Theresa May doubles tweets to win youth votes
Theresa May tweeted this picture at 4.31pm yesterday with congratulations to Shinzo Abe on his victory Carl Court/Getty ImagesTheresa May is tweeting more than twice as often as she did before the election as the Conservatives try to win back young voters. Between entering No 10 in July last year and calling the election in April, she tweeted 45 times — an average of one tweet every 6.2 days. In the 136 days since the election she has tweeted 54 times, or one tweet every 2.5 days. Last week she tweeted 14 times, including six tweets on Wednesday, on subjects including modern slavery, unemployment, the European Council summit and the Tupperware bought for her by Geoffrey Boycott, the former cricketer. Her social media output was criticised after the election campaign, during which Jeremy Corbyn used different platforms to reach out to young voters.…
Source:The Times
October 22, 2017 23:00 UTC
Eco-friendly hydrogen trains to replace ageing dirty diesels
Alstom, which has developed a hydrogen-powered train, above, is in talks with a number of British train operators JOHN MACDOUGALL/AFP/Getty ImagesHydrogen-powered trains could be introduced to the rail network under government plans to phase out dirty diesel engines. The Department for Transport (DfT) said new incentives would encourage companies into using greener trains and indicated that franchises handed to train operators to run passenger services would be rewritten to force them to meet “environmental targets”. Paul Maynard, the rail minister, said that companies had to consider the use of cleaner energy, including hydrogen and battery-powered trains, as an alternative to diesel. The Times has learnt that Alstom — the company behind the world’s only hydrogen-powered train — is in talks with a number of British operators with a view to introducing the technology. The company said the zero-emission hydrogen train would start passenger test runs in Germany…
Source:The Times
October 22, 2017 23:00 UTC
Shinzo Abe wins general election but fails to excite Japan’s voters
The turnout was barely 54 per cent ISSEI KATO/REUTERSShinzo Abe won a decisive victory in a snap general election yesterday, easily fending off two new opposition parties and putting him on course to be Japan’s longest-serving prime minister. Low voter turnout suggested a lack of popular enthusiasm for his Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and a continuing sense of apathy about politics. Voting took place in heavy rain as a powerful typhoon approached, presenting a further discouragement to voters. Shinzo Abe appeared to be on track for an easy victory Isse Kato/ReutersThose who did turn out gave Mr Abe a more decisive victory than he may have expected when he called the election a month ago. Early results and exit polls published by the state broadcaster NHK suggested that the LDP would return 283 MPs, a safe majority of…
Source:The Times
October 22, 2017 23:00 UTC
Dozens of women accuse film director James Toback of sex attacks
More than 30 women have accused a Hollywood film director of sexual assault after the Harvey Weinstein allegations. James Toback, 72, who received an Oscar nomination for his writing work on Bugsy in 1991, was said to have made unwanted advances to actresses including one who was only 18. In Britain, three actresses claimed that Michael Winner, the director and producer known for the Death Wish films, had demanded sexual favours during auditions. She alleged that Winner, who died aged 77 in 2013, asked her to strip naked and massage her own breasts. Cindy Marshall-Day, 50, the Crossroads actress, claimed that Winner asked to see her breasts while a third actress, who wishes to remain anonymous,…
Source:The Times
October 22, 2017 23:00 UTC
Lost Australian diver stalked by sharks for hours
John Craig was stranded four miles from shore. “I thought: this is how I’m going to die,” he saidA diver who became stranded at sea has told of his terror as two huge sharks stalked him during a marathon three-hour swim back to shore. “I put my head in the water to check I was in the same place and suddenly saw a huge tiger shark within arm’s reach,” he told The Sunday Times in Perth. “It was easily the biggest tiger shark I’ve been in the water with, having worked as a dive instructor for over ten years. I turned and saw…
Source:The Times
October 22, 2017 23:00 UTC
Professional spy catchers in demand for bug-sweeping
