Associated British Foods to spin off Primark clothes brand

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has pledged to propose legislation within weeks to proscribe Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, a report said Friday.

Starmer made the comments while speaking to the Jewish Chronicle newspaper during a visit Thursday to a London synagogue targeted by arsonists nearly a week ago.

The commitment comes after the European Union in January agreed to designate Tehran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) a "terrorist organisation" over a deadly crackdown on mass protests.

“In relation to malign state actors more generally, proscription, we do need legislation in order to take necessary measures, and that is legislation that we’re bringing forward as soon as we can," Starmer said when asked about the prospect of proscribing the Guards.

“We go into a new session (of parliament) in a few weeks’ time and we’ll bring that legislation forward,” he added.

Jewish residents in northwest London remain on "high alert" after a spate of arson attacks on synagogues and community sites which began after the US-Israel strikes on Iran since February 28.

Starmer has said he is “increasingly concerned” about countries using proxies for criminal activity in the UK.

The IRGC is the ideological arm of Tehran's military and was created after the 1979 revolution to protect the clerical leadership. 

The Guards control or own companies across the Iranian economy, including major strategic sectors.

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Jim Furyk was named United States captain for the 2027 Ryder Cup on Friday by the PGA of America, tasking him with obtaining the first US triumph in Europe since 1993.

Furyk was selected after 15-time major winner Tiger Woods withdrew from consideration for the job following his March 27 arrest on suspicion of DUI charges, to which he has pleaded not guilty. Woods has stepped away from golf and gone to Europe for treatment.

That sets the stage for Furyk to take charge of the Americans for the 46th Ryder Cup to be played on September 17-19, 2027, at Adare Manor in Limerick, Ireland.

It's the second time as captain for Furyk, who directed the US squad that lost to Europe in 2018 at Le Golf National in France.

"The opportunity to captain the US Ryder Cup team for a second time is a tremendous honor," Furyk said. "I am committed to putting our players in the best position to succeed as we work to reclaim the Cup on European soil."

Since making his Ryder Cup debut as a player in 1997, Furyk has represented the Americans in 14 consecutive editions of the event, serving as a player, vice captain and captain.

"Jim Furyk has been an influential figure in the US team room for nearly three decades," PGA of America vice president Nathan Charnes said.

"He's a trusted, widely-respected leader and possesses a wealth of Ryder Cup experience that can only serve to strengthen our team."

US teams have lost seven Ryder Cups in a row on European soil, last winning an away contest by 15-13 at The Belfry in England in 1993.

"Competing in Ryder Cups hosted in Europe presents unique challenges and we're confident in Jim's leadership to guide the US team over the next two years as we prepare for Ireland," Charnes said.

Furyk, 55, played in nine Ryder Cups from 1997 through 2014, the second-most appearances for any American player.

He served as a vice captain four times, including on triumphant teams at Hazeltine in 2016 and Whistling Straits in 2021.

"My passion for the Ryder Cup and dedication to the US team have never been stronger," Furyk said.

"Having previously captained the team, I understand the responsibilities and immense pride that come with this role. I look forward to drawing on that experience while incorporating some new ideas as we prepare for 2027."

The United States leads the all-time rivalry 27-16 with two drawn, but since a British and Irish squad was expanded to all of Europe, the Europeans have a 13-9-1 edge in the series.

Europe have won 11 of the past 15 meetings, including last year's emotional 15-13 triumph at Bethpage Black near New York.

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(The Center Square) – Following the drawn-out and politically calamitous release of millions of federal documents related to the exploits of sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein, the Department of Justice will undergo an investigation.

Long called for by members of Congress, the DOJ Office of the Inspector General is initiating an audit into whether the department legally complied with the Epstein Files Transparency Act.

The DOJ OIG will issue a public report once the audit is complete.

“Our preliminary objective is to evaluate the DOJ’s processes for identifying, redacting, and releasing records in its possession as required by the Act,” Deputy Inspector General William Blier said in a statement.

