It’s possible that I shall make an ass of myself. But in that case one can always get out of it with a little dialectic. I have, of course, so worded my proposition as to be right either way (K.Marx, Letter to F.Engels on the Indian Mutiny)
Sunday, December 03, 2023
UK Health Secretary tells of ‘respect’ for junior doctors before strike talks
Patrick Daly, PA Political Correspondent Sat, 2 December 2023
The Health Secretary has spoken of her “respect” for striking junior doctors ahead of fresh pay talks.
Victoria Atkins struck a conciliatory tone, saying she wants to build a “new relationship” with the British Medical Association (BMA) after her appointment less than three weeks ago.
Her language has proved markedly different to her predecessor Steve Barclay, who referred to the BMA as having a politically “militant stance”.
Ms Atkins, in an interview with The Times, said junior doctors “understand” the Government is “not going to be able to meet some of their asks” but she is entering discussions with a “constructive frame of mind”.
It comes after she this week agreed a deal with consultants in England to potentially end a long and bitter dispute over pay.
The deal on the table, set to be put to union members, will see the country’s top doctors earn more money from January, although it will not be paid until April.
The junior doctors’ dispute remains unresolved, however. Their opening gambit was for a 35% pay rise.
During the summer, the Government said junior doctors would receive a 6% wage rise plus £1,250, in line with recommendations from independent pay review bodies, but it was not enough to satisfy unions.
Ms Atkins refused to echo Mr Barclay’s labelling of the BMA as “militant”.
She said: “I can only speak as I find and I had the pleasure of meeting the two leaders of the BMA junior doctors’ committee and I found them to be very constructive.
Health Secretary Victoria Atkins has struck a conciliatory tone as she enters fresh talks with striking junior doctors (PA)
“I’m not going to be able to meet some of their asks. I think they understand that.
“But what I do want to look at is not just pay, but also that we value them as members of the workforce.
“Of course I respect junior doctors. I have admiration for our doctors but also nurses and our volunteers.”
There is said to be an acceptance among ministers that without breakthroughs in the health sector strikes deadlock, there is little chance of delivering on Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s pledge to cut NHS waiting lists before a likely general election next year.
NHS trusts are also footing the bill to bring in expensive locums to cover the strikes, which have been going on for a year.
Downing Street said this week that ministers will be open to “non-pay” negotiations with junior doctors in what could amount to a deal similar to that agreed with consultants. Shadow health secretary Wes Streeting has announced plans for neighbourhood health centres (PA)
The Prime Minister’s official spokesman said on Monday: “Certainly our offer to junior doctors is the same as to consultants.
“While headline pay was a settled issue, we are more than happy to discuss non-pay issues.”
The efforts to resolve the strikes in the NHS comes as Labour set out plans for GP hubs, where patients can access weekend and evening walk-in appointments.
The Daily Telegraph reported that the Opposition party plans, if it wins the next election, to install in every part of the country neighbourhood health centres that bring together a wide range of services, including doctors, dentists and treatment of minor injuries.
Shadow health secretary Wes Streeting tweeted: “Labour’s mission is to get our NHS back on its feet and fit for the future — a neighbourhood health service that gets to patients faster, treats them quicker and prevents ill-health.”
How problematic is mineral mining for electric cars?
Jasper Jolly Thu, 30 November 2023
THE GUARDIAN
In the deserts of Chile, the Australian outback and the plains of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the earth is being peeled back and the water sucked up and dried out to find the minerals needed to feed the world’s need for electric cars.
The scars left on the earth by the search for battery minerals are regularly trotted out by opponents of the transition away from fossil fuels. But in our EV mythbusters series, we are taking a closer look at some of the most common criticisms of electric cars, highlighting the myths, the realities, and the grey areas.
The extraction of battery materials is due to expand on a grand scale. That will leave a trail of mining – often with local environmental degradation – in its wake. The rightwing politician turned pundit Nigel Farage last month wrote of electric vehicles’ “nasty secret” and the “strain” on the environment from mining for minerals used in electric cars.
Beyond the environmental impact, there is also the issue of child labour and exploitation of artisanal miners, which is rife in some parts of the DRC at cobalt mines, according to reports by the human rights group Amnesty International and others.
A recent headline in the Daily Telegraph newspaper claimed: “Electric cars are made of pollution and human misery.” A Washington Post headline claimed the electric vehicle transition was driven by “blood batteries”. The science
Mineral demand for heavy batteries will grow rapidly. The International Energy Agency estimated that electric cars use 173kg more minerals such as lithium, nickel and copper than petrol cars (when ignoring steel and aluminium). The data company Benchmark Mineral Intelligence forecasts global demand for lithium, the key battery metal, will quadruple to 3m tonnes in 2030, outstripping supply.
Yet overall, the mineral use for electric cars is much, much lower than petrol and diesel as soon as oil enters the equation. Transport & Environment (T&E), a Brussels-based thinktank, found that a petrol car will burn an average of 17,000 litres of oil in its lifetime – about 12.5 tonnes.
And most criticisms of electric cars’ mineral use miss a hugely important point: the majority of battery materials used in cars are likely to be recycled. That will drastically cut down the amount of wasted material compared with fossil fuels which disappear invisibly but harmfully to heat the planet.
