Namibia president and anti-apartheid activist Hage Geingob dies. He pushed for Africa on world stage

FARAI MUTSAKA and SONJA SMITH
Updated Sun, February 4, 2024 




Newly sworn in Namibian acting president Nangolo Mbumba, left, shakes hands with Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwa, his deputy, after taking the oath of office in the capital, Windhoek, Sunday, Feb, 4.2024.Namibia, one of Africa's most stable democracies, Sunday swore in a new leader hours after the death of the country's president Hage Geingob. Geingob died while receiving medical treatment at a local hospital, his office announced.(AP Photo/Ester Mbathera)

WINDHOEK, Namibia (AP) — Namibia's president and founding prime minister Hage Geingob died Sunday at age 82 while receiving treatment for cancer, and the southern African nation quickly swore in his deputy to complete the term in office.

Geingob played a central role in what has become one of Africa's most stable democracies after returning from a long exile in Botswana and the United States as an anti-apartheid activist. He was the country’s third president since it gained independence in 1990 following more than a century of German and then apartheid South African rule.

He had been president since 2015 and was set to finish his second and final term this year. His deputy, Vice President Nangolo Mbumba, was sworn in as acting president in the capital, Windhoek, to complete the term as allowed by the constitution.

Elections are set for November. A government statement said Mbumba will lead Namibia until Mar. 21 of next year, when the winner takes office.

The presidential office said Geingob died in a local hospital with his family by his side. He had returned to Namibia last month from the United States, where he underwent a trial two-day “novel treatment for cancerous cells,” according to his office. In 2014, he said he had survived prostate cancer.

Soft-spoken but firm on advancing Africa’s agenda as an important stakeholder in world affairs — “the exclusion of Africa from the Security Council is an injustice,” he once said in a United Nations address — Geingob maintained close relations with the U.S. and other Western countries but also, like many African leaders, forged a warm relationship with China and other powers.

Russian President Vladimir Putin was among the leaders who sent condolences Sunday, saying he would “forever cherish” his memories of meeting Geingob. “It is difficult to overestimate his personal contribution to developing friendly relations between Namibia and Russia," a statement said.

Geingob hosted U.S. first lady Jill Biden last year as she visited ahead of what had been an expected trip to Africa by her husband in 2023. That didn’t take place.

Namibia, with just over 2.5 million people, is rich in minerals such as diamonds, gold and uranium. Despite being classified as an upper-middle-income country, socioeconomic inequalities are still widespread, according to the World Bank.

The nation on the southwestern coast of Africa enjoys political and economic stability in a region that has long seen conflict and disputed elections. Namibia's opposition criticized Geingob last year for endorsing disputed elections in Zimbabwe.

But opposition leader McHenry Venaani paid tribute on Sunday.

“Indeed, President Geingob’s passing is a great loss not only to Namibia, but to the African continent as a whole," Venaani said. “Such was the caliber of this master negotiator and statesman, a lighthouse of steadfast leadership in turbulent times.”

Geingob, who was Namibia’s first prime minister from 1990 to 2002 and served in the same capacity from 2008 to 2012, could be outspoken on issues at home and abroad. In January, he criticized former colonial master Germany for supporting Israel after South Africa filed a case against Israel at the International Court of Justice accusing it of genocide against Palestinians in Gaza.

“Germany cannot morally express commitment to the United Nations convention against genocide, including atonement for the genocide in Namibia, whilst supporting the equivalent of a holocaust and genocide in Gaza,” Geingob said.

He was referring to events between 1904 and 1908 when colonial security forces in Namibia killed tens of thousands of people while putting down an uprising. Germany in 2021 acknowledged that the actions amounted to genocide and pledged more than $1 billion for infrastructure projects in the country.

Condolences from African leaders poured in on Sunday.

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa described Geingob as “a towering veteran of Namibia’s liberation from colonialism and apartheid.”

Kenyan President William Ruto said Geingob “strongly promoted the continent’s voice and visibility at the global arena.”

Zimbabwe's President Emmerson Mnangagwa posted on X that Geingob’s “leadership and resilience will be remembered.”

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Mutsaka reported from Harare, Zimbabwe.

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AP Africa news: https://apnews.com/hub/africa


Berlin honours 'path of reconciliation' taken by late Namibian leader
DPA
Sun, February 4, 2024

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa speaks at the G77 + China Leaders’ Summit during the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28). 

Mahmoud Khaled/COP28/dpa

German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier paid tribute to the late president of Namibia as a formative statesman for his country after Hage Geingob's death on Sunday.

Against the backdrop of German colonial crimes a century ago in what is now Namibia, Steinmeier said that Geingob had taken a path of reconciliation with Germany "despite the heavy burden of our history."

Germany remains "committed to the path of reconciliation with Namibia and to coming to terms with the genocide perpetrated by Germany," Steinmeier said.

Geingob was Namibia's third president and had been in office since 2015. He was one of the leading political figures in the country for decades and played a decisive role in gaining Namibia's independence in 1990.

Under the presidency of Sam Nujoma, he served from 1990 to 2002 as the first prime minister of independent Namibia. Geingob campaigned for reconciliation and the reconstruction of the former German colony with a population of 2.6 million.

