37 h. ago Syrian refugee says Home Office ‘breaking my heart’ by refusing dying mother entry to UK

Home Office intervened after initial ruling allowing grandmother with terminal cancer to join family in GlasgowA Syrian refugee says the Home Office has “broken her heart” by trying to bar her mother, who has weeks to live, from coming to the UK to spend her final days with the grandchildren she has never met.Ola Al Hamwi fled Syria with her husband, Mostafa Amonajid, in 2015. They had lost their baby after a bombing and were unable to take Al Hamwi’s mother, Soaad Al Shawa,with them. Continue reading...

Events

41 h. ago The supreme court has carefully ringfenced protections for women. That’s all we wanted | Sonia Sodha

Last week’s ruling clarified the legal safeguards of the Equality Act. However, it was a travesty that the battle needed to be fought at allMiddle-aged women are expected to fade into the background, to be apologetic for their existence, to quietly accept their lot. They’re not supposed to stick up for themselves, to enforce their boundaries, to say no. As a woman, these societal expectations have been drummed into me from day one. But still. The swell of anger and disgust that rose in response to the supreme court judgment last week that made clear women’s rights are not for dismantling – rights already won, that were supposed to be ours all along – has taken my breath away.I was in court last Wednesday to hear Lord Hodge confirm that the Equality Act’s legal protections that were always intended for women are, indeed, reserved for women. He reiterated that trans people continue to have the same robust legal protections against discrimination and harassment as any other protected g...

Events

42 h. ago The Observer view on Equality Act ruling: A dignified compromise that respects the rights of everyone | Editorial

The supreme court judgment gives protections to women at the same level as other groupsThe meaning of “woman” and “female” in the Equality Act has become one of the most contested questions of recent years. Last week the supreme court settled it, in a landmark legal judgment that affirms the rights of women to the same level of legal protection afforded to other groups.The Equality Act protects people against discrimination on the basis of nine protected characteristics, including their sex, race, sexual orientation and gender reassignment. The question at stake was whether “sex” means someone’s biological sex, or their “certificated sex”; in other words, should those who are male but who have a gender recognition certificate (GRC) be treated as a woman under equalities law? Continue reading...

Politics

49 h. ago Indonesian student detained by Ice after US secretly revokes his visa

Aditya Wahyu Harsono, father of infant with special needs, surprised at work despite valid visa through June 2026An Indonesian father of an infant with special needs, who was detained by federal agents at his hospital workplace in Minnesota after his student visa was secretly revoked, will remain in custody after an immigration judge ruled Thursday that his case can proceed.Judge Sarah Mazzie denied a motion to dismiss the case against Aditya Wahyu Harsono on humanitarian grounds, according to his attorney. Harsono, 33, was arrested four days after his visa was revoked without notice. He is scheduled for another hearing on 1 May. Continue reading...

Society

3 d. ago Denied, detained, deported: the people at the heart of Trump’s immigration crackdown

The White House is targeting people seen as opponents of its agenda – here are some of the most high-profile casesDonald Trump retook the White House vowing to stage “the largest deportation operation in American history”. The administration has set about further militarizing the US-Mexico border and targeting asylum seekers and refugees while conducting raids in undocumented communities and spreading fear.Critics are outraged, if not surprised. But few expected the new legal chapter that unfolded next: a multi-pronged crackdown on certain people seen as opponents of the US president’s ideological agenda. This assault has come in the context of wider attacks on higher education, the courts and the constitution. Continue reading...

Politics

3 d. ago Denied, detained, deported: the people ensnared in Trump’s immigration crackdown

The White House is targeting people seen as opponents of its agenda – here are some of the most high-profile casesDonald Trump retook the White House vowing to stage “the largest deportation operation in American history”. The administration has set about further militarizing the US-Mexico border and targeting asylum seekers and refugees while conducting raids in undocumented communities and spreading fear.Critics are outraged, if not surprised. But few expected the new legal chapter that unfolded next: a multi-pronged crackdown on certain people seen as opponents of the US president’s ideological agenda. This assault has come in the context of wider attacks on higher education, the courts and the constitution. Continue reading...

