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As you may know, there is a consultation that closes today for a bill in Scotland that would criminalise the purchase of sex.

The response to the consultation that I have submitted to MSP Rhoda Grant is included below. It's long.

If you would like to make a last-minute submission, please consider the excellent template letters offered by SCOT-PEP. Please be sure to request anonymity if you want to do it privately, or consider signing with a pseudonym. You don't have to be in Scotland to reply.

My response:


First off, I would like to address to comments Trish Godman MSP made at the Conference Against Human Trafficking in October this year that “Belle” does not exist and is not happy. I am Belle de Jour, I do exist, and please thank Ms Godman for being so concerned about my feelings – I am happy.

QUESTIONS Q1: Do you support the general aim of the proposed Bill? Please indicate “yes/no/undecided” and explain the reasons for your response. 

No, I do not support the general aim of the bill.

If the current laws are not working, as you claim, what makes you think new, badly thought out laws would work better? Or is this another 'send a message' law? Passing laws is easy. Passing a law which actually works in the way intended, is enforceable and has no harmful unforeseen consequences is far more difficult.

Such a law as proposed here will not affect whether or not prostitution happens: it will simply affect the conditions under which it takes place to the harm of sex workers. The question is, do you care about those conditions? I do. My priority is access for sex workers to the services they need to preserve or improve their circumstances.

The criminalisation of the purchase of sex in other countries has been shown not to be a successful approach in either helping sex workers or stopping the phenomenon of paying for sex. The extensive evidence for this position is outlined in the replies to the following questions.  

Q2: What do you believe would be the effects of legislating to criminalise the purchase of sex (as outlined above)? Please provide evidence to support your answer.

The effects of criminalising the purchase of sex would be increased danger for the people involved in selling sex and no reduction in demand. It is neither the logical response to sex work nor is it the compassionate one.

It has been reported that at a meeting in London at the House of Commons in November, Rhoda Grant said that harm or attacks that might be suffered by sex workers as the result of this bill was a “price worth paying”. How easy to say when other people are the ones paying the price! This shows me the bill is putting ideology above people’s lives. That the desire to punish sex workers and their clients matters more to her than women’s safety. It is horrifying. [Alex Bryce, ” A Regressive Move Which Would Further Stigmatise and Endanger Sex Workers”. Huffington Post, 28 November 2012]

Legislators who care about lives should focus on the provision of essential support services first and foremost. There is ample evidence to suggest that introducing criminalisation as well as spending valuable time and police resources would be to the detriment of the sex workers this Bill claims to want to protect.

My opposition is based upon the fact that the Swedish model is flawed; on the negative impact of such criminalisation on existing sex workers, particularly in their ability to access health and criminal justice services; the fact such an approach ignores and thus fails to address limitations within the criminal justice system (and other agencies) to effectively address abuses; the negative influence it has on the broader narrative of human trafficking to the detriment of other kinds of trafficking and exploitation.

The law in Sweden criminalising buyers has not been successful. It was brought in based on very little evidence. According to Dr Laura Agustin, an expert on sex work and migration, one of its data sources was a survey of only 14 people - just 7 of whom were sex workers.

Statistics show Swedish men are not deterred by the law. Many go to Denmark and Germany where prostitution is legal. The demand has not dried up. The number of men in Sweden who have paid for sex is actually rising. The laws have proved unpopular. A recent newspaper survey found 63% of the population favoured abolishing the sex purchase ban. When the Justice Minister proposed increasing penalties, 88% of Swedes disagreed.

There are health and safety concerns about prohibition. Condom distribution and HIV prevention, “ugly mugs” schemes identifying violent punters, and exiting services show far lower uptake when prostitution is criminalised.

As Purchasing Sexual Services in Sweden and the Netherlands found, the impact of the law on sex workers was to make such work more dangerous; for example, by reducing the time available to sex workers to assess clients. [Purchasing Sexual Services in Sweden and the Netherlands, A Report by a Working Group on the legal regulation of the purchase of sexual services, 2004, p. 20]

Much is made in anti-trafficking discourse of the Swedish model based on the assertion that, by making the purchase of sex an offence, human trafficking declines. But as an example, a 2011 report found that:

[W]hen reviewing the research and reports available, it becomes clear that the Sex Purchase Act cannot be said to have decreased prostitution, trafficking for sexual purposes, or had a deterrent effect on clients to the extent claimed. Nor is it possible to claim that public attitudes towards prostitution have changed significantly in the desired radical feminist direction or that there has been a similar increased support of the ban. We have also found reports of serious adverse effects of the Sex Purchase Act – especially concerning the health and well-being of sex workers – in spite of the fact that the lawmakers stressed that the ban was not to have a detrimental effect on people in prostitution.

[The Swedish Sex Purchase Act: Claimed Success and Documented Effects, Susanne Dodillet and Petra Östergren, Conference paper presented at the International Workshop: Decriminalising Prostitution and Beyond: Practical Experiences and Challenges. The Hague, March 3 and 4, 2011, p.3.]

This year UNAIDS, the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS, stated unequivocally that decriminalisation is the best strategy for both safety of sex workers and disease control. Swedish statistics in the 2012 UNAIDS progress report show Sweden has no data on whether HIV and safer sex programmes are reaching sex workers, or if sex workers are getting tested. This is a worrying development that could lead to an Aids timebomb. Such things are already happening in countries like Cambodia, where abusive and violent police enforcement of anti-sex work laws has led to decreased use of prophylactics, fewer people coming forward for STI testing, etc.

Close reading of the Swedish publications on the topic make it clear that UNAIDS is correct in their interpretation. For example, the report claims “it is reasonable to assume that the reduction in street prostitution in Sweden is a direct result of criminalisation” and “The overall picture we have obtained is that, while there has been an increase in prostitution in our neighbouring Nordic countries in the last decade, as far as we can see, prostitution has at least not increased in Sweden” (p. 36).

The language reveals that Sweden has no data and is simply pulling numbers out of thin air. As such, we argue that the Swedish model should be more carefully considered, especially in relation to its alleged ‘success’, and its applicability to Scotland. Criminalising sex work makes prostitutes more vulnerable to violence.

The UNAIDS report notes “In Sweden, sex workers who were unable to work indoors were left on the street with the most dangerous clients and little choice but to accept them.” This has also been the case in reports focusing on human rights in countries like Cambodia, where efforts to reduce prostitution have had a significant harmful effect.

