Ten Things You Need to Know Today: Wednesday 15 May 2019

1. MPs to vote on May’s Brexit deal in June

Theresa May has said she will put her Brexit deal to a fourth vote in the Commons in the week beginning 3 June, regardless of whether she has secured Labour’s backing through cross-party talks. The prime minister met with opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn last night to discuss Brexit, a meeting that No. 10 described afterwards as “both useful and constructive”.

2. Amnesty plan for prosecution of military veterans

Defence Secretary Penny Mordaunt has said she will introduce an amnesty for alleged crimes committed in battle more than ten years ago by British service personnel in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere – excluding Northern Ireland. The decision to omit NI will be controversial with the right-wing of Mordaunt’s party.

3. Cooking fry-ups ‘major source of air pollution’

Frying food and using wood-burning stones may turn homes into “toxic boxes” with high levels of air pollution trapped inside, campaigners are warning. Case studies of four homes commissioned by environmental charity Global Action Plan found that ultrafine particle pollution was higher inside all of the properties than outside.

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4. Ebola: ‘terrifying’ epidemic out of control

Health experts and aid workers are warning that a “terrifying” outbreak of Ebola in a war-torn part of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) could be as grave as the epidemic that devastated West Africa between 2013 and 2016. More than 1,600 people have been infected with the virus in the North Kivu region since August.

5. Phone users to be alerted when contract ends

Ofcom is bringing in measures announced last year that mean providers of broadband, pay television, mobile phones and landlines must now tell their customers when their contracts have ended – and let them know of the best alternative deals available. The watchdog says 20 million people have stuck to deals unnecessarily.

6. Alabama to ban abortion even in rape cases

The state Senate of Alabama voted yesterday by 25 to six in favour of a total ban on abortion, even in cases of rape or incest – although terminations will be allowed if the mother’s life is at stake. The state governor, Republican Kay Ivey, will now decide whether the proposal should become law. She is strongly opposed to abortion.

7. San Francisco to axe facial recognition tech

Officials in San Francisco have voted to ban the use of facial recognition technology by city authorities including police, on the grounds that it is unreliable and infringes civil liberties. Those opposed to the ban say it will hinder crime-fighting and endanger citizens. Several police forces in the UK have been trialling the controversial tech.

8. Cannes jury head decries anti-immigration leaders

The Cannes Film Festival opened yesterday, with Mexican director Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu using his platform as the president of this year’s jury to attack the anti-immigration rhetoric of US President Donald Trump and other leaders. Inarritu did not name Trump but said world leaders are ruling with “rage and anger and lies”.

9. Australia through to Eurovision final

Australia and Iceland are among the first nations to qualify for the final of this year’s Eurovision Song Contest, following the first day of semi-finals in Tel Aviv. Australia’s Kate Miller-Heidke was voted through after performing a rock opera song while balancing on a long pole. Pro-Palestinian activists have called for the contest to be boycotted over the choice of Israel as the venue.

10. Briefing: what’s happening in Sudan?

Sudan’s former president Omar al-Bashir has been charged “with inciting and participating” in the killing of protesters during mass demonstrations last month that triggered the end of his decades-long rule.

The announcement comes in the wake of fresh clashes in the capital of Khartoum on Monday, between protestors and the new ruling military forces. So how did it all unfold?

What’s happening in Sudan?