Latest news with #Respect
Wales Online
5 days ago
- Business
- Wales Online
UK workers skipping lunch as 'too much work to do' costing them £1,000 per year
UK workers skipping lunch as 'too much work to do' costing them £1,000 per year A study of 2,000 adults in full or part-time work found over half of those who do take a lunch break typically only use 70 per cent of their allocated time St Pierre launches 'No Tech Zone' Hardworking Britons are, in effect, 'giving away' as much as £29 billion in labour every year simply by not taking full advantage of their lunchtime breaks. A study of 2,000 employees holding either full-time or part-time positions has shown that those who do take a break for lunch generally use just 70 per cent of the time they're given, and those who don't take the entire break often skip it altogether twice a week. For someone working full-time, with an average of 233 workdays in a year and the average full-time salary taken into account, this tallies up to an astonishing £1,012 worth of time each person annually misses out on. Almost 50 per cent confess that it's usually too much work that prevents them from stepping away, whilst others feel pressured to get back to work or see no point when there's barely enough time to go anywhere during their break. More than one-third consider their lunchtime pauses 'too brief', reporting an average length of only 39 minutes per day to refresh themselves. In an effort to restore the sanctity of lunch hours for the British public, St Pierre has established a 'respect zone' in London's Potter's Field Park – an ode to the preciousness of the midday interlude, calling upon Londoners to engage in dining 'avec respect'. Article continues below St Pierre launched 'The Respect Zone' - a Parisian themed pop-up near Tower Bridge (Image: PinPep ) The special area intended to transport office workers to Paris, inviting them to follow the French example of enjoying unhurried and relaxed mealtimes. A spokesperson from St Pierre remarked: "Lunchbreaks shouldn't be a luxury." They added: "Even though life is busy and work is important, we need to remember to take time out for ourselves to really get that break we need – and go back to work energised, refreshed, and satisfied by a delicious meal we were able to properly savour." A fifth of Brits feel that lunchtime rituals are not given the respect they deserve, particularly when compared to European neighbours such as Spain, Italy, and France who are seen as more appreciative of their midday meals. Some Brits skip their lunch break entirely twice a week (Image: PinPep ) Yet, even those who manage to set aside time for lunch often end up multitasking with work-related activities like checking emails or answering calls. For those accustomed to working through their lunch hour, over 20 per cent admit it would be difficult to alter this routine even if they had the chance. This admission comes despite 37 per cent acknowledging that regularly skipping lunch breaks can lead to burnout and negatively impact work performance. Article continues below St. Pierre's spokesperson added: "It's a sad state of affairs that our main break during a long day of work isn't really being treated as one – and that we can't seem to switch off even when given permission. "There's something to be learned from the French here – taking that moment to really unwind and enjoy a delicious meal, without thinking about other things. We're also missing a prime opportunity in our everyday lives to connect with other people over good food and conversation."
Powys County Times
07-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Powys County Times
RSPCA ad campaign cleared following complaints by campaigners
RSPCA adverts promoting 'respect' for animals have been cleared by the regulator following complaints that they misled consumers over welfare standards on 'RSPCA Assured' farms. The YouTube and TV ads featured various animals including computer-augmented cows, chickens and a pig in industrial farming facilities, a bee being run over by a lawnmower, an emaciated dog, a turtle in a suitcase, and a racing greyhound singing Aretha Franklin's version of the song Respect. On-screen text stated: 'Every animal deserves our kindness. Respect. RSPCA for every kind.' Adfree Cities and two other complainants said the ads misleadingly represented the welfare standards afforded to animals farmed under the RSPCA Assured scheme. The RSPCA said viewers would not have interpreted the ads as referring to RSPCA Assured, which accounted for only a small part of its overall work in England and Wales. It explained that the aim of RSPCA Assured was to improve farmed animal welfare by encouraging the industry to adopt higher welfare standards than minimum legal requirements, and to educate consumers on higher welfare options. It said RSPCA standards ensured that additional ethical controls beyond those set out in legislation were observed. This included nose ringing only allowed on animals over a certain size, and rings could not be replaced if they fell out, tail docking could only be carried out within the first 48 hours of life, and was not allowed on free range animals, and beak trimming was only typically permitted on chicks up to 24 hours of age. Referring to Adfree Cities' objection to the RSPCA Assured scheme's certifying of 'intensive' and 'factory' farming, the RSPCA explained that a farm was 'intensive' if it held at least 40,000 poultry, 2,000 pigs, and/or 750 breeding sows per farm, and did not refer to the welfare standards of a farm. It said the RSPCA Assured