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- Schools to implement new food standards to tackle childhood obesity
- Turkish police arrest 162 in crackdown on LGBTQ+ bars and activists
- Sweden’s centre-left bloc leads parliamentary election vote count
- Genta Koja wins Okinawa gubernatorial election, defeating Denny Tamaki
- Trump removes tariff on Irish whiskey as Canada faces potential alcohol ban
- Pardon brokers allegedly promise to pressure Biden for clemency at high costs
- Villagers in Uttar Pradesh tie up engineer over poor 5G connectivity
- Sweden’s centre-left bloc leads parliamentary election with 27.8% vote
For the 376th consecutive day, the israelis continue to pound, target & massacre civilians in Gaza — 65 people killed in just the last 24 hours
I wasn’t selected to speak in the Urgent Question on Gaza today.
What I was going to ask is: when will the government end its complicity in Israel’s genocide against the Palestinian people? When will it implement sanctions, withdraw diplomatic support and suspend ALL arms sales?
There are no easy answers to the decline of UK’s Aim
The government must reform the UK’s “broken inheritance tax system”, a respected think tank has urged, after fresh research found uncapped exemptions in the current framework means a quarter of estates worth over £10m pay a rate of just nine per cent.
September 14, 2026
7:00 am
Get you up to speed: Schools introduce more food rules decades after Turkey Twizzlers ban | News UK
The UK Department for Education announced new school food standards aimed at reducing childhood obesity and tooth decay, requiring schools to limit sweetened desserts and include fruit in meals. The changes will be implemented in September 2024, with secondary schools given until September 2028 to comply fully.
The new school food standards will come into effect in September 2024, with secondary schools granted until September 2028 to implement certain changes. The Department for Education will collaborate with the Food Standards Agency to monitor compliance, with further details on the plan expected in the coming months.
Education Secretary Lucy Powell described the new school food standards as “once-in-a-generation changes” aimed at ensuring that “every child has access to the healthy meals we know children need to learn, grow and succeed.” The Department for Education will collaborate with the Food Standards Agency to develop a monitoring plan for schools, with details expected in the coming months.
What remains unclear — Specific details on how the Department for Education plans to monitor compliance with the new school food standards have not yet been provided.
Schools to implement new food standards to tackle childhood obesity
Schools will have to cut down on serving pupils sweetened baked desserts under the first new school food standards for more than a decade.
The desserts must contain or be served with fruit as part of the sweeping overhaul aimed at tackling childhood obesity and tooth decay.
Sugary drinks and foods such as ice cream and waffles will also be restricted, while deep-fried foods are cut, according to the Department for Education.
Foods high in fat and salt such as pizzas and sausages will also have to be limited. More fibrous wholegrains and pulses such as lentils and chickpeas will be required on menus alongside main meal options at least once a week.
And a portion of vegetables or salad should accompany, or be incorporated into, every main meal.
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Each school will be expected to publish their menus and food policies online to help boost compliance.
They will also be expected to nominate a school food governor who will hold schools to account for the meals on offer.
The DfE will work with the Food Standards Agency on a plan to monitor schools, with details to follow in the coming months.
A survey of more than 1,400 headteachers and senior leaders in primary and secondary state schools in England – conducted in September by Teacher Tapp on behalf of School Food Matters – found 68% believe the standards would be more effective if compliance was independently checked.
The standards will come into effect next September, with secondary schools given until September 2028 to make some of the changes.
Around one in three children are leaving primary school overweight or obese, while tooth decay is the leading cause of hospital admissions for youngsters aged five to nine.
Education Secretary Lucy Powell said: ‘These are once-in-a-generation changes that will transform school food for children across the country.
‘From our historic expansion of free school meals to the rollout of free breakfast clubs and new school food standards, we are making sure that every child has access to the healthy meals we know children need to learn, grow and succeed.
‘No child should spend the school day hungry, and no family should have to struggle to put food on the table. This is what change looks like: healthier food, fuller stomachs and a fairer start for every child.’
The changes are backed by chef Jamie Oliver and actress Dame Emma Thompson.
Oliver said: ‘Back 20-plus years ago when I started School Dinners I could not believe that we had standards for dog food but not what we serve our children at school.
‘And I’ve never stopped banging that drum. So it’s brilliant to see new school food standards based on the latest science, to make sure the food children get at school is actually supporting their health and helping them thrive.’
