Graphic News Planner (news) 29/09/2022 18:38:46

October 5, 2022 -- Photo illustration depicting several versions of James Bond, dating from 1962 to 2021.

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The first James Bond movie, Dr. No, was released on October 5, 1962 – 60 years ago. It starred a young Sean Connery in his breakthrough performance as the womanising, suave, hard drinking and lethally violent British secret agent, known by the code number 007.

Author Ian Fleming was not keen on Connery for the role, calling him “an overdeveloped stuntman”. Instead he preferred David Niven, but he turned the part down fearing he was too old for it – he would later star as Bond in the unofficial spoof, Casino Royale in 1967.

However, when Dr. No was a box office hit, Fleming changed his opinion, in fact so much so that he would write details into future Bond novels that gave the secret agent partial Scottish ancestry.

Connery would return to the part seven times, including the unsanctioned, non-EON Productions movie, Never Say Never Again.

In all, Bond has been played by seven actors on the silver screen including George Lazenby, Roger Moore, Timothy Dalton, Pierce Brosnan and Daniel Craig.

There are 27 James Bond movies, 25 of which are official EON canon.

EDITORIAL ARTWORK: James Bond 60th anniversary (Photomontage)
GN43279 Photo illustration depicts several iterations of James Bond, from 1962 to 2021.
(381mm wide by 99mm deep @ 300 pixels/inch) View graphic

October 5, 2022 -- October 5 is international James Bond Day, a celebration of all things 007. This year also commemorates 60 years of the high octane espionage franchise, which includes 25 official EON movies and two unsanctioned feature films.

The first James Bond movie, Dr. No, was released on October 5, 1962 – 60 years ago. It starred a young Sean Connery in his breakthrough performance as the womanising, suave, hard drinking and lethally violent British secret agent, known by the code number 007.

Author Ian Fleming was not keen on Connery for the role, calling him “an overdeveloped stuntman”. Instead he preferred David Niven, but he turned the part down fearing he was too old for it – he would later star as Bond in the unofficial spoof, Casino Royale in 1967.

However, when Dr. No was a box office hit, Fleming changed his opinion, in fact so much so that he would write details into future Bond novels that gave the secret agent partial Scottish ancestry.

Connery would return to the part seven times, including the unsanctioned, non-EON Productions movie, Never Say Never Again.

In all, Bond has been played by seven actors on the silver screen including George Lazenby, Roger Moore, Timothy Dalton, Pierce Brosnan and Daniel Craig.

There are 27 James Bond movies, 25 of which are official EON canon.

ENTERTAINMENT: James Bond 60th anniversary (Graphic)
GN43273 Graphic shows every Bond movie by every leading actor.
(219mm by 219mm deep) View graphic

September 29, 2022 -- A growing number of EU states warn that plans to shield households and businesses from rising energy prices do not go far enough as they seek an EU-wide package of windfall taxes.

European energy ministers convene on Friday (September 30) to discuss an EU-wide package of national windfall taxes to raise funds to curb gas and electricity prices.

UK prime minister Liz Truss has announced an estimated £150 billion (€167.7bn) package to shield Britain from soaring energy prices -- but with just six months’ cover for business compared with two years for households.

In the first days of Truss’s government, she unveiled a £40 billion (€44.9bn) plan to bail out energy traders.

France has been better at insulating its citizens from price rises than elsewhere in Europe to the extent that it relies little on natural gas and gets most of its electricity from nuclear power plants.

France has invested €71.6 billion, or 2.9 per cent of gross domestic product, to shield households and businesses, including €9.7bn bailing out utility companies.

Poland’s Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki has announced plans to cap electricity prices in 2023 at this year’s levels for the first 2000kWh consumed. Poland has earmarked €10.6bn for its energy crisis.

On September 3, Sweden announced it would provide €23.4bn to failing Nordic and Baltic utilities through credit guarantees.

In the Netherlands, the government has announced a price cap on electricity starting in January 2023, restricting the price of electricity to the average price from January 2022. The price cap will cost about €17.2bn and is the most significant part of the government’s €23.4bn energy funding.

In total, 27 European countries have committed an eye-watering €517.7bn in funds to alleviate the effects of the energy crisis.

ECONOMY: Europe’s energy plan (Graphic)
GN43277 Graphic shows European goverment funding to alleviate the energy crisis.
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September 29, 2022 -- Sweden has found a new leak in undersea pipelines carrying Russian natural gas to the EU, making it the fourth discovered so far. NATO says the incidents are the result of “acts of sabotage”.

Denmark and Sweden reported gas leaks in the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines earlier this week.

Gas has been bubbling up from the pipelines since earlier this week, with Denmark estimating that the links would empty by Sunday.

Several governments have called the actions “deliberate” and “sabotage,” with Finland on Wednesday noting that only a state actor could be capable of acts on such a scale.

Russia dismissed suggestions that it had attacked its own pipelines as “predictable and stupid”.

ACCIDENT: New leak found in Russian gas pipelines (Graphic)
GN43278 Graphic shows location of the gas leaks.
(107mm wide by 130mm deep) View graphic

September 29, 2022 -- The U.S. said it will provide an additional $1.1 billion in military aid to Ukraine, including funding for about 18 HIMARS, as Ukrainian forces in the east made further gains and were reported to surround the key town of Lyman completely.

The weapons package for Ukraine includes 18 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) launchers, accompanying munitions, various types of counter drone systems and radar systems. The announcement brings the U.S. security aid to $16.2 billion, Reuters reported.

Menawhile, Russia was poised to annex a swath of Ukraine within days, releasing what it called vote tallies showing overwhelming support in four provinces to join it, after what Ukraine and the West denounced as illegal sham referendums held at gunpoint.

The head of the upper house of the Russian parliament said it could consider the incorporation of the four partially occupied regions on Oct. 4, three days before President Vladimir Putin's 70th birthday.

UKRAINE: Situation report day 218 (Graphic)
GN43276 Graphic shows situation report following day 218 of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
(107mm wide by 127mm deep) View graphic

September 28, 2022 -- Spain’s quest to build a natural gas pipeline across the Pyrenees is stymied by French scepticism. The MidCat pipeline could carry seven billion cubic metres of gas a year from Catalonia to southwest France.

Spain is reigniting its ambition to become western Europe’s new hub for gas imported from beyond the continent as the flow of Russian gas to the region through pipelines such as Nord Stream 1 dwindles, according to the Financial Times.

French president Emmanuel Macron however expressed France’s opposition to the multimillion euro project this month, saying the argument that MidCat would alleviate Europe’s gas problems was “factually false”, the FT said.


ENERGY: MidCat pipeline (Graphic)
GN43274 Graphic shows details of proposed MidCat pipeline.
(107mm by 130mm deep) View graphic

September 28, 2022 -- Wheat prices are climbing again after recovering from ten-year highs following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Farmers are among military draftees as the winter wheat sowing season starts.

In the first months of the war, the possibility of a Russian naval blockade threatened to cause a global food crisis, driving prices as high as S12.94 a bushel. But after the Turkey-brokered grain deal on July 22, they dropped back to pre-war levels.

Over the past three weeks, prices have increased by 11.9 per cent, from S8.50 to $9.51 a bushel.

“The authorities have started to realise the seriousness of the situation,” Natalya Zubarevich, a specialist on the economy of Russian regions at Moscow State University, told Bloomberg. She said that most of the draftees are likely to come from rural areas, hitting the farm sector.

Moreover, on Tuesday (September 27, 2022), President Vladimir Putin admitted to officials that farmers are among the Russians drafted into the military.

Autumn is a busy season for farmers as they sow winter wheat for next year’s crop and harvest soybeans and sunflower seeds. Winter grain sowing has already been significantly delayed by rains this year.

Putin’s announcement of a partial mobilisation of the population on September 21 has triggered an exodus of eligible men for Russia’s borders with Finland, Georgia, Kazakhstan and Mongolia. On Monday, Novaya Gazeta Europe cited Kremlin sources, reporting that 261,000 men had left Russia in the past week.

The head of the Georgian interior ministry said that about 10,000 Russians were entering Georgia every day, almost double the number before the mobilisation announcement.

