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Since Israel resumed its war on Gaza in March, it has quietly removed the Al Mawasi safe zone from its maps. Despite this, Israel is continuing to force Palestinians to move to the area as it carves up more of Gaza. Soraya Lennie explains what’s going on.
Published On 23 Apr 202523 Apr 2025
The penalties are the first to be issued under the bloc’s Digital Markets Act.
The European Union has fined Apple and Meta a combined 700 million euros (nearly $800m) for breaching the bloc’s landmark Digital Markets Act (DMA), the first time sanctions have been issued under the new regulation designed to rein in the power of Big Tech firms.
Apple was hit with a 500-million-euro ($570m) penalty for restricting how app developers communicate with users about alternative sales and offers.
Meta was fined 200 million euros (nearly $230m) for its controversial “pay or consent” model, which forces users in the EU to either pay for ad-free access to Facebook and Instagram or consent to targeted advertising.
The penalties follow a yearlong investigation by the European Commission, the EU’s executive body, into whether the companies were complying with the DMA, which came into force last year.
Alongside its fine, Apple has received a cease-and-desist order requiring it to make further changes to its App Store operations by late June. If the company fails to comply, the Commission could impose daily penalties for continued breaches.
Officials are also reviewing changes Meta introduced late last year to assess whether its updated model now satisfies the regulation.
The Commission stressed that Wednesday’s fines are procedural in nature and are significantly smaller than penalties previously issued under the EU’s antitrust rules, which aim to encourage competition and break up companies it views as having a monopoly in the single market.
Last year, Apple was fined 1.8 billion euros ($2.05bn) for abusing its dominant position in music streaming, while Meta was fined 797 million euros ($909m) for promoting its classified advertisements service on its social media platforms.
But the continued enforcement of the regulations risks escalating tensions with Washington, where President Donald Trump has previously threatened further tariffs against countries that penalise United States companies.
In February, the White House warned it would consider countermeasures in response to the bloc’s digital regulations, which includes the DMA, and the separate Digital Services Act, a law targeting disinformation online.
But inside the US, pressure is also mounting on Big Tech. Meta is currently on trial over accusations it stifled competition through its acquisitions, which could force it to sell Instagram and WhatsApp.
Apple and Amazon are also facing antitrust lawsuits, while Google has suffered two major defeats in the past year over its dominance in internet search and digital advertising.
Meta said it is likely to appeal the European Commission’s ruling, describing the decision as a targeted attack on American firms.
Technology reporter
Getty ImagesThe European Union has ordered Apple and Meta to pay a combined €700m (£599m), in the first fines it has issued under recent legislation intended to curb the power of big tech.
It has issued a €500m (£428m) fine to Apple over its App Store, while Meta has been fined €200m (£171m) over the way it handled user data.
“We have a duty to protect the rights of citizens and innovative businesses in Europe,” Commissioner Henna Virkkunen said in a statement.
The two tech firms have reacted angrily, with Meta accusing the EU of “attempting to handicap successful American businesses” and Apple saying it was being “unfairly targeted” and forced to “give away our technology for free.”
The fines are lower than some of those issued by the EU in the past but – given the heightened economic tensions with America – still risk angering US President Donald Trump.
The US has levied a 10% tariff on imports from the EU, which Trump has accused of “taking advantage” of America.
EU spokesperson Arianna Podesta insisted the matters were “completely separate”, telling the BBC: “This is about enforcement, it’s not about trade negotiations.”
The European Commission – the EU’s executive – started both investigations last year under a new law brought in to promote fairness in the tech sector called the Digital Markets Act (DMA).
The case against Apple was over its App Store.
The Commission says it must freely offer alternative app marketplaces to users and app developers – and says Apple was in breach of this.
Meanwhile, Meta’s fine was over the way it handled cookies – the bits of code embedded into websites which gather information about users.
Meta introduced a “consent or pay” model on Facebook and Instagram, which meant users had to choose between allowing cookies to track them, or pay a monthly subscription.
The Commission says this model did not allow users to freely consent to how their data was used.
In both cases, the Commission says the size of the fine takes into account “the gravity and duration of the non-compliance”.
Both companies have 60 days to comply or risk further fines.
“Apple and Meta have fallen short of compliance with the DMA by implementing measures that reinforce the dependence of business users and consumers on their platforms,” said Commissioner Teresa Ribera.
“As a result, we have taken firm but balanced enforcement action against both companies, based on clear and predictable rules.”
Apple said the Commission had made “a series of decisions that are bad for the privacy and security of our users, bad for products, and force us to give away our technology for free.”
It also accused the Commission of “[moving] the goal posts” during their meetings.
Meta said the ruling means Chinese and European companies are allowed to operate to different standards compared to American businesses.
“This isn’t just about a fine; the Commission forcing us to change our business model effectively imposes a multi-billion-dollar tariff on Meta while requiring us to offer an inferior service,” it said in a statement.
The fines are relatively small given the tech companies’ huge worldwide revenues – and are a fraction of Google’s €2.4bn fine from last September.
But they are significant in the context of the current global economic situation.
In February, Donald Trump’s White House issued a memorandum complaining about EU and UK regulation of American tech firms.
“Today’s decisions are important in that they confirm that the European Commission will not back down,” Anne Witt, professor of law at the EDHEC Business School in France, told the BBC.
Prof Witt said the disagreement was “not so much about substantive antitrust principles,” given the US government is itself taking a number of big tech companies to court over alleged monopoly power.
They are more “about the fact that European institutions are telling US companies how to behave, even if these decisions are limited to have these companies behave on European soil,” she added.
One company pleased with the ruling against Apple is Epic Games, the makers of Fortnite.
They had a long-running dispute over the distribution of their apps on Apple devices.
Epic Games chief executive Tim Sweeney said the ruling was “great news for app developers worldwide” in a thread on X.
He urged the US to pass similar legislation which would allow developers to distribute their apps without using Apple’s App Store, which charges fees for using its platform.
BREAKINGBREAKING,
One person is reportedly injured from jumping off a balcony during the 6.2 magnitude quake.
A strong earthquake has hit Turkiye, causing buildings in the capital Istanbul to shake.
The quake, taking place at 12:49 [09:49 GMT] Wednesday in the Marmara Sea off the coast of Istanbul’s Silvri area, registered a preliminary 6.2 magnitude, reports Turkiye’s Disaster and Emergency Authority (AFAD).
It was at a depth of 10kms (6.21 miles), according to the German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ).
There were no immediate reports of damage, but people evacuated buildings as structures rumbled in the city, located on the European and Asian shores of the Bosphorus strait. Broadcaster TGRT reported that one person had been injured as a result of jumping off a balcony during the quake, which occurred during a public holiday in Turkey.
