thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-08-10--David Miliband, Again, Does Not Rule Out Return To British Politics

“I don’t want to get into the ruling in [or] ruling out, but there’s a new generation and I want to see them doing well, not badly,” he said.
Miliband, having lost the 2010 Labour leadership race to his brother Ed, resigned as an MP in 2013 and now runs the International Rescue Committee (IRC) charity in New York.
He has repeatedly left open the possibility of a return to parliament.
As recently as October 2019, the former South Shields MP, told the South Shields Gazette: “We’ll see what life brings.”
In February 2017 he told The Times: “What’s the point of saying never?”
In June 2015, amid speculation there could be a party leadership contest after the EU referendum, he told CNN: “In terms of what I do next I’ll have to take some time to think about that.”
In January 2015 when asked by Vogue he said: “Ummm… I don’t know, is the answer.”
Miliband was a harsh critic of Jeremy Corbyn’s time as leader of the Labour Party.
In today’s interview he accused Corbyn and his allies of being in “denial” about the 2017 and 2019 election losses.
“When people got to look at Labour in 2017, we couldn’t beat the worst Tory campaign in history… and then when people got the full measure of Jeremy Corbyn in 2019, he led us to the worst election defeat since the 1930s,” he said.
Corbyn unexpectedly denied Theresa May a majority in 2017, while Ed Miliband unexpectedly gave one to David Cameron in 2015 after five years of coalition government.
Labour won just 203 seats last year, its worst total since 1935, though supporters point out Corbyn led the party to win more actual votes at both elections than it had done since Blair’s second victory in 2001.
David’s brother Ed, who served as leader from 2010 until 2015, is now back in frontline politics as Keir Starmer’s shadow business secretary.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-08-10--Roman Kemp Breaks Down In Tears On Capital Breakfast Show As He Pays Tribute To Best Friend Followin

Roman Kemp Breaks Down In Tears On Capital Breakfast Show As He Pays Tribute To Best Friend Following His Sudden Death

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Roman Kemp broke down in tears on his Capital Breakfast radio show on Monday as he paid tribute to the show’s producer, Joe Lyons, following his sudden death.
The presenter, who returned to the show after taking a break last Tuesday, remembered his “best friend” in an emotional broadcast.
Roman Kemp Capital
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Breaking down, the I’m A Celebrity star said: “We wanted to share some really sad news. I never thought I’d have to do this ever.
“Last Tuesday, very suddenly, we lost one of our best friends. Our producer Joe, he was a member of the Capital Breakfast family.
“We are trying to process this all together. We wanted to share this news with you.”
Last Tuesday, very suddenly, we lost one of our best friends - and our colleague - Producer Joe. He was not just part of the Capital Breakfast family, but a loved member of the whole team. 💙 pic.twitter.com/IZaoflj8VP — Capital (@CapitalOfficial) August 10, 2020
Roman continued: “Joe had worked for Global, the parent company, for nine years.
“He was the very first person I met when I walked through the door. I remember thinking he was a bit of a Del Boy.
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“He was with me right from my very first show. He taught me everything. I don’t know sitting in a radio studio without him.”
Discussing their close bond, Roman added: “He’s the person I’d sit here and rinse constantly.
“He loved dogs. Obsessed with his daily step count. Never ironed his clothes. He loved his family so much. His dad Ivan, his mum Celia, his sister Lou.
“He did love his friends… his fans, he did have fans. The thing he loved most of all was doing this show, you listening.
“He was like a genius coming up with these ideas. He was driven by the reaction from you every day.”
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Roman’s mother, Shirlie Kemp also paid tribute on Instagram, writing: “God Bless you Joe .... you were and always will be so loved.”
Fellow Capital Breakfast presenter Vick Hope, also took to Instagram on Monday morning to pay tribute.
Sharing a series of pictures of them together, she wrote: “Our Joe. My JoeJoe. My special, magical, beautiful friend. We signed off every message with ‘I love you, buddy’, and yet I’m worried I still didn’t tell you enough.
“I really do love you, bud, so so much. We all do. I hope you know that. We are so lucky to have known you. The world is a better place for having had you in it. And now the stars have gained an extraordinary gift in you.
“Look at everything you made, Joe. Everything you achieved, what you built, who you inspired. Your talent and creativity are so immense, but more than that you are the kindest, most hilarious, caring, fun, fiercely loyal and spectacular person any of us had the pleasure of meeting.
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“You really are the best one we ever knew. Our friend. My friend.”
She continued: “For the last four years you have been my solace, my rock, my confidante. I’ve told you all my secrets, and you said you’d take them to the grave. And now it seems you did just that, and it breaks my heart.
“Words cannot describe this pain, it doesn’t make sense and it’ll take time to process. I keep repeating: Not you, please not you. But now you’re at peace, you’re in a better place. I’m going to miss you Joe Lyons, so much.”


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-08-10--Reality Check: Robin Williams' Daughter Zelda Williams Tears Down Eric Trump For His Tweet About Her

Reality Check: Robin Williams' Daughter Zelda Williams Tears Down Eric Trump For His Tweet About Her Dad

When Eric Trump tried to use a video of Robin Williams for political gain, Zelda Williams, the late actor’s daughter, delivered a sharp reality check.
Last week, the US president’s son tweeted a video last week which showed Robin Williams roasting presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden during his 2009 HBO special, Weapons Of Self Destruction.
In the stand-up clip, the late comedian mocks Biden for “rambling” and his frequent speaking gaffes.
On Saturday, Zelda Williams – an actor, director and producer – retweeted Eric Trump’s post with a reminder that her dad didn’t have stellar reviews for Donald Trump, either.
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Zelda Williams, pictured in 2017 Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP
In a 2012 roast, Robin Williams tore into then-businessman Donald Trump for comments he made about his own daughter and creepy behaviour at the Miss Universe pageants he owned.
“While we’re ‘reminiscing’ (to further your political agenda), you should look up what he said about your Dad,” she tweeted. “I did. Promise you, it’s much more ‘savage.’ Gentle reminder that the dead can’t vote, but the living can.”
While we’re ‘reminiscing’ (to further your political agenda), you should look up what he said about your Dad. I did. Promise you, it’s much more ‘savage’.
Gentle reminder that the dead can’t vote, but the living can ♥ https://t.co/CXDTovG5yo — Zelda Williams (@zeldawilliams) August 8, 2020
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The tweet comes just two weeks after Zelda Williams paid tribute to her late father on what would have been his 69th birthday.
“Today would’ve been Dad’s 69th birthday, so to honour him (& that glorious number), I will be donating $69.69 to as many local homeless shelters as I can,” she wrote in social media posts.
“Join me if you like, but regardless, know I am wishing you all at least one hearty, immature belly laugh on Dad today ♥.”
She later shared screenshots of donations to charities, including People Assisting The Homeless, Los Angeles LGBT Center, Union Rescue Mission, GLIDE and San Francisco LGBT Center.
Robin Williams died by suicide at the age of 63. His children have continued to honour him on his birthday since his 2014 death.
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thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-08-10--Carol Kirkwood’s Unfortunate Slip Of The Tongue Has BBC Breakfast Viewers In Hysterics

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Lucky Carol Kirkwood spent her Monday morning basking in the early morning sunshine in Greenwich Park, but unfortunately all that heat seems to have had a bit of an effect on the BBC weather presenter.
During Monday’s BBC Breakfast live forecast, Carol made an unfortunate gaffe that saw her get her words mixed up.
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“Look at it,” she told viewers as the camera took a panoramic view of the London skyline. “The sun is beating down.”
She then added: “We’ve seen lots of doggers.”
In a royal park, Carol? Surely not?
“Not doggers of course,” she quickly added. “Lots of dog walkers and joggers around here during the course of this morning.”
Phew.
That will teach me to try and say joggers and dog walkers in the same sentence!!! Sorry! 😩xxx — Carol Kirkwood (@carolkirkwood) August 10, 2020
Carol’s slip up brightened up many viewers’ Monday mornings, including a few of her fellow presenters...
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Yet further proof that @carolkirkwood is a National Treasure pic.twitter.com/Q2uzv9mtl5 — Greg James (@gregjames) August 10, 2020
🙈 When the weather report doesn't go to plan 😂@carolkirkwood recovered wonderfully while giving us the forecast live from Greenwich Park. 👏 pic.twitter.com/XQhOF44Tph — BBC Breakfast (@BBCBreakfast) August 10, 2020
Absolutely made my day sweetheart....so funny...and you handled it with the usual professionalism that you display every day. You looked lovely today too ☺ — Jules@hakunamatata (@Julie86719270) August 10, 2020
You did make me giggle this Monday morning, thank you! We love you @carolkirkwood 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻 — Callum 🏳🌈 (@callumgx) August 10, 2020
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Legend. Made my morning. Keep up the good work. 👍 — Jo 🍍 (@JoannaEE) August 10, 2020


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-08-10--Christopher Eccleston Returning To The Doctor Who Franchise For The First Time In 15 Years

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Doctor Who star Christopher Eccleston has announced that he’ll be reprising his role as the Ninth Doctor for the first time in 15 years.
Christopher took the reins of the Tardis when Doctor Who returned to our screens in 2005, but left after one series due to clashes with the show’s bosses, including executive producer Russell T Davies.
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And while anyone hoping to see him back on screen in Doctor Who could still have a long wait on their hands, it’s been announced he’ll be returning to the franchise to play the Ninth Doctor in a new series of audio adventures.
The actor will be recording 12 new instalments of an audio series with Big Finish Productions, which will be released in three different box sets, beginning in May 2021.
Christopher Eccleston in character as The Doctor PA/BBC
Christopher said: “After 15 years, it will be exciting to revisit the Ninth Doctor’s world, bringing back to life a character I love playing.”
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Jason Haigh-Ellery of Big Finish Productions also enthused: “I first talked to Christopher about returning to the role of the Doctor at a fan convention in February this year. Christopher said he was enjoying meeting the fans and was pleased that his Doctor was remembered so fondly.
“I am so pleased that Christopher has decided to return to the role with us – and I’m excited to welcome him to the Big Finish family as we discover the new adventures of the Ninth Doctor.”
Fans will be able to purchase the new audio series on CD and vinyl, as well as digital downloads.
Christopher Eccleston, pictured in 2019 ASSOCIATED PRESS
Since leaving Doctor Who, Christopher turned down the opportunity to reprise his role in a 2013 anniversary special, which featured his successors David Tennant and Matt Smith.
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thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-08-10--Coronation Street Unveils New Todd Grimshaw Actor, Gareth Pierce, Ahead Of Character's Return

