Ten Things You Need to Know Today: Friday 21 Oct 2011

published 21 October 2011

1. GADDAFI WAS TAKEN ALIVE BEFORE EXECUTION Libya's fallen dictator, Col Gaddafi, found hiding in a drain in the besieged city of Sirte, was taken alive before being executed, according to witnesses. He was shot in the head and both legs and then dragged to a pick-up truck, dying before he reached hospital. Tests on the body for identification indicated that his shock of hair was a wig. Crispin Black: Summary execution was the best way for Gaddafi to go

2. BASQUE SEPARATISTS END WAR ON SPAIN The Basque separatist group Eta called a "definitive cessation" yesterday to its IRA-style campaign of bombings and shootings in Spain which has killed more than 800 people in 40 years. Leaders called on Spanish and French governments to respond with "direct dialogue". Spain’s PM declared "victory for democracy, law and reason." 3. POLICE KNEW OF DOWLER PHONE HACKING IN 2002 Surrey Police knew Milly Dowler's phone had been hacked by the News of the World as they searched for her in 2002, chief constable Mark Rowley revealed yesterday in a letter to the Commons committee investigating the scandal. But the force took no action when investigations began in 2006. Chairman Keith Vaz said that was a "serious omission". Pressure piles on Murdochs ahead of annual meeting 4. BBC RIDICULED FOR DALE FARM OVER-STAFFING As travellers and protesters staged a march out of Dale Farm yesterday afternoon and bailiffs finally began the eviction process, a row developed over the BBC’s “ludicrous” coverage. The Beeb had about 30 staff on the site including reporters and documentary makers – so many they needed their own caravan to provide accommodation. 5. TABAK: ‘I PUT JO’S PARENTS THROUGH HELL’ With David and Teresa Yeates listening, Vincent Tabak told a Bristol court yesterday how he strangled their daughter Jo and dumped her on the roadside. "I apologise for doing that," he said, weeping. "I put Joanna’s parents through a week of hell." Tabak claims manslaughter, saying he panicked when Jo screamed after he tried to kiss her. 6. JOBS REFUSED EARLY SURGERY FOR CANCER Steve Jobs of Apple refused early life-saving surgery for the pancreatic cancer from which he died at 56 earlier this month, opting instead for alternative therapies including spiritualism, according to his official biography by Walter Isaacson due out on Monday. He did not want his body "violated" by surgery, but later regretted the decision. 7. RUBBISH BIN AND REALISM FOR TURNER ART PRIZE The perennially controversial shortlist of four for the Turner Prize revealed yesterday features photo-realist paintings of a Coventry council estate, a room filled with paper drenched in cosmetics, a close-up of a floorboard, and a park rubbish bin. They are on show in Gateshead until January, with the winner announced on December 5. 8. BARBIE DOLL BACK IN TROUBLE FOR TATTOOS A "rock chic" Barbie doll with chest and neck covered in tattoos, dyed pink hair and a skull-and-crossbones T-shirt sparked a furore among parents’ groups yesterday. They denounced the latest model as "overly sexualised" and "cynical". The doll, at £34 in the UK, sold out instantly, with more being rushed to stores for Christmas. 9. PEARCE AND POWELL MANAGE OLYMPIC TEAMS Stuart Pearce and Hope Powell have been named as the coaches of the men and women's Great Britain 2012 Olympic football teams. Pearce is currently the England Under-21 manager and Powell runs the England women's team. Players from all home nations are eligible, opening the door to Welsh stars Gareth Bale and Aaron Ramsay. 10. HOT TICKET: CONTAGION REACHES UK Contagion, Steven Soderbergh’s harrowing medical thriller about a deadly pandemic, has reached the UK. An all-star cast including Kate Winslet, Gwyneth Paltrow, Matt Damon and Jude Law deal with both the killer virus and the resulting panic sweeping the globe. The New Yorker called it brilliant and frightening. At cinemas from today.