800 tractors siege Paris and set lorry ablaze

Good evening. Around 800 tractors have surrounded Paris as farmers pledged a “siege” of the capital to protest EU red tape and environmental policies.

Elsewhere, the Archbishop of Canterbury has criticised the Government’s flagship Rwanda plan.

800 tractors siege Paris and set lorry ablaze

Around 800 tractors have surrounded the capital as farmers protest what they say are stringent environmental regulations, red tape and low pay.

Near Beauvais, north of Paris, dozens of tractors lined the highway in one of many such protests across the country. In the event of major disruption, Paris would only have three days’ food supplies, according to government agency Ademe.

US ‘doesn’t want war with Iran’, claims White House spokesman

The United States does not want war with Iran, a White House spokesman said, after Tehran-backed militants killed three American soldiers in Jordan.

National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said that the Pentagon would continue to look at all options as it readies a response to Sunday’s attack.

Britain can do better than ‘damaging’ Rwanda Bill, says Archbishop of Canterbury

The Archbishop of Canterbury has labelled the Government’s flagship Rwanda plan “damaging” and said: “We can as a nation do better than this Bill.”

Speaking during the Bill’s second reading debate in the House of Lords, the Most Rev Welby accused ministers of “leading the nation down a damaging path”.

Evening Briefing: Today’s essential headlines

Royals | The King has been released from hospital after receiving successful treatment for an enlarged prostate.

Covid Inquiry | SNP’s aim to ‘destroy the UK’ drove their Covid response, says Gove

High Court | Laurence Fox loses libel battle against men he branded ‘paedophiles’

Crime | Tributes paid to ‘beautiful, young and innocent’ teenagers killed in Bristol stabbing

Migration | Crackdown fails to stop Channel migrants as small boats cross at same rate as last January

London | Fridge-carrying marathon runner stopped and questioned by police

Pictured: First ever sighting of newborn great white

The first-ever baby great white shark spotted in the wild has been captured on film using an underwater drone camera.

Comment and analysis

Ross Clark | Lazy Britain now needs to be paid to get back to the office

Tom Sharpe | The Red Sea fighting shows the humiliating difference between the US and Royal Navies

Matthew Lynn | Labour’s new graduate plan could bankrupt Britain

Robert Buckland | Britain must not surrender the Chagos Islands

Your view | ‘How long before somebody finds a way to weaponise a driverless vehicle?’

World news: UN workers in Gaza kidnapped Israeli woman and gave weapons to Hamas, according to dossier

UN workers in Gaza kidnapped an Israeli woman during Hamas’s October 7 attack and handed out ammunition to its gunmen, according to intelligence produced by Israel.

The dossier, shared with US officials and seen by the New York Times, described ten out of the 12 UNRWA workers allegedly implicated in the attack as Hamas members, and another one as being affiliated with Islamic Jihad, another terror group in Gaza.

Feature of the day

The countryside ‘utopia’ Nimbys have nicknamed ‘Hellborne’

With the creation of a Hampshire garden village, Mark Thistlethwayte is spearheading an experiment that has big implications for the debate around how we should tackle Britain’s housing crisis.

Business news: Ryanair forced to discount airfares after being kicked off booking sites

Ryanair has been forced to cut its profit forecasts after the budget airline was kicked off a string of travel agent websites.

The company had said earlier this month that its sudden removal from the sites – which it has repeatedly branded as “pirates” – was “welcome”, but would impact its results as it is forced to slash fares.

Live markets news: Paddy Power owner plans to quit FTSE 100 in fresh blow to London