Warning: This article contains minor spoilers for an upcoming storyline on Coronation Street.
Coronation Street has announced details of Todd Grimshaw’s return to the cobbles, including the new actor that will be playing him.
Todd was originally played by Bruno Langley, whose contract with the ITV soap was terminated in 2017, after a woman accused him of sexual assault.
It’s now been announced that the character will be back in Weatherfield later this year, where he’ll be played by Welsh actor Gareth Pierce.
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Gareth Pierce will make his debut as Todd Grimshaw in the autumn ITV
Gareth is perhaps best known for his role in Ruth Jones’ Sky comedy Stella, having also appeared in BBC dramas Hinterland and Ordinary Lies.
He also voiced Gavin Moss in the radio soap The Archers.
Gareth said: “I’m thrilled to be joining such an iconic show, and to have been entrusted with taking Todd forward into some really exciting storylines.
“It’s an honour to be part of the dedicated Coronation Street team in such unprecedented times.”
Although Gareth won’t make his on-screen debut as Todd until the autumn, soap bosses have teased that the stage will begin being set for the character’s return next week.
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Gareth poses with cast members Daniel Brocklebank and Sue Cleaver (at a safe distance, obviously) Mark Bruce/ITV
Todd disappeared under mysterious circumstances in 2017, and an upcoming episode will see him sending a letter to his mum, Eileen, asking for money.
Unfortunately for Todd, Eileen will still be visiting her other son, Jason, in Thailand, and when neighbours Sean and Mary open the letter themselves, they join up with Todd’s ex-partner Billy to help track him down.
During Bruno Langley’s tenure as Todd Grimshaw, he was part of some crucial storylines, not least becoming Coronation Street’s first openly gay resident.
Langley pleaded guilty to two counts of sexual assault in November 2017, shortly after his contract with the ITV soap was terminated.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-08-10--‘I Am Five Times More Likely To Die In Childbirth’: The Health Inequalities For Black Women In UK

‘I Am Five Times More Likely To Die In Childbirth’: The Health Inequalities For Black Women In UK
From dying in childbirth to being admitted to hospital for Covid-19 – evidence shows Black mothers face the greatest health inequalities of any parent in the UK. The words in this feature, recorded by Black women in Britain, are based on findings from Black Ballad Original Data, MBRRACE-UK and NPEU research at the University of Oxford.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-08-10--Why Black Ballad Is Taking Over HuffPost UK

HuffPost UK Tobi Oredein and Jendella Benson, founder and head of editorial at Black Ballad.
For a long time Black British mothers were invisible. We weren’t in the adverts for nappies or follow-on milk, we weren’t in the parenting magazines or modelling maternity wear on the high street. Our experiences only existed in private conversations in the comfort of living rooms, around cosy kitchen tables or in hushed tones in the sensory room at the local soft play centre.
The internet and social media opened things up and we started looking for ourselves, reading each other’s blogs and tracking the highs and lows on Facebook and Instagram.
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Then a shocking study came out that confirmed many of the suspicions that arose from whispered anecdotes: we were four – no five – times more likely to die in childbirth than our white counterparts. We kicked up a fuss, we announced our horror and soon more and more people besides us started talking about it.
You will be hearing about that statistic a lot and you might even be tired of it already, but it’s important that this shameful stat is not swept under the carpet.
But while we know that is far from the full story of what it means to be a Black British mother raising a family today, as far as official records go, that picture is nowhere near from complete. Which is why in January 2020 we launched the Black Ballad Motherhood Survey to gather our own data and insights about the experiences of Black British mums.
“The women in this takeover are award-winning journalists and industry-leading entrepreneurs … but they are also normal Black British women.” - Jendella Benson and Tobi Oredein
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The response was overwhelming – more than 2,500 Black women filled in the survey – because who knows more about under/misrepresentation than Black mothers who are only thought about when it’s time to talk about unequal health outcomes or “gang crime” and youth violence.
But our stories are so much more than the shock and horror. We have struggles, no doubt, but we also organise and advocate for ourselves and our children. We work hard, we love harder, and we navigate an unjust world still remaining hopeful for a future that will be better for not just our families, but all families everywhere.
These are all important aspects of Black motherhood that aren’t spoken about, not in their fullness, so when the opportunity arose to take over HuffPost UK and amplify the voices and experiences of Black mothers in Britain to an even wider audience, of course we grabbed it with both hands.
HuffPost UK have been the perfect partners. The Huffington Post (as it was once known) has been at the forefront of digital journalism, and when Black Ballad was set up in 2014, it provided a clear example of what was possible for a digital focused, new media platform aiming to embrace technology and innovation.
Even more importantly, HuffPost UK have done what allies everywhere should be doing: they handed over the reins and trusted Black Ballad to truly lead on this takeover, not just flinging on a logo and giving a stamp of approval for the sake of optics and “diversity”, but giving Black British women the platform and the freedom to talk about the things we want to talk about in our own authentic voice.
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This is important, because the media landscape is tough right now and Black stories are currently lucrative. Under the guise of allyship we have seen other writers and platforms co-opt and retell our stories, often quite badly!
But nevertheless, here we are, “talkinʼ di tings dem” as the Jamaican colloquialism goes. We have Black women writing about everything from the realities of health inequality to their search for culturally compatible childcare; they are writing about smashing plates, abolishing outdated ideas around the nuclear family and are imagining what life after Covid might look like in education and the great outdoors.
The women featured in this takeover are award-winning journalists and industry-leading entrepreneurs, they are authors and academics, but they are also normal Black British women, juggling deadlines and housework and energetic kids bouncing off the walls in the background of Zoom calls.
Black Ballad exists because our stories were not being told in women’s lifestyle media and we were not at the table when it came to editorial authority and commissioning, so the fact that we have taken everything that has made people second guess us and guest-edited HuffPost UK is a very big deal! Black British women are the heart of Black Ballad and we are so excited and proud to be sharing our heart with a wider audience.
Tobi Oredein is the founder of Black Ballad; Jendella Benson is the head of editorial.
If you would like to read more, become a Black Ballad member to get unlimited access to content, events and discounts, and to connect to its community of like-minded women.
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thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-08-10--I'm A Black Mum Who Gave Birth During Covid-19. I've Never Felt More Vulnerable

Supplied Tobi Oredein during her pregnancy.
This story is part of Black Ballad’s takeover of HuffPost UK, a week-long series by Black women on parenting, family, and our post-Covid future.
When I found out I was pregnant with my daughter last August, I rehearsed how my birth would go a million times in my mind. I imagined myself in a pool of warm, tranquil water with my husband by my side and the unexplainable rush of blood coursing through my veins as I held my daughter for the first time.
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I also mentally rehearsed the not so pleasant things I would have to deal with during pregnancy – a racist healthcare system.
How would I advocate for myself if I felt midwives and doctors weren’t taking my health concerns seriously during labour? Some may ask why I would rehearse such unpleasant moments that aren’t even a reality? It is because that is what Black people – and in this case, Black mothers – do.
Black mothers aren’t born with the privilege of thinking that society will work in our favour. We know that systems that should work for us, don’t. Systems that are meant to serve and protect us can in fact put our lives more in danger, so we push ourselves to imagine the worst and how we will deal with those situations that may arise.
We imagine these unpleasant scenarios so we aren’t caught out, so that we are prepared and armed to deal with these nightmares that far too often turn into realities. Yet, giving birth in a global pandemic was something even my mind couldn’t imagine.
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Supplied The author at her pre-lockdown baby shower.
I gave birth to my daughter by myself after needing an emergency c-section. Of course, doctors were there, but my husband wasn’t allowed by my side and I had never felt more alone or more powerless, in a face mask and looking up a white ceiling with lights so bright they felt like they were piercing my eyeballs.
Spending nearly 60 hours in labour pushed me not just physically, but mentally in a way I could have never predicted. While I ended up having some wonderful midwives and healthcare professionals who guided me every step of the way, attitudes from others changed dramatically when I gained a fever during labour.
I remember waking up due to a painful contraction and calling out my husband’s name for support, only for a midwife to urge me to carry on without my husband and let him continue to get “rest”. Of course, we both decided to ignore her “advice”.
My husband and I knew the expectation for me to breeze through labour with a lack of emotional support and medical intervention is a consequence of the strong Black woman stereotype. A stereotype that has left many Black women having labour experiences that have been unpleasant at best and life threatening and ending at worst.
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“I want an NHS that serves me, a Black woman, like every other woman who comes through their doors.”
Yet, while I quickly brushed off that microaggression, nothing could prepare me for what happened as I was taken to have my c-section. I waited for what felt like hours in a hospital corridor, when a particular doctor looked at me and shouted to her colleagues: “Get this Covid suspect out of here! Why is she here?!”
It was hard to believe the person meant to be in charge of my care threw a tantrum about me – in front of me. There was no regard for me as a first time mum, stressed out because her baby’s heartbeat was creeping closer to being in distress. What I witnessed wasn’t just unprofessional, it was unsettling, and I wanted to rip off my mask and say: “Talk to me, not about me! I deserve care, despite being a Covid suspect.”
Yet, when you are so crippled with fear due to a system that doesn’t view your health as a priority, you stay silent and hope that it is an uncharacteristic moment, and not a clear glimpse of the personality who is about to lead an operation and hold your child’s life in their hands.
Tobi Oredein Tobi and her newborn daughter.
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Despite (thankfully) leaving the hospital with a healthy baby, I want our healthcare system to see Black women as humans, not stereotypes or objects that don’t need love and care. I want a healthcare system that asks me what I need, rather than tells me to carry on when I feel like I can’t, that shows compassion to Black women when we feel at our weakest.
I want healthcare that doesn’t call my husband a ‘baby daddy’ when we attend a routine checkup in tracksuits. I want healthcare that in times of a pandemic or not, doesn’t make me feel like a burden. I want doctors that see the fear on my face and console me. I’m not asking to be wrapped up in cotton wool but I am asking for care.
I also want a healthcare system that thinks about the mental and emotional pressures of labour and does a better job of following up with those of us who have had traumatic experiences. Maybe a 60-hour labour, emergency C-section and a baby heading towards distress are all in a day’s work for a midwife, but it isn’t what I imagined for my labour.
I will never get a first chance to give birth again and if I am fortunate to be pregnant a second time, I don’t want to have to rehearse my worst fears. I want an NHS that serves me, a Black woman, like every other woman who comes through their doors – without racial microaggressions and with aftercare that helps us work through our traumatic experiences.
Tobi Oredein is founder and CEO of Black Ballad.
This article was commissioned for HuffPost UK by Black Ballad, the lifestyle platform that tells stories of human experience through the eyes of Black British women and elevates their voices. If you would like to read more, become a Black Ballad member to get unlimited access to content, events and discounts, and to connect to its community of like-minded women.
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thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-08-10--Revealed: The Shocking Healthcare Racism Endangering Black Mothers

