Despite the growing cost of living problem, a carefully followed indicator of the UK property market has shown “surprising momentum,” with prices hitting a new record.
Nationwide’s monthly study implies a downturn is likely as financial constraints mount but notes there are several factors propping up prices including the UK’s strong rate of employment.
The Nationwide research covering June showed the annual rate of house price growth easing back for the third month in a row, to 10.7 percent from 11.2 percent in May.
That was despite a 0.3 percent jump month-on-month, the mortgage lender claimed, which lifted the average cost of a property to a new high of £271,613.
Robert Gardner, the company’s chief economist, described the market as “conflicted.” “Mortgage approvals for home purchases fell back to pre-pandemic levels in April, and surveyors have reported a decrease in new buyer inquiries. These are the first signals of a downturn.
With consumer confidence at an all-time low and inflation driving household budgets out of reach, the property market has managed to maintain a surprising degree of momentum.
Inflation is at its highest level in 40 years as a result of rising prices for energy, fuel, and food. He cited high employment as a supporter of the economy. However, buyers are facing a slew of higher expenses.
The Bank of England has raised the Bank rate five times in an effort to moderate some of the inflationary pressures affecting the economy.
That tightening has drove up borrowing prices, with mortgage borrowers on normal variable and tracker plans facing a larger burden alongside those seeking a new fixed rate.
Mr. Gardner went on to say: “The current robustness of the labour market, where the number of job openings has outpaced the number of unemployed persons in recent months, may account for some of the resilience.
“In addition, the unemployment rate has remained near 50-year lows over the past few months. As a result, housing prices have continued to rise as a result of a short supply of dwellings on the market.”
“The market is projected to stall further as pressure on household budgets intensifies in the coming quarters,” he added, “with inflation expected to hit double digits towards the end of the year.
After one of its lesser-known characters went popular in China, the Japanese business behind the Hello Kitty brand negotiated a licensing arrangement in the country.
Sanrio said a unit of e-commerce giant Alibaba will have exclusive rights in China to create and sell items of its 26 characters.
Sanrio’s imp-like rabbit Kuromi made an appearance in a popular Chinese social media video, prompting the company to strike an agreement.
Sanrio’s stock rose about 14% in Thursday’s Tokyo session.
Alifish, Alibaba’s licensing and entertainment arm, will “further increase the Sanrio brand and character value in the Chinese mainland market,” according to a statement from the firm.
Hello Kitty is not truly a cat The 92-year-old head of Hello Kitty has spoken his final goodbyes. The contract comprises 26 characters that Sanrio has produced including Hello Kitty, her closest buddy My Melody, and the villainous Kuromi.
An influencer who dressed as Sanrio characters while dancing on Kuromi’s stage helped the brand gain notoriety in China earlier this year.
The video on Douyin, the version of TikTok available in China, was posted by Helenoftroy, who has more than 14 million followers.
Kuromi’s birthday is on Halloween and she is described as a “tomboy” who is “really quite girly”. According to Sanrio’s official website, “She enjoys writing in her diary and reading romance novels.”
Although Hello Kitty exemplifies the Japanese culture of “kawaii” or cuteness, the business has maintained that she is a British schoolgirl called Kitty White who lives just outside London.
Almost 50 years after its founding, the company is still raking in the dough.
Prosecco to plimsolls are among the items offered in 130 countries throughout the world under the trademarked hair bow of the mouthless cartoon.
Sanrio has been licensed for amusement parks and cafés, while in 2018 a Japanese railway corporation slapped the image on its bullet train, painted in pink and white.
However, Sanrio, whose business has been decreasing for some years, was adversely damaged by the coronavirus outbreak.
Measures to slow the spread of Covid-19 led to the temporary shutdown of the firm’s theme parks and retail.
Despite the limitations, Sanrio’s sales in China increased by 39% to 4.7 billion Japanese yen ($34.4 million; £28,4 million) in the year to March of the current year. Its profits in the country grew 19 percent during the same period.
By 2020, the corporation underwent the first change in leadership in its six-decade history.
That came when its founder Shintaro Tsuji, then aged 92, handed up leadership of the company to his grandson Tomokuni Tsuji.
