Despite resistance from states who had role in chattel slavery, many feel this is an idea whose time has comeJohn Mahama knows a thing or two about beating the establishment. On Wednesday, less than two years after completing a remarkable comeback as Ghana's president with a landslide defeat of the ruling party candidate, he rallied the world to ratify a landmark vote against transatlantic chattel slavery, despite major opposition from the same western entities that drove it for centuries.The resolution to declare the practice as the gravest crime against humanity" passed with a decisive majority at the UN general assembly and has been largely welcomed across Africa. Yet the details of the tally reveal a world still deeply divided on the gravity of the sin of enslaving more than 15 million people as chattel over the course of 400 years. Continue reading...
Matvei Rumiantsev, who became jealous of woman's friendship with US president's son, jailed for four yearsA Russian man has been jailed for four years for assaulting a woman in an attack in London that was witnessed on a video call by Donald Trump's youngest son, Barron.Matvei Rumiantsev, 23, attacked the woman when he became jealous of her friendship with Trump, 19, after she met him through social media, a court heard. Continue reading...
Prime minister says government needs to show it is on families' side as new screen-time guidance launched UK politics live - latest updatesKeir Starmer has promised a fight" with social media firms amid efforts to limit children's use of mobile phones, tablets and TVs, as new official guidance recommends children under five spend no more than an hour a day on screens.The guidance, developed by a panel led by the children's commissioner, Rachel de Souza and children's health expert Prof Russell Viner, advises screen time for children under two should be avoided other than for shared activities. Continue reading...
Liz Kendall urged by online safety figures to hand job to Jeremy Wright ahead of Labour grandee Margaret HodgeMinisters are facing pressure to appoint a former Conservative cabinet minister as the new chair of the media regulator Ofcom, as he battles for the job against a Labour peer.The job of running the regulator has become a key post in public life, as concern over online content has grown rapidly, alongside the rise of more politically partisan broadcasting. No successor has yet been named to replace Michael Grade, the former BBC chair who has just weeks left in the job. Continue reading...
by James Parrish and James Michelin for MetDesk on (#74HFY)
Low pressure brings unsettled conditions to southern Europe, and rain and snow to western and central areasSouthern Europe has been under a variety of severe weather warnings this week owing to widely unsettled conditions driven by an area of low pressure in the region. This area of low pressure - previously a part of the system that brought colder conditions to swathes of the UK earlier this week - moved southwards across Europe through the middle of the week.In doing so, it brought a cold front across western and central parts of Europe, with spells of rain and hill snow across the Alps on Wednesday, followed by snow showers on a brisk north-westerly wind. By Friday morning, accumulations of 20-40cm were expected above 600 metres, and with 60-100cm above 1,000 metres in the Swiss Alps. Continue reading...
Former talent agency boss had closer relationship with sex offender than thought, and supported him after 2009 arrestA female executive at the top of the modelling industry had a close friendship with Jeffrey Epstein and introduced him to women on the agency's books, a Guardian investigation has found.Until last November, Faith Kates ran Next Management modelling and talent agency, which has represented the likes of Alexa Chung, Milla Jovovich and Billie Eilish, a position she held for decades as the founder of the business. She stepped down quietly just weeks before the first major Epstein files were released, saying she intended to focus on charity work.18 July 2009 10.18amI am and will always be your friend...Unconditionally...will always be there for you.5 September 2009 7.47pmThinking of you a lot and hoping you are finally enjoying some please [sic] and quiet..know you are always in my thoughts and prayers. You are a good friend my dear friend..5 September 2009 7.54pmthanks,, lets get back to work. Continue reading...
Musician urges public to send clear message at what is expected to be UK's biggest ever multicultural rallyBilly Bragg has encouraged people to send a clear message to those seeking to divide the country by turning out to support what is expected to be the biggest multicultural march in UK history on Saturday.Speaking to the Guardian before the Together Alliance's march against the far right in central London, the musician and political activist said participants hoped to send out a message to our fellow citizens that we are willing to take a stand against [the politics of hate] being imported into the UK". Continue reading...
House of Representatives still needs to act before funded agencies such as airport security can reopen, CNN reportsThe US Senate has passed legislation that will finance most of the Department of Homeland Security but withhold funds from ICE and part of Customs and Border Protection, the office of the Senate Democratic party leader, Chuck Schumer, said in a statement.The agreement would fund DHS components such as the Transportation Security Administration and US Coast Guard, the statement said. CNN reported that the House of Representatives will still need to act before funded agencies within the department can reopen. Continue reading...
