UK

Truss and Kwarteng wrecked our economic reputation in a matter of days. A year on, it still hasn’t recovered


Jonathan Prynn
Wed, 27 September 2023 

Kwasi Kwarteng has admitted he ‘got carried away’ during his brief stint as chancellor (Stefan Rousseau/PA) (PA Wire)

The anniversaries keep coming.

Yesterday it was a year to the day since the pound plunged to its all-time low against the dollar. And tomorrow the Bank of England can light a candle to mark 365 days since it swooped into the gilts market to halt the worst collapse in government bonds on record.

Within weeks, one architect of the chaos, the ex-chancellor, Kwasi Kwarteng, was out of a job, followed just 11 days later by his former boss, the ill-fated Liz Truss.

Despite all the calming balm that has been applied to the financial markets since then by the current Chancellor Jeremy Hunt and Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, the fallout from that extraordinary week is still being felt today.

Britain’s hard-won global reputation as a beacon of financial stability in an unpredictable world has only been partly restored. Confidence in the housing market was hammered by the jump in gilt yields and mortgage rates that followed Kwarteng’s mini-budget. That brought the housebuilding market grinding almost to a halt last autumn and winter. It has yet to recover.

Interest rates have topped out at 5.25% — for now. It will be for future economists to untangle the “Truss effect” from the general rise in inflation and borrowing costs caused by a multitude of other factors, particularly of course the energy crisis.

But it would seem reasonable to assume that such a damaging — and avoidable — shock to Britain’s financial infrastructure poured fuel on the fire. Some degree of calm has been restored, but it is an uneasy calm.

The long-term prize, consistent economic growth, seems as far out of reach as ever. There are many lessons to learn from the events of September 2022, but it will take far more than a year to win back the trust that was trashed that month.

UK

Scaled-back HS2 will jeopardise local investment, warns Tory Mayor
HIGH SPEED RAIL 2

Matt Oliver
Wed, 27 September 2023 

Cost of the HS2 could breach £100bn - Chris Gorman / Big Ladder

Rishi Sunak’s plan to scrap the northern leg of HS2 will undermine hundreds of millions of pounds of investment in the West Midlands, the region’s Conservative mayor has warned.

Andy Street urged Rishi Sunak to reconsider his opposition to the high-speed rail link, amid reports the Prime Minister is poised to scrap the Birmingham to Manchester section.

The Tory mayor, who was previously boss of the John Lewis Partnership, told the Telegraph: “A lot of people have made big investment decisions – literally hundreds of millions, if not billions, of pounds – on the promise of this [HS2] coming.


“I think it’s a very poor signal to say to businesses, ‘We’ve changed our mind and what you assumed in your investment decision is no longer right’.”

The intervention came days after the new American owners of Birmingham City Football Club warned that scaling back HS2 would damage Britain’s credibility with foreign investors.

Four Labour mayors in the North, as well as London Mayor Sadiq Khan, have also jointly signed a letter pleading with Mr Sunak to preserve the troubled scheme.

Mark Reynolds, the boss of HS2 contractor Mace Group, separately warned that flip-flopping by the Government was making both his company and others reluctant to take on big UK projects in future.

He told BBC Radio 4’s Today Programme: “We’re certainly cautious. The new nuclear programme is a primary example, we’ve been gearing up to work on that.

“What you do, you find other alternative work both in the UK and elsewhere.”

It piles further pressure on the Prime Minister to give the project a stay of execution, with a decision now thought to have been delayed until after the Tory Party conference in Manchester.

Mr Sunak is said to be “alarmed” by Whitehall estimates suggesting the price tag for HS2 – already cut back in places – could now breach £100bn, having originally been approved with a cost of around £30bn.

He is thought to favour axing the second phase to Manchester and potentially terminating the line early in the West London suburb of Old Oak Common, rather than running all the way to Euston as had originally been planned.

However, the cuts face vocal opposition from senior figures in Mr Sunak’s own party, including former prime ministers David Cameron and Boris Johnson, who have warned the changes will make the rump scheme a white elephant.

Mr Street said huge amounts of inward investment in the West Midlands was predicated on the scheme being built all the way to Manchester.

He said: “It’s been part of the story about investing in the West Midlands – we will be at the centre of that network. And look at what that’s led to, in terms of record inward investment numbers here.”

£1 in every £10 of foreign investment went to the West Midlands last year, according to official government figures, and the region topped a league table of regional overseas investment, with 181 projects.

Massive investment has flowed into Birmingham in the past decade, much of it on the assumption the city will be a fulcrum of the new HS2 network.

A brand new station, Birmingham Curzon Street, will sit at the heart of a 141-hectare regeneration area that the West Midlands Combined Authority, led by Mr Street, and the Government are investing £724m into it.

The combined authority has also bet on HS2 as a major pillar of future growth and jobs. They have previously suggested the full Y-shaped scheme would add £4bn to the local economy.

That 2021 estimate, which assumes workers will be able to more easily commute to Birmingham from further afield, was made before Boris Johnson’s government scrapped the proposed leg to Leeds.
Infrastructure upgrade

Scaling back the HS2 plans at such an advanced stage would damage confidence in the Government’s ability to keep key infrastructure promises, Mr Street said.

He said: “We have to demonstrate to the world that we can deliver critical infrastructure effectively.”

Mr Street argued HS2 would provide a vital replacement for existing, but poor quality, intercity train services between London, Birmingham and Manchester.

He said: “The biggest challenge to us is the linkage between the Midlands and the North, because we’re pretty well-connected with London already.

“This was always about trying to get a train between London, Manchester and Birmingham, because it’s not just that the current experience is slow – it’s also overcrowded, expensive and people don’t want to use it, so they choose to drive instead. It’s not an environmental solution.

