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Melinda French Gates to donate $1bn in women’s rights
Billionaire philanthropist Melinda French Gates announced Tuesday that she is committing $1 billion (£782.4m) over the next two years to women’s causes and gender equity around the world.
About $200 million (£157m) will go to organisations fighting for gender and reproductive rights in the US.
In a New York Times guest essay, Ms French Gates said she felt compelled to support US reproductive rights following the 2022 Supreme Court decision that overturned the constitutional right to an abortion.
The announcement comes two weeks after Ms French Gates said she would step back from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the philanthropic powerhouse she co-founded with her former husband, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates.
The money will be distributed through her company, Pivotal Ventures, through 2026.
Ms French Gates plans to give $20m (£16m) to a “diverse group of 12 global leaders” to distribute to organisations of their choice before the end of 2026.
The company said it will set aside another $250 million (£196m) in the autumn to global organisations focused on women’s mental and physical health.
Ms French Gates said she chose the first grant recipients working in the US to “protect the rights of women and advance their power and influence”.
“When we allow this cause to go so chronically underfunded, we all pay the cost,” she wrote in the New York Times. “As shocking as it is to contemplate, my 1-year-old granddaughter may grow up with fewer rights than I had.”
One grant recipient is the Center for Reproductive Rights, which advocates for abortion rights and currently represents 50 women in lawsuits challenging abortion restrictions and other reproductive health measures in several states.
Joung-ah Ghedini-Williams, the Center’s chief communications and marketing officer, said the money is needed now more than ever. “The attention and the public debate about reproductive rights and abortion is greater than ever,” Ms Ghedini-Williams said. “That’s not necessarily being reflected in donations, which is why this is so wonderful right now, when we need to continue fueling this fight.”
Other recipients include MomsRising, an organisation to support women’s economic security; the National Women’s Law Center, which focuses on law as a means to improve gender equity; and The 19th, a nonprofit media outlet dedicated to gender and policy news.
The National Domestic Workers Alliance, which advocates for millions of nannies, housecleaners, home-care workers and others in the US, also received a grant.
The flexible terms and multi-year security the grant provides are a significant help to the group, but the message it sends is even more important, said Ai-jen Poo, president of the organisation.
“Boldly resourcing women forces the question of, ‘why haven’t we done this before?’” she said. “It’s long overdue when women are more than half the workforce, half the electorate and doing 70% of the care work in our communities and our families.”
(BBC)
The Prime Minister’s Office strongly condemns the fraudulent cryptocurrency scam advertisements currently being promoted on Facebook and Instagram, falsely featuring Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya and other prominent Sri Lankan figures. These deceptive ads, operated by foreign entities, aim to mislead the public and exploit the trust associated with well-known personalities.
It has come to our attention that these scam campaigns, originating from fraudulent accounts based in Lithuania, are actively targeting Facebook users in Sri Lanka.
Similar ads have recently featured Foreign Minister Vijitha Herath, Minister of Science and Technology MP Chrishantha Abeysena, and well-known journalists Amantha Perera and Sunanda Deshapriya, as well as other Sri Lankan public figures in previous instances.
Public Advisory
We urge citizens to exercise extreme caution when encountering online advertisements promoting cryptocurrency investments, particularly those falsely claiming endorsements from government officials and public figures. No government official or ministry has endorsed any cryptocurrency investment scheme.
Additionally, despite reports and removal requests, variations of these scams continue to appear on social media platforms, highlighting serious concerns about the inability of Facebook to curb fraudulent advertising effectively. We call upon Meta (Facebook’s parent company) to take immediate and stronger action to prevent the spread of these deceptive campaigns and safeguard Sri Lankan users from financial fraud.
How to Protect Yourself:
• Do not engage with or click on suspicious ads claiming endorsements from public figures.
• Report fraudulent advertisements directly on Facebook and Instagram.
• Verify all financial opportunities through legitimate sources before investing.
The Prime Minister’s Office remains committed to protecting the public from online fraud and will continue working with relevant authorities to address this growing issue. We urge media organizations and digital platforms to act responsibly in curbing the spread of misinformation and scams.
For official government updates, please refer to the Prime Minister’s Office’s official website and social media channels.
[Prime Minister’s Media Division]
Many people in and around the Italian city of Naples have spent the night on the streets and in their cars after an earthquake shook buildings and brought rubble crashing down.
Italian seismologists said the 4.4 magnitude tremor struck at 01:25 local time on Thursday (00:25 GMT) at a shallow depth of three kilometres (two miles). The US Geological Survey measured it as a 4.2 tremor 10km deep.
