Author: Elizabeth Jenrola Oso

The Home Office has announced a “nationwide blitz” targeting asylum seekers who are working illegally, following political uproar over reports that some individuals living in asylum hotels have been delivering food for major gig economy platforms. In a statement issued on Monday, the department said it would launch “a major operation to disrupt this type of criminality”, focusing on enforcement across the gig economy, particularly among delivery riders. The move comes amid rising concern from ministers over the use of shared or borrowed accounts to sidestep work restrictions placed on asylum seekers awaiting decisions on their claims. “Strategic, intel-driven activity…

³Donald Trump has announced that discussions with China over a possible deal involving TikTok are set to begin on Monday or Tuesday, stating that the United States “pretty much” has a deal in place for the sale of the popular short-video app. Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One on Friday, the US president said, “I think we’re gonna start Monday or Tuesday … talking to China, perhaps President Xi or one of his representatives – but we pretty much have a deal.” Trump added that he and Xi Jinping had recently invited each other for state visits, saying he…

Hamas has said it responded on Friday “in a positive spirit” to a US-brokered ceasefire proposal for Gaza and expressed readiness to enter fresh talks on implementing the deal, which includes the release of hostages and the beginning of negotiations toward a permanent end to the nearly 21-month conflict with Israel. The announcement followed President Donald Trump’s unveiling of what he described as a “final proposal” for a 60-day ceasefire. The plan, revealed earlier this week, outlines conditions under which hostilities would temporarily halt, with an aim to lay the groundwork for a lasting resolution. In a statement posted on…

More than 20 people, including nine police officers and a firefighter, were injured on Friday morning following a massive explosion at a petrol station in the Prenestino district of eastern Rome

Ukraine has accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of “publicly humiliating” Donald Trump after Russia launched a record-breaking overnight missile and drone assault on Kyiv, just hours after a phone call between the two leaders. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy described the seven-hour attack as a “deliberate act of terror” that offered a chilling glimpse into “how Moscow interprets diplomacy”. The timing, he said, made it clear that the strike was a direct response to the Trump-Putin conversation. The assault was one of the most intense of the entire war, involving more than 550 drones and ballistic missiles. The Ukrainian capital spent the…

The executive director of UNAids has issued a grave warning that HIV infections and AIDS-related deaths are set to soar in the coming years following what she describes as “seismic” cuts to US aid spending. Winnie Byanyima, head of the global agency tackling HIV and AIDS, said in an interview at the UN international development summit in Seville that if the funding loss becomes permanent, the world could face an additional 6 million HIV infections and 4 million AIDS-related deaths by 2029. “This is a deadly funding crisis, a global response knocked off course,” said Byanyima. “This is a pandemic,…

The U.S. Supreme Court has cleared the way for the Trump administration to deport eight men, most of whom have no connection to South Sudan, to the war-ravaged African nation, despite warnings they may face torture, persecution, or death upon arrival. The court’s decision, handed down Thursday, follows a contentious legal battle over whether immigrants can be deported to third countries with which they have no ties. The conservative majority ruled in favour of the administration, reversing a lower court’s order that required the government to give deportees a chance to express “reasonable fear” of danger before being removed. Only…

A New York jury has delivered a mixed verdict in the federal trial of Sean “Diddy” Combs, finding the music mogul guilty on two counts related to the transportation of individuals for prostitution, while acquitting him on three other charges, including the most serious, racketeering conspiracy. Following a closely watched seven-week trial marked by emotional and graphic testimony, the 12-member jury, comprising eight men and four women, reached its decision after 13 hours of deliberation over three days. Diddy was found not guilty of racketeering conspiracy, the sex trafficking of Casandra Ventura, and the sex trafficking of a woman identified…

One of Gaza’s most senior doctors, Dr Marwan al-Sultan, has been killed in an Israeli airstrike, in what Palestinian medical officials have described as a “catastrophic loss” to the territory’s devastated healthcare system. Several members of his family were also reportedly killed in the strike. Dr Al-Sultan, a prominent cardiologist and director of the Indonesian Hospital in the northern Gaza Strip, is believed to be the 70th healthcare worker killed in Israeli attacks over the past 50 days, according to Healthcare Workers Watch (HWW), a Palestinian medical organisation that tracks violations against medical professionals. Muath Alser, director of HWW, condemned…

Liverpool forward Diogo Jota has died in a devastating car crash in Spain, just days after marrying his long-term partner. The Portuguese international was 28 years old, a father of three, and had only recently wed Rute Cardoso in a ceremony in Porto on 22 June. Portuguese media were first to report the news, which has since been confirmed by Portugal’s Prime Minister, Luís Montenegro, and the Portuguese Football Federation (FPF). Jota was travelling with his younger brother, André Silva, 26, when their vehicle veered off the road in the province of Zamora. Both brothers were killed in the accident.…