Ten Things You Need to Know Today: Wednesday 8 Apr 2015

1. ASSAD CRITIC SHOT DEAD IN CAR IN LONDON

A former Imam, born in Syria, who has been an outspoken critic of Syria’s autocratic president, Bashar al-Assad, was found dead in London on Tuesday morning. Police have launched a murder investigation into the death of Abdul Hadi Arwani, found with gunshot wounds to his chest in a car in Wembley.

2. LABOUR: WE’D SCRAP NON-DOM TAX STATUS

Ed Miliband will today put more distance between the UK’s two main parties, saying that Labour would scrap ‘non-domicile’ tax status, the rule that allows some wealthy UK residents to pay less tax by claiming their main residence is abroad. The Tories said the number of non-doms had “exploded” under Labour.

Labour to abolish non-dom tax status: how would it work?

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3. US POLICEMAN FACES MURDER CHARGE

A white police officer has been charged with murder after a video appeared to show him shooting dead a black man who was running away from him. Michael Slager, a policeman in North Charleston, South Carolina, had already targeted Walter Lamer Scott with a stun gun after stopping him for a driving offence.

Walter Scott shooting: new footage released by Carolina police

4. GREECE’S TSIPRAS IN MOSCOW FOR TALKS

Greece’s socialist PM, Alexis Tsipras, is meeting Vladimir Putin in Moscow today for talks, prompting speculation Russia may introduce an exemption for Greece from its ban on EU imports. Ahead of the visit, Tsipras described the EU sanctions imposed on Russia after it annexed Crimea as “a road to nowhere”.

5. SNP ADMITS SECOND REFERENDUM PLAN

SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon last night admitted her party might contest the next Scottish Parliament elections on a manifesto promising a second referendum on independence from the UK. Sturgeon at first tried to avoid questions about a second vote in last night’s televised Scottish party leader’s debates.

6. EXIT CHECKS ON UK BORDERS START

The UK border authority has started recording data on all passengers leaving the UK. To minimise disruption, while all travellers will have their passports scanned, at first only 25% will have checks run on them. The checks will be phased in until June, when 100% of holders will have their details verified.

7. YOUNG TERRORIST’S BROTHER ‘JOINS I.S’

The brother of Britain’s youngest convicted terrorist is feared to have travelled to Syria to join Islamic State. Hassan Munshi and his friend Talha Asmal, both 17, secretly left their homes in West Yorkshire last week and flew to Turkey. Munshi’s brother Hammad was arrested on a terror charge at 16.

8. NORTH KOREA: COMIC FILM AIR-DROPPED

A South Korean campaigner says he has used balloons to drop thousands of copies of the Hollywood comedy The Interview, which includes a scene where North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un’s head explodes, over the border to the North. The South Korean government had threatened to stop him.

9. COD COULD BE BACK ON THE MENU SOON

New research suggests that stocks have recovered dramatically in the North Sea since the heavy over-fishing of the 1980s and 1990s - and the fish could be certified as sustainable within five years. While the Marine Conservation Society still advises consumers to avoid eating cod, it says the signs are “very positive”.

10. BRIEFING: PENSION CHANGES EXPLAINED

Sweeping changes to the UK's pension system have come into force, allowing retirees to withdraw their pension in one lump sum. Financial experts have warned that it could lead to a pensioner spending-spree – and that anyone cashing in their savings could face a hefty tax bill.

Pension freedoms prompt £1.7bn annuities merger