Benidorm’s ‘Gypsy Lane’ where British tourists pay £20-a-week to live in squalor

Travel

Benidorm may be known for its cheap-and-cheerful holiday resorts, almost year-round sunshine, sandy beaches and lively nightlife. But the high-rise coastal town on Spain’s Costa Blanca has a dark side that’s not exactly hard to find. Less than 150 yards from a popular mobility scooter rental centre, and holiday apartment blocks, is Camí Azagador de Soria, or as it’s colloquially known, “Gypsy Lane”.Express.co.uk visited the narrow, winding lane, with expat, musician and charity volunteer, Jonny Elraiz. The Croydon native explained that the area, too dangerous for our reporter and photographer to spend much time in, was populated by Romanian gypsies that rented the properties to the homeless.The area Jonny’s vehicle stopped in was in front of a red and white house, without a door. The villa also had a bare mattress sticking out of it, with a sofa outside.Yards away from the crumbling house was a huge pile of rubbish and a burned-out car.He agreed that the scene looked like something from a “disaster movie”.”The gypsies that run this area, these ones tend to be more from Romania and they rent these out to homeless people”, he explained.When asked whether it was just Spaniards that populated the run-down street, Jonny said: “There was a British guy [who lived here], a while ago.” He didn’t know his name.Those looking to stay in the ramshackle accomodation, would need to pay the gypsy ‘owners’ “£20 to £25-a-week”, according to Jonny.“That’s affordable, it gives them a little bit of security, you know what I mean?”.

Govt’s delay in readying SAP-2 on climate change is worrisome: Science body

Science and Health

Guwahati, Oct 27: Both the governments in the state and at the centre allegedly have a lackadaisical attitude towards the credible sufferings of people under the impacts of the changes rapidly taking place in global climate. The responses of both governments towards the plea to announce the second version of the State Action Plan (SAP) for mitigating adverse impacts of climate change are there as proof, said the Assam State Coordination Committee of the All India People’s Science Network (AIPSN).The AIPSN State Coordination Committee is a conglomeration of the Gyan Vigyan Samiti, Assam; CRU (NER); and Ellora Vigyan Mancha.Since 2022, the AIPSN Coordination Committee has been making pleas to the state government to announce the SAP-2. The SAP-2 was scheduled to be ready in 2020. But there occurred a time lapse due to the Covid-related crises. Since by 2022 the Covid-related situation improved, it was expected that the SAP-2 would soon be readied.Strengthening this hope, the state’s Minister for Science and Technology Department made a statement on the floor of the State Assembly on September 16, 2022, in reply to a question (No-69) from MLA Mrinal Saikia on the impacts of climate change on the state. The minister presented a very grim picture. He stated that according to climate change-related projections, the mean average temperature in Assam is likely to shoot up by 1.7 degrees Celsius to 2.2 degrees Celsius by mid- 21st century if the AD 1971-AD 2000 mean average temperature is taken as the base line.The state’s extreme rainfall events are also likely to go up in the range of 5% to 38%. Again, barring its southern districts, prospects of drought are going to rise in the state by over 75%, and there are 25% more possibilities of flood prevalence during this time.Again, a 2019 Department of Science and Technology (DST) evaluation had ranked Assam as the fifth vulnerable state of the country with regard to climate change adverse impacts.The above statement of the Minister gave rise to the belief that the State Government was serious in its approach towards mitigating the adverse impacts of climate change. In addition, the Science and Technology Department had set up a climate change cell under the Assam Science, Technology and Environment Council (ASTEC) too.But there was no response from the department to the coordination committee queries on the SAP update. This baffled the Coordination Committee, said its core committee member, Khanindra Talukdar. Therefore, since October 2022, it started writing to both the state’s Science and Technology Department as well as the environment and forest department seeking information on SAP updates.The Environment and Forest Department became open only after receiving an RTI application. The state’s Principal Chief Conservator of Forest (PCCF) and Head of Forest Force (HOFF) informed Talukdar on December 12, 2023, in reply to his RTI queries that the State Cabinet had approved the SAP-2 meant for the 2021–2030 period. But he maintained that it was waiting for the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change’s (MoEFCC’s) approval.Significantly, this top Forest Department official provided only negligible information on its consultation with 30 state government departments and 12 NGOs for the SAP-2 preparation. The department made the Coordination Committee also to make another communication on July 29, 2024, to get the information on the MoEFCC approval to the SAP-2, only to tell on August 16 that the Union Ministry had approved the SAP-2 on February 16 this year.Thus, a delay of four years is allowed to occur in getting the SAP version 2 ready. This perhaps explains the level of sincerity of the state as well as the central governments on this crucial matter, said Talukdar.By-Ajit Patowary

