- U.S. Officials Try to Advance Israel’s Cease-Fire Talks With Hezbollah and Hamas The New York Times
- Hamas rejects any hostage deal that doesn’t end war, despite mediators’ efforts The Times of Israel
- Hamas rejects proposal for 30-day Gaza ceasefire Semafor
- Israeli Strike in Iran Should Mark End of Tit For Tat Between Two Nations Department of Defense
- Hamas open to discussing new deal securing end to Gaza war, Israeli pull-out, group official says Reuters
UK Prime Minister declines to label Gaza crisis a ‘genocide’
Green Party MP Carla Denyer urged UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer to label the Gaza crisis as “genocide."
About 8,000 North Korean soldiers at Ukraine border, says US
Antony Blinken warns that Russia is preparing to deploy the troops into combat ‘in the coming days’
About 8,000 North Korean soldiers are stationed in Russia on the border with Ukraine, the US secretary of state has said, warning that Moscow is preparing to deploy those troops into combat “in the coming days”.
Antony Blinken said the US believed that North Korea had sent 10,000 troops to Russia in total, deploying them first to training bases in the far east before sending the vast majority to the Kursk region on the border with Ukraine.
Continue reading...Rachel Reeves’s most irritating manifesto fudge: private equity’s tax loophole | Nils Pratley
Labour said it would bring taxation of performance-related pay in the industry in line with others – but the chancellor had a change of heart
It has been almost two decades since Nicholas Ferguson, a grand figure in the private equity business, caused a storm by talking out loud about his industry’s dirty little secret. It could not be right, he said, that highly remunerated private equity executives could pay less tax than a cleaner or other low-paid workers.
Things have moved on a bit since 2007. So-called “carried interest”, or carry – the portion of an investment profit that the private equity managers retain as a bonus for success – is now taxed at 28% under the capital gains regime; in the old days, rates in effect as low as 10% could be secured thanks to various exceptions.
Continue reading...Seven killed in Israel in deadliest Hezbollah rocket strikes in months
They were killed in two areas, in the deadliest series of rocket attacks on Israel in months.
VIDEO: 2 Chinese Aircraft Carriers Drill Together for the First Time in South China Sea – USNI News
- VIDEO: 2 Chinese Aircraft Carriers Drill Together for the First Time in South China Sea USNI News
- China's navy flexed new muscles in the South China Sea with its first dual aircraft carrier drills Business Insider
- China's PLA navy perform first dual aircraft formation exercise in South China Sea Reuters.com
- China Conducts First Dual Carrier Op In South China Sea Naval News
- Chinese Navy conducts dual-aircraft-carrier formation exercise for first time China Military
Bronze Age town with tombs full of weapons discovered hidden in Arabian oasis – CBS News
- Bronze Age town with tombs full of weapons discovered hidden in Arabian oasis CBS News
- Archaeologists discover 4,000-year-old Bronze Age settlement hidden in Saudi Arabian oasis Livescience.com
- 4,000-year-old Bronze Age settlement discovered hidden in Saudi Arabian Oasis Archaeology News Online Magazine
- Bronze Age Town of Al-Natah Represents ‘Slow Urbanism,’ Archaeologists Say Sci.News
- Desert oasis — part of 4,000-year-old settlement — explored in Saudi Arabia. See it Miami Herald
Private schools to take legal action against planned VAT on fees
Independent Schools Council says its focus is on children and it is concerned about impact on specialist schools
The Independent Schools Council (ISC) has said it will launch legal action against the government’s decision to impose VAT on independent school fees.
The council, which represents more than 1,400 private schools in the UK and abroad, reached its decision after a board meeting held on Thursday.
Continue reading...EU citizen who applied for pre-settled status is to be deported from Scotland
Greek Cypriot Costa Koushiappis to be removed from UK even though his application is pending with Home Office
An EU citizen caught up in a Home Office backlog of applications for post-Brexit residency status is to be deported by Border Force officials in Scotland.
