Ten Things You Need to Know Today: 29 September 2022

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1. Truss under pressure to backtrack
2. Hurricane Ian lashes Florida
3. Declare Russia ‘terrorist’ says Ukraine
4. Sunak ‘to miss Tory conference’
5. Study finds Brits have health issues
6. Biden gaffe ‘plays into caricature’
7. Coolio dies at 59
8. Two planes collide at Heathrow
9. BBC to broadcast crisis shows
10. X-ray locates Norris smartphone

published 29 September 2022

1. Truss under pressure to backtrack

Liz Truss is expected to make her first media appearances since the economic turmoil that followed her government’s mini-budget last week. In a “long-standing commitment,” said the BBC, the PM will appear across local radio outlets from 8am. Truss and her chancellor, Kwasi Kwarteng, have been accused of going into hiding as the markets spiralled. Truss is under growing pressure to U-turn on her tax cuts plan.

Hurricane Ian is bringing severe flooding, high winds and storm surges to the Florida coast, with more than two million customers in Florida having no electricity. The hazardous conditions, including deadly floods and storm surge, are expected to continue as the storm advances inland. The category 4 storm is powered by the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico and estimated to be about 140 miles wide. US President Joe Biden said Ian is incredibly dangerous, and he encouraged residents to obey all warnings related to the storm.

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Ukraine has called for Russia to be declared a “terrorist state” after an official report from an international working group concluded Russia should now be declared a “state sponsor of terrorism”. The Guardian noted that the designation, resisted so far by the US administration, would allow for secondary sanctions to be imposed on any entity or individual trading or supporting Russia government bodies, including state-owned banks. Meanwhile, the EU has vowed to impose new sanctions in response to disputed referendums.

Rishi Sunak is one of several Tory MPs expected to miss their party’s annual conference. Sunak, who lost the Tory leadership election to Liz Truss, is understood to be spending time in Yorkshire instead, said The Times. Amid the economic turmoil of recent days, some commentators have noted that Sunak warned during the leadership campaign that Truss’s plans were dangerous. “Doomster Rishi Sunak was right about Trussonomics,” said The Telegraph.

A new study has concluded that British people eat less fruit and vegetables, get less sleep, do less sport and are fatter than people in other countries. The YouGov survey of a representative sample of 1,000 people in eight countries found that only 29% of Britons do sport at least twice a week, far less than the global average of 43%. On a more positive note, the researchers found that only 15% of Britons ever smoke compared with 48% of Turks and 36% of Italians.

Fresh questions have been raised about the mental sharpness of Joe Biden after he asked during a speech if a dead congresswoman was in the audience. “Where’s Jackie?” asked the US president while naming politicians who contributed to the relief of hunger in America, seemingly forgetting that Jackie Walorski was killed with two staff members in a car crash almost two months ago. The apparent gaffe “plays into a caricature that Republicans – led by former President Donald Trump – have long been painting of him,” said CNN.

Coolio, the rapper behind such hits as Gangsta’s Paradise and Fantastic Voyage, has died at the age of 59. The exact cause of his death has not yet been revealed but his longtime manager told TMZ that paramedics believed he may have had a cardiac arrest. In recent years, Coolio “enjoyed the perks of being a nostalgic figure,” said CNN, making television appearances on shows like Celebrity Cook Off and Celebrity Chopped. Snoop Dogg paid tribute to Coolio on Twitter, writing: “Gangstas paradise. R I P.”

Two aircraft were involved in a “minor collision” at Heathrow on Wednesday evening, the airport has announced. The incident, involving an Icelandair jet and Korean Air aircraft on the airfield, is being investigated. A spokeswoman said: “No injuries have been reported but emergency services are attending to ensure all passengers and crew are safe and well.” No significant impact on arrivals or departures is expected, but passengers are advised to check with their airlines on the status of their flights.

The BBC will broadcast “very British” escapist and resilience advice shows intended to help viewers through the “tough times ahead” caused by the cost of living crisis. The programmes include a new David Attenborough series about UK wildlife and a week of cost of living-themed programmes, including a decluttering series, Sort Your Life Out, fronted by Stacy Solomon. The corporation’s director of unscripted, Kate Phillips, said the BBC wants “to bring audiences together”.

The smartphone used illegally by one of Stephen Lawrence’s murderers in his prison cell has been found in an intimate part of his body after he was X-rayed at Dartmoor prison. Specialist scanning equipment located the black smartphone after the Daily Mail newspaper reported that David Norris had been flouting strict prison rules. The handset will be examined by the Prison Service’s digital investigations unit to establish who Norris had secretly been in contact with from his cell on E Wing at Dartmoor, a category C prison.

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