Her record wasn’t perfect, but she transformed the landscape. Her exit speech made me rueful for what might have been..

Pulling into a service station to listen to Nicola Sturgeon’s resignation speech on Wednesday morning, I was hit by a wave of sadness. It wasn’t that the first minister’s departure was unexpected. Though the precise timing was a shock, she has been visibly flagging for months, and her popularity has been waning even among SNP diehards. “She’s lost the room,” one loyalist told me recently. When Jacinda Ardern – a politician Sturgeon greatly admires – stepped down as the prime minister of New Zealand with the words: “We give all that we can for as long as we can. And then it’s time,” I imagined Sturgeon thinking: “That’s the way to do it.”

Nor am I blind to the chequered nature of the first minister’s legacy. It has been disappointing to watch a woman who came to power with such noble aspirations fail to deliver on a succession of pledges, such as closing the educational attainment gap, and become mired in a succession of controversies, such as the ferry fiasco and the “missing” £600,000 of SNP funds.

Yet her speech – and the poise with which she delivered it – brought back all that was good about her leadership: the almost Calvinist sense of duty, the relatability, the humility. These are qualities absent in the five UK prime ministers who have been in office as she attempted to steer her ship through the choppy waters that their greed and populism created.

Sturgeon has her own character flaws. Her cautious nature has had a dampening effect on her radicalism, and her reluctance to listen to anyone outside her inner circle led to errors of judgment on the “named person” legislation, which was later found to breach children’s right to privacy, and on the gender recognition reform bill, which Rishi Sunak blocked in a historic challenge to Scottish devolution.

Still, if Boris Johnson, Liz Truss or Sunak had possessed a fraction of Sturgeon’s integrity, there would have been no Brexit, no support for bankers’ bonuses and no hint of tax avoidance. And if they had acknowledged the SNP’s overwhelming mandate for a second independence referendum, she would not now be facing criticism for failing to secure one.

Furthermore, while Sturgeon’s policies may not have been ambitious enough for those on the left of the SNP, Scotland’s tax system is the most progressive in the UK, and the Conservatives’ welfare reforms are being mitigated by the child payment – £25 per child per week for low-income families.

Sturgeon made enemies on both sides of the constitutional divide. Sometimes it felt like she couldn’t win.

But the sight of her, eloquent and self-reflective at the podium brought back her finest hour: guiding Scotland through the pandemic. There were mistakes there, too, of course, most notably the release of untested hospital patients into care homes. But her messaging was always clear and direct, and you never doubted she cared or that she was giving her all.

You could no more imagine Sturgeon socialising while other people mourned alone than you could imagine Johnson stacking chairs at the end of a political meeting (something Sturgeon was wont to do even as first minister). Or resigning gracefully in the interests of his party and his country.

Her speech was also a reminder of how she transformed the landscape. When I returned to Scotland from England in 1996, politics and journalism was male-dominated, with female voices pushed to the margins. Sturgeon changed all that, not merely by being a woman at the helm (after all, there have been two female prime ministers during her time in power), but by actively promoting gender equality.

Her government’s handling of the initial allegations against Alex Salmond, and the inquiry that followed, almost proved her undoing. But the impulse to change the sexual harassment complaints process came from a place of principle; and she stuck to those principles despite the outpouring of vitriol and misogyny they unleashed. Though Sturgeon insists the fallout from the GRR bill was not the catalyst for her departure, the accusation that she has squandered her right to be considered a feminist must be painful.

The timing of her resignation appears to have more to do with the forthcoming conference on “election-based options” designed to force the UK government into negotiations on independence. Sturgeon knows her preferred option – turning the general election into a de facto referendum – is divisive. “And I cannot in good conscience ask the party to choose an option based on my judgment, whilst not being convinced that I would be there as leader to see it through,” she explained. “Conscience”: there’s a concept that’s been in short supply these last 10 years.

I admire Sturgeon for not clinging too desperately to her dream of personally delivering independence. It must be tough to give up something that has consumed so much of your life – although it may be easier to cede power if you have not desired it for its own sake, but as a means of securing an ideal that transcends your own ego.

I admire her, too, for not believing she is indispensable; for having faith in the next generation of SNP politicians. My service station sadness was part ruefulness for what might have been, part fear there was no one else capable of filling her shoes. It’s impossible to conceive of any of the touted contenders – Kate Forbes, Keith Brown, Neil Gray – filling stadiums full of selfie-seeking fans. But while Sturgeon’s competence was established before she became first minister, her popularity was a product of timing; she rode into town on a post-referendum high. Whoever succeeds her will have to make their own luck, to rethink the party’s entire strategy and approach. That may be no bad thing.