“I know it’s over-budget, we’ve got to deal with that. But the principle of it, you should absolutely hold to.”

Andy Burnham, the Labour mayor of Greater Manchester, has separately accused the Government of treating northern taxpayers like “second-class citizens” and threatened legal action if the northern leg is axed.

Northern mayors say that scrapping the HS2 northern section will gut a key section of railway needed for the proposed “Northern Powerhouse Rail” line between Liverpool and Leeds.

Business groups and universities have also warned against scaling back the scheme, with the Northern Powerhouse Partnership saying it would damage “Britain’s reputation as a place to do business”.

Nikki Paterson, the CBI business lobby group’s regional director for the Midlands, told local media: “All the research tells us that poor transport connectivity is a major drag on productivity and ultimately on growth.”

However, Lord Hague, the former Tory Party leader, backed Mr Sunak on Tuesday, calling HS2 “a national disgrace”.

Forty-four HS2 officials paid at least £150,000 a year

Neil Lancefield, PA Transport Correspondent
Wed, 27 September 2023 



Dozens of people working for HS2 Ltd are being paid at least £150,000 a year.

PA news agency analysis of Cabinet Office figures shows the earnings of 44 people at the taxpayer-funded company were at that level at the end of September last year.

Their combined pay was up to £8.8 million.


Outgoing chief executive Mark Thurston was the highest earner.

HS2 Ltd’s annual report for the 2022/23 financial year shows his total remuneration for that period was £676,763, which included a bonus of nearly £40,000.

This was up from £618,144 during the previous 12 months, representing a rise of more than 9%.

His job is described as delivering the high-speed railway “to safety, cost, time and quality standards”.

It was announced in July that Mr Thurston will step down by the end of this week after six-and-a-half years in the role.

Chief commercial officer Ruth Todd received a total package worth £313,055.

Conservative MP for Buckingham Greg Smith, who has long been a strong critic of the project, said: “The absolute cheek of HS2 bosses suckling on the taxpayer teat to such great excess whilst presiding over massive cost-ballooning of the project.

“It defies belief.”

An HS2 Ltd spokesman said: “HS2 is Europe’s biggest infrastructure project and it is necessary to employ people with the right level of expertise to deliver it successfully.

“HS2 Ltd is committed to controlling costs and takes its responsibility towards value for money very seriously.

“Executive salaries are signed off by the Department for Transport and Treasury.

“Remuneration is also benchmarked against comparable organisations and managed in line with the Government’s public sector pay policy.”

HS2 Ltd’s annual report shows expenditure on consultants was £25.8 million in 2022/23.

That is down from £32.1 million during the previous 12 months.

HS2 Ltd also made four statutory redundancy payments totalling £19,414 in the financial year.

Reports have suggested that Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has been warned the price tag for HS2 may have soared past £100 billion, even though the Government has already scrapped the Leeds leg.

The first estimate in 2010 of the proposed high-speed rail link between London and the North was £30 billion.

In response to soaring costs, there is speculation Mr Sunak is considering cancelling or delaying HS2 between Birmingham and Manchester, as well as permanently stopping the line at Old Oak Common, west London, rather than London Euston.

7 million UK households struggling to keep up with rent or mortgage payments


Rabina Khan
·Contributor
Tue, 26 September 2023 

Nearly half of households with mortgages or who are renting have been struggling to keep up with their housing payments. Photo: Getty

Some 7 million UK households are grappling with rent or mortgage payments, with millions more at risk of falling into financial difficulty by the end of 2024 as they face higher rates when remortgaging, according to consumer group Which?.

Nearly half of households (46%) which rent or have mortgages are finding it tough to meet their housing payments, a survey of 4,000 Brits found.

Despite the Bank of England maintaining interest rates at 5.25% last week, mortgage repayment stress is still to come for just under a third of homeowners. Some 2.1 million households will see their fixed-rate deals finish by the end of 2024.

Another 4.5 million households have already seen monthly payments soar.

It is not just those on the lowest incomes who are being affected by the interest rate rises, Which? said.

Read more: Looming Christmas mortgage crisis for half a million UK households, warns Which?

"Our mortgage is due to renew later in [the] year and sounds like there will be further increase in interest rates," said a respondent from Northern England, worried how his household can afford to cover bills on an income of £55,000 to £79,999.

This comes after the Bank of England (BoE) announced a pause in interest rate hikes, in response to falling inflation. UK inflation dropped to 6.7% in August.

Interest rates guide what banks charge customers to borrow money and rises have wrought havoc in the housing market this year as customers grapple with increased mortgage payments.

Rocio Concha, Which? director of policy and advocacy, said: "We’d encourage anyone who’s struggling to seek free debt advice and reach out to their mortgage provider or landlord for help."

Households with rent or mortgage payments have felt more emotional distress than households who own their home outright (Source: Which?)
Renters

Renters are also likely to be affected by interest rate rises as landlords whose mortgage repayments have gone up may raise rents to cover the increase.

“I worry about the roof over my head and the fact my rent is about to increase because I cannot afford to pay the increase," said a respondent from South England on an income of £10,000 to £14,999.

Many households across the country have had to tap into their savings, affecting their ability to handle emergencies and capitalise on higher savings rates.

The government's Renters (Reform) Bill, was introduced in May as part of a range of measures to regulate the UK rental sector. This included the abolition of Section 21 ‘no fault’ evictions, providing more security for tenants and empowering them to challenge poor practice and unfair rent increases without fear of eviction.
Payment stress

Nearly half (45%) of mortgage holders are closely monitoring their finances and budgeting more, while one in five (21%) are working longer hours to cover housing expenses.

