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Politics

Shabana Mahmood has barely softened her plans – Britain’s immigration regime is now a theatre of cruelty | Owen Jones

The home secretary’s reforms merely reinforce the lie that migrants are to blame for all of the UK’s problems Five years ago, Shabana Mahmood called for a “general amnesty” for undocumented migrants. “That’s not official Labour party policy yet,” she mourned, “but myself and a group of other Labour MPs are continuing to make the argument.” Now home secretary, she is introducing one of Europe’s most punitive immigration and asylum systems. The standard qualifying period for migrant workers to gain secure residence will double to 10 years, which will be twice the length set out in almost all EU

The Guardian
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Sports

The Breakdown | Rugby’s grand Ruckfest gamble cannot afford a damp squib in London finale

Financial success of the three-day finale in London later this month promises to make or break the concept Guess how many people attended the recent Oktoberfest in Munich, the famous annual pilgrimage for people with a sense of fun and a collective thirst to quench? Admittedly the event spanned a fortnight but the figure is still pretty remarkable. There were 7.4m visitors – a record – with around a quarter of them travelling from overseas. Now imagine even a tenth of that congregation coming together for a like-minded three-day festival in London. Endless access to quality beer, the chance to

The Guardian
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Entertainment

Juan Atkins built a cybernetic future for music – but invested it with humanity

The Detroit techno pioneer, who has died aged 64, blended funk and electronics with information-age philosophy to create music of huge power and influence Juan Atkins, the originator of techno who died on 31 October, spent his lifetime translating a fascination with the future into sound. He was the oldest of the founding fathers of techno known as the “Belleville Three”, along with his junior high school friends Kevin Saunderson and Derrick May. He was the first of the trio to buy a Korg MS-10 synthesiser, and also taught the others how to DJ on turntables. His work in the duo Cybotron alongs

The Guardian
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Entertainment

Ghost Town review – the phantoms and lost souls haunting a Japanese city after the 2011 earthquake

Katharine Round’s documentary puts cameras in taxis where drivers and fares reflect on the disaster’s impact and talk of crowds of spectres and disappearing passengers In a manner similar to Ryūsuke Hamaguchi’s Drive My Car, in which journeying lulls passengers into greater intimacy, this nocturnal taxi odyssey through the tsunami-hit city of Kamaishi on Japan’s east coast clears the road for the subconscious to manifest. Conversations between the drivers and their customers drift back towards the cataclysm of the 2011 earthquake and tsunami with an undertow of grief, loss and absence. But at

The Guardian
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