By contrast, decriminalisation has been beneficial in terms of welfare of women. In 2003, New Zealand opted to overturn their laws that criminalised prostitution in favour of regulation. The people most visibly affected by the law were streetwalkers in larger cities like Auckland, where in 2003 about 360 girls were estimated by police to be working. Streetwalkers represent about 11% of the total number of prostitutes in the country. ["Big Increase of Sex Workers a Myth: Latest Research". Christchurch School of Medicine and Health Sciences. 2006-09-12] An evaluation of available data shows that the number of sex workers changed very little – and in some places, the numbers of them on the streets actually decreased – compared to before sex work was legal.

In Auckland, the estimated number of girls working the streets decreased significantly, from 360 to 106. People working in massage parlours and other establishments expressed a desire to stay in the work because of the financial rewards. [Report of the Prostitution Law Review Committee on the Operation of the Prostitution Reform Act 2003. Available online at: http://www.justice.govt.nz/policy-and-consultation/legislation/prostitution-law-review-committee/publications/plrc-report/report-of-the-prostitution-law-review-committee-on-the-operation-of-the-prostitution-reform-act-2003] In 2010, interviews with over 700 sex workers in New Zealand were published. [G Abel, L Fitzgerald, C Healy, (eds). Taking the crime out of sex work: New Zealand sex workers' fight for decriminalisation. Policy Press 2010] The number of interviews represents almost 12% of the estimated 5932 prostitutes in the country, a far higher proportion than in virtually any other qualitative study of sex workers ever conducted.

It concluded that the majority entered and stayed in the sex trade for financial reasons, that they felt the new laws gave them more protection, and that the result was positive changes overall for safety and health. As a result of the legislation they had become more willing (and able) to report crimes to the police - surely a victory for women’s safety.

We have a relevant and recent Scottish example with Aberdeen. From 2001 onward, the city had an established tolerance zone for sex workers around the harbour. That ended with passage of the Prostitution (Public Places) (Scotland) Act in 2007. In the following months the city centre experienced an influx of streetwalkers and an increase in petty crimes. Quay Services, which operates a drop-in centre for streetwalkers, reported that sex workers became more afraid to seek assistance and the number of women coming to the centre dropped to “just a handful”. [M Horne. “Safety tips texted to prostitutes after tolerance zone ends.” The Scotsman, 08 June 2008.] There was also evidence that displacing sex workers led to more activity in the sex trade, not less – convictions for solicitation tripled. [K Keane, 18 November 2008. “Prostitution 'forced into city'.” http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/7734480.stm]

To give a more specific example – when I lived in Sheffield in the early 2000s I saw firsthand the tragic effects of driving sex work away from well-trafficked, well-watched areas. At one point a de facto ‘tolerance’ area of streetwalkers had existed around the St George’s area of the city. It was fairly central, well lighted with CCTV, and police went through the area regularly. The streetwalkers I saw there (for I lived in a flat nearby) all seemed confident and in control. The interactions I saw with them and punters, and them and police, did not appear strained or overtly dangerous.

This changed when the crackdown came. Bollards went up to prevent kerb crawling. Women were pushed out to less populated, more industrial, less policed areas. It happened at that time I was a student, working in the city’s Medico Legal Centre.

One day I was called down to look at a postmortem. The mortuary was a rectangular room, with parallel stations set up for performing autopsies. That particular morning, there was one case I remember in excruciating detail. A young woman had been stabbed in a frenzied attack out past the dark underpasses of the Wicker, not far from Corporation Street. She died in hospital. The victim was just 25 years old. I had turned 25 the night she died.

[Name Redacted] was picked up by someone unknown, stabbed 19 times, and dumped in a lot. She lived long enough to give a partial description of her attacker, but died in hospital. I remember the dark hair, the pathologist methodically recording the position and appearance of each place the knife entered. I remember the stuffed teddy bear with a little red heart someone brought to the centre for her. Later I heard she had a 7-year-old son. Her killer has never been found.

Such a terrible, violent murder is only one tragedy. Many murders go unsolved every year. But the connection between what happened to [Redacted] and where she was working seemed clear to me. The more I learned, the more the effects of “zero tolerance” policing seemed partly responsible for her untimely death. This would not have happened if she had been on the streets near St George’s, with loads of walk-by traffic and well-lit corners. This crime could only have happened away from prying eyes, where anyone alerted to [Redacted]’s distress would not have been able to save her. Where there were no witnesses.

There is growing evidence that moving prostitutes into the darkened industrial outskirts of cities makes their lives more dangerous. [Redacted] is just one victim of a policy that is more concerned with exploiting prostitution myths and preserving a façade of public order than it is about benefitting women.

Perhaps rather than assuming these women are targeted because they are prostitutes, we should consider that they may be targeted because of message society is sending about their value as humans. Gary Ridgway, also known as the Green River killer, murdered 48 women in America in the early 1980s. He later talked about why most of his victims were streetwalkers: "I picked prostitutes as victims because they were easy to pick up without being noticed. I knew they would not be reported missing right away and might never be reported missing. I thought I could kill as many of them as I wanted without getting caught.” [EW Hickey. Serial Murderers and Their Victims (5th edition). Wadsworth Cengage Learning, 2010. P. 25.] It wasn’t the commercial sex angle that was attractive to him, but the convenience.

Many such killers are opportunists; they not only target shamed outsiders like prostitutes, but also hitchhikers and people travelling alone. People whose whereabouts are not exactly known at any given time. And yet no one would endorse a law criminalising solo travel under the rubric of “protecting” holidaymakers – that would be ludicrous.  

Q3: Are you aware of any unintended consequences or loopholes caused by the offence? Please provide evidence to support your answer. 

The unintended consequences of such a law would be greater personal risk for the people who sell sex, including both criminal danger, risk of attack, and exposure to sexually transmitted infections as detailed in the evidence for my answers given above. Attacking sex workers or their clients is not successful in changing behaviour. Prohibition in general tends to backfire.

We all know how badly alcohol prohibition in the US went and the frightening criminal implications of the ongoing “War on Drugs”. Instead of addressing the underlying social issues that might have been leading to unwelcome behaviours, it simply gives criminals a far greater hold on the industry than they would have otherwise. It does nothing to solve any actual family or societal problems. The government policy of the last several decades against sex workers has failed. No matter what deterrents are applied it always continues.

Even the Swedish government admits sex work advertising has increased on the internet – in other words, the trade has disappeared from public spaces but it has not gone away at all. What has happened is that sex workers have gone underground. This makes them more vulnerable, not less, to attack and abuse. It makes them more vulnerable to criminal gangs.

