Ten Things You Need to Know Today: Wednesday 27 Jul 2011

published 27 July 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. breivik acted alone, says intelligence chiefNorway's prime minister, Jens Stoltenberg, has said his country will "not be intimidated or threatened" by Friday's attacks that left at least 76 people dead. Norwegian intelligence chief Janne Kristiansen told the BBC that Anders Breivik acted alone in a bomb attack and gun rampage. However, links to accomplices and overseas extremists are still being investigated. Anders Breivik: the story no one wanted to tell ONE YEAR TO GO: LONDON OLYMPIC COUNTDOWN BEGINS The Aquatics Centre in the Olympic Park will be opened with a first dive by British hopeful Tom Daley and the design for the medals will be unveiled in Trafalgar Square today as London marks one year to go till the 2012 Olympic Games on July 27, 2012. Games chairman Lord Coe said that today was "a big moment". Cynicism put to one side as Olympic countdown begins PIERS MORGAN ADMITTED TO USE OF PHONE HACKING It transpires that Piers Morgan, the former Daily Mirror editor who now hosts a show on CNN, revealed on Radio 4's Desert Island Discs in 2009 that he knew of phone hacking. "A lot of it was done by third parties rather than the staff themselves," he said. After the transcripts were published he once again denied that he had ever been involved with hacking. Phone hacking: recording piles pressure on Morgan BRITAIN EXPELS LIBYAN EMBASSY STAFFBritain has expelled all staff at the Libyan embassy in London and announced that it now recognises the National Transitional Council as "the sole governmental authority in Libya". The move comes after Abdelbaset al-Megrahi, the man convicted of the Lockerbie bombing and released on compassionate grounds two years ago, appeared at a pro-Gaddafi rally shown on state TV. Lockerbie bomber Megrahi spotted at Gaddafi rally ITALIAN POLITICIAN DEFENDS BREIVIKA former Italian minister under Silvio Berlusconi has defended the Norwegian murderer Anders Breivik, saying he was standing up for western Christian civilisation. The remark came from Francesco Speroni, a member of the Northern League who served Berlusconi in the 1990s and also sat in the European Parliament. He spoke out as other European right wingers distanced themselves from Breivik. STARS TURN OUT FOR WINEHOUSE FUNERALProducer Mark Ronson and reality TV star Kelly Osbourne were among the mourners who remembered the singer Amy Winehouse yesterday. Osbourne arrived at a cremation service in north London with her hair in Winehouse's trademark beehive style. The cremation followed a small family ceremony earlier. A wake was held later. The destruction of Amy: a proper Greek tragedy In pictures: Amy joins the 27 club BILLIONAIRE GEORGE SOROS TO CLOSE HEDGE FUNDGeorge Soros, the billionaire investor, yesterday told Bloomberg News that he is to close his hedge fund, returning capital to his investors by the end of the year and continuing to manage only his own money. His decision was prompted by new regulations for hedge funds. Soros said he had donated $8 billion to funds supporting democracy and free speech. George Soros and sons close public hedge fund EX-POLICEMAN LOSES OBESITY COURT BATTLEA 22-stone former policeman has lost his court battle to force a health authority to pay for obesity surgery. Tom Condliff said he needed a gastric bypass operation to save his life after he became obese because of the drugs given to him to treat his diabetes. He had gone to the Court of Appeal to challenge North Staffordshire PCT's refusal to pay for the operation. SEX WITH HEF TOOK TWO SECONDS, COMPLAINS BUNNYCrystal Harris, the 24-year-old Bunny who left Hugh Hefner at the altar, told radio shock-jock Howard Stern yesterday that sex with the 85-year-old Playboy founder lasted "like two seconds". She said: "He doesn't really take off his clothes. I've never seen Hef naked. I'm not turned on by Hef, sorry." But she did keep his diamond ring. MCQUEEN LEFT £50,000 TO HIS PET DOGSDetails of Alexander McQueen's will have been disclosed, including the fact that he left a bequest of £50,000 to support his dearly-loved pet dogs. The same amount was left to each of his housekeepers but the bulk of the fashion designer's £16m estate is to be divided between his favourite charities.