Ten Things You Need to Know Today: Tuesday 20 Mar 2018

1. Facebook ‘data theft’ warrant sought

UK Information Commissioner Elizabeth Denham says she will seek a warrant to examine the databases and servers of political data company Cambridge Analytica. The London-based firm is accused of using of the personal data of 50 million Facebook users in a bid to influence the result of the 2016 US presidential election. Cambridge Analytica, since suspended from Facebook, denies any wrongdoing.

2. Consumer prices ‘may fall by 1.2%’ after Brexit

Shop prices could fall by 1.2% after Brexit if tariffs are introduced, a new study has found. However, the report by the Institute for Fiscal Studies warns that any such gains will be small and are based on optimistic assumptions. The think tank says consumers have already seen prices rise by 2% because of the weak pound.

3. Weinstein company goes bankrupt

The Weinstein Company has filed for bankruptcy in the US, following a series of sexual assault allegations against ex-chairman Harvey Weinstein. The company’s board says it is releasing all former employees from confidentiality agreements, calling the move an “important step toward justice for any victims who have been silenced”.

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4. Self-driving car kills pedestrian in Arizona

A self-driving Uber car has killed a pedestrian, in what is believed to be the first fatality of its kind. A 49-year-old woman was pushing a bicycle across a street in Tempe, Arizona, when she was hit by the SUV, which was travelling at 40mph in autonomous mode, with an operator inside. Uber is temporarily halting self-driving car tests in all locations.

5. Spy poisoning: police seize vehicle

Detectives investigating the poisoning of former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in Wiltshire on 4 March have seized a pick-up truck belonging to a family friend. Police and soldiers sealed off a street in the village of Durrington, ten miles north of Salisbury, where the pair collapsed. The truck was used to collect Yulia from Heathrow Airport after she flew in from Russia on 3 March.

6. Girl of two dies after being saved from river

Police are appealing for witnesses over the death of a two-year-old girl pulled from a car in the River Teifi in Wales. Kiara Moore died in hospital yesterday after being found in the submerged silver Mini, believed to have been stolen in the town of Cardigan. Police want to speak to anybody who saw the car enter the river between 3.30pm and 4.50pm.

7. Police lose track of 485 sex offenders

Police have lost track of 485 registered sex offenders across Britain, Sky News reports. Those unaccounted for include rapists and paedophiles – and the whereabouts of some of them has been unknown for decades, according to the broadcaster. The figure has risen by 20% in the past three years. London’s Met Police admits losing track of 227.

8. More than £20m spent on Grenfell hotels

More than £20m has now been spent on housing the survivors of the Grenfell Tower fire in hotels - enough to build the original block three times over, according to estimates. Half of the cost is to be met by the Government, and the other half by the local Kensington and Chelsea council. Another £8m has been spent supporting families who lost everything.

9. Aurora Steve spotted in remote Scotland

Stargazers and photographers on the islands of Skye and Lewis, in northern Scotland, have observed a strange phenomenon known as Steve, an acronym for Strong Thermal Emission Velocity Enhancement. The arc of light was seen at the same time as the Northern Lights and is being studied by Nasa, which does not yet understand it.

10. Briefing: where’s the best place to live in the UK?

York has topped a prestigious list of the best places to live in Britain for 2018. The walled Roman city in North Yorkshire, home to York Minster, heads The Sunday Times Best Places to Live list “because of its combination of ancient beauty and a recent modernisation”, says the Evening Standard.

“You can’t deny the romantic beauty of York,” writes the guide. “The period buildings, meandering river and the iconic Minster have ensured this city a billing in every Best Places list.”

The best place to live in the UK in 2018