Ten Things You Need to Know Today: Wednesday 15 May 2013

1. A&E ‘STRETCHED TO POINT OF COLLAPSE’

Groups representing doctors and NHS managers say the A&E system must change - or face collapse. Attendance at A&E has risen by 50% in the last decade. The College of Emergency Medicine warned there are shortages of both middle-grade and senior doctors and the Foundation Trust Network warned of a crisis in A&E funding.

2. BP OFFICES RAIDED BY EU OVER PRICE FIXING

The offices of oil giants BP, Shell and Statoil have been raided by investigators from the EU Commission, which has accused the firms of colluding to fix the price of oil and biofuels. The Commission said it suspected the firms of “anti-competitive agreements” relating to the submission of prices to oil pricing agency Platts.

Petrol prices 'rigged for a decade'

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3. OXFORD ABUSE RING: COUNCIL BOSS TO STAY

The chief executive of Oxfordshire County Council has said she will stay in the post despite calls for her to resign after the conviction of seven members of a paedophile gang whose crimes went undetected by police and social services over a seven year period. Joanna Simons admitted the council bore “enormous responsibility”.

Oxford grooming gang raped and beat girls as young as 11

4. FALCONER TO TABLE RIGHT-TO-DIE BILL

Labour peer Lord Falconer is set to table a private member's bill that will legalise assisted suicide for the terminally ill in 'strictly defined circumstances'. A new poll by the pressure group Dignity in Dying suggests more than three-quarters of the public support a change to the law on assisted suicide.

Six key questions about Lord Falconer's right-to-die bill

5. RECOVERY ‘IN SIGHT’, SAYS BOE CHIEF

Bank of England governor Sir Mervyn King says an economic recovery is “in sight”. Delivering his final inflation report today he said the central bank had upgraded its growth forecast and inflation would fall faster than previously predicted. Meanwhile, statistics showed unemployment rose by 15,000 to 2.52m in the first three months of this year.

6. SYRIA REBEL WHO ‘ATE HEART’ TO BE TRIED

Human rights groups have condemned a video which appears to show a Syrian rebel leader taking a bite from the heart of a government soldier. Human Rights Watch said the man was Abu Sakkar, a well-known fighter from Homs, and his actions were a war crime. Syria’s opposition coalition, Sakkar’s allies, said he would face trial.

Syrian rebel filmed 'cutting out and eating heart' of dead soldier

7. QPR STRIKER ARRESTED OVER 'RAPE'

QPR striker Loic Remy has been arrested on suspicion of rape after a 34-year-old woman alleged that he and two other men attacked her on 6 May in west London. Met police took the French international into custody on Wednesday morning. Two other men aged 23 and 22 were also arrested at an address in Fulham.

QPR striker Loic Remy arrested on suspicion of rape in London

8. CANNES OPENS WITH LUHRMANN’S GATSBY

The Cannes Film Festival opens today, with director Baz Luhrmann and star Leonardo DiCaprio expected on the red carpet to see their adaptation of The Great Gatsby launch the festival, despite mixed early reviews. The 20 films in competition over the next 11 days include work by the Coen brothers and Roman Polanski.

Cannes Festival 2013: eight to watch - in pictures

9. ARIEL CASTRO TO PLEAD INNOCENT

The US man accused of imprisoning three women for about a decade in his house in Ohio will plead not guilty to all charges, his lawyer says. Ariel Castro, 52, is "not a monster and he shouldn't be demonised," according to lawyer Jaye Schlachet, who insists that details of his client's innocence "will be disclosed as the case progresses".

Ariel Castro is 'not monster' and will plead innocent

10. HOT TICKET: RUSSIAN METRO GAME RETURNS

Survival action video game 'Metro: Last Light' is released in Britain this week. In the sequel to 'Metro 2033', players return to the underground tunnels of post-apocalypse Moscow to battle mutants and find the key to mankind's redemption. "Astonishing and moving," says Gamespot.

Russian survival game Metro Last Light is bleak but bold