It is worth noting that Sweden’s largest trafficking prosecutions have all happened since the criminalisation law came into being – criminalisation makes trafficking worse, not better. If was as a society are serious about protecting women then we should rethink the current approach. The only country in the world that has put safety of women and men in sex work above subjective moral ideals is New Zealand. Their decriminalisation of sex work over ten years ago has been a great success.  

Q4: What are the advantages or disadvantages in using the definitions outlined above?  

“80. I want to ensure that the proposed legislation avoids any potential loopholes where a purchaser could avoid prosecution by means of non-cash payment.” 

“82. I intend to pursue this approach as it would mean that the offence would not be limited to sexual intercourse or oral sex but could potentially include a wider variety of sexual activity.”

So that’ll be everything from marriage to dating websites to flirting made illegal, then. The section relevant to this question makes clear that the intent of the bill is not simply the question of sex work, but policing any gendered or sexual interactions and behaviour with ill-defined parameters that make virtually all human relationships susceptible to prosecution. This is relevant to Q3 as the unintended consequences of such a law are potentially limitless.

Q5: What do you think the appropriate penalty should be for the offence? Please provide reasons for your answer.

I do not believe the consensual sexual activities of adults, monetised or not, should be in any way criminalised or subject to penalty. There are already laws in place to rightly prosecute those who engage in forced labour practices, abuse of children, rape and sexual assault and these should continue to be enforced robustly.

The consultation is low on information about what sex workers’ lives are really like, and seems informed mainly by skewed sources and dodgy assumptions. Since no space in the questions has been allocated to dispute these dangerous stereotypes, I’d like to use this opportunity to provide some data. When researchers allow sex workers to tell their experiences in a way that does not prejudge the outcome, the results reveal things that are well-known to those in the work, but still news to people on the outside.

A 2009 study polling sex workers is an excellent case in point. Beyond Gender: An examination of exploitation in sex work by Suzanne Jenkins of Keele University (2009) revealed the results of detailed interviews with 440 sex workers. Not simply street-based women, either, but women, men, and transgendered sex workers in all areas of the business. Over half were from the UK; the rest were based in western Europe, North America, Australia and New Zealand.

The results turn almost everything we think we know about sex work on its head. Is paid sex all about clients dominating sex workers? No. Less than 7% of the women interviewed thought that paying for sex gives the client power over the escort. 26.2% thought paying makes clients vulnerable, while the majority, 54.5%, said that 'commercial sexual transactions are relationships of equality'.

People generally think that clients get whatever they want from sex workers, abusing and taking advantage of them. But when asked 'in your escort interactions who normally takes overall control of the encounter?' 78.7% said they always or they usually did. 22.3% said it varies, and only 0.7% said the client decides.

Sex work is often characterised as brutal, with abuse a commonplace and even usual outcome. But when asked if they have ever felt physically threatened, only 25% of women and 18.7% of men said yes. 77% of women said they felt clients treated them respectfully; the same percentage said they respected their clients. When asked "how much longer do you plan to do escort work for?” " I have no plans to stop escort work‟ was joint first choice of answer for women along with "one-five more years" (both receiving 35.3%). Only 3.2% said they planned to stop in less than three months.

In many ways, this reflects a pragmatism and familiar to anyone with a more ‘traditional’ career. Sex workers are often stereotyped as very young and naive, unaware of the dangers of the choices they are making. But the age data do not suggest the field is populated with teenage runaways and naive youngsters: Almost 85% of the women were aged 26 or older, and 19% of them were over 40.

Sex work is frequently assumed to be a choice suitable only for the uneducated. But 35.3 % of the men held degrees, whereas for women, it was 32.9%. More than a third of the total were degree-educated, and over 18% held post-graduate qualifications. Only 6.5% had no formal educational qualifications. When asked what things they like about the work, 2 in 3 respondents in the Keele study reported 'like meeting people'. 75% of women and 50% of men reported 'flexibility of working hours' as an aspect they enjoy. 72% of women cited 'independence'.

Jenkins noted: “an appreciation of flexible working hours and independence were factors that were valuable to women generally, not only mothers. The benefits of greater independence and flexible working hours were not just about the demands of parenting - they were often about time provided for other, non parenting-related pursuits.”  

Q6: How should a new offence provision be enforced? Are there any techniques which might be used or obstacles which might need to be overcome? 

  I do not believe this should become an offence and therefore my opinion on how it should be enforced is irrelevant, except to say: not at all.

We can see that Denmark have recently rejected a similar bill that would have criminalized the purchase of sex and their reasons for doing so are worth considering carefully. The Justice Minister was of the opinion that such a law would be both illegal and unfeasible. Manu Sareen, the Danish gender equality minister, said during last year's election he wanted to ban the sex trade because it exploited women, but last month said he was not sure a ban was the best solution. The government is expected to offer counselling and other support programs to prostitutes. This is a far better use of human and financial resources.

Without engaging in the debate as to whether women (and indeed men and transgender individuals) willingly sell sex or are victims forced by circumstance to undertake this activity due to a lack of other income generating opportunities, there is nothing within this Bill or the accompanying consultation document as to the services and ‘help’ that will be provided to this group.

If the Scotland decides to criminalise the purchase of sex, and thereby seriously undermine the livelihood of sex workers, then they must acknowledge the need to provide alternative employment options and that this will require organisation and funding - both of which have been notably underfunded to date. Spend the money on services and support, not on policing victimless crimes.  

Q7: What is your assessment of the likely financial implications of the proposed Bill to you or your organisation; if possible please provide evidence to support your view? What (if any) other significant financial implications are likely to arise?

As a former sex worker and advocate of sex workers’ interests I know firsthand from friends and family in countries where sex work is illegal what the financial implications of this bill would be to the people involved. Imagine for a moment a downward spiral where someone who turns to sex work as a quick financial fix finds themselves in increased danger. There is also the question of how much money the government are going to waste on endless consultations for a law that will not work.

In times of financial austerity, throwing more money at unsuccessful policies is against the public interest and out of step with public opinion. Many opinion polls clearly show people support protecting the safety of sex workers and support decriminalisation. Criminalising consensual sexual activity between adults is expensive and dangerous.  

Q8: Is the proposed Bill likely to have any substantial positive or negative implications for equality? If it is likely to have a substantial negative implication, how might this be minimised or avoided? 

