Ten Things You Need to Know Today: Friday 1 Nov 2013

1. RBS SETS ASIDE £38BN OF TOXIC LOANS

Royal Bank of Scotland’s quarterly report reveals a loss of £634m and the decision to set aside £38bn of toxic loans in an internal ‘bad bank’. These high-risk assets have been split off after the Chancellor threatened to break the bank up altogether. The £634m loss includes a £250m writedown to handle PPI mis-selling claims.

RBS 'bad bank' Q&A: how does new plan help the taxpayer?

2. BABY P MOTHER ‘HAS BEEN RELEASED’

Tracey Connelly, jailed in 2009 for her part in the death of her abused son, dubbed ‘Baby P’, has been freed, Sky news claims. The Parole Board recommended her release recently but the Ministry of Justice would not confirm or deny reports that Connelly was out of prison. She was jailed indefinitely with a minimum term of five years.

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. JOHN KERRY: NSA ‘WENT TOO FAR’

US secretary of state John Kerry has admitted publicly that his country’s National Security Agency sometimes goes “too far” and has operated on “automatic pilot” rather than under full control of the government. Speaking by video link to an international summit, he said things would be different in the future.

John Kerry: NSA was on 'auto pilot' and went 'too far'

4. FIREFIGHTERS TO STAGE NEW STRIKE

Firefighters across England and Wales are to stage a new strike ahead of Bonfire Night - they will walk out between 6.30pm and 11pm today and for a further two hours on Monday. Fire chiefs are urging householders to carry out any firework displays they may be planning on Saturday, or go to an organised event.

5. ISRAEL CARRIES OUT AIR STRIKE IN SYRIA

US officials say Israel has carried out an air strike near the Syrian coastal city of Latakia. The US says the strike targeted Russian-made missiles meant for the Lebanese group Hezbollah. Latakia is a stronghold of Bashar al-Assad’s regime. This is the third air strike Israel is said to have made on Syria this year.

Israeli jets attack Russian missiles inside Syria

6. SUGARY DRINKS TAX COULD RAISE £275M

A tax on sugary drinks like colas could raise £275m annually for the Treasury, say researchers from Reading and Oxford universities. They believe a 20% tax would reduce purchases by around 15%. That would reduce average calorie intake by 28 calories a week, and the number of obese adults by around 180,000.

7. DRUG-SMUGGLING TUNNEL FOUND IN US

An architect-designed tunnel one third of a mile long - complete with lighting, ventilation and an electric rail system - has been found by US authorities linking San Diego to Tijuana in Mexico for drug-smuggling purposes. It is believed to have cost millions of dollars to complete and may have taken two years to construct.

8. MADDIE SUSPECT'S 'HISTORY OF VIOLENCE'

A police profile of a man suspected of snatching Madeleine McCann from her parents' holiday apartment has exposed his "violent past" and "suspicious behaviour with children", a Portuguese newspaper has said. The profile has "heightened" police suspicions about the 40-year-old who was killed in a tractor accident in 2009.

What happened to Madeleine McCann? A timeline of the case

9. NERVOUS DOGS ‘WAG TAIL TO THE LEFT’

It was already known that nervous dogs wag their tails more to the left (from their point of view) while happy dogs are more likely to move their tails to the right - but now, scientists at the University of Trento have discovered that other dogs are sensitive to this distinction and can respond to this subtle difference.

10. HOT TICKET: BRIT DRAMA PHILOMENA

British drama Philomena opens in UK cinemas today. Stephen Frears directs Judi Dench and Steve Coogan in the true story of journalist Martin Sixsmith's attempt to help an Irish woman contact the child she was forced to give up for adoption 50 years earlier. "Sidesplitting and heartbreaking," says The Times.

Philomena - reviews of Stephen Frears Bafta contender