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A United States appeals court has declared President Donald Trump’s blanket tariff policy illegal, but it stopped short of pausing the wide-ranging import taxes altogether.

On Friday, the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in Washington, DC, largely upheld a decision in May that found Trump had overstepped his authority in imposing universal tariffs on all US trading partners.

Trump had invoked the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) to justify the move, claiming that trade deficits with other countries constituted a “national emergency”.

But the appeals court questioned that logic in Friday’s ruling, ruling seven to four against the blanket tariffs.

“The statute bestows significant authority on the President to undertake a number of actions in response to a declared national emergency,” the court wrote.

“But none of these actions explicitly include the power to impose tariffs, duties, or the like, or the power to tax.”

The Trump administration is expected to appeal to the Supreme Court, and the appeals court therefore said his tariff policy could remain in place until October 14.

That was a departure from the May ruling, which included an injunction to immediately halt the tariffs from taking effect.

What is this case about?

The initial May decision was rendered by the New York-based US Court of International Trade, a specialised court that looks exclusively at civil actions pertaining to cross-border trade.

That case was one of at least eight challenges against Trump’s sweeping tariff policies.

Trump has long maintained that the US’s trading partners have taken advantage of the world’s largest economy, and he has depicted trade deficits – when the US imports more than it exports – as an existential threat to the economy.

But experts have warned that trade deficits are not necessarily a bad thing: They could be a sign of a strong consumer base, or the result of differences in currency values.

Still, on April 2, Trump invoked the IEEPA to impose 10-percent tariffs on all countries, plus individualised “reciprocal” tariffs on specific trading partners.

He called the occasion “Liberation Day“, but critics noted that the global markets responded to the tariff announcements by stumbling downward.

A few days later, as the “reciprocal” tariffs were slated to take effect, the Trump administration announced a pause for nearly every country, save China. In the meantime, Trump and his officials said they would seek to negotiate trade deals with global partners.

A new slate of individualised, country-specific tariffs was unveiled in July in the form of letters Trump posted to his social media account. Many of them took effect on August 1, including a 50-percent tariff on Brazil for its prosecution of a Trump ally, former President Jair Bolsonaro.

Just this week, on August 27, India was also slapped with a 50-percent tariff as a result of its purchase of oil from Russia.

Mexico, Canada and China, meanwhile, have faced Trump’s tariff threats since February, with Trump leveraging the import taxes to ensure compliance with his policies on border security and the drug fentanyl.

What are the arguments?

US presidents do have limited power to issue tariffs in order to protect specific domestic industries, and Trump has exercised that power in the case of imported steel, aluminium and automobile products.

But in general, the US Constitution places the power to issue taxes, including tariffs, under Congress, not the presidency.

Lawsuits like Friday’s have therefore argued that Trump has exceeded his presidential authority in levying blanket tariffs.

The appeals court decision also pointed out that the IEEPA does not give the presidency unchecked power.

“It seems unlikely that Congress intended, in enacting IEEPA, to depart from its past practice and grant the President unlimited authority to impose tariffs,” the ruling said.

The decision came in response to two lawsuits: one filed by the nonpartisan Liberty Justice Center, on behalf of five US small businesses, and the other by 12 US states.

Still, on his social media platform Truth Social, Trump appeared defiant, emphasising that his tariffs would remain in place despite the appeals court’s decision.

“ALL TARIFFS ARE STILL IN EFFECT! Today a Highly Partisan Appeals Court incorrectly said that our Tariffs should be removed, but they know the United States of America will win in the end,” he wrote.

He added that it was his view that tariffs “are the best tool to help our Workers”. He also implied he expected the Supreme Court to back him up in his appeal.

“If these Tariffs ever went away, it would be a total disaster for the Country. It would make us financially weak, and we have to be strong,” Trump said.

“Tariffs were allowed to be used against us by our uncaring and unwise Politicians. Now, with the help of the United States Supreme Court, we will use them to the benefit of our Nation.”

NIGEL Farage today appeared to row back on his pledge to include women and children in illegal migrant deportations.

The Reform leader said the two groups would be “exempt” from being sent packing for five years – but not “forever”.

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On Tuesday Mr Farage declared that under his mass deportation plan, 600,000 illegal migrants, including females of all ages, would have no right to stay in Britain.

But pushed on the issue again at a press conference in Edinburgh today, he clarified:  “I was very, very clear yesterday in what I said, that deportation of illegal immigrants – we are not even discussing women and children at this stage.

“I didn’t say exempt forever, but at this stage it’s not part of our plan for the next five years.”

It comes as the Taliban confirmed it is “ready and willing” to strike an illegal migrant returns deal with Mr Farage.

A senior official suggested the extremist group would ask for aid to support deported Afghans instead of money.

The official told The Telegraph: “We are ready and willing to receive and embrace whoever he [Nigel Farage] sends us.

“We are prepared to work with anyone who can help end the struggles of Afghan refugees, as we know many of them do not have a good life abroad.

“We will not take money to accept our own people, but we welcome aid to support newcomers, since there are challenges in accommodating and feeding those returning from Iran and Pakistan.

“Afghanistan is home to all Afghans, and the Islamic Emirate is determined to make this country a place where everyone – those already here, those returning, or those being sent back from the West by Mr Farage or anyone else – can live with dignity.”

The Taliban official also suggested it will be easier for Afghanistan to “deal” with Reform than Labour.

He said: “We will have to see what Mr Farage does when or if he becomes prime minister of Britain, but since his views are different, it may be easier to deal with him than with the current ones.

 “We will accept anyone he sends, whether they are legal or illegal refugees in Britain.”

The Taliban are hardline Islamist militants who seized back control of Afghanistan in 2021 after two decades of war.

They enforce brutal Sharia law, with strict rules on women, media and daily life, backed by violence and fear.

Branded terrorists by the West, they’re accused of harbouring extremists and crushing human rights while clinging to power.

Mr Farage yesterday vowed to deport 600,000 illegal migrants in his first term in office – in a crackdown he claims will save taxpayers billions.

The Reform UK boss said the public mood over Channel crossings was “a mix between total despair and rising anger”, warning of a “genuine threat to public order” unless Britain acts fast.

This morning Tory Chairman Kevin Hollinrake confirmed his party would also “potentially” look to strike a returns agreement with the Taliban.

He added that his party’s deportation plan, which was published in May, is “far more comprehensive than the one we’ve seen from Reform, in that it dealt with both legal migration and illegal migration”.

Unveiling a five-year emergency programme, dubbed Operation Restoring Justice, Mr Farage yesterday tore into what he called an “invasion” on Britain’s borders and pledged the boldest deportation plan ever put forward by a UK party.

Speaking at an aircraft hangar in Oxfordshire, Mr Farage declared: “If you come to the UK illegally, you will be detained and deported and never, ever allowed to stay, period. 

“That is our big message from today, and we are the first party to put out plans that could actually make that work.”

Reform’s plan centres on a new Illegal Migration (Mass Deportation) Bill, which would make it the Home Secretary’s legal duty to remove anyone who arrives unlawfully, and strip courts and judges of the power to block flights. 

Britain would quit the European Convention on Human Rights, scrap the Human Rights Act and suspend the Refugee Convention for five years.

Reform would also make re-entry after deportation a crime carrying up to five years in jail, enforce a lifetime ban on returning, and make tearing up ID papers punishable by the same penalty.

Mr Farage said women and children would be detained and removed under the plans, with “phase one” focusing on men and women and unaccompanied minors deported “towards the latter half of that five years”.

He even raised the prospect that children born in Britain to parents who arrived illegally could also be deported, but admitted it would be “complex”. 

He said: “How far back you go with this is the difficulty, and I accept that… I’m not standing here telling you all of this is easy, all of this is straightforward.”

There would also be a six-month “Assisted Voluntary Return Window” with cash incentives to leave before Border Force begins US-style raids. Mr Farage said: “Will Border Force be seeking out people who are here illegally, possibly many of them working in the criminal economy? 

“Yes, it’s what normal countries do all over the world. 

“What sane country would allow undocumented young males to break into its country, to put them up in hotels, they even get dental care? How about that?

“Most people can’t get an NHS dentist. This is not what normal countries do.”

The scheme would also see prefab detention camps built on surplus RAF and MoD land, holding up to 24,000 people within 18 months. 

