86 m. ago Iran crisis live: UN says ‘cycle of horrific violence’ in Iran must end as official says 2,000 killed in crackdown

UN rights chief says ‘killing of peaceful demonstrators must stop’ as Iranian official tells Reuters around 2,000 have diedTrump says countries doing business with Iran face 25% tariff on US tradePeople in Iran: share your views on the current situationNon-essential French embassy staff have left Iran, two sources with knowledge of the matter told Agence France-Presse. The personnel left on Sunday and Monday, the sources added, without saying how many people had departed. “The protection of our personnel and our citizens is a priority,” a French foreign ministry official told AFP.Commenting on the protests, the UN high commissioner for human rights Volker Türk said:This cycle of horrific violence cannot continue. The Iranian people and their demands for fairness, equality and justice must be heard. Continue reading...

Events

1 hour ago Women are feral for Heated Rivalry. What does that say about men?

The explosive popularity of the gay hockey TV drama reveals women’s desire for sex and romance without violence or hierarchyThe first time gay hockey romance crossed Mary’s radar, she was warned off it. A 64-year-old non-profit executive from Toronto, Mary recalled mentioning the Canadian author Rachel Reid’s Game Changers series to her son, a twentysomething queer writer and fellow hockey-obsessive, a few years ago.“I said: ‘Have you heard of these books?’ and he said: ‘Yeah.’ I said: ‘Should I read these books?’ And he said: ‘No. They’re not for you.’” Continue reading...

Politics

1 hour ago Charlie Hebdo tried to humiliate me. Instead it debased the freedom of speech it symbolises | Rokhaya Diallo

The satirical title targeted in an Islamist attack 10 years ago published a racist, sexist caricature of me that speaks volumes about its valuesThe day before Christmas Eve, just as France readied itself to slip into the holiday slowdown, something abruptly shook me out of any festive torpor. The satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo, known globally and tragically for being the target of an Islamist attack in 2015 published a caricature – of me. And it was appallingly racist. A huge, toothy grin, an enormous mouth, the cartoon depicts me dancing on a stage before an audience of laughing white men, adorned with a banana belt on a largely exposed body. The headline: “The Rokhaya Diallo Show: Mocking secularism around the world.”Stunned by the violence of this grotesque cartoon, I shared it on social media with a brief analysis: “In keeping with slave-era and colonial imagery, Charlie Hebdo once again shows itself incapable of engaging with the ideas of a Black woman without reducing her to...

Politics

2 h. ago Iran crisis live: UN says ‘cycle of horrific violence’ in Iran must end as Germany claims regime is in its ‘final weeks’

Friedrich Merz says government is ‘effectively at the end’ after hundreds of protesters reportedly killed in the ongoing crackdownTrump says countries doing business with Iran face 25% tariff on US tradePeople in Iran: share your views on the current situationNon-essential French embassy staff have left Iran, two sources with knowledge of the matter told Agence France-Presse. The personnel left on Sunday and Monday, the sources added, without saying how many people had departed. “The protection of our personnel and our citizens is a priority,” a French foreign ministry official told AFP.Commenting on the protests, the UN high commissioner for human rights Volker Türk said:This cycle of horrific violence cannot continue. The Iranian people and their demands for fairness, equality and justice must be heard. Continue reading...

Events

3 h. ago Iran latest: Tehran says 2,000 killed in protests as US citizens told to leave now ahead of Trump military decision

The figure is significantly higher than previous estimates and comes amid growing concern over violence against protesters

Events

3 h. ago Iran crisis live: UN says ‘cycle of horrific violence’ in Iran must end as Germany warns regime is in its ‘final weeks’

Friedrich Merz says government is ‘effectively at the end’ after hundreds of protesters reportedly killed in the ongoing crackdownTrump says countries doing business with Iran face 25% tariff on US tradePeople in Iran: share your views on the current situationCommenting on the protests, the UN high commissioner for human rights Volker Türk said:This cycle of horrific violence cannot continue. The Iranian people and their demands for fairness, equality and justice must be heard. Continue reading...

Events

7 h. ago DWP timeline for proposed PIP reforms for new and existing claimants

Changes to PIP eligibility have been put on hold until a comprehensive review of the benefit has been completed.