By Dani Garavelli is a freelance journalist and columnist for the Herald – Theguardian.com

L’article Analysis. What did Nicola Sturgeon change in Scotland for women in politics? Everything est apparu en premier sur World Opinion | Alternative Média.

Free HIV tests that can be done at home are being offered this week to people in England.

It is part of a government drive to improve diagnosis, which dropped off during the Covid pandemic.

The kit is small enough to fit through the letterbox and arrives in plain packaging through the post.

It gives a result within 15 minutes by testing a drop of blood from a finger prick. A « reactive » result means HIV is possible and a clinic check is needed.

Support and help is available to arrange this.

If the result is negative it means the test did not detect HIV. If you think you are at risk of HIV, however, you should test every three months because it can take a while for the virus to show in the blood.

About 4,400 people in England are living with undiagnosed HIV, which comes with serious health risks.

HIV medication can keep the virus at undetectable levels, meaning you cannot pass HIV on and your health is protected.

Most people get the virus from someone who is unaware they have it, according to the Terrence Higgins Trust (THT) charity which campaigns about and provides services relating to HIV and sexual health.

HIV testing rates remain a fifth lower than before the Covid-19 pandemic – with heterosexual men in particular now testing far less than in 2019.

Testing among gay and bisexual men has increased but rates of testing among women have fallen by 22% compared to 2019, while there has been a 41% drop for heterosexual men.

Straight men and women are also far more likely to be diagnosed at a late stage.

THT has been working with the BBC drama EastEnders to raise awareness of HIV among heterosexuals through a storyline where a lead character called Zack Hudson is diagnosed with the virus.

Taku Mukiwa, head of health programmes at THT, said: « Gay and bisexual men and black African people continue to be the most impacted by HIV in the UK, but anyone who’s sexually active can be affected and should think about testing.

« As the EastEnders HIV storyline we’ve been advising on shows, the truth is it’s always better to know your HIV status, whether positive or negative.

« If it’s negative, you can make sure it stays that way.

« While, as Zack in EastEnders is learning, huge advances in HIV treatment mean you can live a long healthy life with the virus, have children who are HIV-negative and that HIV can’t be passed on to anyone else. »

People can live with HIV for a long time without any symptoms. Testing is the only way to know your HIV status.

Using a condom during sex can prevent infections.

Dr Alison Brown, interim head of HIV surveillance at the UK Health Security Agency, said: « HIV does not discriminate, no matter your gender or sexual orientation.

« Taking up a free and confidential HIV test regularly when having condom-less sex will ensure you’re diagnosed early and started on effective treatment, helping to reduce transmission of HIV and the number of people with undiagnosed HIV. »

It is recommended that anyone who is sexually active tests for HIV annually, and more regularly if you have a new or multiple partners.

The free testing initiative coincides with National HIV Testing Week and making progress towards the government’s goal of ending new HIV cases by 2030.

World Opinions – BBC Health

L’article HIV testing: Free DIY home kit offered in England est apparu en premier sur World Opinion | Alternative Média.

British-Iranian dual national Alireza Akbari, who was sentenced to death in Iran, has been executed.

Mr Akbari’s family had been asked to go to his prison for a « final visit » on Wednesday and his wife said he had been moved to solitary confinement.

The ex-deputy Iranian defence minister was arrested in 2019 and convicted of spying for the UK, which he denied.

UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said the execution was a « callous and cowardly act, carried out by a barbaric regime ».

Iran’s rulers had « no respect for the human rights of their own people » Mr Sunak said, adding that his thoughts were « with Alireza’s friends and family ».

UK Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said the execution would « not stand unchallenged ».

The Iranian judiciary’s official news outlet Mizan reported on Saturday that Alireza Akbari had been hanged, without specifying the date when the execution took place.

The news came after Iran posted a video of Mr Akbari earlier this week showing what appeared to be forced confessions, and after the country’s intelligence ministry had described the British-Iranian as « one of the most important agents of the British intelligence service in Iran ».

However BBC Persian broadcast an audio message on Wednesday from Mr Akbari in which he said he had been tortured and forced to confess on camera to crimes he did not commit.

The United States had also joined calls for Iran not to execute Mr Akbari. US diplomat Vedant Patel said « his execution would be unconscionable » and condemned the charges against him as « politically motivated ».

