Ten Things You Need to Know Today: Saturday 10 Aug 2019

1. Watchdog demands answers after ‘apocalyptic’ power cut

Ofgem, the UK's energy watchdog, has asked the National Grid for answers after a major power cut affected nearly one million people across England and Wales yesterday. Sky News says there were “apocalyptic” scenes as train passengers were stranded, traffic lights failed to work and thousands of homes were plunged into darkness during the blackout.

2. Army recruitment crisis leaves units 40% down

Britain is facing an army recruitment crisis, reports The Guardian, with frontline combat units operating as much as 40% below strength. There are more than 2,500 fewer personnel in frontline units than 2015, and all 16 regular regiments are have shortfalls, according to data obtained under freedom of information laws.

3. North Korea fires two more missiles into the sea

North Korea has fired two missiles into the sea, reports the BBC. It is believed the missiles are short-range ballistic missiles, which would be a breach of 11 UN Security Council resolutions. The launches come after US President Donald Trump said he had received a “very beautiful letter” from North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.

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4. Boris Johnson creating a bailout package for no-deal damage

Boris Johnson is working on a bailout package to support businesses in the event of a no-deal Brexit. According to The Times, ministers have drawn up a secret list of big British employers considered most at risk. Yesterday sterling fell to its lowest level against the euro for a decade after it emerged that Britain’s economy had shrunk for the first time in seven years.

5. Study: war metaphors damaging for those with cancer

The use of “war” metaphors when discussing cancer may do more harm than good, according to new research. It was found that framing the disease in military terms made treatment harder and recovery feel less likely. “Our work suggests battle metaphors could have a negative impact on how people think about cancer,” said one of the team.

6. Five killed and three hurt in rocket explosion in Russia

Five people were killed following a rocket explosion on a naval test range in Russia on Thursday, state nuclear company Rosatom confirmed. It is claimed that the accident occurred during tests on a liquid propellant rocket engine. Three staff members suffered serious burns in the incident.

7. Prince Andrew accused of touching young woman's breast

Prince Andrew was accused in court documents of groping a young woman’s breast at the Manhattan mansion of Jeffrey Epstein, the wealthy financier now facing federal sex trafficking charges. Buckingham Palace has repeatedly denied allegations surrounding Andrew’s friendship with Epstein. In 2015, it said “any suggestion of impropriety with underage minors is categorically untrue”.

8. Exam board withholds results following A-level paper leak

The UK’s biggest exam board has confirmed that 78 students have had their results withheld following a leak of an A-level maths paper. The leak, which happened before tens of thousands of students sat an Edexcel maths paper on 14 June, caused uproar among candidates concerned they would be at an unfair disadvantage.

9. Sit-in at Hong Kong airport launches fresh protests

Pro-democracy activists are demonstrating at Hong Kong's airport in the hopes of winning international support from arriving passengers. The protestors staged a sit-in at the arrival and departure halls on Friday. “You've arrived in a broken, torn-apart city, not the one you have once pictured. Yet for this Hong Kong, we fight,” said the flyers they handed out.

10. Ozil misses Arsenal game due to ‘security incidents’

Mesut Ozil and Sead Kolasinac are missing from Arsenal's squad for tomorrow’s Premier League game at Newcastle because of “further security incidents” .The two men were involved in a carjacking attempt by an armed gang in north London a fortnight ago. The club says it is liaising with police and “providing the players and their families with on-going support”.