© Kenny Holston/The New York Times
Rachel Reeves announced that the payments to pensioners will no longer be universal in England and Wales
On Monday the chancellor, Rachel Reeves, announced a package of measures designed to close a £22bn hole in the public finances she said was “covered up” by the Conservative government.
Among them was a surprise removal of winter fuel payments for millions of pensioners and the abandoning of a long-delayed cap on what people pay for social care.
Continue reading...© Photograph: Peter Byrne/PA
© Photograph: Peter Byrne/PA
We would like to hear from people who may no longer receive winter fuel payments due to planned changes
Charities have warned that up to 2 million financially struggling older people could lose annual payments under government plans to restrict the winter fuel allowance.
The chancellor’s proposals will see payments only going to pensioners in England and Wales who receive means tested benefits.
Continue reading...© Photograph: Peter Byrne/PA
© Photograph: Peter Byrne/PA
Best-selling violinist who learned from Yehudi Menuhin and Stéphane Grappelli, reveals he has been mentoring budding musicians ahead of London residency
Nigel Kennedy, the bestselling classical violinist, has never forgotten two mentors who helped turn him into a global superstar: Yehudi Menuhin, the classical virtuoso, and Stéphane Grappelli, the great jazz violinist.
Now Kennedy has revealed that he himself has been quietly mentoring young violinists for years, and that two of them will perform with him in London. He told the Observer: “It’s been nice to put something back into the area that’s given me so much.”
Continue reading...© Photograph: David Levene/The Guardian
© Photograph: David Levene/The Guardian
From Berlin’s techno scene to Oktoberfest, a revolution in drinking culture is taking place, and it’s led by young people
The first cliche that comes to mind when many think of Germany is thigh-slapping oompah music, embroidered lederhosen and, above all, litre-sized mugs of beer. And Deutschland’s beer culture is best epitomised by Munich’s Oktoberfest. Millions of revellers descend on the Bavarian capital each September for 16 days of booze, bretzel and bratwurst. But it’s a cliche out of sync with modern Germany, where abstinence is on the up – and boozing is in decline.
One example is Die Null (The Zero). Before the world-famous beer festival kicks off this year on 21 September, a new alcohol-free beer garden has opened in the heart of the city, inaugurated by the mayor of Munich himself. The venue serves a variety of non-alcoholic beverages, from mocktails to alcohol-free lager.
Continue reading...© Photograph: golero/Getty Images/iStockphoto
© Photograph: golero/Getty Images/iStockphoto
The director explains how a desire to transcend race and immigrant identity led to his semi-autobiographical tale of an angst-ridden Taiwanese American teenage skater and an Oscar-nominated short about his grandmothers
Sean Wang is jet-lagged. He has been up since 4am after arriving in London late the night before. When he couldn’t get back to sleep, the film-maker headed to the Southbank Centre. Surrounded by the deserted streets of the city, it was just him and his skateboard as he tried out tricks. He has been obsessed with skateboarding since his early teens. “Everything that I love now, whether it’s the music I listen to or the way I dress, it all traces back to skating.”
Wang, 30, has channelled this passion into his debut feature film, Dìdi (弟弟), which means “little brother” in Chinese. The semi-autobiographical tale of Chris (Izaac Wang), an awkward and angst-ridden 13-year-old Taiwanese American boy who starts shooting skating videos one summer, is a tender and astute coming-of-age movie packed with moments of cringe-inducing humour. Chris is growing apart from his childhood friends while dealing with a new crush and trying to impress a group of older, cooler skater kids. Then there is the family drama at home; things are tense between his mother (Joan Chen) and grandmother (Wang’s own grandmother, Chang Li Hua), he is bickering non-stop with his older sister (Shirley Chen) and his dad is away working in Taiwan.
Continue reading...© Photograph: Willy Sanjuan/Invision/AP
© Photograph: Willy Sanjuan/Invision/AP
Study predicts overall economic cost of cancer, heart disease, dementia and stroke will rise by 61%
The cost of England’s four biggest killer diseases could rise to £86bn a year by 2050, prompting calls for a crackdown on alcohol, junk food and smoking.
The ageing population means the annual cost of cancer, heart disease, dementia and stroke combined will go from the £51.9bn recorded in 2018 to £85.6bn in 2050 – a rise of 61%.