Dr Sanam Vakil, Iran expert at the Chatham House think tank, said Mr Akbari’s death would be used by the Iranian regime to suggest a « heavy outside hand » was stoking the anti-government unrest – linking the protests with the accusation that Western nations were trying to « destabilise the Islamic republic ».

« Keeping the narrative of the West being involved is a way to maintain unity among the political establishment », she told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.

The UK Foreign Office has been supporting Mr Akbari’s family and had repeatedly raised his case with Iranian authorities. It had requested urgent consular access, but Iran’s government does not recognise dual nationality for Iranians.

‘Tortured for 3,500 hours’

In Mr Akbari’s audio message he said that he was living abroad a few years ago when he was invited to visit Iran at the request of a top Iranian diplomat who was involved in nuclear talks with world powers.

Once there, he adds, he was accused of obtaining top secret intelligence from the secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, Ali Shamkhani, « in exchange for a bottle of perfume and a shirt ».

Mr Akbari alleged that he was « interrogated and tortured » by intelligence agents « for more than 3,500 hours ».

« By using physiological and psychological methods, they broke my will, drove me to madness and forced me to do whatever they wanted, » he said. « By the force of gun and death threats they made me confess to false and corrupt claims. »

He also accused Iran of seeking « to take revenge on the UK by executing me ».

Hours after the audio message was broadcast, the Mizan news agency confirmed for the first time that Mr Akbari had been found guilty of espionage, and that the Supreme Court had rejected his appeal.

Ties between the UK and Iran have deteriorated in recent months since the UK imposed sanctions on Iran’s morality police and other top security figures, in response to the country’s violent crackdown on anti-government protesters.

Iran has arrested dozens of Iranians with dual nationality or foreign permanent residency in recent years, mostly on spying and national security charges.

British-Iranian citizens Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe and Anoosheh Ashoori were released and allowed to leave Iran last year after the UK settled a longstanding debt owed to Iran.

However, at least two other British-Iranians remain in detention, including Morad Tahbaz, who also holds US citizenship.

By Emily McGarvey and Aoife Walsh – BBC News

L’article Alireza Akbari: Iran executes British-Iranian dual national est apparu en premier sur World Opinion | Alternative Média.

The lexicon is lost for synonyms for mayhem, havoc, chaos and pandemonium. The front pages of all the newspapers and their websites that led the way to this abyss have used them all up. Those who backed Liz Truss, those who engineered Brexit, those forever calling for cuts to the public realm – the Mail even whooping with glee at her catastrophic, market-killing budget – “At last a true Tory budget!” – shouted as loud for her demise, without a heartbeat’s pause for shame or remorse.

Truss is gone. The ideological hobgoblins she brought in and others of her fraternity turned on her. It’s not been “take back control” but out of control. Even two more years of this Tory disaster is unthinkable. Whether it’s tax cuts splurging on the rich, or the return by the chancellor, Jeremy Hunt, to thumb-screw austerity, the country can’t take either option. Nor will markets be much soothed as long as the party that enabled all this and drove us over the Brexit cliff remains in charge of our weakening economy.

The question is whether Labour, Lib Dems (and moderate Tories) can drive a stake through the heart of her extreme brand of libertarian, state-destroying, Europe-baiting, austerity politics. Strike it dead so it never resurrects, so no one ever tries it again any more than they would advocate Stalinism. Look at where it has taken us: Cameron and Osborne’s cuts at a time of recession, when every precedent said it was time to invest, led to negative growth in household income, and the UK performing worse than any other country in Europe bar Greece and Cyprus. Post-financial crash, incomes in France grew by 34% and in Germany by 27%, while ours fell by 2%, according to the Resolution Foundation.

Look what the Tories’ Brexit did. The British economy fell faster behind those in the EU: it was 90% of the size of Germany’s in 2016, and now it has fallen to 70%. Our trade to the EU has fallen by 16%.

But Britain’s loss has been far greater than those whom Truss liked to call “bean counters”, with their “abacus economics”, can measure. Reputation is priceless, though it too is weighed on the scales of the mercurial markets’ confidence in our debts. No reputation manager can fix the shame of being laughed at abroad. Sober countries look on amazed at how the Conservative party – yes, the party of bowler hats, the Carlton club, black and white balls, garden fete fundraisers – has melded into the realm of disreputables such as Trump, Bolsonaro, Berlusconi and Giorgia Meloni.

