Ten Things You Need to Know Today: Saturday 17 Nov 2018

1. Gang of five hope to change the Brexit deal

A group of five ministers are hoping to persuade Theresa May to make changes to her draft Brexit deal, claims the BBC. The group is led by Andrea Leadsom and includes Michael Gove, Liam Fox, Penny Mordaunt and Chris Grayling. Meanwhile, the PM has told the Daily Mail that bean suppers and a glass of whisky have helped her during a turbulent week.

2. UN slams 'disgraceful' UK austerity policies

The United Nations says the UK government has inflicted “great misery” on its people with “punitive, mean-spirited, and often callous” austerity. The UN’s poverty envoy said that levels of child poverty were “not just a disgrace, but a social calamity and an economic disaster”. Philip Alston also insisted the cuts were driven by a political desire to undertake social re-engineering rather than economic necessity.

3. Californian fire: missing list swells to 1,000

The number killed in the Northern California wildfire has increased to 71, while the missing persons list has soared from 631 to over 1,000. However, authorities say the increase in the missing list may not be accurate. Butte County Sheriff Kory Honea said it was possible it contained duplications. “I want you to understand that this is a dynamic list,” he told the media.

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4. Barclay is new Brexit secretary as Rudd bounces back

Stephen Barclay has been named as the new Brexit secretary, as Theresa May refills her cabinet after several of her top team quit. Amber Rudd has picked as the new work and pensions secretary. Rudd has as been out of cabinet since April, when she resigned as home secretary after inconsistencies in her account of her handling of the Windrush scandal.

5. Facebook investors call on Zuckerberg to step aside

Investors in Facebook have called on chief executive Mark Zuckerberg to step down as chairman, following a report that the social media giant hired a public relations firm to smear its critics by drawing links to George Soros. Jonas Kron, of Trillium Asset Management which owns an £8.5m stake in the company, said: “Facebook is behaving like it's a special snowflake.”

6. Court orders Trump to revoke ban on CNN's Acosta

A Washington DC court has ordered the White House to return CNN reporter Jim Acosta's press pass after it was revoked by the US Secret Service. Acosta's pass was removed after he clashed with the president during a news conference earlier this month. Following the ruling, US President Donald Trump has threatened to walk out of future press briefings if reporters do not act with “decorum”.

7. Tragedy 'inevitable' as migrants pile into dinghies

Migrants are crowding into dinghies to cross the Channel to Dover as “panic sets in” ahead of the Brexit deadline, claims the Daily Telegraph. The Coastguard says it responded to an unprecedented level of incidents: six in three days. It is assumed that the Brexit deadline will harden the border. “A tragedy will happen, it’s inevitable,” says an expert.

8. Israel: is Netanyahu heading for an early poll?

Israel may be headed for a general election after a second key ally of Benjamin Netanyahu withdrew his party from the ruling coalition. The Prime Minister could face the voters as early as February after he rejected a demand from coalition ally Naftali Bennett to be appointed defence minister. Netanyahu’s refusal led to Bennett’s Jewish Home party pulling out of the government

9. New parking rules will allow drivers five minutes grace

New regulations drawn up to tackle rogue operators will allow motorists a compulsory grace period before they are ticketed in private car parks. The reforms will introduce a five-minute buffer zone when motorists drive into a car park before they can be handed a penalty. The moves come after operators demanded charges of up to £100 from drivers who enter but decide not to park.

10. Straight, white men cry 'racism' at London ad firm

A lawyer says that straight, white men felt that they had a “target on their backs”, after five advertising executives claimed they were forced out of their jobs. The top agency JWT London is facing an unprecedented sexism and racism claim after a group of male employees were made redundant as the creative director said that she wanted to “obliterate” the reputation that the agency was full of white, straight men