Ten Things You Need to Know Today: Monday 19 Jun 2017
- 1. Terror attack at Finsbury Park mosque
- 2. David Davis in Brussels for Brexit talks
- 3. Grenfell Tower: Death toll rises to 79
- 4. Portugal mourns victims of forest fire
- 5. Jo Swinson rules out bid to be Lib Dem leader
- 6. Macron's En Marche! wins parliamentary majority
- 7. Ant McPartlin enters rehab after addiction battle
- 8. Diane Abbott returns to shadow cabinet
- 9. Men charged with $300,000 avocado theft
- 10. Briefing: Is trouble brewing in the Balkans?
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1. Terror attack at Finsbury Park mosque
A man has been killed and ten injured after a van was driven into a crowd of worshippers leaving the Finsbury Park mosque in London after evening prayers. Onlookers wrestled a man in his 40s to the ground after he got out of the cab and shouted he wanted to "kill all Muslims", said witnesses. Police are treating the incident as a "potential terrorist attack", said Theresa May.
Finsbury Park attack: Suspect Darren Osborne's family 'in shock'
2. David Davis in Brussels for Brexit talks
Britain begins its negotiations to leave the EU today. Brexit Secretary David Davis will meet the EU's chief negotiator Michel Barnier in Brussels. Several broadcasters say the UK has agreed to the EU's preferred pattern of negotiation: the cost of the "divorce" will be agreed first and then future trade relations decided.
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Brexit: Theresa May says ‘trust me’ to deliver
3. Grenfell Tower: Death toll rises to 79
Police have continued to identify victims of the Grenfell Tower fire in London, with three more victims named. Anthony Disson, 65, Ya-Haddy Sisi Saye, 24, also known as Khadija Saye, and Abufars Ibrahim, 39, were named among the dead today. The Metropolitan Police now say 79 people died in the blaze.
'Twenty suicide attempts' since Grenfell Tower fire
4. Portugal mourns victims of forest fire
Portugal has declared three days of mourning for the 62 people killed in a forest fire in Pedrogao Grande. Interior Ministry official Jorge Gomes said at least 16 people were killed when their cars were trapped by the fire between the towns of Figueiro dos Vinhos and Castanheira de Pera. Firefighters are still tackling the blaze, which is thought to have been started by lightning.
5. Jo Swinson rules out bid to be Lib Dem leader
Lib Dem MP Jo Swinson has ruled herself out of the race to be party leader following the resignation of Tim Farron, but will stand to be deputy leader instead. The bookmakers' favourite said she had been "overwhelmed" by messages urging her to run for leader, but the "unique" position "should not be done simply to achieve status, to make a point, or to please others".
6. Macron's En Marche! wins parliamentary majority
French President Emmanuel Macron's La Republique en Marche party has won a convincing majority in parliamentary elections a little more than a year after it was founded. With nearly all votes counted, En Marche! movement and its Democratic Movement (MoDem) has more than 300 of 577 seats, giving Macron a convincing mandate to carry out his reforms to the labour laws.
French election: Emmanuel Macron wins parliamentary majority
7. Ant McPartlin enters rehab after addiction battle
Ant and Dec star Declan Donnelly has thanked fans for their support following the news that his co-star Ant McPartlin has gone into rehab. "[Ant] will be touched. Your support is, as ever, much appreciated," he wrote on Twitter. McPartlin told The Sun he had become addicted to medication painkillers following a knee injury two years ago while friends were worried about his drinking.
8. Diane Abbott returns to shadow cabinet
Labour MP Diane Abbott has returned to work as shadow home secretary after her diabetes led her to stand down during the last days of the general election campaign. The 63-year-old has suffered "a great deal" from the illness, said Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn. Abbott stumbled in several interviews during campaigning.
9. Men charged with $300,000 avocado theft
Three men from California have been charged with stealing avocados worth $300,000 (£234,770) from one of the world's biggest distributors of the fruit. Carlos Chavez, Rahim Leblanc, and Joseph Valenzuela, employees of Mission Produce in Ventura County, are believed to have been stealing the fruit and selling it for months.
10. Briefing: Is trouble brewing in the Balkans?
When Donald Trump shoved aside the Montenegrin Prime Minister at a Nato meeting to celebrate the Balkan state's accession to the alliance last month, it was mostly seen as a sign of the US President's arrogance.
But analysts in the Balkans saw it as a symbol of the West's receding interest in a region where political tensions have been bubbling under for some time.
"Throughout history, the Balkans have produced their own crises that have often spilled over dramatically into other regions," writes former Serbian diplomat Vuk Vuksanovic.
"But the EU is currently preoccupied with finding solutions to its migration and economic crises, as well as seeing off the rise of populist forces and negotiating Brexit. Meanwhile, the United States is displaying less interest in Europe than it has at any time in recent history."
Is trouble brewing in the Balkans once more?
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