At least 22 people die after six days adrift in boat en route to Europe from Libya 28. March 2026 (13:32) Survivors tell coastguard smugglers ordered victims to be thrown overboard after running out of food and water22 people hoping to reach Europe from north Africa have died off the coast of Greece after six days at sea in a rubber boat, survivors told the Greek coastguard.The coastguard said on Friday that 26 people, including a woman and a minor, were rescued by a European border agency vessel off the island of Crete. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
US House passes stopgap DHS funding bill after Republicans reject Senate deal 28. March 2026 (13:27) Bill passes by 213 to 203 votes in move prolonging weeks-long budget standoff that has disrupted travelUS House Republicans rejected a bipartisan Senate deal to temporarily fund the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and instead passed their own funding measure late on Friday, extending a weeks-long budget standoff that has disrupted air travel.The stopgap bill, which proposes funding the DHS in full for eight weeks, passed by 213 to 203 votes after Republicans in the lower chamber refused to take up a Senate-passed deal that excluded money for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the border patrol. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
‘Our assumptions are broken’: how fraudulent church data revealed AI’s threat to polling 28. March 2026 (13:00) Experts say paid participants are using automated tools to generate unreliable survey responses at scaleIf you had been keeping tabs on the news about church attendance in Britain lately, you would be forgiven for thinking the country was in the midst of a Christian revival.Stories of swelling congregations, filled with young people returning to the flock, spurred on by everything from social media to a rise in bible sales appeared to be confirmed by a 2024 report from the Bible Society. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
US embassy in Mexico prompts outrage with AI video promoting ‘self-deportation’ 28. March 2026 (13:00) AI-generated footage depicts group of men performing a corrido, singing phrases including ‘return to your roots’An AI-generated video from the US embassy in Mexico encouraging migrants to “self-deport” has sparked disbelief and outrage online.The video posted this week on official embassy social media accounts depicts a group of men wearing black caps and sporting tattoos performing a kind of traditional Mexican ballad known as a corrido. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Young voters shake Italy’s political calm as referendum exposes tensions for Giorgia Meloni 28. March 2026 (13:00) Prime minister is scrambling to clean up her government after youth vote powered a damaging referendum defeatFilippo Michelini was having a drink at San Calisto, a popular bar in Rome’s Trastevere neighbourhood on Wednesday night. As he chatted to his friends, Giorgia Meloni’s far-right government was reeling from a failed referendum, and her beleaguered tourism minister, Daniela Santanchè, had just resigned.Michelini, a 29-year-old computer scientist who lives in Brussels, was spending a few days in the Italian capital after returning home last weekend to cast his ballot in the plebiscite on judicial changes. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Hundreds of thousands of people expected at London march against the far right – live 28. March 2026 (11:43) Together Alliance march begins in central London at midday; a separate event organised by the Palestine Coalition is also taking placeDozens of coaches will leave from across the country on Saturday morning – including 10 from Manchester alone – to begin marching from Park Lane to Trafalgar Square at midday but who are Together Alliance?The anti-discrimination group Stand Up to Racism are members of the alliance and Sabby Dhalu has said the Together Alliance’s formation was a direct reaction to growing far-right sentiment espoused in last September’s “unite the kingdom” demonstration. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
