Trump sharpens attacks on US media as Voice of America employees put on administrative leave

President denounced CNN and MSNBC as ‘illegal’ and instructed VoA’s parent agency to be eliminated

Donald Trump expanded on his threats to the media on Friday, suggesting actions of the press should be deemed illegal and subject to investigation.

“I believe that CNN and MS-DNC, who literally write 97.6% bad about me, are political arms of the Democrat [sic] party and in my opinion, they’re really corrupt and they’re illegal, what do they do is illegal,” the president said during a contentious speech at the Department of Justice.

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Actor said to have been groped by Noel Clarke tells court it did not happen

Louise Dylan speaks at Clarke’s libel case against Guardian about wrap party for 2012 film The Knot

An actor who was said to have been groped by Noel Clarke has told the high court that the incident never happened.

In a witness statement for Guardian News and Media (GNM), which is being sued for libel by Clarke, his former creative partner Davie Fairbanks said he saw the former Doctor Who star inappropriately touch Louise Dylan at the wrap party for the 2012 film, The Knot.

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Noel Clarke’s wife tells court his accusers are liars who fabricated claims

Giving evidence in her husband’s libel case against the Guardian, Iris Clarke says he always tried to help people

Noel Clarke’s wife has said his accusers are liars who have deliberately fabricated sexual misconduct claims about him.

Giving evidence in the actor’s libel case against the Guardian, Iris Clarke said her husband was generous and caring, and that people he had worked with and helped had taken advantage of him.

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US journalist sues Indian government after losing his overseas citizenship

Raphael Satter had his OCI card taken away after publishing a story critical of an Indian businessman

A US journalist has taken the Indian government to court after his Indian overseas citizenship was unilaterally cancelled, after the publication of a story critical of a prominent Indian businessman.

Raphael Satter, who covers cybersecurity for the Reuters news agency in the US, received a letter from India’s ministry of home affairs in early December 2023, accusing him of producing work that “maliciously” tarnished India’s reputation and informing him that his Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) card had been cancelled.

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Top Washington Post columnist Ruth Marcus resigns after piece critical of Jeff Bezos is scrapped

The column was disapproving of paper’s new opinion policy of supporting only ‘personal liberties and free markets’

Washington Post associate editor and top political columnist Ruth Marcus is reportedly resigning following CEO Will Lewis’ decision to kill her opinion column critical of owner Jeff Bezos’ latest changes to the paper.

“It is with great sadness that I submit my resignation as columnist and associate editor of the Washington Post,” Marcus wrote in a letter addressed to publisher Will Lewis and billionaire Jeff Bezos and posted on X by a New York Times media reporter.

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US added to international watchlist for rapid decline in civic freedoms

Civicus, an international non-profit, puts country alongside Democratic Republic of Congo, Italy, Pakistan and Serbia

The United States has been added to the Civicus Monitor Watchlist, which identifies countries that the global civil rights watchdog believes are currently experiencing a rapid decline in civic freedoms.

Civicus, an international non-profit organization dedicated to “strengthening citizen action and civil society around the world”, announced the inclusion of the US on the non-profit’s first watchlist of 2025 on Monday, alongside the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Italy, Pakistan and Serbia.

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‘Etched in my mind’: reporter describes South Carolina firing squad execution

Jeffrey Collins of the Associated Press recalls experience of watching Brad Sigmon die for 2001 murders

A reporter for the Associated Press who watched as South Carolina executed a convicted murderer by firing squad has described the experience, saying that the killing was now “etched” in his mind.

Jeffrey Collins, who has witnessed executions in South Carolina for the news agency for 21 years and has seen 11 people killed using three methods, wrote a short essay about the experience.

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AP files amended complaint against White House over press pool ban

White House adviser’s quote included in suit: ‘The AP and the WHCA wanted to f--k around. Now it’s finding out time.’

The Associated Press amended its complaint against the Trump administration on Monday, including in its epigraph a punchy quote from an anonymous White House adviser: “The AP and the White House Correspondents Association wanted to f--k around. Now it’s finding out time.”

The unnamed White House adviser’s quote came about during an exchange on 25 February 2025 and was first reported by Axios last week.

