Ten Things You Need to Know Today: Friday 1 Mar 2013

1. EASTLEIGH: LIB DEMS WIN, UKIP SECOND

The Lib Dems held Eastleigh in yesterday's by-election, with Mike Thornton winning 13,342 votes. UKIP's Diane James came second with 11,571, beating the Conservative Maria Hutchings into third with 10,559. Labour trailed all of them with 4,088 votes. The results indicated a 19.3% swing from the Lib Dems to UKIP.

Pressure on Tories to turn right after UKIP's Eastleigh surge

2. UK MAN HELD OVER 'CANNIBAL COP' CASE

Dale Bolinger, a hospital nurse in Kent, has been arrested at his home in Canterbury after a tip-off from police in the US investigating "cannibal cop" Gilberto Valle. Bolinger has reportedly been questioned in connection with Valle's online contact with someone in Britain who claimed to have eaten two women and been Valle's "mentor".

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

Kent male nurse held over plot 'to rape, kill and eat' women'

3. 'THANK YOU AND GOODNIGHT' SAYS POPE

Pope Benedict XVI officially ended his pontificate last night with a final public appearance at the Vatican in which he told the crowd that he would now "simply be a pilgrim". He bade them "thank you and goodnight" and flew to his weekend retreat by helicopter, handing in his ring and his red slippers. His Swiss guards have been withdrawn.

Pope Benedict's last day - in pictures

4. BRADLEY MANNING PLEADS GUILTY

Private Bradley Manning, the US soldier accused of leaking secret documents to Wikileaks, yesterday entered a guilty plea to 10 of the 22 charges against him. The military judge accepted the plea, but Manning, 25, may still be prosecuted on the most serious charge, aiding the enemy, which he denies but which could bring a life sentence.

Bradley Manning: I wanted to spark debate about cost of war

5. BANKERS' BONUS CAP 'DELUDED' SAYS BORIS

London Mayor Boris Johnson last night denounced the EU cap on bankers' bonuses as "self-defeating", boosting Zurich, Singapore and New York "at the expense of the struggling EU". He called it "possibly the most deluded measure to come from Europe since Diocletian tried to fix the price of groceries across the Roman Empire."

Boris Johnson: Europe's banker bonus cap plans 'deluded'

6. NHS DOCTORS DON'T TRUST OWN HOSPITALS

As many as two-thirds of doctors and nurses at some NHS hospitals would not recommend that their families are treated where they work, according to figures compiled by the NHS itself. It wasn't that bad everywhere: at the Queen Victoria Hospital in East Grinstead, 94% of staff were happy to recommend their facility.

7. UNDERCOVER POLICE: MPS DEMAND REFORM

The Commons Home Affairs Committee last night demanded an "urgent review" of laws governing police undercover operations to protect the rights of those affected, including those who get involved in relationships with undercover officers. Chairman Keith Vaz said the effect of undercover police seducing women was "devastating".

8. SA COPS HELD OVER DRAGGING DEATH

Eight South African police officers have been arrested over the death of a Mozambican man who was apparently dragged behind a police vehicle. An investigation was launched after a video emerged showing the man hauled through the streets with his hands cuffed to a police van. President Jacob Zuma called the incident "horrific" and "unacceptable".

Taxi driver dies after police drag him behind van - video

9. POUND FALLS ON BAD MANUFACTURING NEWS

The spectre of a triple-dip recession has been raised again by a “shock contraction” in the UK’s manufacturing sector. The bad news caused the pound to sink by almost a cent against the Euro, and one-and-a-half cents against the dollar today, as it became clear the ailing manufacturing sector is likely to act as a drag on the UK's economic growth in the first quarter of 2013.

Pound falls as manufacturing slump paves way for triple-dip

10. HOT TICKET: STOKER A 'DEMENTED' THRILLER

Park Chan-wook's Gothic psychological thriller 'Stoker' is released in UK cinemas today. Mia Wasikowska stars as a troubled teenager drawn to her mysterious uncle when he comes to live with her and her mother (Nicole Kidman), following the death of her father. "Splendidly demented," says Variety.

Mia Wasikowska 'brilliant' in Gothic family thriller Stoker