Ten Things You Need to Know Today: Monday 19 Mar 2018

1. Putin: ‘Poisoning claim is drivel and rubbish’

Vladimir Putin has made his first public comments about Russia’s alleged poisoning of former spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in Salisbury, Wiltshire, on 4 March. The Russian president said the idea that Russia had used a nerve agent on the pair, still critically ill, was “complete drivel, rubbish, nonsense”. Putin also denied that Russia had chemical weapons.

2. Hundreds of schools closed as more snow falls

Hundreds of schools across the UK are closed today following extreme weather this weekend, with further snowfall forecast. In Devon, 250 schools are shut – and others are closed in Gloucestershire, Somerset and Wales. Further snow is expected in the southwest of England and there are yellow warnings for ice in Scotland and England.

3. British woman killed fighting Turkish forces in Syria

A British woman has died fighting alongside Kurdish forces in Syria. Anna Campbell was volunteering with the all-female YPJ in Afrin, northern Syria, when a Turkish missile hit her convoy. The 26-year-old, from Lewes in Sussex, is the first foreign fighter to die in Turkey’s offensive.

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. Putin wins Russia election by a landslide

Russian President Vladimir Putin has been re-elected to serve another six-year term, clinching more than 75% in Sunday’s election. Critics claim the vote was rigged – and key opposition leader Alexei Navalny was not allowed to stand as a candidate because of a fraud conviction that many believe was masterminded by Putin. The Russian leader has been in office either as president or prime minister since 1999.

5. Stem cell transplant ‘game changer’ for MS

Researchers are hailing a new stem cell transplant treatment as a potential “game changer” for people with multiple sclerosis. In an international study, just over 100 people suffering from relapsing remitting MS received stem cell transplants after having their immune systems neutralised. After three years, the disease had progressed in only 6% of patients who had transplants, compared with 60% in a control group taking standard medicine.

6. Navratilova: McEnroe earns ten times my wage

Former Wimbledon champion Martina Navratilova has complained of sexism at the BBC after discovering she earns ten times less than fellow tennis pundit John McEnroe. The 61-year-old says that she is paid £15,000 for her role as a commentator and that it was “a shock” to learn the former men’s No. 1 makes at least £150,000.

7. Labour queries Johnson on garden bridge

The Labour Party has written to Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson asking him to explain his role in the scrapped London Garden Bridge project during his reign as mayor of the capital. Johnson has said he cannot remember the reasons for key decisions that he made about the project, which cost £46.4m of public money but was never built.

8. Cirque du Soleil performer falls to his death

An aerialist for the world-famous circus Cirque du Soleil fell to his death while performing in Florida on Saturday. Yann Arnaud, 38, died in hospital after apparently losing his grip during a routine involving aerial straps. The circus cancelled its remaining weekend shows and issued a statement saying it was cooperating with local authorities investigating Arnaud’s death.

9. Ant McPartlin arrested for drink-driving

TV presenter Ant McPartlin, known as one half of Ant and Dec, has been arrested on suspicion of drink-driving in London. The 42-year-old failed a breathalyser test on Lower Richmond Road in Mortlake on Sunday afternoon after a three-vehicle accident. London Fire Brigade treated a number of people for minor injuries at the scene.

10. Briefing: is Easter a Christian or pagan festival?

Chocolate giant Cadbury and the National Trust found themselves in hot water last year after omitting the word “Easter” from their annual egg hunt. Church leaders said the two organisations were “airbrushing faith” out of the festival. But some argue that Easter is actually a pagan holiday and owes its name to the Anglo-Saxon goddess Eostre. So what are the origins of Easter?

Fact Check: Is Easter a Christian or pagan festival?