Osama Bhutta

‘Shame on them’: StanChart chief attacks companies ditching ESG pledges Bill Winters of emerging markets-focused bank criticises US and UK aid cuts

Yep on.ft.com/3ULeZzu

NBA announces London and Manchester games as Memphis Grizzlies and Orlando Magic head to Europe The Memphis Grizzlies and Orlando Magic will play regular-season games in Berlin and London in January 2026, before the NBA also takes games to Manchester and Paris in 2027; London is gearing up to ho...

London, Berlin, Paris, and Manchester to host NBA games www-skysports-com.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/www.skys...

Minister dismisses peers’ claims that UK recognition of Palestine may break international law Gareth Thomas says move is ‘political judgment’ after challenge from 40 members of House of Lords

Nearly two years into the war, international law has been broken www.theguardian.com/world/2025/j...

Two in five arrested for last summer’s UK riots had been reported for domestic abuse Police data indicates overlaps between public violent disorder and domestic violence and abuse

Turns out those anti-migrant men suddenly worried about the safety of women would be better off protesting closer to home www.theguardian.com/society/2025...

Edinburgh University had ‘outsized’ role in creating racist scientific theories, inquiry finds Exclusive: Investigation finds one of Britain’s oldest and most prestigious universities benefited from transatlantic slavery and was haven for white supremacist theories

Bold and transparent work by colleagues at Edinburgh www.theguardian.com/education/20...

Edinburgh University had ‘outsized’ role in creating racist scientific theories, inquiry finds Exclusive: Investigation finds one of Britain’s oldest and most prestigious universities benefited from transatlantic slavery and was haven for white supremacist theories

Thankful this has been openly published, after careful research be expert colleagues at the University of Edinburgh. Hoping that management now actually deliver. www.theguardian.com/education/20...

A must-watch/listen

Where is the ICO on this? There are clear protocols in the event of a data breach to contact those affected. Did that happen? And if not, who is accountable?

Some might say…. It’s graduation and Oasis fever in Manchester this week! Well done to all our grads and stay in touch 😎🎓🎸

Cute, they switched ties again

Manchester Museum named European museum of the year ‘Gobsmacked’ director says 138-year-old museum aims to ‘build empathy for other people and the natural world’

Congrats to colleagues at Manchester Museum for being European Museum of the Year! It is by design such a welcoming and thoughtful place. Get along there if you haven’t already! www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...

Me with UoM’s People chief Ele Morrissey about to set off with the rest of the Vimto coloured troops

Proud to run the Manchester 10k as part of the @uniofmanchester.bsky.social Purple Wave. And I hit a new PB!🥇 🙌🏽😎

Trump Announces Seal Team 6 Killed U.S. Protester In Daring Overnight Raid

It’s got to be hurting Zuckerberg that despite all his cosying up to Trump, the secret war chats are happening on Signal, not WhatsApp

Harvard sues Trump administration over efforts to ‘gain control of academic decision-making’ University fights back against threats to cut about $9bn in funding for school after it refused to comply with demands

Solidarity with colleagues at Harvard ✊🏽

Donald Trump may have made April Fools’ Day a two-day event from now on

She’s running for president

If Le Pen has committed a crime she should be punished. This does however fit a pattern of holding back the far right through the courts. If we want to beat the haters it needs to be by defeating their politics through better politics

All you need to know about Twitter

Meta stops former Facebook director from promoting critical memoir Social media company wins US emergency ruling preventing ex-director from publicising her book.

Zuckerberg was recently telling us all that we had reached a cultural tipping point prioritising free speech 🤷🏽‍♂️ www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

From where in the world do Rangers fans think “woke” is coming?

Manchester looks to build on life sciences cluster effect The city’s ecosystem of universities, commerce and research is attracting investors and start-ups

Manchester’s scientific research — from innovation at globally renowned institutions such as the Christie cancer hospital to the fizzing ecosystem of spinouts and start-ups on the Oxford Road corridor linking its universities — is “of a quality that would match anywhere in the world”

‘Trump Gaza’ AI video intended as political satire, says creator Film-maker reacts after US president shares video on his Truth Social account last week

I've seen this mistake from human rights advocates so many times. If your critique, catastrophising, or comedy is something the object of your ire would quite like you to say, or it helps them go even further with their dastardly plans, go back and instead devise something that would irritate them

Ah Spotify, you know me so well

Alarm as bird flu now ‘endemic in cows’ while Trump cuts staff and funding Experts say current US outbreak is unlikely to end without intervention with further mutation of virus likely

Trump and anti-vaxxer RFKjr are cutting science and health measures just when bird flu is really becoming endemic in America. Not good 🧪 www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

Vodafone just served me an advert promising a new phone every year. Nobody needs a new phone every year. What a waste!

Hasan Minhaj had Steve Bannon’s number a long time ago - from his 2017 WHCA speech

ANNOUNCING A MAJOR NEW @EmpirePodUK SERIES:
IRELAND & EMPIRE

Episode One-
COLONISING IRELAND:
Henry VIII, Elizabeth I & The Tudor Conquest of Ireland

Fact check: Trump falsely claims Zelensky has a 4% approval rating. It’s above 50% | CNN Politics President Donald Trump’s false declaration Tuesday that Ukraine “started” the Russian war on Ukraine generated the most attention. But Trump also made another wildly inaccurate assertion about Ukraine...

Prof Olga Onuch of Manchester Uni tells CNN that “63% of Ukrainians either approve fully or tend to approve of Zelensky’s actions as president www.cnn.com/2025/02/19/p...