‘We just go to the park’: making the most of Easter in a child-poverty hotspot

In Manningham in Bradford 72% of children live below the poverty line. The national average is 22% ‘The whole policy is wrong’: rebellion among Labour MPs grows over £5bn benefits cutWhile some British children will be going on holiday, playing with ­high-end games consoles or ­spending a week at a holiday club, for many ­children the Easter break is ­somewhat different.Manningham in Bradford has the second highest rate of child poverty in the UK, with nearly three-­quarters, 72%, of children living below the ­poverty line, according to the latest data from the Department for Work and Pensions, released earlier this month. This compares with a national average of 22%.Zayn, Mahmood and Abdi, 13-year-olds who go to the same school, were hanging out on a Manningham housing estate after playing football

‘The whole policy is wrong’: rebellion among Labour MPs grows over £5bn benefits cut

Labour MPs opposed to the government’s massive £5bn of benefit cuts say they will refuse to support legislation to implement them, even if more money is offered by ministers to alleviate child poverty in an attempt to win them over.Legislation will be introduced to the House of Commons in early June to allow the cuts to come into force. They will include tightening the criteria for personal independence payments (Pip) for people with disabilities, to limit the number of people who can claim it. Under the changes, people who are not able to wash the lower half of their body, for example, will no longer be able to claim Pip unless they have another limiting condition.A major rebellion appears to be hardening on the Labour benches rather than subsiding, despite frantic efforts by whips and government ministers to talk MPs round

Doncaster prisoners could sue government over exposure to radon gas

The government faces further potential legal action over concerns about levels of radon gas at a second prison, after Dartmoor jail was forced to close.Ministry of Justice officials have ordered radon detection equipment to be installed at Lindholme prison near Doncaster in South Yorkshire, where prisoners have reported ­feeling unwell with symptoms such as ­headaches, rashes and fever.There are concerns about the risks of inhaling radioactive particles that can cause lung cancer.Radon, a naturally occurring gas, is the second leading cause of lung cancer after smoking in the UK. There are concerns that the levels in Lindholme could be several times over the domestic safety limit

‘One hell of a turnout’: trans activists rally in London against gender ruling

After last week’s supreme court decision, activists had been worried that trans people might become fearful of going out in public in case they were abused.They weren’t afraid in London on Saturday. Thousands of trans and non-binary people thronged Parliament Square, alongside families and supporters waving baby blue, white and pink flags to demonstrate their anger at the judges’ ruling.The numbers seemed to take the organisers and police by surprise. Protesters from a hastily assembled coalition of 24 groups gathered in a ring against the barriers surrounding the grass and began speeches

‘There were no warning signs’: what happens when your partner falls into the ‘manosphere’?

Samantha thought of her partner as the most progressive man she had ever had a relationship with. Her Swedish boyfriend seemed, to her, more feminist than many British men she had dated.“I never had to ask him to clear up,” she says. “All our labour was shared. He had done therapy

Microplastics found in human ovary follicular fluid for the first time

Microplastics have been found for the first time in human ovary follicular fluid, raising a new round of questions about the ubiquitous and toxic substances’ potential impact on women’s fertility.The new peer-reviewed research published in Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety checked for microplastics in the follicular fluid of 18 women undergoing assisted reproductive treatment at a fertility clinic in Salerno, Italy, and detected them in 14.Follicular fluid provides essential nutrients and biochemical signals for developing eggs. Contaminating that process with bits of plastic quite likely has implications for fertility, hormonal balance and overall reproductive health, the authors wrote.The findings represent a major step toward figuring out how and why microplastics impact women’s reproductive health, but are also “very alarming”, Luigi Montano, a researcher at the University of Rome and study lead author, said