Ten Things You Need to Know Today: Wednesday 16 Oct 2019

1. Johnson has 24 hours to secure Brexit deal

There is just one day left for Brexit negotiations before the EU summit begins at which a deal could be agreed in time to meet the 31 October deadline. Talks between British and EU officials are resuming this morning after continuing late into the night. Under the terms of the Benn Act, Prime Minister Boris Johnson will be obliged to ask for a Brexit extension if no agreement is reached by 19 October.

Today’s newspapers: ‘Bullish Boris ready to walk away’

2. Turkey rejects US call for ceasefire in Syria

Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has rejected a US call for a ceasefire in Syria, ahead of a visit to Ankara by Donald Trump’s vice-president and secretary of state. Turkish troops invaded northern Syria last week to target Kurds after Trump announced that he was withdrawing US forces from the region, leaving his former allies to defend themselves. The Syrian army has since joined the Kurds in defending against the Turkish incursion.

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The definition of genocide

3. Harry Dunn parents ‘shocked’ by Trump offer

The parents of a 19-year-old teenager who died in an alleged hit-and-run crash involving a US diplomat’s wife met with Donald Trump yesterday in the White House - and were then told that suspect Anne Sacoolas was in an adjoining room. Charlotte Charles and Tim Dunn turned down the rushed offer to meet Sacoolas, who fled the UK following the death of their son, Harry. The couple said it was “not appropriate” with no mediators or therapists present.

Harry Dunn: Anne Sacoolas charged with death by dangerous driving

4. Hong Kong lawmakers disrupt Lam’s policy speech

Chaotic scenes in Hong Kong’s parliament yesterday ended in chief executive Carrie Lam being forced to abandon her state of the union speech. Lam tried twice to give the annual address but opposition politicians heckled and projected slogans in the chamber. The Hong Kong leader later delivered the speech via a video link.

5. Royal Mail strike threatens Christmas post

The first nationwide postal strike for a decade may be set to disrupt Royal Mail’s Christmas deliveries, with staff voting by a huge majority to walk out. More than 97% of 110,000 members of the Communication Workers Union (CWU) chose to take industrial action. The dates have not been set but the union may target the annual Black Friday retail sales event in late November and the Christmas post.

6. Dutch group freed from cellar after ‘years’

Six adults have been freed from the cellar of a remote farmhouse in the Netherlands where they are thought to have lived for several years while “waiting for the end of time”. The group - said by local media to be a father and his grown-up children - were found after the eldest son, 25, turned up at a nearby bar in the northeastern Dutch province of Drenthe looking unkempt and ordered five beers to drink on his own.

7. Air pollution worsens memory ‘by ten years’

Living in an area of high air pollution worsens the human memory to the same extent as ageing ten years, a study led by the University of Warwick suggests. Researchers asked a random sample of 34,000 people from across England to complete memory tests and found a major difference in results between those breathing the cleanest and the dirtiest air.

8. Boohoo ‘send nudes’ advertisement banned

Clothing retailer Boohoo has been told not to use the phrase “send nudes” in further advertising after a complaint was upheld against a promotion that the company sent by email. The ad was for so-called nude clothing – clothes in skin tones – but the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) ruled that the promo made light of a “potentially harmful social trend”.

9. Kim Jong Un rides horse up highest mountain

North Korean state media is reporting that dictator Kim Jong Un has climbed the country’s highest peak on horseback – and has released images of the portly leader riding a large white horse through snow-covered landscapes. It is thought the images may presage a major announcement, perhaps that Kim is planning nuclear tests.

Picture of the day: Japan’s Hayabusa-2 spacecraft returns to Earth

10. Briefing: will Catalonia ever gain independence?

Spain’s Supreme Court has convicted 12 Catalan separatist leaders on charges of sedition, disobedience and misuse of public funds.

The country’s acting prime minister, Pedro Sanchez, said it is the end of the road for a secessionist movement that he claimed had “failed”. But is he right?

Will Catalonia ever gain independence?