Ten Things You Need to Know Today: Monday 29 Jul 2019

1. Johnson offers £300m to three UK nations

Prime Minister Boris Johnson visits Edinburgh today as part of a whistle-stop tour of the four UK nations, during which he will outline plans for an extra £300m of funding for Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales. Johnson will hold talks with both Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon and the leader of the Scottish Conservatives, Ruth Davidson.

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

2. Gunman shoots three dead at US garlic festival

Three people have been shot dead and 15 injured at one of the US’s leading food festivals, the Gilroy Garlic Festival in California. A gunman, possibly with an accomplice, is believed to have cut through a fence and fired indiscriminately into the crowd before police shot him dead. At least one witness said he used a rapid-fire assault rifle.

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Three dead and 12 injured in shooting at US garlic festival

3. Vauxhall ‘could stop producing Astra in UK’

The owner of Vauxhall, PSA, has warned it could pull production of the Astra out of the UK if Brexit makes it unprofitable, threatening 1,000 jobs at its Ellesmere Port factory. Chief executive Carlos Tavares told the Financial Times he would “prefer” to stay in Ellesmere but “if the conditions are bad… I will not do it”.

4. Chile: 40,000 litres of oil spilt off Patagonia

Some 40,000 litres of diesel oil have been spilt into the sea off the Chilean section of Patagonia, one of the world’s most pristine regions. The Chilean navy said the oil had leaked from a terminal at Guarello Island, around 1,740 miles south of the capital, Santiago. It has deployed ships to try to limit the damage and stop the oil spreading.

5. US director of intelligence Dan Coats to step down

Dan Coats, the former Republican senator who has been director of national intelligence since Donald Trump became US president in 2017, is to step down, US media says. Coats has clashed with Trump several times in the past two years, and at times seemed critical of the president’s relationship with Russian leader Vladimir Putin.

6. British teenager shares £1.8m gaming prize

A boy of 15 from Essex was part of a two-man team to win a £1.8m cash prize playing the video game Fortnite at its world cup in New York on Saturday. Jaden Ashman, known online as Wolfiez, took second place in the team competition with his 21-year-old Dutch gaming partner Dave Jong. Ashman said he would buy his mother a house.

7. After nine years, Greek MPs abide by smoking ban

Almost ten years ago, Greek MPs banned smoking in public places – but they themselves continued to smoke in parliament buildings, despite the ban. Now new centre-right Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis is forcing them to toe the line. Greece is still the smoking capital of Europe, with 27% of the population smoking every day.

8. Council tenant fined £100,000 for Airbnb sub-letting

A tenant of Westminster Council has been fined a record £100,000 for sub-letting his central London flat through online short-term renting site Airbnb. Toby Harman, 37, was advertising his “cosy studio apartment in Victoria” with amenities including a hot tub and had received more than 300 reviews on the site.

9. FBI offers $10,000 reward for ‘Pink Lady Bandit’

US law enforcement agency the FBI is offering a $10,000 (£8,000) reward for help catching a bank robber it has dubbed the ‘Pink Lady Bandit’. The 5ft 3in woman is believed to be behind a string of recent heists along the East Coast. Wearing a strappy top and leggings, she has carried a distinctive pink handbag on several robberies.

Who is the ‘Pink Lady Bandit’ wanted by the FBI?

10. Briefing: who is Priti Patel?

Boris Johnson has appointed Priti Patel as his home secretary, after one of the most dramatic cabinet clear-outs in history.

The MP for Witham and “hardline Brexiteer” is taking over from Sajid Javid, who has been made chancellor of the Exchequer, says The Times.

Who is Priti Patel?