Ten Things You Need to Know Today: Thursday 23 Oct 2014

1. OTTAWA: WE ARE NOT INTIMIDATED, SAYS PM

Canada’s prime minister, Stephen Harper, says the dramatic incident yesterday when a gunman shot dead soldier Nathan Cirillo as he guarded a war memorial, before entering parliament and starting a gun battle there, will not alter the country’s resolve to fight terrorism. Harper said: “We will never be intimidated.”

Michael Zehaf-Bibeau: gunman 'furious' over passport delay

2. ZUCKERBERG SPEAKS MANDARIN IN CHINA

Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg stunned students by conducting a 30-minute Q&A session in China entirely in Mandarin. Most people were impressed by his efforts, but some were critical of his pronunciation. Zuckerberg, whose Facebook site is banned in China, said he learned the language because his wife has Chinese heritage and he likes a challenge.

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Mark Zuckerberg 'stuns' Beijing with fluent Mandarin

3. OBAMA’S CAUTIOUS OPTIMISM ABOUT EBOLA

Barack Obama says there are “modest signs” of progress against the Ebola virus in Liberia, the West African nation hardest-hit by the current outbreak. The US president also said the situation in the US was encouraging, with many relatives of the only person known to have died of Ebola there out of danger.

Ebola: should doctors be forced to treat infected patients?

4. GLAM ROCKER ALVIN STARDUST DIES AT 72

Glam rock singer Alvin Stardust has died at the age of 72, after being diagnosed with metastatic prostate cancer earlier this year. Born Bernard Jewry in London, Stardust achieved fame in the 1970s and 80s with hits including My Coo Ca Choo, Jealous Mind and I Feel Like Buddy Holly. He was due to release his first album for 30 years next month.

5. NHS PLAN INCLUDES OBESITY CASH INCENTIVES

A five-year plan for the NHS has been unveiled, which proposes innovations including bringing GPs into hospitals and asking employers to offer their workers cash, shopping vouchers or other prizes as an incentive to lose weight. The changes would limit NHS cost increases to £8bn a year by 2020, less than the £30bn expected shortfall.

NHS: what you need to know about the 'radical' proposals

6. LLOYDS BANK TO CUT 9,000 JOBS IN THE UK

Part-publicly-owned bank Lloyds will cut a further 9,000 jobs - a tenth of its entire workforce - over the next three years, the BBC says, with branch closures also expected. The cuts are said to be in response to an increase in customers banking online. The bank has already cut 30,000 positions.

7. POLICE KILLER HARRY ROBERTS TO BE FREED

Notorious killer Harry Roberts, who murdered two policemen in 1966, could soon be free, after a parole board approved his release. Roberts, now 78, has served 48 years of a life sentence for shooting Det Con David Wombwell, 25, and Sgt Christopher Head, 30, while an accomplice shot a third policeman.

8. TESCO CHAIRMAN QUITS AS PROFITS DIVE

Tesco chairman Sir Richard Broadbent is to stand down after the supermarket confirmed its profits had been overstated by £263m and reported a 92% fall in pre-tax profits. Broadbent will leave once new chief executive Dave Lewis has been installed. Tesco shares fell by more than 8% after the company published its results.

Tesco ends sale of 5p single-use carrier bags

9. PRE-MONTY PYTHON SHOWS REDISCOVERED

Two episodes of a TV show starring and written by John Cleese and Graham Chapman before they became part of Monty Python have been rediscovered. At Last The 1948 Show “represents a key moment in the history of British television”, says the BFI. The shows had been lost for almost 50 years.

10. HOT TICKET: FATBOY'S DISCO MUSICAL AT NT

David Byrne and Fatboy Slim's disco musical, Here Lies Love, at the National Theatre, London, traces the rise and fall of Imelda Marcos, former first lady of the brutal Philippines dictator Ferdinand. With dance music and club-style staging. "Wildly quirky," says the Evening Standard. Until 8 January.

Here Lies Love – reviews of 'wildly quirky' disco musical