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This story is part of Black Ballad’s takeover of HuffPost UK, a week-long series by Black women on parenting, family, and our post-Covid future.
Black women have revealed the shocking racism they faced in the UK’s healthcare system during pregnancy and childbirth, in a landmark study that sheds light on the country’s damning death rate for expectant Black mothers.
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The survey, carried out by lifestyle publication Black Ballad, with more than 2,500 respondents, uncovered stories of substandard care, discrimination and microaggressions that marred the experiences of many pregnant women. From the wrong dosage of medications being administered to jibes being made from healthcare practitioners about their ability to speak English, Black women have revealed deeply harrowing experiences of being abused and placed at risk during pregnancy.
Not only did it leave expectant mothers hurt and humiliated but many reported feeling scared as health concerns went undetected and they were rendered voiceless while facing an increased risk of death during a time when they were most vulnerable.
Underpinning these experiences is the disgraceful statistic that Black women are five times more likely than white women to die in pregnancy and childbirth in the UK and Ireland.
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Jose Luis Pelaez Inc via Getty Images
One woman, Patricia, was diagnosed with postnatal ovarian cancer – a condition that healthcare practitioners had failed to detect during her pregnancy, she told Black Ballad, despite numerous complaints of pain.
Another, Melissa, was diagnosed with early stage ovarian cancer after doctors failed to take her concerns seriously. “Because I was young, I was told to wait for my body to settle down,” she said.
Speaking to HuffPost UK, 43-year-old mother of two Natalie Lue explained: “As Black women, we have been raised to believe we have to do the whole ‘strong Black woman’ thing. What’s interesting is in society, and in the medical profession, that’s reinforced. It’s like we have to be literally dying on you before you say: ‘Let me take a closer look at you and see how you’re doing.’”
Supplied Natalie Lue
Her words are echoed by other mothers who shared their stories with Black Ballad – which is guest editing HuffPost UK this week with a series on Black parenting, family and healthcare.
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One wrote: “In the throes of my labour I was made to walk to my delivery room even though I was holding on to the wall to stay on my feet. Prior to my labour, though, I watched other non-Black women being wheeled in wheelchairs to their delivery room.” After delivery, made to walk again, she passed out and only then was she given assistance.
“Fear stopped me from speaking out; it was my first appointment and I just wanted the best for me and my daughter.” - Tobi Oredein
Racist microaggressions were another problem spoken about by respondents.
Tobi Oredein, Black Ballad’s co-founder, recalled one such experience during her first prenatal appointment a year ago. The midwife referred to her husband, Bola Awoniyi, as her “baby daddy”.
“It felt like a very racially charged stereotype to say to a young Black couple,” Oredein, 30, said. “It made me feel really small.
“I didn’t challenge her. Fear stopped me from speaking out; it was my first appointment and I just wanted the best for me and my daughter. I didn’t want to be marked as a problem in case it backfired on the care I’d receive later on in the pregnancy.”
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Antenna via Getty Images
Another respondent was 19 when her first pregnancy ended with a miscarriage. “The nurse told me after the scan: ‘Yeah, the baby is gone so you can go and enjoy your life now,’” she said. “I was given no advice or consolation.”
One woman, Charlene, told Black Ballad that from the outset her midwife spoke to her as though she were an “inmate” at a prison and denied her the right to have a say in her own birth plan.
She said: “During both my previous pregnancies I noticed that healthcare professionals often assume that, as a Black female, you are a single parent based on looking at you. They appear to find it even more surprising to find out you’re married.”
“My midwife did not listen to me as though I was the pregnant woman. She handled me as though I was a child or an inmate at a prison.” - Charlene, survey respondent
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She added: “During my last pregnancy I felt that I was given less discussion or choice [than] many of the white expectant mothers I met during my journey. My midwife did not listen to me as though I was the pregnant woman. She handled me as though I was a child or an inmate at a prison where she completely ignored any of my requests regarding my birth plan although I’d had the experience of being pregnant and giving birth the year before.
“The midwife always asked me questions and made notes. However, each time I would check my maternity records and her notes, I would find she made a habit of taking anything I said out of context and made me appear to be unstable to anyone reading my paperwork.”
The same midwife, upon meeting Charlene’s mother, proceeded to question her about how long she had lived in the country, where Charlene’s father was, what job she does and whether she owns her home – all completely irrelevant to her pregnancy and rooted in racist stereotypes.
Black mothers living with disabilities face an even more heightened risk during pregnancy. Some of the women surveyed by Black Ballad reported developing undiagnosed adenomyosis, pre-eclampsia and fibroids – conditions that are prevalent among Black women – and having sickle cell crises, which again disproportionately affect Black people.
All Black Lives UK is a pressure group that has been lobbying the government to bring about an end to race disparity in healthcare. Spokesperson Aima, 18, who preferred not to give her surname, said Black pregnant women are dying in disproportionate numbers because of racism, plain and simple.
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“Medical professionals have been told that Black people, especially Black women, are stronger than white people,” she told HuffPost UK.
“There’s a stereotype that Black women are stronger and can handle everything, so Black women aren’t treated the same as their white counterparts. In the medical field there’s obviously racism that hasn’t been addressed and needs to be.
“This disparity has also evidenced through the Covid-19 report that we weren’t given straight away, which showed that Black people faced a heightened risk of contracting the virus. Racism, systemic inequalities, is at the heart of this issue.
“I’ve always had worries about having children because of the statistic that I face a heightened risk as a Black woman. It’s terrifying to think that I could be in so much pain and medical practitioners will either think I’m overreacting or I’m strong enough, so I can handle it. It’s hurtful. The medical industry has a such a problem with racial discrimination and that isn’t being talked about openly where it should be.”
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Natalie Lue added: “There’s something wrong with the system here. It’s like Black women are not allowed to be ill; we’re inconveniencing you by using the medical system that we bloody well contribute to.”
Born and raised in Dublin, she’d always received a high quality of healthcare. But her experience deteriorated significantly when she moved to London and had two children between 2007 and 2009.
During her first pregnancy, Lue ended up being induced at 11 days overdue. After spending 36 hours in agonising labour that was not progressing due to the angle of the baby, she overheard a white midwife saying to her colleagues that she was highly concerned and an emergency Caesarian section should have been conducted hours earlier.
Another midwife dismissively replied: “Leave her.”
“If a white woman gets upset, it’s like: 'There, there – let me get you a cup of tea and a biscuit.' Black women don’t get sympathy.” - Natalie Lue
After the operation, a consultant confirmed to Lue that her condition should have been picked up earlier. At this point, Lue reported the conversation she’d overheard between the midwives and received an apology.
“I don’t think I’ll ever get over the humiliation – I felt unsafe and I felt humiliated,” she told HuffPost UK. “Obviously they didn’t know that I’d overheard the conversation and I thought: ‘Wow – is this how we’re spoken about?’”
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During her second pregnancy, a white nurse told her she didn’t have a high enough pain threshold. She was pressured to do a vaginal birth despite underlying health conditions.
Finally, she was advised at the eleventh hour that this would risk both her and her baby’s lives, and she should have had a C-section sooner.
“It’s like we’re not seen as human, worthy of respect,” she said. “If I get upset, I’m being difficult.”
She added: “If a white woman gets upset, it’s like: ‘There, there – let me get you a cup of tea and a biscuit.’ Black women don’t get sympathy.
“White women also die in childbirth and have problems with midwives – but we have it at a far higher rate. I know the NHS is stretched and I have a great deal of respect for it. Some of these hiccups and problems come from that.
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“But when it comes to Black women it comes down to lack of respect and bias.”
Lue also stressed that a number of racist microaggressions came from health workers with Asian backgrounds, as well as white people.
“The BAME label doesn’t mean that every ethnic minority person is treated the same,” she said.
Supplied Tinuke Awe, founder of the Five X More Campaign.
In 2019, a group of Black women launched the FiveXMore campaign in response to the MBRRACE report that uncovered the original disparity in death rates. The founder, Tinuke Awe, 28, set up a petition to the government calling for it to address the problem, which amassed over 180,000 signatures. It is still awaiting debate.
“The FiveXMore campaign wasn’t very well received at all until the Black Lives Matter movement happened. Everybody wanted to get involved and speak to us about it. A lot of people didn’t realise that this was a problem in the UK – many thought it was just the US,” Awe, a mother-of-two, told HuffPost UK.
“I’m so happy that we’ve finally been able to raise awareness and get the message out there but it’s a shame it took the televised murder of George Floyd for more people to start having this conversation.
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“Since then, people have been reaching out with their stories, women have said ‘thank you for speaking up’ because either they thought it was normal to receive such poor care or they were so grateful that they made it out alive with their baby, so resolved not to even speak about it. On the flipside, there’s a lot of midwives and doctors having really uncomfortable conversations about how and why this is happening.”
Racism is deeply entrenched in medicine, Awe said, and the Eurocentric nature of the profession has historically been at the expense of Black women’s lives.
For example, Dr James Marion Sims – who is widely regarded as the “father of modern gynaecology” – performed experimental surgeries on Black female slaves without anesthesia between 1845 and 1849 as he perfected his method of fistula operations.
“The reason for the Black maternal mortality rate is multifaceted and there are different layers,” Awe added. “There’s all sorts of reasons such as racism, microaggressions, doctors not believing Black women and their pain; plus this disparity isn’t taught in medicine – we’ve spoken to doctors and midwives who don’t even know that Black women are five times more likely to die from pregnancy complications. If there is no awareness in the first place, and people don’t know about it, then what can be done?”
lostinbids via Getty Images
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Statistics released during Covid-19 highlighted that 55% of pregnant women admitted to hospital with the virus were from Black, Asian or other ethnic minority backgrounds.
Pregnant Then Screwed, an organisation that advocates for working mothers’ rights, launched a petition calling for BAME pregnant women to be shielded. It has so far garnered more than 3,000 signatures.
It found in a recent survey that 25% of pregnant NHS workers are risking their lives by working in direct contact with patients who could have Covid-19, while 24% of pregnant NHS workers feel “unsafe” – rising to 31% for those who are BAME.
The risk is laid bare by tragic cases like that of Mary Agyeiwaa Agyapong – a Black nurse who contracted coronavirus and died on April 12 shortly after delivering her baby son.
Meanwhile, a 2019 study conducted by Queen Mary, University of London, indicates that Black women are 1.5 times more likely to experience a stillbirth than white women.
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“We have a duty to ensure that no woman or her family suffers unnecessarily and that we address racial inequality, where it exists.” - Dr Christine Ekechi, Royal College of Obstetrics and Gynaecology
On July 15 the Royal College of Obstetrics and Gynaecology set up a Race Equality Taskforce to get to the bottom of why there are racial disparities in women’s healthcare and to better understand the racism that workers experience – headed up by Dr Christine Ekechi, consultant obstetrician and gynaecologist at Imperial Healthcare.
“It is easy to forget that an individual woman lies behind every shocking statistic; a woman who has died or suffered a poor health outcome, sometimes along with her baby,” Dr Ekechi told HuffPost UK.
“Whilst the majority of outcomes for pregnant women and their babies are positive, there is a stark truth that Black, Asian and minority ethnic women have a greater chance of suffering a poorer experience or health outcome when compared to white women. This is completely unacceptable,” she said.
Dr Ekechi added that healthcare providers had a duty to “address racial inequality, where it exists”.
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In response to the Five X More petition, the government said its NHS long-term plan would reduce health inequalities, and that it would aim for 75% of BAME women to get “continuity of care” – that is, the same midwife caring for them throughout pregnancy – by 2024.
“They referenced ‘BAME’ which is quite damaging because it conflates different statistics,” said Awe. “Plus what happens between now and 2024? Their response is not immediate enough.”
A government spokesperson told HuffPost UK: “This is a complex and concerning issue. The NHS has already taken action on the ground, and we are examining what more can be done. Later this summer the Minister for Equalities will be co-hosting a roundtable on this vital issue with academics and key health professionals, to identify the actions needed to protect Black, Asian and minority ethnic mothers.”
Shadow women and equalities secretary Marsha de Cordova told HuffPost UK: “Inequality and injustice define everyone’s long-term health, wealth and working conditions. We have known for some time that Black and south Asian women in the UK are disproportionately more likely to die during childbirth, or in the first year of their child’s life, and it is high time that more research is undertaken to really understand why this is the case and what can be done to address it.
“Once this research is complete, ministers need to urgently address maternal health inequalities with a clear plan [...] to make giving birth and being a new mother in the UK as safe for Black and south Asian women as it is for anyone else.”
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This article was commissioned for HuffPost UK by Black Ballad, the lifestyle platform that tells stories of human experience through the eyes of Black British women and elevates their voices. If you would like to read more, become a Black Ballad member to get unlimited access to content, events and discounts, and to connect to its community of like-minded women.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-08-10--Simon Cowell Speaks Out On Twitter After Breaking His Back In Electric Bike Accident

