The News Matrix: Monday 13 August 2012

Chimp is up to more monkey business

Police say a chimpanzee who rampaged through a Las Vegas neighbourhood last month made a second escape from her enclosure. Officers eventually recaptured her.

The X Factor final set to head north

The final of ITV1's talent show The X Factor will head to the 11,000-seat Manchester Central in December after being decamped from London for the first time.

Italian questioned over Auschwitz wire

A 66-year-old Italian has been released without charge after he was questioned over the alleged theft of a piece of barbed wire from the Auschwitz museum. Polish police said the 1ft piece of wire was found in the man's luggage at Krakow airport.

Rihanna talks her way back to No 1

Rihanna has the top-selling UK album after her sixth offering, Talk that Talk – originally released in November 2011 – climbed back to the summit after 38 weeks in the chart. It pushed Conor Maynard's debut Contrast off the top spot.

Firefighters tackle east London blaze

More than 200 firefighters tackled a blaze yesterday, which the London Fire Commissioner called the biggest in the capital for several years. The incident, at a recycling centre in Dagenham, east London, around eight miles from the Olympic Stadium, saw a single storey recycling building, around 50 metres by 100 metres, completely alight with 40 fire engines in attendance.

Romney and Ryan launch fightback

Republican candidate Mitt Romney and his new vice presidential running mate, Paul Ryan, were cheered by crowds in North Carolina as they sought to inject energy into a campaign that had struggled against Democrats' efforts to concentrate on Romney's wealth. MORE

Thousands forced to flee wildfires

Wildfires have forced thousands of people from their homes and are threatening some of Spain's most precious natural parks, including a Unesco World Heritage Site. Fires on the Canary islands of La Gomera and Tenerife led to the evacuation of more than 4,000 residents. MORE

Call for action on allergies in school

Minimum safety standards should be brought in to Britain's schools to cope with the rising number of children with food allergies, as teachers are unprepared, doctors have warned. A third of children who suffer anaphylactic shock do so for the first time at school. MORE

Opposition in call for no-fly zone

The head of Syria's main opposition group in exile has called for international powers to impose a no-fly zone in border areas to protect civilians against regime warplanes. The plea came as activists reported more clashes in Damascus, Aleppo, Daraa and central Homs province.

Voice of darts, Sid Waddell, dies at 72

Sid Waddell, known as the voice of darts, has died age 72. His manager Dick Allix said he "died peacefully with his family around him". The son of a Northumberland miner was popular with fans and players. MORE

Exam boards offer GCSE alternatives

A radical shake-up of the examination system has been proposed by two of Britain's largest exam boards. Mark Dawe, the chief executive of the OCR exam board, called for lower level GCSE pass grades to be scrapped, while the parent company of Edexcel unveiled a new "gold standard" qualification. MORE

Boy, 15, blinded as detonator explodes

A boy of 15 was blinded in his right eye when a railway detonator exploded in his face after it was thrown on a bonfire on Saturday night. He had been playing in a park in Leigh-on-Sea, Essex, with two friends. It is believed they took a box of detonators from a rail depot. Two boys aged 17 have been arrested.