As another hectic week of big news stories comes to a close, we once again stop and look at the COVID-free headlines which defined this week - but first, as always, we pick our moment of the week, this time provided by Twitter user @PrincessMissDee, who posted this brilliant tweet after Priti Patel's Home Office expenses were leaked:
It seems that Mrs Patel fills the emptiness inside her where empathy and compassion should be with Rachael's Cupcakes...
In one of many big stories this week, Home Secretary Priti Patel had her department's expenses leaked, leading to an inevitable Twitter frenzy as people again question what their taxes are really being spent on. While the Government has justified some of the leaked cash as funds for PPE procurement (the total £103k paid to Global Beauty Products Limited), and as clothing for refugees (Primark and Sports Direct etc.), much remains unaccounted for. This story looks likely to continue to unfold over the coming weeks - who doesn't love a good expenses scandal? It may not quite be Sir Peter Viggers' £30,000 duck house, but it's not bad...
The other major story of the week surrounded the ongoing #KillTheBill protests, which began in Bristol, and have now spread to Brighton, as people continue to demonstrate for their right to protest peacefully. Terrible video footage of violence at the protests in Bristol dominated the headlines, with the PM condemning them as 'disgraceful', and Avon & Somerset Police claiming multiple officers had suffered 'broken bones' - though this was later revealed to be false. It is still unclear as to how the peaceful demonstrations turned violent - contradictory versions of events are everywhere, with videos of police assaulting seated protestors and journalists pitted against those of rioters setting police vans on fire, and reports of injured police officers. An independent inquiry is surely needed once this is all over to determine exactly what occurred at these protests, and police brutality as a whole, but one thing remains clear - the policing bill must not pass.
Elsewhere, Scottish politics continued to descend into chaos as two separate committees reached different verdicts on whether Nicola Sturgeon breached the ministerial code over her handling of the Alex Salmond sexual harassment investigation. The First Minister then survived a no confidence vote in her leadership in the Scottish Parliament, before her hopes of continued electoral domination took a hit as Salmond himself set up the new 'Alba' party to rival the SNP in May's elections. Defectors from Sturgeon's party are already being welcomed by Salmond, who looks set to split the pro-independence vote and wriggle his way back into the political system. It's all getting very personal up in Holyrood...
Back in Westminster, rapidly-becoming Public Enemy No.1 Priti Patel announced an 'overhaul' of the UK's immigration system, which is set to break the UN Refugee Convention by dividing arrivals based on how they entered the country and where they have been since leaving their nation of origin. The bill also promises to only grant temporary permissions to reside in the UK, which will allow Mrs Patel to fulfil her lofty ambitions of deporting as many people as possible. At least people smugglers can get life sentences now though!
It was also (finally) revealed by Jennifer Arcuri that while Mayor (and still married to now ex-wife Marina), Boris Johnson did indeed have a four-year affair with the entrepreneur. The revelation comes after the PM denied the affair - after all, it would have been a blatant conflict of interest, given Arcuri received £126,000 of taxpayer money in event sponsorships and grants in this time. Oh wait... - Boris is certainly using up his nine lives rather quickly - surely one of the next few scandals will force him out?
As the Royals recover from literal and figurative heart surgery after THAT interview, Prince William was voted the World's Sexiest Bald Man (has the Rock grown his hair out?), and his brother Harry announced his new job as Chief Impact Officer at Silicon Valley mental health company BetterUp. Whatever you think of the ex-Royal, hopefully he can make the best of his situation and do some good in the world.
Internationally, all eyes have been on the Suez Canal this week, as gigantic 400m long cargo ship the Ever Given remains grounded, blocking the busiest trading passage in the world. Over 300 ships are now thought to be stuck behind the ship, with many forced to reroute around the Cape of Good Hope (below South Africa). Tugboats are being brought in from around the world to try and free the ship, which has now been stuck for almost a week, but experts are optimistic that an upcoming high tide could see the crisis ended soon.
Elsewhere, relations between China and the West continued to fracture this week as the US, UK, Canada, and EU all imposed sanctions on Chinese officials in Xinjiang, where human rights abuses of Uighur Muslims are thought to be taking place. China has naturally retaliated, strongly denying any such violations, and sanctioning Western officials, including former Conservative leader Sir Iain Duncan-Smith, who has said he views it as a "badge of honour". One thing is for certain - it's going to take a lot more than a few sanctions to stop one of the biggest powers in the world.
Finally, the situation in Myanmar continued to worsen this week, as over 400 protestors are now thought to have been killed by police, including over 100 in just one day. Children as young as 13 were among those killed, drawing widespread condemnation from governments and aid organisations around the world. The massacres seem only to be getting worse, however, as the military coup tries to seize and maintain power, and few seem optimistic about a future for democracy in the country.
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