Hello from The National.
Here are this week’s most compelling and exclusive stories from the UK and Europe.
BIG PICTURE
Rafah doctors withdrawn
A British-led team of emergency doctors has been evacuated from Gaza after Israel announced its imminent attack on Rafah, the strip’s last place of refuge.
Led by British surgeon Prof Nick Maynard, the team of surgeons, anaesthetists and doctors had been in Gaza on a two-week mission with Medical Aid for Palestinians, a UK charity, and the International Red Cross.
They worked at Gaza’s Al Aqsa Hospital in Deir Al Balah in the central Gaza Strip, to support medical staff and boost the capacity of the healthcare system.
Although the team had originally planned to leave Gaza on Monday, they were forced to accelerate their plans after the Israeli military ordered an evacuation of eastern Rafah that morning.
As they moved towards the border crossing, an Israeli military air strike landed “very close” to their convoy. Even at the crossing the strikes were close enough that the buildings were shaking.
This was the sixth joint emergency medical team for Map and the IRC into Gaza since December, when the charity was first able to send overseas doctors into the strip.
The Map has said it will continue operations inside Gaza, but the devastating consequences at Rafah mean it is anyone's guess when that will happen.
Milena Murr, a spokeswoman for Mercy Corps, said for many of the medics based in Gaza there was now an unsettling hunt for shelter.
“Some of the staff are moving to other locations and others have not decided yet," Ms Murr said.
"After yesterday’s evacuation order, and the bombardment, people in eastern Rafah are now faced with an impossible choice.
"They can stay and face bombardment or attempt a perilous journey to an unliveable area with virtually no remaining infrastructure or access to aid.
"Twenty-four hours is clearly not enough time for more than 100,000 people to feasibly evacuate.
“We want to continue our humanitarian work in Gaza and Rafah but if the Rafah crossing is compromised as it is today and Rafah becomes the new epicentre of fighting, warehouses, aid workers, distribution sites and transport routes will be in the line of fire as a result.
"If that happens, the prospect for a continued aid response reaching any Gazans with life-saving assistance is grim.”
This week has seen a new wave of student unrest as tents sprang up in Berlin, Helsinki, Vienna and Copenhagen, while rallies continued at Oxford and Cambridge.
Activists in Berlin formed a human chain around a tent camp amid a heavy police presence at the city's Free University.
In London, students in a "liberated zone" at the School of Oriental and African Studies proclaimed a list of demands, including free rein for pro-Palestinian speech.
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One 12-year-old refugee is lost
A lone refugee child, aged 12, has been missing for more than a year after disappearing from a UK hotel, The National can reveal.
The youngster was one of hundreds of refugee children who vanished from hotels amid fears they had been lured away by criminal gangs.
The authorities in the UK are facing heavy criticism that they are failing to protect child asylum seekers.
Housing lone refugee children in hotels was ruled unlawful in July after charity Every Child Protected Against Trafficking took legal action against Kent County Council.
PM Wayves
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak endured a series of political blows at the weekend but he was still standing for some positive economy news.
In his particular arc, AI is the holy grail. And he was on the scene for the announcement that SoftBank, Nvidia and Microsoft are putting money into Wayve, a British start-up, as it looks to accelerate its quest to integrate AI into vehicles.
Three of the world's largest tech firms have contributed $1 billion to a British artificial intelligence start-up that seeks to make autonomous driving a common reality.
Alex Kendall, co-founder and chief executive of Wayve, is touting embodied AI as the next frontier in AI.
“This significant funding milestone highlights our team’s unwavering conviction that Embodied AI will address the long-standing challenges the industry has faced in scaling this technology to everyone, everywhere.”
The London-based software developer announced the $1.05 billion investment led by SoftBank, with money from new investor Nvidia as well as more funds from existing investor Microsoft, to “accelerate its mission to reimagine autonomous mobility through embodied intelligence”.
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One-stop Sotheby's
News has emerged this week of the launch of The Family Office, led by Marcus O’Brien, which is to act as a single point of contact for the global ultra-wealthy.
Clients for services at the highest levels will now have a dedicated liaison with UK Sotheby’s International Realty, Sotheby’s Auction House, the classic car auctioneers RM Sotheby’s and Sotheby’s Financial Services.
“The Family Office will be a bridge for this network and provide clients with senior-level expertise and a comprehensive understanding of global luxury markets, allowing us to provide a truly exceptional and bespoke service to our esteemed clientele while unlocking global investment opportunities,” said Mr O’Brien.
OTHER STORIES THIS WEEK
| Netanyahu and Sinwar have a similar interest in prolonging the war | |
| EU's €1 billion aid package prompts criticism in Lebanon | |
| Dubai favourite Gaia opens in Marbella as founder plots global expansion |
