The News Matrix: Saturday 20 April 2013

Silence will honour Boston victims

There will be a moment of silence at the start of tomorrow's race to honour the victims of the Boston bombings. A contribution of £2 for every finisher will go towards a fund for victims of the attack. The number of police officers has been boosted by 40 per cent to reassure participants.

Fitch strips UK of Triple A rating

The Fitch credit rating agency has downgraded the UK from its AAA rating to AA+, citing a "weaker economic and fiscal outlook". When George Osborne became the Chancellor in 2010, he promised to defend Britain's gold-plated credit rating. MORE

Three arrested over chauffeured car leak

Cumbria's police and crime commissioner has apologised after hiring a chauffeured Mercedes at a cost to the taxpayer of £700. Richard Rhodes admitted failing to check the price. Cumbria police have arrested three people in connection with leaking the information. MORE

Fertiliser plant fire claims 12 victims

The blast at a Texas fertiliser plant has claimed 12 victims so far. Among the bodies recovered from the scene were those of six firefighters and four emergency medical workers. The first named victim was Captain Kenneth Harris, 52, of the Dallas Fire Department. MORE

GSK 'paid to keep drugs from NHS'

GlaxoSmithKline has been accused by the Office of Fair Trading of preventing the NHS from being able to buy cheaper versions of a top-selling drug. The pharmaceuticals giant allegedly paid other companies to delay generic versions of the anti-depressant drug Seroxat. MORE

Inquiry into Gaddafi funding for Sarkozy

Prosecutors have launched an investigation into allegations the late Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi funded Nicolas Sarkozy's presidential campaign in 2007. Mr Sarkozy is already under formal investigation over separate allegations. He has denied any wrongdoing. MORE

Personal blogs escape regulation

Blogs with a turnover of less than £2m or fewer than 10 staff will not be subject to new press regulation. The Government tried yesterday to dispel fears that a Royal Charter to implement the Leveson proposals would introduce unprecedented controls over the blogosphere.

An elevator view of our social standing

The way people stand in a lift reflects their position in the social hierarchy, according to a new study. Rebekah Rousi, a researcher at the University of Adelaide in Australia, said male bosses stood at the back, young men tended to look in the mirror, while women avoided eye contact.

Theatre courts senior playwrights

The Royal Court Theatre in London has helped develop some of the finest young British playwrights, but this summer it is looking to discover new voices from the over-80s. The artistic director Vicky Featherstone says: "There are still a lot of brilliant playwrights in their 70s and 80s."

Hotel manager stuck in lift for four days

The manager of an Austrian hotel was trapped in a lift for four days before a delivery man heard his cries, police said yesterday. The 58-year-old was in good physical shape. "He had done a hunting course with survival training in the military which stood him in good stead," added police.

Happy sweet 116 to world's oldest person

The world's oldest person, Japan's Jiroemon Kimura, celebrated his 116th birthday yesterday with congratulations from around the world and from Japan's Prime Minister. Mr Kimura was crowned world's oldest by Guinness World Records last December.

The lonely little dinosaur

A new species of carnivorous dinosaur whose name means "lonely small bandit" has been found in Madagascar. Dahalokely tokana lived 90 million years ago. Palaeontologists called it "lonely" as it was "in the middle of the Indian Ocean with no way to get off the island".