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Simon Cowell has given fans an update after undergoing surgery on his back, following an accident at his home.
On Saturday, the music mogul broke his back after falling from an electric bike he’d been riding in the courtyard of his Malibu home.
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Having now undergone surgery, Simon has spoken about the incident for the first time on his Twitter page.
“Some good advice,” he wrote. “If you buy an electric trail bike, read the manual before you ride it for the first time.”
Simon Cowell SIPA USA/PA Images
He continued: “I have broken part of my back. Thank you to everyone for your kind messages.
“And a massive thank you to all the nurses and doctors. Some of the nicest people I have ever met. Stay safe everyone.”
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Some good advice...
If you buy an electric trail bike, read the manual before you ride it for the first time.
I have broken part of my back.
Thank you to everyone for your kind messages. — Simon Cowell (@SimonCowell) August 10, 2020
And a massive thank you to all the nurses and doctors. Some of the nicest people I have ever met.
Stay safe everyone
Simon. — Simon Cowell (@SimonCowell) August 10, 2020
Simon’s rep previously told Metro: “Simon has broken his back in a number of places in a fall from his bike whilst testing a new electric bike in the courtyard of his home in Malibu with his family.
“He was taken to hospital where they operated overnight [Saturday] he’s under observation and is doing fine.”
Prior to his injury, Simon had been due to judge the first live shows of this year’s America’s Got Talent, which will air in the US on Tuesday night, but he will no longer be appearing.
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thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-08-10--The 20 Funniest Tweets From Women Last Week

The ladies of Twitter never fail to brighten our days with their brilliant and succinct wit. Each week, HuffPost Women rounds up hilarious musings of 280 characters or fewer.
Scroll through this week’s great tweets from women below. Then visit our “Funniest Tweets From Women” page for past roundups.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-08-10--Vaccine Expert Has A Grim Prediction Of What Coronavirus Will Do 'For Years And Years'

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Vaccine expert Dr Peter Hotez on Friday predicted the coronavirus will continue to plague the US “for years and years, even after vaccines are out and we get people vaccinated.”
Hotez, the director of the Texas Children’s Hospital Center for Vaccine Development, told MSNBC’s Nicolle Wallace that Covid-19 in the US was “still spiralling out of control,” noting recent forecasts that 300,000 people could die from the disease by December.
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The virus has now killed more than 160,000 people nationwide.
Hotez, who has long rejected and contested the anti-vaccine movement, noted how Russian intelligence officers have reportedly been part of a disinformation campaign to sow doubt about vaccines in development for the virus.
Anti-science campaigners were fueling further deaths with their stances against social distancing and the wearing of face masks to mitigate its spread, Hotez argued.
He warned the White House will step up its attacks on scientists, as it did with Dr Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, who has countered the government’s narrative on the crisis.
“So, put your tray-table up in the upright and locked position. It’s going to be a very tough fall, I’m afraid,” said Hotez.
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The coronavirus could still be contained, Hotez claimed, but that would require “leadership at the federal level, and there was never an interest or curiosity for the federal government to lead this,” a reference to Trump’s passing of the buck to governors.
The White House’s failure to properly advocate for face masks, support contact tracing and introduce more lockdowns to quell outbreaks “is why we have the world’s worst Covid-19 epidemic and it’s still growing,” he said.
Trump for months downplayed the risk of the illness and later pushed for the premature reopening of schools and businesses, which many pundits claim was a ploy to get the economy back on track ahead of the 2020 election.
“Sometimes we talk about it as though it’s the past and the worst is over. The worst is yet to come,” Hotez concluded. “We’re going to double the number of deaths over the next few months and now we know it’s not just deaths. We’re seeing long-term injury to the lungs, to the vascular system, to the heart, neurologic deficits, cognitive deficits. This will plague the country for years and years, even after vaccines are out and we get people vaccinated.”
Check out Hotez’s comments here:
"Our epidemic is still spiraling out of control... with still no plan for control at all and then on top of that we have so many conspiracy theories including those put out by the White House... We've also learned that the Russians are involved" - @PeterHotez w/ @NicolleDWallace pic.twitter.com/NwNZkXlL4j — Deadline White House (@DeadlineWH) August 7, 2020


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-08-10--Boris Johnson Told To Ramp Up Test And Trace To Safely Reopen Schools

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Boris Johnson is being urged to boost the government’s coronavirus test and trace to safely reopen schools next month.
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Teachers and scientific experts have all called for improvements to testing before students return to school.
Children’s commissioner for England Anne Longfield said regular testing of pupils and teachers would need to be carried out as frequently as weekly to keep transmissions down.
“I think it needs to be as regular as it needs to be, to ensure that the infection is caught and identified as quickly as possible and then the tracking system can move on from that,” she told Times Radio.
Socially distanced desks are set out for lesson in the hall at a school in Dukinfield, England. Anthony Devlin via Getty Images
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The prime minister said it is a “national priority” and “moral duty” to reopen schools, but has been warned that “trade offs” may be necessary and that more restrictions may be needed to reopen classrooms in England next month.
He is understood to favour closing down pubs, restaurants and shops ahead of schools in the event of severe coronavirus flare-ups.
Longfield has previously accused the government of treating children as “an afterthought”.
But schools minister Nick Gibb has said the government cannot “decree” that classroom education would be prioritised, instead saying decisions would be made by local health chiefs.
He told the BBC all children would be returning next month including in areas hit by local lockdowns, which currently includes Preston, Greater Manchester, Leicester and parts of east Lancashire and West Yorkshire.
“But you can’t decree this for every single case and it will depend on the circumstances of a local increase in the infection rate, and that is why it is being led by the director of public health in localities. But we want all children back in school,” he added.
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Professor Sir Jeremy Farrar, who is advising the government’s Covid-19 response, said the “brief window” before schools reopen must be “used wisely”, otherwise new restrictions will be needed.
“Most urgently, we need to ramp up testing. We are not where we need to be. We must improve contact tracing, so we’re identifying more cases and providing better, faster data locally,” he wrote in the Observer.
“If we don’t, we may not be able to reopen schools without introducing new restrictions elsewhere. These are the trade-offs we face – if we do not act now.”
News agency PA reported a No.10 source saying on Saturday that Johnson’s expectation is that schools would be the last sector to close, with firms being shut first in the event of severe local lockdowns.
“The PM has been clear that businesses including shops, pubs and restaurants should be forced to close first, with schools remaining open for as long as possible,” the source said.
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National Education Union (NEU) deputy general secretary, Avis Gilmore, said ministers must “be clear” about support in the case of a second wave.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-08-10--Fried Rice Wars: YouTuber Teams Up With BBC Host After Criticising Her Rice Recipe

