7 h. ago Mahmood ready to ‘robustly defend’ Begum citizenship decision to European judges

The European Court of Human Rights has demanded answers from Britain over the decision.

Events

11 h. ago Palestinians watch as Israeli bulldozers claw down their West Bank homes

Palestinians in the Israeli-occupied West Bank watched as Israeli military bulldozers pulled down their homes as part of Israel’s nearly year-long incursion into northern refugee camps

Politics

13 h. ago European human rights court questions UK decision to strip Shamima Begum of citizenship

Begum’s lawyers argue she was child trafficking victim when she travelled to live under IS in Syria in 2015The European court of human rights has questioned the UK government over its 2019 decision to remove Shamima Begum’s British citizenship.Lawyers in Europe have asked how Begum’s treatment complies with the UK’s responsibilities to victims of trafficking. Continue reading...

Events

14 h. ago Top European court demands answers from UK over stripping of Shamima Begum’s citizenship

European Court of Human Rights has asked the Home Office about the decision, after she travelled to join Islamic State as a teenager

Events

15 h. ago European court presses UK over revoking Shamima Begum’s citizenship

The European Court of Human Rights has demanded answers in relation to state responsibilities for victims of trafficking.

Events

20 h. ago Shamima Begum given renewed hope of returning to Britain as European judges challenge government on decision to strip ISIS bride of citizenship

The European Court of Human Rights has formally asked the Home Officewhether it broke human rights and anti-trafficking laws - which is Shamima Begum's main legal argument.

Events

23 h. ago ‘Gender recognition certificates still important despite Supreme Court ruling’

A Supreme Court ruled that the terms ‘woman’ and ‘sex’ in the 2010 Equality Act ‘refer to a biological woman and biological sex’.

Events

30 h. ago Judge me on what I do, says new EHRC chair after transgender groups’ criticism

Mary-Ann Stephenson says she must build relationship with LGBTQ+ sector amid debate over single-sex spacesThe new chair of the Equality and Human Rights Commission has asked campaigners who raised doubts about her appointment to “judge me on what I do”.In one of her first media interviews since her appointment at the start of December, Dr Mary-Ann Stephenson pledged to “uphold the rights of everybody across all protected characteristics”, after the UK government overruled the objections of parliament’s women and equalities committee about her suitability for the job. Continue reading...

Events

30 h. ago ISIS bride Shamima Begum has bid to return to UK revived with help of European human rights judges

IS bride Shamima Begum has had her bid to return to the UK revived — with the help of Euro judges. The European Court of Human Rights has formally challenged Britain’s decision to strip her of her citizenship in 2019. Begum, from Bethnal Green, East London, ran off to Syria to join IS aged 15...

Events

54 h. ago Boost from joining euro would have covered cost of NHS, adviser told Blair

Push to join the European single currency stoked tension between Labour PM and chancellor in 2003

Politics

4 d. ago ‘It brings you closer to the natural world’: the rise of the Merlin birdsong identifying app

Merlin has been trained to identify the songs of more than 1,300 bird species around the worldWhen Natasha Walter first became curious about the birds around her, she recorded their songs on her phone and arduously tried to match each song with online recordings. After a friend recommended Merlin Bird ID, a free app, she tried it in her London garden and was delighted to discover the birds she assumed were female blackbirds – “this is how bad a birder I was” – were actually song thrushes and mistle thrushes.“I’m obsessed with Merlin – it’s wonderful and it’s been a joy to me,” says Walter, a writer and human rights activist. “This is what AI and machine-learning have been invented for. It’s the one good thing!” Continue reading...

