Death toll soars in Russian strike on Kyiv; Germany to send air defenses
As the grim recovery operations continued, Germany announced it would provide two Patriot air defense systems to Ukraine in the coming days and that Berlin would be at the top of a list to receive new-model replacements from the United States.
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36 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Social media ads for Channel crossings to be banned under new offence
Social media ads for Channel crossings to be banned under new offence Anyone who advertises Channel crossings or fake passports on social media could face up to five years in prison under new plans to crack down on smuggling gangs. Ministers are seeking to create a new offence that would also outlaw the promise of illegal working being promoted online and could carry a large fine. Home Secretary Yvette Cooper has also said she plans to introduce a fast-track scheme to tackle the asylum backlog, with the aim to turn around decisions within weeks. The Government is under pressure to speed up asylum processing and bring down small boat crossings, with arrivals passing more than 25,000 for 2025 so far on Wednesday – a record for this point in the year. Assisting illegal immigration to the UK is already a crime, but officials believe a new offence will give more powers to police and other agencies to disrupt criminal gangs. Around 80% of migrants arriving to the UK by small boat told officials they used social media during their journey, including to contact agents linked to people smuggling gangs, according to analysis by the Home Office. 'Selling the false promise of a safe journey to the UK and a life in this country – whether on or offline – simply to make money, is nothing short of immoral,' the Home Secretary said. 'These criminals have no issue with leading migrants to life-threatening situations using brazen tactics on social media. We are determined to do everything we can to stop them, wherever they operate.' She told The Sunday Times that Labour was planning a 'major overhaul' of the asylum appeal process in the hope it would help to make a significant dent in the numbers. 'We need a major overhaul of the appeal [process] and that's what we are going to do in the autumn… If we speed up the decision-making appeal system and also then keep increasing returns, we hope to be able to make quite a big reduction in the overall numbers in the asylum system, because that is the best way to actually restore order and control,' Ms Cooper said. The aim would be to compress the process so decisions and returns could happen 'within weeks', the newspaper reported, citing a source familiar with the plans. Ms Cooper had previously said she wanted to put a 'fast-track' system for decisions and appeals in place so that people from countries considered safe would not sit in the asylum system for a long time. 'That would mean a fast-track system alongside the main asylum system, I think that would be really important in terms of making sure that the system is fair,' she told the Home Affairs committee in June. 'That will require legislation in order to be able to do that, as well as a new system design.' The plans to tackle the online promotion of Channel crossings would see a new offence created under the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill already going through Parliament. The National Crime Agency (NCA) already works with social media companies to remove posts promoting crossings, with more than 8,000 taken offline in 2024. But the proposed new offence will give them more options of how to target gangs and their business models, NCA director general of operations Rob Jones said. The case of a Preston-based smuggler jailed for 17 years for posting videos of migrants thanking him for his help could have been targeted under the proposed offence. Albanian smugglers who used social media to promote £12,000 'package deals' for accommodation and a job in the UK on arrival would also be in scope. The Conservatives said it was 'too little, too late' and that only their proposal to automatically deport people who enter Britain via unauthorised routes can tackle small boat crossings. Shadow home secretary Chris Philp said: 'Labour still has no clear plan to deter illegal entry, no effective enforcement and no strategy to speed up removals. This is a panicked attempt to look tough after months of doing nothing. 'The only clear and enforceable plan is the Conservative Deportation Bill, a no-nonsense strategy that allows us to detain illegal arrivals immediately and remove them without delay. The British public deserve focused action, not more of Labour's dithering.'
