Ten Things You Need to Know Today: Friday 7 Sep 2018

1. Blair doubts Labour can be ‘taken back by moderates’

Former prime minister Tony Blair has told the BBC he does not know if Labour can be “taken back” by centrists following the election of Jeremy Corbyn as leader and the rise of Momentum. Blair said that Corbyn was unelectable and hinted that a “progressive, moderate” new party might succeed, the closest he has come to backing the idea.

2. GCHQ boss warns threat from Russia is ‘active’

Intelligence agency boss Jeremy Fleming has warned in a speech in Washington DC that the threat posed by Russia to the international community remains “active” and is “real”. The GCHQ head spoke out after the US, France, Germany and Canada agreed with the UK’s claim that Russia was behind the Salisbury poisonings.

3. British Airways investigating huge data leak

British Airways says it is investigating “as a matter of urgency” a huge security breach that saw data from 380,000 customer transactions compromised. The airline said that people who booked between 10.58pm on 21 August and 9.45pm on 5 September could be affected and should check with their banks or credit card providers.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

4. Burt Reynolds dies at age of 82

Former Hollywood sex symbol Burt Reynolds has died at the age of 82, after suffering a heart attack. The Oscar-nominated actor died in hospital surrounded by his family. Reynolds shot to fame in 1972 thriller Deliverance and went on to star in Smokey and the Bandit and The Cannonball Run.

5. Woman and child critical after giraffe attack

An American woman and her three-year-old son are critically ill in hospital in Johannesburg after being attacked by a giraffe near their home. Katy Williams and son Finn were trampled as they waited for the boy’s father to return from a run. Sam Williams, a British scientist, was able to chase the animal away and get help.

6. Brazil: far-right presidential candidate stabbed

Brazilian far-right presidential candidate Jair Bolsonaro is recovering in hospital after being stabbed during a rally of his supporters. Bolsonaro, who is leading the polls, was attacked while he was being carried on the shoulders of his supporters. Suspect Adelio Bispo de Oliveira told police that God told him to stab the politician.

7. Northern Ireland secretary admits ignorance

Northern Ireland Secretary Karen Bradley has admitted that she was ignorant of many basic facts about the region’s politics when she was appointed to the post, in January. Bradley said that she hadn’t understood “some of the deep-seated and deep-rooted issues”. She added that she had not been aware that unionists don’t vote for nationalist parties and vice versa.

8. Thai yoga retreat guru accused of multiple rape

A yoga guru from Romania who ran the world’s biggest tantric yoga retreat, in Thailand, has been accused of sexual assaults including rape by 14 tourists. Swami Vivekandanda Saraswati – real name Narcis Tarcau – is believed to have left Thailand after the allegations were made. It is claimed sexual assault was endemic at Agama Yoga.

9. Johnson separates from wife over infidelities

Former home secretary Boris Johnson has separated from his wife, after further allegations of infidelity surfaced, The Sun reports. Johnson admitted an affair in 2004 and was sacked from the shadow cabinet for having previously lied about it. He has been married to barrister Marina Wheeler for 25 years, but had a child with another woman in 2009.

10. Briefing: is Nicaragua the new Syria?

The US ambassador to the United Nations has warned the organisation’s Security Council that Nicaragua is travelling “further down” the same path that led to a brutal civil war in Syria.

Nikki Haley, the current council president, said that the UN must intervene to halt Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega’s “tyranny from threatening peace and security” in the region.

“With each passing day Nicaragua travels further down a familiar path,” she said during a meeting on Wednesday.

Is Nicaragua the new Syria?