Ten Things You Need to Know Today: Monday 27 Feb 2012

1. THE ARTIST WINS OSCAR FOR BEST FILM

The French silent film 'The Artist' won best picture, best director, best actor (Jean Dujardin) and two other Oscars at the 84th Academy Awards in Los Angeles last night. Meryl Streep won her third Oscar - best actress for her portrayal of Margaret Thatcher in 'The Iron Lady' - on a night of few surprises.

The Artist wins best picture at the most predictable Oscars ever

2. ANOTHER COSTA CRUISE SHIP IN TROUBLE

A passenger ship belonging to Costa Cruises, the company which owned the ill-fated Costa Concordia, has lost power following a fire. The Costa Allegra, which has 1,000 holidaymakers and crew aboard, is adrift in the Indian Ocean 200 miles off the Seychelles, near Alphonse island. Tugs and naval unites are on their way to offer assistance.

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3. WIKILEAKS PUBLISHES INTELLIGENCE EMAILS

Whistle-blowing website Wikileaks has begun the release of a cache of what it claims are 5.5m emails obtained from the US intel firm Stratfor by hacking collective Anonymous. The group said the documents contain secret details of the links between government and private intelligence organisations.

WikiLeaks releases emails from 'private CIA' company Stratfor

4. TWO ARRESTED OVER PLOT TO KILL PUTIN

Two men have been arrested in the Ukrainian port of Odessa in connection with a plot to kill the Russian prime minister Vladimir Putin. The suspects were shown on TV confessing to the plot - intended for after the Russian presidential elections next Sunday, which Putin is expected to win.

'Convenient' Islamist plot to assassinate Putin is ‘foiled'

5. LIVERPOOL CELEBRATE CARLING CUP TRIUMPH

Liverpool manager Kenny Dalglish last night hailed his team's Carling Cup victory, 2-3 on penalties over Cardiff City, as "just the start". It was Liverpool's first trophy in six years and, in the end, it all came down to a penalty missed by Anthony Gerrard of Cardiff – whose cousin Steven is Liverpool's captain.

Triumph and tears for Gerrard as Liverpool win Carling Cup

6. SUN'S ILLEGAL PAYMENTS EXPOSED

The Sun routinely made illegal payments to police and public officials the Leveson Inquiry has been told. Police chief Sue Akers, who is leading an inquiry into corruption allegations, said one official received more than £80,000 from the paper and a Sun journalist paid sources more than £150,000 over the years.

'Culture of illegal payments at Sun,' police chief tells Leveson

7. HSBC ANNOUNCES £14BN PROFIT

HSBC has announced profits of £13.8bn for 2011 - far outstripping results announced in recent weeks by rival banks such as Barclays (a £5.9bn profit) and RBS (a loss of almost £2bn). HSBC employees will share a bonus pot of £765m. More than 170 people will receive annual awards of more than £1m.

How HSBC made £13.8bn profits while UK rivals faltered

8. SARKOZY RAISES HOPES OF RESCUING JOURNALISTS

Nicolas Sarkozy has said "we have the beginnings of a solution" in the attempt to rescue journalists Paul Conroy and Edith Bouvier from the beseiged city of Homs, although he doesn't "have much trust in the Syrian regime". Meanwhile, the shelling of Homs continues with government troops attacking the districts of Baba Amr, Khalidiya, Ashira, Bayada and the old city today.

Syria: Sarkozy says solution in sight for wounded journalists

9. CHURCH WINS £600,000 HACKING PAYOUT

Singer Charlotte Church says she was "sickened" by what she discovered during her legal case against News International, which has ended with a payout of £600,000 to her and her parents. Church rejected an apology, saying the now-defunct tabloid the News of the World was "not truly sorry, only sorry they got caught".

Church accepts £600,000 for hacking but rejects apology

10. HOT TICKET - LAST BLAST FROM KENT

‘The Bomb – A Partial History’ is a cycle of ten short plays about the atom bomb presented in two parts. Artistic director Nicolas Kent's final production after 28 years at the London Tricycle Theatre looks at the absurd, frightening and funny side of living with the threat of nuclear war. The Times call is "exhilarating".

Tricycle Theatre's Nicolas Kent goes out with a bang