Ten Things You Need to Know Today: Wednesday 4 Apr 2018

1. Woman dead after shooting at YouTube HQ

A 39-year-old woman shot and wounded three YouTube employees before killing herself at the company’s HQ near San Francisco, say police. Animal rights activist Nasim Aghdam is not thought to have known her victims, one of whom is in a critical condition. She had previously vented anger at YouTube on her channel on the site.

2. Spy poisoning: Russia calls chemical weapons meeting

Britain has accused Russia of trying to undermine the work of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons after Moscow called for an extraordinary meeting of the group. The UK will face questions over the poisoning of former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter, Yulia.

3. Ad boss Martin Sorrell faces misconduct claim

Sir Martin Sorrell, chief executive of the world’s largest advertising firm, WPP, is being investigated over claims of financial misconduct. WPP, which hired a law firm to investigate the allegation, says the claims “do not involve amounts which are material to [the company]”. Sorrell says he rejects all allegations of impropriety.

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4. US targets Chinese imports with 25% tariffs

The US will impose tariffs of up to 25% – around $50bn (£36bn) annually – on Chinese imports in the latest round of a tit-for-tat trade war between the two countries. Earlier this week, Beijing imposed tariffs on US imports worth $3bn (£2bn) in retaliation for Donald Trump’s decision to impose levies on Chinese steel and aluminium imports.

5. Patrick Kielty: IRA ‘offered to revenge father’s murder’

Comedian Patrick Kielty says the IRA offered to “revenge” his father’s 1988 murder by loyalist paramilitaries but his family rejected the idea “in no uncertain terms”. Jack Kielty was shot dead in his home town Dundrum when his son was 17. He was a builder who, Kielty says, took jobs working for “both sides”.

6. Trump’s Syria promise shakes alliance with Kurds

A potential US withdrawal from Syria has weakened the shaky alliance between the US and Kurdish-led forces fighting to expel Isis from the north-east of the country, say officials. Donald Trump made a surprise announcement last week that US troops will leave Syria “very soon”. Kurdish officials say there are at least 2,200 Isis fighters still entrenched there.

7. Neanderthals’ wide noses ‘helped them breathe easier’

Researchers believe they have found an explanation for the wide nose and powerful upper jaw of Neanderthals. It was thought the shape was to give better grip and biting force, but a team led by the Natural History Museum in London say the large nasal cavities were to warm air in cold climates.

8. North Korea makes rare apology to press

A senior North Korean official has personally apologised to a group of reporters from South Korea who were prevented from attending a K-pop concert in Pyongyang. The performance was part of a diplomatic rapprochement between the neighbouring states and had been attended by Kim Jong-un. General Kim Yong-chol said he had been wrong to exclude the journalists.

9. Great white shark stops police operation

A great white shark prevented Australian police from carrying out a breath test on a group of fishermen by “serenely terrifying the officers”, says The Guardian. The 15ft predator was longer than the dinghy the officers were using as they tried to intercept the recreational fishing boat in the waters off the Yorke Peninsula in South Australia.

10. Briefing: Dinosaur footprints found on Isle of Skye

Scientists have discovered dozens of giant dinosaur footprints in Scotland dating back 170 million years.

The tracks “were made in a muddy lagoon off the north-east coast of what is now the Isle of Skye”, reports the Evening Standard. In a new study, published in the Scottish Journal of Geology, researchers reveal they have unearthed about 50 tracks, some as big as a car tyre.

Dinosaur footprints found on Isle of Skye