Inmates would be housed in two-man blocks with food halls and medical suites – and would not be allowed out.

Five deportation flights would take off every day, with RAF planes on standby if charter jets were blocked. 

A MUM who swindled more than £75,000 in benefits to pay for a boob job and luxury holidays then turned to running an illegal puppy farm to make more cash.

Tammy Hart, 48, made at least £35,000 from her criminal farm after being released from jail for wrongly claiming tax credits to fund her plush lifestyle.

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Hart had also lied that she was single – when she was secretly married to the father of her two children.

A court heard she and her husband Neil Hart, 53, lived a “lavish” lifestyle after wrongly pocketing taxpayers’ money.

After being jailed for two years, she then turned back to crime, becoming an unlicensed dog breeder following her release.

Hart’s illegal puppy farm was busted, and the benefit swindler was ordered to pay more than £40,000 as a result.

The mum-of-two – then going by the name of Tammy Gunter – had already been ordered to pay back £23,358 from her benefits fiddle.

At the earlier hearing seven years ago, prosecutor Nuhu Gobir said Hart was granted tax credits by saying she was a single mother – and also made false claims for student finance and a £2,000 NHS bursary to train as a nurse.

Overall, Hart was handed £76,008.63 in tax credits between 2007 and 2016, the court heard.

The couple splurged the money on holidays to Las Vegas and Florida in 2011 and 2013.

She also took out a loan of £22,000 at one point for a holiday home in the US.

Mr Gobir said: “They were already in a relationship and had been living together as a family since 5 December, 1997.”

He said Hart claimed tax credits for nine years when she was working part-time in a shop and a garage.

Merthyr Tydfil Crown Court heard Hart even forged a letter purporting to be from HMRC.

Mr Gobir said: “Tammy Gunter made a claim that she was a single person working at least 16 hours per week.

“She stated that she had two children and no other income. The defendant dishonestly maintained she was single. She enjoyed a lavish lifestyle.”

Describing her false claim, Mr Gobir said: “She stated that she was separated and was a single parent with two dependent children.

“Neil Hart lied about his address to assist Tammy Gunter with the application. The total loss to the public purse in effect is £87,450.”

The DWP, HMRC and the HS Counter Fraud Service Wales began a joint investigation in January 2015 and the couple were arrested.

Hart admitted being knowingly concerned in fraudulent activity undertaken with a view to obtaining tax credits, one count of forgery and four counts of fraud.

Byron Broadstock, defending Hart, of Blackwood, South Wales, said the couple had a “tumultuous” relationship.

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He said: “Many of the purchases that have been described as extravagant, they are out of the ordinary. They were often gestures in reconciliation.”

He said the plastic surgery “wasn’t simply for purely cosmetic reasons. It was psychological reasons.”

Hart was jailed for two years, while her husband was jailed for six months.

But when she was released she set up her dog breeding business.

Merthyr Tydfil Crown Court heard between September 2021 and May 2022 Hart had advertised 17 litters for sale, with puppies sold at upwards of £1,500 each.

She was found with 29 dogs cooped up in pens which were covered in faeces and urine. The animals were found to have serious health conditions with one puppy suffering from deformities.

Hart was given a suspended prison sentenced for unlicensed dog breeding and has been ordered to pay back the money in a Proceeds of Crime hearing.

She was sentenced to a 16-week custodial sentence suspended for 52 weeks for charges including causing unnecessary suffering to one of the 29 dogs.

She also admitted three counts of a banned practiced under The Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 for not declaring selling puppies in course of business, two counts of unlicensed dog breeding and three counts of failing to look after the needs of animals.

Hart was also disqualified from dealing in all animals for a period of seven years under the Animal Welfare Act 2006.

Hart was ordered to pay a Confiscation Order of £35,639.43, to be paid within three months or face a custodial sentence of 12 months at Cardiff Crown Court.

She was also ordered to pay costs of £8,000, to be paid within three months after the confiscation order is paid.

Cllr Philippa Leonard, Caerphilly council’s Cabinet Member for Public Protection, said: “Unlicensed dog breeding is a serious matter, and it is hoped that the outcome of this case will serve as a strong deterrent to those who operate illegally.

“This case serves as a reminder of the importance of adherence with dog-breeding regulations and the necessity to obtain the required licences so that we as a council can monitor and safeguard animal welfare at dog breeding establishments.”

“Whenever possible Caerphilly County Borough Council will use the provisions of the Proceeds of Crime Act to deprive convicted unlicensed dog breeders of their ill-gotten gains.

“If anyone is concerned or suspicious of illegal dog breeding, please contact our Trading Standards or Licensing teams. Your information will help us tackle illegal puppy breeding in Caerphilly and will help stop animals being exploited by unscrupulous breeders.”

SIR Keir Starmer is under huge pressure to take a tougher line on immigration — as even his own MPs reckon his asylum shake-up is not enough.

The Prime Minister has been warned he will lose the next election unless the Government gets a grip on the Channel crisis — with one backbencher calling for a “national emergency” to shut down most asylum claims.

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It came as Nigel Farage cranked things up with a blueprint that pledges a mass deportation blitz within 30 days of arrival at No10.

Last week, Home Office figures revealed that a record number of people have claimed asylum in the UK since Labour came to power.

Just over 111,000 made claims in the year to June — with 32,000 migrants currently living in taxpayer-funded hotels.

Even yesterday, migrants continued to board dinghies off the coast of France to attempt the dangerous Channel crossing.

Reform UK leader Mr Farage is today due to unveil plans to arrest all illegal arrivals on entry, detain them on disused military bases and deport them within a month.

Under the blueprint, the UK would leave the European Convention on Human Rights and scrap the Human Rights Act, replacing it with a new British Bill of Rights.

The hardline stance will be pitched directly against the package unveiled by Home Secretary Yvette Cooper at the weekend.

Reform’s deputy leader Richard Tice said: “The Reform plan will defeat the lawyers using human rights laws to stop deportations.

“Labour’s plans will still allow the lawyers to use the ECHR and human rights to stop removals.”

Ms Cooper promised to scrap the tribunal system and replace it with panels of “professionally trained adjudicators” to fast-track appeals and reduce the backlog of 51,000 cases, which each take an average of more than a year.

She insisted the “broken” process was leaving thousands of people in the system for years on end and vowed to substantially reduce the numbers in asylum hotels.

It comes after the High Court granted a temporary injunction that will force the Home Office to relocate around 138 male asylum seekers from a hotel in Epping, Essex, in a matter of days.

Labour backbencher Jonathan Brash told The Sun yesterday: “The British people expect our borders to be secure and they are rightly angry at the situation on our south coast.

“If the Government’s current measures don’t end the boat crossings, then we must go further and faster, including declaring a national emergency if necessary and closing our country to all asylum claims except for unaccompanied children.

“The message must be crystal clear — if you cross the Channel illegally, you will be detained and returned immediately. No loopholes, no delays, no excuses.”

Veteran Labour MP Graham Stringer echoed his comments, saying: “We need to persuade people who are coming here in the belief they will be allowed to stay and get priority in terms of housing and healthcare, that this won’t be the case.

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“And if that means withdrawing from international treaties, then so be it.” He also warned: “It will be very difficult to win the next election if we don’t solve the problem of illegal immigrants being given the right to stay.

We need to make it far more difficult for asylum seekers to want to come to this country

Jo White, leader of Labour’s Red Wall Caucus

“We need a more fundamental look at how to tackle illegal migration than the Government is currently pursuing.”

Jo White, leader of Labour’s Red Wall Caucus, also urged tougher action, saying: “I want Yvette Cooper to look at every possible solution — and there are many more than just looking at how fast the appeal system is working.

“We need to make it far more difficult for asylum seekers to want to come to this country.”

She went on: “I firmly believe that if we don’t sort it, then Labour are under threat at the next election.

“So I want this Government to look at every solution possible. And I’m very, very keen that Britain does take a look at what (Denmark) is doing.”

Denmark has pursued some of the toughest asylum policies in Europe, including plans to process claims in third countries, tighter rules on residency and benefits, and measures aimed at discouraging new arrivals.

LONDON — British Foreign Secretary David Lammy went fishing with U.S. Vice President JD Vance earlier this month and the closest thing he came to catching was a whopping fine.