The German Empire was the colonial power in what was then called German South-West Africa from 1884 to 1915 and brutally put down rebellions.

The mass murders committed by German forces during the Herero Wars between 1904 to 1908 are now considered the first genocide of the 20th century. Historians estimate that 65,000 out of 80,000 Herero and at least 10,000 out of 20,000 Nama were killed during that time.

"Namibia has lost a great and influential statesman," Steinmeier wrote in a letter of condolence to Geingob's widow.

He recalled Geingob's decades-long struggle for "the liberation of Namibia from the yoke of apartheid."

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz also expressed his condolences and stated that Germany was losing "a partner who was committed to the process of coming to terms with Germany's colonial history with great openness."

"Just three months ago, we spoke on the phone about the progress of the reconciliation process and he was full of hope about the successful conclusion of the Joint Declaration," Stenmeier said.

In 2021, Germany recognized the crimes as genocide and the two governments have long been negotiating a proposed reconciliation agreement.

However, the reconciliation agreement and Germany's planned payments of €1.1 billion ($1.1 billion) for development projects in Namibia are currently on hold.

Berlin refuses to negotiate directly with the descendants of the victims of the time about personal compensation. Instead is negotiating with the Namibian government, reasoning that it represents the whole of Namibia under international law.

The aid money is slated for development projects in the Herero and Nama territories.

Other leaders paid tribute to Geingob, who died in the early hours of Sunday morning at the age of 82. He had been treated in hospital for cancer.

South Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa said Namibia had lost an "extraordinary leader" "President Geingob was a towering veteran of Namibia’s liberation from colonialism and apartheid," he said in a statement.

Referring to Namibia's support during the South African freedom struggle against the white minority government there, he added that Geingob was "also greatly influential in the solidarity that the people of Namibia extended to the people of South Africa so that we could be free today."

South Africa is grateful to Geingob and saddened by his death, Ramaphosa added.

Hage Gottfried Geingob, President of Namibia, speaks at a meeting with Germany's Minister of Economics Habeck and business representatives at State House.

 Bernd von Jutrczenka/dpa

Aston ‘Family Man’ Barrett, bassist with Bob Marley and the Wailers – obituary

Telegraph Obituaries
Tue, 6 February 2024 

Aston Barrett in 1993 - David Corio/Redferns

Aston “Family Man” Barrett, who has died aged 77, was the bass guitarist with the Wailers and played a key role in the band’s rise – producing and arranging several of their records – as reggae broke out of Jamaica and became a global phenomenon; he also played with Lee “Scratch” Perry, Burning Spear and Peter Tosh in a wide-ranging career.

Besides his melodic bass lines, locked into hypnotic sync with the drumming of his brother Carly, he co-wrote several songs with Bob Marley, and as arranger whipped the band into shape, making them one of the tightest outfits to emerge from their island.

He played on such hits as I Shot the Sheriff, Get Up Stand Up, Stir it Up, Jamming, No Woman, No Cry and Could You Be Love, and was a passionate believer in the centrality of the bass guitar to reggae. “The drum, it is the heartbeat, and the bass, it is the backbone,” he once said. “If the bass is not right, the music is gonna have a bad back, so it would be crippled.”

With Bob Marley in 1975 - Ian Dickson/Redferns

Aston Francis Barrett was born on November 22 1946 in Kingston, Jamaica, the second of five children, to Wilfred, a blacksmith, and Violet, née Marshall. The house was filled with soul music, and he quickly gravitated to the bass guitar, building his own from scratch; his younger brother Carlton, or Carly, an aspiring drummer, built his own drum kit.

Aston worked for a while as a welder, blacksmith and bike mechanic, while finding session work with Carly. Seeing himself leading a band in the years to come, Aston adopted the nickname “Family Man” before he had fathered any of his 41 children.

The brothers performed under a succession of monikers, starting with the Soul Mates, moving on to the Rhythm Force, and – with Max Romeo on vocals – the Hippy Boys. They played with Lee “Scratch” Perry and the Upsetters, then in 1969 joined Bob Marley, Peter Tosh and Bunny Wailer in the Wailers.


Marley had heard some Jamaican records while he was staying for a while with his mother in the US, and when he went home he sought out the rhythm section that had so impressed him on those discs. He recruited Aston and Carly to the Wailers, and the brothers played on the 1971 Soul Rebels album.

In 1972 the band joined Chris Blackwell’s Island label, and the following year began to make international waves with Catch a Fire, regularly cited as one of the best reggae albums ever released. A string of hit albums and singles followed, but in 1981 Marley died of cancer and the Wailers carried on in a sequence of changing line-ups.

In the 1970s Barrett was a pioneer in the burgeoning dub genre, and mentored Robbie Shakespeare of the bass-and-drums duo Sly and Robbie (“Family Man is the one who kicked my butt,” Shakespeare recalled). He played on albums by Burning Spear in that decade, as well as Peter Tosh’s acclaimed album Legalize It and Bunny Wailer’s Blackheart Man (both 1976).

