Ten Things You Need to Know Today: Wednesday 5 Nov 2014

1. REPUBLICANS WIN US SENATE MAJORITY

The last two years of Barack Obama’s second term in office will be difficult: the Republicans have won control of the Senate in mid-term elections after focusing on voter dissatisfaction with Obama. They already control the House of Representatives. They will be able to slow down or block Obama’s agenda.

2. MIGRANT WORKERS ADDED £5BN TO UK

New research by UCL academics has found that immigrants from the 10 countries which joined the EU in 2004 - including Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic - contributed £5bn more in taxes to the UK economy than they took in benefits in the years up to 2011. Some claim the report is biased.

3. AU LEADERS PRESS BURKINA FASO ARMY

The presidents of African Union (AU) countries Ghana, Nigeria and Senegal are to visit Burkina Faso today to press the army for a speedy handover of power to civilian authorities. The army took control after riots prompted the resignation of president Blaise Compaore, who had spent 27 years in power.

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4. PM MISLEADING OVER EU BILL, SAYS JUNCKER

New European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker, whose appointment was bitterly opposed by David Cameron, has accused the PM of misleading UK citizens over the EU demand that the UK pay an extra £1.7bn. Juncker says what Cameron said to EU bosses was not what he told Britons.

5. UKRAINE: TROOPS SENT TO KEY CITIES

Ukraine’s president Petro Poroshenko has ordered army reinforcements to key southern and eastern cities for fear of a new rebel offensive after elections in Donetsk and Luhansk which Kiev dubbed a “farce”. He says he is still committed to the peach process but is suggesting scrapping a key part of it.

6. GOVERNMENT PLEDGE TO END ‘NOTSPOTS’

Mobile phone providers could be forced to share networks in order to improve coverage and end so-called ‘notspots’ - areas where there is no reception on a particular network. One fifth of people in the country are said to be affected, unable to make calls or send texts in particular locations.

7. PREGNANT DRINKING MAY BECOME ILLEGAL

Drinking while pregnant could become a criminal offence, women’s charities say, if the Court of Appeal rules against a mother who is being sued by a local authority in the North-West of England seeking compensation for her six-year-old, who has “growth retardation” caused by her alcohol consumption.

8. KIM JONG-UN SEEN WALKING UNAIDED

North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un has been pictured walking without a stick by state media. He was not seen in public for nearly six weeks - and when press releases showing him resumed, he was using a walking stick. North Korea watchers suspect gout, and think an ankle cyst may have been removed.

9. HOT TICKET: DEBUT DRAMA WET HOUSE

Paddy Campbell's blackly comic debut play, Wet House, is playing at the Soho Theatre, London. Based on the author's own experiences, it follows a well-meaning graduate whose job in an alcoholics' hostel forces him to face his dark side. "Tremendous," says The Times. Until 16 November.

Wet House – reviews of 'tremendous' debut play

10. FRANCE: UK POLICE SHOULD HELP IN CALAIS

French interior minister Bernard Cazeneuve has said British police should be sent to Calais to dissuade migrants from trying to enter the UK illegally. Around 2,500 would-be immigrants are camped in the French port - a 50% increase in one year. The UK has pledged £12m to help deal with the situation.