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LONDON – Online sex worker Martha blames Britain’s cost-of-living crisis for her dwindling earnings – partly due to increased competition as soaring household bills push more women to sell sex.

“People are offering more for less because they’re desperate for money,” Martha, 29, who asked to use a pseudonym to protect her identity, told Context.

“I worry this is going to get worse as purses are stretched further,” she said, adding that her daily income had fallen in recent months to about 150 pounds ($165) from 250 pounds previously.

Martha took up online sex work last year after being made redundant. She has since found a job as a retail assistant, but said she needs the additional income to cover rising living costs as she saves money to have a baby.

Charities and sex workers’ collectives across Britain have reported an increase in people starting or returning to sex work this year as annual consumer price inflation runs at about 10% – the highest in the G7 group of big advanced economies.

The English Collective of Prostitutes (ECP), a network of current and former sex workers campaigning for decriminalization, recorded a 30% jump in the number of callers seeking support for starting sex work in June, while charity Beyond the Streets said it had seen women returning to sex work, or doing more of it.

Manchester Action on Street Health (MASH), a charity that supports female sex workers, recorded more than 100 new service users between December 2021 and April 2022, the highest number of new clients the charity has seen during a three-month period in four years.

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A woman carries shopping bags as she walks along a pedestrianized street, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, in Bolton, Britain, December 18, 2021. REUTERS/Phil Noble

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Flavored with honey, hoisin sauce, and Chinese five-spice, this one-pan chicken dish makes a cheap and easy midweek family meal.

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When Peter and Sjanna Leighton were in their early 20s, their marriage fell apart. Money was tight, and they each feared they were disappointing the other; neither one knew how to communicate their vulnerabilities and hurt.

So one day, almost a year after their vows, Peter packed his bags and moved out of their home in San Antonio, Texas. He got an apartment on his own and focused on building his career in the restaurant business.

“From the outside world, it may have looked like I’d recovered from our marriage failing,” says Peter, who became chronically depressed. “But the memories of how powerful our togetherness could have been, and what could have happened if we had continued developing — all of that churned in me.”

Peter and Sjanna both quietly carried their regret over giving up on their relationship through other marriages, children, and divorce. Then in 2007, 33 years later, Sjanna searched Peter’s name online and found his photography website. “The first photo that came up was a picture of him that he’d taken in our bathroom when we were married, and the second picture was me on our honeymoon, which he had titled ‘The Muse,’” says Sjanna. She realized that he lived in Austin, not far from her, and after a few weeks, she built up the courage to send him an email. They met up for coffee. When they met up a second time a few weeks later, she asked him, “What happened with us, Peter?” He replied, “I don’t know, but you were the love of my life.” Within a month of reconnecting, they were dating again.

Today, at 75 and 72 years old, Peter and Sjanna have been happily remarried for 16 years. “When we got back together, we did it with our regrets and our perceived mistakes,” says Peter. “Because of that, when there have been storms, we’ve been able to weather them.”

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Buy a larger chicken than usual and make extra meals from the leftovers. The bones contain lots of flavor, which take this comforting stew to the next level

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India – For Indian farmer Lalmuankimi Bawitlung, selling her annual orange harvest is often a race against time to beat the heat.

The 38-year-old, who owns a small plot in her village in northeastern India, threw away about a third of her 350 kg (772 pound) crop last year because the fruit became overripe or rotten, and could not be sold.

“I have always been in a hurry to dispose of my oranges at whatever price available, to prevent as much wastage as possible … (with) the increasing heat making it worse,” she said at her home in Kawnzar village in the state of Mizoram.

But Lalmuankimi’s prospects are brighter since the state government in January installed a 10-tonne solar-powered cold storage unit for farm produce in the nearby village of Khawzawl.

The facility uses ice battery technology, or thermal energy storage, to convert water into ice within six hours using solar.

The Mizoram Science, Technology & Innovation Council (MISTIC) worked with cold chain company Inficold to set up the 2.2 million-rupee ($27,100) facility, which is open to about 235 farmers such as Lalmuankimi across several villages in the area.

It meant Lalmuankimi could store the rest of her last harvest in February, 7-8 kg of oranges, instead of discarding them.

She took the fruit out of cold storage in August when it was out of season and managed to sell it for 250 rupees per kilo – five times the price she would normally have expected to fetch.

“After hours of backbreaking toil … I can now sit back and enjoy the fruits of both my farm and labor, as there is hardly any wastage that I have to worry about,” Lalmuankimi said.

Although India has thousands of cold storage facilities for produce – about 8,200 as of 2020, official data shows – these units are connected to the electricity grid rather than powered by solar.

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A farmer arranges pineapples in a field in Nandannagar village on the outskirts of the northeastern Indian city of Agartala, May 4, 2008. REUTERS/Jayanta Dey

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Aging is an inevitable part of life, triggering various changes that impact our health, both physical and mental. While exercising in your 50s and beyond may seem challenging, fitness is a powerful tool to combat or counteract some of these unwanted changes.

From muscles to bones to cognitive function, the immune system, and overall longevity, you can see vast improvements in your health with just a little bit of exercise per day. And the best part is it’s never too late to start.

Here’s how fitness can improve your health as you age. 

Stronger muscles and bones

From lifting groceries to climbing stairs, there are a lot of activities that rely on strong bones and muscles. Aging typically leads to loss of muscle mass and bone density, often making it difficult for individuals to maintain an active and independent lifestyle. Engaging in regular exercise can help prevent these common side effects of aging, making it easier to take care of yourself in old age while reducing the risk of injuries like falls. 

Time reported that resistance training is one of the most effective methods for mitigating — or even reversing — age-related muscle decline, as it builds and preserves muscle strength and power essential for tasks. Researchers have found benefits even in patients in their late 80s who use mobility devices such as canes.

And when it comes to your bones, weight-bearing exercises encourage maintenance of bone density, prevent osteoporosis, and lower your risk of fractures, per Harvard Health. Any physical activity that requires your bones to support your weight counts as a weight-bearing exercise, including walking or strength training. 

Healthier brain

A healthy brain is fundamental to daily life. Basic tasks like brushing your teeth and washing your hands, as well as complex activities such as driving and decision-making, require a well-functioning brain.

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Black History Is World History

Journey around the world and back in time as editor Aric Jenkins explores the sizable impact Black societies have made on ancient civilizations.

Black history, as it is taught in the United States, tends to center narratives from post-colonial America. But world history also holds rich stories of how Black communities around the world have been making critical contributions that date back to the BC era. So why are these two disciplines often taught separately?

A blended approach would weave together the century-long rule of Black Pharaohs in Egypt, the complex role people of color played in medieval art, as well as the legacy of Great Zimbabwe and the Moors. And that’s exactly how Aric Jenkins, an articles editor at The Ringer, takes on Black history. tangie

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Click the link below for the video (The Songhai Empire – Africa’s Age of Gold – 2:16):

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Click the link below (Songhai Empire: The Fall of Africas Greatest Empire – 13:09):

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More Moor History!

Time permitting, check out all of these chapters: Intro, History, Slavery, The 9th Century, and The 18th Century.

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A woman looks on next to a paraffin light during an electricity load-shedding blackout in Soweto, South Africa, March 18, 2021. REUTERS/Siphiwe Sibeko

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