WIKIPEDIA: Farah Pahlavi.
Wednesday, September 28, 2022
Shahbanu: Women, Life, Freedom
WIKIPEDIA: Farah Pahlavi.
The Downfall of the Iranian Shah | Patrick Bet-David #CLIP
Patrick Bet-David gives a fascinating assessment of the powerful influence of Iran's Shah and the impact of his downfall on Iranian society.
Moving to America from Iran at the age of 10 with his family, Patrick Bet-David has proceeded to establish an enormous and respectable presence in the business and social domain. He is an entrepreneur, businessman, author and social commentator. He is the founder of PHP Agency Inc., one of the fastest growing companies in the financial marketplace and Valuetainment, a media outlet focusing on educational and inspiring content on entrepreneurship.
Moving to America from Iran at the age of 10 with his family, Patrick Bet-David has proceeded to establish an enormous and respectable presence in the business and social domain. He is an entrepreneur, businessman, author and social commentator. He is the founder of PHP Agency Inc., one of the fastest growing companies in the financial marketplace and Valuetainment, a media outlet focusing on educational and inspiring content on entrepreneurship.
Iran Protests: Unrest Continues over the Death of Mahsa Amini
Truss Takes a Bold Economic Gamble. Will It Sink Her Government?
THE NEW YORK TIMES: Three weeks into her term, Prime Minister Liz Truss’s financial plans have thrown the markets and Britain’s currency into chaos and put her future in peril.
Support for the Conservative Party, led by Prime Minister Liz Truss, has plunged in the polls. | Tolga Akmen/EPA, via Shutterstock
LONDON — Prime Minister Liz Truss of Britain campaigned as a tax cutter and champion of supply-side economics, and she won the race to replace her scandal-scarred predecessor, Boris Johnson. Now she has delivered that free-market agenda, and it may sink her government.
Four days after Ms. Truss’s tax cuts and deregulatory plans stunned financial markets and threw the British pound into a tailspin, the prime minister’s political future looks increasingly precarious as well.
Her Conservative Party is gripped by anxiety, with a new poll showing that the opposition Labour Party has taken a 17 percentage point lead over the Tories. It’s a treacherous place for a prime minister in only her third week on the job.
Labour is seizing the moment to present itself as the party of fiscal responsibility. With some experts predicting the pound could tumble to parity with the dollar, economists and political analysts said the uncertainty over Britain’s economic path would continue to hang over the markets and Ms. Truss’s government.
“It’s entirely possible she could be replaced before the next election,” said Tim Bale, a professor of politics at Queen Mary University of London, who is an expert on the Conservative Party. “It would be very, very difficult to conduct a full-blown leadership contest again, but I wouldn’t rule anything out.” » | Mark Landler | Tuesday, September 27, 2022
LONDON — Prime Minister Liz Truss of Britain campaigned as a tax cutter and champion of supply-side economics, and she won the race to replace her scandal-scarred predecessor, Boris Johnson. Now she has delivered that free-market agenda, and it may sink her government.
Four days after Ms. Truss’s tax cuts and deregulatory plans stunned financial markets and threw the British pound into a tailspin, the prime minister’s political future looks increasingly precarious as well.
Her Conservative Party is gripped by anxiety, with a new poll showing that the opposition Labour Party has taken a 17 percentage point lead over the Tories. It’s a treacherous place for a prime minister in only her third week on the job.
Labour is seizing the moment to present itself as the party of fiscal responsibility. With some experts predicting the pound could tumble to parity with the dollar, economists and political analysts said the uncertainty over Britain’s economic path would continue to hang over the markets and Ms. Truss’s government.
“It’s entirely possible she could be replaced before the next election,” said Tim Bale, a professor of politics at Queen Mary University of London, who is an expert on the Conservative Party. “It would be very, very difficult to conduct a full-blown leadership contest again, but I wouldn’t rule anything out.” » | Mark Landler | Tuesday, September 27, 2022
Tuesday, September 27, 2022
Whitney Houston with Enrique Iglesias : Could I Have This Kiss Forever | Official HD Video | Reupload
Die Haare der Iranerinnen – ein langer Kampf für Selbstbestimmung
NEUE ZÜRCHER ZEITUNG: Gerade finden in Iran die grössten Proteste seit Jahren statt. Frauen kämpfen gegen das Regime und den Zwang, sich zu verschleiern. Das Kopftuch ist seit der Zeit des Schahs ein Politikum – damals, weil er es verboten hatte. Ein Blick zurück.
Die Haare der Iranerinnen erzählen seit 86 Jahren die Geschichte der politischen und religiösen Grabenkämpfe des Landes. Wer darf sie sehen, wer nicht? Die Freiheit, selbst darüber bestimmen zu dürfen, entzog bereits der Schah Reza Pahlevi den Iranerinnen. Er wollte sein Reich modernisieren, reiste in die Türkei, wo er sich von Atatürk die Politik des rigorosen Westkurses erklären liess. Islamische Kleidung, da waren sie sich einig, sei ein Symbol, das der Modernisierung widerspreche. Der Schah, der autoritär regierte, verbot 1936 das Kopftuch.
Für viele Iranerinnen und Iraner war das ein Angriff auf ihre Werte. In Persien, wo der schiitische Islam (Zwölfer-Schia) seit dem 16. Jahrhundert die prägende Religion ist, verschleierten sich Frauen, weil sie daran glaubten und weil es Teil der Kultur war. Das Kopftuchverbot bedeutete deshalb für viele weniger Freiheit: Manche Familien wollten nicht, dass die Töchter und Mütter unverschleiert das Haus verliessen; und es gibt Erzählungen von Frauen, die sich jahrelang nicht auf die Strasse trauten, weil sie sich ohne Kopftuch zu entblösst fühlten. BILDSTRECKE » | Karin A. Wenger (Text), Martin Berz (Bildredaktion) | Dienstag, 27. September 2022
A Fine Economic Mess in the United Kingdom
THE NEW YORKER: With the pound hitting record lows, financial analysts are questioning the competence of Britain’s new government.
Stocks in the U.S. fell again on Monday, dragging the Dow Jones Industrial Average into bear-market territory—since hitting a peak early this year, it has now fallen more than twenty per cent. The Federal Reserve’s determination to stamp out inflation by raising interest rates is spooking investors, and so is the precipitous decline of the British pound in foreign-exchange markets. On Monday, a senior Federal Reserve official, Raphael Bostic, took the rare step of criticizing a foreign ally, saying the British government’s new package of tax cuts, which sparked the sell-off in the pound, “has really increased uncertainty.”
Spare a thought, if you will, for patriotic Brits. Having just buried Queen Elizabeth II, their last remaining link to a time when their schoolbook maps showed great swaths of the earth’s surface colored imperial red, they now face a humiliating currency crisis. In Asian trading early on Monday, the pound sterling hit an all-time low of $1.035 against the U.S. dollar. When trading shifted to Europe, the battered currency rebounded a bit amid speculation that the Bank of England would announce an emergency interest-rate hike to strengthen the pound. On Monday afternoon, the currency’s slump resumed after the Bank of England announced no rate increase but said it may enact one at its next policy meeting, which isn’t until November. » | John Cassidy | Monday, September 26, 2022
Stocks in the U.S. fell again on Monday, dragging the Dow Jones Industrial Average into bear-market territory—since hitting a peak early this year, it has now fallen more than twenty per cent. The Federal Reserve’s determination to stamp out inflation by raising interest rates is spooking investors, and so is the precipitous decline of the British pound in foreign-exchange markets. On Monday, a senior Federal Reserve official, Raphael Bostic, took the rare step of criticizing a foreign ally, saying the British government’s new package of tax cuts, which sparked the sell-off in the pound, “has really increased uncertainty.”
Spare a thought, if you will, for patriotic Brits. Having just buried Queen Elizabeth II, their last remaining link to a time when their schoolbook maps showed great swaths of the earth’s surface colored imperial red, they now face a humiliating currency crisis. In Asian trading early on Monday, the pound sterling hit an all-time low of $1.035 against the U.S. dollar. When trading shifted to Europe, the battered currency rebounded a bit amid speculation that the Bank of England would announce an emergency interest-rate hike to strengthen the pound. On Monday afternoon, the currency’s slump resumed after the Bank of England announced no rate increase but said it may enact one at its next policy meeting, which isn’t until November. » | John Cassidy | Monday, September 26, 2022
Hello Dictator I ARTE.tv Documentary
WTF! There are so many dangerous politicians around these days! – © Mark Alexander
Volksbefragung über Russland-Sanktionen: Viktor Orban versucht die EU erneut zu erpressen: Die ungarische Regierung lässt das Volk über die Strafmassnahmen gegen Russland abstimmen. Dabei geht es Orban darum, die EU in Verhandlungen über Finanzmittel unter Druck zu setzen. »
Ottolenghi Test Kitchen (OTK): Extra Good Things: Parmigiana Pie with Tomato Sauce
Get the recipe here.
Regierungsumbau in Saudi-Arabien: Kronprinz Mohammed bin Salman wird Premier
DER STANDARD: Umstrittener Kronprinz gewinnt bei Erneuerung des Kabinetts weiter an Macht – Khalid bin Salman neuer Verteidigungsminister
Ein Screenshot vom Foto im Artikel.
