Ten Things You Need to Know Today: Monday 6 Aug 2018

1. Man charged with murder of Samantha Eastwood

Police have charged a 32-year-old man with the murder of midwife Samantha Eastwood, 28, whose body was found in the Staffordshire countryside on Saturday, more than a week after she was last seen. Michael Stirling is the brother-in-law of her former fiance, John Peake. Two other men have been bailed on suspicion of assisting an offender.

2. Second Indonesia earthquake kills at least 91

The second major earthquake to hit the Indonesian island of Lombok within a week killed at least 91 people, the authorities say. The magnitude 7 tremor hit the north of the island yesterday and has been followed by at least 130 aftershocks. The quake damaged thousands of buildings, caused power cuts and also affected neighbouring Bali.

3. Europe ablaze as temperatures near 48C

Temperatures in Continental Europe are expected to hit or even break the all-time high of 48C, with wildfires and other problems in Portugal, Spain, France and Poland. According to The Times: “Forest fires raged in Portugal yesterday, French nuclear reactors were shut down and police dogs in Switzerland were given protective shoes as [the] heatwave peaked.”

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4. UKIP working with ‘alt-right’ to target young voters

UKIP leader Gerard Batten is working directly with controversial social media activists from the so-called alt-right to try to attract younger voters to the depleted party, it has emerged. Batten and other senior UKIP figures held face-to-face talks on Friday with Paul Joseph Watson, the British editor of US right-wing website infowars.com, and activist Carl Benjamin. UKIP’s membership is down to 23,000.

5. Starving children found in US desert compound

Police in the US have rescued 11 starving children from a makeshift compound in the New Mexico desert after receiving a forwarded message that said: “We are starving and need food and water.” Two heavily armed men, named as Siraj Wahhaj and Lucas Morten, were arrested and three women were detained but then released. Police said the children were living in “Third World” conditions.

6. Virgin awarded nearly £2bn in NHS contracts

Richard Branson’s Virgin has “quietly become one of the UK’s leading healthcare providers” in the past five years, The Guardian reports. The newspaper says that the company has been awarded almost £2bn worth of NHS contracts, more than any other private firm. Virgin and subsidiaries now provide healthcare in prisons, dementia care and school vaccinations.

7. Farmers using ‘medieval methods’ to fight crime

Rural crime is at its highest level in four years, forcing farmers to turn to “medieval methods” to stop criminals driving onto their land in 4x4 vehicles, according to insurer NFU Mutual. Farmers are reportedly putting up earth banks and dry ditches, and using geese, dogs and even llamas as a low-tech alarm system around valuable assets.

8. Singer Demi Lovato to ‘focus on sobriety’

US singer Demi Lovato has issued her first public statement since being hospitalised last month following a suspected heroin overdose, telling fans she is on a “journey with addiction”. The 25-year-old said that it was now “time to heal and focus on my sobriety and road to recovery”. Thanking her family and fans, she promised: “I will keep fighting.”

9. Tinchy Stryder pays tribute to Barry Chuckle

Rapper Tinchy Stryder has joined the many fans paying tribute to children’s entertainer Barry Elliott, better known as one of the Chuckle Brothers, who died on Sunday at the age of 73. Stryder, who recorded a charity single with the pair in 2014, tweeted: “Funny, Down to earth, super cool, talented, humble legend. Rest in peace Barry Chuckle!”

10. Briefing: what a no-deal Brexit would mean for the UK

The Government is stepping up preparations for a no-deal Brexit as the possibility of Britain crashing out of the EU without a formal agreement looms large.

Ministers are largely sticking to the prime minister’s Brexit mantra - that no deal is better than a bad deal - but denies that it is actively seeking such an outcome.

What might no-deal look like for Britain?