French troops raid Russian ship ‘behind Denmark drone incursions’
French police have arrested the captain and first officer of a Russian “shadow fleet” oil tanker that was seized off the French coast, as they investigate whether it was involved in last week’s drone incursions in Denmark.
Stephane Kellenberger, a prosecutor in the western French city of Brest, said on Thursday that the two men are accused of failing to prove the ship’s nationality and disobeying orders, with their detention extended.
The tanker carrying Russian crude oil was sailing off the coast of Denmark at around the time of the drone incursions, which began last Monday and led to the closure of several Danish airports.
Western officials believe the vessel is part of Russia’s shadow fleet, a group of ageing boats used by Russian companies to ship oil products around the world while circumventing Western sanctions.
“Thanks to our navy commandos and to the crews of the French navy who intervened this weekend on board a Russian shadow fleet tanker, currently anchored off Saint-Nazaire,” French prime minister Sebastien Lecornu wrote on X (Twitter).
“Their action contributed to the arrest of two members of its crew.”
French soldiers boarded the ship several days ago at the request of prosecutors who suspected wrongdoing, officials said on Wednesday. The prosecutor’s office in Brest said an investigation was opened into the crew’s “refusal to cooperate” and “failure to justify the nationality of the vessel”.
French naval forces boarded the ship again on Wednesday to provide food and fuel to the crew aboard, a military official told Associated Press.
The tanker known as “Pushpa” or “Boracay,” whose name has changed several times, was sailing under the flag of Benin and appears on a list of ships targeted by EU sanctions against Russia. It was on its way to India from Russia’s Baltic Sea port of Primorsk, according to the Marine Traffic monitoring website.
French President Emmanuel Macron suggested the tanker was stopped due to an “intervention” by French authorities.
“I think it’s a good thing that this work has been done and that we’ve been able to stop it,” he said on the sidelines of a summit of EU leaders in Copenhagen, Denmark.
“There were some very serious wrongdoings made by this crew, which is why there are legal proceedings in the case,” he added, without elaborating.
Authorities in Denmark refused to rule out Russian involvement when drone sightings forced Copenhagen airport into shutdown for four hours last week, in what was described as a “serious attack on critical Danish infrastructure”.
When asked whether the ship was connected to drone incidents in Denmark, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said she would not comment on specific investigations, but added that the region was “facing a lot of problems with the shadow fleet”.
“That has been the case, especially in the Baltic Sea for quite a long time,” she said. “We are working very closely together to battle this situation.’’
Macron said the “notorious shadow fleet”, made up of between “600 and 1,000 ships”, is believed to represent tens of billions of euros of Russia’s budget and finances 40 per cent of its war effort.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia had no information about the ship.
Keir Starmer in asylum crackdown as he vows to end ‘golden ticket’ for migrants
Sir Keir Starmer has vowed to end “the golden ticket” of migrants who are granted asylum in the UK getting automatic rights to settle in the country or bring family members with them, as part of the government’s latest immigration crackdown.
The measures, which will see an end to automatic family reunion rights and alter the requirements for long-term settlement in the UK, are aimed at reducing the “pull factors”, which the government says are “driving high levels of illegal migration to the UK”.
It comes after the prime minister made a dramatic U-turn over international human rights laws that have been criticised for making it harder to deport asylum seekers.
On Wednesday, Sir Keir Starmer said the government will review the way British courts apply European Convention of Human Rights (ECHR) rules, which could mean asylum seekers are no longer able to avoid being sent back to their home country by claiming they could face torture as a result.
And they may be barred from demanding the right to stay in the UK on the grounds that it would separate them from their families.
It marks another major policy reversal by Sir Keir, a former human rights lawyer, who has defended the ECHR in the past. It also comes as the prime minister steps up his attacks on Reform UK leader Nigel Farage, dubbing the small boats he is trying to stop crossing the English Channel “Farage boats”.
Meanwhile, Shabana Mahmood announced a major crackdown on migration through a radical overhaul of the main route for immigrants gaining British citizenship in the UK.
Under tougher measures unveiled by the home secretary, migrants who want to remain in the UK will have to learn English to a high standard, have a clean criminal record and volunteer in their community to be eligible for indefinite leave to remain.
They will also have to be working, paying national insurance and not be claiming benefits under the proposed changes.
Charities and human rights campaigners attacked Sir Keir over the planned changes to the way human rights laws are applied, warning that he risked turning “from a human rights lawyer to a human rights shredder”.
And Liberty director Akiko Hart said any changes were “unlikely to make a material difference to migration figures and risk setting us on a path to undermining the rights of every person in Britain”.
