Ten Things You Need to Know Today: Friday 12 Oct 2012

The decision to award the Nobel Peace Prize to the European Union has been met with ridicule. The Norwegian Nobel Committee said the economic bloc has "helped transform Europe from a continent of war to a continent of peace". But commentators expressed surprise at the timing of the award, with EU-backed austerity measures causing social upheaval in EU countries. Others drew attention to the fact Norway has twice rejected EU membership.

Seven Royal Marines have been arrested on suspicion of murder following an incident in Afghanistan in 2011, the Ministry of Defence confirmed last night. No names were revealed and a spokesman described the incident only as an "engagement with an insurgent" in which no civilians were involved. They are the first arrests for murder of UK servicemen in Afghanistan.

Vice-president Joe Biden landed the big punch in last night's 'Veep debate' with Republican Paul Ryan, castigating Mitt Romney for his '47 per cent' remark, pledging to serve all Americans and winning the TV viewers' vote. But a pre-debate poll showed Romney opening up a seven-point lead in Florida, a crucial swing state.

A woman has told the Daily Mail that as a 15-year-old she had an affair with the respected BBC disc jockey John Peel, who made her pregnant. As more BBC presenters are dragged into the Jimmy Savile abuse scandal, Jane Nevin, now 59, says she was "totally in awe" of Peel with whom she made love backstage at concerts and at his BBC studio.

Five of Lance Armstrong's former team-mates were yesterday given six-month doping bans by the United States Anti-Doping Agency (Usada). Levi Leipheimer, George Hincapie, Tom Danielson, Christian Vande Velde and David Zabriskie got reduced sentences because they gave evidence against Armstrong, who is banned for life and facing jail on perjury charges.