Israel’s war on Gaza rumbles on, even as international condemnation grows.
Hamas has expressed that it is ready for a deal to end the war, even offering to turn over the administration of Gaza to a technocratic government. United Nations Security Council members have overwhelmingly voted in favour of a ceasefire, a resolution blocked from passing only by a United States veto.
But Israel, led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, is adamant in its refusal of any agreement that does not include what it calls the “defeat of Hamas”, even if that means endangering the Israeli captives still held in Gaza.
“Hamas is already the weakest it’s ever been, and there’s nothing they can do that is remotely comparable to what Israel possesses,” writer and researcher on Israel-Palestine and founder of The Fire These Times podcast Elia Ayoub told Al Jazeera.
“There’s ample evidence by now that the only reason this genocide is ongoing is because Netanyahu wants it to continue. It’s clearly just an excuse to keep the war going.”
Netanyahu is ‘reliant upon Hamas’
But why would Netanyahu want the war – which is Israel’s longest since 1948, and is causing economic crisis – to continue?
One answer is that the war provides a distraction from Netanyahu’s own problems.
And, aside from that, should a permanent ceasefire be realised, some analysts believe Israeli society will hold Netanyahu accountable for security shortcomings that led to October 7.
“He’s afraid once it’s done, eyes will rightfully turn to him over corruption and the failures of October 7,” Diana Buttu, a legal scholar and former adviser to the Palestine Liberation Organization, said.
And so, Netanyahu has two main tasks. The first is to prolong the war, allowing him to continue using it as an excuse to avoid accountability. The second is to prevent the breakup of his government, while somehow setting himself up for another successful election, which must happen before October 2026.
Netanyahu has been “reliant upon Hamas throughout the war”, Mairav Zonszein, an expert on Israel and Palestine for the International Crisis Group, told Al Jazeera.
“The far right and Netanyahu have consistently used Hamas as an excuse not to negotiate or plan for a day after,” she said.
Israel’s goal has nothing to do with Hamas
The Israeli refusal to negotiate a final end to the war stands in stark contrast to Hamas’s willingness to hand over all captives held in Gaza.
Over the last 20 months, much of Hamas’s leadership has been killed. Ismail Haniyeh, Hamas’s political leader, was assassinated in Tehran on July 31, and Yahya Sinwar, his successor, was killed in Gaza on October 16.
Israel is now claiming it killed Sinwar’s successor and younger brother, Mohammed, though Hamas has yet to confirm his death.
Militarily, analysts say, Hamas is estimated to have lost significant strength. It is still conducting some attacks, but fewer and further between than the ambushes it was able to carry out earlier in the war.
In a sign that Hamas perhaps understands that it is no longer in a position to rule Gaza, it has also offered to step down from the administration of the Palestinian territory, which it has controlled since 2006, and hand over to a technocratic government.
“The technocrat offer is not new,” Hamzé Attar, a Luxembourg-based defence analyst from Gaza, said.
“It was on the table since before the invasion of Rafah [which occurred on May 6, 2024]. They want Hamas to give up their arms and give up everything, and Hamas has responded by saying: ‘We’re stepping aside.’”
That has been firmly rejected by Israel, which has not endorsed any vision for post-war Gaza.
Instead, over the last nearly 20 months, Israel has killed more than 54,300 Palestinians and wounded more than 124,000 in Gaza, according to the territory’s Health Ministry.
Ethnic cleansing: The deeper goal
In addition, Gaza is now “the hungriest place on Earth”, according to the UN, all its inhabitants at risk of famine after Israel strangled aid delivery throughout its war, then completely blocked it from March 2 until May 27.
Israel has also turned 70 percent of the enclave into no-go zones.
All the while, Israel’s bombing of Gaza continues.
Discounting the pretext of destroying Hamas and returning the captives, some analysts believe there is a deeper goal: pushing Palestinians out of Gaza.
“Neither Hamas nor the hostages are the targets,” Meron Rappaport, an editor at Local Call, a Hebrew-language news site, said.
“The goal is to push the people of Gaza into very few, small and closed areas where food will be delivered scarcely, hoping that the pressure on them will get them to ask to leave the Strip.”
“Israel is no longer fighting Hamas,” he added.
Netanyahu said in late May that Israel would control the entirety of Gaza by the end of its latest offensive, while many foreign officials and experts have warned either directly or implicitly that Israel’s actions amount to ethnically cleansing Gaza.
A recent report in Haaretz, the Israeli newspaper, cited 82 percent of Jewish Israelis supporting the expulsion of the people in Gaza.
To do so would have a historic impact, Buttu said, one that Netanyahu might feel he can portray as protecting Israel from a Palestinian state – something he has repeatedly promised to prevent.
“He recognises he will be the fall guy or the hero,” Buttu said. “If he is the one who ethnically cleanses Gaza, he becomes the hero.”
Until that happens, analysts believe, Palestinians will continue to die at the hands of the Israeli military. Hamas is the pretext and their willingness to negotiate or succumb is of secondary importance.
“Benjamin Netanyahu has no intention of ending this war,” Zonszein said. “It doesn’t matter what Hamas offers. They can offer to return all the hostages or give up governance.
“This war is going to continue until Netanyahu is forced to stop it, and that can only come from Trump.”
A Colombian presidential candidate has been shot three times – reportedly twice in the head – at a campaign event in the capital, Bogota.
Miguel Uribe Turbay, 39, was attacked while addressing a small crowd in a park on Saturday. Police arrested a 15-year-old suspect at the scene, local media say.
His wife, Maria Claudia Tarazona, called on the nation to pray for his survival. “Miguel is currently fighting for his life. Let us ask God to guide the hands of the doctors who are treating him,” she said.
Uribe’s Centro Democratico party condemned the attack, saying that it “endangers the life of a political leader… democracy and freedom in Colombia”.
Phone footage shared online appears to show the moment when he was shot in the head mid-speech, prompting those gathered to flee in panic.
Paramedics said he had been shot in the knee and twice in the head, AFP news agency reported. He was airlifted to Sante Fe clinic where supporters have gathered outside to hold vigil.
The government of left wing President Gustavo Petro said it “categorically and forcefully” condemned the attack as an “act of violence not only against his person, but also against democracy.”
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio also condemned the shooting as a “direct threat to democracy”.
Uribe announced his candidacy for next year’s presidential election in October.
He is from a prominent political family in Colombia, with links to the country’s Liberal Party. His father was a union leader and businessman.
His mother was Diana Turbay, a journalist who was killed in 1991 in a rescue attempt after she had been kidnapped by the Medellin drugs cartel run at the time by Pablo Escobar.
US President Donald Trump is deploying 2,000 National Guardsmen in Los Angeles to deal with unrest over raids on undocumented migrants.
His border czar, Tom Homan, told Fox News on Saturday: “We are making Los Angeles safer.”
The Californian city saw a second day of unrest on Saturday as residents of a predominantly Latino district clashed with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) federal agents. Tear gas and batons were used to disperse crowds in the Paramount district.
As many as 118 arrests were made in LA this week as a result of ICE operations, including 44 on Friday. California Governor Gavin Newsom has condemned the raids as “cruel”.
Paramount has calmed considerably but clashes between protesters and law enforcement are still happening.
The air is acrid – thick with tear gas and smoke outside the Home Depot where the protests first erupted.
LA county sheriffs are firing flash bangs and tear gas every few minutes trying to clear protesters away.
Neighbours and protesters say there are migrants locked inside local businesses afraid to come out.
A White House press release said: “In recent days, violent mobs have attacked ICE Officers and Federal Law Enforcement Agents carrying out basic deportation operations in Los Angeles, California.
“These operations are essential to halting and reversing the invasion of illegal criminals into the United States. In the wake of this violence, California’s feckless Democrat leaders have completely abdicated their responsibility to protect their citizens. That is why President Trump has signed a Presidential Memorandum deploying 2,000 National Guardsmen to address the lawlessness that has been allowed to fester.”
Speaking in Los Angeles, where he had travelled to personally supervise the continuing ICE operations, Homan said: “We’re bringing in more resources as we speak. We gonna bring the National Guard in tonight. We gonna continue doing our job.”
He warned that there would be “zero tolerance” of any violence or damage to private property.
In a post on X, FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino also issued a warning to protesters: “You bring chaos, and we’ll bring handcuffs. Law and order will prevail.”
He said that “multiple arrests” had been made for “obstructing operations”.
Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth wrote on X that his department was “mobilising the National Guard IMMEDIATELY to support federal law enforcement in Los Angeles”.
“And, if violence continues, active duty Marines at Camp Pendleton will also be mobilised – they are on high alert,” he added.
In a statement on Friday, Governor Newsom said: “Continued chaotic federal sweeps, across California, to meet an arbitrary arrest quota are as reckless as they are cruel.
“Donald Trump’s chaos is eroding trust, tearing families apart, and undermining the workers and industries that power America’s economy.”
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass earlier accused the ICE of “sowing terror” in America’s second largest city.
The FBI and Homeland Security chiefs said the mayor’s comments were endangering federal agents.
Angelica Salas, who leads the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights, told a recent rally: “Our community is under attack and is being terrorised. These are workers. These are fathers. These are mothers. And this has to stop.”
The US president has the authority to deploy the National Guard for certain purposes which include “suppressing rebellion”.
