Ten Things You Need to Know Today: Thursday 2 Jun 2011

published 2 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. russia bans import of EU vegetables over e. coliA deadly new strain of E.coli is responsible for the food poisoning outbreak that has caused the deaths of 17 people in Europe, according to the World Health Organisation. Spanish cucumbers, initially blamed for the outbreak, have been given the all-clear, but Russia has banned all imports of fresh vegetables from the European Union. Deadly German E. coli is a new strain, says WHO QUEEN'S DIAMOND JUBILEE PLANS ANNOUNCEDDetails of the Elizabeth II's four-day Diamond Jubilee celebrations in 2012 have been announced. The Queen will attend the Epsom Derby on Saturday June 2, and the following day a flotilla of 1,000 boats will sail down the Thames with the Royal Barge. Monday June 4 and Tuesday June 5 will both be bank holidays. Beacons will be lit across the country and the festivities will end with a service at St Paul's. 15 killed in SYRIAN BOMBARDMENTAnger at the torture of "boy martyr" Hamza al-Khatib, 13, has prompted Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad to offer a "full inquiry" into his death. Photographs suggest the boy was beaten, cut and mutilated. The military claims he was "shot three times". Meanwhile rebels claimed on Thursday that at least 15 people died when government troops bombarded the city of Rastan, near Homs. CHINA DENIES ATTACK ON US GOOGLE ACCOUNTSChinese hackers have been accused of invading the Google accounts of American officials, military personnel and journalists. The incident is the latest in the 'cyber wars' which have prompted the Obama White House to produce a strategic review which declares the right to meet internet attacks with a "military response". But China has rejected Google's claims that it is behind the attacks. What is China's online Blue Army – and is it a threat? UK's NATURE WORTH BILLIONS TO THE ECONOMYA new report says that the UK's trees, parks, waterways and wildlife are worth billions of pounds to the national economy. The 'groundbreaking' National Ecosystem Assessment (NEA), which aims to calculate the economic value of less tangible factors such as clean air and water, claims the health benefits of just living near a green space are worth up to £300 a year per person. STEPHEN FRY: ‘I MAY COMMIT SUICIDE ONE DAY’The broadcaster, comic actor and inveterate tweeter Stephen Fry says he may one day commit suicide because of bipolar disorder. In an interview on Sky Arts tonight, he says: "The fact that I am lucky enough not to have it so seriously doesn’t mean I won’t one day kill myself – I may well." ‘I might kill myself’ admits Stephen Fry RUSSIAN WHO BURIED HIMSELF ALIVE DIESA Russian computer programmer who got a friend to help bury him alive in his garden in Blagoveshchensk has been found dead after staying overnight in his improvised coffin. The 35-year-old had air pipes, a mobile phone and water. He thought the experience would bring him good luck. But he was dead when his friend returned in the morning. NEW YORK HOTEL MAIDS GET PANIC BUTTONS Chambermaids and housekeepers at the New York hotels where fallen IMF boss Dominique Strauss-Kahn is charged with attempted rape, and Egyptian businessman Mahmoud Abdel Salam Omar with sexual assault, are to get panic buttons, Peter Ward, president of the hotel workers union, announced yesterday. Photo: Keep your paws off, Monsieur Strauss-Kahn GLOBAL WAR ON DRUGS 'HAS FAILED'The Global Commission on Drug Policy has called for the legalisation of some drugs and an end to the criminalisation of drug users in a report that claims the worldwide war on drugs has failed. The heavyweight commission includes the former presidents of Colombia and Mexico, the former UN chief Kofi Annan and entrepreneur Sir Richard Branson. SEPP BLATTER WINS FOURTH TERM AT FIFAFifa president Sepp Blatter won his fourth term as expected late yesterday with 186 of the 203 votes cast in his unopposed election. He said he was "willing to face the public anger" and was "the captain weathering this storm". Fifa did not reveal which delegates had voted against him. The voting followed a barrage of criticism of the English FA. Fifa farce: British press turn on Blatter after vote