Ten Things You Need to Know Today: Wednesday 21 Mar 2012

1. POLICE IN STAND-OFF WITH TOULOUSE SUSPECT

Police investigating the murders of Jewish schoolchildren and French soldiers in southwest France have surrounded a house in Toulouse and are engaged in an armed stand-off with a suspect. The French interior minister says the suspect, whose brother has been arrested, claims to belong to al-Qaeda.

Toulouse shootings: Algerian man cornered in flat

2. ASPIRIN MIGHT CUT CANCER RISK

Taking a low dose of aspirin every day can cut the risk of developing a range of cancers, and even stop the spread of the disease through the body, according to three new studies published in The Lancet. Doctors found that within three years of taking daily aspirin, the incidence of cancer in patients fell by about a quarter.

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Can aspirin help prevent cancer and who should take it?

3. BUDGET: 50P TAX RATE CUT, ALLOWANCE UP

Chancellor George Osborne has, as expected, cut the 50p rate of income tax to 45p. He also raised the personal tax allowance to £9,205. Tax on cigarettes will rise by 5% above inflation, stamp duty has been increased on homes worth more than £2m and he raised the level at which child benefit is withdrawn.

Budget 2012: the main points of Osborne's speech

4. SOMALIAN PIRATES FREE BRITISH HOSTAGE

British hostage Judith Tebbutt, kidnapped in Kenya six months ago, has been freed by her Somalian captors after her family paid the pirates a ransom. She was seized and her husband killed during a raid at the remote Kenyan holiday resort Kiwayu, in September 2011.

5. MUAMBA WAS 'DEAD' FOR 78 MINUTES

Bolton Wanderers club doctor Jonathan Tobin has told the BBC that Fabrice Muamba was "in effect dead" for 78 minutes after he suffered a cardiac arrest during a game on Saturday. He revealed that the 23-year-old who is recovering in hospital received a total of 15 defibrillator shocks before he got to hospital.

Muamba tipped to play again, but is reaction overemotional?

6. POLL: DEFEND FALKLANDS ‘WHATEVER THE COST’

61% of Britons say the UK “should protect the Falklands no matter what the cost”, according to a new Guardian/ ICM poll. Nearly one third believe Britain must negotiate with Argentina over a handover. Support for the islanders cuts across all British nations and social classes, with only 18-24 year olds supporting a handover.

7. SHARES IN GAME SUSPENDED

Shares in console entertainment retailer Game have been suspended after the company admitted it there is “no equity value left in the group”. Game has issued profit warnings in recent months and its woes have been compounded because it has been unable to offer blockbuster titles.

Home entertainment company Game on brink of bankruptcy

8. TRAYVON MARTIN KILLING INVESTIGATED

The US justice department has begun an investigation into the fatal shooting of Trayvon Martin, an unarmed black teenager shot as he walked home from a sweet shop by a neighbourhood watch volunteer who thought he looked "suspicious" and has not been charged because of self-defence laws.

Justice Florida-style: will this vigilante get away with murder?

9. CAMERON SLEPT IN OBAMA'S BED

More details of David Cameron's 'bromance' with Barack Obama have emerged, after the Prime Minister said the US President had allowed him to use his bed on Air Force One to catch up on sleep. Cameron said that Obama had explained the situation to the PM's aides. "He said, 'Don't worry, the British Prime Minister is fine, I've just tucked him up in bed'. I don’t think that's happened before."

Obama 'tucked Cameron into bed' on Air Force One

10. HOT TICKET: WELLER PLAYS FOR KICKS

Singer-songwriter Paul Weller launches his new album Sonik Kicks with gigs at the Roundhouse this week. The Modfather of Jam and Style Council fame performs songs from his latest album, along with older numbers including Whirlpool’s End, and Echoes Round the Sun. “A triumph”, says The Independent. Until 22 March.

Blistering Paul Weller shows Modfather hasn't lost his edge