UK
‘Detached from reality’: anger as Rishi Sunak plans to restrict solar panels

Helena Horton
Sat, 7 October 2023

Photograph: Tim Ireland/PA

Rishi Sunak plans to restrict the installation of solar panels on swathes of English farmland, which climate campaigners say will raise bills and put the UK’s energy security at risk.

Last year, then prime minister Liz Truss attempted to block solar from most of the country’s farmland. The plans were deeply controversial and unpopular, and were dropped when she left office.

However, solar panels in the countryside are disliked by many rural Conservative MPs, and the Observer can reveal that Sunak and environment secretary Thérèse Coffey have revived plans to put new restrictions on this form of cheap renewable energy.


This is the latest weakening of green policies ahead of the general election, which started when the Conservatives won the Uxbridge byelection, a result widely attributed to anger around Labour mayor Sadiq Khan’s ultra low emissions zone.

Sunak recently announced that the 2030 phase-out of new petrol and diesel cars will be pushed back to 2035, as well as weakening the 2035 gas boiler phase-out, confirming it will apply to far fewer homes. The government also plans to scrap pollution rules for housebuilders in sensitive areas, where they are currently not able to add to sewage pollution without paying to improve nearby wetlands.

It has also faced criticism for its record on renewables, with its stance on onshore wind referred to by industry as an effective block, and the recent government renewable energy auction failing to sign up any offshore wind.

Sunak will further dilute green policies, say campaigners by giving new powers to planning officials in the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF). These would allow officials to block any solar project that can be argued to “put food security at risk” – that is, anywhere food is grown.

Ministers are understood to believe that food security should be on par with energy security and will use recent climate breakdown-related food shortages in Europe and the war in Ukraine as justification for the change.

Rishi Sunak has revived plans to put new restrictions on solar panels. Photograph: Juan Medina/Reuters

The framework amendment to the NPPF was drafted by Greg Smith, the MP for Buckinghamshire, who has long campaigned against solar panels on farmland. He said: “This is a clear, straightforward protection that planning authorities up and down the land can use to say this development on this farmland isn’t going to hit our food security in this area, or this one over here is and therefore use that as a good reason to turn down applications.”

Coffey confirmed the NPPF will be coming out later this year and that “the first purpose [of farmland] must have to be about food production”.

Energy experts have strongly criticised the plans. Lydia Collas, senior policy analyst at Green Alliance, said: “Solar energy will help us move away from polluting fossil fuels, and in the long term protect UK farming from climate breakdown. Restricting ground-mounted solar would be gravely short-sighted. ”

Alethea Warrington, senior campaigner at climate charity Possible, added: “It is mindblowing that as the UK faces yet another winter of unaffordable energy costs caused by reliance on dirty gas, the government would make it still more difficult to build the clean, cheap energy we desperately need.

“The idea that solar power could interfere with the UK’s food security is utterly detached from reality. Solar power generated over 8% of all our electricity this spring, but takes up less land than golf courses. This is part of an abysmal streak of energy policy from the government, including failing to properly unblock onshore wind, failing to get any new offshore wind, and trying to press ahead with incredibly dangerous new oil drilling.”

A Department for Levelling up, Housing and Communities spokesperson said the NPPF consultation aimed to prioritise food production but no decision on the wording has been made. “We received thousands of replies to our consultation and are considering these before responding.”

The Who's Pete Townshend takes aim at the Tory party: “I would line them all up and shoot them”

MUSIC

Jordan Potter

SAT 7TH OCT 2023 

As the guitarist and creative leader of The Who, Pete Townshend is nothing if not progressive in his outlook. 

After his work on the groundbreaking 1969 rock opera Tommy, Townshend was hungry for more, hoping to further his rock opera concept in the audacious and ultimately abandoned multimedia project Lifehouse. 

The Lifehouse project was only abandoned because it pushed the creative marvel to the brink of sanity, and he, of course, persevered to find the innovative pastures of ‘Baba O’Riley’ and the famously adapted rock opera Quadrophenia.

His open and progressive mindset has also been long applied to the dicey topic of politics. In a recent interview with The Independent, the rock star admitted to feeling the lure of the political right some years ago. 

“I don’t know about Rishi Sunak,” he said, revealing his scepticism for the UK’s current leadership. “I don’t know about the Tory party, per se. They say when you get older, you drift from being on the left to on the right. I suppose there was a gentle drift with me.”

