Letters to the editor

Another day, another allegation of serious sexual assault committed by a parliamentarian. More than that, another Conservative. It’s becoming a bit of a habit. How odd that a party led by a notorious philanderer should be secretly hosting so many dangerous misogynists. This morning, an unnamed Tory MP, aged in his 50s, was bailed by police following arrest on suspicion of sexual offences dating back the mid 2000s, including rape, sexual assult, abuse of a position of trust and misconduct in public office. Though the whips have allowed him to retain his membership of the parliamentary party pending a conclusion to criminal proceedings (innocent until proven guilty, of course), he has been requested to stay away from Westminster . What a way to kick off canvassing in Wakefield and Tiverton and Honiton, both constituencies holding a by-election on 23 June due to the sitting MP departing after allegations of sexual misconduct. In Yorkshire, Imran Ahmad Khan is … [Read more...] about Porn, sexual assault, rape – Westminster’s dangerous underbelly is finally exposed

The hotel name Zoetry (in Zoetry Montego Bay Jamaica) has an umlaut mark over the letter “e.” For some travelers, all-inclusive hotels conjure up images of flavorless food served under a heat lamp in lush and vibrant destinations where guests never actually leave the resort grounds. Lower-tier liquor flows freely (the good stuff will cost you more), as the few overindulgers put a damper on the trip. That image is changing, as hotel companies expand their offerings, while redefining what all-inclusive means. HOTELS ARE GROWING THEIR ALL-INCLUSIVE BRANDS Many hotel companies are rapidly adding all-inclusive resorts to their portfolio. Hyatt’s acquisition of Apple Leisure Group in November 2021 made it one of the largest owners of luxury all-inclusive resorts in the world. That acquisition included the luxury-focused AMR Collection, which has beachfront properties in Mexico and Central America. That means there are now more than 100 new resorts for visitors (and where World of … [Read more...] about 2022 is the year of all-inclusive travel, and here’s why

After inflation hit a 40-year high of 9 per cent today, Conservative MPs, including some ministers, are again pointing the finger of blame at the Bank of England and its governor Andrew Bailey for raising interest rates too slowly. Worryingly, some senior Tories are even raising the question of whether the Bank should lose its operational independence on monetary policy,  threatening the 25-year consensus since Gordon Brown ceded the politicians’ control of interest rates to the Bank. Liam Fox, the former cabinet minister, argues the Bank should stick to its “day job” of hitting the government’s 2 per cent inflation target, rather than worrying about political matters such as climate change (though Rishi Sunak added that to the Bank’s mandate last year). Fox said : “There is a distinct feeling that those who should be protecting us from the debasement of our currency, the erosion of our earnings and the devaluation of our savings, have had their minds too much … [Read more...] about Giving the government control over interest rates would be a disaster

At present, I’m rehearsing my new autobiographical play, We Started To Sing . In order to do so I drive across London each morning at dawn to reach the Arcola Theatre, where the play is going on. All along the route, ageing white men with slight stoops stare down at me from electric billboards, advertising what they call freedom of speech, though what they’re actually advertising is a range of privately-owned talk show platforms . In the deserted early morning, they look like Easter Island statues, and they make me wonder: how would I feel if this world ended now, and this was what was left behind to stand for us all? Then I get to the Arcola and rehearse a play about my grandparents, whose generation gave their youths (and often their lives) to resist the fascist right, and built the welfare state ; who bequeathed to us this country we’re in the process of selling off at present . And I think, if all this ended, I’d feel such shame at being represented by those … [Read more...] about Yes, we need to ‘reclaim England’ – from the political right

Until a year ago, Soni Sori symbolised the plight of Bastar tribals — tortured, humiliated and caught in the conflict between Maoists and the state. But now, she is fast emerging as the face of a protest the tribals have launched against the violence and repression from the state as well as from the rebels. Many expected her to vanish from the political scene after she lost the 2014 Lok Sabha elections from Bastar, where she was the Aam Aadmi Party candidate. Instead, she started fighting for the tribals, at the forefront of every protest organised in Bastar in the last one year. “The police abducted a woman, named Sukadi, from the neighbouring Bade Gurbe village in November 2014 and claimed that she might have gone missing. They [the police] branded her husband Ayata Mandavi a Maoist and forced him to go into hiding. Soni Didi [sister] led our protest,” says Mudakram Sodi, Sarpanch of Jangampal village under the Kukanar police station in Sukma district. Sukadi was freed after … [Read more...] about Soni Sori continues as face of tribal protest