Govt’s delay in readying SAP-2 on climate change is worrisome: Science body

Science and Health

Guwahati, Oct 27: Both the governments in the state and at the centre allegedly have a lackadaisical attitude towards the credible sufferings of people under the impacts of the changes rapidly taking place in global climate. The responses of both governments towards the plea to announce the second version of the State Action Plan (SAP) for mitigating adverse impacts of climate change are there as proof, said the Assam State Coordination Committee of the All India People’s Science Network (AIPSN).The AIPSN State Coordination Committee is a conglomeration of the Gyan Vigyan Samiti, Assam; CRU (NER); and Ellora Vigyan Mancha.Since 2022, the AIPSN Coordination Committee has been making pleas to the state government to announce the SAP-2. The SAP-2 was scheduled to be ready in 2020. But there occurred a time lapse due to the Covid-related crises. Since by 2022 the Covid-related situation improved, it was expected that the SAP-2 would soon be readied.Strengthening this hope, the state’s Minister for Science and Technology Department made a statement on the floor of the State Assembly on September 16, 2022, in reply to a question (No-69) from MLA Mrinal Saikia on the impacts of climate change on the state. The minister presented a very grim picture. He stated that according to climate change-related projections, the mean average temperature in Assam is likely to shoot up by 1.7 degrees Celsius to 2.2 degrees Celsius by mid- 21st century if the AD 1971-AD 2000 mean average temperature is taken as the base line.The state’s extreme rainfall events are also likely to go up in the range of 5% to 38%. Again, barring its southern districts, prospects of drought are going to rise in the state by over 75%, and there are 25% more possibilities of flood prevalence during this time.Again, a 2019 Department of Science and Technology (DST) evaluation had ranked Assam as the fifth vulnerable state of the country with regard to climate change adverse impacts.The above statement of the Minister gave rise to the belief that the State Government was serious in its approach towards mitigating the adverse impacts of climate change. In addition, the Science and Technology Department had set up a climate change cell under the Assam Science, Technology and Environment Council (ASTEC) too.But there was no response from the department to the coordination committee queries on the SAP update. This baffled the Coordination Committee, said its core committee member, Khanindra Talukdar. Therefore, since October 2022, it started writing to both the state’s Science and Technology Department as well as the environment and forest department seeking information on SAP updates.The Environment and Forest Department became open only after receiving an RTI application. The state’s Principal Chief Conservator of Forest (PCCF) and Head of Forest Force (HOFF) informed Talukdar on December 12, 2023, in reply to his RTI queries that the State Cabinet had approved the SAP-2 meant for the 2021–2030 period. But he maintained that it was waiting for the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change’s (MoEFCC’s) approval.Significantly, this top Forest Department official provided only negligible information on its consultation with 30 state government departments and 12 NGOs for the SAP-2 preparation. The department made the Coordination Committee also to make another communication on July 29, 2024, to get the information on the MoEFCC approval to the SAP-2, only to tell on August 16 that the Union Ministry had approved the SAP-2 on February 16 this year.Thus, a delay of four years is allowed to occur in getting the SAP version 2 ready. This perhaps explains the level of sincerity of the state as well as the central governments on this crucial matter, said Talukdar.By-Ajit Patowary

Democrats Took Over a Bucks County School Board, but Still Ban Some Books

Arts & Culture, Books

Democrats swept a school board election in Bucks County after Republicans instituted book bans and other changes. But the right-wing “parental rights” movement has left an indelible mark.For two years, the Republican Pennridge School Board, north of Philadelphia, governed with a burst of ideological energy. It instituted book bans and curriculum rewrites — the sort of politics pushed nationwide by Moms for Liberty, the conservative advocacy group allied with Donald J. Trump.But in this closely divided community, the board’s moves created a backlash.A slate of Democrats swept school board elections. They promised to put “Pennridge over politics” and end an era of drama and division for this community.Still, a year later, the legacy of the district’s Moms for Liberty moment has not at all been undone.Some removed books have been restored to library shelves, but others have not. Transgender students can use some bathrooms that align to their gender identities — but not all of them.At least for now, teachers remain barred from displaying identity markers like rainbow flags. There has been no move to reinstate the diversity, equity and inclusion trainings and reading assignments that were canceled by the previous board.Adrienne King, a parent activist, says her trust in the school district has been broken.Rachel Wisniewski for The New York TimesWe are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe.

