Ten Things You Need to Know Today: Wednesday 26 Aug 2020

1. Melania Trump centre-stage as tape rumours circulate

Donald Trump’s wife, Melania, has called for racial unity in a live speech from the White House to the Republican party convention. The first lady also offered sympathies to those affected by Covid-19. Her appearance came as reports claimed she has been taped making a series of derogatory remarks about Trump and his daughter Ivanka.

Key moments from first night of Republicans’ ‘dark convention’

2. Face mask U-turn for English secondary schools

Secondary school pupils in England will have to wear masks after all, following a government U-turn on its guidance for next week’s school reopenings. In areas subject to stricter coronavirus restrictions, face coverings will also be mandatory for children in all schools . “At each stage we have listened to the latest medical and scientific advice,” said Education Secretary Gavin Williamson, announcing the change of heart.

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Will reopened schools spread coronavirus?

3. Johnson denies reports he plans to quit by February

The prime minister has dismissed as “nonsense” claims he will quit in six months because of “lingering health concerns”. Boris Johnson said he was feeling “far better” than ever after a report claimed chief adviser Dominic Cummings’ father-in-law had told a journalist he would resign by February. “It's absolute nonsense,” said Johnson, who was hospitalised with Covid-19 earlier this year.

Coronavirus and ME: doctors fear wave of chronic fatigue syndrome

4. Call for healing after Wisconsin police shooting

The mother of a black man left paralysed after being shot by US police has called for “healing” and told the authorities to “examine your hearts”. Jacob Blake was shot in the back in Kenosha, Wisconsin, on Sunday while trying to break up a fight between two women. The incident has caused angry protests in the city. Lawyers for Blake say he will need a “miracle” to walk again.

5. Maguire says ‘truth cannot be hidden’ after conviction

The Manchester United captain Harry Maguire has paraphrased Buddha on Instagram after being found guilty of bribery and aggravated assault during an incident in Mykonos, Greece. After he was convicted of all charges in Tuesday’s court case, he wrote on the social network: “Three things cannot be long hidden: the sun, the moon, and the truth.” He is set to appeal against the conviction.

6. Crying baby found next to body of impoverished mother

A woman who was living in extreme poverty has been found dead next to her crying baby in a flat in Glasgow. The one-year-old son of Mercy Baguma, 34, from Uganda, was suffering from malnutrition and required hospital treatment. It is believed that he has since been released into the care of his father, who also lives in the city.

7. Hamas says Gaza in misery after 15 days of Israeli attacks

Gaza will not “remain silent”, Hamas has said, after Israel launched attacks on the territory for the 15th consecutive day. Israel says its warplanes and tanks have bombed Hamas military sites in response to the incendiary balloons launched from Gaza towards southern Israel. “The Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip are living under unbearably miserable and grim conditions,” said a Hamas official.

8. Kremlin denies sanctioning Alexei Navalny poisoning

The Kremlin has dismissed claims that Vladimir Putin ordered the poisoning of critic Alexei Navalny. Doctors in Germany, where Navalny is being treated, said he had “probably” been poisoned, but a Kremlin spokesman questioned why they had “rushed” to that opinion. Navalny fell ill on a flight from Tomsk to Moscow last Thursday.

Has Alexei Navalny fallen foul of a ‘Putin poisoning’?

9. Nottingham woman named as UK's first Covid-19 victim

A 75-year-old woman from Nottinghamshire has been identified as the first person to contract Covid-19 within the UK. At study published by Nottingham University says the case occurred on February 21 - seven days before a resident of Surrey, who was previously believed to have been the first. The woman is also thought to have been the first in Britain to die after contracting coronavirus.

The UK coronavirus timeline

10. Brazilian MP ‘murdered husband with help of their children’

The Brazilian MP Flordelis Dos Santos de Souza has been charged with orchestrating the murder of her husband. Investigators believe that the former gospel singer was helped in the killing by least ten of the couple’s 55 children, most of whom are adopted. Ms de Souza has denied the allegations, insisting she is innocent.