RAF Linton-On-Ouse in North Yorkshire, which the Home Office plans to use to detain thousands of asylum seekers in its quest to shut more hotels, June 26, 2026
FORCING people seeking refuge into £10,000 of debt is an “abandonment of principles that should never be negotiable,” campaigners warned today as the government published new plans for its immigration system.
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood announced the proposal, which would order asylum-seekers to pay the sum to cover living costs while they await a decision on their status.
If they do not pay, Ms Mahmood’s plans would automatically deny refugees settled status in Britain.
Critics immediately slammed the means-tested scheme, saying it would punish people fleeing war, torture and famine.
And it would only raise a “relatively small” amount for the Home Office’s goals of cutting the amount it spends each year on asylum accommodation and support by £4 billion.
The Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants (JCWI) condemned the move as “yet another shameless attempt by Labour to inflate the coffers of private companies like Serco, Mears and Clearsprings with multibillion-pound contracts to run asylum accommodation unfit for human habitation.”
JCWI spokesperson Seema Syeda told the Star: “Forcing people seeking safety into debt to pay for it is new depths of cruelty.
“There’s a simple solution: give asylum-seekers the right to rent and the right to work, so they can live in our communities in accommodation they choose — as all human beings deserve to be treated.
A Welsh flag before the Six Nations match at the Principality Stadium, Caerdydd
A PETITION to the Senedd seeking to change the country’s name from Wales to just Cymru was up to 412 signatures today.
The petition was started by John Price and says: “With an outward looking government, now is the time for us to assert our own intention for how we are seen across the world, in the language of our nation using the name chosen by our nation.
“Now is also the time for us to stop using two names for places with deeper, older Welsh names. We can sensibly keep some names with other dual and important historical meanings.”
The petition will be live until December 30 and at 250 signatures will be discussed by the Senedd’s petitions committee.
But petitions with more than 10,000 signatures will be considered for a debate in the Senedd.
The petition also explains that other countries that have changed their names include Turkiye and Czechia and notes that national parks using Welsh names have gained wider international attention.
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Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi in Baghdad, Iraq on May 14, 2026. [Murtadha Al-Sudani – Anadolu Agency]
Iraqi Prime Minister Ali Al-Zaidi said there is “no evidence” that attacks against Gulf countries originated from Iraqi territory, while reaffirming that Baghdad will not allow its land to be used to target neighboring states.
In an interview with the London-based Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper published Monday evening, Zaidi discussed a host of issues, including restricting weapons to state control, combating corruption, economic reforms and Iraq’s foreign relations.
He said all security force commanders had been instructed to prevent any attempt to use Iraqi territory to launch attacks against neighboring countries.
“We will not accept dictates from outside our borders, neither from the East nor the West. Iraq’s decision belongs to its people,” he said.
Zaidi stressed that Iraq seeks to build strong relations with the international community and neighboring countries.
“After visiting the United States, we have working visits scheduled to Turkiye, Saudi Arabia and Iran,” he said.
Regional tensions escalated when the US and Israel launched attacks against Tehran in February, killing more than 3,000 people, according to Iranian officials. Tehran retaliated with drone and missile attacks targeting Israel and Gulf countries hosting US bases.
Several Gulf states also came under attacks that they say were launched by Iran-backed armed factions in Iraq.
Monopoly of weapons
Zaidi said Iraq will hold a national conference later this year to reinforce the state monopoly of weapons. “There is no place for weapons outside the state, and we will not accept the existence of a state within a state,” he said.
He added that the government has already received weapons from Saraya Al-Islam, Asaib Ahl Al-Haq and Kataib Al-Imam Ali armed groups.
“The most important step is not merely handing over weapons, but severing the link between the armed faction and the fighters under its command.
“We believe resistance is a necessity, not a profession. That necessity no longer exists, and we will not accept a state within a state,” he said.
Zaidi announced Sept. 21 as a final deadline for armed factions to surrender their weapons to the authorities.
Government spokesman Haider Al-Aboudi said Monday that the deadline coincides with the withdrawal of the US-led international coalition forces from Iraq under an agreement reached two years ago.
