Package in congressional review process after Biden delayed shipment of bombs over fears they would be used to attack Rafah
The US state department has moved a $1bn package of weapons aid for Israel into the congressional review process, two US officials said on Tuesday.
The latest weapons package includes tank rounds, mortars and armored tactical vehicles, one of the officials told Reuters.
Continue reading...Australia’s financials have generally improved compared with forecasts made a year ago but there are threats to the country’s outlook lurking
Financial forecasting is difficult at the best of times, let alone during a period marked by persistent inflation against a backdrop of global economic unease.
But forecasts still provide a framework for governments to build their policy and spending plans around. Australia’s financials have generally improved compared with forecasts made a year ago but there are more than a few threats to the country’s outlook lurking.
Continue reading...Report from public spending watchdog comes soon after similar data from parliamentary committee
Average call waiting times at HM Revenue and Customs have soared by more than 350% in five years, with increasing numbers of people not getting through in the first place or having their calls terminated, according to an official report that says the public is being “let down”.
The National Audit Office (NAO) said the quality of customer service provided by HMRC had been “far below” the levels expected in recent years, and that its phone lines in particular were “not delivering”.
Continue reading...Review of serious safeguarding failures finds young people from abusive environments ‘less visible’ to agencies
Children who grow up in neglectful or abusive environments are safer attending school than being educated at home, according to a review of serious safeguarding failures in England in which six children died and 35 were harmed in one year.
The report, by the Child Safeguarding Practice Review Panel, emphasised that while home education was not a safeguarding risk, it found that vulnerable children were “less visible” to safeguarding agencies than those regularly in school.
Continue reading...Commander says authorities scrambling to keep up with supply trends as knife crimes rise
Young people are using sites such as Telegram and TikTok to buy large knives for use in attacks and intimidation, with some linked to Britain’s drug wars, police said.
Stephen Clayman, national lead for knife crime for the National Police Chiefs’ Council, made it clear on Tuesday that police want tougher action after a 7% year-on-year rise in knife offences, with a 20% rise in knife-point robberies.
Continue reading...Education secretary Gillian Keegan to announce guidelines for phased discussion of topics depending on pupils’ age
Sex education in England’s primary schools is to be limited to those aged nine and over, with “explicit” discussions on topics such as contraception to be delayed until the age of 13, according to new guidance to be proposed by the government.
The revised guidance on relationships, sex and health education is expected to be published this week by the education secretary, Gillian Keegan, and is likely to contain further restrictions on teaching about gender and identity, with teachers told to instead explain “biological” facts, according to reports.
Continue reading...About 53 people were onboard bus heading to local watermelon farm to work for private company when crash occurred
Eight people were killed and dozens injured after a bus carrying migrant workers to a local farm crashed in Florida early Tuesday.
The crash happened around 6.30am in west Marion county, Florida, according to the Florida highway patrol, WCJB reported.
Continue reading...Chris Philp says police should not ‘tiptoe around using these powers in an aim to appease’ despite concerns over racial bias
Police officers must carry out more stop and searches to address knife crime as the tactic is “not used nearly often enough”, according to the policing minister.
Chris Philp said that police forces cannot afford to “tiptoe around using these powers in an aim to appease”.
Continue reading...Todd Blanche seemed to be looking for a ‘gotcha’ – instead there was laughter in the viewing room and one irked judge
“Mr Trump, is Todd doing a good job?”
So shouted a pool reporter outside a Manhattan courtroom Tuesday afternoon shortly after Trump’s lead attorney, Todd Blanche, started cross examining former fixer turned prosecution witness, Michael Cohen, in his criminal hush-money trial.
Continue reading...Residents of suburbs in Fort McMurray ordered to leave as officials monitor a fire nearby that has grown to cover 9,600 hectares
Residents of four suburbs in the Canadian city of Fort McMurray have been ordered to evacuate as a wildfire approaches the city, stirring grim reminders of the country’s costliest natural disaster.
Officials in the western province of Alberta issued evacuation orders for the neighbourhoods of Beacon Hill, Abasand, Prairie Creek and Grayling Terrace on Tuesday, telling all residents to leave by 4pm MT.
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