Israel has intercepted a pro-Palestinian flotilla attempting to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza, with the majority of vessels stopped by the Israeli navy approximately 75 nautical miles off the coast. However, one vessel, the Mikeno, reportedly evaded the blockade and entered Palestinian territorial waters before contact was lost. This marks the closest an unauthorised aid mission has come to Gaza since Israel imposed its naval blockade in 2009. The Israeli…

Glasgow University has admitted to serious failings after a student, Ethan Scott Brown, took his own life on the day he believed he had failed to graduate, only for it to be revealed he had, in fact, earned a 2:1 honours degree. Ethan, a 23-year-old geography student from Coatbridge, North Lanarkshire, died by suicide on 13 December 2024 , the day he was due to graduate. He had been wrongly…

Local media reported that construction at the school had been ongoing for nine months.

The United States government entered a shutdown on Wednesday after congressional Democrats declined to support a Republican funding proposal that lacked concessions on healthcare policy. The Republican Party, which holds majorities in both the Senate and the House of Representatives, rejected Democratic demands, triggering a legislative impasse that persisted until midnight, when both parties failed to advance their respective funding bills in the Senate. This marks the first government shutdown…

By Eniola Amadu The United States (US) has begun deporting hundreds of Iranian nationals as part of President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown, with the first group expected to arrive in Tehran this week, officials from both countries confirmed. A US official, speaking anonymously, said about 400 Iranians were targeted for deportation, including individuals with criminal convictions and others who entered the country illegally. The first chartered flight carrying 120 Iranians…

By Eniola Amadu A Chinese national has been convicted in what British authorities describe as the world’s single largest bitcoin seizure, valued at more than £5 billion ($6.7 billion). Zhimin Qian, also known as Yadi Zhang, pleaded guilty at Southwark Crown Court, London, to illegally acquiring and possessing cryptocurrency linked to a vast scam in China. According to the Metropolitan Police, Qian, 47, masterminded a fraudulent scheme between 2014 and…

Madagascar

Afghanistan has been plunged into a nationwide communications shutdown after the Taliban government ordered the suspension of telecommunications services, weeks after beginning to cut fibre-optic internet connections.

By Eniola Amadu Typhoon Bualoi has battered Vietnam’s northern central coast, killing at least 13 people and injuring 46, according to government officials. The storm, which made landfall early in the day, brought strong winds, heavy rainfall and waves as high as eight metres, before weakening into a tropical depression and moving toward neighbouring Laos. Vietnam’s disaster management agency said the casualties included nine people killed in Ninh Binh province…

Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood has announced tough new rules that will require migrants to earn the right to settle permanently in the UK. In her first Labour conference speech, Mahmood said indefinite leave to remain (ILR) would no longer depend only on time spent in Britain but also on how much migrants contribute to society. Under the proposed reforms, migrants will need to pay taxes and national insurance, support themselves…

Moldova’s ruling pro-European Action and Solidarity Party (PAS) has retained its parliamentary majority following Sunday’s closely watched election, a result seen as a decisive test of President Maia Sandu’s efforts to steer the country towards European Union membership. With more than 99.5 per cent of ballots counted, PAS secured 50.03 per cent of the vote, according to figures released by the Central Election Commission. The result translates into a majority…

The state of Oregon has launched legal action in federal court to prevent the deployment of 200 National Guard troops to Portland, accusing President Donald Trump of misrepresenting the city as “war ravaged”. Governor Tina Kotek said she had been informed by the Pentagon that the president had assumed control of the state’s reservists, citing powers to quell “rebellion” or disorder. Speaking at a press conference, she insisted there was…