Ten Things You Need to Know Today: Friday 10 May 2019

1. Trump goes ahead with China tariff increase

US President Donald Trump has continued his trade war with China by today raising tariffs on thousands of Chinese imports from 10% to 25%, after last-minute talks between the two nations failed. China said it “deeply” regretted Trump’s decision to escalate the trade conflict and warned that it would announce countermeasures.

2. WikiLeaks source Manning released from jail

Former US army intelligence analyst and whistle-blower Chelsea Manning has been released after 62 days in prison in Kentucky. Manning was jailed for refusing to testify to an inquiry into WikiLeaks, the website to which she passed 700,000 confidential US files in 2010. She will appear before a grand jury on 16 May.

3. Rapist convicted after victim records confession

A 23-year-old man has been jailed for four years at Newcastle Crown Court for raping his then girlfriend while she slept, it has emerged. Haydon Davis-Patton pleaded guilty last month after Jade Bailey-Reeks went to police with a phone recording she made days later in which he admitted the attack. Bailey-Reeks, 21, feared she would not be believed without evidence.

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4. Comic Freddie Starr found dead at 76

Stand-up comic Freddie Starr has been found dead at the age of 76 at his Costa Del Sol villa. The Liverpudlian always denied there was any truth to the famous Sun newspaper story headlined “Freddie Starr Ate My Hamster”. He was arrested for historic sex offences in 2012 but was never charged, though he lost a defamation claim.

5. Charities refuse Tommy Robinson salary offer

A coalition of charities has rejected an offer by far-right politician Tommy Robinson to donate his MEP salary to help victims of grooming gangs in northern England if he is elected. The former BNP member, real name Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, is standing in this month’s European elections as an independent candidate.

6. New research centre to look at climate change

Scientists in Cambridge are setting up a new research centre to look at radical technological solutions to the crisis of man-made climate change. The centre will investigate ideas including re-freezing the Earth’s poles and mechanically extracting C02 from the atmosphere. It is the first initiative of its kind in the worlds, the BBC says.

7. Fake heiress Anna Sorokin gets 12 years

A court case that has fascinated the US for its glimpse into the high life of New York City has concluded with fake heiress Anna Sorokin being sentenced to up to 12 years in jail for defrauding hotels, restaurants, banks and a private jet company out of more than $200,000 (£154,000). During her trial, the 28-year-old German was admonished for throwing tantrums about her outfits.

8. Penis extensions ‘don’t work’, doctors say

Less than 20% of men who have had procedures to enlarge their penises are satisfied with the results, researchers have found. Doctors and psychologists at King’s College London who analysed data on 1,192 enlargement procedures, each costing up to £40,000, said they should “almost never be done” and had left the patients scarred physically and emotionally.

9. Amazon billionaire unveils moon lander

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos yesterday unveiled a mock-up of a lunar lander that the tycoon says should be ready to carry equipment and humans to the south pole of the Moon by 2024. The unmanned vehicle will be able to launch satellites to orbit the Moon and will be reusable, according to Bezos, the richest person in the world.

10. Briefing: what WikiLeaks revealed

WikiLeaks has gained worldwide renown by publishing classified documents on everything from the film industry to national security since the whistle-blowing website was founded in 2006.

So what has it revealed? The Week rounds up some of the biggest stories.

What WikiLeaks revealed