"Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it." - Ferris Bueller
As another 7 days speed by at blistering pace, we stop and look back on the biggest (non-COVID related) stories that hit the headlines this week. Amid upset around the newly proposed NHS pay rise, Health Secretary Matt Hancock, as part of the Government's effort to motivate the nation to lose weight, gave us our moment of the week when he was spotted working out in St James' Park:
The floor is caring about the NHS...
The major story of this week surrounded the budget announced by Chancellor Rishi Sunak on Wednesday, detailing the continuation of the furlough scheme until September and further support for businesses and individuals. I'll be giving a full rundown of what was announced in the coming days, but overall it looks a bleak picture for the future of the economy, which has been hit hard by the pandemic.
The High Court this week ruled that the Boris Johnson 'misled Parliament' by stating that contracts relating to COVID (for PPE, testing equipment etc.) had been published, when only 608 out of 708 have been. By long established convention, if ministers (including the Prime Minister) mislead Parliament, then they are expected to resign. Unsurprisingly, there are currently no reports of Mr Johnson's intention to visit Her Majesty, so we can expect this story to be hushed up and put away quietly. I wonder why the Government is so keen to hide it's fairly awarded contracts?
In the build-up to Harry and Meghan's upcoming interview with Oprah, which airs tonight and is set to be something of a *spicy* affair, Prince Philip has reportedly undergone a successful procedure for a pre-existing heart condition, and is now recovering back in King Edward VII's Hospital, where he is expected to remain for a number of days. Based on what we've heard about the interview so far, the nurses better keep the TV away from the Duke tonight...
Elsewhere, it was revealed this week that holiday park operator Pontins held a secret blacklist of guest surnames labelled "undesirable", who were denied from booking. The list consisted of stereotypically Irish Traveller names, and has been called "completely unacceptable" by Downing Street. Irish Travellers are one of the most discriminated against groups in the UK, particularly in education where exclusion rates among the community are significantly higher than the national average. More must be done to tackle this kind of discrimination, which is often overlooked due to negative attitudes towards Travelling communities.
In other news, Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, the British woman who was arrested in Tehran in 2016 and imprisoned on espionage charges, has been released from house arrest this week, though new charges have been brought as the UK Government demands she be allowed to return to the UK. Zaghari-Ratcliffe has essentially been held hostage by the Iranians over a £400 million dispute between the two nations - meaning it is likely they will try and fake charges to keep her imprisoned there. We of course hope for the safe return of Nazanin to her family in the near future.
Also in the Middle East, Israel this week accused Iran of attacking an Israeli-owned cargo ship in the Gulf of Oman, with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu describing Iran as the "greatest enemy of Israel". Iran has denied the claim, and tensions appear to be re-escalating in the region, where great hostility already exists. One wrong step and we could very easily be looking at a another long, dangerous war in the territory, especially if the Americans try and get their greedy little hands in the cookie jar.
Over in the States, Biden took his first action against the Kremlin this week by placing sanctions in coordination with the EU on Russian officials and entities, in response to the poisoning and imprisonment of opposition leader Alexei Navalny. Russia and the US seem to be content with taking little swipes at the other, just pushing their limits - until one of them snaps, of course. God help us when that happens.
In France, former President Nicolas Sarkozy was sentenced to three years in prison this week on corruption charges, after a judge found him guilty of offering a job in the French Riviera to a senior magistrate in exchange for information of an ongoing investigation into him. We can only hope the same fate befalls the former President of another country...
Finally, the online ceremony of the Golden Globes was held this week, with The Crown, The Queen's Gambit, and Borat Subsequent Moviefilm the big winners on the night. Josh O'Connor (Prince Charles), Emma Corrin (Princess Diana), and Gillian Anderson (Margaret Thatcher) all picked up individual awards for their roles in The Crown, with Chadwick Boseman posthumously honoured for his role in Ma Rainey's Black Bottom.
#MattHancock #TheBudget #ResignBoris #HarryandMeghanInterview #PrincePhilip #Pontins #NazaninZaghariRatcliffe #Israel #Iran #AlexeiNavalny #NicolasSarkozy #GoldenGlobes
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