COMMODITY FETISH
Macallan: Rare Scotch whisky becomes world's most expensive bottle at £2.1m

18th November 2023

By Francesca Gillett

BBC News

Tristan FewingsThe Macallan Adami 1926 was sold at Sotheby's in London on Saturday

A rare bottle of whisky has been sold for $2.7m (£2.1m) - breaking the record for the most expensive wine or spirit sold at auction.

The Macallan 1926 single malt is one of the world's most sought-after bottles of Scotch whisky.

It was sold by Sotheby's on Saturday, at more than double its estimated price.

The auction house's head of whisky said he had been allowed to taste "a tiny drop" of it beforehand.

"It's very rich, it's got a lot of dried fruit as you would expect, a lot of spice, a lot of wood," Jonny Fowle told the AFP news agency.

The whisky spent 60 years maturing in dark oak sherry casks before becoming one of just 40 bottled in 1986.

The 40 bottles were reportedly not made available for purchase - instead, some were offered to The Macallan's top clients.

And whenever any of the bottles have been auctioned over the years there have been extraordinary results - a similar bottle was sold in 2019 for £1.5m.

'Holy grail' of whisky sells for record £1.5m

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Speaking last month in the run-up to the auction, Mr Fowle said The Macallan 1926 "is the one whisky that every auctioneer wants to sell and every collector wants to own".
Tristan Fewings"It's not a whisky to take lightly. It's a rich, rich dram, but it is incredible," said Jonny Fowle from Sotheby's

Sotheby's said the 40 bottles from the 1926 cask had been labelled in different ways.

Two bottles had no labels at all, a maximum of 14 were decorated with the iconic Fine and Rare labels and 12 were labelled by pop artist Sir Peter Blake.

A further 12 bottles - including the record-breaking one sold on Saturday - were designed by Italian painter Valerio Adami.

It is not known how many of the 12 bottles of The Macallan Adami 1926 still exist.

One is said to have been destroyed in an earthquake in Japan in 2011, and it is believed at least one other has been opened and consumed.

Senior UK ministers flag concern over foreign interest in (TORY) Telegraph

Ellen Milligan, Alex Wickham and Thomas Seal - Bloomberg News (TNS)

Senior U.K. ministers including Business Secretary Kemi Badenoch and Security Minister Tom Tugendhat, who both attend Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s Cabinet, have raised concerns within government about the possibility of foreign ownership of the Telegraph, according to people familiar with the matter.

Badenoch and Tugendhat have flagged the issue with Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport Lucy Frazer, the people said, as pressure mounts from backbench lawmakers for the government to intervene in the process.

Frazer’s office declined to comment.

It comes as a Monday court hearing to liquidate a Barclay family holding firm is set to be adjourned, which could offer the clan a route to pay their debt to Lloyds Banking Group Plc and reclaim control of the newspaper. The family’s offer to repay over £1 billion ($1.25 billion) of debt to Lloyds is backed by RedBird IMI who would lend money to the Barclay family to enable them to repay the debt it owes.

The media investment vehicle is led by former CNN president Jeff Zucker and is a joint venture between RedBird Capital Partners and the United Arab Emirates-based International Media Investments.

Tory MPs Neil O’Brien and Danny Kruger have both urged Frazer to issue a so-called public interest intervention notice in recent weeks. A PIIN can trigger regulators Ofcom and the Competition and Markets Authority to report to the British government on media public interest considerations, jurisdiction and competition issues.

O’Brien, who until this week was a government minister, said Friday on social media platform X that he hopes Frazer’s department will “scrutinise the financing and ownership structure of any deal closely and put them through the usual PIIN process.” Kruger also urged Frazer to use a PIIN to scrutinize the prospect of “foreign investment into influential British media” through a letter he sent to the minister last month and reviewed by Bloomberg.

A spokesman for the Barclay family, referring to an earlier statement on the process, said the family’s proposal to Lloyds concerns the settlement of outstanding loans.

“There is no precedent and no basis for a PIIN being issued in relation to a debt transaction, and we are highly confident that the family’s proposal would not trigger any regulatory reviews regarding the ownership of the media assets,” the statement said. “We continue to believe that our proposal offers Lloyds Banking Group and its shareholders the most compelling, straightforward and speedy resolution to this situation.”

Lloyds seized the Telegraph titles along with the Spectator magazine from the Barclay family in June to claw back debts, removing Barclay family members from their director positions and placing the businesses in receivership. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. has been appointed to run the sales process for the Telegraph Media Group Ltd. and the Spectator (1828) Ltd.

The politically influential titles have already attracted interest from various bidders. U.S. billionaire and major Republican donor Ken Griffin and hedge fund manager Paul Marshall have discussed a potential bid, people familiar with the matter have said previously. Middle Eastern investors have held talks with Daily Mail & General Trust Plc about supporting potential offers from the rival news publisher.

In his letter, Kruger pointed to media reports of an “anonymous member of one of the royal families in the United Arab Emirates, who will be taking The Telegraph and The Spectator as security” for its loan.

“If material influence over, or control of, a quality national newspaper was passed to an unknown foreign ruler at any time it would raise concerns, but at a heightened time of geopolitical turmoil I believe it is more important than ever that this deal for a treasured national asset is given proper scrutiny,” Kruger said.


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814,000 private renters in England under threat of eviction

by Agency Reporter | Nov 19, 2023 | Briefing

NEW research from Shelter exposes the turmoil facing private renters in England, as one in 10 – equivalent to 814,000 adults – are now at risk of losing their homes. The figure rises to an estimated 1.1 million people if  children in the household are included.

To calculate how many people are threatened with losing their home this winter, the charity looked at the number of private renting adults who have received or been threatened with an eviction notice in the last month (474,000), as well as the number of tenants who are behind on their rent (411,000), which puts their home in danger.

