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The comments have been widely criticised by survivors groups and political opponents who said they downplayed the seriousness and lasting trauma of rape.The SCRA, which comprises support groups in Glasgow, Lanarkshire, Ayrshire and the Western Isles, said the impacts of rape can last a lifetime, and the crime should never be reduced to a theoretical debate. In an open letter the alliance said: “We are not demonising rape. We are naming it.”The authors strongly opposed the idea of rape existing on a “spectrum”, insisting “there is no hierarchy of rape” and that no survivor should feel compelled to ask whether…

Plans by Elon Musk’s SpaceX to build a vast rocket launch site on a stretch of Louisiana’s rapidly eroding coastline have stirred a backlash among some local opponents who fear it will badly damage the area’s fragile ecosystem.A deal for SpaceX to take control of 130,000 acres of coastal Vermilion parish is reported to be close to being finalized, allowing the company to escalate its number of launches, including of its new Starship mega rocket. SpaceX also has ambitions to deploy artificial intelligence datacenters in space, and while some experts have doubts about this, it has submitted regulatory filings to…

Super Falcons head coach Justin Madugu has apologised to Nigerians and taken responsibility for Nigeria’s disappointing quarter-final defeat to Cameroon at the 2026 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations, insisting the team will fight to secure a place at next year’s FIFA Women’s World Cup through the playoffs. Nigeria’s hopes of securing an automatic ticket to the 2027 World Cup were dashed after Cameroon claimed a 1-0 victory in Casablanca, with Maéva Nyadjou’s free-kick proving decisive. The defeat means the Super Falcons must now navigate the African playoff route for one of the remaining opportunities to qualify for the tournament in…

Comedy series Dig, which reunites Amy Poehler and Parks & Recreation executive producer Michael Schur, will hit the small screen this fall. Premiering November 23, Dig centers a team of dedicated archaeologists (and some less-dedicated college students) who spend their summer working on a dig site in Greece, where they discover a rare artifact that prompts the adventure of a lifetime. The long-buried secret also grants them the potential to rewrite history as they find themselves at the heart of a high-stakes international conspiracy. The comedy series contains ten episodes. The series stars Amy Poehler, Hugh Laurie, Geraldine Viswanathan, Antonia…

Like snooping in someone else’s supermarket trolley, discovering other people’s shopping habits satisfies a certain nosiness. And never more so than when it comes to celebrities – there’s nothing more human than knowing Kim Cattrall loves fish and chips, or that Henry Holland is a Skims guy.The Guardian’s journalism is independent. We will earn a commission if you buy something through an affiliate link. Learn more.And as celebrities often have the inside track – or perhaps we just think they do – on everything from coffee machines to skincare, their recommendations in our biweekly How I Shop column have inspired more…

The Revenue Monitoring Group of Nigeria (RMGN) has commended the Nigeria Customs Service, (NCS) for what it described as “a strategic transformation” in trade facilitation, border security and technology adoption under the leadership of Comptroller-General, Bashir Adewale Adeniyi. In a statement issued in Abuja on Monday, the civil society organization said the reforms have repositioned Customs beyond revenue collection to become a key driver of national development. Signed by RMGN President, Dr. Ifeanyi Duruaku, and Secretary General, Comrade Tor Lumun, the group noted that NCS had successfully ditched age-long manual processes in favour of digital, intelligence-led operations. “The CGC has…

The Bald Range wildfire comes on the heels of another fire in the Okanagan, called Bradley Creek, which is believed to have destroyed more than 200 homes.Officials said the Bradley Creek fire is now being held after “tireless work” by wildfire crews to contain it. Drought conditions have also contributed to fires in the US state of Washington, just south of British Columbia, where more than 65,000 people were forced to flee their homes. Devastating fires have also burned this summer in Spain and France as Europe grapples with drought and record high temperatures. France has seen its worst fires…

Stay informed with free updatesSimply sign up to the Travel & leisure industry myFT Digest — delivered directly to your inbox.Liverpool Football Club’s owner Fenway Sports Group is closing in on a deal to sell a significant minority stake in the business to investors including Jeff Bezos. The Amazon founder is part of a consortium led by Amit Bhatia, the son-in-law of steel tycoon and billionaire Lakshmi Mittal, which is set to buy about a third of the Premier League side, according to people familiar with the matter. A deal, which the FT previously reported may value the club at…

Meta on Monday released Muse Glimmer, an open-weight model designed to power AI agents locally on consumer hardware, providing the clearest picture yet of what CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s vision of “personal superintelligence” could look like in practice.  The 30-billion parameter model is essentially an open version of Meta’s most powerful closed model, Muse Spark, which the company debuted in April. Glimmer’s weights are available under the permissive Apache 2.0 license, so developers can download them and modify as necessary. Glimmer is designed to run AI agents that can perform multi-step tasks — like call tools, write and debug code, work…

The businessman and Reform UK donor Arron Banks is facing calls to lay out the extent of his surveillance of journalists, described by an industry body as an “attack on our democracy”.The News Media Association (NMA), which represents regional and national media, raised concerns after Banks appeared to admit over the weekend to hiring private investigators to spy on a Sunday Times journalist.The revelation, first reported in the New Statesman, has led to fears that other journalists examining the funding of Reform and Nigel Farage, including those at the Guardian, could have been targeted.When asked over the weekend whether he…