In a post on X, Turkiye’s Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said emergency authorities have begun “field assessments” and offered well wishes to those affected.
AFAD warned people in the region against entering damaged buildings.
More to come…
Three days of public viewing begin before the pontiff’s funeral on Saturday.
Pope Francis’s coffin has been taken to Saint Peter’s Basilica, where it will remain for three days of public viewing.
The coffin of the Argentinian pontiff, who died Monday at 88, left the Casa Santa Marta residence on Wednesday morning surrounded by dozens of cardinals and Swiss Guards, carried towards the main entrance of the basilica in the Vatican City.
Masses of the Catholic faithful are gathered at St Peter’s Square, which leads up to the basilica, to pay their respects to Francis, who is remembered for his humble style, concern for the poor and insistent prayers for peace.
“A service is ongoing” inside the basilica, reports Al Jazeera’s Jonah Hull from Vatican City. “The faithful are waiting for their opportunity to enter the central doors a little later to be able to file past [Francis’s] coffin.”
The public will be able to see Francis’s body lie in state for three days, ahead of his funeral on Saturday. The basilica will be open until midnight on Wednesday and Thursday, with public mourning ending on Friday at 7pm [17:00 GMT].
Cardinal Kevin Farrell, who is running the Vatican temporarily until a new pope is elected, led the procession, with clouds of incense preceding him as the church choir began chanting the Litany of the Saints hymn.
Inside the basilica, Francis’s casket is not being put on an elevated bier – as was the case with past popes – but is to be placed on the main altar of the 16th-century basilica, simply facing the pews.
Italian police have tightened security for the viewing and the funeral, carrying out foot and horse patrols around the Vatican, where pilgrims continued to arrive for the Holy Year celebrations that Francis opened in December. The faithful who walk through St Peter’s Holy Door are granted indulgences, a way to help atone for sins.
“For me, Pope Francis represents a great pastor, as well as a great friend to all of us,’’ said Micale Sales, visiting St Peter’s Basilica from Brazil.
“I think he spread a positive message around the world, saying there shouldn’t be any violence, there should be peace around the world,’’ said Amit Kukreja, from Australia.
The funeral, set for Saturday at 10am [8:00 GMT] in St Peter’s Square, will be attended by numerous world leaders, including US President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Cardinals are continuing their meetings this week to plan the conclave to elect Francis’s successor, and make other decisions about running the Catholic Church as world leaders and the faithful grieve his death.
History’s first Latin American pontiff charmed the world with his humble style and concern for the poor, but alienated many conservatives with critiques of capitalism and climate change. He last appeared in public on Sunday with an Easter blessing and a popemobile tour through a cheering crowd in St Peter’s Square.
He had some reservations about looping through the square packed with 50,000 faithful, Vatican News reported on Tuesday, but overcame them, and was thankful that he had greeted the crowd. He died the next morning.
“The death of a pope is not a small thing, because we’ve lost our leader,’’ said Julio Henrique from Brazil. “But still, in a few days, we will have a new leader. So … the thing of hope remains. Who will assume Peter’s throne?”
BBC News, West Midlands
PA MediaTalks are set to continue on Wednesday to end a strike by Birmingham bin workers which has seen mountains of uncollected rubbish pile up on pavements and street corners.
Negotiations between the city council and the Unite union were due to resume from 12:30 BST.
The strike, now in its seventh week, led to a major incident being declared last month amid concerns for public health and the environment.
At the House of Commons on Tuesday, Jim McMahon, housing, communities and local government minister, renewed calls for Unite to call off the strike.
He said at least 26,000 tonnes of rubbish had been removed from Birmingham’s streets and “regular bin collections have resumed” amid the disruption.
Hundreds of bin workers have been on all-out strike during the dispute over pay and jobs. Recycling and garden waste collections were suspended at the beginning of the year.
Responding to an urgent question from Conservative shadow minister Kevin Hollinrake, McMahon on Tuesday urged the union to accept a council offer.
“The industrial action is in no one’s interest because the deal on the table is a good deal,” he said.
“The government will continue to be on the side of the people of Birmingham and to support the council into creating a sustainable, a fair and a reliable waste service that its residents deserve.”
Judith Whalley, who uses a mobility scooter, lives in Hockley, an area where residents do not have wheelie bins due to the layout of the houses.
In previous weeks, bags had been piled waist-high, she said, but asked what it was like in Hockley now, the resident stated “it’s a lot better”.
She told BBC Radio WM: “They’ve been taking our bags away and in fact there were two men…. on Sunday who were with small, not bin lorries, with small wagons with the metal sides.
“They were taking away the rubbish and sweeping up, clearing up extremely well.”
Lorraine Boyce, from West Heath, said: “Yesterday I think I did see a definite improvement.
“I saw several trucks around. There were less piles of rubbish… But nevertheless we’ve still got weeks and weeks of recyling.”
In a recent statement, Unite said a deal “would be much closer” if promises made by the council in interviews were put in writing.
John Cotton, leader of Birmingham City Council, previously said he was keen the two parties continued talking so they could bring the dispute to a close.
Getty ImagesIn the Commons, Hollinrake had asked whether the deputy prime minister and secretary of state for housing Angela Rayner would make a statement on the disruption to waste collection, and the use of the military in Birmingham.
He also accused her of “failing to stand up to the unions [and] failing to protect residents of the UK’s second city”.
Under the military provision, a small number of office-based Army planners are to provide logistical support to the council.
“To be clear, the military are not needed on the streets of Birmingham, the council have it in hand,” McMahon said.
He told the House he didn’t think anyone took pride in the strike action and it was “not acceptable” that a major incident had to be called.
He urged both parties to “negotiate in good faith”.
“The government is not the employer of the workforce in Birmingham, the council is the employer…. and it’s for the employer and the employees to reach an agreement that both can accept,” he added.
He also said the government strongly encouraged Unite to suspend strike action during negotiations.
Wendy Morton, Conservative MP for the Walsall seat of Aldridge-Brownhills, asked the minister what the government and Labour-run Birmingham City Council were doing to bring an end to the strike.
“The rats, the squeaky blinders, do continue to roam freely in the streets of Britain’s second city,” she said.
“Enough is enough, residents want to see an end to this.”
Jakarta, Indonesia – Manoj Punjabi, Indonesia’s most commercially successful film producer, has won numerous awards over the course of a career spanning more than two decades.
But the billionaire founder and CEO of MD Entertainment does not hesitate when asked to choose his most treasured accolade.
“It is the one I won for Best Box Office Film at the Indonesian Box Office Movie Awards in 2016 because it was chosen by the viewers,” Punjabi told Al Jazeera in an interview at MD Entertainment’s headquarters in Jakarta.
“Even if I won an Oscar, it wouldn’t be the same because that is chosen by a jury and not by audiences.”