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Fried rice fans from across the world united on Sunday when a YouTube comedian who teased a BBC presenter for her cooking skills made peace by teaming up with her for a new video.
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In the video, Ng played a character he had devised named ‘Uncle Roger’ – an orange Polo shirt-wearing, hypercritical middle-aged man with a stereotypical Malaysian Chinese accent – and reacted in exaggerated shock as Patel used a number of cooking techniques seen as unorthodox in East Asia, including draining the rice with a colander.
Portions of the video soon went viral on social media, attracting thousands of shares and commentary, particularly from across the East Asian and Southeast Asian diaspora.
Comments ranged from laughter at Patel’s “hate crime” rice preparation techniques to more serious remarks on how Western cultures often appropriate Asian cuisine and distribute it to mass audiences in a modified format intended to be more palatable – a process sometimes called “whitewashing food.”
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Patel – herself of Indian heritage – came across as the butt end of the joke, resulting in an unexpected turn of events where she reached out to ‘Uncle Roger’ himself.
The unlikely duo, who both reside in London, met in person, and Patel clarified that she knew how to make egg fried rice and had simply been doing a job for the BBC and following a recipe the broadcaster had given her. The pair then announced their intention to film a video together, and Ng denounced the judgmental trolling that Patel had received.
Shortly afterward, the kerfuffle over rice reached the BBC itself – which invited both Patel and Ng on-air to discuss the “cultural issue.”
In the BBC appearance, Ng acknowledged that perhaps he had been a “little bit mean” in his original video.
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″[Uncle Roger] is just a character; I don’t actually feel that way towards Hersha or her rice techniques,” Ng clarified.
“The internet can be very volatile, and I wanted to make this a positive thing,” Patel added, explaining why she had decided to reach out to Ng and collaborate. “The idea is that we both have a sense of humour and we understand that there are lots of different ways to cook things.”
Despite this truce, the BBC presenter interviewing the pair cheekily said that the network would “take responsibility” for the recipe that had garnered Patel such criticism.
To all my new friends/haters @MrNigelNg and I have just had a lovely afternoon discussing my 'crimes' against rice... watch this space.. collab coming soon, give me a follow! #riceislife #uncleroger pic.twitter.com/vQivHNp9V5 — Hersha Patel (@hershapatel1) July 24, 2020
The final collaboration between Ng and Patel – dubbed “Uncle Roger Meet Egg Fried Rice Lady” – was the 9th most trending video on YouTube 9 hours after its Sunday release, quickly racking up over a million views. In it, Uncle Roger pays a visit to Patel’s humble abode and gets to experience her take on egg fried rice.
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thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-08-10--White House Reportedly Asked How To Get A New President's Face On Mount Rushmore

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A White House aide asked South Dakota governor Kristi Noem last year how an interested party might go about adding another giant presidential face to Mount Rushmore, a source told The New York Times.
Which president?
Here’s a hint: Noem greeted President Donald Trump with a four-foot replica of Mount Rushmore that included his face when he travelled to the monument for a speech on July 3. The tidbit was part of a Times story about how Noem — and others — appeared to be sniffing around for vice president Mike Pence’s job.
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Noem was the first to publicly reveal Trump’s desire to add his image alongside the 60-foot faces of Presidents George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln and Theodore Roosevelt carved into the mountain.
Noem spilled on a 2018 South Dakota version of Carpool Karaoke that the first time Trump shared his dream with her in the Oval Office, she thought he was joking, the Argus Leader reported.
“Do you know it’s my dream to have my face on Mount Rushmore?” he asked Noem, who was still in Congress at the time and running for governor. “I started laughing. He wasn’t laughing, so he was totally serious,” she recalled.
A Tulsa World cartoonist had even envisioned Trump on the mountain the previous year:
trump on mount rushmore pic.twitter.com/UMsNVNCP5l — vera kowalska (@dialtfortrouble) July 26, 2017
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During a rally in Youngstown, Ohio, in 2017, Trump also raised the possibility of his face set in stone — but didn’t quite commit so people wouldn’t laugh at him.
“I’d ask whether or not you think I will someday be on Mount Rushmore, but here’s the problem: If I did it joking — totally joking, having fun — the fake news media will say, ‘He believes he should be on Mount Rushmore,’” Trump explained.
“So I won’t say it, okay? I won’t say it.”
Trump denied the Times story in a tweet Sunday — but said that his face on Mount Rushmore “sounds like a good idea to me!”
This is Fake News by the failing @nytimes & bad ratings @CNN. Never suggested it although, based on all of the many things accomplished during the first 3 1/2 years, perhaps more than any other Presidency, sounds like a good idea to me! https://t.co/EHrA9yUsAw — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 10, 2020
For anyone concerned about Mount Rushmore changes, there’s no room for another president, according to officials.
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As an alternative, Trump might want to consider some other ideas from Twitter critics:
#MountRushmore reaction when someone explained why it was trending. pic.twitter.com/yF5HUxFzkd — Kevin Fisher 🌊 ⚾🏈🏀 (@kfishercanton) August 9, 2020
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The Grifters seems to be a popular reply for some reason. pic.twitter.com/34pTAXx7Z5 — D Villella ❄ (@dvillella) August 3, 2020
First good laugh of the day😂😂😂😂👇🏻 this guy on Mount Rushmore👇🏻😂😂😂😂This guy👇🏻😂😂😂 seriously this guy👇🏻 pic.twitter.com/sVYmPwcKtz — adrienne (@adriennerourke) August 8, 2020
Trump (and Epstein, et al) finally makes it to Mount Rushmore … pic.twitter.com/YUnOu7qWxY — Philip Cohen (@PhilipCohen5) August 3, 2020
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thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-08-10--Government Plan For Extra Apprentice Nurses 'Not Enough' To Solve Staffing Crisis, Say Campaigners

Photo of a busy hospital ward PA
A government plan to train an extra 1,000 apprentice nurses a year does not go far enough to plug huge staffing gaps in the NHS, unions have warned.
On Monday, ministers unveiled a £172m package to fund training for 2,000 nursing degree apprentices each year for the next four years.
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With around 1,000 nursing apprentices already trained annually, the government said it would allow employers to double the number of trainees they take on, with bosses given £8,300-a-year per apprentice.
Health secretary Matt Hancock said the UK must ensure that nursing “is truly diverse and open to all”.
Hancock said: “Nursing apprenticeships allow students to earn as they learn and this new funding will enable healthcare employers to hire thousands more, helping us to deliver 50,000 more nurses by the end of this parliament.”
The government’s pledge for 50,000 more nurses by 2024 has proved controversial, with the promise relying on the NHS retaining staff.
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Health Secretary Matt Hancock Jonathan Brady - PA Images via Getty Images
The Royal College of Nurses (RCN) welcomed the new funding – but said the new apprentices would not be enough to plug the NHS staffing gap.
Mike Adams, RCN’s director for England, said: “This increase in places is a welcome step and we hope it will make a career in nursing more accessible for those fortunate enough to secure a place.
“It does, however, fall short of the wider investment needed to educate enough registered nurses for the future, ensuring health and care services have the staff needed.”
It’s a warning that has been echoed by the King’s Fund think-tank.
Policy director Sally Warren said the funding for apprenticeships would not “solve chronic shortages in health and care services”.
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“Even before the pandemic, the health and care workforce was in a state of crisis, with high levels of work-related stress, reports of overworked staff looking to leave their jobs, and a shortage of around 40,000 nurses,” she said.
During the 18 months since the NHS workforce strategy was promised, only “piecemeal” moves have been announced, Warren added.
“Delays to government spending decisions have left the health service without the long term investment and concrete commitments needed to recruit the doctors, nurses and other staff needed to address workforce shortages.”
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Campaigners have also called on the government to reinstate the full bursary for nursing students at university in order to fill the thousands of vacant nursing jobs in the NHS.
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In 2015, David Cameron’s cabinet announced highly controversial plans to scrap grants for student nurses – which were worth up to £16,454 – and replace them with loans, arguing it would allow the government to lift the cap on training places.
However, there was a steady drop in university applications in the years following from first-time nursing students, the Guardian reported.
In December, Hancock said that nursing students would once again be able to apply for grants of up to £8,000-year – but campaigners and unions have called for more.
Adams, from the RCN said: “It is the case that a full-time, three-year nursing degree remains the fastest way to deliver a registered nurse through education.
“The government must abolish self-funded tuition fees for all nursing students as well as introducing universal living maintenance grants that reflect actual student need if it is truly committed on delivering the 50,000 more nurses they promised.”
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thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-08-10--How To Prevent Sweaty Armpit Marks On Your Clothes

