Ten Things You Need to Know Today: Thursday 4 Sep 2014

1. ISLAMIC STATE: STRIKES 'NOT RULED OUT'

David Cameron and Barack Obama have penned a joint article in The Times at the start of a two-day Nato summit in Wales, saying they are determined to “confront” the Islamic State militants in Iraq and Syria. Cameron refused to rule out military action against the Sunni group, which has threatened to behead a British hostage.

Nato summit: PM says military action against IS 'not ruled out'

2. REPORT: POLICE TELL VICTIMS ‘DO IT YOURSELF’

A “devastating” report into policing in England and Wales has found victims were asked to check CCTV or fingerprints themselves by forces who have “almost given up” on car crime and criminal damage. HM Inspectorate of Constabulary found those offences are now “on the verge of being decriminalised”.

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Police 'on the verge of decriminalising' some crimes

3. CALAIS MIGRANTS FAIL TO STORM FERRY

Scores of illegal migrants were escorted off a UK-bound ferry ramp by French police yesterday after they tried to storm onto the boat. An eyewitness said the crew raised the ramp and turned a fire hose on the group to stop them. The mayor of Calais says her city has been “taken hostage” by 1,000 migrants.

Calais migrant crisis: how can the 'border war' be solved?

4. EIGHT CHARGED WITH CHILD SEX ABUSE

Eight men aged between 28 and 45 have been charged with sexually abusing girls under the age of 16 in Aylesbury and other Buckinghamshire towns. The charges date back as far as 2005. One man faces three counts of raping a girl under the age of 13. The arrests were made by 120 officers early this morning.

5. CLOONEY TO DIRECT PHONE-HACKING FILM

Hollywood star George Clooney is to direct a film about the UK phone-hacking scandal, says Sony Pictures. It will be an adaptation of sometime Guardian investigative journalist Nick Davies’s 2014 book Hack Attack. Clooney said: “This has all the elements - lying, corruption, blackmail…”

6. FAKE MOBILE PHONE MASTS FOUND IN USA

Fake mobile phone masts which intercept calls and have the ability to attack cell phones and install spying software on them have been discovered all across the US, Popular Science reports. It is not known who owns the bogus towers - but several of them are sited near military bases.

Mysterious 'fake' phone towers discovered in the US

7. MOTHER STABBED TO DEATH IN NEW FOREST

Police have launched a murder inquiry after a mother-of-five was stabbed to death in the New Forest as she tended to her horses. Penelope Davis, 47, was attacked on Tuesday afternoon. Her body was found on Ley Green Farm in Beaulieu by her husband. Officers are searching a nearby house and have stepped up local patrols.

8. NATO ACCUSES RUSSIA OVER UKRAINE

Russia has been accused of "attacking" and "destabilising" Ukraine on the first day of the Nato summit in Newport, amid reports that pro-Russian separatists had begun shelling the port of Mariupol. Ukraine's president met Nato leaders before the summit to discuss peace plans. The West says it has evidence of Moscow supporting rebels.

Nato summit: judgment day for 'Dick Swiveller' Cameron

9. DEEP SEA ‘MUSHROOM’ PUZZLES SCIENTISTS

A bizarre organism collected deep in the ocean near Tasmania could be a new branch of life, scientists say. The mushroom-shaped creatures consist of a flattened disc a few millimetres across and a stalk with a mouth on the end. Researchers now think the organisms are animals - but of an unknown type.

New deep-sea 'mushrooms' puzzle for scientists

10. HOT TICKET: WINGMAN IN SOHO

Edinburgh Festival stage show Wingman has transferred to the Soho Theatre, London. Richard Marsh's two-man show mixes poetry, comedy and drama to explore issues of fatherhood, from absent fathers to unplanned parenthood. "Bittersweet," says the Evening Standard. Until 20 September, then touring.

Wingman – reviews of 'warm and witty' father-son show