TikToker jailed in Indonesia for telling Jesus to cut his hair
Rights groups have condemned the sentence, made under a controversial online hate-speech law.
Toilet training and cutlery use key part of England’s ‘school-readiness skills list’
Checkpoints backed by education secretary, Bridget Phillipson, follow complaints from teachers of children arriving in nappies
Toilet training and the ability to use cutlery are two key checkpoints in a new list of “school-readiness” skills developed by a coalition of early-years educators and endorsed by Bridget Phillipson, the education secretary.
The group said the guidance was the first of its type, intended to help parents to prepare children starting in reception classes in England from the age of four and came after complaints from teachers of children arriving at school in nappies, lacking basic skills and unable to play with others.
Continue reading...K-pop singer Wheesung found dead at home aged 43
Tributes have been paid to singer who had a string of hits in South Korea including a cover of Craig David’s Insomnia
The South Korean singer Wheesung has died aged 43, with police reportedly planning to conduct an autopsy to determine his cause of death.
The singer, whose name was Choi Whee-sung, was found unconscious in his apartment on Monday night by emergency responders after his mother called for help, local media reported.
Continue reading...Philippines ex-leader Duterte on plane to The Hague after arrest
The ICC accuses him of "crimes against humanity" in a drugs crackdown that left thousands dead.
Police admit arrest of anti-monarchy heckler in Oxford was unlawful
Symon Hill paid £2,500 by Thames Valley police over his arrest at proclamation of Charles III’s accession in 2022
Police have admitted acting unlawfully in arresting a trainee Baptist minister who called out “Who elected him?” at a local proclamation of the accession of King Charles III.
After a two-and-a-half-year battle, Symon Hill, 47, has been paid £2,500 in compensation from Thames Valley police over his arrest in September 2022.
Continue reading...Taoiseach must tread carefully amid tensions before Trump meeting
Defence, the Palestinians and Irish-American trade will all be on the agenda as Micheál Martin heads to Washington
St Patrick’s Day has long been one of the sacred moments of the Irish-American calendar with more than 200 years of parades in New York and a shamrock reception at the White House launched by Dwight Eisenhower in 1953 to cement political ties between the two nations.
But this year’s annual meeting between the taoiseach and the US president, a week early because of a congressional recess on 17 March, is laden with anxiety over the future of Ireland’s economy, which is heavily reliant on US multinationals Donald Trump wants to repatriate.
Continue reading...Portugal set for snap general election as PM faces confidence vote
MPs prepare to debate a motion of confidence that looks likely to topple centre-right government
Portugal is bracing for its third snap general election in as many years as MPs prepare to debate a motion of confidence that looks set to topple the centre-right government and trigger a return to the polls in May.
Luís Montenegro, the prime minister, who heads the Democratic Alliance (AD) platform that has governed Portugal since its narrow victory in last year’s election, called the vote of confidence, which is due to take place on Tuesday, in response to growing questions over his family’s business activities.
Continue reading...The list of the world’s top 20 most polluted cities is out. All but one are in Asia – CNN
- The list of the world’s top 20 most polluted cities is out. All but one are in Asia CNN
- Only seven countries met WHO air quality standards in 2024, data shows Reuters
- Only seven countries worldwide meet WHO dirty air guidelines, study shows The Guardian
- 13 Of World's 20 Most Polluted Cities In India, Delhi Most Polluted Capital NDTV
- Majority of the world’s population breathes dirty air, report says The Associated Press
Philippines ex-President Rodrigo Duterte arrested on international warrant
The ICC has been probing the case against Duterte since 2018 over his anti-drugs war that killed thousands.
Duterte flown to The Hague after arrest over Philippines drug war killings
Ex-president to face charges of crimes against humanity over ‘war on drugs’ that rights groups say left 30,000 dead
The former Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte has left Manila on a plane headed to The Hague, hours after he was served with an arrest warrant from the international criminal court over the killings resulting from his “war on drugs”.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr told a press conference that a plane carrying Duterte took off at 11.03pm local time on Tuesday. “The plane is en route to The Hague in the Netherlands, allowing the former president to face charges of crimes against humanity in relation to his bloody war on drugs,” he said.
Duterte’s youngest daughter, Veronica Duterte, said on social media that the plane had been used to “kidnap” her father.
Continue reading...Dalai Lama says his successor will be born outside China in the ‘free world’
New book by spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhism will raise the stakes in a dispute with Beijing over control of Tibet
The Dalai Lama’s successor will be born outside China, the spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhism says in a new book, raising the stakes in a dispute with Beijing over control of the Himalayan region he fled more than six decades ago.
Tibetans worldwide want the institution of the Dalai Lama to continue after the 89-year-old’s death, he writes in Voice for the Voiceless, which was reviewed by Reuters and is being released on Tuesday.
Continue reading...French lawmakers seek to bring back village bars
MPs take the first step in making it easier to open bars in rural communities to revive socialising.
How JD Vance sees the world – and why that matters
In a speech to allies and in that infamous Oval Office row, the vice-president came out punching - but what is he fighting for?
‘Living in a reel’: How Alzheimer’s left Gene Hackman alone in his final days
The actor may not have known his wife was dead inside the home he was living in because of the disease.
‘Bloodbath’: US stock market sheds $1.75tn after Trump’s recession remarks
Tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 plunges 3.81 percent, its steepest single-day loss since September 2022.
Trump vows to take ‘hundreds of billions’ in tariffs as Australia’s hopes of getting exemption fades
Australia unlikely to escape US president’s global steel and aluminium tariffs despite intense lobbying to be carved out
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Australia’s chances of escaping America’s global steel and aluminium tariffs appear all but extinguished, with the US president reconfirming his commitment to a comprehensive tariff regime he argues will be “the greatest thing we’ve ever done as a country”.
“We’re going to take in hundreds of billions of dollars in tariffs, and we’re going to become so rich, you’re not going to know where to spend all that money,” Donald Trump told reporters on board Air Force One flying from Florida to Washington DC.
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Continue reading...Israeli warplanes attack military sites in Syria’s southern Deraa province
Syrian and Israeli media report air attacks on southern province targeting military sites of former al-Assad regime.
Kurdish-led SDF agrees to integrate with Syrian government forces
The militia alliance that controls much of north-eastern Syria will merge with new state institutions, the presidency says.
US judge blocks deportation of Palestinian activist detained by Ice
Critics condemn arrest of Mahmoud Khalil, Columbia University graduate student who led protests over Gaza war
A judge has blocked the deportation of the prominent Palestinian activist who helped lead Columbia University’s protests against Israel over the war in Gaza. Mahmoud Khalil, a graduate student at Columbia University until this past December who holds permanent US residency, is being detained by US immigration authorities at a facility in Louisiana after his arrest, according to information from officials.
A spokesperson for the US’s homeland security department – as well as the country’s top diplomat – confirmed the arrest. In a statement to the Associated Press, a homeland security department spokesperson, Tricia McLaughlin, said Khalil’s arrest was made to support Donald Trump’s presidential orders “prohibiting antisemitism”.
Continue reading...A ‘dangerous’ moment: Advocates denounce arrest of activist Mahmoud Khalil
Rights groups argue that the Trump administration is using anti-Semitism as a pretext to clamp down on free speech.