Political analysts say president-elect cannot resist chaos' as he preps administration across ideological spectrumDuring Donald Trump's first administration, his vice-president became the target of an angry mob amid calls for him to be hanged. His top diplomat was fired via Twitter and branded dumb as a rock". His first attorney general was given his marching orders and called very weak" and disgraceful".Despite it all, Trump has had no trouble recruiting a team eager to serve when he returns to the White House in January, even if his initial pick for attorney general, Matt Gaetz, was forced to back out amid allegations of sexual misconduct. Continue reading...
When people face financial pressure and child poverty is so high, it's hard to prioritise family readingOn the shelf in my son's bedroom is a row of picture books that once belonged to me. Sometimes, I like to look at them, and be immediately transported back to my own childhood. There's The Three Wonderful Beggars, by Sally Scott, a retelling of the Serbian fairytale; and The Whales' Song, by Dyan Sheldon and Gary Blythe, about a little girl who sneaks out at night in the hope of hearing the sea creatures call to one another.These books conjured vivid worlds for me, and there's something magical about being able to tap into that still, all these years later. This week, I read an interesting report about the so-called crisis" in kids' literacy, which, while worrying, is somewhat overblown. The real concern, it seems, is not to do with test scores measuring the ability to read, but the plummeting number of children reading for pleasure. In 2020, only 17% of US 13-year-olds read for fun every day, compared with 27% in 2012. The numbers in the UK are higher, but also on a downward trajectory. The National Literacy Trust found 35% of eight- to 18-year-olds said they regularly read for pleasure in 2024, which is the lowest figure since measurements began two decades ago.Rhiannon Lucy Cosslett is a Guardian columnist and author Continue reading...
Making dying easier is not the solution when NHS, social and palliative care are simply not there for patientsThe succession of former prime ministers who lined up in recent days to assert their compassion for the dying was quite something. David Cameron, Theresa May, Liz Truss, Boris Johnson - all of them wanting us to know just how much they cared. Imagine if this roll call of political powerhouses - each of whom was better placed than anyone to improve the fate of those with terminal diagnoses - had used that power, while in office, to do something concrete, tangible, to alleviate the terminal suffering that allegedly touched them so deeply. Imagine, in other words, if their actions then had matched their fine words now.I don't doubt the strength of feeling behind this vote in favour of legalising assisted dying in England and Wales, but as someone who has cared for thousands of people with terminal illnesses, I have to wonder at its sincerity. Because every prime minister over the last 20 years - and every MP for that matter - knows full well that much (though not all) of the pain and misery of dying can be alleviated with good palliative care. They also know how much suffering at the end of life is caused by basic NHS, social and palliative care simply not being there for patients. Wes Streeting went one step further. The health secretary cited the threadbare realities of our underfunded, patchy, palliative care services as his primary reason for voting against the bill, stating (correctly) that the postcode lottery in care denies many patients a genuine choice at the end of life.Rachel Clarke is a palliative care doctor and the author of Breathtaking: Inside the NHS in a Time of Pandemic Continue reading...
From selfie' to slop', internet culture is changing our languageIt started with chav" and has included carbon footprint", omnishambles" and selfie". The Oxford word of the year campaign celebrates 20 years of selecting the word - or sometimes two words - that in some way sums up the moment. This year's winner, decided by public vote, will be announced on Monday.All six contenders on the shortlist have one thing in common - the internet. The words either refer to anxieties about online phenomena or behaviour (slop", meaning AI-generated content, and brain rot" caused by consuming too much slop" and other material); or they have been repurposed or popularised by social media (old-fashioned words such as demure" and lore", and romantasy" - a blend of romance and fantasy beloved by BookTokkers). Even dynamic pricing" relates to Ticketmaster's skyrocketing costs ofOasis reunion tickets for fans in virtual queues. Continue reading...
Thousands of people ventured out in the rain to watch the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade , with beloved floats, including Minnie Mouse and Sponge Bob, sailing down the parade route. The 98th annual parade, televised nationwide, is part of the tradition of the US Thanksgiving Day holiday, a spectacle of giant balloons of cartoon characters, marching bands and popular music acts performing live. Similar events took place in Chicago, where an array of floats, marching bands and cultural performers marched down State Street. Continue reading...
