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| British News |
| Three lenders raise mortgage rates as Bank of England casts doubts over cuts |
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Three lenders have increased mortgage costs after the Bank of England raised doubts over the speed of interest rate cuts. Halifax, Santander and Accord have all raised rates as swap rates – which are used to price fixed rate deals – increased and hopes of further Bank of England base rate cuts receded. The increases came as Andrew Bailey, governor of the Bank of England, warned that the pace of future Bank Rate cuts was “shrouded in uncertainty” as a result of the unknown impact of Trump’s tariffs on the economic outlook. |
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| Winter fuel payment U-turn in place this year, says chancellor |
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Changes to winter fuel payments to allow more people to receive it will be in place this year, the chancellor has said. Rachel Reeves said more people would qualify for the allowance “this winter”, however details of how the changes will be made and who will be eligible remain unclear. It comes after Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said he wanted to widen the threshold for winter fuel in a U-turn on one of Labour’s first major policies since winning power last year. The payment, worth up to £300 to help cover energy costs at the coldest time of year, was paid only to those on pension credit last winter, but the policy was widely blamed for Labour’s poor showing at recent local elections. It meant 10 million fewer pensioners received the money in 2024. There was particular concern among charities and some MPs about those whose income was slightly too high to qualify, but were hit by the loss of the payment as energy costs remained expensive. |
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| Foreigners claim £1bn a month in benefits |
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Benefits claims by households with at least one foreign national have doubled to nearly £1 billion a month in the past three years, government figures show. Households with at least one claimant who is a foreign national received £941 million in March this year, up from £461 million in March 2022, representing nearly a sixth of the month’s Universal Credit payments. The figures are likely to reinforce calls for restrictions on benefits for migrants, which Angela Rayner, the Deputy Prime Minister, urged Rachel Reeves to consider in a leaked memo seen by The Telegraph. Ms Reeves, the Chancellor, is already facing a growing backbench rebellion over her plans to cut welfare spending. Funding two months of benefits for households with foreign nationals cancels out the £1.4 billion the Government saved by axing winter fuel payments. Experts suggested the increase reflected a surge in the number of asylum seekers being granted refugee status and in net migration. Foreign nationals become eligible for Universal Credit and other benefits on the same terms as British citizens once they are granted either indefinite leave to remain or refugee status. |
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| Israel News |
| The Torah World Under Attack: Yeshivos, Kollelim and Families Face Crushing Pressure |
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The Torah community in Eretz Yisroel is facing an unprecedented onslaught — legally, financially, and socially — as the government continues its harsh campaign against lomdei Torah. For over a year now, yeshivos and kollelim have not received a single shekel for bochurim and yungeleit in the draft-age range. Recently, even support for older talmidim has been slashed. Families whose husbands sit and learn are being denied basic benefits like daycare and work incentives — things freely given to Arab and secular families. Mothers are being punished simply because their husbands are in kollel. Worse still, these yungeleit are being treated like criminals. There are threats of arrest, bans on leaving the country, and constant negative portrayals in the media. All this, while secular university students who avoid the army face no such harassment. This is all happening under a government backed by 17 chareidi MKs — a government that signed agreements to protect the Torah world and then shamelessly tore them up. Some members of the coalition even laugh publicly that they never meant to keep their word. The chareidi community has never asked for special favours. All it asks is that a bochur or yungerman who is learning full-time should be allowed to continue learning Torah in peace — without being hunted down or starved out. Thousands of kollel families — Litvish, Chassidish and Sefardi — are now living with real hunger and pressure. Institutions are collapsing under the strain. And there is no letup in sight. But one thing is clear: we will not give up. We will not fold. As one rosh yeshivah put it, “We have no yerushah but this heilige Torah. And for that, we will stand strong — no matter the price. |
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| US vetoes UN Security Council resolution calling for Gaza ceasefire |
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The United States vetoes a UN Security Council resolution calling for an “immediate, unconditional and permanent ceasefire” between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, the release of all the hostages and unhindered aid access across the enclave. “The United States has been clear we would not support any measure that fails to condemn Hamas and does not call for Hamas to disarm and leave Gaza,” Acting US Ambassador to the UN Dorothy Shea told the council before the vote. “This resolution would undermine diplomatic efforts to reach a ceasefire that reflects the realities on the ground, and embolden Hamas,” she said of the text that was put forward by 10 countries on the 15-member council. The remaining 14 council members vote in favor of the draft resolution. |
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| Poll: Bennett-led bloc would win between 62-72 seats if elections held today; PM’s coalition would receive 48 |
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If elections were to be held in Israel today, the parties that make up the current Netanyahu-led government would only receive 48 seats, falling far short of the 60-seat minimum needed to form a government, a new Channel 12 poll finds. In contrast, a bloc of current opposition parties led by former prime minister Naftali Bennett and his newly registered party would receive 72 seats, the poll finds. As it is unclear whether the Arab-majority Hadash Ta’al or Islamist Ra’am party would join such a government, the poll also notes that the bloc would receive 62 seats without their participation, clearing the 60-seat threshold. The poll was conducted today, after the spiritual leader of Degel Hatorah, one of the two factions that make up the ultra-Orthodox United Torah Judaism party, instructed their MKs to introduce a bill to dissolve the Knesset due to the coalition’s failure to pass a law exempting yeshiva students from conscription. The two largest parties in the Knesset, according to the poll, would be Bennett’s party with 24 seats, followed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud with 22 seats. The remainder of the 120 Knesset seats would be split as follows: The Democrats 12, Shas 10, Yisrael Beytenu 10, Yesh Atid 9, Otzma Yehudit 8, UTJ 8, National Unity 7, Hadash-Ta’al 5 and Ra’am 5. The Religious Zionism and Balad parties would get no seats. In light of UTJ’s threats to dissolve the coalition over IDF conscription laws, Channel 12 asks respondents whether they would want the ultra-Orthodox parties to be part of a future government. Fifty-five percent of respondents said they would not want them to be part of the coalition, 33% said they would and 12% said they didn’t know. |
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