Ten Things You Need to Know Today: Tuesday 26 Oct 2010

Indonesians in Padang flee for ohigher ground following a tsunami

published 26 October 2010

Our popular news catch-up service is posted Monday to Friday at 8.0 am, and on weekends at 11.0 am. You can rely on it to keep you up to date with the main news talking points... INDONESIA HIT BY TSUNAMI AND VOLCANIC ERUPTION More than 100 people were killed after a tsunami was triggered by a 7.7 magnitude earthquake in the Indonesian Mentawai islands (above) late on Monday. A group of Australian surfers were among the hundreds still missing today. In an apparently unconnected incident, thousands of people have been evacuated from their homes in central Java after Mount Merapi, one of the world's most active volcanoes, started erupting. FIREMEN PLAN BONFIRE NIGHT STRIKEThe government has accused London firefighters of needlessly putting lives at risk by calling a strike for November 5, bonfire night. The Fire Brigades' Union, in dispute over plans to scrap current rotas and introduce new contracts, has the backing of 79 per cent of members for the strike action. Fire Minister Bob Neill calls plan reckless and provocative. ECONOMY: BETTER NEWS THAN EXPECTEDThe UK economy grew at a faster rate than analysts predicted during the third quarter of 2010. The GDP (gross domestic product) figures released this morning by the Office for National Statistics showed a 0.8 per cent rise. Predictions had been for 0.4 per cent. The pound immediately rose one cent against the US dollar. GDP growth better than expected ROONEY PREPARES FOR MANCHESTER DERBYWayne and Coleen Rooney have been photographed drinking cocktails in the pool at the £2,000-a-night Burj Al Arab hotel in Dubai after the Manchester United striker got permission from manager Sir Alex Ferguson to take a short holiday after the pay talks which netted him a new £200,000-a-week deal. The club hopes he will be fit to play on November 10 against Manchester City - the team he nearly joined. 'GET THEM NAKED': ARMY INTERROGATION METHODS British Army interrogators have been instructed in techniques - including sensory deprivation and enforced nakedness - that are in apparent breach of the Geneva Convention, according to today's Guardian. One training aid issued in September 2005 said prisoners should be stripped before questioning. "Get them naked," it said. "Keep them naked if they do not follow commands." More recent manuals suggest that blindfolds, earmuffs and plastic handcuffs are basic necessities. 'TOO EARLY' TO WEAR A POPPYBBC presenters and over-eager politicians have been criticised for donning poppies way too early this year. The British Legion's poppies are not supposed to go on sale until Thursday. But the Match of the Day crew and Andrew Marr were wearing them at the weekend - a full three weeks before Remembrance Sunday. This could encourage people to reuse old poppies, which would hit donations. TARIQ AZIZ SENTENCED TO DEATH Tariq Aziz, who was Saddam Hussein's foreign minister and deputy prime minister, has been sentenced to death. Iraqi state TV reported that Aziz, 74, was to be executed for "his role in eliminating religious parties". Saddam, a Sunni Muslim, persecuted rival political parties, particularly those founded by Shiite Muslims. Robert Fox: Saddam's lethal lieutenant 'HICCUP GIRL' CHARGED WITH MURDERAn American teenager who appeared on TV three years ago when she was unable to stop hiccuping for five weeks is back in the media spotlight - this time charged with murder. Jennifer Mee, 19, is alleged to have lured a man she 'met' online to a vacant house in St. Petersburg, Florida, so that two male friends could rob him. In the ensuing struggle, Shannon Griffin, 22, was shot dead. Mee describes herself on MySpace as a "female version of a hustla". UK POLICE PREPARE FOR MUMBAI-STYLE ATTACK Police marksmen have been issued with heavier weapons and extra ammunition and are training alongside SAS special forces in preparation for a 'Mumbai-style' attack in Britain. The move follows recent intelligence that al-Qaeda plans such an attack. Ten gunmen killed 166 people in the three-day rampage of killing in Mumbai in 2008. INDEPENDENT LAUNCHES NEW MINI PAPERThe first edition of a new British newspaper, i, was launched today by the publishers of the Independent. Costing 20p, it is aimed at educated readers who want news and comment in brief. Simon Kelner, editor-in-chief of both newspapers, says "You won't find acres of dry Opinion pages in i" - suggesting you might if you buy i's big sister paper.