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Tony Blair to oversee Gaza's future as part of Trump's 'greatest and most prestigious' Board of Peace
Sir Tony Blair will oversee the future of the Gaza strip as part of the "greatest and most prestigious board ever assembled", Donald Trump has said.

Under the US president's peace plan, the territory will be governed by an apolitical, transitional Palestinian government, overseen by a Board of Peace.

Now the former Labour prime minister has been named as part of the body's "founding executive board" alongside several high-profile names from the Trump White House.

Among them will be US secretary of state Marco Rubio, Mr Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner, who negotiated the peace plan, and Steve Witkoff, the president's special envoy for the Middle East.

The other members named are the billionaire Marc Rowan, World Bank president Ajay Banga, and US deputy national security adviser Robert Gabriel.

In a statement, the White House said each would oversee a "defined portfolio critical to Gaza's stabilization and long-term success".

Mr Trump, who will act as chairman of the Board of Peace, was effusive about its membership in a post on Truth Social.

He wrote: "I can say with certainty that it is the Greatest and Most Prestigious Board ever assembled at any time, any place."

Sir Tony, Mr Rubio, and Mr Kushner were also named among the members of a Gaza Executive Board.

This body is charged with supporting "effective governance" and the delivery of services "that advance peace, stability, and prosperity for the people of Gaza".

Meanwhile, Ali Sha'ath, described by the Trump administration as "a widely respected technocratic leader", will head up a National Committee for the Administration of Gaza (NCAG).

In this role, the White House said, he will "oversee the restoration of core public services, the rebuilding of civil institutions, and the stabilization of daily life in Gaza, while laying the foundation for long-term, self-sustaining governance".

Also named was Nickolay Mladenov, the former UN Middle East envoy, who has been appointed High Representative for Gaza, acting as the "on-the-ground link between the Board of Peace and the NCAG", according to the announcement.

While Major General Jasper Jeffers will command an "International Stabilization Force", responsible for security operations, demilitarisation, and safe delivery of humanitarian aid and reconstruction materials, the White House said.

Read more:
Analysis: Phase two of Gaza peace plan will be complicated
Palestinian embassy in London opens in 'historic moment'

Gaza has been racked with conflict since October 2023 when Hamas-led militants launched a surprise attack on Israel.

The attack, which claimed the lives of some 1,200 people with 251 others taken hostage, was soon followed by an Israeli offensive on Gaza, which lasted two years and killed a further 70,000 people, according to Gaza's Hamas-run health ministry.

A fragile ceasefire came into effect in October, but Gaza continues to see outbursts of deadly violence, with Israel and Hamas both accusing each other of violating the peace.


911 calls reveal moments after Renee Nicole Good was shot by ICE agent in Minneapolis
Emergency calls have revealed the moments after mother-of-three Renee Nicole Good was shot in her car by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer in Minneapolis.

"They just shot a lady. Point blank range in her car... She's f*****g dead. They f*****g shot her," one caller told 911, demanding courageous police officers be sent to the scene to help.

"There's like 50 f*****g ICE agents over here," the caller added, according to transcripts acquired by Sky News US partner network NBC.

He also said there was video footage of the shooting on 7 January, which enflamed tensions in a city at the focus of the Trump administration's immigration crackdown and led to nationwide protests.

The Trump administration claimed the ICE officer acted in self-defence after Ms Good used her vehicle as a weapon - a version of events rejected by state and local officials.

"ICE fired two shots through her windshield into the driver. She tried to drive away but crashed into the nearest vehicle that was parked," a second caller described the shooting to 911, adding that the driver was bleeding.

A third person told a dispatcher that ICE shot an observer in her car, and it crashed.

When asked if she could see the person who was shot, the woman replied: "I had to walk away because I have young kids, and ICE is everywhere over there..."

Good shot in the chest, arm and head

When paramedics arrived at the scene, they found Ms Good still alive, with gunshot wounds to her chest, forearm and face, according to an incident report by the Minneapolis Fire Department.

She was "unresponsive, not breathing, with inconsistent, irregular, thready pulse activity", with bulging eyes, dilated pupils and blood running from her left ear, according to the report.

Paramedics treated Ms Good on the sidewalk before moving her to the street corner, away "from an escalating scene involving law enforcement and bystanders".

They applied a tourniquet and gave her CPR before she was taken to hospital in an ambulance. Hospital staff stopped resuscitation efforts at 10.30am, less than an hour after the shooting.

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'Agitators' throwing snow

In a call apparently made by a Homeland Security employee, the man said shots had been fired and that they needed assistance from paramedics and local police.

"We had officers stuck in a vehicle and we had agitators on the scene," he said.

