Fresh leaks show communication between Trump Jr. and WikiLeaks... MPs to vote on final Brexit deal... The richest 1% are even richer
This is Anna bringing you today's top news nuggets.
Shady dealings - Donald Trump Jr., the eldest son of the US president, was in direct contact with WikiLeaks in the final stages of the presidential campaign, a leak of private correspondence shows. Trump Jr. exchanged messages with WikiLeaks’ official account on Twitter between 20 September and 12 October 2016. Some of the boldest requests from WikiLeaks include asking for Trump’s tax returns, urging the Trump campaign on Election Day to reject the results of the election as rigged, and requesting that the president-elect tell Australia to appoint Julian Assange ambassador to the United States.
Concessions of a Brexiteer - UK Brexit secretary David Davis has verbally promised to let MPs vote on the final Brexit deal, but the lukewarm concession has not staved off a potential rebellion from Tory backbenchers. ‘It is clear that we need to take further steps to provide clarity and certainty both in the negotiations and at home regarding the implementation of any agreement into United Kingdom law,’ said Davis, but stressed that the agreement will only stay in place if the Brexit deal was approved, and that it could not be used to reverse Brexit. Reception from MPs has been mixed, with many arguing that it doesn’t assure a meaningful vote at all.
Inequality soars - The world’s richest 1% now own half of the globe’s wealth, according to a new report. Those who make up the 1% have seen their share of the world’s wealth go up from 42.5% at the height of the 2008 financial crash to 50.1% this year. $140tn (£106tn) in total. The report highlights the growing gap between the ultra-rich and the rest of the population. ‘The share of the top 1% has been on an upward path ever since [the crisis], passing the 2000 level in 2013 and achieving new peaks every year thereafter,’ the annual report said.
Tough words - UK Prime Minister Theresa May has taken a hardline with Russia and directly accused the country of leading a campaign of ‘fake stories and Photoshopped images’ against western democracy. Russia orchestrated a ‘sustained campaign of cyber-espionage and disruption’, May said, including meddling in elections, hacking Denmark’s defence ministry, the German parliament and others. Labour MP Ben Bradshaw, among others, has called for an official inquiry into whether Moscow attempted to influence the Brexit referendum.
A punch a day… - A British man had a stroke with death when a shark, presumed to be a bronze whaler, attacked him while he was surfing at Avoca Beach in Australia. The formidable animal suddenly burst out of the water and struck 25-year-old Charlie Fry’s arm. Having previously seen how Australian pro-surfer Mick Fanning responded when he was attacked by a shark in South Africa in 2005, Fry followed suit and punched the creature in its nose, emerging from the incident with only a few scratches.
Women talk - Following the explosive Harvey Weinstein sex assault scandal that has rocked Hollywood - and the world - reports of rape, harassment and sexual assault have increased by almost a third in France. The rise, described as ‘exceptional’ is believed to have been brought about by the #MeToo and #BalanceTonPorc (squeal on the pig) campaigns on social media. The sharp increase in reports in October, up from 1,213 in the same period last year to 1,577 (30%), was revealed by an official source to Agence France-Presse.