Ten Things You Need to Know Today: Monday 6 Dec 2010

Kevin Pietersen dismisses Michael Clarke

published 6 December 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. ASHES: PIETERSEN SCORES WITH BAT AND BALLKevin Pietersen took a wicket with the final ball of the day to revive England's hopes of winning the second Ashes Test in Adelaide. Part-time spinner Pietersen (above), who had earlier recorded his highest Test score of 227, removed Michael Clarke to leave Australia on 238-4 putting them 137 runs behind. England must now hope the rain predicted for tomorrow holds off long enough to allow them to take the six wickets they need to go 1-0 up in the series. WIKILEAKS DISCLOSES 'VITAL' US FACILITIES After two weeks of embarrassing revelations, WikiLeaks has raised the stakes by releasing a secret list of worldwide facilities viewed by the US as being vital to its national security. It includes the locations of pipelines, undersea cables, satellite installations and arms factories, as well as such oddities as an anti-snake venom factory in Australia and an insulin plant in Denmark. Some security experts call the list "a gift to terrorists". BRITAIN'S BIG FREEZE IS BACKAfter a brief respite over the weekend, sub-zero temperatures returned last night and are expected to remain until Wednesday. There should be less snow than last week, except in Scotland. At least seven people have died in the cold weather, including two teenage girls whose car crashed into a mail van in treacherous conditions on the A595 in Carlisle. BORIS BOOTS BLATTER OUT OF THE DORCHESTER Furious at Fifa's decision to ignore England's bid to host the World Cup in 2018, Mayor of London Boris Johnson has take revenge by withdrawing an invitation to president Sepp Blatter and other Fifa delegates to stay - for free - at the Dorchester during the 2012 Olympics. An England bid official told the Mail on Sunday: "As far as we are concerned they can stay in a B&B in the Old Kent Road and pay for it themselves to boot." PROVE MY AIDE IS A SPY, SAYS LIB DEM MPMike Hancock, the Lib Dem MP whose parliamentary aide has been taken into custody by MI5 on suspicion of spying for Russia, has challenged the authorities to prove she is a spy. He believes Katia Zatuliveter, 25, has nothing to hide and he backs her 100 per cent. In Moscow, the media are saying her arrest is just revenge for losing the World Cup bid to Russia. MI5 arrest Russian spy in House of Commons SHARK KILLS GERMAN TOURIST AT SHARM EL-SHEIKH Egyptian authorities thought they had found and killed the shark that attacked four tourists swimming in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh last week - but they appear to have missed the true culprit. A German woman has since died after being bitten on the thigh and arm while snorkelling. There are fears for the local tourist trade: Sharm el-Shark is not a winning slogan. TOPSHOPPERS HIT BY PHILIP GREEN TAX PROTEST Christmas shoppers got trapped when a crowd of more than 200 people protesting against "tax dodgers" staged a sit-in at Topshop's Oxford Street store on Saturday, chanting: "If you want to sell your clothes pay your tax." The protest group UK Uncut argues that Topshop owner Sir Philip Green has avoided paying hundreds of millions of pounds of tax in the UK by having his wife Tina front his holding company in Monaco. LIQUIDS BAN AT AIRPORTS TO BE SCRAPPEDThe ban on air passengers carrying liquids, introduced in 2006 following a failed attempt to blow up airlines using liquid explosives, is to be phased out at British airports, starting in April. Transport secretary Philip Hammond said he was particularly sympathetic to parents travelling with babies who were forced by airport security staff to taste jars of "mush" and bottles of baby milk to prove they were genuine. ASSANGE 'WILL FIGHT' SWEDISH EXTRADITION WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange will fight attempts to take him to Sweden to face rape allegations, which he sees as a "political stunt", his lawyer told the BBC's Andrew Marr on Sunday. Mark Stephens warned that WikiLeaks holds further secret material which it sees as a "thermo-nuclear device" to be released if the organisation needs to protect itself. Crispin Black: Assange would be advised to get out of Britain ASAP OFF THE TELLY: MARY BYRNE AND ANN WIDDECOMBE Tesco checkout assistant Mary Byrne was the latest act to leave The X Factor last night. Next week's final will feature boy band One Direction and solo singers Matt Cardle, Rebecca Ferguson and Cher Lloyd. Meanwhile Ann Widdecombe's adventure on Strictly Come Dancing finally came to an end after a 'Hello Dolly' routine with dance partner Anton Du Beke received this rebuke from judge Bruno Tonioli: "More like Hello Trolley than Hello Dolly".