Ten Things You Need to Know Today: Thursday 6 Jan 2011
Our popular news catch-up service is posted Monday to Friday at 8.0 am. You can rely on it to keep you up to date through the working day with the main news talking points. NEWS OF THE WORLD MAN SUSPENDEDThe News of the World has confirmed that assistant editor Ian Edmondson has been "suspended from active duties" pending an internal investigation into whether he was involved in a plot to hack into the voicemail of actress Sienna Miller in 2005. News of the suspension piles more pressure on the paper's former editor Andy Coulson (above), now David Cameron's director of communications. Coulson has always claimed that neither he nor any other executive were aware of phone hacking. ASHES: ENGLAND ON VERGE OF HISTORIC VICTORYAt the end of the fourth day of the Sydney Test, England were the verge of a stunning and historic victory which would give them a 3-1 series win. They had scored 644 in response to Australia first innings total of 280, and have already removed Australia's most important batsmen in the second innings. Australia stand at 213-7, destined to lose the Test by more than an innings. Are England the best team in the world? ROYAL WEDDING DETAILS RELEASEDKate Middleton will be driven by car to Westminster Abbey for her marriage to Prince William on April 29, and then return to Buckingham Palace with her new husband in a carriage procession. Other details announced yesterday by St James's Palace include the news that the Archbishop of Canterbury will officiate. Roll out your sleeping bags - wedding details are out COST-CUTTING LED TO BP OIL SPILLCost-cutting and time-saving measures contributed to the oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico last April, according to a report by a presidential commission. The report blames BP and other companies involved, including rig owner Transocean, for systemic management failures which are unlikely to be resolved without the introduction of new regulations. LANDLORD MAY SUE OVER JO YEATES MURDER ARRESTChris Jefferies, the landlord of architect Jo Yeates, who was arrested on suspicion of her murder last week, is said to be considering suing the police for wrongful arrest and taking newspapers to court for defamation. He was held for two days over her killing, but was released without charge. Meanwhile, more police have been drafted into the hunt for the murderer of the 25-year-old landscape architect. Jo Yeates landlord could sue police and media ISRAELI VULTURE ACCUSED OF SPYING A griffon vulture carrying an Israeli GPS transmitter has been 'detained' by Saudi Arabian authorities on suspicion of spying after it landed in the desert city of Hyaal. Wildlife officials in Israel say the claim is ludicrous and that the device, supplied by Tel Aviv university, "does nothing more than receive and store basic data about the bird's whereabouts". They fear for the bird's fate. GPS 'RUNNING OUT OF FLU VACCINE'Doctors across the country are running out of flu vaccine following a surge in demand following media reports over the Christmas period that the virus is spreading. A south London doctor told the Daily Telegraph that her waiting list was growing by the hour and called on supermarkets and pharmacies to hand over their stocks to the NHS. The Health Protection Agency says flu has now killed 50 people this winter. WHITE HOUSE SPOKESMAN GIBBS STANDS DOWNBarack Obama is now looking for a new chief of staff and a new press secretary after Robert Gibbs, a close confidante since the US President was still a senator, announced he will be leaving in February. Gibbs has been accused of failing to project the Obama philosophy during his two years as press secretary. Obama did not apparently try to keep him, wanting a new team to take him through to the 2012 election. FURORE OVER HUCKLEBERRY FINN N-BOMBA new edition of Mark Twain's classic children's book Adventures of Huckleberry Finn has caused a storm in America after it was edited to remove racially offensive words. The original contained 219 instances of the word 'nigger', but Alan Gribben's new version replaces them with 'slave'. Likewise 'injun' has been changed to 'Indian'. Critics say the move compromises the book, first published in 1884. SEC LOOKS INTO FACEBOOK-GOLDMAN DEALThe US Securities and Exchange Commission is examining whether disclosure rules for private companies need to be rewritten in the light of the Goldman Sachs plan to create an investment vehicle for clients wishing to buy equity in Facebook, according to the Wall Street Journal. The Goldman deal appears to circumvent a rule that requires companies with more than 500 shareholders to disclose certain financial data. Zuckerberg scales the rich list with $500m investment
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