Emma Hayes is keen for her Olympic champions to keep progressing in Saturday's friendly meeting with EnglandLindsey Horan's nails are painted gold and she gives an embarrassed laugh when asked whether they are a celebration of the US team's Olympic gold in Paris, a statement to Saturday's opposition of their status. No, it was supposed to be brown chrome," she says, going a little red. It was a translation problem."Her manager, Emma Hayes, sitting beside her at Tottenham's training ground before the game against England at Wembley, chips in: She has got the most incredible necklace, though." The five Olympic rings hang round Horan's neck in gold and the captain promises she will get Hayes one. Continue reading...
From defence to trade, the incoming US president is upending the old order - and standing apart from our neighbours leaves us dangerously exposedIt's one damned thing after another. As Keir Starmer is discovering, government, like life, can feel like a fusillade of events, each coming faster than the one before. If it's not a cabinet minister resigning over a past fraud conviction, it's MPs voting for assisted dying - and that's just in one day. Through that blizzard of news, it can be hard to make out the lasting changes in the landscape - even those that have profound implications for our place in the world.The November 2024 event that will have the most enduring global impact is the election of Donald Trump. There are some in the higher reaches of the UK government who are surprisingly relaxed about that fact, reassuring themselves that, in effect, we got through it once, we'll get through it again. Yes, they admit, Trump has nominated some crazy people to lead in areas crucial to the UK-US relationship, such as defence and intelligence, but don't worry, officials in London will do what they did last time: work with like-minded counterparts in the Washington bureaucracy to bypass the Trump loyalists at the top.Jonathan Freedland is a Guardian columnist Continue reading...
The LGBTQ+ community has been here before - and learned that real change happens when activists are front and centerThe ascendency of Donald Trump to his second presidency is fraught with anxiety and fear for many Americans, particularly gay Americans. Books with queer themes are already being removed from school and public libraries. Trans people are being denied the right to use bathrooms or be on sports teams that align with their gender. Trans medical care is under attack in many states. Diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs that may help LGBTQ+ people as well as others are being eliminated. Justice Clarence Thomas has broached revisiting" the supreme court decisions that legalized same-sex marriage.Many queer activists - panicked, tenacious, resolute - are asking what we can do in the face of these attacks that seek to dismantle basic rights and access that were presumed permanent. The enormity and consequentiality of this battle feels like being swept heedlessly into uncharted waters. We are rummaging through US history to find precedents for why Trump won and how to confront the damage he may cause.Working behind the scenes is necessary, but real change happens when activists are front and centerMichael Bronski is an American academic and writer, best known for his 2011 book A Queer History of the United States. He has been involved with LGBT politics since 1969 as an activist and organizer Continue reading...
by Hannah Al-Othman North of England correspondent on (#6SK6H)
Peter Young says agency sought information from him about Daniel Andreas San Diego, who was on most wanted terrorists' listA former animal rights activist who was on the run from the FBI for more than seven years claims that he was offered a deal to inform on one of the organisation's most wanted fugitives who was arrested this week in Wales.Peter Young, 47, who now lives in Boulder, Colorado, went on the run after being indicted in 1998 over a string of fur farm raids across three states the previous year. He was jailed in the US for two years in 2005 after spending years hiding from the FBI in the UK. Continue reading...
Both sides have key absences but England hope to learn from going toe-to-toe with Emma Hayes's resurgent sideThe prospect of the European champions hosting the Olympic champions induces sufficient intrigue on its own. But add in the triumphant return to Wembley of Emma Hayes, and an England side with plenty to improve on after losing to Germany last time they played at the national stadium, and this is much more than a friendly between the top-ranked sides in the world.For an England team hoping to retain their title at next summer's Euros in Switzerland, there is no greater yardstick than to test themselves against the USA, who are ranked No 1 and have appeared fully rejuvenated since Hayes left Chelsea to take charge in May. Continue reading...
