6:35 am, December 9, 2023
US vetoes UN resolution demanding immediate humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza
The US has vetoed a United Nations resolution backed by the vast majority of Security Council members and many other nations demanding an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza.
US deputy ambassador Robert Wood criticised the council after the vote for its failure to condemn Hamas’s October 7 attack on Israel in which the militants killed about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, or to acknowledge Israel’s right to defend itself. He declared that halting military action would allow Hamas to continue to rule Gaza and ‘only plant the seeds for the next war’.
Britain abstained from the vote.
Pictured top is the United Nations Building
Sunak’s Rwanda legislation given ‘50% at best’ chance of success
Rishi Sunak’s emergency Rwanda legislation has been given only a ‘50% at best’ chance of successfully getting removal flights off next year in an official legal assessment for the government.
Attorney general Victoria Prentis has been told that the legislation leaves a significant risk of the European Court of Human Rights blocking planes to Kigali, the Times first reported.
The assessment is likely to toughen the prime minister’s battle to get his divided Tory MPs to support his new Bill that he hopes will revive the stalled £290m policy.
Unions to step up opposition to new law on strikes
The government’s controversial new law to provide minimum levels of service during strikes will be attacked on Saturday at a special conference attended by leaders of the country’s biggest trade unions.
The TUC has called its first special national conference in more than 40 years as it steps up opposition to new regulations announced by ministers following 18 months of strikes by hundreds of thousands of workers over pay and conditions.
Metro mayors and council leaders from across the UK have warned that the new law will make disputes harder to solve and lead to more frequent and longer strikes, the TUC announced.
Starmer insists he’s no Thatcher ‘fan boy’, saying she did ‘terrible things’
Sir Keir Starmer has sought to calm the criticism of his perceived praise for Margaret Thatcher by telling a Scottish audience that she did ‘terrible things’.
The Labour leader insisted he is no fan of the former Conservative prime minister and said that he ‘profoundly disagrees’ with some of her actions.
He said she did ‘huge damage’ across the UK, particularly in Scotland – days after listing her as among former leaders who delivered ‘meaningful change’.
Network Rail’s CEO was one of thousands of passengers stranded on Thursday
Network Rail’s CEO was one of thousands of passengers stranded in trains for hours on Thursday night.
Chief executive at Network Rail, Andrew Haines, said he was trapped in a train with his son and 981 others. Around seven trains operated by the Elizabeth Line, Heathrow Express and Great Western Railway (GWR) stopped moving after overhead electrical cables were damaged in west London.
The next day, Haines criticised his company’s safety procedures and customer service. He also who leads the Great British Railways Transition Team – which aims to improve and simplify train travel, added: ‘As an industry, we let down thousands of passengers after a hugely disruptive incident just outside of Paddington station. For once I had the pain of experiencing it at first hand, both as a customer and as a colleague looking to support others in a testing circumstance.’
Friday Car Dealer headlines you might have missed
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- Insurance ‘panic’ causes prices of used Jaguar Land Rover models to tumble
- Police launch investigation after three vehicles are stolen from used car dealer in Norfolk
Queen Elizabeth II wanted ‘effective security’ for Harry and Meghan to continue
Queen Elizabeth II wanted the Duke and Duchess of Sussex to continue to have ‘effective security’ after they quit as working royals, court documents have revealed.
The details emerged in the legal judgment given in Harry’s High Court libel case against Associated Newspapers Limited (ANL) on Friday. The duke is suing ANL over a February 2022 article about his legal challenge against the Home Office following a decision to change his publicly-funded security arrangements when visiting the UK.
An extract from a letter written by the late Queen’s private secretary, Sir Edward Young, to then-cabinet secretary Sir Mark Sedwill on January 31, 2020 reported on what had been agreed at the family’s Sandringham summit on January 13. It outlined the expectations the duke and duchess would have when attending engagements in the UK and the position of his grandmother on these and other issues.
Around 500 jobs at risk at Nationwide in head office shake-up
Nationwide has said around 500 workers are at risk of redundancy as part of an overhaul of head office operations at the building society.
The firm, which is led by Debbie Crosbie, said the redundancy consultation is part of a ‘streamlining’ to improve efficiency and help it direct investment to other parts of the business.
Swindon-based Nationwide said it ultimately expects 200 workers to leave, following a process which will seek to find workers new roles. The company said ‘customer-facing colleagues’ will not be affected by the shake-up, as it reiterates its commitment to running branches across the country.
Weather
A wet and windy day for nearly all parts of the country, reports BBC Weather. The band of heavy rain and wind will move eastwards during the day, and there may be the odd sunny spell in southern England in the afternoon. A mild day with temperatures around eight degrees in Scotland and up to 14 in the south-east of England.
Tonight will see Wales and southern and central England turning dry and clear, just before another band of rain arrives tomorrow morning. The north-east will hang onto the day’s earlier rain.
Sunday will be a repeat of Saturday, mostly, although the rain will sweep through more quickly.
