Politics
Is White Rice Bad For You?
Rice is a staple food for more than half of the world’s population, thanks to its availability and affordability. Most of the rice produced in the US is of the white, long-grain variety, which has a reputation for being unhealthy. But is white rice actually bad for you? And what if you, like billions of people, eat rice every day?
As it turns out, white rice can be part of a healthy diet, so long as you combine it with nutrient-dense foods. Below, we talked to experts about the nutritional facts of white rice and how this popular and versatile grain can affect your health.
White Rice Is Mainly A Source Of Energy
“Even though we’re told to eat more whole grains, like brown rice, that doesn’t mean white rice is lacking in nutrition,” Amanda Sauceda, a registered dietitian and gut health nutritionist, told HuffPost. One cup of unenriched, long-grain white rice, cooked and unsalted, contains approximately 45 grams of carbohydrates, 4 grams of protein, less than 0.5 grams of fat and less than 1 gram of fibre.
Along with providing a quick source of energy, white rice is easy to digest, which can be helpful if you’re recovering from an illness or engaging in physical activity. And although rice is low in fat, it does have some drawbacks. “Unenriched white rice contains relatively small amounts of vitamins and minerals because the bran and germ, where most micronutrients are located, are removed during processing,” explained Qianzhi Jiang, a pediatric and family dietitian at The Nutrition Changer.
However, most of the rice consumed in the US is enriched with nutrients such as iron, folic acid and B vitamins, including thiamin, riboflavin, niacin and vitamin B6. “Eating rice daily is not inherently harmful, but potential risks depend on portion size, dietary balance and the type of rice consumed,” she said.
Michelle Routhenstein, a preventive cardiology dietitian and certified diabetes educator, added that filling your plate with rice could mean that you’re missing out on other nutrient-dense foods like vegetables, legumes and whole grains, which provide more fibre, magnesium, potassium, antioxidants and heart-protective nutrients. As with any diet, it’s best to aim for balance and variety while considering your health needs.
Eat Rice With Your Health Needs And Goals In Mind
Brain Health
White rice provides glucose, the brain’s main energy source. Enriched rice and brown rice additionally supply some B vitamins that support neurological functioning that regular white rice doesn’t, Jiang said. However, you can just as easily obtain these vitamins from berries, leafy greens and starchy vegetables like sweet potatoes. In addition, “diets high in refined carbohydrates like white rice may contribute to blood sugar fluctuations, which over time can affect metabolic health and cognitive function,” she said.
If you regularly eat large quantities of white rice, you might be missing out on omega-3 fats, antioxidants and B vitamins, which support brain health. “In practice, rice works best as a neutral base for meals that include nutrient-dense foods like vegetables, legumes, nuts and lean proteins,” she said. “Other grains I like to mix with or use instead of white rice in traditional Chinese meals are wild rice, millet and barley.”
Immune Health
Whether you’re concerned about a chronic illness or cold and flu season, eating rice daily has some downsides. “Diets dominated by refined grains may be lower in nutrients like zinc, magnesium and antioxidants, which are important for immune function,” Jiang said. “White rice alone contributes few immune-supportive phytochemicals compared with whole grains or vegetables.” Phytochemicals protect plants against bacteria and viruses and may offer similar benefits to people.
That said, enriched rice contains iron and B vitamins, which support immune cell function and energy metabolism. Plus, if you’re sick, rice is gentle on your stomach. Another way to boost antioxidants is to add leafy greens, broccoli, peppers or mushrooms, Routhenstein said.
Heart Health
If you’re focused on heart health, the lack of fibre is a big downside to loading your plate with white rice. “Fibre plays an important role in helping lower LDL cholesterol and supporting overall cardiovascular health,” Routhenstein said. Another concern is blood sugar spikes. “Over time, repeated spikes in blood glucose and insulin can contribute to inflammation and damage to blood vessels, which may accelerate the process of plaque buildup in the arteries,” she explained.
Still, a heart-healthy diet doesn’t mean ruling out rice. Since it’s naturally low in sodium and fat, rice can serve as a base for heart-supportive foods like vegetables, beans and fish, she said. She recommended choosing brown rice, quinoa or farro. “These whole grains provide more fibre along with nutrients like magnesium and potassium, which play a role in blood pressure regulation and cardiovascular health,” she added.
Digestive Health
Current dietary guidelines recommend that people aged 2 and older consume 14 grams of fibre for every 1,000 calories. For reference, a cup of instant oatmeal contains 4 grams of fibre. “Most people are not meeting these goals, and this can contribute to constipation,” Sauceda said. “If you’re eating a lot of white rice and not many fibre-rich foods, this can affect your gut health.”
For better results, she suggested allowing your rice to cool. “When rice and other starchy foods like potatoes are cooked and cooled, some resistant starch forms, which acts like fibre in that it resists digestion and benefits your blood sugar,” she explained. Violeta Morris, a registered dietitian at The Concierge Dietitian, agreed, adding that brown rice is a good choice for slowing digestion. In addition, “fibre from plant foods helps feed the good bacteria in our intestines,” she said.
Another way to increase your fibre intake is to mix white rice with other grains. Sauceda suggested combining brown and white rice or adding starchy grains such as lentils or quinoa. Jiang suggested cooking rice with mung beans, adzuki beans, sweet potatoes or winter squash for added flavor and nutrients.