As Germany and France struggle, Keynesian stimulus alone cannot pull them out of their malaiseAs Europe prepares for a potential trade war after the US president-elect, Donald Trump, takes office in January, its two largest economies are struggling. While Germany is heading into its second consecutive year of zero growth, France is expected to grow by less than 1% in 2025.Is Europe's economic stagnation the result of insufficient Keynesian stimulus, or are its bloated and sclerotic welfare states to blame? Either way, it is clear that those who believe simple measures such as higher budget deficits or lower interest rates can solve Europe's problems are detached from reality. Continue reading...
If Putin allowed to reduce Ukraine to vassal state he will not stop there', Richard Moore says in plea to TrumpAbandoning Ukraine would jeopardise British, European and American security and lead to infinitely higher" costs in the long term, the head of MI6 has warned in a speech that amounted to a plea to Donald Trump to continue supporting Kyiv.Richard Moore, giving a rare speech, said he believed Vladimir Putin would not stop" at Ukraine if he was allowed to subjugate it in any peace talks involving the incoming US Republican administration. Continue reading...
Tensions during travel aren't only about conflicting agendas. The lack of familiar patterns can leave us rattled at the vast randomness of the universeAre you doing that thing of always contradicting every single word I say?" he, accusing, looked up from his phone map.No, I'm not." She, petulant, stopped and stood by her suitcase. Continue reading...
Young people are admitting that going out is awful. Plus, is it the end for Gwyneth Paltrow's vaginal maintenance empire Goop?Today I begin three days of being locked in a tiny, soundproofed, windowless room, alone except for a book. In so many ways, it is the dream. The only flaw is that the book is one I wrote and I have to read it aloud into a microphone so that it may be recorded and turned into an audiobook. So really, it's three days of continuous talking and of periodically hearing your voice played back to you so that you can hear where you went wrong. In other words, the nightmare. Continue reading...
US expert says models showed voters did not seek sweeping transformation. Plus: hiker found alive after 50 days lostGood morning.Despite Donald Trump's decisive victory in the presidential election, a political scientist who developed a model that correctly predicted his sweep of battleground states warns that voters have not necessarily given the president-elect a mandate to make radical changes.What did Trump's Ukraine envoy pick controversially propose? The retired lieutenant general Keith Kellogg has written that the US could help end the war by withdrawing weapons from Ukraine if it does not enter peace talks - and giving even more weapons to Ukraine if Russia does not do the same.What's Musk's latest big idea? The tech billionaire Elon Musk, who has been tapped to run a department of government efficiency" has said he wants to delete" the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, a federal watchdog that helps protect consumers from predatory financial practices.Did they discuss tariffs? No, according to Sheinbaum, but she nevertheless said that her conversation with Trump had reassured her that no tit-for-tat tariff battle would be needed in future. Continue reading...
Boris Epshteyn, Susie Wiles and JD Vance hold outsized influence in the president-elect's administration selectionsDonald Trump's picks for the incoming administration are being shaped by a combination of different power centers including one-man influences like top Trump adviser Boris Epshteyn and combined groups led by chief of staff Susie Wiles and vice-president-elect JD Vance.The president-elect appears to have settled on a number of cabinet nominees himself without being aggressively pushed by advisers, including Pete Hegseth for defense secretary, Marco Rubio for secretary of state and Russ Vought to lead the Office of Management and Budget. Continue reading...
Leaders from Los Angeles to Chicago organize in preparation of a vengeance-filled Trump agendaMike Johnston, the mayor of Denver, joined a drumbeat of local leaders in left-leaning cities across the country earlier this month to say he's willing to protest the incoming Trump administration's expected mass deportation efforts.He told local outlet Denverite that Denver police would be stationed at the county line" to keep federal authorities out. It's like the Tiananmen Square moment with the rose and the gun, right?" he said. He then walked back the comments about using local police, but still said he would protest deportations - even being willing to go to jail for it. Continue reading...
Growing rates of infectious disease in state's most populous region could indicate increased vaccine hesitancy'In deep blue Colorado, one of the only states that did not shift right in the 2024 presidential election, vaccine advocates see openings for Robert F Kennedy Jr.An environmental lawyer and the nation's most prominent propagator of vaccine misinformation, Kennedy is now the embodiment of where left meets right - the scion of a political dynasty who first ran as a Democratic presidential candidate and is now slated to join president-elect Trump's administration as the nominee to head the Department of Health and Human Services. Continue reading...