The Wailers in 1972, l-r, Earl Lindo, Bob Marley, Carlton Barrett, Peter Tosh and Aston Barrett - Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images

In 1987 Carly Barrett was shot dead outside his home in Jamaica aged 36; his widow Albertine was convicted of conspiracy to murder, along with two men, one of whom was reportedly her lover. (Peter Tosh was also shot dead in his home the same year.)

In 1989 Aston Barrett formed the Wailers Band, then in 2015 assembled Wailers Reunited; they toured the UK and US the following year.

In 2006 he filed a lawsuit against Island claiming £60 million in royalties. The judge ruled that he had signed away his rights for a few hundred thousand dollars in 1994; landed with £2 million in legal fees, he had to sell two of his houses in Jamaica.

Aston Barrett was appointed to Jamaica’s Order of Distinction, Commander Class, in 2021.

Aston Barrett had 23 daughters and 18 sons. One son, Aston Barrett Jnr, plays bass with the modern incarnation of the Wailers.

Aston Barrett, born November 22 1946, died February 2 2024

West Bank Palestinians 'exhausted' by omnipresent Israeli surveillance

Anne-Sophie Labadie
Tue, 6 February 2024

Palestinians in the occupied West Bank city of Hebron say Israeli forces regularly use facial recognition tech (HAZEM BADER)

Rotating cameras planted on a rooftop terrace "follow our every move", said Hebron resident Umm Nasser, protesting intensified Israeli surveillance of her occupied West Bank city since the start of the Gaza war.

"Psychologically, I'm exhausted," admitted the 55-year-old Palestinian woman.

She lives above the Abu al-Rish checkpoint, the site of frequent violence at the heart of historical Hebron.

It is one of numerous sentry boxes manned by Israeli forces separating Palestinian streets from Jewish settler enclaves in the old town, which hosts a disputed holy site. Known to Muslims as the Ibrahimi mosque and to Jews as the Cave of the Patriarchs, it is revered by both faiths.

Dozens of heavily armed Israeli soldiers guard the site, assisted by security cameras.

Umm Nasser said that surveillance enhanced by artificial intelligence tools has become "especially difficult during the war" between Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

To Umm Nasser, the use of technology is stifling.

"We've tried putting pieces of wood or fabric over the cameras to maintain our privacy, but every time, the army removes them," she said.

"One day, soldiers took our identity cards and told us they were going to use them for a facial recognition system."

She said she hadn't heard about it since.

Shai Cohen, a 23-year-old Israeli settler, said the surveillance cameras scattered all over the city "very (much) help us" to feel safe.

Israel describes itself as a "start-up nation" and takes pride in its leading cyber industry and cutting-edge surveillance and weapons technology.

Facial recognition technology -- highly regulated in civilian settings -- is used by Israeli forces along with a range of advanced tools in the Palestinian territories they have occupied since 1967.

- 'Automated surveillance' -

"Blue Wolf", for example, is an app soldiers use on their mobile phone. They take face pictures of Palestinians, which are then checked against a database.

Once matched, the system indicates whether the person photographed is wanted for arrest.

This system is part of the Israeli army's "frictionless occupation strategy", said Sophia Goodfriend, a doctoral student specialising in artificial intelligence and human rights.

The app "relies on automated surveillance technology, often based on artificial intelligence and designed to reduce interaction" between soldiers and Palestinians, Goodfriend told AFP.

Another system, "Red Wolf", has been deployed at Israeli checkpoints in Hebron since at least 2022, according to an investigation by human rights group Amnesty International.

Soldiers know "before I approach the checkpoint that I'm 'red' in the system. It means I'm 'a threat'," said Hebron activist Issa Amro, lamenting yet "another layer of humiliation".

He said residents had their photos taken without their consent, and they do not know how Israel uses their images and data that it collects.

The army in late 2022 confirmed it was testing a surveillance system with riot control tools, developed by a private firm, Smart Shooter.

The remote-controlled system can fire shots which, according to the army, are not lethal.

Asked by AFP about the system and the "Wolf" software, the Israeli military did not comment.

- 'Anxiety and fear' -

The automated tools make for "more and more efficient" control over the lives of Palestinians who are further "dehumanised" in the process, according to Israeli anti-occupation group Breaking the Silence.

"The very purpose and essence of the system is to create anxiety and fear," said Adel, a rights defender living in Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem who asked to use a pseudonym because of security concerns.

"Our behaviour and movements are scrutinised."

In east Jerusalem, he said, facial recognition technology is regularly used by Israeli forces during demonstrations.

Adel recalled an inspection at a checkpoint when "many pages of data appeared on the tablet" used by the soldiers.

"They mentioned an arrest that occurred several years earlier and for which I had been cleared by the courts," he said.

Tensions have soared since October 7, when Hamas militants breached the Gaza border and attacked southern Israel, triggering a devastating war.

Hamas fighters began their attack by targeting remote-controlled surveillance and defence systems on the border.

The unprecedented attack resulted in more than 1,160 deaths in Israel, mostly of civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official data.

Israel retaliated with a massive military offensive that has killed more than 27,500 people in the besieged Gaza Strip, also mostly civilians, according to the Hamas-run territory's health ministry.

