Ten Things You Need to Know Today: Monday 8 Apr 2013

1. NORTH KOREA N-TEST 'NO LONGER IMMINENT'

South Korean officials have backed away from suggestions the North is preparing for a fourth nuclear test at the Punggye-ri underground site. They now say that the activity detected at the test site appears to be routine. The BBC says the confusion is an indication of "just how tense the situation has become on the Korean peninsula".

2. DISABILITY PURGE BEGINS IN NORTH

The government's overhaul of disability benefits for new claimants is being introduced in the north of England from today, with the existing system of Disability Living Allowance (DLA) replaced by Personal Independence Payments (PIP). Disability charity Scope says 600,000 people will eventually lose their financial support.

Disability benefit reform: what is PIP and why is it controversial?

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

3. JOCKEY RYAN MANIA IN 'GOOD SPIRITS'

Grand National winning jockey Ryan Mania is "in good spirits", but will remain in hospital for another night as a precaution, after suffering neck and back injuries in a heavy fall at Hexham on Sunday. The 23-year-old Scot who rode Auroras Encore to victory at Aintree on Saturday was airlifted from Hexham to Newcastle's Royal Victoria Infirmary.

Ryan Mania's fall shows why jump jockeys are a race apart

4. KASHMIR KILLING: THE DEVIL POSSESSED ME

Dutch tourist Richard De Wit, 43, has confessed to murdering British traveller Sarah Groves on a houseboat in Kashmir, according to Indian police. A postmortem found that Groves, a 24-year-old fitness instructor, had been stabbed 45 times. De Wit is reported to have claimed "the devil took over my body" after smoking cannabis.

Kashmir houseboat murder: Dutch suspect possessed by 'Devil'

5. CEREMONIAL FUNERAL FOR THATCHER

Margaret Thatcher, Britain's first and only female Prime Minister, will receive a ceremonial funeral with military honours, not a state funeral. Thatcher died in London this morning at the age of 87 following a stroke. State funerals are usually reserved for monarchs although there have been a few notable exceptions, such as Winston Churchill.

Margaret Thatcher dies at 87 after suffering a stroke

6. BRITON LOSES DEATH SENTENCE APPEAL

British grandmother Lindsay Sandiford has lost her appeal against the death sentence handed down by a court in Bali after she was convicted of drug trafficking. The 56-year-old was convicted in January after arriving on the Indonesian island on a flight from Bangkok carrying 4.8kg of cocaine.

Lindsay Sandiford: Indonesia 'preparing for executions'

7. BORGEN MEETS HOUSE OF CARDS ON BBC TV

Michael Dobbs, author of 'House of Cards', and Adam Price, creator of the Danish TV series 'Borgen', have teamed up to create a new political drama to be shown on the BBC next year. Dobbs, the novelist and Tory peer, says the plot will concern an MP's widow who goes into politics to take her husband's seat following his death.

'Borgen' and 'House of Cards' creators join forces for TV political drama

8. THATCHER STREET PARTY CONDEMNED

A Conservative councillor has condemned plans for a street party in Brixton to celebrate the death of former Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher. Lambeth councillor John Whelan said the idea was "despicable" and "in extremely poor taste". The event in South London was just one of several celebrations being advertised online following the death of the 87-year-old.

Margaret Thatcher, 1925 - 2013 - in pictures

9. TEEN CRIME TSAR SAYS SORRY FOR TWEETS

Paris Brown, the teenager being paid £15,000 to work as Britain's first youth police and crime commissioner, has apologised for posting apparently racist and homophobic comments on Twitter. "I don't want people judging me on a few stupid things I wrote that I don't mean," she said. "All teenagers make mistakes."

Teen crime commissioner Paris Brown: is her role 'absurd'?

10. HOT TICKET: SMACK FAMILY ROBINSON

Black comedy 'Smack Family Robinson' by Richard Bean, author of the hit play 'One Man, Two Guvnors', has opened at the Rose Theatre, Kingston. A family of suburban drug dealers struggle to adapt to the challenges of a changing world. With Keith Allen and Denise Welch. "Disgracefully entertaining," says the Daily Telegraph. Until 20 April.

Black comedy Smack Family Robinson is shockingly funny