Ten Things You Need to Know Today: Friday 2 Dec 2011

1. MERKEL CALLS FOR FISCAL UNION

German Chancellor Angela Merkel has told the German parliament that Europe is taking "concrete steps towards a fiscal union", which would give the EU control over the budgets of its member states. She said the move marked a "new phase in European integration". She will hold talks with French President Nicolas Sarkozy, who has called for a new EU treaty, next week.

King's apocalyptic warning: politicians must find solution

2. CLARKSON JOKE 'AGREED IN ADVANCE'

Jeremy Clarkson agreed in advance with a BBC producer that he would make his controversial outburst that striking public sector workers should be "executed", he tells The Times. Clarkson says his remarks were not meant to be taken seriously and that he is "happy to apologise" for any offence caused. The BBC has now received more than 21,000 complaints.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

Clarkson claims BBC cleared execution joke beforehand

3. SPENDING CUTS HIT WOMEN HARDEST

The Government is under attack as its own figures show that almost 12 million women will be affected by changes to tax credits and public sector pensions, compared with just 5.3 million men. Labour leader Ed Miliband describes Osborne's Autumn statement as "the biggest attack on women in a generation".

4. IRAN DIPLOMAT DEADLINE PASSES

The European Union has tightened its sanctions on Iran, adding 180 individuals and entities to its list, but stopping short of an oil embargo. The US Senate has unanimously approved new American sanctions targeting Iran's oil industry. In the UK the deadline for all Iranian diplomats to leave the country passed at Friday afternoon.

5. GOOGLE CHROME OVERTAKES FIREFOX

Google's web browser Chrome is now the second most popular way of accessing the internet according to research company StatCounter. The browser now accounts for 25.7% of the market, while Firefox's share has fallen to 25.25%. Internet Explorer is still out in front and is used by more than 40% of web users.

6. MP IN 'ANTI-SEMITISM' ROW

MP Paul Flynn is accused of anti-Semitism after he questioned whether the British ambassador to Israel should be Jewish. Flynn accused Matthew Gould, the UK's first Jewish ambassador to Israel, of "divided loyalties" and said the job should go to "someone with roots in the UK". Flynn denies anti-Semitism.

7. GOVERNMENT WINS PENSIONS RULING

Government changes to public sector pensions have been given a boost by the High Court, which has ruled that they can be measured against inflation using the Consumer Prices Index rather than the faster-rising Retail Prices Index. The change could save the government billions of pounds but the unions may go to the Court of Appeal.

8. COCAINE FOUND ON 11% OF BANKNOTES

More than one in 10 banknotes in circulation in Britain is contaminated with cocaine, police experts have said. Police believe longer pub hours introduced in 2006 have led to a rise in cocaine use by men in their 20s, as a means of drinking into the night. Cocaine use in Britain is thought to be the highest in Europe.

9. ENGLAND TO PLAY CO-HOSTS UKRAINE AT EURO 2012

England will play Sweden, France and co-hosts Ukraine at the Euro 2012 football tournament next summer. Although Group D is one of the easier pools, it is inconvenient for England, as they will have to play their games in the Ukraine - hundreds of miles from their base in Krakow, Poland.

England go into Euro 2012 draw sounding bullish

10. HOT TICKET: ANNA PAQUIN MOVIE

American playwright, screenwriter and director Keneth Longergan’s second feature, his first since You Can Count on Me, opens today in London. Anna Paquin stars as a privileged Manhattan teenager whose life is turned upside down by her involvement in a traffic accident. Time Out calls it “frayed-edges filmmaking at its finest”.

After six years in limbo, Paquin film sees the light