This bill will have a substantial negative implication for equality. What the people who believe in such numbers fail to acknowledge is that the continued attitude towards sex workers of being “damaged” or “fallen” women who must be saved by white knights only serves to exacerbate many of their problems.

Consider, as an analogy, that in the past society used to think of homosexuality as a disease rather than a sexual preference. Reams of supposedly “scientific” evidence were produced in order to “prove” that homosexuals suffered from mental health problems. These issues faced by gay, lesbian, and bisexual people (including stress, depression, and addictive behavior) are now understood to be the result not of their sexual preferences, but of the stigma associated with them and the pervasively negative social messages about them.

The mental health problems associated with outsider status are well known. Social isolation increases the risk of violence, blackmail, and coercion. Stigma and fear of humiliation and prosecution exacerbates any existing mental health issues. The current policy therefore is responsible for many of the mental health issues associated with sex work.

The consultation document cites among its evidence studies conducted by Melissa Farley, whose opinions have been found to be of insufficiently high quality to be admitted as evidence in Canadian court [Ontario Superior Court of Justice, Bedford v Canada, 2010. “Conclusion: Expert Evidence” http://www.canlii.org/en/on/onsc/doc/2010/2010onsc4264/2010onsc4264.html#_Toc270411950], who has been the subject of serious ethical allegations to the APA from her colleagues [http://maggiemcneill.files.wordpress.com/2011/07/complaint-to-apa-re-melissa-farley.pdf], and who makes rape jokes about sex workers on her own website. [http://www.prostitutionresearch.com/WhyIMade.html] Her work is a prime example of the persistent, institutionalised hatred against sex workers and it has no place in any serious discussion of sex work and public policy.

There are some hopeful and encouraging things going on that actually could benefit sex workers and reduce their exposure to harm. In Liverpool, police adopted a policy that recognises violence against sex workers as a hate crime. The result is that they can approach the police and know that violence against them will be taken seriously. This has led to a dramatic increase in prosecutions and a decline in assaults. But it’s a model that has yet to be picked up anywhere else. In Aberdeen, police are working to build links with outreach workers and streetwalkers to identify and assist women who want to transition out of sex work.

To give a personal example, while my own experience of sex work is long in the past, as someone who is “out” as a former sex worker I am subjected to high levels of verbal abuse, harassment, and threats, be they over the internet, through the post, and even in person. This has ranged from written threats posted to my workplace, to harassing phone calls, to being harassed and accused of supporting paedophilia by members of the SSP during a public event, to a PCC complaint I filed against the Guardian in which they defended a comment on the site that stated I “should be dead in a ditch”. The PCC, by the way, sided with the newspaper. Imagine if anyone ever wrote about you on a national newspaper’s website that way. It is unpleasant to say the least.

The help of police in various areas when I report these things has been, shall we say, variable. Some are very helpful, some are not. This has affected things like where I have my post sent and whether to be listed in the phone directory. I have undertaken substantial legal efforts to keep the exact location of my home from being printed in the newspapers.

As a result of the amount of abuse and the threatening flavour of some of it I sadly have had to make the decision not to start a family. This is because I feel the risk of subjecting anyone else to the unfiltered hatred and threats I receive would be unacceptable. I feel lucky to have the strong support of family and friends which I do not take for granted. Even in my privileged position it is a constant struggle to “not let the bastards get me down”. It is easy to see how others without such support would fall into depression from constant abuse encouraged by our society. If you are okay with the fact this happens not only to me but to thousands of others every day, then by all means support this bill and keep the hatred going.

I do not believe however that people with empathy and compassion would want that to continue. There are many people who claim to support women’s rights yet deny the rights of large numbers of women whose lives they don’t approve of. Evidence shows that places where prostitution is tolerated or decriminalised produce better outcomes for the people involved.

Attacking visible signs of prostitution results in more criminality, not less. There is no such thing as “ending demand”. This is documented by research, by statistics. Anyone who supports criminalisation is basically saying to me and people like me, ‘women’s rights are important, except of course for women like you.’ They are endorsing the kind of attitudes that allow a national newspaper to defend the statement that I “should be dead in a ditch”. I reject such a stand as hypocritical and anti-women.

This substantial negative implication can only be avoided by rejecting the bill altogether.

Regards

Dr Brooke Magnanti

Traducción jurada para su visado español en EE.UU. Como ya hemos comentado en otros artículos, son numerosos los procesos de migración en los que se suele requerir que la documentación...

La entrada TRADUCCIÓN JURADA PARA VISADO ESPAÑOL – EE.UU. se publicó primero en Nartran Translations.

Este post abarca la temática del Registro Civil de España. De entre los puntos que se tratan, destaca su relación con la traducción.

La entrada EL REGISTRO CIVIL DE ESPAÑA se publicó primero en Nartran Translations.

¿Conoces el significado del término trespass? Parece sencillo, pero no lo es. En esta entrada te ayudamos a entenderlo y a traducirlo. El término trespass es uno de esos que casi todos creemos conocer y pensamos que sabemos lo que significa. Sin embargo, como muchos...

La entrada Diccionario de inglés jurídico: Trespass aparece primero en Traducción Jurídica.

El Diccionario de uso del español de María Moliner es una obra monumental. Son dos volúmenes que la autora iba elaborando pacientemente en el salón […]

Origen

Responsive open learning environments (ROLEs) are the next generation of personal learning environments (PLEs). While PLEs rely on the simple aggregation of existing content and services mainly using Web 2.0 technologies, ROLEs are transforming lifelong learning by introducing a new infrastructure on a global scale while dealing with existing learning management systems, institutions, and technologies. The requirements engineering process in highly populated test-beds is as important as the technology development. In this paper, we will describe first experiences deploying ROLEs at two higher learning institutions in very different cultural settings. The Shanghai Jiao Tong University in China and at the “Center for Learning and Knowledge Management and Department of Information Management in Mechanical Engineering” (ZLW/IMA) at RWTH Aachen University have exposed ROLEs to theirs students in already established courses. The results demonstrated to readiness of the technology for large-scale trials and the benefits for the students leading to new insights in the design of ROLEs also for more informal learning situations.

Espagne : des problèmes sanitaires dans les zones sinistrées par les inondations

Running and longevity: Sub-four-minute milers increase their lifespan by up to 9 years  Genetic Literacy Project

Les pycnogonides, une espèce marine apparentée aux araignées, peuvent faire repousser des parties du corps après amputation, et pas seulement de simples membres, selon une étude publiée lundi, ouvrant la voie à de nouvelles découvertes sur la régénération.

