Ten Things You Need to Know Today: 4 April 2023

1. Trump prepares for arraignment

Donald Trump has been taking legal advice at Trump Tower in New York City as he prepares to face criminal charges over hush money paid just before the 2016 election to a porn star, Stormy Daniels, who says they had sex. At his arraignment this afternoon, he is expected to be photographed and fingerprinted, but is not expected to be handcuffed. Trump’s lawyers opposed photography and radio coverage of the arraignment, saying it would “exacerbate an already almost circus-like atmosphere around this case”. He denies wrongdoing.

Stormy Daniels: five things you might not know about the former adult film star

2. Infertility affects 1 in 6

One in six people worldwide are affected by infertility, according to the World Health Organization. In the WHO’s first estimates of infertility prevalence in more than a decade, it was found that about 17.5% of the global adult population will experience infertility. Based on more than 100 studies between 1990 and 2021, the results show limited variation between regions and between high, middle and low-income countries. “For millions around the world, the path to parenthood can be difficult to access, if not impossible,” said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the WHO director general.

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3. Poll finds Starmer has work to do

A study to mark Keir Starmer’s third anniversary makes for tough reading for the Labour leader as it showed that almost half of British voters believed he had not set out a clear vision. Asked whether Starmer had done well or badly at setting out a clear vision for his party, 31% said he had done well and 47% said he had done badly. However, asked the same question in September 2021, only 15% said he had set out a clear vision and 60% said he had not.

Keir Starmer’s five missions for government: proper policies or pure politics?

4. Lord Lawson dies at 91

The former Tory chancellor Nigel Lawson has died at the age of 91. Seen as “one of the most consequential of all post-war UK chancellors”, Lawson is “credited with creating powerful entrepreneurial forces” in a period “also remembered by many communities around the UK as a time of widening inequality and painful deindustrialisation”, said the BBC. Well-known for being Margaret Thatcher’s right-hand man, Lawson's resignation as chancellor in 1989 “was seen as the beginning of the end for Thatcher, with her foreign secretary Geoffrey Howe resigning shortly after”, said Sky News.

5. Misconduct crisis worsens at CBI

More than a dozen women claim to have suffered sexual misconduct by senior figures at the Confederation of British Industry, reported The Guardian. The women, who all work at the CBI or have worked there in recent years, described various forms of abuse, including one who alleges she was raped at a staff party on a boat on the River Thames. An independent investigation by a law firm is underway as the CBI faces “its biggest crisis since it was founded by royal charter in 1965”, said the paper.

6. French minister appears on Playboy cover

A French government minister has been criticised by members of her own party after appearing on the front cover of Playboy magazine. Marlene Schiappa appeared on the cover of the adult magazine wearing a white dress, after giving an interview on women’s and LGBT rights. French Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne has told Schiappa the cover “wasn’t appropriate, especially during this period”, according to BFMTV, citing a source close to the prime minister.

French minister sparks anger with Playboy cover

7. Plastic wet wipes ban

Plastic wet wipes which clog up Britain's sewers could be banned under plans to tackle water pollution. Wet wipes flushed down toilets cause 93% of sewer blockages and cost around £100m a year to clear up, according to Water UK. Environment secretary Therese Coffey said over £1.6bn of investment to boost water quality would be brought forward but government ministers have been accused by the opposition of “taking the public for fools” by offering only “hollow” promises to tackle Britain’s growing sewage scandal, said The Independent. The row comes after it was revealed that England’s most iconic beaches faced 8,500 hours of sewage dumping last year.

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8. Homosexuality ‘degeneration’ says Ugandan president

The Ugandan president has called on African leaders to “save the world” from the “degeneration” of homosexuality. Yoweri Museveni said African leaders should reject “the promotion of homosexuality”, which he described as “a big threat and danger to the procreation of human race”. He has signalled that he will sign into law an anti-LGBTQ+ bill, which imposes the death penalty for “aggravated homosexuality” and life imprisonment for “recruitment, promotion and funding” of same-sex “activities”.

9. McEwan: Tories ‘threatening the BBC’

The BBC is “under threat, politically” from the Conservatives, said the novelist Ian McEwan. “I am very worried for the BBC,” McEwan told the Radio Times. “It’s under threat, politically. Generally, there’s a playbook for the populist right and there are three or four targets: the civil service, the judiciary and independent broadcasters.” He compared those pressuring the corporation to the populist right in Hungary, saying: “We have our homegrown version of that – maybe a little milder.”

BBC at 100: what does the future hold for at-threat institution?

10. Anger over Royal Mail prank

Royal Mail has been forced to apologise after a manager announced a big pay rise for striking staff in what turned out to be an April Fool’s prank. A letter stated that the company and the Communication Workers Union had “reached an agreement”, with a breakthrough salary increase of 11%, backdated to April last year. The notice was put up at the Royal Mail Gloucester North branch and then shared widely on social media. However, “celebrations turned to anger when workers realised it was a prank”, said The Times.