Ten Things You Need to Know Today: Tuesday 20 May 2014

      
   
       CHINA DISMISSES FBI CYBER CHARGES       China has dismissed the charges brought by the United States against five of its army officers. Beijing denies the charges of economic cyber-espionage, saying it has “never engaged or participated” in cyber theft. Washington prosecutors say the five officers stole trade secrets and internal documents from five companies and a labour union.      
 
     
   
       THERESA MAY HAILS HAMZA VERDICT      Theresa May has welcomed the verdict of the New York court which found radical cleric Abu Hamza al-Masri guilty on terror charges. The home secretary said she was pleased Hamza "has finally faced justice" after using "every opportunity, over many years, to frustrate and delay the extradition process". He will be sentenced in September.      
 
     
   
       THAI ARMY IMPOSES MARTIAL LAW      The Thai military has announced that it is imposing martial law "to preserve law and order". The shock announcement comes amid a political crisis in the country and months of rising tensions between the government and the opposition. Although the military insists the move is not a coup, it has been granted wide-ranging powers to enforce its decision.      
 
     
   
       EU TO SCRAP ‘BEST BEFORE’ LABELS      The European Union is set to scrap 'best before' labels on rice, dry pasta, hard cheeses, jams and coffee to reduce the 100m tons of food wasted across the continent each year. “The labels have nothing to do with safety but with quality,” said Dutch agriculture minister Sharon Dijksma. “We think citizens can make sure themselves if, for instance, rice is still usable.”      
 
     
   
       IS IOWA PIG CASTRATOR HEIR TO PALIN?      A senator from Iowa is being described as the heir to Sarah Palin after releasing a campaign video in which she boasts of castrating pigs. Joni Ernst opens her bid for the national stage saying: “I grew up castrating hogs on an Iowa farm, so when I get to Washington, I’ll know how to cut pork.” The Harley Davidson-riding senator describes herself as “Mom, Farm Girl, Soldier”.      
 
     
   
       SOMERSET SANDBAGS SENT TO SERBIA      Sandbags which protected Somerset during recent flooding will be airlifted to the Balkans as the region faces its worst flooding for more than half a century. "We have a lot of sandbags, and there's no better cause now than to donate those sandbags to shore up flood defences in Serbia, especially as they're expecting more floods," said a spokesman for international relief group Khalsa Aid.      
 
     
   
       WORLD-RECORD DIVORCE SETTLEMENT      The owner of Monaco football club will have to pay a world-record divorce settlement of more than £2.6bn to his ex-wife. Dmitry Rybolovlev, 47, has been ordered to pay Elena Rybolovleva 4,020,555,987 Swiss francs and 20 centimes. This constitutes around half of the Russian oligarch’s entire fortune. The ruling follows an epic six-year legal scrap.      
 
     
   
       FEARS LIBYA IS CLOSE TO CIVIL WAR      Is Libya heading towards civil war? Islamist militants were last night preparing to go into battle against the secular rogue general Khalifa Haftar. Nouri Abusahmain, the hardline chief of parliament and Libya’s acting commander-in-chief, has ordered his supporters to assemble in Tripoli. The government accuses Haftar of planning a coup.
      
 
     
   
       INVERDALE BLAMES HAY FEVER FOR GAFFE      John Inverdale has blamed his on-air gaffe about the appearance of Marion Bartoli on hay fever. The BBC presenter said last summer that the Wimbledon champion was “never going to be a looker”. He now tells Radio Times: “I was feeling so ill that day, I had terrible hay fever and all I could think of was that I wanted to go home to bed."      
 
     
   
       HOT TICKET: PRINCE'S UK ARENA TOUR      American funk-pop star Prince is touring multiple UK arenas for the first time in almost two decades. With back-up trio 3rd Eye Girl he performs classic 80s hits including Purple Rain and Little Red Corvette, along with tracks from his forthcoming album. "Magical," says The Times. Until 23 May.       Prince – reviews of 80s funk star's 'magical' UK arena tour