Ten Things You Need to Know Today: Monday 2 Apr 2018

1. Director of public prosecutions to stand down

Alison Saunders, the director of public prosecutions, is to step down at the end of her five-year contract in October following criticism over the collapse of several rape trials. Police and prosecutors failed in their duty to pass on evidence to defence lawyers.

2. China imposes $3bn tariffs on US imports

China has announced tariffs worth $3bn (£2.14m) on US imports including pork, wine and scarp aluminium. The levies, which will be as much as 25%, come after US President Donald Trump increased duties on steel and aluminium imports and expressed criticism of China in particular.

3. Hungry schoolchildren ‘filling pockets with food’

Food poverty in England and Wales is leading children with “grey skin” and “poor teeth” to fill their pockets with food from school canteens, head teachers told reporters at the National Education Union conference in Brighton. One teacher also said their school handed out clothes, shoes and coats. The Government says it is fighting poverty.

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4. Heavy rain and snow to hit the UK

Torrential rain and heavy snow is forecast to bring serious disruption to large parts of the UK today. The Met Office has issued a yellow warning for snow in much of central Scotland and northern England and another for rain for southern and western England. More than 100 flood alerts have been issued.

5. Chinese space laboratory burned up over ocean

A Chinese space laboratory which crashed into the Earth’s atmosphere yesterday mostly broke up over the South Pacific ocean, Chinese experts said. Tiangong-1 was launched in 2011 but China admitted losing control of the module in 2016. The “vast majority” of the lab burnt up on re-entry, China's Manned Space Engineering Office said.

6. Alvarado wins Costa Rica presidency on gay rights

Centre-left candidate Carlos Alvarado Quesada has won the presidency of Costa Rica, defeating a conservative candidate who threatened to erode gay rights. The 38-year-old former novelist campaigned on a promise of “government for everybody”. Results from 95% of polling stations gave him 61% of the vote.

7. Cost of filling Panini sticker book put at £773

It will cost an estimated £773 to fill this year’s Panini World Cup football sticker book, twice as much as the cost during Euro 2016, according to a professor of mathematics. Paul Harper of Cardiff University says collectors will need to buy an average of 967 packets containing a total of 4,832 stickers to get all the players and managers.

8. Egypt’s President Sisi re-elected with 97% of vote

Egypt’s strong-man leader Abdel Fatah al-Sisi has been re-elected president with a landslide victory. He secured more than 97% of votes, with a turnout of 41% in last week’s election. His only opposition came from Moussa Mostafa Moussa, leader of the al-Ghad party, who had previously supported Sisi’s re-election.

9. Church sign proclaims: ‘Chris is risen’

A church in York was given Easter signs proclaiming “Chris is risen” instead of “Christ is risen”. The mistake was spotted before the signs were put up, said Acomb Parish Church’s assistant curate Ned Lunn. He added that the pastor of the local Baptist church “is actually called Chris”.

10. Briefing: Is Kenyan democracy at risk?

Once regarded as the most stable economic and democratic power in East Africa, Kenya is showing worrying signs of authoritarianism under President Uhuru Kenyatta.

Human rights groups accuse his government of using the political crisis stemming from last year’s controversial elections as an excuse to crack down on opposition groups, the press and the judiciary.

Is democracy in Kenya at risk?