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By Andrew McFarlane Quarantine rules end for dozens of nations Life takes another small step back to normality today, as quarantine requirements are dropped for travellers arriving in England, Wales and Northern Ireland from 59 countries and 14 British overseas territories. It means those who have been on holiday in Spain, France, Italy, Belgium and Germany will be exempt from the requirement to isolate for 14 days. A slightly different list of exemptions applies in Scotland, meaning people travelling from both Spain and Serbia will still have to go into quarantine, after First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said concerns about the prevalence of Covid-19 persisted. Scotland is also making the use of facemasks compulsory in shops. However, despite World Health Organization warnings that the pandemic is still accelerating globally, across the UK lockdown restrictions are being eased in light of a declining number of infections. Ministers announced on Thursday that beauty salons in England could reopen from Monday, followed by indoor gyms and swimming pools on 25 July. Open-air concerts and theatre performances in England will also be permitted with “a limited and socially distanced audience” from this weekend. Children’s playgrounds and community centres in Wales will be able to reopen from 20 July, while Northern Ireland has brought forward the reopening of indoor fitness studios and gyms, along with bingo halls, amusement arcades and cinemas. Scotland has begun to allow people to visit each other indoors and stay overnight, and has set dates for reopening bars and restaurants, hairdressers and barbers, and the tourist industry. ‘Hidden catastrophe’ in dementia care Some 20,000 deaths in care homes have already been directly linked to coronavirus. Now, Dementia UK and the Alzheimer’s Society are warning of a  “hidden catastrophe” among those in residential care, brought on by the “enforced separation” of lockdown. UK government advice – in place since April – to avoid visits in all but exceptional circumstances has caused a deterioration in residents’ mental and physical health, the charities say. They are calling on the health secretary to treat relatives of care home residents with dementia like key workers, by offering them the same access to care homes and coronavirus testing as staff. The Department of Health and Social Care says it will set out further details “shortly” on how it can “carefully and safely” allow visits. Police ‘race discrimination’ review Police stop-and-search tactics are often criticised as being used disproportionately against people from ethnic minorities. Now, the Independent Office for Police Conduct is to review whether officers racially discriminate . The head of the watchdog says it will “establish the trends and patterns which might help drive real change” in England and Wales, where stop-and-search powers are nine times more likely to be used against black people than white counterparts. Earlier this week, the Metropolitan Police apologised to athlete Bianca Williams over a stop-and-search incident. Cases are already being investigated in London, Birmingham and Greater Manchester in which it is alleged police used excessive force, and in some cases Tasers, against black men. ‘We’ve scaled back our wedding to 200 people’ “We’ve always pictured having the big, fat Indian wedding,” say Vishal Panesar and his fiancee Ravika Sabh, almost in unison. Like thousands of couples, Londoners Vishal, 25, and Ravika, 24, had to postpone their wedding after the coronavirus pandemic struck. It was meant to be a lavish affair with three separate events and 400 guests. But current measures imposed on weddings and gatherings mean the prospects of a big blowout are slim. Vishal and Ravika have cut down their guest list but are still keen to see whether a wedding with more than 30 guests is possible.Read full analysis > Sheetal Parmar BBC Asian Network What the papers say “You’d better shape up,” says a Grease-inspired Metro, in its report heralding the reopening of England’s gyms and other leisure facilities. The Times echoes the government’s preferred slogan – “work out to help out” – while also reporting the prime minister intends to ban promotions on unhealthy food. Salons, which can reopen from Monday, are the focus of the Daily Telegraph, which says “normality edges closer”. Other papers focus on what the Daily Mirror calls a “jobs hell”, in light of Boots, Burger King and John Lewis saying they would cut staff. The paper says it brings job losses since the coronavirus crisis began to more than 150,000. The Financial Times says the announcements left Chancellor Rishi Sunak under fire, reporting that an influential think tank criticised his £30bn package to avert job losses as “poorly targeted”. Read the review. Daily digest Instagram Network to block LGBT ‘conversion therapy’ services Police Probationary officer charged with neo-Nazi terror offence Notre Dame Spire will be rebuilt exactly as it was Oklahoma Court rules half of land to be Native American If you watch one thing today An induction to post-lockdown gyms If you experience one thing today See a swarm of locusts in your room – in 3D If you read one thing today From addict, to armed robber, to movie star Today’s lookahead 12:00 Funeral cortege of Dame Vera Lynn pauses in her home village of Ditchling, coinciding with a Battle of Britain Memorial Flight flypast. 12:30 Welsh First Minister Mark Drakeford to confirm whether conditions have been met to allow reopening of parts of tourism industry from Saturday, and outdoor hospitality and hairdressers from Monday. On this day 1940 The Battle of Britain begins, as German planes attack shipping convoys off the south-east coast of England – explore BBC Archive material from World War Two.