Power supply in parts of Naples was disrupted.
In the nearby town of Pozzuoli, close to the quake’s epicentre, one injured person was pulled from the rubble of a partially collapsed house.
Naples sits on the Phlegraean Fields, a volcanic basin that makes the area in southern Italy prone to quakes.
Thursday’s earthquake was felt in several areas of the Campania region, Italian media reported. The tremor was followed by at least two weaker aftershocks.
People have been seen leaving their homes and gathering on the streets of Naples, fearing more tremors.
Photos later emerged showing one damaged house and a car with a smashed windscreen.
A rescue co-ordination centre has been set up to assess the damage.
Schools in Pozzuoli and two nearby neighbourhoods will be closed on Thursday so building stability checks can be carried out, the Corriere Della Sera newspaper reported.
US officials are headed to Russia to discuss a potential ceasefire in Ukraine, according to President Donald Trump.
The news comes after Ukrainian officials agreed to a 30-day ceasefire following a highly anticipated meeting with US officials in Saudi Arabia.
Earlier, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that the “ball is truly in Russia’s court” and that the US believes the only way to end the fighting was through peace negotiations.
The American visit comes as President Vladimir Putin visited Russia’s Kursk region – parts of which have been under Ukraine’s control since an incursion last year.
Russian TV aired footage of Putin meeting military commanders, who told him Russian troops had recaptured 86% of the area from Ukraine.
Following the meeting in Jeddah on Tuesday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said it was now up to the US to convince Russia to agree to the “positive” proposal.
The Kremlin has said it was studying the ceasefire deal, and that a phone call between Trump and Putin is possible.
Speaking alongside Ireland’s Taoiseach – or Prime Minister – Micheál Martin in the Oval Office on Wednesday, Trump said he had received “positive messages” about the possibility of a ceasefire. “But a positive message means nothing,” he said. “This is a very serious situation.”
Trump did not specify which officials were travelling to Moscow.
However, Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters at the White House that National Security Secretary Mike Waltz had spoken to his Russian counterpart.
Earlier this week, a source familiar with the matter told the BBC that Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff would head to Moscow for negotiations following the talks in Jeddah.
The White House confirmed the plans on Wednesday.
“We urge the Russians to sign on to this plan. This is the closest we have been to peace in this war,” Leavitt said.
The Kremlin has said it is studying the proposed ceasefire and further details, which spokesman Dmitry Peskov said will come “via various channels” over the course of the next several days.
In the Oval Office, Trump said that he believes a ceasefire would make sense for Russia, adding – without further details – that there is a “lot of downside to Russia” as well.
“We have a very complex situation solved on one side. Pretty much solved. We’ve also discussed land and other things that go with it,” Trump added. “We know the areas of land we’re talking about, whether it’s pull back or not pull back.”
To pressure Russia, Trump said that he “can do things financially that would be very bad for Russia,” he said. “I don’t want to do that because I want to get peace.”
The meeting in Jeddah was the first between US and Ukrainian officials since a 28 February meeting between Zelensky, Trump and Vice-President JD Vance descended into a shouting match and, ultimately, a pause in US military assistance and intelligence sharing.
The pause was lifted following the meeting in Jeddah, and Trump said that he believes that the “difficult” Ukrainian side and Zelensky now want peace.
Even as negotiations over a potential ceasefire are ongoing, fighting has raged in Ukraine.
Russian drones and missiles reportedly struck targets in Kryvyy Rih – Zelensky’s hometown – overnight, as well as in the port city of Odesa, Dnipropetrovsk and Kharkiv.
Clashes also continued in Russia’s Kursk region, where Peskov said Russian troops were “successfully advancing” and recapturing areas held by Ukrainian forces.
Ukrainian troops invaded the region of western Russia that borders Ukraine, in a surprise attack in August last year. At its peak, Ukraine claimed to have captured 100 towns and villages – but since then, Russia has retaken most of that territory.
He was shown in footage released by the Kremlin walking alongside his military chief Valery Gerasimov.
Russian media report that Putin ordered the military to “fully liberate” the region during the visit. He is yet to comment on the ceasefire proposal agreed by Ukraine and the US on Tuesday.
The head of Ukraine’s military, Oleksandr Syrsky, also indicated on Wednesday that some of its troops were withdrawing from Kursk. In a post on Telegram, he said: “In the most difficult situation, my priority has been and remains saving the lives of Ukrainian soldiers.”
[BBC]
Urgent Warning Against Fraudulent Crypto-Scam Advertisements.
Naples residents camp outdoors after overnight quake
US team headed to Moscow for Ukraine talks as Putin visits Kursk
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