What happened
Five members of Iran’s women’s national football team, in Australia for the AFC Women’s Asian Cup tournament, have received humanitarian visas from the host nation’s government. The decision allows the athletes to remain in the country, with a pathway towards permanent residency in Australia. Authorities said the players had entered into discussions with local officials after concerns about possible repercussions if they returned home. The group has been moved to a protected location by the Australian Federal Police following security checks.

Who said what
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Australians had been deeply affected by the athletes’ situation and emphasised that further support could be offered. “If you want our help, help is here,” he said.

The players have faced a “torrid choice”, said Jack Snape in The Guardian. By staying in Australia they will be “cutting off ties from their family and friends, who may then be vulnerable”. And the backlash “might also extend to teammates, other footballers and out through community networks still living in Iran”.

What next?
Australian officials said the option of humanitarian protection remained open to other members of the Iranian squad should they choose to seek assistance while still in Australia.

What happened
The NHS will stop prescribing hormone drugs to anyone under the age of 18 after a review found that the evidence did not support their use as gender-affirming treatment. Masculinising or feminising hormones have been available for some 16 and 17-year-olds diagnosed with gender dysphoria, but new referrals were paused yesterday for a 90-day consultation on plans to permanently remove the treatment.

Who said what
The 2024 Cass Review into children’s gender care recommended  “extreme caution” in providing such treatment, as well as a “clear clinical rationale for providing hormones at this stage rather than waiting until an individual reaches 18”. In accordance with that advice, the NHS has “exercised extreme caution”, said James Palmer, NHS England’s national medical director for specialised services.

Long-term gender hormone treatment can cause temporary or even permanent infertility, according to the NHS. Use of the drugs to delay or prevent puberty was banned for under-18s in 2024.

What next?
Existing teenage patients can continue to receive cross-sex hormone treatment, but it must be reviewed individually with clinicians. The NHS will continue to examine evidence for the hormone treatments in adults.

“They say beauty is pain, but it isn’t supposed to be deadly,” said Sheilla Mamona in Glamour. Yet for millions of Black women across the world who regularly wear braids, twists and extensions, troubling new evidence suggests that the synthetic hair used to create these styles may be exposing them to toxic substances.

A number of studies conducted in recent months have revealed that many popular braiding hair products include dangerous chemicals and carcinogens. The latest, published by Consumer Reports in the US, found lead in 29 of the 30 brands of extensions tested, while another peer-reviewed study published by Silent Spring Institute this month discovered hazardous ingredients across 43 hair samples.

Such findings “paint a grim picture”, said Mamona. In a market where a host of products contain potentially “harmful, and even deadly” elements, Black women find themselves “disproportionately” at risk.

Despite these risks, synthetic hair is not always regulated like other beauty products. There are “no parameters” in the US for what materials can be used in synthetic braiding hair, said Kayla Greaves in Marie Claire. In the UK in January, the Commons Science, Innovation and Technology Committee of MPs did hold an oral evidence session on the greater regulation of hair products – “the first evidence session of its new inquiry”.

But in the meantime, Black women are “refusing to accept the lack of new innovation” for braiding hair, said Greaves. Many are looking for “ethically sourced” and “plant-based” alternatives, and also calling for “expanded testing” of not just synthetic hair, but also human hair products.