Ten Things You Need to Know Today: Thursday 3 Sep 2015
- 1. Cameron: we can’t take more refugees
- 2. Osborne’s living wage to benefit 3m women
- 3. British Vice News journalists released in Turkey
- 4. Migrants forced off train by riot police
- 5. Record number of drugs-related deaths in 2014
- 6. Guatemala: president resigns after arrest warrant
- 7. China shows military might - but cuts army
- 8. Report: there are three trillion trees in world
- 9. Council plans to ban smoking breaks
- 10. El Nino: why might this year's be the 'worst ever'?
1. Cameron: we can’t take more refugees
David Cameron has insisted the UK should not take more refugees from Syria, or elsewhere - but The Guardian says senior Tories believe he may shift his position after photos of a drowned toddler washed up on a Turkish beach went viral. Sky News says the UN has insisted that Britain is among countries who “can do more” to help.
Migrant crisis: photos of dead Syrian boy 'wake-up call' for PM
2. Osborne’s living wage to benefit 3m women
Almost 30% of women workers in the UK - nearly three million women - will benefit from George Osborne’s ‘national living wage’ for the over-25s. The wage will rise to £7.20 per hour and increase to 60% of median earnings by 2020 - expected to be around £9.35 an hour. The increase will help narrow the gender pay gap.
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Argos named and shamed among minimum wage offenders
3. British Vice News journalists released in Turkey
Two British journalists, arrested in Turkey for terror offences, have been released. Correspondent Jake Hanrahan and cameraman Philip Pendlebury, of Vice News, were accused of "working on behalf of a terrorist organisation" and questioned over alleged links to Islamic State and Kurdish militants. Their translator remains in custody, but is also expected to be freed.
4. Migrants forced off train by riot police
Migrants bound for Western Europe have been forced off a train in Hungary by riot police, after it stopped near a refugee camp. Journalists were ordered away from the scene in Bicske as scuffles broke out and migrants chanted 'no camp'. Earlier Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orban said the current crisis was a "German problem" as that was where many migrants were heading.
Refugees in Britain: the facts behind the headlines
5. Record number of drugs-related deaths in 2014
A record number of people died from drug poisoning last year. There were 3,346 drugs-related deaths in 2014, according to the ONS, the highest number since records began in 1993. Two thirds involved illegal drugs. Cocaine-related deaths jumped by almost a third to 247 and deaths from heroin and morphine more than doubled to 952 between 2012 and 2014.
6. Guatemala: president resigns after arrest warrant
Otto Perez Molina, the president of Guatemala has resigned after a warrant was issued for his arrest, just days before a general election. Molina is wanted on bribe-taking and fraud charges, despite having been elected on a pledge to root out corruption. His vice president has already been jailed over a customs fraud ring.
7. China shows military might - but cuts army
China has mounted a huge military parade today, a victory march in Beijing to mark the end of WW2, but president Xi Jinping told the world leaders attending that he will cut the army by 300,000 and reiterated that China has no military expansionist aims. He said his nation would “never seek hegemony or expansion” and “loves peace”.
8. Report: there are three trillion trees in world
A new estimate of the number of trees in the world is three trillion, eight times the previous best guess. The report was compiled by a group at Yale University using ground survey data from more than 400,000 forest plots and satellite images. If correct, it suggests there are around 420 trees for every person on the planet.
9. Council plans to ban smoking breaks
Nottinghamshire County Council has announced plans to ban its 9,000 employees from smoking during work hours. The proposed smoking ban would apply to all council-owned buildings, land and vehicles, would extend to staff in uniform on their way to and from work and also cover the use of e-cigarettes. Public sector union Unison said the plan was unenforceable.
10. El Nino: why might this year's be the 'worst ever'?
Meteorologists are predicting that this year's El Nino event might be the most significant on record and is likely to lead to extreme weather events around the world. So what is El Nino and what causes it? El Nino occurs when temperatures in the Pacific Ocean rise due to a change in the normal wind direction, which causes extreme weather patterns across the world. While it is a naturally occurring event, scientists believe that greenhouse gases and subsequent global warming are intensifying its effects. This year, meteorologists say the surface water temperatures in the east-central tropical Pacific Ocean are likely to exceed 2C above average, "potentially placing this El Nino event among the four strongest events since 1950".
El Nino: what is it and why might this year's be the 'worst ever'?
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