Ten Things You Need to Know Today: Monday 7 Oct 2013

1. SOME 'SHOCKS' IN CABINET RESHUFFLE

Liberal Democrat Norman Baker has been moved from his job as Transport Minister and installed as Home Office minister in one of the most surprising announcements from today's Coalition cabinet reshuffle. Elsewhere, Alastair Carmichael has replaced Michael Moore as secretary of state for Scotland.

2. SYRIA DESERVES ‘CREDIT’ SAYS KERRY

US secretary of state John Kerry says Syria’s “not insignificant” co-operation with the process to destroy its chemical weapons is “a credit to the Assad regime” and “a good beginning”. He spoke as the destruction of the country’s stockpiles began, overseen by the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons.

Syria's Assad gets rare US praise over chemical weapons

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3. TALIBAN: WE WILL TRY AGAIN TO KILL MALALA

The Taliban has said it will try again to kill Malala Yousafzai, the Pakistani girl shot in the head for promoting education. Pakistani Taliban spokesman Shahidullah Shahid said: “If we get another chance we will definitely kill her and that will make us feel proud.” Malala is in the running for the Nobel Peace Prize.

4. ‘BRITISH FBI’ TO TAKE ON ORGANISED CRIME

The National Crime Agency (NCA), dubbed the ‘British FBI’, launches today. The new body is to focus on organised crime, economic and cyber crime, border policing and child protection. It replaces a number of existing organisations but will have significantly less funding. Labour dubbed it a “rebranding exercise”.

National Crime Agency: what is the 'British FBI'? Q&A

5. COUNCILS SLAMMED FOR SHORT CARE VISITS

A charity has condemned what it says is a 15% rise over the last five years in the use of short care visits by councils to elderly and disabled people, in which the carer stays for only 15 minutes. Leonard Cheshire Disability says short visits “simply do not allow enough time to deliver good-quality care” and wants a ban.

6. EGYPT: 50 DEAD IN FRESH VIOLENCE

At least 50 people were killed in Egypt yesterday, most in Cairo, as thousands of supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood and its deposed president, Mohammed Morsi, took to the streets in protest as the government and army celebrated the 40th anniversary of the Arab-Israeli war. More than 200 protesters were arrested.

7. BREAKING BAD STAR ON BROADWAY

Breaking Bad star and Emmy winner Bryan Cranston will make his Broadway debut starring as America's 36th president, Lyndon Johnson, in All the Way. Written by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Robert Schenkkan the three-hour historical drama is likely to become one of Broadway's hottest tickets.

8. AMERICANS WIN MEDICINE NOBEL PRIZE

Two Americans and a German-American were named the winners of the Nobel Prize in medicine today for discovering the molecular principles that govern how key substances like insulin are transported within cells. James Rothman, Randy Schekman and Thomas Sudhof will share the $1.2 million prize.

9. MORE WARM WEATHER FOR UK, SAYS MET

The Met Office says high temperatures should last in the UK for a few more days. Last week some areas saw 20C - and it should be as warm as 19C today and tomorrow in the southeast and northeast of England. Eastern Scotland will be just a little colder at 18C. The UK average for this time of year is 13C.

10. HOT TICKET: QUEEN & MRS T IN HANDBAGGED

Moira Buffini’s play Handbagged has opened at the Tricycle Theatre, Kilburn. The play blends historical drama and comedy to depict the weekly meetings between the Queen and Margaret Thatcher during the late prime minister’s 11-year term. “Delightfully comic,” says the Daily Telegraph. Until 9 November.

The Queen vs Mrs Thatcher in Tricycle's 'witty' Handbagged