Pentagon restores webpage for Black Medal of Honor winner but defends DEI purge

Error message previously shown on Maj Gen Rogers’s site as officials argue that it’s wrong to call diversity a strength

The US defense department webpage celebrating a Black Medal of Honor recipient that was removed and had the letters “DEI” added to the site’s address has been restored – and the letters scrubbed – after an outcry. But defense department officials have continued to argue publicly that it is wrong to say that diversity is a strength, and that it’s essential to dismantle all “diversity, equity and inclusion” efforts.

On Saturday, the Guardian reported that US army Maj Gen Charles Calvin Rogers’s Medal of Honor webpage led to a “404” error message – and that the URL had been changed, with the word “medal” changed to “deimedal”.

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‘Drake lost a rap battle’: Universal files motion to dismiss rapper’s ‘misguided’ lawsuit

Drake’s attorneys accuse Universal of being ‘a greedy company’ that is ‘finally being held responsible for profiting from dangerous misinformation’.

Universal Music Group have moved to dismiss Drake’s defamation suit, characterising it as “a misguided attempt” by the Canadian rapper to “salve his wounds” after he “lost a rap battle” with rival Kendrick Lamar.

In the motion, filed on Monday in the US district court for the southern district of New York, Universal Music Group (UMG), which represents both artists, claimed that Drake “lost a rap battle that he provoked and in which he willingly participated.

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Ex-boyfriend rehearsed murder of Sydney school coach Lilie James with ‘dry runs’, inquest hears

Dutch national Paul Thijssen killed St Andrew’s Cathedral school water polo coach in October 2023 before killing himself in Sydney’s eastern suburbs

Paul Thijssen stalked his ex-girlfriend Lilie James and meticulously rehearsed how he would attack the 21-year-old water polo coach in a school bathroom before murdering her, a coronial inquest into their deaths has heard.

James’s body was found with serious head injuries in a gymnasium bathroom at St Andrew’s Cathedral school, where she worked, in October 2023.

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‘Heartbreaking’: poisoning suspected after mass deaths of more than 150 little corellas in Newcastle

Hunter Wildlife Rescue started receiving numerous reports of sick and dead birds on Monday, centred on the suburbs Hamilton and Carrington

New South Wales authorities are investigating the possible poisoning and mass deaths of more than 150 little corellas in Newcastle.

Kate Randolph, the acting president of Hunter Wildlife Rescue, described the incident as “extremely confronting” and said volunteers and local vets were doing everything they could to rescue surviving, severely sick birds.

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Trump says Iran will suffer ‘dire’ consequences for any more Houthi attacks – ABC News

  1. Trump says Iran will suffer 'dire' consequences for any more Houthi attacks  ABC News
  2. Trump warns Iran it will face ‘consequences’ of further attacks from Yemen’s Houthi rebels  The Associated Press
  3. Biden admin criticized for emboldening Iran-backed Houthis as Trump ramps up military strikes  Fox News
  4. 3/16: Face the Nation  CBS News
  5. US strikes 'took out' multiple Houthi leaders: National security adviser Mike Waltz  ABC News
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King still planning Vatican visit despite Pope’s illness – BBC.com

  1. King still planning Vatican visit despite Pope's illness  BBC.com
  2. King Charles III plans to meet Pope Francis during Vatican state visit in April  The Associated Press
  3. King’s visit to Pope will be ‘healing’ moment for Anglicans and Catholics  The Telegraph
  4. King Charles praying that visit to see Pope will go ahead  Reuters
  5. Britain’s King Charles and Queen Camilla to visit Pope Francis next month  CNN
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Deaths reported in Gaza as Israeli military conducts ‘extensive strikes’ despite ceasefire

Benjamin Netanyahu’s office blames Hamas’s refusal to release hostages for IDF strikes that are reported to have killed at least 30 people

Israeli airstrikes in Gaza have killed at least 200 people, Palestinian health authorities said, as attacks hit dozens of targets early on Tuesday, ending a weeks-long standoff over extending the ceasefire that halted fighting in January.

Strikes were reported at sites including northern Gaza and Gaza City as well as Deir al-Balah, Khan Younis and Rafah in central and southern Gaza Strip. Palestinian health ministry officials said many of the dead were children.

