Ten Things You Need to Know Today: Monday 19 May 2014

      
   
       MILIBAND TO 'STRETCH' MINIMUM WAGE      A Labour government would set a statutory minimum wage target linked to average earnings, says Ed Miliband. Although Labour will not announce the exact figure until nearer the general election, a party source has told the BBC it would be a "stretching target". Any major increase to the minimum wage is likely to be opposed by business groups.      
 
     
   
       RELATIVE CRITICISES MH370 BOOK      A book about the missing Malaysia Airlines plane has been criticised by the relative of two passengers. The book, entitled Flight MH370: The Mystery, is published less than three months after the plane’s disappearance. "Nobody knows what happened so why would anyone want to put out a book at this stage?" said Irene Burrows, whose son and daughter-in-law were on the flight.       
 
     
   
       BANK FEAR AT RECORD HOUSE PRICES      House prices jumped £10,000 between April and May, prompting the Bank of England to threaten to cap mortgages. The average property is now on sale at a new record high of £272,003. London leads the way with a 16.3% year-on-year increase, compared with a more modest 4.9% in the rest of the country. Last week, Mark Carney expressed concern over the housing market.      
 
     
   
       FARAGE BACKTRACKS ON ROMANIANS       Nigel Farage has backtracked on his remarks that “fair-minded people” would have the right to be concerned to have Romanian neighbours. The Ukip leader now says he “could have been clearer”. He adds: “I regret the fact that I was completely tired out. I didn’t use the form of words that I would have liked to have used.”      
 
     
   
       MURDERER ON RUN FOR FOURTH TIME      A convicted murderer was on the run last night after absconding from prison for the fourth time. Arnold Pickering failed to return to HMP Kennet, in Merseyside, after leaving jail on Saturday morning. Pickering, 44, has escaped on three previous occasions. He was jailed for life in 1991 after being convicted of stabbing a blind man to death.       
 
     
   
       BROADCHURCH WINS THREE BAFTAS      Broadchurch has won three Baftas - for best drama, best actress for Olivia Colman and best supporting actor for David Bradley. Colman, who stars in the ITV drama, cried on stage, saying that working with co-star David Tennant is “a joy and a treat”. Among the other winners on the night were Ant and Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway and The IT Crowd.      
 
     
   
       9/11 VICTIMS SLAM 'TAWDRY' SOUVENIRS      Some relatives of those killed in the September 11 terror attacks have expressed dismay at what they say are crass souvenirs on sale at the new Ground Zero memorial museum. Among the gifts are earrings moulded from the leaves of a tree which survived the fire and badges featuring some of the fire services dogs which died.      
 
     
   
       DAWN FRENCH RECALLS RACIST ATTACK      Dawn French says racists tried to torch the home she shared with Lenny Henry. Speaking out about the racist abuse she and Henry suffered during their 25-year marriage, she said: “Someone put an oily rag through our front door and tried to burn us down. Luckily I woke up and smelt it, otherwise I’m not sure we would be here.”      
 
     
   
       WENGER 'AGREES THREE-YEAR DEAL'      Arsene Wenger has agreed a new three-year contract that will commit him to the club until 2017, says the Daily Telegraph. The Frenchman has agreed to sign the deal, which is worth £7.5m, before he travels to the World Cup. The club is expected to make a formal announcement this week. Wenger will be 67 years old by the time the new contract expires.
      
 
     
   
       HOT TICKET: LILY COLE DEBUT IN TROY      Supermodel-turned-actress Lily Cole is starring in Simon Armitage's stage adaptation of Homer's The Iliad, The Last Days of Troy, at the Royal Exchange, Manchester. Cole is Helen in the final days of the Greek's siege of Troy. "Vivid," says The Independent. Until 7 June, Shakespeare's Globe from 10 June.
       The Last Days of Troy – reviews of 'vivid' Homer play