The survey, conducted by YouGov and funded by Nationwide Building Society, showed that rocketing rents and rising evictions have left millions of private renters in England fearing the worst, with 3.5 million tenants (43 per cent) saying they are now worried about becoming homeless due to housing costs.

Shelter argues the severe lack of affordable social homes means that millions of struggling households are trapped trying to pay record high rents and keep a roof over their heads. A situation it says is being made much worse by the government’s nearly four-year freeze on housing benefit, which has left any support available falling far short of the cost of actual rents. The charity’s latest findings further expose the immense financial strain tenants are under:

More than two in five (43 per cent) private renters who are struggling or behind with their rent – equivalent to 2.4 million adults – say this is due to the increase in payments.

More than three in 10 (31 per cent) – equivalent to 2.5 million adults – have borrowed money in order to pay their rent. One in seven (14 per cent), which equates to 1.1 million adults, have had their rent put up in the last month.

Esther works as a therapist and has two children, aged 11 and 19. She received an eviction notice earlier this year after her landlord asked for possession. Since then, there has also been a rent increase and she is now struggling to find somewhere she can afford to rent with her family.

“When I was told I needed to leave my heart sank, I’d lived in my area for over 20 years and the landlord put up the rent by £250. I tried to put on a brave face but I came under a lot of pressure. Each time I move it costs so much and is very disruptive for my children. My youngest has settled in school, is happy and has friends. When I moved last time, at least we were still in the same area with our support system. When I told her we may have to move again, she was devastated.

“I have searched for months but homes were either too expensive or couldn’t fit my whole family. I did everything I could, I approached letting agents, contacted the council and used Shelter’s advice pages. I was told so many things, that I didn’t earn enough or that the landlord wouldn’t accept kids or pets. One time, I put that I received Universal Credit support and I never heard from the agents again. Another, a housing association property became available but the council sold it instead. That was one of the many low days, I went home and cried.

“We now face homelessness and the unknown this winter, squeezed on all sides. I’m doing my best to protect my children for the storms to come. I just want a safe and secure home for my children to grow up in.”

Polly Neate, Chief Executive of Shelter said: “A terrible winter of evictions lies ahead as millions of renters’ grapple with runaway rents and the enduring cost of living crisis. Every day our frontline teams take more calls from families living the nightmare of rent rises they cannot afford. And every day we speak to more families facing the horror of losing their home.

“Shelter will continue to be there so that no-one has to weather this storm alone, but as more people are forced to turn to us, we need the public’s support more than ever. We also need the government to step in. With private rents rising faster than many people can cope with, the government must pull families back from the brink of homelessness by immediately unfreezing housing benefit so they can pay their rent and keep hold of their home.”

* People who are homeless or at risk of homelessness can get help from Shelter here.

Ahead of Dutch elections, food banks highlight the cost-of-living crisis, a major campaign theme

Thousands of families are lining up for free handouts at food banks across the Netherlands

Mike Corder
TODAY



Cans of fish, jars of pasta sauce and bags of beans are stacked in blue crates. Meat, dairy and bread are kept cold in a huge freezer and a walk-in refrigerator in this affluent Dutch town. The supplies are on hand to feed the new poor in one of the richest nations in the world.

Needy families are lining up for free handouts at food banks across the Netherlands, underscoring how poverty is taking root even in lower middle-class families and why tackling it has become a major theme in next Wednesday's parliamentary election.


If it gets any worse, "then it really becomes a scandal for society,” said Rob Kuipers, a 70-year-old retired senior civil servant who is the chairman of the local food bank in Leidschendam-Voorburg, within easy cycling distance of the parliament in The Hague


The cost-of-living crisis, a chronic shortage of social and affordable housing and limits on access to affordable healthcare have combined to become known by the catch-all title “security of existence” in election campaigning and it's a topic all parties are addressing in their election programs.

“We, for a long time, had people living in poverty but this was always, relatively speaking, a smaller group and a quite marginal group and now this has spread to the lower middle class. And that, I think, is the reason why we are talking so much about it now,” said Maurice Crul, a professor of sociology at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam.

“This was always a topic that the progressive or the left-wing parties put on the agenda," he added. "But now you see that also populist right wing parties and the middle party is putting this on the agenda big time, too.”

That centrist “middle party” is personified by Pieter Omtzigt, a former Christian Democrat who set up the New Social Contract over the summer. It is already polling so high that he will play a key role in coalition talks once the votes have been counted.

After years campaigning on behalf of marginalized members of society and uncovering government scandals, tackling poverty is one of his two main campaign themes.


“There is a long list of things we need to do to challenge that cost-of-living crisis,” he told reporters at a campaign event. “We will make the primary necessities of life affordable,” his party’s manifesto says, with measures including reforming taxation and welfare rules to give people more disposable income.

The center-right People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy, or VVD, of outgoing Prime Minister Mark Rutte — traditionally seen as a party for the wealthy and a supporter of the free-market economy — is also pledging to help.

“To make sure people who work full-time can make ends meet, we will raise the minimum wage,” the party’s manifesto pledges. “To tackle childhood poverty, we will give targeted support to families with children.”

Underscoring how the issue cuts across traditional party lines, a center-left two-party bloc led by former European Union climate chief Frans Timmermans proposes some of the same solutions. It advocates raising the Dutch minimum wage to 16 euros ($17.40) per hour. For employees aged over 21 years, the current minimum is 12.79 euros for a 36-hour work week.

For some workers and for others living on welfare benefits, that is not enough.

The national umbrella organization for 176 Dutch food banks says that they serve a total of 38,000 households — 100,000 people — each week and that 1.2 million people live below the poverty line. The number is down slightly from a year ago when inflation was soaring in the Netherlands and across the world.