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Doge breaks into US Institute of Peace building after White House guts board

Remaining members of board – Pete Hegeth, Marco Rubio and Peter Garvin – fire president of independent non-profit

The Trump administration fired most of the board of the US Institute of Peace (USIP) and sent its new leader into the Washington DC headquarters of the independent organization on Monday, in its latest effort targeting agencies tied to foreign assistance work.

The remaining three members of the group’s board – defense secretary Pete Hegseth, secretary of state Marco Rubio and national defense university president Peter Garvin – fired president and CEO, George Moose, on Friday, according to a document obtained by the Associated Press.

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White House’s defense for not recalling deportations ‘one heck of a stretch’, says judge

Administration claims it didn’t stop flights despite judge’s instructions because he did not write it in the formal order

The Trump administration claimed to a federal judge on Monday that it did not recall deportation flights of hundreds of suspected Venezuelan gang members over the weekend despite his specific instructions because that was not expressly included in the formal written order issued afterwards.

The administration also said that even if James Boasberg, the chief US district judge in Washington, had included that instruction in his formal order, his authority to compel the planes to return disappeared the moment the planes entered international airspace.

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Ikea to open Oxford Street store in May after 18-month delay

Swedish furniture retailer’s arrival is seen as crucial to hopes of reviving the London shopping street

Ikea will be bringing its mix of meatballs, lampshades and kitchen planning to London’s Oxford Street from 1 May, when the world’s largest furniture retailer finally opens its store 18 months late.

The company said its three-floor outlet, in the former Topshop base, would house a 130-seat Swedish deli and showrooms, as well as offering one-to-one design consultations.

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Watchdog urges regular BMI checkups for millions across England and Wales

The proposal, put forward by Nice, would see 13 million patients checked regularly

Millions of people in England and Wales with a long-term health condition should have their body mass index (BMI) checked regularly to prevent diabetes and heart disease, an NHS watchdog is recommending.

Anyone found to be overweight should talk to sensitive, non-judgmental doctors and nurses about how they can lead a healthier life and stop their excess pounds causing them problems.

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Peru declares emergency as crime wave grips capital, singer shot dead – Reuters

  1. Peru declares emergency as crime wave grips capital, singer shot dead  Reuters
  2. Peru declares an emergency and deploys the army as violence surges in the capital  The Associated Press
  3. Peru declares state of emergency as violent crimewave engulfs Lima  Al Jazeera English
  4. Murders Hit Record in Peru as Capital Declared in Emergency  Bloomberg
  5. Popular singer shot dead by hitmen in Peru, prompting state of emergency in capital over extortion killings  CBS News
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John ‘Paddy’ Hemingway, the last Battle of Britain pilot, dies aged 105

The pilot, whose squadron shot down 90 enemy aircraft in an 11-day period in 1940, called himself the ‘lucky Irishman’

The last surviving Battle of Britain pilot, John “Paddy” Hemingway, has died aged 105.

The Royal Air Force (RAF) said Hemingway, a member of “the Few” who took to the skies during the second world war, died peacefully on Monday.

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White House removes advisory defining gun violence as a public health issue

Webpage listing statistics and information on shootings taken down as Trump seeks to protect second amendment

The Trump administration has removed former surgeon general Vivek Murthy’s advisory on gun violence as a public health issue from the US Department of Health and Human Services’ website. This move was made to comply with Donald Trump’s executive order to protect second amendment rights, a White House official told the Guardian.

The “firearm violence in America” page, where the advisory had been posted, was filled with data and information about the ripple effects of shootings, the prevalence of firearm suicides and the number of American children and adolescents who have been shot and killed. Now, when someone reaches the site they will be met with a “page not found” message.

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Thousands of Whitehall ‘credit cards’ to be suspended in spending crackdown

Minister Pat McFadden says at least half will be permanently cancelled in effort to reduce wasteful purchases

Thousands of Whitehall officials will have their government “credit cards” suspended this week in Labour’s latest crackdown on what it regards as wasteful spending in the civil service.

Pat McFadden, the Cabinet Office minister, said on Monday he would freeze almost all of the 20,000 government procurement cards (GPCs) within days with a view to permanently cancelling at least half of them.

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