Sir Ian McKellen joins march against ‘appalling’ LGBTQ+ laws in Commonwealth
The actor joined protesters in London to highlight laws in 29 Commonwealth countries where same-sex relationships are illegal. Source link
All posts tagged: Appalling
‘Utterly appalling’: anger over swimmers in Hampstead Heath wildlife ponds | Birds
Nature groups have pleaded with swimmers to give wildlife a wide berth after dozens of people swam in a nature pond on Hampstead Heath among nests of baby birds. Swans and their 12-day-old cygnets were disturbed by hordes of splashing revellers in the north London park on Monday as London reached record 35C temperatures. In one video, a swan was seen poking an unhatched egg with its beak after it fell into the water during the chaos. Conservationists responded with dismay after a video was shared on social media of the scenes, which the City of London called “utterly appalling”. Coots, moorhens and swans were seen guarding their eggs and young as people obliviously splashed around them. There are large signs around the pond urging people not to swim as it is a wildlife conservation area. The unseasonably hot weather has meant that people have been going into water sources en masse to cool off. This has coincided with the nesting season for water birds. London’s outdoor swimming ponds and lidos were busy and booked …
“Shocking and appalling”: Singer D4vd charged with first-degree murder of 14-year-old girl
The Los Angeles Country District Attorney’s Office announced on Monday that they were charging singer D4vd with first-degree murder in connection to the death of a teenage girl. The singer, best known for his official “Fortnite” anthem “Locked and Loaded,” was arrested last week following a months-long investigation into the death of 14-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez. Hernandez’s remains were found in the trunk of an impounded Tesla belonging to the singer last September. She had been missing since April. Authorities allege the 21-year-old artist, whose real name is David Burke, killed Hernandez to keep his relationship with the minor from jeopardizing a “very lucrative musical career that Celeste was threatening.” Burke is also charged with crimes related to lascivious sexual acts with a minor and mutilating a corpse. His murder charge carries special circumstances because it was allegedly done with the aim of financial gain and because Hernandez was a witness to other crimes authorities claim Burke committed. Those circumstances make Burke eligible for a death penalty sentence. “Celeste was just a child, under 14 …
NHS ‘failing women and girls’ and has ‘appalling culture of medical misogyny’, health secretary says | UK News
The health secretary has accused the NHS of having an “appalling culture of medical misogyny” as he set out a range of measures in a renewed Women’s Health Strategy. Wes Streeting said the NHS has a problem with “basic, everyday sexism” – and that the changes would stop women from being “ignored, gaslit, humiliated and disrespected”. The strategy reveals how women’s health outcomes “have gone in the wrong direction” – with a drop in female life expectancy, and figures suggesting only the wealthiest third of women can expect to remain in good health until retirement. The authors highlight how gynaecology waiting times have more than doubled in eight years, higher rates of heart attack misdiagnosis for women, and decade-long waits for endometriosis diagnoses. Issues in cancer care and reviews into poor maternity care were also identified. “At the heart of these challenges is a systematic failure to listen to women,” the authors wrote. “If our approach to health and care does not work for all women – 51% of the population – then simply put: …
Kanye West headlining festival is ‘appalling,’ UK minister says – POLITICO
Streeting said West has “no business” headlining the festival, and that the organizers “should be ashamed of themselves” for a terrible error of judgment. “These weren’t a couple of off-color remarks,” Streeting told Sky News. “These were, I think, a pattern of behavior.” He added: “Antisemitism is serious, it can be deadly and people like Kanye West, who have an enormous platform, fame, reach, they have to accept the responsibility that comes with that. And I don’t think he has. I’m only too disappointed the festival organizers are too blind to see it.” Festival Managing Director Melvin Benn called West’s comments “abhorrent,” but said his songs were played on radio stations and he, for now, has a legal right to enter the U.K. and perform. Benn said people should “offer some forgiveness and hope to him as I have decided to do.” In a recent statement, West said he wanted the opportunity to meet with and listen to members of the Jewish community in the U.K. Source link
PM warns Travelodge CEO to ‘seriously engage’ with MPs after ‘appalling’ hotel sex attack | Politics News
