Ten Things You Need to Know Today: 30 December 2022

1. Brazil mourns legend Pele

Brazil has declared three days of national mourning after football legend Pele died at the age of 82. The icon scored a world record 1,281 goals in 1,363 appearances during a 21-year career. He is the only player to win the World Cup three times, lifting the trophy in 1958, 1962 and 1970. “King” Pele “changed everything” said Brazil forward Neymar, while French star Kylian Mbappe said “his legacy will never be forgotten”. Former US president Bill Clinton said Pele was “not only a football legend but also a humanitarian”.

2. Blair wanted Putin at ‘top table’

Tony Blair said Vladimir Putin should be given a seat at the world’s “top table” despite concerns from officials, according to papers released by the National Archives. In early 2001, Blair said his friendly approach to the Russian president would encourage him to “reach for” Western attitudes and the West’s economic model. He said Putin had a similar “mindset” to French President Charles de Gaulle. However, said the BBC, behind the scenes, Downing Street officials were sceptical.

3. Tate arrested in Romania

The controversial social media influencer Andrew Tate has been arrested in Romania on suspicion of human trafficking, rape and forming an organised crime group, prosecutors have confirmed. Tate has gained notoriety for suggesting rape victims “bear some responsibility” for being attacked and describing women as “property” belonging to men. The Independent said that authorities in Romania may have identified that Tate was in the country from his recent “clapback” video to environmentalist Greta Thunberg.

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4. ‘Legendary’ Westwood dies

The punk rock icon and leading fashion designer Dame Vivienne Westwood has died in London at the age of 81. Westwood died “peacefully, surrounded by her family” in Clapham, south London, on Thursday, said her team. Fellow designer Marc Jacobs said Westwood “never failed to surprise and to shock” and fashion Victoria Beckham said she was “so sad to learn of the passing of the “legendary designer and activist”.

5. Ministers resist Covid pressure

The government is resisting calls from senior Tories to introduce curbs on travellers from China where there has been a surge in Covid infections. Government scientists are concerned about the poor quality of Beijing’s Covid data, amid fears that a more severe or immunity-evading variant could evolve. However, said Will Quince, the health minister, there’s “no evidence at this point of a new variant from China, a variant that is not already prevalent here in the UK”.

6. Netanyahu leads ‘hardline’ government

Benjamin Netanyahu has returned to office “at the head of the most hardline government” in the country’s history, “threatening new confrontations with Palestinians, judges and LGBT groups”, said The Times. The veteran politician “welcomed” into his cabinet right-wing Jewish Power and religious-nationalist politicians who oppose moves efforts for a Palestinian state and want to expand settlements in the West Bank. Demonstrators outside the swearing in of the new government accused Netanyahu of being a “fascist”.

7. York has highest house growth

York has enjoyed the strongest house price rises in England and Wales in 2022. In “a year of rising interest rates, and with stalling house price growth”, it was the cathedral city that “bucked the trend” and recorded the strongest house price rises in England and Wales, said The Guardian. Over the past 12 months, house prices in York have grown by 23.1%, or £69,648 on average, according to Halifax. Leicester had the lowest growth -3.6%.

8. Suu Kyi receives new sentence

Aung San Suu Kyi has been sentenced to a further seven years in prison for alleged corruption. The ousted leader of Myanmar was found guilty on five counts of corruption, according to Sky News. The 77-year-old now faces a total of 33 years in jail, including three years of hard labour, meaning she could spend the rest of her life behind bars. She has faced a series of charges since her elected government was toppled by the southeast Asian country’s army early last year.

9. Unions ‘will run out of cash’

Ministers believe that striking unions are running out of money and will have to back down over pay demands. Industrial action is thought to be costing the unions millions of pounds for each strike day, said The Times, and a senior government source said the costs, including strike pay and hardship funding for those taking action, were unsustainable. However, unions accused ministers of trying to “sabotage” talks and insisted that they had the financial clout to support members.

10. Chatbot can write essays for pupils

Teachers fear a new AI chatbot that can write essays will lead to widespread cheating on homework and exam coursework. ChatGPT, which was released last month, provides almost instant human-like answers to exam questions. Educational chiefs said that schools could be forced to ask children to write essays during lessons and do research at home to prevent them from using the chatbot to cheat. “I’m not worried it will give us As and A*s, but it can fool us a lot with the middle-of-the-road essay,” one teacher told The Telegraph.