Gluten Sensitivities
If you have a gluten sensitivity or celiac disease, you can still enjoy rice since it’s naturally gluten-free. “However, a gluten-free diet that relies heavily on refined grains may lack fibre and nutrients such as magnesium and potassium that are protective against chronic disease,” Routhenstein said. “Instead of eliminating rice, a better strategy is to build a more balanced plate.”
She suggested incorporating gluten-free whole grains such as brown rice, wild rice, quinoa and buckwheat to increase fibre intake and nutrient diversity. If gluten is an issue, you’ll want to avoid farro. “You can also mix rice with lentils or beans to increase protein and fibre,” she said.
Diabetes Management
If you have diabetes or insulin resistance, eating large servings of white rice can make it harder to manage your blood sugar. “White rice has a higher glycemic index, meaning it can raise blood sugar relatively quickly when eaten on its own or in large portions,” Routhenstein said. Following this spike, your blood sugar can drop, leading to tiredness, fatigue and increased hunger after a meal that is already high in calories, Morris said.
In a systematic review, researchers found that people who ate the most white rice had a slightly higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes. “For every additional 150 grams (about 3/4 cup of cooked rice) consumed per day, the risk of type 2 diabetes increased by about 6%, with a slightly higher risk observed in women,” she said.
Fortunately, there are ways to manage your blood sugar while still enjoying rice. For instance, pay attention to the order in which you eat. “Continuous glucose monitor data shows that eating fibre-rich vegetables and proteins, such as chicken or fish, first and saving the rice for last may help reduce the rise in blood sugar after the meal,” Morris said. She also recommended reducing your portion size to half a cup of cooked rice, whether it’s white or brown, or swapping rice for half a cup of beans or lentils.
Annie Japaud via Getty Images
Along with smaller portion sizes, Routhenstein suggested including fiber, lean protein and healthy fats, for example, by eating vegetables, beans, tofu, chicken or fish. “Choosing whole-grain varieties like brown rice also provides more fiber, magnesium and resistant starch, which can help slow digestion and support better blood sugar control,” she said. She also suggested cooling cooked rice to improve your blood sugar response.
Another helpful strategy is walking after a meal. “Even a 10- to 15-minute walk after eating can help your body use glucose for energy, improve digestion and support better blood sugar control,” Morris added.
Cancer Prevention
Compared to whole grains, white rice contains very little fibre and plant compounds. “Some studies link higher refined grain intake with poorer metabolic health, which may indirectly influence cancer risk,” Jiang said. Another concern is that rice can accumulate arsenic. At high levels, arsenic is linked to cardiovascular disease, although researchers did not find higher rates of heart disease, inflammation or blood vessel problems in people who ate one or more servings of rice per day, Morris said.
In addition, inorganic arsenic is a known carcinogen (cancer-causing agent), Jiang said. The levels of inorganic arsenic in US rice are generally not regulated. Although rice itself is not a carcinogen, frequent consumption, especially among children, may modestly increase exposure to arsenic. “Prolonged arsenic exposure has been linked to skin lesions, cardiovascular diseases and gastrointestinal disorders,” she said.
However, you can reduce the arsenic level in rice by rinsing rice before cooking and using and discarding excess water in the cooking process. “While typical dietary exposure from rice in the US is considered low risk, diversifying grains can reduce cumulative exposure,” she said. “When consumed in moderation as part of balanced meals with vegetables, legumes and healthy fats, rice can fit into healthy dietary patterns associated with lower cancer risk.”
Bone Health
To stay strong and rigid, our bones need magnesium. “A 45-gram serving of brown rice has 12% of your daily value of magnesium, while white rice has only 2%,” Sauceda said. In addition, uncooked brown rice contains 303mg of phosphorus compared to 108mg in white rice.
Joint Health
If you have achy or swollen joints, you’ll want to avoid refined grains. “A diet that’s higher in refined grains can encourage more inflammation in the body, which could negatively impact your joint health,” Sauceda said. “When eating for joint health, focus on antioxidants that have anti-inflammatory properties, which you find in brown, black and red rice.”
Vision Health
“Regular white rice usually does not contain vitamin A, which is important for vision health,” Morris said. Scientists have developed Golden Rice, which contains beta-carotene, a nutrient that the body can convert into vitamin A. Golden Rice isn’t commonly available in the US, but grocery stores sell enriched and unenriched varieties. “I recommend enriched rice, since it helps replace some of the nutrients lost during processing,” she said.
While the majority of Euphoria’s main cast members are present and correct in the show’s current third season, there are a few faces that you might have spotted are missing.
Among them is Barbie Ferreira, who played Kat Hernandez in the first two seasons of the award-winning drama, before deciding to step away from the show for its latest iteration.
Her exit was preceded by unconfirmed reports of a clash between the actor and Euphoria creator Sam Levison, although she later insisted that her departure was a mutual decision.
Speaking to Deadline in an interview published earlier this week, Barbie claimed: “What I wanted to do is act and be able to do different roles, and if Euphoria was going to serve that for me, I would have happily done it forever, however long it would have been.
“But it wasn’t really letting me show my range. In fact, it was kind of diminishing as time went on.”