Just 18 months ago, the food bank in Leidschendam-Voorburg, a municipality of some 78,000 people that recently ranked fifth in a survey of the most “livable” towns in the the Netherlands, had 140 clients. That shot up to 250 as a cost-of-living crisis swept across the world and did not spare the wealthy Netherlands. Those 250 households amount to up to 700 people, Kuipers said.

The true number of people on the breadline may be much higher. The Leidschendam-Voorburg food bank Kuipers oversees estimates that the true number of people eligible for food aid could be two to three times higher.

Now he is waiting to see how the election plays out and the new constellation of parties joining forces to run the country.

Party programs “are full of beautiful words and relatively few precise actions,” he said.

He's watching to see “how those beautiful words will be translated into concrete actions” after the election.

Meet Pieter Omtzigt, the Dutch election favorite who doesn’t want to win

Outsider who founded a new party that’s top of the polls might back someone else for prime minister.

Even though his party is new, Omtzigt has been in the House of Representatives for twenty years | Robin Utrecht/ANP/AFP via Getty Images

BY ELINE SCHAART
NOVEMBER 18, 2023

The Netherlands is heading to the polls next week in an election that will decide its new prime minister. There’s just one problem: The man who’s been leading the race doesn’t seem very keen on the job.

Pieter Omtzigt only founded his New Social Contract (NSC) three months ago, but has been topping the polls in the closely fought campaign for weeks.

Traditionally the largest party in the highly-fragmented parliament provides the candidate for premier, and that person is almost always the party leader. But Omtzigt has been vague about his intentions, leaving the door open to backing someone else for the top job, even if his party wins the most seats on November 22.


“I see what The Hague does to politicians, it can consume you 24/7. And so I also have a responsibility at home and that is important,” said the father of four. “By the way, I think it’s also very valuable for my political antenna to be on a soccer field or in a church or at a 
Even so, his reticence is rare.

“It is very unusual, so far in the campaign for the biggest party not to say who might be the next prime minister when they win,” said Sarah de Lange, a politics professor at the University of Amsterdam.

So who is Omtzigt and what is he doing?

The 49 year-old was instrumental in uncovering a child benefits scandal that brought down Mark Rutte’s third government, which included his former party, at the end of 2020. In doing so, he incurred the wrath of the establishment.

In a long memo after that episode, Omtzigt listed all the abusive words fellow party members had used to describe him. They ranged from “jerk” to “psychopath” and “sick man.”


Such a draining campaign on the child benefits scandal led to months of burnout. But it also cemented his image as an idealistic warrior who challenges the prevailing order and cannot be silenced under pressure.

“I am not a messiah, but I think I offer realistic policies,” he has said.

Even though his party is new, Omtzigt has been in the House of Representatives for twenty years — almost his entire working life. The first eighteen years he spent in the Christian Democratic Appeal, a traditional party of government, before quitting to work as a lone politician. He is an econometrician by training, and studied in the U.K. and Italy.

NETHERLANDS NATIONAL PARLIAMENT ELECTION POLL OF POLLS
ALL 3 YEARS 2 YEARS 1 YEAR 6 MONTHS SMOOTH KALMAN

For more polling data from across Europe visit POLITICO Poll of Polls.

Omtzigt has said after some insistence that he doubts whether the position of prime minister can be carried out by a father of four living in Enschede, a city 200 kilometers east of The Hague. He also confessed to being surprised by the success of his party and thus the potential opportunity to become PM.

He has been questioned on whether he is fit enough for the job after his burnout a few years ago. “I’ve learned from it and I’ve changed things,” he replied, adding that he goes to the gym a few times a week and volunteers as a referee at his local football club in Enschede. At the same time, Omtzigt said, he has learned to guard his limits more carefully. That also means that he has abstained from several debates during the campaign.

The latest POLITICO Poll of Polls shows that the NSC is neck and neck with the People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) with 18 percent and the green-left alliance at 16 percent. That means that the formation of a successful coalition is likely to require at least two of the leading three parties, in addition to two or more smaller parties.

The anti-Rutte

After thirteen years of coalitions headed by Rutte, voters now crave something different, said De Lange. “Under the leadership of Mark Rutte, a culture has emerged in which there is little transparency in the cabinet and few repercussions to mistakes.” As a result, public trust in the Hague is at a 10-year low.

In a country that wants a fresh start, Omtzigt has an attractive resume. In recent years he has become the anti-Rutte, seen by voters as trustworthy and tenacious, she added.

Apart from Omtzigt, those vying to replace Rutte include his successor as VVD leader Dilan Yeşilgöz and Frans Timmermans, the former EU heavyweight now heading a combined green-left list.

Omtzigt has a centrist political agenda, embracing a mix of progressive and conservative ideas. On economics, he advocates higher taxes on the rich, stronger workers’ rights and an increased minimum wage. However, he is a supporter of rightwing policies when it comes to migration and ethical issues, such as abortion and transgender rights.

The main promise of the NSC is the reform of the state by introducing a constitutional court to oversee politicians, and electoral reform that would see voters pick candidates for constituencies rather than from national lists.

Having held roles in the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, Omtzigt said he’s in favor of European cooperation but doesn’t support an ever-closer union.

“NSC wants to remain an active player within the EU, although there will sometimes be differences in emphasis as compared to the previous administration,” Caspar Veldkamp, a candidate for NSC and director of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, told POLITICO by text message.

“We want the EU to have a firmer outward focus, aimed at threats in the world, strengthening external borders and developing a stable belt around Europe. Within the EU, we attach great importance to placing powers at the lowest possible level, subsidiarity in short,” said Veldkamp, a former ambassador to Israel and Greece.

One of the key points of the NSC agenda is the introduction of a legal mechanism that would compel the government to respect the opinion of the Dutch parliament when voting on legislative proposals at the EU level. The party also advocates a bloc-wide return to the stricter, pre-corona rules on members’ debt and deficit ratios.