Footage and media reports from Gaza have raised concerns over the use of facial recognition technology by Israeli forces there, too.

The army said that as part of the war it was conducting "security and intelligence operations".

Online videos from mid-November showed Gazans, fleeing south for safety, passing through gates allegedly equipped with surveillance tech.

And official Palestinian news agency Wafa reported "smart" cameras had been installed at Gaza City's Al-Shifa hospital during a raid by Israeli troops.

al-ha/blb/dla/ami/kir

Justin Trudeau bans British expats from buying homes in Canada

Noah Eastwood
Tue, 6 February 2024 

Jusin Trudeau

Justin Trudeau has extended a ban on foreign nationals purchasing homes anywhere in Canada, in a blow to British expats.

Only foreigners who are asylum seekers, some international students and temporary workers will be permitted to buy residential property in the country until 2027, Ottawa has said.

Thousands of Britons living in Canada could be hit by the moratorium, designed to stop houses falling into the hands of a “speculative financial asset class,” Canada’s finance minister Chrystia Freeland.

“By extending the foreign buyer ban, we will ensure houses are used as homes for Canadian families to live in and do not become a speculative financial asset class.

“The government is intent on using all possible tools to make housing more affordable for Canadians across the country,” she said in a statement on Sunday.

Around 650,000 British expats currently live in Canada. Britons seeking to own a second home, or live in the country without permanent residency, will be caught out by the ban.

Those planning to move to Canada from the UK need to obtain citizenship or become a permanent resident to purchase property.

Buying a house and falling foul of the rules could result in a fine of up to C$10,000 (£5,890) and a compulsory order to sell the property.

It also applies to foreign commercial enterprises, as well as people who are not Canadian citizens or permanent residents.

The ban was originally brought in on January 1 last year, after being agreed in 2022, and was due to expire at the start of 2025.

It will now be extended to January 2027, despite criticism that it has had little impact on increasing house prices.

Tom Davidoff, associate professor at the University of British Columbia, told Canadian media that it is “very hard to believe” the ban had been successful.

“In the most affordability-challenged markets, it’s very hard to believe there was a lot of impact because there were so few foreign buyers to begin with,” he said.

The latest available figures from Canada’s national statistics agency, from 2021, show that prime markets in Toronto and Vancouver had relatively low foreign residential property ownership, with 2.6pc and 4.3pc respectively.

It comes as Canadians face high levels of immigration under Trudeau’s leadership, with almost one million people estimated to arrive over the next two years, according to government figures.

The controversial prime minister has set a target of attracting 500,000 new immigrants to Canada every year.

According to the 2023-2025 Immigration Levels Plan, it will welcome 485,000 new permanent residents in 2024 and 500,000 in 2025.

Canadian media previously reported that the government was warned by officials in 2022 that increasing immigration would likely make housing more unaffordable.

House prices surged 56pc between the end of 2019 and the summer of 2022, research by Oxford Economics shows, amid record arrivals from overseas.

Rents have also gone up, according to a report by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, which showed that prices had risen 8pc across 17 metropolitan areas, from C$1,250 (£736) to C$1,359 (£800) in the past 12 months.

Bishop hits back over Braverman’s claims asylum seekers are faking Christian conversion


Gabriella Swerling
Mon, 5 February 2024 at 2:26 pm GMT-7·4-min read

The Bishop of Chelmsford, Dr Guli Francis-Dehqani, said: 'Churches have no power to circumvent the Government’s duty to vet and approve applications' - Rob Welham/Camera Press

A bishop has attacked Suella Braverman after she said that churches were fuelling fake asylum claims.

Mrs Braverman said that during her time as home secretary she “became aware of churches around the country facilitating industrial-scale bogus asylum claims”, with migrants “directed to these churches as a one-stop shop to bolster their asylum case”.

She made her comments in The Telegraph amid a row over Abdul Ezedi, 35, the refugee suspected of being behind the Clapham chemical attack who was granted asylum on his third attempt, with the support of a priest, having claimed he had converted to Christianity and would be persecuted in his native Afghanistan.

While the Home Office is responsible for checking the criminal records and safety of asylum seekers, religious institutions are under increasing scrutiny over the legitimacy of those wishing to convert.

The Church of England has rejected Mrs Braverman’s criticism, with the Bishop of Chelmsford, Dr Guli Francis-Dehqani, writing in The Telegraph on Monday: “We are not politicians, and we know that to be involved in political debate can be bruising.

“But those who have claimed a link between the abuse of our asylum system and the action of bishops in parliament are simply wrong.

“It is saddening to see this being implied by former holders of senior ministerial office, who have had opportunity but not sought to raise these concerns with senior clergy before.”
Church ‘not responsible’

Dr Francis-Dehqani, who will become the lead bishop on immigration later in February, denied that the Church was in any way responsible for the criminal history of converted asylum seekers.

He said: “Churches have no power to circumvent the Government’s duty to vet and approve applications – the responsibility for this rests with the Home Office.”

The bishop also denied that church support for asylum seekers’ claims amounted to a “magic ticket” for entry to the UK, adding that the notion that a person may be “fast-tracked through the asylum system, aided and abetted by the Church is simply inaccurate”.

