Israel’s decision to ease aid flows into Gaza is an incredibly significant move

Published

1 year ago

April 5, 2024

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The three-point announcement to ease aid flows into Gaza represents the most significant move by Israel since this conflict began six months ago.

It also starkly undermines Israel’s own oft-repeated assertion that it has not blocked or impeded aid movement into Gaza.

It follows a call between President Joe Biden and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

This was a tense, challenging conversation I am told – but not one in which any direct ultimatums were issued by the Americans.

The US vibe was more “you’re making it harder and harder for us to support you” than “do this, or else”.

The Biden-Netanyahu relationship has been increasingly tested – and my sense is this call represented the most strained moment yet.

Biden’s levers to effect change are limited, but these announcements represent a real moment of change.

We don’t yet have a confirmed timeline for when the three measures will become a reality, but I am told it is likely to be days not weeks.

First, Israel’s southern port of Ashdod is to be authorised to receive aid for Gaza. This alone will be a game-changing moment. Remember the Americans had been forced to announce the construction of a temporary port off the Gaza shoreline to receive aid. Now, it can come from Cyprus into a fully functioning port.

Second, the Erez crossing from Israel into the northern Gaza Strip will be opened for aid transfers. This will be another game-changing moment. Aid arriving in Ashdod can then be driven the 20 miles south to Erez and across into the strip.

Third, there will be a streamlining of the movement of aid through the southeastern Kerem Shalom crossing from Israel into Gaza. It’s not clear precisely what this will look like, but I am told it could involve military trucks from Jordan being allowed straight into Gaza.

Remember, at the moment all aid must go through bottlenecks in the south exacerbated by rigorous Israeli security checks which the Americans and aid agencies say are over the top.

The number of trucks getting in now is a fraction of the pre-war levels (when the need was far less and when Gaza was producing a significant proportion of its own food).

COGAT, the Israeli government body overseeing aid into Gaza said this week that an average of 140 food trucks a day entered Gaza. Before the war, according to COGAT, 70 of the 500 trucks which entered daily were carrying food. Part of the problem has been safe distribution across the strip, especially to the north where the most acute needs are.

So these new policies, when a reality, will have an impact. But they come with a sting for anyone expecting fighting to stop.

The Israeli’s government statement said: “This increased aid will prevent a humanitarian crisis and is necessary to ensure the continuation of the fighting and to achieve the goals of the war.”

US

R Kelly rushed to hospital after prison ‘overdose’ plot, his lawyers say

Published

7 hours ago

June 18, 2025

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R Kelly rushed to hospital after prison 'overdose' plot, his lawyers say

R Kelly was hospitalised after prison officials gave him an overdose of medication, his lawyers have claimed – as part of what they say is an ongoing assassination plot.

Kelly, whose full name is Robert Sylvester Kelly, is currently serving time at the Federal Correctional Institute in Butner, North Carolina, after being convicted of sex trafficking and racketeering in 2021.

A year later, he was found guilty on three charges of producing child sexual abuse images and three charges of enticement of minors for sex.

The 58-year-old was taken to hospital on Friday after prison staff “administered an overdose of his medication”, according to a court document filed by his lawyer.

The document, filed on Tuesday, reads: “Mr. Kelly’s life is in danger, and that danger is coming from Bureau of Prisons officials and their actions.

“Mr. Kelly needs this Court’s intervention. His life actually depends on it.”

Nicole Blank Becker, one of Kelly’s lawyers, said he is in solitary confinement and that she spoke with him on Monday.

“What is happening right now with him is insane,” she said. “I hope that this really results in someone, somewhere, somehow getting ahold of him today and getting him back in the hospital.”

A spokesperson for the Bureau of Prisons said in a statement that “for privacy, safety, and security reasons, we do not discuss the conditions of confinement for any incarcerated individual, including medical and health-related issues”.

“Additionally, the Bureau of Prisons does not comment on pending litigation or matters that are the subject of legal proceedings,” they added.

The allegation is the latest in a line of similar claims from the singer’s legal team, who last week filed a motion accusing the Bureau of Prisons of instructing another inmate to kill Kelly.

A motion filed by Kelly’s legal team claimed Mikeal Glenn Stine, who is alleged to be a member of the Aryan Brotherhood gang and has a terminal cancer diagnosis, was given a chance to “to live out the last of those months as a free man” in exchange for killing the singer.

The next day, his legal team filed additional material saying he had been moved to solitary confinement and denied access to his lawyer.

Prosecutors rejected the claims as “repugnant”.

Their written response said: “Kelly has never taken responsibility for his years of sexually abusing children, and he probably never will.

“Undeterred, Kelly now asks this Court to release him from incarceration indefinitely under the guise of a fanciful conspiracy.”

US

US-UK trade deal ‘done’, says Trump as he meets Starmer at G7

Published

1 day ago

June 17, 2025

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US-UK trade deal 'done', says Trump as he meets Starmer at G7

The UK-US trade deal has been signed and is “done”, US President Donald Trump has said as he met Sir Keir Starmer at the G7 summit.

