Ten Things You Need to Know Today: Thursday 25 Jul 2019

1. Johnson’s ‘brutal purge’ leaves Brexiteers in charge

Britain’s new Prime Minister Boris Johnson named his cabinet yesterday following the “most brutal cabinet purge in modern political history”, says The Times. The Daily Mail calls it a “massacre”, while The Guardian says that “ruthless” Johnson took his revenge on his enemies. The Financial Times claims his new team is a pro-Brexit “hardcore”.

Boris Johnson’s Cabinet ‘massacre’: who’s in, who’s out and what it means

2. New cabinet to meet for first time

Boris Johnson’s new top team of ministers will gather around the table in Downing Street today for the first time. Dominic Raab is foreign secretary, Priti Patel is home secretary and Sajid Javid is chancellor. Michael Gove is in charge of no-deal Brexit planning, Liz Truss is trade secretary, Ben Wallace gets defence and Matt Hancock will remain as health secretary.

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

3. Britain set for hottest day on record

Train tracks are expected to buckle and roads to melt today as the UK heatwave reaches its climax. The Met Office says there is a 70% chance that a new British temperature record of 39C will be set in the south of England, topping the previous high of 38.5C, recorded in Faversham, Kent, in 2003.

UK gears for hottest day as study says ‘no doubt left’ on global warming

4. North Korea ‘has test-fired new missiles’

North Korea has fired two short-range missiles into the sea, South Korea claims. The missiles were launched early today from the North’s east coast, with at least one travelling some 428 miles, according to officials in Seoul. The tests are the first since Kim Jong Un met Donald Trump at short notice late last month.

North Korea fires ‘short-range missiles’ into sea

5. Nissan workers braced for job cuts in Sunderland

Workers at Nissan’s car plant in Sunderland are on tenterhooks today, amid reports that thousands of job losses are to be announced. The Japanese firm is expected to cut more than 10,000 staff worldwide, and to confirm a 90% fall in profits.

6. Eurostar passengers trapped for hours on 40C train

Hundreds of Eurostar passengers spent two hours stranded on a broken-down train with no air conditioning outside Brussels yesterday as temperatures hit 40C – and then another four hours huddled in a tunnel after being evacuated. Comedian Katy Brand was among them and tweeted: “Babies are ill, people are fainting.”

7. Tributes paid to Blade Runner actor Rutger Hauer

Tributes have been paid to Dutch star Rutger Hauer, whose death at the age of 75 was announced yesterday. Director Guillermo del Toro called him an “intense, deep, genuine and magnetic actor”. Hauer is best known as vengeful android Batty in Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner, and helped write his “tears in the rain” speech in the hit film.

8. Trump speaks in front of Russian eagle symbol

US President Donald Trump was met with roars of approval as he addressed a crowd of right-wing students in Washington D.C. earlier this week - “but it was a doctored onscreen display that ultimately took centre stage”, says The Guardian. US commentators have spotted that the presidential seal showed a two-headed eagle, like the Russian coat of arms, holding a set of golf clubs. No explanation has been offered for the bizarre tweaks.

Why Robert Mueller’s testimony was so disappointing

9. Climate change activist Thunberg provides vocals for 1975 song

Swedish climate change activist Greta Thunberg has provided vocals for a track for British band The 1975’s new album, Notes on a Conditional Form. The teenager recites an essay about global warming over ambient music on the track, entitled The 1975. The proceeds from the song will go to campaign group Extinction Rebellion.

10. Briefing: the most dangerous countries in the Middle East

Tensions in the Middle East are ever-present, amid failed efforts to end the Syrian civil war and the spiralling tanker crisis in the Gulf.

According to the Global Peace Index (GPI) 2019, compiled by the Institute for Economics and Peace's initiative, Vision of Humanity, the world's least peaceful region remains the Middle East and North Africa.

The safest and most dangerous countries in the Middle East