The News Matrix: Tuesday 17 February 2015

£30m pledged for dementia research

A network of dementia research centres is being launched with £30m in funding to find a cure for the disease. The three institutes will be based at the Universities of Cambridge and Oxford and University College London, and will involve 90 scientists developing drugs to treat the early stages of the disease. The condition affects more than 830,000 people in the UK.

Spurs youth player wins damages

A footballer who suffered catastrophic brain damage when he had a cardiac arrest while playing for Tottenham Hotspur’s youth team has won a multimillion-pound High Court damages case. Radwan Hamed, now 26, collapsed during a game in Belgium in August 2006.

Shooting suspect ‘radicalised in jail’

The gunman believed to be behind the Copenhagen attacks was a violent offender who had been flagged up as a potential danger amid fears he had been radicalised in jail. Prison authorities had warned of the risks associated with 22-year-old Omar el-Hussein.

Reality star will pay back Barnardo’s cash

A TV personality has said she will repay Barnardo’s thousands of pounds following a public backlash when it emerged she had been paid £3,000 to promote the charity’s shops on her social media account. Alexandra “Binky” Felstead appears in Made In Chelsea.

Prostitutes end Strauss-Kahn case

Lawyers for the four prostitutes who participated in sex parties organised for Dominique Strauss-Kahn, 65, said yesterday they were giving up their claim for damages, saying it would be too hard to prove the pimping charge against the former International Monetary Fund head.

Warning on weight gain in pregnancy

Pregnant women who gain too much weight risk giving their offspring health problems, say University of Edinburgh researchers. Cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases and type-2 diabetes are more likely in adulthood in people whose mothers were overweight in late pregnancy.

Sturgeon calls for North Sea stimulus

Nicola Sturgeon has demanded that David Cameron addresses calls for urgent tax changes that could spark a “resurgence” in the North Sea oil industry. Scotland’s First Minister said “urgent fiscal stimulus” was needed.

President reacts to woman’s rape death

Turkey’s President says violence against women is a “bleeding wound” for the country after a woman was stabbed and beaten to death fighting off a man who was trying to rape her. The attack on Ozgecan Aslan, 20, has prompted protests and condemnation by politicians.

Upping sticks: Pooh competition moved

The World Pooh Sticks Championships will be held in a new location this year, organisers have announced. The event will take place at Langel Common, near Witney, in West Oxfordshire. Competitors inspired by AA Milne’s Winnie the Pooh will take it in turns to drop sticks off a bridge and “race” them to the finish on 7 June.

Enjoying your meal, sir? Yes, yes, YES!

Diners who frequent expensive restaurants tend to use sexual words such as “orgasmic” to describe the experience, a study of 900,000 online reviews has found. “The more expensive the restaurant, the more likely you are to describe the food in terms of sex,” said Dan Jurafsky at Stanford University in California.

Rio stamps claim on Twitter handle

Authorities in Brazil have obtained a prize Twitter account to publicise next year’s Rio Olympics, after a poor Spanish shoeshine man gave it up for free. Javier Castano, 50, surrendered the Twitter name @riodejaneiro to its city hall. He registered several Twitter account names in 2007, when the social network was much less popular.

City analyst makes drink his business

Former business analyst Peter Tiley, who quit his job in London to follow his love of beer, is “thrilled” his freehouse, the Salutation Inn, has been named Pub of the Year by the Campaign for Real Ale. Mr Tiley, 31, had never been behind a bar when he pulled his first pint in the small village of Ham, Gloucestershire, two years ago.