Ten Things You Need to Know Today: Saturday 20 Jul 2013

1. ISRAEL & PALESTINANS TO RESUME TALKS

Israel and the Palestinians have reached an agreement to restart peace talks, says US secretary of state John Kerry. Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat and his Israeli counterpart Tzipi Livni will begin initial talks in Washington “in the next week or so”, said Kerry. He described the development as a "significant step forward".

2. OBAMA: MARTIN COULD HAVE BEEN ME

President Barack Obama has said that "Trayvon Martin could have been me, 35 years ago” as he made his first statement about the case since George Zimmerman was acquitted of Martin's murder. Obama told reporters that very few black men in the USA had not experienced racial profiling. Martin's parents said: “This is a beautiful tribute to our boy.”

3. CHARLES LOBBIES HUNT ON HOMEOPATHY

Prince Charles has secretly lobbied the health secretary to back homeopathic medicines denounced by top doctors as “witchcraft”, reports the Daily Mail. Jeremy Hunt, a strong supporter of alternative therapies, met the prince at Clarence House last week. Charles is said to be unhappy that plans to set up a register of Chinese medicine practitioners have been stalled.

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4. BORIS CALLS FOR PHONE 'KILL SWITCH'

Boris Johnson is to press Apple and other smartphone manufacturers to introduce an industry-standard 'kill switch' which would immediately disable stolen handsets, as phone theft rises. The London mayor is pushing for the move as Scotland Yard announces that around 10,000 phone handsets are stolen each month in London.

5. ORIGINAL SCHINDLER LIST ON EBAY

A rare copy of one of the lists Oskar Schindler used to safeguard the lives of more than 1,000 Jewish people during the Second World War is being auctioned on eBay. The reserve price for the item, which dates from April 18, 1945, is $3m. “Don't miss your chance to own a piece of history,” reads the online listing.

6. UK HEATWAVE MOVES NORTH-WEST

The heatwave is moving north-west this weekend as conditions are tipped to ease slightly in the south-east of England. However, temperatures are set to rise again next week, with some forecasters predicting the all-time record of 101.3F (38.5C) could be beaten in the first half of the week. Drought experts say Britain could be weeks away from a hosepipe ban.

7. G20 TO CLOSE TAX LOOPHOLES

G20 nations say they have struck a “once in a century” agreement to close international tax loopholes. Tax structures used by Amazon to route billions of pounds from sales to UK customers through Luxembourg are among the loopholes earmarked for closure. The move was unveiled in Moscow by George Osborne and finance ministers from France and Germany.

8. POLICE PROBE ADEBOLAJO 'ATTACK'

Five prison officers have been suspended as police probe claims one of the two Woolwich murder suspects was injured while being restrained at London's Belmarsh Prison on Wednesday. Michael Adebolajo, accused of killing drummer Lee Rigby in May, reportedly lost two front teeth in the incident. The Prison Officers Association denies any wrongdoing by officers.

9. GOALIE BERT TRAUTMANN DIES AT 89

Bert Trautmann, the German goalkeeper who played on in an FA Cup final with a broken neck, has died at the age of 89. He appeared 500 times for Manchester City between 1949-64, having first arrived in England as a prisoner of war. He was given an honorary OBE for his work in promoting Anglo-German post-war relations.

10. FROOME EDGES CLOSER TO VICTORY

Britain's Chris Froome edged closer to winning the Tour de France after yesterday's 19th stage to Le Grand-Bornand. He is five minutes 11 seconds ahead of Alberto Contador with just two more stages remaining. "I definitely had a sigh of relief after getting today out of the way," Froome said after yesterday's mountainous stage.