As the producer behind the highest-grossing Indonesian film of all time, KKN di Desa Penari, Punjabi is keenly aware that results count above all else in the entertainment business.
At the same time, the 52-year-old producer has developed a reputation for not shying away from taking risks.
Last year, Punjabi, the scion of a prominent Indian-Indonesian family with a long history of involvement in television and film, made what could be seen as the surprising decision to acquire an 80 percent stake in Indonesia’s NET.TV for some $100m.
By Punjabi’s own admission, the free-to-air television channel, which has a market share of less than 1.5 percent, had been “bleeding money” for years, racking up losses of about $250m over the previous decade.
Still, he saw an opportunity in TV in a world where entertainment options are increasingly dominated by paid-for streaming services such as Netflix, HBO Max, and Amazon Prime.
“First of all, Indonesians like watching for free. Paid TV does not work as well as other platforms, and it is very segmented,” Punjabi said.
“With free-to-air, everyone has access.”
Punjabi said economic and logistical factors in Indonesia, an archipelago of some 17,000 islands, have helped free-to-air TV to remain popular in the Southeast Asian country despite the rise of streaming services.
“In other countries, like India, you have a flats system with many people living in one building, so paid TV becomes very cheap. Over here, it is very scattered. With the infrastructure we have, free TV is very practical and easy. You just need an antenna, so it is more affordable and easily accessible,” he said.
“I thought free-to-air was a sunset market and platform, but in 2020, during COVID, I realised that free-to-air still exists and people are watching it. It is not a dying business, but a sunset business that has been stuck.”
James Guild, an assistant professor at Universitas Islam Internasional Indonesia, or Indonesian International Islamic University (UIII), agreed that there is considerable potential for free-to-air TV to expand.
“There are a lot of places in Indonesia where people lack access to good wi-fi or cannot afford the monthly subscription for a streaming service like Vidio, or can only afford limited data plans and are unable to stream a lot of content,” Guild told Al Jazeera.
“Old-fashioned television is also still good business, [and] there is certainly still money to be made selling advertising on free-to-air television stations in Indonesia,” Guild said.
In 2022, Punjabi made history when he produced KKN di Desa Penari, which eclipsed Titanic to become the highest-grossing film ever shown in Indonesian cinemas.
To date, he has also produced seven of Indonesia’s 20 highest-grossing movies and has been widely credited with reviving interest in the genre of Indonesian horror.
Punjabi’s family started their entertainment business in Indonesia in the 1980s.
He recalls rushing home from school every day so he could watch the raw, unedited footage of the films his family were producing.
Punjabi’s grandfather emigrated to Indonesia following the partition of British India in 1947.
Like his father, he was born and raised in Indonesia.
“I’m Hindu, but I’m a proud Indonesian with an Indian background,” he said.
But in the late 1980s, when Punjabi was 17, everything came crashing down.
There was “a family crisis”, Punjabi said, which resulted in his parents selling their home and “adjusting their lifestyle”.
“I think my ambition came from that. I never wanted to be like that again. Because you have a certain standard, and then you go down. It hurts and you feel it,” he said.
After brief stints working at a pulp and paper factory and a garment factory, Punjabi founded MD Entertainment in 2002.
In 2024, he was ranked 34th on Forbes’ list of Indonesia’s 50 richest people, with an estimated net worth of more than $1.5bn.
“When you are on that list, you feel a kind of pressure, but in a good way,” Punjabi said.
“To be at that stage, you are thankful, but you have to be more tough, and that is tiring. So that list makes me feel pressured in that way, it makes me motivated to do better, and I hope it doesn’t stop here.”
Asked about his legacy, Punjabi said he hopes that MD Entertainment will still be around in a century and will branch out beyond Indonesia.
“How I am going to do it is still in the pipeline, but there is something iconic that I want to offer audiences, not just in Indonesia or Southeast Asia,” he said.
When it comes to sources of inspiration, Punjabi listed Titanic, Slumdog Millionaire, My Beautiful Life, The Dark Knight, and Casino Royale among his favourite films.
“I’m obsessed with James Bond and Die Hard. I am an action freak, and those are the movies that I kept watching. I’ve watched the James Bond movies 50 to 70 times, particularly You Only Live Twice and Octopussy from the 1960s. Casino Royale blew my mind,” he said.
As for NET.TV., now called MD TV, Punjabi has ambitious plans to raise the quality of free-to-air TV, which has historically not had the best reputation.
“I want to change the game in terms of how we tell stories, be it movies, soap operas or series,” he said.
Punjabi said free-to-air television in Indonesia has often suffered from poor lighting, sets and locations, cliched narratives, and heavy-handed product placement.
“I want to change the look and the storytelling. People think the quality is going down, but with my concept, I hope it will bring in audiences,” he said.
“That is my challenge, and I choose to accept it.”
The government borrowed more than expected in the year to March due to increased spending on pay and benefits, according to official figures.
Borrowing, the difference between spending and income from taxes, was £151.9bn in the year to March, up £20.7bn from the year before.
The amount borrowed was much higher than the £137.3bn predicted by the UK’s official forecaster.
The Office for National Statistics (ONS), which released the figures, said borrowing the financial year was the third highest on record.
“Despite a substantial boost in income, expenditure rose by more, largely due to inflation-related costs, including higher pay and benefit increases,” said Grant Fitzner, chief economist at the ONS.
He added at the end of the financial year, debt remained “close to the annual value of the output of the economy, at levels last seen in the early 1960s”.
The higher borrowing figures come as Chancellor Rachel Reeves is set to attend the annual meetings of the IMF and World Bank in Washington.
On Tuesday, the IMF said the UK economy would grow less than previously predicted, up 1.1% in 2025 instead of 1.6%, in part due to the global fallout from US trade tariffs.
A child burns to death following the attack on school-turned-shelter in Gaza City.
At least 10 people have been killed in an Israeli attack that sparked a fire at a school sheltering displaced people in Gaza City, including one child who was burned to death in the blaze.
The Palestinian Civil Defence said its emergency workers recovered 10 bodies early on Wednesday morning after the attack on the school, where forcibly displaced people had taken shelter. A large number of people were also injured, it said in a post on the Telegram messaging platform.
“Children are being burned while they sleep in the tents of the displaced,” Al Jazeera correspondent Anas al-Sharif wrote on social media after the attack.
“There are no safe areas, and no survivors of this genocide. Gaza City and its northern areas have been subjected to heavy Israeli shelling and artillery fire for hours,” he said.
Video footage shared on social media after the attack on the school-turned-shelter showed flames engulfing tent structures and canvas covering melting onto the remains of burning chairs and what appeared to be a bed frame.
