Ten Things You Need to Know Today: Thursday 30 Oct 2014

1. TOUGH DRUG LAWS ‘DON’T STOP ABUSE’

Campaigners have welcomed a Home Office report on drugs which finds that tougher drug laws do not deter users and advises there is “evidence that decriminalisation can reduce the burden on criminal justice” as a “historic moment”. The government says it has “absolutely no intention” to decriminalise.

No link between tough laws and drug use, says 'historic' study

2. CHILD EXPLOITATION FOR SEX IS ‘THE NORM’

In some areas of Greater Manchester, child sexual exploitation has become the "social norm", according to Ann Coffey MP, who has chaired an inquiry ordered after the Rochdale grooming case. In her report, Coffey says the "prevailing public attitude" is to blame children instead of their abusers.

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Child sexual exploitation the new 'social norm', finds report

3. UNKNOWN SCOTS HIP-HOP TRIO WIN MERCURY

A little known hip-hop group from Edinburgh last night won the Mercury prize for music. Young Fathers were selected for their album Dead, even though it has sold only around 2,000 copies. The trio say they got together as 14-year-olds because of a shared love of pop music, soul and hip-hop.

4. SICKNESS BENEFITS CUT ‘CONSIDERED’

The BBC says it has seen DWP internal documents which reveal the government is considering drastic cuts in the main Employment and Support Allowance sickness benefits. New recipients could get just 50p more a week than well people out of work - at the moment they can claim almost £30 a week more.

5. APPLE CEO TIM COOK 'PROUD' TO BE GAY

Apple CEO Tim Cook has revealed that he is gay and "proud" of his sexuality. Writing for Bloomberg he said he was going public to "inspire people to insist on their equality". Cook said that his colleagues at Apple had known about his sexuality for years and that it had not affected how they treated him, but he realised that was not true of all companies.

Why Apple boss Tim Cook revealed that he is gay

6. US EBOLA NURSE BREAKS QUARANTINE

American nurse Kaci Hickox, rcently returned from treating Ebola patients in Sierra Leone, has defied a quarantine order and left her home in Maine after vowing to take legal action. She says quarantine is unecessary and a violation of her human rights. She left her home on Thursday for a brief cycle ride, persued by the media.

Ebola: US suit stockpile causes shortage in Africa

7. ROMAN POLANSKI HELD IN POLAND

Roman Polanski has been questioned by prosecutors in Poland over sex offences in the US. The acclaimed film director, who lives in France, is wanted by US police after fleeing the country before being sentenced for having sex with a 13-year-old girl in 1977. He was questioned and released after attending the opening of a Jewish museum in Warsaw.

8. FATHER OF SARAH PAYNE FOUND DEAD

The father of murdered schoolgirl Sarah Payne has been found dead at his home in Kent. Michael Payne, 45, hit the headlines in 2000 after his eight-year-old daughter was abducted and killed by paedophile Roy Whiting. The case led to Sarah's Law, which gives parents information about sex offenders, but in the wake of the murder his marriage collapsed and he turned to drink.

9. HOT TICKET: PIE SHOP SWEENEY TODD

A revival of Sondheim's musical Sweeney Todd has opened at Harrington's Pie and Mash Shop, Tooting Broadway. The ghoulishly comic tale of cut-throat barber Sweeney and his pie-cooking accomplice Mrs Lovett is staged in London's oldest working pie and mash shop, converted into a 32-seat theatre. "Exhilarating," says the Evening Standard. Until 29 November.

Sweeney Todd – reviews of 'thrilling' pie-shop revival

10. NEW URBAN FROG FOUND IN NEW YORK

A new species of frog has been identified in the US. Strangely, Rana kauffeldi, as it has been named, was found hiding not in the remote wilds of the country - but in New York City. The frog was noticed during a study of wetlands on Staten Island. It is thought it previously lived on Manhattan Island too.