“I’m 78, and between 60 and 70, I think I was starting to drift slowly to the right, but… fuck! I would line them all up and shoot them,” he added candidly. 

Elsewhere in the conversation, Townshend addressed the assertion that his convoluted Lifehouse project was prescient of the rise of the internet and the digital age. “If there’s any prescience there, it was certainly the tech stuff,” he said. “That, really, I have to hand over to the teachers I had at Ealing Art School.”

UK

'The bile-soaked Tory conference has gifted Keir Starmer an open goal ahead of election'

Keir Mudie says we learnt nothing from Tory Conference apart from they are unravelling, out of ideas and some of them stand on dogs - and now it's time for Labour to act

This is peak time for Labour, says Keir Mudie

OPINION By Keir Mudie

7 Oct 2023

Let’s get Tory conference out of the way first. Not one to dwell on, that one. I was getting hourly updates from Manchester that were becoming increasingly desperate.

“I just want to go home, it’s too weird,” that kind of thing. And it was. Utterly bizarre from beginning to end. From Penny Mordaunt’s bizarre fist-pumping, finger pointing rallying cry to a roomful of bewildered – slightly frightened – octogenarians to Rishi Sunak’s equally bizarre giveaway of things he’s already given away.

It was probably the best speech of his to date. It just, you know, didn’t make any sense. None of it did. Who comes to Manchester to deliver the news they’re going to scrap the rail link to, well, Manchester? Bizarre.

This column, which prides itself on not making any predictions, last week predicted Suella Braverman would continue her unhinged of appearances – and she delivered. Nothing but bile. A “hurricane” of immigration on the way. Clearly positioning herself as the right-wing option next time the Tories have a leadership contest. Horrible speech, dripping in poisonous nonsense.




Angela Rayner promises to prioritise affordable housing if Labour win election

Leader of the House of Commons Penny Mordaunt delivers a speech during the Conservative Party annual conference (Image: PA)

Went down a stom, of course. Immediately after – as if to demonstrate her credentials as pure evil – she went outside and, I kid you not, stood on a guide dog. Anyways. Too much time wasted on that debacle. Labour MP Chris Elmore summed it up perfectly, saying: “Chaos. The End.” Right on both counts.

Now on to Liverpool. Mr Starmer and co roll into town – on low-speed rail – with it all to play for. There is an open goal here. More than open, come to think of it. The openest of goals. We learnt nothing from Tory Conference apart from they are unravelling, out of ideas and some of them stand on dogs. And we knew the first two of those anyway.

This is peak time for Labour and surely they can’t mess it up. Although, having said that, Thursday’s policy drop was terrifying. Assisted toothbrushing. It did not bode well.

Poll predicts landslide Labour election victory with 12 cabinet ministers losing their seats


Michael Savage Policy Editor
Sat, 7 October 2023 at 5:04 am GMT-6·5-min read


Photograph: Murdo MacLeod/The Guardian

Labour is currently on course to win a landslide victory on the scale of 1997, according to dramatic new modelling that points to the Conservatives losing every red wall seat secured at the last election.

The Tories could also lose more than 20 constituencies in its southern blue wall strongholds and achieve a record-low number of seats, according to a constituency-by-constituency model seen by the Observer. Deputy prime minister Oliver Dowden, defence secretary Grant Shapps and leadership contender Penny Mordaunt are among those facing defeat. Some 12 cabinet ministers face being unseated unless Rishi Sunak can close Labour’s poll lead.

According to the model’s central projection, which takes into account the new boundaries that the next election will be fought on, Labour would win 420 seats – equating to a landslide 190-seat majority. The Tories would take just 149 seats and the Lib Dems 23. The results mirror the 1997 landslide, when Tony Blair’s party secured a majority of 179 with 418 seats. The new analysis also suggests that the cost of living and the state of the NHS continue to be the clear priorities for voters.

The huge study, commissioned by the 38 Degrees campaign group, has been carried out by the Survation polling company using a mega poll made up of more than 11,000 voters. A modelling technique called multilevel regression and post-stratification (MRP) has then been applied to reach constituency-level findings. Pollsters using the method successfully detected the swings ahead of the 2017 election.

While a 190-seat Labour majority is its average estimate, the modelling – based on polling carried out shortly before the Tory conference last week – suggests Labour could have between 402 and 437 seats. The Tories could have between 132 and 169 seats. The results suggest a Labour majority between 154 and 224 seats.

