Ten Things You Need to Know Today: Friday 19 Feb 2016

1. EU talks resume after no deal reached overnight

Negotiations over the reform of the UK's place in the EU have resumed after David Cameron said there had been "some progress" overnight but "there's still no deal". Hopes of an early agreement over the UK's demands on migrant welfare and other issues have been dashed. There have also been calls for a "last chance" clause in any deal, meaning the result of the summit are binding.

Remain-voting City lobby group calls for 'dramatic Brexit U-turn'

2. Joint enterprise ruling could trigger mass appeals

Judges said a number of verdicts may be unsafe after this week's ruling that the joint enterprise law had been "wrongly interpreted" by courts in England, Wales and Northern Ireland for 30 years. The Independent says the Supreme Court judgment is an opportunity to have cases tried "on a more nuanced, accurate basis", but The Sun worries about a tidal wave of "spurious appeals".

Subscribe to The Week

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

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

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

3. One dead as gas explosion destroys house

A man has died in a gas explosion that destroyed a house in North Yorkshire. The detached building in Haxby, near York, was reduced to rubble in the blast and 12 other properties were damaged, many of them badly. The body of a 63-year-old man, believed to be the resident, was discovered in the wreckage. One witness said it looked like "an aeroplane had hit the house".

Man killed as blast rips through house near York

4. NHS overspend stands at £2.2bn after nine months

NHS trusts in England have overspent by more than £2.2bn this financial year and 132 out of 138 hospital trusts are currently in deficit, with a quarter of the year to go. The deficit is almost triple the amount for the whole of 2014-15 and means the NHS is on track for one of its largest ever overspends. The news comes despite an extra injection of government cash.

5. Minister asked Thatcher to impose poll tax on homeless

A senior cabinet minister under Margaret Thatcher encouraged her to prevent the homeless being exempt from the poll tax. Documents released at the National Archives show Peter Walker, then Welsh secretary, argued the community charge would encourage people to sleep rough to avoid paying it. The poll tax was designed to replace the rates system of property charges.

Poll tax papers show Margaret Thatcher ignored early rebellion

6. Facebook and Twitter back Apple in FBI row

Facebook and Twitter have backed Apple's fight against a court ruling ordering it to unlock an iPhone used by the San Bernadino killers. The FBI says its agents are unable to access information on gunman Syed Rizwan Farook's phone as it is locked. Twitter's chief Jack Dorsey said they "stand with" Apple while Facebook vowed to "fight aggressively" attempts to weaken encryption systems.

7. To Kill a Mockingbird author Harper Lee dies aged 89

Harper Lee, the author of To Kill a Mockingbird, has died at the age of 89. The book, a study of race relations in the Deep South in the 1930s, won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction in 1961. The 1962 film adaptation, starring Gregory Peck as lawyer Atticus Finch, won three Oscars. An earlier draft of the book, entitled Go Set a Watchman, was published in 2015.

8. US air strikes against Islamic State in Libya

The United States air force has bombed an Islamic State training camp in Libya, killing at least 30 people. The air strikes near the border with Tunisia "likely" killed senior Tunisian extremist leader Noureddine Chouchane, claimed US officials. They believe IS has up to 6,000 fighters in Libya, which has been in chaos since the overthrow of former leader Muammar Gaddafi.

9. Pope says Donald Trump 'is not Christian'

Pope Francis has criticised Donald Trump's views on immigration, saying they are "not Christian". When asked about the Republican presidential candidate’s immigration platform, the pontiff said: "A person who thinks only about building walls, wherever they may be, and not building bridges, is not Christian."

Trump travel ban: Judge expands definition of relatives

10. Van Gaal says latest defeat is 'Murphy's Law'

Manchester United’s hapless manager Louis van Gaal put his side's 2-1 defeat by FC Midtjylland down to Murphy's law. Memphis Depay gave United the lead in the first leg of their Europa League last-32 tie, but Pione Sisto and Paul Onuachu gave the hosts victory. "It is the law of Murphy I think," the embattled Dutchman told BT Sport.

Man Utd revolt over Louis van Gaal's tactics