All posts tagged: hope

‘I hope he loses’: Jeremy Hunt facing uphill battle in Godalming as voters long for change | General election 2024

‘I hope he loses’: Jeremy Hunt facing uphill battle in Godalming as voters long for change | General election 2024

Published by skeptic

The beautiful Surrey Hills are well known for two things: a high concentration of some of the UK’s richest residents, who commute from the “stockbroker belt” to well-paying jobs in London, and some of the country’s most popular cycling routes. The two combined on a recent chilly Saturday morning in a 100km bike ride that passed through the picturesque lanes of the newly created Godalming and Ash constituency. Most of the 10 riders from Velo Club Godalming Haslemere were happy to chat politics as they pedalled up (and down) 1,168 metres of the county’s steepest hills on customised carbon-fibre racing bikes, some of which cost more than a family car. Godalming town centre. Photograph: Teri Pengilley/The Guardian Steve Street, 55, a retired engineering consultant who has lived in Godalming for more than 30 years, was excited about the election, as the constituency could be one of the tightest races in the country. “I hope he loses,” Street said of Jeremy Hunt, the chancellor, who has held the former seat of South West Surrey since 2005. …

Ballet bosses hope ‘epic’ Swan Lake production shows importance of funding UK arts | Ents & Arts News

Ballet bosses hope ‘epic’ Swan Lake production shows importance of funding UK arts | Ents & Arts News

Published by Sam

Ballet bosses are hoping their “epic” staging of Swan Lake prompts the next government to recognise the “critical” importance of arts funding. English National Ballet artistic director Aaron Watkin, and the Royal Albert Hall’s director of audiences, Louise Halliday, have spoken to Sky News about their concerns – as ballerinas impress fans with their restaging of a classic. “Policies and funding are hugely important. They’re critical,” Watkin explains in reference to maintaining Britain’s cultural reputation. There are less than a handful of dance companies in the world that would be able to stage a show like the one currently being performed at the Royal Albert Hall. Even non-dancers are aware of Swan Lake, but reconfigured to be staged in-the-round the choreography is jaw-dropping – the huge swarms of feathers perfectly in sync with every single detail from every angle. “We hire an extra 60 dancers for this production,” Watkin explains. “You’ve got over 100 performers on stage, so it’s just the sheer size of it.” He describes the “massive undertaking” as effectively “taking three Swan …

The Guardian view on Iran’s presidential election: more choice, but little real hope of change | Editorial

The Guardian view on Iran’s presidential election: more choice, but little real hope of change | Editorial

Published by skeptic

The death of Iran’s president, Ebrahim Raisi, in a helicopter crash last month was a shock. The 63‑year‑old hardliner was not only expected to run for a second term, but to be part of the looming transition: the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, is 85 and has health problems. Some had even thought Raisi might succeed him. Yet the repercussions have been muted. The first round of the presidential election is scheduled for 28 June, but no one expects Raisi’s replacement to bring significant political change. The regime’s priorities are continuity and stability. It knows it may soon have to reckon with the hostility of a second Trump administration and it faces widespread discontent at home, following the suppression of the massive Woman, Life, Freedom protests. The evidence of recent years suggest that it is more worried about conservative consolidation at the top than legitimacy from below. In the last race, the Guardian Council – a Khamenei-appointed elite body which vets candidates – banned all reformists. This time, one has made the cut. Masoud Pezeshkian is a …

‘Off the charts’: the key breakthroughs giving new hope in treating cancer | Cancer research

‘Off the charts’: the key breakthroughs giving new hope in treating cancer | Cancer research

Published by skeptic

At the 2024 American Society of Clinical Oncology annual meeting, the world’s largest cancer conference, doctors, scientists and researchers shared new findings on ways to tackle the disease. The event in Chicago, attended by about 44,000 health professionals, featured more than 200 sessions focused on this year’s theme, The Art and Science of Cancer Care: From Comfort to Cure. Here is a roundup of the key studies. NHS launches world-first cancer vaccine trial scheme After decades in development, cancer vaccines now show signs of efficacy and potential to help patients fend off the disease for good. The world’s first personalised mRNA cancer vaccine for melanoma halves the risk of patients dying or the disease returning, according to trial results doctors described as “extremely impressive”. Patients who received the vaccine after having a stage 3 or 4 melanoma removed had a 49% lower risk of dying or the disease recurring after three years, data presented at the conference showed. A second trial found cancer vaccines can significantly improve survival for breast cancer patients after surgery. Meanwhile, …

Ukraine is a dividing line in European election that centrists hope to exploit | European parliamentary elections 2024

Ukraine is a dividing line in European election that centrists hope to exploit | European parliamentary elections 2024

