The infamous Photo of the Week depicting UK Premier Keir Starmer at a garden ceremony is not what it seems. Instead of a joyous celebration, Starmer might be longing for happier moments given the tumultuous state of Labour and its inherited problems.
Adapting his message from the classic Labour anthem ‘Things Can Only Get Better’, the Prime Minister chose a more straightforward approach: “Things can only get worse.” He further highlighted that the situation is significantly worse than anticipated, citing a profound deterioration in the core structure and a staggering financial deficit of £22 billion or €26 million.
Starmer contends that Labour, in a mere seven weeks, has accomplished more in repairing structural issues than the Tories achieved in seven years of governance. His sojourn in Downing Street’s Rose Garden was brief; he quickly departed for Germany to recalibrate UK-EU relations without necessitating re-entry into the Union.
A departure from the conventional transport used by his forerunner, Rishi Sunak, saw Starmer relinquishing the UK government’s helicopter contract. This move drew pleas for a similar action from the royal family, creating a delicate predicament.
Meanwhile, an unprecedented situation unfolded for 300 people who bought inexpensive first-class tickets due to a glitch in Qantas’s system. However, the Australian carrier is now offering either refunds or downgrades to business class tickets. The discounts given to Qantas customers ranged up to 85% off standard first-class fares. As the airline admits, the offer was too good to be valid, and resulted in casualties of approximately €3,000.
The mistakenly priced return flights would have cost the purchasers in Euros, offering passengers not only a round trip, but also complimentary whiskey and Champagne, a menu full of a la carte options, and luxurious comfort in the form of a memory foam mattress and an array of pillows to choose from.
Highlighting the Crew Dragon
Regrettably, Astronauts Sunita Williams, also known as ‘Suni’, and Barry Wilmore, famously known as ‘Butch’, embarked upon a journey to the International Space Station on the Boeing Starliner this past June. The trip, originally anticipating a stay of approximately one week, has extended their cosmic residence until February 2025. This extension seemed probable from the initial flight and was indeed discussed in this column. The cause – Boeing’s lack of readiness for off-planet human experiences and the unavoidable obstacles encountered by Starliner during its journey.
Comparatively, SpaceX, backed by billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk, has seen great success so far, launching nine crewed missions to outer-space through the use of Crew Dragon, praised by one expert as the most dependable spacecraft available. This spacecraft is programmed to retrieve Williams and Wilmore next year. However, SpaceX’s consistent achievements and growing monopoly over the cosmic economy continues to bring unease among politics, causing a rift between the interests of Musk and the White House.
Introduction to: Highest earning tennis players
With the precedent of the US Open, Forbes magazine has updated its list of the top-earning tennis players. Despite a significant drop in the collective cumulative earnings from $343 million in 2020 to $246 million over the last twelve months, the players featuring in the top ten are certainly not financially struggling.
5. Jannik Sinner: This exceptional Italian player claimed victory at his first Grand Slam at the Australian open earlier in the year, leading to his cumulative earnings of $26.6 million. He simultaneously faced and overcame accusations of doping with two cleared drug tests.
4. Iga Swiatek: Even though the world number one from Poland, and five time Grand Slam holder, earned more prize money than Coco Gauff, who is in third place, her endorsements are relatively humble – nonetheless, she has an estimated earning of $26.7 million.
3. Coco Gauff: This beloved 20-year-old US Open champion of last year is extremely popular among American sponsors, amassing to a total earning of $27.1 million.
The eminent Grand Slam victor Novak Djokovic, with his impressive 24 wins, amassed $37.2 million. However, his newly bestowed Olympic gold medal is likely of greater value to him. In the lead, however, is Carlos Alcaraz. Despite his tender age of 21, the four-time Grand Slam winner’s earnings over the past annum have reached the lofty sum of $42.3 million, which likely accounts for his constant grin. Well, for the most part at least.