Ten Things You Need to Know Today: Friday 20 Dec 2013

1. THEATRE ROOF FALL INJURES 80 IN LONDON

Seventy six people were injured, seven of them seriously, when the ceiling of a West End theatre collapsed in London last night. A large section of ornate plasterwork in the Apollo theatre fell onto the audience in the upper circle, dress circle and stalls during a production of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time.

Apollo theatre collapse: probe launched after dozens injured

2. POLICE ADMIT FAILING ROCHDALE GIRLS

Greater Manchester Police has admitted letting down girls who were sexually exploited in Rochdale by a gang who were sentenced to up to 19 years in prison for plying victims with drink and drugs and “passing them around” for sex. The force’s own inquiry is to published today as part of a serious case review.

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Rochdale grooming: agencies accused of 'shocking' failures

3. J.K ROWLING WRITING POTTER PLAY

J.K. Rowling says she is collaborating on a play about Harry Potter's life before he attended Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Rowling said that the play will “explore the previously untold story of Harry's early years as an orphan and outcast.” Rowling will be a co-producer on the show.

4. BUS HITS TREE IN SOUTH LONDON

Two people have been critically injured and more than a dozen hurt after a double-decker bus ploughed into a tree in south London this morning. The number 59 bus is thought to have swerved to avoid another vehicle in Kennington when it struck the tree. Fire crews have been cutting passengers from the wreckage.

5. OBAMA: SOUTH SUDAN ‘ON PRECIPICE’

US president Barack Obama has warned that South Sudan is on the “precipice” of a civil war after clashes between rival factions which are said to have killed hundreds. He added that 45 US military personnel had been deployed to the capital, Juba, to protect American citizens. 34,000 people have take refuge at a UN compound.

6. LEE RIGBY: SOME WON'T CONDEMN KILLERS

The brother of one of two men yesterday found guilty of the murder of soldier Lee Rigby has refused to condemn the killing. Jeremiah Adebolajo said his “main regret” was that “foreign troops are in the land of the Muslims”. Radical cleric Anjem Choudary also caused outrage for echoing those sentiments in a Radio 4 interview.

Anjem Choudary: fury at 'idiot' cleric's BBC Today interview

7. JAYDEN POST MORTEM FAILS ON CAUSE

A post-mortem on the body of murdered Oxfordshire teenager Jayden Parkinson has failed to find a cause of death and proved “inconclusive”. Jayden's ex-boyfriend Ben Blakeley, 22, appeared in court earlier this week charged with her murder. Her body was found buried in a grave in a churchyard in Didcot this week.

8. KHODORKOVSKY FREED FROM JAIL

Jailed Russian oil tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky has been reportedly freed after being pardoned by President Vladimir Putin. But a lawyer for Khodorkovsky, who has eight months left in a 10-year jail sentence, said he had not asked for a pardon.

9. NIGELLA ASSISTANTS FOUND NOT GUILTY

Elisabetta and Francesca Grillo, the former assistants of celebrity couple Nigella Lawson and Charles Saatchi, have been found not guilty of fraud after a three week trial. During the case at Isleworth Crown Court, TV cook Lawson was forced to admit using cocaine and cannabis and her art-dealing ex-husband was branded a bully.

Nigella Lawson returns, but where is the sauce?

10. HOT TICKET: RUSSELL FILM AMERICAN HUSTLE

David O Russell’s crime caper American Hustle opens in UK cinemas today. Christian Bale and Amy Adams star as 1970s con artists, forced to work with the FBI to trap corrupt officials in a sting. With Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence. “Explosively entertaining,” says Rolling Stone.

David O Russell's crime caper American Hustle - reviews