But the chair of Migration Watch UK, Alp Mehmet, said Sir Keir’s comments are “meaningless and suggest nothing will happen”.
In an interview with the BBC, Sir Keir denied he is “tearing up” the ECHR but stated: “We need to look again at the interpretation of some of these provisions and we have already begun to do that work in some of our domestic legislation.”
He said the review concerns articles 3 and 8 of the ECHR concerning “cruel and inhumane treatment” in an asylum seeker’s home country and the “right to a family life”.
The government is also reviewing other conventions relating to “refugees, torture and children’s rights”, he said.
“All international instruments have to be applied in circumstances as they are now,” the prime minister said. “We are seeing mass migration in a way we have not seen in previous years. Those genuinely fleeing persecution should be afforded asylum. That is a compassionate act, but we need to look again at the interpretation of some of those provisions – not tear them down but look at the interpretation.”
The move was backed by former Labour home secretary Jack Straw, who told The Independent it was “very sensible”.
But Labour peer Shami Chakrabarti, the former director of Liberty, said: “Any debate about our fundamental rights and freedoms needs to begin with facts and law rather than political spin. As for the politics, we won’t achieve ‘decency’ over ‘division’ by trying to be Reform Lite.”
Steve Smith, CEO of refugee charity Care4Calais, said: “Going from being a human rights lawyer to a human rights shredder would be the final stage in the prime minister’s makeover from humanitarian to authoritarian.
“As humans, we should all be concerned when a politician threatens to rip up human rights. Even more so when it’s driven by the vindictiveness of targeting survivors of torture. No one is safe from a politician who can act with such callousness.”
Just yesterday, Sir Keir laid into Mr Farage’s claims, saying the Brexiteer had been “wrong” to claim that leaving the EU would make no difference to migration policy, pointing to the Dublin Regulation that allowed pre-Brexit Britain to return some asylum seekers to the continent.
Sir Keir told GB News: “I would gently point out to Nigel Farage and others that before we left the EU, we had a returns agreement with every country in the EU and he told the country it would make no difference if we left. He was wrong about that.
“These are Farage boats, in many senses, that are coming across the Channel.”
The decision to review legislation is a major victory for Ms Mahmood, The Independent understands, who has been lobbying for such action since her appointment.
Ms Mahmood has only been in the job a few weeks, but has been lobbying to be allowed to bring in a law which will change the effects of legislation on modern slavery and the Refugee Convention, as well as articles 3 and 8 of the ECHR.
It came after the prime minister’s speech at Labour’s conference in Liverpool, in which he took the fight to Reform UK and said Nigel Farage, who advocates leaving the ECHR altogether, does not believe in Britain.
The prime minister is under pressure to go further in his efforts to bring down the number of migrants arriving in Britain via small boats. The number of migrant arrivals on small boats has topped 33,000 in 2025 so far, marking a record for this point in the year since data on Channel crossings was first reported in 2018.
Announcing the changes to settlement and family reunion rights for asylum seekers, the prime minister said: “Settlement must be earned by contributing to our country, not by paying a people smuggler to cross the Channel in a boat.
“The UK will continue to play its role in welcoming genuine refugees fleeing persecution. But we must also address the pull factors driving dangerous and illegal small boat crossings. There will be no golden ticket to settling in the UK; people will have to earn it.”
The prime minister is set to discuss the changes, as well as other ways European countries can work together to tackle the shared challenge of illegal migration, at the upcoming European Political Community Summit taking place in Copenhagen.
In a meeting with Danish prime minister Mette Frederiksen, the leaders are set to announce a new partnership backed by up to £3m to tackle the causes of migration upstream in Western Balkan countries, including by encouraging people to stay in the region and take up jobs there.
The UK will also contribute as much as £5.75m to Italy’s “Rome Process” to tackle migration upstream in key African source and transit companies, reducing movements of migrants towards Europe and supporting the voluntary return of people to countries of origin, the government said on Thursday.
In September, the government announced it would temporarily suspend new applications for refugees looking to bring their family members to the UK while ministers reviewed the rules.
Trump claims government shutdown will save billions of dollars with ‘dead wood’ cleared
Donald Trump has said “billions” of dollars will be saved by the U.S. government shutdown, as he called for a clear out of “deadwood” federal workers.
The government shutdown has continued into its second day, with no votes on spending bills expected until Friday while the White House threatens “imminent” layoffs.
“Republicans must use this opportunity of Democrat forced closure to clear out dead wood, waste, and fraud,” Trump said in a late night post on Truth Social.
“Billions of Dollars can be saved. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Wednesday the Office of Management and Budget is “working with agencies across the board to identify where cuts can be made”.