BUSINESS: Wheat prices rise on Russia concerns (Graphic)
GN43275 Graphic shows changes in the price of wheat since the invasion of Ukraine.
(107mm by 134mm deep) View graphic

September 28, 2022 -- Moscow-installed officials in four occupied regions of Ukraine claimed almost total support among those who took part in so-called referendums on joining Russia, as the U.S. denounced the polls as “shams”.

Up to four million people were asked to vote in the war-torn regions, which make up about 15% of Ukraine's territory.

There is speculation that Russian President Vladimir Putin may announce the four regions’ annexation in a speech to a joint session of Russia’s parliament on Friday.

Washington is preparing a new round of sanctions against Russia should it annex Ukrainian territory and a $1.1 billion arms package for Ukraine that will be announced soon, U.S. officials said.

UKRAINE: Situation report day 217 (Graphic)
GN43272 Graphic shows situation report following day 217 of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
(107mm wide by 123mm deep) View graphic

September 27, 2022 -- Leaks in two Russian gas pipelines are raising concerns about sabotage on infrastructure at the heart of the energy crisis between Russia and Europe.

Danish, German and Polish officials have signalled that suspicious leaks on two Russian gas pipelines in the Baltic Sea are highly likely to be the result of sabotage.

However, it remained far from clear who might be behind any foul play, if proven, on the Nord Stream pipelines that Russia and European partners spent billions of dollars building.

Meanwhile, Ukraine has accused Russia of causing the leaks in what it described as a “terrorist attack”.

ACCIDENT: Fear of sabotage after pipeline leaks (Graphic)
GN43269 Graphic shows location of the gas leaks.
(107mm wide by 130mm deep) View graphic

September 27, 2022 -- President Vladimir Putin’s order to mobilise hundreds of thousands of reservists for the war in Ukraine has triggered widespread protests and prompted a mass exodus of fighting-age Russians.

The call-up of some 300,000 reservists has led to the first sustained protests since the invasion began, with one monitoring group estimating at least 2,000 people have been arrested so far. All public criticism of Russia's “special military operation” is banned.

Flights out of Russia have sold out and cars have clogged border checkpoints, with reports of a 48-hour queue at the sole road border to Georgia, the rare pro-Western neighbour that allows Russian citizens to enter without a visa.

In Georgia, the number of Russians arriving has doubled to 10,000 per day from Sep 21. Around 5,500 cars are waiting to cross the border.

In Finland, nearly 17,000 Russians have crossed the border between Sep 24 and Sep 25.

In Kazakhstan, around 98,000 Russians have crossed the border since the draft was announced, and in Mongolia, the arrival of thousands of Russians is piling pressure on the government. The country depends entirely on Russian oil and gas.

UKRAINE: Russian mobilisation prompts backlash (Graphic)
GN43268 Graphic shows location of anti-mobilisation protests in Russia and a snapshot of what's happening on Russia's borders.
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September 27, 2022 -- Three weeks into her premiership, British Prime Minister Liz Truss finds herself scrambling to stay ahead of events as market reaction to her plan to increase government borrowing to pay for tax cuts slashes the pound to an all-time low.

On Monday (September 26, 2022), the pound plummeted to $1.035 to the dollar but rallied slightly later.

Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng issued an emergency statement late Monday promising a fresh package of supply-side reforms over the coming weeks and a fully costed “fiscal plan” on November 23 to get UK debt levels falling.

The economic turmoil set Conservative MPs’ nerves jangling, fearing their party’s reputation for sound financial management is now at serious risk.

“Very worried,” said one of the many Tory MPs who backed Truss’ opponent, Rishi Sunak, in the leadership contest. “It’s the effect on interest rates that scares the bejeezus out of me. If you think things are bad now, just wait till we see home repossessions.”

“It’s worse than Black Wednesday,” said another Sunak-backing Tory MP, referring to the sterling crisis of September 1992. “This is self-inflicted and without a mandate, whereas at least [Black Wednesday] was perceived as a bid to manage a crisis.”

One former minister who backed Truss in her leadership bid said the decision not to publish official economic forecasts alongside last week’s tax cuts was “a bit of an own goal.”

“The Chancellor should have set out the fiscal position last week,” the MP said. “Markets hate uncertainty.”

“You can’t just borrow your way to a low-tax economy,” former Tory Chancellor George Osborne told Channel 4 News. “Fundamentally, the schizophrenia has to be resolved -- you can’t have small-state taxes and big-state spending.”

ECONOMY: UK currency crises (Graphic)
GN43266 Graphic shows changes in exchange rates of Britain’s pound sterling since 1960.
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September 27, 2022 -- Hurricane Ian is expected to strengthen after making landfall in western Cuba and emerging over the Gulf of Mexico, reaching Category 4 strength before it approaches western Florida, forecasters said.

Ian made landfall in Cuba’s Pinar del Rio province early on Tuesday, prompting officials to cut power to the entire province and evacuate 40,000 people from low-lying coastal areas, according to Reuters.

The storm’s path toward Florida forced the U.S. space agency NASA to roll its giant Artemis 1 moon rocket off its Cape Canaveral lauchpad after postponing the much-anticipated mission a third time, Reuters said.

WEATHER: Hurricane Ian (Graphic)
GN43267 Graphic shows forecast path of storm.
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September 27, 2022 -- Russian President Vladimir Putin is likely to announce the accession of occupied regions of Ukraine to the Russian Federation during his address to parliament on Sep 30, the British Ministry of Defence has said.

Russia’s “referendums” in Ukraine, which could lead to Moscow annexing 15% of the country’s territory, are due to be completed on Sep 27. Voting in the eastern provinces of Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson and Zaporizhya has been dismissed as a sham by western nations, which have pledged not to recognise the results.

None of the provinces are fully under Moscow’s control and fighting has been under way along the entire front line, with Ukrainian forces reporting more advances since they routed Russian troops in a fifth province, Kharkiv, earlier this month.

UKRAINE: Situation report day 216 (Graphic)
GN43265 Graphic shows situation report following day 216 of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
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September 27, 2022 -- Russia’s seaborne crude exports have fallen by almost 900,000 barrels a day (bpd) in the first half of September, while U.S. oil exports to Europe will rise by more than one million bpd.

The U.K. has already stopped importing Russian crude following Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, and the E.U. will ban imports from December 5. Europe has already cut shipborne imports of Russian oil by almost 75 per cent from pre-war levels.

Russia will ship its oil to Asia and the Middle East. At the same time, refined fuel produced in these regions will flow to the West as sanctions disrupt the global oil trade, Chief Executive Officer Russell Hardy, Chief Executive Officer of Vitol, the Dutch energy and commodity trading company, said on Monday (September 26, 2022).

“It’s going to go further and longer distances and find different markets, and in doing that, it’s going to have to trade at a discount,” Hardy told a forum at the 38th Annual Asia Pacific Petroleum Conference (APPEC) 2022 conference.

Europe will also need more infrastructure for liquefied natural gas (LNG) discharge as the continent’s infrastructure is “basically full,” Hardy added.

The U.S. could soon overtake Russia as the leading crude supplier to the E.U. and the U.K. combined -- by August, U.S. imports lagged those from Russia by just 40,000 bpd compared with a 1.3 million bpd pre-war average, according to the IEA.

BUSINESS: Russian seaborne oil flows dive (Graphic)
GN43263 Graphic shows change in Russian seaborne oil exports since the invasion of Ukraine.
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September 26, 2022 -- President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has confirmed that Ukraine has received sophisticated air defence systems from the United States. The National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile System (NASAMS) will help defend big cities like Kyiv and Odesa from Russian missile strikes.

Designed and manufactured by the Norwegian company Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace in cooperation with U.S. firm Raytheon, NASAMS is used by the U.S. to protect the sensitive air space around the White House and Capitol in Washington DC.

A standard NASAMS unit has a modular design including a Fire Distribution Centre command post, an active 3D radar MPQ64F1 Sentinel, a passive electro-optic and infra-red sensor and a number of missile canister launchers with AMRAAM missiles. Normally, four NASAMS units are netted in a battalion network.

In a battalion configuration comprising of up to 12 launchers and up to 72 missiles loaded, all missiles can be fired against individual targets in less than 15 seconds.

