Ten Things You Need to Know Today: Monday 15 Apr 2019

1. No-fault evictions to be banned in England

The government has put forward proposals to ban landlords from evicting tenants without a good reason, ending so-called Section 21, or no-fault evictions. Evidence shows these evictions are a major cause of family homelessness and are abused to punish tenants who complain about poor conditions. A landlords’ association said it would cause “chaos”.

2. Assange ‘used embassy as spying base’

The president of Ecuador, Lenin Moreno, has claimed WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange tried to use the embassy in London, where he spent almost seven years avoiding arrest over sexual assault charges, as a “centre for spying”. The 47-year-old was arrested on Thursday by British police who entered the embassy at Ecuador’s invitation.

3. Housing market ‘recovering after Brexit delay’

The property website Rightmove has predicted that the market will recover over the next few months as buyers react to the delay to Brexit – and says asking prices have risen by 1.1% on average over the past month. The upbeat assessment is at odds with pessimistic predictions from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors last week.

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4. Police ‘can predict fatal stabbing locations’

A report co-authored by a Metropolitan Police murder detective and University of Cambridge academics suggests police should target specific areas to prevent knife crime. Co-author Det Ch Insp John Massey found more than two-thirds of knife killings in 2017-2018 were in places where knife attacks had happened the year before.

5. Boy killed by dog was left alone in caravan

A nine-year-old boy who was killed by a “bulldog-type dog” in a holiday park in Cornwall on Saturday had been left alone with the animal, police say. Frankie Macritchie, from Plymouth, was on his own in a caravan at Tencreek Holiday Park in Looe, Cornwall, while his parents were in another caravan on the site.

6. May’s rivals ‘want her to stay for months’

The Times claims today that senior Tories who want to replace Theresa May as party leader are urging her to stay in the job until late autumn if she fails to get Parliament to vote for her Brexit proposals. The newspaper says rivals in the cabinet fear a leadership challenge this summer could result in new talks with the EU.

7. Gatwick drone ‘may have been inside job’

The drone attack that severely disrupted Gatwick airport shortly before Christmas last year could have been the work of an insider, according to Sussex Police and airport management. They say that whoever flew the drone seemed to have knowledge of airport working practices – and may even have been able to see the runway.

8. Tiger Woods: comeback will be a lesson for his children

Tiger Woods said yesterday that his comeback to win his first major title in 11 years at Augusta would teach his children that golf doesn’t just cause him pain. The 43-year-old golfer could “barely walk” before back surgery two years ago and had doubted he would ever win again. It was his fifth US Masters win; his last Masters win was 14 years ago.

9. Man sues parents for throwing out porn

A 40-year-old man in Indiana who moved back in with his parents for 10 months after a divorce is suing them for throwing out his 12-box collection of pornographic magazines and DVDs, which he says was worth $29,000 (£22,000). The man’s parents admit they threw out the collection when they sent their son’s belongings to his new home.

10. Why Norway refuses to drill for oil worth billions

Norway’s parliament has dealt a blow to the nation’s vast oil industry by withdrawing support for explorative drilling off the Lofoten Islands in the Arctic.

Why Norway is refusing to drill for oil worth billions