Новости за 15.08.2017

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The 70th anniversary of the end of Britain’s Empire in India and the birth of the post-colonial states of India and Pakistan have led to a renewed interest in the portrayal of this distant and under-explored past in British arts and the media.

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By 2050, two thirds of the world’s population will live in an urban area. Until recently, we knew little about how wild animals were coping with the growth of all those towns and cities. The field of urban wildlife ecology has since emerged to fill this gap.

The Sarahah app urges users to send 'constructive' messages, but cyberbullying is rife. Sarahaha

A new app called Sarahah (which is Arabic for “honesty”) launched its English-language version this summer, promising an anonymous way of offering supportive criticism for teams in the workplace. It has since attracted 300m users and reached the top of Apple’s App Store download charts in more than 30 countries, but already users say they are receiving harassing and obscene messages.

Gina Martin is fighting to change the law on upskirting. @beaniegigi/Instagram

It started with one woman, Gina Martin, being prepared to put her head above the parapet and say: this is unacceptable and should clearly be a criminal offence. Martin was a victim of the practice known commonly as “upskirting” – the taking of a photo or video up a woman’s skirt without her permission.

Recently saved. SoundCloud

Audio streaming website SoundCloud has survived its do or die moment. In the face of serious financial trouble, it secured US$169.5m of investment from merchant bank The Raine Group and investment firm Temasek Holdings. As its CEO and co-founder Alexander Ljung said: “Soundcloud is here to stay.”

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The drugs used to treat cancer after surgery can help to slow disease progression, but they don’t always stop cancer cells from spreading to other parts of the body, nor do they help with pain associated with some cancers such as sarcomas (rare bone cancers). There is a drug, however, that potentially does both of these things: cannabis.

The statue of Robert Lee in Charlottesville. Shutterstock

The violent scenes in Charlottesville, Virginia, that led to the death of one woman and left many more injured began as a dispute over a statue of General Robert E. Lee, which sits in a local public park. However, the controversy feeds into a much wider debate that is as old as the United States itself. So who was Lee and why does a memorial to him trouble so many people?

Since YouTube invited us to “broadcast yourself” in 2005, the means and methods to do so have increased exponentially. The rise of accessible digital technologies along with multiple social media platforms such as Twitter, Facebook and Instagram have become key to everyday popular communication. Such platforms also enable users to develop a social and political visibility by attracting attention to events and social groups who may be subject to a system of violence that is not always visible.

Much of the mythology that surrounds Elvis Presley, who died 40 years ago, tends to surround his rags to riches story, his film-star looks, his outrageous stage outfits, his marriage to child bride Priscilla and his descent into overindulgence and drug addiction at his Graceland mansion. In death, Elvis has become to millions a kind of cautionary tale of celebrity, sex and scandal that has at times threatened to engulf his legacy. But perhaps the most important part of that legacy is his voice ... Читать дальше...

The last thing the Middle East needs is a major conflagration in Israel-Palestine – but a summer crisis in Jerusalem made it clear that in the right circumstances, it really could happen.

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In times of conflict, education is often viewed as the place to promote better relations. Under the UK’s “Prevent” policy, nurseries, schools and universities are treated as places where the growth of radical extremism may be undermined.

FIDE Women's World Chess Championship: Mariya Muzychuk (Ukraine) and Hou Yifan (China). shutterstock.com

Let’s try you. Read the title above once, then cover it and write down word for word what you remember. Having difficulties? How well you do may be down to which country you live in.

As Germany heads towards federal elections in September, two new laws have opened up debates about family values, multiculturalism and diversity in the country. The first banned child marriages, the second legalised same-sex marriage. Neither law came out of nowhere, and the discussions about them – and political calculations behind their introduction – are directly related.

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Anyone in the UK, of any age, can sign the Organ Donor Register, and give permission for their organs and tissue to be donated after death. How you register your wishes depends on where you live: in Northern Ireland and England, one must sign a register to opt in, while Wales currently operates an opt-out system, and Scotland plans to follow suit.

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The World Athletics Championships in London have ended after ten days of surprises and disappointments. A late flurry of medals for the home nation buoyed the British crowd, and the world watched on as sprint icon Usain Bolt’s career ended with more of a whimper than a bang. But the abiding memory is that of Justin Gatlin, the US sprinter who has twice failed drug tests, facing the boos of the crowd as he triumphed in the 100 metres final.

As the 25th Premier League season begins, it is a happy coincidence that it was Arsenal – home to the League’s first and largest official LGBT supporters group – who hosted the opening match.

The ultimate expression of an American rags to riches fable. Paddy Briggs, CC BY-SA

Elvis’s story is so classically American (poor country boy makes good in the city) that his press agents never bothered to improve on it.

Pharmacies could be doing more for public health from www.shutterstock.com

Most people aren’t aware that high street pharmacies offer much more than dispensing and selling medicines. Many also provide a wide range of services designed to improve public health, like supporting people to stop smoking, providing emergency contraception and testing for sexually transmitted diseases. Some also offer the national NHS Health Check, which identifies people with high blood pressure diabetes and chronic... Читать дальше...

Donald Trump’s latest bombastic remarks on North Korea’s nuclear weapons programme, threatening Kim Jong-un with “fire and fury” for his continued provocations are a stark reminder of how drastically the rhetoric of national security has changed in Washington. Where the Obama doctrine offered measured pragmatism and a mix of restraint, targeted counter-terrorism measures and diplomatic engagement, Trump has responded with martial swagger.