Ten Things You Need to Know Today: Tuesday 24 Feb 2015

1. RIFKIND TO STAND DOWN AS MP

Sir Malcolm Rifkind has resigned as chairman of the Intelligence and Security Committee and will not seek re-election as an MP after he was filmed allegedly offering to use his influence in return for cash. Rifkind denies any wrongdoing but said he did not want the allegations to distract from the committee's work.

Malcolm Rifkind resigns over 'cash for access'

2. UK OIL AND GAS: ‘BLEAK’ YEAR IN 2014

Last year was the worst for the UK’s offshore oil and gas industry since its inception four decades ago, according to a survey by industry body Oil & Gas UK. Falling prices on the international oil markets and rising costs meant the sector spent and invested £5.3bn more than it earned from sales in 2014.

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Oil price posts two-year highs - but how long can it last?

3. GREEK REFORM PLAN BACKED BY EU

European finance ministers have approved Greek proposals designed to secure the extension of its bailout funding for four months. Greece has pledged to step up efforts agains tax evasion and the smuggling of fuel and tobacco. The plan will now go to national parliaments for final approval.

4. LEAKS SHOW MOSSAD DISPUTED BOMB CLAIM

The Guardian has received leaked documents which it says show the gulf between Israel’s intelligence services and its PM, Binyamin Netanyahu. In 2012, he told the UN that Iran was about one year away from developing nuclear weapons. But a few weeks later, Mossad said Iran was not working on a bomb.

5. PUTIN: WAR WITH UKRAINE IS ‘UNLIKELY’

Russian president Vladimir Putin has said in a TV interview that war with neighbouring Ukraine is “unlikely” and stressed his support for the recently-agreed Minsk ceasefire as the best way of stabilising the region. Russia has repeatedly denied supporting anti-Kiev rebels in Ukraine with arms and troops.

6. TURKEY CRITICISES UK ON MISSING GIRLS

Turkey has asked why it took the UK three days to inform it that three east London schoolgirls had gone missing, believed to be trying to travel to Syria to join Sunni fundamentalists IS (Islamic State). Shamima Begum, 15, Kadiza Sultana, 16, and Amira Abase, 15, were last seen last Tuesday.

Kadiza Sultana: Schoolgirl who joined IS feared dead

7. GERBILS, NOT RATS, CAUSED BLACK DEATH

Researchers from the University of Oslo believe that rats were not to blame for the waves of Black Death which devastated Europe for 400 years from 1347 onwards. Instead, they say that unusually warm summers caused a boom in the Asian gerbil population - and fleas from gerbils carried the plague.

8. HALF OF UK FOOD TO COME FROM ABROAD

The UK will import half of its food by 2040, according to research by the National Farmers’ Union, which says alarm bells should be ringing for the Government over the future of jobs in food production here - and food quality. At the moment, just 60% of the food we eat is grown here in Britain.

9. FAKE JIM CARREY CRASHES CZECH LIONS

The producers of the Czech Republic’s most prestigious film awards, the Czech Lions, have been forced to admit they were duped by a hoaxer who pretended to be Hollywood star Jim Carrey. The dinner-jacketed impostor was welcomed on stage and showered with confetti in Prague on Saturday night.

10. BRIEFING: WILL OIL PRICE RISE OR FALL?

After months of tumbling prices, oil has been hovering around the $60 a barrel mark - but analysts are divided about its next move. Some predict the possibility of oil at $10 per barrel, while others anticipate a return to an oil price of $100 a barrel within 12 to 18 months.

Oil price posts two-year highs - but how long can it last?