Ten Things You Need to Know Today: Tuesday 14 Sep 2010

published 14 September 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... GEORGE MICHAEL JAILED FOR DRUG-DRIVINGGeorge Michael has been handed an eight-week sentence for crashing his car while stoned on cannabis. The 47-year-old pop singer (above) was found slumped at the wheel of his Range Rover in the early hours of the morning on July 4, having crashed it into a Snappy Snaps store in Hampstead, north London. He will serve four weeks of his sentence in jail and the remainder on probation. Give 'cannabis licenses' to over 21s, says expert POPE VISIT: TICKETS UNSOLD, BRITS UNHAPPY Public anger - and apathy - at the Pope's visit to Britain, reported by The First Post yesterday, is not improving. A Times poll found only 14 per cent positively in favour of his visit. Eighty-three per cent felt the Catholic Church had been dishonest about the abuse of children by clergy. Meanwhile, thousands of tickets for the Pope's open-air masses, starting on Thursday, remain unsold. Here comes the Pope RAFAEL NADAL MAKES CAREER GRAND SLAM Rafael Nadal won the rain-delayed US Open in New York last night, making him the youngest tennis player of his generation to achieve a career grand slam, having already won Wimbledon (twice), the French Open (five times) and the Australian Open (once). He beat Novak Djokovic 6-4, 5-7, 6-4, 6-2 to take the title. "This is more than I ever dreamed," said the Spaniard, between sobs. Nadal vs Djokovic: US Open match report 'DON'T CUT POLICE - WE'LL BE NEEDED' The police force must be protected from spending cuts - otherwise there won't be enough officers to deal with the social unrest expected this winter over budget cuts in other public services. That message will be delivered to the Home Secretary by Chief Superintendent Derek Barnett, president of the Police Superintendents' Association. The loss of up to 40,000 frontline police jobs has been mooted as a result of the upcoming spending review. IRAN RELEASES US HIKER SARAH SHOURDIran has released Sarah Shourd, one of three Americans it has held for over a year, on $500,000 bail. Shourd was arrested with her friends Shane Bauer and Josh Fattal in July 2009 for crossing the border illegally and having links to US intelligence. Tehran had previously said all three could be released for $500,000, but now say Bauer and Fattal will be detained for two more months. HALO FANS QUEUE FOR NEW GAME LAUNCH More than 400 stores across Britain opened specially last night for the midnight launch of Halo: Reach, the latest game in the hugely popular Microsoft Xbox series. Many gamers had queued for hours to be the first to get their hands on the sixth in the series made by game developer Bungie. According to early reviews, it beats the previous three. What they're saying about Halo: Reach LIBERTY MEDAL FOR TONY BLAIR Neatly timed for the the publication of his memoirs, Tony Blair received the Liberty Medal at a short ceremony in Philadelphia last night. Presented to him by Bill Clinton, it was awarded "in recognition of his steadfast commitment to conflict resolution", notably in Northern Ireland. Blair said: "To be free, is to be responsible for the freedom of others." Mandela rains on Blair Liberty Medal parade TWO IN COURT OVER ILLEGAL SPERM FIRM Two businessmen, Nigel Woodforth and Ricky Gage, appeared at a London court yesterday charged with running an illegal sperm donor service which allowed women clients, for a £300 fee, to specify the ethnicity, height and hair colour of the donor. The men had no licence and allegedly made £250,000 in a year of trading. They were arrested after a sting operation in which a policeman posed as a sperm donor. The trial continues. BBC STRIKERS THREATEN CAMERON BLACKOUT Unions representing journalists, technicians and other broadcasting staff are threatening two strikes in protest at an overhaul of the BBC's generous pension scheme. The walkouts would stop BBC coverage of David Cameron's key speech to the Tory party conference in early October, and of the presentation of the government's comprehensive spending review later in the month. BP 'COULD GET SOME OF ITS CASH BACK' Oil giant BP is hoping to recover some of the $20bn it was forced to set aside for claims from victims of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill - because the fund was bigger than necessary. The positive news for shareholders comes on the eve of outgoing CEO Tony Hayward's appearance before a parliamentary committee hearing on deepwater drilling. BP bullish about post-spill prospects