MILITARY: NASAMS air defence system (1) (Graphic UPDATED Sep 26)
GN42878 Graphic shows details of the NASAMS Air Defence System.
(107mm wide by 153mm deep)

September 26, 2022 -- Voting in referendums organised by the Kremlin and accompanied by security officials is taking place in four occupied regions of Ukraine. Kyiv and the West have denounced the referendums as rigged.

The referendums in Russian-controlled areas of Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson and Zaporizhya regions are widely viewed as a pretext for annexation, according to AP.

By incorporating the areas of Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson and Zaporizhya into Russia, Moscow could portray efforts to retake them as attacks on Russia itself, a warning to Kyiv and its Western allies, Reuters said.

UKRAINE: Referendums in occupied territories (Graphic)
GN43260 Graphic shows regions where Russia is staging referendums.
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September 26, 2022 -- The euro and pound have fallen to historic lows against the dollar as Europe feels the pain of the war in Ukraine and a new UK stimulus package triggers fears of a surge in borrowing.

The strength of the U.S. dollar has soared more than 17% in 2022 as the Federal Reserve holds to its commitment to curb soaring price inflation by raising interest rates.

As Europe struggles with the economic fallout from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the euro has fallen to a 20-year low against the dollar – it reached parity with the greenback in July and currently one euro is worth $0.97

The British pound is heading the same way, as it tumbles against the dollar following the decision to introduce a new stimulus package consisting of fresh spending and tax cuts. At the time of writing, one pound is worth $1.08.

If the euro and pound are worth less, the cost of importing goods from overseas goes up – including oil and gas needed to counteract Russia’s stranglehold on European energy supplies.

And while it might look good for American tourists, in reality many different investment vehicles such as pension funds and corporate earnings will be taking a hit from these currency shocks.

ECONOMY: Dollar hammers euro and pound (Graphic)
GN43262 Graphic tracks strength of U.S. dollar to euro and British pound.
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October 1-31, 2022 -- Each month Graphic News publishes a World Agenda of forthcoming events that will shape the world in the month ahead. Events in October include China’s Communist Party five-yearly congress, general elections in Brazil, the first meeting of a new European Political Community, and the scrapping of tough pandemic-related border restrictions in Japan for the first time in over two years.

Oct 1, United Arab Emirates: The site of the Dubai Expo 2020 exhibition reopens as Expo City Dubai, billed as a clean, green and tech-enabled city built around sustainability.

Oct 1-2, Mongolia: Up to 80 eagle hunters take part in the Golden Eagle Festival in Bayan-Ulgii, a two-day display of traditional hunting skills based on the eagle’s speed, agility and accuracy.

Oct 2, Brazil: With far-right incumbent Jair Bolsonaro trailing leftist former president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in the polls, Brazil is braced for a Trump-like refusal from its current leader to accept defeat
in the general election.

Oct 3-10: Sweden & Norway: The 2022 Nobel Prize winners are named, with the Peace award announced on Oct 7.

Oct 6, Czech Rep.: EU and aspirant nations, plus the UK, Israel and Turkey (and others), are invited to the first meeting of a new European Political Community, proposed by French president Emmanuel Macron to bolster regional co-operation in the face of Russian aggression.

Oct 11, Japan: Tough pandemic-related border restrictions are to be scrapped, paving the way for mass tourism for the first time in over two years.

Oct 16, China: The Communist Party holds its five-yearly congress, with Xi Jinping set for an unprecedented third term in power. Effectively made “president for life” in 2018, Xi is seen as the nation’s most powerful ruler since Mao Zedong.

Oct, France: The European Space Agency wraps up its 18-month selection process to recruit 4-6 new astronauts, including one chosen from applicants with disabilities.

WORLD AGENDA: October 2022 (Graphic)
GN43255 Graphic shows selected news events in October 2022.
(163mm wide by 210mm deep (print) and 2-screen responsive graphic (digital) (print) and 2-screen responsive graphic (digital)) View graphic

September 26, 2022 -- Voting in self-styled “referendums” in Ukraine on joining Russia enters a fourth day, after the U.S. warned of “catastrophic consequences” if Moscow used nuclear weapons to protect any annexed regions.

Ukrainians have reported armed soldiers going door-to-door in occupied parts of the country to collect votes.

By incorporating the areas of Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson and Zaporizhya into Russia, Moscow could portray efforts to retake them as attacks on Russia itself, a warning to Kyiv and its Western allies.

U.S. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said the U.S. would respond to any Russian use of nuclear weapons against Ukraine and had spelled out to Moscow the “catastrophic consequences” it would face.

UKRAINE: Situation report day 215 (Graphic)
GN43258 Graphic shows situation report following day 215 of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
(107mm wide by 134mm deep) View graphic

September 26, 2022 -- Brothers of Italy leader Giorgia Meloni has claimed victory in Italy’s election and is on course to become the nation’s first female prime minister. She will lead Italy’s most right-wing government since World War Two.

However, after the vote, Meloni said her Brothers of Italy party would “govern for everyone” and would not betray people’s trust.

“Italians have sent a clear message in favour of a right-wing government led by Brothers of Italy,” she told reporters in Rome, holding up a sign saying “Thank you Italy.”

Based on provisional results, she will win 118 seats in the lower house ahead of her closest rival Enrico Letta from the centre-left.

Meloni’s right-wing alliance -- including Matteo Salvini’s far-right League and former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi’s centre-right Forza Italia -- will hold a majority of 229 seats in the revamped 400-seat Chamber of Deputies.

POLITICS: Italy election result (Graphic)
GN43259 Graphic shows Quorum/YouTrend seat projections in Chamber of Deputies.
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September 25, 2022 -- NASA has aborted a third attempt to launch the unmanned Artemis I moon mission, this time not due to technical problems but because of Tropical Storm Ian, which is forecast to strengthen as it approaches Florida.

The next available launch window for Artemis I from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, has shifted to mid-October following the strengthening movements of Tropical Storm Ian. The uncrewed rocket is due to orbit the Moon in a test flight lasting 26-42 days. Here’s how the mission could unfold when it eventually lifts off:

1) Space Launch System (SLS) super heavy-lift launch vehicle blasts off from Launch Complex 39B at the Kennedy Space Center, Florida, carrying an empty Orion crew module.

2) Solid rocket boosters and core stage separation – ship enters Earth orbit.

3) Ship journeys to Moon (8-14 days), deploying 10 CubeSats along the way.

4) Enters into orbit around Moon (6-19 days).

5) Return flight to Earth (9-19 days).

6) Crew module separation and splashdown in Pacific Ocean.

If successful, Artemis II is scheduled to blast-off in May 2024, with a crew of four astronauts, on a lunar-flyby-return-to-Earth test mission.

Assuming success of Artemis II, Artemis III is set to land two people on the Moon in 2025, and keep them there for a week – making it the the first human moon landing since Apollo 17 in 1972 (53 years ago).

SPACE: NASA prepares for Artemis I launch (2) (Graphic UPDATED Sep 25)
GN42559 Graphic shows details of the Artemis I Moon mission.
(107mm by 160mm deep)

September 23, 2022 -- The death of Mahsa Amini, a young woman in the custody of Iran’s “morality” police, has triggered protests throughout the country, with Basij militias using force to disperse demonstrators.

An Amnesty International report said the group recorded the killings of twelve people, including four members of Basij, between September 16-23, during the biggest protests since 2019, when more than 300 people died.

Public protests against Amini’s death began last Friday in several parts of Iran. According to social media videos posted by Iranian citizen journalists, they spread rapidly to other areas this week, reaching 23 of Iran’s 31 provinces as of Friday (September 23, 2022).

Some social media videos contained footage of apparent anti-government protests by Iranian students in five universities, four in Tehran. They include the Allameh Tabataba’i University, Alzahra University, Islamic Azad University’s Science and Research Branch, University of Tehran, and Semnan University east of Tehran.

The U.S. Treasury Department Thursday imposed sanctions on the morality police, saying it was responsible for Amini’s death.

Iran’s president Ebrahim Raisi told a news conference on the sidelines of the UN general assembly in New York that the death of Amini while in the custody of Iran’s morality police “must certainly be investigated”.

IRAN: Morality police protests (Graphic)
GN43257 Graphic shows locations of protests and timeline of Iran’s Basij morality police.
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September 22, 2022 -- The James Webb Space Telescope has cast its infrared eye onto the remote world of Neptune, revealing rings and bright spots believed to be clouds of methane ice.

