And earlier this year in Kansas, the state shattered turnout records when voters came out in droves to strike down a ballot measure that would have paved the way for the state's Republican-led legislature to ban or limit abortion.

Lead researcher Dr Anton Ragni, of the University of Sheffield's department of computer science, said: ‘Any development in the area of expressive speech synthesis, including this project, has a potential of making human-computer interaction, eg smart speakers, more natural.

The new law, which has not been published in full, makes local governments responsible for ensuring that the twin pressures are reduced and asks parents to arrange their children's' time to account for reasonable rest and exercise, thereby reducing pressure, said the agency, and avoiding overuse of the internet.

That was before a new inflation report suggested that higher prices could be a devastating trend for a long time - while overall inflation eased somewhat to an 8.2 percent increase in September from the year prior, core inflation is up at a 40-year high.

"There might be a narrow path to an agreement visible - if negotiations can clear the remaining hurdles in the next few days," said the diplomat, adding that some progress was made over the last few days of the EU-UK talks.

For months Republicans have seized on sky-high inflation and bleak economic forecasts as an argument against re-electing Democrats to Congress, where they hold slim majorities in the Senate and worksheets on prefixes House of Representatives.

Youngkin's Executive Order 1 defines critical race theory as 'inherently divisive concepts' that portray one race, sex or religious faith as inherently superior, or teach that an individual is inherently racist as a result of his skin color.

Success depends on whether London also wants a fair deal and is ready to accept the inherent trade-offs," the diplomat said. "But - sometimes substantial - gaps still need to be bridged in important areas like fisheries, governance and level playing field...

Beijing has exercised a more assertive paternal hand this year, from tacking the addiction of youngsters to online games, deemed a form of "spiritual opium", to clamping down on "blind" worship of internet celebrities.

The Whyte Review, published in June, showed that British gymnasts were subjected to widespread physical and mental abuse in a system where such behaviour was condoned in the pursuit of national and international success.

The Whyte report, which examined over 400 complaints, found that British gymnastics suffered from a cultural problem where young athletes were shamed for their weight while others were handed harsh punishments for the slightest mistakes in training.

SHANGHAI, Oct 23 (Reuters) - China has passed an education law that seeks to cut the "twin pressures" of homework and off-site tutoring in core subjects, the official Xinhua news agency said on Saturday.

The VEA's toolkit was released along with the statement: 'Enclosed is Virginia Education Association's Black Lives Matter at School Toolkit to be used as a resource guide for advancing racial justice in Virginia's schools.

There are lesson plans in the toolkit that link to resources to discussions about how to analyze the importance/significance of the 13 core principles to their local community and to think about how they can get involved in the BLM movement or other causes.

"Through Reform '25, we must seize this opportunity and make the care of everyone involved in gymnastics as important as our focus on developing participation and performance," said British Gymnastics Chief Executive Sarah Powell.

Oct 18 (Reuters) - British Gymnastics has launched a new action plan, including the reporting of banned coaches, to provide a safe environment for its athletes following a damning report that uncovered a culture of abuse in the sport, the governing body said on Tuesday.

"We welcome today's report and acknowledge that though there is no quick fix to the challenges facing the sport of gymnastics ... these are important first steps on a long-term journey of change," Sport England CEO Tim Hollingsworth and UK Sport CEO Sally Munday said in a statement.

And critics have found examples of what they consider to be critical race theory seeping into classroom lessons. There is no evidence that CRT has been formally adopted into state curricula.

But there is ample evidence key education administrators have incorporated the concept into teacher training.

The union encouraged its members to participate and offered an instruction manual 'to be used as a resource guide for advancing racial justice in Virginia's schools,' according to a memo by Taisha Steele, director of the Human and Civil Rights division at the VEA.