1. May warns rebels against blocking Brexit
Theresa May has said her government will amend its EU Withdrawal Bill to include a legal date for the UK to leave the EU – 11pm GMT on Friday 29 March 2019. Writing in The Daily Telegraph, the Prime Minister warned rebel MPs “on all sides” not to try to block or slow down “the democratic wishes of the British people”.
2. Mental health support denied to 150 children a day
The NSPCC is warning today that too many children are struggling to access mental health services, with around 150 a day denied support by the NHS in England. Of 652,023 cases referred to Children and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMS) between 2015 and 2017, at least 109,613 children – 17% of the total – were turned away.
3. Steven Seagal accused of sexual harassment
American actor Steven Seagal has been accused of sexual harassment by several women, including Portia de Rossi. Arrested Development star De Rossi says Seagal unzipped his trousers while telling her it was important to have good chemistry off-screen when she auditioned for a role in one of his action films. Seagal has made no comment.
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4. Police force faces ‘sexting’ legal challenge
The High Court today will consider whether Greater Manchester Police should be forced to delete the details of a 14-year-old boy, recorded because he sent a naked photo of himself to a girl who then shared it with others. The boy’s mother is concerned police might tell future employers that he was involved in ‘sexting’.
5. Disney shares rally on Star Wars announcement
Shares in Disney rallied yesterday after the company announced it is planning a further three Star Wars films, in addition to the current trilogy. The share price had fallen earlier when the entertainment giant revealed its profits declined by 4% to $8.98bn (£6.8bn) in the year to September – the first fall in annual profits since 2009.
6. Saudi Arabia tells citizens to leave Lebanon
Saudi Arabia has warned its citizens to leave Lebanon immediately, raising fears that the sovereign Arab state is heading towards all-out war with Iran. Saudi Arabia claims Hezbollah, backed by Iran, is running Lebanon. Saudi foreign minister Adel al-Jubeir said he would view Lebanon as a hostile state while Hezbollah was involved in its government.
7. Radioactive cloud ‘could be from Russia’
France’s nuclear safety watchdog says a cloud of radioactive pollution floating over Europe in recent weeks was probably caused by an accident at a nuclear facility – not a power station – in either Russia or Kazakhstan in the last week of September. The cloud does not pose any risk to human health, says the IRSN agency.
8. Christmas ad spend to hit record high
The Advertising Association is predicting that retailers in the UK will spend a record £6bn on advertising in the run-up to Christmas this year. Intense competition, particularly among supermarkets, has pushed up ad spending by almost 40% over the past seven years. John Lewis and Marks & Spencer have released their Christmas ads already.
9. New Zealand uses chatbots to fight scammers
New Zealand’s online regulator has created an army of AI programmes designed to engage email scammers in long-winded dialogues that waste their time and gather information about their techniques. So far, the longest exchange between a chatbot pretending to be a possible mark and a scammer has amounted to 20 emails.
10. Briefing: Trump ‘ceding global power’ to China
Donald Trump’s lavish praise of Chinese leader Xi Jinping during the US president’s ongoing Asia tour indicates more than a shift in diplomatic strategy between the two countries, according to commentators - it points to a shift in power.
While Xi Jinping has elevated himself to become the most powerful Chinese leader since Communist Party Mao Zedong, Trump’s approval ratings have hit historic lows.
Trump ‘ceding global power’ to Chinese President Xi Jinping