But responding on Saturday, California’s governor said the federal government’s move to “take over the California National Guard and deploy 2,000 soldiers” was “purposefully inflammatory” and would “only escalate tensions”.
“LA authorities are able to access law enforcement assistance at a moment’s notice,” Newsom added.
Trump hit out at the governor on his Truth Social platform, saying that if he and Bass could not do their jobs, “then the Federal Government will step in and solve the problem, RIOTS & LOOTERS, the way it should be solved!!!”
A British woman has been charged in Australia over the death of a man she allegedly hit while riding an e-scooter after a night of drinking.
Prosecutors told magistrates that Alicia Kemp, 24, hit Thanh Phan, 51, from behind at speeds of 20-25km/h (12-15mph) on a pavement in Perth city centre on 31 May.
The father-of-two hit his head and died two days later, prompting police to charge Ms Kemp with death by dangerous driving while under the influence. The charge carries a maximum 20-year prison term.
In a subsequent court hearing, prosecutors alleged Ms Kemp, of Redditch, had been drinking with a friend before both boarded the same scooter. She was denied bail and faces court again on 15 July.
Prosecutors told Perth Magistrates’ Court that CCTV footage showed Ms Kemp’s “inexplicably dangerous” driving, “evasive action” taken by others in her path, and the moment of collision with Mr Phan as he waited to cross the road.
Ms Kemp was denied bail by a magistrate on the basis that she posed a “flight risk”, after prosecutors argued that she was in Australia on a working holiday visa and could attempt to leave.
British media reported on Saturday that her parents were flying to Australia to support her. Her boyfriend has been present at the court hearings in Perth.
Ms Kemp faces an additional charge of dangerous driving occasioning bodily harm while under the influence for injuries suffered by her passenger, who was thrown from the e-scooter and suffered a fractured skull and broken nose.
Police say Ms Kemp had a blood alcohol content level of 0.158 when she hit Mr Phan. The legal drink-driving alcohol limit in Australia is 0.05.
The court heard that the pair had been drinking on the day since 14:30 and were forcibly evicted from the bar because of intoxication.
The pair hired the e-scooter just before 20:30.
In a statement last week, Mr Phan’s family described him as a a beloved husband, father, brother and dear friend.
He had worked as a structural engineer and had previously lived in Sydney, as well as Vietnam and Singapore, Australian media reported.
They called for a review of safety regulations around the use of hire e-scooters “to help prevent further serious incidents that put lives at risk”.
Perth’s city council suspended the use of hire e-scooters on Thursday, with authorities removing the vehicles from the street this week. Deputy Lord Mayor Bruce Reynolds called Mr Phan’s death a “tragic event”.
Western Australia’s police minister is also reviewing e-scooter regulations.
These are the key events on day 1,200 of Russia’s war on Ukraine.
Here’s where things stand on Sunday, June 8:
Fighting
Russian forces attacked the eastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv at night and in the evening with drones, missiles and guided bombs, killing at least four people and wounding more than 60, including a baby, according to local officials.
“Kharkiv is currently experiencing the most powerful attack since the start of the full-scale war,” Mayor Ihor Terekhov said in a post on Telegram.
Elsewhere in Ukraine, three people were killed in the front-line Donetsk region, which has seen the most intense fighting of the war, and three more in the Kherson region, which is partially occupied by Moscow’s forces, the AFP news agency reported.
Russian forces took control of a section of the Yunakivka-Sudzha highway in Ukraine’s Sumy region, which “Ukrainian troops once used to supply their group in the [Russian] Kursk Region”, Russia’s TASS news agency reported, citing a military analyst.
The Ukrainian military said that Russia launched 206 drones, two ballistic and seven other missiles at Ukraine overnight. Kyiv said its air defence units shot down 87 drones while another 80 drones were lost.
It also said on Telegram that a Russian Su-35 fighter jet was shot down after “a successful Air Force operation in the Kursk direction”.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Kyiv’s forces recently destroyed three Iskander missile systems and damaged Russian military helicopters. “This helps our defence – every complication for Russia is important for us,” he said in his evening statement.
German Major General Christian Freuding, meanwhile, said his country estimates that a recent Ukrainian attack damaged 10 percent of Russia’s long-range bomber fleet but said the attack will only have an “indirect effect” since Moscow still retains 90 percent of its strategic bombers.
In Russia, officials said a Ukrainian drone attack in the Moscow region wounded two people.
The Russian Ministry of Defence said that air defence units had intercepted and destroyed 36 Ukrainian drones over Russian territory on Saturday, including the Moscow region.
Prisoner Exchange
Russia and Ukraine accused each other of endangering plans to swap 6,000 bodies of soldiers killed in action, agreed upon during direct talks in Istanbul on Monday.
Vladimir Medinsky, who led the Russian delegation, said that Kyiv called a last-minute halt to an imminent swap. In a Telegram post, Medinsky said that refrigerated trucks carrying more than 1,200 bodies of Ukrainian troops from Russia had already reached the agreed-upon exchange site at the border when the news came.
In response, Ukraine said that Russia was playing “dirty games” and manipulating facts.
According to the main Ukrainian authority dealing with such swaps, no date had been set for repatriating the bodies. In a statement on Saturday, the agency also accused Russia of submitting lists of prisoners of war for repatriation that did not correspond to agreements reached on Monday.
Weapons
Zelenskyy appealed to the United States to “urgently” send “positive signals” regarding Ukraine’s request to buy air defence systems, following the latest deadly Russian attacks on Kharkiv. Zelenskyy first publicly requested to buy US Patriot air defence systems in mid-April this year.
France’s armed forces minister, Sebastien Lecornu, told France’s LCI news that a French car maker is preparing to manufacture drones in Ukraine.
Canadian Minister of National Defence David McGuinty announced military assistance worth 35 million Canadian dollars ($25.5m) for Ukraine, including Coyote and Bison armoured vehicles.
Diplomacy
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov told TASS that Russia had asked US officials to resume direct flights between the two countries and lift restrictions on Russian diplomats in the US.
“To put it mildly, at this point, they are not very enthusiastic,” Ryabkov said regarding the proposal to resume flights.
This sacred mask is etched with symbols of Sona, a sophisticated and now rarely used writing system
A wooden hunters’ toolbox inscribed with an ancient writing system from Zambia has been making waves on social media.
“We’ve grown up being told that Africans didn’t know how to read and write,” says Samba Yonga, one of the founders of the virtual Women’s History Museum of Zambia.
“But we had our own way of writing and transmitting knowledge that has been completely side-lined and overlooked,” she tells the BBC.
It was one of the artefacts that launched an online campaign to highlight women’s roles in pre-colonial communities – and revive cultural heritages almost erased by colonialism.
Another intriguing object is an intricately decorated leather cloak not seen in Zambia for more than 100 years.
“The artefacts signify a history that matters – and a history that is largely unknown,” says Yonga.
“Our relationship with our cultural heritage has been disrupted and obscured by the colonial experience.
“It’s also shocking just how much the role of women has been deliberately removed.”
Women’s History Museum Zambia
Samba Yonga holding the wooden hunters’ toolbox in one of the beautifully photographed images posted on social media for the Frame project
But, says Yonga, “there’s a resurgence, a need and a hunger to connect with our cultural heritage – and reclaim who we are, whether through fashion, music or academic studies”.
“We had our own language of love, of beauty,” she says. “We had ways that we took care of our health and our environment. We had prosperity, union, respect, intellect.”
A total of 50 objects have been posted on social media – alongside information about their significance and purpose that shows that women were often at the heart of a society’s belief systems and understanding of the natural world.
The images of the objects are presented inside a frame – playing on the idea that a surround can influence how you look at and perceive a picture. In the same way that British colonialism distorted Zambian histories – through the systematic silencing and destruction of local wisdom and practices.
The Frame project is using social media to push back against the still-common idea that African societies did not have their own knowledge systems.
The objects were mostly collected during the colonial era and kept in storage in museums all over the world, including Sweden – where the journey for this current social media project began in 2019.
She did – and when he asked her what country she was from, Yonga was surprised to hear him say that the museum had a lot of Zambian artefacts.
“It really blew my mind, so I asked: ‘How come a country that did not have a colonial past in Zambia had so many artefacts from Zambia in its collection?'”
In the 19th and early 20th Centuries Swedish explorers, ethnographers and botanists would pay to travel on British ships to Cape Town and then make their way inland by rail and foot.
There are close to 650 Zambian cultural objects in the museum, collected over the course of a century – as well as about 300 historical photographs.
Women’s History Museum Zambia
Mulenga Kapwepwe looks at one of 20 pristine leather cloaks in the Swedish archive collected during an expedition between 1911 and 1912
When Yonga and her virtual museum co-founder Mulenga Kapwepwe explored the archives, they were astonished to find the Swedish collectors had travelled far and wide – some of the artefacts come from areas of Zambia that are still remote and hard to reach.
The collection includes reed fishing baskets, ceremonial masks, pots, a waist belt of cowry shells – and 20 leather cloaks in pristine condition collected during a 1911-1912 expedition.
They are made from the skin of a lechwe antelope by the Batwa men and worn by the women or used by the women to protect their babies from the elements.
On the fur outside are “geometric patterns, meticulously, delicately and beautifully designed”, Yonga says.