The strain of housing payments is also taking a toll on emotional wellbeing. Which? found that over half of renters and those with mortgages report daily stress, compared to just three in 10 outright homeowners.

Read more: UK slowdown since financial crisis 'left families £1,400 poorer'

A majority of mortgage holders and renters are worried about their household's financial security and feel a lack of control over their finances.

Which? is urging banks and mortgage lenders to prepare for an influx of customers seeking support. This includes adequate staffing customer service support channels like phone calls, email, and chat support.

The Financial Conduct Authority's new Consumer Duty, which came into force in July, is meant to improve customer service standards so that customers receive support aligned with their financial needs. Companies that fall short of these standards can expect stringent action from regulators.

“Banks and mortgage lenders must ensure they are fully staffed and properly prepared to properly support customers getting in touch to remortgage or because they are struggling to make ends meet," said Rocha.

Mortgage holders and renters are concerned about their financial future. Chart: Which?
Which? advice

Individuals concerned about mortgage repayments should reach out to their lender, as this won't impact their credit score, Which? advises.

Lenders can offer support options tailored to individual circumstances, such as temporary mortgage holidays or extending the mortgage term.

A temporary mortgage payment holiday: Repayments are paused for a set period of time — but interest will continue being added to a loan with a likelihood of paying additional interest.


A temporary switch to interest-only payments: This is a payment on the interest of a mortgage, without repaying the loan itself, for temporary period of time — which could mean that the entire mortgage is paid later than planned.


Extending the mortgage term to reduce monthly payments: you can stretch out your mortgage term, from 30 years to 35 years, for example. You'll be paying back the same amount of debt, but over a longer period as your monthly bill will be reduced.

Read more: UK house prices remain subdued amid high interest rates and summer holidays

Which? encourages renters to discuss their situation with landlords. Specialist housing charities such as Shelter offer free support.

People at risk of becoming homeless due to eviction should contact their local council's housing department for advice on emergency accommodation.
Watch: What is a recession and how do we spot one?

CRIMINAL CAPITALI$M

PwC Australia reveals more breaches on heels of scathing report into consultancy scandal

Henry Belot
Wed, 27 September 2023 

Photograph: Joel Carrett/AAP

PwC Australia has revealed a series of additional breaches of confidentiality as a new report details a litany of corporate failures that allowed confidential government information to be misused for years without any disciplinary action.

The confessions are detailed in what PwC Australia has described as “a statement of facts”, which was published alongside a review into its internal culture by the former Telstra boss Ziggy Switkowski. His report found some partners prioritised profit above ethics and internal dismay at the firm’s response to the scandal.

PwC Australia has admitted that in 2016, a partner forwarded documents related to confidential consultation with the Treasury and Australian Taxation Office (ATO) officials regarding the GST treatment of digital currencies to colleagues who had not signed a confidentiality agreement.

Related: PwC’s ‘rainmaker’ partners often pursue profits ahead of ethics, scathing review finds

In 2017, a now former PwC partner was invited to participate in Treasury’s Black Economy Taskforce Reference Group, provided a confidentiality agreement was signed. PwC allege the partner forwarded materials from the group to colleagues who had not signed agreements on several occasions.

Another partner is accused of sharing confidential information from a Treasury group called the Tax Treaties Advisory Panel on several occasions. That information was subject to confidentiality agreements that prohibited it being shared. The panel dealt with international tax policy.

The firm has also revealed three partners later shared a draft OECD report into profit shifting with colleagues, in breach of a confidentiality agreement.

“As part of the 2023 Investigation, PwC Australia has identified other internal communications in which information relating to Government consultations was disclosed by PwC Australia personnel,” the report said.

“In some instances, it has not been possible to determine whether the disclosures constituted a breach of a confidentiality acknowledgment because it is not clear from the documents whether a confidentiality commitment or expectation applied in relation to the disclosure.”

The document also outlines how former PwC partners beached confidentiality agreements by sharing secret information about Treasury’s proposed multinational tax policy. The information was used by PwC to win business from private sector clients and triggered the reputation crisis that resulted in its government services division being divested for just $1.

The firm has admitted that from May 2015, it marketed its ability to assist multinational companies “in anticipation of legislation that would be announced in the federal budget”. It confirmed that from then until late 2022, it failed to discipline anyone involved despite several people being aware.

PwC Australia has admitted that from as early as 2017, when its risk team first discovered an email from a partner discussing government information deemed “confidential at this stage”, it failed to properly comprehend the seriousness of misconduct and to adequately respond.

The firm has also conceded it should have taken the ATO seriously when its second commissioner, Jeremy Hirschhorn, warned in August 2019 about a potential breach of confidentiality.

“There is no evidence that any further investigation was done in 2019 relating to this issue,” the PwC report released on Wednesday said.

PwC Australia’s investigation confirmed that some staff had enough information to raise concerns about confidentiality breaches at an early stage, but decided to remain silent.

It has also admitted it had no proper process for monitoring what confidentiality agreements its partners had signed with clients. This meant the firm’s risk team could not enforce compliance and had to rely on staff disclosing them appropriately.

The “statement of facts” admits that once the Tax Practitioners Board established a formal inquiry into the breach in 2021, it should have launched a “rigorous internal investigation” into what happened. That did not take place until earlier this year.

In a statement released alongside the report, PwC Australia’s chief executive, Kevin Burrowes, said “we are sorry”.

“We take full accountability for our shortcomings and the culture in our firm that allowed them to go unchecked over time,” Burrowes said.

In response to multiple reports released this week, PwC Australia will overhaul its corporate structure, adding three non-executive directors to its governance board and a non-executive chair, as well as committing to publishing audited financial statements.

PwC Australia will in future apply ASX corporate governance principles and recommendations, “to the extent that is feasible”, the company said. PwC Australia is a partnership and structured differently to ASX companies.

