Ten Things You Need to Know Today: Wednesday 27 Jan 2016

1. Apple warns: iPhone sales to fall for first time

Apple has warned that sales of its flagship iPhone will fall this year, for the first time since the product's launch in 2007. The firm reported the slowest growth in sales yet for the first quarter of its fiscal year. It sold 74.8 million phones, compared to 74.5 million in the same period last year. The tech giant made record profits of $18.4bn this quarter.

iPhone sales stagnate as first fall looms

2. Briton Konta reaches Australian Open semis

British tennis player Johanna Konta has continued a remarkable run of form to reach the semi-finals of the Australian Open after beating China's Zhang Shuai in straight sets in the quarter-finals. The 24-year-old is the first British woman to reach a Grand Slam semi-final since Jo Durie in 1983. Andy Murray has also made the semis.

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Australian Open: torrid two weeks ends badly for Andy Murray

3. Oregon: leader of armed militia arrested

Police in Oregon have arrested militia leader Ammon Bundy after a shoot-out in which one person was killed. Bundy's armed militia have occupied the Malheur Wildlife Reserve for weeks in protest against the arrest of two ranchers for setting fires on their land in the wildlife refuge. The group says the US federal government has taken land illegally.

Ammon Bundy: Oregon militia leader arrested in shoot-out

4. Costa book award won by children's author Hardinge

For the first time since 2001, the Costa book of the year award has gone to a children's title. Frances Hardinge picked up the prize at a ceremony last night for her novel The Lie Tree, described by judges as a "multi-layered page-turner". The book tells the story of a 14-year-old girl in the male-dominated world of Victorian science.

5. Greece warned over border controls

Greece has been warned it is "seriously neglecting its obligations" to protect Europe's borders and could face internal border controls. More than 850,000 migrants and refugees arrived in Greece last year from outside Europe and a draft European Commission report claims many were not registered, checked nor fingerprinted before being allowed in.

Islamic State targets vulnerable refugee children for recruitment

6. Obama calls for action over Zika virus

US President Barack Obama has called for action to tackle the mosquito-borne Zika virus, which is feared to be spreading through the Americas and has been linked to birth defects. Travel companies are now offering pregnant women the chance to cancel trip to affected areas. The number of cases of suspected microcephaly, where babies are born with smaller heads, has rocketed in Brazil.

Zika virus: everything you need to know about the disease

7. Trump to boycott next Republican TV debate

US businessman Donald Trump, the frontrunner to be the Republican's presidential candidate, will not take part in the party's next TV debate after host network Fox News released a press release he considered to be derogatory. The press release claimed Trump has "his own secret plan to replace the Cabinet with his Twitter followers".

8. Row over PM's 'bunch of migrants' comment

David Cameron has been criticised for describing refugees in camps near Calais as "a bunch of refugees" during Prime Minister's Questions today. He also claimed that Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn had said "they could all come to Britain". Labour politicians said his comments had been unstatesmanlike as well as "offensive, hurtful... and divisive". Conservatives said the criticism was "cheap politics".

9. 'Bedroom tax' is discriminatory, says Court of Appeal

The Court of Appeal has ruled that the government's so-called "bedroom tax" is discriminatory in the case of a domestic-violence victim and the family of a disabled teenager. Both families were hit by changes to housing benefit for people in social housing with spare rooms. The woman has a panic room in her home while the disabled 15-year-old requires an extra bedroom so carers can stay overnight.

'Bedroom tax' declared unlawful by Court of Appeal

10. Briefing: Bank of England ponders further buy-to-let curbs

All eyes are on the buy-to-let sector as the market gauges the impact of a two-pronged tax clampdown by Chancellor George Osborne, which takes effect from April. And things could get even worse for those with aspirations to become a private landlord, as consultations begin on handing the Bank of England more powers to curb lending, including placing restrictions on lenders or requiring buyers to undergo tougher affordability tests.

Buy-to-let mortgages pulled at fastest rate since 2009