Quit if you don’t like our office-working policy, Amazon executive suggests
How Britain’s ‘brown babies’ were hidden away: the secret history of the first mixed race orphanage
At least 2,000 babies were born to Black GIs stationed in Britain during the second world war and a home was created for some of them: Holnicote House in Somerset. Those who grew up there are now telling their storiesWhen Carol Edwards and her daughter went on a walking weekend to Holnicote House, a hotel on Exmoor in Somerset, a guide gave them a tour of the property, explaining the estate’s 500-year history. “The story ended at about 1945,” Edwards says. “So afterwards, I said to him: ‘You missed a section out.’” Edwards knew this because she had lived at Holnicote House for the first five years of her life, along with 25 other children like her, immediately after the second world war
Former archbishop of Canterbury urges C of E bishops in Lords to back assisted dying bill
George Carey, the former archbishop of Canterbury, has urged Church of England bishops in the House of Lords to back a parliamentary bill on assisted dying, saying that in the past “church leaders have often shamefully resisted change”.The 26 bishops should “be on the side of those who … want a dignified, compassionate end to their lives”, Lord Carey told the Guardian.Carey, who retired as leader of the C of E in 2002 and still sits in the Lords, said he would back Kim Leadbeater’s bill to legalise assisted dying “because it is necessary, compassionate and principled”.He said it was “ironic that I will represent the vast majority of Anglicans who favour change, and the bishops in the House of Lords will not”.Carey’s position is in stark contrast to that of the current archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, who this week described Leadbeater’s bill as dangerous, saying it could put pressure on people to ask for an assisted death
Labour to bring in ‘own reforms’ to benefits system to save £3bn
Labour will bring its “own reforms” to the benefits system in order to make £3bn worth of cuts, rather than stick to Conservative plans, a minister has suggested.The work and pensions minister Alison McGovern was asked by Times Radio why Labour was pressing ahead with plans made by the previous Tory government to amend work capability rules.The Daily Telegraph reported on Friday that the government planned to cut £3bn from the welfare bill by tightening access to sickness benefits, honouring the Tories’ proposals to make savings over four years by changing the work capability assessment.McGovern said: “Like all departments, the Department for Work and Pensions has to make savings because we are in a terrible financial situation. To be clear, on that point we will bring forward our own reforms because the last 14 years have been a complete failure when it comes to employment
Rachel Reeves considers raising tax on vapes in autumn budget
Rachel Reeves is considering raising the tax on vaping products in her budget this month as figures show that a quarter of 11 to 15-year-olds in England have used e-cigarettes.The chancellor is looking at increasing the tax after a consultation carried out by the last Conservative government.In his budget in March, Jeremy Hunt announced a tax on vaping products, which is due to take effect in October 2026, in a move to make vaping unaffordable for children.NHS figures on Thursday revealed that one in four children aged 11-15 in England tried vaping in 2023 – up from 22% two years earlier – with almost one in 10 (9%) using e-cigarettes regularly. By comparison, 11% said they had tried cigarettes
‘You are our champion’: solidarity springs up for Gisèle Pelicot around the world
From Australia to Belgium, the French woman at the centre of a mass rape trial has galvanised conversations about sexual violenceShe has been hailed as a feminist hero across France, commended for her courage at rallies across the country and applauded by supporters each time she enters or leaves the courtroom in the southern city of Avignon.But the tributes to Gisèle Pelicot – the woman at the centre of a horrifying mass rape trial that has shaken France to its core – also come from far beyond the country’s borders. Since the trial began in September, solidarity has been expressed around the world, hinting at the role she has played in galvanising a global conversation around sexual violence.From Australia to Austria, many have closely tracked the news emerging from the courtroom in Provence, where Pelicot’s ex-husband, Dominique, is accused of drugging her for nearly a decade and recruiting men to rape her while she was unconscious. Fifty other men are also on trial for alleged rape
Repair bill for crumbling NHS buildings in England soars to almost £14bn
The cost of repairing crumbling NHS buildings in England has soared to almost £14bn, prompting warnings that patients and staff are at risk from falling roofs and faulty equipment.The repair bill faced by the health service to make its estate fit for purpose has more than trebled from £4.5bn in 2012-13 to £13.8bn last year, according to NHS England data.The latest bill means that, for the first time since records began, it would cost the NHS more to eradicate its maintenance backlog than the £13
Kimmel on Trump’s town hall dance: ‘swaying like a manatee tangled in seaweed’
Jerry Seinfeld says he was ‘wrong’ to blame ‘extreme left’ for killing comedy
Kimmel on Trump’s latest attacks: ‘When they go low, they go really low’
Calls for ACCC investigation into live music industry amid warnings artists may be getting ‘ripped off’
‘It’s quite a thing to do a show here and openly use the word looting’: artist Hew Locke on decolonising the British Museum
Sculpture by the Sea 2024: giant melanoma on Sydney beach to deliver ‘message that will be hard to ignore’