Israel-Gaza war live: IDF orders evacuation of central Rafah as it prepares to expand its offensive

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Israeli military drops leaflets ordering around hundreds of thousands of people to leave the city

In case you missed it yesterday, the UN general assembly voted overwhelmingly to back the Palestinian bid for full UN membership.

Israeli tanks have reached the Salahuddin Road which crosses Rafah, dividing its centre from the eastern neighbourhoods evacuated before Israel’s seizure of the Rafah border crossing with Egypt last week, witnesses in Rafah told the Guardian.

Our neighbours and friends have been looking for a place for a while in case something happened but since the leaflets were dropped this morning, they are afraid and anxious.

They have already begun to dismantle their tents and prepare their belongings for transportation.

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Israel orders central Rafah residents to evacuate as major offensive looms

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Hundreds of thousands more people face displacement as military instructions suggest likely attack on centre of city

The Israeli military has told residents of central Rafah to evacuate, signalling a major expansion of its military operations in the city and threatening the displacement of hundreds of thousands more people.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) seized the Rafah border crossing with Egypt last week in what it said was a “precise, targeted operation” after ordering the evacuation of eastern neighbourhoods. More than 150,000 people have already fled the southern city in Gaza.

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Eurovision viewing parties in England cancelled over Israel’s participation

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High-profile parties including London’s biggest viewing event called off amid ongoing offensive in Gaza

Eurovision is one of the biggest nights of the year for many LGBTQ+ venues across the UK, offering an opportunity for a joyful party celebrating music and high camp.

Celebrations will be mixed this year, however, after a number of high-profile events were cancelled in protest at Israel’s participation.

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Three Davids throw off Global Britain bluster and chart new foreign policy course

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Speeches by Cameron, Lammy and Miliband all depicted a darkening world but differed on where to find allies

In a TikTok world it’s rare that three big foreign policy speeches come along all at once, all trying to chart a new course for the UK in a more perilous world, and all written by someone christened David.

But it says something for how foreign affairs dominates so much political thinking currently that speeches this week by David Cameron, the foreign secretary, David Lammy, his shadow, and David Miliband, Labour’s non-resident foreign policy guru, all required attention.

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London’s remaining men-only gentlemen’s clubs discuss female membership

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Club secretaries at some institutions are understood to be consulting lawyers after vote at Garrick

Discussions are under way over whether to admit women at several of London’s remaining gentlemen’s clubs after this week’s vote by Garrick club members to allow women to join after 193 years.

The Travellers Club, the Savile Club, the Beefsteak Club, Boodle’s, Buck’s, Brooks’s, the East India Club and White’s are among a handful of the remaining London clubs that still do not admit female members.

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World Bank and IMF can press Ghana to rethink ‘punitive’ LGBTQ law, charities say

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Charities and campaign groups are calling on bodies to say they may stop funding country if legislation comes into effect

The World Bank and the International Monetary Fund are coming under pressure to use their financial might to persuade Ghana to reconsider a proposed law that could lead to anyone who identifies as LGBTQ+ being jailed for three years.

Charities and campaign groups are calling on the global development bodies to tell Ghana they may stop funding the country if the proposed legislation – which will be challenged in the country’s supreme court next week – comes into effect.

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Man arrested after police officer shot in leg with crossbow in Buckinghamshire

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Officer taken to hospital and later released while suspect, 54, hospitalised under supervision after being shot by police in High Wycombe

A man was shot by police and arrested after an officer was shot in the leg with a crossbow in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, Thames Valley police said.

Police attended School Lane, Downley, around 6pm on Friday after a man in his 60s suffered a stab wound. Asst Chief Const Tim Metcalfe said one of the officers in attendance was shot in the leg with a crossbow and was taken to hospital but had since been released.

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Ministers consider making UK’s carbon targets easier to meet

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Fears Climate Change Committee’s advice not to allow carryover from last carbon budget will be ignored

Ministers are considering plans to weaken the UK’s carbon-cutting plans by allowing the unused portion of the last carbon budget to be carried over to the next period.

This would go against the strong recommendation of the government’s statutory climate advisers, the Climate Change Committee.

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Lake District caravan owners forced out by 60%-plus price rise

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A huge increase in fees means many vulnerable people have to leave the Derwentwater site they call home

Retired and vulnerable holiday homeowners claim they are being priced out of a “breathtaking” waterside campsite in the Lake District after the Camping and Caravanning Club raised one of the main charges by more than 60%.

The row at the static caravan park on the edge of Derwentwater, sometimes called “Queen of the Lakes” because it is cradled by fells, is over the “siting” fee owners pay when ageing vans are replaced.

