Netanyahu praises 'remarkable' Gaza idea - as Israeli army ordered to prepare for Palestinians to leave

New British ambassador arrives in US

The next British ambassador to the US, Lord Peter Mandelson, has arrived in Washington DC, with work set to begin on Monday.

The government is attempting to build bridges with the Trump administration and exempt British goods from the global tariffs the new president has threatened to impose.

Mandelson, who served as a minister under Sir Tony Blair, has faced a choppy journey to the position, with the Trump administration initially reported to gave been considering not granting approval.

He has distanced himself from previous comments he made about the president, including that he was a "danger to the world" and "little short of a white nationalist and racist".

Mandelson said his past comments were "childish and wrong".

"In 2019, I was a bit irate," Lord Mandelson said.

He praised Trump as a "nice" and a "fair-minded" person who could become "one of the most consequential American presidents I have known in my adult life" in an interview with Fox News.

Democrat announces plan to try and impeach Trump

"The movement to impeach the president has begun."

This was the announcement made by Democratic politician Al Green in the House of Representatives yesterday as he accused Donald Trump of advocating for ethnic cleansing in Gaza.

"Ethnic cleansing in Gaza is not a joke, especially when it emanates from the president of the United States, the most powerful person in the world, when he has the ability to effect what he says," he said.

"Ethnic cleansing in Gaza is no joke and the prime minister of Israel should be ashamed."

Green quoted Martin Luther King Jr in saying "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere".

"Injustice in Gaza is a threat to justice in the United States of America," said Green.

"I rise to announce that the movement to impeach the president has begun.

"I will bring articles of impeachment against the president for dastardly deeds proposed and dastardly deeds done."

There were several failed attempts to impeach Trump during his first term, and two successful ones. 

The first charged the president with soliciting Ukraine's interference in the 2020 election and obstructing a subsequent impeachment investigation. The second charged Trump with incitement to insurrection over the Capitol riots on 6 January 2021.

He was acquitted on all counts by the Senate in both cases.

Trump team considers World Health Organisation takeover

Trump is considering plans to use threats to withdraw from the World Health Organisation to put the US in charge.

Citing a proposal document and two sources, the Reuters news agency said Trump's team advised he push for an American official to serve as director-general when Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus's term ends in 2027.

The US is the WHO's single-biggest funder, but Trump has ordered America to leave the global health agency in January 2026.

The proposal document calls for the appointment of a US special envoy in 2025 to oversee negotiations with the WHO about potential reforms.

The plan, compiled by an outside policy expert, accuses the WHO of being "chaotic" and failing to execute reforms.

The organisation's director of transformation, Soren Brostrom, rejected the criticisms, saying the agency has undertaken its most fundamental reforms to date under Tedros.

He said any member state can propose a director-general and push for their candidate. 

The WHO's executive board selects a shortlist of contenders and the candidate who secures at least two-thirds of member states' votes is chosen for the role. 

Can Trump ban trans athletes from the Olympics?

Our US team are tracking the first 100 days of Donald Trump's presidency in a new daily podcast. 

Today, after the president signed an executive order banning transgender athletes from competing in women's sports, US correspondents Martha Kelner and Mark Stone are joined by international correspondent Diana Magnay to discuss the Trump team's "war on woke".

And after Trump's press secretary appeared to roll back on his plan to permanently resettle Gazan Palestinians last night, they ask: Is the constant onslaught of news part of a plan to prevent his opponents from fighting back?

China: Gaza not a bargaining chip

More from China now - this time on Trump's Gaza plan.

Beijing has said it opposes the forced transfer of Palestinians from Gaza.

"Gaza is the Gaza of Palestinians, not a political bargaining chip, let alone the target of a law of the jungle," said China's foreign ministry spokesperson, Guo Jiakun.

China firmly supports the legitimate national rights of the Palestinian people, he added. 

'Vile' Trump tariffs exacerbating tensions, says China

Moving away from Trump's Gaza proposal for a moment, there's more news on one of his other key policies from his first few weeks in office - his trade war.

