Richard Ratcliffe’s efforts to secure the release of his wife Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe from Iran, where she has been detained for over five years for “national security-related” offences, have failed to bear fruit, despite his recent 21-day hunger strike outside the UK Foreign Office. The sticking point, according to many observers,Continue Reading
Stefano Buttafoco / Shutterstock Not so long ago, in a galaxy not so far away… democracy was in danger. Our current political environment is filled with threats to democracy, from the rise of authoritarian populism around the world, to the massive expansion of state power during the COVID-19 pandemic thatContinue Reading
Pupils from a German 'Napola' at Ballenstedt before a football game with a visiting side from an English public school. Author provided In spring 1936, teenage schoolboy – and later war hero – Dick Hargreaves was given the chance to go on an all-expenses-paid exchange trip to Germany. But thisContinue Reading
Artist's impression of HS2 train. HS2 Following leaked reports that the UK government would be scrapping plans for the UK’s long-awaited high-speed rail network to extend to Leeds, transport secretary Grant Shapps has announced in the House of Commons that the eastern leg of HS2 will now reach only fromContinue Reading
Some people claim that stress from overtraining is the reason people struggle to lose weight. InesBazdar/ Shutterstock When it comes to improving our physical fitness, the time you don’t spend exercising (often known as “recovery”) is as important as the exercise and training you do. Not only is recovery importantContinue Reading
Prostock-studio/Shutterstock The NHS has been struggling for years with chronic underfunding and staff shortages. COVID has only made matters worse. Health Secretary Sajid Javid is now warning that NHS waiting lists for non-emergency operations and procedures could grow to 13 million up from 5.3 million in July 2021 while increasingContinue Reading
Children have suffered during the pandemic. fizkes/Shutterstock During the COVID-19 pandemic children have been the target of dehumanising language and of policy which prioritises the needs of adults over theirs. While we still do not know the long-term effects of COVID-19 on children, research from early in the pandemic suggestedContinue Reading
IRAN KEEPER HITS BACK AT ‘BULLYING’ CLAIMS SHE’S A MAN Iran women’s star Zohreh Koudaei has vehemently denied claims from the Jordanian FA that she is a MAN as she vowed to take legal action. The governing body demanded a ‘a gender verification check’ from the Asian Football Confederation followingContinue Reading
oasisamuel/Shutterstock The pandemic has been rumbling on for two years and is probably going to rumble on for years to come. And despite recent excitement about new drugs to treat COVID, it’s still vaccines that will underpin each country’s route out of the pandemic. Immunisation has proven a highly effectiveContinue Reading
Grosvenor Court, course and distance winner twenty-five days ago, looks set to supplement gains in a seven-runner Novices’ Hurdle over an extended two and a half miles of ‘good to soft’ Wincanton today when two other jumping fixtures are scheduled for Newcastle and my all-time ‘favourite’ NH venue Market Rasen,Continue Reading
