The News Matrix: Wednesday 9 April 2014

New therapy kills cancer cells

A new form of cancer treatment that relies on the body’s natural “killer cells” to battle tumours has proved a success in the first clinical trials on patients suffering from advanced skin cancer, scientists have said. The immune therapy is based on a biologically designed drug that binds tumour cells to the killer T-cells of the immune system, causing the cancer cells to self-destruct. MORE

Experts fail to detect ultrasonic signals

Experts looking for the missing Air Malaysia plane failed to detect ultrasonic signals that may be from its black boxes yesterday amid fears the recorders’ batteries have died. The signals were heard in the Indian Ocean on Friday, Saturday and Sunday but not since. MORE

Peaches Geldof post-mortem

A post-mortem examination of Peaches Geldof will be carried out today to establish what caused the 25-year-old’s sudden death. A Kent County Council spokesman said her body had been transferred to Darent Valley Hospital, Dartford, where the examination will take place.

Separatists clash with police in east

The government struggled to stay in control of the country’s eastern regions. While it managed to recapture its regional headquarters and detain dozens of pro-Russian protesters in one city, it said “radicals” were holding 60 people hostage. MORE

Youth jobless now at ‘crisis’ levels

Britain is undergoing a youth unemployment “crisis”, leaving a generation of young people facing a bleak future, a new study warns. Even cities with low numbers of jobless youths have an unemployment rate that is a third higher than Germany’s national average.

Politician fears for his life after attack

Arvind Kejriwal, a politician running on an anti-corruption platform, fears he will be killed, after he was attacked for the second time in five days. He said: “We will fight this battle till the last breath.”

Cost of Games’ ceremonies soar

The cost of the opening and closing ceremonies at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow has soared, organisers have said. They were expected to cost £14m, but a spokesman said the bill now stood at nearly £21m. Organisers say the extra costs cover developments to “maximise the spectacle”.

British UN official killed at airport

A former Metropolitan Police officer has been shot dead in Somalia, where he was to advise on cutting finances to pirates and terrorist groups. Simon Davis, 57, and his French colleague Clement Gorrissen, 28, of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime, were killed shortly after they arrived at Galkayo airport in Puntland state yesterday.

Message in a bottle arrives 101 years on

A message in a bottle, perhaps the oldest, having been cast into the sea 101 years ago, has been presented to the sender’s granddaughter. The bottle, containing a postcard dated 17 May 1913, from Richard Platz, was found last month, and the International Maritime Museum, Hamburg, tracked down Angela Erdmann, 62.

Marriage destroyed as pet ram is shot

A wealthy couple’s 43-year marriage “irretrievably broke down” when a businessman with a passion for shooting “put to death” his wife’s pet ram, a High Court judge said. The animal was killed as the 68-year-old man and his 70-year-old Austrian wife had an “animated” argument, said Mr Justice Mostyn.

Secrets of world’s highest flying bird

A study of the world’s highest flying bird, the bar-headed goose, has shown how it manages to survive at extreme altitudes when it soars above the Himalayas. The goose, which flies at more than 23,000ft, can breath air with just seven per cent oxygen, scientists found. The oxygen is sent to the bird’s heart, which beats fast to pump oxygenated blood to the rest of its body.

Woman to police: I want drugs refund

A Texan woman who complained to police about the quality of marijuana sold to her by a drug dealer was arrested, police said yesterday. The 37-year-old was jailed on Friday after telling police in Lufkin, Texas, that the dealer refused to give her a refund even though her purchase did not pack much of a punch. She was bailed on a drug paraphernalia charge.