Good morning. There’s an awful lot going on in the world.
In the UK, there are real fears that Liz Truss and Kwasi Kwarteng’s handling of the economy is leading the country into financial crisis. On Wednesday, the Bank of England made a desperate move: it announced that it would set aside some £65bn to buy bonds over the next three weeks.
That’s the last thing the Bank wants to do. It happened because pensions funds that invest in those bonds, or “gilts”, were suddenly facing a collapse in their value, because markets are so sceptical of the government’s economic plan.
Meanwhile, almost 1,000 mortgage packages have been pulled from the British market. For more coverage of this story, take a look at this straightforward explainer, this analysis of the (terrible) choices facing Truss, and this warning from economics editor Larry Elliott that – although markets calmed overnight in response to the Bank’s plans – the Bank may still have to do even more.
This morning, Liz Truss will finally make her first public comments in days in a series of local BBC radio interviews. You can follow it all on the home page – and we’ll keep bringing you the latest in First Edition in the days ahead. But the UK isn’t the only country convulsed by crisis, and in today’s newsletter, we’re looking at a very different story: the extraordinary protests that have taken over Iran. That’s right after the headlines.
PS – one other thing: tonight, we’re holding a live panel discussion about the war in Ukraine with the Guardian and Observer’s senior international affairs correspondent Emma Graham-Harrison and Russia expert and former diplomat Nigel Gould-Davies. We’d love you to join us here at 7pm (BST) for First Edition Live – and hit reply to send in a question for Emma and Nigel.
Five big stories
Politics | Downing Street is resisting pressure to recall parliament, with Liz Truss being accused of going into hiding amid serious economic uncertainty. Opposition leaders said it was unacceptable that the Commons would not sit for almost two weeks.
Ukraine | Norway’s prime minister has said its military will be more visible at oil and gas installations as politicians across Europe warned the suspected sabotage of two Nord Stream pipelines could herald a new stage of hybrid warfare. Russia denies claims it was behind damage to the pipelines.
Music | Grammy-winning rapper Coolio, whose real name is Artis Leon Ivey Jr, died at 59 in Los Angeles, his manager has confirmed.
Aviation | More than 5,000 empty passenger flights have flown to or from UK airports since 2019, the Guardian can reveal. A further 35,000 commercial flights have operated almost empty since 2019, with fewer than 10% of seats filled, making a total of about 40,000 “ghost flights”.
UK news | A police officer has been cleared of assaulting former footballer Dalian Atkinson during an incident in which he was killed. Mary Ellen Bettley-Smith, who struck Atkinson with her baton three times, was cleared of assault. Last year another officer, Benjamin Monk, who Tasered Atkinson, was found guilty of manslaughter.
In depth: ‘The legitimacy of the regime is under question’
Mahsa Amini was visiting Tehran with her family when she was stopped by morality police, enforcers of the Iranian government’s conservative rules on how women should dress. Despite protests from her family, she was driven to a detention centre. Officials reported that within hours Amini was admitted to hospital “without any vital signs and brain-dead”. Three days later she was pronounced dead.
Authorities have attributed Amini’s death to underlying health conditions, but her family and protesters across Iran believe she was beaten and tortured. News of her death triggered national outrage, with protests spreading to as many as 80 cities. Seventy-six people have reportedly been killed and thousands more arrested, and the Iranian government has restricted the use of the internet and social media.
But despite the Iranian governments attempts to quash dissent, more and more people from all over the world are joining in their condemnation of state repression. British-Iranian national Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, who was jailed by the Iranian government for six years, filmed herself cutting her hair in solidarity (pictured below). For many Iranian women, cutting off their hair is a radical act of protest that symbolises a rejection of the social rules that decree they must hide it in Iran.
I spoke to Chowra Makaremi, a researcher at the French National Centre for Scientific Research in Paris, about what these extraordinary scenes of dissent that have been exploding across the country tell us about the future of Iran.
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Protest in Iran
The Iranian government has been effective at quashing protests in the past. In 2009, when accusations of a rigged election brought millions of people to the streets, the military opened fire on the crowds. Dozens died, thousands were arrested and there were reports of torture and rape against dissidents. In 2019, protests against rising oil prices were met with an even more brutal response –– according to Reuters, 1,500 people were killed by the Revolutionary Guards.
While things could change, this time around the crackdowns on the protests have not been as severe. “It’s important to note that the Revolutionary Guards have not yet been deployed,” Makaremi says. This is unusual considering the radical nature of what is happening, however – unlike in previous protests – there is a unifying political demand. This is not to say that the government is sitting idle – Iran launched a cross-border airstrike into northern Iraq in response to Kurdish support for the demonstrations. As many as 13 people were killed.
“People are chanting death to the dictator – the legitimacy of the regime has been put under question,” Makaremi explains. The protests have brought together the most diverse group of dissidents yet, because of economic and political problems impacting the whole country.
“The Iranian people have been suffering economically because of sanctions,” Makaremi says, “and this economic pressure has been compounded with the Covid-19 pandemic, which has exacerbated unemployment.” An ailing economy, rampant political corruption and strict social rules have brought all kinds of Iranians together against the government led by Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
“The demonstrators have also adapted to the constraints of full repression,” Makaremi says. Instead of organising huge demonstrations in the capital, protesters have opted to participate in small demonstrations across the country, which spreads police resources thin.
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The demands
Iranian citizens are not willing to settle for anything less than a regime change and an end to theocracy in Iran. While past demands have often been for reforms – because demanding a new government could lead to death – it looks as though many have concluded they have nothing else to lose. “This is a red line in Iran,” Makaremi says. “There are red lines not to cross because you will be met with death, [but now] the curtain of fear seems to have totally disappeared.”
