Ten Things You Need to Know Today: Tuesday 2 Jul 2019

1. China says Hong Kong protests are ‘totally intolerable’

The Chinese government has condemned the “excessive violence” of pro-democracy protesters who stormed and vandalised Hong Kong’s parliament yesterday, calling their actions “totally intolerable”. Chinese state media is running footage showing police clearing demonstrators from the city’s streets, ending weeks of silence over the protests against a bill that would allow China to extradite Hong Kong citizens.

Today’s newspapers: ‘Bullish Boris ready to walk away’

2. Body of plane stowaway lands in south London garden

The frozen body of a suspected stowaway plummeted 3,500ft from a jet and landed in a garden in Clapham on Sunday, narrowly missing a sunbather. The dead man is believed to have fallen out of a Kenya Airways plane from Nairobi as it opened its landing gear on the approach to Heathrow Airport.

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How body of plane stowaway ended up in a Clapham garden

3. Hunt accused of ‘macho’ posturing over civil service leave

Conservative leadership candidate Jeremy Hunt has been accused of “spouting macho nonsense” after yesterday threatening to cancel civil service holidays in order to “ramp up” preparations for a no-deal Brexit. Dave Penman of the FDA union, which represents senior civil servants, said the crisis had been created by Parliament.

What is Boris Johnson’s plan for Brexit?

4. Neville confident ahead of England’s semi-final clash with US

England manager Phil Neville says his team are ready to “go out and deliver” a victory in their Women’s World Cup semi-final clash against the US in the French city of Lyon today. He added that he had been preparing for a crucial clash with the reigning champions since the day he took the job, in January 2018. England beat Norway 3-0 to reach the semi-finals, with a record 7.6 million fans watching on television.

Why everyone’s talking about Megan Rapinoe

5. Teenager who beat Venus thanks her for inspiration

A 15-year-old schoolgirl thanked Venus Williams for being her “inspiration” after beating the five-time champion in straight sets in the Wimbledon first round yesterday. Cori Gauff is the youngest person to qualify for the main draw of the tennis tournament since the sport’s professional era began in 1968, and is 24 years younger than Williams - who had won Wimbledon twice before Gauff was even born.

Today’s back pages: ‘15 love’ to new Wimbledon star Cori Gauff

6. Antarctic ice melting at ‘precipitous’ rate

The vast expanse of sea ice around Antarctica has suffered a “precipitous” fall since 2014, newly released satellite data shows. Antarctica lost as much of its ice sheets in four years as the Arctic has in 34 years. Although the melting of sea ice around Antarctica does not raise sea levels, it means the planet is less reflective, intensifying global warming.

‘Precipitous’ decline in Antarctic sea ice since 2014

7. Arctic fox walks from Norway to Canada in 76 days

Researchers in Norway are stunned after discovering that an Arctic fox walked 2,000 miles from Norway to Canada in just 76 days. The female fox, fitted with a radio collar, travelled across sea ice and glaciers during its trek from Spitsbergen, in Norway’s Svalbard archipelago, to Ellesmere Island, in the Canadian territory of Nunavut. The animal’s journey has highlighted concerns about how the melting of polar ice could present problems for migrating animals.

8. ‘Football pitch’ of Amazon forest lost every minute

A football pitch-sized area of rainforest is being lost every minute in the Amazon, the BBC reports. The rate of destruction, revealed by satellite data, has accelerated following the election of right-wing Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, who took power in January and favours development over conservation.

9. Ancient chess piece bought for £5 to sell for £1m

A chess piece bought for £5 in 1964 is expected to fetch as much as £1m when it goes under the hammer at Sotheby’s in London today. The medieval-era pawn, carved from Walrus ivory, was kept in a drawer for 55 years by an Edinburgh family who did not know it was one of the famous Lewis chessmen found buried on the Scottish island of that name in 1831.

10. Briefing: what are secure schools?

Britain’s first alternative to prison for school-aged offenders will be launched by a global education charity in later 2020, the Government has announced.

The Oasis Charitable Trust, which already runs 52 academies across England, will open the new facility at what is currently the Medway Secure Training Centre, in Kent. So what are secure schools?

What are secure schools?