Humza Yousaf’s in-laws make it out of Gaza after four weeks of ‘living nightmare’

Published

1 year ago

November 3, 2023

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The parents-in-law of Scotland’s first minister Humza Yousaf have made it out of Gaza after four weeks of a “living nightmare”.

Elizabeth and Maged El-Nakla travelled to the Palestinian enclave to visit family but were unable to return home after the conflict erupted on 7 October.

A statement from Mr Yousaf and his wife Nadia El-Nakla said the couple were able to leave this morning.

“We are grateful to all of those who have assisted our parents over the last few weeks, including the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office crisis team,” the statement said.

“These last four weeks have been a living nightmare for our family, we are so thankful for all of the messages of comfort and prayers that we have received from across the world, and indeed from across the political spectrum in Scotland and the UK.

“Although we feel a sense of deep personal relief, we are heartbroken at the continued suffering of the people of Gaza.”

They reiterated their calls for all sides to agree to an immediate ceasefire, for hostages to be released and the opening of a humanitarian corridor to allow aid and fuel “to flow” into the region.

“Families in Gaza and Israel are suffering after the loss of entirely innocent men, women and children,” the statement added.

“We pray for them all, and pray that the international community at last focuses on achieving a lasting peace in the region: one that recognises that the rights and lives of Palestinians and Israelis are equal.”

The Israeli military knocked out communications in Gaza last weekend cutting families off from each other.

When services were restored on Sunday morning, the first minister heard from his in-laws but feared for the pair’s safety as they had run out of drinking water.

The Foreign Office said the first British nationals left Gaza for Egypt on Wednesday as UK teams on the ground provided assistance.

It did not specify how many Britons had crossed the Rafah border.

Politics

NY Supreme Court allows Greenidge to keep mining, but challenges remain

Published

30 mins ago

November 15, 2024

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NY Supreme Court allows Greenidge to keep mining, but challenges remain

The state Department of Environmental Conservation botched the permitting process, but it still gets a do-over.

Politics

UK economy grows by 0.1% between July and September – slower than expected

Published

30 mins ago

November 15, 2024

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UK economy grows by 0.1% between July and September - slower than expected

The UK economy grew by 0.1% between July and September, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

However, despite the small positive GDP growth recorded in the third quarter, the economy shrank by 0.1% in September, dragging down overall growth for the three month period.

The growth was also slower than what had been expected by experts and a drop from the 0.5% growth between April and June, the ONS said.

Economists polled by Reuters and the Bank of England had forecast an expansion of 0.2%, slowing from the rapid growth seen over the first half of 2024 when the economy was rebounding from last year’s shallow recession.

And the metric that Labour has said it is most focused on – the GDP per capita, or the economic output divided by the number of people in the country – also fell by 0.1%.

Reacting to the figures, Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves said: “Am I satisfied with the numbers published today? Of course not. I want growth to be stronger, to come sooner, and also to be felt by families right across the country.”

“It’s why in my Mansion House speech last night, I announced some of the biggest reforms of our pension system in a generation to unlock long term patient capital, up to £80bn to help invest in small businesses and scale up businesses and in the infrastructure needs,” Ms Reeves later told Sky News in an interview.

“We’re four months into this government. There’s a lot more to do to turn around the growth performance of the last decade or so.”

New economy data tests chancellor’s growth plan

The sluggish services sector – which makes up the bulk of the British economy – was a particular drag on growth over the past three months. It expanded by 0.1%, cancelling out the 0.8% growth in the construction sector.

The UK’s GDP for the most recent quarter is lower than the 0.7% growth in the US and 0.4% in the Eurozone.

The figures have pushed the UK towards the bottom of the G7 growth table for the third quarter of the year.

It was expected to meet the same 0.2% growth figures reported in Germany and Japan – but fell below that after a slow September.

The pound remained stable following the news, hovering around $1.267. The FTSE 100, meanwhile, opened the day down by 0.4%.

The Bank of England last week predicted that Ms Reeves’s first budget as chancellor will increase inflation by up to half a percentage point over the next two years, contributing to a slower decline in interest rates than previously thought.

Announcing a widely anticipated 0.25 percentage point cut in the base rate to 4.75%, the Bank’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) forecast that inflation will return “sustainably” to its target of 2% in the first half of 2027, a year later than at its last meeting.

The Bank’s quarterly report found Ms Reeves’s £70bn package of tax and borrowing measures will place upward pressure on prices, as well as delivering a three-quarter point increase to GDP next year.