“To accomplish this preliminary objective, the OIG plans to focus on reviewing (1) the DOJ’s identification, collection, and production of responsive material; (2) DOJ guidance and processes for redacting and withholding material consistent with the requirements enumerated in the Act; and (3) DOJ’s processes for addressing post-release publication concerns,” Blier added.

The DOJ and former Attorney General Pam Bondi received a torrent of criticism for their handling of the congressionally mandated release of federal files on the late Epstein and his close associate Ghislaine Maxwell.

The department failed to comply with the congressionally mandated release deadline and redacted thousands of documents.

Although the bipartisan Epstein Files Transparency Act forbade redactions of relevant information unless it could potentially jeopardize victim privacy, national security, or prosecution efforts, the DOJ has been accused of violating that edict.

As revealed on social media by investigative journalists, one of the uncovered redactions included information on how Epstein attempted to pay off witnesses of his sex trafficking operations and destroy evidence of his crimes.

Due to both congressional and public backlash, President Donald Trump fired Bondi in early April.

Lawmakers are still pushing, however, for Bondi to submit to a deposition before the House Oversight Committee, threatening to hold her in contempt of Congress if she continues to evade summons.

“We have heard nothing from Pam Bondi or her legal team. She didn't show up for her scheduled deposition, and half of the Epstein files are still unreleased,” committee Ranking Member Robert Garcia, D-Calif., told the press. “We are left with no choice. Contempt charges are coming.”

Though millions of files have been released and many prominent figures connected to Epstein have been questioned by the Oversight committee – including billionaire Les Wexner, former president Bill Clinton, and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton – investigative efforts have not resulted in any criminal convictions.

The European Union and United States signed an agreement Friday to coordinate on the supply of critical minerals needed for key industries including defense, as China's dominance becomes a growing concern.

The pact marks a rare embrace by President Donald Trump's administration of the role of the EU, which it often berates as it instead champions right-wing populists within Europe.

Flexing its muscle at times of tension, Beijing has restricted exports of critical minerals needed for products including semiconductors, electric vehicle batteries and weapons systems.

"The overconcentration of these resources, the fact that they're dominated by one or two places, is an unacceptable risk," US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said as he signed a memorandum of understanding with EU trade chief Maros Sefcovic.

Sefcovic told a separate press briefing that the agreement "formalizes our partnership across the entire value chain, from exploration and extraction to processing, refining, recycling and recovery."

- Cost of dependency -

On concerns that China could retaliate against a potential critical minerals deal involving multiple parties, Sefcovic said: "For us, it's really a matter of economic security. It's a matter of overcoming dependencies."

From recent experience, "we know how dependencies could be expensive, and we have a huge price tag for being dependent on the sources of our fossil fuels," he added.

"We simply want to learn from that experience and have a much more diversified portfolio of suppliers," Sefcovic said.

Rubio noted that the United States and the EU combined are "the largest customers and users" of critical minerals.

"We have to make sure that these supplies and these minerals are available for our futures and in ways that are not monopolized in one place or concentrated heavily in one place," Rubio added.

An action plan said that the EU and United States would explore setting minimum prices on critical minerals -- effectively preventing China or other outside powers from flooding the market with inexpensive exports.

They will also look at coordinating any subsidies and stockpiles of critical minerals, and could coordinate joint standards to ease trade across the Western world, and together invest in research.

The US Trade Representative's office said this plan will be the main mechanism to "coordinate trade policies and measures on critical minerals supply chains with a view to concluding a binding plurilateral agreement on trade."

The Trump administration has previously called for a preferential trade zone among allies on critical minerals. 

Washington has also unveiled critical minerals action plans with Mexico and Japan, alongside a supply framework with Australia and others.

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(The Center Square) – The Trump administration has suspended for an additional 90 days a law forbidding foreign-owned and crewed ships from transporting goods between U.S. ports in an effort to contain price increases and to advance national security aims.

“President Trump issued a 90-day extension to the Jones Act waiver,” Taylor Rogers of the White House said Thursday in a social media post.

On March 18, the president announced a 60-day suspension of the Jones Act, a 1920 law requiring that cargo moving between U.S. ports be carried on U.S.-built, -owned, and -crewed vessels. Foreign-flagged vessels are often cheaper to charter than American-registered ships.

