Ten Things You Need to Know Today: Thursday 6 Mar 2014

1. CRIMEAN PARLIAMENT VOTES TO JOIN RUSSIA

The Crimean parliament has applied to become part of Russia and if their wish is granted will call a referendum to ratify the decision in ten days time. However, the acting Ukrainian prime minister, Arseniy Yatsenyuk, says the move had no legal grounds. The announcement came as EU leaders were due to meet in Brussels to discuss the crisis.

Ukraine rekindles Nato aspirations, angering Russia

2. GADDAFI SON SENT HOME FROM NIGER

Saadi Gaddafi, son of the late Libyan dictator and former leader of the country’s special forces, has been ‘extradited’ from Niger to Tripoli, Libya says. Gaddafi, who enjoyed a brief career in top-flight Italian football, fled to Niger’s capital, Niamey, through the desert and is said to have lived in a state guesthouse there.

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3. LEGOLAND CLOSED AFTER FAR-RIGHT THREAT

Legoland Windsor has announced it will be closed this weekend after it received threats from far-right groups because the Muslim Research and Development Foundation had booked the park for a private fun day. The park was also forced to close down its Facebook page after receiving abusive messages.

4. SHELL BOSS: SCOTS SHOULD STAY IN UK

The chief executive of Shell has said he would like Scotland to remain the UK - and the UK to remain in Europe - for reasons of “continuity and stability”. Yesterday it emerged EU rules might force firms who do most of their business in England but have HQs in Scotland, including RBS and Lloyds, to move south.

Read more

5. WIDOW WINS RIGHT TO KEEP HUSBAND’S SPERM

A woman has won her High Court battle to prevent her dead husband’s frozen sperm from being destroyed. Beth Warren’s husband had sperm frozen before he started cancer treatment, but the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority had ruled that it must be destroyed in April 2015. Warren says she is not yet ready to have children.

6. JACK WILSHERE OUT FOR SIX WEEKS

Arsenal star Jack Wilshere will be out for six weeks after fracturing his left foot in England's friendly match against Denmark at Wembley. Medical staff discovered hairline fracture when he returned to Arsenal. He will miss several key matches for Arsenal and any setbacks in his recovery could put his World Cup in doubt.

7. LAWRENCE CASE: NEW POLICE INQUIRY

Home Secretary Theresa May has announced a public inquiry into the work of undercover police following a review of the Stephen Lawrence murder investigation, which found that police had planted a "spy" within the Lawrence "camp" after the 1993 murder. An earlier inquiry accused the Metropolitan Police of "institutional racism".

Stephen Lawrence report: Met chief says force 'devastated'

8. PISTORIUS 'BEGGED REEVA NOT TO DIE'

The trial of Oscar Pistorius has heard how the Paralympian was discovered crying and praying over the body of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp, promising to dedicate his life to God is she did not die, after he shot her through the door of the bathroom at his home in Pretoria. Pistorius retched in the dock as neighbour Dr Johan Stipp gave evidence.

Oscar Pistorius out of legal options as request to appeal rejected

9. HUGE EUROPEAN DINOSAUR IDENTIFIED

A ferocious, meat-eating dinosaur has been identified by Portuguese scientists as the biggest predator ever on the European land mass. Torvosaurus gurneyi was a theropod, like Tyrannosaurus rex, but lived 80 million years earlier in the Cretaceous. It would have been 10m in length and weighed between 4 and 5 tonnes.

New dinosaur unearthed: meet Europe's largest predator

10. HOT TICKET: SOUTH PARK GAME

A new role-play video game based on the hit American animated television series South Park is released in the UK this week. In The Stick of Truth, players form pairs with South Park characters and battle enemies, including Gingers, crazy homeless guys, and aliens. "Fantastic," says Metro.

South Park: The Stick of Truth - reviews of 'glorious' tie-in game