Ten Things You Need to Know Today: Sunday 28 Jul 2013

1. UK TROOPS IN SECRET AFGHAN MISSION

British soldiers have returned to Afghanistan for a week-long operation to clear Taliban insurgents, reports the Sunday Times. The threat to troops was so great that the Ministry of Defence asked the newspaper to delay the reporting until the operation was finished. No British soldier was killed or injured during the eight-day operation in Sangin.

2. OFFICIAL MIGRANT STATS JUST A 'GUESS'

Official migration statistics used by ministers are “little better than a guess” says an influential group of MPs. The public administration committee said the statistics do not accurately assess how many non-UK residents are entering and leaving the country and are "not fit for purpose". The MPs are urging the government to find new ways to gather migration figures.

3. £250,000 SYNTHETIC BURGER PREPARED

Scientists are preparing to unveil a £250,000 beef burger made of synthetic meat, which has been grown in a laboratory from the stem cells of a slaughtered cow. The scientist behind the "in vitro" burger believes synthetic meat could ultimately help to save the world from the effects of the growing consumer demand for beef, lamb, pork and chicken.

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4. THERESA MAY: 'I HAVE TYPE 1 DIABETES'

Home secretary Theresa May has revealed she has been diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes but insists it will not affect her political career. May tells the Mail On Sunday that the diagnosis "was a real shock" but that it is now a case of "head down and getting on with it". May will have to inject herself with insulin twice a day for the rest of her life.

5. 'HORROR MOVIE' SAVILE LAIR DISCOVERED

Police have discovered a secret lair where Jimmy Savile scrawled details of hundreds of sexual conquests across a huge wall. The register, which contains names, ages and a ratings system for the young girls, was found hidden behind plaster at a record shop. A police source tells the Sunday Mirror it “looked like something straight out of a horror movie”.

6. BANANAS THROWN AT BLACK MINISTER

Bananas have been thrown at Italy's first black minister prompting anger in the country. Integration minister Cecile Kyenge, who has suffered racial abuse in the past, dismissed the act as "a waste of food". Earlier in July, a senior parliamentarian in the anti-immigration Northern League party compared Kyeenge to an orang-utan.

7. CONFIDENCE IN MONARCHY AT NEW HIGH

Confidence in the future of the monarchy is at an all-time high, according to an opinion poll in the Sunday Telegraph. Just 9% of those polled think Prince George will not become king because Britain will have become a republic, while 66% of those questioned think Britain is better off as a monarchy. Just 17% want a republic instead.

8. DOCTORS OFFERED TO LET HAWKING DIE

Stephen Hawking has revealed that he was once so close to death that doctors offered his then wife the option to switch off his life support machine. In 1985, when he was writing A Brief History of Time, Hawking contracted a pneumonia. “The doctors thought I was so far gone that they offered Jane to turn off the machine,” he tells a forthcoming documentary.

9. MINISTER ATTACKS KATE WEIGHT 'OBSESSION'

The minister for women and equalities has attacked the “disgraceful focus” on the Duchess of Cambridge’s weight after birth, saying she is being expected to meet “impossible standards” to reduce it. Jo Swinson, who is expecting her first child, said discussion of Kate's weight “shows just how extreme society’s obsession with women’s bodies looking ‘perfect’ has become”.

10. MO FARAH WINS AT ANNIVERSARY GAMES

Olympic hero Mo Farah delighted a sell-out crowd by cruising to victory in the men's 3,000m at the Anniversary Games in London yesterday. Farah set a personal best of seven minutes 36.85 seconds. Olympic heptathlon champion Jessica Ennis-Hill returned from injury, competing in the hurdles and long jump.