SNP leadership: Mhairi Black endorses Humza Yousaf in race to replace Nicola Sturgeon
SNP deputy Westminster leader Mhairi Black has backed Humza Yousaf in the race to replace Nicola Sturgeon as Scottish First Minister.
Ms Black said Mr Yousaf was the only candidate that would take “our party and our country forward”.
Mr Yousaf, the current Scottish health secretary, faces competition for the top job from Finance Secretary Kate Forbes and former community safety minister Ash Regan.
Mhairi Black and Humza Yousaf
Paisley and Renfrewshire MP Ms Black endorsed Mr Yousaf after describing how she was “incredibly hurt” by Ms Forbes’ remarks on gay marriage.
Ms Forbes, a Free Church of Scotland member, revealed how she would not have voted for the legislation on same-sex unions had she been at Holyrood at the time.
Ms Black, who married her wife last year, also said Mr Yousaf was the only candidate “willing to take the fight directly to Westminster” over its decision to veto controversial gender recognition reforms passed by Holyrood.
Speaking on Sunday, Ms Black said: “Having listened to the early stages of the leadership campaign it is already clear to me that Humza is the only candidate that can take our party and our country forward.
“His vision of a progressive and fairer independent Scotland is one which I share.”
Mr Yousaf “understands the challenges the party faces, particularly internally, and is not afraid to rise to those challenges,” Ms Black added.
Scottish National Party leadership candidate Kate Forbes
He said he was “thrilled” to receive Ms Black’s endorsement.
“Like me, Mhairi has a record of standing up for equality and social progress.
“I am glad she shares my vision for building the team in government, and across the party, to take us on to independence.
“Mhairi understands, like me, that the SNP must earn our support, rather than simply expect it.”
‘Not wedded to de-facto referendum’
Mr Yousaf met supporters at the V&A Waterfront in Dundee on Saturday as the leadership contest continues.
Setting out his views on how the SNP should move forward after Nicola Sturgeon’s resignation, her would-be replacement said the Scottish independence campaign should not get stuck in a “quagmire of process”.
Former First Minister of Scotland Nicola Sturgeon
If he does win the leadership, he vowed the party will have a series of regional assemblies to have “honest and frank discussions” with members.
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“I think all options that are within a legal framework should actually be on the table,” Mr Yousaf said.
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Sturgeon: What next for independence?
“I’ve made my views clear: I’m not wedded to the de facto referendum idea.
“I think there’s advantages but certainly disadvantages to that option.”
Mr Yousaf joins Dominic Raab, David Lammy, Mark Francois, Bernie Sanders and Mary Bousted on Sophy Ridge on Sunday, from 8.30am on Sky News
A woman has been arrested after 12 people were reportedly injured in a stabbing at Hamburg’s central train station in Germany.
An attacker armed with a knife targeted people on the platform between tracks 13 and 14, according to police.
They added that the suspect was a 39-year-old woman.
Police at the scene. Pic: AP
Officers said they “believe she acted alone” and investigations into the stabbing are continuing.
There was no immediate information on a possible motive.
The fire service said six of the injured were in a life-threatening condition, three others were seriously hurt, and another three sustained minor injuries, news agency dpa reported.
The attack happened shortly after 6pm local time (5pm UK time) on Friday in front of a waiting train, regional public broadcaster NDR reported.
A high-speed ICE train with its doors open could be seen at the platform after the incident.
Railway operator Deutsche Bahn said it was “deeply shocked” by what had happened.
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Four tracks at the station were closed in the evening, and some long-distance trains were delayed or diverted.
Hamburg is Germany‘s second biggest city, with the train station being a hub for local, regional and long-distance trains.
In mid-May, the World Health Organisation assessed that there were “nearly half a million people in a catastrophic situation of hunger, acute malnutrition, starvation, illness and death”.
“This is one of the world’s worst hunger crises, unfolding in real time,” its report concluded.
Warning: This article contains images of an emaciated child which some readers may find distressing
Israel‘s decision this week to reverse the siege and allow “a basic level of aid” into Gaza should help ease the immediate crisis.
But the number of aid trucks getting in, so far fewer than 100 per day, is considered dramatically too few by aid organisations working in Gaza, and the United Nations accuses Israel of continuing to block vital items.
Israel-Gaza latest: Gaza enduring ‘atrocious death and destruction’, UN boss warns
“Strict quotas are being imposed on the goods we distribute, along with unnecessary delay procedures,” said UN secretary general Antonio Guterres in New York on Friday.
“Essentials, including fuel, shelter, cooking gas and water purification supplies, are prohibited. Nothing has reached the besieged north.”
Nineteen of Gaza’s hospitals remain operational, all of them are overwhelmed with the number of patients and a lack of supplies.
Baby Aya at Rantisi hospital in northern Gaza is dangerously thin
“Today, we receive between 300 to 500 cases daily, with approximately 10% requiring admission. This volume of inpatient cases far exceeds the capacity of Rantisi hospital, as the facility is not equipped to accommodate such large numbers,” Jall al Barawi, a doctor at the hospital, told us.
At least 94% of the hospitals have sustained some damage, some considerable, according to the UN.
Jall al Barawi, a doctor at Rantisi hospital
Paramedic crews are close to running out of fuel to drive ambulances.
The lack of food, after an 11-week blockade, has left thousands malnourished and increasingly vulnerable to surviving injuries or recovering from other conditions.
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Children are the worst affected.
Our team in Gaza filmed with baby Aya at the Rantisi hospital in northern Gaza. She is now three months old and dangerously thin.
Her skin stretches over her cheekbones and eye sockets on her gaunt, pale face. Her nappy is too big for her emaciated little body.
Aya’s nappy is too big for her emaciated little body.
Lethal spiral
Her mother Sundush, who is only 19 herself, cannot get enough food to produce breastmilk. Baby formula is scarce.
Aya, like so many other young children, cannot get the vital nutrition she needs to grow and develop.
It’s a lethal spiral.
This is what Aya looked like shortly after she was born
“My daughter was born at a normal weight, 3.5kg,” Sundush tells us.
“But as the war went on, her weight dropped significantly. I would breastfeed her, she’d get diarrhoea. I tried formula – same result. With the borders closed and no food coming in, I can’t eat enough to give her the nutrients she needs.”
“I brought her to the hospital for treatment, but the care she needs isn’t available.
“The doctor said her condition is very serious. I really don’t want to lose her, because I lost my husband and she’s all I have left of him. I don’t want to lose her.”
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Aya and her mother Sundush
Some of the aid entering Gaza now is being looted. It is hard to know whether that is by Hamas or desperate civilians. Maybe a combination of the two.
The lack of aid creates an atmosphere of desperation, which eventually leads to a breakdown in security as everyone fights to secure food for themselves and their families.
Only by alleviating the desperation can the security situation improve, and the risk of famine abate.
World
Police launch ‘major operation’ after 12 people injured in knife attack at Hamburg train station
Twelve people are reported to have been injured after a knife attack at Hamburg’s central train station.
A “major operation” has been launched and a suspect was arrested, police said in a post on X.
The identity of the suspect has not been revealed.
Reports in Germany said the suspected attacker was a woman.
The fire service said six of the injured were in a life-threatening condition, three others were seriously hurt, and another three sustained minor injuries, news agency dpa reported.
Bild newspaper said the motive for the attack was so far unknown.
Hamburg is Germany’s second biggest city, with the train station being a hub for local, regional and long-distance trains.
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