Joan Didion Remains as Elusive as Ever. These Books Want to Fix That.

Arts & Culture, Books

Since her death, Didion has become a literary subject as popular for her image and writing as for the fascination she inspired for almost half a century.It’s still bright afternoon when the writer Lili Anolik slips into the dim recesses of the Odeon restaurant. Here, at New York’s timeless destination for downtown cool, she prefers to sit in the same place every time, a small booth by the host’s stand.Anolik orders an Earl Grey tea but furtively sips from a Pepsi she pulls from her purse. On the table: galleys of her new book, “Didion and Babitz,” out in November.Despite the split billing in Anolik’s title, the conversation quickly turns to Joan Didion.“She’s so opaque,” Anolik said. “I felt like I’ve been trying to understand her for years, but I’ve been standing outside a locked door.”Anolik isn’t the only one trying to crack open that door. “Didion and Babitz” is one of four books featuring Didion written since her death in 2021, with at least two more scheduled in the years to come. The published books include a memoir from Didion’s nephew Griffin Dunne about his family in Los Angeles; Cory Leadbeater’s memoir of his time working for Didion at the end of her life; and Evelyn McDonnell’s meditative tribute, “The World According to Joan Didion.” Next year, The New York Times’s movie critic Alissa Wilkinson’s depiction of Didion in Hollywood will be published in March.These writers, of course, bring their own gaze and interpretation of Didion, a figure whose distinctive blend of opacity and confession seems to invite dissection, speculation and projection perhaps more than any other contemporary writer. It’s not only Didion herself that these books grapple with, but the fascination she inspired and the enduring patina of cool she held onto for nearly 50 years.Lynn Nesbit, Didion’s longtime agent and now one of her three literary executors, expressed a lack of enthusiasm for the trend. “It makes me somewhat uncomfortable that so many writers are trying to understand their own lives through the prism of examining Joan’s life and her work,” Nesbit said. “Their books become so much about them, and not about her.”We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe.

Big tech censoring post that told the truth about the failure of Harris-Biden’s broadband connectivity program

Technology

MENLO PARK, CA – Meta, aka Facebook, simply cannot help itself. Four years after Meta head Mark Zuckerberg dumped tens of millions of dollars helping to get Joe Biden elected while throttling information helpful to the Trump campaign, the social media company appears to be at it again. 

In a post on X, Brendan Carr, a Republican commissioner with the Federal Communications Commission, wrote that Facebook is censoring the fact that the Biden-Harris administration has failed to connect anyone to the internet despite US taxpayers dropping $42 billion on the effort. 

Facebook is censoring that as “false information,” not because anyone has actually been connected but because the government is spending money to attempt to get people connected. Get it? Moreover, what is the source of Facebook’s “misinformation” claim? Biden-Harris administration officials, hardly “third-party” fact checkers. 

In August, ABC News reported that Zuckerberg told the House Judiciary Committee that he regretted the company’s caving to Biden administration pressure to censor some COVID-19 posts during the pandemic. 

In 2021, Kamala Harris promised broadband services would be brought to “rural America today” through the Broadband, Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) program, a significant and pricey government initiative. Despite that, and 1,000 days later, not one person has been connected to the government’s broadband, which is the point being made on X. 

Facebook’s fact-checker is USA Today, a media outlet that has become a parody of itself with its “fact checkers” and is clearly intervening on behalf of the Biden-Harris administration. This raises serious questions about the independence and objectivity of Facebook’s fact-checking process. 

In another post on X, Carr wrote that nobody has been connected to the Internet through the BEAD program, no shovels of dirt have been turned, and no money has been spent on building out Internet infrastructure yet.

Carr confirmed with USA Today that their “fact checkers” were members of the Biden-Harris administration. 

Carr wrote, “This ‘fact check’ has other problems too. While it purports to check the claim that no dollars have been spent on Internet access, it instead focuses on whether funds have lawfully been spent on planning to connect people. 