Lammy was given a written warning for fishing without a license, an Environment Agency spokesperson said Friday.

As far as breaking the law goes, it was pretty small fry but could have netted him a fine of up to 2,500 pounds ($3,380) for the offense.

Lammy, whose spokesperson described it all as an “administrative oversight,” purchased a license after-the-fact and reported himself to the agency.

Lammy hosted Vance and his family, who were vacationing in England, at his country estate south of London on Aug. 8. The two men smiled and laughed as Vance provided what Lammy called Kentucky-style fishing tips.

Apparently, the pointers didn’t help Lammy land a fish.

“The one strain on the special relationship is that all of my kids caught fish, but the foreign secretary did not,” Vance later said.

The Environment Agency would not comment on whether Vance had a license, citing data protection rules. The vice president’s spokesperson did not immediately reply to an email from the Associated Press seeking comment.

The agency said it confirmed that Lammy was given a warning because he had publicized it. In England and Wales, anyone over 13 needs a license for freshwater fishing, the agency said.

In most cases, inexperienced anglers caught without a permit are given warnings — so in that sense, Lammy apparently had some beginner’s luck.

Kuwait bans the import of alcoholic beverages, but bootleg liquor is sold with no oversight or safety standards.

Kuwaiti authorities have arrested 67 people accused of producing and distributing locally made alcoholic drinks that killed 23 people in recent days, including a Bangladeshi national said to head the criminal network, the Interior Ministry has said.

In a statement on X late on Saturday, the ministry said it seized six factories and another four that were not yet operational in residential and industrial areas.

A Nepali member of the criminal group told authorities how the methanol was prepared and sold.

Kuwait, a Muslim nation, bans the import or domestic production of alcoholic beverages, but some are manufactured illegally in secret locations that lack oversight or safety standards, exposing consumers to the risk of poisoning.

The arrests come after the Ministry of Health said on Thursday that cases of methanol poisoning linked to the tainted drinks had reached 160, with 23 deaths, mostly among Asian nationals.

At least 51 people required urgent kidney dialysis while 31 needed mechanical ventilation, the ministry said.

The Embassy of India in Kuwait, which has the largest expatriate community in the country, said around 40 Indian nationals in Kuwait were hospitalised in the last few days, without specifying the cause.

“There have been some fatalities, some are in a critical condition while others are recovering,” it said in a statement on X.

Methanol, a toxic colourless alcohol used in industrial and household products, is hard to detect. Symptoms of poisoning are typically delayed and include nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, hyperventilation and breathing problems.

It is reported that thousands of people suffer from methanol poisoning every year, especially in Asia. If not treated, fatality rates are often reported to be 20 percent to 40 percent, according to the medical charity Doctors Without Borders (MSF).

NEW YORK — A Brooklyn construction magnate was sentenced Friday to a year of probation for working with a Turkish government official to funnel illegal campaign contributions to New York City Mayor Eric Adams, resolving one of two related federal cases after the mayor’s criminal charges were dropped.

Erden Arkan, 76, told Manhattan federal Judge Dale Ho that he regretted his “poor judgments” in engaging in the straw donor scheme, which helped Adams fraudulently obtain public money for his 2021 mayoral bid under the city’s matching funds program.

Ho cited Arkan’s age and otherwise clean record in imposing the sentence, telling the Turkish-born businessman that his immigrant success story “exemplifies the American dream.”

“I hope that you don’t let this one mistake define you,” Ho told Arkan.

Arkan faced up to six months in prison under federal sentencing guidelines, but prosecutors and the federal probation officer agreed that no prison time was warranted. In addition to probation, he must also pay a $9,500 fine and $18,000 in restitution.

Arkan pleaded guilty in January to a conspiracy charge in Manhattan federal court. Weeks later, President Trump’s Justice Department pressured prosecutors to drop their underlying case against Adams, ultimately getting it dismissed.

In court Friday, Arkan’s lawyer Jonathan Rosen blasted the government for continuing to pursue his case after getting Adams’ charges dismissed.

“To put it mildly, this is a very unusual case. In fact, it is unprecedented,” Rosen argued.

In February, Justice Department leadership ordered Manhattan federal prosecutors to drop Adams’ case, arguing that it was hindering the Democratic mayor’s ability to assist the Republican administration’s immigration crackdown.

Ho, who also oversaw the mayor’s case, dismissed his charges in April. In a written opinion, he agreed it was the only practical outcome but also criticized what he said was the government’s “troubling” rationale for wanting the charges thrown out.

While Adams was spared, prosecutors continued to pursue related cases against Arkan and a former aide to the mayor, Mohamed Bahi.

Bahi, who served as City Hall’s chief liaison to the Muslim community, pleaded guilty on Tuesday to soliciting straw donations for Adams’ mayoral campaign from employees of a different Brooklyn construction company at a December 2020 fundraiser.

Arkan acknowledged in his January plea that he knowingly violated the law by reimbursing employees of his construction firm for their donations to Adams’ campaign.

In brief remarks Friday, he apologized to city taxpayers who bankroll the matching funds program, telling Ho: “I love this city. I dedicated my life to making it better. It pains me that I have harmed it.”

According to prosecutors, Adams personally solicited donations from Arkan and a Turkish consular official at an April 2021 dinner. The following month, Arkan held a fundraiser at the headquarters of his construction company, KSK, in which 10 employees donated between $1,200 and $1,500 to the campaign. They were later reimbursed by Arkan, making them illegal straw donations.

Adams then used those funds to fraudulently obtain public money under the city’s matching funds program, which provides a generous match for small-dollar donations, prosecutors allege.

A well-known member of New York’s Turkish community, Arkan’s ties to Adams first emerged in November 2023 after federal investigators searched the businessman’s home, along with the home of Adams’ chief fundraiser and his liaison to the Turkish community.

Adams pleaded not guilty to bribery and other charges after a 2024 indictment accused him of accepting illegal campaign contributions and travel discounts from a Turkish official and others — and returning the favors by, among other things, helping Turkey open a diplomatic building without passing fire inspections.

At a Feb. 19 hearing that precipitated the dismissal of his case, Adams told Ho: “I have not committed a crime.” The first-term mayor, a former police captain, skipped the June Democratic primary and is currently running for reelection as an independent.

Sisak writes for the Associated Press.

The far-right minister said he will approve 3,000 new homes in the controversial E1 area project, hailing it as ‘Zionism at its best’.

Israel’s far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich has announced he will approve thousands of housing units in a highly controversial and long-delayed illegal settlement project in the occupied West Bank, saying the move “buries the idea of a Palestinian state”.

In a statement on Wednesday, Smotrich announced his intention to approve tenders to build more than 3,000 homes in the E1 area settlement project that would connect Jerusalem and the existing Israeli settlement of Maale Adumim, located several kilometres to the east.

“Approval of construction plans in E1 buries the idea of a Palestinian state and continues the many steps we are taking on the ground as part of the de facto sovereignty plan that we began implementing with the establishment of the government,” he said.

Smotrich, who is also a minister in Israel’s Ministry of Defence with broad responsibility for approving settlements in the occupied West Bank, hailed the project as “Zionism at its best”.

“After decades of international pressure and freezes, we are breaking conventions and connecting Maale Adumim to Jerusalem,” Smotrich added.

Israel Gantz, chairman of the Yesha Council – an umbrella organisation of illegal settlements in the West Bank – and head of the Binyamin Regional Council, also praised the “tremendous and historic achievement for the settlement movement”, according to Israel National News.

Gantz said it was a “true revolution in strengthening the settlement enterprise”, the outlet said.

Development of the E1 settlement – which is illegal under international law – has been frozen for decades.

Observers believe that its location will hinder the realisation of a future Palestinian state.

The planned settlement would effectively divide the occupied West Bank into northern and southern regions, preventing the establishment of a contiguous Palestinian territory connecting occupied East Jerusalem to major cities such as Bethlehem and Ramallah.

Israel postponed the plan in 2022 following US pressure. But in recent months, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s far-right government has approved road-widening projects in the area and begun restricting Palestinian access.

Maale Adumim mayor Guy Yifrach praised the new settlement, saying it will “connect Maale Adumim to Jerusalem and serve as a Zionist response of settlement and nation-building”.

