Ten Things You Need to Know Today: Friday 17 May 2013

1. BRADLEY WIGGINS QUITS GIRO D'ITALIA

Sir Bradley Wiggins has been forced to withdraw from the Giro d'Italia with a chest infection. The British cycling champion was lying 13th in the race. Team Sky boss David Brailsford promised that Wiggins would be fit for the Tour de France, which he won last year.

Bradley Wiggins quits Giro d'Italia with chest infection

2. JEWELS WORTH $1M STOLEN IN CANNES

More than $1m worth of jewels have been stolen from a hotel in Cannes, French police say. The jewels were to be loaned to celebrities who have arrived on the French Riviera for the famous annual film festival. They were stolen from a safe in the Novotel Hotel room of an employee of the Swiss jewellers Chopard.

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3. HODGE ATTACKS GOOGLE ON TAX

Google and Amazon were attacked by MPs after fresh allegations were made about the tax arrangements of their UK businesses. Margaret Hodge, chair of the public accounts committee, told Google vice president, Matt Brittin, that his company's behaviour on tax was "devious, calculated and, in my view, unethical".

Google accused of 'doing evil' by MPs over tax affairs

4. FARAGE PROTESTORS ARE 'DISGRACE'

A group of about 50 angry protestors who forced UKIP leader Nigel Farage to leave an Edinburgh pub under police escort yesterday have been labelled a 'disgrace'. Dan Hodge, a columnist with the Daily Telegraph, said he was not a fan of Farage's politics, but "he's free to campaign wherever he wants".

Protestors who abused Farage in Edinburgh are a 'disgrace'

5. GEORGE MICHAEL INJURED IN CAR CRASH

The singer George Michael has been airlifted to hospital with a head injury following a crash on the M1. The former Wham! star, 49, remains in hospital after the crash at junction 6A, near St Albans, Hertfordshire. His spokesman said he only had "superficial cuts" and was "fine .

6. SOUTH AFRICAN POLICE ‘USE TORTURE’

One of the leading lights of the anti-apartheid era in South Africa has lambasted the country’s police force for using methods, including torture, as brutal as anything carried out before the racist policy was ended. Ronnie Kasrils, who served in the first post-apartheid government, said: “This is not what we fought for.”

South African police accused of brutality and torture

7. SPEEDBOAT DEATHS: ‘KILL CORD’ NOT WORN

The driver of a speedboat which crashed killing 51-year-old Nick Milligan and his eight-year-old daughter near Padstow in Cornwall was not wearing the ‘kill cord’ safety device which might have cut off the engine and stopped the boat, investigators say. It has not yet been established who was driving the boat.

Driver of speedboat that killed two wasn't wearing 'kill cord'

8. HI-DE-HI! ACTOR PAUL SHANE DIES AT 72

Paul Shane, the actor who played Ted Bovis in the 1980s BBC sitcom Hi-de-Hi! has died in a hospice in Rotherham, surrounded by family after a short illness. The former miner and working men’s club singer leaves three daughters and six grandchildren. Ricky Gervais paid tribute to a man he described as an “old school Britcom hero”.

Hi-de-Hi!... Ho-de-Ho! 5 camp facts you might not know

9. ‘DAMBUSTERS’ FLY-PAST ON ANNIVERSARY

The 70th anniversary of the WWII bouncing bomb raids on German dams were commemorated yesterday with flypasts at the two UK reservoirs where crews trained for the dangerous mission. The two surviving ‘Dambusters’, 94-year-old Les Munro and 91-year-old George ‘Johnny’ Johnson were in attendance.

10. HOT TICKET: GLITZY GREAT GATSBY IN 3D

Baz Luhrmann’s 3D film adaptation of F Scott Fitzgerald’s classic novel ‘The Great Gatsby’ has opened in UK cinemas. Leonardo DiCaprio stars as Jay Gatsby, a mysterious millionaire who flaunts his super-rich lifestyle in an attempt to regain his lost love Daisy (Carey Mulligan). It has received mixed reviews – but it’s still a “must-see”, says Film 4.

Baz Luhrmann's Great Gatsby film an over-the-top 'must-see'