The shutdown began at midnight Wednesday, after the GOP put forth a bill to fund federal agencies that was already approved by the House. It failed 55 to 45 in the Senate, five shy of the 60 votes needed. Senate is scheduled to take another vote Friday afternoon, CBS reports.
Democrats have demanded the reversal of cuts to Medicaid, set out earlier this year in Trump’s “One Big, Beautiful, Bill,” and an extension of Affordable Care Act subsidies.
Houser Minority Leader says he hasn’t heard from Trump since Monday
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries has said that he hasn’t heard from the White House since a meeting with President Trump and other congressional leaders on Monday.
Speaking to CNN’s Jake Tapper on ‘The Lead’, Jeffries said: “We haven’t heard from the White House since the White House meeting on Monday.
The president has been behaving, you know, somewhat erratically and in [an] unconventional fashion in the context of the government shutting down.
“Clearly, they wanted to shut the government down, unfortunately.
We’re ready to work together to bring it back open, but to do it in a way where we enact a spending agreement that’s bipartisan, that meets the needs of the American people, while at the same time addresses the Republican health care crisis that is devastating everyday Americans all across the country.”
Congress will be during shutdown paid – while essential workers miss paychecks
Members of congress will continue receiving their paychecks during the US government shutdown – while hundreds of thousands of other federal workers will remain unpaid until the service is resumed as normal.
Thousands of essential workers, such as TSA agents and air traffic controllers, will remain on job during the shutdown.
But many essential employees won’t receive payment until funding resumes, meaning they could miss multiple paychecks, depending on how long the shutdown lasts.
But members of Congress will be paid throughout, while postal workers will also be paid – as the U.S. Postal Service is a self-funded agency.
All furloughed federal workers will be provided retroactive pay once operations resume, thanks to a 2019 law.
Trump calls on Republicans to ‘clear out dead wood’
In a late night Truth Social post, Donald Trump has called on the Democrats to “clear out dead wood” after the US government shutdown.
The Trump administration have said suggested they might use the government shutdown to lay off a number of federal workers, in a move the president says would “get rid of” `Democratic policies.
Here’s what President Trump wrote:
Which essential government services will continue despite the shutdown
The Antideficiency Act includes explicit exceptions for “emergencies involving the safety of human life or the protection of property.”
Hence, when the government “shuts down,” federal law enforcers will keep up their investigations and border agents will stay on patrol. The CIA and NSA will continue their snooping.
The National Weather Service will keep its eyes on the skies, albeit with a skeleton crew, as will air traffic controllers. The TSA will also continue to scan your body parts and require you to remove your shoes.
Programs that are self-funding or funded by means other than annual appropriations usually continue. That includes the USPS, Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid.
Benjamin Civiletti’s memo back in the 1980s also ruled that the president’s constitutional duties were unaffected by shutdowns. That argument has since been extended to court employees, members of Congress, and aides who support them in their essential activities. So those will keep running.
Fortunately for Congress and the President, their salaries will continue to be paid, as mandated by the Constitution.
What is a government shutdown?
The U.S. government has once again been sent into shutdown.
For the 21st time in the past 50 years, Congress has not been able to reach an agreement on funding for federal agencies, despite negotiations stretching late into Tuesday night.
The U.S. Constitution hands Congress the sole power of the purse. “No Money shall be drawn from the Treasury,” reads Article I, “but in Consequence of Appropriations made by Law.”
Under the Antideficiency Act, passed in 1884 and amended in 1950, the government is also prohibited from incurring expenses that Congress hasn’t already appropriated. The idea was to prevent federal departments from forcing Congress’s hand by deliberately blowing their entire budget early in the year, which used to happen frequently.
For a while, the U.S. government operated on the assumption that Congress couldn’t possibly have meant this to cover routine annual budgets. However, in 1980 and 1981, Jimmy Carter’s attorney general, Benjamin Civiletti, ruled that, in fact, it did — meaning all non-emergency work had to stop as soon as the funds ran out.
How long this lasts is anyone’s guess: the shortest shutdowns last only a day or a few hours. The longest was in 2018-19, during Trump’s first term, which lasted 34 days and wiped an estimated $6 billion or more off the country’s economy.
Read more from Io Dodds about how the shutdown will impact most Americans:
What is a government shutdown? Here’s how it will impact most Americans
Watch: Senate Republicans react to possible federal firings
Trump’s budget chief says federal firings will come in ‘one to two’ days amid government shutdown
Russell Vought, the head of the Office of Management and Budget, reportedly told House Republicans on Wednesday that the Trump administration would begin firing federal workers in “one to two” days.
