Ten Things You Need to Know Today: Thursday 27 Mar 2014

1. MH370: 300 OBJECTS SPOTTED FROM SPACE

A Thai satellite has spotted around 300 objects floating in the area of the Indian Ocean being searched in the hunt for missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370. It comes a day after a French satellite spotted 122 pieces of possible debris. Plane searches were called off on Thursday because of bad weather, while ships continued the hunt.

MH370: mysterious 89kg load ‘added to cargo flight list after take-off’

2. BIG SIX ENERGY FIRMS COULD BE BROKEN UP

Energy regulator Ofgen is to refer the ‘Big Six’ energy firms to the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) for investigation - a move which could end with the companies being broken up. SSE, Scottish Power, Centrica, RWE npower, E.ON and EDF Energy account for about 95% of the energy supply market.

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Energy bills: how to save money on gas and electricity

3. BARACK OBAMA MEETS THE POPE

US president Barack Obama spent 54 minutes with Pope Francis as they were introduced for the first time at the Vatican. Obama, whose European tour has been dominated by the Ukraine crisis, told the Pope it was a "great honour" to meet him and presented with a bag of seeds, thought to symbolise a fresh start between the Vatican and Obama's administration.

4. POLL: FARAGE ‘WON’ EU DEBATE WITH CLEGG

A YouGov poll of 1,003 people gave Nigel Farage of Ukip a clear victory over the Lib Dem MP and deputy PM Nick Clegg in the pair’s televised debate on Europe yesterday. There were some heated exchanges and Clegg today branded Farage "perverse" for claiming the EU was partly responsible for the Ukraine crisis.

Farage beats Clegg and boosts chances of joining 2015 debates

5. NINETY STILL MISSING IN USA MUDSLIDE

The death toll from the Washington state mudslide, which hit Oso, a small town 55 miles north of Seattle, last weekend, has climbed to 24, with 90 people still missing. At one time it was feared as many as 176 were unaccounted for. Part of a cliff collapsed, burying the town in a 177-foot wall of mud and other debris.

6. EGYPT: GENERAL SISI RUNS FOR PRESIDENCY

After playing it coy for months, Egyptian army head Abdul Fattah el-Sisi has said he will stand in upcoming presidential elections. Sisi led the overthrow of president Mohammed Morsi in July and is so popular he is unlikely to lose the election, despite the brutality of his crackdown on the Muslim Brotherhood.

7. CROWDS TURN OUT FOR BENN FUNERAL

Crowds lined the streets outside St Margaret's Church in Westminster for the funeral of Tony Benn today. The veteran Labour politician died earlier this month aged 88. Before the funeral his body lay in rest in the Palace of Westminster's Chapel of St Mary Undercroft. He was only the second politician to be granted the honour after Baroness Thatcher.

8. POLICE SLAMMED OVER DOMESTIC VIOLENCE

Home Secretary Theresa May is oversee the police response to a daming report into attitudes towards domestic violence. Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary said the police service treated domestic abuse as "a poor relation" and concluded that only eight out of 43 forces responded well to such incidents.

Police failures 'leave victims of domestic violence at risk'

9. KIM JONG-UN HAIRCUT MADE MANDATORY

Male university students in North Korea are now required to sport the same hairstyle as dictator Kim Jong-un, according to Radio Free Asia. There is some discontent. A source said: "Our leader's haircut is very particular, if you will. It doesn't always go with everyone since everyone has different face shapes."

10. HOT TICKET: END OF BIOSHOCK INFINITE

The final chapter of alternate reality video game BioShock has been released in the UK. In Bioshock Infinite: Burial at Sea, Episode Two, Elizabeth uses stealth to explore the underwater world of Rapture and solve the mystery of a lost girl. "Mind-bending," says IGN.

BioShock Infinite: Burial at Sea Episode Two - reviews of finale