Cheap ultra-processed food behind rise in overweight children, with one in 10 now obese globally, says Unicef
More children around the world are obese than underweight for the first time, according to a UN report that warns ultra-processed junk food is overwhelming childhood diets.
There are 188 million teenagers and school-age children with obesity – one in 10 – Unicef said, affecting health and development and bringing a risk of life-threatening diseases.
Continue reading...Many demonstrators say they are also on the streets over corruption and nepotism they allege is rampant
At least 19 people have been killed during protests in Nepal over a government ban on dozens of online platforms including Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and X.
The government has faced mounting criticism after imposing a ban on 26 prominent social media platforms and messaging apps last week because they had missed a deadline to register under new regulations.
Continue reading...Complaint lodged asks ASA to investigate claims made in promotion launched in conjunction with household brands
The UK advertising watchdog has received a complaint about its own high-profile UK-wide campaign, accusing it of breaking the rules it enforces around misleading marketing.
The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), which investigates whether ads breach UK regulations, is being asked to investigate claims made in its campaign launched in conjunction with household brands including Tesco, Comparethemarket and Lloyds bank.
Continue reading...Acting CEO of parent agency makes announcement one day after judge blocks her from firing VOA director
The agency that oversees Voice of America and other government-funded international broadcasters is eliminating jobs for more than 500 employees, a Trump administration official said. The move could ratchet up a months-long legal challenge over the news outlets’ fate.
Kari Lake, acting CEO of the US Agency for Global Media, announced the latest round of job cuts late Friday, one day after a federal judge blocked her from removing Michael Abramowitz as VOA director.
Continue reading...Double-tap strike suggests killing of civilians, rescue workers and journalists deliberate and not a mistake
Israel’s twin strike on the Nasser hospital in Gaza, which killed five journalists including staff working for the Associated Press, Reuters, NBC and Al Jazeera, is a potential violation of international law writ large.
The attack targeted a civilian building, specifically a hospital, in a reckless double-tap strike that killed civilians, with rescue workers and journalists among them. All categories that should be protected under international law.
Continue reading...High court rejects actor’s claim that accusations against him by more than 20 women were false and part of a conspiracy
The Guardian has successfully defended a libel action brought by the actor Noel Clarke over an investigation by the newspaper in which he was accused of sexual misconduct by more than 20 women.
In a high court judgment handed down on Friday, Mrs Justice Steyn rejected Clarke’s claim. He had said the allegations set out in the Guardian’s investigation were false and that he had been the victim of an unlawful conspiracy.
There were strong grounds to believe that over 15 years, he used his power to prey on and harass female colleagues.
He sometimes bullied female colleagues.
He engaged in unwanted sexual contact, kissing, touching or groping.
He engaged in sexually inappropriate behaviour and comments.
He was involved in professional misconduct.
He took and shared explicit pictures and videos without consent, including secretly filming a young actor’s naked audition.
Continue reading...Calls for boycott after Swiss watchmaker becomes latest western brand accused of racist imagery
The Swiss watchmaker Swatch has apologised and removed an advert featuring a model pulling the corners of his eyes, after the image prompted accusations of racism and calls for a boycott on Chinese social media.
Internet users heavily criticised the “slanted eye” gesture made by the Asian male model as racist.
Continue reading...A growing focus on hunger in Gaza in the global media has led some Israeli outlets to report on it for the first time
Images of Palestinian children in Gaza, emaciated by hunger under the blockade imposed by Israel, and of families grieving the more than 61,000 people killed in the territory have stirred outrage among foreign governments and much of the global public. Inside Israel, however, the reaction has been markedly different.
In a poll conducted in late July by the Israel Democracy Institute (IDI), more than three-quarters of Jewish Israelis – 79% – said they were either “not very troubled” or “not troubled at all” by reports of famine and suffering among Gaza’s Palestinian population.
Continue reading...Israeli-Palestinian magazine says IDF ‘legitimisation cell’ set up to blunt global outrage over killing of media staff
A special unit in Israel’s military was tasked with identifying reporters it could smear as undercover Hamas fighters, to target them and to blunt international outrage over the killing of media workers, the Israeli-Palestinian outlet +972 Magazine reports.
The “legitimisation cell” was set up after the 7 October 2023 Hamas attack to gather information that could bolster Israel’s image and shore up diplomatic and military support from key allies, the report said, citing three intelligence sources.
Continue reading...Members of press and influencers covering devastation are being silenced despite protection under international law
Israel is running two Gaza campaigns: one for military control of the strip; another for narrative control of how the world understands what happens there.
