Ten Things You Need to Know Today: Thursday 20 Aug 2015

1. British police to tackle people-smuggling in Calais

Theresa May and her French counterpart Bernard Cazeneuve have signed a deal to tackle the migrant crisis at Calais. The plans involve the creation of a "control and command centre" in the French port, staffed by French and British police, to tackle people smuggling. There will also be extra money for fencing and CCTV - and more Eurotunnel guards.

Refugee crisis: Calais Jungle children 'have nowhere to sleep'

2. Bangkok bomb: 'tour guides' hand themselves in

Thai police say the bombing of a Hindu shrine in Bangkok on Monday evening, in which 20 died and scores were injured, is unlikely to be the work of an international terror group, but believe at least ten people were involved in planning and carrying out the attack. Two men caught on CCTV at the scene have handed themselves in to police, insisting they are tour guides

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

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.

Sign up

Bangkok bomb: what we know about the suspected attackers

3. Britain to reopen embassy in Iran

Britain is to reopen its embassy in Iran, four years after it was stormed by protestors during angry over sanctions imposed by Westminster. Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond will visit Iran at the weekend with a delegation of business leaders. The news comes after Tehran agreed a deal with world powers over its nuclear programme.

4. GCSEs: results stable, but London forges ahead

This year's GCSE results have remained stable with the proportion of A* to C grades rising to 69%, up from 68.8% last year, while A* grades fell by 0.1% points. The oveall pass rate was 98.6%. There were some significant regional variations in results with 7% more students getting A* to C grades in London than in the Yorkshire and Humber region.

5. Yemen ‘on the brink of famine’, says UN

The conflict in Yemen has brought the country to the brink of famine, the UN’s World Food Programme (WFP) has warned. Aid agencies are unable to reach remote areas because of violence and the country’s markets do not have enough food to feed the population, says the WFP. There are 13 million people believed to need help.

Yemeni government rejects US ceasefire

6. Working long hours increases stroke risk

Data analysis of half a million people shows those working long hours are more likely to suffer a stroke. The reason for the link is uncertain but it could be their jobs are more stressful or that they don’t have time for exercise or good diet. Those working up to 48 hours a week were at 10% more risk than people working up to 40 hours.

7. Crowds line streets for funeral of Cilla Black

Crowds lined the streets to applaud the funeral cortege of Cilla Black today as it made its way to the Liverpool church where her marriage was blessed in 1969. Cliff Richard sang a tribute, and celebrities including Paul O'Grady and Jimmy Tarbuck gave readings. Tom Jones, who hired a private plane to attend, and Andrew Lloyd Webber were guests.

Sir Cliff Richard to sing at Cilla Black's funeral

8. Easyjet passenger Tasered by police at Gatwick

A passenger on an Easyjet flight from Gatwick to Belfast was Tasered by police during a row about luggage. Officers went on board the plane after reports that a passenger had become abusive. Sussex Police later said a man had been arrested for breach of the peace. The plane eventually took off three hours late after police took statements from passengers and crew.

9. Hamas captures Israeli 'spy dolphin'

Hamas claims to have captured an Israeli spy dolphin off the coast of Gaza. The animal was fitted with a camera, a "remote control monitoring device" and a contraption that could fire small arrows underwater, according to local media, and was being used by Israel to attack Hamas's commando wing. Sceptics believe the dolphin was simply wearing a GPS tag.

Hamas 'captures Israeli spy dolphin'

10. Briefing: inside Russia's propaganda factory

An undercover journalist and activist has won symbolic damages against a secretive Russian agency after infiltrating the organisation and exposing the inner workings of the "propaganda factory". Lyudmila Savchuk sued the pro-Kremlin Internet Research Agency for breaching labour laws after she was unmasked as a reporter and fired by the company. "I am very happy with this victory," the 34-year old said outside court in St Petersburg. "I achieved my aim, which was to bring the internet trolls out of the shade."

Russia's troll army: how the propaganda factory operates

Explore More