“European cooperation benefits from member states that have their own governance and budget in order. Temporary support in special cases is conceivable, but a permanent flow of funding is not healthy and undermines support for European integration in many member states, such as the Netherlands,” Veldkamp said.

UK urged to tackle childhood hunger

The COVID-19 pandemic led to the greatest disruption to education in history, affecting 1.6 billion children and young people.

BY MRS SHARON HODGSON
NOVEMBER 19, 2023


The COVID-19 pandemic led to the greatest disruption to education in history, affecting 1.6 billion children and young people. At the peak of the pandemic, governments in more than 190 countries closed educational institutions.

Unsurprisingly, closing schools had serious negative impacts on children’s learning and development. The fact that critical school-based services including school meals also stopped had serious consequences for children’s health and wellbeing.

In the UK where I am a member of parliament, Marcus Rashford’s successful campaign to extend the pandemic meals scheme during the holidays shone a welcome light on the central importance of school meals to families, especially those on low incomes.

But these effects on children and families were not unique to the UK. Around the world school closures deprived 388 million children the meal that they would ordinarily receive at school. This means 388 million hungry children and families were scrambling to provide food during that period of unprecedented uncertainty and instability.

Governments across the world emerged from the pandemic with a much clearer understanding of the need to invest in both the education and well-being of their schoolchildren and adolescents. From this, many have a greater appreciation of the need to create national programmes that ensure quality school-based health and nutrition services.

This culminated in the launch of a global School Meals Coalition at the UN Food System Summit in October 2021.

The Coalition has grown into a partnership of 94 member states, with responsibility for over 60 percent of the world’s population, spanning the full range of geographies and across high, middle and low-income countries. This new country-led Coalition is supported by 109 stakeholders, including major UN agencies, development partners and civil society organisations including some of the UK’s leading campaigns like School Food Matters.

Sadly, the UK government has thus far decided not to join.

This is, in my opinion, is negligent on behalf of the British government, as the coalition is an incredibly important international group dedicated to expanding the reach and improving the quality of school food. Our government should take pride as a matter of duty in supporting this campaign.

Chief among the successes of the Coalition is the role they have played in restoring school meals programmes internationally, following the decimation of these schemes over the pandemic.

In 2022, according to the World Food Programme, which monitors the coverage of school meals programmes, 418 million children benefited from school meals, up from 388 million in 2020.

This means that the coalition has built these schemes back even stronger than they were before. This incredible progress is testament to the growing recognition by governments of the value of school meals.

However, while some countries had indeed rebuilt and even expanded their school meal programmes, children in low income countries are being left behind as their schemes remain 4 percent below pre COVID-19 coverage levels.

But this isn’t for want of trying. Despite huge economic challenges, low income countries have increased the proportion of national expenditure on school meal programmes, up from 30 percent to 45 percent.

At the same time contributions from donors have fallen from 69 percent to 55 percent which has resulted in lower coverage, even though the poorest countries are taking on an increasing share of the burden.

Sadly, the UK is missing in action once again. It’s not just that we’re not at the table, we’re also not supporting low-income countries, where the need is greatest, to build back their lifeline school food provision.

With David Cameron’s arrival as Foreign Secretary, he has the opportunity to usher in a change of position for the government.

As Prime Minister he hosted the 2013 Nutrition for Growth summit promising that the UK would “play a full part in the battle to beat hunger.” Furthermore, as recently as March this year he spoke at the launch of United Against Malnutrition and Hunger urging UK action in response to “The rapid rise in global malnutrition” including ”children going hungry and stunted development”.

As such, if the new Foreign Secretary is able to recognise these problems as his actions in the past suggest, I hope he takes this opportunity to make actionable change and address them.”

Last month Coalition members met in Paris at the First Global Summit of the School Meals Coalition hosted by President Macron.

At the summit, multiple countries shared their progress in expanding and improving their programmes, whilst several others made new commitments. Five new countries joined, and Brazil announced it will become the third coalition co-chair, alongside France and Finland.

The key message that emerged from the Summit was that school meals programmes offer an effective and scalable solution to some of our most pressing challenges.

In conflict zones they can promote peace and build confidence in the state. In countries facing food insecurity they can be used to support the local agricultural sector, and centralised school food systems can reduce the carbon footprint of the meals provided which can help tackle climate change.

At a time of runaway inflation and mounting financial pressure on families, school meals provide children and young people with a nutritious meal, safeguarding their development, and easing the pressure on the households from which they come.

School meals work and the UK should be doing more at home and abroad to expand their reach and improve their quality.

As chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for School Food here in the UK Parliament, I know that support for school meals crosses party lines. Support across the House and from outside of it has been central to protecting and improving school meals in the UK, not just in recent history, but since feeding children at school started in 1906 with Fred Jowett MP’s Education Act. He called for food to be available to students in school because he believed it was absolutely necessary in order to support children’s learning. Over a hundred years later we are still fighting to provide high quality, accessible school food to children, and this hundred-year crusade is not over yet.

Parliamentary support for school meals will be central to sustaining interest in school meals programmes around the world. That’s why I am excited for the launch of the International Parliamentary Network for Education’s ‘Parliamentary Toolkit on School Feeding’, which they’re creating in partnership with the School Meals Coalition.

It will set out to parliamentarians the case for school feeding and then how they as an MP can work to improve and grow the reach of school meals programmes domestically and as an international development endeavour. I look forward to utilising the toolkit and sharing it with my colleagues.

I also look forward to continuing to build the support in the UK parliament for school feeding both across the UK and around the world. I hope that we will join the School Meals Coalition to build on our commitment to school food as a gold standard public service and the right of all children across the world.


Mrs Sharon Hodgson is the Labour MP for Washington and Sunderland West and chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group on School Food.

