⏳ Wednesday Fix: Assange appeal
Morning all,
Julian Assange is back in the headlines, the Queen is back resting, and Brazil's senate back criminal charges against their president.
Until tomorrow,
Your Fixers
GOOD LISTENER?
Below is a link to today's podcast version of the newsletter.
TUESDAY'S TOP LINES
Over the weekend, Colombia's most notorious drug trafficker, 'Otoniel', was arrested in a huge operation that the country's president compared to the fall of Pablo Escobar.
Yeah you told us already, what's new? In what the army has described as retaliation attacks, four soldiers have been killed and three were injured by Otoniel's drug gang.
Queen Elizabeth will no longer be attending the upcoming COP 26 climate change summit in Glasgow.
The news came less than a week after the 95-year-old monarch spent a night in hospital and was advised to rest.
In Brazil, a Senate committee has voted to recommend that the country's controversial president, Jair Bolsonaro, face criminal charges for his handling of the pandemic.
The recommendation is set to be sent to the country's top prosecutor later today, according to BBC News, although Bolsonaro insists he guilty of "absolutely nothing".
What is the situation in Brazil? More than 600,000 people in Brazil have died from coronavirus, second only to the US. Bolsonaro spent many months in denial about the impact of the pandemic.
BUILDING BACK... BETTER?
Topshop's flagship store on Oxford Circus has been bought by furniture giant, IKEA.
The Financial Times reported IKEA paid a whopping £378 million for the well-known London building.
ON TODAY'S AGENDA...
Julian Assange is going to be back in the headlines today.
In a two-day hearing beginning later, the US will ask the UK's High Court to reverse a decision from earlier this year which blocked Assange's extradition to the US on health grounds.
Remember: Julian Assange is the founder of WikiLeaks and quite a divisive figure. To some, he is a journalist and a hero, while to others he is a traitor who put American lives in particular at risk.
Anyway, the US want him extradited to face multiple charges of espionage.
For anyone interested, we published a very easy-to-follow explainer on our Instagram page on Tuesday evening.
ALSO TODAY...
The UK's Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rishi Sunak, will unveil the government's new budget today.
What do we know so far? Well, a lot of MPs are annoyed about the number of details about the budget leaked to the press. The Speaker of the House deemed it "not acceptable" and "discourteous".
Timings: some time after Prime Minister's Questions, around 12:30pm or so.
KEEPING AN EYE...
President Biden's administration said it is "deeply concerned" about Israel's plan to build new settlements on the West Bank's occupied Palestinian land.
It was a rare criticism of their close ally. State Department spokesman, Ned Price, said Israel's plans are "completely inconsistent with efforts to lower tensions and to ensure calm".
During the war in 1967, Israelis captured the West Bank from Jordan. Months later, the UN Security Council declared the West Bank to be 'occupied territory'.
Below is a CNN map from a very helpful explainer piece earlier this year. Start from two minutes in.
HOW ABOUT THIS FOR A HEADLINE?
This makes for a fascinating read by CNN.
"Tesla chief executive Musk has a net worth of nearly $289 billion, according to Bloomberg, meaning that Beasley is asking for a donation of just 2% of his fortune. The net worth of US billionaires has almost doubled since the pandemic began, standing at $5.04 trillion in October." - CNN analysis
MOST READ
- BBC News: Sunak promises new economy amid Commons anger
- The Guardian: Prince Andrew's lawyer asks to keep 2009 legal agreement sealed
- The Financial Times: Isis-k insurgency jeopardises Taliban's grip on Afghanistan
- Al Jazeera: China doubles down on Covid-zero strategy
- The Irish Times: 'Stark' warning delivered to Ministers on Covid-19 trajectory in Ireland between now and Christmas
TWITTER TRENDS
In an extraordinary exchange that has been viewed nearly seven-and-a-half million times in less than 24 hours, a TalkRadio and Insulate Britain spokesman have one of the most awkward conversations we've seen in a while. 👀
Mike's interview with Insulate Britain spokesman Cameron lasts less than a minute.@Iromg | @InsulateLove pic.twitter.com/yJS7DheACq
— talkRADIO (@talkRADIO) October 26, 2021
ON A LIGHTER NOTE...
Must have felt like a right donut after this.
D'oh! Homer: philosopher AND doughnut lover... 🍩#Homer #TippingPoint @benshephard pic.twitter.com/htCOusBA6X
— ITV (@ITV) October 26, 2021