Every one of the 44 red wall seats that the Tories won at the last election would return to the Labour party, the analysis found. A further 22 so-called blue wall seats – defined as those held by the Tories in 2019, have a majority of Remain voters and a higher than average number of graduates – are also lost by the Conservatives.

Voters will want real guarantees of action to bring the dual cost of living and NHS crises under control for all of us

Matthew McGregor, 38 Degrees

The findings will be controversial among both parties’ members. Many Labour insiders are expecting the polls to close over the coming months as the election approaches. Senior figures in Sunak’s team also believe they can target Labour leader Keir Starmer, whom they don’t believe has been embraced by the public.

Despite Sunak’s attempts to switch focus to his plans to ban smoking, overhaul A-levels and ditch the northern leg of HS2, the analysis suggests that voters remain overwhelmingly focused on the cost of living and the state of the NHS.

In every single constituency, these two issues were most important to voters. Across the country, a third said they are “getting by, but making cutbacks” and 8% described themselves as “financially desperate”. More than two fifths (42%) said they had struggled to get a GP appointment in the past six months.

In a major blow for Sunak, Labour has some significant leads in red wall seats. In Blyth Valley, the first red wall seat to be declared for the Tories in 2019, large Labour majorities are predicted. In Blyth and Ashington, Labour are ahead 49% to 22%. In Hartlepool, whose predecessor seat was won by the Conservatives for the first time in a 2021 byelection, Labour have a 38-point lead. In both constituencies, a quarter of voters said they were “worried about their financial future”.

Bassetlaw, whose predecessor seat saw the country’s largest swing from Labour to the Tories in 2019, is predicted to return to Labour. The model suggests a 23-point lead with 12% of residents reporting they are “financially desperate”. Meanwhile, North Dorset – whose predecessor seat last elected a non-Conservative MP in 1945 – is predicted to fall to the Liberal Democrats. At 64% the NHS was a top issue for the highest proportion of this constituency.

Matthew McGregor, chief executive of 38 Degrees, said the findings suggested voters were “crying out for change” and warned Labour against being overly cautious. “With the spotlight this week on the Labour party’s conference pledges, it’s clear what voters will be looking for: real guarantees of action to help those most in need and bring the dual cost of living and NHS crises under control for all of us,” he said. “If they can’t deliver that, there’s no promise these polling results will hold.

“These are the issues which will dominate at the next election. Parties who are unconvincing, out of touch or distracted on these issues will rightly suffer at the polls.”

The results make it even less likely that Sunak and his team will opt for a spring election. Figures close to the PM are said to be opposed to a May vote, despite many MPs believing it may be in the party’s interests to go for an earlier vote. Meanwhile many figures in the Labour party accept that a lack of clarity over Starmer’s vision for power remains a vulnerability.

Damian Lyons Lowe, chief executive of Survation, said: “Red wall seats, which were crucial to the Conservative’s Brexit coalition, are all predicted to return to Labour. Furthermore, it is in seats with the highest proportion of Leave voters that the swing back to Labour is largest. Even traditional Conservative strongholds in the south-east and south-west are under threat from the Liberal Democrats and Labour.”

Survation polled 11,793 people between 11-25 September

Environmentalists unimpressed by German climate summit's £7.6bn pledge for developing world


Sultan Al Jaber, COP28 President-Designate and UAE's Special Envoy for Climate Change, talks during the Climate Future Week at Museum of the Future in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Saturday, Sept. 30, 2023.

ENVIRONMENTALISTS have expressed disappointment at a German climate summit that pledged $9.3 billion (£7.6bn) to help developing countries tackle climate change on Thursday.

The pledges will help replenish the South Korea-based Green Climate Fund, established in 2010 as a financing vehicle for developing countries. It’s the largest such fund aimed at providing money to help poorer nations in reducing their emissions, coping with impacts of climate change and boosting their transitions to clean energy.

But forthcoming Cop28 climate summit president Sultan al-Jaber of the United Arab Emirates said “the current level of replenishment is neither ambitious nor adequate to meet the challenge the world faces.”

Climate Action Network International head of global political strategy Harjeet Singh said the “Green Climate Fund, envisioned as the lifeline for climate action in developing nations, is held back by the indifference of wealthy countries.”