David Bott, the head of innovation at the Society of Chemical Industry, said: “The real thing people forget is once it has been mined, you will end up being able to reuse 80-90% of the metals. You don’t have to go back to the planet to steal more minerals.”
T&E’s data suggests that after recycling, battery material waste over an electric car’s life will be about the size of a football, or 30kg, by 2030. That figure does not include any fossil fuels burned to generate electricity, meaning the true real-life mineral toll will be higher than 30kg until countries have decarbonised their electrical grids completely. Data suggests that after recycling, battery material waste over an electric car’s life will be about 30kg by 2030. Photograph: John Walton/PA
Julia Poliscanova, T&E’s senior director for vehicles and e-mobility, said: “By 2030 we will need around 30m tonnes of critical minerals [for batteries]. It’s very, very substantial, but if we put this in comparison, we used in one year 15bn tonnes of fossil fuels.”
Auke Hoekstra, an energy transition researcher at the Eindhoven University of Technology, said that about 0.1% of the Earth’s habitable land is used in mining, but less than 0.01% was used for battery minerals. That still includes vast amounts of material, including 130,000 tonnes of lithium, according to the US Geological Survey. But that is dwarfed by other materials: there were 2.6bn tonnes of iron ore mined for steel in 2022 and 4.4bn tonnes of oil.
For fossil fuels “the sheer amount of material we need to get out of the ground is bigger and everlasting,” Hoekstra said. “At least with batteries you have a chance of making it circular.” Any caveats?
Mark Dummett, the head of business and human rights at Amnesty International, co-wrote one of the first reports exposing child labour in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Yet he argues that there is no special problem with the battery industry; he has also seen first-hand alleged human rights abuses associated with the extraction of oil in the Niger Delta.
“These problems have always existed in mining,” Dummett said. “I strongly believe that this problem has been exaggerated hugely by opponents of the energy transition, the fossil fuel lobby.”
And the alternative will not mean less mining. Caspar Rawles, the chief data officer at Benchmark Mineral Intelligence, said: “It always makes me laugh. OK, the mining of EV [materials] is harmful. Where do you think your car now comes from?” The verdict
The data we have leaves little doubt that resource extraction will be significantly lower for electric cars compared with their petrol or diesel equivalents as recycling increases.
And neither do the green credentials
US Payrolls Are Seen Picking Up After End of UAW Strike
Vince Golle and Craig Stirling Sat, 2 December 2023
(Bloomberg) -- The return of striking United Auto Workers to vehicle assembly lines is seen driving a pickup in November payrolls, representing a pause in the recent trend of moderating US employment growth.
Government data on Friday are projected to show payrolls in the world’s largest economy increased by 180,000 after a 150,000 October advance. Such a print would still leave average job growth over the past three months down about 100,000 from the pace seen earlier in the year.
The unemployment rate is forecast to hold at 3.9%, the highest since the start of 2022. That’s also consistent with softer labor-market conditions and more restrained wage growth, helping soothe concerns about inflation and supporting assessments that the Federal Reserve is done raising interest rates.
The jobs report is forecast to show November average hourly earnings increased 4% from a year ago, the smallest annual advance since mid-2021.
What Bloomberg Economics Says:
“November’s job report will send mixed signals about the state of the labor market. A solid nonfarm payroll print following a resolution to the UAW strikes will contrast with a weak household survey, where we expect the unemployment rate to edge up to 4.0%. Our view is that the economy is likely in a turning point toward a recession.”
—Anna Wong, Stuart Paul, Eliza Winger and Estelle Ou, economists. For full analysis, click here
Fed officials will observe a blackout period ahead of their Dec. 12-13 policy meeting, the last for 2023. Fed Chair Jerome Powell pushed back on Friday against growing expectations for interest-rate cuts in the first half of 2024.
Read more: Powell Brushes Off Rate-Cut Speculation as Fed Moves Carefully
Resilient hiring and wage gains have been at the root of robust consumer spending in recent months. While the current pace of job gains is consistent with further economic growth, any broader and deeper hiring slowdown would raise the risk of a recession.
Separate figures are projected to show a three-month low in job openings, indicating a gradual loosening of labor demand. Weekly jobless claims will also be watched closely for signs of a pickup in outright dismissals.
Already, the number of people on jobless benefit rolls stands at a two-year high, indicating out-of-work Americans are finding it more difficult to secure another job.
For more, read Bloomberg Economics’ full Week Ahead for the US
Further north, the majority of forecasters in a Bloomberg survey expect the Bank of Canada on Wednesday to hold rates steady at 5% for a third straight meeting. The Canadian economy unexpectedly shrank in the third quarter and consumer spending has stalled, confirming the central bank’s aggressive rate increases are working to curb growth.
Elsewhere, borrowing costs are also predicted to stay unchanged in India, Australia, Poland and across Africa. Beyond central banking, China’s President Xi Jinping hosts the European Union’s Ursula von der Leyen, and the bloc’s finance chiefs will try to agree on new fiscal rules.
Click here for what happened last week and below is our wrap of what’s coming up in the global economy.