Never forgive, never forget, Keir Starmer says. It’s the duty of social democrats to bury that ideology and remind Britain who they really are. They are the postwar consensus that Thatcher tried to uproot. All but relatively few are essentially the Labourites of Wilson and Attlee, and Tories of council house-builder Harold Macmillan, and Edward Heath, who guided us skilfully into the EU. They are not Truss-type revolutionaries. The permanent bright red line between the parties always showed up the Tories as protectors of the better-off, anti-NHS, anti-progressive social reforms, cutting taxes for a smaller state – but not off-the-scale wreckers like this breed, nurtured on Thatcherism and Euro-hostility.

Remember that Truss and Kwarteng only continued the madness of Osborne and Cameron. And hard years of repair lie ahead

The evil potion of the great Brexit lie, imbued with wartime myths of British exceptionalism, that wildly misled so many is now wearing off. Labour should seize the moment without fear to keep reminding voters what harm the Tories’ particularly pernicious brand of Brexit has done to them. This time the politics of the Tory party, in all its egregious forms, is not distant Westminster night-time scuffles in mysterious voting lobbies but an ideology that is doing appalling damage to every household, in ways everyone understands all too well.

Even if benefits are uprated with inflation, poorer households will suffer the biggest fall in real disposable incomes on record, wiping out all the gains of the last 20 years, according to the Resolution Foundation. Poorer households are about to face “a catastrophically bad year”. This Tory generation, from 1980 onwards, will turn Britain into the most unequal country in Europe, bar Bulgaria.

Now Tory MPs face even more painful votes than fracking. Fearing for their seats, they didn’t want their names on local leaflets as frackers, and nor will they want their names listed as voting for 10% to 15% cuts to everything: the NHS already gets less per capita than in 2010, schools already spend less per pupil, roads have deeper potholes, social care has all but collapsed – so will they vote for worse? Nor will that bonfire of EU regulations look appetising on hostile election leaflets if they vote for cuts to food safety, environment, working rights, clean water and air. Each swing of the axe of austerity will mean more revolting Tory MPs adding to the Westminster bedlam.

In other words, it can’t happen. This has to stop. Two years more will break everything. The Tory MP Charles Walker appears to have their measure. On Wednesday he called the government “an absolute disgrace” and railed against “talentless people” in the cabinet. Some may see him as a viable interim leader. But what we need is an election.

Labour needs to press home a deep political and social culture change. Make sure rogue conservatism is forever seen as an alien creature, nation-damagingly un-British. The Tory media – the Sun, Mail, Telegraph, GB News and Murdoch’s TalkTV – will find they must adapt: it’s too much to expect remorse, but they should consult their marketing departments about how far beyond the pale of most readers’ current state of mind they should go. The wise will row back from the mania of a failed experiment they urged on. Hard years of repair lie ahead, but these are different times, Keir Starmer times, now.

By Polly Toynbee is a Guardian columnist – The Guardian

L’article Truss is gone. The Tory experiment is dying. Kill it off. Then don’t forgive and don’t forget est apparu en premier sur World Opinion | Alternative Média.

Politicians and journalists scatter the word “crisis” like salt over hot chips, but every now and then the term really applies. The Bank of England’s emergency intervention in financial markets on Wednesday qualifies as a crisis – for the Bank, the government and the public. This is a crisis made in Downing Street, and it is not over yet.

Just last Friday, Kwasi Kwarteng unveiled what he refused to call a mini-budget. It did in fact rank as one of the most significant budgets in 50 years, with £45bn in tax cuts. These giveaways had not been demanded by vast swathes of voters. Many businesses and economists thought them unnecessary, even wasteful. They came after an energy support package worth £150bn over two years, and while the UK is having to borrow ever more money to pay for imported fuel, food and manufactured goods. Yet the chancellor had not prepared investors for all this spending, had decreed the Office for Budget Responsibility should not check his sums, and also pushed out Tom Scholar, the Treasury’s top civil servant. Along with Liz Truss, Mr Kwarteng had spent months decrying the Treasury’s “abacus economics” and also demanding a shakeup at the Bank of England.

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Faced with all this institutional instability and slipshod policy, markets reacted incredibly badly. The pound has collapsed and bond markets have all but frozen up. The free-market thinktanks and media outriders who helped write the budget now look less like the experts on capitalism they claimed to be, and more like extremist cabals on a different planet from voters and investors. Even the IMF, not known for its concern with either growth or tackling inequality, laid into the chancellor’s plans. The IMF is quite happy to slap down policymakers in Islamabad or Kigali; it is usually rather more circumspect about criticising G7 countries that rank among its major shareholders. Six years and three prime ministers on from the Brexit vote, the UK looks very isolated on the world stage. The government that thought it could rip up the Northern Ireland protocol and renege on all manner of international deals has been rewarded with the cold shoulder by erstwhile allies who might otherwise offer support.