Riad – In Saudi-Arabien hat es am Dienstag nach einer Mitteilung des staatlichen Fernsehens einen Umbau der Regierung gegeben. Mohammed bin Salman, der umstrittene, aber mächtige Kronprinz, hat dabei eine weitere Schlüsselposition dazugewonnen. Er wird auch Premierminister des weitgehend absolutisisch-islamistisch regierten Königreiches. Bisher hatte sein Vater, König Salman, das Amt ausgeübt. Auch sonst wird das Amt des Premiers, des formellen Regierungschefs, gewöhnlich vom König ausgeübt. » | red. | Dienstag, 27. September 2022
Riad – In Saudi-Arabien hat es am Dienstag nach einer Mitteilung des staatlichen Fernsehens einen Umbau der Regierung gegeben. Mohammed bin Salman, der umstrittene, aber mächtige Kronprinz, hat dabei eine weitere Schlüsselposition dazugewonnen. Er wird auch Premierminister des weitgehend absolutisisch-islamistisch regierten Königreiches. Bisher hatte sein Vater, König Salman, das Amt ausgeübt. Auch sonst wird das Amt des Premiers, des formellen Regierungschefs, gewöhnlich vom König ausgeübt. » | red. | Dienstag, 27. September 2022
Guerre en Ukraine : fuir ou protester, les réponses des Russes à la mobilisation militaire édictée par Poutine
LE MONDE : Depuis la mobilisation militaire « partielle » décrétée par Vladimir Poutine le 21 septembre, qui concerne officiellement 300 000 réservistes, les manifestations se succèdent et des milliers de Russes tentent de fuir le pays. Synthèse d’une actualité sans précédent.
Des recrues russes devant un centre de recrutement militaire à Bataysk, lundi 26 septembre 2022. AP
Face à la contre-offensive ukrainienne, le président russe, Vladimir Poutine, a annoncé, le 21 septembre, la mobilisation de centaines de milliers de Russes pour combattre sur le front. L’ordre est devenu immédiatement effectif et un décret a été publié peu après sur le site du Kremlin. Le Monde fait le point sur cette mobilisation et ses conséquences.
Le décret de mobilisation comporte dix points : tous ont été publiés, sauf le 7e, qui reste confidentiel et inquiète les Russes : il concernerait le nombre de civils russes qui doivent rejoindre l’armée. Le média d’opposition Novaïa Gazeta Europe a écrit, citant des sources au Kremlin, qu’un million de Russes pourraient être concernés. Ce que Dmitri Peskov, le porte-parole du Kremlin, a démenti.
Après l’allocution de Vladimir Poutine, le ministre de la défense russe, Sergueï Choïgou, a précisé que 300 000 réservistes étaient concernés par cet ordre de mobilisation, soit à peine « 1,1 % des ressources mobilisables » dans le pays, estimé à quelque 25 millions de personnes. Ces renforts seront déployés pour « consolider » et « contrôler » les lignes arrières, le long d’« une ligne de front qui fait plus de 1 000 kilomètres » dans le sud et l’est de l’Ukraine. Les hommes ayant une formation spécialisée (tankistes, servants de pièces antiaériennes…) seront mobilisés en priorité, a-t-il insisté. » | Le Monde avec AFP et Reuters | mardi 27 septembre 2022
Face à la contre-offensive ukrainienne, le président russe, Vladimir Poutine, a annoncé, le 21 septembre, la mobilisation de centaines de milliers de Russes pour combattre sur le front. L’ordre est devenu immédiatement effectif et un décret a été publié peu après sur le site du Kremlin. Le Monde fait le point sur cette mobilisation et ses conséquences.
Le décret de mobilisation comporte dix points : tous ont été publiés, sauf le 7e, qui reste confidentiel et inquiète les Russes : il concernerait le nombre de civils russes qui doivent rejoindre l’armée. Le média d’opposition Novaïa Gazeta Europe a écrit, citant des sources au Kremlin, qu’un million de Russes pourraient être concernés. Ce que Dmitri Peskov, le porte-parole du Kremlin, a démenti.
Après l’allocution de Vladimir Poutine, le ministre de la défense russe, Sergueï Choïgou, a précisé que 300 000 réservistes étaient concernés par cet ordre de mobilisation, soit à peine « 1,1 % des ressources mobilisables » dans le pays, estimé à quelque 25 millions de personnes. Ces renforts seront déployés pour « consolider » et « contrôler » les lignes arrières, le long d’« une ligne de front qui fait plus de 1 000 kilomètres » dans le sud et l’est de l’Ukraine. Les hommes ayant une formation spécialisée (tankistes, servants de pièces antiaériennes…) seront mobilisés en priorité, a-t-il insisté. » | Le Monde avec AFP et Reuters | mardi 27 septembre 2022
Le double jeu de Viktor Orban avec l’Europe
LE MONDE : Menacé de lourdes sanctions par la Commission européenne s’il ne rétablit pas l’Etat de droit, le premier ministre hongrois semble faire des concessions. Mais il continue simultanément de critiquer Bruxelles et de faire cavalier seul à propos de la Russie.
Analyse. Moins de vingt-quatre heures après avoir présenté son projet de loi pour établir une « autorité de l’intégrité », le gouvernement hongrois a lancé, samedi 24 septembre, le processus de recrutement du directeur de cette nouvelle institution destinée à lutter contre la corruption. Elle est la principale concession faite par le premier ministre nationaliste Viktor Orban pour éviter la sanction de 7,5 milliards d’euros que la Commission européenne a menacé d’infliger à la Hongrie d’ici à la fin de l’année si elle ne fait pas d’efforts pour rétablir l’Etat de droit. Un conflit emblématique à l’heure où le succès électoral de la leader d’extrême droite Giorgia Meloni en Italie soumet l’Union européenne (UE) à un nouveau choc.
En Hongrie, la nouvelle agence aura le pouvoir de saisir la justice, de suspendre des appels d’offres litigieux ou même de bannir certaines entreprises des marchés financés par l’UE. Elle sera « totalement indépendante », promet l’article premier du projet de loi qui devrait être adopté par la majorité écrasante de M. Orban au Parlement hongrois. La Hongrie a jusqu’au 19 novembre pour prouver que l’autorité a commencé ses activités. C’est l’une des dix-sept conditions que la Commission a posées, le 18 septembre, pour donner son accord au déblocage des fonds européens. » | Par Jean-Baptiste Chastand (Vienne, correspondant) | mardi 27 septembre 2022
Article réservé aux abonnés
Read in English.
Analyse. Moins de vingt-quatre heures après avoir présenté son projet de loi pour établir une « autorité de l’intégrité », le gouvernement hongrois a lancé, samedi 24 septembre, le processus de recrutement du directeur de cette nouvelle institution destinée à lutter contre la corruption. Elle est la principale concession faite par le premier ministre nationaliste Viktor Orban pour éviter la sanction de 7,5 milliards d’euros que la Commission européenne a menacé d’infliger à la Hongrie d’ici à la fin de l’année si elle ne fait pas d’efforts pour rétablir l’Etat de droit. Un conflit emblématique à l’heure où le succès électoral de la leader d’extrême droite Giorgia Meloni en Italie soumet l’Union européenne (UE) à un nouveau choc.
En Hongrie, la nouvelle agence aura le pouvoir de saisir la justice, de suspendre des appels d’offres litigieux ou même de bannir certaines entreprises des marchés financés par l’UE. Elle sera « totalement indépendante », promet l’article premier du projet de loi qui devrait être adopté par la majorité écrasante de M. Orban au Parlement hongrois. La Hongrie a jusqu’au 19 novembre pour prouver que l’autorité a commencé ses activités. C’est l’une des dix-sept conditions que la Commission a posées, le 18 septembre, pour donner son accord au déblocage des fonds européens. » | Par Jean-Baptiste Chastand (Vienne, correspondant) | mardi 27 septembre 2022
Article réservé aux abonnés
Read in English.
Kwarteng’s Tax Cuts Will Force ‘Significant’ Interest Rate Rises by Bank of England
THE GUARDIAN: Chief economist says mini-budget will increase inflationary pressure in remarks likely to further spook mortgage borrowers
The Bank of England’s chief economist, Huw Pill, says: ‘It is hard not to draw the conclusion that this [tax cuts] will require a significant monetary policy response.’ Photograph: Bloomberg/Getty Images
A senior Bank of England official has warned “significant” increases in interest rates will have to be imposed by the central bank in response to tax cuts put forward by Kwasi Kwarteng in his mini-budget.
The Bank’s chief economist, Huw Pill, said the chancellor’s planned tax cuts would act as a stimulus and increase inflationary pressures, with the result that interest rates would need to go higher than previously forecast.
“In my view, a combination of the fiscal announcements we have seen will act a stimulus to demand in the economy,” he said. “It is hard not to draw the conclusion that this will require a significant monetary policy response.”
Pill’s remarks are likely to further spook homebuyers and mortgage borrowers near the end of a fixed-rate mortgage about the cost of financing their loans. » | Phillip Inman | Tuesday, September 27, 2022
UK’s cost of borrowing on international markets overtakes Greece and Italy: Five-year British government bonds fall dramatically as traders price in higher risk of default on debt »
A senior Bank of England official has warned “significant” increases in interest rates will have to be imposed by the central bank in response to tax cuts put forward by Kwasi Kwarteng in his mini-budget.
The Bank’s chief economist, Huw Pill, said the chancellor’s planned tax cuts would act as a stimulus and increase inflationary pressures, with the result that interest rates would need to go higher than previously forecast.
“In my view, a combination of the fiscal announcements we have seen will act a stimulus to demand in the economy,” he said. “It is hard not to draw the conclusion that this will require a significant monetary policy response.”
Pill’s remarks are likely to further spook homebuyers and mortgage borrowers near the end of a fixed-rate mortgage about the cost of financing their loans. » | Phillip Inman | Tuesday, September 27, 2022
UK’s cost of borrowing on international markets overtakes Greece and Italy: Five-year British government bonds fall dramatically as traders price in higher risk of default on debt »
Zwei heiße Männer; ein heißer Kuss | Reupload
Gustav Klimt in the Sign of Hoffmann and the Secession Exhibition | Floornature
Details of the exhibition in Brussels here.
