been awarded to one man, and his wife, Liu Xia, is rightfully proud of her husband. She will never have to worry that her husband will be forgotten, and she knows that many around the world and some within her country will learn what he stands for. But the award also confers a proud legacy to so many other Chinese dissidents who have been forgotten. More people around the world and inside China will know what they all stand for, and for a time will remember them and their cause a little better. That is one deeper meaning of this prize.
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fac87d9e69e9ea9294d640da9a3d13e5 | https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-55835153 | Indyref2: Is Boris Johnson an asset or a liability for unionism? | Indyref2: Is Boris Johnson an asset or a liability for unionism?
It's a sign of these lockdown times that there's a bit of a row over whether the prime minister should be visiting Scotland at all on Thursday.
First minister Nicola Sturgeon has said people shouldn't be travelling across the UK - and politicians should lead by example.
But Downing Street insists it is a "fundamental role of the PM to be the physical representative of the UK government".
While London and Edinburgh debate whether the visit meets Covid guidelines, many unionists now believe making their case increasingly falls into the essential category.
For months, polls have suggested support for Scottish independence is higher than that for staying the UK.
We at the BBC like to be cautious around polls, but there is now a pattern: support for the Union looks weaker than ever.
There are two key reasons for the increase in support for independence, which come up time and again in conversations. Both are linked to Boris Johnson.
The first is Brexit. A comfortable majority of Scottish voters backed Remain in 2016 - and some of the increased support for independence
appears to come from that group.
That's unlikely to be helped by the fact that the most prominent Brexit backer is now prime minister.
The second reason is the way the pandemic has been handled. Health is a devolved issue, so the Scottish government has been making most of the big decisions on it for the past 10 months.
Although Scottish ministers admit mistakes have been made, polls suggest Scots are happy Ms Sturgeon is making the decisions and not Mr Johnson.
Polling also indicates most Scots think an independent Scotland
would have dealt with the pandemic better.
Senior unionist campaigners and strategists in Scotland believe the Sturgeon v Johnson choice is one of their weakest points.
SNP politicians only half-joke about rubbing their hands in glee when the prime minister heads north.
Even senior Scottish Tories privately admit their man is just not popular in Scotland. That's why you normally see them focus on the Scottish leadership: Douglas Ross and Ruth Davidson.
One unionist strategist lamented: "Boris is a liability." Yet this source also believes it is important for UK ministers to make regular trips to show they are engaging and making their case.
"There is a sense that Westminster Tories are suddenly paying attention... they're suddenly realising it's an existential threat," they said.
The UK government knows it needs to make the case for the Union more forcefully - and positively.
We've already looked at
how it intends to say no
to an independence referendum in the near future - arguing recovery from the pandemic is the priority. But in Whitehall, many acknowledge they need to do more than just say no.
Expect to hear more in the coming weeks about the UK government's role in Scottish life. Note how, on Monday, Health Secretary Matt Hancock made a point of talking about the Scottish Ambulance Service
receiving support from other UK services.
This isn't uncommon, and works both ways, but unionists believe it shows the strength of cooperation. "The Union in action," texted one person close to the prime minister.
Mr Johnson sees the vaccine programme as another example. The UK government has been responsible for procurement and the Scottish government is then responsible for distribution. "It's a strong example of the governments of the UK working together," said a source.
The Scottish government argues there would still be close cooperation if Scotland were independent. A senior source told me they believed the UK government had held it back at points in the pandemic - also suggesting it had failed to commit properly to a strategy to eliminate the virus earlier this year.
The UK government is prepared to fund projects in devolved areas, despite the row that will cause with Holyrood, because it believes it will show that Scotland has two governments, both of which matter.
None of this disguises the polling, though. Mr Johnson's government has argued for months that the furlough scheme is a perfect example of the UK in action - the Treasury supporting workers across the UK.
That hasn't always worked - and even backfired when the chancellor was accused of only extending the scheme when the South of England went into lockdown, not when Scotland and Wales both asked.
In London, there are debates about what to do next. Cabinet Office Minister Michael Gove is a key figure. The PM's former deputy Brexit negotiator Oliver Lewis is playing a central role too.
A cabinet committee now meets almost weekly to discuss Union strategy, with representation from the Treasury, Cabinet Office, Scotland Office, Wales Office and Northern Ireland Office.
Sources talk of different strategies being floated, but say the main focus will be recovery from Covid, and arguing that's easier as part of the UK.
Insiders talk about a focus on showing the tangible benefits of the Union, rather than "constitutional tinkering".
Labour has set up a commission to look at devolution across the UK. It is being advised by former Prime Minister Gordon Brown, who argues the solution is as much about rediscovering the purpose of the UK as it is about moving more powers out of London.
Much of this is focused on May's Holyrood election. If the SNP wins comfortably - as polls suggest it will do - it will be able to go to Westminster and say it has a mandate for another referendum.
Mr Johnson has said an independence referendum should happen no more than once in a generation, but some believe that position is unsustainable.
As he visits Scotland, the stakes are high.
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95421758060d1ff13685e8943cd609ba | https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-55938380 | Covid: Local elections to go ahead in England | Covid: Local elections to go ahead in England
May's local and mayoral elections in England are going ahead - but voters will be asked to bring their own pens to help combat coronavirus.
The government is giving councils an extra £31m for plastic screens in polling stations and hand sanitiser in an effort to make the polls Covid-safe.
And people who are shielding will be encouraged to vote by post.
But an all-postal ballot has been ruled out, despite local fears the elections will be too difficult to organise.
The Cabinet Office has said the government plans to vaccinate
all of the first nine priority groups - including the over 50s - by May
, giving it confidence to
press ahead with the elections.
Police and crime commissioner (PCC) elections will also go ahead on 6 May in both England and Wales. Welsh local council elections are scheduled to take place next year.
Scottish Parliament and Welsh Senedd elections are also scheduled to take place this May - with the devolved governments responsible for running them.
The government had previously said the local elections for England, scheduled for 6 May, were under review amid uncertainty about lockdown restrictions.
But Cabinet Office minister Chloe Smith confirmed on Friday they will go ahead, arguing "democracy should not be cancelled because of Covid".
May will see a bumper crop of voting, with local elections that were
postponed last year
combined with those originally scheduled to take place in 2021.
It means around 5,000 council seats will be contested in 149 local authorities in England, alongside 25 seats in the London Assembly, and some mayoral races.
Participation in local elections varies between years depending on which seats are up for grabs - around 7.5 million took part in England's elections in 2018, and 6.5 million in 2017.
As well as being asked to bring their own pen or pencil to mark their ballots, those voting in a polling station this year will have to wear a mask.
Candidates are also being asked not to give voters a lift to polling stations in their cars - a common practice at election time.
Polling booths must also be designed to ensure "maximum ventilation", the government says.
Rules on proxy voting - where people designate someone else to vote on their behalf - will also be changed to allow people who need to self-isolate to request an emergency proxy vote up until 5pm on polling day.
However, the government said it had decided against postal ballot-only elections "as this could increase fraud risk and reduce choice for voters".
An extra £15m will be given to English councils to hold their elections, with an estimated additional £16m for PCC elections in England and Wales.
In a break with tradition, councils are also being asked not to use schools as polling stations in a bid to minimise any further disruption to pupils' education.
There's been growing expectation that the government would stick to May for these elections after ministers signalled they were reluctant to move them.
The government's action plan, the extension to proxy voting, and the extra funding have all been welcomed - but they haven't allayed all concerns.
Logistically, there are still questions over whether enough suitable polling stations can be found, whether PPE should be supplied to staff who man them, and whether all the extra costs incurred by councils will be covered.
Politically, the big worry is the impact on campaigning.
With door-to-door visits limited, there's concern about how to engage voters, and what the effect of a shift to online campaigns might mean.
Councils are saying they'll crack on now and make these elections happen safely, but that's not without its challenges.
Councillor John Fuller, Conservative leader of South Norfolk Council and chairman of the District Councils Network, said delaying the elections would have been the best option.
"It would have been better to have a poll conducted when everyone was vaccinated rather than a campaign started in lockdown, but we'll all pull together to make this work," he said.
He added that going ahead with elections in May would be "challenging," but said he was "relieved" that the need for extra costs had been recognised by the government.
Labour accused the government of being "woefully unprepared," warning "cash-strapped" local councils were not being given necessary support.
The party's shadow minister for democracy, Cat Smith, called for dedicated funding to help local authorities sign people up to vote by post.
"Ministers are yet to respond to the challenge of recruiting polling and count staff, with so many workers needed as Covid marshals and for additional cleaning," she added.
The Liberal Democrats have complained about
government guidance
that it is not "permissible" for party activists to knock on doors or post leaflets during lockdown.
A spokesman for the party accused ministers of trying to ban volunteer campaigning ahead of the polls, and called on them to "urgently retract" it.
"It cannot be right that it is legal for pizza delivery leaflets to come through your letterbox, but leaflets that criticise the government are not," they added.
"If putting your case to neighbours is banned, the election isn't fair."
Ministers say they will publish specific guidance on face-to-face campaigning after consulting political parties.
|
393bfa3271e2e649121a3e28e236d609 | https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-56149359 | Myanmar coup: Military leaders must release Aung San Suu Kyi - Raab | Myanmar coup: Military leaders must release Aung San Suu Kyi - Raab
UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab has called on the leaders of Myanmar's military coup to release democratically elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
In a speech, Mr Raab called on the military to "step aside" and respect Myanmar's democratic process.
It comes after at least two people were killed in protests against the coup -
the worst violence yet in more than two weeks of demonstrations
.
However, tens of thousands have come out to protest on Monday.
The demonstrations - nicknamed the "22222 Revolution" - come despite a thinly-veiled threat by the military read out on a state-run broadcaster that protesters were heading down a path "where they will suffer loss of life".
Military leaders overthrew Ms Suu Kyi's elected government and have placed her under house arrest, charging her with possessing illegal walkie-talkies and violating the country's Natural Disaster Law.
Protesters are demanding an end to the military action and want her released along with senior members of her National League for Democracy (NLD) party.
Reacting to the two protesters' deaths on Twitter, Mr Raab said: "We will consider further action, with our international partners, against those crushing democracy and choking dissent."
He added that the shooting of peaceful protesters was "beyond the pale".
Speaking to the United Nations Human Rights Council later, Mr Raab said the situation in Myanmar, also known as Burma, is getting worse, with human rights violations and abuses "well-documented".
He said the crisis "presents an increased risk to the Rohingya and other ethnic minorities", and called for civilian leaders such as Ms Suu Kyi to be released.
The foreign secretary also called for the UN to have "urgent and unfettered" access to investigate human rights abuses against people in camps in China.
And he criticised Russia for what he called the "disgraceful" jailing of the opposition leader, Alexei Navalny.
"His treatment and the violence inflicted on peaceful protesters can only further reinforce the world's concerns that Russia is failing to meet its international obligations," Mr Raab said.
China and Russia are both members of the UN Human Rights Council.
The council was set up in 2006 to replace the UN Commission on Human Rights, which faced widespread criticism for letting countries with poor human rights records become members.
The council meets three times a year, and reviews the human rights records of all UN members as well as setting up commissions of inquiry to report on human rights violations in countries including Myanmar, Syria, North Korea, Burundi and South Sudan.
Huge crowds have turned out in cities across Myanmar on Monday, as part of a general strike called against the military coup.
Thompson Chau, editor of local media outlet Frontier, told the BBC's World Service that today's protests "feel a lot bigger than before, with more roads blocked, highways blocked and shops closed everywhere we go".
"Today is more of a huge strike in a sense that everyone is not going to work. All the shops are closed."
Mr Chau adds that even those working for "official state companies, reporting and tax departments, government doctors, engineers", are all going on strike.
There have been no reports of violence today, despite the stern warnings delivered by the military.
Monday's protest, which has been nicknamed the "22222 Revolution", a reference to the digits in the date (22/02/2021), is being compared by protesters to demonstrations on 8 August 1988, known also as the 8888 uprising.
On that day, the Burmese military cracked down on anti-government demonstrations, killing hundreds of protesters. For many, the date is seen as a watershed moment in Myanmar.
|
9199a0b7507308e57b589c287532e05f | https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-56167214 | Covid-19: Businesses 'throwing in towel' over uncertainty | Covid-19: Businesses 'throwing in towel' over uncertainty
Many businesses are "simply throwing in the towel" because of worries over government support during the next few months, Labour has said.
Shadow chancellor Anneliese Dodds argued Boris Johnson's Covid recovery "roadmap" had not brought "certainty".
She told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that furlough, the business rates holiday and the VAT cut had to be extended in next week's Budget.
Chancellor Rishi Sunak said he would do "everything" possible to protect jobs.
Official figures show the UK economy shrank by 9.9% last year - more than twice the biggest previously recorded annual fall.
Announcing the strategy for removing England's Covid restrictions on Monday, the prime minister said non-essential shops, hairdressers, gyms, outdoor hospitality and self-contained holiday accommodation could reopen on 12 April.
From 17 May, two households or a group of six may be able to meet indoors in a pub, cafe or restaurant, with cinemas, museums, hotels, and performance and sport venues reopening.
Remaining sectors, including nightclubs, could restart on 21 June, Mr Johnson said.
But Ms Dodds told Today the timetable, which is subject to conditions on keeping down the spread of coronavirus, had come "without clarity for business support".
She added: "Businesses have been put through an enormous amount of uncertainty. They should now know that the business rates holiday will continue, that the VAT reduction for hospitality business will continue."
The chancellor promised to use next Wednesday's Budget to lay out the "support we'll provide through the remainder of the pandemic and our recovery", adding: "I know how incredibly tough the past year has been for everyone, and every job lost is a personal tragedy."
Lorna Handyside, who runs Higher Wiscombe holiday cottages in Southleigh, Devon, with her husband Alistair, called the current situation "completely devastating".
"We still have the overheads. We still have loans. We still have to keep the cottages warm, so they don't get damp or damaged," she said.
"The daffodils are coming out. The bulbs are coming out. Normally we have lots of people here going for walks and enjoying being in the countryside, and they can't."
Mr Handyside, who is also chairman of the Professional Association of Self-Caterers, said: "We've got the cliff-edge at the end of March. VAT rises from 5% to 20%, furloughing ends and business rates start being payable in April. And yet half the businesses won't be trading.
"So in the Budget next week, we would fully anticipate that the chancellor would have to support the hospitality sector across those three measures."
Humphrey Cobbold, the CEO of Puregym, said reaction had been "bittersweet" to the news that gyms can reopen in April, rather than March.
He said the delay of 48 days from now until 12 April will cost Puregym £29m, around £500,000 a day. This is because there are still fixed costs for rent and utilities facing all hospitality businesses.
Gyms and hospitality need to find their way out of "very difficult" situations before bills, such as rent arrears, become even larger, he told the BBC News Channel.
He said some landlords had been understanding, but many more had not been prepared to share the burden of the pandemic.
By the end of March, he said, gyms will have been closed for eight months. He added it was "essential that this is the last lockdown".
Under current government measures, the VAT rate for hospitality and tourism has been cut from 20% to 5% until 31 March.
The business rates holiday for leisure, hospitality and retail firms is due to end at the same time.
These schemes should go on, with furlough - due to finish at the end of April - continuing in a "more effective" form, Ms Dodds said.
"The prospect of not having clarity means that many of those businesses and their owners are simply throwing in the towel," she added.
"And we cannot afford that in the UK when we've already had record redundancies."
The latest official figures show the unemployment rate rose to 5.1% in the three months to December, the highest since autumn 2015.
The Office for National Statistics said there were "tentative early signs" of the labour market easing, though there were "still over 700,000 fewer people employed than before the start of the coronavirus pandemic".
The devolved nations have the power to set their own restrictions.
In Wales, First Minister Mark Drakeford has said he hopes some non-essential shops and hairdressers could reopen within three weeks.
In Scotland, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon will
outline details of her plan
to reduce restrictions later on Tuesday.
Northern Ireland's health minister has played down the prospect of restrictions being eased by Easter, with a review of current measures taking place on 18 March.
|
a3da2b45422690f2c8902934f410ec20 | https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-eu-referendum-35581401 | Cameron bows to the inevitable over cabinet meeting | Cameron bows to the inevitable over cabinet meeting
This afternoon Number 10 has bowed to the inevitable, and conceded that if (and it is still an if) the deal is done at the EU summit in Brussels this week David Cameron will hold a cabinet meeting as soon as he returns to London early on Friday evening.
A few weeks ago
we reported
very real concerns about the choreography in the aftermath of the summit from Eurosceptic cabinet ministers, worried that the PM would be setting the pace and terms of the debate in its vital early hours.
While they didn't commit officially to a position, the sense in Downing Street was that there was no need to shift cabinet from its usual Tuesday spot.
They hoped and expected that cabinet ministers who wanted to campaign for exit would keep their counsel until then, when the government had adopted its official position.
But in truth, at least one senior figure had already resolved to break their silence and reveal their plan to campaign for Out over the weekend, in defiance of Number 10.
With that knowledge, and several frank conversations with Eurosceptic ministers, David Cameron's team have decided to relent. This is not just a story for political process nerds (honest), but it illustrates how Eurosceptics, although in a clear minority in the cabinet, have been able to force Downing Street's hand.
This week's summit and now, the 24 hours that follow, are shaping up to be some of the most important in David Cameron's political career.
|
cb549f3b9285284c34b72831b145267d | https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-eu-referendum-35680675 | EU referendum: Hammond defends rules on access to papers | EU referendum: Hammond defends rules on access to papers
Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond has defended plans to prevent ministers who oppose EU membership from seeing certain government documents.
He said the government, which backs EU membership, was not neutral and those who disagreed could draw on specific policy information from other sources.
MPs are to question the UK's top civil servant after he
issued guidance
to withhold "referendum-related" material.
One anti-EU minister said retaining documents "can't possibly happen".
How will a divided government work during campaign
The UK's EU vote: All you need to know
Remain v Leave: Where Conservatives stand
The government's official policy is that Britain should remain in the EU - and civil servants are duty-bound to support government policies.
Cabinet Secretary Sir Jeremy Heywood's guidance says ministers opposing the official government line should not be given access to government papers on the referendum or Prime Minister David Cameron's EU renegotiations - apart from ones they had already seen.
He has been called to explain this position - which will apply initially until 28 days before the 23 June referendum - to the cross-party Public Administration Committee of MPs next week.
His guidance has prompted claims from leave campaigners that the establishment is lined up against them.
But Mr Hammond defended the government's stance on the issue.
He said: "Whitehall civil servants and Whitehall papers are produced in support of the government's position on an issue.
"Now, those ministers who want to argue another case are being allowed to do so but the civil service can't support them in doing that."
"They'll have to find their own external support to do that and the Leave campaign will provide them with that capability."
And Downing Street rejected suggestions there was a blanket ban on access to all EU-related material in the run-up to the vote.
"There is no ban on ministers who support Leave receiving government papers," it said. "Day-to-day EU business will continue to be conducted in the usual way and all ministers will retain access to any papers relevant to their departments.
"It is only papers specifically relating to the EU referendum that they will not receive and that reflects the fact that the government has taken a position and they are choosing to take a different one."
The public administration committee, chaired by Bernard Jenkin, who wants to leave the EU, will question whether the guidance could interfere with the business of government.
Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith, one of the five cabinet ministers campaigning for Britain to leave the EU, told the BBC that in his view Sir Jeremy's guidance could not be adhered to, as he needed to know what was going on in his department.
"We are responsible for the department," he told the Andrew Marr show.
"For example, I will have to work on these proposals that came back from the recent negotiations [in Brussels]. If we vote to remain in, we [the Department of Work and Pensions] will have to deliver that."
In an article for the
Sunday Telegraph
he also said that constitutionally, ministers should continue to receive official documents.
And farming minister George Eustice said ministers needed "100% access" to material relating to day-day dealings with the EU.
"It would be very dangerous, I think, for the civil service to get into a position of saying there's a type of minister who can't have access to this information - otherwise what you're really saying is eurosceptic ministers can't be part of the government in future."
|
8e3fd8d7e48503ed2643768283ba4d30 | https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-eu-referendum-35685656 | EU referendum: Row over '10 years of uncertainty' claim | EU referendum: Row over '10 years of uncertainty' claim
Ministers are warning of at least 10 years of "uncertainty" if the UK votes to leave the European Union.
A government analysis says the economy, financial markets and the rights of Britons living overseas could be affected during a complex negotiation to "unravel" the UK's membership.
But Commons Leader Chris Grayling, who is campaigning for a UK exit, said the 10-year claim was "ludicrous".
He accused the government of running a "relentless campaign of fear".
Meanwhile Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, who wants to remain in the EU, warned David Cameron against fighting a "miserable, negative, fear-based" referendum campaign.
Such accusations were rejected by Cabinet Office Minister Matt Hancock, who told BBC Radio 4's Today programme the government's analysis was "a cautious assessment".
He said it was "incumbent" on the Leave campaign to explain what would happen if it wins the referendum, adding: "There are real consequences of this for jobs and for livelihoods."
The government's
assessment
of the exit process warns of a "complex negotiation" involving the 27 remaining EU member states, saying it would be difficult to complete a successful withdrawal inside the official two-year window.
It says about two million Britons living in other EU countries have access to pensions, healthcare and other public services.
"There would be no requirement under EU law for these rights to be maintained if the UK left the EU," it adds.
"Should an agreement be reached to maintain these rights, the expectation must be that this would have to be reciprocated for EU citizens in the UK."
But Mr Grayling told the BBC: "Why on earth would we think it would take twice as long as the Second World War to be able to sort out our trading relationships with Europe and elsewhere?"
He said EU states had more to lose, because "they sell far more to us than we sell to them".
Tamara Kovacevic, BBC News
There is no precedent for a country leaving the EU.
Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty sets out the process: negotiations would last two years and after that the UK would cease to be a member of the EU, unless the other 27 states unanimously decided to extend the negotiations.
When Greenland voted to withdraw from the European Community - the organisation that preceded the EU - in 1982 (after gaining a high level of internal autonomy from Denmark in 1979) a deal was reached three years later, after difficult and protracted negotiations, mainly over fisheries.
A deal for the UK is likely to be more complicated and the negotiations lengthier, especially if the UK wanted to retain full access to the single market.
The other 27 EU countries would be in charge of the timetable and a new deal for the UK would have to be approved by the European Parliament and the remaining 27 EU countries by qualified majority voting.
The UK would remain a member of the EU, under the current terms, for as long as the negotiations are ongoing.
BBC EU referendum reality check
London Mayor Boris Johnson also accused Remain of scaremongering,
writing
in the Daily Telegraph: "They want us to go to the polls in such a state of quivering apprehension that we do the bidding of the Euro-elites, and vote to stay in the European Union."
The cabinet is split over whether to remain in the EU, with 17 full members in favour of staying in the EU and five wanting to leave.
On Monday afternoon Conservative MPs lined up in the House of Commons to criticise restrictions placed on official information given to those ministers backing an EU exit.
Cabinet Secretary Sir Jeremy Heywood's guidance says ministers opposing the official government line should not be given access to government papers on the referendum or Prime Minister David Cameron's EU renegotiations - apart from ones they had already seen.
Responding to an urgent question from Tory MP Bernard Jenkin, Mr Hancock said government was "functioning as normal" and that the restrictions would only apply to the specific in-out EU debate.
But backbenchers attacked the move. Michael Fabricant said it would appear "petty and vindictive" to voters, ex-defence minister Sir Gerald Howarth called it a "constitutional outrage", while former children's minister Tim Loughton suggested ministers would have to submit Freedom of Information Act requests to their own departments.
Earlier Employment Minister Priti Patel said Sir Jeremy's action was "unconstitutional" and accused him of jeopardising the political impartiality of the Civil Service.
"Secretaries of state are responsible for their departments. For an unelected official to prevent them being aware of the information they need for their duties is wrong," she said.
Prime Minister David Cameron told an audience of students in Ipswich the row had "got slightly out of proportion" and the public should focus on the bigger issue of the merits of staying in or leaving.
The government is not neutral on the issue, he said, adding that ministers who back EU exit should not expect to see documents making the government's case for staying in as he would not expect to see papers prepared by campaign groups opposing EU membership.
|
a561ad86aef135deaec279e982469b6f | https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-eu-referendum-36057923 | Would the UK be safer in or out of the EU? | Would the UK be safer in or out of the EU?
People in the defence and security world express opinions about the United Kingdom's possible departure from the European Union that at times seem hard to reconcile.
Both sides agree key relationships from military cooperation through Nato to intelligence sharing via the so-called "five eyes" arrangements (the US, UK, Australia, Canada and New Zealand) would remain unchanged - but "remainers" and "outers" each insist their chosen path would be better for national security.
In recent months, the immigration crisis, and the possible use of migrant flows by terrorists to enter Europe illegally, have loomed large in the public imagination and Brexit debate.
Last month, Sir Richard Dearlove, the former chief of the Secret Intelligence Service (MI6), wrote Britain was such a big net contributor to European security it would hardly suffer from leaving the EU - other countries would still need it too much.
Furthermore, "Brexit would bring two potentially important security gains - the ability to dump the European Convention on Human Rights... and, more importantly, greater control over immigration from the European Union",
Sir Richard wrote
.
While I have found many British military and intelligence experts who agree with Sir Richard that Nato defence arrangements and bilateral intelligence exchanges would probably continue unaltered by Brexit, the majority I've spoken to still express opposition to Britain leaving the EU.
They point to emerging security ties at the European level. Missing out on this, they argue, counts for more than the increased ability to control the movement of EU nationals that "outers" such as Iain Duncan Smith argue would make Britain more secure.
"We could lose our access to important datasets from 24 June if we vote to leave," says Nigel Inkster, formerly a senior MI6 officer, who is now a director at the International Institute for Strategic Studies.
He points to the EU's
Passenger Name Record
initiative, credit card information, and mobile phone call data, as exchanges governed by European agreements, and suggests Sir Richard, who stood down as chief of MI6 12 years ago, may be out of date on the subject of European counterterrorist collaboration.
Gen Sir Mike Jackson, chief of the general staff from 2003 to 2006, argues worries about the application of the European Convention on Human Rights are misplaced, since it was not formulated by the European Union and Britain would remain a signatory even if it left the EU.
He says he opposes Brexit for bigger strategic reasons, among them that it "could open a Pandora's Box", a chain reaction of nationalism and instability in Europe. He is also concerned a vote to leave could trigger a second Scottish referendum, and further strategic risks.
The unknowns that might follow an exit can, of course, be offset against the imponderables of staying in.
Rear Adm Roger Lane-Nott, formerly Britain's senior submariner, is an example of that comparatively rare creature: a flag rank or general officer who favours leaving the EU. He believes few European countries are serious in their commitment to Nato and is deeply suspicious of the European Commission.
"Of considerable concern is talk of European army, European navy," he says. "If we stay in the EU, we could be forced to join against our will. We will never win a vote in the EU."
Gen Jackson argues he too would be concerned about a European military but that it will not happen, saying: "According to the prime minister, closer integration is now off the table."
Would the UK be safer in or out of the European Union?
That is the subject of a BBC Newsnight special at 22:30 BST on Monday, 25 April, on BBC Two.
Follow the live blog from 22:00 BST
for extra analysis, comment and background from the team.
Past Newsnight specials:
Would the UK be better off financially in or out of the EU?
Sovereignty - who really rules the UK?
A pro-Remain majority is even more pronounced when you speak to policy types in the UK's closest allies - the US and France - who almost universally express their disquiet about the possibility of Britain leaving the EU.
"It would be a catastrophe," says Francois Heisbourg, chairman of the International Institute for Strategic Studies and formerly a senior French official. "Without Britain we will be surrounded by herbivores."
His concerns hint at why so many European or US officials who would buy the argument that Britain's Nato or bilateral relationships would continue unaltered by Brexit still voice strong opposition or anxiety about the prospect.
And when you drill down with them about why that is, they will tell you that they fear if Britain was no longer at the EU summit table, the remaining partners would be more likely to equivocate or take the easy path on issues such as Russian sanctions or the Iranian nuclear programme.
"Would Europe be more tempted to adopt an appeasement policy towards Moscow without Great Britain?" asks Dominique Moisi, co-founder of the French Institute for International Relations. "That might very well be the case, at least that's probably the thinking of [President] Vladimir Putin in Moscow - when you see that he wants very much… Great Britain to leave the EU."
American officials seem to share this view, that a strong partner on this side of the Atlantic, a nuclear-armed country at that, helps stiffen the collective resolve of Europe. This is one of the reasons for President Barack Obama's repeated appeals for the UK to remain within the EU.
In Austria, last week, I heard a strong appeal for Britain to remain in the EU.
Barely reported during recent weeks, a series of measures coordinated by that country to prevent migrants moving north through the Balkans by sealing off Greece has proven almost completely successful. "It worked," says Reinhold Lopatka, a former Austrian Foreign Minister and leader of the Austrian People's Party parliamentary faction.
Austria's actions to secure its borders brought accusations from some other parts of Europe it was flouting EU rules and the Schengen agreement on freedom of movement. Its government has said that if migration via the Libyan route continues, it will also block the Italian border used by people coming that way.
Mr Lopatka says the number of people seeking asylum in his country has fallen from 800 a day a few weeks ago to fewer than 100. The lesson, he says, is that "it's possible within the European Union to limit the number", and he urges Britain to remain in the EU, saying Austria's determination to control its frontiers and assert its sovereignty has not produced any groundswell for exit among its people.
From Austria to France or Germany, discussing the possibility of Brexit in recent weeks with those involved in defence and security, I have heard repeated expressions of concern.
Whether, as these discussions suggest, this sense the UK is an important net contributor to European security could have been leveraged to greater effect by Prime Minister David Cameron in his recent negotiations with continental partners, is another question entirely.
Would the UK be safer in or out of the European Union? was the subject of a
BBC Newsnight
special.
|
c5dc7e8dd95e14212e2c1b09e97500a0 | https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-eu-referendum-36419815 | Dutch PM's warning over Brexit 'fairer immigration' claim | Dutch PM's warning over Brexit 'fairer immigration' claim
A pledge to bring in a "fairer" points-based immigration system if the UK left the European Union has triggered a warning other countries would adopt the same approach towards British workers.
Vote Leave said ending EU citizens' automatic right to live in the UK would create a "more humane" system.
But Dutch PM Mark Rutte told the BBC it would trigger "an inevitable, unavoidable race to the bottom".
David Cameron said it would "crash" the economy and increase migration.
Britain currently has a points-based immigration system for people coming to work in the UK from outside the EU.
It means entry to work is limited to people deemed to be of value to the UK economy, such as skilled workers in "shortage occupations" or wealthy entrepreneurs and investors. Migrants with sought-after skills gain more points towards their visa. This is often called an Australian-style system as that country introduced it first.
More migrants come to the UK from outside the EU than inside it - but a higher number of EU migrants take jobs or look for work.
Extending points-based controls to all migrants could be seen as fairer - South African software designers would have the same chance of working in Britain as Spanish software designers.
It would also give government more control of who and how many immigrants can come to the UK.
The problem is in designing a system that is not completely bound up in the kind of red tape the Leave campaign complains about in Brussels.
A government-commissioned employment report recently urged ministers to simplify the existing system for bringing workers from abroad, complaining there are 13 relevant acts of Parliament including 10,000 pages of guidance relating to 1,400 categories of immigrants. It noted that employers must answer over 100 questions including the birth dates of applicants' dead parents.
The system also relies on an army of officials having a detailed understanding of the current needs of every area of UK industry to decide if a shortage exists. The warning from business is that bureaucrats in Whitehall will be rather less efficient and responsive to need than the market.
Points-based systems were introduced by countries looking to increase immigration and to woo the right people to become permanent residents.
Leave campaigners want the points system to be extended to cover EU migrants, who are currently free to come to the UK and take up jobs, including low-paid manual work - but it would be up to the government of the day to decide whether to adopt this policy.
The Leave campaign says that if Britain votes to come out of the EU the government should do the following by 2020:
EU citizens already lawfully resident in the UK would not be affected as they will be given indefinite leave to remain, and neither will Irish citizens.
The 1972 European Communities Act could also be amended to make it easier to remove criminals and other people whose presence in the UK is "not conducive to the public good".
In a joint statement, Boris Johnson, Michael Gove, Priti Patel and Gisela Stuart said their proposals would "create fairness between EU citizens and others" including those from Commonwealth countries.
They added: "We think that this system will be fairer, more humane, and better for the economy."
"We will welcome new citizens who wish to contribute to our society, as so many immigrants have done. And we will be able to remove those who abuse our hospitality."
But Mr Rutte, whose country currently holds the presidency of the European Council, said it would be "very bad news" if the UK adopted such an approach.
"It will immediately mean that we will get this race to the bottom, that it will move against the interests of the population," he said.
Campaigns have got two choices as the date of any vote nears - narrow the message more and more tightly down to one issue, one argument, one sound bite or slogan. The logic of that is clear - focus on your best bits and shout about them as loudly as you can.
But there's a different way - keep adding to what might cringingly be called "the offer", in the hope that a slow reveal of ideas will gradually get voters on your side. Essentially, save the best until last.
After the entirely predictable economic bludgeoning of the Vote Leave campaign by the other side, which has all the might of the government machine, it's now clear that rather than try to retaliate with all of their goodies, Outers were keeping some in the cupboard for this moment.