Lakshmi Das recites eight lines from Kumaran Asan’s poem, ‘Chandalabhikshuki’ , starting with ‘Innale cheythorabadham...’ and posts it as a voice note on a WhatsApp group comprising her students. Within the next four days, they post their renditions in the same group. Lakshmi gives feedback to each of them. That is how Thiruvananthapuram-based Lakshmi has been taking Kavyakeli classes for 30-plus students for a month now. She is among the four experts who are taking lessons in Kavyakeli for more than 130 students under an initiative launched by Vyloppilly Samskrithi Bhavan, a cultural centre in Thiruvanathapuram under Government of Kerala. The initiative was launched on April 15. Different from Aksharaslokam Although Kavyakeli is similar to Aksharaslokam as both entail recitation of Malayalam poems, there are some major differences. In Aksharaslokam, a quatrain with only Sanskrit meters ( vrutham ) are recited, while in Kavyakeli eight lines from a poem with Dravidian meters … [Read more...] about How Vyloppilly Samskrithi Bhavan in Thiruvananthapuram is promoting Kavyakeli

Maye Musk, model and mum of world’s richest man Elon Musk, has become the oldest person to grace the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit cover. At 74, Maye is one of the four cover stars, the other three being Kim Kardashian, Ciara and Yumi Nu, reports CNN. “If I thought I could be a swimsuit model for Sports Illustrated, people would have locked me away as a crazy lady,” Maye said in a video released by the magazine. “And now, here I am,” she added. “I am so excited to be on the cover of @si_swimsuit at the age of 74. It’s about time!” she wrote on Instagram. Going by how much fun she seemed to have had shooting for the cover, time it is. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Maye Musk (@mayemusk) Maye said she was excited to let people know that women in their 70s can be “gorgeous”. MJ Day, editor-in-chief of SI Swimsuit, said Maye continues to work and inspire people around her. Maye was photographed by Yu … [Read more...] about Model Maye Musk, Elon’s Mom, Becomes Oldest Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Cover Star

This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate 2 In civilian life, Taras Myronyuk conducted a Ukrainian orchestra that toured the world — including gigs in San Francisco — and taught music at a university in Kviv. But after Russia invaded his country this year , the 51-year-old father of three enlisted in the nation’s armed forces and is now a combat engineer with the rank of sergeant. In his company of 62 people, only two had body armor as of late March, he said. “Ballistic protection is the biggest need that soldiers have, as well as medical supplies such as tourniquets, all of which can save a great deal of lives,” he said via text message. Now, Myronyuk and his cohorts have a dozen ballistic vests, paid for by his nephew, Andrew Vasylyk, co-founder of San Francisco’s StartupSoft, which hires Ukrainian engineers to work remotely for U.S. tech companies. That’s obviously not enough. The scarcity of body armor is repeated among … [Read more...] about Ukrainian soldiers urgently need body armor. This San Francisco company wants to help

HAN YOUNG-IK The author is the political news editor of the JoongAng Ilbo. Koreans may not be familiar with Kharkiv, the second largest city in Ukraine. As there is no direct flight to Kyiv, the historic capital of Ukraine, it is only natural that Koreans don’t know much about the city. However, Kharkiv in Ukraine, which some may say is “a country on the other side of the earth with not much to do with Korea” is actually not a place with no ties. The only school for Koryoin (ethnic Koreans from post-Soviet countries) in Ukraine is located there. It is estimated that there are about 20,000 Koryoin in Ukraine, those who were forcibly displaced by Stalin and their descendants. Another relationship, a bad one, is that Kharkiv was the main production base of the T-34 tank, which left the South Korean forces in a panic in the early days of the Korean War (1950-53). Just like the lives of the displaced Koryoin, the city of Kharkiv had many ups and downs in modern history. During World … [Read more...] about Wishing peace on war-torn Kharkiv

LAUSANNE, Switzerland — Russian gymnast Ivan Kuliak has been given a one-year ban for displaying a symbol on his uniform supporting the invasion of Ukraine . Kuliak had taped the “Z” symbol — seen on Russian tanks and military vehicles in Ukraine and embraced by supporters of the war — to his vest for a medal ceremony at a World Cup event in March. Along with the ban, Kuliak must return the bronze medal he won in parallel bars, the International Gymnastics Federation said. Explaining Russia’s use of letter 'Z' as pro-war symbol March 11, 2022 03:14 The 20-year-old Kuliak had stood next to a gold medalist from Ukraine on the podium in Doha, Qatar. “If the protective measures keeping Russian athletes from competing are still in place on 17 May 2023, the ban shall continue and expire six months after the removal of said measures,” the federation’s disciplinary commission said in its ruling . The commission found that Kuliak … [Read more...] about Russian gymnast gets 1-year ban for wearing pro-war ‘Z’ symbol