Writing in The Telegraph over the weekend, Mrs Braverman questioned the clergy’s role in conversions from Islam, saying: “Attend mass once a week for a few months, befriend the vicar, get your baptism date in the diary and, bingo, you’ll be signed off by a member of clergy that you’re now a God-fearing Christian who will face certain persecution if removed to your Islamic country of origin. It has to stop.”

According to Home Office guidance for officials making asylum decisions concerning Christian converts, “ultimately, evidence even from a senior church member is not determinative”.

Friends of Ezedi told The Telegraph last week that he remained a “good Muslim” who bought half a Halal sheep every fortnight despite his apparent conversion.

On Monday an evangelical church leader said priests must look for “red flags” when baptising asylum seekers because some were faking conversion.

Pastor Graham Nicholls, the director of Affinity, a network of 1,200 evangelical churches and ministries in the UK, said that church leaders “need discernment” to “test whether people are genuine in their beliefs”, adding that in some cases prospective converts were “faking it”.
Undue haste for baptism

He said “red flags” may consist of large numbers of people presenting as converts, an undue haste from people to receive some credible sign of being a Christian such as baptism, a “rather mechanical assent to believing but without any obvious heart change”, and a general sense they might not be genuine.

He acknowledged that “these things are hard to judge” and that “we cannot see into people’s souls”, but added: “There seems to be a problem of asylum seekers claiming to have been converted to Christianity to support their applications.”

On Monday Met detectives said they had arrested and bailed a 22-year-old man on suspicion of assisting an offender as the manhunt continued. Police added that the mother Ezedi is suspected of dousing with a corrosive liquid may lose the sight in her right eye.

Ezedi arrived illegally in the UK in the back of a lorry in 2016, claiming his life would be in danger if he was returned to Afghanistan.

Despite being convicted of a sex offence two years later, he went on to claim asylum successfully. He was granted leave to remain in 2021 or 2022 on his third attempt after a priest vouched for his conversion, arguing that he was “wholly committed” to his new religion.

A Church of England spokesman previously said: “It is the role of the Home Office, and not the Church, to vet asylum seekers and judge the merits of their individual cases.”

The Home Office was contacted for comment.

UK
Depth of worklessness crisis revealed as ONS finds 400,000 more dropouts

Office for National Statistics (ONS)

Tim Wallace
Mon, 5 February 2024 

UK workers

Britain’s jobless crisis is worse than previously thought as new estimates show more than 400,000 extra people have dropped out of the labour market amid record long-term sickness.

There are now 9.25 million people aged between 16 and 64 who are not working nor looking for work, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), meaning they are officially classed as “economically inactive”.

Officials have revised the figures upwards because the adult population is almost 750,000 bigger than previously expected, fuelled by greater levels of immigration.

There are 172,000 more people in work than previously realised, as well as 30,000 more unemployed. There are also an additional 414,000 who are inactive, amid a growing trend of long-term sickness.

A total of 2.8m people have dropped out of the jobs market because of their health, a record high. This is around 200,000 higher than previously estimated. In part this is thought to be due to a rise in the number of older workers, who are disproportionately likely to be unwell.

Former cabinet ministers said the figures underlined the urgency needed by Rishi Sunak to get a grip on worklessness. Tory leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith said: “Long term sickness has spiralled since Covid.

“The Government needs to put all their focus on bringing them all into Universal Credit so they can be incentivised back into work, and cut taxes to help incentivise those on middle incomes back into work as well. Work remains the best route out of poverty.”

Sir John Redwood, another former cabinet minister, said unless action is taken, it will affect the balance between those who are out of work on pensions and benefits and those in work who are paying taxes to pay for these.

“This encourages governments to allow more people in as legal migrants, which is cheap for the employer but expensive for the taxpayer because it will mean extra spending on social housing and health spending etc. We are already paying for the public service needs of people who are already here.”

Sir John added that the figures could also make it harder for the Bank of England to cut interest rates from a 16-year high of 5.25pc.

“Another concern is that if your income tax and working tax revenue is down and public spending is up, this leads to bigger deficits which make it harder to bring interest rates down,” he said.

Andrew Bailey, the Bank’s Governor, has stressed he is worried the tight jobs market is causing high pay rises, potentially fuelling sustained inflation.

Huw Pill, the Bank’s chief economist, said on Monday that while it remained “premature” to discuss rate cuts at the current juncture, he noted that the “outlook for monetary policy has shifted” and it was now a question of “when, rather than if” the Bank would begin loosening policy.

He added that as underlying domestic inflationary pressures started to wane “we can begin to reduce” interest rates.

The ONS also found more women in the workforce than previously thought. As women are more likely to take time out of work to care for relatives, this pushed up the number of people who are looking after their home or families by 108,000.

There are also an extra 142,000 students.

Tony Wilson at the Institute for Employment Studies said the increase in sickness means the economy is missing out on extra growth.

“It means the economy is underperforming. We could be doing better. We could have more people in employment, more output and a stronger economy, if we could get better at helping people to prepare for work, get into work, and help those in work to stay there,” he said.

