Ten Things You Need to Know Today: Tuesday 22 Jan 2013

1. BALI DRUGS: BRITON GETS DEATH SENTENCE

A 56-year-old grandmother from Teesside has been sentenced to death in Indonesia for drug trafficking. Lindsay Sandiford was arrested when she arrived in Bali on a flight from Bangkok in May and police found 10.6lb of cocaine in her suitcase. Prosecutors had recommended a 15-year prison sentence but judges said today there were no mitigating circumstances.

Brit sentenced to death in Bali 'was well-known drug dealer'

2. PRINCE HARRY 'TOOK OUT' TALIBAN

Prince Harry shot at Taliban insurgents during his four-month tour as an Army helicopter pilot in Afghanistan, he told reporters in interviews released yesterday as he returned to Britain. Asked if he had killed, he said: "Yeah, so lots of people have... If there's people trying to do bad stuff to our guys, then we'll take them out of the game."

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Harry interview: Prince admits killing Taliban and hits at press

3. SCHOOLS 'TOO EAGER TO CLOSE IN SNOW'

With 5,000 schools closed because of the snow yesterday, one headmaster has accused "over-cautious" colleagues of "pressing the the panic button too early". Martin Stott, who runs The Old Hall prep school in Wellington, Shropshire, said his efforts to keep his school open "whatever the weather" sent a valuable message to children.

Headteachers 'too quick to close schools because of snow'

4. OBAMA DREAMS OF EQUALITY FOR ALL

President Obama began his second term in the White House yesterday with an ultra-liberal inauguration speech in which he mentioned gay rights, climate change and immigration and declared: "We, the people, understand that our country cannot succeed when a shrinking few do very well and a growing many barely make it."

Obama: first president to use word 'gay' in inaugural address

5. STEPHEN LAWRENCE FAMILY 'THREATENED'

Doreen Lawrence, the mother of murdered black teenager Stephen Lawrence, revealed last night that she and her other son, Stuart, have been subjected to threats since Stuart, now 35, made a formal complaint of police harassment due to his race. She said she had warned her son to "be very careful" when he is out.

6. MALI: UK FORCES ON DEPLOYMENT ALERT

All sections of the British military have been put on alert for an “emergency deployment” to Mali to support French forces who are battling al-Qaeda forces in the northern African nation, The Times says. Military chiefs have also been given until the end of the week to draft a plan for such a mission which has been codenamed Operation Newcombe.

Cameron puts British forces on alert for Mali deployment

7. FOUL-SMELLING GAS ARRIVES FROM FRANCE

A cloud of foul-smelling gas that escaped from a factory in northern France has been affecting parts of southern England after it drifted across the channel overnight. The harmless gas, called Mercaptan, smells like a mixture 'sweat, garlic and rotten eggs', and is used to give odour to natural gas and propane.

Sweat, garlic and rotten eggs: foul smell arrives from France

8. CAMERON TO DELIVER DELAYED EU SPEECH

Prime Minister David Cameron will deliver his long-awaited speech on the future of Britain in Europe – postponed last week because of the Algerian crisis - in London tomorrow. He is expected to demand repatriation of key powers from Brussels and to pledge a referendum on membership if the Tories win the next election in 2015.

Cameron's EU speech may not be the failure everyone predicts

9. 'HUMANS A PLAGUE' SAYS ATTENBOROUGH

BBC presenter Sir David Attenborough says humans are threatening their own existence and that of other species as they use up the world's resources, and that only population control can halt the damage. "We are a plague on Earth. It's coming home to roost over the next 50 years or so," he told the Radio Times.

Attenborough: famines are the fault of 'plague of humans'

10. HOT TICKET: BLOODY MINOTAUR RETURNS

A revival of Harrison Birtwistle's opera 'The Minotaur' has opened at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. Birtwistle's opera retells the Greek myth of Theseus's quest to kill the man-eating Minotaur. Stars John Tomlinson, Christine Rice and Johan Reuter. "Phenomenal", says The Guardian. Until 28 January.

Harrison Birtwistle’s brilliant bloody Minotaur returns