6:31 am, October 17, 2023
Teen sisters among Britons missing from Israel as Gaza aid efforts continue
Two teenage sisters are among the British citizens still missing following Hamas’s attacks on Israel as efforts continue to prevent a humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
According to reports, the girls, named only as Noiya, 16, and Yahel, 13, disappeared from their home in Kibbutz Be’eri after it was stormed by militants and their mother Lianne was killed.
Rishi Sunak told MPs on Monday at least six Britons were killed and a further 10 missing in the ‘pogrom’ on October 7 and called for the immediate release of the around 200 hostages taken by the militant group.
Belgium raises terror alert to highest level after two shot dead in Brussels
Belgian authorities have raised the terror alert to its highest level in the capital after the fatal shooting of two Swedish people in Brussels which prime minister Alexander De Croo suggested was linked to terrorism.
The OCAD anti-terror centre also said the terror alert for the rest of the country had been raised to its second-highest level.
Laura Demullier of the OCAD said the highest priority for authorities had been to get thousands of football fans attending a Belgium-Sweden football match safely out of the the King Baudouin Stadium where the match was abandoned at half-time.
Pictured top: Police cordon off an area where a shooting took place (AP Photo/Sylvain Plazy)
President Joe Biden to visit Israel and Jordan for talks
US president Joe Biden will travel to Israel and Jordan on Wednesday as concerns increase that the Israel-Hamas war could expand into a larger regional conflict.
Biden will discuss humanitarian aid with Arab leaders in Jordan after meeting with officials in Israel.
Secretary of state Antony Blinken announced the trip to Israel as the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip grows more dire and as Israel prepares for a possible ground attack on the 141-square-mile territory to root out Hamas militants.
One person seriously hurt and nine others in hospital after Manchester bus crash
One person has suffered serious injuries and nine others were taken to hospital after a bus crashed into a shop in Manchester city centre.
Police, fire and ambulance crews were dispatched after reports of the incident in Piccadilly Gardens. A spokesperson for North West Ambulance Service said one person had serious injuries and was taken to hospital. Ten others were assessed, with nine taken to hospital.
Photos from the scene show the pavement cordoned off with the bus’s front end inside a bubble tea shop called T4.
Protesters condemn BBC over stance on not labelling Hamas ‘terrorists’
Hundreds of protesters booed the BBC and demanded the corporation labels Hamas as ‘terrorists’ at a rally in central London.
Demonstrators chanted ‘BBC, Shame on you’ and ‘don’t pay the licence’ outside Broadcasting House on Monday evening. The National Jewish Assembly hosted the rally alongside the UK Lawyers for Israel (UKLFI), the Campaign Against Antisemitism (CAA) and the European Jewish Association.
A BBC spokesperson said: ‘We always take our use of language very seriously. Anyone watching or listening to our coverage will hear the word ‘terrorist’ used many times – we attribute it to those who are using it, for example, the UK government. This is an approach that has been used for decades, and is in line with that of other broadcasters.’
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- Car valeter facing jail after colleague suffers ‘severe brain damage’ in showroom crash
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- Car dealer group Drive Motor Retail sees pre-tax profit fall despite turnover rise
- Dodgy used car dealer facing fraud trial for failing to deliver vehicles as promised
UK economy in ‘horrible’ bind with no room for tax cuts as recession looms – IFS
The UK economy is in a ‘horrible fiscal bind’ as it heads for recession and with no room to cut taxes or increase public spending amid mounting political pressure on the chancellor to do so, according to a report.
The Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) warned in its latest Green Budget that Britain will slump into a ‘moderate’ recession in the first half of 2024 as borrowing costs stay elevated.
The report, funded by the Nuffield Foundation and using economic forecasting by Citi, analysed the challenges facing the chancellor ahead of his autumn statement. The IFS said there was little toom for tax cuts ‘any time soon’, based on the state of the nation’s public finances.
Appeal to be heard against demolition order at home of Captain Tom’s daughter
An appeal against an order to demolish an unauthorised spa pool block built at the home of Captain Sir Tom Moore’s daughter is to be heard on Tuesday.
Hannah Ingram-Moore and her husband Colin applied in 2021 for permission to build a Captain Tom Foundation Building in the grounds of their home in Marston Moretaine, Bedfordshire. The L-shaped building was given the green light, but the planning authority refused a subsequent retrospective application in 2022 for a larger C-shaped building containing a spa pool.
Central Bedfordshire Council said in July that an enforcement notice requiring the demolition of the ‘now-unauthorised building’ was issued. An appeal was made to the Planning Inspectorate, and it is due to be heard in the council chamber of Central Bedfordshire Council on Tuesday.
Warnings for heavy wind and rain in place for arrival of Storm Babet
Yellow severe weather warnings for wind and rain will be in place for much of this week with the arrival of Storm Babet.
The second named storm of the season will last from Wednesday until Saturday, the Met Office said, and is expected to cause flooding, power cuts and travel disruption.
Yellow warnings have been issued across the four days for a vast swathe of the UK, covering much of Scotland, eastern Northern Ireland, the north east of England, Yorkshire, the East Midlands and East Anglia. As much as 150 to 200mm of rain is expected to fall on central and eastern areas of Scotland and there is a possibility of 70mph gale-force winds affecting northern parts of the UK, forecasters warned.
Weather
Ahead of the storm, it’ll be a pleasant Autumnal day with plenty of sunshine for most. Wind and rain will blow into south-western areas and Northern Ireland later, though, reports BBC Weather. Temperatures of between 12 and 16 degrees.
A cloudy night with the storm starting to push into the south-west and then northwards. It’ll be a milder night than of late.
