Ten Things You Need to Know Today: Tuesday 13 May 2014

1. US PLANES HUNT FOR NIGERIAN KIDNAP GIRLS

America has revealed it is flying manned surveillance missions over Nigeria to try to find the 276 schoolgirls kidnapped by Islamist terror group Boko Haram. Experts are examining a video the group released yesterday showing around 130 of the girls, supposedly converted to Islam, for location clues.

Suicide bomber kills 47 at school assembly in Nigeria

2. POLL SHOWS TORIES ON TOP AFTER TWO YEARS

A new poll for The Guardian conducted by ICM shows the Tories two points above Labour for the first time in two years. Labour support has fallen to 31% in the survey of voting intentions, while the Conservatives have risen to 33%. The Lib Dems rose one point to 13% and Ukip have risen four to 15%.

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Ed Miliband poll collapse: spin doctor Axelrod faces uphill task

3. GERMAN FOREIGN MINISTER IN UKRAINE

Germany’s foreign minister, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, has arrived in Kiev to help find a diplomatic solution to the crisis in the east of Ukraine. Pro-Russian activists yesterday declared the area an independent nation, after votes decried as farce by Kiev, and are now calling on Russia to “absorb” the region.

Ukraine rekindles Nato aspirations, angering Russia

4. MAN ARRESTED OVER LAWRENCE MURDER

A 59-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of murdering 35-year-old chef Claudia Lawrence, who disappeared from her home in York in 2009. Forensic tests are being carried out at a house in the city and a car had been seized. Police said more arrests could not be ruled out. The case featured on Crimewatch in March, five years after she vanished.

5. CORNWALL COACH CRASH: ONE DEAD, 50 HURT

One person has died and more than 50 have been injured in a coach crash in Cornwall. The vehicle left the road and hit a hedge as it headed west towards Looe on the A387. Most of the passengers are said to be in their 60s. In addition to the person who died, nine have serious injuries, and one was airlifted to hospital in Plymouth.

6. ASTRAZENECA WARNS MPS OVER PFIZER

The chief executive of AstraZeneca, Pascal Soriot, has warned MPs that the development of new drugs could be put at risk if it is taken over by American rival Pfizer, as "distractions" at the company could cause delays to it's "pipeline". Pfizer boss Ian Read has insisted his company has "integrity" and would protect jobs.

AstraZeneca rejects 'final' £69bn offer from Pfizer

7. CAROLINE AHERNE FIGHTS LUNG CANCER

Caroline Aherne, star of The Mrs Merton Show and The Royle Family, is fighting lung cancer. The 50-year-old comedian has previously suffered from bladder and eye cancer. She has been receiving treatment for the disease in Manchester and the Macmillan Cancer Support charity said she would appear at an appeal to improve cancer care in Manchester on 26 June.

8. MODI TIPPED TO WIN INDIAN ELECTION

Narendra Modi is on course to become prime minister of India after exit polls suggested his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) could win an overall majority in parliament. The ruling Congress party looks destined for its worst results since independence in 1947. However, experts have warned that previous exit polls have proved wide of the mark in India.

India election: what kind of PM will Narendra Modi be?

9. BEYONCE’S SISTER ‘HIT JAY Z IN LIFT’

Celebrity gossip site TMZ has published CCTV footage from a lift which it says shows singer Beyonce’s sister Solange Knowles, also a performer and model, attacking rapper Jay Z in a lift, repeatedly hitting and punching him. The site says Beyonce was also present and eventually intervened.

10. HOT TICKET: RACE COMEDY YELLOW FACE

David Henry Hwang's comedy Yellow Face has opened at The Shed, National Theatre, London. A Chinese-American playwright accidentally casts a white actor as the Asian lead in his play, but complicates matters by trying to cover up his mistake. "Sparkling comedy," says the Financial Times. Until 24 May.

Yellow Face – reviews of 'sparkling' race comedy