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A Kenyan court on Wednesday refused to grant Rastafarians the right to smoke marijuana on religious grounds, after members of the minority religious sought an exemption from the country's draconian narcotics laws rooted in British colonial rule.  Rastafarians, who often use cannabis as part of what they term religious meditation, had been pushing the Kenyan courts to grant them permission to use the herb since 2021. They argued it should be protected under their constitutional rights to freedom of religion.  What did the court decide?  The Kenyan High Court in Nairobi ruled that the community had failed to demonstrate during the hearing that marijuana was a necessary part of their religious practice, and so did not grant them the right to bypass the country's drug laws.  While all wit...

A package of reforms granting additional rights to air passengers was formally approved by the Council of the European Union on Monday. The reforms, which had already been greenlighted by the European Parliament, will apply to all departures from airports in the bloc and to arrivals if operated by an EU-based airline. The new rules are to go into force in mid-2027. What are the new rules for air travel in Europe? Children below 14 will have the right to sit next to their parents without seat reservation fees Pregnant people and those with reduced mobility will also be able to sit next to a travel companion without seat reservation fees Airlines will be obliged to correct false spellings of passenger names on tickets free of charge They will also be required to provide printed boar...

United States troops are set to fully withdraw from Iraq by September 30, the country's prime minister, Ali al-Zaidi, said at a meeting with President Donald Trump in Washington. "Well, we don't think we need the military there anymore," Trump said at the White House. Previously, around 2,500 US troops were deployed in the country, carrying out counter-Islamic State operations, but that number has declined in recent months.US troops remained in Erbil in the Kurdish region, at a base near Baghdad airport and in the capital's government district known as the Green Zone [FILE: August 23, 2020]Image: Thaier Al-Sudani/File PhotoU*/REUTERS Al-Zaidi's government has tied the planned US withdrawal to the disarming of powerful Iran-backed militias. "On September 30th, American forces will leave...

Access to social media should be allowed to under 13-year-olds only under the supervision of their carers or at school, according to a report presented in Brussels on Monday by a panel of experts advising the EU on online child protection. The recommendation came as European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced that the EU's executive body would put forward legislative proposals regarding children's social media use after the summer.Social media bans: What it means for youTo view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video What were the panel's social media recommendations? The panel, which consisted of doctors, academics, youth representatives and parents, made a number of other recommendations in its report: ...

The Ukrainian parliament accepted the resignation of Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko on Monday, after President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced over the weekend that he planned to reshuffle his cabinet and asked her to step aside. "Every day this year demanded difficult decisions and decisive action. I am deeply grateful for the trust and support I received. You also ​know that I have always believed results matter most," Svyrydenko said in her farewell speech. Zelenskyy did not say who would replace Svyrydenko, but the Kyiv Independent reported, citing unnamed sources, that it could be Serhii Koretskyi, CEO of Ukraine's largest national oil and gas company, Naftogaz. What did Zelenskyy announce? Zelenskyy wrote on X he had discussed the matter with Svyrydenko and they had concluded that...

One person was killed in a shooting involving United States immigration agents in Maine, the state's top lawmaker said. "This morning a shooting occurred in Biddeford. A person was killed. ICE was involved," House Speaker Ryan Fecteau wrote on Facebook. Biddeford police declined to comment and referred inquiries to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), which did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The FBI said it responded immediately to assist at the scene of the shooting but did not offer any additional information. What we know about the shooting Senator Angus King from Maine said Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin told him the agent opened fire in Biddeford after the man tried to use his vehicle as a weapon against agents who were pursuing him for depor...