Read more from Laura
Mr Rutte said it would be "impossible" for him not to implement a similar system towards UK residents.
Mr Cameron said this would "reduce opportunities for people to work in other countries". He told BBC Radio Derby that Australia had more migration per head than the UK, so Vote Leave's proposal was "the wrong approach".
His point was echoed by Home Secretary and fellow Remain supporter Theresa May, who warned there was "no silver bullet" to control immigration.
"What it requires is a concerted effort across a range of fronts and we've shown that where we take action, we can bring the numbers down, but there's more to do," she added.
But UKIP leader Nigel Farage, who has previously called for the UK to adopt an Australian-style system, said this was because Australia was "growing its country" and was able to choose migration numbers every year.
Deputy Labour leader Tom Watson accused Vote Leave of trying to turn the EU referendum into a vote on British immigration policy.
He said an EU exit "won't end immigration" and he cautioned that there were "no easy choices", saying losing access to the EU's single market would be bad for trade and against British workers' interests.
Meanwhile, the TUC is warning average earnings in Britain would be lower by 2030 outside the EU - adjusting wages for smaller GDP growth.
A study by the TUC also says employee rights and manufacturing jobs in particular would be hit.
TUC general secretary Frances O'Grady said: "At a time of continuing hardship, Brexit would be a disaster for working people - for our wages, for our jobs and for our rights."
But Vote Leave's Ms Stuart said the EU had been "a disaster" for workers, saying unemployment levels across the eurozone were "in the double digits".
Correction: This story, originally published on 1 June, has been amended to clarify that the majority of migrants coming to the UK for work are from the EU.
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eddbace415693770d4f877227b88dfc0 | https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-eu-referendum-36458750 | Twitter creates emoji to lure EU referendum voters | Twitter creates emoji to lure EU referendum voters
A new emoji to encourage people
to register to vote
in the EU referendum has been launched by Twitter and the Electoral Commission.
From Monday, anyone who uses the hashtag
#EURefReady
will find a neon tick emoji appear in their tweet.
People need to register to vote in the EU referendum by midnight on June 7.
On June 8, another emoji representing a neon ballot box will become available to Twitter users who use the hashtag
#EURef.
The launch follows a previously successful campaign to encourage young people to register to vote in the 2015 general election.
During that promotion, users in the UK saw a reminder in their timelines and on that day almost 30% of all applications came from 18-to-24-year-old voters.
Rob Owers, from Twitter UK, said: "We're excited to give people a new, fun way to have their voices heard ahead of 23 June.
"The #EURef is one of the biggest decisions UK voters have been asked to make in decades, so we're keen to ensure people make the most of the live, global conversation unfolding on Twitter to inform their decision."
Since the Electoral Commission launched its public awareness campaign on 15 May, more than 1.35 million people have applied online to register to vote across the UK.
The Commission says that under-25s and 25-to-34-year-olds are the groups making the most applications to register online.
However since the campaign launch on 15 May, the hashtag #EURefReady has only been used 1,200 times.
So far the most followed accounts using the hashtag have been
Cambridge University
and the leader of the Green Party
Natalie Bennett.
The hashtag #EURef has been used more than 360,000 times in the same period.
EU referendum: How to register to vote
The UK's EU referendum: All you need to know
The Electoral Commission said that they started really pushing the hashtag #EURefReady from Monday, but that they are working with a "range of different partner organisations" to ensure that the hashtag is used more widely up to the registration deadline.
They added that over the weekend, a reminder about the forthcoming deadline was released on to Facebook and the campaign plans to keep promoting videos on the site.
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066779a1bd9b1177e1a3db245bc4e45e | https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-eu-referendum-36612368 | Leave campaign ahead in UK's EU referendum vote | Leave campaign ahead in UK's EU referendum vote
The UK's EU referendum is proving close but the Remain campaign appears to be failing to pick up enough support outside London to win.
At 03:45 BST Leave were ahead by over 500,000 votes, with the English shires and Wales voting strongly for Brexit.
UKIP's Nigel Farage said: "Dare to dream that the dawn is breaking on an independent United Kingdom."
The pound surged as polls closed before falling to its lowest level since 1985, on signs of a Leave victory.
Scotland and Northern Ireland appear to have opted for Remain and London has voted emphatically to stay in the EU.
Unlike at a general election the results in individual areas do not count - it is the overall number of votes cast for one side or the other across the country that will determine whether the UK leaves the European Union.
Polling expert Prof John Curtice said there was still a while to go but at this stage Leave were "undoubtedly the favourites" to win the referendum. He estimates that the finishing post for one side to win is 16,813,000 votes.
UKIP leader Nigel Farage, who at the start of the night predicted that Remain might "edge" a win, told supporters: "Dare to dream that the dawn is breaking on an independent United Kingdom."
At a Brexit party, he told supporters: "If the predictions are right, this will be a victory for real people, a victory for ordinary people, and a victory for decent people."
"Let June 23 go down in our history as our independence day."
He also suggested the prime minister should resign "immediately" if the UK votes to leave the EU.
Conservative Remain campaigner Justine Greening told the BBC: "It's way too early in the night to be calling it one way or another" but Labour's Chuka Umunna said, looking at the results so far "it's not looking promising for Remain".
Jenny Watson, the Electoral Commission's chief counting officer, will announce the referendum result at Manchester Town Hall after all 382 local totals have been certified and declared.
According to Prof Curtice, the Remain vote is about 10% short of what was expected in north-east England and although Remain is ahead in Scotland, turnout is lower than in the rest of the UK.
Wales appears to be backing Brexit, with a vote of 54.7% for Leave so far.
Northern Ireland appears to be voting in favour of Remain.
Results are starting to come in from the Midlands, Yorkshire and Humber or London and South East of England, where voting was disrupted by flash flooding.
An online survey taken on polling day of 5,000 people by YouGov suggested the Remain side running at 52% of the vote, to Leave's 48%. Ipsos Mori have released polling from Thursday and Wednesday suggesting Remain will get 54% and Leave 46%.
Former Labour leader Ed Miliband, who backed a Remain vote, said: "It's a nation divided and the PM will have a big responsibility - particularly if it's a Remain win - to show he understands what people are saying on the Leave side of the argument. Labour faces that responsibility too."
Several months ago, the Leave campaign didn't have much hope that they could get anywhere close in a short campaign.
They characterised themselves as the plucky underdogs, in with a shout, but certainly the real outsiders.
But, in part by using that status, indeed building a narrative of the people versus the elites, they have got themselves to a position where they might end up on the winning side.
Read Laura's full blog
Kamal Ahmed: Do markets believe Remain has won?
The referendum result, which should be known by breakfast time on Friday, could be a turning point in the UK's relationship with Europe and the rest of the world.
If the UK becomes the first country to exit the EU it will arguably be the biggest blow to the 28-nation European Union since its formation.
A vote to remain would see Britain gain exemption from "ever closer" political union and other concessions secured by Prime Minister David Cameron in a renegotiation of the country's membership terms.
From 22:00 BST, there has been comprehensive coverage on the BBC News website and app with live text and video streaming, reaction and analysis from BBC editors and others. There is also be an up-to-the-minute full
results service
and details of all
local results
.
BBC One, the BBC News Channel and BBC Parliament will broadcast a results show hosted by David Dimbleby alongside BBC experts and special guests from 21:55 BST. Coverage continues through the night and Sophie Raworth, Andrew Neil and Victoria Derbyshire pick up the coverage on Friday morning.
The results programme is being streamed internationally on the BBC News website.
BBC Radio 5 live has coverage as the results come in, as will Radio 4 from 23:00 BST until the Today programme picks up at 06:00 BST on Friday.
From 22:00 GMT, television viewers outside the UK can tune in via BBC World News and BBC World News America. Listeners outside the UK can tune into BBC World Service radio for regular updates.
Referendum night - what to watch out for
Many polling stations in the South East of England reported high turnouts despite bad weather, so declarations could be later than previously expected.
There were also concerns that some commuters stranded in London because of chaos on the railways might not have got home in time to vote.
The referendum followed a bitterly-fought four month campaign, which saw Mr Cameron pitted against senior colleagues in his own party, who were campaigning for Britain to leave.
A Brexit vote could deal a fatal blow to Mr Cameron's career as prime minister, although he has vowed to stay on whatever the outcome.
Conservative MP Robert Syms says he and other Vote Leave Tories have written to Mr Cameron telling him he has a "duty" to stay on regardless of the result - the letter has been signed by all the cabinet ministers who broke ranks to back Leave, including Boris Johnson and Michael Gove.
Mr Cameron promised to hold a referendum on Britain's EU membership ahead of last year's general election, following relentless pressure from his own MPs and the UK Independence Party, which was taking votes - and later - MPs from Mr Cameron's Conservatives.
He initially suggested he would be prepared to back an out vote if he did not get what he wanted from his renegotiations.
But once the date of the referendum was announced he threw himself into the campaign for Britain to remain, arguing the country would be "stronger, safer and better-off" in the EU.
Nearly all of Britain's opposition parties, including Labour and the Scottish National Party, backed remaining in the EU, along with the majority of business leaders.
The Leave campaign - headed by former mayor of London and Conservative MP Boris Johnson - argued that the only way Britain could "take back control" of its own affairs would be to leave the EU.
The Leave campaign dismissed warnings from economists and international bodies about the economic impact of Brexit as "scaremongering" by a self-serving elite.
Immigration was a key issue in the campaign, with the Leave campaign arguing that net migration from the EU could never be reduced while the UK was signed up to free movement rules.
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89b46cdc455b351ccb0b96ad628ff527 | https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-eu-referendum-36644211 | EU leaders reject informal talks with UK | EU leaders reject informal talks with UK
The European Union will not hold informal talks with the UK until it triggers Article 50 to leave, Germany, France and Italy have insisted.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel hosted talks with French President Francois Hollande and Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi in Berlin.
The leaders called for a "new impulse" to strengthen the EU.
Last Thursday, British citizens voted 52-48 in favour of leaving the EU in a historic referendum.
Together with the UK, Germany, France and Italy have the largest economies in the EU.
Two
ratings agencies, S&P and Fitch, downgraded the UK
on Monday. A rating downgrade can affect how much it costs governments to borrow money in the international financial markets.
All three leaders voiced regret at the UK's vote to leave, with Mrs Merkel calling it a "very painful and regrettable decision".
"We are in agreement that Article 50 of the European treaties is very clear - a member state that wishes to leave the European Union has to notify the European Council," Mrs Merkel told the joint news conference at the German chancellery.
"There can't be any further steps until that has happened. Only then will the European Council issue guidelines under which an exit will be negotiated.
"That means that, and we agree on this point, there will be neither informal nor formal talks on a British exit until the European Council has received the [UK's] request for an exit from the European Union."
President Hollande and Prime Minister Renzi emphasised the need to process the UK's exit as quickly as possible and focus on the challenges facing the remaining 27 states such as fighting terrorism and strengthening the borders.
"Our responsibility is not to lose time in dealing with the question of the UK's exit and the new questions for the 27," Mr Hollande said. "There is nothing worse than uncertainty."
"On the one hand we are sad but it is also the right time to write a new page in European history on what unites us," said Mr Renzi.
Prime Minister David Cameron confirmed in Parliament the UK was not ready to begin the formal withdrawal process.
"Before we do that we need to determine the kind of relationship we want with the EU," he said, stressing it would be up to his successor, due to be chosen by the autumn, to invoke Article 50.
Earlier, Chancellor George Osborne
issued a statement
to try to calm markets, saying the UK was ready to face the future "from a position of strength".
But billions more dollars were wiped off the value of shares in Europe and on Wall Street as a result of
market uncertainty
.
London's FTSE 100 share index was down 2.55% while Germany's leading index fell by 3%.
The Brexit
political fallout continued to divide the opposition Labour Party
, whose leader Jeremy Corbyn was told by his deputy, Tom Watson, that he faced a leadership challenge because of his handling of the party's campaign to stay in the EU.
In other developments:
Tuesday:
Extraordinary European Parliament session in Brussels on Brexit vote 10:00-12:00 (08:00-10:00 GMT), including speeches by Mr Tusk, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker and party leaders, probably including UKIP's Nigel Farage. There is also an EU summit (European Council) in Brussels, at which David Cameron will brief the other EU leaders over dinner, from 19:45 (17:45 GMT), explaining the political fallout in the UK
Wednesday:
Second day of EU summit will feature breakfast talks between 27 leaders - Mr Cameron not attending. Talks focus on UK's "divorce process" as stipulated by Article 50, and Mr Tusk will "launch a wider reflection on the future of the EU"; press conferences in afternoon.
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7ee0c41a998022f3f89783fc8e022852 | https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-eu-referendum-36648664 | Brexit vote: Bitter exchanges in EU parliament debate | Brexit vote: Bitter exchanges in EU parliament debate
The European Parliament's first debate on the UK's vote to leave has been marked by bitter exchanges.
A central figure in the Leave campaign, UK Independence Party (UKIP) leader Nigel Farage, was booed, called a liar and accused of using "Nazi propaganda".
Mr Farage shot back that the EU itself was "in denial".
UK Prime Minister David Cameron is meeting leaders of the other 27 EU states for the first time since Thursday's referendum.
"I'll be explaining that Britain will be leaving the European Union but I want that process to be as constructive as possible,"
he told reporters
before the summit's working dinner in Brussels.
An EU official close to the talks told BBC News the mood was "very, very serious" and a question mark hung over the UK's next presidency of the EU, due to begin in the second half of next year.
"The leaders are very interested in hearing the UK's timeline but everyone knows Cameron won't trigger Article 50 [the first formal step in the withdrawal procedure]," the source added.
The announcement of Mr Cameron's replacement as leader of the Conservative Party, and thus prime minister, is not due now until 9 September, with 12:00 BST Thursday as the deadline for nominations.
European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker warned against delay in starting the exit process: "I don't think we should see any shadow-boxing or any cat-and-mouse games. It is clear what the British people want and we should act accordingly."
Hundreds of people attended a pro-EU rally in London on Tuesday - the initial meeting in Trafalgar Square was abandoned over fears of crowd numbers, but those who did gather moved down Whitehall to continue their protest outside the Houses of Parliament.
Demonstrators chanted "Down with Boris" - referring to senior Tory Boris Johnson - and slogans against UKIP leader Nigel Farage, both of whom were two of the leading figures in the Brexit movement.
And hundreds also turned out in Cardiff, at an event which included speeches from Plaid Cymru leader Leanne Wood and racial equality activist Shazia Awan.
Spokeswoman Beca Harries, said: "Cardiff voted to remain in the European Union, and we felt it was important to mark that and say, these results don't represent what we believe in."
Other rallies in Manchester and Oxford were abandoned over "safety fears" and a protest in Liverpool was postponed until next week.
The European Parliament passed a motion urging the UK to start the exit process by triggering
Article 50
immediately.
Opening the session, Mr Juncker said the will of the British people must be respected, prompting shouting and clapping from Mr Farage.
"You were fighting for the exit, the British people voted in favour of the exit - why are you here?" Mr Juncker responded, to applause from others in parliament.
He accused Mr Farage of lying about using the UK's EU contributions to fund the country's National Health Service, saying he had "fabricated reality".
Belgian ex-Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt said Mr Farage had used "Nazi propaganda" in the referendum campaign, referring to a poster showing lines of refugees.
This was a stormy and deeply emotional debate, with accusations and counter-accusations of lying.
Britain's vote to leave the EU has divided and shaken the European Parliament. This is a watershed moment.
Many MEPs expressed sadness at losing the UK. There was a standing ovation for the UK's outgoing Commissioner, Lord Hill.
But there was also a strong sense of defiance, as well as concern for the future. There were calls for unity, for reform, and the need to connect to Europe's citizens.
For the Eurosceptic groups, this was a sweet moment of victory. Something that once appeared almost impossible has become reality.
Manfred Weber, chairman of the European People's Party group told Mr Farage: "Stop this populist Brussels bashing."
Hitting back, Mr Farage told parliament that they were "in denial".
He said hardly any of the MEPs had ever done a proper job in their lives, or created one.
"We now offer a beacon of hope to democrats across the European continent," he said. "The UK will not be the last member state to leave the EU."
Political recriminations over the referendum continued on Tuesday at Westminster, where
MPs from the main opposition Labour Party overwhelmingly backed a motion of no-confidence in leader Jeremy Corbyn
.
On the financial markets, however, pressure eased after two days of turmoil,
with the FTSE 100 share index closing higher
.
But European Central Bank president Mario Draghi told Tuesday's meeting of EU leaders the bank's forecast for growth in the eurozone over the next three years was being cut by roughly 0.3 to 0.5% because of the prospect of Brexit, EU sources say.
French National Front leader and MEP
Marine Le Pen told BBC Newsnight
the UK's Brexit vote was "the most important moment since the fall of the Berlin Wall".
In a speech to the German parliament before leaving for Brussels, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said the EU was strong enough to survive without the UK.
She said she respected the result and warned the bloc would not tolerate British "cherry-picking" when it came to negotiations.
The remarks are Mrs Merkel's toughest words yet, with concerns in the German government that other EU members could follow Britain's move, the BBC's Berlin correspondent Jenny Hill says.
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b31576434e9bf841f7ae3329735000a1 | https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-eu-referendum-36653381 | Brexit 'most important moment since Berlin Wall': Le Pen | Brexit 'most important moment since Berlin Wall': Le Pen
France's National Front leader Marine Le Pen has called the UK's Brexit vote "the most important moment since the fall of the Berlin Wall".
Speaking to BBC Newsnight, the far-right leader said her party has been given a boost by the result.
Ms Le Pen - one of the contenders for the French presidency in 2017 - said she would call a referendum if elected.
A number of other far-right leaders in Europe say they would like to hold their own referendums on EU membership.
In her first broadcast interview since the UK's Leave vote in the referendum, Ms Le Pen commended "the courage of the British people who didn't allow themselves to be intimidated by the threats, blackmail, and lies of the European elites".
"For four years I've been demanding that a referendum be organised in France, to ask the French people what they think of the EU - if they want to leave. The Brits got the first shot in, so to speak."
"If I win the presidential election, there will be a referendum... The question should be asked in every EU country," she said.
Ms Le Pen specifically cited France, Italy, the Netherlands and Sweden, where leaders of anti-immigration and far-right parties have
indicated they would like to follow the UK example
.
She said Britain's vote for Brexit would help her party, the National Front, because it has shown that voters are willing to disregard the warnings of their leaders and experts. "They are for Remain but the nation was for Brexit."
She said it improved the chances of France leaving the EU because "Brexit has shown us that it's possible".
Asked whether she believes the UK definitely will leave the EU following the vote, she said: "I hope so, because otherwise we can throw the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in the fire, together with European values. If the will of the people is not respected - once again - that would mean we are definitively in a totalitarian system."
Ms Le Pen was also highly critical of US President Barack Obama's pre-referendum comments on the referendum -
in which he argued that the EU makes Britain stronger
- and his visit to the UK in April.
"I was extremely shocked by the behaviour of Mr Obama... I think going to a country to tell it what to do, otherwise you'll see, we'll impose sanctions on you - I think that's shameful. It's shameful," she said.
"We are old nations. We paid a high price to defend our freedom, our sovereignty. We built our democracies. We made a lot of sacrifices to get where we are today. We didn't do it to obey Mr Obama or Mrs Merkel."
Ms Le Pen said it would be totally incorrect to suggest - as some commentators have - that the Brexit vote has stirred up racism.
"Racism must be fought - there are no two ways about it…. [But] it's not caused by Brexit. Once again, it's time to stop with propaganda."
The European parliament's first debate on the UK's vote
to leave took place on Tuesday, and was marked by bitter exchanges.
A central figure in the Leave campaign, UK Independence Party (UKIP) leader Nigel Farage, was booed, called a liar and accused of using "Nazi propaganda".
Mr Farage shot back that the EU itself was "in denial".
UK Prime Minister David Cameron has arrived in Brussels for his first talks with leaders of the other 27 EU states since Thursday's referendum.
Watch Emily Maitlis' full interview with Marine Le Pen on
BBC Newsnight
at
22:30 BST on BBC Two
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7e8a9530b9a16f53eec4962f689fc80e | https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-eu-referendum-36664531 | Brexit: Lib Dems' 10,000 new members after EU vote | Brexit: Lib Dems' 10,000 new members after EU vote
The Lib Dems say more than 10,000 people have applied to join the party since the UK voted to leave the EU.
The party launched a campaign after the Brexit vote, using the hashtag #Wearethe48 - a reference to the 48% of people who voted to remain in the EU.
Leader Tim Farron says the result is "reversible" and said he would campaign to keep the UK in the EU at the next election, whenever it takes place.
Senior Tory and Labour figures insist the result must be respected.
Mr Farron, whose party has traditionally been the most pro-EU and backed a Remain vote, said the Lib Dems had seen an "enormous uplift" in support in the aftermath of the UK's decision to leave the EU.
The party says new members have been joining at nearly one a minute since the Brexit vote - swelling the party's membership ranks to more than 70,000.
The party, which served in coalition government between 2010 and 2015 but was reduced to eight MPs at the last election, has made a "clear and unequivocal" promise to campaign for the UK to remain in the EU at the next election.
The poll is not scheduled to take place until 2020 but some commentators believe the Brexit vote and the election of a new prime minister to succeed David Cameron may bring this forward.
Mr Farron has said a snap election later this year could be "a golden ticket to undoing the chaos" seen in recent days.
He has appealed to like-minded individuals in other parties to join forces to make the case for remaining in the EU - or at the very least retaining key elements of the UK's current arrangements in Brexit talks over the next few years.
Speaking in the House of Commons on Wednesday, Mr Farron said whatever deal the UK agreed with the EU on the terms of its exit, young people who voted overwhelmingly to remain in Europe must be protected.
"Given three-quarters of the young people of Britain voted to remain in Europe, they should be permitted, as far as possible, to remain in Europe," he said. "What can be done to make sure young people are allowed access even over and above those of the rest of us?"
In response, David Cameron said it was important that young people should have the opportunity to travel, work and study in the EU and the government would be considering the impact of Brexit on educational programmes like the Erasmus scheme.
The Lib Dems' membership fell sharply after the party went into coalition with the Conservatives, dropping from about 65,000 in 2010 to about 42,000 in 2014.
But it recovered after its 2015 election setback. At the time of last year's conference, the party had about 61,000 members.
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42033c2f7df92915b24ca0f8ab6a3682 | https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-parliaments-40755201 | MPs' portraits: Photos show 'human' side of Parliament | MPs' portraits: Photos show 'human' side of Parliament
New portraits of MPs have been produced - and they've gone down a storm.
Photographer
Chris McAndrew
, who's snapped rock stars, actors and ballerinas, took the pictures in the Commons just after MPs were sworn in, following June's surprise general election.
Tory Paul Masterton, the new MP for East Renfrewshire, told Radio 4's Today
programme the pictures went down well
on social media - and showed MPs weren't "alien species" but a "reflection of us as real people".
"It's the first time we've been able to look at notifications on Twitter and burst out laughing rather than feel like we wanted to burst into tears," he says.
"It's been done in good spirits... It's been a nice start to the summer."
Certainly there's a
real freshness to the pictures
- particularly compared with what went before.
Mr Masterton
ruefully acknowledged his nickname.
And Conservative
Sir Edward Leigh
harked back to a previous look.
Labour MP
Carolyn Harris
was another.
The impetus behind these new portraits comes from the digital team at
UK Parliament
, led by
Carrie Barclay
.
How did she hope people would see the pictures?
"I wanted to focus on the human element of Parliament," she says. "Chris's distinctive style and ability to put people immediately at ease meant we could capture a raw, but sophisticated, image that showed MPs as relatable people.
"I want people to see these portraits as part of our commitment to a more open and transparent, modern Parliament."
And there's certainly been a positive response on social media.
BBC Trending: fun with MPs' portraits
"It's been wonderful to see how people have reacted to the portraits," she says.
"There's a clear need for members of the public to be able to recognise the person that represents them in Parliament, but seeing how so many people (and plenty of MPs) have used them to strike up conversations and share jokes and stories has been really exciting."
How did the team get so many busy MPs in front of the camera? They used the moments after each MP was sworn in following their election to Parliament, which "gave us an unprecedented opportunity to take an official portrait of each member without complicated shoot schedules, myriad locations, diary management, or difficult staffing issues",
Barclay explains on her blog
.
She adds: "Chris has an innate ability to put people at ease immediately. It's one of the reasons he's had the distinguished career that he has, and it's one of the reasons we chose to work with him.
"Chris is incredibly down to earth, and the atmosphere in the room was relaxed and informal.
"Lots of MPs were laughing and joking with each other as they waited their turn, and that also really helped - they were happy and relaxed when they walked through the door - which is half the battle."
The portraits are informal, direct and open. They are there to be used for MPs themselves, as well as for wider use. Will it make the public see MPs as people, rather than part of a system?
"There's no hidden agenda with these portraits," she says. "MPs are people, just like everyone else. We simply wanted to have strong, recognisable and consistent portraits of them that were so good, everyone would want to use them. We want to promote an open and transparent, modern Parliament, and these portraits support that ambition."
It's peers next - all 800 plus of them. That's going to pose something more of a challenge, surely?
"When we started this project we weren't sure what we'd be able to achieve," she says.
"The snap election afforded us an opportunity, and we made the most of it. There are plans to update the photos of members of the House of Lords on the parliamentary website but it's too early in the planning to be able to give you any more details on that."
These photos of MPs, and all related crops, are released under an
Attribution 3.0 Unported (CC BY 3.0) licence
.
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aa3165b5b825f8cff804465de883200f | https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-parliaments-46810616 | Bercow's unprecedented ruling could change the course of Brexit | Bercow's unprecedented ruling could change the course of Brexit
Boom! After a humdrum, almost completely unrevealing Prime Minister's Questions, the Commons erupted over Speaker John Bercow's decision to allow an attempt to change the rules for the resumed "meaningful vote" debate.
This is no mere technicality. The amendment proposed by former Attorney General Dominic Grieve would require the government to come back within three days, rather than 21, to debate the implications of not having a Brexit deal - if the prime minister's deal is indeed voted down next Tuesday.
Under the previous rules, that debate would be kicked back to late February, with the Brexit clock ticking remorselessly in the background.
The new Grieve amendment, now passed by MPs, means that in the event the PM loses next week, the Commons will then have a chance to vote on alternative policies - everything from a "managed no-deal" to a further referendum, via a "Norway option" or a reheated version of the current deal, could be on the table.
If a majority could be found for anything, it would not have the force of law - but it would at least indicate a policy which had the support of MPs.
This is, in short, a massive ruling by the Speaker, made, apparently, against the advice of the Commons Clerk, Sir David Natzler.
I don't want to delve too deeply into the arcana of Business of the House motions only amendable by ministers of the Crown, but this drove a coach and horses through accepted normal practice, and will have huge implications for the course of Brexit.
The decisions will come much faster, and potentially, those plotting an alternative course to the PM's would have more space in which to work.
And it may also set a sweeping precedent allowing MPs far more grip over their debates, on Brexit and pretty much anything else.
If such a precedent can be made to stick, it would be a huge blow against any government's accustomed control over the business of the Commons.
This is the biggest thing the Speaker has done, or is likely to do, easily eclipsing his decision to allow an extra amendment to the 2013 Queens' Speech, kicking off the Commons campaign which ultimately led to an EU Referendum becoming official Conservative policy.
He got through a testing hour of points of order - which represents a victory of sorts, because he wasn't toppled by angry MPs in the way Michael Martin was a decade ago. But there will be consequences.
For a start, a motion of no confidence in him now looks pretty certain. It may just languish in the "Remaining Orders and Notices" section of the Commons Order Paper, but it may take off and attract a critical mass of support from enraged Tories.
Beyond that, the Speaker already has Conservatives openly accusing him of pro-Labour bias. Once unthinkable, that has now become a daily event, and may now become an hourly event.
Criticism of other aspects of his running of Commons business (too many urgent questions, emergency debates and over-running PMQs) may become continual.
Things are about to become very uncomfortable in the Chamber.
Above all there's the bullying inquiry and the allegations levelled against the Speaker himself, which have been repeatedly denied, that he has bullied colleagues.
This is an inquiry that should not be postponed to protect the Speaker, nor weaponised to destroy him; but it could well be.
I suspect that, one way or another, Mr Bercow's turbulent tenure in the Commons chair is coming to an end.
Perhaps in months rather than weeks, but not before the big Brexit votes (and it's not impossible that somewhere along the way, he might have to make this kind of ruling again).
The basic question his would-be successors will have to answer is how much of the Bercow revolution in the way the Commons works should be scrapped - and how much should be retained?
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1e2ea223d7344a8f13060280f08bbba1 | https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-10768282 | We set the theme, you take the pictures | We set the theme, you take the pictures
Each week, we ask you to send in your pictures on a set theme and a selection of these are then published on our
In pictures page
and BBC social media.
Current themes and deadline
Interpret the theme in any way you see fit and send your pictures to us at
yourpics@bbc.co.uk
or upload them
directly from your computer here
.
Please include the title of theme in the subject line of your message and remember to add your name and a caption: who, what, where and when should be enough, though the more details you give, the better your chance of being selected.
You can enter up to three images per theme.
Pictures should be sent as Jpeg files. They shouldn't be larger than 5Mb and ideally much smaller: around 1Mb is fine, or you can resize your pictures to 1,000 pixels across and then save as a Jpeg.
Please see our
terms and conditions
.
Finally, when taking photos, please do not endanger yourself or others, take unnecessary risks or infringe any laws.
If you have any questions then please email: viewfinder@bbc.co.uk
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a37c51014fd77b69cce8266f44c1d206 | https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-11476301 | Materials breakthrough wins Nobel | Materials breakthrough wins Nobel
Two scientists have shared this year's Nobel Prize for Physics for their "groundbreaking" work on a material with amazing properties.
Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov, both at Manchester University, UK, took the prize for research on graphene.
Graphene is a flat sheet of carbon just one atom thick; it is almost completely transparent, but also extremely strong and a good conductor of electricity.
Its unique properties mean it could have a wide array of practical uses.
The researchers, along with several collaborators, were the first to isolate the layers of carbon from the material graphite, which is used in pencil "lead".
The breakthrough could lead to the manufacture of innovative electronics, including faster computers, according to the Nobel Prize Foundation.
"I'm fine, I slept well. I didn't expect the
Nobel Prize
this year," said Professor Geim.
He was talking over a telephone line to journalists assembled at a news conference in Stockholm, Sweden.
Prof Geim said his plans for the day would not change - he said he would go back to work and carry on with his research papers.
"In my opinion, there are several categories of Nobel prize winners. There are those who, after getting the Nobel Prize, stop doing anything for the rest of their lives, which is a big disservice for their community," he said.
"There is another type of person who thinks that other people think they won the Nobel Prize by accident. So they start working even harder than before."
He said that he was in neither of these categories and would "muddle on as before".
Prof Geim, 51, is a Dutch national while Dr Novoselov, 36, holds British and Russian citizenship. Both are natives of Russia and started their careers in physics there.
The Nobels are valued at 10m Swedish kronor (£900,000; 1m euros; $1.5m).
They first worked together in the Netherlands before moving to the UK. They were based at the University of Manchester when they published their
groundbreaking research paper
on graphene in October 2004.
Dr Novoselov is among the youngest winners of a prize that normally goes to scientists with decades of experience.
Graphene is a form of carbon. It is a flat layer of carbon atoms tightly packed into a two-dimensional honeycomb arrangement.
Because it is so thin, it is also practically transparent. As a conductor of electricity it performs as well as copper, and as a conductor of heat it outperforms all other known materials.
The unusual electronic, mechanical and chemical properties of graphene at the molecular scale promise ultra-fast transistors for electronics.
Some scientists have predicted that graphene could one day replace silicon - which is the current material of choice for transistors.
It could also yield incredibly strong, flexible and stable materials and find applications in transparent touch screens or solar cells.
Geim and Novoselov first isolated fine sheets of graphene from the graphite which is widely used in pencils.
A layer of graphite 1mm thick actually consists of three million layers of graphene stacked on top of one another.
The layers are weakly held together and are therefore fairly simple to tear off and separate.
The researchers used ordinary sticky tape to rip off thin flakes from a piece of graphite.
Then they attached the flakes to a silicon plate and used a microscope to identify the thin layers of graphene among larger fragments of graphite and carbon scraps.
Professor Martin Rees, president of the UK's Royal Society commented: "It would be hard to envisage better exemplars of the value of enabling outstanding individuals to pursue 'open-ended' research projects whose outcome is unpredictable.
In an apparent reference to the threatened cuts to UK science funding, he added: "There are surely important lessons to be drawn by the government from the Nobel Committee's decision.
"The UK must sustain our science at a competitive level in a world where talent is mobile and other countries are advancing fast."
On Monday, the Nobel Foundation announced that British scientist Robert Edwards, the man who devised the fertility treatment IVF, had been awarded this year's prize for medicine.
Professor Peter Main, director of education and science at the Institute of Physics, said, "We're delighted to see two UK-based physicists take the prize.
"Following yesterday's win for Prof Edwards, there could be no clearer sign of just how much the UK punches above its international weight in a very competitive scientific world."
