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Exclusive: health professionals, survivors and politicians voice concerns in open letter over comments by Fatima Maadi Bio, who denies supporting the practiceThe first lady of Sierra Leone has denied that she supports female genital mutilation amid rising anger around her perceived approval of the practice.But in an exclusive response to the Guardian, Fatima Maada Bio, the wife of President Julius Maada Bio, also said she would not openly condemn FGM until she saw “reliable data” that the practice was harmful. Continue reading...

Fatima Jabbe-Bio kept tenancy despite living for much of year in the presidential lodge in FreetownA social housing flat rented by Sierra Leone’s first lady has been seized by a London council.Southwark council confirmed it had repossessed the two-bedroom home in Walworth previously occupied by Fatima Jabbe-Bio, whose tenancy was reported by The Times last year. Continue reading...

Marnie Lovejoy hopes to inspire other women to fish, protect England’s rivers and lift up the ‘beautiful’ graylingWith its iridescent pink scales and elegant dorsal fin, the grayling is known to anglers as the “lady of the stream”, yet the society fighting for its protection has never been led by a woman, until now.Angling, and fly-fishing in particular, has always been a very male-dominated sport. The fly-fisher’s club in Mayfair, London, where anglers meet to lunch on dover sole and drink fine wine, did not allow women to cross the threshold even as guests until 2024. Continue reading...

Widow of French ex-president Jacques Chirac was a steely behind-the-scenes operator known for her charity workBernadette Chirac, the formidable widow of the former French president Jacques Chirac and a driving force behind his political rise, has died at the age of 93.As France’s first lady for 12 years, Chirac was a steely behind-the-scenes operator in support of her husband, who served twice as prime minister, 18 years as mayor of Paris and two terms as president. Continue reading...

Migrant insects have been seen in large numbers along east coast thanks to heatwave and benign southerly windsIf you’ve spotted a pale orange butterfly dashing at frenetic pace through streets, fields or gardens, you’ve noticed the new migrants that will add colour to the summer in record-breaking numbers.What is expected to be the largest arrival of painted lady butterflies in Britain for 17 years is under way after heatwaves and favourable winds ushered thousands if not millions of the insects northwards. Continue reading...

The Seoul High Court found Kim Keon Hee guilty of manipulating the share price of Deutsch Motors, a South Korean car dealer, which it ruled a "collusive ... trading act constituting market manipulation".

• Coachella Valley Music Festival opened April 16 with headliner Travis Scott drawing 125,000 fans, joined by Lady Gaga for a 30-minute unannounced 'Apocalypse' medley at Empire Polo Club. • Billie Eilish and Green Day also performed, with festival attendance up 10% from 2025 per organizers. • The event generated $600 million economic impact for Riverside County, highlighting live music recovery post-pandemic.