The Cop15 summit back in 2009 pledged wealthy countries to provide $100bn a year to assist developing countries tackle climate change by 2020, a sum which has never been reached.

Afghan rescuers work through the night after deadly quake

By AFP
Published October 7, 2023

Afghan men sit in the rubble of their flattened homes in Sarbuland village in Herat province following Saturday's earthquake - Copyright AFP Genya SAVILOV
Mohsen KARIMI

Desperate rescuers scrabbled through the night searching for survivors of an earthquake that flattened homes in western Afghanistan, with the death toll of 120 expected to rise Sunday as the extent of the disaster becomes clear.

Saturday’s magnitude 6.3 quake — followed by eight strong aftershocks — jolted areas 30 kilometres (19 miles) northwest of the provincial capital of Herat, toppling swathes of rural homes and sending panicked city dwellers surging into the streets.

Herat disaster management head Mosa Ashari told AFP late Saturday there had been “about 120” fatalities reported and “more than 1,000 injured women, children, and old citizens”.

A spokesman for the national disaster authority said they expect the death toll “to rise very high”.

As night fell in Sarboland village of Zinda Jan district, an AFP reporter saw dozens of homes razed to the ground near the epicentre of the quakes, which shook the area for more than five hours.

Men shovelled through piles of crumbled masonry as women and children waited in the open, with gutted homes displaying personal belongings flapping in the harsh wind.

The World Health Organization (WHO) said more than 600 houses were destroyed or partially damaged across at least 12 villages in Herat province, with some 4,200 people affected.

“In the very first shake all the houses collapsed,” said 42-year-old Bashir Ahmad.

“Those who were inside the houses were buried,” he said. “There are families we have heard no news from.”

– ‘Everything turned to sand’ –

Nek Mohammad told AFP he was at work when the first quake struck at around 11:00 am (0630 GMT).

“We came home and saw that actually there was nothing left. Everything had turned to sand,” said the 32-year-old, adding that some 30 bodies had been recovered.

“So far, we have nothing. No blankets or anything else. We are here left out at night with our martyrs,” he said as darkness began to fall.

The WHO said late Saturday “the number of casualties is expected to rise as search and rescue operations are ongoing”.

In Herat city, residents fled their homes and schools, hospitals and offices evacuated when the first quake was felt. There were few reports of casualties in the metropolitan area, however.

Afghanistan is already suffering in the grip of a dire humanitarian crisis, with the widespread withdrawal of foreign aid following the Taliban’s return to power in 2021.

Herat province — home to some 1.9 million on the border with Iran — has also been hit by a years-long drought which has crippled many already hardscrabble agricultural communities.

Afghanistan is frequently hit by earthquakes, especially in the Hindu Kush mountain range, which lies near the junction of the Eurasian and Indian tectonic plates.

In June last year, more than 1,000 people were killed and tens of thousands left homeless after a 5.9-magnitude quake — the deadliest in Afghanistan in nearly a quarter of a century — struck the impoverished province of Paktika.

Death toll from strong earthquakes that shook western Afghanistan rises to over 2,000

ISLAMABAD (AP) — The death toll from strong earthquakes that shook western Afghanistan has risen to over 2,000, a Taliban government spokesman said Sunday. It's one of the deadliest earthquakes to strike the country in two decades.

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FILE - An aerial view of the outskirts of Herat, Afghanistan, Monday, June 5, 2023. Two 6.3 magnitude earthquakes killed dozens of people in western Afghanistan's Herat province on Saturday, Oct. 7, 2023, the country's national disaster authority said. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd, File)

ISLAMABAD (AP) — The death toll from strong earthquakes that shook western Afghanistan has risen to over 2,000, a Taliban government spokesman said Sunday. It's one of the deadliest earthquakes to strike the country in two decades.

A powerful magnitude-6.3 earthquake followed by strong aftershocks killed dozens of people in western Afghanistan on Saturday, the country's national disaster authority said.

Recommended reads for you:

• Two 6.3-magnitude earthquakes kill dozens and injure many more in western Afghanistan
• Death toll from strong earthquakes that shook western Afghanistan rises to 2,000

But Abdul Wahid Rayan, spokesman at the Ministry of Information and Culture, said the death toll from the earthquake in Herat is higher than originally reported. About six villages have been destroyed, and hundreds of civilians have been buried under the debris, he said while calling for urgent help.

