Ten Things You Need to Know Today: Tuesday 3 May 2016
- 1. Football fairytale: Leicester City win title
- 2. Liberty House to bid for Tata Steel's UK assets
- 3. Think-tank: Universal credit 'a cost-cutting exercise'
- 4. Parents stage 'kids strike' over primary testing
- 5. IS 'pulled out of Palmyra after deal with Assad'
- 6. Trump sets sights on California as Cruz falters
- 7. Attenborough: Don't play fast and loose with BBC
- 8. Sonic booms heard as RAF scrambles jets
- 9. France introduced three-month ban on foie gras
- 10. Why Jacob Zuma may be forced out of office
1. Football fairytale: Leicester City win title
They started the season as 5,000-1 no-hopers, but Leicester City are now the Premier League champions after Spurs drew 2-2 at Chelsea yesterday. The team have lost just three league games this season under the stewardship of Claudio Ranieri after almost being relegated last year. It is the first major title in the Foxes' 132-year history.
Leicester City: The Premier League champions in numbers
2. Liberty House to bid for Tata Steel's UK assets
Commodities firm Liberty House is to make a formal bid to buy Tata Steel's UK assets, including the Port Talbot works. Owner Sanjeev Gupta was first to express an interest when the Indian company said it would sell the steelworks, thought to be losing £1m a day, last month. Australian bank Macquarie is backing the bid financially.
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3. Think-tank: Universal credit 'a cost-cutting exercise'
Resolution Foundation think-tank, headed by former Tory minister Lord Willetts, says the government's flagship public sector reform, universal credit, has been watered down by cuts imposed by the Treasury and is in danger of being no more than a cost-cutting exercise instead of a "vehicle of genuine reform… to improve jobs and earnings".
4. Parents stage 'kids strike' over primary testing
Labour has accused the government of creating "chaos and confusion" by changing primary school tests, while a group of parents organised on social media is planning to keep children at home today in protest against tests for seven and 11-year-olds. The tests have been adjusted repeatedly since the school year began in September.
5. IS 'pulled out of Palmyra after deal with Assad'
Sky News claims that leaked secret documents from Islamic State (IS) reveal the Assad regime has been colluding with the terror group for years and making "deals on the battleground". The broadcaster says IS pulled out of the ancient city of Palmyra after agreeing to do so with President Bashar al-Assad, a claim it says is backed by the testimony of defectors.
US and Russia spar over vetoed Syria sanctions
6. Trump sets sights on California as Cruz falters
Donald Trump is hoping to win the Republican nomination in California, securing financial backers in the process, after polls suggested he will win tonight's vote in Indiana. It is thought that his nearest rival, Ted Cruz, may pull out of the race if he loses the primary.
7. Attenborough: Don't play fast and loose with BBC
Veteran broadcaster Sir David Attenborough has warned the government not to "play fast and loose" with the BBC, calling its existing funding deal "terrible" and saying the corporation is "one of the most precious things we have". A white paper on the future of the broadcster is to be published this week. Attenborough will be 90 on Sunday.
8. Sonic booms heard as RAF scrambles jets
Loud bangs that shook houses in Yorkshire yesterday were the sonic booms created by two Typhoon jets launched to identify an "unresponsive" civilian aircraft, the RAF has said. The fighter jets were scrambled from RAF Coningsby in Lincolnshire and guided an Air France flight with a radio problem to land safely at Newcastle airport.
Sonic booms shake houses in Yorkshire after RAF is scrambled
9. France introduced three-month ban on foie gras
France has introduced a three-month ban on the production of foie gras following a bird flu scare. The move means 18 regions will not be able to keep ducks or geese in their slaughterhouses until August, affecting as many as 4,000 workers. The ban comes after the detection of the H5N1 strain of bird flu at a chicken farm in Dordogne in November.
France bans foie gras following bird flu scare
10. Why Jacob Zuma may be forced out of office
South Africa's High Court has called for a review into the decision to drop 783 corruption charges against South Africa's President Jacob Zuma. The charges were dropped just weeks before the 2009 election in which he become leader, but the presiding judge, Aubrey Ledwaba, said the decision had been "irrational." Zuma has recently survived several challenges that could have ended his seven-year reign, but many analysts believe the accumulation of scandals may still force 73-year-old from office.
Jacob Zuma clings on – but for how much longer?
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