Liz Truss’s first big policy has been shot down by financial markets – and her economic credibility shredded

On Wednesday the Bank governor, Andrew Bailey, was forced to step in, buying long-term government bonds in order to save Mr Kwarteng from his own mess. This will not be a one-off rescue mission but an entire programme of daily purchases lasting until mid-October. Bond traders enjoyed a one-way bet for the past week in selling gilts. They now have a one-way bet for a fortnight in buying them. A nice business to be in. But for the Bank this is a huge mess. It wanted to reverse quantitative easing, now it is doing some more. It planned to increase rates, now it is under pressure to jack them up very soon. Mr Bailey apparently believes he can carry on as normal and make his next rate decision with colleagues as scheduled in November. This no longer looks plausible.

For Mr Kwarteng and Ms Truss, this is an unmitigated disaster. Their first major policy has been shot down by financial markets, their claims to economic competence shredded. Nothing the Labour leader, Keir Starmer, could say would do as much for his poll ratings as the public uselessness of these two. But, sadly, even if the Bank’s manoeuvring works, the consequences will be felt much more widely, in higher mortgage bills and import prices. And the government is already hinting at significant spending cuts. To do so would be a contravention of the Conservatives’ 2019 manifesto, which made huge spending promises on hospitals, police and schools. It would also further erode public services and a public realm already in dangerously ill health.

By The Guardian View 

L’article View on the financial crisis: a meltdown made in Downing Street est apparu en premier sur World Opinion | Alternative Média.

Le “mini-budget” britannique annoncé avant le week-end a entraîné une chute brutale et historique de la livre sterling, malmenée sur le marché des changes. Les traders semblent avoir pris en grippe le contenu de ce plan qui prévoit une série de baisses d’impôts favorisant en premier lieu les plus riches. Mais au-delà des cadeaux aux plus fortunés, c’est le coût global pour l’économie britannique qui inquiète les marchés financiers.

C’est un jeu de massacre boursier. La livre sterling est descendue, lundi 26 septembre, à un niveau historiquement bas face au dollar. Elle s’échangeait à 1,05 dollars sur les marchés asiatiques, soit une chute spectaculaire de 7 % sur deux séances (vendredi et lundi). La devise britannique n’avait jamais été aussi faible depuis l’introduction, en 1971, de la livre sterling actuelle.

Cette dégringolade boursière semble liée à un important cadeau aux plus riches décidé par le gouvernement britannique juste avant le week-end. Kwasi Kwarteng, ministre de l’Économie, a présenté, vendredi, un « mini-budget » ou plan de relance constitué de mesures pour minimiser l’impact de la hausse des prix de l’énergie et surtout de baisses d’impôts dont la plupart bénéficie aux plus fortunés.

Liz Truss, plutôt Trump que Thatcher

Certains coups de pouces fiscaux, à commencer par la fin annoncée de la dernière tranche d’impôt pour ceux qui gagnent plus de 120 000 livres (134 000 euros) par an et l’abrogation des plafonds pour les bonus versés aux banquiers, ont suscité de vives réactions.

“C’est un budget pour les 1 % [des plus riches]”, a réagi Paul Johnson, directeur de l’Institut pour les études fiscales, interrogé par le quotidien britannique The Guardian. “C’est un texte moralement intolérable”, a regretté sur Twitter Nicola Sturgeon, Première ministre d’Écosse.

Si la Première ministre Liz Truss et son gouvernement ont promis d’appliquer une politique “thatchérienne” – en référence à la très néolibérale ex-Première ministre britannique des années 1980 Margaret Thatcher -, “ce plan de relance fait davantage penser à la politique fiscale de Donald Trump”, estime Alexandre Baradez, analyste des marchés financiers chez IG France.

L’ancien président américain avait, lui aussi, promu une réforme fiscale très avantageuse pour les plus riches en 2017. Dans les deux cas, la logique économique est la même : les plus riches sont supposés réinvestir dans l’économie une partie de l’argent gagné, ce qui fait que ce cadeau bénéficierait, in fine, à tous.

La mise en pratique de cette théorie dite du ruissellement (du haut de la société vers le bas) n’avait pas choqué les boursicoteurs en 2017, dans le cas de la réforme de Donald Trump. Mais cette fois-ci, ils ont commencé à se délester de leurs livres sterling dès l’annonce de ce “mini-budget” pour “maxi-riches”.