Less than a day into the government shutdown, Vought signaled that the administration was keeping its promise to use this time to get rid of more federal employees – a continuation of their goal to slash the federal workforce that began earlier this year.
In a call with House Republicans, Vought said those firings could begin starting Thursday or Friday, multiple sources told NBC News, Punchbowl, Politico, and more.
Vought, an architect of Project 2025, did not specify where the firings would begin, such as a specific department or specific type of employee. Earlier this year, probationary employees, or those who are newly in their position, were among the first to be fired.
Read more from Ariana Baio:
Vought says federal firings will come in ‘one to two’ days amid government shutdown
Watch: Elizabeth Warren reacts to Trump admin pausing New York infrastructure projects
Senator Elizabeth Warren, a Massachusetts Democrat, reacted to the Trump administration pausing infrastructure projects in New York in an MSNBC interview Wednesday night.
Russ Vought, the director of the Office of Management and Budget, announced Wednesday morning, roughly $18 billion in New York City’s Hudson Tunnel Project and Second Ave Subway have been put on hold because of “DEI principles.”
Hesgseth ramps up war against leakers by introducing lie detector tests and NDAs to Pentagon, report says
The Pentagon plans to introduce mandatory non-disclosure agreements and lie detector tests for thousands of people, a new report reveals.
Under Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, the Pentagon plans to require that some staff sign NDAs that prohibit the “release of non-public information without approval or through a defined process” and subsequently take random polygraph tests, according to a draft memo from Deputy Defense Secretary Steve Feinberg reviewed by The Washington Post.
“The protection of sensitive information is paramount to our national security, the safety of our warfighters, and the preservation of critical decision space for our senior leaders,” Feinberg wrote.
The new orders would apply to an estimated 5,000 people working in the Office of the Defense Secretary and the Joint Staff, including military service members, civilian employees and contractors, the Post reports.
Read more from Katie Hawkinson:
Hesgseth plans to introduce NDAs and random lie detector tests: report
Senate GOP leader leaves door open on talks about healthcare negotiations
Senate Majority Leader John Thune has left the door open on talks about the healthcare negotiations that Democrats want amid the government shutdown.
Thune said he’s willing to talk about how a negotiation on Affordable Care Act subsidies that are set to expire at the end of the year might work once the government is open if a “critical mass” of Democrats back the GOP’s funding bill.
“I keep telling them: When they have eight or 10 — preferably 10, or more — when they have a critical mass, let me know if there’s a conversation they want to have,” Thune told Politico.
Democrats have demanded the reversal of cuts to Medicaid, set out earlier this year in Trump’s “One Big, Beautiful, Bill,” and an extension of Affordable Care Act subsidies to support a spending plan.
Father jailed for 13 years for stealing phone transferred to hospital
A father who set himself alight in desperation as his mental health crumbled while serving 13 years in prison for stealing a phone has finally been transferred to hospital.
Thomas White, who is serving an abolished indefinite jail term described by the United Nations as “psychological torture”, developed paranoid schizophrenia and psychosis in prison as he lost hope of being freed from his imprisonment for public protection (IPP) sentence.
Last year, The Independent revealed how he had set himself on fire in his cell as this newspaper backed his family in their six-year battle for him to be transferred for inpatient mental health treatment.
In March, we revealed how he had suffered yet another mental health crisis, in which he repeatedly smashed his face on the floor of maximum-security HMP Manchester, where he was being held.
This week, the 42-year-old father of one finally arrived at a specialist medium-secure unit in Northumberland – where his family hopes he will finally get the help he needs – three months after he was approved for the transfer.
His sister, Reverend Clara White, told The Independent: “He keeps saying, ‘Clara, thank you, thank you, thank you, I would have died in prison.’”
The transfer comes after he spent 13 years languishing on the controversial open-ended jail term. IPP sentences were scrapped in 2012 following a damning ruling from the European Court of Human Rights, but not retrospectively, leaving thousands of inmates trapped in jail for years beyond their original prison terms.
White, who had previous convictions for theft, was handed an IPP sentence with a two-year tariff for robbery just four months before the sentences were outlawed. Then aged 27, he had been binge-drinking when he took a phone from two Christian missionaries in Manchester.
Thanks to the indefinite jail term, he has remained incarcerated as his mental health has deteriorated. He moved prisons 12 times and was banned from seeing his only son, Kayden, who is nearly 16, for most of his prison term.
Three psychiatrists had called for White to be moved to a hospital to treat his mental health. The latest, on 13 February, concluded he was “struggling in the prison environment” and it was likely “he is deeply frustrated and angry as a result of his predicament”.
Two medical reports last year laid bare the toll of the devastating IPP jail term, warning that White’s “lengthy incarceration” was creating “impermeable barriers” to his recovery.
