Ten Things You Need to Know Today: Friday 21 Jun 2013

1. CUP THREAT FROM BRAZIL PROTESTS

The World Cup warm-up tournament, the Confederations Cup, could be under threat as fresh protests erupted across Brazil last night. Almost one million people took to the streets of major cities, fighting with police as they voiced their objection to lack of investment in public services and the comparative high cost of staging the 2014 world cup.

Brazil: Confederations Cup in danger as a million protest

2. CQC BOSSES TO FACE MPS OVER ‘COVER UP’

The current heads of the Care Quality Commission are to face MPs on the Health select committee to answer questions about the alleged cover-up over the watchdog’s investigation into the deaths of babies in a Cumbria hospital. Yesterday, ex CQC boss Cynthia Bower was one of the executives alleged to have been involved.

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CQC 'cover-up' bosses may be stripped of pensions, says Hunt

3. COP CO-WROTE 'MCLIBEL' LEAFLET

An undercover police officer, who posed for years as an environmental activist, co-wrote a libellous leaflet criticising McDonald's that led to the longest civil trial in English history and cost the fast-food chain millions of pounds in fees. Bob Lambert's role in the affair is revealed in a new book published next week, The Guardian says.

4. HEART ATTACK KILLED GANDOLFINI

A family friend of actor James Gandolfini told journalists today that an autopsy showed The Sopranos star died of a "heart attack of natural causes" and "nothing else was found in his system." The 51-year-old Emmy-winning actor suffered the heart attack on Wednesday in the bathroom of his room at the Hotel Boscolo in Rome.

5. AFFAIR TEACHER GETS FIVE-AND-A-HALF YEARS

Teacher Jeremy Forrest has been jailed for five-and-a-half years after running away to France with a 15-year-old pupil. Forrest was yesterday convicted of abducting the schoolgirl and today admitted five counts of sexual activity with a child. He mouthed 'I love you' to the girl, who was in court, after being convicted on Thursday.

Teacher mouths 'I love you' to girl he abducted to France

6. GEORGE OSBORNE DECLINES DUET OFFER

The chancellor has turned down an offer to record a duet with soul singer Jeffrey Osborne after US president Barack Obama repeatedly confused their names during the G8 meeting. George Osborne said his namesake was a “legend” but added that he would not have offered the duet “if you’d heard me sing” first.

'Hello Jeffrey': Obama mistakes chancellor for R&B singer

7. ABU QATADA TREATY SIGNED INTO LAW

The treaty between Britain and Jordan, which is intended to pave the way for the deportation of Abu Qatada, has been signed into law in the UK. It will not come into force until other administrative formalities are completed. These include publication of the document in an official newspaper in Jordan and an exchange of diplomatic letters.

8. APPLE CO-FOUNDER BACKS NSA LEAKER

Steve Wozniak, the co-founder with Steve Jobbs of Apple, has said he admires Edward Snowden, the former CIA employee who revealed that US intelligence services receive mobile phone records from telecoms companies. Wozniak told CNN he feels “a little bit guilty” that new technologies are used for surveillance.

9. INSTAGRAM ADDS 15-SECOND VIDEOS

Photo-sharing website Instagram, owned by Facebook, is to give users the capacity to send 15-second videos alongside their still images. It will be possible to add video filters and effects to the short films. The move follows the growing success of Vine, a 6-second video sharing app owned by text-sharing site Twitter.

10. HOT TICKET: BEFORE MIDNIGHT DELIGHTS

Richard Linklater’s romantic drama ‘Before Midnight’ opens in UK cinemas today. The sequel to ‘Before Sunrise’ and ‘Before Sunset’ sees stars Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy as a long-term couple with kids on holiday in Greece who must now face the consequences of their life choices. “Delightful,” says Empire.

Linklater's film romance returns with 'delightful' Before Midnight