Ten Things You Need to Know Today: Tuesday 22 May 2018

1. Manchester attack remembered

The first anniversary of the Manchester Arena bombing will be marked today with a national service of commemoration for the 22 victims. The ceremony, at Manchester Cathedral, will be attended by the Duke of Cambridge and Prime Minister. A national minute’s silence will be held at 2.30pm, and bells will ring out at 10.31pm.

2. Man stabbed to death in Islington in daylight

A man was stabbed to death in broad daylight on London’s busy Upper Street in the well-to-do area of Islington yesterday. The victim has not been named and no arrests have yet been made following the stabbing, at 6.30pm in front of witnesses. Police closed off a large area nearby, with local residents offered shelter in a church overnight.

3. Clean air strategy to target wood stoves

The Government must publish its clean air strategy today in order to comply with EU rules – with proposals to include a crackdown on trendy wood-burning stoves. Some 38% of particulate air pollution comes from the domestic wood burners and open fires found in just 7.5% of homes. Councils may get new powers to define clean air zones.

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4. New rules to protect police chase drivers

The Home Office is proposing to give police drivers legal protection if they are involved in a crash, in an attempt to tackle the epidemic of moped crime. At present, all motorists including police can be prosecuted for dangerous driving but the Police Federation says its officers often face “unnecessary and mendacious” prosecutions.

5. Ken Livingstone quits Labour over ‘anti-Semitism’

Former London mayor and Labour stalwart Ken Livingstone has quit the party after being suspended for allegedly anti-Semitic remarks. The 72-year-old was suspended in 2016 after saying Adolf Hitler had supported Zionism, while trying to defend a Labour member accused of anti-Semitism. He said his case had become a “distraction”.

6. Fuel price rises threaten consumer spending

The cost of petrol and diesel has reached a three-year high, threatening to limit the consumer spending that might otherwise help reduce inflation. The average price of petrol is now 127.22p per litre – and the average for diesel is 129.96p. Earlier this month, figures indicated that wages were rising while inflation was easing off.

7. Australian archbishop convicted of abuse cover-up

An Australian archbishop has become the most senior member of the Catholic clergy to be convicted of covering up sexual abuse by priests. Philip Wilson, archbishop of Adelaide, was found to have hidden the abuse of altar boys by a paedophile priest in New South Wales in the 1970s. The 67-year-old could be jailed for two years.

8. An egg a day ‘may protect against strokes’

Eating up to one egg a day may protect against strokes and coronary heart disease, according to a massive new study in China. Peking University Health Science Centre looked at 400,000 people and found those who ate up to one egg a day had a 26% lower risk of stroke, and a 28% lower risk of dying from stroke, than those who ate none.

9. Trump mints souvenir coin for Korea talks

The White House Military Office has unveiled a commemorative coin minted to celebrate Donald Trump’s “peace talks” with Kim Jong Un, despite fears that the summit between the US president and North Korean leader may not go ahead, with both sides threatening to pull out. The coin has been roundly mocked online for its hubris.

10. Briefing: what are atheist churches?

The steady decline of religion in the Western world is being mirrored by the growth of so-called atheist churches, statistics show.

According to the Washington DC-based Pew Research Center, the religiously unaffiliated are now the second-largest religious group in North America and most of Europe.

What are atheist churches?