Italy’s Far Right Triumphs in Election
FOREIGN POLICY: Giorgia Meloni is expected to head the country’s most right-wing government since World War II.
Giorgia Meloni, leader of the Brothers of Italy party, speaks at a press conference at the party electoral headquarters in Rome overnight on Sept. 26. ANTONIO MASIELLO/GETTY IMAGES
Far-right firebrand Giorgia Meloni is set to lead Italy after her party, Brothers of Italy, received the most votes in elections on Sunday. She is expected to head the country’s most right-wing government since the era of fascist leader Benito Mussolini.
Brothers of Italy ultimately won 26 percent of votes—six times more than it received in 2018—while the right-wing coalition it was part of secured 44 percent. But the election was marked by record-low voter turnout, with just 64 percent of people participating, almost a 10 percent drop compared to the last general election.
Meloni represents the “the last, probably, available option for Italians to voice their discomfort with the political establishment and with the way the economy has been managed,” said Carlo Bastasin, a nonresident senior fellow at the Brookings Institution. Low turnout, he added, “is another form of Italians’ discomfort with the political situation.”
Since entering politics, Meloni has experienced a meteoric rise to the top, as Giorgio Ghiglione wrote in Foreign Policy in August. Her success was largely built on “the credibility crisis of her adversaries on the left and her allies on the right, who have all become increasingly inconsistent in the eyes of the public,” he wrote.
Despite her efforts to soften her position ahead of the election, Meloni is known for her hard-line stances, famously proclaiming: “Yes to the natural family. No to the LGBT lobby. Yes to sexual identity. No to the ideology of gender.” On immigration, she has pushed for a Mediterranean “naval blockade” and previously declared that Italy’s existing policies could transform it into the “refugee camp of Europe.” » | Christina Lu, a reporter at Foreign Policy | Tuesday, September 27, 2022
Far-right firebrand Giorgia Meloni is set to lead Italy after her party, Brothers of Italy, received the most votes in elections on Sunday. She is expected to head the country’s most right-wing government since the era of fascist leader Benito Mussolini.
Brothers of Italy ultimately won 26 percent of votes—six times more than it received in 2018—while the right-wing coalition it was part of secured 44 percent. But the election was marked by record-low voter turnout, with just 64 percent of people participating, almost a 10 percent drop compared to the last general election.
Meloni represents the “the last, probably, available option for Italians to voice their discomfort with the political establishment and with the way the economy has been managed,” said Carlo Bastasin, a nonresident senior fellow at the Brookings Institution. Low turnout, he added, “is another form of Italians’ discomfort with the political situation.”
Since entering politics, Meloni has experienced a meteoric rise to the top, as Giorgio Ghiglione wrote in Foreign Policy in August. Her success was largely built on “the credibility crisis of her adversaries on the left and her allies on the right, who have all become increasingly inconsistent in the eyes of the public,” he wrote.
Despite her efforts to soften her position ahead of the election, Meloni is known for her hard-line stances, famously proclaiming: “Yes to the natural family. No to the LGBT lobby. Yes to sexual identity. No to the ideology of gender.” On immigration, she has pushed for a Mediterranean “naval blockade” and previously declared that Italy’s existing policies could transform it into the “refugee camp of Europe.” » | Christina Lu, a reporter at Foreign Policy | Tuesday, September 27, 2022
Die Entdämonisierung der extremen Rechten in Europa | ARTE Reportage
Heinz Marketing : Gay Kiss | Reupload
Russland gewährt NSA-Whistleblower Snowden Staatsbürgerschaft
Related article here.
Edward Snowden Is Granted Russian Citizenship »
King Charles: New Royal Cypher Revealed
BBC: The cypher of King Charles III has been revealed, showing an image to be used by government departments and on state documents and post boxes.
t was personally chosen by the King, from a range of designs produced by the College of Arms.
The monogram combines his initial "C" and "R" for Rex, the Latin for king, plus III for the third King Charles.
The cypher, a visual identity for the new reign, replaces the E II R of Queen Elizabeth II. » | Sean Coughlan, Royal correspondent | Tuesday, September 27, 2022
Cuba Just Voted to Legalise Same-sex Marriage and Adoption for Queer Couples: ‘Love Wins!’
PINK NEWS: Cuba’s citizens have approved a broad family law code that will usher in same-sex marriage and other LGBTQ+ friendly measures in a historic vote.
Millions of Cubans turned out to vote for or against a major overhaul of the island country’s over four-decade-old family code. The package included the historic step of legalising same-sex marriage, allowing LGBTQ+ couples to adopt children and other progressive measures.
Campaigners said preliminary results indicated that the LGBTQ+ friendly package will be approved after millions voted in favour of the referendum on Sunday (25 September).
The Cuban national centre for sex education (CENESEX) – which has advocated for broadening LGBTQ+ rights in the country – wrote on Instagram that “love and affections won” after approximately 67 per cent of citizens voted in favour of the package. » | Maggie Baska | Monday, September 26, 2022
Les Cubains approuvent le mariage entre personnes de même sexe : Près de 67 % des votants ont dit oui au nouveau code des familles lors du référendum qui s’est tenu le 25 septembre. Mais l’abstention importante et les bulletins contre traduisent un mécontentement envers le pouvoir communiste. »
UK Warned ‘Utterly Irresponsible’ Policy Could Drive Pound below Dollar and Euro Parity - Business Live
THE GUARDIAN: Former US Treasury secretary Larry Summers warns the first step in regaining credibility is not saying incredible things
…
Larry Summers, a former US Treasury secretary, has warned that the UK government’s ‘utterly irresponsible’ plans could drag the pound below parity against the euro, as well as the dollar.
Summers has heavily criticised chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng for undermining credibility by saying ‘incredible things’ about planning more tax cuts -- those weekend comments pushed the pound to a record low of $1.0327 on Monday.
Summers says he was “very pessimistic about the consequences of utterly irresponsible UK policy on Friday,” but didn’t expect the markets to get so bad so quickly.
Summers also suggests the Bank of England should have taken more decisive action, rather than its ‘timid’ statement yesterday. » | Graeme Wearden | Tuesday, September 27, 2022
Pound comes under new pressure after Bank of England fails to raise rates: Central bank stops short of emergency rate hike and instead says it will make full assessment in November »
…
Larry Summers, a former US Treasury secretary, has warned that the UK government’s ‘utterly irresponsible’ plans could drag the pound below parity against the euro, as well as the dollar.
Summers has heavily criticised chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng for undermining credibility by saying ‘incredible things’ about planning more tax cuts -- those weekend comments pushed the pound to a record low of $1.0327 on Monday.
Summers says he was “very pessimistic about the consequences of utterly irresponsible UK policy on Friday,” but didn’t expect the markets to get so bad so quickly.
Summers also suggests the Bank of England should have taken more decisive action, rather than its ‘timid’ statement yesterday. » | Graeme Wearden | Tuesday, September 27, 2022
Pound comes under new pressure after Bank of England fails to raise rates: Central bank stops short of emergency rate hike and instead says it will make full assessment in November »
Pound Crashes to All-time Low as UK Chancellor Hints at More Tax Cuts
Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng was today forced to quell growing market unease over his low-tax, high borrowing strategy with a promise to set out more details in November, along with independent costings.
The Bank of England put out a statement too, saying they wouldn't hesitate to hike interest rates at their next meeting, but neither intervention seemed to reassure city markets.
The pound slid once again this evening, having hit a historic low against the dollar earlier in a rollercoaster day.
r
And amidst the turmoil - the cost of government borrowing shot up too.
The Bank of England put out a statement too, saying they wouldn't hesitate to hike interest rates at their next meeting, but neither intervention seemed to reassure city markets.
The pound slid once again this evening, having hit a historic low against the dollar earlier in a rollercoaster day.
r
And amidst the turmoil - the cost of government borrowing shot up too.
Russians Are Terrified, and Have Nowhere to Turn
THE NEW YORK TIMES: “Hello, I have a pregnant wife and a mortgage. My wife is panicking, and I have no money to go abroad. How can I escape the draft?”
This is a message we received at Help Desk, a website I and other journalists set up in June to help people — with information, legal advice and psychological support — affected by the actions of the Russian government. The writer, after completing his mandatory military service seven years ago, was being drafted into the war in Ukraine. The Russian government was not interested in who will pay the mortgage or take care of his pregnant wife. It simply wanted more fodder for its war.
In the days since Vladimir Putin announced a “partial mobilization,” clearing the way for hundreds of thousands of men to be conscripted into his failing war effort, we’ve fielded tens of thousands of messages like these. Some were plaintive; others were defiant. Some were simply defeated. Along with Russians desperately trying to board flights, crossing borders or attacking recruitment centers, they testified to the same desire: to avoid the draft.
The truth is, they probably can’t. While presented as a limited measure affecting only those who previously served in the army, in practice, the government has free rein to conscript as many people as it wants. The initial number of 300,000, for example, already seems an enormous undercount. In the face of a monstrous regime hellbent on war and widespread international isolation, Russians are caught in a disaster. And judging from the response so far, they are terrified. » | Ilia Krasilshchik * | Tuesday, September 27, 2022
* Mr. Krasilshchik runs Help Desk, a website that offers advice and support to people affected by the actions of the Russian government.
Russians Paying £25,000 for Seats on Private Planes after War Mobilisation
THE GUARDIAN: Passengers heading to Armenia and Turkey amid fears Russia could soon close borders to men of fighting age
EU and UK sanctions on Russia prohibit the leasing or insuring of aircraft for use in Russia, limiting supply. Photograph: Getty Images/iStockphoto
Demand for seats on private jets has boomed in Moscow after Vladimir Putin ordered the first mobilisation since the second world war and wealthy Russians look for a way out of the country amid reports that authorities plan to close the borders to men of mobilisation age.
