Mission

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...

• The United States Mission to the United Nations issued a briefing calling for immediate economic and political reforms by the Cuban regime. • The U.S. demanded the release of political prisoners, the opening of the economy, and an end to the government's practice of blaming American policies for Cuba's internal misery. • The U.S. urged UN Member States to stop voting for the annual anti-embargo resolution and to ensure humanitarian aid reaches the Cuban people directly rather than the government.

Announcement follows DoJ’s recent findings that medical schools at UCLA and Yale illegally used race in admissionsThe US Department of Justice’s civil rights division has launched investigations into 15 medical schools over allegations of potential race discrimination in their admissions processes.Thursday’s announcement follows the DoJ’s recent findings that the medical schools at the University of California, Los Angeles and Yale University illegally used race in their admissions. Continue reading...

• The European Commission has introduced new tech sovereignty laws targeting the cloud, artificial intelligence, and semiconductor sectors. • These legislative measures aim to reduce the European Union's dependence on foreign technology providers and bolster the growth of domestic industries. • This move reflects a broader global trend toward technological nationalism, paralleled by Beijing's recent multibillion-dollar funding efforts to scale national AI champions like DeepSeek.

• The European Commission has announced a strategic plan to strengthen Europe's tech sovereignty and establish the region as a global leader in artificial intelligence. • The initiative focuses on increasing digital self-reliance by enhancing capacities in semiconductors, AI, cloud computing, and open-source technologies. • This move is designed to protect Europe's digital independence and accelerate the research, development, and adoption of AI across the continent.

Donna Jones writes to PM regarding ‘national tragedy’ of Henry Nowak murder in Southampton last DecemberUK politics live – latest updatesThe police and crime commissioner for Hampshire is leading calls for a review of religious exemptions on the carrying of knives after the murder of 18-year-old Henry Nowak by a man carrying a “Sikh dagger” in Southampton.Donna Jones described the stabbing of university student Nowak as a “national tragedy” and said she was writing to the prime minister, Keir Starmer, about the issue. Continue reading...

Unions had demanded a 6% pay increase for those on minimum wage after war in the Middle East pushed inflation higherFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastNearly 3 million workers will receive a 4.75% pay rise, while about 100,000 of the country’s lowest paid will receive a higher 6% increase, after the Fair Work Commission handed down its annual minimum wage decision.Announcing the 4.75% decision on Tuesday morning applicable to the roughly 2.8 million workers on award wages, the Fair Work Commission’s president, Justice Adam Hatcher, announced that the lowest ongoing wage rate for employees would climb from nearly $24.95 an hour, to $26.44 – a lift of just under 6%. Continue reading...