The News Matrix: Thursday 26 January 2012

British mother-of-two found dead on beach

A British mother-of-two was found dead on a beach in Antigua. Nicola Raybone, 33, of Lytham, Lancashire, went missing hours after arriving in the Caribbean. Police are not treating the death as a murder, and said her body was discovered at high tide, when the sea was "relatively rough".

Talks begin on plans to reunite Cyprus

Two days of talks between Greek and Turkish-Cypriot leaders aimed at reunifying Cyprus have made limited progress, the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said yesterday. Mr Ban said he would schedule a conference in April or May to solidify a peace deal if the sides made progress. AP

Thousands celebrate Arab Spring a year on

Egyptians took to the streets of Cairo yesterday, a year after the revolution that toppled Hosni Mubarak began. Many people still want further change and are suspicious of the Military Council now in charge. MORE

Scot is charged with threatening judge

A Scotsman who spent two decades on death row has pleaded not guilty to threatening a judge who prosecuted his original case. Kenny Richey was charged with retaliation and violating a civil protection order. A judge in Ohio said he would be held without a bond and face trial in May. AP

Scientific approach at universities wanes

Media-studies and creative-arts degrees are flourishing, but there has been a substantial reduction in the number of universities offering science subjects. Just 11 institutions offer botany, according to the Higher Education Policy Institute. Chemistry now boasts only 66 courses.

Second prisoner in custody escape

A prisoner has escaped from custody after two police officers were threatened at gunpoint on arriving at a hospital in Suffolk. Police were forced to release the prisoner, believed to be 26-year-old Andrew Farndon, after a man pointed a gun at them as they arrived at West Suffolk Hospital in Bury St Edmunds last night. Farndon is serving at least two years in prison for grievous bodily harm.

Two Tibetans killed in clash with police

Ethnic Tibetans have again clashed with Chinese police in south-western China. An activist group said two Tibetans were killed and several wounded in the incident in the politically sensitive Ganzi prefecture in Sichuan province.

Panel to weigh up Sir Fred's role

The panel that will decide whether to strip Sir Fred Goodwin, the former head of Royal Bank of Scotland, of his knighthood will meet tomorrow to debate his role in the bank's collapse. A decision may take weeks. MORE

Neeson 'toying with becoming a Muslim'

Liam Neeson is reportedly considering becoming a Muslim. According to The Sun, the actor said after filming in Istanbul: "There are 4,000 mosques [there]. Some are stunning... It really makes me think about becoming a Muslim."

Survey reveals real cost of coffee breaks

Those rich venti lattes add up. Workers in the US spend more than $1,000 a year on coffee and another $2,000 on lunch, with men and young workers more willing to indulge in a $5 coffee than women or older colleagues, according to a survey of workplace spending habits in America.

Death puts oldest dog record to rest

A poodle whose American owners had sought to put him in the Guinness Book of World Records as the world's oldest dog has died. Uncle Chichi – whose birth records were lost – was believed to be up to 26 years old. Guinness' official oldest living dog was a 26-year-old Japanese canine. It died in December. AP

It's one giant leap for Lego man-kind...

A pair of students from Canada are believed to have sent a Lego man to space in a first for the toy. Mathew Ho and Asad Muhammad, both 17, strapped the man and a Canadian flag to a polystyrene box holding a video camera. A helium balloon sent the man more than 15 miles to space before it popped and he fell to Earth.

Brooks celebrates birth of daughter

The former News International chief executive Rebekah Brooks, 43, has become a mother by a surrogate. Her newborn daughter Scarlett Anne Mary Brooks was born at The Portland Hospital, London, yesterday. Baby Scarlett weighed in at 6lbs 1oz.