Ten Things You Need to Know Today: Monday 20 May 2019

1. Brown: examine funding of Farage’s party

Former prime minister Gordon Brown has written to the Electoral Commission to demanding an investigation into how Nigel Farage’s new Brexit Party is being funded ahead of the European election on Thursday. Brown has expressed concern Farage is taking “dirty money” and allowing foreign nations to interfere in British democracy.

2. Google limits Huawei’s use of Android OS

US-based tech giant Google has announced that it will no longer be cooperating fully with Chinese smartphone maker Huawei, after Western governments expressed fears that China could use Huawei technology for spying. The move means that new Huawei phones may not be able to use Google’s Android operating system, or feature apps including YouTube.

3. Britons to be banned from parts of Syria

Home Secretary Sajid Javid will today outline how he plans to use a controversial new power to make it a criminal offence to travel to or remain inside a “designated area” overseas. Javid will suggest that the new law could be used to stop Britons from travelling to parts of Syria where there is still a presence of Islamic State militants.

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4. Trump threatens to ‘end’ Iran

US President Donald Trump yesterday issued one of his most direct threats yet to Tehran, tweeting: “If Iran wants to fight, that will be the end of Iran. Never threaten the United States again!” The US has been sending ships and planes to the Gulf in recent weeks amid growing tensions between the two countries. On Saturday, Iran’s foreign minister insisted that Iran did not want a war.

5. UK hunger crisis ‘breaches rights’

Human Rights Watch has accused the British government of breaching its duty to ensure the right to adequate food. The New York-based NGO says a series of “cruel and harmful” welfare policies since 2010 have left the poorest in the UK going hungry.

6. Revealed: plastic for recycling burnt instead

Most plastic pots, tubs and trays sent by householders in England for recycling are instead being burnt in power plants, an investigation by recycling charity Recoup has found. Previously, most low-grade plastic sent for recycling was shipped overseas, but the market has collapsed. England does not have recycling facilities so the plastic is incinerated, causing air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions.

7. Commuters braced for more chaos as rail timetables change

Rail firms are launching their new summer timetables today, after a year of the worst delays and cancellations ever recorded on the UK network. Consumer group Which? says that an average of 80 trains a day were held back for at least half an hour or cancelled altogether, with the worst problems in the Northwest and Southeast of England.

8. Game of Thrones: fantasy epic over

Game of Thrones has ended, with its 71st episode airing last night. As with the rest of season eight of the hit HBO show, many viewers are criticising the finale. In fact, the final series has proved so unpopular that a petition calling for the entire thing to be re-shot has already been signed by a million people.

9. US billionaire wipes out student loan debts

Students at a US college were shocked at their graduation ceremony when the key speaker, a professional investor receiving an honorary degree, announced he would pay off all of their student loans. Robert F. Smith’s donation to the graduating class at Morehouse College, a historically black college in Atlanta, Georgia, will exceed $40m (£31.4m).

10. Briefings: what MEPs do and how much they earn

The Government has signalled that British MEPs elected in the upcoming European elections must be ready to take up their seats despite the ongoing Brexit negotiations.

Polls suggest that candidates on the extremes of the Brexit divide will be the big winners in the 23 May elections. But what does being an MEP involve?

What do MEPs do and how much do they earn?