One of the most striking aspects of the James Webb Telescope’s latest images of the planet Neptune is the crisp view of the planet’s rings – some of which have never been seen before, let alone with such clarity – since the Voyager 2 flyby in 1989.

In the image, its northern pole is just out of view but hints at an intriguing brightness in that area. Faint dust bands can also be seen as well as seven of Neptune’s 14 known moons.

One moon in particular, Triton, is sparkling like a star due to its covering of frozen condensed nitrogen which reflects 70 percent of sunlight. It’s also unusual in that it has a retrograde orbit – an orbit in the direction opposite to Neptune’s rotation.

The ice giant planet has fascinated and perplexed researchers since its discovery in 1846 by German astronomer Johann Gottfried Galle. Neptune is the most distant planet from our Sun (30 times further from the Sun than Earth), orbiting in one of the darkest regions of the Solar System.

SPACE: JWST captures new images of Neptune (Graphic)
GN43254 Graphic highlights NASA’s intriguing new images of Neptune.
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September 22, 2022 -- Russia has modified the Kalashnikov AK-12 assault rifle to make it easier for infantry to use and give more control over firing modes. The AK-12 will now have a simple two-way selector.

Russia decided to replace its old AK-74 after criticism that it was less accurate, and difficult to mount multiple optics on, when compared to its U.S. counterpart, the M4 carbine.

Vladimir Zlobin’s appointment in 2010 as chief weapons designer at Izhmash, the Russian weapons manufacturer, led to an innovative AK prototype. It could switch from a 5.45mm to a 7.62mm calibre round with a simple barrel swap. Zlobin replaced the AK fire selector with a western-style ambidextrous selector, which offered a safe, semi-automatic with an unusual three-round burst mode, full automatic at 700 rounds per minute, and a hyper-burst mode at 900 rounds per minute.

It was also the first AK to feature an American Picatinny accessory rail to mount optics and other widgets. However, in military trials, reliability flaws appeared, and production costs soared to several times more than the AK-74. The situation at Izhmash was dire.

In 2013-14, Izhmash merged with Izhmekh, its sister company, creating Kalashnikov Concern, owned by state-controlled Rostec.

In 2016, Russia decided to redesign the AK-12, and Sergey Urzhumcev replaced Zlobin. However, the new version was a modest improvement on the AK-74: increased range to 440 metres, reduced recoil, two-round burst mode, and Urzhumcev removed the ambidextrous selector.

It also had red-dot holographic and thermal night vision sights mounted on the Picatinny rail.

By mid-2017, the AK-12 passed its field trials, and by the following January, the military adopted the AK-12 and 7.62mm version -- the AK-15.

Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine has identified more problems.

“In the shortest possible time, we selected technical solutions, made a prototype and demonstrated it to representatives of the Russian Ministry of Defence,” Kalashnikov Concern’s President Alan Lushnikov told RIA state news agency.

Meanwhile, Kalashnikov AK-12s have become highly sought-after battlefield prizes among Ukrainian fighters, not just for their capabilities but also for what possessing one symbolises.

MILITARY: Kalashnikov AK-12 (Graphic)
GN43250 Graphic shows modifications to the AK-12 assault rifle.
(107mm by 125mm deep) View graphic

September 26, 2022 -- NASA’s DART spacecraft is about to smash into a small moonlet orbiting an asteroid, in the first test of a technique that could one day be used to deflect a dangerous space rock heading for Earth.

The DART (Double Asteroid Redirection Test) spacecraft, launched last year, will smash into the moonlet Dimorphos to try to change its orbit around its parent body, the asteroid Didymos.

The 500-kilogram spacecraft, about the size of a golf cart, will deliberately crash itself into the moonlet at a velocity of 6.6km/s.

It's the first attempt to deflect an asteroid for the purpose of learning how to protect Earth, though this particular asteroid presents no threat, the BBC reports.

NASA’s live broadcast will feature images from DART’s DRACO camera, which is the only scientific instrument the spacecraft is carrying. The images will flow back to Earth at a rate of one per second, and we'll see them in real time via NASA Television, Space.com says.

Meanwhile, a tiny satellite called LICIACube that launched with DART will be taking images of its own, safely away from the site of the impact. That footage should beam back to Earth in the following days.

SPACE: NASA DART mission (1) (Graphic UPDATED Sep 22)
GN42023 Graphic shows details of DART mission.
(107mm wide by 140mm)

September 21, 2022 -- President Vladimir Putin has ordered Russia’s first mobilisation since World War Two. The partial mobilisation will see 300,000 reservists called up and will apply to those with previous military experience.

Russia’s call-up will include people who have had military training and, Putin stressed, have specialist skills needed in the Ukraine conflict. They will include many reserve officers, including some over 60, pulled in from retirement, according to the BBC.

Russia could in theory mobilise some 25 million people for military service, but that is not yet being considered. Both President Putin and Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu stressed that conscripts would not be sent to fight in Ukraine.

Mr Shoigu said the extra troops were required to defend a front line stretching for some 1,000km.

The mobilisation will be spread over months – and Mr Putin has said previously that Russia is prepared for a long fight, the BBC said.

UKRAINE: Russia orders partial mobilisation (Graphic)
GN43248 Graphic shows details of Russia’s partial mobilisation.
(107mm by 140mm deep) View graphic

September 21, 2022 -- Former Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has widened his lead over incumbent Jair Bolsonaro to 10 points, ahead of the presidential election on October 2.

The new survey put support for Lula at 44% in the first-round vote on Oct 2 against 34% for Bolsonaro. A week earlier the leftist Lula was favoured by 42% of those surveyed, while the far-right Bolsonaro had 34% support.

Pollster Quaest interviewed 2,000 voters in person between September 17-20. Its poll has a margin of error of 2 percentage points.

BRAZIL: Lula widens lead over Bolsonaro (Graphic)
GN43249 Graphic shows Brazil presidential election voting intention, according to the latest survey by Genial/Quaest.
(107mm wide by 115mm deep) View graphic

September 21, 2022 -- The cost of bread soared by almost a fifth in the European Union in August, compared to a year ago – a direct result of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and its blocking of Black Sea ports.

Year-on-year, the price of bread rose by 18% in the European Union in August – a direct result of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine which has significantly disturbed global markets. Russia and Ukraine have been major exporters of grains, wheat and maize.

Since the invasion began in February, global wheat prices have soared as the war halted grain exports from Black Sea ports for months.

The average price for bread in the EU was 18% higher in August 2022 than a year earlier. Hungary saw the biggest annual change with an increase of 65.5%.

Eurozone inflation hit a record high of 9.1% in August, driven by sharply higher energy and food prices.

COST OF LIVING: Bread in EU more expensive than ever (Graphic)
GN43247 Graphic charts soaring bread price inflation in the EU.
(107mm by 138mm deep) View graphic

September 21, 2022 -- Final opinion polls put Giorgia Meloni’s post-fascist Brothers of Italy above 25 per cent -- almost double that of Matteo Salvini’s anti-immigration League -- ahead of Sunday’s election.

Italy’s right-wing coalition of the Brothers of Italy, League and Silvio Berlusconi’s Forza Italia look set to take more than 46 per cent of the vote, according to the last surveys released before the pre-vote polling embargo ahead of the September 25th general election.

Italian news agency Ansa reported that support for Meloni’s far-right Brothers of Italy (Fratelli d’Italia, FdI) rose to 25.3 per cent of those polled by Quorum/Youtrend for Sky TG24. Salvini’s League commanded 12.9 per cent, and Berlusconi’s Forza Italia (FI) received 7.9 per cent.

The centre-left Democratic Party (PD) remained in second place, polling at 21.2 per cent. With its smaller left-wing allies, PD polled at 28 per cent of the vote – around 18 points behind the right.

The populist Five Star Movement (M5S) was in third place, running alone with support rising to 13.8 per cent, while the centrist alliance between Azione and Italia Viva (AV+IV) held 5.5 per cent.

An Ipsos poll for Corriere Della Sera similarly put FdI on 25.1 per cent, the PD on 20.5 per cent, the M5S on 14.5 per cent, the League on 12.5, Forza Italia on 8 per cent and the Third Pole AV+IV on 6.7 per cent.

