Trump says US will ‘take over’ and ‘own’ Gaza in redevelopment plan
US president claims development plan could turn enclave into 'the Riviera of the Middle East'.
Donald Trump announces US aims for Gaza during Netanyahu’s visit
The Israeli prime minister was the first foreign leader to visit Trump after his inauguration ceremony on January 20.
Musk intensifies government spending attack with push to cut all regulations
Maxine Waters, Chuck Schumer and other lawmakers protest against billionaire outside US treasury
Elon Musk has proposed a “wholesale removal of regulations” in an intensification of his crusade to slash US federal government spending.
On a call aired on X, the social media platform he owns, the multibillionaire entrepreneur said regulations should be “gone” amid growing opposition to his mission as Donald Trump’s enforcer and head of a newly created “department of government efficiency” (Doge).
Continue reading...‘Basic lack of decency’ driving self-harm in women’s prisons, report says
Inspectorate points to challenges including ban on using washing machines for knickers and difficulties with family contact
Women in prison are resorting to self-harm because of “astonishing gaps” in basic services including strict time limits when contacting their children and bans from using washing machines for dirty underwear, according to a watchdog’s report.
A survey of women in prisons in England found that “the frustrations of day-to-day life” and a “lack of basic care” were driving many to hurt themselves.
Continue reading...Home Office wasted nearly £100m on plans to house asylum seekers, watchdog finds
Public Accounts Committee examined series of site purchases and found ‘troubling culture that repeatedly wastes public money’
The Home Office’s plans to house asylum seekers reveal a “dysfunctional culture of repeated mistakes and weak internal challenge” that wasted nearly £100m, parliament’s spending watchdog has concluded.
A Public Accounts Committee report said the department had a “troubling culture that repeatedly wastes public money” after examining the acquisition of the £15.4m HMP Northeye site to house new arrivals.
Continue reading...UK childhood mental health crisis to cost £1.1tn in lost pay, study finds
Researchers estimate lifetime earnings lost as charities call for independent review of causes of the crisis
More than £1tn will be lost in lifetime earnings in the UK as a direct result of the mental health crisis in young people, research estimates.
Published to launch the new Future Minds mental health campaign, the study forecasts the financial burden of failing to tackle the mental health crisis.
Continue reading...‘Watershed moment’ as three-year time limit on child rape claims scrapped in England and Wales
Under current rules, civil child sexual abuse cases must be brought within three years of turning 18
Hundreds of child rape survivors, including those targeted by grooming gangs, are expected to pursue their abusers in the courts after ministers scrapped a three-year time limit on compensation claims.
Under reforms hailed by campaigners as a “watershed moment”, ministers said civil claims will no longer have to be brought within three years of a child abuse survivor’s 18th birthday.
Continue reading...Ghana wants more for its cashews, but it’s a tough nut to crack
The African nation exports its cashews in raw form, but processing them would be more lucrative.
Ghana wants more for its cashews, but it’s a tough nut to crack
The African nation exports its cashews in raw form, but processing them would be more lucrative.
‘Gaza is not a place for people to be living’ says Trump
US President Donald Trump said the only reason Palestinians want to live in Gaza is because they have no alternative.
India looks on nervously as Trump wields tariff threat
Delhi hopes tariff cuts have put it ahead of the game - but will that satisfy Trump, or is trade action still on the table?
Foundations laid for tribunal to try Putin for Ukraine invasion, EU says
Tribunal’s creation was first proposed days after the full-scale invasion, but lawyers have struggled to find the right courtroom for nearly three years
International lawyers have “laid the foundations” for a special tribunal to try Russia for the crime of aggression, the EU has said, hailing a significant step towards holding Vladimir Putin and his top officials accountable for the invasion of Ukraine.
In a statement late on Tuesday, the EU executive declared a breakthrough that it said would mean the Russian political and military leaders “who bear the greatest responsibility” would be held to account.
Continue reading...Minister promises to spend £250m to top up England’s flood defences
Labour pledges to protect 66,500 more properties, criticising previous Tory efforts
Ministers are topping up flood defence investment in England to a “record” £2.65bn, after accusing the previous government of “putting lives at risk” by under-spending.
An extra £250m is being pledged on top of the £2.4bn previously announced, to shore up defences and protect an extra 66,500 properties from flooding over a two-year period, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) said.
Continue reading...Elon Musk’s lawsuit against OpenAI may go to trial in part, judge says
The case is part of a grudge match between Musk and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman which is playing out in court.
Top Trump nominees advance as Senate confirms attorney general
The full Senate voted in the evening, approving Bondi as the next attorney general, tasked with running the Department of Justice.
Could US criminals be sent to El Salvador’s mega-jail?
El Salvador has offered to take in criminals deported from the US and house them in its mega-jail.
Could US criminals be sent to El Salvador’s mega-jail?
El Salvador has offered to take in criminals deported from the US and house them in its mega-jail.
El Salvador offers to hold deportees and incarcerated US citizens in its jails
Human rights groups alarmed as Marco Rubio, US secretary of state, meets with Nayib Bukele during overseas trip
El Salvador’s president, Nayib Bukele, has offered to accept deportees from the US of any nationality and hold them in his jails, including “dangerous American criminals”, Marco Rubio said on Monday.
The US secretary of state, who this week made his first overseas trip as the top US diplomat, visited El Salvador on Monday as part of a wider trip through Central America and the Caribbean.
Continue reading...Trump says Palestinians have ‘no alternative’ but to leave Gaza
President in effect endorses ethnic cleansing of territory before hosting meeting with Benjamin Netanyahu
Donald Trump has said Palestinians have “no alternative” but to leave Gaza due to the devastation left by Israel’s war on Hamas, in effect endorsing ethnic cleansing of the territory over the opposition of Palestinians and neighbouring countries.
Speaking as he prepared to host Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, on Tuesday, Trump repeated the suggestion that Gaza’s population should be relocated to Jordan and Egypt – something both countries have firmly rejected.
Continue reading...Labour MP to push for better maternal mental health care after friend’s suicide
Laura Kyrke-Smith says perinatal mental health care in England is ‘postcode lottery’, with disadvantaged women more likely to miss out
A new Labour MP will speak in parliament on Wednesday of her anguish over her friend’s suicide just 10 weeks after giving birth – despite the friend having repeatedly sought help for her anxiety.
Laura Kyrke-Smith, the MP for Aylesbury, will call for more specific mental health support to be embedded in maternity services.
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