Passenger counts at Heathrow have exceeded the airport’s maximum capacity again today, forcing the management to cancel more flights.
Customers who have been affected should be informed by their airline. Some passengers, on the other hand, did not learn of the cancellations until they arrived at London’s main airport, Gatwick.
A total of 30 flights have been withdrawn from the morning schedule as the travel mayhem at UK airports continues.
There is a good chance that most passengers will be rebooked on other flights outside of peak hours, so they can still leave today.
According to a Heathrow representative, “We’ve requested airlines to remove 30 flights from the morning peak only today because we predict a higher number of passengers than the airport can currently serve during today’s peak.
“Please accept our apologies for any inconvenience this may cause you in your travel arrangements.
All of Heathrow’s service providers must have enough resources to satisfy demand if the airport is to remain hassle-free for passengers this summer, says Heathrow’s chief executive.
A “limited number” of British Airways flights are among those disrupted, with the carrier claiming it is in contact with affected passengers.
Nearly all of the airport’s scheduled departures are likely to go off without a hitch.
Those affected by the cancellations will be contacted by their airline, and they will be provided with information on other options that may be available.
the state of affairs is a “absolute disarray” Although many passengers were informed when they arrived at the UK’s biggest airport, several passengers were unaware that their flights had been cancelled until they arrived.
Andy Mossack, a travel writer and presenter, said: “This morning was a complete mess at Heathrow. British Airways flights were cancelled and there was no customer assistance available.”
One customer, who is travelling with a 12-week-old baby, said he wasn’t alerted that his family’s flight to Greece was cancelled until they were five minutes away from the airport.
Another, Andrew Douglas, detailed how he was meant to be on a flight to go on holiday but had “spent the last four hours in multiple lineups at Heathrow Airport because it’s been cancelled”.
He concluded by saying: “We just learned about the turmoil at check-in because there was no prior warning. Horrific customer service was provided.”
They were supposed to return to Heathrow on a British Airways aircraft, but when they arrived, they learned it had been cancelled.
On top of that, they’ve had to wait five hours to get their baggage.
The fact that they had special dietary needs made things considerably more difficult when their luggage was finally delivered.
“I have wasted hundreds of euros in fees and today’s flights are also unavailable so I’m currently on a 1 July ticket making that a two-day waste of my time away from my family.”
Amazon.com has limited LGBT-related search results in the United Arab Emirates on its website (UAE).
The company made the action after allegedly receiving pressure from Gulf state authorities.
In the UAE, same-sex sexual relations are prohibited. Supporting LGBT rights could potentially be considered an offense.
The news arrives as the month of Pride, which is dedicated to celebrating LGBT people worldwide, comes to an end.
A spokeswoman for Amazon told, “As a company, we are committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion, and we think that the rights of LGBTQ+ people must be safeguarded.”
We must also comply with the local laws and regulations of the countries in which we operate, as Amazon has stores around the world,” they added.
According to the New York Times, which was the first to disclose the issue, the corporation decided to restrict the searches after being threatened with sanctions by the UAE government.
The Kuwaiti foreign ministry announced earlier this month that it had summoned a senior US diplomat in response to tweets from the American embassy promoting LGBT rights.
For Pride month, US officials displayed a rainbow flag and a message of support from Vice President Joe Biden.
Officials from Kuwait condemned the embassy for “promoting homosexuality” and ordered that it never happen again.
In Kuwait, LGBT rights are extremely restricted, and homosexuality among men is prohibited.
Also this month, Saudi Arabian officials confiscated rainbow-colored toys and children’s clothing, which they allege promote homosexuality, according to state television.
A report from Al-Ekhbariya depicted officers from the Saudi Arabian trade ministry removing a variety of merchandise from Riyadh stores.
Included were hair clips, pop-its, T-shirts, caps, and pencil cases.
The Chancellor of the United Kingdom, Rishi Sunak, has acknowledged that “difficult times” lie ahead, hours after official data revealed the longest stretch of dropping disposable income due to increasing inflation.
The most recent economic data is unsettling for the Treasury at a time when businesses are pleading for assistance on multiple fronts, pushing for steps to ease the tight labor market.
