The News Matrix: Thursday 10 July 2014

UK twins refuse to return from Syria

Teenage twin girls who travelled from Manchester to Syria to join the Jihad have told their families they will not return home. Police believe Salma and Zahra Halane, 16, flew to Turkey then crossed the border into Syria. They have spoken with members of the family by telephone since they arrived but said they would not be coming back to the UK, according to a family contact. MORE

Ukrainian army pilot faces murder charge

Russia has charged a female Ukrainian army pilot with complicity to murder two Russian journalists. Nadiya Savchenko, 33, was said to have taken part in an attack on a rebel checkpoint where two Russian TV journalists were fatally wounded last month.

Polar bear dragged two people from tent

A member of the expedition group in which 17-year-old Eton pupil Horatio Chapple was mauled to death by a polar bear in 2011 has told an inquest how he saw the bear drag another member of the group from a tent before rearing up on its hind legs and attacking him.

Butler-Sloss is urged to stand down

Baroness Butler-Sloss, the judge selected to lead the Government’s inquiry into allegations of a paedophile ring, is being urged to step down, after reports that her brother, former Attorney General Sir Michael Havers, failed to act on information passed to him. MORE

Big rise in medical negligence claims

Clinical negligence claims rose almost 18 per cent over the past year, an NHS review has found. The NHS Litigation Authority blamed new solicitors entering the market to chase no-win no-fee claims before new rules banning the agreements came into effect in April 2013.

Snowden asks for asylum extension

The former American intelligence agent Edward Snowden has asked Moscow to extend his asylum. Russia granted Mr Snowden a one-year visa in August 2013 despite the US wanting Moscow to send him home to face criminal charges for disclosing secret US surveillance programmes.

Mail website says sorry to Clooney

The MailOnline website has apologised to actor George Clooney after it published an inaccurate story claiming that the mother of his fiancée, Amal Alamuddin, opposes the marriage. MORE

Jihadi recruits face ban leaving country

Jihadi recruits will be barred from leaving the country under anti-terror laws put to the government yesterday. The interior minister, Bernard Cazeneuve, also wants to crack down on “lone wolf” terrorists and close internet sites which preach jihad to young people. MORE

UK team would be more successful

A UK football team should be formed in the wake of England’s first-round failure at the World Cup, the MP for Tewkesbury has urged. England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland fielding separate teams limits the chances of international football success for the union, according to Conservative Laurence Robertson.

Bieber charged with egg attack on home

Justin Bieber will be charged with vandalism for allegedly pelting a neighbour’s home with eggs in January, the Los Angeles County District Attorney said yesterday. It adds to the 20-year-old singer’s recent legal woes in which has been charged with assault in Toronto and driving under the influence in Miami Beach.

BBC unveils answer to ‘Game of Thrones’

A new TV show to be aired next year could be the BBC’s answer to the hit show Game of Thrones. The Last Kingdom, which depicts the struggle between Saxons and Vikings, is a collaboration between BBC America and Carnival Films, the award-winning producers who turned Downton Abbey into a global success. MORE

Airline scraps sexist in-flight safety video

Air New Zealand has shelved a “sexist” in-flight safety video after a petition against it gathered 11,000 signatures. The film featured models dressed in bikinis demonstrating safety procedures with life vests and oxygen masks. In one shot two models are seen gazing at themselves in a mirror after putting on masks.

Does UK need a new Magna Carta?

Voters are being asked whether Britain needs a new Magna Carta, ahead of the 800th anniversary next year of the most famous constitutional document in English history. The House of Commons Political and Constitutional Reform Committee is inviting submissions to a consultation.