Ten Things You Need to Know Today: Tuesday 5 May 2015

1. PARTY LEADERS TRAVEL FOR LAST PUSH

The leaders of the UK’s main political parties are criss-crossing the nation today in the last 48 hours of campaigning before Thursday’s general election. David Cameron will travel 1,300 miles from the South-West to Scotland, sometimes accompanied by Boris Johnson. Ed Miliband will focus his message on the NHS.

2. SYRIA: ‘UNTHINKABLE ATTROCITIES’ IN ALEPPO

Civilians in Aleppo, Syria, are suffering "unthinkable attrocities" says Amnesty, warning that fighters from both sides are committing war crimes on a daily basis. As many as 3,124 civilians were killed between January 2014 and March 2015. Ten more were killed on Sunday when a barrel bomb hit a nursery school.

3. TEXAS GUNMAN WAS TERROR SUSPECT

One of two men shot dead by police in Garland, Texas, on Sunday night outside a conference which included a competition to draw Mohammed was a known terror suspect, it has emerged. Elton Simpson had been under surveillance since 2006. The other dead man, Nadir Soofi, had been Simpson’s flatmate.

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Texas shooting: gunman was under FBI surveillance

4. SILICON VALLEY CEO ‘SLIPPED ON TREADMILL’

David Goldberg, the Silicon Valley supremo who made his fortune out of PayPal and was married to Facebook executive Sheryl Sandberg, died in a freak accident when he slipped on a treadmill in a Mexican gym and banged his head. Goldberg, who was the CEO of SurveyMonkey, was on holiday with family.

5. BOSTON BOMBER IN TEARS AS AUNT CRIES

Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, the surviving of two brothers who killed three people and injured 264 others at the Boston marathon in 2013, yesterday displayed emotion in court for the first time. The 21-year-old wiped tears from his eyes after his aunt broke down when giving evidence. Tsarnaev may be put to death.

Boston bomber appeal likely to be 'slow, torturous process'

6. SNOOKER: BINGHAM BEATS MURPHY 18-15

Stuart Bingham, a 50-1 longshot at the start, won the World Snooker Championship at the Crucible, Sheffield, beating Shaun Murphy 18-15 in a gripping final. At 38, Bingham is the oldest player to win since Ray Reardon in 1978, who was 45. He has never before made it past the second round.

Snooker journeyman Bingham dispatches Murphy in epic World Final

7. POSSUM GIFT TO MARK ROYAL BIRTH IN OZ

The Queen today met her new great-granddaughter, Princess Charlotte fifth in line to the throne, at Buckingham Palace, three days after she was born. Australian prime minister Tony Abbott had an unusual way of marking the birth. His government have donated $10,000 to a pygmy possum sanctuary in Victoria.

Princess Charlotte to start nursery school in January

8. DOZENS MORE MIGRANTS DIE IN SINKING

Dozens more migrants have died in the Mediterranean after the ship carrying them sank, south of Sicily. Save the Children said the latest incident happened when an inflatable vessel carrying 137 people "deflated or exploded" as a rescue ship approached. So far this year 1,750 people have died in the Mediterranean.

9. ROTHERHAM: ABUSE WARNING IN 2003

Authorities in Rotherham, where up to 1,400 children were sexually abused by gangs, were warned about the abuse 13 years ago. Dr Angie Heal, a former South Yorkshire Police drugs analyst, wrote reports in 2003 and 2006 warning about gangs grooming and abusing girls in the town – and even named suspected offenders – but no action was taken.

Rotherham authorities warned of sex abuse 12 years ago

10. BRIEFING: PAPER DRIVING LICENCE DROPPED

The DVLA is changing the way driving licences are issued and scrapping the paper counterpart in the coming months as part of its plans to digitise driver's records. Ministers argue the changes, like those made to tax discs last year, will streamline services and save money. So what do the changes mean for Britain's 46 million motorists?

Paper driving licence changes: what you need to know

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