À croire que Liz Truss pousse le bouchon du néolibéralisme un peu trop loin, même pour les traders, qui ne figurent pourtant pas en première ligne des critiques du système économique actuel.

Le dollar (trop) fort

En réalité, les investisseurs ne se sont pas transformés du jour au lendemain en pourfendeur des inégalités. “Ce plan constitue surtout la goutte qui a fait déborder le vase pour les acteurs du marché des devises”, estime Alexandre Baradez.

Jusqu’à présent, toutes les principales devises étaient sous pression du dollar dans des proportions similaires, et la livre sterling ne faisait pas exception. “À l’origine, ce n’est pas tant un problème de livre sterling faible que de dollar fort”, explique Alexandre Baradez. Dans le contexte actuel “de forte inflation et de risque de récession mondiale, le billet vert joue à fond son rôle de valeur refuge”, poursuit l’analyste. Autrement dit, les traders se délestent de leurs autres devises pour pouvoir acheter du dollar.

Et dans cette valse du forex (foreign exchange – marché des changes), la livre sterling est devenu le vilain petit canard avec qui plus personne ne voulait danser.

Le rythme de l’inflation est, tout d’abord, plus soutenu au Royaume-Uni que dans la zone euro. “C’est l’une des conséquences indirectes du Brexit”, souligne Alexandre Baradez. Face à la montée des prix, les salaires ont tendance à augmenter aussi, ce qui contribue à nourrir le cercle vicieux de l’inflation. Ce phénomène est davantage marqué au Royaume-Uni car “le marché du travail est devenu beaucoup moins souple que dans l’Union européenne où la libre circulation des personnes permet de plus facilement faire appel à de la main d’œuvre étrangère pour faire baisser la pression sur les salaires”, analyse l’expert.

“Une vraie défiance envers l’économie britannique”

Dans ce contexte, ce ne sont pas tant les cadeaux pour les super-riches qui ont mis le feu aux poudres boursières, mais plutôt le silence du gouvernement britannique sur le plan de financement de ces baisses d’impôts qui vont coûter 45 milliards de livres sterling à l’État. “C’est avant tout un signal des marchés qui jugent que le moment est peut-être mal choisi pour creuser le déficit en faisant des cadeaux fiscaux”, résume Alexandre Baradez.

Si Liz Truss n’a donc pas à craindre l’émergence de traders qui auraient brûlé leurs idoles néolibérales, le message envoyé par les marchés financiers n’en est pas moins “la marque d’une vraie défiance envers la direction dans laquelle va l’économie britannique”, note l’analyse d’IG France.

Surtout, cette défiance boursière risque d’aggraver l’un des maux que le gouvernement britannique cherche à combattre. “À court terme, l’effondrement de la livre sterling va accentuer l’inflation importée”, analyse Alexandre Baradez. En effet, tout ce qui doit être payé en dollars sur les marchés internationaux va coûter plus cher aux importateurs qui vont répercuter cette hausse sur le consommateur. Un phénomène qui risque de concerner une vaste gamme de produits à payer en dollars, depuis le pétrole qui sert pour l’essence, jusqu’aux iPhone de l’Américain Apple.

World Opinions – France 24

L’article Chute de la livre sterling : la fronde des traders contre les baisses d’impôts pour les riches est apparu en premier sur World Opinion | Alternative Média.

Queen Elizabeth II, the UK’s longest-serving monarch, has died at Balmoral aged 96, after reigning for 70 years.

Her son King Charles III said the death of his beloved mother was a « moment of great sadness » for him and his family and that her loss would be « deeply felt » around the world.

Senior royals had gathered at her Scottish estate after concerns grew about her health earlier on Thursday.

The Queen came to the throne in 1952 and witnessed enormous social change.

King Charles said: « We mourn profoundly the passing of a cherished sovereign and a much-loved mother.

« I know her loss will be deeply felt throughout the country, the realms and the Commonwealth, and by countless people around the world. »

He will lead the country in mourning as the new King and head of state for 14 Commonwealth realms. Camilla, his wife, becomes Queen Consort.

During the coming period, he said he and his family would be « comforted and sustained by our knowledge of the respect and deep affection in which the Queen was so widely held ».

In a statement, Buckingham Palace said: « The Queen died peacefully at Balmoral this afternoon.

« The King and the Queen Consort will remain at Balmoral this evening and will return to London tomorrow. »

All the Queen’s children travelled to Balmoral, near Aberdeen, after doctors placed the Queen under medical supervision.

Her grandson and now heir to the throne, Prince William, is also there, with his brother, Prince Harry, on his way.