PwC to restructure board as report into consultancy scandal released

Henry Belot

Guardian Australia
Tue, 26 September 2023 

Photograph: Reuters

PwC Australia will overhaul its corporate structure, adding three non-executive directors to its governance board and a non-executive chair, as well as committing to publishing audited financial statements.

The announcement comes ahead of the release of an investigation into the firm’s misuse of confidential government information, which triggered a reputation crisis and widespread condemnation.

Partners at the firm were due be briefed on the report by former Telstra boss Ziggy Switkowski on Wednesday morning before the full report was expected to be released in full later in the day. The report will also be shared with regulators.

Switkowski’s report is expected to reveal how many people knew that confidential government information about proposed tax changes had been shared with the firm’s private clients and why this wasn’t stopped.

PwC Australia’s reputation was left in tatters after the misuse of confidential information was first reported by the Australian Financial Review. The fallout of the scandal has already led to PwC Australia divesting its entire government services division for just $1

The matter has also been referred to the Australian federal police by the Treasury for investigation, which is one reason why the firm was not recalled to an ongoing Senate inquiry into the matter this week.

Switkowski has conducted more than 90 briefings with senior PwC Australia staff and held 18 focus groups across the country.

PwC Australia will in future apply ASX corporate governance principles and recommendations, “to the extent that is feasible”, the company said. PwC Australia is a partnership and structured differently to ASX companies.

The firm will publish audited financial statements by September 2025. PwC Australia will also appoint three non-executive directors to its governance board and a non-executive chair.

The firm’s chief executive, Kevin Burrowes, has released a statement before the report’s release, saying it was an “important day for the firm”.

“It marks a moment from which we, and others, can measure progress against our commitments to enhance the firm’s governance, accountability and culture,” he said.

“From the top down we are committed to rebuilding and re-earning the trust of our stakeholders.

“We are committed to learning, changing and leading. This is our promise to our people, our partners, our clients and our communities.”

Killer students once made Oxford the murder capital of England

Joe Pinkstone
Thu, 28 September 2023 

Students in Oxford would often carry swords and use them - Prisma/Universal Images Group via Getty Images

Students at Oxford University turned the city into England’s murder hotspot in medieval times, a study has found.

Analysis of 700-year-old coroner reports by experts at Cambridge University has discovered that around the end of the 13th century, and into the 14th, Oxford had a homicide rate five times higher than London’s.

Three quarters of all murder victims and perpetrators were known as “clericus”, a term covering both staff and students at the university, which had been founded more than a century before.


Oxford University is one of the oldest institutions in the world at nearly 1,000 years old, and in medieval times one of the world’s foremost places of learning. This year it beat Harvard and rival Cambridge to the top of the list of the best universities in the world, according to Times Higher Education.

But Oxford was a very different place seven centuries ago as the young, all-male student body were often carrying swords and prone to beer-induced violence.

Weapons were easy to find and often used in fights seven centuries ago - Mondadori Portfolio/Hulton Fine Art Collection

“A medieval university city such as Oxford had a deadly mix of conditions,” said Prof Manuel Eisner, Director of Cambridge’s Institute of Criminology who has launched a “medieval murder maps” project which includes Oxford, York and London.

“Oxford students were all male and typically aged between 14 and 21, the peak for violence and risk-taking. These were young men freed from tight controls of family, parish or guild, and thrust into an environment full of weapons, with ample access to alehouses and sex workers.

“As well as clashes between town and gown, many students belonged to regional fraternities called ‘nations’, an additional source of conflict within the student body.”

Data from the translated and transcribed reports, originally penned in Latin, suggest around 7,000 people were living in Oxford at the time, and roughly 1,500 are thought to have been students.

It is thought the city had a murder rate of around 75 per 100,000 people, roughly 50 times the UK average in 2023. Some Mexican cities, such as Tijuana and Celaya, are above 100 per 100,000 today, driven mostly by drug-related killings.

The 13th-century Oxford had a worse homicide rate than modern-day Detroit and similar to Cape Town, New Orleans and Kingston.

Oxford’s bloodiest mediaeval cases

Swords and daggers were frequently carried, the scientists say, and fatal melees often were associated with pubs and alcohol.

One incident the scientists uncovered was when an unnamed scholar at the prestigious university employed a sex worker and after the tryst stabbed her to death instead of paying.

Margery de Hereford was murdered in the parish of St Aldate in 1299 and her scholarly killer was never apprehended.

Another sex worker in the city, which now boasts of being part of “the golden triangle”, called Christiana of Worcester, was taken back to lodgings by student David de Trempedhwy in 1298.

However, upon arrival he was set upon by his peers and murdered for his dalliance with the “harlot”.
Quest for justice

Other instances of bloody murder involved a mass brawl in a tavern which saw students engaged in a fracas with swords and axes in 1298.

A man named John Burel was taken to the town jail after curfew and found to be dead in the morning when the coroner saw “a mortal wound on the crown of his head, six inches long and in depth reaching to the brain” inflicted by a battle-axe.

Cambridge historian and co-researcher Dr Stephanie Brown said juries were often making “best guesses” about inquests and often found “two plus two equals five” in their quest for justice.

“Knives were omnipresent in medieval society,” she said. “Axes were commonplace in homes for cutting wood, and many men carried a staff.”

Prof Eisner added: “Circumstances that frequently led to violence will be familiar to us today, such as young men with group affiliations pursuing sex and alcohol during periods of leisure in the weekends. Weapons were never far away, and male honour had to be protected.”

“Life in medieval urban centres could be rough, but it was by no means lawless. The community understood their rights and used the law when conflicts emerged. Each case provides a glimpse of the dynamics that created a burst of violence on a street in England some seven centuries ago.”

