warns

THE Co-op has warned that up to 60,000 small shops across the UK could face closure without upcoming business rates reform for small shops.

In the 2024 Autumn Budget, Chancellor Rachel Reeves promised to provide permanent business rates relief for small retail properties.

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At the time, the Government proposed raising business rates on the biggest retail properties with values over £500,000.

This would allow for a discount on rates for small retail and hospitality premises to be permanent.

The government has not yet set the rates, but changes are due to take effect in April 2026.

But the Co-op is now urging the Government to commit to the maximum levels of relief for smaller stores in the upcoming Autumn Budget on November 24.

Research conducted by the supermarket found one in eight small high street business owners will be at risk of shutting down if reforms are not delivered.

A further 10% of small said they would need to lay off staff.

Shirine Khoury-Haq, Co-op group chief executive, said: “The proposed system would improve the financial situation of 99% of retailers.

“How much they are protected from tax rises depends on decisions made in this Budget. To boost local economies, create jobs and provide community cohesion, we need inclusive growth.”

“That means supporting the businesses on the corners, in the precincts, on the parades and the high streets of every community.

” In order for them to not only survive, but to thrive, the government has to commit to the maximum levels of relief.” 

It comes as many larger retailers have voiced concerns over plans to increase business rates on larger stores, arguing the move could make them unprofitable or lead to price hikes.

In August, a letter signed by Morrisons, Aldi and JD Sports, warned that further tax rises on businesses could result in the Labour government breaking its manifesto pledge to provide “high living standards”.

It reads: “As retailers, we have done everything we can to shield our customers from the worst inflationary pressures but as they persist, it is becoming more and more challenging for us to absorb the cost pressures we face.”

Analysis carried out by the British Retail Consortium also suggested that 400 larger-format stores, such as department stores and supermarkets could close if the changes took place.

Many businesses have already seen their labour costs rise thanks to the rate of employer national insurance being increased in last year’s Budget.

The Treasury expects the new rates system will only impact the top 1% of properties.

A Treasury spokesperson said: “We are creating a fairer business rates system to protect the high street, support investment, and level the playing field by introducing permanently lower tax rates for retail, hospitality, and leisure properties from April that will be sustainably funded by a new, higher rate on less than 1% of the most valuable business properties.

“Unlike the current relief for these properties, there will be no cash cap on the new lower tax rates, and we have set out our long-term plans to address ‘cliff edges’ in the system to support small businesses to expand.”

Vice President JD Vance said Sunday there will be deeper cuts to the federal workforce the longer the government shutdown goes on, adding to the uncertainty facing hundreds of thousands who are already furloughed without pay amid the stalemate in Congress.

Vance warned that as the federal shutdown entered its 12th day, the new cuts would be “painful,” even as he said the Trump administration worked to ensure that the military is paid this week and some services would be preserved for low-income Americans, including food assistance.

Still, hundreds of thousands of government workers have been furloughed in recent days and, in a court filing Friday, the Office of Management and Budget said well over 4,000 federal employees would soon be fired in conjunction with the shutdown.

“The longer this goes on, the deeper the cuts are going to be,” Vance said on Fox News’ “Sunday Morning Futures.” “To be clear, some of these cuts are going to be painful. This is not a situation that we relish. This is not something that we’re looking forward to, but the Democrats have dealt us a pretty difficult set of cards.”

Labor unions have already filed a lawsuit to stop the aggressive move by President Trump’s budget office, which goes far beyond what usually happens in a government shutdown, further inflaming tensions between the Republicans who control Congress and the Democratic minority.

The shutdown began Oct. 1 after Democrats rejected a short-term funding fix and demanded that the bill include an extension of federal subsidies for health insurance under the Affordable Care Act. The expiration of those subsidies at the end of the year will result in monthly cost increases for millions.

Trump and Republican leaders have said they are open to negotiations on the health subsidies, but insist the government must reopen first.

For now, negotiations are virtually nonexistent. Dug in as ever, House leaders from both parties pointed fingers at each other in rival Sunday appearances on “Fox News Sunday.”

“We have repeatedly made clear that we will sit down with anyone, anytime, anyplace,” said House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York. “Republicans control the House, the Senate and the presidency. It’s unfortunate they’ve taken a my-way-or-the-highway approach.”

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) blamed Democrats and said they “seem not to care” about the pain the shutdown is inflicting.

“They’re trying their best to distract the American people from the simple fact that they’ve chosen a partisan fight so that they can prove to their Marxist rising base in the Democratic Party that they’re willing to fight Trump and Republicans,” he said.

Progressive activists, meanwhile, expressed new support for the Democratic Party’s position in the shutdown fight.

Ezra Levin, co-founder of the leading progressive protest group Indivisible, said he is “feeling good about the strength of Dem position.” He pointed to fractures in the GOP, noting that Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene publicly warned last week that healthcare insurance premiums would skyrocket for average Americans — including her own adult children — if nothing is done.

“Trump and GOP are rightfully taking the blame for the shutdown and for looming premium increases,” Levin said. “Their chickens are coming home to roost.”

And yet the Republican administration and its congressional allies are showing no signs of compromise on Democratic demands or backing away from threats to use the opportunity to pursue deeper cuts to the federal workforce.

Thousands of employees at the departments of Education, Treasury, Homeland Security and Health and Human Services as well as the Environmental Protection Agency are set to receive layoff notices, according to spokespeople for the agencies and union representatives for federal workers.

“You hear a lot of Senate Democrats say, well, how can Donald Trump possibly lay off all of these federal workers?” Vance said. “Well, the Democrats have given us a choice between giving low-income women their food benefits and paying our troops on the one hand, and, on the other hand, paying federal bureaucrats.”

Democrats say the firings are illegal and unnecessary.

“They do not have to do this,” said Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona on CNN’s “State of the Union.” “They do not have to punish people that shouldn’t find themselves in this position.”

Peoples writes for the Associated Press.

Madagascar’s presidency says “an attempt to seize power illegally and by force” is under way, a day after soldiers from an elite military unit joined a youth-led protest against the government.

“In view of the extreme gravity of this situation, the President of the Republic … strongly condemns this attempt at destabilization and calls upon all forces of the nation to unite in defence of constitutional order and national sovereignty,” President Andry Rajoelina’s office said in a statement on Sunday.

The statement did not identify who was behind what it identified as an attempted coup, but members of the elite CAPSAT military unit, which once installed Rajoelina in power, said it has taken over control of the armed forces after three weeks of deadly Gen Z protests.

“From now on, all orders of the Malagasy army – whether land, air or [naval] – will originate from CAPSAT headquarters,” officers from CAPSAT’s administrative and technical contingent said in a video message on Saturday.

It was not clear whether other units of the army would follow the order.

In the face of snowballing protests, Rajoelina faces the gravest political crisis of his rule of the African nation.

So what’s happening in Madagascar? Is this the end for Rajoelina? And what do the Gen Z protesters want?

