Ten Things You Need to Know Today: Wednesday 11 Mar 2015
- 1. WESTMINSTER ABUSE RING: MURDER CLAIM
- 2. TOP GEAR SCRAPPED FOR CLARKSON ‘PUNCH’
- 3. IRAN: US LETTER IS UNDIPLOMATIC
- 4. JURY: BLURRED LINES STOLEN FROM GAYE
- 5. NO TERROR CHARGES FOR GIRLS LURED BY I.S
- 6. BERLUSCONI ESCAPES BUNGA BUNGA TRIAL
- 7. UTAH DEBATES USE OF FIRING SQUADS
- 8. FIRST UK-FARMED TRUFFLE HARVESTED
- 9. DRUGS LEGAL IN IRELAND FOR 36 HOURS
- 10. BRIEFING: OBAMA BLACKLISTS VENEZUELA
1. WESTMINSTER ABUSE RING: MURDER CLAIM
Police investigating an alleged 1980s paedophile ring including MPs have heard claims a Lambeth council official was murdered because he was about to reveal the abuse. Bulic Forsythe’s death in 1993 sparked a nationwide appeal. Forsythe’s claims were investigated at the time but the report was not published.
2. TOP GEAR SCRAPPED FOR CLARKSON ‘PUNCH’
The BBC is expected to scrap the rest of the current series of its macho driving show, Top Gear, after allegations that presenter Jeremy Clarkson punched a producer. It has been claimed a row broke out over lack of catering on set. A petition calling for Clarkson to be reinstated has been signed by 150,000 people.
3. IRAN: US LETTER IS UNDIPLOMATIC
Iran’s foreign minister has said an open letter sent by 47 Republican senators in the US which warned that any nuclear deal reached with Barack Obama could expire as soon as the Democrat president leaves office is “unprecedented and undiplomatic”. Mohammad Javad Zarif added: “We cannot trust the US.”
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
4. JURY: BLURRED LINES STOLEN FROM GAYE
A jury in the US has found that songwriters Pharrell Williams and Robin Thicke plagiarised Marvin Gaye with their hit Blurred Lines, one of the best-selling singles ever. The late soul singer’s family has been awarded $7.3m (£4.8m) in damages. Williams denied copying Gaye’s 1977 song Got To Give It Up.
5. NO TERROR CHARGES FOR GIRLS LURED BY I.S
The three missing east London schoolgirls believed to have travelled to Syria to become ‘brides’ of IS fighters will not face terrorism charges if they return home, the UK’s top police officer says. The girls families have denied claims that they stole jewellery to fund their trip to Syria, which they made via Turkey.
6. BERLUSCONI ESCAPES BUNGA BUNGA TRIAL
Italy’s Court of Cassation has rejected requests from prosecutors to hold a fresh trial for Silvio Berlusconi in the ‘bunga bunga’ case. The ex-PM was acquitted of paying for sex with an underage girl known as Ruby the Heart-stealer and abusing his office on appeal in 2014, one year after his original conviction.
7. UTAH DEBATES USE OF FIRING SQUADS
The US state Utah’s senate has passed a bill to reinstate the use of firing squads for capital punishment after ten years because of a nationwide shortage of the drugs used for lethal injections. It is not known if the measure will become law. Inmates who were injected have taken hours to die in botched executions.
8. FIRST UK-FARMED TRUFFLE HARVESTED
Entrepreneur Dr Paul Thomas says he has harvested the first truffle farmed in the UK, six years after the sought-after culinary fungus was seeded under a holly-oak tree in Leicestershire. The specimen weighs 39g and Thomas hopes to command prices of around £400 per kg. Truffles are notoriously hard to grow.
9. DRUGS LEGAL IN IRELAND FOR 36 HOURS
More than 100 previously controlled substances including ecstasy and ketamine have inadvertently been made legal in Ireland - and will remain so until midnight on Thursday. A court struck down part of the country’s drug law in an appeal against a drugs conviction. Parliament is scrabbling to pass emergency laws.
10. BRIEFING: OBAMA BLACKLISTS VENEZUELA
Washington has declared Venezuela a national security threat and imposed a new round of sanctions against the country in an escalating diplomatic dispute. Barack Obama signed an executive order to impose travel bans and asset freezes on seven Venezuelan law enforcement and military officials.
Why has Obama declared Venezuela a national security threat?
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
'Such wrongdoing encourages foreign corrupt practices'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
Can Japan's new prime minister govern effectively?
Today's Big Question A 'popular gadfly' gets the top job
By Joel Mathis, The Week US Published
-
UK cedes Chagos Islands to Mauritius, minus US base
Speed Read Mauritius has long argued it was forced to give up the islands in 1965 in return for independence from Britain
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
10 things you need to know today: January 24, 2024
Daily Briefing Trump closes in on nomination with New Hampshire win over Haley, 'Oppenheimer' leads the 2024 Oscar nominations, and more
By Harold Maass, The Week US Published
-
10 things you need to know today: January 23, 2024
Daily Briefing Haley makes last stand in New Hampshire as Trump extends polling lead, justices side with US over Texas in border fight, and more
By Harold Maass, The Week US Published
-
10 things you need to know today: January 22, 2024
Daily Briefing DeSantis ends his presidential campaign and endorses Trump, the US and Arab allies push plan to end Gaza war, and more
By Harold Maass, The Week US Published
-
10 things you need to know today: January 21, 2024
Daily Briefing Palestinian death toll reportedly passes 25,000, top Biden adviser to travel to Egypt and Qatar for hostage talks, and more
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
10 things you need to know today: January 20, 2024
Daily Briefing Grand jury reportedly convened to investigate Uvalde shooting response, families protest outside Netanyahu's house as pressure mounts for hostage deal, and more
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
10 things you need to know today: January 19, 2024
Daily Briefing Congress averts a government shutdown, DOJ report cites failures in police response to Texas school shooting, and more
By Harold Maass, The Week US Published
-
10 things you need to know today: January 18, 2024
Daily Briefing Judge threatens to remove Trump from his defamation trial, medicine for hostages and Palestinians reach Gaza, and more
By Harold Maass, The Week US Published
-
10 things you need to know today: January 17, 2024
Daily Briefing The US strikes Houthi targets in Yemen a third time, Trump's second sex defamation trial begins, and more
By Harold Maass, The Week US Published