UK anti-slavery commissioner launches investigation into ‘pimping websites’

UK anti-slavery commissioner launches investigation into ‘pimping websites’

Eleanor Lyons will interview women who say they have been trafficked into sex work and advertised online The independent anti-slavery commissioner has launched an investigation into so-called pimping websites amid concern at the level of exploitation of trafficked and vulnerable women on those platforms. Eleanor Lyons will interview women who say they have been trafficked into sex work and advertised on adult services websites such as Vivastreet that allow users to browse images and videos of women selling sex in their local area. Continue reading...

Vineyards assess damage as wildfire rips through California wine country: ‘A devastating situation’

Vineyards assess damage as wildfire rips through California wine country: ‘A devastating situation’

The growing threat of fires has shaken the Napa Valley wine industry, as fears of smoke-spoiled grapes and soaring insurance rates put vintners on edge Elton Slone and his colleagues at the Robert Craig Winery in Napa Valley had gathered for their annual pre-harvest company party last week – complete with copper pot carnitas and grape tacos – when one of his co-workers noticed an alert on her phone. The Pickett fire, a blaze that had started about 10 miles away near the town of Calistoga, was moving toward their vineyards on Howell Mountain. Knowing that the Glass fire – a 2020 blaze that damaged numerous wineries and spoiled a year’s harvest – had burned along the same path, Slone hoped no fuel remained for this new fire. “But that was not the case,” he said. Within the week, the winery’s Candlestick Vineyard would become “a sacrificial lamb for the town of Angwin” when firefighters lit a controlled burn on their property to control the larger fire. Continue reading...