What’s the latest?

The protests by a group calling itself Gen Z Madagascar have spilled onto the streets for a third week. Saturday witnessed one of the largest protests since the unrest began last month over a range of issues, including a cost of living crisis and corruption.

Addressing crowds of protesters from an armoured vehicle, Colonel Michael Randrianirina of the CAPSAT unit, said on Saturday: “Do we call this a coup? I don’t know yet.”

The CAPSAT officers said they had named General Demosthene Pikulas as the head of the army, a post that has been vacant since its former occupant was appointed minister of the armed forces last week, the AFP news agency reported. However, it was not clear if the posting could be considered official.

There was no immediate response from other units or the existing military command.

On Saturday, a group of soldiers clashed with gendarmes at a barracks before driving into the city to join the Gen Z protesters calling for Rajoelina to step down.

Why are antigovernment protests happening in Madagascar?

On September 25, young protesters started demonstrations against water and electricity shortages, inspired by a wave of Gen Z-led protest movements in countries including Kenya, Indonesia, Morocco, Nepal and Bangladesh.

They soon escalated and snowballed into calling for the end of Rajoelina’s rule, dismantling the Senate and ending privileges for business owners perceived to be close to the president. They also want Rajoelina to apologise for the violence, in which at least 22 people have been killed and more than 100 injured, according to the United Nations.

Madagascar – an island nation off the east coast of Africa with a population of more than 31 million people, 80 percent of whom are affected by severe poverty – has a history of political crises. Several leaders have been forced out in uprisings since it gained independence from France in 1960.

The Gen Z protesters are demanding “radical change to build a free, egalitarian and united society”.

Among the issues they aim to address are systemic corruption, embezzlement of public funds, nepotism, failures in access to basic services and education, and a vibrant democracy.

Rajoelina, 51, first rose to prominence in 2009 after leading protests against the government as the mayor of the capital, Antananarivo, which resulted in a military-backed overthrow of President Marc Ravalomanana.

A military council took power and handed it over to Rajoelina as transitional leader. Later, in 2018, he was elected as president and then again in 2023 when the vote was boycotted by opposition parties.

What’s Gen Z Madagascar?

Gen Z Madagascar’s logo is a pirate skull and crossbones. The image from the Japanese comic series One Piece has become central to the global wave of Gen Z protests and is worn by generally black-clothed demonstrators in Madagascar.

From Kenya to Nepal, this image from the series, which follows the adventures of a young pirate and his crew against an authoritarian government, has come to symbolise the Gen Z movements.

In Madagascar, the image has been personalised by adding a traditional Madagascan hat on the skull.

The group has its own website, a presence on social media platforms and a GoFundMe page to raise money. Their website header reads: “Political movement of young people, by young people, for Madagascar”.

“They didn’t want to hear us in the streets,” the website says. “Today, thanks to digital technology and the voice of Generation Z, we will make our voices heard at the table of power on the opposition side. To put an end to 16 years of inaction, let’s demand transparency, accountability and deep reforms.”

Responding to Rajoelina’s offer for talks, the protesters said in a statement: “We do not reach out to a regime that every day crushes those who stand up for justice. This government talks about dialogue but rules with weapons.”

The Madagascan protesters are being compared to youth-led protest movements in Bangladesh, Nepal and Kenya, which have forced political change. In Nepal, Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli was forced to resign after mass protests last month while Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was forced to flee to neighbouring India after a student-led uprising in August 2024.

Across the world, Gen Z, or people below 30, are leading a new wave of protests. Unlike traditional movements, these demonstrations are often organised online, using platforms like TikTok and Discord to spread messages, plan actions and connect with other young people.

From Africa to Asia and Latin America, Gen Z protesters are demonstrating against corruption, economic hardships, climate inaction and social inequality, calling for an overhaul of the system.

What has the government said?

Prime Minister Ruphin Fortunat Zafisambo, speaking on the state-run TVM channel late on Saturday, said the government was “fully ready to listen and engage in dialogue with all factions – youth, unions or the military”.

Zafisambo was appointed by Rajoelina after he dissolved the previous government last week in response to the protests. However, the move failed to assuage public anger.

The army’s chief of staff, General Jocelyn Rakotoson, later made a statement broadcast on local media urging citizens to “assist the security forces in restoring order through dialogue”.

There is one very strict rule for would-be homebuyers applying to take part in the long-running Channel 4 show, producer Siobhan O’Gorman has revealed

Siobhan O’Gorman, the TV producer who leads the A Place In The Sun team, has lifted the lid on how the hit Channel 4 show picks would-be house buyers to appear on the series.

She points out that some things have changed a lot since A Place In The Sun first aired 25 years ago: “The first-ever episode 25 years ago featured a couple looking for a holiday home in the French Pyrenees with a budget of £40,000,’ she told the Daily Mail. “That wasn’t a bad budget then, but today you wouldn’t get much for that.”

But other aspects are still very much the same, Siobhan adds: “We need to be sure every applicant is in a position to put in a genuine offer,” she says. “We have great relationships with estate agents all over Europe and beyond, so it’s important to maintain that.”

While something like two-thirds of applicants are hoping for a new home in Spain, many others get in touch with dreams of finding properties in Cyprus, Portugal and Greece.

“But we’re also seeing increased interest in countries such as Croatia, Turkey and Dubai,” Siobhan says.

Wherever they want to end up, applicants start by filling in a 12-page application form. Then Siobhan and the team go through every one, to identify house-hunters who are looking for properties in the areas that align with countries that the show is planning to visit in the coming season.

The next stage is an on-camera interview to assess whether the applicants will make for good TV, and whether their aspirations are realistic.

Competition is intense, Siobhan says: “‘It’s fair to say we have at least ten applications for every show and it’s 20 for some of the more popular resorts.”

Siobhan adds: “We like to reflect a variety of budgets and areas in each country, though, so we wouldn’t do six shows with the same budget and the same wish list in Mijas Costa in Spain, but we may do two shows there with differing budgets.”

All of this behind-the-scenes work helps A Place In The Sun look smooth and well-organised on screen. However, presenter Laura Hamilton, who has been with the show since 2012, describes one incident that she playfully christened “Mudgate” where anything that could go wrong, did go wrong.

As the team were trying to help a would-be expat find a retirement home in Abruzzo, Italy, a massive downpour caused mayhem.

The team were in multiple vehicles for social distancing reasons, and one by one, each one of them become mired down in slippery mud.

“We were there for three hours and had to have tractors pull us out,” Laura recalled. “I’m known for wearing high heels on the show because I’m quite short. I remember having these ridiculously high heels on and they got caked in mud.

“House hunter Sue was “mortified,” Laura recalled, blaming herself for choosing a remote rural location that didn’t even have proper tarmac roads. house. Laura tried to reassure Sue, telling her “It’s not your fault – and I always say you’ve got to love a house come rain or shine,” to which the embarrassed homebuyer replied: “Well, I definitely don’t love this one!”

