Ten Things You Need to Know Today: Saturday 22 Nov 2014

1. BUS ATTACK: KENYAN TERRORISTS ‘KILL 28’

Militants from the Al Shabab group have hijacked a bus in Kenya, with gunmen singling out 28 non-Muslims and shooting them dead, reports Sky News. A police spokesman said that the passengers, who were travelling to Nairobi, were "brutally executed" by the Islamic extremists. The terror group was behind the attack on the Westgate shopping mall, which left 67 people dead.

2. POLICY ROW DENTS UKIP TRIUMPHALISM

Ukip is targeting as many as 40 Westminster seats following its victory in the Rochester by-election. The party claims it will replace Labour as the party of the working class. However, Ukip’s triumphalism was dealt a blow when Mark Reckless accused leader Nigel Farage of changing policy “overnight” in response to a row over immigration.

3. WINTER BLAST TO HIT BRITAIN

A sub-zero blast will bring winter to the UK next week. Temperatures will drop to as low as 19F (-4C) in some areas of the country. Large parts of the country will be blanketed with fog. The Met Office has issued a yellow warning for rain in Eastern Scotland as flood warnings return. "It will feel cold next week as the weather has been so mild recently," said Dan Williams, of the Met Office.

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4. MANDELA WIDOW ON ‘SHAME’ OF EBOLA

The widow of Nelson Mandela says the spread of Ebola shames Africa. Graça Machel said African leaders had learned no lessons from the HIV pandemic. She asked: “Why is it whenever we have a crisis on this continent we have to run to the Americans, we have to run to the British?” Meanwhile, NHS staff are flying to Sierra Leone to help the fight against the virus.

5. TESCO TO CONCEAL TABLOID COVERS

Tesco will no longer display the front covers of tabloid newspapers to avoid children seeing “sexualised pictures of young women”. The development is a victory for campaign groups No More Page 3 and Child Eyes who have spent months lobbying on the issue. Tesco said it would change the design of its “news cube” stands so newspapers will not be displayed vertically.

6. STANDING OVATION FOR BILL COSBY

Bill Cosby received a standing ovation on the first night of his American standup tour despite mounting allegations of sexual assault. Nine women have come forward to accuse him of wrongdoing. Yet fears that his show would be disrupted proved groundless. The only interruption came when a group of supporters shouted: “We love you, Bill Cosby!”

7. LOTTERY WINNER REFUSED MORTGAGE

A factory worker who won £1m on the lottery discovered he is unable to get a mortgage due to a poor credit rating. Matt Myles returned to the news after enjoying a round-the-world pub crawl, during which he spent £72,000 on alcohol. The 28-year-old said: “I was going to buy a load of houses with mortgages and then get people in to rent them to pay for the mortgage.”

8. JAMES BOND LASER WATCH INVENTED

A German man has created a James Bond style laser watch that can burn items from metres away. YouTuber Patrick Priebe made the watch at his home in tribute to the gadget featured in the James Bond film Never Say Never Again, which was released in 1983. He has previously recreated Wolverine’s claws and a Spiderman webshooter.

9. ONLINE GAMER JAILED FOR KNIFE ATTACK

A young American man who travelled to the UK and attacked a brother and sister after meeting them through online gaming has been jailed for life. Police describe 20-year-old Shane Coffey from Boston, Massachusetts, as a "troubled" man who had planned the knife assault in Surrey with "disturbing precision". He will serve a minimum of eight-and-a-half years in prison.

10. CAN ‘WELBZ’ SINK FORMER CLUB?

Danny Welbeck will hope to prove a point to his former club Manchester United when they visit Arsenal today for the tea-time kick-off. Welbeck, 23, who had been at Old Trafford since the age of eight, joined Arsenal for £16m in September. Elsewhere, leaders Chelsea host West Brom, while Manchester City face Swansea.

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