Ten Things You Need to Know Today: 30 July 2023

1. Sunak orders roads review

Rishi Sunak has told motorists that he is “on their side” as he ordered a review of controversial road schemes being rolled out across Britain. He has ordered the Department for Transport to carry out a review of low traffic neighbourhoods, which sometimes use cameras, giant planters and bollards to turn away cars. Speaking to the Sunday Telegraph, the PM said “anti-motorist” policies fail to take account of how “families live their lives”. Low traffic neighbourhoods “aim to reduce traffic, in part by preventing drivers using quieter residential roads as through-routes”, said the BBC.

2. Putin does not rule out talks

Vladimir Putin has said he does not reject the idea of peace talks on Ukraine. Speaking after talks with African leaders in St Petersburg, the Russian president said an African and Chinese initiative could form a basis for peace. However, he added, his military “cannot cease fire when we are under attack”. Moscow and Kyiv have previously said they will not come to the negotiating table without certain preconditions.

3. Home Office ‘backs facial recognition’

The Home Office has “secretly” backed facial recognition technology to curb shoplifting, said The Observer. Officials have drawn up secret plans to lobby the independent privacy regulator in a bid to “push the rollout” of “controversial facial recognition technology” into high street shops and supermarkets, according to internal government minutes. The development “ignores critics who claim the technology breaches human rights and is biased, particularly against darker-skinned people”, said the paper. It also “contrasts sharply with the EU ban to keep AI out of public spaces”.

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4. God ‘still our Father’ says Archbishop

The Archbishop of York has told Christians to continue praying to God as “our Father” but added that they should be “sensitive” to abuse victims when doing so. Earlier this month, the Most Rev Stephen Cottrell suggested that the use of the term was “problematic” for people who have suffered under abusive fathers and those who have been abused by clergy, known as their fathers in God. He was criticised by conservative Christians for taking his “cue from culture rather than scripture”.

5. Farage launches bank campaign

Nigel Farage is launching a new initiative to help people denied accounts by banks. The former Ukip leader has vowed to help thousands of people bombard big banks with demands for details about why they were denied an account. In an interview with the Sunday Telegraph, Farage announced the launch of his campaign and new website: AccountClosed.org. “I’m beginning to have the impression this is much, much bigger than any of us could have contemplated”, said the politician, who recently had his Coutts accounts closed.

6. Cancer patients ‘in black hole’

Patients with suspected cancer are waiting months for diagnosis because of hidden waiting lists, or falling into a “black hole” after they are referred, said a watchdog. Healthwatch England, a committee of the Care Quality Commission, said that administrative errors, unexplained cancellations and delayed scan reports are contributing to longer waits. An NHS spokesperson said the claims are “based on a very small sample” and “aren’t representative of the enormous numbers of people being referred by GPs for urgent cancer checks every month”.

7. Deaths in firework warehouse blast

At least nine people have been killed, including three children, in a blast at a fireworks warehouse in a market in Thailand. More than 100 people were hurt in the explosion and authorities believe there are still people trapped under debris waiting to be rescued. Locals described hearing a huge explosion at around 3pm yesterday. Footage on social media showed a “huge plume of smoke over the area”, said Sky News, and “many damaged buildings, cars and motorbikes, as well as rubble-strewn streets”.

8. New doubt over HS2

The future of the HS2 railway is in doubt after an official watchdog warned the “successful delivery” of the multi-billion-pound project “appears to be unachievable”. The Infrastructure and Projects Authority applied a “red” rating to plans for the construction of the first two phases of the troubled rail line and a separate leaked document showed that a plan to strip back its proposed Euston terminal would still result in a £1 billion overspend. The developments will “renew questions about whether construction of HS2 should continue”, said the Sunday Telegraph.

9. US nurse snatched in Haiti

A US nurse and her child have been kidnapped in Haiti, according to a Christian aid charity she worked for. Alix Dorsainvil was working in a community ministry when she was taken, El Roi Haiti said in a statement. The US government said it is aware of reports. “The US Department of State and our embassies and consulates abroad have no higher priority than the safety and security of US citizens overseas”, the spokesperson added. Officials in Haiti have appealed to the international community to help combat armed gangs on the island.

10. Twitter lets West back in

Twitter has reinstated Kanye West’s account after an almost eight-month ban over offensive tweets. The rapper, also known as Ye, was accused of breaking the social network’s regulations prohibiting incitement to violence. Elon Musk said at the time that the star had “violated our rules” after Ye posted a series of offensive tweets - one of which appeared to show a symbol combining a swastika and the Star of David. He has made “troubling antisemitic remarks and statements targeting Jewish people”, said NBC News.