Passengers are said to be predominantly heading to Armenia, Turkey and Azerbaijan, which allow Russians visa-free entry. They are paying between £20,000 and £25,000 for a seat on a private plane, while the price to rent an eight-seater jet ranges from £80.000 to £140,000, which is many times more expensive than the normal fare.
“The situation is absolutely crazy at the moment,” said Yevgeny Bikov the director of a broker jet company, Your Charter. “We would get 50 requests a day; now it is around 5,000.”
The Kremlin’s decision to announce a partial mobilisation has led to a rush among men of military age to leave the country, sparking a new, possibly unprecedented brain drain. Miles-long traffic jams have formed at Russia’s border crossings, while most one-way commercial plane tickets have sold out for the coming days. » | Pjotr Sauer | Tuesday, 27 September 2022
Demand for seats on private jets has boomed in Moscow after Vladimir Putin ordered the first mobilisation since the second world war and wealthy Russians look for a way out of the country amid reports that authorities plan to close the borders to men of mobilisation age.
Passengers are said to be predominantly heading to Armenia, Turkey and Azerbaijan, which allow Russians visa-free entry. They are paying between £20,000 and £25,000 for a seat on a private plane, while the price to rent an eight-seater jet ranges from £80.000 to £140,000, which is many times more expensive than the normal fare.
“The situation is absolutely crazy at the moment,” said Yevgeny Bikov the director of a broker jet company, Your Charter. “We would get 50 requests a day; now it is around 5,000.”
The Kremlin’s decision to announce a partial mobilisation has led to a rush among men of military age to leave the country, sparking a new, possibly unprecedented brain drain. Miles-long traffic jams have formed at Russia’s border crossings, while most one-way commercial plane tickets have sold out for the coming days. » | Pjotr Sauer | Tuesday, 27 September 2022
Former Moscow Rabbi Wants All Jews to Leave Putin's Russia | Conflict Zone
Monday, September 26, 2022
Proteste im Iran halten trotz vieler Festnahmen und Tode an | DW Nachrichten
Britain Is Watching a Party Render Itself Unelectable for a Generation. Good Riddance
THE GUARDIAN: As Truss and Kwarteng unleash economic chaos, Labour conference all feels a bit pre-1997 – though no one in the party will say that out loud
“The markets will react as they will,” said the chancellor in the House of Commons, as he launched the tax cuts that sank the pound and sent borrowing costs soaring. And so they did. As sterling plunged again, the Treasury reported he was “sanguine”, promising yet more tax cuts for the rich, this time to let them accumulate fatter, tax-free pensions. Liz Truss has arrived in office without any significant poll bounce – which makes her unique in polling history. YouGov’s associate director, Patrick English, tells me to expect further plunging numbers. A panicky Treasury promise of a “new fiscal event” in November sounds more of a threat than a promise.
Here ends the arrogance, the self-regard, the cultish obsession with economic fantasies that failed and failed again. Here dies the nonsensical Laffer curve, the theory that tax cuts for the rich yield more than they cost. This should render the Tories unelectable for a generation, because this crash is all their own. » | Polly Toynbee | Monday, Sptember 26, 2022
We are being led by clowns, fools and jesters! I was raised in a Conservative-voting household; indeed, I was myself a Conservative-voter almost all my adult life. Until Cameron came along. I took one look at him and smelt the rat! A decent man to enjoy a drink with, but not one to entrust the governing of the country to. And so it proved to be!
His decision to call the Brexit referendum was nothing short of disastrous. History will not be kind to him for his folly. This country will pay a heavy price for many years to come for his lack of sound political judgment.
Meanwhile, I, and I feel sure many others like me, will never vote Tory again. The party is more corrupt than I could ever have imagined. Moreover, entrusting the country to those incompetent fools is nothing short of foolhardy. The party, whilst once enjoying a reputation for sound economic management, has so obviously lost its touch.
Get them out of office! I, for one, will never be able to vote for them again after the fiasco of Brexit. They are so clearly incapable of sound economic management these days. They don't understand even basic commerce! Nobody in his right mind wouuld walk away from the largest single market in the world–a market of over 500m consumers: The Single Market! The single market of which Margaret Thatcher was so proud and of which she was one of the main architects. – © Mark Alexander
“The markets will react as they will,” said the chancellor in the House of Commons, as he launched the tax cuts that sank the pound and sent borrowing costs soaring. And so they did. As sterling plunged again, the Treasury reported he was “sanguine”, promising yet more tax cuts for the rich, this time to let them accumulate fatter, tax-free pensions. Liz Truss has arrived in office without any significant poll bounce – which makes her unique in polling history. YouGov’s associate director, Patrick English, tells me to expect further plunging numbers. A panicky Treasury promise of a “new fiscal event” in November sounds more of a threat than a promise.
Here ends the arrogance, the self-regard, the cultish obsession with economic fantasies that failed and failed again. Here dies the nonsensical Laffer curve, the theory that tax cuts for the rich yield more than they cost. This should render the Tories unelectable for a generation, because this crash is all their own. » | Polly Toynbee | Monday, Sptember 26, 2022
We are being led by clowns, fools and jesters! I was raised in a Conservative-voting household; indeed, I was myself a Conservative-voter almost all my adult life. Until Cameron came along. I took one look at him and smelt the rat! A decent man to enjoy a drink with, but not one to entrust the governing of the country to. And so it proved to be!
His decision to call the Brexit referendum was nothing short of disastrous. History will not be kind to him for his folly. This country will pay a heavy price for many years to come for his lack of sound political judgment.
Meanwhile, I, and I feel sure many others like me, will never vote Tory again. The party is more corrupt than I could ever have imagined. Moreover, entrusting the country to those incompetent fools is nothing short of foolhardy. The party, whilst once enjoying a reputation for sound economic management, has so obviously lost its touch.
Get them out of office! I, for one, will never be able to vote for them again after the fiasco of Brexit. They are so clearly incapable of sound economic management these days. They don't understand even basic commerce! Nobody in his right mind wouuld walk away from the largest single market in the world–a market of over 500m consumers: The Single Market! The single market of which Margaret Thatcher was so proud and of which she was one of the main architects. – © Mark Alexander
Putin Grants Russian Citizenship to US Whistleblower Edward Snowden
THE GUARDIAN: Former NSA intelligence contractor was given asylum in Russia after leaking secret files in 2013
Edward Snowden, 39, fled the US after leaking secret files that revealed domestic and international surveillance operations carried out by NSA. Illustration: Joseph Pierce/The Guardian
Vladimir Putin signed a decree on Monday granting Russian citizenship to the US whistleblower Edward Snowden.
Snowden, 39, a former US intelligence contractor, has been living in Russia since 2013 to escape prosecution in the US after leaking secret files, published by the Guardian, that revealed vast domestic and international surveillance operations carried out by the US National Security Agency.
In 2020, Snowden said that he and his then-pregnant wife were applying for Russian citizenship in order not to be separated from their future son in an era of pandemics and closed borders. Russia granted him permanent residency rights the same year, paving the way for him to obtain Russian citizenship. » | Pjotr Sauer | Monday, September 26, 2022
Vladimir Putin signed a decree on Monday granting Russian citizenship to the US whistleblower Edward Snowden.
Snowden, 39, a former US intelligence contractor, has been living in Russia since 2013 to escape prosecution in the US after leaking secret files, published by the Guardian, that revealed vast domestic and international surveillance operations carried out by the US National Security Agency.
In 2020, Snowden said that he and his then-pregnant wife were applying for Russian citizenship in order not to be separated from their future son in an era of pandemics and closed borders. Russia granted him permanent residency rights the same year, paving the way for him to obtain Russian citizenship. » | Pjotr Sauer | Monday, September 26, 2022
Pound Comes under New Pressure after Bank of England Fails to Raise Rates
THE GUARDIAN: Central bank stops short of emergency rate hike and instead says it will make full assessment in November
The Bank of England issued a statement in response the pound’s sharp fall on currency markets.Photograph: James Veysey/Rex/Shutterstock
The government was struggling to prevent a full-scale loss of financial market confidence in its economic strategy on Monday evening after the Bank of England’s decision to rule out an emergency rise in interest rates prompted fresh selling of the pound.
Attempts by Threadneedle Street and the Treasury failed to repair the damage caused by Kwasi Kwarteng’s mini-budget last Friday, with sterling falling to a record low against the US dollar.
Within minutes of the Bank saying that it intended to wait until November before responding to the recent turbulence, the pound had dropped two cents against the dollar and was within three cents of the record low of $1.03 hit in Far East trading overnight. » | Larry Elliott, Economics editor and Rowena Mason, Deputy political editor | Monday, September 26, 2022
Markets warn sterling slump could lead UK interest rates to triple by next year: Analysts expect Bank of England to convene meeting to raise rates with further increase in November »
Isn’t this Governor being rather lily-livered? – © Mark Alexander
The government was struggling to prevent a full-scale loss of financial market confidence in its economic strategy on Monday evening after the Bank of England’s decision to rule out an emergency rise in interest rates prompted fresh selling of the pound.
Attempts by Threadneedle Street and the Treasury failed to repair the damage caused by Kwasi Kwarteng’s mini-budget last Friday, with sterling falling to a record low against the US dollar.
Within minutes of the Bank saying that it intended to wait until November before responding to the recent turbulence, the pound had dropped two cents against the dollar and was within three cents of the record low of $1.03 hit in Far East trading overnight. » | Larry Elliott, Economics editor and Rowena Mason, Deputy political editor | Monday, September 26, 2022
Markets warn sterling slump could lead UK interest rates to triple by next year: Analysts expect Bank of England to convene meeting to raise rates with further increase in November »
Isn’t this Governor being rather lily-livered? – © Mark Alexander
Iran Protests against Mullah-regime Enter Tenth Day as Death Toll Grows | DW News
Shouldn’t we be saying 'Death to the Islamic Republic of Iran'? That’s what these people have been saying about America. How many thousands of times have we heard these mullahs chant “Death to America”?
