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US federal websites scrub vaccine data and LGBT references
The Trump administration has scrubbed references to LGBT health, and information on certain vaccines from federal websites, including top public health agencies.
The move follows a Wednesday memo instructing agencies to end all “programs that use taxpayer money to promote gender ideology” and disable related information from websites by Friday afternoon.
Trump has already issued executive orders that banned diversity, equity and inclusion in the government, as well as one that recognised two sexes male and female.
Asked by reporters on Friday if websites would be shut down to remove diversity-related content, he said: “If they want to scrub the websites, that’s OK with me.”
DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion) programmes aim to promote participation in workplaces by people from a range of backgrounds.
Their backers say they address historical or ongoing discrimination and under-representation of certain groups, including racial minorities, but critics argue such programmes can themselves be discriminatory.
On Saturday, leading public health agencies appeared to have culled webpages that discussed gender, sexually transmitted diseases, and LGBT health.
Several web pages for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) now display error messages.
The agency’s website contains a yellow banner message that reads, “CDC’s website is being modified to comply with President Trump’s Executive Orders”.
CDC webpages that previously contained such data on youth, transgender and LGBT health contained “page not found” messages on Saturday morning.
The CDC serves as a critical repository for official government health data and research.
The National Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) seems to have disappeared from its landing pages. The ongoing study focused on topics such as nutrition, mental health, physical activity, and sexual activity for high school students.
The tool used to explore the data is now offline.
A version of the page captured by the internet archive the WayBack Machine, shows the page was live as recently as mid-January.
The archived pages show that one aspect of study included children who “felt that they were ever treated badly or unfairly because they are or people think they are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or questioning”.
Another page dedicated to ‘Supporting LGBTQ+ Youth’ was also not available on Saturday morning, though the page is archived by the WayBack Machine.
A page that collated data related to ‘Health Disparities Among LGBTQ Youth’ also appears to be gone.
“Stigma, discrimination, and other factors put them at increased risk for negative health and life outcomes,” an archived version of the page states.
[BBC]
A Hong Kong court jailed pro democracy tycoon Jimmy Lai for 20 years on Monday after he was found guilty of national security offences last December
This is the harshest sentence under the controversial national security law, which China says is necessary for the city’s stability
Lai, who is a British citizen, was one of the loudest critics of Beijing, often wielding his pro-democracy paper, Apple Daily, as a tool of protest
Six former executives of the paper were also jailed on Monday – from six years and nine months to 10 years
Hailed a hero by the pro-democracy movement, Lai is seen as a traitor by Beijing. He has always denied the charges against him
The UK calls for the Chinese government to release Lai, saying it will “rapidly engage further” with Beijing. But Hong Kong’s chief executive welcomes the sentence, saying Lai used “used Apple Daily to poison the minds of citizens”.
Lai’s son, Sebastien, tells the BBC his father’s punishment is “basically a death sentence”.
(BBC)
Zimbabwe captain Sikandar Raza decided to field first against Oman in the men’s T20 World Cup match at the SSC in Colombo. Both teams were pleased to arrive in Sri Lanka early to get themselves attuned to the conditions.
Zimbabwe have Blessing Muzarabani back in the squad after he missed the tri-series in Pakistan in November.
Oman, meanwhile, include 44-year-old Aaamir Kaleem the oldest player in the tournament – after he came into the side in place of Hasnain Shah, who was injured after the squad was named.
Zimbabwe return to the tournament after missing out on the previous edition in West Indies and the United States of America. They had made it to the Super 12s of the 2022 T20 World Cup but failed to progress through the qualifiers for the 2024 tournament. They completed qualification alongside Namibia; Brian Bennett was the tournament’s top run-scorer, while Brad Evans and Richard Ngarava were among the leading wicket-takers.
Zimbabwe are bolstered by the return of Graeme Cremer, whose November 2025 comeback marked the longest gap between T20I appearances.
Oman are one of three qualifiers from the Asia-Pacific region, alongside Nepal and the UAE. They have previously appeared in the 2016, 2021, and 2024 editions of the T20 World Cup.
Oman: Jatinder Singh (capt), Aamir Kaleem, Hammad Mirza, Wasim Ali, Karan Sonavale, Jiten Ramanandi, Vinayak Shukla (wk), Sufyan Mehmood, Nadeem Khan, Shah Faisal, Shakeel Ahmad
Zimbabwe: Brian Bennett, Tadiwanashe Marumani, Dion Myers, Brendan Taylor (wk), Sikandar Raza (capt), Ryan Burl, Tashinga Musekiwa, Brad Evans, Wellington Masakadza, Richard Ngarava, Blessing Muzarabani
Scotland may have suffered a blip the last time they faced Italy in a T20I but ensured they picked up the first points of their 2026 T20 World Cup campaign after a dominant performance at Eden Gardens. George Munsey’s 54-ball 84, supported by cameos from Brandon McMullen and Michael Leask, followed by Leask’s four-wicket haul helped Scotland spoil Italy’s debut in the tournament. The 73-run win gave Scotland two points after their defeat to West Indies in Kolkata two days ago.
Brief scores:
Scotland 207 for 4 in 20 overs (George Munsey 84, Michael Jones 37, Brandon McMullen 41, Richie Berrington 15, Michael Leask 22*; Ali Hasan 1-21, Grant Stewart 1-44, Thomas Draca 1-37, JJ Smuts 1-38) beat Italy 134 in 16.4 overs (Anthony Mosca 13, JJ Smutts 22, Harry Manenti 52; Michael Leask 4-17, Brad Currie 1-12, Brad Wheal 1-29, Mark Watt 2-24, Oliver Davidson 1-33 ) by 73 runs
(Cricinfo)
Hong Kong court jails media tycoon and British citizen Jimmy Lai for 20 years
Muzarabani returns as Zimbabwe opt to bowl against Oman
Munsey and Leask spoil Italy’s T20 World Cup debut2
Italy captain Wayne Madsen injures shoulder in T20 World Cup opener
Canada look for early splash against favourites South Africa
Italy opt to bowl; Scotland play Brad Wheal
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