Ten Things You Need to Know Today: Thursday 23 Jun 2016

1. Polls open as UK votes on EU membership

Polling stations across the UK are open today from 7am to 10pm as the country decides its future in Europe. Latest surveys suggest the result is still too close to call - and there will be no official exit poll for practical reasons. Regional results are expected to start being announced from 2am.

When will Brexit be finished?

2. US Democrats stage sit-in for gun control

Democratic are staging a sit-in at the US congress to demand tighter gun controls, after latest moves were rejected by Republicans days after a gunman claiming allegiance to IS killed 49 people in a gay club in Orlando, Florida. The Republican speaker of the house, Paul Ryan, dismissed the sit-in a publicity stunt.

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Democrats stage sit-in over US gun laws after Orlando shooting

3. Fox cubs filmed being 'fed alive to hounds'

A huntsman has been suspended from a kennels in the West Midlands after claims that live fox cubs were thrown to hounds in an apparent bid to train the dogs to kill. Anti-hunting campaigners secretly filmed outside the South Herefordshire Hunt kennels using hidden cameras. In the footage, four live fox cubs are placed in a cage, and later two apparently lifeless cubs are removed.

Huntsman suspended after video of fox cubs 'being fed live to hounds'

4. Concern over policing for music festivals

Only one of this summer's big music festivals will enjoy an enhanced police presence, despite warnings from senior officers that the events could be targeted by terrorists. Sky News says it contacted all the relevant police forces and found only Cambridgeshire police was boosting security provision for the Secret Garden Party.

5. Torrential rain hits south-east on EU vote day

A month's rainfall is thought to have hit London and the South East within a few hours early this morning, with the London fire brigade swamped by more than 300 emergency calls in just 90 minutes. Many roads and rail services remain closed or disrupted, something expected to affect the turnout for today's referendum on Britain's EU membership.

EU referendum: What to do if your polling station is flooded

6. Survey: Majority of LGBT people hide sexuality

A poll has suggested that the majority of British lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender (LGBT) people feel the need to hide their sexuality or gender. The survey of 1,000 people, commissioned by Pride in London, found 74% said they had to hide their identities and felt "threatened by other people's attitudes and behaviours".

7. Jamie Vardy signs new Leicester City contract

Leicester City footballer Jamie Vardy has snubbed Arsenal and signed a new contract with the Premier League champions, three weeks after the Gunners triggered a £20m release clause in his contract and offered him a deal worth £120,000-a-week. The 29-year-old rejected that offer in favour of a new four-year deal with the Foxes.

Arsenal transfer news: Wilshere Bournemouth move makes sense

8. Pistorius: Reeva wouldn't want my life wasted

Oscar Pistorius, convicted of murder for shooting his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp on Valentine's Day in 2013, has said she would not want his life to be wasted in jail. In his first TV interview since Steenkamp's death, the tearful former athlete maintained he had not meant to kill her. He will be sentenced soon.

Oscar Pistorius out of legal options as request to appeal rejected

9. Solar plane completes Atlantic crossing

A solar-powered plane has landed in Seville, in southern Spain, on the penultimate leg of its round-the-world navigation. Solar Impulse, which is covered in 17,000 photovoltaic cells, left New York on Monday. It began its journey in Abu Dhabi in 2015, but was forced to stop for ten months for repairs over the winter.

Solar Impulse 2 plane completes first Atlantic crossing

10. Briefing: Eurozone buyers blag Brexit-boosted bargains

Britain might be on the verge of leaving the EU, but buyers from Europe are still rushing into London property. And they are bagging bargains due to the currency fluctuations in the lead up to the referendum. London estate agents Sterling Ackroyd said a slump in the pound, caused by Brexit jitters, meant buyers from Eurozone countries were saving an average of £26,000 on property in the capital

London house prices: study predicts a 2.5% rise for 2020, but a 1% fall in 2021