Ten Things You Need to Know Today: Monday 23 Feb 2015

1. RIFKIND SUSPENDED AFTER PAYMENTS STING

Two senior MPs, Sir Malcolm Rifkind and Jack Straw, have denied wrongdoing after a joint investigation by the Daily Telegraph and Channel 4 secretly recorded them apparently offering their services as networkers to a private company for thousands of pounds a day. Rifkind has been suspended from the parliamentary Conservative party.

Malcolm Rifkind resigns over 'cash for access'

2. BEST ACTOR OSCAR FOR UK’S REDMAYNE

British actor Eddie Redmayne was last night awarded the Oscar for best actor, for his portrayal of cosmologist Sir Stephen Hawking. Best actress went to Julianne Moore for Still Alice, in which she plays a woman suffering from Alzheimer’s. Birdman took best film, director, screenplay and cinematography.

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Oscars 2015: best and worst moments of the Academy Awards

3. HSBC CHIEF HAS £5M SWISS BANK ACCOUNT

The latest revelation about HSBC from The Guardian is that the bank’s boss, Stuart Gulliver, is also a customer, using a Swiss bank account to hold his bonuses, totalling £5m. The account is controlled using a Panamanian company, while Gulliver is officially domiciled in Hong Kong for tax purposes.

HSBC to close UK taxpayers' Jersey accounts

4. UK POLICE IN TURKEY FOR MISSING GIRLS

Officers of the Met Police have arrived in Turkey as the search for three missing east London schoolgirls feared to have run off to join Islamic State (IS) in Syria continues. The families of Shamima Begum, 15, Kadiza Sultana, 16, and Amira Abase, 15, have made emotional pleas for the girls to come home.

Kadiza Sultana: Schoolgirl who joined IS feared dead

5. ATHENS: OLIGARCHS ON TAX ‘HIT LIST’

Greece’s left-wing government has drawn up a €7.3bn tax hit list as part of the reform proposals it is presenting to its eurozone creditors. Athens hopes to claw back €2.5bn in unpaid tax owed by individuals and businesses, €2.5bn in new taxes from tycoons and another €2.3bn from a crackdown on petrol smuggling.

Greece finally reaches deal to release €12bn bailout funds

6. EX-POLICE CHELSEA FAN: I’M NO RACIST

A former RUC officer who is one of three men sought by police over an incident in Paris earlier this month when a black commuter, Sylla Souleymane, was pushed off the Metro by Chelsea fans has denied being a racist. Richard Barklie, who works in the field of human rights, has offered his apologies.

7. ROLF HARRIS LOSES AUSTRALIAN HONOURS

Entertainer Rolf Harris, currently serving six years in jail for 12 indecent assaults against four girls from the 1960s to 80s, has been stripped of honours he received in Australia. Governor General Peter Cosgrove terminated the 84-year-old’s two appointments - Officer and Member of the Order of Australia.

8. C OF E PAYING LESS THAN LIVING WAGE

The Church of England is paying some employees less than the living wage threshold it has endorsed for other employers, according to The Sun. The wage is currently set at £7.85 outside London but Canterbury and Lichfield cathedrals advertised for kiosk and waiting staff to be paid £6.70 and £6.50 respectively.

Church 'hypocritical' for offering jobs below living wage

9. CHRISTIAN COMEDY WINS RAZZIE AWARDS

A comedy with the tagline ‘Putting the Christ back in Christmas’ has been named worst picture at the Razzies, the awards which ‘celebrate’ the worst of Hollywood. It was panned as a “vanity project” for its star, former Growing Pains actor Kirk Cameron. Cameron Diaz won worst actress for two comedies.

10. MOURINHO FUMES AS CHELSEA DRAW

Jose Mourinho has blamed four moments for his Chelsea side’s failure to beat Burnley. "There are four moments of the game where you can write the story: minutes 30, 33, 43 and 69,” he told the BBC. Meanwhile, second-placed Manchester City beat Newcastle United 5-0. Earlier, Arsenal had beaten Crystal Palace 2-1 at Selhurst Park

Jose Mourinho lets rip at referees, racism, Sky and Arsene Wenger