Ten Things You Need to Know Today: 13 September 2022

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1. Overnight queues to see Queen’s coffin
2. Rich ‘to get more support’
3. Ukraine reaches Russian border
4. Concern over anti-monarchy arrests
5. More stores to close on funeral day
6. Met officer suspended over shooting
7. Monkeypox patient dies in US
8. Germany ‘should take military lead’
9. Teenager ‘groomed by drug dealers’
10. Man dies after pet kangaroo attacks him

published 13 September 2022

1. Overnight queues to see Queen’s coffin

Thousands have been queuing through the night to see the Queen’s coffin at St Giles’ Cathedral in Edinburgh, Scotland. Her Majesty’s coffin will remain at the cathedral until this afternoon, when it begins the journey to London, where the Queen will lie in state in Westminster Hall for four days. However, The Times said that more than half the 750,000 mourners expected to queue to pay their respects in the capital will be disappointed, as there will be capacity for only around 350,000 people to come into Westminster Hall during the four days.

Rich households will receive twice as much cost-of-living support as poorer households next year, said the Resolution Foundation. The think tank said if the government cuts National Insurance and limits energy bill rises, richer homes will get £4,700 in 2023, compared to £2,200 for the poorest. Meanwhile, Liz Truss is under pressure to reveal details of her energy crisis plan before the Commons breaks up for party conferences. Whitehall is scrambling to finalise the details of any emergency budget at the same time as organising the state funeral.

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Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukrainian forces have seized even more territory from Russia as they continue their counter-offensive. The president said troops have now retaken more than 6,000 sq km (2,317 sq miles) from Russian control in September, in the east and the south. Ukraine’s forces have even reached the Russian border in one area, according to officials. Meanwhile, said The Independent, criticism of the war is growing louder in Russia.

Civil liberties campaigners have expressed concern following arrests of anti-royal protesters at events across the UK. A 45-year-old man was arrested in Oxford after shouting “Who elected him?” as Charles was proclaimed King. A 22-year-old man was arrested in Edinburgh after appearing to shout “Andrew, you’re a sick old man” at the Duke of York. A 22-year-old woman was arrested for holding a sign with an anti-monarchy message. Civil rights group Liberty said “It is very worrying to see the police enforcing their broad powers in such a heavy-handed and punitive way to clamp down on free speech and expression.”

John Lewis, Waitrose, Aldi and Lidl are among the stores to announce they will shut in the UK on Monday 19 September, the day of the Queen’s funeral. Meanwhile, there has been an outcry following reports that thousands of NHS patients have had their appointments cancelled because of the Queen’s funeral. The British Medical Association said a record 6.84m people are on NHS waiting lists. NHS England has written to local bosses saying GP services will be able to close on the bank holiday.

A Metropolitan Police officer who shot dead an unarmed black man has been suspended from duty. Chris Kaba died after a single shot was fired in Streatham Hill, south London, on 5 September. The 24-year-old rapper, who was due to become a father, was stopped by firearms officers when his car was flagged by a number plate recognition camera. Despite the news of the suspension, the atmosphere remained tense at a vigil, said the BBC, with most gathered there saying the suspension was “far too little, far too late”.

A patient with a compromised immune system has died of monkeypox in what is thought to be the first fatality in the US from the virus. Although monkeypox is rarely fatal, people with weakened immune systems may be more likely to get seriously ill or die, said The Guardian. The United States has the most cases globally, with 21,985 confirmed, and California has recorded the most cases nationally, with more than 4,300, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Germany’s defence minister said the country must assume a leading military role in Europe. Speaking to the German Council on Foreign Relations, Berlin’s defence minister said the US would remain Europe’s main protector and there could be “no substitute for the American nuclear deterrent for the foreseeable future” but tensions between the US and China over Taiwan and Washington’s pivot to the Asia-Pacific region meant “we are called on to do more than before for Europe,” adding: “Germany is prepared to make a decisive contribution to fair burden-sharing.”

An inquest has heard that a 16-year-old boy who was groomed by drug dealers was questioned by Special Branch officers just months before he was found dead. The parents of Ben Nelson-Roux said that their son was forced to settle drug debts by dealing class A drugs after he started smoking cannabis to “self medicate” for mental health issues at age 12. He was found dead by Kate Roux, his mother, at a homeless hostel for adults in April 2020. The inquest continues.

A man in Australia has died after being attacked by a kangaroo he had been keeping as a pet. The 77-year-old man was discovered with serious injuries on Monday at his home in Redmond, about 400km (250 miles) south of Perth. The kangaroo prevented paramedics from treating the man. Police said they were forced to shoot the marsupial dead. Australia is home to about 50m kangaroos but this is the first fatal attack reported in the country since 1936.

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