California Sen. Alex Padilla is among the highest-ranking Latinos in U.S. politics today, but it took a pair of handcuffs to make him famous.

How’s that for a comment on America 2025?

Padilla, you may remember, was tackled and cuffed by federal officers after attempting to ask a question of Homeland Security Czarina Kristi Noem at an L.A. news conference in June, when the National Guard first made its appearance on our streets. Noem later claimed Padilla “lunged” at her — which he did not — using the classic Trumpian technique of erasing reality with blame, especially when it comes to brown people.

Padilla told me that “from day one of this administration, I have tried to speak truth to power,” and if getting tackled forced people to “have no choice but to now start paying attention … that could be helpful, because the general public knows it’s wrong.”

U.S. Atty. Gen. Pam Bondi recycled the incident on Tuesday when Padilla attempted to question her during a congressional hearing, voicing concern about the weaponization of the Department of Justice. Bondi refused to answer multiple questions, instead invoking the Noem defense.

“I find it interesting that you want order … in this proceeding now,” Bondi said. “You sure didn’t have order when you stormed Secretary Noem at a press conference in California, did you?”

Again, no storming, no lunging, not even a feint. Really, if anything can be said of Padilla, it’s that he’s a guy who likes order. An MIT-trained engineer, he’s known for being calm to the point of boring — in the best of ways. Who wouldn’t want a bit of boring in their politics today, if it’s seasoned with compassion and common sense?

Calm, of course, does not mean a lack of conviction. As the government shutdown limps to the end of its first full week, Padilla took a few minutes to fill me in on why Democrats shouldn’t back down, and why he won’t — whether the issue is healthcare, immigration or the collision of the two, which is at the heart of this shutdown.

Republicans would like voters to believe that undocumented immigrants are throwing parties in our emergency rooms, racking up free services while shoving U.S. citizens out to the sidewalk. In reality, there’s not a lot of good data on how many ER visits involve undocumented folks because doctors are more focused on saving lives than checking immigration status. But one Texas study found that about 2% of all hospital visits in a three-month period involved people without documentation. That’s in a state with a high number of undocumented folks, so take it for what it’s worth — hardly a scourge.

Padilla and Democrats would like to stay focused on an actual crisis — healthcare premiums for low- and middle-income folks are about to skyrocket in coming weeks if Congress doesn’t keep the Obama-era subsidies that make the premiums affordable. Padilla wants voters to understand how dire this is.

“This is not a what-might-happen-next-year concern … this is a now concern,” Padilla told me.

“Open enrollment is opening,” he said. “People are setting their premiums and have to make choices of where to sign up for healthcare and at the cost right now, and so it does need to be immediately addressed.”

In case you think this is partisan show, far-right MAGA cheerleader Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) agrees with Padilla. That’s when you know things are getting weird.

“Not a single Republican in leadership talked to us about this or has given us a plan to help Americans deal with their health insurance premiums DOUBLING!!!” Greene wrote on social media, breaking with her party on the issue.

That’s about the only thing that Padilla and Greene may ever agree on. Padilla is the son of immigrants who met in L.A. and later obtained legal status. He was born in Southern California, making birthright citizenship core to his identity at a moment when Trump is asking the Supreme Court to end it. His isn’t just an immigrant story, it’s a California story, and it’s never far from his mind.

He was recently asked if he regretted fighting with the Biden administration over proposed immigration reform that lacked pathways for immigrants, especially Dreamers and others who have been in the United States for years if not decades, to become citizens. Would it have been better to sell them out, leave them in limbo, but fix the border before Trump could exploit it?

“Of course not,” Padilla told me. Rather than shrink under attack, Padilla said he’s holding his ground.

California is one of a handful of states that does in fact offer healthcare to undocumented people, though budget shortfalls forced Gov. Gavin Newsom to scale back that plan.

No federal dollars are used for that undocumented healthcare — it’s solely state money. And Padilla supports it.

“There are some states that choose to use state funding to provide that care, and I agree with that, because it’s much smarter, from a public health standpoint, to help prevent people from getting sick or treat people early on, not administer healthcare, certainly not primary care, through emergency rooms,” he said.

Padilla said it’s rich that the very workers deemed essential during the coronavirus pandemic, the workers who kept food on tables, deliveries going, and cared for our young and our elderly, are now “the primary target of Trump’s massive deportation agenda. So whether it’s in the vein of the healthcare question, whether it’s in the vein of the indiscriminate raids by ICE and other federal agencies, that’s the cruel irony.”

The Trump administration raised Padilla’s profile inadvertently, but the newfound fame has had a somewhat unexpected consequence: Frequent speculation that he may run for governor when Newsom terms out in 2026.

Padilla said he hasn’t “made a decision on that and not making any announcements right now.”

Instead, he’s focusing on helping to pass California’s Proposition 50, which would rig election maps to potentially create five more Democratic seats in the midterm elections, with the hopes of taking control of at least one house of Congress, an effort he says is “critical to reining in this out-of-control administration.”

Oct. 7 (UPI) — A shuttered Canadian amusement park said that without an infusion of cash it will have to euthanize 30 beluga whales after a government official blocked it from sending the marine mammals to a Chinese theme park.

Marineland, the aquatic theme park located in Niagara Falls, Ontario, laid out the dire situation in a letter Friday to Canadian Fisheries Minister Joanne Thompson, The New York Times reported.

Thompson announced days earlier that she denied Marineland’s request to export the belugas to Chimelong Ocean Kingdom theme park in China because it “would have meant a continued life in captivity and a return to public entertainment.”

She further said that she was following requirements of the Fisheries Act meant to prevent the exploitation of marine mammals.

“Like many of you, I am angered that these whales have lived a life of captivity and as a result their health has deteriorated,” Thompson said. “As Canadians, we know that whales belong in the ocean, not in tanks for our amusement.”

Thompson told CBC News that she had visited the closed Marineland facility and concluded the whales belong in the ocean after she “looked the belugas in the eyes.”

Marineland’s business model struggled after a federal law passed in 2019 that banned keeping whales, dolphins and porpoises for breeding or amusement, according to the CBC.

The theme park said there is no suitable ocean “sanctuary” or facility for the whales. Meanwhile, Marineland said its financial situation continues to crumble, leaving it unable to meet the whales’ costly care.

However, Thompson told Marineland in a letter sent Monday that there would be no bailout, The Canadian Press reported.

“The fact that Marineland has not planned for a viable alternative despite raising these whales in captivity for many years, does not place the onus on the Canadian government to cover your expenses,” Thompson wrote.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford told The Canadian Press that the federal government should rethink its position.

“It should be the federal government that allows them to move (the belugas) to China or other marine areas that will take them, but saying no to everything and not coming up with a solution is not a great suggestion,” Ford said.

