20 h. ago Is the internet a human right? Six out of 10 Brits say access is life essential

New research shows that nearly three-quarters of people (73%) believe internet access is now essential to modern life

Politics

20 h. ago Most people say access to the internet is now a basic human right

Work is ongoing to reduce the 'digital divide'

Politics

3 w. ago The Guardian view on rogue landlords: past failures do not augur well for the new era | Editorial of renters’ rights

If the promise of a better private rental sector is to be realised, councils will need new staff as well as stricter rulesTenants need rights. Apart from food and water, shelter is the most basic human need and relevant to almost everyone all the time – unlike, say, healthcare, which most people do not use on a daily basis. A rebalancing of the law towards renters and away from landlords, which the government has done in its Renters’ Rights Act, was sorely needed. Failures and abuses of power have been ignored for too long.With no-fault evictions outlawed from next May, and tougher oversight from a new ombudsman to follow, life should be about to get better for England’s 4.6m households in the private rental sector. But will it? Troubling analysis by the Guardian shows that two-thirds of councils in England have not prosecuted a single landlord in the past three years, while nearly half didn’t issue any fines either. Over the same period, fewer than 2% of complaints led to enforceme...

Events

3 w. ago Future Boy by Michael J Fox review – secrets from the set of a definitive 80s movie

The actor’s account of his big Hollywood break – and how it almost never happenedMichael J Fox has already eked out four books of Hollywood memoir, so the justification for a fifth – written with longtime collaborator Nelle Fortenberry – ought to be good. It is: the subject of these 176 pages is a three-month period in 1985 when Fox was simultaneously shooting his breakout sitcom role in Family Ties and the career-defining American classic, Back to the Future.That’s two more-than-full-time jobs for one little guy, necessitating that the then 23-year-old actor work 20-hour days, six days a week. This schedule was only possible because the mid-1980s was a time before showbiz labour laws caught up with basic human decency. These days, we’re told, a standard contract “demands two weeks of buffer time on either side of a job”, while Fox didn’t even get an hour. Continue reading...

Politics

3 w. ago Celebrity Traitors producers banned 'basic human right' until star 'kicked off'

Celebrity Traitors finalist Nick Mohamed revealed the 'human right' was finally provided after a fellow contestant complained, although he did admit he thought it was 'clever'

Events

3 w. ago Russia's first AI robot 'that looks like Putin' falls flat on face in grand debut

The artificial human, named AIDOL - short for Artificial Intelligence Doll - is said to be capable of a dozen basic human emotions and hundreds of micro-expressions, but appears yet to have mastered walking

Politics