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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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Fue una de las mentes maestras de Los Simpson, ganó millones y donó su fortuna para salvar animales
La serie animada Los Simpson, creada en 1989, fue un fenómeno global que cambió la industria del entretenimiento y se convirtió en una de las producciones televisivas más influyentes de la historia. Detrás de este éxito estuvo Sam Simon, quien transformó esta conquista mediática en una fortuna personal que superó los cien millones de dólares.
Su nombre trascendió el ámbito televisivo cuando, tras recibir un diagnóstico terminal, tomó una decisión radical: destinar la mayor parte de su riqueza a la protección de los animales, una causa que marcó el tramo final de su vida y definió su legado.
Con el impacto de Los Simpson, Sam Simon alcanzó una posición económica que le permitió ir mucho más allá de sus necesidades personales. De acuerdo con SensaCine, plataforma informativa sobre cine y series, Simon fue capaz de pagar a sus exesposas con generosidad y, además, ser solidario con los animales.
En el año 2000, Simon se unió a PETA, organización internacional de defensa animal, donde comenzó a involucrarse de manera activa en la protección de especies vulnerables. Dos años después, fundó la Sam Simon Foundation, a la que destinó millones de dólares anualmente.
La fundación, con sede en California, brindaba asistencia médica y cirugías complejas a perros y gatos abandonados, ofrecía refugio gratuito para animales rescatados y entrenaba perros de asistencia para personas con necesidades especiales.
Simon explicó en ocasiones que su objetivo era proporcionar ayuda médica a perros y gatos abandonados, así como costear operaciones quirúrgicas, según consignó SensaCine. Estas acciones, mantenidas en el tiempo, consolidaron su figura como un benefactor genuino dentro de la comunidad defensora de animales.
En 2012, la vida de Sam Simon cambió drásticamente al recibir un diagnóstico de cáncer de colon avanzado. Al entender que tenía los días contados, decidió legar la mayor parte de su fortuna a la Sam Simon Foundation. SensaCine detalla que Simon peleó duramente por mantener su fundación, dándole prácticamente todo cuando descubrió que iba a morir.
Antes de fallecer, Simon destinó más de USD 100 millones a la Sam Simon Foundation, garantizando la continuidad de programas de rescate, atención veterinaria y entrenamiento de perros de asistencia tras su muerte. Esta decisión sentó un precedente en términos de filantropía en Hollywood y aseguró un futuro para incontables animales vulnerables.
El legado de Simon también contempló instrucciones claras sobre el futuro de sus propios animales. En particular, dejó estipulado el cuidado de su perro con necesidades médicas especiales, encomendando su bienestar a Tyson Kilmer, un reconocido entrenador de perros en la industria del entretenimiento.
Simon prometió que Kilmer recibiría USD 140.000 anuales para cubrir los gastos médicos del animal, un acuerdo que debió ser defendido judicialmente ante los administradores de la herencia y que reflejó el empeño de Simon por que sus recursos alcanzaran a los más necesitados incluso después de su partida.
Las iniciativas financiadas por la Sam Simon Foundation se expandieron más allá de la atención directa a perros y gatos. Con el paso de los años, la organización diversificó su alcance y apoyó campañas de concientización, servicios veterinarios móviles y programas de adopción responsable. SensaCine da cuenta de que la fundación proporcionó un refugio para muchos perros atendidos sin coste, incluyendo el rescate de animales que estaban destinados a ser sacrificados. Gracias al compromiso financiero de Simon, la fundación mantuvo una acción constante en defensa de miles de animales en situaciones críticas.
El caso de Sam Simon es un ejemplo entre figuras públicas que deciden canalizar su posición y recursos hacia la transformación de otras realidades. Mientras varios de sus colegas en la industria eligieron inversiones personales o filantropía diversa, Simon encaminó una causa concreta y la mantuvo hasta el último momento de su vida.
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An official with the Department of Homeland Security told state election officials Wednesday that federal immigration agents will not be stationed at polling locations during the November midterm elections, as some Democrats have warned the Trump administration could attempt to interfere in the elections through intimidation or racial profiling.
Heather Honey, DHS’ deputy assistant secretary for election integrity, told secretaries of state on a call that «any suggestion that ICE will be present at any polling location is simply not true,» according to Arizona’s Democrat Secretary of State Adrian Fontes.
A spokeswoman for Oregon Secretary of State Tobias Read, also a Democrat, said Honey likewise assured officials that immigration agents would not be stationed at polling locations. Kentucky Secretary of State Michael Adams, a Republican, also posted on X that DHS «confirms to Secretaries of State that ICE agents will not be at voting locations this year.»
Honey, who has previously endorsed claims that President Donald Trump won the 2020 election against former President Joe Biden, participated in the call, which also included representatives of the FBI, US Election Assistance Commission, Postal Service and other federal agencies to discuss coordination ahead of the midterms.
An official with the Department of Homeland Security told state election officials that federal immigration agents will not be at the polls during the midterm elections. (Ryan Murphy/Getty Images)
Fox News Digital has reached out to DHS for comment.
This comes as several Democrats have expressed concern that immigration agents may be placed at polling locations to intimidate Americans who fear they could be racially profiled and targeted if they show up to vote.