Ten years ago, Prof Geim and Prof Sir Michael Berry from the University of Bristol were jointly awarded an Ig Nobel prize for their experiments using magnetic fields to levitate frogs.
These tongue-in-cheek awards for "improbable research" have become almost as famous as the real Nobels.
The Nobel prizes also cover chemistry, medicine, literature, peace and economics (more properly called the Sveriges Riksbank Prize). Laureates also receive a medal and a diploma.
Paul.Rincon-INTERNET@bbc.co.uk
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3550f9ea09904c207af8bac72ee83fdb | https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-11954667 | World is getting more corrupt, says transparency poll | World is getting more corrupt, says transparency poll
The world is a more corrupt place now than it was three years ago, a poll suggests.
Some 56% of people interviewed by Transparency International said their country had become more corrupt.
In Afghanistan, Nigeria, Iraq and India more than 50% of people said they had paid a bribe in the past year - many of them paying off the police.
Meanwhile, a BBC poll suggests that corruption is the world's most talked about problem.
About one in five of those
polled for the BBC by GlobeScan
said they had discussed issues relating to corruption with others in the last month, making it the most talked about concern ahead of climate change, poverty, unemployment and rising food and energy costs.
In the
Transparency International survey
, political parties were regarded as the most corrupt institutions with 80% of people regarding them as corrupt.
Political parties also topped the list in Transparency's 2004 barometer, with 71%.
Religious bodies experienced a sharp rise in people regarding them as corrupt - 28% in 2004 increased to 53% by 2010.
Some 50% of people believed their government was ineffective at tackling the problem of corruption.
Transparency flagged up bribery as the major problem highlighted by the survey, with one in four of those polled saying they had paid a bribe in the past year.
Some 29% of bribes went to the police, 20% to registry and permit officials, and 14% to members of the judiciary.
Robin Hodess, Transparency's policy and research director, said police involvement in such transactions was "really worrying".
"It's a figure that's grown in the past few years. It's nearly doubled, in fact, since 2006. Nearly one in three people who had contact with the police around the world had to pay a bribe," she said.
While people from Cambodia (84%) and Liberia (89%) were the most likely to have to pay a bribe, the Danish respondents reported no bribery.
By region, people in sub-Saharan Africa were the most likely to have paid a bribe (56%).
Bribe-taking was least common in EU countries and North America (both 5%) - although these were the two regions seeing the biggest increase in concern about corruption.
Analysts blame this rising concern on the global financial crisis for undermining people's faith in government, banks and economic institutions.
The lobby group interviewed 90,000 people in 86 countries to compile its corruption barometer.
The opinion poll commissioned by the BBC sampled 13,000 people in 26 nations.
One question asked people to rate which issues they saw as most serious.
Corruption was ranked as the second most important topic behind poverty.
Respondents in Brazil, Egypt, Colombia, the Philippines and Kenya were especially likely to view corruption as a very serious issue.
In Europe, Italians were the most concerned about bribe-taking.
Publication of the BBC poll coincides with anti-corruption day held by the United Nations.
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cf5f1e1599fa8903005360379ef69e75 | https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-12040776 | Ouch! Artist bolts camera to skull for year-long show | Ouch! Artist bolts camera to skull for year-long show
"It still hurts," says Wafaa Bilal. And that is perhaps not surprising.
The Iraqi artist has a camera attached to three titanium plates, bolted into the back of his skull.
The camera is taking one photo every minute for the next year, and is feeding the images in real-time to a new show of contemporary art in Doha, Qatar. It also tracks his every move via GPS.
All this in the name of art. But the pain is getting to him just a little.
"I still have to treat it regularly with hot towels and salt water," he told BBC World Service.
Everyday life has got a bit more complicated.
Taking a shower, for example.
Wafaa hopes to upgrade his camera to a water-proof one soon, but in the meantime, he needs to wear a shower-cap - transparent, of course.
Or going through airport security, which on his first flight proved a lengthy process, involving various scans and tests.
And what view does his girlfriend take of his unusual artistic experiment?
"So far, she is very supportive and has not imposed any lens cap curfew for any moment of our lives," he told the BBC.
But it is early days. "The entire project is very dynamic," he adds, offering himself a little get out clause.
Wafaa Bilal is a photography professor at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts, and that is one place where he has agreed to put the lens cap on, to protect the privacy of his students.
When asked why he is doing it, he gives several reasons, but one is connected with having fled Iraq in 1991 - and having nothing to remind him of his former life.
"My city Najaf was under bombardment and the smoke was rising from it, I wished at that moment that I could record what was left behind," he says.
He spent two years in a refugee camp, before moving to the US, where he was granted political asylum.
Most of his family stayed behind, and in 2004 his brother Haji was killed by a missile at a checkpoint. His father - heart-broken and devastated - refused to eat or drink, and died soon after.
This project ensures that he will at least have a full and permanent record of his life in 2011.
But Wafaa says the project is also intended as a comment on today's surveillance society, where people in cities spend much of their lives under the watchful eyes of security cameras.
He spent three years trying to get the project going, but hit several brick walls.
Gallery after gallery turned him away, and doctors refused his request to have the camera inserted into his head, deeming it too risky.
In the end, he had the work done at a body-piercing studio, and had to opt for a slightly scaled-down version of his original plan, with the mounting posts inserted into his head, rather than the camera itself.
His piece, called
The 3rdi
, is showing at the brand new
Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art
in Doha.
It's part of an exhibition of 23 new works that is the first ever contemporary art exhibition in Qatar, and "the largest to be held in the Arab world within a museum context," according to co-curator Till Fellrath.
Critics describe the project as a gimmick, say it intrudes on other people's privacy, and question whether it is really art.
"People react very sharply - should someone do this kind of thing and isn't it gruesome? But Wafaa Bilal is raising a lot of issues of our time," says Till Fellrath.
The artist has a track-record of controversial works under his belt.
Earlier this year, he had his back tattooed with a borderless map of Iraq, with a dot marking the spot of each Iraqi and US casualty.
And he once spent a month confined to a gallery in Chicago for his project Domestic Tensions, where people around the world were invited to shoot him with a paintball via a webcam.
As a photographer, he likes the idea of his body - instead of his eyes - being in charge of the camera shots for a change.
"There are some quite strange ones, and many, many mundane images that individually may not be that appealing, but collectively they form a quite nice mosaic from everyday life."
He sees the camera as "part of him" and says his project provides a small taste of the future.
As technology develops, he says, instead of carrying devices like mobile phones around with us, they will increasingly become integrated with the human body.
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edf225a7ec5b31bbd95828b6f9b26663 | https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-12057654 | Unusual holiday celebrations: Your stories | Unusual holiday celebrations: Your stories
As the Christmas holidays approach, many people around the world will be celebrating a different holiday from the mainstream one where they live, or will be doing anything to keep the traditions from home alive while living in a foreign country.
Here are some of the stories of the people who have spent the last few weeks trying to source rare ingredients for dinner or trying to introduce their family to a different celebration.
I am Venezuelan and have been living in the UK for ten years. On Christmas Eve we will be eating hallacas, which is the traditional Venezuelan dish. It reminds us of being at home.
The hallaca is a mixture of beef, pork, chicken, raisin, olives and raisin wrapped in cornmeal dough and then bound with string with plantain leaves.
The leaves are particularly difficult to get. We get them in Chinatown, but we still have to cook them. At first we put them into the oven and baked them, but then we discovered that the best way to cook them was to iron them.
The rest of the ingredients we get from Latin American shops or bring them from Venezuela - as it involves ingredients like a seed called anoto which gives it the colour and parchita or panela (which is obtained from the boiling and evaporation of sugarcane juice.)
Making them involves a tight operation and you have to set up a real production line. So every year we gather together with many Venezuelan families (and some of their British husbands and wives) to make them.
We start on Friday night by making the stew and eating a meal together. On Saturday we put them together.
This year we made almost 300! Everyone joins in, the children particularly like ironing the leaves.
Each family gets around 30 or 40 hallacas to take home. We don't make any profit from it, we just want to keep the tradition alive.
My father is Polish but was born and bred in England. His parents moved to England after the war and settled in Cambridge.
They taught us a lot about Polish traditions and cooking and we have always celebrated Polish Christmas on Christmas Eve (Wigilia).
Me and my mum now do all of the cooking in preparation as my Polish granny passed away a few years ago.
We try to stick to my granny's recipes as much as possible but we only eat five courses as opposed to the full 12 course Wigilia feast, as we then have a fully traditional English Christmas on Christmas day, so I get the best of both worlds.
We don't have any problems sourcing the ingredients as there are so many Polish supermarkets around nowadays.
We tend to prepare most things from scratch including the beetroot soup (barscz) and mushroom filled dumplings (uszka) so there is no need for us to source anything from Poland.
Some of the dishes are quite time-consuming to prepare, which is why we do them in advance. Amongst other things I'm in charge of the uszka, which we serve in the beetroot soup.
Preparation for these involves making a type of pasta and a mushroom filling using both dried and fresh mushrooms and then folding them into a type of tortellini style dumpling.
My family love them so I have to make plenty... I think I've made about 50 this year!
The only thing that we buy pre-made are the pickled herrings, the shop bought variety are really good.
I am extremely proud of my Polish roots and hope to carry on tradition for years to come.
I am Malaysian but my husband is from the UK, so we will be celebrating a traditional British Christmas. There's a tree, turkey, sage and onion stuffing and lots of alcohol.
My husband's Christmas tradition while he was in the UK was to drink sherry on Christmas morning and he'll be doing that this year as usual. It looks like we'll be getting up to open presents, then eating a heavy Christmas lunch followed by lazing around and then football at night.
This is our first Christmas together as a family in our own place - we now have a small child, so I insisted on getting our very own tree.
We spent all week hunting for one, never finding anything we liked. Out of sheer frustration, I texted an old friend for help. "Woi. Where did you get your tree from?"
Her answer amused me. "Chinatown." Well of course. It makes perfect sense to get your Christmas tree from Chinatown.
But then all the malls will be selling fake trees and since we had Ikea, you can also buy live Christmas trees if you wish.
We also put up the lights around our front door and hung up the Christmas air balloon light we bought. We'll put up the Christmas stocking over our "fireplace" later. The "fireplace" is actually our TV box, but it's the only place where it makes sense to put the stocking up.
There is a chain of supermarkets called Cold Storage which caters to the expat community so you can easily get turkey, stuffing, Christmas pudding, stollen bread and panettone.
For the British or American Christmas, it's easy to get food here, maybe just more expensive than back home and there is less variety.
My husband is still not used to having a sunny Christmas, even after living eight years in Asia. He says it's a funny feeling to wake up on Christmas Day and have the sun shining. To him, Christmas Day should be cold.
I usually celebrate Christmas, but this year we will also celebrate Kwanzaa.
Kwanzaa takes place from December 26 to January 1. Each day has a set of goals that the family should discuss with one another. The main point is to get our family to feel more connected to each other and our community.
Celebrating it is about connecting the old with the young and also connecting all African American, African, and Diaspora African people.
I am introducing it to my family and I am happy to say my grandmother has been excited about celebrating with me.
It was a little bit scary at first because I was unsure of how the rest of my family would respond to the new tradition, but they are all excited to join in or at least learn about the holiday.
Celebrating Kwanzaa in a country of "Christmas" requires research on my part, because I had to seek out information on this holiday. Compared to Christmas, mainstream media doesn't mention Kwanzaa nearly as much.
Once I complete the reading, I can better explain to my family what the celebration is about.
I wanted to celebrate Kwanzaa because I wanted to finally take part in something that can help my family grow in love, through education, motivation, understanding, and connecting us all.
We can celebrate both holidays, because Christmas is religious and Kwanzaa is cultural.
Every other year, myself and my partner, Suzie Robertson, have a Christmas picnic outside a nuclear power station in the UK (active or decommissioned).
We get kitted out with hard hats, masks, goggles, gloves and a gieger counter, and sit at a picnic table scoffing sandwiches, satsumas and soup.
Last year, 2009, we managed two on Christmas Day.
We started with a very early lunch at Trwsfynydd, in Snowdonia, and then raced to Anglesey and had a late lunch at Wylfa.
2007 was Dounreay, 2005 was Sizewell and 2003 was Dungeness.
Next year we're thinking about going up to Hartlepool.
Bracing fresh air, monstrous architecture and not a radio-active particle in sight (so far) is an excellent way to spend Christmas day.
My husband is Christian, and I am Muslim.
We celebrate Christmas with our two children every year.
We put up and decorate a tree, we decorate the house while singing carols, and reading about the birth of Jesus in the Bible.
This year, for the first time, we read Surat Maryam (the chapter on Mary) in the Qur'an.
We wanted to make sure the children understood that Jesus is important in Islam, too.
The children really enjoyed this addition to our Christmas traditions, so we will be doing this again next year!
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067216e0a5346801859b7255d5d028bd | https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-12647115 | Tuaregs 'join Gaddafi's mercenaries' | Tuaregs 'join Gaddafi's mercenaries'
Members of the Tuareg community in Mali say a large number of men from the Tuareg ethnic group have left Mali in the last week to join pro-Gaddafi forces in Libya.
"About 2-300 have left in the last seven days," said a senior elected official, who did not want to be named, from the Kidal region in the north of the country, where many Tuareg live.
Another Tuareg man from Kidal said: "It's true many young men are leaving. It all started about a week back."
He said he had spoken to people in a convoy of 40 vehicles who are in southern Algeria waiting to cross the border into Libya.
The elected official said: "They are being paid about $10,000 (£6,000) to join up and then I've heard they are being told that they will get $1,000 a day to fight."
The official claimed that some of the money was coming through the Libyan embassy in the Malian capital, Bamako.
I contacted the embassy but was told only the ambassador could comment and he was sick.
Ever since the start of the uprising in Libya there have been reports of Colonel Gaddafi using "mercenaries" to put down the protesters.
Eyewitnesses have talked of Africans of darker skin firing on protesters, speculating that they might be coming from countries such as Chad, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Niger, Mali and Sudan.
Some of these black African fighters have been in Libya for many years, however. Some have been in the armed forces for much of that time and some have taken on Libyan nationality.
It is only in recent days that reports of people who fit with a more classic definition of "mercenary" have been coming to light and one of the places of recruitment is Mali.
The Tuareg are a traditionally nomadic people who live in the Sahel-Sahara zone of north-west Africa. There have also been reports of Tuareg from Algeria and Niger making the journey to Libya.
The Tuareg and Colonel Gaddafi have a long history.
In the early 1970s, Gaddafi created his Islamic Legion. This was supposed to be an Islamic military force that would fight for a unified Islamic state in north Africa.
Many Tuareg joined up, lured then too by the promise of cash salaries at a time when the Sahel-Sahara zone was experiencing a terrible drought.
The Legion ended up fighting in places like Chad, Sudan and Lebanon but in the late 1980s it was disbanded. Many Tuareg stayed in Libya and joined the country's armed forces.
The other major link between the Tuareg and Col Gaddafi's government is the various Tuareg rebellions in the region.
The Tuaregs in Mali and Niger have fought on and off for many years with their central governments, demanding greater independence or at the very least more investment in the areas they live.
Col Gaddafi has been accused of supporting these rebellions. What is sure is that he has helped broker peace deals and offered sanctuary to former rebels when the fighting was over.
It is these historical links that are now being called upon to get Tuareg to Libya.
"There were people who took part in the Tuareg rebellion here in Mali who then joined the Libyan Army," the official from the Kidal region said.
"These people have very good contacts, of course, to the Tuareg who stayed behind and they are now asking them to come to Libya."
The Malian government has yet to make an official statement about the allegations.
But a source at Mali's foreign ministry said: "The government of Mali is strongly opposed to the use mercenaries in any armed conflict and is not in any way facilitating the movement of these people. We're thinking at the moment about how we can stop this."
Another Malian government official admitted the task was not going to be easy.
"These people are travelling through the desert. Nobody controls the borders in the Sahara," he said.
It is about two days drive from northern Mali to southern Libya.
Many of the Tuareg who are leaving have experience either in the Tuareg rebellions, the Malian armed forces or the Libyan army. On top of this, some have been involved in smuggling drugs and people across the region.
In any case, these days in the Sahara most men know how to handle a weapon. People often travel armed.
The official from Kidal said the lure of huge salaries was just too tempting for young men in a zone where there are few other economic opportunities.
"Even some of my own family have gone to fight, even though I've been begging them not to."
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37281b23b55ce1cb858b368b7058f5cd | https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-13275104 | Bin Laden compound location suggested by 2008 study | Bin Laden compound location suggested by 2008 study
A 2008 study conducted by US university professors suggested there was a high probability Osama Bin Laden had taken refuge in the town where he was ultimately killed by US operatives on Sunday.
The model employed in the study, which is typically used to track endangered species, said there was a 88.9% chance he was in Abbottabad in Pakistan.
But geographer Thomas Gillespie at UCLA said the same study gave a 95% chance he was in another town, Parachinar.
The
findings
were published in 2009.
Mr Gillespie, whose expertise is in using remote sensing data from satellites to study ecosystems, initially conducted the study with undergraduate geography students as an exercise in 2008 and submitted its findings to the MIT International Review in 2009.
The probabilistic model used in the study pinpointed Parachinar, which is roughly 300km (186 miles) from Abbottabad, as having a 95% likelihood of being the town where Bin Laden was hiding out.
Mr Gillespie and his students took the findings and then zeroed in on Parachinar because it also had access to medical care.
But the study also gave Abbottabad, where Bin Laden was shot and killed on Sunday by US forces, an 88.9% of being the al-Qaeda leader's hide-out.
The model, which Mr Gillespie typically uses in his work to track endangered species, suggested Bin Laden was probably residing in a city compound, rather than in a cave in a rural environment, because people in less densely populated regions would be more likely to take the time to notice him, the university professor told the BBC.
Using the study, Mr Gillespie and his students then surmised that the compound would have security, such as high walls around its perimeter, and an electricity supply, both of which were found at the site of Bin Laden's residence in Pakistan.
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5495bf94bac8f1381187cfe90236fec9 | https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-13369029 | UN cites more groups using child soldiers in report | UN cites more groups using child soldiers in report
The UN has added two groups in Yemen and two in Iraq to its annual list of those recruiting or abusing children during armed conflicts.
During Yemen's recent civil war, as many as 15% of the pro-government militia and 20% of the Huthi rebels were made up of children, the UN says.
Even though that conflict was now over, nobody knew where the children were, said a UN special representative.
The annual report
said children were involved in warfare in 22 countries.
"2010 proved another tragic year for children in conflicts all over the world," said Radhika Coomaraswamy, Special Representative of the Secretary General for Children and Armed Conflict.
"We've taken no parties off of the list and added four more."
She also raised concerns about the reference to attacks on schools and hospitals in 15 of the 22 countries listed.
As well as physical attacks, some schools and hospitals had also been forced to close due to direct threats, intimidation, or military occupation.
"Schools must be safe places of learning and development for all children," said Ms Coomaraswamy. "They should be zones of peace. Those who attack schools and hospitals should know that they will be held accountable."
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon added his concern over the increase in attacks on schools and hospitals, noting that schools were commonly used as recruiting centres for child soldiers.
In Sudan alone, 15 groups were cited for recruiting and using, killing and maiming, or committing rape and other forms of sexual violence against children during wartime.
The report also detailed violations against children in Afghanistan, Burma, Burundi, Central African Republic, Chad, Congo, Colombia, Haiti, India, Iraq, Ivory Coast, Lebanon, Nepal, Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories, Pakistan, Philippines, Somalia, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Uganda and Yemen.
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35f57b6398a36c2e0683c862778900bb | https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-13560829 | South Sudan: Salva Kiir says no to war with north | South Sudan: Salva Kiir says no to war with north
South Sudan's leader Salva Kiir has said he will not lead his people back into conflict with the north over the disputed region of Abyei.
The region, seized by northern troops at the weekend, is also claimed by South Sudan, which is due to become independent from the north in July.
"We will not go back to war, it will not happen," Mr Kiir said in his first public statement since trouble began.
Analysts fear the dispute could reignite the north-south conflict.
A peace deal in 2005 ended 22 years of civil war in which some 1.5 million people died.
The status of Abyei was left undecided and a referendum, due last January, on whether the area should be part of the north or south has been postponed indefinitely.
In a national address, Mr Kiir said the south had "fought enough" and that it was time for peace.
He described the north's invasion of Abyei as an over-reaction, and said the area would eventually be reclaimed by the south.
Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir has refused to withdraw his troops from the region, despite UN condemnation of the move.
Earlier, a southern minister in the national government resigned, saying "war crimes" had been committed in the disputed Abyei region.
The
Satellite Sentinel Project has released satellite images
of burnt huts and says they provide evidence of war crimes.
The project's spokesman Jonathan Hutson said other troop movements in the north were also a cause for concern.
"Satellite Sentinel Project has identified Sudan armed forces, those of the northern armies, massing near the contested border area of Abyei with heavy armour and artillery and tanks at a place called El Obeid - there's a barracks there," he told the BBC's World Today programme.
"They could reach Sudan's north-south border or Abyei town in less than a day without refuelling."
Aid workers say some 40,000 people have fled the fighting around Abyei - mostly southerners, heading further south.
"Tens of thousands have been displaced - the villages that they've left behind have been systematically razed," Mr Huston said.
David Deng Bol, manager of Mayardit FM radio station in Turalei, about 75km (45 miles) south of Abyei, told the BBC more than 25,000 people had arrived in that area in the last few days.
Many were camping under trees and in the rush to leave some families had been split up and children were missing, he said.
"The situation of the IDPs [internally displaced people] is very very bad. They sleep outside being affected by the rain, the places are cold, there's no food, no water or no medication," he told the BBC's Focus on Africa programme.
Meanwhile, the UN has said it believes militiamen from the Misseriya ethnic group were responsible for shooting at one of its helicopters on Wednesday.
The Misseriya are northern nomads and one of two groups to claim Abyei, along with the southern Dinka Ngok people.
They were armed by Khartoum and used to attack the south during the civil war.
Reports suggest many Misseriya have arrived in Abyei town since the northern armed forces took control of it on Saturday, accusations denied by one nomad leader as "nonsense".
Under the 2005 peace agreement, Abyei was granted special status and a joint administration was set up in 2008 to run the area until a referendum decided its fate.
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880fd15ea6609c2f2f374ae955647082 | https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-13881690 | 'New drugs' offset cocaine and heroin gains, says UN | 'New drugs' offset cocaine and heroin gains, says UN
Gains made in tackling global use of cocaine and heroin are being offset by rising consumption of synthetic and prescription drugs, the UN says.
In its annual report, the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) said that in Europe, seizures of new psychoactive drugs had been growing.
A number of new synthetic compounds have emerged, the agency said.
These were commonly marketed as "legal" substitutes for drugs like cocaine or ecstasy, it said.
"Every year new products, not under control, are manufactured to supply an increasingly diversified demand for psychoactive substances," the report says.
These include synthetic drugs, as well as drugs based on cannabis, cocaine and opiates.
The drugs are often designed to evade regulations or law enforcement, or to replace drugs that are being supplied in lesser quantities, the UN said.
Some contain unregulated substances and are known as "legal highs".
In addition, the non-medical use of prescription drugs was reported to be spreading in developed and developing countries, the UN said.
In Europe, which the UN described as among the most "innovative" regions for new drugs, 40 new substances were notified in the European early-warning system in 2010, compared to 24 in 2009.
The seized drugs included piperazines, cathinones, synthetic cannabinoids, tryptamines and phenethylamines.
Piperazine was developed for the treatment of parasitic worms and as an anti-depressant. Derivatives of piperazine are often sold as ecstasy.
Other examples of "new drugs" are mephedrone, often touted as a legal alternative to amphetamine or cocaine, and "spice", a synthetic product that emulates the effect of cannabis.
Other developments identified in the UN report for 2010 include:
Overall, the UN estimates that between 149 and 272 million people around the world used illicit substances in 2009.
In recent years, stable downward trends in heroin and cocaine use have contrasted with an increase in the use of ATS (amphetamine-type stimulants), the UN says.
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e4aab9017a530c06f0a26aa1c517b31d | https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-14104349 | The global reach of Murdoch's News Corp | The global reach of Murdoch's News Corp
Media mogul Rupert Murdoch has closed the British newspaper the News of the World over allegations it illegally listened into the voicemail of celebrities, war widows and crime victims, and paid police officers for information.
Mr Murdoch's News Corporation has an extensive global reach, with a presence in most countries and an annual revenue of more than $31bn (£19bn). Here are some of News Corp's key operations around the world.
News Corp owns 44% of the Sky Network in Australia - Mr Murdoch's country of birth - and New Zealand, and is bidding to operate a government-funded international TV service currently operated by national broadcaster ABC.
The company also owns some 150 national and local newspapers in Australia, including the Australian, the Telegraph, and the Herald Sun. It owns a 50% stake in the Premier Media Group, which operates nine Fox TV channels in Australia.
Under the Star name, News Corp owns nine cable channels across Asia and owns or hold significant shares in eight others.
It also has a 20% stake in India's Tata Sky channel.
News Corp owns a majority stake in Papua New Guinea's Post Courier newspaper. It also own the Wall Street Journal's Asia edition.
News Corp owns a 39% share of British Sky Broadcasting (BSKyB) but Mr Murdoch is hoping to eventually buy it outright.
The News of the World was Britain's biggest selling weekly paper, with some three million copies printed each week. With its closure, the company now owns three British newspapers - the Times, Sunday Times and the Sun.
In Italy, News Corp owns Sky Italia and in Germany has a 45% share in Sky Deutschland.
News Corp holds a 9% share in the Rotana network, which broadcasts a range of channels across the Middle East and North Africa.
News Corp has significant shares in three Latin American broadcasters - LAPTV, Telecine and Fox Telecolombia.
News Corp owns several high profile US newspapers including the Wall Street Journal, the New York Post and the Community Newspaper Group; a range of financial papers including Barons and MarketWatch; and operates seven news information services.
The company has extensive ownership in US television through the Fox network and the National Geographic channels. It owns 27 local Fox TV stations and Mr Murdoch has described the hugely influential Fox News as "simply unstoppable".
Ten News Corp film companies - including 20th Century Fox and Fox Searchlight Pictures - are also largely based in the US and took some $7.6bn in 2010. The company owns a third of the Hulu online film rental service.
News Corp owns HarperCollins Publishing across the US, Canada, Europe, New Zealand and Australia, and part owns HarperCollins Asia.
It also owns or part owns several marketing and digital media groups. Mr Murdoch recently sold most of his stake in the MySpace social networking site for $35m.
The Fox and National Geographic networks have a huge global reach through their news and entertainment TV channels.
Source:
News Corp annual report to June 2010
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9420a54a58a31cdb6cfd919c0f879122 | https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-15911862 | Mexico City claims zombie walk world record | Mexico City claims zombie walk world record
Nearly 10,000 people have paraded in Mexico City dressed as zombies in what organisers claim is the biggest "zombie walk" ever held.
Wearing ghoulish make-up and rags splattered with fake blood, the "undead" shambled and groaned through the heart of the capital.
The current Guinness world record is held by Asbury Park in the US, where 4,093 zombies marched in 2010.
Zombie walks have grown in popularity worldwide in recent years.
The craze for dressing up as the "living dead" has been fuelled by movies, television, video games and literature.
A group in Brisbane in Australia has also laid claim to the record after massing 8,000 zombies last month.
Cultural critics have variously suggested the phenomenon may be linked to economic austerity or a critique of consumerism.
But participants usually say they are doing it for fun.
Correspondents say the craze has particular resonance in Mexico, where the "Day of the Dead" is a national celebration and where brutal killings by drugs gangs dominate the news.
Elsewhere in Latin America, Lima in Peru, Santiago in Chile and Sao Paulo in Brazil have all staged zombie walks this year.
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843a9b58dd3a6a3d25813b7e766aecca | https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-16207880 | Lagarde: No country's economy immune from rising risks | Lagarde: No country's economy immune from rising risks
IMF head Christine Lagarde has said the world economic outlook is "gloomy" and no country is immune from rising risks.
She said all nations, starting with Europe, needed to head off a crisis with risks of a global depression.
"There is no economy in the world immune from the crisis that we not only see unfolding but escalating," she said.
"It is going to be hopefully resolved by all countries, all regions actually taking action."
Meanwhile, ratings agency Standard and Poor's downgraded 10 Spanish banks by applying new ratings criteria.
And France's official statistics agency, INSEE, said that it expects the Europe's second-largest economy to fall into recession in the final three months of this year and the first quarter of 2012.
France, Spain and Italy have been facing rising borrowing costs. Many investors fear one will be the next eurozone member to need a bailout.
'Require efforts'
Speaking at the US State Department in Washington, she said global economic leaders now needed to take a rounded approach towards addressing monetary weaknesses, such as those underscored by the current eurozone debt crisis.
"It is going to require efforts, it is going to require adjustment, and clearly it is going to have to start from the core of the crisis at the moment, which is obviously the European countries and in particular the countries of the eurozone."
Ms Lagarde mentioned economic bright spots in Asia and Latin America, which she said had taken, with IMF help, steps during crises in the 1980s and 1990s to address weaknesses in their banking systems and their financial frameworks.
"All those challenges that they faced in the days of the Asian crisis, of the Latin American crisis, have now served them well," Ms Lagarde said.
On Thursday, a closely-watched survey suggested the downturn in the 17 economies that share the euro had eased slightly in December.
The composite survey of thousands of firms by Markit showed a continued contraction - but at a slower rate than in November.
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6a6c31d0aaae7e34dedcbe021175b33b | https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-19314967 | Hollywood director Tony Scott jumps to death from bridge | Hollywood director Tony Scott jumps to death from bridge
Hollywood director Tony Scott, famous for films including Top Gun, has died after jumping from a bridge in Los Angeles, authorities have said.
The Los Angeles County Coroner's office said Scott's death was being investigated as a suicide.
British-born Scott, brother of Alien director Ridley, shot to fame in the 1980s with a string of action films.
The 68-year-old's films included Crimson Tide, Days of Thunder and True Romance.
He also directed Enemy of the State and Beverly Hills Cop II.
"I can confirm that Tony Scott has passed away. The family asks that their privacy is respected at this time," Scott's spokesman, Simon Halls, said in a statement.
The coroner said Scott jumped from the Vincent Thomas Bridge, which spans San Pedro and Terminal Island in Los Angeles.
Lt Joe Bale, from the coroner's office, said the director was seen parking his car and jumping into the water at about 12:30 (19:30 GMT) on Sunday.
His body was recovered from the harbour less than three hours later. A note was found in his car and another in his office, but it is not clear what they contained.
"We will go where the facts take us. We have no reason to believe it was not a suicide," Lt Bale told the BBC.
He said a post-mortem had not yet been performed.
Actress Keira Knightley, who starred in his 2005 film Domino, said: "Tony Scott was one of the most extraordinary, imaginative men I ever worked with. It was a privilege to have spent the time I did with him. He was a fire cracker and one of the world's true originals."
Fellow director Ron Howard
said on Twitter
: "No more Tony Scott movies. Tragic day."
Sin City director Robert Rodriguez tweeted: "Damn. Great knowing you, buddy. Thanks for the inspiration, advice, encouragement, and the decades of great entertainment."
Duncan Jones, director of Source Code and Moon,
said
: "Just heard about Tony Scott news. Horrible... Tony was a truly lovely man who took me under his wing & ignited my passion to make films."
Actor Elijah Wood added on Twitter: "Awful news about Tony Scott. Rest in peace."
Stephen Fry wrote: "Deeply saddened to hear the news about Tony Scott. A fine film-maker and the most charming, modest man."
A statement from Pinewood and Shepperton studios chief executive Ivan Dunleavy said he and colleagues were "deeply saddened to learn of the tragic news".
"He was not only an incredibly gifted filmmaker and ambassador for the UK film industry, he was a significant part of the history of Shepperton Studios," said Dunleavy.
"He directed some of the most successful films of all time and at Shepperton these included The Hunger (1981), Spy Game (2001) and Tony most recently produced Prometheus (2012) directed by his brother Ridley.
"He will be sadly missed and our thoughts and prayers are with his family at this difficult time."
Scott, born in North Shields in north-east England, was famous for his fast-paced blockbusters, and carved out a distinctive style to his films using fast editing and digital effects.
He made a number of films with actor Denzel Washington, including Man on Fire and most recently Unstoppable. More recently, he had been producing for television - including hit legal drama The Good Wife on CBS - as well as films.
Bafta chairman Tim Corrie said: "He was a true pioneer. A great film-maker and a wonderful human being. He will be sorely missed by people all over the world.
"History will probably always link him with his brother which considering their lifelong partnership is right ... but Tony had his own style and will stand tall in the history of British film-makers."
At the time of his death, he was rumoured to be working with Tom Cruise on a sequel to Top Gun.
He had recently completed filming on Out of the Furnace, a drama he was producing about an ex-convict starring Christian Bale. The movie is due to come out next year.
He was married three times and had twin sons with his third wife, Donna Wilson.
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60cc3d8a63b42a415105e6fa14a5967d | https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-19438536 | English GCSEs will not be regraded, says Ofqual | English GCSEs will not be regraded, says Ofqual
England's exams regulator, Ofqual, has refused to order exam boards to regrade this summer's English GCSE in a row over this year's results.
