Ten Things You Need to Know Today: Friday 25 Jul 2014

1. FOUR DIE IN HUGE WEST BANK PROTESTS

Attempts to broker a ceasefire in Gaza are intensifying as the death toll passes 800. US Secretary of State John Kerry has been at talks in Egypt attempting to end the violence. There have been widespread protests against the Israeli military operation in the West Bank and four protesters there have been killed. Activists have called for a 'day of rage' in Palestinian territories.

Family of Hamas 'mastermind' killed as Israel-Gaza talks fail

2. UK DEPRESSION DECLARED ‘OVER’

The longest economic depression in modern British history has been declared over after the ONS will publish figures confirming the economy grew by 0.8 or 0.9 per cent. The increase in GDP means that the British economy is now bigger than it was at the start of the downturn in 2008.

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3. ALGERIA PLANE DEBRIS FOUND IN MALI

The wreckage of a passenger plane which disappeared yesterday with 116 people onboard between Burkina Faso and Algiers after the pilot reported heavy storms has been found in the Malian desert. French troops based in the region are on their way to secure the site. The passengers included 51 French citizens.

Flight AH5017: No survivors found in burnt wreckage

4. WELSH RUNNER FAILS DRUGS TEST

Welsh 400m hurdler Rhys Williams will miss the Commonwealth Games after failing a drugs test at the Glasgow Grand Prix earlier this month. He has been banned by UK Anti-Doping after he tested positive for a banned substance. Hosts Scotland enjoyed a fine start to the Games with four golds on the opening day of competition.

Mo Farah and other stars who aren't at Glasgow 2014 – in pictures

5. JAYDEN KILLER JAILED FOR LIFE

The ex-boyfriend of murdered teenager Jayden Parkinson has been sentenced to life for killing her. Ben Blakeley strangled the pregnant 17-year-old and buried her in his uncle's grave in Oxfordshire last year. Blakeley, 22, must serve at least 20 years behind bars. There were shouts of "see you in hell" from the gallery as he was sentenced.

6. ‘SINGLE SHOT’ BREAST CANCER RADIOTHERAPY

A new type of radiotherapy is offering hope to breast cancer sufferers after being given a provisional go-ahead for NHS use. The newly-developed intrabeam technique means sufferers can receive all their radiotherapy in one treatment during surgery, eliminating the need for numerous hospital visits.

Breast cancer: 'revolutionary' one-shot treatment for NHS

7. MILIBAND SHRUGS OFF IMAGE PROBLEM

Labour leader Ed Miliband has tried to shrug off his image problem admitting he would not be "able to compete" with David Cameron's slick approach at next year's election. But he said that ideas and principles were more important than media profile and described Cameron as a "successful exponent of a politics based purely on image".

8. MOTHER ADMITS KILLING MIKAEEL KULAR

The mother of three-year-old Mikaeel Kular, found dead in woodland in January, has admitted killing him. Rosdeep Adekoya, 34, pleaded guilty to a charge of culpable homicide at the High Court in Edinburgh. She admitted repeatedly punching him, hiding his body in a suitcase and dumping it in woods. She will be sentenced in August.

Mikaeel Kular: mother pleads guilty to killing three-year-old

9. ‘BABY DINOSAURS HAD FEATHERS’ CLAIM

Newly-discovered dinosaur fossils in Russia suggest that our image of them as dry, scaly creatures is wrong: scientists now believe dinosaurs all started life with feathers, though some later shed them. Feathers have now been found in fossils in both China and Russia, suggesting they were universal.

'Fluffy' dinosaurs: discovery suggests most were feathered

10. HOT TICKET: GRITTY US DRAMA JOE

Gritty American drama Joe opens in UK cinemas today. Nicolas Cage stars as a hard-living ex-con who becomes a reluctant father figure to a troubled teenage boy and risks his life on the straight and narrow to help him. "Compelling" and "superbly realised", says Empire.

Joe – reviews of 'superb' gritty American drama