Ten Things You Need to Know Today: Thursday 4 Nov 2010

published 4 November 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. AIRBUS MAKES EMERGENCY LANDING AFTER 'EXPLOSION'Qantas has grounded its fleet of six Airbus A380s after one of its passenger jets carrying 430 passengers from Singapore to Sydney suffered an engine failure and was forced to make an emergency landing at Singapore's Changi airport. People on the Indonesian island of Batam reported hearing an explosion and finding debris falling from the sky. Flight QF32 landed safely on three engines and no-one on board was injured. The French-made double-deck A380 is the biggest passenger jet in the world. It made its maiden flight only five years ago. An Airbus A380 problem, or a Qantas problem? In pictures: Airbus A380 comes back down to earth PARCEL BOMB DEFUSED 'WITH ONLY 17 MINUTES TO GO'One of the two parcel bombs found last week in cargo en route from Yemen to Chicago was only found just in time, according to French Interior Minister Brice Hortefeux. He said it was defused 17 minutes before it was due to explode. Hortefeux, speaking to France-2 TV, did not say whether it was the bomb found at the East Midlands Airport in Britain or the one discovered in Dubai. They were unearthed after a tip-off from Saudi Arabian intelligence. Saudis play growing role in anti-terrorism drive PROSTITUTE 'WAS PAID €5,000 TWICE BY BERLUSCONI'Another Italian prostitute has claimed she slept with Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi and was paid €5,000 on each of two occasions. According to the Corriera della Sera newspaper, 27-year-old Nadia Macri has told investigators that she attended parties at his Sardinian villa and at his home near Milan. In Sardinia, she was offered marijuana which, she claims, was brought in on the Prime Minister's private jet. Berlusconi ally says he may have to quit CONTRITE OBAMA ADMITS 'SHELLACKING' IN MIDTERMS President Barack Obama has admitted he was "humbled" by the "shellacking" the Democrats received from the Republicans in Tuesday's midterm elections and that he may have got out of touch with the American people as a result of working in the White House "bubble". He said he was ready to compromise with the Republicans who now control the House of Representatives - but would not back down on his healthcare reforms or his policy of spending billions on quantitative easing to stimulate the economy. Alexander Cockburn: America the clueless NEW VOLCANIC ASH CLOUD THREATFrom the people who brought us Eyjafjallajokull comes another volcanic threat - Grimsvotn. Icelandic scientists say the volcano is showing signs of erupting for the first time in six years. Volcanic ash will be released, but they hope it will be minimal compared with the cloud released by Eyjafjallajokull in April, causing air traffic chaos across Europe. Grimsvotn could be the new threat SANTANDER GETS FEMALE CEO - THE CHAIRMAN'S DAUGHTER Madrid-based Santander, the third biggest high street bank in Britain, has moved quickly to replace the outgoing chief executive of its UK operation, Antonio Horta-Osorio, after yesterday's announcement that he has been poached to head Lloyds. Santander's new boss in Britain will be Ana Patricia Botin, daughter of the bank's chairman, Emilio Botin. The family has run Santander for 150 years. CHELSEA THROUGH IN CHAMPIONS LEAGUE, ARSENAL LOSE There were mixed fortunes for London clubs in the Champions League last night. Chelsea cruised into the last 16 of the competition with two games to spare thanks to an emphatic 4-1 win over Spartak Moscow at Stamford Bridge. But in Ukraine Arsenal lost 2-1 to Shakhtar Donetsk, meaning the Gunners are yet to qualify for the knockout stages. Shakhtar's winning goal came from Arsenal old boy Eduardo. Gunners sunk by Eduardo MAJOR DRUGS TUNNEL FOUND AT MEXICAN BORDER Raids on both sides of the US-Mexico border this week have unearthed a 1,800ft tunnel used for smuggling drugs into California. The tunnel, found under the border south of San Diego, was equipped with lighting, ventilation and a rail system - making it one of the most sophisticated of the 75 drug tunnels discovered in the past four years. CAMERON MOCKED FOR 'VANITY STAFF'Labour leader Ed Miliband mocked David Cameron at Prime Minister's Questions on Wednesday for adding two "vanity staff" - a personal photographer and personal film-maker - to the government payroll at a time when 500,000 civil servants expect to lose their jobs. Andrew Parsons, originally hired by the Tory party to take behind-the-scenes photos, and Nicky Woodhouse, who runs the PM's personal video blog, have both been given short-term contracts. 'I WON'T QUIT' SAYS CHRISTINE BLEAKLEYDespite constant reports of falling ratings for the ITV morning show Daybreak, co-presenter Christine Bleakley was named TV presenter of the year at the Cosmopolitan Ultimate Women Of The Year awards. She said she had no plans to quit the show and blamed the low ratings on "teething problems". Others have questioned the lack of chemistry with her grumpy co-host Adrian Chiles and called her a "giggling airhead".