There are pictures of the women wearing the cloaks, and a 300-page notebook written by the person who brought the cloaks to Sweden – ethnographer Eric Van Rosen.
He also drew illustrations showing how the cloaks were designed and took photographs of women wearing the cloaks in different ways.
“He took great pains to show the cloak being designed, all the angles and the tools that were used, and [the] geography and location of the region where it came from.”
The Swedish museum had not done any research on the cloaks – and the National Museums Board of Zambia was not even aware they existed.
So Yonga and Kapwepwe went to find out more from the community in the Bengweulu region in north-east of the country where the cloaks came from.
“There’s no memory of it,” says Yonga. “Everybody who held that knowledge of creating that particular textile – that leather cloak – or understood that history was no longer there.
“So it only existed in this frozen time, in this Swedish museum.”
Women’s History Museum Zambia
The Swedish collection includes 300 historical photographs, including this one of women wearing leather cloaks
One of Yonga’s personal favourites in the Frame project is Sona or Tusona, an ancient, sophisticated and now rarely used writing system.
It comes from the Chokwe, Luchazi and Luvale people, who live in the borderlands of Angola, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Yonga’s own north-western region of Zambia.
Geometric patterns were made in the sand, on cloth and on people’s bodies. Or carved into furniture, wooden masks used in the Makishi ancestral masquerade – and a wooden box used to store tools when people were out hunting.
The patterns and symbols carry mathematical principles, references to the cosmos, messages about nature and the environment – as well as instructions on community life.
The original custodians and teachers of Sona were women – and there are still community elders alive who remember how it works.
They are a huge source of knowledge for Yonga’s ongoing corroboration of research done on Sona by scholars like Marcus Matthe and Paulus Gerdes.
“Sona’s been one of the most popular social media posts – with people expressing surprise and huge excitement, exclaiming: ‘Like, what, what? How is this possible?'”
The Queens in Code: Symbols of Women’s Power post includes a photograph of a woman from the Tonga community in southern Zambia.
She has her hands on a mealie grinder, a stone used to grind grain.
National Museums of World Cultures
This archive photo shows a grinding stone used by Tonga women that would go on to used as a gravestone
Researchers from the Women’s History Museum of Zambia discovered during a field trip that the grinding stone was more than just a kitchen tool.
It belonged only to the woman who used it – it was not passed down to her daughters. Instead, it was placed on her grave as a tombstone out of respect for the contribution the woman had made to the community’s food security.
“What might look like just a grinding stone is in fact a symbol of women’s power,” Yonga says.
It is conducting research in communities and creating an online archive of items that have been taken out of Zambia.
“We’re trying to put together a jigsaw without even having all the pieces yet – we’re on a treasure hunt.”
A treasure hunt that has changed Yonga’s life – in a way that she hopes the Frame social media project will also do for other people.
“Having a sense of my community and understanding the context of who I am historically, politically, socially, emotionally – that has changed the way I interact in the world.”
Penny Dale is a freelance journalist, podcast and documentary-maker based in London
EastEnders star Jamie Borthwick has been suspended by the BBC after using a slur against people with disabilities on the set of Strictly Come Dancing.
The offensive remark was made last November during filming for the BBC dance show’s flagship Blackpool week, the Sun on Sunday reported.
The BBC said his language was “entirely unacceptable and in no way reflects the values or standards we hold and expect”.
The newspaper said that Borthwick, who plays Jay Brown – a key long-running character on the soap – apologised for “any offence and upset”.
BBC News has approached his representatives for a comment.
Disability charity Scope said Borthwick should reflect on what he said and educate himself.
“We hope he takes the opportunity to get to know the reality of disabled people’s lives,” said the organisation’s media manager Warren Kirwan.
In his statement to the Sun on Sunday, Borthwick said: “I want to apologise sincerely and wholeheartedly for the words I used in the video showing my reaction to making it through Blackpool week on Strictly.”
He added: “It is no excuse, but I did not fully understand the derogatory term I used and its meaning.
“That is on me completely.
“Now I am aware, I am deeply embarrassed to have used the term and directed it in the way I did.”
Borthwick rose to fame for his portrayal of Jay Brown (previously Mitchell) in BBC soap EastEnders.
He has starred in it since 2006, making him one of the longest-serving actors on the show.
He has won a British Soap Award for best dramatic performance from a young actor, and an Inside Soap Award for best actor.
The 30-year-old took part in the latest series of Strictly, where he was paired with professional dancer Michelle Tsiakkas.
It marked a return to the ballroom for him, after he won the 2023 Christmas special.
He made it through to Blackpool week – seen as a key milestone in the contest – but was voted off later in November, making him the ninth celebrity to leave the show.
Thousands of Israeli protesters in Tel Aviv have again called for the return of captives held in Gaza and an immediate ceasefire, while hundreds of thousands of pro-Palestine supporters gathered in Rome denouncing the Italian government’s “complicity” in the war.
Captive families and antigovernment protesters gathered in front of Israel’s army headquarters on Saturday, several hours after Thailand’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs reported that Israeli forces had recovered the body of a Thai captive.
In a statement, the Israeli army said on Saturday morning that the body of Nattapong Pinta was retrieved from the Rafah area in southern Gaza after he was taken captive during Hamas’s October 7, 2023, attack.
The Hostages and Missing Families Forum wrote on X that it “bows its head in sorrow over the murder of Nattapong Pinta”.
“The time is running out for all 55 hostages. We must bring them all home, Now!,” the group wrote on X.
The spokesperson of Hamas’s armed wing, the Qassam Brigades, Abu Obeida, warned that an Israeli captive, Matan Zangauker, is being held in an area targeted by the Israeli army.
He warned that if Zangauker were killed during an attempt to free him, the Israeli military would be responsible.
The captive’s mother, Einav Zangauker, speaking at the Tel Aviv protest, criticised Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for neglecting those being held in Gaza.
“The military pressure is closing in on [my son] and is placing him in immediate danger. The decision to expand the ground operation comes at the cost of Matan’s life and the lives of all the hostages,” she said.
“[Netanyahu] continues to sacrifice the hostages. He is using the [Israeli military] not to protect Israel’s security, but to continue the war and protect his government.”
Police prevented activists from the NGO, Looking the Occupation in the Eye, from reaching the protest area in Tel Aviv, according to reports in the Israeli media. The activists were reportedly carrying placards protesting against Israeli war crimes and ethnic cleansing in Gaza.
אלימות מצד המשטרה, דחיפות וצעקות לעבר מפגינים הנושאים שלטים הקוראים להפסקת המלחמה.
Translation: Police pushing and shouting at protesters carrying signs calling for an end to the war.
During the Hamas attack, which killed 1,139 people in southern Israel, the group abducted 251 people; following a series of prisoner-for-captive exchanges with the Israeli government, the group are currently holding 55 captives in Gaza, a number of whom are dead.
Israel’s war on Gaza has now killed at least 54,772 Palestinians and injured 125,834 others, Gaza’s Health Ministry reported.
‘Enough to the massacre of Palestinians’
In the meantime, across Europe, pro-Palestine demonstrators called for an end to the Israeli genocidal assault in Gaza.
In Rome, hundreds of thousands of people marched through the city in a protest called by opposition parties slamming the government’s “complicity” in the war.
The leader of the main opposition Democratic Party, Elly Schlein, called the turnout “an enormous popular response” in opposition to Israel’s actions in the besieged and bombarded enclave.
The demonstration was “to say enough to the massacre of Palestinians, to say enough to the crimes of Netanyahu’s far-right government” and to show the world “another Italy”, Schlein told reporters.
Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has come under increasing pressure to take a stronger stance on the war in Gaza as she has backed Israel and Netanyahu throughout, while admitting difficult conversations with the Israeli leader of late.
Pro-Palestinian protesters attend a demonstration, calling for an end to the bombing in Gaza, in Rome, Italy, June 7, 2025 [Matteo Minnella/Reuters]
In the British capital, London, antigovernment demonstrators held placards demanding “Cut war, not welfare.”
Speaking at the Whitehall rally, former Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn said with the “abominable, deliberate starvation of children in Gaza and the genocide that’s inflicted against the Palestinian people”, a world of “peace” was needed.
“We need a world of peace that will come through the vision of peace, the vision of disarmament and the vision of actually challenging the causes of war, which leads to the desperation and the refugee flows of today,” he said.
Pro-Palestine protests were also held Saturday in Denmark, Sweden, and Germany, where demonstrators raised banners calling for an end to the Israeli genocide against Palestinians.
Andrew Tate is known for his predilection for sports cars
Controversial influencer Andrew Tate has been caught speeding at 196km/h (121mph) in a 50km/h zone in Romania, officials have said.
The British-American national was recorded driving at nearly four times the speed limit in a village about 184km from the Romanian capital, Bucharest.
The 38-year-old received a fine of £310 ($420), in line with local traffic legislation, and had his driving licence suspended for 120 days due to the severity of the offence, police said. Tate has denied he was speeding and said he would appeal.
The self-proclaimed misogynist and his brother, Tristan, are currently facing charges including rape and human trafficking in Romania, as well as separate allegations in the UK and US. They deny any wrongdoing.
The brothers are allowed to travel in Romania, where they live, and abroad, subject to court-ordered conditions while their cases are pending.
