Daily Briefing

Ten Things You Need to Know Today: Monday 3 Sep 2012

The Week’s super-quick catch-up on the main news talking points, available from 8am daily

1. CAMERON SET FOR RESHUFFLE
David Cameron is expected to unveil the first major cabinet reshuffle since he became Prime Minister this week. Top cabinet figures are unlikely to be affected but changes are expected in junior positions. The news comes after George Osborne announced a £50bn boost for the economy including low-interest loans and guarantees for the building industry.
Oscar Pistorius
2. OSCAR PISTORIUS CRIES FOUL
Blade-runner Oscar Pistorius has said sorry for remarks he made about fellow Paralympians after his defeat in the T44 200m final on Sunday night. The South African was beaten by Brazilian Alan Oliveira and later claimed he and others had used elongated blades to gain an advantage. He later apologised and said he had "respect" for Oliverira.
Pissed-off Pistorius apologises for remarks after losing 200m
3. HAGUE CALLS FOR ASSANGE TALKS
Foreign Secretary William Hague has called for more talks with Ecuador over the fate of Wikileaks founder Julian Assange, currently holed up in the Ecuardorian embassy in London. Hague said there was no danger of Assange's human rights being breached if he was extradited to Sweden, and called for a diplomatic solution to the impasse.
4. FIFTY-FIVE NEW ‘FREE’ SCHOOLS TO OPEN
Fifty-five new free schools, state-funded but not under local authority control and a flagship coalition policy, are opening this month, tripling the number in place across England, Education Secretary Michael Gove said last night. Another 114 free schools have been approved to open from next year.
5. BROOKS IN COURT ON HACKING CHARGES
Former News International chief executive Rebekah Brooks has appeared in court charged with phone hacking. The 44-year-old spoke only to confirm her name and address during the hearing at Westminster Magistrates. She faces one general charge and two others relating to the voicemails of Milly Dowler and Union leader Andrew Gilchrist.
Technology
6. PIRATE BAY CO-FOUNDER ARRESTED IN CAMBODIA
Pirate Bay co-founder Gottfrid Svartholm Warg has been arrested in Cambodia at the request of Sweden. Warg, who has lived in Phnom Penh for at least four years, was sentenced to a year in prison in 2009 for copyright crimes relating to his involvement in the notorious file-sharing website, but failed to turn up to start his sentence. Cambodia has no extradition treaty with Sweden.
Cambodia arrests Pirate Bay co-founder: is US involved?
Books
7. CRIME WRITER FAKED HIS OWN REVIEWS
The best-selling crime writer R.J. Ellory last night apologised for faking his own five-star reviews on Amazon, using pseudonyms to laud his “magnificent genius” and hail his book A Quiet Belief in Angels as “chilling” and “a modern masterpiece”. He admitted to a “lapse of judgment” after accusations from spy writer Jeremy Duns.
Crime writer admits faking 'breathtaking' Amazon reviews
Environment
8. PILOT WHALES DIE IN MASS STRANDING
Seventeen members of a pod of pilot whales have died after being a mass stranding in Scotland. The whales came ashore at the fishing village of Pittenweem, near St Andrews at the weekend. Ten were refloated but the rest perished. Anotehr 24 members of the same pod have been spotted in shallow waters nearby.
Pilot whales die in Scotland mass stranding - pictures
9. FOUR SHOT AT SOUTH AFRICAN MINE
Four striking gold miners have been shot by police in South Africa during scuffles at a mine near Johannesburg. The latest incident comes after 34 miners were killed by police at a platinum mine two weeks ago. South African courts were due to start releasing 270 miners who had been charged with murder, using apartheid-era laws, after the deaths.
Theatre
10. HOT TICKET: GREIG’S JUMPY TRIUMPH
The Royal Court’s production of April De Angelis’s play Jumpy has transferred to the Duke of York Theatre in London’s West End. Tamsin Greig stars as a middle-aged mother battling her highly-sexed teenage daughter while coping with the ravages of age. ”Cringingly funny”, says The Times. Until 3 November.
Tamsin Greig ‘cringingly funny’ as mid-life mum in Jumpy