Dame Emma, who campaigns for the Food Foundation charity, said: ‘This is a milestone worth celebrating and an investment in a healthier future for the next generation.’
September 14, 2026
7:00 am
September 14, 2026
6:00 am
Get you up to speed: Turkish police raid gay bars and LGBTQ+ homes in ‘family values’ crackdown | News World
Turkish police arrested 162 people during dawn raids targeting gay bars and LGBTQ+ activists across 12 provinces as part of the ‘My Family is Safe’ campaign. Authorities have initiated proceedings against the suspects, which include 9 associations and 13 businesses, on various allegations, including obscenity and producing pornographic content.
Turkish police have commenced legal proceedings against 162 suspects, including 9 associations and 13 businesses, under various allegations such as pornography and producing obscene content. Access to numerous websites and social media accounts linked to LGBTQ+ organisations and activists has been blocked as part of the government’s ‘My Family is Safe’ campaign.
Turkish Justice Minister Akin Gurlek announced that proceedings have commenced against 162 suspects, alongside investigations involving nine associations and 13 businesses linked to allegations including obscenity. Nacho Sanchez Amor, the European Parliament’s Turkey rapporteur, condemned the crackdown as a “shocking escalation” of repression, warning that it represents a violation of fundamental rights and Turkey’s international commitments.
What remains unclear — It is not specified how many of the 162 arrested individuals are LGBTQ+ activists versus members of other targeted groups.
Turkish police arrest 162 in crackdown on LGBTQ+ bars and activists
Turkish police launched dawn raids on popular hang out spots (Picture: REUTERS)
Turkish police have arrested 162 people in a sweeping crackdown targeting gay bars and LGBTQ+ activists.
Authorities carried out dawn raids in 12 provinces over the weekend as part of a ‘My Family is Safe’ campaign to protect family values.
Officers targeted popular hangouts, current and former members of prominent LGBTQ+ rights groups and blocked their websites.
Turkish Justice Minister Akin Gurlek said proceedings had begun against 162 suspects, as well as 9 associations and 13 businesses, relating to various allegations including pornography and producing obscene content.
Turkey’s Human Rights Association said: ‘This is not a judicial investigation; it is a political operation aimed at forcing society into a monolithic family model and purging LGBTI+ and independent civil society under the guise of protecting the family and children.
People run from the police during a June 2026 march in support of transgender people and their rights during the LGBTQ Pride week in Istanbul (Picture AP Photo/Dilara Acikgoz)
‘To include unrelated charges such as ‘forming a criminal organization,’ ‘drugs,’ ‘prostitution’ and ‘obscenity’ serves not to reveal the truth but to incriminate the entire community.’
Police detained 26 people and seized drugs, digital equipment, smuggled alcohol and a firearm, Istanbul chief prosecutor’s office said.
Ankara chief prosecutor’s office said that a further 21 people were arrested as part of an investigation into LGBTQ+ association Kaos GL.
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The LGBT rights group, one of the oldest and largest in Turkey, said at least 50 activists had been detained, including 10 arrested during raids on their homes.
Authorities also blocked access to dozens of websites and social media accounts linked to LGBT organisations and activists, Kaos GL added.
The crackdown was part of the government’s ‘My Family is Safe’ campaign, which is part of President Tayyip Erdogan’s efforts to boost falling birth rates and foster a ‘Decade of Family and Population’.
‘The real name of this operation is not ‘My Family is Safe’; it is state-led discrimination, politics of fear and the dismantling of civil society,’ the Turkish Human Rights Association added on X.
LGBTQ+ groups have accused the government of repressing LGBTQ people (Picture: Hakan Akgun/ dia images via Getty Images)
Nacho Sanchez Amor, the European Parliament’s Turkey rapporteur, sounded the alarm over the ‘shocking escalation’ of repression.
He added: ‘This imposition of a moral agenda is a blatant violation of fundamental rights and Turkey’s international commitments taking the country down a dark path.’
Prosecutors have claimed there is evidence that children were being inappropriately influenced on issues relating to sexual orientation and gender identity.
Although same-sex relations are not illegal in the country, homophobia is rife.
The country’s president Edogan has blamed LGBTQ ‘perverts’ for Turkey’s rapidly declining birth rates.
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