What happened
John Healey is expected to announce measures in tomorrow’s Budget that could reduce annual household gas bills by between £22 and £50. The plans would abolish fixed daily charges for connecting to the gas network, instead recovering those costs through the price of each unit consumed.

The change would benefit many households, but could increase costs for heavier users, including families and older people living in larger properties. The standing charges for electricity would remain unchanged.

The Treasury will also introduce a system giving it and No. 10 greater oversight of the charges used to fund net zero policies.

Who said what
Healey said his Budget would provide “breathing space” for households and begin the long-term work of reducing energy costs.

“This moment demands a radical Budget – but we won’t get one,” said Ken Costa in The Telegraph. “Britain needs policies which unashamedly promote economic growth, not little tweaks here and there.”

What next?
Healey’s measures are expected to provide limited relief as energy bills rise. Energy provider EDF forecasts that a typical annual bill will hit almost £2,200 in January, potentially reaching £2,400 from April. The Treasury declined to comment on Budget speculation.

What happened
The Netherlands has again pulled out of the Eurovision Song Contest, with its national broadcaster NPO citing “sensitivities” over Israel’s continued participation in next year’s event.

The Netherlands boycotted this year’s contest alongside Iceland, Spain, Ireland and Slovenia. NPO had initially pledged to return to the competition, but has now reversed its decision after about 400 employees signed a letter urging the organisation to reconsider.

Who said what
“We have known for some time that Israel’s participation elicits various reactions in society and causes discussion and division,” said Jurre Bosman, NPO’s media director. Avrotros, the channel that previously broadcast the contest, had already withdrawn, claiming that the event could “no longer be considered neutral”.

Eurovision Song Contest director Martin Green said he was “deeply sorry” that the Netherlands would not be taking part. He said opinions on the issue “differ widely, both within countries and between them”.

What next?
The 71st edition of the contest will be held in Burgas, Bulgaria next May.

Trailblazer Tomoka Nishiyama has become the first female kishi – a professional player of shogi, a Japanese board game often compared to chess.

Shogi has two professional classifications: kishi, which is, in theory, open to women as well as men, and joryū kishi, which is for women only. But since the Japanese Shogi Association was established in 1924, every single kishi player has been a man. Nishiyama has the honour of “breaking a century-old ceiling” in an overwhelmingly “male-dominated game”, said The Japan Times.

Professional shogi matches bring together “some of the country’s most brilliant minds in subtle contests of technique, strategy and intuition”, said The Times, but there is “an atmosphere of stifling maleness”. For years it’s simply been assumed that women are “intellectually incapable” of competing at the highest levels. Nishiyama’s achievement finally puts paid to that.

Not that her rise to the top was easy: she had encountered “repeated setbacks” in her journey to kishi, added The Japan Times. Her first effort, in 2021, fell short and last year she narrowly lost during another bid, defeated 2-3 in an examination in which candidates must win three matches against five professionals. She finally made it under a new ruling that allows five-time winners of the “prestigious” women’s Hakurei title to qualify for professional standing – which she formally accepted this week.

After confirming her kishi status, Nishiyama thanked the senior female players who “have always been kind to me” and “taught me about the difficulties of being a woman in shogi”, adding: “I’m very aware that the history built up by those players is what has allowed me to be where I am today.”