Imagine going out on a hot summer day without worrying that your shirt will end up soaked in sweat under your arms, on your upper back, all down your abdomen, or all of the above. When you’re dressing for work or a social event (while wearing a mask, of course), it’s tough to make a personal style statement that’s not drenched in sweat.
Sweating is going to happen, no matter what you try to stop it. In fact, we need it to happen. Perspiration helps the body cool down to a healthy temperature when we experience a rise due to external or internal heat.
“Exercise, stress, weather or hormonal changes can increase the heat,” said board-certified dermatologist Kemunto Mokaya.
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We spoke with doctors and stylists to help you come up with a no-sweat strategy, from the inside out. Here’s their advice.
In case you’re wondering why your armpits are such a sweaty problem...
Eccrine glands, which are in charge of producing sweat, “are found all over your body, but are more concentrated in the armpits, palms and soles,” said dermatologist Ife J. Rodney, founding director of Eternal Dermatology and Aesthetics in Maryland.
spukkato via Getty Images Antiperspirants can actually stop your body from sweating, while deodorants only mask the odor of your sweat.
And then there’s the smell. Armpits also contain apocrine glands, which secrete an odourless substance that becomes smelly when it’s degraded by bacteria. Armpit hair takes the smell to the next level.
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“As a result of its location near hair follicles, in combination with bacteria, sweat in these areas typically smells worse,” said cosmetic dermatologist Michele Green.
Other factors that can increase how much you sweat are medications, conditions like diabetes, cancer or thyroid imbalances, your body mass (“People with a larger body mass use more energy and produce more heat, even when resting,” Rodney said) and your genetics.
Before you completely rejigger your wardrobe, you can try to control sweat from the inside out.
The go-to product that every dermatologist recommends to prevent sweating is antiperspirant. Deodorant protects against odour, while antiperspirant protects against sweat and odour. It’s a controversial product because it contains aluminium, which is linked to both Alzheimer’s and cancer, but doctors we’ve previously spoken to agreed there isn’t enough conclusive evidence to prove it. (Keep reading below for a more natural approach.)
Look for antiperspirant products that contain aluminium chloride, zirconium salts and aldehydes, which help stop you from sweating. Deodorants, on the other hand, only neutralise the smell of sweat. “Antiperspirants are first-line in management of excessive sweating,” Mokaya said. Green recommends Drysol, because it contains aluminium chloride hexahydrate, which works directly on the cells that produce sweat.
For a natural approach, try an armpit detox
There’s one big thing to note regarding antiperspirants ― their chemicals come with potential side effects, such as redness, itching, dry skin and even headaches. If you’re looking for a natural approach, try an armpit detox.
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Armpit detox restores the natural microbiome of your underarm area, which can reduce the tendency for the body to perspire or sweat. J Ken, research and formulation chemist and owner of Daily Detox Hacks, recommends using 1 tablespoon of bentonite clay, apple cider vinegar, a carrier oil like coconut, and 2 or 3 tablespoons of essential oils like tea tree oil, which is a natural antibacterial agent.
“Mix till you have the consistency of a stiff yogurt,” Ken said. Apply a thin layer on your armpit, let it sit for three minutes and cleanse with warm water afterward. “Repeat twice daily for between three and seven days.”
Koldunov via Getty Images Bright colors like turquoise show sweat more prominently than dark or very light shades.
The best (and worst) colours and fabrics to conceal sweat
First of all, there are products you can buy to make your clothes a little more sweat-proof. With disposable or multi-use cotton armpit pads like Purax Pure Pads, Lavince Sweat Pads and Dandi Patch, you just stick them inside your clothing to absorb sweat. There’s also clothing with built-in underarm pads, like Thompson Tee’s Sweat Proof undershirt.
The colours that make armpit sweat even more pronounced are bright colours, greys and nudes. Embrace either really dark shades, like black and navy, or very light colours, like pure white, as they conceal sweat the best.
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“But you don’t have to give up wearing colour because you struggle with sweating, as long as you choose the right fabric,” said Shelby Goldfaden, manager of merchandising and product development with womenswear brand M.M.LaFleur. Go for natural, breathable fibres like cotton, bamboo or linen, which don’t trap heat.
“Ideally, go for 100% cotton; not only is it better for your skin but it is also great for the environment,” said Amra Beganovich, style influencer and founder of New York-based digital agency A&E.
Workout brands like Nike and Lululemon have perfected dry-wicking technical fabrics, which draw sweat away from the body and help it to dry quickly upon contact with the air.
Prostock-Studio via Getty Images You likely know from experience that gray is one of the colors that shows sweat the most.
Aside from cotton and technical fabrics, your next-best bet is polyester, which both Goldfaden and celebrity stylist Amber Alexandria recommend for being lightweight and comfortable.
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And as for solids vs. prints, prints are clearly the best. Camo, tartan, gingham, houndstooth, floral patterns and the ever-popular tie-dye are great options for concealing sweat marks.
Be tactical about the types of garments you wear
While the concept of adding more layers may seem counterintuitive on a hot day (won’t more layers equal more sweat?), layers can be easily popped on to conceal sweat, and then taken off to cool down ― think lightweight shrugs or wrap tops. When styling multiple pieces of clothing together, just keep in mind the weight of the fabric. “Try a loose slip dress with side slits with a mesh bralette underneath, paired with a flat sandal or open-toe heel,” Alexandria suggested.
Sleeved dresses with wide armholes are a great option, as they allow air to flow freely. “Something with a cap sleeve and lower armholes will help combat stains and keep you cool,” Goldfaden said.
You can also go for a sleeveless dress, as it provides more ventilation and keeps the area cooler, especially if it’s loosely fitted. ”One huge benefit of wearing sleeveless tops is the ability to rinse, wipe, pat dry and if need be, reapply deodorant to the area,” said personal and fashion stylist Lana Blanc. Goldfaden’s favourite is an easy shift dress.
When buying bras, always go for the one with a thin band. “Bras with a thick band tend to make us sweat more, so try to opt for thin bras made from lace, mesh or cotton,” Blanc said.
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thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-08-10--These Easy Onigiri Rice Balls Are Great Fun To Make With Kids

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Cooking With Kids is a weekly recipe series on getting creative in the kitchen with the family.
Bored of the same sandwich lunch option? Enter: Onigiri rice balls, found everywhere in Japan. Your kids will love them.
Head chef and co-founder of udon noodle restaurant Koya in London, Shuko Oda loves making tje handmade rice balls with a wide range of fillings and variations with her two small children.
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“Onigiri is special as the whole point of a rice ball is that each one’s different –because every hand that forms them is different,” she tells HuffPost UK. “Obviously, you get small awkward shapes with kids, but they look sweet on your plate and are good as they’re filled with warmth, love, and oddness!”
Besides forming them, little ones can get involved at any point in the process and learn a variety of skills. From cooking on the hob (with parental supervision, of course), and patience waiting for the rice to be cooked, this is a forgiving recipe that doesn’t matter if it doesn’t look perfect.
“That’s the fun bit of cooking with the small ones, as you don’t need to feel so precious about the end result,” Oda explains. “My older daughter loves the shaping process, she just wants to try different shapes and my son likes using this shaking onigiri making instrument that my mother sent me from Japan – pop rice in, close the lid and shake like a maracas.”
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Onigiri Rice Balls
Serves: 2 (makes 4-6 onigiri rice balls) | Prep time: 1 hr | Cook time: 40 mins
Shuko Oda Onigiri Rice Balls
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Ingredients:
300g short-grain Japanese rice
1-1.5 big sheets (approx. 20cm square) nori sheets
Filling of your choice.
FYI: Pretty much anything can go in as filling, such as frankfurter, edamame beans, ham, umeboshi (salted Japanese plum), sweetcorn, salmon, and sesame seeds. For this recipe, Oda has chosen a tuna mayo filling, and another with cucumber and sesame seeds mixed in.
For the tuna mayo filling:
1 x tinned tuna
Mayonnaise
For the salmon cucumber filling:
50g fillet of salmon
5cm cucumber
1 tbsp sesame seeds
Method:
1. Wash the rice five times, draining water every time. Take the rice out into a colander, and transfer into a pot. Leave soaking in 400-430ml water for an hour.
2. Place lid on and bring to boil a medium to low heat, this should take about 10-15 minutes. There’s no need to open the lid at any point as you will see it boiling when you hear the rice bubbling, or when the bubbles lift the lid up
3. Once boiled, turn the heat down to low and cook for a further 10-15 minutes (if you’ve been tempted and opened the lid, give it a little booster high heat for 10 seconds!).
4. Turn the heat off and leave it to steam in the pot for further 10 minutes. After steaming, mix the rice from the bottom of the pot a few times.
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5. While the rice is cooking, mix tuna with mayonnaise to make tuna mayo for the first onigiri filling.
6. For the salmon onigiri: Slice cucumber as thinly as possible into thin discs and sprinkle ½ tablespoon salt on them. Leave them for 5 mins to let off water then tightly squeeze the water out with your hands. Season salmon with a pinch of salt on both sides and grill on both sides until fully cooked, then flake them. Mix half of the rice with flaked salmon, cucumber and sesame seeds.
Split the rice mixed with salmon, cucumber, and sesame into 2-3 and form into a ball or triangle or again any shape you wish.
7. For the tuna mayo onigiri: Wet your hands, and sprinkle a small amount of salt on them, and take half of the plain rice left in the pot. Create a hole in the middle of the rice and place a tablespoon of tuna mayo inside, cover with surrounding rice. If you’re looking for the typical shape, cup the rice in both your hands to form a ball or triangle. The rice left in the pot should make 2-3 onigiri.
8. Cut the sheet of nori into 3-4 strips (you can just fold and tear it with your hands). Place an onigiri at the centre of a strip of nori and fold the sides up.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-08-10--Can You Catch Covid-19 In A Swimming Pool?

