Ten Things You Need to Know Today: Wednesday 27 Jun 2018

1. Homes evacuated as Saddleworth Moor burns

Residents have been forced to flee 34 homes near Stalybridge, Greater Manchester, as a huge fire spreads across Saddleworth Moor. The blaze began on Sunday night and has been exacerbated by hot weather and winds. The fire, which measures 3.7 miles across the tinder-dry hills, has been declared a “major incident”, with the Army on stand-by to help tackle it.

2. US states sue Trump administration over migrants

Seventeen US states are taking legal action against the Trump administration for its “cruel and unusual” separation of migrant children from their families at the nation’s southern border. At a news conference in Brazil yesterday, Vice President Mike Pence warned families not to “risk the lives of your children” by coming to the US.

3. Tax over-40s to pay for old age care, MPs says

The over-40s and richer pensioners should pay extra tax to help meet the increasing cost of social care for Britain’s growing elderly population, a report by cross-party committees of MPs has recommended. Payments would start at 40 and end at 65 but would not apply to low-income earners. Inheritance tax should also be increased, the MPs say.

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4. Taliban bomb-maker arrested yards from No. 10

A bomb maker whose improvised explosive devices were used by the Taliban to kill British and US troops was arrested within yards of 10 Downing Street carrying three knives in his backpack, it has emerged. Following his arrest in April last year, Khalid Ali, 28, boasted to police that he had detonated some 300 devices in Afghanistan, although he later backtracked. He was placed under surveillance by MI5 when he returned to the UK in 2016.

5. Community prisons for women plan scrapped

The Government has dropped plans for five community prisons for women and will instead open residential centres for female offenders where they will be offered support with finding work and quitting drugs. The decision was praised by penal reform campaign group Howard League, although it warned that the new centres must be properly funded to work.

6. Japanese spacecraft reaches ‘cosmic diamond’

Japan’s Hayabusa 2 spacecraft has arrived at its target asteroid, dubbed the “cosmic diamond” because of its shape, following a four-year journey. The probe will now fire a projectile into the surface of the Ryugu asteroid before digging out samples of rocks and soil from beneath the surface. The plan is to bring these to Earth for study.

7. Spanish on the rise in schools as French falls

Spanish is close to becoming the most-taught language in British schools, as the popularity of French diminishes, the British Council says. If current trends continue, the world’s second-most spoken language will be the most popular at A level by 2020, and at GCSE level by 2025. There are 437 million native Spanish speakers worldwide.

8. Man looks forward to using bionic penis

A 44-year-old English man born without a penis is looking forward to having sex for the first time after having a pioneering implant. Andrew Wardle, who was also born with his bladder outside his body, told the Daily Mail he was “very excited” but added that sex is “not the be-all and end-all”. Doctors have told Wardle, of Stalybridge, Greater Manchester, that he will have to wait eight weeks before losing his virginity with his girlfriend.

9. Museum’s fatberg now most popular exhibit

A slice of a so-called fatberg on show in the Museum of London is now one of the most popular exhibits there, curator Vyki Sparkes has said. The lump of congealed fat and wet wipes, found in a London sewer, is growing mould and acting as a nursery for flies. It was cut from an 820ft-long congealed mass found under Whitechapel.

10. Briefing: is the UK spending enough on defence?

The row over UK’s defence spending is growing as a new report by MPs warns that the country faces being left behind unless more money is pumped into the Armed Forces.

The Commons Defence Committee report says the UK’s defence budget needs to rise from 2% of GDP (£40bn) to 3% (£60bn) if Britain is to maintain its influence in the global sphere.

Is the UK spending enough on defence?