Several civilians burned to death after Israeli forces targeted displacement tents inside Yafa School, east of Gaza City. pic.twitter.com/ABNRWdFjSf
— Quds News Network (@QudsNen) April 23, 2025
The civil defence also issued an urgent appeal for assistance from the International Committee of the Red Cross to help rescue people trapped under the rubble following Israel’s bombing of two homes in Gaza City’s Tuffah neighbourhood.
“Trapped people are calling for help to rescue them from under the rubble of homes,” the civil defence said in a statement, adding that emergency workers were unable to reach the area because it was too dangerous, as the area is designated a “no-go” zone by Israeli forces.
Our colleagues at Al Jazeera Arabic and local Palestinian media also reported that a child was among two people killed on Wednesday morning in an Israeli attack on tent shelters in northern Gaza’s Jabalia refugee camp.
One person was also reported killed and several injured in an Israeli drone attack on tent shelters in the so-called al-Mawasi “safe zone”, south of Khan Younis in southern Gaza.
Intense Israeli artillery fire and air attacks were reported across the Strip in the early hours of the morning.
Kyiv summons China’s ambassador to express ‘serious concern’ over ‘Chinese citizens in hostilities against Ukraine’.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has claimed that Chinese citizens are helping to produce drones at a facility in Russia and suggested that Moscow may have “stolen” drone technology from Beijing.
The Ukrainian leader made the comment at a news conference in Kyiv on Tuesday, just days after he said China was supplying weapons and gunpowder to Russia and following the recent capture of two Chinese nationals fighting for Russia against Ukrainian forces.
“I asked the Security Service of Ukraine to transfer information of a broader nature to the Chinese side regarding Chinese citizens who work at the drone factory,” Zelenskyy told the news conference.
“We believe that it may be that Russia stole – made an agreement with these citizens outside the agreements with the Chinese leadership – stole these technologies,” he said.
“The information also describes the relevant Chinese technologies for working on these drones. I think it will be important for Beijing to see how their partners are working with them,” he said, according to the Ukrinform news site.
The Ukrainian president’s suggestion that Russia may have obtained drone technology from China without Beijing’s knowledge may indicate a softening of Zelenskyy’s tone towards the Chinese, the Reuters news agency said. China has strongly denied involvement in Russia’s war on Ukraine.
Ukraine’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Tuesday that it had summoned Chinese Ambassador Ma Shengkun to express Ukraine’s “serious concerns about the facts of the participation of Chinese citizens in military action against Ukraine”.
Zelenskyy previously said at least 155 Chinese were fighting with the Russian army – two of whom were recently captured by Ukraine – and that he had “information” that China was supplying arms to Russia.
Ukraine’s “Deputy Foreign Minister Yevhen Perebyinis stressed that the participation of Chinese citizens in hostilities against Ukraine on the side of the aggressor state, as well as the involvement of Chinese companies in the production of military products in Russia, are of serious concern and contradict the spirit of partnership between Ukraine and China,” the ministry said in a statement.
⚡️Ukraine shares evidence of Chinese citizens, companies involved in Russia’s war.
In a meeting with Chinese Ambassador Ma Shengkun, Deputy Foreign Minister Yevgen Perebyinis shared evidence that companies are producing military equipment for Russia.https://t.co/S9Lt24l19D
— The Kyiv Independent (@KyivIndependent) April 22, 2025
“Evidence of these facts was passed by the Ukrainian special services to the Chinese side,” the ministry said.
The deputy foreign minister “called on the Chinese side to take measures to stop supporting Russia in its aggression against Ukraine, which Beijing has repeatedly stated is not the case,” the ministry added.
China last week staunchly denied providing weapons.
“The Chinese side has never provided lethal weapons to any party in the conflict, and strictly controls dual-use items,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian said on Friday.
There was no immediate comment on the latest Ukrainian statements from either Russia or China.
Tesla CEO says he will spend ‘far more’ of his time running carmaker after putting cost-cutting team in place.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk has said he will scale back his work with the administration of United States President Donald Trump following a steep plunge in the electric carmaker’s first-quarter profits.
Musk, who leads Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), said on Tuesday that he would allocate “far more” of his time to running Tesla and cut back his work in the government to one or two days per week from May.
“The large slog of work necessary to get the DOGE team in place and working with the government to get the financial house in order is mostly done,” Musk said in a conference call with Wall Street analysts.
Tesla shares, which have dropped more than 40 percent since the start of the year, rose 4.6 percent in after-hours trading following Musk’s remarks, which cheered investors concerned about the tech billionaire’s divided attention.
Musk’s comments came just hours after Tesla reported a 71 percent decline in net profit for January-March, with income of $409m compared with $1.39bn the previous year.
Tesla’s global sales fell 13 percent over the period amid a consumer backlash against Musk’s involvement in the Trump administration.
The electric carmaker has become a focal point for protests against Trump’s policies in recent months, with the company’s vehicles, dealerships and charging stations targeted in dozens of acts of vandalism and arson in several countries.
The company, which builds its cars for the US market in Texas and California but relies on parts from Mexico, is also facing the fallout of Trump’s 25 percent tariff on auto imports.
In his conference call, Musk, the world’s richest man, defended his work with DOGE, saying that his efforts were aimed at fighting fraud and waste and getting “the country back on the right track”.
“If the ship of America goes down, we all go down with it, including Tesla and everyone else,” he said.
Society reporter
BBCPolice chiefs will be able to automatically sack officers who fail background checks, under new government measures to boost confidence in policing.
Calls for a change to police vetting procedures began after an independent report into the murder of Sarah Everard by police officer Wayne Couzens in 2021.
The new measures, that make passing background checks a legal requirement for all serving officers, will be laid in Parliament on Wednesday and come into effect next month.
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper has called the reforms “essential” in the government’s programme to “restore confidence in policing”.
Currently, in some circumstances, those who do not pass vetting checks can stay in their force on full pay, despite not being allowed to undertake a public-facing role.
Met Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley has said it is “absurd” and a “ridiculous waste of taxpayers’ money” to pay for police officers who cannot be sacked to sit at home.
The Met confirmed earlier this year that 29 officers and staff were on special vetting leave receiving full pay and pension.
In February the High Court ruled that Sgt Lino Di Maria, an officer accused of rape, could not be dismissed because the process was fundamentally unfair.
He had mounted a legal challenge after having his vetting – a background check – removed following sexual assault allegations, which he denied and was not charged over.
Mrs Justice Lang said the dismissal process which had been used by the Met was unlawful as those suspected of wrongdoing were denied an opportunity to defend themselves.
She went on to say the Met’s powers did not “extend to the dismissal of a police officer by reason of withdrawal of vetting clearance”.
Sir Mark said the judgement left policing in a “hopeless position” and meant the police force did not have the ability to remove officers deemed unfit for duty via a vetting process.
