Ten Things You Need to Know Today: Wednesday 14 Nov 2018

1. Crunch time for Brexit deal as Cabinet meets

The Cabinet is meeting at 2pm today to discuss Theresa May’s draft agreement for the terms of the UK’s exit from the EU. A group of Tory Brexiteers and the Northern Irish DUP yesterday called a coup against the prime minister, insisting ministers should reject the deal because it is thought to make too many concessions to the EU.

2. Trump ends bromance with France’s Macron

US President Donald Trump has taken umbrage after his French counterpart, Emmanuel Macron, lectured him on the dangers of nationalism during Armistice events in Paris. Trump has ended the pair’s 18-month “bromance” with a series of tweets in which he said the French would be speaking German today if not for for US military support during both world wars.

3. Baby critical after mother shot with crossbow

A baby delivered by emergency caesarean four weeks early when his mother was shot dead with a crossbow is in a critical condition in hospital. Sana Muhammad was killed in her east London kitchen on Monday morning in front of her five older children and husband. The father of her three oldest children has been arrested.

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4. Melania Trump demands scalp of top aide

Melania Trump wants her husband to fire his deputy national security adviser following a reported clash over seating arrangements on a flight to Africa. US first lady’s office released a statement saying Mira Ricardel “no longer deserves the honour of serving in this White House”. It is thought Trump is about to shake up his team again.

5. Flybe up for sale after issuing profit warning

Exeter-based airline Flybe has put itself up for sale after warning last month that it expects to lose £22m this year. The company’s share value has dropped by almost 75% since September to £25m, down from £215m in 2010. Flybe serves eight million passengers a year, with 78 planes flying mostly from smaller airports.

6. Prince celebrates 70th birthday with squirrels

The heir to the throne is 70 years old today. Prince Charles has marked his birthday by releasing two new family photos and guest-editing an edition of Country Life. In an interview for the magazine, the Prince reveals that he lets red squirrels eat nuts from his pockets inside his house on the Queen’s Balmoral estate, in Royal Deeside.

7. CPS boss: we must respect rape accusers’ privacy

The new head of the Crown Prosecution Service has said that people alleging rape must have their privacy respected. Max Hill QC insists that the practice of trawling through alleged rape victim’s mobile phone communications “is not something that should be pursued in every case”. He has taken over as director of public prosecutions for the next five years.

8. Mueller inquiry wants information on Farage

US special counsel Robert Mueller is seeking information on former UKIP leader Nigel Farage as part of the inquiry into alleged links between Donald Trump’s 2016 election campaign and Russia, according to The Guardian. Right-wing US author Jerome Corsi told the newspaper that he had been asked about Farage last month.

9. Coca-Cola cuts lorry tour amid health fears

Coca-Cola has reduced the scope of its annual Christmas promotion lorry tour, in which a brightly-coloured lorry visits towns across the UK dispensing free cans of both sugary and sugar-free drinks. The tour will now take in 24 towns and cities, compared with 38 last year, after health campaigners called on the firm to hand out only sugar-free beverages.

10. Briefing: how the kilogram is about to change

Scientists are preparing to officially update the definition of a kilogram after using an old metal prototype as the global reference for almost 130 years.

So what exactly will change and why does it matter?

Scientists to update definition of the kilogram