Ten Things You Need to Know Today: Friday 24 Mar 2017

1. Westminster killer Khalid Masood known to MI5

Theresa May yesterday told the Commons that Khalid Masood, the man who drove a car along the pavement on Westminster Bridge on Wednesday before stabbing PC Keith Palmer to death, was a "peripheral" figure once investigated for extremism by MI5. Masood, who was born Adrian Elms in Kent, is believed to have converted to Islam while in prison.

Khalid Masood: Police unlock Westminster attacker's final text

2. EU 'not in hostile mood' towards Britain

European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker has said the EU is not "in a hostile mood with Britain" and would negotiate a fair but never "naive" Brexit. He also said the UK's decision to leave the EU was "a failure and a tragedy" and admitted that economic problems and populism meant the bloc was "not in the best form and shape".

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

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

Brexit: Theresa May says ‘trust me’ to deliver

3. Trump calls for make-or-break vote on healthcare

US President Donald Trump has demanded the House of Representatives vote on "Trumpcare" bill to replace the Affordable Healthcare Act. A vote on his troubled replacement was put off yesterday because of opposition from some Republicans. Trump is said to have told them they must opt for his American Health Care Act or stick with "Obamacare".

Donald Trump sued by two states over business links

4. RBS to close 158 branches with 470 job losses

Royal Bank of Scotland is to close 158 branches across the UK, most of them under its NatWest brand, cutting 470 jobs in the process. The bank, which is still majority-owned by the taxpayer, blamed its decision on the growth in popularity of online banking. The move will affect 770 staff, although RBS says 300 will be relocated.

5. UK 'among worst in Europe for maternity pay'

The UK offers some of the worst maternity pay in Europe, according to research by the TUC, which puts Britain 22nd out of 24 countries which offer statutory maternity pay. The group says only Ireland and Slovakia offer less. However, the government says UK maternity leave is among the most generous in the world.

6. Clinton delivers eulogy at McGuinness funeral

Bill Clinton said former IRA leader Martin McGuinness, who was instrumental in getting the Good Friday Agreement signed, "persevered and prevailed", risking the "wrath of his comrades". The former US president delivered the eulogy at McGuinness's funeral in Derry, a Catholic service that had contributions from Protestant clergy

7. Johnson and Cameron dine together in New York

David Cameron and Boris Johnson have been spotted having dinner together in New York, where the Foreign Secretary was attending a UN meeting and the former prime minister is on a lecture tour of universities. They are reported to have dined together at the Red Rooster restaurant in Harlem.

8. Hundreds of migrants feared dead in Mediterranean

More than 200 migrants are feared to have drowned off the coast of Libya after a Spanish rescue team discovered two capsized dinghies. The bodies of five young men were pulled from the water, but many more are believed to have died. Capsized boats are "typical of spring" as the migration "season" resumes, the International Organisation for Migration has warned.

More than 200 migrants feared drowned in Mediterranean Sea

9. Suspected burglar found dead in chemist's roof space

A man thought to be a burglar has been found dead in the roof space of a chemist shop in west Yorkshire. It is thought he removed the tiles on the shop in Queensbury, near Bradford, to get in but suffocated after becoming stuck. His body is believed to have been in the roof for several weeks before it was found by staff.

10. Briefing: Bishop Woyin Karowei Dorgu

The first black bishop to join the Church of England in two decades says he hopes to restore Christianity to a "spiritually deficient" Britain.

Nigerian-born Woyin Karowei Dorgu (second from right) told The Times that he considered himself a "missionary" dealing with, among other issues, "militant atheism".

Dorgu was consecrated as the Bishop of Woolwich last week when he was handed his ceremonial mitre by John Sentamu, the Archbishop of York, who is the second black bishop in the church's history (Sentamu was consecrated in 1996).

Nigerian bishop wants to help 'spiritually deficient' Britain

Explore More