Whatever happens in Australia and the rest of 2025, Murray taking the role of Djokovic's corner man is a unique and somewhat joyful coda to this golden era in the sportIn June 1990, just minutes after his shocking first-round defeat to upset specialist Derrick Rostagno at Wimbledon, a suddenly aging and forlorn John McEnroe sat down with NBC's Bud Collins, along with rival Jimmy Connors, for an interview. Connors was working for NBC that summer as an analyst while nursing a wrist injury.It was a rare moment of revealing, subdued reflection from the usually fiery McEnroe. The loquacious New Yorker spoke about his disappointment with himself and his level of play and how difficult it had become to balance family life and a pro tennis career. Connors pointed out that his fellow Irish-American seemed to be lacking direction and was in need of advice on how to proceed. Continue reading...
I've been punished for using the term genocide' - but hope for peace and justice must be kept alive in Israel and PalestineThe arrest warrants issued by the international criminal court (ICC) against Israel's prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, and former defence minister Yoav Gallant caught many in the international community by surprise. How is it that a perceived constitutional democracy, bound by the rule of law, with a supposedly autonomous judiciary, could allegedly be in such grave violation of international laws and norms?However, those who have observed, in horror and shock, the unfolding genocide over the past year needed no revelation by the ICC to know the extent of the war crimes and atrocities committed in Gaza. Palestinians, in the ruins of bombarded Gaza, the occupied West Bank, or illegally annexed East Jerusalem, were undoubtedly not surprised. For decades, generation after generation of Palestinians have been deprived of their basic rights and liberties under the auspices of the Israeli occupation. For them, the idea of an Israeli rule of law is as absurd as any colonial attempt to legitimise tyranny through hollow legality. Continue reading...
The cost of truly replacing Salah would almost certainly be steeper than the price of keeping him. Just ask Boston how their Mookie Betts succession plan has panned outFenway Sports Group, the John W Henry-led company that holds a controlling stake in Liverpool FC, doesn't need to look too far back into its own history to find a lesson that should signpost a resolution to Mohamed Salah's contract situation.In February 2020, Mookie Betts was one of the best baseball players on the planet. He was a little over a year removed from powering the Boston Red Sox - also owned by FSG - to a World Series triumph. He was 27 years old, at the peak of his powers. He was an American League MVP and a four-time All-Star. He was also about to become a free agent. Continue reading...
Sales employees complain of understaffing, overwork and violence in frenzied run-up to Christmas seasonFor workers in retail, the day after Thanksgiving, Black Friday, marks the beginning of the busiest time of year.Though the nature of shopping has changed in recent years, with online purchases competing more with brick and mortar sales and sales days" lasting for weeks at a time, US retail sales between Black Friday and so-called Cyber Monday (at the end of the holiday weekend) are projected to grow 5% this year in the US, hitting a record $75bn. Continue reading...
We need to hear out family and friends who feel mainstream parties have let them down. This was a cry for helpLast Sunday, my country was jolted awake by a collective shock. For days, we've been consumed by one name: Clin Georgescu. His unexpected rise to the top in the first round of Romania's presidential elections has polarised the country to an extent unseen since we became a democracy 35 years ago.Romania's streets, screens and dining tables are abuzz with debates about how a fringe far-right and ultra-nationalist candidate managed to capture the nation's attention - and votes. Protesters, many of them young, have already taken to the streets. Continue reading...
Campaigners on both sides dub the bill a matter of conscience' - but profound ethical issues can't be reduced to right v wrongLife moves slow until, suddenly, it doesn't. The last time MPs voted on assisted dying was in 2015, with the next decade marked by near silence on the issue, as Brexit and austerity dominated the agenda. On Friday, a mere 18 days after the legislation was first published, MPs will vote on the landmark terminally ill adults (end of life) bill that could, in time, see the right to die become law in England and Wales.None of this will feel fast enough for the late-stage cancer patients waiting for the autonomy to die as they choose, of course, not least those for whom it has come too late to end their suffering, or the loved ones who had to helplessly watch. And yet by any other definition, it is hard to escape the sense that the bill has been rushed. Britain's longest-serving MPs, Labour's Diane Abbott and the Conservative Sir Edward Leigh, last week issued a joint warning arguing that MPs have not had sufficient time to scrutinise the proposed law.Frances Ryan is a Guardian columnistDo you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here. Continue reading...
