Ten Things You Need to Know Today: Monday 12 Jul 2010

Too busy with the barbecue and the World Cup final to keep up with the news? Couldn't be bothered with the Sunday papers? The First Post's catch-up service, posted at 8.0 am every Monday, is designed to help... 64 DEAD IN KAMPALA BOMB BLASTS Two bombs blasts in the Ugandan capital Kampala killed 64 people last night, including an American. They are thought to be the work of the Somali militant group, al-Shabab, which has links to al-Qaeda. There was no official claim from the Islamist group, but a commander in Mogadishu said he was "happy" with the attacks which targeted football fans watching the World Cup on TV at a restaurant and a rugby club. Al-Shabab has threatened to attack Kampala, but has never done so until now. Uganda has troops in Somalia as part of the 5,000 African Union peace-keeping force. SPAIN WIN WORLD CUP FINAL 1-0 A dramatic goal in extra time by Andres Iniesta, striking a through ball from Arsenal's Cesc Fabregas, gave Spain their first ever World Cup victory last night. It brought to a close a bad-tempered final that produced a record 14 yellow cards from English referee Howard Webb, the majority going to Holland. The tense game was in marked contrast to the spectacular ceremony that preceded it in Johannesburg's Soccer City stadium, which included a performance by Shakira and an appearance by a frail but beaming Nelson Mandela. More... CLEGG 'TOLD BROWN TO GO'Nick Clegg told Gordon Brown to his face that he must step down as party leader if Labour wanted a coalition deal with the Lib Dems following the general election on May 6. And while Brown desperately sought ways to hold on to power, even drawing up a potential 'coalition Cabinet' containing Clegg, Vince Cable and Paddy Ashdown, former PM Tony Blair told him it would be seen as a constitutional outrage if he tried to stay on. Both revelations come from the serialisation in the Times today of Lord (Peter) Mandelson's book, The Third Man. MOAT'S BROTHER SLAMS 'PUBLIC EXECUTION' The brother of Raoul Moat has complained that seeing his brother's last moments televised was like watching "a public execution". Angus Moat, a 39-year-old Newcastle tax inspector, said: "I think I'm probably the only person who's ever watched his brother die on national television in the UK, which is obviously horrific." He also claims that police refused his request to help negotiate with his brother before he shot himself dead early on Saturday morning after being Tasered. "I've seen footage of him in his last hours and he was a broken man, he's crying about his lack of family, that nobody loves him. There were loads of people that loved him." More… UK REVIEWS ANNA CHAPMAN PASSPORT The UK is "urgently considering" whether to strip Anna Chapman, one of the 10 people accused by the US of being part of a Russian spy ring, of her British passport. Chapman and her fellow agents were handed over to Russia in exchange for four Western spies last week. Two of those spies are now staying undercover in a hotel in the outskirts of London. US vice president Joe Biden, meanwhile, has defended the spy swap, saying: "We got back four really good [spies], and the 10, they've been here a long time, but they hadn't done much." SENATORS CALL FOR LOCKERBIE BOMBER INQUIRYFour US senators are calling for an investigation into the Scottish Justice Secretary's decision last August to release the convicted Lockerbie bomber from jail on compassionate grounds. This follows a cancer specialist's admission that he was "embarrassed" that Abdelbaset ali al-Megrahi, whom he gave three months to live, was still alive 11 months later, despite his supposedly terminal prostate cancer. "There is clear reason to believe that this terrorist was released based on false information about his health," said New York Democrat Charles Schumer. MEL GIBSON DROPPED BY AGENT Mel Gibson has been dropped by his agents, William Morris Endeavor Entertainment, after a series of racist and bigoted rants he allegedly directed at his ex-partner Okasana Grigorieva. Studio executives now say Gibson is "untouchable" and will never work in mainstream films again. "I'd rather get engaged to Lindsay Lohan than have anything to do with him," one told the Hollywood Reporter. RACIST VIOLENCE FEAR IN SOUTH AFRICAThousands of Zimbabwean immigrants are fleeing South Africa, fearful that the end of the World Cup will bring a new wave of racist violence. Chemwapuwa Moyo, a Zimbabwean living near Cape Town, told the Sunday Times her countrymen had been threatened. "We've been told to go by tomorrow or we'll be burnt alive," she said. The threats are thought to stem from an expectation that there will be a surge in unemployment following the end of the World Cup, which finished yesterday. Fears of violence have mounted ever since South Africa's exit from the World Cup last month. More… KYLIE MINOGUE BACK AT NUMBER ONEAustralian pop star Kylie Minogue has topped the UK album charts with Aphrodite, exactly 22 years to the week since her debut number one album, Kylie! The Album, entered the UK charts when she was still known as a star of the soap opera Neighbours. "I am ecstatic," said Minogue. Her number one pushes Eminem's Recovery into second place. BP FITS TIGHTER CAP ON OIL WELLBP is to remove the current funnel over the leaking Macondo oil well in order to replace it with a tighter-fitting cap that should allow all the spilled oil to be captured by ships on the surface of the Gulf of Mexico. However, the operation could take to the weekend and until then the flow of leaking oil will increase by thousands of barrels per day. Meanwhile, BP faces increasing controversy over the toxicity of the dispersants it has been using to break up the spilled oil. More…

Subscribe to The Week

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

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

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