Ten Things You Need to Know Today: 31 August 2022

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1. Mikhail Gorbachev dies at 91
2. ‘Rare respite’ as wholesale gas drops
3. Trump has ‘intelligence on Macron’
4. Food banks sound winter warning
5. Begum ‘smuggled to Syria by Western spy’
6. Nasa will retry Moon launch on Saturday
7. NHS app will offer ‘shop around’ option
8. MPs see interviews as ‘all risk’
9. Mandela grandson balks at Meghan
10. Johnson won’t rule out return

published 31 August 2022

1. Mikhail Gorbachev dies at 91

Tributes are being paid to Mikhail Gorbachev, who has died in Moscow at the age of 91. Gorbachev, the last leader of the Soviet Union, had been suffering from a long and serious illness, said hospital staff. Taking power in 1985, he opened up the then-USSR to the world and introduced sweeping reforms at home. UN chief Antonio Guterres said Gorbachev “changed the course of history” and US President Joe Biden called him a “rare leader”. Boris Johnson said “his tireless commitment to opening up Soviet society remains an example to us all”.

The wholesale price of gas has dropped sharply in a “rare respite” from recent highs on signs that Europe is preparing to intervene directly in energy markets, The Guardian reported. The day-ahead UK wholesale gas price fell by more than 20% to 447p per therm, while the month-ahead contract dropped by a quarter, to 473p per therm. Meanwhile, a survey for The Mirror found that 82% of the public want the government to keep the energy price cap at its current £1,971 average a year rather than allow October’s planned rise to £3,549.

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Donald Trump has boasted to associates that he has “intelligence” on the sex life of French President Emmanuel Macron. Rolling Stone magazine reported that the former US president told people within his circle that he had acquired illicit details of Macron’s “naughty ways” that “not very many people know” through “intelligence” he had seen or been briefed on. On a list of documents seized by the FBI at Trump’s Florida home, item 1a is listed as “info re: President of France”, which has led to speculation on both sides of the Atlantic.

Food banks have warned of a “completely unsustainable” surge in demand that will prevent them from feeding starving families this winter. Nearly 70% of organisations representing 169 food banks said they may need to turn people away or shrink the size of emergency rations this winter. They said the number of people seeking emergency help had already grown “dramatically” and predicted “bleak and disturbing” weeks ahead. The latest data showed shop prices rose by a record 5.1% in August.

Shamima Begum and her two friends were smuggled into Syria by an intelligence agent for Canada, according to a new book. Scotland Yard was told that the teenagers were trafficked into Syria by a people-smuggler who was a double agent working for Islamic State and Canadian intelligence. Canada privately admitted its involvement only when it feared being exposed, and then successfully asked the British to cover up its role, according to The Secret History of the Five Eyes, by Richard Kerbaj, a former security correspondent of The Sunday Times.

Nasa said it will try to launch its new Moon rocket on Saturday. An attempt at a lift-off on Monday had to be abandoned when one of four engines on the vehicle would not cool down to its required operating temperature. Aiming for a Saturday launch will offer additional insights, even if the problem reoccurs and the countdown is halted again, said John Honeycutt, Nasa’s rocket program manager. He added that this was preferable to the space agency “sitting around scratching our heads, was it good enough or not”.

Patients will be able to use the NHS app to shop around for hospitals with the shortest waiting lists, The Times reported. Steve Barclay, the health secretary, wants to give patients “real-time data” on their phones to decide whether to travel further to get faster treatment for non-urgent procedures such as hip replacements and cataract removals. More than 6.7m people are now waiting for routine treatment and the figure is expected to keep rising for the next 18 months.

MPs regard television and radio interviews as “all risk” with almost “no opportunity”, said Nick Robinson after Liz Truss cancelled an interview with him. The Tory leadership frontrunner was to be quizzed by the BBC journalist, but pulled out on Monday. Writing for the BBC, Robinson said he suspected that Truss had “yet to finalise her plans” on the cost-of-living crisis and was “reluctant to have that demonstrated on TV in front of an audience of millions”. Rishi Sunak’s team said Truss had done just two broadcast interviews during the campaign, whereas the former chancellor had undertaken nine.

A grandson of Nelson Mandela has said the wedding of Meghan Markle and Prince Harry can “never be compared” to the release of his grandfather from jail. During a new magazine interview, Markle claimed a South African actor had told her people had rejoiced on the streets at the time of her wedding, just as they had when Mandela walked free. However, Zwelivelile “Mandla” Mandela, an MP, said the 1990 release of his grandfather was “based on overcoming 350 years of colonialism” so “cannot be equated to as the same” as “someone’s wedding”.

Boris Johnson has refused to rule out launching a comeback. During a visit to Dorset for the launch of a £5bn superfast internet project, the outgoing PM was asked whether he would rule out a comeback. “I think on the whole, people in this country are more interested in their gigabit broadband than they are in the fate of this or that politician,” he replied. The Telegraph said Johnson has been “repeatedly linked with another tilt at the top office” and allies insist he plans to fight the next election as an MP.

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