by Denis Campbell Health policy editor on (#63SSC)
Prime minister faces difficulties over proposal to ditch soft drinks industry levy amid growing backlashLiz Truss has run into difficulties in her desire to scrap the sugar tax amid a growing backlash against the plan, which health experts have said is “dangerous” and “nonsensical”.Whitehall sources say there is “a question mark” over how the prime minister can overcome a number of legal and parliamentary procedural obstacles to abandoning the soft drinks industry levy. Continue reading...
Director’s most autobiographical film to date picks up audience prize generally seen as indicator of awards success to comeSteven Spielberg’s new film The Fabelmans has won the Toronto international film festival’s People’s Choice award, long regarded in the film industry as a key indicator of awards success over the next few months.The Fabelmans, directed by Spielberg and co-written with Angels in America playwright Tony Kushner, has been hailed as Spielberg’s most autobiographical film and has won generally admiring reviews. The story of a teenage boy coping with his parents’ disintegrating marriage in the 60s midwest, the Guardian described it as a “rare insight into the world’s most famous director who has usually kept us at arm’s length”. Continue reading...
Italian actor, who often worked with his wife Kathryn Hunter, was a co-founder of Complicité, a gifted clown and a voiceover artist for PinguTributes have been paid to the actor Marcello Magni whose death at the age of 63 was announced on Sunday by Simon McBurney and Complicité, the theatre company they co-founded almost 40 years ago.McBurney said he was “utterly bereft” and called Magni “my brother, my comrade, compañero, hilarious dancer, unparalleled improviser [and] partner-in-play”. Other theatre-makers acknowledged Magni’s huge influence. Told By an Idiot’s artistic director, Paul Hunter, tweeted: “He simply blew me away and changed the way I thought about performing.” Continue reading...
Category 1 storm damage ‘catastrophic’, says governor, while it continues to strengthen and barrels toward Dominican RepublicMost of Puerto Rico is without power after a category 1 hurricane bringing heavy rains and dangerous winds made landfall on Sunday evening, causing severe flooding and landslides and damaging infrastructure.Hurricane Fiona was causing “catastrophic flooding” in Puerto Rico early on Sunday evening, the National Hurricane Center (NHC) said. Continue reading...
Battle over influence at Human Rights Council, with Beijing warning of ‘politicisation of human rights’Western powers are weighing the risk of a potential defeat if they table a resolution at the UN Human Rights Council calling for an independent commission to investigate alleged human rights abuses by China in Xinjiang.The issue is a litmus case for Chinese influence at the UN, as well as the willingness of the UN to endorse a worldview that protects individual rights from authoritarian states. Continue reading...
Poem entitled Daughter written in tribute to Queen Elizabeth IICarol Ann Duffy, the former poet laureate – who was appointed by the Queen in 2009 – has written a poem entitled Daughter, shared exclusively here, to mark the monarch’s death. Continue reading...
Windrush campaigner Eulalee Pennant has appealed that her application for further leave to remain be resolved before she diesA great-grandmother and Windrush campaigner who has terminal cancer has begged the Home Office to resolve her immigration status before she dies, but it has refused to expedite her case.Eulalee Pennant, 64, of Jamaican heritage, arrived in the UK in 2001 and was granted a student visa. At one point, her immigration case was stuck in a Home Office backlog for a decade. She was granted discretionary leave to remain in 2019 on the basis of family life with her partner, Gilford Fraser, a British citizen and Windrush descendant, who arrived in the UK from Jamaica in 1968 at the age of 12. Continue reading...
Sam Uffindell had been stood down after allegations he had bullied a female housemate while at universityA New Zealand MP who has apologised for attacking a fellow student at high school has been reinstated to the opposition National party after an inquiry cleared him of bullying a female flatmate while at university.Sam Uffindell had been suspended so the party could carry out an investigation into allegations of violence and intimidating behaviour at university, but on Monday he was reinstated to his former position, after the investigation found no evidence of bullying after high school. Continue reading...
Tragedy in Guizhou province became a lightning rod for social media criticism of zero-Covid policy before posts were shut downAnger has flared among social media users in China after 27 people died when a bus carrying them to a Covid-19 quarantine facility crashed in the south-west province of Guizhou.With millions of Chinese still under tight restrictions thanks to Beijing’s strict zero-Covid strategy, the deaths in the early hours of Sunday quickly became a lightning rod for criticism of the government. Only two people have died from Covid in Guizhou in the entire pandemic. Continue reading...
