Day: May 5, 2025

Plan could mark a significant escalation in fighting in the beleaguered territory

Israeli ministers on Monday agreed to ramp up the war against Hamas in Gaza, an official said.

Associated Press reported it has plans to capture more territory in the beleaguered Palestinian enclave and call up tens of thousands of reserve soldiers.

The plan, which the official said would be gradual, could mark a significant escalation in the fighting in Gaza, which resumed in mid-March after Israel and Hamas failed to agree on an extension to an eight-week truce. The official spoke on condition of anonymity in line with regulations.

On Sunday, Israel’s military chief of staff, Lt Gen Eyal Zamir, said the army was calling up tens of thousands of reserve soldiers and said Israel would “operate in additional areas” in Gaza and continue to strike militant infrastructure.

Israel already controls roughly half of Gaza’s territory, including a buffer zone along the border with Israel as well as three corridors that run east-west along the strip. These have squeezed war-weary Palestinians into ever shrinking wedges of land in the devastated territory.

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Home Office says it has a ‘zero-tolerance approach’ to illegal drug use and has introduced ‘more robust’ procedures

A total of 29 staff have been sacked after positive drug tests at the Manston migrant processing centre – a sixfold increase in the space of a year, the Guardian has learned.

Thousands of asylum seekers who arrive in the UK after crossing the Channel on dinghies are processed at the site near Ramsgate in Kent by Home Office officials and contractors. Many of the new arrivals are vulnerable and arrive in the UK traumatised.

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As Coalition projected to have fewer than 10 women in 150-seat House of Representatives, Linda Reynolds condemns ‘comprehensive failure’ of campaign

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Senior Coalition figures are warning the federal opposition faces an existential crisis and must urgently attract more women, calling for Peter Dutton’s replacement to overhaul policy development and candidate recruitment processes.

On current numbers, the Coalition will have fewer than 10 women in the 150-seat House of Representatives.

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Severe thunderstorms around Delhi cause seven deaths, with western Europe also hit by stormy conditions

Residents of Delhi and surrounding areas woke last week to severe thunderstorms with intense rainfall, large hailstones and squally winds. The storms arrived in the early hours of the night, lasting six hours before easing by about 8.30am on Friday morning. At Safdarjung, the primary weather station in Delhi, 77mm of rain was recorded, the majority of which, 60mm, fell within the first three hours. The event itself was the second highest 24-hour rainfall total in Delhi during May since 1901. The deluge of rain led to flash flooding, felled trees, widespread disruption and claimed seven lives.

Further sharp showers are forecast across India this week, alongside thunderstorms across western and central parts where relatively cooler air will become situated aloft through the course of Monday and promote convection. Some forecast models show the potential for thunderstorms to produce very heavy rainfall, particularly in Gujarat and south-west Rajasthan, until Thursday. However, due to the nature of thunderstorm formation, the exact intensity can be difficult to forecast days ahead, and often still proves too tricky to predict on the day. So the conditions in Delhi on Friday morning may not have been a one-off.

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