"Personne ne s'attendait à cela", a déclaré Gerhard Scholtz de la prestigieuse université Humboldt à Berlin, et l'un des auteurs principaux de cette étude parue dans la revue Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. "Nous avons été les premiers à démontrer que c'était possible", a-t-il ajouté. Il est connu qu'une multitude d'espèces d'arthropodes tels que les mille-pattes, les araignées ou d'autres insectes peuvent faire repousser une patte après l'avoir perdue.

"Les crabes peuvent même se débarrasser automatiquement de leurs membres s'ils sont attaqués", a déclaré Gerhard Scholtz, précisant: "ils les remplacent par un nouveau membre". Ce que les chercheurs ont découvert à travers leurs expériences avec ces minuscules créatures à huit pattes, est qu'elles sont capables de régénérer même d'autres parties du corps. Pour l'étude, ils ont amputé différents membres et parties postérieures du corps de 23 pycnogonides juvéniles et adultes, et ont observé les résultats.

Repousse d'un corps à partir de seulement quelques cellules

Aucune régénération de parties du corps n'a été constatée dans les spécimens adultes, mais certains étaient toujours en vie après deux ans. Les spécimens juvéniles, en revanche, ont connu une régénération complète ou quasi-complète des parties du corps manquantes, y compris l'intestin postérieur, l'anus, la musculature, et certaines parties d'organes génitaux.

A long terme, 90% des pycnogonides ont survécu, et 16 spécimens juvéniles ont effectué leur mue par la suite au moins une fois. La régénération postérieure a ainsi été constatée chez 14 des spécimens juvéniles tandis qu'aucun des spécimens adultes n'a mué ou ne s'est régénéré. Les capacités de régénération varient à travers le règne animal.

Les vers plats, par exemple, peuvent faire repousser leur corps à partir de seulement quelques cellules. Les vertébrés, dont les hommes, n'ont quasiment aucune capacité de régénération à l'exception de quelques espèces comme les lézards, qui peuvent faire repousser leurs queues.

Selon Gerhard Scholz, les résultats de l'étude ouvrent de nouvelles voies de recherche dans le domaine. "Une multitude d'espèces différentes peuvent être testées de cette manière", dit-il, ce qui pourrait permettre de comparer les mécanismes de régénération. "Au bout du compte, peut-être que les mécanismes que nous découvrons chez les arthropodes nous aiderons dans les traitements médicaux après la perte d'un membre, d'un doigt, etc... chez les humains", espère le chercheur.

Disease pandemics, once thought to be historical relics, are now again challenging healthcare systems globally. Of essential importance is sufficiently investing in preparedness and responsiveness, but approaches to such investments vary significantly by country. These variations provide excellent opportunities to learn and prepare for future pandemics. Therefore, we examine digital health infrastructure and the state of healthcare and public health services in relation to pandemic preparedness and responsiveness. The research focuses on two countries: South Africa and the USA. We apply case analysis at the country level toward understanding digital health policy preparedness and responsiveness to a pandemic. We also provide a teaching note at the end for use in guiding students in this area to formulate digital health policy recommendations for pandemic preparedness and responsiveness.

Electronic portfolios (e-portfolios) have a positive impact on the learning process in a broad range of educational sectors and on learners of all ages. Yet because most e-portfolio-related studies are about their implementation in higher education, this type of research is less usual in the early childhood context, and there is no available research for Greek schools. This study aims to investigate the impact of e-portfolios on learning in a Greek primary school and to provide a resource regarding the educational benefits of e-portfolio in primary education. To do that, it employs the qualitative naturalistic method to collect data, along with mixed methods which were used to achieve triangulation and strengthen confidence in the outcomes. Participants in the research were fourteen 8-year-old pupils, and one of the researchers was their regular teacher. Data evaluation revealed that the e-portfolio added value in pupils’ learning, acted as a medium to involve parents, promoted pupils’ self-esteem, and was acknowledged as a valuable assessment tool and a challenge for the school community. Based on the experience of the e-portfolio implementation, the authors provide some suggestions that would possibly help researchers and primary school teachers adopt and develop e-portfolio systems in their particular settings.

Aim/Purpose: This paper presents a data mining approach for analyzing responses to advanced declarative programming questions. The goal of this research is to find a model that can explain the results obtained by students when they perform exams with Constructed Response questions and with equivalent Multiple-Choice Questions. Background: The assessment of acquired knowledge is a fundamental role in the teaching-learning process. It helps to identify the factors that can contribute to the teacher in the developing of pedagogical methods and evaluation tools and it also contributes to the self-regulation process of learning. However, better format of questions to assess declarative programming knowledge is still a subject of ongoing debate. While some research advocates the use of constructed responses, others emphasize the potential of multiple-choice questions. Methodology: A sensitivity analysis was applied to extract useful knowledge from the relevance of the characteristics (i.e., the input variables) used for the data mining process to compute the score. Contribution: Such knowledge helps the teachers to decide which format they must consider with respect to the objectives and expected students results. Findings: The results shown a set of factors that influence the discrepancy between answers in both formats. Recommendations for Practitioners: Teachers can make an informed decision about whether to choose multiple-choice questions or constructed-response taking into account the results of this study. Recommendation for Researchers: In this study a block of exams with CR questions is verified to complement the area of learning, returning greater performance in the evaluation of students and improving the teaching-learning process. Impact on Society: The results of this research confirm the findings of several other researchers that the use of ICT and the application of MCQ is an added value in the evaluation process. In most cases the student is more likely to succeed with MCQ, however if the teacher prefers to evaluate with CR other research approaches are needed. Future Research: Future research must include other question formats.

This research delves into the wealth effect of shareholders from bidding firms created by mergers and acquisitions (M&A) in China and India, two of the world's most populous nations. The study reveals that on average, M&A deals create wealth for shareholders of the acquiring firms, as determined by abnormal percentage returns in a five-day event window. Regarding the further classification of acquiring firms based on industry, the abnormal percentage returns vary in different sectors in both countries. In China, shareholders benefit in seven out of ten industries, while in India, they gain in five out of nine industries. Moreover, the stock markets' responses vary depending on the type of M&A in each country. Cross-industry M&A deals in China generate higher gains for shareholders than within-industry deals, whereas, in India, within-industry M&A deals generate higher gains.

