59 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

3 d. ago Shilajit: male influencers claim it boosts testosterone and libido, but what does the science say? | Antiviral

The tar-like mineral substance has long been used in Ayurvedic medicine, but the evidence of its efficacy is limited – and some products may contain harmful heavy metalsGender biases embedded in the way social media algorithms serve us content are well documented: algorithms have been found to amplify misogynistic content and unduly objectify women’s bodies, and are often cited as a driver of political polarisation between young men and women.If you are online and of the male persuasion, you are more likely than me to have encountered videos extolling the supposed masculine benefits of substances such as shilajit and ashwagandha. Interest in shilajit has taken off in recent years, in no small part thanks to square-jawed men who pose with jars of the stuff in TikToks and Instagram posts, looking like perfect caricatures of virility with their fastidiously groomed facial hair and inexplicable shirtlessness. Continue reading...

Politics

6 d. ago Misogynistic content driving UK boys to hunt vulnerable girls on suicide forums

Exclusive: Police set up taskforce to tackle online violence as young men seek victims on eating disorder forumsYoung men and boys fuelled by “strongly misogynistic” online material are hunting for vulnerable women and girls to exploit on websites such as eating disorder and suicide forums, senior officers have said.The threat from young males wanting to carry out serious harm is so serious that counter-terrorism officers are joining the National Crime Agency (NCA) in the hunt for them, fearing they could go on to attack or kill. Continue reading...

Events

1 week ago Meta and Pinterest understood to have made donations to Molly Russell charity

The 14-year-old girl took her life in 2017 after viewing harmful material about suicide on social media platforms.

Politics

2 w. ago Driver using phone accelerated through red light, killing boy, 14

Christopher Arnett's parents said the way he died 'will haunt us until our dying breaths'

Events

2 w. ago Adolescence: what teen boys really think of girls, influencers and porn – podcast

From misogynist content creators such as Andrew Tate to the ubiquity of pornography, boys face a barrage of toxic influences. We talk to sixth-formers about the pressures and joys they experienceThe release of the hit Netflix drama Adolescence this month has unleashed a wave of panic around teenage boys. Keir Starmer said the UK “may have a problem with boys and young men”, while parents began worried conversations about their children’s online lives. But how true to life is it?Michael Conroy, who has been going into schools to train teachers and professionals about boys’ personal development for years, says he has seen a shift in what he hears about. “Just 10 years ago, we didn’t have young men speaking in very sexualised ways to female teachers, quite a few in the same school.” He sees the ubiquity of pornography as a huge factor, with boys as young as 11 using it obsessively. “I’m getting invited to work with primary schools now.” The knock-on effect, he says, is an unrealistic a...

Politics

2 w. ago Algorithms 'pushing boys as young as 12 towards misogynistic incel content' warns Scots professor

Dr David Smith of Robert Gordon University said internet searches as innocuous as looking for dating advice were leading Scots youngsters down dark rabbit holes.

Events

2 w. ago Mom and two daughters killed and boy, 4, critically injured after driver with suspended license crashes onto sidewalk

The woman’s four-year-old son was also struck during the incident and was taken to hospital in critical condition

Events

3 w. ago Shocking moment motorist drives off after hitting a schoolboy crossing the road

Police have released confronting vision of a hit-and-run in which a nine-year-old boy suffered injuries in the hopes of catching the driver.

Events

3 w. ago Police search for boy, 12, accused of using BMW to drive off with holiday caravan

The youngster, who is a member of the travelling community, was due to appear before magistrates court last week

Events

3 w. ago ALEXANDRA SHULMAN'S NOTEBOOK: Why boys are losing in a new battle of the sexes

ALEXANDRA SHULMAN: Adolescence, the extraordinary four-part drama on Netflix , is a frighteningly believable story of a teenage boy driven to extreme violence.

Events

4 w. ago Toxic ‘bro’ culture driving Gen Z women from social media, survey suggests

More than a third of young people polled by Amnesty International UK said misogynistic content on social media has affected their mental health.

Events