Ten Things You Need to Know Today: Tuesday 25 Feb 2014

1. HAGUE AND KERRY DISCUSS UKRAINE AID

Foreign secretary William Hague was due to meet his US counterpart, John Kerry, in Washington today to discuss emergency financial aid for Ukraine. Interim president Oleksandr Turchynov has warned against the dangers of separatism after an arrest warrant was issued for ousted leader Viktor Yanukovych amid Russian condemnation.

Ukraine rekindles Nato aspirations, angering Russia

2. HARMAN: DAILY MAIL STORY ‘IS A SMEAR’

Harriet Harman, deputy Labour leader, says claims by the Daily Mail that she sympathised with a paedophile group in the 1970s when she worked for the National Council for Civil Liberties, to which it was affiliated, are “politically-motivated smears”. Ed Miliband defended her “huge decency and integrity”.

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Harriet Harman rejects Daily Mail paedophilia 'smears'

3. DIRECTOR HAROLD RAMIS DIES AT 69

Harold Ramis, the director of Groundhog Day and Caddyshack, has died of a rare blood disease at the age of 69. Ramis also co-wrote and starred in the hugely popular Ghostbusters films, playing bespectacled ghost hunter Egon Spengler. Ramis is said to have known he was ill since 2010, but kept it quiet.

Harold Ramis: Ghostbusters star's five greatest films

4. GUANTANAMO INMATE IN TERRORISM ARREST

A former Guantanamo Bay detainee is among four people arrested in the UK on suspicion of terrorism offences related to the Syria conflict. Moazzam Begg, a British citizen from Birmingham, was detained on suspicion of attending a terrorist training camp and facilitating terrorism overseas. He spent three years in Guantanamo after being arrested in Pakistan in 2002.

5. WITCH-HUNT FEARS OVER UGANDA GAY LAW

The president of Uganda, Yoweri Museveni, has signed a bill toughening sentences for gay people, with life terms for gay sex and same-sex marriage. Barack Obama dubbed it a "backwards step" and there are fears of a witch-hunt after a newspaper published a list of Uganda's "200 top homosexuals".

6. BROOKS 'DIDN'T KNOW HACKING WAS ILLEGAL'

Former News of the World editor Rebekah Brooks has told her trial at the Old Bailey that she did not know phone hacking was illegal, but considered it a "serious breach of privacy". She said she had never been asked to sanction hacking while editor of the paper, and also claimed not to have heard of hacker Glenn Mulcaire before his arrest.

Hacking trial: Kate Middleton's phone was 'hacked 155 times'

7. MOURINHO CONDEMNS SECRET RECORDING

Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho has said it was a "disgrace" that a secretly recorded video in which he appeared to criticise his own players was broadcast on French television. Mourinho claimed he was joking when he had no strikers and made an unflattering comment about Samuel Eto'o's age. He told a press conference that the media should feel "embarrassed".

8. CAMERON VOWS: NO FURTHER COALITION

David Cameron wants to fight the 2015 general election on a clear promise to British voters that there will be no further coalition with a smaller party, the Daily Telegraph reports today. The pledge will be written into the Tory manifesto and will mean no further deal with the Lib Dems, nor a new one with Ukip.

Cameron takes huge gamble by ruling out another coalition

9. DEMENTIA LINKED TO COOKING MEAT

Researchers in the USA believe there is a link between eating meat browned in a frying pan, oven or grill and developing dementia in later life. Browning meat forms 'advanced glycation end products' (Ages) as sugars interact with protein, and mice fed a diet high in Ages were found to have impaired cognitive functions.

10. HOT TICKET: JANE EYRE AT BRISTOL OLD VIC

"It is costume drama, but not as we know it," says The Times's Dominic Maxwell of the stage adaptation of Charlotte Bronte's classic at the Old Vic in Bristol. "Newcomers and Bronte-holics alike will be gripped, amused and moved by a boldly theatrical show." In two parts over consecutive nights, or a matinee and evening performance. Until 29 March.

Jane Eyre: A 'boldly theatrical' stage adaptation of Bronte’s classic