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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.»
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China’s top legislature on Thursday passed an «Ethnic Unity and Progress Promotion Law,» formalizing Beijing’s long-running push to strengthen national identity and ethnic integration.
The legislation was approved at the closing meeting of the fourth session of the 14th National People’s Congress during its annual parliamentary gathering in Beijing.
State-affiliated media Xinhua previously reported that the law would seek to codify «fostering a strong sense of community for the Chinese nation» into state policy.
It would also bolster high-quality development in areas with large ethnic minority populations and promote what officials describe as common prosperity among China’s 56 ethnic groups.
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Ethnic minority delegates arrive for the opening session of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, March 4, 2026. (Vincent Thian/AP)
Li Hongzhong, vice chairman of the NPC Standing Committee, said the measure was aimed at advancing the governance of ethnic affairs under the rule of law.
«The people of each ethnic group, all organizations and groups of the country, armed forces, every Party and social organization, every company, must forge a common consciousness of the Chinese nation according to law and the constitution, and take the responsibility of building this consciousness,» the proposed law reads, according to a translation from The Associated Press.
Academics and outside observers say the provision could undermine the cultural identity of ethnic minorities by requiring the use of Mandarin in compulsory education and establishing a legal basis to pursue individuals or organizations outside China whose actions are deemed to undermine «ethnic unity,» the AP reported.
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Xi Jinping, China’s president, center, applauds during the closing session of the National People’s Congress at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, March 12, 2026. (Qilai Shen/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
China’s population stands at 1.44 billion as of November 2020, according to the Seventh National Population Census released in 2021 by the National Bureau of Statistics.
Of that total, 91.11% were Han Chinese and 8.89% belonged to ethnic minority groups.
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Delegates wearing traditional clothing react at the closing session of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference in Beijing, March 11, 2026. (Kevin Frayer/Getty)
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James Leibold, a professor at Australia’s La Trobe University, told the AP the new measure «puts a death nail in the party’s original promise of meaningful autonomy.»
Rayhan Asat, a legal scholar at Harvard University, also criticized the law, saying it «serves as a strategic tool and gives the pretext to government to commit all sorts of human rights violations.»
china,world,human rights
Fed Chair Powell addresses DOJ criminal investigation
Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell confirmed the central bank had been served by the Justice Department in connection with allegations related to congressional testimony on the renovation of the bank’s headquarters. (Credit: Federal Reserve)
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Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell moved quickly behind the scenes after the Justice Department opened a criminal probe into his statements to Congress, with his calendar showing a burst of outreach to U.S. lawmakers.
The entries don’t reveal what was discussed, but they show Powell made 13 calls to senators and House members shortly after he accused the DOJ of using subpoenas as a «pretext» to ramp up pressure on the central bank to cut rates. The rapid-fire calls ranged from 10 to 15 minutes each.
The Fed releases Powell’s monthly schedule with about a two-month lag, which is why the scope of that outreach is only now coming into view.
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Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell’s calendar showing some of his phone calls with members of Congress. (Federal Reserve/Amanda Macias/Fox News Digital)
Powell’s calendar lists calls with Sens. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska; Shelley Moore Capito, R-W. Va.; Mark Warner, D-Va.; Bill Cassidy, R-La.; John Kennedy, R-La.; Mitch McConnell, R-Ky.; Mike Crapo, R-Idaho; James Lankford, R-Okla.; and Tim Scott, R-S.C., as well as Reps. Joyce Beatty, D-Ohio; Maxine Waters, D-Calif.; Steny Hoyer, D-Md.; and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y.
Powell’s schedule also lists a breakfast meeting with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Jan. 15, four days after the investigation was disclosed.
Working Capitol Hill has long been central to Powell’s playbook, with the Fed chair regularly logging more one-on-one time with lawmakers than any modern predecessor.
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Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell held phone calls with lawmakers in the days after the Justice Department announced its probe. (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Still, the week of Jan. 11 stood out even for Powell. The last time he reached more lawmakers in a single week was February 2025, ahead of his semiannual testimony, when he typically schedules a run of prehearing calls with key members.
This burst was different, though it followed Powell’s Jan. 11 disclosure that the Justice Department had opened a criminal investigation tied to his congressional testimony on the Federal Reserve’s two historic main buildings on the National Mall.
Powell, in a rare video statement, called the probe «unprecedented» and described it as another salvo in what he described as President Donald Trump’s pressure campaign on the central bank to cut rates. The unusually public response followed days of private consultations with advisors and stood out for a Fed chair known for a measured approach.
The investigation centers on Powell’s June 2025 testimony to lawmakers, an unusual development for a sitting Fed chair.
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The grand atrium of the Marriner S. Eccles Federal Reserve building is under construction on July 24, 2025. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
Testifying before the Senate Banking Committee, Powell said: «There’s no new marble. There are no special elevators. They’re old elevators that have been there. There are no new water features. There are no beehives, and there’s no roof garden terraces.»
Powell added that no one «wants to do a major renovation of a historic building during their term in office,» and said cost overruns were driven in part by unexpected construction challenges and inflation.
The renovation is estimated to cost $2.5 billion and is being funded by the central bank itself, not by taxpayers.
The Fed is self-financing and does not rely on congressional appropriations to cover its operating expenses, which include employee salaries, facilities maintenance and the current renovation. Its primary income comes from interest earned on government securities and fees charged to financial institutions.
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President Donald Trump nominated Powell to lead the Federal Reserve in 2017. (Official White House Photo by Daniel Torok)
Trump has repeatedly targeted the project, threatening legal action and mocking the renovation’s cost and design.
«They’re building a basement into the Potomac River. I could have told them. That’s very tough to do, and it doesn’t work, and it’s very expensive,» Trump said. «But they’re up to $4 billion, headed by this clown,» he added in November, referring to Powell.
Powell, a Trump nominee first tapped to lead the Fed in 2017, is expected to finish his term at the end of May. Trump has picked former Fed governor Kevin Warsh to replace Powell, but the nomination is effectively stuck after Sen. Thom Tillis vowed to block any Fed nominees while the DOJ probe remains open.
The Federal Reserve declined to comment on Powell’s calendar.
federal reserve,economy,scott bessent,donald trump,congress,politics
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