Ten Things You Need to Know Today: Monday 24 Jan 2011

Jo Yeates murder, Vincent Tabak arrives in court

published 24 January 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. 'SUICIDE ATTACK' ON MOSCOW AIRPORTAt least 31 people have been killed after a blast at Moscow's Domodedovo airport, the Russian capital's busiest. Early reports claim the explosion, which is thought to have injured more than 100, was caused by a suicide bomber. It would be the second such attack in a year following the Moscow Metro blasts, which were triggered by two Chechen women, in March 2010. JO YEATES MURDER: TABAK APPEARS IN COURTDutch-born engineer Vincent Tabak, 32, appeared at Bristol Magistrates Court this morning (above) charged with murdering the landscape architect Jo Yeates, found strangled to death on Christmas Day. He did not enter a plea and was remanded in custody. Tabak lived in the basement flat next door to the one Yeates shared with her boyfriend in Canynge Road, Clifton. He was charged by police on Saturday after three days of questioning. First Post: Jo Yeates 'didn't know' Tabak, says father LEAKED PLO DOCUMENTS 'A PACK OF LIES'The Palestinian leadership made an extraordinary offer in 2008 which would have allowed Israel to annex all but one of the disputed Jewish settlements built in east Jerusalem, according to a cache of 1,600 leaked documents published yesterday by al-Jazeera and shared with the Guardian. Tzipi Livni, then the Israeli Foreign Minister, rejected the offer because it did not include all the settlements. However, the PLO's lead negotiator Saeb Erekat claims today the leaks are "a pack of lies". First Post: the Palestine papers SKY PRESENTERS APOLOGISE FOR SEXIST COMMENTS Sky football presenters Andy Gray and Richards Keys have been suspended by Sky Sports after being caught by an open microphone making off-air comments about lineswoman Sian Massey at the Wolves-Liverpool game on Saturday. "Somebody better get down there and explain offside to her," Keys said. "Can you believe that?" Gray responded. "A female linesman. Women don't know the offside rule." The pair later apologised, but will not be on hand to present the Monday night game on Sky. First Post: Gray and Keys dropped over sexist outburst SENIOR TORY'S 'AFFAIR WITH SINGLE MOTHER'Lord Strathclyde, Tory Leader of the House of Lords and a member of the Cabinet, is alleged to have carried on a seven-year affair behind his wife's back with Birgit Cunningham, a single mother, who told her story to the Sunday Mirror. She said she was fed up with the hypocrisy: the government preaches family values and yet he had been "sneaking away from his wife to have sex with me." The Mole: The Tory peer, the mistress and the vanishing spin doctor INSTANT MESSAGING 'A FORM OF MADNESS' People who frantically communicate by Twitter and Facebook are displaying a modern form of madness, says MIT professor Sherry Turkle in her book, Alone Together, to be published in the UK next month. Under the illusion of allowing us to communicate better, technology is actually isolating us from real human interactions. First Post: Twitter and Facebook are driving us mad, says prof ED BALLS DEMANDS NEW TAX ON BANKERS' BONUSES Ed Balls has quickly made his presence felt after taking over as shadow Chancellor from Alan Johnson on Friday by demanding that the coalition government re-impose the 2010 one-off tax on bankers' bonuses. It brought in £3.5bn last time and could do the same again - "to help create the jobs and growth we need". Tory Chancellor George Osborne pooh-pooh-ed the idea. The Mole: Balls is 'de-facto Labour leader' warn Blairite MPs KATE MIDDLETON 'AIMS TO AVOID DIANA PROBLEM'Kate Middleton is said to be "poring over" wedding dress sketches from a shortlist of designers. But she is intent on keeping her choice secret because she does not want to be treated "like a clothes-horse" by the fashion industry - a fate that befell Prince William's mother, Princess Diana. Meanwhile Buckingham Palace has announced that the Queen has "not yet felt the need to meet" Kate's parents. First Post: When will the Queen meet William's in-laws? TUNISIA'S FIRST LADY 'TOOK £35M' ON HER WAY OUT Before fleeing Tunisia earlier this month, Leila Ben Ali, wife of the president, visited the governor's office at the central bank of Tunisia and demanded 1.5 tons of the nation's gold. "The governor tried to resist," according to another Tunis banker interviewed by the Sunday Times, "but Leila pulled out her mobile phone and called her husband." He authorised the withdrawal - said to be worth £35m. Full report at the Sunday Times (subscription) ALAN JOHNSON'S WIFE SEEKS DIVORCEThe wife of Alan Johnson, who quit the Labour front bench last week in the wake of his wife's relationship with his personal protection officer, has asked for a divorce. The news came over the weekend as it emerged that Pc Paul Rice not only had an affair with Laura Johnson but also slept with Johnson's constituency secretary in Hull, Tracy Windle. The allegations against Pc Rice have been referred to Scotland Yard's standards watchdog.