Ten Things You Need to Know Today: Monday 20 Dec 2010

published 20 December 2010

Our popular news catch-up service is posted Monday to Friday at 8.0 am. You can rely on it to keep you up to date through the working day with the main news talking points. MORE SNOW AS TRAVEL CHAOS CONTINUESThe cold weather has continued to cause travel chaos across the country as BA cancelled all short haul flights from Heathrow and 3,500 people queued outside St Pancras in freezing temperatures for Eurostar services. The west of Britain endured the worst of the snow on Monday after temperatures dipped as low as -27C over the weekend. It has been estimated that the cost to the economy could be as much as £2.5bn. Can Cameron deal with a winter of discontent ? In pictures: snow in the UK POLICE ARREST 12 IN XMAS TERROR PLOTPolice have arrested 12 men on suspicion of plotting a terrorist attack after a "major" national counter-terrorism operation. Five were from Cardiff, four from Stoke-on Trent and three from London. Arrested in their homes at around 5am today, the men are aged between 17 and 28. Their plans were said to be in an "advanced" stage. BIDEN: WE WILL PROSECUTE 'TERRORIST' ASSANGEUS Vice President, Joe Biden, told a TV interviewer yesterday that American authorities are actively seeking ways to prosecute WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, describing him as a "high-tech terrorist". Meanwhile, UK newspapers continue to dig dirt on the Australian, with the Daily Mail noting he fathered a son at 17. Assange lawyers demand investigation after leak XMAS NO. 1 FOR X FACTOR WINNER MATT CARDLEMatt Cardle, the winner of this year's X Factor, has bagged the top spot in the charts for Christmas, despite various attempts organised on Facebook to block the inevitable success of When We Collide. The 27-year-old (above) will be relieved that an unseemly family row carried out through the tabloids didn't derail his chances of success. BBC MAN BRIAN HANRAHAN DIESTV newsman Brian Hanrahan has died at 61 shortly after being diagnosed with cancer. Hanrahan started as a clerk at the BBC in 1970 and eventually became Diplomatic editor and a noted correspondent. He will be best remembered for his Falklands war phrase: "I counted them all out and I counted them all back," as he watched Harrier jets return from battle. Veteran newsmen Anthony Howard and Brian Hanrahan die TEARY-EYED BECKS ACCEPTS BBC GONGDavid Beckham was overcome with emotion yesterday as he thanked his wife for her support during his career. The LA Galaxy star was accepting a lifetime award at the BBC Sports Personality of the Year awards, where an audience including Sir Alex Ferguson also saw Tony McCoy become the first jockey to win the main award. Zinedine Zidane and David Beckham save the day for the BBC ROW OVER CHELSEA V MAN UTD POSTPONEMENTChelsea FC have been accused by Manchester United fans of using the snow as an excuse to postpone Saturday afternoon's key match between the Premier League's top sides. The conspiracy theorists say the delay gives the struggling west London club time to regroup after a bad run of form – only one win in six league games - and get Frank Lampard and Alex back to fitness. Chelsea say there were concerns about people getting to the ground. Chelsea accused of running scared after Man Utd postponement LIZ HURLEY WANTS TO CALL OFF DIVORCEActress and swimwear designer Liz Hurley regrets her embarrassing affair with Aussie cricketer Shane Warne, the Sun claims, and has begged husband Arun Nayar to take her back after she found out Warne had sent 100 flirtatious text messages to a married blonde. Its all good publicity for Warne's upcoming chatshow… Liz Hurley, the vicar and the missing £1,000 SOUTH KOREA HOLDS LIVE FIRE DRILLS ON YEONPYEONGThe South Korean army has held live-fire military drills on Yeonpyeong, the disputed island that was shelled by North Korea last month in response to similar exercises. Although the North threatened more reprisals before the latest drills, state media in Pyongyang later quoted the army as saying it was "not worth reacting". TWITTER CAN BE USED IN COURT, SAYS JUDGEThe Lord Chief Justice, Lord Judge, has ruled that Twitter can be used in courtrooms in the wake of the Julian Assange extradition hearings, where journalists were told they first could, then couldn't, send tweets during proceedings. Lord Judge said that the use of "live text based communications" was not prohibited, but warned that their use would have to be decided on a case-by-case basis.