Ten Things You Need to Know Today: Friday 2 Aug 2019

1. Lib Dem by-election victory reduces Tory majority to one

The Conservatives’ working parliamentary majority has been cut to just one, following the loss of the party’s seat in Brecon and Radnorshire to the Liberal Democrats in yesterday’s by-election. Jane Dodds overturned an 8,038 majority to beat Conservative Chris Davies by 1,425 votes. The Tory defeat in the Powys constituency comes just eight days after Boris Johnson became prime minister.

Brecon and Radnorshire by-election result cuts Johnson’s majority to one

2. Derbyshire town evacuated as dam wall collapses

An entire town of 6,500 people has been evacuated in Derbyshire, following the partial collapse of a neighbouring reservoir dam after heavy rains. Engineers have been pumping water out of Toddbrook Reservoir, which contains 1.3 million tonnes of water, while an RAF chinook helicopter is dropping 400 tonnes of aggregate in a bid to stop more water getting in. Hundreds of homes and businesses in Whaley Bridge could be levelled if the dam gives way.

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3. Johnson distances himself from sex offender anonymity call

The prime minister has distanced himself from calls by his new justice secretary, Robert Buckland, to grant anonymity for sex offenders who are high-profile figures. As critics warn of a “two-tier justice system”, a spokesperson for Boris Johnson said: “This is not government policy.”

4. US withdraws from nuclear weapons treaty with Russia

The US will today make good its threat to withdraw from a treaty with Russia limiting the proliferation of nuclear weapons that was signed by Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev in 1987. Earlier this year, the US accused Russia of violating the treaty and threatened to pull out. Russia denied the charge and suspended its treaty obligations.

5. Student who fell from plane ‘reacted badly to medication’

A 19-year-old Cambridge University student who opened the door of a light aircraft and fell to her death in Madagascar last week may have reacted badly to anti-malaria medication, her family say. Alana Cutland’s uncle said she had spoken to her mother days before her death and had described attacks of paranoia brought on by the pills.

6. Saudi women given permission to travel without men

Women in Saudi Arabia have been granted the right to travel abroad without a male relative chaperoning them, under a new royal degree. Saudi women may now also apply for passports without permission from a male, and register births, divorces or marriages. De facto ruler Mohammed bin Salman has sought to ease social restrictions on women, and lifted a driving ban last year.

7. ‘Send her back’ congresswoman jokes at Trump’s expense

A Somalia-born US congresswoman targeted in racist chants of “send her back” by Donald Trump supporters has taken a swipe at the president on social media. Ilhan Omar posted a picture of herself in Ghana with veteran Democrat Nancy Pelosi on Instagram, with the caption: “They said ‘send her back’ but Speaker Pelosi didn’t just make arrangement to send me back, she went back with me.”

US election 2020: Joe Biden wins the White House

8. Climate activist Thunberg hits back at ‘deeply disturbed’ jibe

Swedish activist Greta Thunberg has turned an Australian columnist’s barb back on him. Andrew Bolt described the 16-year-old climate change campaigner, who began an international wave of school strikes, as “deeply disturbed” and “strange” because of her autism diagnosis. Thunberg responded that she was “deeply disturbed” by his “hate campaign”.

Greta Thunberg responds to ‘deeply disturbed’ hit piece

9. Our galaxy is ‘warped and twisted’, scientists say

The galaxy in which we live is not flat as was previously thought, new research by Polish scientists suggests. The Warsaw University team say the Milky Way is instead “warped and twisted” and may have been bent out of its original shape by previous interactions with other galaxies.

10. Briefing: inside Downing Street

Boris Johnson and his girlfriend Carrie Symonds have become the first unmarried couple to take up official resident in Downing Street after moving into the prime ministerial home earlier this week.

But while the famous front door has featured in countless news reports, including the recent resignation of Theresa May, only a privileged few see what goes on inside the No. 10 complex. Containing around 100 rooms, there is plenty to explore.

Inside Downing Street: behind the famous doors