Jim Himes, Joe Courtney and John Larson report threats to their homes, a day after Trump cabinet picks targetedSeveral Democratic members of Congress from Connecticut have been targeted by bomb threats on their homes, the lawmakers or their offices said on Thursday.
Sheinbaum says she had cooperative talks with president-elect who threatened 25% tariff against Mexico on TuesdayClaudia Sheinbaum has said her very kind" phone conversation with Donald Trump, in which they discussed immigration and fentanyl, means there will not be a potential tariff war" between the US and Mexico.The president of Mexico spoke to reporters on Thursday following Trump's threat earlier in the week to apply a 25% tariff against Mexico and Canada, and an additional 10% tariff against China, when he takes office in January if the countries did not stop all illegal immigration and fentanyl smuggling into the US. Continue reading...
In a co-authored document presented to Trump in April, Keith Kellogg also said US should give Ukraine more weapons if Russia doesn't join negotiationsDonald Trump's plan to tap the retired US lieutenant general Keith Kellogg as US envoy to Ukraine and Russia has triggered renewed interest in a policy document he co-authored that proposes ending the war by withdrawing weapons from Ukraine if it doesn't enter peace talks - and giving even more weapons to Ukraine if Russia doesn't do the same.Trump is said to have responded favorably to the plan - America First, Russia & Ukraine - which was presented to him in April and was written by Kellogg and the former CIA analyst Fred Fleitz, who both served as chiefs of staff in Trump's national security council from 2017 to 2021. Continue reading...
US expert who predicted outcome says models showed voters were unhappy with economy but did not seek sweeping transformationDespite Donald Trump's decisive victory in the presidential election, a political scientist who developed a model that correctly predicted his sweep of battleground states warns that voters have not necessarily given the president-elect a mandate to make radical changes.In a paper released with little fanfare three weeks before the vote, Cornell University professor of government Peter Enns and his co-authors accurately forecast that Trump would win all seven swing states, based on a model they built that uses state-level presidential approval ratings and indicators of economic health. Continue reading...
by Ajit Niranjan Europe environment correspondent on (#6SJK7)
Scientists warn Fifa's wet bulb' temperature policy underestimates strain players undergo during matchesFootballers face a very high risk of experiencing extreme heat stress" at 10 of the 16 stadiums that will host the next World Cup, researchers have warned, as they urge sports authorities to rethink the timing of sports events.Hot weather and heavy exercise could force footballers to endure temperatures that feel higher than 49.5C (121.1F) in three North American countries in 2026, according to the study. It found they are most at risk of unacceptable thermal stress" in the stadiums in Arlington and Houston, in the US, and in Monterrey, in Mexico. Continue reading...
Esther Keim delivers frozen turkeys to people living in remote parts of Alaska, flying low over rural areas of the US state in her small plane. For her Alaska Turkey Bomb programme, she flies about 100 miles north from her base in Wasilla as far as the foothills of Denali, North America's tallest mountain. Sometimes she needs to enlist the help of a 'turkey dropper' to actually eject the frozen poultry from the plane. At other times, she's on turkey duty while her friend Heidi Hastings pilots the plane.Keim contacts families on social media to let them know she will be coming with the turkeys, then buzzes the house with the plane to let them know to come outside. All but two turkeys had been delivered by Tuesday, with delivery plans for the last two birds thwarted by Alaska's unpredictable weather. She makes an average of 30-40 turkey deliveries each year Continue reading...
After recent hurricanes devastated US south-east, some look to community as food and water remain in low supplyTucker Shelton grew up in Hendersonville, North Carolina, and then studied and taught yoga around the world - Italy, New Zealand, Thailand - which made him realize there was something special about life in the Blue Ridge Mountains.Being here feels like I'm being hugged by the trees and the mountains," Shelton, 36, said. People care about the town, the area they live in." Continue reading...
We want dragons, rose gardens and strong characters who are absolutely getting laid but whose relationships with men don't define themThe girls (inclusive) are fed up with reality. We are done with trying to improve ourselves or using our leisure time to learn something new. Instead we are reading smutty romance fantasy books in droves.Recently I was succumbing to a stress spiral and my friend recommended and then insisted I read a book that she enjoyed, and just like that my path into the cult was secured. Continue reading...
