Ten Things You Need to Know Today: Wednesday 8 Dec 2010

 

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. HONEYMOON MURDER: SHRIEN DEWANI in custodyBristol businessman Shrien Dewani is in custody tonight after South African authorities appealed against a court's decision to grant him bail pending an extradition hearing. Dewani is accused of murdering his wife, Anni Dewani, during their honeymoon in Cape Town last month. South African authorities want Dewani to stand trial after taxi driver Zola Tongo claimed he paid him R15,000 (£1,400) to arrange Anni's murder. Dewani is fighting extradition. Honeymoon murder: taxi driver accuses husband 'GOOD NEWS' SAYS GATES AFTER ASSANGE REFUSED BAIL US Defence Secretary Robert Gates has welcomed the arrest of Julian Assange as "good news". Assange's supporters fear the US is behind the Swedish attempt to have the WikiLeaks editor extradited on the grounds of alleged sex offences. According the Independent, US and Swedish officials have already discussed how Assange might be delivered into American custody, to face espionage charges. SHARK ATTACKS BLAMED ON MOSSADAre the shark attacks in which one person died and three were injured in Sharm el-Sheikh a plot by Israel? Egyptian official Abdel Fadil Shousha is refusing to rule it out. He said: "What is being said about the Mossad throwing the deadly shark [in the sea] ... is not out of the question." The bizarre claim has been dismissed as "mumbo-jumbo" by an Egyptian marine biology expert. Full report: Sharm el-Shark: it must have been Mossad! FANS MARK JOHN LENNON ANNIVERSARY Fans of John Lennon are marking the 30th anniversary of the day he was shot dead by Mark Chapman on the street outside his New York apartment in the Dokota building. Sean Lennon, the Beatle's son by Yoko Ono, who was five at the time, told the BBC: "This time of year I tend to just sort of look out for my mum and make sure that she's alright." In pictures: It was 30 years ago today THE X FACTOR FINAL COULD PULL IN £25MSunday's final of The X Factor could be the most lucrative ITV show of all time, bringing in £25m in advertising revenue, according to the Daily Mail. Thirty-second ads will sell for as much as £300,000 with analysts predicting an audience of more than 20 million. Matt Cardle is the narrow favourite. Cher Lloyd is the hate figure. CLEGG READS RIOT ACT OVER TUITION FEESAll Lib Dem ministers serving in the coalition government have been ordered by party leader Nick Clegg to vote for the higher cap on tuition fees in tomorrow's Commons crucial vote - or face the sack. It means three ministers who were thought to be preparing to abstain - Lynne Featherstone, Norman Baker and Steve Webb - will now fall into line. The ruling does not apply to Lib Dem backbenchers. WIKILEAKS: MEGRAHI RELEASED 'AFTER THUGGISH THREATS'The British government welcomed the Scottish decision to release Lockerbie bomber Abdelbaset al-Megrahi on compassionate grounds in 2009 because Libyan leader Col Gaddafi had issued "thuggish" threats to halt all trade deals with the UK if Megrahi remained in jail. That's the latest revelation to come from Wikileaks. The Scots were offered "a parade of treats" to let Megrahi go - though the leaked cables make it clear these were not accepted. PUBLIC SHOULD CLEAR SNOW, says TORY MINISTER The public - rather than local councils - should be responsible for clearing snow and ice on side-road pavements, according to transport secretary Philip Hammond. As freezing weather grips the UK, and with the army poised to help clear snow in Edinburgh, Hammond said councils could provide salt to help public-spirited residents make pavements safe "for themselves and neighbours who are less able to do so". ED MILIBAND SCOREs AT PMQsUrged by Labour leader Ed Miliband at today's Prime Minister's Questions to go away and think again about tuition fees, David Cameron called him "a student politician". In an oblique reference to Cameron's membership of the Bullingdon Club at Oxford, Miliband fired back that he had indeed been a student politician - but he did not hang around with people who threw bread rolls and smashed up restaurants. The Mole: Can Miliband recover? 81 DEAD IN CHILEAN PRISON FIREA fire at an overcrowded jail in the Chilean capital Santiago killed 81 prisoners and left 14 fighting for their lives today. Firefighters struggled to rescue inmates trapped inside San Miguel prison, which had a population of 1,900 despite being designed for just 700. The blaze - the worst prison accident in Chile's history - is believed to have been started during a fight between inmates at around 4.30am.

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Jack Bremer is a London-based reporter, attached to The Week.co.uk. He has reported regularly from the United States and France.