Microplastics in clouds may be contributing to climate change, research suggests

Sky News
Updated Thu, 28 September 2023


Researchers have found tiny particles of plastic in clouds, where they may be contributing to climate change.

Scientists collected water from the clouds surrounding Japan's Mount Fuji and Mount Oyama at altitudes between 1,300-3,776m and then applied advanced imaging techniques to determine whether microplastics were present.

Nine different types of polymers and one type of rubber were found in the airborne microplastics, at concentrations between 6.7-13.9 pieces per litre and sizes ranging between 7.1-94.6 micrometres.

They also found an abundance of hydrophilic (or water-loving) polymers, which they said might act as "cloud condensation nuclei" - suggesting they play a key role in rapid cloud formation, which might eventually affect the overall climate.

"Overall, our findings suggest that high-altitude microplastics could influence cloud formation and, in turn, might modify the climate," the scientists wrote in the study, published in the journal Environmental Chemical Letters.

"To the best of our knowledge, this study is the first to detect airborne microplastics in cloud water in both the free troposphere and atmospheric boundary layer."

The lead author of the research, Hiroshi Okochi of Waseda University, said: "Microplastics in the free troposphere are transported and contribute to global pollution.

"If the issue of 'plastic air pollution' is not addressed proactively, climate change and ecological risks may become a reality, causing irreversible and serious environmental damage in the future."

Airborne microplastics degrade much faster in the upper atmosphere due to strong ultraviolet radiation, Mr Okochi added, which "releases greenhouse gases and contributes to global warming."

The researchers said to the best of their knowledge it was the first report on airborne microplastics in cloud water.

Microplastics may be 'contaminating nearly everything we eat and drink'

In a statement about the study, Waseda University said research shows "microplastics are ingested or inhaled by humans and animals alike and have been detected in multiple organs such as lung, heart, blood, placenta, and faeces".

"10 million tonnes of these plastic bits end up in the ocean, released with the ocean spray, and find their way into the atmosphere," it said.

"This implies that microplastics may have become an essential component of clouds, contaminating nearly everything we eat and drink via 'plastic rainfall'."

Key details behind Nord Stream pipeline blasts revealed by scientists


Miranda Bryant in Oslo
Tue, 26 September 2023

Scientists investigating the attack on the Nord Stream pipelines have revealed key new details of explosions linked to the event, which remains unsolved on its first anniversary.

Researchers in Norway shared with the Guardian seismic evidence of the four explosions, becoming the first national body to publicly confirm the second two detonations, as well as revealing a detailed timeline of events.

The recently discovered additional explosions took place in an area north-east of the Danish Baltic island of Bornholm about seven seconds and 16 seconds after the two previously known detonations.


Using information from seismic stations in northern Europe and Germany, including the Swedish National Seismic Network and Danish stations on Bornholm, seismologists deployed advanced analysis techniques to observe and pinpoint the blasts.

Seismologists at Norsar, Norway’s national data centre for the comprehensive nuclear test ban treaty (CTBT), told the Guardian they had so far found a total of four explosions – one south-east of Bornholm and three north-east of the island.

Two clear seismic events, named Event S and Event N, were identified on 26 September 2022, soon after the attack. The first, on Nord Stream 2, occurred at 02:03:24 (UTC+2), and the second, on Nord Stream 1, at 19:03:50 (UTC+2).

Norsar said there could potentially be further explosions buried in the data.

The explosions made holes in both Nord Stream 1 pipelines and one of the Nord Stream 2 pipelines. By November last year, Swedish investigators had confirmed that the breaches were caused by man-made explosives.

Investigations are continuing, but officials quoted in the US and German press have said the evidence points towards a Ukrainian-backed group, or a pro-Ukrainian group operating without the knowledge of the leadership in Kyiv.

German investigators have focused on a 51ft rental yacht called the Andromeda, which was hired by a mysterious crew of five men and one woman, at least some of whom were travelling on false passports.

Der Spiegel, which recreated the Andromeda’s journey, quoted investigators as saying the evidence all pointed at Kyiv’s involvement. There is debate, however, over whether a small crew of divers operating from a pleasure yacht would have been capable of carrying out the difficult, deep and slow dives necessary to place the explosives.

A leaked US defence document, reported by the Washington Post, showed the CIA had been tipped off by an allied European agency in June 2022, three months before the attack, that six members of Ukraine’s special operations forces were going to rent a boat and use a submersible vehicle to dive to the seabed using oxygen and helium for breathing, in order to sabotage the pipeline. But the leaked US document said the planned operation had been put on hold.

Other reports in the Scandinavian media have pointed to a cluster of Russian ships, with their identifying transponders turned off, in the vicinity of the blast sites in the days before the explosions.

The Nord Stream pipelines are operated by two companies, Nord Stream AG and Nord Stream 2 AG, both majority-owned by the Russian state energy company Gazprom. Nord Stream 1 and 2 are both twin pipelines, and together they bring up to 110bn cubic metres of gas annually from Russia to Germany.

Nord Stream 1 went into operation in 2012. Nord Stream 2 was completed in September 2021 but has never transported any gas. From the outset it was mired in controversy in the face of adamant opposition from German allies, in particular the US and Poland, who both believed the Germans were making themselves and much of the rest of Europe hostage to Russian energy supplies.

The US made clear that bilateral relations would be badly affected if Nord Stream 2 went into operation. Once the full-scale invasion of Ukraine began, all talk of opening the pipeline was shelved.

The newly discovered events, named NB and NC, took place about seven seconds and 16 seconds after the event previously known as Event N, which they now refer to as NA.

Investigations by Denmark, Sweden and Germany are understood to be planned for publication in a joint study with Norsar. Authorities for all three countries declined to comment on the investigations.

