UK - Politika i društvo

The UK has officially entered recession, official figures show.
A recession is defined as two consecutive three-month periods where the economy contracts rather than grows.
A major measure of economic growth, gross domestic product (GDP) shrank 0.3% between October and December, the latest Office for National Statistics data shows. It's a steeper fall than expected by economists (they'd predicted 0.1%).

Rishi Sunak said he was confident that the British economy had turned a corner just the day before it was revealed that the UK is in a recession pic.twitter.com/w0FU4eRr7p

— PoliticsJOE (@PoliticsJOE_UK) February 15, 2024

Labour overturned majorities of more than 18,000 and 11,000 to win the two seats, seemingly leaving Rishi Sunak staring down the barrel of a major defeat whenever the general election arrives. (...)

this government has seen the most by-election losses of any Conservative administration since the Second World War.

A group of children convince David Cameron to eat ‘edible grass’ during his trip to the Falkland Islands, which they all refuse to eat when he offers to share (2024) pic.twitter.com/YHmzGJUxCq

— insane moments in british politics (@PoliticsMoments) February 21, 2024

New Ipsos poll for the Evening Standard

Lab 47%
Con 20%
LD 9%
Green 8%
Reform 8%

Lowest Tory % ever recorded in an Ipsos poll going back to the start of their regular polling in 1978.https://t.co/vY0bdMLDGP

— Sam Freedman (@Samfr) March 4, 2024

U.K. ROYALS
Photo agencies issue removal notice on first photo released of Kate, Princess of Wales, since abdominal surgery
In the photo, which the palace said was taken by Prince William, Kate is seen smiling while posing with their children, Princes George and Louis and Princess Charlotte.

After Kensington Palace on Sunday released the first photo of Kate, Princess of Wales, since she had unspecified abdominal surgery in January, multiple photo agencies are putting out notices not to use the photo, with one noting "the source" may have "manipulated" the image.

The Associated Press, Reuters, Getty Images and Agence France-Presse have all issued "kill notices" on the photo for similar reasons, according to messages on their imaging websites and email notifications from some of the agencies. 

A "kill notice" is an advisory to remove or not use a photo.

Kensington Palace did not immediately reply to a request for comment.

“It appears that the source has manipulated the image,” the AP said in its notification. 

“The Associated Press initially published the photo, which was issued by Kensington Palace,” the agency said in a statement. “The AP later retracted the image because at closer inspection, it appears that the source had manipulated the image in a way that did not meet AP’s photo standards. The photo shows an inconsistency in the alignment of Princess Charlotte’s left hand.”

AFP cited an “editorial issue” with the photo in the notice on its site, while Getty Images said, “For editorial reasons, please remove the following image(s) from your system and do not use in any manner.” 

Reuters noted that the photo “has been withdrawn following a post publication review.” 

Getty Images, Reuters and AFP did not immediately reply to requests for comment.

Since the photo was released early Sunday morning, sleuths on X have questioned its authenticity, pointing to what appear to be wonky-looking body parts and blurred edges that don’t appear to be real. 

Kensington Palace posted the photo on the Prince and Princess of Wales’ X account and said in an email it was taken in Windsor last week. It remained on the social media sites Sunday evening.

The photo, which the palace said was taken by Prince William, shows Kate smiling while posing with their children, Princes George and Louis and Princess Charlotte.

“Thank you for your kind wishes and continued support over the last two months,” the photo caption said. “Wishing everyone a Happy Mother’s Day.” Mother’s Day is on Sunday in the United Kingdom.

The message was signed off by a “C.”

Kate, 42, was hospitalized for almost two weeks in January to undergo abdominal surgery for unspecified reasons, and Kensington Palace said she would step back from official royal duties entirely until at least after Easter. The lack of explanation for her surgery and subsequent long recovery have led to widespread speculation and a slew of online conspiracy theories.

Many began circulating images of when Kate reportedly was last photographed by British tabloids, on Christmas Day.

pic.twitter.com/KQJSGtHSqu

— David KC (@DavidMuttering) March 10, 2024