Continue reading...© Photograph: PA Images/Alamy
© Photograph: PA Images/Alamy
In 2020, pollster Nate Silver (I know, but bear with me) looked at reasons young people are less likely to vote and concluded, "Instead, younger people are much more likely than older people to report that they or members of their household have experienced barriers to voting, which suggests that they may genuinely find it more difficult to cast a ballot." Issues include standing in lines for over an hour, being unable to get off of work, missing voter registration deadlines, not receiving absentee ballots in time to vote, and an inability to find or physically access a polling place. Younger voters also cited day-of-election issues as impediments to voting, problems like arriving at the polls only to be told their name wasn't on the roll, having to vote a provisional ballot which takes extra time, lacking the correct ID, or being unable to get help filling out a ballot. The Harris campaign seems to be addressing those issues head on, and in an impressive way. They're holding a series of phone calls and Zoom meetings, some small and targeted, others enormous—like the call with 44,000 Black women that mobilized a tidal wave of support for the Vice President just as her campaign was getting started. Victor Shi [with the] Youth Team on the Biden campaign ... announced an "ALL YOUTH call" that will happen ... Thursday, July 25. There is a link anyone who wants to participate can use to sign up: https://joebiden.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_5sZdd8wDTrWOpiy4qJWBcw#/registration Share it with all the young people you know. Something about the announcement that caught my eye was the message of inclusivity! It said, "Join us here. If you are a young person or know a young person in your life, sign up here. We have lots of ways for young people, no matter their age, to get involved with our efforts to turn out young voters." In other words, in the big tent of the Democratic Party, there is room for everyone. Whether you're young yourself or someone who cares about young people and young voters, join the call. There is work for you to do! There is work for all of us to do. Voting is habit-forming. Social scientists have documented that the more you and the people around you vote, the more likely you are to keep doing it. People can become "habitual voters." There is no time like this election to encourage people to get started down that path.The Alliance for Youth Action offers lots of ways to take action, including their VoteReady campaign, Campus Takeover, National Voter Education Week, Vote Early Day, and Power the Polls. More great voter registration organizations: Field Team 6 - a volunteer army doing partisan voter registration in battleground states and flippable districts League of Women Voters - a nonpartisan, grassroots organization working to protect and expand voting rights VoteRiders - provides voter ID assistance so that every American can cast a ballot that counts Vote.org - helps voters to register, verify their registration, request a mail-in ballot, sign up for election reminders, find their polling location and stay up to date on the laws or policies that affect their ability to vote Help new voters understand their choices: Blue Voter Guide - Blue Voter Guide helps you make quick, informed, pro-democracy choices of candidates and propositions by showing what's on your ballot, with endorsements from trusted, forward-looking organizations The For the People Act - HR 1 of 2021 and the updated version, the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act - would introduce several measures to make it easier to register and easier to vote, especially for young people, including automatic registration (for example, when getting a state driver's license or state ID card). A Democratic majority in the House and Senate would make it easier to pass the popular bill. Still going strong after almost 35 years: Rock the Vote.
With hustle culture falling out of fashion, younger people are lightening the office mood – starting with their out-of-office messages
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For many of us, turning on an out-of-office is one of the last things to do before going on holiday. It is typically a concise message outlining that you’re on annual leave and who to contact in your absence. But for some gen Z workers, an OOO is becoming another way to add a bit of pizzazz to work culture; a way to showcase their personality, as well as their approach to the office.
With high summer now in full swing and offices temporarily thinning out as people take their summer jollies, social media is peppered with examples. “On vacation. Hoping to win the lottery and never return,” reads one. “The bad news is that I’m out of office. The good news is that I’m out of office,” reads another. Another brashly states: “Contact literally anyone else but me.”
Continue reading...© Photograph: Simon Ridgway/BBC/Bad Wolf/HBO
© Photograph: Simon Ridgway/BBC/Bad Wolf/HBO
Warning of risk of serious harm as synthetic drug spice found in vapes in 28 of 38 schools tested
One in six vapes confiscated in English schools are spiked with the highly addictive “zombie drug” spice, according to research.
Analysis from 38 schools revealed that the synthetic street drug, classified as class B alongside ketamine and GHB, was in nearly 100 devices. The researchers said they believed the substance was being put into vapes marketed as containing cannabis oil.
Continue reading...© Photograph: University of Bath/PA
© Photograph: University of Bath/PA
Charli xcx declared the VP brat and the KHive is rejuvenated – can gen Z’s enthusiasm make a difference in November?
In a series of events over 24 hours that would have been unimaginable a week ago, Kamala Harris ascended to the top of the Democratic ticket, secured the backing of Joe Biden and key leaders, brought in a record-breaking $81m, and became the face of brat summer.
