Ten Things You Need to Know Today: Wednesday 19 Sep 2018

1. Barnier shifts tone on Irish border after Brexit

EU chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier has adopted a more placatory tone on the issue of a post-Brexit border between Northern Ireland and the Republic, saying he will “improve” his offer. Speaking ahead of a 48-hour EU summit in Austria, Barnier said: “What we are talking about here is not a land border, not a sea border, it is a set of technical checks and controls.”

2. North and South Korea: joint press conference

The leaders of North and South Korea held a joint press conference earlier today, following three days of negotiations in Pyongyang. The North’s Kim Jong Un has offered to shut down key missile test facilities and close the nuclear complex at Yongbyon if the US make reciprocal measures. He also agreed to visit South Korea leader Moon Jae-in in Seoul in the “near future”.

3. Dementia threat higher in polluted areas

People living in the UK’s most polluted areas have an up to 40% higher risk of developing dementia, according to research led by King’s College London. The research, the first British study of its kind, reveals the extent to which dirty air can damage the brain, as well as harming the lungs and heart. The study does not prove a causal link.

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4. Warning of risk to life as Storm Ali nears

The Met Office has issued an amber weather warning for the northeast of England, southern Scotland and Northern Ireland, saying that flying debris and big waves caused by high winds pose a risk to life today. Damage to buildings and disruption to travel is also forecast, with gusts reaching up to 75mph. A more widespread yellow warning includes Yorkshire.

5. Girls don’t feel safe walking home alone

Research carried out for the Girl Guides – now called Girlguiding UK – suggests an “alarmingly high” number of girls and young women feel unsafe walking home unaccompanied. Nearly two-thirds of the 1,903 survey respondents said they did not feel safe, or knew someone who felt unsafe. More than half had suffered harassment, or knew someone who had.

6. Millions overcharged for mobile phones

Citizens Advice warns that around four million people in the UK have been mischarged for mobile phones – paying for handsets they already own, in addition to calls. EE, Three and Vodafone are said to continue charging for phones after they have been paid off. The firms said they would ensure communications with customers were clearer.

7. US surgeon and girlfriend accused of rapes

A surgeon in California and his girlfriend have been charged with two sexual assaults and police say they may be guilty of “hundreds” more. Grant William Robicheaux, 38, and Riley, 31, are accused of working together to drug women, or get them drunk, then rape them, using their clean-cut good looks to trick victims.

8. Comedy writer Denis Norden dead at 96

TV host and comedy writer Denis Norden, well known for hosting the ITV bloopers show It’ll Be Alright On The Night, has died at the age of 96. He passed away early this morning in the Royal Free Hospital in London, according to his children Nick and Maggie. Norden stepped down from hosting the show in 2006 and gave much of his time to charity work.

9. Captain Cook’s ship Endeavour ‘found off US’

Marine archaeologists believe they may have found the wreck of Captain Cook’s ship Endeavour off the east coast of the US. A team of Australian researchers believe they have pinpointed the vessel in Newport Harbour. Cook took the ship to Australia in 1770. It was later used during the American War of Independence and scuttled off Newport, Rhode Island, in 1778.

10. Briefing: will EU citizens need visas to come to UK after Brexit?

Home Secretary Sajid Javid has told Cabinet ministers that future EU migrants to the UK will have to negotiate a system of caps and visas like that currently faced by arrivals from other parts of the world.

The Home Office informed cabinet ministers last week of its intention to copy the existing migration system used to determine non-EU migration and apply it to Europeans who arrive in Britain after December 2020, according to reports.

Will EU citizens need visas to come to UK after Brexit?