Ten Things You Need to Know Today: 11 December 2022

1. EU deal possible by February

The prime minister has put the Northern Ireland Brexit protocol bill “on ice” until the new year after private talks with Brussels opened the way for a new deal by February, said The Sunday Times. However, any delay to the bill, which is designed to give Britain the right to unilaterally suspend aspects of the protocol if there is no deal with Brussels, would be expected to make backbench hard-line Eurosceptics “suspicious” that Rishi Sunak is “preparing to cede red lines on sovereignty”.

2. ‘Harry’s pain’ as England exit

England were knocked out of the World Cup by France in last night’s quarter-final tie at Al Bayt Stadium. Harry Kane’s late penalty miss proved decisive in the 2-1 defeat. It was a “brutal outcome”, said the BBC, as manager Gareth Southgate and his players “nursed a familiar sense of missed opportunity”. There was “heartbreak and forgiveness as it’s all over for England – again,” said The Sunday Times, while The Sun spoke of “Harry’s pain”.

3. Cancer breakthrough is hailed

A 13-year-old girl’s incurable cancer has been cleared from her body in the first use of a revolutionary form of medicine. After all other treatments for the girl’s leukaemia had failed, medics at Great Ormond Street Hospital used “base editing” to build her a new living drug. Base editing allows scientists to “zoom to a precise part of the genetic code” and then “alter the molecular structure of just one base, converting it into another and changing the genetic instructions”, explained the BBC.

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4. Bank ‘set to slow down rates rises’

Policymakers at the are Bank of England are expected to “take their foot off the accelerator” when they meet this week by opting for a 0.5% increase on interest rates. At last month’s monetary policy committee meeting, interest rates were hiked by 0.75 percentage points to 3%, so this week’s rise will “probably rate as a more modest twist of the knife for mortgage holders”, said The Observer.

5. Jersey team searches through night

Emergency workers searched through the night after a blast at a block of flats in Jersey left three people dead and a dozen missing. Authorities in Jersey said a “meticulous” multi-agency search effort was being co-ordinated, including specialist teams and a search dog. Police declined to speculate on the cause but residents had reported the smell of gas the night before the blast. The situation has not been designated as a terrorist incident, said CNN, but the authorities are investigating all avenues.

6. Health unions offer olive branch

Health unions have offered to suspend planned over Christmas and the new year if ministers agree to open sincere discussions over pay. The “dramatic” moves by the Royal College of Nursing and the country’s biggest union, Unison, are the “first signs of flexibility by either side” in a dispute that has been “deadlocked for weeks”, said The Observer. It is believed that the unions would consider deals similar to those that have already led to strikes being suspended in Scotland.

7. Ukraine bombs Melitopol

Ukraine has launched missile attacks on Russian-occupied Melitopol. Several explosions have been reported in the city in southern Ukraine and in annexed Crimea, including at a Russian military barracks. According to Moscow, four missiles hit the city, killing two and injuring 10. Meanwhile, Russia has launched drones at Odesa. The Ukrainian military said it shot down 10 drones yesterday but another five had hit energy facilities, leaving some 1.5 million people without power.

8. ‘Appalling’ healthcare for asylum seekers

Doctors have told The Independent that asylum seekers in hotels are being left without access to adequate healthcare, leaving torture injuries untreated, children suffering weight loss, and pregnant women without maternity services. Children have had multiple teeth pulled out due to lack of dental care, and adults are suffering from PTSD and suicidal thoughts. The Refugee Council described the situation as “appalling”. More than 37,000 asylum seekers are being housed in hotels, according to the Home Office.

9. Kwarteng ‘got carried away’

Kwasi Kwarteng said he “got carried away” with his financial plans during the brief reign of Liz Truss. Speaking to the Financial Times, the former chancellor said his biggest regret was being “too impatient” with the mini-budget. “There was a brief moment and the people in charge, myself included, blew it,” he said. In response to his package of tax cuts, the pound fell to a record low against the dollar, sparking intervention from the Bank of England and increasing mortgage rates for homeowners.

10. Volcano erupts in Chile

Authorities in Chile have put a “yellow” warning in place after a volcano sent an eruptive column 6,000m (almost 20,000ft) into the sky. Lascar volcano, which sits in the Andes, “rumbled into action” yesterday, triggering minor earth tremors, said the BBC. Despite a dramatic cloud of smoke, no homes are thought to have been damaged but an initial green warning was raised to yellow - meaning a volcano is unstable.