The News Matrix: Friday 5 December 2014

Britain’s priciest places to live

The most unaffordable places to live outside of the capital have been identified by the National Housing Federation. Forest Heath, Oxford and Brighton topped the list, while rents in the Three Rivers local authority area – in and around Rickmansworth – were found to be the highest with residents paying 54.3 per cent of their income.

Liberal leader Jeremy Thorpe dies

The former leader of the Liberal party, Jeremy Thorpe, died yesterday aged 85. His career was severely damaged after allegations he had had an affair with another man and had conspired to have him murdered – a charge he was cleared of in court.

Anti-Semitism fears rise after attack

An attack on a French couple is reviving worries about long-simmering anti-Semitic sentiment in France. Assailant this week forced their way into an apartment in the Paris suburb of Creteil, tied up a young man and woman, demanded money and raped the woman.

Risk of ‘worrying’ rise in sea levels

Warming water under Antarctica’s ice shelves risks ice melting that could lead to a “worrying” rise in global sea levels, research from the University of East Anglia has shown. Total melting of the West Antarctic ice sheet would raise global sea levels by 4.8 metres (15.7 feet).

UK will not desert Afghans, says PM

Britain and its allies will not be “walking away” from Afghanistan despite the withdrawal of military forces, David Cameron told an international conference in London on the future of the country ahead of the pullout of Nato forces at the end of the year.

Amnesty says police are ‘trigger-happy’

Amnesty International has criticised police action at a Warwick University student demonstration. The charity said it was worried West Midlands Police were becoming “trigger-happy” with Tasers. A group was staging a peaceful sit-in when police arrived with Tasers.

Judges rule chimp has no human rights

A chimpanzee is not entitled to the rights of a human and does not have to be freed by its owner, a New York appeals court ruled yesterday. Judges denied “legal personhood” to Tommy the chimp, who lives alone in a cage.

Two men charged over tourist deaths

A court has charged two men in connection with the murders of two British tourists on a holiday island. Zaw Lin and Win Zaw Htun, both 21-year-old bar workers from Burma, were accused of killing Hannah Witheridge, 23, and David Miller, 24, in September.

Jaw-dropping wait to see dentist

Residents on the Scottish islands of Islay and Jura who need to see the dentist have been told they may have to wait up to a year. The only full-time dentist serving the pair of Hebridean islands retired a year ago, leaving just one part-timer for the 3,500 islanders.

$10k diamond ring is accidentally donated

The Salvation Army has returned a $10,000 (£6,380) gold and diamond ring to a Pittsburgh woman who accidentally dropped it into a donation box. Lisa Hawkins told a local TV station that she scooped the ring out of her bag when she went to take out some change.

Caravan axed as polling place

A static caravan which has long served as a polling place for elections and the independence referendum will no longer be used following a review. The caravan at Coulags, in Wester Ross, did not to meet access requirements. Residents will now cast their vote in a local hall.

‘Goth Girl’ in line for Blue Peter prize

Costa Children’s Book Award winner Chris Riddell is up for the Blue Peter prize for his latest adventure Goth Girl And The Fete Worse Than Death. It takes on Boy In The Tower by Polly Ho-Yen and Pamela Butchart’s The Spy Who Loved School Dinners.

Clampdown on big money movie deals

Big-money deals for French film stars to star in state-funded movies could be a thing of the past. According to financial paper Les Echos, new rules by the Centre National du Cinéma could see film-makers paying stars more than €990,000 (£780,000) losing their state subsidies.

Newborn cheetah cubs doing well

Four cheetahs have been born in Prague Zoo. Yesterday’s news – on International Cheetah Day – confirmed the cubs, born on the 21 November, are being well looked after by their mother, Savannah.