Many higher education institutions are moving towards blended learning environments that seek to move towards a student-centred ethos, where students are stakeholders in the learning process. This often involves multi-modal learner-support technologies capable of operating in a range of time and place settings. This article considers the impact of an Audience Response System (ARS) upon the ongoing development of an Information Systems Professional course at the Masters level in the College of Business at Victoria University in Melbourne, Australia. The course allows students to consider ethical issues faced by an Information Systems Professional. Given the sensitivity of some of the topics explored within this area, an ARS offers an ideal vehicle for allowing students to respond to potentially contentious questions without revealing their identity to the rest of the group. The paper reports the findings of a pilot scheme designed to explore the efficacy of the technology. Use of a blended learning framework to frame the discussion allowed the authors to consider the readiness of institution, lecturers, and students to use ARS. From a usage viewpoint, multiple choice questions lead to further discussion of student responses related to important issues in the unit. From an impact viewpoint the use of ARS in the class appeared to be successful, but some limitations were reported.

This paper describes the employment of a Personal Response System (PRS) during a Decision Analysis course for Management Information Systems (MIS) students. The description shows how the carefully designed PRS-based questions, the delivery, and the follow-up discussions; provided a context for eliciting and exercising central concepts of the course topics as well as central skills required for MIS majors. A sample of PRS-based questions is presented along with a description for each question of its purpose, the way it was delivered, the response rate, the responses and their frequencies, and the respective in-class discussion. Lessons from these findings are discussed.

Aim/Purpose: This study investigated a model of mobile esports acceptance among urban citizens based on an extended Technology Acceptance Model (TAM). Background: Currently, esports are increasingly popular and in demand by the public. Supported by the widespread development of mobile devices, it has become an interactive market trend to play games in a new model, mobile esports. Methodology: This study collected data from 400 respondents and analyzed it using partial least squares-structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM). Contribution: This study addresses two research gaps. The first gap is limited esports information systems studies, particularly in mobile esports acceptance studies. The second gap is limited exploration of external variables in online gaming acceptance studies. Thus, this study proposed a TAM extended model by integrating the TAM native variables with other external variables such as visual appeal, enjoyment, social interaction, and competition to explore mobile esports acceptance by urban citizens. Findings: Nine hypotheses were accepted, and four were rejected. The visual appeal did not affect the acceptance. Meanwhile, social interaction and enjoyment significantly affected both perceived ease of use and usefulness. However, perceived ease of use surprisingly had an insignificant effect on attitude toward using mobile esports. Moreover, competition significantly affected the acceptance, particularly on perceived usefulness. Recommendations for Practitioners: Fresh and innovative features, such as new game items or themes, should be frequently introduced to enhance players’ continued enjoyment. Moreover, mobile esports providers should offer a solid platform to excite players’ interactions to increase the likelihood that users feel content. On the other hand, the national sports ministry/agency or responsible authorities should organize many esports competitions, big or small, to search for new talents. Recommendation for Researchers: Visual appeal in this study did not influence the perceived ease of use or usefulness. However, it could affect enjoyment. Thus, it would be worth revisiting the relationship between visual appeal and enjoyment. At the same time, perceived ease of use is a strong driver for the continued use of most online games, but not in this study. It could indicate significant differences between mobile esports and typical online games, one of which is the different purposes. Users might play online games for recreational intention, but players would use mobile esports to compete, win, or even get monetary rewards. Therefore, although users might find mobile esports challenging and hard to use, they tend to keep playing it. Thus, monetary rewards could be considered a determinant of the continuation of use. Impact on Society: Nowadays, users are being paid for playing games. It also would be an excel-lent job if they become professional esports athletes. This study investigated factors that could affect the continued use of mobile esports. Like other jobs, playing games professionally in the long term could make the players tedious and tired. Therefore, responsible parties, like mobile esports providers or governments, could use the recommendations of this study to promote positive behavior among the players. They will not feel like working and still con-sider playing mobile esports a hobby if they happily do the job. In the long run, the players could also make a nation’s society proud if they can be a champion in prestigious competitions. Future Research: A larger sample size will be needed to generalize the results, such as for a nation. It is also preferable if the sample is randomized systematically. Future works should also investigate whether the same results are acquired in other mobile esports. Furthermore, to extend our knowledge and deepen our understanding of the variables that influence mobile esports adoption, the subsequent research could look at other mobile esports acceptability based on characteristics of system functionality and moderator effects. Finally, longitudinal data-collecting approaches are suggested for future studies since behavior can change over time.

Aim/Purpose: The major challenges for firms to initiate corporate social responsibility (CSR) arise from resource constraints, complexity, and uncertainty. Consuming considerable financial and human resources is the main difficulty for smaller firms or those operating in less profitable industries, and the lack of immediate outputs from CSR initiatives poses a challenge for firms in prioritizing and assessing their effectiveness. Background: To better integrate CSR management into overall business strategy and decision-making processes, Blockchain technology (BCT) could potentially offer a feasible and optimal alternative to CSR reports. Methodology: This study uses the fixed effects regression by way of the Least Squares Dummy Variable (LSDV) approach in STATA to analyze the direct effect of CSR management on business performance and the moderating effect of BCT adoption on this relationship with a panel data set of 5810 observations collected from the 874 listed companies in 2015 in Taiwan Stock Exchange through 2021. Contribution: This study contributes to the literature by shedding light on the organizational factors that influence BCT adoption. Findings: The findings show that firms with high levels of CSR management have better business performance. Additionally, the adoption of BCT strengthens the positive relationship between CSR management and business performance, but it cannot replace the fundamental principles of CSR. Finally, firm size does not significantly affect BCT adoption, indicating that companies of all sizes have an equal opportunity to adopt BCT, which can help to level the playing field in terms of resources available to different firms. Recommendations for Practitioners: This study suggests that firms managing CSR practices have better business performance, and the adoption of BCTs further enhances this positive relationship. However, BCT adoption does not have the same positive effect on business performance as CSR practices. Additionally, this research can help to inform public policy related to BCT adoption and diffusion. Recommendation for Researchers: By exploring the factors that influence BCT adoption, future researchers can provide insights into the key challenges and opportunities faced by organizations of different sizes and help to develop strategies for promoting the effective adoption of BCT. Impact on Society: Given the limitations of current CSR reporting, the understanding gained from BCT applications can provide companies with an alternative mechanism to foster progress in CSR implementation. Future Research: Firstly, while the fixed-effects model might have dampened the power of explanation because it only captures within-unit variation and ignores between-unit variation, the explanatory power is further limited due to only integrating two independent variables in this model. Because of limited data availability, this study only utilizes CSR_Report and firm_size as independent variables. Future studies can consider more key factors and may lead to different results. Additionally, panel data is collected from Taiwan and, therefore, may not be representative of the broader population. Future researchers integrating the Stock Exchange of different countries are recommended.

