A Liverpudlian bus driver has told a tribunal that being told to “calm down, calm down” is racist. Antony Ryan felt “insulted” after the comments from his manager. The saying originated in a comedy sketch by Harry Enfield, in which moustachioed, shell-suited “Scousers” would tell each other: “Eh, alright, alright, calm down, calm down.” Ryan’s race discrimination claim was dismissed because the panel ruled he was not being mocked for his “national origin”.
Roman holding cell found in Kent
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Man names son after alphabet
A dad in South Sumatra has named his child after the alphabet because he had always wanted to be a writer. The boy’s name is: “ABCDEF GHIJK Zuzu”, but he normally goes by the name ‘Adef’. The father considered naming his two other boys NOPQ RSTUV and XYZ but instead opted for the more orthodox Ammar and Attur.
-
Le Pen back in the dock: the trial that’s shaking FranceIn the Spotlight Appealing her four-year conviction for embezzlement, the Rassemblement National leader faces an uncertain political future, whatever the result
-
The doctors’ strikesThe Explainer Resident doctors working for NHS England are currently voting on whether to go out on strike again this year
-
5 chilling cartoons about increasing ICE aggressionCartoons Artists take on respect for the law, the Fourth Amendment, and more
-
Panama and Canada are negotiating over a crucial copper mineIn the Spotlight Panama is set to make a final decision on the mine this summer
-
Why Greenland’s natural resources are nearly impossible to mineThe Explainer The country’s natural landscape makes the task extremely difficult
-
Iran cuts internet as protests escalateSpeed Reada Government buildings across the country have been set on fire
-
US nabs ‘shadow’ tanker claimed by RussiaSpeed Read The ship was one of two vessels seized by the US military
-
How Bulgaria’s government fell amid mass protestsThe Explainer The country’s prime minister resigned as part of the fallout
-
Femicide: Italy’s newest crimeThe Explainer Landmark law to criminalise murder of a woman as an ‘act of hatred’ or ‘subjugation’ but critics say Italy is still deeply patriarchal
-
Brazil’s Bolsonaro behind bars after appeals run outSpeed Read He will serve 27 years in prison
-
Americans traveling abroad face renewed criticism in the Trump eraThe Explainer Some of Trump’s behavior has Americans being questioned
