Ten Things You Need to Know Today: Monday 2 Aug 2010

Refugees after floods in Pakistan

Too busy planning your summer holidays to read the Sunday papers? Too occupied with your own family wedding to worry about Chelsea Clinton's? The First Post's catch-up service, posted at 8.0 am every Monday, is designed to help... 1,100 DIE IN PAKISTAN FLOODS More than 1,100 people have died in floods in north-west Pakistan after the heaviest monsoon rains in 80 years. Tens of thousands of homes have been destroyed and entire villages washed away. The floods have destroyed the infrastructure in an area where more than 1m people are already displaced because of fighting between the army and the Taliban. President Zardari is under pressure to cancel his trip to the UK - already overshadowed by David Cameron's criticism that Pakistan has been "exporting terrorism". Pictures... JESSICA ENNIS WINS GOLD FOR BRITAIN Sports highlights: Jessica Ennis, 24, won the women's heptathlon at the European Athletics Championships in Barcelona, taking one of the six gold medals in a record haul of 19 medals for Great Britain. England bowler James Anderson took his first international 10-wicket haul to help England to a 354-run victory over Pakistan in the First Test. Red Bull driver Mark Webber won the Hungarian Grand Prix and takes the lead in the drivers' championship from Lewis Hamilton, who had to retire when his McLaren developed a gearbox problem. INTERFAITH CEREMONY FOR CHELSEA CLINTONChelsea Clinton and investment banker Marc Mezvinsky are now husband and wife following an interfaith wedding ceremony on Saturday, conducted by a priest and a rabbi. The 30-year-old daughter of former President Bill Clinton and current Secretary of State Hillary Clinton wore a strapless white gown by Vera Wang. Hollywood stars and politicos mixed with Clinton relatives from Arkansas and college and work friends of the newlyweds at the ceremony at Astor Courts on the Hudson River. Pictures... RAOUL MOAT FUNERALA funeral service is due to be held in Newcastle today for Raoul Moat, who shot himself dead on July 10 after being cornered in the Northumbrian village of Rothbury, following the biggest police manhunt in Britain for years. Moat, 37, shot his former girlfriend, killed her new lover and shot a policeman in the face before going on the run. A total of 21 people have been arrested since his death on suspicion of helping him evade capture. Moat is to be cremated. NAOMI CAMPBELL SEEKS HAGUE PRIVACY The reason why supermodel Naomi Campbell has hired a high-powered QC, Sir Ken Macdonald, ahead of her appearance this week at the war crimes trial of Charles Taylor, is now clearer: Macdonald has asked the court in The Hague to impose special "protective measures" which would normally only be available to witnesses who fear for their lives. Macdonald has asked that the media be banned from following or filming the model during her time in The Hague. Campbell is alleged to have been given a blood diamond from the former president of Liberia - a gift she has consistently denied receiving. VIGILANTE FEAR OVER SARAH'S LAW Following a pilot scheme, Sarah's Law, so-called in memory of eight-year-old Sarah Payne who was abducted and killed by a known sex offender 10 years ago, was 'rolled out' across Britain on Sunday. It allows parents to check whether anyone with regular access to their children has a history of child sex offences. Home Secretary Theresa May called it an "important step forward for child protection". Some charities warn that the scheme could driving paedophiles underground. They also fear vigilante action. MELTDOWN BANKS BACK IN THE BLACK Both Lloyds and the Royal Bank of Scotland group are expected to report half-year profits this week showing them back in the black following their rescue by the taxpayer. Lloyds, which lost billions after its ill-advised takeover of HBOS, is expected to announce a profit of £800m. RBS, which a year ago was £1bn in the red, is due to announce a £200m profit. The results will increase government pressure to radically increase loans to small businesses - the level of which was described as "heartbreaking" by Mervyn King last week. More.. JACQUI SMITH APPPLIES FOR BBC JOB The former Home Secretary Jacqui Smith, one of the highest-profile culprits in last year's Commons expenses scandal, has applied for the position of vice-chairman of the BBC Trust, according to the Mail on Sunday. The "plum job" pays £77,000 for a two-and-a-half day week - and offers generous perks. "I have no idea what she thinks she has to offer the BBC Trust," said Tory MP Philip Davies. "I just home they have the sense to blast it out of court". CITY WORKERS CAUGHT IN BROTHEL VISITS A police crackdown last week on illegal brothels in London's financial district and the surrounding area led to several City workers being found "with their trousers down" according to a report in the News of the World, which was allowed to send a reporter and photographer to witness the police raids. Brothels in Aldgate, Bishopsgate and Hatton Garden were among those raided in Operation Monaco. All the men were reportedly released without charge after being interviewed by police, who were after the crime networks and traffickers behind the brothels, not the clients. 'BORAT' MOVES UP IN THE WORLD The comic actor Sacha Baron Cohen, creator of the characters Ali G, Borat and Bruno among others, has spent more than £12m on a new home in the Laurel Canyon area of Los Angeles. Cohen, who married Australian Isla Fisher in Paris earlier this year, has bought a seven-bedroom house with "detached movie theatre" and swimming pool in keeping with his new status as a Hollywood A-lister. He is currently filming Martin Scorsese's adaptation of the children's story, The Invention of Hugo Cabret.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up
To continue reading this article...
Continue reading this article and get limited website access each month.
Get unlimited website access, exclusive newsletters plus much more.
Cancel or pause at any time.
Already a subscriber to The Week?
Not sure which email you used for your subscription? Contact us
Jack Bremer is a London-based reporter, attached to The Week.co.uk. He has reported regularly from the United States and France.