Ten Things You Need to Know Today: Saturday 3 Jun 2017
- 1. TV debate sees leaders struck in 'vulnerable spots'
- 2. Bloomberg says US will keep to climate deal without Trump
- 3. Conservative candidate charged over illegal spending
- 4. Statins 'reduce risk of breast cancer death by 38%'
- 5. British Airways cabin crew to strike over 'poverty pay'
- 6. Ariana Grande visits injured victims of Manchester bombing
- 7. Brendan Cox recalls telling children of wife's death
- 8. Has Boris Johnson just performed a tax u-turn?
- 9. Conference seeks to agree official definition of death
- 10. 'Soulful' surf icon Jack O'Neill dies in California
1. TV debate sees leaders struck in 'vulnerable spots'
The BBC says last night's Question Time leaders' debate saw the public hit leaders' "vulnerable spots". The Times feels Theresa May had a "solid innings" while The Guardian says Jeremy Corbyn was "spruced up and emollient". In the FT, Jeremy Paxman says the pair "resembled a nervous geography student and an ageing geography teacher". The Sun felt Corbyn was a Jammie Dodger biscuit, while May was a "tough cookie”.
2. Bloomberg says US will keep to climate deal without Trump
The US will meet its Paris accord targets despite Donald Trump’s withdrawal from the agreement, says a former mayor of New York. Michael Bloomberg, who is now the UN's cities and climate ambassador, says Trump may have withdrawn from Paris accord but American people haven’t. "We will seek to remain part of the Paris Agreement process," he said.
3. Conservative candidate charged over illegal spending
The Conservative candidate for South Thanet has been charged over illegal election spending during the party’s 2015 campaign to win the seat. The Crown Prosecution Service said there was sufficient evidence to charge three people, among them Craig Mackinlay, along with his election agent, and a party organiser. Mackinlay said it was "a shocking decision by the CPS", adding that he expected to be acquitted.
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4. Statins 'reduce risk of breast cancer death by 38%'
Could statins help the battle against breast cancer? According to a major study, patients who take the cholesterol-lowering drug are significantly less likely to die from the disease in the short term. Breast cancer, the most common form of the disease, still kills 11,000 people annually. More than 70m courses of statins are prescribed each year in the UK.
5. British Airways cabin crew to strike over 'poverty pay'
British Airways has been dealt a fresh blow as cabin crew announced they will hold a four-day strike later this month. The news came a week after the airline stranded 75,000 passengers during an IT meltdown. Unite members will walk out from 16 June in a dispute over "poverty pay" at the beleaguered airline. BA has said during past strikes it ensured all passengers reached their destination.
6. Ariana Grande visits injured victims of Manchester bombing
Pop star Ariana Grande has visited fans injured in the terror attack at her Manchester concert. The US singer made a surprise appearance at the Royal Manchester Children's Hospital ahead of a benefit concert on Sunday. The father of one of the injured said he had never seen his daughter so happy. Justin Bieber, Katy Perry, Coldplay, Take That and Miley Cyrus will perform at the benefit show.
7. Brendan Cox recalls telling children of wife's death
The husband of murdered MP Jo Cox says that when he was told of her death, it felt "like an explosion or a hand grenade going off". In his book, Brendan Cox writes about telling his children what had happened. "I had to say, no, I couldn’t dream up a way to bring Mummy back to us," he recalls. Jo Cox died after being shot and stabbed last June.
8. Has Boris Johnson just performed a tax u-turn?
Boris Johnson says the Conservatives have "absolutely no plans to raise income tax". The announcement is seen as a u-turn, because Theresa May had previously abandoned the Tory commitment not to raise VAT, National Insurance or income tax - the "triple lock". However, a party spokesman says that the Foreign Secretary's comment on the BBC's Newsnight was neither a pledge nor a promise.
9. Conference seeks to agree official definition of death
Experts are gathering in Geneva to establish an official agreement on what death is. Although in modern medicine the concept of brain death has been in place for decades, doctors and cultures have different ideas of what this means. An American neurologist says "the time has come" when the definition "should be as easy" as placing a stethoscope on a chest "to search for a heartbeat and breath that will never come".
10. 'Soulful' surf icon Jack O'Neill dies in California
Surf legend Jack O'Neill, who created the wetsuit and launched a global surfwear brand, has died at the age of 94. O'Neill, who lost an eye and wore a patch after being struck by his surfboard in the 1970s, died of natural causes at his seaside home in Santa Cruz, California. A statement on his Instagram page says O'Neill was "as soulful and encouraging as always" at the end.
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