POLITICS: Italy final opinion poll (Graphic)
GN43245 Graphic shows result of Quorum/Youtrend opinion poll for Sky TG24.
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September 21, 2022 -- President Putin ordered Russia’s first mobilisation since World War Two, warning the West that if it continued what he called its “nuclear blackmail” that Moscow would respond with the might of all its vast arsenal.

In a rare address to the nation, President Putin said some reservists would now be called up to fight in Ukraine. Russia’s defence minister said the partial mobilisation will see 300,000 reservists called and up would apply to those with previous military experience.

Meanwhile, Western nations have condemned Moscow’s plans to hold urgent so-called referendums in parts of Ukraine that are currently under Russian control.

Putin said that “those who try to blackmail us with nuclear weapons should know that the prevailing winds can turn in their direction.”

UKRAINE: Situation report day 210 (Graphic)
GN43246 Graphic shows situation report following day 210 of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
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September 20, 2022 -- A powerful Russian missile exploded less than 300 metres from the reactors of the South Ukraine Nuclear Power Plant, about 110km north of the city of Mykolaiv, escalating fears of a radiation disaster.

The blast, which took place shortly after midnight on Monday, damaged power plant buildings as well as a nearby hydroelectric power plant and transmission lines. All three reactors were operating normally, according to Reuters.

Another Ukrainian nuclear power plant at Zaporizhya – which is Europe’s largest and lies about 250 km east of the Mykolaiv site – was shut down earlier this month due to Russian shelling, prompting concerns about a possible nuclear disaster, Reuters said.

UKRAINE: Nuclear power plant near miss (Graphic)
GN43242 Graphic shows Ukrainian nuclear plants and areas of control.
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September 20, 2022 -- Moscow has warned that if Washington supplies Kyiv with its long-range MGM-140 Army Tactical Missile System, it will have crossed a “red line” and become “a party to the conflict.”

Washington has openly supplied Ukraine with the Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System fired from its High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS).

GMLRS is a 227mm calibre surface-to-surface missile system with a range of up to 70km.

HIMARS can also fire longer-range ATACMS 610mm calibre tactical missiles, which can range up to 300km.

On August 9, explosions rocked the Russian airbase at Saky on the Crimean Peninsula. Saky is reportedly a training base for Russian navy pilots and home to SU-24 naval attack aircraft, which can carry cruise missiles. The airbase is some 230km from the nearest Ukrainian-controlled territory.

Satellite images later showed as many as nine aircraft destroyed. Russia’s defence ministry denied it was a Ukrainian operation, claiming a weapons store had caught fire.

However, eleven days later, a military website, Defence View, showed a mobile phone video shot in Ukraine of a HIMARS carrying what appears to be a single large missile. The GMLRS rocket pack has six easily identifiable missiles.

Russia’s Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova issued the missile warning on Thursday (September 15, 2022), adding that Russia “reserves the right to defend its territory.”

UKRAINE: Russia missile warning (Graphic)
GN43243 Graphic shows MGM-140 Army Tactical Missile System.
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September 19, 2022 -- Following the funeral service at Westminster Abbey, the Queen will be laid to rest at St. George’s Chapel, Windsor, where she will be reunited with her parents, sister and beloved husband. Windsor Castle was the Queen’s main residence for the last years of her life.

Just after 3:00pm, the state hearse, having driven from London, will approach Windsor Castle ready for a walking procession up the Long Walk, which will be lined with members of the armed forces.

The castle, continuously inhabited by 40 monarchs across almost 1,000 years, had special significance to the Queen throughout her life. As a teenager she was sent to the castle during the war years as London faced the threat of bombing, and more recently she made it her permanent home during the coronavirus pandemic.

At around 3:40pm the King and other members of the royal family walking in the procession will join in at the Castle’s Quadrangle.

The castle’s Sebastopol and Curfew Tower bells will be tolled every minute and gun salutes will be fired from the castle's grounds.

Inside the chapel, the congregation will include governors general and realm prime ministers, as well as the Queen’s past and present personal staff.

The committal service will begin at 4:00pm with the coffin taken to the catafalque in the quire. The service will be conducted by the Dean of Windsor David Conner, with the blessing from the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby.

A private burial service will be conducted at 7:30pm attended only by the King and family members, before Queen Elizabeth II is laid to rest together with her late husband, the Duke of Edinburgh, at the King George VI Memorial Chapel.

ROYALTY: Queen laid to rest at Windsor (1) (Graphic UPDATED Sep 16)
GN42986 Graphic shows detailed cutaways of St George’s Chapel and the small King George VI Memorial Chapel, where the Queen will be buried.
(284mm wide by 196mm deep)

September 24, 2022 -- Last year’s inaugural Tudum virtual jamboree was a surprise hit, with 25 million viewers across 184 countries tuning in live. This year’s is set to be even bigger, with five events set across four continents.

Netflix’s Tudum virtual fan event, so named for the sound played when the Netflix logo is revealed before shows begin, is back for a second year.

The streaming giant is set to reveal new seasons of some of its biggest shows, together with new intellectual properties and movies during a 24-hour marathon streaming event kicking off in Korea, before moving on to India, Europe, the United States, Latin America and Japan.

TV SHOW HIGHLIGHTS:
Bridgerton Season 3
The Crown season 5
Money Heist: Korea
Shadow and Bone season 2
Squid Game season 2
Stranger Things season 5
The Umbrella Academy season 4
The Witcher season 3

MOVIE HIGHLIGHTS:
Enola Holmes 2
Extraction 2
Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery
Guillermo De Toro’s Pinocchio
Heart Of Stone
The Old Guard 2
The School for Good and Evil
Slumberland

Tudum will also provide behind-the-scenes footage, cast interviews and exclusive news, plus a look at its forthcoming catalogue of video games – some of which are inspired by their programmes.

In total, more than 120 Netflix projects spread across its various divisions are likely to be revealed.

Viewers can watch live online by visiting www.youtube.com/netflix – starting at 02:00GMT on September 24.

ENTERTAINMENT: Netflix Tudum 2022 (Graphic)
GN43235 Graphic reveals some of the upcoming Netflix shows set to be revealed on September 24.
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September 16, 2022 -- Queen Elizabeth II’s death prompted a massive restructuring of the royal family’s finances. King Charles III takes over the Crown Estate, while his eldest son William inherits the Duchy of Cornwall.

Established as long ago as 1337, the estates that help fund the British monarchy are now serving a new generation of the Windsors.

In addition to the Crown Estate, King Charles III also inherits the Duchy of Lancaster -- a private estate -- while his eldest son William, and next-in-line to the throne, inherits the private Duchy of Cornwall estate from his father.

The vast bulk of the Royal family’s wealth totals at least £15.5 billion (€17.7 billion) in land, property and investments.

The monarch hands the profits from the Crown Estate assets to the government in return for the Sovereign Grant, which will fund King Charles and his family for their official duties.

The grant for the year to March 2023 is £86.3 million (€98.7 million), unchanged from the 2022 period.

Royal wills are not made public, “so we have no idea actually what’s in them and what that’s worth,” Laura Clancy, a lecturer in media at Lancaster University and author of a book on royal finances, told CNN Business.

As monarch, King Charles is exempt from inheritance tax on assets he receives in his mother’s will. However, he and the Queen have paid income and capital gains tax on funds from their private estates since 1993.

ROYALTY: Royal family’s finances (Graphic)
GN43236 Graphic shows the finances of the British Royal family.
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September 15, 2022 -- The European Union plans to raise €140 billion by slapping a windfall tax on excess revenues of low-cost electricity producers and making fossil fuel firms share their lavish profits.

“In these times it is wrong to receive extraordinary record profits benefiting from war and on the back of consumers,” said Ursula von der Leyen, European Commission president, in a State of the Union address yesterday (September 14, 2022).

Von der Leyen proposed a mandatory threshold of €180 per megawatt-hour (MWh) for companies that produce low-cost, non-gas energy, such as nuclear and renewables. However, member states will be free to put lower thresholds of their own.

The EU also seeks a “crisis contribution” levy from “major oil, gas and coal companies that are also making huge profits,” von der Leyen said. She said that such payments and the windfall tax would be “emergency and temporary measures”, and the bloc needed to cut electricity demand, lower gas prices and ensure the security of supply.

