Ten Things You Need to Know Today: 7 November 2022

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1. UK open to reparations
2. US keen on Putin talks
3. Williamson ‘threatened colleague’
4. ‘Dread’ as US approaches midterms
5. Cop sells rape joke merch online
6. Offshore property owning on the rise
7. Long Covid patients continue to suffer
8. Boy dies after fleeing fireworks
9. Andrew ‘cried when Charles banished him’
10. PM ‘disappointed’ with Hancock

published 7 November 2022

1. UK open to reparations

Britain has paved the way to paying climate change reparations to developing countries by backing talks on the question at the Cop27 summit. Last night UK negotiators “backed a last-minute agreement to address ‘loss and damage’ payments to countries badly affected by climate-related disasters”. Pakistan, Bangladesh and the Maldives are among the nations pressing for compensation from richer countries responsible for most of the world’s pollution. Meanwhile, Rishi Sunak will tell the summit that “the fight against climate change can become “a global mission for new jobs and clean growth”.

The White House has been privately telling Ukraine to indicate willingness to hold talks with Russia or risk losing support from other nations. The Washington Post said the request by the Biden administration “was not aimed at forcing Ukraine to the negotiating table”. Instead, it reflects US fears that Zelensky’s ban on talks with Putin had caused concern in parts of the world where the war’s effects on costs of food and fuel are felt most strongly. “Ukraine fatigue is a real thing for some of our partners,” an unnamed US official told the newspaper.

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A minister has claimed that Sir Gavin Williamson raised a sensitive aspect of her private life in an attempt to silence her while she was on the back benches. While the Tory MP was campaigning on an issue that was causing the government difficulty, Williamson is said to have visited her and issued a tacit threat. The MP said she is willing to discuss the issue with the party. Williamson’s allies denied that he had been trying to silence the MP and said that he had raised the issue in a “pastoral capacity”.

US politicians have been making their closing arguments to voters two days before the midterm elections. Donald Trump has already cast doubt on the legitimacy of the forthcoming midterm election in the critical swing state of Pennsylvania. “Here we go again!” he wrote on social media. “Rigged Election!” Sky News’ international affairs editor Dominic Waghorn said “there’s a sense of dread about America’s future - and we should all worry”.

A serving police officer could face an investigation for selling merchandise featuring jokes about rape, according to the i news site. A website run by an officer in the South Wales Police sells police-related products featuring slogans such as “feel safe at night — sleep with a cop,” and a joke about rape alongside a cartoon of a woman in underwear. It also sells mugs featuring the phrase: “I should be out catching rapists and murderers”. South Wales Police said they were investigating the allegations.

Research shared with The Guardian showed that more than 138,000 residential and commercial properties in England and Wales are owned by offshore companies, with holdings in London worth a combined £55bn. Although the land registry lists about 94,000 property titles as owned by offshore companies, many include multiple properties on a single plot. “Each title owned by offshore companies includes, in reality, about 1.47 properties on average,” said the Wealth Chain Project.

Many long Covid patients are “still struggling with the effects of the virus “nearly three years after first getting infected”, reported The Mirror. A 66-year-old singing teacher is believed to be the longest-suffering Covid patient in the UK, while another patient, Nic Mitchell, first showed symptoms as far back as Christmas Day 2019. Around two million people in the UK are believed to have the condition.

A teenage boy has died after fleeing to a garden close to where one person reported up to 80 teens hurling fireworks, according to the Halifax Courier. The 17-year-old boy was found injured in the garden of a house in Vickerman Street, Halifax on Saturday evening and later died later in hospital. It is thought that the boy climbed over a fence and landed on top of a greenhouse. The greenhouse shattered and the broken glass severely injured the boy.

Prince Andrew wept when Charles told him shortly before the Queen died that he was permanently banned from royal duties, according to reports. During a face-to-face meeting described as “emotional and fraught”, the-then Prince of Wales ended his brother’s hopes of a return to public life. Andrew had believed that he could “still be of value” as a working member of the royal family despite his association with the sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. A royal source said: “Andrew was totally blindsided. He is utterly bereft.”

Rishi Sunak has joined the chorus of criticism aimed at Matt Hancock for joining I’m A Celebrity, saying that he was “very disappointed” at the decision. Speaking to The Sun, the prime minister said “it’s incumbent on politicians to earn people’s respect and trust” and “they do that by working hard for their constituents, as the vast majority of MPs do - that is why I was very disappointed with Matt’s decision”. Sunak said he “genuinely won't have time” to watch the ITV series.

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