17 h. ago C of E warned over influence of ‘extreme views’ after cuts to anti

Bishop of Kirkstall says church has people ‘deeply resistant to any funding for racial justice’ after budget halvedThe Church of England is susceptible to the influence of “extreme views from abroad and at home”, a bishop has warned after church officials made a “brutal” cut in funding to tackle racism.There were people in the C of E who were “deeply resistant to any funding for racial justice”, said Arun Arora, the bishop of Kirkstall and joint leader of the church’s racial justice work. Continue reading...

Events

6 d. ago Ministers accused of being ‘asleep at the wheel’ over UK’s soft power around the world

Government’s own advisers warn of funding crisis for BBC World Service, British Council and universitiesAs US retreats, is there a ‘soft power’ opportunity for UK?Ministers have been accused of being “asleep at the wheel” over threats to the UK’s soft power around the world, as some of their own advisers warned a funding crisis is undermining key institutions promoting British influence.Members of the government’s new soft power council, set up by ministers earlier this year, warned the BBC World Service, the British Council and universities – regarded as the bodies at the forefront of the UK’s soft power efforts – all face major financial pressures. Continue reading...

Politics

8 d. ago Voices: Why Trump’s travel ban won’t work – and doesn’t deserve to

The US president’s crackdown on 19 countries with ‘hostile attitudes’ is nothing more than an exercise in extremist views, writes Sean O’Grady – and it won’t achieve a thing

Politics

1 week ago Doctor issues warning over spicy food after influencer dies of stomach cancer

The warning followed the death of Chinese content creator Qianqian, 25, who listed her love of chili as a potential reason for her developing the deadly cancer.

Events

1 week ago Doctor issues spicy food warning as influencer, 25, dies of stomach cancer

Influencer Qianquian, 25, from China, was diagnosed with stomach cancer last year - her diagnosis has led to a prompt warning about eating spicy foods on a regular basis

Events

1 week ago How to fight back against Trump? Look to poor people’s movements | Rev Dr Liz Theoharis and Noam Sandweiss

Anti-poverty activism has provided a model for transformational power, based on four strategic principlesFor tens of millions of people, Donald Trump’s “big, beautiful bill” is a grotesque nightmare. The proposed legislative cuts, including historic attacks on Medicaid and Snap, come at a time when 60% of Americans already cannot make ends meet. As justification, Maga Republicans are once again invoking the shibboleth of work requirements to demean and discredit the poor, even as they funnel billions of dollars into the war economy and lavish the wealthy with tax cuts.As anti-poverty organizers, we’ve often used the slogan: “They say cut back, we say fight back.” It’s a catchy turn of phrase, but it reveals that for too long we’ve been on the back foot. In the world’s richest country, in which mass poverty exists beside unprecedented plenty, we’re tired of just fending off the worst attacks. Too much ground is lost when our biggest wins are simply not losing past gains. Amid Trump’s...

Politics

3 w. ago ‘A rabbit hole of paranoia’: what an IVF clinic bombing tells us about young men and online extremism

After an attack in Palm Springs, experts say the internet is only helping lone wolves find dangerous fringe theoriesExperts say an online ecosystem that allows lone actors to latch on to fringe viewpoints is bolstering violent extremism in the US, following an attack over the weekend on a fertility clinic in Palm Springs, California.Investigators are combing through the writings of a 25-year-old man killed in a large explosion outside the American Reproductive Centers, an IVF facility, that was heavily damaged in what they’ve described as an “intentional act of terrorism”. The suspect in the bombing, Guy Edward Bartkus, left behind writings that appear to hold fringe theories of “antinatalism” and nihilism, ideologies that oppose procreation and have a general sense of the meaninglessness of life. Continue reading...

Events