British military announces first delivery of Ajax armoured vehicles – eight years late

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First 50 vehicles, costing nearly £10m each, finally ready to deploy to Nato’s eastern flank, where drones now dominate

Britain’s military has announced the first delivery of Ajax armoured vehicles, eight years behind schedule and amid questions about their relevance as cheap drones dominate the battlefields of Ukraine.

The junior defence minister Luke Pollard said the first 50 vehicles, costing nearly £10m each, were ready to deploy on Nato’s eastern flank, though he acknowledged the problems of the past when delivery deadlines of 2017, 2020 and 2021 were all missed.

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Prison sentencing reforms will lead to up to 6% rise in crime, police chiefs say

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Government plans include more short sentences being suspended and earlier releases from jail

Government plans to radically reform sentencing will lead to an increase in crime by as much as 6% in a single year, according to police chiefs.

The reforms, which cover England and Wales, involve a presumption against short sentences of a year or less, with community sentences used instead, and those jailed being released earlier than currently the case.

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Key Regional Partners Stand Behind Gaza UN Security Council Resolution – United States Mission to the United Nations (.gov)

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  1. Key Regional Partners Stand Behind Gaza UN Security Council Resolution  United States Mission to the United Nations (.gov)
  2. US to start UN negotiations on Thursday on international Gaza force mandate  Reuters
  3. Hamas is afraid Gaza will become Lebanon. So is Israel  The Times of Israel
  4. U.S. Seeks Two-Year U.N. Mandate for Gaza Stabilization Force  The New York Times
  5. The Desperate Search for Gaza Peacekeepers  Foreign Policy
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Lancashire’s Reform-run council plans to close care homes and day centres

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Questions about potential conflict of interest as council’s cabinet member for social care owns private care company

Lancashire’s Reform-run council has been accused of “selling off the family silver” through its plans to save £4m a year by closing five council-run care homes and five day centres and moving residents into the private sector.

One of the care home residents, a 92-year-old woman, said she would leave only by “being forcibly removed or in a box”.

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Trump, 79, Gets Basic Geography Wrong in Awkward Senior Moment – The Daily Beast

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  1. Trump, 79, Gets Basic Geography Wrong in Awkward Senior Moment  The Daily Beast
  2. 'I'm not going to represent our country there' — Trump to skip G20 summit, dashing hopes of brokering meeting between Zelensky, Putin  The Kyiv Independent
  3. Trump confuses South America and South Africa during speech in Miami  The Independent
  4. Trump says South Africa should not be in G20, refuses to attend summit in Johannesburg  Anadolu Ajansı
  5. Trump: "For generations Miami has been a haven for those fleeing communist tyranny in South Africa. I mean, if you take a look at what's going on in parts of South Africa. Look at South Africa, what's going on. Look at South America, what's going on. You know,  X
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‘Strung Up and Tortured’: Hostage Recounts 2 ½ Years of Captivity – The New York Times

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  1. ‘Strung Up and Tortured’: Hostage Recounts 2 ½ Years of Captivity  The New York Times
  2. Freed hostage Elizabeth Tsurkov details torture, sexual assault by Iraqi captors  The Times of Israel
  3. 'Strung Up and Tortured': Elizabeth Tsurkov Recounts Over Two Years of Captivity in Iraq  Haaretz
  4. Former hostage Tsurkov speaks of captivity to NYT  The Jerusalem Post
  5. Former Hostage Tsurkov Sues Israeli Journalists Over False Reports During Captivity  i24NEWS
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US pressures Israel to allow safe passage for 100 to 200 Hamas operatives in Rafah – The Times of Israel

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  1. US pressures Israel to allow safe passage for 100 to 200 Hamas operatives in Rafah  The Times of Israel
  2. U.S. sees Rafah tunnels crisis as potential model for disarming Hamas  Axios
  3. Hundreds of 'stuck' Hamas militants to be killed, Israeli official reportedly says  KOMO
  4. Katz: IDF to destroy Hamas within Israeli-run area  The Jerusalem Post
  5. U.S. presses Israel to let 200 Hamas militants move from IDF-controlled Gaza under amnesty  Haaretz
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Driver rams into pedestrians in western France, five injured – Reuters

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  1. Driver rams into pedestrians in western France, five injured  Reuters
  2. Driver in custody after intentionally striking pedestrians in France, interior minister says  abcnews.go.com
  3. Car ramming injures 10 people on French island, interior minister says  CNN
  4. France attack: Driver ‘shouting Allahu Akbar’ ploughs into crowd  The Telegraph
  5. Two critically injured after driver rams into people on French island  BBC
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China Delays Spacecraft Return Indefinitely Over Debris Damage Fears – Jalopnik

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  1. China Delays Spacecraft Return Indefinitely Over Debris Damage Fears  Jalopnik
  2. Chinese astronauts stranded in space after debris strikes return capsule during mission  Fox News
  3. Chinese astronauts’ return to Earth delayed over fears spaceship damaged by debris  CNN
  4. China Delays Return of Astronauts After Debris May Have Hit Spacecraft  The New York Times
  5. Three Chinese astronauts stranded in space after debris hits their return capsule  Live Science
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Photos from inside Gaza show destruction wrought by Israeli military efforts to root out Hamas – AP News

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  1. Photos from inside Gaza show destruction wrought by Israeli military efforts to root out Hamas  AP News
  2. Inside Gaza, BBC sees total devastation after two years of war  BBC
  3. Our Correspondent is Finally Allowed into Gaza  NPR
  4. 'A wasteland': FRANCE 24 journalist given rare glimpse of war-ravaged Gaza  France 24
  5. Palestinian boys walk past the rubble of destroyed buildings, amid a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, in Gaza City Wednesday.  Yahoo News Canada
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Louvre heist suspect is social media star and former museum guard, reports say – The Guardian

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  1. Louvre heist suspect is social media star and former museum guard, reports say  The Guardian
  2. Password to Louvre’s video surveillance system was 'Louvre', according to employee  abcnews.go.com
  3. Arrests in Louvre Heist Show Power of DNA Databases in Solving Crimes  The New York Times
  4. The Louvre used mind-blowingly weak password for core security system ahead of $102M jewel heist: report  New York Post
  5. Louvre Heist Fallout Reveals Museum’s Video Security Password Was ‘Louvre’  VICE
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