Ten Things You Need to Know Today: Friday 23 May 2014

1. ELECTION: 'UKIP FOX IS IN THE HEN HOUSE'

Ukip is gaining council seats across England as all three main parties suffer at the polls. Labour has been unable to make the inroads it hoped for, although it has gained almost 200 seats. The Conservatives have lost over 100 seats, many to Ukip, and the Lib Dems continue to be punished. Leader Nigel Farage said: "The Ukip fox is in the Westminster hen house."

2. BANK HOLIDAY TUBE STRIKE CALLED OFF

A Tube strike that could have brought London to a standstill over the bank holiday weekend has been called off after talks between union leaders and transport bosses. Technicians in the Tube's power control room, which supplies electricity to the entire network, had planned to walk out in a dispute over terms and conditions.

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Tube commuters face more delays as engineers begin industrial action

3. THAI COUP: ARMY SUMMONS POLITICIANS

The ousted Thai leader Yingluck Shinawatra has appeared at a military facility in Bangkok, a day after the army seized power in a coup. More than 100 political figures have been summoned by the army which has banned 155 people, including several politicians, from leaving the country. General Prayuth Chan-ocha is suspending the country’s constitution.

Thai army takes power in televised coup d'etat

4. RUSSIA HITS BACK AT PRINCE CHARLES

Russia has hit back at Prince Charles after his comment comparing Vladimir Putin to Hitler. Russia's foreign ministry said the remark was “unacceptable, outrageous and dishonourable” and “not worthy of a future British monarch”. Russian diplomats held a 40-minute meeting with Foreign Office officials in London yesterday.

5. 'VILE' STUART HALL JAILED FOR SEX ATTACKS

Disgraced former broadcaster Stuart Hall has been jailed for two-and-a-half years for two indecent assaults on an underage girl. Passing sentence, Lord Justice Turner said Hall had committed acts of "vile bravado and horrible betrayal". One of the attacks took place at a dinner party. Hall is already serving a 30-month term for assaulting 13 other young girls.

6. POLICE PROBE MOYES ‘BAR BRAWL’

Police are investigating claims former Manchester United manager David Moyes attacked a man in wine bar. Witnesses say that Moyes reacted after 23-year-old Joshua Gillibrand “gave him some stick” over his disappointing reign at Old Trafford. Moyes had been enjoying a drink with a friend at the Emporium Wine Bar in Clitheroe, Lancs.

David Moyes and a 'Wild West' showdown in Clitheroe

7. REPORT TO REVEAL UK OIL DEPOSITS

There are seven billion barrels worth of oil in shale rocks under the south of England, a report will claim today. The British Geological Survey’s study covers several areas including Sussex, Hampshire, Surrey and Kent. To get the oil out of the ground will require the controversial ‘fracking’ process. Opponents say that fracking damages water supplies and can cause earthquakes.

Friends of the Earth rebuked for anti-fracking leaflet

8. YACHT SEARCH TO BE CALLED OFF TODAY

The renewed search for the missing yacht Cheeki Rafiki will be called off within 24 hours if it makes no progress by then, says a US official. Meanwhile, relatives of the sailors on board say there were approached by Tomnod, an American company that previously organised an online “search party” for the missing Malaysian Airlines plane.

9. GLASGOW SCHOOL OF ART IN FLAMES

Fire crews are battling to save the Glasgow School of Art, designed by Charles Rennie Mackintosh, after a major blaze swept through the iconic building. Everyone escaped the building safely, but there are fears that the fire could destroy the school. The blaze is thought to have started in the basement, but the flames have reached attic studios.

10. HOT TICKET: X-MEN RETURN TO THE PAST

Superhero film X-Men: Days of Future Past has opened in UK cinemas. The X-Men ensemble sends Wolverine into the past to join forces with their younger selves in a species war against a robot army. With Hugh Jackman, Jennifer Lawrence and James McAvoy. "Fantastic," says Empire.

X-Men: Days of Future Past – reviews of latest Marvel film

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