The court ruling followed an independent report into the murder of Sarah Everard by police officer Wayne Couzens in March 2021 which called for police vetting procedures to be re-examined.
Subsequent background checks of all police officers and staff in 2024 found more than 400 links to previously undisclosed misconduct, including theft, fraud and drugs.
The current Met Police vetting model for new and present officers includes background checks on criminal records, behavioural assessments, finances and the individual’s close associates.
PA MediaHome Secretary Yvette Cooper said: “It is simply not acceptable that officers who are clearly unfit to serve or pose a risk to their colleagues cannot be removed.
“These new rules are essential and it is why this government has been working closely with forces to overcome these barriers to restore confidence in policing.”
She said only “officers of the highest standards” would be allowed to wear the uniform.
“In recent years, serious cases which have badly failed all proper policing standards have damaged public trust in the officers who are supposed to protect them, and undermined the majority of brave, committed officers who work tirelessly to keep us safe”.
The National Police Chiefs’ Council lead for vetting, Chief Constable Alex Franklin-Smith, also supported the proposed changes, and said they provided “clear routes for action to remove individuals who fall below the high standards the public and our workforce rightly expect and deserve.”
Speaking in the House of Commons in November last year, Cooper set out the government’s plans for further policing reforms, including strengthening requirements relating to the suspension of officers under investigation for violence against women and girls, and ensuring that officers convicted of certain criminal offences are automatically dismissed.
Responding to the announcement, Sir Mark Rowley said it was “never right that an officer could lose their vetting, but not lose their job”.
“These reforms close that glaring gap in the law and will allow us to move swiftly to remove those who have no place in policing.
“This matters not just for the public we serve but for the vast majority of hardworking officers who should be able to feel safe, have full trust in those they work alongside and have the confidence of the public.”
On April 11, an immigration judge in Louisiana ruled that Mahmoud Khalil, a former Columbia University graduate student and lawful United States permanent resident, can be deported. Not for committing a crime. Not for violating immigration rules. But for his political speech – specifically for helping organise a peaceful Gaza solidarity encampment at his university.
The government’s case against Khalil is hinged on Section 237(a)(4)(C)(i) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, a Cold War-era provision that permits the deportation of any noncitizen whose presence is deemed a potential threat to US foreign policy. The evidence the government submitted against him was a two-page memo from Secretary of State Marco Rubio, asserting – without proof – that Khalil’s “beliefs and associations” could “adversely affect U.S. foreign policy interests”. Ironically, the document itself admitted that Khalil’s actions were “otherwise lawful”.
And yet, it was enough. The mere invocation of “foreign policy” or “national security” now operates like a legal incantation, overriding First Amendment protections, due process and even common sense.
Khalil’s case is not an outlier. It is the leading edge of a broader strategy to silence dissent in the US – particularly dissent critical of Israeli policies or sympathetic to Palestinian rights – using various legal tools. This use and abuse of the US legal system sets a dangerous precedent that in the long run will harm American democracy.
Dozens of international students and scholars – many from Muslim-majority countries or racialised communities – have also been subjected to surveillance, detention and deportation, often without any allegations of criminal wrongdoing.
Among them is Badar Khan Suri, a visiting academic at Georgetown University and Indian citizen who was arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) at his home in Virginia and later transferred to Texas. He remains in detention, facing removal based on his family ties. The father of his American wife used to work as an adviser to the Gaza government.
Another example is Rumeysa Ozturk, a Turkish Fulbright scholar and doctoral student at Tufts University who was detained after co-authoring a newspaper opinion piece related to the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement. A US immigration judge has since denied her release, labelling her a “flight risk and a danger to the community”.
Another recent case is that of Mohsen Mahdawi, a Palestinian green card holder and Columbia student protest leader who was arrested by ICE agents when he went for his US citizenship interview. He now faces deportation to the occupied West Bank, which he said would be “a death sentence”, given that he has lost family and friends to Israeli military violence.
Then there’s Momodou Taal, a British-Gambian PhD candidate at Cornell University who filed a lawsuit against President Donald Trump’s administration, arguing that executive orders targeting pro-Palestinian activists violated his First and Fifth Amendment rights. Despite suing preemptively and being legally represented, Taal’s efforts were ultimately undermined by jurisdictional manoeuvring and executive pressure. His emergency injunction was denied by a federal judge on March 27, and days later, he self-deported, saying he no longer trusted the courts to protect him even with a favourable ruling.
There is also Yunseo Chung, a South Korean-born Columbia student and US permanent resident who narrowly avoided deportation thanks to a preemptive federal court injunction. Alireza Doroudi, an Iranian engineering PhD student at the University of Alabama, was quietly detained with no explanation. Ranjani Srinivasan, an Indian student at Columbia, fled to Canada after ICE agents visited her apartment. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) later released footage of her departure, labelling her a “terrorist sympathiser”.
In this campaign of political persecution, the Trump administration has largely relied on immigration courts, which are not part of the independent federal judiciary under Article III of the US Constitution.
They are administrative tribunals housed within the executive branch, specifically, the Department of Justice. Their judges are appointed by the attorney general, lack tenure and are subject to political oversight. The procedural protections available in Article III courts – such as full evidentiary hearings, impartial review and constitutional due process – are substantially weakened in immigration courts.
While federal courts may scrutinise whether an arrest or deportation violates constitutional protections – like the First Amendment or equal protection – immigration judges are often empowered to rule based on vague assertions of “foreign policy concerns” or “national security interests” with little to no requirement for concrete evidence. This dual-track legal system allows the government to bypass the constitution while maintaining the appearance of legality.
There have been numerous calls to reform this system from legal scholars, human rights organisations and even former immigration judges. Proposals have included moving immigration courts out of the Department of Justice and into an independent Article I court structure to ensure judicial impartiality.
However, these reforms have consistently failed, largely due to congressional inaction as well as political resistance from successive administrations that have benefitted from the system’s malleability. The executive branch has long viewed immigration courts as a tool of policy enforcement rather than neutral adjudication.
While this crackdown has so far focused on noncitizens with legal status, it could soon extend to naturalised Americans. US law allows the revocation of citizenship in cases of fraud, membership in terrorist organisations and other crimes. In his first term, Trump created a dedicated “Denaturalization Section” within the Department of Justice to pursue citizenship revocations. About 700,000 immigrant files were investigated with the aim of bringing 1,600 cases to court.
Trump has now signalled that he intends to pick up his denaturalisation drive where he left off. If he deploys this legal tool against critical voices, this would mean that even citizenship may no longer offer protection if one’s political views fall out of favour with the government.
As the Department of Justice, DHS and ICE have worked together on the campaign against dissent, they have received public support from nonprofit organisations. Groups like Betar and Canary Mission have taken public credit for identifying international students involved in pro-Palestinian activism and urging their deportation.
