Ten Things You Need to Know Today: Friday 18 Jan 2013

1. ALGERIA: PM REVISES DOWN NUMBER AT RISK

Downing Street fears 'multiple' British hostages may be among the 30-plus hostages now thought to have died in Algeria, but the Prime Minister told the Commons today the number "at risk" was "significantly less than 30". David Cameron was critical of the Algerian government for failing to tell him it was about to launch an assault on the gas plant where 41 hostages were being held by militants linked to al-Qaeda.

Cameron: Number of Britons ‘at risk’ in Algeria crisis has been reduced

2. CHOPPER CRASH: WAS PILOT DISTRACTED?

There are reports that the pilot of a helicopter who died when his aircraft crashed into a crane in Vauxhall may have been distracted when he changed the frequency of his radio. The Daily Mail says the pilot, Captain Pete Barnes, may have "veered off course" as he tried to contact Battersea heliport to say he needed to make an unscheduled landing.

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3. 'STAY HOME' WARNING AS SNOW FALLS OVER UK

The entire country is forecast to be blanketed in snow up to six inches deep by 3pm today with warnings issued of travel disruption and potential power cuts. A "stay home" red warning was issued by the Met Office for South Wales, where a foot of snow is expected. Snow and sleet showers are expected to last until Saturday night.

Britain under snow - pictures

4. LANCE ARMSTRONG ADMITS TO DOPING

Disgraced cyclist Lance Armstrong finally admitted in an interview with Oprah Winfrey broadcast last night that he took performance enhancing drugs and used blood transfusions in winning seven Tour de France titles. "My cocktail was EPO, transfusions and testosterone," he said. But he denied "cheating" because he was competing "on a level playing field".

'I'm sorry.' Cycling career was one big lie admits Armstrong

5. ACID ATTACK ON BOLSHOI DIRECTOR

The artistic director of the Bolshoi Ballet has third-degree burns after a masked assailant threw acid in his face last night, Bolshoi officials said. Sergei Filin, 42, was returning home from a gala when he was attacked with acid, leaving him with serious burns and damaged eyesight. The attack follows a series of anonymous threats to the former dancer.

Did bad blood trigger acid attack on Bolshoi chief?

6. 'GROOMERS MADE GIRL HAVE ABORTION'

Jurors at the Old Bailey trial of nine men accused of 'grooming' girls and using them for sex in Oxford heard yesterday that a 12-year-old girl who was repeatedly raped by a group of men was also made to have a back-room abortion after falling pregnant. She is one of six alleged victims aged between 11 and 15 involved in the case.

Oxford grooming trial: girl, 12, forced to have illegal abortion

7. MALI: FRANCE SENDS MORE TROOPS

France has boosted its troop strength in Mali to 1,400, the French defence ministry said last night, as heavy fighting continued against radical Islamist forces in the north of the country. French warplanes bombed Diabaly, 350 km north of the capital. The first of the promised African troops arrived with 100 Togolese landing in Bamako.

8. ‘FIT FOR WORK’: MPS ATTACK ‘CRASS’ ATOS

Atos, the French-owned company employed by the government to expose benefit fraudsters who are really “fit for work”, has been accused by MPs of displaying a "crass" attitude towards welfare claimants. One Labour MP told the Commons of a constituent with Crohn's disease who was told to "wear a nappy for work".

Atos 'told woman with Crohn's disease to wear nappy to work'

9. WEST END ACTRESS SOPHIYA HAQUE DIES

The popular London stage actress Sophiya Haque, who played Sylvia in 'Privates on Parade', has died at the age of 41. She had been diagnosed with cancer at Christmas. The play, with Simon Russell Beale in the lead, has proved a big hit at the Noel Coward Theatre. Director Michael Grandage said cast members were "devastated".

10. HOT TICKET: DJANGO UNCHAINED

Quentin Tarantino's revenge western, 'Django Unchained', opens in UK cinemas today. Jamie Foxx, Christoph Schultz, Leonardo DiCaprio and Kerry Washington star in the tale of a freed slave who teams up with a bounty hunter to rescue his wife from a cruel slave owner. "Wildly exciting return to form," says The Guardian.

Django Unchained a 'thrilling' return to form for Tarantino