News Round-Up

• “Columbia University boss quits over Gaza protests – to work for David Lammy” – The President of Columbia University has resigned to take up a job in the Foreign Office following heavy criticism of her handling of pro-Palestine protests on campus, reports the Telegraph.
• “David Lammy’s new hire shows the Foreign Office’s true colours” – Minouche Shafik appears to be another prominent public figure with a blind spot when it comes to antisemitism, writes Nicole Lampert in the Telegraph.
• “Boy, 15, first person charged with offence of rioting over U.K. disorder” – A 15 year-old boy has become the first person in the country to be charged with the offence of rioting after a judge suggested those involved in the disorder should face more serious charges, reports Sky News.
• “Meet the three types of rioter” – Far-Right thugs weren’t the sole perpetrators of the recent civil unrest, says Simon Cottee in UnHerd.
• “Husband of ‘keyboard warrior’ who called for mosque to be blown up says jailing her ‘over the top’” – The husband of the 53 year-old grandmother sentenced to 15 months for posting something “hateful” on Facebook says her sentence was “well over the top”, according to the Telegraph.
• “The persecution of ‘the plebs’” – In the Spectator, Douglas Murray discusses the uneven and unpredictable application of the law in the wake of the Southport riots.
• “Douglas Murray vs the mob” – Douglas Murray is quite wrong. We are all doing as we’re told, and Hope Not Hate has won, writes Rod Liddle in the Spectator.
• “The U.K.’s war on free speech” – Street violence is being met with restrictions on online speech by a Labour Government desperate to clamp down on un-PC opinion, says Fred de Fossard in the Critic.
• “Pressing the panic button” – On Substack, Isabel Oakeshott takes aim at Sir Keir Starmer for using state power to suppress dissenting voices on immigration.
• “Police launch hate crime inquiry after Israelis ‘hounded out’ of Edinburgh Fringe show” – Comedian Reginald D. Hunter says he regrets “unfortunate incident” in which two Jews were hounded out of his Edinburgh show as Police Scotland launches a ‘hate crime’ investigation, reports the Telegraph.
• “Home Office ‘considering banning silent prayer outside abortion clinics’” – The Home Office is weighing up whether to ban silent prayer outside abortion clinics, says the Telegraph.
• “A freedom worth having” – On Julie Bindel’s Substack, Akua Reindorf KC makes a compelling case for the Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Act 2023.
• “Freedom of speech and expression” – A 1942 essay by former Prime Minister of Australia Robert Menzies defending freedom of speech provides a timely reminder of the enduring importance of protecting open debate and dissent.
• “The modern world is full of the old Christian virtues gone mad” – On Substack, Ed West considers whether the liberal elite really are going to leave X this time or whether it‘s an empty threat, as it always has been before.
• “Labour’s train driver capitulation is the first step to fiscal ruin” – The decision to award train drivers a pay rise of 15% will end with a Labour Government leading the country to fiscal ruin, warns Ross Clark in the Spectator.
• “Thousands of train fare prosecutions set to be quashed” – As many as 74,000 prosecutions for alleged rail fare evasion in England and Wales are set to be quashed following a landmark ruling, according to the BBC.
• “Two-tier concerns must be addressed by police, says Cleverly” – Police must treat all groups equally says James Cleverly, the former Home Secretary, reports the Telegraph.
• “Labour still planning tax rises despite economy boost” – The Government is set to press ahead with tax rises and spending cuts, despite aBritain being the fastest-growing major economy, reports inews.
• “Council tax takings are growing two-and-a-half times faster than inflation” – Council tax receipts collected in the past financial year amount to a 214% increase since 2000, according to the Telegraph.
• “School leavers should choose their options carefully” – The way university is sold to young people needs to change, says Henry Hill in CapX.
• “On the fantasy of collapse, the robust nature of modern states and what kind of political change is possible” – The countercultural Left and the countercultural Right nourish two equivalent political fantasies, writes Eugyppius on Substack.
• “Heat pumps could bring the German economy to its knees” – The companies that poured billions into building the industrial infrastructure for the transition to Net Zero are running into trouble one by one, says Matthew Lynn in the Telegraph.
• “Entitlement and laziness are crushing the life out of Britain” – A devastating cultural shift during Covid has left too many believing that the world – or the taxpayer – owes them a living, writes Annabel Denham in the Telegraph.
• “How lockdown sparked an epidemic of hostile and angry boys” – More than 120,000 parents of sons with a behavioural disorder were receiving Disability Living Allowance in February 2024, compared with just under 62,000 girls, reports Szu Ping Chan in the Telegraph.
• “Labour is in danger of failing the lockdown generation all over again” – High expectations and rigour are the best ways to help poorer students, not ‘progressive’ reforms, says Fraser Nelson in the Telegraph.
• “Eye issues skyrocket after the Covid shots rolled out” – If something other than the Covid jab is causing such a huge increase in eye problems, what is it? asks Steve Kirsch on his Substack.
• “On Gov. Tim Walz, Covid lockdown fanatic” – How badly did Minnesota Governor Tim Walz panic in the autumn of 2020? He essentially destroyed Thanksgiving, says Alex Berenson on his Unreported Truths Substack.
• “The Japanese monkeypox vaccine” – On Substack, Dr. Meryl Nass gives her thoughts on the monkeypox vaccine programme and the actual cause of death in what is generally a very mild illness.
• “‘Kory and Marik were just stripped of their specialty board certifications. So was I, but the ABIM never even bothered to tell me’” – On Substack, Dr. Meryl Nass reveals her shock at discovering that the American Board of Internal Medicine had revoked her certification – without any notice, investigation or chance to respond.
• “Laura Woods reveals death threats to unborn child over post about Telegraph gender-row article” – TV presenter Laura Woods has revealed she received “numerous death threats” online after praising a Telegraph article that was critical of the Olympic champion boxers Imane Khelif and Lin Yu-ting, according to the BBC.
• “Why Imane Khelif’s biggest fight yet could be against J.K. Rowling” – In the Telegraph, Marianka Swain updates on the cyberbullying lawsuit involving Algerian gold medal boxer Imane Khelif, J.K. Rowling and Elon Musk.
• “Kamala Harris’s campaign ‘editing news headlines to make it look like publishers back her’” – Kamala Harris’s campaign has been accused of secretly editing news headlines in Google advertisements to make it appear as if well-known media organisations have endorsed her, reports the Mail.
• “New mothers breastfeed in front of endangered orangutan to try to show her how to care for baby” – Thirty women breastfed their babies in front of a pregnant orangutan as part of a plan to teach the expecting mother how to care for her newborn at the Dublin Zoo in Ireland, says Sky News.
• “‘You under cook fish? Jail’” – A satirical video on X shows Keir Starmer in full dictator garb, listing the many innocuous offences that could land you in jail.

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