The Many Health Benefits of Meditation… The popularity of meditation is increasing as more people discover its many benefits. Meditation is a habitual process of training your mind to focus and redirect your thoughts. This article reviews 12 health benefits of meditation. You can use it to increase awareness of yourself and your surroundings. Many people think of it as a way to reduce stress and develop concentration. People also use the practice to develop other beneficial habits and feelings, such as a positive mood and outlook, self-discipline, healthy sleep patterns and even increased pain tolerance. Please find 12 health benefits of practicing the art of meditation… 1. Reduces Stress Stress Reduction is one of the most common reasons why people try meditation. 1 study, which included over 3,500 adults, showed that it lives up to its reputation for stress reduction. Normally, mental and physical stress cause increased levels of the stress hormone cortisol. This produces many of the harmful effects of stress, such as the release of inflammation-promoting chemicals called cytokines. The effects of cytokines can disrupt sleep, promote depression and anxiety, increase blood pressure and contribute to fatigue and cloudy thinking. During a 2-month study, a meditation style called “mindfulness meditation” reduced the inflammation response caused by stress. Another study, on nearly 1,300 adults, demonstrated that meditation may decrease stress. Notably, this effect was strongest in individuals with the highest levels of stress. Research has shown that meditation may also improve symptoms of stress-related conditions, including irritable bowel syndrome, post-traumatic stress disorder and fibromyalgia. SUMMARY: Many styles of meditation can help reduce stress. Meditation can also reduce symptoms in people with stress-triggered medical conditions. 2. Controls Anxiety Less stress can lead to less anxiety. For example, an 2 month study of mindfulness meditation helped participants reduce their anxiety. It also reduced symptoms of anxiety disorders, such as phobias, social anxiety, obsessive-compulsive behaviours, paranoid thoughts and panic attacks. Another study, followed up with 18 volunteers 36 months after they had completed an two-month meditation program. Most volunteers had continued practicing regular meditation and maintained lower anxiety levels over the long term. A larger study in 2,466 participants also showed that a variety of different meditation strategies may reduce anxiety levels. For example, yoga has been shown to help people reduce their levels of anxiety. This is likely due to benefits from both meditative practice and physical activity. Meditation may also help control job-related anxiety in high-pressure work environments. 1 study found that a meditation program reduced anxiety in a group of nurses. SUMMARY: Habitual meditation helps reduce anxiety and anxiety-related mental health issues like social anxiety, phobias, paranoia and obsessive-compulsive behaviours. 3. Promotes Emotional Health Some forms of meditation can also lead to an improved self-image and more positive outlook on life.  2 studies of mindfulness meditation found decreased depression in over 4,600 adults. 1 study followed 18 volunteers as they practiced meditation over 36 months. The study found that participants experienced a long-term decrease in their levels of depression. Inflammatory chemicals called cytokines, which are released in response to stress, can affect mood, leading to depression. A review of several studies suggests meditation may reduce depression by decreasing these production of these inflammatory chemicals. Another controlled study compared electrical activity between the brains of people who practiced mindfulness meditation and the brains of others who did not. Those who meditated showed measurable changes in activity in areas related to positive thinking and optimism. SUMMARY: Some forms of meditation can improve depression and create a more positive outlook on life. Research shows that maintaining an ongoing habit of meditation may help you maintain these benefits long term. 4. Enhances Self-Awareness Some forms of meditation may help you develop a stronger understanding of yourself, helping you grow into your best self.  For example, self-inquiry meditation explicitly aims to help you develop a greater understanding of yourself and how you relate to those around you. Other forms teach you to recognise thoughts that may be harmful or self-defeating. The idea is that as you gain greater awareness of your thought habits, you can steer them toward more constructive thought patterns. A study of 21 women fighting breast cancer found that when they took part in a tai chi program, their self-esteem improved more than it did than in those who received social support sessions. In another study, 40 senior men and women who took a mindfulness meditation program experienced reduced feelings of loneliness, compared to a control group that had been placed on a wait list for the program. Experience in meditation may cultivate more creative problem solving. SUMMARY: Self-inquiry and related styles of meditation can help you “know yourself.” This can be a starting point for making other positive changes 5. Lengthens Attention Span Focused-attention meditation is like weight lifting for your attention span. It helps increase the strength and endurance of your attention.  For example, a study looked at the effects of a 2-month mindfulness meditation course and found it improved participants’ ability to reorient and maintain their attention. A similar study showed that human resource workers who regularly practiced mindfulness meditation stayed focused on a task for longer. These workers also remembered details of their tasks better than their peers who did not practice meditation. 1 review concluded that meditation may even reverse patterns in the brain that contribute to mind-wandering, worrying and poor attention. Even meditating for a short period may benefit you. 1 study found that 4 days of practicing meditation may be enough to increase attention span. SUMMARY: Several types of meditation may build your ability to redirect and maintain attention. As little as 4 days of meditation may have a noticeable effect. 6. May Reduce Age-Related Memory Loss Improvements in attention and clarity of thinking may help keep your mind young.  Kirtan Kriya is a method of meditation that combines a mantra or chant with repetitive motion of the fingers to focus thoughts. It improved participants’ ability to perform memory tasks in multiple studies