Ten Things You Need to Know Today: Thursday 11 Dec 2014

1. NEW LAW CLOSES CHILD ABUSE ‘LOOPHOLE’

A new offence is being created to close a loophole which enables paedophiles, David Cameron has said. It is already illegal for an adult to send explicit pictures to a child but until now there has been nothing to stop them soliciting pictures from a child. A new unit will focus on paedophiles using the covert 'dark web'.

2. HK POLICE CLEAR MAIN PROTEST CAMP

Police in Hong Kong have begun to clear pro-democracy protesters out of the main camp they have occupied since September, removing barricades. Only a few hundred protesters remain of tens of thousands who were there - and the police action is being seen as a final act in the long-running protests.

3. POLICE ARREST 76 AT LONDON GARNER DEMO

The Met police yesterday arrested 76 people at a demonstration held in support of Eric Garner, an African-American killed by a white policeman with a chokehold in the US. The protest in the Westfield shopping centre saw an estimated 600 lie on the floor. A splinter group allegedly caused trouble, which led to the arrests.

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4. SUPERBUGS TO KILL MORE THAN CANCER

Drug-resistant infections, sometimes dubbed ‘superbugs’, will kill more people worldwide than cancer by the year 2050 if no action is taken, according to analysis prepared for the government by economist Jim O’Neill. The bugs, which currently kill 700,000 a year, could cost the world economy as much as £63tn.

5. JIHADIST’S FATHER SORRY HE TOLD POLICE

Sky News has spoken to the father of Mohammed Nahin Ahmed, jailed for nearly 13 years after travelling to Syria to fight. He would not give his name but said he regrets having gone to police for help with his son and added that, after the heavy sentence, other parents are likely to be “too scared to tell police”.

6. COSTA COFFEE SALES STILL ON THE RISE

Whitbread, owner of Costa Coffee, says the ubiquitous chain’s total sales have risen by 17% over the last quarter, while like-for-like revenue is up 5.2%. Costa’s rapid growth in recent years is partly attributed to a backlash against its rival, the US multinational Starbucks, over the latter’s tax arrangements.

7. PORTAS FIRST TO USE RIGHT TO MARRIAGE

Retail guru and TV personality Mary Portas was yesterday the first person in the UK to take advantage of new laws allowing her to convert her civil partnership to partner Melanie Rickey into a marriage. Another couple, Percy Steven and Roger Lockyer, married after almost 50 years together.

8. JOEY BARTON: DEATH THREAT IN FRANCE

Footballer Joey Barton has revealed he received a death threat while playing in France in the 2012-13 season. The QPR midfielder posted a scan of the letter on his Twitter account. It warns him to leave France and says if not: “I will come to you specially Marseille smash your head shots baseball bat.”

9. GREENPEACE SAYS SORRY FOR PERU STUNT

Environmental activists Greenpeace have issued a fulsome apology to Peru after causing offence with a stunt there. They placed a banner calling for use of renewable energy next to the 1,500-year-old hummingbird at the Nazca Lines, entering a prohibited area and leaving footprints, authorities said.

10. HOT TICKET: ALICE IN WONDERLAND BALLET

The Royal Ballet revival of Christopher Wheeldon's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland has opened in Covent Garden. Based on Lewis Carroll's classic tale, it follows plucky Alice down the rabbit hole to a dreamlike world of magical encounters. "Dazzling," says the Daily Telegraph. Until 16 January.