The proposals need member states’ approval. Energy ministers will discuss the plan on September 30.

BUSINESS: Europe energy shock plans (Graphic)
GN43233 Graphic shows selected European plans to ease energy shocks.
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September 14, 2022 -- Fresh clashes have broken out between Azerbaijan and Armenia, a day after around 100 troops were killed in the worst fighting since a 2020 war over the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh.

The clashes have raised fears of another major armed conflict between the two ex-Soviet republics while Russia's military is tied up with the invasion of Ukraine, according to Reuters.

At least 49 Armenian and 50 Azerbaijani military were killed on Tuesday in the clashes, with both Yerevan and Baku blaming each other for the fighting.

CONFLICT: Armenia-Azerbaijan clashes (Graphic)
GN43220 Graphic shows details of clashes.
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September 14, 2022 -- Europe has cut its forecast for this year’s maize harvest to the smallest in more than three decades, with production in the Ukraine, France and Romania falling, driven by the worst drought in 500 years.

The hot, dry conditions have wreaked havoc, with most of the continent’s water-starved fields producing lower than expected yields.

The corn (maize) harvest will plummet by 24 per cent, from 115 million tonnes (Mt) in 2021 to 87.5Mt this year, according to the EU’s Monitoring Agricultural Resources unit (MARS).

“Water and heat stress periods partly coincided with the sensitive flowering stage and grain filling,” MARS reported. “This resulted in irreversibly lost yield potential.”

Production in Ukraine will plummet by almost 24 per cent, from 42Mt to 32Mt. French production of the staple grain used to feed chickens and pigs will fall 25 per cent to 11.7Mt, the lowest since 1990; its agriculture ministry said Tuesday (September 13, 2022). Fields in Romania, another large EU producer, have also suffered.

The plunge in production likely will boost the cost of feeding livestock herds. According to European Commission data, butter prices in the EU have surged 80 per cent in the year to July, with milk powder up more than 50 per cent and beef 28 per cent higher.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture said it expected the EU to overtake China as the world’s top corn buyer in the 2022-23 season.

CLIMATE: Europe grapples with drought (Graphic)
GN43221 Graphic shows fall in European corn crops for 2022-23 season.
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September 14, 2022 -- With the death of his mother Queen Elizabeth, Prince Charles has finally become king of the United Kingdom and 14 other realms, ending a wait of more than 70 years – the longest by an heir in British history.

Born at Buckingham Palace on November 14, 1948, Charles became heir apparent at the age of three when his mother inherited the throne upon her father King George VI’s death.

He studied history at Cambridge University's Trinity College and in 1970 became the first British royal to earn a university degree.

His personal life has been controversial. He married Lady Diana Spencer in 1981. Prince William, now heir to the throne, was born a year later, followed by his brother, Prince Harry, in 1984.

But the public fairytale crumbled. In a BBC TV interview in 1995, Diana described “three of us” – referring to Charles’s long-standing affair with Camilla Parker Bowles.

It took years for many in the UK to forgive Charles, especially after Diana died in a Paris car crash in 1997. But the public mood softened after he married Camilla in 2005 and she became Duchess of Cornwall.

Diana’s tragic death would lead to his playing a more active role in the lives of his sons, and he buried himself in philanthropic work.

A patron of the World Wildlife Fund, the King is also a generous patron of the arts, has a keen interest in preserving traditional architecture, and is an enthusiastic gardener.

But it is his passion for environmental issues and organic farming produce, founding the Duchy Originals brand to promote organic food, that have been his main preoccupation.

He has also been criticised for political interference. In 2013, it was revealed Charles held 36 meetings with government ministers in the previous three years.

At 73, Charles is the oldest person ever to ascend the British throne.

UK: King Charles III profile (1) (Graphic UPDATED Sep 14)
GN43207 Graphic shows major events in the life of King Charles III.
(219mm wide by 267mm deep)

September 13, 2022 -- As Apple’s latest devices hit stores, CEO Tim Cook’s stewardship has seen the company more than triple its revenue in just 10 years.

As Apple releases its latest batch of devices and upgraded operating systems, we can look back at 10 years of leadership from CEO Tim Cook.

In 1998, Cook joined Apple from Compaq, of which he later said: “On that day in early 1998, I listened to my intuition, not the left side of my brain or for that matter even the people who knew me best... no more than five minutes into my initial interview with Steve [Jobs], I wanted to throw caution and logic to the wind and join Apple.”

Cook started his career at Apple in various executive positions, saving the company millions of dollars by restructuring its factories and warehouses. He also invested in long-term contracts with flash memory manufacturers, guaranteeing supply of parts vital to iPods, and later iPhones and iPads.

As then-CEO Steve Jobs’s health worsened from recurring pancreatic cancer, Jobs appointed Cook CEO on August 25, 2011 – Jobs would die six weeks later on October 5.

Since then, Apple has witnessed a meteoric rise in its revenue as Cook meticulously steers the company in a direction that critics say lacks the innovation of the Jobs era.

Naysayers decry Apple’s annual product launches as merely refreshers of older established technologies, rather than taking the ground-breaking risks that Jobs did when he launched devices like the iPod, iMac, iPhone and iPad.

However, if you’re an investor in Apple, you won’t be complaining. In fiscal year 2021, Apple earned over a billion dollars in revenue every day.

Apple’s iPhone 14 and Watch Series 8 hit stores on September 16. Its new iOS 16 and watchOS 9 system upgrades were released on September 12.

BUSINESS: Tim Cook has tripled Apple’s fortunes (Graphic)
GN43215 Graphic charts Apple’s revenue over the past 20 years.
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September 13, 2022 -- Ukrainian forces have made sweeping territorial gains in the northeastern Kharkiv region, handing Russia its most serious military defeat since its troops were driven back from Kyiv in the spring.

Ukraine’s lightning counter-offensive has recaptured 3,800 square kilometres (1,467 square miles) of territory in the Kharkiv region since Sept. 6, Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Malyar said on Tuesday, according to Reuters.

The counter-offensive has stunned Russia, which invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24. News of battlefield defeats provoked unusual rumblings of dissent on Russian state television channels, Reuters said.

MILITARY: Ukraine troops make gains in northeast (Graphic)
GN43212 Graphic shows areas of control as of Sep. 12.
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September 13, 2022 -- Floods caused by record monsoon rains and melting glaciers in Pakistan’s northern mountain regions have left the country’s agriculture belt underwater and the nation facing food shortages.

The International Rescue Committee (IRC) estimates that the floods have damaged more than 14,600 square kilometres of crops in Pakistan, much of it in southern Sindh province -- the country’s breadbasket.

Deluges from the Indus river and Lake Manchar in Sindh province continue to threaten Dadu district, where rescue boats are evacuating villagers. UNICEF reports that more than 660,000 people are sheltering in displacement camps.

Another concern is a rise in waterborne diseases, and there are already reports of thousands of people suffering from dysentery. Even before the floods, Pakistan was experiencing a surge in cholera cases across the Sindh and Balochistan regions.

Sindh province is one of the world’s top producers and exporters of cotton and rice, and the floods have destroyed as much as half of Pakistan’s cotton crop -- a blow to global cotton production in a year when prices have soared, driven by extreme weather. Sind also produces wheat, sugarcane, bananas and mangoes.

“The acute loss of farmland and agriculture is likely to be felt in the months and years ahead,” said Shabnam Baloch, IRC’s director in Pakistan.

The floods also threaten Pakistan’s wheat planting season this October, raising the possibility of continued food shortfalls and price spikes into next year.

“We’re in a very dire situation,” said Rathi Palakrishnan, deputy country director of the World Food Programme in Pakistan. “There’s no buffer stocks of wheat, there’s no seeds because farmers have lost them.”

DISASTERS: Pakistan looming food crisis (Graphic)
GN43214 Graphic shows Pakistan’s flood-devastated Sindh province.
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September 12, 2022 -- The UK’s newly anointed King Charles III has a few issues to tackle, including a brother tarnished by sex abuse allegations and a son who criticises Buckingham Palace for racism.

Issues requiring the attention of King Charles III:

PRINCE ANDREW
Charles’s younger brother retires from royal duties in 2019 after TV interview – in which he had hoped to clear his name over associations with U.S. sex offender Jeffrey Epstein – goes badly wrong.

