Ten things you need to know this morning
| The government is set to announce it will not bring forward the date that the state pension age is due to rise to 68. The Daily Express said that the Work and Pensions Secretary Mel Stride will tell MPs that now is not the time to make the change, and any decision will be pushed back till after the next general election. The state pension age is 66 and is due to rise to 68 from 2046. Campaigners had warned that speeding up the increase would have plunged tens of thousands of older workers into poverty. |
|
|
| Ministers will "defy scientific doubts" and place a "massive bet" on technology to capture and store carbon dioxide in undersea caverns, to enable an expansion of oil and gas in the North Sea, said The Guardian. The contentious approach is believed to be at the heart of the government's "powering up Britain" strategy, but Kevin Anderson, professor of energy and climate at Manchester, said it has "little merit" and "delays real cuts in emissions". Grant Shapps, the energy security and net zero secretary, will unveil the "powering up Britain" strategy today. How carbon capture and storage works |
|
|
| Supermarkets may have unwittingly sold rotten meat for years, according to an investigation. Farmers Weekly magazine said that "rotting" pork was mixed with fresh meat before it was processed, and that frozen meat was sometimes thawed out on the factory floor. Leading supermarket chains were carrying out urgent checks last night to make sure that products containing meat processed by the unnamed Midlands company were no longer on sale. Former employees claimed the deception had gone on for at least two decades and one said they had feared "we're going to kill someone". |
|
|
| Ofgem has threatened The Times with criminal sanctions after they revealed how agents working for British Gas were routinely breaking into customers' homes. The energy regulator has threatened unlimited fines if the paper does not hand over all the reporter's relevant materials, including confidential notes and undercover footage but The Times is refusing to comply. Grant Shapps, the energy security and net zero secretary, said: "I expect Ofgem to focus on fixing the problem rather than pursuing journalists doing their jobs." Why energy firms are sending in bailiffs during cost-of-living crisis |
|
|
| The legal team for Associated Newspapers have argued to a High Court judge that Prince Harry and six other celebrities have run out of time to bring privacy claims against the Mail titles. Some of the allegations against Associated date back decades but the law requires that claims are brought within six years. The publisher's lawyers also claim that Harry's case against the owner of the Daily Mail depends on an alleged confession from an unreliable private investigator who has retracted his evidence. Prince Harry's privacy case against Associated Newspapers |
|
|
| The government should be more determined in tackling oppression, violence and radicalisation in religious settings, according to a report due to be unveiled by Michael Gove's Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities. Sources have told The Guardian that the report by the former head of the Conservative Christian Fellowship Colin Bloom, will urge action on issues ranging from unregulated faith schools to forced marriage and religious nationalism. |
|
|
| Last summer's heatwave and drought caused British butterfly populations to collapse later in the year, according to a new study. Although there were good or average numbers of common species including the brimstone, small tortoiseshell, and small white during the spring and early summer of 2022, numbers in subsequent generations in late summer were significantly reduced because the food plants caterpillars feed upon died. "The knock-on effect is fewer butterflies in the following generation," explained Dr Richard Fox, head of science for Butterfly Conservation. |
|
|
| Schools are routinely allowing children to switch gender without telling their parents in a "mass breach" of safeguarding, according to a new report. The research by the right-of-centre thinktank Policy Exchange claimed that 40% of the 150 secondary schools in England let pupils change gender without parental consent. It added that schools were "effectively facilitating medical interventions on site", by supporting pupils in their desired identity. The Department for Education said it was "working closely with the minister for women and equalities to produce guidance for schools". Where schools stand legally on children's trans rights |
|
|
| Fast food takeaway wrappers should have customers' licence plates printed on them to deter littering, said an MP. Explaining his inspiration for the suggestion, James Wild, Tory MP for North West Norfolk and a former government adviser, told the Telegraph: "Anyone driving on country roads or who's joined a litter pick up will be familiar with discarded fast food litter." However, said the paper, ministers are "currently cool on the plan". |
|
|
| The Vatican said Pope Francis has a respiratory infection and will need to spend a few days in hospital in Rome. The 86-year-old had breathing difficulties in recent days and would need "a few days of appropriate hospital medical therapy", it said. The pontiff has suffered from mobility problems related to his knee in recent months, forcing him to use a wheelchair, noted Inside The Vatican, adding that: "It is time to pray for Pope Francis and for the Church." |
|
|
T h e W e e k M a g a z i n e |
|
| Take a step back from the noise of the news and enjoy a fresh perspective with The Week magazine. Start your trial today and enjoy your first six print and digital issues for free, then continue to save 60%. Sale ends 6 April. |
|
|
TODAY'S NEWSPAPERS | | The Telegraph says that householders will be punished if they do not switch from gas under net zero plans to be unveiled later today. The paper says ministers are planning to overhaul subsidy rules so gas is less attractive in a push to hasten the end of fossil fuels. The move could push household gas bills up by as much as £100 a year, said the broadsheet. |
|
|
Tall Tales | | And other stories from the stranger side of life |
|
|
PUZZLES AND QUIZZES | | Challenge your brain with The Week's daily sudoku, part of our new puzzles section |
|
|
On this day | 30 March 240 BC | The first recorded perihelion passage of Halley's Comet. | |
|
|
More from The Week | Thanks for reading. You might also enjoy our other newsletters.
⚬ Tuck into recipes and restaurant reviews with Food & Drink
⚬ Get the expert's guide to good living with Arts & Life | |
|
|
The Week is published by Future Publishing Limited, registered in England and Wales no. 2008885. Registered address: Quay House, The Ambury, Bath, BA1 1UA. VAT number 713111493. |
|
No comments:
Post a Comment