Aim/Purpose: This research study aimed to explore ecommerce fraud practitioners’ experiences and develop a grounded theory framework to help define an ecommerce fraud incident response process, roles and responsibilities, systems, stakeholders, and types of incidents. Background: With a surge in global ecommerce, online transactions have become increasingly fraudulent, complex, and borderless. There are undefined ecommerce fraud roles, responsibilities, processes, and systems that limit and hinder cyber incident response to fraudulent activities. Methodology: A constructivist grounded theory approach was used to investigate and develop a theoretical foundation of ecommerce fraud incident response based on fraud practitioners’ experiences and job descriptions. The study sample consisted of 8 interviews with ecommerce fraud experts. Contribution: This research contributes to the body of knowledge by helping define a novel framework that outlines an ecommerce fraud incident response process, roles and responsibilities, systems, stakeholders, and incident types. Findings: An ecommerce fraud incident response framework was developed from fraud experts’ perspectives. The framework helps define processes, roles, responsibilities, systems, incidents, and stakeholders. The first finding defined the ecommerce fraud incident response process. The process includes planning, identification, analysis, response, and improvement. The second finding was that the fraud incident response model did not include the containment phase. The next finding was that common roles and responsibilities included fraud prevention analysis, tool development, reporting, leadership, and collaboration. The fourth finding described practitioners utilizing hybrid tools and systems for fraud prevention and detection. The fifth finding was the identification of internal and external stakeholders for communication, collaboration, and information sharing. The sixth finding is that research participants experienced different organizational alignments. The seventh key finding was stakeholders do not have a holistic view of the data and information to make some connections about fraudulent behavior. The last finding was participants experienced complex fraud incidents. Recommendations for Practitioners: It is recommended to adopt the ecommerce fraud response framework to help ecommerce fraud and security professionals develop an awareness of cyber fraud activities and/or help mitigate cyber fraud activities. Future Research: Future research could entail conducting a quantitative analysis by surveying the industry on the different components such as processes, systems, and responsibilities of the ecommerce fraud incident response framework. Other areas to explore and evaluate are maturity models and organizational alignment, collaboration, information sharing, and stakeholders. Lastly, further research can be pursued on the nuances of ecommerce fraud incidents using frameworks such as attack graph generation, crime scripts, and attack trees to develop ecommerce fraud response playbooks, plans, and metrics.

Aim/Purpose: This study aims to analyze the factors that influence user addiction to AR face filters in social network applications and their impact on the online social anxiety of users in Indonesia. Background: To date, social media users have started to use augmented reality (AR) face filters. However, AR face filters have the potential to create positive and negative effects for social media users. The study combines the Big Five Model (BFM), Sense of Virtual Community (SVOC), and Stimuli, Organism, and Response (SOR) frameworks. We adopted the SOR theory by involving the personality factors and SOVC factors as stimuli, addiction as an organism, and social anxiety as a response. BFM is the most significant theory related to personality. Methodology: We used a quantitative approach for this study by using an online survey. We conducted research on 903 Indonesian respondents who have used an AR face filter feature at least once. The respondents were grouped into three categories: overall, new users, and old users. In this study, group classification was carried out based on the development timeline of the AR face filter in the social network application. This grouping was carried out to facilitate data analysis as well as to determine and compare the different effects of the factors in each group. The data were analyzed using the covariance-based structural equation model through the AMOS 26 program. Contribution: This research fills the gap in previous research which did not discuss much about the impact of addiction in using AR face filters on online social anxiety of users of social network applications. Findings: The results of this study indicated neuroticism, membership, and immersion influence AR face filter addiction in all test groups. In addition, ARA has a significant effect on online social anxiety. Recommendations for Practitioners: The findings are expected to be valuable to social network service providers and AR creators in improving their services and to ensure policies related to the list of AR face filters that are appropriate for use by their users as a form of preventing addictive behavior of that feature. Recommendation for Researchers: This study suggested other researchers consider other negative impacts of AR face filters on aspects such as depression, life satisfaction, and academic performance. Impact on Society: AR face filter users may experience changes in their self-awareness in using face filters and avoid the latter’s negative impacts. Future Research: Future research might explore other impacts from AR face filter addiction behavior, such as depression, life satisfaction, and so on. Apart from that, future research might investigate the positive impact of AR face filters to gain a better understanding of the impact of AR face filters.

Group work can provide a valuable learning experience, one that is especially relevant for those preparing to enter the information system workforce. While much has been discussed about effective means of delivering the benefits of collaborative learning in groups, there are some problems that arise due to pragmatic environmental factors such as the part time work commitments of students. This study has identified a range of problems and reports on a longitudinal Action Research study in two universities (in Australia and the USA). Over three semesters problems were identified and methods trialed using collaborative tools. Several promising solutions are presented to the identified problems. These include the use of Google documents and color to ensure team contributions are more even.

This article examines the conditions under which organizations publicly respond to unfavorable consumer evaluations that challenge their market identity. Because organizations' market identities are certified by expert evaluations, consumers' devaluations that challenge these expert evaluations represent an identity threat. However, organizations do not always react to consumers' devaluations because of the risks associated to public responses. Hence, we first predict that organizations are more likely to respond to severe devaluations than to weaker ones; second, we propose that organizations, when faced with severe devaluations, are more likely to craft responses that justify their actions and behaviors. We further contend that, for any market identity under consideration, an organization's reputation amplifies these relationships. Analyses of a dataset of London hoteliers' responses to online reviews posted on TripAdvisor during the period 2002-2012 lend substantial support to our hypotheses.

In Strategic Corporate Social Responsibility (3rd edition) (SCSR), David Chandler and William B. Werther Jr. advance the view that the ability of firms to create value for a range of stakeholders over the medium- and long-term requires that they embed CSR into their strategies and operations. Its focus on the integration of CSR into strategic planning and implementation distinguishes SCSR from competing business and society textbooks, which tend to survey the field or focus on the management of the firm's relationships with stakeholders and society.

