The News Matrix: Saturday 21 March 2015

WHO: glyphosate is probably carcinogen

One of the world’s most popular weed-killers – and the most widely used kind in the US – has been labelled a probable carcinogen by the International Agency for Research on Cancer. Glyphosate is used globally in industrial farming. The decision was made by IARC, the France-based cancer-research arm of the World Health Organisation (WHO).

Actors’ care home breached Health Act

A care home for retired actors failed to keep a record of abuse allegations made by staff, residents or their families, a new report has revealed. Denville Hall breached the Health and Social Care Act in relation to the recording and reporting allegations of abuse, assessing and monitoring the quality of service provision and keeping accurate records, the Care Quality Commission found.

Herbal pills lead to arsenic poisoning

A Leeds man has suffered suspected arsenic poisoning after buying what he believed to be a herbal supplement for impotence over the internet. Police said a 51-year-old man from the West Midlands had been arrested after the tablets were found to contain dangerously high levels of arsenic. Anyone who has bought the black tablets is urged to stop taking them and contact police.

Man jailed for life for stabbing girlfriend

A man who flew into a jealous rage before trying to stab his girlfriend to death has been jailed for life. Cardiff Crown Court heard Nigel Roach attacked his partner of 16 years Christine Allen after finding a message on her phone from a male colleague. He launched the attack after a £400 drinking binge, the court heard. The 49-year-old had denied attempted murder but was found guilty by a jury last month.

Reporter devastated by ‘troll’ suicide

A veteran journalist has spoken of his devastation at the death of a Twitter “troll” who took her own life after featuring in a television news report. An inquest in Leicester has heard that Brenda Leyland was found dead two days after her involvement in online abuse of Madeleine McCann’s parents was exposed by the Sky News crime correspondent Martin Brunt.

Ten people killed in police ambush

Ten people were killed in a gunfight in western Mexico when suspected gang members ambushed a police convoy, the government said yesterday. Five members of Mexico’s militarised police, or gendarmerie, were killed in the shootout in Ocotlan, Jalisco state. Three suspected gang members, and two apparently innocent bystanders were also killed.

Pilot sentenced for hijacking aircraft

An Ethiopian court has jailed in absentia a co-pilot who hijacked an aeroplane last year. The court gave Hailemedhin Abera a 19-year-sentence yesterday. Mr Abera is in Switzerland, his brother Endalamaw Abera said. On 14 February last year Mr Abera locked the pilot of a Rome-bound flight out of the cockpit and diverted the plane to Geneva, where he asked for political asylum.

Hawking opens genius exhibition

Professor Stephen Hawking and Sir David Attenborough have joined forces to open an exhibition about geniuses. They unveiled the Marks of Genius exhibition at Oxford University’s Bodleian Libraries. Professor Hawking said: “The works featured in the Bodleian Libraries’ Marks of Genius exhibition truly are the product of genius, be it Einstein, Newton or Shakespeare.

Clegg: ‘We’ll prevent Salmond’s return’

Nick Clegg has predicted the Liberal Democrats will “wipe the smile off” Alex Salmond’s face by preventing the former SNP leader from returning to Westminster.

Mr Salmond hopes to win the Gordon constituency in Aberdeenshire from the Lib Dems on 7 May.

Schools should instil ‘grit and resilience’

Schools should focus on instilling traits such as “grit” and “resilience” in poorer children in order to boost their emotional and social skills and to help them secure well-paid jobs, researchers have suggested. Three separate studies have warned that schools risk putting too much emphasis on literacy and numeracy and failing to equip pupils with the life skills they needed.

Museum boss jailed for stealing exhibits

The former head of Macedonia’s biggest museum has been found guilty of stealing antiquities from the museum’s storage area and sentenced to nearly nine years in prison. In 2013, police said that the 160 stolen antiquities, which date from the 4th century AD and include gold and silver jewellery, were believed to have been sold abroad by an organised crime ring.

Second man held in student death probe

A second man has been arrested by police investigating the murder of a student found in the boot of a burnt-out car. The 30-year-old suspect was held on suspicion of assisting an offender in connection with the inquiry into Janet Muller’s killing, Sussex Police said. Christopher Jeffrey-Shaw, 26, of Beckenham, south-east London, has been charged with Ms Muller’s murder.

Seized Liebermann art to be returned

Germany has signed a restitution agreement for a painting by Max Liebermann in a move toward returning the work, seized under Nazi rule, to its rightful owner. Liebermann’s Two Riders on the Beach was part of an art trove found in late collector Cornelius Gurlitt’s apartment. Experts last year determined the painting was seized from businessman David Friedmann and belongs to his descendants.

New theatre makes Pegg feel ‘very old’

Simon Pegg has described opening a theatre named after him at the university where he learnt his trade as a “dream” – though he joked that returning there made him feel “very old”. The actor graduated from the University of Bristol in 1991 and went back to open a new £30m students union building and theatre.

Snoop goes back to his gangsta roots

Snoop Dogg has cleaned up his image from gangster rapper to multi-format entertainer in recent years, but he’s looking to the past in a new series he is developing for HBO. Snoop announced yesterday that he is working with Allen Hughes on the show about 1980s Los Angeles.

Seller’s remorse for Dinky collector

A retired car dealer who sold his collection of 3,000 toy cars and trains at auction has said he is “missing” them. Raymond Hainsworth, 78, from Skipton, amassed the hoard over 50 years. A black-and-white Dinky lorry sold for £6,960. In total the assortment of toys fetched £227,000.

Chapter and verse on joys of caffeine

Any customer who hands over a poem at Viennese coffee roaster Julius Meinl’s 23 outlets across Europe and the US today will get a free cup of coffee in return. The aim behind the campaign is to “show the world that feelings are more valuable than money”, the company said.