All posts tagged: Action

D.E.I. Gone Wild? What Do You Know About Affirmative Action In South Africa?

D.E.I. Gone Wild? What Do You Know About Affirmative Action In South Africa?

Published by Sam Flores

The Trump administration’s attacks on South Africa have been driven in part by President Trump’s opposition to affirmative action policies in the country. Administration officials have said the policies, known as Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment, discriminate against white business owners and prevent American firms from investing in South Africa. The measures are meant to address wealth disparities created by apartheid, when South Africa’s white minority excluded Black people from the economy. Much of the criticism has been amplified by Elon Musk, the trillionaire South Africa native and Republican mega-donor who has refused to meet the affirmative action requirements needed to bring his satellite internet company Starlink into the country. Mr. Musk has said that Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment measures are racist. He has been particularly vocal about a rule that requires companies to have some Black ownership in order to get a telecommunications license. Starlink needs such a license to operate in South Africa. The U.S. has vowed to continue punishing the country if it doesn’t change its affirmative action laws. That threat has ignited …

NSS urges Government action on Iran ‘blasphemy’ death sentence

NSS urges Government action on Iran ‘blasphemy’ death sentence

Published by Sam Flores

The National Secular Society has called on the foreign secretary to intervene in a case of an Iranian woman sentenced to death for ‘blasphemy’. Twenty-three year old Najmeh Amini was reportedly convicted of ‘sab ol-nabi’ (insulting the Islamic prophet Muhammad) related to a post she made on social media. The sentence may be appealed in Iran’s supreme court. The NSS letter urged Ed Miliband to seek Amini’s release and challenge Iran’s blasphemy laws. It said the right to freedom of expression “must include the freedom to criticise and ridicule religion”. Amini was arrested during nationwide protests in Iran in January, in which thousands are reported to have been killed by Iranian security forces. An audio recording attributed to Amini appealed for help: “I do not want to make a hero out of myself today. I only want one thing: be my voice”. Iran has allegedly carried out over 600 executions this year, with human rights campaigners warning capital punishment is increasingly being used as a means of suppressing dissent. Last week, the NSS urged Miliband …

Justice Department threatens legal action against California over alleged noncitizen voters

Justice Department threatens legal action against California over alleged noncitizen voters

Published by Sam Flores

WASHINGTON — The Justice Department is threatening legal action against California unless state and local officials review a list of potential noncitizen individuals on their voter rolls. Acting Deputy Attorney General R. Trent McCotter on Tuesday sent letters to California Secretary of State Shirley Weber and Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder Dean Logan with a list of names of possible noncitizens identified by the federal government. The letters demand they review the list by noon on Thursday. “Allowing noncitizens to vote cancels citizen votes,” McCotter wrote in the letters, which was obtained by NBC News. McCotter wrote that the DOJ provided a password-protected thumb drive with a list of individuals the federal government “believes are likely noncitizens who were sent a vote-by-mail ballot” for the 2026 election. He asked that county election officials “segregate — not cancel — those individuals’ vote-by-mail ballots” until their citizenship status was determined. “This should not be controversial, as the criminal statute is clear: only American citizens may vote in federal elections,” a Justice Department spokesperson said in a statement. “It …

Justice Department Threatens California With Legal Action Over Claim of Noncitizens on Voter Rolls

Justice Department Threatens California With Legal Action Over Claim of Noncitizens on Voter Rolls

Published by Sam Flores

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The U.S. Department of Justice has threatened California with possible legal action over what it says are noncitizens believed to have received mail ballots for next month’s midterm elections. A letter sent Tuesday to Secretary of State Shirley Weber from Trent McCotter, the acting deputy U.S. attorney general, says the department has provided officials in Los Angeles County with a password-protected thumb drive that contains a list of names the federal government believes are likely noncitizens who were sent ballots to participate in the Nov. 3 election. California mails ballots to all registered voters. The letter obtained by The Associated Press gives the state 48 hours to determine whether any citizens are included on the list. For individuals whose citizenship cannot be independently verified, the state is to instruct local election officials to segregate their mail-in ballots until their status can be determined, and to not provide a ballot to anyone who has not yet received it. The letters warns that legal action may follow if the state does not meet …