“The Palestinians aimed to establish a stranglehold through illegal construction – this project will thwart that effort,” he said, according to Israel National News.

On Wednesday, Israeli anti-settlement watchdog Peace Now said a total of 4,030 new housing units had been approved in the occupied West Bank.

Some 730 are west of the existing Israeli settlement of Ariel, while 3,300 had been approved in a new Maale Adumim neighbourhood that will connect it “with the industrial zone to its east”.

“The 3,300 housing units in Maale Adumim represent an increase of about 33 percent in the settlement’s housing stock – an enormous expansion for a settlement whose population has been stagnant at around 38,000 for the past decade,” it said.

It added that the Maale Adumim extension raised “serious questions about the need for the E1 plan”.

A WOMAN has revealed that she now looks like a “circus freak” after getting illegal bum shots aged 22.

Courtney Barnes, 35, decided to go to extreme lengths to get a huge bum, after finding that working out at the gym made her bum smaller.

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The influencer underwent three rounds of illegal bum shots at “black market pumping parties”, and now has a 59inch bum.

However, she now completely regrets the illegal procedures she got, and is determined to reverse them.

“At one point I wanted a bigger butt at any cost”, Courtney, from Miami, Florida told Truly.

“But now I realise it could cost me my life.”

“I may look like a circus freak, but I just want people to see me for me”, she said.

The surgery that Courtney needs to undergo to remove her bum injections is very complicated, and will set her back more than £14,000.

“There are a lot of risks involved, and I don’t even think doctors fully know the risk”, she said.

Due to the illegal injections, Courtney’s bum is now discoloured and saggy.

She is also constantly “stalked” by people fascinated by her behind, and receives a lot of hate online for her unusual physique.

Trolls have claimed her bum “looks like melted cheese”, and that she must have low self-esteem.

Courtney is now hoping to completely transform her image, and has even got herself a life coach.

“I’m ready to look like the girl next door”, she said.

As well as getting her bum injections removed, Courtney is aiming for a more conservative look, so as to be taken seriously as an author.

She has written a book about her story, to warn people about the dangers of cosmetic surgery.

“There are a lot of women who want cosmetic surgery because they do not like their bodies, and I just want to say ‘don’t do it.”

“I’ve made a lot of mistakes, and I’m looking to put all that behind me.”

UKRAINE’S fight against Putin’s illegal invasion is vital for all of Europe.

The Ukrainian people are fighting bravely for their freedom, their independence and their rights.

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But American security is on the line there, as well as British and European security.

That is why we and European allies have been providers of military aid to Ukraine.

And we recognise the indispensable role of the US in that.

It is also why President Trump’s recent decision to make more weapons available for Ukraine’s brave resistance is very welcome.

And we share the President’s frustration with Putin’s continual delaying tactics and maximalist demands.

It is clear that Putin is not negotiating in good faith.

Tighten screws

The pressure must continue to grow on Putin, to make clear that this awful war, and his wanton campaign of aggression, must come to an end.

As the UK and US get down to hard talks ahead of next week’s summit, Europe must ramp up the pressure, too.

We, as HM Opposition, will not write the Government a blank cheque.

But we stand squarely with them in defending our national interest and that means resisting Putin’s illegal war.

Russia has so far failed to achieve its war objectives.

It has suffered enormous casualties and, in desperation, Putin has had to turn to Iran for weapons and North Korea for troops.

Three years on, and despite what Russia claims, the cost to its economy has been enormous and is unsustainable.

I am proud the Conservative government, working with allies, helped to drive forward the largest and most severe set of sanctions Russia has ever seen to cripple Putin’s war machine.

Through the tough and wide-ranging sanctions delivered by the international community, Putin has been denied $400billion of funds since February 2022 — money that could otherwise have been spent on this illegal war.

But we cannot stop here. The screws must continue to tighten.

Pulling in the same direction

The US is right that we need all the world’s major economies to be pulling in the same direction.

President Trump’s tariffs on India in part show that there can be no place for Russian oil.

Europe must adopt the same approach.

There can be no place for Russian oil on our continent. There must be no safe harbour for Russian ships.

There must be no let-up in our collective fight against Russia in every corner of the continent.

That is why Britain must continue to maintain a leadership position in this fight.

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We must take the lead in mobilising sanctioned Russian sovereign assets to help Ukraine.

We must ensure our Government is using the full weight of the Whitehall legal machine to find more creative mechanisms through which those assets can be legally leveraged to support Ukraine’s military efforts.

And we must encourage all our European partners to do exactly the same.

It is clear that by leveraging our full economic might, and crippling Russia’s, we can continue to support Ukraine, and force Putin to the table.

The entire Euro-Atlantic alliance must be unflinching in the face of Putin’s aggression.

From sanctions, to Operation Interflex and the 100-year Partnership, Britain’s support for Ukraine has been unwavering and must continue to be so.

Shoulder to shoulder

So we must stand up for the territorial integrity of Ukraine and ensure that at no stage is Putin’s aggression rewarded.

Because the lesson of the past 20 years is crystal clear: Putin only comes back for more.

We must stand shoulder to shoulder with our Ukrainian friends as they fight not just an imperialist Russian, but a whole axis of authoritarian states seeking to sow destruction on our own continent.

Ukraine is in a battle for its own sovereignty as well as the principles that underpin our whole way of life — democracy, liberty and the rule of law.

Britain has a history of standing up to threatening authoritarianism.

The invasion of Ukraine demands that we do so again.

We must keep rising to the challenge.

Putin has to know that if he tests the Euro-Atlantic alliance, he will fail.

Israeli authorities are moving forward with plans to dramatically expand illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank, despite growing international condemnation and warnings that the move would destroy already moribund prospects for a two-state solution.

The Israeli government has set Wednesday as the date to discuss building thousands of new housing units in the E1 area, east of occupied East Jerusalem. The proposed expansion would link the large and illegal Ma’ale Adumim settlement with Jerusalem, effectively bisecting the West Bank and isolating Palestinian communities.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s far-right government also appears on the cusp of announcing its intention to occupy all of Gaza as its genocidal war on the besieged enclave rages on.

The E1 plan in the West Bank has long been criticised by the international community, including the European Union and successive United States administrations. In 2022, Israel postponed the plan following US pressure, but in recent months, the government approved road-widening projects in the area and began restricting Palestinian access – a move rights groups say indicates a renewed push to entrench control.

Israeli settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem are illegal under international law. The International Court of Justice, the top United Nations tribunal, reaffirmed that position last year, saying that Israel’s presence in the occupied Palestinian territories is unlawful and must end “as rapidly as possible”.

On Monday, Germany reiterated its strong opposition to the E1 project.

“We, as the federal government, strongly reject the E1 settlement project,” Foreign Ministry spokesperson Kathrin Deschauer said. “What we are concerned about is that a two-state solution is possible in the long term.”

The plan would see nearly 1,214 hectares (3,000 acres) of Palestinian land stolen to build more than 4,000 settlement units, as well as hotels and roads connecting Ma’ale Adumim to West Jerusalem.

Palestinians say the project is part of broader efforts to “Judaise” East Jerusalem and entrench Israeli control over occupied territories in violation of international law.

Palestinian leaders seek the entirety of the West Bank, along with the Gaza Strip, and as a capital, East Jerusalem – areas Israel captured in the 1967 war – for their future state.

Currently, more than 500,000 settlers are living in the West Bank, and some 220,000 others in East Jerusalem.

Al Jazeera’s Nida Ibrahim said the plan has been in the works since “the early 90s”.

“The plan has been described by US officials … as devastating and a disastrous plan,” Ibrahim said, as it threatens “the unity” of a potential Palestinian state.

According to Ibrahim, the Israeli objective is to ensure there is “no Palestinian state on the ground” by the time Western and European countries recognise Palestine as a state.

Israel would be “cutting the West Bank into so many different sections, fragmenting them, creating what Palestinians have been calling as cantons,” she said, predicting that his would push Palestinians into “very small, caged communities”.

Widening crackdown in the West Bank

The move comes amid a broader Israeli crackdown in the occupied West Bank. At least 30 Palestinians were arrested overnight across multiple cities including Hebron, Nablus, Bethlehem, Ramallah, and Tulkarem, according to the Palestinian Authority’s Commission of Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs.