Piece by late South African artist Dumile Feni is part of new series History Doesn't Repeat Itself, But It Does RhymeOn the second floor of the Reina Sofia, in the very spot where Picasso's Guernica was first exhibited when it arrived in the Madrid museum 34 years ago, there now hangs a smaller, near-namesake of the Spanish artist's most famous work.While African Guernica, which was drawn by the late South African artist Dumile Feni in 1967, may lack the scale of Picasso's masterpiece, its depth, anger and unnerving juxtaposition of man and beast, light and dark, and innocence and cruelty, are every bit as disturbing. Continue reading...
Keir Starmer promises help for parents in limiting children's online activity as government issues guidance to familiesChildren under five should spend no more than an hour a day on screens, new government advice says.Screen time for children under two should be avoided other than for shared activities encouraging interaction, families will also be advised. Continue reading...
National Trust says one year after reintroduction they are enriching habitats and may be having kits this summerThey were released this time last year with fanfare, much hope and also, perhaps, a little trepidation.Twelve months on, there have been ups and downs for the first beavers to be (officially) reintroduced into the wild in England since the semiaquatic mammals were hunted to extinction 400 years ago. Continue reading...
by Sarah Marsh Consumer affairs correspondent on (#74HCR)
Number fell 23% year on year in 2025 but waste companies say recycling systems still under strain from sheer volumeMore than 6m vapes and vape pods are still being discarded every week in the UK, with waste management companies warning the sheer volume continues to strain recycling systems despite the ban on disposable e-cigarettes.According to research by the recycling campaign group Material Focus, the 6.3m vapes and pods thrown away each week in 2025 represented a 23% reduction from the previous year. Continue reading...
by Adam Fulton and (earlier) Lucy Campbell, Tom Ambro on (#74GGN)
This blog is closed. Follow our new liveblog hereAn Iranian envoy has said South Korean ships can pass through the strait of Hormuz only after coordinating with Tehran, the Yonhap News Agency has reported.Such an agreement had to be reached in advance of the transit, said Saeed Khuzechi, the Iranian ambassador to South Korea, at a press conference in response to a question about guarantees for South Korean vessels to navigate the vital conduit for oil. Continue reading...
Navy searching for two boats that left Isla Mujeres last week bound for Havana with nine crew members of different nationalities on boardMexico's navy said on Thursday it had activated a search-and-rescue operation in the Caribbean to locate two sailboats carrying humanitarian aid to Cuba after the vessels failed to arrive in Havana as scheduled.In a statement, the navy said the two boats left Isla Mujeres, in the Mexican Caribbean state of Quintana Roo, last week bound for Havana with nine crew members of different nationalities on board. Continue reading...
Police investigate damage at Lox in a Box, Paddington, latest in string of alleged antisemitic incidents in wake of Hamas attack of 7 October 2023 and Israel's war in Gaza
Lawmakers earlier passed bill to rename 31 March holiday following sexual abuse allegations against labor leaderCalifornia governor Gavin Newsom signed legislation Thursday renaming Cesar Chavez Day to Farmworkers Day in the wake of shocking allegations that the labor leader sexually abused women and young girls.The bill, passed by the state senate earlier on Thursday, authorized the renaming ahead of the state holiday on 31 March. The state has observed the holiday honoring Chavez, who in the 1960s built a major farm-worker labor rights movement California's agricultural heartland, for more than two decades. Continue reading...
With two unprecedented trial defeats, big tech firms face crisis akin to that faced by cigarette makers in the 1990sIn the span of just two days, the most powerful social media company in the world faced a more severe public reckoning than it has in years.Jurors in California and New Mexico gave back-to-back verdicts this week that for the first time ever found Meta liable for products that inflict harm on young people. For years, lawmakers, parents and advocates have raised red flags over how social media can hurt children, but now the tech firms are being held to account via court rulings that could set long-lasting precedents. Continue reading...
by Jessica Murray Social affairs correspondent on (#74HA4)
Ministers urged to work with survivor groups on formal apology as many victims are nearing end of their livesThe UK government must urgently issue a formal apology for the state's role in forced adoption as many victims are nearing the end of their lives, a cross-party group of MPs has said.A report from the education select committee said ministers should provide an initial commitment to an apology and begin working with survivor groups as quickly as possible on its wording. Continue reading...
