UK Boosts Defense Spending; Heavy China Floods | Top Stories | April 23, 2024

Catch up on the Top Stories of the day.

0:00 UK puts its defense industry on ‘war footing’ and pledges £500M in aid for Ukraine
- The UK prime minister has announced the country is putting its defense industry on a war footing by increasing defense spending to 2.5% of GDP by the end of the decade, and pledged to send arms worth 500 million pounds to Ukraine. Prime minister Rishi Sunak described the increase as the “biggest strengthening of our national defense for a generation.”

0:21 Tens of thousands evacuated from massive China floods
⁃ Authorities have evacuated 110,000 people from their homes in Guangdong, as days of heavy rain caused massive flooding in China's most populous province. Footage on state media and online show large swathes of land inundated by the floods and rescuers ferrying people on lifeboats in waist-deep water. Several major rivers have burst their banks, and authorities are closely monitoring "dangerously high" water levels. According to state media four people have died so far, while 10 have gone missing.

0:52 UK passes controversial bill to send asylum seekers to Rwanda
- The UK parliament has finally passed a contentious bill that will allow the government to send asylum seekers to Rwanda for their claims to be considered by the East African nation. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s efforts had been stuck between opposition in the Houses of Parliament and challenges in the British courts, as lawmakers and activists have sought to scupper the legislation on human rights grounds.