The News Matrix: Tuesday 5 November 2013

Prince’s estate ‘should be probed’

Prince Charles’ Duchy of Cornwall estate should be investigated for tax purposes, the Public Accounts Committee has recommended. The estate, which generated £19m of personal income last year, is currently exempt from corporation tax or capital gains tax. MPs are calling for transparency on the Prince’s income tax arrangements. MORE

Three killed in knife attack on bus

Three people were killed when a man armed with a knife hijacked a bus in western Norway, local police said. The suspected hijacker, a man in his 50s of foreign origin, has been arrested. The motives of the suspect, who was injured, were not immediately clear.

Vote-rigging inquiry will not be reopened

Labour will not reopen its inquiry into the Falkirk vote-rigging row amid claims evidence from a witness was withdrawn without her consent. Lorraine Kane confirmed that she stood by the sworn statement given to the party’s probe in September, according to a spokesman.

Pregnancy test could save babies

A 15-minute blood test developed by researchers at London’s Guy’s and St Thomas’ Hospital is set to revolutionise the way doctors treat pre-eclampsia. The condition affects one in every 50 pregnant women and causes the deaths of around 1,000 babies in the UK every year. MORE

New alliance fights for centre stage

The two most powerful centrist politicians in France will announce an alliance to fight municipal and European elections next year – a move that could see them run for the presidential election in 2017. François Bayrou and Jean-Louis Borloo will call their movement “L’Alternative”.

Exile in UK to get torture payout

Exile Leopoldo Garcia Lucero, who has lived in Britain since 1975, must be paid £20,000 in compensation by the Chilean government for two years of arrest and torture during the military dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights has ruled.

‘Murdered woman participated in fraud’

A career conman yesterday denied murdering a lonely woman to plunder her assets. Rakesh Bhayani, 41, claimed that Carole Waugh, 49, who was stabbed in the neck, was a willing participant in a fraud. MORE

Girl died in a game of British Bulldogs

An eight-year-old girl died in her school playground after being knocked over by a boy playing British Bulldogs, an inquest has heard. Freya James had not been involved in the game, during a lunch break at Trafalgar junior school in Twickenham, south-west London.

EU delegates wage war on plastic bags

Countries belonging to the EU will come under pressure to ban or tax plastic bags in an effort to cut waste. A new European Commission initiative aims to tackle the problem of plastic bags that clog water systems and kill wildlife. It hopes that other countries will follow Denmark’s lead.

Investigation of G4S and Serco begins

A fraud investigation has been launched into contracts between the Government and G4S and Serco, after it emerged that the two security companies overcharged the Ministry of Justice for electronically monitoring offenders. MORE

Thousands protest against US embassy

Tens of thousands of anti-US demonstrators protested outside the former American embassy in Tehran yesterday. The powerful Revolutionary Guard called for a large gathering to oppose the recent thawing of relations with the US. MORE