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Rishi Sunak is facing calls for the UK to recognise the state of Palestine, on the day that Ireland, Spain and Norway officially do so.

The Scottish first minister and Scottish National Party (SNP) leader John Swinney has written to both the prime minister and Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer urging them to “do the right thing” and “immediately” recognise a Palestinian state.

He said the SNP would force a binding vote at Westminster after the general election if they failed to do so.

Mr Swinney said recognition would offer “hope” that a “durable political solution” was possible between Israel and Palestine.

“I am calling on the UK to follow the lead of Ireland, Norway and Spain by immediately recognising Palestine as a state – and if Rishi Sunak will not do it now, Keir Starmer must commit to doing so on his first day in Downing Street.”

The Palestinian ambassador to Ireland has also urged the UK government to recognise Palestine.

An Israeli soldier sits in a tank near the Israel-Gaza border. Pic: Reuters
Image:
An Israeli soldier sits in a tank near the Israel-Gaza border. Pic: Reuters

Speaking to Sky News, Dr Jilan Wahba Abdalmajid said: “The British have a very strong hand in the injustice that happened to the Palestinians, so I think it’s important that one of those countries that should recognise the right of Palestinian self-determination is the British government.”

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Dr Abdalmajid referred to Britain’s involvement in the establishment of the state of Israel, including the 1917 Balfour Declaration, in which the British government of David Lloyd George announced its support for a “national home for the Jewish people” in Palestine.

“Justice must prevail,” said the ambassador. “I think it’s very important for the British government to see this and try to correct what happened in 1917, and during the Mandate when they encouraged colonisation in Palestine.”

The trio of countries which today will start recognising the Palestinian state have faced the diplomatic wrath of Israel since the move was announced last week.

Their ambassadors have been formally reprimanded by Tel Aviv, and were filmed by Israeli media as they were asked to watch video footage from the 7 October Hamas attack, something the Irish government deems “unacceptable”.

The Israeli foreign minister, Israel Katz, posted a video on X showing footage of Hamas militants interspersed with traditional Irish music, footage of Irish dancing and the slogan “Hamas: Thanks Ireland”.

Similar videos, tailored to Spain and Norway, were also posted.

A Palestinian boy sits on debris after an Israeli strike on a house in Rafah on 9 May. Pic: Reuters
Image:
A Palestinian boy sits on debris after an Israeli strike on a house in Rafah on 9 May. Pic: Reuters

Addressing the taoiseach, Mr Katz wrote: “Ireland, if your goal was to reward terrorism by declaring support for a Palestinian state, you’ve achieved it. [Irish Prime Minister] Simon Harris, Hamas thanks you for your service.”

It’s a point of view firmly rejected by the Irish. Speaking in Brussels with his counterparts from Spain and Norway, the Irish foreign minister Micheal Martin said: “Some have framed our decision to recognise the State of Palestine as a move to impose an outcome on the parties, or as somehow a reward for terror.

“Nothing could be further from the truth. We have recognised both the State of Israel and the State of Palestine precisely because we want to see a future of normalised relations between the two peoples.”

But members of Ireland’s small Jewish community are sceptical. Former justice minister Alan Shatter told Sky News the move was political theatre.

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“It’s about as relevant as New Zealand announcing that they now recognise that the government of the Republic of Ireland rules the entirety of the island of Ireland,” he said.

“Of course, that wouldn’t change the reality on the ground. And probably if that did happen, the Irish government would look askance and think everyone in New Zealand has gone mad.”

Others say they fear the move could fuel anti-semitism. Maurice Cohen, chairman of the Jewish Representative Council of Ireland, said that “latent anti-semitism is now becoming blatant anti-semitism”.

“The experience [for Jews in Ireland] has always been ‘cead mile failte’ [‘a hundred thousand welcomes’]. There was an outstretched hand for us and for other people.

“But now we find, very simply, that that hand is curling into a fist and we don’t know where that is going.”

Palestinians in Ireland are expected to gather outside Leinster House, the home of the Irish parliament, today as speeches are made.

“This gives them hope,” said Dr Abdaljamid. “This gives them some light after this dark tunnel.

“The Palestinian people see that we are seen, we are heard by Ireland, by Spain, by the whole world actually who protest since the 7th of October. We are not alone in this world. I mean it’s very important.”

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Ukraine’s anti-aircraft units trying to down Russian drones in Sumy as record numbers hit

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Ukraine's anti-aircraft units trying to down Russian drones in Sumy as record numbers hit

Headlights illuminate a group of soldiers smoking and drinking steaming cups of coffee on the side of a road in northeastern Ukraine.

A fine sleet on another freezing night falls on the silhouetted barrel of a Soviet-era anti-aircraft gun mounted on an ancient, battered lorry.

These are the men of a mobile air defence unit, preparing for another night of tracking and attempting to shoot out of the skies the Russian drones heading for cities and power plants across Ukraine.

We joined the units over 48 hours in the southern sector of the city of Sumy, near the border with Russia.

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Captain Serhii, of the 117th Brigade, is a commander in charge of 160 of these men in eight mobile units protecting this area of northeastern Ukraine.

