Ten Things You Need to Know Today: Friday 12 Oct 2018

1. Cabinet unhappy as May negotiates Brexit backstop

Theresa May was forced to summon members of her Brexit “war cabinet” yesterday to try to build support for her EU exit plans. Some senior ministers are reported to be increasingly concerned that the prime minister is set to agree backstop customs arrangements with no time limits, in order to avoid a hard border between Northern Ireland and the Republic.

2. Florida deals with ‘unimaginable’ destruction

The governor of Florida has said that “so many lives have been changed forever” by Hurricane Michael, as local people begin sifting through the wreckage of their homes in the wake of the category 4 storm. The storm made landfall on Wednesday, killing at least six people as it moved across the state. Governor Rick Scott described the resulting destruction as “unimaginable”.

3. Kanye West praises Trump in bizarre monologue

Rapper Kanye West yesterday appeared with US President Donald Trump in a press conference at the White House, described by Rolling Stone magazine as “the craziest Oval Office performance of all time”. In a rambling monologue praising Trump, West spoke of race relations, “alternative universes” and used the word “motherf**ker”.

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4. Storm Callum brings disruption to Wales

The Met Office has issued an amber warning for heavy rain today and tomorrow over most of south Wales, while a less severe yellow warning is in place for most of the rest of Wales. Homes are without power as the storm moves across from the south-west. There have been 72mph winds in Conwy and 0.6inches of rain in St Davids.

5. Royal nuptials: Eugenie weds marketing man

Princess Eugenie, the younger daughter of Prince Andrew and Sarah, Duchess of York, is getting married today at St George’s Chapel in the grounds of Windsor castle. According to The Guardian, the wedding will be “just as lavish, if not as high profile, as Harry and Meghan’s”. Eugenie, 28, is marrying tequila marketer Jack Brooksbank.

6. Boarding school head did not report rape claim

The head of an independent boarding school in Somerset has been found guilty of misconduct for not reporting a claim one pupil had raped another, arguing it was not his “concern” because it had not happened in school. The two had lessons together for one year afterwards. Chris Alcock, 59, resigned from Queen’s College in May.

7. High Court judges could get £60,000 pay rise

Senior judges in England and Wales, including those sitting on the High Court, could get a 32% pay rise, up to an additional £60,000 a year, if the recommendations of the Senior Salaries Review Body are adopted. The review wants to improve morale among judges and compensate them for recent changes made to their pension scheme.

8. Singer sues Fleetwood Mac for dropping him

Lindsey Buckingham, former lead singer and guitarist of influential band Fleetwood Mac, is suing his former colleagues for breach of contract after they replaced him for a 50-city tour of North America. The 69-year-old says he would have earned $14m (£11m) from the gigs. He has been replaced by Crowded House singer Neil Finn.

9. Tilda Swinton revealed as 82-year-old actor

The actor Tilda Swinton has been unmasked as having donned thick prosthetic make-up for the horror movie remake Suspiria, playing a role supposedly taken by a first-time male actor of 82. Swinton’s participation in the film was a secret – and a fake IMDB page was even created for ‘Lutz Ebersdorf’, credited as playing a psychoanalyst.

10. Briefing: what is flexitarianism?

Scientists are urging consumers to cut down on the amount of meat they eat amid growing fears about the environmental effects of global food production.

According to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation, an estimated 14.5% of human-induced global greenhouse gas emissions are produced by livestock.

What is flexitarianism?