It acknowledged grade boundaries had changed part way through the year, but stood by the new June grading system.
Instead of regrading, pupils would be offered early resits in November, Ofqual said.
Head teachers' union, ASCL, said the move was wholly unacceptable and is threatening legal action.
Head teachers urged Ofqual to investigate when it was revealed that grade boundaries for the exams changed between January and June.
Heads claim those who sat the exam in June were put at an unfair disadvantage over those who sat them earlier in the year.
The Association of School and College Leaders' general secretary Brian Lightman said: "What is clear to us is that there has been a systemic failure over the awarding of English GCSE grades."
He added: "Teachers and students acted in good faith, followed advice and feedback from the awarding bodies during the year, and worked to the approximate grade boundaries given to them.
"They accept that grade boundaries can change by a couple of marks, but to change by 10 or more makes a mockery of the system."
Many pupils who had been expecting a crucial C grade were given a D as a result of the grade boundary changes. This means many will be denied college places.
Early resits
Ofqual chief executive Glenys Stacey said she had looked carefully at how the exam boards had managed the awarding of all GCSE qualifications this year.
She said: "People were particularly concerned about the June grade boundaries.
"We have found that examiners acted properly, and set the boundaries using their best professional judgement, taking into account all of the evidence available to them.
"The June boundaries have been properly set, and candidates' work properly graded.
"The issue is not the June, but the January boundaries. Again, examiners used their best judgement in setting these boundaries, but they had less data and information to work with."
This was partly because fewer candidates sat the exam in January. Some 7% sat the unit causing concern in January, compared with 93% in June.
And because the exams were new qualifications, examiners could not rely so much on direct comparisons with the past, Ms Stacey added.
"As a result, those grade boundaries were set generously," she said.
Ofqual had thought carefully about what should be done, Ms Stacey said, adding that its job was to ensure grades were comparable from one year to the next.
The exam boards recognised the strength of feeling, she said, and would be offering early resits for students who sat the June units.
Andrew Hall, chief executive of the AQA board, which was responsible for one of the GCSEs at the centre of the row, said there were lessons to be learned.
"A lot of the focus has been on AQA, which is understandable, because our English qualifications are taken by nearly 60% of students.
"While I was confident that AQA had maintained standards, it is reassuring that the regulator's review has confirmed that we followed the correct procedures and awarded the right grades."
Exam board Edexcel said: "Although the report confirms that grades issued in the summer were fair, we sympathise with the disappointment many are feeling."
She added that re-sits would be offered free of charge.
But Russell Hobby, general secretary of the National Association of Head Teachers, said: "The gravity of this situation cannot be overestimated.
"The fact of the matter is that next week, students and teachers will return to school for the new academic year with some students having had their college places, their jobs - and their futures - put in jeopardy. At the moment, there is no answer to this very pressing problem."
Shadow education secretary Stephen Twigg said Ofqual does not address the fact that pupils in the same year, who received the same marks, were awarded different grades.
"As a result, thousands of pupils have been done a disservice at a time when they are making big decisions about their futures."
GCSE English grades at A* to C fell by 1.5%, but some schools saw much bigger falls.
Overall, this year's GCSE results showed the first fall in the A* to C grades since they were introduced.
All exam boards had been warned to guard against grade inflation by Ofqual prior to marking.
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f794377d49b9d847448b737f626a53bc | https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-20024904 | Jimmy Savile: BBC Newsnight editor steps aside over claims | Jimmy Savile: BBC Newsnight editor steps aside over claims
The Newsnight editor responsible for dropping a report into claims Jimmy Savile sexually abused people is stepping aside, the BBC has said.
Peter Rippon's move is for the duration of an inquiry into Newsnight's handling of the planned report last year.
Earlier this month,
in a blog,
Mr Rippon explained the editorial reasons behind his decision to axe the report.
The BBC
has now issued a correction
, calling the blog "inaccurate or incomplete in some respects".
The Metropolitan Police have launched a criminal inquiry into the allegations against Savile. They have described the former BBC presenter and DJ, who died in October 2011 aged 84, as a predatory sex offender.
They believe he may have sexually abused many people, including young girls, over a 40-year period, sometimes on BBC premises.
In other developments on Monday:
Mr Entwistle has announced two BBC inquiries regarding the sex abuse claims.
The first is looking into whether there were any failings in the BBC's management of the Newsnight investigation, which was not broadcast for editorial reasons. It is being led by former head of Sky News Nick Pollard and is expected to report in December.
The second will be led by former High Court judge Dame Janet Smith and will examine the culture of the BBC during the years that Savile worked there. The results are expected in spring 2013.
In a further move, the BBC is also to appoint an independent expert to look at sexual harassment claims and practices.
In a statement on Monday,
the BBC issued a correction to Mr Rippon's blog.
The corrections relate to:
The statement said: "The BBC regrets these errors and will work with the Pollard Review to assemble all relevant evidence to enable the review to determine the full facts.
"In addition, the BBC has announced that Peter Rippon is stepping aside with immediate effect from his post while the review by Nick Pollard... into the management of Newsnight's investigation is carried out."
Prime Minister David Cameron said earlier the nation was "appalled" by the Savile allegations, adding "they seem to get worse by the day".
He went on to say he was "sure" the BBC's own reviews would answer "serious questions" over the corporation's handling of the Savile affair.
Speaking to BBC News, Panorama and Newsnight journalist John Sweeney said two major mistakes were made by the corporation at the time of the Newsnight investigation.
The first was pulling the Newsnight expose, and the second was running the Christmas tribute programme in the light of the allegations against Savile.
Mr Sweeney - who was not involved in Monday's Panorama programme - said: "There are two people involved in that mistake. Helen Boaden, head of news, and George Entwistle, now the director general...
"Those two people decided between them that it was a good thing for the tributes to go ahead... and in the light of now.. that looked like a terrible decision".
Lord Patten, chairman of the BBC Trust, said he was "deeply concerned" about the inaccuracies in Mr Rippon's account of the reasons for scrapping the Newsnight investigation.
A Trust spokeswoman added: "The chairman has referred two or three times to the Peter Rippon blog, which he believed on the basis of assurances at the time to be accurate.
"He is deeply concerned that this proves not now to be the case."
The spokeswoman confirmed the Pollard review would investigate "how these inaccuracies came to be in the blog along with everything else in the Newsnight investigation."
Meanwhile, the BBC Panorama programme due to be aired on Monday night challenges the BBC's explanation for the dropping of the Savile investigation.
Mr Rippon has argued he took the decision for editorial reasons because the report would have been much stronger if Newsnight could have proven some institutional failure by the police over Savile's abuse - which the programme failed to do.
But the film's producer and reporter say they had been investigating whether Jimmy Savile was a paedophile - and claim they had enough evidence and interviews for a transmission date to be set.
Panorama says it found no evidence to suggest that Mr Rippon was pressured from above to drop the report ahead of a Christmas tribute to Savile. It also says individuals named in the programme have not yet responded to the specific points raised.
One victim, Karin Ward, tells Panorama, said that Savile's dressing room was "packed" with people while Gary Glitter abused a girl.
She said Savile was present when the abuse was taking place and "laughed about it". Glitter has denied the claims.
Panorama: Jimmy Savile - What the BBC Knew, BBC One, Monday, 22 October at 22:35 BST and then available in the UK on the
BBC iPlayer
.
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6e07ea80546e755634afad0a8559ca72 | https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-20156365 | Inequality 'highest for 20 years' - Save The Children | Inequality 'highest for 20 years' - Save The Children
Global inequalities in wealth are at their highest level for 20 years and are growing, according to a new report by Save The Children.
While the charity acknowledges progress has been made in goals such as reducing child mortality,
the report says
this has been uneven across income groups.
Continuing inequality could hinder further progress in improving living standards, the charity says.
The report comes ahead of a meeting of a high-level UN panel on poverty.
"In recent decades the world has made dramatic progress in cutting child deaths and improving opportunities for children; we are now reaching a tipping point where preventable child deaths could be eradicated in our lifetime," Save the Children's chief executive, Justin Forsyth, said.
"Unless inequality is addressed... any future development framework will simply not succeed in maintaining or accelerating progress. What's more, it will hold individual countries - and the world - back from experiencing real growth and prosperity," Mr Forsyth added.
Save The Children's researchers found that in most of the 32 developing countries they looked at, the rich had increased their share of national income since the 1990s.
In a fifth of the countries, the incomes of the poorest had fallen over the same period.
The gap has become particularly pronounced among children and affects their well-being as well as causing disparities in several key indicators, the charity says.
For example, it notes that in Tanzania, child mortality in the richest fifth of the population fell from 135 to 90 per 1,000 births over the research period, while the poorest fifth saw hardly any progress with a modest fall of 140 to 137 per 1,000 births.
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ca26c26087b5fab118be5069a5bcef89 | https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-20264831 | Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby: World reaction | Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby: World reaction
Anglicans around the world have been responding to the appointment of the Right Reverend Justin Welby as the next Archbishop of Canterbury.
The 56-year-old Bishop of Durham replaces Rowan Williams, who steps down in December after 10 years in the post.
The Archbishop of Canterbury is the spiritual leader of the 80 million-strong Anglican Communion - with communities in in 165 countries.
Here is a selection of responses from the global Anglican Church:
If Bishop Welby wants a frank report card on the state of the Anglican Church he can get it from Bishop Nicholas Okoh, the Primate of the Church of Nigeria.
He described it as "grievously disunited" and said attending church meetings was like "working in a police state with agents all over the place trying to catch people with their words".
The Anglican Church says it has some 18 million followers in Nigeria and the new Archbishop of Canterbury will have to tread very carefully on the controversial issues of homosexual priests and same-sex marriage if he wants to ensure rifts do not deepen further.
"Handle with care" seems to be the Nigerian warning: Moves to allow these would not be accepted here and would further increase the possibility of liberals and conservatives formally splitting.
There does, however, appear to be a growing acceptance here that the ordination of women bishops is inevitable.
Malawi's one million Anglicans have welcomed the appointment.
"It's exciting news for Anglicans in Malawi," said Bishop Brighton Malasa of Upper Shire, the chairman of the Anglican Church in Malawi.
"I have interacted with the Most Reverend and Right Honourable Justin Welby personally; he is a good man, a humble person, so cool, I think he himself must be most humbled by this appointment."
"Others are calling it 'risk taking' to have such a fresh face to head the global church but that's how God works," the bishop told the BBC in a telephone interview from his base in the eastern district of Zomba.
He said the new Archbishop of Canterbury would have to grapple with challenges including the controversy surrounding the ordination of homosexual men and women bishops in the Church, Malawi's third largest Christian community after Catholics and Presbyterians.
Malawi has some of the world's harshest laws against homosexuality, with "unnatural acts, gross indecency and carnal knowledge against the order of nature" laws carrying maximum prison sentences of 14 years.
Malawi's Anglicans were divided when a pro-gay rights British bishop, Nicholas Henderson, was appointed to head a diocese in the largely conservative southern African country. His appointment was reversed after protracted protests.
The head of the Anglican Church in Kenya, Archbishop Eliud Wabukala, welcomed Bishop Welby's appointment, saying he would take the Church back to the teachings of the Bible.
The Kenyan Church was among those opposed to the ordination of the gay bishops, joining other Anglican congregations in threatening to withdraw from the mother Church.
Biblical teachings were clear on what union the Church should celebrate, said Archbishop Wabukala.
"He's a man I know well having worked together with him when I was the bishop for Bungoma in setting up development projects," he said.
One Anglican adherent wondered why the Church had overlooked the Archbishop of York Dr John Sentamu, who hails from neighbouring Uganda and for whom many in Kenya had been rooting.
But some Kenyans did not seem to know the new head of the Church - including some working at the Anglican secretariat in Nairobi. Many of them wanted to know the position of the new head of the Church on the ordination of gay bishops and same-sex marriage.
The appointment of Justin Welby has been welcomed by the American Episcopal church.
The 105th Archbishop of Canterbury has his work cut out to heal the bitter divisions in the global Anglican Communion, which are nowhere more apparent than over the fraught issue of homosexuality.
It was its election of Gene Robinson - an openly gay man - as the Bishop of New Hampshire in 2003, that prompted the crisis in the Anglican Communion.
Bishop Robinson, who is to retire early, in 2013, citing the pressure of the backlash against him (which has included death threats), called Justin Welby an "immensely likeable and sensible man".
He added that it showed the Church of England was "thinking outside the box, which is exactly what is needed, and it would be a breath of fresh air for the Anglican Communion".
The leader of America's two million Episcopalians, the Most Reverend Katharine Jefferts Schori, also welcomed the move.
"I give thanks for his appointment and his willingness to accept this work in which I know his gifts of reconciliation and discernment will be abundantly tested," she said.
The American Church itself will be calling on Justin Welby's apparent gifts as a mediator.
Three years ago, North American traditionalists broke away from the US Episcopal church to set up their own network under the authority of the Anglican Church in Nigeria.
There have been lawsuits in US dioceses over church property, and much recrimination.
Bishop Julian Dobbs of the traditionalist Convocation of Anglicans in North America, said he was "excited" by Justin Welby's experience and engagement with the church in Nigeria.
And in a nod to aspirations to be recognised as an independent Anglican Church in the US, he added that he "would welcome dialogue with him with regard to our place in the communion".
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25d624c97ab4abc4c8350985115e6d47 | https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-21062451 | Algeria hostage Belfast man Stephen McFaul is free | Algeria hostage Belfast man Stephen McFaul is free
A Belfast man who was held hostage at a BP facility in Algeria for two days has been freed and has spoken to his wife on the telephone.
Stephen McFaul, 36, who was travelling on an Irish passport, was being held along with other foreign nationals.
It has now emerged he escaped from his captors after the jeep in which he was being carried crashed.
Mr McFaul's 13-year-old son Dylan has said he could not wait to give his father "a big hug".
Brian McFaul said his brother phoned his wife Angela as soon as he was released to tell her he was safe and had been taken to a secure location.
"A safe camp, he called it," said Mr McFaul.
"Angela said when she was talking to him he said he was fine, he was OK, he was safe and unharmed.
"In the past 48 hours, the whole family has just pulled together, both sides of it.
"You were constantly watching news and hoping that the next news you get is going to be good news.
"Then when we heard earlier on there was a large number of the hostages killed, and there was no mention of the Irish citizen being alive, then we were sort of expecting the worst. "
Mr McFaul said they had learned of his brother's freedom when his wife called.
"She said: 'Stephen's free, he's going to phone the house here, now'.
"At this stage we don't know how he gained his freedom, whether he was let go or he escaped."
He said Stephen's 13-year-old son Dylan was sitting with them throughout.
"He found it hard to sleep and was worrying. The poor child went through a lot for somebody his age for the past 48 hours.
Brian McFaul said it had been a terrible ordeal for his mother and father.
"They had been putting on a brave face for the rest of us.
"It has been hard for us all, not knowing from one moment to the next whether he was still alive or not."
Mr McFaul said the family had received support from the Irish government's Foreign Affairs Department and Sinn Fein's Paul Maskey.
He said Stephen, in his first call, to another brother, had wanted the Algerian army to pull back and stop firing on the camp.
"He said Al Qaeda were treating them well, they were unharmed. He said he was allowed to speak freely. They listed demands, they wanted publicity and they wanted the Algerian army to move away from the base and nobody would come to any harm.
"We had heard (earlier) that there were 34 or 35 dead and we were worried that Stephen was among them."
Mr McFaul said the family would now wait beside the telephone to wait for Stephen's next call.
Stephen McFaul had managed to contact his relatives twice before while in captivity.
But after receiving no further contact since Wednesday, his family made a plea for him to be released unharmed.
In a statement, issued through West Belfast MP Paul Maskey, they said they were very concerned about his welfare.
But two and a half hours later, he made contact with them to say he was free.
Mr Maskey tweeted after a visit to the McFaul family home.
"Brilliant news on his release. Family delighted," his message read.
The Irish Republic's deputy prime minister said: "I am extremely thankful and relieved to learn that the Irish national who was a hostage in Algeria has made contact with his family and is safe.
"I spoke with his family yesterday, and I know how relieved they will be that he is well after his ordeal.
"This is the news that we all wanted to hear. At the same time, my thoughts are with the other oil-field workers who are caught up in this terrible situation and with their families who are also waiting for news at this difficult time.
"We continue to liaise with the Algerian authorities and with the authorities of the other countries affected by this incident."
Four foreign hostages were freed in an Algerian military operation but there were a number of "victims", the official Algerian APS news agency said.
Algerian soldiers had been surrounding the facility near In Amenas that Islamic militants occupied on Wednesday, after killing a Briton and an Algerian.
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067c617e3fa8a6b63d06f59b1eeee566 | https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-21464052 | Horsemeat scandal: France blames processor Spanghero | Horsemeat scandal: France blames processor Spanghero
French meat processing company Spanghero knowingly sold horsemeat labelled as beef, the French government has said.
Spanghero's licence is being suspended while an inquiry continues, Agriculture Minister Stephane Le Foll said.
The firm has denied the allegations, saying it only ever dealt in meat it believed to be beef.
A widening scandal over mislabelled horsemeat has affected at least 12 European countries.
In the UK, three people have been arrested on suspicion of fraud in connection with the sale of horsemeat.
Two suspects were detained at a meat processing plant near Aberystwyth in Wales, and a third was arrested at an abattoir in West Yorkshire.
The French government believes that the sale of horsemeat labelled as beef went on for six months and involved about 750 tonnes of meat.
Spanghero imported meat from Romania and sold it on to another company, Comigel, which made frozen ready meals at its factory in Luxembourg.
French Consumer Affairs Minister Benoit Hamon said the meat had left Romania clearly and correctly labelled as horse. It was afterwards that it was relabelled as beef.
"From the investigation, it would seem that the first agent or actor in this network who stamped 'beef' on horsemeat from Romania was Spanghero," Mr Hamon said.
There was "no reason to doubt the good faith" of the Romanian abattoir that originally provided the meat, Mr Hamon added.
The investigation says some blame may rest with Comigel, which made the ready meals sold around Europe.
Staff there should have noticed anomalies in the paperwork, and realised from the smell and look of the meat once it was defrosted that it was not beef, Mr Hamon said.
Spanghero has strongly denied wrongdoing.
"Spanghero confirms having placed an order for beef, having been led to believe it received beef, and having sold back what it thought was beef, properly labelled as such, in line with European and French regulations," the company said in a statement.
The latest country to be hit by the crisis is Germany, where some supermarket chains have removed frozen lasagne from sale after traces of horsemeat were detected.
The widening scandal has raised questions about the complexity of the food industry's supply chains across Europe.
The UK has asked the European investigative agency Europol to co-ordinate a Continent-wide investigation into an alleged international conspiracy to pass horsemeat off as beef.
On Wednesday the EU urged member states to conduct random DNA tests for horsemeat in beef products from 1 March.
EU Health Commissioner Tonio Borg said the programme of random tests should report after 30 days, but testing should continue for three months.
Mr Borg was speaking after a meeting in Brussels with agriculture ministers from affected countries.
He said member states should also test for the presence of the veterinary medicine phenylbutazone - known as "bute".
The painkiller is used to treat horses - particularly racehorses - but is considered potentially harmful to humans.
On Thursday, Britain's Food Standard Agency - the FSA - said tests eight horses that were killed in the UK had tested positive for bute, and six may have entered the food chain in France.
But England's chief medical officer said the highest level detected posed "very little risk to human health".
The prime minister's spokesman said the UK was working closely with the French authorities to track the carcasses.
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6a21104db98521a1c55d4ead788bb3f5 | https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-21498535 | Belgium court denies Marc Dutroux release | Belgium court denies Marc Dutroux release
A Belgian court has rejected a request by convicted child killer Marc Dutroux for early release.
Dutroux, 56, was given a life sentence in 2004 for kidnapping and raping six girls, four of whom died, after being arrested in 1996.
He insisted he was no longer dangerous and wanted to be released into house arrest with an electronic tag.
His mother Jeannine Dutroux was among those who called on the courts to reject the request.
Under Belgian law, prisoners can be freed after serving 15 years of a life sentence if they are no longer considered a risk to the public.
But Mrs Dutroux told Le Soir Magazine: "This is a repeat offender in his soul, as he has already proved throughout his life."
In its ruling the court said there was an "absence of any prospect" that Dutroux could be reintegrated into society.
Dutroux was initially jailed in the 1980s, along with his now ex-wife Michelle Martin for kidnapping and raping five young girls.
Both were freed early on good behaviour - only to go on to abduct more young victims.
In 2004, Martin was convicted of being complicit in the deaths of two of Dutroux's later victims, who she allowed to starve to death.
She was released in August last year, after serving 16 years of her 30-year sentence, and now lives in a convent.
|
7f7bcbf58f21b5c472438d254babb048 | https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-21619461 | Nuclear talks: New approach for Iran at Almaty | Nuclear talks: New approach for Iran at Almaty
Iran's chief nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili hailed the talks as a possible "turning point," while a senior US official just labelled them "useful".
So wide are the gaps between Iran and world powers on Tehran's nuclear programme, the two sides couldn't even agree on what happened here.
But something did happen in this week's talks in the Kazakh city of Almaty.
Whether it will be of real consequence in a decade-long effort to deal with Iran's controversial nuclear programme will only become clear in the months ahead.
One of the few phrases used by both sides was: "There is still a long way to go."
But there is, at the very least, some rare momentum in a process long bogged down by Western demands, Iranian defiance, and the sheer difficulty of knowing exactly how far Iran has advanced in a nuclear programme it describes as entirely peaceful, and the world fears is not.
This time the six nation bloc put a revised offer on the table. EU Foreign Policy Chief Catherine Ashton called it "a balanced and fair basis for constructive talks".
Iran, in a first written statement issued after talks of this kind, called some of the new points "more realistic… and positive".
When I showed a Western diplomat the page handed out to journalists, he cast a sceptical eye across Iran's new language. "We have to wait and see if this is just tactical or substantive."
Sanctions relief
But Iranian diplomats told me this round was "better" than past ones.
The stark "Stop, Shut, Ship" proposal is gone. This was the demand that Iran stop its 20% enrichment of uranium, shut its underground nuclear facility at Fordow, and ship its enriched fuel out of the country to ease international concern that it is developing nuclear weapons capability.
A senior US official said the new offer allows Iran to produce and keep a small amount of enriched uranium for use in a research reactor. It calls for a suspension of enrichment at the Fordow facility, with additional safeguards to make it hard to resume operations.
And for the first time, there is explicit mention of limited sanctions relief including a relaxation of a ban on trade in gold and other precious metals, as well as an easing of an import embargo on Iranian petrochemical products.
And there's a pledge to refrain from new sanctions.
Mr Jalili told a press briefing: "They mentioned some steps, but these steps should be balanced... Their reaction was more realistic. They tried to get closer to our viewpoint."
But Western officials were quick to insist they hadn't "softened their position".
"The absolute bottom line is Iran must address concerns about 20% enrichment and Fordo," emphasised a US official.
The most punishing banking sanctions and an oil embargo remain in place. And there are demands for more intrusive inspections by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) which recently reported that Iran had installed more advanced centrifuges at its Natanz nuclear facility.
Different tactics
Mr Jallli reiterated Iran's view it had a right to enrich uranium, to whatever level it needed, but he hinted that could be discussed as part of a package of reciprocal confidence building measures.
The sceptics, who suspect Iran is just stalling for time, saw some clever spinning for domestic political consumption.
"Maybe they are trying to send some positive signals in the run-up to Nowruz," remarked one Western diplomat, referring to the Persian New Year celebration on 21 March.
Reuters reported that the Iranian rial, which lost more than half its foreign exchange value in the last year as punishing sanctions took effect, rose 2% after the talks ended.
"All my friends have been emailing and texting me from Tehran," one Iranian journalist covering the talks told me. "Sanctions are very personal for everyone."
And there is also the backdrop of presidential elections set for June. Iran's official news agencies presented the new offer on the table as a response to Iran's own proposals in Moscow last year.
"Of course we need to present this as our success," remarked another Iranian journalist, "but there was also something positive in the meetings."
'Concrete steps'
Whatever Iran's long term strategy is, its delegation came to Almaty with different tactics.
New dates and venues for talks were agreed immediately over two days of meetings. In the past, even that could take months.
Technical experts will meet next month in Turkey to look at the revised proposal in detail. Then there will be another round of political talks in Almaty in early April.
This time, Iran briefed the press first, and without the banners they've hung at previous talks of their nuclear scientists they accuse the West and Israel of assassinating in a covert effort to disrupt Iran's programme.
Western diplomats were less impressed by atmospherics. "What matters are concrete results," underlined a US official.
A Western source said a Powerpoint presentation showed to the Iranians in Almaty was not a road map, nor a "you do this, and we will do that".
Bt it did offer both short and long term proposals which Mr Jalili also noted positively.
"For the EU, which chairs the talks, there is only a diplomatic solution," EU spokesman Michael Mann emphasised when I asked whether the threats of military action entered the talks in any way.
"But Iran has to take concrete steps to reassure the international community their nuclear programme is entirely peaceful. The IAEA points to some really serious doubts."
"The ball is now in Iran's court," he emphasised.
But, after this latest round, both sides are still trying to figure out what game the other is playing.
|
ec66a1d56035dd7fd43e6d24ce6b43fb | https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-22004491 | Argentine grandmothers determined to find 'stolen' babies | Argentine grandmothers determined to find 'stolen' babies
An estimated 30,000 mainly young people disappeared during Argentina's military rule (1976-83). They were arrested, taken to prison camps, tortured and killed.
Many were thrown into the sea on notorious
"death flights"
.
But the Argentine military drew the line at murdering pregnant women. They were allowed to give birth in prison - only to be murdered a few days later.
The babies were given to military families. There were lists among the armed services of childless couples who wanted them.
The authorities believed that if the children were brought up with the "right" kind of political thinking, they could be purged of the left-wing, subversive inclinations of their parents.
When Argentina returned to civilian rule in 1983, large numbers of parents whose children had disappeared realised their loved ones would never return.
But they were determined to find out their fate. Many joined a group known as Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo, named after the square in front of the presidential palace where they gathered to demand information about their children's whereabouts.
When it became clear that some of those abducted had given birth while in detention, some of the Mothers created a new group.
They became the Grandmothers of the Plaza de Mayo and began searching for their missing grandchildren.
Guillermo is one of those stolen babies.
"I was born here," he says as we walk the dark corridors of ESMA, the navy's mechanical school.
The school in Buenos Aires is now a memorial to the disappeared, but under military rule it was one of Argentina's most notorious prisons. Of those detained there, only 150 survived.
"My mother was tied to a table, just a regular table not a hospital one, to give birth," Guillermo says.
"There was an army doctor and two other women prisoners to help."
Guillermo's parents were in their early 20s when they were rounded up by the military. He says their only crime was to fight against the dictatorship.
"They wanted change, equality, freedom and democracy."
He says that after he was born, his mother asked the doctor if she could hold him.
"She named me Rodolfo Fernando Guillermo. She spoke to me and told me she was my mum."
It was the last he saw of her.
Guillermo may have never found out about the circumstances of his birth had it not been for the tireless campaign by the Grandmothers.
They spoke at public meetings, won recognition from international human rights organisations and used sympathetic radio and TV stations to advertise their search.
Slowly, they began to receive anonymous calls and tip-offs about the stolen babies.
Twenty-five years after Guillermo was born, his biological family, the Roisinblits, received a call telling them where they could find the boy they suspected may be their grandson.
Guillermo and Rosa Roisinblit sent blood samples to a genetic data bank which had been set up by the Grandmothers for the purpose of reuniting stolen babies with their grandparents.
A month later, Rosa received a phone call from the geneticist who had carried out the test.
"She said, 'Rosa, he's your grandson'.
"We were so happy. We jumped, we screamed, we cried, we laughed, and then we jumped again," Rosa remembers.
Guillermo's response was more measured. He says he felt a mixture of emotions ranging from confusion and fear to sadness.
But he also had a feeling that he had lost a lot of time getting to know his biological family.
"I had spent so much time with the people I thought were my family and they weren't," he says.
"They have stolen a part of my life."
Guillermo says he hated his adoptive father, who had been violent, but that he loved the woman who had pretended to be his mother for more than 20 years.
"I still see her," he says. "It is not easy to break the ties."
And not all of the stolen babies find it easy to deal with the truth.
Victoria Montenegro was raised as the daughter of a colonel, a man she adored.
When she was told he might not be her natural father and that he had ordered the murder of her biological parents, she refused to believe it.
"I really didn't want to know the truth or anything about my real family," she recalls.
She says she was angry with the Mothers and Grandmothers for telling her about her mother, Hilda Romana Torres, who was killed just 10 days after she gave birth to Victoria.
"I hated them profoundly," Victoria says.
She says she was convinced she was the biological daughter of the Colonel and that the Grandmothers were targeting him for political reasons.
"I had been brought up to believe that our country had gone through a war and that he had had to fight in that war and it was for that reason that they wanted their revenge on him," she remembers.
Victoria finally agreed to take a DNA test and learned her true identity. Her abductors were sent to prison.
She says her feelings towards them have changed radically and have nothing to do with love. "We were like a spoil of war to them."
"I now see that my life must be what I can recuperate from my life by acknowledging my true identity," she says.
The Grandmothers are not giving up their search. And Rosa, who is 92, and reunited with Guillermo, is now searching on behalf of others.
"We found our 108th child this year," she says with a broad grin.
Her face then looks sad and determined, "but we have more than 400 still to find".
Watch Sue Lloyd-Roberts' full report on BBC Newsnight on Thursday 4 April 2013 at 22:30 BST on BBC Two and afterwards on the
BBC iPlayer
and
Newsnight
website.
|
51342aba6f1318208f806438f0aea221 | https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-22916329 | NSA snooping: Facebook reveals details of data requests | NSA snooping: Facebook reveals details of data requests
Facebook received 9,000-10,000 requests for user data from US government entities in the second half of 2012.
The social-networking site said the requests, relating to between 18,000 and 19,000 accounts, covered issues from local crime to national security.
Microsoft meanwhile said it received 6,000 and 7,000 requests for data from between 31,000 and 32,000 accounts.
Leaks by a former computer technician suggest the US electronic surveillance programme is far larger than was known.
Internet companies - including Facebook, Google, Yahoo, Apple and Microsoft - were reported last week to have granted the National Security Agency (NSA) "direct access" to their servers under a data collection programme called Prism.
The firms denied the accusations, saying they gave no such access but did comply with lawful requests.
Several also called on the government to grant them permission to release data about the number of classified orders they received.
In an effort to reassure its users, Facebook lawyer Ted Ullyot
wrote on the company's blog
that following discussions with the relevant authorities it could for the first time report all US national security-related requests for data.
"As of today, the government will only authorise us to communicate about these numbers in aggregate, and as a range," he said.
For the six months ending 31 December 2012, the total number of user-data requests Facebook received was between 9,000 and 10,000, relating to between 18,000 and 19,000 accounts.
"These requests run the gamut - from things like a local sheriff trying to find a missing child, to a federal marshal tracking a fugitive, to a police department investigating an assault, to a national security official investigating a terrorist threat," Mr Ullyot said.
"With more than 1.1 billion monthly active users worldwide, this means that a tiny fraction of 1% of our user accounts were the subject of any kind of US state, local, or federal US government request."
Mr Ullyot did not indicate to what extent the company had fulfilled the requests, but said Facebook had "aggressively" protected its users' data.
"We frequently reject such requests outright, or require the government to substantially scale down its requests, or simply give the government much less data than it has requested," he said.
Later, Microsoft also published information about the volume of national security orders during the second half of 2012, stressing that they had an impact on only "a tiny fraction of Microsoft's global customer base".
While praising the Department of Justice and Federal Bureau of Investigation for permitting the disclosures, Microsoft Vice-President John Frank called on them to "take further steps".
"With more time, we hope they will take further steps. Transparency alone may not be enough to restore public confidence, but it's a great place to start," he
wrote in a statement
.
Earlier this month, Edward Snowden, a former employee of defence contractor Booz Allen Hamilton and former CIA technical assistant, leaked details of the Prism programme.
The 29-year-old fled the US to Hong Kong shortly before the Guardian and Washington Post newspapers published his revelations.
His whereabouts are unknown, and he has vowed to fight extradition to the US should the authorities attempt to prosecute him.
|
8680821627286e3f36599aebec97921c | https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-22945155 | Greece court orders state broadcaster ERT back on air | Greece court orders state broadcaster ERT back on air
A Greek court has ordered that state broadcaster ERT, which was shut down by the government last week, can resume transmissions.
However, the court also upheld a plan by Prime Minister Antonis Samaras to replace ERT with a smaller broadcaster.
The ruling came as Mr Samaras and his coalition partners - furious that they had not been consulted about ERT's closure - held crisis talks.
The prime minister's decision triggered mass protests across the country.
The leading party in the governing coalition, the conservative New Democracy, said last Tuesday that ERT suffered from chronic mismanagement, lack of transparency and waste.
It shut the broadcaster down with the loss of nearly 2,700 jobs. Viewers saw TV screens go black as the signal was switched off.
