Latest news with #TheNational
The National
14 hours ago
- Politics
- The National
JK Rowling called The National 'anti-woman' – here's my response
She made this claim because we ran an article, and have run many articles previously, describing groups like Sex Matters as "anti-trans". I would like to take the opportunity to defend this newspaper against Rowling's frankly ridiculous description, and explain why "anti-trans" is indeed suitable language for these activists. What did JK Rowling say and what was the context? On Wednesday, our reporter Laura Pollock published a story headlined "Sex Matters considers new legal action against Scottish Government". In the social copy for the article, we stated: "An anti-trans campaign group is threatening further legal action against the Scottish Government, saying ministers are failing to implement the recent Supreme Court judgment on biological sex in equalities law." On Wednesday night, Rowling tweeted: "For Women Scotland is a feminist campaigning group. You appear to be an anti-woman newspaper." It is important to note that we weren't referring to For Women Scotland, but the group Sex Matters, which suggests Rowling didn't actually read the story before trying to smear our publication. Sex Matters and "anti-trans" First of all, let's take on the argument that describing Sex Matters as "anti-trans" is unfair, pejorative language. Rowling says it is simply a "feminist campaigning group". Is that the case? Sex Matters is an organisation which spends most of its time trying to keep trans women out of all women's spaces. Its recent campaigning includes attacking Westminster Council for displaying Pride flags during Pride Month, and arguing that schools should not teach children that people can transition. In its advice for parents on sex and gender in schools, it also states clearly: "Schools should not celebrate festivals such as Transgender Day of Remembrance." It is very difficult to find examples of Sex Matters campaigning on issues which do not relate to gender identity or matters related to the so-called trans "debate". To describe Sex Matters as simply a "feminist campaigning group" would be misleading, and fail to take into account its primary function. The National – an "anti-woman newspaper"? Myself and the reporters on staff at The National would have once been horrified to learn that JK Rowling had described us as "anti-woman". Today, it reads simply as another Twitter insult dispensed without any grounding in reality. So, here are the facts. The National is led by a woman, with a female assistant editor. On staff, we have more women working as reporters than men. An equal number of men and women write columns for us. We are part of the Pass the Mic programme, mentoring a number of women of colour in Scotland every year and helping them break into the media. We have campaigned on issues like buffer zones, pushing the Scottish Government to bring in legislation to protect women from abuse. For the 2024 International Women's Day, an all-women team produced the newspaper. Everything from the front page to the sports section was written and edited by women. It was the first time this had been done in the Scottish media in my own lifetime. Some of the team in the office for the International Women's Day edition in 2024 (Image: Colin Mearns) That edition looked at a range of issues affecting women in Scotland and around the world. Those challenges included women in Gaza being forced to have C-sections without anaesthetic, thanks to Israel's systematic destruction of the health service. This is an extremely urgent feminist campaigning issue which I have not heard Rowling or her friends at Sex Matters raise concerns over. Rowling has chosen to respond to language she did not like (due to its perceived sympathy towards trans people) by launching an intellectually lazy attack on a newspaper, primarily staffed by women, with a strong track record on reporting on feminist issues. Ultimately, I question the feminist credentials of those who brand the women working at The National "handmaidens" or accuse us of internalised misogyny because the coverage doesn't align neatly with their specific views. It is also not for JK Rowling to determine what all women think or feel. Nobody, no matter how wealthy or influential, can speak for all of us. Thankfully, arguments like Rowling's will not convince many people who are not already deep down the anti-trans rabbit hole. But her attempts to control our language are not welcome and should be called out by those who claim to value free speech. At The National we deal in truth, and will not be cowed by a billionaire trying to control media output to fit her own worldview.
The National
18 hours ago
- Politics
- The National
Doctors Without Borders head sounds alarm over pattern of 'genocide and ethnic cleansing' in Gaza
In an interview with The National's Mohamad Ali Harisi, Christopher Lockyear discusses the humanitarian crisis unfolding in Gaza, where politicised aid efforts are causing more harm than good
The National
20 hours ago
- Politics
- The National
Israel accused of 'hypocrisy' after calling hospital strike 'war crime'
An Iranian missile slammed into the Soroka Medical Centre in southern Israel early on Thursday, injuring people and causing 'extensive damage', according to officials. Iranian state media reports that the missile strike targeted a military site next to the hospital and not the facility itself. Separate Iranian strikes hit a high-rise apartment building in Tel Aviv and other sites in central Israel, with at least 40 people injured according to Israel's Magen David Adom rescue service. READ MORE: Israeli strikes kill 72 Palestinians, 29 waiting for aid trucks Israel, meanwhile, has carried out strikes on Iran's Arak heavy water reactor, its latest attack on the country's sprawling nuclear programme, on the seventh day of a conflict that began with a surprise wave of Israeli air strikes targeting military sites, senior officers and nuclear scientists. Israel's deputy foreign affairs minister Sharren Haskel has called Iran's strike on the hospital "deliberate" and "criminal", while the Israeli health minister Uriel Buso said it was a war crime. But Richard McNeil-Willson, who lectures in the Middle Eastern studies department at Edinburgh University, said while striking a hospital is a war crime, the country's ministers are displaying hypocrisy given Israel has 'time and again' attacked hospitals in Gaza. 