Real disposable income had decreased for four consecutive quarters for the first time since records began, according to data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) covering the first three months of the year.
It showed a decrease of 0.2 percent between January and March as household inflation of 1.7 percent exceeded income growth of 1.5 percent.
According to more current ONS data, the serious cost of living strain on family budgets is unlikely to have lessened as inflation has continued to rise faster than wage growth.
Inflation, as measured by the consumer price index, reached a new 40-year high of 9.1 percent in May, and the Bank of England has warned of worse to come, particularly in October when the energy price ceiling is expected to surpass the £3,000 threshold.
The avalanche of rising costs in the economy spurred Mr. Sunak to provide targeted help, with a new £15 billion package of broader aid announced in May being highly praised, although opponents have argued that he must go further.
Separate ONS data released on Tuesday increased the pressure on the chancellor after it was revealed that the country racked up a record current account deficit in the first quarter of this year, with the deficit ballooning to 51.7 billion pounds or 8.3 percent of gross domestic product.
The gap between the value of goods and services imported and exported by the United Kingdom reached its highest level since 1955, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS). However, the deficit figure was accompanied by a stern warning due to a lack of data collection information since Brexit.
In his speech to the annual meeting of the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC), the chancellor lauded the business community’s resiliency since the pandemic, but he made no mention of possible future assistance.
The business lobby organization encouraged him to implement a five-point strategy to address mounting cost issues for businesses, which are contributing to the problem of inflation as they are passed on to the economy.
The wish list includes a temporary restriction on energy prices for small enterprises and the extension of the financial assistance announced last week for homes to small businesses.
Shevaun Haviland, the organization’s director-general, stated on Sky’s Ian King Life that growing expenses and post-Brexit labor shortages were impeding development and investment.
“What we’ve asked the chancellor to do today is take another look at the shortage occupation list”.
It is a previously existing framework… It enables the government to take very targeted methods to attract workers back into our economy in specific sectors, and we believe this will have a significant impact on the extremely tight labor market”.
Despite the crisis in Ukraine, a government committee reported that Russian assets are being laundered through the City of London due to complacency and ineffectual action.
MPs have warned that “dirty money” from Russia continues to flow into the United Kingdom despite the conflict in Ukraine.
The Foreign Affairs Committee of the House of Commons stated that Russian assets “laundered” through the City of London were being used to fund Vladimir Putin’s war chest due to government apathy and ministerial inaction.
A highly critical report stated that “inadequate preparation and foresight” on the part of the Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office (FDCO) meant that the government was slow to impose sanctions and that it was “disgraceful” that it took a war for ministers to introduce the Economic Crime (Transparency and Enforcement) Act 2022.
The law is meant to prohibit the laundering of illicit funds through the British real estate industry.
According to the report, current efforts “do not go far enough or fast enough” to address the “fundamental imbalance” between the resources available to law enforcement authorities and the individuals they target.
In addition, it reiterated requests for a “significant boost” in financing for the National Crime Agency, the Serious Fraud Office, and other enforcement agencies.
In addition, the report concluded that Russians view the United Kingdom as a “haven” for their “corrupt wealth” and that the government was unwilling to advance legislation to stop the flow of dirty money.
The unwillingness of the government to introduce legislation to halt the flow of dirty money undoubtedly contributed to Russia’s conviction that the United Kingdom is a haven for corrupt wealth, according to a report.
“It is disgraceful that war was required to motivate the administration into action.
“Ministers have spoken eloquently in the House about the need to crack down on kleptocrats, but real action has not followed. Meanwhile, illicit funds have continued to enter the United Kingdom.
“Without the necessary resources and tools, enforcement agencies are toothless. The threat that illicit funding poses to our national security necessitates a significant reaction.”
The British government has threatened to impose severe sanctions against Russia, but the committee has stated that the punishments are “ill-prepared and underfunded.”
“The fundamental cause for early unsuccessful action on sanctions was inadequate preparation and foresight by the FCDO’s leadership, which resulted in understaffing within the sanctions unit,” the report stated.
“Effective policies require practical support, adequate resources, and the correct capabilities, particularly the ability to collect the necessary intelligence to support designations.”
