Ten Things You Need to Know Today: Friday 6 Dec 2019

1. Woman recovers after heart stops for six hours

A British woman has been brought back to life after her heart stopped beating for six hours and is now recovering with no apparent neurological damage, doctors have revealed. Audrey Schoeman, 34, developed severe hypothermia after being caught in a snowstorm while hiking with her husband in mountains in Spain, where they live. Doctors believe the extreme cold protected her body and brain from deteriorating after her heart stopped.

2. Eddie Stobart transport firm on brink of collapse

As many as 6,500 jobs are at risk at Eddie Stobart as shareholders prepare to vote today on a rescue proposal to prevent the possible collapse of the ailing transport company. The Warrington-based firm counts Amazon, Coca-Cola and Tesco among its customers but recorded a loss of at least £12m in the first half of the current financial year and is struggling with £200m worth of debt.

3. Man charged with with hit-and-run murder of schoolboy Harley Watson

A 51-year-old man has been charged with murder over the hit-and-run crash outside an Essex school that caused the death of 12-year-old schoolboy Harley Watson and left four teenagers and a woman injured. Terence Glover is due to appear at Chelmsford Magistrates’ Court this morning. Glover is also facing ten charges of attempted murder and dangerous driving in connection with the incident outside Debden Park High School, in Loughton, on Monday.

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4. Opera singer Katherine Jenkins mugged in London

Welsh opera singer Katherine Jenkins was mugged on Wednesday as she made her way to a rehearsal in Chelsea, it has emerged. Jenkins’ agent said the 39-year-old mezzo-soprano was robbed after seeing an “older lady” being attacked and intervening in a bid to help. Police have arrested two 15-year-old girls on suspicion of robbery.

5. India: police shoot dead rape and murder suspects

Four men whose alleged rape and murder of a young female vet sparked national outrage in India have been shot dead by police. Police in Hyderabad say they took the suspects to the scene of the crime to reconstruct events but that the men then tried to steal weapons from officers and escape. They were reportedly shot dead in the ensuing melee.

6. North Korea calls Trump a ‘dotard’

North Korea’s Foreign Ministry has renewed its attacks on Donald Trump, calling the US president’s threat to take military action against the renegade dictatorship “the dotage of a dotard”. Denuclearisation talks between the US and the hermit kingdom have stalled since Trump met dictator Kim Jong Un for a meeting in Vietnam in February.

Donald Trump lapsing into ‘the dotage of a dotard’, says North Korea

7. Christmas jumpers damage environment, says charity

Environmental charity Hubbub is warning that most Christmas jumpers contain plastic and are “one of the worst examples of fast fashion”. Hubbub estimates that UK shoppers will buy 12 million of the festive garments this year – of which 95% contain plastic. Consumers are being urged to buy them second-hand or swap with friends instead.

8. California woman punches mountain lion to save dog

A woman in southern California punched a mountain lion and tried to prise open its jaws as it attacked her miniature schnauzer in her backyard, police say. Despite her efforts, the dog was killed and the woman suffered a minor cut. The mountain lion, also known as a cougar, escaped into neighbouring hills following the attack in the city of Simi Valley, about 35 miles northeast of Los Angeles.

9. Biden to voter: ‘You’re a damn liar... and fat’

Wannabe US Democrat presidential candidate Joe Biden yesterday responded angrily to a voter at a public meeting who accused him of corruption, calling the man a “damn liar”. Some witnesses at the campaign event in Iowa say the former vice-president then called the man “fat”, although others heard “fact”.

Donald Trump and Joe Biden in ‘rhetorical septuagenarian smackdown’

10. Briefing: why Iran has erupted into protest

The Iranian government has admitted that its security forces shot and killed protesters taking part in street demonstrations across the country last month.

President Hassan Rouhani had been accused of “deliberately covering up the scale of the crackdown on the four days of unrest in more than 100 locations”, the BBC reports. Here is what’s going on.

Why Iran has erupted into protest