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Two such groups claim they persuaded Alberta to institute sweeping public school book banSocially conservative “parents’ rights” groups that have emerged as powerfully political lobbying groups in the US are quickly gaining ground in Canada, academics and free speech advocates say, after two such groups claimed they had persuaded Alberta to institute a sweeping public school book ban.Alberta recently directed schools to purge library books from shelves that fit its definition of “explicit sexual content” by 1 October. If the policy is applied precisely as outlined, a host of books face being purged, including George Orwell’s 1984 due to passages in the text that discuss sexual intercourse and rape. Continue reading...
Two such groups claim they persuaded Alberta to institute sweeping public school book banSocially conservative “parents’ rights” groups that have emerged as powerfully political lobbying groups in the US are quickly gaining ground in Canada, academics and free speech advocates say, after two such groups claimed they had persuaded Alberta to institute a sweeping public school book ban.Alberta recently directed schools to purge library books from shelves that fit its definition of “explicit sexual content” by 1 October. If the policy is applied precisely as outlined, a host of books face being purged, including George Orwell’s 1984 due to passages in the text that discuss sexual intercourse and rape. Continue reading...
the Guardian
Rightwing ‘parents’ rights’ groups gain ground in Canada as Alberta book bans target LGBTQ+ titles
Two such groups claim they persuaded Alberta to institute sweeping public school book ban
Multi-agency report says girl, 13, had fascination with Hitler, weapons and claimed to speak German and RussianA teenager who was interested in Adolf Hitler had been considered for referral to the anti-terror programme Prevent before she stabbed three people at her school, a report has revealed.The 13-year-old had a curiosity for war memorabilia and the Nazi dictator, a fascination with weapons and claimed to speak German and Russian. Continue reading...
Last year’s total fertility rate of 1.41 was lowest since comparable data was first collected in 1938, ONS saysThe fertility rate for England and Wales has fallen for the third year in a row to reach a record low, figures show.The total fertility rate across both nations, meaning the average number of live children women can expect to have across their child-bearing life, stood at 1.41 in 2024, down from 1.42 in 2023, the lowest since comparable data was first collected in 1938, according to the Office for National Statistics. Continue reading...
Rain helped cool Flat fire that destroyed homes in Oregon, while the Pickett fire has charred 10 sq miles of Napa countyA wildfire that destroyed four homes in central Oregon has started to stabilize, while a blaze in northern California wine country has so far spared some of the state’s most famous vineyards.Moisture helped the 1,200 firefighters battling Oregon’s Flat fire, but more work needed to be done, authorities said. Dry, hot weather had fueled a rapid expansion of the blaze across of rugged terrain in Deschutes and Jefferson counties since the fire began late Thursday. Continue reading...
Assessment suggests cost of project to store 700,000 cubic metres of radioactive waste could reach £54bnThe UK’s proposal for a new underground nuclear waste dump has been described as “unachievable” in a Treasury assessment of the project.Ministers have put new nuclear power at the centre of their green energy revolution. But the problem of what to do with 700,000 cubic metres of radioactive waste – roughly the volume of 6,000 doubledecker buses – from the country’s past nuclear programme, as well as future waste from nuclear expansion, has yet to be solved. Continue reading...
Canada’s response to the extreme weather threat is being upended as the traditional epicentre of the blazes shifts as the climate warmsRoad closures, evacuations, travel chaos and stern warnings from officials have become fixtures of Canada’s wildfire season. But as the country goes through its second-worst burn on record, the blazes come with a twist: few are coming from the western provinces, the traditional centre of destruction.Instead, the worst of the fires have been concentrated in the prairie provinces and the Atlantic region, with bone-dry conditions upending how Canada responds to a threat that is only likely to grow as the climate warms. Continue reading...
Russian president’s remarks come as Kyiv rescuers find more than a dozen dead in apartment block after strikesVladimir Putin has said he wants a “lasting and stable peace” in Ukraine but given no indication that he is willing to make any concessions to achieve it, after a week in which Russian missiles and drones again caused death and destruction across Ukraine.“We need a lasting and stable peace on solid foundations that would satisfy both Russia and Ukraine, and would ensure the security of both countries,” said Putin, speaking to journalists on Friday, a week before a new deadline imposed by Donald Trump for hostilities to cease. Continue reading...
Government source confirms decision that will help meet net zero targets and £300 energy bills pledgeMinisters have decided not to cut Labour’s landmark £13.2bn fund to fix draughty homes and install heat pumps and solar panels in next week’s spending review, it has emerged.A government source confirmed Rachel Reeves, the chancellor, would not be making cuts to the flagship warm homes plan. The decision, which was first reported by the Daily Telegraph, marks a victory for Ed Miliband in his negotiations with the Treasury over the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero’s budget. Continue reading...
This year’s tiny harvest casts doubt on the spirit’s recent resurgence, once a bright spot in the island’s economy It’s a crisis that would have sent a shiver down Ernest Hemingway’s drinking arm. Cuba’s communist government is struggling to process enough sugar to make the rum for his beloved mojitos and daiquiris.As summer rains bring the Caribbean island’s 2025 harvest to an end, a recent analysis by Reuters suggests that Cuba’s state-run monopoly, Azcuba, is likely to produce just 165,000 metric tonnes of sugar this year. That compares with harvests of 8m in the late 1980s. Continue reading...
