States of Alderney backs Guernsey Gaza statement
The Guernsey letter was signed by 17 deputies pressuring de Sausmarez to write to UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer. De Sausmarez said: "Members are deeply moved by the plight of people of all ages who are caught up in any conflict."The members hope that the global community soon finds and implements effective ways to protect civilians, alleviate human suffering and secure lasting peace."
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The Independent
28 minutes ago
- The Independent
Videos of emaciated Israeli hostages in Gaza increase pressure on Netanyahu for a ceasefire
New images of emaciated Israeli hostages held in Gaza have horrified Israelis and added pressure on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to reach a ceasefire with Hamas, even as his government considers another expansion of the nearly 22-month war. The videos released late last week by militant groups Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad show two skeletal hostages pleading for their lives. In one, Evyatar David says he is digging his own grave and speaks of days without food. In the other, Rom Braslavsky writhes in agony on a dirty mattress and says injuries in his foot prevent him from being able to stand. The Associated Press does not normally publish videos of hostages filmed under duress, but is publishing brief excerpts after receiving consent from their families. The videos led tens of thousands of Israelis to take to the streets on Saturday night and demand a ceasefire deal, in one of the largest turnouts for the weekly protests in recent months. 'In this new video, his eyes are extinguished. He is helpless, and so am I,' Braslavski's mother, Tami, said in a statement. Warnings of famine in Gaza The videos were released as warnings about famine among Palestinians are growing in Gaza. Images of starving Palestinians have drawn international condemnation of Israeli policies limiting aid deliveries into the territory. Families of the hostages fear that the lack of food threatens the remaining hostages, too. Fewer than half of the 50 hostages are believed to be alive. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he was shocked by the images of the two hostages and met with the Red Cross to ask that it bring hostages food and medicine — access that the organization says it has never been granted by Hamas. 'When I see these, I understand exactly what Hamas wants,' Netanyahu said on Sunday. 'They do not want a deal. They want to break us using these videos of horror.' Netanyahu said the videos renewed his determination to release the hostages and eliminate Hamas. He added that the militant group is starving the hostages 'like the Nazis starved the Jews.' The International Committee of the Red Cross said it was 'appalled by the harrowing videos' and called for access to the hostages. Hamas' military wing said it was ready to respond positively to Red Cross requests to deliver food to hostages, if humanitarian corridors for aid deliveries are opened in a 'regular and permanent manner' in Gaza. It also asserted that the hostages 'eat the same food as our fighters and the general public' and denied any intentional starvation of them. Israel's mission to the U.N. said it requested an emergency meeting of the U.N. Security Council on the hostages, which will take place Tuesday. Israel's Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar said he will travel to New York for the meeting. The videos were being used by Hamas 'to force upon us their conditions on remaining in power in Gaza,' Sa'ar asserted. Netanyahu on Monday said he will convene the Cabinet this week to instruct Israel's military on how to achieve the goals of defeating the enemy, releasing the hostages and assuring that Gaza will no longer pose a threat to Israel: 'all of them, without exception.' More starvation deaths The videos of the hostages emerged as experts warn that Gaza faces 'a worst-case scenario of famine ″ because of Israel's blockade. No aid entered Gaza between March 2 and May 19, and aid has been limited since then. The United Nations says at least 850 people have been killed attempting to access aid near chaotic and dangerous distribution sites set up by Israel and the United States in May. Gaza's Health Ministry said Monday that five more Palestinian adults died of malnutrition-related causes in the past 24 hours. A total of 87 adults have died of malnutrition-related issues since the ministry started counting such deaths in late June, it said. Ninety-three children have died of malnutrition-related causes since the war in Gaza began, the ministry said. Israel's government has denied that people are starving to death in Gaza. About 1,200 people, mostly civilians, were killed in the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack on southern Israel that sparked the war, and another 251 were abducted. Israel's retaliatory military offensive has killed more than 60,900 Palestinians, according to Gaza's Health Ministry. The ministry, which doesn't distinguish between civilians and combatants in its count but says women and children make up over half the dead, is part of the Hamas government and staffed by medical professionals. The U.N. and other independent experts view its figures as the most reliable casualty count. Israel has disputed the figures but hasn't provided its own. ___
