Ten Things You Need to Know Today: Tuesday 2 Oct 2018

1. May ‘ready to compromise on free trade’

Theresa May is preparing to break the deadlock on Brexit by offering a further trade compromise to the EU, The Times reports. The newspaper says the prime minister will propose limiting the UK’s ability to strike trade deals with non-EU nations for a limited period after it quits the block. The claim comes hours after May announced that Britain would curb low-skilled immigration with a points system.

2. Indonesia tsunami: 34 bodies found in church

Emergency workers have found the bodies of 34 students who died in their church when it was struck by a mudslide caused by Friday’s earthquake and tsunami. At least 844 people are now known to have died in the disaster on Sulawesi island, with the death toll expected to rise as rescue efforts continue.

3. Javid to target middle-class drug users

Home Secretary Sajid Javid will announce at the Tory Party conference today that he intends to target middle-class drug users, as part of a crackdown on the causes of violent crime. Well-off users have been blamed for a rise in knife crime among lower-class young men in London and other cities. The assets of drug dealers will also be targeted.

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4. Spectator loses eye after Ryder Cup hit

A woman hit by a tee shot taken by Brooks Koepka as she watched the Ryder Cup has lost the sight in one eye and is considering legal action in an attempt to recover her medical costs from organisers. Corine Remande, 49, had travelled from Egypt to Paris to watch the tournament. Doctors said her eyeball “exploded”.

5. Sports Direct sacks entire House of Fraser team

The new owner of House of Fraser has sacked the chain’s entire management team. Controversial Sports Direct owner Mike Ashley has promised to keep most branches of the department store empire open and says he will turn the chain into the “Harrods of the high street”. Casualties of his takeover include chief executive Alex Williamson.

6. Football coach admits killing teen 14 years ago

A football coach was jailed for 17-and-a-half years yesterday after admitting killing a teenager with a baseball bat 14 years ago in Sunderland. Karen Tunmore had never been a suspect in the long-running enquiry into the murder of Scott Pritchard, during which the victim’s father was wrongly accused. Tunmore came forward after hearing voices telling her to kill again.

7. Cern scientist suspended over ‘sexist’ remarks

A senior Italian scientist has been suspended by nuclear research centre Cern after claiming during a speech on gender issues that physics was “invented and built by men, it’s not by invitation”. Professor Alessandro Strumia of Pisa University also asserted that Oxford University “extends exam times for women’s benefit”.

8. Skripal ‘couldn’t believe Russia poisoned him’

A new book on the Salisbury nerve agent attack claims that former Russian spy Sergei Skripal was at first reluctant to believe he had been poisoned by the Russian state – and remains an “unashamed Russian nationalist” despite having sold secrets to MI6. Journalist Mark Urban says in the book that Skripal only gradually accepted the truth.

9. Budget airline collapse strands passengers

Passengers have been left stranded following the collapse of a budget airline that offered long-haul flights. Primera Air had been operating for 14 years and had 15 planes. One Canadian couple were queuing to board a flight from Paris to Toronto when they were told the news. They told the BBC that they expected to pay an extra £1,800 to get home.

10. Tory conference 2018: what are the Conservatives’ new policies?

The Conservatives’ annual meeting is under way amid concerns that the party lacks a positive message about Brexit or domestic policy.

Tory conference 2018: what are the Conservatives’ new policies?