The US president told reporters: “We signed it, and it’s done. It’s a fair deal for both. It’ll produce a lot of jobs, a lot of income.”

As Mr Trump and his British counterpart exited a mountain lodge in the Canadian Rockies where the summit is being held, the US president held up a physical copy of the trade agreement to show reporters.

Several leaves of paper fell from the binding, and Mr Starmer quickly bent down to pick them up, saying: “A very important document.”

Sir Keir said the document “implements” the deal to cut tariffs on cars and aerospace, adding: “So this is a very good day for both of our countries – a real sign of strength.”

Mr Trump added that the UK was “very well protected” against any future tariffs, saying: “You know why? Because I like them”.

However, he did not say whether levies on British steel exports to the US would be set to 0%, saying “we’re gonna let you have that information in a little while”.

What exactly does trade deal being ‘done’ mean?

The government says the US “has committed” to removing tariffs (taxes on imported goods) on UK aerospace goods, such as engines and aircraft parts, which currently stand at 10%.

That is “expected to come into force by the end of the month”.

Tariffs on car imports will drop from 27.5% to 10%, the government says, which “saves car manufacturers hundreds of millions a year, and protects tens of thousands of jobs”.

The White House says there will be a quota of 100,000 cars eligible for import at that level each year.

But on steel, the story is a little more complicated.

The UK is the only country exempted from the global 50% tariff rate on steel – which means the UK rate remains at the original level of 25%.

That tariff was expected to be lifted entirely, but the government now says it will “continue to go further and make progress towards 0% tariffs on core steel products as agreed”.

The White House says the US will “promptly construct a quota at most-favoured-nation rates for steel and aluminium articles”.

Other key parts of the deal include import and export quotas for beef – and the government is keen to emphasise that “any US imports will need to meet UK food safety standards”.

There is no change to tariffs on pharmaceuticals for the moment, and the government says “work will continue to protect industry from any further tariffs imposed”.

The White House says they “committed to negotiate significantly preferential treatment outcomes”.

Mr Trump also praised Sir Keir as a “great” prime minister, adding: “We’ve been talking about this deal for six years, and he’s done what they haven’t been able to do.”

He added: “We’re very longtime partners and allies and friends and we’ve become friends in a short period of time.

“He’s slightly more liberal than me to put it mildly… but we get along.”

Sir Keir added that “we make it work”.

The US president appeared to mistakenly refer to a “trade agreement with the European Union” at one point as he stood alongside the British prime minister.

Mr Trump announced his “Liberation Day” tariffs on countries in April. At the time, he announced 10% “reciprocal” rates on all UK exports – as well as separately announced 25% levies on cars and steel.

In a joint televised phone call in May, Sir Keir and Mr Trump announced the UK and US had agreed on a trade deal – but added the details were being finalised.

Ahead of the G7 summit, the prime minister said he would meet Mr Trump for “one-on-one” talks, and added the agreement “really matters for the vital sectors that are safeguarded under our deal, and we’ve got to implement that”.

US

Doctor to plead guilty to giving Matthew Perry ketamine before Friends star suffered fatal overdose

Published

1 day ago

June 17, 2025

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Doctor to plead guilty to giving Matthew Perry ketamine before Friends star suffered fatal overdose

A Los Angeles doctor has agreed to plead guilty to giving Friends actor Matthew Perry ketamine in the lead up to his death from a fatal overdose, prosecutors have said.

Dr Salvador Plasencia, who will admit to four counts of distribution of ketamine, faces up to a maximum of 40 years in prison.

He is among five people charged in connection with the death of Friends star Perry, 54, whose body was found in his hot tub by his assistant in October 2023.

The medical examiner ruled that ketamine and other factors caused him to lose consciousness and drown.

The actor had been using the drug through his regular doctor in a legal treatment for depression, but had begun seeking more ketamine than his doctor would give him.

Plasencia is accused of supplying the bulk of Perry’s ketamine in his final weeks. He and three other defendants, including another doctor, agreed to plead guilty in exchange for their cooperation.

Jasmine Sangha, who prosecutors allege was a major ketamine dealer, is alleged to have provided the dose that killed the actor and is the only defendant who has pleaded not guilty to the prosecution’s case.

About a month before the actor’s death, Perry found Plasencia, a doctor who allegedly asked another doctor, Mark Chavez, to obtain the drug for him, according to court filings in the Chavez case.

“I wonder how much this moron will pay,” Plasencia texted Chavez, according to court filings from prosecutors.

The pair who practised in California met up the same day and exchanged at least four vials of ketamine, the filings said.

After selling the drugs to Perry for $4,500 (£3,314), Plasencia allegedly asked Chavez if he could keep supplying them so they could become Perry’s “go-to” prosecutors said.

Chavez has pleaded guilty to conspiring to distribute ketamine to Perry.

Perry struggled with addiction for years, dating back to his time on Friends, when he became one of the biggest stars of his generation as Chandler Bing.

He starred alongside Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc and David Schwimmer for 10 seasons from 1994 to 2004.