Ten Things You Need to Know Today: Wednesday 11 Mar 2020

1. Bank cuts interest rates over coronavirus scare

The Bank of England has announced an emergency cut in interest rates in an attempt to reduce the impact of the coronavirus outbreak on the UK economy. The rate has been reduced from 0.75% to just 0.25% to “help prevent a temporary disruption from causing longer-lasting economic harm”, the Bank said.

2. Health minster tests positive for virus days after visiting No. 10

Junior health minister Nadine Dorries has announced that she is one of the 383 people in the UK who have tested positive for the new coronavirus. Dorries was at 10 Downing Street last Thursday for a reception with Prime Minister Boris Johnson. She began feeling ill the following day but held a surgery attended by 50 in her Mid Bedfordshire constituency on Saturday.

3. Arsenal game postponed as players self-isolate

The Premier League has postponed the scheduled clash between Arsenal and Manchester City at Manchester’s Etihad Stadium tonight after Nottingham Forest and Olympiacos owner Evangelos Marinakis tested positive for coronavirus a fortnight after visiting the Emirates Stadium for a Europa League match between his Greek team and the Gunners. Several unnamed Arsenal players who met Marinakis after losing to the away team have been told by their club to self-isolate as a precaution.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

4. Weinstein in New York court for sentencing on rape conviction

Disgraced Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein is appearing in a New York City court today to face sentencing after being found guilty of raping one woman and sexually assaulting another. Since his conviction two weeks ago, Weinstein has undergone heart surgery and suffered a fall in prison. The 67-year-old faces a minimum of five years and a maximum of 29 years in prison.

5. Biden extends lead over Sanders

Former US vice president Joe Biden has consolidated his lead in the race to be the Democratic candidate for this year’s US presidential election, winning at least three of six states up for grabs in the latest round of primaries. Biden took Mississippi, Missouri and Michigan in Tuesday’s vote. Rival Bernie Sanders is hoping to recover his campaign momentum by winning North Dakota and Washington state, which along with Idaho have yet to deliver their final vote results.

6. NHS helpline gave wrong coronavirus advice, warns Downing Street

The government has admitted that the NHS 111 online advice service has been giving incorrect advice to travellers returning from Italy. People coming back from the European centre of the outbreak were still being told on Tuesday that there was no need to self-isolate if they had no symptoms - but advice released by Public Health England on Monday states that everyone returning from Italy, which is in lockdown, should stay at home for 14 days regardless of whether they feel unwell.

7. Menstrual cup misuse ‘can cause prolapse’

Incorrect use of menstrual cups could lead to pelvic organ prolapse, the BBC has been warned. The Chartered Society of Physiotherapy told the broadcaster that manufacturers need to include better safety advice with the plastic cups – a reusable alternative to tampons or pads – which are not currently regulated or tested in the UK.

8. Murder case ‘could be solved after 50 years’

Police in Norfolk yesterday said that they believe there is a chance they can find the killer of a teenager murdered exactly 50 years ago. Susan Long, 18, was found strangled in a country lane on 10 March 1970. She had been sexually assaulted. Police say they have DNA of the killer and have appealed for any information that might help them solve the case.

9. Johnson’s dog Dilyn ‘facing a reshuffle’

The Jack Russell cross adopted by Boris Johnson and his partner Carrie Symonds from a Welsh rescue centre last September may be “quietly rehomed” before the couple have their first child this summer, The Times reports. The paper says Dilyn’s toilet habits are a “bone of contention”.

10. Briefing: how has chlamydia infected the Arctic seafloor?

Scientists are struggling to unravel a new mystery after discovering a previously unknown species of the world’s most commonly diagnosed sexually transmitted infection (STI) at the bottom of the Arctic Ocean.

The international team came across the “biological cousin” of chlamydia while exploring seafloor sediment near the hydrothermal vent known as Loki’s Castle, between Iceland and Norway, reports the New York Post.

How has chlamydia infected the Arctic seafloor?