Ten Things You Need to Know Today: Wednesday 18 Feb 2015

1. US BLAMES RUSSIA FOR BROKEN CEASEFIRE

The US has directly accused Russia of violating the ceasefire in Ukraine, just as Moscow drafted a UN resolution backing the truce. The US ambassador to the UN, Samantha Power, said it was “ironic to say the least” that Russia wrote the motion while “backing an all-out assault” by Ukraine rebels. Joe Biden was also critical.

Obama: Vladimir Putin trying to 'recreate Soviet empire'

2. SYRIA TO HALT RAIDS ON ALEPPO FOR WEEKS

Syria has agreed to halt air strikes on its own people in Aleppo for six weeks in a trial ceasefire, according to its UN envoy. President Bashar al-Assad has reportedly agreed to the halt in firing in the city, which has been under attack since mid-2012 with heavy loss of life to civilians, as long as rebels also stop fighting.

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Syria: Aleppo ceasefire offers 'glimmer of hope'

3. CHELSEA CONDEMNS RACIST FANS IN PARIS

Chelsea football club has condemned fans who were filmed travelling on the Paris Metro as they manhandled a black man off the train he was trying to board, then sang a song with the words “We’re racist, we’re racist - and that’s the way we like it” with a black woman standing directly in front of them.

Chelsea racist chanting: The Sun names witness

4. TELEGRAPH’S OBORNE QUITS OVER ‘FRAUD’

Peter Oborne, the Daily Telegraph’s chief political commentator, has resigned because, he says, the paper is not covering the HSBC banking scandal because it has decided to put its commercial interests first (the bank is an advertiser in the Telegraph). Oborne said it was “fraud” on the paper’s readers.

Telegraph hits back at Peter Oborne’s ‘astonishing’ attack

5. ENERGY FIRMS ‘ABUSE LOYAL CUSTOMERS’

The Competition and Markets Authority has found that the Big Six energy firms are exploiting their loyal customers, whose unwillingness to shop around for cheaper starter deals means they may pay up to £234 more per year. And it says Ofgem may be blocking new market entrants with excessive red tape.

6. EVEREST CLIMBING ROUTE TO CHANGE

Safety fears have prompted Nepal to change the route taken by the majority of climbers who attempt the world’s highest peak, Mount Everest. An avalanche on the left side of the Khumbu Icefall killed 16 last year, prompting Sherpa guides to go on strike. The new route will be more central after Base Camp.

7. SEARCH FOR BOY OF 11 IN WALES RIVER

A major search is continuing this morning for a boy of 11 who fell into the River Towy near Carmarthern in Wales yesterday afternoon. The alarm was raised at about 4pm and firefighters, the coastguard, the Ferryside inshore lifeboat crew and an RAF Sea King rescue helicopter were all involved in the search.

8. HSBC RAIDED BY SWISS POLICE

An HSBC office in Geneva is being searched by Swiss police seeking evidence of "suspected aggravated money laundering", prosecutors have said. Allegations emerged last week that HSBC's private banking arm in Switzerland may have helped clients evade tax.

9. LIMPETS’ TEETH SET STRENGTH RECORD

Engineers in the UK led by Portsmouth University have found that limpets’ teeth are the strongest biological substance yet tested, beating spider silk. The animals use a tongue covered in tiny teeth to scrape out a groove in rock. The analysis could be used to help develop stronger man-made composite materials.

10. BRIEFING: EGYPT'S COPTIC CHRISTIANS

Coptic Christians, the latest group to be targeted by IS, make up about 10% of Egypt's population. Their church was founded in the first century by Saint Mark the Apostle, has its own pope based in Alexandria and believes in the single divine nature of Christ. Prayer and fasting are seen by Copts as two of the most important methods by which they can communicate with God.

Egypt's Coptic Christians: Who are they and what do they believe?