On June 3, military spokesman Sabah Al-Numan announced the formation of a committee tasked with ensuring that weapons remain exclusively under state control.
The issue of weapons outside state authority remains one of Iraq’s most pressing security and political challenges, with some armed factions operating under the umbrella of the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) while others function independently.
The government says it aims to consolidate state authority over arms as part of broader efforts to strengthen domestic stability and shield Iraq from regional tensions.
Corruption fight
Zaidi described corruption as “a threat to the existence of the Iraqi state,” calling his government’s campaign against corruption “irreversible.”
“There are people seeking to steal Iraq, not to serve it,” he said.
The premier said he had instructed the Finance Ministry to open a special account to recover embezzled Iraqi funds.
Zaidi also pledged not to draw a salary, accept gifts or “allow his hand to touch public money.”
He said he will not seek a second term in office or establish a political party after leaving office.
Zaidi’s government was approved by the Iraqi parliament in May. His constitutional term is four years.
On Sunday, Iraqi authorities announced the arrest of several officials and lawmakers accused of financial and administrative corruption following confessions by detained Deputy Oil Minister Adnan Al-Jumaili.
Jumaili was arrested on June 2 over allegations of financial and administrative corruption and illegal contracts.
Iraq’s Supreme Judicial Council later announced the seizure of about $23 million in cash and the confiscation of 70 properties and 21 luxury vehicles, in addition to about 3 kilograms (6.6 pounds) of gold jewelry.
Donald Trump explains why he established his Bored of PeaceClimate science denier Donald Trump confirms that he knows nothing about democracy and that more liquid gold is being secured according to his policy of global privateering.
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Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and illegal Israeli settlers attend the inauguration ceremony of the illegal “Doren” settlement outpost, established south of Hebron in West Bank, on June 16, 2026. [Wisam Hashlamoun – Anadolu Agency]
Palestine on Tuesday strongly condemned Israel’s illegal settlement plan targeting about 100 locations inside the so-called Area A in the occupied West Bank, Anadolu reports.
“The move represents an additional development in Israeli colonial thinking and a blatant violation of international law and signed agreements,” the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
The ministry described the plan as “a systematic war crime” aimed at imposing new facts by force on occupied Palestinian land, undermining security and stability, and destroying the foundations of the two-state solution.
“Israel has no sovereignty over any part of the occupied Palestinian territory,” it said. “The occupation and settlement activity in all forms have no legitimacy and constitute a crime under international law, international consensus and UN resolutions.”
“Israel’s continued illegal occupation and colonial settlement system are the root of suffering and the main reason for the absence of security and peace in the Middle East,” the ministry continued.
It called on the international community and UN institutions, including the Security Council, to take practical deterrent measures to stop colonial settlement and compel Israel, as the occupying power, to comply with international law and UN resolutions.
The ministry also called for implementing the 2024 advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice, forcing Israel to abandon its colonial plans and abide by signed agreements, in a way that guarantees an end to the Israeli occupation and the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital.
Israeli occupier groups are said to have prepared a plan to seize 100 strategic locations in the Palestinian Authority-administered Area A of the occupied West Bank.
The Israel Hayom newspaper said the plan, prepared by the Settler Farms Association and the Havat (Farms) Forum, aims to fundamentally reshape the map of the occupied territory.
The proposal outlines a mechanism for deploying forces to approximately 100 strategic sites in the West Bank on what it describes as an “execution day.”
The locations are located in Area A, which, under the 1995 Oslo II Accord, is under the administrative and security control of the Palestinian Authority.
The Israeli army carries out near-daily raids in West Bank cities and towns, often involving arrests, field interrogations and home searches.
Israel was established in 1948 on lands occupied by armed Zionist groups that carried out massacres and displaced at least 750,000 Palestinians. It later occupied more territories and refused to withdraw or allow the establishment of a Palestinian state.
Donald Trump explains why he established his Bored of PeaceClimate science denier Donald Trump confirms that he knows nothing about democracy and that more liquid gold is being secured according to his policy of global privateering.
RAF Linton-On-Ouse in North Yorkshire, which the Home Office plans to use to detain thousands of asylum seekers in its quest to shut more hotels, June 26, 2026