She continued: “To me as an actor, what’s most important is the fact that I get to portray different roles and characters and learn about acting and filmmaking and getting characters with depth, which I think Kat definitely had season one, but I don’t think that was really the tea after that.
“So, it just felt like a very personal decision where I, really deep down, don’t care if what I’m doing is the biggest show of all time, as long as I’m creatively fulfilled.”
Barbie went on to say that because of her “diminishing” role on Euphoria, she felt that she might have been overlooked by certain “studios or bigger directors”, whereas the indie projects she’s been part of in recent history have allowed her to show different sides to herself.
“Obviously, I’m not on a show that is so talked about and famous and all these things, and that was really fun to do at the time,” she conceded. “But it just, for me, wasn’t worth it for my ambitions as an actress.”
During an interview on the podcast Not Skinny But Not Fat, Barbie also stated that it was more important to her to be challenged as a performer than just be on “the biggest TV show on Earth”.
“I would rather do an indie movie where I’m acting, I’m flexing my muscles, I’m being creatively asked to do things rather than sitting around to be a background character,” she admitted.
Last year, Barbie told the podcast The Viall Files that she and the team behind Euphoria reached the same conclusion that there was “nowhere to go” with her character in a future season.
“Instead of me kind of lingering around for nine months, I think it was best for both of us that we just ended it there,” she said.
“Of course it’s hard – I love Euphoria. I love Kat. Kat means the world to me. I spent so many years pouring everything into her, but it’s like, you don’t want to ruin a good thing.”
Barbie previously told The Armchair Expert: “I think there were places [Kat] could have gone [in future episdes of Euphoria]. I just don’t think it would have fit into the show.
“I don’t know if it was going to do her justice, and I think both parties knew that. I really wanted to be able to not be the fat best friend. I don’t want to play that, and I think they didn’t want that either.”
So far, the third – and, as it would appear, final – season of Euphoria has been met with a lukewarm response from critics.
In the four-year gap between seasons two and three, Sam Levison also helmed the TV series The Idol, which was similarly panned.
Politics
Politics Home | Asylum Reforms Could Put More Pressure On Mental Health Services, Home Office Warned
(Alamy)
4 min read
A group of charities and medical organisations has warned the Home Secretary that stricter rules for people claiming asylum in the UK could put “further pressure on over-stretched NHS mental health services”.
In a letter sent to Shabana Mahmood this week, Freedom from Torture, Médecins Sans Frontières UK, Doctors of the World UK, The Helen Bamber Foundation and the British Medical Association (BMA) warned that reducing the period of leave granted to recognised refugees in the UK would have an “unintended but undoubtedly harmful impact”.
It comes as the NHS continues to report record numbers of people contacting the service for mental health support.
The Home Office announced last year that refugee status would be temporary and subject to review every 30 months for all adults claiming asylum.
It was part of the Labour government’s broader efforts to deter illegal immigration, inspired by what Mahmood has described as the success of Denmark’s approach to reducing arrivals.
The government has also extended the automatic qualifying period for awarding Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR) from five to 10 years.
Mahmood and supportive Labour MPs argue that reducing immigration is key to taking on Nigel Farage’s Reform UK and improving their party’s prospects at the next general election.
In a speech last month, the Home Secretary said that Britain is more attractive than other countries in Europe for those seeking refugee status, and warned her party that the system in its current form is “eroding trust” with the public.
“For those who come to this country and want to contribute to our national life, I am clear they should have a path to settlement and ultimately citizenship. But it is essential that the privilege of living in this country is earned, not automatic,” she said.
However, the changes have attracted criticism from other parts of the party, including former deputy leader Angela Rayner and shadow cabinet minister Emily Thornberry, who wrote in The House last week that reforms to IRL are “the opposite of fairness”. Over 100 Labour MPs signed a letter organised by backbencher Tony Vaughan expressing concern about the policy.
Now, a letter, sent by the coalition of organisations, seen by PoliticsHome, has warned that the proposals would “strip torture survivors and other refugees of long-term legal protection and the stability they need to recover from past traumas, leading to further, avoidable distress and mental health deterioration”.
Refugees often “fled serious trauma” and, as a result, “a sense of stability is crucial for their subsequent recovery”, it warned ministers.
“It will introduce major and prolonged uncertainty into the lives of already vulnerable and marginalised people, and cause a continual associated fear of having their status revoked and being returned to the hands of their persecutors.”
The letter also said that it is “unclear” whether the Home Office has the resources needed to implement the changes “efficiently, including conducting periodic reviews of refugees’ status”.
“For those who have lost so much during their flight from persecution, the anxiety that they will be unable to extend their leave can be terrifying, retraumatising, and can undermine progress towards recovery.”
“By introducing further instability into the lives of refugee patients, a reduced period of protection leave has the potential to increase mental health needs, which will only place further pressure on over-stretched NHS mental health and specialist trauma rehabilitation services,” it said.
A Home Office spokesperson told PoliticsHome: “Genuine refugees will find safety in Britain. Protection will be renewed for all those refugees who still face danger in their own country, but we must reduce incentives that draw people here at such scale, including those without a legitimate need for protection.
“So, once a refugee’s home is safe and they are able to return, they will be expected to do so.
“Refugees will also be able to obtain greater certainty about their future in the UK by switching into the Protection Work and Study route.”