Face-off is over company's refusal to let defense department use its Claude AI model in autonomous weapons systemsA federal judge in California sided with Anthropic in its case against the Department of Defense on Thursday, ordering a temporary pause on the government's punitive measures against the artificial intelligence firm.Judge Rita Lin granted Anthropic's request for a temporary injunction while the northern district court of California hears the company's case. Anthropic argued that the Department of Defense and Donald Trump violated its first amendment rights in declaring the company a supply chain risk and ordering government agencies to cease using its technology. Continue reading...
President says order will address this Emergency Situation' as TSA employees have gone without pay during disputeDonald Trump announced Thursday he will sign an order instructing the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to pay Transportation Security Administration agents immediately.I am going to sign an Order instructing the Secretary of Homeland Security, Markwayne Mullin, to immediately pay our TSA Agents in order to address this Emergency Situation, and to quickly stop the Democrat Chaos at the Airports," Trump wrote on social media. I want to thank our hardworking TSA Agents and also, ICE, for the incredible help they have given us at the Airports." Continue reading...
Regular events at the Tasmanian festival, including the Winter Solstice Nude Swim and the Night Mass party, joined by Australian and international musicians and artists in a program dominated by Latin American art
Petition seeks accountability from Salvadorian authorities over human rights violations at notorious Cecot facilityA group of 18 Venezuelan men whom the US expelled a notorious Salvadorian mega-prison are demanding that Salvadorian authorities be held internationally accountable for violation of human rights - detailing new allegations of torture, sexual assault and medical neglect.A new petition, filed on Thursday before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, alleges that El Salvador violated the human rights of these men, who were expelled to El Salvador's Terrorism Confinement Center (Cecot) last year without charge. Continue reading...
Conservative former cabinet minister says nurse convicted of murdering seven babies has suffered a miscarriage of justiceThe police force that conducted the investigation into the nurse Lucy Letby made egregious" failures and did not follow official guidance or best professional practice, David Davis has said in parliament.Speaking in the final parliamentary debate before the Easter recess, the Conservative former cabinet minister made a series of criticisms of Cheshire police and said Letby has suffered a miscarriage of justice. Davis said Cheshire police failed to appoint appropriate medical and statistics experts, and pursue all possible lines of inquiry into why babies died and collapsed on the failing" neonatal unit of the Countess of Chester hospital in 2015-16. Continue reading...
Keir Starmer responds after Kemi Badenoch spokesperson says she raised eyebrow' in relation to account of theftKeir Starmer has said it is far-fetched" to suggest that the theft of his former chief of staff's mobile phone is somehow connected to a subsequent push for the release of documents relating to Peter Mandelson's appointment as US ambassador.Downing Street has come under pressure to say whether key messages between Morgan McSweeney and the former ambassador were lost after it emerged that the government-issue phone was stolen last year. Continue reading...
Noelia Castillo, 25, a paraplegic, had suffered from psychiatric illness and lived in constant painA Spanish woman who spent months fighting her father for the right to euthanasia after being sexually assaulted and becoming paraplegic has finally ended her life on her own terms by means of an assisted death.Noelia Castillo, 25, had struggled with psychiatric illness since she was a teenager and tried to kill herself in October 2022 after being sexually assaulted. The attempt left her in constant pain and using a wheelchair. Eighteen months later, she used Spain's euthanasia law, which was introduced in 2021, to secure permission to end her life.In Spain, Samaritans can be contacted on freephone 900 525 100. In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on freephone 116 123, or email jo@samaritans.org or jo@samaritans.ie Continue reading...
Announcement comes after IOPC said it was examining force's response to allegations made in 2014 and 2015A police force under investigation over its handling of sexual abuse claims against the self-professed misogynist Andrew Tate has reopened an inquiry into allegations against him.Hertfordshire police said they had made the decision to reinvestigate alleged rape and sexual assault offences in the light of previous failures in 2014 and 2015. Continue reading...