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The LA Times published an op-ed warning of AI’s dangers. It also published its AI tool’s reply

‘Insight’ labeled the argument ‘center-left’ and created a reply insisting AI will make storytelling more democratic

Beneath a recent Los Angeles Times opinion piece about the dangers of artificial intelligence, there is now an AI-generated response about how AI will make storytelling more democratic.

“Some in the film world have met the arrival of generative AI tools with open arms. We and others see it as something deeply troubling on the horizon,” the co-directors of the Archival Producers Alliance, Rachel Antell, Stephanie Jenkins and Jennifer Petrucelli, wrote on 1 March.

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UN human rights chief ‘deeply worried by fundamental shift’ in US

Volker Türk alarmed at growing power of ‘unelected tech oligarchs’ and warns gender equality is being rolled back

The UN human rights chief has warned of a “fundamental shift” in the US and sounded the alarm over the growing power of “unelected tech oligarchs”, in a stinging rebuke of Washington weeks into Donald Trump’s presidency.

Volker Türk said there had been bipartisan support for human rights in the US for decades but said he was “now deeply worried by the fundamental shift in direction that is taking place domestically and internationally”.

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Rachel Maddow says MSNBC laying off ‘non-white’ hosts and staff is ‘indefensible’

Majority of producers on Maddow and Joy Reid’s shows let go with option to re-apply amid network shake-up

MSNBC has told the majority of the employees who produce Rachel Maddow and Joy Reid’s primetime evening news shows they are being let go as part of the network’s programming overhaul with the option to apply for new roles, according to two people directly familiar with the matter.

Maddow, the biggest star and highest-rated anchor at MSNBC, will get to keep her executive producer, Cory Gnazzo, and several other senior producers, the people said.

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Tim Westwood inquiry report: what new allegations against him have emerged?

The document contains a series of previously unpublished claims, including 22 from members of the public

The independent inquiry into what the BBC knew about the former Radio 1 DJ Tim Westwood’s conduct has been published almost three years after a joint investigation by the Guardian and BBC News.

The investigation told the stories of a number of women who accused the 67-year-old of sexual misconduct and predatory behaviour.

“Hounded” a 17-year-old Black woman with phone calls and texts.

Invited a girl who was 15 or 16 back to his home following an under-16 night, after she had added him on Blackberry to get information about the event.

Contacted a woman who had shared her business card, and appeared agitated when she did not want to meet late at night.

“Hurled” a can of drink at a woman who was serving in a club.

A former BBC staff member told the corporation their son had witnessed Westwood propositioning a 15-year-old girl in a night club in around 2007. The BBC reported the complaint to the Metropolitan police, who took no action.

A BBC employee said in 2022 that a guest on Radio 1 had described potential sexual assault by Westwood between 2004 and 2007. They said they had reported it to a more senior employee, but White found no evidence the complaint had been documented. Westwood’s lawyers said he was never spoken to about the incident.

A student told the review about Westwood referring to her breasts during a 1Xtra DriveTime show in 2010, calling her “cuddly” and miming grabbing her breasts, which his lawyers say he strongly denies.

A Sun journalist contacted Radio 1 in November 2012 saying they had been given tipoffs about Westwood and “inappropriate relations with young girls”. A senior figure flagged allegations made about Westwood on Twitter to HR and the corporate investigations team, which decided that no action would be taken without further evidence.

White concluded that senior BBC staff did not think Westwood had had sexual contact with 15-year-old girls, but that the issue “ought to have been formally raised with him” and the online allegations should have been examined further.

“Many” BBC employees “perceived there to be a close relationship between the controllers and Tim Westwood”.

Witnesses felt they were unable to complain because of the “feeling that … senior management were likely to side with presenters”.

Westwood made repeated comments about guests and staff members’ bodies, particularly about women’s breasts.

Until Westwood was removed from the 1Xtra DriveTime show in 2012, “the approach appears to have been to raise issues informally … and, when the situation did not improve, to move BBC staff working on the 1Xtra DriveTime show to other programmes”.

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BBC admits it ‘fell short and failed people’ over Tim Westwood

Corporation apologises as inquiry finds it missed opportunities that could have led to action over former Radio 1 DJ’s behaviour

The BBC has admitted it “fell short and failed people” – including its own staff – and apologised after finding evidence of “bullying and misogynistic” behaviour by its former Radio 1 DJ Tim Westwood.

