Ten Things You Need to Know Today: 19 September 2022

1. Preparations for Queen’s funeral

The UK will say farewell to Queen Elizabeth II today when her state funeral takes place at Westminster Abbey in London at 11am. Some 2,000 people are expected to attend the ceremony, including 500 presidents, prime ministers, and foreign royals. On the eve of the service, King Charles said he is “deeply touched” by the support he has received from across the world. The King said he and Camilla, the Queen Consort, were “moved beyond measure” by everyone who paid their respects.

The Queen’s funeral: what will happen next?

2. Truss tax cuts worth 63p

The three million poorest households in Britain are set to be only 63p a month better off under Liz Truss’s plans to cut national insurance contributions, while the richest will benefit by £150, according to the Institute for Fiscal Studies. Tom Waters, a senior research economist at the IFS, said there were more progressive ways to cut taxes, such as raising the threshold at which workers pay the basic rate of income tax. Kwasi Kwarteng, the chancellor, is expected to set out his plans on Friday.

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Will chancellor bring ‘rabbit out of hat’ at mini-budget?

3. US would defend Taiwan

Joe Biden has once again said the US would defend Taiwan in the event of an “unprecedented attack” by China. Asked to clarify if he meant that rather than supplying weapons or aid, US forces would actually defend Taiwan in the event of a Chinese invasion, Biden replied: “Yes.” After the remarks were broadcast by CBS, the White House said that US policy had not changed. The US has long held a policy of “strategic ambiguity” on the question of Taiwanese independence.

Are China and Taiwan heading for war?

4. Arrests after Leicester disorder

Fifteen people have been arrested in Leicester following unrest in the city over the weekend. The arrests came amid tensions involving mainly young men from sections of the Muslim and Hindu communities including “violence after an India vs Pakistan cricket match”, said the BBC. Police said the latest arrests were “to deter further disorder”. Sanjiv Patel, who represents Hindu and Jain temples across Leicester, said he was deeply saddened by the disturbances. Suleman Nagdi, of the Leicester-based Federation of Muslim Organisations, said the violence had been “very alarming”.

5. Catholics ‘largest group in Northern Ireland’

Catholics are the largest religious group in Northern Ireland for the first time since partition, the results of the latest census are expected to confirm. Although Northern Ireland was designed to have a permanent Protestant, unionist majority, the demographics have changed due to larger families within Catholic communities. By 2011, when the last census was taken, the Protestant population had fallen to 48% and the Catholic population had risen to 45%. In May, Sinn Fein, once the political wing of the Irish Republican Army (IRA), became the biggest party in Northern Ireland.

Who supports the Northern Ireland Protocol - and who wants to tear it up?

6. GPs plan to go part-time

Almost two-thirds of trainee GPs plan to work part-time just a year after they qualify due to the stress and intensity of the job. The King’s Fund study found that 63% of trainee GPs plan to work no more than six four-hour “sessions” a week. Family doctors say the extra work generated by seeing patients, such as referral letters, means a four-hour shift actually takes six or seven hours. The trend “threatens to exacerbate the NHS’s already acute shortage of GPs,” said The Guardian.

7. Russian popstar condemns war

One of Russia’s biggest pop stars has condemned the conflict in Ukraine. Alla Pugacheva has called on the authorities to also declare her a “foreign agent”, in solidarity with her husband Maxim Galkin, who has condemned the invasion of Ukraine. Pugacheva said Moscow’s “illusory aims” in Ukraine “make our country a pariah and the lives of our citizens extremely difficult”. Pugacheva is a “hugely popular and well-respected artist,” said the BBC, “which makes her public comments about Russia’s offensive in Ukraine big news”.

Ukraine conflict: is an end in sight?

8. Hoyle: funeral ‘most important event world will ever see’

Lindsay Hoyle has described Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral as “the most important event the world will ever see”. Appearing on Laura Kuenssberg’s Sunday morning show, the Speaker of the House of Commons was asked about the political and diplomatic aspects of the service. “We should not allow anything to overshadow the most important event the world will ever see, and that is the funeral of Her Majesty and the passing of Her Majesty,” Sir Lindsay said.

9. Chinese told not to touch foreigners

A Chinese health official has warned people against touching foreign nationals, after mainland China confirmed its first case of monkeypox. Writing on social media, Wu Zunyou, chief epidemiologist at the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, gave five recommendations for the public, including: “Do not have skin-to-skin contact with foreigners.” An “international arrival” was under mandatory Covid-19 quarantine when the monkeypox infection was discovered, according to authorities in the southwest municipality of Chongqing.

10. Byzantine mosaic found in Gaza

A Palestinian farmer has discovered a Byzantine floor mosaic while attempting to plant an olive tree on his land in Gaza. Salman al-Nabahin said he and his son were digging into the ground when they unearthed the relic, which experts have described as one of the greatest archaeological treasures ever found in Gaza. “I see it as a treasure, dearer than a treasure. It is a Palestinian legacy,” said Nabahin.