Ten Things You Need to Know Today: Sunday 6 May 2018

1. Knife crime epidemic spreads to suburbs and shires

The UK’s knife crime outbreak has spread from the cities to the suburbs and shires, notes The Sunday Times. Analysis of government data shows that knife crime in Hertfordshire, Warwickshire, Cambridgeshire, Hampshire, Essex and Norfolk has almost doubled in three years. People are now more likely to be a victim of a knife attack in Bedfordshire than in Greater Manchester or Merseyside.

2. Pro-Brexit ministers threaten May over customs

Brexiteer ministers have threatened Theresa May with open revolt over if she agrees a customs deal with the European Union, says the Sunday Telegraph. Cabinet sources told the Prime Minister that any attempt to force through a "hybrid" proposal would contradict promises made during the referendum campaign and in the Conservatives’ 2017 election manifesto. They believe that May’s plans will create a "Trojan horse for a customs union".

3. Uber woos US government as it plans flying taxis

Uber is planning to send flying taxis into skies above US cities in as little as two years. The ride-hailing app company is hosting government officials, including Donald Trump’s transport chief, and the head of America’s airspace watchdog, at a summit in LA. It said the vehicles will initially be controlled by pilots but will eventually be autonomous and battery-powered.

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4. Junior doctor job offers withdrawn over 'human error'

Job offers for up to 1,500 junior doctors have been withdrawn, due to a mix-up in the recruitment process. The Royal College of Physicians apologised and said the process would have to be re-run. It blamed human error. TheBritish Medical Association said it was "appalled", adding: "We cannot express how unacceptable we find this situation. This has caused extreme anxiety for trainees."

5. Sir Alex Ferguson undergoes emergency surgery

Former Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson had emergency surgery on Saturday for a brain haemorrhage. Although several papers report this morning that the football legend is "fighting for his life", a statement from the club said the procedure "had gone very well". Ferguson retired as United manager in May 2013 after winning 38 trophies during 26 years in charge.

6. Boris flies to Washington to try to save Iran deal

Boris Johnson is on his way to Washington to urge Donald Trump not to scrap the deal designed to prevent Iran acquiring nuclear weapons. The US President has criticised the pact, which he calls "insane". The UK and its European allies have until 12 May to convince Trump to stick with the deal, under which Tehran agrees to limit its nuclear activities in return for the easing of sanctions.

7. US jets 'in conflict with civilian plane over Norfolk'

US military jets "inadvertently flew into conflict" with a civilian plane over the UK, reports the BBC. Two F15s, from RAF Lakenheath in Suffolk, encountered a B350 over Marham in Norfolk on 6 November. The US pilots’ error was due to them "having not fully assimilated earlier traffic information," said a bulletin from Airprox. RAF air traffic control also gave incorrect information to the jets during the incident.

8. No sex please, we're millennials

One in eight 26-year-olds are virgins, reports The Sunday Times, a significant rise from previous generations, for whom one in 20 was the norm. Psychoanalytic psychotherapist Susanna Abse said: "Millennials have been brought up in a culture of hypersexuality which has bred a fear of intimacy." Researchers have tracked 16,000 young people born in 1989-90 since they were 14.

9. Trump team 'hired Israeli agency for dirty ops'

Donald Trump’s team hired an Israeli private intelligence agency to conduct a "dirty ops" campaign against Obama administration figures who helped negotiate the Iran nuclear deal. The Observer says aides to the US President contacted private investigators in May last year to "get dirt" on Ben Rhodes and Colin Kahl, in a bid to discredit the deal.

10. Toddler in serious condition after falling from building

A young boy is in a serious condition after falling from the second floor of a building in Portugal. Police in Lagos are investigating the circumstances of the one-and-a-half year old boy's fall on Saturday morning. The boy is Portuguese but with British parents who live in Portugal. A spokesman at the Hospital and University of Algarve said the boy’s condition "continues to inspire care".