Ten Things You Need to Know Today: Wednesday 26 Sep 2012

1. RECORD RAIN FLOODS HUNDREDS OF HOMES

More than 300 homes were flooded yesterday and travel disrupted by heavy rain in the "most intense" September storm for 30 years, which is predicted to continue across parts of Britain today. Hundreds spent last night in shelters and 80 Environment Agency flood warnings remained in place late last night. Parts of the A1 road and the East Coast mainline were closed.

Foam covers Footdee as storms hit Aberdeen - video

2. CLEGG WARNS OF FURTHER BELT-TIGHTENING

Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg has called for his party to show "courage and vision" to make the coalition work, and said supporters had to choose between "power" and "protest". In his closing speech at the party conference in Brighton the Deputy PM also warned that Britain would have to accept "further belt-tightening" after the next election.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

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.

Sign up

Clegg incurs wrath of Sugar over free pensioner bus passes

3. MEGAN STAMMERS'S SCHOOL UNDER FIRE

The school attended by 15-year-old Megan Stammers, who is missing in Europe with her maths teacher Jeremy Forrest has come under fire for its record of safeguarding children. A teacher at Bishop Bell CofE School was previously jailed for grooming pupils and a retired priest was allowed to remain as a governor despite child sex allegations against him.

Megan Stammers: school at centre of another grooming case

4. CROONER ANDY WILLIAMS DIES AT 84

Singer Andy Williams has died at the age of 84 at his home in Branson, Missouri. He had been fighting bladder cancer for a year. The crooner was best-known for his Oscar-winning rendition of Moon River in the film Breakfast at Tiffany's. He also presented the Emmy-winning Andy Williams Show in the 1960s.

5. COURT DELAYS ABU HAMZA EXTRADITION

The High Court has issued an injunction preventing the extradition to the US of Islamist preacher Abu Hamza and another terrorism suspect, Khaled Al-Fawwaz. An appeal by Abu Hamza and four other suspects against extradition was thrown out by the European Court of Human Rights this week. The High Court judge said that the pair's hearings should be fixed "urgently".

6. GREECE PROTESTS TURN VIOLENT

Greek police have fired tear gas at protesters armed with petrol bombs outside the parliament in Athens during a protest against austerity cuts of €11.5bn. Greek workers are today staging the first general strike since the new coalition took power in July. Yesterday, police in Spain fired rubber bullets at protesters attending a rally against cuts in Madrid.

7. COULSON AND BROOKS GET TRIAL DATE

Former News International boss Rebekah Brooks and Downing Street communications chief Andy Coulson will stand trial on phone-hacking charges in September 2013. The pair appeared in court at the Old Bailey along with other ex-News of the World staff. Brooks also faces charges of perverting the course of justice.

8. MACKENZIE DEMANDS HILLSBOROUGH APOLOGY

Former Sun editor Kelvin MacKenzie has demanded an apology from South Yorkshire Police for misleading him over Hillsborough. He claimed he had suffered "personal vilification" after his paper ran a story, based on police lies, accusing Liverpool fans of disrespecting victims and attacking police.

MacKenzie demands apology from police over Hillsborough

9. BOMBS TARGET SYRIAN ARMY HQ

Two big explosions have rocked central Damascus, damaging the Syrian army headquarters. Smoke billowed from the building, which caught fire after the explosions, and gunfire has been heard in the area. Rebels claimed they had killed dozes of people, but Syria's ministry of information said there had been no casualties.

Rebels bomb Syria army HQ in new blow to heart of Assad regime

10. HOT TICKET: FIFA 13 KICKS OFF

The latest instalment of the popular long-running Fifa football video game series, 'Fifa 13', is released in the UK this week. On-field gameplay has been refined, online updates incorporate real-world events, and an improved manager mode gives users more freedom to trade players. "Arguably the best ever", says The Guardian.

Fifa 13: the best football game ever, renew your season ticket