Greece's top administrative court - the Council of State - upheld Mr Samaras's plan to replace ERT with a new broadcaster later this year but backed the position of the other coalition partners that the signal must be restored in the interim.
Some ERT journalists have continued live broadcasts unauthorised over the internet, and when the ruling came through, a strapline across the screen said: "In a few hours ERT will be broadcasting everywhere."
The case was brought by ERT's union in an attempt to overturn Mr Samaras's surprise move.
The BBC's Mark Lowen in Athens says each side will claim victory, but in the end the unity of the government has been badly weakened.
During talks, Mr Samaras had suggested a new, leaner, cheaper broadcaster would be established within weeks and he proposed hiring a small team to produce news programmes in the interim.
But this idea was rejected by his two coalition partners - Evangelos Venizelos of Pasok and Fotis Kouvelis of the Democratic Left.
"The court decision is essentially in line with what we've said: no one has the right to shut down national radio and television and turn screens black," said Mr Kouvelis after the emergency talks ended.
Mr Venizelos said they would meet again on Wednesday to discuss a cabinet reshuffle.
An official from New Democracy said the ruling affirmed the government's position that ERT had been scrapped.
The row has threatened to topple the government and force Greece into snap elections, triggering political turmoil with implications for the whole eurozone.
ERT workers celebrated outside the broadcaster's headquarters after hearing the court ruling.
"I've been here seven nights and this is the first time I've seen people smile," said reporter Eleni Hrona.
However, our correspondent says there is also the recognition that later this year many will lose their jobs as a smaller broadcaster is formed.
Meanwhile, as coalition leaders went into talks, the main opposition party Syriza held a rally in Athens' Syntagma Square to demand early elections.
|
fa85d2fc72a1c841bb14e3898242bcf8 | https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-24346962 | Sweden ranked first for treatment of elderly in UN report | Sweden ranked first for treatment of elderly in UN report
Sweden is the best place in the world to be old and Afghanistan the worst, according to a UN-backed global study.
The
Global AgeWatch Index
examined the quality of life of the elderly in 91 nations. Norway and Germany made up the top spots, with the UK in 13th place.
The index warns that many countries do not have adequate support in place for their ageing populations.
By 2050, older people will outnumber under-15s for the first time, with most of the elderly in developing countries.
The Global AgeWatch Index was compiled by the UN Population Fund and advocacy group HelpAge International, and released to mark the UN's Day of Older Persons.
Researchers used 13 different indicators - including income and employment, health provision, education, and environment - in what they said was the first study of kind to be conducted on a global scale.
The study's authors say countries across the world face an ongoing challenge from the rapidly ageing global population.
"The continual exclusion of ageing from national and global agendas is one of the biggest obstacles to meeting the needs of the world's ageing population," says Silvia Stefanoni, the interim chief executive of HelpAge International.
"By giving us a better understanding of the quality of life of women and men as they age, this new index can help us focus our attention on where things are going well and where we have to make improvements."
While Sweden came top, and Afghanistan was placed last, the top 20 was dominated by countries from Western Europe and North America, along with Japan, Australia and Chile.
Wealth was not the only factor considered, and countries such as Sri Lanka, Bolivia and Mauritius were ranked above several richer nations.
Some large fast-developing countries fared worse than others, with Russia (78), India (73) and Turkey (70) receiving a low rank, while Brazil (31) and China (35) were regarded more favourably by the researchers.
|
f9dae023a7e49374a66e9dd7368b346b | https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-30732841 | German nurse 'admits killing 30' with fatal overdoses | German nurse 'admits killing 30' with fatal overdoses
A former German nurse has admitted killing 30 patients in the hospital where he worked, a court was told.
The 38-year-old allegedly confessed to taking the lives of the patients by injecting them with an overdose of heart medication.
He made the confession to a psychiatric expert who relayed the evidence in court.
Investigators said his motive was to improve his own resuscitation skills.
The former nurse has been on trial since September and is accused of murder and attempted murder.
He is alleged to have killed three patients and tried to kill two others at a clinic in Delmenhorst, near Bremen in north Germany.
But a psychiatric examiner told the court in nearby Oldenburg that he had confessed to as many as 30 killings.
The patients are believed to have been injected with heart medication between 2003 and 2005.
In a further 60 cases he injected patients but managed to revive them, according to the psychiatric assessor.
Police are investigating more than 100 suspicious deaths at the Delmenhorst clinic.
The nurse, identified by the authorities only as Niels H, had already been sentenced to seven-and-a-half years in prison in 2008 for attempted murder.
|
cb19e61238a0790ac80d806950ec1ab7 | https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-30821245 | BBC Have Your Say on WhatsApp | BBC Have Your Say on WhatsApp
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5d3a69d479858c6c918300a5198c9466 | https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-33475303 | The arrogance of power | The arrogance of power
All over the world there are some leaders who are reluctant to give up power.
The most striking current example is
Burundi's President Pierre Nkurunziza
who, amidst violent opposition, is campaigning for a third term in office despite the constitution saying he can only have two.
He argues that he was appointed, not elected, to his first term so it doesn't count.
Many believe President Paul Kagame in neighbouring Rwanda is also looking to breach his two-term limit.
But that would be a mere dot in time for President Yahya Jammeh of The Gambia. "If I have to rule this country for one billion years I will,"
he told the BBC in 2011
.
Hanging on does not always work.
The President of Burkina Faso, Blaise Compaore, was
overthrown by popular protest last year
for trying to change the constitution so that he could seek re-election.
While some presidents attempt legalistic tactics to get around term limits, others reject them outright.
Seven-term leader President Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe says they are undemocratic: "We put a rope around our necks and say leaders can only have two terms,"
he told a summit of African Union leaders earlier this year
.
"It is a democracy. If people want a leader to continue, let him continue."
Some post-independence leaders in East Asia have been equally unapologetic about staying in office for decades.
Indonesia's President Sukarno had 22 years at the top, while
Singapore's Lee Kuan Yew
was Prime Minister from 1959 to 1990.
"Lee Kuan Yew was an exceptional guy and at the end of his reign Singapore's GDP was over a dozen times higher than when he took over," Prof Kishore Mahbubani from the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy in Singapore told
Newshour Extra
.
"You have to look at it country by country and not assume there is one Western rule for the whole world."
Term limits are seen as a Western idea, in large part because of the United States' two-term presidential rule.
It was introduced as the 22nd Constitutional amendment in 1951, six years after Franklin Delano Roosevelt won his fourth term in office.
Before FDR the two-term idea was merely a convention dating back to the example of George Washington.
Although the history of term limits can be traced back to ancient Greece, it is far from clear the idea is in fact a uniquely Western one.
Some European countries have no term limits, including the UK, Italy and Switzerland.
And elsewhere there is considerable support for a set period in office.
"If you look at the public opinion data we have on most African countries, a majority of people in Africa support presidential term limits," says Prof Nic Cheeseman of Oxford University.
"This isn't simply something being pushed by the West."
Some argue for term limits on the grounds that a prolonged period at the top can change a leader's personality and damage his or her judgement.
Former British foreign secretary and trained psychiatrist, Lord Owen, argues that by the time they have been in power for many years, some leaders tend to become arrogant, unwilling to listen and overly optimistic that their decisions will produce good results.
"Eight years is enough," Lord Owen told Newshour Extra.
"Blair is the classic example of hubris and it had profound effects because he reinforced the hubris of Bush and Bush reinforced Blair's and these two made terrible mistakes."
Lord Owen believes acquired hubris is not limited to politicians. "It exists in bankers," he says.
"If you look at the roots of the 2008-9 crisis you see in many major banks that their chief executives were making decisions based on a lot of the characteristics of somebody suffering from hubris syndrome."
Some research gives backing to these conclusions.
"Excessive winning increases testosterone. That increases [brain chemical] dopamine activity and the reward network," says Ian Robertson, Professor of Psychology at Trinity College Dublin.
"When you increase dopamine activity too much or for too long a time, you actually disrupt the judgement of the brain."
Journalist Wilf Mbanga believes some the symptoms of hubris syndrome apply to Robert Mugabe.
Mbanga once knew Mugabe so well they would listen to Jim Reeves tracks together.
"I was a fanatical supporter of Mugabe and his party," he says.
But today, he says, Mugabe has changed. "Now he believes he owns Zimbabwe. It is personal property now."
A few politicians walk away from power.
Nelson Mandela, for example, stood down after just one term and the current British Prime Minister, David Cameron, has said he won't seek to carry on after the next election.
But hubris, or sheer ambition, drives many to stay on for as long as they can. And the advantages of incumbency mean many will manage to do so - even into their dotage.
Constitutional term limits don't always work but for those who want to restrain power hungry leaders, they are perhaps the most effective tool available.
For more on this story, listen to
Newshour Extra
on the BBC iPlayer or download the
podcast
.
|
a42d1ccc11c6ebba81e04fe0c281b6d7 | https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-34670525 | Can psychology help solve long-running conflicts? | Can psychology help solve long-running conflicts?
Conflicts can involve different nations and religions, different races and classes. Some of them seem intractable: the tensions and hatred seem depressingly permanent. But there are a number of social psychologists who have been studying how prejudice and distrust between groups can be overcome.
David Edmonds has been exploring some of their ideas for BBC Radio 4's
Analysis
programme. Click
here
for a three-minute clip.
Eran Halperin is associate professor at the School of Psychology at the Interdisciplinary Centre, Herzliya, Israel, and has carried out many experimental studies to test how people can be encouraged to think more favourably about the "other" group, and be more willing to reach a deal.
In one experiment a group of Israelis was given a fake newspaper article. It described a Palestinian leader criticising his own society - corruption in Gaza and the West Bank or shortcomings at schools. A group of Palestinians was likewise exposed to Israelis being self-critical.
"One of the major barriers to conflict resolution is that people just won't listen to what the members of the other group are saying. We were looking for a way to make them listen that is feasible and effective.
"We used a real speech by Knesset member Ahmad Tibi, a Palestinian citizen of Israel, who talked about the Holocaust as one of the major disasters in the history of humankind, something that is incomparable to any other disaster of any other society.
"After Israelis were exposed to this speech, suddenly they were willing to be exposed to things that he or other members of the Palestinian society were saying about other issues.
"And if Israelis hear a Palestinian leader - or just a Palestinian citizen - saying something critical about the educational system, or corruption within the Palestinian government, then suddenly they are much more open to hear what Palestinians have to say about issues related to the conflict.
"We found exactly the same results when Palestinians were exposed to Israelis criticising their own group."
The effect seems to be achieved by disrupting the idea of monolithic blocs, the idea that the other group is overwhelmingly dominated by a single identity, a single value system, a single political objective.
In July this year,
Iran finally signed a deal with major powers around the world to freeze its controversial nuclear programme
in exchange for the lifting of international sanctions. Sanctions had been in place for years, and were hitting the Iranian economy. The puzzle, then, was why the deal had taken so long to reach.
Nick Wright of the University of Birmingham has a background in neuroscience, which he now applies to international conflict:
"Why has Iran been prepared to accept costs of some $100bn to pursue its nuclear programme?
"If you listen to what the Iranians actually say, it's that, as Foreign Minister Javad Zarif put it at the end of 2013, imagine you're told you cannot do something that everyone else can do. What would you do? Would you relent or would you stand your ground?"
Here's a thought experiment. Imagine that Fred had been given a £10 windfall and had been told he must share it with you. You can choose to accept or reject Fred's distribution. If you accept it, you get to keep what Fred offers you. But if you reject it, you both get nothing.
If Fred offers you half the money, you'll almost certainly accept: £5 to you and £5 to Fred. But what if Fred offers you only £1? After all, £1 is still better than nothing.
"If you only cared about what you were going to receive, obviously you should choose to accept the nine-one split, because you're getting £1 rather than nothing.
"But what most people do is they say, 'Oh, God, that's terribly unfair! You're getting £9 and I'm only getting £1. That's very unfair and I'm going to reject it.'
"People are prepared to forego money in the name of fairness."
And it turns out that offers of less than 25% in this type of experiment are routinely rejected. That's true whether you conduct the experiment in London or Lagos, India or Indonesia.
Almost all of us have so-called "sacred values". These aren't necessarily religious values: they're values which are core to identity, the values which drive and define us.
Anthropologist Scott Atran has written extensively about terrorism, violence and religion.
"Sacred values differ from material values precisely because all the traditional assumptions of rational actors, of utility, of trade-offs fly out the window."
If you try to bargain with sacred values it can prove disastrous:
"When things are sacred, if you try to trade them off, not only doesn't it work but it backfires. Suppose I offered you money for your child. You might think I'm crazy. If I insisted, you might get angry.
"It's the same for people who offer to trade money for your being a traitor to your country or your religion, or for the right of return or for whatever sacred value you may hold.
"In experiments, the more material incentives are offered, the greater the insult, and the more violent people get in the defence of those values.
"I briefed the United States Military Command for the Middle East, and people would sort of understand what I was talking about, and believe that they themselves have sacred values which they're defending.
"But the difficulty is getting them to believe the others are also operating on the basis of sacred values. People tend to conceive of their enemies as strict consequentialists - simply out for the short-term gain of power - or that they're crazy or nihilists.
"That is a great mistake, because the force of intractable and enduring conflict comes from a clash over sacred values more than it does over material interests."
In parts of Northern Ireland, the two main communities, Protestant and Catholic, have virtually no contact with each other. What contact they do have is often hostile: for example, during the summer marching season. But whether the walls are in West Belfast or the West Bank, lack of interaction can make one side blind to the humanity of the other.
Prof Miles Hewstone is the director of the Oxford Centre for the Study of Intergroup Conflict, part of Oxford University, and is a leading proponent of contact theory.
"Contact theory is the idea that you can reduce prejudice by members of different groups by bringing them together under positive conditions."
Five years ago two schools in Oldham, one of Britain's most racially segregated towns, were merged to create Waterhead Academy. It was a good test:
"They took two pre-existing schools, Breeze Hill and Counthill, one of which was almost entirely white British, the other was almost entirely Asian British, and said, 'We'll take this pint of milk, we'll take this pint of Guinness and we'll pour them into a new quart pot.'
"What is interesting is that the data are going the way we would have hoped - slowly but gradually. There is an indication that the social networks of the Asian students and the white British students are becoming more mixed.
"Within just three months we've got more gender links and are beginning to break down some of the racial isolation."
Although the effect is not dramatic, the school merger does seem to have improved relations.
Contact theory, self-criticism, understanding sacred values and perceptions of fairness: these are no panacea for settling conflict, but they do offer a greater insight into what motivates enmity, and so how it might be diminished and overcome.
They could be psychologically useful levers in the pursuit of peace.
Such theories advocate a different approach in the attempt to bring warring parties together. But they raise the question: do we have the courage to embrace this unconventional approach and the possibilities it presents?
Analysis
is on BBC Radio 4 on Monday 9 November at 20:30 GMT. You can listen
online
or download the programme
podcast
.
|
ce491d47f66baf37c0961fe36f78e3c2 | https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-35961422 | Panama Papers: Cameron's father was Mossack Fonseca client | Panama Papers: Cameron's father was Mossack Fonseca client
David Cameron has called for greater transparency in tax havens and a clampdown on aggressive tax avoidance and evasion. But documents leaked from one of the world's biggest offshore specialists, Mossack Fonseca, reveal that his late father used one of the most secretive tools of the offshore trade after he helped set up a fund for investors.
When Ian Cameron wanted to attend a board meeting of Blairmore Holdings, he had to fly to either Switzerland or the Bahamas.
Blairmore, which appears to have been named after the Cameron family's ancestral estate in Aberdeenshire, held its meetings offshore to ensure the investment fund wouldn't have to pay any UK income tax or corporation tax on its profits.
If the meetings had been held in London, then it may have been considered resident in the UK and taxed as a UK company.
The leaked documents show that the prime minister's father, who died in 2010, was one of five UK directors who flew to board meetings overseas.
There were also three directors in Switzerland and three in the Bahamas to help ensure the fund would not have to pay UK tax.
The leaked documents also reveal how the company used bearer shares, ensuring maximum secrecy.
Bearer shares
were widely used in offshore schemes, but they have now been banned in many countries because they can be used to facilitate money laundering and tax evasion.
They can allow investors to hide ownership and transfer assets without a paper trail, as whoever has the bearer share in their possession becomes the legal owner.
Blairmore company documents record how two employees of a bank in the Bahamas were holders of "2,347,280 shares in bearer form" in 2005. This made them the official owners of all Blairmore's investments.
Using bearer shares in this way ensured that the true owners - the wealthy investors in Blairmore Holdings - were kept hidden from view.
Richard Brooks, a former tax inspector who now writes for Private Eye magazine, says some people use the anonymity provided by bearer shares to evade tax.
"A bearer share is a piece of paper saying you own a share of a company. There doesn't have to be any other record other than that piece of paper, which means you can hide your ownership of bearer shares.
"And when it comes to declaring what assets, what wealth you have, what income you have, it really leaves it just to you and your conscience."
It was David Cameron's government that banned bearer shares in the UK in 2015. The Prime Minister has also called for an international crackdown on aggressive tax avoidance and evasion.
However, an investment prospectus published by Blairmore in 2006 states that it will seek to ensure its profits remain beyond the reach of HMRC.
"The directors intend that the affairs of the fund should be managed and conducted so that it does not become resident in the UK for UK taxation purposes. Accordingly, the fund will not be subject to UK corporation tax or income tax on its profits."
Blairmore stopped using bearer shares in 2006. And it still hasn't paid any tax in the UK.
|
39ac995d63c528ed706c0779954b6e5b | https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-37538896 | Kim Kardashian robbery is no joke say social media users | Kim Kardashian robbery is no joke say social media users
Being held at gunpoint is clearly not funny, but the internet had to be reminded that reality TV star Kim Kardashian West was a victim after news of the attack was met by online abuse and cruel jokes.
Many of Kardashian West's millions of fans on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook posted messages of sympathy after learning she was robbed by two men dressed as police officers in Paris.
Among messages of support were jokes about the attack, questions over whether the story should be reported by news organisations, and claims that the incident was a publicity stunt.
The barrage of abuse led to other celebrities and fans defending her with TV host
James Corden
among those saying: "She's a mother, a daughter, a wife, a friend. Be nice or shut up."
Singer
Leona Lewis
tweeted: "Years later I'm still personally dealing with trauma after being attacked. We should be sending love to @KimKardashian it's an awful ordeal."
On Twitter, some people referred to Ryan Lochte, the US Olympic swimmer who
falsely said he had been robbed
at gunpoint while in Brazil during the Olympics Games.
Many lampooned Kardashian West's penchant for self-publicity.
There was also mentions of
public spats
she has had with other celebrities such as Taylor Swift, posting images of her with a gun. Also, people implied Kardashian West was trying to take attention away from her brother's baby shower that took place on the same day.
US model
Chrissy Teigen
weighed in on the vitriol celebrities sometimes face online.
Presenter
Piers Morgan
also expressed his sympathy for Kardashian West. But when he was accused of hypocrisy, given his previous mockery of her, he argued it was possible to feel both.
Among the most popular tweets was one by this user urging people to see Kardashian West as a human being.
Some were outraged that anyone could find the incident funny just because of who she is.
Others thought such reactions were the symptoms of something more worrying about society.
There were comments online on whether or not the story was getting too much news coverage because of the fame of the victim, and many compared it to other news stories and issues.
By Tse Yin Lee BBC's UGC and Social News team
|
a91ccd6ecc5861c50ca7ea59abb6a613 | https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-39211144 | Hans Rosling, population prophet: Five final thoughts | Hans Rosling, population prophet: Five final thoughts
Hans Rosling, the Swedish professor who made global health statistics compelling viewing,
died from cancer in February
.
Co-founder of
Gapminder.org
, which continues his work, he was enthusiastically trying to change old-fashioned notions of the world even as his illness took hold.
In his final BBC interview - for the BBC World Service series
Economic Tectonics
- the statistician highlighted five key ways that demographics are shaping the world around us.
Why bedrooms are driving economies
Why do I as a professor from public health speaking about health and demography get invited to Goldman Sachs [and] all these big banks around the world?
Because I tell them I can see on my screen when economic growth comes, before you can see it.
In the past, economic growth was driving demographics, and now it's the other way around.
First, I see decent life coming and I see children born-per-woman drop.
I see the two-child family, and I see the economic growth starting in Vietnam, in Thailand… not only in China.
And this change is coming, so if you want to know where to invest in Africa go and look at demographics.
Governments can't run bedrooms. Bedrooms run the world.
If you have countries where the fertility rate is coming down, just segmentise the population.
Look at the most educated 20% in Ghana, in Tanzania, in Ethiopia: you will find two to three children per woman.
You will find an emerging China in Africa.
Go there to invest if you want to earn money, if you want to have nice pensions when you retire, place part of your capital there because there you will see fast growth.
Source: Gapminder.org
Africa is still growing, and there's such a difference within Africa. Some African countries are doing great from different levels: Ghana, most of Ethiopia, Tanzania.
They are doing great: better schooling, better health, contraceptives being available.
Other tragic examples: Central African Republic, Congo, civil wars; north Nigeria, very risky, troublesome.
They are delayed. They need jobs. If they get jobs, you will get stable countries, and you will get economic growth.
But there's an old vision of over-population and population causing disastrous environmental effects.
If we look into the middle of this century, and if Africa makes it - stability, economic growth, social progress, rights for women, stable government, they get two child families - then they will be a burden on the environment.
Source: United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (2013)
So an Africa that is successful will consume much more in 2050 than an Africa that is not successful.
That will be a problem further on even if you manage to get down the population growth rate and Nigeria will level off at half a billion instead of one billion, Africa will level off at two billion instead of four billion.
That doesn't mean that the environmental actions can rest. It's the other way around.
Then, it's more urgent to take action because the rapidly successful two and a half billion in Africa, they will be a greater burden because they have money, they consume, they want bathrooms, they want refrigerators.
People living longer
The consequences of this are two possibilities - either those who work have to pay higher taxes or people have to work longer.
Our former prime minister was bold.
He told the Swedes you have to work until 75.
We can't have a period between 65 and 75 where people play golf.
Look at this as an opportunity.
Many young couples work intensively to take care of kids, to have a professional life.
The grandparents can come in.
They can be more active, they are healthier, you know.
There's a lot of ways in which this healthy old group of people can make a very valuable contribution to society.
Source: Gapminder.org The state retirement age for the vast majority of these countries is between 60 and 65
Whether it will be done non-monetary, to the tragedy of the minister of finance, or whether it's done by working and bringing in taxes for the greedy minister of finance, that's another thing. But it's open.
It's a new situation because these older people are healthier.
The period of life when you are disabled and sick and blind and cannot work, that has not increased, it has just been delayed.
There is a problem with diseases like dementia and so on that takes out many healthy years, you know, but mainly there is an opportunity in this and it's just that the old systems have to change.
What you see in Asia now is an amazing similarity from Japan, South Korea, the coast of China, Taiwan, Thailand.
They are panicking in Singapore because the babies per woman is diving down to one.
Taiwan, which we know as a country without [a] Communist party, they have one child per woman without any government policy, and China actually has 1.6.
So why don't we get more babies there? I got the answer during a dinner in Hong Kong.
I had lectured for a bank, and at the dinner I ended up next to the young banker who was extremely successful.
She was 37 years old. She told me everything about financial trends in Asia and we got friendly with each other.
So at the dessert I asked her: "Do you have a family?"
"Oh no," she said. "I'm just working. I'm working all the time."
But I pushed on because I'm curious and said: "Do you want to have a family?"
And she leaned backwards, looked out of the window that was the Bay of Hong Kong outside, and then she said with a smile: "Yes, I'm thinking about children every day. It's the idea of a husband I can't stand."
I like it when one phrase can catch a trend in a whole part of the world.
The educated, skilful women in Asia, from Japan to Singapore, in different political circumstances, they have been accepted and they made their way to the labour market, but they are still oppressed by old-fashioned values that they should take care of their husband and their parents-in-law.
My best friend and former PhD student in Tanzania was annoyed by immigrants because a Kenyan got a job he hoped his son would get, because the Kenyan had quite good qualifications on their education system.
You have today immigration in Africa from Europe because African countries are needing skilled professional people.
Look at Portugal - the Portuguese are going back to Angola and Mozambique, so migration is at all skills levels.
Some very skilled people need to do their work in different parts of the world, and the people at the lowest levels will also go and seek opportunities.
Many people who have a big heart and haven't thought so much they may think that Western Europe can solve the problems of the world by receiving all poor people and all refugees. That won't work.
I think it's good that we receive many refugees, but I'd rather have them coming with their families together rather than forcing them out on these dangerous trips where they lose all their money to criminal organisations.
If we can manage migration in the world, it can benefit the person who migrates with their family, the country from where they come and the country to where they go.
Economic Tectonics: Demography
will be broadcast on the BBC World Service on 16 March from 02:06 GMT, You can
listen
or
subscribe to the programme podcast
.
|
a5101e5559e958122f48d7f61ba52892 | https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-41527080 | Two sisters, a mountain trek and a wobbly wire bridge | Two sisters, a mountain trek and a wobbly wire bridge
Radhika and Yashoda can travel for up to six hours a day to school and back. They live high in the mountains, in a remote Himalayan village. But getting an education is really important to them. Follow them on their daily journey - or scroll down to read their story.
Tap
here to see the 360 video
.
To watch 360 video, you will need the latest version of Chrome, Opera, Firefox or Internet Explorer on your computer.
On mobile - you will need to open the video in the latest version of the YouTube app for Android or iOS.
It's 05:00 on a sunny morning in the middle of the monsoon season, and sisters Radhika and Yashoda are leaning on the edge of the balcony washing their faces.
They tease each other over who will get more roti for breakfast.
Their playfulness gives little indication that in half an hour, they will set off, on foot, on a perilous journey to school.
It's a trek that will take them through mountainous terrain, thick forests and over a fast-flowing river.
But first, they visit the Hindu temple at the heart of Syaba, a hamlet of 500 people, in the Indian state of Uttarakhand.
The ringing of the bell there invokes the protection of the deities.
The sisters, aged 14 and 16, are two of the six youngsters who make the daily journey to their schools from their remote homes.
Their father waves them off with a smile and a heavy heart.
The trek takes two to three hours each way, depending on the weather.
But it's the only way to reach the far-off towns of Maneri and Malla, where the girls' schools are located.
There are no roads in or out of Syaba. Carrying their lunch of vegetable curry and chapati, and their school books, the girls set out on a narrow track covered with loose stones.
One of the most difficult parts of the journey lies some two hours ahead of them - crossing the Bhagirathi River.
There, they will have to pull themselves to the other side in a metal trolley suspended by a cable high over gushing water.
It requires a lot of strength - more so when it rains and the rope is heavier to pull. Injuries are not uncommon.
Villagers have damaged, and even lost, fingers in the overhead cables.
"We have to hold on to the trolley very tight to make sure we don't fall in the gushing waters," says Yashoda.
A cousin once got tangled in the ropes and fell into the water below. Luckily, he was saved.
"We also have to be careful about grease on the wires - our hands get dirty anyway, but we try to protect our clothes from the grease," says Yashoda.
"Our school trousers are white, so the stain shows."
Once they reach the safety of the north bank of the Bhagirathi, they wait for a taxi to take them - by road - to school.
Thick forests present their own dangers. Bears and leopards have been spotted by relatives and neighbours.
There are about 200 villages like Syaba in the mountains of Uttarakhand - that are more than 250 miles (400km) by road from Delhi.
Some are connected by road, but most are accessible only on foot.
Yashoda dreams of becoming a police officer, while Radhika has her heart set on being a teacher.
Neither wants to get married at a young age - as their parents did - and both want to continue studying. Apart from that, they couldn't be more different.
Yashoda is serious and quiet; Radhika stops chatting for only a few seconds, when she rapidly bends down to remove leeches from her feet.
There are plenty of leeches in the muddy path during the monsoon.
Radhika doesn't think much of the leeches.
"I am not afraid of anything," she says. Like her sister, she loves her village and the nature around it.
"When it rains, we see so many tiny waterfalls in the mountains. If you come from the city, you will be mesmerised with these falls," says Yashoda.
"The leaves from the trees fall during winter, and it looks as if somebody has laid out a red carpet to welcome an important person in the village."
On their way to school, the sisters stop to drink from a fountain fed by crystal clear water that has travelled down the mountain, and pick wild cucumbers.
When they get hold of one of their relatives' mobile phones, Yashoda and Radhika often play Bollywood song videos and watch the shapes of romantic actors dancing on the small, pixelated screen.
Their family doesn't own a TV, but one of their uncles does. Sometimes the entire family gathers to watch programmes on it.
On a tranquil Sunday afternoon, as the BBC crew plans the next shoot, Yashoda sits on the bed with the phone playing songs and Radhika wraps a pink scarf around her head before starting to dance.
"We dream about many things," says Yashoda.
"We sometimes have dreams about our ghosts, and sometimes we see our younger brother in our dreams, because he lives in the city in a hostel to study and we see him only during weekends."
Most children in Syaba leave school after Year 9. If they want to pursue higher education, they have to leave their home and rent accommodation.
Most families can't afford it.
The BBC team is planning on taking headsets to Syaba, so the girls and their family can experience this VR documentary first-hand.
This is their film. And for Yashoda and Radhika's parents, it will be a chance to take the journey to school with their daughters.
All images subject to copyright.
360 Video
Production:
Direction, script, production - Vikas Pandey, Anna Bressanin
Executive Producer - Zillah Watson
Field production - Nitin Ramola (Uttarkashi), Raju Gusain (Dehradun)
Memesys Culture Lab:
Director of Photography - Rohan Raut
Camera assistant and sound - Raj Samanta
Editor - Sreya Chatterjee
Special thanks to:
The people of Syaba village
Pramod Semwal
Uttarakhand Film Development Board
Junior High School, Malla
Government Inter College, Maneri
|
07f903446b31045669d8ad0d23bb4a27 | https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-41603115 | 100 Women: Are journeys safer with women-only carriages? | 100 Women: Are journeys safer with women-only carriages?
Loud, brightly coloured and speedy, matatus are an unmistakeable sight on Nairobi's streets. Many of the city's three million inhabitants rely on these minibuses, but for many women they are the setting for harassment and abuse.
Lynn Baraza had escorted her sister to a bus stop when a group of matatu drivers tried to force them both into a vehicle.
She says: "They started pushing us and pulling my sister's arm, even though she had her baby strapped to her chest.
"They were saying sexist and sexually derogative things to us.
"I told them to leave us alone, and when I realised nobody was going to help us I started crying.
"My sister was really scared."
Fortunately Lynn and her sister weren't physically harmed, but their experience is far from unique.
Most of the 381 Kenyan women surveyed by Nairobi advocacy group
Women's Empowerment Link
said they had been victims of gender-based violence on public transport.
Studies
collated by the Stop Street Harassment organisation
have similarly gloomy findings, with research suggesting 100% of female passengers in Paris have experienced harassment at least once on public transport.
Some politicians -
including Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn
- have proposed separate carriages for women could be the solution.
They have been trialled in many countries, from Mexico to Japan to India, in various forms on buses, trains and taxis. But is there any evidence they make women's lives safer?
This is hard to measure for many reasons.
Public transport attacks often go unreported, and even when they are logged, many countries don't publish that data.
And while segregation can be for cultural reasons, most countries with women-only carriages introduced them because they had a problem with sexual harassment in the first place.
It could be that these cities were even more dangerous before they introduced separate carriages.
The only way of knowing is to compare conditions before and after women-only carriages were introduced, and there is very little data to go on.
One place where this data is available is Tokyo.
In 2004, a number of train lines introduced women-only carriages.
A year later,
reports of lewd behaviour against women in the city had fallen by 3%
, but reports of harassment rose by 15-20% on two of the lines where women-only carriages had been introduced.
However, this could be down to incidents in the mixed carriages going up, or higher levels of reporting.
We do know that many women feel safer travelling without men around.
A 2014 Reuters poll, which surveyed 6,300 women around the world, found
70% said they would feel safer travelling in a separate carriage
.
The results varied hugely from country to country, with 94% of women in Manila attesting to this compared with 35% in New York City.
The same survey
ranked 16 of the world's biggest cities
in order of most dangerous for women travellers.
Four of the top five - Bogota, Mexico City, Delhi and Jakarta - already operated some form of women-only transport.
So, it could be that while women perceive their journeys to be safer, that isn't the case.
If separate carriages offer women peace of mind, aren't they worth introducing?
Despite her experience, Lynn doesn't think so.
Instead, she thinks the key to changing Kenya's societal expectations would be for the whole community to apply zero tolerance to harassment.
She also points out that while women might be safer on their journey, the harassment when they get off the bus would be the same, or even worse.
Lynn is not the only person who thinks the policy is misguided.
Many academics and policy experts have argued that segregating transport is just a quick fix that normalises attacks on women.
They say it places an expectation on women to avoid harassment, rather than on the perpetrators to change their behaviour or for more effective law enforcement.
An
FIA Foundation report
examining different policy approaches to women's safety on public transport concludes gender separation "does not address the underlying issue that this is unacceptable behaviour" and is "confirming that women should not be allowed to travel freely and need special attention".
Laura Bates, founder of the
Everyday Sexism Project
, agrees that it equates to a tacit acceptance of assaults on women.
