Ten Things You Need to Know Today: Thursday 6 Feb 2014

1. LONDON: TUBE STRIKE ENTERS SECOND DAY

Commuters in the capital are enduring a second day of disruption as a strike by the RMT and TSSA unions continues. A limited Underground service was running again today but once again there was chaos during rush hour. The coalition says it may designate the Tube an essential service, and forbid future industrial action. The strike ends this evening.

Tube commuters face more delays as engineers begin industrial action

2. GOVT PLEDGES EXTRA £30M FOR FLOOD DAMAGE

Flood warnings have been issued for the Somerset Levels as the Met Office predicts yet more severe weather, with heavy rain across southern and southwest England and south Wales predicted from this afternoon. The Government today pledged an extra £30m for flood repairs and maintenance.

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Storms batter the south coast – in pictures

3. US WARNS OF SOCHI ‘TOOTHPASTE BOMBS’

The US Department of Homeland Security has warned airlines flying direct to Russia that bombs hidden in toothpaste tubes could be smuggled onto flights. It added that it was not aware of any specific threat against American competitors or visitors to the games. Two US warships are in the Black Sea in case of incidents.

Sochi Games 2014: US issues toothpaste bomb plot warning

4. BOMBARDIER WINS £1BN CROSSRAIL DEAL

Derby-based train maker Bombardier has beaten Japanese firm Hitachi and Spain’s CAF to win a £1bn contract to provide trains for London’s upcoming Crossrail service. The deal will support an estimated 760 jobs in the UK, with 80 apprentices. Bombardier lost out to Siemens in 2011 to build Thameslink trains.

Crossrail 2: what's the route and when will it open?

5. DOCTORS TOLD TO LOG VICTIMS OF FGM

Doctors and nurses in the UK are to be told to record cases of Female Genital Mutilation, a practice under which parts of a girl's vagina are cut off. The measure is designed to gather more information on FGM, banned in the UK in 1985. The data will be reported to the Department of Health on a monthly basis.

Women with vaginal piercings 'victims of female genital mutilation'

6. NAZI-THEME STAG DO MP TO STAND DOWN

Aidan Burley, the Conservative MP who helped organise a Nazi-themed stag party and was sacked as a government aide as a result, has announced he will stand down at the 2015 general election. Burley, the MP for Cannock Chase since 2010, was labelled "stupid" but "not a bad man" in a Conservative Party internal inquiry.

Why Nazi stag party MP Aidan Burley is quitting politics

7. WOMEN ‘RAPED AND TORTURED IN IRAQI JAILS’

Women in Iraq are suffering rape, torture and other abuse after being illegally arrested and held in detention by security forces, Human Rights Watch has warned. The group interviewed dozens of women who said they were raped, forced to sign confessions and had their family members threatened.

8. WILLIAM ROACHE CLEARED OF RAPE

Coronation Street actor William Roache has been found not guilty of two counts of rape and four indecent assault charges after a three-week trial at Preston Crown Court. It was alleged that the 81-year-old had assaulted five different women when they were aged 16 or under between 1965 and 1971, but he was cleared by a jury.

9. PLEBGATE PC JAILED FOR TWELVE MONTHS

PC Keith Wallis, a Metropolitan Police officer who lied about witnessing the "plebgate" row, has been sentenced to 12 months in prison. The 53-year-old admitted a charge of misconduct in public office last month at the Old Bailey. Wallis emailed a senior Tory official falsely claiming he had seen an argument involving MP Andrew Mitchell in Downing Street.

10. HOT TICKET: DAVID BAILEY'S STARDUST

David Bailey's new exhibition, Bailey's Stardust, opens today at the National Portrait Gallery, London. It includes over 250 photographs from Bailey's celebrated 50-year career as a fashion and celebrity photographer, including iconic images of the Rolling Stones. "Dazzling," says the Evening Standard. Until 1 June.

Bailey's Stardust – reviews of David Bailey 'dazzling' show