Tom Tugendhat, the chairman, stated that successive governments had “enabled nefarious actors and kleptocrats to launder their dirty money” in the City.
“Complacency has allowed corrupt wealth to flourish and morally bankrupt billionaires to use the United Kingdom as a safe deposit box,” he said.
“The United Kingdom’s reputation as a haven for dirty money tarnishes our reputation. The government must bring the law in line with the morals of the British people and address the loopholes that permit such widespread abuse “.
Despite pleas from certain legislators, the process committee stated that the “longstanding practice” of banning infants should stay in place.
Contrary to the requests of some politicians, a committee has determined that members of Congress should not bring infants into the House of Commons.
An official informed Labour MP Stella Creasy that she should not have brought her three-month-old boy into a discussion, despite having brought her older daughter into the chamber when she was a newborn.
Other legislators, like the previous leader of the Liberal Democrats, Jo Swinson, have also brought in their young children.
However, Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle referred the subject to the Procedure Committee of the House of Commons for a final decision.
The committee of MPs released their findings on Thursday, stating that excluding infants from entering the chamber had been a “longstanding practice of the House” and that their investigation had reached the same conclusion.
A committee statement stated, “Members should not bring infants into the Chamber, Westminster Hall, or general committees whether observing, initiating, speaking, or intervening in proceedings.”
MPs stated that discussion moderators “should retain a degree of de facto discretion,” but advised that it be “exercised sparingly.”
They also requested that the Liaison Committee explore whether the same norms should be applied to proceedings of select committees.
As they are not entitled to maternity leave, the verdict is sure to enrage some lawmakers, who have expressed concern about their ability to represent their constituents after giving birth.
Ms. Creasy stated that when breastfeeding, her only option was to bring her child to work.
She garnered backing from members of the entire House, including Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab, who stated that the Commons “must ensure that we are in the 21st century.
Gordon Brown asserted that the United Kingdom is “at war with the United States over Ireland” amidst resistance from American legislators to efforts to dismantle the Northern Ireland Protocol.
Political editor Beth Rigby, the former prime minister criticized Boris Johnson’s administration for its attitude to international accords and claimed it had a strategy to address the cost of living crisis.
Without mending trade links with major export markets, he argued, the economic strain would last for decades.
In a wide-ranging interview, Mr. Brown also asserted that Boris Johnson had no strategy to reduce the cost of living and urged him to go on television to explain “what has to be done” in advance of what is anticipated to be a severe decline in living standards over the next few months.
The former Labour prime minister stated that he did not desire to make personal criticisms of Mr. Johnson, but he did make a critical allusion to Mr. Johnson’s widely derided CBI speech last November, in which he “spoke about Peppa Pig instead of industrial policy.”
Mr. Brown also reflected on his earlier encounters with Vladimir Putin and the death of Alexander Litvinenko on British territory in 2006, stating that the United Kingdom was aware at the time that Mr. Putin was sending further assassins into the country to assassinate others.
His most compelling remarks were the impact of British policies on the Northern Ireland Protocol across the Atlantic.
The protocol oversees Northern Ireland’s post-Brexit trading arrangements, but implementation issues have led to a political stalemate, with unionists withdrawing from power-sharing unless they are rectified.
This week, legislation aimed at dismantling portions of the agreement cleared its first hurdle in the House of Commons, despite receiving scathing criticism from MPs including another former prime minister, Theresa May, and putting Britain on a collision course with the EU.
It has also aroused eyebrows among prominent U.S. lawmakers in Washington.
Mr. Brown stated that to achieve economic recovery, the United Kingdom must rebuild its trading relationships with Europe and the United States, but that it is “at war” with both.
He stated, “We are at war with the United States over Ireland because the United States would not sign a trade agreement with the United Kingdom as long as we cannot resolve the concerns linked to Ireland.
Mr. Brown stated that this will be the case regardless of whether or not US President Joe Biden continues to support a trade agreement.
He stated, “He may believe so, but the American Congress will not agree.”
“There is no prospect of a trade deal between Britain and the United States unless we can resolve the issues in Ireland, and, of course, there is no chance of establishing stronger trading connections with Europe unless we can also resolve these issues.
The cost-of-living dilemma will be with us for years, not just temporarily, if we are unable to export to the world’s main markets and do so successfully with these new sectors and new technology.