“New data compiled since the initial waiver was issued revealed that significantly more supply was able to reach U.S. ports faster,” Rogers said.

Extending the waiver provides certainty and stability for the U.S. and global economies, Rogers wrote.

“The Trump administration has taken several actions to mitigate short-term disruptions to the energy markets, and this extension will help ensure vital energy products, industrial materials, and agricultural necessities are maintained,” Rogers said.

The waiver covers 659 product categories that include coal, jet fuel, propane, butane, urea and Anhydrous Ammonia. The 90-day extension takes effect on May 18 and covers the period through Aug. 15.

According to a published report based on data provided by the White House, the initial waiver allowed approximately 40 tankers to deliver oil between U.S. ports, effectively boosting the available domestic fleet by 70%. The White House cites deliveries between ports in California, Texas, Florida and Alaska. The vessels moved over 9 million barrels of American oil and fuel since the initial March waiver, according to the White House.

In the past, Jones Act waivers typically covered a period of 7-14 days and were issued only after events such as hurricanes, storms or other supply disruptions.

Energy producers, agricultural groups and lawmakers from Hawaii, Alaska and other coastal states requested the extension, seeking to minimize price spikes and to mitigate supply chain risks. American Farm Bureau Federation President Zippy Duvall said when the waiver was issued in March it would help relieve pressure on supplies of fuel and fertilizer during the critical spring planting season.

While the White House focused on consumer costs on social media accounts, a formal request for the waiver from the Department of War framed the extension as a matter of national security. The department warned that a failure to extend the waiver would "degrade our national defense" by disrupting military planning and support for U.S. Central Command operations in the conflict with Iran. There is currently insufficient U.S.-flagged shipping capacity to meet rising defense needs, according to the War Department.

Since President Donald Trump began his second term, the administration has promoted the “Restoring America’s Maritime Dominance,” program, backed the SHIPS for America Act, and pushed for rebuilding U.S. shipyards, merchant fleets, and sealift readiness.

The American Maritime Partnership, a trade group representing the shipping industry, urged that the waivers be allowed to lapse, saying their existence undermines U.S. maritime policy. The industry group’s president, Jennifer Carpenter, said in a statement that an extension of the waiver would “blow a hole in the Trump agenda to restore American maritime dominance.”

“Waiving the Jones Act exports American jobs to foreign carriers, lets them skirt U.S. laws, and throws open our maritime borders,” said Carpenter. “Any extension would be an affront to hundreds of thousands of hardworking Americans who put this country – not foreign powers – first,” Carpenter said.

Waiving domestic shipping laws won’t change the price of crude oil on world markets, the primary driver of what Americans pay at the pump, Carpenter said. The shipping group estimates Jones Act requirements result in a cost to drivers of an additional one-tenth of a cent per gallon, which it contends is negligible compared to taxes and refining costs.

AAA reported the U.S. national average for a gallon of regular-grade gasoline Friday was at $4.05 per gallon, up for the second day in a row but down from a four-year high of $4.16 a gallon on April 9.

Aaron Smith, president of the Offshore Marine Service Association, a New Orleans-based trade association that represents the offshore energy industry, said in a statement fuel prices have increased in every U.S. market since the waiver took effect in March.

Smith said oil traders and foreign shippers benefitted from the waiver, rather than American consumers. Average U.S. gasoline prices have risen by 32.4 cents since the waiver was issued on March 18, Smith said.

“The initial waiver has not reduced gasoline prices, rather prices have increased in every U.S. market while benefiting NATO countries that have refused to support U.S. military operations,” Smith said. “To put it simply, a waiver extension sells out our American maritime industry and the foundation of our Navy to benefit oil traders and foreign shippers. Now is the time we should strengthen U.S. maritime capacity, not weaken it.”

Louisiana’s nearly 71,000 maritime workers contribute $18.2 billion annually to the state's economy, according to a recent study by PricewaterhouseCoopers for the Transportation Institute.

