Новости за 20.07.2017

Dreaming of ways to retire. shutterstock.com

The UK government has made a surprise announcement that the rise in state pension age to 68 is to be phased in from 2037, instead of 2044. Made just days before the end of an unusually troubled parliamentary session, it is concerning for a large part of the working age population.

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For decades we’ve been told that originality is dead, courtesy of postmodern culture. We have been made to believe that everything these days is copied and recycled, and that we are forever confined to reading and watching the same stories and familiar ideas on a loop.

Keeping the elderly healthy may be the key to reversing the trend. belushi/shutterstock

Over the 20th century, life expectancy in the UK increased from 46 to 76 years. But since 2010, that rate of increase is close to having ground to a halt. At any point in living memory this finding would cause serious concern. But in the age of austerity and accusations of “social murder” it is politically explosive. But can budget cuts really explain the trend? And can we do anything to boost life expectancy?

With the rise of Jeremy Corbyn, much has been made of a return to the politics of the 1970s, when trade unions dominated the political agenda and major state industries were nationalised.

At the Vel d’Hiv commemoration ceremony on July 16, France’s new president Emmanuel Macron insisted that France must acknowledge its responsibility for deporting thousands of Jews to concentration camps during World War II. Over 13,000 were rounded up at the Vélodrome d'Hiver in 1942 by French police in a raid directed by the Nazis.

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As Britain prepares to enter what have been widely described as the most complex negotiations in recent history, politicians and civil servants dealing with Brexit can look to the 19th century for inspiration when it comes to securing the best trade deal for the country. Britain went through a similar process of reshaping its relationship with the world when it repealed the controversial Corn Laws and embraced the idea of free trade in 1846.

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How many lions does it take to kill a lamb? The answer isn’t as straightforward as you might think. Not, at least, according to game theory.

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For Britons, Dunkirk is one of the proudest moments of World War II. The evacuation of 338,226 troops and other personnel from the beaches of northern France – which took place between May 26 and June 4 1940 – was an act of stubborn defiance by a plucky island nation against Hitler’s blitzkrieg. It was a victory snatched from the jaws of defeat.

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Under the Volcano by the British novelist and poet Malcolm Lowry is considered one of the most influential novels of the 20th century. But given the wrangling that took place during the book’s development, it’s a miracle that it was ever published.

Rhi Willmot, Author provided

My friend, Joe Weghofer, is a keen surfer, so when he was told he’d never walk again, following a 20ft spine-shattering fall, it was just about the worst news he could have received. Yet, a month later, Joe managed to stand. A further month, and he was walking. Several years on, he is back in the water, a board beneath his feet. Joe has what people in the field of positive psychology call “grit”, and I believe surfing helped him develop this trait.

French POWs being led away from the battlefield in May 1940. Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA

The evacuation of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) in May 1940 from Dunkirk by a flotilla of small ships has entered British folklore. Dunkirk, a new action film by director Christopher Nolan, depicts the events from land, sea and air and has revived awe for the plucky courage of those involved.

The never-ending scandals surrounding the Trump administration reached hysterical levels recently with the allegation that in 2016 Trump’s eldest son, Donald Jr., met with Russians allegedly linked with the Kremlin to secure damaging information against the Clinton campaign.

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Jane Austen’s appearance on the new £10 banknote is strangely appropriate – and not just because 2017 is the bicentenary of her death. Austen’s writings display an acute understanding of the importance of money – but less well known is the fact that her daily life, and indeed her career, were marked by a close family connection with the world of banking.

The results of Kosovo’s recent general election were a huge surprise: Vetëvendosje (“Self-determination”), up to now a small opposition party, won 32 seats, making it the largest party in parliament. This put a sudden end to the political duopoly exercised by Kosovo’s two dominant parties, the PDK and the LDK, under whose rule the country fell prey to persistent corruption and economic stagnation.