Khashoggi killing
Crown prince meets son of murdered journalist
They stared straight at each other, seemingly locked in the moment: the bereaved, Salah Khashoggi, had eyes of cold sorrow while the man offering condolences, Mohammed bin Salman, gazed back at him with steely focus.
In the gilded office of Saudi Arabia’s crown prince, the eldest son of the murdered journalist Jamal Khashoggi reached out his hand to a man many believe was responsible for the murder.
The younger Khashoggi had received a royal summons to meet King Salman and the heir to the throne on Tuesday, exactly three weeks after his father was killed in Istanbul. The fleeting encounter was, in the kingdom’s eyes, a centrepiece of a turbulent day. Over in Washington, Donald Trump said for the first time that Bin Salman may have been involved in the murder.
On Wednesday, the crown prince broke his three-week silence about the killing, calling it a “heinous crime”.
Ryanair
Police intervene in row over race abuse on flight
Police said on Tuesday that they had identified a man filmed racially abusing an elderly woman on a Ryanair flight. The woman, Delsie Gayle, 77, said she had been left stunned and depressed after a man shouted at her to move seats as they boarded a plane.
In footage shared on social media, Gayle’s daughter tells the man, since identified as David Mesher, that her mother is disabled. He says he does not care “whether she’s fucking disabled or not. If I tell her to get out, she gets out.”
Essex police said they passed the information to the Spanish authorities leading the investigation. In the footage, the man appears to call Gayle an “ugly black bastard” and shouts: “Don’t speak to me in a foreign language, you stupid ugly cow.” The incident took place before the flight, FR015, left for London Stansted.
However, the shadow transport minister, Karl Turner, said it was possible no charges would be brought because of Ryanair’s failure to remove the man from the flight and hand him over to the Spanish authorities.
Housing
How rogue landlords exploit legal loophole
Rogue landlords who have been ruled unfit to rent out their properties are continuing to operate by exploiting loopholes in the law that is supposed to protect the most vulnerable tenants, a Guardian/ITV investigation has revealed.
The rogue owners are collecting rent despite being convicted of housing offences and failing to pass “fit and proper” person tests required by housing legislation in England and Wales.
Local authorities, meanwhile, have failed to make a single entry on to the central government’s new rogue landlord database in the six months since its launch.
Under existing laws, a landlord banned in one borough can continue operating in other boroughs. Or they can continue renting out homes in the borough where they are banned, so long as the lettings are managed by an approved third party.
Convicted landlords include Bernard McGowan, whose reputed £30m business rolls on despite six housing act convictions since 2014; Gary Fixter, described as a “despicable” landlord by a Scarborough councillor; Katia Goremsandu, once dubbed the country’s worst landlord; and Adrian Webb, from Merseyside.
Environment
Microplastics detected in human stools for first time
Plastic stools are becoming more commonplace – and this is not about informal seating trends. Nanoplastics are contaminating the human digestive tract, leading to fears the tiny particles may be widespread in the food chain, and strengthening the argument to stop the use of plastic wherever possible.
A small study by the Environment Agency Austria examined eight participants from Europe, Japan and Russia. All of their stool samples were found to contain microplastic particles. Up to nine different plastics were found out of 10 varieties tested for, in particles of sizes ranging from 50 to 500 micrometres. Polypropylene and polyethylene terephthalate were the plastics most commonly found.
Animals
‘Sickening’ goat hunt tweets prompt review
The Scottish government is to review the law on animal culling after a US TV presenter, Larysa Switlyk, tweeted pictures of herself posing with a wild goat shot on the island of Islay. More than 2,800 people commented on the picture, condemning the images as “sickening” and “truly abhorrent”.
Fracking
Operations paused after seismic activity detected
Fracking operations in Lancashire were shut down after seismic activity was detected. The move came little more than a week after the process was restarted in the UK for the first time since a 2011 ban.
Cuadrilla Resources, which is carrying out the operations at its Preston New Road site outside Blackpool, confirmed it paused work early on Tuesday as a precaution because of the microseismic event, which was measured at a magnitude of 0.4 and within the allowed limit.
“This is an extremely low level of seismicity, far below what could possibly be felt at the surface but classed as an amber event as part of the traffic light system in place for monitoring operational activity,” the company said.
United States
Pipe bombs sent to Obama, Clinton and De Niro
Mail bombs have been sent to prominent critics of Donald Trump, sparking a terror alert less than two weeks before the US midterm elections and throwing a spotlight on the level of vitriol that has accompanied his presidency. Suspicious packages were sent or addressed to Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, Robert De Niro, two Democratic congresswomen, Obama’s vice-president Joe Biden and attorney general Eric Holder, the ex-CIA chief John Brennan, and to CNN offices in New York. All were intercepted. A hunt was under way for the sender, while authorities warned that more devices may be discovered. On Monday a bomb was delivered to the New York home of George Soros, the billionaire liberal donor.
Health
New diabetes treatment could end daily injections
A potential breakthrough that could end daily insulin injections for some people with diabetes has been unveiled by Dutch scientists.
By destroying the mucous membrane in the small intestine and causing a new one to develop, scientists stabilised the blood sugar levels of people with type 2 diabetes. The results were described as “spectacular” by the chief researchers at Amsterdam UMC.
In the procedure, tested on 50 patients in Amsterdam, a tube with a small balloon in its end is inserted through the mouth down to the small intestine. The balloon is inflated with hot water and the mucous membrane burnt away. Even a year after the treatment, the disease was found to be stable in 90% of those treated. A bigger trial is now being planned.
Retail
John Lewis to stop selling DVD players
Some 20 years after the first DVD players went on sale, they’re history. John Lewis will not be restocking when the current players have sold out, the retailer has said, after a 40% dive in sales this year.
The DVD player’s demise is revealed in the annual snapshot of buying trends compiled by the department store group. A number of other devices and electricals are also in steep decline: sales of alarm clocks are down 16%, while desktop computers are down 15%. Sales of trouser presses are down by 36%.
The most influential device of the year was the mobile phone, which is now used for 42% of visits to the John Lewis website, up from 17% a year ago.
Civil service
Jeremy Heywood steps down as top mandarin
The cabinet secretary, Sir Jeremy Heywood, has announced he will stand down as the UK’s most senior civil servant because of his treatment for cancer.
Heywood said he was retiring on medical advice and with deep sadness, but used a personal statement to defend the civil service from what he described as “recent ‘noises off’ from anonymous commentators”, saying it was “in robust health, well-equipped to provide the support the country needs”.
Downing Street said Heywood would be sorely missed and had been nominated for a life peerage to thank him for his long service in the role. He served in Downing Street under Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, becoming cabinet secretary under David Cameron.
Technology
Breakthrough could make internet 100 times faster
A new development in fibre optics could make internet speeds up to 100 times faster – by detecting light that has been twisted into a spiral.
The research, published in the journal Nature Communications, can be used to easily upgrade existing networks and significantly increase efficiency, scientists say.
Fibre-optic cables use pulses of light to transmit information, but at present information can only be stored through the colour of the light and whether the wave is horizontal or vertical.
By twisting light into a spiral, engineers in effect create a third dimension for light to carry information: the level of orbital angular momentum, or spin.
