WeekDay AM: 10 Things you need to know this morning
Rudakubana's sentence, a 'weather bomb', and a mission to protect the Moon

 
today's CRIME story

Southport killer jailed for 52 years

What happened
Axel Rudakubana has been sentenced to at least 52 years behind bars, one of the highest minimum custody terms on record. He killed Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, Bebe King, six, and Alice da Silva Aguiar, nine, in a knife attack at a dance class in Southport on 29 July last year.

Who said what
In his sentencing remarks at Liverpool Crown Court, Mr Justice Goose said the actions of Rudakubana – who was twice removed from court for being "disruptive" – had caused "shock and revulsion to the whole nation".

But "it's hard to say that justice has been served", said David Shipley in The Spectator. "It is possible that Rudakubana will be a free man at the age of 70. This is abhorrent."

His crimes are certainly "so severe that they may well have been deemed worthy of a whole life order", meaning he would never be released, said the Liverpool Echo. But defendants have to be 18 or over on the date of the offence to be handed such a sentence and he was "days shy of his 18th birthday".

What next?
The case has been referred to the Attorney General's Office under the unduly lenient sentence scheme. Attorney General Lord Hermer and Solicitor General Lucy Rigby, the law officers, have 28 days to decide whether to refer it to the Court of Appeal.

 
 
today's WEATHER story

Storm Éowyn could trigger 'weather bomb'

What happened
Millions of people have been told to stay at home as Storm Éowyn is expected to batter the UK with potentially life-threatening wind gusts. Rare red weather warnings have been issued in some areas as gusts of up to 100mph are forecast. Tornadoes could hit and the Met Office believes one may have already struck in Cornwall.

Who said what
Éowyn is "shaping up to be a multi-hazard event", said The Mirror, with the potential to cause "extreme destruction". The Met Office has warned that "changing conditions could trigger an explosive cyclogenesis – or weather bomb", said Sky News, with strong wind gusts, rain and snow. "The red alert is the Met Office's most serious warning."

What next?
Red warnings for wind have been issued in Northern Ireland from 7am until 2pm, and for western and central areas of Scotland between 10am and 5pm. Less severe amber and yellow warnings for both wind and rain have been issued elsewhere, with 11 warnings in place for the UK.

 
 
Today's CULTURE story

Adele's haunted house claim 'scared off buyers'

What happened
Adele allegedly "blighted" the sale of a £6 million country mansion after she claimed it was haunted. The singer rented the Edwardian property in West Sussex for six months in 2012, but did not renew her tenancy.

Who said what
During an interview with US chat show "60 Minutes" given while she was living there, Adele provided a tour of the property and called it "all quite scary".

"This comment negatively impacted future marketing efforts and continues to affect the property's reputation to this day," said its owner Nicholas Sutton in a planning application to turn Lock House into three houses and a cottage.

He has "actively tried to sell the property for about 14 years", receiving only one offer in 2020, but claims the "prospective buyer withdrew after learning about the property's supposed haunted status".

What next?
Horsham District Council hasn't made a decision on the proposed redevelopment yet, but last year turned down another application from Sutton to convert the mansion into five flats.

 
 

It's not all bad

Could cardboard friends comfort lonely captive animals? The Kaikyokan Aquarium in Japan tested the theory when its ocean sunfish lost its appetite and began rubbing itself against the tank after the venue shut for renovations. A staff member suggested that it might be lonely and so the team created a fake audience, using photos of human faces and uniforms on hangers. The fish soon returned to "good health", said the aquarium, and was "waving its fins" again.

 
 
UNDER THE RADAR

Mission to save the Moon

The Moon is now considered a threatened heritage site by the World Monuments Fund.

The preservation organisation usually draws attention to historic sites across the world that are at risk due to things such as climate change, conflict and tourism. This is the first time its list has extended beyond earthly borders. The decision reflects the "urgent need to recognise and preserve the artefacts that testify to humanity's first steps beyond Earth", it said, in what was "a defining moment in our shared history".

The Moon has become a target for several countries because of its resource potential. The Nasa Artemis mission wants to put humans back on the Moon and establish a lunar base, for example, and there has been an expanding interest in space tourism.

As a result the Moon has seen increased human activity that could destroy "items such as the camera that captured the televised Moon landing; a memorial disk left by astronauts Armstrong and Aldrin; and hundreds of other objects", said the World Monuments Fund.

"Protections for cultural heritage are typically decided by individual countries, which makes the task of taking care of important international sites like the Moon more difficult," said The New York Times. It doesn't belong to any one country. Instead, 53 nations signed the UN Artemis Accords in 2020 to "establish a common vision via a practical set of principles, guidelines and best practices to enhance the governance of the civil exploration and use of outer space".

Its inclusion on the World Monuments Fund list invites a "broader public conversation on what this new Space Age might mean for the Moon's cultural and natural landscape", said the organisation.

 
 
on this day

24 January 1990

Japan became the third country, after the US and Soviet Union, to launch a lunar probe with its mission "Hiten". Last year Japan became the fifth country to land a craft on the Moon and is working with Nasa to send an astronaut there as part of the Artemis programme.

 
 
Today's newspapers

Most of the papers lead on the 52-year prison sentence handed to Axel Rudakubana for the Southport attack. The mother of seven-year-old Elsie Dot Stancombe is quoted by the Daily Mirror as telling Rudakubana that she hopes the attack "haunts you every single day". Meanwhile, the Financial Times says Donald Trump has called on oil producers' group Opec to bring down global prices in order to put pressure on Russia to end the war in Ukraine.

See the newspaper front pages

 
 
tall tale

Jetsetting cat

Air New Zealand has apologised after a cat had to make three trips between New Zealand and Australia within 24 hours when it was forgotten about by ground staff. Mittens, an eight-year-old Maine coon, was booked to travel from Christchurch to Melbourne, but her cage was left in the aircraft's cargo hold so she remained on the return flight. The cat, who had lost weight but was otherwise unharmed, was then flown back to Melbourne to be reunited with her owner.

 
 

Morning Report was written and edited by Hollie Clemence, Chas Newkey-Burden, Harriet Marsden, Jamie Timson and Devika Rao, with illustrations by Julia Wytrazek.

Image credits, from top: Court artist sketch by Elizabeth Cook / PA Images / Alamy Stock Photo; Nidpor / Alamy Live News; Sascha Steinbach / Getty Images; Illustration by  Julia Wytrazek / Getty Images.