Even if you’re not watching Euphoria, the chances are it won’t have passed you by that it recently returned for its third (and, quite probably, final) season after a four-year absence from our screens.
In the new instalments, much has already been made in the media of the fact that several of the show’s central female characters have pivoted to different forms of sex work in the time since we last saw them, most notably Sydney Sweeney’s Cassie.
Since the first episode of season three aired over the weekend, several outlets have been running pieces from viewers perturbed by scenes in episode one – and a teaser for the rest of the season – showing Cassie modelling for OnlyFans while posing in outfits intended to resemble a dog or a baby.
An opinion piece was published by Metro on Monday evening with a headline claiming that “Sydney Sweeney’s baby scene in Euphoria crosses the line”, while The Cut pondered: “Did we really need pup play on Euphoria?”
Other headlines quoted viewers who found the scenes varying levels of “disgusting”, “weird” and “disturbing”.
Euphoria creator Sam Levison teased what was in store for Sydney’s character ahead of the show’s season three premiere, telling The Hollywood Reporter: “She has got her dog house and her little dog ears and the nose, and that has its own humour.”
In his opinion, though, “what makes the scene is the fact that her housekeeper is the one filming it”.
DGP/imageSPACE/Shutterstock
“What we wanted to always find is the other layer of absurdity that we’re able to tie into it so that we’re not too inside of her fantasy or illusion,” he claimed. “The gag is to jump out, to break the wall.”
Levison added: “Some of these scenes we only lit with these ring lights that she would use
The Emmy nominee pointed out that Cassie’s ring light being the scene’s only light source had its own purpose.
“When you’re inside, it’s a beautiful, glowing front light,” he claimed. “But then you jump out of it and it’s just a pool of light and everything surrounding it is dark. It’s just gnarly and jarring.
“We wanted to capture what she’s trying to show the audience and be inside of it, but then also pull back wider and see how depressing it is.”
So far, Euphoria’s third season has received predominantly negative reviews, with many critics feeling the show has lost its way by aging up the characters we previously met as teenagers.
In between Euphoria’s second and third seasons, Sam Levison also helmed the TV series The Idol, which was similarly panned by critics.
Gemma Arterton has made a very honest admission about her stint in the James Bond universe.
The British actor played MI6 agent Strawberry Fields in 2008’s Quantum Of Solace, which marked Daniel Craig’s second outing as 007.
Critical reception for the film was a little on the muted side, with many reviews describing Quantum Of Solace as being a bit confusing – even its leading man once described the project as a “shit-show”.
During an interview on Radio X earlier this week, Gemma was asked about her time in the Bond franchise, claiming: “No one understands that film!”
When presenter Dominic Byrne pressed her on whether she “understood it while you were making it”, she admitted: “No! No, I didn’t know what was going on!”
He then joked that he’d “tried to watch it two or three times”, to which Gemma quipped: “That’s more than I have!”
Daniel went on to play James Bond on five occasions, beginning with Casino Royale and ending on 2021’s No Time To Die, the release of which was postponed numerous times due to the Covid pandemic.
It’s now been almost six years since Daniel hung up his golden gun, but a successor at the helm of the James Bond franchise is yet to be unveiled.
What we do know is that the upcoming 26th Bond movie will be directed by Denis Villeneuve – best known for his work on the Dune films – and written by Peaky Blinders and House Of Guinness creator Steven Knight.
The James Bond franchise has been undergoing some major changes behind the scenes in recent history, most notably the departure of long-serving producer Barbara Broccoli, resulting in full creative control going to production company Amazon MGM Studios.
The Chris Moyles Show airs on Radio X every weekday from 6:30am, as well as on Global Player.
Katy Perry has denied former Orange Is The New Black actor Ruby Rose’s allegation that the singer once sexually assaulted her on a night out.
On Sunday, the Australian performer responded to a social media post by Complex about the California Gurls singer, commenting on Threads: “Katy Perry sexually assaulted me at Spice Market nightclub in Melbourne. Who gives a shit what she thinks?”
Rose then wrote: “She saw me ‘resting’ on my best friend’s lap to avoid her and bent down, pulled her underwear to the side and rubbed her disgusting vagina on my face until my eyes snapped open and I projectile vomited on her.”
The Batwoman star went on to allege: “I told the story publicly but changed it to be a ‘funny little drunk story’ because I didn’t know how else to handle it.
“Later, she agreed to help me get my US visa. So I kept it a secret.”
In response, a spokesperson for Perry told BuzzFeed: “The allegations being circulated on social media by Ruby Rose about Katy Perry are not only categorically false, they are dangerous, reckless lies.
“Ms. Rose has a well-documented history of making serious public allegations on social media against various individuals, claims that have repeatedly been denied by those named.”
Rose’s international breakthrough came when she was cast in the third season of Orange Is The New Black, which began streaming on Netflix in 2015.
She later went on to play the titular superhero in Batwoman, shared the screen with Keanu Reeves in the second John Wicks movie, appeared in the third instalment in the Pitch Perfect series and had a minor role in the action film The Meg.
Her other on-screen work includes co-hosting Australia’s Next Top Model and guest judging on the reality show Ink Master.
Back in 2017, Rose spoke out against Perry around the release of her single Swish Swish, perceived by many as a “diss track” in response to Taylor Swift’s song Bad Blood.
