2 h. ago Supreme Court ruling on woman definition ‘could mean UK is not meeting human rights obligations’, lawyer warns

The Supreme Court's decision to rule that woman and sex in the 2010 Equality Act “refer to a biological woman and biological sex” possibly showed that the UK is not meeting its obligations under the European Convention on Human Rights, a lawyer has warned.

Events

4 h. ago Voices: Trans women like me are now effectively outlawed from public life – what are you so scared of?

Today is a dark day for human rights, marking the point at which the treatment of trans people and trans women, in particular, moved from one of harassment and abuse to outright state-sponsored persecution, writes Diana Thomas

Politics

5 h. ago Scottish Government ‘keen’ to work with UK on gender reforms, says Robison

The Scottish Finance Secretary said there are no plans to bring forward new, revised gender reforms at the Scottish Parliament.

Politics

8 h. ago Irish rape victim Hazel Behan takes case to European Court of Human Rights

She alleges Portuguese authorities failed to properly investigate the 2024 attack on her.

Events

16 h. ago ‘We feel like we’re back in Senegal’: the Sufis helping migrants in the Canaries

Part-school, part-social network, a Mouride circle on the Spanish island is helping teenage asylum seekers prepare for adulthood and navigate a challenging welfare system• Photographs by Diana TakacsovaIn a three-storey building in a residential neighbourhood in Gran Canaria, about an hour’s drive from the airport, more than a dozen teenage Senegalese boys in colourful, flowing robes sit in a circle, soulfully chanting supplications. Behind them, girls sit with their heads covered, praying. On the top-floor terrace a feast of steaming rice, meat and vegetable gravy is being prepared.It is a bright Sunday afternoon in February. The young people are mostly asylum seekers from Senegal, who live in detention centres where conditions can be brutal, according to Spanish human rights groups. Continue reading...

Events

16 h. ago The Stolen Girl review – you will forget this enjoyably preposterous thriller within five seconds of finishing it

Is this fast paced drama – featuring Holliday Grainger and Ambika Mod - about a kidnapped child enjoyably daft or just nonsense? Luckily, it has enough chutzpah and style to mean you don't ask too many questionsI do love a premise that is sheer simplicity, yet yields potentially infinite terror. I’m in, I say! Have at it! So I settled in for a right good terrify, courtesy of The Stolen Girl (adapted by Catherine Moulton from the 2020 thriller Playdate by Alex Dahl). It begins with a mother letting her child go for a sleepover with a new girl at her school and arriving to pick her up the next day to find only a cleaning lady there – who explains that this is just a holiday let and that the last family there have gone. “Dum-dum-daaaaah,” I hope you are saying, otherwise you are in entirely the wrong mood for this stuff.Denise Gough stars as Elisa, mother of the missing girl, Lucia (Beatrice Cohen). Then there’s Jim Sturgess as Lucia’s father, Fred, and Holliday Grainger as Rebecca, mo...

Politics

16 h. ago Irregular migrant crossings into Europe fall 30% in first quarter of 2025

Human rights groups say drop is partly due to EU policies that turn blind eye to rights abuses in countries such as Libya and TunisiaIrregular crossings at Europe’s borders have fallen by 30% in the first quarter of the year compared with the same period last year, in a decrease that rights groups partly attributed to EU policies that have emphasised deterrence while seemingly turning a blind eye to the risk of rights abuses.The decline was seen across all the major migratory routes into Europe, the EU’s border agency Frontex said in a statement, amounting to nearly 33,600 fewer arrivals in the first three months of the year. Continue reading...

Events

27 h. ago Tragic final moments of father, 35, stabbed to death over drug

Gregory Marshall, 35, was found collapsed and died in an alleyway in York after he was stabbed in the neck and chest by Ian James Franklin, who has been jailed for life.

Events

28 h. ago Attorney general dodges question on Trump proposal to jail US citizens in El Salvador

Trump proposed that ‘homegrown criminals’ should be deported, an idea that experts say is clearly illegalThe US attorney general declined on Tuesday to say whether Donald Trump’s suggestion of removing US citizens to El Salvador was legal, in alarming remarks about what experts think is an obviously illegal idea.Trump proposed the idea on Monday in the Oval Office during a visit with El Salvador’s president, Nayib Bukele, who has been accepting people deported from the US and imprisoning them in a gigantic facility notorious for human rights abuses. Continue reading...

Politics

52 h. ago London man accused of drunkenly shooting several times before passing out

London man accused of drunkenly shooting several times before passing out  FOX 56 News

Events

52 h. ago Hungary adopts constitutional amendment to ban LGBTQ+ gatherings

The controversial amendment also recognises only two sexes, providing a basis for denying other gender identitiesEurope live – latest updatesHungarian lawmakers have voted through a controversial constitutional amendment that campaigners described as a “significant escalation” in the government’s efforts to crack down on dissent and chip away at human rights.Backed by the prime minister, Viktor Orbán, and his rightwing populist party, Fidesz, the amendment passed on Monday along party lines, with 140 votes for and 21 against. Continue reading...

