Guyana’s Irfaan Ali looks to ride oil boom to second presidential term

Guyana’s Irfaan Ali looks to ride oil boom to second presidential term

Fossil fuel wealth has helped transform the South American country into one of the world’s fastest-growing economies – which could be good news for the incumbent in the election Jubilation was in the air as thousands of horn-tooting, flag-waving, red-shirt-clad supporters of Guyana’s president, Irfaan Ali, made their way to a recent rally. Their party is predicted to easily win Monday’s general election on the back of an oil boom, which has helped transform the country into one of the fastest-growing economies in the world. Continue reading...

Coventry council to use Palantir AI in social work, Send and children’s services

Coventry council to use Palantir AI in social work, Send and children’s services

Exclusive: Workers say £500k contract with US tech firm which supplies Israeli forces raises ‘serious ethical questions’ Public sector workers have voiced “deep concern” after Coventry city council signed a £500,000-a-year artificial intelligence contract with the US data technology company Palantir. The deal is the first of its kind between a UK local authority and the Denver-based company, which supplies technology to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and to help Donald Trump’s mass deportation efforts . Continue reading...

No moaning about the teachers and definitely no nudes! How to survive the school WhatsApp group

No moaning about the teachers and definitely no nudes! How to survive the school WhatsApp group

With the new school year starting next week, parents’ WhatsApp groups are pinging back into action. Here are the rules you must follow to avoid disaster Becoming a parent can be one of the richest, most rewarding things you can ever experience. That said, it’s a qualified reward, because to be a parent is often to be forced into joining the school WhatsApp group. In theory, it’s a community of like-minded peers who understand that it takes a village to raise a child. In reality, the school WhatsApp group is a vortex of petty drama, pointless competition and outright hostility. Navigating a mess like this can often leave a parent feeling bruised and overwhelmed. It is a task that requires diplomacy, patience and – sometimes, because everyone’s human – locking your phone away in a drawer until your blood pressure recovers. With that in mind, using real-life stories collected from friends and acquaintances, here are the top 10 rules of school WhatsApp group engagement. Continue reading...

‘I held on to what’s important’: Kim Novak on Hitchcock, Trump and her Venice lifetime achievement award

‘I held on to what’s important’: Kim Novak on Hitchcock, Trump and her Venice lifetime achievement award

One of the stars of Hollywood’s golden era, 92-year-old says prize as much about her refusal to be controlled as her on-screen performances She was the No 1 box office star in the late 50s, but for decades Kim Novak, the star of Alfred Hitchcock’s masterpiece Vertigo, has lived a life of quiet seclusion. Now, at the age of 92, the last of the great, glamorous movie stars of Hollywood’s golden era is back in the spotlight. She is being honoured with a lifetime achievement award at the Venice film festival, where a documentary about her life and career, Kim Novak’s Vertigo, is premiering. For Novak, it is a tribute not just to her acting but to her lifelong refusal to be controlled and manipulated by Hollywood, or anyone else. Continue reading...

Former Ukraine parliament speaker shot dead in Lviv

Former Ukraine parliament speaker shot dead in Lviv

Andriy Parubiy, a senior Ukrainian politician who served as the parliament’s speaker, has been shot dead in Ukraine’s western city of Lviv, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Saturday. “Ukraine’s minister of internal affairs Ihor Klymenko and prosecutor general Ruslan Kravchenko have just reported the first known circumstances of the horrendous murder in Lviv. Andriy Parubiy […]