Calls to clamp down on internet abuse sent through social networking sites intensified yesterday after a string of leading female journalists and columnists were sent hoax bomb threats on Twitter. i’s Grace Dent was among those told that explosives would be detonated at their homes at precisely 10.47pm on Wednesday, “destroying everything”.

Morsi supporters offered safe passage

Egypt’s military rulers offered “safe passage and protection” yesterday to thousands of supporters of the deposed president Mohamed Morsi who have been camped out for weeks in two locations in Cairo since the Muslim Brotherhood leader was ousted in early July.

Weather shifts may lead to conflicts

Climate change has fanned the flames of global conflict throughout human history, according to new research. A study has shown that wider civil conflicts increase with changes to weather patterns, such as temperature rises and lack of rain. MORE

Snowden granted temporary asylum

Edward Snowden, the former CIA contractor who leaked information about the US’s telephone and internet spying programme, left Moscow airport after being granted temporary asylum by Russia. The case has further strained US-Russian ties after differences over Syria. MORE

Clegg faces criticism from former Lib Dem

A former member of the Liberal Democrats has attacked Nick Clegg on the Deputy Prime Minister’s radio show. “Barry” said that thanks to the bedroom tax, people in Rotherhithe, south London, “have got to steal to live”. Mr Clegg declined to get into a public debate.

Barn owls struggling – to wit, to woo

Barn owls have had their worst breeding season in decades in the wake of extreme weather. The Barn Owl Trust monitored 73 sites in Devon and Cornwall and found nesting birds in just 12 per cent of them.

Court upholds Berlusconi’s jail term

Italy’s supreme court upheld Silvio Berlusconi’s four-year jail sentence for his tax-fraud conviction, the first time the former Italian prime minister has been convicted of a crime. A review was ordered of his five-year ban on public office. The billionaire media mogul is unlikely to go to prison, though. MORE

Dog owner faces jail over pet’s attack

The owner of a Staffordshire bull terrier that decapitated a Pomeranian dog in public faces a possible jail sentence. David Savage, 44, from Warrington, pleaded guilty to owning a dog dangerously out of control in a public place. Savage picked up the Pomeranian’s body after the attack and threw it under a car.