«I’m talking about something that I think would be extraordinary in American history, which is uniformed and masked ICE agents encircling polling places,» Sen. Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich., said at a recent congressional hearing. «And it’s not fantasy, and it’s not made up. We need to be clear-eyed about that. These are things that the president and his cabinet have suggested.»
The Department of Justice has been filing lawsuits seeking detailed voter data, though the department has not publicly detailed its specific rationale for each request.
Trump has also renewed his claims that there was widespread fraud in the 2020 election, claims that have been widely disputed and rejected by courts, and has called on administration officials to investigate that election.
Democrats have expressed concern that immigration agents may be placed at polling locations to intimidate American voters. (Paul Richards/AFP via Getty Images)
Earlier this month, the FBI executed a search warrant at an election office in Fulton County, Georgia, seizing ballots and other voting records from 2020, according to local officials. A Democratic stronghold, Fulton County includes Atlanta. The Peach State went to Biden in 2020, but Trump carried the state in 2024.
Democratic officials and public interest lawyers across the country have been concerned for months about the possibility of Trump’s interference in the midterms voting and ballot counting.
Democrats have pointed out that Trump was willing to attempt to overturn his 2020 election loss, pardoned those involved in the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot and has filled his administration with allies who backed his attempts to overturn the election defeat.
The U.S. Constitution affirms that states run elections, not federal officials. Most states have their Secretary of State oversee elections.
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Democratic officials and public interest lawyers across the country have been concerned for months about the possibility of President Donald Trump’s interference in the midterms. (Demetrius Freeman/The Washington Post via Getty Images)
Participants on the call said Democrat secretaries of state asked Honey several questions about the administration’s cuts to election security funding and its efforts to root out noncitizen voting, which is already illegal and rare, as well as concerns about federal law enforcement officers appearing at polling places.
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The White House has dismissed those concerns, saying there was no disruption during last year’s election when Democrats performed well.
During a congressional hearing earlier this month, Acting Immigration and Customs Enforcement Director Todd Lyons and Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Rodney Scott both said they were not involved in any efforts to patrol voting places.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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Kim Jong Un calls South Korea ‘most hostile enemy,’ says North could ‘completely destroy’ it
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North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said Thursday that his country could «completely destroy» South Korea if it feels threatened, escalating rhetoric while ruling out renewed talks.
Speaking at North Korea’s week-long Ninth Congress of the ruling Workers’ Party in Pyongyang, Kim labeled South Korea the «most hostile enemy» and said «the conciliatory attitude that South Korea’s current government advocates on the surface is clumsily deceptive and crude,» according to state media Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).
Kim said North Korea «can initiate arbitrary action» if South Korea engages in «obnoxious behavior» directed at his country, dismissing recent efforts by Seoul to improve relations.
«South Korea’s complete collapse cannot be ruled out,» Kim said, according to KCNA.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un spoke during the Ninth Congress of the ruling Workers’ Party in Pyongyang on Feb. 23, 2026. ( Korean Central News Agency via REUTERS)
During the congress, Kim outlined sweeping five-year policy goals centered on expanding North Korea’s nuclear arsenal. The country is believed to possess around 50 warheads and enough fissile material to produce up to 40 more, according to an estimate last year from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.
The North Korean leader said the country’s «international status has risen extraordinarily.»
«It is our party’s firm will to further expand and strengthen our national nuclear power, and thoroughly exercise its status as a nuclear state,» Kim said, according to KCNA. «We will focus on projects to increase the number of nuclear weapons and expand nuclear operational means.»
NORTH KOREA RELEASES IMAGES OF DEVELOPMENT OF NUCLEAR-POWERED SUBMARINE
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un was re-elected as general secretary during the Ninth Congress of the Workers’ Party of Korea (WPK) in Pyongyang, North Korea, Feb. 22, 2026. (Korean Central News Agency via REUTERS )
Kim laid out plans for North Korea to develop more advanced intercontinental ballistic missiles capable of underwater launches, along with artificial intelligence-driven weapons systems and unmanned drones, KCNA reported.
Kim, who met with President Donald Trump three times during Trump’s first term, signaled he may be open to future negotiations with Washington but placed responsibility squarely on the United States.
«Whether it’s peaceful coexistence or permanent confrontation, we are ready for either, and the choice is not ours to make,» he said.
NORTH KOREAN LEADER KIM JONG UN’S DAUGHTER SEEN AS FUTURE SUCCESSOR: SPY AGENCY
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and his daughter Kim Ju Ae attended an event to celebrate the New Year, in Pyongyang, North Korea. (KCNA via Reuters)
Kim said that if the U.S «withdraws its policy of confrontation» with North Korea and acknowledges the country’s «current status,» there would be «no reason why we cannot get along well with the U.S.»
Following the congress, Kim’s teenage daughter attended a military parade in Pyongyang on Wednesday, according to KCNA. Ju Ae, believed to be 13 or 14, was photographed standing beside her father and senior military leaders.
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Her appearance comes after South Korean media reported that Kim recently gave her a leadership role in the regime’s powerful «Missile Administration,» which oversees Pyongyang’s nuclear forces.
Fox News Digital’s Emma Bussey, along with Reuters and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
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north korea,south korea,kim jong un,conflicts,nuclear proliferation
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