Andrew Tate was caught speeding on Saturday in the central village of Bujoreni, police said.
They added in a statement that excessive speed remained one of the leading causes of road deaths in Romania.
Tate later described the assertion that he was speeding as “grossly false” and said he would contest the matter in court on Monday.
He wrote on social media that he had attempted to explain to the officer who stopped him that the radar gun – used by police to measure a vehicle’s speed – “must be calibrated incorrectly because I would never do this”.
Tate said he looked forward to being proven innocent, and claimed he would “enjoy full and normal driving privileges in the mean time”, despite the suspension.
The elder Tate has often flaunted his collection of sports cars, including Bugattis and Lamborghinis, frequently posting photos of himself alongside them on social media.
The former kickboxer has gained millions of followers online, where he has often mixed political messages with showcasing a flashy lifestyle.
He has been caught speeding on numerous occasions in Romania.
In April 2021, Tate was stopped in a town near Bucharest for allegedly driving a Porsche at 138km/h, according to local reports. A year prior, he had received a speeding fine in Germany.
Andrew Tate has had several of his sports cars impounded by Romanian authorities
Tate has reportedly criticised British police for refusing bribes during traffic stops, calling it “offensive”. He has cited such attitudes as among the reasons for moving his businesses to Romania in 2017.
A central theme in Tate’s online messaging is the idea that an “elite club” of successful individuals live free from the challenges faced by others.
Tate has stated that he escaped “the Western world” by moving to Romania, “where corruption is accessible to everybody”.
A fan site quoted him saying: “If corruption exists, which it does, let us all play.”
British prosecutors have said Andrew and Tristan Tate will return to the UK to face 21 criminal charges – including rape and human trafficking – once proceedings against them in Romania have concluded.
The brothers are also facing a separate, civil lawsuit brought by four women who allege they were coerced into sex work.
Andrew Tate also faces a lawsuit in the US from an ex-girlfriend who accuses him of sexual assault.
The brothers have characterised themselves as innocent in relation to all the cases against them.
Saad bin Atef al-Awlaki, who is wanted by the US, challenges Houthi dominance of Arab and Muslim world’s resistance movement.
The leader of al-Qaeda’s Yemen branch has targeted US President Donald Trump and tech billionaire Elon Musk over United States backing for Israel’s ongoing war on the Gaza Strip and its besieged Palestinian population.
“There are no red lines after what happened and is happening to our people in Gaza,” said Saad bin Atef al-Awlaki in a half-hour video message that was spread online Saturday by supporters of al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), the Yemeni branch of the armed group.
“Reciprocity is legitimate,” he said.
Al-Awlaki’s video message also included calls for so-called lone wolves to assassinate leaders in Egypt, Jordan and the Gulf Arab states over the war, which has decimated Gaza, killing at least 54,772 Palestinians over the past 20 months.
The message featured images of Trump and Musk, US Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth, as well as logos of Musk’s businesses – including electric carmaker Tesla.
Born in 2009 from the merger of al-Qaeda’s Yemeni and Saudi factions, AQAP is completely distinct from Yemen’s Houthi rebel group, which controls most of the country and agreed to a ceasefire with the US earlier this month.
AQAP grew and developed amid the chaos of Yemen’s war, which has pitted the Houthis against a Saudi-led coalition backing the government since 2015.
Al-Awlaki became the group’s leader in 2024, replacing predecessor Khalid Batarfi, who died that year.
He already has a $6m US bounty on his head, having, as Washington puts it, “publicly called for attacks against the United States and its allies”.
Though believed to be weakened in recent years due to infighting and suspected US drone strikes killing its leaders, the group had been considered the most dangerous branch of al-Qaeda still operating since the US killing of founder Osama bin Laden in 2011.
United Nations experts estimate AQAP has between 3,000 and 4,000 active fighters and passive members, claiming that it raises money by robbing banks and money exchange shops, as well as by smuggling weapons, counterfeiting currencies and conducting ransom operations.
The Houthis have previously denied working with AQAP, though the latter’s targeting of the Houthis has dropped in recent years, while its fighters keep attacking the Saudi-led coalition forces.
Now, with its focus on Israel’s war on Gaza, AQAP appears to be following the lead of the Houthi group, which has launched missile attacks on Israel and targeted commercial vessels moving through the Red Sea in solidarity with Palestinians under Israeli fire.
“As the Houthis gain popularity as leaders of the ‘Arab and Muslim world’s resistance’ against Israel, al-Awlaki seeks to challenge their dominance by presenting himself as equally concerned about the situation in Gaza,” said Mohammed al-Basha, a Yemen expert with the Basha Report risk advisory firm.
“For a national security and foreign policy community increasingly disengaged from Yemen, this video is a clear reminder: Yemen still matters,” he said.
The Rukban displacement camp, which opened and was cut off in the height of the civil war in 2014, housed thousands of people.
The notorious Rukban displacement camp in the Syrian desert, a dark emblem of the country’s civil war, has closed, with the last remaining families returning to their hometowns.
Syrian Information Minister Hamza al-Mustafa said on Saturday on X that with the dismantlement of the camp, “a tragic and sorrowful chapter of displacement stories created by the bygone regime’s war machine comes to a close”.
“Rukban was not just a camp, it was the triangle of death that bore witness to the cruelty of siege and starvation, where the regime left people to face their painful fate in the barren desert,” he added.
The camp, established in 2014 at the height of the country’s ruinous civil war, was built in a deconfliction zone controlled by the United States-led coalition forces fighting against ISIL (ISIS).
The camp was used to house those fleeing ISIL fighters and bombardment by the then-government of President Bashar al-Assad, seeking refuge and hoping to eventually cross the border into Jordan.
But al-Assad’s regime rarely allowed aid to enter the camp as neighbouring countries also blocked access to the area, rendering Rukban isolated for years under a punishing siege.
About 8,000 people lived in the camp, staying in mud-brick houses with food and basic goods smuggled in at high prices.
But after al-Assad was toppled following a lightning offensive led by the current president of Syria’s interim government, Ahmed al-Sharaa, in December, families began leaving the camp and returning home.
Al-Sharaa has promised to unite Syria following the fall of al-Assad and rebuild the country at home and rejoin the international fold abroad.
Last month, al-Sharaa met with world leaders, including United States President Donald Trump, who announced that sanctions on Syria would be removed in a decision that would allow the country a “chance at greatness”. The European Union followed suit and also lifted sanctions. Both moves have given Syria a critical lifeline to economic recovery after nearly 14 years of war and economic devastation.
‘A castle in my eyes’
Yasmine al-Salah, who returned to her home after nine years of displacement in the Rukban camp and marked the Muslim celebration of Eid al-Adha, told The Associated Press news agency on Friday that her feelings are a “happiness that cannot be described”.
“Even though our house is destroyed, and we have no money, and we are hungry, and we have debts, and my husband is old and can’t work, and I have kids – still, it’s a castle in my eyes,” al-Salah said.
Her home in the town of al-Qaryatan in the eastern part of the Homs province was damaged during the war.
Syrian Minister for Emergency Situations and Disasters Raed al-Saleh said on X said the camp’s closure marks “the end of one of the harshest humanitarian tragedies faced by our displaced people”.
“We hope this step marks the beginning of a path that ends the suffering of the remaining camps and returns their residents to their homes with dignity and safety,” he added.
According to the International Organization for Migration, 1.87 million Syrians have returned to their homes since al-Assad’s fall.
Far-right anti-Islam activist Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, better known as Tommy Robinson, was asked to leave a London restaurant after the business said guests and staff felt uncomfortable.
The 42-year-old said he and four others were told to leave the Hawksmoor steakhouse, near Piccadilly Circus, on Thursday.
Yaxley-Lennon has accused the restaurant of “discriminatory behaviour” due to his political beliefs.
Hawksmoor, which did not name Yaxley-Lennon in its statement, said the group left the restaurant “politely”, adding that its decision was “not about politics or belief” and it was “not trying to engage in a public debate”.
The restaurant chain has been contacted for further comment.
Video footage, posted on X by a member of Yaxley-Lennon’s group, shows a member of staff telling them that his colleagues felt “uncomfortable serving” them.
The staff member is then heard saying that he had a “duty of care”, adding that he would waive the bill for their drinks and apologising for the inconvenience.
Posting on X, Yaxley-Lennon said: “Restaurants and businesses should not be political. We weren’t loud, aggressive or inappropriate, so this can only be my politics.”
Tripadvisor has temporarily suspended reviews on some Hawksmoor restaurants due to an influx of reviews “that do not describe a first-hand experience”.
It comes after Yaxley-Lennon called for a boycott of the restaurant and for his followers on X to leave reviews.
The steakhouse chain has seven restaurants in London, with branches in Liverpool, Edinburgh, Manchester and abroad.
In a statement Hawksmoor said: “On Thursday, a public figure was asked to leave one of our restaurants because guests and staff felt uncomfortable and had complained.
“The party left peacefully and politely on request.”
It added it wanted to welcome guests “regardless of background or views” and its team had to deal with a “huge amount of fallout… some of which is quite concerning”.
BBC News has contacted the steakhouse chain’s CEO for comment.
French leader’s visit to Greenland comes after US President Donald Trump’s threats to annex the Arctic territory.
French President Emmanuel Macron will visit Greenland this month, the French presidency has announced, in the wake of United States expressions of interest in taking over the mineral-rich Arctic island.
