Politics (Page 256)

A double bank holiday around St Patrick’s Day is being considered by the Government. Tánaiste Leo Varadkar said March 17th and 18th could both be bank holidays for a four-day weekend in 2022. The extra holiday would serve as a day of remembrance and to thank frontline workers for their efforts during the pandemic. Speaking on RTÉ radio’s Today with Claire Byrne, Mr Varadkar said it was too late to have the bank holiday around St Brigid’s Day on February 1st, as employers need plenty of notice. “We want to do an additional bank holiday next year. We would also like to have a new permanent bank holiday,” he said. “In the last week or so we feel that announcingContinue Reading

A consistent feature of the pandemic has been the presence of a relatively small but vocal number of conspiracy theorists who resist attempts to tackle COVID-19. Their views might seem marginal and extreme but recent research suggests that we should take them seriously. Survey data shows that belief in conspiracy theories is associated with a lack of confidence in steps aimed at addressing the pandemic and risky health behaviours and that conspiracy adherents are more likely to refuse to socially distance, wear a mask or get vaccinated. One reason for this is that conspiracy theories work differently to other forms of misinformation. Rather than simply trading in inaccurate or misleading information, conspiracy theorists believe they have discovered the hidden truthContinue Reading

h If recent events in Cuba are anything to go by, the government of Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez is facing significant challenges as the country marks five years since the death of its revolutionary leader, Fidel Castro, on November 25 2016. At least one leading dissident, journalist Guillermo Farinas, was taken into custody ahead of a protest planned for November 15, while, according to some reports, others were placed under house arrest. Yunior García, one of the organisers of the protest – which was shut down by authorities – was placed under house arrest but allowed to leave Cuba for Spain. It’s tempting to view protests – and the idea of constant internal crisis – as the defining feature of contemporaryContinue Reading

Andy Rain/EPA The ability of the British police to operate effectively depends on the consent and support of the general public. The brutal kidnapping and murder of Sarah Everhard by PC Wayne Couzens in March 2021 severely damaged public trust in the police, and their ability to “police by consent”. Long before he raped and murdered this young woman, Couzens should have been viewed as an “insider risk”, as his previous indecent behaviour should have flagged concerns. There have been reports that Couzens committed sexual offences and exhibited extremely disturbing behaviour several years before he killed Sarah Everard, and this continued right up until just days before her death. His misuse of his authority as a serving officer to targetContinue Reading

WIRED approved picks from Apple, Samsung, Shark and more are discounted ahead of Black Friday.Continue Reading

Shutterstock As police officer Wayne Couzens was sentenced for the murder of Sarah Everard, North Yorkshire Police Commissioner Philip Allott said women “need to be streetwise about when they can be arrested and when they can’t be arrested”. Couzens had exploited his authority to falsely arrest Everard, yet Allot appeared to be informing women that it is their responsibility not to get raped and murdered by the police. Allot’s comments exemplify what Susannah Fish, former chief constable of Nottinghamshire Police, has called a “toxic culture of sexism” in policing. Fish said “victim-blaming” is “endemic” in the force and that women who report crimes face “repeated humiliation”. They are expected, she said, to tell their stories “over and over again” andContinue Reading

Government leaders will wait to assess the impact of reduced socialising before making a decision on new Covid-19 restrictions, a senior Minister has said. Green Party leader and Minister for the Environment Eamon Ryan played down the prospect of an early return to increased restrictions, according to The Irish Times. Speaking on his way into Cabinet on Tuesday, he said “quite a significant change” occurred across the country last week, with people now restricting their movements in response to soaring case numbers. Referring to the decision to introduce a midnight curfew for restaurants, pubs and nightclubs, Mr Ryan said: “I think a lot of people have reacted to the decisions last week, a lot of people have cancelled events, haveContinue Reading

WIRED Recommends the best juicers – no longer a novelty device, they can handle everything from green juices to late night aperitifs.Continue Reading