Rev White, who was this month ordained as a pastor, said she was still struggling to process the news that he was finally in hospital after she took the fight to the Ministry of Justice.
David Blunkett, who admits he regrets ever introducing the jail term when he served in Tony Blair’s Labour cabinet, joined efforts to help White get visits with his son.
Meanwhile, prisons minister James Timpson personally visited him inside the category A jail where he was being held after Rev White raised awareness of his plight.
“It definitely has been a victory but I have to remember that he’s gone from one institution to another institution and it may take a long time to get him well,” she added.
“We have been dragged from pillar to post. I feel like I have had a mental beating along with Thomas.”
Although her brother is still struggling with religious delusions at the unit, she takes comfort from the knowledge that “he’s in the right place now”.
However, she fears she will still need to fight to keep him there for longer than six months.
Of almost 2,500 people still incarcerated on an IPP jail term, nearly 700 have served at least 10 years longer than their original minimum term.
Successive governments have refused to resentence IPP prisoners, despite calls from the justice committee and the UN special rapporteur on torture following high rates of suicide and self-harm.
The MoJ insists it will not consider releasing prisoners who have not passed the Parole Board’s release test.
This week Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, who was detained in Iran for almost six years, joined calls for the government to act to help those still languishing on the sentence.
Israel says ‘last opportunity’ for Palestinians to leave Gaza City
Israel issued a “last opportunity” warning for Gazans to flee the besieged territory’s main city, warning that its forces had tightened their encirclement.
“This is the last opportunity for Gaza residents who wish to do so to move south and leave Hamas terrorists isolated in Gaza City itself, facing the IDF’s ongoing operations at full force,” Israeli defence minister Israel Katz posted on X.
Meanwhile, Hamas appeared inclined to accept a ceasefire plan laid out by Donald Trump under certain conditions, sources close to Israel-Hamas negotiations in Qatar told Haaretz.
Hamas is currently consulting with other Palestinian groups to come to a unified position on the plan.
A Palestinian source close to the Hamas leadership told AFP that the group wanted to amend certain clauses in the plan, including on disarmament and Israel’s withdrawal from Gaza.
Trump‘s 20-point plan would see Hamas relinquish political and military leadership in Gaza and lay down its arms, and appoint the US president as the chair of a “board of peace” to oversee governance, led by a committee that could include former British prime minister Tony Blair.
In pictures: Smoke billows over Gaza amid fresh strikes on Thursday
Spanish students strike to protest ‘Gaza genocide’
Thousands of students in Spain were set to strike in as many as 40 cities on Thursday over the situation in the beleaguered Gaza Strip.
“The mobilisation, called by the Student Union, has left classrooms in many secondary schools almost empty”, with the exception of younger students, El País reports.
The president of the Murcia principals’ association told the outlet some 80 per cent of students at her school were on strike.
Corresponding protests have also been called at universities.
Just one vessel still sailing towards Gaza: GSF
Israeli forces have intercepted 39 boats carrying aid and foreign activists, including Swedish campaigner Greta Thunberg, to Gaza, leaving only one vessel still sailing towards the Palestinian enclave, the flotilla organisers said on Thursday.
The Global Sumud Flotilla’s tracking website showed four vessels travelling with the grouping in the region on Thursday morning.
The Marinette, Mikeno, Shireen and Summertime-Jong were still reported to be sailing today, of a total 44 vessels.
Twenty one were marked as having been intercepted, with the rest ‘assumed intercepted’ at the time of writing.
Who would benefit from Donald Trump’s 20-point plan?
Donald Trump this week announced a 20-point plan aimed at ending the war in Gaza.
Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu said he backed the plan, which would ultimately see Hamas replaced by a transitional government, the hostages in Gaza returned, and Israel ultimately withdraw from the Gaza Strip. Trump gave Hamas “three to four” days to respond.
Dr Andreas Krieg, associate professor of defence studies at King’s College London, told The Independent that, as it stands, Trump and Netanyahu stand to profit most from the plan.
For Trump, the creation of a “Board of Peace” to oversee the transitional government with himself at its head “presents the optics of a historic breakthrough and places him at the centre of the process”, Dr Krieg said.
“Netanyahu, meanwhile, has secured revisions that allow Israel to withdraw only in phases, tied to strict security benchmarks, while retaining a permanent buffer zone on Gaza’s borders. So, there are sufficient pretexts already built in for him to usurp the plan.”
Dr Krieg said the proposal would also yield talking points to reassure his coalition at home.
For Hamas, the plan “amounts to an existential threat: it demands the organisation’s dissolution, the destruction of its arsenal and the exclusion of its cadres from any future role in Gaza’s governance”.