It is high time for the nonsense of Iran’s so-called “morality police” to end. Iranians deserve much, much better than this. Enough of the BS!
Wouldn’t Iranians have been far better off as subjects of the Peacock Throne, the Iranian Imperial Throne? Wouldn't they be better off today being ruled by the Shah? Should the Peacock Throne, perhaps, be reinstated?
This theocracy is brutal. Iranians have had enough of this cr**. Iranians deserve better. Power to the downtrodden Iranians! – © Mark Alexander
Den Ajatollahs bleibt nur die Gewalt: Die Proteste nach dem Tod der jungen Mahsa Amini nähern sich einer kritischen Masse. Aber das Regime ist weder zu Reformen noch zu Kompromissen bereit. »
The Dollar Is Strong. That Is Good for the U.S. but Bad for the World.
THE NEW YORK TIMES: The Federal Reserve may have no choice but to wage a relentless inflation fight, but countries rich and poor are feeling the pain of plunging currencies.
The Federal Reserve’s determination to crush inflation at home by raising interest rates is inflicting profound pain in other countries — pushing up prices, ballooning the size of debt payments and increasing the risk of a deep recession.
Those interest rate increases are pumping up the value of the dollar — the go-to currency for much of the world’s trade and transactions — and causing economic turmoil in both rich and poor nations. In Britain and across much of the European continent, the dollar’s acceleration is helping feed stinging inflation.
On Monday, the British pound touched a record low against the dollar as investors balked at a government tax cut and spending plan. And China, which tightly controls its currency, fixed the renminbi at its lowest level in two years while taking steps to manage its decline.
In Nigeria and Somalia, where the risk of starvation already lurks, the strong dollar is pushing up the price of imported food, fuel and medicine. The strong dollar is nudging debt-ridden Argentina, Egypt and Kenya closer to default and threatening to discourage foreign investment in emerging markets like India and South Korea.
“For the rest of the world, it’s a no-win situation,” said Eswar Prasad, an economics professor at Cornell and author of several books on currencies. At the same time, he said, the Fed has no choice but to act aggressively to control inflation: “Any delay in action could make things potentially even worse.” » | Patricia Cohen, Reporting from London | Monday, September 26, 2022
The Federal Reserve’s determination to crush inflation at home by raising interest rates is inflicting profound pain in other countries — pushing up prices, ballooning the size of debt payments and increasing the risk of a deep recession.
Those interest rate increases are pumping up the value of the dollar — the go-to currency for much of the world’s trade and transactions — and causing economic turmoil in both rich and poor nations. In Britain and across much of the European continent, the dollar’s acceleration is helping feed stinging inflation.
On Monday, the British pound touched a record low against the dollar as investors balked at a government tax cut and spending plan. And China, which tightly controls its currency, fixed the renminbi at its lowest level in two years while taking steps to manage its decline.
In Nigeria and Somalia, where the risk of starvation already lurks, the strong dollar is pushing up the price of imported food, fuel and medicine. The strong dollar is nudging debt-ridden Argentina, Egypt and Kenya closer to default and threatening to discourage foreign investment in emerging markets like India and South Korea.
“For the rest of the world, it’s a no-win situation,” said Eswar Prasad, an economics professor at Cornell and author of several books on currencies. At the same time, he said, the Fed has no choice but to act aggressively to control inflation: “Any delay in action could make things potentially even worse.” » | Patricia Cohen, Reporting from London | Monday, September 26, 2022
Youssef Al-Qaradawi, prédicateur sunnite et guide spirituel des Frères musulmans, est mort
LE MONDE : Le cheikh égyptien est mort le 26 septembre. Suivi par des millions de fidèles, il prétendait incarner un islam « du juste milieu ». Certains de ses prêches, à connotation antisémite ou légitimant la violence à l’encontre des femmes, ont fait scandale.
Youssef Al-Qaradawi, place Tahrir, au Caire, en février 2011. SUHAIB SALEM / REUTERS
Youssef Al-Qaradawi, le plus célèbre prédicateur du monde arabo-sunnite, qui anima sur la chaîne Al-Jazira une émission suivie par des millions de fidèles, est mort à Doha, au Qatar, le 26 septembre 2022, à l’âge de 96 ans. Président de l’Union internationale des oulémas (savants) musulmans et dirigeant du Conseil européen pour la fatwa et la recherche, un think tank islamique basé à Dublin, il a exercé un magistère inégalé, pendant plusieurs décennies, sur les cercles théologiques sunnites.
Issu des Frères musulmans égyptiens mais installé au Qatar depuis les années 1960, le « global mufti » – titre d’une étude qui lui est consacrée (Global Mufti. The Phenomenon of Yusuf al-Qaradawi, par Jakob Skovgaard-Petersen et Bettina Gräf, Hurst, 2009) – fut aussi l’un des atouts maîtres du petit émirat gazier, dont il a accompagné la montée en puissance diplomatique, notamment son implication controversée dans les printemps arabes. » | Par Benjamin Barthe | lundi September 26, 2022
Article réservé aux abonnés
Youssef Al-Qaradawi, le plus célèbre prédicateur du monde arabo-sunnite, qui anima sur la chaîne Al-Jazira une émission suivie par des millions de fidèles, est mort à Doha, au Qatar, le 26 septembre 2022, à l’âge de 96 ans. Président de l’Union internationale des oulémas (savants) musulmans et dirigeant du Conseil européen pour la fatwa et la recherche, un think tank islamique basé à Dublin, il a exercé un magistère inégalé, pendant plusieurs décennies, sur les cercles théologiques sunnites.
Issu des Frères musulmans égyptiens mais installé au Qatar depuis les années 1960, le « global mufti » – titre d’une étude qui lui est consacrée (Global Mufti. The Phenomenon of Yusuf al-Qaradawi, par Jakob Skovgaard-Petersen et Bettina Gräf, Hurst, 2009) – fut aussi l’un des atouts maîtres du petit émirat gazier, dont il a accompagné la montée en puissance diplomatique, notamment son implication controversée dans les printemps arabes. » | Par Benjamin Barthe | lundi September 26, 2022
Article réservé aux abonnés
British Pound Touches Record Low as Investors Dump U.K. Assets
THE NEW YORK TIMES: The market’s resounding rejection of the new British government’s plans for tax cuts and borrowing continued Monday as the pound briefly fell to its weakest level against the U.S. dollar on record.
After a historically bad day on Friday, the British currency plunged as low as $1.035 in the early hours of Monday morning, before recovering to about $1.08, down 0.5 percent for the day. It also weakened slightly against the euro.
On Monday, prices for British government bonds plummeted, and yields surged, sending borrowing costs to new highs. The 10-year yield, which influences mortgages, business loans and other types of debt, hit its highest level in more than a decade. It traded at around 4.15 percent on Monday, double where it was a month and a half ago.
As traders dumped British assets, analysts have said the government’s plan to quickly grow the economy through deregulation and tax cuts, which will require tens of billions of pounds in additional borrowing at a time of rising interest rates and high inflation, was a gamble. » | Eshe Nelson | Monday, September 26, 2022
Clearly, Kwarteng’s voodoo economics has failed to impress the markets! – © Mark Alexander
After a historically bad day on Friday, the British currency plunged as low as $1.035 in the early hours of Monday morning, before recovering to about $1.08, down 0.5 percent for the day. It also weakened slightly against the euro.
On Monday, prices for British government bonds plummeted, and yields surged, sending borrowing costs to new highs. The 10-year yield, which influences mortgages, business loans and other types of debt, hit its highest level in more than a decade. It traded at around 4.15 percent on Monday, double where it was a month and a half ago.
As traders dumped British assets, analysts have said the government’s plan to quickly grow the economy through deregulation and tax cuts, which will require tens of billions of pounds in additional borrowing at a time of rising interest rates and high inflation, was a gamble. » | Eshe Nelson | Monday, September 26, 2022
Clearly, Kwarteng’s voodoo economics has failed to impress the markets! – © Mark Alexander
Législatives en Italie : une ombre sur le projet européen
LE MONDE – ÉDITORIAL : Editorial du « Monde ». Pour la première fois depuis cent ans, l’Italie s’apprête à expérimenter un gouvernement dominé par l’extrême droite. Une menace pour l’Europe, après les succès des Démocrates de Suède et du RN aux élections législatives.
Si le triomphe de Fratelli d’Italia aux élections législatives italiennes, dimanche 25 septembre, n’est pas une surprise au regard des sondages qui, ces dernières semaines, lui donnaient une large avance, la victoire d’un mouvement postfasciste dans un pays membre fondateur de l’Union européenne (UE), troisième économie de la zone euro, n’en constitue pas moins un séisme politique.
Avec un quart des suffrages, le parti de Giorgia Meloni est désormais en position de force pour former un gouvernement de coalition avec la Ligue de Matteo Salvini et Forza Italia de Silvio Berlusconi. Pour la première fois depuis l’accession au pouvoir de Benito Mussolini, à l’issue de la Marche sur Rome, il y a pile cent ans, l’Italie s’apprête à expérimenter un gouvernement dominé par l’extrême droite. Certes, Fratelli d’Italia a jusqu’à présent tenté de rassurer en gardant ses distances avec le fascisme historique. Mais ses ambiguïtés et ses références douteuses contribuent à entretenir l’inquiétude sur ses intentions véritables et incitent à la plus grande vigilance. » | Éditorial « du Monde » | lundi 26 septembre 2022
Si le triomphe de Fratelli d’Italia aux élections législatives italiennes, dimanche 25 septembre, n’est pas une surprise au regard des sondages qui, ces dernières semaines, lui donnaient une large avance, la victoire d’un mouvement postfasciste dans un pays membre fondateur de l’Union européenne (UE), troisième économie de la zone euro, n’en constitue pas moins un séisme politique.
