A Mississippi sheriff said he was "ashamed" and apologized after five of his former deputies pleaded guilty to charges related to the torture of two Black men.

Chef Ainsley Harriott has contributed some great memes to the internet during his distinguished broadcasting career, but the presenter brought back an absolute classic for his first post on Instagram’s new text-based Twitter rival Threads on Thursday. The iconic catchphrase “Why hello Jill” – especially beloved by Radio 1 presenter Greg James – went viral back in 2018 after Harriott made a surprise appearance in a member of the public’s house during a segment of This Morning. Jill Hatton, who was selected to receive a number of surprises as part of Mother’s Day, looked stunned when hosts Eamonn Holmes and Ruth Langsford cut to her in her living room, and seemed equally as shocked as TV personality Alison Hammond sat on her sofa and explained all the amazing gifts she would be receiving. But that wasn’t the moment which would become known across social media. It actually came in the form of what Hammond said after the TV crew brought a brand new TV into her house. Hammond said: “There’s going to be more, because we’ve only got Ainsley Harriott. here, who’s going to do a treat dish for you. He’s going to cook you a lovely treat in your very own kitchen – here he is.” Shaking a frying pan in his hand as he enters the room, Harriott can be heard saying, in a wonderful sing-song voice, “Why hello Jill!” Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter And for those wondering, a follow-up segment of This Morning which aired in December 2019 saw Langsford confirm to James that Jill was doing “very very well” – and check in on the viral sensation who confirmed people were saying it to her in the street “for a long time afterwards”. The saying was even referenced by Ant and Dec in a series of I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here! last year, when ex-Lioness Jill Scott appeared as a campmate in the Australian jungle. Now, Harriott did his own take on the meme on the Instagram app by posting “why hello, Threads”, delighting users on the platform. “This is the content I’m here for,” replied one. Another commented: “Worth following just for that.” “Best thread I’ve seen so far, hands down,” declared a third. And of course, James himself was thrilled with the meme’s resurgence, attaching a screenshot of the Thread to his very first post on the platform, which was a picture of a naked Harriott on a sofa, with grapes covering his privates. Harriot isn’t the only one to make a pretty epic entrance on the new social media app, either, as Good Morning Britain presenter and former Labour shadow chancellor Ed Balls’ first post was exactly what you expect it to be. Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

(Reuters) -Cambodia's newly elected parliament endorsed four-star military general Hun Manet as prime minister on Tuesday, completing a historic transfer

Carlo Ancelotti admits he does not know what the future holds for Marco Asensio at Real Madrid but would be disappointed if the Spaniard left the club this summer. PSG are understood to be in advanced talks over a move on a free transfer.

Most taxpayers will be able to digitally submit a slew of tax documents and other communications to the IRS next filing season and the agency plans to go completely paperless in 2025

Russian textbooks praising President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine are an attempt to encourage “self-sacrifice” among schoolchildren, experts have warned. In September, Russia rolled out new history textbooks to schools that claim Ukraine is an “ultranationalist state” being used as a “battering ram” by the United States to “destroy Russia”. One chapter claims Ukrainian membership of NATO could have led to a catastrophic war and “possibly the end of civilisation” that Russia had to prevent. Jaroslava Barbieri, academic and author of dozens of articles on Russian affairs, said the textbooks and lessons instructing children on how to use drones were all part of a wider plan. “Patriotic education is nothing new,” Ms Barbieri, doctoral researcher at the University of Birmingham, told The Independent. “But it has acquired new momentum under Putin. It is an attempt to indoctrinate the next generation, by equating patriotism to self-sacrifice.” The textbook, which devotes 28 pages to Russia’s war in Ukraine, is also intended to convince children Russia has “always been surrounded by enemies,” Ms Barbieri said. “It is about militarising the youth, making them believe they have always been surrounded by constant enemies and that they should serve the needs of the state,” she said. In July, the Russian Defence Ministry approved plans for new lessons instructing schoolchildren on how to operate combat drones, assault rifles and hand grenades. Deputy Minister of Defence Ruslan Tsalikov said the programme will include basic operating information and methods to counter enemy weapons, including UAVs. Ms Barbieri said this was evidence the Kremlin had recognised the changing nature of warfare and Ukraine’s extensive use of commercial drones – as well as contributing to a militarised society. Katie Stallard, Global Fellow at the Wilson Center think tank, said Putin has always been obsessed by history and the textbooks reflect his desire to have a firmer grip on Russia’s historical narratives. “Mr Putin has poured government money into patriotic education and other so-called patriotic initiatives during his two decades in power,” she told the Independent. “It has long been clear he was not just seeking to promote a glorious, idealised version of the Russian past, but to limit challenges to the official narratives so he can consolidate power.” Between 2016 and 2020, Russia’s federal budget allocated about £18.5m to military-patriotic education, research shows. The implementation of military-patriotic education is guided by the military, schools and clubs, research suggests. “Control of the past has become a political priority as Mr Putin attempts to consolidate power in the present, particularly since his full-scale invasion of Ukraine,” Ms Stallard added. But so far, the Kremlin’s indoctrination tactics have not led to “queues of would-be soldiers lining up outside recruitment offices”, Ms Stallard said. “In fact, the opposite has happened, with the authorities tightening controls to make it harder for citizens to avoid military service,” she added. “There is little evidence that this will make much difference to the Russian war effort in the short term by generating an outpouring of public support.” In February 2022, an estimated 300,000 people fled Russia when its military invaded Ukraine. This number increased to about 700,000 by the end of the year, some estimates suggest. “Tighter education doesn’t mean Mr Putin will succeed and people will unquestionably believe what they read in their school history books. “The Soviet approach did not succeed either. It was a population skilled in understanding the correct sentiments to voice in public, while voicing their dissatisfaction in private,” Ms Stallard said. Read More Russian students are returning to school, where they face new lessons to boost their patriotism The Ukraine war, propaganda-style, is coming to Russian movie screens. Will people watch? Kremlin rushes out schoolbook praising Putin’s Ukraine invasion

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Indonesia’s top diplomat is warning of the threat posed by nuclear weapons, saying that Southeast Asia is “one miscalculation away from apocalypse” and pressing for world powers to sign a treaty to keep the region free from such arms