UK
In praise of fossil collector Mary Anning

Mary, the working-class woman, was an unlikely fossil collector on the beach at Lyme

Hastings Museum, experiential theatre company ExploreTheArch, and the Geologists' Association ensure Mary is given the recognition she deserves.

byGinny Foster
19-11-2023 07:23
in Community, History and heritage, Sussex


Mary Anning at the Hastings Museum. Curator Philip Hadland, and artists Cai Yas and Sam. Photo Credit Ginny Foster


Mary Anning, pioneer fossil collector and palaeontologist, never gained the recognition she deserved in her lifetime, being both a woman and working class. Despite the fact that she discovered the first ichthyosaur, pterosaur and plesiosaur she had to rely on male geologists to lecture on her finds as the Geological Society of London did not admit women until 1919. In contrast, the Geologists’ Association (GA) has welcomed anyone, irrespective of their level of knowledge or their gender, since its founding in 1858, eleven years after Mary’s death. Therefore, it is appropriate that the GA should team up with campaigning group Mary Anning Rocks, firstly to help with the crowd funding for a bronze statue (created by artist Denise Dutton), erected last year in Lyme Regis, and then to support a tour around the country with her maquette.

Exciting events planned for Mary Anning’s stay

Mary has been on tour with her faithful dog, Tray, since her statue was unveiled in May 2022. On November 6 she arrived at the Hastings Museum and Art Gallery from the GA’s Festival of Geology held in University College, London. Wherever she goes her stay is marked with special events – and Hastings is no exception. The museum has collaborated with ExploreTheArch, a company which describes itself as a multidisciplinary arts collective involving installation, experiential theatre and community projects – but is so much more. Under Creative Director Gail Borrow, it is dedicated to reaching communities that experience barriers to involvement in the arts. So, two months of exciting events when the maquette, or Mini-Mary as she is affectionately known, will be in the gallery sits well with a group which so passionately offers arts to everyone.

Sarah Stafford (Executive Secretary of the GA) and Mary were welcomed by Philip Hadland, Collections and Engagement Curator, Gail and three talented enthusiastic young women, all freelance artists in the Early Career Team. Yasmin had painted a stunning mural, influenced by Mary Anning’s notebooks. It stretched the length of the Walkway Gallery and in a nice touch, had even used inks mixed and made in Lyme Regis. Cai, a violinist, had captured the sounds of the shore and her team’s testimonies, and together with Sam, a jazz violinist, created the soundscape. Catherine and Elizabeth, both harpists from Ukraine, made up the team and will join the two violinists to give a live performance in the gallery at Christmas. All the team had contributed to an interactive display on the opposite wall. This forms the background to the Fossil Finder in Us All activities that ExploreTheArch is organizing in November and December as part of the celebrations.

Involving the whole local community

Talking to these confident, articulate young women it became clear that it was not always so with Cai, Sam and Yasmin who have coped with challenges of neurodivergence, disability or an education system that often takes no account of the individual. Each of them is also representative of Hastings multi-cultural population, brought together through Gail who sees Mary Anning’s stay in Hastings as resonating with those who have felt in some way an outsider.

Just as Mary, the working-class woman, was an unlikely fossil collector on the beach at Lyme, so Fossil Finder in Us All wants to inspire, encourage and empower groups in the community who feel in some way they don’t belong. With funding kindly offered from the Ashley Family Foundation, Yasmin, leading a team from ExploreTheArch, will be on the beach at various times in November and December to help families, friends or individuals who don’t currently access and enjoy the shore – a free resource. It is hoped that ‘finder families’ will reflect Hastings’ multi-cultural nature and that everyone will engage with their own idea of beauty when choosing rocks or pebbles to take away. Philip Hadland will be available at all the sessions to study the finds and to give the geological back stories, over hot drinks and a snack back at the museum. He loves finding fossils as he is transported from the here and now to another time, millions of years ago, where he can let go of the stress of 21st century life. Cai, on the other hand, when surveying her collection of finds from the beach, feels really proud of what she has collected. Catherine, another member of the team, recounts that finding a fabulous pebble or fossil connects her to far away shores, lost in the grand drama of creation.

No longer the ‘unsung hero of fossil discovery’

Mary Anning’s maquette will travel to Bristol after Christmas and such is the enthusiasm for her presence at so many museums, she is not expected back in Lyme Regis until at least 2025. This amazing woman whose discoveries were not publicly attributed to her in her lifetime, is now being given her proper place in the history of geological investigation and understanding, thanks to the GA, Mary Anning Rocks, our wonderful museums and community arts groups such as ExploreThe Arch.
Viewers can enjoy the free experience at Hastings Museum and Art Gallery from 7 Nov 2023 to 21Jan 2024. Tickets for the free beach excursions and after-shore meets at the museum for ‘finderfamilies’ will be available to book on Eventbrite at explorethearch.com/fossilfinder

For more information on this project, please email explorers@explorethearch.com

Mary Anning’s maquette designed by Denise Dutton.
Photo Credit: Ginny Foster

British defence exports surge in 2022


By George Allison
- November 19, 2023

In a turnaround from previous years, the United Kingdom’s defence exports saw a significant surge in 2022, reaching £11.2 billion, a substantial increase from the £6.6 billion recorded in 2021.

This is a 70% growth in nominal prices.

The surge in defence exports in 2022 is largely attributed to new contracts in the Middle East and Europe, coupled with significant exports of helicopters to Canada.

Over the five-year period from 2018 to 2022, the UK’s annual defence orders have averaged £10.0 billion. This steady performance is underpinned by the aerospace sector, which accounts for approximately 68% of the value of UK defence exports during this period.

The variability inherent in defence exports, often influenced by large orders and contract awards, is evident in these figures.

The Middle East emerges as the most significant market for the UK’s defence exports, accounting for an average of 43% of the total value of orders from 2018 to 2022. Despite a decline in orders since 2019, the region remains a key area of focus for UK defence companies.