Betar claims to have compiled a list of foreigners it labelled as “jihadis” and submitted it to the Trump administration. Canary Mission, meanwhile, launched a project called “Uncovering Foreign Nationals”, which publishes the names and photos of international students it accuses of anti-Semitism or anti-Israel activism – effectively creating a blacklist.
While there is no official confirmation that DHS or ICE have acted directly on these materials, the close timing between these campaigns and government enforcement has raised serious concerns that these politically motivated private groups are shaping federal immigration enforcement without transparency or accountability.
The US portrays itself as a beacon of liberty, a nation governed by the rule of law, where freedom of speech is sacred. But Khalil’s case – and the others like it – paint a starkly different picture. If your residency, citizenship, education or even physical freedom can be revoked for peacefully expressing political views, then speech is no longer a right. It is a conditional privilege.
This is more than a legal overreach. It is a moral crisis for American democracy. When free speech becomes contingent on political loyalty and when private blacklists shape federal enforcement, the foundational values of liberty, pluralism and equality before the law are being dismantled.
What American democracy urgently needs is congressional action to establish judicial independence in immigration courts, stronger First Amendment protections for noncitizens and full transparency around the government’s reliance on private ideological actors. Anything less risks enshrining a two-tiered system of rights and, ultimately, a country where dissent itself is deportable.
This is not just a test of immigration policy. It is a test of democracy – and of the very soul of the nation itself.
The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeera’s editorial stance.
During Agni Keli, a fire-throwing ritual in Mangaluru, India, shirtless men hurl burning palm fronds.
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District judge orders administration to restore the capacity of broadcaster shuttered over claims of ‘leftist bias’.
A federal judge has stated that US President Donald Trump illegally halted the operation of the Voice of America (VOA), a federally funded international news service created by Congress.
In a ruling on Tuesday, US District Judge Royce Lamberth ordered the Trump administration to restore the 83-year-old broadcaster’s capacity to the levels before Trump slashed funding and laid off scores of personnel.
In a March court filing stating that all 1,300 employees had been placed on administrative leave, lawyers for VOA said that the broadcaster seeks to report the news “truthfully, impartially, and objectively”, pushing back against claims from the Trump administration that it promotes a “leftist bias” and is insufficiently “pro-American”.
Judge Lamberth also ordered the administration to restore the capacity of two other broadcasters also funded by the federal Agency for Global Media, Radio Free Asia and Middle East Broadcasting Networks, while those lawsuits progress.
The judge also denied a similar request for two additional networks, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and Open Technology Fund.
Trump and his allies have wielded federal funds to dismantle programmes and agencies within the government that they dislike and compel greater ideological compliance from media organisations and universities under the premise of combatting what the administration portrays as “left-wing” views. Kari Lake, a close Trump ally, was also placed in charge of the Agency for Global Media.
The administration shuttered VOA in March, instituting funding cuts that Lamberth said reflected a “hasty, indiscriminate approach”.
A labour union representing workers at the Agency for Global Media celebrated the ruling as a “powerful affirmation of the role that independent journalism plays in advancing democracy and countering disinformation”.
VOA was first founded during World War II in an effort by the US government to counter Nazi propaganda and was later used to project pro-US views to countries around the world during the Cold War, a history that has led some to criticise the network as a means of promoting US interests around the world.
“That simple mission [delivering impartial news] is a powerful one for those living across the globe without access to a free press and without the ability to otherwise discern what is truly happening,” lawyers for VOA wrote.
Many other institutions created during the post-war era to project US political and cultural influence around the world, such as the humanitarian assistance agency USAID, have also come under attack by a Trump administration that sees them as ideological enemies or sources of bureaucratic bloat.
After largely gutting USAID, tech billionaire and Trump ally Elon Musk said that the international assistance group had been a “viper’s nest of radical left Marxists who hate America”.
BBC business reporter
Getty ImagesThe Bank of England could cut interest rates three more times this year despite the UK grappling with higher-than-expected inflation, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has said.
The organisation predicted UK inflation would be the highest in the world’s advanced economies this year at 3.1%, largely due to higher bills, including for energy and water.
The fund also said the UK economy would grow less than previously predicted, up 1.1% in 2025 instead of 1.6%, because of the global fallout from US trade tariffs.
The report comes as top economic policymakers meet in Washington this week at the IMF’s spring gathering.
The downgrade in the outlook for the UK economy is nevertheless ahead of predictions for France, Italy and Germany.
US President Donald Trump’s tariffs, a steep increase in borrowing costs and a hit from inflation all contributed to the downgrade.
IMF chief economist Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas told reporters that the IMF expected three more interest rate cuts by the Bank of England in 2025 after a quarter-point cut in February.
The report said that the spike in inflation expected this year would be a “temporary phenomenon” which would leave room for rate cuts.
However, Trump tariffs could also push down the pace of UK price rises as goods are diverted away from the US.
The IMF expects UK inflation to slow to 2.2% by 2026, close to the Bank’s 2% target.
In response to the predictions, Chancellor Rachel Reeves highlighted how the IMF still saw stronger economic growth in the UK in 2025 than in Europe’s other big countries.
“The report also clearly shows that the world has changed, which is why I will be in Washington this week defending British interests and making the case for free and fair trade,” Reeves said.
She is due to meet US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent where she is expected to make Britain’s case for a trade agreement with Washington that would lower or eliminate US tariffs on British goods.
Mr Gourinchas said the global economy still bore “significant scars” from the “severe shocks of the past four years”.
“It is now being severely tested once again,” he added.
The US growth forecast for this year was given the biggest downgrade among advanced economies by the IMF becayse of uncertainty caused by trade tariffs.
US growth is now expected to be 1.8% this year, down from the IMF’s estimate of 2.7% in January.
Trump has made a flurry of announcements on tariffs this year – taxes charged on goods brought into the US from other countries.
In a growing trade war, the US has placed tariffs of up to 145% on Chinese goods, while China has hit back with 125% on US products.
The US has also introduced a 10% tax on goods from the vast majority of other countries, while suspending much higher rates for dozens of nations for 90 days.
Trump argues that tariffs will encourage US consumers to buy more American-made goods, increase the amount of tax raised and lead to huge levels of investment in the country.
The company warns investors in its earnings report of the impact of tariffs have on the sector.
Halliburton has reported a decline in first-quarter profit due to reduced drilling activity in North America, which weakened demand for its oilfield services and equipment.
The Houston, Texas-based oil and gas giant warned on Tuesday of a second-quarter earnings impact from tariffs and lower oilfield activity in North America as producers reckon with weak oil prices, sending shares of the oilfield service provider down about 6 percent.