In July, the UN security council heard investigators had found traces of undersea explosives in samples from a yacht, but that they were unable to reliably establish the identity or motives of those involved or whether it was the work of a specific country.

Using information from a number of seismic stations in northern Europe and Germany, including the Swedish National Seismic Network and the Danish stations on Bornholm, seismologists used advanced analysis techniques to observe the additional two explosions.

According to their calculations, the second and third explosions (NA and NB) were 220 metres apart from each other (with the third west of the second) and the fourth was several kilometres south-west of the second.

Pipes at the landfall facilities of the Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline in Lubmin, Germany, in 2022. Photograph: Hannibal Hanschke/Reuters

Andreas Köhler, a senior seismologist at Norsar, said the distance between NA and NB “fit very well with the distance between both pipelines of Nord Stream 1 at the westernmost gas plume location northeast of Bornholm.” Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 both have two pipelines each.

The location of the final explosion, however, is less clear because there are less station observations. “This best fits an explosion on the Nord Stream 1 pipeline, but we cannot exclude a location at Nord Stream 2,” said Kohler.

Analysis of the source mechanism from the signals showed they were generated by explosive devices.

Based in Kjeller, near Oslo, Norsar monitors events across the world including nuclear testing in North Korea, the impact of CO2 storage on the Norwegian continental shelf and conflict zones such as Ukraine.

It takes 10 minutes for shock waves to reach them after a nuclear test in North Korea, with location accuracy of 150-200 metres, leading to the claim that it is “10 minutes from Kjeller to North Korea”.

The war in Ukraine has marked a significant breakthrough for Norsar in terms of the potential use of seismology in conflict monitoring. “The technology that is used to find explosions the other side of the globe can also find explosions closer to home,” said its chief executive, Anne Strømmen Lycke.

It started monitoring Ukraine for the Civil Radiation Authority due to concerns of radioactive landfall over Norway after the 1986 Chernobyl disaster. It monitors bombing around the power plant on a continuing basis and has been able to contribute evidence to the UN truth commission.

In June, its scientists were able to confirm the time and location of reports of two explosions at the Kakhovka dam using data from seismic stations in Romania and Ukraine.

“It’s amazing, the accuracy of the observation and the use of it. The UN truth commission for Ukraine has contacted us to ask us to verify some events, among them the Kakhovka dam, so they are interested in having these cold data as basis for their considerations.”

Norsar is also investigating whether its technology could be used in the future to monitor ceasefires.

“We know that we could see, based on frequency content and signal difference, between different helicopter types and likely also different weaponry types,” Strømmen Lycke said.

“And that could be something to verify and then you could actually monitor and trace after unravelling who did what. I suppose that is why the UN truth commission is interested in these things.”

School strikes across much of Scotland continue for a second day

Lauren Gilmour, PA Scotland
Tue, 26 September 2023 

Children across Scotland face a second day of disruption as school support staff take another day of strike action in an ongoing dispute over pay.

Members of Unison working as pupil support assistants, catering staff, cleaners and school janitors will stage the second day of their three-day strike across 24 council areas over a pay deal the union’s Scottish secretary Lilian Macer dubbed “too little, too late and too vague” on Tuesday.

She said: “The offer we’re looking for is significantly above what has been offered. We are seeking the Scottish Government to come round the table with Cosla, with Unison, to negotiate a fair pay settlement for local government workers in Scotland.”


GMB Scotland and Unite have suspended strikes while they consider the latest offer from council umbrella body Cosla.

Unison has a mandate to strike across 24 council areas on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday which will see many schools across the country close to pupils. Schools will be open as usual in the eight other council areas.

Some regions have come up with compromises to allow education to continue despite strikes.

Highland Council said 27 of its schools are expected to remain open while Glasgow City Council said high schools will be open for S4-S6 pupils only.

First Minister Humza Yousaf urged for strikes to be reconsidered and said he believed it “is a very good offer indeed” but Ms Macer called on him to get in touch and warned without a “significantly” improved offer more strikes are on the cards.

Shona Robison said the dispute was a matter for local government employers and unions (Jane Barlow/PA)

Mark Ferguson, chair of Unison Scotland’s local government committee, said: “The offer is still below the rate of inflation meaning that local government workers are being asked to take a real-terms pay cut during a cost-of-living crisis.”

A spokesperson for Cosla said: “This is a very strong offer that equates to 10% or £2,006 for the lowest paid at the request of the trade unions.

“Throughout these negotiations we have met every request of our trade union colleagues.”

Scotland’s Deputy First Minister, Shona Robison, said pay negotiations were a matter for local government employers and unions and that the Scottish Government would “encourage” those involved to continue negotiations in the hope that a resolution could be found.

She said: “We have worked constructively in partnership with Cosla and councils to find a solution, facilitated by an additional £80 million of funding and flexibility from the Scottish Government.

“We have ensured there will be no detrimental impact on jobs or services as a result of this additional funding.

“Despite UK Government cuts, the Scottish Government had already provided £155 million in 2023-24 to support a meaningful pay rise for local government workers, and provided assurances over funding in 2024-25.”

She said affected local authorities will ensure that schools and learning establishments remain open as far as is practical.

Scientists Crack Open Lid of Canister Holding Asteroid Sample

Victor Tangermann
Wed, September 27, 2023 


Asteroid Dust

Earlier this week, a capsule screamed through the Earth's atmosphere at around 27,000 mph, delivering an incredibly rare package: roughly half a pound of material collected from an asteroid tens of millions of miles away.

NASA's OSIRIS-REx mission, which launched seven years ago, was designed to shed new light on our understanding of the earliest stages of our solar system — and scientists are about to finally start analyzing their long-awaited treasure from the asteroid Bennu.

