Latest news with #MyChoice
The National
4 days ago
- Politics
- The National
Nicola Sturgeon hits back at Scottish Tories amid 'endorsing antisemitism' row
The former first minister invited MSP to a showing of award-winning Bosnian-British director Samir Mehanovic's new film My Hijab, My Choice on Tuesday evening. The event was billed as the Scottish premiere of the film which looks at Muslim women's experiences of racism for wearing a hijab in the UK. However, the Tories have criticised the film screening, and Sturgeon's decision to back it, based on past comments from Mehanovic, The Times reported. The director urged Ukrainians to 'drop the guns' after the Russian invasion in 2022, and in 2021 accused Israel's government of using the 'same tactics as Hitler's Nazis'. READ MORE: By-election hustings chaos as Tory candidate walks out over Labour no-show That statement meets the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of antisemitism, which controversially includes criticism of the state of Israel within its scope, including defining as antisemitic any 'comparisons of contemporary Israeli policy to that of the Nazis'. The director has also previously criticised Sturgeon's SNP while she was leader, suggesting there was 'Stalinism' at the top of the party, a claim also made by figures such as former SNP MP Joanna Cherry. Mehanovic rejected any suggestion he is anti-Ukraine, anti-Sturgeon, or antisemitic – saying there had been an attempt 'to discredit my work by pulling isolated comments out of context'. Sturgeon hit back at the Tories' attack on his film screening, saying it was 'glaringly obvious' that she would not agree with everything the director had ever said. Former first minister Nicola Sturgeon (Image: PA) She told The Times: 'I am hosting the event because of the important issues raised in the film. It tells the stories of five young Muslim women who speak powerfully about the racism and Islamophobia they have experienced throughout their lives, but also about the positive contributions they are making to life in the UK. 'I am MSP for the constituency with the biggest Muslim population in Scotland and the testimonies of these women are all too typical of the experiences many of my constituents encounter on a regular basis. 'It is a film everyone should watch and it would fit the Tories better if they engaged with the substance of the film and the issues that it raises.' READ MORE: UK Government envoy visits Israel despite suspending trade talks Scottish Tory MSP Annie Wells had said: 'Nicola Sturgeon has once again displayed her poor judgment by sponsoring the premiere of a movie by such a controversial figure. 'As well as accusing Nicola Sturgeon of corruption and comparing her to Stalin, it's clear this director has some extreme and abhorrent views. So it's embarrassing that a former first minister is tacitly endorsing them.' Mehanovic said: 'I am not antisemitic, I do not support anti-Ukrainian propaganda, and I am not anti-Nicola Sturgeon. These claims are entirely unfounded and distort both my personal values and professional record. 'Attempts to discredit my work by pulling isolated comments out of context are not only dishonest, but undermine the very principles of free and open discourse that we should all protect.'
The Journal
24-04-2025
- Politics
- The Journal
Over 1.2 million people sign petition to EU calling for financial support for abortions
MORE THAN 1.2 million signatures have been collected by a pro-choice campaign calling on the European Commission (EC) to propose financing 'safe and legal abortion'. The My Voice, My Choice campaign started collecting signatures exactly a year ago and today is the last day that people can add their support. This is a European Citizens' Initiative, which, if over one million are collected, requires the EC to officially reply to the petition, outlining its legal and political conclusions as well as any actions it will take in response. The campaign aims to 'make women's lives freer, safer, and better; wherever they live in our union'. Veronika Povž, communication director of the campaign said that 'those with enough money can travel for an abortion — there's always a way for them'. But it's the marginalised groups and those who can't afford it who suffer the most. Instead of interfering with laws and regulations of Member States, the initiative instead asks the Commission: 'To submit a proposal for financial support to Member States that would be able to perform safe termination of pregnancies, in accordance with their domestic law, for anyone in Europe who still lacks access to safe and legal abortion.' It proposes that this would be a voluntary 'opt-in mechanism' for each country. Effectively, that means that support would be provided in countries with more liberal abortion access to enable them to provide care for women travelling from areas with more restrictive laws. Advertisement Thousands of women continue to travel to access care, as reported by The Journal Investigates earlier this month in our Exporting Abortion investigation. We revealed that over 5,000 women in Europe travel from their home countries across borders for abortions