A dozen groups including the Toronto Zoo, World Animal Protection and Animal Justice wrote to Ford urging the provincial government to seize the animals.

DONALD Trump has warned of a “massive bloodshed” if Hamas fails to agree to a peace deal in the coming days.

Trump warned he will “not tolerate delay” from Hamas – and has urged both sides to move quickly towards a deal or else “all bets will be off”.

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Trump revealed indirect talks between Israel, Hamas and other mediators from the Arab countries have been “very positive” – and that he expects the first phase of his proposed peace deal should be completed “this week”.

Taking to his Truth Social platform, the US president said: “There have been very positive discussions with Hamas, and Countries from all over the World (Arab, Muslim, and everyone else) this weekend.

“These talks have been very successful and are proceeding rapidly. The technical teams will again meet on Monday, in Egypt, to work through and clarify the final details.

“I am told that the first phase should be completed this week, and I am asking everyone to MOVE FAST.

“Time is of the essence, or massive bloodshed will follow – something that nobody wants to see.”

It comes after Hamas agreed to some parts of the 20-point US peace plan, including releasing hostages and handing over Gaza governance to Palestinian technocrats.

Though it said it was seeking negotiations on other issues.

Negotiators from both sides will now gather at the Egyptian resort town of Sharm El-Sheikh, with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu expressing hope that the hostages could be released within days.

The White House said Trump had also sent two envoys to Egypt – his son-in-law, Jared Kushner and Middle East negotiator Steve Witkoff.

Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Sunday urged Israel to stop bombing Gaza ahead of the discussions in Egypt.

“You can’t release hostages in the middle of strikes, so the strikes will have to stop,” Rubio told CBS News talk show “Face the Nation”.

“There can’t be a war going on in the middle of it.”

The radical Islamist fanatics seized 251 hostages during their October 7 attack, 47 of whom are still in Gaza.

Of those, the Israeli military says 25 are dead.

Israel, meanwhile, has continued to carry out strikes.

Gaza’s civil defence agency, a rescue force operating under Hamas authority, said Israeli attacks killed at least 20 people across the territory on Sunday, 13 of them in Gaza City.

Trump said a ceasefire and release of hostages will take place “immediately” after Hamas agrees to Israeli forces’ partial withdrawal from Gaza.

He revealed that Tel Aviv agreed to the initial withdrawal line presented to Hamas – and that a peace process will begin as soon as the terror group accepts the proposal.

Hamas has previously rejected a phased Israeli withdrawal, insisting instead on an immediate and full pullout.

Over the weekend, the terror group called for a swift start to a hostage-prisoner exchange with Israel, as negotiators from both sides prepared to meet in Egypt for crucial talks.

However, there is so much that could still go wrong.

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The 20-point peace plan proposes an immediate end to fighting and the release within 72 hours of living Israeli hostages held by Hamas – as well as the remains of hostages thought to be dead.

Nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners will be freed from Israeli prisons in exchange.

Hamas’s political leadership, based in Qatar, are said to be open to accepting it – but with amendments.

Although they have been unable to hold sway, as they do not have control of Israeli hostages – whose fate plays a crucial part in the deal.

Hamas demands that issues over Gaza’s future should be discussed within a comprehensive Palestinian national framework, which it will be part of.

But Trump has ruled that out, with Israel saying in no way can the terror group remain in power for peace to occur.

Senior Hamas mouthpiece Mousa Abu Marzouk said the group will not disarm – one of the key points of Trump’s peace deal – until the Israeli “occupation” ends.

Bibi’s vow

But Netanyahu on Saturday warned that the demilitarisation of Gaza is imminent.

“Hamas will be disarmed and Gaza will be demilitarised – either the easy way or the hard way, but it will be achieved,” he said in his speech.

Hamas said it was ready “to hand over the administration of the Gaza Strip to a Palestinian body of independents (technocrats) based on Palestinian national consensus and supported by Arab and Islamic backing.”

It has previously offered to release all hostages and to hand over administration of the Gaza Strip to a different body.

A successful ceasefire could then pave the way for 48 hostages – of whom just 20 are believed to be alive – to be released from Gaza terror tunnels after two years in hell.

A truce – if it holds – could also allow vital humanitarian aid to flood into the besieged coastal strip, where Hamas says more than 66,000 Palestinians have died in fighting.

A new “Board of Peace” chaired by the US president and run by former UK PM Tony Blair would then move in to rebuild the strip before peace-loving Palestinians take over.

Earlier this week, Izz al-Din al-Haddad, the most senior Hamas military commander still in Gaza, told the BBC that Trump’s plan “serves Israel’s interests and ignores those of the Palestinian people”.

Israel has already backed Trump’s peace plan, which involves an immediate ceasefire, the release of all hostages and Hamas disarmament.

A TORY Peer insists Labour’s flagship workers’ rights package must be changed to protect people from being sacked or disciplined for online posts. 

Baron Young, who founded the Free Speech Union, says any messages more than a year old shouldn’t be used to reprimand employees and “cancel” people. 

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Bosses would have to be able to prove that “tangible” harm had been caused rather than “reputational” damage which is too vague. 

The Employment Rights Bill is currently in the House of Lords and will be debated when Parliament returns after the party conferences. 

The Peer is compiling a report on how laws affecting free speech should be changed or abandoned. 

The dossier should be published before the end of the year and could be adopted as party policy after that, he added. 

He said changes “would make it unlawful for companies to discipline, fire, penalise employees for things they’ve said online unless, first of all, they’re less than a year old. 

“So there’s a one-year statute of limitations on what the offence archaeologists can dig into to try and find reasons to cancel you. 

“In addition, the employer would have to show that the comment in question has caused tangible harm to the company. 

Lord Young of Acton was made a peer by Tory leader Kemi Badenoch in December. 

He previously founded a network of free schools, and has been a newspaper columnist for more than 20 years. 

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Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen has warned that Europe must arm itself to respond to Russia’s hybrid warfare.

“I hope that everybody recognises now that there is a hybrid war and one day it’s Poland, the other day it’s Denmark, and next week it will probably be somewhere else that we see sabotage or we see drones flying,” Frederiksen told reporters on Wednesday.

She was hosting a summit of European leaders as they discussed joint efforts for better deterrence and defence.

French President Emmanuel Macron was also on hand and urged the European Union to proceed with caution in its current confrontation with Russia.

“I think we all have to be very cautious because we are in a time of confrontation with a lot of hybridity,” Macron said on Wednesday on the sidelines of the summit in Copenhagen.

“This is why we have to be strong to deter any aggressions, but we have to remain very cautious and avoid any escalation,” he added.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni also warned against overreacting.

“Despite everything, I think we have to think calmly. I think we shouldn’t respond to provocations. We have to equip ourselves, that certainly is true,” she said.

Hybrid warfare involves the use of conventional methods, such as tanks and missiles, as well as nonconventional ones, such as cyberattacks and internet disinformation.

