6:38 am, October 13, 2023
Israel orders evacuation of 1.1m people from northern Gaza, UN says
Israel’s military on Friday directed the evacuation of northern Gaza, a region that is home to 1.1 m people, within 24 hours, a UN spokesman said.
The order, delivered to the UN, comes as Israel presses an offensive against Hamas militants.
UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric called the order ‘impossible’ without ‘devastating humanitarian consequences’. This could signal an impending ground offensive, though the Israeli military has not yet confirmed such an appeal.
Sunak urges Israel to ‘protect ordinary Palestinians’ in fightback against Hamas
Rishi Sunak has called on Israel to ‘protect ordinary Palestinians’ as it hunts down Hamas militants responsible for killing hundreds of Israelis.
Downing Street confirmed the prime minister spoke to his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday after agreeing to send Royal Navy vessels and Royal Air Force surveillance planes to support Tel Aviv after Hamas’ attack.
A No 10 spokeswoman said that during the phone call Sunak ‘reiterated that the UK stands side by side with Israel in fighting terror’ and that Hamas should ‘never again be able to perpetrate atrocities against the Israeli people’.
Sunak in Sweden for meetings with northern European allies
Rishi Sunak will join northern European leaders for a summit in Sweden on Friday, with the gathering overshadowed by the dangerous conflict in Israel and Gaza.
The meeting of the UK-led defence grouping, on the Baltic island of Gotland, had been expected to see leaders focus on the threat from Russia as the war in Ukraine heads into another winter.
However, the attack by Hamas over the weekend has pushed the region to the top of the global agenda, with the Middle Eastern conflict now set to be discussed at the Joint Expeditionary Force meeting alongside Kyiv’s fight against Russia.
No 10 announces £3m to fund extra security for UK’s Jewish population
An additional £3m will be committed to provide extra security for the UK’s Jewish population, No 10 announced.
The funding will be given to the Community Security Trust (CST) after the group, which acts on the behalf of British Jews on matters of policing and racism, said it had recorded a 400 per cent spike in antisemitic incidents in the UK since Hamas’ attack on Israel at the weekend.
No 10 said the additional funding will enable the CST to place additional guards at schools it supports and allow for extra security staff outside synagogues on Friday nights and Saturday mornings when Jews are marking the sabbath. It comes as some north London Jewish schools were said to have told parents to keep their children at home on Friday.
Glitter protester: I crossed the line during Sir Keir Starmer stunt
A man who poured glitter over Sir Keir Starmer before his speech at the Labour Party conference said he knows his actions ‘crossed the line’.
Yaz Ashmawi has admitted to tipping glitter over the Labour leader and grabbing him just as he was about to begin his set-piece speech in Liverpool on Tuesday.
Speaking to the Politics Uncensored podcast on Fubar Radio, Ashmawi said he took ‘responsibility’ for what he did and apologised for making Sir Keir feel unsafe.
Captain Sir Tom Moore wanted family to keep money from his books, daughter says
Captain Sir Tom Moore’s daughter has said her family kept £800,000 in profits from three of his books because it was ‘what he wanted’.
Hannah Ingram-Moore said her fundraising father wanted them to keep the money from the books in Club Nook Ltd — a firm separate to the Captain Tom Foundation charity.
In an interview broadcast on Thursday evening, she told TalkTV’s Piers Morgan there was no suggestion that anyone buying the books thought they were donating to charity.
Thursday Car Dealer headlines you might have missed
- Inquest is opened into death of used car dealer Dan Kirby
- Vauxhall targets Fiesta owners as it looks to make Corsa 2024’s most popular new car
- Alan Day Motor Group marketing manager in line for humanitarian award
- Sinclair Jaguar Land Rover opens flagship Swansea showroom at relocated site
- Twisted makes foray into Japanese market with upgraded Defenders
- Council parking revenues soar to above pre-pandemic levels – AA
Up to 1.5m UK properties at risk of flooding due to melting Arctic ice
Up to 1.5m UK properties face an increased risk of flooding by 2080 because of rising seas triggered by melting Arctic sea ice, MPs have found.
Greenhouse gases have already warmed the atmosphere enough to lock in between 17.5mm-52.4mm of global sea level rise by 2100 and any further warming will only increase that, scientists told the Environmental Audit Committee’s sub-committee on polar research.
As Arctic sea ice melts, the rate at which it disappears will speed up as more of the sun’s energy is absorbed by the dark ocean rather than being reflected back into space off the white ice – a process known as the albedo effect. Sea level rise will erode British coasts and threaten homes, with the Thames barrier needing an upgrade to deal with higher tides. Governments later in the century will likely have to decide where they will build defences and where they will allow flooding to happen.
Number of Covid-19 hospital patients in England rises to five-month high
The number of hospital patients in England testing positive for Covid-19 has climbed to a five-month high, in a fresh sign the virus is circulating more widely among the population.
It comes as the NHS continues to roll out the latest Covid booster vaccine, with more than a third of people aged 65 and over in England now estimated to have received a jab.
Health experts have warned to expect ‘further increases’ in Covid-19 as the weather gets colder and people mix more indoors, along with a likely rise in other respiratory viruses such as flu.
Mercedes-AMG gives GLA 45 a boost with exterior and interior tweaks
Mercedes-AMG has announced a host of revisions to its range-topping GLA 45 performance SUV.
The new model gets a freshly designed front apron with AMG crest on the bonnet. Plus, the GLA now gets LEDs for the entire lighting set-up, and he wheel arch extensions are now finished in the same colour as the body.
Inside, the GLA features a redesigned steering wheel with more intuitive buttons which allow the driver to tweak and change various functions of the car as well as cycle through different driving modes. The MBUX infotainment system has also been given a new AMG-specific screen, while both Apple CarPlay and Android Auto can be accessed wirelessly. The GLA now features an extra USB-C charging port to help top-up devices on the move.
Weather
An unsettled day, reports BBC Weather, with heavy rain slowly subsiding in the south-east. A mixture of sunny spells and showers further north; gusty across the midlands and south, although temperatures will be a very mild 20 degrees.
Rain will clear in the south-east to leave a clear night for most parts, although some northern and western areas will see showers.