She told BBC Radio 4
: "A perpetrator-focused approach that tackles the issue is the right one… women-only carriages sends a wider message that these kinds of assaults are inevitable and we should just coop women up to try and avoid them."
The data we have to go on suggests women feel safer travelling in a separate carriage, and that it could indeed make them safer for the duration of their journey.
But segregated transport fails to address the root causes of harassment: social acceptance, unbalanced power dynamics and the lack of repercussions for offenders.
Read more from Reality Check
|
d0237aec94d97f285c6ec8f10934a6f2 | https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-41607511 | SA President Zuma must face corruption charges, court rules | SA President Zuma must face corruption charges, court rules
South Africa's President Jacob Zuma must face charges of corruption, fraud, racketeering and money laundering, the Supreme Court of Appeal has ruled.
It agreed with a lower court ruling last year that prosecutors could bring back 783 counts of corruption relating to a 1999 arms deal.
The charges had been set aside eight years ago, enabling Mr Zuma to become president.
The president has always maintained his innocence.
In a statement
, Mr Zuma's office said the ruling was "disappointing", but anticipated.
The president now expected South Africa's National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) to consider representations from his legal team before making a decision about whether to prosecute him, it added.
The charges relate to Mr Zuma's relationship with a businessman, Shabir Shaik, who was tried and found guilty in 2005 of soliciting bribes from a French arms company "for the benefit of Zuma".
Mr Zuma and other government officials have been accused of taking kickbacks from the purchase of fighter jets, patrol boats and other arms.
Charges were first brought against Mr Zuma in 2005 but dropped by prosecutors in 2009.
Last year, the High Court in the capital, Pretoria, ruled in a case brought by the opposition Democratic Alliance that he should face the charges.
Mr Zuma went on to lodge a challenge with the Supreme Court of Appeal.
By Andrew Harding, BBC News, Johannesburg
It is the corruption case that will not go away.
President Zuma has battled for years to avoid going on trial for 783 counts of corruption, linked to a politically charged bribery scandal that stretches back to the 1990s.
The case against him was dropped in controversial circumstances in 2009, when the security services produced recordings of phone conversations that apparently show there was "political meddling" by prosecutors.
Weeks later, Mr Zuma became president of the country.
But the so-called "spy tapes" have never been made public, and opposition parties have fought in the courts to have the corruption charges reinstated.
After this appeals court ruling, that could now happen - in theory.
In practice, many believe South Africa's NPA is unlikely to proceed, at least not without further delays.
Mr Zuma's presidential term ends in 2019, when he will not be eligible to stand in another election having already served two terms in office.
His eventful presidency has seen him
survive eight votes of no-confidence
, making him the most colourful and controversial president South Africa has had since white-minority rule ended in 1994.
|
932ceec91b2db1ed71c674ee5c2913ad | https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-41618165 | Iran nuclear deal: Global powers stand by pact despite Trump threat | Iran nuclear deal: Global powers stand by pact despite Trump threat
Global powers, including key US allies, have said they will stand by the Iran nuclear deal which US President Donald Trump has threatened to tear apart.
Mr Trump said on Friday that he would stop signing off on the agreement.
The UK, France and Germany responded that the pact was "in our shared national security interest". The EU said it was "not up to any single country to terminate" a "working" deal.
Iran's President Hassan Rouhani said the US was "more isolated than ever".
"Can a president annul a multilateral international treaty on his own?" he asked.
"Apparently he doesn't know that this agreement is not a bilateral agreement solely between Iran and the United States."
The deal, signed in 2015, is between Iran and six international powers - the UK, the US, Russia, France, Germany, and China. It imposed curbs on Iran's nuclear programme in return for an easing of international sanctions.
In a combative speech on Friday, Mr Trump called Iran a "fanatical regime" and said it had violated the terms of the deal. He accused Iran of sponsoring terrorism, and proposed new sanctions.
"We will not continue down a path whose predictable conclusion is more violence, more terror, and the very real threat of Iran's nuclear breakout," he said.
International observers say Iran has been in full compliance with the agreement.
China has not spoken since Mr Trump's speech but previously called on the US to preserve the deal.
Russia's foreign ministry said it regretted Mr Trump's decision but did not expect it to stop the deal being implemented.
Congress requires the president to certify every 90 days that Iran is upholding its part of the agreement. Mr Trump had already recertified twice, but refused to sign a third time ahead of a Sunday deadline. Congress now has 60 days to decide whether to pull out of the nuclear deal by re-imposing sanctions.
Although some advocates of the deal had feared that Mr Trump would withdraw the US entirely, he has instead essentially referred the matter to Congress.
Mr Trump is seeking the end to the nuclear deal's so-called
"sunset clauses"
, one of which allows for the lifting of restrictions on Iran's nuclear enrichment programme after 2025.
He announced treasury department sanctions on Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards, which he called the "corrupt personal terror force of Iran's leader", and called for restrictions on Iran's ballistic missile programme, which is not covered by the deal.
Last month,
Iran said it had successfully tested a new medium-range missile
with a 2,000km (1,200-mile) range.
The president said that congressional leaders were drafting amendments that would curb Iran's ballistic missile development and eliminate expiry dates on restrictions to the country's nuclear development.
Yukiya Amano
, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), said Iran was implementing the deal and was subject to "the world's most robust nuclear verification regime".
European diplomats warned that any such unilateral changes to the agreement were likely to trigger the deal's collapse and a return to a nuclear standoff in the Middle East.
In other reaction:
By Lyse Doucet, chief international correspondent
President Trump has recast the list of Middle East threats, with Iran replacing so-called Islamic State (IS) as Enemy Number One.
That world view is shared by his strongest supporters in the region, including Israel and Gulf Arab leaders who have long seen Iran as their primary threat, and a rival with vast sway across the Middle East.
They resented Washington's focus on the Iran deal during President's Obama administration. Like President Trump, they want to undo his legacy. The new approach imposes new sanctions but stops short of designating Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards as a terrorist group - a step Iran says would be tantamount to a declaration of war.
The urgent question now is whether the new strategy will embolden Iran's hardliners including the Revolutionary Guards. Like US forces, they're involved in battles to defeat IS in Iraq and Syria, and may also see a new enemy.
Formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, it is designed to prevent Iran developing a nuclear weapon.
It lifted some sanctions that stopped Iran from trading on international markets and selling oil.
The loosening of sanctions is dependent on Iran restricting its nuclear programme. It must curb its uranium stockpile, build no more heavy-water reactors for 15 years and allow inspectors into the country.
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54026fdb3d27b4a031ce098bae36277f | https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-42507247 | LA-Tokyo U-turn: How can you fly without a ticket? | LA-Tokyo U-turn: How can you fly without a ticket?
On 26 December a Tokyo-bound flight from Los Angeles was turned around mid-air after it was discovered that an "unauthorised passenger" had managed to get on board without a valid ticket.
More than 200 passengers, including celebrity couple John Legend and Chrissy Teigen, were on the "flight to nowhere" after taking off and landing at the same airport eight hours later.
But in an era of strict airport security, social media was abuzz with one question: How did someone without a ticket get on the flight?
A government official confirmed to the BBC that the mystery passenger had passed airport security checks and had a valid boarding pass - just not for that particular flight. The FBI say they are now investigating how it happened, but they have not charged anyone with anything.
According to US media, the confusion happened when two brothers who were bound for Tokyo got on the same flight, despite booking with different airlines.
The airlines, Air Nippon Airways (ANA) and United, have a code-share agreement in place and reportedly both had flights leaving for Tokyo at a similar time from LAX, which could begin to explain the mix-up.
A passenger on board the flight told the BBC that the mistake was only discovered when an extra meal was handed out by staff in one of the cabins.
Model and television host Teigen live-tweeted the drama of her and her husband's delay
to more than nine million followers on social media.
"So basically the boarding pass scanner is just a beedoop machine that makes beedoop noises that register to nowhere," she posted, after passengers were told about the confusion.
Aviation security expert Jeff Price explained to the BBC that boarding pass scanners typically tell airline staff a passenger's seat assignment at the gates as they board.
If they are seated in an exit row seat, they may then check if they are OK to operate the emergency door. He said if there's a problem with the ticket or the QR code can't be read, staff should be alerted.
"It could have been a technological problem or a glitch in the software," he said.
"It's unusual - it could be a weird series of perfectly timed accidents or a complete and genuine mistake."
It's not common, but it has definitely happened before. Mr Price points out that hundreds of millions travel through the country every year, and at US airports your identity may not be verified again at the gate after the initial security check.
Earlier this year a French woman, Lucie Bahetoukilae, reportedly ended up in San Francisco instead of Paris after getting on the wrong flight from Newark airport.
Her niece told local media Ms Bahetoukilae could not speak English
and had therefore not understood an earlier announcement that her gate had changed. She said she had found someone in what she thought was her reserved seat on board the incorrect flight, and was just told by staff to find an alternative.
Aviation blogger Jason Rabinowitz told the BBC that it happened to him when travelling to Germany. Remarkably and coincidentally, two passengers with the exact same name were bound for the same country, on two different flights to different cities. He said staff only realised before take-off after finding an extra person on the headcount.
"For this to have happened, there had to be numerous points of failure," he said.
"And more than likely this comes down to a series of human errors."
ANA said in a statement that when the cabin crew realised one of the passengers had boarded the wrong flight, the pilot in command made the decision to return to Los Angeles.
But security expert Mr Price said it was "very unusual" for a plane to divert back with this sort of issue.
"I've been on a flight before when during taxiing someone realised they were on the wrong flight, and were told they would have to carry on to the destination," he told the BBC.
He said the diversion costs would run into the hundreds of thousands of dollars after air fuel, customer compensation, crew diversions and disruption to onward travel were taken into account.
Flight attendants had "timed out" of legal duty hours by the time they got back to Los Angeles, so another crew had to be found for the re-arranged flight that departed early the next day.
"There are three main reasons a captain will divert or turn around: safety, security or health reasons," he said.
After the lengthy diversion Teigen asked her Twitter followers: "Why did we all get punished for this one person's mistake? Why not just land in Tokyo and send the other person back?"
But as Mr Price pointed out, US federal authorities make clear that in situations of doubt "ultimately the captain has final say".
The airline has since said it supported the pilot's decision "out of the abundance of caution and safety for the passengers and crew".
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3ccd942a4bf7e7add2b752ea69eef0ee | https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-43301423 | What is populism, and what does the term actually mean? | What is populism, and what does the term actually mean?
What do Donald Trump, Jeremy Corbyn, and Rodrigo Duterte have in common?
Despite their differences, each man has been labelled a populist.
Populism is on the rise - especially among Europe's right, and in the US, where it helped crown Mr Trump.
Italy's populist Five Star Movement and anti-immigrant League parties have emerged as two major players in the latest elections - the most recent of several such results in Europe.
But there's a difference between being popular and being populist.
In political science, populism is the idea that society is separated into two groups at odds with one another - "the pure people" and "the corrupt elite", according to Cas Mudde, author of Populism: A Very Short Introduction.
The term is often used as a kind of shorthand political insult. Britain's Labour leader, Jeremy Corbyn, has been accused of populism over his party's slogan "for the many, not the few" - but that's not quite the same thing.
The word "is generally misused, especially in a European context," according to Benjamin Moffitt, author of The Global Rise of Populism.
The true populist leader claims to represent the unified "will of the people". He stands in opposition to an enemy, often embodied by the current system - aiming to "drain the swamp" or tackle the "liberal elite".
"It generally attaches itself to the right in a European context… but that's not an iron rule," Dr Moffitt said.
Populist parties can be anywhere on the political spectrum. In Latin America, there was Venezuela's late President Chávez. In Spain, there is the Podemos party, and in Greece the label has also been applied to Syriza. All these are on the left.
But "most successful populists today are on the right, particularly the radical right," Prof Mudde said.
Politicians "like Marine Le Pen in France, Viktor Orbán in Hungary, and Donald Trump in the US, combine populism with [anti-immigrant] nativism and authoritarianism," he added.
Commentators -
from Time magazine
to
the President of the European Commission
- have been warning about the rise of right-wing populism for years.
But in reality, it's nothing new.
"Political scientists have been catching on to this for the last 25-30 years," Dr Moffitt says - but admits "there's been an acceleration."
Experts point to both societal changes like multiculturalism and globalism, and more concrete crises as behind the rise of populist parties in Europe.
Martin Bull, Director of the European Consortium of Political Research (ECPR), says the emergence of populist parties in Europe could be seen in the early 2000s - but they remained small for several years.
The swell in support seemed to happen "from 2008 - and particularly in 2011, when the banking crisis turned into a sovereign debt crisis", he said.
It was a rare occasion when an elite class - the wealthy bankers - could be identified as more or less directly responsible for a crisis which affected the majority of society.
In his book The Global Rise of Populism, Dr Moffitt argues that there are other traits associated with the typical populist leader.
One is "bad manners", or behaving in a way that's not typical of politicians - a tactic employed by President Trump and the Philippines' President Duterte.
The other, he says, is "perpetuating a state of crisis" - and always seeming to be on the offensive.
"A populist leader who gets into power is 'forced' to be in a permanent campaign to convince his people that he is not establishment - and never will be," according to Prof Nadia Urbinati from Columbia University.
She argues that populist content is "made of negatives" - whether it is anti-politics, anti-intellectualism, or anti-elite. Here lies one of the populism's strengths - it is versatile.
It is "extraordinarily powerful because it can adapt to all situations," she said.
Another common thread among populist leaders is they tend to dislike the "complicated democratic systems" of modern government - preferring direct democracy like referendums instead, according to Prof Bull.
That also ties in to its links to authoritarianism, he argues - a lack of trust in the established system gives rise to "strongman" leaders.
"Ultimately, the leader makes the decision in a way that just isn't possible in traditional democracies," he says.
That sentiment is perhaps best embodied by the late left-wing Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez, who once said: "I am not an individual - I am the people".
Such thinking "can lead to people thinking they're infallible," Dr Moffitt said. "It restructures the political space in a new and scary way".
After all, if you're not with "the people" - then you must be against us.
That is why populist leaders are often viewed with suspicion - and why the term is often used as a type of insult for a politician who promises too much.
It's what Prof Bull says is called "irresponsible bidding".
"In order to garner support, they're quicker than the establishment party to make offers, or to promise to change things… that on closer inspection may not turn out to be feasible," he said.
"You might question how good that is for democracy," he added.
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f7ffa97ac374f01c4c63f8ed03811dd9 | https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-43781954 | Syria: Does Russia always use a veto at the UN Security Council? | Syria: Does Russia always use a veto at the UN Security Council?
Claim:
Russia always uses a veto when it comes to votes about Syria at the UN.
Verdict:
Russia has vetoed several UN resolutions related to the Syrian civil war. But it has supported others, including a resolution in 2013 that backed the elimination of Syria's chemical weapons.
There has been a lot of discussion about Russian vetoes at the UN Security Council.
On 10 April, Russia blocked a resolution to identify who was responsible for the alleged chemical weapons attack in Douma in Syria.
Russia, voting against the measure, said the US was misleading the international community about the attack.
Brandon Lewis, chairman of the Conservative Party, tweeted about Jeremy Corbyn saying that "he knows full well Russia veto at the UN".
But Shami Chakrabarti, the shadow attorney general, told the BBC that in the past, some resolutions on Syria had won support of all members of the Security Council, including Russia, and that had led to the destruction of chemical weapons.
So, how often does Russia veto resolutions on Syria?
The UN Security Council has five permanent members - Russia, the United Kingdom, the United States, France and China - and 10 non-permanent members.
To pass a Security Council vote, there need to be nine votes in favour and for none of the five permanent members to vote against. A veto is when there are the nine votes in favour, but one of the five uses its vote against to block the vote from passing.
Russia has used its veto 12 times regarding Syria since the conflict began in 2011 on issues including condemnation of the bombing of Aleppo and ceasefires.
And it's not the first time it has blocked a vote concerning the use of chemical weapons. Almost one year ago, Russia vetoed a UN resolution proposed by the US, UK and France that would have imposed sanctions on Syria after a reported chemical weapons attack on the rebel-held town of Khan Shaykhun.
While the US and UK have not used a formal veto, they have voted against measures proposed by Russia, such as the two raised on 10 April. These resolutions laid out a different plan to investigate the suspected attacks.
However Russia has also backed resolutions related to the civil war in Syria that have been approved by the Security Council.
Most recently, in February this year, the council unanimously adopted a 30-day ceasefire. There have also been resolutions passed on ensuring the delivery of humanitarian aid.
On 27 September 2013, the UN passed a resolution that condemned the use of chemical weapons in Ghouta, around Damascus. The document supported a joint Russian-US agreement to destroy Syria's chemical weapons programme.
The formal Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) plan became part of the UN resolution that followed. The UN would be the body to govern the whole process.
The OPCW
reported that 581
metric tonnes of the precursor chemical for sarin gas were destroyed. In total, 96% of the chemical weapons stockpile (that the Syrian government had declared) was removed, according to the OPCW. The complete destruction of the stockpile was
reported in January 2016.
There have been nine rounds of UN-mediated peace talks to find a political solution to the conflict. The last round ended with no breakthrough after the Syrian government said it was not willing to negotiate with the opposition. The rebels still insist President Assad must step down as part of any settlement.
Meanwhile, Western powers have accused Russia of undermining the peace talks by setting up a parallel political process.
The so-called Astana process saw Russia host a "Congress of National Dialogue" in January 2018. However, most opposition representatives refused to attend.
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e55216518cbc5503378d429ec8d8a606 | https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-44045291 | What has #MeToo actually changed? | What has #MeToo actually changed?
The Oscars, the Golden Globes, Cannes Film Festival. Until 2017 they were Tinsel Town's glitziest back-slapping forums. Now they're its favourite protest events.
Of course it's down to #MeToo, the campaign against sexual harassment and abuse that swept through Hollywood last autumn and has since been Googled in every country on Earth.
In its current form, the movement began with film executive Harvey Weinstein - or rather, with the dozens of women who accuse him of sexual harassment, abuse or rape.
The New York Times printed the first allegations on 5 October
, and the mogul was fired from his own company inside a week. Pandora's box was open. Harvey Weinstein denies engaging in non-consensual sex.
On 15 October, actress Alyssa Milano suggested on Twitter that anyone who had been "sexually harassed or assaulted" should reply to her Tweet with "Me Too", to demonstrate the scale of the problem. Half a million people responded in the first 24 hours.
A barrage of allegations has since emerged against high-profile men in entertainment, the media, politics, and tech. Many deny any wrongdoing. The repercussions are still in flux, but Hollywood's power dynamics have undoubtedly shifted.
That's less obviously true in the world beyond, and begs the question: What's different for the millions of ordinary people who shared their own #MeToo stories? Are the currents of the movement visible in their lives too? How far has the rallying cry been converted into real-world change?
One initiative has made solid progress (and spent solid millions) in a bid to make things better on the ground: the Time's Up Legal Defense Fund.
More than 300 actresses, writers and directors
launched the project on 1 January
, raising $21m (£15m) in just a month to fund legal assistance for people who suffer harassment, abuse or assault at work.
The National Women's Law Center (NWLC) in Washington DC is fielding the considerable admin, matching applicants with lawyers who can offer them free advice.
"We have received more than 2,700 requests for assistance from every state in the United States, and there are more than 500 attorneys in the network who are ready to take on Time's Up cases," Sharyn Tejani, director of the fund at the NWLC, told the BBC.
"The fund prioritises cases involving low-wage workers, women in non-traditional jobs, people of colour, LGBTQ people, and people facing legal retaliation because they dared to speak out about sexual harassment," said Ms Tejani.
Tina Tchen, who jointly leads the fund's legal aid efforts, said the beneficiaries include "construction workers, prison guards [and] police officers," adding: "There are men who have come forward too. There are some men who have experienced sexual harassment, and then there are some men who are calling, for example, on behalf of their wives or loved ones."
That's unlikely to raise surprise in some quarters. Sian Brooke of the Oxford Internet Institute, who studies gender and sexism online, says the fact that men are often victims of sexual violence was one of the most powerful takeaways from #MeToo.
"One group can be given attention and be taken seriously with regards to allegations of rape, without it taking any of the severity or weight away from another part of it," she notes.
From October to December 2017, calls to the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network - a US crisis hotline - rose by 23% compared with the same period in 2016.
Some abuse survivors have cited #MeToo as a stressful influence, saying it resurfaced the pain of their abuse. Others have reported feeling less alone, saying it encouraged them to address past trauma by talking to loved ones, counsellors, or people with similar experiences.
"It's brought the idea of sexual harassment and assault into the public consciousness," Ms Brooke says. "Even if the discussion around the movement is criticism, you are still bringing about an awareness that this happens."
1in6 is a Los Angeles-based non-profit group that supports male sex abuse survivors. The group's development and communications director Meredith Alling told the BBC that #MeToo had a rapid, measurable impact on the number of men reaching out to them when the hashtag first went viral.
"We saw a 110% increase in web traffic and a 103% increase in the use of our online helpline service between September and October 2017, and the trend has continued," she said.
In the US, employers are considering how best to create a positive workplace culture in the wake of #MeToo.
Ted Bunch is a co-founder of A Call To Men, a social activism group that promotes healthy, respectful ways of "being a man", and says the group has noticed an increase in enquiries.
"Most notably, we have seen an increase in corporations seeking to understand why sexual harassment in the workplace is so pervasive," he says.
Mr Bunch believes problems can arise because the workplace is a microcosm of society, in which men and boys are sometimes taught to view women as objects, and of less value than men.
"Most men are not abusive," he says, "but nearly all men have laughed at a sexist joke or objectified a woman in some way. Once you connect the dots and show men how the jokes they see as harmless actually validate and fuel more harmful behaviour, they are quick to change."
Has the push to ditch bad work cultures spread beyond the US? One British human resources consultant said she had been surprised by the lack of #MeToo-inspired queries.
"We haven't seen any spikes in the volume of training requests, or the volume of training we're recommending. I don't think it's had a significant impact," said Elaine Howell, HR manager at PlusHR.
"We have clients in professional services, manufacturing clients, financial, marketing... It appears to be quite specific to that industry [entertainment]."
Speak to Equity, the 43,000-strong British actors' union, and it's clear they've had a different experience. The union won't give exact figures, but says it's witnessed a "significant increase in enquiries and case work since #MeToo".
Vice president Maureen Beattie will take on Equity's presidency this summer, and she's keen to get the message out: toxic behaviour will not go unpunished. Or as she puts it, "If you do something to one of our members which is wrong, unacceptable, we're going to come after you. And we will come after you big-time."
"These people haven't gone away," she says. "They are under a stone. They are lurking, just waiting for the time they think nobody's looking any more.
"One of the things we're doing is asking people who have been in the business for a long time, people who are stars, people who have clout, to keep an eye out. Not that they have to be trained up in how to help somebody who's been sexually harassed, but [they] can say - with impunity and no danger of never being worked with again - 'Excuse me? You can't behave like that with people'."
The #MeToo most of us know is still a new-ish creation. But it had a life before the viral hashtag. In 2006, black activist Tarana Burke founded the movement as an initiative to unite survivors of sexual violence.
Since it morphed from a low-key project into a global byword, she has embraced #MeToo's A-List flag-bearers - but her focus is on lasting change at all levels of society.
One of her most telling remarks came the week before she walked the red carpet at the 2017 Oscars: "If we keep on 'making statements' and not really doing the work, we are going to be in trouble."
Sarah J Jackson, a professor of communication studies at Northeastern University, believes context is the key to anchoring Me Too.
"I wouldn't call hashtag 'Me Too' a movement at all," she says. "I would call it a campaign that is part of a larger movement. So I would call women's rights the movement, and feminism the movement. And I would say #MeToo is one indication of the sort of conversations that need to happen.
"The next step is, OK so now we know the problem - how do we as a global community expand this conversation?"
Through its "Me Too Rising" project,
Google has charted how awareness spread around the world
. While data shows the term has been searched for in every corner of the planet, its resonance has inevitably been greater in some countries than others. The freedom of a nation's press and social media can certainly have impact on that - and it's too soon to tell how the movement will shape countries where it's gained traction more slowly - Japan and South Korea, for example.
Karuna Nundy, a prominent lawyer in India's Supreme Court, shared her view on #MeToo's relevance to India, where outrage over sex crimes has sparked waves of public protests in recent years.
"The #MeToo conversations in India are limited to a swathe of English-speaking, internet-enabled people. It's quite a lot in absolute numbers, but small for India. It's added, though, to the huge conversations that were already happening. The idea that due process is failing women, and civil disobedience can be legitimate."
Ms Nundy, who helped draft India's tougher anti-rape law in 2013, says victims are now more likely to be believed.
"I had a rape case yesterday against a leading Bollywood producer. My client is a very young woman; we told the court that she was raped over a period of six months on pain of bodily harm. Regardless of what the court decides, I think the way we were heard by the chief justice of the Supreme Court and the two judges is very different from the way we would have been heard, say, 15 years ago.
"There's an interplay between public consciousness, and the law and due process. And that's exactly what I think is happening."
Perhaps, then, #MeToo is not an endgame - but a clarion call to something bigger. A reminder for people to seek change in their communities, and push to make damaging systems better - especially for those who lack the power to fight alone.
There is information and support available for anyone affected by sexual abuse:
Some organisations in the UK
Rape Crisis Network Europe has contact information listed by country
In the US, you can call the National Sexual Assault Hotline: 1-800-656-HOPE - or get help online
... and 1in6 offers free 24/7 support for male abuse survivors
Illustrations by Katie Horwich
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af8418f987ce2e8af4b474bb1de97777 | https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-44721468 | The Statue of Liberty and Barcelona: The stories behind these two protest pictures | The Statue of Liberty and Barcelona: The stories behind these two protest pictures
On 4 July, famous statues on both sides of the Atlantic became the focus of two striking protests.
Here's the story behind the pictures...
What's happening here?
The picture at the top of the page shows a 60-metre (197ft) statue of explorer Christopher Columbus which stands at one end of La Rambla, a long avenue in central Barcelona.
On Wednesday, two activists scaled the monument and strapped a giant orange armband on it, to draw attention to migrants who have died trying to cross the Mediterranean Sea.
What's the context?
The stunt came on the same day a rescue vessel docked in Barcelona. The ship was carrying 60 people who had been rescued off the coast of Libya.
The ship belongs to a Spanish NGO, Proactiva Open Arms, and has been caught up in an international row about migrants plucked from the sea.
Italy had refused to give it safe harbour - just weeks after rejecting another rescue vessel, the Aquarius
.
Matteo Salvini, Italy's hardline interior minister, has railed against rescue ships run by international charities, and accused them of enabling people traffickers.
"The NGOs will only see Italy on a postcard," he told a radio station last week. "The ports will be closed all summer."
On 29 June, EU member states struck a deal designed to reduce the number of migrants coming to the continent
, which could see secure "processing centres" open in Europe.
In the week since then, almost 180 migrants have died or disappeared in three Mediterranean shipwrecks.
The total number of dead since 2015 stands at more than 9,200, according to the International Organization for Migration.
What's happening here?
This picture shows police negotiating with protester Therese Okoumou, who scaled the stone pedestal of New York's Statue of Liberty in a protest against Donald Trump's zero-tolerance immigration policy.
She refused to come down, kicking off a three-hour standoff with police that saw the landmark evacuated of tourists.
TV footage showed officers in harnesses and ropes grabbing Ms Okoumou, a personal trainer, after she tried and failed to climb Lady Liberty's robes.
What's the context?
This was actually the second protest at the statue on Independence Day.
The first saw activists' group Rise & Resist unfurl a banner reading: "Abolish ICE" at its pedestal. That demand refers to the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, which is responsible for finding and removing America's undocumented immigrants.
Critics, among them Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren, see ICE as the public face of the White House's crackdown, and some want it to be disbanded.
Ms Okoumou was pictured holding up a T-shirt with "Rise & Resist" and "Trump Care Makes Us Sick" written on it. She is said to be a member of the group, which stressed that it does not condone her decision to climb the landmark.
Why choose the Statue of Liberty? Well, partly for maximum exposure - this was a symbolic day during its busiest tourist week of the year - and partly for what it represents.
Though originally a gift from France, the 93-metre (305ft) statue has come to stand for America's values and its status as a nation built by immigrants.
It's not the first time the statue has been a focus of the immigration debate
since Mr Trump came to office.
A sonnet inscribed on a plaque inside its base includes the lines: "Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free.
"The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
"Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
"I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"
American poet Emma Lazarus wrote the sonnet in 1883, and the "huddled masses" she spoke of were immigrants flocking to the US - many of whom passed through the port of New York.
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677850f9551e6fd9eb2a60ec3e1d94b6 | https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-45018637 | The face behind a stock image: How I gave away my face for free | The face behind a stock image: How I gave away my face for free
If she is not welcoming immigrants to Canada and Uruguay, Shubnum Khan is selling carpets in New York City, leading treks in Cambodia or looking for love in France.
Her face has been on a McDonald's advert in China and one for sedation dentistry in Virginia.
But the truth is, the South African author and artist has done none of these things.
It all started in 2012 when a friend in Canada posted a picture to Shubnum's Facebook page. It was an advert promoting immigration in a Canadian newspaper.
"This looks like you," the friend posted, and others responded saying it was definitely her.
"I didn't mind being in immigration ads but I was very confused," she tells the BBC from her home in Durban, South Africa.
"I couldn't understand why my face was in a paper all the way on that side of the world."
That is when another friend stepped in and said: "Hey, didn't we do a photo shoot a few years ago, remember?"
Two years earlier, a 24-year-old Shubnum and some university friends had gone to a free photo shoot she had heard about called the 100 Faces Shoot.
The photographer promised 100 people professional portraits in exchange for being snapped.
"I thought the picture would be used for his portfolio, or an art project," recalls the now 33-year-old author. "People remember hearing mention of an art project."
"It's very quick - you sign a piece of paper, you go in, the photographer says smile for a picture. It is quick but I definitely was not told it would be for a stock picture."
"Initially I thought it was really funny," Shubnum says of her finding various versions of the stock image. "But over time, there were so many photos and I never got any money for this."
She contacted the photographer who confirmed she had signed away the rights to the photos and that they were now stock images that he sells.
"We signed a release form at the start," Shubnum recalled in a recent tweet, "We didn't read the small print. I know. It was stupid."
Someone told Shubnum about how to do a Google reverse image search, which allows you to find images that are similar to the one you search with.
"I've definitely seen more than 50 [versions]," she says. "It's a famous face without anyone really knowing me."
Many of the adverts seemed innocent enough to her, but then she came across the fake testimonials.
"The testimonials are the most shocking for me," she says. "I thought I understood how stock images work, you know, like having a picture of a house to illustrate a house.
"But it was so dishonest, I never knew you could use stock images with false testimonials and fake names."
The ones that bothered her the most were where her blemishes were edited out for an after-photo promoting a beauty product and when her name was changed with a fake history of post-pregnancy melasma.
By 2013, it was getting too much so she contacted the photographer again to appeal for his help.
"I actually had to work up the courage to ask him because I thought he'd say no," she recalls of the exchange. "I said I knew we signed this thing, but I didn't realise that my photo would go like that.
"He explained he was sorry I felt hard done by but it was all legal and explained to us beforehand," Shubnum tweeted. "But he agreed to take it down from his site since I complained as an author I could be recognised."
Shubnum is adamant she was never told that the photographs taken when she was a university student would be used as stock images.
She adds: "No-one told me that it would be a stock image, no-one told me my name would be distorted. If someone had told me that, I wouldn't have signed it."
Of the 100 people who were photographed alongside Shubnum in 2010, a number have searched the internet for their own photo as a stock image.
The friends that accompanied her on that day have not found any, but Shubnum says she has heard from others who did.
Even though the photographer has obliged and removed her stock images, Shubnum has continued to find her face crop up on ads that had already bought her image.
Not as many as before, she is relieved to report, but the last one she saw was on a promotion to sell villas a few months ago.
Since her story went viral on Twitter, people have contacted her to share their own stock image discoveries, with some even saying her (fake) testimonial inspired them.
Shubnum insists she does not blame the photographer who took her stock image and is not considering legal action.
It's a great party story, Shubnum says, but now she just wants to share her story as a cautionary tale.
"I can easily see how we were all used," she said. "I feel quite stupid and I don't want other people making the same mistakes.
"Don't sign up for free photo shoots, read what you sign and also don't believe most of the things you read on the internet," she tweeted.
"Just read the small print, obviously. Be aware," Shubnum warns. "Don't get caught up by the camera. Think about what you're doing and who is benefitting - know what you're getting into."
She adds: "You think it's a small thing but you sign away your face. Basically, I gave away my face for free."
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4d01ac3642afdf0cf6599702058cda33 | https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-45485994 | What sanctions can the EU impose on Hungary? | What sanctions can the EU impose on Hungary?
The European Parliament has voted to pursue
disciplinary action against Hungary
under Article 7 of the European Union treaty.
The right-wing Hungarian government has been accused of attacks on the media, minorities and the rule of law -
charges denied by Prime Minister Viktor Orban.
Article 7 is designed to protect the European Union's fundamental values.
It sets out ways various EU bodies can act if they believe those values are at risk, or have been seriously breached.
These values are founded on respect for:
"These values are common to the member states in a society in which pluralism, non-discrimination, tolerance, justice, solidarity and equality between women and men prevail," according to the EU.
