Young men and boys are at risk of being radicalised into extreme misogyny by online influencers like Andrew Tate, a police report has warned.

The National Police Chiefs Council said violence against women and girls was a "national emergency" in the UK, with extreme online content and misogynistic "manosphere" influencers "fuelling sex offences committed by teenage boys", reported The Telegraph.

What is the manosphere?
The "manosphere" is an online community "united in a belief that men are victims in a society that is designed for the benefit of women", said James Bloodworth in The Times. 

There are subcultures within the manosphere, said Mark Travers at Forbes: "men's rights activists", fighting a "perceived discrimination against men in society"; "pick-up artists", who share manipulative tactics to "attract and seduce women"; "red pill men", who reject progressive gender dynamics , and "incels", who "feel they are unable to find romantic or sexual partners".

Where has it come from?
There are "millions of men" who are "suffering from a lack of meaning and purpose", said David French in The New York Times, and some are turning to exploitative "gurus to guide their lives", such as Andrew Tate, Joe Rogan and Jordan Peterson.

Tate – a self-proclaimed misogynist currently awaiting trial in Romania on charges including rape and sex trafficking (charges he denies) – pushes the idea that "putting women down and controlling them can be a way of feeling powerful" and men should take on an "alpha male" role, said Bloodworth. When female partners choose not to be "subservient and compliant", that is when things "can get nasty", and women are "at risk of becoming yet another statistic".

What's being done about it?
Last year, the Conservative government designated violence against women and girls as a "national threat", while the current Labour government says it "aims to halve violence against women and girls over the next decade", said the BBC.

Police have said they will "provide coordination across forces" to tackle the rise in violence against women, but Deputy Chief Constable Maggie Blyth told Sky News that tech companies need to do "far more to take down that harmful content".

"If there was any lingering ambiguity about the illegality of Israel's decades-long occupation of Palestinian territory, it should have been quashed by a landmark ruling from the world's top court," said the Financial Times.

In an 83-page advisory opinion released last week, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) scrutinised Israel's activities in Palestinian lands controlled since 1967. "The result was damning," said the FT. The top UN court found that "virtually every Israeli action in the territory violated international law." It demanded that Israel halt settlement construction immediately.

Ruling 'unlikely to temper Netanyahu's government'
The ICJ ruling is non-binding and unlikely to "temper the behaviour of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's far-right government, which includes ultranationalist settlers who advocate annexing the West Bank", said the FT. Settlement construction has "accelerated under Netanyahu's watch", and Israel "has a history of ignoring UN resolutions and international court judgments critical of its actions, with the quiet acquiescence of its Western allies". 

The court's ruling is "more than a legal setback for Israel", said Kenneth Roth, former executive director of Human Rights Watch, in The Guardian. "It is a virtual invitation for Karim Khan, chief prosecutor for the International Criminal Court, to prosecute the officials behind the settlements". 

Israel's 'fortress mentality'
The ruling has sparked widespread "outrage" across the political spectrum in Israel, as Palestinian leaders hailed the ruling a "watershed moment", said Tortoise. Pushing back on the ruling, a defiant Netanyahu declared that "the Jewish people are not occupiers in their own land, including in Judea and Samaria [the West Bank], our historical homeland". 

There has "long been a fear that Israel may eventually go ahead and annex the occupied West Bank", as it did with East Jerusalem and the Golan Heights, said Al Jazeera. However, Mai El-Sadany, executive director of the Tahrir Institute for Middle East Policy, suggested the ICJ decision could have consequences. "Even some of Israel's closest allies, including the US, have recognised parts of the advisory opinion, particularly on the illegality of the settlement policy", she said.

As more countries "choose to support the rule of law when it comes to the occupation", said Al Jazeera, "that pressure may eventually reach a point where Israel, and its backers, buckle".

If you only watch "Simone Biles: Rising" to "marvel" at the sheer talent of one of the planet's greatest gymnasts, it would be "a couple of hours well spent", said Rebecca Nicholson in The Guardian. But there is far more to the athlete than her "legendary physical prowess".

The first half of the four-part documentary has been released on Netflix just before Biles makes her hotly anticipated return to the Olympics in Paris, with the second half set to drop after the games.

It's been nearly four years since the decorated gymnast sent shockwaves through the sporting world when she pulled out of the Tokyo Olympics early, citing mental health struggles. Directed by Katie Walsh, "Simone Biles: Rising" delves into what happened in Tokyo, the intense scrutiny faced by athletes in elite sports and Biles' decision to return to the Olympic stage.

Going way beyond the "obviously riveting comeback story", "Simone Biles: Rising" sketches a picture of a "self-possessed, forthright, good-humoured young woman", said Robert Lloyd in the Los Angeles Times. The documentary also shines a light on the toxic culture within the sport, particularly when Biles talks about being one of hundreds of victims of US team gymnastics doctor and sexual abuser Larry Nassar.

Biles' journey to finding joy in gymnastics again and returning to the Olympics is set up "beautifully", said The Guardian, and gives cautious hope that while progress is slow, gymnastics is starting to change. "Perhaps it is becoming kinder – and more human."

Andy Murray's Olympic farewell is fitting for a great tennis player and a great human being
The Scotsman leader article
With Andy Murray's retirement from competitive tennis nearing, "it's worthwhile remembering just how much he has achieved", said The Scotsman. He's the only man to win two Olympic golds in the singles, and he ended "the 77-year wait" for a Brit to bring home the Wimbledon title. He is also just a "thoroughly decent and thoughtful person". Though "there will be tears" in Paris, there should be "joy for such a truly special career" as well.

Like Kamala Harris, I know what it's like to be dismissed as an unqualified diversity hire
Diane Abbott in The Independent
A Black woman is "poised" to become the Democratic nominee – and racists are "massing on both sides of the Atlantic", writes Labour MP Diane Abbott. Some of this discrimination is "explicit" and some "implicit", with "concerned liberal white commentators expounding on the dangers of a Kamala 'coronation'". One "critique" is that Harris is "stupid", an accusation that, levelled against a Black female politician, is "standard abuse". I should know, "I have had over 30 years of the accusation being thrown at me".

Populism can never be sated – don't pander to it
Matthew Parris in The Times
The new government is understandably concerned that if it fails voters will be "driven towards populist parties of left or right", writes Matthew Parris. But "there is a problem with this". Populist "concerns" can be addressed "until the cows come home", but "they cannot be met". "Addressing them, then failing to meet them, only irritates voters". Instead, the "only honest" option is to "frankly" admit that populist concerns "cannot be carried into action".