Ten Things You Need to Know Today: Sunday 30 Jul 2017

1. Division between Trump and senior Republicans deepens

The Observer says the "schism" between Donald Trump and his party has widened after senior Republicans in Congress rebuked the President over his threat to fire the attorney general and voted in favour of tougher sanctions against Moscow. The news comes at the end of a week in which Trump’s legislative agenda stalled and the White House descended into civil war.

2. Boris ally slams Philip Hammond over Brexit plan

Philip Hammond's Brexit transition plan has been attacked by a leading ally of Boris Johnson. Writing in the Sunday Telegraph, leading City economist Gerard Lyons has reprimanded the Chancellor for exploiting Theresa May’s holiday to promote his own Brexit views. He said "alarmist talk of a cliff-edge" reminds him of "the Y2K bug where computers were apparently going to stop at the millennium".

3. Diana 'begged the Queen for help with Prince Charles'

Princess Diana "begged" the Queen for help "in vain", claims the Sunday Express this morning. According to footage to be broadcast by Channel 4 next weekend, she said: "So I went to the top lady, sobbing and I said, 'What do I do? I’m coming to you, what do I do?' And she said, 'I don’t know what you should do, Charles is hopeless'. And that was it, that was help."

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4. Aid charities say EU is 'wilfully letting refugees drown'

Charities say the European Union has been "wilfully letting people drown in the Mediterranean". Aid workers face being forced to suspend rescue missions as Italy attempts to impose a code of conduct on NGOs operating ships in the search and rescue zone off the coast of Libya. They say the 11-point plan would hinder their work.

5. Robert Mugabe says he is not dying as speculation mounts

Robert Mugabe has insisted "I am not dying," amid growing concerns about his health. As his medical trips to Singapore become the topic of growing speculation, he told a rally yesterday: "There is the issue that the president is going. I am not going. That the president is dying. I am not dying." His wife Grace has urged him to name a successor.

6. Australian PM claims police have stopped a plane bombing

Police in Australia have foiled a plot to bring down an aeroplane, claims Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull. Four people were arrested in raids across Sydney. Detectives claim they seized materials that could have been used to make a bomb. Turnbull said the raids had been a "major joint counter-terrorism operation", adding that extra security was in place at domestic and international airports.

7. Unpaid internships 'can harm career prospects'

Graduates taking an unpaid internship can expect to be worse off three years later than if they had gone straight into work, according to a survey. The study, which followed the career trajectories of tens of thousands of students, found that, three-and-a-half years after graduating, former interns face a salary penalty of approximately £3,500, compared with those who went straight into paid work.

8. Thousands flee as fire tears across stage at Spanish festival

Over 22,000 people were evacuated from a music festival in Spain after a huge fire tore across the main stage. Crowds fled the Tomorrowland Unite concert in Barcelona just hours before DJ Steve Aoki was due to perform. Organisers said on the festival's website that "a technical malfunction" had caused the blaze. The BBC says no injuries have been reported.

9. Show of force as US bombers fly over Korean Peninsula

A pair of US bombers have been flown over the Korean Peninsula, reports Sky News. In a show of force after North Korea's latest missile test, the supersonic B-1 bombers were joined by Japanese and South Korean fighter jets as they performed a low-pass near Seoul. Experts say the latest intercontinental ballistic missile test from Kim Jong Un now puts several major US cities in firing range.

10. Ian Botham donates free game to food banks

Sir Ian Botham is joining a charitable scheme to provide 500,000 free meals of game to the food banks every year. The former England cricket captain, who will donate 10,000 birds from his shooting estates, said he expects controversy over the arrangement, adding: "If everybody out there is a vegetarian or a vegan, well fine, but they are not. We are offering something that has had a wild life, a good life."

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