Mr. Brown, who was at the center of New Labour under Tony Blair – serving as chancellor for a decade beginning in 1997 before becoming prime minister – was extremely critical of Mr. Johnson’s approach to the cost of living crisis that has caused inflation to reach a four-decade high.
The former prime minister, who led the worldwide response to the 2008-2009 financial crisis, stated of the present administration, “There is no plan. They appear to have no idea what to do.
“The prime minister should make a television broadcast detailing what has to be done.
“You cannot go through a winter when people are being asked to take the largest decrease in their standard of life in half a century without asking them to comprehend what you’re trying to achieve and giving them a strategy for what we’re going to do,” the author explains.
Mr. Brown, who as chancellor granted the Bank of England autonomy in determining interest rates in 1997, did not spare the Bank in his evaluation of the current situation.
“The Bank of England’s mission is to help us return to stable prices, which may be 2 percent, 3 percent, or 4 percent.
“However, to get there, they must show us a path – and unless there is a path, people will be pardoned for believing that inflation maybe 11 percent this year, 12 percent next year, and 13 percent the year after that – and the Bank of England has not done that.”
His harshest criticism, however, was reserved for the administration; he echoed charges made by other lawmakers that the government’s approach to the Northern Ireland Protocol, the World Trade Organization, and the European Convention on Human Rights weakened its international standing.
Mr. Brown stated, “I believe that the United Kingdom must take great care to maintain its international standing as a country that has cherished the rule of law, democracy, freedom, and liberty.”
“If we look to be trampling over treaties we’ve committed to signing, laws we’ve requested other countries to sign, and rules that historically all British administrations have embraced, it will be difficult to convince other countries to listen to our advice.
“I would caution Boris Johnson against disregarding the rule of law more if you will.”
The United Kingdom will increase its military aid to Ukraine by £1 billion, significantly bolstering Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s efforts to defend his country. The announcement increases the total UK military support since the beginning of the conflict to £2.3 billion, with Boris Johnson saying that British backing is “transforming Ukraine’s defenses” against the Russian assault. The promise of further military support came after the president of Ukraine requested NATO leaders to do more to assist his nation in resisting Vladimir Putin’s invasion. At the Thursday-ending NATO summit in Madrid, the United Kingdom pledged investment for capabilities such as advanced air defense systems, drones, and electronic warfare weapons. The weaponry, according to British authorities, is the initial step towards enabling Ukraine to conduct offensive operations against Russian ground forces to recapture lost territory.
They also claimed that the United Kingdom gave Ukraine more money than any other country during the conflict.
Mr. Johnson stated, “Putin’s savagery continues to claim the lives of Ukrainians and endanger the peace and security of Europe.”
Putin’s attacks against the Ukrainian people are becoming increasingly barbaric as the futility of this war becomes evident to all. UK weapons, equipment, and training are transforming Ukraine’s defenses against this assault. “And we will continue to stand firmly behind the Ukrainian people to ensure Putin fails in Ukraine.
Foreign Secretary of the United Kingdom Liz Truss, who is also attending the NATO conference, told that Britain must prioritize preventing Russian President Vladimir Putin, a “terrifying dictator.”
The United Kingdom includes its support for Ukraine in its defense budget, bringing its total contribution to approximately 2,3 percent of gross domestic product – a measure of the size of the economy. The amount of defense spending has been a subject of contention between the White House and the military, with calls for additional funds to meet the heightened demands imposed by Russia’s actions.
Ben Wallace, secretary of defense, stated, “Britain’s commitment to Ukraine is real and unwavering, and we will continue to support them until Russia changes course.”
This military aid will enable them to escalate their fight against Russian aggression and provide them with the necessary defense capabilities.” Regarding the 2,3 percent expenditure number, Mr. Wallace told reporters in Madrid, “To be fair, No. 10 does say ‘if you include the additional Ukrainian spend,’ so they have inserted a sort of caveat. Because it is not essential defense spending. It is not my primary budget; it does not purchase me additional aircraft, tanks, or ships.” It indirectly aids Britain’s defense since we are aiding Ukraine.”
