WeekDay AM: 10 Things you need to know this morning
Asylum returns, ceasefire hopes, and record high rents

 
today's politics story

UK won't take Ireland asylum returns, says Sunak

What happened 
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has said he is "not interested" in accepting the return of asylum seekers from Ireland. The diplomatic spat broke out after senior Irish ministers said they would draft emergency laws to send back refugees who had arrived from the UK hoping to avoid being deported to Rwanda.

Who said what
Sunak said he was "focused squarely" on getting the government's Rwandan deportation scheme started, which he hoped would provide a "deterrent" to illegal migration to the UK. Asked if he was interested in striking a deal with Ireland and the European Union over the issue, Sunak replied "no, no, no, no".

The commentary 
The Irish government is "alarmed at asylum seekers entering the republic from Northern Ireland", said The Guardian. In the first four months of this year Ireland recorded 6,739 asylum claims, an "87% increase on the same period last year", according to figures published by The Sunday Times Ireland.

What next? 
Last month the Irish High Court ruled that the UK was no longer a "safe third country" to which Ireland could return asylum seekers as a result of its Rwanda Bill. Senior Irish ministers have said their planned emergency legislation would overturn this judgment.

 
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today’s international story

US 'hopeful' Hamas will accept Gaza truce deal

What happened
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has urged Hamas to accept Israel's latest and "extraordinarily generous" proposal for a Gaza ceasefire. Israel is reportedly prepared to accept the release of fewer than 40 of the roughly 130 hostages believed to be still being held in exchange for freeing potentially thousands of Palestinians jailed in Israel.

Who said what
"The only thing standing between the people of Gaza and a ceasefire is Hamas," Blinken said at a special meeting of the World Economic Forum held in the Saudi Arabian capital Riyadh.

The commentary 
The current proposal emerged from what are seen as "last-chance talks to salvage a diplomatic solution before a threatened Israeli ground invasion in Rafah", said The Guardian. But serious obstacles remain, said The New York Times, among them "Hamas's demand for a permanent ceasefire and Israel's insistence on pursuing its goal of rooting out the militants".

What next?
Israel is reportedly planning to send a delegation to Cairo to discuss the deal with Egyptian brokers today. Hamas has not yet confirmed whether it will also send representatives.

 
 
Today’s property story

Average UK rents climb to record high

What happened
Average private rents for new properties coming on to the market in Great Britain have risen to record highs, according to data from the property website Rightmove. But the overall pace of rent growth is slowing – a development that would be welcomed by tenants, the website said.

Who said what
The rental market is "no longer at peak boiling point, but it remains at a very hot simmer", said Tim Bannister, Rightmove's director of property science.

The commentary
Despite the record average rent there are signs emerging that "more landlords are having to reduce their asking rents, particularly for bigger homes, to meet what tenants can afford", said The Independent. Rent rises have been blamed "largely on demand greatly outstripping supply", said The Guardian, but have been "exacerbated" by landlords trying to "pass on big increases in their costs caused by higher interest rates".

What next?
Renting a property in the UK remains both difficult and expensive. Letting agents are fielding an average of 13 inquiries per  property, Rightmove said. This is down from 19 at this time last year, but is still nearly triple the average of five in March 2019.

 
 

It's not all bad

A vaccine patch could offer a safe and effective way to protect young children against measles, according to the findings of a medical trial in The Gambia. The device, the size of a sticking plaster, is easier to transport and store than standard injections, which could be useful for distribution in remote areas. Measles poses a significant risk to children across the globe. With vaccination rates declining during the pandemic, particularly in low- and middle-income countries, experts believe the new patches could ensure that 95% of children worldwide receive immunisation.

 
 
under the radar

Costa Rica's renewables success under threat

For nearly a decade Costa Rica has generated 99% of its electricity from renewable sources of energy. For comparison, said The Verge, the US manages slightly more than 20%.

Most of the Central American nation's electricity – about 73% – is generated by hydropower thanks to its heavy rainfall, tropical location and natural topography. It also boasts a high concentration of rivers and dams, as well as a small population and no major industry.

A 1949 law that established the state-run electricity utility Instituto Costarricense de Electricidad (ICE) said Costa Rica should develop its natural resources for its electricity supply – and at the time hydropower was the only source available. Having one state energy company rather than smaller private electric utilities also helps simplify the planning process.

But even Costa Rica's consistent 99% is not "a perfect system", said The Verge. When the weather pattern known as El Niño brought higher temperatures and lower rainfall last year it gave an inkling of the future impact of climate change. The hydropower reservoirs suffered a 16% reduction while demand for electricity rose as people used more air-conditioning.

"In the rainy season our reservoirs normally recover," said Kenneth Lobo Méndez, director of planning and sustainability in electricity management. They were "extremely low" last year so this year's dry season could be "a little bit complicated".

In the south of the country rainfall is forecast to increase due to climate change, but "we can't get that rainfall into our system", said Marco Jiménez Chavez, a generation expansion engineer for ICE. Hydroelectric plants in that region are "not ready to harness that amount of waterfall".

 
 
on this day

30 April 1989

The World Wide Web (WWW) is first launched in the public domain by CERN scientist Tim Berners-Lee. Today the internet is used by an estimated 5.35 billion people, or about 66% of the world's population. In 2016 the UN declared that universal access to the internet should be considered a human right.

 
 
Today’s newspapers

Several papers, including Metro, lead on the news that Scottish First Minister Humza Yousaf will quit his role. The Times says the development sees the SNP "lurch into another crisis". Ministers are considering introducing a new six-tier system of disability benefits that would see many receiving less money, says the i paper. "Pure Evil" says The Mirror after a man admitted killing an elderly mobility scooter rider in a knife attack.

► See the newspaper front pages

 
 
tall tale

Crow control

To combat crows tearing open rubbish bags left out on curbs, officials in the Tokyo suburb of Adachi are blaring recordings of "10-second bursts of angry caws", hoping it will scare the birds away. The Crow Controller device uses an infrared sensor to detect motion, which sets off the audio. The sound released is the "equivalent of an aggressive 'get out of here'", The New York Times said. Officials said the five Crow Controllers they had installed so far seemed to be doing the trick.

 
 

Morning Report was written and edited by Arion McNicoll and Chas Newkey-Burden, with illustrations by Julia Wytrazek.

Image credits, from top: Leon Neal / Getty Images; Mahmud Hams / AFP via Getty Images; Christopher Furlong / Getty Images.