Ten Things You Need to Know Today: Monday 22 Oct 2018

1. EU withdrawal ‘95% settled’, says May

Theresa May will today break her silence on Brexit talks to tell the Commons that an agreement with the EU on the terms of UK withdrawal is 95% “settled”. However, The Times reports that the prime minister is facing a rebellion by more than 40 Conservative MPs if she does not bow to Brexiteer demands on Northern Ireland.

2. Saudi Arabia admits journalist was murdered

The Saudi authorities have changed their story about what happened to dissident journalist Jama Khashoggi, who disappeared when visiting the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on 2 October. Conflicting accounts have been offered about how Khashoggi died but the latest blames a “rogue operation” and says he was strangled by mistake while being held in a headlock.

3. Sub-zero temperatures ‘to hit UK by Friday’

The Met Office is today warning of a “bit of a shock” for Britons, with the recent warm, summy weather set to give way to sub-zero temperatures by the end of the week. Temperatures in parts of southern England climbed as high as 21C at the weekend, but forecasters say it will be “a lot colder” by Friday, with the possibility of sleet and snow in the North.

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4. Plastic straws and cotton buds to be banned

Disposable plastic items including drinking straws and cotton buds with plastic handles could be banned in the UK within 12 months, Environment Secretary Michael Gove is to announce today. An estimated 4.7 billion plastic straws, 1.8 billion plastic cotton buds and 316 million plastic drinks stirrers are used each year in England alone.

5. World’s longest sea bridge ready to open

A 34-mile sea bridge – the longest in the world – linking the mainland of China to the cities of Hong Kong and Macau is to open officially on Tuesday. However, private cars will only be allowed to use the bridge if they are granted a special permit, raising fears that the new structure will strengthen China’s repressive rule over Hong Kong.

6. ‘Monumental’ breakthrough for prostate cancer

Survival rates in men with advanced prostate cancer could be increased by up to 11% by treating them with radiotherapy on top of standard treatment, clinical trials have found. Researchers say the new approach to treatment will be used on patients whose cancer has spread to lymph nodes or bones and could offer new hope to around 3,000 men each year in England alone.

7. Addison Lee cars to be self-driving by 2021

Taxi and courier firm Addison Lee has signed a deal with tech firm Oxbotica to develop and deploy autonomous vehicles on London roads within three years. The first stage of self-driving vehicle use is likely to be shuttles ferrying passengers around airports or campuses. The firm says its 5,000 drivers within the capital will keep their jobs.

8. Zoo lioness kills father of her three cubs

A lioness has killed the father of her three cubs in their pen at Indianapolis Zoo. Female lion Zuri and her mate, Nyack, had lived in the same enclosure for eight years and there had never been aggression between them, officials said. The zoo said it would “conduct a thorough review to attempt to understand what may have led to this”.

9. Prince Harry tells crowd: ‘I hope it’s a girl’

The Duke of Sussex went solo during the royal tour in Australia yesterday, while his pregnant wife spent the morning resting. Prince Harry, who had urged the Duchess to slow down, told a crowd at the Invictus Games in Sydney that he is hoping they have a girl. The couple, who are expecting their first child in the spring, are still to visit New Zealand, Fiji and Tonga before returning to the UK.

10. Briefing: what is mad cow disease?

The first UK case of mad cow disease in three years has been confirmed at a farm in Aberdeenshire.

Signs of the disease were discovered in the brain of a cow after it died at an unidentified farm, which is now subject to a movement ban.

What is mad cow disease - and why is it dangerous to humans?