BREAKING NEWS Israel issues evacuation warning to Gaza residents ahead of 'impending strike on all areas from which rockets are launched'
The Israeli military issued an evacuation order for residents of parts of Gaza City on Friday ahead of an attack.
'This is a final and urgent warning ahead of an impending strike,' army spokesman Avichay Adraee said.
The army 'will strike all areas from which rockets are launched.'
It comes after last month Britain, France and Canada threatened Israel with sanctions unless it relents on plans to expand military operations in the beleaguered Gaza Strip.
A joint statement from the leaders of the three countries cited the 'intolerable' level of human suffering and 'denial of essential humanitarian assistance' in a stark warning.
An 11-week blockade on food, fuel, water and medicine has pushed the decimated civilian population of Gaza to the brink of famine, experts continue to warn.
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Daily Mail
an hour ago
- Daily Mail
DAILY MAIL COMMENT: Why the death of the Tory Party has been greatly exaggerated
Has the death of the Tory Party, like that of Mark Twain, been greatly exaggerated?There are good reasons to think that after nearly 200 years, it has breathed its last as a major force in British politics. The failure to properly address voters' concerns during a decade and a half in government led to a catastrophic collapse in public faith and electoral annihilation. With the Tory brand badly tarnished, the party languishes in the polls behind Labour and Reform UK. No wonder some have read it the last rites. And yet, under Kemi Badenoch there are encouraging signs the party is flickering back to life. She is a thoughtful leader who is determined to do the right thing – insofar as the Westminster circus will allow. She is also a politician of substance, rather than soundbite. It is understandable she wants to take time to put a coherent policy platform together, rather than indulging in knee-jerk politics. Her review into the European Convention on Human Rights, which enables activist judges to prevent the deportation from Britain of foreign criminals and Channel migrants, is a case in point. Like many, the Tory leader increasingly believes that you can faithfully adhere to the jurisdiction of the Strasbourg court, or have an elected Parliament that responds to the wishes of voters, but not both. But it's right she looks at all the issues involved in leaving. One reason for such huge disillusionment with the Conservatives is that in power they repeatedly promised one thing and then did another. This shabby habit has been taken to new heights by Labour. Does anyone seriously believe the Government, led by a die-hard human rights lawyer, will keep its word and legislate to restrict the abuse of the ECHR? With the comprehensive spending review due next week, another claim made by Sir Keir Starmer and his Chancellor will take a bashing: That Labour is fiscally responsible. Before the election, their mantra was never to 'play fast and loose' with the public finances. In fact, Rachel Reeves has made an unholy mess – awarding excessive public-sector pay rises to placate the unions, hiking taxes on businesses and letting borrowing go through the roof. She toyed with reining in the out-of-control welfare budget only to blink at the first signs of disgruntlement among Labour MPs. Then there is Nigel Farage. For all that he is a charismatic politician, with a gift for tapping into the concerns of ordinary Britons, his policies so far lack credibility. His plan to increase the tax-free allowance to £20,000 a year is a wonderful aspiration, but it would cost an eye-watering £80billion. And when one of the UK's biggest problems is the unsustainable rise of the welfare bill, his baffling pledge to end the popular two-child benefit cap would make things worse. Frequent damaging rows also erupt within Reform UK. Has the party the experience and temperament to run the country? As Sir Keir and Mr Farage try to outbid each other with extravagant promises, Mrs Badenoch has an opportunity. While re-energising the Tories, she must communicate vigorously that they represent common sense, law and order, fiscal restraint and controlled migration. She has an impressive team of shadow ministers. Could their talents be utilised more? It would be absurd to defenestrate Mrs Badenoch after just seven months. Anyone who thinks her party can suddenly jump to the top of the polls is delusional. But as Sir Keir's popularity sinks lower by the day, she is beginning to hit her stride.
