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IMPORTANT
| | | U-Turn | Truss, Kwarteng Scrap Planned Tax Cuts for Rich “We get it and we have listened,” tweeted Britain’s new finance minister Kwasi Kwarteng early Monday. “The abolition of the 45p tax rate has become a distraction from our overriding mission to tackle the challenges facing the country.” Minutes later Prime Minister Liz Truss retweeted to confirm the duo wouldn’t be going ahead with their deeply unpopular plan to cut taxes for Britain’s highest earners. Political commentator Paul Waugh wasn’t buying it: “Biggest risk of this totally self inflicted wound is that the public will simply see chaos and incompetence, not ‘a listening PM.’” The pound, however, was more easily convinced. (Sources: BBC, The Guardian) |
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| | | Brazil Divided | Bolsonaro Exceeds Expectations, Will Face Lula in Oct 30 Runoff In the lead-up to Sunday’s first-round election, President Jair Bolsonaro — the “Trump of the Tropics” — repeatedly railed against pollsters who said he’d win around 35% of the vote. Turns out he was right: with 99.87% of ballots counted Bolsonaro stood at 43.23%. And Lula, with 48.4%, had failed to garner the 50% required to avoid a runoff. Bolsonaro says this gives him the momentum; but Lula’s still the front-runner and he welcomed the chance to go head-to-head with his polar opposite. “We can compare the Brazil he built and the Brazil we built,” he said. (Source: NYT) |
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| | | | | Avoidable Tragedy? | 32 Children Among 125 Killed in Indonesia Soccer Stadium Stampede Indonesia’s government will set up an independent team to investigate how Saturday’s match in Malang became one of the deadliest stadium disasters ever. Early evidence points at police negligence: when around 3,000 fans swarmed the pitch after the final whistle, authorities resorted to batons, jackboots and copious tear gas — despite FIFA guidelines banning its use. This triggered fans who’d been seated in the stands to rush for the exits, with fatal consequences. “I can never forget what happened last night,” said Prayogi, who remained in the stands despite struggling to breathe. “It felt like a human life had no value.” (Sources: The Guardian, BBC, Reuters) |
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| | | Egg-Faced | Ukrainian Gains Put Moscow on Back Foot in Two Annexed Territories On Friday Russian President Vladimir Putin celebrated the supposed incorporation of four Ukrainian provinces into Russian territory “forever.” Hours later Kyiv seized the strategic city of Lyman in Donetsk Province. And as of Sunday Ukrainian troops were reportedly recapturing a string of towns along the west bank of the Dnipro River in the southern province of Kherson. While Kyiv was silent on the most recent advances, several Russian bloggers reported that their troops had retreated 25 miles in a day. “When this many Russian channels are sounding the alarm, it usually means they’re in trouble,” tweeted military expert Rob Lee. (Sources: Forbes, Reuters) |
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| | | Briefly | Here are some things you should know about today: Nobel act. The Swedish geneticist Svante Pääbo has won the Nobel Prize for medicine for “his discoveries concerning the genomes of extinct hominins and human evolution.” (Source: CNN) Ousted. Following a coup on Friday, Burkina Faso’s military leader Lt. Col. Paul-Henri Damiba, who’s suspected of having links to France, agreed to step down. Supporters of self-declared new leader Capt. Ibrahim Traoré waved Russian flags Sunday. (Source: BBC) Going global. Taiwan launched its first English language news, lifestyle and entertainment TV channel. President Tsai Ing-wen hoped TaiwanPlus would help to forge closer ties with “countries that share our core values of freedom and democracy.” (Source: Reuters) |
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INTRIGUING
| | | #Urduwood | Hindu Nationalists Stoke Bollywood Boycotts Shortly after the release of Laal Singh Chaddha, the Bollywood adaptation of Forrest Gump, a tweet appeared: “#Urduwood is trending. Thanks to all who have accepted this term to accurately define the anti-national, anti-Hindu paedophile cabal that takes your money to destroy you.” As Hindu nationalism takes hold under the ruling BJP party, such calls are becoming increasingly common. “Bollywood is an industry where Muslims have had representation and success, which bothers the Hindu right,” said actor Swara Bhasker, who’s frequently been trolled herself. “I don’t think Bollywood necessarily understands that this targeting is coming from an ideology ruling India.” (Source: The Guardian) |
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| | | Acid Arctic | Why the Arctic’s Acidifying Much Faster Than Other Oceans The ocean is becoming more acidic thanks to humanity’s dependence on fossil fuels. And a study published in Science last week has revealed that the trend is three to four times more pronounced in the Arctic Ocean than elsewhere. Earlier this year a separate study found that the Arctic’s warmed at four times the global average since 1979. Both trends are driven by Arctic amplification — a feedback process caused by the rapid melting of sea ice. “The ice melt dilutes or lowers the alkalinity of the seawater,” said co-author Wei-Jun Cai, who warned of “huge implications” for sea life. (Source: The Guardian) |
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| | | Face Off | Bruce Willis Denies Selling ‘Face Rights’ to Russian Deepfake Company Last week it was widely reported that Willis had sold the rights to his face to Deepcake in a deal that would allow him to continue to “act” in his retirement. But a spokesperson for the actor said there was “no partnership or agreement” between the parties. Willis quit acting in March after being diagnosed with aphasia, a condition that affects speech. And he’s already worked closely with Deepcake to create a digital twin who starred in a Russian telecoms advert. Deepcake said: “The wording about rights is wrong… Bruce couldn't sell anyone any rights, they are his by default.” (Source: BBC) |
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| | | Location, Location | Rusted Chesapeake Bay Lighthouse Sold in Six-Figure Auction The U.S. Lighthouse Society’s been trying to get rid of the 120-year-old structure known as the “sparkplug” since 2017, and auctioning it off was a last resort. For more than 20 days, no bids were received — but then a flurry of last-minute interest drove the price up from $15,000 to $192,000. The mystery bidder will have to maintain the lighthouse as a navigational aid and they won’t be allowed to sleep over. They’ll also have to contend with the fact that it’s got no dock, water or electricity … And that it’s finished with lead-based paint and asbestos. (Sources: AP, WaPo) |
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| | | | | Too Good | Erling Haaland Scores Yet Another Hat Trick as City Trounce United When the 22-year-old Norwegian netted his third goal in Sunday’s derby between Manchester City and Manchester United, it marked the third successive time he’d scored three goals in a home game. He’s the first player ever to achieve the feat in the English Premier League — and it’s only taken him eight games. Former England defender Jonathan Woodgate has “never seen a centre-forward as clinical as Haaland … A phenomenal, phenomenal talent.” VfB Stuttgart coach Pellegrino Matarazzo thinks we might be glimpsing the future: “He’s defining the profile … It’s a type of attacker we haven’t really seen before. He’s the template.” (Sources: BBC, NYT) |
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