The News Matrix: Friday 17 October 2014

British hostage in new Isis video

John Cantlie, the British journalist held hostage by Isis in Syria, has spoken on a video message in which he said he had been “abandoned” by the UK Government and criticised the Western media. Mr Cantlie, who appeared to be reading from a script, talked for nearly eight minutes in what the extremist group said was the fourth of eight “episodes” in a series.

Iran and US vow to meet nuclear date

Iran and the United States said they had made some progress in high-level nuclear talks but work remained to clinch a deal by a 24 November deadline. Both sides said they still aimed to meet the self-imposed date to end a decade-old dispute over Tehran’s nuclear programme.

Money launderers ‘used’ private school

Some of Britain’s top private schools are facing scrutiny for unintentionally accepting laundered money. Police in Moldova allege that Millfield school, in Somerset, received payments arising from the $22bn (£14bn) scam revealed yesterday.

Ebola-hit countries now face starvation

Now in the countries affected by Ebola – Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea, where many already live a hand-to-mouth existence – there are fears of a new crisis: starvation. The treatment of the virus – isolation and mass quarantines – threatens to bring malnutrition.

Breakthrough HIV drug ‘on NHS soon’

Medication that offers up to a 90 per cent reduction from the risk of HIV could soon be available on the NHS. Campaigners have urged the NHS to ensure the drug – which has been approved for use in the US since 2012 – is offered to the most vulnerable groups as soon as possible.

Pregnant activist held for King ‘insult’

An activist who is eight months pregnant has been detained for “insulting” the King after she tore up his photograph in court, according to reports. Human Rights Watch says Zainab al-Khawaja has been detained for seven days on charges of insulting the head of state.

More bodies found after blizzard

Search teams rescued dozens of stranded foreign trekkers and recovered more bodies of victims of a blizzard and avalanches in Nepal’s northern mountains yesterday, raising the death toll to 27. About 70 people were still missing along or near the Annapurna trail.

Vinyl sales reach a 20-year high

Vinyl albums are on track to achieve their biggest sales for almost two decades. Official Charts Company figures show almost 800,000 vinyl albums were bought in the first nine months of this year.

Drug suspect legs it in marathon escape

A wanted man tried to flee police by hiding amongst participants in the Chicago marathon. Bryan Duffy ran away when officers approached him on Sunday. The 29-year-old then jumped into a group of marathon runners and tried to blend in with them. He was eventually arrested for possession of drugs.

Liverpool theatre wins Stirling Prize

The Everyman Theatre in Liverpool has been named as the winner of the Riba Stirling Prize. The architects Haworth Tompkins received the award at the Royal Institute of British Architects in London last night. The judges hailed the venue as a 21st-century theatre that “celebrates the past”.

Boy survives fall from ninth-floor flat

A four-year-old boy reportedly fell 25 metres from the balcony of a ninth-floor flat, and survived. The boy was recovering in hospital this week after falling from an apartment block in the city of Saint-Etienne in central France. A bush was said to have broken his fall.

Two-week pub gig to set world record

An Irish pub on the Las Vegas Strip is expected to break a Guinness World Record after more than two weeks of nearly non-stop live music. The concert began 1 October in the Rí Rá pub and was expected to make history yesterday. Artists are allowed no more than a 25-second break between songs and a five-minute break between sets.

British summer boosts turtle power

Staff at a wildlife park who are celebrating breeding African spurred tortoises for the first time believe the summer heatwave helped. The four babies, measuring 2in (5cm) long, have been named Donatello, Raphael, Leonardo and Michelangelo, after their Ninja Turtle cousins, by the Lake District Wildlife Park.