Ten Things You Need to Know Today: Tuesday 6 Aug 2013

1. AL-QAEDA 'CHATTER' BRINGS YEMEN PULLOUT

The US and UK have pulled diplomatic staff out of Yemen and told citizens to leave the country amid fears of a huge terror attack. An intercepted conversation between two leaders of the terrorist network al-Qaeda prompted the move, which comes after the closure of 20 US embassies across the Middle East and north Africa over the weekend.

Al-Qaeda chatter prompts US and British pull-out in Yemen

2. LIFE SENTENCES FOR KILLER DOG OWNERS

The government is consulting on plans to increase the penalties for dog owners whose animals kill, with the maximum sentence raised from two years to a possible life sentence. The plans will also make owners liable when their dogs attack someone in a private place - only public attacks can be prosecuted presently.

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Killer dogs: tougher sentences 'won't prevent attacks'

3. AMAZON BOSS BUYS WASHINGTON POST

The Washington Post newspaper has been sold to Amazon boss Jeff Bezos after 80 years of ownership by the same family, the Grahams. Even seasoned observers of the US newspaper industry are said to have been taken unawares by the deal. Bezos will pay $250m - a paltry figure estimated at 1% of his personal fortune.

Jeff Bezos stuns US by buying Washington Post – what next?

4. HEATWAVE GIVES BOOST TO BRITISH RETAIL

The British Retail Consortium says the hot July weather provided a boost to UK retail sales, giving them their fastest growth in seven years. Spending on suntan lotion, swimwear, sandals, beer and barbecues meant sales are up 2.2% on the same period last year. July was the third successive month of improving figures.

5. CANADA: PYTHON KILLS TWO YOUNG BOYS

Two brothers in Canada were strangled in their sleep by a snake which escaped from a pet store in the same building as the flat where they were enjoying a sleepover. Noah Barthe, 5, and Connor Barthe, 7, died after the African rock python entered the upstairs apartment by the building’s ventilation system.

Two boys killed by rock python, Africa's biggest snake

6. BUS-SIZED ‘FATBERG’ REMOVED FROM SEWER

A 15-tonne build-up of festering food fat, wet wipes and sanitary products dubbed a ‘fatberg’ has been removed from a southwest London sewer. Thames Water said: “We've never seen a single, congealed lump of lard this big clogging our sewers before … raw sewage could have started spurting out of manholes…”

Fatberg: who's not binning their wet wipes in west London?

7. 'GUNBOAT DIPLOMACY' CALL FOR GIBRALTAR

The Chief Minister of Gibraltar, has called on David Cameron to use gunboat diplomacy in the latest battle with Spain over the disputed territory. Fabian Picardo wants 'naval assets' sent to southern Spain to stop incursions into British waters around the rock. His call came as former Labour minister Peter Hain called for talks over shared sovereignty.

Gibraltar wants Cameron to send in the Navy

8. STAFF NOT TO BLAME FOR NHS MISTAKES

An report on the NHS by US President Barack Obama's former health adviser says staff are not always to blame for mistakes because of the complexity of the service. Professor Don Berwick found problems "throughout" the NHS but said it was "international gem" and leaders should "avoid drama, accusation and overstatement" when discussing it.

9. GEORGE W BUSH HAS HEART SURGERY

Former US President George W Bush is recovering after heart surgery at a hospital in Dallas. Doctors discovered that the 67-year-old had a blocked artery and inserted a stent, a kind of mesh tube, to keep it open. A spokesman said the politician was in "high spirits" and would return home on Wednesday before resuming his normal schedule on Thursday.

10. HOT TICKET: RETURN OF SHADOWRUN

Role-playing video game ‘Shadowrun Returns’ has been released in the UK. The video game, based on a popular ‘tabletop’ RPG, is set in a mystical cyberpunk dystopia where players take on the role of a semi-criminal freelancer (a shadowrunner), on the trail of an old friend’s killer. “Great,” says Gamefront.

Shadowrun Returns: enjoy the trip into cyberpunk universe