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ATACMS Missile Blasts Oil Depot in Occupied Luhansk – Kyiv Post

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  1. ATACMS Missile Blasts Oil Depot in Occupied Luhansk  Kyiv Post
  2. Ukrainian attack kills three, sparks fire at oil depot in Luhansk, Russia-installed governor says  The Jerusalem Post
  3. Ukraine Breaking News Today Live on 05-11-2024  Kyiv Post
  4. Russian media: Attack on oil depot in occupied Luhansk Oblast kills 3, injures 7  Kyiv Independent
  5. Ukraine war latest updates: Ukrainian drone and rocket attack repelled, Russia says - as civilians flee after Kharkiv assault  Sky News
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Chris Mason: Sunak, Starmer and their small boats row – BBC.com

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  1. Chris Mason: Sunak, Starmer and their small boats row  BBC.com
  2. ‘Hard truths’: how far will Starmer push to show Labour has changed?  The Guardian
  3. Sue Gray faces questions over role in Natalie Elphicke defection  The Telegraph
  4. UK Prime Minister Sunak suffers further blow as another Conservative lawmaker defects to Labour  The Associated Press
  5. Second UK Conservative lawmaker in two weeks defects to opposition Labour  Reuters UK
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‘Unable to meet the community’s expectations’: Australia to ban live sheep exports in 2028

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Government promises $107m package for industry to transition, after years of campaigning against trade

Australia’s live sheep export trade will end on 1 May 2028, the federal government has announced, after years of campaigning by animal welfare advocates.

Labor’s long-held policy to end the sea exports has been opposed by many in the agricultural sector, although the trade has been declining while bans on sending sheep on ships during the Middle Eastern summer were put in place.

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Aurora australis: spectacular southern lights might be seen as far north as Queensland after ‘extreme’ solar storm

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Bureau of Meteorology says aurora australis could be visible near Sydney and Perth between Saturday 10pm and Sunday 2am, while warning of storm’s impacts

Aurora australis could be visible from Sydney, Perth and even parts of Queensland this weekend, after an “extreme” geomagnetic solar storm.

The Bureau of Meteorology has warned the storm that creates the beautiful auroras could also threaten infrastructure and essential services, including power supply.

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Australia weather: spill warning for Sydney’s Warragamba dam as Bunbury recovers from freak WA tornado

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Warragamba dam in NSW nearing capacity after two West Australians were hospitalised on Friday

Warragamba dam could spill over the Mother’s Day weekend amid severe weather warnings on the east coast, and after a tornado tore through the West Australian city of Bunbury, injuring two people.

WaterNSW issued a warning on Friday that the Warragamba dam was nearing capacity after several days of rainfall, and that a spill event was “likely in coming days”.

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Cannes film festival faces strike disruption over seasonal workers’ rights

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Group will protest against government’s treatment of freelance workers at festivals across France

The Cannes film festival is facing strike action as it opens next week and could see protests by projectionists, floor managers and press agents who are demanding changes to the French government’s treatment of seasonal film festival staff.

The festival on France’s Côte d’Azur has faced major strike action only once before, during the student protests and workers’ strikes that began in May 1968.

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Warning over solar storm that could give US rare view of northern lights

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Noaa issues warning for extreme G5 geomagnetic storm, with effects due to last through weekend and possibly into next week

A ferocious solar storm powerful enough to knock out or disrupt satellite and communications systems, the power grid and radio signals was raging on Friday, space weather researchers warned.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (Noaa) issued a rare warning for extreme G5 geomagnetic storm conditions when a solar outburst reached Earth on Friday afternoon, hours sooner than anticipated. The effects were due to last through the weekend and possibly into next week. The last extreme G5 event was in 2003.

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UN general assembly votes to back Palestinian bid for membership – The Guardian

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  1. UN general assembly votes to back Palestinian bid for membership  The Guardian
  2. US promises to squash Palestinian membership push at UN following vote  Fox News
  3. Watch: 'Isolated' Israel Cries Foul After Big Win For Palestine AT UNGA, Envoy Shreds UN Charter  The Times of India
  4. Israeli ambassador shreds UN document in angry speech  CNN
  5. U.S. Defends U.N. Voting ‘No’ on Palestinian Membership  The New York Times
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NSW to formally apologise for previously criminalising homosexuality

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Chris Minns says he hopes move will bring ‘some semblance of closure’ to those convicted

The New South Wales government will formally apologise to people convicted under laws criminalising homosexuality in a move the premier hopes will bring closure to those who have been affected.

Coinciding with the 40th anniversary of the decriminalisation of homosexuality, NSW will become the last Australian state to issue an apology after all five others did last decade.

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