“The Middle East was on average the largest market for UK defence export orders over the 5 years from 2018 to 2022, accounting for an average of 43% of the total value of orders across that period. Five-year moving average exports in the Middle East have shown a decline since 2019, reflecting a drop in in-year orders following large contracts in 2018 of Typhoon Aircraft and Brimstone Missiles to Qatar.

Five-year average exports to Europe increased from £0.8 billion in 2018 to £2.2 billion in 2022, overtaking those to North America in 2020. Most exports to Ukraine in 2022 are not counted here as they have mostly been committed as part of a military assistance package following Russia’s invasion in February 2022. Further details of Ukraine exports and UK military support can be found in Section 11.”

In Europe, the average exports increased markedly from £0.8 billion in 2018 to £2.2 billion in 2022, reflecting the UK’s expanding influence in the European defence market. Notably, most exports to Ukraine in 2022 have been committed as part of a military assistance package and are not included in these figures.

The aerospace sector continues to dominate the UK’s defence exports, comprising 68% of the total value of orders from 2018 to 2022.

In comparison to global trends, the UK’s defence exports show distinctive patterns. Data from the United States, Australia, Canada, the UK Ministry of Defence, NATO, and other sources reveal diverse trends in defence exports worldwide.

However, due to differences in data collection methodologies, comparisons between UK exports and those of other countries should be approached with caution.

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This article is based on information from the UK Government’s report on defence exports and includes data and insights from various sources cited by the UK Defence and Security Exports survey.

LA REVUE GAUCHE - Left Comment: Search results for PERMANENT ARMS ECONOMY 

WAIT, WHAT?!

Israel-Hamas war: Pakistan supplies Israel with 155mm shells, claims report

WION Web Team

INDIAN NEWS SOURCE
Tel Aviv Updated: Nov 19, 2023

A Pakistani boy adjust national flags of the country on its Independence Day/Representative Photograph:(Reuters)

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

Israel-Hamas war: The report points to a double-standard, unique

 to Pakistan, as it does not recognise the state of Israel and is still 

reportedly supplying the country with weapons it needs in its fight 

against Hamas.

Pakistan is said to be supplying 155mm shells to Israel amid its war with Hamas despite Islamabad's longstanding support to Palestinian cause and specific opposition to the existence of the state of Israel. An account on X, formerly Twitter, cited flight-tracker data to claim that a British Air Force plane flew from Bahrain to Nur Khan base in Pakistan's Rawalpindi, and reached an allied base in Cyprus via Oman. 

British Royal Air Force's Akrotiri base in Cyprus has emerged as an international military hub to supply ammunition to Israel amid war with Hamas.

Earlier, Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported that over 40 US transport aircraft, 20 British transport aircraft and seven heavy transport helicopters flew to RAF Akrotiri carrying equipment, arms and forces.

US planes landing at Nevatim Air Force Base – located in southern Israel near the Negev desert – have delivered arms for the Israel’s military, Haaretz also reported. Furthermore, the US aircraft have landed at Ben Gurion airport in Tel Aviv have carried, among other things, armoured vehicles.

What does it mean?

Pakistan is one of the few countries in the world that does not recognise Israel. At the time of its inception in 1947, Pakistan voted against the United Nations Partition Plan for Palestine. The backpage of a Pakistani passport infamously comes with a cautionary note that 'this passport is valid for all countries of the world except Israel'.

Also watch | Reports: Pakistan steps up arms supply to Ukraine | Russia-Ukraine War

The Pakistani government has maintained throughout that it will not pursue a normalised relationship with Israel until the establishment of an independent Palestinian state within the pre-1967 borders and with East Jerusalem as the Palestine's capital city.

But there has been a history of Pakistan reaching out to Israel via Turkey.

In 2009, Wikileaks reported that Pakistan's intelligence agency ISI had cautioned Israel against an upcoming terrorist attack in Mumbai -- the 26/11 attacks -- when Pakistan-based terrorists also targeted a Jewish cultural centre.

Following the success of the Abraham Accords in 2020, ousted Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan claimed that the United States and "at least one other country" had been putting increased diplomatic pressure on Islamabad to normalise ties with Israel.

Between Ukraine and Israel: The 155mm factor

Pakistan is a producer of the types of basic munitions needed for ground assaults.

In September 2023, a report in The Intercept had claimed that secret Pakistani arms sales to the US helped Islamabad facilitate a much-contested bailout from International Monetary Fund (IMF).  

Also read | 'Everything will be forgiven': How the US got Pakistan's support for Ukraine after aiding Imran Khan's ouster

The arms sales were reportedly made for the purpose of supplying the Ukrainian military with 155mm shells among others.

This claim was specifically denied by Islamabad, as it emphasised its policy of 'strict neutrality' in Russia-Ukraine war.

Disclaimer: WION takes utmost care to accurately and responsibly report ongoing developments on the Israel-Palestine conflict after the Hamas attacks. However, we cannot independently verify the authenticity of all statements, photos and videos.

Biopic of former Israeli leader Golda Meir which sees Dame Helen Mirren star in the lead role flops at the box office despite being tipped for Oscar glory

The film, Golda, opened on just 59 screens during its first week

By contrast, The Great Escaper debuted on 616 screens across Britain

By CHRIS HASTINGS and ROSS KANIUK
 19 November 2023

Tipped for Oscar glory and starring one of our most beloved actresses, it seemed set to be a huge success in British cinemas.

But the new biopic of former Israeli leader Golda Meir - featuring Dame Helen Mirren in the lead role - has been a box office disaster.

The film, simply called Golda and released in the UK the day before the Hamas attack on Israel, opened on just 59 screens during its first weekend on release - a disappointing figure for a major production starring a big name.


By contrast, The Great Escaper - starring Sir Michael Caine and the late Glenda Jackson - debuted on the same day on 616 screens across Britain.