Asia
European Commission President von der Leyen travels to China for the first in-person summit with Xi in four years, starting Thursday, a meeting that could offer another sign that Beijing is looking to improve relations with its major trading partners.
On Tuesday, the Reserve Bank of Australia is expected to leave rates on hold following last month’s hike. Growth figures for the economy come out the following day.
South Korea releases its revised gross domestic product figures on Tuesday alongside price data for November. Taiwan and Thailand will follow with inflation reports on Wednesday and Thursday.
Investors will get more information on Japan’s inflation dynamics, with Tokyo CPI out on Tuesday followed by wages on Friday.
Those figures, along with revised GDP, could have implications for Bank of Japan policy as the central bank gears up for another meeting later in the month.
The week draws to a close with the Reserve Bank of India likely to stand pat Friday.
For more, read Bloomberg Economics’ full Week Ahead for Asia
Europe, Middle East, Africa
Following surprise data that showed France’s economy shrank in the third quarter while Italy eked out some growth, the overall euro-zone contraction for the period could be revised when new data are released on Thursday.
Meanwhile, industrial production numbers for October, the start of the year’s final quarter, will be released in all four of the region’s biggest economies, starting on Tuesday with France and Spain, and followed on Thursday by Germany and Italy.
German factory orders on Wednesday may also give a signal on whether manufacturing there has pulled through the worst of its downturn.
European Central Bank officials are watching such data as they gauge the impact of prior rate hikes, at a time when investors have firmed bets on a cut in borrowing costs as soon as April after lower-than-expected inflation data.
The institution’s consumer-price expectations survey is due on Tuesday, and remarks this week, including a speech by President Christine Lagarde on Monday, will be scrutinized for clues on the ECB’s intentions ahead of its Dec. 14 meeting.
A pre-decision blackout period kicks in on Thursday, the same day Lagarde attends a crucial meeting of euro-zone finance ministers who are in a standoff over how to apply EU debt and deficit limits when those rules are reinstated in January.
In the UK, the Bank of England will release its latest financial stability report on Wednesday, with a press conference hosted by Governor Andrew Bailey. His institution will publish the survey it commissions on consumers’ inflation attitudes two days later.
Swiss statisticians will reveal the country’s consumer-price reading for November on Monday. Economists see that figure staying below the central bank’s 2% ceiling for the sixth month in a row.
The same day in Sweden, the Riksbank publishes minutes of its most recent decision, where officials defied market expectations for a rate hike by keeping borrowing costs on hold. Governor Erik Thedeen and his four deputy governors will speak on successive days.
Multiple central banks around the region are anticipated to keep borrowing costs on hold:
In eastern Europe, Polish rates will likely be maintained at their current level for a second month on Wednesday, amid uncertainty over fiscal plans of the incoming coalition.
The following day, Serbian officials may also keep borrowing costs on hold.
In Africa, with Kenyan inflation within target, no change is anticipated on Tuesday for a third straight meeting as policymakers monitor a steep depreciation of the shilling.
Neighboring Uganda is also likely to keep borrowing costs on hold on Wednesday, after inflation quickened and the currency dropped to more than a year-low against the dollar.
And in Botswana, policymakers are poised to leave their key rate unchanged on Thursday.
Elsewhere, consumer-price data will draw attention. In Turkey on Monday, inflation is predicted to have accelerated slightly to about 62% in November. And on Friday in Russia, consumer-price growth is also likely to have increased.
For more, read Bloomberg Economics’ full Week Ahead for EMEA
Latin America
Brazil’s GDP data due on Tuesday will be one of the highlights of the week, showing how much Latin America’s largest economy slowed during the third quarter.
After beating forecasts in the first half of the year, Brazil’s economy is expected to have stalled between July and September as high rates finally take their toll.
Brazil’s central bank has lowered its benchmark rate by 150 basis points since August, and promised to deliver at least 100 basis points more in cuts over its next two policy meetings.
Thursday will bring a barrage of consumer-price data, with Mexico, Chile and Colombia all posting numbers for November. While inflation is expected to further slow in Chile, Mexico is likely to see a more mixed picture, with the headline figure ticking up but coreprices rising at a slower pace.
Mexico’s central bank chief Victoria Rodriguez Ceja said on Wednesday that it was possible a rate cut in early 2024 may be discussed, although other board members expressed doubts that it could come so soon.
Meanwhile, Colombia’s annual inflation is expected to remain above 10% in November, although an unexpected economic contraction in the third quarter has raised expectations that the central bank may soon begin unwinding its record monetary tightening cycle.
For more, read Bloomberg Economics’ full Week Ahead for Latin America
--With assistance from Walter Brandimarte, Laura Dhillon Kane, Monique Vanek, Paul Wallace, Yuko Takeo, Tony Halpin and Piotr Skolimowski.
Inflatable Santa Claus gunned down in Kentucky drive-by shooting Sky News Updated Sat, 2 December 2023
A giant blow-up Santa has been gunned down in a drive-by shooting in the US - with the deflating deed captured on video.
The unfestive act carried out in Lexington, Kentucky, left a gaping 46cm (18in) hole in the Father Christmas and raised concerns other similar inflatable decorations could be targeted by the trigger-happy yobs, putting people in danger.
