Olly Mann and The Week delve behind the headlines and debate what really matters from the past seven days. With Abdulwahab Tahhan, Harriet Marsden and Suchandrika Chakrabarti
In this week's episode, we discuss:
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Butt lifts
UK health officials are to meet with counterparts in Turkey after the death of a British woman during so-called Brazilian butt lift surgery at a private hospital in Istanbul. Since January 2019, at least 24 Brits have died as a result of medical tourism trips to Turkey, according to the Foreign Office. Are patients being adequately informed of the risks? And is cosmetic-surgery tourism out of control?
Ransoms
The British Library fell victim to a cyberattack in October, resulting in a substantial theft of employee data from the world's largest library. Notorious ransomware group Rhysida has claimed responsibility, posting pictures of what appears to be the stolen data on the dark web and promising to auction it off to the highest bidder by Monday morning, with a starting price of 20 Bitcoin – equivalent to nearly £600,000. But who is Rhysida? Should government-funded bodies pay a "ransom" to cybercriminals to keep their systems secure? And how safe are any British institutions?
Argentina's right turn
Former TV pundit and far-right libertarian Javier Milei – nicknamed "the madman" by his followers – has stunned political experts by becoming the new president of Argentina. What does his election mean for Argentina's future? And what can the country expect from its new president?
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The ‘ravenous’ demand for Cornish mineralsUnder the Radar Growing need for critical minerals to power tech has intensified ‘appetite’ for lithium, which could be a ‘huge boon’ for local economy
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Why are election experts taking Trump’s midterm threats seriously?IN THE SPOTLIGHT As the president muses about polling place deployments and a centralized electoral system aimed at one-party control, lawmakers are taking this administration at its word
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‘Restaurateurs have become millionaires’Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
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The Week Unwrapped: Have televised confessions quelled protests in Iran?Podcast Plus, why has Elon Musk turned from Mars to the Moon? And will the BBC prove to be a puzzles champ?
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The Week Unwrapped: Why are there so many Russian ships in the Channel?Podcast Plus, what does a ‘feminist’ approach to cancer involve? And who is Mickey’s new boss?
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The Week Unwrapped: Why is China clearing out its generals?Podcast Plus, can the Conservatives win back the centre? And what’s gone wrong with Britain’s hearing aids?
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The Week Unwrapped: What can we learn from a tool-wielding cow?Podcast Plus, have we reached ‘peak billionaire’? When should troops disobey their superiors?
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The Week Unwrapped: Will Uganda’s pop-star politician prevail?Podcast Plus, is dodgy data undermining medical research? And what does a new app reveal about Chinese society?
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The Week Unwrapped: Is Elon Musk’s AI tool a platform for abuse?Podcast Plus can Mumsnet predict who will be the next PM? And who is still watching Avatar sequels?
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The Week Unwrapped: What’s the cost of PFAs?Podcast Plus why is George Osborne joining OpenAI? And has universal basic income finally come of age?
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The Week Unwrapped: what’s scuppering Bulgaria’s Euro dream?Podcast Plus has Syria changed, a year on from its revolution? And why are humans (mostly) monogamous?
