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Street protests have already begun in New York City as the Israeli prime minister arrives on a lightning 12-hour visit where he is expected to give a defiant speechin which he will reject criticism over Israel’s war in Gaza and the expansion of settlements in the West Bank.

Allies previewing the speech suggested it would read both as an address to his rightwing allies in the United States, as well as a defense of his record as prime minister ahead of October elections that could oust him from power.

In a video address from Ramallah, broadcast in the General Assembly Hall, Abbas condemned Israel’s policies in Gaza, the West Bank and East Jerusalem as a “malicious colonial plan” to establish a “‘Greater Israel’ and erase the Palestinian presence”.

Citing the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and the violent expansion of settlements in the West Bank, Abbas said that the Israeli government “now threatens the very life and existence of the Palestinian people in their homeland”.

“Do not allow another Nakba and further massacres like those of 1948 to continue taking place,” he added, referring to the expulsion of Palestinians upon the founding of Israel.

For the second year in a row, the US state department denied visas to Abbas and the Palestinian Authority delegation, arguing that they had failed to live up to their commitments to seek peace with Israel.

“As a consequence of their failure to reform, contrary to their commitments to the United States, and their ongoing activities that undermine the prospects for peace, the United States will extend sanctions that deny visas to PLO members and PA officials,” the state department said last week in a statement.

In his speech, Abbas said his delegation “[rejects] these unlawful punitive measures, as well as the accusations and justifications on which they were based”.

He said: “Preventing the Palestinian delegation from reaching United Nations headquarters is inconsistent with the obligations of the United States as the host country.”

As he spoke, protests were already forming on the streets of New York City near the United Nations headquarters in advance of Netanyahu’s arrival before a speech tentatively scheduled for 2pm ET.

Hundreds of demonstrators crowded into the street on Manhattan’s east side in midtown and held signs that said “End the Genocide” and wore shirts reading “Fund people not bombs”.

Earlier this summer, the mayor, Zohran Mamdani, had said that Netanyahu was “not welcome” in New York, and said he was reviewing whether Netanyahu could be arrested by city police under an international criminal court warrant for his arrest.

He has since tempered that stance, saying this week that he wouldn’t attend the protests but promising to protect their “right to [protest] in this city”.

Israel’s ambassador to the UN, Danny Danon, said in an interview that he believed Mamdani’s new stance was “too little and too late”.

“You know, he set the fire, and now he’s coming to try to calm down the situation,” Danon said ahead of the speech.

Netanyahu is not expected to meet Donald Trump, who is in Washington to host the Chinese leader, Xi Jinping, nor with other senior US officials, as he faces growing international condemnation over his hardline stance. Netanyahu has said that he needs to return to Israel quickly because of the election campaign and the holiday of Sukkot, which begins on Friday.

Palestinian representatives are calling for diplomatic missions to bring staff for a planned walkout of Netanyahu’s speech to “send a clear message to Netanyahu and his government that no one is willing to aid, abet, or be complicit in its genocide and war crimes and illegal occupation, which all peace-loving states and peoples demand must come to an end”. %!s()

The University of Warwick student was found collapsed outside his halls after taking poison sold by Law, who has admitted 14 counts of aiding suicide in Canada but has also been linked to nearly 80 deaths in the UK.

Debbie Cornish echoed Whitaker's sentiments, telling the hearing that her family was "still fighting" to stay together years on from her daughter Danielle's death.

A plea deal with Canadian authorities means Law will not face charges in the UK or over any British deaths, but impact statements from their families are being read this week.

"The enormity of losing a child is catastrophic," Whitaker told a Canadian court on Thursday. "Samuel was just 19 when he was handed the tools that ended his precious life."

She continued: "It has broken me completely and utterly. It has broken us as a family and me as a mother.

"Our son died alone at university 100 miles away from his family. We will never be able to forgive ourselves for this happening."

Whitaker said Samuel had been the only biological son of her husband, Paul.

"He is a shell of himself today. Broken and devastated beyond repair," she added.

Cornish, the mother of British victim Danielle, spoke of her anguish in a written statement, in which she referred to Law only by the initials KL.

"Words on paper can't even begin to describe the painful loss of our amazing daughter," she said.

"Nothing will be the same ever again as we are part of a surreal nightmare.

"Nearly four years on, we are still fighting to keep our family together... not to mention the constant thoughts of how she may have died.

"KL has changed the life of many many families all across the world as well as ours. We are living a constant nightmare."

Authorities say Law, a former chef, sold about 1,200 packages of toxic substances to recipients from 40 different countries he met in online suicide forums. Roughly a quarter of the packages were sent to the UK.