The United Nations late Saturday gave a preliminary figure of 320 dead, but later said the figure was still being verified. Local authorities gave an estimate of 100 people killed and 500 injured, according to the same update from the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

The update said 465 houses had been reported destroyed and a further 135 were damaged.

“Partners and local authorities anticipate the number of casualties to increase as search and rescue efforts continue amid reports that some people may be trapped under collapsed buildings,” the U.N. said.

Disaster authority spokesperson Mohammad Abdullah Jan said four villages in the Zenda Jan district in Herat province bore the brunt of the quake and aftershocks.

The United States Geological Survey said the quake's epicenter was about 40 kilometers (25 miles) northwest of Herat city. It was followed by three very strong aftershocks, measuring magnitude 6.3, 5.9 and 5.5, as well as lesser shocks.

At least five strong tremors struck the city around noon, Herat city resident Abdul Shakor Samadi said.

“All people are out of their homes,” Samadi said. “Houses, offices and shops are all empty and there are fears of more earthquakes. My family and I were inside our home, I felt the quake.” His family began shouting and ran outside, afraid to return indoors.

The World Health Organization in Afghanistan said it dispatched 12 ambulance cars to Zenda Jan to evacuate casualties to hospitals.

“As deaths & casualties from the earthquake continue to be reported, teams are in hospitals assisting treatment of wounded & assessing additional needs,” the U.N. agency said on X, formerly known as Twitter. “WHO-supported ambulances are transporting those affected, most of them women and children.”

Telephone connections went down in Herat, making it hard to get details from affected areas. Videos on social media showed hundreds of people in the streets outside their homes and offices in Herat city.

Herat province borders Iran. The quake also was felt in the nearby Afghan provinces of Farah and Badghis, according to local media reports.

Abdul Ghani Baradar, the Taliban-appointed deputy prime minister for economic affairs, expressed his condolences to the dead and injured in Herat and Badghis.

The Taliban urged local organizations to reach earthquake-hit areas as soon as possible to help take the injured to hospital, provide shelter for the homeless, and deliver food to survivors. They said security agencies should use all their resources and facilities to rescue people trapped under debris.

“We ask our wealthy compatriots to give any possible cooperation and help to our afflicted brothers,” the Taliban said on X.

Japan's ambassador to Afghanistan, Takashi Okada, expressed his condolences saying on the social media platform X, that he was “deeply grieved and saddened to learn the news of earthquake in Herat province.”

In June 2022, a powerful earthquake struck a rugged, mountainous region of eastern Afghanistan, flattening stone and mud-brick homes. The quake killed at least 1,000 people and injured about 1,500.

The Associated Press

 

American mountaineer, local guide dead after avalanches hit Tibetan mountain. Two others are missing

BEIJING (AP) — American mountaineer Anna Gutu and a Nepalese guide Mingmar Sherpa were confirmed Sunday dead after avalanches struck the slopes of a Tibetan mountain, while two others remained missing, according to Chinese media reports.

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FILE- Nepal's sherpa guide Tenjen Sherpa, 35, smiles during an interview with the Associated Press in Kathmandu, Nepal, Aug. 9, 2023. Tenjen Sherpa and American climber Gina Marie Rzucidlo are reported missing after avalanches struck Tibet’s Mount Shishapangma on Saturday afternoon. American mountaineer Anna Gutu and Nepalese guide Mingmar Sherpa were confirmed Sunday dead according to Chinese media reports. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha, File)

BEIJING (AP) — American mountaineer Anna Gutu and a Nepalese guide Mingmar Sherpa were confirmed Sunday dead after avalanches struck the slopes of a Tibetan mountain, while two others remained missing, according to Chinese media reports.

The avalanches struck Tibet’s Mount Shishapangma on Saturday afternoon at 7,600 (about 25,000 ft) and 8,000 meters (about 26,000 ft) in altitude, according to state-owned Xinhua News Agency.

Two others, American climber Gina Marie Rzucidlo and a Nepalese mountain guide Tenjen Sherpa went missing, the news agency said. Sherpa was one half of a duo who shattered the record for the fastest climb of the 14 mountains more than 8,000 meters (about 26,000 feet) high in July this year. He wanted to become the youngest climber to scale all 14 peaks twice.

The avalanches also seriously injured Nepalese mountain guide Karma Geljen Sherpa, who was escorted down the mountain by rescuers and is currently in stable condition.

