Ten Things You Need to Know Today: 10 October 2022

1. ‘Icy’ week ahead for Truss

Liz Truss is “teetering on the edge” of “another big U-turn”, said The Guardian, after Tory MPs warned her that she would lose a vote on increasing benefits only in line with earnings rather than inflation. Truss will attempt to “rescue her stumbling premiership” by winning back the support of “angry MPs”, said the i news site. But a government source told the paper the new PM has a tough week ahead. “Prime Minister’s Questions will be quite grim,” they said. “It is going to be difficult, there’s going to be some icy receptions in the tea room.”

Can Liz Truss survive as PM?

2. ‘Harsh’ Crimea escalation

Vladimir Putin has accused Ukraine of attacking the bridge to Russian-annexed Crimea, describing it as an “act of terrorism”. The Russian president said Ukraine’s intelligence forces had aimed to destroy a critically important piece of Russia’s civil infrastructure. Although Ukrainian officials have “publicly celebrated the explosion” they have not claimed responsibility, reported CNN. Meanwhile, said The Guardian there is “growing expectation” that the Kremlin plans an “imminent and harsh escalation of its war”.

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Who are the Kremlin insiders jostling to replace Putin?

3. Sturgeon: ‘I detest Tories’

Nicola Sturgeon has been criticised after saying “I detest the Tories” in an interview. Appearing on the new BBC flagship politics show, Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg, the Scottish first minister said: “If the question to me is would I prefer a Labour government over a Tory government – I detest the Tories and everything they stand for – so it’s not difficult to answer that question.” Cabinet member Nadhim Zahawi called her language “really dangerous” while Conservative MSP Annie Wells said the use of “detest” was “irresponsible language”. But Sturgeon’s remarks also drew praise on social media.

4. ‘Bad migration’ clampdown

The government is considering a cap on the number of children foreign students can bring into the country. Ministers are concerned that some overseas students bring as many as six dependents with them and suspect that some are using it as a back door to settling here permanently. Speaking to Sky News, Nadhim Zahawi, the Cabinet Office minister, said that the government wanted to “bear down on bad migration”, highlighting international students as an area of concern. However, Liz Truss is considering liberalising some forms of immigration.

Liz Truss’s controversial plans for UK immigration

5. Senator ‘told cops to shoot rioters’

A Republican senator said police officers defending the US Capitol on January 6 2021 should have opened fire on the rioters and “shot them all in the head”, according to a former policeman who was nearly killed. A book by Michael Fanone, a former Washington police officer injured in the riot, claims that Lindsey Graham told him: “You guys should have shot them all in the head. We gave you guys guns and you should have used them. I don’t understand why that didn’t happen.”

JULY 2021: Four key moments from police officers’ Capitol Hill riot testimonies

6. ‘Landmark trial’ over air crash

The “harrowing final minutes” of the Air France flight from Rio de Janeiro to Paris that crashed into the Atlantic Ocean in 2009, killing all 228 people on board, will be studied as what The Guardian described as a “landmark trial” opens in Paris today. Air France and the aircraft maker Airbus are being tried on charges of involuntary manslaughter. A spokesperson for a victim’s campaign group told AFP: “We expect an impartial and exemplary trial so that this never happens again.”

7. West accused of anti-semitism

Twitter has locked Kanye West’s account following allegations he posted an anti-Semitic tweet. In the deleted post, West said he was “going death con 3 [sic] On JEWISH PEOPLE”. He also wrote that: “You guys have toyed with me and tried to black ball anyone whoever opposes your agenda.” However, he did not specify who “you guys” were. In a tweet, campaigners the Anti-Defamation League said “antisemitic tropes” and “myths” have “influenced” West’s comments, describing them “dangerous”.

Kanye West’s White Lives Matter controversy

8. Burns knighthood in question

There are calls for Conor Burns to have his nomination for a knighthood dropped after he was sacked following a complaint of misconduct. Angela Rayner, deputy leader of the Labour Party, said plans to hand Burns the title in Boris Johnson’s resignation honours list “beggar belief”. Daisy Cooper, the Liberal Democrat deputy leader, agreed, saying: “It would be unthinkable for Conor Burns to be awarded a knighthood unless he’s cleared of wrongdoing.” Burns is said to fear that his career is “already over”.

9. Crown storyline ‘cruel rubbish’

Netflix will portray Prince Philip “pursuing an affair in The Crown just weeks after the Queen’s funeral,” said The Sun. He will be depicted in “intimate scenes” with “close pal Penny Knatchbull,” said the paper. The Duke of Edinburgh will be shown touching hands and divulging details of his marriage with the “high society beauty”, who is now the Countess Mountbatten of Burma. In response to news of the scenes, the Queen’s former press secretary Dickie Arbiter said: “This is cruel rubbish.”

10. Post Office handles more cash

Post Office branches are handling more and more cash according to the BBC. The Post Office handled £3.45bn in cash in August, the highest total since it began recording denominations five years ago. The cash transactions include personal deposits and withdrawals from post office accounts. The BBC said the trend began as banks close branches across the UK, leaving some communities with no access to banking services at all. “We expect cash transactions to continue to exceed expectations in October and for the rest of the year,” said Martin Kearsley, banking director at the Post Office.

The pros and cons of ditching cash