Politics

52 h. ago Hungary passes constitutional amendment to ban LGBTQ+ gatherings

Amendment also enshrines recognition of only two sexes, providing basis for denying gender identitiesHungarian lawmakers have voted through a controversial constitutional amendment that campaigners described as a “significant escalation” in the government’s efforts to crack down on dissent and chip away at human rights.Backed by the prime minister, Viktor Orbán, and his rightwing populist party, Fidesz, the amendment passed on Monday along party lines, with 140 votes for and 21 against. Continue reading...

Politics

53 h. ago Protests in Hungary over government’s plan for constitutional amendment – Europe live

Rights campaigners say amendment, which will ban LGBTQ+ gatherings, is ‘significant escalation’ in efforts to chip away at human rightsThe Russian defence ministry also responded to the criticism for its attack on Sumy, claiming it had targeted a meeting of Ukrainian commanding officers, Russian news agencies reported on Monday.We are now hearing from the Kremlin, with Russia insisting that it “strikes only military or military-related targets,” despite the widespread condemnation for the attack on civilians in Sumy (9:18). Continue reading...

Politics

56 h. ago Calls to ban surrogacy in Scotland over 'ethical, legal and human rights' concerns

MSP Ash Regan is lodging a motion in Holyrood to debate the banning of surrogacy.

Politics

56 h. ago Killer who stabbed neighbour 'murdered' by fellow prisoner at high security jail

A 44-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of the murder of a convicted killer, who was serving a life sentence after stabbing his elderly female neighbour to death in 2006.

Events

56 h. ago Convicted killer John Mansfield 'murdered' by fellow prisoner at high security jail

A 44-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of the murder of John Mansfield, who was serving a life sentence for murder at HMP Whitemoor after stabbing his neighbour to death in 2006

Events

63 h. ago ‘I became like a slave’: why 43 women are suing the secretive Opus Dei Catholic group in Argentina

Lured by promises of an education but allegedly trapped in servitude and self-mortification, the former members are suing the ultra-conservative organisation over their ‘exploitation and abuse’The first item Opus Dei gave 12-year-old Andrea Martínez was a pink dress. The second was a schedule that detailed every task for every minute of her day. Then, when she was 16, she was given a cilice – a spiked metal chain to wear around her thigh – and a whip.In the late 1980s, Opus Dei, a secretive and ultra-conservative Catholic organisation, promised Martínez an escape from a life of poverty in rural Argentina. By attending one of their schools, they said, she would receive an education and opportunities. Continue reading...

Politics

64 h. ago Hungary poised to adopt constitutional amendment to ban LGBTQ+ gatherings

The controversial amendment also recognises only two sexes, providing a basis for denying other gender identities Hungarian lawmakers are expected to vote in a controversial constitutional amendment on Monday that rights campaigners have described as a “significant escalation” in the government’s efforts to crackdown on dissent and chip away at human rights.Backed by the prime minister, Viktor Orbán, and his rightwing populist party, Fidesz, the amendment seeks to codify the government’s recent ban on Pride events, paving the way for authorities to use facial recognition software to identify attenders and potentially fine them. Continue reading...

Politics

3 d. ago Rightwing populists will keep winning until we grasp this truth about human nature | George Monbiot

Economic inequality breeds resentment and a desire to get even. That’s what fuels support for even incompetent regimes“He’s really gone and done it this time. Now everyone can see what a disaster he is.” How many times have we heard this about Donald Trump? And how many times has it been proved wrong? Well, maybe this time he really has overstepped. After all, his clowning around with tariffs, sparking trade wars, then suddenly reversing his position, could provoke a global recession, perhaps even a depression. Surely his supporters will disown him? But I’m not banking on it, and this is why.Already, Trump has waged war on everything that builds prosperity and wellbeing: democracy, healthy ecosystems, education, healthcare, science, the arts. Yet, amid the wreckage, and despite some slippage, his approval ratings still hold between 43 and 48%: far higher than those of many other leaders. Why? I believe part of the answer lies in a fundamental aspect of our humanity: the urge to dest...

Politics

3 d. ago Journalist Ahmed Alnaouq: ‘It’s our duty to make Gaza’s stories immortal’

The Gaza-born, UK-based journalist, who has lost more than 20 family members in Israeli airstrikes, has taken pieces from an online platform he co-created for young Palestinians and collated them in a new book‘Gaza, it breaks my heart to see you in this state’: three stories from young Palestinian writersOn 22 October 2023, an Israeli airstrike hit Ahmed Alnaouq’s home in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza, killing 21 members of his family, including his 75-year-old father, two brothers, three sisters and all of their children.At the time, Alnaouq was living in London, where he works as a journalist and human rights activist. “It crushed me,” he says of the attack. Unable to return home, he could only watch helplessly from afar and grieve alone. Later, he tells me that it’s not anger or hate that consumes him now, but survivor’s guilt. “All the time I think: ‘Why? Why am I alive? Why wasn’t I killed with my family?’” Continue reading...

Politics