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen and the French leader said they will meet in the semi-autonomous Danish territory on June 15, hosted by Greenland’s new Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen.
The talks between the leaders will focus on North Atlantic and Arctic security, climate change, energy transition and critical minerals, the French presidency said in a statement on Saturday.
Frederiksen welcomed Macron’s upcoming visit and said in a statement that it is “another concrete testimony of European unity” in the face of a “difficult foreign policy situation”.
The visit comes amid US President Donald Trump’s threats to annex Greenland.
This trip aims to “strengthen cooperation” with the Arctic territory in these areas and to “contribute to the strengthening of European sovereignty”, the French presidency statement stressed.
Since his return to the White House in January, Trump has repeatedly expressed his desire to control the immense Arctic territory, rich in mineral resources and strategically located, “one way or another”.
“We need Greenland for international safety and security. We need it. We have to have it,” Trump said in an interview in March.
The US has also suggested that Russia and China have strategic designs on Greenland.
Trump’s Vice President JD Vance visited the US military base in Pituffik, northwest Greenland, on March 28, in a trip seen as a provocation at the time.
Vance accused Denmark of not having “done a good job for the people of Greenland”, not investing enough in the local economy and “not ensuring its security”.
The vice president stressed that the US has “no option” but to take a significant position to ensure the security of the island as he encouraged a push in Greenland for independence from Denmark.
“I think that they ultimately will partner with the United States,” Vance said. “We could make them much more secure. We could do a lot more protection. And I think they’d fare a lot better economically as well.”
Denmark, for its part, insists that Greenland “is not for sale”.
Addressing American leaders from the huge island, the prime minister said in early April: “You cannot annex another country.”
Faced with American threats, Denmark announced 14.6 billion Danish kroner ($2.1bn) in financial commitments for Arctic security, covering three new naval vessels, long-range drones and satellites.
Greenland’s main political parties, which are in favour of the territory’s independence in the long term, are also against the idea of joining the US.
According to a poll published at the end of January, the population of 57,000 mostly Inuit inhabitants, including more than 19,000 in the capital, Nuuk, rejected any prospect of becoming American.
Incoming Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen told a news conference in March that the territory needed unity at this time.
“It is very important that we put aside our disagreements and differences … because only in this way will we be able to cope with the heavy pressure we are exposed to from outside,” he said.
Los Angeles witnessed a series of coordinated immigration raids by United States law enforcement officials on Friday, resulting in the arrest of dozens and igniting widespread protests.
The raids, which were carried out in a military-style operation, have intensified concerns about the force used by federal immigration officials and the rights of undocumented individuals.
Here is what we know about the raids and the latest on the ground.
What happened in LA?
Federal agents from US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) conducted a series of “immigration enforcement operations” across Los Angeles on Friday morning.
Individuals suspected of “immigration violations and the use of fraudulent documents” were arrested. The arrests were carried out without judicial warrants, according to multiple legal observers and confirmed by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).
The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), which did not take part in the raids, was called in to quell ensuing protests.
The raids focused on several locations in downtown LA and its immediate surroundings. These spots are known to have significant migrant populations and labour-intensive industries.
Angelica Salas, executive director of the Coalition of Humane Immigrant Rights (CHIRLA), which covers California, said advocates had recorded enforcement activity at seven sites. This included two Home Depot stores in the Westlake District of Los Angeles, a doughnut shop and the clothing wholesaler, Ambiance Apparel in the Fashion District of downtown Los Angeles.
Other locations in which raids were carried out included day labour centres and one other Ambiance facility near 15th Street and Santa Fe Avenue in south Los Angeles.
How many people have been arrested?
ICE and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) reported the “administrative arrest” of 44 individuals for immigration-related offences.
An administrative arrest, unlike a criminal arrest, refers to detention for civil immigration violations such as overstaying a visa or lacking legal status, and does not require criminal charges. These arrests can result in detention, deportation, temporary re-entry bans and denial of future immigration requests.
Advocates believe the number of arrests made was higher, however. Caleb Soto, of the National Day Laborer Organizing Network, told Al Jazeera that between 70 and 80 people had been detained, but only three lawyers have been allowed access to the detention centre where they were being held to provide legal advice.
Additionally, David Huerta, president of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) California, was arrested for allegedly obstructing federal agents during the raids. Huerta was reportedly injured during the arrest and received medical treatment at Los Angeles General Medical Center before being taken into custody.
A protester attempts to evade a Department of Homeland Security officer [Jae C Hong/AP Photo]
What kinds of raids were these?
What sets these raids apart from typical civil enforcement actions was their military-style execution, experts say.
According to witnesses, legal observers and advocacy groups, federal agents involved in the operations were heavily armed and dressed in tactical gear, with some wearing camouflage and carrying rifles.
Agents arrived in unmarked black SUVs and armoured vehicles and, at certain points, sealed off entire streets around targeted buildings. Drones were reportedly used for surveillance in some areas and access to sites was blocked off with yellow tape, similar to measures which would be taken during a high-threat counterterrorism or drug bust operation.
The ACLU described the show of force as an “oppressive and vile paramilitary operation”. Civil liberties groups said the tactics used had created panic in local communities and may have violated protocols for civil immigration enforcement.
How did protests break out?
As news of the raids spread via social media and through immigrant advocacy networks, hundreds of protesters gathered outside the Edward R Roybal Federal Building in downtown Los Angeles, where detainees were being processed.
Demonstrators blocked entrances and exits to the building, chanted slogans and demanded the release of those arrested. Some spray-painted anti-ICE slogans on the building’s exterior walls. Several protesters attempted to physically stop ICE vehicles, leading to confrontations with law enforcement.
LAPD officers issued dispersal orders and warned protesters that they would be subject to arrest if they remained in the area. To enforce the order, officers in riot gear deployed tear gas, pepper spray and “less-lethal munitions”, including firing rubber bullets to disperse the crowd. A citywide tactical alert was also issued, requiring all LAPD officers to remain on duty.
What’s happening now?
Shortly after 7pm on Friday [02:00 GMT Saturday], the LAPD declared the protests to be an “unlawful assembly”, meaning that those who failed to leave the area could be subject to arrest. The declaration appeared to remain in effect until the crowd dispersed later that evening, though no formal end time was publicly announced.
US media outlets and rights groups reported that hundreds of detainees, including children, were held overnight in the basement of the federal building without access to beds, blankets or adequate food and water.
However, an ICE spokesperson told CBS News that the agency “categorically refutes the assertions made by immigration activists in Los Angeles”, stating that it takes its mandate to care for people in custody “seriously”.
The status of all individuals detained remains unclear. While some have been released, others continue to be held and details about their current locations or conditions have not been fully disclosed.
What are the reactions to the raids?
Local and state officials condemned the raids and the manner in which they were conducted.
In a statement shared on X on Friday, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said such operations “sow terror in our communities and disrupt basic principles of safety in our city”.
California Governor Gavin Newsom issued a statement describing the operations as “cruel” and “chaotic”, adding that they are an attempt “to meet an arbitrary arrest quota”.
All 15 members of the Los Angeles City Council issued a joint statement denouncing the raids.
Some Trump administration officials, on the other hand, defended the actions and criticised local leaders for pushing back. White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller, for instance, suggested that Mayor Karen Bass was undermining federal law.
You have no say in this at all. Federal law is supreme and federal law will be enforced. https://t.co/N53UBl3UM4
Presenter, Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg•@bbclaurak
BBC
The next few days are vital – “one of the last moments to weave it all together – to look politically credible to the people Labour has lost”, one senior figure reckons.
There have been huge fights inside government about the looming Spending Review.
As I write, the home secretary and deputy prime minister are both still in dispute with the mighty Treasury over the amount of cash they’ll have to spend.
But the Treasury’s already trying to convince the public the review is about significant investment.
On Wednesday Rachel Reeves boasted of funnelling billions more taxpayers’ cash to big transport projects outside the wealthier south east of England, having tweaked the Treasury rules to do it.
Now, with five days still to go, I’ve been passed some of the information that’ll be in the pages of Wednesday’s review.
It’s one crucial chart that will be in the huge bundle of documents heading to the printing presses on Tuesday night that shows what’s called TDEL – the Total Departmental Expenditure Limit.
In other words, the total that government spends, including the day-to-day costs of running public services and long-term spending on big projects.
A Treasury document shared with the BBC
The chart spans 2010 to 2030, so takes in the coalition years, where you can see the total sliding down, then the Conservative years when spending starts rising after the Brexit referendum, then leaps up during Covid.
And then, when Labour took charge, the red line going up steeply at first, then more slowly towards the end of this parliamentary term.
The total real terms spending by 2029-30? More than £650bn – roughly £100bn more than when Labour took office.
The pale blue line is what would have happened to spending if the Conservatives had managed to hang on to power last year.
The government now is allergic to accusations that any cuts they make will be a return to austerity. And this chart shows that overall spending is going up considerably, compared to those lean years.
The political argument around spending will rage but the chancellor did – to use the ghastly technical term – set out the “spending envelope” in her autumn Budget, indicating rises were coming.
You can bet they’ll want to use every chance they have to say they are spending significantly more than the Tories planned to under Rishi Sunak.
