The News Matrix: Friday 22 November 2013

Coalition tensions over green taxes

Conservatives calling for environmental taxes on energy bills to be scrapped are “full of crap”, the Liberal Democrat Danny Alexander claimed yesterday, as Coalition tensions turned into a public row. The Chief Secretary to the Treasury turned on Tory right-wingers as he responded to newspaper claims that David Cameron had told aides to “get rid of all this green crap”. MORE

Suspected gunman lived in London

A man suspected of carrying out a gun attack at a French newspaper on Friday, was said to have lived in London for a number of long spells before returning to France in July. Investigators say DNA evidence points towards the involvement of Abdelhakim Dekhar. MORE

Bankers cash in on sell-off shares rise

The two firms paid millions by the Government to help value the Royal Mail ahead of its flotation have joined the sales frenzy that has sent the shares price soaring. Goldman Sachs had brokered deals on shares worth £123m by 31 October, while UBS had bought 375,000. MORE

Karzai urges elders to agree deal with US

President Hamid Karzai yesterday urged tribal elders gathered in Kabul to accept a security pact with the US, but said that the deal, which would allow up to 15,000 troops to stay at bases around the country until 2024, should not be signed until after next spring’s presidential election. MORE

Calls for inquiry into Army shootings

Claims by former members of a secret Army unit that soldiers killed unarmed civilians in west Belfast have led to calls for an official inquiry. A BBC Panorama documentary has claimed the Military Reaction Force (MRF) carried out drive-by shootings 40 years ago. MORE

Lion cubs die from unspecified illness

Two lion cubs featured in the press on Wednesday have died. Shadi Hamad, supervisor of animals at Bissan park, said Fajr and Sjel (Dawn and Clay in Arabic), died due to “deterioration of their health”.

Old Bailey bomber on terrorist charges

Old Bailey bomber Marian McGlinchey has pleaded guilty to providing property for terrorism. She had been accused of buying a mobile phone used in calls claiming responsibility for a Real IRA attack on Massereene Army barracks in 2009.

Kennedy cousin out on bail after 11 years

The Kennedy cousin Michael Skakel was freed on bail yesterday after spending 11 years in prison for the 1975 murder of a neighbour in Connecticut. Skakel, 53, was convicted in 2002 of murdering Martha Moxley when they were both 15.

‘Robin Hood’ mayor jailed over land grab

A court in Seville has sentenced a town mayor, nicknamed “Robin Hood”, to seven months in jail for occupying unused military land. The Mayor of Marinaleda, Juan Manuel Sanchez Gordillo, a well-know activist on behalf of the poor, wanted the land to be loaned to farmers hard hit by recession.

Little airport with a big, big problem

A giant modified Boeing 747 aircraft became stuck at a tiny Kansas airport yesterday after it landed there by mistake. The runway at Jabara Airport is believed to be around a thousand feet too short for the giant Dreamlifter aircraft, which is used for transporting aircraft parts, to take off safely.

Religious police put squeeze on huggers

Two men have been arrested in the capital, Riyadh, for offering free hugs to passers-by in one of the city’s main shopping streets. The Saudi Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice detained the pair for indulging in exotic practices and offending public order. They reportedly had to sign a pledge that they would not offer hugs again.