1. Brexit: Raab to accuse Brussels of ‘irresponsibility’
Brexit Secretary Dominic Raab will today accuse the European Commission of acting irresponsibly by not promising to limit the impact of a no-deal Brexit, while saying the UK would not engage in tit-for-tat border checks or travel restrictions if there is no deal. Raab will also publish advice for business and citizens on what no deal would mean.
2. Trump: I paid hush money from personal funds
US President Donald Trump said yesterday he paid two women who claimed to have had affairs with him to remain silent using his own money, not campaign funds. His former personal lawyer Michael Cohen has said under oath the money came illegally from Trump’s 2016 election fund. Trump has previously denied knowing about the payments at all.
3. Patient waited 62 hours for ambulance to come
A patient in Wales waited 62 hours for an ambulance last year – the longest delay revealed in new figures on waiting times for paramedics. The report shows that four ambulance services kept people hanging on for more than 24 hours. The NHS trusts in question said these were for “less serious calls” which were deliberately prioritised lower.
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4. Patients told: ‘Take honey, not antibiotics’
New advice from Public Health England advises patients with coughs or colds to self-medicate with honey, before they consider going to their GPs. The advice is intended to reduce the amount of antibiotics being prescribed, amid fears that overuse of the drugs is leading bacteria to build up resistance to them. Antibiotics help little with cold symptoms.
5. Indonesia: woman jailed for saying prayer too loud
A Buddhist woman in Muslim Indonesia has been jailed for blasphemy after she asked her local mosque to turn down its call to prayer, saying it was too loud. Meiliana has been sentenced to 18 months in jail, after a court decision Amnesty International dubbed “ludicrous”. One Muslim organisation said it was “mob justice”.
6. Corbyn: tax Facebook to pay for journalism
Speaking at the Edinburgh TV Festival, Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn will today propose a tax on tech giants Google, Amazon and Facebook to pay for public interest journalism including the BBC. He will say he believes the BBC is subject to excessive state interference and will argue that other news outlets are “held back” by tycoon owners.
7. Actor Jimmy Bennett responds to Argento denial
US actor Jimmy Bennett has issued a statement about the “trauma” he suffered at the hands of #MeToo campaigner and Harvey Weinstein accuser Asia Argento. Argento has denied sexual assault or any kind of sexual relationship with Bennett, who is 20 years her junior and claims he had sex with her when he was 17 - underage in California.
8. Private school governors angered by rap video
The governors of a private boarding school in London are “investigating” and its head has resigned after the premises were hired out to film a rap video. Female rapper Stefflon Don filmed her Pretty Girl video in Mill Hill School and it features a “sultry shower”, says The Guardian, and a scene were ‘pupils’ smoke cannabis in a dorm.
9. Briefing: what is the Kiki challenge?
Canadian music star Drake has visited an 11-year-old girl who needs a new heart after a video showing her performing the “Kiki challenge” in hospital went viral online.
The rapper shared photos of himself with Sofia Sanchez, who has heart failure, on Instagram.
What is the Kiki challenge and is it dangerous?
10. Iran unveils ‘domestically built’ fighter jet
Iran’s unveiling of what it says is its first “domestically designed and produced” fighter jet has been overshadowed by claims that the aircraft is actually a re-purposed US-built fighter. Experts claim that the design is that of the US F-5F jet, first built in the early 1970s.