“kamala IS brat,” pop star Charli xcx declared on Sunday, a reference to her new album released last month that has launched countless memes declaring it the season of the brat. A brat, in the British singer’s own words, is “that girl who is a little messy and likes to party and maybe says some dumb things sometimes, who feels herself, but then also maybe has a breakdown, but kind of parties through it”.
Continue reading...© Photograph: Leah Millis/Reuters
© Photograph: Leah Millis/Reuters
Many sub-Saharan Africans feel they have no choice but to leave home, myself included. I wanted them to know that their lives – and stories – matter
I knew of the global migration crisis involving crossings of the Sahara long before I wrote a novel about it. Military dictatorships, interventionist policies by foreign governments, poverty, corruption, hunger and violence have left many sub-Saharan Africans feeling they have no choice but to abandon their home in search of perceived safety and prosperity in Europe or the US.
The continent’s many problems have instilled a sense of desperation among its youth. There is also the perception that anything western is superior due to a deeply ingrained colonial worldview.
Continue reading...© Photograph: Jose Colon/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images
© Photograph: Jose Colon/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images
It was awkward. I had just mistaken some hand cream for soap. But when I was asked to join a veterans’ football team, aged 35, I surprised myself
I’ve always had a thing for my elders. As a kid, I’d sooner hang out with my nan than my schoolmates, and as a teenager I got into Gardeners’ World in quite a big way. So it won’t come as a surprise to learn that back in the autumn of 2021, I accepted a random invitation to join a veterans’ football team at the age of 35.
The Comics – as that team are known – have been around a fair while. My understanding is that they were founded between the wars, though which ones I can’t say. In any case, a consensus had formed – prompted by a spate of hospitalisations – that some fresh legs were required. When the team’s manager suddenly decided it would be OK to use players as young as 35, so long as they were rubbish, he went out on the hunt and found me in the toilet of a gastropub in New Malden.
Continue reading...© Photograph: Olivia Chenery
© Photograph: Olivia Chenery
Report warns of crisis of poverty and mental health which ‘casts a shadow’ over young people’s wellbeing
Ministers have been urged to reform the benefits system to tackle child poverty, after a report found it to be a major cause of mental illness that “casts a shadow” over young people’s wellbeing.
The report, by the Centre for Mental Health, Save the Children UK and the Children and Young People’s Mental Health Coalition, found that the number of children living in poverty in the UK had increased to 4.3 million, while one in five children and young people aged between eight and 24 had a diagnosable mental health problem.
Continue reading...© Photograph: Peter Byrne/PA
© Photograph: Peter Byrne/PA
Exclusive: E Street Band and Sopranos star visits south London to see his TeachRock programme in action
Legendary guitarist and Sopranos star Stevie Van Zandt has made an impassioned plea for more arts and music in England’s schools as a way of engaging disaffected young people during a visit to south London.
It was a last day of term like no other for pupils at Beckmead College – a school for students aged 14-19 with social, emotional and mental health needs – when the E Street Band member turned up, dressed like a rock star in purple velvet, winkle picker boots and trademark bandana.
Continue reading...© Photograph: Sarah Lee/The Guardian
© Photograph: Sarah Lee/The Guardian
Corporation faces stark challenge as it struggles to reach younger audiences who are watching Netflix and YouTube
Half a million households cancelled their licence fee last year as the BBC struggled to connect with younger audiences drifting away to Netflix and YouTube.
The stark extent of the BBC’s challenges are set out in the corporation’s annual report, which shows the total number of British households paying the £169.50 licence fee fell to 23.9 million, suggesting a growing number of people feel able to go without BBC services.
Continue reading...© Photograph: Ian West/PA
© Photograph: Ian West/PA
The ex-PM is opening the new facility supplying food and basic necessities against a backdrop of concerns for the wellbeing of children over the summer holidays
The first “multibank” in London, distributing everything from basic foods to baby products and toiletries, will be officially launched this week, amid continued concerns about levels of poverty as the school summer holidays begin.
The opening of Felix’s Multibank, which has the backing of former prime minister Gordon Brown and London mayor Sadiq Khan, is the latest in a growing network of multibanks.
Continue reading...© Photograph: Katherine Anne Rose/The Observer
© Photograph: Katherine Anne Rose/The Observer
Policy will move to keeping vulnerable pupils in school as focus shifts to root causes of exclusions
Isolation booths, frequent suspensions and strict behaviour regimes look set to be phased out in England as the Labour government shifts focus on how to keep the most vulnerable pupils in school.
Education leaders close to the new government say ministers are planning to change the inspection regime so that all schools are judged on whether they are properly representative of their local community, and aiming to stop schools telling parents their child with special educational needs would be better off at another school, or being repeatedly suspended because they aren’t meeting strict behaviour rules.