Sir Keir Starmer has personally written to Travelodge’s CEO and warned she must “seriously engage with MPs” over concerns about women’s safety. The letter sent to Jo Boydell comes after a Berkshire hotel guest was sexually assaulted by a man who was wrongly given access to her room in 2022. Attacker Kyran Smith, who had falsely claimed to be her partner, was jailed in February for seven and a half years, with the hotel forced to apologise for offering the victim £30 as compensation for what happened. Travelodge has since acknowledged that the response was “inappropriate”. Describing the attack in Maidenhead as “utterly appalling”, the prime minister has now told Ms Boydell that lessons must be learnt and that action must be taken to better protect guests. Image: Kyran Smith was jailed in February. Pic: Thames Valley Police His intervention is significant and comes a week after Ms Boydell refused an open meeting with MPs worried about Travelodge’s safety procedures. In the wake of the incident, the hotel has made some immediate changes and is …
Elon Musk’s X grilled over ‘appalling and offensive’ Grok posts on Hillsborough | Science, Climate & Tech News
X has been questioned by MPs over “the most appalling and offensive” AI posts about the Hillsborough disaster. Over the weekend, Grok, X’s AI tool, was found to be falsely blaming Liverpool fans for the 1989 disaster, which led to the deaths of 97 fans, and using derogatory language about the city. A Sky News analysis also found highly offensive AI-generated posts containing profanities about Islam and Hinduism and disparaging the religions with racist vitriol. During a foreign affairs select committee hearing in Westminster on Monday, X’s head of global government affairs, Wifredo Fernández, was asked about the recent spate of posts. Image: Emily Thornberry MP. File pic: Reuters Emily Thornberry MP, chair of the committee, described them as “the most appalling and offensive messages to Hillsborough victims” and asked Mr Fernandez about action taken by X. “I understand there were some unacceptable responses,” he told MPs. “We actioned those posts with our policies and our engineering teams are investigating the issue to ensure it doesn’t happen again.” The UK government previously described them as …
UK says it will hit Iran and work with Trump after ‘appalling strikes’ | World | News
Britain has warned it could launch strikes against Iran and will co-operate with its American allies across the Middle East. The UK has also agreed to a US request to use British military bases to strike Iranian missile sites, Sir Keir Starmer has said. The warning emerges as Iran presses ahead with its offensive across the region in retaliatory strikes following the joint US-Israeli operation yesterday, which saw missiles unleashed upon Tehran. In a joint declaration alongside France and Germany, the UK indicated it may participate in strikes on Iranian territory for the first time. “We will take steps to defend our interests and those of our allies in the region, potentially through enabling necessary and proportionate defensive action to destroy Iran’s capability to fire missiles and drones at their source,” it read. “We have agreed to work together with the US and allies in the region on this matter.” The development follows Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s statement yesterday that the UK “played no role” in Operation Epic Fury, though he cautioned that British aircraft …
US senator apologizes for Lindsey Graham’s ‘appalling’ outburst at Danish PM – POLITICO
The South Carolina senator began the meeting by repeatedly cursing, according to a Congressional aide briefed on the matter, who recounted how he told Frederiksen: “Who gives a fuck who owns Greenland?” Graham then reportedly branded the Danish premier a “little lady.” The exchange was enough to prompt Slotkin to walk out of the meeting within the first 10 minutes, said the Congressional aide, who was granted anonymity to speak freely. It was “appalling” and “wildly inappropriate,” the aide added. Details of the meeting were first reported by Puck. In response to the letter, Graham doubled down, telling POLITICO: “I’ll say again, I don’t give a crap who owns Greenland.” “The main point for me about Greenland is that President Trump would like to fortify the island to make NATO’s arctic defenses stronger,” he said. “In my view, the response from European countries and officials in Greenland have missed the big picture.” The remarks underscore the persisting deep tensions between Washington and Copenhagen even after Trump formally withdrew his territorial claim to Greenland late last …
Keir Starmer rages at Trump’s ‘insulting and appalling’ attack on UK veterans | Politics | News
The president also claimed America had “never needed” its NATO partners, despite being the only member state to have ever invoked the alliance’s “all for one, and one for all” clause, in the wake of 9/11. His remarks have drawn widespread condemnation from across the political spectrum in the UK, with critics pointing to both the number of UK deaths in Afghanistan and highlighting Mr Trump’s avoidance of military service in Vietnam. Speaking in Downing Street, Sir Keir paid tribute to the 457 British personnel who died in Afghanistan, and those who were injured. He said: “I consider President Trump’s remarks to be insulting and frankly appalling and I am not surprised they have caused such hurt to the loved ones of those who were killed or injured and, in fact, across the country.” Sir Keir said he would apologise if he had said the words used by Mr Trump. In response to comments from Diane Dernie, mother of severely injured veteran Ben Parkinson, he said: “I’ve made my position clear, and what I say …