A total of 52 climbers from various countries including the U.S., Britain, Japan, and Italy were attempting to summit the mountain when the avalanches hit, Xinhua said.

Climbing activities on Shishapangma have since been suspended due to snow conditions.

Shishapangma is the 14th-highest mountain in the world, at over 8,027 meters (26,335 ft) above sea level.

October is a popular time to trek the Himalayas as it’s after the rainy monsoon season, but experts have cautioned that climate change has increased the risk of avalanches in the region.

At least 120 people in the Indian Himalayas were killed by avalanches over the past two years.

The Associated Press

Maldives, Sri Lanka, Pakistan back Palestinian state based on pre-1967 borders

People examine a building destroyed in Israeli airstrikes in Gaza City on October 8, 2023. — AFP pic

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Sunday, 08 Oct 2023 2:46 PM MYT

NEW DELHI, Oct 8 — Maldives, Sri Lanka and Pakistan have renewed support for the creation of a Palestinian state within pre-1967 borders as the Arab-Israeli conflict grows.

The Maldives government in a statement reiterated its position that “a lasting peace in the Middle East can only be achieved through a two-state solution based on the pre-1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as the capital of Palestine”.

It called for the full implementation of the Security Council resolutions “that have declared null and void the occupation of Palestine, and the annexation of the Holy City of Jerusalem”.

The Arab territory occupied by Israel in the 1967 war included East Jerusalem, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.

“Sri Lanka remains committed to supporting a negotiated settlement in line with internationally agreed parameters of two states living side by side on the basis of the 1967 borders,” Sri Lanka’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.

The Afghan interim government blamed Israeli violation of Palestinian rights for the latest escalation in the 75-year-old conflict and asked the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) to help the Palestinians.

Pakistan in a statement called on the world community to come together to end hostilities and for achieving a lasting peace in the Middle East.

“A viable, sovereign and contiguous State of Palestine should be established on the basis of pre-1967 borders, with Al Quds Al Sharif (Jerusalem) as its capital,” it said.

The countries expressed concern over the escalation of violence which killed hundreds of people in Israel and Palestine on Saturday.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has amassed his troops for war and has threatened to turn Gaza, which has been under Israeli blockade for 16 years, into a “deserted island” after Palestinian fighters carried out attacks inside the Jewish state. — Bernama

HAMAS IS GAZA

London police increase patrols after reports of people celebrating Israel attacks



The force was urged to intervene by immigration minister Robert Jenrick after videos emerged which appeared to show people celebrating

Jordan Reynolds
6 hours ago


Rockets are launched by Palestinian militants from the Gaza Strip towards Israel (Hatem Moussa/AP)
(AP)

Police patrols have been increased in London after videos emerged of people appearing to celebrate the attack on Israel, which a Government minister said was “glorifying the terrorist activities of Hamas”.

The Metropolitan Police was urged to intervene by immigration minister Robert Jenrick as he shared a video posted on social media by Countdown presenter Rachel Riley after Hamas launched its biggest attack in years on Israel.

On Saturday evening, Riley posted on social media: “I just passed two cars in West London driving with Palestinian flags flying from each window, bouncing up and down in their cars, seemingly celebrating like they were having a party.

“Make no mistake, this is a dangerous and terrifying time for all Jews around the world.”

She later posted a video which showed people waving Palestinian flags, beeping car horns and clapping and said: “Acton, half an hour ago. Popped into a cafe for some baklava with the kids and our Ukrainian friends.

“People have been brutally murdered, kidnapped and there are people in London dancing.

“Just had a reassuring call with the police, if anyone is scared, please call them.”

She added on the social media site: “Most people understand this is an abomination. No one should cheer war and death.”

Prominent barrister Charlotte Proudman also posted a video of a car with Palestinian flags sounding its horn.

She wrote: “Celebrating the murders and kidnapping of Israelis is quite possibly the most heinous act of public hate I have seen on the streets of London.”

Mr Jenrick shared Riley’s post on X, the site formerly known as Twitter, and said: “These disgusting people are glorifying the terrorist activities of Hamas, a proscribed organisation.

“There is no place for this in the UK.

“I trust @metpoliceuk will be taking this seriously.”

In a statement, Scotland Yard said: “We are aware of a number of incidents, including those that have been shared on social media, in relation to the ongoing conflict in Israel and the border with Gaza.