An arbitration court in Brazil has removed US businessman John Textor from managing Botafogo football team, which he owns, the Brazilian club announced Friday.

The decision was made as a result of an ongoing financial dispute involving Eagle Football Holdings Bidco, the club's majority shareholder.

Textor was removed from all operational roles within Eagle Bidco at the end of January. The Eagle group also owns French football club Olympique Lyonnais and Belgian side Molenbeek.

The latest development saw the "temporary removal" of Textor from running the club, which said in a statement it will take "all appropriate measures to seek a review of the decision."

His departure from the club will be reviewed at a meeting on April 29.

"I am at peace tonight, as I know our project together will continue," Textor said in an Instagram comment Friday under a Botafogo post.

Botafogo won the Copa Libertadores and Brazilian league title in 2024 but have run into financial difficulties.

Earlier this month it had filed lawsuits against Lyon to recover unpaid debts from the French club. 

"Botafogo filed lawsuits against Olympique Lyonnais in court due to debts exceeding 745 million reais," or $148 million, the Brazilian club wrote in a statement.

The club was banned by FIFA from signing players in December for a debt relating to the signing of Argentina international Thiago Almada from MLS side Atlanta United. The ban was lifted in February after the clubs reached a settlement.

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Like something straight out of a spy movie, lots of cloak and dagger was required before AFP could meet three Ukrainian drone manufacturers on the fringes of a hush-hush defence forum in Paris earlier this month.

A rendezvous was set up on a bench near the Champs-Elysees, and a hint of Russian being spoken nearby prompted a quick change of hotel lounge at another interview.

The expertise Ukraine has honed with machines that have transformed the battlefield and left European armies trailing in their technological wake, is highly sought after, with their impact proved again in the Middle East war. 

"When I talk to Europeans or Americans, they know very little" about these drones, said Olexandr, an engineer producing Ukraine's "largest strike drone", the Perun Max.

"We want to see how countries that have supported us, such as France, can benefit from our experience," he added.

Made at secret locations across Ukraine by Bavovna, the Perun Max can carry "three projectiles, drop them on targets, return, reload and take off again," making up to 30 sorties a night, he said.

The drone can transport loads of 32 kilos over 25 kilometres (15 miles) -- food, water and medicine for soldiers in the trenches -- or leaflets telling people "how to surrender properly and stay alive" in areas where the Russians are advancing.

Bavovna makes 1,000 drones per month, costing between 7,000 and 20,000 euros.

And the system can switch from GPS to optical navigation, flying with the antenna cut off for up to 20 kilometres.

- Two battalions 'neutralised' -

Skyfall -- whose name is a nod to the Bond film -- also began life when Russia invaded in 2022 and four engineers met up in a garage to build a drone capable of monitoring activity over Kyiv.

They soon decided to add a "dropping" capability, creating Vampire, which bombs, lays mines remotely and transports blood or generators.

Vampire reportedly took part in NATO exercises in May 2025 in Estonia, during which 10 Ukrainian drone operators "neutralised" 17 armoured vehicles and two enemy battalions, the Wall Street Journal said. 

The "drone sky" renders the battlefield transparent, where men and armoured vehicles become targets as soon as they venture into no man's land, French military officials and experts said.

"A French unit deployed today on the Ukrainian front against the Russian army would get thoroughly hammered. We must follow the Ukrainian army's example if we want to stay in the game," said Colonel Michel Goya, a former French marine officer and modern conflict analyst.

France is set to reassign 5,000 of 77,000 ground force troops to drone-related activities.

Faced with mass-produced products which are "designed to wear down our capabilities... we need systems which are just as massive, inexpensive, and easy to produce," said General Bruno Baratz, hinting some in the French military hierarchy are reluctant to make the leap.

Bastien Mancini, CEO of French drone manufacturer Delair set up a firm in Ukraine and now supplies drones to the French military.

"Three years ago our drones were being shot down by Russian missiles that cost much more; today they are being shot down by much cheaper systems," he told AFP.

