Ten Things You Need to Know Today: Sunday 14 Sep 2014

1. UK HOSTAGE DAVID HAINES IS BEHEADED

UK hostage David Haines has been beheaded by Islamic State militants. The terror group has released a video appearing to show the murder of the 44-year-old aid worker from Perth, who was kidnapped in Syria last year. The video also includes a threat to kill a second British hostage. David Cameron described Haines’ murder as an “act of pure evil”.

2. PISTORIOUS ‘PLANS TO WRITE MEMOIR’

Oscar Pistorius is planning to write a book giving his side of the story of how he shot dead Reeva Steenkamp, his manager announced yesterday. With public fascination over the case so high, the book could prove a lucrative project for the disgraced Paralympian but it would attract accusations that he is cashing in on the killing of his girlfriend.

3. PM: ‘NO WAY BACK’ IF SCOTS LEAVE

David Cameron will warn Scots that there will be “no way back” if they vote to leave the UK. In a visit to Aberdeen, he will drop his “love-bomb” strategy of recent weeks and say: “If Scotland votes ‘yes’, the UK will split and we will go our separate ways for ever.” Meanwhile, Prince Harry has gently backed the Union, saying he hopes Glasgow will still be in the UK next year.

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4. MOTORWAY JAMMED BY DOG LOVERS

The M6 motorway was jammed with traffic yesterday as hundreds of people came forward to offer homes for the mutts that survived the Manchester Dogs’ Home fire. Police had to turn people away as the queuing traffic threatened to overwhelm the motorway. “It’s been manic but a lovely, heart-warming manic,” said Anna Stansfield, the manager of the home.

5. MIXED MESSAGES FROM SCOT SURVEYS

Surveys in the final weekend before Scotland votes on independence have given contradictory messages. An ICM poll in the Sunday Telegraph suggested that the ‘yes’ campaign has opened up an eight-point lead over the ‘no’ camp. However, a poll by Survation has put the ‘no’ vote ahead by exactly the same margin. A poll in The Observer shows ‘no’ ahead by a narrow margin.

6. UK MUSLIMS SLAM ‘ISLAMIC STATE’

Politicians and the media should stop using the phrase ‘Islamic State’ as it lends misleading credibility to a terror group, says a coalition of British Muslims. In a letter to David Cameron, imams and organisations representing British Muslims say the group is “neither Islamic, nor a state”. They add that it has “no standing with faithful Muslims”.

7. WILL MET OFFICE PROJECT END GAFFES?

The Met Office is launching a project to avoid embarrassing failures in its forecasts, says The Sunday Times. The computer program will build a virtual model of the entire UK and predict weather at 100-metre points, on the ground and up to 11 miles high. It is hoped it will allow the Met Office to monitor weather systems too small or extreme to show up on existing models.

8. MERKEL TO SPEAK AGAINST ANTI-SEMITISM

Angela Merkel will speak at a mass rally against anti-Semitism today, as attacks on Germany's Jews rise sharply. The German chancellor will appear at the rally at the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, which comes 75 years after the outbreak of World War Two, in which six million Jewish people were killed by Nazi Germany. She has said the rise in anti-Semitism “very much concerns” her.

9. ROWAN ATKINSON CRASHES AT GOODWOOD

Comic actor Rowan Atkinson crashed out of a classic car race at Goodwood yesterday following a head-on collision with another motorist. The 59-year-old was competing in the Shelby Cup race when his blue Ford Falcon Sprint crashed into another car, which had lost control. The Mr Bean actor was not injured in the accident. In 2011, he crashed a McClaren F1 car into a tree.

10. COSTA HAT-TRICK KEEPS CHELSEA TOP

Chelsea’s Diego Costa scored a hat-trick as Chelsea went two points clear at the top of the Premier League. The Blues beat Swansea 4-2, despite going behind when John Terry scored an early own-goal. Elsewhere, Arsenal and Manchester City drew 2-2 in a thrilling encounter at the Emirates, and Newcastle lost 4-0 to Southampton, increasing pressure on their beleaguered boss, Alan Pardew.