Ten Things You Need to Know Today: Friday 17 Mar 2017

1. GCHQ hits back at 'ridiculous' claim it bugged Trump

GCHQ says claims it bugged Donald Trump during his election campaign last year are "nonsense, utterly ridiculous and should be ignored". The UK intelligence agency dropped its usual policy of not speaking about its activities after White House press secretary Sean Spicer repeated an allegation that it had been asked to wiretap Trump Tower by Barack Obama.

Donald Trump sued by two states over business links

2. Syria mosque air strike kills at least 42

At least 42 people have died at a village mosque in Syria in an air strike analysts suspect was carried out by the US. More than 100 others were wounded and others are still trapped under rubble in Al-Jineh, a village west of Aleppo. The Pentagon has not confirmed the claims, but said it hit targets elsewhere.

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3. May to send message of unity to Scotland

Theresa May will use a speech in Cardiff today to send a message of unity to Scotland following her refusal to allow a second Scottish independence referendum until after Brexit. She will say: "We are four nations, but at heart we are one people". A dedicated website outlining the Prime Minister's "Plan for Britain" crashed yesterday hours after going live.

4. Haddock taken off sustainable fish-to-eat list

Haddock fished from the North Sea and in Scottish waters has been taken off the Marine Conservation Society's list of sustainable fish-to-eat following a fall in numbers. However, the Scottish Fishermen's Federation contradicted the advice and said quotas had been reduced to compensate. "You can continue to buy your fish supper without worrying," it claimed.

5. Man who raped 12-year-old walks free from court

A 21-year-old man who admitted raping a 12-year-old girl has been given an absolute discharge at the High Court in Glasgow. Daniel Cieslak, who was 19 at the time, met the girl at a taxi rank and believed she was 16. Judge Lady Scott said she was taking the "wholly exceptional decision" not to sentence him.

6. Somali pirates release oil tanker crew

Somali pirates who hijacked an oil tanker in the Indian Ocean and took its eight crew members hostage have released the vessel and crew in return for their own freedom. The announcement came after the hijackers and naval forces exchanged gunfire over a boat believed to be carrying supplies to the pirates.

Somali pirates release oil tanker hostages

7. George Osborne to edit the Evening Standard

Former chancellor George Osborne has been named editor of the London Evening Standard newspaper. The shock move was announced by the paper's owner Evgeny Lebedev, who said the politician was "London through-and-through". Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said the appointment was a "joke".

George Osborne quits as MP to prepare for new role as editor of the London Evening Standard

8. Prince William and Kate Middleton visit Paris

Prince William today makes his first official visit to Paris since his mother, Diana, Princess of Wales was killed in a car crash in the city in 1997. He and wife Kate Middleton will meet survivors of the Bataclan and Nice terror attacks and watch a rugby match. It comes as tabloids accuse William of being "work-shy" following a weekend skiing break.

How much work does Prince William actually do?

9. Outrage as sniffer dog shot dead in NZ

Animal lovers are outraged after New Zealand police shot dead a dog at Auckland airport yesterday. The ten-month-old trainee sniffer dog had escaped its handler and was roaming the runways in the dark, grounding 16 flights. The airport said it had exhausted all other options before asking police to shoot.

10. Briefing: Conservative election expenses

The Conservative Party has been fined a record £70,000 for making false declarations about their election expenses.

The case concerns the use of the party's campaign 'battle bus' in key marginal seats during the 2015 election. The Conservatives reported thousands of pounds spent on the battle bus as national spending when it was actually used to re-elect specific MPs, reports The Guardian.

A dozen police forces have passed files to the Crown Prosecution Service over allegations that up to 20 Conservative MPs therefore broke local spending limits, which is a criminal offence.

Tories fined record £70,000 over election expenses