Ten Things You Need to Know Today: Saturday 14 Oct 2017

1. Tehran says the US is 'more isolated than ever'

Iran's President Hassan Rouhani said the US was "more isolated than ever" after Donald Trump threatened to cancel the nuclear deal. After the US President said he would stop signing off on the agreement, the UK, France and Germany announced that the pact was "in our shared national security interest". The European Union said it was "not up to any single country to terminate" a "working" deal.

2. Weinstein's brother denies company is up for sale

Harvey Weinstein's brother has denied reports that the film production company they co-founded will be closed or sold. "Our banks, partners and shareholders are fully supportive of our company," said Bob Weinstein. "Business is continuing as usual." The company has already fired Harvey Weinstein after a raft of sexual harassment allegations were made against him.

3. Automatic jail for repeat acid attack offenders

Offenders who are caught twice with corrosive substances will automatically face a prison sentence of at least six months under new plans. The "two strikes" rule will echo the system for those repeatedly caught with knives. Under that ruling, minimum sentences were introduced for adults who are convicted of a second or subsequent offence of possession of a knife or offensive weapon.

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

4. 'Catastrophic' season nearly wipes out Adelie penguins

A breeding season described as "catastrophic" has seen all but two Adelie penguin chicks starve to death in their east Antarctic colony. The problem was caused because unusually high amounts of ice late in the season meant adults had to travel further for food. Conservation groups are calling for urgent action on a new marine protection area to guard the colony of about 36,000.

5. Philip Hammond regrets his EU 'enemy' remarks

The chancellor says his description of European Union's Brexit negotiators as "the enemy" was a "poor choice of words". After Philip Hammond also called the negotiators "the opponents" during a television interview, he tweeted: "I regret I used a poor choice of words." Meanwhile, Tory MP Nadine Dorries says Hammond’s lobster lunch with Brexit opponent George Osborne "sounds very fishy".

6. Benefits worker talks of universal credit horror show

A benefits case worker says the universal credit system is dominated by delays and confusion, with suicidal claimants and "suffering on a daily basis". Writing in The Independent, the worker says "turning away those in abject poverty" has become a "part of the job". A Department for Work and Pensions spokesperson said: "Universal credit is a big change to the way we deliver benefits."

7. Hurricane Ophelia to bring warmth and woe to UK

Forecasters say the tail end of Hurricane Ophelia will bring disruption to the UK. The Met Office has warned of transport chaos and power cuts, with 70mm of rain and wind speeds of up to 80mph expected. Monday is expected to see a spell of "very windy weather" sweeping across western parts of the UK, but the mercury is set to rise, with temperatures of 25C predicted.

8. Californian wildfires are the worst in history

The Californian wildfires have displaced an estimated 90,000 people from their homes and destroyed at least 5,700 homes and businesses. With the death toll rising to 36, it is the deadliest and most destructive series of wildfires in California history. "The emergency is not over, and we continue to work at it, but we are seeing some great progress," said the state's emergency operations director, Mark Ghilarducci.

9. Iran blamed for June cyber attack on British MPs

Iran was behind a cyber attack on the email accounts of dozens of MPs, according to British intelligence. The Times claims that an unpublished intelligence report found that evidence points to Iran, after initial suspicion of Russia and North Korea dismissed. The cyber-attack on parliament on June 23 hit the accounts of dozens of MPs, including Theresa May, the prime minister.

10. Animal cruelty on Snapchat rockets in 2017

Cases of animal cruelty being filmed and shared on Snapchat have soared by 340% in the past year, says the RSPCA. The charity said that the most common offenders are children. In 2015, it received 27 reports of this kind of abuse but so far this year 119 complaints - a jump of 340% - have been reported with three months of the year still left.