The News Matrix: Friday 30 August 2013

Men arrested over horse-meat scandal

Two men have been arrested as part of an investigation by British police into the horse-meat scandal. The City of London Police said that since launching an inquiry in May they have held two men on suspicion of conspiracy to defraud and interviewed a further two men under caution. The force said it was releasing details only for “operational reasons”, and gave no more information.

Retrial for doctor who found Bin Laden

The 33-year sentence of a Pakistani doctor who helped the CIA find Osama bin Laden has been overturned and a retrial ordered. A senior judicial official issued the ruling yesterday because the person who sentenced Shakil Afridi was not authorised to hear the case. MORE

Murder charge over birthday mother

A man has been charged with the murder of nursery teacher Sabrina Moss, who was shot on her 24th birthday. Martell Warren, 22, is accused of killing the mother in north London on 24 August. He also faces three counts of attempted murder and two of possessing a gun.

Two Guantanamo prisoners released

Two Algerians held at Guantanamo Bay prison for more than a decade have returned to their homeland, where they were interrogated pending an investigation, the Algiers Court said yesterday. Their release is the first from Guantanamo in nearly a year.

Father died as police arrested his son

An inquiry has been launched after a father died from a suspected heart attack while trying to intervene as police arrested his son. The Independent Police Complaints Commission said the 54-year-old man died in Leeds after his son, 34, was arrested for criminal damage on Wednesday.

Jews call for boycott of Roger Waters’ gig

A Jewish group is urging a boycott of a Roger Waters’ concert because he will use an inflatable pig with a Star of David in it. The group says the image is “anti-Semitic and National Socialist”, which Waters denies.

Pupil admissions policy ruled holey

One of Britain’s most prestigious state schools is threatening court action after criticism of its admissions policy. The London Oratory gave priority to pupils whose parents had been involved in church activities. David Lennard Jones, adjudicator on schools’ admissions policies, said he felt the practice was “unfair”. MORE

Court rejects plan to make lay-offs easier

The Constitutional Court in Lisbon has kicked out a plan to make it easier to lay off civil servants, delivering a setback to the bailed-out country’s efforts to cut spending. The government wants to put excess staff in retraining programmes. After 18 months, they would be placed in different jobs or laid off.

Second Grand Canyon is under ice

A vast rent in the Earth on the same scale as the Grand Canyon lies buried under ice in Greenland, scientists have discovered. The hidden mega-canyon is at least 466 miles long and up to 800m deep in places. The feature is believed to pre-date the ice sheet that has covered Greenland for millions of years.

Boris bikes for San Francisco

San Francisco Bay-area commuters have a new option to get around the region. A scheme launched yesterday allows them to hop on one of more than 600 bikes parked at about 70 different stations. About a dozen US cities also have bike-share programmes, including New York, Washington and Chicago.

Conjoined twins are separated

Conjoined twin boys born last month in Dallas have been safely separated and are doing well. Officials at Medical City Children’s Hospital said Owen and Emmett Ezell are in a stable condition. The boys weighed a combined 11lb 15oz (5.4kg) at birth on 15 July and were joined from breast bone to belly button.

Researchers seek pill to end jet lag

Jet lag could soon be a thing of the past after scientists moved a step closer to creating a pill for the condition. Oxford University researchers experimented on mice, blocking a gene that regulates the body’s internal clock. A time zone difference that had taken six days to adjust to took just one or two. MORE

Chiles to return to BBC after ITV stint

Adrian Chiles is to return to the BBC after quitting the corporation for ITV three years ago. The presenter, who will host Friday night’s Drive on Radio 5 Live, said: “It’ll be great to tackle news, current affairs and business stuff, as well as sport.” Chiles had a disastrous stint presenting ITV’s Daybreak.