“Yet Hamas has historically sought to amend rather than wholly reject proposals, and there is scope for the political leadership abroad to explore a partial acceptance of certain elements,” he added.
Spain summons Israel’s Charge d’Affaires
Spain’s foreign minister said on Thursday that he had summoned Israel’s Charge d’Affaires over the GSF flotilla interception overnight.
Jose Manuel Albares said on Spanish National Television (TVE) that he had told the highest-ranking diplomat that Spanish citizens travelling on the flotilla are “peaceful Spanish citizens in solidarity, whose objective was solely and exclusively humanitarian, who did not and do not represent any threat to Israel or anyone else, and who were exercising a basic right under international law”.
Albares confirmed there are 65 Spanish citizens among the detainees.
He said they have “full diplomatic and consular protection” from the Spanish foreign ministry.
GSF activist tells The Independent: ‘After joining the deadly 2010 Gaza flotilla, I’m now sailing again. I’m worried Israel will kill us’
A woman onboard the Gaza aid flotilla has said activists have to “accept they might die” as their ship nears the coast of the war-torn territory.
Ewa Jasiewicz is aboard one of 44 boats in the Global Sumud Flotilla, which is delivering aid to the war-torn territory. She is sailing the treacherous journey 15 years after witnessing Israeli forces kill nine of her fellow activists during a raid on the Gaza Freedom Flotilla in 2010.
After entering the “high-risk zone” on Tuesday night, activists said the flotilla was “aggressively circled” by an Israeli warship which “steered dangerously close” to the vessels. The IDF has not commented on the incident.
Read the full interview:
‘I was on the deadly 2010 Gaza flotilla and am sailing again. Israel could kill us’
Over 150 children died from malnutrition in Gaza since start of Israel invasion: Report
More than 150 children have died in Gaza due to acute malnutrition since the start of Israel’s invasion into the strip, a majority in 2025, according to the latest figures from Palestinian health authorities.
Gaza’s malnutrition crisis has reached catastrophic levels, according to Unicef’s communication manager Tess Ingram, who said the strip’s entire child population under five, which includes over 320,000 children, are at risk of acute malnutrition.
In July alone, she said, 13,000 children were acutely malnourished, making it “the highest monthly figure ever recorded”.
“This war must end now. Aid must be allowed into the Gaza Strip, including food and nutrition supplies. Humanitarians must be allowed to do their jobs,” Ms Ingram said. “The children of Gaza are being punished by these decisions and it’s killing them”.
Flotilla ‘deportation procedures … will begin’ – Israeli Foreign Ministry
Israel’s Foreign Ministry said this morning that activists with the Global Sumud Flotilla (GSF) were being taken “safely and peacefully to Israel” following their detention overnight.
“Deportation procedures to Europe will begin” upon arriving in Israel, the ministry wrote on X this morning, adding: “The passengers are safe and in good health.”
Israeli forces boarded and seized control of several ships involved in the flotilla late on Wednesday, with members on board detained and taken to Israel.
Video: Protests erupt across Italy as Israel intercepts aid boats
In Photos: Palestinians flee Gaza City as Israel strikes continue
Eats, Beats and Storied Streets: A journey through Louisiana
Few places in America are as spellbinding as Louisiana. Streets are alive with music, every table groans with food that tells a story, and every river bend reveals landscapes as mysterious as they are beautiful. Whether you’re dancing to zydeco in Lafayette, devouring beignets in the French Quarter, or gliding through the Atchafalaya swamps in search of alligators, this is a destination which offers travellers an unforgettable blend of rhythm, flavour and culture.
Music that Moves You
A seemingly never-ending party, a stroll through the bouncing streets of New Orleans’ French Quarter is one of America’s most thrilling sensory experiences. Guitars crunch, symbols crash and horns howl on every street corner, from Bourbon Street to Frenchmen Street. This Cajun corner of the US has a deep heritage too, and the Preservation Hall – dating back to 1961 – is an essential stop. With its intimate time-worn walls and wooden chairs facing the small stage, it’s a shrine to New Orleans jazz and every note should be savoured.
But Louisiana’s music tradition goes far beyond the Big Easy. Beginning in 1981, the Baton Rouge Blues Festival is one of the country’s oldest blues festivals and the state capital is a haven of Cajun music. It’s also the home of the swamp blues, so to hear the best of these laid-back rhythms, spend a foot-tapping night at Phil Brady’s Bar & Grill or Henry Turner Jr’s Listening Room. And for a little backyard boogie from local Louisiana musicians, try and hit the wonderfully chilled out Bee Nice Concert Series.
