BBC4 Thinking Allowed: Migrant women, Wedding paradoxes

Migrant women in Britain: Laurie Taylor talks to Linda McDowell, Professor of Human Geography at the University of Oxford and author of a sweeping study of generations of immigrant working women in Britain. From textile mill workers in the 1940s to shopkeepers in the 50s, nannies of the 90s and software developers of today, these first and second generation migrants have been in the vanguard of a social revolution in women's contribution to the economy in the second half of the 20th century. In factories and hospitals, care homes and universities they've played a lasting role in British society, in spite of recurrent discrimination. But what do they have to say about their work and experience?

Also, Julia Carter, Senior Lecturer in Sociology at the Canterbury Christ Church University, considers the reasons why, in an era when weddings have never been more liberated from cultural norms and official control, couples still choose to follow the same assumed traditions.

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The Guardian: The nationalist identity crisis that could change Northern Ireland for ever

Yet even among conservative Catholics who do want a united Ireland, some have put their moral causes before the constitutional question. In East Derry last week, a group of conservative Catholics campaigned for the DUP as the party most likely to resist abortion reform and the legalisation of same-sex marriage. Last year the Catholic church also supported DUP efforts to introduce a conscience clause allowing tradespeople to discriminate against gay people.

This election has signalled a change in the old model of two mirror-image communities at odds with each other, equally committed to their separate sovereignty claims. In short, for many nationalists, there are some things more important to them than getting rid of the border. Yet it can probably be said with confidence that there are fewer in the unionist/Protestant community who are as blase about the Union.

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Reuters: Netanyahu rebukes Israeli general over Holocaust speech

In a speech on Wednesday on the eve of Israel's Holocaust remembrance day, Major-General Yair Golan evoked a dark time in the history of the Jewish people in calling on Israelis to engage in soul-searching.

"If there's something that frightens me about Holocaust remembrance it's the recognition of the nauseating processes that occurred in Europe in general, and particularly in Germany, back then – 70, 80 and 90 years ago – and finding signs of them here among us today in 2016," he said.

Golan's comments were widely interpreted as comparing behavior of some in Israel with that of the Nazis, who killed six million Jews in the Holocaust of World War Two. In his speech the general made reference to a soldier who shot and killed a wounded Palestinian assailant, who was lying on the ground, in Hebron, in the occupied West Bank, in March.

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The Guardian: Clinton-Trump election could 'scramble' traditional electoral map, experts say

The Clinton camp is preparing for a competitive race, drawing up a battleground map that starts where the current president left off. The priorities are the battleground states that twice helped elect Obama: Florida, Ohio, Virginia, Colorado, Nevada, Iowa and New Hampshire. [...]

“Clinton’s numbers are atrocious,” said Amy Walters, national editor of the Cook Political Report, which released its 2016 electoral ratings this week. “Her overall approval ratings are terrible. But for the fact that Trump is in worse shape than she is, she would be in a very different position.”

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Harvard IOP Spring 2016 Poll: Clinton in commanding lead over Trump among young voters

Among Likely Voters, Clinton Leads Trump by 36 Points; Trump Underperforming Among Young Republicans. Among likely voters, Clinton maintains the same 61% that a “generic Democrat” receives, while Donald Trump receives 25%, 8 percentage points lower than the current “generic Republican” White House preference. Among young Democrats, Clinton leads Trump by 78 points (83%: Clinton; 5%: Trump), but among Republicans, Trump leads by only 44 points (57%: Trump; 13%: Clinton). Among Independents, Clinton has a 23-point lead (43%: Clinton; 20%: Trump), with 36% undecided. Clinton leads significantly with both men and women. Among men, it’s 47% for Clinton, 29% supporting Trump; and the lead expands among women, with 57% for Clinton and 15% for Trump. Clinton has a narrow 6-point lead among 18- to 29-year-old whites (38%: Clinton; 32%: Trump), but polls into the 70s with both the black and Hispanic communities. Among African Americans, Clinton leads Trump 76% to 5%, and among Hispanics, she has a similar-sized lead at 71% to Trump’s 9%.

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The New York Times: Saudi King Shakes Up Government as Economic Plan Moves Forward

The plan, known as Saudi Vision 2030, is intended as a guide for the country’s development. It aims in part to reduce Saudi Arabia’s heavy dependence on oil, diversify its economy and improve the quality of life for Saudi citizens. [...]

Many Saudis have lauded Saudi Vision 2030 as a powerful statement of purpose from a royal family that has often failed to communicate its plans or do much to prepare for the future. But many analysts and economists have questioned the ability of Saudi Arabia’s bloated and often ineffective bureaucracy to meet the plan’s aggressive targets. [...]

Many people among Saudi Arabia’s large youth population — more than two-thirds of the country’s 20 million citizens are under 30 — speculated on social media about the duties of the newly created General Commission for Entertainment. It is a surprising body in a hyperconservative country where public movie theaters are banned and many people spend their vacations and weekends abroad.

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