A £3.3m external inquiry published on Tuesday found the broadcaster “missed opportunities” during the DJ’s two decades at the organisation that could have led to action. The inquiry was triggered by a 2022 Guardian and BBC News joint investigation into allegations of sexual misconduct and predatory behaviour by the DJ.

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Lester Holt to exit NBC Nightly News as MSNBC cuts Ayman Mohyeldin’s show

Holt to step down as anchor as Katie Phang and Jonathan Capehart, whose shows also canceled, to remain at MSNBC

NBC’s Lester Holt is stepping down as anchor of its Nightly News show, and MSNBC’s Ayman Mohyeldin is stepping down from a similar role at his namesake weekend evening show as the networks’ owners continue a major programming shake-up on Monday.

Others at MSNBC affected by changes revealed on Monday include Katie Phang and Jonathan Capehart, the New York Post reported.

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MSNBC reportedly cancels Joy Reid show in reshuffle at liberal network

ReidOut is being cancelled as part of a lineup shuffle being helmed by the network’s new president, Rebecca Kutler

MSNBC has reportedly canceled longtime anchor Joy Reid’s show in what is evidently a major programming restructure at the liberal network.

Speaking to the New York Times, two people familiar with the reshuffling told the outlet that Reid’s 7pm show, The ReidOut, is being cancelled as part of a lineup shuffle being helmed by the network’s new president, Rebecca Kutler.

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UK creative industries set behaviour standards after Strictly and MasterChef rows

An independent standards authority says the industry must learn from recent scandals and create safer working environments

New guidelines will be issued this week for the UK’s creative industries after a series of scandals including reports of inappropriate behaviour by Gregg Wallace and Gino d’Acampo, and bullying allegations on the BBC’s Strictly Come Dancing.

The Creative Industries Indep­endent Standards Authority (CIISA) will set new standards with the aim of stamping out bullying, harassment and discrimination, and address “power imbalances”.

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Konstantin Kisin: anti-woke libertarian who reluctantly calls himself ‘right wing’

In speech at Arc conference, podcaster argues ‘identity politics and multiculturalism … are two failed experiments’

Konstantin Kisin has until this week been best known as a libertarian, pro-free speech independent podcaster, and for a viral appearance at the Oxford Union arguing that “woke culture has gone too far”.

His profile has suddenly risen, however, after hosting the Conservative leader, Kemi Badenoch, on his podcast, and arguing in an episode with Fraser Nelson, the former editor of the Spectator, that Rishi Sunak was not English owing to his “brown Hindu” background – triggering criticism on social media.

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BBC pulls Gaza documentary featuring child whose father was Hamas minister

Show removed from iPlayer as ‘further due diligence’ carried out and critics ask if any Hamas members were paid for filming

A BBC documentary about Gaza has been pulled from its iPlayer service while the broadcaster deals with intensifying accusations that the film was biased because it failed to make clear the father of its child narrator was a Hamas deputy minister.

BBC sources indicated the intention was to make the documentary available to watch again once a “due diligence” exercise had taken place, but the decision reflects a frustration that the filmmakers did not inform the broadcaster of the situation before transmission.

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Nearly 500 cat figurines stolen from Gordon Ramsay’s London restaurant

By Ramsay’s own estimate, he has lost more than £2,000 during one week in stolen maneki-neko cat models

Nearly 500 cat figurines were stolen in one week from Gordon Ramsay’s new London restaurant, the TV chef has said.

The restaurateur, 58, recently launched Lucky Cat 22 Bishopsgate by Gordon Ramsay in one of London’s tallest buildings, which features the beckoning Japanese cat models called maneki-neko.

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British journalist missing in Brazil for 11 days

Foreign correspondents’ association urges authorities to step up search for Charlotte Alice Peet, 32

A British journalist has been missing in Brazil for 11 days, a foreign correspondents’ association in the country said on Tuesday, urging authorities to step up their search efforts.

Charlotte Alice Peet, 32, last communicated with a friend on 8 February, according to a statement from the Rio de Janeiro-based Association of Foreign Press Correspondents (ACIE).

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