International
UK Supreme Court rules definition of ‘woman’ based on sex at birth and not by transgender

The UK supreme court has ruled that the terms “woman” and “sex” in the Equality Act refer to a biological woman and biological sex, in a victory for gender-critical campaigners.
Five judges from the UK supreme court ruled unanimously that the legal definition of a woman in the Equality Act 2010 did not include transgender women who hold gender recognition certificates (GRCs).
In a significant defeat for the Scottish government, the court decision will mean that transgender women can no longer sit on public boards in places set aside for women.
It could have far wider ramifications by leading to much greater restrictions on the rights of transgender women to use services and spaces reserved for women, and prompt calls for the UK’s laws on gender recognition to be rewritten.
The UK government said the ruling “brings clarity and confidence” for women and those who run hospitals, sports clubs and women’s refuges.
A spokesperson said: “We have always supported the protection of single sex spaces based on biological sex. Single-sex spaces are protected in law and will always be protected by this government.”
John Swinney, Scotland’s first minister, posted on social media: “The Scottish government accepts today’s supreme court judgment. The ruling gives clarity between two relevant pieces of legislation passed at Westminster.
We will now engage on the implications of the ruling. Protecting the rights of all will underpin our actions.”
Lord Hodge told the court the Equality Act (EA) was very clear that its provisions dealt with biological sex at birth, and not with a person’s acquired gender, regardless of whether they held a gender recognition certificate.
That affected policymaking on gender in sports and the armed services, hospitals, as well as women-only charities, and access to changing rooms and women-only spaces, he said.
In a verbal summary of the decision, he said: “Interpreting sex as certificated sex would cut across the definitions of man and woman in the EA and thus the protected characteristic of sex in an incoherent way.
It would create heterogeneous groupings.
“As a matter of ordinary language, the provisions relating to sex discrimination, and especially those relating to pregnancy and maternity and to protection from risks specifically affecting women, can only be interpreted as referring to biological sex.”
Trans rights campaigners urged trans people and their supporters to remain calm about the decision.
The campaign group Scottish Trans said: “We are really shocked by today’s supreme court decision, which reverses 20 years of understanding of how the law recognises trans men and women with gender recognition certificates.
“We will continue working for a world in which trans people can get on with their lives with privacy, dignity and safety. That is something we all deserve.
”Ellie Gomersall, a trans woman in the Scottish Green party, called on the UK government to change the law to entrench full equality for trans people.
Gomersall said: “I’m gutted to see this judgment from the supreme court, which ends 20 years of understanding that transgender people with a gender recognition certificate are able to be, for almost all intents and purposes, recognised legally as our true genders.
“These protections were put in place in 2004 following a ruling by the European court of human rights, meaning today’s ruling undermines the vital human rights of my community to dignity, safety and the right to be respected for who we are.”
The gender critical campaign group For Women Scotland, which is backed financially by JK Rowling, said the Equality Act’s definition of a woman was limited to people born biologically female.
Maya Forstater, a gender critical activist who helped set up the campaign group Sex Matters, which took part in the supreme court case by supporting For Women Scotland, said the decision was correct.
“We are delighted that the supreme court has accepted the arguments of For Women Scotland and rejected the position of the Scottish government.
The court has given us the right answer: the protected characteristic of sex – male and female – refers to reality, not to paperwork.”
Hodge, the deputy president of the court, said it believed the position taken by the Scottish government and the Equality and Human Rights Commission that people with gender recognition certificates did qualify as women, while those without did not, created “two sub-groups”.
This would confuse any organisations they were involved with. A public body could not know whether a trans woman did or did not have that certificate because the information was private and confidential.
And allowing trans women the same legal status as biological women could also affect spaces and services designed specifically for lesbians, who had also suffered historical discrimination and abuse.
In part of the ruling that could have sweeping implications for policymakers in the sports world and sports centres, he said some services and places could “function properly only if sex is interpreted as biological sex”.
“Those provisions include separate spaces and single-sex services, including changing rooms, hostels, medical services, communal accommodation, [and] arise in the operation of provisions relating to single-sex characteristic associations and charities, women’s fair participation in sport, the operation of the public sector equality duty and the armed forces.”
Hodge urged people not to see the decision “as a triumph of one or more groups in our society at the expense of another”.
He said all transgender people had clear legal protections under the 2010 act against discrimination and harassment.
Kishwer Falkner, the chair of the Equality and Human Rights Commission, which had intervened in the case to support the Scottish government’s stance, said it would need time to fully interpret the ruling’s implications.
However, the commission was pleased it had dealt with its concerns about the lack of clarity around single-sex and lesbian-only spaces.
“We are pleased that this judgment addresses several of the difficulties we highlighted in our submission to the court, including the challenges faced by those seeking to maintain single-sex spaces, and the rights of same-sex attracted persons to form associations.”
International
Legendary conservationist, Jane Goodall, dies at 91
Despite challenges in the rugged landscapes of Gombe National Park, she pursued her dream of living among and studying wildlife.

