Ten Things You Need to Know Today: Monday 24 Apr 2017

1. Macron beats Le Pen in first round

Outsider candidate Emmanuel Macron, who has never held elected office and whose party did not exist one year ago, has won the first round of the French presidential election, with far-right Marine Le Pen in second place. With 97% of the vote counted, the centrist is on 23.9% with Le Pen on 21.4%. The next round of voting is on 7 May.

French election: Emmanuel Macron in pole position to become president

2. TV star boyfriend charged with acid attack

Arthur Collins, a 24-year-old from Hertfordshire who is the boyfriend of reality TV star Ferne McCann, has been charged with 15 offences over an acid attack in an east London nightclub on 17 April. Twenty people were hurt in the attack, two losing the sight in one eye, at the Mangle club in Hackney. A second man has also been charged.

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3. Libya's main factions reconcile in Rome

A diplomatic breakthrough took place in Rome this weekend, where talks had been arranged between the two main factions fighting for control of Libya. Further consultations are said to be needed but a compromise has been struck between the house of representatives, led by Ageela Saleh, and the state council of Abdulrahman Sewehli.

4. Corbyn: 'I won't apologise for union ties'

Jeremy Corbyn will tell a gathering of Scottish trade unions today that they are Labour's "family" and he "won't apologise" for the party's close links. He will promise to repeal the "vicious" Trade Union Act. SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon will also be speaking, saying the general election is a "two-horse race" between the SNP and Tories.

General election 2017: Security tight as Theresa May and Jeremy Corbyn cast their votes

5. Madeleine McCann 'kidnapped by slave traders'

Madeleine McCann may have been kidnapped by slave traders and sold to a rich family in North Africa or the Middle East, a former Scotland Yard detective has suggested. Former Metropolitan Police detective Colin Sutton believes that the three-year-old could have been smuggled by ferry to North Africa for sale to a wealthy family. She disappeared almost ten years ago.

What happened to Madeleine McCann? A timeline of the case

6. Woman attacked by shark near St Helena

A woman has been airlifted to the UK after being attacked by a shark off the British overseas territory of St Helena, in the South Atlantic. Her husband punched the animal to scare it away. The woman is said to work for the government of St Helena, which is 1,150 miles off the coast of South Africa and relies on visiting supply ships.

7. Speeding fines increase from today

Fines for speeding increase in England and Wales from today. Drivers caught doing 51mph or above in a 30 zone will be expected to pay 150% of their weekly income, or more, rather than the 100% figure previously set. The same guidelines apply to those caught doing 101mph or more on a motorway or dual carriageway.

Speeding fines: penalty bands, fees and points

8. Stalking involved in '94% of murder cases'

New research by the University of Gloucestershire suggests a close link between stalking and murder. The team say 94% of the 350 murder cases they examined featured stalking. The research was commissioned by the Suzy Lamplugh Trust which wants to see earlier intervention by police when obsessive behaviour is reported.

9. Boy of 12 drives 800 miles across Australia

A boy of 12 has been found by police in Broken Hill, New South Wales, having driven himself alone 800 miles across remote and hostile terrain in his family's car. It is thought he was trying to travel the 2,500 miles from his home in Kendall, on the east coast, to Perth on the west coast. His parents reported him missing days earlier.

10. Briefing: Tactical voting at the general election

Gina Miller, the investment manager whose recent legal challenge forced the government to seek parliamentary approval for invoking Article 50, has announced she is planning to launch a tactical voting initiative to support candidates who are opposed to a hard Brexit.

A crowdfunding page titled 'Do What's Best For Britain!' set up immediately after the announcement of the snap election exceeded its initial financial target within 48 hours.

General Election 2019: What is tactical voting?