Ten Things You Need to Know Today: Friday 20 May 2011

published 20 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. Netanyahu brushes off Obama's peace planUS president Barack Obama faces a tricky meeting with Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu later. In a speech yesterday, Obama called for a peace deal that would lead to two independent states with borders "based on the 1967 lines with mutually agreed swaps". However, Netanyahu, who will arrive in Washington today, reacted by saying the 1967 borders were "indefensible" and called on Obama to reaffirm a US commitment to this effect made in 2004. STRAUSS-KHAN GETS BAIL of $6mDominique Strauss-Kahn will be released from New York's Rikers Island jail today after securing bail terms of $1m in cash, a $5m insurance bond, house arrest, a GPS electronic tag and a 24-hour armed guard. A Grand Jury voted for seven charges, including attempted rape of the 32-year-old hotel chambermaid and 'sex crimes'. The IMF chief will enter a plea on June 6, which his lawyer says will be "not guilty". Was Strauss-Kahn set up by vengeful Americans? Mass whale stranding feared off Scotland Marine mammal experts fear that a pod of injured pilot whales could be about to die in a mass-stranding on the island of South Uist. Up to 100 whales have been spotted in Loch Carnan and about 20 of them appear to have cuts to the head, which may be the result of earlier attempts to beach themselves. Inflatable pontoons are on their way to the island to help refloat any whales that do strand themselves. FIFA MAY WITHDRAW WORLD CUP FROM QATAR Fifa president Sepp Blatter said last night that an internal inquiry into claims of corruption may force the organisation to take back the 2022 World Cup from Qatar. He said there was a "groundswell of popular support" for holding a new vote. The FA announced yesterday that it would boycott the Fifa presidency vote on June 1. Blatter: FA decision on Fifa vote is ‘strange’ media should be able to contest injunctions Lord Neuberger has said that the media ought to be able to contest super-injunctions before they are granted. In a report on injunctions, he said they "can only be granted when they are strictly necessary". However he suggested that media reports of peers and MPs who use parliamentary privilege to reveal the details of injunctions may be in contempt of court. Yesterday, details of a super-injunction taken out by former RBS chief Fred Goodwin to hide allegations of an affair were revealed in the Lords. Fred Goodwin farce: are super-injunctions doomed? Goodwin injunction hid claims of affair US atheists plan Rapture parties for may 21American atheists are planning parties to celebrate the end of the world, which preacher Harold Camping says will occur on May 21. The BBC reports that one of the events, in North Carolina, is called The Rapture After Party and is billed as "the best damned party in NC". Other events are planned for Houston, Florida and California. May 21: not the first time we've survived the Rapture A MILLION BID FOR OLYMPIC 100M FINAL ticketsMore than a million requested tickets to the men's Olympic 100 metres final at next year's games, London 2012 organisers reported yesterday. Slated for August 5 next year, only 40,000 seats will be available for the blue riband event as half the stadium capacity was taken by corporate sponsors, VIPs and media before tickets were offered to the public. SCHWARZENEGGER TERMINATES MOVIE CONTRACTSArnold Schwarzenegger, who admitted fathering a child with his housekeeper, yesterday put on hold the movie contracts set to revive his acting career, including the revival of the Terminator franchise and just-signed Cry Macho. His agents, CAA, were told to discontinue film negotiations "for the time being". Linkedin flotation SIGNALs NEW TECH BUBBLEShares in business networking website LinkedIn more than doubled in value yesterday on the company's trading debut in New York. It meant the company was valued at nearly $10 billion against an annual profit of just $15 million. Some investors are warning the company is overvalued and that it signals the start of a new tech bubble to rival the dotcom bust of 2000. Business digest: LinkedIn flotation sees share price double GERMAN COMPANY STAGES ORGY FOR TOP SALESMENMunich Re, one of the biggest insurance companies in the world, staged an orgy as a reward for its top salesmen, it admitted yesterday. It took place in Budapest in 2007, with 20 prostitutes hired for 100 guests. They wore wrist bands denoting availability according to company seniority, and were stamped with ink to keep count of services rendered.