David Hunter, who has admitting smothering wife, Janice, ‘desperate’ for case to be heard, says lawyerA British pensioner charged in Cyprus with the premeditated murder of his terminally ill wife says he is “desperate” to have his day in court ahead of the trial opening on the island.David Hunter is due to appear before an assize court in the coastal city of Paphos on Monday, almost nine months to the day after he admitted smothering his 75-year-old spouse, Janice, to death. Continue reading...
by Denis Campbell Health policy editor on (#63S59)
UK medical records over 21 years show both groups survived less time after diagnosis than white counterpartsBritons of black and south Asian origin with dementia die younger and sooner after being diagnosed than white people, research has found.South Asian people die 2.97 years younger and black people 2.66 years younger than their white counterparts, according to a study by academics from University College London and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. Continue reading...
by Andrew Sparrow Political correspondent on (#63S3J)
Regulations will be relaxed in up to 12 places, with taxes cut to incentivise investmentThe chancellor, Kwasi Kwarteng, is expected to announce the creation of a network of low-tax, low-regulation investment zones in an emergency budget on Friday.Planning regulations will be relaxed in up to 12 places earmarked for this status, and taxes will be cut to incentivise investment. Continue reading...
Staff forced to choose between collaborating or fighting against Russian takeover of schoolsAt the beginning of summer, several months after the Russians had taken over a large chunk of southern Ukraine in the first days of the war, the headteacher of a school in an occupied town gathered his teaching collective for a meeting.The school would cooperate with the Russian occupation authorities, he told them, and reopen for the new school year in September, teaching the Russian curriculum. Continue reading...
Whether to pay homage to the Queen amid the party dresses has divided participantsThere was only one show in town in London this weekend, and that was the Queue. But the catwalks of London fashion week soldiered on.“It felt important to keep going, because this is a time when London needs to stick together, and right now some of this city’s young designers are at risk of losing their businesses,” said the designer Jonathan Anderson after his JW Anderson show. Continue reading...
A growing minority want an elected head of state – and some feel ‘shaken’ by treatment of anti-monarchistsTimothy Parker feels ambivalent about the events of the last week. “On the one hand,” the 21-year-old says, “someone of unquestionable importance has died.” On the other, the blanket coverage of royal affairs – “royals with flowers, royals with pens, royals with letters” – has left him frustrated.While he is respectful of those in mourning and understands that the death of the Queen is a historic event, he finds the pomp and ceremony during a cost of living crisis “infuriating”. “I’m aware that part of it is symbolic, but don’t those symbolic acts just reinforce the underlying class hierarchies that are so plain to see?” he says. Continue reading...
Demand for leases of land for renewable energy projects is set to generate hundreds of millions for the crown estateThe royal family stands to benefit from a huge windfall from the boom in offshore energy, potentially sparking a debate about funding the monarchy.The Treasury has confirmed that an official review of the sovereign grant, which stands at £86.3m a year, is ongoing and is expected to come into effect from April next year. Officials say they want to ensure the funding is at “appropriate” levels. Continue reading...
Chancellor thought to be delaying full budget until next year, preventing spending watchdog from assessing his plansKwasi Kwarteng is paving the way to delay his first full budget until next year, amid growing concerns that he is avoiding scrutiny of a huge programme of tax cuts likely to break the government’s existing fiscal rules.The chancellor will unveil his plans for £30bn in tax cuts and more details of the energy price cap announced by Liz Truss as part of a “mini-budget” on Friday. It is likely to frame the political debate for some time. However, he is preparing to overhaul existing fiscal rules in the months ahead to ensure the programme can satisfy them. Continue reading...
The renowned British artist found inspiration in his own features after the pandemic left him without sittersWhat do you do when you are a portrait painter but can’t get anyone to sit for you? Frank Auerbach, once described by the Tate as “one of the greatest painters alive today”, has come up with an answer he didn’t expect to find. At 91, he has painted himself – and it’s all thanks to Covid.For decades, the painter and draughtsman has had friends and family sit for his portraits every week – until the lockdowns left him without any sitters. Instead, he found inspiration in his own features for a major series of self-portraits. He told the Observer that, while he had previously been uninterested in his own face, ageing has made it much more compelling. Continue reading...
MPs in talks with Taiwan to help phase out Confucius Institutes as relations between the countries worsenA group of cross-party MPs is in talks with Taiwan to provide Mandarin teachers to the UK as the government seeks to phase out Chinese state-linked Confucius Institutes, the Observer has learned.There are currently 30 branches of the Confucius Institute operating across the UK. Although controversies have existed for many years, they have continued to teach Britons Chinese language, culture and business etiquette. These schools are effectively joint ventures between a host university in Britain, a partner university in China, and the Chinese International Education Foundation (CIEF), a Beijing-based organisation. Continue reading...
‘It’s a nonsense’: government facing claims of manipulating questions to get desired result from survey on ‘Brexit bonus’It was meant to be one of the sure-fire wins for Brexit, but plans to bring back imperial measurements face criticism over claims of a biased government review.Ministers were keen to launch a review to revive imperial measurements – such as pounds and ounces – and the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), now overseen by Jacob Rees-Mogg, conducted a government consultation over the summer. However, the questions appeared to have something missing. Continue reading...
Meeting rearranged for Wednesday in New York as Bidens travel to UK for Queen’s funeralLiz Truss’s planned meeting with Joe Biden in Downing Street, which was to be her first major diplomatic event as prime minister, has been rescheduled for Wednesday at the UN.Officials from both countries said that a meeting in the margins of the UN general assembly would allow “fuller” bilateral discussion and was not the result of friction. But, whenever the two leaders meet, they face disagreements over Northern Ireland. Continue reading...