“The Met has increased policing patrols across parts of London in order to provide a visible presence and reassurance to our communities.

“We remain in contact with partners and community leaders to listen to any concerns.

“Anyone who experiences threatening behaviour or is worried about their safety is urged to contact police.

“We are aware that the ongoing conflict may lead to protests over the coming days. We will ensure that an appropriate policing plan is in place in order to balance the right to protest against any disruption to Londoners.”


A group called the Palestine Solidarity Campaign has called for people to attend an “emergency” demonstration on Monday outside the Israeli Embassy.

The United States' Office for Palestinian Affairs has deleted a post from their X account that called for Israelis to "refrain from violence and retaliatory attacks" in response to Hamas attacking Israel.


The post on X had said "We unequivocally condemn the attack of Hamas terrorists and the loss of life that has incurred. We urge all sides to refrain from violence and retaliatory attacks. Terror and violence solve nothing."

'These Morons': Russia Blames US for HAMAS's Violent Outbreak as Atrocities Mount Against Israelis

Story by Dave Malyon

Numerous countries have weighed in on the atrocities of the Israeli-HAMMAS exchange that made the headlines on October 7, including the Putin administration.

Knewz.com has learned that what Russia did differently though, was weaponize the developments and use them against the United States.


A HAMAS member drags an Israeli woman around a car. By: X© Knewz (CA)

Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev used the opportunity to criticize the US on the day of HAMAS’s violent outbreak for failing to resolve the long-standing Israel-Palestine conflict.

He pointed out that the explosion conflict came at a significant time for Israel: “Clashes between Hamas and Israel on the 50th anniversary of the Yom Kippur War come as an expected development,” he noted, and then turned his attention to the US.

“This is what Washington and its allies should be busy with. The conflict between Israel and Palestine has been going on for decades, with the US the key player in it,” he said.

Medvedev in an apparent state of frustration continued: "The conflict between Israel and Palestine has been going on for decades, with the US the key player in it. But instead of actively working at Palestinian-Israeli settlement, these morons have interfered with us, and are providing the neo-Nazis with full-scale aid, pitting the two closely related peoples against each other," per The Hill.


Israeli soldiers prepare for deployment. By: X© Knewz (CA)

Medvedev's comments were in reference to the US's involvement in Ukraine and its support of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

Russia has long accused Zelensky of being a fascist and pursuing a neo-Nazi agenda (despite his Jewish heritage) by cracking down on pro-Russian supporters.

Related video: Ayman: Hamas’ 'extremely sophisticated' attack shows the limits of Israel’s ‘usual deterrent’ (MSNBC)  Duration 5:33   View on Watch

Medvedev went on to accuse the US of instigating violence around the world. “What can stop America’s manic obsession to incite conflicts all over the planet?” he asked rhetorically.

https://twitter.com/Islamabadian0/status/1710676490348576969

Medvedev’s diatribe comes after Palestinian Islamic fundamentalists launched a surprise early morning attack on eastern Israeli territory which has thus far comprised 5,000 rockets fired, per Times of Isreal, and a climbing death and casualties toll.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu then followed through with a declaration of war, scrambled jets, and leveled a few HAMAS holdings in Gaza.



An Israeli tank burns. By: X© Knewz (CA)

As the fighting escalated news emerged that HAMAS had taken up to 50 Israeli hostages including five Israeli soldiers and a photo even emerged of one operative posing with a lady whom they claimed to be “the aunt of Israel's Defense Minister.”

Other videos show vehicles with smashed windows and open doors and dead bodies strewn across a highway.

https://twitter.com/Contextual_Meme/status/1710676129684795673

Reports have also surfaced on X telegraphing heavily armed HAMAS members going from door to door searching for Israelis.

As the news continued to filter through it was apparent that Israel was battling to deal with the initial shock of the attack as the numbers of their abducted, injured, dead, and dying grew rapidly.



An Israeli military buildup HAMAS led hostage situation. By: X© Knewz (CA)

The Times of Isreal reported:

“Opposition Leader Yair Lapid calls for an “emergency government” to manage “the difficult and complex operation ahead of us” after more than 100 Israelis have been killed, close to 1,000 wounded, and an unknown number of soldiers and civilians abducted by Hamas terrorists into Gaza.”

Lapid then continued to say that the attack was a result of short-sightedness on the Israeli side and noted that the war would last this fledgling war would go on for a while before it ended.