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| | Claims of torture of Uyghurs by China credible - UN | |  | | | | | | | | | Allegations of abuse against Uyghur Muslims and other ethnic minorities in China's Xinjiang province have been widely reported, and the UN has been investigating these claims. They have assessed them and, despite pressure from China not to release their findings, they have finally been published. The long-awaited report has accused the country of "serious human rights violations" after investigators said they uncovered "credible evidence" of torture, which possibly amounted to "crimes against humanity". They claim China - which called the report a "farce" arranged by Western powers - of using vague national security laws to clamp down on the rights of minorities and establishing "systems of arbitrary detention".
Human rights groups estimate more than a million people have been detained at camps in the Xinjiang region, in north-west China. The camps are a tool to fight terrorism, according to Beijing, but the report - commissioned by the UN's Office of the High Commissioner on Human Rights - said prisoners had been subjected to "patterns of ill-treatment" which included "incidents of sexual and gender-based violence". It has recommended that steps are taken to release "all individuals arbitrarily deprived of their liberty". However, China denies all allegations of human rights abuses in Xinjiang. It has rejected the report, saying it "smeared and slandered China" and interfered in the country's internal affairs. | | | | | |
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| | Sunak and Truss vie for final leadership contest votes | | | | | | | | | There's not long left until the voting window closes for the Tory leadership contest and the winner is announced. So to secure the final votes, rivals Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss, who have been under pressure to disclose how they would tackle soaring energy costs, tried one last time to win round Tory voters at the final hustings on Wednesday. Ms Truss ruled out introducing new taxes but hinted at providing further support to businesses and households with soaring energy costs. Energy rationing is off her agenda but Mr Sunak didn’t rule it out. He didn't say whether he would extend a windfall tax on energy companies, whereas Ms Truss - who is tipped as favourite by pollsters - dismissed the idea. After the new leader and prime minister is announced on Monday, Mr Sunak or Ms Truss will put their plan into action the following day. | | | | | |
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| | Energy boss's proposal to tackle soaring bills | | | | | | | | | While we wait for the government to announce its plan to help with rising energy bills once the new prime minister is in place, the boss of an energy firm has come up with a proposal. Steven Fitzpatrick, chief executive of the UK's third largest supplier Ovo Energy, has put his idea forward, and it comes not long after British Gas said it planned to put some of its profits into boosting support to help cut bills. Mr Fitzpatrick has a proposal - which could have a wider reach - for the government to subsidise soaring bills for the poorest households. He has published a 10-point plan to cut energy bills based on earnings. Read more here. | | | | | |
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| | | | | | | | | | | I've created social media accounts belonging to five fake characters, who reflect views from across the political spectrum in the US. The people I created are based on data by a US think tank which defined types of voters after surveying more than 10,000 randomly selected US adults. I've given each of them five profiles across Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, YouTube and Twitter - with names and computer-generated photos.
After just a week of running the accounts, Britney - the Populist Right Voter - has already been recommended and has encountered pages on Instagram and Facebook continuing to promote disinformation that Trump really won the 2020 election. She's also come across similar content on TikTok. In contrast, the accounts belonging to Michael - the Democratic Mainstay, and Emma - the Progressive Left voter, have been pushed memes celebrating the investigation into Trump and quizzing why this didn't happen sooner. | | | | | | | | | | | | Marianna Spring | | Disinformation and social media correspondent | | | | | | | | | | | |
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| | | | | | | The cost-of-living crisis is one of the stories making this morning's headlines. Tory leadership candidate Liz Truss is being urged by colleagues to act fast on rising energy costs, the i newspaper says. Soaring costs and inflation will plunge three million more people into poverty, the Daily Mirror reports. There's a warning from health experts that cold homes will "damage children’s lungs and brain development" in the Guardian. It, like a number of other papers, carries the story that former footballer Ryan Giggs could face a retrial. This story leads the Sun and Metro after the jury failed to reach a verdict on charges he denies. Meanwhile, stories about the Queen and the decline of the traditional UK family also appear on the front pages. Read the newspaper review in full here. | | | | | |
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| | | | | Rwanda Flight migrants include torture victims, say doctors | | | | | | | Ukraine Is this the breakthrough moment? | | | | | | | Vogue Editor says losing eyesight is his biggest fear | | | | | | | Tennis Williams delays farewell with remarkable US Open win | | | | | | |
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| | If you look at one thing today | | | | | | | | | | |
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| | If you listen to one thing today | | | | | | | | | | |
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| | If you read one thing today | | | | | | | | | | |
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| | Need something different? | | | | | | | | | Singer Rina Sawayama has been working on a second album. But she hit a stumbling block when the guitar riff on her new track sounded a lot like Abba's Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight). So what did she do when her publishers freaked out because the band is notoriously protective of its copyright? She wrote to them and sent her track… then struck gold. Read more here.
On the subject of striking gold, have you seen this nugget that was found in a river? Weighing in at 85.7g and worth an estimated £50,000, it's believed to be the largest lump of pure gold discovered in Scotland for 400 years. It has been kept by the Crown Estate Scotland but now it has gone on public display. Take a look.
And finally, to another dazzler - according to critics. The opening episodes of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, set thousands of years before JRR Tolkien's famous books and Peter Jackson's movies, have been described as "dazzling". But critics say they're slow. Here are the reviews. | | | | | |
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| | On this day | | | | | | | 1976 The first of 11,500 standpipes are connected in Yorkshire as local reservoirs reach their lowest levels in years. | | | | | | | | |
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| | | Let us know what you think of this newsletter by emailing bbcnewsdaily@bbc.co.uk. If you’d like to recommend it to a friend, forward this email. New subscribers can sign up here. | | | | | |