The capsule landed in the Utah desert on Sunday, well within NASA's pre-determined landing strip. It was quickly delivered by air to a special curation facility at the agency's Johnson Space Center in Houston soon afterward.

And yesterday, scientists finally got to crack open the canister.

"We opened up the canister today, and we did see that there is some black dust-like material that's visible," Dante Lauretta, a planetary scientist at the University of Arizona, told Ars Technica.

"We're hoping that's from Bennu," he added. "There's good indication that we might have sample."
Getting Inside

NASA's small spacecraft took specimens from the tiny 1,600-foot asteroid back in 2020 after extending a robotic arm and making brief contact with its dusty surface.

We still don't know how exactly much rock OSIRIS-REx managed to pick up or whether it managed to pick up any larger rocks and not just dust.

That's because scientists have yet to crack open the actual device that took the original samples, called the Touch-and-Go Sample Acquisition Mechanism (TAGSAM), which is stored inside the canister they opened.

Scientists expect most of the sample to be present inside the sampling mechanism of the TAGSAM device, per NASA, but even just analyzing the dust from the rest of the recovered assembly could give them early glimpses of what's still to come.

Regardless, scientists are eager to pore over the evidence, meaning that we might get some answers soon. In the meantime, Lauretta told Ars that there's a complicated process of distributing samples to international partners and preserving them.

"I'm thrilled here because this is the moment we've been dreaming of," he told the publication. "We can see the thing that touched Bennu is now in our laboratories."

"Of course, we can't wait to get inside," Lauretta added.

NASA picks 3 museums to display OSIRIS-REx asteroid samples

Robert Z. Pearlman
Wed, September 27, 2023

NASA picks 3 museums to display OSIRIS-REx asteroid samples

As NASA saw its first asteroid sample return to Earth this past weekend, three museums took particular notice, knowing that they had been chosen to display small examples of the newly landed space rock material.

The Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C., Space Center Houston in Texas and the University of Arizona's Alfie Norville Gem and Mineral Museum in Tucson were quietly selected by NASA to exhibit a piece of the asteroid Bennu as brought back to Earth by the space agency's OSIRIS-REx mission. The probe's sample return capsule touched down in the Utah desert on Sunday morning (Sept. 24).

collectSPACE.com first learned of the chosen locations from sources with knowledge of NASA's plans. The museums then confirmed the details in separate statements.

Related: NASA's OSIRIS-REx lands samples of asteroid Bennu to Earth after historic 4-billion-mile journey

"The Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History expects to receive two samples from the asteroid Bennu this fall," said Ryan Lavery, senior press officer with the museum. "The first will serve as a cornerstone of the museum's 'Our Unique Planet' research initiative, which seeks to answer fundamental questions about the origins of life, the ocean and the continents on Earth."

"The second will go on exhibit in our Hall of Geology, Gems and Minerals. It will be the first sample of Bennu put on public display in the United States, and we look forward to sharing it with our more than four million annual visitors," Lavery said. "We will announce the unveiling date in the near future."

A spokesperson for the Alfie Norville Gem and Mineral Museum told collectSPACE that a sample is expected to go on display in November and more details would be shared when available.

"As we prepare for the arrival of the OSIRIS-REx sample here at Space Center Houston, we are celebrating a scientific triumph by sharing a piece of the cosmos that reminds us of humanity's boundless curiosity and our relentless quest to unlock the mysteries of the universe," said William Harris, president and chief executive of Space Center Houston, the official visitor center for NASA's Johnson Space Center and a Smithsonian affiliate. "This celestial treasure embodies the spirit of exploration, and its presence here inspires us all to continue pushing the boundaries of human knowledge and space exploration."

While the details of the displays are still being worked out, including the size and nature of the material they will contain, the venues have been told to be ready as early as mid-November for the possible delivery of their Bennu specimen. First, though, scientists need to inspect, categorize and begin studying the contents of the OSIRIS-REx capsule.



Fortunately, there are indications that the spacecraft landed on Earth with more material than the mission was targeted to return. According to NASA, the capsule is estimated to be holding about a half a pound of rocks and soil, or about 8.8 ounces (250 grams).

"We promised the agency we would bring back 2 ounces, or about 60 grams, of material," Dante Lauretta, principal investigator for the OSIRIS-REx (or Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification and Security-Regolith Explorer) mission at the University of Arizona, Tucson, said at a press briefing. "We believe, based on some very clever spacecraft engineering from our partners at Lockheed Martin — measuring the momentum change on the spacecraft as we articulated its robotic arm — that we have at least four times that material."

NASA scientists on Tuesday found black dust and debris on the avionics deck of the OSIRIS-REx science canister, hinting at the material held within.

Most of that is intended for scientific study. From the specially-built curation lab at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, the plan is to distribute portions of asteroid Bennu to a sample analysis team of more than 200 members from more than 35 globally distributed institutions. Approximately six months after the return, a sample catalog will be released, and more of the material from Bennu will be made available for research by scientists around the world for decades to come.

Of the total amount received, 4% will be delivered to the Canadian Space Agency, which contributed the OSIRIS-REx laser altimeter instrument aboard the spacecraft and which supports the Canadian co-investigators on the OSIRIS-REx science team.

An additional 0.5% of the total returned material will be provided to the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) as part of a partnership between the two space agencies, which included NASA's support for JAXA's Hayabusa2 mission and the exchange of scientists and samples between the two missions.

Japan was the first to collect asteroid samples and return them to Earth with its Hayabusa and Hayabusa2 missions in 2010 and 2020, respectively.

The material retained by NASA will be held at the Johnson Space Center, though a portion will be stored at a secure backup facility in White Sands, New Mexico, similar to the procedures that were followed to protect the Apollo moon rocks from natural disasters and attacks.

