Starmer calls emergency Cobra meeting amid rising Israel-Iran tensions
Families of UK embassy staff have been withdrawn from Israel due to the intensifying conflict, though thousands of British nationals remain stranded.
Confusion persists regarding official advice for British citizens in Israel, with Downing Street not explicitly urging them to leave despite available transport to the Jordanian border.
US President Donald Trump is reportedly considering deploying American forces to support Israel, having described Iran's supreme leader as an "easy target".
The Foreign Office has advised against travel to Israel and has no current plans for repatriation, while British Typhoon fighter jets have been deployed to the region.
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The Independent
2 minutes ago
- The Independent
UN envoy warns of renewed violence in Syria a month into a fragile ceasefire
Syria's transition remains 'on a knife-edge' and violence could resume at any moment in the southern city of Sweida, which saw deadly clashes last month, the top U.N. envoy for Syria warned on Thursday. Geir Pedersen told the U.N. Security Council that while violence in Sweida has largely subsided following a ceasefire, 'the threat of renewed conflict is ever-present — as are the political centrifugal forces that threaten Syria's sovereignty, unity, independence and territorial integrity.' Syria is grappling with deep ethnic and religious divisions following the ouster of Syria's autocratic President Bashar Assad in December, which brought an end to decades of Assad family rule. The transition has proven fragile, with renewed violence erupting in March along the coast and in July in Sweida, a city with a significant Druze population, highlighting the continued threat to peace after years of civil war. Clashes erupted in Sweida on July 13 between Druze militias and local Sunni Muslim Bedouin tribes, and government forces intervened, nominally to restore order but they ended up essentially siding with the Bedouins. Israel intervened in defense of the Druze, launching dozens of airstrikes on convoys of government fighters. Pedersen said in a video briefing to the council that although the July 19 ceasefire agreement has largely held, 'we are still seeing dangerous hostilities and skirmishes on the margins of Sweida. And violence could resume at any moment,.' Pedersen expressed concern that 'a month of relative military calm belies a worsening political climate, with escalatory and zero-sum rhetoric hardening among many.' The U.N. envoy said there is an urgent need for security forces under the transitional government led by interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa to demonstrate that they are acting to protect all Syrians. Pedersen called for major security sector reforms in Syria and the disarmament, demobilization and reintegration of non-government forces. He warned that international support for Syria 'risks being squandered or misdirected' without a genuine political transition that lays the path for long-term stability, good governance, credible reforms and a firm commitment to the rule of law and justice. U.N. humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher called the humanitarian situation in Syria 'dire,' saying 16 million people across the country need humanitarian support. He said aid workers need protection and safety, noting that humanitarian convoys came under fire this month. He said money for food and other assistance is desperately needed, pointing to the U.N. humanitarian appeal for $3.19 billion for 2025 being only 14% funded. ___
BBC News
3 minutes ago
- BBC News
Global News Podcast Netanyahu: Israel will begin talks to free all hostages
In a video address, Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Israel would begin negotiations to release all the hostages held in Gaza and end the war, on terms 'acceptable to Israel'. It was Mr Netanyahu's first response to a temporary ceasefire proposal put forward by Egypt and Qatar that Hamas accepted on Monday. 27 countries have backed a statement calling for Israel to allow immediate independent foreign media access to Gaza. In Ukraine, President Zelensky calls on allies to put greater pressure on Moscow after more deadly Russian strikes, and the plight of thousands of Ukrainian children who have been abducted by Russia. Also: we check in on the parole hearings of the Menendez brothers in California, and a study into phantom limb pain. The Global News Podcast brings you the breaking news you need to hear, as it happens. Listen for the latest headlines and current affairs from around the world. Politics, economics, climate, business, technology, health – we cover it all with expert analysis and insight. Get the news that matters, delivered twice a day on weekdays and daily at weekends, plus special bonus episodes reacting to urgent breaking stories. Follow or subscribe now and never miss a moment. Get in touch: globalpodcast@
North Wales Chronicle
32 minutes ago
- North Wales Chronicle
Lucy Connolly to speak out for first time since being released from prison
The 42-year-old, wife of Conservative councillor Raymond Connolly, left HMP Peterborough on Thursday morning and it is understood she will be doing limited media interviews a day after walking free. She spent time with her husband, daughter and parents on the day of her release and was pictured walking her dogs in the evening, the Daily Mail reported. Ms Connolly was handed a 31-month sentence after she posted on X: 'Mass deportation now, set fire to all the f****** hotels full of the bastards for all I care … if that makes me racist so be it.' She pleaded guilty to inciting racial hatred by publishing and distributing 'threatening or abusive' written material on X and was jailed at Birmingham Crown Court in October last year. The former childminder, from Northampton, was ordered to serve 40% of her sentence in prison before being released on licence. It is understood that Ms Connolly was a passenger in a white taxi which left HMP Peterborough via the vehicle airlock, a set of two gates exiting the prison, shortly after 10am on Thursday. Her case has sparked debate, with some criticising her sentence as excessive. Reacting to her release, Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch said Connolly's sentence was 'harsher than the sentences handed down for bricks thrown at police or actual rioting'. In a post on X, Ms Badenoch compared Ms Connolly's case with that of Ricky Jones, a suspended Labour councillor who was found not guilty of encouraging violent disorder at an anti-racism rally in the wake of the Southport murders. Writing on X, Mrs Badenoch said: 'Juries are a cornerstone of justice, but we shouldn't have to rely on them to protect basic freedoms. 'Protecting people from words should not be given greater weight in law than public safety. If the law does this, then the law itself is broken – and it's time Parliament looked again at the Public Order Act.' Reform UK leader Nigel Farage described Ms Connolly's case as a 'symbol of Keir Starmer's authoritarian, broken, two-tier Britain'. Welcome to freedom, Lucy Connolly. You are now a symbol of Keir Starmer's authoritarian, broken, two-tier Britain. — Nigel Farage MP (@Nigel_Farage) August 21, 2025 A bid to challenge her sentence at the Court of Appeal was dismissed in May, which was described by Mr Connolly as 'shocking and unfair'. The Northampton town councillor, and former West Northamptonshire district councillor, said his wife had 'paid a very high price for making a mistake'. But Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer defended it earlier this year. He was asked in May about Ms Connolly's case after her Court of Appeal application against her jail term was dismissed. Asked during Prime Minister's Questions whether her imprisonment was an 'efficient or fair use' of prison, Sir Keir said: 'Sentencing is a matter for our courts and I celebrate the fact that we have independent courts in this country. 'I am strongly in favour of free speech, we've had free speech in this country for a very long time and we protect it fiercely. 'But I am equally against incitement to violence against other people. I will always support the action taken by our police and courts to keep our streets and people safe.' Ms Connolly was arrested on August 6, by which point she had deleted her social media account, but other messages which included further racist remarks were uncovered by officers who seized her phone. The post was viewed 310,000 times in three and a half hours before she deleted it.