After the corruption of Morgan McSweeney’s Labour Together operation, a new Starmer-linked ‘think tank’ has been popping up on X timelines. Introducing ‘Labour Future’: an account with only 7000 followers, but whose paid ads receive millions of views.
Those viewing figures suggest thousands of pounds in expenditure, but as with other Labour Party-affiliated lobby groups, the source of Labour Future’s funding seems unclear. But its board is broadly affiliated with the Israeli lobby, and even includes a former IOF solider.
Demanding loyalty
The X ads demand loyalty to the ailing Keir Starmer, the most unpopular Prime Minister in recorded history. They also call for an end to “anonymous briefings against your own leader”.
However, Labour Party sources have not been limited to criticising the Starmer administration off the record. After giving a fiery interview to Jody McIntyre on 26 March, Labour MP Karl Turner was summarily suspended from the party within days, despite having been a member since the age of 13.
Like Morgan McSweeney’s outfit, Labour Future operates as a limited company. ‘Labour Future Limited’, which a Labour spokesperson once claimed had no affiliation to the party, was dissolved in 2022. It was reborn as ‘Labour Future (2025) Limited’ last August. Their director is sitting Labour councillor Brendan Chilton, but their advisory council includes a key McSweeney ally.
Maurice Glasman and the Labour Together network
Maurice Glasman, who once described Morgan McSweeney as ‘one of ours’, now sits on the four-man advisory council of Labour Future.
Glasman also joined Labour Together in its early days, working alongside the former Labour MP Jon Cruddas to attract initial funding from Trevor Chinn and Martin Taylor. Now housing minister Steve Reed, a long-time parliamentary supporter of Labour Friends of Israel (LFI), was introduced to the two lobbyists through Glasman and Cruddas, who were already receiving money for their ‘Blue Labour’ project.
As well as providing financial impetus, Chinn went on to serve as a director of Labour Together alongside McSweeney. He also made a personal £50,000 contribution to Keir Starmer’s 2020 leadership campaign. Chinn admitted that he ‘had great concerns about the election of an outspoken opponent of the Jewish state as Labour leader’, and was happy to back McSweeney’s preferred successor to Jeremy Corbyn.
When McSweeney was caught concealing over £730,000 in donations to Labour Together, the decision was attributed, at least in part, to protecting Chinn’s identity as the pressure group’s ‘great benefactor’.
As well as Maurice Glasman, Labour Future’s advisory council includes MPs Graham Stringer (another parliamentary supporter of Labour Friends of Israel) and Tris Osborne.
Epstein connections
In 2024, Glasman collaborated with his old Labour Together colleagues, LFI veteran Jon Cruddas and fellow Blue Labour devotee Jonathan Rutherford, to launch a ‘Future of the Left’ project.
The project was sponsored by Policy Exchange – another think tank that refuses to identify most of its donors. At times, however, Policy Exchange has acknowledged funders within its reports. One notes the ‘generous support’ of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, for example.
Bill Gates is reported to have ‘discussed the Gates Foundation and philanthropy’ with notorious paedophile Jeffrey Epstein. As with many of Epstein’s associates, Gates now says that he ‘regrets’ the relationship. Epstein’s ‘best pal’, Labour Party grandee Peter Mandelson, was a long time mentor and ally of Morgan McSweeney.
The Mandelson scandal eventually led to McSweeney’s resignation, but Labour Together continues to operate.
Former IOF solider joins board
Labour Together’s board now includes Jonathan Kestenbaum. In November 2010, a single paragraph in the Jewish Chronicle described Kestenbaum as ‘an ex-IDF soldier [and] holder of the Israel army’s “outstanding soldier award”‘, but the claim has never been repeated since.
Kestenbaum is also noted as ‘a former mazkir of Bnei Akiva’ – the international Zionist youth movement. On the website of their UK branch, Bnei Akiva define their ideology as ‘a religious Zionist worldview, actively seeking to be involved in the development of Medinat Yisrael [the State of Israel].’
Most evidence of Jonathan Kestenbaum’s time in the IDF seemed to have been scrubbed from the internet. There had been no mention of his military service on his Wikipedia page until I published my research on X on 13 April, having previously jumped straight from his time at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem to his return to the UK.
I did, however, find one source still available online: a 1989 article in the academic Journal of Palestine. The issue includes stories taken from the Israeli press, one of which is a series of ‘entries from the diary of a young Israeli soldier in the West Bank during the intifadah‘, which had been published in the September 24th 1988 international edition of the Jerusalem Post.
Jonathan Kestenbaum is described as an ‘IDF reservist’, and his diary excerpts are preceded an introduction describing how:
Kestenbaum … and his colleagues were not prepared for were the moral questions posed by service in the administered territories, although they were taught how to use clubs and tear gas.
Kestenbaum also describes ‘a policy of humiliation’ defined by ‘moments of arbitrary violence and excesses perpetrated by junior officers, enjoying unexpected power.’
‘Britain’s most active pro-Israeli lobbying organisation’
Kestenbaum was nominated to the House of Lords by the Labour Party’s leadership in 2010, following a seven-year stint as a director of the pro-Israeli lobby group BICOM.