Research suggested resurgence in Christianity, especially among young people, but some respondents found to be fraudulent'A YouGov survey showing a significant rise in church attendance in parts of the UK has been withdrawn after some respondents were found to be fraudulent.The poll was central to a Quiet Revival report, published by the Bible Society last year, which prompted news stories about an apparent resurgence in Christianity, particularly among young people. Continue reading...
The comments were part of a broader address in which he condemned Nato alliesYesterday the Conservative party said that it wanted to ban political parties from distributing campaign literature in a foreign language. Announcing a plan to propose an amendement to the representation of the people bill to make this law, the shadow communities minister Paul Holmes said:Campaigning in a foreign language as the Greens did in Gorton and Denton only fosters greater division. A coherent national culture relies on shared values, and an inclusive electoral process relies on a common tongue.I think it's for political parties to choose how they campaign and communicate with British voters. If they're using British money that is funding their campaigns and they're speaking to people who have the right to vote, then why would you not show those voters the respect of communication?What fuels division is Nick Timothy standing up and singling out Muslim forms of worship for a ban when he's not applying that to forms of worship that other religions are talking about.It just doesn't compute, does it? I worked in Number 10. Briefly, I had a Number 10 phone. There was a paranoia about devices like that falling into other people's hands.And so whether it was the Met Police, whether it was Morgan McSweeney, and what sounds like pretty evasive set of reporting, even when you look at that transcript, or whether it was the Number 10 security team following up something that at the time they could not have been sure had not been taken by a state actor, a phone with all sorts of government secrets potentially in it, that's precisely why people in government have two separate phones.I don't believe McSwindle had his iPhone stolenHonest believe, Matt. It's smacks of the liar Johnson defence of lost all my WhatsApp messages'. We mustn't take the public for fools. And I am afraid this smacks of too convenient by far. I won't do it. I will say what I actually think. And I don't believe it. End of!I believe the report was made. McSwindle didn't mention that he was the chief of staff to the PM. A significant omission of he'd wanted the police to prioritise the offence. Continue reading...
Study into how fertilisation could work in space finds sperm may get disorientated when trying to find an eggSperm in space are likely to get disoriented and lost while struggling to find their way to an egg, a new study has found.When exposed to microgravity in experiments, sperm tumble around like an untethered astronaut, according to Adelaide University researchers. Continue reading...
Remarks come after defense secretary calls for changes to military's chaplain corps, which had been watered down'The defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, prayed during a religious service at the Pentagon that there be overwhelming violence of action against those who deserve no mercy".The Christian worship service, held on Wednesday before military and civilian workers at the Pentagon, was Hegseth's first since the Iran war began, the Associated Press reported. Continue reading...
Laurence Gray charged with attempting to provide material support to terrorist organizationsAn Arizona licensed gun dealer was charged this month with attempting to provide material support to terrorist organizations after federal agents caught him allegedly selling a series of rifles and guns to two Mexican cartels.The federal charges against the American firearms dealer come amid years of pressure by the Mexican government to stop the flow of weapons into the country. Mexico's violent and bloody internal conflict, between drug cartels and the Mexican government, has been largely fueled by American weapons smuggled into the country. Continue reading...
The comments came after the US president lashed out as Nato, saying it didn't help to open the strait of Hormuz when requestedMeanwhile, the US president, Donald Trump, has once again lashed out against Nato allies saying in a social media post that they have done absolutely nothing to help" in Iran campaign.The USA needs nothing from Nato, but never forget' this very important point in time," he warned.NATO NATIONS HAVE DONE ABSOLUTELY NOTHING TO HELP WITH THE LUNATIC NATION, NOW MILITARILY DECIMATED, OF IRAN. THE U.S.A. NEEDS NOTHING FROM NATO, BUT NEVER FORGET" THIS VERY IMPORTANT POINT IN TIME! President DONALD J. TRUMP" Continue reading...
Lawmakers consider latest bill that targets trans people for using the bathroom that matches their gender identityIdaho lawmakers are considering a bill that would make it a crime for transgender people to use the bathroom that matches their gender identity - even inside privately owned businesses.At least 19 states, including Idaho, already have laws barring transgender people from using bathrooms and changing rooms that align with their gender in schools and, in some cases, other public places. The LGBTQ+ advocacy organization Movement Advancement Project's tracking of the laws shows that three other states - Florida, Kansas and Utah - have made it a criminal offense in some circumstances to violate the bathroom laws. Continue reading...
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