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British News |
DWP given powers to search people’s homes in benefit fraud crackdown |
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The UK’s Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) is set to introduce sweeping measures to combat welfare fraud, including the ability to search properties belonging to suspected benefits claimants involved in serious organised crime. Under the new legislation, DWP investigators will gain powers to apply for search warrants, enabling them to collaborate with police and seize evidence directly from homes and premises. The reforms are part of a larger effort to recover billions lost to fraudulent claims and administrative errors. According to the DWP, the new measures are expected to save taxpayers approximately £1.5 billion over the next five years, contributing to the government’s wider goal of recouping £8.6 billion during the same period. DWP staff will now be able to seize items such as smartphones and computers as part of their investigations into fraud cases. Additionally, they can apply to courts to suspend the driving licenses of individuals who owe £1,000 or more in welfare debt and have repeatedly ignored repayment requests. |
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Donald Trump and Sir Keir Starmer speak on phone and ‘agree to meet soon’ |
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Sir Keir Starmer and Donald Trump “stressed the importance of the close and warm ties” between their countries and “agreed to meet soon” in a phone call, Downing Street has said. During the conversation on Sunday, the prime minister congratulated the president on his inauguration and paid tribute to his “role in securing the landmark ceasefire and hostages deal in Gaza”, according to a Number 10 spokesperson.The two leaders “discussed the importance of working together for security in the Middle East” as well as “trade and the economy”. Sir Keir told the US leader how he plans to deregulate the UK economy to boost growth, and the president spoke of his “respect and affection for the Royal Family”. Mr Trump also gave his condolences to Sir Keir over the loss of his brother, who died on Boxing Day. Earlier this weekend, the president said he thinks Sir Keir has “done a very good job” so far. |
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World News |
US officials say planning for Netanyahu-Trump meet could be finalized during Witkoff visit |
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US officials confirm that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is hoping to meet with US President Donald Trump in Washington as early as next week, and say that details could be be arranged when Trump’s special Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, travels to Israel this week for talks. Should the trip come together in that timeframe, Netanyahu could be the first foreign leader to meet with Trump at the White House since his inauguration last week, according to two US officials familiar with preliminary planning for the trip. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because the planning remains tentative. The White House had no immediate comment on the plans and Netanyahu’s spokesman, Omer Dostri, posted on X that the Israeli leader had not yet received an official invitation to the White House. Witkoff told an audience at the ceremonial opening of a New York City synagogue on Sunday that he would be traveling to Israel on Wednesday to keep focusing on the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas. |
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Israel News |
New Footage Emerges of Hamas Leader Sinwar Moving Through Gaza Before Being Killed by IDF |
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Sinwar was eliminated by a special IDF unit in October 2024. Until then, he had been traveling within the Gaza Strip, hiding from both the IDF and the Shin Bet (Israel’s internal security service) out of fear of being killed. In the newly released footage, Sinwar is seen walking through the destroyed streets of Gaza, hiding under a blanket and carrying a stick, accompanied by bodyguards who were also killed alongside him in October. he is seen very close to IDF forces. |
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Israel says Hamas list shows 8 of the 26 hostages still to be freed in first phase of Gaza ceasefire are no longer alive |
Israel says a Hamas list shows that eight of the 26 hostages still to be freed in the first phase of the Gaza ceasefire-hostage deal are no longer alive. Government spokesman David Mencer conveys the Hamas information to journalists. Thirty-three hostages are being freed in phase one of the deal. Seven living hostages have gone free since the deal began on January 19, and the Hamas list therefore means that 18 of the 26 remaining names on the list are alive while eight are dead. Israel late last night said it had received a list of information on the status of the phase-one hostages from Hamas. Officials said that the Hamas document matched Israel’s existing information. Israel has said the next release, of three hostages — including Arbel Yehoud and Agam Berger — will take place on Thursday, followed by another three hostages to be released on Saturday. The 33 names on the list are women, the Bibas family children, men aged over 50, and unwell and injured men. The IDF said on Saturday that it had “grave concerns” regarding Shiri Bibas and her two young sons Ariel and Kfir. Whether hostages are alive or dead inside Gaza has been a heartbreaking question for waiting families who have pushed Israel’s government to reach a deal to free them, fearing that time was running out. Eighty-seven of the 251 hostages abducted by Hamas on October 7 remain in Gaza, including the bodies of at least 34 confirmed dead by the IDF. Hamas is also holding two Israeli civilians who entered the Strip in 2014 and 2015, as well as the body of an IDF soldier who was killed in 2014. The body of another IDF soldier, also killed in 2014, was recovered from Gaza this month |
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2 IDF reservists, one of them in Iron Dome unit, arrested on suspicion of spying for Iran |
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The police and Shin Bet security service arrested two IDF reservists for alleged espionage on behalf of Iran in return for financial compensation, it was announced Monday. The main suspect, Yuri Eliasfov, 21, served in the military’s Iron Dome unit and passed along highly sensitive material about the missile defense technology to his Iranian handler, police said in a statement. The material included a video that Eliasfov filmed of the aerial defense system, according to Hebrew-language reports. The reservist later recruited the second suspect in the case, his friend Georgi Andreyev, 21, into the espionage scheme. The Ynet news site reported that Eliasfov received $2,500 from the Iranian agent, while Andreyev received $50. Law enforcement officials filed a prosecutor’s statement against the two suspects on Monday, accusing them of serious security offenses including contact with a foreign agent, transferring classified information and aiding the enemy during wartime. Their detention has been extended until Friday. Police expect prosecutors to file an indictment in the coming days against them in the Haifa District Court. Both suspects are residents of the Krayot suburbs of Haifa. According to the Ynet news site Eliasfov initially reached out to the Iranian agent, who he found while looking for ways to make money. The two first came into contact in September, Haaretz reported. According to the Ynet news site, Eliasfov initially spray-painted pro-Iranian graffiti and hung banners in Tel Aviv carrying the slogan “Children of Ruhollah,” referring to Ruhollah Khomeini, Iran’s first supreme leader following the Islamic Revolution. He then showed the graffiti to his friend, Andreyev, who was at the time serving in the IDF’s Kirya military headquarters in Tel Aviv, and convinced him to join him as an accomplice. Andreyev later backed out of the scheme due to fear of legal repercussions, reported Ynet. Over the past two years, Iranian intelligence operatives have ramped up their efforts to recruit ordinary Israelis as spies in exchange for money. Last December, the police arrested nearly 30 Israelis, mostly Jewish citizens, for espionage activities on behalf of Iran. In most of these cases, the suspects began by carrying out small, innocuous tasks which gradually grew into more serious offenses, like intelligence gathering and assassination plots. |
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