Ten Things You Need to Know Today: Wednesday 5 Jun 2019

1. Trump to attend D-Day anniversary celebrations

Donald Trump is to join the Queen and 15 other world leaders in Portsmouth today to mark the 75th anniversary of the D-Day landings, as the US president wraps up his three-day state visit to the UK. Demonstrations against Trump took place in London, Glasgow, Sheffield and other UK cities yesterday, but the US leader insisted that bigger crowds had turned out to support him.

2. Women challenge pension age change

Campaigners will head to the High Court today for a judicial review into how the retirement age for women was raised from 60 to 65. They say women born in the 1950s were not given sufficient time to make adjustments to cope with years without a state pension. The Government insists the raise had been “clearly communicated”.

3. Johnson tells hustings that Tories face ‘extinction’

Conservative leadership contender Boris Johnson told a hustings meeting today that the party faces “potential extinction” if it does not take the UK out of the EU by the 31 October deadline. Meanwhile, three moderate Tory ministers write in The Times today that only Johnson can save their divided party.

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4. US president retracts ‘NHS for sale’ comment

Donald Trump yesterday changed his mind on whether the NHS would be included in future trade talks between the UK and US, after Brexit. At a press conference with Theresa May, the president said that “everything is on the table” for the future talks, but speaking to ITV later, he said the NHS was not something he would include in the talks.

5. ‘Up to 60 dead’ in Sudan crackdown on protest

The number of pro-democracy demonstrators killed by forces of the Transitional Military Council (TMC) has risen to 60, according to a Sudanese opposition group. The military opened fire on the unarmed protesters in capital Khartoum on Monday, prompting international outrage. However, China and Russia have blocked an attempt by other UN nations to condemn the violence.

6. Fund manager Woodford ‘sorry’ for suspension

Renowned City fund manager Neil Woodford has said in a YouTube video that he is “extremely sorry” to have been forced to suspend trading of his share fund following a large number of requests from investors to take their money back. About £560m had been withdrawn from the Woodford Equity Income Fund in the past four weeks.

7. Mother of teenage Isis convert gives evidence

The mother of a teenage boy who converted to Islam and then joined Islamic State told a court yesterday she screamed “How could you be so stupid?” down the phone at him when he called to tell her his decision. Sally Lane and husband John Letts are on trial for allegedly funding terrorism by wiring money to their son, Jack Letts.

8. Family and village disown gay Indian athlete

The home village and mother of India’s first openly gay athlete have disowned her over her sexuality. Dutee Chand, India’s fastest sprinter, came out last month, telling reporters that her female partner was her soulmate. Chand’s mother, Akhuji, told press: “We belong to a traditional weaver community, which does not permit such things.”

9. National Trust buys land because of the view

The National Trust has paid £202,000 for a Lake District landscape immortalised by painter J.M.W. Turner. The sale of Brackenthwaite Hows, in the Lake District, marks the first time that the preservation charity has purchased land purely for the views that it affords. Turner set up his easel in 1797 to paint the scene, which he later repeated as a large oil painting.

10. Briefing: how Eid al-Fitr is celebrated

Millions of Muslims around the world will be celebrating Eid Al-Fitr this week, following a month of fasting.

Eid al-Fitr - Arabic for “the feast of the breaking of the fast” - is when Muslims return to regular eating cycles and thank Allah for sustaining them during Ramadan, which they hope has “brought them closer to God”.

Eid al-Fitr 2019: everything you need to know about the Muslim festival