today’s politics story

Epping sex offender receives £500 to drop asylum claim

What happened
The deported Ethiopian migrant Hadush Kebatu (pictured above), who was mistakenly released from HMP Chelmsford last week, was paid £500 by immigration enforcement officers after threatening to submit a last-minute asylum claim to block his removal.

Last month he was found guilty of sexually assaulting a 14-year-old schoolgirl and a woman in Epping, and was sentenced to 12 months in prison.

Who said what
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said she had “pulled every lever” to remove Kebatu from British soil. “I am pleased to confirm that this vile child sex offender has been deported. Our streets are safer because of it.”

Kebatu arrived in Ethiopia yesterday morning after being “forcibly removed” from the UK, with a “team of five removal escorts” accompanying him on the flight, said The Times.

The government has a “returns scheme” that offers payments of up to £1,500 to return illegal migrants to their country of origin, so only paying £500 “was good value”, said The Spectator’s Ross Clark.

What next?
Justice Secretary David Lammy has launched an independent inquiry into how Kebatu was mistakenly released from prison. Set to be chaired by Dame Lynne Owens, it will report its initial findings by the end of this week.

Today’s WILDLIFE story

Japan will use troops to deal with fatal bear attacks

What happened
Japan is preparing to send the military into the northern Akita prefecture to protect residents after an unprecedented number of deadly bear attacks.

More than 100 people have been injured by bears in Japan this year and 11 have died – a record. Wildlife officials say the number of incidents has sharply increased as bears stray into populated areas in search of food.

Who said what
While climate change has led to a “scarcity of food” for bears, said The New York Times, “Japan’s population decline has also contributed to the problem, with bears venturing into rural areas that were once full of people”.

“The lives of citizens can no longer be protected without the help of the Self-Defense Forces,” said Akita Governor Kenta Suzuki. “Attacks to the neck and face are extremely common,” he said, noting that bears are now appearing in urban neighbourhoods. Suzuki described the situation as “abnormal” and urged immediate military assistance.

What next?
Troops will be sent to Akita to help set traps and dispose of the carcasses of dead bears. The soldiers are not expected to kill any bears, with that task being left to local hunters.

It’s not all bad

Scientists at Shenyang University of Chemical Technology in China have developed a way to produce plastic from bamboo that can replicate or surpass the properties of many widely used plastics, but is recyclable and biodegrades easily in soil. The material’s toughness is comparable to commonly used engineering plastics – those used in vehicles, appliances and construction – said Professor Andrew Dove at the University of Birmingham, who wasn’t involved in the study.

under the radar

Saudi Arabia’s play for AI dominance

China and the United States are widely seen as the top two countries making artificial intelligence advancements, but there’s another nation looking to get in on the game: Saudi Arabia.

The nation wants to expand its tech influence by using AI as “few nations can match the kingdom’s cheap energy, deep pockets and open land”, said The New York Times. All of these things are “ingredients that tech firms need to operate the vast, power-hungry data centres that run modern AI”. The kingdom’s de facto leader, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, is “seizing a chance to turn Saudi Arabia’s oil wealth into tech influence”.

Saudi officials have been trying to woo American tech companies to the desert, with “executives from OpenAI, Google, Qualcomm, Intel and Oracle” all set to meet at an upcoming Middle East investment summit, added The New York Times. Saudi Arabia is also looking to strengthen its own AI development through Humain, a state-owned AI company backed by the Saudi sovereign wealth fund. The company believes that it can eventually be the “third-largest AI provider in the world behind the United States and China”, Humain CEO Tareq Amin told CNBC.

But not everyone is happy about Saudi Arabia’s rapid development of AI, largely due to the country’s various human rights abuse allegations and treatment of women. And there are other experts who don’t believe the hype when it comes to Saudi tech. Crown Prince bin Salman has said that Humain’s goal is to handle 6% of the global AI workload – but this could be a stretch. Tech experts “can never say never”, said John Dinsdale, a senior analyst for Synergy Research Group. “But I can’t imagine any circumstances that would enable Saudi Arabia to achieve 6% of the world’s AI computing capacity.”

on this day

30 October 1917

The British government gave final approval to the Balfour Declaration expressing British support for “the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people”. Last week the UK government confirmed that British troops had been sent to Israel to help monitor the ceasefire in Gaza following a request from the US.

Today’s newspapers

‘Reeves eyes rise’

Rachel Reeves is considering a 2p increase to income tax – the first hike to the basic rate since the 1970s, says The Telegraph. Keir Starmer has given the green light to the “manifesto-breaking” tax increases to avoid austerity, says The i Paper. Grooming gangs survivors are calling on Nigel Farage to apologise for his “degrading” remarks about their abuse, says The Guardian. A parliamentary committee is “demanding answers” over Prince Andrew’s lease of Royal Lodge, says The Mirror.

See the newspaper front pages

tall tale

Walk this way

Pedestrians in Slovakia will have to abide by their own speed limit after its parliament adopted an amendment for a maximum permitted speed on pavements in urban areas of 6kph. The new limit will apply to all users of public pavements including cyclists, skaters and scooter and e-scooter riders. But the amendment has sparked a wave of amusement on social media, with some wondering whether running to catch a bus could get them fined.

Morning Report was written and edited by Rebecca Messina, Jamie Timson, Will Barker, Ross Couzens and Chas Newkey-Burden, with illustrations by Julia Wytrazek.