Ten Things You Need to Know Today: Wednesday 1 Sep 2010

published 1 September 2010

Our popular 8.0 am news catch-up service, which until this week ran only on Monday mornings, is now going daily, Monday to Friday. You can rely on it to keep you up to date with the main news talking points through the day. AIDE QUITS AS HAGUE DENIES RELATIONSHIP Chris Myers, a 25-year-old special adviser to William Hague, resigned today over "untrue and malicious" allegations that he and the Foreign Secretary were involved in an improper relationship. A spokesman for Hague had earlier described the suggestion of such a relationship as "wholly inaccurate and unfounded". His denial followed a posting yesterday by political blogger Guido Fawkes claiming the two men had shared a hotel room during the election campaign. The Mole on Hague's denial... HALF-PRICE BLAIR 'DRIVEN TO DRINK'Tony Blair in his memoir A Journey, published today, says Gordon Brown put on such pressure to succeed him that he began to rely on alcohol as a support. Blair still refuses to apologise for the Iraq war but says he plans to make amends for it. The book is already half-price at several bookstores - apparently due to competitive marketing rather than any lack of public interest. How Blair turned to drink... Blair's book: the highlights... UEFA BANS THE VUVUZELAEurope will be spared the blaring, monotonous din of the vuvuzela. Uefa, the governing body for Euro 2012 and the Champions, has banned the plastic trumpet, thousands of which either ruined the World Cup in South Africa or gave it character - depending on your point of view. European fans will have to rely on traditional songs and (mainly abusive) chants. OBAMA: US PAID 'HUGE PRICE' IN IRAQ In a televised address from the Oval Office last night, President Barack Obama hailed the end of US combat operations in Iraq, saying the US had paid a "huge price" to "put Iraq's future in its people's hands". He said the withdrawal of troops from Iraq would allow the US military to concentrate on defeating al-Qaeda and the Taliban in Afghanistan. Robert Fox on Black September in Afghanistan... CRICKET AGENT AND TWO OTHERS ARRESTED The cricket agent at the centre of Pakistani match-fixing allegations has been arrested by UK officials investigating a multi-million-pound money-laundering operation. Mazhar Majeed and his wife, Sheliza, along with an unidentified 49-year-old man, were held and questioned by HM Revenue and Customs before being released pending further inquiries. VENICE FILM FESTIVAL KICKS OFFThe 67th Venice Film Festival opens today with US director Darren Aronofsky's Black Swan, starring Natalie Portman and Mila Kunis as rival ballerinas. Sofia Coppola's Somewhere and Ben Affleck's The Town will also hold their world premieres during the 11-day festival. Quentin Tarantino heads up the festival jury. Venice Film Festival pictures... BBC LOSES STIG IDENTITY BATTLEThe High Court has refused the BBC's request to ban a book which reveals the identity of The Stig, a character from its hugely popular car show Top Gear. The Man In The White Suit, published by HarperCollins, is the autobiography of racing driver Ben Collins, who had already been outed as The Stig by newspapers last month. 'BLOODGATE' DOCTOR FREE TO PRACTISE Wendy Chapman, the doctor who cut a rugby player's lip during a match to help him feign injury, and then lied to cover it up, has been told she is free to practise medicine again. A GMC disciplinary panel found her guilty of serious misconduct, but ruled that she had a major depressive disorder at the time. She was now in recovery, and the incident did not impair her fitness to practise as a Maidstone hospital consultant. IRAN SUBJECTS ASHTIANI TO 'MOCK EXECUTION'Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani, the Iranian woman sentenced to death for adultery, has been subjected to a mock execution, according to her son. Sajad Ashtiani says his mother, whose sentence was commuted from stoning to hanging after an international outcry, was told she would be executed on Sunday morning, even though authorities had no intention of going through with it. She remains on death row. More on Ashtiani... ISRAELI SETTLERS RESUME BUILDING AFTER MURDERS Israeli settlers in the West Bank have said they will resume building in defiance of their government's ban on construction in the occupied territory, following yesterday's killing of four of their number by Hamas gunmen. In the US, where peace talks are due to start tomorrow between Israelis and Palestinians, both sides have been urged not to let the murders prevent a resolution being reached.