Tuesday briefing: Scotland has promised on violence against women – now it needs to deliver

In today's newsletter: First minister John Swinney has pledged to put an end to violence against women and girls. But can he turn ambitious laws into real change?

Good morning. Violence against women and girls, in all its myriad forms - physical and mental, blatant and insidious - is a global challenge. It reaches back through millennia and, lately, it has been turbo-charged by technology, which offers abusers new ways to shame, harass and monitor victims. What would it take to eradicate it?

Scotland's first minister John Swinney wants to find out. Today, he will set out his programme for government (the Holyrood equivalent of the King's speech), and Swinney surprised many when he pledged to put ending violence against women at the heart of his government's ambitions for the coming year and beyond.

Nepal-Tibet | Rescue teams are working to reach more than 900 missing hydropower workers, who are thought to be trapped in underground areas in Nepal, after the devastating flash floods.

Iran | The new US sanctions campaign is expected to push many Iranians into deeper poverty as food inflation soars.

UK | The British Museum privately hosted Palantir founder Peter Thiel in a private viewing of the Bayeux tapestry, the Guardian understands.

Slavery | Countries are legally obliged to consider reparations for the transatlantic slave tried, and address the legacy racial discrimination, a UN committee has said.

US news | A Las Vegas jury has found former South Side Compton Crips gang leader Duane Keith Davis guilty of the murder of Tupac Shakur, bringing the case to a close nearly 30 years after the famous rapper was gunned down.