Ten Things You Need to Know Today: Thursday 16 May 2019

1. Probation to be renationalised following privatisation failings

The partial privatisation of the National Probation Service is to be undone, just five years after a disastrous shake-up by then-justice secretary Chris Grayling. The National Audit Office has reported that problems with the project have cost taxpayers nearly £500m. Critics say the partial outsourcing of the service, which monitors offenders following their release from prison in England and Wales, was rushed through by Grayling.

2. British military clashes with Pentagon over Iran

Britain’s military has disagreed publicly with its close allies in the US over the threat allegedly posed by Iran. The US has mobilised an aircraft carrier and bombers and is pulling out diplomatic staff from Iraq, saying there is a danger of attacks by militias. But the MoD has backed a British general who said there was “no increased threat”.

3. Trump declares national emergency over Huawei

US President Donald Trump has declare a national emergency of cyberattacks from “foreign adversaries”, in a clear strike against Chinese tech firm Huawei. Trump’s new executive order bars US companies from using foreign telecoms systems believed to pose a security risk. There is concern over Huawei’s closeness to China’s government.

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4. May under fire for timing of fourth Brexit vote

Theresa May is under pressure to clarify exactly when she plans to hold a fourth Commons vote on her Brexit deal. The Government has said that the vote will take place in the week of 3 June, but Donald Trump will be visiting the UK during that period, and a series of events will also be taking place to mark the 75th anniversary of the World War Two D-Day landings.

5. Drivers to pay £100 for ignoring lane closures

UK drivers will be fined £100 for ignoring lane closures on so-called smart motorways from this summer. The new sections of road operate without a hard shoulder, instead using electronic overhead signs to tell drivers when a lane is closed. Highways England currently issues around 1,500 warning letters to offenders each week.

6. Labour plan to fit solar panels to almost two million homes

Labour will today reveal plans fit solar panels to the roofs of 1.75 million council-owned homes, or low-income homes, in order to combat climate change, create work and lower energy bills. Party leader Jeremy Corbyn will announce the scheme, part of Labour’s proposed “green industrial revolution”, at an event in Yorkshire.

7. Trump pardons disgraced tycoon Conrad Black

Donald Trump has issued a full pardon for disgraced tycoon Conrad Black, formerly Lord Black of Crossharbour. Black, 74, previously owned a media empire that included The Daily Telegraph and was jailed for three years in 2007 for stealing £4.7m from shareholders. Last year, he published a book titled Donald J. Trump: A President Like No Other.

8. German biscuit heiress apologises for Nazi slur

The heiress of German biscuit manufacturer Bahlsen has been forced to apologise after saying that the firm “did nothing wrong” in its use of forced labour during Nazi rule. Verena Bahlsen, 25, told Bild newspaper that while her family’s company - maker of the popular Choco Leibniz biscuits - has employed some 200 forced labourers, “we treated them well”.

9. Farmer saves fox cubs with emergency Caesarean

A farmer in West Sussex saved four fox cubs by performing a Caesarean when he saw a car hit and kill their pregnant mother. Chris Rolfe has handed the cubs over to his mother, who has hand-reared animals in the past, and says they will be released into the wild once sufficiently grown.

10. Briefing: what is humanism?

A Pakistani man who received death threats from his Islamic family for becoming a humanist has been granted asylum in the UK after the Government overturned its controversial dismissal of his case.

Here is what happened and what humanists believe.

What is humanism?