The Santa Claus, which had pride of place in a couple's front garden, had been brought just days earlier for $200.
But it is hoped with the help of thimble-fingered neighbours that this St Nicholas could be stitched up and rise again, providing some much-needed yuletide cheer.
Homeowner Donald Nelson said: "Me and my wife were sitting on the couch watching TV and we heard a small bang or whatever and she asked me to take a look.
"When I looked out the front door, we saw the inflatable had fallen over."
But it was only when he reviewed his CCTV footage the reality of what happened was brought home.
Mr Nelson said: "I went back and looked at our home security camera and it actually showed a vehicle turn around in the court and a sound that sounded like a firearm, shoot it.
"As soon as that noise went off, the inflatable fell down."
He added: "I mean, there's multiple neighbours that have inflatables too and I mean certainly they could be targeted also.
"If they've done one, they'll probably do several.
"Hopefully people will have Ring cameras, security cameras, that will catch a licence plate or give us a better description of who's doing this."
Mr Nelson went on: "We've got some neighbours that can sew and have promised their services to help get him up and going again... I just beg people to check and see what your kids are doing.
"I hope this doesn't happen to anyone else.
"We don't want anyone to get hurt. It's not a cute, fun thing.
"This is, you know, you're discharging a firearm at someone's home."
NBC affiliate Lex 18 reported that Mr Nelson filed a police report but hadn't had any updates as of Saturday.
Italy’s other leaning tower cordoned off over fears it could collapse
Jorg Luyken Sat, 2 December 2023 The centre of Bologna with the Asinelli tower and the Garisenda tower seen from above, Emilia-Romagna, Italy. - De Agostini Editorial
Authorities in the Italian city of Bologna have cordoned off a tilting 12th century tower over fears that it could collapse.
Work has started on a metal barrier around the Garisenda Tower, which leans at almost the same angle as the more famous tower of Pisa, after local authorities described the situation as “highly critical”.
The barrier will be made up of a 5m fence, as well as rock-fall nets designed to catch debris that could cascade down and damage other buildings or strike unwitting pedestrians. People take a break sitting under the arcades near the 'Two Towers' - Michele Lapini
Authorities have said that the safety construction will be completed early next year, describing it as “the first phase” of making the building safe.
Experts who have been tasked with assessing the viability of the 900-year-old structure have struck a more pessimistic note on its long-term future, however.
A report that was finalised in November described the building as having been in an “inescapably critical condition for some time”. The two towers (Asinelli and Garisenda), Bologna, Bologna, Emilia-Romagna, Italy - DeAgostini/Getty Images
The report also concluded that previous attempts to buttress the tower’s foundations with steel rods had made the situation worse.
The tower has been cordoned off since October, when the city mayor ordered closer examination of its safety. The report came to the worrying conclusion that the tower had begun to lean in a different direction.
A city spokesperson told US broadcaster CNN that no one can tell when the building will finally fall down.
“We’re acting as if it’s about to collapse, but nobody knows when that could be – it could be three months, 10 years, or 20 years,” he said. Aerial view of Bologna and the Garisenda Tower at sunset - Moment RF
The Garisenda Tower – 154ft high – is the smaller of twin iconic turrets that dominate the skyline of Bologna’s mediaeval old town.
The taller Asinelli Tower is roughly double the height but leans less precipitously and is still open to tourists to climb.
At the time of construction in the 12th century, Bologna resembled a mediaeval Manhattan, in which wealthy families competed with one another to own the most prominent building.
While most of the turrets have since collapsed or been repurposed at a smaller scale, over a dozen still remain to this day.
Leaning tower in Bologna to be saved as city announces €4m repair project
Guardian staff and agency Sat, 2 December 2023 a Photograph: Michele Nucci/AP
Officials have announced plans to repair one of two 12th-century towers in the Italian city of Bologna after the area around it had to secured last month over fears its leaning could lead to collapse.
The city said the €4.3m (£3.7m) project to shore up the Garisenda tower – one of the Two Towers that look out over central Bologna, providing inspiration over the centuries to painters and poets and a lookout spot during conflicts – would proceed in January and February.
Italy’s civil protection agency has maintained a yellow alert on the site, denoting caution but not imminent danger. The Garisenda, the shorter of two towers built between 1109 and 1119, stands at 48 metres (157ft) in height to the Asinelli tower’s 97 metres (320ft).
The city’s mayor, Matteo Lepore, noted in a debate earlier this month that the Garisenda tower had leaned since it was built “and has been a concern ever since”. It sustained additional damage in the medieval era when ironwork and bakery ovens were built inside.
“We inherited a situation that over the centuries has caused this illness,” he said. The mayor has asked the government to petition to make the towers Unesco world heritage sites.
Work to reinforce both towers has been ongoing since the 1990s. Preliminary work on the Garisenda tower will include creating a containment area to prevent any damage to nearby structures or harm to passersby from a “possible collapse”, the city said in a statement. Video cameras will maintain surveillance of the site.
The Garisenda slants at 4 degrees, compared with 3.9 degrees for Italy’s more famous Leaning Tower of Pisa.