The debate on Hungary is the first time the European Parliament has formally voted on an Article 7 resolution.
It follows a highly critical report on the country issued by a European Parliament committee this year.
It highlighted concerns about freedom of expression, academic freedom, judicial independence, the electoral system and the treatment of minorities as well as asylum seekers and refugees.
It described the country as being
"at clear risk of a serious breach of EU values"
and called for a full parliamentary vote on the matter.
The only other occasion the EU has formally resorted to Article 7 is over Poland, where there's been an ongoing dispute with its authorities over judicial reforms - but there has been no parliamentary vote on the issue.
The EU had voiced concern about the independence of the courts following Polish government moves to change or remove judges.
It was the executive, the EU Commission, which decided to act in that case, invoking Article 7 in December 2017 after concluding that there was
"a clear risk of a serious breach of the rule of law in Poland".
The arguments with Poland are continuing.
It's important to make clear that Article 7 is a process rather than an end in itself.
And the process is divided into separate parts, with one not necessarily dependent on the other.
Under the preventative mechanism, the commission, the European Council or the Parliament can start the Article 7 process to determine whether there is a "clear risk of a serious breach of EU values".
The parliament has to agree by two-thirds of those MEPs who take part in the vote, which must also be an absolute majority of all MEPs, to start the process.
It then goes to the EU Council - the heads of government of the member states.
The council must agree by a four-fifths majority that there is a risk of breaching EU values (and then recommend specific actions to be taken by the country concerned).
European Parliament sources say there is no particular timeframe for this process - and that, in theory, the council could do nothing and simply ignore the vote by the parliament.
Under the sanctions mechanism enshrined in Article 7, only the council or the commission can trigger the process.
The council then has to decide unanimously that "a serious and persistent breach of EU values has taken place".
It has to also get the agreement of two-thirds of the parliament to this.
Once that has been done, the council has the power to suspend some of the country's membership rights - such as voting rights in the council itself.
However, it is not clear what other rights can be suspended.
And the council can only take this ultimate step by a qualified majority amounting to 72% of member states.
At the moment, this is not the course of action being proposed in the case of Hungary, although in theory that route remains open to the EU at a later stage.
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1da084b2e57124ea5bce66d4257c061a | https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-47277608 | Thank you note for VHS player makes thousands cry | Thank you note for VHS player makes thousands cry
When a happy customer's letter of appreciation to the seller of a VHS machine was shared on social media, it prompted a stream of stories about acts of kindness.
"It caught my eye because most mail I get is either an advertisement or a bill, but this was handwritten," Matt Shoukry told the BBC.
"I was blown away by how much emotion and feeling this gentleman had put into a note, and how I felt so connected to him," Matt, from St Louis, Missouri, said.
"It was so unexpected but so sweet, so I decided to share it with the world on Reddit," Matt told the BBC. "There is so much negative in the world today, it's refreshing to have something wholesome and positive to share with everyone."
Matt's post was
upvoted 160,000 times
in just one day, with many people saying they were crying with emotion.
The letter from an 86-year-old man from Phoenix, Arizona, described how he had been watching tapes from his wedding, attended by family and friends, many of whom he said were no longer around.
He went on to say each of his tapes was more fun than the last and he liked watching the "gentle maturing" of his family.
Matt, who sells professionally online while recovering from cancer, has offered to digitize the gentleman's old tapes for him, "so he won't have to worry about them degrading and those memories will be preserved for future generations."
He also plans to frame the letter, which has since been
shared on Twitter,
garnering more than 300,000 likes and 58,000 retweets in two days.
Since then, people have been sharing their own tales of happiness and kindness.
Kate Garnett bought her son a second-hand rucksack online when he was 16, ahead of a British expedition to Manu National Park in Peruvian Amazon.
When she told the seller about her son's plans and passion for plants, he said he would add a mosquito net, a bivvy bag (personal-sized waterproof shelter) and a torch free of charge, as his own expedition days were behind him.
"He liked the fact it was going to a good home and more adventure," Kate said. "It arrived with a letter saying where it had been: Europe, Asia, Australia and North America, but not South America," she told the BBC.
"Kindness costs nothing and the world needs it right now," Kate said.
Jim in Brooklyn described how it "melted his heart" when a woman tried to pay him after he explained how she could Skype her family in Japan.
The two of them struck up a friendship whilst Jim was volunteering for a programme in New York, teaching older people computer basics, he told the BBC.
"She was really smart and eager to learn," he said. "I taught her how to use a Roku box (digital receiver), and introduced her to a language-learning app."
He added that volunteering with the older generation is "one of the most beautiful things I've ever done."
Damien sold two action figures to a mother online, but her message back inspired him to send her all 30 of them...
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958d69c0ca7612366527e6e8af0e2dcf | https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-47867201 | Global executions fall to lowest level in a decade, Amnesty says | Global executions fall to lowest level in a decade, Amnesty says
Annual executions recorded worldwide fell by almost a third in 2018 to the lowest figure in more than a decade, Amnesty International says.
Some 690 people were executed in 20 countries last year, excluding China, a fall of 31% on 2017 - when 993 deaths were recorded.
Executions in Iran fell by 50% after capital punishment was abolished for some drug offences, Amnesty found.
Amnesty says thousands were probably killed in China but records are secret.
That would make it by far the leading executioner.
The next four nations are Iran, Saudi Arabia, Vietnam and Iraq. They account for about 77% of the 690.
Amnesty's review of the use of the death penalty, which was
released on Wednesday
, says that while the number of executions have fallen in some countries, several others have seen a rise, including the US, Japan, Singapore, South Sudan and Belarus.
"The dramatic global fall in executions proves that even the most unlikely countries are starting to change their ways and realise the death penalty is not the answer," Amnesty's secretary general, Kumi Naidoo, said.
"This is a hopeful indication that it's only a matter of time before this cruel punishment is consigned to history, where it belongs."
Iran, which executes hundreds of people every year, mostly for drug offences, softened its drug crime laws
in 2018. The move, which was applied retroactively, affected some 5,000 prisoners awaiting execution.
At the end of last year, a total of 106 countries had abolished the death penalty for all crimes.
The countries that saw significant falls in reported executions between 2017 and 2018 are:
Yes. Last year Thailand carried out its first execution since 2009, Amnesty found, while earlier this year Sri Lanka began a search for executioners as part of a crackdown on drug smuggling.
Capital punishment is legal in Sri Lanka
, where nearly 1,300 people are currently on death row, but no executions have taken place in the country since 1976.
"These countries now form a dwindling minority," Mr Naidoo said, adding: "To all the countries that still resort to the death penalty, I challenge you to act boldly and put a stop to this abhorrent punishment now."
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670d3410212ccf392865b345d8b6086e | https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-48392551?intlink_from_url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/topics/czmw21ewkzqt/schools-climate-change-protests&link_location=live-reporting-story | School strike for climate: Protests staged around the world | School strike for climate: Protests staged around the world
School students around the world have gone on strike to demand action on climate change.
Organisers said more than a million people were expected to join the action in at least 110 countries on Friday.
They are calling on politicians and businesses to take urgent action to slow global warming.
The strikes are inspired by student Greta Thunberg, who has become a global figurehead since protesting outside Sweden's parliament in 2018.
Carrying a "school strike for climate change" sign, the then 15-year-old said she was refusing to attend classes until Swedish politicians took action.
The solo protest led to various movements across Europe, the US and Australia, known as Fridays for Future or School Strike for Climate.
The last co-ordinated international protest took place on 15 March, with an estimated 1.6 million students from 125 countries walking out of school.
The action on Friday began in Australia and New Zealand.
In Melbourne, 13-year-old Nina Pasqualini said she was joining the strike because she was worried about "weather disasters".
"Every time we have huge a bushfire here another animal might go extinct," she told Reuters news agency.
Australia just had its hottest summer on record and climate change is seen as the cause of the increasing frequency and severity of droughts, heat waves, floods and the melting of glaciers around the world.
In 2018, global carbon emissions hit a record high and UN-backed panel on climate change last October warned that to stabilise the climate,
emissions will have to be slashed over the next 12 years.
Earlier this month, a UN report warned that
one million animal and plant species were now threatened with extinction
.
Sophie Hanford, a national organiser in New Zealand, said Friday's strike was "only the beginning".
The protesting students have vowed to continue boycotting classes
on Fridays until their countries adhere to the 2015 Paris climate agreement, which aims to prevent global temperatures from rising 1.5C (2.7F) above pre-industrial levels.
As countries around the world woke up, the action spread.
Strikes were held in Asian nations including India, Afghanistan Thailand and Japan.
In Europe - where the movement first gained traction - images of mass strikes were shared on social media.
"Inaction equals extinction" and "save the world not your money" read some of the placards on display.
In London, scores of protesters congregated outside parliament, chanting "climate change has got to go".
"Act now or burn later" and "change the system not the government" read some of the signs held up by participants, as they called for urgent action.
Student protesters want the government to reform the national curriculum to include more material on climate change.
Organisers said strikes had been organised in about 125 towns and cities across the UK.
In an open letter published in Germany's Süddeutsche Zeitung on the eve of Friday's strike, Ms Thunberg and prominent German climate activist Luisa Neubauer, 22, called on older generations to join the action in September.
"This is a task for all humanity. We young people can contribute to a bigger fight, and that can make a big difference.
But that only works if our action is understood as a call,"
they wrote.
"This is our invitation. On Friday, 20 September, we will start an action week for the climate with a worldwide strike. We ask you to join us... Join in the day with your neighbours, colleagues, friends and families to hear our voices and make this a turning point in history."
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75ecc303cc0446b636c0b413c6b07556 | https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-48444874 | Why some countries are shipping back plastic waste | Why some countries are shipping back plastic waste
A growing number of countries are taking a stand and demanding that nations take back their waste.
Many wealthy countries send their recyclable waste overseas because it's cheap, helps meet recycling targets and reduces domestic landfill.
For developing countries taking in the rubbish, it's a valuable source of income.
But contaminated plastic and rubbish that cannot be recycled often gets mixed in and ends up in illegal processing centres.
So where is this happening and why is action being taken now?
The European Union is the largest exporter of plastic waste, with the US leading as the top exporter for a single country.
But only a tiny fraction of all plastics ever produced has been recycled.
Often, materials that can't be recycled end up being burned illegally, dumped in landfills or waterways, creating risks to the environment and public health.
Worries about receiving such waste has forced countries to act.
The Philippines has just
shipped back tonnes of rubbish
to Canada that it said was falsely labelled as plastic recycling in 2013 and 2014.
This month Malaysia sent back five containers of plastic waste to Spain after it was found to be contaminated.
Malaysia says up to 3,000 tonnes of rubbish will soon be returned to the UK, US, Japan, China, Canada, Australia, the Netherlands, Germany, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Bangladesh, Norway and France.
To understand why these countries were swamped with so much waste, you need to look to China.
Until January 2018, China imported most of the world's plastic waste.
But due to concerns about contamination and pollution, it declared it would no longer buy recycled plastic scrap that was not 99.5% pure.
Global plastic waste exports fell - dipping by almost half by the end of 2018, compared with 2016 levels, according to Greenpeace analysis.
There were reports of plastic waste ready for export piling up, and some was diverted to other countries.
Malaysia, Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia, Taiwan, South Korea, Turkey, India and Poland all took up the slack.
Malaysia took a major share - the plastic waste it imported from 10 countries in just the first six months of 2018 was nearly as much as the total it received in 2016 and 2017.
But the rubbish arriving in these countries wasn't sufficiently recyclable, and it has caused problems.
The UK has been singled out by the Malaysian government.
"What the citizens of the UK believe they send for recycling is actually dumped in our country," said Malaysian Minister Yeo Bee Yin.
Importing countries have found the surge of waste difficult to manage and this has led to new controls in some countries.
Poland, in May last year, announced tougher rules after multiple fires at waste dumps, and linked the rise in illegal rubbish imports to the China ban.
Thailand has temporarily prohibited plastic waste imports and says it will implement a full ban by 2021.
Malaysia has revoked import permits and has been clamping down on illegal processing plants.
Vietnam is no longer issuing new licences and will bar all imports of plastic scrap by 2025.
In October, Taiwan said it will only import single source plastic waste.
India expanded its ban on solid plastic waste imports this March.
However, there is still an overwhelming demand for locations to send plastic and other waste to for recycling, and the challenge of how to dispose of it remains.
There are indications that after some initial success of the import restrictions, these countries are starting to take in larger volumes of waste again.
The Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives (Gaia) says after a clear dip, "imports have begun rising again in the last quarter of 2018, suggesting challenges in enforcing respective country bans".
In 2016, 235 million tonnes of plastic waste was generated globally.
On current trends, this could reach 417 million tonnes per year by 2030.
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c6075ee5c62e76fe20448257d6d8de6c | https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-49760240 | Denisovans: Face of long-lost human relative unveiled | Denisovans: Face of long-lost human relative unveiled
Researchers have provided the first glimpse of what an ancient group of humans looked like.
Denisovan remains were discovered in 2008 and human evolution experts have become fascinated with the group that went extinct around 50,000 years ago.
One of the biggest questions had been over their appearance, with no full sketches of the Denisovan drawn up.
But now a team of researchers have produced reconstructions of our long-lost relatives.
Around 100,000 years ago there were several different groups of humans including modern humans, Neanderthals and Denisovans.
"In many ways, Denisovans resembled Neanderthals but in some traits they resembled us and in others they were unique," said Prof Liran Carmel, a researcher at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
Denisovans are thought to have been based in Siberia and eastern Asia.
Scientists have found evidence that the Denisovans lived at high altitudes in Tibet, passing on a gene that helps modern people cope at similar elevations.
It is not yet known why they disappeared.
They only came to the attention of the world after archaeologists investigated remains in a cave in Siberia little over a decade ago.
So far, the only Denisovan remains discovered are three teeth, a pinky bone and a lower jaw.
About 5% of the ancestry of people from Oceania can be traced to Denisovans, according to studies.
The reconstructions - based on complex DNA analysis of Denisovans, Neanderthals, Chimpanzees and humans - show that the Denisovan skull was probably wider than that of us or Neanderthals. They also appeared to have no chin.
The experts predict many Denisovan traits that are similar to that of Neanderthals including a sloping forehead, long face and large pelvis, and others that are unique among humans, like a large dental arch.
Prof Carmel told the BBC he was delighted to find that some of their predictions had been confirmed by the discovery of a Denisovan jawbone by separate researchers.
"The jawbone was reported and we were very excited to see how it matched. It was kind of an independent confirmation of our method," he said.
The reconstructions were just the start in Denisovan research, Prof Carmel said.
"They were humans very similar to us so pointing out the differences between us is critical to understand what makes us human and what might have led to the way we adapted to the world," he said.
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b14035111226f0caa099af8f19c19648 | https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-49959227 | Extinction Rebellion: Arrests at Sydney and Amsterdam protests | Extinction Rebellion: Arrests at Sydney and Amsterdam protests
Hundreds of Extinction Rebellion activists have been arrested as protests take place across the globe.
Thirty people were charged with committing offences in Sydney after hundreds blocked a road, while more than 100 were arrested in Amsterdam.
Protests have taken place in countries including the US, UK, Germany, Spain, Austria, France and New Zealand.
Protests by climate change activists are expected in some 60 cities over the next two weeks.
The group is also causing disruption in London,
where more than 270 people were arrested on Monday.
Extinction Rebellion wants governments to take immediate and drastic action to address climate change.
"We have tried petitions, lobbying and marches, and now time is running out," Australian activist Jane Morton told the AFP news agency.
"We have no choice but to rebel until our government declares a climate and ecological emergency and takes the action that is required to save us."
Australia's government has been criticised for its lack of action in tackling climate change but it insists that it is doing its part to reduce global carbon emissions.
The country's Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton said last week that names and photos of Extinction Rebellion protesters should be widely distributed to "shame" them.
In London, organisers have vowed to shut down key sites in the city including the Houses of Parliament and Trafalgar Square.
Similar protests in the UK earlier this year brought major disruption to London and resulted in more than 1,100 arrests.
Protests are expected to spread across dozens of cities, including Delhi and New York, in the days and weeks ahead as activists call for urgent environmental action.
Extinction Rebellion (XR for short) wants governments to declare a "climate and ecological emergency" and take immediate action to address climate change.
It describes itself as an international "non-violent civil disobedience activist movement".
Extinction Rebellion was launched in the UK in 2018 and says it now has groups willing to take action in dozens of countries.
The group uses an hourglass inside a circle as its logo to represent time running out for many species.
In the UK, Extinction Rebellion has three main demands:
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be250565c1bdb1eacd660e53bbea6861 | https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-50116548 | Europe's papers weigh prospects for Brexit deal | Europe's papers weigh prospects for Brexit deal
European newspapers have been taking stock of Saturday's drama at Westminster and Boris Johnson's appeal to Brussels to block an extension to the Brexit deadline.
"The fight over Brexit will continue for even longer" declares Germany's
Die Zeit
.
Italy's
Corriere della Sera
believes "this unprecedented 'game of two letters' seriously embarrasses the EU: it will have to decide whether to give Britain an extension that parliament is asking for but the British government does not want".
NRC Handelsblad
in the Netherlands says, "Saturday cannot be viewed as a failure for Johnson. It is likely that the 306 members of parliament who voted against the Letwin act will also support him next week." Dutch
De Volkskrant
agrees: "It is understandable that there were cheers from the opposition benches and the thousands of anti-Brexit protesters in Parliament Square. But this could prove to be a pyrrhic victory."
In France,
Le Figaro
says: "It should have been a day of clarification; it has been a moment of additional confusion. British MPs have added an incredible episode to the already lengthy Brexit series - by deciding not to decide anything."
French liberal weekly
Le Point
notes: "And so, Boris Johnson is back at square one. We should soon know if his future at the head of the country is guaranteed until the general elections, for which he is the favourite, or whether he will have contented himself with running around in circles. Until then, the Brexit series continues."
Spain's
El Mundo
sees yesterday's amendment vote as a "blow of enormous scale" to Mr Johnson, and "another unpredictable scenario of this labyrinth". An editorial in the paper says "while parliament was trying to win time and narrow down the result of hard Brexit, over a million of protesters demanded another referendum at its doorstep. Political chaos and social discontent - the effects of populism."
"House of Commons forces Johnson and EU into Brexit overtime" declares the headline in Austria's
Der Standard
. Noting the police escorts for MPs, it says "The dark side of the Brexit debate appeared once again: polarisation and hatred for the opposite side".
Meanwhile, an analysis on Germany's centre-left news website
Spiegel Online
notes: "Just when you think it cannot get any crazier, the British parliament adds another thing: yet again, it has outmanoeuvred its own government. With that, Brexit, which was almost within reach, is uncertain again."
"Only one thing can be said with certainty. It is far from being over," the article says.
BBC Monitoring
reports and analyses news from TV, radio, web and print media around the world. You can follow BBC Monitoring on
Twitter
and
Facebook
.
|
bc4e893b3cd107729deadc9a3bfa8cf3 | https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-50662928 | Five 'hot mic' moments that got leaders in trouble | Five 'hot mic' moments that got leaders in trouble
It's a golden rule of politics: always assume the microphone is on.
But as many world leaders can testify, it's a rule that's often forgotten.
'Hot mic' moments have heaped embarrassment on politicians across the globe, from America to Australia.
Just this week,
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was caught appearing to mock US President Donald Trump
at a Nato meeting.
Unguarded comments like these have been a source of humiliation, sometimes with huge political fallout.
They have also shone a light into the murky corridors of international diplomacy - for better or worse. Here are five of the most memorable.
At the height of the Cold War, US President Ronald Reagan turned up the diplomatic heat with a riff on Soviet Russia.
During a soundcheck before his weekly radio address, Mr Reagan joked with sound engineers who were recording him for NPR radio.
"My fellow Americans," the president said. "I'm pleased to tell you today that I've signed legislation that will outlaw Russia forever. We begin bombing in five minutes."
The tongue-in-cheek remarks were not broadcast live, but a recording was later leaked to the public.
As a result, Soviet forces were temporarily put on high alert in the Far East, and the comments drew condemnation from the USSR.
French President Jacques Chirac caused a stir with culinary comments he allegedly made during a trip to Russia.
According to French newspaper Libération, the veteran politician was speaking to his Russian and German counterparts during an event marking the 750th anniversary of Kaliningrad - Russia's enclave in northern Europe.
Thinking he was off-microphone, Mr Chirac allegedly said of the UK: "You can't trust people who cook as badly as that. After Finland, it's the country with the worst food."
"The only thing the British have ever done for European agriculture is mad cow disease," he added.
While they didn't make it to broadcast, the comments were never denied by Mr Chirac's media team.
It came at a time of cool relations between Britain and France, as the two countries clashed over farming subsidies and France's decision to abstain from involvement in the Iraq War.
During a G8 Summit in St Petersburg, a private conversation - later known as "Yo, Blair" - was picked up by a microphone close to US President George W Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair.
During the exchange, Mr Bush appeared to greet his UK counterpart, saying "Yo, Blair, how are you doing?" He went on to thank him for the gift of a sweater, and made derogatory remarks about Hezbollah in Lebanon.
Referring to Syria's support of Hezbollah in its conflict with Israel, Mr Bush said he he hoped the UN would "get Syria to get Hezbollah to stop doing this..." followed by an expletive.
"Get Kofi [Annan] on the phone with [Bashar] Assad and make something happen," he added.
Mr Bush's use of the phrase "Yo Blair" was mocked by political opponents of both leaders. But its veracity has been questioned, with some journalists suggesting that he said "Yeah, Blair".
The recording nonetheless highlighted the leaders' close, and often controversial, relationship at the time.
While speaking with members of the public in Rochdale, northern England, Britain's then-Prime Minister Gordon Brown was confronted by a woman who queried levels of immigration.
After their exchange, Mr Brown entered his car with a Sky News microphone still pinned to his clothing.
Not realising the microphone was still on, he told an aide that the conversation "was a disaster - they should never have put me with that woman".
Asked what she had said, he replied: "Ugh, everything! She's just a sort of bigoted woman that said she used to be Labour. I mean it's just ridiculous."
Mr Brown later visited the woman - Gillian Duffy - to apologise, and repeated his apology during an interview on BBC Radio 2.
A chat between French President Nicolas Sarkozy and US President Barack Obama was overheard by journalists at a G20 meeting in France.
Shortly before a press conference, reporters were handed translation boxes but were told not to plug their headphones in until the leaders' backroom conversation had finished.
Several people ignored the instructions and heard Mr Sarkozy talking to Mr Obama about Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
"I can't stand him any more, he's a liar," Mr Sarkozy said.
"You may be sick of him, but me, I have to deal with him every day," replied Mr Obama.
For several days there was media silence in France about the exchange, but Dan Israel of the French news website Arret sur Images later broke the story.
The exchange highlighted Israel's strained relationship with both France and the US at the time.
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d6d9107c76d11823b102cb83e4972972 | https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-51166873 | Comme Des Garçons: Row over white fashion models' cornrow wigs | Comme Des Garçons: Row over white fashion models' cornrow wigs
Japanese fashion brand Comme Des Garçons has been accused of cultural appropriation after white models took to its runway wearing cornrow wigs.
The wigs were part of the company's men's autumn and winter collection on show as part of Paris Fashion Week.
Critics on social media called the styling for Friday's show "offensive".
Hairstylist Julien d'Ys said he had been inspired by an "Egyptian prince" look, and had not intended to hurt or offend anyone.
But critics called out the styling, with Instagram account diet_prada stating that "
the avant-garde Japanese label seemed to have taken a step back
with their men's show, this time putting white models in cornrow wigs".
There were also black models in the show, some of whom wore the wigs, while others kept their own hair.
Julien d'Ys responded to the backlash on his Instagram page, stating: "My inspiration for the Comme Des Garçons show was Egyptian prince, a look I found truly beautiful and inspirational. A look that was an hommage.
"Never was it my intention to hurt or offend anyone, ever. If I did I deeply apologise."
However, despite more than 2,000 likes for his post, many of the comments underneath were negative.
Devinpink67 said: "Looks appropriate on the handsome dark skin model, a joke on the others next to and behind it never looks right but stupidity ridiculous braids, cornrows, twist, bantu knots, afro puffs, afros, slicked baby hairs REPEAT ARE B-L-A-C-K CULTURAL RELATED."
And Kharileigh suggested: "In future, to avoid facing this heat again when taking inspiration from a culture that is not yours, PLEASE work closely with one from said culture to guide you in doing it properly.
"Your intention might not have been to culturally appropriate Egyptian culture, however your lack of care or awareness in executing it is extremely reckless and hence why it is deemed as cultural appropriation. Education alone avoids these situations, so learn from this and keep it pushing."
The hairstylist had also posted an image of
one of the sketches
he had shown to the company before the show, using hashtags to reinforce the Egyptian inspiration (#égyptienboy #pharaon - French for pharoah).
Dazed reported that the brand had apologised
in a statement: "The inspiration for the headpieces for Comme des Garçons menswear FW'20 show was the look of an Egyptian prince. It was never ever our intention to disrespect or hurt anyone - we deeply and sincerely apologise for any offence it has caused."
In 2018, the company which was founded by Rei Kawakubo, was
criticised for the lack of diversity
in the choice of models it used in its mainline women's collection runway shows.
The BBC has contacted the brand for comment.
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6683db6fc47214b0a24c83855bc6b262 | https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-51514628 | Coronavirus: Eight of nine UK patients receiving treatment discharged | Coronavirus: Eight of nine UK patients receiving treatment discharged
All but one of the nine people being treated for the coronavirus in the UK have been discharged from hospital.
They were discharged after twice testing negative for the virus, NHS England said on Saturday.
Meanwhile, all 94 people who were being quarantined at Arrowe Park hospital on the Wirral have left the site.
The patients were among the first British coronavirus evacuees flown back to the UK from Wuhan, China, which is the centre of the outbreak.
More than 100 people are still in quarantine in a Milton Keynes hotel after arriving from China last weekend.
Health Secretary Matt Hancock said: "I want to stress that any individuals who are discharged from hospital are now well and do not pose any public health risk to the public."
Among those to have been discharged are five members of the ski group who were treated at the Royal Free and Guy's and St Thomas', both in London.
Four adults and a child were diagnosed with the virus after coming into contact with Steve Walsh, from Hove, while at a French ski resort on his way home from Singapore.
In a joint statement on Saturday, the group said: "All of our group, including the six in other countries, have recovered quickly from the virus having required minimal medical treatment during our time in isolation."
The group thanked those involved in their care, adding that they were "feeling well and looking forward to being home".
Mr Walsh, who is thought to have infected 11 people while at the resort, said on Tuesday that he had fully recovered.
Prof Keith Willett, NHS strategic incident director, said more people may need to spend some time at home in the coming weeks to reduce the spread of the virus.
The final person being treated for the virus is still at Guy's and St Thomas's Hospital in central London.
Prof Willett thanked those who have just left Arrowe Park hospital for the "calm, patient and responsible" response to the situation.
Hundreds of people who were at a conference in London earlier this month, including two Labour MPs,
were contacted by health officials after an attendee was later diagnosed with the virus.
The person, who has not been identified, was at the UK Bus Summit at the QEII Conference Centre.
Officials have been tracing the contacts of the ninth person in the UK to test positive for the virus.
The
first death from the disease in Europe
was confirmed on Saturday, after a Chinese tourist died in France.
The victim, one of more than 1,500 fatalities from the virus, was an 80-year-old man from China's Hubei province.
He arrived in France on 16 January and was placed in quarantine in hospital in Paris on 25 January.
Only three deaths had previously been reported outside mainland China - in Hong Kong, the Philippines and Japan.
A further 2,641 people have been newly confirmed as infected, bringing the China's total to 66,492.
Outside mainland China, there have been more than 500 cases in 24 countries.
|
c3a13382d32e73d89842bb6543b225e6 | https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-51596516 | L'Arche founder Jean Vanier sexually abused women - internal report | L'Arche founder Jean Vanier sexually abused women - internal report
A religious leader who founded a celebrated organisation for people with learning difficulties sexually abused six women in France, an internal report says.
Canadian Jean Vanier set up the global network L'Arche in France in 1964 and died last year aged 90.
None of the women he abused was herself disabled, the report says.
An investigation into Vanier was commissioned by L'Arche International last year after suspicions were raised.
"We are shocked by these discoveries and unreservedly condemn these actions, which are in total contradiction with the values Jean Vanier claimed and are incompatible with the basic rules of respect and integrity of persons, and contrary to the fundamental principles on which L'Arche is based," the current leaders of L'Arche International, Stephan Posner and Stacy Cates Carney, wrote in a letter to the L'Arche Federation.
"We recognise the courage and suffering of these women, and of any others who may not have spoken up...
"We ask forgiveness for these events which took place in the context of L'Arche, some of which were caused by our founder."
The organisation runs homes and centres where people with and without disabilities live together, operating in 38 countries with around 10,000 members.
Vanier, a devout Catholic, had "manipulative and emotionally abusive" sexual relationships with six women
in France, between 1970 and 2005, according to a statement by L'Arche International.
Sexual relations were instigated by Vanier, usually in the context of giving spiritual guidance.
"These women reported similar facts associated with highly unusual spiritual or mystical explanations used to justify these behaviours," the statement said.
"The relationships [...] had a significant negative impact on their personal lives and subsequent relationships.
"These actions are indicative of a deep psychological and spiritual hold Jean Vanier had on these women," it said.
It also says Vanier asked the women the keep the incidents secret.
The women included assistants and nuns
, according to Canadian newspaper the Globe and Mail, which first broke the story.
Vanier was also a member of a small clandestine group which subscribed to and participated in some of the deviant sexual practices of disgraced priest Thomas Philippe, the L'Arche statement said.
The practices were founded on so-called "mystical" or "spiritual" beliefs that had been condemned by the Catholic Church, it added.
Vanier described Philippe, who died in 1993, as his "spiritual father", but publicly denied knowledge of the practices.
The investigation was carried out by independent UK consultancy GCPS.
The son of a Canadian diplomat, he left a naval career in 1950 to study theology, saying he wanted to "follow Jesus".
While visiting a chaplain in Paris who worked with men with learning difficulties, he became disturbed by the poor conditions in which the men lived.
He founded L'Arche - the Ark - to provide communities for people with learning difficulties to live alongside people without disability as equals.
There are now 154 L'Arche centres around the world.
Vanier was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize for his work, and was awarded the prestigious Companion of the Order of Canada.
In 2015, he was the recipient of the Templeton Prize, an award described as "entirely deserved" by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby.
|
143f20854e55f81faed27cd91deddb67 | https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-51666668 | International Women's Day 2020: History, strikes and celebrations | International Women's Day 2020: History, strikes and celebrations
You might have seen International Women's Day mentioned in the media or heard friends talking about it. But what is it for? When is it? Is it a celebration or a protest? And is there an equivalent International Men's Day?
For more than a century people around the world have been marking 8 March as a special day for women. Read on to find out why.
International Women's Day grew out of the labour movement to become a UN-recognised annual event.
The seeds of it were planted in 1908, when 15,000 women marched through New York City demanding shorter working hours, better pay and the right to vote. It was the Socialist Party of America who declared the first National Woman's Day, a year later.
The idea to make the day international came from a woman called Clara Zetkin. She suggested the idea in 1910 at an International Conference of Working Women in Copenhagen. There were 100 women there, from 17 countries, and they agreed on her suggestion unanimously.
It was first celebrated in 1911, in Austria, Denmark, Germany and Switzerland. The centenary was celebrated in 2011, so this year we're technically celebrating the 109th International Women's Day.
Things were made official in 1975 when the United Nations (UN) started celebrating the day. The first theme adopted by the UN (in 1996) was "Celebrating the past, Planning for the Future". This year's focuses on
"An equal world is an enabled world"
and asks for people to work together to create a gender equal world.
International Women's Day has become a date to celebrate how far women have come in society, in politics and in economics, while the political roots of the day mean strikes and protests are organised to raise awareness of continued inequality.
8 March. Clara's idea for an International Women's Day had no fixed date. It wasn't formalised until a war-time strike in 1917 when Russian women demanded "bread and peace" - and four days into the women's strike the Tsar was forced to abdicate and the provisional government granted women the right to vote. The date when the women's strike commenced on the Julian calendar, which was then in use in Russia, was Sunday 23 February. This day in the Gregorian calendar was 8 March - and that's when it's celebrated today.
There is indeed, on 19 November. But it has only been marked since the 1990s and isn't recognised by the UN. People celebrate it in more than 60 countries, including the UK. The objectives of the day are "to focus attention on men's and boys' health, improve gender relations, promote gender equality and highlight positive male role models". The theme for 2019 was
"Making a difference for men and boys"
.
International Women's Day is a national holiday in many countries, including Russia where the sales of flowers doubles during the three or four days around 8 March.
In China, many women are given a half-day off work on 8 March, as advised by the State Council, although many employers don't always pass the half-day on to their female employees.
In Italy, International Women's Day, or la Festa della Donna, is celebrated by the giving of mimosa blossom. The origin of this tradition is unclear but it is believed to have started in Rome after World War Two.
In the US, the month of March is Women's History Month. A presidential proclamation issued every year honours the achievements of American women.
