Ten Things You Need to Know Today: Saturday 5 Aug 2017

1. Tories lost majority 'because they abandoned change'

Theresa May's former chief of staff, Nick Timothy, says the Tories lost their majority at the election because they abandoned the Prime Minister’s promise of "change" in favour of a "continuity" message. "We knew the campaign wasn’t going as well as we’d hoped," he admits. Turning to his subsequent resignation, he said: "Nobody told me I had to go, but it became inevitable."

2. Mini lab-grown brains could repair Alzheimer’s damage

Tiny human brains grown in laboratories by UK scientists could be used to repair damage caused by Alzheimer’s disease, reports the Daily Telegraph. The mini brains, fashioned from human skin cells, are transformed into neurons and formed into clusters so that they resemble the structure of the brain. Professor Edik Rafailov, of Aston University in Birmingham, said: "This is kind of science fiction."

3. UK 'epidemic' of car-clocking misleading buyers

Britain is facing a "car-clocking epidemic" says The Times, as new finance deals leave as many as one in 16 used vehicles showing the wrong mileage. Up to 500,000 second-hand cars purchased in 2016 were clocked, as the price of correction devices which can be used to alter the mileage fell to as little as £80. In one case, a Mercedes had more than 100,000 miles wiped from its odometer.

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4. White House confirms intention to withdraw from Paris deal

The White House has issued its first written notification that the US intends to withdraw from the 2015 Paris climate agreement. President Donald Trump caused outrage in June when he first announced his intention to withdraw, claiming that the deal "punished" the US and would cost millions of American jobs. The largely symbolic written notice states that Washington would remain in the talks process.

5. Mo Farah revives 2012 spirit as he wins 10,000 metres

Sir Mo Farah won gold in the 10,000 metres at the World Athletics Championship. The 34-year-old athlete held off a group of determined African opponents to win in 26 minutes, 49.51 seconds - the fastest time in the world this year. After overcoming two stumbles on the final lap, he powered to his customary final surge. The victory in London brought back memories of the 2012 Olympics.

6. Scientists warning on heatwaves as Lucifer bakes Europe

Scientists are warning that heatwaves, wildfires and floods could kill more than 150,000 Europeans every year by the end of the century. Unless there is a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, say experts, there will be a series of weather-related disasters. Meanwhile, 11 southern and central European countries have issued extreme heat warnings amid a brutal heatwave called Lucifer.

7. UK cyber expert denies malware bank charges

The 23-year-old British man praised for ending the NHS cyberattack admitted to police he created a code to harvest bank details, a US court has heard. Marcus Hutchins plans to plead not guilty to all six counts he faces regarding the creation and distribution of the Kronos malware. A prosecutor described Hutchins as a "danger to the public”.

8. Irish PM tells Theresa May to tear up her Brexit blueprint

The prime minister of Ireland has called on Theresa May to scrap her Brexit blueprint and strive to keep Britain part of the European customs union and the single market. Leo Varadkar is demanding that May drops her proposal for a "technological solution" to the Irish border. He said: "If the UK does not want to stay in the customs union, perhaps there can be an EU-UK customs union."

9. Netflix documentary claims eggs as unhealthy as cigarettes

A new film claims that eating an egg is as unhealthy as smoking five cigarettes, reports The Times. The Netflix documentary What the Health, executive produced by actor Joaquin Phoenix, examines "the link between diet and disease, and the billions of dollars at stake in the healthcare, pharmaceutical and food industries". Scientists have challenged some of the claims in the film.

10. Game of Thrones episode leaked after 'chaos' at HBO

A new episode of Game of Thrones has leaked online after HBO suffered what The Guardian describes as a "week of chaos". The low-quality version of latest episode has emerged hot on the heels of a separate hack that has been described as "the greatest leak" of the digital era. Game of Thrones has suffered leaks and pirating in previous seasons, with unauthorized files being downloaded and shared millions of times.