Plus: Afghan minority fears deportation in Pakistan, and Zelensky call off US Senate briefing
| | | | | | | Hello. As fighting continues in Gaza, our international editor Jeremy Bowen is reporting on the consequences of the war between Israel and Hamas on the other Palestinian territory – the occupied West Bank. We also hear from British citizens and their foreign partners who say their plans to spend their lives together are "going down the drain" because of new migration rules. Also in the news today: US funding for Ukraine, Boris Johnson and entomology. |
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| | | | Top of the agenda | | Settler violence brings fear to the West Bank | | | | The school in Khirbet Zanuta, a small Palestinian village, was destroyed by a bulldozer. Credit: BBC |
| | Since the 7 October attacks on Israel, much of the attention has been on Gaza where Israel is trying to eliminate Hamas. But the ongoing war has also ramped up tensions in the occupied West Bank between Jewish settlers living in illegal outposts and Palestinians. The UN says it has recorded 314 settler attacks against Palestinians since 7 October, resulting in Palestinian casualties or damage to Palestinian-owned property. Four Israelis, including three security forces personnel, have been killed in attacks by Palestinians in the West Bank over the same period. Our international editor Jeremy Bowen has spent three days in the territory, hearing from Palestinians who say settlers are better armed and much more aggressive. "If I go up there on the hillside to harvest my olives, it's taking my life in my hands," a Palestinian farmer told him. Settler leader Yehuda Simon said the Israeli army had concluded the Palestinians farmers were gathering information to plan an attack. Read Jeremy's special report. | | • | International response: The US has announced a visa ban on extremists responsible for violence in the occupied West Bank. The ban will also apply to Palestinians accused of violence. | | • | Watch: Jeremy Bowen's report in the West Bank is also available on YouTube. | | • | In Gaza: Heavy fighting continues in the south of the Strip, as Israeli officials believe some of Hamas's leadership are hiding there. Follow our updates live. |
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| | | | | | | | AT THE SCENE | Pakistan | | The Afghan minority living in fear of deportation | | For Hazara people, living under Taliban rule in Afghanistan "felt like a prison". But a crackdown on undocumented foreigners in Pakistan is putting their future in jeopardy, as they face increasingly frequent police raids and deportation. | | | | Caroline Davies, Pakistan correspondent |
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| | Shakeba has seen police raids on her neighbourhood but so far they haven't been to her house. She's terrified that she or her family will be picked up if they leave its four walls - they've been in hiding for the last three weeks. "Our faces look different. Even if we wear Pakistani clothes, we are easily identifiable. They identify us and shout 'Afghani, Afghani!'." In the last two months, more than 400,000 people have crossed from Pakistan to Afghanistan. A highly uncertain future awaits them - some are staying in camps, others have set off across the country to start life again, often taking little with them as winter approaches. |
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| | | | Beyond the headlines | | The couples devastated by UK migration curbs | | | | Josie and Joan Ferrer Obiol says their dream of returning to the UK has been turned upside down Credit: Provided |
| | The British government's new measures to cut legal migration have "destroyed" plans for some binational couples who were planning a new life in the UK. From April 2024, British citizens or people already settled in the UK will need to show they earn £38,700 per year before their overseas partner can live with them. Currently, it's £18,600. Couples tell us about their projects "going down the drain". | | | | |
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| | | | Something different | | Smart measures | | When it comes to intelligence, the way the brain is wired matters more than its size. | | |
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| | | | And finally... | | Barbara Mulligan has been catching and breeding moths since she was 10 years old. But the moth she recently caught in a west London park might be her most important one. Thanks to DNA analysis, Britain’s Natural History Museum found it was from an entirely new species. The moth has been named Tachystola mulliganae. "It's nice to think I'll be forever remembered by a moth," said Ms Mulligan, after the announcement. |
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