Ten Things You Need to Know Today: Monday 15 Feb 2010

Slept through the Today programme? Never read the Sunday papers? Missed the Gordon Brown interview with Piers Morgan? Thought the winter was over? The First Post's Monday morning service, posted at 8.0 am, is designed to help... BELGIAN TRAIN CRASH KILLS 20At least 20 people died this morning when two rush-hour trains collided head-on (above) in snowy conditions and freezing temperatures at Buizingen, southwest of Brussels. First television pictures showed the lead carriages pushed into the air by the impact. Many train services are cancelled until further notice, including the Eurostar from London to Brussels and the high-speed line between Brussels and Paris. More... OPERATION MOSHTARAKTwelve Afghan civilians have died after Nato rockets aimed at Taliban insurgents missed their target and hit a house in Nad Ali, one of the areas targeted in Operation Moshtarak, the 15,000-strong Nato mission launched on Saturday to clear central Helmand of the Taliban. One British soldier and one US marine are reported to have died so far. Commanders report greater-than-expected Taliban resistance in the town of Marjah, while insurgents are laying down their weapons in Nad Ali. More... LIBDEMS DON'T WANT COALTIONThe Liberal Democrats will not enter a coalition government with either the Tories or Labour in the event of a hung parliament, according to a report in today's Guardian. But they will be ready to enter a pact with the Tories, on condition that David Cameron's party agrees to key reforms in education, taxation and the voting system. The Mole reports that these demands would likely put pressure on Cameron to replace George Osborne with Ken Clarke as Chancellor. More... NANNY STATE ALERT - BOOZE AND MASSAGE ADSThe Labour government is to announce plans to force drinks companies to put cigarette-style health warnings on bottles of beer, wine and spirits. The labels would carry a general warning to drink responsibly as well as details of the alcoholic units the bottle contains. Meanwhile the party's general election manifesto is to carry a ban on newspaper adverts for massage parlours and escort services, in a bid to "disrupt" the sex industry. CHELSEA BOYS UPDATE: TERRY FORGIVEN, ASHLEY NOTChelsea captain John Terry is reported to have been forgiven by his wife Toni for his affair with Vanessa Perroncel, and the Sunday tabloids were packed with photos showing the couple making up on holiday in Dubai. But teammate Ashley Cole is in deep water with his wife Cheryl Cole following the revelation in today's Sun that a second woman received nearly-nude photos of him on her mobile phone. Cheryl switched her rehearsal for Tuesday's Brit Awards to Sunday just so she could avoid being with her husband on Valentine's Day, according to the News of the World. TORTURE ROW: CALL FOR JUDICIAL REVIEWSenior politicians are piling on the pressure for a judicial review in the light of last week's evidence that MI5 officers were complicit in the torture of British resident Binyam Mohamed by CIA interrogators in 2002. Former Attorney-General Lord Goldsmith wants "clarification", given that Britain officially does not condone torture. Former shadow home secretary David Davis wants a full judicial review and an overhaul of the parliamentary Intelligence and Security Committee (ISC), which is supposed to scrutinise the security services but was "deliberately misled" by MI5 officers. SOME RAPE VICTIMS 'SHOULD SHARE BLAME' SAY WOMENAn online survey of more than 1,000 Londoners shows a majority of women believe some rape victims have to take responsibility for what happened to them. One-third of women polled said victims who had dressed provocatively or gone voluntarily to the attacker's house for a drink should share the blame. Seventy-one per cent of women said if a rape victim got into bed with the assailant before an attack they should accept some responsibility. DICK FRANCIS DIESDick Francis, the champion jockey who became a successful crime writer, has died at 89. Despite his many winning rides, he remains most famous for the tragedy of Devon Loch - the horse that suddenly fell when it was close to winning the 1956 Grand National. Francis was the Sunday Express racing correspondent for 16 years and wrote more than 40 novels, with titles such as Deat Cert and Silks. GORDON BROWN'S INTERVIEW PAYS OFF Gordon Brown's interview with Piers Morgan, screened last night on ITV, appears to have paid off. During the programme, the PM spoke about the death of his 10-day-old daughter Jennifer while his wife Sarah, who was in the studio audience, shed tears. The contents of the show were leaked a week ago and, possibly as a result, 50 per cent of people interviewed for a new ComRes poll said they believed the PM had a "warm human side" while 56 per cent found David Cameron to be "a slick salesman". MORE SNOW ON THE WAYMore snow is forecast for Britain this week, with Wednesday looking likely to be the big white day. The South East is expected to suffer the worst of the freezing weather. Buckinghamshire, Bedfordshire, Sussex and Kent can expect to get up to four inches of snow.

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