Headline

UK Ends Automatic Benefits For Asylum Seekers In Major Reform

Published

5 months ago

November 16, 2025

Britain’s interior minister on Sunday defended plans to drastically reduce protections for refugees and end automatic benefits for asylum seekers, insisting that irregular migration was “tearing our country apart”.

The measures, modelled on Denmark’s strict asylum system, aim to stop thousands of migrants from arriving in England from northern France on small boats — crossings that are fuelling support for the anti-immigrant Reform UK party.

But the proposals were criticised as “harsh and unnecessary” by the Refugee Council charity and are likely to be opposed by left-wing lawmakers within Prime Minister Keir Starmer‘s embattled Labour government.

“I really reject this idea that dealing with this problem is somehow engaging in far-right talking points,” Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood told BBC television.

“This is a moral mission for me, because I can see illegal migration is tearing our country apart, it is dividing communities.”

Presently, those given refugee status have it for five years, after which they can apply for indefinite leave to remain and eventually citizenship.

But Mahmood’s ministry, known as the Home Office, said it would cut the length of refugee status to 30 months.

That protection will be “regularly reviewed” and refugees will be forced to return to their home countries once they are deemed safe, it added.

The ministry also said that it intended to make those refugees who were granted asylum wait 20 years before applying to be allowed to live in the UK long-term, up from the current five years.

It also announced that it would create “new safe and legal routes for genuine refugees” through “capped work and study routes”.

Asylum claims in Britain are at a record high, with some 111,000 applications made in the year to June 2025, according to official figures.

The Home Office called the new proposals, which Mahmood will lay out in parliament on Monday, the “largest overhaul of asylum policy in modern times”.

It said the reforms would make it less attractive for irregular migrants to come to Britain, and make it easier to remove those already in the country.

– Benefits crackdown –

A statutory legal duty to provide support to asylum seekers, introduced in a 2005 law, would also be revoked, the Home Office said.

That means housing and weekly financial allowances would no longer be guaranteed for asylum seekers.
It would be “discretionary”, meaning the government could deny assistance to any asylum seeker who could work or support themselves but did not, or those who committed crimes.

Starmer, elected in July 2024, is under pressure to stop migrants crossing the Channel in small boats from France, something that also troubled his Conservative predecessors.

More than 39,000 people, many fleeing conflict, have arrived this year following such dangerous journeys — more than for the whole of 2024 but lower than the record set in 2022.

Reform, led by firebrand Nigel Farage, has led Labour by double-digit margins in opinion polls for most of this year.

Enver Solomon, chief executive of the Refugee Council, urged the government to rethink its plans, saying they “will not deter” the crossings.

“They should ensure that refugees who work hard and contribute to Britain can build secure, settled lives and give back to their communities,” he said.

Labour is taking inspiration from Denmark’s coalition government — led by the centre-left Social Democrats — which has implemented some of the strictest migration policies in Europe.

Senior British officials recently visited the Scandinavian country, where successful asylum claims are at a 40-year-low.

Refugees in Denmark are entitled to a one-year renewable residency permit, and are encouraged to return home as soon as authorities deem there is no longer a need for a safe haven.

Family reunions are also subject to strict requirements, including a minimum age for both parents, language tests and guarantees of funds.

Labour’s more left-wing lawmakers will probably oppose the plans, fearing that the party is losing voters to progressive alternatives such as the Greens.

Headline

Oil Prices Drop After Iran Reopens Strait Of Hormuz

Published

4 days ago

April 17, 2026

Editor

Global oil prices dropped sharply on Friday after Iran signalled that the Strait of Hormuz would remain open to commercial shipping during a temporary ceasefire in the Middle East.

Benchmark crude prices fell by more than 10 per cent, with West Texas Intermediate (WTI) slipping below $85 per barrel, while Brent crude declined to about $89 per barrel.

The decline follows comments by Iran’s Foreign Minister, Abbas Araghchi, who said commercial vessels would be allowed to transit the strait for the duration of a 10-day ceasefire involving Israel and Lebanon.

The truce, which began on Thursday, is reported to include the Iran-backed group Hezbollah.

Oil prices had surged above $100 per barrel in recent weeks amid heightened tensions in the region, with WTI reaching nearly $113 per barrel earlier this month and Brent climbing above $119 in late March.

Analysts say the reopening of the key shipping route has eased supply concerns in global energy markets.

Brian Therien, a senior investment strategist at Edward Jones, noted that oil futures are now trending lower, with projections suggesting prices could fall to the low $70 range by the end of the year. He added that a sustained drop in prices could help reduce inflationary pressures globally.

The Strait of Hormuz, which links the Persian Gulf to the Arabian Sea, is one of the world’s most critical oil transit routes, accounting for roughly one-fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas shipments.

Shipping through the passage had been disrupted during the conflict due to security concerns, including threats of attacks and the presence of naval mines.

An Iranian official told Reuters that vessels moving through the strait during the ceasefire would be required to use designated safe lanes approved by Iranian authorities, while military ships would not be permitted to pass.

Despite the announcement, some shipping firms remain cautious. German carrier Hapag-Lloyd said it is still reviewing the situation before resuming operations in the area.

Meanwhile, Knut Arild Hareide of the Norwegian Shipowners’ Association welcomed the development but warned that uncertainties remain, particularly regarding maritime safety, operational guidelines, and the potential risks posed by unexploded sea mines.

Headline

You Can’t Go To US With Good Feelings Since Trump Returned To Power – Sports Legend

Published

4 days ago

April 17, 2026

Editor

Germany legend, Oliver Kahn, has insisted that one cannot go to the United States with ‘good feelings’ since President Donald Trump returned to the Presidency.

Kahn stated this while speaking to Sky Sport Germany about the upcoming World Cup, which is to be held in the US, Mexico and Canada.

According to the former Bayern Munich goalkeeper, there are so many things happening in the US at the moment that are no longer compatible with ‘values’.

“There are simply so many things happening in the USA right now that are no longer compatible with our understanding of values,” Kahn said.

“One example was the war, but I don’t want to list everything Donald Trump has been doing there since he returned to the presidency.

“You can’t go there with a good feeling at the moment.”

Headline

Trump Bows To Pressure, Deletes Post Depicting Self As Jesus

Published

1 week ago

April 13, 2026

Editor

United States President, Donald Trump, has deleted a social media post that appeared to portray him as Jesus, following backlash and rising tensions with Pope Leo XIV over the Iran war.

The image, shared on Truth Social late Sunday, showed Trump as a Christ-like figure healing the sick, surrounded by American flags and eagles.

The post came shortly after the president criticised the pope for opposing the war with Iran.

By Monday morning, the image had been removed from his account. A previous link to the post now leads to a notice stating the “content is no longer available.”

Speaking later at the White House, Trump denied the interpretation of the image and said he believed it depicted him differently.

“I did post it, and I thought it was me as a doctor, and had to do with the Red Cross,” he told reporters at the White House.

He dismissed claims that the image portrayed him as Jesus, blaming the media for the narrative.

“Only the fake news” could come up with the idea that it depicted him as Jesus.

“I just heard about it, and I said, ‘How did they come up with that?’ It’s supposed to be me as a doctor making people better. And I do make people better,” he said.

The development comes amid an ongoing public disagreement between Trump and Pope Leo XIV over the Iran war.

The pope said Monday he has “no fear of the Trump administration” and would continue to speak out, despite criticism from the president, who described his stance as “terrible for foreign policy.”

Leo, the first American pope, has intensified his criticism of the war in recent days, condemning Trump’s remarks about the Iranian people as “truly unacceptable.”

(CNN)