Among those detained were two women, a female journalist, and several former prisoners. The commission said more than 18,500 Palestinians have been arrested in the West Bank since Israel began its genocidal assault on Gaza in October 2023.

In Bethlehem, residents of Beit Iskaria village received forced displacement notices this week as Israeli forces moved to seize more land for settlement expansion in the Gush Etzion bloc. According to village council head Muhammad Atallah, soldiers ordered him and his family to vacate grapevine-covered farmland within 10 days.

Separately, Israeli forces carried out demolitions in the agricultural suburb near Jalazone refugee camp north of Ramallah, with reports that soldiers were accompanied by settlers. In Dar Salah, east of Bethlehem, a building under construction was demolished by Israeli military vehicles.

According to rights groups, July alone saw 75 demolitions in the West Bank targeting 122 structures, including 60 homes and dozens of agricultural and livelihood facilities.

Along with arrests and demolitions, Palestinians have also seen a rise in settler attacks in recent months. Armed settlers, often backed by Israeli soldiers, have rampaged through Palestinian villages, torched crops, vandalised homes, and assaulted residents with impunity, resulting in several Palestinian deaths.

Rights groups and United Nations officials have warned that settler violence has reached record levels, part of what they describe as a coordinated campaign to forcibly displace Palestinians from key areas of the West Bank.

Meanwhile, Israeli authorities issued a six-month ban on Sheikh Muhammad Hussein, the grand mufti of Jerusalem and the Palestinian territory, from entering Al-Aqsa Mosque.

According to the Wafa news agency, the Jerusalem governorate, quoting lawyer Khaldoun Najm, said the ban on Hussein follows the expiration of his eight-day ban.

This most recent ban was imposed after his Friday sermon, where he condemned Israel’s starvation policy against Palestinians in Gaza.

Last week, Hussein was handed an initial eight-day expulsion order from the mosque.

Former NBA All-Star is among six indicted on US federal charges for conducting illegal gambling at his California mansion.

Former NBA All-Star guard Gilbert Arenas and five other defendants have been arrested on a federal indictment alleging they operated an illegal gambling business running high-stakes poker games at Arenas’s mansion in Encino, California.

Arenas, 43, is charged with one count of conspiracy to operate an illegal gambling business, one count of operating an illegal gambling business and one count of making false statements to federal investigators.

He was scheduled to make his initial appearance and be arraigned on Wednesday afternoon in the United States District Court in downtown Los Angeles. If convicted, he would face a statutory maximum sentence of five years in federal prison for each count.

Those arrested on Wednesday included 49-year-old Yevgeni Gershman, described as a suspected organised crime figure from Israel, according to a news release from the US Attorney’s Office of the Central District of California.

Arenas and the other defendants operated an illegal gambling business from September 2021 to July 2022, according to the indictment that was unsealed on Wednesday.

Arenas rented out the Encino mansion for the co-conspirators to host the illegal “Pot Limit Omaha” poker games, among other illegal games, with a fee charged from each pot either as a percentage or a fixed amount per hand.

Gershman hired women who were paid in tips and served drinks, provided massages and offered companionship to the poker players, with the women charged a percentage of their earnings by the business operators, per the indictment. Chefs, valets and armed security guards were also hired to staff the games.

Arenas was a three-time All-Star, and All-NBA second-team selection in 2006-07 and third team in 2004-05 and 2005-06.

He averaged 20.7 points, 5.3 assists, 3.9 rebounds and 1.6 steals in 552 regular-season games (455 starts) for the Golden State Warriors (2001-03), Washington Wizards (2003-10), Orlando Magic (2010-11) and Memphis Grizzlies (2012).

His NBA career was overshadowed by an incident in December 2009 in which he and Washington teammate Javaris Crittenton brought guns into the locker room two days after having a dispute on a flight during a card game.

Arenas pleaded guilty to felony gun possession and was suspended for the final 50 games of the 2009-2010 NBA season.

The Warriors selected Arenas in the second round (31st overall) of the 2001 NBA Draft out of Arizona.

Washington, DC – As United States President Donald Trump lauded what he called the “spectacular military success” of the strikes he authorised against Iran, Democrats were quick to accuse him of overstepping his authority.

Numerous critics accused Trump late on Saturday of violating the US Constitution by launching military attacks against Iran’s nuclear sites without the approval of Congress.

“Trump said he would end wars; now he has dragged America into one,” Senator Christopher Van Hollen Junior said in a statement.

“His actions are a clear violation of our Constitution – ignoring the requirement that only the Congress has the authority to declare war.”

In the lead up to the US attacks, legislators from both main parties have pushed measures to compel Trump to approach Congress before launching any strikes.

The US Constitution gives Congress the authority to declare war or authorise the use of force for specific purposes.

Trump’s “Make America Great Again” (MAGA) base has also been vehement in its opposition to the US joining Israel’s war. It has pointed out that Trump won the election on the promise not to commit Washington to yet another war in the Middle East. They want Trump to focus on domestic issues, particularly the economy.

‘Grounds for impeachment’

Lawmakers’ authority over the military was further enshrined in the War Powers Resolution of 1973, which curbed the president’s war-making powers.

Progressive Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said Trump violated the constitution and the War Powers Resolution.

“He has impulsively risked launching a war that may ensnare us for generations. It is absolutely and clearly grounds for impeachment,” she said.

The president is the commander-in-chief of the armed forces, so he can order attacks, but his decisions must be within the guidelines of what is authorised by Congress.

However, the president can order the military in the case of a “sudden attack” or to respond to emergencies.

Several Democrats were quick to note that Iran’s nuclear facilities, which have been operating for years, did not pose an imminent threat to the US.

The US intelligence community confirmed in an assessment in March that Iran is not building a nuclear weapon.

Trump has increasingly relied on executive powers in governing domestically, and now he appears to be sidelining Congress in his foreign policy.

But with Republicans in control of the Senate and the House of Representatives, lawmakers have few tools to influence his military decision. Impeachment is almost out of the question.

President Trump sending U.S. troops to bomb Iran without the consent of Congress is a blatant violation of our Constitution. pic.twitter.com/pqzAeS4K19

— Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib (@RepRashida) June 22, 2025

No legal justification for strikes

Lawmakers have introduced bills under the War Powers Resolution to ban attacks on Iran without the approval of Congress, but Trump is likely to veto the proposals if they pass.

Congress could overturn the veto with two-thirds majorities in the House and the Senate, but Trump’s strikes have enough support to make that outcome unlikely.

The US president has not provided a legal justification for the strikes, but he is likely to argue that he was responding to an urgent situation or cite an existing military authorisation.

In the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks in 2001, Congress passed a law allowing then-President George W Bush to launch what would become the global “war on terror”.

Millions of people have been killed and societies devastated due to the US wars on Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya, among others, waged as part of the so-called “war on terror”. It has also cost trillions of dollars and the lives of thousands of US soldiers.

In 2002, lawmakers approved another authorisation to allow the invasion of Iraq a year later.

These laws, known as the Authorisation for Use of Military Force (AUMF), remain in place, and previous presidents have invoked them to justify attacks that were not specifically approved by Congress.

Brian Finucane, a senior adviser with the US programme of the International Crisis Group and former State Department lawyer, said the attack on Iran is “patently illegal”.

“Even under the prevailing executive branch doctrine, this is likely to constitute ‘war’ requiring congressional authorization,” he wrote in a social media post.

Statement from Rep. Ilhan Omar on U.S. Bombing of Iran:

“The strikes on Iran, ordered by President Trump and executed without congressional authorization, mark a dangerous and reckless escalation of an already volatile conflict in the Middle East.

“Military strikes will not…

— Rep. Ilhan Omar (@Ilhan) June 22, 2025

Key progressive Senator Bernie Sanders was speaking at a rally in Oklahoma when Trump announced the attack.

As Sanders told the crowd about the US strikes, attendees started chanting: “No more war!”

“It is so grossly unconstitutional,” he said. “All of you know that the only entity that can take this country to war is the US Congress; the president does not have that right.”

Former Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said lawmakers will be “demanding answers” from the administration.

“Tonight, the President ignored the Constitution by unilaterally engaging our military without Congressional authorization,” she said in a social media post.