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The outcomes
Information about the protests is patchy at best – international onlookers can see little more than short videos of protests and fuzzy images of streets on fire. Isolating civilians from the rest of the world through the partial shutdown of the internet could be a way to reinstate fear and indicate the possibility of another massacre. However, protesters are aware of the risks and are gearing up for a second phase. “On Monday, the education sector declared a nationwide strike – more than 15 universities [along with] students and professors joined,” Makaremi says.
Business owners in cities with large Kurdish populations have also staged a general strike, despite warnings from the authorities. Iranian oil workers have warned that they will join, too, if the government does not end its crackdown on protesters. This would be a huge blow to the regime as it would put the Iranian economy at a standstill; there is also a political awareness that it was the oil sector that triggered the revolutionary momentum in 1979. However, many experts have cautioned against predictions of regime change, as it is too early to tell what might come next in such a volatile situation.
Whatever happens in Iran, it is clear there has been a significant, perhaps irreversible, fracture between the state and the people it is supposed to govern. As one example, Makaremi points to a photo she saw of two women eating breakfast at a cafe in a popular neighbourhood in Tehran, without their hijabs. “I wonder how this kind of ordinary day to day subversion will transform society,” she says.
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Have you got a question about the war in Ukraine?
At 7pm (BST) tonight First Edition Live returns for its second event, with Archie and Nimo in discussion with the Guardian’s Emma Graham-Harrison and Nigel Gould-Davies from the International Institute for Strategic Studies. Tune in here or on theguardian.com.
Send your questions to first.edition@theguardian.com, or just hit reply to this email.
What else we’ve been reading
Aditya Chakrabortty finds some good jokes in the current economic crisis (particularly the one about Chris Philp). But his reflections on the catastrophe unleashed by Truss and Kwarteng are above all an indictment of an “entirely avoidable” nightmare created by free-market thinktanks, their allies in Downing Street and the newspapers that helped get them there. Archie
George Monbiot’s piece reflecting on the importance of covering the climate crisis vociferously is a sobering reminder of the consequences of ignoring it. If you’re able, please help to support urgent, independent climate journalism today. Archie
Andrew Downie spoke to Erika Hilton, who looks set to make history as Brazil’s first trans member of parliament. For Hilton, the goal is simple: “I want to lift this country up.” Nimo
Zoe Williams has done many intrepid things over her journalistic career, but getting Botox as part of a story on its rapid rise is definitely high on the list. “I now genuinely can’t frown,” she notes. “All I can do is kind of wiggle my eyebrows, like a children’s entertainer.” Archie
After a two-decade legal battle, the Israeli supreme court ruled earlier this year that 1,000 Palestinians can be evicted from an area of the West Bank. Bethan McKernan and Quique Kierszenbaum reveal the devastating after effects on the community who lives there. Nimo
Sport
Cricket | Pakistan successfully defended a below-par total to beat England by six runs in the fifth Twenty20 on Wednesday.
Football | Tottenham forward Richarlison believes racism will continue “every day and everywhere” unless punishment is handed out after a banana was thrown at him during Brazil’s friendly win over Tunisia in Paris on Tuesday.
Football | Arsenal edged into the Women’s Champions League group stage, a goal from the Super League record scorer Vivianne Miedema earning the team a feisty 1-0 away win against Ajax, 3-2 on aggregate.
The front pages
The central bank’s emergency action to protect pension funds dominates front pages. The Financial Times leads with “Bank of England unleashes £65bn bid to avert crisis in debt markets” and the Guardian has “Bank’s £65bn scramble to avert financial crisis”. The Telegraph says “Pension funds crisis forces £65bn bailout by Bank” while the Express goes with “Bank’s £65bn to protect pensions in day of turmoil”.
The i newspaper says “Emergency help from Bank saves pensions – with public sector cuts to follow”. The Mirror runs the subheading “Britain on the brink” above its splash “Blunder Truss”. The Sun’s subhead reads “Kwasi’s disaster-hit mini budget” and the headline “Squeaky fund time”.
The Mail points to “Financial markets turmoil” coverage inside the paper while splashing on “Prison X-ray finds phone hidden in Lawrence’s killer’s body”.
Today in Focus
How one woman’s death ignited protests in Iran
Journalist Negar Mortazavi tells Michael Safi why Mahsa Amini’s death has sparked such grief and anger in Iran. Raha Bahreini, a human rights lawyer at Amnesty International, speaks to protesters who have been on the streets.
The Upside
A bit of good news to remind you that the world’s not all bad
An experimental drug has slowed the rate of decline in memory and thinking in people with early Alzheimer’s disease in what is being described as a “historic moment” for dementia treatment. The cognition of Alzheimer’s patients given the drug declined by 27% less than those on a placebo treatment after 18 months. This is a modest change in clinical outcome – but it is the first time any drug has been clearly shown to alter the disease’s trajectory.
“This is a historic moment for dementia research, as this is the first phase 3 trial of an Alzheimer’s drug in a generation to successfully slow cognitive decline,” said Dr Susan Kohlhaas, the director of research at Alzheimer’s Research UK. “Many people feel Alzheimer’s is an inevitable part of ageing. This spells it out: if you intervene early you can make an impact on how people progress.”
Sign up here for a weekly roundup of The Upside, sent to you every Sunday
Bored at work?
And finally, the Guardian’s crosswords to keep you entertained throughout the day – with plenty more on the Guardian’s Puzzles app for iOS and Android. Until tomorrow.
