• 運動人士指出,公共空間保護令(PSPOs)正被用於將各種日常活動刑事化。
• 五分之一的地方議會根據新的「愛管閒事」指令禁止咒罵,而 2022 年這一比例僅為二十分之一。
• Campaign for Freedom in Everyday Life 的一份新報告發現,英格蘭與威爾斯的議會正利用最初旨在解決嚴重反社會行為的公共空間保護令(PSPOs),將包括群聚站立、大聲叫喊和撿石頭在內的各種日常活動刑事化。
針對英格蘭中學數學教學的研究,顛覆了關於混能教育(mixed-ability education)數十年的爭論。研究顯示,在按能力分班的班級中教學,能提升優等生的成績,但不會影響程度較低學生的進步。University College London 的 Institute of Education 進行的研究發現,英格蘭中學中先前數學表現強勁的學生,在混能班級中的進步速度,比與能力相近的學生共同學習時較慢。閱讀更多...
Climate group calls for urgent windfall tax on excess fossil fuel profits, as delegates tell Colombia conference their nations are sufferingThe Middle East oil and gas crunch will impose as much as a trillion dollars of additional costs on the global economy while petroleum companies rake in spectacular profits from elevated fuel prices, analysis has revealed.The uneven distribution of risk and reward comes amid rising concern that the US-Israeli attack on Iran is worsening inequality, poverty and hunger across a world that has become dangerously dependent on fossil fuels. Continue reading...
Monarch to allude to recent strains in special relationship in speech to both houses during four-day state visitKing Charles is expected to allude to recent strains between the UK and US in a rare address by a monarch to the US Congress as he will underline that “time and again our two countries have always found ways to come together”.The king’s remarks in a speech to both houses on Tuesday come after Donald Trump has threatened to tear up a trade deal signed by the UK and US, mocked the Royal Navy and insulted the UK prime minister. Continue reading...
Journalists face rising threats while media ownership is concentrated in fewer hands, leading civil liberties group warnsJournalists in the EU face increasing levels of harassment, threats and violence, while news outlets are owned by a shrinking number of proprietors and public trust in the media has plummeted, a report has found.The Civil Liberties Union for Europe (Liberties) said the findings of its fifth annual media freedom report, released on Tuesday, should place EU officials “on high alert”, with media freedom and pluralism “under sustained attack” across mainland Europe. Continue reading...
NAHT survey says widespread disrepair forcing closure of playgrounds and classrooms, with Send facilities also hitHalf of headteachers say parts of their school are either out of use or unfit for purpose due to leaks, damp, mould, asbestos, ageing boilers and malfunctioning fire doors, according to a new survey by the National Association of Head Teachers(NAHT).Among those who say their schools are suffering, almost three-quarters (73%) say they have toilet blocks that are either closed (8%) or not fit for purpose (65%). Continue reading...
Exclusive: Health Foundation says Britain is ‘going backwards’ compared with most other rich countriesFindings on healthy life expectancy in UK shed light on its deteriorating healthPeople in the UK are spending fewer years in good health than a decade ago, prompting concern that the population’s health is “going backwards”.The sharp decline in Britain’s healthy life expectancy, the amount of time someone spends free of illness or disability, is in sharp contrast to its recent rise in most other rich countries globally. Continue reading...
Metric gives fuller picture than life expectancy, which is simply how long people live, says Health Foundation People in UK spend fewer years in good health than a decade ago, study findsThe obesity crisis, the record 2.8 million working-age Britons too sick to do so and the rising prevalence of mental illness are sobering reminders that the UK population’s health is not good.But even for those familiar with this troubling situation, the Health Foundation’s analysis of the latest Office for National Statistics figures on healthy life expectancy sheds uncomfortable new light on the country’s poor and deteriorating health. Continue reading...
Researchers find ‘alarming’ effect on fertility across global species from simultaneous exposuresSimultaneous exposure to toxic chemicals and climate change’s impacts likely generates an additive or synergistic effect that increases reproductive harm, and may contribute to the broad global drop in fertility, new peer-reviewed research finds.The review of scientific literature considers how endocrine-disrupting chemicals, often found in plastic, coupled with climate change’s effects, such as heat stress, are each linked to reductions in fertility and fecundity across global species – including in humans, wildlife and invertebrates. Continue reading...
Study of 1,300 campaigners finds arrests, fines and jail terms increase determination of activists to take direct actionThe criminalisation of direct action climate protests in the UK is counterproductive and increases the determination of activists to undertake disruptive demonstrations, according to a study of 1,300 campaigners.New findings suggest arrests, fines and lengthy prison sentences given to nonviolent climate protesters who have blocked roads or damaged buildings may actually radicalise them. The repression of protest could even be one driver of recent covert actions such as the cutting of internet cables, they said. Continue reading...
