All posts tagged: vulnerable

Politics Home | Companies Housing Vulnerable People Could Face New Conditions To Receive Taxpayers’ Money

Politics Home | Companies Housing Vulnerable People Could Face New Conditions To Receive Taxpayers’ Money

Published by Sam Flores

PoliticsHome revealed that Travelodge had been handed almost £70m by councils since 2022 (Alamy) 4 min read42 min The government could bring in stipulations for companies that receive public money to house vulnerable people, like Travelodge, PoliticsHome understands. It is one measure being considered by ministers as they look at how hotel security can be improved after a woman was sexually assaulted in one of the hotel chain’s rooms in 2022, with a government source telling PoliticsHome that “nothing is off the table”. It comes after PoliticsHome revealed at the start of this month that Travelodge had been given almost £70m of taxpayers’ money via local authorities since a woman was sexually assaulted in one of its rooms in 2022. In February, Kyran Smith was jailed for seven-and-a-half years for sexually assaulting a woman in a Travelodge in Berkshire in December 2022. Smith had attended the same party as the woman and had later acquired a key card to her room after falsely claiming to hotel staff that he was the victim’s boyfriend. The case, which has led to intense scrutiny of Travelodge and calls …

Legal migrants remain vulnerable to trafficking | Migration

Legal migrants remain vulnerable to trafficking | Migration

Published by Sam Flores

Every year, hundreds of thousands of people enter wealthy countries on temporary work visas, hoping to earn a living and support their families. For many, those visas undoubtedly offer a chance to earn more money and build a more stable life. But for others, they become another source of vulnerability and abuse. Consider the case of Larisa. While browsing Facebook, she found an advertisement promising domestic work in Germany, a good salary and paid travel expenses. A mother of three from a remote village in Moldova, she left her children behind to chase that opportunity and lift her family out of poverty. But when she arrived, the reality was very different. She was taken to a remote town, housed with other women and stripped of control over her documents. For a year, she says, she was forced to clean homes and care for elderly people for up to 20 hours a day without pay and under constant watch. The International Organization for Migration later identified her case as an example of trafficking through a seemingly …

Your router may be vulnerable to Russian hackers, FBI warns: 5 steps to take now

Your router may be vulnerable to Russian hackers, FBI warns: 5 steps to take now

Published by skeptic

Cesar Cadenas/ZDNET Follow ZDNET: Add us as a preferred source on Google. ZDNET’s key takeaways The FBI and NSA are warning of new threats targeting routers. Attacks from Russian hackers can compromise your router. Update the firmware and tighten your router password. When was the last time you updated or restarted your router? As long as your internet is working, you may set up your router and then forget about it. But based on new alerts from US federal agencies, that’s not such a good idea. In new advisories published this week, both the FBI and NSA warned of Russian hackers targeting vulnerable routers around the world to steal sensitive information. Though the attackers are mostly interested in military and government secrets, home and small office users are also at risk. That’s because the attackers will hijack SOHO (small office, home office) routers from which they can stage their attacks. Also: Your home Wi-Fi isn’t nearly as private as it should be – 6 free ways to lock it down In one recent incident, the US …

Desalination plants in the Middle East are increasingly vulnerable

Desalination plants in the Middle East are increasingly vulnerable

Published by skeptic

Membrane technologies have made up essentially all new desalination capacity in recent years; the last major thermal plant built in the Gulf came online in 2018. Many reverse osmosis plants still rely on fossil fuels, but they’re more efficient. Since then, membrane technologies have added more than 15 million cubic meters of daily capacity—enough to supply water to millions of people. Capacity has expanded quickly in recent years; between 2006 and 2024, countries across the Middle East collectively spent over $50 billion building and upgrading desalination facilities, and nearly that much operating them. Today, there are nearly 5,000 desalination plants operational across the Middle East. And looking ahead, growth is continuing. Between 2024 and 2028, daily capacity is expected to grow from about 29 million cubic meters to 41 million cubic meters. Uneven vulnerabilities Some countries rely on the technology more than others. Iran, for example, uses desalination for about 3% of its municipal fresh water. The country has access to groundwater and some surface water, including rivers, though these resources are being stretched thin …

Vulnerable narcissism is linked to intense celebrity worship via parasocial relationships

Vulnerable narcissism is linked to intense celebrity worship via parasocial relationships

Published by José Betancourt

New research published in Behavioral Sciences suggests that people with certain self-centered but insecure personality traits tend to develop intense, one-sided bonds with famous figures. This unreciprocated connection provides evidence as to why these individuals are more likely to become excessively attached to celebrities. Extreme fascination with public figures is a growing issue in modern society. This behavior ranges from simply enjoying entertainment with friends to developing unhealthy obsessions that disrupt daily life. Psychologists often view this progression through an absorption and addiction framework. In this framework, people with a poorly developed sense of identity might use their interest in a celebrity as a coping mechanism. As they become more absorbed in the public figure’s life, their behavior can become addictive and increasingly problematic. The new study was conducted by Lawrence Locker Jr. and Jeff Klibert, psychology professors at Georgia Southern University, alongside Joshua L. Williams, a professor and chair of criminal justice and criminology at the same institution. They sought to explore how specific psychological struggles might drive obsessive fan behavior. “We were motivated …

