Ten Things You Need to Know Today: Tuesday 21 Oct 2014

1. WOMAN DIES AS HIGH WINDS HIT UK

A woman has died after being hit by a falling tree in London during high winds caused by the tail end of Hurricane Gonzalo. Three people were injured in West Sussex by a falling tree and thousands have faced travel disruption with flights cancelled, trains and ferries affected by the weather and roads blocked. A yellow weather warning is in place over most of the country.

Hurricane Gonzalo: storm causes travel disruption

2. PISTORIUS: FIVE-YEAR PRISON SENTENCE

Oscar Pistorius has been sentenced to five years in prison for killing his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp, shot dead at his home in Pretoria on Valentine's Day last year. The Paralympian was impassive as Judge Thokozile Masipa handed down the sentence, which brings the curtain down on a trial that began in March. Pistorius was given a three-year suspended sentence for another firearms charge.

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Oscar Pistorius out of legal options as request to appeal rejected

3. TOTAL OIL BOSS DIES IN MOSCOW JET CRASH

The CEO of Europe’s third-largest oil company, France’s Total, has been killed in an air crash in Russia. Christophe de Margerie, 63, died when his private jet collided with a snow-clearing machine as it took off from Vnukovo airport, Moscow, yesterday evening. Also killed were three crew members.

CEO of Total, Christophe de Margerie, dies in plane crash

4. AUSTRALIAN EX-PM GOUGH WHITLAM DIES

Gough Whitlam, former PM of Australia, has died at the age of 98. The former QC led Labor to victory after 23 years out of office in 1972. In just three years as PM, he transformed Australia, introducing universal healthcare, free universities, non-white immigration - and abolishing the death penalty.

Australia mourns former PM Gough Whitlam

5. UK DRONES TO FLY OVER SYRIA

The Ministry of Defence has confirmed that the UK will fly unmanned Reaper drones and a spy plane over Syria to gather intelligence in the fight against Islamic State militants. The aircraft will also be used over Iraq. Downing Street has insisted that there will be no military action in Syria without a Commons vote.

6. PARALYSED MAN WALKS AFTER CELL OP

A Polish man who was paralysed from the chest down in a knife attack can now walk again, using a frame for support, after pioneering surgery. With support from UK scientists, Polish doctors transplanted cells from Darek Fidyka’s nasal tissue and used them to re-grow his partially-severed spinal cord.

Paralysed man walks again after 'historic' cell transplant

7. APPLE: REVENUE UP 12% ON IPHONE 6 SALES

Apple has revealed its revenue was up 12% in the quarter ending September this year - a 16% rise year-on-year. Strong sales of its latest smartphone, the iPhone 6, are behind the spike. The company shifted 39.27 million units last quarter, surpassing the expected 38 million - and that excludes sales in China.

8. SALISBURY IN TOP TEN WORLD CITIES LIST

International travel guide Lonely Planet has named Salisbury as one of the top ten cities in the world to visit next year. The only UK city to make the list, it was described as “quintessentially English”, ranked above Toronto and praised for holding the best-preserved copy of the Magna Carta.

9. KATE MAKES PUBLIC APPEARANCE

The Duchess of Cambridge has made her first public appearance since it was announced that she is pregnant with her second child, due in April. She and husband Prince William met the president of Singapore as he began a state visit to Britain. The Duchess, who has been suffering with morning sickness, said she was glad to be "out of the house".

Princess Charlotte to start nursery school in January

10. HOT TICKET: GERMANY AT BRITISH MUSEUM

A new German history exhibition, Germany: Memories of a Nation, has opened at the British Museum, London. It presents 200 objects from Renaissance art to a VW Beetle, signifying Germany’s cultural and political changes over the past 600 years. “Hugely ambitious,” says the Arts Desk. Until 25 January.

Germany: memories of a Nation – exhibition reviews