Ten Things You Need to Know Today: Tuesday 26 Feb 2019

1. Vatican treasurer George Pell guilty of child abuse

Top-ranking Australian cleric Cardinal George Pell is facing jail after being found guilty of raping a choir boy and molesting another. The verdict was handed down in December but a court had imposed a ban on reporting the news until now. The 77-year-old abused two 13-year-old boys at a cathedral in Melbourne in 1996. Vatican treasurer Pell, who pleaded not guilty, is due to face sentencing hearings from Wednesday.

2. India bombs Kashmiri militants in rival Pakistan

India has carried out missile strikes on Pakistani territory - the first such attack since the war between two nations in 1971. Indian Foreign Minister Vijay Gokhale said the strikes had killed a “large number” of Kashmiri militants at a training camp of the Jaish-e-Mohammad group. Pakistan said it had scrambled fighter jets in response.

3. May facing revolt by ministers ahead of cabinet meeting

Theresa May this morning faced a revolt by Remain-supporting ministers ahead of a crucial cabinet meeting about Brexit. Three ministers – Margot James, Richard Harrington and Claire Perry – say they would resign unless the prime minister promises to take no-deal off the table, and others are expected to follow their lead.

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4. Lawyers plead for leniency for Manafort

Lawyers for Paul Manafort have asked a US judge to show leniency to the former Donald Trump advisor, who is awaiting sentencing for lying to Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s inquiry into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election. Manafort has also been convicted of financial crimes in a separate case. His legal team insists he only committed “garden variety” misdemeanours.

5. Kim Jong Un arrives in Vietnam for Trump summit

North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un arrived in Hanoi early this morning for a summit with Donald Trump, who left the US this morning on Air Force One and will land in Vietnam later today. Their meeting comes eight months after their historic summit in Singapore, the first between a sitting US president and a North Korean leader. That meeting failed to produce concrete results on the denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula.

6. Elon Musk accused of being in contempt over tweet

Tesla boss Elon Musk should be held in contempt of court for sending a tweet about the electric car firm, according to the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The markets regulator has asked a judge to rule that Musk’s online boast that Tesla would make 500,000 cars in 2019 violates a settlement banning him from making such comments without the firm’s prior agreement.

7. R Kelly out on bail after pleading ‘not guilty’

R&B singer R Kelly has been released from jail on $100,000 (£76,000) bail after pleading not guilty to sex abuse charges. The 52-year-old denies abusing four people, including three underage girls, following allegations dating back to 1998. The singer was arrested on Friday and spent the weekend in a Chicago jail. Among the conditions of release is that Kelly have no contact with females younger than 18.

8. Growing up in green space ‘improves mental health’

Children who grow up in greener areas have a lower chance of developing mental illness in later life than those from less leafy areas, a new study from Denmark. The effect was found both among children who grow up in the countryside and among those raised in greener parts of cities.

9. New parents ‘remain sleep deprived for six years’

UK researchers say a new study of thousands of new parents suggests they face sleep deprivation for as long as six years after the birth of a child. The effect was most pronounced in women and was worst in the first three months after the birth of a first child. Women reported an hour’s less sleep per night, while men lost an average of only 13 minutes.

10. Briefing: how do you start a political party?

The 11 breakaway MPs in the Independent Group are holding their first official meetings this week as they look to form a new political party.

The expectation is that the so-called TIG group “may pick a formal leader (and possibly even a policy or two), although nothing has been confirmed as yet”, says Politico’s Jack Blanchard. So what would they need to do to change their official political status?

How do you start a new political party?