Ten Things You Need to Know Today: Thursday 7 Nov 2013

1. FAMILIES WASTE SIX MEALS EACH WEEK

A report by the government’s food waste advisory body, Wrap, finds the average UK family throws away six meals-worth of edible food each week. One fifth of food consumers buy ends up as waste - and about 60% of that could have been eaten. The top three foods thrown out uneaten are milk, potatoes and bread.

2. NEW TALIBAN CHIEF ORDERED MALALA ATTACK

The Pakistani Taliban have chosen Maulana Fazlullah, the ruthless commander who planned the attack on teenage activist Malala Yousafzai, as the militant group's new leader. It has also ruled out holding peace talks with the government. Fazlullah was unanimously appointed after several days of deliberation, sources said.

Maulana Fazlullah: who is new Pakistan Taliban leader?

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3. TWITTER FLOATS AT $26 PER SHARE

Shares in micro-blogging site Twitter will be traded on the New York stock exchange from today, with an initial price of $26 (£16) per share. The Initial Public Offering (IPO) will see 70m shares sold, with an option to sell another 10.5m later. Analysts are predicting a small rise on the share price over the first day’s trading.

Twitter float Q&A: are $26 shares a good investment?

4. DRIVERLESS CARS TO SERVE MILTON KEYNES

The government will today announce a £1.5m project to design and construct driverless cars to run on the streets of Milton Keynes, a collaboration between UK universities an engineering firms. By 2015 an initial batch of 20 ‘pods’ will be operating in special lanes separated from pedestrians in the city centre.

5. ARAFAT ‘MAY HAVE BEEN POISIONED’

Late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat may have been poisoned with the radioactive element polonium, Swiss experts say. His cause of death was given as stroke in 2004 but his body was exhumed last year and showed “unexpected” polonium levels, “moderately” supporting poisoning, says a report obtained by al Jazeera.

Yasser Arafat: forensic tests hint at polonium poisoning

6. UNIVERSAL CREDIT ‘POORLY EXECUTED’

A Commons select committee has lambasted the implementation of the coalition's flagship welfare reform, universal credit, as “extraordinarily poor” and “alarmingly weak” and believes much of the £425m expenditure so far, one third on software, is likely to be written off. MPs highlighted a “fortress culture” among officials.

Universal Credit fiasco: can Duncan Smith save his skin?

7. GCHQ CHIEF SLAMS SNOWDEN LEAKS

Media coverage of classified documents leaked by NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden "will make our job far, far harder for years to come", Iain Lobban, the head of GCHQ has told MPs. He added that GCHQ has "seen" terrorists discuss how to avoid surveillance in the wake of the Snowden revelations.

8. AMANDA KNOX: NEW DNA ANALYSIS

A new DNA trace on the knife allegedly used to kill British student Meredith Kercher, belongs to her alleged killer Amanda Knox, an Italian court has heard. The fact that the DNA does not belong to Kercher, "bolsters" Knox's defence because she claims that the knife was not the weapon used to kill 21-year-old Kercher in 2007.

Amanda Knox claims inmate tried to seduce her behind bars

9. BIEBER CHARGED BY POLICE FOR GRAFFITI

Singer Justin Bieber has been charged by police in Brazil with illegally spraying graffiti on a wall in Rio de Janeiro after pictures of him apparently in the act appeared in local media. The Canadian singer seems likely to face a fine after authorities described his offence as “minor”, though a jail sentence is possible.

Justin Bieber in Brazil: graffiti, brothels and a bedroom video

10. HOT TICKET: POTSDAM QUARTET REVIVAL

A revival of David Pinner's 1973 play The Potsdam Quartet has opened at the Jermyn Street Theatre, London. It contrasts the rise of Cold War antagonisms between the Allies at Potsdam in 1945, with the disintegrating relationships of a quartet of musicians. "Gently comic," says The Times. Until 23 November.

Cold War drama revival, The Potsdam Quartet - reviews