Ten Things You Need to Know Today: Wednesday 20 Feb 2019

1. Isis bride’s family set to appeal over citizenship

The family of Islamic State bride Shamima Begum are considering legal action after Home Secretary Sajid Javid revoked the 19-year-old’s British citizenship. They say the teenager - who ran away from their London home four years ago and is now in a Syrian refugee camp - does not have the dual nationality necessary for her citizenship to be removed.

2. Sainsbury’s-Asda merger threatened by competition concerns

The Competitions and Markets Authority (CMA) has poured cold water on the proposed merger of Sainsbury’s and Asda, saying it is “likely to be difficult for the companies to address the concerns it has identified”. The CMA said the merger could lead to a “poor shopping experience”. Sainsbury’s said the watchdog’s preliminary findings were “outrageous”.

3. Eighth Labour MP quits to join Independent Group

An eighth Labour MP has left the party and joined the breakaway Independent Group (IG) Joan Ryan, who represents Enfield North in London, said the party was tolerating a “culture of anti-Jewish racism” and added that Jeremy Corbyn was not fit to lead the country. The IG was formed on Monday by seven former Labour MPs including Chuka Umunna and Chris Leslie.

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4. France: tens of thousands protest anti-Semitism

Tens of thousands of people took to the streets in France yesterday to protest a recent rise in anti-Semitic attacks, including the desecration of Jewish cemeteries. Political leaders from all of France’s main parties, including former presidents Nicolas Sarkozy and Francois Hollande, joined protesters in Paris.

5. Honda Swindon closure ‘related to Brexit chaos’

A former British ambassador to Japan has questioned Honda’s claim that the decision to close its Swindon plant was not related to Brexit. The Japanese carmaker has insisted that “this is not a Brexit-related issue”, but Sir David Warren, ambassador from 2008 to 2012, told The Guardian this assertion was “fanciful”.

6. Boy convicted of sex assault returns to school

A 15-year-old boy who was convicted of sexually assaulting a girl in a classroom has been allowed to carry on studying at the same school, the BBC reports. The family of the Essex victim say her assailant, who was found guilty of two counts of sexual assault and put on the sex offenders’ register, should have been excluded.

7. Tennis legend Navratilova in transgender row

Eighteen-time grand slam winner Martina Navratilova is facing a backlash after refusing to back down from her assertion that allowing male-to-female transgender players to compete in women’s tennis is “cheating”. An American campaign group has sacked Navratilova, who came out as gay in the 1980s, as an ambassador. She argues that transgender players have unfair physical advantages.

8. Karl Lagerfeld’s cat to inherit part of fortune

A pampered cat named Choupette will be among the legatees of the fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld, who died from pancreatic cancer on Tuesday at the age of 85. The German-born Chanel boss told an interviewer last year that his cat had two maids – one for night and one for day – and would inherit some of his £150m.

9. May Day holiday to move for VE Day

The UK government is poised to move next year’s May Day bank holiday forward by four days so that it falls on the 75th anniversary of VE Day, which commemorates the formal surrender of the Nazis at the end of the Second World War. However, the Trades Union Congress wants both days – 4 May and 8 May – to be bank holidays.

10. Briefing: does ‘zombie deer disease’ pose a threat to humans?

A new condition similar to “mad cow disease” is spreading quickly among animals in North America - and scientists fear it could cross over and infect humans.

Chronic wasting disease (CWD) - dubbed “zombie deer disease” - has infected deer, elk and moose across 24 US states and two Canadian provinces.

Does ‘zombie deer disease’ pose a threat to humans?