Ten Things You Need to Know Today: Saturday 28 Sep 2019

1. Police watchdog deciding whether to investigate Boris

The police watchdog is examining whether or not to investigate Boris Johnson for a potential criminal offence of misconduct in public office. The prime minister has been referred by the Greater London Authority over allegations that businesswoman Jennifer Arcuri received favourable treatment due to her friendship with Johnson. The PM insists things were done “in the normal way”.

2. Online chemists breaking rules with strong opioid prescriptions

Online pharmacies are prescribing strong opioids without consulting GPs, an investigation by The Times has found. An undercover journalist was able to buy hundreds of the painkillers from five registered internet chemists without providing details of a doctor, in an apparent breach of the rules. One of the pharmacies issued 200 tablets of dihydrocodeine, an opioid twice as powerful as codeine.

3. Jeremy Corbyn to pledge to scrap universal credit

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn is to promise to scrap universal credit, calling the welfare scheme “inhumane”. Universal credit, which is a benefit for working-age people which merges six existing benefits into one payment, has been enormously controversial and led to people taking desperate measures. Corbyn will pledge an interim payment after two weeks to replace a five-week waiting period.

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4. Rudy Giuliani wants to testify over impeachment allegations

Donald Trump's personal lawyer says he would like to testify to Congress over impeachment allegations facing Donald Trump. Rudy Giuliani told Sky News the president “didn't do a darn thing wrong”. An unnamed whistleblower claims Trump pressured new Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to investigate political rival Joe Biden, after freezing military help for Kiev.

5. Army investigating death threat sent to MP by soldier

The army and police are investigating after a soldier sent a death threat to the shadow education secretary. Posting the tweet that contained the threat, Angela Rayner said it was just an example of the “usual vile tweet I get daily”. It stated that she will “perish when civil war comes”, and added that people Brexit supporters would be “gunning for blood if we don’t leave”.

6. Explosion as voting begins in the Afghan elections

There was an explosion near a polling station in the Afghan city of Kandahar just an hour after voters began queuing to cast their vote to elect a new president. Although 14 candidates are registered the battle is likely to be between the incumbent president Ashraf Ghani and his former deputy Abdullah Abdullah.

7. Thunberg leads a 500,000-strong march in Montreal

Greta Thunberg has led a march of an estimated 500,000 people at a global climate strike demonstration in Montreal. Referring to the recent criticism she has faced, Greta said: “We’ve become too loud for people to handle so people want to silence us. We should also take that as a compliment.” She added: “My message to all the politicians is to just listen to the science, act on the science.”

8. Britain ‘needs billions a year’ to meet climate goals

The UK needs billions of pounds every year to meet its 2050 climate targets, according to a report commissioned by the government. The study calculated that the UK would need as much as £20bn a year to remove up to 130m tonnes of carbon dioxide from the air. A spokesman for the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy said: “This report presents a variety of different options.”

9. Government considering a ban on hunting trophies

Ministers are considering a ban on the import of souvenirs from trophy hunting. The Mirror, which has campaigned against the sport, says animal welfare minister Zac Goldsmith remarked of images of trophy hunting images: “I look at the photos and it turns my stomach.” Goldsmith added that there will be an urgent consultation on stopping the imports of trophy hunt parts.

10. Experts spot a planet they didn't think could exist

Astronomers have spotted a huge Jupiter-like planet that could change our understanding of how planets form. The vast world, which is 30 light-years away, orbits around a dwarf star. The Independent reports that scientists did not expect that such a small star would be able to serve as home to such a vast planet.