Ten Things You Need to Know Today: Monday 8 May 2017

1. Macron calls for unity after winning French election

Emmanuel Macron has called for unity after defeating Marine Le Pen to become France's youngest-ever president, winning 66% of the vote. In his victory speech, the 39-year-old also said the world was waiting for France "to defend the spirit of the Enlightenment, threatened in so many places".

2. North Korea arrests another US citizen

North Korea has detained another US citizen on suspicion of "hostile acts", says state-run media, which reports that "a detailed investigation" is being carried out into "the crime of Kim Hak-song". Kim is the second American from the Pyongyang University of Science and Technology to be held.

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North Korea detains another US citizen

3. Eric Trump 'said Moscow funds family's golf resorts'

Donald Trump's son Eric reportedly revealed in a 2014 interview that Russia funded the family's golf resorts "all the time". The US President himself is also alleged to have told the same journalist that the family had "access to $100m" for their newest course in North Carolina.

4. Low pay sees NHS workers quit for shelf-stacking jobs

NHS staff are quitting to stack shelves in supermarkets because of poor pay, say hospital bosses. NHS leaders claim workers have been demoralised by pay rises of only 1% or nothing and say the service is now so understaffed that patient safety is at risk.

5. Labour vows to ban junk food ads before watershed

Labour would ban TV adverts for junk food and confectionery from being shown before the 9pm watershed, claiming it would reduce children's viewing of such ads by 82%. The plan to tackle childhood obesity forms part of a future child health bill that will be set out in the party’s election manifesto.

6. Tories to reprise migration level promise

The Tories will repeat their promise to slash net migration to the "tens of thousands" in their election manifesto, which will be unveiled next week, says the BBC. The target was first set by David Cameron in 2010 but has never been realised. Recent figures put net migration at 273,000.

Conservative manifesto 2017: Migration cap will 'definitely' appear

7. May and Corbyn to appear on Question Time special

Theresa May and Jeremy Corbyn are to appear on the BBC's Question Time prgramme during the election campaign. They will not be on at the same time, but they will appear one after the other and take questions from the same audience. The programme will be shown on 2 June. On 31 May there will be a debate with senior figures from all seven main parties.

8. More than 50% of vapers 'have given up tobacco'

More than half of the UK's electronic-cigarette users have since given up smoking tobacco, says a study. A survey of 12,000 adults for Action on Smoking and Health found aroun 1.5 million vapers are ex-smokers, compared with 1.3 million who still use tobacco.

More than half of vapers quit tobacco

9. House prices suffer first fall since 2012

House prices have suffered their first quarterly drop in more than four years, according to the Halifax house price index. The latest results show that an average home cost £219,649 in April, down 0.2 per cent over the preceding three months compared to the equivalent period ending in March. On a monthly basis, prices fell 0.1 per cent between March and April.

London house prices: study predicts a 2.5% rise for 2020, but a 1% fall in 2021

10. England's wettest place 'bone dry' amid drought fears

The wettest place in England is "bone dry" as the prospect of a summer drought rises. Although Seathwaite, in Borrowdale, Cumbria usually gets between two and three metres of rainfall per year, rain is so scarce this year that the rocky bed of the River Derwent is exposed. Homeowners have been warned to cut down on water consumption amid fears that Britain’s reservoirs are drying up.

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