1. Melania Trump joins debate on child migrants
Melania Trump has made a rare political intervention, saying that she “hates to see children separated from their families” when caught trying to enter the US illegally. The first lady added that she hoped “both sides of the aisle” could achieve “immigration reform”. The separations have drastically increased during her husband’s presidency.
2. Brexit may cost £1,000 per household
Brexit may leave each British household around £1,000 worse off every year, as a result of trade barriers, according to US-based management consultancy firm Oliver Wyman. That estimate is for the most negative post-EU scenario of high import tariffs and regulator barriers. The total cost to the economy annually would be £27bn.
3. Virgin Money bought by CYBG for £1.7bn
The group behind the Clydesdale and Yorkshire banks, CYBG, has bought high-street lender Virgin Money for £1.7bn - and says the resulting new firm will soon be “disrupting the status quo and championing customer service excellence”. The Virgin Money brand will be retained and will become the UK’s sixth-biggest bank.
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4. Debit cards now more popular than cash
Debit cards were used more often than cash for the first time ever in the UK last year, new figures show. A total of 13.2 billion payments were made using the cards, up 14% on the previous year, while 13.1 billion cash payments were made, down 15%. An estimated 3.4 million people hardly used cash at all, says banking body UK Finance.
5. Couple to sue over Grenfell-style cladding
A couple who live in a tower block with the same style of cladding as that which caused the Grenfell Tower fire to spread so quickly are to sue the Government after the value of their flat dropped from £600,000 to just £90,000. Nerisa Ahmed and her husband Asher Garnett bought a flat in Greenwich with a loan from the Help to Buy scheme.
6. China on Trump: ‘The fool builds walls’
Chinese state newspaper the People’s Daily has attacked the US administration of Donald Trump as “rude”, “selfish” and “boring”, amid rising tension as the two nations move towards an all-out trade war. The editorial adds: “The wise man builds bridges, the fool builds walls.” Trump announced another round of tariffs on Chinese imports on Friday.
7. England fans in Volgograd for their team’s first match
England football fans have been arriving in Volgograd, formerly Stalingrad, for their team’s first match tonight. The FA says fewer than 2,000 tickets for the game against Tunisia have been sold to the official supporters’ club, apparently because of fears of violence. It is thought that swaths of seats will remain empty.
8. David Dimbleby to step down from Question Time
Veteran broadcaster David Dimbleby is to step down from hosting the BBC’s flagship debate show Question Time, after 25 years as chair. Now 79, the son of broadcaster Richard Dimbleby says that he plans to return to “my first love, reporting”. It is not known who will succeed him on Question Time following his last show, on 13 December.
9. Meghan Markle’s father: ‘I’m a footnote’
Thomas Markle, father of the Duchess of Sussex, has spoken about his disappointment at being unable to attend her wedding to Prince Harry last month. Markle, who was recovering from heart surgery when his daughter wed, told ITV’s Good Morning Britain: “I’m a footnote to the greatest moment in history rather than the dad who walked his daughter down the aisle. That upsets me somewhat.”
10. Briefing: why does Spain own two cities in Africa?
Spain’s new interior minister has announced that dismantling barbed wire fences that separate the two Spanish enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla from Morocco is among his “main priorities”.
Coils of razor blades top some of the fences that surround the two autonomous towns, which as territories of Spain form the only direct land borders between Europe and Africa. Migrants trying to reach European shores frequently try to scale the 6ft-high barriers, despite risking serious injury.
Ceuta and Melilla: why does Spain own two cities in Africa?
