Ten Things You Need to Know Today: Wednesday 24 Aug 2011
Our popular news catch-up service is posted Monday to Friday at 8.0am. You can rely on it to keep you up to date through the working day with the main news talking points. LIBYA: FIGHTING CONTINUES IN TRIPOLIColonel Gaddafi remains at large after an audio tape was released on which he claimed that he had abandoned his Tripoli compound in a "tactical" move and pledged "martyrdom or victory". Earlier, rebel forces had stormed the compound, burning the dictator's Bedouin tent and destroying statues. But there were running battles in Tripoli on Wednesday as loyalists fought back. Qatari special forces led Libyan attack on compound 35 trapped at gunpoint in Tripoli's Rixos hotel MAGNITUDE 5.9 QUAKE SHAKES US EAST COAST An earthquake measuring 5.9 on the Richter scale shook America's east coast yesterday, prompting evacuations of the US Capitol and the Pentagon in Washington and skyscrapers in New York. A pinnacle on the tower of Washington's National Cathedral fell, but there were no reports of injuries. In pictures: US hit by mild earthquake STRAUSS-KAHN FREED FROM 'NIGHTMARE'Dominique Strauss-Kahn is free to return to France after a New York appeals court denied his accuser Nafissatou Diallo's request for a special prosecutor, meaning that the judge's earlier order to drop all criminal charges closed the case. In his first statement since being charged with sexual assault, DSK said the past months had been "a nightmare". Diallo’s ‘dramatic’ rape lie doomed case against DSK MAN LOSES FACE IN 'SICKENING' NIGHTCLUB ATTACKA man had his ears, nose and lip bitten off in an attack outside a nightclub in Liverpool on Saturday morning, police have revealed. The "horrific, sickening and barbaric" attack took place outside Funky Box in the city centre. Two men have been arrested and the club has had its liquor licence suspended. The victim is still in hospital. NEET NUMBER HITS RECORD HIGHAlmost a million 18- to 24-year-olds in England are not in employment, education or training (neet) according to official figures. The number of so-called neets now stands at 979,000, or 18.4 per cent, according to the Department for Education. The figure is the highest since the second quarter of 2006. SAMSUNG GALAXY PHONES BANNED IN PATENT ROWSamsung has been banned from selling some of its Galaxy smartphone models in Holland over a patent dispute with rival Apple. The dispute relates to the way photographs are displayed on the devices. The injunction was handed down by a court in the Netherlands. As Samsung's EU distribution centre is based there the ban will affect other European markets. POLICE TO QUESTION BREIVIK'S ENGLISH 'MENTOR'Paul Ray, the former member of the English Defence League understood to be the man described by confessed killer Anders Breivik as his "mentor", will voluntarily submit to questioning by police in Norway today. Ray runs the 'Knights Templar' movement and the blog 'Richard the Lionhearted' but denies knowing Breivik. COULSON PAYMENTS FROM MURDOCH A 'PRIVATE MATTER'Conservative Party officials say payments from News International to Andy Coulson after he was hired as communications chief were "a private matter". The Electoral Commission is considering a letter from Labour MP Tom Watson questioning whether the payments amounted to "part funding" of Coulson by Rupert Murdoch. First Reaction: Payments from Murdoch appear unseemly JACQUI SMITH 'HIRED PRISON LABOUR AT HER HOME'The Prison Service has launched a "full internal investigation" into how the former Labour home secretary Jacqui Smith used two "work release" prisoners at her home in Redditch in exchange for a contribution to a local charity. She admitted to the Sun that they had redecorated a bedroom last month. Jacqui Smith used convicts to paint her home FACEBOOK IMPROVES PRIVACY CONTROLSFacebook yesterday unveiled changes to its privacy controls which mean that users will have the power to vet posts in which they are "tagged" before they appear on their profile pages. The 'Pending Posts' change comes in response to mounting complaints over the complexity of Facebook's privacy settings. Facebook announces new privacy settings for users
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
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.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
10 things you need to know today: January 24, 2024
Daily Briefing Trump closes in on nomination with New Hampshire win over Haley, 'Oppenheimer' leads the 2024 Oscar nominations, and more
By Harold Maass, The Week US Published
-
10 things you need to know today: January 23, 2024
Daily Briefing Haley makes last stand in New Hampshire as Trump extends polling lead, justices side with US over Texas in border fight, and more
By Harold Maass, The Week US Published
-
10 things you need to know today: January 22, 2024
Daily Briefing DeSantis ends his presidential campaign and endorses Trump, the US and Arab allies push plan to end Gaza war, and more
By Harold Maass, The Week US Published
-
10 things you need to know today: January 21, 2024
Daily Briefing Palestinian death toll reportedly passes 25,000, top Biden adviser to travel to Egypt and Qatar for hostage talks, and more
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
10 things you need to know today: January 20, 2024
Daily Briefing Grand jury reportedly convened to investigate Uvalde shooting response, families protest outside Netanyahu's house as pressure mounts for hostage deal, and more
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
10 things you need to know today: January 19, 2024
Daily Briefing Congress averts a government shutdown, DOJ report cites failures in police response to Texas school shooting, and more
By Harold Maass, The Week US Published
-
10 things you need to know today: January 18, 2024
Daily Briefing Judge threatens to remove Trump from his defamation trial, medicine for hostages and Palestinians reach Gaza, and more
By Harold Maass, The Week US Published
-
10 things you need to know today: January 17, 2024
Daily Briefing The US strikes Houthi targets in Yemen a third time, Trump's second sex defamation trial begins, and more
By Harold Maass, The Week US Published