Costa Koushiappis, 39, who is Greek Cypriot, has been told to show up at Edinburgh airport at 7am on Friday to be forcibly put on a flight to Amsterdam just weeks after he received an email from the Home Office to say it could take a further 24 months to process his application for status.
Continue reading...Housing, social care and universities: who lost out in the UK budget?
Rachel Reeves made funding the NHS a priority but people working in other areas said they were disappointed
Rachel Reeves’s first budget emphasised raising taxes to help the NHS, as the health service tries to cope with huge waiting lists and an ageing population. Funding the NHS was a top priority but people in other sectors – from universities to social care – feel the budget was a missed opportunity to tackle impending crises or introduce desperately needed reforms in their areas.
Continue reading...Death toll from catastrophic flooding in Spain continues rising
The death toll from severe flooding in Spain has risen to at least 158 people.
Bill Clinton criticised for saying Israel ‘forced’ to kill Gaza civilians
Arab and Muslim leaders call former US president's comments 'insulting' and 'counterproductive'.
UN should consider suspending Israel over ‘genocide’ against Palestinians, says special rapporteur
Francesca Albanese, who was stopped from appearing at US Congress this week, said Israel defied UN resolutions
The UN should consider suspending Israel as a member state due to its continuing “genocide” against the Palestinians, the divisive special rapporteur on the Palestinian territories has said.
Francesca Albanese was speaking to a UN committee on the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people in New York the day after she published her latest report alleging that Israel was not just committing war crimes or crimes against humanity in Gaza, but a genocide.
Continue reading...Spain mourns as death toll passes 150 in catastrophic floods
At least 158 people have died in Spain's worst flooding disaster in decades as rescuers race to find victims.
‘Time for action’: Al Jazeera demands protection for journalists in Gaza
The network decries 'systematic targeting' of journalists and calls for them to be protected in Gaza and region.
Jake Paul encourages voting Trump for president, even though he can’t from Puerto Rico – USA TODAY
- Jake Paul encourages voting Trump for president, even though he can't from Puerto Rico USA TODAY
- Jake Paul endorses Trump in fiery video torching Biden-Harris administration: ‘Can’t sit back and watch this’ Fox News
- Jake Paul admits he’s ‘nervous’ as he reveals presidential endorsement in new video The Independent
- Divisive Influencer Jake Paul Is ‘Scared’ That Endorsing Trump Will Cause Division The Daily Beast
- Jake Paul endorses Trump: 'Things just don't feel right' KATU
Israel at War, Day 391: Saudi FM Says Israel Is Committing Genocide in North Gaza – Haaretz
Congratulations, Buffoons! We Did More Global Warming Last Year Than in Any Other Year in Human History – Futurism
- Congratulations, Buffoons! We Did More Global Warming Last Year Than in Any Other Year in Human History Futurism
- Climate and environment updates: Compost your pumpkin and do a gourd thing for the planet ABC News
- 'We are teetering on a planetary tightrope': Cut emissions in half right now to prevent climate catastrophe, UN warns Livescience.com
- Greenhouse gas concentrations surge again to new record in 2023 World Meteorological Organization WMO
- Planet-warming pollution is growing at the fastest rate in history, scientists say The Washington Post
BBC visits flood devastated Paiporta where dozens have died
The BBC has visited Paiporta, Valencia, where dozens of people have been confirmed dead.
US attempts to broker ceasefire as civilians killed in Lebanon and Israel
IDF airstrikes kill 45 people while seven die, including four Thai workers, in rocket attack on northern Israel
Senior US officials have held talks in Israel aimed at brokering a ceasefire with Hezbollah in Lebanon, on a day when more civilians in both countries were killed in the year-long war.
Lebanon’s caretaker prime minister, Najib Mikati, who had expressed optimism of a speedy settlement “in hours or days” earlier on Thursday, said that Israel’s “ongoing escalation” in his country “does not inspire optimism”.
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