The new data points to an unemployment rate of 3.9pc, below the 4.2pc previously estimated.

George Buckley, economist at Nomura, said the Bank “might see a tighter market which means there are fewer people available to work, and that means there is more upward pressure on wages”.

“This is helpful to the cause that the MPC will keep rates on hold for longer,” he said.

Signs of growing strength in the economy also risk pushing the Bank to keep rates high.

Britain is surging ahead of France and Germany as rate cut hopes drive the strongest growth in the UK’s services sector since May 2023, new data shows.

Activity rose for the third month in a row as expectations of Bank of England interest rate cuts this year boosted consumer and business confidence, driving a jump in new orders.

By contrast, low output and high labour costs are driving fears of stagflation in France and Germany.

However, there are also lingering signs the cost of living crisis is still hitting families’ finances.

Retail sales in January were up 1.2pc compared to the same month of 2023, according to the British Retail Consortium. This is below the rate of inflation and so indicates households spent more money to take home fewer goods. While families increased spending on food by 6.3pc, they cut back by 1.8pc on other products.

Meanwhile, EY warned refinancing debt could cost British companies an extra £25bn because of higher interest rates.

The Big Four accountant said refinancing costs have risen by as much as 6pc since 2022, as the Bank of England has lifted interest rates to bring the post-pandemic surge in inflation under control.

Higher borrowing costs will hit UK-listed companies now preparing to refinance £500bn of lending over the next three years.

It comes amid fresh warnings from the Centre for Economics and Business Research that Britain faces a record number of corporate insolvencies this year as companies which were hit hard by the pandemic shut their doors.

Ukraine-Russia war latest: Tucker Carlson says Russia is doing ‘very well’ during Moscow visit

Harriet Barber
Mon, 5 February 2024 

A serviceman of the 59th Separate Motorised Infantry Brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine with the call sign "Skorpion" - ALINA SMUTKO/REUTERS

Tucker Carlson, the former Fox News host, said Russia is “doing very well” during a visit to Moscow but remained coy about whether he will interview Vladimir Putin.

In a video captured during his visit, Mr Carlson said he wanted to “talk to people, look around, and see how it’s doing... and it’s doing very well.”

When asked if he would interview Mr Putin, he replied: “We’ll see.”


Mr Carlson said in late September 2023 that he had attempted to interview the Russian leader, but that the US government had blocked the move.

“I tried to interview Vladimir Putin, and the US government stopped me,” Mr Carlson told Swiss magazine, Die Weltwoche.

The Kremlin, asked the same question, said it could hardly be expected to comment on the comings and goings of foreign journalists or provide a running commentary on them.

Dmitry Peskov, a Kremlin spokesman said: “Many foreign journalists come to Russia every day, many continue to work here, and we welcome this. We have nothing to announce in terms of the president’s interviews to foreign media.”

Mr Carlson has regularly sparked controversy for inflammatory statements about race and LGBTQ rights, and faced backlash when describing footage from the Jan 6 assault on the Capitol as “mostly peaceful chaos.” He was fired from Fox News last year.

British infants more likely to die before first birthday than those in other developed countries


Michael Searles
Mon, 5 February 2024 

A report found that the UK ranked 30 out of 49 developed countries for infant mortality - STURTI/E+

British infants are more likely to die before their first birthday than those in most other developed countries after an “appalling decline” in children’s health since the pandemic.

By the age of five, 20 per cent of British children are considered overweight or obese, and one in four is suffering from tooth decay, a report has said.

The UK ranked 30 out of 49 developed countries for infant mortality, which is the proportion of children who are dying before their first birthday, experts from the Academy of Medical Sciences said.

It means Britain’s children are less likely to reach one than 60 per cent of other Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries, as progress on improving survival rates has stalled.

There were four deaths per 1,000 births in the UK between 2019 and 2022, according to the OECD. Japan had the lowest infant mortality at 1.7 deaths per 1,000 births, while most of Europe and Australia also fared better.

The US, Canada, India, South Africa and several South American countries ranked below the UK.

The UK’s global ranking has gradually fallen from 23rd in 2015 when the infant mortality rate was 3.9 deaths per 1,000 births. While other countries improved, Britain’s rate stagnated before it fell during the pandemic back to figures not seen since 2012.
Pandemic contributed to decline in children’s health

The report found children’s decline in health had been compounded by the Covid-19 pandemic as well as the cost of living crisis, but started in the years preceding 2020.

The academics said a national rise in child poverty and in mental health issues were also to blame for children’s ill health.

The number of children living in extreme poverty tripled between 2019 and 2022, the report found.

The authors said the cost to the economy of not addressing children’s poor health was at least £16.13 billion, using data from the London School of Economics.

Professor Helen Minnis, co-chairman of the report from Glasgow University, said it was clear that “we are betraying our children”.

“Child deaths are rising, infant survival lags behind comparable countries, and preventable physical and mental health issues plague our youngest citizens.

“Unless the health of babies and young children is urgently prioritised, we condemn many to a life of poorer health and lost potential. The time to act is now,” she said.
‘Disconcencerting’ report findings

Professor Sir Andrew Pollard, co-chairman from the University of Oxford, said: “There are huge challenges for the NHS today, driven by the growing pressures on health and social care from an ageing population.