Continue reading...© Photograph: redsnapper/Alamy
© Photograph: redsnapper/Alamy
Using the reissued 3210 model left our reporter very frustrated – but less mobile-obsessed and in awe of its battery life
After about 10 minutes of furious tapping on the tiny buttons to write a still unfinished text the anger I’m feeling towards the “retro” Nokia 3210 I’m toiling over is mounting.
It is one of a new wave of “detox” or “dumb” phones aimed at techno-stressed individuals who want to escape the thrall of apps and notifications but, in this moment, I really want to smash it.
Continue reading...© Photograph: Linda Nylind/The Guardian
© Photograph: Linda Nylind/The Guardian
UK government adviser’s report says claims not supported by data and could prompt under-18s to take own life
A government-ordered review has dismissed claims that suicide rates in young people with gender dysphoria have risen sharply since the NHS restricted access to puberty-blocking drugs.
A report by the government’s adviser on suicide prevention also found that the claims – made by the campaign group the Good Law Project – were not supported by data and could prompt children under the age of 18 to take their own life.
Continue reading...© Photograph: Design Pics Inc/REX
© Photograph: Design Pics Inc/REX
NHS figures show underdiagnosis of Lewy bodies and frontotemporal dementias
Up to 100,000 people in England may be living with undiagnosed forms of dementia that present with symptoms such as depression and hallucinations, according to government figures.
Dementia is an umbrella term for many different conditions, affecting more than 55 million people worldwide. In England, about 7,000 people are diagnosed every month. While the health service has made progress in headline diagnosis rates, latest figures show that underdiagnosis of specific dementias remain a problem.
Continue reading...© Photograph: Teri Pengilley/The Guardian
© Photograph: Teri Pengilley/The Guardian
Why go to a bingo hall when I could be hoisted into a helicopter instead?
I’ve always enjoyed new experiences – I suppose you could say I’m the adventurous type. In my younger days in London, I worked for a travel agent and was posted to Cape Town. I found the evenings alone there quite dull, so I signed up for a first-aid course. The instructor said I wouldn’t have to pay if I played the role of patient and let him demonstrate bandaging techniques on me. I agreed – I’m a fan of amateur dramatics.
Back home in London, I put my skills to good use and volunteered for St John Ambulance. I attended its big first-aid competition and met the volunteers acting as patients. I discovered they were also involved in training for the emergency services, pretending to be casualties in mocked-up disasters. They were strategically positioned in car wrecks, derailed trains and various other emergency scenarios, and pretended to have sustained injuries. I thought it sounded thrilling, and signed up immediately.
Continue reading...© Photograph: Mark Chilvers/The Guardian
© Photograph: Mark Chilvers/The Guardian
© Madeline Gray for The New York Times
Friends of the Earth says older people and young children are most at risk in heat-vulnerable neighbourhoods
Inadequate climate protections mean at least 6 million lives are at risk from extreme heat in England, an analysis has found.
A report by the campaign group Friends of the Earth found older people and young children were the most high-risk groups for heatwaves, with 1.7 million under-5s and 4.3 million people over 65 living in the most heat-vulnerable neighbourhoods in England.
Continue reading...© Photograph: Anadolu Agency/Getty Images
© Photograph: Anadolu Agency/Getty Images
© iStock
Source: www.databreachtoday.com – Author: 1 Breach Notification , Cybercrime , Fraud Management & Cybercrime Stolen Data Includes Patient Medical Information, According to Breach Notification Marianne Kolbasuk McGee (HealthInfoSec) • July 9, 2024 Image: FBCS A Pennsylvania-based debt collector originally told regulators in April that a hacker compromised the personal identifiable information of 1.9 […]
La entrada 4 Million People Affected by Debt Collector Data Theft Hack – Source: www.databreachtoday.com se publicó primero en CISO2CISO.COM & CYBER SECURITY GROUP.
Source: www.databreachtoday.com – Author: 1 Recruitment & Reskilling Strategy , Training & Security Leadership CISO Sam Curry, CMO Red Curry on Out-of-the-Box Thinkers, Alliance Builders, Rebels Steve King • July 9, 2024 77 Minutes Red Curry, CMO, Tautuk – formerly vFortified; Sam Curry, vice president and CISO, Zscaler, and CyberEdBoard member This […]
La entrada What Kind of People Do Cybersecurity for a Living? – Source: www.databreachtoday.com se publicó primero en CISO2CISO.COM & CYBER SECURITY GROUP.
