Ten Things You Need to Know Today: Tuesday 11 Jul 2017

1. End cash-in-hand economy, says report

A government review out today urges ending cash-in-hand work, which it says is worth up to £6bn a year. It also suggests creating a new category of worker to boost the rights of those in the "gig economy", such as Uber drivers. Theresa May is to promise to take action to help boost workers' rights "while avoiding overbearing regulation".

'Gig economy': When is a contractor not self-employed?

2. Tory Anne Marie Morris suspended for racial remark

A Tory MP has been suspended after using a racial remark at an event in London. Anne Marie Norris, MP for Newton Abbott, apologised for saying "the n****r in the woodpile", but had the party whip taken from her. Theresa May said: "Language like this has absolutely no place in politics or in today's society."

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Conservative MP suspended for racist remark

3. PM announces contaminated blood scandal inquiry

The Prime Minister has announced an inquiry into the into the contaminated blood scandal of the 1970s and 80s that left at least 2,400 people dead. A recent report found that around 7,500 patients were infected by blood products from abroad infected with hepatitis C and HIV. It has been called the worst treatment disaster in the history of the NHS.

4. Sixteen dead in US military plane crash

A US military plane crashed in Mississippi yesterday afternoon, with all 16 on board believed to have been killed. No reason has yet been given for the crash, but authorities do not believe foul play was involved. Rescuers were hampered by a series of explosions, possibly of jet fuel, and debris was said to have spread for five miles.

5. Trump state visit 'to take place next year'

Donald Trump will make a state visit to the UK "next year", unnamed sources told Sky News. The US President had been due to visit this year, but the trip appeared to have been put off indefinitely because of fears of mass protests. Around 1.85 million people signed a petition opposing Trump being received by the Queen.

6. Theresa May faces rebellion over Euratom exit

Tory backbenchers have threatened to vote against Theresa May's decision to take the UK out of the Euratom treaty governing the movement of nuclear materials in the EU. Around nine MPs have signalled they will join forces with Labour and Lib Dems to vote against the issue, claiming membership of Euratom is vital for the UK's nuclear industry.

May faces Tory rebellion over decision to leave Euratom

7. Senators ask to interview Trump Jr over meeting

The US Senate intelligence committee has asked to interview Donald Trump Jr about his meeting with a Russian lawyer during his father's election campaign last year. Trump Jr said he was "happy to work with the committee to pass on what I know" after revealing he had hoped the meeting would help in the fight against Hillary Clinton.

8. Coffee drinking 'reduces heart attack risk'

People who drink three cups of coffee a day have an 18% lower risk of dying from a host of causes, including heart attack or stroke, according to two large international studies. Researchers say they do not know if the benefit is caused by drinking coffee or if coffee drinkers have other healthy behaviours.

Can coffee really make you live longer?

9. Steve Bannon 'has a portrait of himself as Napoleon'

Steve Bannon, Donald Trump's chief strategist, has reportedly been given an oil painting of himself dressed as Napoleon from former Ukip leader Nigel Farage. According to New York magazine, the portrait replicates Jacques-Louis David's 1812 work of the French leader standing with a hand tucked into his jacket.

10. Briefing: Social care lessons from Japan and Germany

Although not the only country to face the challenges of an aging population, England is "one of the few major advanced countries that has not reformed the way it funds long-term care in response to the needs of an ageing population", the King's Fund says.

Japan, which has the world's highest proportion of over-65s, introduced radical policies to tackle the problem, with long-term care insurance funded by national taxation and compulsory premiums for people over 40. Users also pay in a ten per cent co-payment.

In Germany, the government created a national care insurance fund in 1995 , with money deducted from an individual's pay and then matched by employers.

UK's social care crisis: What we can learn from Japan and Germany

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