Ten Things You Need to Know Today: Friday 26 Oct 2018

1. Sir Philip Green denies racist and sexist abuse

Named as the tycoon accused by former employees, Topshop boss Sir Philip Green has strongly denied sexual harassment and racist abuse. Green used an injunction to prevent the Daily Telegraph and other media naming him but former cabinet minister Peter Hain yesterday used parliamentary privilege to out him in the Lords.

2. FBI search for bombs after De Niro targeted

The FBI is hunting for the would-be bomber who has so far targeted ten high-profile opponents of US President Donald Trump including Robert De Niro – and believes more devices will be found. None of the mail bombs detonated but the FBI says they were viable. Trump earlier this week blamed the media for creating “endless hostility”.

3. Controversial removal of graves starts for HS2

Archaeologists have started digging to remove around 45,000 skeletons from a graveyard in central London, to make way for the upcoming HS2 rail line linking the capital with the North. The decision to build over St James’s Gardens provoked protests, with campaigners chaining themselves to trees when it was first announced.

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4. Billionaires became 20% richer in 2017

A report by Swiss bank UBS has found the world’s billionaires increased their wealth by more in 2017 than they have in any year previously. The 2,158 individuals worth more than $1bn became 20% richer last year – an increase of $1.4 trillion, more than the GDP of Spain or Australia – and 179 new members joined their ranks.

5. Saudis admit journalist killing was premeditated

Saudi Arabia yesterday admitted for the first time that the murder of dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi was premeditated, having previously said he died accidentally in a fist fight, or while being restrained in a headlock. Khashoggi diappeared after entering the Saudi consulate in Istanbul seeking papers about his divorce.

6. Google executive given $90m after assault claim

The New York Times says Google gave a $90m severance package to the creator of its Android mobile device operating system, even after it decided allegations he had forced an employee to perform oral sex on him were credible. The paper says a female employee made the claim in 2013 and Andy Rubin was asked to resign.

7. Irish singer Sinead O’Connor converts to Islam

Sinead O’Connor, the Irish singer best known for her cover of Prince’s Nothing Compares 2 U, has converted to Islam. The 51-year-old, who was ordained as a priest in 1999 and legally changed her name to Magda Davitt last year, said on Twitter she would now be known as Shuhada’ Davitt, posting a picture of herself in a headscarf.

8. Tourists die after falling from Yosemite cliff

US national park rangers are attempting to recover the bodies of a man and woman who are believed to have fallen from a popular view point at Yosemite national park in Washington state. The tourists are said to have fallen from Taft Point, 3,000 feet above the valley floor. It is not known whether they were climbing in the area.

9. Philippines: ‘cesspool’ island reopens to tourists

A once-idyllic holiday island dubbed a “cesspool” by the Filipino president because of years of overcrowding, sewage, litter and drinking has re-opened six months after the authorities closed it. Boracay has strict new rules: only half of its 12,000 hotel rooms may be occupied at any one time and drinking on the beach is limited.

10. Briefing: what are the blasphemy laws around the world?

Irish voters head to the polls today to decide whether or not to remove the offence of blasphemy from their constitution.

Although “the publication or utterance of blasphemous, seditious, or indecent matter” as a crime was enshrined in the constitution in 1937, “no one has ever been prosecuted under it”, says CNN.

What are the blasphemy laws and punishments around the world?