Carr also found that USA Today had violated its own policies on “fact-checking” by failing to use “unbiased sources,” “gather[ing] a variety of perspectives,” and “seek official, nonpartisan sources.” 

In a later post, Carr wrote that Facebook had removed the censorship screen from the post about Internet connectivity but noted that “systemic issues” with Facebook’s “fact-checking” remain. 

A Meta spokesperson said in a statement, “Meta publishes clear rating guidelines for third-party fact checkers who independently review and rate content. In this instance, the rating fell outside of those guidelines, and we have removed it.” 

If anyone wonders why many have lost faith in mainstream media and social media, this is proof positive of why. 

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Cultural Compass: Nick Cave in Belgium, Women of Paper, Kortrijk book fair and more

Arts & Culture, Books

Exhibitions, music, architecture, books, festivals… this is Belga English’s pick of cultural activities in Flanders and Brussels, published every Sunday.Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds will make their highly anticipated return to Antwerp’s Sportpaleis on 30 and 31 October, after a seven-year hiatus. This time, they bring with them their latest album Wild God, a powerful collection of songs exploring themes of loss, romance and darkness. Known for their intense and captivating live performances, the band promise to deliver another unforgettable show.Originally envisioned as an ode to joy, Wild God has evolved into something much deeper, shaped by Cave’s ongoing confrontation with grief. “I hope the album has the effect on listeners that it’s had on me. It bursts out of the speaker, and I get swept up with it. It’s a complicated record, but it’s also deeply and joyously infectious,” he said.Cave, who has long been a fixture in Belgium’s art and music scene, showcased his visual art at the Xavier Hufkens Gallery in Brussels earlier this year. In his exhibition The Devil: A Life, he cataloged the life of the Devil growing from innocence to experience in 17 porcelain figures.© NICK CAVE & THE BAD SEEDSPriest, poet and journalist Guido Gezelle died 125 years ago on 27 November 1899. While his literary legacy is well-known, his female correspondents, who wrote more than 600 letters, have largely remained in the shadows. The project Women of Paper seeks to change that by highlighting the voices of 200 women who exchanged letters with Gezelle.The correspondents ranged from baronesses to chambermaids, nuns and English immigrants in Bruges. They often confided in Gezelle, seeking his advice on personal matters. Helena Walton, a woman in an abusive marriage, asked Gezelle whether it was appropriate to sleep apart from her husband. Many of the letters came from English women who had moved to Belgium to provide their children with a Catholic education and valued Gezelle as a confessor.Through an exhibition, magazine, podcast, city walks and workshops, Women of Paper touches on topics as relevant today as they were then: migration, social relations, the position of women, mental health, faith and politics.Twenty artists, authors and poets have drawn inspiration from the letters, blending historical insights with contemporary art. This project not only sheds light on the lives of these women but also reveals a more modern side of Gezelle, showing him as a compassionate man who understood the complexities of women’s lives. The exhibition is free and can be visited on two floors of the Biekorf Library in Bruges until 4 January.© PHOTO HOOFDBIBLIOTHEK BIEKOPFAs part of the thematic year dedicated to Guido Gezelle, the travelling exhibition METGEZELLEN offers a unique way to engage with his poetry. The project Het pakt! crosses West Flanders with a mobile studio, inviting residents of streets named after Gezelle to record themselves reading one of his poems. Along with these recordings, participants’ portraits are taken in an oval shape, reminiscent of historical portraiture.The final aim is to create a virtual choir, where the synchronised voices of residents recite Gezelle’s poems together. This audiovisual installation will be showcased at the Sint-Michielskerk in Kortrijk, using light and sound to bring Gezelle’s words to life. The exhibition runs until 10 November.© GEZELLEJAAR2024Boektopia, Kortrijk’s book festival, kicked off on Saturday at Kortrijk Xpo, with a week of readings, performances and signings. Now in its third year, Boektopia has expanded with an additional hall to accommodate the growing audience. The event will feature prominent national and international authors.Director Patrick Boeykens highlights the festival’s focus on quality and diversity, showcasing literary talent alongside musical performances. Broadcasting live from the event, Radio 1 and MNM will host authors and musicians for discussions and live podcast recordings. Boektopia will also tour Antwerp, Leuven, Genk and Hasselt on weekends throughout November.© BOEKTOPIADutch artist Mark Manders, based in Belgium, expands his ongoing project Self-Portrait as a Building with new rooms in his debut exhibition at the Xavier Hufkens Gallery in Brussels. The exhibition features installations of domestic spaces, such as a bathroom, bedroom and studio, alongside painted bronzes, sculptures and mixed-media works.For nearly 40 years, Manders has developed Self-Portrait as a Building, using rooms to symbolise different aspects of his identity. Each space represents a part of his character or life experience, blending the boundaries between the real Manders and his fictional persona. The building itself is never finished, continually expanding. “Nothing is what it seems, and Manders is a master of illusion,” the gallery says.Manders’ work incorporates echoes of art history, while his sculptures often feel like archaeological finds or modernist designs, creating a sense of timelessness. The exhibition runs until 21 December.”Composition with Four Yellow Verticals” © PHOTO SIMON BULTYNCKThe Too Mad to Be True conference will take place on 30 and 31 October at the Dr Guislain Museum in Ghent. Titled The Paradoxes of Madness, it will explore the complexities of psychosis, addressing the contradictions and paradoxes inherent in mad experiences. Through philosophical, psychological and psychiatric lenses, topics such as selfhood, reality, freedom and care will be examined.The programme features five keynote speakers and around 60 presentations. Notable speakers include Lorna Collins, Sofia Jeppsson and Sebastjan Vörös, who will discuss madness from philosophical, artistic and personal perspectives. Tickets are available for both in-person and online attendance.The event aims to challenge traditional perceptions of madness and encourage philosophical sensitivity toward its paradoxical nature.The Dr Guislain Museum in Ghent © PHOTO SIMON MONTGOMERY Additional cultural coverage from Belga this week: Coudenberg Palace in Brussels again accessible with Under-Ground tour, Immersive Smurf Experience returns to Brussels, Leuven, Molenbeek and Namur nominated for European Capital of Culture 2030, More than 100 works by Magritte travel to Australia for major retrospective and Rare signed copy of Tintin in America fetches ​ 190,000 euros at auction.​​Ongoing events​​(Last chance) ​​​​To Antarctica, The Polar Pioneers of the Belgica, MAS​​​​​​Whats the Story? KMSKA​​​​​​​​​​

