Ten Things You Need to Know Today: Tuesday 12 Nov 2013

1. UN LAUNCHES $301M PHILIPPINES APPEAL

The UN has launched an appeal for $301m to help relief efforts in the Philippines in the aftermath of Typhoon Haiyan. More than 11 million people are believed to have been affected by the storm, which killed 10,000 people and left hundreds of thousands homeless. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon described the situation as "heartbreaking".

Typhoon Haiyan: how long will Philippines take to recover?

2. US DIRECTOR ‘SORRY’ FOR SUNDAY FILMING

David Ayer, a US director currently filming a war movie titled ‘Fury’ in the UK with Brad Pitt, has apologised for ignoring requests to halt production on Remembrance Sunday. Oxfordshire villagers had asked the company to stop but instead they triggered explosions and filmed scenes with actors in Nazi uniform.

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. SHOPPING INCENTIVE FOR BREAST FEEDING

New mothers will get £200 shopping vouchers as an incentive to breast-feed their children, rather than bottle-feed them, in a pilot government scheme in deprived areas of South Yorkshire and Derbyshire. If the test is successful, the scheme could be rolled out nationally next year. Midwives’ organisations are sceptical.

4. 'DRUNK PILL' PROMISES TO END HANGOVERS

A substitute for alcohol could offer all the advantages of inebriation without the painful consequences. Professor David Nutt says he has created a pill to induce drunkenness - and an antidote, which instantly returned him to hangover-free sobriety.

Hangover-free alcohol offers end to morning after

5. SURPRISE FALL IN UK INFLATION RATE

Inflation fell to 2.2 per cent in October, its lowest rate for more than a year. The unexpected slowing of price rises was put down to falling fuel prices and reductions in some airfares. The rate is now just 0.2 per cent above the Bank of England's 2 per cent target

6. EDF JOINS ENERGY PRICE RISES

EDF became the fifth of the big six energy companies to put up its prices, but its rises were more modest than those of its rivals. The cost of gas and electricity will go up by an average of 3.9 per cent on 3 January next year, the company said.

Energy bills: how to save money on gas and electricity

7. HESELTINE: WE MUST HAVE FAITH IN HS2

Lord Heseltine, the former Conservative minister, will today call on the government to have “faith” in the mooted high speed rail link from London to the north, HS2. He will call for the project to be accelerated and say the private sector should bear more of the costs. He will add that “HS2 is about our country’s competitiveness”.

8. DAVID DIMBLEBY GETS SCORPION TATTOO

David Dimbleby has been tattooed for the first time at the age of 75. The veteran broadcaster was making a series about British seafaring and had a scorpion inked on his shoulder to illustrate how sailors brought the custom back from the South Seas. He said it was a “dream come true”. His wife said she might follow his lead.

David Dimbleby gets scorpion tattoo: 'I needed to man up'

9. GLASGOW STATUE CONE PLAN ENDED

Glasgow council has bowed to public pressure after a huge social media campaign and withdrawn its proposal to raise the height of a statue of the Duke of Wellington in the city centre which invariably has a traffic cone placed on its head by revellers. The cone is removed by council officials from time to time but always reappears.

10. HOT TICKET: SEDUCED AND ABANDONED

Alec Baldwin's wry movie industry documentary Seduced and Abandoned has opened in the UK. It follows actor Baldwin and director James Toback as they attempt to finance a movie at the Cannes Film Festival. Featuring interviews with Ryan Gosling, Martin Scorsese and Roman Polanski. "Deliciously insightful," says The Guardian.

Baldwin's droll doco Seduced and Abandoned – reviews