Alex Goncharenko, a member of parliament from Odesa, emphasized the need for additional support for Ukraine when he stated that Russia was employing “an amazing amount of artillery and numerous missile launch systems” to destroy portions of his nation. “Yes, their artillery is Soviet-era in design. However, it is lethal,” he told reporters in Madrid. “They attempted blitzkrieg, but it failed, so now they’re using scorched earth. Similar to the First World War, this is the truth. Mr. Wallace shared this evaluation of Russia’s methods, which he believed had cost Mr. Putin approximately 25,000 soldiers’ lives. “They are advancing at First World War levels, meters rather than kilometers every day,” he claimed. The Russians “bombed the hell out of the infrastructure,” so “all they have to occupy are minefields and demolished buildings”.
ISLAMABAD: The Internet has become an attractive alternative for drug trafficking and a secure mechanism for the transportation of substances for illicit drug markets, according to the World Drug Report 2022, which was released on Wednesday.
The UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) released a report in Islamabad stating that despite these advantages, the Internet has not yet significantly altered drug supply chains, and online platforms represent only a small percentage of the worldwide drug market.
Increased interconnectedness and the ongoing growth of online platforms have provided both drug traffickers and drug users with several benefits.
The marketing and sale of controlled drugs and new psychoactive substances (NPS) on the Internet can occur at various levels: on the open Internet, also known as the “clear web,” frequently utilizing encrypted communications tools; on social media applications; and on the “dark web,” which is part of the “deep web.” The paper says that drug users change between various platforms in response to perceived hazards and challenges with fast-emerging technologies.
The woman told the abortion helpline that she would harm herself if she did not receive assistance. The pandemic had just begun in February of 2020, yet travel was already getting tough. She stated that she needed an abortion, but because she was in an abusive relationship, she could not risk her husband finding out. This situation felt personal to Justyna Wydrzynska, the volunteer on the other end of the phone because she also had an abortion while living with an abusive boyfriend years ago. She sent the frantic woman an end-of-pregnancy pill packet with instructions on how to take them safely.
People gather to protest against plans to further restrict abortion laws in Warsaw, Poland January 17, 2018. REUTERS/Kacper Pempel Banner reads “The ban on abortion kills.
“I felt that was a heartfelt gesture, woman to woman, and not just from a lady who had experienced an abortion, but also from a woman who had experienced domestic violence,” she told. But the woman’s husband discovered the pills and phoned the police, and two years later, Justyna faces three years in prison for what she did; she is the first activist to face trial under Polish law for assisting a woman in obtaining an abortion.
Justyna is a member of Abortion without Borders, an international organization of pro-choice activists that assists Polish women in terminating their pregnancies, where abortion is effectively prohibited. The organization provides information on how to buy abortion pills and can assist with overseas travel, lodging, and medical expenses. It provides the type of assistance that was unavailable to Justyna when she terminated her pregnancy sixteen years ago, including a helpline that receives between 700 and 800 monthly calls from women seeking counseling.
Justyna stated, “I had no one to call because there were no helplines.” “There was no information on how to do it,” she added, adding that she had tried two different medicines that did not work before achieving success. Justyna was alone and afraid. “I now realize it wasn’t risky, but at the time I thought it was. I lacked the right information, so I genuinely believed I was going to die.” Her personal experience drove her to advocate for abortion rights. Justyna stated that it is inconceivable that she could be sent to prison for assisting destitute ladies. She compared it to the humanitarian operations taking place at Poland’s border to assist Ukrainian migrants fleeing the fighting. Some helped the woman who told you she would kill herself if she couldn’t obtain an abortion, and others helped the people dying in the war. Now I’m going to prison, and they’re the heroes.
Poland, a predominantly Catholic nation, effectively outlawed abortion in 1993, with the only exceptions being where a woman’s life or health is threatened, or when the pregnancy is the result of rape or incest. However, it is hardly the only country to retreat from women’s rights.
On Friday, the United States Supreme Court reversed Roe v. Wade, a decision that has upheld the right to safe and legal abortion at any time before a fetus can survive outside the womb for almost half a century. It implies that states now can make their own decisions about a woman’s right to an abortion, with at least 26 states certain or likely to take steps to ban the procedure outright.