“Even more disconcerting is the evidence cited in our Academy of Medical Sciences report of an appalling decline in the health of our children, which makes for an even more bleak outlook for their future.

“There is clear evidence in the report that tackling childhood health conditions, addressing inequalities and providing early years social support can change the future of health and prosperity.”

A government spokesman said short-term and long-term action has been implemented to improve children’s health. This includes “dramatically reducing sugar in children’s foods, investing over £600 million to improve the quality of sport for children, and encouraging healthy diets for families from lower-income households through schemes like Healthy Start”.

They added: “We’re also investing an additional £2.3 billion a year into mental health services, the number of children seen by NHS dentists rose by 14 per cent last year, and we’re taking steps to reduce youth vaping and introducing the first ever smoke-free generation.

“Cutting waiting lists is one of the Government’s top five priorities. Despite ongoing pressure on the NHS, we have cut the total waiting list and the number of individual patients waiting for treatment compared to the previous month.”

UK

Labour plans to give ethnic minorities and disabled ‘full right to equal pay’

Amy Gibbons
Mon, 5 February 2024 

Labour wants to make it easier for minority groups to bring a claim against their employer - william87/iStock Editorial

Labour is proposing to put race on the same footing as sex in equal pay claims in order to “root out” inequality.

Under the reforms, ethnic minorities and disabled people would have a “full right to equal pay” enshrined in law, bringing their legal protections on par with those of women.

In the party’s view, this would make it easier for people from minority groups to bring a claim against their employer because they would no longer have to prove “direct discrimination”.

But Kemi Badenoch, the equalities minister, suggested the change would be pointless because it is “obviously already illegal to pay someone less because of their race”.

She claimed the plans would “set people against each other”, create a “bonanza for dodgy activist lawyers” and waste millions on “red tape”.

Currently, while everyone can sue on the basis of discrimination, women have a right to equal pay for work of “equal value” written into the Equality Act 2010.

This means they are entitled to make a claim if they suspect they are being paid less than a man for a job deemed to have equal worth, even if it is technically a different role – for example, a cashier versus a warehouse worker.

‘Pointless red tape’

Labour would expand this right to include black, Asian and minority ethnic people, as well as disabled people.

It is already illegal to pay these groups less based on their protected characteristics, but they currently have to prove “direct discrimination” to sue. The reforms would allow them to make an equal pay claim instead.

Writing on social media, Mrs Badenoch said: “Labour’s proposed new race law will set people against each other and see millions wasted on pointless red tape.

“It is obviously already illegal to pay someone less because of their race. The new law would be a bonanza for dodgy, activist lawyers.”

Darren Newman, an employment lawyer, suggested that making an equal pay claim can be more complicated partly because it requires “finding an actual comparator – rather than a hypothetical one – employed on ‘equal work’”.

In a blog post, he wrote that most equal pay cases “eventually boil down to the question of whether the pay is discriminatory” anyway, adding: “It is not at all clear that an equal pay claim is better than a discrimination claim. It is, however, undoubtedly more complex.”

Racism ‘sewn into fabric of system itself’

The move forms one of the central policies in Labour’s proposed Race Equality Act, designed to deliver economic growth that “everyone can have a stake in”.

Separately, the party would enact existing “dual discrimination” laws, aimed at streamlining the process for people who wish to sue on multiple fronts. For example, the reforms would allow a black woman to make one claim for sexism and racism, rather than two.

But Mr Newman said it would be “nonsense on stilts” to claim this was beneficial, adding: “The idea that a claimant in these circumstances has to bring two separate tribunal claims is gloriously wrongheaded. There is only one act of discrimination and only one claim, even if it can be expressed in two different ways.”

The measures, written into the Equality Act, are currently lying dormant. The change would probably be made through secondary legislation. Labour said the reforms would also benefit women going through the menopause because they could bring a claim on the basis of sex and age at the same time.

However, some critics said the proposals did not go far enough.

Dr Shabna Begum, the head of the Runnymede Trust, an equality think tank, told The Guardian: “The plans fall short of addressing the formidable scale of inequalities that shape the experiences and opportunities of people of colour.

“Committing to address structural racial inequality needs to understand that racism doesn’t simply arise when the system fails – but that racism is actually sewn into the very fabric of the system itself.

“Labour must use the Race Equality Act as a platform to commit to an ambitious, cross-governmental approach supported with sustained investment addressing the unacceptable – and in some cases worsening – disparities in health, housing, wealth and policing, faced by so many communities of colour.”

What are the laws for equal pay? Labour expected to grant equal pay rights for ethnic minorities


Lola Christina Alao
Mon, 5 February 2024 

Labour said any changes they would make if they won the next general election would be gradually introduced to give employers time to adjust (Getty Images)

Labour has outlined its plans to extend full rights to equal pay to ethnic minority workers and disabled people if it wins the next general election.

Women currently have stronger protections on pay than other groups. Under the party's new plans, equal pay claims on the basis of ethnicity and disability would reportedly be treated in the same way as those made on the basis of gender.