Commander Serhii looking for drones on his scanner
Image:
Commander Serhii looking for drones on his scanner

We met up with him in an empty car park next to a high-rise apartment block in Sumy.

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Sitting in his 4×4 he squinted in concentration as his scanner showed a handful of drones on a flight path heading towards us from Russia.

Air raid sirens blared in the background.

He signalled for us to follow, and he sped off into the night weaving through checkpoints along empty, darkened country roads.

He had said the drone was near, but we were confused when he suddenly pulled off the road and jumped out of his cab.

Within moments the skies were lit up by mobile anti-aircraft batteries firing into the sky.

Tracers from the bullets flew over our heads and above us we could hear the monotonous sound of the drone as it passed overhead.

Searchlights reflected off a dank, dense fog that had enveloped the countryside criss-crossed in the sky as the units tried to spot the drone.

They didn’t spot or hit the drone, and slowly the sound of its motors grew dimmer and dimmer until there was silence.

“You can see the current weather conditions, it’s foggy, so we’re basically working off sound alone, as thermal imaging and other devices can’t pick them up,” Captain Serhii told me.

“A spotlight is completely pointless, the speed of these drones isn’t particularly high, so technically, we could hit them, but the weather makes it impossible,” he added.

Every night across Ukraine the tarpaulin covers are pulled off these Soviet-era anti-aircraft guns and prepared for action.

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On battered trucks they rumble into the night to take up defensive positions.

These old guns are the country’s main defence against an increasing number of drone attacks from Russia.

The units here say they mostly encounter two types of drones which are usually deployed at the same time: Gerberas and Shaheds.

Gerberas do not carry an explosive payload but instead are designed to confuse Ukraine’s air defence, while the Iranian-supplied Shahed drones carry explosives with pre-programmed targets.

One of the soldiers, Volodymyr, tracks the drones on a handheld tablet. All the men wait, watch the screen, and listen.

“They generally fly between 200-300m up to 3km,” Volodymyr tells me.

“If they’re flying lower than 300m above sea level, the radar won’t pick them up.”

The men start to gather around their anti-air battery unit as a drone flies closer towards our location.

Stuart Ramsay and Volodymyr
Image:
Stuart Ramsay and Volodymyr

The gunner then jumps onto the truck and searches for the target on a radar attached to his weapon.

He will fire when it’s within a 10km range of his position.

The night-time silence in the middle of the field is suddenly shattered by the deafening sound of firing as the gunner goes for the drone.

Then in the fields all around us other units join the attack – it’s so dark we had no idea they were even there.

It’s absolutely relentless.

Captain Serhii tells me their critical job would be made easier with more sophisticated weapons like the American-made Patriot system.

“We need a stronger, more automated air defence system that operates independently of human involvement,” he said.

“Winter is approaching, and our guys who are on duty 24/7 will face incredibly tough conditions, they aren’t made of steel, so having an automated system would be ideal.”

Anti-air unit firing at drones from their truck
Image:
Anti-aircraft unit firing at drones from their truck

He believes any political negotiations with Russia will just end badly for Ukraine.

“A frozen conflict is typically just a temporary pause, and you can’t trust [Russian President Vladimir] Putin, because any agreement made will likely work in Russia’s favour,” he told me.

“They’ll stockpile resources, more Shaheds, rockets, soldiers, even North Koreans, and then they’ll return, and they’ll come back stronger than they did in 2022.”

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We join another mobile unit, this time by the side of an empty road as they track another Iranian Shahed drone.

It’s flying in our direction and they’re waiting to see if it will come into range.

It does, and they too attack – firing powerful rounds at their target.

The red, orange, and yellow flashes of colour as the weapon fires light up an otherwise pitch-black sky.

In the 48-hour period we spent with the anti-aircraft units in this part of the Sumy region, Russia deployed a record number of drones into Ukraine.

Ukraine, for its part, deployed a record number of drones against Russia too, but the number is dwarfed by the Russian assault.

Night after freezing night these Ukrainian defenders, hundreds of them around this city, will man these guns.

The last line of defence – not good, but better than nothing.

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Pakistan: Satellite images show smog over Punjab visible from space – as record levels of air pollution recorded

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Pakistan: Satellite images show smog over Punjab visible from space - as record levels of air pollution recorded

Satellite images show that smog in Pakistan can be seen from space, as the country battles record levels of air pollution.

Images from NASA Worldview show the east of the country cloaked in a toxic haze, with smog also reaching into India’s northern regions and New Dehli.

Lahore, the capital of Pakistan’s Punjab region and home to 14 million people, had an air quality index of more than 400 on Tuesday morning, according to IQAir, which tracks global air quality.

Any reading above 300 is considered hazardous – anything between 0 to 50 is considered good.

Earlier in November, parts of Lahore had a reading above 1,900, marking a record high.

A satellite view of Pakistan on 10 October 2024.
Pic: NASA Worldview
Image:
No smog was seen in Punjab region on 10 October 2024.
Pic: NASA Worldview

IQAir also reported on Tuesday that the concentration of PM2.5 – microparticles that enter the bloodstream through the lungs and can cause cancer – in Lahore was more than 50 times above recommended guidelines.