The Garisenda and Asinelli towers are named after the rival families who built them, believed to have been a way to compete over their power and wealth, and are located at what was the entrance to the city. The Garisenda was originally 60 metres’ tall but had to be lowered after it began to lean.
The tower is cited several times in Dante Alighieri’s Divine Comedy and Le Rime, and Charles Dickens wrote about it in his Pictures from Italy. The Garisenda was also referred to in Goethe’s Italian Journey.
Banks face £7bn bill from collapse of Selfridges shareholder Signa
Ben Marlow Sat, 2 December 2023 Selfridges
Some of Europe’s biggest banks are facing steep losses after lending billions of euros to Austrian billionaire Rene Benko’s property empire.
Analysts at JP Morgan calculate that the two main companies in Mr Benko’s sprawling Signa group have borrowed a combined €7.7bn (£6.6bn) from banks on the continent, with several of his backers lending him hundreds of millions each.
Signa swooped on Selfridges last year in a £4bn deal, teaming up with Thailand’s Central Group. Central sought to tighten its ownership of the prestigious retailer a fortnight ago as Signa’s financial troubles deepened.
It is estimated that €1.8bn of Signa’s debts alone are due to be repaid this year, though hopes of that happening are fading rapidly. Last week, a Vienna court declared the business insolvent as its search for a cash lifeline became increasingly desperate. The company faces an immediate funding requirement of €600m, according to reports.
JP Morgan estimates that the total financial liabilities of Signa Prime and Signa Development, the two largest entities in the group, stands at €13bn. In addition to €7.7bn of loans, the company owes €1.6bn to bondholders and has €1.8bn of so-called hybrid capital, usually made up of equity and debt, outstanding. A further €2bn is owed to various creditors.
Among those most exposed is the Austrian bank Raiffeisen, which is thought to have lent Signa more than €750m, and the Swiss lender Julius Baer, which is reportedly on the hook for €640m. Italy’s Unicredit, Credit Suisse, and Germany’s Commerzbank are also believed to be facing heavy losses.
Signa’s troubles could trigger the fire sale of the century as creditors seek to minimise potential losses. It has hoovered up department stores, skyscrapers, office blocks and scores of other commercial properties since being founded by Mr Benko, 46, in 2000.
Rene Benko’s retail and property empire was toppled by a cash crunch after a Vienna court declared the business insolvent - GEORG HOCHMUTH/AFP
It also owns stakes in New York’s Chrysler Building, and Selfridges’ Berlin equivalent, the KaDeWe luxury department store. It recently claimed to be sitting on €27bn of assets and a pipeline of forthcoming projects worth a further €25bn.
As part of their joint takeover of Selfridges, Signa and Central also acquired three of Ireland’s best known department stores: Brown Thomas in Dublin and Cork; and Arnotts in Dublin. A spokesman for the two companies reassured shoppers it was “business as usual”.
Signa is made up of more than 1,000 corporate entities and trusts, many of which sit offshore, and it is thought to owe money to as many as 120 different banks.
Mounting questions about the true value of much of its estate in the face of a sharp spike in interest rates and falling property prices, as well as its debt pile, are among the reasons why Signa’s future has been plunged into uncertainty.
“Despite considerable efforts in recent weeks, the necessary liquidity for an out-of-court restructuring process could not be sufficiently secured, and so Signa Holding has now applied for reorganisation proceedings,” Signa said last week.
Russians' support of Ukraine war collapses, finds poll
Joshua Askew Sat, 2 December 2023
Support for the Ukraine war in Russia has hit rock bottom, according to a recent poll.
The independent pollster Chronicle found that the number of Russians who fully support the invasion has almost halved since February 2023.
Their survey revealed those who favour peace far outnumber pro-war voices, with more Russians supporting the departure of the country's troops from Ukraine than not.
Discussing the findings, the Insitute for the Study of War (ISW) said on Friday the Kremlin was "likely concerned" about how changing attitudes towards the war could affect the 2024 Russian presidential election.
The US-based think tank claimed Vladimir Putin will centre his re-election campaign on "Russia’s alleged domestic stability and increased criticism of the West instead of focusing on the war."
Conducting polls in authoritarian states, like Russia, is notoriously difficult. The Kremlin has criminalised criticism of the war and spends millions on pro-war propaganda, meaning they may not reflect the realities of the situation. FILE - A man in a peace march holds a poster with the slogan "Russians are against the war" near the Russian Consulate General cordoned off by police in Germany 2/5/22. - Frank Rumpenhorst/(c) Copyright 2022, dpa (www.dpa.de). Alle Rechte vorbehalten
Chronicles, founded by Russian opposition politician Aleksei Miniailo, says its surveys offer an accurate snapshot of public opinion, however.
The Moscow-based research group asked 1,199 adults across Russia a series of questions in a phone poll between 17 and 22 October.
It found the number of core war supporters - those who express "consistent" approval of the war and want the invasion to continue until it has achieved its goals - fell from 22% in February 2023 to 12% in October.
Chronicles' survey revealed that 40% of Russians support the withdrawal of troops from Ukraine without war aims being achieved. This number has remained consistent throughout 2023.
Thirty-three per cent were against exiting Ukraine and wanted the war to continue, though this number has steadily fallen from 47% in February to 39% in July.