In the trade it is known as TSCM but everyone else calls it bug-sweeping. It is not cockroaches that these pest controllers are hunting but eavesdropping devices that could be hidden anywhere from a mobile phone to the cable in the back of a computer. Demand for the services of professional technical surveillance countermeasures specialists has grown dramatically along with public awareness of the dangers. Britain’s professional spy catchers have never been busier as businesses and wealthy individuals realise that they are being watched and listened to. Mr Williams, a director…
Source:The Times
October 22, 2017 23:00 UTC
Wasps find form to leave Harlequins on brink of elimination
Wade scores the second of his two tries in victory over Harlequins SIMON DAVIES/PROSPORTS/REX/SHUTTERSTOCKThere were high-fives all round at the Ricoh Arena last night as Wasps stopped the rot, ending a demoralising run of five consecutive defeats with a five-try, five-point victory over Harlequins. It was a performance which not only breathed life into their European Champions Cup campaign ahead of back-to-back games against La Rochelle, the dangerous French outfit who have scored 75 points in two games, but should act as a catalyst for a misfiring season. Harlequins, meanwhile, were left staring down the barrel of an early European exit. It is highly unusual for any team to qualify for the knockout stages after losing their first two fixtures. Marler, centre, was sent to the sin-bin for appearing to drive his forearm into the head of Rowlands Craig Brough/ReutersIn many ways, Wasps rediscovered their true selves last night; they were clinical in attack behind some thunderous…
Source:The Times
October 22, 2017 23:00 UTC
Look, but don’t touch: models fight back against harassment in the fashion industry
Have we just witnessed fashion’s Arab Spring? Certainly, something very serious and potentially transformative filled the American model Cameron Russell’s Instagram feed when she used fashion’s favourite social medium to highlight the abuse and sexual exploitation of vulnerable young models. Into the glossy slipstream of the usual PR-pleasing posts, Russell lobbed a slew of dispatches showcasing a seamier side of an industry that counts her among its most bankable faces. The opening shot is a screengrab from a private conversation between Russell and an unnamed fellow model, posted with her permission. In it the model describes how, at the age of 15, she was sexually assaulted on a test shoot by a male fashion photographer who told her the resulting pictures would look “more sensual”.…
Source:The Times
October 22, 2017 23:00 UTC
Ronald Koeman’s lack of vision clear from Everton’s fall to disjointed Arsenal | Jamie Jackson
Before then Everton and Arsenal had each suffered from an absence of stability and clearness of vision. The Gunners began like the proverbial train that suggested a seventh defeat in 11 matches would be Everton’s fate. Then they did an “Arsenal” by allowing their confidence-low opposition to take the lead, via a fine Wayne Rooney strike. Arsenal fight back in style to heap pressure on Everton’s Ronald Koeman Read moreUntil then the game had been a microcosm of Everton’s ills. One move should have ended with Aaron Ramsey firing Arsenal ahead, another might have seen Michael Keane conceding a penalty for chopping at Alexis Sánchez.
Source:The Guardian
October 22, 2017 22:52 UTC
Boris Johnson backs diplomatic solution to North Korea crisis
While Johnson will stress that the US president has “an absolute duty” to prepare for a possible military option if North Korea is about to attack the United States, the foreign secretary will say diplomatic efforts must be paramount. Johnson is also to use his speech, extracts of which were released in advance by the Foreign Office, to praise the Iran nuclear deal, another diplomatic effort repeatedly condemned by Trump. The speech says the carefully arranged international nuclear deal with Iran should act as a model for dealings with North Korea – an emphasis on seeking diplomatic solutions while keeping open the option of military action. Many of the extracts of Johnson’s speech deal with what he terms the success of the 1970 nuclear non-proliferation treaty, which he says has greatly curbed the spread of the technology. The memory of Hiroshima and Nagasaki is now literally fading from living memory.”It is, Johnson will add, “the job of our generation” to preserve nuclear non-proliferation efforts.