Related: The moon on Earth: Where are NASA's Apollo lunar rocks now?

RELATED STORIES:

— 'I literally broke into tears': The scientist leading NASA's epic OSIRIS-REx asteroid mission just had the greatest day ever

— How asteroid Bennu caught NASA's OSIRIS-REx spacecraft by surprise and nearly killed it along the way

— Dramatic sampling shows asteroid Bennu is nothing like scientists expected

NASA placed the first Apollo moon rocks to go on display at the Smithsonian's Arts and Industries Building in Washington, D.C. on Sept. 17, 1969, and the American Museum of Natural History in New York City two months later on Nov. 16. Both exhibits drew long lines of spectators, with the latter recording a record crowd of 42,195 people in the four hours the display was open on its first day.

The six Apollo moon landing missions bought back a total of 842 pounds (382 kilograms) of material, much more than OSIRIS-REx is returning, so more exhibits were possible. Today, 135 nations, the 50 U.S. states and U.S. provinces each own gifted samples from the Apollo 11 and Apollo 17 missions. NASA has also loaned more than 80 moon rocks and lunar dust samples to museums in 23 U.S. states and 11 foreign nations.

OSIRIS-REx is the third U.S. interplanetary mission to land collected material on Earth. The first, Stardust, brought back samples from Comet Wild 2 and of the interstellar dust. NASA then launched Genesis to bring back a sample of solar wind particles. A parachute failure, though, resulted in its sample return capsule slamming into the Utah desert.

The material collected by Stardust and what could be recovered from Genesis is curated at the Johnson Space Center. The empty Stardust sample return capsule, though, was transferred for display to the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C. in 2008.

Follow collectSPACE.com on Facebook and on Twitter at @collectSPACE. 

Copyright 2023 collectSPACE.com. All rights reserved.

Webb spots a building block of life on Jupiter’s moon Europa

Ashley Strickland, CNN
Wed, September 27, 2023 

A building block of life may exist inside the global ocean on Europa, one of Jupiter’s icy moons.

Two independent teams of astronomers used the James Webb Space Telescope to observe the frozen surface of Europa, and each analysis of the space observatory’s detections revealed an abundance of carbon dioxide within a specific region of the frigid terrain. Both studies describing the findings were published September 21 in the journal Science.

“On Earth, life likes chemical diversity — the more diversity, the better. We’re carbon-based life. Understanding the chemistry of Europa’s ocean will help us determine whether it’s hostile to life as we know it, or if it might be a good place for life,” said Geronimo Villanueva, lead author of the first study and planetary scientist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, in a statement.

Europa is one of several ocean worlds in our solar system besides Earth where scientists believe life could exist. Beneath a thick ice shell, Europa harbors a subsurface global ocean that may contain twice as much water as our planet’s oceans.

But environments suitable for life need more than water — they also require a supply of organic molecules and an energy source, according to NASA.

Scientists have long questioned whether Europa’s ocean contained carbon and other chemicals necessary for life

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Astronomers used the Webb telescope to observe Jupiter's icy moon Europa. - NASA/ESA/CSA

When Webb data revealed the presence of carbon on Europa’s surface, the researchers conducted an analysis to see whether it was delivered by meteorites, or if it originated within the internal ocean.

Carbon dioxide appears to be concentrated in a region of “chaos terrain” on Europa called Tara Regio. The geologically young area contains ice that has been disrupted and resurfaced, suggesting that material has been exchanged between the ocean and the surface.

Carbon dioxide isn’t stable on Europa’s surface, which also led the two teams to the same conclusion that it was supplied by the ocean.

“We now think that we have observational evidence that the carbon we see on Europa’s surface came from the ocean. That’s not a trivial thing. Carbon is a biologically essential element,” said Samantha Trumbo, lead author of the second study and a 51 Pegasi B Fellow at Cornell University, in a statement.

Previously, the Hubble Space Telescope detected ocean-derived salt in the same region.

“We think this implies that the carbon probably has its ultimate origin in the internal ocean,” Trumbo said.

Investigating Europa

Astronomers used data from Webb’s Near-Infrared Spectrograph to identify the signature of carbon dioxide on the moon’s surface.

“Scientists are debating how much Europa’s ocean connects to its surface. I think that question has been a big driver of Europa exploration,” Villanueva said. “This suggests that we may be able to learn some basic things about the ocean’s composition even before we drill through the ice to get the full picture.”

Previously, astronomers made tentative detections of plumes erupting from the surface of Europa using the Hubble Space Telescope. Webb did not detect any plumes during its observations of Europa, but that doesn’t mean they don’t occur, according to the researchers

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Webb's Near-Infrared Spectrograph identified carbon dioxide on Europa's surface. - NASA/ESA/CSA

“There is always a possibility that these plumes are variable and that you can only see them at certain times. All we can say with 100% confidence is that we did not detect a plume at Europa when we made these observations with Webb,” said Heidi Hammel, a Webb interdisciplinary scientist and vice president for science at the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, in a statement.

Two future missions will be able to take a closer look at Europa in the future, including the European Space Agency’s Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer launched in April and NASA’s Europa Clipper, expected to lift off in October 2024.

Both will investigate Europa’s potential habitability to see whether the icy ocean world could be hospitable to life.

Future observations of Europa with the Webb Telescope could help astronomers determine whether there are other concentrated regions of carbon dioxide on the surface, Trumbo said.

“I am also very interested in whether there is any evidence for organic molecules anywhere on the surface,” she said. “Our upcoming JWST data will help with that as well, but Europa Clipper will be able to get up close and personal and really peer at some of the finer-scale and most promising geologic regions.”