WASHINGTON — The day after immigration raids began in Los Angeles, Rep. Norma Torres (D-Pomona) and three other members of Congress were denied entry to the immigrant detention facility inside the Roybal Federal Building.

The lawmakers were attempting an unannounced inspection, a common and long-standing practice under congressional oversight powers.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials said too many protesters were present on June 7 and officers deployed chemical agents multiple times. In a letter later to acting ICE Director Todd Lyons, Torres said she ended up in the emergency room for respiratory treatment. She also said the protest had been small and peaceful.

Torres is one of many Democratic members of Congress, from states including California, New York and Illinois, who have been denied entry to immigrant detention facilities in recent weeks.

Jim Townsend, director of the Carl Levin Center for Oversight and Democracy at Wayne State University in Michigan, said the denials mark a profound — and illegal — shift from past practice.

“Denying members of Congress access to facilities is a direct assault on our system of checks and balances,” he said. “What members of Congress are trying to do now is to be part of a proud bipartisan tradition of what we like to call oversight by showing up.”

Subsequent attempts by lawmakers to inspect the facility inside the Roybal Building have also been unsuccessful.

Rep. Jimmy Gomez (D-Los Angeles), who was with Torres the day she was hospitalized, went back twice more — on June 9 and on Tuesday — and was rebuffed. Torres and Rep. Judy Chu (D-Monterey Park) tried at separate times Wednesday and were both denied.

Gomez and other Democrats have pointed to a federal statute, detailed in yearly appropriations packages since 2020, which states that funds may not be used to prevent a member of Congress “from entering, for the purpose of conducting oversight, any facility operated by or for the Department of Homeland Security used to detain or otherwise house aliens …”

The statute also states that nothing in that section “may be construed to require a Member of Congress to provide prior notice of the intent to enter a facility” for the purpose of conducting oversight. Under the statute, federal officials may require at least 24 hours notice for a visit by congressional staff — but not members themselves.

Under ICE guidelines published this month for members of Congress and their staff, the agency requests at least 72 hours notice from lawmakers and requires at least 24 hours notice from staff.

The agency says it has discretion to deny or reschedule a visit if an emergency arises or the safety of the facility is jeopardized, though such contingencies are not mentioned in the law.

Gomez said an ICE official called him Tuesday to say that oversight law doesn’t apply to the downtown L.A. facility because it is a field office, not a detention facility.

“Well it does say Metropolitan Detention Center right here in big, bold letters,” he says in a video posted afterward on social media, gesturing toward a sign outside the building. “But they say this is a processing center. So I smell bull—.”

Department of Homeland Security police patrol the street after detaining a protester at the Edward R. Roybal Federal Building in downtown L.A. on June 12.

(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

If no one is technically being detained, Gomez said he rhetorically asked the official during their call, are they free to leave?

Torres visited the facility in February by setting up an appointment, her staff said. She got another appointment for last Saturday, but ICE canceled it because of the protests. When members emailed ICE to set up a new appointment, they got no response.

Gomez said he believes ICE doesn’t want lawmakers to see field offices because of poor conditions and lack of attorney access because of ramped-up arrests that have reportedly left some detainees there overnight without beds and limited food.

In some cases, lawmakers have had success showing up unannounced. On Friday, Rep. Pete Aguilar (D-Redlands) toured the Adelanto ICE Processing Facility, north of San Bernardino. After being denied entry to the Adelanto Facility on June 8, Chu and four other California Democrats were allowed in on Tuesday.

“Just because ICE has opened their doors to a few members of Congress does not excuse their inflammatory tactics to meet deportation quotas,” said Rep. Mark Takano (D-Riverside), who visited Adelanto with Chu. “Accountability means showing a consistent pattern of accessibility, not just a one-off event.”

The representatives learned the facility is now at full capacity with 1,100 detainees, up from 300 a month ago. Chu said they spoke to detainees from the L.A. raids, who she said were not criminals and who are now living in inhumane conditions — without enough food, unable to change their underwear for 10 days or to call their families and lawyers.

Chu said the group arrived early and stood in the lobby to avoid a repeat of their previous attempt, when facility guards kept them off the property by locking a fence.

Tom Homan, President Trump’s border policy advisor, departs a meeting with Republican senators who are working to cancel $9.4 billion in spending already approved by Congress at the Capitol in Washington on June 11.

(J. Scott Applewhite / Associated Press)

In an interview with The Times this month, Trump’s chief border policy advisor Tom Homan said members of Congress are welcome to conduct oversight, but that they must contact the facility first to make arrangements. The agency has to look after the safety and security of the facility, officers and detainees, he said.

“Please go in and look at them,” he said. “They’re the best facilities that money can buy, the highest detention standards in the industry. But there’s a right way and wrong way to do it.”

Tricia McLaughlin, assistant secretary for Homeland Security, said in a statement to The Times that requests for visits are needed because “ICE law enforcement have seen a surge in assaults, disruptions and obstructions to enforcement, including by politicians themselves.”

She added that requests for visits should be made with enough time — “a week is sufficient” — to not interfere with the president’s authority under Article II of the Constitution to oversee executive branch functions.

DHS Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs Tricia McLaughlin, flanked by Deputy Director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement Madison Sheahan, left, and acting Director of ICE Todd Lyons, speaks during a news conference in Washington on May 21.

(Jose Luis Magana / Associated Press)

Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.), ranking member of the House Homeland Security Committee, slammed the guidance Wednesday on X.

“This unlawful policy is a smokescreen to deny Member visits to ICE offices across the country, which are holding migrants — and sometimes even U.S. citizens — for days at a time,” he wrote. “They are therefore facilities and are subject to oversight and inspection at any time. DHS pretending otherwise is simply their latest lie.”

Townsend, the congressional oversight expert, said the practice goes back to when President Truman was a senator and established a committee to investigate problems among contractors who were supplying the World War II effort.

“That committee conducted hundreds of field visits, and they would show up unannounced in many instances,” Townsend said.

More recently, Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) drove to the Pentagon in 1983 and demanded access to ask questions about overspending after being stonewalled, he said, by Department of Defense officials.

The Supreme Court has interpreted the Constitution to mean that Congress has wide authority to conduct oversight to show up unannounced in order to secure accurate information, Townsend said.

National Guard members stand at post at the Edward R. Roybal Federal Building in Los Angeles on June 10.

(Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times)

Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) said the Trump administration is trying to hide the truth from the public. Last week, Padilla was shoved out of a news conference, forced to the ground and handcuffed after attempting to question Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.

“The Trump administration has done everything in their power but to provide transparency to the American people about their mission in Los Angeles,” he said during an impassioned floor speech Wednesday in which he cried recounting the ordeal.

In an interview Wednesday with Newsmax, McLaughlin accused Democratic lawmakers of using oversight as an excuse to stage publicity stunts.

“The Democrats are reeling,” she said. “They have no actual message and so they’re doing this to get more attention and to manufacture viral moments.”

On Tuesday, Gomez wore a suit jacket with his congressional lapel pin and carried his congressional ID card and business card in his hand — “so there would be no mistake” as to who he was. He said he was concerned that what happened to Padilla could also happen to him. He was denied access anyway.

Gomez said federal officials should be fined each time they deny oversight access to members of Congress. He said he and other members are also discussing whether to file a lawsuit to compel access.

“When you have an administration that is operating outside the bounds of the law, they’re basically saying, ‘What recourse do you have? Can you force us? You don’t have an army. We don’t need to listen to you,’” Gomez said. “Then you have to put some real teeth into it.”

Times staff writer Nathan Solis in Los Angeles contributed to this report.

Palma Police have begun to impose fines on people who buy products from illegal street sellers in the Majorca holiday hotspot, in a bid to stop the sale of counterfeit items

Holidaymakers eager to score a discount could find themselves slapped with a hefty fine.

Knock-off sunglasses sellers and fake handbag hoikers have long been a fixture of tourist destinations in Spain. Despite being illegal, police have struggled to clamp down on the trade. If you’ve ever been to central Barcelona, then you will have seen the impressive speed with which towels laden with budget goodies are folded up and whisked away whenever a police officer nears.

Now a police force in Spain have decided to put pressure on the buyers as well as the sellers, to see if that has an impact.