'The bombing of a hospital is a war crime under the 1949 Geneva Convention, but it is a war crime that the Israeli state has committed time and again,' he told The National. 'Israel has not just targeted hospitals but has sought to wipe out the entire healthcare system in Gaza, in an area it is blockading and bombarding, amidst mass population displacement and acute shortages of food, water, medical supplies, fuel and shelter. 'Concern over the striking of the Soroka Medical Centre in Israel should be contrasted with the Israeli destruction of Al Ahli hospital, the siege of al-Shifa hospital in Gaza, and attacks on all 36 hospitals in Gaza. READ MORE: Israel's aggression makes mockery of self defence claims 'It must be contrasted with the killing of 227 journalists, more than any conflict in recent history; and with the scholasticide of schools, universities, and the destruction of all state infrastructure in Gaza. It must be contrasted with the entrapment, displacement and targeting of over two million Gazans in a genocide again. 'The mass murder of civilians by the Israeli State has been met by either total indifference or outright support by many politicians - including by the UK Government - and demonstrates the racism and hypocrisy not just at the heart of the Israeli state and Zionism, but in European and Western governments.' Israeli forces have killed 70 Palestinians on Wednesday, including people waiting for aid trucks. UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy is to meet his US counterpart Marco Rubio today to discuss the situation in the Middle East as Donald Trump continues to consider joining Israeli strikes against Iran. Israel's campaign has also targeted Iran's enrichment site at Natanz, centrifuge workshops around Tehran and a nuclear site in Isfahan. Its strikes have killed top generals and nuclear scientists. A Washington-based Iranian human rights group said at least 639 people, including 263 civilians, have been killed in Iran and more than 1300 wounded. In retaliation, Iran has fired some 400 missiles and hundreds of drones, killing at least 24 people in Israel and wounding hundreds. The Arak heavy water reactor is 155 miles south-west of Tehran. Heavy water helps cool nuclear reactors, but it produces plutonium as a byproduct that can potentially be used in nuclear weapons. That would provide Iran another path to the bomb beyond enriched uranium, should it choose to pursue the weapon. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the United Nations' nuclear watchdog, has been urging Israel not to strike Iranian nuclear sites. IAEA inspectors reportedly last visited Arak on May 14. Due to restrictions Iran imposed on inspectors, the IAEA has said it lost 'continuity of knowledge' about Iran's heavy water production – meaning it could not absolutely verify Tehran's production and stockpile.
The National
2 days ago
- Business
- The National
Western Isles says 'cyberattack' behind 6.1 per cent drop in council tax collection
Scotland's provisional council tax collection rates for this financial year were published on Tuesday, showing a range from 89.5% to 98.2% across the 32 local authorities. The Western Isles' council tax collection rate was an outlier in the data as the only council collecting less than 93%. The council registered a rate of 89.5%, after previously collecting 96.1% in 2021/22, 96.4% in 2022/23 and 95.6% in 2023/24. READ MORE: Yacht's lower deck catches fire off Scottish island's coast as lifeboat launches When asked the reason for this drop, Comhairle nan Eilean Siar told The National that a cyberattack in November 2023 destroyed council tax data and IT systems. The rebuilding of these systems "took several months", which resulted in "bills being issued later than usual". Local authorities are responsible for billing and collecting council tax, and before the start of each financial year, councils issue council tax bills to householders in each property. The local authority said that "there is already a marked improvement in collection" now that the system is back to running smoothly again. READ MORE: Scottish pensioners to be better off than rest of UK after winter fuel changes A spokesperson for the council said: 'Comhairle nan Eilean Siar was the victim of a cyberattack on November 7, 2023, which resulted in the loss of council tax data and IT systems. "The systems, including council tax account data, required to be rebuilt, which took several months, resulting in bills being issued later than usual, with an obvious impact on collection rates. Limited system functionality at the initial stage following the rebuild meant that routine debt collection processes could not be undertaken 'With the system now largely back to full functionality and the backlog of processing being cleared, debt collection processes have now been reinstated, and there is already a marked improvement in collection. "It is anticipated that current year collection rates will return levels seen in previous years.'
The 961
2 days ago
- Business
- The 961
We Might Finally Be Getting A Low-Cost Lebanese Airline – Here's What We Know
Cheaper flights from Beirut? Count us in! Lebanon's national carrier, Middle East Airlines (MEA), is officially looking into launching a low-cost Lebanese airline – and yes, that could finally mean affordable travel to Europe and the Middle East straight from Beirut. The plan is to create a budget airline under the MEA group, but fully independent. MEA chairman Mohamad El Hout told The National: 'We are thinking of preparing within the next two years to launch a low-cost airline under MEA, starting with four aircraft.' But it all depends on finding the planes. MEA's currently hunting for aircraft in a super competitive market. If they manage to get them, the new airline would focus on popular routes where people are looking for cheaper options. We all know how expensive it can be to fly out of Beirut. So, hearing that MEA is looking to offer a budget option (just like many other international airlines already do) is kind of a big deal. Recently, low-budget airline Wizz added a route between Dubai and Beirut. There are also plans to build a new terminal at the Beirut airport to serve up to 5 million passengers and potentially make room for more affordable airlines. PM Nawaf Salam recently said that Lebanon's second international airport, the Rene Mouawad Airport in Qlayaat, will be rebranded and launched soon. The new airport is expected to focus on cargo and low-cost travel.
