Ten Things You Need to Know Today: 10 November 2022

1. Biden hails ‘good day’ for US

Joe Biden has described the Democrats’ positive midterm results as a “good day for America” as the race for the Senate remains too close to call. Either US party could still win the Senate, which hinges on three races that are in the balance. Overall, the Democrats are projected to lose just seven seats. In comparison, Donald Trump lost 40 seats in the 2018 midterms, while Barack Obama endured 63 losses in 2010. “The winner of the [2022] midterms is not yet clear,” said The Guardian, “but the loser is Donald Trump”.

US midterms 2022: five key takeaways from election night

2. Moscow withdraws from Kherson

Russia said its troops are preparing to withdraw from a large part of the occupied Ukrainian region of Kherson, a move described as “humiliating” but “unsurprising” by CNN. Russia’s commander in Ukraine said it was no longer possible to supply Kherson, which is the only major Ukrainian city to fall to Russian forces. But there is a “mounting sense of dread” in the city, wrote Paul Adams, the BBC’s international affairs correspondent, because “if Russian forces were compelled to withdraw, what would they do as they left?”

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How the Ukraine war started and how it might end

3. Nurses vote for historic strike

Nurses across the UK have voted to strike over pay, with action expected to start by the end of the year. Nine in ten nurses backed the first UK-wide industrial action in Royal College of Nursing history, with staff at 176 employers set to strike within weeks. Meanwhile, nurses have “shared their daily struggles at work” with The Mirror. One was unable to afford groceries to make a packed lunch, and had resorted to eating patients’ leftovers during her shifts.

4. Food bank use rockets

Almost 1.3m emergency parcels were given out in just six months to September – up by a third in a year – with 500,000 going to children. During the same period, 320,000 people were forced to resort to a food bank for the first time, reported the Trussell Trust, as demand for packages outstripped the supply of donations for the first time. The charity, which operates more than 50% of Britain’s 2,600 food banks, gave out 2,814 parcels when it began in 2006 but by the year to April 2022, the figure had reached 2.1million.

When will the cost-of-living crisis end?

5. Streeting calls Corbyn ‘senile’

Labour frontbencher Wes Streeting has been criticised for calling Jeremy Corbyn “senile” in the Commons. As Corbyn was attempting to raise a point of order, the shadow health secretary could be heard saying “he’s gone senile”. Streeting later apologised, saying the comment was made “in jest, but I accept in poor taste”. Corbyn said: “It’s not funny. It’s very serious for people suffering from dementia. He should know this as shadow health secretary.” The incident “shows that tensions still remain in the party between the frontbench and supporters of Corbyn”, said Sky News.

What Jeremy Corbyn would do next after Labour deselection

6. Child actor heckled at Opera House

An audience member has been banned for life from the Royal Opera House after shouting “rubbish” at a 12-year-old actor during a production of Handel’s opera Alcina. The heckler lashed out as Malakai M Bayoh was singing his lines at the opening night of the opera. Other audience members “shushed the heckler”, who left soon after, said The Guardian, and the crowd “loudly applauded Bayoh”. The venue said: “Steps have been taken to ensure the audience member in question does not return to the Royal Opera House.”

7. Braverman rebuked over oil protest remarks

Suella Braverman has said Just Stop Oil “extremists” are “out of control”, following their protests on the M25. Speaking at a police conference in London, the home secretary called for officers to take harsher action against activists and said it was their “duty to take a firmer line to safeguard public order”. However, her remarks drew a sharp response from Scotland Yard chief Sir Mark Rowley, who said: “We can’t take snipers to people who are climbing the gantries.”

Suella Braverman - and five of the other most divisive politicians since Brexit

8. Xi ‘tells army to prepare for war’

Xi Jinping has told the People’s Liberation Army to “focus all its energy on fighting” in preparation for war, according to state media. Xi said the army must “comprehensively strengthen military training in preparation for war”, just weeks after he spoke of “dangerous storms” on the horizon. His comments “will raise fears that China remains determined to invade the self-governing island of Taiwan”, said The Times. Willy Lam, a senior fellow at the Washington-based Jamestown Foundation, said: “He is sending a message to the United States and Taiwan.”

How strong are Taiwan’s military defences?

9. Hancock ‘already hated’ on show

Matt Hancock was covered in slime and cockroaches as he made his I'm A Celebrity debut. The episode concluded with the former health secretary being told the public had also voted him to take part in the next trial, called The Tentacles of Terror. Hancock is “woefully unprepared for the ordeal the public is about to unleash to him”, said The Telegraph, while The Sun claimed that Hancock is “already so hated”, that “the crew are running a backstage sweepstake to relish every moment of the disgraced MP’s torment”.

Politicians on reality TV: pure narcissism or shot at redemption?

10. Beckham ‘no longer gay ally’

David Beckham should no longer be considered an ally after becoming a paid ambassador for the Qatar World Cup, according to the England national team’s largest LGBTQ+ supporters group. Di Cunningham, the co-founder of Three Lions Pride, said “I’m just so disappointed because we – the LGBTQ+ football family – have put David Beckham on a pedestal, as a great ally. And then it turns out that he’s taking a lot of money to be an ambassador for this World Cup.” Beckham’s deal with Qatar is reported to be worth £150m. Qatari law criminalises same-sex relationships.

The ethics of watching the Qatar World Cup