News Round-Up

• “Putin risks accidental confrontation with Nato” – Intelligence sources warn that Russian sabotage attacks on Nato countries risk spiralling into an unintended military clash, says the Telegraph.
• “Russia wants to undermine Nato. Here’s what Putin might do” – With CIA Director John Ratcliffe believed to have flown to Moscow this week for a rare visit, the Telegraph reveals the full range of options Putin is weighing to destabilise the alliance.
• “CIA chief ‘warned Putin invasion going worse for him than he realises’” – The CIA director flew to Moscow to tell Putin that Russia must cut a deal with Ukraine before its military and economic position deteriorates further, according to the Mail.
• “Chancellor’s shelving of defence spending target ‘akin to surrender’” – Critics say John Healey’s U-turn on raising defence spending to 3% of GDP raises fresh questions about Labour’s commitment to the defence and security of the nation, reports the Mail.
• “Criminals ‘untouchable’ in Middlesbrough, says former mayor” – ‘Soft’ justice is blamed for a spate of suspected gang-related violence in Middlesbrough as police fail to stop cars being burned at a vigil, says the Telegraph.
• “Labour must admit its policies have squelched opportunities by jacking up the costs and risks of employing young people” – In the Mail, Ruth Sunderland argues that consigning a million people aged 16-24 to an economic wilderness leaves Britain with little chance of prosperity or growth.
• “Mike Ashley launches scathing attack on Burnham’s ‘delusional’ plans to revive the high street” – The billionaire owner of Frasers Group, Mike Ashley, has hit out at what he calls “recent populist proposals” from the Prime Minister, reports the Mail.
• “Burnham to abstain from assisted dying vote” – The Prime Minister has dealt a blow to assisted dying campaigners by saying he intends to abstain in the forthcoming vote, says the Telegraph.
• “Senior Civil Servant posted Netanyahu death wish” – A senior Civil Servant is facing disciplinary action after saying he wished it had been Benjamin Netanyahu who died a few days ago and not Dolly Parton, says the Telegraph.
• “Free speech is under relentless attack in Britain – on both sides” – In the Telegraph, Silkie Carlo argues that Britain faces a genuine free speech crisis, with police now arresting around 22 people a day for speech-related offences.
• “Restore voters ‘hand Greens by-election victory’” – Nigel Farage’s party accuses its Right-wing rivals of robbing Reform of a predicted win in Dover by splitting the vote and handing the Greens a by-election upset, reports the Telegraph.
• “Milo Yiannopoulos detained and faces deportation from US” – British Right-wing provocateur Milo Yiannopoulos has been taken into custody and now faces removal from the country in a development that will shock his supporters, reports the Telegraph.
• “How Ireland succumbed to ‘radical chic’” – In the Spectator, Eilis O’Hanlon writes that the arrest of a law student suspected of transporting a bomb for dissident republicans has exposed an alarming revival of extremist sympathy in Ireland.
• “Britain can no longer rely on the kindness of strangers for energy” – Growing dependence on electricity imports to keep the lights on – particularly in winter – leaves Britain dangerously exposed, writes Kathryn Porter in Telegraph.
• “18 deaths from battery fires show hidden danger of UK’s e-bike boom” – Fatalities involving people who inhaled toxic fumes or became trapped in burning homes have laid bare the lethal risks lurking behind the surge in e-bike ownership, reports BBC News.
• “BP dropped as Science Museum sponsor after retreat from renewables” – Britain’s biggest energy company has been severed from its long-standing cultural partnership after pivoting back towards oil and gas extraction, notes the Times.
• “Scientists blame climate change for Nepal’s flash flood” – Several experts are pointing the finger at climate change for the deadly Nepal flash flood, even as the exact causes remain under investigation, according to the Mail.
• “Telegraph blame Nepal floods on “melting glue”” – First the Mail blamed the Nepal floods on global warming-driven atmospheric moisture, and now the Telegraph is reaching for an even more exotic explanation, writes Paul Homewood in Not a Lot of People Know That.
• “Only just?” – Scotland’s Third Just Transition Commission is the latest instalment of an apparently endless bureaucratic exercise in climate virtue-signalling, writes Mark Hodgson in Climate Scepticism.
• “Letts: what we really need is an inquiry into the Green Party” – In the Mail, Quentin Letts argues that Zac Polanski’s return to the headlines makes a compelling case for launching a public inquiry into the Green Party rather than the press.
• “Four men admit Golders Green ambulance arson attack” – Four men have pleaded guilty to destroying charity ambulance vehicles in what prosecutors describe as a targeted attack on the Jewish community in Golders Green, reports the Telegraph.
• “Ali G movie backlash intensifies in the U.K. as campaigners try to get film pulled from cinemas” – A campaign has launched to pressure cinemas into refusing to screen Ali G: Who Iz I?, with critics arguing the film contains racist and outdated stereotypes, says Variety.
• “The world makes no sense if you think everyone is born exactly the same” – On the Triggernometry podcast, Konstantin Kisin asks Nathan Cofnas what motivates him to tackle controversial topics despite pushback from all sides.

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