Photo-Illustration: Dakarai Akil; Photos: Getty Shortly after the deaths of two aspiring rappers earlier this year, New York City Mayor Eric Adams appeared to take a hard line against drill rap, stressing in a February speech that social media companies should pull the genre’s displays of gun violence from their apps, comparing the removal to Trump’s Twitter suspension. His words sparked backlash, as they not only seemed to toy with the idea of censorship but also evoked the language of authorities’ long-standing moral panic over music created by Black and brown artists. Adams, a former NYPD cop, walked back his comments following a meeting with several rappers — including Fivio Foreign and Maino — which he described as a “great conversation,” and claimed to have reassured performers that he didn’t want to ban drill outright. The city’s official tone on drill might have shifted, but the fact remains that the discourse amongst some authorities surrounding the subgenre seems … [Read more...] about What Happens When Drill and the Justice System Clash in the Courtroom?
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New Polish school textbook provokes anger over section on fertility
Poland's conservative government has been criticised over a new school textbook that appears to disparage in vitro fertilisation (IVF) treatment. Opponents say the country's school curriculum is attempting to indoctrinate children with traditional ideologies. Poland’s governing Law and Justice party (PiS) has close ties to the Roman Catholic church and regularly promotes conservative social policies. Amid strict abortion laws, PiS has also ended a national programme that helped fund fertility treatments for couples. The country's education ministry has dismissed the latest criticism and pointed out that the controversial book in question does not directly refer to IVF. The government has also stressed that Polish teachers remain free to choose which textbooks to use for the next school year. What does the book say? The author of History and the Present says the controversial passage describes modern approaches to sexuality and childbearing. “Increasingly … [Read more...] about New Polish school textbook provokes anger over section on fertility
Floods in Paris as city hit by ‘near-monthly rainfall in 90 minutes’
There are warnings of thunderstorms in many parts of France on Wednesday, in an abrupt interruption to the heatwave the country has been experiencing for weeks. Violent storms and flooding was forecast for much of southern France, where an "orange" alert — the second highest level — was issued in five Mediterranean departments. Paris was already struck by intense storms on Tuesday evening, dumping a large proportion of the French capital's average monthly rainfall in an hour and a half. By 7 pm, more than 40 millimetres of rain had fallen in the space of 90 minutes, according to the French national meteorological service Météo-France. This was almost "70% of what normally falls in a month altogether", a spokesman told AFP. Traffic in and around the capital was momentarily halted as the rain lashed down. Several Paris metro stations closed their entrances because of the bad weather, not least rainwater that came pouring down some of the stairs … [Read more...] about Floods in Paris as city hit by ‘near-monthly rainfall in 90 minutes’