In an era of multiparty politics, first past the post risks generating perverse outcomes that delegitimise the democratic process
If the system that elects MPs to Westminster was obviously the most democratic one available, there would be no need to use alternative modes when electing the UK’s devolved assemblies or England’s regional mayors. The fact that first past the post (FPTP) was not preferred when establishing those institutions reflects an acceptance that there are better ways to turn popular opinion into fair political representation. So why should the Commons stick with an inferior system?
This question is raised by an amendment tabled to the representation of the people bill, which returns to parliament next week. The call to establish an independent national commission on electoral reform has been endorsed by 185 MPs.
Continue reading...There’s growing agreement that under-18s need to be protected – but international turmoil is pushing many towards wedlock
Every minute, 23 girls around the world wed, according to the Girls Not Brides campaign, a coalition of more than 1,000 organisations across 100 countries. No child should be married. But girls are far more likely to be affected than boys, accounting for nine in 10 of those wed before 18, and their spouses are often much older men. The consequences, beyond the immediate threat of sexual violence, include the shortening of their education, increased risks of poverty and domestic abuse, and poor health, including high rates of maternal mortality. In spring, the Center for Global Development thinktank estimated that child marriage costs $175bn annually in lost productivity and increased health risks.
The good news is that the last decade has seen a drop in rates; last year alone, Grenada, Bolivia, Burkina Faso, Kuwait and Portugal introduced bans. But there are disturbing signs of regression elsewhere. In May, the Taliban issued a new judicial code enabling child marriage below the previous minimum age of 16, and preventing wives from ending marriages they entered as children if their husbands object. Previous protections were inadequate and often poorly enforced; now even those have been swept away. Activists say forced and early marriages have soared since the Taliban returned to power in 2021, thanks to the ban on secondary education and the state of the economy.
Continue reading...A shortlist rich in kookiness sees Lara Ricote tipped for the main prize, alongside returning nominees and a new generation of eccentric fringe acts
The shortlist has been announced for the annual Edinburgh comedy award, and it’s a list that majors in whimsy. With an act hymning his belief in healing crystals, another dreamily counting sheep and a third whose show is about “mystery and messages” – and that’s before we even get to the loopy DIY comedy of TV veteran Spencer Jones – this year’s “Oscars of comedy” nominees (for both the best show and best newcomer prize) suggest an art form exploding with creativity but also increasingly oriented towards woo-woo: in full flight, perhaps, from our troubled times.
The award favourite is Mexican-American comic Lara Ricote, co-star of Sam Campbell’s Channel 4 mockumentary Make That Movie and former fringe best newcomer. Ricote’s Inkling is a remarkable hour about picking up on the messages that come one’s way, and how that’s complicated by, in the 29-year-old’s case, being hard of hearing.
Continue reading...WASHINGTON (ANP) - De drone met springlading die eerder deze maand werd aangetroffen op de luchthaven van Leipzig vertoont kenmerken van drones die Rusland gebruikt. Dat meldt het Amerikaanse ABC News op gezag van een anonieme bron binnen de Amerikaanse inlichtingendiensten.
Volgens de bron zouden zowel het soort springstof als het ontwerp "typisch" Russisch zijn, en doorgaans worden gebruikt door de Russische militaire inlichtingendienst GROe.
Begin augustus werd op de luchthaven niet ver van een Oekraïens toestel een drone aangetroffen. Het exemplaar, dat niet kon ontploffen omdat het was losgekoppeld van de springlading, werd onschadelijk gemaakt en meegenomen voor onderzoek.
Hybride
Nadien sprak Duitsland van een escalatie op het gebied van hybride oorlogsvoering, zonder daarbij expliciet naar Rusland te wijzen. Het voorval wordt nog onderzocht.
Recentelijk werd opnieuw een drone aangetroffen nabij de luchthaven, meldde The Guardian dinsdag. Ook die zou mogelijk militaire explosieven bevatten.
I downloaded the zip, did "compileAndBuildVLCKit.sh -x", which took like 4 hours but eventually completed seemingly-successfully. But then BasicPlayerWithPlaylist.xcodeproj can't find VLCkit.framework or VLCKit/VLCKit.h. This sounds like a build settings problem (Framework Search Paths had "../../../build/Release" on it but it seems to be in "../../../build/macOS" instead? But adding that didn't help it find the .h). Trying to build VLCKit.xcodeproj instead gets me complaints about missing static-libvlc and/or install-iphone-device/libvlc-device-static.a (I am not interested in iOS at all.)