Ten Things You Need to Know Today: Monday 17 May 2010

published 17 May 2010

Slept through the Today programme? Missed the Sunday papers? Or just too depressed about going back to work - see the Mind survey below - to even care? The First Post's catch-up service, posted at 8.0am, is designed to help... LABOUR LEFT A TERRIBLE MESS, SAYs OSBORNEGeorge Osborne, the new Chancellor, has used an interview in today's Financial Times to attack the outgoing Labour administration for leaving the country's finances in a "terrible state". He said: "We are finding all sorts of skeletons in various cupboards and all sorts of decisions taken at the last minute." On Sunday, Prime Minister David Cameron told the BBC's Andrew Marr that an audit of government books had discovered "crazy" spending decisions, including bonuses for 75 per cent of senior civil servants. The Mole... VOLCANIC ASH CLOSES UK AIRPORTS AGAINHeathrow, Gatwick and London City airports were closed overnight as the Civil Aviation Authority ordered a no-fly zone in the light of the volcanic ash cloud drifting south from Iceland once again. Airports in Scotland and Northern Ireland are also closed. In northern England, Manchester, Liverpool and Leeds Bradford have all re-opened but anyone travelling by air should check before leaving for the airport. Aviation expert David Learmount has told the BBC that ash from the Eyjafjallajokull volcano could cause disruption for 20 years or more. More... BA TO REPORT RECORD LOSSBritish Airways is due to announce a £600m loss for the 2009-10 financial year. Chief executive Willie Walsh will inform top shareholders of the bad news at an event on Friday. Volcanic ash, strike threats and a mounting pension deficit are to blame. Today, the new Transport Secretary, Philip Hammond, will meet BA executives and representatives of the Unite union, in an effort to stop the cabin crew strike due to start on Tuesday. BA's lawyers will be in court to challenge the legality of the strike. ENGLAND WIN CRICKET WORLD CUPEngland thrashed Australia by seven wickets to win the World Twenty20 title in Barbados yesterday. It was England's first victory in the limited overs tournament since it was established 35 years ago. Kevin Pietersen (47) and Craig Kieswetter (63) were the batting heroes, taking England to 118-1 before falling in quick succession. Petersen was named man of the series. In football, Chelsea have done the double by winning the FA Cup Final on Saturday. They beat Portsmouth 1-0, despite Frank Lampard missing a penalty. FEMALE SOLDIERS TOLD TO CARRY CONDOMSThe high level of pregnancies among women in the British Army has led the Ministry of Defence to launch a campaign urging female soldiers based in Afghanistan to carry condoms. Officially, serving solders must stick to a 'no-touching' rule. But in reality, a blind eye is turned when relationships develop between men and women of equal rank. Figures released last year under Freedom of Information rules showed that 102 women had to be sent home from Iraq during the army's six-year presence there because they had become pregnant. EURO 'COULD REACH PARITY WITH DOLLAR'The euro plunged to a four-year low of $1.2306 against the dollar when trading opened in Tokyo this morning. Some analysts expect the euro to pass the all-time low of $1.1640 of November 2005 and head for parity, according to a report in the Sunday Times. The fear is that the austerity measures needed in Greece and other EU nations will tip them back into recession and drag the euro down. However, Naomi Fink, a currency strategist at Bank of Tokyo Mitsubishi, told the Times today the currency's fall was a natural correction. "The euro was overvalued for quite a time," she said. "This was bound to happen and overdue." FRANK FIELD TO BE CAMERON'S 'POVERTY TSAR' The new Prime Minister has made two surprise appointments in his bid to create a government "of all the talents". The Labour backbencher Frank Field, who became a fierce critic of Gordon Brown's immigration policy, is to be David Cameron's "poverty tsar" - in charge of getting the poor off benefits and into work. He will report to the new Work and Pensions Secretary, Iain Duncan Smith. Even more surprising, the left-wing Observer journalist Will Hutton has been asked to lead Cameron's drive to cut public sector pay. MOBILE PHONE USE 'RISKS BRAIN CANCER' Not for the first time, research has concluded that heavy use of mobile phones is dangerous. This time it's serious. A landmark Interphone study for the World Health Organisation claims that anyone who uses a mobile for 30 minutes a day over 10 years has a greater risk of developing glioma tumours, a type of brain cancer. ENGLAND'S 2018 WORLD CUP CHIEF RESIGNS Lord Triesman yesterday stood down as chairman of the England bid to host the 2018 World Cup after the Mail on Sunday revealed that he had made an extraordinary claim about Spain and Russia, both of whom are rivals to host the event. Triesman reportedly told a young civil servant, Melissa Jacobs, with whom he had been on various dinner dates, that the Spanish would be prepared to withdraw their bid if the Russians would help them bribe referees in this summer's tournament. Triesman has already been replaced by Geoff Thompson, a former FA chairman. More... MILLIONS SUFFER FROM 'SUNDAY BLUES' IN RECESSION The recession is raising stress levels so high that a quarter of all workers say Sundays are now ruined by anxiety and dread of returning to work after the weekend off. A study commissioned by Mind, the mental health charity, found increasing numbers of workers missing lunch breaks and doing unpaid overtime. Almost all those questioned were unhappy with their work-life balance.