Ten Things You Need to Know Today: Thursday 24 Oct 2019

1. Police still questioning driver over 39 bodies

Police continue to question the driver of a lorry found with the bodies of 39 migrants who had frozen to death in its trailer. Mo Robinson, 25 and from County Armagh, was arrested on suspicion of murder on Wednesday. Officers have raided two homes in Northern Ireland. Police say they are working to identify “organised crime groups”.

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

2. Johnson to call for election as EU ruminates

Prime Minister Boris Johnson is ready to push again for a general election, possibly as early as tonight. He is expected to try to make MPs vote, before the 31 October Brexit deadline, on whether to allow a general election. Meanwhile, the EU is debating whether to allow an extension to the deadline – and if so, how long it will be.

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Boris Johnson’s Cabinet ‘split 50/50’ on pre-Christmas general election

3. High street job losses estimated at 85,000

The British Retail Consortium (BRC) has estimated that 85,000 high street retail jobs have been lost in the UK in the past 12 months. Latest figures show the number of retail employees in the country in the third quarter of the year was 2.8% lower than in the same period one year ago – the 15th consecutive quarter of year-on-year decline.

4. One quarter of Royal Navy ships not working

One quarter of the Royal Navy’s fleet is inoperable, according to Defence Secretary Ben Wallace. Wallace told the cross-party defence select committee yesterday he was pushing for repairs, adding: “If I had more of our current fleet working, then I would have much more freedom to deploy to meet some of our ambitions and tasks.”

5. Bangladesh: 16 sentenced to death for murder

Sixteen people have been sentenced to death in Bangladesh over the murder of school pupil Nusrat Jahan Rafi who was doused in kerosene and set on fire in April. The 19-year-old had accused her headteacher of repeatedly touching her inappropriately, a claim dismissed by police. The teacher is one of those now sentenced to death.

6. Met Police stage ‘mass shooting’ for Facebook

The Met Police have carried out the first in a series of training exercises simulating a mass shooting. At the request of Facebook, the roleplay was filmed from the point of view of the ‘shooter’. Facebook contacted the force asking for help so they can train software to spot any future attacks as they are being live-streamed on the site.

7. After 40 years, diabetes test inventor gets £2m

Forty years after he used his daughter’s toy microscope to build a prototype, the inventor of the blood sugar testing technology on which many diabetics rely has been awarded £2m compensation. Prof Ian Shanks developed the system while working for Unilever in the 1980s and began his legal fight to be compensated 13 years ago.

8. Chronic pain ‘feels worse on warm, damp days’

Despite folklore suggesting that cold weather exacerbates the pain of chronic conditions like arthritis, new research has found sufferers feel worse on warm, damp days. Humidity worsens symptoms, according to a study of 2,500 people carried out at the University of Manchester. Pain could be 20% worse on such days, it found.

9. Coldplay reveal album tracks in local paper

The biggest-selling British band this century, Coldplay, have revealed the track listing for their upcoming album by posting a classified ad in a local newspaper. The band’s first album in four years, Everyday Life, will feature songs titled Church, Trouble in Town and BrokEn, according to the small ad in the North Wales Daily Post.

10. Briefing: Vladimir Putin’s plan for Africa

Russia is hosting dozens of African leaders at a new summit where topics ranging from nuclear energy to mineral extraction will be under discussion.

More than 40 African leaders and 3,000-plus delegates from across the continent and Russia are attending the inaugural two-day Russia-Africa Summit and Economic Forum, which kicked off today in the Black Sea resort of Sochi, DW reports.

Vladimir Putin’s plan for Africa