Ten Things You Need to Know Today: Tuesday 6 Sep 2011

published 6 September 2011

'GADDAFI CONVOY' ENTERS NIGERA convoy of between 50 and 200 Libyan army vehicles is reported to have crossed into Niger. Libyan rebels say the convoy was carrying gold, euros and dollars. Niger's foreign minister said Colonel Gaddafi was not in the convoy, but a French military source told Reuters it could be part of a deal to allow Gaddafi to accept an offer of exile from Burkina Faso. Burkina Faso’s president learnt at Gaddafi’s knee Gaddafi convoy enters Niger sparking talk of exile deal James Murdoch 'knew about phone hacking email'Former News of the World legal chief Tom Crone told MPs today he is "certain" that News Corp Europe CEO James Murdoch knew about the so-called 'For Neville' email, which suggests senior journalists knew about the use of phone hacking at the tabloid. Murdoch told MPs in July he knew nothing of the email. James Murdoch ‘knew about hacking email’ police arrest Sydney backpack bomb man Police have arrested a man who had been holding his daughter hostage in a legal office in the Sydney suburb of Parramatta after an 11-hour siege. The man (pictured above through a broken window), thought to be 52, claimed to have a bomb in his backpack, but officers stormed the building after negotiations broke down. Texas wildfires claim 1,000 homesMore than 1,000 homes have been lost as wildfires fanned by tropical storm Lee rage across Texas. At least 57 wildfires have been detected in the state: the biggest, in Bastrop County, is 16 miles wide. Texas Governor Rick Perry has postponed his campaign for the Republican presidential nomination to take charge. LIBYAN RENDITION HAD 'MINISTERIAL APPROVAL'MI6 refused to take the blame yesterday for the rendition of Abdelhakim Belhaj to Col Gaddafi's torture chambers, with Whitehall sources saying they had "ministerial approval" for handing him over to the CIA. Jack Straw, Labour foreign secretary at the time, has denied knowing of the operation. David Cameron has announced an investigation. Crispin Black: It's not all the spooks' fault KEN CLARKE BLAMES RIOTS ON PENAL SYSTEMJustice secretary Ken Clarke (above) blames the "broken penal system" for the riots that struck English cities last month. Writing in the Guardian, he says that three-quarters of the convicted rioters were known criminals whose previous punishments had failed to change their behavior. The "dreadful" penal system had helped create a "feral underclass". Swiss franc plummets after interventionThe value of the Swiss franc has plummetted after the Swiss National Bank vowed to buy foreign currency in "unlimited quantities" to enforce an exchange rate of 1.2 francs to the euro. Within minutes of the announcement, the euro climbed 9%, the dollar rose 7.7% and the pound gained 7.8%. The move will help Swiss exporters. FRENCHMAN ORDERED TO PAY EX-WIFE FOR LACK OF SEXA 51-year-old Frenchman identified as Jean-Louis B has been ordered by a court in Nice to pay his ex-wife £8,500 for failing to have sufficiently frequent sex with her during their marriage. A judge ruled that under the civil code which demands "a shared communal life", sex "must form part of a marriage." Jean-Louis said he was too tired. Julian barnes makes booker shortlistNovelist Julian Barnes has made the Man Booker prize shortlist for his novella, The Sense of an Ending. His main rival and former winner, Alan Hollinghurst, failed to make the cut. Barnes is the bookies' favourite, but faces stiff competition from debut novelists Stephen Kelman and AD Miller. The full Man Booker prize shortlist AL-QAEDA LEADERS CAPTURED IN PAKISTANSenior al-Qaeda figures including Younis al-Mauritani, said to have been a potential replacement for Osama bin Laden, have been captured in Baluchistan by Pakistani intelligence agents working with the CIA. Sources claim al-Mauritani had been planning attacks on oil and gas targets in the US. The arrests come on the eve of the tenth anniversary of the 9/11.