Ten Things You Need to Know Today: Monday 22 Sep 2014

1. BALLS OUTLINES 'FIRST LABOUR BUDGET'

Shadow chancellor Ed Balls has outlined his plans for Labour's first Budget if they win the election. He said Labour would save £400m over the course of the next parliament by freezing child benefit, but pledged to increase the minimum wage and the top rate of income tax. He insisted that Labour was committed to "balancing the books" and would not make rash promises.

Ed Balls plans 'symbolic' child benefit cut to balance books

2. TESCO PROFITS OVERSTATED BY £250M

Four Tesco executives, including its UK managing director, have been suspended after the supermarket admitted it had overstated its expected profits for the six months to 23 August this year by £250m. The supermarket giant has appointed Deloitte to investigate independently. The error was caused by an overstatement of income and understatement of costs.

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Tesco ends sale of 5p single-use carrier bags

3. PM CHEQUERS SUMMIT ON ENGLISH VOTES

David Cameron is holding talks at Chequers with senior figures in the Conservative party over plans to restrict the voting rights of Scottish MPs in the house of commons. The proposal, to stop Scottish MPs voting on laws which only affect England, will most affect the Labour party, which has 40 MPs in Scotland.

David Cameron calls Chequers summit: can he halt rebellion?

4. BLAIR: DON’T RULE OUT SYRIA GROUND TROOPS

Former PM Tony Blair has warned the west should not rule out sending ground troops to Syria to fight the Sunni militants IS there - though he suggested local forces could take on the role as there was no appetite in the West for engagement. Blair said that bombing alone would not defeat the militants.

Cameron to use Chilcot report to support his anti-war stance

5. ROCHDALE: POLICE INVESTIGATE HUMAN LEG

Police are using sniffer dogs to search an area behind a Conservative club near Rochdale after a dog walker found an adult human leg. It is not known how long the leg, found yesterday afternoon, had been behind the Healey Conservative Club in Whitworth, or if it belonged to a man or woman.

6. MORE CELEBRITY PICTURES LEAKED

Another batch of pictures of naked celebrities, seemingly hacked from their personal email accounts, has appeared online. Kim Kardashian, Avril Lavigne and Mary-Kate Olsen are among those targeted in the second major hacking leak in less than a month. The pictures were posted on 4Chan and Reddit.

Hackers release more stolen nude celebrity photographs

7. ROCKEFELLER FAMILY MOVE INTO CLEAN ENERGY

The Rockefeller family, which made its huge fortune through oil, is to sell its interests in fossil fuels and reinvest its money in clean energy. The Rockefeller Brothers Fund, worth around $860m, has joined other organisations in announcing the move on the eve of a United Nations climate change summit meeting in New York.

Climate change marches: hundreds of thousands demand action

8. TURKEY CLOSES BORDERS WITH SYRIA

Turkey has closed border crossings into Syria after 130,000 refugees, fleeing Islamic State militants, fled the country over the weekend. The border was opened after IS launched an assault on Kurdish towns in Syria. Hundreds of Kurds reportedly travelled into Syria to help Kurdish forces fight IS and their advance is said to have been halted.

9. ALICE GROSS: POLICE WANT MURDER CASE FILE

Police searching for teenager Alice Gross have asked Latvian police for the case file on the prime suspect in the case, convicted murderer Arnis Zalkalns. He was jailed for killing his wife in 1998, but police say there was no record of his conviction when he came to Britain in 2007. In 2009 he was arrested on suspicion of indecent assault, but later freed.

Alice Gross: why did police not know about killer’s past?

10. HOT TICKET: WALSH'S BALLYTURK AT NT

A new play by Enda Walsh, Ballyturk, has opened at the National Theatre, London. Cillian Murphy and Stephen Rea star in a tale of two men trying to recall what life was like in their hometown as their inevitable fate closes in. "Deliciously strange," says the Evening Standard. Until 11 October.

Ballyturk – reviews of 'deliciously strange' new play

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