Russia has been “a very aggressive player” for several years, the French president said, citing cyberattacks during elections, its war against Ukraine, the use of nuclear threats and recent airspace violations.

The heads of state and prime ministers of the EU countries were meeting in Denmark’s capital following a series of drone incidents near the country’s airports and military bases over the last week.

Before the meeting, a special radar system was set up at Copenhagen airport to help keep watch. Unidentified drones forced the closure of the airfield a week ago, causing major disruptions.

France, Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden and the UK also sent aircraft, ships and air defence systems to Denmark in advance of the talks.

While the Danish authorities have not identified those believed to be responsible, Frederiksen said, “There is only one country that is willing to threaten us, and it is Russia, and therefore we need a very strong answer back.”

The Danish prime minister appealed for rearmament in the face of growing threats.

“I want us to rearm. I want us to buy more capabilities. I want us to innovate more, for example, on drones,” she said. “When I look at Europe today, I think we are in the most difficult and dangerous situation since the end of the second world war.”

Airspace violations

Serious airspace violations have been recorded in Europe over the last month, but not all nations in the bloc agree on how to respond.

After Russia was blamed for drone incursions into NATO members Poland and Romania, Macron last week said the alliance’s response would have to “go up a notch” in the case of “new provocations” from Moscow.

Macron did not rule out downing a Russian fighter jet if it were to breach European airspace.

“In accordance with the doctrine of strategic ambiguity, I can tell you that nothing is ruled out,” he said in an interview with German daily newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung.

Last month, Poland said it had shot down Russian drones that violated its airspace as Moscow launched a barrage against Ukraine, while Romania’s defence ministry said the country’s airspace had been breached by a drone during a Russian attack on infrastructure in neighbouring Ukraine.

On Wednesday, Macron also alleged that an oil tanker off the French coast had committed “very serious wrongdoings” and linked it to Russia’s shadow fleet, which is avoiding Western sanctions over Moscow’s war in Ukraine.

The tanker was sailing off the coast of Denmark last week and was cited by European naval experts as possibly being involved in drone flights over the Nordic country.

After Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, leaders and intelligence services believed that Russia could mount an assault elsewhere in Europe in three to five years, and that President Vladimir Putin is intent on testing NATO amid doubts about US President Donald Trump’s commitment to the organisation.

Other defence experts, however, question the readiness of Russia’s military for another large-scale war.

Venezuelan Foreign Minister Yvan Gil Pinto has told the United Nations General Assembly that the United States has an “illegal and completely immoral military threat hanging over our heads”, as reports emerge that the US is planning to escalate attacks on the South American country.

Pinto told the gathering of UN member states on Friday in New York that his country was grateful for the support of governments and people “that are speaking out against this attempt to bring war to the Caribbean and South America”.

The minister claimed US threats towards his country were aimed at allowing “external powers to rob Venezuela’s immeasurable oil and gas wealth”.

He also accused Washington of using “vulgar and perverse lies” to “justify an atrocious, extravagant and immoral multibillion-dollar military threat”.

Earlier on Friday, US broadcaster NBC News reported that US military officials are drawing up plans to “target drug traffickers inside Venezuela” with air attacks, citing two unnamed US officials.

US President Donald Trump said last week that US forces had carried out a third strike targeting a vessel he said was “trafficking illicit narcotics”. At least 17 people have been killed in the three attacks.

Experts have cast doubt on the legality of US attacks on foreign boats in international waters, while data from both the UN and the US itself suggest that Venezuela is not a major source of cocaine coming into the US, as Trump has claimed.

In an address to the UN General Assembly on Tuesday, Trump said of drug smugglers: ” To every terrorist thug smuggling poisonous drugs into the United States of America, please be warned that we will blow you out of existence.”

By contrast, Colombian President Gustavo Petro used his UNGA address to call for a “criminal process” to be opened against Trump over the attacks on vessels in the Caribbean, which had killed Venezuelans who had not been convicted of any crime.

The US has so far deployed eight warships to international waters off Venezuela’s coast, backed by F-35 fighter jets sent to Puerto Rico, in what it calls an anti-drug operation.

Washington has also refused an appeal for dialogue from Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro, whom the Trump administration has accused of drug trafficking – a claim Maduro has strenuously denied.

Maduro and his late predecessor, Hugo Chavez, had once been regular presences at the annual UNGA meetings taking place in New York, but Maduro did not come this year, with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio describing him as a fugitive from justice over a US indictment on drug-trafficking allegations.

Back home in Venezuela, Maduro has called for military drills to begin on Saturday, to test “the people’s readiness for natural catastrophes or any armed conflict” amid US “threats”.

‘Our fishermen are peaceful’

Venezuelan fishers who spoke to the AFP news agency said that the US strikes on Venezuelan boats have made them fearful to venture too far from shore.

“It’s very upsetting because our country is peaceful, our fishermen are peaceful,” Joan Diaz, 46, told AFP in the northern town of Caraballeda.

“Fishermen go out to work, and they [the US] have taken these measures to come to our … workplace to intimidate us, to attack us,” he said.

Diaz said most fishers stay relatively close to shore, but that “to fish for tuna, you have to go very far, and that’s where they [the US forces] are.”

Luis Garcia, a 51-year-old who leads a grouping of some 4,000 fishermen and women in the La Guaira region, described the US actions as “a real threat”.

“We have nine-, 10-, 12-metre fishing boats against vessels that have missiles. Imagine the madness. The madness, my God!” he exclaimed.

“We keep contact with everyone … especially those who are going a little further,” he said.

“We report to the authorities where we are going, where we are, and how long our fishing operations will last, and we also report to our fishermen’s councils,” Garcia said.

But, Garcia added, they would not be intimidated.

“We say to him: ‘Mr Donald Trump, we, the fishermen of Venezuela … will continue to carry out our fishing activities. We will continue to go out to the Caribbean Sea that belongs to us.’”

Haiti’s transitional leader Laurent Saint-Cyr told the 80th UNGA Haiti faces a “modern-day Guernica,” with rampant killings, rapes, and mass hunger. He urged urgent, large-scale international action to defend democracy, protect children, and secure Haiti’s right to peace.

During his commissioner’s address on Thursday in Long Beach at the Southern Section Council meeting, Mike West said his office has become “very adept at identifying” fraudulent transfer information submitted by parents and schools in a message explaining why there has been an increase in declaring athletes ineligible for a two-year period for violation of CIF bylaw 202.

“We’ve had a real influx of fraudulent paperwork,” West said. “It’s been significant and very disheartening.”

Bishop Montgomery and Long Beach Millikan have been among the schools where football athletes were declared ineligible for two years after providing false paperwork information.

Addressing administrators and athletic directors, West said, “Talk to your athletes and parents when they come in for a valid change of residence. It’s OK to question it and OK to say no to a valid change of residence.”

Before the meeting, West was asked if he could say anything to educate parents going through the transfer process. “Don’t turn in fraudulent paperwork in order to gain eligibility,” he said.

