Ten Things You Need to Know Today: Tuesday 29 Oct 2019

1. Johnson pushes law change for early election

Boris Johnson is to table a short bill in the Commons today that would change the law in order to hold a general election on 12 December, after failing yesterday to get the votes of two-thirds of MPs needed to secure the poll under existing laws. The prime minister is expected to drop his attempts to get his Brexit bill passed during this Parliament, in a bid to get the Lib Dems and the SNP to back the early election, for which he would need only a simple majority under the proposed law change.

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

2. Grenfell report: ‘serious shortcomings’ in fire brigade’s response

The inquiry into the Grenfell Tower fire has condemned London Fire Brigade for “serious shortcomings” and “institutional” failings. The report by Sir Martin Moore-Bick praised the courage of firefighters who tackled the 2017 blaze, which claimed 72 lives, but said control room staff had not been given appropriate training.

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What does the Grenfell Tower report say?

3. Royal Mint to recycle Brexit coins

The Royal Mint is to recycle coins made to commemorate Brexit, after Prime Minister Boris Johnson yesterday accepted the EU’s offer to extend the leaving deadline to 31 January. The coins have been dated 31 October, the previous deadline, and Chancellor Sajid Javid had reportedly asked the Mint to produce ten million of them.

4. California: power cuts as wildfires rage

Power supplies to an estimated 1.5 million people in California are to be cut off today as wildfires rage in two areas of the US state. Power firms are carrying out the shutdown to prevent cables damaged by high winds from causing further blazes. The larger of the two fires, in Sonoma County, has forced 180,000 to flee their homes. Residents near the Brentwood neighbourhood of Los Angeles, including actor Arnold Schwarzenegger, have also been told to leave after a wildfire began there on Monday.

5. Two Britons seriously injured by shark

A 28-year-old British man has lost his foot and another aged 22 has suffered serious leg wounds after being attacked by a shark at a popular swimming spot in Australia. The two men were snorkelling on a day cruise to the Whitsunday Islands in Queensland when they were attacked. An Australian was killed by a shark there last year.

6. MI6 veteran awarded France’s highest honour

A 93-year-old former MI6 officer who undertook covert missions across the Channel ahead of the 1944 D-Day landings was yesterday awarded France’s highest military and civilian medal, the Legion d’Honneur. Geoffrey Pidgeon, the 6,000th veteran to receive the honour, said he had been “made a fuss of”.

7. India: toddler found dead following well search

The body of a two-year-old boy has been recovered from a well in southern India following an 82-hour rescue operation. Officials said the child, Sujith Wilson, had been dead for some time. He fell into the abandoned borewell in Tamil Nadu state while playing with friends on Friday. The tragedy has fuelled calls for drillers to be forced to re-fill boreholes.

8. Tick-borne brain disease reaches Britain

A brain disease spread to people by tick bites has reached Britain for the first time, Public Health England (PHE) warns. Cases of tick-borne encephalitis virus have been identified in two places: an area on the Hampshire-Dorset border and Thetford Forest, on the border between Suffolk and Norfolk. PHE says the risk is still “low”.

9. Daily aspirin or ibuprofen ‘fights depression’

Over-the-counter painkillers can reduce the symptoms of depression, a study carried out in China suggests. Drugs tested included aspirin and ibuprofen but all anti-inflammatories were found to be far more effective in reducing overall symptoms of depression than placebo pills. Some patients with depression have been noted to show signs of inflammation of the brain.

10. Briefing: who is responsible for the Brazil oil spill?

Anger is growing in Brazil over a mysterious oil spill that has forced the closure of some of the country’s most naturally diverse beaches.

In early September, oil began washing up on Brazil’s northeastern shores, covering a stretch of coast around 1,300 miles long, killing a number of animals and destroying swathes of pristine coral. So what happened?

Brazil oil spill: who is responsible?