Palma Police have begun to impose fines on people who buy products from illegal street sellers. In one case, eleven sunglasses were seized from the seller as evidence of illegal vending, while the buyer was fined for “making a purchase from an unlicensed street vendor on the public way”, Majorca Daily Bulletin reported.

The police have not said whether the person fined was a tourist or a resident. Police received new powers to arrest buyers at the end of May. The town hall of the Majorcan city has launched an information campaign to warn both residents and tourists about the risks of purchasing products from unauthorised vendors.

READ MORE: Mum on Benidorm holiday left ‘petrified’ after teenagers invaded her hotel room

The police force has said that this type of trade harms legal establishments and can result in a financial penalty for the buyer. Sellers are subject to fines of between €750 and €1,500 (£641 to £1,282). For buyers the range is €100 to €750 (£85 to £640).

UK sunseekers may want to brush up on Spanish regulations before heading to the country this year, given how much local authorities there seem to love a fine.

Organising “unauthorised gatherings” could see Brits forking out as much as €750 for blasting tunes too loudly. In places like Valencia, setting up unapproved tents or shelters might land you a fine ranging from €1,501 to €3,000.

Spain’s beaches are increasingly becoming smoke-free areas, with lighting up potentially costing you up to €450 in fines, while sipping a drink on the sands or promenade could set you back between €1,501 and €3,000.

Caught with a tipple in public? You could be coughing up to €3,000. Majorcan hotspots such as Llucmajor, Palma, and Magaluf have even curtailed alcohol sales from 9:30pm to 8am and clamped down on happy hour promotions.

For those who throw loud parties without permission, a €750 fine awaits, and Valencia’s crackdown includes hefty charges of up to €3,000 for unsanctioned tent pitching. Many beaches have now become smoke-free zones, with a ciggie potentially costing you up to €450 in fines, and penalties for boozing on the beach or promenade ranging from €1,501 to €3,000.

READ MORE: Brits call out ‘horrendous’ hotel behaviour but admit ‘we find it funny’READ MORE: Brits avoid Spain after protests and warn ‘we won’t go if we’re not wanted’

Spain has also put a cap on daily visitors at certain beaches in the Balearic and Canary Islands. Platja d’Aro, in Costa Brava, has announced fines up to €1,500 for appearing in public “with clothing representing human genitals” in a crackdown on stag and hen dos from Blighty.

The bylaw specifically bans people from appearing “on the public thoroughfare without clothing or only in their underwear or with clothing or accessories representing human genitals or with dolls or other accessories of a sexual nature”.

There’s also new information required for those wanting to book digs or hire motors. Information gathered by hotel owners, private rental providers and car hire companies will now be passed on to the Spanish Ministry of Interior to bolster the country’s national security.

Federal judge on bench for 40 years lambasts grant terminations as ‘racist’ and anti-LGBTQ.

A Massachusetts federal judge has declared that cuts to National Institutes of Health (NIH) grants made by the administration of US President Donald Trump are “illegal” and “void,” and ordered that many of the grants be restored.

In a ruling issued on Monday, Judge William Young vacated the terminations that began in late February and said the NIH violated federal law by arbitrarily cancelling more than $1bn in research grants because of their perceived connection to diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives.

Young told the court there could be little doubt the cuts represent “racial discrimination and discrimination against America’s LGBTQ community”, according to quotes published on X by Politico reporter Kyle Cheney.

In April, a group of researchers sued the NIH, saying hundreds of critical research projects were halted due to an “ideological purge”. The plaintiffs argued that the reasons given for the terminations – connections with “diversity, equity, and inclusion” and “gender identity” – were vague and lacking in concrete explanation.

Terminated grants included programmes focusing on women, racial minorities and the health of health of gay, lesbian and transgender people, but also included studies on cancer, youth suicide and bone health. The government has argued that the court lacks jurisdiction and that the NIH has discretion to set its own priorities.

Young said he was reinstating grants that had been awarded to organisations and Democratic-led states that sued over the terminations. And the judge strongly suggested that as the case proceeds, he could issue a more sweeping decision.

Young, who was appointed by US President Ronald Reagan, offered a harsh rebuke to the government, saying that in his 40 years on the bench, he had “never seen evidence of racial discrimination like this”.

‘Didn’t take job to terminate grants’

The ruling comes almost a week after Jay Bhattacharya, director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), admitted that the Trump administration had gone too far in slashing biomedical research grants and said efforts were under way to restore some of the funding

Bhattacharya made the remarks Tuesday during a Senate committee hearing examining both recent cuts to his agency and deeper reductions proposed by the White House in next year’s budget.

“I didn’t take this job to terminate grants,” said the physician and health economist, who left a professorship at Stanford University to join the Trump administration.

“I took this job to make sure that we do the research that advances the health needs of the American people,” he said, adding that he had created an appeals process for scientists and laboratories whose research was impacted, and that the NIH had already “reversed many” of the cuts.

Lancaster — A California law aimed at reducing the amount of climate-harming greenhouse gases at landfills is exacerbating the problem of illegal dumping in the Antelope Valley, according to local officials and residents.

The law, dubbed California’s Short-Lived Climate Pollutant Reduction Strategy, requires residents and businesses to separate food waste, yard trimmings and other organic waste from their trash to reduce the amount of methane, a powerful greenhouse gas, being emitted into the atmosphere.

Signed into law in 2016, the bill mandated a gradual increase in the amount of organic waste that must be diverted away from landfills to sites where the waste could be treated and composted, thus reducing the emission of greenhouse gases. The law required the diversion of 50% of all green and food waste from landfills by 2020; by 2025, that number was to hit 75%.

A separate law closed a legal loophole that had previously encouraged waste haulers to cover landfill debris with green waste.

Although experts say the law appears to be working in most regions of the state, the Los Angeles area has been a problem. They say the city of Los Angeles and many of its surrounding municipalities haven’t invested in the infrastructure needed to process increased organic waste, nor is there the agricultural demand for the finished product that there is farther north.

“Illegal dumping has been a problem in the Antelope Valley for decades,” said Chuck Bostwick, a senior field deputy for Los Angeles County Supervisor Kathryn Barger, who represents much of the area. “But, since these laws were passed, it’s gotten markedly worse.”

Bostwick said state regulations have made disposal of organic waste “much more expensive and hard to deal with,” and therefore increased the financial incentives for waste haulers to dump illegally, thus circumventing the high processing costs of composting and treating the material.

A truck leaves the Circle Green mulch dump site near El Mirage.

(Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times)

Antelope Valley residents say there are dozens or more rogue dump sites across the region. Although a few are just straight-up garbage and trash, most of the more than 80 identified by residents appear to be some form of unprocessed mulch.

One such site, located in San Bernardino County near the El Mirage Dry Lake bed, gave off a rancid smell on a cool spring afternoon. The material underfoot was dark brown and appeared to be a mix of wood chips and woody debris, dotted with cast-off rubber and plastic — the shred of a Spalding basketball here, a purple plastic squirrel there. The stumps of dead Joshua trees jutted from the fetid ground cover, while a few others, still alive, appeared anemic and were adorned in wispy strands of plastic debris and dust.

A lawsuit filed this year in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles by Antelope Valley residents claims that waste-hauling companies including Athens Services and California Waste Services are dumping hazardous substances without authorization, which the companies deny. Athens noted that the law encourages the distribution of compostable material to “farmers and other property owners for beneficial use.”

It’s this interpretation of land-application that has caused consternation among the valley’s desert-dwelling residents: There are no laws preventing landowners from applying compost to their fields or property.

According to Bostwick and others, landowners in the Antelope Valley are granting permission for waste haulers to come and dump on their property in return for payment.

That’s completely legitimate, according to Lance Klug, a spokesman for CalRecycle, the state’s waste agency. Property owners can spread waste on their land, he said as long as the material is compostable and not mixed with non-organic material; contains less than 0.5% of plastic, metal or other contaminants; contains only minimal amounts of metals and pathogens; and is not deposited in piles higher than 6 inches.

At sites such as the one near El Mirage, the legality of the material is questionable. A spreadsheet compiled by CalRecycle officials during a visit in November describes the waste as “illegal.” But at other sites, the waste appears to be in line with state regulations.

But even if it is legal, its presence threatens to cause lasting damage to the desert ecosystem, said Wesley Skelton, assistant land manager at the Portal Ridge Wildlife Preserve, a protected area near the Antelope Valley California Poppy Reserve.