scheme did not allow practices typically associated with lower welfare farming, such as the use of farrowing crates and cages, while encouraging higher welfare options over lower welfare alternatives. The RSPCA said it was aware of allegations of poor welfare and breaches of welfare standards on farms that were members of the RSPCA Assured scheme. In response, they had followed due procedure in acting to immediately identify the nature of any breaches and sanctioned farms where necessary, which included withdrawing some farms from the scheme. The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) said the complainants were concerned that some of the RSPCA Assured member farms engaged in practices that included beak trimming, nose ringing and tail docking, which were 'contentious' but 'regulated by law'. The ASA said: 'We understood that as a wider organisational effort, the RSPCA engaged with farmers to reduce the use of such practices, such as through reduction in livestock density and increased environmental enrichment.' Further, in response to allegations of mistreatment on RSPCA Assured farms, the organisation had 'quickly inspected and imposed a variety of sanctions on farms found to have breached its standards', the ASA said. Following the allegations, an independent report commissioned by the RSPCA found that while some farms fell short of expectations, overall the scheme was operating effectively with 93% of farms having fewer than five instances of non-compliance across over 500 standards. The ASA said: 'We concluded that the ads were unlikely to mislead about the care standards afforded to animals at RSPCA Assured farms.' An RSPCA spokesman said: 'We welcome the ASA ruling that found there was no foundation for this complaint. 'We have a 200-year history of making real and tangible change for farmed animals through changing laws and continually driving up standards to improve their welfare. The RSPCA's pioneering standards mean we were the first to require CCTV to monitor welfare in slaughterhouses before it became mandatory, to ban the use of battery cages for hens 18 years before it became law, to insist on pasture for dairy cattle, to provide more space for salmon, to end the use of fast-growing meat chickens, and to ban the use of farrowing crates for mother pigs. 'There's much more to be done and we're determined to continue to work with the public, our partners, industry and governments to improve the lives of farm animals now and in the future.' Nicola Wilks, co-director at Adfree Cities, said: 'Currently, the RSPCA is approving standards for animals across thousands of farms that, although above minimum legal standards, most people would think of as cruel. In this context this advert's scenes of free, hand-fed and rescued farm animals are extremely misleading. 'Advertising for the products of intensive farming is everywhere, misleading us about the unhealthy and cramped conditions experienced by animals in factory farms. 'It's disappointing to see the RSPCA's advertising contributing to this culture of misinformation. We will appeal this decision, but we also need broad restrictions on advertising that conceals the way animals are treated in the intensive farming industry.'
The Guardian
06-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Friedrich Merz set to take office as German chancellor
Jakub Krupa Some 70 days after winning the parliamentary election in February, CDU/CSU leader Friedrich Merz will finally become the new German chancellor today, taking over from embattled Olaf Scholz. Incoming German Chancellor Friedrich Merz of CDU carries documents, ahead of a Bundestag CDU/CSU fraction meeting, where a new chair will be elected, in Berlin, Germany. Photograph: Liesa Johannssen/Reuters Last night, Scholz was given a formal send-off party – probably best described by the Economist's Tom Nuttall as 'think military parade crossed with Desert Island Discs and you're halfway there' – leaving the office to the sounds of Bach, Aretha Franklin's 'Respect' and the Beatles' 'In My Life.' There will be time and place to properly sum up his term, acknowledging that whatever plans he may have had got quickly derailed by Vladimir Putin's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, three months into his chancellorship. But today the focus will be on what's next with a number of extremely urgent tasks facing the new chancellor, not just in international politics or the economy, but with the broader crisis of people's trust that things work as they should. In his farewell speech, summing up his three years holding the highest office in the country, Scholz said: 'Only if you (the German citizen) have confidence in democracy and its representatives can this democracy succeed. Earning this trust has always been the driving force behind my political commitment.' Outgoing German Chancellor Olaf Scholz leaves after his military tattoo ceremony hosted by the Bundeswehr in honour of his service. Photograph: Getty Images Merz will need to figure out – and figure out fast – how to keep that democratic confidence alive at a time when the far-right Alternative für Deutschland, the main opposition party now formally designated as an extremist force, comes top in some of the public opinion polls. The Bundestag will sit from 9am Berlin time (8am London) to formally appoint the new chancellor, and later to confirm the members of his government, with media rumours that the first cabinet meeting will take place this evening, ahead of Merz's expected trips to Paris and Warsaw tomorrow. We will bring you all the latest. It's Tuesday, 6 May 2025, it's Jakub Krupa here, and this is Europe Live. Good morning. Share
