Ten Things You Need to Know Today: Friday 12 Aug 2016

1. Deadly bomb blasts hit Thai resorts

At least four people are dead and 20 injured, including two Britons, after a series of explosions in tourist resorts in Thailand. The bombs are believed to have been detonated remotely by mobile phones and were packed with ball bearings. Police say the blasts are "local sabotage" and not related to Islamic fundamentalism.

2. Labour voting ban reinstated by Court of Appeal

Nearly 130,000 people who joined Labour after 12 January will not be eligible to vote in the forthcoming leadership election after the Court of Appeal ruled in favour of a decision by the party's National Executive Committee to exclude them unless they paid a £25 fee. Last week, the High Court said all members should be allowed to take part, but today's ruling said the NEC, not the courts, should set the party's rules.

3. Grainger becomes UK's most decorated female Olympian

Rower Katherine Grainger yesterday became the UK's most decorated female Olympian, taking double sculls silver with partner Victoria Thornley. The men's cycling sprint team retained their title to take home Team GB's fourth gold of the Rio Games. The UK now has 16 medals and stands in eighth place on the table.

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

4. London schoolgirl feared dead in Syria

One of three schoolgirls who left London to join Islamic State is believed to have been killed in a Russian air strike in Syria. Kadiza Sultana was 16 when she left Bethnal Green with her 15-year-old friends, Shamima Begum and Amira Abase, in February 2015. She is said to have wanted to return to the UK.

5. Yorkshire Ripper moved from Broadmoor

Serial killer Peter Sutcliffe, known as the Yorkshire Ripper, is to be moved from Broadmoor psychiatric hospital to a regular prison after a tribunal found he no longer needed treatment for any mental disorder. The 70-year-old was imprisoned in 1981 for 13 murders. The High Court in 2010 ruled he should never be freed.

6. Kenyan official sent home from Olympics

A second Kenyan official has been expelled from the Rio Olympics for allegedly trying to rig a drugs test for one of his athletes. John Anzrah, a former sprinter, is said to have provided a urine sample himself under the name of 800m runner Ferguson Rotich. He was allegedly caught with Rotich's accreditation badge after the test.

7. Mayor of Cannes bans burqinis from beach

The mayor of Cannes, David Lisnard, has banned women from wearing halal bathing costumes, burqinis, saying bathing apparel must "respect good customs and secularism". On 14 July, the nearby city of Nice was the target of a lorry attack by Islamic State which killed 85 people.

8. London club Fabric closes during police investigation

London nightclub Fabric is to remain closed this weekend as investigations continue into the drug-related deaths of two teenagers. The most recent of the deaths took place last Saturday, when an 18-year-old man collapsed outside the venue. Another 18-year-old died after falling ill in the club on 25 June.

9. Gas-lit cinema secures lottery funding

The world's only surviving gas-lit cinema is to receive £2.4m of heritage lottery funding. The Hyde Park Picture House in Leeds will improve accessibility and continue its restoration. Kelmscott Manor, the former Oxfordshire home of Victorian designer William Morris, will also benefit from the £55m lottery pot.

10. Briefing: Are the rail unions too strong?

With strikes on Southern rail this week and others planned for Eurostar and Virgin East Coast services, Britain's biggest rail union, the Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT), has been accused of "holding commuters hostage" by many passengers and commentators. But others blame "farcical mismanagement" by executives.

Rail passengers protest fares hike at 100 stations