Czech Republic calls for ‘special international tribunal’ after Izium mass grave found; Turkish and Indian leaders urge end to war at Asia summitThe Czech Republic, which currently holds the EU presidency, have called for a “special international tribunal” after a mass grave was discovered in Izium, a town in north-eastern Ukraine. “In the 21st century, such attacks against the civilian population are unthinkable and abhorrent,” said Jan Lipavský, foreign minister of the Czech Republic. More than 440 bodies have been discovered by Ukrainian officials, with some found with their hands tied behind their backs.Satellite imagery has emerged of the recently discovered mass grave site near Izium. The images, released by Maxar Technologies, show the “Forest Cemetery” entrance from March to August of this year.One of the Russian-held Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant’s four main power lines has been repaired and is supplying the plant with electricity from the Ukrainian grid two weeks after it went down, the UN nuclear watchdog has said. Even though the six reactors at Zaporizhzhia, Europe’s biggest nuclear power plant, have been shut down, the plant needs electricity to keep them cool.US president Joe Biden urged Russian president Vladimir Putin to not use tactical nuclear or chemical weapons in the wake of setbacks in Ukraine. Asked by CBS what he would say to Putin if he was considering using such weapons, Biden said: “Don’t. Don’t. Don’t. It would change the face of war unlike anything since world war two.” Biden said the US response would be “consequential,” but declined to give detail.Indian prime minister Narendra Modi told Putin on Saturday that “today’s time is not a time for war” when the pair met during a regional Asia summit in Uzbekistan. Putin told Modi he knew of India’s “concerns” about the conflict, echoing language he had used with Chinese president Xi Jinping the day before. “We will do our best to end this as soon as possible,” Putin said, while accusing Kyiv of rejecting negotiations.Speaking to reporters later, Putin vowed to continue his attack on Ukraine despite Kyiv’s latest counteroffensive and warned that Moscow could ramp up its strikes on the country’s vital infrastructure if Ukrainian forces target facilities in Russia. Associated Press reported that the Russian president said the “liberation” of Ukraine’s entire eastern Donbas region remained Russia’s main military goal and that he saw no need to revise it. “We aren’t in a rush,” he said after the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation meeting in Samarkand.Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, told leaders at the summit that efforts were being made “to finalise the conflict in Ukraine through diplomacy as soon as possible”. Putin told Erdogan, who has been a key broker in limited deals between Russia and Ukraine, that Moscow was keen to build closer ties with Turkey and was ready to “significantly increase” all exports to the country.Activists from environmental group Greenpeace on Saturday blocked a shipment of Russian gas from unloading at a liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal in northern Finland, the terminal owner and Greenpeace said. The activists demanded Helsinki stop importing Russian gas after Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24.The security service of Ukraine said that Russia’s federal security service (FSU) officers tortured residents in Kupiansk, a city in Ukraine’s Kharkiv region. The Kyiv Independent reports that when FSU officers were in then-occupied Kupiansk, they tortured residents and threatened to send them to minefields and kill their families. Continue reading...
Queen Consort’s address on Sunday will praise mother-in-law for forging role as woman in male worldThe Queen Consort is to pay a televised tribute to the Queen on Sunday, praising her for carving out her own role for many years while being in the “difficult position” of being a “solitary woman” in a male-dominated world.In prerecorded words, she will also recall the late monarch’s “wonderful blue eyes” and say: “I will always remember her smile.” Continue reading...
Police arrest two men and woman after death of Callum Riley in Heywood, RochdaleThree people have been arrested on suspicion of murder after the death of a 17-year-old boy in Greater Manchester.Callum Riley was found with serious injuries in Heywood, Rochdale, on Saturday morning and died a short time later, a spokesperson for Greater Manchester police (GMP) said. Continue reading...
Residents warned of heavy rain, potential landslides, severe flooding and power outagesTropical Storm Fiona was expected to become a hurricane as it neared Puerto Rico on Saturday, threatening to dump up to 20 inches (51cm) of rain as people braced for potential landslides, severe flooding and power outages.The storm previously battered various eastern Caribbean islands, with one death reported in the French territory of Guadeloupe. Regional prefect Alexandre Rochatte told reporters on Saturday that the body was found on the side of a road after floods washed away a home in the capital of Basse-Terre. Continue reading...
Although the reactors at Europe’s biggest nuclear power plant have been shut down, the fuel in them still needs cooling to avoid a meltdownOne of the Russian-held Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant’s four main power lines has been repaired and is supplying the plant with electricity from the Ukrainian grid two weeks after it went down, the UN nuclear watchdog has said.Even though the six reactors at Zaporizhzhia, Europe’s biggest nuclear power plant, have been shut down, the fuel in them still needs cooling to avoid a potentially catastrophic meltdown. The plant therefore needs electricity to pump water through the reactors’ core. Continue reading...
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