The News Matrix: Monday 16 July 2012

Coalition announces £9bn network fix

David Cameron and Nick Clegg will stage a show of unity today as they unveil a £9bn package to improve the national rail network. Ministers will travel the country to highlight the coalition's commitment to growth – and job creation – through major infrastructure projects. MORE

Nick Herbert: 'Let churches offer same-sex marriages'

Conservative minister Nick Herbert calls for churches to be "permitted to offer same-sex marriages" in an exclusive interview with i today. Gay marriage is "a straightforward matter of equality", he says. MORE

Women overtake men in IQ ratings

Average female IQ scores, historically lower than those of men, have overtaken those of their male counterparts for the first time in 100 years, a researcher has claimed.

Man, 57, sets fire to himself on march

A 57-year-old Israeli man was in a critical condition after setting fire to himself during a demonstration marking the anniversary of last year's protests in support of social justice. Moshe Silman, a former small businessman, had burns on 90 per cent of his body. MORE

Klimt not worth such a mint

A missing painting rediscovered last week that was thought to be by the Austrian erotic painter Gustav Klimt is by his lesser-known brother Ernst, an art expert has said.

Madonna angers NF over swastika image

France's far-right National Front expressed outrage yesterday and said it planned to sue the singer Madonna after a video at her Paris concert showed an image of the party's leader, Marine Le Pen, with a swastika on her forehead. MORE

Man charged over Belfast disturbances

Police have charged a man with public disorder offences related to last week's disturbances in north Belfast. Police used water cannon and non-lethal baton rounds as cars were hijacked, petrol bombs thrown and officers injured in riots following a peaceful Orange Order march.

US fugitive captured after 24 years on run

Mexican police have captured a US fugitive who has been on the run for 24 years. Suspect Vincent Legrend Walters, who was held in the resort of Cancun, is wanted in San Diego, California, on murder charges in the 1988 killing of a woman kidnapped as part of a drug deal. He also faces weapons and drug charges. MORE

Pressure builds over cuts and closures

The Government is facing a surge of protest from NHS staff and patients as the fight against service closures, wage cuts, pension reforms and treatment restrictions intensifies. Legal challenges are expected to the planned closures of three children's heart surgery units. MORE

Obama and Romney target US expats

Americans resident in the UK are being targeted ahead of the presidential election. While supporters of Barack Obama are concentrating on the grassroots, backers of Mitt Romney plan a £50,000-a-head fundraiser in Mayfair. MORE

Regime denies use of heavy weapons

Syria yesterday denied UN claims that government forces used heavy weapons during a military operation in Tremseh that left scores dead and brought international condemnation, while the International Committee of the Red Cross said it now considers the conflict in the country a civil war. The denial comes amid reports of heavy fighting in the capital, Damascus. MORE