Malte Mueller via Getty Images
Every Monday we’ll answer your questions on Covid-19 and health in a feature published online. You can submit a question here.
This week, HuffPost UK reader Jo asked: As Covid-19 spreads through water droplets, how can swimming pools possibly be safe?
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Swimming pools are back open in parts of the UK – but some people are sceptical of whether it’s safe to use them. So, what’s the deal?
During the peak of the virus, no cases were reported of Covid-19 spreading in swimming pools or through water. But that doesn’t mean it’s without risks.
“The risk is not from the SARS-CoV-2 virus surviving and transmitting through the water per se,” says Dr Julian Tang, associate professor in respiratory sciences at the University of Leicester. “The water itself, with the standard bleach or other detergent-based disinfectants, will be effective in killing this virus – it is lipid-enveloped and fragile.”
The risk really occurs above the water, he says, from swimmers chatting at the end of their lanes when they’re within typical conversational distances of 0.5m to 1m. This is because the main route the virus spreads is in droplets propelled into the air when a person speaks, coughs, sings, sneezes or laughs.
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Professor Vincenzo Romano Spica is an expert in public health from the University of Rome and one of the lead authors of a paper on swimming pool safety during Covid-19. He tells HuffPost UK he believes it’s safe to go swimming – and he would feel comfortable going swimming himself, in Italy, where he lives.
Chlorinated pools are considered safest, as they’re maintained and regularly disinfected, which can help to deactivate the virus. The World Health Organisation (WHO) suggests “swimming in a well-maintained, properly chlorinated pool is safe”.
That said, there are some other key risk factors to think about first.
Are cases in your area rising?
A key thing to consider before reaching for your goggles is how many people in your local area (or the area where you plan to swim) have Covid-19.
In places where cases are rising and lockdowns are being enforced, swimming pools would be more risky to visit than areas where there are a handful of cases. You can find out how many cases are in your local area.
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In Italy and other European countries where incidence is low, Prof Romano Spica believes it’s safe to swim. But in parts of the USA, India and other areas where outbreaks are emerging or present, it’s a no-go.
How busy is the pool?
WHO recommends people avoid crowded swimming pools and keep at least one metre away from people who sneeze or cough. Among epidemiologists, two metres is still considered to be the optimum distance.
Crowding and personal distancing are key factors, more than water, says Prof Romano Spica, so the emptier the pool is, the better. Under UK government guidance, leisure facilities should ensure an appropriate number of people are allowed in the swimming pool at any one time.
How close are you to other swimmers?
“It’s possible that exposure may occur in adjacent lanes if swimmers are too close together,” says Dr Tang. He offers the example of an infected swimmer coming to the surface and exhaling strongly before taking their next breath, just as another swimmer comes the other way and passes them, inhaling strongly before their next stroke. There would be potential to breathe in the virus.
“But the frequency of this type of encounter would be rare,” he points out, “and if the lanes are wider and each swimmer stays within the middle of their lane, this reduces the transmission risk further as this is effectively a form of social distancing.”
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What is the pool used for?
Find out what the pool is used for before you decide to visit. If, for instance, the pool is used for exercise and sport, there’s likely to be greater physical distancing (as there’ll hopefully be lanes in place) and not as many people using it. It’s also less likely there’ll be bodily fluids knocking around than, say, a pool on holiday.
But on the other hand, pools that form part of residential complexes or are aimed at allowing people of different ages to sunbathe, refresh, play and socialise, can often result in overcrowded conditions, which would pose more of a risk. There’s also more of a chance that people will be shouting and laughing – both of which can spread the virus to people nearby.
Indoor vs outdoor pools – which is best?
HuffPost UK reader Brian asked whether it’s safe to go swimming in indoor pools. In the UK it’s deemed safe to swim in indoor pools, which opened at the end of July. But outdoor pools are considered safer.
“Outdoor pools have the advantage of sunlight and wind to destroy the virus and/or blow it away before it reaches the other person,” says Dr Tang.
Dr Tang adds that swimming indoors (or outdoors) wouldn’t be high risk if the lanes are wider, with only one swimmer per lane; and if swimmers don’t talk to each other at the end of their lanes, or before entering or after leaving the pool. He concludes: “Being antisocial is being safe!”
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If you’re worried about transmission in an indoor setting, arrive in your swimming gear, so you don’t have to use changing rooms, and take your own equipment/aids. This is advised by Swim England. Use hand sanitiser before entering and when leaving the pool, too.
To protect others, in the event that you might be asymptomatic, you could consider wearing a face cover when you’re not using the pool.
If you feel nervous about returning, phone your leisure centre beforehand to see what practices they have in place to keep people safe. You could also ask what the least busy times are to visit, for peace of mind.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-08-10--I Can’t Believe I’m Saying This, But I Missed My Commute

bagira22 via Getty Images Subway underground, train car modern interior with various passengers. People sitting and standing in metro wagon.Humans use public transportation. Trendy flat vector illustration.
There were a lot of things I knew I’d miss about my working life when the nation locked down in mid-March. Friends and colleagues, of course. The pubs, restaurants and food vendors around my office in Farringdon. And the easy access to London – although I rarely made the most of that.
What I didn’t think I’d miss was getting there and back.
As I’m sure is the case for many, I always saw commuting as a bind. An overpriced, unreliable, annoyingly necessary part of life that I had to endure, rather than enjoy. But as the months away from the city have worn on, I’ve found myself yearning to get back to the commute, and have come to appreciate the important role it has in my life.
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Commuting for me is about forty minutes each way. From my home in a small town in the Chilterns to Euston (still London’s absolute worst station). It was a journey I’d make at least four days a week, leaving in a customary mad rush before eight in the morning and only occasionally getting home with time enough to say goodnight to my two-year-old son.
It was never the worst service in the world. The daily, niggling sub-five minute delays were more irritating than disruptive. But when it went wrong, it went really wrong.
“When London’s office workers were forced to say a temporary ‘goodbye to all that’, I wasn’t sad to see the commute go.”
There were the nights I’d arrive at Euston to a crowd staring up at the departure board showing mass cancellations, then down at their phones as surge pricing hit Uber and angry tweets barracked West Midlands Railway. The mornings when half-described ‘faults’ would mean forty minutes became an hour or more.
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So when London’s office workers were forced to say a temporary ‘goodbye to all that’, I wasn’t sad to see the commute go. The absence of it meant more time at home with family, longer evenings that weren’t dominated by when I might get home, and money saved as I didn’t have to lose a few hundred quid every month to a rail company I couldn’t see as anything more than profiteering ratbags.
But it didn’t take long for the downsides of no commuting to make themselves clear.
I’ve always worked from home a bit, and am generally pretty disciplined about maintaining a healthy work/life balance. However, constant ‘WFH’ saw the boundary between the two blur – something I know I’m not alone in experiencing, with LinkedIn and Mental Health Foundation research finding that working from home during the pandemic has seen many people going well over their hours.
The fact that the distance between home and work had become a staircase no doubt contributed to this. Regardless of how you use your travelling time, the commute serves as a defined start and end to a working day – and the process of getting a train or a bus puts psychological distance between work and life, as well as physical. With that in place, it’s just easier to switch from one state of mind to another.
“Because while there’s no romance, joy of travel or beautiful views on the 7:59 train, there is time, there is space and there is distance.”
I also noticed that a lack of commuting dented the time I could commit to my other gig as a novelist. With a full-time job and a family, I’ve never had much time to write at home. So, years ago I abandoned my authorly pretensions about having a nice desk or a room of my own, and took to writing on the train. It was at least an hour every day that I could commit to drafting, editing and reading. And I’d guess that a good 90% of my second novel, The Way Back, was written as I trundled to and from Euston station – often grateful for that broken-down freight train as a chance to get a bit more done.
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For others, that commuting ‘thing’ may have been reading, watching films, gaming, music or crafting. I certainly remember the gentle tapping of knitting needles alongside the turning of newspaper pages. In the moment, it’s easy to see these pastimes as distractions to fill a journey, but that denigrates their importance to our lives. A commute hobby is enriching and vital – a way to switch off and change focus, as well as another reminder that travel to work has a purpose beyond just getting there.
Recently, I’ve started making tentative steps back into the office, and getting back on the commute. Some things are different, like the masks and mostly empty carriages. Others are the same as they always were –notably the delays and the cost. But what I’ve noticed above all else is that I’m vaguely looking forward to my commute, something I couldn’t possibly have imagined back in January this year, when I still viewed it as an unavoidable downside, rather than a valued part of my day with its own distinct purpose.
I’ve learned a lot about how I should work, relax and live this year. And I doubt I’ll ever return to the commuting life I had before. But I do want some of it back. Because while there’s no romance, joy of travel or beautiful views on the 7:59, there is time, there is space and there is distance.
I’ll never take those for granted again.
Jamie Fewery is an author. His latest novel The Way Back is available now, and you can follow him on Twitter at @jamiefewery
Have a compelling personal story you want to tell? Find out what we’re looking for here, and pitch us on ukpersonal@huffpost.com


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-08-11--Trump Removed From Press Conference After Shots Fired Near White House

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US president Donald Trump abruptly stopped a White House press conference on Monday after speaking for two minutes due to a shooting that reportedly took place at a nearby park.
Two minutes into the press conference, a Secret Service agent interrupted Trump and led him out of the room.
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Reporters in the briefing room said that the White House was placed on lockdown after Trump left the room.
Video: Trump escorted out of briefing room pic.twitter.com/5qaJQlKszI — David Nakamura (@DavidNakamura) August 10, 2020
The president returned to the press briefing room about 6pm local time and told reporters that a shooting had taken place outside of the White House. When asked if he was taken down to the White House bunker, Trump said he was taken to the Oval Office.
“It was a shooting outside of the White House,” Trump told reporters, according to a press pool report. “I’d like to thank the Secret Service for doing their always quick and very effective work.”
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“It was outside of the White House. Somebody was taken to the hospital. It was the suspect who was shot,” the president said, adding that the Secret Service fired at someone.
The Secret Service later confirmed that there was an officer-involved shooting near the White House at 17th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue, about a block from the White House grounds.
The Secret Service said the shooting involved a “male subject” and Secret Service officer, who were both taken to a hospital.
It is unclear what the threat was, but Trump told reporters that, “from what I understand”, the person shot was armed.
Trump also said that the incident “might not have had anything to do with me.”
The Secret Service said that none of their “protectees” were in danger at any point during the incident.
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President Trump is escorted from the White House press briefing room Monday, shortly after starting a news conference. HuffPost
“Seems that the person was shot by the Secret Service. It’s unfortunate that this is the world, but the world has always been a dangerous place,” Trump said.
Law enforcement officials told NBC News that a Secret Service officer shot at a man in Lafayette Park. The man was reportedly shot in the chest and taken to the George Washington University hospital.
“You were surprised. I was surprised,” Trump said after he returned to the briefing room. “I think it’s probably pretty unusual.”
#BREAKING: President Trump says the Secret Service took him to the Oval Office, not the bunker, after interruption. pic.twitter.com/tEuFx2bK4P — The Hill (@thehill) August 10, 2020