The first 911 calls were received at 9.38am, according to the police report. Traffic was shut down five minutes later and police taped off the scene. By 10.04am, the ICE agent who shot Ms Good had left the scene.

The police report also described "agitators" in the crowd cutting crime tape, slashing tyres, throwing snow and ice "at federal agents but not at MPD [Minneapolis Police Department]". Border Patrol officers used pepper spray about 20 minutes after the shooting.

By 11.20am, all ICE agents had left the scene, with the FBI arriving at 11.31am.

Much of the 911 transcripts have been redacted and blacked out, with hidden portions labelled "Law Enforcement", according to NBC.


'People power' opposition supporters shout as voting count in Uganda election turns violent
Heavily-armed military officers yell at us to kneel on the ground in front of the shuttered shop fronts facing Kibuye roundabout in central Kampala as the jolting sounds of gunfire and stun grenades ring out.

Dozens of soldiers gather to enforce the temporary detention. Some are in balaclavas, and others are bare-faced and berating.

It is clear from their threats that journalists are as unwelcome as the protesters calling for an end to Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni's 40-year rule.

Eventually, we are pardoned by a senior commander who directs his soldiers to return our cameras and says: "I forgive you, but don't embarrass us."

Uganda has been plunged into a state-enforced internet blackout, and the media are being forcefully restricted from reporting on the unfolding scenes of unrest, as votes for the next president are tallied and disputed.

When we first arrived at the frenetic roundabout to film the crackdown on protesters, a local journalist showed us the dent of a baton on his bicep and warned: "I told them I was press and they beat me."

'People Power'

Across the road, a man sprints away from a huddle of soldiers who hang back to search and beat another man before taking him away.

Men driving Boda Boda motorcycle taxis express their discontent from across the street before nearby gunfire drives them off.

Drivers yell "people power!" from their cars, one of the rallying cries of opposition leader Bobi Wine. One man holds firm on the side of the road to express himself, saying: "Right now, people are voting for Bobi Wine. He has been cheated of his vote!"

A large billboard of Mr Museveni hovers above this chaos. His election campaign slogan, "protecting the gains", feels violently literal.

The military forces targeting the supporters of his main opponent are led by his son, General Muhoozi Kainerugaba, the head of the Ugandan People's Defence Force (UPDF) and, to many, his heir apparent.

All of this unfolded before Bobi Wine's National Unity Party (NUP) announced that security agents had broken into his home, an army helicopter landed in his compound and abducted him on Friday night.

The Ugandan government has denied the NUP's claims.

The chair of national strategic communications committee in Uganda said Bobi Wine and his wife are "safely in their home" and under the protection of police.

Read more:
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Claims of his arrest could fuel national protests to rival those of the 2021 election and be met with an even more brutal response.

The stand-off between his supporters and the state earlier in the day was mirrored by a feverish brawl in Kampala's Kololo tally centre after a disputed declaration of vote counts, handing wins to Mr Museveni.

"I have the right to speak! I have the right to speak," an opposition party official yells into the face of the ruling party's stern agents backed by the military and police flooding the counting tent.

The screams of objection from a member of Wine's party spill out of the counting tent: "We want our win! This is a protesting vote! We want our win! They are protecting the criminals."

The military and police close in on him and violently drag him on to a police truck. He joins 300 other supporters, and officials that the NUP says have been arrested and disappeared in recent weeks.

A fellow NUP member, 23-year-old university student Elizabeth Namagembe, is breathless from frustration.

"We have Ugandans that have voted and this is their right to choose a leader," she tells us in tears outside the tent with soldiers and police standing watch behind her.

"The international community, what can they do for us? Because us Ugandans have come out to fight - we have voted, and we have requested no violence."


Italy's Meloni posts anime selfie - as Japan PM serenades her for birthday
Giorgia Meloni might have a new best friend in world politics after Japan's prime minister laid on cake and gifts - and even sang happy birthday to the Italian leader.

The women snapped a selfie together - with Ms Meloni later posting an anime version next to the caption: "Two distant nations, but ever closer. Friendship and harmony."

Sanae Takaichi, 64, became her country's first female leader in October, echoing Ms Meloni's achievement in 2022.

The Italian prime minister's trip to Tokyo comes a day after her 49th birthday - and she appeared delighted when Ms Takaichi led an Italian rendition of happy birthday and presented her with cake and candles.

There were also earrings for "stylish" Ms Meloni, according to a post on Ms Takaichi's X account, as well as gifts from Hello Kitty maker Sanrio for her young daughter.

