Ten Things You Need to Know Today: Friday 2 Jan 2015

1. MOST CANCER SIMPLY ‘BAD LUCK’

Two thirds of cancers are caused by bad luck not genes or lifestyle, US scientists have announced. A study suggests that random mutations that occur as our cells divide are the most common contributor. “You can add to your risk of getting cancers by smoking or other poor lifestyle factors,” said Professor Bert Vogelstein, of the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.

2. BALLS: TORIES HAVE CEDED CENTRE GROUND

The Tories have "lurched to the right" and surrendered the "centre ground" of politics to Labour, says Ed Balls. Writing in the Guardian, the shadow chancellor said there is an "increasingly extreme and ideological approach" to Conservative plans for "massively deeper spending cuts". A Tory spokesman said Labour would "borrow more and raise taxes in the next Parliament".

3. ROW OVER RAIL FARE RISES

Rail fare rises have come into effect in England and Wales. The rail industry insists the average rise of 2.2% is the lowest for five years. However, trade unions say that the increases continue to outstrip wage growth. The TUC says British commuters spend more than twice as much of their salary as some passengers in Europe.

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4. MAN ‘BEHEADS HIS ‘NAGGING MOTHER’

An American man says he beheaded his mother because he felt she kept nagging him about chores. Christian Jose Gomez allegedly used an axe in the attack in the garage of the family home in Florida on New Year's Eve. Police say Pinellas Gomez admitted dumping 48-year-old Maria Suarez Cassagne's head in a bin outside the home.

5. DOCTORS SLAM ‘UNREALISTIC’ NHS PLAN

Doctors say that plans to transform the NHS into a seven-day service could threaten patients’ safety. The British Medical Association is accusing the NHS England of pushing ahead with an “unfunded, undefined” strategy that is “wholly unrealistic”. They say the plans are a waste of vital resources that could threaten the quality of care during weekdays and prove a danger to patient safety.

6. PETROL PRICES TO DIP BELOW £1

Petrol prices are heading to below £1 a litre for the first time since 2009 thanks to plunging world oil prices and a supermarket price war. The average cost of a litre of petrol has dropped from 131.6p in July, when oil was $105 a barrel, to 112.6p a litre now, with oil at $57 a barrel. The development is leaving consumers with more cash in their pockets which boosts economic growth.

7. DID AIRASIA JET LAND ON WATER?

The pilot of AirAsia flight 8501 may have successfully landed on water only for the jet to be overcome by high seas, aviation analysts have said. However, other crash experts have claimed the AirAsia aircraft rose up as fast as a fighter jet and then dropped almost vertically into the water as if being thrust down by an enormous hand.

8. ‘SUBLIME’ MIRANDA COMES TO AN END

Critics have responded to the final episode of the BBC sitcom Miranda. The Daily Mail’s Christopher Stevens says it was “sublimely funny” and that the public will be “laughing with her for 50 years”. However, the Daily Telegraph’s Tim Stanley reckons you "had to be there" to get the jokes. "'There', in this case, was thirty-something singlehood”.

9. THREE DEAD DUE TO ‘BAD ECSTASY’

Three people have died and another is in hospital as police warn of a "dangerous batch of drugs" being sold. A twenty-something man died on Thursday morning after being found seriously ill in Rendlesham, Suffolk. Within hours, two men were hospitalised in Ipswich. One of them died. The drug is believed to be ecstasy.

10. STEVEN GERRARD TO LEAVE LIVERPOOL

Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard is to announce today that he will leave Anfield when his contract expires at the end of the season. Chelsea slipped up at Tottenham yesterday, losing 5-3 in a dramatic encounter. Arsenal recent upsurge in form came to an end at Southampton, where they lost 2-0 due to a pair of howling errors from goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny.