Swinney demands Meta remove ‘racist’ Reform UK ad attacking Labour’s Sarwar

Scotland’s first minister criticises byelection campaign video that claims his rival ‘will prioritise Pakistani community’

The SNP leader John Swinney has demanded that the owner of Facebook act on Reform UK’s “racist” byelection advert that attacks the Scottish Labour leader, Anas Sarwar.

The Facebook video, which incorrectly claims Sarwar has promised to prioritise Pakistani communities, is now subject to formal complaints from Scotland’s two main political parties. Scottish Labour contacted Meta, Facebook’s parent company, about the video two weeks ago and has yet to receive a reply.

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Emmanuel Macron says video of wife pushing him shows them ‘joking around’

French president denies quarrelling with Brigitte Macron after footage is seized on by Russia and far-right accounts

Emmanuel Macron has denied he and his wife, Brigitte, had an altercation after a viral video promoted by Russian state media and French far-right accounts appeared to show her pushing him in the face as they prepared to get off a plane in Vietnam.

The video, shot by an Associated Press camera operator, shows the French president appearing in the doorway of the plane at the start of a visit to Hanoi. His wife’s hand appears to shove him, causing him to step back before recovering and waving.

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Nearly extinct ‘forgotten antelope’ photographed for first time in DRC

Upemba lechwe considered one of world’s rarest large mammals with fewer than 100 thought to remain

A photograph of Africa’s “forgotten antelope” has been published for the first time as the elusive creature dives towards extinction.

Fewer than 100 Upemba lechwe are thought to remain, with an aerial survey in the Kamalondo depression of the southern Democratic Republic of the Congo having recorded 10 individuals.

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FBI to reinvestigate 2023 White House cocaine find and leak of supreme court Dobbs draft

Agency also announced new inquiry into pipe bombs found outside Democratic and Republican offices in 2021

The FBI will launch new investigations into the 2023 discovery of a bag of cocaine at the White House during Joe Biden’s term, as well as into pipe bombs discovered at Democratic and Republican party headquarters before the 6 January 2021 Capitol riot by supporters of Donald Trump, and the leak of the supreme court’s draft opinion before the historic overturning of national abortion rights with the Dobbs v Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision that overturned Roe v Wade in 2022.

Dan Bongino, a rightwing podcaster turned deputy director of the FBI, made the announcement on X, where he said he had requested weekly briefings on any progress in looking into the old cases. The incidents have been popular talking points on America’s political right wing and among conspiracy theorists.

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Germany’s Merz blasts Israeli offensive in Gaza – politico.eu

  1. Germany’s Merz blasts Israeli offensive in Gaza  politico.eu
  2. Merz says Israeli actions in Gaza 'no longer justified'  DW
  3. Germany's Chancellor: Israel's Gaza Offensive No Longer Justified as Fight Against Hamas  Haaretz
  4. Top German lawmaker: Public criticism of Israel has 'zero' effect  Yahoo
  5. Germany’s Merz: Israeli strikes on Gaza can no longer be justified as fight against Hamas  The Times of Israel
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Adelaide’s first skyscraper criticised as ‘profound mistake’ and ‘hugely questionable’ by opponents

Critics say ‘phallic’ 38-storey commercial tower next to state parliament is ‘the wrong building in the wrong place’

Adelaide’s first skyscraper will be a “phallic” construction overshadowing the birthplace of women’s suffrage, critics say.

The Walker Corporation has begun work on a 38-storey commercial building next to Parliament House on North Terrace, which is known as the city’s cultural boulevard.

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Australian women lagging on use of IUDs due to education ‘failure’, experts say

Exclusive: A majority of females currently want to avoid pregnancy but survey reveals very few use most effective birth control method

Most Australian women don’t know that intrauterine devices (IUDs) are the most effective form of contraception.

Experts say this nationwide “failure in public education” has contributed to low uptake and caused Australia to lag behind other western countries.

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Jafar Panahi returns to Iran in triumph after Cannes Palme d’Or win

The director of It Was Just an Accident was cheered by supporters as he arrived back in his home country, where his work has previously landed him in jail

Iranian film-maker Jafar Panahi was given a hero’s welcome on his return to Tehran on Monday after winning the top prize at the Cannes film festival, footage posted on social media showed.

After being banned from leaving Iran for years, forced to make films underground and enduring spells in prison, Panahi attended the film festival in person and sensationally walked away with the Palme d’Or for his latest movie It Was Just an Accident.

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