Ten Things You Need to Know Today: Monday 7 Aug 2017

1. UK online data law grants 'right to be forgotten'

Britons could gain the right to have their online information deleted under new government proposals published today. The new data protection bill will force social media companies and online traders to delete private data if asked. Digital technology minister Matt Hancock said the plans create a "right to be forgotten".

UK unveils 'right to be forgotten' data bill

2. British woman injured in Rio slum shooting

A British woman is in hospital after being hit twice in the abdomen when her family car was fired on by a drug gang in Rio de Janeiro. Police say the family of five drove into the gang-controlled favela by mistake. Brazilian media say the woman was shot in the stomach but her injuries are not thought to be life-threatening.

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. Brexit talks 'have not begun well', says ex-diplomat

Brexit negotiations have not "begun particularly promisingly… on the British side" because of "differences within the cabinet", a former head of the diplomatic service has told the BBC. "Until those differences are further resolved I think it's very difficult for us to have a clear position," added Sir Simon Fraser.

4. Cabbies' hut gets listed-building protection

Historic England has granted a cabmen's shelter in London Grade II-listed status to mark 70 years of protecting historic properties, alongside a modernist "hobbit home" in West Yorkshire and a Navy wireless station in Stockton-on-Tees. The buildings join 400,000 others, including 710 windmills, 262 palaces and 13 dung pits.

5. Anti-Brexit rally planned for Tory conference

An anti-Brexit rally is being planned in Manchester to coincide with the Tory Party's annual conference in October. Organisers say it will be part of an "Autumn of Discontent" against leaving the EU. A People’s March for Europe, backed by actor Sir Patrick Stewart and former Labour spin-doctor Alastair Campbell, will take place in London in September.

6. Google divided after employee attacks diversity

Google has been hit by a row over sexism after a male software engineer wrote an internal memo saying the lack of women in top tech jobs was "in part due to biological causes" and does not "imply sexism". Head of diversity Danielle Brown said it was not a view that the company "endorses, promotes or encourages".

7. Jeremy Clarkson in hospital with pneumonia

Former Top Gear star Jeremy Clarkson has said he will be off work "for quite some time" after contracting pneumonia in Majorca. He was hospitalised on a family holiday during a break from filming the Amazon Prime series The Grand Tour. Clarkson posted an image of his arm hooked up to drips on Instagram, with the message: "Not the sort of bangles I usually choose on holiday."

8. 'Sea lice' attack teenager's legs in Australia

A teenager has apparently had his legs attacked by sea lice in Melbourne, Australia. Sam Kanizay, 16, suffered hundreds of tiny bleeding wounds after soaking his legs in the sea. He was admitted to Dandenong Hospital, where doctors reportedly struggled to stem the bleeding. His family claim sea lice were to blame, but experts are divided over what was responsible.

9. Chris Pratt and Anna Faris separate after eight years

Actors Chris Pratt and Anna Faris have announced they are separating after eight years of marriage. "We tried hard for a long time, and we're really disappointed," Pratt wrote on Facebook yesterday. He added they wanted to keep the break-up "as private as possible" for the sake of their four-year-old son.

10. Briefing : The best electric cars of 2017

Electric vehicles are becoming an increasingly practical option in everyday transport. Battery technology has evolved to the point where drivers no longer need to recharge their vehicles after short journeys. Drivers can also take advantage of a growing network of charging stations across the country.

The majority of mainstream manufacturers are either selling electric cars or developing one for release in the near future. Jaguar, for example, is developing its first electric car with the I-Pace SUV, while Nissan is looking to strengthen its Leaf by developing autonomous systems for the electric hatchback.

Best electric cars 2017: Smart, Tesla and more