Prime Minister Liz Truss, who was appointed by the Queen on Tuesday, said the monarch was the rock on which modern Britain was built, who had « provided us with the stability and strength that we needed ».

Speaking about the new King, she said: « We offer him our loyalty and devotion, just as his mother devoted so much, to so many, for so long.

« And with the passing of the second Elizabethan age, we usher in a new era in the magnificent history of our great country, exactly as Her Majesty would have wished, by saying the words ‘God save the King’. »

Queen Elizabeth II’s tenure as head of state spanned post-war austerity, the transition from empire to Commonwealth, the end of the Cold War and the UK’s entry into – and withdrawal from – the European Union.

Her reign spanned 15 prime ministers starting with Winston Churchill, born in 1874, and including Ms Truss, born 101 years later in 1975.

She held weekly audiences with her prime minister throughout her reign.

At Buckingham Palace in London, crowds awaiting updates on the Queen’s condition began crying as they heard of her death. The Union flag on top of the palace was lowered to half-mast at 18:30 BST and an official notice announcing the death was posted outside.

On the Queen’s death, Prince William and his wife, Catherine, became the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Cornwall..

World Opinions by BBC News

L’article Queen Elizabeth II has died.. Video est apparu en premier sur World Opinion | Alternative Média.

The UK has become the first country to approve a dual vaccine which tackles both the original Covid virus and the newer Omicron variant.

The upgraded vaccine should be available as an autumn booster and give better protection against variants.

Moderna said it could supply doses in the next few weeks, but exactly who will get them has yet to be announced.

All over-50s and people in high-risk groups will be offered some form of booster from next month.

Cases of coronavirus are currently falling in the UK, in mid-to-late July, around 2.5 million people tested positive for coronavirus.

The original vaccines used in the pandemic were designed to train the body to fight the first form of the virus that emerged in Wuhan, in China, at the end of 2019.

The Covid virus has since mutated substantially, with a stream of new variants emerging that can dodge some of our immune defences. They have caused large surges in cases around the world.

‘Sharpened tool’

Moderna’s vaccine targets both the original strain and the first Omicron variant (BA.1), which emerged last winter. It is known as a bivalent vaccine as it takes aim at two forms of Covid.

The UK’s Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency has considered the evidence and given the vaccine approval for use in adults.

Dr June Raine, the regulator’s chief executive, said: « The first generation of Covid-19 vaccines being used in the UK continue to provide important protection against the disease and save lives.

« What this bivalent vaccine gives us is a sharpened tool in our armoury to help protect us against this disease as the virus continues to evolve. »

The results of experiments on 437 people showed the updated vaccine was safe and gave better immune protection against newer variants.

Levels of antibodies that were able to stick to and disable Omicron (BA.1) were 1.7 times higher in people given the new vaccine. Tests against more recent Omicron variants (BA.4 and BA.5), which are causing the UK’s current wave, also showed higher levels of protection with the updated vaccine.

However, it is far from clear what that means in terms of preventing you becoming seriously ill. And it is uncertain what variants we will be facing in the coming months and exactly how well the updated vaccine will perform against them.

Stéphane Bancel, the chief executive officer of Moderna, said he was « delighted » the vaccine had been approved.

He said: « This represents the first authorization of an Omicron-containing bivalent vaccine, this bivalent vaccine has an important role to play in protecting people in the UK from Covid-19 as we enter the winter months. »

In the UK, the following people will be offered some form of booster:

• health and social care staff
• everyone aged 50 and over
• carers who are over the age of 16
• people over five whose health puts them at greater risk, this includes pregnant women
• people over five who share a house with somebody with a weakened immune system

Around 26 million people will be eligible for an autumn booster, Moderna says it will be able to supply 13 million doses by the end of the year.

Originally those aged 50-65 were not going to be jabbed. However, the immunisation campaign has been expanded because of the fast spread of variants, uncertainty about how the virus will mutate and the expectation that we will be more social and give virus a helping hand this winter – including at Christmas.

However, most people under 50 will not be boosted this winter. The focus is preventing those most at risk from becoming seriously ill rather than stopping the young passing the virus on to older relatives.

Moderna is not the only company updating its vaccines. Pfizer has also been developing vaccines that can target Omicron, however, the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine is not.

By By James Gallagher – BBC News

L’article Covid: UK first country to approve dual-strain vaccine est apparu en premier sur World Opinion | Alternative Média.

China foreign ministry says US is ‘biggest threat to world peace, stability and development’ after spying accusations.

