News Round-Up

• “Iran closes Strait of Hormuz for first time since 1980s” – Iran has closed the Strait of Hormuz for the first time, pushing markets and diplomats into crisis-mode, says the Telegraph.
• “Gaza hospital used for weapons, NGO admits” – After being banned from the Strip, Doctors Without Borders has admitted that “masked and armed men” stored weapons in a Gaza hospital, reports the Telegraph.
• “Bondi Beach gunman complains about prison conditions” – The Bondi Beach gunman has complained about prison conditions as he awaits trial over the Sydney attack, says the Telegraph.
• “Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor ‘had consensual sex with Virginia Giuffre’: Jeffrey Epstein was warned to distance himself from royal after he had sex with trafficking victim, emails reveal” – Newly surfaced emails have reignited allegations around the Duke of York and Virginia Giuffre as the Epstein files keep spilling out, says the Mail.
• “Labour’s ‘jobless generation’: youth unemployment hits 11-year high” – Youth unemployment has surged to an 11-year high and has deepened pressure on Ministers as the labour market sours, reports the Mail.
• “Keir Starmer doesn’t know how close his Government is to collapse” – Isabel Hardman in the Spectator says Starmer’s Government is evincing all the classic signs of imminent collapse.
• “The Commonwealth voting scandal” – In the Spectator, David Shipley warns that automatic UK voting registration of Commonwealth citizens is a scandal waiting to explode.
• “Police investigate claims Labour bribed voters with free food” – Police have opened an investigation into claims Labour bribed voters with free food at a campaign event, according to the Telegraph.
• “Bullying claims against Starmer’s choice for Cabinet Secretary ‘covered up’” – Bullying allegations have erupted around Starmer’s preferred Cabinet Secretary pick, Dame Antonia Romeo, prompting claims of an official cover-up, reports the Telegraph.
• “Reeves blocking spending boost for defence” – Rachel Reeves has been accused of blocking a defence spending boost despite mounting pressure from military leaders, reports the Telegraph.
• “Reed faces calls to quit over Labour’s council election U-turn” – Steve Reed has faced calls to resign after a chaotic council election U-turn that has left Ministers scrambling, says the Mail.
• “Suella Braverman warns UK being ‘ripped apart’ by diversity policies” – Suella Braverman has escalated her attack on diversity policies and vowed sweeping legal changes including repeal of the Equality Act if Reform wins power, reports the Mail.
• “Chagos islanders make dramatic landing after 50 years of exile” – Chagos islanders have made a dramatic landing in their homeland after decades of exile in a bid to prevent the handover to Mauritius, says the Telegraph.
• “China unveils humanoid robots that can do kung fu” – China has showcased stunning kung fu-capable humanoid robots and has used the spectacle to flaunt its technological ambition, reports the Telegraph.
• “Actor is attacked by audience while delivering far-Right speech in character at German theatre” – A German theatre performance has descended into chaos after an actor was attacked mid-scene by the audience as his character delivered a far-Right speech, leaving the actor facing trauma, reveals the Mail.
• “Distraught family blasts Canada for euthanising son, 26, who suffered from ‘seasonal depression’” – A family has accused Canada’s laws of “killing the disabled and vulnerable” months after their son, who suffered from seasonal depression, died by assisted suicide, reports the Mail.
• “Trumponomics is working” – Confounding the doomsters, Donald Trump’s economic approach is delivering results and has left opponents searching for a comeback plan, says Roger Kimball in the Spectator.
• “GPs threaten to stop giving flu jabs unless they are paid more” – GPs have threatened to stop giving flu jabs unless pay rises as the BMA warns of a real-terms squeeze, notes the Telegraph.
• “Gender dysphoria is just a phase. Hilary Cass has proof” – Children are being ‘weaponised’ by both sides of the trans debate, but only one side is advocating harmful drugs in the name of ‘care’, says Suzanne Moore in the Telegraph.
