Ten Things You Need to Know Today: Wednesday 20 Jul 2011

published 20 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. NEWS international 'thwarted' hacking police MPs have accused News International of trying to 'thwart' the police's investigation into phone hacking at the News of the World. However, in a report published today, the Commons home affairs committee says the police made no real effort to tackle the case. They recommend that the police be given more money to speed up attempts to contact phone hacking victims. MPs too soft – but Rupert looked greatly diminished cameron regrets hiring coulsonDavid Cameron has told MPs that with hindsight he would not have hired former News of the World editor Andy Coulson as his communications chief. He added that if Coulson has lied about phone hacking, he should face "severe" criminal charges. He did not apologise but said: "If it turns out I have been lied to that would be a moment for a profound apology." The Mole: Where's a kick-boxing Sam Cam when you need her? MURDOCH'S FOAM PIE ATTACKER SUSPENDED BY LABOUR Jonnie Marbles, the political prankster and comedian who attacked Rupert Murdoch with a shaving-foam 'custard pie' during yesterday's committee hearing (above), was stripped of his Labour Party membership last night. The 26-year-old, real name Jonathan May-Bowles, was being held in custody for questioning on suspicion of assault. Wendi Deng: crouching tiger or loving wife? Video: 'Charlie's Angel' Wendi Deng avenges Murdoch UN DECLARES FIRST AFRICAN FAMINE IN 30 YEARSThe United Nations will today declare famine conditions in southern Somalia, making it the first official famine in Africa for 30 years. An estimated 10m people in the Horn of Africa are suffering the worst drought in 50 years, and the UN says conditions in Somalia have "deteriorated rapidly". Aid efforts are threatened by al Qaeda-linked militias. In pictures: Crisis in Horn of Africa Leopard mauls six in IndiaSix people were mauled yesterday - one critically - by a wild leopard after it strayed into the outskirts of the city of Siliguri in the Darjeeling district of West Bengal and was startled by locals. Forest guards eventually tranquillised the animal, but only after attacking it with knives and batons to save their colleagues. The leopard later died of its wounds, according to the Hindu. Leopard attack - pictures Branson puts heart-shaped island up for rentRichard Branson is putting his heart-shaped Makepeace Island on Queensland's Sunshine Coast up for rent. Between one and eight guests will have to pay US$7,900 a night to use the Balinese-styled 9.2 hectare island in the Noosa river. But, the Daily Telegraph reports, guests will have to be quiet "due to certain restrictions imposed by the regional council". 'serious consequences' if Greece summit failsEuropean Commission president Jose Barroso has warned of "very serious" consequences if eurozone leaders fail to agree a second bail-out for Greece at a summit tomorrow. Germany wants private investors to share the pain of a partial Greek default, but there are fears this could precipitate debt crises in Italy and Spain. DSK's DAUGHTER QUESTIONED OVER RAPE ALLEGATIONFrench investigators have questioned Camille, one of Dominique Strauss-Kahn's daughters, about the allegation in France that he attempted to rape writer Tristane Banon, it was reported yesterday. Camille is a friend of the alleged victim. Her mother, DSK's ex-wife Brigitte Guillemette, Banon's godmother, was also interviewed. Tristane Banon's mother had 'brutal sex' with DSK SERBIA arrests last war crimes fugitiveSerbia has arrested Goran Hadzic, the last Balkan fugitive wanted by the Hague war crimes tribunal. Hadzic, 52, is wanted for crimes against humanity committed while he ran a Serbian mini-state within Croatia in the 1990s Balkan conflict, including murder and torture. His arrest will be a boost to Serbia's efforts to join the European Union. MICHELE BACHMANN BLAMES MIGRAINES ON HIGH HEELSFormer advisors to Michele Bachmann, the Tea Party congresswoman who is a frontrunner in the Republican race for the presidency, have revealed that she regularly suffers from migraine headaches which leave her "incapacitated" for days at a time. After being hospitalised in Washington last year, she blamed uncomfortable high heels.