Ten Things You Need to Know Today: Friday 8 Jan 2016

1. Homes evacuated as more floods hit Scotland

At least 56 homes in Aberdeenshire have been evacuated after the river Don last night burst its banks. The floods came after heavy rains hit the east of Scotland. Two severe flood warnings, meaning danger to life, have been issued. The rail line between Aberdeen and Dundee is closed and Aberdeen Airport's runway needs repairs.

UK weather: Storm to batter Britain this weekend

2. US Hellfire missile 'acccidentally sent to Cuba'

A dummy US Hellfire missile was accidentally sent to Havana in 2014, it has emerged. Cuba has not returned the device, despite urging from the US, which fears it could pass on secrets of its construction to US enemy nations including North Korea. The missile had been sent to Spain for use in a Nato exercise and was lost on return.

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3. Paris suspect's prints found at Brussels apartment

A fingerprint from Salah Abdeslam, one of the masterminds behind the Paris terror attacks, has been found at an apartment in Brussels along with explosives and handmade belts, which could have been worn by suicide bombers. Prosecutors believe that Addeslam may have hidden there after the attacks. He is still being hunted by police.

4. Cologne police chief quits after New Year attacks

Cologne's police chief, Wolfgang Albers, is to resign after allegations of violence and sex attacks by gangs of North African and Arab men in the German city on New Year's Eve. The authorities say they have identified 18 asylum-seekers among 31 suspects linked to the allegations. There have been more than 100 reports of sexual assaults on New Year's Eve.

Cologne attacks were coordinated, says German minister

5. Men told: drink no more than a pint a day

The chief medical officer has issued new guidelines on alcohol consumption, the first in 20 years. Men have been advised to drink no more than 14 units (seven pints of beer) in a week, making the UK one of a handful of countries to have identical advice for men and women. The advice also warns there is no 'safe' level for alcohol.

New alcohol health advice branded 'scaremongering'

6. Sian Blake died from head and neck injuries

Police say that the former EastEnders actress Sian Blake and her two sons died of head and neck injuries before they were buried in their own back garden. The search is on for the children's father, Arthur Simpson-Kent, who has not been seen since reporting them missing on 16 December. It is thought he may have fled to Ghana.

Sian Blake: Boyfriend admits killing actress and 2 children

7. Clinton told Blair he had 'that choirboy look'

Transcripts of phone calls between Bill Clinton and Tony Blair, made when the latter was Prime Minister, have been released after a Freedom of Information request and some of the details are fascinating. There is a great deal of banter centred on bananas and, at one point, Clinton tells Blair he looks like a choirboy.

The Clinton-Blair calls: from bananas to moose lips

8. Eddie Redmayne nominated for Bafta for Danish Girl

Eddie Redmayne has been nominated for what will be his second Bafta, if he wins, for his performance as a pioneering transgender woman in The Danish Girl. Other nominees for best leading actor or actress include Bryan Cranston, Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, Maggie Smith, Cate Blanchett and Alicia Vikander.

9. Islamic State jihadist executes his own mother

An Islamic State jihadist executed his own mother in front of hundreds of people in the Syrian town of Raqqa after she begged him to leave the group, it has been claimed. Ali Saqr shot dead his mother, Lena al-Qasem, outside the post office in Raqqa after she warned him that the US-led coalition would wipe out the terror organisation.

Islamic State fighter 'executes own mother for dissent'

10. Briefing: South Korea resumes propoganda broadcasts

Following North Korea's claims to have tested a hydrogen bomb this week South Korea has resumed its propaganda broadcasts across the border, blasting messages into the Korean Demilitarised Zone using loudspeakers targeting North Korean troops. The main programme, The Voice of Freedom, sings the praises of democracy and life in the outside world, carries interviews with defectors from the North and reports news censored by Pyongyang.

South Korea's propaganda broadcasts: how do they work?