Hegseth's conspiracy theory- and falsehood-laden book American Crusade depicts Islam as historic enemy of westDonald Trump's defense secretary pick Pete Hegseth, who has the crusader motto deus vult" tattooed on his arm, has put bigoted anti-Muslim rhetoric at the center of several of his published books, according to a Guardian review of the materials.Hegseth, especially in 2020's American Crusade, depicts Islam as a natural, historic enemy of the west; presents distorted versions of Muslim doctrine in great replacement"-style racist conspiracy theories; treats leftists and Muslims as bound together in their efforts to subvert the US; and idolises medieval crusaders. Continue reading...
Deputy PM says we need to be smart, strong and united'. Plus: plastic lobbyists in rearguard action Don't already get First Thing in your inbox? Sign up hereGood morning.Canada's federal government and the premiers of the 10 provinces have agreed to work together against a threat by Donald Trump to impose sweeping tariffs on Canadian imports, with one official saying the country was already examining possible retaliatory measures.What are tariffs? A tariff is a tax on imports, or foreign goods brought into a country, paid for by the importing companies. The way that tariffs work, in Trump's mind, is that high tariffs will incentivize American companies to move their manufacturing from abroad to the US.What did political commentators have to say? Jeet Heer, a writer for the leftwing Nation magazine, said: Is it too much to ask for a little humility and self-reflection from the people whose strategies failed badly?" Continue reading...
Netanyahu has not suddenly turned dovish peacemaker. He can redeploy his troops or abandon the peace deal at any timeJoe Biden is making the most of the cessation of hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon that he helped to broker. It reminds us that peace is possible," he declared in the White House Rose Garden, where US presidents habitually preen rather than prune. Yet Biden's flowery self-congratulation jars at this fragile moment. It sounds like cruel mockery to the beleaguered people of Gaza.With the truce holding for a second day - despite some apparent breaches - Lebanon has been spared more death and wanton destruction, for now. Many people are celebrating and heading home to the south despite Israeli warnings. But Biden's belief that the accord will hasten a Gaza ceasefire, spike the guns of Iran and its proxies, and open the way to the wider regional settlement he has long sought finds scant justification in fact.Simon Tisdall is the Observer's foreign affairs commentatorDo you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here. Continue reading...
The legendary American writer initiated a relationship with a homeless teenager. Don't put a romantic spin on itAugusta Britt, now 64, says that she met the novelist Cormac McCarthy in 1976 beside a motel pool in Arizona. McCarthy, who died last year, was 42 at the time. Britt was 16. Britt says that she was quasi-homeless in those years, bouncing between an abusive family home and a series of abusive foster homes, and used to go to the motel so that she could shower in the pool's changing rooms without fear of men following her into the foster home bathrooms to sexually assault her.Britt says that when McCarthy saw her at the poolside he asked about a gun in a holster at her hip, and that she described some of her history of abuse to him and said that she'd stolen the gun from a foster father so that she would never be hit again. Continue reading...
New York parade has swapped lions and clowns for character balloons, but the festivity remains 100 years laterIt was a sight to behold: elephants marching through New York City streets, thousands of spectators crushed four and five deep on the sidewalks hoping to get a glimpse of the creatures.It was Thanksgiving Day 1924, and the elephants - accompanied by bears, monkeys, tigers, camels, donkeys and lions - were residents of the Central Park zoo, trotted out for a brand-new parade, sponsored by the department store Macy's. Continue reading...
