How troubles can suddenly escalate

SUNAK FINDS OUT THAT GOVERNING IS HARD

Rishi Sunak's political honeymoon was never going to be something that had poetic qualities. The first millennial UK prime minister was given the benefit of the doubt by many for stopping the slide into chaos that marked the last days of both his predecessors.

Now some reoccurring troubles are dogging the prime minister, not least the issue of how he reconciles his wealthy family status with the mundane stipulations that the UK places on its governing class.

As Thomas Harding argues, it is a tough week for Mr Sunak, who is grappling with the Brexit legacy in Northern Ireland and an ethics probe into his own finances. A shareholding by his wife in an outfit called Koru Kids was not registered and officials are looking at how this can be justified when government policy on widening access to kindergartens for toddlers will boost the business. Mr Sunak has said he has done nothing wrong in not updating the register

The prime minister is braced for trouble later in the week when the findings of an investigations into bullying allegations against deputy prime minister Dominic Raab are presented. Mr Raab, who is also justice secretary, has stated that he will resign if he is found to have bullied staff.

The effort to address online harm with new legislation has also proved to be something of a minefield, with various people saying the Online Harms Bill is not fit for purpose. The tsunami of fraud in the UK, which dominates crime statistics at the moment, is one facet where the measures are deemed to fall short of adequate or effective.

Not deterred, Mr Sunak has told the cabinet that he wants Britain at the forefront of the AI revolution. Ministers chimed in that the UK must regulate to innovate.

SUDAN DOMINATES THE NEWS

Walk around the streets not far from Westminster and Big Ben's chimes and there are many people you'll pass with a Sudanese background. It's a troubling time for these people far away from the turmoil in Khartoum. Efforts at mediation in the dispute are continuing and there are many voices calling for a ceasefire.

Foreign Secretary James Cleverly has joined his counterparts on the Quad — Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, the United States and the United Kingdom — in working hard for a standstill from the competing generals, army chief and military ruler Gen Abdel Fattah Al Burhan and commander of the powerful paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) Gen Mohamed Dagalo.

The stakes are high and hundreds have already died.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO US

It would be remiss of me not to bring you news of The National's milestone marking 15 years as a news institution. The event was celebrated earlier in the week in our Abu Dhabi head office and included the dozens of journalists based around the world under our masthead. Not least yours truly and the fine team of reporters and video journalists based in London.

We reflected on the journey from a launch with the printing press very much to the fore to the digital frontiers we scale every day.

Looking to the future was very much the theme of the gathering and a new graduate trainee scheme was launched.