The News Matrix: Monday 1 August 2011

Breivik wanted to be head of the army

Anders Breivik demanded to be appointed the head of the Norwegian army and called for the abdication of King Harald V during police questioning. Forensic experts have concluded, however, that the self-confessed killer is unlikely to be declared insane. MORE

Footballer to face rape charge

Sheffield United and Wales footballer Ched Evans has been charged with rape, his lawyers said yesterday. Evans, 22, was arrested in Rhyl in May for the alleged offence. He is on bail and will appear in court this month. Evans, who has 13 Wales caps, denies the charge, lawyers said.

Labour maintains poll lead over Tories

Labour has consolidated its lead over the Conservatives according to a “poll of polls” for The Independent. The Labour leader, Ed Miliband, saw his party receive 40 per cent support. The Tories are four points behind on 36 per cent, with the Liberal Democrats up slightly at 13 per cent. MORE

Barnardo’s may pull out of ‘family’ centre

The children’s charity Barnardo’s is threatening to pull out of a plan to help run a “family friendly” detention centre for failed asylum seekers. Campaigners say the new centre, at Pease Pottage in West Sussex, has a perimeter wall and is simply another form of confinement. MORE

Protesters hit streets over living costs

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is facing the biggest test of his second term in office as thousands of protesters took to the streets over the weekend to demonstrate against spiralling living costs. MORE

Teenager charged with Soca hacking

Jake Davis, 18, of Shetland, will appear in court in London today charged with hacking into the Serious and Organised Crime Agency website. He is accused of gaining unauthorised access to a computer system, encouraging or assisting offences and conspiracy to commit offences. He faces one further charge of conspiring to carry out a distributed denial of service attack on SOCA.

Cod dumped at sea is worth £1bn

Almost £1bn of North Sea cod has been dumped at sea by UK fishing vessels since 1963, a report shows. Researchers analysing the quantity of wasted cod calculated that in total European fishing fleets discarded £2.7bn worth of fish, often because they were too small. MORE

Government is sorry over train crash

China had to apologise yesterday for trying to stop lawyers representing families of victims of the bullet train crash that left 40 people dead. The government issued a notice to law firms saying that they “shouldn’t unauthorisedly respond and handle the cases”. MORE

Gunmen prise rebels’ grip from key area

Rebel forces fought gunmen loyal to Muammar Gaddafi in eastern Libya yesterday in the latest incident to undermine the insurgents’ grip. The clashes renewed opposition fears Gaddafi’s agents had infiltrated the area, days after the killing of the rebel military leader.

Couple fell from cliff trying to rescue dogs

A man aged 53 was in hospital with serious head injuries last night after he and his wife fell 40ft down a cliff while trying to rescue their two dogs near Meadfoot Beach in Torquay, Devon. The man’s wife, 46, suffered superficial injuries.

Lansley: Health fears are unfounded

The Health Secretary Andrew Lansley rejected Labour’s claims that deprived areas will lose out under NHS spending reforms. Labour said new funding formulas meant areas of poor health would be given less consideration when cash was allocated.

Still’s moonshine is now 100% legal

Two entrepreneurs are taking advantage of new micro-distillery laws in South Carolina to make and sell traditional moonshine whisky legally for the first time. The Dark Corner Distillery opens this month in Greenville producing small-batch 100-proof spirit from a custom-made copper still.

Campaign group joins badger fight

A campaign group which helped force the Government into an embarrassing U-turn over plans to sell off forests has set its sights on stopping a planned cull of badgers. 38 Degrees, which got 532,000 people to sign its Save Our Forests petition, has joined those fighting to save the badgers.

‘Bearded woman’ robs bank

Police are hunting a woman who dressed as a man and drew a beard on her face before robbing an Alabama bank. The woman, who drew on the beard when she entered the bank, told cashiers she had a bomb and demanded money as she placed a device on the counter before fleeing.

Miracle escape for 160 passengers

Despite plunging through a fence and breaking in half just short of a ravine, all 163 people on board a Boeing 737-800 that crash landed in Guyana survived. Only three were admitted to hospital. MORE

Motorcyclist crashes into ‘runaway sheep’

A motorcyclist has been airlifted to hospital after colliding with a runaway sheep, the ambulance service said. Emergency services found the man, believed to be in his 50s, lying in the road in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, at 8am yesterday after the crash, which killed the animal.

Hundreds take part in Delhi’s SlutWalk

Hundreds of people took to the streets of New Delhi for a “SlutWalk” yesterday to protest sexual violence against women. But without fishnet stockings and lingerie, it was a slightly tamer affair than demonstrations seen in other, less conservative cities. MORE

Why pros are best swingers in town

The “X-factor” that separates golf pros from amateurs – the relative rotation of their hips to their shoulders – has been identified. Pro golfers were found barely to deviate from an “X-factor” of 56 degrees during a hard swing, enabling them to hit the ball harder and longer.

Jobless 29-year-old is now a grandfather

An unemployed man aged 29 is a grandfather after his daughter gave birth at 14. Shem Davies’ daughter Tia, who was born when her parents were 15, gave birth to Gracie in July. Her boyfriend, Jordan Williams, is also 15. Mr Davies said: “It is an absolute joy to see Gracie thriving.”