Ten Things You Need to Know Today: Tuesday 6 Jan 2015

1. UK EBOLA NURSE CAFFERKEY ‘STABILISED’

Pauline Cafferkey, the British nurse who was diagnosed with Ebola after working in Sierra Leone, has “stabilised”, health secretary Jeremy Hunt said yesterday. He said she remains in a critical condition, however. Cafferkey is being treated with experimental drugs at the Royal Free Hospital in London.

2. A&E WAITING TIMES WORST FOR A DECADE

Waiting times for NHS services in England are at their worst for a decade, figures released today are expected to show. A four-hour target has almost certainly been missed. Department of Health aides have insisted the figures do not amount to a crisis, however. Targets are also being missed in other parts of the UK.

A&E waiting times the worst for a decade

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3. LABOUR: WE’LL STICK WITH PAY FREEZE

Shadow chancellor Ed Balls has fought back against Tory claims that his party’s plans were not properly costed by signalling that Labour would keep the public sector pay freeze in place for at least its first year in power. He also made it clear he would not be able to scrap plans to cut back council funding.

4. ANTI-ISLAMISATION DEMOS IN GERMANY

Rival protests took place across Germany yesterday as a group campaigning against the “Islamisation of Europe” carried on its weekly rallies. In several cities, however, supporters were considerably outnumbered by counter-demonstrators. In Cologne, the cathedral turned off its lights as a statement against the group.

Pegida: thousands attend anti-Islam rally in Germany

5. OIL PRICE CONTINUES TO FALL

The price of oil has continued to fall as Brent crude reached a five-and-a-half-year low as it fell to just $51.23 a barrel before recovering slightly. The price of US oil, which dipped below $50 a barrel on Monday, fell to $48.54. Analysts said the price fall was caused by Saudi Arabia cutting prices to Europe, but raising them in Asia.

6. FIRST TIME BUYERS AT A SEVEN-YEAR HIGH

The number of first-time buyers in the UK rose to its highest level since 2007 last year, according to Halifax, which estimates 326,500 people bought their first house or flat last year in a 22% increase on 2013. Cheaper mortgage rates and the government’s Help To Buy scheme are thought to be the cause of the rise.

London house prices: study predicts a 2.5% rise for 2020, but a 1% fall in 2021

7. VETERAN WHO LEFT HOME FOR D-DAY DIES

A WWII veteran who disappeared from his nursing home in Sussex to attend 70th anniversary D-Day commemorations in France last year has died at the age of 90. Bernard Jordan, a former navy officer, was reported missing from his nursing home in Hove last June and but staff discovered that he had crossed the channel to attend the event on his own.

8. QZ8501: BLACK BOX WRECKAGE FOUND

Search teams in Indonesia believe they have located the wreckage from AirAsia flight QZ8501 that contains the plane's 'black boxes', which could provide answers to why the jet crashed. Poor weather is hampering the investigators' efforts to reach the submerged debris, which also appears to include a portion of the plane's fuselage.

AirAsia QZ8501: pilots 'turned off critical computer system'

9. MP CALLS FOR RAPE ANONYMITY REVIEW

MP Mark Pritchard has called for a review of the law on anonymity for people accused of rape after a case against him was dropped because of "insufficient evidence". There was widespread publicity when Pritchard was arrested last month. Victims of sex attacks are granted lifelong anonymity and the identity of suspects was also secret until 1988.

10. HOT TICKET: FOYLE'S WAR RETURNS

A new series of the long-running British detective drama Foyle's War is screening on ITV. Foyle, now working for British Intelligence, investigates post-war crimes including a murder linked to the Nuremberg Trials. "Intriguing," says the Daily Telegraph. Also on ITV Player. Episode 2, 11 Jan.

Foyle's War – reviews of 'intriguing' new series