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Qatar suspends its mediation efforts on Gaza and the Hamas office there may have to leave
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Associated PressTrump threatens 100% tariff on the BRIC bloc of nations if they act to undermine US dollar
President-elect Donald Trump on Saturday threatened 100% tariffs against a bloc of nine nations if they act to undermine the U.S. dollar. While the U.S. dollar is by far the most-used currency in global business and has survived past challenges to its preeminence, members of the alliance and other developing nations say they are fed up with America’s dominance of the global financial system. Trump, in a Truth Social post, said: “We require a commitment from these Countries that they will neither create a new BRICS Currency, nor back any other Currency to replace the mighty U.S. Dollar or, they will face 100% Tariffs, and should expect to say goodbye to selling into the wonderful U.S. Economy."
- The Telegraph
The map that shows Russia’s ‘secret war’ with the West has now begun
Taken in isolation, they could just about be explained away as coincidences – freak accidents, one-off attacks, unfortunate infrastructure failures. The DHL cargo plane that crashed on Monday as it approached Vilnius airport. The recent bomb scares that have hobbled London, from Euston Square and Gatwick Airport to the US Embassy. The drones spotted circling near US Air Force bases in the UK. The explosion at a weapons manufacturing facility in Wales in April.
- The Independent
‘Embarrassed’ Barron looks on as Trump and ‘First Buddy’ Elon Musk dance to YMCA at Mar-a-Lago Thanksgiving
Musk was once again spotted with the Trumps at Mar-a-Lago as they celebrated Thanksgiving
- The Independent
Voices: Blairites are in despair over Keir Starmer’s flailing leadership
COMMENT: A person close to the former PM said the current government is like a bunch of unimaginative ‘librarians and academics’ but, writes John Rentoul, for some Starmer is not just a librarian or an academic but a funeral director
- The Telegraph
Revealed: Britain’s worklessness capital where more than half of adults claim benefits
Britain’s worklessness capital has been revealed as central Grimsby after it emerged that more than half of its working-age population claims out-of-work benefits.
- CNN
The illusion of Assad’s grip on Syria shatters, as Russia, Iran and Hezbollah let their guard down
Time and time again the Assad dynasty has survived internal and external challenges and lived to fight another day. But nothing lasts forever.
- Sky News
More than 20,000 people have crossed Channel in small boats since Labour won election
More than 20,000 people have crossed the Channel in small boats since Labour came to power. A total of 20,110 people in small boats have now arrived in the UK since the election on 4 July after two boats carrying 122 people reached British waters overnight, according to leaked analysis obtained by Sky News and The Guardian. Sky News reported on Saturday morning the two boats had arrived - the first since 16 November, while the French authorities said 151 people were rescued in the Channel and taken back to France overnight into Sunday morning.
- The Independent
Top pollster warns Keir Starmer will struggle to convince public with his ‘plan for change’
Sir John Curtice says Keir Starmer has shown ‘absolutely no ability’ to explain how he is going to lead the country out of its problems after five months of government, as the PM prepares for major policy reset this week
- The Telegraph
Labour ‘hit job’ against Louise Haigh had been brewing for months
When Louise Haigh offered train drivers a whopping 15 per cent pay rise in August, she boldly said she was fulfilling a promise to “move fast and fix things” such as the long-running strikes.
- Sky News
Zelenskyy suggests 'hot phase' of Ukraine war could end in return for NATO membership if offered - even if seized land isn't returned immediately
Volodymyr Zelenskyy has suggested a ceasefire deal could be struck if Ukrainian territory he controls could be taken "under the NATO umbrella" - allowing him to negotiate the return of the rest later "in a diplomatic way". In an interview with Sky News's chief correspondent Stuart Ramsay, the Ukrainian president was asked to respond to media reports saying one of US president-elect Donald Trump's plans to end the war might be for Kyiv to cede the land Moscow has taken to Russia in exchange for Ukraine joining NATO.
- Manchester Evening News
‘Welcome Christmas gift’ as 3,300 pensioners stripped of winter fuel payment handed £200 each by council
The eligible pensioners are those just above the threshold for the axed winter fuel allowance
- The Telegraph
Farmer vote to put Starmer under pressure from rural Labour MPs
Sir Keir Starmer is expected to face pressure from rural MPs this week as Parliament prepares to vote on Labour’s farming tax raid.
- Wales Online
Labour is no longer Wales' most popular party in shock political poll
The YouGov poll of 1,121 Welsh voters has surprising findings for several Welsh political parties
- The Telegraph
Claim suicidal thoughts for benefits: job centre staff show extent of UK’s worklessness crisis
Benefits assessors have blown the whistle on major holes in the welfare system helping to fuel Britain’s worklessness crisis.
- The Independent
Ellen DeGeneres’s England home floods weeks after her move to the UK following Donald Trump’s victory
The flood was caused following the aftermath of Storm Bert
- CNN
‘No other reason to explain this’: Juliette Kayyem on Trump’s pick for FBI director
CNN senior national security analyst Juliette Kayyem joins CNN’s Jessica Dean to discuss President-elect Donald Trump announcing he intends to nominate Kash Patel to serve as the next director of the FBI.
- The Telegraph
British trader uses post-Brexit loophole to relocate to France and bypasses UK creditors
A trader has shut down his debt-ridden London company and opened a French one to use a post-Brexit EU loophole which avoids paying British creditors.
- Associated Press
Left behind in Kenya, children of British soldiers struggle to find their identity
Margaret Wandia became pregnant after a week-long relationship with a British soldier training near her community in Kenya. Now that son is 26, and he is part of an effort by a Kenyan lawyer to take a number of such children to Britain. It is a long shot after years of attempts by human rights groups to hold the British military and its personnel accountable for their actions during weeks of training in Kenya — including alleged rapes — and the children they leave behind.
- EADT
Woman believes she saw drone shot down over Suffolk air base
A woman who lives near a Suffolk air base which has been at the centre of mysterious drone activity claims she saw one of them shot out of the sky.
- The Telegraph
‘Moderate’ jihadist leader storms Syria – but tells troops not to frighten children
As Syrian rebels bore down on the city of Aleppo, their communication channels published photos of a bearded man in military clothing directing the offensive.