China has branded US tariffs as "vile" after filing a complaint with the World Trade Organisation.

The "unilateralist" move exacerbated global trade tensions, the Chinese commerce ministry said.

Trump has imposed sweeping 10% tariffs on all Chinese imports.

He Yongqian, a ministry spokesperson, said China was ready to work with other countries to jointly respond to the challenges of unilateralism and trade protectionism.

China has retaliated with levies of its own, set to come into force on Monday.

This includes a 15% levy on US coal and liquified natural gas, and 10% on crude oil, farm equipment and a small number of trucks.

International condemnation mounts against Trump's Gaza plan

International condemnation continues to mount against Donald Trump's plan to take over Gaza and resettle the Palestinians living there.

This morning, Malaysia said any proposal for their forced displacement constituted ethnic cleansing and a violation of international law.

Neighbouring Indonesia said it rejected "any attempt to forcibly displace Palestinians or alter the demographic composition of the occupied Palestinian territory".

They join the host of countries that have roundly criticised Trump's proposal since the announcement on Tuesday evening, including the UK, Spain and Turkey, which called it "absurd".

The ideas also drew rebuke from world powers Russia, China and Germany, which said it would foster "new suffering and new hatred". 

Regional heavyweight and US ally Saudi Arabia rejected the proposal outright.

It was unclear whether Trump would go ahead with his proposal or was laying out an extreme position as a bargaining ploy. 

Jordan's King Abdullah, who will meet Trump at the White House next week, said he rejected any moves to annex land and displace Palestinians. 

Egypt said it would back Gaza recovery plans without Palestinians leaving the territory. 

Israel tells war critics to take in Gazans under Trump's 'bold' plan

Israeli defence minister Israel Katz has ordered the army to prepare a plan to allow Palestinians to leave Gaza if they want to.

The instruction follows Donald Trump's shock announcement that the US plans to "take over" Gaza and resettle the Palestinians living there - which would amount to ethnic cleansing, according to human rights experts.

Katz said he welcomed Trump's "bold initiative, which can create extensive opportunities for those in Gaza who wish to leave".

The minister said countries that have opposed Israel's attacks on Gaza should take in Palestinians.

"Countries like Spain, Ireland, Norway and others, which have levelled accusations and false claims against Israel over its actions in Gaza, are legally obligated to allow any Gaza resident to enter their territories," he said.

"Meanwhile, countries like Canada, which has a structured immigration program, have previously expressed willingness to take in residents from Gaza."

Katz's plan will include exit options via land crossings, as well as special arrangements for departure by sea and air.

For context: Gaza has been called an open air prison, with Israel blocking most of its residents from travelling abroad, exacerbated by Egypt's restrictive policies at the Rafah crossing - the only crossing out of Gaza into a country other than Israel.

Israel also prevents the Palestinian authorities from operating an airport or seaport in Gaza.

Gaza's more than two million residents have been living under "lockdown" since 2007, according to Human Rights Watch.

Netanyahu praises Trump's 'remarkable idea' on Gaza resettlement

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said there was nothing wrong with Donald Trump's idea of displacing Palestinians from Gaza.

Rights groups condemned as ethnic cleansing Trump's suggestion that Palestinians should be permanently displaced, while also proposing a US takeover of Gaza.

His press secretary rowed back, saying Gazans would be "temporarily relocated".

In an interview with Fox News, Netanyahu backed the idea of "allowing Gazans who want to leave to leave".

He added: "I mean, what's wrong with that? They can leave, they can then come back, they can relocate and come back. But you have to rebuild Gaza." 

Netanyahu said he did not believe Trump suggested sending US troops to fight Hamas in Gaza or that Washington would finance rebuilding efforts.

"This is the first good idea that I've heard," he added. 

"It's a remarkable idea, and I think it should be really pursued, examined, pursued and done, because I think it will create a different future for everyone." 

Trump has repeatedly suggested that Palestinians in Gaza should be taken in by regional Arab nations such as Egypt and Jordan, an idea rejected by both the Arab states and Palestinian leaders.

-SKY NEWS