Ten Things You Need to Know Today: Thursday 16 Apr 2015

1. KAREN BUCKLEY: MAN ARRESTED AFTER FIND

A 21-year-old man has been arrested after police searching for Irish student Karen Buckley found human remains suspected to be hers on a farm north of Glasgow. The 24-year-old was reported missing at the weekend during a night out in the city. Buckley was studying occupational therapy in Glasgow.

2. BALLS: TORIES HAVE UNDERFUNDED BY £25BN

Shadow chancellor Ed Balls is today claiming the Conservative manifesto contains pledges which would cost £25bn to fulfil - the equivalent of £1,349 per working household per year - without an explanation of where the money would be found. He will call for an independent body to cost all election pledges.

Election 2015: Nick Robinson, one man who’d welcome a second election

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3. ENGLAND: PRIMARY PLACES OUT TODAY

More than half a million families in England will find out which primary schools their children have got into - and more and more will be disappointed, missing out on their first choice, says the BBC. Council leaders warned yesterday that two in five local authorities would have too few places by the year 2016.

4. BRADFORD FIRE CLAIMS 'NONSENSE'

The judge who led the inquiry into the Bradford City fire disaster, which killed 56 people in 1985, has dismissed suggestions that it may have been started deliberately. Sir Oliver Popplewell, who concluded that a discarded cigarette started the blaze at Valley Parade, said claims in a new book from Martin Fletcher, who survived the tragedy, were "nonsense".

Bradford City fire: who says what about new claims?

5. LORD JANNER AVOIDS SEX ABUSE TRIAL

Labour peer Lord Janner will not face trial on more than 20 child sex abuse charges because he is suffering from dementia the Crown Prosecution Service has said. The 86-year-old is alleged to have abused children at care homes during the 1970s and 1980s. The CPS admitted that there was enough evidence to bring the case to court but said the 86-year-old was unfit to stand trial.

6. MORE MIGRANTS DIE IN MEDITERRANEAN

Italy has called for more help dealing with migrants crossing the Mediterranean to Europe after another 40 are believed to have drowned when their boat sank off the coast of Sicily. The latest tragedy was reported by four survivors who were spotted in the sea and rescued by the Italian navy. Almost 10,000 migrants have been rescued off the Italian coast in recent days.

Hundreds feared dead after migrant boat capsizes near Libya

7. CHARLIE HEBDO BOOK ON ISLAM PUBLISHED

A posthumous book by the late editor of French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo, murdered by terrorists in January, is to be published. Stephane Charbonnier, known as Charb, finished the book two days before his death. It claims the fight against racism is hindered by fear of seeming Islamophobic.

8. MH370 SEARCH ZONE TO BE DOUBLED

The hunt for flight MH370, which disappeared over a year ago, will continue for another year and the area of the Indian Ocean being searched will be doubled in size if nothing is found in the next few weeks. The announcement came from Australian, Malaysian and Chinese ministers. The current search is focusing on an area of ocean off Western Australia.

MH370: mysterious 89kg load ‘added to cargo flight list after take-off’

9. KNUCKLE-CRACKING EXPLAINED BY SCIENCE

Scientists have found a definitive answer to a simple question: why do joints, including knuckles, crack? Canadian researchers filmed knuckles cracking using an MRI scanner and say that, as first posited in 1947, the noise is caused by the sudden formation of pockets of gas in the fluid which lubricates joints.

Knuckle cracking: scientists explain what's really going on

10. BRIEFING: CHILD TRUST FUNDS

If you have a child aged between four and 12, the new tax year has opened up a great opportunity.Parents of children born between 1 September 2002 and 2 January 2011 were able to open Child Trust Funds to start saving for their children's future. But they have become shackles for children rather than the financial springboards they were meant to be, and better options are now available.

Child Trust Funds: it's time to dump them in favour of Junior Isas