Five things you need to know: More than a third of UK bank branches closed since 2015

Plus, Thunberg gives UN speech, airlines accused of Thomas Cook price gouging, Johnson backs Tump over Iran deal and obesity not just down to willpower.

By New Statesman

More than a third of UK bank branches closed since 2015

More than a third of the UK’s bank branches have closed since 2015, with many more reducing their opening hours. According to a report by consumer organisation Which?, 3,303 branches have closed since January 2015, with most belonging to the big four banks Royal Bank of Scotland Group, Barclays, HSBC and Lloyds Banking Group.

Airlines accused of price gouging over Thomas Cook

Passengers and holidaymakers have expressed surprise over the rising cost of flights amid the collapse of travel operator Thomas Cook. Those searching for flights told the BBC that in some cases prices had more than tripled, however analysts said the increase was simply the result of pricing responding to high demand.

Thunberg delivers stinging rebuke to world leaders over climate

Greta Thunberg delivered an impassioned speech to the United Nations summit on Monday accusing world leaders of a betrayal over climate change. She told the summit: “You are still not mature enough to tell it like it is. You are failing us. But the young people are starting to understand your betrayal.” US president Donald Trump appeared to mock the 16-year-old saying she seemed “very happy”.

Johnson backs Trump in calling Iran nuclear agreement a “bad deal”

Boris Johnson has sought to emphasise his ties to US president Donald Trump by labelling the agreement with Iran designed to curtail its development of nuclear capability a “bad deal”. Trump pulled out of the deal last year, and Johnson told NBC: “The reality is, as President Trump rightly said, it was a bad deal. It had many defects. Iran was and is behaving disruptively in the region.” However, UK insisted that the UK government remained committed to upholding the agreement.

Obesity not down to just willpower, says report

Obesity cannot simply be blamed on a lack of willpower and we should change how we talk about and treat those with obesity to be more supportive according to a group of leading psychologists. According a new report by the British Psychological Society: “The people who are most likely to be an unhealthy weight are those who have a high genetic risk of developing obesity and whose lives are also shaped by work, school and social environments that promote overeating and inactivity.”