UK: Ten Things You Need to Know Today: Monday 30 Oct 2017
Theresa May has called for a reform of the disciplinary regime in the House of Commons after claims of sexual harassment at parliament. The Prime Minister also wants an independent mediation service and says the current system lacks “teeth”. Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has offered to meet May to discuss claims of a toxic culture.
The actor Kevin Spacey has said he is “sincerely sorry” for “deeply inappropriate drunken behaviour” after Star Trek actor Anthony Rapp accused him of making a sexual advance when Rapp was just 14. Spacey said he did not remember the incident, which would have been 31 years ago, when Spacey was 26 and a rising star.
Spain says former Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont could stand for re-election in December, if he is not in jail by then. Prosecutors are preparing charges against the former regional president, removed from office on Friday for declaring independence. Spain’s central government has taken control of the region from local powers.
Fierce storms have brought flooding and high winds to Germany, Poland and the Czech Republic, killing at least five people. A camper drowned in a storm surge, while the others were killed by falling trees. Thousands of households in Czech and Poland are still without power this morning, and the centre of Hamburg is flooded.
Chancellor Philip Hammond is “between a rock and a hard place” as he prepares his 22 November budget, according to the Institute for Fiscal Studies. The Institute says Hammond may have to abandon his deficit reduction target if he wants to spend more on public services – and must also deal with an expected cut in productivity growth.
More than 11,000 people may have mental health problems after the west London block Grenfell Tower was destroyed by fire, according to the psychologist in charge of the response. Dr John Green says the medical effort to help victims is the biggest ever seen in Europe, with the local NHS Trust now the “largest trauma service in the UK”.
Saudi Arabian women will be allowed into sports stadiums for the first time from next year – if they are accompanied by men. The announcement comes after a ban on women driving was lifted – and after Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman said he wanted to take the oil-rich nation back to a more moderate form of Islam.
Former Labour prime minister Gordon Brown has said he lost the 2010 election because he wasn’t “touchy-feely” or comfortable with the “public display of emotion … authentic or not” which is now “seen as evidence of a sincerity required for political success”. Brown’s comments come in a new autobiography, published next week.
Dozens of octopuses have been spotted crawling on a beach in west Wales, three nights in a row. As many as 25 curled octopuses, which grow up to 20 inches in length, were seen processing on dry land. It is not known what caused this unusual behaviour – but experts suggested the recent heavy storms might have confused the animals.
US poker star Phil Ivey has lost his UK Supreme Court bid to claim £7.7m that he won using a technique known as “edge sorting” at a London casino.
The former World Series of Poker champion tried to claim the cash following a private game of punto banco - a form of baccarat - at the Crockfords Club casino in Mayfair in 2012, according to the BBC News website.
But Crockfords accused the 40-year-old and his gambling partner, Cheung Yin Sun, of cheating by using edge sorting, and refused to pay up.
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