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British MPs have backed a proposed bill banning anyone born on or after January 1, 2009, from buying tobacco. If successful, it would mean today's 15-year-olds will never legally be able to buy cigarettes. Peter Dazeley/The Image Bank RF/Getty Images

Europa,

Last week, former UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson treated a Canadian crowd to a helping of his signature bombast.

“The party of Winston Churchill wants to ban [cigars]?” he moaned. “Donnez-moi un break, as they say in Quebec. It’s just mad”.

The source of his ire was the proposed UK smoking ban, which was spearheaded by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak at last October’s Conservative Party Conference and underwent its second reading in the House of Commons on Tuesday evening.

In a free vote, the House leaned in favor of the plan by 383 to 67, meaning the bill cleared its first parliamentary hurdle.…  Seguir leyendo »

Coronation chicken vol-au-vents are served at a reception for Britain's Queen Elizabeth II with representatives from local community groups to celebrate the start of the Platinum Jubilee on February 5, 2022. Joe Giddens/AFP/Getty Images

Europa,

King Charles III will be crowned alongside Queen Camilla in Westminster Abbey on May 6, and depending on your point of view, plans regarding the celebrations run the gamut from “radical and daring” to “basically what Grandpa would do”.

As royal commentators have breathlessly remarked for months, it’ll be a “pared down” affair, just over an hour long, with a guest list reportedly half the size of Queen Elizabeth II’s 1953 coronation. Members of the House of Lords have been asked to ditch their traditional robes and coronets in favor of relatively chill parliamentary ermine, the nobility’s equivalent of smart-casual.

Invitations feature the “Green Man”, a symbol seen by some as a mischievous pagan trickster, and by others as the vague invention of an early 20th-century lady — not un-fitting for our septuagenarian monarch.…  Seguir leyendo »

Mary Quant standing outside her shop Bazaar, and looking into the shop window as a passer by would do in October 1960. Cyril Maitland/Mirrorpix/Getty Images

ReflexionesTestimonios

Accounts of Swinging London inspire the same cocktail of thrill and suspicion in me as promises of supercheap Airbnbs and waterproof phones: It sounds too wonderful to be true. Yet while the 1960s probably didn’t pass in a haze of Beatlemania and carefree chain-smoking for everyone, a fortunate few appear to have had a genuine blast. One such unicorn was Mary Quant, the fashion revolutionary who died this week aged 93.

Trailblazers are often credited with having been “ahead of their time”, but Quant was her time. Credited with popularizing the iconic miniskirt and sweeping away the dusty silhouettes of the 1950s, her eye for what young people might love to wear — and her interest in what excited young women in particular — spoke of an imagination so alive that it shaped the world around her.…  Seguir leyendo »

Prime Minister Johnson with customers in the beer garden during a visit to a pub on April 19, 2021.

Europa,

According to reports, multiple parties where alcohol was served -- in breach of the government's own Covid restrictions -- took place in Whitehall during the pandemic. Most recently, Downing Street has admitted that up to 30 guests gathered to celebrate Boris Johnson's birthday on June 19, 2020, when almost all indoor gatherings of more than two people were banned.

In an attempt to defend his presence at a "bring your own booze" garden party held at No 10 -- his official residence -- in May 2020, Johnson told journalists that he'd thought he was at a "work event".

It's an insipid excuse -- and according to lawyers including Adam Wagner, a barrister and expert in Covid law, almost certainly legally indefensible.…  Seguir leyendo »

Europa,

On Tuesday, London mayor Sadiq Khan announced a review of the capital's landmarks, with a view to remove any with links to slavery. Khan's decision follows the toppling of a statue of slave trader Edward Colston by Black Lives Matter protesters in Bristol, in the wake of worldwide outrage after the death of George Floyd in police custody. It has already sparked some backlash in a country which habitually romanticizes its past at the expense of progress -- and maintains a veneer of denial about the crimes committed by its historic heroes.

Pressed about where the review of London landmarks should draw the line -- given that a statue of former Prime Minister Winston Churchill was recently graffitied with the accurate statement "Churchill was a racist" -- Khan said the many great historical figures were not perfect.…  Seguir leyendo »

Internacional, ,

On Sunday, Queen Elizabeth gave a rare address, broadcast on the BBC, in light of the coronavirus pandemic. The British monarch drew on what she called the "fellow feeling" which an empathetic approach to dealing with a common struggle can foster. She praised "heartwarming" stories of care from around the world, and expressed a hope that "in the years to come, everyone will be able to take pride in how they responded to this challenge".

Her words marked a rare contrast to the nation-focused battle-talk which has characterized the much of the response to the pandemic so far. Though she as a figurehead has the luxury of expressing support rather than addressing practical enforcement or policy, by promoting a spirit of compassion, the Queen also sidestepped the problematic habit of many world leaders who have relied on -- and sometimes abused -- war-like language.…  Seguir leyendo »

Europa, ,

On Wednesday, the morning of the UK's second day under lockdown after a stay-at-home order issued by Boris Johnson, the news broke that Prince Charles, Queen Elizabeth's eldest son and heir to the British throne, has tested positive for coronavirus. He's currently self-isolating with mild symptoms in Balmoral, Scotland. His wife Camilla, who tested negative for the virus, is self-isolating in a separate part of the estate. His 93-year-old mother the Queen is isolating at Windsor Castle, alongside her husband Prince Philip, who is 98. Many will be able to relate to the experience of separation from their loved ones during the current outbreak.…  Seguir leyendo »

EuropaUnión Europea,

At 11 p.m. local time on the 31st of January, Britain is finally going to leave the European Union. But the British people can't even agree on how their first few seconds of independence will play out, and their Prime Minister, who famously called for "healing" upon his general election win in December, is only making matters worse.

On Tuesday morning, Boris Johnson announced on "BBC Breakfast" -- his first major broadcast interview since winning the UK election in December -- that he was working up a plan to enable the public to "bung a bob for a Big Ben bong".…  Seguir leyendo »

MundoOriente Próximo, ,

As of this month, women in Saudi Arabia will be informed by text if their husbands are divorcing them. Prior to this technological update, husbands could divorce their wives without even notifying them. On its website, the Saudi Ministry of Justice claims that the measure will protect "the rights of female clients".

However, the text is nothing but a symbolic technological advancement to mask a flourishing system that reinforces men's ownership of women.

Even with a text notification, Saudi women's marital rights remain largely the same: effectively non-existent. Knowledge of the divorce does not ensure the right to alimony or affect custody of children.…  Seguir leyendo »