China has accused the United States of being “the biggest threat to world peace, stability and development”, in response to accusations by the heads of security services in Washington and London that Chinese spying is a global threat and China is threatening international order.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian’s comments on Thursday came a day after the head of the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the leader of Britain’s domestic intelligence agency, MI5, raised fresh alarms about the Chinese government, warning business leaders that Beijing is determined to steal their technology for competitive gain.

The heightened tone from Beijing also comes ahead of a meeting on Saturday between US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi at the Group of 20 (G20) leading rich and developing nations’ ministers summit in Bali, Indonesia.

“The relevant US politician has been playing up the so-called China threat to smear and attack China,” Zhao told reporters at a daily briefing when asked about FBI Director Christopher Wray’s comments denouncing economic espionage and hacking operations by China and the Chinese government’s efforts to stifle dissent abroad.

“Facts have fully proven that the US is the biggest threat to world peace, stability and development,” Zhao said.

“We urge this US official to have the right perspective, see China’s developments in an objective and reasonable manner and stop spreading lies and stop making irresponsible remarks,” he said.

‘Covert pressure across the globe’

Wray’s speech was particularly notable because it took place at MI5’s London headquarters and alongside the British agency’s director-general, Ken McCallum, in an intended show of Western solidarity.

“We consistently see that it’s the Chinese government that poses the biggest long-term threat to our economic and national security, and by ‘our,’ I mean both of our nations, along with our allies in Europe and elsewhere,” Wray told attendees on Wednesday at the meeting of business leaders and officials.

MI5’s McCallum said the Chinese government and its “covert pressure across the globe” amounts to “the most game-changing challenge we face”.

In his response, Zhao said British intelligence was “simply projecting their own dishonourable behaviour onto China”.

“The head of the British intelligence service should cast away [his] evil in mind, come out of the dark room and see the sunshine, and not always hold on to the zero-sum thinking or set up so-called imaginary enemies,” he said.

Zhao on Wednesday slammed Blinken’s comments at last week’s NATO summit in Spain, in which the US secretary of state accused China of “seeking to undermine the rules-based international order”.

Under President Xi Jinping, head of the ruling Communist Party, China has assumed an increasingly aggressive foreign policy, joining with Russia in seeking to undermine the influence of the US and its allies.

Beijing has refused to condemn Russia’s invasion of Ukraine – which is expected to dominate the G20 foreign ministers’ meeting – while condemning Western sanctions against Moscow and accusing Washington and NATO of provoking the conflict.

World Opinions – Aljazeera – Agencies

L’article Debate. China blasts US, British intelligence services over spying claims est apparu en premier sur World Opinion | Alternative Média.

The prime minister promises to ‘keep going’ despite a growing list of Conservative officials resigning in protest.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has told MPs he would “keep going” despite a growing list of Conservative ministers and other officials resigning in protest over his handling of the case of a senior official accused of sexual misconduct.

A delegation of Cabinet ministers planned to meet with Johnson at his Downing Street office on Wednesday evening to press him to resign, according to British media reports. Transport Secretary Grant Shapps and longtime loyalist Brandon Lewis were among those expected to demand that he quit.

“The job of a prime minister in difficult circumstances when you’ve been handed a colossal mandate is to keep going. And that’s what I’m going to do,” Johnson said earlier at the weekly session of Prime Minister’s Questions in parliament.

David Davis, a Conservative legislator who had previously called on the 58-year-old leader to resign, told parliament that he was again asking Johnson: “to do the honourable thing, to put the interests of the nation before his own interest, and before … it does become impossible for government to do its job.”

Johnson said he did not believe that it was against the national interest for him to remain as prime minister.

“I thank him very much for the point he’s made again. I just couldn’t disagree with him more,” Johnson said.

Key resignations

The development came a day after Treasury chief Rishi Sunak and Health Secretary Sajid Javid quit, saying the prime minister was not fit to govern.

Johnson quickly replaced the two men but a string of junior ministers have also quit and his support inside the Conservative Party is shrinking rapidly.

Opponents hope to change party rules to allow a new no-confidence vote on Johnson. He survived one such vote last month, with 41 percent of MPs voting against him.

The Conservative Party committee governing the rules, the so-called 1922 Committee, has decided to hold an election to its executive on Monday, before deciding whether to change the rules to bring forward a confidence vote in Johnson, three Conservative lawmakers told the Reuters news agency.

World Opinions – agencies

L’article Analysis. UK’s Johnson refuses to quit despite mass resignations est apparu en premier sur World Opinion | Alternative Média.