But industry support for Golda has dwindled further since its opening and last week it was only showing on 13 screens.



But the new biopic of former Israeli leader Golda Meir - featuring Dame Helen Mirren in the lead role - has been a box office disaster

Figures compiled by the British Film Institute (BFI) show it took just £1,000 at the box office last weekend - bringing its overall cash-till tally to a disappointing £179,000.

Golda, which co-stars Camille Cottin and Liv Schreiber, highlights Israel's victory over Egypt and Syria during the Yom Kippur war of 1973.

The film found itself mired in controversy while it was still in production. Dame Maureen Lipman, who is herself Jewish, questioned whether a Jewish actress should have been cast in the main role instead of Mirren.

But the film's box office hopes and perhaps Dame Helen's hopes of picking up an Academy Award have been undermined by the ongoing crisis in the Middle East.

READ MORE: Meir in a new biopic. But few people know the full, epic story of the woman who became Israel's only female Prime Minister at the age of 70

A number of Palestinian supporters in the UK and the US have taken to social media to call for a boycott of the film. Meanwhile, a poster for the film outside a cinema in North London was also plastered with pro-Palestinian stickers.

It is believed that these protests have deterred both exhibitors and cinema goers from supporting the film.

A spokesman for the Phoenix Cinema in North London, where the film had its UK film premiere, said it had had a 'nice run' at that venue.

But he said the film had not performed well outside a couple of sites, adding: 'Obviously the current political climate might have had an effect on the film's box office revenue.'

But Rabbi Dr Jonathan Romain of the Maidenhead Synagogue thought other factors might be at play, saying: 'It is interesting that a film which has a star of Dame Helen's magnitude didn't get a wider release - but there may be a multiplicity of reasons why they film has not done as well as expected.

'There will be many people in the UK who simply don't know who Golda Meir is. She is not as well known as other historical figures such as Gandhi or Napoleon.'

He added: 'At the same time, the film was not well received critically.

'These factors could have hampered its performance at the box office. I did not hear any rumours over sensitivities that it was about Israel or worries it might attract protests.'

Two days after the Hamas attack, the film's UK distributors Metfilms issued a statement in which it acknowledged the 'distress, fear and anxiety' being felt by people in the UK and in the region.

A spokesman for MetFilms last night insisted the film, which is currently streaming on Amazon Prime, was performing well at the UK box office.

He said: 'Golda continues to perform well in cinemas across the UK, with packed out screenings since its opening six weeks ago.'

A spokesperson for Vue Cinemas declined to comment.

Dame Helen Mirren and the film's director Guy Nattiv were unavailable for comment.

The Mail on Sunday contacted a number of cinema chains to ask about the extent of their support for the film.

The Vue Cinema chain declined to comment.

Cineworld, Odeon, Curzon, Picture House and Everyman declined to comment.

What ‘From the River to the Sea’ Really Means

I cannot speak to what is in the heart of every person who uses the phrase, but I can speak to what the phrase has meant to various groups of Palestinians throughout history, and the intent behind most people who use it today.

A pro-Palestinian activist holds up a sign reading ‘From The River To The Sea, Palestine Will Be Free’ during a sit-down protest inside Charing Cross railway station to call for an immediate cease-fire in Gaza on November 4, 2023, in London, United Kingdom.
(Photo: Mark Kerrison/In Pictures via Getty Images)

MAHA NASSAR
Nov 18, 2023

The Conversation

What does the call “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” mean to Palestinians who say it? And why do they keep using the slogan despite the controversy that surrounds its use?

As both a scholar of Palestinian history and someone from the Palestinian diaspora, I have observed the decades-old phrase gain new life—and scrutiny—in the massive pro-Palestinian marches in the U.S. and around the world that have occurred during the Israeli bombing campaign in the Gaza Strip in retaliation for Hamas’ October 7 attack on Israel.

Pro-Israel groups, including the U.S.-based Anti-Defamation League, have labeled the phrase “antisemitic.” It has even led to a rare censure of House Rep. Rashida Tlaib, the only Palestinian-American member of Congress, for using the phrase.

Simply put, the majority of Palestinians who use this phrase do so because they believe that, in 10 short words, it sums up their personal ties, their national rights, and their vision for the land they call Palestine.

But to Tlaib, and countless others, the phrase isn’t antisemitic at all. Rather, it is, in Tlaib’s words, “an aspirational call for freedom, human rights, and peaceful coexistence.”

I cannot speak to what is in the heart of every person who uses the phrase. But I can speak to what the phrase has meant to various groups of Palestinians throughout history, and the intent behind most people who use it today.

Simply put, the majority of Palestinians who use this phrase do so because they believe that, in 10 short words, it sums up their personal ties, their national rights, and their vision for the land they call Palestine. And while attempts to police the slogan’s use may come from a place of genuine concern, there is a risk that tarring the slogan as antisemitic—and therefore beyond the pale—taps into a longer history of attempts to silence Palestinian voices.

An Expression of Personal Ties

One reason for the phrase’s appeal is that it speaks to Palestinians’ deep personal ties to the land. They have long identified themselves—and one another—by the town or village in Palestine from which they came.

And those places stretched across the land, from Jericho and Safed near the Jordan River in the east, to Jaffa and Haifa on the shores of the Mediterranean Sea in the west.

These deeply personal ties were passed down over generations through clothing, cuisine, and subtle differences in Arabic dialects that are specific to locations within Palestine.

And those ties continue today. Children and grandchildren of Palestinian refugees often feel a personal connection to the specific places their ancestors hailed from.

A Demand for National Rights

But the phrase is not simply a reference to geography. It’s political.

“From the river to the sea” also seeks to reaffirm Palestinians’ national rights over their homeland and a desire for a unified Palestine to form the basis of an independent state.