Avec un quart des suffrages, le parti de Giorgia Meloni est désormais en position de force pour former un gouvernement de coalition avec la Ligue de Matteo Salvini et Forza Italia de Silvio Berlusconi. Pour la première fois depuis l’accession au pouvoir de Benito Mussolini, à l’issue de la Marche sur Rome, il y a pile cent ans, l’Italie s’apprête à expérimenter un gouvernement dominé par l’extrême droite. Certes, Fratelli d’Italia a jusqu’à présent tenté de rassurer en gardant ses distances avec le fascisme historique. Mais ses ambiguïtés et ses références douteuses contribuent à entretenir l’inquiétude sur ses intentions véritables et incitent à la plus grande vigilance. » | Éditorial « du Monde » | lundi 26 septembre 2022
Brown Sugar Meringue Roulade with Burnt Honey Apples | Ottolenghi Test Kitchen
It's roulade week in the Ottolenghi Test Kitchen - brown sugar meringue roulade to be exact. Paired here by Yotam with sharp, sweet and caramelly burnt honey apples. It's a forgiving recipe and so much easier than you think. The result is a stunning autumnal showstopper!
Stay tuned to see Jens making a roulade with hazelnut and gianduja cream roulade for an extra good option.
Stay tuned to see Jens making a roulade with hazelnut and gianduja cream roulade for an extra good option.
Fascism Returns in Italy: Giorgia Meloni Claims Victory, Allied with Right-wing Parties
Exclusive Interview with Ukraine's Heroic First Lady | 60 Minutes Australia
Exodus aus Russland: Männer verlassen in Scharen das Land
Pound’s Plummet Underlines Schoolboy Error by Kwasi Kwarteng
THE GUARDIAN: Chancellor added to market worries by pledging further tax cuts in full budget planned for later this year
Kwasi Kwarteng’s inexperience has been exposed. Photograph: Jeff Overs/BBC/PA
The savage sell-off in the pound in east Asia overnight was further evidence – should any be needed – that confidence in the new Liz Truss government is rapidly draining away.
Sterling fell to its lowest level against the dollar, and despite an attempt at a rally in early London trading, the likelihood is that parity against the dollar will be tested before long. September tends to be the month for a sterling crisis – and so it has proved again.
Part of the story of the pound’s weakness is a function of dollar strength but that does not explain why sterling has fallen so rapidly since the end of last week. There are three UK-related factors behind the fall.
First, once a currency hits the skids it is hard to stop it. Momentum trading took over in the aftermath of Kwasi Kwarteng’s mini-budget and it has proved hard to halt.
Second, Kwarteng committed a schoolboy error by pledging further tax cuts in a full budget planned for later this year. If the markets are worried about the state of the government’s finances and the increase in borrowing needed to fund your plans, it is not the wisest course of action to add to those concerns. Kwarteng’s inexperience has been exposed. Third,... » | Larry Elliott, Economics editor | Monday, September 26, 2022
The savage sell-off in the pound in east Asia overnight was further evidence – should any be needed – that confidence in the new Liz Truss government is rapidly draining away.
Sterling fell to its lowest level against the dollar, and despite an attempt at a rally in early London trading, the likelihood is that parity against the dollar will be tested before long. September tends to be the month for a sterling crisis – and so it has proved again.
Part of the story of the pound’s weakness is a function of dollar strength but that does not explain why sterling has fallen so rapidly since the end of last week. There are three UK-related factors behind the fall.
First, once a currency hits the skids it is hard to stop it. Momentum trading took over in the aftermath of Kwasi Kwarteng’s mini-budget and it has proved hard to halt.
Second, Kwarteng committed a schoolboy error by pledging further tax cuts in a full budget planned for later this year. If the markets are worried about the state of the government’s finances and the increase in borrowing needed to fund your plans, it is not the wisest course of action to add to those concerns. Kwarteng’s inexperience has been exposed. Third,... » | Larry Elliott, Economics editor | Monday, September 26, 2022
UK Bonds Slump after Pound Plunges to Record Low against Dollar – Business Live
THE GUARDIAN: Economists suggest Bank of England may need an emergency interest rate hike, as gilts slide and sterling slumps to a record low against the US dollar
Speculation of an emergency Bank of England rate hike is giving the pound some support, agrees Matthew Ryan, head of market strategy at global financial services firm Ebury » | Graeme Wearden | Monday, September 26, 2022
Pound hits all-time low against dollar after mini-budget rocks markets: Odds of sterling hitting parity with dollar jump, as analysts say UK bond market ‘getting smoked’ by giveaway »
Speculation of an emergency Bank of England rate hike is giving the pound some support, agrees Matthew Ryan, head of market strategy at global financial services firm Ebury » | Graeme Wearden | Monday, September 26, 2022
Pound hits all-time low against dollar after mini-budget rocks markets: Odds of sterling hitting parity with dollar jump, as analysts say UK bond market ‘getting smoked’ by giveaway »
Sunday, September 25, 2022
Jake Sullivan: US Will Act ‘Decisively’ If Russia Uses Nuclear Weapons in Ukraine
THE GUARDIAN:
US national security adviser says: ‘Any use of nuclear weapons will be met with catastrophic consequences for Russia’
America and its allies will act “decisively” if Russia uses a tactical nuclear weapon in Ukraine, US national security adviser Jake Sullivan said on Sunday, reaffirming the Joe Biden White House’s previous response to mounting concerns that Vladimir Putin’s threats are in increased danger of being realized.
“We have communicated directly, privately and at very high levels to the Kremlin that any use of nuclear weapons will be met with catastrophic consequences for Russia, that the US and our allies will respond decisively, and we have been clear and specific about what that will entail,” Sullivan told CBS’s Face The Nation. » | Edward Helmore | Sunday, September 25, 2022
America and its allies will act “decisively” if Russia uses a tactical nuclear weapon in Ukraine, US national security adviser Jake Sullivan said on Sunday, reaffirming the Joe Biden White House’s previous response to mounting concerns that Vladimir Putin’s threats are in increased danger of being realized.
“We have communicated directly, privately and at very high levels to the Kremlin that any use of nuclear weapons will be met with catastrophic consequences for Russia, that the US and our allies will respond decisively, and we have been clear and specific about what that will entail,” Sullivan told CBS’s Face The Nation. » | Edward Helmore | Sunday, September 25, 2022
Pound Hits Fresh 37-year Low after Mini-budget Rocks Markets
THE GUARDIAN: Odds of sterling hitting parity with dollar jump, as analysts say UK bond market ‘getting smoked’ by giveaway
A protester outside the Houses of Parliament as the chancellor, Kwasi Kwarteng, unveiled his mini budget on Friday. Photograph: Amer Ghazzal/REX/Shutterstock
The pound has hit a new 37-year low after the bonanza of tax cuts and spending measures in Kwasi Kwarteng’s mini-budget threatened to undermine confidence in the UK.
Sterling fell to $1.077 in early trading when Asia-Pacific markets opened after the weekend, closer to parity with the US dollar.
Chris Weston, the head of research at the brokerage firm Pepperstone, said the pound was “the whipping boy” of the G10 foreign exchange market, while the UK bond market was “getting smoked” thanks to Kwarteng’s £45bn debt-financed tax-cutting package.
“The funding requirement needed to pay for the mini-budget means either we need to see far better growth or higher bond yields to incentive capital inflows,” Weston said. Targets that the pound could fall below $1.05, for the first time ever, were being “liberally thrown around”, he added. » | Graeme Wearden | Sunday, September 25, 2022
Ha! Ha! Ha!. I could say: I told you so! We deserve all the pain we get! No! I am not being unpatriotic; on the contrary, I am being extremely patriotic. The dimwits of this country need to be brought to their senses asap.
This country is a medium-ranking European nation. Britannia no longer rules the waves. And probably never will again. Are we important as a nation? Of course we are! But we are no longer an imperial power; our Empire is gone, never to be resurrected. Get over it! These days, we need Europe; and Europe needs us.
People like Nigel Farage are not patriotic; au contraire, they are unpatriotic troublemakers. In fact, where is Nigel Farage when you need him most. He belongs in the stocks! He has caused so many Brits so much unnecessary pain with his vacuous talk. He shouldn't be allowed to get away with it.
This country belongs in the European Union. The absurd policy of Brexit needs to be reversed forthwith. – © Mark Alexander
The pound has hit a new 37-year low after the bonanza of tax cuts and spending measures in Kwasi Kwarteng’s mini-budget threatened to undermine confidence in the UK.
Sterling fell to $1.077 in early trading when Asia-Pacific markets opened after the weekend, closer to parity with the US dollar.
Chris Weston, the head of research at the brokerage firm Pepperstone, said the pound was “the whipping boy” of the G10 foreign exchange market, while the UK bond market was “getting smoked” thanks to Kwarteng’s £45bn debt-financed tax-cutting package.
“The funding requirement needed to pay for the mini-budget means either we need to see far better growth or higher bond yields to incentive capital inflows,” Weston said. Targets that the pound could fall below $1.05, for the first time ever, were being “liberally thrown around”, he added. » | Graeme Wearden | Sunday, September 25, 2022
Ha! Ha! Ha!. I could say: I told you so! We deserve all the pain we get! No! I am not being unpatriotic; on the contrary, I am being extremely patriotic. The dimwits of this country need to be brought to their senses asap.
This country is a medium-ranking European nation. Britannia no longer rules the waves. And probably never will again. Are we important as a nation? Of course we are! But we are no longer an imperial power; our Empire is gone, never to be resurrected. Get over it! These days, we need Europe; and Europe needs us.
