The News Matrix: Wednesday 10 July 2013

Queen’s groundsman badly injured

A groundsman at the Queen’s Sandringham Estate suffered life threatening injuries after falling from his drive-on mower into a lake. The accident occurred just hours before Her Majesty held a meeting in the garden. The man in his 30s was trapped underwater by the mower. The Health and Safety Executive is investigating.

Sarin used in Aleppo raid, says Russia

A deadly projectile that hit a suburb of the Syrian city of Aleppo on 19 March contained the nerve agent sarin and was most likely fired by rebels, Russia’s UN envoy said yesterday. The incident at Khan al-Assal in the northern province of Aleppo killed more than 24 people.

New arrest in ‘abuse’ guesthouse inquiry

A former co-manager of a guesthouse at the centre of child abuse allegations in the 1980s is the third person to be arrested. Haroon Kasir was held on suspicion of possessing indecent images of children. Police began a new inquiry into Elm Guest House, south-west London, last year.

Placido Domingo taken to hospital

Opera singer Placido Domingo is in hospital after suffering a pulmonary embolism. The 72-year-old is expected to make a full recovery, according to one of his representatives, but must rest for around four weeks, forcing him to cancel several scheduled performances.

Government body was slow to act

The handling of the horsemeat crisis was slow and indecisive, according to a report by Professor Pat Troop, formerly of the Health Protection Agency; the Food Standards Agency reacted with “hesitancy” which resulted from “a lack of appreciation of the potential impact” of the crisis.

Road kill turns out to be a lone wolf

Experts have said they are 98 per cent certain that remain of an animal hit and killed by a car near the village of Luttelgeest were those of the first wolf to have been found in the Netherlands for 150 years. Scientists said the teeth, fur and feet, suggested the animal was a female wolf aged up to three years old.

Blind man takes on El Capitan and wins

A British mountaineer has become the first blind man to scale one of the most dangerous rock faces in the world. Steve Bate from Moray, Scotland, spent six days ascending El Capitan in California, a 3,000ft vertical granite slab. He slept in a makeshift hammock and fell twice during the climb.

Toothbrush promo event turns nasty

A promotional stall giving away electric toothbrushes at Waterloo Station was forced to shut yesterday after commuters overwhelmed staff. Fearing for public safety, rail bosses closed Colgate’s “brushswap” event, which invited people to swap old electric toothbrushes for a new £170 replacement.

Ivory seized at port disguised as peanuts

Officials at Mombasa port say they have seized a consignment of more than three tons of illegal ivory disguised as peanuts for export to Malaysia. The Kenya Wildlife Service said the seizure on Monday was the second in less than a week. The ivory had been declared as 240 bags of peanuts.

Tourists think bloom is dead good

Tourists in Brussels are queuing for the chance to visit a huge, foul-smelling plant called titan arum, also known as the corpse flower. The 2.4-metre-tall plant has a huge column in the centre of its flower which smells like a dead animal. The plant only flowers for three days, and is expected to wane today.