Ten Things You Need to Know Today: Thursday 15 Sep 2011

Nicolas Sarkozy and David Cameron in Tripoli

published 15 September 2011

Cameron and sarkozy visit tripoliDavid Cameron and Nicolas Sarkozy are in the Libyan capital Tripoli (above) where they were due to meet leaders of the National Transitional Council before moving on to Benghazi where they are expected to speak in Liberty Square. NTC leaders have assured the pair they will be safe. ONE IN FOUR RIOTERS HAD 10 PREVIOUS CONVICTIONSOne in four people charged in connection with last month's riots in England had more than 10 previous convictions, according to Ministry of Justice figures. Three-quarters had at least one previous conviction or caution and one in 20 had more than 50 previous offences on their record. So far 176 people have been jailed with an average sentence of 11.1 months. UBS 'ROGUE TRADER' ARRESTED In london Kweku Adoboli, a trader at Swiss bank UBS, has been arrested by City of London police over allegations of rogue trading worth $2bn. The 31-year-old is thought to work in the European equities division. He was reportedly at his desk when police raided the bank's offices at 3.30am on Thursday. UBS shares fell 8% after it announced it was investigating rogue trades. UBS £1.3bn rogue trade: have we learnt nothing? PALESTINIAN STATEHOOD BID: DIPLOMATIC PANICHillary Clinton, Tony Blair and EU 'foreign minister' Baroness Ashton all hurried to Israel and the West Bank yesterday in a bid to head-off the Palestinian plan to demand recognition of full statehood at the UN General Assembly starting on September 21, opposed by Israel. The US wants to avoid using its Security Council veto against the move. Palestinian statehood bid: not such a good idea RFU DEFENDS TINDALL OVER 'DWARF THROWing'England rugby officials have sprung to the defence of Mike Tindall after tabloid headlines claimed the player, who recently married the Queen's grand-daughter Zara Phillips, canoodled with a "gorgeous blonde" while watching a dwarf-throwing contest at a bar in New Zealand. The RFU said Tindall and other players were "relaxing after a tough match" at the Rugbny World Cup. Mike Tindall: the blonde, the dwarfs and the Queen WELSH MINERS TRAPPED underground BY FLOODFour Welsh miners were trapped underground after flooding at a colliery near Swansea on Thursday and major rescue operation was underway by the afternoon to try and free them. Three other men escaped the Gleision Colliery near Cilybebyll, Pontardawe when the flood happened at around 9am. One was taken to hospital. SHARES RALLY ON GREEK EURO PROMISEAsian stock markets rallied this morning following the assertion by Chancellor Angela Merkel and President Nicolas Sarkozy that Greece would not be forced out of the eurozone. However, beyond telling Greek PM George Papandreou that he must enforce the IMF and EU austerity demands, they announced no new ideas for easing the euro crisis. Bankers despair at vote of confidence in Greece SARAH PALIN BOOK: COCAINE USE AND CASUAL SEXSarah Palin used cocaine and smoked marijuana as a young woman, had an affair with her husband Todd's business partner, and a one-night stand with black basketball star Glen Rice, according to the first leaks from The Rogue by Joe McGinniss. Rice is said to have confirmed the encounter. McGinniss spent three years on the book, even renting a house overlooking Palin's. The Rogue: Palin’s ‘steamy interracial hookup’ NASA UNVEILS ITS ROCKET TO MARSNASA, the American space agency, yesterday unveiled its design for a huge new rocket, called the SLS for 'space launch system', powerful enough to take men to Mars, and several times bigger than both the Shuttle launch boosters and Saturn Vs that put men on the moon. It will cost $18 billion for an initial version to fly unmanned in 2017. JOHANN HARI RETURNS ORWELL PRIZEThe Independent journalist Johann Hari returned his coveted Orwell Prize to its organisers by courier yesterday following an investigation into allegations that he plagiarised quotes for his articles and invented a persona to manipulate Wikipedia to his advantage. Hari will now take four months' unpaid leave and attend a journalism course. Hari sorry: journos round on ‘sanctimonious prig’