Ten Things You Need to Know Today: Thursday 27 Jun 2019

Jeremy Hunt and Boris Johnson have unveiled fresh pledges as
their battle to become the next Tory leader intensifies. Hunt said
he would cancel the university tuition fee debts of young
entrepreneurs who start businesses and employ people. Meanwhile,
Johnson promised to deliver an Australian-style points-based
immigration system.

Yesterday was the hottest June day ever recorded in Germany,
Poland and the Czech Republic – and the heatwave across Continental
Europe is expected to continue for several more days. Temperatures
in France and Switzerland are forecast to soar above 40C tomorrow,
as a result of unusually hot air from Africa being blown over
Europe by southerly winds.

The Netherlands’ state-run rail firm is to pay compensation to
thousands of survivors of Nazi death camps. Nederlandse Spoorwegen
first apologised in 2005 for transporting Jewish families to the
camps during the Second World War. An estimated 500 living
survivors of the Holocaust will now be paid €15,000 (£13,000) each,
with widows and widowers of victims to get €7,500
(£6,750). 

US regulators have discovered another potential problem with
Boeing’s flagship 737 Max jet. The planes have been grounded since
March after the second of two crashes – in Indonesia and Ethiopia –
that resulted in a combined loss of 346 lives. No details were
revealed about the newly flagged “potential risk”, but the issue is
expected to delay the plane’s return to service.

Ten US Democrats hoping to become the party’s next candidate for
the presidency took part a TV debate last night – and the tone was
“feisty”, according to the BBC. The broadcaster says “liberal
firebrand” Elizabeth Warren was the star of the show, outshining
her rivals. Ten other candidates in the crowded
field, including Joe Biden and Bernie
Sanders, will take to the stage for another debate
tonight.

Prince William yesterday made what organisers believe was the
first royal visit to an LGBTQ+ organisation. Speaking after
opening a new centre in London run by the Albert Kennedy Trust,
which helps homeless young gay and transgender
people, the Prince said would “fully support” his
children if they were gay, but admitted he would “worry” about the
added pressures they would face.

A new method for calculating the age of yew trees has led
scientists to conclude that many specimens across the UK may be
thousands of years younger than previously thought. The new
technique combines existing ageing methods based on the
study of tree girth, ring creation and historic rates of
growth. Scientists now think that the oldest specimen in
Britain, the Fortingall Yew in Perthshire, may only be 2,000 years
old, rather than 5,000 years old.

Glastonbury kicks off today, amid forecasts of high temperatures
that mean the festival could be dry and dusty – and raise the
possibility of festival-goers being taken ill. The world-famous
event was not held last year, to provide recovery time for
the land where it takes place, at Worthy
Farm in Somerset. This year, organisers
aim to make the festival plastic-free.

The remains of a gigantic bird found in a cave in Crimea have
been dated to between 1.5 and 1.8 million years ago. Experts say
the bone analysis findings suggests the bird – which weighed nearly
half a tonne and was almost 12ft tall – may have roamed
Europe when the first archaic humans arrived from
Africa.

Melania Trump has revealed her husband’s choice to become the
next White House press secretary – her own chief spokesperson.

Stephanie Grisham is stepping up as press secretary after Sarah
Sanders announced her resignation from the role earlier this month.
In addition, Grisham will serve as director of communications, a
role formerly held by Bill Shine, who departed the White House in
March. And to top it off, she will keep her current job, too,
according to The Guardian. So what are her credentials?