The News Matrix: Friday 3 October 2014

Worker dies in Heathrow terminal

A construction worker has died in an accident at Heathrow Airport’s recently reopened Terminal 2. An airport spokesman said the tragedy happened in an area of the terminal where construction activity was still taking place. “Our deepest sympathy and thoughts are with their family, friends and colleagues,” he said. Police and the Health and Safety Executive are investigating.

Lib-Lab coalition ‘unlikely’, says Laws

Education Minister David Laws has indicated the “big gap” between Labour and Liberal Democrat policy for reducing the deficit would make a coalition unlikely in the event of a hung Parliament next year. He said there were significant differences between the parties on some policies.

100 checked for exposure to Ebola

As many as 100 people in Texas are being checked for exposure to Ebola. The list includes “potential or possible contacts” with Thomas Eric Duncan, a Liberian national diagnosed in Dallas on Tuesday. Four of his relatives have been ordered to stay at home.

Anger over Bloody Sunday police cuts

Relatives of civil rights protesters shot dead by soldiers on Bloody Sunday in Londonderry in 1972 have said they are devastated after learning that most of the police investigators on the case are to be laid off. A police spokesman admitted the move would have a substantial impact.

Rebel forces fight to capture airport

Rebel forces in eastern Ukraine are fighting to capture the government-held airport in Donetsk, despite an official ceasefire. Pro-Russian rebels have tried several times in recent weeks to take the airport, which lies to the north-west of the city.

Wonga writes off £220m of loans

Wonga yesterday decided to write off an estimated £220m of loans. The payday lender cancelled the outstanding debt of 330,000 borrowers and scrapped fees and charges owed by 45,000 more after admitting lending to people who could not afford the repayments.

Singer Lynsey de Paul dies aged 64

The singer Lynsey de Paul has died of a suspected brain haemorrhage. The 64-year-old, who sang for the UK in the 1977 Eurovision Song Contest, was the first woman to win an Ivor Novello award for songwriting.

Fertility experts urge eggs review

Women should be allowed to freeze their eggs using treatments reserved for cancer patients, fertility experts have said. The change could lead to a dramatic reduction in the need for IVF and other artificial reproductive techniques and stem the soaring demand for egg donation.

Five swimmers slapped by dolphin

Friendly dolphins have long been a tourist attraction in the west of Ireland, but coastguards were called out in the Galway Bay area on Wednesday when a large adult male dolphin circled five swimmers and then slapped and nudged them. The swimmers were all said to be “very shocked”.

Cash incentives don’t spur teenagers

Giving teenagers money does not help improve their exam results, according to a new study of over 10,000 students. An estimated £4.2m was spent on cash incentives last year to no avail, but the research found promise of a special trip led to improved maths results among low-achieving students.

Learn to speak like ‘Game of Thrones’

A company that specialises in online language courses is releasing Dothraki this month, the guttural dialect spoken by the horse warriors of Essos on the HBO fantasy hit Game of Thrones. Living Language said its Dothraki language course will go on sale next Tuesday with a pronunciation guide and vocabulary.

Ryanair to lose its bikini calendar

Ryanair has called time on its calendar of cabin crew in bikinis. Chief executive Michael O’Leary said that the calendar, which has raised money for charity, will not be published next year. It was first published in 2008. Adverts for it were banned in Malaga last year for being “discriminatory”.

Visits hit a peak in scorching August

Museum visits hit a monthly high in August with a total of 5,899,043 visits recorded, according to official statistics published yesterday by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. Visits were 10.5 per cent higher than at the same period the previous year. Culture Minister Ed Vaizey welcomed the “outstanding news”.