The Guardian
05-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Scholz to hand over power in Germany to sound of feminist anthem Respect
The German chancellor, Olaf Scholz, is to be played out of office by a military band who will perform tunes chosen by him that are intended to sum up his mood and political life. Scholz will bow out to the Beatles, Johann Sebastian Bach and an Otis Redding hit made famous by Aretha Franklin. The 66-year-old will hand over office on Tuesday to Friedrich Merz, whose centre-right conservatives won Germany's federal election in February, and who will lead a coalition with Scholz's Social Democrats. In a tradition going back to the 16th century, chancellors, presidents, defence ministers and military generals are given a farewell ceremony, and their chosen playlist always receives much scrutiny. According to tradition, Scholz was allowed to request three pieces of music that will be performed by the band of the armed forces. On the programme is the Beatles' In My Life, seen as a nod to his earlier political life when he was mayor of the northern port city of Hamburg between 2011 and 2018, where the Liverpool musicians cut their teeth in its clubs and bars in the 1960s. Some commentators have suggested the song, the lyrics of which include the line 'of all these friends and lovers, there is no one compares with you', is also a tribute to his wife, the fellow politician Britta Ernst, to whom he has often expressed his affection and gratitude. An excerpt from Bach's second Brandenburg Concertos , his only classical choice, is a likely reference to the state of Brandenburg, where he lives and which he will continue to serve as a backbencher. He was the only Social Democrat to win a direct mandate in the former communist east, where the far-right Alternative für Deutschland more or less swept the board. The song choice that has caused the most mirth is the feminist anthem Respect, made famous by Franklin, which alludes to a keyword of the election campaign that brought him to power in 2021, and which he has repeated often. Critics say he has not always lived up to the motto himself, having sometimes been gruff or appearing dismissive to journalists in particular. Commentators have said Scholz's musical choices offer a rare glimpse into the emotional side of the chancellor, who was often referred to as a 'Scholzomat' due to his robotic-like responses, and whose old black leather briefcase became something of a TikTok star while he stayed in the background. Referring to him as a 'file carrier' in a farewell column, Franz Josef Wagner, a veteran columnist for the tabloid Bild, said Scholz's inability to communicate had probably contributed to the brevity of his tenure as chancellor, which lasted just over three years. 'Dear departing chancellor, if you had told us everything that went on in your heart, you would maybe still be chancellor today. But your mouth was sealed. You had a silent heart,' he wrote. Scholz's immediate predecessor Angela Merkel chose Nina Hagen's 1974 hit You Forgot the Colour Film, a mix of nostalgia for holidays on the Baltic coast and a critique of grey life in communist Germany; the chanson Red Roses Should Rain for Me, a 1968 hit by the German actor Hildegard Knef; and Great God, We Praise You, a 17th-century ecumenical hymn. Among the choices of her predecessor, the Social Democrat Gerhard Schröder, was Frank Sinatra's My Way.
USA Today
04-05-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Luka Doncic needs to transform himself the way Shaq once did
Luka Doncic needs to transform himself the way Shaq once did After landing one of the greatest talents of his generation, the Los Angeles Lakers were instantly expected to become championship contenders again after being in purgatory for quite a while. It had been five years since they last reached the NBA Finals, but his arrival gave fans a sense of hope and excitement that they hadn't possessed in a while. Their new superstar had recently reached the finals with his previous team, and expectations were high right away. But the Lakers fell well short of expectations and lost early in the playoffs, four games to one, to a veteran team that manhandled them in the physicality department and greatly outplayed them in crunch time. People started to doubt that superstar. They said he was fat and lazy, not to mention emotionally immature, and that he lacked the dedication needed to win an NBA championship. Was it Luka Doncic? No, it was Shaquille O'Neal, the Hall of Famer who joined the Lakers in the great free agent acquisition of 1996. O'Neal had already established himself as a unicorn in four previous seasons with the Orlando Magic. But despite having a strong cast around him in L.A., the Lakers collapsed in the playoffs in each of his first three seasons with them. It led many to blast O'Neal for not taking care of his body while accusing him of caring more about making rap albums and critically panned movies such as "Kazaam" than he did about basketball. But in 1999, O'Neal got with the program and transformed himself by showing more dedication to his craft. As a result, he immediately won three straight world titles and went from a great player to a legendary one. O'Neal had just completed his seventh pro season, just as Doncic has. Thus, Doncic is at a similar inflection point right now after losing in last year's NBA Finals and getting bounced in five games by the Minnesota Timberwolves in the first