Ten Things You Need to Know Today: Wednesday 18 Sep 2013

1. SCOTS 'TO VOTE AGAINST INDEPENDENCE'

With a year to go before the referendum on Scottish independence experts say there is little chance of a 'Yes' vote. A Times poll today gave the 'No' vote a 20 per cent lead. But speaking in a special debate at Holyrood today First Minister Alex Salmond called on Scottish voters to grab the opportunity with "both hands".

Scottish independence 'not likely' on current polls. Why?

2. POLICE CHIEFS CALL FOR 'DRUNK TANKS'

UK police chiefs have backed the idea of privately run "drunk tanks" in a bid to tackle alcohol-fuelled disorder. The Association of Chief Police Officers said those who needed to sober up should be put in cells overnight and made to pay for their care the next morning. The Police Federation said the plan was "neither a viable nor long-term" fix.

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Are 'drunk tanks' really the answer for binge drinkers?

3. MUMMIFIED CORPSE OF CHILD FOUND IN COT

A court has heard how the mummified corpse of a four-year-old boy was found in a cot in his mother's bedroom, nearly two years after he had starved to death. The body of Hamzah Khan was discovered at a house in Bradford in 2011, although he is thought to have died in late 2009. His mother, Amanda Hutton, denies manslaughter.

4. ROONEY JOINS MAN U ELITE WITH 200TH GOAL

Wayne Rooney was given a standing ovation by Manchester United fans when he left the field last night after scoring two goals and joining Old Trafford's elite 200 club. Man Utd comfortably beat Bayer Leverkusen 4-2 in the Champions League Group A game. Rooney must get 250 club goals to beat Bobby Charlton's record 249.

Rooney scores 200th Man Utd goal - can he catch Sir Bobby?

5. FORMER DPP ATTACKS PLEBGATE PROBE

A former Director of Public Prosecutions has launched a scathing attack on the police inquiry into the Downing Street row between officers and cabinet minister Andrew Mitchell. Lord Macdonald QC said it was "outrageous" that the so-called Plebgate probe - in which Mitchell is alleged to have called police officers "plebs" - was taking so long.

Why is 'Plebgate' probe dragging on after a year?

6. SYRIA: 'REBELS TO BLAME FOR GAS ATTACK'

Syria has "material evidence" that rebels were responsible for the chemical gas attack on Damascus last month, says Russia's deputy foreign minister Sergei Ryabkov. He also attacked a report by UN weapons inspectors that found sarin gas had been used in Syria, calling it biased and selective, even though it did not apportion blame.

7. THOUSANDS FLEE INDONESIA VOLCANO

Thousands of people in western Indonesia have been evacuated after a volcano erupted for the second time in a week. Many of those forced to flee were returning after the first eruption of Mount Sinabung in the province of Karo. The eruption sent a column of ash and smoke almost two miles into the air.

Mount Sinabung erupts - in pictures

8. CLEGG CALLS FOR ANOTHER COALITION

Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg has used his speech to the party conference in Glasgow to call for another coalition government after the next election in order to keep the Tories and Labour under control. He said the Lib Dems were now a party of government and that the Conservatives could not claim all the credit for the economic recovery.

9. TRAIN ROBBERY PHOTO ARCHIVE DISCOVERED

A photographic archive detailing the Great Train Robbery has come to light 50 years after the notorious heist. Detective Constable John Bailey, the first detective on the scene in 1963, meticulously documented the 1963 theft in a series of photos. They provide a blow-by-blow account of the £2.6m robbery.

10. HOT TICKET: FREUD FARCE IN HAMPSTEAD

A revival of Terry Johnson's Freud farce 'Hysteria' has opened at the Hampstead Theatre, London. Antony Sher stars as Sigmund Freud, who is resting in London after fleeing Nazi-occupied Austria, when his peace is interrupted by Salvador Dali and a naked woman. "Exhilarating," says the Daily Telegraph. Until 5 October.

Antony Sher 'masterful' as Sigmund Freud in Hysteria