New UCL research shows children in England physically punished are less likely to pass GCSEs and more prone to bullying. Experts urge a ban, citing Scotland and Wales as examples, but the UK government has no current plans to legislate.
A UCL study of 19,000 UK children suggests smacking is linked to lower GCSE grades and a 33% higher likelihood of risky teenage behaviour. Researchers call for a ban in England and Northern Ireland, where it's still legal, unlike Scotland and Wales.
The US attack on Iran has made the need for renewable energy inarguable. Environmentalists are now being seen for the pragmatists that they areDonald Trump has done more to accelerate the energy transition than anyone else alive. Fossil fuel companies bankrolled his presidential campaign to stop the transition in its tracks. But when you back a volatile narcissist, unable to concentrate for more than a few minutes at a time, you shouldn’t expect to control the outcome.It’s not that the fossils are suffering yet. As prices have soared since Trump and Netanyahu attacked Iran, oil executives have been selling shares at gobsmacking prices: the CEO of Chevron, for example, has cashed $104m so far this year. Vladimir Putin has also received a massive boost to his Ukraine invasion budget. As promised, Trump has gutted clean energy rules and programmes, green alternatives and environmental science. A fortnight ago, he stated, with the usual quantum of evidence (zero): “The environmentalists, I mean, they are terrorists … I call them environmental terrorists.”George Monbiot is a Guardian columnist Continue reading...
