Ten Things You Need to Know Today: Thursday 29 Aug 2019

1. Protests after Johnson announces Parliament suspension

Boris Johnson’s announcement yesterday that he intends to prorogue Parliament has triggered impromptu protests on the streets of cities across the UK. More than a million people have signed a petition opposing the plan, which will drastically cut the amount of time that MPs have to pass laws to prevent a no-deal Brexit on 31 October.

Is it legal to prorogue Parliament?

2. Scottish Tory leader Davidson set to resign

Ruth Davidson is expected to quit as leader of the Scottish Conservative party today. Senior Tory sources claim Davidson’s decision to step down from the role, which she has held since 2011, is motivated by both her her differences with Boris Johnson over Brexit and the pressures of motherhood. She and her partner Jen Wilson had a son, Finn, in October.

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Who is Ruth Davidson - and why is she stepping down?

3. Skull discovery raises questions about human evolution

Doubts have been cast on long-held theories about how the first humans evolved from ape-like ancestors, following the discovery of a 3.8 million-year-old skull fossil in Ethiopia. Professor Yohannes Haile-Selassie, who found the specimen, says “all bets are now off” about which early hominid evolved into modern humans. Until now, most experts believed that a famous specimen known as Lucy, found in 1974, was our most direct ancestor.

4. Northern England ‘may face water crisis by 2053’

Parts of northern England may be unable to meet demand for water by 2053, with leaks, overuse and climate change making droughts more likely, according to think-tank IPPR North. A new report from the group warns that water supply problems could thwart so-called powerhouse projects, designed to rebalance the distribution of wealth in the UK.

5. ‘Fastest woman on wheels’ Jessi Combs killed in crash

US racing driver and TV personality Jessi Combs has been killed in a crash at the age of 39 while trying to set a new land speed record. Her family said that Combs - dubbed the “fastest woman on four wheels” - had “left the Earth driving faster than any other woman in history”. She was piloting a rocket-powered car in southeast Oregon in a bid to break the Women’s Land Speed Record of 512mph when the crash occurred.

6. Council fined over grandmother left to sleep on floor

Lancashire County Council has been ordered to pay £24,000 compensation to a grandmother who slept on a mattress on the floor of her living room for ten years because her council house was too small for her and five children. The unnamed woman was told that the council would extend her three-bedroom terraced house after she fostered her two grandchildren in 2004, but following years of budget wrangling, the plan was scrapped in 2016.

7. Tesco, Asda, Poundland and others ‘sell knives to children’

Tesco, Asda, Poundland and Home Bargains have all failed tests on knife safety, selling blades illegally to under-18s in trials between April 2018 and March 2019, National Trading Standards has revealed. Tesco and Asda have now tightened their policies, while Poundland has stopped selling knives at all. Home Bargains has not commented.

8. Babies develop ‘werewolf’ syndrome in medicine mix-up

Health authorities in Spain say at least 17 babies and children have developed hair all over their bodies after being given a mislabelled drug. Parents and medics thought the children were receiving omeprazole, to help with gastric reflux, but drug supplier Farma-Química Sur had accidentally put hair loss treatment minoxidil in the bottles.

9. Pinterest to redirect vaccine searches to health sites

Social network Pinterest has announced it will redirect searches for vaccine information to “public health organisations” from now on, in a bid to tackle misinformation. Last year, the site stopped showing results from vaccine searches altogether. A spokesperson said Pinterest removes accounts that spread false vaccination facts.

What is measles and how dangerous can it be?

10. Briefing: countries where euthanasia is legal

Euthanasia is illegal under English law, but the number of countries where it is permitted is growing. Those in favour say that in a civilised society, people should be able to choose when they are ready to die and should be helped if they are unable to end their lives on their own

Countries where euthanasia is legal