Ten Things You Need to Know Today: Saturday 7 Mar 2020

1. Second UK coronavirus death in the UK

A man in his early 80s has become the second person in the UK to die after testing positive for coronavirus. Milton Keynes Hospital said the man had underlying health conditions. His family have told The Guardian he was not isolated quickly enough. More than 160 cases of the coronavirus have been confirmed in the UK and it is now highly likely to spread in “a significant way”, officials have said.

2. Three Saudi Arabia royals have been arrested

Three senior members of Saudi Arabia's royal family, including the king's brother, have been arrested for unexplained reasons. According to the New York Times and Wall Street Journal, the arrests took place early on Friday morning. The BBC says the detentions have been linked to Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

3. New data shows sleep disorders rocketing among children

A rising number of children in England are being admitted to hospital for sleep disorders, says The Guardian. Hospital admissions for under-16s with a primary diagnosis of sleep disorder rose from 6,549 in 2012-13 to 9,451 in 2017-18 and 11,313 in 2018-19. Experts blame rising obesity levels, excessive use of social media before bedtime and a mental health crisis.

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4. Publishers cancels plans to release Woody Allen memoir

A US book publisher has cancelled plans to release a memoir by Woody Allen, the film director who has been accused of sexual abuse. Employees at Hachette Book Group had staged a walkout in New York and Boston to protest against the planned publication. A spokeswoman said: "At HBG we take our relationships with authors very seriously, and do not cancel books lightly.”

5. Is the government about to cancel the ‘tampon tax’?

The government is set to abolish the ‘tampon tax’ in its Budget next week. According to reports this morning, the chancellor is planning to announce that the tax will be terminated at the end of 2020, as the Brexit transition period comes to a close. Under EU laws, tampons and sanitary towels are classed as luxury items as opposed to essentials.

6. Teacher banned after shooting staples at pupils

A teacher who shot staples at students, put others in headlocks and made a “stupid comment” about a vagina has been banned from the profession. Joshua Brandon Lewis has been banned from teaching due to his “unacceptable professional conduct”. He had joined Carlton le Willows Academy in Nottingham as a newly-qualified maths teacher in 2017.

7. Report points finger over fatal crashes of Boeing Max aircraft

A “culture of concealment” and “grossly insufficient” oversight led to two fatal crashes of Boeing 737 Max aircraft that claimed 346 lives, a congressional report has found. With cost-cutting also blamed, Democrats on the House transportation committee concluded that Boeing “jeopardized the safety of the flying public” with its determination to get the jet approved by regulators.

8. Football ace Ronaldinho and brother arrested in Paraguay

The football legend Ronaldinho has been arrested in a hotel in Paraguay’s capital after authorities said he entered the country with falsified documents. The 39-year-old Brazilian and his brother, Roberto Assis, were taken to a police station in Asunción shortly before 10pm local time on Friday. The pair have been questioned about what police said were false Paraguayan documents found in their possession on Wednesday.

9. Weinstein sentence ‘should reflect lifetime of crimes’

Harvey Weinstein’s jail sentence should reflect a “lifetime of abuse,” says prosecutors at his trial. Joan Illuzzi-Orbon encouraged Judge James Burke to impose “a sentence that reflects the seriousness of [his] offenses, his total lack of remorse for the harm he has caused, and the need to deter him and others from engaging in further criminal conduct”.

10. Stage of early Beatles performance venue up for auction

The wooden stage of the Liverpool venue where The Beatles performed before they rocketed to fame is going up for auction. Paul McCartney’s scribbled notes for a studio recording of the hit song Hey Jude are among 300 items of Beatles memorabilia being sold in New York on 10 April. The floor of the stage is expected to sell for $10,000 to $20,000.