- 'Intelligent machine gun' -

Shrike, another small FPV drone from Skyfall piloted via an onboard camera, costs just $500. Its makers boast it was the first to "shoot down a $10 million (Russian) Mi-8 helicopter in mid-flight."

"These drones have destroyed enemy equipment worth several billion. We can produce over a million of them a year," a Skyfall spokesman claimed.

A third model, the P1-Sun interceptor nicknamed Pisiun (penis), "has already destroyed some 2,500 (Iranian-designed) Shaheds and 1,500 other aerial targets," he added.

"The priority remains the defence of Ukraine,"  he insisted, which is why Kyiv must approve any international link-ups.

But "it would be good if the whole world saw that Ukrainian solutions don't just work in Ukraine."

The Khyzhak (Predator) system, equipped with a 7.62 mm machine gun, was first developed by Ukraine's UGV Robotics for the Magura naval surface drones which have sunk or damaged several Russian warships in the Black Sea.

The idea of "turning a simple machine gun into a smart weapon" has now been extended to shooting down drones in flight," said Dmytro Burakov of UGV.

"We've installed the system on Mi-8 and Airbus helicopters and that's how we're now shooting down Shaheds," he said.

After talking to AFP, he rushed off to a meeting with Airbus Helicopters, who are developing their own more sophisticated drones, with some 30 planned for this year and twice that number by 2027.

The CEO of German tank giant Rheinmetall sparked a row last month by taking a pop at Kyiv's drones, saying they were being made by "Ukrainian housewives" -- though Armin Papperger later walked back the remarks.

"If Ukrainian drones made by housewives are destroying tanks, then the era of housewives is here," quipped the Skyfall spokesman, further proof of how the old defence industry is rattled.

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(The Center Square) – Less than 100 days into Gov. Abigail Spanberger’s administration, Virginia’s redistricting fight is unfolding across multiple fronts, from the ballot box to the Legislature and drawing attention from federal lawmakers.

Virginia voters narrowly approved a constitutional amendment this week that could reshape the state’s congressional map ahead of the November midterms. The pivot could send 10 Democrats and one Republican to the U.S. House of Representatives, whereas today there are six Democrats.

Following the 2024 election cycle, Republicans held a 220-215 majority in the House. One Republican has since gone independent. New redistricting across the country, all since second-term Republican President Donald Trump influenced Texas to redraw in 2025, had forecast a net gain for Republicans of three seats prior to Virginia's potential flip of four.

And Florida has a special session on the subject next week. The outcome of three states in addition to Virginia are in courtrooms.

Data from the Virginia Public Access Project shows a regional divide in how Virginians voted. Urban areas supported the amendment by about 68.5%, while rural areas opposed it by roughly 71.5%. Suburban and small-city areas were more evenly split, with about 53% voting in favor.

An estimated $111 million was spent on the amendment, according to campaign finance records. Only $29 million of that was in opposition.

In the last redistricting amendment in November 2020, the campaigns of both sides combined for a total of $2.7 million. Democrats had a 235-200 majority in the U.S. House after the 2018 midterms; seven Democrats and four Republicans represented Virginia.

On the Senate floor, Sen. Glen Sturtevant, R-Colonial Heights, criticized the process behind the measure and said the issue is now moving to the courts.

“The people who will have to live under the consequences of this map turned out and fought against it,” Sturtevant said.

He also raised concerns about how the amendment was advanced through a special session, along with questions about timing, notice requirements and ballot language presented to voters.

Spanberger said voters supported the measure and framed it as a response to national political pressure.

“Virginia voters have spoken, and tonight they pushed back,” Spanberger said in a statement following the vote.

The issue is also drawing attention beyond Virginia.

U.S. Rep. Rich McCormick, R-Ga., introduced the “Make D.C. Square Again Act,” which would seek to reverse the 1846 retrocession of Arlington and Alexandria from the District of Columbia back to Virginia.

McCormick said the proposal would restore the original boundaries of Washington, D.C., and said Congress has authority over the federal district. The proposal would require congressional approval.

State and federal proposals show Virginia’s congressional boundaries are part of a broader national discussion.