The city in eastern Pakistan is often ranked as one of the worst places in the world for air pollution.

People ride on motorbikes amid smog on a road in Multan, Pakistan November 12, 2024. REUTERS/Quratulain Asim
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More than 40,000 people have been treated for respiratory ailments due to the smog.
Pic: Reuters

Regional authorities have banned most outdoor activities, ordered shops to close early, and closed schools and public spaces until 17 November in response to the air pollution.

Health officials said more than 40,000 people have already been treated for respiratory ailments, while hospitals in the region have reported an unprecedented rise in patients with eye and throat irritation and pink eye disease.

People commute on a smoggy morning in Peshawar, Pakistan, November 11, 2024. REUTERS/Fayaz Aziz
Image:
Parts of Lahore had an air quality index above 1,900 earlier in November, marking a record high.
Pic: Reuters

It comes as a UN agency warned the health of 11 million children in the Punjab region is at risk if efforts aren’t made to tackle the toxic smog.

Abdullah Fadil, UNICEF’s representative in the country, said in a statement: “Prior to these record-breaking levels of air pollution, about 12% of deaths in children under five in Pakistan were due to air pollution.

“The impact of this year’s extraordinary smog will take time to assess, but we know that doubling and tripling the amount of pollution in the air will have devastating effects, particularly on children and pregnant women.”

Several South Asian countries are engulfed by smog each winter as cold air traps dust, emissions and smoke from farm fires.

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Parts of India, Pakistan, Nepal and Bangladesh were forced to close schools and businesses last November over air pollution.

A month later, artificial rain was used in Lahore to tackle hazardous smog for the first time.

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Zhuhai: Dozens killed after man drives car into people exercising at sports centre

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Zhuhai: Dozens killed after man drives car into people exercising at sports centre

Thirty-five people have been killed and another 43 injured after a motorist deliberately drove his car into people exercising at a sports centre in the Chinese city of Zhuhai, police said.

A 62-year-old man, identified only by his family name of Fan, was detained at the centre late on Monday.

He was discovered in the car with a knife and wounds to his neck that were thought to be self-inflicted, according to a police statement.

Fan was reported to be unconscious and receiving medical care.

A motive has not been confirmed but police said a preliminary investigation found he was unhappy with the split of financial assets in his divorce.

Officers said a “number of” pedestrians were knocked down in the incident which took place on the eve of of an annual People’s Liberation Army exhibition in the southern Chinese city.

China’s president Xi Jinping has called for “all-out efforts” to treat those injured in the disaster, the country’s state media has said.

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Mr Xi also said the perpetrator should be punished in “accordance with the law”.

Meanwhile, one of the four hospitals that took in casualties said it had more than 20 injured, state media reported.

Pic: Kyodo/AP

Security officers stand guard at the gate of a sports center where a man rammed a car into people exercising in the southern Chinese city of Zhuhai, China, Nov. 11, 2024. More than 10 people died and nearly 100 were injured in the incident, and the driver was detained at the scene. (Kyodo via AP Images) ==Kyodo
Image:
Pic: Kyodo/AP

Video shared on social media showed emergency services performing CPR on people at the scene, as others were told to leave the area.

Some were shared by news blogger and dissident Li Ying, who is better known on X as Teacher Li. His account posts daily news based on user submissions.

The clips showed dozens of people lying on the sports centre’s running track, with a woman in one saying: “My foot is broken.”

Pic: Kyodo/AP

Rescue vehicles rush to a sports center where a man rammed a car into people exercising in the southern Chinese city of Zhuhai, China, Nov. 11, 2024. More than 10 people died and nearly 100 were injured in the incident, and the driver was detained at the scene. (Kyodo via AP Images) ==Kyodo
Image:
Pic: Kyodo/AP

By Tuesday morning, searches for the incident were heavily censored on Chinese social media platforms.

A search on Weibo for the sports centre only turned up a few posts, with only a couple referring to the fact that something had happened, without pictures or details.

Articles by Chinese media about the incident from Monday night were taken down.

Pic: Kyodo/AP

Security officers stand guard at the gate of a sports center where a man rammed a car into people exercising in the southern Chinese city of Zhuhai, China, Nov. 11, 2024. More than 10 people died and nearly 100 were injured in the incident, and the driver was detained at the scene. (Kyodo via AP Images) ==Kyodo
Image:
Pic: Kyodo/AP

Chinese internet censors take extra care to check social media ahead of and during major events, such as the meeting of the National People’s Congress, where the government announces its major policy initiatives for the coming year.

The sports centre for the city district of Xiangzhou regularly attracts hundreds of residents, where they can run on the track field, play soccer and take part in social dances. Following the incident, the centre announced that it would be closed until further notice.

China has seen a number of attacks in which suspects appear to target random people such as schoolchildren.

In October, a 50-year-old man was detained after he allegedly used a knife to attack children at a school in Beijing. Five people were injured.

In September, three people were killed in a knife attack in a Shanghai supermarket.

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