Ten Things You Need to Know Today: Tuesday 21 Aug 2018

1. Hunt to ask Trump to impose more Russia sanctions

Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt is making his first overseas trip to the US – and will urge Donald Trump to impose fresh sanctions on Russia. In a speech in Washington today, the former health secretary will call for new rules to protect democratic elections from online interference. He will also warn against Trump’s trade protectionism.

2. NHS England ‘not prepared for no-deal Brexit’

A leaked email to the head of NHS England from the group which represents hospitals and ambulance services, NHS Providers, warns the service is not ready for a no-deal Brexit. It says leaving the EU without agreeing a trade deal would make it harder to stop the spread of disease and would immediately be a real risk to services.

3. Flash floods kill 10 hikers in southern Italy

At least 10 hikers are dead, with the search for the missing continuing, after flash floods filled a gorge in southern Italy yesterday. Officials say 18 people were rescued from the Raganello valley, six of them injured, after sudden heavy rainfall upstream caused floods. The search for survivors continued through the night under spotlights.

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4. Women not given right to choose a Caesarean

Only 26% of NHS trusts are giving women their legal right to choose a Caesarean birth if they want one, according to the charity Birthrights. National guidelines say women should be offered elective Caesareans even if there is no medical reason for it – but 15% of trusts refuse to offer them. Another 47% offer them under limited circumstances.

5. Hammer attack: man charged with attempted murder

A 27-year-old man, Joe Xuereb, has been charged with two counts of attempted murder after a horrific hammer attack on a mother and daughter in Eltham, south London. City worker Ania Gos, 30 and her 64-year-old mother, are both critically injured in hospital. They did not know Xuereb, who is alleged to have attacked them on Sunday.

6. Chelsea Clinton: political run a ‘definite maybe’

The next Clinton to seek political office in the US could be Chelsea. The 38-year-old told an audience at the Edinburgh International Book Festival yesterday that while it was a “definite no now” it was a “definite maybe in the future”. Clinton, whose mother was beaten to the presidency by Donald Trump in 2016, spoke of a Senate run.

7. Neglected Siberian village to change name to ‘Syria’

A village in Siberia with unreliable electricity and water – and no school or doctor – has launched a campaign to change its name to “Syria” in a satirical attempt to attract more state aid from Moscow. Sergei Zhavronkov, leading the campaign in Bungur, asserted that “the destruction here is just as bad as it is there”.

8. Olivia Colman named most powerful person in TV

Actor Olivia Colman has been named the most powerful person in British television by Radio Times. The magazine puts the 44-year-old star of The Night Manager and The Crown at the top of its annual list, with Doctor Who showrunner Chris Chibnall in second place. Third place is shared by This Country’s Daisy May and Charlie Cooper.

9. Keanu Reeves and Winona Ryder ‘could be married’

Celebrated director Francis Ford Coppola has backed a claim first made by actor Winona Ryder: that she may have inadvertently married co-star Keanu Reeves during the filming of the 1992 film Bram Stoker’s Dracula. Coppola said he used a real Greek Orthodox priest for the scene, and asked him to go ahead with an authentic ceremony.

10. Briefing: how Eid al-Adha is celebrated

Muslims around the world are preparing to mark one of the most important festivals in the Islamic calendar.

Centred on prayer and animal sacrifice, Eid al-Adha symbolises Ibrahim’s willingness to sacrifice his son as a sign of devotion to Allah.

Eid al-Adha 2019: when is Greater Eid and how is it celebrated?