One of the more niche regional sounds is zydeco, and these infectious beats driven by accordions and washboards are perfect for dancing the night away. Over in Lafayette, the lush outdoor Hideaway on Lee and the charming Blue Moon Saloon host high-energy zydeco and Cajun jams. For a deeper dive into this unique music of the swamp, drop by the Festivals Acadiens et Créoles for three glorious days of Cajun, Creole, and zydeco sounds.
Flavours to Savour
Louisiana has one of America’s most distinct food cultures, with Creole dishes like gumbo and jambalaya not found anywhere else. Needless to say, the fiery flavours found in these creations are sublime and it’s no surprise that 2025 is Louisiana’s Year of Food.
With its rich broth, often featuring a roux base and embellished by juicy shrimp and thick sausage, gumbo is arguably the quintessential Creole dish. If you’re in New Orleans, look no further than no–frills downtown spots like Coop’s Place or head out to neighbourhood joints like the upscale Gabrielle Restaurant who serve a smoky take on Cajun-style gumbo or the dense dishes plated up at Liuzza’s by the Track. And if you’re so enraptured by this unique stew, then learn how to make it at home at the New Orleans School of Cooking.
A Cajun rice dish that originated in southern Louisiana in the 18th Century, Jambalaya is also iconic down here and can include meats, vegetables, seafood and spices in its mouthwatering mix. The Jambalaya Shoppe is dotted all around southern Louisiana and is a good place to start, though make time to visit Gonzales – the ‘Jambalaya Capital of the World. It even has its own Jambalaya Festival every spring.
Remember to make time for sweet treats though, as Louisiana’s beignets are something special. Warm, deep-fried pastries dusted with powdered sugar, these gentle delights are the perfect cafe snack. Open since 1862, the Cafe du Monde is an iconic French Quarter spot to watch the world go by with a beignet and café au lait.
And if you’re here for Mardi Gras, make sure to sample the sweet colourful King Cake as the jaunty floats pass by.
Culture and the Great Outdoors
Louisiana’s diverse cultural heritage is as unique as its landscape. French, Spanish, African, Caribbean and native influences all converge into Cajun and Creole identities and that’s most famously reflected in the state’s sublime cuisine. But don’t miss the great outdoors, as Louisiana’s biodiversity is enchanting too.
Acadiana’s humid moss-cloaked swamps and bayous are one of America’s last wildernesses, and boat tours of these serene and ethereal landscapes are unforgettable, especially if you spot wildlife like American Alligators, beavers, herons, eagles and white tail deer. The Atchafalaya Basin, just east of Lafayette, is a particular haven and several airboat tours depart from here, including McGee’s Swamp Tours and Last Wilderness Swamp Tours.
Road trails through these bayous can be just as inspiring, and the Bayou Teche National Byway tells stories. Running for 183 miles from Arnaudville down to Morgan City, this serpentine route passes by ornate antebellum homes like Shadows-on-the-Teche, tranquil fields of sugar cane, breezy swamps and historic towns packed with friendly cafes, zydeco dancehalls and local museums.
Look out for the region’s lively 400+ festivals too, which often celebrate Louisiana’s local culture. The Festival International de Louisiane in Lafayette celebrates the links between Acadiana and the Francophone world, through music, art and food, while the Southwest Louisiana Zydeco Music Festival in Opelousas aims to preserve Louisiana’s most gleeful music genre. And there’s no better way of learning about the state’s people and heritage than at the various tours, concerts, talks and cultural events held in Vermillionville in Lafayette.
Prince Harry’s lawyer claims William and Kate were targeted by Daily Mail
Prince Harry has dragged the Prince and Princess of Wales into his latest legal battle after his lawyer claimed they may have been targeted by private investigators working for the Daily Mail.
The High Court heard on Wednesday that Prince William’s 21st birthday party in 2003 could have been “blagged” by a private investigator.
The Duke of Sussex is one of a group of seven high-profile individuals bringing legal action against Daily Mail publisher Associated Newspapers Limited (ANL).
The group, also including Sir Elton John, Doreen Lawrence and Liz Hurley, have accused the publisher of allegedly carrying out or commissioning unlawful activities such as hiring private investigators to place listening devices inside cars, “blagging” private records, commissioning burglary to order, and accessing private phone conversations.
ANL firmly denies the allegations and is defending the legal action, previously describing the claims as “lurid” and “simply preposterous”.
At a preliminary hearing on Wednesday, lawyers for the group and the publisher returned to the High Court in London ahead of an expected trial in January 2026.
David Sherborne, for the group of high-profile individuals, said in written submissions that invoices were disclosed on 24 September, including one related to the Prince of Wales.