It’s not just the Southern Section finding ways to detect false information. It’s also happening in Northern Calfornia, according to Brian Seymour, associate executive director of the CIF.

The real test for whether schools and parents adjust to what has been taking place during the football season comes when paperwork begins to arrive for basketball transfers next month.

Under CIF transfer rules, you have a one-time opportunity to have a sit-out period following a transfer over four years or the student must change residences with the entire family to be eligibile immediately.

Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper says she has warned Israel not to annex parts of the West Bank in retaliation for the UK’s recognition of Palestinian statehood.

Cooper was speaking to the BBC before attending a conference on Monday at the UN in New York where France and other European states are due to make a similar announcement.

In what was a significant change in policy, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer announced the UK’s recognition of a Palestinian state on Sunday, along with Canada, Australia and Portugal.

Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned the moves, saying they give “a huge reward to terrorism”.

Asked by the BBC if she was concerned Israel would take this declaration as a pretext for annexing parts of the West Bank, Cooper said she had made it clear to her Israeli counterpart that he and his government must not do that.

She said: “We have been clear that this decision that we are taking is about the best way to respect the security for Israel as well as the security for Palestinians.

“It’s about protecting peace and justice and crucially security for the Middle East and we will continue to work with everyone across the region in order to be able to do that.”

Cooper said extremists on both sides were seeking to abandon any prospect of a two-state solution, which the UK had a moral obligation to revive.

“The easy thing to do would be to just walk away and to say well it is all just too hard,” Cooper said. “We just think that is wrong when we’ve seen such devastation, such suffering.

“Just as we recognise Israel, the state of Israel … so we must also recognise the rights for the Palestinians to a state of their own as well.”

She did not say when the UK’s Consulate General in East Jerusalem would become a full embassy, saying it would continue while a diplomatic process began with the Palestinian Authority.

The foreign secretary was speaking in New York, where the UN General Assembly is convening this week.

Cooper will push to build international consensus on a framework for peace in the Middle East, the Foreign Office has said.

France will co-chair a meeting alongside Saudi Arabia addressing the path to a two-state solution to the conflict, after it pledged to recognise Palestinian statehood in July. Belgium is also expected to follow France’s declaration at the meeting.

Making the announcement on Sunday, Sir Keir said he wanted to “revive the hope of peace and a two-state solution”.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu responded by saying that Palestinian statehood “will not happen”.

The US joined him in describing the move as a diplomatic gift to Hamas after it attacked Israel on 7 October 2023, killing 1,200 people and taking 251 hostage.

Sir Keir stressed this was not the case as the terms of the recognition mean Hamas can have “no future, no role in government, no role in security”.

This message was echoed in a statement from the Foreign Office, which said the foreign secretary would use the UN meeting to “ensure violent terrorists like Hamas have no role to play in the future of a Palestinian state”.

The prime minister added that the decision was instead a “pledge to the Palestinian and Israeli people that there can be a better future”, saying the “starvation and devastation [in Gaza] are utterly intolerable”.

Sir Keir, who has repeatedly said Hamas can have no role in the future governance of a Palestinian state, said during his announcement that the UK had already proscribed and sanctioned Hamas and that he had directed work to sanction further Hamas figures in the coming weeks.

Hamas on Sunday welcomed the recognition as an “important step in affirming the right of our Palestinian people to their land and holy sites” but said it must be accompanied by “practical measures” that would lead to an “immediate end” to the war.

Speaking on BBC Breakfast, the Conservatives’ deputy chair Matt Vickers said that the prime minister was “rewarding Hamas”.

“Hamas has already said this is a victory for them and the evil things they did on October 7”, he said.

“This is not the way you play the game, this not what you do if you want to get a two state solution. Everyone is devastated by what they see in Gaza, everyone is devastated by what they saw on 7 October. We need to work with the US to make sure those hostages come home.”

Last week, a UN commission of inquiry said that Israel had committed genocide in Gaza.

Across a three-page resolution, the International Association of Genocide Scholars (IAGS) presented a litany of actions undertaken by Israel throughout the 22-month-long war that it recognises as constituting genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Around 65,000 people have been killed in Israeli attacks in Gaza in the nearly two-year war.

UN-backed health experts have also declared a famine in Gaza City.

The Israeli Foreign Ministry said the genocide report was based on “Hamas lies” and poor research, calling it an “embarrassment to the legal profession”.

Netanyahu has repeatedly denied starvation is taking place in Gaza and has said that where there is hunger, it is the fault of aid agencies and Hamas.

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas welcomed the UK’s decision, saying it would help pave the way for the “state of Palestine to live side by side with the state of Israel in security, peace and good neighbourliness”.

Palestine is currently recognised as a state by around 75% of the UN’s 193 member states, but has no internationally agreed boundaries, capital or army – making recognition largely symbolic.

The two-state solution refers to the creation of a Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, with East Jerusalem as its capital, broadly along the lines that existed prior to the 1967 Arab-Israeli war.

Due to Israel’s military occupation in the West Bank, the Palestinian Authority, set up in the wake of peace agreements in the 1990s, is not in full control of its land or people. In Gaza, where Israel is also the occupying power, Hamas has been the sole ruler since 2007.

UK ministers have highlighted the continued expansion of Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, which are illegal under international law, as a key factor in the decision to recognise Palestinian statehood.

Mohammed Jarrar, mayor of the West Bank city of Jenin, told the BBC that “this Israeli government wants to annex the West Bank” – but stressed that recognition was important as “it confirms the fact that the Palestinian people possess a state, even if it is under occupation”.

Netanyahu repeated his intentions on Sunday, saying “we doubled Jewish settlement in Judea and Samaria [the West Bank] and we will continue on this path”.

Far-right Israeli minister Itamar Ben Gvir responded to the news by calling for Israel to annex the West Bank and dismantle the Palestinian Authority.

A BARGAIN hunter mother has shared a stern warning to parents about a viral buy from The Range.

Last year, mums and dads were racing to stores desperate to get their hands on the must-have buy that was sure to make the festive season even more special.

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And earlier this month, parents were left overjoyed to see that the purse-friendly product was now available to buy again.

But one shopper has been left very disappointed with the Large Christmas Sleigh Hamper, which she claimed is “not worth the hype.” 

Eager to alert others about the “flimsy” purchase, Emma Smith took to social media to express her frustration with the £7.99 buy.

Posting on Extreme Couponing and Bargains UK, a private Facebook group with 2.6 million members, the savvy shopper uploaded snaps of the huge sleigh, which was once sold-out and can hold dozens of gifts and decorations.

Alongside her post, she shared a messaged to “everybody thinking of getting The Range viral large Christmas Sleigh Hamper.”

She fumed: “I would not waste your money.”

Sharing pictures of the damaged sleigh, she snapped: “The cardboard is very flimsy.”

As well as this, she claimed: “The sleigh has collapsed to the side.”