Keir Starmer is expected to reveal updated plans for the draft Race Equality Act on Monday. The proposed changes would also enact protections against “dual discrimination”, in which people face prejudice due to a combination of protected characteristics, according to The Guardian.


However, Minister for Equalities Kemi Badenoch said this would "be a bonanza for dodgy, activist lawyers".

She said the proposed legislation would "set people against each other and see millions wasted on pointless red tape".

"It is obviously already illegal to pay someone less because of their race," Badenoch added.

Labour said any changes they would make if they won the next general election would be gradually introduced to give employers time to adjust.

The party has also established a race equality taskforce, led by Baroness Lawrence and co-chaired by shadow equalities secretary Anneliese Dodds.

"It has never been more important to deliver race equality," Ms Dodds told The Guardian on Sunday.

She added: "Inequality has soared under the Tories and too many black, Asian and ethnic minority families are working harder and harder for less and less. This is holding back their families and holding back the economy.

"We are proud of our achievements in government, from the landmark Equality Act [in 2010] to strengthening protections against discrimination. The next Labour government will go further to ensure no matter where you live in the UK, and whatever your background, you can thrive."

When was the equal pay act?

The original Equal Pay Act was passed on 29 May 1970, and came into force on 29 December 1975.

Who does it apply to?

It established that men and women should be paid equally for the same work, or work of a broadly similar nature.

How is it different from the Sex Discrimination Act 1975 and Race Relations Act 1976?

The Equal Pay Act, Sex Discrimination Act, and Race Relations Act are now all combined.

The Equality Act, came into force in October 2010, and merged and replaced the following legislation:

Equal Pay Act 1970;


Sex Discrimination Act 1975;


Race Relations Act 1976;


Disability Discrimination Act 1995;


Employment Equality (Religion or Belief) Regulations 2003;


Employment Equality (Sexual Orientation) Regulations 2003;


Employment Equality (Age) Regulations 2006;


Part 2, Equality Act 2006 and the Equality Act (Sexual Orientation) Regulations 2007.

The Equality Act legally protects people from discrimination in the workplace and in wider society.

Plans for collider ‘to smash particles together to unveil Universe’s mysteries’

Nina Massey, PA Science Correspondent
Mon, 5 February 2024 



Researchers are developing plans for a new collider that could smash particles together at a greater force than currently possible in a bid to shed light on some of the Universe’s biggest mysteries.

The European Organisation for Nuclear Research’s (Cern) Large Hadron Collider (LHC), will complete its mission around 2040, and experts are looking at what could replace it.

Early estimates suggest the new machine, called the Future Circular Collider (FCC), would cost around £13.7 billion (15 billion Swiss Francs).

It is expected to be installed in a tunnel measuring some 91 kilometres in circumference at a depth of between 100 and 400 metres on French and Swiss territory.

Using the highest energies, it will smash particles together in the hope that new findings will change the world of physics, and understanding of how the Universe works.

On Monday, Cern announced that a mid-term feasibility study did not find a “technical showstopper”.

Among other things, the review was also able to identify the ideal location for the infrastructure of the project, and the size of the proposed tunnel.

In 2012, the LHC detected a new particle called the Higgs Boson, which provides a new way to look at the Universe.

However, dark matter and dark energy have remained elusive, and researchers hope the new collider will be able to answer some of science’s greatest unanswered questions.

Cern’s director general, Professor Fabiola Gianotti, said: “The FCC will be an unprecedented instrument to explore the law of physics and of nature, at the smallest scales and at the highest energies.”

She added: “[It] will allow us to address some of the outstanding questions in fundamental physics today in our knowledge of the fundamental constituents of matter and the structure and evolution of the Universe.”

Addressing critics who suggest the project is very expensive, and there are no guarantees it will answer outstanding questions about the Universe, Eliezer Rabinovici, president of the Cern council, said the aim was to build “discovery machines”, and not “confirmation machines”.

Prof Gianotti added: “We build the facility, and experimental facilities not to run behind the prediction, [or] correct calculation.

“Our goal is to address open questions, then of course, theories develop, and ideas on how to answer those questions.

“But nature may have chosen a completely different path. So our goal is to look at the open question and try to find an answer, whichever answer, nature has decided out there.

“It’s true that at the moment, we do not have a clear theoretical guidance on what we should look for, but it is exactly at times where we lack theoretical guidance – which means we do not have a clear idea of how nature may answer the open question – that we need to build instruments.

“Because the instruments will allow us to make a big step forward towards addressing the question, or also telling us what are the right questions to ask.”

If approved, the FCC could be running by the early to mid 2040s.

Professor Tim Gershon, elementary particle physics group, University of Warwick, said: “The so-called Future Circular Collider is Cern’s proposal to address this challenge.

“It will provide the ability to measure the properties of the Higgs Boson in unprecedented precision, and in so doing to look at the Universe in new ways.

“It is hoped that this will provide answers to some of the most important fundamental questions about the Universe, such as what happened in its earliest moments.

“The latest report on the ongoing FCC feasibility studies is encouraging – in the most optimistic scenario the new collider could start to produce data in just over two decades from now.

“But there is still a very long way to go.”