Politics

4 d. ago GLIMPSES: Prepping polling machines ahead of Myanmar's weekend election

Before the polls comes the preparation

Politics

4 d. ago Zelenskyy to meet European leaders and Trump for Ukraine peace talks amid fresh strikes on Kyiv

Attack on Kyiv injures five, says mayor, amid flurry of weekend diplomacy that will see Ukrainian president meet Trump in FloridaEuropean leaders are to take part in a call with Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Donald Trump on Saturday as part of a growing push for a peace deal that will see the Ukrainian president head to Florida on Sunday.The European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, is to join a call on Saturday, a commission spokesperson told Reuters, ahead of the Ukrainian president’s trip to Florida for a Sunday meeting with Trump that Zelenskyy said would focus on some of the most sensitive parts of the peace talks. Key sticking points include Ukrainian security guarantees and reconstruction, plus territorial discussions regarding the Donbas region and the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. Continue reading...

Politics

5 d. ago UN experts raise ‘grave concern’ over treatment of Palestine Action

Special rapporteurs say handling of prisoners raises questions over UK’s obligations under human rights lawsUN experts have expressed “grave concern” for the wellbeing of Palestine Action-affiliated hunger strikers and warned their treatment raises questions about the UK’s compliance with international human rights laws.Eight prisoners have been on hunger strike while awaiting trial for alleged offences relating to Palestine Action before the group was banned under terrorism legislation. Qesser Zuhrah, 20, and Amu Gib, 30, who are being held at HMP Bronzefield in Surrey, were on hunger strike from 2 November to 23 December. Heba Muraisi, 31, who is at HMP New Hall, joined the pair on 3 November. The group also includes Teuta Hoxha, 29, Kamran Ahmed, 28, and Lewie Chiaramello, 22, who is refusing food every other day because he has diabetes. Continue reading...

Politics

5 d. ago Venezuela says it released 99 people detained for protesting 2024 presidential election

Government said the move was due to its ‘unrestricted respect for human rights’ in the face of US aggressionVenezuela has said it has carried out its largest release of political prisoners this year, claiming to have freed 99 people detained for taking part in protests after the 2024 election, widely believed to have been stolen by the dictator Nicolás Maduro, as it comes under increasing military pressure from the US.Civil society organisations have treated the news with caution and stressed that the releases were insufficient, noting that at least 900 political prisoners remain in the country. Continue reading...

Politics

5 d. ago Venezuela says it released 99 people detained for 2024 election protests

Government said the move was due to its ‘unrestricted respect for human rights’ in the face of US aggressionVenezuela has said it has carried out its largest release of political prisoners this year, claiming to have freed 99 people detained for taking part in protests after the 2024 election, widely believed to have been stolen by the dictator Nicolás Maduro, as it comes under increasing military pressure from the US.Civil society organisations have treated the news with caution and stressed that the releases were insufficient, noting that at least 900 political prisoners remain in the country. Continue reading...

Politics

6 d. ago Myanmar will hold its first general election in 5 years as criticism of the military rule mounts

Myanmar will hold the first phase of a general election on Sunday, its first vote in five years and an election framed by the ruling military as a return to multi-party democracy

Events

9 d. ago US drops plan to deport Chinese national who exposed Xinjiang abuses, rights activists say

The Department of Homeland Security has dropped its plan to deport a Chinese national who entered the country illegally after his plight raised public concerns that the man, if deported, would be punished by Beijing for helping expose human rights abuses in China’s Xinjiang region

Events

9 d. ago Ecuador court sentences 11 air force troops over disappearance of four boys

Long sentences in case of Afro-Ecuadorian ‘Guayaquil Four’ focuses attention on president’s crackdown on crimeA court in Ecuador has sentenced 11 air force personnel to decades in prison over the forced disappearance” of four Afro-Ecuadorian boys aged between 11 and 15 during security operations in the country’s largest city last year.The case of the “Guayaquil Four” is widely seen as the starkest example of human rights abuses under the iron-fist security policy pursued by the rightwing president, Daniel Noboa, who placed the armed forces at the centre of the fight against drug trafficking. Continue reading...

Events

9 d. ago Lib Dems say delaying local elections could breach voters' human rights ... but can't promise councils they control won't do it

The party has written to Mary-Ann Stephenson, the chairwoman of the Equality and Human Rights Commission, arguing that Labour's much criticised move is unlawful.

Politics