BICOM were described in 2009 as “Britain’s most active pro-Israeli lobbying organisation”. At the time, the Guardian reported on BICOM’s approach:
Foreign reporters are bombarded with press releases and invitations to interview senior Israeli ministers and advisors at top London restaurants. Set up in 2001, it has regularly flown journalists to Tel Aviv.
BICOM was founded by billionaire Poju Zabludowicz. Zabludowic inherited much of his wealth from his father Shlomo, ‘an arms dealer who made a fortune out of his close relations with the Israeli state.’ Former BICOM employees include Labour peer Ruth Smeeth and Luke Akehurst donor Lee Petar. Convicted fraudster Gerald Ronson and Wes Streeting donor David Menton have both funded the group.
The Israeli ambassadors
Labour Together’s Jonathan Kestenbaum has a cosy relationship with former Israeli ambassador Ron Prosor; leaked correspondence between the pair revealed an email with the subject line ‘From London with love’. By 2016, Kestenbaum was attempting to secure a job at oil company BP for Prosor, who he described as an ‘exceptional asset’.
A further set of leaked diaries revealed that in September 2024, Kestenbaum visited the residence of then Israeli ambassador Tzipi Hotovely for brunch. Hotovely’s diaries also revealed meetings with Stuart Roden, another Labour Party donor. Last January, Roden gave Labour Together £100,000.
RIT Capital Partners
From 2008-22, Kestenbaum was Chief Operating Officer at RIT Capital Partners, formerly known as the Rothschild Investment Trust. RIT’s founder, Jacob Rothschild, was the chair of the family’s Israel-based Yad Hanadiv foundation from 1989 until his death in 2024.
The foundation was ‘instrumental’ in the construction of the Israeli Parliament (Knesset) and Supreme Court buildings, and more recently entered into a partnership with the Israeli government to ‘renew’ the National Library of Israel.
Genie Energy
In 2010, an ‘entity connected to Jacob Rothschild’ purchased a 5% stake in Genie Energy. Jacob was also appointed to the Genie Strategic Advisory Board, alongside media baron Rupert Murdoch and former US vice-president and Halliburton CEO Dick Cheney.
In 2013, the Israeli state awarded Genie Energy exclusive gas and oil exploration rights in a 153-square mile area in the south of the Golan Heights, a Syrian territory illegally occupied by the Israeli state. At the time, an Israeli political analyst told the Financial Times:
This action is mostly political – it’s an attempt to deepen Israeli commitment to the occupied Golan Heights.
United Jewish Israel Appeal
Kestenbaum also previously served as chief executive of the United Jewish Israel Appeal (UJIA) charity. UJIA’s website declares ‘decades of experience in sending young Jews in the UK to Israel on rite of passage programmes’, which have previously included stays in illegal settlements. Trevor Chinn is president of the UJIA.
Labour Together may be attempting a rebrand in the post-McSweeney era, but their ties to the Israel lobby endure.
Politics
Politics Home Article | Labour MP Launches ‘Summer Of Sex’ Campaign To Overhaul Sex Education
Labour MP Samantha Niblett, 46, wants to fight against societal stigma around sex (Samantha Niblett)
5 min read
Labour MP Samantha Niblett has launched a campaign to make 2026 the “summer of sex”, as she pushes for more open, inclusive lifelong sex education.
Niblett, who was elected as MP for Derbyshire South in 2024, has secured a debate in Parliament on lifelong sex education in the early autumn.
The MP is working with Cindy Gallop, a sextech entrepreneur and founder of MakeLoveNotPorn, an adult video website that aims to offer an alternative to hardcore pornography.
On Monday, Niblett and Gallop launched a campaign calling for better lifelong, inclusive sex education in the UK to help people understand consent, prevent abuse and violence, and raise awareness of how childbirth, the menopause, stress and other health conditions can impact sexual satisfaction.
In an interview with PoliticsHome, Niblett said she wants to make 2026 the “summer of sex”.
“It sounds like we’re going on a bit of a tour!” she joked.
“What I am hoping is that by the time we get to summer recess, I have got a whole bank of organisations to visit and speak with and gather information, so we can talk about sex all summer, so that I can help shape that speech for the chamber, but then also we shape our next steps.”
The campaign’s tagline – ‘Yes Sex Please, We’re British!’ – plays on No Sex Please, We’re British, a 1973 British comedy film in which a clerk in a small town bank is horrified when he receives a package containing pornography, rather than a new calculator.
Niblett said she wants the campaign to be about “taking control of our patriotism, about taking control of our Britishness, and not feeling ashamed”.
As part of the campaign, she is hoping to arrange two events before the summer recess, including one where she intends to bring sex toys into Parliament to encourage open conversation about sexual pleasure – though she is currently in conversation with parliamentary security over whether the devices will be allowed onto the estate.
The 46-year-old MP recently met with sexual product retailer Love Honey, and told PoliticsHome that she learned that “as well as making you feel good, [masturbation] is good for your health”, with some medical research showing that it is good for stress and pain relief, menstrual cramps, and reducing the risk of prostate cancer.
For Niblett, the campaign is personal, and she wants to talk more openly about sex herself to encourage others to feel comfortable doing so.
“The first time I remember seeing pornography, I was 10, I saw it on a videotape, I saw it in magazines,” she said.
