Ten Things You Need to Know Today: Sunday 16 Nov 2014

1. OSBORNE ‘HELPS RICH BY HITTING POOREST’

George Osborne has masterminded a transfer of income from the least well-off half of the population to the more affluent over the past four years, says The Observer. A London School of Economics report found that changes to benefits and income tax have switched income from the poorer half of households to most of the richer half, with poorest families hit hardest.

2. DID AIR STRIKE HIT JIHADI JOHN?

Jihadi John may have been injured in a US-led air strike, claims the Mail On Sunday. The Briton, who beheaded two British and two American hostages held by Islamic State terrorists, was in a northern Iraq bunker destroyed in a US airstrike last weekend, according to reports being examined by the British foreign office.

3. TORIES ‘RELAXED’ ABOUT BY-ELECTION FATE

A senior Tory says the party will lose the Rochester and Strood by-election, reports The Observer. The cabinet source says Ukip will win the poll and the Conservative party’s best hope is to “keep defeat to single digits”. Just weeks ago the Tories said they would “throw the kitchen sink” at the contest. However, the source says the party is now “fairly relaxed” about the expected defeat.

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4. ISIS ‘SEVEN TIMES LARGER THAN THOUGHT’

Isis is seven times bigger than the West believes, claims a senior Kurdish leader. Fuad Hussein, chief of staff of Kurdish President Massoud Barzani, tells the Independent on Sunday that the number of militant fighters is at least 200,000 - seven or eight times bigger than typical foreign intelligence estimates of up to 31,500 men.

5. WORLD CUP: NEW EVIDENCE DAMNS QATAR

Qatar’s football boss Mohamed bin Hammam was actively involved in illicit activities to secure the 2022 World Cup for the desert state, reports The Sunday Times. Bin Hammam brokered improper vote-swapping deals, claim senior executives of the failed England bid. Freshly discovered electronic messages reveal that his staff discussed how he rigged the vote.

6. ROAD SIGN ‘HARMS THE OVER-50S’

Road signs portraying a hunched elderly couple clutching a stick as a warning to drivers to slow down are discriminatory, says the government’s tsar for the elderly. Ros Altmann, business champion for older workers, is to ask Jo Swinson, women and equalities minister, to ban the signs, which he believes deter employers from giving jobs to the over-50s.

7. WILL CUMBERBATCH BOOST GCHQ?

The new Benedict Cumberbatch film The Imitation Game is expected to boost recruitment to GCHQ, says The Observer. The film, in which the star portrays Alan Turing, who cracked the Enigma code, could also boost tourism at Bletchley Park. A study has revealed that another Cumberbatch leading role, in the BBC’s Sherlock, has created nearly £11m worth of publicity for the capital.

8. NHS SURGEON JOINS THE TALIBAN

An NHS surgeon has fled the UK to join the Taliban, reports the Sunday Telegraph. Mirza Tariq Ali, 39, who was due to stand trial for assault, managed to leave the country despite having his passport taken from him while awaiting trial at the Old Bailey. He reappeared last week in a recruitment video for a Taliban splinter group, urging foreign jihadists to join the fight.

9. STARS GATHER TO RECORD BAND AID

One Direction, Emeli Sande, Rita Ora and Ed Sheeran have recorded a new version of the Band Aid charity single in a studio in London. The reworked version of Do They Know It’s Christmas will raise funds for the fight against Ebola. Ellie Goulding, Sam Smith, Chris Martin and Bono also feature on the track. The UK government will waive VAT on the single.

10. ROONEY HELPS ENGLAND TO VICTORY

A goal from Wayne Rooney in his 100th international appearance helped England to a 3-1 victory over Slovenia. Roy Hodgson’s men came from behind to make it four wins out of four in the Euro 2016 campaign. Arsenal’s Danny Welbeck struck twice, bringing his tally to five goals during in qualifying. However, there were no shots at all on target during a full first half.