Ten Things You Need to Know Today: Monday 26 Mar 2018

1. Daniels: ‘I was threatened over Trump affair’

Adult film actor Stormy Daniels says she was threatened with violence over her alleged affair with Donald Trump. Real name Stephanie Clifford, she says a man in a car park threatened her physically in 2011, when she first tried to go public about allegedly having unprotected sex with the future US President after his marriage in 2006.

2. Jewish leaders say Corbyn supports anti-Semites

Jeremy Corbyn has been accused of repeatedly supporting anti-Semitism, in an open letter written by the leaders of some of Britain’s key Jewish groups, which plan to protest outside Parliament today. Corbyn has apologised, saying he is “sincerely sorry” that “pockets of anti-Semitism” exist within the Labour Party he leads.

3. Scouts pay £42,000 over autism discrimination

The Scout Association has been forced to pay £42,000 compensation to a family whose 11-year-old son, Ben Gleeson, was told he could not go to camps or take part in group activities without supervision because he was autistic. The case was settled out of court last year, but the details have only just emerged. Both parents are lawyers.

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4. As many as 41 children dead in Siberian fire

As many as 41 children are among the 53 victims of a fire in a Siberian shopping mall, in the coal-mining town Kemerovo. Another 10 children have been listed as missing, officials say. Many of the victims were in the cinema at the Winter Cherry mall, where the fire started upstairs on Sunday. Videos show people jumping from windows.

5. Northern children ‘being left behind’

The Children’s Commissioner for England is warning today that children in the North are being left behind, with “huge gaps” between them and their peers in the south. Northern children are attending worse schools, leaving school earlier and doing worse academically at secondary school than children in the more affluent south.

6. Asian markets down, despite S Korea news

Markets across Asia fell this morning because of fears of a global trade war prompted by US President Donald Trump’s decision to impose heavy tariffs on steel and aluminium imports. The slump might have been even worse if it had not emerged yesterday that South Korea has secured itself an exemption from the steel tariff.

7. Orange snow puzzles eastern European skiers

Skiers and other people in eastern Europe and Russia have been startled by mountains covered in orange snow, posting pictures from Bulgaria, Ukraine, Romania and Moldova – as well as Russia – on social media. Meteorologists say the phenomenon is caused by sand from the Sahara mixing with snow and happens every five years.

8. Beast from East to return for Easter

Forecasters say there could be another cold snap, with snow and ice, across the UK this week, as the ‘Beast from the East’ hits the UK for the third time. The weather front has brought cold air from Siberia to Britain twice already this year – now meteorologists say it may bring snow to Scotland and eastern England from Wednesday.

9. ‘Slowest rollercoaster in Japan’ derailed

Passengers did not at first notice when a ride billed as the “slowest rollercoaster in Japan” derailed at a Tokyo theme park on Friday. Seven adults and 12 children eventually realised they were trapped 16 feet above ground on the 460-foot Family Coaster at Arakawa Amusement Park. Rescue crews were called to take them to safety.

10. Briefing: who is John Bolton?

John Bolton, a Bush-era war hawk who backs the bombing of Iran and North Korea, will soon be in charge of America’s national security policy.

In one of the most controversial cabinet appointments to date – even by Donald Trump’s standards – Bolton will replace General H.R. McMaster as the President’s national security advisor next month.

“The risks of a war with Iran or North Korea are now significantly greater than they were this morning,” New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof said after yesterday’s announcement.

John Bolton: who is Donald Trump’s hawkish new national security advisor?