The News Matrix: Wednesday 19 June 2013

Assange fears his extradition to US

The fugitive whistleblower Julian Assange has said he will not leave the Ecuadorian Embassy in London, even if sex charges against him are dropped, because he fears extradition to the US. The Australian founder of the WikiLeaks website, who faces assault allegations made by two women in Sweden, made the announcement a year to the day after entering the embassy. MORE

Top court questions Knox’s acquittal

The Supreme Court has declared clues which implicate Amanda Knox in the 2007 killing of the British student Meredith Kercher were underestimated by judges who quashed her conviction and freed her from prison in 2011. The decision forced a new appeals trial, likely to start next year. MORE

Runaway teacher’s wife weeps at trial

The wife of runaway teacher Jeremy Forrest wept when she saw him in the dock yesterday. Emily Forrest, 32, was at Lewes Crown Court to give prosecution evidence in her estranged husband’s trial for allegedly abducting his 15-year-old schoolgirl lover and taking her to France.

Ban on foreign gay couples adopting

The Duma unanimously approved a bill yesterday that will prevent gay foreign couples, as well as single people from countries where gay marriage is legal, from adopting Russian orphans. The bill comes at a time of heightened homophobic sentiment in Russia. MORE

More sleep helps reduce diabetes risk

Three nights of “catch-up” sleep a week may reduce the risk of diabetes, according to new research. It found that people slept on average 6.2 hours on a weeknight. On the weekend, when they had more sleep, the body improved regulation of insulin, which affects type 2 diabetes.

‘Shakespeare’ beach bans its naturists

The naturist section of a beach made famous in the film Shakespeare In Love is to close after increasing numbers of complaints about people having sex in public. Nudists will be banned from Holkham beach, Norfolk, from 1 July. Estate mangers blamed “the persistent anti-social behaviour of a minority of people”.

Lego to build on its success with factory

Danish toymaker Lego confirms it will expand a factory in the Czech Republic and create some 800 jobs to meet growing regional demand for its popular building blocks. Carsten Rasmussen at Lego did not reveal the size of the investment except to say it was “a large two-digit million euro figure”.

Inmates move jails to avoid deadly virus

Thousands of inmates at two California prisons may be transferred to other facilities, to avoid the threat of “Valley Fever”. A San Francisco court this week heard since 2006, the potentially deadly infection, caused by an airborne fungus, had killed over 30 prisoners and afflicted hundreds more at Avenal and Pleasant Valley state prisons. MORE

Stars out for Peres’ 90th

Politicians, stars and public figures flocked to Jerusalem to take part in President Shimon Peres’s 90th birthday events, including, from left, Barbra Streisand, Bill Clinton, Peres and Benjamin Netanyahu.

I’ll just slip into some hairy stockings...

Stockings covered in lifelike leg hair may soon hit the UK – after being offered for sale on a Chinese website. Described by some as the must-have in “anti-pervert” wear, the exact reason for their creation, and use, is unclear.