Ten Things You Need to Know Today: Thursday 17 Oct 2019

1. DUP blocks Johnson’s Brexit deal

The Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) has said it cannot support Boris Johnson’s proposals for the post-Brexit UK-Eire border “as things stand”. The rejection is a major blow for the prime minister, who may struggle now to get EU approval for his proposed withdrawal deal. Johnson travels to Brussels today for a crunch meeting of EU member state leaders.

Brexit deal agreed, says Boris Johnson

2. Trump’s letter to Erdogan: ‘Don’t be a fool’

A threatening letter written by Donald Trump to Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan on the day that Turkey invaded Syria has been leaked to US media. The US president -who appeared to greenlight the invasion by pulling US troops from the Kurdish-dominated region - threatened to be “responsible for destroying the Turkish economy”, adding: “Don’t be a tough guy. Don’t be a fool.” US Democrats have called the letter “bizarre”, “ignorant” and “embarrassing”.

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US delegation to meet Erdogan as Trump faces Syria storm

3. British family detained after ‘straying’ into US are deported

A British family of seven arrested nearly two weeks ago by US border officials after crossing into the country illegally from Canada have been deported back to the UK. David Connors, 30, and Eileen Connors, 24, say they accidentally ended up on a US road after swerving to avoid an animal while driving in Vancouver. The couple, from London, claim they were treated “like criminals” after being held in a US detention centre along with their three-month-old son and four other relatives who were travelling with them.

4. Tarzan star’s wife killed by son

The wife of actor Ron Ely, best known for starring in 1960s TV series Tarzan, has been stabbed to death by their son at their California home. Police called to the Santa Barbara house on Tuesday night found Valerie Lundeen, 62, dead with “multiple” knife wounds. They then cornered and shot dead her 30-year-old son, Cameron, after deeming him a threat. Ely, 81, was not hurt, officers said.

5. MP quits Labour over anti-Semitism

MP Louise Ellman has quit the Labour Party, saying Jeremy Corbyn is “not fit” to become prime minister. In a letter posted on Twitter, the Liverpool Riverside MP said she had been “deeply troubled” by the “growth of anti-Semitism” in Labour in recent years. Ellman, who is Jewish, has been a party member for 55 years.

6. Unregistered school ‘will not close’, says head

A head teacher prosecuted for operating an unregistered school in south London has vowed to ignore an Ofsted instruction to close down. Nadia Ali told the BBC that she believes she can keep Ambassadors High open legally if she reduces the Streatham school’s hours to less than 18 per week. Ali was handed a community service order last month after Ofsted inspectors found she had “wilfully neglected to meet some basic, crucial, safeguarding responsibilities” at the school, which describes itself as having an Islamic ethos.

7. Highland loch at lowest level in 750 years

A loch in the Scottish Highlands mysteriously dropped to its lowest level in 750 years this summer, scientists say. The team were asked to measure the impact of falling water levels on an archaeological site at Loch Vaa, near Aviemore, where they found timbers exposed to the air for the first time since the 13th century. The water level has since returned to normal.

8. Researchers measure world’s fastest ants

Ants that take ten times as many steps per minute as Usain Bolt have been declared the world’s fastest, after researchers from Germany clocked them travelling 108 times their own body length in one second. The Saharan silver ants scavenge in the desert when the sun is at its most intense. They have silver hairs to reflect the heat.

9. Mary Beard: I ‘really hate’ the genocidal Romans

Professor Mary Beard has said she “really hates” the Romans, despite being famed for her TV programmes about them. Beard told school children at an event in London that many of the Romans were “genocidal maniacs and cruel misogynists”. Although she would love to travel back in time to study Ancient Rome, she would not want to “hang out” with the inhabitants, the classical scholar added.

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.

Spain’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?