The News Matrix: Monday 16 February 2015

Passengers not told they can get refunds

Rail companies are not informing passengers of their right to a refund, new research has found. A survey by Which? magazine found that 75 per cent of those travellers who had suffered a delay of an hour or more were not told they were entitled to a partial refund.

Isis beheads missing Egyptian Christians

A video purporting to show the beheading of a group of Egyptian Christians kidnapped by Isis in Libya emerged yesterday. The footage shows a group being forced to the ground and then decapitated. The identities of those murdered had not been confirmed last night.

Greeks rally for new government

About 15,000 people gathered in central Athens and others in more Greek cities last night to support the newly-elected government’s push for a better deal on Greece’s debt. AP

Hundreds of Jewish graves vandalised

Hundreds of graves have been vandalised at a Jewish cemetery in eastern France in what the Interior Minister called an “odious act” against religious freedom and tolerance. Bernard Cazeneuve said the authorities will do “everything” to pursue the vandals. AP

Arab alliance hopes to overthrow PM

Leaders of Israel’s substantial Arab minority launched an alliance over the weekend which puts them on course to becoming a powerful force in next month’s general election with the potential to tip the outcome against the Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu.

Legal disputes could be settled online

A senior judge has welcomed proposals that would see thousands of legal disputes settled online each year. Lord Dyson, head of Civil Justice, said the plans marked an “important milestone” as the justice system had been too slow to embrace online technology.

Hundreds of remote branches to close

Hundreds of bank branches across the country are set to close after the high-street banking chains abandoned a pledge to protect those serving small communities. Banks will be permitted to close more remote branches if they are not making money, according to a leaked draft document. Customers in rural areas will be reliant on telephone and internet banking.

New law to allow Sunday shopping

Under a “job-generating” law likely to be agreed in France, shops in tourist areas will be allowed to open on Sundays and until midnight on weekdays, shattering the traditional calm of many areas. The change has been bitterly opposed both by France’s left and right.

Parade cancelled over terror alert

One of northern Germany’s most popular parades was cancelled only 90 minutes before it was due to start yesterday, because of the threat of an Islamist attack, police said. The carnival parade in Braunschweig draws about 250,000 visitors. Police urged people to stay at home.

Adams: I trampoline in nude with my dog

Gerry Adams enjoys trampolining naked with his dog, he has revealed. Talking to radio station Newstalk, the Sinn Fein leader was asked about the leisure activity. “Yeah, I do it naked,” he said. “The dog does it with me. It saves me taking him for a walk.”

Toddler has a wee problem with potty

Potty training has not gone well for one young boy who had to be freed by firefighters after getting his head stuck in his trainer toilet seat. Rescuers came to the aid of the toddler in Devon, who was uninjured.