Ten Things You Need to Know Today: Monday 30 May 2011

published 30 May 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. UK GROWTH FORECASTS CUT AGAINBritain's growth forecasts have been cut for the second time in six months by the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC), because of rising inflation at a time of austerity. Forecast for growth in 2011 has been reduced from 1.4 to 1.3 per cent and in 2012 from 2.3 to 2.2 per cent. The BCC's chief economist warned there will be "some slippage" in Chancellor Osborne's deficit reduction plans. Neil Clark: What UK's young jobless can learn from Barcelona SERBS COME OUT TO SUPPORT RATKO MLADIC Thousands of Serbs took to the streets of Belgrade yesterday (above) to protest the arrest of Bosnian Serb army chief Ratko Mladic to face charges of war crimes, including the Srebrenica massacre of 7,500 men and boys in 1995, which he has denied ordering. The protesters called him a "hero" and decried handing him over to The Hague as "treason". Crispin Black: Justice at last for Ratko Mladic HAMILTON MAKES RACE COMPLAINT IN MONACO Lewis Hamilton for McLaren faces new disciplinary hearings today after complaining after yesterday's Monaco Grand Prix that he was being victimised by race stewards on racial grounds. Hauled before the stewards' committee for the fifth time in six races, he said "Maybe it's because I'm black! That's what Ali G says." Champion Sebastian Vetter won for Red Bull. FIFA SUSPENDS BIN HAMMAM AND JACK WARNERFifa has suspended executive committee members Mohamed Bin Hammam and Jack Warner and will conduct a full inquiry into corruption allegations. President Sepp Blatter was found to have "no case to answer" and will run unopposed in Wednesday's elections after Bin Hammam stood down from the race. PALIN RIDES THE HOGS IN MEMORIAL DAY VETERANS RALLYSarah Palin, thought to be on the verge of declaring her presidential run next year, clamboured aboard a Harley Davidson motorcycle for the Rolling Thunder veterans Memorial Day rally to the Vietnam Monument in Washington yesterday. She asked how to stay cool in "all this leather" and gushed "I love that smell of emissions." Palin makes preemptive strike against Bachmann BUNKER-BUSTER BOMBS FOR RAF LIBYA MISSIONThe RAF is to get 2,000lb "bunker-busting" bombs capable of penetrating the roofs of reinforced buildings to boost its mission in Libya. They will be aimed at command centres. Defence secretary Liam Fox said Britain was not targeting "individuals" but that the Gaddafi regime would be "wise" to listen to "increasingly loud messages". NAIPAUL AND THEROUX END LITERARY FEUDWriters V S Naipaul and Paul Theroux ended 15 years of literature's most famous feud with a handshake yesterday at the Hay Festival, where they had fallen out in 1996. Theroux had discovered that Naipaul had sold signed books he had given him for £1,000 each. Novelist Ian McEwan engineered a meeting after hearing they were both at the festival. GERMANY WILL CLOSE ALL NUCLEAR PLANTS BY 2022After an all-night meeting, Germany's environment minister Norbert Rottgen announced early today that the government will shut down of all of its nuclear power plants by 2022. Chancellor Angela Merkel had set up a panel on nuclear power following the Fukushima disaster in Japan. CHERYL COLE 'WILL NOT RETURN' TO UK X FACTORCheryl Cole, back in Britain after being sacked by the US version of The X Factor, will definitely not be returning to the original British show as a judge, according to today's Daily Mail. Cole has become "uncontactable" and a TV source told the paper: "That's it. Cheryl will not be returning to the British X Factor." Will Cheryl Cole run home to Ashley? FRENCH MINISTER QUITS IN FOOT MASSAGE SEX SCANDALFrench civil service minister Georges Tron quit the government yesterday "in the general interest" after being accused of sexual abuse and harassment at the town hall where he also serves as mayor. Two women claimed he molested them on the pretext of giving them foot massages. He denies the allegations.