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UK Court to Hear Challenge to Pro-Palestine Group Ban after Government Loses Appeal

Police officers detain a protester during a mass demonstration organised by Defend our Juries, against the British government's ban on Palestine Action, at Trafalgar Square in London, Britain, October 4, 2025. REUTERS/Toby Melville
Police officers detain a protester during a mass demonstration organised by Defend our Juries, against the British government's ban on Palestine Action, at Trafalgar Square in London, Britain, October 4, 2025. REUTERS/Toby Melville
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UK Court to Hear Challenge to Pro-Palestine Group Ban after Government Loses Appeal

Police officers detain a protester during a mass demonstration organised by Defend our Juries, against the British government's ban on Palestine Action, at Trafalgar Square in London, Britain, October 4, 2025. REUTERS/Toby Melville
Police officers detain a protester during a mass demonstration organised by Defend our Juries, against the British government's ban on Palestine Action, at Trafalgar Square in London, Britain, October 4, 2025. REUTERS/Toby Melville

The British government on Friday lost its bid to block the co-founder of pro-Palestinian campaign group Palestine Action bringing a legal challenge over the banning of the group under anti-terrorism laws.

Huda Ammori, who helped found Palestine Action in 2020, was given permission to challenge the group's proscription on the grounds that the ban is a disproportionate interference with free speech rights, with her case due to be heard next month, Reuters reported.

Britain's Home Office (interior ministry) then asked the Court of Appeal to overturn that decision and rule that any challenge to the ban should be heard by a specialist tribunal.

Judge Sue Carr rejected the Home Office's appeal, saying challenging the proscription in the High Court was quicker, particularly where people have been charged and are facing trial for expressing support for Palestine Action.

The court also ruled that Ammori could challenge the ban in the High Court on additional grounds, which Ammori said was a significant victory.

"It's time for the government to listen to the overwhelming and mounting backlash ... and lift this widely condemned, utterly Orwellian ban," she said in a statement.

DIRECT ACTION GROUP BANNED IN JULY

Palestine Action was proscribed as a terrorist organization by the government in July, making it a crime to be a member, which carries a maximum sentence of 14 years in prison.

More than 2,000 people have since been arrested for holding signs in support of the group, with over 100 charged.

Before the ban, Palestine Action had increasingly targeted Israel-linked companies in Britain, often spraying red paint, blocking entrances or damaging equipment.

It accused Britain's government of complicity in what it said were Israeli war crimes in Gaza. Israel has repeatedly denied committing war crimes in its two-year military campaign, which began after Palestinian Hamas militants attacked Israel on October 7, 2023. Israel and Hamas agreed a ceasefire last week.

Palestine Action particularly focused on Israeli defense firm Elbit Systems, and Britain's government cited a raid by activists at an Elbit site last year when it decided to outlaw the group.

The group was banned a month after some of its members broke into the RAF Brize Norton air base and damaged two planes, for which four members have been charged.

Critics of the ban – including United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk and civil liberties groups – argue that damaging property does not amount to terrorism.

However, Britain's former interior minister Yvette Cooper, who is now foreign minister, previously said violence and criminal damage have no place in legitimate protest.

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World

Danish Refugee Council Warns 4 Million More Face Displacement as Aid Drops

Some of the Sudanese civilian refugees and human rights activists hold placards with the wordings, 'KeepEyesOnSudan' outside a bus branded during a commemorative gathering dubbed 'Under the Neema (Tree)' to mark the third anniversary since the war in Sudan started, organized by the Amnesty International at the Freedom Corner in Nairobi, Kenya, 15 April 2026. EPA/DANIEL IRUNGU
Some of the Sudanese civilian refugees and human rights activists hold placards with the wordings, 'KeepEyesOnSudan' outside a bus branded during a commemorative gathering dubbed 'Under the Neema (Tree)' to mark the third anniversary since the war in Sudan started, organized by the Amnesty International at the Freedom Corner in Nairobi, Kenya, 15 April 2026. EPA/DANIEL IRUNGU
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Danish Refugee Council Warns 4 Million More Face Displacement as Aid Drops

Some of the Sudanese civilian refugees and human rights activists hold placards with the wordings, 'KeepEyesOnSudan' outside a bus branded during a commemorative gathering dubbed 'Under the Neema (Tree)' to mark the third anniversary since the war in Sudan started, organized by the Amnesty International at the Freedom Corner in Nairobi, Kenya, 15 April 2026. EPA/DANIEL IRUNGU
Some of the Sudanese civilian refugees and human rights activists hold placards with the wordings, 'KeepEyesOnSudan' outside a bus branded during a commemorative gathering dubbed 'Under the Neema (Tree)' to mark the third anniversary since the war in Sudan started, organized by the Amnesty International at the Freedom Corner in Nairobi, Kenya, 15 April 2026. EPA/DANIEL IRUNGU

Over 4 million people are set to be newly displaced around the world by the end of next year as donors step back from providing life-saving aid, the Danish Refugee Council said on Thursday.

There are already some 117 million people forcibly displaced worldwide as the number of conflicts has surged to around 130 - double ⁠the number reported ⁠earlier this century, according to the International Committee of the Red Cross.

