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2018.12.6 EU agrees “best possible” Brexit deal, urges Britons to back May European Union leaders finally sealed a Brexit deal on Sunday, saying the package agreed with Prime Minister Theresa May was the best Britain will get in a warning to the British parliament not to reject it. “Those who think that, by rejecting the deal, they would get a better deal, will be disappointed,”

European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker told reporters after the 27 other EU leaders formally endorsed a treaty setting terms for British withdrawal in March and an outline of a future EU-UK trade pact. May used a post-summit news conference to make a sales pitch for her plan, telling television viewers at home that it was the “only possible deal”, offering control of UK borders and budgets while maintaining close alignment with EU regulations that was good for business and security of Britain and Europe. Parliament’s vote could open the door to a “brighter future” or condemn the country to more division, she said. “I will make the case for this deal with all my heart,” she added, declining to answer whether she would resign if parliament rejects it. The EU leaders took barely half an hour to rubber-stamp 585-page withdrawal treaty, aimed at an orderly exit in March to be followed by two to three years of a status-quo transition period. In May’s exchanges at the summit, there was no discussion of what may happen if parliament rejects the deal in a vote likely to take place just before the next EU summit on Dec. 13-14.

2018.12.7 1,000 pieces of plastic found inside dead whale in Indonesia More than 1,000 assorted pieces of plastic, including 115 cups, 25 bags, four bottles and two flip-flops, have been found inside a dead sperm whale in Indonesia, according to local officials. The whale, found washed ashore Monday in Wakatobi National Park, was already decomposing when rescuers arrived, so investigators were unable to determine if the plastic caused its death, said Lukas Adhyakso, the conservation director of the World Wildlife Fund in Indonesia. The plastic weighed about 6 kilograms, or 13 pounds, he said.

But images of the dead whale resonated in Indonesia, a country that has started to reckon with its outsize use of plastics. Indonesia, a nation of about 260 million people spread over thousands of islands in Southeast Asia, was the world’s second-biggest producer of plastic waster in 2015, behind only China, according to a study in the journal Science.

Ingesting plastic can give whales a false sense of satiation, leading them to eat less food that provides the nutrients they need, said Nicholas Mallos, director of the Trash Free Seas program at Ocean Conservancy, an environmental nonprofit. Consumption of plastics can lead to reduced weight, energy and swimming speed, making whales more vulnerable to predators. More than 800 species of marine animals are susceptible to the estimated 8.8 million tons of plastics deposited each year in the ocean, Mallos said, and often in ways that do not lead to graphic imagery like the whale in Indonesia. Plastics can entangle and trap animals, sometimes causing them to drown, or pierce elements of their digestive systems after being swallowed.

2019.2.27 How sky-high rents forced people into imaginative alternatives

Renting a property in the UK can be a bleak business. The average monthly rent rose to £932 last month and in London it is even more expensive at £1588, according to new figures.

With spiralling rents leaving many people with barely any disposable income, let alone the means to save towards a deposit, some are now choosing alternatives.

The older choice Office administrator Tina Gotla-Aluri, 42, was struggling to cope with the £950d a month she was paying for her house share in Putney, south-west London, when a friend suggested Share and Care Homeshare, which matches older homeowners who have a spare room with people who can offer practical help in exchange. She now lives in Putney with a man in his 90s and pays £180 a month to the scheme. In return, Gotla-Aluri provides companionship, goes food shopping, and cooks meals. “

He is quite well travelled and food is one of the things we have bonded over,” she says. “ I cook British food like Sunday dinners and sometimes Indian or Moroccan food. It’s mutually beneficial.”

Sitting it out While some people house-sit for free to get a taste of luxury or a different life for a few weeks, designer Jennifer Hamley, 39, and her husband, Ben , 37, have turned it into a way to live rent-free.

The couple house-sit through TrustedHousesitters.com, which connects home and pet owners with house-sitters and costs each party £89 for an annual membership. They house-sit mainly in Brighton, taking care of pets,

the home, post and watering plants.

