Ten Things You Need to Know Today: Monday 21 Dec 2015

1. Spanish elections: conservatives lose ground

Spain's conservative ruling party, the PP, has lost its majority in a general election, with two new grassroots movements together winning almost a third of seats. The PP and the opposition Socialists will now try to negotiate a coalition. The PP won 28.7% of the vote, the Socialists 22%, Podemos 20.6% and Ciudadanos 13.9%.

Spanish election:
 future unclear as left-wing parties make big gains


2. MPs: government 'too slow' to save steel

A cross-party committee of MPs has criticised the government for doing too little too late to save the British steel industry. The business, innovation and skills committee says the government did not respond to warning signals including falling demand and reduced prices. When it did take action, it was only to compensate workers.

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3. Las Vegas: car kills one and injures 37

Police are investigating whether a car which mounted a pavement in Las Vegas yesterday was deliberately driven into a crowd. The vehicle, driven by a woman and with a toddler on board, killed one pedestrian and injured 37. Police said the incident was not confirmed as terrorism, though an anti-terror unit was on the scene.

One dead as car ploughs into Las Vegas crowd

4. Murray named Sports Personality of the Year

The BBC yesterday revealed that Andy Murray had been voted Sports Personality of the Year for the second time in three years. The Scots tennis player won 361,446 of the 1,009,498 votes cast. Presenting the award, Gary Lineker cut his hand on the famous trophy and was forced to explain a profusely bleeding fist on live TV.

Andy Murray SPOTY triumph spares BBC a Fury 'nightmare'

5. China: rescuers search rubble after landslide

At least 91 people are unaccounted for after a landslide hit 33 buildings in the Chinese city of Shenzhen. About 900 people were evacuated as a huge manmade mound of earth and other debris from building work lost stability and slid yesterday. An area the size of 53 football pitches has been left covered with mud up to 32 feet deep.

China landslide: rescuers search for 91 people still missing

6. Gay Briton fights extradition to Dubai

A gay British man, Michael Halliday, is asking not to be extradited to the United Arab Emirates to face a charge of stealing from a shop where he worked because he thinks his sexuality could lead to him being tortured and punished disproportionately. Homosexuality is illegal in the UAE. The 32-year-old will learn his fate this week.

7. Wrong woman crowned 'Miss Universe'

Organisers of the Miss Universe beauty pageant provoked controversy yesterday by crowning the first runner-up as winner by mistake, before correcting the error. Miss Colombia, Ariadna Gutierrez was then forced to yield her crown to Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach, Miss Philippines. Host Steve Harley said it was his mistake.

8. Runaway reindeer recovered in Nottingham

A reindeer caused alarm when it escaped from a Christmas exhibit in a Tesco car park in Nottingham. The animal, said to have been spooked by a car horn, narrowly avoided being hit by a bus before escaping into a residential area at around noon on Sunday. The event organisers said it was eventually found in a private garden.

9. Blatter and Platini banned from football for eight years

Sepp Blatter, the head of Fifa, and Michel Platini, the president of Uefa have been banned from the game for eight years after an ethics investigation. The pair were found guilty of breaches in relation to a "disloyal payment" of £1.3m made to Platini in 2011. Both men have said they will appeal against the decision.

Michel Platini will resign at Uefa's next congress

10. Briefing: what will the end of socialist rule mean for Venezuela?

Venezuela's opposition coalition has stormed to victory in the country's legislative elections, ending nearly two decades of socialist control of the country's National Assembly. Fireworks erupted across the capital Caracas after it was announced that Democratic Unity had won 99 seats in the chamber, with 22 seats yet to be declared. But what will the loss mean for the late Hugo Chavez's Bolivarian Revolution?

Venezuela election: what the end of socialist rule will mean