Politics

9 h. ago Death on the inside: as a prison officer, I saw how the system perpetuates violence

A rise of murders is traumatising inmates and staff, and making life harder for staff. But even in prison, violence isn’t inevitableThere are hotspots for violence in prison. The exercise yard, the showers. There are peak times, too. Mealtimes and association periods are particularly volatile.But first thing in the morning is not when you expect to hear an alarm bell. I certainly didn’t, at 6am in my office on the residential wing of a high-security prison in late 2018. All prisoners were locked up at that time. But overcrowding has long been a problem in UK prisons, and keeping three men in cells designed for one can be a recipe for disaster. Continue reading...

Events

24 h. ago Holiday horror as five decapitated heads found hanging at tourist beach

Gang-related violence has swept across the country in recent years

Society

24 h. ago The Centre, Livingston owners invest £5m on shopping mall's regeneration

Since acquiring The Centre, Livingston less than two years ago, M Core has delivered a comprehensive repositioning of the shopping centre, which is one of Scotland’s largest retail destinations, spanning 1m sq. ft. and attracting 15.4m visitors a year.

Economics

25 h. ago Repression and violence in Iran must end, says Irish premier

‘I urge the authorities in Tehran to uphold the rights of all their citizens,’ Taoiseach Micheal Martin said.

Politics

25 h. ago Trump officials urged to halt violence against journalists amid ICE protests

Journalists call on homeland security officials to reduce law-enforcement confrontations as tensions flareAfter a year in which US journalists faced a dramatic increase in violence from law enforcement, news organizations and advocacy groups have recently tried to better protect reporters through outreach to the Department of Homeland Security.Over the last four months, the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press and a collection of New York news outlets have sent letters to the Department of Homeland Security attempting to open dialogue to reduce confrontations between law enforcement officers and journalists at protests, especially over efforts to deport alleged undocumented immigrants. Continue reading...

Politics

28 h. ago Fawlty Towers stage show slapped with woke trigger warning for 'adult themes and controversial topics' in move that will leave John Cleese spitting feathers

The Fawlty Towers stage show has been slapped with a woke warning for 'adult themes and controversial topics', including the use of bad language and violence.

Events

30 h. ago ‘Big step forward’: Myanmar military faces Rohingya genocide case at UN court

Survivors of violence hope proceedings will bring justice a step closer and set a precedent for future genocide allegations“Finally, I feel like our voices are being heard, and like something is going to happen that is positive for the community,” says Monaira*. She was forced to flee her home in Myanmar in 2017, when the military launched so-called clearance operations across Rohingya villages.During the violence, her brother was taken by military soldiers, shot dead, and his home set on fire. “Children were thrown into the fire in front of my eyes,” says Monaira, who was raped by military personnel. Continue reading...

Events

31 h. ago Five severed human heads found hanging from ropes on busy tourist beach in latest grim display of drug gang violence

FIVE severed human heads have been found on a popular tourist beach in Ecuador. Police discovered the heads hanging from ropes fixed to wooden poles in the latest horror display of gang violence gripping the country. The decapitated heads were found on a beach in Puerto Lopez, in the southwest of Ecuador. Cops said the...

Events

38 h. ago Violence crackdown drives London’s homicide rate to record low

Violence crackdown drives London’s homicide rate to record low  Metropolitan Police

Events

44 h. ago Iran warns US against attack as protest death toll reportedly soars

Tehran issues warning after Donald Trump says all options are on the table amid crackdown on demonstrationsIran warned the US not to attack over protests that have rocked the country, as Donald Trump weighed all options for a response from Washington, with the reported death toll from the demonstrations soaring to the hundreds.More than 500 people have now been killed in the violence surrounding demonstrations, according to the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRNA), including 490 protesters. The group reported that more than 10,600 people were arrested by Iranian authorities. The regime has not supplied its own figures and it was not possible to independently verify them. Continue reading...

Events

45 h. ago Palestinian families flee the few Jordan Valley towns left standing as settler violence increases

The village of Ras Ein el-Auja, historically home to some 700 people across more than 100 families, is experiencing an exodu.

Events

45 h. ago Iran’s regime is facing its gravest existential threat: here’s why

After a disastrous 12-day war with Israel last year and diminished support from its allies, Iran’s leaders have resorted to brutal violence to crush a mass uprising which is only going to get more bloody, writes chief international correspondent Bel Trew

Events

45 h. ago Iran’s regime is facing its gravest existential threat: here’s why – and what happens next

After a disastrous 12-day war with Israel last year and diminished support from its allies, Iran’s leaders have resorted to brutal violence to crush a mass uprising that is only going to get more bloody, writes chief international correspondent Bel Trew

Events