Ten Things You Need to Know Today: Monday 1 Aug 2011

published 1 August 2011

Our popular news catch-up service is posted Monday to Friday at 8.0am. You can rely on it to keep you up to date through the working day with the main news talking points. OBAMA ANNOUNCES DEAL TO STAVE-OFF US DEBT DEFAULTPresident Obama announced a deal late last night to raise the US debt limit and stave off default on Tuesday. Democrat and Republican leaders in both houses of Congress agreed to raise the $14.3 trillion debt limit in exchange for $1tn worth of budget cuts over 10 years. The deal may still struggle to pass a House of Representatives vote before Tuesday. US debt deal: Tea Party may regret this victory Downgrade of America’s AAA rating still likely SCORES DIE IN SYRIA AS TANKS CRUSH PROTESTSMore than 100 protesters were killed in Syria yesterday as President Bashar al-Assad sent tanks to crush demonstrations against his rule in the city of Hama on the eve of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. Tank attacks were also reported in the south of the country and the Damascus suburbs. Syria: Ramadan massacre in Hama GOVernmenT CLAIMS £3.75bn in savingsThe government has claimed it saved £3.75bn in the last year by cutting spending on projects, renegotiating contracts and getting rid of jobs. Cabinet Office minister Francis Maude said the scale of the savings was "staggering". TUC secretary general Brendan Barber said they were "deep cuts in valued services". Breivik DEMANDS TO BE MADE HEAD OF ARMED FORCESAnders Behring Breivik, the "crusader" responsible for the bombing and gun massacre in Norway which left 77 dead, has demanded to be made head of the country's armed forces. The demand came during a second round of police questioning on his claim of more "terror cells" in Norway and Europe. He also called for the abdication of King Harald V and the resignation of the Labour government. AMY WINEHOUSE TOPS THE CHARTS AFTER DEATHAmy Winehouse's 2006 album Back to Black was at the top of the UK charts last night, eight days after she was found dead at her home in Camden, London. Her first album, Frank, was at number five, while five individual tracks were in the singles top 40. HMV, her record label, said there was "a real surge" after her death and more CDs had to be rushed to the shops. Winehouse ‘spent £1,200 on drugs’ the night she died HSBC to cut 30,000 jobs HSBC has announced that it is cutting 30,000 jobs from its global workforce over the next three years. Around 5,000 job cuts have already been made, but a further 25,000 people will lose their jobs in the next two-and-a-half years. There are concerns that many jobs could be lost in the UK, after 700 roles went in June. HSBC to sack 25,000 staff despite huge pre-tax profits TEEN FROM SHETLAND ISLANDS CHARGED with HACKINGJake Davis, 18, from the Shetland Islands, was yesterday charged with five counts of unauthorised computer access and attacking the Serious Organised Crime Agency (Soca) website. His arrest follows a police investigation into the hacking groups Anonymous and LulzSec. Davis is to appear at Westminster Magistrates today. No tip for Cameron's brusque waitress David Cameron was brusquely told to fetch his own drinks when he visited the village of Montevarchi on the first day of his holiday in the Tuscany region of Italy. He had ordered three coffees inside the Dolcenero café while his wife Sam and an aide grabbed an outside table. Cameron asked the waitress to bring the drinks, but she was too busy and told him to get them himself. The PM left no tip. Waitress tells Cameron to get his own cappuccinos MAN GORED TO DEATH AT BULL RUNNING EVENTA Spanish man was gored to death by a bull at the weekend after waving a pink umpbrella at the half-tonne animal during a festival in the town of Rafelbunyol, near Valencia. So-called 'bulls in the streets' events, in which volunteers are chased by the animals, are becoming more popular in Spain, but 486 people were injured last year. EASTENDERS BABY-SWAP PLOT CLEAREDAn EastEnders plot involving a cot death and baby swap has been cleared by the media regulator Ofcom, even though it caused a media furore and generated thousands complaints from the public. In the episodes one character swapped her dead baby for the newborn son of another. But Ofcom ruled the scenes were not "unduly disturbing or graphic".