Clearly very frustrated with her purchase, which has been described as a “fun way to display gifts” and is hailed as “the gift that keeps on giving,” Emma added: “Definitely not worth the hype!”

Emma’s post has clearly shocked many, as it was posted just 13 hours ago, but has already racked up almost 200 likes and 239 comments.

Big divide

But social media users were left totally divided – while some were thankful for her thoughts, others had “no issues” with their Christmas Sleigh Hamper, which is bound to turn your home into a magical festive scene in seconds.

One person said: “Not buying again. I was crazy to get it from The Range. When you put it away it won’t fold back up. It’s cute but not worth it and very small.” 

Looks like it’s been forced together tbh. For the price, it looks amazing, warts and all

Facebook user

Another added: “Thank you, I was going to get one. So glad I saw this post.” 

A third commented: “Same happened to mine! Filled it with sweets and it couldn’t take the weight and the legs buckled!” 

However, at the same time, one shopper wrote: “I got these two years ago and this will be the third year I’ve used them. Mine are great. No issues with them.” 

A second chimed in: “I got two the other day and put them up and all fine.” 

Someone else beamed: “I got the large one from The Range last year and I’ll be using it again as I found it ok and didn’t have any problems with it.” 

Whilst one user observed: “Looks like it’s been forced together tbh. For the price, it looks amazing, warts and all.”

Definitely not worth the hype!

Emma Smith

However, to this, Emma wrote back and claimed: “It wasn’t forced. The cardboard is hard regardless so you’ve got to make sure it’s put in the slots properly.” 

Meanwhile, others praised a similar sleigh hamper from B&M.

One shopper shared: “B&M ones are better and cheaper!”

Another agreed: “Got mine from B&M, £5. Sturdy and solid.”

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Vague threat comes after a Taliban official rejected Trump’s call to return the sprawling airbase previously used by US forces.

United States President Donald Trump has threatened Afghanistan with unspecified consequences unless it gives back control of the Bagram airbase to Washington.

The vague threat on Saturday came a day after the Taliban-controlled government rejected Trump’s call to return the sprawling airbase, located some 64km (40 miles) from the Afghan capital, Kabul.

“If Afghanistan doesn’t give Bagram Airbase back to those that built it, the United States of America, BAD THINGS ARE GOING TO HAPPEN!!!” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.

Bagram, a sprawling complex, was the main base for US forces in Afghanistan during the two decades of war that followed the September 11, 2001, attacks in New York and Washington by al-Qaeda.

Thousands of people were imprisoned at the site for years without charge or trial by US forces during its so-called “war on terror”, and many of them were abused or tortured.

The Taliban retook the facility in 2021 following the US withdrawal and the collapse of the Afghan government.

Trump has often lamented the loss of access to Bagram, noting its proximity to China, but his comments on Thursday, during a visit to the United Kingdom, were the first time he had made public that he was working on the matter.

“We’re trying to get it back, by the way, that could be a little breaking news. We’re trying to get it back because they need things from us,” Trump said at a news conference with UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer.

Afghan officials, however, have expressed opposition to a revived US presence.

“Afghanistan and the United States need to engage with one another … without the United States maintaining any military presence in any part of Afghanistan,” Zakir Jalal, a Ministry of Foreign Affairs official, said on X on Friday.

“Kabul is ready to pursue political and economic ties with Washington based on ‘mutual respect and shared interests’,” he added.

Trump has repeatedly criticised the loss of the base since returning to power, linking it to his attacks on his predecessor Joe Biden’s handling of the US pullout from Afghanistan.

Trump has also complained about China’s growing influence in Afghanistan.

Asked on Saturday whether he would send in troops to retake the base, Trump declined to give a direct answer, saying: “We won’t talk about that.”

“We’re talking now to Afghanistan, and we want it back and we want it back soon, right away. And if they don’t do it – if they don’t do it, you’re going to find out what I’m gonna do,” he told reporters at the White House.

Outburst comes after another US strike on alleged drugs vessel in Caribbean, as Maduro rallies to defend sovereignty.

United States President Donald Trump has threatened Venezuela with “incalculable” consequences if the country does not “immediately” take back immigrants he described as “prisoners” and “people from mental institutions”.

“GET THEM THE HELL OUT OF OUR COUNTRY, RIGHT NOW, OR THE PRICE YOU PAY WILL BE INCALCULABLE!” he said on his Truth Social platform on Saturday. He insisted that Venezuela had “forced” such people into the US and claimed without evidence that “thousands of people have been badly hurt, and even killed, by these ‘Monsters.’”

Trump’s latest outburst came amid soaring tensions, one day after he announced another strike against alleged drug vessels from Venezuela in the Caribbean that killed three men he described as “male narcoterrorists”.

Venezuela, for its part, has accused the US of waging an “undeclared war” in the Caribbean and called for a United Nations investigation into at least three strikes on boats that have killed a total of 17 people since the beginning of September.

Washington has deployed seven warships, a nuclear-powered submarine and F-35 stealth fighters to international waters off Venezuela’s coast, backed by F-35 fighters sent to Puerto Rico, in the biggest US naval deployment in the Caribbean.

Trump says the military is engaged in an anti-drug operation, but has not provided specific evidence to back up claims that the boats targeted so far had actually been trafficking drugs. Legal analysts have warned that the attacks amount to extrajudicial killings.

Reward offered for Maduro’s arrest

The deployment has stoked fears of an attack on Venezuelan territory, with Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro repeatedly alleging the US is hoping to drive him from power.

Trump this week denied he was interested in regime change, but Washington last month doubled its reward for information leading to Maduro’s arrest to $50m, accusing him of links to drug trafficking and criminal groups.

Maduro denies links between high-ranking authorities and drug gangs and pledged to mobilise more than four million militia fighters in response to US “threats” after Washington raised the reward for his arrest.

Maduro sent letter to Trump

Days after the first US strike on a boat from the South American country at the beginning of the month, Maduro offered to engage in direct talks with Washington, according to the Reuters news agency, which viewed a personal letter sent to Trump.

“President, I hope that together we can defeat the falsehoods that have sullied our relationship, which must be historic and peaceful,” Maduro wrote in the letter, calling for “direct and frank” talks to “overcome media noise and fake news”.

In a separate development on Saturday, Maduro’s YouTube channel disappeared from the video-sharing platform on Saturday, according to the AFP news agency.

“Without any justification, the YouTube channel was closed at a time when the US was fully implementing hybrid warfare operations against Venezuela,” AFP cited Telesur as saying on its website.

Report says ethnic violence has risen as the civil war passed two-year anniversary in the first half of 2025.

Civilians are bearing the brunt as Sudan‘s vicious civil war extends and intensifies, the United Nations has warned.

The UN’s Human Rights Office (OHCHR) said in a report released on Friday that civilian deaths and ethnic violence rose significantly as the war passed its two-year anniversary during the first half of 2025. The same day, reports said that dozens were killed by paramilitaries in an attack on a mosque in Darfur.

