Ten Things You Need to Know Today: 7 August 2022

1. Truss and Sunak outline crisis plans

Liz Truss would move to immediately reverse the rise in National Insurance contributions if she were to become PM, said her campaign team. The foreign secretary said tax cuts, not “handouts”, would help those facing a challenging winter. However, her Tory leadership rival, Rishi Sunak, has vowed to introduce another multibillion-pound package to address the cost of living crisis, saying the nation faces a stark choice between “clear-eyed realism and starry-eyed boosterism”.

2. Brown calls for emergency budget

Boris Johnson and the Tory leadership hopefuls should agree an emergency budget or risk “condemning millions of vulnerable and blameless children and pensioners to a winter of dire poverty,” said Gordon Brown. “The reality is grim and undeniable: a financial timebomb will explode for families” as a second round of fuel price rises “sends shock waves through every household and pushes millions over the edge,” the former PM wrote in The Observer. A poll in the Sunday Telegraph found that more than two in five people believe the government is not taking the crisis seriously.

3. Six children die in Gaza attacks

Israel has bombed the Gaza Strip for a second day in what it insists is a “pre-emptive operation”. Israeli jets hit several sites in the blockaded territory on Friday and, after retaliatory fire from militants, Israel warned that its bombing campaign could last a week. The Palestinian Health Ministry says the death toll stands at 26, including six children. The latest violence is the most serious flare-up between Israel and Gaza since an 11-day conflict in May 2021 left more than 200 Palestinians and a dozen Israelis dead.

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4. Defra to suggest shorter showers

An official target has been set for every person to cut daily water consumption by a quarter by 2050, from 145 litres to 110 litres a day. Commenting on the figure, which was set out by Defra in guidance to Ofwat, the water regulator, an industry source told The Sunday Times: “It might be politically unpopular but, at least in the short term, it’s a simple choice between spending a billion pounds on infrastructure or asking people to spend a minute less under their shower.”

5. Threat of ‘nuclear disaster’ in Ukraine

The UN nuclear watchdog said there is a “very real risk of a nuclear disaster” as it called for an immediate end to all military action near Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant. Rafael Mariano Grossi, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, said he was “extremely concerned” by reports of damage at the plant. Ukraine and Russia blamed each other for the bombing at the biggest nuclear facility in Europe, said Politico, with both sides calling it an act of terror.

6. Archie ‘fought till the end’

Archie Battersbee, the 12-year-old who had been the focus of a legal battle between his parents and doctors, has died. His mother, Hollie Dance, described him as “such a beautiful little boy” and said “he fought right until the very end”. The Christian Legal Centre said “urgent review and reform” is needed in light of Battersbee’s death. The group, that has been supporting his family, said “the events of the last few weeks raise many significant issues including questions of how death is defined, how those decisions are made and the place of the family”.

7. China actions ‘provocative’ says US

Washington has accused Beijing of being “provocative” and “irresponsible” after Taiwan said China rehearsed an attack on the island. Taiwan says it detected “multiple” Chinese aircraft and naval vessels taking part in military drills around the Taiwan Strait yesterday. The news follows a series of military drills that China has carried out around Taiwan since Thursday after US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s controversial visit to the self-governing democratic island earlier this week.

8. Girl dies at Windsor water park

An 11-year-old girl who went missing at a water park near Windsor has died, Thames Valley Police have confirmed. Members of the public searched a lake as police were being called to Liquid Leisure Windsor in Datchet, Berkshire, yesterday afternoon. The death of the girl, who was found by the emergency services and taken to Wexham Park Hospital, is being treated as unexplained and an investigation has been launched. “This has been an extremely traumatic and upsetting incident for all involved,” said a local officer.

9. Buffet’s company hit by $44bn loss

Warren Buffett’s company has fallen to a $44bn (£36bn) loss on the markets. Berkshire Hathaway’s stock portfolio fell in value to $328bn as three of its major holdings – Apple, Bank of America and American Express – each fell more than 21%. However, it also recorded a 39% rise in operating profit. The performance of the company is “closely watched because of Buffett’s reputation for investing long term and calling the market correctly,” said the Sunday Telegraph.

10. Trapped whale given vitamin cocktail

Officials in France trying to rescue a beluga whale trapped in the River Seine have administered a vitamin cocktail. Rescuers hope it will help the lost whale regain its appetite and the energy needed to return to sea, said AFP. The mammal, described as “visibly malnourished” by the BBC, was first spotted in the river on Tuesday, around 44 miles north of Paris. Lamya Essemlali, of the non-profit marine conservation organisation Sea Shepherd, said her team would arrive with drones to help locate the whale more easily.