“And I sometimes wonder, having seen it so young but without being able to talk about it, whether that has shaped the person that I am today. It’s funny, just because I’m doing a campaign on sex education, it’s not because I’m this massively empowered, sexually flamboyant person. I’m not. I wish I were.
“If I could rewire my brain… It’s not too late, I’m hoping that, actually, this summer of sex is also an education for me.”
She described how the sex education she had at school was “pretty medical”.
“It was all focused on what you shouldn’t do, not what you should do,” she continued.
“Pleasure certainly didn’t play a part in it. And as a girl, you’re just worried about either getting an STD or getting pregnant. I don’t remember talking about contraception much either.”
Niblett said that she has watched porn herself – “like lots of people” – and has recently watched content on Gallop’s MakeLoveNotPorn website, which she said featured “real people who are having messy, funny, intimate, sensual sex together”.
“It’s a turn on, it helps you masturbate, helps you cum,” she said.
“The sections that I always prefer the most are the intimate sections. I am not saying that anybody else’s preferences are wrong, but I think if you’re desensitised to think that some things are normal, it skews your view about what real sex is like with real people who are not acting in a porn film.”
Asked whether she would support the BBC creating and publishing more educational adult content, Niblett said she would “happily” have a conversation with the public broadcaster about the topic.
Niblett wants to involve Gallop, as well as TV presenter Davina McCall, who has advocated for more open sex education, and relationship expert and presenter Paul Bruson, and various sex education content creators to spread awareness, attend the government’s national summit on the challenges facing men and boys – expected to take place this year – and engage with ministers Alex Davies-Jones and Jess Phillips.
Davies-Jones and Phillips have both been involved in bringing forward regulations on porn in the Crime and Policing Bill, which is currently making its way through Parliament. The new laws include banning nudity apps and banning the depiction of strangulation in pornography to protect women from violence.
The Labour government has now also agreed to press ahead with a ban on certain types of online pornography, including so-called “barely legal” content depicting adults role-playing as children and some forms of step-incest pornography, following pressure from MPs and defeats in the House of Lords.
While Niblett welcomed the banning of nudification apps, she said that while you can “ban all things and come down on people with a ton of bricks legally”, she wanted to see education used as the “biggest tool”.
On the potential ban on step incest in porn, Niblett said that although she understood the rationale behind it, she could also see why it might be a challenge to implement when step incest is not illegal in the real world.
“So it’ll be interesting to see what happens with that particular piece of legislation,” she said.
Reflecting on why she wants to fight against societal stigma surrounding sex, Niblett said: “We just need to acknowledge that humans have a natural interest in sex. It’s one of the things that nearly all of us want to do, nearly all of us do.
“It just feels like there is an opportunity to remind people that it is a joyful thing.”
4 min read
Recently, the Home Secretary announced a detrimental change to refugee policy: the period of leave to remain that will be given to people with a recognised need for protection will be cut from five years to just 30 months.
Those who wish to remain in the UK will be required to reapply for leave every two and half years for a total of 20 years and their protection status could be revoked if their home country is judged to be “safe” at the point of renewal. To someone with little experience of the UK’s asylum system or the struggle that refugees face to rebuild their lives, this policy might sound reasonable. But, in reality, this ill-thought-through policy punishes people who have already suffered profound hardship, adding insecurity at precisely the moment stability is most needed.
The damage caused when lives are held in limbo by delays in asylum decision-making is already well documented. So too is the harm inflicted when survivors of trauma are forced to relive the most unimaginable horrors as they repeat their story of torture or trafficking in order to prove their need for protection. And the poor quality of asylum decisions has not only sparked much criticism but has burdened the appeal courts with an unmanageable backlog. This policy will intensify all of these failings – introducing more frequent reviews of the ongoing need for protection while placing additional strain on an already overstretched asylum system. The likely result is more delays, more backlogs, more unsafe decisions and more uncertainty.
For those who have fled torture and persecution, the fear of return is not abstract. It is deep and long-lasting. This policy risks transforming what should be a time of joy – the recognition of refugee status and the granting of protection – into the beginning of a new cycle of fear.
Specialist services working with survivors of torture across the UK, including Freedom from Torture, have warned that shorter periods of leave to remain keep alive the very real prospect of return to the place where people were harmed. Recovery depends on a sense of safety and predictability. By contrast, repeated reviews of status reinforce powerlessness and hopelessness, exacerbating conditions like Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, anxiety and depression.
The impact will not be limited to individuals. Families will be forced to live with constant instability and dread that will permeate their daily lives. Children who are beginning to settle into schools and communities will inevitably absorb their parents’ fears. The inability to plan for the future – whether in relation to housing, education or employment – undermines the very foundations of family life.
There are also significant practical consequences. Immigration status shapes access to housing, work and education. A 30-month grant of leave will make it markedly harder for refugees to secure a tenancy, find stable employment or pursue study thereby undermining the Government’s own goal of integration. This policy comes at the same time as the Government is changing its approach to providing financial support and accommodation to asylum seekers who would otherwise be destitute. The changes they are making to asylum support will increase the risk that government assistance is withdrawn from vulnerable people who, banned from working, have no other means of supporting themselves. Taken together, these policies risk pushing people further into destitution. The consequences – homelessness, exploitation and increased vulnerability – are entirely foreseeable.