He was arrested in May 2023, following a complex investigation by at least 11 law-enforcement agencies that involved investigators from around a dozen countries, including the UK, Italy and the US.

The court also heard a statement from Faith George, the mother of Faith Ike-Elechi, who referred to her daughter by the nickname Chimma.

She found her daughter helpless on the floor after she had taken the poison, and said her last works "echo in my mind every day".

She said if she were able to speak to her daughter again she would tell her she had never stopped being proud of her.

Maurice Dunham, father of British victim Michael Dunham, said the last time he saw his son alive was on a family holiday to Croatia that Michael had left early to return home.

"The last conversation I had with him was an argument," he said in a written statement.

Maurice returned home days later and discovered Michael was dead.

"The feeling I had was like an electric shock going through me," he wrote. "I blamed myself for not stopping Michael from leaving the hotel room.

"I planned to take my own life. I didn't care if I lived or died."

Later, the court heard the words of the mother of Yeanu Mistry, who said hearing he had died was "the news every parent fears".

And Maureen Cooper, the mother of poison victim Gary Cooper, called the pain of losing her son "unbearable".

"A death such as this is the thing of nightmares," her written statement said.

On Wednesday, the court heard from a British survivor who was given an antidote that saved her after taking poison from Law.

Elisabeth Belien told the court: "I feel guilty for surviving. Although I survived, it has also impacted my loved ones. I feel like my vulnerability was exploited. I still feel a lot of shame about what happened."

The hearing continues. %!s()

The complaint, filed in a Washington, DC, court on Thursday by the advocacy group National Iranian American Council (NIAC), argues the war will continue indefinitely and “cause imminent threats to the lives, limbs, health, property, and bare necessities” of Iranians, as well as Iranian Americans whom the organisation represents.

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Al Jazeera has a copy of the lawsuit.

The lawsuit details the impact the war, which has raged on for more than six months now, has had on several of its members, including US citizens and a US Army veteran, and their families who are still inside Iran.

The relatives of some plaintiffs were allegedly killed or injured in air strikes during the war, including while in their homes, or as they went about doing routine tasks.

The plaintiffs also allege greater effects on themselves and their families, such as economic difficulties caused by US sanctions, and the inability to access adequate healthcare, or travel amid an expanding sanctions regime.

Those still inside Iran, the lawsuit says, are in danger because the Trump administration is continuing the war without legal oversight or proper authorisation. Thousands of civilians, including hundreds of children, have been killed by the US in the war so far, according to the lawsuit, and others are at risk.

“They are all in imminent danger of harm to their persons and properties proximately caused by the unconstitutional war waged by defendant President Donald J. Trump,” the complaint says.

In September, a United Nations fact-finding mission said the US likely committed “war crimes” in Iran, including in air strikes that allegedly killed hundreds of civilians.

“No President should have the power to take this country into an indefinite war by himself,” NIAC President Jamal Abdi said in a statement on Thursday. “This lawsuit asks a fundamental question: can one person decide, on his own, to keep an entire nation at war?”

On Tuesday, Trump told world leaders at the United Nations General Assembly that he was considering whether to “annihilate” Iran if Tehran did not return to talks and reach a deal with the US to end the war. %!s()

The scheme was launched after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 and has provided support for 181,000 of the 234,000 Ukrainians who have since sought sanctuary in the UK.

Now the government has said it will cut the hosting payments and reduce contributions to local authorities, which are paid a sum for each arrival to meet the costs associated with delivering the programme.

A written statement to parliament from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) on 15 September said funding would be reduced from £5,900 to £3,300. The changes will come into effect from 1 January 2027.

Tetiana, a 73-year-old Ukrainian refugee who has been hosted for two years and four months, said she was devastated to read the government’s letter circulated to hosts in the last few days informing them of the changes.

She said: “I feel that this financial change could impact on my host’s ability to host me. If the hosting comes to an end, I don’t know where I will go and how I can start again. I can’t work because of my age and because I have mobility problems.

“I fled from Kharkiv, which is close to the Russia frontline, so I can’t go back to Ukraine. I don’t know what I will do. I’m at a loss about what my options will be. This change has created a lot of uncertainty for me. I don’t know how I would be able to pay rent if hosting finishes for me.”

Nataliya Rumyantseva is hosting her mother, the first Ukrainian to arrive in the UK after the war started. She said the changes were likely to have a significant impact. “When refugees arrive here from Ukraine, they are shellshocked and need time to adapt and learn the language. If hosting changes to become a more commercial rental arrangement, I think that’s cruel.”

