Ten Things You Need to Know Today: Friday 30 Oct 2015

1. Syria: US to send special forces as talks begin

UN secretary-general Ban Ki-moon has called on the major powers meeting in Vienna for talks on the Syrian civil war to show "flexibility". The US, Russia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and Turkey are the main participants, with other EU and middle-eastern nations attending. The US has announced it is to send special forces to aid rebel groups in the country.

US and Russia spar over vetoed Syria sanctions

2. Last British prisoner leaves Guantanamo

Shaker Aamer, the last British prisoner held at Guantanamo Bay, has flown back to the UK after 13 years in detention. The 46-year-old was captured by anti-Taliban fighters in Afghanistan in late 2001 and handed to the US who sent him to military prison in Cuba, where he has remained without charge or trial. Aamer's supporters say he was in Afghanistan working for a charity.

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Shaker Aamer: last Brit in Guantanamo Bay released

3. Prospects for young people now worse than 2011

The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) is warning that prospects for people under the age of 34 have significantly worsened in the past four years. In a new report, it says young people face the "worst economic prospects for generations" and have been the worst affected group by falling income and employment options.

Young people facing worst economic prospects in generations

4. Glasgow bin lorry driver resigns before hearing

The driver of a bin lorry which crashed in Glasgow, killing six people, has resigned from his council job shortly before he was due to face a Glasgow City Council disciplinarty hearing. Harry Clarke, 58, had a history of blackouts but lied about it on his job application. He was unconscious at the wheel when the vehicle careered into shoppers in December last year.

5. Argentina court re-opens Clarkson number plate case

Prosecutors in Argentina are seeking a three-year jail term for former Top Gear presenter Jeremy Clarkson after a case against him was re-opened. His team are accused of illegally swapping number plates when filming a segment for the show in Argentina. The BBC has denied choosing a plate that referred to the Falklands War.

6. Jailed transgender woman loses appeal

A transgender woman who was sent to a male prison after being convicted of assault has lost an appeal against her sentence. Tara Hudson, 26, has lived as a woman for her entire adult life but is still legally a man. Thousand have signed petitions calling for her to be moved, but the court said it was up to the prison service to decide where she serves her sentence.

Transgender woman sent to male prison loses appeal

7. UN to investigate UK welfare reforms

The UN is to carry out one of its regular reviews of the UK's welfare policies to see if they "disproportionately affect" disadvantaged and vulnerable people. The last such investigation was in 2009. The committee will look at austerity measures, welfare reform, unemployment policies and the social housing supply.

8. The Sun takes down internet paywall

The Sun newspaper is to scrap the paywall on its website, two years after it was set up. Rebekah Brooks, recently reinstated as chief executive of parent company News UK, told staff in an email that the paper's online content would be "largely free" by the end of November. Sister paper The Times is to remain behind a paywall.

9. Poland turns down Polanski extradition request

A Polish court has rejected a US request to extradite film director Roman Polanski, who fled to Europe in 1978 to avoid being jailed after admitting having sex with a 13-year-old girl. Polanksi attempted to have the case dismissed in 20009 but failed, and avoided extradition from Switzerland in 2010. The 82-year-old was questioned by prosecutors in Poland last year.

10. Briefing: why China finally scrapped its one-child policy

China has decided to abandon its one-child policy amid growing fears that it will be unable to support its ageing population. The one-child policy was first implemented in 1979 to curb the country's rapid population growth and is estimated to have prevented about 400 million births. The Financial Times described it as "one of the most draconian social experiments in modern history".

Why China finally scrapped its controversial one-child policy