Ten Things You Need to Know Today: Saturday 15 Jun 2019

1. Trump dismisses Tehran's denial over oil tanker attacks

Donald Trump has rejected Iran's insistence it had no involvement with the attacks on two oil tankers in the Gulf of Oman. The US President pointed to video that Washington says shows Iranian forces in a boat taking an unexploded mine off the hull of one of the ships. Tensions between the US and Iran have soared since Trump took office in 2017.

2. Sadiq Khan 'sickened' by teenage deaths in London

The mayor of London Sadiq Khan has said he was “sickened” after two teenagers were killed in London within minutes in stabbing and shooting. Ten people have been arrested after the incidents, which occurred in Wandsworth and Greenwich. Police are appealing for further information.

3. Boris agrees to take part in televised leadership debate

Boris Johnson says he will take part in next week’s televised Conservative leadership debate on the BBC. The frontrunner’s statement comes after rival candidates accused him of avoiding media scrutiny. Johnson said he was “very keen” on television debates but quipped that viewers might not like too much “blue-on-blue action”.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

4. Carers convicted of murdering teen 20 years ago

Two carers have been found guilty of murdering a 19-year-old woman 20 years ago. Edward Cairney, 77, and Avril Jones, 59, were convicted of killing Margaret Fleming in December 1999 or January 2000. They came under suspicion in October 2016 when concerns were raised about a benefits claim made by Jones on behalf of Fleming.

5. Pope declares emergency in oil giants meeting

Pope Francis has declared a “climate emergency” and spoken out on the dangers of global heating. He also warned that unless governments act urgently to reduce greenhouse gases they would be inflicting “a brutal act of injustice toward the poor and future generations”. He spoke out as he met the bosses of leading multinational oil companies in the Vatican on Friday.

6. Number of second-home owners has doubled since 2001

The number of British people who own a second home, buy-to-let or overseas property has doubled since 2001, according to a new report. The Resolution Foundation says one in 10 people now own an additional property. Meanwhile, wealth from owning a second home has risen since 2001 to almost £1 trillion. However, the number of millennials who own a home has continued to fall.

7. Matt Hancock drops out of Tory leadership race

The number of contenders for the Tory leadership has dropped to six after Health Secretary Matt Hancock bowed out of the race. Hancock, who secured the support of just 20 MPs in Thursday's first round of voting, said his pitch of looking beyond Brexit had failed to convince his party, which is “looking for somebody who's more in the here and now”.

8. Venezuelans flee to Peru border ahead of law change

Venezuelans are rushing in their thousands to cross into Peru in a bid to beat the introduction of tighter laws on migration. From Saturday, Venezuelans will need to have a valid passport and visa to enter Peru. The United Nations estimates that some four million people have fled Venezuela since 2015.

9. Hospital food review ordered following more deaths

The government has ordered a review of hospital food after two more hospital patients died after eating sandwiches and salads linked to an outbreak of listeria, taking the number of deaths to five. The infection is believed to come from products supplied by The Good Food Chain and the affected products have been removed from hospitals. There have been nine infections in total.

10. Army helicopters evacuate people from flood-hit Lincolnshire

Military helicopters have been deployed to evacuate around 100 people in Lincolnshire after a river burst its banks following heavy rain this week. At the last count, Britain had suffered a total rainfall of 2.6 inches (6cm) since the beginning of the month. However, in June 2012 there was a record 5.9 inches (15cm).