Daily Briefing

Ten Things You Need to Know Today: Sunday 26 Aug 2012

The Week’s super-quick catch-up on the main news talking points, available from 8am daily

1. ACTIVISTS SAY 200 DEAD IN SYRIA
Syrian opposition activists claim that as many as 200 people have been killed in a massacre in the town of Daraya, near the capital Damascus, by government troops. They claim that many people were the victims of execution-style killings, their bodies found in basements and houses. Syrian state TV said the town was being "cleansed of terrorist remnants".
2. ASTRONAUT NEIL ARMSTRONG DIES
US astronaut Neil Armstrong, the first man to set foot on the Moon, has died at the age of 82. Armstrong, who uttered the phrase "one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind", died from complications from heart surgery according to his family. President Barack Obama said Armstrong was "among the greatest of American heroes - not just of his time, but of all time".
3. MURDOCH 'TOLD SUN TO RUN HARRY PHOTOS'
Rupert Murdoch ordered The Sun to publish photographs of naked Prince Harry as a warning shot to Lord Justice Leveson, reports The Independent On Sunday. "We can't carry on like this," Murdoch told a News International executive, according to a source. "We should run them, do it and say to Leveson, we are doing it for press freedom."
4. BLUEWATER TERRORIST IN HUMAN RIGHTS BID
Two terrorists, one of whom plotted to kill thousands of people in a bomb attack on the Bluewater shopping centre, have applied to have their convictions overturned by the European Court of Human Rights. The pair will argue that MI5 was complicit in the torture they claim to have suffered at the hands of security services in Pakistan.
5. HEADS WANT 'TOTAL RE-MARK' OF GCSE PAPERS
Head teachers are demanding a "total re-mark" of all GCSE English papers taken by their pupils this year. The president of the Association of School and College Leaders, which represents thousands of heads, said "There is huge anger out there... I am confident we can get things changed for the better." Exams regulator Ofqual says it will look again at the results.
6. MO FARAH FATHER OF TWIN GIRLS
Team GB Olympic hero Mo Farah is the father of twin girls, he has announced. Farah's wife Tania was heavily pregnant when she joined him on the track at London 2012. "My wife has been holding on so long and it's great that she held on this long and didn't give birth on the track," said the 5,000m and 10,000m champion.
7. BREIVIK BLOGS FROM CELL
Anders Breivik, jailed for 21 years for killing 77 people, is dodging prison rules by blogging from his cell. He is banned from using the internet but sends material by post to fellow extremists who publish it online. “My goal is to develop a pan-European prison network consisting of patriotic martyrs and other politically motivated prisoners,” he wrote to one supporter.
8. SYRIAN ACTIVISTS CLAIM NEW 'MASSACRE'
Activists in Syria claim they have found scores of bodies in a town near Damascus and are accusing government forces of another massacre. Activists say many of the victims, in the town of Daraya, appear to have been "summarily executed". Meanwhile, a British-born doctor is believed to have taken a break from medical training in London to join jihadists in Syria.
9. NEW PREM AWARD FOR MUSLIM PLAYERS
The Premier League is to introduce a non-alcoholic alternative to the champagne bottle that is customarily presented to the man-of-the-match. The move follows a series of awkward incidents in which Muslim players have declined the award. "I don't drink because I am a Muslim, so you keep it," said Manchester City's Yaya Toure earlier this year.
10. ROONEY INJURED AS UNITED WIN
Manchester United beat Fulham 3-2, with new signing Robin van Persie among the goals. Wayne Rooney was dropped from the starting line-up and then got injured after he came on as a substitute. A clash with Hugo Rodellega left him with a gashed thigh that is expected to rule him out of two World Cup qualifiers in September.