• “Trans violence is a troubling blind spot for the Left” – After men who identified as women committed two recent mass shootings, psychologists seeking answers must be allowed to discuss gender ideology, says Chris Bayliss in the Telegraph.
• “The truth about trans violence” – We should be able to ask what is driving the trend of trans violence without pretending that the crimes of these violent killers are different because of their preferred pronouns, says Kellie-Jay Keen in the Spectator.
• “Miliband to ‘miss Net Zero targets unless he spends extra £75 billion’” – Ed Miliband has been warned by leading energy consultancy Wood Mackenzie that he will miss Net Zero targets without an extra £75 billion spend, according to the Telegraph.
• “Ed Miliband’s delusional energy deal with California” – What a pair Ed Miliband and Gavin Newsom make, says Ross Clark in the Spectator. Both are committed to what they like to call a “global race for clean power”, and both are presiding over electricity grids which are heading for disaster.
• “Crippling energy prices show folly of Miliband’s California deal” – California’s punishing energy prices have been held up as a warning for Britain as Miliband flirts with the model, says the Telegraph.
• “Why California Gasoline Takes a Costly Detour Through The Bahamas” – Refinery closures, pipeline bans and the Jones Act force US fuel onto an absurd global detour, says John Nolte in Climate Change Dispatch.
• “BBC Admits Great Barrier Reef Report Was ‘Misleading’” – Paul Homewood celebrates a small victory in Not A Lot Of People Know That as the BBC issues a correction over an alarmist Great Barrier Reef report.
• “Badenoch: Parliament is being turned into ‘Net Zero Dubai hotel’” – The Conservative leader explains why she opposes eye-wateringly expensive “white elephant” plans to make the Houses of Parliament eco-friendly.
• “Tourists are ordered to leave Italian and Swiss Alps as villages are evacuated because there’s too much snow” – Tourists have been ordered to leave parts of the Italian and Swiss Alps after extreme snowfall and increasing avalanche risks forced authorities to evacuate villages and shut down entire areas, says the Mail.
• “Goldman Sachs scraps diversity rules” – Goldman Sachs is planning to scrap diversity rules for its board of directors amid a wider retreat of DEI initiatives in corporate America, says the Telegraph.
• “The AI smokescreen for getting rid of thousands of staff” – Companies have blamed AI for mass layoffs but in many cases it’s just a convenient cover story that spins mismanagement as technological prowess, says the Telegraph.
• “The hounding of Matt Lucas tells us all we need to know about the  ‘Free Palestine’ mob” – Anti-Israel activists are so convinced of their unimpeachable righteousness, they simply can’t see how obnoxious they are, says Michael Deacon in the Telegraph.
• “Robber due to be deported is on the run for second time in a week” – A convicted robber due to be deported has escaped for the second time in a week and has sparked fresh anger over basic policing failures, reveals the Mail.
• “Burning Koran ‘provoked public disorder’, prosecutors claim” – Burning the Koran in public amounts to disorder, the CPS has told a court, according to the Telegraph.
• “I burnt a Quran. Now I may have to flee Britain” – Writing in the Spectator, Hamit Coskun says he may seek asylum in the US if convicted and says the case is a warning for Britain.
• “The Tories aren’t dead yet” – If immigration drops precipitously, as some predict, much of the ballast underpinning Reform’s support collapses, giving the Tories a way back, argues Stephen Pollard in the Spectator.
• “Colonisation of UK – fact or fiction?” – Alex Kriel for the Thinking Coalition examines whether Sir James Ratcliffe’s recent comments that Britain is being “colonised” by migrants are accurate.
• “Police Scotland report details dozens of hate crimes in Scotland every day” – Almost two dozen hate crimes were recorded in Scotland every day in the year since the Hate Crime Act came into force in April 2024, according to a first-of-its-kind report from Police Scotland, reports the National.
• “It’s a dreadful piece of legislation… Everyone should be equal under the law” – Former Conservative Cabinet Minister Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg tells Newsnight why he supports Reform UK’s proposal to repeal the Equality Act.

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