Daily Briefing

Ten Things You Need to Know Today: Thursday 6 Dec 2012

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

1. UK'S TRIPLE-A CREDIT RATING AT RISK

Britain's AAA credit rating is at risk after Chancellor George Osborne admitted in yesterday's Autumn Statement that the government will miss its debt reduction target and have to borrow an extra £100bn. International ratings agency Fitch, which will review Britain's status next year, suggested that a downgrade is likely.

Osborne's Autumn Statement: what you need to know

2. MAX CLIFFORD ARRESTED IN SEX PROBE

Publicist Max Clifford has been arrested "on suspicion of sexual offences" by police working on Operation Yewtree, an investigation launched after revelations about the late Jimmy Savile. He is the sixth person to be questioned as part of the probe. Others to have been arrested include Freddie Starr, Gary Glitter and Dave Lee Travis.

royal baby

3. KATE MIDDLETON OUT OF HOSPITAL

The Duchess of Cambridge was discharged from the King Edward VII Hospital in London this morning after spending three nights being treated for severe morning sickness. Collected from hospital by Prince William, she said she was "feeling much better." She was heading to Kensington Palace for a period of rest.

Kate Middleton's baby 'means Charles should step aside'

Technology

4. APPLE SUFFERS HUGE SHARE SELL-OFF

Apple saw $35 billion wiped off its stock market valuation yesterday after China Mobile, the biggest network in China, announced it was planning to offer its customers the Nokia Lumia 920T ahead of a deal for the iPhone. Investors also took fright at a report that says the iPad’s share of the tablet market is on the wane. The 6% fall was the biggest in four years.

Analysts baffled as Apple sees biggest share fall since 2008

Sport

5. COOK HITS RECORD-BREAKING CENTURY

Alastair Cook hit a record-breaking 23rd century for England, his fifth in five Tests as captain, and became the youngest batsman to 7,000 Test runs as England took control of the second Test in Kolkata. Earlier India were bowled out for 316 and England ended the day in a commanding position at 216-1, with Cook unbeaten on 136.

Record century from Alastair Cook as England take control

Media

6. MAN CHARGED OVER NY SUBWAY DEATH

A homeless man, Naeem Davis, 30, has been charged with murder for pushing Ki Suk Han to his death in front of a subway train in New York. The incident triggered a row over press ethics after the New York Post published a front-page photograph of Han taken seconds before he died. The photographer said he was too far from the victim to pull him to safety.

NY Post subway death photo sparks press ethics debate

Arts & Life

7. ARCHITECT OSCAR NIEMEYER DIES AT 104

Brazilian architect Oscar Niemeyer, who designed some of the 20th Century's most famous modernist buildings including the capital city of Brasilia and the UN headquarters in New York, died yesterday just before his 105th birthday. A student of Le Corbusier, he said his own swoopy style was inspired by the curves of Brazilian women.

Architect Oscar Niemeyer - in pictures

Film

8. STARS TURN OUT FOR LES MISERABLES

Stars of the new Les Miserables film, including Russell Crowe and Anne Hathaway, last night braved freezing temperatures to attend the world premiere in London's Leicester Square. Director Tom Hooper, who won an Oscar for the King's Speech, said he hoped the film would win over people who avoid musicals. The stage version has been seen by 60 million people.

Les Miserables world premiere - pictures

Music

9. JAZZ MAESTRO DAVE BRUBECK DIES AT 91

Jazz pianist and composer Dave Brubeck, whose recording of 'Take Five' in 1959 was the biggest selling jazz single of all time, died yesterday of a heart attack aged 91. Neil Portnow from The Recording Academy said the Dave Brubeck Quartet showed that "jazz could be artistically challenging yet accessible to large audiences".

Take five reasons why Dave Brubeck was a jazz superstar

Theatre

10. HOT TICKET: FEMALE JULIUS CEASAR

A new all-female production of Shakespeare's 'Julius Caesar' directed by Phyllida Lloyd has opened at London's Donmar Warehouse to rave reviews. Harriet Walter and Cush Jumbo star as female prison inmates staging Shakespeare's political assassination play. "Visceral and exciting", says the Evening Standard. Until 9 February.

Harriet Walter 'remarkable' in all-female Julius Caesar