Ten Things You Need to Know Today: Friday 18 Aug 2017

1. Spain: Police stop second attack

Police in Spain say they averted an bomb attack by shooting dead five suspected terrorists in the town of Cambrils early today after their vehicle had been driven into a crowd, injuring seven. Hours earlier, 13 people died when a van was driven down a street in Barcelona. Police believe the two attacks were linked.

Barcelona terror: Suspects killed after van attack leaves 13 dead

2. Manhunt for Barcelona attack driver

Spanish police are still hunting the driver of the van which killed 13 in the pedestrianised Las Ramblas tourist area of Barcelona yesterday. He fled the scene on foot, possibly unarmed. They are holding two others in connection with the attack but say neither was necessarily its "author". Islamic State has claimed responsibility.

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Barcelona terrorist attack: Can vehicle ramming be prevented?

3. MoD apologises to soldier's mother

Twelve years after her son, Phillip Hewett, was killed in action by a roadside bomb in Iraq, Sue Smith has won an apology from the Ministry of Defence, after a protracted legal wrangle. Private Hewett was the ninth of 37 personnel killed in lightly-armoured 'snatch' Land Rovers in Iraq, which became known as "mobile coffins".

4. Trump spreads false terror story

Donald Trump responded to the Spanish terror attacks last night by tweeting a false historical anecdote. The US President told his followers General Pershing stopped "Radical Islamic Terror for 35 years" by shooting suspects with bullets dipped in pig's blood in the early 1900s in the Philippines. The story has been debunked.

5. Tillerson supports North Korea strike

US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has rebuffed the claim made by Donald Trump's chief strategist, Steve Bannon, that there is "no military solution" to the North Korea crisis. Bannon told a journalist that ten million South Koreans would die in an inevitable counter-strike. Now Tillerson insists the US is "prepared militarily" to intervene.

North Korea rails against US military exercises

6. James Murdoch breaks ranks on Trump

James Murdoch has broken ranks with his media mogul father Rupert, a major ally of Donald Trump, to condemn the US President's support of neo-Nazis and white supremacists. The younger Murdoch sent a memo to colleagues at 21st Century Fox, which he runs, saying Trump's reaction "concerns all of us as Americans and free people".

James Murdoch criticises Donald Trump's Charlottesville response

7. Bruce Forsyth dies aged 89

Bruce Forsyth, whose showbusiness career lasted 75 years, has died at the age of 89. His manager said he was "at his home surrounded by his wife Wilnelia and all his children" when he passed away peacefully this afternoon. BBC director general Sir Tony Hall described Forsyth as "one of the greatest entertainers our country has ever known" and said the whole country would "miss him dearly".

8. UK food exports hit record level

Soaring sales of farmed salmon helped British producers sell more food and drink overseas than they ever have, in the first six months of this year. The Food and Drink Federation (FDF) says salmon sales up 53% to £408m while, overall, food and drink exports increased by 8.5% to £10.2bn, thanks in part to the weak pound.

9. Barking dogs are best burglary deterrent

A panel of 12 former burglars consulted by Co-op Insurance agreed that the best deterrents to housebreaking are a barking dog or CCTV cameras. Nearly half of the former criminals said most burglars are opportunists who avoid difficult-looking break-ins. They also cited heavy doors and a TV being switched on as off-putting.

10. Briefing: Why have film stunts become so dangerous?

Filming on Mission: Impossible 6 was put on hold this week after Tom Cruise was injured performing his own stunt. It's the latest in a series of incidents that have provoked discussion about whether the movie industry has become too dangerous.

Cruise, 55, broke his ankle when he landed badly while trying to jump between the roofs of two high-rise buildings, the Daily Telegraph reports. Paramount Pictures halted work immediately after the accident.

His injury follows two serious stunt-related accidents that resulted in the deaths of performers.

Why have film stunts become so dangerous?