The News Matrix: Tuesday 18 February 2014

May warned about water cannon

A German pensioner left badly injured after he was hit by a water cannon in London four years ago has urged Home Secretary Theresa May not to adopt the controversial crowd-control measure. Dietrich Wagner, 69, has had surgery on his eyes, but is still almost totally blind. He said being knocked down by the water cannon felt like he was being punched. MORE

Graduates tell of job-hunt struggle

Two out of five graduates are still looking for work six months after completing their degree, with some still job-hunting after a year. A survey of 676 graduates by jobs website totaljobs.com found that a third were applying for more than 20 vacancies a month.

Ex-editor on charge of raping colleague

Police have charged the high-profile former editor of an investigative magazine with raping a female colleague at a five-star hotel in Goa. They said Tehelka editor Tarun Tejpal tried to evade arrest for weeks, with officers searching for him around India. MORE

Four bus drivers a day face abuse

Four bus drivers in London are attacked or verbally abused every day, figures suggest. Hundreds of incidents are reported to police each year. A total of 4,967 were recorded in the three tax years to 2013, 38 per cent of which involved assaults or weapons being brandished.

Suspect claims she has killed 20 people

A woman charged with her husband over the killing of a man they met through Craigslist says she has killed more than 20 other people across America. She admitted to the crimes in a prison interview with a newspaper. Police said they are investigating the claims. MORE

Co-pilot surrenders after hijacking plane

A co-pilot who hijacked an Ethiopian Airlines flight to seek asylum in Switzerland yesterday surrendered to police at Geneva airport after jumping out of a cockpit window. Abera Tegegn, 31, took control of the plane when the pilot went to the toilet.

Mugabe frees 2,000 to ease jail crowding

President Robert Mugabe has pardoned 2,000 prisoners in an effort to ease overcrowding in jails. Those freed include most female prisoners, under 18s, those over 70 and the terminally ill. Prisoners serving time for murder, rape and armed robbery won’t be pardoned.

Nine dead after roof falls on students

The roof of a university auditorium in Gyeongju collapsed at a welcoming ceremony for students, killing at least nine people and seriously injuring 17. More than 10 were trapped as heavy snow hampered rescue work.

Disabled children ‘left out of activities’

Children may be missing out on activities because they are disabled, a new poll claims. The survey, conducted by Scope and Mumsnet, questioned parents of disabled children and found that 41.5 per cent felt their child had been unable to get to a sports club because they were disabled.

Rival drug gangs battle in shanty town

Police in Rio de Janeiro are reinforcing patrols in the Brazilian city’s biggest shanty town, Rocinha, after a weekend of shootings between rival drug gangs. Rocinha is among Rio’s “pacified” slums where police try to push the gangs out ahead of this year’s World Cup.

Search powers need reform, says MP

The impact of stop and search powers on ethnic minority communities is “shameful” and in need of reform, says shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper. This follows claims the PM blocked plans by the Home Secretary to curb the use of the power.

200 migrants storm border fence

About 200 sub-Saharan migrants stormed a border fence yesterday at Spain’s African enclave of Melilla. About 50 got through; eight were injured by barbed wire and treated in a Moroccan hospital; 58 were arrested after their failed attempt.

Missing Japanese divers found alive

Five of seven Japanese scuba divers who had been missing off Bali since last week were found alive yesterday. The five women were discovered by fishermen on a coral reef. One was in a critical condition and was flown by helicopter to hospital.

Second outing for Rowling’s detective

JK Rowling will publish her second crime novel as Robert Galbraith this summer, with her private detective, Cormoran Strike, on the trail of a killer who bumps off a novelist. The Harry Potter creator was unmasked as using the pseudonym last year for The Cuckoo’s Calling.

Navy to test first laser system on ship

The US Navy plans to deploy its first laser system on a ship later this year. It will also test an electromagnetic prototype rail gun on a vessel within two years, it was announced yesterday. “It fundamentally changes the way we fight,” said Mike Ziv at Naval Sea Systems Command.

To love, honour and brawl over pork pie

A couple’s wedding celebrations were interrupted by a mass brawl that is thought to have started over a pork pie. Officers from West Yorkshire Police tweeted that they were on the way to the “large fight” in Bradford on Saturday night, which led to three arrests. The tweet said: “All started over a pork pie apparently!”

Big tobacco back on TV after 50 years

Cigarette advertising returned to TV screens last night for the first time in nearly 50 years, with a commercial for an e-cigarette on the Comedy Central channel. British American Tobacco plans to extend it to “more mainstream” channels in coming weeks. It will be supplemented with a press and poster campaign. MORE

Jobhunter berated for seeking clues

A curator at London’s Sherlock Holmes Museum has sparked outrage on social media by suggesting a job applicant was “selfish” and “lazy” for requesting details about a vacancy. Rachel Fox posted the apparent response on Twitter. The museum is yet to comment.

Heimlich manoeuvre doctor pens memoir

The doctor who developed the Heimlich manoeuvre to save someone from choking, has published an autobiography, Heimlich’s Maneuvers. Henry Heimlich, 94, from Cincinnati, hopes it will preserve the technique used to clear obstructions from windpipes of choking victims for 40 years.

Hormones ‘can make traders risk-averse’

Financial crises can be made worse by the hormones of stressed bankers, new research has found.

High levels of the stress hormone cortisol are likely to make traders risk-averse when the going gets tough, according to the Cambridge University study.