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UK bans ninja swords in move to crack down on violent knife crime

Brits have until Aug. 1 to get rid of all their ninja swords as the U.K.’s Labour government looks to crack down on knife crime.
U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced Thursday that «ninja swords» specifically will be banned this summer after the 2022 murder of 16-year-old Ronan Kanda, who was stabbed to death by a ninja sword just outside his home.
«Confirmed: Ninja swords will be banned by this summer,» Starmer said in a post on X. «When we promise action we take it.»
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An activist wearing a T-shirt with the slogan «Put Knives Down!» stands in front of pictures of victims of knife crime during a demonstration outside New Scotland Yard. (Vuk Valcic/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
The new ban, «Ronan’s Law,» will now make it illegal to possess, sell, make or import ninja swords.
«Since losing our beautiful boy Ronan, we have relentlessly campaigned for a ban on ninja swords, the lethal weapon which took his life,» Pooja Kanda, the mother to the 16-year-old boy, said, according to a government readout. «We believe ninja swords have no place in our society other than to seriously harm and kill.
«Each step towards tackling knife crime is a step towards getting justice for our boy Ronan.»
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The British government has set up a surrender process for any owner of a ninja sword, defined as a blade between 14 inches and 24 inches «with one straight cutting edge with a tanto-style point.»
«From 1 August, anyone caught in possession of a ninja sword in private could face 6 months in prison, and this will later increase to 2 years under new measures in the Crime and Policing Bill,» the government said in a statement. «There is already a penalty of up to 4 years in prison for carrying any weapon in public.»
Knife crime has long plagued the U.K. and though offenses involving a «sharp instrument» committed last year across England and Wales were down from a 15-year peak in 2019, they were still substantially higher than crimes reported in 2010, when 33,800 crimes were reported, versus the 50,500 cases in 2024.

A person views knives available to purchase via an online website. (Yui Mok/PA Images via Getty Images)
A sharp instrument, according to the U.K., could include knives, but it could also include the use of a broken bottle to commit an offense.
The U.K. saw a significant drop from the 52,000 cases involving a «sharp instrument» reported in 2019 by the following year with 41,700 cases reported.
But these incidents have continued to increase each year since.
Nearly two dozen different types of knives are already banned in the UK, including swords that are not a part of a national uniform, switch blades, zombie knives, belt buckle knives or butterfly knives, to name a few.
Knives that are permitted are those used for cooking or while working and have a cutting edge of no more than three inches.
Though the government states that «it’s illegal to use any knife or weapon in a threatening way.»
Under Ronan’s Law, jail sentences were also increased for selling knives to minors and the illegal sale of banned knives.

An officer outside All Saints Catholic High School on Granville Road in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, after a 15-year-old boy died in a stabbing at the school Feb. 3, 2025. (Danny Lawson/PA Images via Getty Images)
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«Knife crime is destroying young lives as too many teenagers are being drawn into violence, and it is far too easy for them to get hold of dangerous weapons,» Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said in a statement. «Ronan Kanda was just 16 when he was ruthlessly killed by two boys only a year older than him.
«We are acting with urgency to bring forward measures to prevent deadly weapons from getting into the wrong hands and will continue to do whatever is needed to prevent young people being killed on our streets as part of our mission to halve knife crime over the next decade.»
INTERNACIONAL
Milagro en Myanmar: rescataron vivo a un joven que estuvo cinco días bajo los escombros de un hotel

