Epping Forest District Council has voted unanimously to ask the government to shut down a hotel housing asylum seekers, after days of protests.

Since demonstrations began outside the Bell Hotel in Epping nearly two weeks ago, 17 people have been arrested and six charged with offences including violent disorder and criminal damage. Council leader Chris Whitbread said yesterday he was concerned that "peaceful protests" were "being infiltrated" by people "on the extremes of politics".

Why has the Bell Hotel been targeted?
An asylum seeker living at the hotel was arrested and charged with sexual assault, harassment and inciting a child to engage in sexual activity. Hadush Kebatu, 41, from Ethiopia, has denied the offences and remains in custody on remand.

Who was housed in the hotel?
The Bell has housed asylum seekers before, for two years until last April. Three months ago, the hotel reopened for asylum seekers, which angered some locals.

Local council officials said they were not consulted. Whitbread, a Conservative, previously said the decision was "taken by the Home Office over our objections".

Who are the protesters?
Hundreds of locals, some carrying signs saying "Protect Our Kids". Jonathan Reynolds, the business and trade secretary, said they were "upset for legitimate reasons", noting the "huge frustration" about the asylum system and pressures on local housing.

But members of the neo-Nazi Homeland Party have also helped organise the protests, according to The Independent. Two members of the far-right group "can be seen as the administrators" of Epping Says No, a Facebook page with 1,500 members, where protests outside the Bell Hotel have been "organised". Far-right activist Tommy Robinson (real name Stephen Yaxley-Lennon) also said he would attend another protest at the hotel on Sunday.

Where else could migrants be housed?
The government says it aims to stop using hotels for asylum seekers by 2029. At the latest count in April, there were 33,000 asylum seekers in hotels, down from 56,000 in September 2023.

In the government's June spending review, £200 million was assigned to help clear the backlog in asylum cases being heard and phase out the use of hotels. Government sources have confirmed that more landlords will be required to house asylum seekers instead.

Weeks after it opened its doors, critics are calling for Alligator Alcatraz – Donald Trump's new immigration detention facility in the Florida Everglades – to be closed down over what human rights advocates call "appalling" conditions.

Alligator Alcatraz, which holds more than 1,000 detainees, is reportedly plagued by everything from insect infestations to sewage spills. But change is unlikely when the Trump administration and local officials "have specifically touted the brutality of the facility", said The Guardian.

'Worms turn up in the food'
According to detainees in the camp, which has no permanent running water, "toilets don't flush, flooding floors with faecal waste", said The Associated Press. While there is air conditioning, it is reportedly subject to frequent breakdowns in humid conditions where summer temperatures rise to the mid-30s.

Inmates sleep in rows of bunk beds "surrounded by chain-link cages", and can allegedly go "days without showering".

"Worms turn up in the food" and "mosquitoes and other insects are everywhere". "All of us worry that we'll get a disease because of the mosquitoes," detainee Anderson Miranda told The Washington Post.
Many of the camp's inmates are also not accused of any wrongdoing beyond violating immigration law. Although the US president said the centre would house "vicious" and "deranged" detainees, an investigation by the Miami Herald found that "hundreds of immigrants with no criminal charges" are being kept there.

'We will not be answering your questions'
Local officials have denied media accounts of Alligator Alcatraz's conditions. "The facility meets all required standards and is in good working order," Stephanie Hartman, spokesperson for the Florida Division of Emergency Management, which built the facility, told the AP news agency. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said Alligator Alcatraz was "very professionally run". But "this is not the Four Seasons", he added.

DeSantis visited the camp today, which is also the deadline set by the US Senate's Judiciary Committee for Florida authorities to provide detailed information on conditions in Alligator Alcatraz in response to the concerns raised. Florida's Attorney General James Uthmeier said, in a letter to a member of the committee: "We will not be answering your questions."

Brighton: Percival Terrace, Kemptown
A grand first-floor flat in a Regency building on Brighton's seafront. The property enjoys far-reaching views over Brighton Pier, and out into the English Channel. 2 beds, dressing room, shower, kitchen, recep. OIEO £600,000; Hamptons.

London: Holland Park W11
A lower-ground-floor flat in a white stucco-fronted villa close to the park, the shops and amenities of Notting Hill, and within easy reach of Kensington High Street and Kensington Gardens. 2 beds, family bath, open-plan kitchen/living/dining room. £1.15 million; Dexters.

Manchester: Langley Building, Dale Street
A first-floor investment flat in this striking former warehouse. The property is tenanted until the end of this month. 2 beds, family bath, kitchen/living/dining room. £225,000; Bridgfords.

London: Anchor Brewhouse, Shad Thames, Bermondsey SE1
Fourth-floor flat with impressive views to Tower Bridge. Main suite, 2 further beds, shower, family bath, kitchen, recep, terrace. £1.695 million; Anderson Rose.

With his suit against Murdoch, Trump signals: No one is safe
Sarah Ellison and Scott Nover in The Washington Post
Rupert Murdoch has played both "a scold" and "a cheerleader" for Donald Trump and, in turn, has been both "target" and "beneficiary" of the US president's whims, write Sarah Ellison and Scott Nover. But Trump suing Murdoch "crosses a new Rubicon". Trump is sending a "clear warning shot" to any media outlet that reports on him "aggressively": "if the owner of The Wall Street Journal and Fox News isn't safe", then "no one is".

Why are young adults in the English-speaking world so unhappy?
John Burn-Murdoch in the Financial Times
This year's World Happiness Report suggests that "the marked worsening in young adult mental health" is "primarily" an "Anglosphere phenomenon", writes John Burn-Murdoch. I'd say "housing affordability" is key: home ownership is an "Anglophone dream" and its "brutal snatching away" has left "in tatters" young people's faith in the social contract. It's time to "reach out a helping hand" by liberalising planning laws and "restarting the conveyor belt to success and stability".

The continuation of the war in Gaza disgraces Israel
The Economist's editorial board
The war in Gaza "has become endless, indiscriminate and militarily pointless", says The Economist. "Hamas is defeated" and its backer, Iran, "humbled", yet the situation on the ground remains "dire". Benjamin Netanyahu has "prolonged the war" to "prevent hardliners from bringing down his coalition". Donald Trump must now "force" the Israeli PM to end it, "using all the clout America has". The US president must "deploy anger and muscle for the good of Gaza".