One reason why support for the war is falling could be that Russians are increasingly feeling the pinch and seeing a more gloomy future due to the fallout from the invasion, as a separate survey has shown.
Polling by Chronicle echoed this, finding that 44% of respondents have experienced a decrease in family income.
Putin announced a significant increase in military spending this week, with about 30% of the country's budget directed toward the armed forces in 2024.
The survey also showed how the situation was impacting peoples' lives.
More than half of the Russian population (52%) recently faced anxiety or depression, u from around a third (32%) in March 2022.
Those on lower incomes were more likely to report negative mental effects.
Families of prisoners of war massacred by Japanese captors demand apology
Patrick Sawer Sat, 2 December 2023 Crosses at the National Memorial Arboretum including for Ernest Page of 3rd The King’s Own Hussars killed on the Suez Maru - JOHN ROBERTSON FOR THE TELEGRAPH
Even amid the litany of horrors from the war in the Far East it still has the power to shock – hundreds of unarmed British and Allied prisoners shot in cold blood by their Japanese captors as they tried to save themselves from a sinking transport ship.
But the fate of the men – machine-gunned after leaping into the sea from the Suez Maru – was largely forgotten, other than by their grieving loved ones.
Those families are now campaigning for proper recognition of their relatives’ deaths and an apology from the Japanese authorities – for their predecessors’ role in the massacre - and the British government, for the way they believe ministers covered it up.
Eighty years to the day of the massacre many of the descendants of those murdered prisoners of war (PoWs) gathered at the National Memorial Arboretum (NMA) in Staffordshire to pay tribute and press for official acknowledgement that they were let down by their own side.
Suez Maru was transporting 550 British, Dutch, Irish and New Zealand PoWs from a prison camp on the Indonesian island of Ambo
The families are angry that Britain’s post-war government failed to bring the Japanese officers and troops responsible for the massacre to trial for war crimes, preferring to keep the matter shrouded in secrecy.
Jacquelyn Frith, whose great uncle Jack, a gunner with the Royal Artillery, was among those killed and who has fought to bring the truth to light, said: “The families of the murdered men have carried this painful wound down the generations and it is still little known.
“I believe the men of the Suez Maru should be heard and their sacrifice known – they deserve nothing less.”
The tragedy began on the morning of Nov 29 1943 as the Suez Maru was transporting 550 British, Dutch, Irish and New Zealand PoWs from a prison camp on the Indonesian island of Ambo, where they had already endured months of hellish conditions. Here almost 300 men died after being forced to work in the blazing heat, chipping at hard coral to build an airstrip for the planned Japanese invasion of Australia.
As the Suez Maru – which failed to carry any red cross markings identifying it as a PoW transport ship – made its way to Java it was intercepted by the American submarine USS Bonefish.
The submarine fired four torpedoes, one hitting amidships, splitting the vessel and another striking the stern, killing most of the 300 PoWs packed beneath decks.
The Suez Maru sank in less than twenty minutes, with hundreds of other PoWs managing to jump into the sea, scrambling onto makeshift life rafts.
Once in the water they were picked off by Japanese troops who had survived the submarine attack and been rescued by one of their own minesweepers. Jack Frith, a gunner with the Royal Artillery on the Suez Maru, was among those PoWs murdered by Japanese soldiers - JOHN ROBERTSON FOR THE TELEGRAPH
Testimony emerged later from Yoshio Kashiki, an Imperial Japanese Army soldier, who, sitting on the deck of the minesweeper W12, had overheard two of his officers discussing what to do with the estimated 250 Allied prisoners in the water.
In letters written to war crimes investigators in Tokyo in 1949, letters which saw him ostracised by his own family, Kashiki recounted how he had heard Lt Masaji Iketani – who had been in charge of the PoW’s ‘welfare’ – tell the W12’s Captain, Osamu Kawano, that there was a standing order to kill prisoners if the enemy torpedoed their transport. Cpt. Kawano agreed and the mens’ fate was sealed.
As the minesweeper came about, the long lines of PoWs in the water thought they were about to be rescued. They were instead met with machine gun fire.
Ms Frith, an archaeology research postgraduate at University of Liverpool, said: “Over the course of about two hours, every single man was shot and killed. Some of the prisoners, knowing they were about to be killed, stood up on flotsam and bared their chests in defiance.”
The truth about what happened only began to emerge decades later, thanks to Ms Frith - along with the late Allan Jones, an historian whose father Lewis was lost on the Suez Maru – poring over letters and archives and obtaining the slow release of official documents.
These revealed that, following a recommendation by the Allied occupying powers’ Far Eastern Commission not to prosecute war crimes beyond a certain point, the British government decided in turn not to bring those accused of the Suez Maru killings to trial.
Documents show that in October 1949 Emanuel Shinwell, British Secretary of State for War, called the Suez Maru case “a particular bad one”, but added that “for all we know there may be others [cases] as bad, and if we do not drop this or any other bad case I cannot see how we shall ever put an end to these trials”.
It was also felt that a trial would hinder the reconstruction of Japan along democratic, pro-Western lines, as well as being a drain on Britain’s depleted resources.