Cinco días después del terremoto de magnitud 7.7 que sacudió el centro-norte de Myanmar, los equipos de bomberos rescataron este miércoles a un hombre que había quedado atrapado bajo los escombros de un hotel en Naipyidó, la capital del país.
El sobreviviente permanecía atrapado en el piso inferior de un edificio de seis plantas, y fue socorrido a través de un agujero perforado por varios efectivos que lo sacaron en brazos, según muestra un vídeo del Departamento de Servicios de Bomberos de Birmania.
Consciente pero aturdido, el joven de 26 años yacía en el suelo a oscuras, con el torso desnudo y cubierto únicamente por el característico longyi birmano, una prenda que se envuelve alrededor de la cintura y llega hasta los pies. Rápidamente, los rescatistas lo pusieron en una camilla para trasladarlo al hospital.
«En el quinto día después del terremoto, una de las dos personas atrapadas en el piso inferior de un hotel de seis plantas ha sido rescatada con vida», informó el departamento de bomberos en su cuenta de Facebook, en la que se añadió que otra persona atrapada falleció.
Esta fue una de las pocas historias de rescate exitoso cinco días después del movimiento telúrico, que dejó más de 2,700 fallecidos y más de 4,500 heridos, según informó ayer la junta militar, en el poder desde el golpe de Estado de 2021.
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En las últimas horas, el equipo de información del Consejo de Administración Estatal confirmó que el número de muertos ascendió a 2.886, además de 4.639 heridos y 373 desaparecidos.
Myo Nyunt, presidente de la Sociedad de la Cruz Roja de Myanmar, declaró anteriormente a las agencias de noticias internacionales que hubo obstáculos clave en las operaciones de rescate, como problemas en la evaluación del desastre y la coordinación logística.
Debido a preocupaciones de seguridad en las zonas afectadas, los equipos de rescate enfrentaron dificultades significativas para distribuir suministros, especialmente por la escasez de maquinaria pesada, precisó Myo Nyunt.
Por otra parte, Naciones Unidas y la organización Médicos sin Fronteras (MSF) subrayaron que la falta de agua potable amenaza con empeorar la situación en las zonas más cerca del epicentro, como la ciudad de Mandalay o la de Sagaing (ambas a unos 17 kilómetros del mismo), con miles de personas durmiendo a la intemperie cerca de cadáveres.
Según la ONU, cerca de 1.500 rescatistas de 16 países participan en las tareas de ayuda a Myanmar.
INTERNACIONAL
«Bomba nuclear»: Marine Le Pen arremete contra los jueces que la sentenciaron y crece la tensión en Francia

“Escándalo democrático”
Los tiempos de la apelación
Malestar en la política francesa
Un aliado en misión de rescate
Los socialistas defienden a los jueces
INTERNACIONAL
China launches large military drills around Taiwan to issue ‘severe warning’

China’s military launched large-scale drills around Taiwan Tuesday to send a «severe warning» and a message of «forceful containment against Taiwan independence,» Beijing officials said.
Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense said it had tracked 19 Chinese navy vessels in the waters surrounding the island in a 24-hour period from 6 a.m. Monday until 6 a.m. Tuesday. The exercises – which involved Chinese navy, air, ground and rocket forces – were unannounced.
«China’s blatant military provocations not only threaten peace in the Taiwan Strait but also undermine security in the entire region, as evidenced by drills near Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Korea, the Philippines and the South China Sea,» Taiwan’s Presidential Office wrote on X. «We strongly condemn China’s escalatory behavior.»
Taiwan defense officials added that they had been tracking the movement of China’s Shandong aircraft carrier since Saturday and that its carrier group had entered into Taiwan’s air defense identification zone on Monday. In response, Taiwan dispatched military aircraft and ships and activated land-based missile systems, according to Reuters.
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China’s Shandong aircraft carrier is seen in this screenshot taken from a video titled «Subdue Demons and Vanquish Evils», released by the Eastern Theater Command of China’s People’s Liberation Army on April 1, 2025. (Eastern Theatre Command/Handout via Reuters)
«I want to say these actions amply reflect (China’s) destruction of regional peace and stability,» Taiwan’s Defense Minister Wellington Koo said.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters Tuesday that «the National Security Council briefed me on this, this morning, and they said that the president is emphasizing the importance of maintaining peace in the Taiwan Strait, encouraging the peaceful resolution of these cross-strait issues, [and] reiterating our opposition to any unilateral attempts to change the status quo by force or coercion.»
China’s Xinhua News Agency said the Eastern Theater Command on Tuesday conducted «multi-subject drills in waters to the north, south and east of Taiwan Island.»
The theater command «organized its vessel and aircraft formations, in coordination with conventional missile troops and long-range rocket launching systems, to conduct drills of air interception, assault on maritime targets, strikes on ground objects, and joint blockade and control,» Xinhua quoted the command as saying.
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A military jet lands at Hsinchu Air Base in Hsinchu, Taiwan, on April 1. (Reuters/Annabelle Chih)
The exercises were «aimed at testing the troops’ capabilities of carrying out integrated operations, seizure of operational control and multi-directional precision strikes, the command said.
China’s Taiwan Affairs Office also said the exercises were directed at Lai Ching-te, Taiwan’s strongly pro-independence president.

This image released by the Taiwan Ministry of National Defense shows China’s Shandong aircraft carrier sailing near Taiwan on Monday, March 31. (Taiwan Ministry of National Defense via AP)
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«Lai Ching-te stubbornly insists on a ‘Taiwan independence’ stance, brazenly labeling the mainland as a ‘foreign hostile force,’ and has put forward a so-called «17-point strategy … stirring up anti-China sentiments,» China’s Taiwan Affairs Office said in a statement. «We will not tolerate or condone this in any way and must resolutely counter and severely punish these actions.»
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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