Ten Things You Need to Know Today: Monday 12 Feb 2018

1. May heads to Belfast as power-sharing hopes rise

Theresa May is in Belfast today as hope blooms for the restoration of Northern Ireland’s power-sharing assembly, which collapsed just over a year ago following a row about a green energy scheme. Also visiting the city will be Irish Taoiseach Leo Varadkar, who will hold talks with May. Negotiations aimed at restoring the Assembly are likely to draw to a close this week.

2. Oxfam faces loss of funding over sex scandal

Oxfam risks losing government funding over its handling of allegations that staff in Haiti paid for sex, possibly with underage prostitutes. International Development Secretary Penny Mordaunt has threatened to strip funding from the charity at a meeting today unless it shows “moral leadership”.

3. More ice and snow forecast

Drivers in southwest England, Wales and the southern Midlands have been warned to expect icy conditions today, with temperatures falling as low as -3C overnight. Yellow warnings for ice and snow have been issued by the Met Office for today in the south and east of England, Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland, where the mercury could drop to -6C.

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4. Grand Canyon helicopter crash victims named

Three Britons who died on Saturday afternoon when a helicopter crashed in the Grand Canyon have been identified as Becky Dobson, 27, Jason Hill, 32, and Stuart Hill, 30. Three other Britons - Ellie Milward, 29, Jonathan Udall, 32, and Jennifer Barham, 39 - were injured. They were airlifted to a Las Vegas hospital, along with pilot Scott Booth, 42.

5. London City Airport closed after WWII bomb found

London City Airport will remain closed all day today, with all flights cancelled, as police and the Navy work to make safe a Second World War bomb found in the Thames. The device was uncovered in George V Dock at around 5am on Sunday by contractors working on an extension to the airport. A 700ft exclusion zone is in force.

6. Fathers fail to take up parental leave offer

Take-up by fathers who are eligible for shared parental leave may be as low as 2%, according to the Department for Business. Research suggest around half of the public still do not know the option exists, nearly three years after it became law. A publicity drive has been launched to increase awareness of the scheme, for which around 285,000 couples a year qualify.

7. Relief for football fans over royal wedding

Royalist football fans have been reassured that there will be no clash between Prince Harry’s wedding and the FA Cup Final. St James’s Palace has announced that while the Prince and US actor Meghan Marklewill marry on the same day as the match at Wembley Stadium, the ceremony will take place at noon - five-and-a-half hours before kick-off.

8. Soros makes further donation to anti-Brexit group

Billionaire investor George Soros has pledged an extra £100,000 to a group opposing Britain’s exit from the EU, defying critics who have objected to his previous donation of £400,000. The 87-year-old told The Guardian that the extra funding to Best for Britain was a direct retort to a Daily Telegraph article that accused him of “meddling in [the] nation’s affairs”.

9. Aldi takes over as Britain’s favourite supermarket

Aldi has taken over from Waitrose as the UK’s favourite supermarket, a survey of 6,800 customers by consumer group Which? suggests. The ranking is based on customer satisfaction, rather than on sales or footfall. Waitrose had been in the top spot for three years but is now in fourth place, behind Aldi, Marks & Spencer and Lidl.

10. Briefing: James Bulger murder, 25 years on

Today is the 25th anniversary of the abduction of James Bulger. His murder at the hands of two ten-year-olds shocked Britain and sparked a nationwide debate as to the criminal responsibility of children.

The then Prime Minister, John Major, famously remarked that, in response to the killings, “we must condemn a little more, and understand a little less”.

James Bulger murder, 25 years on