When Palestine was under British colonial rule from 1917 to 1948, its Arab inhabitants objected strongly to partition proposals advocated by British and Zionist interests. That’s because, buried deep in the proposals, were stipulations that would have forced hundreds of thousands of Palestinian Arabs off their ancestral lands.

Palestinians had to find a way to both assert their national rights and lay out an alternative vision for peace.

In 1946, the Delegation of Arab Governments proposed instead a “unitary state” with a “democratic constitution” that would guarantee “freedom of religious practice” for all and would recognize “the right of Jews to employ the Hebrew language as a second official language.”

The following year, the United Nations instead approved a partition plan for Palestine, which would have forced 500,000 Palestinian Arabs living in the proposed Jewish state to choose between living as a minority in their own country or leaving.

It’s in this context that the call for a unified, independent Palestine emerges, according to Arabic scholar Elliott Colla.

During the 1948 war that led to the formation of the state of Israel, around 750,000 Palestinian Arabs fled or were expelled from their villages and towns. By the end of the war, Palestine was split into three: 78% of the land became part of the Jewish state of Israel, while the remainder fell under Jordanian or Egyptian rule.

Palestinian refugees believed they had a right to return to their homes in the new state of Israel. Israeli leaders, seeking to maintain the state’s Jewish majority, sought to have the refugees resettled far away. Meanwhile, a narrative emerged in the West in the 1950s claiming that Palestinians’ political claims were invalid.

Future Vision

Palestinians had to find a way to both assert their national rights and lay out an alternative vision for peace. After Israel occupied the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and Gaza Strip in the 1967 Arab-Israeli War, the call for a free Palestine “from the river to the sea” started to gain traction among those who believed that all the land should be returned to the Palestinians.

But it soon also came to represent the vision of a secular democratic state with equality for all.

In 1969, the Palestinian National Council, the highest decision-making body of the Palestinians in exile, formally called for a “Palestinian democratic state” that would be “free of all forms of religious and social discrimination.”

A 1986 poll found that 78% of respondents “supported the establishment of a democratic-secular Palestinian state encompassing all of Palestine,” while only 17% supported two states.

This remained a popular vision among Palestinians, even as some of their leaders inched toward the idea of establishing a truncated Palestinian state alongside Israel in the West Bank, Gaza Strip, and East Jerusalem.

Many Palestinians were skeptical of this two-state solution. For refugees exiled since 1948, a two-state solution would not allow them to return to their towns and villages in Israel. Some Palestinian citizens of Israel feared that a two-state solution would leave them even more isolated as an Arab minority in a Jewish state.

Even Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip—those who stood the most to gain from a two-state solution—were lukewarm to the idea. A 1986 poll found that 78% of respondents “supported the establishment of a democratic-secular Palestinian state encompassing all of Palestine,” while only 17% supported two states.

That helps explains why the call for a free Palestine “from the river to the sea” became popular in the protest chants of the First Intifada, or Palestinian uprising, from 1987 to 1992.

Notably, Hamas, an Islamist party founded in 1987, did not initially use “from the river to the sea,” likely due to the phrase’s long-standing ties to Palestinian secular nationalism.

Two States or One?

The 1993 signing of the Oslo Accords led many to believe that a two-state solution was just around the corner.

But as hopes for a two-state solution dimmed, some Palestinians returned to the idea of a single, democratic state from the river to the sea.

Meanwhile, Hamas picked up the slogan, adding the phrase “from the river to the sea” to its 2017 revised charter. The language was part of Hamas’ broader efforts to gain legitimacy at the expense of its secular rival, Fatah, which was seen by many as having failed the Palestinian people.

Today, broad swaths of Palestinians still favor the idea of equality. A 2022 poll found strong support among Palestinians for the idea of a single state with equal rights for all.

Offensive Phrase?

Perhaps colored by Hamas’ use of the phrase, some have claimed it is a genocidal call—the implication being that the slogan’s end is calling for Palestine to be “free from Jews.” It’s understandable where such fears come from, given the Hamas attacks on October 7 that killed 1,200 people, according to the Israeli foreign ministry.

But the Arabic original, “Filastin hurra,” means liberated Palestine. “Free from” would be a different Arabic word altogether.

Other critics of the slogan insist that by denying Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish state, the phrase itself is antisemitic. Under such thinking, protesters should instead be calling for a Palestinian state that exists alongside Israel—and not one that replaces it.

But this would seemingly ignore the current reality. There is strong scholarly consensus that a two-state solution is no longer viable. They argue that the extent of settlement building in the West Bank and the economic conditions in Gaza have eaten away at the cohesion and viability of any envisioned Palestinian state

Further Demonization

There is another argument against the slogan’s use: That while not antisemitic in itself, the fact that some Jewish people see it that way—and as such see it as a threat—is enough for people to abandon its use.

But such an argument would, I contend, privilege the feelings of one group over that of another. And it risks further demonizing and silencing Palestinian voices in the West.

Over the last month, Europe has seen what pro-Palestine advocates describe as an “unprecedented crackdown” on their activism. Meanwhile, people across the U.S. are reporting widespread discrimination, retaliation, and punishment for their pro-Palestinian views.

On November 14, George Washington University suspended the student group Students for Justice in Palestine, in part because the group projected the slogan “Free Palestine From the River to the Sea” on the campus library.

Principle, Not Platform

None of this is to say that the phrase “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” doesn’t have multiple interpretations.

Palestinians themselves are divided over the specific political outcome they wish to see in their homeland.

But that misses the point. Most Palestinians using this chant do not see it as advocating for a specific political platform or as belonging to a specific political group. Rather, the majority of people using the phrase see it as a principled vision of freedom and coexistence.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License

MAHA NASSAR
Maha Nassar is an associate professor in the School of Middle Eastern and North African Studies at the University of Arizona and the author of Brothers Apart: Palestinian Citizens of Israel and the Arab World.
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