Lucy Powell says Labour must stand by promise not to raise key taxes

New deputy leader also calls on government to lift two-child benefit cap urgently and in full

Labour should stand by its manifesto commitment not to raise income tax, national insurance or VAT, its deputy leader, Lucy Powell, has said in a challenge that will put pressure on Rachel Reeves.

With the Treasury examining whether to raise income tax to plug a £30bn fiscal hole, Powell said it was “really important we stand by the promises we were elected on and do what we said we would do”.

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Sudanese militia group accused of war crimes agrees to a ceasefire

International mediators broker three-month halt to civil war as further evidence emerges of mass civilian killings

A Sudanese paramilitary group accused of killing thousands of unarmed civilians in an ethnically motivated massacre has agreed to a truce.

The Rapid Support Forces (RSF), which is facing mounting criticism over apparent war crimes committed by its fighters in the city of El Fasher last month, said it had agreed to a “humanitarian ceasefire” put forward by the quad countries of the US, Egypt, the UAE and Saudi Arabia.

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Ukraine jails Russian soldier for life for executing prisoner of war – Financial Times

  1. Ukraine jails Russian soldier for life for executing prisoner of war  Financial Times
  2. Russian soldier jailed for life after being found guilty of shooting dead Ukrainian PoW, in unprecedented ruling  CNN
  3. Russian soldier sentenced to life in jail in unprecedented Ukrainian trial  BBC
  4. Ukraine war briefing: Ukrainian court jails Russian soldier for killing PoW in landmark sentence  The Guardian
  5. Ukraine jails Russian soldier for life for killing POW in first such ruling  Reuters
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JD Vance Lands in an Unholy Mess as ICE Barbie Goon Trashes the Pope – The Daily Beast

  1. JD Vance Lands in an Unholy Mess as ICE Barbie Goon Trashes the Pope  The Daily Beast
  2. Pope Leo offers his strongest criticism of Trump yet  BBC
  3. Pope Leo calls for "deep reflection" over treatment of migrants after hearing communion denied at Broadview ICE facility  CBS News
  4. Pope: ‘Spiritual rights’ of migrant detainees must be respected  Vatican News
  5. Pope Leo Says ‘Spiritual Needs’ Of Migrants In US Not Being Met  Forbes
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Chinese Astronauts Trapped on Tiangong Station After Debris Collision – extremetech.com

  1. Chinese Astronauts Trapped on Tiangong Station After Debris Collision  extremetech.com
  2. Three Chinese astronauts stranded in space after debris hits their return capsule  Live Science
  3. China Delays Return of Astronauts After Debris May Have Hit Spacecraft  The New York Times
  4. A Piece of Space Junk Hit Their Ride Home. What Does This Mean for Space Exploration?  Scientific American
  5. Calls for Musk to rescue stranded astronauts  News.com.au
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Bolivia’s ex-president who oversaw bloody crackdown on protesters freed from prison

Release follows supreme court ruling that overturned Jeanine Áñez’s conviction for allegedly staging coup to seize power

The former interim president who oversaw a bloody crackdown on protesters in Bolivia has been freed from prison after almost five years, following a supreme court ruling that overturned her conviction for allegedly staging a coup to seize power.

Jeanine Áñez, 58, left the Miraflores women’s orientation centre in La Paz on Thursday, saying that “the monster had to go” for her to walk free – a reference to the end of nearly two decades of rule by the leftwing Movimiento al Socialismo (Mas) party.

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Climate crisis means super-strength Hurricane Melissa is ‘dangerous new reality’ – The Guardian

  1. Climate crisis means super-strength Hurricane Melissa is ‘dangerous new reality’  The Guardian
  2. Analysis Finds Global Warming Made Hurricane Melissa More Damaging  The New York Times
  3. Category 6 is the new hurricane normal, scientists warn  The Independent
  4. Climate change boosted Hurricane Melissa’s destructive winds and rain, analysis finds  AP News
  5. Hurricane Melissa made more intense and destructive by climate change, study says  BBC
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You’ll never guess the Louvre’s onetime CCTV password. (You absolutely will) – CNN

  1. You’ll never guess the Louvre’s onetime CCTV password. (You absolutely will)  CNN
  2. Employee reveals what Louvre's video surveillance password was at time of heist  Yahoo
  3. France mourns its stolen crown jewels as their uncomfortable colonial past returns to view  abcnews.go.com
  4. Louvre heist suspect is social media star and former museum guard, reports say  The Guardian
  5. Louvre Heist: What to Know About the Suspects and Investigation  The New York Times
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5,000-year-old wine press and evidence of religious rituals unearthed during highway construction project in Israel – CBS News

  1. 5,000-year-old wine press and evidence of religious rituals unearthed during highway construction project in Israel  CBS News
  2. Archaeologists unearth 5,000-year-old winepress and Canaanite ritual artifacts near Tel Megiddo  Archaeology News Online Magazine
  3. Earliest Winepress in Israel and Cultic Set Discovered in Canaanite Megiddo  Haaretz
  4. 5,000-year-old grape press, oldest proof of wine production in Israel, found near Megiddo  The Times of Israel
  5. An Intact 3,300-Year-Old Ritual Kit from the Ancient Canaanite Civilization Discovered  La Brújula Verde
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Russian soldier jailed for life after being found guilty of shooting dead Ukrainian PoW, in unprecedented ruling – CNN

  1. Russian soldier jailed for life after being found guilty of shooting dead Ukrainian PoW, in unprecedented ruling  CNN
  2. Russian soldier sentenced to life in jail in unprecedented Ukrainian trial  BBC
  3. Ukraine war briefing: Ukrainian court jails Russian soldier for killing PoW in landmark sentence  The Guardian
  4. Ukraine jails Russian soldier for life for executing prisoner of war  Financial Times
  5. Ukraine jails Russian soldier for life for killing POW in first such ruling  Reuters
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Philippine death toll from devastating typhoon nears 200 – The Washington Post

  1. Philippine death toll from devastating typhoon nears 200  The Washington Post
  2. Typhoon Kalmaegi kills three in Vietnam after leaving 188 dead in Philippines  BBC
  3. Sustainable Switch: COP30 starts as Typhoon Kalmaegi kills hundreds  Reuters
  4. Philippine Flood-Corruption Scandal Comes to Fore After Latest Typhoon  Time Magazine
  5. Is it safe to travel to Vietnam and Thailand during Typhoon Kalmaegi?  The Independent
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World’s biggest polluters are no-shows at start of UN climate summit in Brazil – PBS

  1. World’s biggest polluters are no-shows at start of UN climate summit in Brazil  PBS
  2. COP30 U.N. Climate Talks Are Starting in Brazil. Here’s What to Know.  The New York Times
  3. COP makes me excited about emerging companies again  Financial Times
  4. ‘Love motels’ and Amazon oil drilling are just a few of the ways this global gathering is mired in chaos  CNN
  5. Planet in peril: 30 years of climate talks in six charts  Reuters
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