Ten Things You Need to Know Today: 3 August 2021
The Week’s daily digest of the news agenda, published at 8am
- 1. ‘Holidays saved’ as watchlist scrapped
- 2. Taliban fighting escalates in Afghanistan
- 3. Germany sends warship to South China Sea
- 4. Call for warning on football sales
- 5. Palestinians reject homes offer
- 6. Sunak warns against working from home
- 7. Latifa campaigner named in Pegasus row
- 8. Dizzee Rascal charged with assault
- 9. Smoking harms poor more than wealthy
- 10. Clarkson attacks Sage ‘communists’
1. ‘Holidays saved’ as watchlist scrapped
Boris Johnson has “stepped in to save summer holidays” by blocking the creation of a controversial new “amber watchlist” for foreign countries, reports the Daily Telegraph. Spain, Greece and France were rumoured to have faced being added to the watchlist of countries at risk of moving to red in the travel traffic light system. The prime minister says he wants a “simple” and “balanced approach” to pandemic travel.
2. Taliban fighting escalates in Afghanistan
Fighting is raging in the Afghan city of Lashkar Gah amid fears it could be the first provincial capital to fall to the Taliban. CNN says the Taliban have taken over a TV station in the area, marking the latest of a series of advances by the militant group in the country. Meanwhile, the US has ramped up air strikes against the Taliban in a bid to turn back the militants’ advances on a number of key provincial capitals in Afghanistan.
3. Germany sends warship to South China Sea
Germany has sent a warship to the South China Sea for the first time in almost two decades, notes CNN. Beijing has established military outposts on artificial islands in waters that contain gas fields and rich fishing. Berlin says its mission signals that it does not accept China’s territorial claims. Britain, France, Japan, Australia and New Zealand have also been expanding their activity in the Pacific to counter China’s influence.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
4. Call for warning on football sales
Footballs should be sold with health warnings, the scientist leading a landmark study has said. Professor Willie Stewart of the University of Glasgow said the link between dementia and heading a football is now so clear that the laws of the game need to be changed for amateur and youth football to reduce the risk of degenerative brain disease. The study found no evidence that the transition from heavy leather balls to lighter, synthetic replacements had made a difference.
5. Palestinians reject homes offer
Palestinians threatened with eviction in east Jerusalem have rejected an offer that they rent their homes from a Jewish settlement organisation. Israel’s top court had proposed the compromise to end a long legal fight but the affected Palestinians say they want recognition of their rights to the properties. The issue has further ignited Israeli-Palestinian tensions in recent months.
6. Sunak warns against working from home
Rishi Sunak has told young people that going into the office can be “really beneficial” to their careers. Warning that remote working from home should not become the norm, the chancellor told LinkedIn News that he still speaks to the mentors who he met early in his career. “I doubt I would have had those strong relationships if I was doing my internship or my first bit of my career over [Microsoft] Teams and Zoom,” he said.
7. Latifa campaigner named in Pegasus row
A British human rights activist and lawyer who was campaigning to free Dubai’s Princess Latifa had his mobile phone compromised by Pegasus spyware, according to a forensic analysis carried out by Amnesty International. The attack on David Haigh’s phone is suspected to have been ordered by Dubai, because of his connection with the 35-year-old princess, a daughter of the emirate’s ruler, Sheikh Mohammed. She is currently believed to be being held against her will.
8. Dizzee Rascal charged with assault
The rapper Dizzee Rascal has been charged with assaulting a woman following a domestic argument in south London. The Metropolitan Police announced that the hip-hop star, whose real name is Dylan Mills, has been charged with assault “after an incident at a residential address in Streatham on 8 June,” at which “a woman reported minor injuries”. Mills, who is currently on bail, is due to appear at Croydon magistrates court next month.
9. Smoking harms poor more than wealthy
A new study has found that smoking causes almost twice as many cancer cases among the poor as the wealthy. Some 11,247 cases of cancer caused by smoking are diagnosed among the poorest 20% of people in England each year, but just 6,200 are diagnosed among those in the top 20% income bracket. Cancer Research said “it’s very concerning that smoking causes more cancer cases in more deprived groups”.
10. Clarkson attacks Sage ‘communists’
Jeremy Clarkson has raged at “those communists at Sage” and their approach to the Covid pandemic because, he argues, “if you die, you die”. Speaking to Radio Times, the broadcaster called for Boris Johnson to ignore scientists’ calls for restrictions. Remarking that Covid could be around forever, he added: “Well, if it’s going to be for ever, let’s open it up and if you die, you die.”
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Is Cop29 a 'waste of time'?
Today's Big Question World leaders stay away as spectre of Donald Trump haunts flagship UN climate summit
By The Week UK Published
-
The rise of the celebrity chef tour
The Week Recommends Chefs and food writers are hosting sell-out live events around the world
By Irenie Forshaw, The Week UK Published
-
'Thank you for your service'
Today's Newspapers A roundup of the headlines from the US front pages
By The Week Staff Published
-
10 things you need to know today: January 24, 2024
Daily Briefing Trump closes in on nomination with New Hampshire win over Haley, 'Oppenheimer' leads the 2024 Oscar nominations, and more
By Harold Maass, The Week US Published
-
10 things you need to know today: January 23, 2024
Daily Briefing Haley makes last stand in New Hampshire as Trump extends polling lead, justices side with US over Texas in border fight, and more
By Harold Maass, The Week US Published
-
10 things you need to know today: January 22, 2024
Daily Briefing DeSantis ends his presidential campaign and endorses Trump, the US and Arab allies push plan to end Gaza war, and more
By Harold Maass, The Week US Published
-
10 things you need to know today: January 21, 2024
Daily Briefing Palestinian death toll reportedly passes 25,000, top Biden adviser to travel to Egypt and Qatar for hostage talks, and more
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
10 things you need to know today: January 20, 2024
Daily Briefing Grand jury reportedly convened to investigate Uvalde shooting response, families protest outside Netanyahu's house as pressure mounts for hostage deal, and more
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
10 things you need to know today: January 19, 2024
Daily Briefing Congress averts a government shutdown, DOJ report cites failures in police response to Texas school shooting, and more
By Harold Maass, The Week US Published
-
10 things you need to know today: January 18, 2024
Daily Briefing Judge threatens to remove Trump from his defamation trial, medicine for hostages and Palestinians reach Gaza, and more
By Harold Maass, The Week US Published
-
10 things you need to know today: January 17, 2024
Daily Briefing The US strikes Houthi targets in Yemen a third time, Trump's second sex defamation trial begins, and more
By Harold Maass, The Week US Published