People like Nigel Farage are not patriotic; au contraire, they are unpatriotic troublemakers. In fact, where is Nigel Farage when you need him most. He belongs in the stocks! He has caused so many Brits so much unnecessary pain with his vacuous talk. He shouldn't be allowed to get away with it.
This country belongs in the European Union. The absurd policy of Brexit needs to be reversed forthwith. – © Mark Alexander
Liz Truss Plans More Immigration in Effort to Fill Vacancies and Drive Growth
THE GUARDIAN: Government likely to lift cap on agricultural and broadband workers, and alter shortage occupations list
The prime minister, Liz Truss, may also ease the English-language requirement in some sectors. Photograph: Dylan Martinez/Reuters
Liz Truss is preparing to increase immigration to fill job vacancies and boost economic growth in a move that will anger some of her ministers and MPs.
The prime minister plans to raise the number of workers allowed to enter the UK, government sources have confirmed.
Reports claim the government will lift the cap on seasonal agricultural workers and broadband engineers, and make other changes to the shortage occupations list, which will allow key sectors to recruit more overseas staff.
Truss is said to be keen to recruit broadband engineers to complete a pledge to make full-fibre broadband available to 85% of UK homes by 2025. It has also been suggested that she could ease the English-language requirement in some sectors to enable more foreign workers to qualify for visas.
The proposals faces resistance from cabinet Brexiters including the home secretary, Suella Braverman, and the trade secretary, Kemi Badenoch, according to the Sunday Times.
One Conservative MP said that many new Conservative voters in “red wall” seats will be baffled by any softening of immigration rules.
“The government is going to have to explain to those people who thought we were a pro-Brexit government and want to curb immigration why we seem to be changing tack,” the MP said. » | Rajeev Syal | Sunday, September 25, 2022
This woman must surely be taking the effing piss! We have come out of the European Union because of too many 'immigrants' coming into the country—note that most of those people were then part of our homeland - Europe – of which we were a part; and they were largely of the same cultural and religious background: Judaeo-Christian, And when we were in the European Union, everything was going just fine. But that was too much for this turncoat: the once committed Remainer who turned Brexiteer when it suited her career ambitions. Were this woman to be an object, one would say she is not 'fit for purpose'. I therefore say this: Eject the woman from her position as soon as possible, before she does any more damage to this once great country. Shame on her! Shame on the Tories! The party is as corrupt as corrupt can be. – © Mark Alexander
Liz Truss is preparing to increase immigration to fill job vacancies and boost economic growth in a move that will anger some of her ministers and MPs.
The prime minister plans to raise the number of workers allowed to enter the UK, government sources have confirmed.
Reports claim the government will lift the cap on seasonal agricultural workers and broadband engineers, and make other changes to the shortage occupations list, which will allow key sectors to recruit more overseas staff.
Truss is said to be keen to recruit broadband engineers to complete a pledge to make full-fibre broadband available to 85% of UK homes by 2025. It has also been suggested that she could ease the English-language requirement in some sectors to enable more foreign workers to qualify for visas.
The proposals faces resistance from cabinet Brexiters including the home secretary, Suella Braverman, and the trade secretary, Kemi Badenoch, according to the Sunday Times.
One Conservative MP said that many new Conservative voters in “red wall” seats will be baffled by any softening of immigration rules.
“The government is going to have to explain to those people who thought we were a pro-Brexit government and want to curb immigration why we seem to be changing tack,” the MP said. » | Rajeev Syal | Sunday, September 25, 2022
This woman must surely be taking the effing piss! We have come out of the European Union because of too many 'immigrants' coming into the country—note that most of those people were then part of our homeland - Europe – of which we were a part; and they were largely of the same cultural and religious background: Judaeo-Christian, And when we were in the European Union, everything was going just fine. But that was too much for this turncoat: the once committed Remainer who turned Brexiteer when it suited her career ambitions. Were this woman to be an object, one would say she is not 'fit for purpose'. I therefore say this: Eject the woman from her position as soon as possible, before she does any more damage to this once great country. Shame on her! Shame on the Tories! The party is as corrupt as corrupt can be. – © Mark Alexander
Cheeky Maybe, But Very Nice!
„Ich gehe da nicht hin“
FRANKFURTER ALLGEMEINE ZEITUNG: Putin will Russlands Eroberungen im Osten und Süden der Ukraine annektieren. Dafür soll es jetzt fingierte Volksabstimmungen geben, aber eine Frau in Cherson sagt Nein. Ein Protokoll.
Nennt mich Uljana Schewtschenko. Das ist ein Deckname, den ich benutzen muss, weil die Russen meine Stadt besetzt haben. Für eine Künstlerin ist es nicht leicht, den Namen zu wechseln, aber es muss sein.
Meine Stadt ist Cherson im Süden der Ukraine. Viele sprechen hier Russisch, und deshalb sagen die Orks: Da leben Russen. Auf mich trifft das nicht zu und auf viele meiner Freunde auch nicht, auch wenn wir mit Russisch aufgewachsen sind. Ich bin zweisprachig, und das geht so: Auf der Arbeit spreche ich Ukrainisch und auf Facebook auch. Aber zu Hause sprechen wir Russisch. Manche meiner Freunde lehnen das Russische jetzt total ab. Ich nicht, ich benutze beide Sprachen. Aber vielleicht kann ich das nur deshalb, weil ich nicht so viel gelitten habe wie andere.
Dass Putin unsere Stadt jetzt durch ein Referendum annektieren will, ist für uns keine Überraschung. Ich glaube, er macht das wegen seiner Mobilmachung zu Hause. Das geht leichter, wenn er seinen Bürgern sagen kann: Cherson und die anderen ukrainischen Gebiete, die wir besetzt haben, das ist ja Russland. Aber jeder weiß ja, dass dieses Referendum sowieso einen Dreck wert ist. In Cherson ist nur noch ein Viertel der Leute da, der Rest ist weg. Wie sollen die paar, die geblieben sind, denn den „Willen des Volkes“ ausdrücken können? » | Von Konrad Schuller | Sonntag, 25. September 2022
Elections en Italie : qui est Giorgia Meloni, la jeune dirigeante du parti postfasciste aux portes du pouvoir ?
LE MONDE : PORTRAIT | La cheffe du parti Fratelli d’Italia, donnée favorite dans les sondages aux élections législatives qui se tiennent ce dimanche 25 septembre, est entrée très tôt en politique et n’a cessé, depuis, de faire son chemin, jusqu’à incarner aujourd’hui le conservatisme transalpin.
Ce dimanche d’octobre 2019, il y avait des dizaines de milliers de personnes, venues de toute l’Italie, sur la piazza San Giovanni de Rome. D’ordinaire, cette large esplanade est le lieu de rendez-vous des rassemblements de la gauche. Mais, cette fois-ci, c’était au peuple de droite de crier sa colère. Quelques semaines plus tôt, après l’échec calamiteux de sa manœuvre consistant à rompre avec les « 5 étoiles » (parti antisystème) pour provoquer des élections anticipées, le dirigeant de la Ligue (extrême droite), Matteo Salvini, avait été évincé du ministère de l’intérieur et renvoyé à l’opposition, tandis que la gauche revenait aux affaires.
Ce meeting était l’occasion de refaire l’unité au sein de l’alliance des droites et, pour Matteo Salvini, de réécrire l’histoire de sa peu glorieuse sortie de scène, en gommant ses responsabilités évidentes pour se poser en victime innocente d’une gauche machiavélique. Silvio Berlusconi, tout heureux de voir se reformer l’alliance traditionnelle, ne s’était pas fait prier pour donner son onction au rassemblement. La dirigeante de Fratelli d’Italia, Giorgia Meloni, avait fait plus de difficultés, refusant de poser en obligée du leader de la Ligue. De plus, à Rome, elle est chez elle et n’a nul besoin de Salvini le Milanais pour se faire entendre… » | Par Jérôme Gautheret (Rome, correspondant) | vendredi 23 septembre 2022
! يا عزيزي
Kwasi Kwarteng Mulls More Beneficial Tax Cuts for High Earners
THE GUARDIAN: Reports chancellor is considering further changes to taxation after mini-budget ‘for the rich’
The government is considering a series of further tax cuts that could hand thousands of pounds to high earners, shortly after it announced the biggest giveaway in 50 years.
Plans under consideration could include bringing back a tax-free allowance for workers paid more than £100,000 a year, and lifting the amount pensioners can save before taxes kick in, the Sunday Telegraph reported.
The chancellor, Kwasi Kwarteng, on Friday delivered a mini-budget with tax cuts that will benefit many of the highest earners in the UK. Although it was not a full budget, it represented the biggest tax-cutting fiscal event since 1972 under another Conservative chancellor, Anthony Barber. » | Jasper Jolly | Sunday, September 25, 2022
The government is considering a series of further tax cuts that could hand thousands of pounds to high earners, shortly after it announced the biggest giveaway in 50 years.
Plans under consideration could include bringing back a tax-free allowance for workers paid more than £100,000 a year, and lifting the amount pensioners can save before taxes kick in, the Sunday Telegraph reported.
The chancellor, Kwasi Kwarteng, on Friday delivered a mini-budget with tax cuts that will benefit many of the highest earners in the UK. Although it was not a full budget, it represented the biggest tax-cutting fiscal event since 1972 under another Conservative chancellor, Anthony Barber. » | Jasper Jolly | Sunday, September 25, 2022
Das Berner Oberland – Ein Sommer in den Schweizer Alpen | SWR Doku
Idyllische Almen, imposante Berge und … schmelzende Gletscher! In einem der begehrtesten Urlaubsziele der Schweiz stellt das Klima Mensch, Tier und Natur auf die Probe.
