Ten Things: Did You Know...?

Meghan Markle is proud of her mixed racial heritage/REUTERS.

Noted news nuggets picked from the press.

1. Prince Harry is to marry his American actress girlfriend Meghan Markle in spring 2018. Commentators say this is no ordinary royal engagement, as she is American, divorced, an actress and mixed race. Donald Trump has yet to tweet about it, but Barack Obama has sent his congratulations.
2. UK's fraud prevention service, Cifas, has said the number of young people caught acting as "money mules" has doubled in the past four years. A mule allows their bank account to be used by others to transfer money in and out of it, and in return, keep some of the money for themselves.
3. Six British former soldiers who have been in prison on weapons charges in India since 2013 are to be released.
4. Scientists are warning that Lake Victoria, Africa's largest freshwater lake, is under threat of dying.
5. Yugoslavia-born Australian Jelena Dokic's successes during her 16-year tennis career came at a heavy personal price, she says. Once ranked fourth in the world, she reached the semi-finals of Wimbledon in 2000, but claims she suffered years of mental and physical abuse from her father Damir, who coached her from an early age.
6. Lies spread from "Russian cyber units" about flu and measles jabs in the UK are in a bid to "erode trust in US and European governments", newspapers reveal.
7. Older relatives are at risk of infection from children especially during the festive season. Experts warn to give children the flu vaccine before Christmas to prevent any spread.
8. Vaginal mesh operations should be banned from treating organ prolapse in England, health watchdog NICE has recommended.
9. Electronic tags fitted on offenders have been misued, a London inquiry has found, leading to 29 people, with two former staff at the Electronic Monitoring Service (EMS) among them, being charged.
10. Russia has emerged from the Syrian crisis with its military and diplomatic reputation significantly enhanced. But this has been achieved amid huge controversy over the means used and amid much international criticism.

Read more news >>