Sally Rooney says she can no longer publish work in UK over Palestine Action support

Sally Rooney says she can no longer publish work in UK over Palestine Action support

Published by Daniella Wilson

Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Membership today. Join today Already a member? Log in Irish novelist Sally Rooney has said that her publisher can no longer sell her work within the UK due to her voicing support for proscribed protest group Palestine Action. The Normal People writer, 35, said in August 2025 that she intended to use earnings from her work and her public platform to support Palestine Action, which the British government proscribed as a terrorist organisation in July that year. In a new statement on Wednesday (14 October), Rooney revealed that while the group are not a prohibited group in the Republic of Ireland, where she is based, her novels being sold in the UK would “constitute a serious criminal offence” due to her backing of Palestine Action. “In July 2025, the direct-action protest group Palestine Action was proscribed as a terrorist organisation in the UK,” she told The Guardian. “The following month, I wrote an opinion piece expressing my intention to …

Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s reasons for ‘throwing everything’ at legal action against police

Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s reasons for ‘throwing everything’ at legal action against police

Published by Daniella Wilson

Ever since his arrest back in February, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor has been keeping a very low-profile. The King’s brother has taken up residence in Marsh Farm on the monarch’s Sandringham Estate in Norfolk, and has only been seen on a handful of occasions. But he was back in the news this week after winning his legal challenge against Thames Valley police over search warrants used to raid his home after they arrested him. The former prince, who denies any wrongdoing, was arrested by police on 19 February on suspicion of misconduct in public office, after which he launched a legal challenge over the legality of the search warrants. The force said it accepted that the “initial court’s decision to issue warrants under the specific piece of legislation used was incorrect” before they searched the properties. Mr Justice Hilliard said on Thursday that while the former Duke of York and Thames Valley Police had reached an “agreement” that the warrants were unlawful, police have since launched a bid to retain evidence gathered during the searches in February. …

At least five journalists arrested at Palestine Action protest

At least five journalists arrested at Palestine Action protest

Published by Sam Flores

Two policemen escorting a man wearing handcuffs. Picture: Leicester Gazette At least five journalists were briefly arrested while covering a pro-Palestine Action protest in Leicester on Thursday. The journalists arrested included two reporters for local publication Leicester Gazette and three freelance photojournalists. They were held on the scene for around two hours by Leicestershire Police before being de-arrested. Some 35 protesters were arrested and taken into custody after gathering outside a drone factory owned by Israeli defence firm Elbit Systems in the Meridian Business Park, Braunstone. They have since been released on bail. The journalists were caught up as everyone at the scene was arrested and only allowed to leave after they shared identifying details to prove they were there in their capacity as journalists. The arrests, including those made of the journalists, came under Section 13 of the Terrorism Act 2000, which makes it an offence to wear clothing or display an article in a way that arouses reasonable suspicion that a person is a member or supporter of a proscribed organisation. Palestine Action …

Supporting Decision-Making for Climate Action

Supporting Decision-Making for Climate Action

Published by Jenni Sidey

People engage in complex decision-making every day, and many of those decisions affect the natural environment. Focusing on how people make these decisions might be the key to achieving significant progress on climate mitigation. One way to influence decision-making is to deploy choice architecture with a focus on consumers. But consumers’ choices can only be as good for the environment as the options made available to them by policymakers and business leaders. This raises a question: How can we also influence the environmental decisions made by these important groups? To answer this question, I reached out to Joe Árvai, Professor of Psychology, Biology, and Environmental Studies and Director of the Wrigley Institute for Environment and Sustainability at the University of Southern California. His research focuses on improving the judgment and decision-making capabilities of people working under conditions of risk and uncertainty, particularly when they must confront tradeoffs among conflicting social, economic, and environmental objectives. And he has been a frequent advisor to governments and businesses around the world. JP: What are the most effective levers …