Ten Things You Need to Know Today: Tuesday 4 Nov 2014

1. LIB DEM-TORY SPLIT AS NORMAN BAKER QUITS

Relations between the two coalition parties have deteriorated further as Lib Dem MP Norman Baker resigns from his post as home office minister with a parting swipe at home secretary Theresa May. Baker said working with May was like “walking through mud”. The two clashed over drugs policy reform.

Norman Baker resigns with stinging attack on Theresa May

2. UKRAINE: ‘FARCICAL’ ELECTION CRISIS

Ukraine’s president, Petro Poroshenko, has announced crisis talks with his security chiefs after pro-Russian rebels in the east of the country held elections which Kiev describes as a “farce”. Poroshenko has warned that the polls, in parts of Donetsk and Luhansk regions, could “derail the entire peace process”.

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3. HENNING MURDER ‘BACKFIRED FOR I.S’

A mentor on a government scheme to stop young people from becoming radicalised by propaganda from Islamic State has claimed that the callous murder of Eccles taxi driver and aid worker Alan Henning has “backfired”. Sulaimaan Samuel said the murder had put young people off joining the group.

4. BOY GIVEN LIFE FOR MURDER OF TEACHER

A 16-year-old boy, Will Cornick, has been sentenced to life in prison for the frenzied murder of his teacher, Ann Maguire, at a Leeds school. He will serve at least 20 years after the judge said he showed a “chilling lack of remorse”. It is the first time a teacher has been killed in her classroom in the UK.

William Cornick, 16, admits murdering Ann Maguire

5. HK MURDERS: ‘INSANE PSYCHOPATH’ MESSAGE

The British banker Rurik Jutting, who was yesterday remanded in custody to face trial for the murder of two female sex workers in Hong Kong, left an out-of-office autoreply when he quit his job at Merrill Lynch urging correspondents to “contact someone who is not an insane psychopath”, says Sky News.

Rurik Jutting guilty of Hong Kong double murder

6. US MID-TERM POLL TAKES PLACE TODAY

Millions of Americans are preparing to vote in mid-term elections to decide who controls the Senate, paving the way for the 2016 presidential elections. The Republicans need only six seats to take control of the Senate - many analysts predict they will win as Barack Obama’s approval ratings are at a low.

Republicans set to take Senate - and democracy pays the price

7. FACEBOOK SETS UP DARK WEB CONNECTION

Social network Facebook has been changed so that users who want to connect to it via the ‘dark web’ service Tor, which anonymises their connection, can do so directly without revealing their identity. The move will appeal to users in places where Facebook is blocked, such as China, Iran, North Korea and Cuba.

8. GLASTONBURY EAVIS GETS MUSIC AWARD

Michael Eavis, dairy farmer and founder of the Glastonbury music festival, has been honoured with the prestigious Music Industry Trusts Award. The 79-year-old received plaudits from Sir Paul McCartney, Damon Albarn and Coldplay as he picked up the award. The first Glastonbury took place in 1970.

9. JAPANESE WHISKY NAMED WORLD BEST

For the first time, a Japanese whisky - Suntory’s Yamazaki Single Malt Sherry Cask 2013 - has been named as the best in the world. The latest edition of the World Whisky Bible does not include a single Scottish distillation in the top five and, to add insult to injury, the prize for best European whisky went to an English firm.

10. HOT TICKET: THRILLER NIGHTCRAWLER

Satirical thriller Nightcrawler, exploring the underbelly of contemporary Los Angeles, is playing in UK cinemas. Jake Gyllenhaal stars as an unhinged chancer who finds his calling in the world of freelance crime reporting, where his lack of ethics is an asset. "Wonderfully creepy," says The Independent.

Nightcrawler – reviews of a 'wonderfully creepy' satire