UK - Ed Miliband unveiled sanctions on West Bank settlements today despite furious threats of reprisals from the US and Israel. The Foreign Secretary lashed out at 'ethnic cleansing' by 'terrorists' in the disputed areas as he announced a package of measures banning imports. Companies are also set to be banned from helping construct or selling properties in the settlements, in sanctions being coordinated with France and Canada. The move comes after Labour formally triggered a by-election in Keir Starmer's Holborn & St Pancras seat, where Palestine is set to be a major issue. In further escalation, Florida congressman Randy Fine has warned that the state has a law that would ban British imports in retaliation. An Israeli minister has insisted it could support Argentina's campaign to seize control of the Falklands. Shadow foreign secretary Tom Tugendhat criticised the 'performative' nature of the restrictions, voicing concern that access to crucial intelligence could be disrupted.

ISRAEL - Israel hit back today after Ed Miliband unveiled controversial UK sanctions on 'illegal' West Bank settlements - with the US also poised to wade in. The Foreign Secretary lashed out at 'ethnic cleansing' by 'terrorists' in the disputed areas as he announced a package of measures banning imports. There was an immediate storm of protest, with Israel declaring it will shut the British consulate in East Jerusalem that is accredited to the Palestinian Authority in response to the 'hostile' action. A string of Left-wingers including Jeremy Corbyn and Diane Abbott have been banned from going to the country and Britain will be barred from participating in the US-led Gaza coordination mission. Netanyahu administration ministers have also pledged to back Argentina's campaign to seize control of the Falklands in retribution. Companies are set to be banned from helping construct or sell properties in the settlements, in a push being coordinated with 11 countries including France and Canada.

UK - Britain's Jewish community on Tuesday warned that Labour's sanctions against Israeli settlements will embolden anti-Semites and extremists in the UK. Chief Rabbi Sir Ephraim Mirvis declared Tuesday's decision as 'truly a dark day for British Jews' at a time when they have never been more vulnerable. There is also fury that Andy Burnham ignored 'significant concerns' raised directly with him by communal leaders last week that his policy will have 'unintended consequences'. Community leaders were shocked that Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband chose to announce the policy just days before Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year. It is particularly painful given the festival ended with the Heaton Park synagogue terror attack in Manchester last year. Labour life peer Lord Mendelsohn told the Daily Mail: 'This is a rather frightening and callous New Year's greeting for the Jewish community.' He said the framing of Mr Miliband's statement was 'ugly and thoughtless' and will increase the 'appalling hostile environment for Jews in the UK'.

MIDDLE EAST - Saudi Arabia and seven other Arab and Muslim countries on Sunday issued a joint statement rejecting any attempt to displace Palestinians from the Gaza Strip and reaffirming their support for the establishment of an independent, sovereign Palestinian state. The statement was signed by the foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Jordan, Egypt, Turkey, Pakistan and Indonesia. According to the statement, displacing Palestinians from their land, whether by force or by creating conditions that would compel them to leave, constitutes a serious violation of international law and damages prospects for reaching a political settlement.

GERMANY - Friedrich Merz, the German chancellor, said he was “profoundly shocked” by the resounding victory of the hard-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) in regional elections in Saxony-Anhalt. The Christian democrat leader said the result was the worst defeat his party had suffered “in decades” and that the country needed “fundamental reform”. “I promise the people in our country: our institutions are defensible and stable… We know that Germany because of its history bears a special responsibility,” he said. “We will always hold up our constitutional order and our secure place in the heart of Europe.” The AfD earlier labelled Merz a “major burden” for Germany, as the party looked for a way to form a government after its historic win.

EUROPE - "It seems they're just a few votes short of an absolute majority, but this is indeed a very worrying sign," Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski told Radio Vox FM. French Finance Minister Roland Lescure said on Monday he was worried by the victory of the far-right party Alternative for Germany (AfD) in the Saxony-Anhalt state election on Sunday. "I recently had the opportunity to speak with German business leaders who were extremely concerned," Lescure said in an interview with RTL radio station. "This shows that we face a major challenge in the face of a populist wave which is spreading around the world today and which we must resist," he added, also saying that the result sent out a "very, very worrying signal." The AfD's victory also sparked concerns in Poland, with their foreign minister calling it a disturbing signal.

USA - We are being told that 11 of the 12 jurors believed that Lindsay Clancy should not be held criminally responsible for killing her three children long after they were born. Perhaps that shouldn’t come as a shock since all of the jurors were from the ultra-liberal state of Massachusetts. Thankfully, there was a single juror that was willing to take a stand for what is right. All throughout the trial, large crowds of Lindsay Clancy supporters showed up at the courthouse, and vast numbers of women on social media staunchly defended her. I think that says a lot about where our society is today. And now it appears that a significant portion of the female population of this country seems to think that women shouldn’t be held responsible for killing their children long after they are born. That is scary.

UKRAINE - Ukraine is reportedly considering legalizing sex work to help its battered economy and fund the war against Russia, the Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday. In Ukraine, the production, possession, or distribution of pornography is illegal and is punishable by up to seven years in prison. Despite this, the adult entertainment industry in the country has grown considerably but operates with the cooperation of a corrupt police force, the WSJ reported. Ukrainian authorities have begun demanding taxes from adult content creators. However, anyone who complies effectively admits their involvement in criminal activity. One Ukrainian lawmaker, Yaroslav Zhelezniak, is pushing for a bill that says legalizing pornography in the country would help boost the economy and could leave up to $25 million in tax revenues available to Ukraine’s war chest.

GERMANY - A key ally of Friedrich Merz has ignited a major political debate by suggesting the chancellor’s centrist conservatives should break a taboo and cooperate with the country’s most popular party: the far-right Alternative for Germany. Michael Kretschmer, premier of the eastern state of Saxony and a member of the chancellor’s center-right Christian Democratic Union, is challenging Merz’s insistence on keeping the country’s firewall against the surging AfD ahead of crucial elections in September that could put the far-right party in charge of a region for the first time. “Anyone who still talks about firewalls hasn’t recognized the signs of the times,” Kretschmer, who leads a minority government in Saxony, told the Handelsblatt newspaper in an interview earlier this week. “We need to talk to anyone who wants to talk.”

GERMANY - Friedrich Merz, the German chancellor, refused to resign on Monday despite suffering a catastrophic defeat by the hard-Right AfD in a key regional election. The Christian Democrats (CDU) leader said he was “deeply unsettled” by Alternative for Germany’s triumph after it won an unprecedented 43.8 per cent of the vote in Saxony-Anhalt. The AfD’s faction in Saxony-Anhalt, led by Ulrich Siegmund, fell just short of the majority needed to form a government but the group said it was open to coalition talks. Mr Merz pledged to fight on as chancellor in a bullish speech addressing the bruising result, in which he also accused Russia of helping the AfD clinch victory. “I’m deeply unsettled. This is the hardest defeat that the CDU has had for decades. Of course, this is going to have consequences,” Mr Merz said. “This is a result where we cannot go back to business as usual.”