The government’s political opponents on the other hand, may look at that red line as it climbs steeply upwards and say: “See, public spending is ballooning out of control”.
This chart does illustrate very significant rises in public spending. But be careful. What this chart doesn’t give us is any idea of how those massive totals break down. Massive chunks will go to favoured departments, suggestions of an extra £30bn for the NHS today.
And a very significant part of that steep rise will be allocated to long-term projects, not running public services, some of which are struggling.
The overall total may be enormous, but a couple of parts of government greedily suck in billions – others will still feel the pain.
Reuters
Chancellor Reeves will present the Spending Review on Wednesday, 11 June
A case in point – as I write on Saturday morning, the Home Office is still arguing over its settlement, believing there isn’t enough cash to provide the number of police the government has promised, while the front pages are full of stories about the NHS receiving another bumper deal.
So observe this big health warning. The chart gives us a sense of the political argument the chancellor will make.
But it doesn’t tell the full story or give the crucial totals, department by department, decision by decision.
It’s worth saying it’s incredibly unusual to see any of this before the day itself, hinting perhaps at jitters in No 11 about how the review will be received.
Until we hear the chancellor’s speech, and then see all of the documents in full on Wednesday, the story of the Spending Review won’t be clear.
There will be reams of statistics, produced by government, and the official number crunchers, the OBR, and then days of analysis by think tanks and experts in the aftermath.
But bear in mind these three core facts. Rachel Reeves will put a huge amount of cash, tens and tens of billions, towards long term projects. Short-term spending money will be tight, with no spare cash for sweeteners. And the government is not popular, so there’s huge pressure to tell a convincing story to try to change that, not least because of what went wrong the last time.
PA Media
New figures show the UK economy is picking up, growing by 0.7% from January to March – better than many expected
“We can’t ever do it like this again.” After Labour’s first Budget, government insiders concluded next time, it had to be different.
A source recalls: “It was a very brutal exercise – it was literally just making the sums add up, there was no collective approach to what the priorities were.”
Alongside a lot of extra cash for the NHS, there was a big tax rise for business that came out of the blue. No one wants a repeat of that experience.
The “next time” is now – and a Labour source warns the review might be as “painful as hell” .
So the task for a government struggling in the polls is to make this moment more than just a gruesome arithmetic problem, instead, to use the power of the state’s cheque book to make, and go on to win an argument.
Stick a fiver on Rachel Reeves referring back to that first Budget as “fixing the foundations” of the economy and public services, this week then being the moment to start, “rebuilding Britain”.
Sources suggest she has three aspects in mind: security for the country (which will explain all those billions for defence), the health of the nation – that does what it says on the tin, and “investing”, all that cash for long-term projects.
Next week’s decisions will be followed soon after by the government’s industrial strategy which will promise support for business, possibly including cash to help with sky-high energy costs.
And it comes after several big staging posts – the immigration white paper, trade deals, the defence review.
In government circles there’s hope of denting some of the criticisms that they have been slow to get moving in office, that, frankly, Sir Keir Starmer arrived in government without having worked out what he really wanted to do.
One Whitehall insider tells me, “Now the buses are all arriving at once – maybe the idea of this lacklustre government that didn’t have a plan will be blown away by July?”
This Wednesday’s Spending Review will outline everyday government spending for the next three years, and investment plans for the next four
Another Labour source suggests the threat from Nigel Farage has actually forced the government to get moving, visibly, and decisively: “Reform gives us the impetus to actually shake this stuff down.”
That’s the rosy view of how the chancellor might be able to play a difficult hand. It might not be reality. It is profoundly uncomfortable for a Labour government to make cuts.
There is already a whiff of rebellion in the air over ministers’ welfare plans. Expanding free school meals for kids in England seems designed to placate some of those critics in advance, but there could be more to make them mutinous.
Don’t forget Reeves has several different audiences – not just the public and her party, but the financial bigwigs too.
This time last year all Labour’s schmoozing was paying off, and she enjoyed good reviews in the City.
One year on, that mood has shifted, in part because of the autumn budget.
According to one city source, it “damaged her. People saw it as an about turn on her promises. Raising National Insurance, however they want to present it, went against the spirit of the manifesto… confidence in her in the City is diminished and diminishing”, not least because there is chatter about more tax hikes in the autumn budget.
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You probably don’t need me to remind you that the level of taxes collected by government are historically sky high.
So too, at the other end, is the amount of government debt. A former Treasury minister told me this morning, “debt is the central issue of our time, nationally and globally”.
“There is a real risk our debt becomes unsustainable this Parliament, unless we make tough choices about what the state does. We can’t keep on muddling through.”
Add in the twists, tariffs and tantrums of the man in the White House, that make the global economic situation uncertain and the picture’s not pretty.
But politics hinges on finding advantage in adversity. Polling suggests much of the country reckons Labour inherited a bad hand and has played it badly.
This week, the chancellor has a chance to change the game. No 11 is determined to prove that she has made decisions only a Labour chancellor would make.
And Reeves is gambling that her decisions to shovel massive amounts of money into long term spending helps the economy turn, and translates into political support well before the next general election.
A senior Labour source said, Wednesday will be “the moment, this government clicks into gear, or it won’t”. There’s no guarantee.
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The Ukrainian air force said on Saturday that Russia struck with 215 missiles and drones overnight, and Ukrainian air defences shot down and neutralised 87 drones and seven missiles.
At least three people were killed and 17 others, including two children, were wounded in the northeastern city of Kharkiv, Mayor Ihor Terekhov said, describing the assault as “the most powerful” on the city since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
He reported 48 Iranian-made drones, two missiles and four guided bombs were fired before dawn at the city of 1.4 million people, located just 50km (30 miles) from the Russian border.
“Drones are still circling above,” Terekhov wrote on Telegram at 4:40am (01:40 GMT), as air raid sirens wailed across the city. Residential buildings and civilian infrastructure were heavily damaged.
The northeastern city was also hit by a missile strike on Thursday that left 18 people injured, including four children.
Surge in attacks
Elsewhere in the south, Russian shelling hit the city of Kherson, killing a couple and damaging residential buildings, regional Governor Oleksandr Prokudin confirmed. In Dnipro, two women, aged 45 and 88, were injured in separate attacks.
Officials said on Friday that at least six people were killed and dozens were wounded on Friday when Russia launched an aerial bombardment across Ukraine. Rescue workers in the city of Lutsk on Saturday recovered another body, raising the toll from Friday’s attacks to seven.
Moscow said Friday’s assault was carried out in response to Ukrainian “terrorist acts” against Russia, saying military sites were targeted.
The surge in Russian attacks follows a Ukrainian drone operation last weekend that damaged nuclear-capable military aircraft at Russian airbases deep behind the front lines, including in Siberia. Russian President Vladimir Putin has pledged to retaliate for the attack, which Kyiv reportedly planned for 18 months using smuggled drones.
Ukraine, meanwhile, continues to push for a 30-day ceasefire and presented its latest proposal during talks in Istanbul on Monday. But Moscow has rejected calls for a truce, insisting the war is a matter of national survival.
“For us, it is an existential issue,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Friday. “It concerns our national interest, our safety, and the future of our country.”
Putin has demanded Ukraine withdraw from four partially occupied regions, abandon its NATO ambitions and halt all Western military cooperation – terms Kyiv has dismissed as unacceptable. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has instead called for a three-way summit involving himself, Putin and United States President Donald Trump.
The FIFA Club World Cup starts on June 14, 2025, with the US-based tournament lasting for just under a month before the final in New Jersey on July 13.
Here is a detailed breakdown of the 12 stadium venues and 11 cities hosting the event, which range from Philadelphia in the east of the country to Los Angeles on the west coast, to Atlanta in the deep south.
Five of the Club World Cup venues – Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Hard Rock Stadium, MetLife Stadium, Lincoln Financial Field, and Lumen Field – will also host 2026 FIFA World Cup matches.
US Host Cities and venues:
Atlanta – Mercedes-Benz Stadium Charlotte – Bank of America Stadium Cincinnati – TQL Stadium Los Angeles – Rose Bowl Stadium Miami – Hard Rock Stadium Nashville – GEODIS Park New York-New Jersey – MetLife Stadium Orlando – Camping World Stadium Orlando – Inter&Co Stadium Philadelphia – Lincoln Financial Field Seattle – Lumen Field Washington, DC – Audi Field
⚽ 16/06: Chelsea vs LAFC (3:00pm EDT/19:00 GMT) ⚽ 19/06: Inter Miami vs Porto (3:00pm EDT/19:00 GMT) ⚽ 22/06: Manchester City vs Al Ain (9:00pm EDT/01:00 GMT) ⚽ 29/06: Round of 16 (12:00pm EDT/16:00 GMT) ⚽ 01/07: Round of 16 (9:00pm EDT/01:00 GMT) ⚽ 05/07: Quarterfinal (12:00pm EDT/16:00 GMT)
This southern city of more than 500,000 people is famous for another kind of football (American college football), home to the Atlanta MLS team, and the site of undoubtedly the most space-age stadium architecture of the 11 host cities, the Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
Eight FIFA World Cup 2026 fixtures will take place in Atlanta, including a semifinal and two other knockout ties. For the Club World Cup, the venue will hold six matches in total, culminating in a quarterfinal on July 5.