Das Berner Oberland in der Schweiz ist eine Region der Superlative: Hier liegt der höchste Gletscher der Alpen, der Aletschgletscher, hier fließen die größten unterirdischen Wasserfälle Europas, die Trümmelbachfälle. Und das berühmte Dreigestirn von Eiger, Mönch und Jungfrau lockt jährlich Touristen aus aller Welt in die Schweizer Berge. Flüsse und Seen in den Tälern machen das Land zum beliebten Reiseziel und sind gleichzeitig lebensnotwendige Quelle für Menschen, Tiere und Pflanzen. Alpwirtschaft, Ökologie und Tourismus sind gleichermaßen abhängig vom sensiblen Gleichgewicht der Natur. Der Sommer ist entscheidend für das Leben in den Bergen, das unmittelbar mit den Kreisläufen der Natur verbunden ist. Jonas und Fabienne fiebern als Jung-Senne dem Sommer auf der Schweizer Alp entgegen. Bis zum Herbst tragen sie die Verantwortung für 50 Kühe – und das Gold der Bauern: den begehrten Bergkäse. Die traditionelle Beweidung schafft die unverwechselbare Landschaft hier in den Bergen. Doch seit die Baumgrenze sich auch in den Schweizer Alpen immer weiter nach oben verschiebt, macht ein ungeliebter Gast den Tieren zu schaffen: die Zecke. Auf der Schweibenalp ist Gärtnerin Johanna Becker Expertin für Permakultur und weiß, welcher Salat sich besonders für die kühlen Höhenlagen eignet. Der nachhaltige Anbau von Gemüse und Kräutern lockt Freiwillige und Gäste in die Höhe. In den Berner Hochalpen, am Jungfraujoch, droht der größte Gletscher der Alpen gefährlich schnell zu schwinden. Wissenschaftler, Ingenieure und Mitarbeiter kümmern sich um den Schutz und Erhalt der Alpenregion und versuchen, die großen Herausforderungen, denen sie begegnen, zu meistern.
Diese Doku von Viktor Apfelbacher und André Schäfer trägt den Originaltitel: „Das Berner Oberland – Ein Sommer in den Schweizer Alpen“, Ausstrahlungsdatum im SWR Fernsehen am 11.9.22. Alle Aussagen und Fakten entsprechen dem damaligen Stand und wurden seitdem nicht aktualisiert.
Alle Aussagen und Fakten entsprechen dem damaligen Stand und wurden seitdem nicht aktualisiert.
Das Berner Oberland in der Schweiz ist eine Region der Superlative: Hier liegt der höchste Gletscher der Alpen, der Aletschgletscher, hier fließen die größten unterirdischen Wasserfälle Europas, die Trümmelbachfälle. Und das berühmte Dreigestirn von Eiger, Mönch und Jungfrau lockt jährlich Touristen aus aller Welt in die Schweizer Berge. Flüsse und Seen in den Tälern machen das Land zum beliebten Reiseziel und sind gleichzeitig lebensnotwendige Quelle für Menschen, Tiere und Pflanzen. Alpwirtschaft, Ökologie und Tourismus sind gleichermaßen abhängig vom sensiblen Gleichgewicht der Natur. Der Sommer ist entscheidend für das Leben in den Bergen, das unmittelbar mit den Kreisläufen der Natur verbunden ist. Jonas und Fabienne fiebern als Jung-Senne dem Sommer auf der Schweizer Alp entgegen. Bis zum Herbst tragen sie die Verantwortung für 50 Kühe – und das Gold der Bauern: den begehrten Bergkäse. Die traditionelle Beweidung schafft die unverwechselbare Landschaft hier in den Bergen. Doch seit die Baumgrenze sich auch in den Schweizer Alpen immer weiter nach oben verschiebt, macht ein ungeliebter Gast den Tieren zu schaffen: die Zecke. Auf der Schweibenalp ist Gärtnerin Johanna Becker Expertin für Permakultur und weiß, welcher Salat sich besonders für die kühlen Höhenlagen eignet. Der nachhaltige Anbau von Gemüse und Kräutern lockt Freiwillige und Gäste in die Höhe. In den Berner Hochalpen, am Jungfraujoch, droht der größte Gletscher der Alpen gefährlich schnell zu schwinden. Wissenschaftler, Ingenieure und Mitarbeiter kümmern sich um den Schutz und Erhalt der Alpenregion und versuchen, die großen Herausforderungen, denen sie begegnen, zu meistern.
Diese Doku von Viktor Apfelbacher und André Schäfer trägt den Originaltitel: „Das Berner Oberland – Ein Sommer in den Schweizer Alpen“, Ausstrahlungsdatum im SWR Fernsehen am 11.9.22. Alle Aussagen und Fakten entsprechen dem damaligen Stand und wurden seitdem nicht aktualisiert.
Alle Aussagen und Fakten entsprechen dem damaligen Stand und wurden seitdem nicht aktualisiert.
‘They Have Nothing to Lose’: Why Young Iranians Are Rising Up Once Again
THE NEW YORK TIMES: Amid growing repression, a sickly economy and bleak prospects, the death of one young woman was all it took.
Dozens have reportedly been killed by security forces as demonstrations continue to spread across Iran. Protests began after Mahsa Amini died in the custody of the morality police. | Agence France-Presse — Getty Images
The 22-year-old woman emerged from the Tehran subway, her dark hair covered with a black head scarf and the lines of her body obscured by loose clothing, when the capital city’s Guidance Patrol spotted her. They were members of Iran’s notorious morality police, enforcers of the conservative Islamic dress and behavior rules that have governed daily life for Iranians since the 1979 revolution, and newly energized under a hard-line president who took office last year.
By their standards, Mahsa Amini was improperly dressed, which could mean something as simple as a wisp of hair protruding from her head scarf. They put her in a van and drove her away to a detention center, where she was to undergo re-education. Three days later, on Sept. 16, she was dead.
Now, over eight days of rage, exhilaration and street battles, the most significant outpouring of anger with the ruling system in more than a decade, her name is everywhere. Iranian protesters in dozens of cities have chanted “women, life and freedom” and “death to the dictator,” rejecting the Iranian Republic’s theocratic rule by targeting one of its most fundamental and divisive symbols — the ailing supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
In several of the videos of the uprising that have torn across social media, women rip off their head scarves and burn them in street bonfires, including in deeply religious cities such as Qum and Mashhad. In one, a young woman atop a utility cabinet cuts off her hair in front of a crowd of roaring demonstrators. In another, young women dare to dance bareheaded in front of the riot police. » | Vivian Yee and Farnaz Fassihi | Published: Saturday, September 24, 2022; updated: Sunday, September 25, 2022
Related here and here and here and here (auf Deutsch).
Are the Islamic Republic of Iran's days numbered, perhaps? Is freedom on the horizon for Iranians at last? – © Mark Alexander
The 22-year-old woman emerged from the Tehran subway, her dark hair covered with a black head scarf and the lines of her body obscured by loose clothing, when the capital city’s Guidance Patrol spotted her. They were members of Iran’s notorious morality police, enforcers of the conservative Islamic dress and behavior rules that have governed daily life for Iranians since the 1979 revolution, and newly energized under a hard-line president who took office last year.
By their standards, Mahsa Amini was improperly dressed, which could mean something as simple as a wisp of hair protruding from her head scarf. They put her in a van and drove her away to a detention center, where she was to undergo re-education. Three days later, on Sept. 16, she was dead.
Now, over eight days of rage, exhilaration and street battles, the most significant outpouring of anger with the ruling system in more than a decade, her name is everywhere. Iranian protesters in dozens of cities have chanted “women, life and freedom” and “death to the dictator,” rejecting the Iranian Republic’s theocratic rule by targeting one of its most fundamental and divisive symbols — the ailing supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
In several of the videos of the uprising that have torn across social media, women rip off their head scarves and burn them in street bonfires, including in deeply religious cities such as Qum and Mashhad. In one, a young woman atop a utility cabinet cuts off her hair in front of a crowd of roaring demonstrators. In another, young women dare to dance bareheaded in front of the riot police. » | Vivian Yee and Farnaz Fassihi | Published: Saturday, September 24, 2022; updated: Sunday, September 25, 2022
Related here and here and here and here (auf Deutsch).
Are the Islamic Republic of Iran's days numbered, perhaps? Is freedom on the horizon for Iranians at last? – © Mark Alexander
Welche Zukunft hat das Commonwealth nach dem Tod der Queen? | Fokus Europa
EuroMillions Lottery: UK Winner Picks Up £171m Jackpot
THE GUARDIAN: Ticket-holder comes forward to become third biggest National Lottery winner of all time
A ticket-holder has come forward to claim the £171m jackpot from Friday’s EuroMillions draw, operator Camelot has said.
Their win makes them the third biggest National Lottery winner of all time and instantly richer than the singers Harry Styles, who is worth an estimated £100m, and Adele, worth an estimated £150m.
Camelot’s Andy Carter, senior winners’ adviser at the National Lottery, said: “What an amazing year for UK EuroMillions players. We are delighted to have received a claim for the third biggest ever win and look forward to supporting the ticket-holder and helping them to start to enjoy their truly life-changing win.” » | Jane Clinton | Sunday, September 25, 2022
A ticket-holder has come forward to claim the £171m jackpot from Friday’s EuroMillions draw, operator Camelot has said.
Their win makes them the third biggest National Lottery winner of all time and instantly richer than the singers Harry Styles, who is worth an estimated £100m, and Adele, worth an estimated £150m.
Camelot’s Andy Carter, senior winners’ adviser at the National Lottery, said: “What an amazing year for UK EuroMillions players. We are delighted to have received a claim for the third biggest ever win and look forward to supporting the ticket-holder and helping them to start to enjoy their truly life-changing win.” » | Jane Clinton | Sunday, September 25, 2022
Lavrov to UN: Annexed Ukraine Territories Will Have Russia's 'Full Protection' | DW News
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