One host who lives in Greenwich said he did not know if he would be able to continue hosting because of the drop in payments. “I’ve been a sponsor since May 2022. I was dismayed to learn that thank you payments are reducing to just £100,” he said. “I lost my job within months of becoming a sponsor and these payments have become an absolute lifeline even though I did not volunteer for this scheme for the money. I genuinely worry about the consequences of this change for Ukrainians in the UK.”

One option the government proposes is that hosts can switch to landlord status and charge refugees rent.

A host who lives in Cardiff and is hosting a Ukrainian who has enrolled on a course of study said: “The situation feels like a cheap shot from the government. We, in good faith, opened our home to someone in need. That person, in good faith, planned for a life in the UK. And the government, in what seems like very bad faith, saw an easy way to claw money back from people who aren’t in a position to stop them.”

The government says it has so far provided more than £1.81bn for the scheme.

An MHCLG spokesperson said: “The UK’s commitment to supporting Ukrainians is unwavering and the Homes for Ukraine scheme remains open. As the scheme has evolved from an initial emergency response into a more established programme, these changes are designed to secure the scheme’s long-term future while maintaining support for sponsors, guests and councils.” %!s()

Match scorecard

Ryan Higgins recreated last weekend's 50-over heroics with another century to help Middlesex take control on a wicket-laden first day of their County Championship match against Northamptonshire.

The all-rounder, whose 100 underpinned the Seaxes' fightback to beat Leicestershire in Sunday's Metro Bank One-Day Cup final, came to the rescue again after Northamptonshire seamer Ben Sanderson (4-68) had reduced his side to 32-4 at Lord's.

Ben Geddes began the revival with a gutsy 57 before Higgins (115) and Harry Duke – who had shared a partnership of 135 in the final – added a vital 69 to guide Middlesex to 255 all out.

Higgins had earlier taken 4-30, with team-mate Danru Ferns picking up 4-29 as Northamptonshire were flattened for 103, seriously denting their prospects of overhauling Kent to claim the second promotion place in Division Two.

Luke Procter's decision to bat after winning the toss appeared to backfire rapidly when the captain was pinned leg before by Toby Roland-Jones for a third-ball duck, while Higgins' opening spell inflicted further damage.

Gus Miller and Saif Zaib fell to Higgins in quick succession and Ferns then picked up a wicket with his maiden delivery at Lord's, which Calvin Harrison pumped straight to the cover fielder.

Ferns achieved plenty of movement down the slope and also removed Ricardo Vasconcelos, who batted nicely to reach 26 before slashing a widish ball to second slip, but James Sales counter-attacked with a few crisp boundaries.

He and Lewis McManus teamed up to stage a mini-recovery, adding 33 before the latter drove at Tom Helm, who reacted quickly to twist in his follow-through and snag a return catch.

Higgins returned after lunch to dismiss Louis Kimber and Sanderson, while Ferns brought one back to trap Harry Conway in front and the fall of the ninth wicket prompted Sales to start hitting out.

Having slammed Ferns over mid-off for four to lift Northamptonshire's total into three figures, Sales was yorked for 43 next over – and then it was the home side's turn to run the gauntlet.

Like their opponents, Middlesex lost a wicket in the first over as Sanderson nipped one back into Sam Robson's pads and Nathan Fernandes followed in identical fashion, shuffling across soon afterwards.

With Max Holden caught behind off a thin edge and Caleb Falconer becoming Sanderson's third lbw victim, Middlesex found themselves four down in the ninth over – but Geddes and Higgins revived their fortunes.

Geddes was on the front foot to the seamers, driving to the cover fence three times in one Sanderson over and slamming a short-pitched effort from Procter for four more to take the partnership beyond 50.

Higgins, having survived a sharp caught and bowled chance to Conway, used his feet to good effect as well and the pair had secured a narrow lead by the time Miller's inswinger zoomed in to hit the top of Geddes' stumps shortly before tea.

Duke took up the baton in the final session, dispatching Conway for successive fours before Higgins passed his half-century by cutting the seamer to the rope as Middlesex continued to stretch their advantage.

Procter made the breakthrough, bringing himself on to unseat Duke for 28 with a ball that pitched and seamed to hit middle and off, but Higgins embarked on a late assault against Miller, hitting a series of fours to bring up his hundred.

He and Zafar Gohar added 62 for the seventh wicket, with Middlesex advancing beyond 250 before Higgins was finally out, top-edging a slog sweep off Yuzevndra Chahal and Harrison finished off the innings by bowling Helm.

ECB Reporters' Network supported by Rothesay. %!s()