Not Science Fiction: Strange New Frog Species in Madagascar Sound Like They’re From Star Trek

Science and Health

The tree frog genus Boophis, found across the rainforests of Madagascar, emit special bird-like whistling sounds in their communication with other frogs. Credit: Mark D. Scherz
Researchers have discovered seven new species of tree frogs in Madagascar, named after Star Trek captains due to their unique, sci-fi-like whistling calls. Their unique calls help them communicate over the noise of their natural habitats, emphasizing the need for conservation efforts due to their sensitivity to environmental changes.
If you believe all frogs croak, think again. Seven newly discovered species from the tree frog genus Boophis, found across the rainforests of Madagascar, make unique, bird-like whistling sounds to communicate with each other. Their strange, high-pitched calls reminded the research team, led by Professor Miguel Vences of the Technische Universität Braunschweig, Germany, of the whistle-like sound effects from the sci-fi series Star Trek.
“That’s why we named the frogs after Kirk, Picard, Sisko, Janeway, Archer, Burnham, and Pike—seven of the most iconic captains from the sci-fi series,” says Professor Vences.
“Not only do these frogs sound like sound effects from Star Trek, but it seems also fitting that to find them, you often have to do quite a bit of trekking! A few species are found in places accessible to tourists, but to find several of these species, we had to undertake major expeditions to remote forest fragments and mountain peaks. There’s a real sense of scientific discovery and exploration here, which we think is in the spirit of Star Trek,” explains Assistant Professor Mark D. Scherz from the Natural History Museum of Denmark at the University of Copenhagen, who was senior author on the study.

Michigan Science Center Offers Spooky STEM Fun with Halloween Event

Science and Health

DETROIT, MI (WXYZ) — The Michigan Science Center (Mi-Sci) is hosting an exciting, STEM-themed event for families during Halloween weekend. “Spooktacular Weekend,” designed for children and their families, will run from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday, October 27. This event will include access to Mi-Sci’s special exhibition Tyrannosaurs: Meet the Family, which is included with general admission. The Halloween-themed event will festure activities and science demonstrations throughout the museum. Visitors are encouraged to dress in costume and bring their own bags for on-site Trick-or-Treat activities.To learn more, visit www.mi-sci.org