Ten Things You Need to Know Today: Friday 25 Sep 2015

1. Now VW scandal spreads to BMW

The Volkswagen board meets today to choose a replacement for chief executive Martin Winterkorn, who resigned earlier this week. Many analysts are claiming that the front-runner for the top job is Porsche chief executive Matthias Mueller. The scandal hit BMW yesterday after a report stated that emissions from one of the carmaker’s models were higher than the EU limit.

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2. Saudi Arabia orders safety review after Hajj deaths

Saudi Arabia's King Salman has ordered a safety review for the Hajj pilgrimage, reports the BBC. At least 717 people died, and another 863 were injured, in the stampede near the holy city of Mecca. It happened as two million pilgrims were taking part in the Hajj's last major rite. British officials are searching hospitals in Saudi Arabia as families wait for news.

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Mecca stampede: safety review ordered after 717 die

3. Guantanamo Bay Briton to be released

The last British resident held in Guantanamo Bay is to be released and returned to the UK. Shaker Aamer who was born in Saudi Arabia but has British residency has been held at the military prison in Cuba for 13 years without trial. The alleged Taliban fighter was arrested in Kabul, Afghanistan, in 2001. His wife and four children live in London

4. Farage dedicates Ukip conference to EU campaign

Nigel Farage has told delegates at the Ukip annual conference that he is more concerned about the upcoming referendum on EU membership than the fate of the party he leads. Farage says he intends to dedicate the event in Doncaster to campaigning for Britain to leave Europe. Ukip has joined forces with millionaire party donor Arron Banks to launch the "Leave.eu" campaign.

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5. Mixed reaction to Sam Smith's James Bond theme

The theme to the new James Bond film, Spectre, has been unveiled. The Sam Smith track, called Writing's On the Wall, attracted mixed reviews after it was played for the first time on the Radio 1 breakfast show, with some calling it moving and others bland. Smith is the first solo male British artist to record a Bond theme since Tom Jones in 1964.

6. US police shoot black man in wheelchair

Delaware police are facing a new wave of criticism after shooting dead a black man in a wheelchair. Officers insist they fired on Jeremy McDole, who was paralysed from the waist down, as he tried to reach for a handgun tucked into his jeans. But McDole’s uncle, Eugene Smith said: “It was an execution. That’s what it was. I don’t care if he was black, white, whatever.”

7. Mandelson: it’s too early to oust Corbyn

Lord Mandelson says it is too early for Labour to force leader Jeremy Corbyn out. In comments seen by The Guardian, the former cabinet minister argues that the new leader must demonstrate his "unelectability" at the polls before facing a challenge. Last month, Mandelson warned that Labour could be in "mortal danger" if Corbyn won the party's leadership.

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8. 'Forest' of cannabis plants discovered in London

A 'forest' of cannabis has been discovered growing on a patch of disused land in south west London. Officers called to the area in Kingston by a member of the public found more than 150 plants, some of which were more than 5ft tall. There was even a gazebo set up in the middle of the farm. The plants are to be destroyed.

9. Fifa: criminal proceedings against Sepp Blatter

The Swiss authorities have opened criminal proceedings against Fifa president Sepp Blatter, who was "interrogated" over allegations of "criminal mismanagement and misappriopriation" on Friday. The claims relate to a World Cup TV deal sold to disgraced official Jack Warner. Blatter is aslo suspected of making a "disloyal payment" to Uefa president Michel Platini.

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10. Briefing: how Pope Francis won over America

Pope Francis is on his first visit to the US, where he has met President Obama and addressed Congress, as well as holding masses and other public events in Washington, Philadelphia and New York. The widely popular Pope has experienced a warm welcome, and not only from the 80 million Americans who are baptised as Catholics. But, as CNN notes, the US "encapsulates many of the ills he has denounced as the head of one of the world's largest religions", from capitalism to climate change.

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