The oilfield service sector worries United States President Donald Trump’s tariffs on imported steel and parts will disrupt supply chains and drive up equipment costs, such as drilling rigs and well casings. Halliburton said its first-quarter North American revenue was $2.2bn, down 12 percent from a year earlier.
Halliburton is the first of the big three US oilfield services providers (Schlumberger and Baker Hughes are the other two) and is among the first large oil companies to report earnings as US crude prices hover under $64 a barrel. Many companies say they cannot drill profitably if oil prices fall under $65 a barrel, denting demand for equipment and services provided by companies like Halliburton.
“Many of our customers are in the midst of evaluating their activity scenarios, and plans for 2025 activity reductions could mean higher than normal white space for committed fleets and in some cases the retirement or export of fleets to international markets,” Halliburton Chief Executive Jeff Miller said about expectations in North American markets.
White spaces refer to gaps in the calendar when the company does not have work lined up for its equipment.
Halliburton shares were down about 6 percent at $20.62 a share after it forecast a 2-cent- to 3-cent-per-share impact in the second quarter from trade tensions. Second-quarter earnings were estimated to be 63 cents per share, according to LSEG data. Shares had fallen as much as 10 percent on Tuesday and were down 24 percent so far this year. Rival Schlumberger’s shares were down only 11 percent this year.
Halliburton’s Q1 international revenue eased 2 percent primarily due to lower drilling and project management activity in Mexico. It forecast year-over-year international revenue to be flat to slightly down.
Mexico is proposing new contract models for the oil sector while struggling to pay off billions of dollars of accumulated debt to oil service companies. In the meantime, state company Pemex’s oil output has continued falling this year to 1.62 million barrels per day, compared with 1.76 million barrels per day last year.
Halliburton posted a profit of $204m, or 24 cents per share, in the three months that ended on March 31, lower than the $606m, or 68 cents per share, it had posted last year.
The company also took a $107m severance cost in the first quarter. That came on the heels of a $63m severance charge in the third quarter of 2024 but the company did not provide more details.
Excluding a $356m pre-tax charge, which included the severance charge, the company posted earnings of 60 cents, in line with analysts’ estimates.
Revenue of $5.42bn beat analysts’ average estimate of $5.28bn.
Tariffs are estimated to cost GE Aerospace more than $500m this year.
GE Aerospace CEO Larry Culp has advocated re-establishing a tariff-free regime for the aerospace industry under the 1979 Agreement on Trade in Civil Aircraft during a meeting with United States President Donald Trump.
On Tuesday, in an interview with the news agency Reuters, Culp said the company’s position was “understood” by the administration, adding that the zero-duty regime has helped the US aerospace industry to enjoy a $75bn annual trade surplus.
“I have argued that it was good and would be good for the country,” Culp told Reuters.
Trump’s trade war has created the biggest uncertainty for the aerospace industry since the COVID-19 pandemic. It has also led to a breakdown in the industry’s decades-old duty-free status, putting aircraft deliveries in limbo.
The uncertainty has left some of GE Aerospace’s customers struggling to accurately forecast their business. Meanwhile, one of the company’s prominent suppliers, Howmet Aerospace, has warned that it may halt some shipments if they are impacted by tariffs.
Culp said the company has not seen any disruption in deliveries from Howmet. The Pittsburgh-based supplier is currently working on the new high-pressure turbine blade for the Leap 1A engine, which GE Aerospace produces in a joint venture with France’s Safran SA.
“That ramp has gone very well so far here in 2025,” he said.
GE Aerospace has been grappling with supply chain challenges, leading to a drop in engine deliveries over the past year. Last week, Airbus said it was facing challenges with engine deliveries as CFM was “significantly behind the curve”.
Culp said the company is “well aligned” with the European planemaker’s needs for this year, but added the tariffs have created supply chain risks.
Tariffs are estimated to cost GE Aerospace more than $500m this year. The company is making greater use of foreign trade zones and available trade programmes like duty drawbacks to mitigate the impact. It is also employing cost controls and a tariff surcharge to protect its margins.
Culp’s comments come amid pressure on another aerospace giant in recent days. Last week, China asked airlines based there to cancel aircraft orders for planes made by US company Boeing amid the looming trade war.
Trade-induced economic uncertainty has taken a toll on travel demand as well. With travel spending softening, there is a growing risk that airlines could start deferring their engine orders.
Culp said other carriers would step in if any airline decides to halt its deliveries. “There are plenty of other people who will step up in line and take their place,” he said.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has a knack for survival. The country’s longest serving leader – he has been in power for 18 years over three nonconsecutive periods – has seen off many rivals and outlasted several enemies.
The latest fight is with Ronen Bar, the head of Israel’s domestic intelligence agency, the Shin Bet.
Netanyahu fired Bar last month due to what he called a breakdown in trust, but the Supreme Court has suspended the dismissal, pending an investigation.
In the meantime, there have been protests against Netanyahu – the prime minister is used to those – and now an affidavit filed by Bar on Monday, in which he lobs several accusations against the Israeli leader.
They include demands from Netanyahu that Bar place his loyalty to him above that of the Supreme Court’s rulings if the two ever clash and that he spy on Netanyahu’s opponents. It all comes as the Shin Bet investigates financial ties between Netanyahu’s office and Qatar.
Netanyahu has denied Bar’s claims, calling his affidavit a “false” one that would be “disproved in detail soon”.
The response follows the Netanyahu playbook when facing opposition – a denial of any accusations made against him, a shifting of the blame and pushing a problem to the future if possible.
The legal cases Netanyahu faces – he is on trial for corruption – are a case in point. The prime minister has been able to drag the court process out for years and most recently has used Israel’s war on Gaza to delay his court appearances.
“There is scandal fatigue in the Israeli public,” Israeli political analyst Nimrod Flaschenberg told Al Jazeera.
Flaschenberg added that Israeli society’s increased polarisation means another scandal will hardly shift where people stand on the divisive Netanyahu.
“People who are against Netanyahu and against the government see this as another evidence of the corruption, the deterioration of democratic space and the end of Israeli democracy,” he said. “And people from the pro-Netanyahu camp see this as Bar trying to generate a coup against Netanyahu and his right-wing government.”
This polarisation has been aided by the fact the Israeli political opposition is fractured. Opposition figure Benny Gantz was once the challenger to the throne but has been criticised for failing to take strong stances on complicated issues, and there is growing support for him to be replaced as the head of the National Unity political alliance.
“Many Israelis think [the current situation is] an emergency but they don’t really have the tools to change it, and there’s no powerful opposition in the parliament that can do anything about it,” said Mairav Zonszein, a senior analyst on Israel with the International Crisis Group.
The war in Gaza itself is a testament to Netanyahu’s survival skills. Despite being blamed by many Israelis for failing to prevent the October 7, 2023, attacks against Israel, among the deadliest in the country’s history, and unable to free the remaining captives held in Gaza or fully defeat Hamas, Netanyahu remains in power.
