PRESS REVIEW – Tuesday, June 23: This Tuesday marks 10 years since millions of British people voted for Brexit. The milestone comes one day after Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s tearful resignation. Also, the internet goes crazy for “hot podium guy”, a handsome sound engineer who sets up the lectern in front of 10 Downing Street for each big announcement. Indian leader Narendra Modi inaugurates three new Indian-made naval vessels in a move seeking to counter China’s growing influence. Finally, a new statue in honour of Lionel Messi is ridiculed as a “Temu” of Messi statues!
There are lots of reactions in the press after British Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s tearful resignation speech on Monday. The beleaguered Starmer “bowed out”, conceding that he was “no longer the right man to lead the country”, the Guardian says on its front page. It comes amid bittersweet timing: this Tuesday marks 10 years since the Brexit referendum. As Starmer finally falls on his sword, the pro-Brexit Daily Express calls on politicians to finally believe in Brexit and deliver the will of the people. The anti-Brexit paper Daily Mirror reminds readers that during his time in office, Starmer stood up to US President Donald Trump, lifted half a million children out of poverty and protected workers and renters. In the end, a decent man tried his best in an impossible job, it says sympathetically.
Six prime ministers have come and gone in just under 10 years. However, the internet is going crazy for a man who seems to be a constant presence every time a British prime minister resigns. The Times refers to “hot podium guy” or “HPG”, aka Tobias Gough. He is a sound engineer from Kent who appears to set up the podium each time a big announcement is made from 10 Downing Street. As Katie Glass writes lustily: “Heaving that familiar wooden lectern, he looked like a cross between a choirboy and a Chippendale” with “muscular arms powerful enough to reach across any political divide”.
We stay in the UK for this next story: an HR consultant has won a court case using an AI law firm in what is being called a first for the legal world. The Guardian reports that a freelance HR consultant Tamires Camal Taquidir paid an AI firm to send a legal letter and issue court proceedings pertaining to a £7,000 debt. Garfield AI, the firm, has approval by the solicitors’ regulation authority to make claims of up to £10,000. The firm prepared witness statements and documents for trial. It then sent a human lawyer to advocate in court. The AI firm says that their services will help small businesses who opt out of recovering debts for fear of the high cost of legal fees.
India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated three new naval vessels at the weekend, in a clear attempt to rival China’s growing influence in the region. The Indian Express reports that Modi inducted three new naval vessels made and designed in India during a visit to Kolkata on Sunday, saying that India is no longer just a buyer but also manufacturer and seller of modern weapons. For The Daily Telegraph, the vessels reveal how India is preparing to defend an increasingly contested Indian Ocean. The so-called Chinese String of Pearls are a network of commercial ports and naval infrastructure – the ports stretch from Gwadar in Pakistan to Djibouti in East Africa. In terms of vessel numbers, China’s PLA navy is the largest in the world. Modi’s new ships aim to monitor, deter and if it comes to it, confront China’s naval fleet.
Finally, in football news: he is now the best goal scorer in the history of the World Cup, but Lionel Messi has been honoured with a not-so-flattering statue! On the weekend, in Argentina, a 26-metre statue of Messi weighing 70 tonnes was inaugurated. Sadly, it failed to impress, with some calling it the Temu version of Messi. If it’s any consolation, attempts to honour fellow football legend Cristiano Ronaldo in Portugal in 2017 at Madeira airport also was ridiculed. It seems that you have only succeeded when someone makes a terrible statue in your honour!
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