The invoice, dated 25 August 2003, was entitled “Out of Africa Story Royal Party Enqs”, the barrister continued.
Mr Sherborne claimed that this invoice was linked to a Daily Mail story from June 2003, with “extensive” details about William’s 21st birthday party, which had an “out of Africa” theme, the day before the party was due to take place.
“It can be inferred … that information for the article was obtained through blagging,” Mr Sherborne continued.
The claims were made in a document dated 30 September, after ANL had provided its written arguments to the High Court.
Mr Sherborne also told the court that a record from a different private investigator allegedly shows a journalist commissioning him to provide a “mobile phone conversion” related to the Princess of Wales, as well as phone numbers from a “family and friends” list.
According to the document, lawyers for ANL are said to have said this proposed amendment is “very late”, with part of it previously reported in 2012.
Wednesday’s hearing included a bid by ANL to have parts of the cases thrown out, with Mr Sherborne saying that, with the exception of one part, ANL’s bid to throw out elements of their claims is “unreasonably and unfairly late” and should be dismissed.
Harry was understood to be dialling in to Wednesday’s hearing in London using a remote link, and one user with the name “Prince Harry” could be seen.
Issues with the audio quality on the remote link were reported by the user and others during the morning, while actress Sadie Frost and David Furnish, who are also bringing legal action, attended the hearing in person.
Antony White KC, for ANL, said in written submissions that lawyers for the group of high-profile individuals had made “wholly unparticularised” allegations of unlawful information gathering (UIG) that should not proceed to the trial.
He said: “Unparticularised general allegations of UIG, particularly where these involve other journalists, or ANL more generally, will not be of assistance to the court in determining the claimants’ individual claims.”
The barrister said that “only clearly pleaded specific instances of alleged UIG against journalists involved in the articles complained of in the claimants’ individual cases” should remain in the case, adding: “This will allow a trial of clearly identified factual issues to take place in a fair and proportionate manner.”
Mr White later said that allegations related to journalists or third-party investigators at other newspaper groups are “irrelevant”.
He added: “In several instances, it is unclear if the relevant targeting is even said to have been done on behalf of ANL, because the pleading is rolled up with an allegation that the relevant journalist worked at Mirror Group Newspapers and/or News Group Newspapers.”
The hearing before Mr Justice Nicklin is due to conclude on Thursday, with a decision expected at a later date.
Scientists reveal the one Covid symptom you may be stuck with for life
It is well known that Covid can impair your sense of smell, but a new study has found that those who lose it may never get it back.
Researchers found that two years after a Covid infection, 80 per cent of people who reported changes in their sense of smell performed poorly on a clinical scent-detection test.
The study, which was led by the National Institutes of Health, also found that out of those who had noticed a change, around one in four had severely impaired smell or had lost the ability to smell entirely.
The study’s co-lead author, Dr Leora Horwitz, said: “While patients may not notice right away, a dulled nose can have a profound impact on their mental and physical wellbeing.”
She said that a loss of smell can create everyday risks, and can negatively affect appetite and nutrition: “You can’t smell smoke, you can’t smell the gas leak, you can’t smell spoiled food.”
The loss of smell from Covid is a specific effect of infection with the virus, explained Dr Horwitz, which causes inflammation within the olfactory system.
The study analysed the data of thousands of Americans who had previously been infected with Covid alongside others who had not. Participants had to identify 40 different scents in a multiple-choice format, with each correct answer earning one point.
The study found that 60 per cent of uninfected participants who did not report problems with smell also tested poorly during the clinical evaluation. Dr Horwitz said that a natural decline in the sense of smell with age likely contributed to some of these poor test results, and also noted that some participants who believed they had not been infected may have unknowingly been infected with Covid in the past.
Experts are now seeking ways to restore patients’ sense of smell post-Covid. The study said these could include vitamin A supplementation or “olfactory training to ‘rewire’ the brain’s response to odours”.
But Dr Horwitz warned that recovery may never be possible: “It can last a long time – maybe for ever, we don’t know – but it is absolutely possible that people don’t get their smell back.”
The findings come as a new Covid strain, called Stratus, is spreading across the UK, and is now believed to be responsible for most cases in the country. The new strain has two variants, XFG and XFG.3.
The World Health Organisation has deemed XFG a “variant under monitoring” and said it has the highest relative growth compared with other variants.
The agency says the risk to public health at a global level is low and the strain is not thought to be severe or deadly, with the current Covid jab expected to remain effective.
As respiratory illness rates are expected to rise in the autumn, the NHS advises staying at home and avoiding contact with others if you experience symptoms of an infection such as Covid.