Author: Tim Walker / Source: the Guardian
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Good morning, I’m Tim Walker with today’s essential stories.
OxyContin accused of causing ‘worst drug crisis in US history’
A group consisting of more than 500 American cities, counties and tribes has filed a lawsuit against eight members of the Sackler family, the owners of Purdue Pharma, accusing them of helping to fuel the opioids epidemic, which now kills approximately 49,000 people in the US each year.
Purdue manufactures OxyContin, the drug that has become emblematic of what the lawsuit calls “the worst drug crisis in American history”.-
Arts funding. The Tate group of British art galleries, which includes Tate Modern, has said it will no longer accept donations from the Sackler family, who are major financial contributors to the arts.
Indonesian airline cancels Boeing order amid safety concerns
Indonesia’s national airline, Garuda, has cancelled a $4.9bn order for 49 of Boeing’s 737 Max 8 jets, citing a loss of passenger confidence in the plane following two deadly crashes in the space of six months. It has also emerged that both the Lion Air flight crashed near Jakarta in October and the Ethiopian Airlines aircraft that crashed on its way to Nairobi last week were missing two optional safety features. Boeing will now reportedly make at least one of those features compulsory.
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Loss of trust. Garuda has already received one of its total order for 50 737 Max 8 planes, but may return it. Ikhsan Rosan, a spokesman for Garuda, said passengers had “lost trust” in the model.
Report: Oil firms spend $200m a year to block climate policy
The five largest stock market-listed oil and gas firms are spending close to $200m every year to lobby against climate change policy, according to a new report by InfluenceMap. Global energy giants including ExxonMobil, BP, Chevron, Total and Shell have started spending significant amounts on social media advertising to promote their agenda.
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Carbon tax blocked. BP donated $13m to a campaign, also supported by Chevron, which prevented the introduction of a carbon tax in Washington state, including $1m spent on social media.
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EU pushback. ExxonMobil could lose its lobby privileges at the European parliament after failing to attend a hearing on…
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