Top story: ‘Exposed to fossil fuel price swings’
Hello, Warren Murray here to open up shop.
Household energy bills are to rise after the electricity market price passed the £100-a-megawatt-hour mark for the first time since the market was formed in 1990. The industry regulator Ofgem is raising the cap on default energy deals for the coming winter by more than 12%. The increase is expected to push about 500,000 households into fuel poverty, according to campaigners, reigniting calls for a social energy tariff.
It means 11m households with direct debit bills will be asked to pay an average of £1,138 for a dual-fuel energy bill, an increase of £139. For another 4m households that use prepayment meters, the average bill will climb from £1,156 to £1,309. “There is not a lot we can do in the short term as Britain is particularly exposed to fossil fuel price swings,” said Dr Iain Staffell from Imperial College London, whose analysis of the energy market found Britain needs to reduce its reliance on fossil fuels to be spared the effects of price swings.
A particularly cold winter across Europe and Asia has left global gas storage levels depleted this year, while in Brazil dry weather forced more reliance on gas instead of hydroelectric power. In the summer, much of the northern hemisphere faced exceptionally hot weather – with “heat domes” forming over North America, Greenland, southern Europe and Siberia – which fuelled increased demand for gas power plants to generate electricity for air conditioning.
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More privacy for kids on net – Sweeping regulations governing how online services treat children’s data come into effect today. The Age Appropriate Design Code mandates websites and apps to take the “best interests” of their child users into account or face fines of up to 4% of annual global turnover. Unless they can prove their service is not used at all by children, companies now must make their entire offering compatible with the code, or attempt to identify younger users and treat them with care. The code prohibits “nudge” techniques encouraging children to give up too much of their privacy; calls on companies to minimise data they collect about children; and requires them to offer children maximum privacy by default. In the weeks leading up to the code’s enforcement, TikTok, Google, YouTube and Facebook have all been tightening up privacy for children.
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Texas anti-abortion law ‘extreme’ – The most radical abortion law in the US has gone into effect, despite legal efforts to block it. The near-total ban in Texas empowers any private citizen to sue an abortion provider, opening the floodgates to harassing lawsuits from anti-abortion vigilantes. It bars abortion once embryonic cardiac activity is detected, which is around six weeks, and offers no exceptions for rape or incest.
Texas is the first state to ban abortion this early in pregnancy since Roe v Wade, and last-minute efforts to halt it through an appeal to the US supreme court did not succeed. While a dozen other states have passed similar so-called “heartbeat” bills, they have all been blocked by the courts. The Texas version is designed to make legal challenge more difficult. Joe Biden condemned the new law and reaffirmed the White House’s support for abortion rights, saying: “This extreme Texas law blatantly violates the constitutional right established under Roe v Wade and upheld as a precedent for nearly half a century.”
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‘Caught out’ – The UK Foreign Office warned less than four weeks before Kabul fell that the Taliban could return rapidly to power, it has emerged. Dominic Raab, the foreign secretary, has told MPs he had believed the Afghan capital would remain safe until next year based on an assessment by the joint intelligence committee, a view he said was widely shared by Nato allies. In a two-hour grilling, he admitted the UK had been “caught out and surprised by the scale and speed of the fall of Kabul”. The Afghan female TV presenter who interviewed a Taliban official live on air has ended up fleeing the country, saying from Qatar that the militants don’t accept women as humans. Reporters Sans Frontières says fewer than 100 of Kabul’s 700 female journalists are still working as they are forced out of jobs and told to stay at home despite Taliban promises to respect their rights. Raab has flown out on a visit to neighbouring countries of Afghanistan amid efforts to help those left behind by the airlift from Kabul.
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Sacklers settle – A US judge looks set to approve a potentially $10bn settlement over the opioid crisis. The OxyContin maker, Purdue Pharma, will be reorganised under a board appointed by public officials and will funnel its profits into government-led efforts to prevent and treat opioid addiction. Under the settlement with victims and thousands of state and local governments, the once-celebrated Sackler family will hand over their company and contribute $4.5bn to be freed from any future lawsuits over opioids. The settlement includes a compensation fund for some victims of drug addiction. Most US states have sued Purdue, claiming its marketing of OxyContin contributed to an epidemic of more than 500,000 deaths in the US. Some have been attributed to OxyContin and other prescription opioids, though most are from illicit forms such as heroin and illegal fentanyl. The crisis crushed the reputation of the philanthropic Sacklers, whose name was once emblazoned on the walls of museums and universities around the world.