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36 minutes ago
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Countries under pressure to finalise UN plastic pollution treaty as talks resume
Negotiators looking to secure the world's first treaty to combat plastic pollution are under pressure to secure an ambitious deal this week after previous talks ended without consensus. Countries will gather in Geneva, Switzerland, on Tuesday for another attempt to reach a legally binding international agreement on plastics. The 10-day conference has been organised after negotiators failed to adopt a treaty in November during what was meant to be the final round of talks in South Korea. Since negotiations began in 2022, countries have struggled to resolve some key issues, resulting in a deadlock that has stalled global efforts to tackle the pollution crisis. Going into Geneva, the rift between countries persists, with some continuing to push for a less ambitious deal that solely focuses on reducing plastic waste while others want a treaty that addresses the full lifecycle of plastics, including limiting production. The UK has been part of a 'high ambition coalition' of countries which are calling for binding obligations on reducing production and consumption, sustainable product design, environmentally sound management of plastic waste and clean-up of pollution. Environment minister Emma Hardy, who will be attending the conference, said: 'Millions of tonnes of plastic flow into our ocean, rivers and lakes each year, washing up on our beaches and littering the seabed; threatening precious habitats and wildlife. 'We urgently need a bold and ambitious global agreement that will end plastic pollution by 2040. 'The UK is continuing to play a leading role in pushing for an effective treaty that ensures the sustainable consumption and production of plastics, tackles problematic plastic products, and paves the way to a circular economy.' The high ambition coalition includes more than 60 members, such as Canada, France, Germany, Chile, New Zealand and Rwanda. But Iran, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia and Kazakhstan have questioned the most ambitious proposals for limiting production, arguing they are incompatible with the treaty's core agenda and could interfere with global trade. Environmental campaigners have said that progress on tackling pollution has been mired by both obstructions from petrostates as well as lobbying by plastics and petrochemical companies. Christina Dixon, ocean campaign leader for the Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA), said: 'This is the make-or-break moment to determine whether countries are capable of coming together, overcoming the pressure to compromise on a weak agreement and stand firm on the level of ambition required. 'The biggest obstacles remain the fact that a small group of countries either don't want a treaty or don't want one that meaningfully addresses the problem of plastic pollution.' Rudy Schulkind, political campaigner with Greenpeace UK, called the treaty 'our best opportunity to turn off the tap on unnecessary plastic production'. 'Allowing fossil fuels lobbyists and their dirty tactics anywhere near the treaty negotiations is a recipe for disaster – their sole aim is to derail and sabotage the talks on behalf of their profit hungry paymasters,' he said. 'UN member states must stand firm for a strong Global Plastics Treaty.' Elsewhere, nearly 300 businesses, financial institutions and campaign groups, including Coca-Cola, Mars, Nestle, PepsiCo, SC Johnson, Unilever and Walmart signed an open letter to lead negotiators in June, calling for a robust plastic pollution treaty that includes strong obligations in phase-out, product design and a level playing field for international regulation. According to Our World in Data, plastic production has increased sharply over the last 70 years and has more than doubled in the last two decades. The world has gone from producing two million tonnes in 1950 to more than 450 million tonnes today, with its use for daily items such as home appliances and food packaging soaring. But just 9% of the world's plastic waste is recycled, while 43% is landfilled, 19% is burned and 22% is mismanaged – with the risk it ends up in the countryside, rivers, lakes and oceans, figures from the OECD show. Once in the environment, plastic waste can entangle, choke or be eaten by wildlife and livestock, clog up waterways and litter beaches, while bigger items break down into microplastics entering food chains. And producing plastic, primarily from fossil fuel oil, has a climate impact, with the World in Data and OECD saying 3.3% of global emissions is down to the production and management of global plastics.
Yahoo
an hour ago
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German foreign minister tones down Palestinian recognition talk on West Bank trip
German foreign minister tones down Palestinian recognition talk on West Bank trip By Riham Alkousaa BERLIN (Reuters) -German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul sought to tone down previous comments about his country's position on Palestinian statehood during a trip to the West Bank on Friday, saying Germany had no immediate plans to recognise a Palestinian state. Wadephul's comment followed sharp criticism from Israeli officials over his earlier suggestion, before he left for the trip, that Germany could respond to any unilateral Israeli actions with recognition of a Palestinian state. Far-right Israeli government minister Itamar Ben-Gvir had written on X: "80 years after the Holocaust, and Germany returns to supporting Nazism". After meeting Israel's foreign minister, prime minister and president on Thursday evening, Wadephul explained on Friday that Germany did not plan to recognise a Palestinian state immediately, "as that is one of the final steps to be taken" as part of a two-state solution. Wadephul's attempt to clarify his remarks highlights Germany's longstanding difficulty in taking a clear position on the issue, caught between growing international pressure to hold Israel accountable for its actions and Germany's own post-Holocaust commitment to ensuring Israel's security. He called on Israel to ensure safe access for United Nations agencies to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza, saying the current restrictions were worsening the crisis. "The humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza must end now," Wadephul said, stressing that aid distribution through the UN had long worked effectively and needed to resume without obstacles. He said Germany would provide an additional 5 million euros ($5.7 million) to the UN World Food Programme to support bakeries and soup kitchens and fund a field hospital in Gaza City. Asked about Israeli concerns that aid could be diverted by Hamas, Wadephul acknowledged that misuse could not be fully ruled out but said it was no reason to block relief efforts. "The best way to prevent Hamas from misusing supplies is to deliver more aid and ensure full coverage for the population," he said. He also condemned rising violence by Israeli settlers in the West Bank, adding that Berlin would continue pushing at the European level for sanctions on violent settlers. ($1 = 0.8759 euros) Solve the daily Crossword