Politics

5 d. ago A look at recent global actions limiting legal recognitions for transgender people

A ruling from the top court in the United Kingdom that says the legal definition of a woman is someone born biologically female is the latest high-profile action globally involving the issue of what legal recognitions transgender people are allowed

Politics

5 d. ago Supreme Court to rule whether transgender people can be defined as women and have access to single

The decision could have far-reaching implications on how sex-based rights apply, including how women-only spaces are allowed to operate.

Events

6 d. ago Justice Department can cut funding for legal guidance for people facing deportation, US judge says

A federal judge has allowed the U.S. Department of Justice to temporarily stop funding legal education programs for people facing deportation or immigration court while a lawsuit brought by the organizations that provide the service moves forward in court

Events

6 d. ago Ed Davey urges China to ‘publish the tapes’ after MP denied entry to Hong Kong

Wera Hobhouse, the Lib Dem MP for Bath, was refused entry to the former British territory while travelling to meet her son and baby grandson.

Politics

6 d. ago Britain's biggest family The Radfords face nightmare start to their US holiday as they're refused entry onto the plane

Sue and Noel Radford , from Morecambe, Lancashire, had booked for their large brood to go abroad to America, flying out together on Sunday from Gatwick Airport. But it didn't go to plan.

Politics

6 d. ago Scottish Labour MP says treatment of MP refused entry to Hong Kong was a 'disgrace'

Wera Hobhouse was turned away by the Chinese authorities

Politics

7 d. ago Mohsen Mahdawi, Palestinian green card holder and Columbia student, detained by Ice

Mahdawi was at a naturalization interview in Vermont when he was taken in move his lawyers say is ‘retaliation’Mohsen Mahdawi, a Palestinian green card holder and student at Columbia University, was apprehended by US immigration authorities in Vermont on Monday, according to his lawyers and a video of the incident.Mahdawi, who was a leader of the pro-Palestinian protests at Columbia last spring, was arrested by Ice on Monday morning in Colchester, Vermont, while he was attending a naturalization interview, his lawyer said in a statement to the Guardian. Continue reading...

Politics

7 d. ago MP refused entry to Hong Kong warns of closer relations with China

Liberal Democrat MP Wera Hobhouse raises concerns about a ‘hidden blacklist’ of MPs barred from entering former British territory

Events

8 d. ago MP has passport confiscated as she is refused entry into Hong Kong to visit newborn grandson

Wera Hobhouse, 65, who has represented Bath for the Liberal Democrats since 2017, was left devastated after her emotional family trip turned into a humiliating airport ordeal.

Politics

8 d. ago MPs demand answers from China as Lib Dem MP on personal trip refused entry into Hong Kong

The former Rochdale councillor was detained, questioned and put on a flight back to the UK

Politics

8 d. ago SARAH VINE: While Harry thinks the world is out to get him, all he'll achieve is second homes for his lawyers

Prince Harry was back in town this week, visiting his favourite people, aka his legal team. I don't understand that man.

Society

8 d. ago Summon Chinese ambassador after MP refused entry to Hong Kong – Davey

Foreign Secretary David Lammy has said he is ‘deeply concerned’ by the refusal to allow Wera Hobhouse to visit her family in the territory.

Politics

8 d. ago Voices: I’m not the only British tourist with a passport horror story

Not only are holidaymakers being turned away at airports and refused entry to certain countries, the price for renewal has gone up again this week, writes Charlotte Cripps. Which begs the question: Why has travelling for Brits become such a passport pandemonium?

Events

8 d. ago David Lammy to confront China after British MP refused entry to meet her new grandson

David Lammy sadi it was 'deeply concerning' that Lib Dem MP Wera Hobhouse had been refused entry to Hong Kong to visit her newborn grandson - a move she said was 'cruel'

Politics