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-08-10--Birmingham Fire: 100 Firefighters Battle ‘Severe’ Fire At Plastics Factory

Smoke at the scene of a severe blaze as crews from 10 fire engines tackle a large fire on an industrial estate in Birmingham. PA
More than 100 firefighters are tackling a “severe fire” at a plastics factory in Birmingham.
Thick black clouds can be seen for miles across the city, billowing up in torrents from the Tyseley Industrial Estate in the city’s south east.
Residents were urged to keep their doors and windows closed and people were told to avoid the area, with heavy congestion in surrounding streets.
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West Midlands Fire Service said more than 20 fire engines and hydraulic aerial platforms were being used to bring the roaring blaze under control, and fire-fighting efforts were expected to last through the night.
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Assistant chief fire officer Sarah Warnes said: “In spite of extremely hot and arduous conditions, they have drawn on their skills and professionalism to ensure that the fire has been contained to the one site, saving nearby premises from harm.
“As well as 20 fire crews we have also had a number of specialist resources at the scene, including our hazardous materials specialists and a high–volume water pumping team.
“I would also like to acknowledge the efforts of our partners from many other agencies, with whom we will be working tirelessly throughout the night to bring this incident to a safe conclusion.”
Some firefighters had to be removed from certain corners of the fire to reduce the risk of heat exhaustion, and plans for rest and hydration breaks have been put in place, the force added.
Images on social media show a thick column of smoke rising from the site, with the dark cloud visible from miles away.
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thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-08-10--Man Accused Of Freezer Murders Had History Of Abusing Partners, Court Told

Henriett Szucs (left) and Mihrican Mustafa. PA
A man accused of murdering two vulnerable women and storing their bodies in a freezer had a history of abusing partners and was a registered sex offender, a court has heard.
Zahid Younis, 36, known as Boxer, is accused of murdering Hungarian national Henriett Szucs and mother-of-three Mihrican Mustafa.
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Szucs had last been seen in August 2016 and Mustafa in May 2018.
Their bodies were found in Younis’s flat in Vandome Close, Canning Town, on April 27 2019. Officers had been sent there to investigate after Younis was reported missing.
Pc Omar Naeem said in evidence that he and a colleague had made a decision to force open the padlocked freezer because he had a “bad feeling” about what it contained.
Southwark Crown Court heard that the two women had been subjected to “very significant violence” before their deaths and had fracture injuries associated with kicking or stamping.
A series of shredded, handwritten notes, understood to have been written by Szucs, allegedly show the abusive and controlling nature of Younis.
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One read: “Make Boxer feeling better and help him to get back in he’s feet….Keep distance away from Boxer. Follow the things point to point what he says. Give him space, and show him respect.”
Another said: “Broke my morning promises. I didn’t wake up in time was wrong and I didn’t change my clothes in time.
“I didn’t listen to him when he try to do he’s best for me. Am sad and broke and feel low now. Learn my lesson again.”
Police at a property on Vandome Close in east London. PA Archive/PA Images
In another she talked of getting some “really big slaps in the face” from the defendant.
Younis has several previous convictions for assaulting partners.
The court heard that when he was 17, Younis was controlling, violent and overbearing towards his then-girlfriend and would wait outside her house and escort her everywhere.
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In 2004 he married a 14-year-old in an Islamic ceremony at a mosque in Walthamstow.
He was eventually jailed for 30 months for assaulting the teenager and unlawful sexual activity with a child, and was put on the sex offenders’ register.
Prosecutor Duncan Penny QC added that in 2007, following his release from prison, Younis got into a relationship with a 17-year-old girl whose father had recently died.
After four months, he moved into her flat.
Penny said: “When the defendant moved in he sought to control her. He would keep the curtains drawn and would not allow her to go out by herself.”
The jury was told the violence began with slaps, before escalating into punches and kicks, leaving the teenager with large bruises.
The girl’s family eventually tricked Younis into allowing her to leave, the court heard, following an assault that fractured her arm in three places.
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He was later sentenced to four years and 11 months for two counts of wounding and one of assault occasioning actual bodily harm.
Penny said: “In this case you may form the view that the evidence is capable of establishing that the defendant was skilled in separating women he was abusing from their support networks.”


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-08-10--Contact Tracers To Knock On Doors As Government Tries To Improve NHS Test And Trace Programme

Shoppers walk past a screen on a bus stop displaying a NHS notice on test and trace on Oxford Street, London EMPICS Entertainment
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People who have been in close contact with a Covid-19 carrier could receive a knock on the door from contact tracers as the government looks to improve its “world beating” programme.
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Last week, HuffPost UK reported how councils were setting up their own tracing procedures to plug holes in the national NHS Test and Trace system, which was only reaching 68% of contacts in some areas.
Councils described how they were using local knowledge, including language skills, to contact hard to reach communities who were being missed by the one-size-fits-all national system.
Now, the government has announced it will reinforce these local teams in order to reach more contacts, redeploying 6,000 of the 18,000 contact tracers from the national systems to local test and trace schemes.
Following local programmes that have already been set up in areas such as Blackburn, Calderdale and Sandwell, the local tracing teams will use data from the NHS Test and Trace scheme to chase up people that national tracers have not been able to reach.
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In some areas, local tracers have visited people at home if they have been unable to get hold of them by other methods.
Dido Harding, who is the head of the NHS Test and Trace programme, said: “NHS Test and Trace is one of the largest contact tracing and testing systems anywhere in the world, and was built rapidly, drawing on the UK’s existing health protection networks, to stop the spread of coronavirus.
“We have always been clear that NHS Test and Trace must be local by default and that we do not operate alone – we work with and through partners across the country.
“As we learn more about the spread of the disease, we are able to move to our planned next step and become even more effective in tackling the virus.”
The move comes after official figures released last week revealed that despite Boris Johnson describing the test and trace scheme as “world beating”, the service only managed to reach 72% of people who tested positive for Covid-19 between July 23 and July 29.
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In turn, contact tracers were only able to reach 72% of coronavirus patients close contacts.
It means that thousands of people who could have been infected with Covid-19 and should have self-isolated in order to prevent possibly spreading the virus, failed to do so.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-08-10--Lebanon Prime Minister And Government Resign After Beirut Explosion

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Lebanon’s prime minister Hassan Diab has announced he is stepping down in the wake of the massive explosion in Beirut that killed at least 160 people and wounded about 6,000.
Diab announced on Monday the resignation of his entire government amid public uproar against the country’s leaders.
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In a televised address, he said he backed calls by ordinary Lebanese for those responsible for “this crime” to be put on trial.
Diab made the announcement after the cabinet, formed in January with the backing of the powerful Iranian-backed Hezbollah group and its allies, met on Monday, with many ministers wanting to resign, according to ministerial and political sources.
Diab said on Saturday he would request early parliamentary elections.
Demonstrations broke out again in central Beirut, with some protesters hurling rocks at security forces guarding an entrance leading to the parliament building, who responded with tear gas.
The damage at the site of last week's blast in Beirut's port area. Mohamed Azakir / reuters
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The August 4 port warehouse detonation of more than 2,000 tonnes of ammonium nitrate compounded months of political and economic meltdown.
The cabinet, formed in January with the backing of the powerful Iranian-backed Hezbollah group and its allies, met on Monday, with many ministers wanting to resign, according to ministerial and political sources.
For many ordinary Lebanese, the explosion was the last straw in a protracted crisis over the collapse of the economy, endemic corruption, waste and dysfunctional governance, and they have taken to the streets demanding root-and-branch change.
The information and environment ministers quit on Sunday as well as several lawmakers, and the justice minister followed them out the door on Monday.
Finance minister Ghazi Wazni, a key negotiator with the IMF over a rescue plan to help Lebanon exit a financial crisis, prepared his resignation letter and brought it with him to the cabinet meeting, a source close to him and local media said.
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Protesters throw back tear gas canisters towards riot policemen during an anti-government protest. ASSOCIATED PRESS
Lebanon’s president had previously said explosive material was stored unsafely for years at the port. He later said the investigation would consider whether the cause was external interference as well as negligence or an accident.
Anti-government protests in the past two days have been the biggest since October, when angry demonstrations spread over an economic crisis rooted in pervasive graft, mismanagement and high-level unaccountability. Protesters accused the political elite of siphoning off state resources for their own benefit.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-08-11--Debenhams To Cut 2,500 Jobs As Impact Of Coronavirus Pandemic Hits

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General view of a branch of Debenhams on Oxford Street, London. Picture date: Tuesday July 14, 2020. Photo credit should read: Matt Crossick/Empics Empics Entertainment
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Debenhams is set to cut 2,500 jobs across its stores and warehouses as the company looks to slash costs due to the coronavirus lockdown.
A spokesperson for the business said the high street was “a long way from returning to normal”.
“We have successfully reopened 124 stores, post-lockdown, and these are currently trading ahead of management expectations,” they said.
“At the same time, the trading environment is clearly a long way from returning to normal and we have to ensure our store costs are aligned with realistic expectations.
“Those colleagues affected by redundancy have been informed and we are very grateful to them for their service and commitment to Debenhams.
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“Such difficult decisions are being taken by many retailers right now, and we will continue to take all necessary steps to give Debenhams every chance of a viable future.”
The news follows redundancies at a number of high street retailers, including 950 jobs at Marks & Spencer and 4,000 roles at Boots.