Volodymyr Zelensky met with Joe Biden at the White House on Thursday 21 September. The president of Ukraine arrived alongside First Lady Olena Zelenska and was seen shaking hands with Mr Biden and Jill Biden, First Lady of the United States. Mr Zelensky, who earlier visited Capitol Hill and the Pentagon, capped his visit to Washington with an Oval Office meeting. He said he felt “trust” between himself and top American officials and expressed gratitude for the defence support that has allowed his armed forces to “combat Russian terror”. Mr Biden added that the US and the American people are determined to “do all we can to ensure that the world stands with” Ukraine. Read More

Over 150 books have been removed from a large, Orlando-area Florida school district, including classics like The Scarlet Letter, Paradise Lost, and The Invisible Man, as school officials review materials for sexual content under the state’s restrictive book ban laws. According to a teacher keeping track of books that have been temporarily pulled for review by the Orange County government, titles by Shakespeare have been restricted to only 10th through 12 graders, while other popular works like The Fault in Our Stars, Into the Wild, and Catch-22 have been put on the restricted list because of sexual material. One teacher told The Orlando Sentinel she was “gobsmacked” when she saw Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream was among the restricted works. She said she chooses works to study in class “to engage my students, to offer them literature that makes them think,” and that an accurate version of “the adolescent experience” in literature may contain some sexual themes, but still be valid for the classroom. “It’s just so frustrating and disheartening,” she said. The state’s book ban laws, passed under Republican governor Ron DeSantis, have caused empty shelves across Florida. “The books are sitting out on tables, they’re being boxed up and discarded,” Florida school librarian Keri Clark told The Independent earlier this year. “It’s just it’s a really sad sight. A lot of the kids keep looking through the window and it’s just it’s awful that I can’t let them come in and get books.” The Florida policyies are part of a nationwide surge of book bans. During the first half of the 2022-2023 school year, school officials tried to restrict at least 874 individual book titles, according to PEN America, a nearly 30 per cent spike from book challenges over the previous year. Overwhelmingly, the book ban attempts singled out works by and about people of colour and LGBT+ people, PEN found. At least 30 per cent of the impacted titles are books about race, racism, or feature characters of colour, and more than a quarter of all titles include LGBT+ characters or themes. Read More Biden condemns ‘hysterical’ threats to LGBT+ Americans as White House pushes back on book bans As conservatives target schools, LGBTQ+ kids and students of color feel less safe Florida mom who tried to ban Amanda Gorman’s book has ties to far-right groups

Israel warned Monday of a long but winning war against Hamas as US Secretary of State Antony Blinken made his second visit within days to promise...

Internet thinks court artist Jane Rosenburg's portrayal of Ivanka Trump was unflattering

Marco Bezzecchi set the fastest time in Friday's rain-hit practice for the Austrian MotoGP with fellow Italian and world champion Francesco Bagnaia...

Sarah Snooke shared a photo of herself watching the finale while holding her newborn in her arms

Man Utd are concerned their plans to sign a new defender like Napoli's Kim Min-jae could be ruined if Harry Maguire does not accept a summer transfer.

A federal judge is heaping sanctions on Southwest Airlines for, he says, failing to follow his orders in a case involving a fired flight attendant's free-speech rights

More than 1,350 Ukrainians have found a home in Lincolnshire since the Russian invasion.

SEATTLE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov 9, 2023--

At Home With The Furys hit Netflix today (16 August), and Tyson Fury has captured the nation's hearts once more. From proposing to wife, Paris, for the third time, to showing behind-the-scenes of his new life in 'retirement' (let's face it, he's hardly sat around), the Kardashians-style documentary has affirmed his place as one of the most lovable sports people out there. The nine-episode documentary even features Molly-Mae Hague and Tommy Fury, as well as all of the boxer's equally hilarious children. Sign up to our new free Indy100 weekly newsletter

President Vladimir Putin is touting Russia’s prospects at the country’s main international economic forum despite heavy international sanctions imposed because of the war in Ukraine