Take five: A news summary for anxious times
Lost your appetite for rolling news? These are the stories you need to know about this week…
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Hello! It’s Friday, which means it’s time for Take Five - and never has there been a more anxiety-inducing week to round up than this one. You probably know the score by now – this weekly summary aims to help you stay up to date with the news stories that matter to women and marginalised communities, without immersing yourself in the trauma of rolling news.
Each weekly missive rounds up five news stories you need to know about, alongside five good news tales to lighten the load, and a further five longer reads, columns or interviews I’ve found engaging or enlightening over the last week.
Let’s get going…
Trigger warning: Racism
The headlines
1. Truss and Kwarteng double down amid financial chaos
Prime minister Liz Truss yesterday insisted her government would stand by its “growth plan”, blaming financial instability in the UK on “global market volatility.”
In a series of local radio interviews (listen below), Truss said she was “very clear the government has done the right thing by taking action”.
Her comments follow shock interventions from a critical IMF and the Bank of England, which announced a £65-billion emergency intervention to avert an economic crisis.
Both Truss and chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng also refused to rule out further shocks to markets, mortgage rates and pensions.
2. New poll puts Labour 33 points ahead of Tories
Labour’s lead over the Conservatives has soared to a massive 33 points, according to a new poll released late yesterday.
The surge – thought to be the largest any political party has enjoyed since the late 1990s – comes in the wake of Labour’s party conference, which took place against a backdrop of huge instability in the UK economy.
The YouGov survey, carried out on Wednesday and Thursday, puts Labour on 54% with the Conservatives on 21%.
Read more here
3. Undersea ‘blasts’ recorded amid leaks in Russia-Germany gas pipe
A series of leaks in the Nord Stream gas pipe network began with "powerful subsea blasts" and resulted from "deliberate actions", European security agencies have suggested.
Two pipelines running underwater from Russia to Germany were damaged in multiple places on Monday and Tuesday, with Russia described as “the leading suspect”.
Meanwhile, Putin plans to today annexe four areas of Ukraine he claims voted, in a series of sham referendums, to join Russia.
4. UK ‘migration deal’ with France cancelled as dozens rescued from Channel
More than 650 people crossed the English Channel in a flotilla of small boats last Friday, with French authorities rescuing 65 in trouble in the water.
The Ministry of Defence said 15 boats were intercepted in a matter of hours, as the total number of people crossing the Channel this year exceeded 32,000.
It comes as Liz Truss is accused of wrecking a reported immigration deal with France by saying the “jury was still out” on whether Emmanual Macron was a friend or foe.
Read more here
5. Asthmatic Black man who died in police custody accused of playing ‘poor me’
A Black man who died after suffering an asthma attack in police custody was accused of “playing the poor me routine” when asking for his inhaler, an investigation has found.
Ian McDonald-Taylor, 54, pleaded for help as he lay on the ground, handcuffed, in Brixton in June 2019 – but his pleas were dismissed as “a load of nonsense” by arresting officers.
A prevention of future deaths report said Mr McDonald-Taylor said he was “going to die” but was dismissed, before suffering a cardiac arrest.
The IOPC found there was no need for criminal or disciplinary proceedings.
Read more here
The good news
1. Pornhub to tackle illegal activity alongside child abuse charities.
The world’s largest pornography site this week rolled out a ground-breaking chatbot aimed at aiding the fight against child abuse and exploitation.
The site, which gets 175,000 searches which trigger child safety checks each month in the UK alone, has paired up with abuse charities for the initiative.
Using new technology, searches using any of 28,000 words will now be stopped and intercepted, with users forwarded to a helpline hosted by charity Stop It Now!
The rollout follows a successful pilot that began in March, following two years of research and development.
Read more here
2. Māori tribe wins landmark reparations case over colonial atrocities
A Māori tribe in New Zealand has been awarded £93m in compensation for land grabs and colonial atrocities committed against them.
The landmark settlement, which passed a third reading in New Zealand’s parliament last week, follows a 40-year battle for reparation by the Ngāti Maniapoto.
The 46,000-strong tribe has now had 36 sites of cultural significance returned to them, and received a formal apology from the crown.
Read more here
3. Switching from smoking to vaping significantly cuts health risk, say scientists
Smokers who switch to a vape will significantly reduce their risk of death or serious illness, a new scientific review has confirmed.
Researchers at Kings College London reviewed more than 400 separate studies as part of the most comprehensive review of vaping risks to date.
But while the benefits for adults are clear, the team warned vapes are not risk-free, and said urgent action was needed to curb their use among teens.
Read more here
4. NASA celebrates successful asteroid collision test
Scientists from NASA have successfully crashed a spaceship from Earth into an asteroid for the first time in history.
The mission, known as the Double Asteroid Redirection Test, or DART, aimed to test whether humans could successfully prevent a potential extinction event.
The trial ended in a successful collision on Monday, suggesting humans may be able to now push an asteroid off course were it headed for Earth.
Read more here
5. Lizzo makes history by playing presidential crystal flute on stage in US
Singer Lizzo this week took to the stage in Washington DC with a 200-year-old crystal flute created for former President James Madison in the 1800s.
The star, a classically-trained flautist, played a few notes on the historic instrument while twerking, describing the experience as “freaking cool”.
Lizzo was granted special permission to use the instrument, which she described as “like playing out of a wine glass”, by The Library of Congress.
Read more here
The best of the rest
Note: Number one this week is, unusually, not a read, but rather one of the most jaw-droppingly cringeworthy broadcast rounds the world has ever heard, courtesy of one Prime Minister Liz Truss. It’s an absolutely extraordinary listen, and an incredible advert for the power of local radio. Underestimate its journalists at your peril…
1. The Liz Truss BBC Local Radio Interviews
Liz Truss speaks to eight BBC Local Radio stations, defending her mini-budget, saying she was prepared to make "controversial and difficult decisions" to get the economy moving.
2. “I’m not interested in reality, I’m interested in the images”: Andrew Dominik on Blonde
Blonde offers meticulously recreated fragments from the tragic life of Marilyn Monroe, but for director Andrew Dominik, this portrait, like every other version of the star, is inevitably a fantasy.
The chancellor has spent his life praising the virtues of free markets. It’s just a shame they don’t feel the same way about him
4. I Changed Everything. Now What?
An interstate move, two new jobs, and one serious relationship later, I’ve learned there are limits to starting over.
5. The Reluctant Prophet of Effective Altruism
William MacAskill’s movement set out to help the global poor. Now his followers fret about runaway A.I. Have they seen our threats clearly, or lost their way?
How are you feeling about this past week? I’d love to hear your thoughts here…
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