The News Matrix: Friday 30 December 2011

'Made-up money' is padding aid budget

Britain will claim to have met its promise to increase aid to the world's poorest people by padding the budget with "made up money", anti-poverty campaigners have complained. The Department of International Development said cancelled debts will count towards the aid total. MORE

Dissident couple are put on trial

A lawyer left in a wheelchair after alleged police brutality has gone on trial. Ni Yulan and her husband, Dong Jiqin, are accused of fraud and libel for providing legal help to people whose homes have been seized by the government. They are the third dissidents in a week to be prosecuted. MORE

Floral tributes for stabbed babysitter

Floral tributes were left yesterday at the home in Borehamwood, Herts, where babysitter Catherine Wynter, 19, was stabbed to death while looking after her young niece and nephew on Boxing Day. One read "RIP angel".

Son of Kim Jong-il declared leader

North Korea has declared late leader Kim Jong-il's son, Kim Jong-un, as "supreme leader" of North Korea's ruling party, military and the people during a memorial yesterday for his father in the first public endorsement of his leadership by the government. MORE

Most Tory rebels just elected last year

More than half of the Tory rebels who have defied David Cameron to vote against the Government were only elected as MPs last year, new research has shown. The "class of 2010" is playing a central role in the discontent facing the PM on a range of issues, the study will claim. MORE

Young applying for debt relief orders

More than a quarter of people turning to a new insolvency scheme are aged between 25 and 34, figures from the Government have shown. The Government created debt relief orders in April 2009, to protect from creditors those who have debts of less than £15,000, who don't own their own home and have less than £300 in savings or assets. MORE

Police raid human rights agency offices

Egyptian security forces have raided the offices of 17 international human rights and pro-democracy organisations, police in Cairo confirmed. Staff were confined to their offices for questioning and their computer files searched as part of a widespread investigation into foreign funding of Egyptian civic society groups. MORE

King's son-in-law on corruption charges

The son-in-law of Spain's King Juan Carlos has been summoned to appear before a judge as a suspect in a corruption case. Inaki Urdangarin, husband of the king's daughter, Cristina, is suspected of siphoning money from public contracts awarded from 2004 to 2006 to a non-profit foundation he headed.

Winning lotto ticket stored in teapot

A couple who netted £1m in the EuroMillions Millionaire Raffle kept the winning ticket in an antique teapot over Christmas. Judy and Frank Whitmore from Tockwith, North Yorkshire, put the teapot in the kitchen after learning their good news on Christmas Eve and waited till they could claim their prize.

Protesters set up own social network site

Occupy Wall Street campaigners are building their own social networking site because they don't trust existing sites such as Facebook and Twitter. The move comes after a Massachusetts district attorney subpoenaed Twitter last week for information about the Occupy Boston account and others connected to it.

Chavez asks if US is behind cancer cases

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has asked if the United States might, in some way, be responsible for the number of cancer cases among Latin America leaders. The Leftist-leaning Chavez said: "Would it be strange if they had developed a technology to induce cancer and no one knew it?" MORE

Mystery benefactor hands out £50 notes

A mystery man has handed out envelopes containing £50 notes as a Christmas gift. Shoppers at a Tesco store in Tiverton, Devon, were handed the blank envelopes on Christmas Eve.Inside, along with the cash, was a printed message that read: "I hope this enables you to have a little extra cheer this Christmas."

Time-travelling car sells for $500k

The time-travelling car used in the Back to the Future film trilogy has sold at auction for $541,200. The DeLorean DMC was one of seven made for the films, but only three are still in existence. The proceeds will go to Michael J Fox's Foundation for Parkinson's Research. Fox starred in the film at Marty McFly.