11 h. ago In reverse of a longtime stance, US says UN Palestinian refugee agency isn't immune from lawsuits

The Trump administration has decided that the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees is not immune from being sued, reversing the U.S. government’s longstanding position that the organization was protected from civil liability

Events

15 h. ago Why does RFK Jr want to put my family on an ‘autism registry’? | Deborah Bloom

I’m scared about the health secretary’s vow to find the cause behind the so-called ‘autism epidemic’I always knew my parents operated on a different wavelength than most.For one, they are both exceptionally smart. My mother is a former mathematician, who studied the various levels of infinity as part of her master’s thesis. My father is a computer programmer who, at 17 years old, was one of the youngest people to ever be able to communicate with ships in morse code. They met at a party for members of Mensa, a club for the highly intelligent. Continue reading...

Politics

35 h. ago RFK Jr. recounts heroin addiction and spiritual awakening, urges focus on prevention and community

U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F

Politics

38 h. ago Wes Streeting wants 'private spaces for trans people to be cared for in NHS hospitals' after Supreme Court ruling on women caused 'palpable anxiety'

The health secretary said transgender people could be treated in private rooms and admitted wishing he had listened earlier to the debate around single-sex spaces.

Events

38 h. ago Transgender people could be treated in private NHS rooms, Wes Streeting says

The Health Secretary said there is ‘palpable anxiety’ among trans people about their rights and dignity.

Politics

42 h. ago Autistic people and experts voice alarm at RFK’s ‘terrible’ approach to condition

Health secretary is planning wide-ranging monitoring of autistic people’s health record and cuts to disability servicesAutism experts and autistic people are pushing back on Robert F Kennedy’s “terrible” approach to autism as the health secretary plans more expansive monitoring of autistic people’s health records and proposes cuts to disability services.A huge study on autism proposed by Kennedy will draw upon private medical records from federal and commercial databases, and a new health registry will track autistic Americans, CBS News reported on Monday. Continue reading...

Events

54 h. ago PM fast tracks £300m for offshore wind in push for clean energy investment

The announcement comes as the UK Government and International Energy Agency hosts a summit on the future of energy security.

Economics

56 h. ago US fast food under threat as Trump's health secretary RFK Jr launches war on sugar

US President Donald Trump's health secretary RFK Jr has launched a war on sugar, saying Americans are killing themselves with their diets and wants radical action taken

Society

67 h. ago Sarah, Duchess of York calls for national cancer plan to include teenagers

The late Queen’s former daughter-in-law has signed an open letter to Health Secretary Wes Streeting.

Politics

68 h. ago South of Scotland Enterprise officials claim agency has created and supported 10,000 jobs

The enterprise agency was officially launched in April 2020, with grants of more than £50million provided to businesses in that time.

Politics

3 d. ago RFK Jr’s autism study collecting Americans’ private medical records

The National Institutes of Health claims it is fulfilling RFK’s promise to find and root out cause of autism by SeptemberThe National Institutes of Health (NIH) is collecting the private medical records of many Americans from several different federal and commercial databases to give to researchers for US health secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr’s new autism study.With this information being included in the database, they’re also reportedly crafting a new registry to track those with autism, per CBS News. Continue reading...

Politics

3 d. ago People with autism and their families: share your views on Robert F Kennedy Jr’s comments

We’d like to hear from people with autism, and their families, on the impact of RFK’s commentsIn his first press conference, Robert F Kennedy Jr, the US health secretary, said that the recent rise in autism diagnoses was evidence of an “epidemic” caused by an “environmental toxin”.Health experts and autism advocates have repeatedly said the rise in diagnoses is related to better recognition of the condition, changing diagnostic criteria and better access to screening. Continue reading...

Politics

3 d. ago Coroner urges government to act after man drowns at open water swimming event

Joel Ineson, 55, suffered a cardiac episode before drowning at a supervised session in a Sunderland park.

Politics

4 d. ago DOGE gets permission to access sensitive Justice Department immigration data

DOGE reportedly using agency data to construct master system to track and surveil immigrants

Events

4 d. ago FACT FOCUS: Examining RFK Jr.'s claims about measles, autism and diet as head of HHS

Health Secretary Robert F

Events

4 d. ago The promise of diagnosis: how it can open a door to true self

Too often, a diagnosis is seen as the end of the story, rather than the beginning. But it has the potential to launch us on a curious and profound journey of discoveryThere is a national conversation – or perhaps more a national talking at each other – taking place at the moment, about an “overdiagnosis” of mental health conditions. The health secretary, Wes Streeting, is concerned too many people are being “written off” in this way. I spend quite a lot of time thinking about this subject, alone, with colleagues, with patients as a therapist, and as a patient in therapy myself. I think our response is crucial for building not just a better life but a better society.I think that diagnosis can be a vital part of mental health treatment. It is not something I do as a psychotherapist; I respect my psychiatrist colleagues who do it for their skill, knowledge, experience and compassion. When the system works, a diagnosis can bring relief, it can open the door to the best therapy and medic...

Politics

5 d. ago Revealed: The British surrogacy firm that pays 'exploited' women in Mexico just £12,000 to carry babies to term

Britons looking for a child are turning to Mexico for cut-price surrogate babies - with one UK agency accused of cashing in by setting up a branch in the country.

Economics

5 d. ago RFK's claims about people with autism offer a sinister insight into how Trumpism sees us all | John Harris

The war on science being waged by the US health secretary and the White House is bound to spread. We must be on our guardIn the recent past, Robert F Kennedy Jr has said that Donald Trump is “a terrible human being” and “probably a sociopath”. But in the US’s new age of irrationalism and chaos, these two men are now of one voice, pursuing a strand of Trumpist politics that sometimes feels strangely overlooked. With Trump once again in the White House and Kennedy ensconced as his health and human services secretary, what they are jointly leading is becoming clearer by the day: a war on science and knowledge that aims to replace them with the modern superstitions of conspiracy theory.Nearly 2,000 members of the US’s National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine have warned of “slashing funding for scientific agencies, terminating grants to scientists, defunding their laboratories, and hampering international scientific collaboration”. Even work on cancer is now under threa...

Politics

5 d. ago RFK’s statements prove autistic people and their families everywhere should fear Trump and his allies | John Harris

The idea that autism is some aberration that can be cured is typical of a movement that celebrates simplistic thinking and loathes human differenceIn the recent past, Robert F Kennedy Jr has said that Donald Trump is “a terrible human being” and “probably a sociopath”. But in the US’s new age of irrationalism and chaos, these two men are now of one voice, pursuing a strand of Trumpist politics that sometimes feels strangely overlooked. With Trump once again in the White House and Kennedy ensconced as his health and human services secretary, what they are jointly leading is becoming clearer by the day: a war on science and knowledge that aims to replace them with the modern superstitions of conspiracy theory.Nearly 2,000 members of the US’s National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine have warned of “slashing funding for scientific agencies, terminating grants to scientists, defunding their laboratories, and hampering international scientific collaboration”. Even work on...

Politics

5 d. ago Matt Hancock's TV firm only has £1 in its accounts one year after he quit being an MP for new career

The former health secretary's new venture remains a dormant company, despite it being set up in January 2023, accounts show.

Economics