Ten Things You Need to Know Today: Monday 16 Sep 2019

1. Oil prices soar following Saudi oil attacks

The price of crude oil rose by nearly 20% this morning as markets responded to a series of drone strikes on a Saudi Arabian oil plant that halted more than half of the country’s oil output. US President Donald Trump last night tweeted that his military was “locked and loaded” to respond to Saturday’s attacks, which the US claims were carried out by Iran.

Iran ‘ready for war’ as oil prices surge

2. Johnson to tell Juncker that UK will not delay Brexit

Boris Johnson is expected to tell EU chief Jean-Claude Juncker at a meeting in Luxembourg today that the UK will not accept any delay to the Brexit deadline of 31 October and will leave the union with no deal if necessary. It is the first time the two men have met since Johnson became prime minister.

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Are the Lib Dems becoming more illiberal?

3. Prison system ‘brutal and broken’

The head of the police watchdog has warned that the UK prison system is “dysfunctional and defective, broken and on-the-floor”. In an article in The Times today, HM Chief Inspector of Constabulary Sir Tom Winsor says the system brutalises prisoners, many of whom have mental health problems. Public investment in prevention of crime is “inexcusably low”, he adds.

4. Artist calls solid gold toilet thieves ‘great performers’

A sculptor who created a solid gold toilet worth £4.8m that was stolen on Friday while on show at Blenheim Palace says the thieves are “great performers” and may be “the real artists”. Maurizio Cattelan said the 103kg work, titled America, could be melted down into gold bars within days but begged the thieves to leave it intact.

5. Thomas completes triathlon after HIV revelation

Former rugby international Gareth Thomas yesterday completed the Ironman Wales triathlon, just a day after revealing he has been living with HIV for years. The 45-year-old, who says he was blackmailed into revealing his diagnosis, finished the 140-mile challenge in 12 hours 18 minutes and 29 seconds, placing 413th out of 2,039 participants. Thomas broke down in tears after stopping to hug his husband during the race.

6. Restaurant insolvencies up by 25% in a year

The scale of the UK’s “casual dining crunch” has been revealed by new research that shows more than 1,400 restaurants have fallen into insolvency in the year since June 2018. The figure, from accountancy firm UHY Hacker Young, represents a 25% year-on-year increase and is the highest number of insolvencies since at least 2014.

Casual dining crunch: why are so many restaurants closing?

7. Cars singer Ric Ocasek dead at age of 75

The lead singer of US new wave band The Cars has died at the age of 75. Ric Ocasek was pronounced dead at his Manhattan home after his family called emergency services to report that he was unconscious, the New York Police Department said. The cause of death remains unconfirmed. After The Cars split in the late 1980s, Ocasek produced Weezer and other bands. He is survived by his wife and six sons.

8. Ancient butcher’s shop find beefs up case for Roman Empire map redraw

Archaeologists have unearthed an ancient abattoir and butcher’s shop in Devon that suggests the map of the Roman Empire should be redrawn to extend further southwest than Exeter. The fourth century site is thought to have been a high-class butcher’s which supplied meat to customers miles away along a Roman road found nearby.

9. Hulk actor objects to Johnson’s EU metaphor

Incredible Hulk actor Mark Ruffalo has questioned Boris Johnson’s comparison of Brexit Britain to his famous superhero character. The prime minister said this weekend that the UK will break out of the EU “manacles” like Bruce Banner, who transforms into the green giant when angered. But Ruffalo, who plays the superhero in Marvel’s Avengers films, tweeted that “Johnson forgets that the Hulk only fights for the good of the whole” and “works best when he is in unison with a team”.

Boris Johnson channels the Hulk in EU negotiations

10. Briefing: how Britain’s Supreme Court works

The UK Supreme Court has become the latest institution in the spotlight as a result of Brexit drama.

Britain’s highest court is due to hear a combination of two legal challenges to Boris Johnson’s decision to suspend Parliament in the run-up to the 31 October Brexit deadline. Here is what you need to know.

Supreme Court: how Britain’s highest court works