“ It is a peace of mind for many homeowners. A homeowner doesn’t need to get anyone to check in on the house, and pet owners don’t have to pay kennels, catteries or dog walkers.”

2019.2.26 Lipstick in kindergarten? South Korea’s K-beauty industry now aims for super young South Korea’s cosmetics industry, known as K-beauty, has become an Asian powerhouse and global phenomenon for its rigorous step-by-step regimens. But exacting beauty norms also put enormous pressure on South Korean women, making the country one of the world’s centers for plastic surgery. And increasingly, the beauty I ndustry is looking at younger and younger girls.

A YouTube video of a 7-year-old putting on lipstick, titled “ I want to wear makeup like moon,”

has attracted 4.3 million views, while similar videos show young girls sharing their “elementary school makeup routine” and “unboxing my Hello Kitty makeup kit.”

This is hardly a trend that is exclusive to South Korea. For decades, academics of all stripes have pored over the impact of pressure on teenagers and young women in the West to conform with unreasonable standards for appearance and body type. But such concerns in South Korea also now include girls so young they can barely read the packaging on the beauty products. “ From K-pop divas to K-beauty cosmetics, the market capitalizing on women’s objectification has become a hyper-saturated “red ocean” in South Korea,” said Yoon-Kim of Konkuk University. “The market sees a “blue ocean”

for expansion in younger customers, ready to instigate and monetize their insecurities about their appearance.”

2019.3.17 School lessons to cover sexing FGM and mental health The Department for Education(DfE) has unveiled fresh guidelines for sex and health education across England. Three new subjects have been created--- relationships education from primary school, relationships and sex education at secondary school, and health education for all ages in which students will learn about the importance of getting enough sleep, the dangers of sexting and how to spot anxiety in their friends.

According to the guidelines, secondary school pupils will be taught about female genital mutilation (FGM) with a focus on awareness over its illegality and the availability of support networks. Students aged 11 and older should also be taught about other forms of “honour-based”abuse, as well as grooming, forced marriage and domestic abuse, the DfE said. But the government’s announcement comes amid a backlash from parent groups who do not want sex education to be a mandatory part of the curriculum. MPs are to debate a petition on Monday demanding parents retain the right to opt their children out of sex education classes in schools after more than 100,000 people stressed parents’

“fundamental right” to decide when their children are taught relationship and sex

education (RSE) topics.

“We have grave concerns about the physical, psychological and spiritual implications of teaching children about certain sexual and relational concepts proposed in RSE and believe that they have no place within a mandatory school curriculum,”

Dr Katherine Sarah Godfrey-Faussett, the petitioner, stated.

2019.3.16 Feel better now? The rise and rise of the anxiety economy In 1988 a TV writer called Alex Carswell threw a pen at a photo of his mother after a stressful phone call with his boss. It gave him an idea. It was the “Age of Stress” and so the perfect time for Carswell to lauch his “stress ball”. If the 80s were the age of stress, this is the age of anxiety, with 30% of Britons experiencing an anxiety disorder during their lifetime. This has created a market for domestic anxiety cures that can be bought online, and fast. Consider the squishy. That repeated action led to fidget spinners becoming one of the most popular items bought on Amazon in 2017. They were not simply triangles of plastic; they were the stars of a growing anxiety economy. Alongside products designed purely as medical aids, such as meditation apps, there is a thriving offshoot of lifestyle goods

marketed through their anxiety-relieving qualities. Product innovation oriented around anxiety spans nearly 30 different categories, including chocolate, yogurt and air fresheners.

Is anxiety itself being commodified? Dr Nihara Krause, founder of youth mental health Charity Stem4, said, “The market seems saturated. There are a number of companies that are trading on fake news to promote a whole range of products that are meant to help with mental health problems but without any evidence base to them. Given that we are dealing with a vulnerable population it is questionable how ethical producing these tools without evidence base and systematic review of efficacy is. ”