I quickly learned that the decision to terminate a pregnancy wasn't purely a matter of 'my body, my choice'Roughly 36 hours after I first heard about the horrifying Maga taunt your body, my choice", I learned that I was pregnant, despite having a contraceptive coil. My relief that I lived in the UK, not the US - where abortion is rapidly becoming illegal or inaccessible at best - was profound. Yet I realised that I had no idea how to access abortion, having complacently assumed that it would always be available if I needed it. Some fraught Googling led me to the British Pregnancy Advisory Service. A couple of days later, I had my first appointment and very quickly learned that it wasn't purely my choice", even in Britain.Of all the words you don't want to hear by surprise, transvaginal" is up there. I thought the scan to determine how pregnant I was would be the kind where a technician slathers goop on your stomach. I wasn't told until I arrived that it would be internal, because of the assumed early gestation. A second surprise: the coil was gone, most likely sucked out by my period cup. Later that day, I had a phone consultation. The nurse told me two doctors would have to sign off on the termination and asked me to justify why my life would be negatively affected if I were forced to continue with the pregnancy. Horrified, I said I should just be able to say: I don't want to. She was extremely kind and agreed, but said this was a legal requirement under the Abortion Act.The author lives in LondonDo you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here. Continue reading...
London-listed company strikes deal with Fortress Investment Group, although shareholder approval neededThe cafe bar business Loungers has agreed to be bought by a US investment group in a deal that values it at about 338m.Fortress Investment Group said it had made an offer for the UK hospitality group through a newly formed investment vehicle. Continue reading...
We've climbed steadily from a place of little agency - waiting for the right partner to come along - before we could have childrenThe number of women without a partner having children by IVF or sperm donation has trebled in the past 10 years. IVF itself is not unproblematic; provision on the NHS varies wildly, with hurdles and prohibitions that range from random to downright cruel. There are trusts that won't offer it over the age of 35, others that won't if her partner has children from a previous relationship. Private clinics, meanwhile, can prey on people, gouging them for add-on treatments, exploiting hopes they know are unrealistic. Egg freezing - where numbers are also at a record high - is a similar racket, with the sector often accused of misleading promises or understating risks, and prices very high: the process typically costs 7,000. Fertility treatment, whether solo or with a partner, is not for sissies. Yet women's increasing confidence to do it outside of a traditional partnership illustrates a sea change in attitudes to how families are made, and a positive one.It's nearly 20 years since two obstetricians, Susan Bewley and Melanie Davies, published Which Career First: The most secure age for childbearing remains 20 to 35. I remember interviewing them at the time, feeling vexed by this intervention. In the surrounding media environment, various other ways of policing, judging and problematising female autonomy - abortion discourse, for instance - had passed out of fashion. Other hot-button issues that gave society licence to pass judgment on women's morality and fitness - such as breastfeeding and behaviours in pregnancy - were only just getting going. Fertility and the risks around leaving it too late" , however, were discussed constantly, and it had all the hallmarks of a patriarchal put-up job. People who didn't really give a stuff about infertility as a lived experience - the complexity and pain of it - nevertheless had extremely strong views over what kind of risk career women" posed to the greater good, and whether they would regret their choices down the line. The issue was used strategically to justify a broader opprobrium for women making any choices at all. I remember editors in the 90s (not at the Guardian!), always looking for starkest headline: anything along the lines of: Have a baby by the time you're 30, doctors warn", was the holy grail. Continue reading...
It took defeat in civil case against a woman who accused him of rape for brands and fans to disown UFC fighterSome good news at last for Conor McGregor. Probably there's a way of spinning it as bad news, which is what the scum mainstream media will do. But in the wake of his defeat in a Dublin civil case against a woman who accused him of raping her, as brands and fans scramble to disown him, as murals are hastily painted over across the island, you have to take your pledges of support where you can find them. Step forward: Andrew Tate.Bullshit ruling against Conor McGregor," Tate wrote from Romania, where he is facing his own legal issues, including charges of trafficking and rape. Women sleep with rich men and if that man doesn't fund their life afterwards, they lie and sue. Their brutal narcissism can't take the L of being undesired. We've set a dangerous precedent. It's literally impossible to be a man in the western world." Continue reading...
Deputy PM says we need to be smart, strong and united' after meeting on threat by US president-elect of a blanket 25% tax on imports from CanadaCanada's federal government and the premiers of the 10 provinces have agreed to work together against a threat by US president-elect Donald Trump to impose sweeping tariffs on Canadian imports, with one official saying the country was already examining possible retaliatory measures.We agreed that we need to be smart, strong and united in meeting this challenge," deputy prime minister Chrystia Freeland told reporters on Wednesday after a virtual meeting with the premiers called by the prime minister, Justin Trudeau. Continue reading...
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