The News Matrix: Monday 14 November 2011

Leveson begins inquiry into press

The Leveson Inquiry into press standards opens today at the Royal Courts of Justice. Lord Leveson rejected a request last week by police to vet evidence to ensure it does not prejudice future criminal trials. However, he said the hearings would not be used to "pillory" others. MORE

Women bishops win heavy poll support

The consecration of women as Church of England bishops is all but inevitable after a nationwide vote count across the country found overwhelming support. Nearly all the Church's 44 dioceses voted for the proposals that have been agreed by the General Synod.

Big firms accused of exploiting India

Western pharmaceutical companies have seized on India as a testing ground for drugs – benefiting from the huge population and loose regulations to cut research costs for lucrative products to be sold in the West. Campaigners say the drug firms exploit India's most vulnerable. MORE

UK pair who died in chopper crash named

Two British businessmen killed in a helicopter crash in Majorca were named in reports yesterday as Mark Blaver-Mann and Alistair Evans. Their helicopter crashed in woods in Coll de Sa Gramola near Andratx on Majorca. Mr Evans was said to own the Soho restaurant in Dorset.

Suu Kyi may stand in by-election

A year to the day after her release from house arrest, the Burmese pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi may be about to stand in a parliamentary by-election, which could be held next month. MORE

Boy, 3, swept to death from sea wall

An investigation is under way after a three-year-old boy was swept out to sea near a busy promenade. According to reports the toddler was knocked off the sea wall while his parents took photographs at Kirkcaldy Esplanade in Fife on Saturday afternoon. He died later in hospital. The area had been buffeted by three days of high winds resulting in heavy seas.

Arab embassies come under attack

Syria called for an urgent Arab summit yesterday as it faced growing pressure to end its crackdown. Tens of thousands of government supporters poured on to the streets of Damascus after a night of attacks on embassies by people angry over the Arab League decision to suspend Syria.

Suspect held for neo-Nazi attacks

German police yesterday arrested a suspected member of a neo-Nazi terrorist gang held responsible for a series of murders and bomb attacks in which a policewoman and nine immigrant kebab stall owners were killed. The attacks had baffled police for 11 years. MORE

Cricketer dies in hotel plunge

The journalist and former Somerset cricket captain Peter Roebuck committed suicide in South Africa on Saturday, police said. He reportedly jumped to his death from the sixth floor of his hotel in Cape Town. MORE

Product recall for Grossman sauce

The Food Standards Agency has advised the public not to consume jars of a Loyd Grossman sauce which may pose a risk of botulism poisoning. The agency said a batch of the brand's Korma sauce was the subject of a full recall and was being removed from shop shelves.

Unseen Jackson film to go to auction

A previously unseen tour film made by Michael Jackson is to be auctioned in London this month and is expected to spark a multimillion-pound bidding war. The film, seen for the first time by i, was recorded in Buenos Aires in 1993 on Jackson's world tour. The project was dropped soon after the film was completed because Jackson was unhappy with the finished product. MORE

Olympic Games' £5 coins unveiled

The official £5 coins for the London 2012 Games were unveiled yesterday and will go on sale this month. The coins – a summer Olympic tradition dating back to the 1952 Helsinki Games – were stamped with the London 2012 logo in Union Flag colours. They were created by Saiman Miah and Pippa Sanderson, who won a Royal Mint competition for art and design students.

Rihanna bounces back to No 1 spot

Rihanna's former No 1 hit "We Found Love" has bounced back to the summit of the singles chart. The song, which features Calvin Harris, climbed one place from No 2 to deny JLS a sixth No 1. The US-Barbadian's song has not been out of the Top 3 since its release.

Presidential pigsty lands man in trouble

A Ugandan man has been arrested after building a pigsty out of old election sign boards featuring President Yoweri Museveni's face. The 35-year-old taxi dispatcher is charged with "abusing the presidency" after using durable posters left over after February's election.

Making a splash gives drivers a laugh

Motorists find it funny when they see pedestrians struggling in the rain and many deliberately aim to soak them, even though it is against the law. A survey for webuyanycar found that 39 per cent laughed at a drenched pedestrian, while 16 per cent have splashed on purpose.

Prince Charles backs 'best view' appeal

Prince Charles has become patron of a £12m fundraising appeal by Westminster Abbey to give the public access to what poet Sir John Betjeman called the "best view in Europe". The aim is to open the Abbey's upper gallery to the public in 2015. The view is across the Houses of Parliament.

Airline is sued over cockroaches on flight

A couple are suing for over $100,000 in compensation for stress after they spotted cockroaches emerging from air vents on a flight. Harry Marsh said his fiancée Kaitlin Rush has not been able to fly since the incident in September on an AirTran Airways flight from Charlotte to Houston.

Songster president gives summit a tune

Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono showed his softer side at a summit of Asia-Pacific nations in Honolulu yesterday. The 62-year-old retired general is a keen song-writer, and one of his compositions – on an environment theme – was played as he took to the podium.

Vigil for murdered honeymooner

Friends and family of 28-year-old murdered honeymooner Anni Dewani lit candles in her memory today at the Kadwa Patidar Centre in Harrow, north-west London. She was shot dead in a taxi in Cape Town last November in an apparent car-jacking.