The pair shared a long hug as they said goodbye and video captured Ms Meloni telling the Japanese leader: "Count always on me, okay? For whatever you need. I know it's not easy but we'll do it together."

Away from the gifts, there were the usual diplomatic pledges to deepen cooperation in areas such as security, the economy, and science and technology.

"Giorgia and I confirmed that we will elevate our relationship from a 'strategic partnership' to a 'special strategic partnership' and aim for even greater heights," Ms Takaichi said on X.

Both leaders are conservatives and had working-class upbringings, with the Japanese PM previously citing former UK prime minister Margaret Thatcher as an inspiration.

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Judging by Ms Meloni's comments and body language, it could be the start of a warm political friendship.

The Italian is also known for her close relationship with President Trump and she was the only European head of state invited to his inauguration last year.


Outrage over 'ridiculous' compensation for 'unethical research' victims, including boys infected with HIV and hepatitis
Proposed compensation for victims of "unethical testing" at a college, leaving them with HIV and hepatitis, has been branded "ridiculous" by a charity.

Between the 1970s and early 1990s more than 30,000 people in the UK were infected with HIV and hepatitis after being given contaminated blood and blood products in what was dubbed the worst treatment disaster in NHS history.

More than £2bn has now been paid in compensation to victims of the infected blood scandal.

However, a charity has raised "profound concerns" about an element of the payouts for people who were victims of "unethical research".

Pupils at the Lord Mayor's Treloar's College in Hampshire, who were undergoing haemophilia treatment, were also experimented on without their knowledge by NHS clinicians, who knew the dangers it posed.

The Infected Blood Public Inquiry's report, published in May 2024, found that boys with the disorder who attended the school were treated as "objects for research" and were given "multiple, riskier" treatments.

They have been offered a one-off £15,000 payment on top of ongoing support, with a £10,000 award available for others in similar, less notorious cases.

Changes to the payment are currently under public consultation.

Gary Webster was one of 122 children with haemophilia who attended the Lord Mayor's Treloar's College in Hampshire between the 1970s and early 1980s.

He was infected with HIV and hepatitis C. Of those who attended the college with the condition, he said that more than 80 are now dead.

In response to the compensation offer, he said the sum is "way off the mark," and added: "How can you offer £25,000 to someone who's been experimented and researched on, and most of the time killed?

"It's just ridiculous. It has to be a lot more than what they are offering."

Infected blood scandal: The Treloar's School pupils who 'lost everything'

Mr Webster also told the PA news agency that "we were forced, basically to have injections every day".

"At the time, we didn't know," he added. "We were eight, nine, 10, years old - and we just thought the doctors, who were our friends, who used to come and play sports with us in the evening, we thought they were doing good for us.

"Our parents had no knowledge of anything."

Charity raises 'profound concerns' to minister

The Hepatitis C Trust has also written to Cabinet Office minister Nick Thomas-Symonds to "express our profound concerns regarding the proposed compensation" for the victims - saying the sums are "wholly inadequate".

"We are very concerned that the current proposals fall far short of delivering justice and risk sending a dangerous message about the value of human life and the integrity of public institutions in the UK," the charity said in a letter.

"You are more than aware of the immense suffering of the victims of what has been termed 'unethical research' - people, most of whom were children, who were deliberately given blood products known to be contaminated with HIV, hepatitis B, and hepatitis C.

"This was not an accident; it was a conscious decision by medical professionals."

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Signatories, including the charity, and other members of the infected blood community, called for the award to be "fully and transparently reviewed".

The letter also raised concerns over delays to a potential criminal investigation into the scandal, referring to the National Police Chiefs' Council (NPCC), saying it instigated a review after the inquiry published its report.

In December, the police council said that the review is "ongoing".

"(The NPCC) give no timeline for completion," the letter added. "This delay compounds the injustice and erodes public trust."

When approached for comment, Treloar's College pointed Sky News to a previous statement in May 2025.

"We would like to reiterate the call we made at that time to implement compensation plans without further delay," it said at the time.

It added: "The Inquiry's report laid bare the full extent of this horrifying national scandal. We are deeply saddened that some of our former pupils were so tragically infected and their families affected, and we share our former students' frustration with the time it is taking for compensation to be paid."

A government spokesperson said: "The suffering endured by all those subjected to unethical medical research is profound, and we remain committed to ensuring that justice is not only delivered but reflected in the way compensation is treated.

"This is why uplifts to the Autonomy awards will be made available through the supplementary route to recognise the suffering of victims subjected to unethical research practices.

"This award is just one part of the overall compensation package available.

"We encourage the community to respond to the government's consultation before January 22, which seeks respondents' feedback on different ways of designing and calculating the award to reflect unethical research practices."


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