Fifty five years after a police raid at a popular drag bar in Greenwich Village led to the Stonewall uprising, interactions between police and queer folks can certainly appear a lot different than they did in the 1960s. The laws banning crossdressing, obscenity, and same-sex sexual relations that enabled police to harass LGBTQ people have largely been overturned in court. The pride parades that commemorate the Stonewall uprising now often have a police escort. Many police departments have hired LGBTQ community liaisons, fly rainbow Pride flags in June, and issue proclamations honoring Transgender Day of Remembrance.
Far from signs of progress, however, these symbolic gestures obscure the many ways police harassment, profiling, and violence continue to target sexual and gender minorities, with poor, Black, and transgender people often facing the worst of it. In our new report, Policing Progress: Findings from a National Survey of LGBTQ+ People’s Experiences with Law Enforcement, we found that routine and widespread mistreatment by police continues to fuel mistrust between LGBTQ people and the very law enforcement that claims to protect and serve them.
Using survey data collected by NORC at the University of Chicago, the ACLU, in collaboration with the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and the University of California, Irvine, found disparities between LGBTQ people and non-LGBTQ people, and within the LGBTQ community in reported experiences with police. As a group, LGBTQ people reported more adverse treatment by police than non-LGBTQ people. This is particularly pronounced among bisexual, transgender, and nonbinary people, who more commonly experience insulting language and physical force from the police.
More than one in four (27 percent) transgender people report experiencing physical force by police. Black transgender people were the most likely to have experienced physical force by the police among all LGBTQ people. Transgender and nonbinary respondents (45 percent and 33 percent, respectively) were significantly more likely than LGBTQ cisgender men (15 percent) to have experienced insulting language by the police.
This kind of mistreatment can range from misgendering transgender people, profiling someone as a sex worker because of their gender expression, subjecting them to needless physical searches, and even physical and sexual violence. For example, earlier this month, a transgender man won a $275,000 settlement after being forced by New York prison officials to undergo four separate and illegal genital examinations. A 2021 survey of transgender people currently held in New York prisons found an astonishing three quarters reported at least one act of sexual violence by a corrections officer.
The ACLU has combated instances of police abuse in the LGBTQ community, including in 2019, when the New York Civil Liberties Union reached a settlement with the NYPD on behalf of Linda Dominguez, a 45-year-old transgender Latina, after they charged her with “false personation” for carrying an ID with her former name (or “deadname”) on it. Officers chained her to a pipe and verbally harassed her following her arrest. Two years prior, in 2017, the ACLU of the District of Columbia settled with the Metropolitan Police Department on behalf of Lourdes Ashley Hunter, executive director and co-founder of the Trans Women of Color Collective, after police entered her home without a warrant, physically assaulted her, and left her with multiple injuries.
It’s no wonder then that our report also found widespread mistrust among LGBTQ people towards law enforcement, with the very members of the LGBTQ community that face the highest rates of victimization reporting the least willingness to seek help from police.
Only 69 percent of bisexual and 60 percent of queer people indicated that they would call the police for help in the future, compared to 80 percent of gays and lesbians and 87 percent of straight, cisgender people. Less than two-thirds of Latine LGBTQ people surveyed said they would be likely to call the police for help in the future, compared to nearly three-fourths of white LGBTQ people. Less than two-thirds of transgender respondents were likely to call the police for help in the future, compared to 82 percent of cisgender LGBQ men. Approximately one-quarter of nonbinary people were willing to call the police for help.
At the ACLU, our advocacy recommendations have centered around the multiple, concrete steps communities and local governments can take to help ensure the safety of LGBTQ people from police harassment and violence, including:
Many states continue to advance laws that seek to further police LGBTQ life, including efforts to censor drag performers and criminalize transgender people who use public restrooms consistent with their gender identity. As outlined in our memo, Trump on LGBTQ Rights, former President Donald Trump and the extremists behind Project 2025 want to go even further, weaponizing the federal government to criminalize gender nonconformity and ordering the Department of Justice to repeal protections for incarcerated transgender people.
But many of these problems are perpetuated at the local level–often by the very same cities and municipalities who proudly host pride parades or fly rainbow flags on their police cruisers. LGBTQ people and our allies shouldn’t be fooled by flashy but shallow shows of support or lofty social media statements from police departments about “inclusion.” More than half a century after Stonewall, communities have a duty to move past symbolism and move us closer to a future built on safety, respect, and freedom.
Emily Greytak, ACLU; Jordan Grasso, University of California, Irvine; and Stefan Vogler, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign contributed to this article.
© Travis Dove for The Washington Post, via Getty Images
© Victor Moriyama for The New York Times
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