•Dr. Jane Goodall
Dr Jane Goodall, the world-renowned primatologist, anthropologist, and conservationist, has died at the age of 91.
Jane Goodall Institute confirmed her death on Wednesday, stating that she died of natural causes in California while on a speaking tour of the United States.
Goodall’s groundbreaking research on chimpanzees transformed the scientific understanding of humanity’s closest relatives in the animal kingdom.
Beginning her studies in Tanzania at just 26 years old, she documented chimpanzees’ ability to display human-like behaviors such as affection, tool-making, and even conflict, findings that revolutionized ethology and earned her global recognition.
In her reflection on her early discoveries, Goodall once told ABC News: “Their behavior, with their gestures, kissing, embracing, holding hands and patting on the back … the fact that they can actually be violent and brutal … but also loving and altruistic.”
Her fascination with animals dated back to childhood, inspired by books like Doctor Dolittle and Tarzan.
Despite challenges in the rugged landscapes of Gombe National Park, she pursued her dream of living among and studying wildlife.
Her doctoral thesis at the University of Cambridge detailed her first five years of observations.
International
Deported Nigerian Claims Ghanaian Officials Abandoned Him in Togo

A Nigerian man deported from the United States to Ghana has alleged that he is now stranded in Togo after Ghanaian authorities secretly transferred him and five others across the border without informing Togolese officials.
According to on Wednesday, the man, who spoke anonymously, said he was initially held at a military camp in Ghana after being deported last month along with other West African nationals. He claims Ghanaian officials promised to relocate them to better accommodation but instead covertly transported them into neighbouring Togo via a back route.
“They did not take us through the main border; they took us through the back door. They paid the police there and dropped us in Togo,” he said.
The group, which includes three Nigerians, a Liberian, and others, is now sheltering in a hotel in Lomé, the Togolese capital. None of them have valid documentation, and they are relying on hotel staff to help receive financial aid from relatives abroad.
“We’re struggling to survive in Togo without any documentation,” the man told the BBC. “None of us has family here. We’re just stuck.”
He said life in the Ghanaian military camp was “deplorable,” citing poor water, lack of medical care, and harsh conditions. After complaints to authorities, the group was told they would be moved to a hotel. Instead, they were driven to the Togo border and allegedly coerced under false pretenses.
“When we arrived [at the border], we asked what we were doing there. They told us we needed to sign some paperwork to go to a hotel. We didn’t sign anything,” he said.
The man also shared the personal toll of his deportation. “I have a house in the US where my kids live. How am I supposed to pay the mortgage? My kids can’t see me. It’s just so stressful.”
He is reportedly a member of the Yoruba Self-Determination Movement, an organisation campaigning for an independent Yoruba nation in south-west Nigeria. He fears persecution if forced to return to Nigeria and claims he had court-ordered protection in the US, which should have prevented his deportation. The US government has not publicly addressed this claim.
The deportee was part of a larger group of West Africans — including citizens of Liberia, The Gambia, and Togo — who were flown from US detention facilities to Ghana last month. Human rights lawyers representing the group have filed legal action against both the US and Ghana, citing violations of international protection and due process.
Ghanaian officials, including Foreign Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, have defended their decision, saying Ghana accepted the deportees based on “pan-African empathy” and denied receiving any financial compensation.
However, the deal — announced by President John Mahama — has drawn criticism from opposition lawmakers, who are now calling for its suspension until it is properly reviewed and ratified by parliament. Despite the controversy, the government is reportedly preparing to receive an additional 40 deportees.
As the legal battle unfolds and diplomatic pressure mounts, the fate of the stranded deportees in Togo remains uncertain.
International
Seychelles presidential vote going to runoff, electoral commission says
Herminie, head of the United Seychelles (US) party, secured 48.8% of the vote, while Ramkalawan, of the Linyon Demokratik Seselwa (LDS), followed closely with 46.4%, the electoral commission said.

•Image : (Up) Seychelles opposition leader of the United Seychelles (US) party Patrick Herminie; and the incumbent President Wavel Ramkalawan of the LDS party
The Seychelles presidential election will go to a runoff between opposition leader Patrick Herminie and incumbent President Wavel Ramkalawan after no clear winner emerged in the first round of voting, the electoral commission said on Sunday.
Ramkalawan had been looking to block a comeback by the party that previously dominated politics for four decades in Africa’s wealthiest country per capita.
The western Indian Ocean archipelago is a magnet for investment and security cooperation with China, Gulf nations and India.
Herminie, head of the United Seychelles (US) party, secured 48.8% of the vote, while Ramkalawan, of the Linyon Demokratik Seselwa (LDS), followed closely with 46.4%, the electoral commission said.
Neither candidate surpassed the 50% threshold required for an outright victory in the first round.
The US party also made significant gains in the National Assembly, winning 15 constituency seats and an additional four seats through proportional representation, giving it a clear parliamentary majority.
(Reuters).
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