Ten Things You Need to Know Today: Thursday 24 Mar 2016

1. Brussels bomber 'was known militant'

Belgium failed to arrest Ibrahim el-Bakraoui, one of the Brussels suicide bombers, despite being warned that he posed a threat. Turkish intelligence told their Belgian counterparts that Bakraoui had been detained near the Syrian border and the Belgian consul was formally notified of his deportation back to Europe on 14 July. Belgian authorities also failed to track down Bakraoui, a convicted armed robber, when he breached prison release conditions.

Brussels attacks: New footage shows suspect fleeing airport

2. New Zealand votes to keep flag in referendum

New Zealanders have voted to retain their current flag, which includes the Union Flag in the top left corner. Preliminary results from a referendum on the issue show that 56.61 per cent of voters chose to keep the flag unchanged. The proposed new design featured the silver fern emblem alongside the Southern Cross, which also appears on the existing flag.

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New Zealand votes to keep its national flag in £12m referendum

3. Footballer Adam Johnson jailed for six years

Former Sunderland and England footballer Adam Johnson has been jailed for six years for child sex offences. The 28-year-old player, who has been stripped of his England caps by the FA, admitted grooming and sexual activity with a child last month and was convicted of a more serious charge of sexual touching after a trial. Earlier, Johnson said he was appealing against his conviction.

Adam Johnson jailed for six years for child sex offences

4. Radovan Karadzic guilty of genocide and war crimes

Bosnian Serb warlord Radovan Karadzic has been sentenced to 40 years in jail for genocide and war crimes at The Hague. UN judges found the 70-year-old guilty of ten of 11 charges, including genocide over the 1995 Srebrenica massacre. Karadzic is the most senior figure to face justice over the war that followed the collapse of Yugoslavia in the early 1990s.

5. Post-recession Brits are healthier and better off

Britons recovering from the deepest recession since the Second World War are healthier, better off, less likely to be victims of crime and more likely to be living greener lives according to the latest insight into the nation's quality of life. In its fourth report into national wellbeing, the Office for National Statistics has found improvements in personal finances, but said the proportion of people satisfied with their accommodation and leisure time has fallen.

Post-recession Brits are wealthier but less satisfied

6. Scientists 'edit' HIV out of infected cells

Scientists have successfully removed the HIV genome from human cells using a revolutionary new DNA editing technique. A team from the Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University, Philadelphia, were able to eradicate HIV from CD4+T cells, where the infection lodges and multiplies, without causing damage or loss of function to the cells. The senior investigator said the findings are important "on multiple levels".

HIV 'edited out' of infected cells

7. Starbucks to give away all leftover food

Starbucks is to give away all uneaten food from its 7,600 US stores in a bid to combat hunger. It is hoped the initiative will provide nearly five million meals to people in need and encourage other food chains to follow suit. Feeding America estimates the US wastes about 32 million tons of food each year, while figures from the Department of Agriculture suggest 50 million Americans are struggling to avoid hunger.

8. Paris attack suspect will not fight extradition

Salah Abdeslam, a key suspect in the Paris terror attacks, will not fight extradition from Belgium to France his lawyer has said. The French national was captured in Brussels on Friday last week after four months on the run, following the atrocities that killed 130 people. A court hearing on the detention of Abdeslam and two other suspects has been postponed until 7 April.

US warns of Europe Christmas terror

9. Football legend Johan Cruyff dies aged 68

Dutch football legend Johan Cruyff has died at the age of 68, following a five-month battle with lung cancer. The embodiment of the 1970s "total football" revolution, he won the Ballon d'Or three times and guided the Netherlands to the 1974 World Cup final. Cruyff won three consecutive European Cups with Ajax and managed Barcelona to their first European Cup win in 1992.

Johan Cruyff: Watch the Dutch master's greatest moments of skill

10. Briefing: EU referendum polls tighten

With three months to go until the EU referendum, an ICM survey suggests that support for Brexit has risen by two points to 43 per cent, while the Remain campaign fell to 41 per cent. A "poll of polls" last week revealed the In campaign's lead had narrowed, with 49 per cent of voters backing Brexit and 51 per cent wanting to stay in the EU.

Brexit: Theresa May says ‘trust me’ to deliver