As a result Iketani and Kawano escaped justice, going on to live long lives in post-war Japan and according to Ms Frith behaving, until their deaths, “as if they simply hadn’t committed this crime”.
Ms Frith joined 60 other descendants of the massacre’s victims in laying ‘a tide of poppies’ at the NMA on Wednesday, each carrying the names of the 412 British soldiers and airmen killed, along with four Irish and one New Zealander. The 133 Dutch men killed will also soon be commemorated. Sisters Sacha Farley and Lisa Kirkup, grandaughters of Trooper Ernest Page, with the ‘tide of poppies’ at the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire - JOHN ROBERTSON FOR THE TELEGRAPH
Among the descendants at the NMA were sisters Sacha Farley and Lisa Kirkup, whose grandfather Ernest Joseph Page was captured by the Japanese after leaving his job as a postman in Norwich, at the age of 33, to serve in the 3rd The King’s Own Hussars.
Mr Page’s wife Beulah, who died in 2006 aged 92, never knew the truth behind his death, other than being told by officials that his PoW transport ship had been hit by ‘friendly fire’.
“It’s very, very moving for us to be here, with other families who suffered the same loss. It brings home how big an atrocity it was,” said Ms Farley, a retired teaching assistant from Guildford.
Ms Kirkup added: “My grandmother never really talked about it. Perhaps she just found it too difficult. But she wouldn’t have known about the dreadful shooting of her husband.”
Ms Frith says this was a “common thread” uniting the men’s surviving descendants.
“Some families have talked of places being set at the table for years afterwards and my grandfather laid poppies for his brother for the rest of his life,” she said.
The families now want the Japanese government to go beyond expressions of sorrow and to give an official apology for the murders, and for other Allied troops killed in similar fashion after their prison transport vessels, nicknamed “Hell Ships” by the men, were sunk by friendly fire. Ernest Joseph Page was captured by the Japanese after leaving his job as a postman in Norwich to serve in the 3rd The King’s Own Hussars - JOHN ROBERTSON FOR THE TELEGRAPH
They also seek an apology from the British government for failing to prosecute those responsible.
To date the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office has rejected the notion. It told Ms Frith in July 2021: “Whilst we have no hesitation in expressing deep regret for the loss of life which occurred on the Suez Maru, and indeed for any distress caused by the decision taken not to pursue a case against those involved, we hope that it is clear that the members of the government involved in making that decision did so in good faith on the basis of the information they had available to them at the time.”
For the families of those lost that is simply not good enough.
“The heart of this matter is simple,” said Ms Frith, speaking after the 23 long minutes it took at the NMA to read out the names of the Suez Maru dead.
“The war crime case was clearly presented to the highest levels of the 1949 British government, which failed the PoWs of the Suez Maru and chose to deny them justice.
“It has to apologise for the 80 years of additional suffering this has caused the families after the terrible loss of their loved ones. So many family members from all the Suez Maru families have passed away without hearing the apology, and yet, we are many more in number, stronger and more determined than ever.”
CRIMINAL CAPITALI$M
Cristiano Ronaldo’s $1bn Binance lawsuit is a warning to sports stars and celebrities
Jemma Fleetwood Sat, 2 December 2023 Nassr's Portuguese forward #07 Cristiano Ronaldo reacts to a missed chance during the Saudi Pro League football match between Al-Nassr and Al-Akhdoud in Riyadh's Al-Awal Park Stadium on November 24, 2023. (Photo by AFP) (Photo by -/AFP via Getty Images)
Binance ambassador Ronaldo faces a $1bn lawsuit from customers who say they have lost money
Cristiano Ronaldo is facing a $1bn legal claim in the state of Florida for damages in relation to endorsing Binance and NFTs, as well as failing to disclose how much he was paid for such promotion.
The Portuguese football superstar is essentially being blamed for the plaintiff’s losses which were incurred when investments they purchased on Binance’s platform plummeted in value.
They claim that these losses were a direct result of being encouraged by Ronaldo to purchase investments on the cryptocurrency exchange, which has been accused of engaging in unfair and deceptive practices.
Recent posts by both the footballer and Binance suggest that they are continuing to collaborate, too.
It is difficult to predict what the outcome of the legal claim will be at this stage, as Ronaldo may well choose to try and settle the matter before it reaches a trial.
These are usually held in the public domain and the former Manchester United player would be required to give evidence when defending the case at trial.
His celebrity status would attract a significant amount of media attention in the legal proceedings, however a sum in the region of $1bn may mean that an early settlement cannot be reached.
As a result, Ronaldo may be forced to litigate the case and defend his position at a trial.
It is not clear what his defence will be but the next stage of the proceedings will be for the 38-year-old and his legal team to prepare and lodge his defence with the court.
If the matter reached a trial and the plaintiffs bringing this case were to win, Ronaldo would likely be ordered to pay damages and could be held personally liable for the plaintiffs’ losses.
These types of cases have been brought previously against high-profile figures such as Kim Kardashian, who settled a claim against her for promoting cryptocurrency Ethereum Max on social media and failing to disclose that she had been paid for the promotion.
Kardashian eventually settled her case out of court, which meant that she did not face a lengthy public trial, but this really is a warning to sports stars, celebrities and influencers entering into promotional agreements that they should cover all bases and obtain legal advice before promoting investments or products online.