round of this year's playoffs. How O'Neal went from a pretender to a champion In 1999, Phil Jackson, who had coached the Chicago Bulls to six NBA titles, became the Lakers' head coach. He had transformed Michael Jordan from an individual, self-focused superstar into arguably the greatest player ever, and O'Neal was eager to learn the secrets of true greatness from him. Jeff Pearlman, the author who wrote an excellent book on those Lakers teams entitled "Three-Ring Circus: Kobe, Shaq, Phil, and the crazy years of the Lakers dynasty," recounted the moment that started O'Neal's transformation shortly after Jackson was hired. Via HoopsHype: "No one was more euphoric than O'Neal, whose first seven years in the NBA were spent under five different head coaches – none of much note. Jackson and his new center chatted via phone shortly after the press conference but didn't meet until several weeks later. That was when O'Neal, visiting Kalispell, Montana, for a concert to promote his fourth studio album, Respect, decided to take the 10-mile drive to Jackson's home in Flathead Lake. "... When Jackson arrived, he was greeted by O'Neal gazing at the championship trophies. It was a scene out of a corny sports movie – the glory-deprived star staring longingly at a pane of glass as the sunlight's reflection creates a holy glow. 'You know,' Jackson said, 'you can get one of those if you listen to me.' "'I believe you,' O'Neal replied." Jackson, who is known for indirectly sending messages to his players, instantly sent one to O'Neal and let him know what achieving true glory would take. "'But before we start,' Jackson said, 'I could use your help with something.' "'Okay, Coach,' O'Neal said. 'Name it.' "He walked his new center toward the edge of his property, which ran adjacent to a lake. An enormous fallen tree was lying along the shore, and Jackson needed it relocated. He tied a rope around one end and attached the other end to his boat. 'He's there pulling it with the boat,' O'Neal re-called, 'and I'm pushing the tree.' "Jackson told O'Neal to hang on to the tree, so he did – as the boat kept going and going. It distanced itself from the shore – 'and then I had to swim back from this damn island,' O'Neal recalled. 'It was far – I don't know how far, but it was far. And you know what I'm thinking? This man is challenging me.'" Indeed, Jackson challenged O'Neal to get into better shape than he had been in. "Later on, Jackson looked over the 350-pound goliath standing before him. Frustrated by one lost season after another, O'Neal spent the summer lifting weights, watching what he ate, ingesting creatine and other supplements. "'I was huge,' he said. 'Solid bulk.' "'How much you weigh?' Jackson asked. "I don't know,' O'Neal replied. "'I want you to lose about 15 pounds,' Jackson said. 'The bigger you are, the harder it's gonna be on your knees, and I want you playing 40 minutes a game.' "'Okay,' O'Neal replied. "With that, Shaquille O'Neal departed the property and, soon enough, found himself back in Los Angeles, trying to shed the weight and prepare for what he believed would be the season of his life. "He would not regret it." O'Neal would average 29.7 points, 13.6 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 3.0 blocks a game that season and win his first and only league MVP award. He had previously treated defense almost the way high school students treat homework, but he was a consistent force on that end all season long, and he anchored a Lakers team defense that was the best in the land. Considering the way NBA basketball was played back then — most teams walked the ball upcourt and played as slowly as possible on every possession with minimal ball and player movement — it was likely the greatest individual season any man has ever had in basketball history. With help from an emerging superstar guard named Kobe Bryant, O'Neal led the Lakers to the first of three straight world championships that season. The man who had been lambasted as someone who had never won a big game and would never get over the hump was now considered basketball royalty. That is the type of greatness that could lie ahead for Doncic if he decides to totally dedicate himself to his craft. Multiple MVP awards, NBA championships and finals MVP awards, not to mention his No. 77 jersey hanging on the wall of Arena, are things he can achieve if he starts to work hard and work smart like O'Neal did in the summer of 1999. He has — at least for now — his co-superstar in LeBron James, just as O'Neal did in Bryant. He and James could have a much better supporting cast when the team reconvenes for training camp at the end of this summer. They could very well have a good enough head coach in JJ Redick — no, he isn't Jackson or Pat Riley, but he did better than many expected as a rookie head coach this season. Doncic may be skilled enough and smart enough to shoot 50% from the field, 40% from 3-point range and 90% from the free throw line for at least one full season if he puts his mind to it. He doesn't have to become an outstanding defender, but if he gets into better shape and drops some weight — as O'Neal did going into his MVP season — he can at least be a neutral one-on-one defender, which may be good enough considering how incredible he is on the other end of the court. He seems to have at least some of that "Mamba Mentality" when it comes to making plays in crunch time and gutting it out while dealing with injuries. Now the Lakers need him to take things to the next level. If he does, he will be eternally grateful he did once it's all said and done.
