Ten Things You Need to Know Today: 20 September 2022

1. Queen laid to rest in private

The nation has said farewell to Queen Elizabeth II, with a state funeral and military procession. Following the “majestical funeral pomp and military spectacle,” the final farewell to Queen Elizabeth II “would belong only to her family,” said The Guardian. She was laid to rest next to the Duke of Edinburgh in the George VI Memorial Chapel, Windsor, away from the cameras. The Royal family was “finally able to bury a much-loved mother, grandmother and great-grandmother in private,” said The Telegraph.

2. Low tax but no investment

Britain has had the lowest rate of business investment in the G7 despite having cut corporation taxes to record lows, according to new analysis. Liz Truss plans to reverse the planned rise in corporation tax from 19% to 25%, arguing that this will boost investment and prevent a recession. But the Institute for Public Policy Research said the UK had the lowest rate of business investment of any G7 economy in 2019, despite also having the lowest corporation tax rate. It insisted that the past 15 years shows that repeated cuts to corporation tax has not led to higher private investment or growth.

3. Truss to continue Ukraine support

Liz Truss will vow to match UK spending on military support to Ukraine next year. The new prime minister will pledge military aid worth billions during a trip to New York this week. The UK has been one of the leading donors of military aid to Ukraine, committing £2.3bn since Moscow invaded the country in February. A hectic week of diplomacy and policy announcements lies ahead for the new PM as “noisy politics” returns after a “pause for mourning,” said Chris Mason, the BBC’s political editor.

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4. Arrests in Leicester

The Guardian reported that almost half of the 18 people arrested after violence between Hindu and Muslim communities in Leicester over the weekend came from outside the county. Of those arrested, five came from Birmingham, one came from Solihull, one from Luton and one gave an address in Hounslow. Reacting to the news, Sir Peter Soulsby, the city’s mayor, said “it does suggest that there are people with other battles to fight who are coming to Leicester to fight them”. Police faced “significant aggression” as they dealt with disorder in Leicester, the force’s chief constable said.

5. Tsunami warning after Mexico quake

An earthquake struck Mexico’s western coast as the country marked the anniversaries of two devastating quakes which killed thousands of people. One person is known to have been killed after the 7.6 magnitude quake hit the coastal states of Michoacan and Colima shortly after 1pm local time. President Andrés Manuel López Obrador had earlier led a flag raising ceremony to commemorate the victims of two previous deadly earthquakes. US officials have issued a tsunami warning for parts of Mexico’s western coastline following the new earthquake.

6. Biden says Covid ‘over’ in US

Joe Biden has declared the pandemic “over” in the US, despite hundreds of Americans dying with the virus every day. The US president said that while “we still have a problem”, the situation is rapidly improving. Nearly 400 people a day continue to die with Covid-19, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The Washington Post said Biden’s “impromptu remarks caught the White House off guard” and came as officials “struggle to secure new funding for coronavirus vaccines, tests and treatments”.

7. Brit on trial for ‘mercy killing’

A British man wept as he went on trial in Cyprus for allegedly murdering his terminally ill wife in what his lawyers argue was a mercy killing. David Hunter, 75, who spent more than 40 years working as a miner in Northumberland before retiring to the Mediterranean island, said that, as his wife’s leukaemia worsened, she had made him promise that he would end her life if the pain became unbearable. Hunter, who has admitted smothering his wife, has been charged with premeditated murder. His lawyers say the case should be treated as assisted suicide.

8. Army ‘shoots at school in Myanmar’

At least six children were killed when army helicopters shot at a school in Myanmar, according to reports. Two residents said the bodies were later transported by the military to a township seven miles away and buried. The military said it opened fire because rebels were using the building to attack its forces. Myanmar has been “gripped by violence” since the army overthrew an elected government early last year, said CNN.

9. ‘Serial’ conviction overturned

A judge ordered the release of Adnan Syed after overturning his conviction for the murder of his ex-girlfriend Hae Min Lee – a case chronicled in the hit podcast Serial. Syed was 19 when he was sentenced to life for the death of his ex-girlfriend, Hae Min Lee, whose body was found buried in the woods in 1999. But last week prosecutors asked the court to throw out his conviction, saying a year-long case review had identified two “alternative suspects”. Syed will be released into home detention, while the state decides whether to seek a new trial or dismiss the case.

10. Little improvement in British diets

The average British diet has barely improved over the past 30 years, according to a study in The Times. Using the Alternative Healthy Eating Index, which ranks different diets from a range of cultures on a scale of 0 to 100, where 0 would represent very heavy consumption of sugar and processed meats while 100 would be an ideal balance of healthy food, the British diet had improved by just 1.5 points between 1990 and 2018. The researchers behind the study hope their findings could help governments to encourage their populations to eat more nutritious food.