That is even as the war grows increasingly unpopular in Israel with 100,000 reservists failing to respond to their call-ups, according to the Israeli-Palestinian +972 Magazine.
And yet Netanyahu is arguably in a stronger position politically than he was at the start of the war, expanding Israeli-occupied territory in Lebanon and Syria, all while seeing the administration of ally President Donald Trump take power in the United States.
Netanyahu’s governing coalition may have lost some figures over time, including former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, but it has become more solidified by shifting further to the right.
“His coalition is very much solid and intact,” Zonszein said. “Throughout the last year and a half, he’s only stabilised his coalition further.”
Netanyahu has increasingly leaned on the ultra-Orthodox and far-right parties like those led by two of the most far-right ministers in his government – Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich. While analysts said a shift rightwards has upset many Israelis, there seems to be little chance of change at the moment.
“It would take a very radical step to actually remove Netanyahu from power,” Zonszein said.
“It’s like a grinding, deteriorating situation in which more allegations and evidence come to light,” Zonszein said, speaking of the scandals Netanyahu has faced. “But it doesn’t mean it’s going to change anything on the ground.”
A sort of lethargy may have started to set in in some quarters of Israeli society as Netanyahu holds onto power.
His coalition has enough seats in parliament to continue, and its members have their own reasons for wanting to avoid it breaking up.
That means the only way Netanyahu is likely to be removed from power is through elections – the next of which does not need to happen until October 27, 2026.
In theory, the attorney general could determine Netanyahu is unfit to serve, but analysts said that would prove contentious and unlikely to happen. Failing that, the only way Netanyahu might be removed from power would be through elections.
A poll this month from Israel’s Channel 12 showed that the right-wing former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett’s new party would win a majority if elections were held today. But that alone is not enough to calm the worries of some people in Israel.
“Some Israelis are concerned that there won’t be a free and fair election next year,” Zonszein said.
Flaschenberg said he feared the police could be used by Netanyahu and his allies to suppress voting.
There are, however, some possible moves for the Israeli public to play. Flaschenberg said public strikes have been effective in the past. In mid-2023, a public strike prevented Netanyahu from firing Gallant although another attempt at a strike in late 2024 failed because of a lack of clear demands.
And the furore over the attempted firing of Bar is unlikely to change things. For the pressure to manifest into something tangible against Netanyahu, a number of factors would have to come to fruition.
“If this legal security situation with Ronen Bar and with the Shin Bet will intensify and at the same time the refusal wave that we are seeing or the wave of protests of people from the army against the war, this might shake things up and maybe change course,” Flaschenberg said.
“So I’m not entirely hopeless about what could develop in the next few months,” he said, before adding: “[But] I’m relatively hopeless.”
Chief political correspondent
EPAPrime Minister Sir Keir Starmer does not believe transgender women are women, his official spokesman has said.
It comes after the UK Supreme Court ruled last week that a woman is defined by biological sex under equalities law.
In March 2022, when he was leader of the opposition, Sir Keir told the Times that “a woman is a female adult, and in addition to that transwomen are women, and that is not just my view – that is actually the law”.
Asked if Sir Keir still believed that a transgender woman was a woman, the PM’s official spokesman said: “No, the Supreme Court judgment has made clear that when looking at the Equality Act, a woman is a biological woman.”
The spokesman added: “That is set out clearly by the court judgment.”
Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch accused the government of having U-turned in reaction to the judgement, accusing Labour ministers of needing the Supreme Court to tell them what to think on the issue.
Pressed over when the PM had changed his mind earlier, his spokesman insisted the Labour government had been consistent that single-sex spaces “are protected in law”.
The ruling also makes it clear that a person who was born male but identifies as a woman does not have the right to use spaces or services designated as for women-only.
This means transgender women with a gender recognition certificate (GRC) can be excluded from single-sex spaces if “proportionate”.
The spokesman stressed the PM had repeatedly said “a woman is an adult female” before the court judgment.
In 2023, Sir Keir told The Sunday Times that for “99.9%” of women “of course they haven’t got a penis”.
Later that year he told BBC Radio 5 Live “a woman is an adult female”.
And in April 2024 he said Rosie Duffield, who quit the party last year, was right to say “only women have a cervix”, telling ITV: “Biologically, she of course is right about that.”
Sir Keir had previously been critical of Duffield’s views on trans people when she was a Labour MP, saying in 2021 that she was “not right” to say only women have a cervix.
Asked whether Sir Keir would now use a trans woman’s preferred pronouns, the spokesman declined to comment on “hypotheticals” but insisted the PM had “been clear that trans women should be treated with the same dignity and respect as anyone else”.
Earlier on Monday Sir Keir welcomed the court’s decision, saying it had given “much-needed clarity” for those drawing up guidance.
In his first public comments since the ruling last week, the PM told ITV West Country: “We need to move and make sure that we now ensure that all guidance is in the right place according to that judgment.”
Asked if he does not believe a transwoman is a woman, he said: “A woman is an adult female, and the court has made that absolutely clear.”
During a Commons debate on the ruling on Monday, Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson welcomed the “added clarity” of the ruling and said the government would work to “protect single-sex spaces based on biological sex”.
But Badenoch attacked Labour ministers’ previous record, accusing them of being “so desperate to jump on a bandwagon that they abandoned common sense”.
“I know what a woman is and I always have,” she said. “The people of this country know what a woman is.
“We didn’t need the Supreme Court to tell us that – but this government did.”
Badenoch added: “The idea that they have supported this all along is for the birds… They have never said this before, this is a U-turn, but we welcome it.”
Earlier, Philipson was pressed over whether a trans woman should use a women’s toilet or a men’s toilet.
“That should be on the basis of biological sex – that would apply right across the board to all single-sex provision,” she told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.
“But the EHRC [Equality and Human Rights Commission] will be setting out additional guidance and a statutory code of practice because we need to make sure that everyone has the ability to access services that are safe and appropriate and respect their privacy and dignity.”
Phillipson added that “many businesses have moved towards unisex provision or separate cubicles that can be used by anyone”.
Asked whether there was unity in the Labour Party about this issue, she replied: “I speak for the government on this matter and I can be crystal clear with you that we welcome the ruling.”
Many Labour MPs will be uneasy about the comments from Sir Keir and Phillipson.
For now this appears confined to private frustration.
Some MPs who have campaigned in support of trans rights pointed to commitments in Labour’s general election manifesto to introduce a “trans-inclusive ban on conversion practices” as well as to “modernise, simplify, and reform” gender recognition law.
Those are still Labour Party policies, as far as we are aware, but any sign of backsliding on that and this debate may again become a tense one within Labour’s ranks.