An arson attack leaves Britain’s Jewish community feeling vulnerable

An arson attack leaves Britain’s Jewish community feeling vulnerable

Published by Sam Flores

LONDON (AP) — British police hunted three suspects on Tuesday over an arson attack on a Jewish charity’s ambulances and pledged to step up security around a community that feels increasingly at risk. The blaze in Golders Green, a London neighborhood with a large Jewish population, consumed four ambulances belonging to the volunteer organization Hatzola Northwest. Oxygen cylinders on the vehicles exploded, breaking windows in an adjacent apartment block. Also shattered was the community’s shaky sense of security, already strained by wars in the Middle East and what many say is soaring hatred of Jews. “We’re feeling vulnerable,” said Damon Hoff, president of the Machzike Hadath Synagogue, where the ambulances were parked. Some of the building’s stained-glass windows were damaged in the blast. “We know what’s going on,” Hoff said. “Nobody’s eyes are closed. We’re living through wars. There’s multiple fronts, and Britain is a part of it, and our community is a tiny little part of a very, very big world.” The UK Jewish community has deep roots Britain’s Jewish community is long-established but …

Could Your Child Have Vulnerable Child Syndrome?

Could Your Child Have Vulnerable Child Syndrome?

Published by Jenni Sidey

If you listen to the cultural commentary about parenting, it can seem like modern parents are to blame for everything from screen addiction to the obesity epidemic to the youth mental health crisis. Today’s parents are also accused of being “helicopter parents” or “snowplow parents” who constantly worry about, and intervene in, their kids’ lives. The message is clear: Parents are too protective, too involved, and too anxious—and it’s harming kids. Yet, how could parents not see children as fragile and vulnerable in the world we live in? Never in history have parents been so aware of what could potentially go wrong with their children. From the moment of conception, parents are inundated with information about possible risks to their children’s health and development. We have to complete countless screenings during pregnancy and early childhood which often result in false positives, the 24/7 news cycle informs us of every scary event that could ever happen to a child, social media tells us that everything we do is harming our children, and a quick Google search …

The Iran war is impacting the global economy, and Asia is particularly vulnerable : NPR

The Iran war is impacting the global economy, and Asia is particularly vulnerable : NPR

Published by Sam Flores

NPR’s Ayesha Rascoe talks with Martin Wolf, chief economics commentator for the Financial Times, about how the war on Iran is effecting the global economy. AYESHA RASCOE, HOST: The U.S.-Israel war on Iran is now in its fourth week, and reverberations are being felt all over the world. Gas prices have jumped in the U.S. And many countries in Asia, Africa and Europe are also facing higher fuel prices, plus supply chain shortages and disruptions in key trade routes. During her White House visit last week, Japan’s prime minister, Sanae Takaichi, summed it up this way. (SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING) PRIME MINISTER SANAE TAKAICHI: (Through interpreter) Our global economy is now about to experience a huge hit because of this development. RASCOE: Martin Wolf is chief economic commentator for the Financial Times, and he joins me now from London. Welcome to the program. MARTIN WOLF: It’s a pleasure to be with you. RASCOE: So let’s follow up on the Japanese – on what the Japanese prime minister said. What big hit will this war have …

Homeless man raped vulnerable girl, 15, in a tent | UK | News

Homeless man raped vulnerable girl, 15, in a tent | UK | News

Published by Sam Flores

Mohsen Farjam has been jailed (Image: GMP) A homeless man has been jailed after being found guilty of the rape of a vulnerable 15-year-old girl in Stockport. Mohsen Farjam, 43, of no fixed abode, was jailed on March 5 at Manchester Crown Court for five offences – two counts of rape, two counts of sexual assault, and one of sexual assault by penetration. During the harrowing incident, which happened in July 2018, Farjam approached the girl after seeing she “was upset and in need of help”, Greater Manchester Police said in a statement released after the sentencing. The man convinced the then 15-year-old girl, who was on her own and has a neurodevelopmental condition, to get food nearby and charge her devices. Read more: African migrant yells ‘f*** your country’ in court after asking girl for sex act Read more: Teenager asks girl, 16, to hold his beer before raping her Farjam, police added, told the girl he was homeless and “pretended to offer her sympathy and support”, while he “was in fact grooming and …

Travelodge turned away vulnerable women late at night | Consumer affairs

Travelodge turned away vulnerable women late at night | Consumer affairs

Published by Sam Flores

My disabled 22-year-old daughter and her 20-year-old sister were turned away late at night by Travelodge Cambridge Orchard Park because staff would not accept that they were over 18. Their rail and student cards showing their dates of birth were not accepted. I called the hotel and offered to scan their passports but this was refused as well. The customer service helpline was similarly unhelpful. By then it was nearly 10pm and they had nowhere else to go. The 22-year-old is autistic and when she goes anywhere we always have to have her itinerary pre-planned and someone to be with her. Eventually, a friend kindly drove some distance to Cambridge and took them in. I’ve since made several complaints but got no response. How could anyone think it acceptable to turn vulnerable young women, far from home, out into the street at night? JB, Sussex How indeed. Travelodge has form when it comes to turning away pre-booked, pre-paid guests. Several readers report being sent on late-night, miles-long journeys after the chain double-booked its rooms, but …