Ten Things You Need to Know Today: Thursday 22 Sep 2016

1. Islamic State 'fired chemical weapons at troops', says US

The US says Islamic State fired "crude" chemical weapons at American troops in Iraq, claiming a powdered mustard agent was included in a rocket or mortar fired at the Qayyarah West air base near Mosul on Tuesday. There were no deaths or injuries. IS is believed to have used mustard and chlorine on Kurdish troops before.

2. North Carolina declares state of emergency

North Carolina governor Pat McCrory has declared a state of emergency after a second night of unrest following the fatal police shooting of Keith Scott, a black man, who was killed by officer Brentley Vinson, who is also black. The demonstrations were marked with gunfire last night when a protester shot another, critically wounding them.

3. Efforts continue to save faltering Syria ceasefire

Diplomats meet today in an attempt to rescue the ceasefire in Syria brokered by the US and Russia, which is in tatters after an airstrike on an aid convoy, which Washington has blamed on Moscow. US Secretary of State John Kerry, at a heated UN Security Council meeting in New York yesterday, accused diplomats of "woefully inadequate" efforts.

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4. Miliband: Corbyn betrayed millions of working people

David Miliband has accused Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn of "betraying millions of working people". Writing in the New Statesman just hours after polls closed on the Labour leadership election, the former home secretary said Corbyn had run a "half-hearted" campaign in favour of the UK staying within the EU.

5. Apple in talks with supercar firm McLaren

Tech giant Apple has approached supercar-maker McLaren about a possible takeover or investment, according to the Financial Times. Neither company has confirmed the report, although McLaren said it "regularly" speaks to other firms. Apple is believed to be exploring electric and self-driving car technology

6. Women denied cancer drug by 'bureaucratic inertia'

"Bureaucratic inertia" is putting the lives of thousands of breast cancer sufferers "needlessly… at risk" by denying them NHS access to a cheap drug which can stop the spread of the disease, says a leading charity. Charity Breast Cancer Now says around 27,000 miss out on 43p-per-day bisphosphonates every year.

7. Ministers 'committed' to Alan Turing gay pardon law

Ministers say they are "committed" to introducing a law to pardon all gay men convicted of gross indecency when homosexuality was illegal. The legislation has been dubbed the Alan Turing Law, after the code-breaker and computing pioneer who was convicted in 1952 and posthumously pardoned in 2013.

8. Zuckerberg pledges $3bn to 'cure all disease'

Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and his wife, Priscilla Chan, have pledged $3bn (£2.3bn) to be spent over the next ten years with what The Guardian calls the "not insignificant goal" of ending all disease. Their project will focus on heart disease, cancer, infectious diseases and neurological diseases.

9. Khan starts inquiry into Garden Bridge

London Mayor Sadiq Khan has set up a formal inquiry into the proposed garden bridge across the Thames, a pet project of his predecessor, Boris Johnson. The Mayor has already promised he will commit no more public money to the project, which will be privately run.

10. Briefing: MH370 - what are the latest theories?

More than two and a half years after the MH370 went missing, the final moments of the plane's journey are still a mystery. Experts have been busy analysing the evidence which has led to a handful of leading theories. According to analysts, the MH370 either went into a death dive with nobody in control or a rogue pilot deliberately landed the plane on water - or possibly a combination of the two theories.

MH370: mysterious 89kg load ‘added to cargo flight list after take-off’