Ten Things You Need to Know Today: Saturday 8 Jun 2013

1. PRESSURE GROWS ON GCHQ INTERNET ROW

Ministers are under pressure to explain whether they authorised GCHQ to gather intelligence on Britons from internet companies. Former home secretary David Davis tells The Guardian: “It is a perfectly reasonable question to put to the foreign secretary: did you or did you not authorise all of these Prism intercepts on British citizens?”

2. WHAT DO YOU PAY TO BENEFITS BILL?

A typical middle-class professional pays more than £200,000 towards Britain’s welfare bill during their working life - twice as much as they contribute to the NHS, reports the Daily Telegraph. The figures from HMRC also show such a person would have to receive the state pension for 38 years to become a net beneficiary.

3. NELSON MANDELA BACK IN HOSPITAL

Nelson Mandela has been admitted to hospital with a lung infection, the office of South African president Jacob Zuma says. The 94-year-old is said to be in a "serious but stable condition". The former president has had a lung infection for several days. It deteriorated on Saturday morning and he was transferred to a hospital in Pretoria.

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4. CAMERON 'PLANS JULY RESHUFFLE'

David Cameron will reshuffle his cabinet in five weeks time, claims The Sun. Chief whip Sir George Young is set to step down with ex-defence secretary Liam Fox or former energy minister John Hayes tipped to replace him. Also under threat are defence secretary Philip Hammond, minister without portfolio Oliver Letwin, and international development secretary Justine Greening.

5. CAAN GAVE DAUGHTER EMPLOYEE AWARD

It has emerged that James Caan, who said this week that that parents should not give their children a leg up on the career ladder, once gave his daughter an employee of the year award. One of Caan's daughters is employed by his private equity firm while the other works for a recruitment company in which he has invested.

6. VODAFONE IN FRESH TAX ROW

Vodafone paid no corporation tax for the second year running despite earning £5bn in sales. In its annual report published yesterday the company revealed it made an operating profit of £294m but paid no corporation tax because it legally claimed allowances for investment in infrastructure such as mobile spectrum and interest payments.

7. FIVE DEAD IN SANTA MONICA SHOOTING

At least five people are dead and several injured following a gun rampage in the beachfront city of Santa Monica, California. The incident began at a house and ended on a college campus. Police say they shot the gunman, who witnesses say was in his late 20s and carrying an assault-style rifle, in the library.

8. LONDONERS FLOCK TO POLISH CLINIC

A private surgery run in London by Polish GPs is attracting thousands of patients who have given up on the NHS, reports the Daily Mail. Despite charging £70 per visit, the clinic already has 6,000 patients on its books. Open seven days a week, usually until 11pm, it gives half-hour appointments – three times longer than usual.

9. 'BEHEADING' JOKE TWEETER SENTENCED

A student who tweeted that people wearing Help for Heroes t-shirts “deserve to be beheaded” after Lee Rigby was killed has been sentenced to 250 hours of community service. Deyka Ayan Hassan, 21, originally contacted police after receiving hundreds of threatening replies to her message. She admitted a charge of sending a malicious electronic message.

10. BILLBOARDS SET FOR ART FORTNIGHT

Thousands of Britain's billboards will take a break from advertising this summer to showcase the best of British art. A project backed by Tate Britain will see the public’s 50 favourite works reproduced on billboards for a fortnight. The space will be provided free of charge during August, a traditionally slack time for advertising.

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