The rate of civilian deaths across Sudan has increased, the report says, with 3,384 civilians dying in the first six months of the year, a figure equalling 80 percent of the 4,238 civilian deaths throughout the whole of 2024.

“Sudan’s conflict is a forgotten one, and I hope that my office’s report puts the spotlight on this disastrous situation where atrocity crimes, including war crimes, are being committed,” OHCHR chief Volker Turk said in a statement.

#Sudan crisis deepens amid rising civilian casualties, worsening ethnic violence & humanitarian situation, finds @UNHumanRights report.

States must face grim reality of what has now evolved into a wider protection crisis & use their influence to end this conflict.

Many more… pic.twitter.com/c7OOcLUgdH

— UN Human Rights (@UNHumanRights) September 19, 2025

“Several trends remained consistent during the first half of 2025: a continued pervasiveness of sexual violence, indiscriminate attacks, and the widespread use of retaliatory violence against civilians, particularly on an ethnic basis, targeting individuals accused of ‘collaboration’ with opposing parties,” said the report.

New trends include the use of drones, including in attacks on civilian sites and in Sudan’s north and east, which until now have been largely spared by the war, it said.

“The increasing ethnicisation of the conflict, which builds on longstanding discrimination and inequalities, poses grave risks for longer-term stability and social cohesion within the country,” said Turk.

“Many more lives will be lost without urgent action to protect civilians and without the rapid and unhindered delivery of humanitarian aid.”

Since April 2023, Sudan has been gripped by a brutal war between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

The conflict has killed tens of thousands and displaced some 12 million people. The UN has described it as one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises, with famine prevalent in parts of Darfur and southern Sudan.

The war has, in effect, split the country, with the army holding the north, east and centre, while the RSF dominates parts of the south and nearly all of the western Darfur region.

Efforts by the United States, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates to broker a ceasefire between the warring parties have so far failed.

The RSF killed 43 civilians in a drone strike on a mosque early on Friday in the besieged city of el-Fasher, the capital of North Darfur, the Sudan Doctors’ Network NGO said in a social media post.

The NGO labelled the attack a “heinous crime” against unarmed civilians that showed the group’s “blatant disregard for humanitarian and religious values and international law”.

The Resistance Committees in el-Fasher, a group comprised of local citizens from the community that includes human rights activists, who track abuses, posted a video reportedly showing parts of the mosque reduced to rubble with several bodies scattered on the site, now filled with debris.

The same group reported on Thursday that the RSF had targeted several unarmed civilians, including women and older adults, in displacement shelters in the city.

A day earlier, it said that heavy artillery by the RSF had continuously targeted residential neighbourhoods.

WASHINGTON — America’s public health system is headed to a “very dangerous place” with Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and his team of anti-vaccine advisors in charge, fired Centers for Disease Control and Prevention chief Susan Monarez warned senators on Wednesday.

Describing extraordinary turmoil inside the nation’s health agencies, Monarez and former CDC Chief Medical Officer Debra Houry described exchanges in which Kennedy or political advisors rebuffed data supporting the safety and efficacy of vaccines.

Monarez, who was fired after just 29 days on the job following disagreements with Kennedy, told senators deadly diseases like polio and whooping cough, long contained, are poised to make a comeback in the U.S.

“I believe preventable diseases will return, and I believe we will have our children harmed by things they don’t need to be harmed by,” Monarez said before the Senate health committee.

Monarez describes her firing by RFK Jr.

Monarez said she was ordered by Kennedy to resign if she did not sign off on new vaccine recommendations, which are expected to be released later this week by an advisory panel that Kennedy has stocked with medical experts and vaccine skeptics. She said that when she asked for data or science to back up Kennedy’s request to change the childhood vaccination schedule, he offered none.

She added that Kennedy told her “he spoke to the president every day about changing the childhood vaccination schedule.”

Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.), a physician who chairs the powerful health committee, listened intently as Monarez and Houry described conversations with Kennedy and his advisers.

“To be clear, he said there was not science or data, but he still expected you to change schedule?” Cassidy asked.

Cassidy carefully praised President Trump for his commitment to promoting health policies but made it clear he was concerned about the circumstances surrounding Monarez’s removal.

Houry, meanwhile, described similar exchanges with Kennedy’s political advisors, who took an unprecedented role in preparing materials for meetings of the CDC’s advisory vaccine panel.

Ahead of this week’s meeting of the panel, Houry offered to include data around the hepatitis B shot that is administered to newborns to prevent spread of the deadly disease from the mother. She said a Kennedy advisor dismissed the data as biased because it might support keeping the shots on the schedule.

“You’re suggesting that they wanted to move away from the birth dose, but they were afraid that your data would say that they should retain it?” Cassidy asked.

Critical vaccine decisions are ahead

During the Senate hearing, Democrats, all of whom opposed Monarez’s nomination, also questioned Kennedy’s motives for firing Monarez, who was approved for the job unanimously by Republicans.

“Frankly, she stood up for protecting the well-being of the American people, and for that reason she was fired,” said Sen. Bernie Sanders, an independent from Vermont who caucuses with Democrats.

Monarez said it was both her refusal to sign off on new vaccination recommendations without scientific evidence and her unwillingness to fire high-ranking career CDC officials without cause that led to her ousting.

Kennedy has denied Monarez’s accusations that he ordered “rubber-stamped” vaccine recommendations but has acknowledged he demanded firings. He has described Monarez as admitting to him that she is “untrustworthy,” a claim Monarez has denied through her attorney.

While Senate Republicans have been mostly loath to challenge Trump or even Kennedy, many of them have expressed concerns about the lack of availability of COVID-19 vaccines and the health department’s decisions to scale back some childhood vaccines.

Others have backed up Kennedy’s distrust of the nation’s health agencies.

Kansas Republican Sen. Roger Marshall, a doctor, aggressively questioned Monarez about her “philosophy” on vaccines as she explained that her decisions were based on science. Alabama GOP Sen. Tommy Tuberville said Trump was elected to make change and suggested Monarez’s job was to be loyal to Kennedy.

“America needs better than this,” Tuberville said.

The Senate hearing was taking place just a day before the vaccine panel starts its two-day session in Atlanta to discuss shots against COVID-19, hepatitis B and chickenpox. It’s unclear how the panel might vote on the recommendations, though members have raised doubts about whether hepatitis B shots administered to newborns are necessary and have suggested COVID-19 recommendations should be more restricted.

The CDC director must endorse those recommendations before they become official. Health and Human Services Deputy Secretary Jim O’Neill, now serving as the CDC’s acting director, will be responsible for that.

“I’m very nervous about it,” Monarez said of the meeting.

Seitz and Jalonick write for the Associated Press. AP writers Mike Stobbe in New York and Lauran Neergaard in Washington contributed to this report.