Ten Things You Need to Know Today: Thursday 30 Jun 2011

published 30 June 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. HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS STRIKE IN UKAround 40 per cent of state schools in England and Wales are shut - or partially shut - after hundreds of thousands of public sector workers walked out on strike. About 750,000 are expected to have taken part. David Cameron said yesterday the government's reforms were "fair" and there was "no case" for strikes. The Mole: Parliament seeks to avoid Athens-style clashes In pictures: pensions protest JONATHAN RHYS MEYERS 'ATTEMPTS SUICIDE'Actor Jonathan Rhys Meyers (above) was hospitalised on Tuesday night after an apparent suicide attempt. The Tudors star is believed to have taken an overdose of prescription drugs at his £3m Maida Vale home. When an ambulance arrived, he refused treatment for 30 minutes until police were also called. FRANCE SECRETLY DROPS ARMS TO LIBYAN REBELSFrance secretly supplied rockets, rifles and machine guns by parachute drop to Berber rebels in the western mountains of Libya who are now advancing on Tripoli, a spokesman for the General Staff confirmed yesterday. The operation, in early June, was last night condemned by the Arab Union as a threat to the stability of the region. KVITOVA THROUGH TO FIRST WIMBLEDON FINALCzech number eight seed, Petra Kvitova, enjoyed an effortless victory over Belarusian Victoria Azarenka at Wimbledon today, sending her through to her first ever grand slam final. Just 21, she will take on either Maria Sharapova or Sabine Lisicki on Saturday. JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE BUYS MYSPACEPop star and actor Justin Timberlake yesterday bought the pioneering but ailing social networking site MySpace from Rupert Murdoch's News International, in partnership with Specific Media of California. NewsCorp paid $580m six years ago but sold for a reported $35m. Justin Timberlake buys a piece of Myspace OK TO HIT A BURGLAR WITH A POKER, SAYS CLARKEJustice secretary Ken Clarke detailed yesterday how he planned to "clarify" a householder's right to self-defence in his controversial justice bill by "making it quite clear that you can hit the burglar with a poker" and that "an old lady" may "pick up a kitchen knife and stick it in him". WILLIAM AND KATE HEAD FOR CANADAThe Duke and Duchess of Cambridge will touch down in Ottawa at 2 pm local time today for the start of their first royal visit since their wedding two months ago. The 11-day tour will take in Montreal and Calgary, before they head to California for a black tie Bafta reception – one of the hottest tickets in Hollywood history. Crispin Black: Do William and Kate have the right man advising them? EU WELCOMES GREEK VOTE FOR AUSTERITY PACKAGEEU leaders last night welcomed the Greek parliament's vote for a package of severe spending cuts and tax rises despite rioting on the streets of Athens, saying it was a vital step back from "the very grave scenario of default" on national debt. It opens the way to a €12bn installment of EU loans. BREAKTHROUGH FOR AMANDA KNOX APPEAL The appeal by Amanda Knox and Raffaele Sollecito against their conviction for the killing of the British student Meredith Kercher took a new turn yesterday when two Rome University professors appointed as court experts dismissed DNA evidence crucial to the prosecution case as tainted and unreliable. Corruption claim stuns Amanda Knox court BAIL CHAOS AFTER COURT RESTRICTS POLICE POWERSA High Court ruling restricting police powers to hold and then bail suspects for further questioning means that 80,000 such suspects in England and Wales might walk away free. Home Secretary Theresa May said yesterday she would either appeal the ruling or introduce emergency legislation.