Ten Things You Need to Know Today: Thursday 28 Jun 2018

Theresa May will tell EU leaders at a working dinner in Brussels
tonight that her government is moving closer to deciding what sort
of Brexit it wants. Irish leader Leo Varadkar contradicted that
claim last night, however, saying that there was a “disappointing”
lack of progress. Varadkar said he expected the EU heads to warn
May that talks must “intensify”.

Around 100 soldiers and an RAF helicopter have joined
firefighters to help battle the huge blaze raging on Saddleworth
Moor in Greater Manchester. The fire, which started on
Sunday, is now seven square miles across and could take weeks to
put out, firefighters said. A total of 34 homes have
been evacuated, but authorities fear a change in wind
direction could put lives in danger.

England football fans are arriving in Kaliningrad in Russia to
see the national team take on Belgium in their match at 7pm UK time
tonight. Attendance by England supporters is up following two
convincing victories, against Tunisia and Panama. If tonight’s
match is a draw, the leaders will be decided by fair-play records,
with England ahead.

US President Donald Trump has begun the search for a new Supreme
Court judge to replace Justice Anthony Kennedy, who is stepping
down after 30 years. Kennedy was conservative but often voted with
more liberal colleagues. Those on the political left and centre are
deeply worried about who Trump will choose a replacement.

China’s President Xi Jinping has told US Defence Secretary James
Mattis that he will not give up “even one inch” of territory,
referring to China’s claim on islands in the South China Sea. Xi
added that China had peaceful intentions. Mattis, who is on a
three-day visit to the Asian superpower, said their meeting
had been “very, very good”.

The Competition and Markets Authority has said that hotel
booking websites must stop making misleading claims about discounts
and giving users a false impression of room availability and
urgency. The watchdog did not name companies but is believed to
have been referring to Booking.com, Expedia, Late Rooms and
others.

Joe Jackson, the patriarch of the musical family, has died of
cancer at the age of 89. Tributes have been muted, with Jackson
widely perceived as having dominated his children to the point of
abuse. Michael Jackson, the most successful of his children,
distanced himself from his father after reaching adulthood. Other
say his discipline made the Jackson Five.

Police in London say they have exhausted all lines of inquiry to
find a male jogger who pushed a woman into the path of a bus last
year. The victim fell backwards into the road on London’s
Putney Bridge, with her head inches from the front
wheel of the No. 430 bus and was only saved by the driver’s quick
reflexes. Three men were arrested but released without charge
following the incident on 5 May 2017.

French President Emmanuel Macron is to make good an election
pledge by reintroducing national service, albeit in a modern form.
French politicians are considering a plan that would impose a
one-month mandatory placement – either civil or military – for all
16-year-olds, who would also be able to opt to serve an additional
three-month voluntary period.

A British man born without a penis has been been fitted with a
bionic version.

Andrew Wardle successfully underwent the final stage of a
£50,000 penis implant operation at London’s University College
Hospital on Friday and “has been given the all-clear to finally
lose his virginity” once a two-month recovery period is up, says
the Daily Mail.