Ten Things You Need to Know Today: Monday 27 Aug 2018

1. Extreme weather to push food prices up 5%

This year’s unusually cold late winter – and the hottest summer since 1976 – will cause food prices to rise by 5% over the coming months, consultancy firm CEBR has estimated. The wholesale price of some vegetables, including carrots, is already up 80% – but the firm says the full impact could be as much as £7 a month more per household.

2. Starmer warns of no-deal Brexit ‘legal vacuum’

Shadow brexit secretary Keir Starmer has warned that a no-deal Brexit would leave the government racing against time to pass a raft of new laws, or leave the UK in an “unsustainable legal vacuum”. His analysis says legislation would have to be created at high speed in four key areas: EU citizens’ rights, immigration, EU criminals and Ireland.

3. Archbishop calls on Pope to resign over abuse

A former Vatican official, Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano, has written a letter calling on Pope Francis to resign, saying he warned him in 2013 of allegations that US-based Cardinal Theodore McCarrick had sexually abused a 16-year-old boy. McCarrick, who is 88, resigned over the claims last month. Vigano is a frequent critic of Francis.

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4. Gunman kills two at Florida video game contest

A 24-year-old video gamer yesterday shot dead two other players at a Madden NFL 19 tournament in Florida yesterday, before killing himself with the same handgun. David Katz was said to be a disgruntled loser in the contest, which had a $5,000 (£3,900) prize. Microphones live-streamed the sound of gunshots and screams of victims.

5. May to make first visit to Africa as PM

Theresa May is to visit South Africa, Nigeria and Kenya this week with a UK trade mission, her first visit to Africa as prime minister. She said the trip was a “unique opportunity at a unique time” for the UK to strengthen trade links in preparation for Brexit. She will also discuss security issues, including terror group Boko Haram in Nigeria.

6. Major airlines lengthen flight times to dodge fees

Major airlines are adding up to 30 minutes to the published length of their flight times so that they can claim planes are not late, and avoid paying compensation to passengers, Which? says. The consumer group looked at 125 flights operated by large airlines to the UK and found that 61% are now listed as taking longer than in 2009.

7. Chilean gang flies to UK to burgle houses

A string of burglaries in the Home Counties is the work of a Chilean gang, The Times reveals. More than 75 Chileans have been arrested in the past two years, said to take goods worth £400,000 in a single raid, posting them back to Chile. They enter homes through first-floor windows, as many alarms only cover the ground floor.

8. One in five vanilla ice creams has no vanilla

A survey by Which? reveals that one in five vanilla ice creams sold in the UK contains no vanilla, cream or fresh milk. Only half of the 24 brands examined by the consumer group contained all three of those ingredients. A rule change in 2015 to permit low-fat and vegan versions to be sold as ice cream removed requirements to contain dairy.

9. Trump colours in US flag wrongly at school

US President Donald Trump has been mocked – and defended – after he failed to correctly colour-in a US flag on a visit to a children’s hospital in Ohio. A photograph of the president’s colouring showed he had made one of the stripes blue. As well as online abuse, Trump received support from some who said he had done it deliberately.

10. Briefing: can lack of sleep make you fat?

A study in Sweden has shown how a lack of sleep can make your body store extra fat and break down muscle.

Jonathan Cedernaes, an author of the study, published in Science Advances, said it helped to explain why insomniacs and shift workers are more likely to become overweight or suffer from type 2 diabetes. A lack of sleep appears to restrict hormones that maintain muscles and increase levels of cortisol, which encourages fat storage.

Can lack of sleep make you fat?