The ruling, which was unimaginable just a few years ago, was the culmination of decades of effort by abortion opponents, made possible by the right side of a court on which former President Donald Trump chose three members. In several places with so-called “trigger laws” that instantly come into effect, clinics have already closed. Critics, however, argue that a country cannot ban abortion; it can only ban safe abortion.
Poland provides a peek at what the future of the United States could look like if women lose the ability to choose. It exemplifies how the rights of women can be eliminated overnight amidst political turmoil in society. This exemption was eliminated by Poland’s constitutional court in 2020. For many years, abortions were permitted for fetuses with congenital abnormalities. Justyna reported that the helpline phones began ringing 100 times each day as women who had been hospitalized awaiting abortions were informed that they had been canceled. It was monumental for us; many women were scared of the options they would have in that circumstance. But they did not vanish; they disappeared from the system, but not from life, and they were forced to find solutions. “Therefore, we took responsibility for them, as they were unable to find assistance in the Polish healthcare system, and for us, it was something completely new, as we had just been in contact with those who wanted to terminate unwanted pregnancies, and now we were in contact with those who had wanted pregnancies, but had to make that decision due to external factors.”
According to advocates for abortion rights, three women have died as a result of the change in the law. One of these ladies, Izabela, 30 years old, died of sepsis in September after doctors declined to abort her severely deformed fetus. She left a husband and a daughter behind. At the time, women’s rights campaigners claimed that doctors in Poland would rather let a fetus with no chance of survival die in the womb than conduct an abortion. Justyna noted that although doctors are taught they can terminate a pregnancy to save a woman’s life, the law is ambiguous and they are paralyzed by the dread of being prosecuted. When asked what she believed the reversal of Roe would mean for the United States, she stated, “if your country takes away liberties, society will always oppose.” Numerous grassroots organizations ship abortion pills to the United States, and there will be people who are fearless enough to accomplish this task. Justyna is certain of one thing, however: the Supreme Court’s decision will not stop abortions. “You do not prevent abortion. If abortion is outlawed in a country, unsafe abortions increase, but the law does not prevent people from having abortions.
Former F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone described Russian President Vladimir Putin as a “first-class person” who has made “mistakes” while criticizing Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy for “not listening” to the Kremlin.
Bernie Ecclestone, the former head of Formula One, has defended Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine, stating that he would “take a bullet” for the Russian leader.
Thursday morning on ITV’s Good Morning Britain, Ecclestone referred to Putin as “intelligent” and “a first-class individual” who “believed he was doing the right thing for Russia.”
The 91-year-old stated, “Unfortunately, he’s like many businesspeople, including me, in that he makes mistakes from time to time, and when you make a mistake, you must do your best to recover.”
In addition, he criticized the Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy for not exerting sufficient effort to reach out to his Russian competitor.
Ecclestone stated, “The other person in Ukraine, I believe he used to be a comedian, and it appears he wants to continue in that profession because if he had considered the situation, he would have made a concerted effort to speak to Putin, who is a reasonable individual, and Putin would have listened to him and could have probably done something about it.”
When it was pointed out that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine resulted in the deaths of tens of thousands of innocent people, Ecclestone said, “It wasn’t intentional.”
When questioned if he was implying that President Zelenskyy should have “done more to avert the war – and that it might have been avoided by Zelenskyy’s acts, not by a change in Putin’s conduct,” the auto magnate said, “Absolutely.”
“I’m confident Ukraine could have gotten out of it if they’d chosen to,” he added.
Since February, when Russia attacked Ukraine, Ecclestone has not communicated with his “buddy”.
However, he stated, “I’m certain he wishes he hadn’t started this entire mess, but it didn’t begin as a battle.”
In addition, he criticized the decision to ban Russian athletes following Moscow’s military action.
When asked if the Russian Grand Prix and the ban on Russian drivers should be removed from the F1 schedule, Ecclestone stated: “I’m not in a position to do anything about that right now.
“I’m unsure if I would have intervened at the time, but I certainly wouldn’t do so now, and I believe it’s unfair to prevent Russian athletes, especially drivers, from participating in their sport.
“They did not initially engage in this activity. They ought not to be punished”.