Yard trimmings often contain seeds of invasive plant species and toxic herbicides, he said, and mulching is also problematic, disrupting fragile ecosystems, contributing to poor air quality and potentially the spread of the dust-loving fungus that causes Valley fever.

“We’re concerned that these landowners aren’t having to do any environmental impact report when they do dump on their land,” Skelton said. “The effects of these dumpings are long-lasting habitat destruction, and introduction of invasive plants that’s going to affect the air quality of Lancaster and Palmdale for years to come.”

Trash is dumped at this Lancaster location north of E. Avenue J. on April 18.

(Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times)

“We put in a lot of effort to combat these plants— the Russian thistle and the mustard and all the different grasses and everything,” Skelton said, naming two invasive species that are crowding out the native flora. “It’s a huge problem.”

Nick Lapis, director of Californians Against Waste, doesn’t think the composting laws are the problem in the Antelope Valley. He said dumping has been happening there for more than decade — long before the composting laws were in place.

A sneaker among the trash dumped at Adobe Mountain near Lancaster on April 18.

(Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times)

Irrespective of the cause, it is a big problem, he said, and state and local enforcement agencies need to stop it — both by requiring jurisdictions to track waste, at every step of its journey, and implementing a clear strategy for enforcement.

“It is outrageous that while some companies are investing millions in legitimate composting operations — real facilities with real customers and real climate benefits — others are just dumping raw green waste in the desert and calling it farming,” he said. “It’s a slap in the face to everyone doing the right thing.”

APPROACHING British passport control, a mum grips her young daughter’s hand nervously.

She fidgets with the documents they hope will fool airport officials into letting them through.

7

7

7

7

With her eyes darting nervously and head hung low, it doesn’t take long for border control officers at Manchester airport to clock something is not quite right.

And on closer examination, it is clear the paperwork is forged.

Immediately, they are blocked from entering the UK.

But while this mum and daughter failed, there are plenty more queuing up to take their place — and the majority are Iranians, cops believe.

And far from risking death in treacherous boat journeys across the Channel, these chancers are prepared to pay £20,000 for a forged document pack enabling them to travel to the UK from airports all over Europe.

Many will get through — mysteriously disappearing once they have conned their way through customs.

Or they will dump their forged or stolen documents and immediately head to the closest immigration office to beg for asylum.

But on this occasion, Greater Manchester Police were called and an investigation — named Operation Alfriston — was quickly formed.

Its aim is to discover who these ruthless smuggling gangs are and how they operate across the UK.

This week The Sun was invited to watch as cops smashed down doors and arrested the crooks they believed had been trafficking untold numbers of illegal immigrants into Britain.

At 6am yesterday, 129 GMP police officers, alongside seven immigration compliance and enforcement officers, stormed 15 different addresses.

They arrested eight men, between the ages of 18 and 52, and two women, aged 32 and 43, all allegedly involved in a conspiracy to facilitate a breach of immigration law by assisting illegal entry into the UK.

If charged and found guilty, each member could face life in prison for their role in the smuggling ring.

‘I think we’re just scraping the surface’

The arrests took place in Greater Manchester — Bolton, Sale, Bramhall, Salford, Leigh and Cheadle — and Cricklewood, North London.

We saw cops from the Tactical Aid Unit shatter a glass door and then break down an internal one to enter a property in Bolton.

They alerted the occupants to their arrival with shouts of “police” as they marched inside in full protective gear.

Greater Manchester Police’s Head of Intel, Detective Chief Superintendent John Griffith, told The Sun: “Tackling immigration crime has become a priority for us. With the arrests yesterday morning, I think we’re just scraping the surface.

“By focusing on gathering intelligence on the infrastructure around how people are entering the UK illegally, hopefully we can deter other people from doing it.”

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Often people who are smuggled into the UK will end up working for little money at businesses such as car washes, nail bars and hairdressers. DCS Griffith, who has a background in counter terrorism, added: “These people are hugely vulnerable.

“If you can imagine some of the travelling conditions that they will have faced across Europe when coming into the UK — to put up with that, there must be a real desire to get here.

“That desire often transfers into a willingness to pay a lot of money to individuals to facilitate that entry, irrespective of the success of that entry or not.

“There are numerous individuals who have paid these facilitators and actually have never arrived in the UK, but continue to engage with them and pay them just for the attraction of coming here.”

Not long before Christmas last year, the ringleader of an organised crime gang dealing with migrants was picked up at the airport and flagged to police.

At the time, he was not arrested. Instead, cops gathered intelligence so that when they struck, they could take out all the key players.

While this is technically smuggling, it sits in a grey area that shares characteristics with modern slavery.

Justine Carter

The crook did most of his communications in the Persian language Farsi, adding a stumbling block for the team of 12 police officers.

For fake documents or stolen identities and paperwork to enter the UK via an airport, the group was charging around £20,000.

Investigation leader Detective Chief Inspector Tim Berry told The Sun: “Our main suspect, who is actively involved in facilitating people into the UK, is generally using false documents of various nationalities.

“To do that he needs a number of people around him to facilitate and support with various elements, such as supplying false documents, booking travel, moving monies — that kind of thing.

“We know that he’s offering the full package for around £20,000. It’s that profit that motivates organised crime gangs to do this kind of work.”

The Manchester force has spent thousands of man hours to identify all the key players in the group, with their tentacles extending as far as Cricklewood.

Police believe most of the people who have paid the extortionate fee to travel safely through the air, rather than crammed on a small boat in the Channel, are of Iranian nationality.

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But not all the fake documents work, meaning the holders are turned away at the border and sent back to the country they have flown in from.

The process of sorting what is sold as safe passage to the UK requires a team of people.

DCI Berry explained: “We have evidence of travel booked by travel agents and our view is that they’re doing that knowing that they’re acting illegally, rather than blindly.

“We’ve also arrested people involved in money exchange services because you have to move money across Europe to pay for these documents.

“A lot of the people arrested fall into the logistics and facilitating category rather than being the organiser.”

‘Exploitation isn’t always visible or physical’

But things could be more sinister than just people smuggling — it is possible that the gang is also going on to exploit the people it has helped to enter the country illegally.

This would fall under modern slavery, where illegal immigrants are forced to work long hours for low pay or be exploited sexually to pay off their debt.

DCS Griffiths said: “Modern slavery in organised immigration crime is interlinked significantly. For me, organised immigration crime is the primary offence.

“People are coming into the country illegally, and we need to stop that collectively through our police action and partnership action.

“But once people are here, they are tied into the country through debt bondage.

“They get pulled into the grey economy as gangs exploiting these people either utilise their labour or engage them even further in criminal enterprise.

‘Ahead of the curve’

“This would be criminality such as drug supply and cannabis farms and other sorts of premises where crimes can be undertaken.”

Traditionally, immigration offences were dealt with by the National Crime Agency, Border Force and immigration enforcement officers.

But with the flood of illegal migrants by boat and other entry points, local police have been asked to step in too.

DCI Berry said: “In recent years, there’s been a real push from the Home Office and from the National Crime Agency for police forces to improve their response to organised immigration crime.

“I would like to think as a force that we’re actually fairly ahead of the curve because we have a dedicated team.

“We absolutely do look to take this work on and we’re still developing an understanding about our work from an intelligence point of view.

“But wherever we get opportunities to investigate this, we will do — because we recognise the risks around it and the vulnerabilities and the harm that can be caused by it.”

Justine Carter, director of strategy and business services at anti-modern slavery group Unseen, said: “While this is technically smuggling, it sits in a grey area that shares characteristics with modern slavery.

“These cases typically involve recruitment, movement, deception, and significant financial exploitation, which can often lead to debt bondage and long-term vulnerability.

“Even without forced labour, the legal threshold for trafficking may still be met if the acts, means and purpose are present.

“In these cases, the purpose is not labour or sexual exploitation, but financial gain through the exploitation of vulnerable people.

“It’s a reminder that exploitation isn’t always visible or physical — it can be economic and deeply systemic.”

The ten people arrested are being interviewed under suspicion of conspiracy to facilitate a breach of immigration law, assisting illegal entry into the country by non-UK nationals in breach of immigration law, conspiracy to money launder and participating in the activities of organised crime.