Published by skeptic

Campaigning in Europe comes easily to populists but less so to centrists. A single word printed in large letters – “diesel” – is enough for the German far-right Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) to tell voters exactly where it stands on the climate debate. The modern European electorate is so angry about so much – the green deal, migrants, electric cars, cultural diversity, open markets, Europe, politics itself – it is hard for centrists to find a foothold. In the run-up to the elections for the European parliament, which will be held on 6-9 June, however, Ukraine, and the implications of a Russian threat, has become a go-to issue for centrists as they seek to fend off the populist challenge from left and right. It might seem an artificial rallying point: 512 members of the outgoing European parliament voted in favour of the last aid package to Ukraine and only 45 against, with 63 abstentions. But the connections between Moscow’s interests and the extreme right, particularly those parties in the European parliament’s Identity and Democracy (ID) …

South Sudan mediation talks launched in Kenya with a hope of ending conflict

South Sudan mediation talks launched in Kenya with a hope of ending conflict

Published by skeptic

South Sudan’s President Salva Kiir Mayardit, arrive during the launch of high-level peace talks for South Sudan at State House in Nairobi, Kenya, on Thursday, May 9, 2024. BRIAN INGANGA / AP High-level mediation talks on South Sudan were launched on Thursday, May 9, in Kenya with African presidents calling for an end to a conflict that has crippled the country’s economy for years. South Sudan’s President Salva Kiir thanked his Kenyan counterpart, William Ruto, for hosting the talks and said that his government would negotiate in good faith and with an open mind. “We hope that the opposition groups have a similar conviction and desire for peace in South Sudan, which, when fully achieved, will bring everlasting stability and economic development in the region, not just South Sudan,” he said. The talks are between the government and rebel opposition groups that were not part of an 2018 agreement that ended a five-year civil war that left 400,000 people dead. Ruto reiterated Thursday the need for inclusive and home-grown solutions to African issues. “This initiative …

I understand climate scientists’ despair – but stubborn optimism may be our only hope | Christiana Figueres

I understand climate scientists’ despair – but stubborn optimism may be our only hope | Christiana Figueres

Published by skeptic

“Hopeless and broken”: that is how a top scientist interviewed by the Guardian described feeling as she and hundreds of other climate experts shared harrowing predictions of the future of the planet this week. I resonate with her feelings of despair. Even as the former head of the UN climate change convention that achieved the Paris agreement in 2015, I, like many, can succumb to believing in the worst possible outcome. Just after I assumed the role of UN climate chief in 2010, I said to a room full of reporters that I didn’t believe a global agreement on climate would be possible in my lifetime. Now, scientists say we are on track to shoot through the 1.5C temperature ceiling enshrined in the Paris agreement, leading to a dystopian world plagued with famine, conflict and unbearable heat. Climate impacts have hit so fast that worst-case scenarios predicted by scientists are in some cases already coming true. This isn’t scaremongering: these climate scientists are doing their job. They are telling us where we are, but now …

‘Coming out, it was like a veil was lifted’: Indigo Girls on homophobia, hope and their big Barbie moment | Indigo Girls

‘Coming out, it was like a veil was lifted’: Indigo Girls on homophobia, hope and their big Barbie moment | Indigo Girls

Published by skeptic

In 1990, as her duo Indigo Girls were heading to platinum-selling success in the US, Amy Ray founded her own label called Daemon Records, formed as “a supportive network for each other within it, almost like a co-op,” she says. She internalised this “ecosystem idea” from Fugazi’s Ian MacKaye and the Washington DC punk scene, as well as the 90s riot grrrl movement. But the inspiring new documentary, It’s Only Life After All, makes it clear that Ray also learned quite a bit about the power of community from Indigo Girls themselves: the folk band she co-founded in Atlanta with high-school choir buddy Emily Saliers. The duo twice broke into the US Top 10, won a Grammy, and sold millions of albums in the late 80s and early 90s, and today remain a reliable, busy touring and recording act – even earning a high-profile spot in the Barbie movie. Community is woven into every aspect of their lives and careers: the women are principled activists and queer icons who have a fiercely devoted fanbase, and …

In toxic time, hope can be the solid ground we can stand on

In toxic time, hope can be the solid ground we can stand on

Published by Sam

(RNS) — Calls for hope in times like these can seem like toxic positivity — or like a slur. Urging hope seems to ignore charred bodies in a kibbutz and bombed refugee camps, to mock victims of hate crimes, to disregard the failed peace agreements and war machines that crisscross the sky. At the Shoulder to Shoulder Campaign, we have worked for 13 years to counter the rhetoric and policies that demonize American Muslims and others perceived to be Muslim — Arab, Palestinian, Sikh and South Asian Americans. Our coalition draws people of faith and goodwill beyond the Muslim community, primarily Christians and Jews, to take responsibility and take action to counter anti-Muslim discrimination. Our coalition is diverse, spanning the political and theological spectrum, requiring us to meet communities where they are, holding space and creating plans for their next steps, whether that be lobbying Congress, advocating for inclusive school holiday calendars, caring for recent immigrants and refugees, or having meals and conversations with Muslim neighbors.  Interfaith groups in the United States like ours have …