Ten Things You Need to Know Today: Wednesday 9 Mar 2011
Our popular news catch-up service is posted Monday to Friday at 8.00 am. You can rely on it to keep you up to date through the working day with the main news talking points. Gaddafi VOWS TO RESIST NO-FLY ZONE Muammar Gaddafi has warned that his forces would 'take up arms' against a no-fly zone over Libya, and said that such a move would prove that the West wanted to steal the country's oil. Meanwhile the US has made it clear any intervention would have to be led by the UN. In Libya, Gaddafi's forces have reportedly "torn to ashes" the town of Zawiya in their attempts to capture it from rebels. Large explosions have also been reported in Ras Lanuf. From Iraq to Libya: a history of no-fly zones In pictures: the battle of Ras Lanuf FOUR SHOT DEAD IN IVORY COAST PROTESTA protest march in Ivory Coast's main city, Abidjan, has resulted in four people being shot dead. The protest concerned the killing of seven female demonstrators last week. The shooting has been blamed on rogue army officers supporting disputed President Laurent Gbagbo. Shootings and rapes: the story of the Ivory Coast TOBACCO GOES UNDER THE COUNTERTobacco displays in shops will be banned in England from next year under new rules designed to cut smoking. Cigarettes and other products will have to be sold from under the counter from 2012 in large stores and from 2015 in smaller shops. Plans to introduce plain packaging for tobacco are also being considered by the government. RBS hands out big bonusesNine senior executives of Royal Bank of Scotland have received £28 million in shares. Stephen Hester, chief executive of the bank, which is 84 per cent owned by taxpayers, could earn £7.7 million for 2010 including salary, annual bonus and long term incentive plans. SPANISH STRIKES WILL HIT EASTER TRAVELA strike by Spanish airport workers is planned to coincide with the Easter holidays. 22 days of strikes are planned, starting on April 20 and continuing through May and June until the end of July. The action is a response to the planned privatisation of Aena, the state-controlled airports authority. CAMERON LAUNCHES NEW POLICY TEAMDavid Cameron has appointed a new team of nine policy advisers to oversee various government departments. The new team, made up of six Civil Service high-flyers and three experts from the private sector, will draw up policies for the second half of the parliament, to feature in an updated coalition agreement. JUDGE 'rugby-tackled escaping prisoner' A man is on trial for trying to run away from a courtroom last August. The court heard that Paul Reid's escape was halted by Judge Douglas Marks, who was trying his case: the judge rugby-tackled him as he ran from Woolwich Crown Court last August. Reid had successfully escaped from another court two years before. prince WILLIAM TO CHEER UP DOWN UNDERPrince William will pay a morale-boosting visit to the Antipodes. In New Zealand he will visit Christchurch, site of an earthquake last month that killed more than 150 people, and Greymouth, a town where 29 people were killed in a mining explosion in November. In Australia, he will travel to areas hit by recent flooding. He will leave his fiancée Kate Middleton at home. WENGER AND NASRI CHARGED OVER REFEREE COMMENTSArsenal were knocked out of the Champions League after losing 3-1 to Barcelona at the Camp Nou last night. But Arsenal were furious at the referee for sending off Robin van Persie with the score at 1-1. He was given a red card for time-wasting, but claimed he did not hear the ref's whistle. Manager Arsene Wenger and player Samir Nasri have been charged by Uefa over comments they made to the officials afterwards. Referee dumps Arsenal out of Champions League Can ref Busacca avoid the fate of Frisk and Meier? TCHENGUIZ BROTHERS ARRESTED OVER BANK COLLAPSEEntrepreneurs Vincent and Robert Tchenguiz have been arrested in connection with the collapse of the Icelandic bank Kaupthing in 2008. The Serious Fraud Office has been investigating the failure of the bank since last year. When it collapsed Robert Tchenguiz had loans of £1.4bn from Kaupthing. The brothers were among seven people arrested in a series of dawn raids on Wednesday.
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