1. UN sends in nuclear inspectors
The UN’s nuclear watchdog says it will send a team to Ukraine to search for signs of “undeclared nuclear activities”. The news comes after Russia’s defence minister, Sergei Shoigu, warned counterparts in the west that the war in Ukraine is heading for an “uncontrolled escalation”. Referring to Russia’s allegation that Ukraine may use a “dirty bomb”, the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, said the Russian accusation was a sign that Moscow was planning such an attack itself and would blame Ukraine.
What a Russian nuclear attack might look like
2. Sunak to take office
Rishi Sunak will officially become prime minister this morning when he meets King Charles at Buckingham Palace. After he was chosen by Conservative MPs on Monday, the 42-year-old warned that the country faced a “profound economic challenge” but he promised to “serve with integrity”. Later this morning he will make a statement in Downing Street before entering No 10 as PM, where he will put the finishing touches to his cabinet. The “war in Ukraine, an energy crunch, public sector strikes and an NHS winter crisis will all be filling his in-tray”, said The Times.
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Five challenges facing new PM Rishi Sunak
3. New rail strikes announced
Disruption on the railway is set to worsen after a union announced nearly a week of industrial action in their long-running dispute over pay, job security and conditions. Thousands of members of the Transport Salaried Staffs’ Association at Network Rail will strike on Thursday 3 November, Saturday 5 November and Monday 7 November, while members at individual train companies will take strike action and other industrial action on 3, 7 and 8 November. The union is demanding a guarantee of no compulsory redundancies, a pay rise that offsets the cost of living crisis, and no enforced changes to terms and conditions.
The right to strike: are minimum service levels needed?
4. Palestinians killed in Nablus
The Palestinian Health Ministry said four Palestinians have been killed and nearly 20 others injured by Israeli troops in the occupied West Bank city of Nablus. The Israeli army confirmed in a joint statement with police and intelligence agencies that they had conducted a large-scale night operation in Nablus, raiding a “hideout apartment ... that was used as a headquarters and explosives manufacturing site”. The Israeli operations in the city follow a “series of shooting attacks against Israelis in recent weeks” thought to be perpetrated by the Lions' Den terrorist group based in Nablus, said The Jerusalem Post.
Has Gaza avoided a fifth full-scale war?
5. Girls feel less safe in the north
A survey has found that girls and young women in the north of England feel less safe and less happy than their counterparts in London and the south. Some 22% of girls and young women in the north aged between 11 and 16 blamed fear of sexual harassment for holding them back at school, but the figure was significantly lower at 16% in London and the south. More than 3,000 girls and young women across the UK aged between seven and 21 were surveyed over March and April for the 2022 annual Girlguiding attitudes report, which concluded there were “stark” regional differences in attitudes.
6. ‘Drown Ukrainian children’ says tv host
A Russian state broadcaster has suspended one of its star presenters, Anton Krasovsky, after he called for the burning and drowning of Ukrainian children. Krasovsky was responding to science fiction writer Sergei Lukyanenko, who said that in western Ukraine back in 1980 he had heard children saying “Ukraine is occupied by Muscovites”. Krasovsky replied “just drown those children, drown them”. He also suggested they could be burned. RT’s editor-in-chief, Margarita Simonyan, condemned Krasovsky’s remarks as “wild and disgusting”. Krasovsky’s words “sparked widespread outrage”, said Moscow Times.
7. Weinstein accused of rape
A court has heard that Harvey Weinstein raped the future first lady of California after tricking her into a Beverly Hills hotel under the pretence of a business meeting. The disgraced Hollywood producer is standing trial in the city that “once served as the base of his power as one of the film industry’s most dominant figures”, said The Times. He is charged with four counts of rape and seven other counts of sexual assault related to five women, including Jennifer Siebel Newsom, the wife of Gavin Newsom, the governor of California. Weinstein, 70, denies all the allegations.
MAR 2020: Harvey Weinstein sentenced to 23 years in jail
8. Man admits to 1980 murder
A man is facing a life sentence after he entered Hammersmith police station and admitted to a murder from over 40 years ago. Anthony Bird, 42, was found naked with his wrists bound at his flat in west London, in June 1980. His murder “remained unsolved”, said The Guardian, until John Paul, 61, confessed to police that he had “battered him” with a lump of wood. A jury at the Old Bailey deliberated for half a day before finding Paul guilty of murder. Paul, from Maida Vale, was remanded in custody and will be sentenced at a later date.
9. Woman harassed by emojis
An executive at a transport company has been awarded £420,000 after her manager harassed her with a series of peach emojis. An employment tribunal in Leeds was told that her boss began with an “awkward” romantic pursuit of his junior colleague, which eventually turned into a campaign of harassment. The tribunal heard that when the woman raised a grievance with the company, she was harassed by those allocated to investigate the issue. It agreed that she had her “dignity violated” by her married manager.
10. Geldof defends ‘white saviours’
Bob Geldof has hit back at criticism of so-called ‘white saviours’. Speaking to the Radio Times, the former pop star behind the Live Aid concert, that helped to raise £150m for famine relief, said: “Black saviours, white saviours, green saviours, I’m with them all.” In 2020, Comic Relief decided to stop sending celebrities to Africa after criticism that stars like Stacey Dooley were going to Africa as “white saviours”.
OCT 2020: Comic Relief to end ‘white saviour’ celebrity trips to Africa
