Author: Andrew Rogers

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) has ordered Israel to allow humanitarian aid into Gaza, finding that the country’s restrictions over the past two years violated its international obligations. The ICJ said Israel must not impede the delivery of aid by UN organisations, including the UN Palestinian relief agency, UNRWA, which has been blocked from Gaza since January. Israel had claimed UNRWA was infiltrated by Hamas, but the court found no evidence to support this claim. The court ruled that Israel’s restrictions violated its responsibilities under the Geneva Conventions and the UN Charter. It stressed that Israel, as an occupying…

New York State Attorney General Letitia James has launched a “Federal Action Reporting Portal” for residents to submit photos and videos of federal immigration enforcement actions. The announcement came a day after a high-profile ICE raid in Manhattan’s Chinatown sparked protests across the city. Four U.S. citizens were arrested during Tuesday’s raid and held for nearly 24 hours before being released without charges, according to Congressman Dan Goldman. The raid drew hundreds of onlookers and ignited widespread outrage. “Every New Yorker has the right to live without fear or intimidation,” James said in a statement. “If you witnessed and documented…

New York City’s final mayoral debate turned fiery on Wednesday night, with Democratic nominee Zohran Mamdani, independent Andrew Cuomo, and Republican Curtis Sliwa clashing over key issues less than two weeks before the 4 November election. Current Mayor Eric Adams, who dropped out weeks ago, did not attend. Sliwa opened the debate by calling it “us versus them,” grouping Cuomo and Mamdani together despite their mutual disapproval. Mamdani accused both rivals of focusing on urging each other to drop out instead of presenting new ideas. Cuomo countered that Mamdani “has no new ideas” and merely repeated policies from former Mayor…

JD Vance, the US vice-president, expressed “great optimism” over the Gaza ceasefire plan during his visit to Israel on Tuesday. He described the agreement as “durable” and “going better than expected,” two days after Israeli airstrikes killed 26 Palestinians. Vance’s visit is part of the Trump administration’s effort to strengthen the truce, while Hamas officials joined talks in Cairo to resolve remaining differences with Israel. “We are doing very well. Better than I expected. We are in a very good place. We’re going to have to keep working on it,” Vance said at a press conference in Kiryat Gat, southern…

Paul Ingrassia, Donald Trump’s nominee to lead federal whistleblower protections, has withdrawn from consideration after racist text messages he allegedly sent surfaced this week. Ingrassia, currently a White House liaison at the Department of Homeland Security, faced scrutiny after a report detailed texts where he reportedly described himself as having a “Nazi streak” and suggested Martin Luther King Jr. Day should be “tossed into the seventh circle of hell.” On Tuesday evening, Ingrassia posted on Truth Social that he was withdrawing from Thursday’s Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee hearing. He said he lacked sufficient Republican support to move…

Plans for a Trump-Putin summit in Budapest have been shelved as efforts to end the Ukraine war face setbacks. The White House confirmed that there are now “no plans” for a meeting between the US and Russian leaders in the immediate future. The announcement follows recent diplomacy that did not produce progress toward a ceasefire. Last week, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. Lavrov said Russia’s negotiating position remains unchanged, referencing agreements made at the Alaska summit. “I want to officially confirm: Russia has not changed its position,” Lavrov told Rubio, confirming the…

Slashed funding from wealthy countries to fight malaria could cause a deadly resurgence, killing millions and costing billions by 2030, according to a new report. The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria provides nearly 60% of international malaria funding, including mosquito nets and preventive drugs. Researchers warned that if donations drop by 20%, there could be 33 million extra malaria cases, 82,000 more deaths, and $5.14 billion lost GDP in sub-Saharan Africa. If funding collapses entirely, the consequences would be even worse: 525 million additional cases, 990,000 deaths, and $83 billion in lost economic output. About 750,000 of…

Construction has begun on former President Donald Trump’s $250 million White House ballroom, with crews demolishing parts of the East Wing. The project has sparked widespread criticism, including from former lawmakers who called it an “utter desecration.” Trump announced on his Truth Social account that “ground has been broken on the White House” for the new ballroom. He said the project is privately funded by generous donors, American companies, and himself, claiming it comes at no cost to taxpayers. During a ceremony honoring the NCAA champion Louisiana State University baseball team, Trump pointed to ongoing construction, saying, “you might hear…

Gaza officials said at least 135 Palestinian bodies returned by Israel came from the Sde Teiman detention center, a site already facing allegations of torture and unlawful deaths. Health authorities in Gaza reported that documents inside the body bags indicated they had all been held at the military base in the Negev desert. The documents, written in Hebrew, confirmed that some of the remains had undergone DNA testing while at Sde Teiman. Photos and testimonies previously published described detainees being held in cages, blindfolded, handcuffed, shackled to hospital beds, and forced to wear nappies. Dr Munir al-Bursh, director general of…

A US driver rammed into a group of people at a children’s birthday party outside Washington DC on Saturday night, killing a woman in her 30s and injuring at least 14 others, including eight children. The driver initially fled the scene but later turned himself in to authorities. Bladensburg police in Maryland identified the driver as a 66-year-old man from the local area. In a statement on Sunday, police confirmed that one of the women injured, 31-year-old Ashley Hernandez Gutierrez, had died from her injuries. Eleven others, including children aged two to nine, were taken to nearby hospitals for treatment.…