King must decide how to deal with Andrew, officially still titled Duke of York.

-----

PRINCE HARRY AND RACISM
Since leaving UK for life in Hollywood hills with his American former actress wife, Meghan Markle, Harry has, among barrage of criticisms, accused unnamed royal of racism.

In his first UK public address as king, Charles signals desire to thaw relations.

-----

POLICE INVESTIGATION
In 2021, Prince’s Foundation charity becomes embroiled in cash-for-honours scandal involving Saudi businessman, which leads to police investigation and resignation of CEO Michael Fawcett (pictured in 2005). Charles’s office denies any wrongdoing.

In 2022, newspapers claim Charles accepted €3 million in cash from former Qatari prime minister, and other monies from family of Osama bin Laden

-----

COMMONWEALTH NATIONS
Charles is now not only monarch of UK, but also of 14 additional countries – known as Commonwealth realms (as distinct from Commonwealth of Nations). In 2021, Barbados quit monarchy and, with Queen dead, acceleration by other nations to become republics could be imminent. Antigua and Barbuda has announced plans to hold referendum on becoming republic within three years.

ROYALTY: Challenges facing King Charles III (Graphic)
GN43211 Graphic illustrates some challenges facing the new British monarch.
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October 2-8, 2022 -- Graphics show birthdays and anniversaries for each day of the week. This week celebrates the genome of malaria and the mosquito, Germany’s V2 rocket, the world’s first man-made satellite, Sputnik 1, the first James Bond film Dr No, the Russian President Vladimir Putin and the first hair perm

October 2, 2002: Scientists announced they had sequenced the genome of the parasite that causes malaria as well as that of the mosquito that carries and transmits the disease

October 3, 1942: Germany’s V2 rocket made its first successful test flight. It had a range of 200 miles and killed over 2,700 Londoners in the last months of World War II

October 4, 1957: The Space Race began when the Soviet Union launched the world’s first man-made satellite, Sputnik 1, into orbit. It completed 1,440 orbits over 21 days

October 5, 1962: Dr No, the first James Bond film, opened. The movie, starring Sean Connery as Bond and Ursula Andress as Honey Ryder, the first Bond girl, grossed $60 million

October 6, 1683: Germantown was established by the first German settlers in America, mainly Quaker and Mennonite families. It was later absorbed into Philadelphia

October 7, 1952: Russian President Vladimir Putin was born. A dominant figure in politics since 2000, he turns 70 in a year that will be remembered for his invasion of Ukraine

October 8, 1906: Hairdresser Karl Nessler demonstrated the first perm, winding the hair into spirals round metal rods, applying a special liquid, and heating the rods

HISTORY: On this day October 2-8, 2022 (week 40) (Graphic)
GN43187 Graphics show birthdays and anniversaries on each day for the week.
(Each 52mm wide by 118mm deep packaged as a set) View graphic

September 25 - October 1, 2022 -- Graphics show birthdays and anniversaries for each day of the week. This week features China’s first aircraft carrier, the stage musical West Side Story, Europe’s first moving walkway, the British company Marks and Spencer, the U.S. artist Roy Lichtenstein, the Berlin Airlift in WWII, and the Yosemite National Park


September 25, 2012: China’s first aircraft carrier, the Liaoning, officially entered service, increasing regional tensions over Beijing’s growing territorial ambitions

September 26, 1957: The stage musical West Side Story, by Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim, had its world premiere in New York. The film version (above) opened in 1961

September 27, 1960: Europe’s first moving walkway opened at Bank Underground station in London, six years after the first U.S. version was installed at a station in New Jersey

September 28, 1894: Polish immigrant Michael Marks and Englishman Tom Spencer opened a “Penny Bazaar”. It grew into the major British multinational company Marks and Spencer

September 29, 1997: U.S. artist Roy Lichtenstein died. A founder of the Pop Art movement of the 60s, his work was heavily influenced by popular advertising and comic books

September 30, 1949: The 15-month Berlin Airlift, in which U.S. and British planes countered a Soviet blockade by delivering over two million tons of supplies to Berlin, ended

October 1, 1890: The Yosemite National Park was created in California to protect the Yosemite Valley and surrounding mountains and forests from development

HISTORY: On this day September 25-October 1, 2022 (week 39) (Graphic)
GN43186 Graphics show birthdays and anniversaries on each day for the week.
(Each 52mm wide by 118mm deep packaged as a set) View graphic

September 9, 2022 -- Eurozone governments are committing more than €280 billion to help households and industry cope with the energy and cost of living crisis.

The amount of cash being spent by eurozone governments to help people and businesses deal with the energy price hike and soaring inflation has surpassed €280 billion euros, according to analysis by Reuters and think tank Bruegel.

The bloc’s governments have so far committed €282 billion euros (2.3% of their combined gross domestic product) to relief measures.

COST OF LIVING: Europe spends big to stem inflation (Graphic)
GN43202 Graphic charts eurozone spending to relieve inflation.
(107mm by 108mm deep) View graphic

September 9, 2022 -- Queen Elizabeth II’s image and iconography are an intricate part of the fabric of national life in the UK and across the Commonwealth. Some things will quickly change, while others will take time.

Leading barristers have become King’s Counsel (KC) rather than Queen’s Counsel (QC) following the Queen’s death, the Bar Council has announced.

Bar Council chairman Mark Fenhalls used the KC initials in a statement issued after the Queen’s death at 96 on Thursday afternoon (September 8, 2022), saying the change was immediate.

Chief Justice Dame Helen Winkelmann announced the switch to King’s Counsels in New Zealand. Senior court announcements will now refer to “The King’s Judge”.

From the flags that fly outside police stations across the country to military “Queen’s colours,” the “EIIR” will need to be replaced. The royal standard -- the flag that flies wherever the monarch is in residence -- could also be modified to include a reference to Wales. The current version includes Scotland, Ireland and two representations for England.

Putting King Charles III’s portrait on more than four billion banknotes will take around two years, while coins will take longer.

Other icons will remain. Royal Mail postboxes bearing Queen Elizabeth’s cypher, ER, are unlikely to be removed -- postboxes with King George VI’s GR cypher remain in use today, seven decades later.

ROYALTY: Royal symbols that will change (Graphic)
GN43203 Graphic shows icons of Queen Elizabeth II.
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September 8, 2022 -- The Pentagon has sent Ukraine its most accurate artillery shell, the GPS-guided M982 Excalibur, to help defend against Russia’s invasion. The shell has range of 40.5km and can hit within two metres.

A plan to replenish the U.S. stock of Excaliburs acknowledges for the first time that the Pentagon has been supplying Ukrainian forces with the shell, according to Bloomberg.

Used in 155mm howitzers –- the Army’s workhorse field artillery – the projectile was co-developed by Raytheon Missiles and Defense and BAE Systems Bofor. The precision-guided Excalibur lets battlefield commanders zero in on targets more precisely, Bloomberg said.

MILITARY: Excalibur artillery shell (Graphic)
GN43197 Graphic shows details of Excalibur artillery shell.
(107mm by 130mm deep) View graphic

September 8, 2022 -- Apple’s latest iPhone 14 line-up includes Pro versions which feature the first major display redesign since the iPhone X in 2017 – a pill-shaped cutout used as an innovative new notification system.

Apple has unveiled four new iPhone 14 models with new safety features – emergency satellite connectivity and car crash detection technology.

An interesting feature of the two more expensive Pro models is the replacement of the notch by a smaller pill-shaped cutout at the top of the screen – necessary for the front-facing camera and FaceID scanner.

However, in a clever piece of design, Apple has turned the dead space into a perky animated notification system that pops out graphics to show elements such as music being played, charging status, device connectivity etc.

As well as the new iPhone, the tech giant also presented a rugged Apple Watch Ultra, designed for adventure sports enthusiasts such as mountaineers and scuba divers.

The pre-recorded video event also unveiled new AirPods Pro, with more advanced spacial audio and a new system for finding lost earphones.

TECH: New iPhone 14 and Apple Watch Ultra (Graphic)
GN43194 Graphic concentrates on some of the new features of the iPhone 14.
(163mm by 194mm deep (print) and 2-screen responsive graphic (digital)) View graphic

November 20 - December 18, 2022 -- Qatar’s staging of the 2022 FIFA World Cup is attracting interest about life in the Gulf state. Qatar is the first ever Muslim and Arab country to host football’s biggest event.