There are also serious legal questions. Article 14 of the United Nations Convention Against Torture requires states to provide the means for as full rehabilitation as possible. Rehabilitation is not simply clinical; it depends on relationships, purpose and the ability to imagine a future. These are extraordinarily difficult to sustain when protection is temporary and uncertain.
More broadly, this policy signals a troubling shift away from the UK’s longstanding commitment to offering durable protection. While the 1951 UN Refugee Convention recognises that refugee status is by its nature temporary, it requires States to “as far as possible facilitate the assimilation and naturalization of refugees” and “in particular make every effort to expedite naturalization proceedings…” It outlines rights to employment, welfare, housing, education and social security – all of which are harder to realise with shorter periods of leave.
It is also deeply concerning that such a significant change has been introduced without parliamentary debate or vote. When decisions affecting people’s rights and safety are made with minimal scrutiny, Parliament is denied the opportunity to evaluate the consequences or propose safeguards. This weakens democratic oversight and creates confusion for those navigating an already complex asylum system. This is why myself and colleagues will be asking important questions regarding these changes in the House this week.
The aspirations of those seeking sanctuary are, by and large, the same as anyone else’s. They want security, the chance to work, to contribute and to build a future for themselves and their families, free from fear. We should be enabling these ambitions, not undermining them.
A humane and effective asylum system would support people to integrate and thrive. Policies that are punitive and short-sighted will do the opposite: forcing unwell, vulnerable people into destitution, or worse, back into danger. Protection, once granted, must be meaningful and it must endure.
Baroness Lister of Burtersett is a Labour peer and an officer of the all-party parliamentary groups on migration and refugees.
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When you’ve run a whole damn marathon, you want to show it off. It’s only natural.
But there are certain ways you want to do it; we’re guessing bloody nipples isn’t one of them.
Groin, thigh, and neck chafing is also not on our wishlist of wounds (of course, ideally you’d have none, but that’s what you get for running an abnormally long distance in a few hours).
Whether you want to avoid feeling like your flesh is exposed to the elements, or your pursuits are more shallow (read: looking good in those medal-bearing pics you’re going to plaster all over your socials), here’s everything you need to avoid chafes, blisters, and wounds when running a marathon.
Expert comment provided by Dr Hariom Yadav, an associate professor of neurosurgery and brain repair, who looks at how gut health affects ageing. He is also a scientific advisory board member at WonderBiotics.
You probably already know that good gut health can make everything from your mood to your immune system better.
Some studies have suggested that changes to your gut could reveal dementia risk years before diagnosis, too.
And microbiome researcher Dr Hariom Yadav recently published some research which looked at how microbiome imbalances might affect brain ageing (neurodegeneration).
Here, we asked Dr Yadav to share why our diet might affect how our minds age, some gut health mistakes he’d never make if he wanted to keep his brain younger for longer, and what we can do to make our odds better.
Why might our gut health affect our brain ageing?
Dr Yadav said, “people always ask me about the brain – memory, focus, dementia risk – and they expect me to talk about brain exercises or supplements. But I always tell them, start with your gut.”
He said that some foods can create weaknesses in our gut lining, leading to inflammation.
“And where does that inflammation go? It goes everywhere – but the organ that suffers the most, the organ that is most sensitive to inflammation, is your brain. It slows down your neurons. It mimics sleep. That afternoon fog you feel? That is actually a punch to your brain.”
He added, “If you are eating those foods three times a day, every day, for years and years, you are throwing punch after punch at your brain. And one day, those punches add up. That is cognitive decline. That is dementia risk. That is your brain ageing faster than it should.”
What gut health mistakes would Dr Yarav never make?
Dr Yadev said “the mistakes I see people making, over and over” are:
1) Eating ultra-processed, inflammatory foods regularly
“These are the biggest gut lining destroyers. They disrupt your microbiome, they open up your gut barrier, and they flood your system with inflammation,” he said.
2) Ignoring how you feel after eating
“If you feel sleepy after lunch, do not ignore it. Do not normalise it. Your body is telling you something. Listen to it.”
3) Not feeding your good gut bacteria
“Your microbiome is like a garden. If you are not putting in fibre, fermented foods, diverse plant-based foods – you are starving the very bacteria that protect your gut lining and regulate your brain communication.”
4) Eating at the wrong time
“Timing matters enormously. Late-night eating, skipping meals, irregular eating patterns – all of these disrupt the gut-brain conversation and throw off the signalling that tells you when to start and stop eating.”
5) Chronic stress without any management
“Stress directly damages gut integrity. The gut-brain axis works both ways – a stressed brain creates a leaky gut, and a leaky gut stresses the brain. It becomes a vicious cycle.”
How can I help to ensure my brain stays healthier for longer?
Aside from not making these gut “mistakes,” Dr Yadav told us that eating healthily can make a huge difference.
“When we talk about ageing, people often feel helpless. They think, well, my genes are my genes. My age is my age. There is nothing I can do. But the gut? The microbiome? That is one of the most modifiable systems in the entire human body,” the expert told us.
“I would say conservatively, 60 to 70% of your brain ageing trajectory is modifiable through gut health strategies. Biotics – prebiotics, probiotics, postbiotics – dietary diversity, meal timing, stress management – these are not small things. These are powerful, evidence-backed levers that we can pull every single day.”
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