Ten Things You Need to Know Today: Friday 14 Feb 2014

1. WEATHER WARNINGS AS STORM STRIKES

More than 20 severe flood warnings are in place in England and the Met Office has issued yellow and amber severe weather warnings as yet another storm lashes the country. Winds of 80mph are expected today and tomorrow morning, with Sunday to be calmer. But one BBC weatherman said the storm was “hopefully the last in a long line”.

UK floods: ministers to quiz insurers over claims

2. WYTHENSHAWE WIN FOR LABOUR

Labour has won the Wythenshawe and Sale East by-election, extending its share of the vote by 11% to hold the seat. Former councillor Mike Kane paid tribute to his predecessor, who died in January. The Tories were beaten to second place by UKIP and the Lib Dems lost their deposit, with just 1,176 votes.

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Wythenshawe by-election: Ukip piles the pressure on Cameron

3. PIERS MORGAN IN HACKING PROBE

Piers Morgan, former editor of the Daily Mirror, has been interviewed by police in connection with phone hacking it has emerged. Police confirmed they questioned a 48-year-old man under caution in December last year as part of Operation Golding, a probe into hacking at Mirror Group Newspapers. In a statement Morgan admitted he had been questioned.

4. HELICOPTER SUFFERED ENGINE FAILURE

A police helicopter that crashed into a Glasgow pub in November last year killing ten people suffered a double engine failure as a result of a fuel supply problem, investigators have revealed, however, the cause of the problem is still not clear. All three people on board and seven in the Clutha Bar were killed in the crash.

5. PISTORIUS SPEAKS OF 'SORROW' AND 'TRAUMA'

Paralympian sprinter Oscar Pistorius has spoken of his "sorrow" and "trauma" in a statement released a year to the day after he shot dead his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp. He claims he shot the model through the door of a toilet at his home in Pretoria when he mistook her for an intruder. He is due to go on trial for murder in March.

Oscar Pistorius out of legal options as request to appeal rejected

6. BOMB SENT TO ARMY HAD IRISH POSTMARK

Several suspected explosive devices sent to military sites in England bore the “hallmarks of Norther Ireland-related terrorism” including a Republic of Ireland postmark on at least one, a counter terrorism unit says. The seven intercepted suspect packages were said to contain “basic but viable explosive devices”.

7. MASS EVACUATION AS JAVA VOLCANO BLOWS

Thousands are evacuating their homes in Indonesia after a volcano erupted in east Java, spewing ash and debris over a large area including a city 80 miles away. Two people are said to have died when their homes collapsed under the weight of ash from Mount Kelud. Airports have been shut due to low visibility.

8. MORRISSEY TO SING WITH CLIFF RICHARD

Morrissey has announced two special guests for upcoming American concerts. He will sing with Sir Cliff Richard in New York in June - and Sir Tom Jones in LA in May. Sir Cliff said he was “delighted” to be joining the former Smiths singer on stage. Morrissey abandoned his last tour due to illness and underfunding.

Cliff Richard googled Morrissey after agreeing to be support act

9. TWO CYCLISTS KILLED IN 'POLICE INCIDENT'

Two cyclists were killed after being hit by a car thought to be involved in a police pursuit in a flood-hit village. Police were called to Purley on Thames in Berkshire on Thursday evening. They noticed a black BMW convertible related to the call-out. It subsequently hit the two cyclists who died at the scene. The driver has been arrested.

10. HOT TICKET: SPIKE JONZE ROM-COM HER

Spike Jonze's romantic comedy Her opens in UK cinemas today. Joaquin Phoenix stars as a lonely letter-writer who falls in love with his computer operating system (Scarlett Johansson) but discovers digital relationships are as complicated as human ones. "A sweet, smart, silly, serious film for our times," says Empire.

Her - reviews of Spike Jonze's rom-com for the digital age