each year. Few successful citizens' campaigns More than a decade after the creation of the European Citizens' Initiative, the EU's common petitioning system, it is clear that gathering a million signatures for or against a cause is a major challenge. Even among the 27 million inhabitants of the EU, to reach this high bar requires a lot of campaigning and funding. Each country has set thresholds for signature number, dependent on population size, and campaigns must get support from at least seven EU countries to be considered. For this pro-choice initiative, 19 out of the 27 Member States were over their set threshold. That included over 12,500 people from Ireland, far more than the 9,165 threshold. The highest number of signatures per population came from Slovenia (over 65,000) where the campaign started. Over 200,000 signed the initiative in France, with over 150,000 from Germany and Italy. Bulgaria, Luxembourg and Lithuania had the lowest proportion of signatures. Significant funding was required to get over the line. My Voice, My Choice declared over €830,000 in sponsorship since February last year. However, though this particular campaign has successfully collected the required signatures, it is only the 11th European Citizens' Initiative to do so since it started 13 years ago. In that time, 95 initiatives have failed — 68 failed to obtain the required signatures and 27 were withdrawn by their initiators — out of a total of 119 accepted by the European Commission to collect signatures. Related Reads 'I'll never forgive my country': Women on the trauma of having to travel to UK for terminations 'The most vulnerable are still being exported': Why and how women have to travel for abortions Over 5,000 women in Europe have to travel abroad for abortions each year Signatures to be verified The pro-choice campaign is not done yet as the next step once the signature collection closes later today is verification. A Commission spokesperson told us that 'Member States will have 3 months to perform the verification' of the statements of support. Once that is done, and there are at least one million signatures remaining, then My Voice, My Choice can submit it to the EC for examination. The Commission then has six months to officially reply. The spokesperson said: 'Where the Commission intends to take action in response to the initiative, including, where appropriate, the adoption of one or more proposals for a legal act of the Union, the Communication shall also set out the envisaged timeline for these actions.' — Maria Delaney is the editor of The Journal Investigates . This article was produced in the framework of the PULSE cross-border journalistic cooperation project. It was developed with György Folk, Brussels (EUrologus) and Viktória Serdült (HVG) Budapest. Our investigative unit is dedicated to lifting the lid on how Ireland works. This takes time and it takes resources. Find out how you can help: Support The Journal Investigates Readers like you are keeping these stories free for everyone... A mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article. Over 5,000 readers like you have already stepped up and support us with a monthly payment or a once-off donation. Learn More Support The Journal
Yahoo
07-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
UPS rebrands SurePost as Ground Saver
UPS has changed the name of its most economical domestic shipping service from SurePost to Ground Saver after ending its partnership with the U.S. Postal Service at the end of 2024. The company didn't make an announcement, but customers now see the new name on the website. Ground Saver is primarily used by large businesses to ship packages door-to-door. With SurePost, UPS (NYSE: UPS) inducted massive parcel volumes deep into the postal network for last-mile delivery to residences. The Atlanta-based parcel giant decided to fully insource the product when the Postal Service raised its prices. As the cost difference with its own ground network narrowed, management realized it could provide better service on its own. Ground Saver promises delivery times equal to regular Ground plus one or two days, with greater reliability and visibility than SurePost. It is ideal for less urgent packages under 10 pounds and available within the lower 48 states, according to UPS. SurePost also delivered to Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico and other territories. Ground Saver features include photo proof of delivery, package tracking and the ability to upgrade to faster UPS Ground via the MyChoice has also changed the liability terms in the case of loss or damage to packages. Ground Saver packages are limited to a maximum of $20 for loss and damages, down from the $100 SurePost offered. Parcel consultancy Shipware drew attention to the change in a LinkedIn post last week. Supply Chain Dive first reported the Ground Saver rebranding. Click here for more FreightWaves/American Shipper stories by Eric Kulisch. Write to Eric Kulisch at ekulisch@ UPS tool helps online shoppers calculate import fees before buying The post UPS rebrands SurePost as Ground Saver appeared first on FreightWaves. Sign in to access your portfolio
