Ten Things You Need to Know Today: Monday 19 Jul 2010

published 19 July 2010

Too hot to read the Sunday papers? Couldn't be bothered with the news? Missed the pugnacious Peter Mandelson on the Andrew Marr Show yesterday morning? The First Post's catch-up service, posted at 8.0 am every Monday, is designed to help... At least 60 DEAD IN CALCUTTA TRAIN CRASH As many as 61 people are feared dead following the collision this morning of two passenger trains at Sainthia station, about 120 miles from Calcutta (above). It is understood the Cooch Bihar to Calcutta train crashed into the Vananchal Express. The force of the crash was so great that witnesses reported seeing the roof of one carriage fly into the air and land on a nearby bridge. Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee has already raised the possibility of sabotage. "We have some doubts in our mind," she said, en route to the crash scene. More... CAMERON FLIES COMMERCIAL TO SEE OBAMA In full austerity mode, David Cameron will take a commercial flight when he travels to Washington to see President Barack Obama. Afghanistan was expected to be the main subject of their talks tomorrow, but the release from jail last year of Lockerbie bomber Abdelbaset Ali al-Megrahi - seen by Cameron as "a terrible mistake" - is increasingly dominating the visit. Some observers believe the PM will "offer up" Peter Mandelson or even Tony Blair to be grilled by US senators on whether BP's oil interests in Libya had any bearing on Megrahi's release. More... BRITISH MEN TURN TO PRENUPS City high-flyers and other young men earning more than £100,000 are increasingly opting for prenuptial agreements to protect their assets in case of divorce. According to research by the London law firm Mishcon de Reya, 17 per cent of high-earning men under 45 have 'prenups' - compared with only five per cent of over-45s. The research is released on the 10th anniversary of the landmark divorce case White v White, since when British courts have given equal recognition to the non-financial contributions of wives. AFGHANISTAN: 'TROOPS OUT BY 2014' The British Army will soon begin a long, phased withdrawal from Afghanistan, with all combat troops out by 2014, according to a leaked communique published by the Independent on Sunday yesterday. By then, all military actions against insurgents will be led by Afghan forces, with some British soldiers remaining in the region for training purposes only. Defence Secretary Liam Fox, asked about the report on the Andrew Marr Show yesterday, at first rubbished the leak but then proceeded to confirm that the phased withdrawal was indeed the government's plan. 'SEEPAGE' SPOTTED NEAR BP PIPELINE Did BP claim too soon to have successfully capped the leaking Macondo well in the Gulf of Mexico? After reports of a detected "seep" near the damaged pipeline on the ocean floor, the US government has ordered BP to submit an immediate plan for reopening the choke valve on the new cap and begin funneling oil to the surface again. BP had been hoping to keep the cap on until a relief well is finished next month. NO BURKA BAN FOR BRITAIN, SAYS MINISTER A ban on burkas, which won overwhelming support in the French parliament last week, will not be emulated in Britain, according to immigration minister Damian Green. He said it would be "un-British' - despite public opinion favouring a ban. A YouGov survey last week found 67 per cent of voters in favour of making full-face veils illegal in public. But Green said such a law would run contrary to the British tradition of a "tolerant and mutually respectful society". TWO ALLEGED RAPES AT LATITUDE The Latitude music festival in Suffolk, where acts over the weekend included Florence and the Machine, Corinne Bailey Rae and Noah and the Whale, was marred by two alleged rapes over the weekend. A 19-year-old woman was attacked by a man when she got lost looking for a lavatory. Within 24 hours, while police were still investigating the first case, a second woman, aged 17, claimed to have been attacked inside her tent. "I've been to a few festivals and I've never seen police like this," one festival-goer told the Mail. In pictures... EASY, EASY - OOSTHUIZEN WINS THE OPEN The 27-year-old South African Louis Oosthuizen won the Open Championship at St Andrews yesterday - and he made it look easy, coming in seven strokes ahead of Lee Westwood, finishing 16 under-par. World number one Tiger Woods, who had been hoping to win a third successive St Andrews Open, ended way off the leaders on three under. More... 50,000 HOLIDAY-MAKERS' PLANS RUINED The collapse of Goldtrail Travel, which specialises in holidays in Turkey and Greece, has left approximately 50,000 people in the lurch. Holiday-makers already abroad when the New Malden, Surrey company went into administration on Friday will be flown home courtesy of the Civil Aviation Authority. Those yet to travel have been told they will be reimbursed or will be able to swap their planned holiday for something similar through the ATOL compensation scheme. HOTTEST JUNE EVER The world is hotting up - and there's incontrovertible proof. Last month was the hottest June ever recorded worldwide, according to data released by the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. It was also the fourth consecutive month that the combined global land and sea temperature records have been broken. 2010 is now on course to be the warmest year since records began in 1880.