Ten Things You Need to Know Today: Friday 22 Jun 2018

1. Airbus poised to quit UK amid hard Brexit fears

European aeroplane manufacturer Airbus has warned that it will pull out of the UK if the country leaves the EU without a transition deal. Airbus said the threat is not part of “project fear” but a “dawning reality”. The firm directly employs 14,000 people at 25 different sites in Britain and supports more than 110,000 jobs further up its supply chain.

2. Trump defends Melania’s migrant trip coat

Donald Trump has defended his wife’s decision to wear a parka with “I don’t really care, do u?” written on the back during her journey to a centre in Texas where child migrants are kept separately from their parents. The US president tweeted that the slogan referred to Melania’s lack of respect for what he called the “Fake News Media”.

3. EU tariffs on US goods come into force

New tariffs introduced by the EU in retaliation for US protectionism come into force today. They will apply to some £2.4bn worth of imports every year, including bourbon whiskey, motorcycles and orange juice. Meanwhile, India has said it will raise tariffs on 29 products from the US including some iron and steel goods.

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4. Roseanne show to resume without Roseanne

US broadcaster ABC has announced that it is bringing back the Roseanne show without its principal character Roseanne Barr, who was fired for sending racist tweets. The show will be called The Connors and will feature the other principal cast members. Barr said she had agreed to relinquish the show to save cast and crew jobs.

5. Sign language gorilla Koko dies at 46

A gorilla born in San Francisco Zoo who became famous after learning to communicate using sign language has died at the age of 46. Koko died peacefully in her sleep at the Gorilla Foundation’s preserve in California. Koko was reported to understand about 2,000 words of spoken English, responding to humans by signing.

6. Picking fruit is fun, jobseekers to be told

The Government is sending guidance to job centres on how to encourage jobseekers to take up seasonal fruit-picking work. Staff will be encouraged to share myth-busting advice, including the fact you don’t necessarily have to bend over all day to pick fruit. Fruit farms employ around 85,000 seasonal workers, 95% of whom are from other EU countries.

7. Love Island star found dead at home aged 32

A former Miss Great Britain who was a contestant on reality TV show Love Island was found dead at her parents’ home in Ponteland, Northumbria, on Monday. Sophie Gradon, who was 32, appeared on the ITV2 dating show in 2016 and was one half of its first same-sex couple, as well as forming a partnership with a male contestant.

8. Mystery ape found in ancient Chinese tomb

An extinct ape not previously known to science has been classified after its remains were found in a 2,300-year-old Chinese tomb. The skull of the gibbon proves that humans had already begun wiping out other primate species long before modern times. The animal has been named Junzi imperialis because it was in a royal tomb.

9. Clothes moths thriving thanks to cooler washes

Clothes moths are on the rise in Britain, as a result of people buying better-quality clothes and washing them at lower temperatures, according to pest control firm Rentokil. Clothes made of wool and silk contain keratin, the preferred food for moth larvae, which can only be killed by washing garments at 55C or higher. Rentokil reports that call-outs to moth infestations have risen by 60% over the past four years in the UK.

10. Briefing: where are England’s 7,000 missing schoolchildren?

Up to 7,700 secondary school pupils in England have left mainstream schooling and slipped off the radar, according to new research.

Of the 553,000 children who started Year 7 at state schools in England in 2012, 531,000 were still enrolled in 2017, when they would be due to sit their GCSEs, according to education research group FFT Education Datalab.

Where are England’s 7,000 missing schoolchildren?