This huge venue boasts a retractable roof and a 360-degree halo video display. It also hosts the professional NFL team, Atlanta Falcons, ice hockey and music concerts, with heavy metal band Metallica due to host a show shortly before the Club World Cup.
German engineering at its finest: Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, US [File: Adam Hagy/Getty Images for USSF]Ground level view inside the 75,000 capacity Mercedes-Benz Stadium before an Atlanta United MLS match [Brett Davis/AP]
2. Bank of America Stadium
Location: Charlotte, North Carolina Capacity: 75,000 Built: 1996 Fixtures:
⚽ 22/06: Real Madrid vs Pachuca (3:00pm EDT/19:00 GMT) ⚽24/06: Benfica vs Bayern Munich (3:00pm EDT/19:00 GMT) ⚽28/06: Round of 16 (4:00pm EDT/20:00 GMT) ⚽30/06: Round of 16 (3:00pm EDT/19:00 GMT)
Nestled on the edge of downtown Charlotte’s many skyscrapers, Bank of America Stadium is one of the largest football venues on the East Coast of the United States.
The all-blue seated arena is home to the MLS franchise Charlotte FC since 2022, as well as the NFL team Carolina Panthers, who have played home games here since the mid-1990s.
Charlotte is the major centre of the US motorsports industry, housing the country’s only Formula One team, Haas F1, and multiple NASCAR teams.
Wide view of the Bank of America Stadium during an MLS match between Charlotte FC and Atlanta United [File: Jim Dedmon/Imagn Images via Reuters]
⚽ 15/06: Bayern Munich vs Auckland City (12:00pm EDT/16:00 GMT) ⚽ 18/06: Pachuca vs Salzburg (6:00pm EDT/22:00 GMT) ⚽ 21/06: Mamelodi Sundowns vs Borussia Dortmund (12:00pm EDT/16:00 GMT) ⚽ 25/06: Borussia Dortmund vs Ulsan HD (3:00pm EDT/19:00 GMT)
Located near the Ohio River and just two kilometres (1.2 miles) from the state border with Kentucky, this relatively new and football-specific stadium is the home of MLS side FC Cincinnati.
The stadium, which has the third-smallest seating capacity of the 12 Club World Cup venues at 26,000, has an intimate feel to it with spectators sitting close to the action. TQL Stadium has already hosted several matches for international teams, including in the 2023 CONCACAF Gold Cup.
The US women’s team has played at this venue twice, attracting more than 22,000 attendees on both occasions.
Cincinnati, Ohio’s most populous metro area, with more than 2.3 million residents, was nicknamed “Porkopolis” during the 19th century due to the city’s role in pork packaging, and was known to have thousands of pigs herded through its streets.
A general view of TQL stadium during an MLS match between Austin FC and FC Cincinnati on May 10, 2025, in Cincinnati, Ohio [Jeff Dean/Getty Images]
4. Rose Bowl Stadium
Location: Los Angeles, California Capacity: 88,500 Built: 1922 Fixtures:
⚽ 15/06: PSG vs Atletico Madrid (12:00pm PDT/19:00 GMT) ⚽ 17/06: Monterrey vs Inter Milan (6:00pm PDT/01:00 GMT) ⚽ 19/06: PSG vs Botafogo (6:00pm PDT/01:00 GMT) ⚽ 21/06: River Plate vs Monterrey (6:00pm – PDT/01:00 GMT) ⚽ 23/06: Atletico Madrid vs Botafogo (12:00pm PDT/19:00 GMT) ⚽ 25/06: Urawa Red Diamonds vs Monterrey (6:00pm PDT/01:00 GMT)
This iconic venue, the biggest and easily oldest ground in action at the Club World Cup, celebrated its centenary in 2022. For spectators, the sweeping seating throughout the circular arena provides an uninterrupted view of the playing field.
Recognised as a National Historic Landmark, the Rose Bowl is best known as a college American football venue, specifically as the host of the annual Rose Bowl Game after which it is named. Five Super Bowl games, the third most of any venue, have been played in the stadium.
It is also a well-known football venue, having hosted the 1994 FIFA World Cup final, the 1999 FIFA Women’s World Cup final, and the 1984 Olympic gold medal match.
Los Angeles and its metropolitan area are home to 11 top-level professional sports teams, including the Los Angeles Dodgers of Major League Baseball, the NBA’s iconic LA Lakers and the winners of the most MLS Cups, the LA Galaxy.
An aerial view of the Rose Bowl Stadium on January 3, 2025, in Pasadena, California, US [Kirby Lee/Getty Images]
⚽ 14/06: Ah Ahly vs Inter Miami (8:00pm EDT/00:00 GMT) ⚽ 16/06: Boca Juniors vs Benfica (6:00pm EDT/22:00 GMT) ⚽ 18/06: Real Madrid vs Al Hilal (3:00pm EDT/19:00 GMT) ⚽ 20/06: Bayern Munich vs Boca Juniors (9:00pm EDT/01:00 GMT) ⚽ 23/06: Inter Miami vs Palmeiras (9:00pm EDT/01:00 GMT) ⚽ 25/06: Mamelodi Sundowns vs Fluminense (3:00pm EDT/19:00 GMT) ⚽ 29/06: Round of 16 (4:00pm EDT/20:00 GMT) ⚽ 01/07: Round of 16 (3:00pm EDT/19:00 GMT)
From hosting the NFL’s famous Miami Dolphins, to being the epicentre of the annual Formula One Miami Grand Prix, to staging the Miami Open tennis tournament, the Hard Rock Stadium is the venue of choice for large-scale sporting events in this famous coastal city.
Six Super Bowls, multiple major concerts and international football matches have taken place here, and it is also among the host venues selected for the FIFA World Cup next year.
An overall view of the Hard Rock Stadium [File: Geoff Burke/USA TODAY Sports via Reuters]Interior view of Hard Rock Stadium [Nathan Ray Seebeck/USA TODAY Sports via Reuters]
⚽ 20/06: LAFC vs Esperance (5:00pm CDT/22:00 GMT) ⚽ 24/06: Auckland City vs Boca Juniors (2:00pm CDT/19:00 GMT) ⚽ 26/06: Al Hilal vs Pachuca (9:00pm EDT/01:00 GMT)
GEODIS Park is the largest football-specific stadium in the US and Canada, and fans throughout the ground are unusually close to the action, with the furthest distance from seat to touchline standing at just 150 feet (46 metres).
The venue is home to MLS side Nashville SC and has also hosted several matches of the US men’s and women’s football teams.
Located in Nashville, which is often referred to as Music City, GEODIS Park also serves as a major concert venue and has hosted popular American rock bands such as Guns N’ Roses and Green Day.
View of Geodis Park during an MLS game between the New York Red Bulls and Nashville on February 25, 2024 [Christopher Hanewinckel/USA TODAY Sports via Reuters]
7. MetLife Stadium
Location: East Rutherford, New Jersey Capacity: 82,500 Built: 2010 Fixtures:
⚽ 15/06: Palmeiras vs Porto (6:00pm EDT/22:00 GMT) ⚽ 17/06: Fluminense vs Borussia Dortmund (12:00pm EDT/16:00 GMT) ⚽ 19/06: Palmeiras vs Al Ahly (12:00pm EDT/16:00 GMT) ⚽ 21/06: Fluminense vs Ulsan HD (6:00pm – EDT/22:00 GMT) ⚽ 23/06: Porto vs Al Ahly (9:00pm EDT/01:00 GMT) ⚽ 05/07: Quarterfinal (4:00pm EDT/20:00 GMT) ⚽ 08/07: Semifinal 1 (3:00pm EDT/19:00 GMT) ⚽ 09/07: Semifinal 2 (3:00pm EDT/19:00 GMT) ⚽ 13/07: Final (3:00pm EDT/19:00 GMT)
The MetLife Stadium, a huge multipurpose stadium which is currently home to the NFL’s New York Giants and New York Jets, is the grand stage chosen to host the Club World Cup final, as well as both semifinals.
The stadium hosted the 2016 Copa America Centenario final, which marked 100 years of South America’s continental tournament. The venue will also host the 2026 FIFA World Cup final, on top of two further knockout ties and five group-stage matches.
New Jersey has long been an important cultural area for original rock and rap music creation, and the MetLife Stadium has hosted many A-list performers such as Beyonce, Ed Sheeran and Taylor Swift.
Exterior view from the MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey [Kena Betancur/VIEWpress via Getty Images]Interior view of the enormous MetLife Stadium [Rich Graessle/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images]
⚽ 24/06: LAFC vs Flamengo (9:00pm EDT/01:00 GMT) ⚽ 26/06: Juventus vs Manchester City (3:00pm EDT/19:00 GMT) ⚽ 30/06: Round of 16 (9:00pm EDT/01:00 GMT) ⚽ 04/07: Quarterfinal (3:00pm EDT/19:00 GMT)
Located in Orlando, home to more than a dozen theme parks, including the popular Walt Disney World, the Camping World Stadium has been used by several teams, including the National Women’s (NWSL) football side Orlando Pride.
Opened as Orlando Stadium, it has also been known as the Tangerine Bowl and Florida Citrus Bowl.
The stadium has undergone multiple expansions and renovations since it first opened almost 90 years ago, culminating in the 2014 redevelopment, which saw the creation of a 90 percent all-new stadium following a $200m investment in the arena.
