Ten Things You Need to Know Today: Saturday 10 Mar 2012

1. CLEGG CALLS FOR 'TYCOON TAX'

Nick Clegg is calling for a “tycoon tax” so millionaires can no longer "pay an army of lawyers and accountants to basically pick and choose what tax [they] are paying". He tells The Daily Telegraph he is prepared to drop his opposition to the axing of the 50p top rate of income tax in return.

2. ANNAN'S SYRIA MISSION SLAMMED

UN-Arab League envoy Kofi Annan will hold talks with Syria's President Bashar al-Assad in Damascus today to press for an end to violence. Opposition leaders have dismissed Annan's move as "disappointing", arguing that a political solution will fail unless backed by military might.

3. POPE ATTACKS GAY MARRIAGE "CURRENTS"

Pope Benedict XVI denounced gay marriage and premarital sex during a speech in Vatican City. He warned of the "powerful political and cultural currents" seeking to introduce gay marriage and said sex before marriage is "gravely sinful" and "damaging to the stability of society".

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

4. MP FINED FOR DRUNKEN HEAD-BUTT

Labour MP Eric Joyce was fined £3,000 and banned from entering pubs and bars for three months after pleading guilty to assault at Westminster Magistrates’ Court. He admitted he was "hammered" on red wine when he head-butted a Tory MP at the Strangers' Bar last month.

5. CHEF LAUNCHES PRIVACY CASE

Gordon Ramsay's father-in-law hacked into his computer to obtain a photo that showed the chef on a shark fishing trip after he had condemned the activity on TV, the High Court heard yesterday. Ramsay is suing Chris Hutcheson for breach of privacy and breach of confidence.

6. VIOLENCE AFTER MORTARS HIT ISRAEL

Fresh fighting has broken out between Israel and terrorists in Gaza after mortar shells were fired into Israel yesterday. Israeli air strikes have killed 12 Palestinians, including Zohair al-Qaisi a leading member of the terror group that kidnapped Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit.

7. HALF UK'S YOUNG BLACK MEN JOBLESS

Over half of Britain's young black males are unemployed, reports The Guardian. According to leaked data from the Office for National Statistics the unemployment rate for young black people has increased at almost twice the rate of their white counterparts since 2008.

8. BEE GEE: 'MY CANCER IS KARMIC'

Bee Gees member Robin Gibb believes his battle with cancer and the early deaths of two of his brothers is a "karmic price for all the fame and fortune the Bee Gees have had". The 62-year-old is now in remission after being struck by colon and liver cancer in 2010.

9. BODY DECOMPOSED ON TABLE

A man's body decomposed on a mortuary table for six days because, claim his family, it was too big to fit in the mortuary fridge. The family of David Gardner dropped plans for an open casket funeral because the body was too decomposed. Gloucestershire Royal Hospital is investigating.

10. GERMAN PAPER DROPS NUDE TRADITION

The leading German tabloid newspaper Bild is dropping its traditional naked or semi-clad 'page one girl' after 28 years. Bild, Europe's biggest selling and the world's seventh biggest newspaper, is thought to have taken the move to try and woo more female readers.