"For families fleeing war with nothing but the clothes on their backs, there is little ⁠hope: the international safety net that once existed has gaping holes as humanitarian assistance shrinks," Reuters quoted Charlotte Slente, Secretary General of the DRC, as saying.

Sudan - where a war entered its fourth year this week and 13.5 million people are already displaced - will see the largest jump with an additional 670,000 people ⁠fleeing ⁠this year and next, the DRC said.

UN agencies are warning that they may have to cut off vital supplies of water and food to them in neighboring Chad because of a lack of funding.

The DRC's findings, supported by IBM, were based on key indicators on security, environment and other factors across 27 countries.

World

US Democrats File Impeachment Articles Against Pentagon Chief

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth welcomes Minister of Defense for Indonesia Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin to the Pentagon, Monday, April 13, 2026 in Washington. (AP Photo/Kevin Wolf)
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth welcomes Minister of Defense for Indonesia Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin to the Pentagon, Monday, April 13, 2026 in Washington. (AP Photo/Kevin Wolf)
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US Democrats File Impeachment Articles Against Pentagon Chief

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth welcomes Minister of Defense for Indonesia Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin to the Pentagon, Monday, April 13, 2026 in Washington. (AP Photo/Kevin Wolf)
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth welcomes Minister of Defense for Indonesia Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin to the Pentagon, Monday, April 13, 2026 in Washington. (AP Photo/Kevin Wolf)

US House Democrats introduced six articles of impeachment against Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth on Wednesday, accusing him of "high crimes and misdemeanors" including waging war on Iran without congressional approval.

The impeachment resolution is led by Yassamin Ansari, a Democratic Congresswoman from Arizona, and has slim chances of passing due to the Republican majority in the House.

Impeachment is the process by which the US House of Representatives brings charges against a government official for alleged wrongdoing, with removal from office only possible if the Senate convicts after a trial.

"I've introduced Articles of Impeachment against Pete Hegseth for violating his oath, endangering US servicemembers, and committing war crimes, including attacks on civilians and a girls' school in Minab, Iran," Ansari wrote on X.

"Only Congress can declare war; his actions demand immediate removal."

The War in the Middle East has sent oil prices soaring and dented Trump's approval ratings ahead of crucial midterm elections in November.

The first impeachment article alleged that Hegseth started the conflict with Iran "without a declaration of war or specific statutory authorization by the Congress," and "knowingly exposing members of the Armed Forces of the United States to substantial and foreseeable risk of injury or death."

Another article held Hegseth responsible for the strike on an Iranian primary school on February 28 -- the day the United States and Israel began bombing Iran -- which killed at least 170 people, including students and teachers, AFP said.

The New York Times has reported that the preliminary findings of a US military investigation indicate that a US Tomahawk cruise missile hit the school due to a targeting mistake.

Hegseth has "authorized, condoned, or failed to prevent the use of military force in a manner inconsistent with the law of armed conflict," such as the strike on the school, the document read.

The Democrats also criticized Hegseth for so-called "double tap" strikes -- hitting targets twice -- against alleged drug smuggling boats in the Carribean.

They said the double tap strikes were illegal and undermined rules of engagement designed to protect non-combatants.

Other allegations included "negligence and reckless handling" of sensitive military information, as well as obstructing congressional oversight, referring to Hegsteth's use of commercial messaging app Signal to discuss strikes on Yemen.

Pentagon press secretary Kingsley Wilson told news outlet Axios "this is just another Democrat trying to make headlines as the Department of War decisively and overwhelmingly achieved the Presidents' objectives in Iran."

World

Bus Accident Kills 14 in Ecuador

Vehicles cross the Rumichaca International Bridge, the border crossing between Colombia and Ecuador, in Tulcan, Ecuador, 10 April 2026. EPA/Xavier Montalvo
Vehicles cross the Rumichaca International Bridge, the border crossing between Colombia and Ecuador, in Tulcan, Ecuador, 10 April 2026. EPA/Xavier Montalvo
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Bus Accident Kills 14 in Ecuador

Vehicles cross the Rumichaca International Bridge, the border crossing between Colombia and Ecuador, in Tulcan, Ecuador, 10 April 2026. EPA/Xavier Montalvo
Vehicles cross the Rumichaca International Bridge, the border crossing between Colombia and Ecuador, in Tulcan, Ecuador, 10 April 2026. EPA/Xavier Montalvo

A bus veered off the road and plunged into a ravine in southern Ecuador Wednesday, killing 14 people and injuring at least 29, emergency officials said.

The accident happened in the Molleturo area in the Andean province of Azuay, whose capital Cuenca is Ecuador's third most populous city, AFP reported.

"At this time, the number of people who have died on the Cuenca-Molleturo highway has risen to 14, and the number of injured to 29," Ecuador's emergency service ECU911 wrote on X late Wednesday.

"Personnel from the coordinated agencies are at the scene searching for more people who may have lost their lives," it added, without specifying the number of passengers on the bus.

Traffic accidents are among the leading causes of death in the South American country, where more than 2,000 people died in road accidents last year, compared to a record 2,373 deaths in 2023, according to official figures.