Daily Mail
2 hours ago
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE Mother-of-four's warning to holidaymakers after husband is jailed for 10 YEARS after visiting popular tourist destination
The wife of a father jailed for 10 years over a 'tweet' has warned Brits to 'think hard about the risks' after her husband was 'abducted' at a popular tourist destination. Ahmed al-Doush, a senior business analyst at Bank of America, lived in Manchester before the day of his arrest when he was swooped on at an airport on August 31 last year as he prepared to fly home. The British citizen was held in a maximum security prison under strict anti-terrorism laws, on charges that included criticising the government on social media and associating with a London-based dissident. His distraught wife has spoken out to warn too many people are unaware of the 'dangers' of travelling to the country which hundreds of thousands of Brits frequent each year. Amaher Nour told MailOnline: 'For years my family and I have enjoyed travelling to Saudi Arabia for holidays and pilgrimage – that all changed in August 2024 when my husband was abducted at Riyadh airport. 'I would advise fellow Brits to think hard about whether it's worth the risk after my husband, a British citizen, was sentenced to 10 years in prison in Saudi Arabia for what we think might be a deleted tweet – but we're not sure which tweet, the evidence or the exact charges. 'The UK Government doesn't know the charges either and has refused to demand answers from Saudi Arabia. 'For as long as the UK Government fails to warn Britons of the dangers of travelling to Saudi Arabia, and fails stand up for its citizens arbitrarily detained abroad, other families like ours are at risk of being torn apart.' Mr al-Doush was put in solitary confinement for 33 days after his arrest and denied consular assistance as well as access to legal representation for more than two months. He was then jailed for a decade, with a state-appointed lawyer initially telling Ms Nour her husband had been convicted of an offence at a hearing but that he could not tell her what it was. The case was discussed by the UK foreign secretary David Lammy alongside his Saudi counterpart, Prince Faisal bin Farhan bin Abdullah, though details of their call were not disclosed. Mr al-Doush had not met his baby son Youssef, after missing the birth in December due to his detention. Ms Nour said: 'The authorities asked for his documents and we thought it was just a problem with his visa. He called me from security and told me to fly with the children on to Turkey, our transit stop, and said, "I'll be with you shortly".' It was only once the family touched down in Manchester that they received confirmation Mr al-Doush had been imprisoned. He was reportedly blocked from having any contact with his family until November 17 2024 - almost three months after he was first detained. Mr al-Doush is believed to have been imprisoned in relation to a deleted Tweet from 2018 about the war in Sudan, his homeland, which provided military support for Saudi Arabia in its ongoing conflict with Yemen. He has not posted about Saudi Arabia on his X account and only had 37 followers. Dan Dolan, Interim Deputy Executive Director of civil rights group Reprieve, has written to the UK Foreign Office urging the government to 'update its travel advice to Saudi Arabia' so British nationals are 'fully informed of risks to their safety'. Mr Dolan said: 'The Saudi authorities have announced that they are investing $800 billion to transform their tourism sector to attract more visitors. 'Hundreds of thousands of Britons already visit the Kingdom each year. 'Few will be aware that an old, deleted social media post could lead to them being abducted, charged with terrorism offences and potentially sentenced to death. 'Few will know that there are currently foreign nationals on death row, at imminent risk of execution, after being caught with cannabis for personal use. 'Hundreds more have been imprisoned for similar acts, including Reprieve clients Hassan al-Maliki and Salman al-Odah, two scholars detained since 2017 and at risk of the death penalty for peaceful expression of their opinions. 'The UN has repeatedly condemned Saudi Arabia's 2017 counterterrorism law for violating international human rights standards and criminalising protected speech and association.' Ms Nour previously said night time is 'hardest' for her when she is 'alone and it's quite'. She added: 'I keep asking myself "why, why, why has this happened", and I can't get to the bottom of it because it's not rational in any way. He has no political associations.' The Foreign Office said: 'We are supporting a British man who is detained in Saudia Arabia and are in contact with his family and the local authorities.'
The Independent
2 hours ago
- The Independent
UK could face up to £30bn of tax rises to fund defence spending boost, economist says
Rachel Reeves could be forced to raise up to £30bn through tax rises or funding cuts as the chancellor seeks to meet Labour's pledge to boost defence spending, an economist has claimed. The government has promised to increase defence spending to 2.5 per cent of GDP by 2027, and has an 'ambition' – but no firm commitment – to raise it to 3 per cent in the next parliament, after 2029. But the UK's Nato allies are expected also to push for a fresh target of 3.5 per cent, with the alliance's chief Mark Rutte pushing for a 'dramatic increase', with discussions over a possible 5 per cent target – as called for by Donald Trump – also taking place. And Sir Keir Starmer this week vowed to make Britain 'a battle-ready, armour-clad nation' as a long-awaited defence review called for major upgrades to the UK's military. While the major proposals were based around Labour's current spending pledges for 2027 and the next parliament, the report warned that 'as we live in such turbulent times it may be necessary to go faster' on increasing the UK's defence capabilities. Michael Saunders, a senior economic adviser at the Oxford Economics consultancy, suggested that the government could take steps towards this in the chancellor's next Budget. 'To establish a more credible path to defence spending 'considerably north of 3 per cent' next decade, the government may decide in the autumn Budget that it needs to add some extra spending within the five-year OBR forecast horizon,' said Mr Saunders. 'It's not hard to see pressures for extra fiscal tightening of £15bn to £30bn,' he told The Telegraph. Fiscal tightening involves either raising taxes or cutting government spending. Earlier this week, Paul Johnson, the director of the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS), also warned the only way to pay for the increased defence budget would be through 'chunky tax rises' as the government grapples with other key areas of public spending. He told Times Radio: 'You really do have to ask that question, what are the choices that you're going to make? Bluntly, it really does seem to me that the only choice that is available, is some really quite chunky tax increases to pay for it.' According to the IFS, hitting the 3 per target by 2030 would require an extra £17bn pounds between now and then which is yet to be accounted for. Sir Keir has previously said that increasing defence spending to 2.5 per cent would mean 'spending £13.4bn more on defence every year from 2027'. The Office for Budget Responsibility has also estimated that reaching 3 per cent by the next parliament would cost an additional £17.3bn in 2029/30. Speaking in parliament as the defence review was unveiled this week, Lib Dem defence spokesperson Helen Maguire said: 'It is staggering that we still don't have an answer to the vital question: 'Where is the money coming from?' The government has flip-flopped a number of times on 3 per cent.' On Tuesday, defence secretary John Healey failed to rule out tax rises to make Britain 'war ready' and insisted he was '100 per cent confident' the 3 per cent target would be met — but struggled to say how it would be paid for. It came as defence sources were reported to expect that Britain will be forced to sign up to a target to hike defence spending to 3.5 per cent by 2035 at a Nato summit later this month in a bid to appease the US president.
