Ten Things You Need to Know Today: Thursday 10 Feb 2011

published 10 February 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. SAUDIS 'TOLD OBAMA NOT TO HUMILIATE MUBARAK'As the White House expresses frustration at Egypt's lack of progress towards democracy, it has emerged that King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia (above) told President Obama in a recent phone call not to humiliate President Mubarak. According to the Times, Abdullah said that the Egyptian president must be allowed to stay on to oversee the transition towards peaceful democracy and then leave with dignity. He laid down the law in a "testy" phone call to Obama on January 29, four days after the current street protests began. BOE HOLDS INTEREST RATES AT 0.5 PER CENTThe Bank of England has defied many people's expectations and resisted a rise in interest rates, keeping them at 0.5 per cent for the 23rd month in a row. There had been calls for an increase to try and combat inflation, which rose to 3.7 per cent in December. However, fears that upping the rate would damage the fragile recovery appear to have persuaded the Monetary Policy Committee to maintain the status quo. Business digest: rates held at 0.5 per cent MIXED REVIEWS FOR KNIGHTLEY AND MOSSFirst reviews of The Children's Hour at London's Comedy Theatre, starring Keira Knightley and Elisabeth Moss as private schoolteachers in 1930s America, are mixed. Quentin Letts of the Daily Mail says watching Knightley was "a bit like watching one of those plucky amateur jockeys in the Grand National". But Michael Billington of the Guardian calls Knightley "excellent" and Moss "outstanding". He just didn't like the play. Moss and Knightly pass 'The Children's Hour' test In pictures: The Children's Hour PRESCOTT LEARNS OF NEW PHONE-HACKING EVIDENCE Lord Prescott says police have told him they have "significant new evidence" that his voicemail was hacked during his time as deputy prime minister. Prescott said: "I think this proves my long-held belief that the original Met police investigation into [private investigator Glenn] Mulcaire and News International was completely inadequate and failed to follow all the evidence." ENGLAND CRICKETER DIES IN HOUSE FIREFormer England cricket great Trevor Bailey has died in a house fire at his home in Essex. Bailey, 87, was an all-rounder who won 61 Test caps between 1949 and 1959. After retiring from cricket in 1967 he became a commentator and was a regular on Test Match Special for 26 years. Firefighters said he was discovered in the kitchen of his home in a retirement complex. ANOTHER MP JAILED OVER EXPENSES SCANDALFormer Labour MP Eric Illsley has been jailed for fiddling his expenses. He was sentenced to 12 months in prison at Southwark Crown Court after earlier admitting to fraudulent claims worth £14,000. Also on Thursday another ex-Labour MP, Jim Devine, was convicted by jury of false accounting worth £8,385. He too faces prison. Last month their colleague David Chaytor was jailed for 18 months. Tory peer Lord Taylor of Warwick is also awaiting sentencing after he was convicted of dishonesty. KATY PERRY 'SEEKS MARRIAGE THERAPY'Less than four months into her marriage to British comedian Russell Brand, the American pop star Katy Perry has been asking friends to recommend marriage counsellors, according to Life & Style magazine. The couple's work keeps them apart: he has been in New York filming a remake of the Dudley Moore comedy Arthur while she has been performing all over the world and is about to embark on her 95-date Califiornia Dreams tour. Twitter picture left Brand and Perry on the rocks SIX KILLED IN CORK PLANE CRASHSix people have been killed and six others injured in a plane crash at Cork airport in Ireland. The commuter flight from Belfast, which was carrying 10 passengers and two crew, crashed as it tried to land in heavy fog in Cork. The plane flipped over and caught fire in the accident. The survivors are being treated at Cork University Hospital, where four are said to be in a serious condition. CAMBODIA AND THAILAND MEET UN OVER BORDER DISPUTECambodia and Thailand will send ministers to New York next week as the UN Security Council meets to try and end the border dispute between the two countries over the 900-year-old Preah Vihear temple. Fighting broke out last week between the two countries and at least five people have been killed. Cambodian prime minister Hun Sen has described the conflict as a "real war". In pictures: Preah Vihear temple dispute WEST HAM SET TO WIN FIGHT FOR OLYMPIC STADIUMWest Ham may have won their battle with Spurs over the Olympic Stadium in Stratford. It is reported that the Olympic Park Legacy Company will support the Hammers's bid to make the stadium their new home after the games. The move is a blow for Tottenham, who wanted to rebuild the stadium without an athletics track. An official announcement from the OPLC will be made on Friday and a final decision will be taken by the Mayor of London and the government. West Ham 'beat Spurs' in Olympic Stadium race