This year's International Women's Day campaign has chosen the theme
#EachForEqual
, which is drawn from the idea of collective individualism.
"We are all parts of a whole," the campaign states. "Our individual actions, conversations, behaviours and mindsets can have an impact on our larger society.
"Collectively, we can make change happen. Collectively, we can each help to create a gender equal world."
The past few years have seen the women's movement reach an unprecedented scale. In October 2017, millions began using the hashtag #MeToo on social media to speak out against experiences of harassment and sexual assault, and to denounce their widespread prevalence.
In 2018, the #MeToo conversation grew to a global scale, with countries such as India, France, China, and South Korea joining in the conversation to demand change. In the US, a record number of women were elected in the midterm elections.
Last year saw abortion decriminalised in Northern Ireland and the repeal of a law that controlled how women acted and dressed in public in Sudan.
BBC 100 Women
names 100 influential and inspirational women around the world every year. We create documentaries, features and interviews about their lives, giving more space for stories that put women at the centre.
Follow BBC 100 Women on
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and join the conversation.
|
011b80b15c148e801cf67a72c952aa32 | https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-51735367 | Coronavirus: The fake health advice you should ignore | Coronavirus: The fake health advice you should ignore
Coronavirus is emerging in more countries around the world and there's currently no known cure. Unfortunately that hasn't stopped a slew of health advice, ranging from useless but relatively harmless, to downright dangerous.
We've been looking at some of the most widespread claims being shared online, and what the science really says.
Lots of posts that recommend eating garlic to prevent infection are being shared on Facebook.
The WHO (World Health Organization) says that while it is "a healthy food that may have some antimicrobial properties", there's no evidence that eating garlic can protect people from the new coronavirus.
In lots of cases, these kinds of remedies aren't harmful in themselves, as long as they aren't preventing you from following evidence-based medical advice. But they have the potential to be.
The South China Morning Post reported a story of a woman who had to receive hospital treatment for a severely inflamed throat after consuming 1.5kg of raw garlic.
We know, in general, that eating fruit and vegetables and drinking water can be good for staying healthy. However, there is no evidence specific foods will help fight this particular virus.
YouTuber Jordan Sather, who has many thousands of followers across different platforms, has been claiming that a "miracle mineral supplement", called MMS, can "wipe out" coronavirus.
It contains chlorine dioxide - a bleaching agent.
Sather and others promoted the substance even before the coronavirus outbreak, and in January he tweeted that, "not only is chlorine dioxide (aka MMS) an effective cancer cell killer, it can wipe out coronavirus too".
Last year, the
US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) warned about the dangers to health of drinking MMS.
Health authorities in other countries have also issued alerts about it.
The FDA says it "is not aware of any research showing that these products are safe or effective for treating any illness". It warns that drinking them can cause nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea and symptoms of severe dehydration.
There have been many reports of shortages of hand sanitiser gel, as
washing your hands is one key way to prevent spread of the virus
.
As reports of the shortages emerged in Italy, so did recipes for home-made gel on social media.
But these recipes, alleged dupes for one of the country's most popular brands, were for a disinfectant better suited for cleaning surfaces and, as scientists pointed out, not suitable for use on skin.
Alcohol-based hand gels usually also contain emollients, which make them gentler on skin, on top of their 60-70% alcohol content.
Professor Sally Bloomfield, at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, says she does not believe you could make an effective product for sanitising hands at home -
even vodka only contains 40% alcohol
.
For cleaning surfaces, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says most common household disinfectants should be effective.
The use of colloidal silver was promoted on US televangelist Jim Bakker's show. Colloidal silver is tiny particles of the metal suspended in liquid. A guest on the show claimed the solution kills some strains of coronavirus within 12 hours (while admitting it hadn't yet been tested on Covid-19).
The idea that it could be an effective treatment for coronavirus has been widely shared on Facebook, particularly by "medical freedom" groups which are deeply suspicious of mainstream medical advice.
Proponents of colloidal silver claim it can treat all kinds of health conditions, act as an antiseptic, and state it helps the immune system. There are some occasional uses of silver in healthcare, for example in bandages applied to wounds, but that doesn't mean it's effective to consume.
There's clear advice from the US health authorities that there's no evidence this type of silver solution is effective for any health condition. More importantly,
it could cause serious side effects
including kidney damage, seizures and argyria - a condition that makes your skin turn blue.
They say that, unlike iron or zinc, silver is not a metal that has any function in the human body.
Some of those promoting the substance for general health on social media have found their posts now generate a pop-up warning from Facebook's fact-checking service.
One post, copied and pasted by multiple Facebook accounts, quotes a "Japanese doctor" who recommends drinking water every 15 minutes to flush out any virus that might have entered the mouth. A version in Arabic has been shared more than 250,000 times.
Professor Trudie Lang at the University of Oxford says there is "no biological mechanism" that would support the idea that you can just wash a respiratory virus down into your stomach and kill it.
Infections like coronaviruses enter the body via the respiratory tract when you breathe in. Some of them might go into your mouth, but even constantly drinking water isn't going to prevent you from catching the virus.
Nonetheless, drinking water and staying hydrated is generally good medical advice.
There are lots of variations of the advice suggesting heat kills the virus, from recommending drinking hot water to taking hot baths, or using hairdryers.
One post, copied and pasted by dozens of social media users in different countries - and falsely attributed to Unicef - claims that drinking hot water and exposure to the sun will kill the virus, and says ice cream is to be avoided.
Charlotte Gornitzka, who works for Unicef on coronavirus misinformation, says: "A recent erroneous online message...purporting to be a Unicef communication appears to indicate that avoiding ice cream and other cold foods can help prevent the onset of the disease. This is, of course, wholly untrue."
We know the flu virus doesn't survive well outside the body during the summer, but we don't yet know how heat impacts the new coronavirus.
Trying to heat your body or expose yourself to the sun - presumably to make it inhospitable to the virus - is completely ineffective, according to Prof Bloomfield. Once the virus is in your body, there's no way of killing it - your body just has to fight it off.
Outside the body, "to actively kill the virus you need temperatures of around 60 degrees [Celsius]", says Professor Bloomfield - far hotter than any bath.
Washing bed linen or towels at 60C is a good idea, as this can kill any viruses in the fabric. But it's not a good option for washing your skin.
And having a hot bath or drinking hot liquids won't change your actual body temperature, which remains stable unless you are already ill.
Additional research by BBC Monitoring
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ea8352325053bb661578a6a1cd272b5d | https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-52000044 | Coronavirus: Olympic doubts grow as Canada withdraws athletes | Coronavirus: Olympic doubts grow as Canada withdraws athletes
The 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games in Tokyo have been thrown into further doubt after Canada became the first major country to withdraw.
Japan's Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe, admitted for the first time that the games could be postponed.
Australia's team said it was clear the games could not go ahead, while the British Olympic Association said it was unlikely to be able to send a team.
The International Olympic Committee is expected to decide in four weeks' time.
It said postponement - but not cancellation - was an option being examined.
The Canadian Olympic Committee and Canadian Paralympic Committee said on Sunday that they had taken "the difficult decision" to withdraw after consulting athletes, sports groups, and the Canadian government.
They then "urgently called" on the IOC, International Paralympic Committee and World Health Organization, to postpone the games for a year.
"While we recognise the inherent complexities around a postponement, nothing is more important than the health and safety of our athletes and the world community,"
their statement said.
The Canadians later posted a message on Twitter saying: "Postpone today. Conquer tomorrow."
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told reporters on Monday: "This was absolutely the right call and everyone should follow their lead."
For weeks, Japanese officials have said the games will go ahead as planned.
But, speaking in parliament on Monday, Mr Abe admitted for the first time that Tokyo 2020 might have to be delayed.
"If it is difficult to hold [the games] in a complete way, a decision of postponement would be unavoidable as we think the athletes' safety is paramount," he said.
But he insisted the games would not be cancelled altogether.
The Olympics have never been postponed or cancelled in peacetime. The 1940 Olympics - which were called off because of World War Two - were due to be held in Tokyo.
The IOC has said postponement is one "scenario" but insists that cancellation "would not solve any of the problems or help anybody".
In a letter to athletes, IOC president Thomas Bach said: "Human lives take precedence over everything, including the staging of the games...
"At the end of this dark tunnel we are all going through together, not knowing how long it is, the Olympic flame will be a light at the end of this tunnel."
The head of World Athletics, Sebastian Coe, wrote to Mr Bach on Sunday to say holding the games in July was "neither feasible nor desirable".
On Monday, Australia told its athletes to prepare for an Olympics and Paralympics in the northern summer of 2021, while Germany's Olympic Committee has called for a postponement.
"It's clear the games can't be held in July," Australian chef-de-mission Ian Chesterman said.
The chairman of the British Olympic Association said he was doubtful it would be able to participate if the games went ahead as scheduled.
"I think it is very simple. If the virus continues as predicted by the government, I don't think there is any way we can send a team," Hugh Robertson told Sky Sports News.
"And I base that on two things. Firstly, I don't see any way that the athletes and Team GB could be ready by then," he added. "Second, there is the appropriateness of holding an Olympic Games at a time like this."
Norwegian Olympic and Paralympic Committee President Berit Kjøll told reporters that she had advised its board "that you should ask not to send any athletes to the Paralympics or Olympics in Tokyo 2020 in light of the serious situation".
Spain's Olympics chief, Alejandro Blanco, said he would prefer the games to be postponed because the country's athletes were unable to train and that would result in "unequal conditions".
USA Track and Field has also called for a postponement
, as has the competitors' group Global Athlete.
"As the pandemic gets worse and worse and there are more and more societal restrictions put in place, I think the call needs to be made now," said
British cyclist Callum Skinner
, who fronts the Global Athlete.
|
698a5c25d32bc3d71ccf51321a283e12 | https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-52662039 | Quiz of the Week: Little Richard, Project Restart and more | Quiz of the Week: Little Richard, Project Restart and more
It's the weekly news quiz - how closely have you been paying attention to what's been going on in the world during the past seven days?
If you cannot see the quiz, follow
this link
.
Try last week's quiz via
this link
.
Picture credits: Reuters, Getty Images, PA, AFP, Gemini Observatory/MH Wong et al, Nasa/ESA/A
|
7b01231eeef531a42423b5d921d37602 | https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-53078330?intlink_from_url= | Rethink: Tara Westover says ''Build a world where we can be one people' | Rethink: Tara Westover says ''Build a world where we can be one people'
Author Tara Westover reflects that she has taken more notice of other people since the pandemic struck - especially key workers. She wants people to come together as one and not be divided by class, education or profession.
In the early days of this pandemic, we were told that Covid-19 would be the "great equaliser" - that it would bring us together because it would affect everyone alike.
Rich and poor, urban and rural, members of every racial group. Those with advanced degrees, and those who never finished primary school.
The idea was that a germ is not subject to those prejudices to which human beings so often are. It is not impressed by money or dazzled by prestige. It does not see skin colour, or subscribe to stereotypes of gender. A germ is blind biology. Its one virtue was its supposed lack of prejudice.
Of course, none of that turned out to be true.
The virus was not blind. It devastated men more than women; the old more than the young; and in America, where I live, and in many other places, racial minorities suffered disproportionately.
So did the poor. So did the less educated. The virus, it turned out, was deeply prejudiced. But there was one meaningful way that it was in fact a kind of equaliser - it made us aware of the many forgotten people whose hard work make our lives possible.
I noticed the change about a week into the crisis.
A friend of mine ordered online delivery, and added a 50% tip. "Anyone out delivering curry in a pandemic has earned every penny," he said.
A week later, a pipe burst in the house I was staying in. I was suddenly without running water. But the next morning, a man came, wearing a fabric mask. He replaced the pipe, and I had running water.
He did not have the luxury of sitting at home in quarantine. He had chosen to risk it - to help me, and to protect his livelihood.
And the same choice is made every day by nurses and cooks and cashiers and truckers and factory workers.
For all the difficult stories that have come out of this, perhaps the most moving is that racket made on the streets of New York and other cities as people holler and whistle and bang pans to thank front-line workers.
Doctors and nurses, yes, but also caretakers, delivery people, grocers and electricians. A whole army of people who are working outside their homes to keep the rest of us safe and well.
These are not the rich and illustrious or the so-called elite. They are often not paid very well for what they do. Many of them did not go to college, and for that reason they are sometimes looked down upon by those who did have that privilege.
I've been thinking lately that education has become the new social divider, perhaps even more than wealth. And we forget that in many cases, wealth and education go together. Education has itself has become a privilege reserved for those who can pay for it.
The modern economy has a great hunger for college-educated workers, and the result before the coronavirus was that many of our workers all over the world felt dismissed and left behind. They felt there was no place for them in the world we are making.
We did, I think, become a little prejudiced against work. We began to believe that if someone is not credentialed, they must not be industrious.
We tacitly accepted the idea that the professional classes are somehow harder working or more deserving of respect than the people who work with their hands. But everyone deserves respect.
And more than respect, they deserve to be paid. They deserve the kind of pay that will allow them to live a dignified life. My friend Jia Tolentino observed recently that there is something corrupt about a system in which essential workers are paid so little that they are cannot survive the emergencies through which they sustain the rest of us.
But in the post-coronavirus world, I hope we preserve this spirit of gratitude and esteem for the people who keep the lights on, the factories open, the farms stocked and the pipes clear. Those who cook, farm, drive, care, plumb, wire, wash, and build.
I hope we remember that we are not two peoples - not the elite and the non-elite, the college educated and not, urban and rural, the white collar and the blue.
We are one people. Let's build a world in which we can be one people.
This piece has been updated.
BBC Radio 4, Radio 5 Live and the World Service have come together for a unique collaboration: BBC Rethink. It asks how society and our lives can change for the better after the Covid-19 crisis.
You can hear
the BBC Rethink episodes
on BBC Sounds.
Read the other essays:
|
24c71ced1cb3210dd4e8d9ab4ce48988 | https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-55038065 | BBC 100 Women 2020 - Join us for the BBC 100 Women Masterclasses | BBC 100 Women 2020 - Join us for the BBC 100 Women Masterclasses
BBC 100 Women returns in 2020 with its list of 100 inspirational and influential women. In a year of incredible change, it is only fitting that we acknowledge the female leaders who have helped us weather the storm.
And this year we're also embracing the challenge of trying something different: we'll be hosting our community virtually in the
BBC 100 Women Masterclasses
- a digital event that will bring audiences around the world together for a day of mind-expanding, useful and entertaining discussions and workshops.
And you're invited!
Expert speakers will tackle topics such as money management, public speaking, sustainable living and mental health self-care, answering your questions along the way.
These "how-to" sessions are designed to ensure you take away practical tips, tools and techniques to use in your daily life. We'll also have some of our big named guests in conversation, we'll share stories from the season, and meet some inspiring artists for a music finale that will leave you empowered and entertained!
Join in the conversation on the BBC 100 Women social channels:
@bbc100women
on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. Share your experiences using the hashtag
#BBC100WMasterclass
.
When?
Monday, 30 November
From 13.00GMT
Where?
We'll be streaming live on the
BBC website
,
BBC 100 Women Facebook page
and BBC World Service
YouTube channel
.
13.00GMT
Protests against racism have made headlines in 2020, but how does real cultural change actually come about? The three women behind BLM discuss how their initial posts on social media turned into a global phenomenon and what they envisage for the future.
The BBC's Rianna Croxford will be in conversation with
Patrisse Cullors
, co-founder and Executive Director of the Black Lives Matter Global Network, artist and political strategist;
Alicia Garza
, co-founder of Black Lives Matter, principal at Black Futures Lab and author of "The Purpose of Power"; and
Opal Tometi
, co-founder of Black Lives Matter and founder of the new media and advocacy hub Diaspora Rising.
13.40GMT
Learn something new… fast!
With
Karen Dolva
, CEO of the start-up No Isolation, who has made it her mission to help others, from young children to seniors, to cope with feelings of loneliness. Karen is one of the BBC's 100 Women for 2020.
13.50GMT
How can women build up their financial resilience? Our financial experts will show ways to plan and make ends meet, set yourself saving goals, and make the most of what you earn. Ensure your financial independence with some neat tricks.
With
Nimi Akinkugbe
, whose website Money Matters and her book "A-Z of Personal Finance" have taught millions of people about the secrets behind personal finance, after building a successful banking career for over 20 years and launching the City of Lagos Edition of Monopoly, the first African city edition of Hasbro's world-famous board game;
Tori Dunlap
, who saved US$100k before her 25th birthday and is a money expert and founder of Her First $100K; and
Simonne Gnessen
, author of "Sheconomics: Add Power to your Purse with the Ultimate Money Makeover", founder of Wise Monkey and financial coach who encourages women to explore their emotional relationship with money.
Live illustration during the discussion by Jilla Dastmalchi.
14.50GMT
Learn something new… fast!
With landscape architect
Kotchakorn Voraakhom
, who works on projects that promote urban resilience to climate change, including Asia's largest urban rooftop garden and a new green space in an unused elevated rail line in Bangkok. She is on this year's BBC 100 Women list.
15.00GMT
Equality starts at home, and most of the story books and fairy tales we tell our children are sexist and don't represent the diverse world we live in. Get tips from storytellers and artists on how to choose wisely from the bookshops' shelves and how to create your own non-sexist, more inclusive stories.
With
Francesca Cavallo
, Italian bestselling author and co-creator of the hugely successful "Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls" book series;
Bisha K Ali
, screenwriter and stand-up comedian, who is writing the Ms. Marvel Disney+ series with the first Muslim teen superhero at the centre;
Ruth Banda Chitiya
, Zambian born author and illustrator, who under the pen name Lutay BC started writing her own short stories with more diverse characters to read with her children.
Award-winning children's book author from Syria
Nadine Kaadan
, one of our BBC 100 Women 2020, will be sharing her work as an illustrator and her advice on how to better choose your books from what's on offer on the shelves.
15.45GMT
Two-time Academy award-winning actress
Jane Fonda
is famous for her work in iconic films Klute, Coming Home, On Golden Pond and 9 to 5, to name a few. She currently stars in the hit Netflix series Grace and Frankie. Off-screen, she has been at the forefront of social activism for over 50 years lending her voice to causes she believes in - from women's rights to environmental action.
Most recently she launched Fire Drill Fridays with Greenpeace USA, which continues to hold weekly actions educating and protesting the climate crisis. She talks about her career, female leadership, inspiration and fear (or the lack of it) with the BBC's Nuala McGovern.
16.00GMT
Do you feel you need to speak up and find a voice that is true to you? Hear the experiences of women overcoming hostility on the work Zoom, learning to command a room, and cleverly putting down micro-aggressions. And not just at work - in their personal lives and the online world too.
With
Deepa Narayan
, social scientist and author of "Chup: Breaking the Silence About India's Women" and senior advisor for more than 25 years at the World Bank, the UN and several NGOs;
Enam Asiama
, plus-size model and body positivity influencer and activist who is pushing for change in the online space;
Alma Arzate
, just named one of Canada's "Inspirational Women 2020" who juggles her high-flying corporate career with helping women, especially from migrant communities; and
Claire Mason
, entrepreneur and CEO of global thought leadership consultancy Man Bites Dog, who coined the phrase "Gender Say Gap" from her corporate experience.
16.50GMT
Learn something new… fast!
With
Shani Dhanda
, founder and leader of Diversability + Asian Disability Network. Shani is an award-winning disability specialist listed as one of the UK's most influential disabled people - and one of our 100 Women 2020.
17.00GMT
With Africa's music queen and three-time Grammy Award-winner
Angélique Kidjo
, Latin Grammy-winning Chilean solo rapper
Ana Tijoux
, and fierce drummer and 'electrofeminist'
Madame Gandhi,
who has worked with M.I.A. and Thievery Corporation and Kehlani, among other exciting artists.
The artists will curate a list of "must-listen" anthems to play out loud and dance to. They'll get the party started with
Radio 1Xtra's Jamz Supernova
and share their advice on how to make it in a male-dominated industry.
* The programme may be subject to change. Any update will be posted on this page. Starting times for the sessions are approximate.
BBC 100 Women
names 100 influential and inspirational women around the world every year and shares their stories.
Find us on
Facebook
,
Instagram
and
Twitter
and use the hashtag #100Women
|
9f36075482dcf17d83117b3fccbcd238 | https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-55349003 | Vanessa Bryant, her mother's lawsuit and the value of childcare | Vanessa Bryant, her mother's lawsuit and the value of childcare
Vanessa Bryant, wife of the late basketball star Kobe Bryant, has found herself at the centre of a torrid domestic drama, within a year of the death of her husband and daughter.
She is being sued by her mother.
In the lawsuit Sofia Laine argues that she should be paid $5 million in back-pay for, as she puts it, being her daughter's "longtime personal assistant and nanny" to her grandchildren. She also claims Kobe Bryant promised to financially take care of her indefinitely.
"Unfortunately, Kobe Bryant's promise did not see the light of day as he is now deceased and Vanessa Bryant took each and every step she could to void and cancel all of Kobe's promises," she alleges in the 48-page lawsuit.
Ms Laine's legal action attracted a swift and significant backlash, not least for coming just 11 months after the death of Bryant's husband and teenage daughter Gianna in a helicopter crash. One well-known journalist called the lawsuit "repulsive", for example, in a tweet that at the time of writing has been "liked" more than 28,000 times.
The strongest response has come from Bryant herself. In a statement, she denied her mother's claims that she was a nanny and assistant, and instead accused her of attempting to "extort a financial windfall" from her. "This lawsuit is frivolous, disgraceful, and unimaginably hurtful," she added.
With both sides contradicting each other, there is little way of wading through the right and wrongs of what is a messy, complicated and - ultimately - deeply personal family affair.
Regardless of the individual merits of this case, Ms Laine's basic argument is not without precedent. Usually for much smaller amounts and in entirely different circumstances, the question of whether parents and grandparents should receive a wage for childcare within the family has been asked repeatedly for at least half a century.
Whether grandparents should be paid for babysitting frequently comes up on online forums. Last year two separate scenarios, posted on Mumsnet and the (unrelated) Netmums respectively, posed the same question from two different perspectives.
On Mumsnet, an anonymous mother wrote that her parents had asked for £50 a week to look after her young children when she returned to work after maternity leave. In the Netmums post, a grandmother said she was looking after her young grandchildren for around 10 hours a day; she and her daughter had agreed on a fee of £40 a week, she said, but she had "somehow ended up doing it for nothing".
In both cases, the responses were split pretty evenly between those who believed it was the grandparents' right to insist on payment, and those who felt that grandparents should help their children out without expecting to be compensated.
"In reality, she only occasionally babysat my older girls when they were toddlers," Vanessa Bryant has claimed in response to her mother's lawsuit. She points out that she herself was a stay-at-home mother who looked after her own children.
Her mother counters: "She is using my grandchildren to punish me for exercising my rights." The language marries up her rights and her grandchildren. It's not an unfamiliar argument, historically.
In the early 1970s, a global coalition of radical feminists launched the Wages for Housework campaign, which argued for families' primary caretakers - predominantly women - to be paid regular wages for doing the household and childcare duties that were expected of them.
In its manifesto released at the time, the campaign wrote of women's "life sentence of housework at home and outside, servicing men, children and other women, in order to produce and reproduce the working class. For this work we are never paid a wage".
"Our destiny and the roots of our exploitation — our wageless work in the home — are the same in every country of the world, and so is our struggle against it."
But the campaign's motivation was to highlight the value of housework in a language that the majority of the public would understand.
Their ideas came from the radical left theories of Friedrich Engels who in 1884 argued that while men were in charge of the "means of production", by producing goods, women were responsible for the "means of reproduction" - which referred to child-rearing.
This idea of the "means of reproduction" being an equally valid form of work directly influenced the Wages for Housework campaign and others like it.
According to a 2016 report from the Overseas Development Institute (ODI), women are still overwhelmingly tasked with unwaged work in the home - which, the organisation adds, is "holding back women and girls from advancing in other areas of their lives".
On average, it adds, women spend 45 minutes more than men per day on paid and unpaid work, or about 5.7 weeks more per year. In the most unequal countries, this goes up to two hours a day.
But the housework gender gap has been brought to the fore in 2020. According to the European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE), women in the EU already spent 13 hours more than men per week on unpaid care and housework before the pandemic - which only went up when schools in multiple countries were closed, and older relatives fell ill.
According to Selma James, one of the co-founders of the Wages for Housework movement, little has changed.
Writing
in the Independent
earlier this year, Ms James said that in 1972 she campaigned specifically for child benefits in the UK - then known as "family allowance" - to be retained. Women, she said, told her at the time that this small payment was "the only money I can call my own", and was more liberating for women than encouraging them to take on low-wage work.
With an estimated worth of $600m, Vanessa Bryant - and even her own mother - aren't the primary concern of these campaigns.
But within this family drama - regardless of its rights and wrongs - is the familiar language of rights and compensation when it come to childcare.
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a7ddb7d15bbfc0fa4fb5da26ffe2d664 | https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-55703174 | Jim Haynes: A man who invited the world over for dinner | Jim Haynes: A man who invited the world over for dinner
Jim Haynes was both an icon and a relic of the Swinging Sixties, an American in Paris who was famous for inviting hundreds of thousands of strangers to dinner at his home. He died this month.
Last February, I took my last trip abroad before lockdown closed in on us. I bought a last-minute ticket and jumped on the Eurostar to Paris, motivated by a sudden urge to have dinner with a friend. Jim Haynes had entered his late '80s and his health was declining, yet I knew he would welcome a visit. Jim always welcomed visitors.
The essence of that trip now feels like the antithesis of Covid times. I was far from the only guest wandering into the warm glow of his atelier in the 14th arrondissement on a wet winter's night. Inside, people were squeezing, shoulder to shoulder, through the narrow kitchen. Strangers struck up conversations, bunched together in groups, balancing their dinners on paper plates and reaching over each other to press the plastic spout on a communal box of wine.
Jim had operated open-house policy at his home every Sunday evening for more than 40 years. Absolutely anyone was welcome to come for an informal dinner, all you had to do was phone or email and he would add your name to the list. No questions asked. Just put a donation in an envelope when you arrive.
There would be a buzz in the air, as people of various nationalities - locals, immigrants, travellers - milled around the small, open-plan space. A pot of hearty food bubbled on the hob and servings would be dished out on to a trestle table, so you could help yourself and continue to mingle. It was for good reason that Jim was nicknamed the "godfather of social networking". He led the way in connecting strangers, long before we outsourced it all to Silicon Valley.
I only knew Jim in his later years, but his entire life was extraordinary. Born in Louisiana in 1933, he had lived in Venezuela as a teenager; founded the alternative culture centre Arts Lab in London, where he mixed with David Bowie, John Lennon and Yoko Ono; ran a sexual liberation magazine in Amsterdam, and all before becoming a university lecturer in sexual politics in Paris, his home since 1969.
And yet he was often seen as a son of Scotland, following an influential stint there in the late '50s and late '60s, when he established Edinburgh's first paperback bookshop, co-founded the Traverse Theatre and helped kickstart the Fringe festival.
When Jim died, at 87, earlier this month, a Herald obituary called him "the unofficial agent for the beat generation in Scotland".
While a lot of highly regarded people tend to retreat into their own circles after finding success, Jim never stopped reaching out to new people. The first time I heard from him was an email out of the blue in 2008.
I had written a newspaper article from Barcelona - not the one in Spain but the one on the coast of Venezuela - and it had brought back memories for him. His father worked in the oil business and had moved the family there when Jim was in his early teens.
My article was about meeting people through the Couchsurfing website
, where locals opened their homes to strangers for free around the world. This was before AirBnB worked out how to monetise the idea, and the concept of non-commercial cultural exchange was right up Jim's street. "When you are back in Europe, come to dinner," he wrote, promising to tell me about an old travel project of his own that he thought I might like.
Intrigued, I headed to Paris soon after my return. I had imagined some sort of intimate dinner party with cultural elites, but what I found was more like a student house party - albeit with more mature attendees and only moderate alcohol consumption. (Jim was teetotal and proceedings ended strictly by 23:00.)
Jim instantly greeted me like an old friend and, as we chatted, he reached up on to his living room shelves to offer me a book. People to People read the cover line. It was the project he had wanted to tell me about.
He explained that, in the late 1980s, he had founded a guidebook series for countries behind the Iron Curtain. Instead of the standard descriptions of sights and hotel listings, the format was like an address book, including the contact details for hundreds of in-country hosts. The idea was that if people could not easily see the Western world themselves, he would bring it to them via travellers. It was "couchsurfing", but offline.
The hand-sized copy he pressed into my palm centred on Poland. I loved it and decided to travel there to see if the participants were still up for receiving random visitors, even though so much had changed.
Each person was filed under the town where they lived, followed by two or three lines, including their address, date of birth, phone number and hobbies. Through a combination of Google and snail-mail, I managed to get hold of several of them. Most had all known Jim either personally or through friends of friends. All had fond memories of the project and all were still willing to act as local guides to show me around.
In Gdansk, I asked civil servant Krystyna Wróblewska why she had signed up originally. She told me she had been working as a media fixer, helping reporters cover the anti-communist shipyard strikes. "They [the media] went looking for women with handkerchiefs on their heads and horses with carts, perpetuating the same old picture. I suppose I wanted to meet people to subvert stereotypes and show that not all the pictures you have in your head are real."
"It surprised me how easy it was," Jim insisted to me. He produced guides for Romania, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, the Baltics and Russia, featuring thousands upon thousands of locals. Some of his contacts came from his personal, multi-volume address books, and he got new sign-ups after placing interviews in local papers and jazz magazines.
"Some of the older people in Russia were scared about being put on a Western list, because they thought it would be easier to be rounded up and carted away," he said. "But a lot of younger people wanted to be in the book… I was getting sackfuls of mail. I'm sure the local postman wondered what the hell was going on."
Over the years, the authorities often wondered what was going on at Jim's place. Not least during the period when he started issuing fake passports. It was back in the 1970s, after he had caught wind of an American traveller, who, 20 years before, had renounced his American citizenship and created his own "world passport".
For Jim, non-national passports seemed to encapsulate his ideals of peace and global freedom. So he turned his home into an "embassy" and started producing world passports for anyone who wanted one. The documents were so convincing that some people used them to cross borders.
"Look, you can't do this any more. You have to stop making passports," exasperated French police would say when they came to his door. But Jim continued until he ended up in court. Though he was eventually acquitted of fraud and counterfeiting, he was found guilty of "confusing the public".
Jim always dismissed the idea that it was a naïve undertaking, but he was trusting to a fault, according to some of his friends, and this led to financial mistakes and legal troubles over the years. He wouldn't deal with problems, waiting until they blew up instead.
"I often had to stop him signing things. Sometimes he didn't even read them," says Jesper, his son, who was born during Jim's marriage to Viveka Reuterskiold in the 1960s.
Jesper grew up in Stockholm after they separated, but visited Paris every summer from the age of 10.
"There were mattresses on every spare bit of floor, people sleeping everywhere," he says, as he recalls his earlier visits. "It was exciting and fun, but sometimes I felt jealous. Lots of people did. People were very possessive of him. People wanted to claim him, but he was unclaimable."
Jesper credits his father with opening the world to him. He used Jim's contacts books extensively as he travelled and he is currently living with his own family in Bangkok, where he briefly replicated the Sunday dinners. "Just for six months... It was a lot of work."
During the 1990s, the crowds started to dwindle at the Paris dinners, as the original hippy crowd aged. But then a new wave of younger visitors started to get in touch. The bloggers had discovered him.
"The internet both ruined and saved the dinners," says Seamas McSwiney, a close friend who helped on Sunday evenings for decades. "It became less spontaneous as people tried to book six months ahead - which was anathema to how Jim travelled and also annoying as those people were more likely to do a no-show - but at the same time, these online articles re-energised the idea. There was a younger crowd and new momentum."
At the dinners' peak, Jim would welcome up to 120 guests, filling his atelier and spilling out into the cobbled back garden. An estimated 150,000 people have come over the years.
"The door was always open," says Amanda Morrow, an Australian journalist who stayed with Jim for a year-and-a-half. "It was a revolving door of guests - some who wanted to stay over, and others who just wanted to say hello. Jim never said no to anyone."
The only thing that really got Jim down was people leaving," says Jesper. "He struggled with that. He didn't like being on his own... Though fortunately there was usually a new person to distract him."
In the final years, Jim would sit quietly, as others gravitated into his orbit. On my last visit, he looked frail and pained by his various ailments, but he also had an air of contentment, clearly never tiring of being the conduit for human interactions.
"I was wondering when you'd come back," he said to me, in the rasping American accent he somehow had never lost.
Here was a man who had spent time with Lennon and Bowie, who was once friends with Sonia Orwell and used to walk round Paris with Samuel Beckett. And yet he made everyone feel special. Every connection mattered.
"It felt like politician's trick, but it was natural," says Seamas.
In very recent times, Covid restrictions reduced the dinners' clockwork schedule, but his friends say he was not depressed by the pandemic. He had figured the get-togethers would resume and, until then, had enjoyed a smaller stream of visiting carers and, whenever possible, friends.
Amid the outpouring of online tributes since his death in his sleep on 6 January, these words from Jesper stand out: "His goal from early on was to introduce the whole world to each other. He almost succeeded."
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