Today in Focus podcast: Covid and the start of school
With ministers promising a return to normal in classrooms, it’s a tough time to be a teacher – but with new information constantly emerging on vaccines for children, and the pandemic not yet over, it’s a tough time for parents and pupils too. Jules White and Nicola Davis have done their homework.
Lunchtime read: That time I kicked Jackie Chan’s butt
The kung fu goddess Michelle Yeoh talks about her most eye-popping stunts, her yearning to do another Crazy Rich Asians and her outrageously enjoyable new Marvel movie, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings.
Sport
Sarah Storey has completed a journey she began 29 years ago, winning her 17th gold medal to become, outright, the most successful British Paralympian of all time. The 43-year-old Storey won the women’s C4-5 road race with her ParalympicsGB teammate Crystal Lane-Wright claiming silver.
Gareth Southgate has called for focus and humility when England visit Hungary in World Cup qualifying on Thursday night, telling his team not to start “swanning around” after their exploits at Euro 2020. Ollie Pope and Chris Woakes are in line for England recalls while off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin is poised to return for India in the fourth Test at the Oval that starts on Thursday. England’s women reclaimed Fortress Chelmsford with a vengeance, hitting their highest T20 score against New Zealand – 184 for four – before bowling out their opponents for 138 in 18.5 overs to finish with a huge 46-run win. Cristiano Ronaldo struck twice in the dying minutes to give Portugal a 2-1 win over the Republic of Ireland after John Egan’s opener put the Irish on course for what would have been a famous and deserved victory. In Copenhagen, Denmark scored two early goals to beat Scotland 2-0 in their World Cup qualifier.
British No 1 Dan Evans defeated home hope Marcos Giron 6-4, 7-6 (3), 2-6, 6-3 at the US Open and will face Alexei Popyrin as he aims to reach the fourth round at Flushing Meadows for the first time. The probability that a contaminated pork burrito led to the US Olympic 1500m medal prospect Shelby Houlihan’s failed drugs test is “very close to zero”, the court of arbitration for sport has ruled. Rory McIlroy has offered public support to the much-maligned Bryson DeChambeau, saying it is “sad to see” widespread criticism of the American golfer. And the former world champion Kimi Räikkönen has confirmed he will retire from Formula One at the end of the season.
Business
Asian stocks have risen as investors wait for US jobs data that might influence when the Federal Reserve starts to wind down its stimulus. Shanghai, Tokyo and Hong Kong, which are the bulk of Asian market capitalisation, advanced. South Korea and Sydney declined. The FTSE looks like opening just a few points lower while the pound is sitting on $1.377 and €1.163 as we publish.
The papers
Our Guardian print edition leads today with “Foreign Office warned of rapid takeover by Taliban”. Also on the front page: the new hopes and old fears of Afghan families headed for the US; and people with poor immunity will be offered a third Covid jab but it doesn’t count as a booster.The Mirror hits on the right language for that last one: “Top-up jabs for 500,000”.
The Times says “Third jab for vulnerable – but no mass rollout yet” while the Telegraph has “Scientists told to give older adults booster jabs” (as well as the top-ups for the immuno-compromised). The Mail is insistent: “Now give Britain the booster it needs!”, accusing health officials of “dithering over whether all over-50s should get the extra shot”. The Express has eyes elsewhere: on Matt Hancock’s romantic life but also “Outrage over prescription ‘tax on sick’” as analysis by Age UK suggests proposals to raise the free prescription age from 60 to 66 could have a devastating impact on the health of tens of thousands of older people.
The Metro has “Piers in the clear” after the TV watchdog said himself was allowed to criticise Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex. The i leads on the Afghan war and Dominic Raab with “UK cabinet ministers at war in Afghan blame game” while for something different the Financial Times splashes with “UK draws up plan to shift Trident subs abroad if Scotland secedes”.
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