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Dozens of lawyers and an MP sign letter attacking club as ‘a symbol of exclusivity, a bastion of power maintained by the privileged few’
Protesters demanding women be admitted to the men-only Garrick Club have delivered an open letter to its members saying discrimination on the grounds of sex is “nothing short of scandalous”.
The move came after the Bar Council said exclusive members’ clubs created “the potential for unfair advantage”, with the Garrick’s membership list showing it to be favoured by many senior members of the legal profession.
Continue reading...Thu, 28 Mar 2024 18:59:00 GMT
Only survivor after vehicle falls and catches fire is eight-year-old taken to hospital with serious injuries
An eight-year-old child was the sole survivor after a bus carrying 46 people fell from a bridge in South Africa into a ravine and caught fire.
The child, who has not been named, was taken to hospital with serious injuries, the transport ministry said in a statement late on Thursday.
Continue reading...Thu, 28 Mar 2024 20:01:13 GMT
Judges issue unanimous decision and say Palestinians are in urgent need of humanitarian assistance
The International Court of Justice has ordered Israel to allow unimpeded access of food aid into Gaza, where sections of the population are facing imminent starvation, in a significant legal rebuke to Israel’s claim it is not blocking aid deliveries.
A panel of judges at the UN’s top court, which is already considering a complaint from South Africa that Israel is committing genocide in the Palestinian territory, issued the ruling after an emergency measure in January obliging Israel to admit emergency aid.
Continue reading...Thu, 28 Mar 2024 18:10:58 GMT
Former PM’s meeting with President Maduro, in capacity as hedge fund consultant, is under further scrutiny
Labour is demanding answers over what the party said was “potentially serious impropriety” by Boris Johnson after it emerged that the former prime minister met the Venezuelan president in his role as a consultant for a hedge fund.
Nick Thomas-Symonds, the shadow Cabinet Office minister, said in a letter to Oliver Dowden, the deputy prime minister and Cabinet Office minister, that there were concerns that Johnson may have breached the ministerial code.
Continue reading...Thu, 28 Mar 2024 19:25:18 GMT
Mohamed Mansour, a Conservative senior treasurer, is one of several surprise recipients of honours
A businessman and former Egyptian government minister who donated £5m to the Conservative party last year has unexpectedly been given a knighthood on the recommendation of Rishi Sunak.
Mohamed Mansour, a senior treasurer of the Conservative party for just over a year, was one of several surprise recipients of honours on Thursday, with the citation saying it was given for business, charity and political service.
Continue reading...Thu, 28 Mar 2024 19:26:06 GMT
Eva Tennent, whose operations were scheduled in Edinburgh, has Rett syndrome and advanced scoliosis
A 10-year-old girl’s spinal condition has become inoperable after her planned surgery was cancelled seven times in six months, her mother has claimed.
Eva Tennent suffers from Rett syndrome, a rare genetic disorder that affects brain development, and has advanced scoliosis that causes her spine to twist and curve to the side.
Continue reading...Thu, 28 Mar 2024 16:34:19 GMT
Judge orders disgraced crypto mogul to forfeit $11bn in assets and says he showed no remorse for his crimes
Sam Bankman-Fried, the disgraced cryptocurrency mogul who perpetrated one of the largest financial frauds in history, has been sentenced to 25 years in prison and ordered to forfeit $11bn in assets. His lawyer reiterated a pledge to appeal the sentence the same day.
The judge, Lewis Kaplan, issued the penalty in a Manhattan courtroom on Thursday. Bankman-Fried, the former chief executive of the now-bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange FTX, was convicted of fraud and conspiracy to launder money late last year.
Continue reading...Thu, 28 Mar 2024 18:38:29 GMT
Man in his 40s detained on suspicion of gross negligence manslaughter, Essex police say
A man in his 40s has been arrested on suspicion of gross negligence manslaughter in connection with the death of the Gogglebox star George Gilbey, who died after a fall at work, Essex police said.
The 40-year-old reality star was best known for appearing on the Channel 4 series alongside his mother, Linda McGarry, and stepfather Pete McGarry, who died aged 71 in 2021.
Continue reading...Thu, 28 Mar 2024 15:03:54 GMT
Maxine Peake and Sarah Schulman among signatories of open letter asking singer to withdraw from contest
More than 450 queer artists, individuals and organisations have called on the UK’s Eurovision contestant, Olly Alexander, to boycott this year’s competition in solidarity with Palestine.
The actor Maxine Peake and the novelist and playwright Sarah Schulman are among the signatories of the open letter calling on the singer to withdraw from the contest in May due to the conflict in Gaza.
Continue reading...Thu, 28 Mar 2024 18:32:38 GMT
Afghan regime’s return to public stoning and flogging is because there is ‘no one to hold them accountable’ for abuses, say activists
The Taliban’s announcement that it is resuming publicly stoning women to death has been enabled by the international community’s silence, human rights groups have said.
Safia Arefi, a lawyer and head of the Afghan human rights organisation Women’s Window of Hope, said the announcement had condemned Afghan women to return to the darkest days of Taliban rule in the 1990s.
Continue reading...Thu, 28 Mar 2024 18:02:02 GMT