Ten Things You Need to Know Today: Saturday 16 Feb 2019

1. Female MPs forced to move house over Brexit threats

MPs have been forced to move house and hire bodyguards because of abuse and threats over Brexit, says The Times. Some have even been intimidated into changing their position on key votes after being targeted by extremists. Police have told one female parliamentarian not to travel at night on her own and another has been advised not to run in her local park.

2. Lords rules UK's Saudi weapons sales as unlawful

The UK is on “the wrong side of the law” over its arms exports to Saudi Arabia for the war in Yemen, says an all-party Lords committee. Describing the humanitarian plight of Yemenis as “unconscionable”, the international relations select committee says ministers are failing to check whether arms supplied by the UK are being used in breach of the law.

3. Mueller says Manafort should be jailed for 24 hours

Donald Trump’s former campaign chairman should be sentenced to up to 24 years in prison, says the special counsel Robert Mueller in a court filing. Mueller’s team argues that Paul Manafort should face a prison term of 235 to 292 months, or between 19 and a half and 24 and a half years, for “serious, longstanding, and bold” financial crimes.

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4. Man charged over killings of three Exeter pensioners

A 27-year-old man has been charged with murdering three men in their 80s in Exeter. Alexander Lewis-Ranwell will appear at Exeter magistrates court today, accused of murdering Anthony Payne, 80, and twins Dick and Roger Carter, 84. Devon and Cornwall police say he has also been charged with two offences of causing grievous bodily harm with intent.

5. Heart attack victims forced to wait an hour for ambulance

Victims of heart attacks and strokes are among hundreds of thousands of patients made to wait up to an hour for an ambulance because the NHS has never met key targets. Speaking to The Times, experts say critically ill patients are waiting too long because new rules for dispatching ambulances struggle to identify life-or-death situations.

6. Syria teen's family call for 'urgent' return to UK

The family of the teenager who went to Syria to join Islamic State have called on the UK to bring her back “urgently”. Shamima Begum’s family said the 19-year-old's unborn baby is “a total innocent” and had the right to grow up in the “peace and security” of the UK. Begum herself has told The Times she fears her child would be taken from her if she came back to the UK.

7. Five dead in US shooting after gunman 'lost job'

The gunman who killed five people and wounded several police officers at a warehouse near Chicago opened fire as he was being fired by the company, according to police. The killer, who was shot dead by officers has been named as 45-year-old Gary Martin, who had worked at the Henry Pratt manufacturing company in Aurora, Illinois for 15 years.

8. Nigeria delays presidential election over 'challenges'

The electoral commission in Nigeria has delayed the presidential election until 23 February, making the announcement just hours before polls were set to open today. It pointed to unspecified “challenges”. President Muhammadu Buhari faces a tough battle against former vice president Atiku Abubakar. Presidential elections in 2011 and 2015 were also delayed over logistics and security issues.

9. 'Purple momentum' to target Remainer Tory MPs

Remainer Tory MPs are facing an “ambush” by pro-Brexit activists at forthcoming annual local association meetings. Anna Soubry has warned of Eurosceptic “purple momentum” activists taking over local associations to target anti-Brexit MPs. At least two Tories – Dominic Grieve and Heidi Allen - are potentially facing no-confidence votes at local party annual meetings over the next six weeks.

10. New electronic tags to target criminals 24/7

Thousands of criminals will be tagged with GPS trackers to allow authorities to trace them 24 hours a day. Presently, electronic tags are linked to a box at an offender's home, with alerts generated if they are not there during certain hours. New location tags will take this a step further by tracking an offender’s movements wherever they go.

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