Why are some serious cases of corporate irresponsibility collectively forgotten? Drawing on social memory studies, we examine how this collective forgetting process can occur. We propose that a major instance of corporate irresponsibility leads to the emergence of a stakeholder mnemonic community that shares a common recollection of the past incident. This community generates and then draws upon mnemonic traces to sustain a collective memory of the past event over time. In addition to the natural entropic tendencies toward forgetting, collective memory is also undermined by instrumental 'forgetting work', which we conceptualize in this paper. Forgetting work involves manipulating short-term conditions of the event, silencing vocal 'rememberers' and undermining collective mnemonic traces that sustain a version of the past. This process can result in a reconfigured collective memory and collective forgetting of corporate irresponsibility events. Collective forgetting can have positive and negative consequences for the firm, stakeholders and society.

Under cross-examination on Wednesday, Urfan Sharif unexpectedly said: “She died because of me.”

BRUSSELS: US top diplomat Antony Blinken warned Wednesday that the deployment of North Korean troops alongside Russian forces fighting on the Ukrainian border demanded a “firm response”.

The secretary of state was speaking at the start of a day of Brussels talks with NATO and EU officials to urgently address ramping up support for Kyiv before Donald Trump reclaims the White House -- potentially jeopardising future aid.

Addressing reporters alongside NATO chief Mark Rutte, Blinken said they had discussed the fact North Korean forces have been “injected into the battle, and now, quite literally, in combat which demands and will get a firm response.”

The US State Department confirmed Tuesday that Pyongyang’s troops -- whose entry into the conflict marks a potentially major escalation -- have begun “engaging in combat operations” alongside Russian forces near the border with Ukraine.

A spokesman said that of the more than 10,000 North Korean soldiers sent to eastern Russia, “most of them have moved to the far western Kursk Oblast, where they have begun engaging in combat operations with Russian forces”.

Rutte meanwhile stressed the crucial role played by China in helping Russia’s “war effort”, as well as Iranian weapons deliveries -- paid for with Russian funds that were in turn helping Tehran to “destabilize the Middle East”.

Blinken was taking part in a meeting of the North Atlantic Council, NATO’s decision-making body, before talks with European Union top diplomat Josep Borrell, his successor Kaja Kallas and Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiga.

His emergency trip comes as Trump’s election victory, coupled with a political crisis in Germany, heightens fears about the future of assistance for Ukraine at a key point in the fight against Russia’s invasion.

Trump has in the past voiced admiration for Russian President Vladimir Putin and scoffed at the $175 billion the United States committed for Ukraine since the start of the war in 2022.

The 78-year-old tycoon, who will be inaugurated on January 20, spoke with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky after winning re-election following a first stint as president between 2017 and 2021.

He has boasted he can end the war in a day, likely by forcing concessions from Ukraine, although his newly named national security advisor, Mike Waltz, said Trump may also pressure Putin.

The Washington Post reported the Republican leader also held a phone call with Putin and discouraged an escalation by Russia. The Kremlin denied the report.

US media reported Trump might pick Republican Senator Marco Rubio to replace Blinken as secretary of state.

Rubio is seen as supportive of Kyiv but has also said Washington should show “pragmatism” rather than sending billions of dollars more in weapons as the war hit a “stalemate”.

‘As long as it takes’

The Biden administration has made clear it plans in its remaining weeks to push through the more than $9 billion of remaining funding appropriated by Congress for weapons and other security assistance to Ukraine.

Mark Cancian, senior advisor at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, expected the United States to focus in particular on sending vehicles, medical supplies and small-arms ammunition, which Ukraine needs and the United States can provide.

“Between now and the end of the administration, they’re going to try to ship everything they can that’s available,“ Cancian said.

Despite Kyiv’s pleas it seems unlikely, however, that Washington will lift its veto on Ukraine’s use of long-range missiles to strike deep into Russian territory.

Trump in his first term aggressively pushed Europe to step up defence spending and questioned the fairness of the NATO transatlantic alliance -- robustly defended by Biden.

“Whatever approach the US leadership takes towards Ukraine, Europe will have to step up, and we will have to take the lead in supporting Ukraine’s defence efforts and macro financial stability,“ said Olena Prokopenko of the German Marshall Fund of the United States.

“Unfortunately, Donald Trump’s win comes at arguably the worst possible time in terms of Europe’s political and economic shape and its ability to promptly coordinate”.

The Elephant Care Association of South Africa (ECASA) responds to Dr. Adam Cruise’s article, ‘Rules of Engagement: South Africa to ban captive wildlife interactions for tourists’ The Elephant Care Association of South Africa is deeply concerned by Dr Cruise’s article,...

City of Dreams Manila, part of the Melco Resorts and Entertainment Group, has taken the initiative to promote and observe responsible gaming practices in the Philippines.

The popular host said she did not intend to break any confidential news, explaining her side.

William Shakespeare's First Folio on display at Christies in London on April 24, 2023. — Reuters

A copy of William Shakespeare’s Life of King Henry the Fifth, shortened to Henry V, has been returned to a New Jersey library, 101 years after it was checked out.

A woman...

A representational image of chimpanzees sitting. — AFP/file

Two Australian mathematicians have questioned an old motto: If a monkey is given an infinite amount of time to press keys on a typewriter, at one point, it will finish writing all of William Shakespeare's...

It weakened from a Category 2 hurricane to a tropical depression as it moved northeastward over central Mississippi

Google is facing criticism in Spain and Italy for alleged anti-piracy failures. The latest claim accuses Google of ignoring notices that aim to remove pirate IPTV providers from search results. So here's the thing: why would a company take down 10 billion URLs from search but suddenly start acting differently? The public labeling of Google as "grossly negligent" deserves context too; two weeks ago, Google's diligence prevented one of its accusers from deindexing its own website.

From: TF, for the latest news on copyright battles, piracy and more.

Prince Andrew's desperate bid to keep Royal lodge for THIS reason

Prince Andrew is fighting to keep his home, Royal Lodge, despite King Charles wanting him to move out after cutting off his financial assistance.

According to Royal experts, the “disgraced” Duke of York is...

Meghan Markle sparked another controversy after she wore a poppy that slightly differed from that of Prince Harry's in a recent video addressing children's digital safety.

A journalist has pointed out that the Duchess of Sussex’s poppy lacked leaves on the stalk, resembling...

Karla Sofia Gascon responds to 'Emilia Pérez' audience's unexpected reaction

Emilia Perez actress Karla Sofía Gascón opened up about how the audience did not recognize her in the movie.

In the movie, the 52-year-old actress plays the role of Mexican cartel...