Source:The Guardian
October 22, 2017 22:52 UTC
Calais: hundreds of migrants remain a year after razing of camp
Site now barren land with nowhere to shelter but Help Refugees charity has been forbidden from giving out tentsHundreds of refugees and migrants are believed to be in Calais and the surrounding area, a year after the refugee camp there was razed. Teargas, cold, no toilets: plight of refugees in Calais revealed Read moreThe number could be as high as 2,000 for northern France, Annie Gavrilescu, who works for the charity Help Refugees, said. She also said the charity was not allowed to give out any tents, in case people set up a new camp. On 24 October last year thousands of camp dwellers packed their bags on the first day of the exodus. Calais has been home to refugees for years but the camp on the city’s edge sprang up around a day centre opened in April 2015 by the state.
Source:The Guardian
October 22, 2017 22:52 UTC
Stephen Hawking's 1966 doctoral thesis made available for first time
Stephen Hawking hopes that giving free access to his early work will inspire others, not just to think and learn but to share research. The thesis is now freely available to all, to mark Open Access Week 2017. The university hopes that Hawking’s thesis may encourage other scholars to make their work freely available online. From this October all PhD graduates will be required to deposit a digital copy of their theses, and will be urged to make them open access. However, the university says it is often a struggle to give free access to historic theses.
Source:The Guardian
October 22, 2017 22:52 UTC
Videolinks in court trials undermine justice system, says report
Transform Justice’s report, Video courts: conveyor belt justice or revolution in access?, questions official enthusiasm for virtual justice. Video hearings reduce defendants’ respect for the criminal justice system, the report maintains. If video justice disadvantages disabled people and risks undermining trust in the justice system, is it worth forging ahead with trial by Skype? A Ministry of Justice spokesperson said: “We are investing more than £1bn to transform and modernise our court system. We know video hearings reduce court time, improve public safety and save money for the taxpayer.
Source:The Guardian
October 22, 2017 22:52 UTC
Australian teacher shot dead in Kenya may have been targeted, lawyer says
Gabrielle Maina reported to have taken out a restraining order before the attack, which was thought to be a botched robberyThe lawyer for the Australian teacher Gabrielle Maina shot dead in Nairobi has said she was in fear for her life before the attack and it is possible her killing was a targeted murder rather than a botched robbery. Maina’s lawyer, George Kingori, said the teacher had been granted a restraining order in April against her estranged husband. “She required a restraining order against the husband for constantly stalking, approaching her place of work and as well as the residence,” he said. Australian teacher Gabrielle Maina shot dead in Kenyan capital Read moreHe has urged authorities to keep investigating the murder of the mother-of-two in the Kenyan capital. The teacher was shot in the exclusive suburb of Karen on Thursday during what was initially believed to be a botched robbery reportedly involving assailants on motorbikes.
Source:The Guardian
October 22, 2017 22:30 UTC
Labor lays into Turnbull over 'second-rate' NBN – as it happened
07:42In Senate estimates the Greens immigration spokesman, Nick McKim, has said a speech given by the head of the immigration department, Michael Pezzullo, showed “fascist tendencies”. McKim was referring to a speech given by Pezzullo to justify the home affairs department, of which he is secretary-designate. According to the Mandarin, Pezzullo warned a “dark universe” was emerging as a consequence of globalisation and Australia needs the new security mega-department to confront the forces of evil. McKim: “I read your speech you gave for the philosophical context of the new department with interest and terror – equal parts I might say.”Pezzullo: “Sorry, you were terrified?”McKim: “I was terrified of your thought processes, yes, I don’t like fascists and authoritarians.”Pezzullo: “I beg your pardon?”McKim: “I thought that some fascist tendencies came out in that speech.”McKim is asked to withdraw the comment, and he does so. He did not elaborate which part of the speech he was referring to.
Source:The Guardian
October 22, 2017 21:13 UTC