Ten Things You Need to Know Today: Friday 5 Oct 2012

1. UN CONDEMNS SYRIA ATTACK

The UN has condemned Syria's mortar attack on Turkey that killed five civilians. It issued a revised statement after Syria's ally Russia blocked an earlier draft, demanding that a passage referring to "international peace and security" be dropped. Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan says his country does not want war with Syria.

Calls for Syria action grow, but West must beware Turkey agenda

2. 'METROPOLITAN ELITE' RUNS TORY PARTY

The Conservative Party is dominated by a "metropolitan elite" that disconnects it from its "core supporters" argues Dr Liam Fox. Writing in The Daily Telegraph, Fox says party leaders need to urgently “reconnect with our own supporters”. He also argues that Britain has "not had a period of great austerity, or anything like it".

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3. MAN ARRESTED FOR MURDER OF APRIL JONES

Mark Bridger, 46, has been arrested on suspicion of the murder of five-year-old April Jones, who is thought to have been abducted in Machynlleth, Mid Wales, on Monday. Bridger has been held by police for questioning for three days. Investigators renewed their appeal for information, saying: "We are looking to trace the movements of Mark Bridger between 6.30pm on Monday and 3.30pm on Tuesday, and any sightings of him between these times."

April Jones 'murder': Kay Burley takes Sky to 'new low'

4. OBAMA GETS UNEMPLOYMENT BOOST

President Barack Obama has received a boost to his chances of re-election after the US unemployment rate dropped to 7.8 per cent in September from 8.1 per cent in August. The payroll data is a psychological boost to the Obama campaign, because no incumbent president has won re-election with unemployment above 8 per cent.

5. ABU HAMZA CAN BE EXTRADITED, SAYS COURT

Radical cleric Abu Hamza and four other suspects can be extradited to the United States to face trial on terrorism charges, the High Court has ruled. The judges said that Hamza, Babar Ahmad, Syed Talha Ahsan, Adel Abdul Bary and Khaled al-Fawwaz had failed to show "new and compelling" reasons not extradite them, adding "the sooner [Hamza] is put on trial the better".

Abu Hamza faces 'immediate' extradition after losing appeal

6. WINNER MAY CLOSE CURTAIN AT DIGNITAS

Michael Winner says he may choose to end his own life at the Dignitas clinic in Switzerland. The film director and restaurant critic was told earlier this year by liver specialists that he has less than 18 months to live. He said he has researched the process at the clinic, explaining: "You don’t just go in and say 'Here I am, do your worst'."

7. BBC PRESENTER 'IN TAX DODGE SCHEME'

TV presenter Anne Robinson is among 2,000 people who used a scheme to avoid paying tax on a combined total of £1.2billion, reports The Times. She is understood to have paid £280,000 to the Liberty scheme to avoid paying tax on around £4million. Meanwhile, MPs have criticised the BBC for allowing thousands of employees to manage their own tax affairs.

BBC contracts raise 'suspicions of complicity in tax avoidance'

8. TORY CHAIRMAN'S COMPANY PROBED

A company formed by Conservative Party chairman Grant Shapps is under investigation after a complaint that Shapps misled the public by posing as 'Michael Green', a web guru with a £17 million personal fortune. The Advertising Standards Authority is investigating the complaint, which friends of Shapps believe was politically motivated.

9. COLE SAYS FA ARE A 'BUNCH OF TWATS'

Chelsea defender Ashley Cole has branded the FA a "bunch of twats" on Twitter after it laid out its reasons for finding his team-mate John Terry guilty of racially abusing Anton Ferdinand last season. The report made it clear the FA panel did not believe Terry's version of events and also questioned Cole's honesty.

'Bunch of twats' tweet could end Ashley Cole England career

10. HOT TICKET: POST-POTTER TEEN TALE

American coming-of-age film ‘The Perks of Being a Wallflower’ has opened in UK cinemas. Harry Potter’s Emma Watson and Ezra Miller (We Need to Talk about Kevin) star as high school seniors who take a shy freshman, Logan Lerman, under their wing. “Irresistible”, says Time Out.

Post-Potter Emma Watson in The Perks of Being a Wallflower