Independent

Three Maori Party MPs will be temporarily banned from New Zealand’s parliament for protesting a proposed law change with a haka. A parliamentary committee has recommended the penalties, understood to be the harshest ever for New Zealand MPs. They said that the haka – a ceremonial Maori dance made world-famous by the country’s men’s rugby team, the All Blacks – could have intimidated other politicians and constituted contempt of parliament. #news #newzealand #haka #nzparliament #fyp

A large crowd of people were protesting in Serbia when a sudden loud, whooshing sound immediately triggered panic on Saturday, 15 March. Demonstrators gathered in Belgrade after 15 people were killed when part of a train station collapsed in Novi Sad in November. Opposition officials and Serbian rights groups claimed a sonic cannon was used during the protest. The Belgrade Centre for Security Policy condemned “the unlawful and inhumane deployment of prohibited weapons, such as acoustic devices, against peaceful protesters.” Serbian officials have denied reports that security forces used a military-grade Long Range Acoustic Device (LRAD), also known as a “sonic cannon”, on Saturday. The army states that it does not possess and has not used a sonic cannon. #Belgrade #SonicCannon #protest

A flight tracker captured chaos in the skies after a huge fire at a west London electricity substation forced Heathrow Airport to close. The airport, which is one of the busiest in the world, is expected to remain closed until midnight on Friday (21 March), with more than 1,350 flights delayed or cancelled. #news #uk #heathrow #heathrowairport #flights #flightdisruption #flighttracker #travel #fyp

Donald Trump lashed out at an ABC News reporter questioning him on plans to accept a gift of a $400m jet from the Qatari royal family, to be used as the new Air Force One.  Speaking on Monday, May 12, the president said only a “stupid person” would say no to a “free, very expensive aeroplane”.  Trump faces a backlash for his plan from ally Laura Loomer, who said it would be a “stain” on the administration, while Democrats have called it “bribery”. #Trump #Qatar #luxury #jet

A hairy situation turned bloody at a barbershop in Baton Rouge, Louisiana after a hairdresser started chopping off a girl’s new braids after mother allegedly refused to pay a $25 late fee. An 11-year-old girl had an appointment to get her hair braided last Tuesday at 5 p.m. but she and her mother showed up 10 minutes late, the girl’s grandmother Conchota Singleton said in a social media post. Click the link in bio for more 🔗

Donald Trump said he did not know who created the now-infamous AI image of him as the Pope but insisted that “Catholics love it,” despite widespread outrage both at home and abroad. The president said that those that were offended by the image couldn’t “take a joke” and that his wife – First Lady Melania Trump – thought the image was “cute.” Click the link in bio for more 🔗

Donald Trump stared down a reporter whose microphone hit him in the face as he spoke to journalists before departing for Mar-a-Lago on Friday, 14 March. The president was speaking about Gaza to a group of press at Joint Base Andrews when a boom microphone made contact with his face. Mr Trump looked towards the group of journalists before raising his eyebrows at the incident. The Republican remarked, "She just became a big story tonight," seemingly referring to the reporter. #DonaldTrump #microphone #reporter

JD Vance met briefly with Pope Francis on Easter Sunday as the pontiff recovers from pneumonia. The vice president and the pontiff met for a few minutes at the Domus Santa Marta "to exchange Easter greetings," the Vatican said. Click the link in bio for more 🔗

Pope Leo XIV celebrated his first Mass as the leader of the Catholic Church while congratulatory messages poured in for making history as the first American-born pontiff. He called on the gathered cardinals and the faithful watching to “recognise the marvels the Lord has done”.

One year later and this is still the best video on TikTok #AprilFools #alisonhammond #thismorning

Audience groan as Starmer mentions 'toolmaker' father again. Originally published in June 2024.

A beaver was caught farting on a wildlife camera set up in a Cornwall nature reserve. The footage, filmed within Cornwall Wildlife Trust's Helman Tor nature reserves, shows the animal breaking wind as it climbs onto a bank after emerging from water. Click the link in bio for more 🔗

Attorney General Pam Bondi waved a large block of fake fentanyl block around in order to prove a point. Pam Bondi spoke on Friday, March 14th, 2025 at the U.S. Justice Department on the topics of fentanyl, immigration, and crime within the country. In a dramatic gesture the Attorney General stated, "On stage, we have — this is 180 kilograms, it represents — not real... of fentanyl," pointing to the fake white substance to her right. She then proceeded to wave around the large white block of only 1 kilometer of the fake fentanyl stating that the real thing can kill "half a million people". Many critics have commented on the moment calling it, "political theater at its finest".

Elon Musk’s notorious “salute” has been carved into sand at the world’s largest Tesla protest. A 250m-long “Don’t buy a Tesla’ message” was carved into the sand on a Welsh beach earlier this week. The words were carved into the sand, along with a silhouette of Musk’s infamous “salute” from Donald Trump’s inauguration. British political campaign group Led By Donkeys staged the protest on Black Rock Sands, near Porthmadog, Wales. It was made by attaching a rake to the back of a Tesla Model 3, which was driven around the beach to create the message. Musk previously brushed aside the furore over the gesture he gave at Trump’s inauguration. He also hit out at attacks and protests against Tesla, stating: “Tesla just makes electronic cars”.

Elon Musk has lost $1 million per minute since the start of 2025 #elonmusk #tesla #doge

The FBI director says he believes Jeffrey Epstein killed himself. During a Thursday (8 May) appropriations meeting, Louisiana Sen. John Kennedy asked Kash Patel about the popular conspiracy theory that the financier and sex abuser was murdered in his jail cell. Click the link in bio for more 🔗

The White House has addressed Donald Trump’s latest attack on Taylor Swift. On Friday (16 May), the President wrote from his Truth Social account: “Has anyone noticed that, since I said ‘I HATE TAYLOR SWIFT,’ she’s no longer ‘HOT?’” Click the link in bio for more 🔗

Plans to connect 39 European stations by a high-speed rail network have been revealed – with lines linking the UK, Ukraine, Turkey and Portugal. Starline, a blueprint by Copenhagen-based think tank 21st Europe, proposes a new European high-speed rail network to “make the continent feel whole again” by 2040. #news #travel #europe #trainline #europetravel #traveltok #trsinlines #transport #london #fyp

The dire wolf, an ancient species that went extinct more than 10,000 years ago, has been revived in a “de-extinction” according to scientists. On Monday (7 April), Texas-based Colossal Biosciences said they have revived the extinct species famously featured in Game of Thrones with three puppies: Romulus, Remus, and Khaleesi. The company shared a video on X capturing the moment they said showed modern dire wolf puppies howling for the first time in more than 10,000 years. The feat was achieved using cloning and gene-editing techniques based on two ancient dire wolf DNA samples, Colossal said. Click the link in bio for more

From his favourite meal, to his favourite president and plenty in-between, children visiting the White House as part of the Take Your Child to Work Day event got to know much more about US president Donald Trump. The children got to quiz White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt during a press briefing on Tuesday (20 May). One child asked if Mr Trump likes to give hugs, while another wanted to know what his favorite food is. One question that attracted plenty of attention was when a child asked how many people Trump had fired. Ms Leavitt was also asked what super power the US president would like to have and who is his favorite president, besides himself.