Decision appears to be based on official assessment of Israel’s compliance with humanitarian law that did not cover recent events
David Cameron personally recommended that the UK should continue to sell arms to Israel two days after three British aid workers were killed in an Israeli airstrike.
James Kirby, 47, from Somerset, James Henderson, 33, from Cornwall and John Chapman, 57, from Dorset, members of World Central Kitchen, were killed on 1 April.
Continue reading...Johnny Mercer says he will ‘do all I can’ to change rules after veteran turned away from polling station
The veterans minister has apologised to former military personnel who have been prevented from using their veterans ID in order to vote in the local elections in England on Thursday.
Downing Street said it would “look into” changing the controversial new rules, which require photo ID in order to vote, to allow veterans’ ID cards on to the list of valid identification.
Continue reading...Jewish students warn about a ‘hostile and toxic’ atmosphere created by pro-Palestinian encampments at universities
The prime minister has backed a police crackdown on any outbreak of disorder on university campuses, as Jewish students warned that pro-Palestinian encampments are creating a “hostile and toxic atmosphere”.
In recent days, new encampments have been set up at the universities of Manchester, Sheffield, Bristol and Newcastle, among others, after violent scenes on US campuses resulted in mass arrests of students and staff.
Continue reading...Bishop of Dover praised people who stopped removal of men from Margate to Bibby Stockholm barge
A prominent Church of England bishop has praised the protesters who successfully disrupted the Home Office’s attempts to move asylum seekers to the Bibby Stockholm barge in Dorset.
Using words which could put her in conflict with Downing Street, the Right Rev Rose Hudson-Wilkin, the former chaplain to the late Queen and the House of Commons, thanked the local people who had blocked buses and said: “Our Lord showed compassion for the most vulnerable.”
Continue reading...So five changes for Spurs, which seems quite a lot. James Maddison is on the bench, and Richarlison is back in the starting line-up. Here’s a bit of Ange Postecoglou:
Look, it’s about freshening up the team tonight. I thought in general our football was decent the whole game [against Arsenal]. We paid the price for a lack of focus but we fought back in the second half and have shown resilience all year and we’ll need that resilience tonight.
That is the reality that we are living for the whole season and today a higher expression. But we need to be positive and of course the kids are in the club because they want to have the opportunity to go through to the first team.
Continue reading...A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie gig cancelled last minute after air conditioning part falls from gantry during soundcheck
Angry concertgoers have demanded compensation from the troubled Co-op Live arena after it cancelled its opening concert for the third time, leaving thousands of young fans stranded in Manchester.
The venue announced minutes after the doors opened on Wednesday night that US star A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie would no longer be performing due to a “technical issue”.
Continue reading...Former SNP leader now likely to return to the role without a contest and take control of government next week
John Swinney is expected to be crowned Scotland’s next first minister within days after his only rival ruled herself out and promised to support his candidacy.
Kate Forbes, the former finance secretary who came close to winning the Scottish National party leadership last year, said she was persuaded to step aside because Swinney had promised he would “govern from the mainstream”.
Continue reading...Keith Davidson frustrated by Trump lawyer’s cross examination, accuses her of ‘legal games’ based on phrasing of questions
We’re still waiting for proceedings to kick off.
As Donald Trump and Todd Blanche, his defense lawyer, are chatting at the table, the ex-president appears to be more animated, more engaged, than he has generally been.
Continue reading...Insurers report rise in cases of images being manipulated with ‘shallowfake’ technology
A surge in fraud cases in which photos are manipulated to show fake car crash damage is alarming insurers and helping to push motor insurance costs up to record levels.
The insurer Allianz said incidents where apps were used to distort real-life images, videos and documents increased by 300% between 2021-22 and 2022-23, and it added that this had “all the signs of becoming the latest big scam to hit the insurance industry”.
Continue reading...Speaking at launch for West End adaptation, Cleese complains about literal-minded viewers ‘not playing with a full deck’
John Cleese said that he decided to cut the N-word from a scene in his West End Fawlty Towers revival because in contemporary Britain there are too many “literal-minded people” who “don’t understand irony”.
Cleese was speaking at the media launch for the West End theatrical adaptation of the classic comedy, which follows a repressed hotelier trying to control his chaotic staff. The TV show finished in 1979 after two series that are widely regarded to contain some of the best-ever British sitcom writing.
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