Ten Things You Need to Know Today: Thursday 31 Jul 2014

1. ISRAEL WILL 'DESTROY' GAZA TUNNELS

Benjamin Netanyahu has insisted that Israel will not stop its operation in Gaza until all Hamas tunnels, used to attack Israel, had been destroyed "with or without a ceasefire". The Palestinian death toll stands at 1,300 and a quarter of Gaza's population has been displaced. Meanwhile, Israel has promised to investigate an attack on a school in Gaza that has outraged the UN.

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

2. DID CAMERON HINT AT TAX CUT PLEDGE?

The Tories may include a tax cut for middle-income professionals in their election manifesto, David Cameron hinted yesterday. Referring to the threshold for the 40p rate, which is currently applied at £41,865, he said: “I would love to be able to stand here and say we are going to sort all this out, we will raise the thresholds of all these tax rates. I can’t make that promise today.”

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Cameron's tax chat: a big hint or a little electioneering?

3. ENERGY GIANTS 'TO DOUBLE PROFITS'

Energy firms will double their profits in the space of 12 months after refusing to pass on to customers huge falls in the cost of wholesale oil and gas. Energy industry regulator Ofgem estimates that companies will make on average £106 from each customer they supply with electricity and gas, up from £53 last year and from £9 five years ago.

'Urgent' energy price cap extension considered

4. EASTBOURNE PIER MAY SURVIVE BLAZE

Eastbourne Borough Council leader David Tutt says he is optimistic the seaside town’s famous pier can be repaired after a dramatic fire yesterday. The main roof of the pier, built in the 1870s, has been destroyed, leaving only a metal skeleton. Nobody was injured in the blaze which it is understood was started by an electrical fault.

Slideshow: Eastbourne and Britain's other fire-ravaged piers

5. GATWICK FLYERS FACE BAGGAGE BEDLAM

Passengers at Gatwick Airport face lengthy delays and flying without their luggage due to a critical shortage of baggage handlers, airlines are warning. The airport will descend into chaos this weekend, expected to be the busiest of the year to date, and two airlines warned that the problem could worsen over the next four months.

6. FOOTBALLER IN CUSTODY OVER ASSAULTS

Footballer Ravel Morrison has been remanded in custody until next Thursday after appearing in court charged with assaulting two women in Manchester at the weekend. The West Ham player, who was once at Manchester United, is alleged to have assaulted his ex-girlfriend and her mother in the early hours of Sunday morning.

Ravel Morrison charged with assaulting two women

7. WELBY CONDEMNS ANTISEMITISM SPIKE

A rise in antisemitism as a result of Israel’s war with Hamas has been described by the Archbishop of Canterbury as “simply unacceptable”. The Community Security Trust, which monitors antisemitism in the UK, has recorded over 130 incidents so far this month, up from 59 in July 2013. Jewish leaders say John Prescott of “trivialised the Holocaust” in an article about the conflict.

Anti-Semitism on the rise: not just sickening but misguided

8. EBOLA 'EMERGENCY' IN SIERRA LEONE

Parts of Sierra Leone will be put under quarantine to try and halt the spread of Ebola after the country's president, Ernest Bai Koroma, declared a public health emergency. Security forces to enforce the measures in the east of the country. The disease has killed 729 people in Africa since February - 233 of them in Sierra Leone.

Ebola: US suit stockpile causes shortage in Africa

9. ENGLAND WIN CRICKET MATCH SHOCK

England's cricketers have won their first Test for almost a year after beating India by 266 runs at Southampton. India began the day on 112-4 and could only add 66 more runs on the final day as Jimmy Anderson and then Moeen Ali, who finished with figures of 6-67, ran through the tourists' batting. The series is now 1-1 with two to play.

10. HOT TICKET: RSC'S TWO GENTLEMEN

The RSC's revival of Shakespeare's early romantic comedy Two Gentlemen of Verona is playing at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon. Two friends fall out when they fall in love with the same woman, and mayhem and mistaken identity ensue. "Delightful," says The Guardian. Until 4 September.

Two Gentlemen of Verona – reviews of 'delightful' revival