In theory, Palestinian journalists and social media influencers documenting starvation, mass killing and other Israeli war crimes in Gaza are protected civilians under international law.
Continue reading...CJP says the period since 7 October 2023 has been the most deadly for journalists since it began gathering data in 1992
Journalists have been prominent among casualties since the war in Gaza was triggered by Hamas’s incursion into Israel in October 2023.
Some were working for well-known international media, others were employed by local news organisations. Several were high-profile veterans, but many were newcomers to the profession.
Continue reading...Agreement defies media reports that contract for Duke and Duchess of Sussex would not be renewed
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have signed a fresh multi-year film and television deal with Netflix, contradicting reports this year that the streaming company would not renew its contract with them.
Harry and Meghan, who struck a five-year deal in 2020 reportedly worth $100m (£78m) after stepping back from their duties as senior royals, have collaborated with Netflix on a number of projects, most recently the duchess’s lifestyle series With Love, Meghan.
Continue reading...Leicester-born producer was editor of BBC children’s show for more than 20 years and introduced Blue Peter badge
Biddy Baxter, the pioneering television producer who transformed Blue Peter into a national institution, has died at 92, according to the BBC.
As editor of the children’s programme between 1965 and 1988, she introduced viewer engagement segments including the national appeals and the famous Blue Peter badge, encouraging children to send letters, pictures and programme ideas.
The show’s former presenter Peter Duncan remembered her as “a true force of nature”.
Israel admits deliberate attack on the journalist, known for frontline coverage, in a strike on a tent outside al-Shifa hospital
A prominent Al Jazeera journalist who had previously been threatened by Israel has been killed along with four colleagues in an Israeli airstrike.
Anas al-Sharif, who was one of Al Jazeera’s most recognisable faces in Gaza, was killed while inside a tent for journalists outside al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City on Sunday night. His funeral was held on Monday morning.
Continue reading...Party wants video platform to face same scrutiny as broadcasters due to deepfake and investment scams
The Liberal Democrats are calling for urgent regulation of YouTube advertising after scams including deepfakes, impersonated public figures and fraudulent investment claims were found to be spreading on the platform with little oversight.
The party said YouTube’s adverts remain largely unchecked by independent regulators, despite new data from Ofcom showing the platform has overtaken ITV in weekly UK viewership and continues to dominate children’s media consumption.
Continue reading...Programme about performer Bonnie Blue condemned for ‘glamorising and normalising’ extreme pornography
The new pornography taskforce will propose legislation this autumn aimed at banning a type of “barely legal” content produced by the porn star Bonnie Blue, the Guardian has learned.
The proposed action by the independent pornography taskforce, launched last month by the Conservative peer Baroness Gabby Bertin, comes in response to the broadcast of the Channel 4 documentary 1000 Men and Me: The Bonnie Blue Story. The programme followed the performer for six months and included her claim to have had sex with 1,057 clients over the course of 12 hours.
Continue reading...Soap star wins as her 32-year run playing Irene Roberts ends, while streamers go home mostly empty-handed and Magda Szubanski gives emotional speech as she is inducted into the Hall of Fame
The Home and Away actor Lynne McGranger has won the Gold Logie award for most popular personality on Australian television as she ends her record 32-year run playing the much-loved matriarch Irene Roberts.
McGranger is the longest-serving female actor in any Australian drama, having played Irene for nearly 33 years. She announced her departure in February and her final episode will air mid-August.
Continue reading...Rights bodies say new law and proscription of direct action group create risk of censorship of Gaza-related content
The Online Safety Act together with the proscription of Palestine Action could result in platforms censoring Palestinian-related content, human rights organisations have warned.
Open Rights Group, Index on Censorship and others have written to Ofcom calling on it to provide clear guidance to platforms on distinguishing lawful expression from content deemed to be in support of terrorism.
Continue reading...Elon Musk’s social media platform says lawmakers made a ‘conscientious decision’ to increase censorship
Elon Musk’s X platform has said the UK’s Online Safety Act (OSA) is at risk of “seriously infringing” free speech as a row deepens over measures for protecting children from harmful content.
The social media company said the act’s “laudable” intentions were being overshadowed by its aggressive implementation by the communications watchdog, Ofcom.
Continue reading...International non-profit Civicus says ‘sustained attacks on civic freedoms’ put US on par with El Salvador and Kenya
A group of global civil society organizations have placed the US on a watchlist for urgent concern over the health of its civic society, alongside Turkey, Serbia, El Salvador, Indonesia and Kenya.
On Wednesday, a new report released by the non-profit Civicus placed the US on its watchlist following “sustained attacks on civic freedoms” across the country, according to the group.
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