Ten Things You Need to Know Today: Sunday 21 Apr 2019

1. Labour must pledge second vote warns Tom Watson

Tom Watson says Labour must promise another Brexit referendum to counteract the electoral challenge posed by Nigel Farage. Writing in The Observer, Labour’s deputy leader said his party could not “sit on the fence” on the issue. However, the former leader of UKIP said a new referendum would be “a total insult” to five million Labour Leave voters.

2. Ulster detective says new breed of terrorist is emerging

A new breed of terrorist is emerging in Northern Ireland, warns the detective leading the hunt for Lyra McKee’s killers. “What we are seeing is a new breed of terrorist coming through the ranks and that for me is a very worrying situation,” said Det Supt Jason Murphy of the PSNI. Police have arrested two teenagers in connection with the murder of the journalist in Derry.

3. Courtiers plan to send Harry and Meghan to Africa

Royal courtiers plan to hand the Duke and Duchess of Sussex a major international job that could see them moving abroad after the birth of their child, reports The Sunday Times. Prince Harry’s advisers plan a “bespoke” role for the royal “rock stars”, combining work on behalf of the Commonwealth along with charity work and a role promoting Britain. Africa is believed to be the most likely destination.

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4. Dozens dead in bomb attacks on churches in Sri Lanka

At least 30 people have been killed and 280 injured after a series of blasts struck three churches and three hotels in Sri Lanka. A security official said at least two of the church attacks are suspected to have been carried out by suicide bombers. Sky News' Asia correspondent Tom Cheshire said the available evidence “suggests a coordinated, targeted attack on Christians”.

5. Britain enjoys sweltering Bank Holiday weekend

Britain basked in the hottest day of the year so far on Saturday, and the hottest Easter bank holiday weekend for 70 years, as the temperature reached a high of 25.5C (77.9F). It is expected to be even warmer on Monday, reaching 27C. It is forecast that the hottest spots in the UK will be warmer than most of Europe, Algeria and Morocco.

6. Study finds breached accounts had guessable passwords

A new study has found that millions of people are using easy-to-guess passwords on sensitive accounts. The UK's National Cyber Security Centre says that “123456” was the most widely-used password on breached accounts. Others included “qwerty”, “password” and “1111111”. The group said: “Nobody should protect sensitive data with something that can be guessed.”

7. Riot police use tear gas on yellow vest activists in Paris

Riot police and protesters fought bitter battles in the centre of Paris as gilets jaunes anti-government demonstrators led new demonstrations against “a crisis” of high taxes and economic inequality. Riot police unleashed tear gas at the yellow vest protesters on the 23rd consecutive weekend of demonstrations in the French capital.

8. Blair says migrants should do more to integrate

Migrants should be forced to do more to integrate to help combat the rise of “far-right bigotry”, Tony Blair has argued. The former PM complained that successive leaders had “failed to find the right balance between diversity and integration”, and that multiculturalism has been abused to justify a “refusal to integrate”. He says: “Government cannot and should not be neutral on this question.”

9. Child refugee numbers in Calais are soaring say charities

The number of child refugees in Calais hoping to get to the UK has soared amid warnings that conditions at the border are reaching “breaking point”. According to charities, hundreds of unaccompanied minors are sleeping rough on the northern French coast, with numbers almost doubling in the past three months. Maddy Allen, field manager at Help Refugees, said: “It looks like a prison.”

10. Theresa May says UK must stand up for all religions

Theresa May says the UK “must stand up for the right of everyone” to practise their faith in peace. In a message for Easter, the Prime Minister said for many Christians “simple acts of faith can bring huge danger”. In his Easter message, Jeremy Corbyn has compared Jesus' experiences to the challenges currently facing some refugees. He said: “The refugee crisis is a moral test. Jesus taught us to respect refugees.”