The Independent
28 minutes ago
- The Independent
Reform UK announces ghost and UFO expert as latest defection to party
Reform UK has been mocked after announcing their latest defection to the party – a police and crime commissioner who is an expert on ghosts, aliens and UFOs. Rupert Matthews, who holds the post in Leicestershire and Rutland, was introduced on Monday as having joined the party from the Conservatives. Before being elected in 2021, he served two years as as a European Parliament member for the Tories. He has also written a number of books about ghost sightings, UFOs, cryptozoology and other paranormal subjects. Cryptozoology is a pseudoscience focused on legendary animals, such as the Sasquatch, in order to evaluate the possibility of their existence. Responding to the announcement, the prime minister's press secretary said: "Their big defection is very interested in the fantastical and the unexplained. It's no surprise he's added Reform's fiscal plans to that list.' Meanwhile, a Labour source said: 'It's not just the ghost of Tory past that is swelling the Reform ranks. Their latest recruit Rupert Matthews peddles alien conspiracy theories and believes the removal of abortion rights overseas is a 'triumph' for democracy.' During a press conference in London on Monday unveiling the move, Mr Matthews took aim at the criminal justice system, saying the 'dark heart of wokeness' needed to be removed, as well as accusing politicians in Britain of taking inspiration from 'Lebanon and Libya' for their policies. 'It's almost as if they've looked at countries like Lebanon and Libya, the policies that have led to them becoming failed states and thought 'that looks good, let's try that here in Britain'', he said. 'The self-serving, self-entitled liberal elite who have let our country down time after time after time, are now on notice. Their day is almost done. Be they Conservative or Labour governments, everyone knows our politicians have failed us all. 'They have let this country down. They have let the British people down. Enough. Now is time for Reform.' He also said police officers were all too often working with 'one hand tied behind their back'. 'I daily face a fight against crime. I see ordinary, hard-working people burgled, robbed and mugged. Shoplifting is getting out of control. Anti-social behaviour is turning too many of our town centres into an apocalyptic wasteland of lawless Britain.' Before being elected in 2021, Mr Matthews served two years as as a European Parliament member for the Tories. He told the event at the Reform UK headquarters he had been a Conservative member for more than 40 years. Reform UK also announced retired prison governor of Wormwood Scrubs, Vanessa Frake-Harris MBE, had joined the party and would be contributing to its law and order taskforce. Ms Frake-Harris, who joined the prison service in 1986, detailed increases in escapes, attacks on prison officers and increases of drugs, weapons and mobile phone finds in the last year. She said: 'Successive governments, Conservative and Labour, have driven the prison service to its knees. Through lack of investment, support and an unwillingness to allow people who know what they are doing to get the job done.' She continued: 'Our prisons are in a crisis caused by Labour and the Conservatives. What have their solutions been? They have let out 10,000 prisoners out of jail early. To let criminals out of jail before they even serve their full sentence is a disgrace.' A Labour spokesperson said: 'It's farcical that Farage can't say what his policies are, how much they would cost, or how they would even work. Reform aren't serious and don't have a clue as to how they would address the challenges facing working people.'
The Independent
28 minutes ago
- The Independent
Amid fury over Bonnie Blue, taskforce moves to ban specific type of porn
A taskforce plans to propose legislation to make it illegal for online platforms to host content that could encourage child sexual abuse, specifically targeting 'barely legal' pornography. The move follows significant criticism of a Channel 4 documentary, 1000 Men and Me: The Bonnie Blue Story, which featured porn star Bonnie Blue, whose real name is Tia Billinger. The Children's Commissioner for England, Dame Rachel de Souza, accused the documentary of 'glamorising and normalising' extreme pornography. Baroness Bertin aims to amend the Crime and Policing Bill to prohibit content where adults role-play as children, a type of material that Bonnie Blue engages in. While the Online Safety Act requires platforms to protect children from harmful content, current laws do not explicitly ban adults role-playing as children in pornography.