Candidates are preparing for races tied to congressional districts as election timelines continue to move forward under current law.

(The Center Square) – The Trump administration is continuing to crack down on fraudulent visa schemes that are occurring nationwide.

In New Jersey, a Korean man pleaded guilty to fraudulently using a B-1/B-2 visa program in a forced labor and charity fraud scheme. The visas are for business or tourism and prohibit visa holders from working in the U.S. 

In this case, Hyung Ki Kim and coconspirators were involved in a 13-year conspiracy to bring South Koreans to the U.S. through “fraudulently obtained visas as part of an unlawful work scheme,” according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey. 

According to court documents, Kim, who served as the director of Englewood Cliffs-based International Leadership Training Program, used the ILTP to recruit South Korean youth involved with the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification (Unification Church) founded by Sun Myung Moon. The visa applications included false and misleading statements and once those who obtained them were in the U.S., they were required to travel and “fundraise” for ILTP. The conditions involved them “living in a van with three or four other people,” working “until they met their monetary goal during fundraising cycles that lasted several months” and receiving roughly $100 per month and $25 a day to cover their meals, investigators found.

Instead of the donations being used for charity, more than $1 million was diverted to Kim’s personal bank accounts, investigators found. He also didn’t declare the money as income or pay taxes on it. He pleaded guilty to visa fraud, encouraging and inducing foreign nationals to enter and reside in the U.S., and tax fraud. He was required to pay nearly $900,000 in restitution and forfeit more than $1.2 million. His sentencing is scheduled for August.

In Missouri, a Nigerian national, Mercy Ojedeji, was sentenced to three years in prison for student visa fraud that was used to perpetrate a Nigerian romance fraud, “money mule” scheme and wire fraud, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Missouri. He pleaded guilty to using counterfeit academic transcripts and other information to obtain a student visa from the University of Missouri. He also obtained a taxpayer-funded stipend and tuition waiver worth more than $49,000. He used his fraudulently obtained student visa to obtain a Social Security card, which was used to fraudulently open a bank account, rent an apartment and obtain a driver’s license.

An investigation was launched after the U.S. Postal Inspection Service received complaints that romance fraud victims had mailed nearly 200 packages containing cash and gift cards to Ojedeji’s paramour’s home. Total losses were estimated to be more than $1 million, authorities found. His paramour was sentenced to 93 months in prison.

In Texas, two Pakistani men, Abdul Hadi Murshid and Muhammad Salman Nasir, the Law Offices of D. Robert Jones PLLC, and Reliable Ventures, Inc., face charges of seeking to defraud the EB-2, EB-3 and H-1B visa programs.

They were charged with conspiracy to commit visa fraud, money laundering, racketeering and conspiracy to defraud the United States. Murshid and Nasir were also charged with unlawfully obtaining and attempting to obtain United States citizenship, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Texas. 

According to the indictment, Murshid and Nasir submitted false and fraudulent visa applications for foreign nationals to illegally enter the U.S. They also placed classified advertisements in news publications for non-existent jobs, according to the indictment. This was done to satisfy a Department of Labor requirement that U.S. citizens be offered jobs before foreign nationals are hired, according to the complaint. 

Once they received fraudulently obtained DOL certifications, they filed petitions with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services to obtain the visas and applied for green cards, the complaint alleges. In order to make the non-existent jobs look legitimate, they had the foreign nationals pay them and use a portion of the money to fund a fake payroll, the complaint alleges.

In New York, Afghan national Dilbar Gul Taj Ali Khan, was arrested and charged with defrauding a State Department Special Immigrant Visa program. The department historically issued a limited supply to Afghan nationals who assisted the U.S. military. 

In 2024, Khan obtained the visa from the Biden administration using a counterfeit U.S. Embassy Kabul approval letter and fake employment and recommendation letters, according to the charges. Had he been properly vetted, authorities would have learned that he had applied to the U.S. Embassy in Kabul in 2016 for the visa, which was rejected.  

