Ten Things You Need to Know Today: Thursday 26 Jan 2017

1. Donald Trump says torture 'absolutely works'

Donald Trump has spoken in favour of using torture, telling his first TV interview it "absolutely" works and that he is going to ask the CIA and his new defence secretary, James Mattis, to reassess their policies. Former CIA director Leon Panetta told the BBC it would be a "serious mistake" to return to "enhanced interrogation".

Trump travel ban: Judge expands definition of relatives

2. May to offer Trump a Scottish cup of friendship

Theresa May tomorrow becomes the first world leader to hold face-to-face talks with Donald Trump since he became president. The Prime Minister has vowed to rekindle the "special relationship" and is taking the new US leader a quaich - a Scottish drinking cup symbolic of friendship and a nod to Trump's roots.

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Theresa May meets Donald Trump: What the US press is saying

3. 2016 saw record number of prison suicides

A record number of people killed themselves in prison in England and Wales last year. Figures released by the Ministry of Justice show 119 people killed themselves in custody in 2016, an increase of 29 on the previous year. It was the highest number since records began in 1978. There were also a record 37,784 incidents of self-harm and 25,049 of assault.

Prison suicides at record levels in England and Wales

4. Mexico's Pena Nieto: 'We do not believe in walls'

Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto has once more said his country will not pay for Donald Trump's border wall with the US, saying: "Mexico does not believe in walls." Trump's promise to build a hard border with the US's southern neighbour and force Mexico to pay for it was a key campaign pledge.

5. Brussels to investigate UK's treatment of EU nationals

The European Parliament is setting up a task force to investigate the treatment EU nationals living in the UK after the Brexit vote have received. Sophie in 't Veld, vice-chairwoman of the EU's civil liberties committee, says she will examine whether people have faced "walls of bureaucracy" since the referendum.

6. Roman houses found under Chichester park

Archaeologists have discovered three near-complete Roman buildings with a high degree of preservation beneath a park in Chichester, West Sussex. Scientists say the buildings have been protected because Priory Park has never been built. A small dig has taken place and there will be larger excavations later this year.

7. Mary Tyler Moore dies at age of 80

US actor Mary Tyler Moore has died at the age of 80. The Oscar-nominated actor became a household name in the 1970s with her role as Mary Richards in The Mary Tyler Moore Show, a show which challenged existing stereotypes about women. Her publicist said she died with her husband, Dr S Robert Levine, and friends by her side.

8. Great British Bake-Off to return to TV this year

The Great British Bake-Off will return to TV screens this year after the BBC waived licensing rights preventing Channel 4 showing it until 2018. An insider told BBC News it would be "undignified to have one public service broadcaster in a potential dispute with another".

9. Southern rail 'could be renationalised'

Southern rail could be temporarily renationalised after a year of chaos for commuters. The network has been plagued by industrial action and in the past month fewer than half of scheduled services have arrived on time. Proposals include taking Southern into public hands,as the government did with the East Coast Main Line in 2009.

Government refuses to sack Southern Rail operator

10. Briefing: UK (finally) on track to meet borrowing target

It is not a headline that followers of UK economic trends will be accustomed to reading, but the UK is on track to meet its borrowing targets. In fact, after the Office for National Statistics forecast a drop in borrowing in December and revised down the figure for April to November, it is possible the government may beat its targets for the financial year.

UK (finally) on track to meet borrowing target