Ten Things You Need to Know Today: Saturday 16 Sep 2017
- 1. Terror threat raised to critical as bomb manhunt begins
- 2. North Korea 'will complete nuclear programme' says Kim
- 3. Boris repeats Brexit £350m for the NHS claim
- 4. World's oldest person dies at the age of 117
- 5. Ryanair under fire as it cancels flights due to staff leave
- 6. New election for Iceland after child abuse scandal
- 7. Will Washington drop Pakistan as an ally?
- 8. Cult movie star Harry Dean Stanton dies at 91
- 9. Conservative Party 'should restore its youth wing'
- 10. Croatian school features Melania Trump in new campaign
1. Terror threat raised to critical as bomb manhunt begins
The UK terror threat has been raised to critical - the highest level - meaning an attack may be imminent. Meanwhile, a manhunt is under way to find the person behind Friday's rush hour Tube bombing at Parsons Green station, which injured 29. Police said they were "chasing down suspects" and had hundreds of officers combing through CCTV in the wake of the incident.
2. North Korea 'will complete nuclear programme' says Kim
North Korean has vowed to reach the country's nuclear goals, according to state media. Leader Kim Jong-un said his aim was to establish "equilibrium" of military force with the US. He was speaking a day after the North successfully fired a Hwasong-12 intermediate-range ballistic missile over Japan. Meanwhile, a senior Pyongyang official said North Korea will defy sanctions "for a 1,000 years".
3. Boris repeats Brexit £350m for the NHS claim
Boris Johnson has revived the controversial claim that Brexit would save £350m a week, which could be spent on the NHS. Writing in the Daily Telegraph, the Foreign Secretary said: "It would be a fine thing... if a lot of that money went on the NHS." The Leave campaign ran the same pledge in the run up to the 2016 referendum but it was widely mocked as misleading.
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4. World's oldest person dies at the age of 117
The oldest person in the world has died at the age of 117. Violet Moss Brown was born on March 10, 1900. She was the first officially verified supercentenarian from Jamaica. Prime Minister of Jamaica Andrew Holness revealed she had died on Friday night, tweeting: "Our oldest person in the world Mrs. Violet Mosse-Brown has died." Nabi Tajima, of Japan, is now the world’s oldest verified living person. Tajima is 117.
5. Ryanair under fire as it cancels flights due to staff leave
Budget airline Ryanair will cancel 40 to 50 flights a day for the next six weeks due to a backlog of staff leave. The firm says the move is designed to improve punctuality, which has fallen below 80% in the first two weeks of September. But customers have reacted angrily to the cancellations, claiming their own holiday plans have been ruined by the decision.
6. New election for Iceland after child abuse scandal
The prime minister of Iceland has called a snap parliamentary election following allegations his party hushed up a child sex abuse scandal involving his father. After Bjarni Benediktsson reportedly tried to cover up allegations that his father helped to get a convicted paedophile's "honour restored", one of the parties in his coalition government announced they were withdrawing due to a "breach of trust".
7. Will Washington drop Pakistan as an ally?
Donald Trump is considering dropping Pakistan as an ally as his administration explores new measures to crush terrorist groups. Last month, the US President accused Pakistan of "housing the very terrorists that we are fighting". Husain Haqqani, former Pakistan ambassador to the US, said: "No US president has come out on American national television and said such things about Pakistan."
8. Cult movie star Harry Dean Stanton dies at 91
Harry Dean Stanton, known for his roles in films such as The Godfather II, Alien and Cool Hand Luke, has died at the age of 91. The cult star appeared in dozens of films, including 1984's Paris, Texas and Repo Man. He died at Cedars Sinai hospital in Los Angeles on Friday, his agent revealed in a statement.
9. Conservative Party 'should restore its youth wing'
The Tory party must revive its youth wing, an official review of the election result has concluded. The Tories have had a tricky time with youth wings in the past, twice having to shut them down in the face of concern about some of their activities. A review, headed by former party chairman Sir Eric Pickles, will make more than 60 recommendations before the party’s autumn conference.
10. Croatian school features Melania Trump in new campaign
A language school in Croatia has launched a billboard in Zagreb featuring Melania Trump with the line: "Just imagine how far you can go with a little bit of English." The campaign was launched by the Američki Institut. "People can have all sorts of opinions about Melania Trump, but they can not deny her the success she deserves and her knowledge of English," said a spokeswoman.
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