Ten Things You Need to Know Today: Tuesday 19 Sep 2017

1. Trump to warn UN of Iran threat

Donald Trump delivers his first address to the UN general assembly today in New York. The US President will warn that the UN must confront the threats posed by Iran and by North Korea, which will “only gather force” otherwise. His words will be compared to George W Bush’s “axis of evil” speech, a prelude to the Iraq war.

2. Dominica ‘devastated’ by Hurricane Maria

Dominica has suffered “devastating” and “mind-boggling” damage from Hurricane Maria, Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit says. The hurricane suddenly strengthened to category five just before making landfall on the Caribbean island. Skerrit lost his own roof to the storm, which is now heading to the French island Guadeloupe.

3. Suu Kyi breaks silence on Rohingya

Aung San Suu Kyi, de facto leader of Myanmar, has broken her silence on the fate of the Muslim Rohingya minority, believed by the international community to have been subjected to atrocities. Suu Kyi said her government was “concerned” and was evaluating the claims. She added that she does not “fear international scrutiny”.

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4. Anti-malware software spread malware

Internet security firm Avast has admitted that a version of its Ccleaner tool, used to remove malware from computers, was compromised by hackers. The firm says 2.27 million users downloaded the program while it was infected with a trojan which leaked data from their computers. The malware in the code was discovered by Cisco.

5. More time to question bomb suspect

Police have been given more time to question the two men arrested on suspicion of planning the Parsons Green tube train bombing on Friday. Yahyah Farroukh, 21, and an 18-year-old who has not been named are believed to have both lived with a British foster couple who were given MBEs for looking after more than 40 children.

6. ‘Man who saved world’ dies at 77

A former Soviet military officer believed to have single-handedly averted a nuclear war has died at the age of 77. Stanislav Petrov broke protocol and assumed that warnings of a US missile strike he received in 1983 were a computer malfunction. If his hunch had been incorrect he would have blocked the USSR from retaliating in time.

7. UK is major consumer of jihadist propaganda

A study by think tank Policy Exchange has found that the UK is the biggest consumer of jihadist propaganda in Europe – and the fifth-biggest worldwide after Turkey, the US, Saudia Arabia and Iraq. Policy Exchange also believes the British public would support laws criminalising reading content which glorifies terrorism.

8. Couple married 75 years die hours apart

A couple who were married for 75 years died within six hours of each other at a hospital in Ottawa last week. George and Jean Spear met in 1941 when George, a Canadian, was stationed in the UK during World War Two. They died on Friday, two days after Jean was hospitalised with pneumonia. George was admitted one day later.

9. Underpants hillwalker gets hypothermia

A 19-year-old student who climbed Snowdon to raise money for charity wearing just his underpants and shoes contracted hypothermia at the top. Nathan French from Merseyside was able to take the mountain railway down from the summit and was treated by a paramedic at the bottom. Mountain rescue teams urged walkers to dress properly.

10. Briefing: AI can detect Alzheimer’s a decade before symptoms show

Researchers have created an artificial intelligence (AI) programme that can detect signs of Alzheimer’s disease up to ten years before symptoms appear.

Developed by a team at the University of Bari, in Italy, the computer system scans the brain for “tiny structural changes” that indicate the early stages of the disease, reports Engadget.

AI can detect Alzheimer’s a decade before symptoms show