Ten Things You Need to Know Today: Wednesday 26 Jul 2017

1. Diesel and petrol cars to be banned by 2040

The sale of all new diesel and petrol cars and vans is to be banned in the UK from 2040 as part of the government's new clean air plan. There will also be a £225m fund to help councils tackle diesel emissions. The plans, which include spending a total of £3bn on fighting pollution, come after judges forced the government to meet EU targets.

New petrol and diesel cars to be banned by 2040

2. US moves closer to new Russia sanctions

Politicians in the US House of Representatives have voted to impose new sanctions on Russia over its alleged interference in last year's presidential election. The bill, which met opposition from President Donald Trump, must now pass through the Senate. It is believed it will have enough votes to override Trump if he decided to use his power of veto on the measure.

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

3. Suspected acid attack on London teenagers

Police are investigating a possible acid attack on two teenagers in east London yesterday evening. The two men flagged down passing officers in Bethnal Green, saying they had been attacked. A social media video shows one of them being washed down with water before they went to hospital. Their condition is not known and no arrests have yet been made.

4. France wildfires force evacuation of 10,000

Ten thousand people were evacuated from their homes in south-east France overnight because of wildfires. Hundreds of firefighters are tackling blazes in the Provence-Alpes-Cote d'Azur region, one of the areas where some 15.4 square miles of land are burning, or have burned. Also affected are the southern coast and Corsica.

Holidaymakers forced to flee French forest fire

5. Judge to decide if Charlie Gard can die at home

A judge will decide today if the parents of terminally-ill baby Charlie Gard can take him home to die. Chris Gard and Connie Yates have appealed to the court after Great Ormond Street Hospital said it could not offer the care the 11-month-old baby needs at their house in London. Doctors say it would be better for Charlie to move to a hospice.

Parents vs state: Who should have the final say?

6. Tennis star's father faces child abuse charges

Tennis star Mark Philippoussis's father has been arrested in the US on suspicion of sexually abusing two children, one under ten and one under 14. Nikolaos Philippoussis, 68, gives tennis lessons in San Diego, where he is currently in jail. His son, the former world No 8, is not suspected of any wrongdoing, US police say.

7. Rick Perry falls for pig manure prank

US Energy Secretary Rick Perry was hoaxed into discussing a fictional biofuel made from pig manure and home-brew by Russian pranksters. Vladimir Krasnov and Alexei Stolyarov, who once convinced Sir Elton John he was talking to President Vladimir Putin, fooled Perry into thinking he was having a discussion with Ukrainian Prime Minister and his translator.

8. WWII 'bouncing bombs' recovered from loch

Divers have recovered two "bouncing bombs" prototypes from World War II on the bed of Loch Striven in Argyll. The devices, which have no explosives in them, are the highball type developed by Sir Barnes Wallis to attack ships at sea. Wallis also created the bouncing bombs used in the Dambusters raid on German damns in 1943.

9. 'Touch base' voted most annoying jargon

The phrase "touch base" is the most hated piece of office jargon, according to a survey of 2,000 people for jobs website Glassdoor. Other hated terms include "blue sky thinking", "run it up the flagpole" and "no-brainer". David Whitby of Glassdoor said: “No one wants to be the office jargon junkie, but who isn’t guilty of using some of these buzzwords from time to time?"

10. Briefing: The questions Kushner didn't answer

Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner faced more questions yesterday about his connections with Russia after he admitted meeting officials from Moscow but said he hadn't "colluded" with them during the presidential election.

His appearance before the Senate intelligence committee was the first time a member of the President's inner circle has given evidence on the scandal. However, Kushner's defence of his meetings with Russians has raised more questions than it answers, says Vox.

How did Kushner not know what the Russian lawyer was offering? And why did he try to set up a secret channel with Moscow?

His legal team may have hoped that yesterday's statement would put suspicion surrounding his links to Russia to bed, but the opposite seems true.

Jared Kushner: The questions he didn't answer