Charlotte MacInnes, who is suing Wilson for defamation, says social media post from Ramona Agruma-Wilson featuring animated character Dory, made her feel ‘awful’Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastA rising star who is suing Rebel Wilson says she felt mocked by the Hollywood actor’s wife appearing to reference her testimony in a social media post.Charlotte MacInnes launched defamation proceedings against the Pitch Perfect star over social media posts that claimed she had made a sexual harassment complaint and retracted it to further her career. Continue reading...
Seven-day-old Poppy Hope Lomas died after complications during home birth encouraged by midwives at Barnet hospitalA mother who lost her baby a week after an “unsafe” home birth that went against medical advice was failed by the NHS, an inquest has found.Poppy Hope Lomas was seven days old when she died at University College hospital in London on 26 October 2022 after complications during a home birth that, according to her mother, was encouraged by midwives at Barnet hospital. Continue reading...
YouGov survey shows cross-party consensus – but that many fear abortion access could be reduced New polling has found that whatever their party political leanings, an overwhelming majority of people support the right to access an abortion – although young people, in particular, fear reproductive rights may be reduced.The YouGov polling, commissioned by MSI Reproductive Choices to mark its 50th anniversary, found nine in 10 people support the right to access an abortion. Continue reading...
Bristol University project aims to help directors make better movies and take greater risks – with one already onboardAt first glance, it looks like any high-end cinema: booming surround sound, a razor-sharp 4K projector and rows of reclining seats. But instead of clutching popcorn, a headset records my brain activity and a heart rate monitor wraps around my arm while infra-red cameras capture every blink and fidget.I’m sitting in a one-of-a-kind cinema at the University of Bristol where researchers are studying how people respond to what they see on screen. By combining viewers’ physical reactions with verbal feedback on the parts of the film they found most compelling, the team hopes to understand which moments truly grip attention – and whether that insight could help film-makers create better movies and take greater creative risks. Continue reading...
Police chief says human remains had been in a wooded area for years and did not match local missing persons reportsSign up for the Breaking News US email to get newsletter alerts in your inboxMemphis police have found the remains of three children in an area of woodland, saying they had probably been there “for several years”.Police said the children are believed to have been between three and seven years old. Continue reading...
More than 70% have cut down in past year on teaching assistants, who play key role in helping children with SendTwo-fifths of school leaders in England have been forced to cut back on support for children with special educational needs due to a financial crisis “more than a decade in the making”, according to a poll.Seven out of 10 (71%) leaders say they have cut down on teaching assistants (TAs) in the past year, while 49% have reduced support staff. The crisis could escalate as 81% warn of further cuts in the year ahead. Continue reading...
NSW and Queensland governments ‘severely underdelivered’ on promised infrastructure to improve water flows, independent review findsGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastTwo state governments have drastically underdelivered more than $160m in infrastructure measures to improve river health in the northern Murray-Darling basin eight years since they were promised, a major independent review has found.This includes failure by the New South Wales government to secure any of the private land access needed to improve water flows over floodplains in the state’s Gwydir region where scientists had to scramble to rescue turtles in dried up wetlands last week. Continue reading...
Independent inquiry into Bristol Brunel Academy found visit by Damien Egan was postponed solely on safeguarding groundsAn independent inquiry into a Bristol secondary school, which found itself at the centre of a media storm after postponing a visit by a local Jewish MP, has found no evidence of antisemitism or influence from lobby groups.Damien Egan, the Labour MP for Bristol North East and vice-chair of Labour Friends of Israel, was due to visit Bristol Brunel Academy (BBA) last September to talk to students about democracy and his work in parliament. Continue reading...
Research shows natural hazards linked to climate crisis disrupted 23 elections in 18 countries in 2024Democracy is under mounting threat from the climate crisis, with new analysis documenting how elections are increasingly shaped not only by political forces but also by floods, wildfires and extreme weather.At least 94 elections and referendums across 52 countries have been disrupted by climate-related impacts over the last two decades, researchers found. Continue reading...
Two staff suspended after damning review finds department was warned last December that triple murderer Regina Arthurell was living in the homeFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastTwo staff members in the New South Wales Department of Communities and Justice have been suspended following a review into why two foster children went to live with a convicted triple killer.The review, which was made public on Wednesday, found “significant failures” by the department led to foster children aged 12 and 14 living alongside convicted murderer Regina Arthurell until her removal from the home last month. Continue reading...