The News Matrix: Friday 3 May 2013

Gun incident leaves one dead at airport

One person was dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound yesterday afternoon at George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston, local media reported. The person fired two shots in the air before turning the gun on himself, according to witnesses. All flights were stopped at the airport during the incident, which came a day ahead of a National Rifle Association convention in the city.

Diamond: ‘I never did anything for money’

Ex-Barclays boss Bob Diamond, who resigned last July over the Libor rate-rigging scandal, claims he “never did anything for the money”. Diamond said: “If you look at how [our family has] lived our lives, as soon as we had any money at all, we created a family foundation.” MORE

Accused’s friends exchanged texts

The surviving Boston Marathon bombing suspect exchanged text messages with a friend who had become suspicious after seeing what looked like a familiar face on television, authorities say. That friend and two others now stand accused of aiding the suspected bombers. MORE

Tax deal was done to save Osborne’s face

A tax deal which saved Goldman Sachs millions of pounds was agreed by HMRC to save George Osborne from “major embarrassment”, a court has heard. Dave Hartnett, HMRC’s top civil servant, sent an email saying the Chancellor needed to keep the bank happy. MORE

Far-right party clashes with mayor

An attempt by the far-right Golden Dawn party to hand out food only to Greeks, in defiance of a municipal ban, degenerated yesterday with Athens’ mayor saying a party member tried to punch him. The punch missed its target, landing instead on a 12-year-old girl. MORE

Corrie star denies raping girl of 15

Coronation Street actor Bill Roache has said he was astounded by the accusation that he raped a 15-year-old girl 46 years ago. The 81-year-old “strenuously denies” the claim and says he will fight to clear his name.

Holocaust survivor dies aged 107

An Austrian organisation that tracks the fate of Nazi concentration-camp inmates says that one of the oldest known survivors has died aged 107. Leopold Engleitner died on 21 April. After refusing to renounce his faith as a Jehovah’s Witness, he survived three camps between 1939 and 1945.

Outcry over delay in cigarette legislation

Experts have slammed the Government’s decision to delay forcing cigarettes to be sold in plain packets. Doctors said teenagers in Britain are more likely to become smokers if tobacco companies use attractive packaging. The plans were set for inclusion in the Queen’s Speech, but have been put on hold. MORE

‘We’ve got a bone to pick with you...’

Authorities say sun reflecting off a dog’s metal water bowl ignited a fire at Terry and Shay Weisbrich’s northern California home on Wednesday afternoon. The fire was quickly put out, but it left a hole in a wall. A fire department engineer has been credited with discovering the canine cause.

Undone by climbers with an axe to grind

Vigilantes have reportedly sabotaged a cliff face in the Lake District in protest at the use by some climbers of of pick axes. The People’s Climbing Front of the Lake District says the practice damages “naked” rock. The bolts and clips which such climbers used have been cut from the rock.

Cuckoo leaves UK until it warms up

A migrating bird found Britain’s spring weather so miserable that it left. David the cuckoo, whose journey was monitored by the British Trust for Ornithology, was travelling from Africa to the UK, but in the first known case of “reverse migration”, he found Somerset too cold and went to France until it warmed up. MORE

House in Sydney sells for £35m

A Sydney harbour-front mansion has been sold for a record £35.4m to a Chinese-born businessman, reinforcing the city’s growing status as a hot property destination. The man who bought the luxurious eight-bedroom Altona in exclusive Point Piper lives in Melbourne.

Star Wars to get Navajo re-dub

The largest Native American tribe in the US is seeking to dub the 1977 movie Star Wars in Navajo, as a way to help preserve its traditional language. Fluent Navajo speakers have been invited for a casting call in northern Arizona today to dub the roles of Luke Skywalker, Han Solo and others, tribal officials said.