This latest development underlines that high-profile figures should always ensure they are acting in accordance with laws and have disclosed all necessary information. There is no substitute for good legal advice when entering into these arrangements.
Jemma Fleetwood is digital asset specialist lawyer at JMW Solicitors.
Erdogan weighs in on bank scam involving Turkish stars
AFP Sat, 2 December 2023 Legendary Turkish coach Fatih Terim led Galatasaray to UEFA Cup glory in 2000 (PHILIPPE HUGUEN)
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Saturday urged Turks to steer clear of pyramid schemes as a scandal raged at a top bank that allegedly defrauded celebrities and football stars of millions of dollars.
Turkey's media has been filled with headlines for days about the troubles at privately-owned Denizbank.
Court documents reported by Turkish media show that one of the bank's Istanbul branch managers orchestrated a $44-million scheme that promised 250-percent returns for those willing to hand over piles of cash.
The failed fund bore the name of Turkey's legendary football coach Fatih Terim and allegedly defrauded stars such as former Barcelona midfielders Arda Turan.
Terim gained hero status by leading Istanbul's Galatasaray to the UEFA Cup title in 2000.
He has not said anything in public about the scandal.
The Istanbul branch bank manager who created the fund, and reportedly received bags full of dollars from celebrities and players, said that Denizbank managers knew about the scheme.
Denizbank has denied the claim and said it has launched an internal audit to investigate the fund's collapse.
Erdogan said Saturday that "investigations into the suspects mentioned in this case continue".
"Turkey is a state of law and whoever commits unlawful acts will be punished," Erdogan said in comments released by his office.
"Our citizens should not fall into the traps of fraudsters who offer high profits in a short time with the promise of easy money," he said.
Istanbul prosecutors are seeking more than 200 years in prison for Denizbank branch manager Secil Erzan for allegedly organising the scam.
Erzan reportedly launched the fund last year to help drum up cash to cover up past investment losses.
Denizbank said in a statement that it "first became aware of the issue when a complainant, who is also our customer, came to the branch" in April.
The bank added that "the amounts in question are not significant in terms of the size for the bank's" total assets.
Denizbank now operates as a local unit of the Emirates NBD.
The Dubai-based lender purchased it from Russia's state-owned Sberbank in 2019.
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New Zealand’s Right-wing government scraps major Jacinda Ardern policies
Timothy Sigsworth Sat, 2 December 2023 New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has got 'ambitious' plans
- Mark Mitchell/New Zealand Herald
New Zealand’s new Right-wing government has unveiled plans to scrap scores of Jacinda Ardern’s policies as it turns a page on her time in office.
Christopher Luxon, the country’s newly elected prime minister, this week revealed a 49-point plan for his coalition government’s first 100 days in office.
“It is ambitious, and frankly that is because we are ambitious for New Zealand,” Mr Luxon said.
Mr Luxon’s centre-Right National Party has returned to power in coalition with the populist New Zealand First party and libertarian ACT New Zealand after six years of Labour-led governments.
The most prominent policy to be scrapped is legislation passed by Ms Ardern in December 2020 that would have stopped any New Zealander born after 2008 ever buying tobacco.
The laws inspired Rishi Sunak’s own phased ban on cigarettes, which will increase the legal age of smoking in Britain by one year every year from 2027 onwards.
Jacinda Ardern's key policies are set to be reversed - Hagen Hopkins/Getty
Mr Luxon plans to use the money saved by repealing the laws – which would have also slashed the amount of nicotine in cigarettes and cut the number of tobacco shops from 6,000 to 600 – to fund tax cuts.
Nicola Willis, the new finance minister, has said the tobacco industry generates approximately £500 million in revenue that would have had to be found elsewhere.
A legally binding target to reduce New Zealand’s prison population will also be abandoned, which new policing minister Mark Mitchell has criticised for “emptying out New Zealand’s prisons rather than trying to reduce crime”.
The-then Labour prisons minister, Kevin Davis, promised to scrap the target himself during his party’s ill-fated election campaign.
The coalition is also taking an axe to the Maori Health Authority, a separate body responsible for Maori health, which will now become part of the ministry of health.
Also scrapped is further work on the He Puapua report. Commissioned by Ms Ardern’s cabinet in 2019, this recommended a string of policies to tackle inequalities between Maori people and other New Zealanders, including setting up a separate Maori parliament and court system. Controversial policy on inequality
“We will not support a system of co-governance that undermines our democracy and treats people differently based on ethnicity,” National said in a statement when news of the report broke in 2021.
Elsewhere, the government will abolish planned increases to fuel tax and a Labour scheme that gave discounts on electric cars and hybrids.
“This is a landmark day in our transition to a low emissions future,” Ms Ardern said when the clean car discount scheme was introduced in 2021.
Also gone is central government funding for a low traffic neighbourhood scheme in Wellington and a £7 billion tram project in Auckland, which Mr Luxon has described as a “white elephant”.
Other pledges made by the new government include increasing the age limit of free breast cancer screening from 69 to 74, banning the use of mobile phones in schools and reducing government spending on consultants and contractors.
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