Investigators found that in his 2021 application, his employment verification letter was issued by a U.S.-based company “engaged in a large-scale scheme to provide fraudulent documents, such as employment verification letters, in exchange for a fee. All employment verification letters authored by this entity are fraudulent.” The letter of recommendation also came “from an individual involved in an ‘advance-fee’ scam, which sells fraudulent immigration documents,” according to the U.S. Attorney for the Western District of New York.

Despite this, Khan was granted the visa, admitted to the U.S. and issued a green card. Now he is being prosecuted and will eventually be processed for removal.

These examples are in addition to foreign nationals being charged with agricultural visa schemes in Washington state, Florida, North Carolina and Virginia, The Center Square reported. 

After taking the pill for a decade, Elodie Monnier Legrand decided to try "natural" birth control, an increasingly popular trend that requires tracking fertility to avoid becoming pregnant.

"I wanted my body to return to its natural state," the French 30-year-old business owner told AFP.

However after getting two abortions within six months, she discovered the app she was using had slightly miscalculated her fertility cycle.

"It's not an exact science," Legrand said.

She is one of a rising number of women who are abandoning hormonal contraception such as the pill. 

In France, 7.5 percent of women used natural contraceptive methods in 2023, rising from 4.6 percent in 2016, according to the INSERM institute.

Helping drive this trend are influencers on social media, who often promote natural birth control as a way for women to "liberate" themselves from the hormonal effects of the pill.

However experts warn that some common claims about the pill's side effects represent misinformation -- and that methods based on tracking fertility require strict adherence to be effective.

Geoffroy Robin, a gynaecologist at the University Hospital of Lille in France, told AFP that the interest in natural methods was fuelled by "a climate of hormone-phobia".

He also pointed out that the pill had long been seen as a "tool of women's emancipation".

- Different methods -

Louise, a 26-year-old in France who did not want to give her surname, told AFP that "hormonal contraception was a complete disaster" for her.

When she was 18, her body rejected a hormonal IUD. After getting an implant, she said she suffered from side effects including weight gain, mood swings and depression.

For the last six years, she has been using the calendar method of natural birth control.

This requires calculating the window when women are fertile -- which is around 10 days a month -- and abstaining from sex during this period.

The temperature method involves daily checks to detect if women's bodies have gotten a little warmer, which happens during ovulation.

For the "Billings" method, women must inspect their vagina daily to see if there is a build-up of cervical mucus. The "sympto-thermal" method combines the latter two techniques.

The embrace of natural contraception -- also called fertility awareness -- comes as the use of the pill has declined in many countries.

A study published last year in BMJ Sexual & Reproductive Health estimated that hormonal contraception in England and Wales fell from 19 percent in 2018 to 11 percent in 2023.

The research also suggested there was a link between the increasing use of natural birth control and a rising number of abortions.

According to the experts AFP spoke to, natural techniques are significantly less effective than traditional methods. 

INSERM said they should only be considered by women "who accept a risk of pregnancy".

A review conducted by INSERM in 2022 found that less than 20 percent of around 100 fertility apps it analysed made correct predictions about fertility cycles. Most apps also shared users' data with third parties, often without their knowledge, the review found.

- 'Just another business?' -

Robin warned that "natural methods are absolutely ineffective" for those with irregular cycles -- roughly one out of every five women.

And there are several factors that can skew measurements.

For example, yeast infection or medication such as antihistamines can disrupt the secretion of vaginal mucus. Paracetamol, antibiotics or even a change in work schedule can alter a woman's temperature.

This means that natural methods are not suitable for everyone, the experts stressed, recommending that women considering a change consult their gynaecologist.

French sociologist Cecile Thome said the rise of natural contraceptive methods, driven by promises of "taking control of one's body," is part of the booming wellness industry.

These arguments were compelling for Legrand, who paid seven euros a month for a fertility app and bought a "smart ring" for over 200 euros to monitor her temperature. 

After getting two abortions, she contacted the app's customer service.

"Their responses were very cold, it wasn't very humane," she said.

The abortions were "hard on her body, hard psychologically," she emphasised.

While Legrand still finds the subject "super interesting," she wondered if "ultimately, it is just another business."

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