Ruled by the Al Thani family since the mid-1800s, Qatar transformed itself from a poor British protectorate noted mainly for pearling into an independent state with significant oil and natural gas revenues.

Today, Qatar is one of the richest countries in the world and is using revenue from its large gas reserves to bankroll its regional and global ambitions, including winning the bid to host the World Cup.

For decades Qatar has promoted itself as a beacon of openness in a repressive region. It hosts Al Jazeera, a popular Arab satellite station that broadcasts opinions suppressed elsewhere in the Middle East.

But the country has also faced allegations from Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch about the poor treatment of foreign workers who have been building World Cup facilities.

QATAR: Facts and figures (Graphic)
GN43199 Graphic shows facts and figures related to Qatar.
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September 7, 2022 -- The U.S. has enacted more than 30 new voting restrictions since the 2020 election – most of them backed by Republican state legislators – ranging from voter ID requirements to limits on mail-in voting.

Republicans, who have largely embraced former President Donald Trump’s false claims of fraud in the 2020 election, say the measures are necessary to ensure election integrity. Democrats say they are aimed at making it harder for voters who traditionally back the Democratic Party to cast their votes, according to Reuters.

POLITICS: U.S. midterm voting restrictions (Graphic)
GN43190 Graphic shows details of U.S. voting laws enacted since 2020.
(107mm by 140mm deep) View graphic

August 25, 2022 -- Photo illustration depicting Putin looming over the burning skyline of Kyiv, with an abstract Ukraine flag in the background.

The artwork is supplied as a jpg sized to the width of a U.S. broadsheet newspaper (381mm). Due to the use of simple bold colours, it can be reduced to practically any size and is ideally suited to editorial articles for both online and print media.

EDITORS: What do you think of artwork of this sort?

On February 24, 2022, Russia invaded Ukraine in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War that began in 2014.

The invasion caused Europe’s largest refugee crisis since World War II, with around 6.8 million Ukrainians fleeing the country and a third of the population displaced.

The invasion also caused global food shortages and led to a slew of sanctions being imposed against Russia by the U.S., Canada, Europe, Australia and Japan.

Russia retaliated by strangling gas and oil supplies to “unfriendly” nations – creating a growing energy crisis.

EDITORIAL ARTWORK: Putin’s invasion of Ukraine (Photomontage)
GN43142 Photo illustration depicts Putin looming over the burning skyline of Kyiv, with an abstract Ukraine flag in the background.
(381mm wide by 191mm deep @ 300 pixels/inch) View graphic

January 1 - December 31, 2021 -- Have a look at how this interactive graphic auto-updates each day to show a range of international anniversaries and events today in history - a daily feature to engage your online visitors day after day.

EDITORS: This graphic is a responsive interactive that can be published in an iframe. The events and picture displayed are determined by the system clock on the device on which it is viewed.

The graphic can be published using embed code. If you host the graphic yourself you may wish to substitute some of the events or images to give a more national or local interest. The image and text for each day are held in the hypresources folder. Data is supplied for a whole year (instructions available - see below)


HISTORY: ON THIS DAY auto-updating (3) (Interactive UPDATED Jun 30)
GN40881 Responsive graphic shows anniversaries and events from today’s date in history. Changes automatically each day. Come back tomorrow to see anniversaries and events for that date.
(800px wide by 650px deep - auto updating)

November 8, 2018 -- Three undeclared Senate races: Arizona election officials have yet to tally more than 600,000 outstanding postal votes -- a task that could take days.

An electronic recount of the Senate race in Florida is due from each of the state’s 67 counties by Saturday, following the final vote margin falling within 0.5 percentage points.

Mississippi voters will hold a special runoff election between incumbent Republican Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith and Democrat Mike Espy on November 27.


One of the most striking statistics regarding the Democrats failed bid to win a majority in the Senate is that there were 11.7 million more registered Democrats than Republicans in the 31 states that require party registration.

Overall, 40 per cent of voters in Tuesday’s midterm ballot were Democrats, 29 per cent Republicans, and 28 per cent independents, according to a report from the University of Virginia’s Center for Politics.

Because each state gets two senators, irrespective of population, smaller states such as Wyoming have as many seats as California. Small rural states also tend to back Republicans.

In California, Democrat Dianne Feinstein kept her Senate seat by winning 54.4 per cent of the 6.06 million votes cast; while in Wyoming, incumbent Republican John Barrasso won his Senate seat with 67.1 per cent of 203,280 votes cast.

Wyoming’s GOP seat was won with the support of just 136,329 voters, while 3.8 million Californian voters were needed to secure Feinstein’s Senate seat.

POLITICS.: U.S. midterm elections results UPDATED (Graphic)
GN38497 Graphic shows results of the U.S. midterm elections. UPDATED Nov 8, 06:30GMT.
(107mm wide by 103mm (print) and 2-screen responsive graphic (digital)) View graphic

October 19, 2018 -- Democratic candidates are outpacing their Republican opponents’ fundraising levels in the most contested 69 seats up for grabs in the House of Representatives, according to the Federal Election Commission.

Democratic candidates are raising more funds from donations than their Republican opponents in a majority of the 69 most competitive House of Representatives races. Some of the biggest earners include two Democratic women – Mikie Sherrill in New Jersey and Amy McGrath in Kentucky.

Many Democratic candidates have raised large sums from multiple small online donations, which they are banking on as a means to make a difference in tight races.

Facing a slew of tough races, Republican leaders have begun pulling money away from some struggling incumbents, particularly those in suburbs where President Trump is unpopular.

U.S.: Midterm election funding comparison (Graphic)
GN38444 Graphic draws comparison between the top ten highest Democratic fundraising levels and those of their Republican rivals, for the November midterm elections.
(107mm by 120mm deep (print) and 2-screen responsive graphic (digital)) View graphic

November 6, 2018 -- The U.S. midterm elections take place in November every four years – midway through a president’s four year term in office. All 435 seats in the House of Representatives and 35 of the 100 seats in the Senate will next be contested on November 6, 2018.

In addition, 34 of the 50 U.S. states elect their governors to four-year terms during midterm elections, while Vermont and New Hampshire elect governors to two-year terms in both midterm and presidential elections. Thus, 36 governors are elected during midterm elections. Municipal elections also occur and many states also elect officers to their state legislatures. On the ballot are many mayors, other local public offices, and a wide variety of citizen initiatives.

The “midterms” usually generate lower voter turnout than presidential elections – the latter have turnouts of about 50–60%, with only around 40% turning up at midterm polling stations. Although this may be higher in 2018 as voters could view their choices as a referendum on President Trump, whose divisive policies are antagonising a high proportion of the electorate.

U.S.: A century of fighting for control of Congress (Graphic)
GN38402 Graphic charts last 100 years of historical control of the Senate and House of Representatives.
(163mm by 168mm deep) View graphic

November 6, 2018 -- Americans head to the polls to decide which party controls the two chambers of Congress and has the power to oversee President Donald Trump and his administration.

All 435 seats in the House of Representatives are up for election. If the Democrats want to take control of the House, they will have to win at least 23 seats from the Republicans.

For the Senate, just 35 out of the 100 seats are being contested. The Democrats need two seats to take control.

However, while Democrats may be able to take the House, clinching the Senate will be much harder. With only nine seats to defend, the Republicans have big advantage over the Democrats because the Democratic party is defending 26 seats (including two independents, who usually vote with them) while the Republicans only have to defend nine.

The stakes for President Donald Trump are extremely high since a Democratic victory in either chamber would give the party the power to open investigations into various aspects of his administration.

U.S.: Midterm elections guide (Graphic)
GN38404 Graphic shows a guide to the U.S. midterm elections.
(107mm wide by 150mm deep (print) and 2-screen responsive graphic (digital)) View graphic

November 6, 2018 -- Democrats must gain at least 23 Republican-held seats to take control of the U.S. House of Representatives in November’s midterm elections.

U.S. MIDTERM ELECTIONS: Key congressional races (Graphic)
GN38242 Graphic shows seats in contention and most competitive races at the U. S. midterm elections.
(107mm by 140mm deep (print) and 2-screen responsive graphic (digital)) View graphic