Apart from sports, the venue plays host to entertainment and musical events, with the Rolling Stones, Paul McCartney, Billy Joel, and Elton John all taking to the stage, while WrestleMania XXIV wowed a venue-record crowd of 74,635 in 2008.
⚽ 17/06: Ulsan HD vs Mamelodi Sundowns (6:00pm EDT/22:00 GMT) ⚽ 20/06: Benfica vs Auckland City (12:00pm EDT/16:00 GMT)
A newer and smaller venue than Orlando’s other Club World Cup 2025 venue at Camping World Stadium, the Inter&Co Stadium is known for its purpose-built football design.
It is the home ground of MLS outfit Orlando City and NWSL’s Orlando Pride, while both the US men’s and women’s football teams have featured here, including during the FIFA men’s World Cup qualifiers and the SheBelieves Cup women’s tournament.
The 2022 Special Olympics USA Games Opening Ceremony also took place here.
Camping World Stadium in Orlando, one of two Club World Cup venues in the city [Nathan Ray Seebeck/USA TODAY Sports via Reuters]Entrance to the Inter&Co Stadium in Orlando [Morgan Tencza/USA TODAY Sports via Reuters]Interior view of the Inter&Co Stadium [Nathan Ray Seebeck/USA TODAY Sports via Reuters]
⚽ 16/06: Flamengo vs Esperance (9:00pm EDT/01:00 GMT) ⚽ 18/06: Manchester City vs Wydad (12:00pm EDT/16:00 GMT) ⚽ 20/06: Flamengo vs Chelsea (2:00pm EDT/18:00 GMT) ⚽ 22/06: Juventus vs Wydad (12:00pm EDT/16:00 GMT) ⚽ 24/06: Esperance vs Chelsea (9:00pm EDT/01:00 GMT) ⚽ 26/06: Salzburg vs Real Madrid (9:00pm EDT/01:00 GMT) ⚽ 28/06: Round of 16 (12:00pm EDT/16:00 GMT) ⚽ 04/07: Quarterfinal (9:00pm EDT/01:00 GMT)
Home to this year’s NFL Super Bowl champions Philadelphia Eagles, Lincoln Financial Field has also been selected to host five group-stage matches and a Round of 16 tie during the 48-team FIFA World Cup next year.
Located on the banks of the Delaware River, the stadium’s first ticketed event took place in 2003 when Manchester United defeated Barcelona 3-1 in a friendly in front of more than 68,000 fans.
Exterior view of Lincoln Financial Field [Bill Streicher/USA TODAY Sports via Reuters]Interior view of Lincoln Financial Field during an NFL match [File: Eric Hartline/USA TODAY Sports via Reuters]
11. Lumen Field
Location: Seattle, Washington State Capacity: 69,000 Built: 2002 Fixtures:
⚽ 15/06: Botafogo vs Seattle Sounders (7:00pm PDT/02:00 GMT) ⚽ 17/06: River Plate vs Urawa Red Diamonds (12:00pm PDT/19:00 GMT) ⚽ 19/06: Seattle Sounders vs Atletico Madrid (3:00pm PDT/22:00 GMT) ⚽ 21/06: Inter Milan vs Urawa Red Diamonds (12:00pm PDT/19:00 GMT) ⚽ 23/06: Seattle Sounders vs PSG (12:00pm PDT/19:00 GMT) ⚽ 25/06: Inter Milan vs River Plate (6:00pm PDT/01:00 GMT)
This spectacular stadium is home to Seattle Sounders – who qualified for the FIFA Club World Cup 2025 as CONCACAF Champions League winners in 2022 – as well as the NFL’s Seattle Seahawks and NWSL’s Seattle Reign.
Boasting a unique horseshoe shape with an open north end that gives a stunning view of the city skyline, the Lumen Field is also a venue for next year’s FIFA World Cup and will host six matches.
Located within a mile of downtown Seattle, the stadium is easily accessible by multiple freeways and public transport.
An aerial view of Lumen Field in Seattle [Kirby Lee/USA TODAY Sports via Reuters]Lumen Field – from the inside [Joe Nicholson/USA TODAY Sports via Reuters]
12. Audi Field
Location: Washington, DC Capacity: 20,000 Built: 2018 Fixtures:
⚽ 18/06: Al Ain vs Juventus (9:00pm EDT/01:00 GMT) ⚽ 22/06: Salzburg vs Al Hilal (6:00pm EDT/22:00 GMT) ⚽ 26/06: Wydad vs Al Ain (3:00pm EDT/19:00 GMT)
The US capital’s stadium is the home of the Washington Spirit in the NWSL and DC United, who are tied with the LA Galaxy as MLS’s most decorated team.
The US men’s and women’s national teams have both played fixtures at this ground, as well as Arsenal’s men’s and women’s teams, in friendly or competitive matches.
Audi Field, which will host three matches during the Club World Cup, also serves as a regular venue for American football, rugby and lacrosse games.
An interior view of Audi Field, situated in the nation’s capital, Washington, DC [File: Mark J Rebilas/USA TODAY Sports via Reuters]
A yellow warning for thunderstorms has been issued by the Met Office for large parts of England and Wales.
The warning, which covers the majority of southern England, parts of the Midlands and most of south Wales, comes into effect from 09:00 BST on Saturday and lasts until 18:00.
Around 10-15mm of rain could fall in less than an hour while some places could see 30-40mm of rain over several hours from successive showers and storms, the Met Office says.
The UK’s weather agency also warned that frequent lightning, hail and strong, gusty winds would be additional hazards.
After a record-breaking spring, the weather has been distinctly unsettled since the start of June with wetter, windier and cooler temperatures than what is typical for the start of meteorological summer.
On average, England experienced just 32.8mm of rain last month in what was its driest spring in more than 100 years.
Now, it appears, there could be more rainfall on Saturday than there was in the whole of May in some places.
It can be hard to predict where thunderstorms will turn up because they are small-scale weather features.
Not everywhere will get a torrential downpour or a thunderstorm – most parts will see a shower but some may stay dry and avoid the rain completely.
The weather agency has warned thatin places that do experience heavy showers there is the potential for disruptionto transport, with driving conditions affected by spray and standing water, leading to longer journey times. Train services could also be delayed.
It also said that some short-term loss of power and other services was likely, and potential lightning strikes could cause damage to buildings.
While the storms are expected to occur for much of the day, they will ease off in the west from mid-afternoon.
A yellow weather warning is the lowest level of warning issued by the Met Office. Warnings are issued on the probability of severe weather occurring as well as the impact it could have.
There will be showers in other parts of the UK on Saturday, but not as heavy as in the south.
Protesters gathered after immigration agents took dozens of people into custody during raids across Los Angeles.
There have been tense confrontations in Los Angeles as riot police and demonstrators – protesting federal immigration raids – squared off in the downtown area.
Earlier on Friday, United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents took dozens of people into custody during raids across Los Angeles city.
Caravans of unmarked military-style vehicles and vans loaded with uniformed federal agents streamed through the city as part of the operation.
The ICE agents raided several locations, including an apparel store in the city’s Fashion District, a Home Depot in Westlake District, and a clothing warehouse in South Los Angeles, according to the Los Angeles City News Service.
In response, crowds of demonstrators protesting the raids massed outside a jail where some of the detainees were believed to be held and spray-painted anti-ICE slogans on the walls of the Edward R. Roybal Federal Building in downtown Los Angeles.
Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) officers – who did not take part in the immigration raids – were called in to quell the unrest. Wielding batons and tear gas rifles, LAPD officers faced off with the demonstrators after authorities ordered them to disperse on Friday night.
Some protesters hurled broken concrete towards the LAPD officers, the Reuters news agency reports. Police responded by firing volleys of tear gas and pepper spray.
LAPD spokesperson Drake Madison said police on the scene declared the gathering an unlawful assembly, meaning that those who failed to leave the area were subject to arrest, according to Reuters.
It’s not immediately clear how many arrests have been made.
Stoking fear and terror
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass condemned the federal immigration raids, saying they “sow terror in our communities and disrupt basic principles of safety in our city”.
Caleb Soto, of the National Day Laborer Organizing Network, told Al Jazeera that between 70 and 80 people had been detained, but only three lawyers have been allowed access to the detention centre where they were being held to provide legal advice.
“The chaotic manner of the raids that we saw today happening throughout Los Angeles and different day-labour worksites and garment worker work sites was an example of the purpose of what this Trump administration has set out to do, which is create as much fear as possible,” Soto told Al Jazeera.
He said the ICE agents conducting the raids did not obtain a judicial warrant required under US law, and granted by a judge if there is probable cause to carry out an arrest because of suspected criminal activity.
Soto said ICE agents were showing up at work sites “where they know that there are a lot of immigrant workers” and “people without documents”, and if someone starts running they use that as “reasonable suspicion” that the person is undocumented.
“They use that as the pretext to start arresting people who are there in that area and around them. We find that to be pretty unconstitutional,” he said.
The Los Angeles raids are the latest sweeps in several US cities over recent months as part of President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown.
Trump, who took immediate steps to ramp up immigration enforcement after taking office in January, has promised to arrest and deport undocumented migrants in record numbers.
In late May, his administration stated it would revoke the temporary legal status of 530,000 people in the country, including Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans.
