Ten Things You Need to Know Today: Tuesday 20 Aug 2013

1. MIRANDA: LEGAL ACTION OVER DETENTION

David MIranda has launched a legal action against the Home Office over his nine-hour detention at Heathrow airport on Sunday. The Brazilian's lawyers want to bar authorities from examining a confiscated laptop computer and memory sticks containing classified documents leaked to Miranda's partner, journalist Glenn Greenwald, by Edward Snowden.

Guardian man vows 'more aggression' over spy stories

2. CRIME WRITER ELMORE LEONARD DIES

US crime writer Elmore Leonard, author of such books as Get Shorty, Maximum Bob and Out of Sight, has died at the age of 87 after suffering a stroke. Renowned for his terse, no-nonsense style and sparse use of dialogue, his works inspired numerous screen adaptations including Hombre, 3.10 to Yuma, Get Shorty and Rum Punch.

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

No room for thick prose: Elmore Leonard's 10 rules of writing

3. MAN JAILED OVER FAKE BOMB DETECTOR

A businessman from Kent has been jailed for seven years for making and selling a fake bomb detector. Gary Bolton made as much as £3 million a year selling his GT200 detector to police, security agencies and armed forces around the world. He claimed the device could also detect cash, ivory and tobacco, but the box contained no components.

Kent man jailed for selling 'empty box' as bomb detector

4. EGYPT ARRESTS BROTHERHOOD LEADER

Officials in Egypt said Mohammed Badie, the spiritual leader of the Muslim Brotherhood, had been arrested in northeast Cairo after they received information "locating his place of hiding". The latest of hundreds of Brotherhood supporters to be arrested, the 70-year-old faces charges over the deaths of eight anti-Brotherhood protesters.

Obama secretly suspends aid to Egypt, acknowledging 'coup'

5. COALITON AT WAR OVER WIND REPORT

The coalition government is at war over a report believed to be critical of the impact of wind farms and renewable energy on the British countryside, the Daily Telegraph claims. Lib Dem Ed Davey's department has been accused of putting "ideology" before science in its efforts to block the report prepared by Tory Environment Secretary Owen Paterson's department.

Coalition war over report critical of UK wind farms

6. BACK PAIN STOPS PM DEER STALKING

David Cameron says he has had treatment for a "phenomenally bad back" that prevented him stalking deer during a holiday on the Isle of Jura. The PM said his doctor had told him he was in relatively "good nick" after a scan showed he had a protruding disc, but that he had said "when you get in your mid-40s, stuff like this start to happen."

No deer stalking for PM: what's that all about?

7. MAN CITY SHOW NO MERCY WITH 4-0 WIN

Manchester City fans and the team's new manager, Manuel Pellegrini, enjoyed a dream start to the Premier League season, beating Newcastle 4-0. The win, what with the goal difference, puts them at the top of the table ahead of Manchester Utd, and Newcastle at the bottom. City spent nearly £87m on new players over the summer break.

Man City thrash Newcastle as three-way title chase beckons

8. PISTORIUS WANTS TO SETTLE CIVIL SUIT

Oscar Pistorius' lawyers are trying "desperately" to reach an out-of-court settlement with Reeva Steenkamp's parents, it has been claimed. Barry and June Steenkamp have been approached by the paralympian's lawyers in regards to their "multi-million rand civil claim for loss of income and emotional distress," the Johannesburg Times reports.

Oscar Pistorius out of legal options as request to appeal rejected

9. 'SUGARPOVA': TENNIS STAR'S NAME GAME

Maria Sharapova is planning on changing her name to promote her line of sweets. The 26-year-old, the former world number 1, is reportedly considering a "quickie" temporary name change to Sugarpova for the duration of the US Open. The Sugarpova company sells 15 types of sweets and is estimated to have sold 1.8m bags last year.

'Call me Sugarpova': Maria's not-so-sweet US Open wheeze

10. HOT TICKET: MYSTERY GAME 'GONE HOME'

The mystery video game 'Gone Home' has been released in the UK. In this first-person interactive story a teenage girl returns home after travelling abroad to find her entire family missing. Players search for clues to understand their disappearance. "Gripping fiction," says the New York Times.

Gone Home: one of best video game stories in some time