Ten Things You Need to Know Today: 16 November 2022

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1. ‘Ukrainians fired’ Poland missile
2. Trump confirms White House bid
3. Sunak under fire for Xi plan
4. Gay Qataris ‘persecuted’
5. Mankind under threat from low sperm
6. Young at risk of hearing loss
7. MPs say zoonotic lab neglected
8. ‘Crisis’ in school attendance after pandemic
9. Alarm over Netanyahu plans
10. Brands advised to avoid ‘toxic’ Twitter

published 16 November 2022

1. ‘Ukrainians fired’ Poland missile

Joe Biden said it is “unlikely” that the missile that landed in Poland yesterday was fired from Russia. Moscow has denied it was behind the blast and said it was a “deliberate provocation aimed at escalation”. Three US officials have told the Associated Press agency that a preliminary assessment suggests the missile was fired by Ukrainian forces at an incoming Russian missile. Russia launched one of its biggest barrages of missiles against Ukraine yesterday.

Donald Trump had confirmed he plans to run for the US presidency in 2024, vowing that “America’s comeback starts right now”. The Republican’s speech “dragged Americans back into his dystopian worldview of a failing nation”, said CNN, while the BBC said there has been a “mixed reaction” from Republicans with Rupert Murdoch reportedly telling Trump he will not back his bid. However, South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham said the former president “will be hard to beat”.

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Rishi Sunak will meet with China’s Xi Jinping at the G20 summit and call for a “frank and constructive relationship” between the two countries. Downing Street said that although China had “fundamentally different values to ours”, issues like the Ukraine war could not be addressed without engagement. The PM “provoked a backlash” and “accusations of appeasement” as he “softened his language”, said The Times. It is the first time a UK PM has met the Chinese president in person since 2018.

A prominent Qatari doctor and gay rights campaigner has told The Guardian that gay Qataris have been promised safety from torture in exchange for helping the authorities to track down other LGBTQ+ people in the country. “You live in fear, you live in the shadows, you’re actively persecuted,” said Dr Nasser Mohamed. “You’re subjected to state-sponsored physical and mental abuse. It’s dangerous to be an LGBT person in Qatar.”

The future of humanity is under threat from a dramatic global decline in sperm counts, said scientists. Analysing data from 53 countries on six continents, researchers found that average sperm concentrations fell from an estimated 101.2m per ml in 1973 to 49m in 2018, and total sperm counts fell by 62%. “We have a serious problem on our hands that, if not mitigated, could threaten mankind’s survival,” said Professor Hagai Levine, one of the authors of the study, which was published in Human Reproduction Update.

A study had found that one billion young people are at risk of hearing loss because of their use of headphones, earphones and earbuds as well as attendance at loud music venues. International researchers found that 24% of 12- to 34-year-olds are listening to music on personal listening devices at an “unsafe level”, while loud music venues are suffering from poor regulatory enforcement. “These findings highlight the urgent need to implement policy focused on safe listening habits,” said the authors of the study, which was published in the journal BMJ Global Health.

Britain’s main lab for dealing with viruses that jump from animals to humans has been left to deteriorate to “an alarming extent”, said MPs. The facility, which is crucial to the UK’s ability to control the outbreak of animal diseases and detect any emerging pathogens, is suffering from “inadequate management and under-investment”, said the Public Affairs Committee. Some of the “deadliest viruses on earth” are “zoonotic diseases” that cross between species such as Covid-19, Sars or Ebola, noted the BBC.

One-fifth of all children have been “missing” from school since the pandemic, according to a new study by the Centre for Social Justice. The study found that a “dramatic increase” in the number of youngsters being home educated means nearly two million of England’s nine million pupils are failing to attend school regularly. Alice Wilcock, the CSJ’s head of education, warned that there was a “crisis” in school attendance.

There are fears in Israel about Benjamin Netanyahu’s plans to give his allies from hard-right parties control over the army and police. Bezalel Smotrich, the co-leader of Religious Zionism who is demanding to be appointed defence minister in the new coalition government, was arrested in 2005 Israel’s security service, on suspicion of planning arson attacks in protest against Israel’s withdrawal from Gaza. Meanwhile, Jewish Power leader Itamar Ben-Gvir, who may be put in charge of the police, is a former a member of a banned Jewish terrorist organisation.

Cadbury’s, Nissan and Guinness-brewer Diageo have been told to avoid “dangerous” and “toxic” Twitter by their marketing agency. “With the sackings and the resignations, in brand protection and moderation, it is just a little bit too toxic,” Tamara Littleton, chief executive of The Social Element, told The Telegraph. A growing boycott comes amid concerns about misinformation and impersonation on Twitter. Companies including Volkswagen, Pfizer and Cheerios maker General Mills have all halted campaigns on the platform.

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