Ten Things You Need to Know Today: Wednesday 13 Apr 2011
Our popular news catch-up service is posted Monday to Friday at 8.0am. You can rely on it to keep you up to date through the working day with the main news talking points. TAIL SECTION OF AIR FRANCE JET DISCOVEREDThe two-year-old mystery of the Air France jetliner which plunged into the Atlantic on June 1, 2009, killing all 228 people on board, is closer to being solved. The tail section of the plane has been found "relatively intact" on the seabed north-east of Brazil, raising hopes among relatives that the black boxes, located at the rear of the plane, might be recovered. MUBARAK IN HOSPITAL; SONS DETAINEDAllaa and Gamal Mubarak, sons of the former Egyptian leader Hosni Mubarak (above), are being questioned by prosecutors about their role in the violence meted out to pro-democracy protesters earlier this year. Their detention came as their 82-year-old father was described as "almost stable" in hospital after suffering a heart attack while being questioned about the deaths of protesters. Two men confess to Belarus metro bombTwo men have confessed to carrying out Monday's bombing of a metro station in Minsk, the capital of Belarus, which killed 12 people. One of the men, who are both Belarusian, was caught on CCTV placing the bomb. President Lukashenko, a dictator who has ruled since 1994, said: "We must look into statements made by politicians... Maybe these actors from the 'fifth column' will point at the one who ordered [the attack]." KATE MIDDLETON 'ORDERS THREE WEDDING DRESSES'Kate Middleton is reported to have ordered three wedding dresses for her big day in a cloak-and-dagger ruse to keep the tabloids guessing and to have a secret back-up in case of a last-minute leak. Sarah Burton of Alexander McQueen remains the odds-on favourite to design "the dress", with Jasper Conran now said to be in the running too. Kate Middleton keeps the papers guessing PAKISTAN DEMANDS CURBS ON AMERICA'S CIA Pakistan has demanded that the US recall 335 CIA agents and their surrogates, an estimated 20 to 40 per cent of America's clandestine army operating within its borders, and that it cuts back on the number of drone strikes along the Afghan border. The move comes from Pakistan's army chief General Ashfaq Kayani and reflects a deepening diplomatic rift. BLOGGERS SUE 'SLAVE PLANTATION' HUFFINGTON POSTThe Huffington Post, sold to AOL by founder Arianna Huffington for nearly $305m, is being sued for a third of that price by 9,000 unpaid bloggers who say they created its value without reward. The suit was filed by journalist and union activist Jonathan Tasini, saying "Huffington bloggers have essentially been turned into modern day slaves on Arianna Huffington's plantation". Charles Laurence in New York: Huffington 'plantation slaves' fight back ANGER AS MOUSSA KOUSSA LEAVES BRITAINTory MP Robert Haflon accused the government of turning Britain into a "transit lounge for alleged war criminals", and American families of Lockerbie bombing victims accused it of "betrayal", as Libyan defector Moussa Koussa left the country for a Libya 'contact' conference in Qatar. A Foreign Office official revealed that Koussa was "free to come and go". TOYOTA TO SUSPEND UK CAR PRODUCTION More than 3,200 workers will be hit when Toyota, the world's largest car maker, suspends car production at its two UK plants for several days this month and in May because of the shortage of parts from Japan since the earthquake and tsunami. Factories in France and Turkey will also close. NURSES PASS 'NO CONFIDENCE' VOTE IN LANSLEYNurses have overwhelmingly passed a vote of no confidence in health secretary Andrew Lansley at the Royal College of Nursing conference in London. The motion had the support of 96 per cent of the 500 delegates. Lansley is trying to push through controversial reforms of the NHS but Labour have said the bill should be junked. After the vote Lansley accused Labour of treating the health service as a "political football". LIBYA 'CONTACT GROUP' CONSIDERS REBEL AIDArab and western countries making up the new 'contact group' on Libya have been meeting in Qatar, and have once again called for Muammar Gaddafi to stand down. They also discussed creating an international fund to help the Libyan opposition in the east of the country. Nato's role in the conflict and the possibility of political and military aid for the rebels was also considered. Hague, Cameron flounder as Gaddafi stands firm
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