Ten Things You Need to Know Today: Wednesday 4 Oct 2017

1. Las Vegas gunman Paddock ‘set up cameras’

The man who shot dead 59 people at a country music concert in Las Vegas set up cameras in the corridor outside his hotel room and in the peephole in the door, apparently to spot anyone coming for him, investigators say. There is still no known motive for Stephen Paddock’s attack on Sunday night, but police say it was carefully pre-planned.

2. Catalonia ‘will declare independence within days’

The leader of Catalonia, the Spanish autonomous region that includes Barcelona, says he will declare independence “at the end of this week or the beginning of the next”. Carles Puigdemont spoke shortly before Spain’s King Felipe VI said in a TV address that the organisers of the Catalan independence referendum acted “outside the law”.

3. Anger over Johnson’s Libya ‘bodies’ gaffe

Tory backbenchers have called for Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson to lose his Cabinet post for remarks described by Labour and the Lib Dems as “unbelievably crass”, “insensitive” and “offensive”. At a Conservative conference fringe event, Johnson said Sirte in Libya could be the next Dubai once they “clear the dead bodies away”.

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4. May to call for an end to Brexit infighting

Theresa May will tell the Conservative conference today that infighting over Brexit must stop in order to “fulfil our duty to Britain”. The PM will demand that her colleagues stop worrying about their own jobs and instead focus on the jobs of “ordinary working people”. She is reportedly under pressure to fire Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson.

5. Tesco profits surge to £562m as as growth slows

Tesco has reported a surge in its first-half profits to £562m, the strongest indication yet that the supermarket giant is recovering from its long slump. However, the figures show sales growth slowed in the second quarter of the year, down from 2.3% to 2.1%. The retailer said it would resume dividends.

6. Charles omits Myanmar from official visit

Prince Charles is to tour Singapore, Malaysia and India later this month – but will not visit Myanmar, which is under international pressure to end violence against its Rohingya Muslim minority. The Prince’s aides said Myanmar had been considered as a destination, but would not go into details about why it was rejected.

7. EU to bill Amazon for back taxes

EU competition commissioner Margrethe Vestager will announce today that she is billing online retailer Amazon for hundreds of millions of euros in back taxes linked to an alleged “sweetheart” deal with Luxembourg. In a preliminary ruling earlier this year, the EU found the arrangement had “constituted state aid” for the US-based retail giant.

8. Australians to suffer 50C days ‘within decades’

Australia’s two biggest cities are likely to suffer summer temperatures in excess of 50C within a few decades, Australia’s Bureau of Meteorology says. Sydney’s current record is 45.8C in 2013, while Melbourne’s hottest day was 46.4C in 2009. The rises are likely even if global warming is kept to the Paris accord limit of 2C.

9. Pesto sauces saltier than burgers or seawater

A campaign group pushing for salt to be reduced in food says supermarket pesto sauces are actually getting saltier – with some containing more salt than seawater. Pressure group Consensus Action on Salt and Health (Cash) says two products made by leading brand Sacla have 18% and 32% more salt than they did when they were last tested, in 2009.

10. Briefing: how to invest in the art stars of the future

The world is full of art lovers, says art expert Ryan Stanier, but few would perhaps see themselves as potential collectors.

The difference, however, lies in simply knowing what to buy, and when.

As the number of people buying art around the world is at an all-time high, most of us would probably love to rewind the clock and support one of the art world’s biggest stars before they made it big. But the opportunity to invest in rising stars is, of course, there for the taking.

How to invest in the art stars of the future